Well, as my brother observed, I wear mom pants now.  Not just in my responsibilities, but also the high waisted jeans that make me look like a mom.  Of course, this is because my mom gave me some of her old jeans...There are good and bad things about the high waists.  The nice thing is, with all of the bending the crouching you do with a baby around, you don't have to worry if your shirt is long enough to cover your bum.  The unfortunate thing is they're not as comfortable as the lower waisted pants. 

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my baby girl, Nicolette Louise.

In the pretty pink dress Nanny got her.

Huggable baby!

Morning naps are best.

She loves to sit up.  Even though she's only 2 1/2 months, she thinks she's a grown up already!

cutie pie!

In case any of you out there were still looking for a good reason not to vote for Hillary...here it is.

I need not comment further.

Here are some great curry recipes I've tried out lately.   They're all so different and all so delicious!

Chicken with Curry Sour Cream Sauce

This recipe is great with lots of different additions.  Sprinkle with raisins (or other dried fruit), shredded coconut, peanuts or cashews, mandarin orange slices, fresh cilantro, etc.  Serves about 2-3 people depending on how much chicken you use.  

2 tablespoons olive (or veggie) oil
4 chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup sour cream
4 cups hot cooked rice

1. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet or 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook chicken in oil about 15 minutes turning occasionally, until brown on all sides.  Drain fat from skillet.

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt.  Add onion and 2 tablespoons water to chicken in skillet.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 20 minutes until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. 

3. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm.

4. Add 1/4 cup water, curry, ginger and cumin to skillet.  Heat to boiling, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of skillet.  Reduce heat to low, stir in sour cream just until hot. 

5. Pour sauce over chicken and rice.  Serve with your favorite toppings.

 Curried Lentils in Tomato Sauce

This recipe uses canned lentils and an indian spice called "garam masala."  I could not find either of these things in our supermarket.  Maybe some of your grocers are a little better with their ethnic food choices.  Ours, not so much.  So I found these things at our local Asian market, which is a wonderful place to shop!  You can use dried lentils cooked up for this recipe, but I'm not sure how much you would need to make.  As for the garam masala, my recipe book says that it is a spice mixture (much like we would use poultry seasoning or italian seasoning, etc) that is widely used in Indian cooking.  So, even though the spice is optional for the recipe, I have to tell you it is so fragrant and wonderful, I don't think you'll want to do without!

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches) peeled and finely grated
coarse salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like it a little bit spicy, go with the 1/2 - it's just right!)
1 jar (26 oz) best-quality store bought tomato sauce
2 cans (20 oz each) cooked lentils; rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime) (I used only 1 tablespoon as this recipe book often overdoes the lime juice)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
cooked basmati or other long grain rice

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium.  Add onion and ginger; season with salt.  Cook, stirring frequently until beginning to brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add spices; cook, stirring until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.

3. Add tomato sauce, lentils and 1 cup water.  Simmer until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice and cilantro, season with salt.

4. Serve lentil mixture with rice, garnish with more cilantro if desired. 

I have one more recipe on the way, but I'll have to post it later.  Super-duper Panang Curry!

ENJOY!