Food inspiration provided by Olivia Ciel

This past month has been a series of ups and downs... Downs included two (unplanned) surgeries for me, one for dad (he's doing great) and missing lots of class time.  Ups included (unplanned) visit from mom, delicious delivery of cupcakes from R, spending lots of quality time with my family and the arrival of my niece, Olivia!

With all of the downs, it's been hard to get motivated to cook or do much of anything other than "take care of myself" as I've been advised by my family.  Lucky for me, the arrival of Olivia means I get to take care of my sister and her family!  I am currently staying at their place and helping them while they catch up on sleep and take care of their new addition.  One of my self defined duties includes cooking for them - talk about motivation!

I do have some limitations as I need to provide nutritious, mostly vegetarian meals that don't have a ton of spice/onion/garlic.  Last night I made an easy and delicious roasted summer squash (four different kinds from the farmer's market) and carrots served with couscous.  Light, easy, healthy and delicious.

For lunch today I made a fresh pasta salad that included lots of green veggies (sugar snap peas, arugula, zucchini from the farmer's market), a light vinegar and oil dressing, freshly shaved parmesan and fusilli.  Again, another summery, easy, affordable meal that everyone enjoyed.  Picture below.

At two days old, Olivia did not get a chance to try this food, however, through feedings, she will gain the nutrients her mom received from this meal.  Olivia has truly inspired me to provide nutritious meals for her family and I look forward to creating more for them to enjoy.