A Change of Heart.

For more than half of his existence, my boy loved Thomas the Train.  He has long lines of Thomas character trains and all kinds of track configurations.  He would wear Thomas shirts, socks and, yes, briefs.  He has Thomas spoon and fork, Thomas toothbrush, Thomas bag, Thomas bedsheets, etc.

Just recently, he had a change of heart.  Thomas, which he still loves, is not his number 1 anymore.  It has been all Star Wars lately.

His fascination started with Angry Birds Star Wars where he first knew about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  He has now abandoned the game but leveled up his Star Wars obsession.

For rewards and gifts, he would always ask for Star Wars toys.  He now has a decent collection of toys -- not as massive as his Thomas collection yet but I think we will reach that level.  Here are some.

This is one of his favorite shirts.  I think you have an idea of the what the other shirts look like.

We wanted to put this addiction to good use so we bought him a book.  Yes, it did work.  This is his motivation to learn how to read.

Hubby bought him a set of Star Wars movies.  He has watched them ALL!  Not once but countless times.  This is his most favorite scene - The Battle of Mustafar.  He memorized and recites the lines of both Anakin and Obi-Wan.  I am not sure he understands what they mean though.

It was good that Hubby is taking time to watch the movies with him.  I am, unfortunately, not up for Star Wars movie marathons so I have given his Dad the responsibility of explaining the essence of Star Wars and the good lessons people get from it.

When will he have another change of heart?  I don't know - I am actually enjoying (and dreading) the shift of passion from baby stuff to boy stuff.  Considering that I know a lot of adult friends who are still amazed by Star Wars, this may go on for quite a long time... perhaps, until he is all grown up?!  As long as he will buy me a "good" bag first before he purchases this P38,000 Lego Star Wars toy, he would continue to get my full support...

And I would thank George Lucas for it (the bag).

Basil Pesto Pasta.

It's a pasta feast in our house lately.  Have been experimenting on different pasta recipes since they are super easy to cook.

Having basil plants outside made me want to try the pesto way.  So, here goes.

Ingredients include -

Cooked Spaghetti pasta

2 cups of fresh basil
Half cup of Pine Nuts (which are surprisingly darn expensive)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Half cup of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Half cup of Parmesan Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Mushrooms quickly fried in EVOO (I love) as optional ingredient

Feel free to play around with the measurements depending on the taste and consistency that will delight you.

I realized that this did not require any cooking (except for the mushrooms).  A food processor is required though.  Below is how to prepare the dish --

1) Throw in the basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic.  Pulse the food processor several times until nuts and leaves are combined and broken to smaller pieces.
2) While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the EVOO.
3) Scrape the sides of the food processor, add the Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Continue to pulse until well blended.
4) Mix the pesto with the pasta in a bowl.  Add the fried mushrooms.  Mix until ingredients are evenly combined.
5) Plate. Serve. Enjoy.