Please excuse the day late update. Our A/C decided to poop out on us yesterday so we ended up camping out at Andy’s parents’ house. Hopefully we’ll have the problem fixed sometime today. It’s never fun to have no A/C when the average temperature is 110 degrees.
Big milestone this week: Caleb’s lungs have matured enough for him to have a chance at survival in the outside world. Although these thoughts are never ones we want to think about, it is comforting to know that this day and every day after, the rate of survival for babies at this stage increases dramatically. That said, he’s still much better off in the oven until full term. I’m happy to keep him cooking for as long as he wants.
He’s practicing to breathe now and building up his lungs for all that screaming he will bless us with one day. His hearing is also getting better. Research suggests that noises he hears often in the womb (like Toby’s barks or my professor’s droning lectures) won’t phase him later on. We’ve been watching endless episodes of House in order to catch up before season 5 starts. With as much as we’re watching it, I sometimes feel guilty that Caleb is starting to think Hugh Laurie is his daddy.
He kind of looks like a wrinkled old man right now. His skin will be too big for him until he gets all his fat to fill it out in a few weeks. He’s over 11 inches and weighs more than a pound. Andy and I both agree that the produce item of the week is a bit of a stretch. Has anyone actually seen an 11 inch long mango?
I am finally experiencing those wonderful braxton hicks contractions. They’re not painful by any means, but just… bothersome and catch me completely off guard all the time. On the upside, some people say the more braxton hicks you have, the easier and quicker labor will be for you. If that’s the case, and if I my body’s really going to be practicing for 17 more weeks, I better deliver this kid in record time.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
We love House! Glad you are catching up with the Englishman’s insanity. He does a great American accent doesn’t he? Even with the slight lisp.
I think you’re right. Other than mutantly big mangos that I used to get off the tree in the backyard in Florida, I’ve never seen a mango that weighed a pound.
Oh well, despite our small mango culture, here is this weeks mango related recipe:
Mango Pineapple Lime Cheesecake
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
CRUST
1 1/3 c Ground gingersnap cookies
1 jar roasted Macadamia nuts — (3 1/2 oz)
1/4 c Packed golden brown sugar
1 1/2 tb Crystallized ginger — chopped
2 tb Unsalted butter — melted
FILLING
4 packages cream cheese — (8 oz)
1 1/2 c Sugar
1 tb Minced lime peel
2/3 c Sour cream
6 tb Fresh lime juice
4 lg Eggs
1 Mango — peeled, pitted,sliced
3 Kiwi fruit — peeled, sliced
1 sm Pineapple — peeled, quartered Cored, thinly sliced, leaves
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4 inch high sides.
Finely grind first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter; blend until crumbs are moistened.
Press mixture on bottom and 1 3/4 inches up sides of pan. Bake until crust is set, abour 8 minutes.
Transfer to rack; cool. Maintain oven temperature.
Filling:
Use electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and lime peel in large bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in sour cream and lime juice. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended.
Pour filling into crust.
Bake until edges are firm but centre 2 inches of cheesecake still moves slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Transfer to rack and cool 10 minutes.
Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Cover; chill overnight.
Place mango around top edge of cake. Place kiwi, then pineapple in centre. Garnish with pineapple leaves