Father's Day and Fresh Corn-Rice Salad

This first picture is for Stacy, who originally blogged this idea of her son having fun stacking with plastic cups. I showed it to Eli and he got excited to try it out. Now he stacks cups at least once a day into new patterns and pyramids.
And Happy Father's Day! I'm glad we have a holiday that celebrates great people like my dad and my husband and father-in-law. They have all been great examples to me in how they parent and interact with their kids. Yesterday we went up to my parents' house for an early Father's Day dinner and walked around the golf course behind their house for a little bit. Eli and Charlie had fun with the rakes at each hole.




After a little while, some golfers showed up and we had to book it off the course to get out of the way.


We stopped to look at some bugs on the big rocks along the path -


Eli making a very typical Eli face when he's thinking or questioning something -


Eli found some treasures to share with his dad (pine cone and rock):

Charlie had fun stuffing sticks down the gutter holes.

Back inside, we opened presents and the boys were a little wild/overtired...




Before heading home for the night, we put the boys in their pjs and they read a book with my parents.

As for today, we had a fun morning at home. The boys and I made a yummy breakfast for Ben and gave him cards and some presents. I love these pictures of sleepy Ben, content Charlie, and excited Eli.

Finally, here is a tasty recipe to share - I made it as part of our Father's Day dinner tonight and served it with grilled salmon and fruit. I used jasmine rice tonight, but we thought it would be good next time to mix the jasmine rice with wild rice, or use brown rice/wild rice to make it a little heartier. Happy Father's Day!

4 ears fresh corn

1 1/2 C. cooked rice, cooled

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 C. fresh arugula or spinach

1 small red onion, cut in thin wedges

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

2 Tbs rice vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

Directions

1.Husk corn and remove silk with a stiff brush; rinse. Cook corn in boiling, lightly salted water for 3 minutes. Remove corn; let cool. Cut corn off the cob in planks (see note).

2.Combine cooked rice, tomatoes, arugula, onion and jalapeño pepper. Transfer to serving bowl; top with corn.

3.Drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Note: To cut planks, place an ear on its side on a cutting board. Holding the corn firmly with fingers away from the blade, cut off a side of the corn. Rotate and repeat until all sides are removed. Use a spatula to gently move planks to salad.

Source: BHG

Lastly - I'm trying to catch up on editing from some recent photo shoots. Check out this link to see the most recent session blogged of a family with two handsome boys!