Cooking for One and a Half

Menu for this week

2010-08-06T10:26:00.003-04:00

This is just random things I like to eat page now.

I am moving to a new place in my cooking, where I throw caution to the wind and NOT USE recipes.

Yesterday I just threw some butter and garlic into a pan, sauteed some shrimp, guaging their doneness BY EYE, and sprinkling lemon juice on it because that seemed to make sense! For those of you creative types, this is probably no big thing. But for me it was revelatory.

I feel like eating:

Paula Deen's Curry Chicken salad. This is the best chicken salad ever. This is better than cosi's chicken salad, and better than Au Bon Pain's. It is the best chicken salad ever.

Now, Martha Stewart gets me. She and I share a birthday. That's how I know we're kindred spirits.

She read my mind and made this web page for me: 50 No Recipe Meals

I'm going to make #4: Dip tilapia fillets in mayo and lemon juice, then in a combo of breadcrumbs and Parmesan; bake. Serve with a green salad.

and #5: Simmer homemade or jarred spicy tomato sauce; add eggs, cover, and poach. Serve with tortilla chips and diced avocado

and I'm pretty intrigued by #8: Top pizza dough with sliced eggplant, and brush with oil. Top with goat cheese and olives; bake.

New apartment, new kitchen, new challenges

2010-07-19T16:41:00.003-04:00

I just moved into my new apartment a few weeks ago. It was built in the 1930's and it's adorable.

Living room

Bedroom

Bathroom

And ominous music..

Kitchen.

It's tough. I have a third of the cabinet and counter space I used to have and even though it's not bad for a dc kitchen, it's tricky. Note: no dishwasher.

Look at my circa 1970 refrigerator- if you dare:

The fridge is bad, too, but the embarrassing amount of junk food must be hidden from view.

All in all, a challenge. Plus it's a billion degrees outside and there's no AC in there.

What will I make this week?

Mark Bittman's Grown up Macaroni and Cheese: I'll probably add tuna to it. Because that's how I roll.

I have been craving some Korean Chicken or Rib Stew. I got my hands on some kimchee. It's a lot. It doesn't come in a size less than a lot, unless you buy the weird not real kind at the Safeway, that's always tucked next to the Tofu. I have to figure out what to eat it with. It goes well with eggs, but not as well with toast. Go figure.

An unfortunate side effect to living in this walkable neighborhood with a kitchen that will broil you alive in the daytime if the oven is on, is eating out a lot. I have been to the pizza place not less than three times this month. And I may be going there again tomorrow. Darn you, pizza place!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What is this?

2010-07-09T19:43:00.000-04:00

This is my dinner. Don't worry, I'm not going to make Gideon eat this. It's a silkie. Yes, underneath those silky feathers is a disgustingly black dragon chicken.

This is not my venture. This is going to take, I'm guessing this is going to take so much longer than 30 minutes it's not even funny.

I'll update how this guy tastes. Preparation style: beer can, of course. That's the traditional Chinese method, right?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dinner Wins!

2010-05-02T07:15:00.002-04:00

FTW...FTW... I had been seeing this strange acronym around the interweb for a few weeks and wondering.. what is that? Full time wanker? Fits the window? What is that?

Luckily more knowledgeable folks informed me that people used the statement to declare that they were about to present something so awesome that it would effectively end, and claim ownership of, the conversation: FOR THE WIN: origin: hollywood squares...

I have yet to incorporate this lovable axiom in my everyday vernacular, but I'm going to try!!

Anyway, here's the deal for this week:

Pasta with chicken, feta and tomatoes. I have feta and I have pasta and tomatoes, I even have a dying basil plant in my windowsill, so this pasta needs to happen. Now all I need is a roasted chicken...

Korean Rib stew. I'm going to modify a favorite recipe for a delicious korean soy sauce based stew, exchanging chicken thighs for riblets. The pork ribs are infused with this delicious soy stew. Potatoes are also an integral part of this recipe, they become infused with this soy juice and it is glorious! Serve with rice. (Ironically i first labeled this recipe Koran Rib stew. That would have been wrong..)

And FTW! (I think i may be using that wrong...)

Steak with Peanut Sauce and Broccoli. This recipe involves some marinating, but luckily I get part of Wednesday off as I am being appreciated at my job! Then on Thursday we get to have an awesome dinner with my coworkers. So not as much cooking this week.

Then on Friday dinner with my friend and her twin boys. They will be moving to Nashville soon. so sad! But maybe some barbeque recipes inspired by them will be upcoming :)

Party ideas

2010-04-24T07:04:00.002-04:00

How about a party featuring this Sweet Tea drink?

I had a version of this at H Street country Club on H street--good times with the girls :)

2010-04-18T11:36:00.003-04:00

I'm getting a divorce. It's no longer my husband and I and our son who live outside of Washington, it's just my son and I. Recovery from something like this always takes its own course. I need to make a list of things I will do, or still do, things that I enjoy, things that my son enjoys:

1) go to museums
2) have parties at my house
3) go out to eat
4) go to the arboretum
5) have friends over more often

Classic extrovert. I like to be surrounded by people. I think the classic things people feel in these cases are true to form for me. In some ways I don't think all humans are special. I think, like most animals, we are restricted by a certain amount of sameness. That's why people like doctors can do their jobs because our bodies react to things in formulaic fashion. Our brains are much the same. People respond to being abandoned with certain pre-programmed ideas or responses.

I'll still be cooking, but cooking for 1 and a half.

2010-04-15T18:34:00.002-04:00

Finally! A dinner that is utterly edible and even yummy: Coconut Fish Chowder

This is another recipe that I can say hallelujah for a sixteen dollar Hamilton Beach immersion blender that has made soup purées so easy.

-- Post From My iPhone

Canadian bacon gratin

2010-04-12T22:00:00.001-04:00

Before

After (eggs baked and smothered with some fonky Fontina)

Omigod this was awful. Epic fail! Okay it wasn't terrible but the eggs, they were just so runny. Flavor wise it was pretty tasty, but there's something about raw egg that just tastes yucky.

And plus the fontina in this just tasted fonky. (That's funky with emphasis. It's going into Websters this year...)

-- Post From My iPhone

Thai beef stir fry (not curry!)

2010-04-11T18:13:00.001-04:00

Or damn you whole foods, you sold me rotten food. If I'm going to pay your damned outrageous prices, you better give me some tasty ass food, and not some damned congealed coconut milk that ruined my damned curry, and forced me to make some weak ass stir fry.
-- Post From My iPhone

I have been having a hard time feeling inspired these days. It seems like everything doesn't look good, or convenient or it seems too similar to the things I've already been eating. It's been blah. So I was happy to pick up my copy of fast, easy, fresh and find a few recipes that seemed to call out to me.

One of them was the Best Banana Bread Ever. Which. If you have a recipe called that. Then it needs to deliver. One f-ing problem. It calls for vanilla extract. Which everyone has. Even people who never bake have that. Everyone has that in their pantry. And I of the millions of spices that accumulate in an entire cabinet like a freaking apothecary . am . out. So I, like anyone in this new-fangled day and age, google: Vanilla+extract+substitute. And the search result basically tells me I am SOL. That if they wanted some other kind of extract, they would have called for it. And substituting it would make the resulting product taste like cat poo. Literally, they described it as cat poo. So I left it out. And it was still pretty damned good. So over-ripe bananas beware, your days are numbered.

Also on the menu for this week (from fast, easy, fresh)

Canadian bacon, Asparagus, Fontina Gratin (canadian bacon, asparagus, shredded fontina, and eggs)
Thai Beef Curry with Asparagus (beef strips, red pepper paste, asparagus, coconut milk, basil and lime) over rice
Coconut Fish Stew (more coconut milk, chicken broth, fish < tilapia, lime)

I have some Halibut that I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with. Any more ideas for inspiration would be welcome.

Maryland Crab Soup

2010-04-08T18:14:00.002-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Some notes: When I make this recipe, I only make half (it's a LOT of soup). I froze a half pound of crab in its original packaging with some parchment paper filling the space the half pound of crab had previously occupied. It worked fine in the soup, after being thawed overnight. I substitute the water for beef broth, and instead of STEWED tomatoes, I use CRUSHED tomatoes. I have used stewed tomatoes before, but it turns out too watery and not tomatoey enough. This is a lovely, easy soup. Gideon loved it too.

Last note: I do not eat lima beans in any other context, but it BELONGS in this soup.

Dinner number two

2010-04-06T19:10:00.001-04:00

Leftover Easter egg and chopped cherry tomatoes in herb salad dressed with salt and pepper.

-- Post From My iPhone

Dinner one!

2010-04-05T18:58:00.001-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Menu 4/5

2010-04-05T10:14:00.004-04:00

It seems like only yesterday that we were snowed in with feet of snow keeping us housebound. Now it's almost 80 degrees, we're not wearing socks, and spring foods are beckoning. I'm looking forward to doing some Farmer's Market shopping this spring. I haven't been a big purveyor of Farmer's Markets, due to my wariness of potentially inconvenient shopping, but I'm looking to give farm fresh ingredients a try.

Up this week is:
Chili-Rubbed Salmon and Zucchini and Sauteed Corn. I already made the corn for these awesome sausage quesedillas this weekend, so all I have to do is pop the salmon in the broiler.

Maryland Crab Soup-I froze some crab from the last time I made crab soup and either this is going to work out or it's not. This time I remembered to get Lima Beans, because when I got crab soup from the North Campus Dining Hall, also known as "The Diner," it always had Lima Beans..

Yogurt Marinated Chicken kabobs (it's the second recipe, plus there are options for other variations, which is why I love Mark Bittman) on the grill (hopefully) with rice, and salad. This marinade of greek yogurt, minced onion and garlic, lime juice, cayenne, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper. You just throw in some chunks of chicken and let it roll around for a day, and then you skewer it and put it on the grill for a few minutes. I usually broil this in the winter, and I love how the edges get a little burnt and crispy. I only use skinless, boneless chicken thighs because I prefer dark meat, but you can definitely use white meat. This is a go to Bittman recipe.

I usually have three good ideas for dinner, and then I fall apart. Suggestions are always welcome! How do I round out this weekly menu?

Posting

2010-04-05T10:13:00.003-04:00

I have not been posting because I had a secret, cooler blog on tumblr. But then I realized I hate tumblr, and now I'm back! Maybe I'll fancy up this blog when I have time, but for now I realize that change is not always good!

Shrimp Quesadillas

2009-09-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

This is so fast and so good. Roast some peeled shrimp in a 400 degree oven, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper for about 5-7 minutes. Prep some tortillas by brushing with olive oil. Add a combination of chopped scallions and shredded cheddar cheese (about one scallion to one cup cheddar) and spread on the tortillas. Chop up the roasted shrimp, distribute among your tortillas. Cover with another tortilla, brush with olive oil, and put it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. I don't have a good strategy to crisp up your quesadillas, mine came out a big soft still, but this dinner was fast and delicious!

Lobster Roll and Radish Salad

2009-03-31T12:11:00.003-04:00

I got really fancy and made this, but still in 30 minutes!

Lobster Roll

I used a bag of frozen "Langostino" from Trader Joe's. I told Chris this and we were both puzzled because we didn't know what that meant, exactly. I guessed crawfishlike creature, and he guessed prawnlike. Tastes more like lobster. This was delicious, though.

I also made this salad:

Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing but with just romaine lettuce. I had the rest for lunch and it was glooorious. Aren't you impressed with me?

Dinner Menu

2009-01-13T11:56:00.003-05:00

Saturday-Sam Gyup Sal or pork belly pieces, with rice, dipped in a mixture of sesame oil, salt and pepper, with a side of kimchee. You can get a pound of sliced pork belly for under $5 at the Korean markets.

Sunday-Shrimp pasta with lemon oil. Left out the arugula (went bad in my fridge :( ), and the "zested" oil. I just added some olive oil when i added the lemon juice. It was awesome, actually and really easy.

Monday-I used my crock pot for the first time in months to make Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup. It made way more than we could eat so I froze one batch. Next time I will sub the beer for chicken stock. I used the taco seasoning mix mentioned on the website. I really like recipes where you open a few cans and dinner is waiting for you when you come home. Definitely top with sour cream and tortilla chips (and maybe some scallions?) before eating.

Tuesday-My random eat out day.

Wednesday-Korean marinated barbeque beef (that you can also get by the pound) and rice.

Thursday-Marinated Chicken thigh kebabs broiled in the oven with rice. The recipe involves soy sauce, peanut butter, and hardly any cooking time (just the cutting up and skewering of the chicken).

At some point I need to look in my freezer and figure out what else I should be making. My freezer is pretty stuffed. Enjoy these recipes!

New Year's Day

2009-01-01T12:22:00.003-05:00

It's a time for reflection, thinking, wondering, planning, and doing!
Here is a list
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
hm, no idea. this makes me feel oddly resolved

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I usually don't, but thanks to above, I resolve to do something in 2009 that I've never done before..

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no!!

5. What countries did you visit?
Amsterdam and France. And Belgium!

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
More cuddling!

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Nov 4, 2008- because we thought about it, and decide Hope was a good choice.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Tracking, assessing, remediating! I'm getting better at teaching!
Also, teaching Gideon some sign language. I did it! I'm THAT mommy!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Work-not enough tracking, assessing, remediating! Argghh teaching!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
no!!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
financial freedom! not really, I think that would require more investment planning or whatever those people are always blathering on about in commercials where "your money works for you." It was the ipod speaker.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
American Voters--well done, citizens! We must applaud those of you who had the good sense to come out, and those of you who thankfully stayed home!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Two little fellows at work, whose names will be withheld. but they know who they are!

14. Where did most of your money go?
paying off debt. and child care.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The 44th President!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Yes We Can by Will.i.am, and Stronger by Kanye.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? saaadder.
ii. thinner or fatter? A teeny bit fatter? No longer BFing so the fat can't be leeched out like it was before.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer!! No credit card debt in '09

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More reading, and listening to music, and organizing my house and cleaning, and writing.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less procrastinating, of course.

20. How (did) you spend Christmas?
With my men and some lamb chops.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Yes!!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Life. I <3 Damien Lewis, and Mad Men

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Probably!!

24. What was the best book you read?
Twilight. I don't know that it was the best, but definitely the most enjoyable read of the year.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Stars!

26. What did you want and get?
Jewelry

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
Perusing my netflix queue, i realize there are very few things I saw and enjoyed this year. my favorite "movies" that I watched were a revisionist Shakespeare series produced by BBC, particularly The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado about Nothing.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Ate mussels with my man. I was 29.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More cuddling.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
To thine own self be true.

31. What kept you sane?
Gbaby

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
Yes We Can! What do you think??

33. Who did you miss?
Kai and Melanie

34. Who was the best new person you met?
Natasha!

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
You are born alone, you die alone.

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I wanna ask you -
Do you ever sit and wonder,
It's so strange
That we could be together for
So long, and never know, never care
What goes on in the other one's head?
-Ben Folds

Illicit Haircut

2008-11-13T22:12:00.003-05:00

I am incredibly lucky to have my parents watch the Gbaby while I work. I know this, I appreciate this, even though I really have no scope for reality because they have always watched him. I always trusted him with them, and knew he was safe and loved and never cried for more than thirty seconds in a row in their presence.

When I picked up the Gbaby tonight, I noticed and commented on my dad's snazzy new haircut. Then I picked up the Gbaby, and left.

I gave Gbaby his bath, we ate dinner, and were hanging out for a bit before bedtime. When I noticed his usually fuzzy hairline, which I had even commented to Chris as being slightly on the edge of "baby mullet" was surprisingly straight. Leaning in for closer inspection, I noticed a thin even scar. Like the kind, I don't know, scissors would make. My jaw dropped. Inspecting his whole head I realized that the delicious curl that stuck out of the back of his hair when he woke up, that I used to pull and tease when cuddling him, that looked so adorable as he toddled around, was GONE! His entire head had been trimmed with a preppy maliciousness.

My son has received an illicit haircut.

No mention of the haircut prior to the event. No mention after.

Don't they realize that the first haircut is a momentous event that is meant to be cataloged, or at least photographed?? I can just imagine my mom laughing uproariously when her "trick" is discovered. At least at a day care I wouldn't be surprised by random acts of grooming.

Low right or High right?

2008-11-11T18:44:00.003-05:00

On NPR, they were talking about the low right and the high right. Apparently the low right are those "Joe the you-know-whats" or "Joe Six packs" (take your pick) conservatives, while the high right are those that were embarrassed by the choice of Sarah Palin as the VP nominee.

This blog has come down from some "High" 30 minute meals to some pretty "low" 30 minute meals. That's right, I am now the Rush Limbaugh of speed suppers, I am more akin to Sandra Lee than to Rachael Ray.

Don't blast me. That's just how motherhood has played out.

In the nature of debate, my assertion: I am a "low" cook.
My Reason: I have been using some ... questionable methods and ingredients.
My example: I made a soup using velveeta. And it was good, damn you. Good!!!

The recipe was found at my mother in laws where I visited last weekend. Apparently, she has a subscription (free) to Kraft Foods magazine. There they showcase some very manageable dinners, including aforementioned recipe.

This "Velvety Velveeta (yes, that is the recipe name henceforth) Vegetable Soup" comprised three ingredients, and took all of five minutes of attention. Hence, no screaming baby, hence, successful night for all.

Tonight I made a Shepard's Pie from the Kraftfoods website. I had to add some Worcestershire sauce, but it appears it will be successful.

Funny? Or Scary? Perhaps, both.

2008-10-27T22:05:00.000-04:00

Every weekend

2008-10-13T22:16:00.002-04:00

Should be a three day weekend. Where free time exists and outings can be had. That is much better than lemon drops and gum drops falling from the sky-- sorry, bad mommy humor?

Saturday was library and grocery shopping day with mommy.

Sunday we were invited to a lovely dinner with Gordon and Melissa, and their two dogs who I know are schnauzer-poodle hypoallergenic dogs, but for whatever reason I can not remember their names. I can remember the name of the Safeway clerk that works on Sunday morning (thanks, Les!) but not these two friendly dogs that I spent all of Sunday evening with, their names being called out every five minutes or so. Anyway, S and M (initials, completely unintentional), licked Gideon all over his face repeatedly. He quickly learned to bat them away by covering his face with his hands, but he loved it all the same.

Chris also took Gideon for a nice long walk that afternoon, giving me some well deserved R & R.

At some point I made pizza.

On this most wonderful day of three day weekends, that is, the third day, we went to Cabin John Regional Park where we partook a miniature train ride and got to ride on the swings, and sit in some dirt. It was good fun all around. Oh and since we were up there, let's eat some Thai food and buy some baby stuff.

I mourn your loss three day weekend, it is definitely the end of the line for us at 10:20 before a school day. But I will remember you forever!

Pumpkins Ahoy

2008-10-12T14:34:00.002-04:00

A little bit country from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Suppertime

2008-09-28T08:42:00.005-04:00

It's fall! Time for some more stews and warm toasty things.

This week I made pizza puttanesca using some very basic ingredients and a thin crust Boboli pizza shell. I loved this dinner, but Chris ate 3/4 of it! He loved it too, needless to say. You sautee some garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil, add in two anchovies, and then some diced tomatoes (drain them first). Spread this mix on the pizza crust, top with some cheese (not too much) and kalamata olives (you can add capers too, but I decided no). It was lovely, and fancy to boot.

Several people have inquired about the curry I made in the previous post. I think it tasted bland, but maybe I should have added more curry powder. Chris liked it a lot, especially the incorporation of spinach into our diet. Spinach is a power food, did you know that? You're supposed to eat it every day.

This week we're going to:

Broil some white fish! What white fish will it be? Whatever looks good at Whole Foods. Will I put fresh salsa on it? Or will I eat it with Mustard and Herbs? Only time will tell.

Beefaroni-In memory of Paul Newman I will gladly use his Sockaroni sauce to complement this easy, cheesy dish. The Sockaroni is good because it has peppers and a full bodied flavor, which is essential in what is ultimately a 4 ingredient dish (beef, pasta, sauce, cheese).

That's all I can think of for now. Maybe some good ideas will come my way? Hint, hint.

Dinner plans?

2008-09-06T08:50:00.002-04:00

Garlic and Cauliflower pasta-Mark Bittman recipe that starts off with a base of anchovies, olive oil and garlic. You can't go wrong. I'm going to get a roast chicken (Safeway has the best I find) and shred it to add some more oomph to this recipe. I'm not sure what kind of pasta to use. Lidia says to use long pasta like spaghetti, but Gideon prefers a short pasta. I think we'll go with penne.

The rest of the shredded rotisserie chicken will go to this recipe for Chicken Curry. I have tried several chicken curry recipes but I have yet to find one that I really love. We'll see if this one hits the spot for my Indian food jonesin. I like the idea of using coconut milk for the creaminess, and I happen to have one can in my pantry.

When my pantry, which is literally the size of a large dictionary, is only full of things I plan to use that week, I will float away in bliss. My whole house is in need of this type of clutter cleansing. The battles against clutter seem to be lost repeatedly this year. We will regroup! We will continue! Maybe we have to have some sort of surge?

One day we're just doing grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup. Gideon loves the grilled cheese and Chris loves the chicken noodle soup (from a can). I've decided to give my chef and my cleaning crew a break.

A recipe I've tried numerous times and just love to death is for Zucchini Frittata. I should really just whip out the food processor for the zucchini but I hate the idea of cleaning it. Which is sad because I've never used it. I didn't make the mounds of baby food for Gideon that I had envisioned. I used my mini prep, which was hella annoying, and why I invested in this larger version, but by that time Gideon was eating a lot of jar food. And then table food. And it seemed pointless to read the instruction booklet. My mom gave me some sausage patties she got from Costco. They are pretty good. They came in a huge bag of 30 sausage patties. For $10. Now you know that's a value.

David's Pictures

2008-08-22T23:09:00.001-04:00

These are great pics from my brother, now Uncle Dave. These photos range from May (or earlier) to August!

Royela's Pics

2008-08-12T22:36:00.001-04:00

Summertime

2008-07-18T15:13:00.003-04:00

My summer is almost over. I only had seven weeks off and now i realize that 4 of those weeks have passed and only 3 more are left. At first I was really worried about spending all that time at home with Gideon alone. I filled the days with activities and outings. And now, though it is intensely difficult at times to be alone with a little person whose needs and demands always supercede your own, I'm very glad that I had the chance to get to know my little one a lot better. It is amazing to see how much he has changed and now he's going to be a year old.

But what else, have I been doing, you may ask.

Well, when Gideon lets me, I have been:

Watching TV
The complete Jane Austen-They're replaying all of these Masterpiece Theatre miniseries on our digital PBS station. Ad nauseum. Suffice it to say, can I watch another adaptation of Sense and Sensibility again and again? Apparently, I can. I liked Persuasion particularly.

Penelope-Christina Ricci is a self satisfied pig. Fact or Fiction?

Death Note-Bizarre anime series about this sociopath who wants to control the world. Very Japanese.

Project Runway Five (finally)-It's definitely too early to tell who I like, but I'll tell you that I was annoyed they kicked Jerry off. Yes, the raincoat was ugly and somewhat stupid,but it was fully lined! It wasn't some pathetic collection of trashbags sewn together in a loose and hideous fashion.

Reading Books
David Sedaris-His new book was PRETTY funny (not as entertaining as Me Talk Pretty Someday) but the last chapter was incredible. He is just that quirky and self effacing.
Jumpha Lahiri-Her newest collection of short stories was along the same course as all Lahiri stories-but the first two from Unaccustomed Earth made me gasp for breath. Some Amazon reviewer called it melodramatic but I thought they rang too true.
Guns, Germs and Steel-I'm trying to get smart. It seems very common sense but in amazing detail and great examples.

Eating Well

2008-07-14T08:44:00.003-04:00

I have a secret. That you can not tell my pediatrician. I feed Gideon... table food. A LOT. I don't check for nuts. Or eggs. Or wheat. Or whatever the heck you're supposed to check for. One day I put something in his mouth and he ate it. And I have been addicted ever since. I don't give him eVERYTHING I eat. But I take risks. I play Russian Roulette with my baby's palate.

Given that, this week I am cooking things that I think he will be able to eat.

Korean Chicken Stew: He has to get these flavors in, people! I'm not going to put in the spicy sauce, so it will be a tasty soy infused chicken, potato, carrot and onion concoction.

Mac and Cheese with tuna: This is my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe with a can of tuna thrown in. Babies over twenty pounds can eat one ounce of tuna a week. I will probably just pick out the tuna, since I don't think it's that soft.

Pasta e fagioli: Pasta and bean soup. I like to use my hand blender to puree this for gideon so he can eat it all up!

I am definitely going to try to go to eat dosai this week. I must have dosai. And that is that. Then gideon will eat dosai. but will he EAT dosai?

Spoiled.

2008-07-12T22:27:00.005-04:00

Gideon's birthday is coming up! Yes, one year ago he popped out of my oven two months early! The topic is birthday presents.

I have been pretty open about saying that I do not want to spoil this child. But then I enter a store. And I want him to play with the things in the store. Which requires using the cash.

I know there are better ways. There are flea markets and yard sales and even Value Village. But can I help that the Target is so shiny and clean and available to take my debit card?

Here is the list of things that I may or may not be getting.

1. Stride to Ride Lion

Gideon has nothing to ride on! Nothing to walk on! Except a laundry basket and some folding chairs, which I am fairly sure are not that exciting for him.

So he needs this:

We tried it out at Babies R Us and though he was mostly pushing it around on his knees and adamantly refused to mount it, I think he will like it more as he gets older.

2. Baby Mozart?

At my mom's house lives a keyboard that I bought one summer to teach myself how to play piano. I even took lessons. This ... did not work out. So now the keyboard lives at my mom's house with a cover over it in my old bedroom. When my mom takes Gideon upstairs, he goes straight to that room, pulls the cover off and begins to pound on the thing, not realizing that it is powered by ELECTRICITY and that the red button must be pushed for the noise to happen. The keyboard has all these jazzy features and electric rhythms and the like, so usually he ends up playing some pretty strange stuff. But now he could have:

The "Baby Grand" piano.

3. Alphabet Blocks

I have been eyeing these at the Target for a while. He has a "sea" themed set we got at a church tag sale, which he actually likes, and I AM a teacher, so what the hey.

4. Busy Ball Popper

Busy. Balls. Popping. Enough said.

Chris insists that we are buying him too much stuff. I agree. But then I see THIS:

I need this. My baby needs this. He needs this outfit and he needs those shoes and he just looks so classic and cute and ORGANIC.

I'm not getting this (yet). I know historically speaking that Gideon will forgo most toys in favor of the lid to a tupperware container which he will wave hysterically in the air, alternately chomping on it and smiling wildly like, LOOK!!!! A 25 cent plastic lid!!! I love it more than anything you could possibly buy me. But I must try.

First Update in...Oh who's even counting anymore???

2008-07-01T20:50:00.002-04:00

At least it's videos and photos!!

FIRST he starts with this stuff:

Gideon Starts Crawling from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Then he moves to ... THIS???

Stairs? Yes Please from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

And photos, which I occasionally remember to take, because this baby is growing FAST!

Restaurant Reviews

2008-05-17T15:53:00.002-04:00

We haven't been eating out a lot lately, since the gbaby has decided going anywhere loud at night will cause him to shriek in distress and sleepiness. But thanks to his halmuni and ha-bi, we got to go to Central last Friday.

It's on Penn across from the Post Office Pavilion (right next to TenPenh). My favorite was the "faux" gras-which is actually chicken liver pate. I LOVE pate, but something about this pate elevated to an even higher level. Keep that bread basket coming, please. Ever since Europe my love of excellent bread has intensified. Now it seems I can tell the difference between the good stuff and the dreck. And apparently all I've been eating is dreck. In Europe, what we know as sandwich bread doesn't even count as bread.

I got the hamburger, which, as far as I can tell, took care of my caloric needs for the next few months, and yes, it was worth it. Really good cocktails too.

For Mother's Day Chris took me (and gbaby) to Del Merei Grille, which is next to that really good Indian restaurant in Del Ray. Though it was very good, and I like trying new things, I almost wish we had gone to the Indian place, because I miss that place. The Mother's Day brunch was really reasonable, plus unlimited mimosas and really good coffee.

A few weeks ago we went with Jeff to this Wheaton landmark, Moby Dick Sushi. It used to be a seafood restaurant but kept the name and changed the genre. It was quite good and a great value too. Only 8 bucks for a huge lunch bento. Definitely recommended (right across from Wheaton Plaza or whatever it's called now). The gbaby was very good at both restaurants. He sat in a highchair, played with a toy, and did not cry. We definitely held him more when we were at Del Merei Grille. Our saving grace at Moby Dick was the spoon from our miso soup which made an excellent toy.

I'm going to start my own toy company that sells stuff babies ACTUALLY want to play with. The merchandise will include plastic containers, toothbrushes and pieces of blunt edged paper. I'll make my fortune!!!

Who knows when I will go to a restaurant next? Only time will tell.

What I eat

2008-04-21T17:22:00.002-04:00

Sunday: Really good New England Clam Chowder, but the question is: Did it make me sick? I got very nauseous afterwards, but Chris ate just as much as I did and he did not. In short I took a pregnancy test and I think it's a stomach flu.

Monday -aka- Tonight: Spam Fried Rice, if I can get my act together.

Tuesday: Pasta with Cauliflower, Garlic and Anchovies. I love anchovies with pasta.

Wednesday: Steak

Thursday: Hot dogs. Chris wants. I don't ask. I get to have baked beans with it though, my fave.

Friday: I am hoping we can go out for Indian, at least take out. We'll see.

Saturday: Guests over for a BBQ lunch. I think I'm going to do yogurt cumin chicken kebabs, maybe some burgers. I'm also doing Macho Nachos. Not sure what else yet.

Dinner Lately

2008-04-11T19:21:00.003-04:00

Has been a bit of a toss up.

Sunday: Zucchini Frittata using a recipe Jenni gave me. It was very yummy and very fast. It probably would have been better

Monday: I did a simplified version of this Ground Gyros Platter. It was pretty tasty.

Tuesday: Linguine with White Clam Sauce turned into cappellini with white clam sauce. It was pretty good, but I think I'm Clam Sauced out.

Wednesday: Sausage with Rice.

Thursday: Chick Fil A. The chipotle is not opening until April 25, we found out.

Friday: I believe we are having ramen noodles with egg today. What culinary adventures await us next week?? Stay tuned to find out. Or see you in a month. Whatever floats my boat.

Updates

2008-04-06T10:07:00.002-04:00

Movies I've watched (a lot on airplanes)
Becoming Jane At first I hated this. Then I liked it. In the end, I only like James McEvoy more and Anne Hathaway less.
Juno I'm sorry y'all. Overrated.
Atonement Cried.
Namesake Cried.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age Eh.
Paris, Je'Taime Cried.

Shows I'm Watching
Top Chef-who to root for...hmm, I just don't know. I think I like Richard Blais. One, his restaurant is called "Trail-Blais." It's in Atlanta, so I just have a preference there. And he LOVES Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in an authentic way. That's charming. I hate his hair, and his arrogance and it's quite likely he didn't have many friends in elementary school, but I am rooting for him.

Battlestar-It's BACK baby. If you are not making time in your life to watch this show, then I'm sorry, but your life is a little less rich than it could be.

Real Housewives of New York City-I hate all the wives in this one, but especially Alex. My favorite is the Countess that used to be a model.

Lost-Still loving it.

Books I'm Reading or Have Read
Margaret Atwood-Moral Disorder
Geraldine Brooks-March
Philippa Gregory-Boleyn Inheritance

Europe

2008-04-06T09:38:00.002-04:00

Was gorgeous, cold, very successful.

Memories:
Watching dubbed Super Sweet 16 on French television.
Running into Jan at the Tibetan restaurant in Amsterdam.
The ladies in the Red Light District leaning out of their windows to gossip with eachother.
Snow falling over the canals.
Wittebeir
Climbing up an insane number of stairs in Notre Dame for a windy but gorgeous view, only to realize that in order to get to the "top" we must climb, yes, even more stairs.
Musee de Orsay
The basement of the Louvre
Napoleon's Rooms
Sparkly Eiffel Tower
"Chitterling" Sausage
De Bakkerswinkel
Karamel Stroopwaffels
Fraisoo
Millais at the Van Gogh

Gideon!

2008-04-06T09:34:00.002-04:00

Is sitting up.
Is eating solids.
Is grabbing for everything.
Is communicating more.
Is turning into a toddler.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Chastised

2008-01-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, many people who have noted how long it has been since I have updated this blog, I am aware that this blog has deprived you of contact with what is now obviously [sarcasm intended] the only reason I have to live, but the wolves that keep attacking me when I go near the computer only recently starved to death.

So below you will see some pictures that were taken of Mr. Chubby Cheeks over the last month or so. In addition I am posting some videos, and a little photoset that I hope to add to every month (near the 14th or thereabouts). Thank you for letting me know that you DO want to see pictures of His Chubbiness, and the exclamations of surprise at how much he's grown. Because we see him every day it's hard to see how much he's changing, maybe reality will hit when he leaves for college.

The above album is best viewed backwards.

Want video?

Sleeping from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Conversations from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

More Pictures Now!!!!

2008-01-06T12:38:00.000-05:00

Overdue

2007-11-27T21:21:00.000-05:00

I need a new camera. I took a million pictures but they are all so blurry. I've joined the anti-flash revolution. Now I need a camera to come with me.

Turkey Turkey

2007-11-25T17:16:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was lovely but I am seriously at a place where I never want to cook again.

Nightly suppers are turning into nightly take out and it's getting vicious with the hamburgers people. Any suggestions on quick and inspiring suppers would be appreciated.

For example, these sound good but does anyone seriously think I'm going to make this as a side? I don't think so.

One by one my pregnancy cravings have just been dropping away. Chipotle?-over it. Pasta-it's done. Pizza-no more.

I don't want any more cheesy, gooey, carby stuff anymore. It just doesn't have the same appeal. As sad as that is, what does my appetite long for now?

So initially I had thought i'm going to make really consistent menus, like pasta Mondays, soup Tuesdays, sandwich Wednesdays, yeah. that um, is never going to happen. It's more like McDonalds Monday, McDonalds Tuesday,... OK it's not that bad, but you see where this is going.

What I really need is one day of cooking then three days of recovery.

Man

2007-11-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

More blogs, about food?
http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

right now i should be...showering.

Race man, Race

2007-11-12T06:22:00.000-05:00

So I'm watching the Amazing Race last night, which I haven't in years because it gets kind of tedious when they play out the same old story lines over and over again ("we're dating--are we really right for each other?") with the same inevitable ending ("he's abusive! get away!!").

This season looks interesting because it features all sorts of DIFFERENT stereotypes like "goths!" and "hippies!" and Chris even notes, "granolas!" which are like hippies with money.

Immediately we notice the Asian-American team, Ronald and Christina, (ethnicity unknown apparently?), and all their Asian fervor. In my search for their ethnicity I come up with this link to Rice Daddies, a blog about being an Asian-American father or perhaps father to an Asian-American and all the stereotypical media confrontation we AAs deal with. Now I'm not a powerhouse in this community, having majored in WOMEN's studies versus ASIAN studies, but I thought his blog was linkworthy.

In this blog, I saw he accepts pictures of babies for his banner, and it said "Hapa babies are more than welcome." What are Hapa babies? They're half Asian-half Caucasian--Hapa babies are Gideon! Gideon is a Hapa baby. That's when the race thing really came out for me. There is a category for my child, one that is fettered with the many connotations of race in America (many not good, some just plain weird.) I'm not finished with my thought process yet, but I would recommend everyone read this article from this weekend's Post. My Favorite part of the article is about how "Whites"--are we allowed to say that now?--don't believe racism still exists, or that is as pervasive as it still is and because "white people 'control the discourse on what constitutes race in this country," says Paula Rothenberg, a senior fellow at City University in New York and author of "White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism."

I better put that on my goodreads list.

Anyhoo the whole point being that the reference to "yellow fever" sent me into a tizzy from which I have not recovered. More thinking on this will occur, no doubt.

Many cool blogs have been discovered from this initial interest in Ronald and Christina's ethnic background, and this conversation with self and others must be said (I believe).

Blogs to read later:
Rice Daddies
Racalicious
Kimchi Mamas

Note I have not read all the blogs above so if one is a crazy fascist group posing as a blog, please disregard.

Fabulous

2007-11-10T09:06:00.001-05:00

Fabulous guesses everybody but there was only one winner!!

Nonny Jan-that's right, only grandma Ratke knew the final picture for what we supposed it could be (because it was totally made up and unintentional).

Picture one!: A representative of the Lollipop Guild. This would make sense, because it's Nonny's favorite movie. This is actually a Christmas outfit with the onesie turned backward. He can never wear this again because I bought a Newborn size like a dumbass.

Picture two!: A pea pod. This would also make sense, because Nonny bought him this costume. When I showed this picture to my students they were confused, with guesses ranging from a piece of candy to "dots" to "a vegetable thing?"

Picture three!: A boxer!! "Like Rocky?" Nonny asked? my alternate and also acceptable answer would have been: Backstreet Boy. We thought of both as we rolled his sleeves up.

This was my first week back at work and I think my body is going haywire trying to produce enough adrenaline to handle the load. There are definitely two realities in this world: Pre and post parent. There is seriously no in between.

CRap

2007-11-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

It's NaBloPoMo, and I forgot to blog yesterday. I suck at this. I could have totally blogged too, I just didn't.

Let me tell you what makes me happy.

Dosai.

That is all. (for now, not all that makes me happy.)

Happy Halloweeeeen!!

2007-11-01T20:23:00.000-04:00

Guess what Gideon dressed as? He has three costumes!

Costume 1:

Costume 2:

Costume 3:

Coolest Thing Ever

2007-10-26T03:47:00.002-04:00

Want to see the coolest thing ever? I made this. OK not really. I found a site that makes this. Consider the possibilities, people. CONSIDER!!!!!!

A Quiet Moment

2007-10-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

A special day has passed recently, without much fanfare. It was the day that Gideon was supposed to be born. That day was spent doing normal day to day things. Swinging in a swing, bouncing in a bouncer, smiling at nothing, sleeping sweetly. I could say schmaltzy things about babies and the sense of self, but those things have been said before. Instead I present you:

Then:

Now:

Pee Stories

2007-10-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

In a pee update, things have gone from bad to worse in diaper town. I'm talking about a RASH. He has not bumps, but a little red swelling. A line of swelling has turned painful looking, though no reaction to touching has occurred. Imminently the search for strategies has ensued.

The cure for diaper rash, says the internet?

Good old fashioned nakedness.

What does nakedness mean? This question can not be pondered until you have dealt with a machine that produces foul foul things, things that hundreds of years of technology has attempted to trap.

Oh no, says nature, you can not hold ME down. And so the list of things that have been peed upon will continue.

And with it, a new list shall begin. Oh you know the list I am talking about, though its monstrous name will not be mentioned here.

Let us just say that every day is laundry day in our house.

October Pictures

2007-10-13T08:59:00.000-04:00

Will be adding more as the month continues, so keep checking back peeps.

Dinners

2007-10-13T08:54:00.000-04:00

I've been cooking a lot more lately!

Mon-Greek Shrimp Pasta-very good and very easy. Make a salad of feta, tomatoes, and oregano. Cook the shrimp with garlic, butter and olive oil. Make some pasta (we used penne). Add the shrimp to the pasta, add the salad to that, and you're done. Ate this for days.

Tues-Chris made a creamy corn and potato chowder (under my guidance). This reminded me of leek and potato soup and it was delicious. In Atlanta we used to go to this place called Taquieria del Sol and they had a spicy Shrimp Corn Chowder there that was to die for. This tastes exactly like that without the Shrimp and the spice. Easily modifiable-add some hot sauce and those little shrimp (or some cut up shrimp) and you're there. Ate this for days too.

Wed-McDonald's. It's Monopoly time at McDonalds. It's a good thing I don't gamble.

Thur-Spam Fried Rice. Chris claims this is his favorite dish. It's good comfort food, and after making it for six years, it's like sleepwalking. Freshly minced ginger makes the difference here.

He's Got the Moves

2007-10-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

He's Got the Moves from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Night Time

2007-10-12T08:12:00.001-04:00

Night Time from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

How have I been sleeping, everyone asks. Is he sleeping through the night, they want to know. AHHH !! I don't know!!

Sometimes he sleeps. Sometimes he doesn't! Sometimes I don't know day from night!

Chris and I are trying to use the scheduling method of child rearing. Everything is going fantastically, except that 1) I keep getting off the schedule, 2) am not sure how to adjust for his developmental age, and 3) Gideon has gas and reflux which keep waking him up and off his "schedule." Two steps forward, one step back...now imagine it in sleepwalking terms. It all seemed so much easier when I was reading from the book. Then it was all head nodding and mmhmming and why doesn't everyone just do this-ing.

I think the facility that created this being should upgrade its manufacturing process or something. Oh wait. That's me.

Things that Gideon has peed on

2007-10-05T15:58:00.000-04:00

Diapers
Napkins
Peepee "teepees"
My bra
My hand
The wall
Himself

Eating Well

2007-10-05T10:13:00.000-04:00

Menu for this week:
Sunday: Smokey Shepard's pie-did not have cumin or paprika for some reason--so I used curry and it was just as good. This uses ground turkey which I told Chris was healthy, but then he noted all the butter, sour cream and heavy cream in the recipe probably added all the fat we needed for the week. I love this because it has lots of veggies and the best mashed potatoes in the world. These mashed potatoes have sour cream! They are so easy to make and yummy. I'm always using this recipe for my mashed potatoes. I don't like this recipe because it makes enough to feed way more people than Chris and myself. So we had to throw some away.

Monday: Linguini with White Clam Sauce. This dish is so good if you season well with salt, and so bland without the salt. Even better the next day, terrifically easy and seems like a grown up meal. Even though it seems barbaric, i use the baby clams. They're so ... teeny. I have the version from the book which did not include white wine or lemon. Both seem like good additions.

Tues: Supposed to have cream of mushroom soup, but alas, the lack of good produce at Shoppers thwarts us once again. Instead, we eat at Hollywood East with Jeff. . Yes we took our baby to a den of germs. Actually there were only about 10 people total in the large restaurant, and we sat in a corner. The baby always sits in the stroller with both his carseat canopy and his stroller canopy up, creating a bubble dome which prevents people from touching or even looking at the baby. Chris insists this cannot prevent germs from getting to him, but I beg to differ.

Wednesday: Ham, Cheese, Egg and Tomato grilled in a sandwich in the oven. We got a lot of ham people. Just butter the bread (particularly the edges) on one side, put in your ingredients, have your oven at 450, put your sandwiches (butter side out) on a baking sheet, 5 min per side, and you have some molten deliciousness. I bet this works with any combination of ingredients, like brie and pear, or ham and gruyere perhaps?

Thursday: Butter Chicken. I have sung the praises of this tremendous recipe before, and I shall sing them again. I took out the peas though. I always bought frozen peas and then had them in my freezer for months until I made this recipe again. But I used up the peas for the Shepard's pie and could not bring myself to have the peas in the freezer again. I just got rid of them!! But it was still good. It's that cream at the end--it just kills me..with deliciousness.

Tonight-Ledo's pizza?

Conundrums

2007-10-02T08:55:00.000-04:00

I have to go to the dry cleaner, but I have this baby. Can't leave it in the car. Awkward to carry carseat and dry cleaning in together. Cumbersome to take stroller out. Don't even get me started on that sling.

I pour milk in my cereal and baby starts crying. Leave cereal to get soggy? Leave baby to hyperventilate?

I'm sleeping. Baby has gas. Aid baby with expulsion of gas? Continue sleeping? Try to force Chris to aid baby with expulsion of gas, given that he's going to work the next day, but also given that I haven't slept more than three hours straight in two weeks?

See also: Things I did not think about before expelling a baby out of my midsection.

Ina, Fabulous Ina

2007-09-28T13:50:00.000-04:00

How I love you
I love your warm smile
Your sparkling eyes
I love your laugh
And your deft spotlessly clean hands
I even love your bad perm husband Jeffrey
Your recipes look divine
So easy to make
So french in style
You can cook
And bake
Like so few of us can

Why did you never have kids Ina?
Were you too busy camping in France?
Were you too busy with your nuclear energy advisor position during the Ford and Carter administrations?
Were you too busy teaching yourself how to be an amazing chef?
I will be your kid Ina
Make me a coconut cupcake
Make me a potato pancake
Make me some brisket Ina
My soul to cook like Ina!

This is my ode to Ina Garten, whom I revere as perhaps the most fabulous chef/celebrity ever. Forget Rachael, Giada, Nigella and all the others. How could they compare?

Yesterday I made Croque Monsieur. 1) I made a roux. 2) It failed to thicken. It thickened after i let it sit. I failed to thicken it, perhaps is the correct statement. However, the sandwiches were easy and delicious and I will definitely make it again. I invited Jeff over thinking that 8 sandwiches would be too much. I think actually we could have eaten them all. I could have eaten them all. Thank you to all the ingredients that made this recipe possible. Thank you ham that my parents bought me that I didn't ask for. Thank you expensive Gruyere cheese that I'm glad I splurged on. Thank you cheap white Giant bread that helped me cut costs thanks to that expensive ass Gruyere but still tasted good toasted and smothered in cheese. Thank you broiler that works. And lastly, thank you Ina for making it all possible!!! Much love.

Baby Faces

2007-09-26T08:53:00.000-04:00

This is no one trick pony. Gideon's many faces keep us entertained, especially as they're all caused by no reason we can discern.

Interview

2007-09-16T20:44:00.001-04:00

Before we came home from the hospital, I asked Gideon a few questions about life. You may be surprised by what he had to say.

Gideon's First Interview from Jane Yang on Vimeo.

Want more videos?

Upon Request!

2007-09-16T19:42:00.000-04:00

Gideon is Home!!

2007-09-13T12:22:00.001-04:00

After 4 weeks and 1 day in the NICU at GWUH, Gideon is finally home ! We've already taken him to the doctor and he is doing great. He's on an apnea monitor which checks his heart rate and breathing rate, but it hasn't gone off (unless we accidentally pull one of the wires out, and then it makes a very harsh noise indeed). Thanks to everyone for your love and support!

Esme

2007-09-07T09:38:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes something bad happens and you take care of it and you think everything is going to be alright? And then the same bad things that happened last time start happening again and then you take your precious cat to the vet and they identify a lump that is not a bone on her hind leg and you leave the vet and all you have is a clay pawprint and an empty cat carrier?

As Angela said, I hope Esme is playing happily in kitty heaven with nobody to bother her and a big soft bed to lay in all eternity long.

He Did It!

2007-09-07T09:29:00.000-04:00

He's 5 pounds! We were at the NICU last night and he was up to 2295 grams--that's 5 lbs! They had him on a sleep apnea monitor yesterday morning, which had him covered in wires for a few hours and smelly glue afterwards. I didn't notice him doing anything, but that's for them to say. He's getting ready to go home now-he passed the carseat test, we were trained for infant CPR via "video" (don't forget the ABC's of CPR-Airway, Breathing, and Compression), and giving him a bath!

Bath Demo from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

Now We Know

2007-08-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

Which elf he is...

Achoo from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

Taken August 23 at 6 PM

Is my baby a muppet?

2007-08-25T12:03:00.001-04:00

muppets from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

Updates Food and Gideon-wise

2007-08-25T07:25:00.001-04:00

Gideon update:
As of yesterday he was 1790 grams, which is almost 4 lb!! When he was born 10 days ago he was 1635 grams. What a difference!
He took 10 cc's of milk yesterday by bottle! He gets 35 cc's per feed!
He was awake when I fed him and changed his diaper. He looks really really confused all the time. I mean seriously, his brows are in a constant state of furrowment. What the hell is he so confused about? Like he looked at the window and the look on his face was blank amazement. I know that he can't even see to where the window is, just the bright lights (because of his newborn nearsightedness), but his eyes just read, "what the hell is THAT!??"
I think he's now officially out of the incubator, because they pushed it against the wall. He's only in the open air crib and bundled up in several thin receiving blankets and a onesie and hat. He reminds me of that character from the Radiohead "Paranoid Android" video.

Foodwise we have been eating out pretty constantly. Froggy Bottom Pub by GW has really good burgers and fries. Aroma is my new favorite place for Indian. I first discovered it when Lesley had them cater Susan's goodbye party, and have been dreaming about it since. It was just as good! We also ate at Meiwah, which was decent. My parents have also been great about bringing us dinner at the hospital--curry one night, steak and mushrooms another night. Always a lot of seaweed soup. We also have been trying to get lunches from trader joe's, which I love.

Also, just got turned onto goodreads.com by Sarah and now update it more. Maybe I will actually read more books this year. (yes, I know baby owners are shaking their heads in disdain. How many times have I heard a variation of 'kiss your life goodbye' in the past 8 months? I refuse to kowtow! I refuse!!) My "currently reading shelf" includes Anne of Green Gables, part of which I was reading aloud to Gideon and began crying at the poignancy of the passage in which Anne describes the wonder of the world, and "Julie and Julia" which I thought for some reason I would hate but actually have decided that I love (thanks Lesley for the tip). I read that out loud to Gideon and have no qualms about using the f word, but at some point I know he will figure out what that word means and then will never be able to say it out loud again, so I better get my kicks in now I figure. Every other word in Julie and Julia is the f word.

At home!

2007-08-19T08:31:00.000-04:00

I got home yesterday after getting a ride with Angela (thanks!!!) and it feel soo nice. Even though anxiety prompted me to go to Buy Buy Baby and spend lots of money on things we "need" I still was able to relax so much more. When I first heard of the store Buy Buy Baby from Paul (Melissa has heard this joke already), I thought he meant "Bye Bye Baby" because he bought his crib mattress there. Like a sleepytime store for babies. But actually it's "Buy Buy Baby" like, give me your money.

Awake

2007-08-19T02:09:00.001-04:00

Awake from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

taken 8/18/07

Groggy much?

2007-08-15T09:26:00.001-04:00

Gideon's First Morning from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

Arrive Gideon

2007-08-14T20:29:00.000-04:00

This guy really wanted out. I tried not to prescribe personalities onto babies, but what can I say? At Friday, my water starts to leak out. On Monday, there is a flood of water followed by EXTREMELY painful contractions. On Tuesday at midnight, they decided to have the C-section. I remember thinking, I have to go to the bathroom in case they won't let me later. I come out of the bathroom and they're all waiting around to tell me, you're going to have a C section NOW!

Then I received blessed blessed spinal column numbness, and I was floating around on cloud 9. I was pretty tired because it was so late, and I remember closing my eyes and seeing an orange tangerine quilt and imagining myself flying around it. It was so calming. They put a big drape in front of me so all I saw the whole time was a big blue cloth. No wonder I wanted to go to sleep! I could feel the pulling as they got him out, and Chris pretty much (somewhat reluctantly) got to see that part. He described it as them pulling him out one limb at a time, with the head finally popping out at the end (after three big tugs!) He cried right away. His APGAR scores were 9, and he could breathe by himself. So I have to say, maybe he was just tired of being so squished in there? In either case, he's here, he's beautiful and we are completely entranced.

Even Though I'm on Bedrest I'm Lucky I Got To

2007-08-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

Celebrate my birthday at Sonoma. This is one of the best dinners I've ever had! We started with the chicken pate, which is my favorite, and they kept sending out the bread, which there's never enough of. Then for my entree I had this amazing crab fettucine, which was the perfect pasta dish. We finished with the cheese plate, and even though I didn't love all the cheeses, it was a good adventure for my oft too complacent taste buds.

Enjoy the Baby Shower. Angela threw us a wonderful afternoon BBQ baby shower and so many of our friends were able to come. It made the room quite warm, actually. There was tons of good food there, and I think everyone had a terrific time. We got so many wonderful presents, and lots of babies came!

Final Meal: Hollywood East. I am so glad we did not stay in for grilled cheese and tomato soup. At Hollywood East I got to enjoy Mongolian Beef and Sizzling chicken casserole for the last time for months, possibly. They really upped their game and everything was delicious. Sometimes it's hit or miss there, depending on who's in the kitchen and the level of ingredients, but that was the night to be there! I left stuffed and satisfied and leaking amniotic fluid.

Fix up most of the baby's things. I am so glad I freaked out and washed so many of his clothes and started packing for the hospital and bought so many things I knew he would need. Now I am not half as nervous because when he comes home many things are already taken care of! Whew.

Baby Shower!

2007-08-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

Baby shower this weekend had sooo many wonderful elements to it!

Including:
Friends and family gathered together having fun and hanging out
Amazing baby gifts that baby will soon be enjoying
Much enjoyment of the Wii
So many baby visitors and one special toddler visitor!
FOOD glorious FOOOOD

Kai's famous Curry Chicken
Curried chicken salad
Angela's awesome burgers
Linden's tomato salad
Courtney's famous Orzo with feta
Gourmet cheesecake
Hot spinach and artichoke dip
Mini Crabcakes
Sherbert punch
Farm Fresh corn on the cob

I mean really, the choices were endless. The parade of food was gloriously topped off with... a humongous cupcake!

Thank you to everyone who came and I hope you had as fabulous a time as we did!

Lately...

2007-08-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

In eating news, the Birthday BBQ (Happy Birthday Mike!) was not a BBQ at all but a full blown house party with drinking and such. Which I could not partake in.

I did contribute my fabulous hot spinach and artichoke dip, which I will be recreating for the baby shower this Saturday. Angela made this amazing crab dip, which had I not eaten previously, would have sat on my lap and devoured. We ate at Adega, which is a wine bar and cafe in Silver Spring. I had this delicious Turkey Reuben, which had cranberry jelly in it. I am usually averse to this type of Thanksgiving fare, but it got good reviews. Frankly, I'm never getting a different sandwich there. They also have these yummy sweet potato fries and eggplant fries. Once baby is born, I'm going to strap him to his sling, grab a bottle of wine and some of those fries and wile away the happy hour. Does that seem irresponsible to you? Perhaps you'd like to carry around a water balloon full of baby INSIDE your body.

I must have forced Chris to starve on Sunday as I have absolutely no recollection of what we ate, or even, what we did. That must have been the day we were prodded by aliens.

On Monday Jeff took us out to dinner to Red Lobster for my birthday. The one near our house is not to be recommended, and perhaps Red Lobster in general should not be recommended, but the food is so good. I got a big helping of crab legs but on the very last claw my hand was cruelly sliced open in the last defensive move of this crustaceans worthy career. The sweet claw meat made it all worth it.

The last few days have been Super Suppers experiments. The dry rubbed flank steak was cooked on the stove as we were precipitously low on charcoal. It was tasty but not wow. I made a simple salad of mushrooms and celery and dressed it with a basic vinaigrette, as well as some box risotto.

Yesterday we had Sausage empanadas, and though they stuck together while defrosting, and one was more "free form" than most empanadas, the flavor was fantastic! Almost too strong, I would say. I am glad we have some more of these in the freezer.

Now here's a treat for our regular viewers. In a few weeks a child will born unto us, and that child will have some very eager grandparents and friends who will require some constant surveillance of said child. In awareness of concurring events, I have done some research into "video posting" and this blog is about to get a lot more fancy. Behold, a media event of such magnitude that despite my befuddlement of such terms as "embed," I bring you.. The Brainy Bees. Expect no further videos until child is produced or wedding occurs (not mine, good grief, I have SOME standards).

Brainy Bees from Jane Yang and Vimeo.

Super Suppers

2007-07-28T16:03:00.001-04:00

Super suppers was actually a lot of fun. Chris and I got there at 11:45. He was a bit skeptical (about the quality of the ingredients, how much he would be participating, who else would be there potentially staring at him and his lack of knife skills). It's only 15 minutes away from our house, so if this works out, we might go there monthly.

The ingredients were pretty good--definitely what you would get a standard supermarket. We used chicken cutlets (frozen), fish fillets (frozen), pre-cooked sausage, pre-cooked canadian bacon, shrimp (frozen), and flank steak (refrigerated, so we could put a rub on there).
There wasn't a lot of produce, beyond fresh herbs. One dish required some broccoli florets, which you kept separately from the rest of the dish, and they looked pretty fresh. Otherwise it was wonderful to have everything just laid out in front of you with the appropriate measuring spoons already in there. I was just thinking the other day how when I first started cooking I thought it would be like, witchcraft or something. A little bit of this, a little of that, and poof! Magically delicious. Now I realize that it's actually the gathering of ingredients and prep that is all the work, and the "poof" part is the shortest part. Afterwards you get to clean up your disaster zone of a kitchen (or in my case, make your husband do it). At Super Suppers, someone else does that. Chris loved that part.

The recipes were really broken down and easy to follow-down to what materials you needed, which were all stacked next to the "stations." Chris even made one recipe on his own! I did one on my own, and the others we worked at together. Most of them were about putting ingredients into a bag or a pan, sealing it up and putting it away. The most fun recipe was the pork empanada, because you get to roll out dough, stuff it, and crimp it. I'm most skeptical about this recipe, though, because it came with the pre-cooked sausage, and I don't know what that will taste like.

The stations were like salad bars positioned against walls, and usually there were two recipes per station. This made it a bit crowded, but we never had to share a station with anyone. One person was there when we came in, and others came in after us, but everybody finished at their own pace. That solved Chris' other problem about interacting with strangers. The Super Suppers people were very friendly, and when we got to the empanada station, she was really helpful in showing us how to work with the dough. We definitely would have ended up with blobs if she hadn't stepped in.

I'll discuss how the recipes turn out (we split a lot of them in half to stretch out the portions, which are meant for six people). One recipe I'm doing on my own this week is a Creamy Spinach pasta from the Family Fun Month of Meals. I had never seen this website before! I'm kind of excited to try some of the recipes out. They all seem fairly easy and kid friendliness is on their mind. There do seem to be an overload of chicken breast rolled in cracker crumb type recipes though, and I generally don't like that.

Menu, revised and reworked

2007-07-26T17:01:00.000-04:00

So what did we have for dinner this week? We didn't go grocery shopping until TUESDAY so actually it's been quite erratic.

Sunday-Got some jang-jo-reem which is like beef boiled in soy sauce (and eggs also marinated and boiled in soy sauce) from mom, tore it into small pieces (just the beef) and mixed into rice with some of the soy sauce. Korean comfort food is the BEST!

Monday-Tuna melts-tuna salad on bagel with tomato and cheese on top, then broiled. So simple!

Tuesday-Spam fried rice--Chris claims this is his favorite dinner. It does have a very comfortable feel to it, but favorite? That seems extreme...

Wednesday-felt frustrated with life and fat with artichoke and spinach dip (and Bruschetta). The above was served at Elaine's Office Marathon party, which I was not frustrated with, but I think the hormones are trying to consume me or something. I felt tired? Hence, I did not cook dinner and forced Chris to eat doritos for his meal.

Thursday-Slow cooker pot roast. Successfully plugged in the pot roast this time, so it did cook. I'll let you know how it turned out.

Friday-The plan is curried shrimp (another Bittman recipe). Seems very simple.

I am highly contemplating registering for Super Suppers (just to try it out..)

This weekend we are going to a Birthday BBQ but I'm on vacation for the next two weeks..perhaps I should try to make something fancy?

Menu and More

2007-07-17T16:21:00.001-04:00

Before we get started, I just have to say that Violet Affleck (Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's offspring) is the most beautiful child I have ever seen. She has these amazing dimples and eyes, just like Jennifer Garner. No idea what she got from Affleck. I look at pictures of that baby and I'm thinking how does that work?? Knowing that our baby could look adorable like me and Chris as babies or have a head the size of a basketball, like my brother.

Menu:

Tues-Meatballs, potatoes, and salad
Wed-Spaghetti and meatballs with vodka cream sauce (trader joe's of course)
Thurs-Korean Chicken Stew
Fri-Out for dinner with friends!
Sat-Baby Shower BBQ (not ours)

What should we have for dinner next week?

La Mer

2007-07-10T08:01:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Chris and I went to the shores of Delaware for a lovely beach outing that included:

The ocean attempting to drown me by constantly pushing waves towards me and making water go over my head.

A delicious corn dog and not so delicious chili cheese dog (chili shouldn't taste like Chef Boyardee, right?) and delicious fries.

Maternity bathing suit. Nuff said.

Pina colada water ice. Funland--and a ride on the not recommended for pregnancy "Paratrooper" on which Chris claims he almost threw up. It's just a tilted carousel that goes somewhat fast and somewhat backwards sometimes. My biggest fear on the ride was that our cart would disengage from the main arm and fling us into the realm of Funland never to be seen again.

25 cent skeeball. Do you know how affordable that is? I could have stayed there all day. I won a small orca!!

Finishing my first Agatha Christie novel. Do you know how many times I've attempted to finish one of these books? I have millions laying around. I've seen so many of her mystery mini-series on Masterpiece Theatre. Yet, Murder on the Orient Express truly held my attention, and the ending was GASP worthy.

Our first Cold Stone ice cream. It just tasted like ice cream with a lot of stuff in it. My white chocolate ice cream didn't seem to have any flavor. Odd.. But calorific.

All in all a fantastic day with NO traffic and other bumps of life that ruin fantastic days. That is why I have no menu for this week. We'll probably be eating pasta every night.

Picture Test of the Excellent Vacation We Went On... LAST YEAR

2007-07-05T17:16:00.000-04:00

Tomato Sauces Used to Not Be My Thing

2007-06-10T18:05:00.001-04:00

But now they are.

Note this week's menu is full of tomato-y goodness.

Sun: Angel hair pasta with tomato sauce
Mon: Chili with Rice
Tues: Baked Orzo with Feta and Shrimp < does include enormous can of crushed tomatoes!
Wed: Steak and Baked potato fries
Thurs: Omelet

Ok, the last two days have no tomato sauce on the menu, but did I mention I had Ledo's pizza on Saturday, which has tomato sauce??

Weekly Menu

2007-06-03T17:19:00.001-04:00

Sunday: Korean Chicken Stew-I have not eaten white meat chicken in months, I think. This recipe calls for chicken wings, but it's much easier to just use chicken thighs.
Monday: Beefaroni and Salad. Good old comforting casserole.
Tuesday: Spicy Shrimp with Mango Salsa-This recipe is out of control spicy and delicious! Make the marinade in the morning, and plenty of rice to go with it.
Wednesday: Brats, Corn and Twice Baked Potatoes. Chris is going to fire up the grill and I'm going to make what are truly the ultimate twice baked potatoes. I love these things. They're really a meal unto themselves.
Thursday: Potstickers-a Mark Bittman recipe. I used my How to Cook Everything book so much that it fell apart. I had to buy a new copy this weekend so I could make one of my favorite recipes!

Also have to mention a foray into Baltimore's Korean dining scene (which though limited is apparently doing quite well thanks to): Joung Kak, a BBQ Korean Restaurant which we visited with Angela and Mike and many friends and it was fantastic! Chris has particularly been craving this Korean restaurant outside Atlanta which grilled on hot coals rather than gas. They always offered a hot pot stew and fresh garlic and jalepenos. Until Joung Ka, we had not seen BBQ served this way. Plus all the meat was tender and really flavorful. Add to this walking the Race for the Cure in the morning, taking an awesome nap with my favorite napping companion (our new tripod Esme), and swimming at the pool of the most expensive house on the market in B-more, it was a FANTASTIC day.

Barbeque with the In-Laws

2007-05-27T16:30:00.000-04:00

My in-laws came into town to see the new house on Sunday so we decided to have a BBQ to celebrate. We haven't grilled on our own before and a new grill was purchased at Lowe's for the occasion. We stick to regular old charcoal, and made a Memorial Day BBQ of fantastic proportions.

The menu:

1. Potato Salad
2. "Middle Eastern" salad-cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, parsley + paul newman light balsamic vinaigrette
3. Premio Brats
4. Hot dogs
5. Awesome BBQ steak-marinade was awesome and only for three hours--7 minutes per side and we are golden.
6. Corn on the cob
7. Watermelon

I was quite pleased. One thing I'm quite proud of is that I made three of the things from scratch, and that everything turned out quite yummy. I foresee more BBQ's in the future.

Menu for the Week

2007-05-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Sunday: Sausages and Rice with Salad and Fried eggs over easy. This is a simple supper that is satisfying. We had to add the salad to move away from the unhealthy white rice and fatty protein combo. Salad makes everything more nutritious and less guilt inducing.

Monday: Honey dijon salmon, risotto and asparagus. Trader Joe's premarinated salmon. Chris accidentally put it in the freezer. Hope it's ok.

Tuesday: Mystics game at the Verizon Center. These are free tickets. Much consumption of overpriced food articles anticipated.

Wednesday: Spam Fried Rice

Thursday: Perhaps we will eat out as there is a big show at the school that night. If not, leftovers and I will make quesedillas and tomato soup.

Eating Out

2007-05-20T09:58:00.001-04:00

Of course in addition to cooking I like to eat out quite a bit. Where have we been eating? I know you're dying to know.

For Mother's Day Chris took me to get a dozen crabs at Bethesda Crab House. We ate outdoors, we had corn, a dozen mediums (all that were left by the time we called, and thank goodness we did as they are ALWAYS running out--they even ran out of CORN). It was delicious and oh so filling. I think the mediums are good for us, because it was the first time we actually finished the entire dozen. It was a wonderful date.

I also had a jonesing for Vietnamese food. Since the move we are incredibly far away from the mecca of Vietnamese food in the DC area, Eden Center. So we drove in from work one night since I had to work late anyway. We went to Huong Que (or Four Sisters) Vietnamese Restaurant where I ordered the standard Pork Ribs in Clay Pot and Chris got the vermicelli rice noodles with grilled pork and crispy spring roll. We started with the Crispy Spring Roll and it's always so flavorful and good. It's like the best egg roll you've ever had. It's all pork and just the right amount of filler with this awesome dipping sauce. The sauce is lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and water but it may as well replace crack on the black market because it is completely addictive. I bought a bottle for my house for when I have the Trader joe's Coconut Curry Stix.

Just a note about Trader Joe's...Where are my Pork Gyoza???? Apparently the factory that manufactured them in Thailand shut down suddenly.

After we get the Vietnamese food we always stop over at Song Que for some bubble tea and banh mi. I get the ham and pate banh mi for lunch the next day and hence two cravings are quenched in one trip. Why are there no places in Maryland that make these damned sandwiches? This trip I got the pineapple bubble tea and it was very sweet but also tart and had some pineapple pulp in there. MMmm, citrusy.

Finally, last night we went for Dosai at Woodlands Indian Restaurant. This was our first time at Woodlands, and the first time I have had dosai in the three years since leaving Atlanta, when we would go to Udipi Cafe all the time for this flavorful potatoey treat. Now just like there are a dearth of good Vietnamese restaurants in MD, there was a huuge hole of great Southern Indian restaurants in Northern VA. Now we're in MD and we can go to Woodlands and get the Butter Masala Dosai all the time. We also tried the Madhu Vada, which are donuts made from lentils and flour. They taste like savory donuts. They come with the two standard dipping sauces, sambar and coconut chutney. The sambar is like a thin flavorful curry sauce which is warm, and the coconut chutney is grated coconut and spices served cool. The dosai itself was really flavorful and exactly how I remembered it. I don't know if there's a formal way of eating the dosai, but I just tear pieces of the crepe off the edge, stuff it with potato, dip it in one of the sauces and pick my way through it. Even though the mound of potato looks so small, appropriate crepe to potato rationing will get you through the meal. Gorgeous!

Jambalaya!

2007-05-15T19:21:00.000-04:00

How do you make something that usually takes hours of flavors skillfully combining together easily in 30 minutes?

Use a crockpot.

DUH.

I have used this recipe with great success in the last few years. Whenever I want jambalaya i just use this. It's spicy, it's meaty, it's delicious. I always use a polish kielbasa (sorry purists) rather than andouille. What is andouille. Where can I find it. Why does it scare me? Perhaps it will stand up to the slowcooker, as the kielbasa always turns out a little mealy.

The spices are perfectly spicy for me, but that is a bit spicy. Not knock your socks off, but 1 tsp of cayenne goes a long way. I add a cup of minute rice at the end. This is not the perfect solution, but my goodness, Jambalaya needs RICE. I also put in raw shrimp at the end, not cooked (what is the point of that? The shrimps cooks in about 15 minutes in the slow cooker and it's a lot more tender than chewy pre-cooked shrimp).

The friends all liked it, and most importantly I liked it and there were no leftovers. This makes a lot so that was a good thing.

Butter Chicken and Imitation Imitation Crab Bisque

2007-05-15T19:12:00.000-04:00

I did not use imitation crab for the imitation Imitation Crab Bisque. This bisque combines two canned soup and some imitation crab to make some imitation bisque. It's not bisque. It's just two cans of soup and some milk with a can of crab meat in it. Do NOT use imitation crab. That's just pointless. It's probably easier to find the damn can of crab. You've already got the can opener out.
You can add various spices (the recipe recommends a pinch of curry powder). I also added a bit of cayenne. It tastes like a passable bisque at a crappy sandwich place. It's incredibly easy to make and hence I may make it again.

The butter chicken recipe is pretty ingenious. A few simple ingredients and a rotisserie chicken and you have some delicious Indian fake-out take-out. I love this stuff. It's got a kick, it tastes pretty close to real butter chicken, and the flavor of the rotisserie chicken is so good in this sauce. I do not do the step where they take the chicken out before adding the peas and cream. That would be lame.

STOP THE PRESSES

2007-04-26T17:07:00.000-04:00

The reason that I haven't blogged in so many months is because I've been involved in some secret underground counter-revolutionary stuff that I can't go into right now because they're watching my EVERY MOVE.

Now that you know why I've been missing, perhaps you'd also like to know what I'm having for dinner this week.

This past week was a humdinger. We've moved in (relatively) to a new house with a glamorous kitchen, so there's been plenty of cooking and lots of leftovers.

One night I made Spaghetti Carbonara, which is just spaghetti, bacon, parmesan and flavored olive oil. Oh it's so delicious and easy to make, and oh the leftovers just taste so scrumdiddly-umptious!! I modified it from this Rachael Ray recipe, and instead of the pancetta I use half a package of thick cut bacon. Obviously I'm not using the Rigatoni and instead of two egg yolks I just used one egg. It still turns out like the most wonderful comfort food ever. Bacony.

I made this Spicy Chicken Stew without the spicy pepper paste, because that makes it "Dak Jim," or "Chicken Stew," and that is my most favorite thing in the world to eat. My mom makes this so much better than I do, but this tastes so close to my childhood memories, it's very good eats. I love using Yukon Gold potatoes because they soak in the stew juices. When you first put everything in the pot you think, Wow, that is so little liquid, but then it magically fills up with chicken juices and becomes pretty full. So don't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles. Also instead of the chicken wings I've just become lazy and use boneless skinless chicken thighs with the fat trimmed. It's probably not as flavorful but I hate that damned chicken skin.

Lastly we made what I call Cowboy Lasagna, mostly because of this woman's blog title, but it seems very hearty and cow-boy-y and who cares what's it's called because it's DAMNED good. I followed the recipe to a T and made enough to feed seven people with seconds. When you dream of lasagna, this is what you're thinking of--gooey cheesy mushy meaty goodness. And it's so simple!

On the menu for the upcoming week (if i get my sh*t together...):
Bulgogi-bought at the korean market pre-marinated. Serve with rice, conjure up nostalgic childhood memories. maybe add onion and impress your friends. or at least yourself.

Pork chops-marinade with crappy marinade stuff you always think is a good idea but generally isn't. serve with boxed risotto, and salad.

One night we're going to Hollywood East, which is this amazing Chinese restaurant in Wheaton. I love their pan fried triple delight and their Mongolian beef.

One night I'm going to try to garner the energy to eat in the city at Bistrot du Coin, my favorite french bistro that is unpretentious, down to earth and damned tasty. Though I can no longer swill their carafe of house red, the Mouclade de Charentes are calling to me.

The quickest supper of all

2006-10-26T06:51:00.001-04:00

Sometimes the quickest supper of all is just dialing in that pizza order.

The quickest supper of all

2006-10-26T06:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the quickest supper of all is just dialing in that pizza order.

Fisherman's Chowder

2006-10-16T16:35:00.000-04:00

After rolling through all of tarnation to get the ingredients for this deceptively simple chowder, I was very pleased with the results. A thick flavorful stew with big chunks of firm white fish, yummy veggies, and a creamy tomato base. The cream base was a faux-roux of butter, flour and cream! When added to the initial stock base, the whole stew became a chowdah.

Served with Asiago cheese focaccia made by Safeway, which I've bought and served again with roasted chicken salad this weekend. I just threw together some leftover rotisserie chicken, which I warmed up in the microwave to get that nice chewy texture (just barely heated it), celery, onions, grapes, and mayo. YUM as RR would say.

Honey Garlic Rib Emergency!

2006-10-10T06:56:00.000-04:00

These did not go well... First, they were burned. I just kept trusting the recipe and not my own senses that were telling me: burning burning burning! If you can SEE smoke an SMELL smoke, usually that indicates FIRE. I should definitely get my smoke detector batteries changed.

The bottom of the pan (which was POORLY covered in aluminum foil, all my fault), was totally burned, and had to be discarded.

The ribs were actually OK, except for the smaller ribs and of course the parts that were BURNT.

I also made mashed potatoes, but before I could salvage the leftovers, Chris left them out overnight. I was going to make this.

Alas, it was not to be. However, the crab delights were wonderful.

WHAT?

2006-10-05T06:47:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in the entire month of September! Well, I ate out a lot that month as school was starting up again and I immediately caugth the DEATH FLU, the vestiges of which still linger within me. However, I have been 30 minutes or less cooking up a storm. For example, on Tuesday I made Spam Fried Rice, modifying a Mark Bittman fried rice recipe I've been using for years. It was the homeiest comfort food I ever had. I even surprised myself.

Monday, we had Rachel Ray's double stacked quesedillas and tomato soup. Those quesedillas are ridiculously easy to make, yet they taste special. Like moonbeams and unicorns sprinkles were added, but actually, those are just scallions. The recipe for the quesedillas are wedged in this recipe for "Salsa Stoup," which I've also made and I believe is NOT GOOD.

Last week, I made a crock pot Navy Bean Soup, shrimp with Risotto, chicken with asparagus, and these pork chops in a crock pot. That was NOT good, either, but it did use up those frozen pork chops I had. The navy bean soup was very good, and we ALMOST made it through the entire pot, even without Jeff's help. Did you ever try this recipe for sauteed snap peas and asparagus from Ina Garten? I think that's how I'm going to sautee all my vegetables now. It's very fast and makes all vegetables taste better.

Next week I'm going to ambitiously make Fish Chowder, Garlic Honey Ribs, and some spicy coconut shrimp. Hopefully.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

2006-08-27T21:59:00.000-04:00

I have always loved cream of mushroom soup. I remember cold winter mornings and my mom heating up one of the dozens of cans of this condensed soup for my dad's breakfast. Tonight, however, I tried my hand at homemade cream of mushroom soup, which was incredibly easy and definitely delicious! Served with rotisserie chicken on spinach greens. Chris loved this meal! And it was healthy and had a lot less sodium. The mushroom soup is a Mark Bittman recipe. Lovely.

Antipasto Salad

2006-08-14T05:02:00.000-04:00

This turned out really delicious! All the yummy parts of antipasto and very very easy. I had the deli at the Safeway slice everything quite thick and then I got the red peppers and the olives at the olive bar, so I didn't waste anything. I am sending half of the salad to Chris' work though as we would never be able to finish it!

We had a great time in Curacao!

2006-08-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

But now we're back!
On the menu this week:
Antipasto salad (Giada recipe)
Tofu Curry with Rice (just using a simmer sauce here)
Cheesy Broccoli Bake with Chicken (Paula Dean, but I'm going to add some sauteed chicken)
Spicy Shrimp with Risotto (Mark Bittman recipe)

Yumm!

Out of control hamburger combos

2006-08-01T14:49:00.000-04:00

The simple turkey burger can be so much more when you add:
jalepeno, cheddar, and horseradish sauce

Sausages and Rice

2006-05-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

Have you ever tried breakfast sausages with plain white rice? It is delicious. Try it, you'll like it. I won't force you to eat them in a box or with a fox. Just try it.

Also made curry. I know for stew meat you're supposed to cook it low and slow, but the instructions on the curry box say BOIL and SIMMER for 15 minutes. The stew meat was very tough. This is the Japanese style curry, not the Indian curry. Koreans love Japanese style "Golden" curry. I love all kinds of curry, but I only cook this kind because it comes in a box and it tastes good.

I also made some busy day chicken, using a Jamaican Rum bbq sauce that came from the Hot Sauce Emporium. The chicken was very tender, and I think I found a sauce that can give it some oomph! I'm ready to try out different sauces from the Emporium, however. How exciting.

At some point this week, I'm hoping to make: Jambalaya, Spicy shrimp, and Lemon Chicken.

Dynamic!! Analyst!! Duh!!!

2006-05-24T07:17:00.000-04:00

Dynamic Analyst

Steamed Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce

2006-04-03T17:40:00.000-04:00

Let me just take this moment to say that I hate Sandra Lee. For some reason I just think she is a crazy lady. Nothing personal.

So I made the mussels from sara's Weeknight secrets. It was very easy but for some reason not very tasty. One reason being that I am scared of cooking shellfish by myself. You have to pull the bears off and then there's my perpetual fear of food poisoning, and we ate most of the mussels but many went into the trash. It was fun to cook it though. I think I may stick to shrimp from now on.

Baked Cheesy Goodness

2006-04-02T16:27:00.000-04:00

Lately, all I have wanted to do was bake cheesy pasta things and eat them. They seem so easy, the perfect weeknight food. But how can I make night after night of what is basically baked pasta casserole?

For instance, I was flipping through FoodNetwork and see Giada DiLaurentis, whom I don't even like! making this baked tortellini dish that looked incredibly yummy and totally easy. It was topped with smoked mozarella and the tortellini? Is store bought.

Then there's the easy creamy mac and cheese that Chris and I have both been obsessed with since Christmas. I have been making it at least once a month, because, goshdarnit, it is delicious. This month I am adding broccoli, because frankly, we need to eat something green.

Now I'm seeing all these baked orzo recipes, which all sound incredibly delicious. I have to try it soon. I'm just going to have to prioritize which recipe I will try first and I will let you know how this works out.