happy halloween

Thanks to Oma for making our Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes, and Aunt Pam for sending us the ears and enormous white-gloved hands. Katie has worn her costume everyday since last Saturday when she got to put it on for the Trunk-or-Treat at church. I did manage to talk her into letting me wash it on Monday - no small feat.

Here are a few things we've learned this week:

Katie loves her Minnie Mouse costume as much as she loves her 'nightgown dress.' At least we have one acceptable outfit for daytime, and a different one for evenings now.


Katie think that EVERYONE - mainly her brother - should want to wear their costumes all the time as well. This results in the 'battle of the ears,' as she 'helps' Alex with his Mickey Mouse ears.

Katie must frost her cookies ALL BY HERSELF, and the proceeds to lick the frosting off and then start again. Sometimes we just skip the cookie and go straight for the frosting.


Alex loves candy corn - the worst candy of all time - like no other. He went after the cookies already packaged in ziplock bags, trying to get at the candy corn. He likes the cookies purely for the candy corn - once the candy corn is gone, he's done.

Max makes an adorable skeleton, although I think he fills it out far too much already. I'm all for sleeping through the night, but he could stay tiny for just a little while.

Katie to mom: 'I'm glad that you and dad got married.' We are too!

The USPS actually works - sort of. I just received a package this week that my awesome friend Kari - this is something I've known for a LONG time! - sent back on Sept 10. This is good and bad - bad for Kari because she resent many of the items in the interim, and GREAT for me because now I have lots and lots of Trader Joe's treats to knosh on.

And, I CAN actually cook something with vegetables that Roger will eat! Linguini with a sauce made from sun-dried tomatoes, white beans and garlic. I skipped the olives because, hello, they're gross. Added some mushrooms. YUM! This recipe really did take only 20 minutes to make.

Linguini with White Bean, Sun-dried Tomato, and Olive Sauce
Makes 4 servings - Hands-on-time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 20 minutes

(Mashing up white beans instantly produces a creamy pasta sauce – without cream – that's capable of binding together all the ingredients in a dish. Here I've [sara moulton] "beefed up" the sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and olives from the pantry. Of course, you could add any number of other handy pantry items – marinated artichoke hearts, canned tuna, frozen shrimp – or just toss in some leftover vegetables from the fridge.)

Kosher salt
1 pound linguini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes (about 6 halves), sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch strips (scant 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup white wine (I used apple juice)
One 19-ounce can white beans such as cannelini, navy, or Great Northern, drained and rinsed
One 14 or 14 1/2-ounce can vegetable or chicken broth, or 1 3/4 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 cup pitted, brine-cured olives such as kalamata, chopped
Freshly milled black pepper
1 1/2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1/2 cup)

Cook the linguini in the boiling water until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the white beans and broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Coarsely mash the sauce with a potato masher or fork.
Add some of the reserved cooking liquid to the sauce, as necessary, to reach a creamy consistency; add the olives and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce with the linguini and serve. Top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, if desired.