I'm a Pinterest addict. I'm on it all the time and introduce everyone I can to its sinful existence.
Lately these recipes for lasagna roll-ups have been popping up, so I decided to put my own twist on the recipe and give them a try!
I used what I had in the fridge and pantry, so mine were made spinach lasagna sheets and stuffed with marscapone, shredded cheese, chorizo, mushrooms, and basil. I topped them off with a homemade chunky tomato sauce.
Since many of my friends (and their family members) are constantly commenting on my cooking I thought I would share some of my secrets (and recipes) with you!
Becca's "Whatever's in the Fridge" Lasagna Roll-Ups Step 1: choose your lasagna noodles
I went with spinach because it's what we had, but this will work with any type of lasagna noodle
Step 2: choose your filling and prep ingredients separately
My stuffing consisted of the following:
- chorizo sliced, quartered, and sautéed
- mushrooms, chopped (they should also be sautéed, but my pregnancy brain led me to completely fail on this one and I stuck them in raw)
- half of a small container of marscapone cheese
- quarter of a block of cheese, grated
- a hand full of basil leaves, rinsed, dried, chopped
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Step 3: mix all stuffing ingredients together in a bowl
Step 4: prep your sauce of choice
I chose to do a homemade chunky tomato sauce, but you can do whatever sounds best to you! You can also purchase a pre-made sauce to save time!
I used the following ingredients for my sauce...
- fresh tomatoes, cored
- tomato paste
- old red wine
- garlic (2-3 cloves)
- white onion (1)
Step 5: Cook your noodles
Simply follow the directions for cooking your lasagna sheets. I would recommend slightly undercooking them as you will put them in the oven for a bit. Don't forget to salt and oil your water!
Step 6: Roll 'em up!
Pull your noodles out, separate (watch out for burning your hands, they'll be hot!), fill, roll, and place in a pyrex baking dish.
Step 7: Cover and cook...
Cover your filled noodles with your sauce. Place the dish in the oven at around 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes. You are welcome to add cheese to the top (I opted not to this time, but have since).
Step 8: Serve up with sides of your choice!
I chose beans sautéed with a bit of honey, salt, and pepper
Since Kesh was born we have moved a lot. We first lived with my mother-in-law in her very large, approximately 300 square meter, home. Then we moved to an apartment. Then we moved to an extremely large house (400 square meters or so) where our company's office was shared with our living space (business downstairs, bedrooms upstairs, shared kitchen and common spaces).
However, with small child #2 on the way it was time to separate our living space from our office space.
Finding rentals here in Cuenca is difficult. With the influx of retirees from North America (and other parts of the world) rental rates have skyrocketed. When we first moved back almost 3 years ago you could find a house for $250 or $300 per month. Now houses run for closer to $500 or $600 per month and you are lucky if you can rent an apartment for $300.
We looked and looked with very little luck. Everything was out of our budget or too far away from where we needed to go on a daily basis (we walk everywhere).
Right before I left for the U.S. in December, we finally found the right place at the right price! We had seen the apartment before, but the owner was asking $370 per month, which seemed steep for what it was. However, the real estate agent worked with us (and for us) and dropped the rent to $270 per month. (I know, most of you who live up North are dying right now at how little we pay for rent, but it is commiserate with the cost of living and salaries here in Ecuador)
We are now living in our own home, separate from our business. Kesha has her own room, we have our own room, and the new baby will have his own room. We have a wonderful kitchen that I love cooking in (it is one of the highlights of the apartment!), and a nice amount space for our family. We live a 1 mile walk from the new office and Kesha's daycare is on the way there. We live right in front of the river and close to parks. In fact, we leave our kitchen window open all of the time and we can hear the river from our apartment... it is wonderful!
I have given several friends and family a Skype video tour and one of my friends commented on how she was surprised at how our home was very similar to what you might find back in the U.S. I love her dearly, but it did make me laugh.
Arturo has sent away new countertops to be custom made of Laurel wood (as you can see below, the old ones are very well loved), and we still need to decorate. But overall home is reflecting who we are more and more every day.
This will be our home for the next few years until we can save up enough to buy a place of our own. I would love to buy a place like this and completely remodel it. The older apartments in Cuenca have so much personality and so much potential.
Here are a few photos of our new abode! Enjoy the tour!
Our kitchen with the well loved counters.
Another view of our kitchen. I love the natural light!
The view of the river from our kitchen
(you can also see some of the lineal parks that we have near by)
Another view from the kitchen side of our apartment
(that is Cajas National Park/the Andes Mountains in the distance).
Our well loved and well used washer and dryer!
Our dining room (it's dark because it's a bad angle...
we have wonderful natural lighting!)
Kesha's room (yes, she is sleeping in this picture).
The hallway from the living/diningrooms
What will be our new baby's room. The crib is being made and will be ready in a few weeks.
Sunday was a simple day. One that allowed Kesh to do exactly what she should be doing.
Playing.
Outside.
Without technology.
With both of he parents actively involved.
We have a river very close to our apartment. It has waking trails, a park, soccer fields, and on Sundays the riverside parks come alive.
Today we were part of that liveliness.
But not on the swings, not in the soccer fields...
Kesha, Arturo and I sat and threw rocks, put leaves in the water and watched how they flowed.
Poked the river bottom with sticks, drew in the sand with the same sticks, ran on the trails chasing one another...
It was simple. It was wonderful!
I am thankful for year round sunshine and a mild climate, as well as 12 hours of daylight all year.
I am thankful for the ability to have this amount of time to spend with my daughter, and the time we are able to spend together as an entire family.
"Andate a tu pais" she yelled at me as she poked me in the chest...
A few minutes earlier this same woman almost ran me over with her SUV as I was crossing the street in a crosswalk. A bad word may have slipped through my lips and her window happened to be rolled down. This one word led to her pulling over in the gas station, chasing after me on foot, insulting me multiple times, cursing my unborn child, and finally telling me to go back to my country.
I got married in the city I live in nine years ago. I have lived here on and off over these same nine years.
Never has anyone spoken to me in that manner. Should I have said the bad word I said? No, probably not. But it did not warrant the response.
It was quite the altercation in which I informed her that almost hitting a pregnant woman in a crosswalk is not a good thing, and that, in Ecuador, pedestrians have the right of way. She continued to insult me while I offered to call the police to help with the altercation... (no, she did not take me up on this offer)
Later in the afternoon I was out with my mother-in-law, Arturo, and Kesha. While A and my mother-in-law were in a shop I went with K to buy bread. While speaking with Kesha in English (as always) a man turned to me and in very accented English told me that if my daughter and I are going to live in Ecuador we need to learn to speak Spanish. Ummmmm.... okay. He went on to inform me that when he lived in the U.S. he was basically forced to learn to speak English, therefore the expectation of people who come to Ecuador is the same, they must learn Spanish.
I do not disagree entirely with this sentiment. I think that people should make an effort to learn and use the language of the country they are residing in. However, I dislike the assumption made about me, and I do not think that others should jump to conclusions about why I am speaking English with my two year old (and I feel this applies to how others speaking English are approached as well).
My reaction? An internal eye roll then I turned to him and in Spanish responded that we both speak Spanish and thank you.
I spent the rest of my afternoon in tears, feeling unwelcome and unwanted in a country that my husband is from, I am a citizen of, and have chosen to live my life and raise my family in.
Most of the rest of the evening I brooded about my day, and then decided that I needed to come up with lessons learned to be able to move on. So, what are the lessons here?
Discrimination hurts.
Feeling unwanted and unwelcome, hurts.
False assumptions hurt.
If someone doesn't speak your language try helping them out - don't jump to conclusions about them not trying to learn the language, or about why are they are speaking a different language, etc.
Don't pretend to know someone else's story - the man in the bread store had no idea what my story was. He assumed I didn't speak Spanish and wasn't teaching it to my child. What he didn't realize was that I am Kesha's only English language model and that if I don't speak only in English with her she will never learn.
Be kind and let things roll off your back - If both the lady and I had chilled out about he almost hitting me then an extremely negative altercation could have been avoided. If we had both assumed that the other party was having a bad day and just let it go both of our days would have been much better.
My whole day yesterday made me think of the song "No Me Llames Extranjero". It's a beautiful song and really resonates with my feelings at the moment. Here is a video of it...
Here are the words to the song... (from http://www.musica.com/letras.asp?letra=1508742)
No me llames extranjero, porque haya nacido lejos O porque tenga otro nombre, la tierra de donde vengo, No me llames extranjero, porque fue distinto el seno O porque acuno mi infancia, otro idioma de los cuentos No me llames extranjero, si del amor de una madre Tuvimos la misma luz, en el canto y en el beso Con que nos sueñan iguales, las madres contra su pecho,
No me llames extranjero, ni pienses de donde vengo, Mejor saber donde vamos, a donde nos lleva el tiempo No me llames extranjero, porque tu pan y tu fuego Calman mi hambre y mi frió, y me cobija tu techo No me llames extranjero, tu trigo es como mi trigo Tu mano como la mía, tu fuego como mi fuego Y el hambre no avisa nunca, y ve cambiando de dueño (Y me llamas extranjero porque me trajo un camino Porque nací en otro pueblo, porque conocí otros mares Y un día zarpe de otro puerto, si siempre quedan iguales El adiós, los pañuelos, las pupilas borrosas de los que Dejamos lejos, los amigos que nos nombran, Y son iguales los rezos y el amor de la que sueña Con el día del regreso. No, no me llames extranjero Traemos el mismo grito, el mismo cansancio, Viejo que viene arrastrando el hombre desde El fondo de los tiempos, cuando no existían fronteras Antes que vinieran ellos, los que dividen y matan, Los que roban, los que mienten, Los que venden nuestros sueños, ellos son Los que inventaron esta palabra, “Extranjero”) No me llames extranjero, que es una palabra triste Es una palabra helada, huele a olvido y a destierro No me llames extranjero, mira tu niño y el mío Como corren de la mano, hasta el final del sendero
No lo llames extranjeros, ellos no saben de idiomas, De limites y banderas, míralos se van al cielo Con una risa paloma, que los reúne en el vuelo
No me llames extranjero, piensa en tu hermano y el mío El cuerpo lleno de balas, besando de muerte el suelo Ellos no eran extranjeros, se conocían de siempre Por la libertad eterna, igual de libres murieron
No me llames extranjero, mírame bien a los ojos, Mucho más allá del odio, del egoísmo y el miedo, Y veras que soy un hombre, no puedo ser extranjero No me llames extranjero.
One of my favorite things about the holidays is going “home” for them!
I put home in quotations because I have two homes, so whether I am sitting in my own apartment in Cuenca, or frequenting one of the many coffee shops in the Seattle-area, I am home! (I consider myself very fortunate in this aspect)
K and I boarded a plane for the very long journey from Guayaquil to Seattle. 3 flights and 15 hours later we landed. Not one delay, not one hiccup in the journey. And my little Bug was a dream during our trip! (so much for my excessive pre-planning and worrying)
Once K saw my parents in Seattle she left my side and went running to them! It was a joy to see her so excited about them meeting us at the airport (especially since she hadn’t seen my dad in about 9 months).
Then then adventures began! Since I could write an infinite amount about how wonderful of a time we had with my parents and all of the adventures we had, I will let the pictures speak for themselves…
Thank you to my wonderful Seattle family (my friends are included here) for an unforgettable 3.5 weeks. We miss you already and can’t wait for our next visit!
Kesha on one of her many visits with Santa
Downtown Seattle with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle BJ, and Auntie Kayla
Reading Kesha's "Book on Every Bed" book on Christmas morning
Blocks!
At Garden d'lights in Bellevue
Decorating sugar cookies on Christmas day
New Years eve day at Seaside, OR
Splashing in puddles at Nana and Grandpa's house
Cooking with Nana
Lots of play time!
Christmas morning
Decorating gingerbread men
One of our many carrousel rides
Christmas lights at Warm Beach, WA with Nana and Grandpa
Lots of Grandpa time!
New years eve at Seaside, OR
Piano time with Nana
Cutting a Christmas tree
We had a wonderful year and ended it in one of the best ways possible, with our family up north.
We are thankful to have our family back together in Cuenca and look forward to what 2013 will bring! (we hope it will include a trip back to Seattle for the entire family!)
Tonight Randy, Karen, Lorena and I went out to hear a woman play improvised jazz at the Galleria Cafe El Otorongo. The woman was an excellent musician, however, she played to this documentary about hummingbirds; very modern art-ish. Although I am not a huge fan of modern art, I really enjoyed the evening out. But what made it so great for me?
First of all, the event started at 5:00 and only went until 8:30. Great for a mom with a small baby who sleeps by 9 every night.
Secondly, the ambiance was very tranquil. No loud conversations, no hooting or howling, so when Kesh fell asleep she actually was able to take her normal 15 minute nap.
Third, there is no smoking inside of cafe or even most bars now here in Cuenca. It really makes for a very family and baby friendly environment. It allows me and my friends with kids to be able to go out and do things without feeling like we are putting ourselves before the well being of our children.
There are many cafe/bars like El Otorongo here in Cuenca.We were able to take Kesh to La Vinoteca the other week, again, no smoking and a nice, calm ambient. And places such as Zoes, Di Baccios, and Eucalyptus do not allow smoking yet serve wine and nice appetizers.
I really feel like I can be a social mom here in Cuenca and still bring my baby with me. I love it!
