Ben

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

From http://visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.see/attractions/sheikh.zayed.grand.mosque.aspx:
This architectural work of art is one the world’s largest mosques, with a capacity for an astonishing 40,000 worshippers. It features 82 domes, over a 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world’s largest chandeliers –10 metres in diameter, 15 metres in height and weighing twelve tonnes. The mosque's first ceremony was the funeral of its namesake, Sheikh Zayed, who is buried at the site.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Daniel was in Abu Dhabi for a week teaching a class on highway design.  Here are some pictures from his visit:

At the Heritage Village:









Presidential Palace:


Emirates Hotel:


The tallest flagpole in the world when it was installed:




Royal family:


Emirates Palace Hotel:






One of the most tilted buildings in the world (525-foot tall tower that leans 18 degrees to the west, 14 degrees more than the Tower of Pisa):









On the corniche:






National Drilling Company Building:




Date Market:






Class time:


Tile work in pedestrian underpass:


Fish market:

Bean and Barley Soup

I've been working on a few recipes to share.  This recipe is a bean and barley soup recipe that my mother gave me a few years back.  I have no idea where she got it from so I can't give that person credit (oh well). When I was first beginning to cook I followed recipes WORD FOR WORD. Now I tend to venture from the recipe more than normal. I like soups to be more like a stew--very little broth and lots to munch on. I topped my "soup" with homemade croutons and parmesan cheese (because parmesan cheese makes everything better!).

Bean & Barley Soup-Makes a ton of servings  :-)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted tomatoes)
28 oz of your favorite broth (I used 32 oz of vegetable broth but you could use chicken)
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
(I added a 15 oz can of great northern beans also rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup pearl barley
2 cups of firmly packed spinach (I used kale)

HEAT oil in a saucepan.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.

ADD tomatoes, broth, beans, and barley.  Heat to a boil.  Cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is done.  Stir in spinach and season with ground pepper.  Heat through.

A few tips for what to do with your leftover celery and carrots.  You can of course eat those two wonderful vegetables with hummus, peanut butter, or some other yummy dip.  If you don't think you'll get around to eating them in time, you can slice your carrots and celery and blanch them.  Blanching is just cutting up the vegetable, placing it in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then putting that vegetable in a cold water bath.  The cold water bath stops the cooking process.  I quickly pat the vegetables dry and place them in a freezer safe container.  Keep in mind, you will not be able to eat those vegetables raw again, but they are a quick addition to any dish you are cooking and the prep work is already done.

Enjoy!

What Does the Fox Say?

If you haven't seen the latest viral video, you might want to check it out (http://youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE) or just watch Sophia's version:

Ben Sleeping

Our First Thanksgiving as a family of 4!

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving.  I cooked the entire meal (except the rolls) which was a change of pace. We've always celebrated Thanksgiving with one of our sets of parents and extended family.  I don't think Thanksgiving by ourselves will be a yearly event, but traveling with a 2 month old sounded too daunting.  The quest for the perfect vegetarian meal combination started a few weeks ago and after a few blog searches, I settled on the following meal:

Quinoa stuffed Acorn Squash: http://ohmyveggies.com/a-vegetarian-thanksgiving-menu/
Roasted Green Beans
Whipped Sweet Potatoes (I just threw these together)
Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce
100% Whole Wheat Rolls: www.greatharvest.com
Homemade Ice Cream: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/06/16/recipe-homemade-maple-pecan-ice-cream/

It was refreshing to not have a HUGE meal waiting for us since this holiday is known for overindulgence. The meal was light and refreshing.  We had a wonderful, healthy Thanksgiving, and we hope you did too!

I think I can, I think I can...

We all make New Years resolutions at the beginning of every year and try to uphold them (until February 1 at least)--I am making mine earlier this year.  I can going to try my best to blog more often and keep the people that care more updated on our happenings.  If you don't know me, I LOVE food.  Not like in a "I like to eat food" kind of way, but I have dedicated my life to food.  Being a registered dietitian means you think about food ALL the time.  I love to create, enjoy, and share the foods I make.  So my goal is to share the foods I make with our readers.  All the foods I share will be real, whole foods.  Nothing that requires ingredients I can't pronounce or difficult to find.  We eat a vegetarian diet at home so all my food posts will be vegetarian.  I can only hope to inspire people to eat good food at home.  I'll also throw in some crazy parent-of-young-children stories too to make you laugh.  Nothing is more comical than watching your 3 year old throw herself on the floor over giving her the "wrong" fork.  I can't wait to see what life with a toddler round 2 brings when Ben becomes of age to throw himself on the floor.

Anyway, the moral of my story is stay tuned because life is about to get very interesting around here!

Sophia's First Day of Ballet

Sophia and Ben

Marbles Kids Museum and Sophia's First Movie

Sophia had a great visit at the Marbles Museum (http://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/) and watching her first movie in a movie theater (http://www.imaxraleigh.org/nowshowing/room-on-the-broom).