Savannah's a little chile!

We had some fun last night taking pics of Savannah dressed as a chile pepper. Enjoy!

Not fully baked, but perfectly done!

Well, the bun in my oven wasn't fully baked, but she sure was ready to come out! We're thrilled to announce the addition of Savannah Sada Marks to our family on June 11, 2008, 11:53 p.m., 5 lbs 10 oz, 18.5 inches long. She was in a bit of a hurry to arrive (31 days!), is healthy and getting bigger every day.

As all proud parents surely are, we're convinced that ours is the most beautiful and talented baby ever. She was born with light brown/blond hair and bright blue eyes.

We aren't quite ready with the baby room yet, as there's still a bit of painting yet to do. She's rooming with us, though, which is making for some very long nights. The upside for me is that Brian has been cooking up a storm to help keep me well fed and give us the energy we need to survive.

His recent kitchen adventures include Smoked ribs and chicken (come on, it's grilling season -- of course we've been firing up the locomotive!), a Middle-eastern feast of herbed lamb patties with couscous, spiced green beans and carrots, and grilled yellow squash & onions (our recipes used Ras Al Hanout, Zaa'Tar and Fire Dust seasonings, as well as parsley, chives and basil from our garden), Pasta with a spicy tomato sausage sauce, Lardons (deep fried cubes of home-cured bacon that are amazing on its own or in a salad), Homemade roast beef hash... the list goes on. Every night there's yet another wonderful meal, and he's had to fit that in between his share of feedings and extra hours required recently at the store. (Doesn't he look like he's ready to eat an overstuffed burrito in this picture?)

Of course, that's all Brian. All I've made lately is milk, reserved for one very special member of our household -- and I don't mean either of the cats!

Thanks for putting up with my recent silence and the lack of recipes lately. As you can see, I've been a little busy.

We're working on dreaming up a spice blend in Savannah's honor. Got any ideas? Feel free to add a comment to this post.