When I realized that I am now 20 weeks along I was in a small state of shock! Holy cow... Im halfway through this pregnancy! Where in the world did the time go??? And how in the world am I, the person who knows very little about babies and kids in general, going to care for this new life??? Its safe to say that Im not only nervous about the change that will soon occur in our lives, but down right scared...

So, just like I did when I was given the task to care for a small 10 week old puppy, I have started to research and read different materials to educate myself on how to be a parent. The top two books Im reading right now are "What to Expect the First Year" & "Nursing Your Baby." Im hoping they both teach me all things "baby" and all things "breastfeeding" since Im overly concerned about both.

Anyways, enough about all my worries and onto the fun stuff! I had another doctors appointment this past week. Everything is checking out okay so far. The doctor says the baby has a great looking head and that I have a great looking placenta... who knew! We could have found out the sex this appointment, but I was tough and declined the offer to find out even though I think Dan is more than ready to know. HA! We did get to take home some face shots of our little June Bug that I can share with you.

Profile shot...

Face shot... baby looking at you...

3D ultrasound shot! Wild isnt it!

Even though there is a LOT of changes happening right now, one of the coolest things I have experienced lately is being able to feel the baby move not only from the inside, but I can put my hand on my stomach and feel it on the outside as well. There was even a night that I felt it kicking and could actually see my stomach move! CRAZY! Of course, poor Dan has either not been home when this all is happening or the baby stops its acrobatics when he tries to feel. But he was finally able to feel it slightly one night which was super exciting for both of us :)

One of the things I have been struggling with the most is people wanting to touch my stomach.... uhhhhhgggg just the thought makes me cringe. I have tried to be pretty vocal with most people that its okay to look, but please dont touch... but working at a place full of older ladies its hard to get them to understand that Im not comfortable with their hands all over me. I get that there is a baby inside there, but to me its my belly and not something I enjoy people rubbing all the time. Dan is the only person who has free reign to touch the baby bump whenever he pleases.

Anyways, Ill leave you with the first of few belly pics. As you can see, Remington is already in love with our soon to be new addition to the family. At least I like to think so. HA! No honestly... in all reality he is completely unaware of what is about to happen to him :)

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Sunchokes also know as Jerusalem artichokes are an interesting little root vegetable.  In their raw form they look like the evil cousin of ginger root, there is no chance they will win a prettiest food contest thats for sure.  And they taste like an artichoke heart had a love child with a particularly waxy potato.  In other words oddly delicious.  Its a fun way to get your artichoke fix without the bother of steaming and dissecting an artichoke.  They also have a GI of about 50 so they arent a great option for the diet but theyre a better option than the evil carby potato and are a great treat for when youre on the weight maintenance phase and miss making homemade steak fries.

Until the other night Ive only ever had them in delicious root vegetable mashes in fancy restaurants which I love but have never tried to recreate.  When it came time to prepare the sunchokes however I was not in the mood to experiment, I just wanted something fairly quick and tasty to eat.  So I turned on the oven, cut up the sunchokes, seasoned them and hoped for the best thinking they would probably do well baked like any other vegetable to make a sort of french fry.  And they came out great.  I also threw together my favorite no effort chicken and had a great meal that was easy but also very extraordinary. 

So if you ever see sunchokes in the store or more likely at the farmers market give them a try.  Especially if youre a lover of artichokes, these are the next best thing.

Zataar Chicken

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon oil

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons zataar seasoning 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a square glass baking dish coat the chicken with the oil then toss the spices on the chicken until somewhat evenly coated.  Bake in oven about 30 minutes or until the chicken is done all the way through.

Zataar is a blend of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds.  Its fairly easy to find and worth looking for because its very flavorful and a nice seasoning for Mediterranean dishes.

Sunchoke Fries

handful of sunchokes, well scrubbed and cut into thin slices

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 or 2 tablespoons rosemary

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread sunchokes out on cookie sheet large enough to accommodate them all in a single layer.  Drizzle the sunchokes with enough oil to keep them from sticking to the pan, tossing them in the oil to coat.  Sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary on the sunchokes to your taste.  Toss them again so the spices are evenly distributed and the sunchokes are spread out enough to not overlap much.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges.

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