Cookbook Challenge #10 & Belly Shot of the Week

I've been a little lazy with the CBC lately.  Sunday night as I searched through my books to make the week's menu plan, I couldn't find the motivation for new.  Sometimes you just have to stick to the quick classics!  So this week will be all ol' favourites, including one of my go-to's from university days - Veggie Paella from Bonnie Stern's Heart Smart Cooking.

I did get up to one new recipe lately, from Capril's Soups and Sandwiches.  I got this book as a gift at Christmas 2011, after I'd discovered soup.  That is, I discovered that making soup was not intimidating, as I'd previously thought, but was easy, satisfying and a very handy skill to have in the winter.  Now I love making soup.  I've also discovered that I can make soups out of vegetables that Derek would not eat in any other format, but chows them down as soup.

I made the spicy peanut soup and it was very rich, filling and tasty.  I think prawns or chicken would have made a nice addition, but first time 'round I stuck to the recipe and made a veggie version.

You might not believe that this is the belly shot of the week, as it is looking much bigger than last week.... but it is!  Rufus is growing by leaps & bounds & is kicking up a storm inside!  I can't believe how strong this little one is.

I've been facing some challenges with buying and acquiring baby gear - there is so much out there, that I just get overwhelmed by the task.  This week I broke through the barrier & we are now proud owners of a carseat (so Rufus can come home from the hospital), an iBaby monitor and a BOB stroller.  We've also been given some great hand-me down gear from my old friend RaeLeigh and a few friends in Squamish.  Any day now, we expect a lovely package of baby clothes from aunty Bronwyn, who did some shopping in Portland for us.   We are ready to roll in style!

Belly Shot of the week: 34 weeks.  I have just discovered that if I poke Rufus, he/she pokes back.  It's seriously entertaining!!