More Adventures in Toddlerhood

We've had a relatively funny couple of days at the Cougar-Mellencamp household, with Ella in top form. We've recently been painting with watercolors at her easel, which is her new favorite activity. She likes me to draw shapes, animals, and people, and then she paints them. Today I stepped into the kitchen to get a towel to wipe her hands, and while I was gone she plunged 2 strawberries into the paintbrush rinse cup and painted both of her ears blue (including quite far INSIDE her ears).

Ella really hasn't been much of a fan of snow until this last snow storm, when she actually *walked* in the snow for the first time willingly. It figures that she'd decide to love it right when we're probably not going to get much more.

Ella loves to tell stories and sing songs lately. Today her favorite story went like this:

"One day, Little Ella spilled the cat food allllllll over the kitchen, and Mama cleaned it up. Baby Bear got in the box and got dirty. Ella gave him a bath in the bathroom sink and he was alllllll clean. The end."

Incidentally, that story was mostly true, and happened a couple of weeks ago. (Baby Bear is a little stuffed baby polar bear that the Uncles next door gave her. She loves him.)

Her favorite songs of late are "Rock a Bye Baby", "Where Has My Little Dog Gone", and what she calls, "The Train Song", which goes like this:

"Choo choo the big fwain is coming down the fwack. Stop....and yisten, stop....and yisten!"

As she gets older and grows out of her baby things, I gradually move them downstairs into storage. Today I was trying to move some bibs and burp cloths that have somehow remained in her dresser, and Ella spotted me. My attempt was completely unsuccessful, as she grabbed what she could out of my hands and declared, "These are my FAVORITE, Mama! I NEED these!"

Last week I was so eager to sew something other than slippers that I made an easy 2-piece pattern and made this little dress out of some cotton I've had lying around. It turned out so cute and was so quick & easy that I think I'll make more. Ella loves the pocket, but thinks it should have two pockets (note to self for next time!):

The food battle remains a battle, and I'm not sure if we'll ever win. I suppose she won't starve herself completely, so as long as she seems to be thriving on milk, air, and fruit, I guess that's okay. She does love new foods that she's either never had or hasn't had in a long time, and I'm always looking for some tricky new way to prepare veggies so she'll eat them. So far the dip idea has flopped - she just dips whatever veggie or chicken strip or breadstick she happens to have, licks the dip off, and repeats. It has completely failed to entice her to eat whatever she's dipping. I can usually convince her to eat a new pasta dish, so I invent new ones at least once a week. Tonight was fusilli with a tomato cream sauce with caramelized onions and garlic. It was quite good, and a hit with Ella. The recipe is below, both to share and so I don't forget what I did. We all, including Ella, really love garlic, so there is a LOT in this recipe, but it does mellow quite a bit as it caramelizes with the onions (and slicing rather than mincing it keeps it in check as well). Feel free to use as much or as little as you prefer. This would be great with a handful of fresh basil stirred in at the end, but unfortunately it's not basil season just yet. When they're in season, I would definitely use fresh tomatoes rather than canned. I was thinking this would probably be quite good served over chicken as well for those who are watching carbs or just not huge pasta fans.

Tomato Cream Sauce with Caramelized Onions & Garlic

2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp butter, divided
1 large onion, peeled & sliced 1/8" thick
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
2 Tbsp sherry wine
~1/2 cup dry white wine
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup cream (could substitute half & half)
~3/4 cup grated parmesan or grana padano cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large saute pan and add onions and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to caramelize, about 20 minutes, adding water 2 tbsp at a time if pan becomes too dry. Add remaining butter, sherry & white wine to pan, bring to a boil and cook about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cream, and half of the cheese. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in remaining cheese and season with salt & pepper to taste before serving.