Which elf he is...
Achoo from Jane Yang and Vimeo.
Taken August 23 at 6 PM
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Updates Food and Gideon-wise
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.
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.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
At home!
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.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Arrive Gideon
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.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Even Though I'm on Bedrest I'm Lucky I Got To
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.
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.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Baby Shower!
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!
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!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Lately...
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.
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.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Super Suppers
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.
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.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Menu, revised and reworked
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?
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?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Menu and More
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?
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?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
La Mer
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.
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.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Tomato Sauces Used to Not Be My Thing
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??
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??
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Weekly Menu
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.
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.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Barbeque with the In-Laws
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.
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.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Menu for the Week
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.
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.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Eating Out
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)