Is it an art project? Is it a recipe? Maybe it could be both! Don’t play with your food is a silly rule! But, there’s children’s books, memes, Pinterest posts, quotes and news articles about this.

Yes, I’m sure we all tried to instill this in our kids. But, now they know better and that there is a time and a place. The time is now and the place is Alaska. Coming soon (or way late) to a post office near you! Acorn Squash!

Weighing in at 2.5-3 lbs and stretching out to 15.5-16 inches long, these #fakebabies sure are growing up! Their wrinkly skin is smoothing out thanks to the white fat being deposited, serving as an energy source. This differs from the brown fat, which is higher in fetuses than adults and turns food into body heat. Since you’ve had a lot of cold exposure #northernexposure during the pregnancy, I would imagine you’ve activated your brown fat too!

Acorn squash is described as having an inedible hard, thin skin with a firm flesh. That reminds me of something, bet you can guess what I’m thinking!?! Squash is native to the Americas and was first cultivated by the Native Americans and is one of their three most important food staples, along with beans and corn.

Growing up I only ate it cut in half, baked with brown sugar piled on. Now that I know better, it has so many other tasty options. This recipe I found was savory and promptly devoured by us, exclaiming, “This is really good!” With emphasis on the really.

www.therealfoodrds.com – Herb Parmesan Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 acorn squash
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp ghee
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Carefully slice top of squash off, save,to be used for your art project

• Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds
• Thinly slice squash, leaving skin on. Yes, you can eat it!
• Mix remaining ingredients in bowl and toss with sliced squash, may need to even use your hands to really get cheese to stick, for maximum coverage
• Arrange on baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes.

• Remove and top with additional herbs or cheese if desired

Hope your squash art turns out better than mine! Can’t wait to see it!

Although technically a berry, eggplants are treated as a savory dish in the cuisine world. Thank goodness for that, I sure can’t imagine biting into an eggplant on a hot, summer day. Originating in India, where they are known as brinjal, and as an aubergine in many other parts of the world. The United States began calling them eggplants because the first species here were small, white and oval, like an egg..but on a plant. Get it?! Did you also know that they contain the highest level of nicotine of any other food? But, don’t worry…you’d have to eat 20-40 pounds of eggplant to equal the amount of nicotine in 1 cigarette.

When I remembered this canned eggplant from Trader Joe’s, it immediately reminded me of our fabulous, Friday night football feasts! I definitely know we cracked that can at one of the games…. along with a few other treats!

In Japan, the first dream of the new year is called Hatsuyume. If you dream of Mt Fuji, a hawk and an eggplant; this is the happiest omen for the year. I wonder if anyone has actually ever dreamed of this trifecta? 28 week babies are dreaming now, too having Rapid Eye Movement sleep patterns! They’re weighing 2 1/4 lbs and 15 inches long! Well, the size of an eggplant! At least in length. I’ve yet to meet a 2 1/4 lb eggplant!

Trying to come up with something interesting to do with this can of eggplant took some thinking. And I’m sure there are better culinary delights to be had. I just wanted something a bit more interesting than the spoon.

Can you even imagine that blog post? Talking about sleep….that would for sure put you to sleep. Hello snoozeville. So instead I came up with this beauty!

Eggplant in a Pepper

Ingredients:

• 2 bell peppers
• 4 eggs
• About 6 large chunks of the canned eggplant with sauce
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• Cook’s cheese choice (I used what I had, tuscano)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Slice top off of bell pepper off and remove inards
• Mix together the eggs, eggplant, parsley and cheese
• Strategically make the peppers stand up, I used single serve cake pans
• Fill the peppers with the mixture
• Cover with foil
• Bake for 45 minutes

If you use it for something else delicious, you’ll have to share!

Week 27 is pretty much the beginning of the third trimester! Which I’ve decided is a fine time for the baby shower! My favorite (est) baby shower was the book shower thrown for me when I was pregnant with Maya, everyone brought their most beloved children’s book! There were so many good ones, but I think my favorite was King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub!

Was this one you read? I loved the illustrations and how silly it was to read, almost sing, with fun effects. So, when I was stumped with the rutabaga, then found the children’s book, “Rutabaga Bob” I decided this was the perfect time for a book baby shower and some fun games! I know, I know, I really shouldn’t quit my day job!

Yes, I finally met my match. The rutabaga. I worked my way through the avocado and lettuce, and still not sure what I will do with durian….but Rutabaga=1 and Angie =0. I do have a vague memory of us even buying rutabagas and not being impressed with them. I think I mashed mine and you may have roasted yours or vice versa #details. And really, what else is there? Plus, it was time to mix things up. So, yes “Rutabaga Bob” with just a few alterations 😉

The two “funnest fun facts” I found about rutabagas, besides them being a root vegetable, a cross between a turnip and cabbage is their history of being carved into masks and for Halloween until the pumpkin became widespread in the 1980’s. And in Ithaca, NY, the International Rutabaga Curling Championship is held on the last day of market season.

Can you even believe the #fakebabies are getting so big? Not only the size of a rutabaga, but also a Barbie doll (or Ken). Their brain is rapidly maturing and their brain is active, with sleep cycles, even having dreams!

So, how, you ask, do you throw a baby shower, long distance, through the mail?

1. Mad libs. You fill it out and I will add in the words for I’m sure a hilarious story.

2. Draw baby. Place paperplate atop your head and draw your best baby. Here’s mine.

3. Nursery Rhymes. Fill in the blanks.

Now, let the games begin! And please let me know what you think of the book😂

When I saw lettuce as one of our #fakepregnancy foods, my mind immediately went to the “lettuce of the sea.”  In the form of dulse.  A well known, red algae snack food. Growing north, along the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.  I wonder if as north as you, #twisterofthenorth. Lemme Google that, pause please, I’ll be right back! Well, I still don’t know. None of my friends knew; Alexa, Google and as you know, I’m not allowed to play with Siri. And she’s probably the one who has the answer. However, I did discover that it’s been eaten in Iceland for centuries and is also found along the Irish coastline. This just all screams research to me. The dulse that I have is from Maine. Rich in iodine for your thyroid, chlorophyll giving you energy and is highly alkalinizing improving your immune function. A trifecta!

26 week babies weigh in at 2 pounds and 14+ inches long also about the size of a VHS tape.

This is when the babies can start opening their eyes. Did you ever try the flashlight trick? Shining a flashlight on your stomach and waiting for the baby’s response? So fun! First play!

Now the next obstacle was finding a recipe using the sea lettuce. I was really excited about finding this one.

www.meghantelpner.com – Sunflower Dulse Bread

Ingredients:

• Sunflower seeds (soaked) – 2 cups
• Flax seeds (soaked) – 1 cup
• Dulse – 1/3 cup
• Carrots, chopepd – 1 cup
• Olive oil – 1/4 cup
• Dried basil – 1/4 cup
• Dried parsley – 1/4 cup
• Salt – 1 1/2 tsp

Directions:

• Place all ingredients into food processor and mix until smooth.

• If too sticky, a little water can be added (I didn’t need to do this)
• Spread mixture onto pan.

• If using a dehydrator, dehydrate at 115 degrees for 3 hours, then flip and dehydrate another 4 hours.
• I used my oven and since it won’t go as low as 115 (175 is the lowest) I just followed the same directions, but set it to warm.
• Keep in a sealed container.

I rather liked it with some goat cheese spread on it, thanks to the idea from your eldest😄

You may try this and think it’s for the birds…well, that is okay too, feed the birds!