A Rainy Day and a New Recipe

I heard the soft, swift footsteps come running into my dark bedroom.  Then I heard the boom of a loud thunderclap and I knew right away why my daughter was crawling into bed with us.  Without opening my eyes, I whispered for her to climb on up.  Before I could form another thought, a much louder, angrier boom of thunder shook the windows.  And seconds after that, our other little five year old came running into our room too.  Once everyone was snuggled up together in our bed, I finally glanced at the clock on my nightstand.  The glowing numbers read 3:37.  When we finally woke up at 8:30 it was still thundering and the rain was still pouring down.  As I found out later in the day, we experienced record breaking rainfall today.  10 inches, in fact!  There were dangerous flash floods all over the city.  People were stranded and the local newscasters were urging everyone to stay home.  Luckily, we had no where we had to be today, so we geared up for a rain day at home.  Movies, coloring, reading, dress-up....it was all on the agenda today. 

And so was playing/dancing/acting silly in the rain!

My drenched front flowerbed

There is something soothing about a cloudy sky

Being cooped up in the house all day always makes me want to cook!  I decided to try out a new recipe that ended up being quite delicious.  I made lemon-basil potatoes and spinach which was a recipe I found in my much loved Southern Living cookbook. 

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:
2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
1 package fresh spinach
Chopped red onion for garnishing (optional)

Slice potatoes into thin wedges.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Spray with non-stick vegetable spray to keep from sticking.  Bake at 475 for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.
In a bowl whisk together lemon juice, garlic, basil, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until well combined. 
Wash and dry spinach, then arrange on a platter.  Pour 1/2 the lemon juice mixture over the spinach and toss. Add potatoes on top and dress the potatoes with the remaining lemon juice mixture.  Top with chopped red onions (if desired).

It was yummy!