35 Weeks... 35 Days to go

Baby 'Pat' is over 17 inches and weighs around 4.5 lbs. Not a lot of room in there, so the lil' one keeps shoving his/her foot in my belly. Physical development is mostly complete - so for the remaining weeks Baby 'Pat' will be putting on some weight. The uterine and abdominal walls stretch and thin, which causes more light to reach the womb and the baby will open and close his/her eyes in response.

Interesting article this week from BBC News. New parents in Finland get a box of baby essentials and the box that everything comes in doubles as a crib. It's an old tradition dating back to 1930 that gives all children an equal start in life. "The box is a symbol. A symbol of the idea of equality, and of the importance of children."

I realized my blog posts consist mostly of Baby 'Pat" and good food. I love food! Especially French food... James and I went to dinner at our favorite restaurant Baru 66 last week. Wini Moranville and Chef David teamed up again for "Springtime Chef and Bonne Femme Night". The evening meal was inspired by Wini's cookbook, "The BonneFemme Cookbook".

First Course

• Roasted Beet and Blue Cheese Salad with Seasonal Greens
• Vol-au-Vent (puff pastry) with Asparagus, seasonal greens, and vinaigrette's

Main Course

• Suprême of Chicken with Morel Sauce

Chef David came out to talk to us and was telling us that the mushrooms were called "ash morels". The morel's were grown in Washington state in a forest that was burnt down. The morels grow under the ash from the fire.

Cheese Course

• A soft brie paired with homemade strawberry jam
• Goats milk slightly melted rolled in ash
• A sweet cream cheese (almost tasted like a marscapone) rolled in fruits that were mulled in wine

The Chef came out and said he was going to give us a little something extra and brought us out a couple ounces of the blue cheese that was on the first course. Some blue cheeses are overpowering and very pungent... but this one was actually subtle and delicious.

Dessert

• Tart du Jour/Tart of the Day: French tarte au rhubarb
• Vacherin Glacé: Meringue with fresh fruit and ice cream