Sometimes a week comes together

Rarely, if ever, am I organized.  My house is a mess, my suit is still at the dry cleaner when I need it, and I have absolutely no idea where my keys are, ever.   And, I'm terrible when it comes to meal planning (which is what led to the resurrection of this blog!)   I never know exactly what we are going to eat on any given night -- even though I try to have a few ideas together so I can go shopping for the upcoming week.   But last week was one of those rare gems when a week of cooking (using almost entirely things in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry) comes together.

The week before, on a whim, I bought a bag of eggplants at Costco.  That's right, four little fresh baby eggplants that I had to figure out how to cook.  I scoured Pinterest looking for recipes and ideas, only to decide that a simple ratatouille was the best option.  I also had peppers, onions and zucchini on hand to fill it out.  I did send Justin to the store for a baguette to complete the meal.  

We had about 1-1/2cups of leftovers, so the next day, I threw those in with a can of organic, unsalted roma tomatoes, and ended up with a delicious "special sauce."  I had two eggplants remaining which I turned into an eggplant parmigiana casserole which I served with just a bit of spaghetti.  I made extra spaghetti to send with the remaining special sauce in Oliver's thermos for lunches.  

Wednesday night I decided to try making pinto beans in the crock pot.   I used my handheld emulsifier to turn them into "refried" beans.   Next time I would add a few additional spices to kick it up a notch, but the method is definitely a keeper!   These weren't actually ready to eat on Wednesday, so it was a bit of a free for all.   But, Thursday we put those beans to good use with bean tacos and burritos.  We ate out Friday night, but ate leftovers on Saturday and there were still enough left over for a couple of lunches this week.

All in all, I love it when a lack of plan comes together!

Ratatouille

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 Tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4 Tsp. Pinch crushed red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (quartered)
• 1 Tsp. thyme
• 1 red pepper, stems, seeds and pith removed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 yellow pepper, same
• 2 small  eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• Fresh basil leaves, cut 

Directions

Coat a large wide pan with olive oil. Add the onions, season with salt and crushed red pepper and bring the pan to a medium heat. Cook the onions until they are soft and very aromatic but have no color, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, thyme and salt. Cook the tomatoes until they become very pulpy and have broken apart, 15 to 20 minutes.  Add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, and zucchini, season with salt and cook until the squash is soft, 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in the basil and taste to make sure the seasoning is correct. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caffeine and Alcohol Withdrawal - with a Mocktail

So, I didn't blog last week.  I started to, but every time I wrote, it turned into a diatribe against the Supreme Court and the Right Wing White Male Establishment.   And, although, I feel incredibly strongly about that topic, and the second class citizenship of female Americans, I decided this wasn't the forum for that.   So, I just didn't write at all.

Then on Thursday, after a trip to the Doctor last week, this week's blog topic started writing itself!  My doctor proscribed a drug that I will need to take for a while, at least six months, that interacts negatively with caffeine and alcohol.

Caffeine can be re-introduced in small amounts depending on my personal reaction.  The effect is like that of combining pseudoephedrine and caffeine.   Now, I took those two drugs together a lot in college because, you know, who needs sleep when your 20?  But, this time the Doctor advised I cut the coffee and do it quick to start the drug.   So, I went cold turkey, or at least, almost cold turkey.  I've had a cup of decaf each morning because coffee is part of my morning ritual.  It does have traces of caffeine, -- but not enough to ward off the withdrawal effects.   The headaches were brutal!   And, the lethargy left me napping (which I don't normally do) in the afternoon Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  On the upside, Saturday afternoon, I re-discovered the Vanilla Ice Blended from Coffee Bean.  I was hoping that the trace of caffeine would help my withdraw headache.  It didn't.   But it was pure deliciousness and I will definitely be back for another one soon.  I think the worst is over - for now.   But, knowing I won't be able to reach for coffee or diet coke when I am feeling tired mid-afternoon is going to be tough!

Alcohol is out completely.  So I am on day four of no wine as well.  In preparation for this hiatus, I drank an entire bottle of champagne by myself on Thursday night.     Since then I avoided it.  Here are the times I wanted to drink something:  during fourth of July BBQ, after getting back from Grand Park via a crowded subway, Saturday afternoon hanging by the pool, Saturday night with dinner, Sunday night for no good reason.   Yep.   And, Oliver hasn't even been bad this weekend!   (Although, I have dealt with the stress of his allergic reaction to a bug bite today so one tonight would have been nice).   Now, I know I sound like an alcoholic, but I don't actually drink every day, although I do drink often.  I like a glass of wine with dinner and/or after Oliver goes to bed.  Giving up wine over a holiday weekend, though?   Maybe not my best idea.

So to get myself through my alcohol withdraw, I decided this was a good week to share a tasty mocktail!  It's super delicious.  This recipe makes two small drinks, but you might want to make more because the kiddos are going to want to drink this one up!   (Another downside to having to give up alcohol -- it was the only food or beverage that I didn't have to share!)

Pina-mango-colada!

1/4 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen mango
1 1/2 cup light coconut milk

Blend and serve!   I know what your thinking -- that's just a smoothie..... but not if you serve it in a fancy glass!

Baking and Breaking Bread

Well, now that my fortieth birthday is a distant memory, I plan to also turn all of the binge eating I did during the week into one too.   I imbibed in all types of deliciousness from Bouchon to Lucques with champagne, wines, cupcakes and ice cream galore!  

We spent Friday and Saturday at the Hotel del Coronado for my firm retreat, but, I just longed for home (for so many reasons, not the least of which is I hate the sand and sun.  Give me my smoggy, congested LA any day.)   To celebrate our return to civilization, Oliver and I opted for making bread this morning followed by a trip to the Natural History Museum (via metro, of course).   If you haven't checked out the Museum's edible garden its a must see/smell/taste!

Oliver recently expressed interest in learning where his food comes from.   His school has a garden (which is good because I hate to garden almost as much as I hate sand.  It's a sensory thing).  And, Justin and I have been trying to show him where other foods come from.   Last weekend, for Father's day, we went fishing and caught a trout.   We decided it would be a good lesson to cook it at eat it.   I'm not suggesting that Troutdale is where I would want all of the fish our family consumes to be from, -- but I think the lesson was well learned and he ate the fish carefully around the bones -- and poked at the eye sockets.   And, just so he was too terribly disappointed I ordered the Trout Almondine at Bouchon so he could see how good it could taste!!!!

We decided to continue that project today and baked bread.    I have never "really" made my own bread, (I don't count pizza crusts and quick breads).   I also don't have a bread maker so it was just up to me.  So, I simply looked for the simplest recipe that sounded good in my Cooking Light Cook Book.  (Note:  this is not the exact recipe I used, but is very similar).   The recipe was for a French bread with a crusty exterior.  Oliver loves "long bread" -- so, even though I wasn't ready to attempt to roll it out, I thought he would enjoy a nice little round loaf of it.

We got out the yeast, and I showed Oliver how it bubbled when hot water was added, he helped me measure the bread flour and salt, and was in charge of the Cuisinart's power button.   The recipe didn't require a lot of kneading, but he got his hands in there a bit, and after the bread had risen twice, he applied the egg wash.

As soon as it came steaming out of the oven he was ready to dig in!    We cut off slices and slathered them in butter.   So delicious.   The bread itself had a crusty exterior but was far more dense than the light airy texture I had hoped for.   But, by the end of the day, Oliver, Justin and I had eaten the whole thing.

So many lines have been spent discussing the breaking of bread, particularly about the Eucharist.  But, Eucharist bread is unleavened.   It has not had the addition of that foamy yeast or the rise and fall of the dough.  For me, the breaking of bread with my family is full of love and laughs as we each spread another smear of butter.   But, the baking of the bread, -- that's where the family is.   It represents us, our ups and our downs, our pasts and our present.  It is the chemistry of our lives.

Reflections and Resolutions for Forty

In honor of my fortieth birthday I have decided not to write my usual blog full of commentary on preschool lunches and healthy recipes.   Mostly because I intend to drown my sorrows in a bucket full of wine and champagne while eating a decadent meal tonight.  I plan to follow that with a slice (or four) of Baskin Robbins mint-chocolate chip ice cream cake.  At least, I better.  If I don't get one someone is getting shanked.  (I know, I know, the chemicals, the sugar, the food dye!   Bite me.)  I made it to forty I am eating my damned ice cream cake.

Reflections

Now, I know there are a lot of blogs out there that want you to feel good about turning forty.  They are full of things like "40 is the new 30", "things I know now that I'm 40."  Blah. Blah. Blah.   Here is what I know about turning 40:

1.  It sucks.   Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
2.  Metabolisms slow.
3.  Hair color changes.
4.  Things hurt more.  Lots of things.  My back, my neck, my knees.  Hangovers.

Now, I know what you are thinking, -that I am going to follow this "bad" list up with a list of all the "good" things that come with being forty - like wisdom and patience.   Fuck that.   You know what wisdom brings you?   The knowledge that other people don't have it!    I do not want to spend my time with those people.   Patience?   I think not.   I do not have time now that I am forty to wait for your sorry ass.

But, what about all of the blessings that come from knowing you are strong confident woman and mother you ask?   WTF?  I ask back.  You do not know me at all.    I am totally insecure all the time.   I'm pretty sure I'm going to get fired like 99% of the time.   And then I will be forty and won't be able to find another job because we all know those age discrimination laws are bullshit.   Motherhood, -- you mean the job that women have done for thousands of years but that I have to check every god damn website and/or book, by every expert out there, to figure out how to do it?    Not to mention the fact that now I'm forty and have to decide within the next minute whether or not I'm going to have another child. I've only just started fucking this one up -- how am I supposed to make that decision?

Have I mentioned wrinkles yet?  Because those suck too.  Forehead, eyes, smile.  Oh, and the neck!   There is not enough moisturizer in the world to contain what is happening to my neck!

Resolutions

There are some lessons that I have learned from watching my other forty-something friends, frenemies and nemeses.  These represent some things that I plan to do:

1.  Cover that shit up.   Now, I don't have some awesome body that I even want to show off, -- but what I have learned is it doesn't matter if its awesome showing it off looks desperate and pathetic.  (e.g. Kris Jenner).   The only exception to this rule is Madonna.   Mostly because she is the exception to every rule.

2.  Stop obsessing about food.   I know, I know, from me, a total foodie, pescetarian, this sounds ridiculous.   But forty-somethings are obsessed with organic, non-gmo, gluten-free, fat-free, vegan, whole foods, diets.   Do you know what we ate when we were 20?   Potatoes.   And, maybe some Ramen.  That's right boat loads of baked potatoes and we made it to 40.  Stop the Insanity!  

3.   I'm 40, not dead.   I like to do stuff.   Ride bikes, hike, climb mountains.   And, I have a group of friends who still do all that stuff even though they're old(er).   But, I have been so caught up in the rat race that was my thirties, that I sometimes forgot that there are things I genuinely enjoy doing and I need to take more time to do those things.

4.   Work.   I am not going to write anything here just in case anyone from my work happens to stumble across this blog.

5.   Parenting.   Back to that.   This is my favorite thing in the world.    So, my sole goal in life, is really to make it another 40 years so I get to spend them with Oliver.

Before and After: Lunchboxes Reviewed

There are so many mommy bloggers out there who post pictures of really beautiful lunches for their children.  The lunches are perfectly balanced with lovely, organic, wholesome fruits and vegetables.  We, as the mom's reading these blogs and planning our own children's lunches, are often inspired by what they have to offer.  And, if your like me, you often wonder:   (1) what the hell is wrong with me that I can't make a perfectly beautiful lunch for my child; and, on the rare occasion that I manage to come up with such a masterpiece, (2) why the ef didn't my child eat it?   We as the readers of these blogs are consistently led to believe if only our produce was more perfect, our designs more clever, our containers more environmentally friendly, then we too could have children that would eat vegetables.  

I sincerely hope that in my attempts to provide meal ideas for you and yours that I have never misled you into thinking that my son eats everything that I put in his lunch for him.  If I describe an item as a "hit," it typically means that somewhere between 55-95% of the item was consumed.   I do not believe than anything has ever been eat in its entirety (I omit here whole fruits, as Oliver sometimes will eat all of the grapes, pineapple or oranges that are provided and, of course, his PB&J if the crusts are removed).   But, an entire sandwich or thermos full of goodness?  No way.    I consider a "miss" to be something that Oliver refuses to eat at all, or something that he picks apart to the point that when it returns home in his lunchbox it is nearly unrecognizable.   So, 49% or below consumption.   You may think my criteria for hits and misses are too liberal.  But, in the world of preschool, I rarely expect more than 50% compliance with anything, to expect that with food would be pure absurdity.  

So, today, in the interest of showing you the inner workings of Oliver's lunch boxes are the results of two separate lunches from last week.

Lunch #1.   Lunch one, to me, looks super tasty.   I made a yellow bell pepper and cheese quesadilla in a whole wheat tortilla.   I cut the yellow bell peppers into super fine pieces so that they could not be easily removed from the cheese.  I chose yellow thinking that their mild sweet taste could not possibly be offensive to the preschool palate (and you can't see them in the cheese.)  I paired the quesadilla with a banana blueberry muffin (last week's recipe which Oliver has eaten up for snacks), pineapple, and some sliced tomatoes.    Here it is:

And, this, this, is how it came home.   Note the obviously unsuccessful attempts to remove the teeny tiny bell peppers and the carnage that remained when that didn't work out.   The tomatoes are untouched.   The muffin has been tried and cast aside.  Only the pineapple found a place in Oliver's tummy on Tuesday.

Lunch #2   As many people know, I began working on school lunch menus to try to get Oliver to stop eating PB&J every. single. day.   But, about once a week (and usually on Fridays), I pack him his preferred sandwich, - although on this particular day he chose peanut butter and honey.  He likes to get adventurous like that every now and then.  We have a few different sandwich cutters and his current preference is for the dolphins with the heart.  So, that's what he got today.   It is also accompanied by two carrot slices, blueberries, and another muffin. 

And, there we have it.   Sandwich totally gone.  Blueberry, Muffin, Carrot massacre.    My point is this, Oliver will never ever eat everything I send.   Even when every single item is something that he himself picked out.    

There may be other children out there who eat their lunches in their entirety, but mine is not one of them.  There is no amount of vegetable manipulation that will make my current preschool age, boundary testing, opinionated, Oliver eat all of his lunch.   Short of disguising them that is.   Now, I know that there are already lots of books on the market about hiding vegetables, -- and I myself have covered it before when I talked about my "special" tomato sauce and my kale smoothies.      In fact, we made up a batch of that special sauce on Friday night (Roma tomatoes, steamed carrots, kale, and bell pepper, all pureed with some basil, oregano, salt and pepper) and had it on pizza!   Oliver only eats pepperoni pizza -- or so he thinks.   I opted for slicing the Tofurky basil and sun dried tomato sausages super thin.... and he was none the wiser.   --I think it helps that he gets to put them on himself.  

Now to the week ahead, this weekend I prepared a pot of black beans (you know, the ones I said I was going to do last week and didn't!)     And, I put together this week's recipe:

Peanut Butter-Banana Granola w/ chocolate chips!

1/4 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
2 small super ripe bananas (Tip:  If your bananas have turned, but you don't feel like baking, put them in a ziplock and freeze!   Just defrost and use on another day.)
1/8 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups rolled oats (I like to toast mine)
1 cup whole wheat flour
 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 cup chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix the first five ingredients while the oats are toasting (toasting is optional).   Allow the oats to cool completely.   Mix with flour, baking soda, and almonds.  Mix wet and dry ingredients, then add in chocolate chips.   Press firmly into a glass baking dish (I line mine with parchment paper to make it easier to pull them out and cut).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely, remove parchment paper and slice/crumble.  

This recipe was supposed to be for granola bars, -- but they just turned out to crumbly.   But, the flavor profile is right on, -- and Oliver will eat the granola just as easily as he will granola bars.   Here is what his lunch looked like today:  leftover pizza, strawberries and granola.   Can't wait to see what comes home tonight!

Have a great week!

Monday Yumday!

Monday is upon us and what a great weekend we had.  Friday night I got a surprise in the form of a babysitter and tickets to see Porgy and Bess.   It was fantastic.   It was a great end to a very long week.  Saturday morning was full of swim lessons and food with some much needed "rest " time in the afternoon.  For me, that's a book, for Justin a nap, and for Oliver quietly playing with his Legos.  Sunday we headed out to the movies but we were too late for the show we wanted, so we had some time kill -- which led us straight to the bagel shop!   Oliver didn't want his so I ended up eating one and a half myself!    At the movie theater Oliver wanted popcorn, -- and well naturally he couldn't be expected to eat a whole bag of it himself, - so I helped him out a little.   It wasn't a great start to the month.    But, I did manage to work my arms and abs a little bit in the afternoon and hope to get back on track and redeem myself. 

I haven't planned out our entire meal plan for this week.  I am just going to wing it and see if I can keep us all on track.   The fact that I have to buy my lunch today will start me off behind the eight ball, - but Monday mornings are tough.   As much as I want to be the mom who is totally organized I totally am NOT.  

Tonight I am going to make up some tuna fish for myself (greek yogurt, with just a little bit of mayo, mustard, onion, bell pepper and celery).  Dinner tonight will probably be a salad as we have some produce to get through before it goes it bad.  And, tomorrow I hope to crockpot some beans (I haven't decided whether to do black beans or lentils yet) to get us through the week.  Of course, we also still have plenty of veggie burgers stashed in the freezer too.  

Oliver's lunch today looked like this:

 

 

I know, it's not a great picture, but I'm trying.   It's carrots and bell peppers, hummus, grapes and a whole wheat banana muffin, - which is really what the blog is about today.   I made these last night and they turned out great!   I learned a new tip:  when baking with berries, coat them with the dry ingredients first.  This will prevent them sinking!   As some of you know from previous blogs, I love the Lemon-Raspberry Muffins -- with my own twists of course  -- from the 100 Days of Real Food Blog.   But, I always ended up with one or two muffins that were off because the berries sunk.  I had no idea what the problem was until I read about it on the Joy of Baking.  

Banana Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten        
1 teaspoon pure  vanilla extract
3 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup honey        
1/4 teaspoon  baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine mashed banana, eggs, vanilla extract and honey in a bowl.  Combine whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.     Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly, leaving approximately a half of cup in the dry ingredient bowl.   Place blueberries in dry ingredient bowl to coat with mixture and then fold into the rest of the batter.   Divide mixture into twelve baking cups (recommend silicone) and bake for 25 minutes.

Great for breakfast or including in the lunch box!   



 

Good Food, Bad Back

Well, I've been off the wagon for a while now.  It's been two straight weeks since I managed to record what I ate during the day.   And, I was having a good run too.  I'd lost about five pounds and was hopeful of meeting my goal of losing 10 pounds before my 40th birthday.   Now, I'm afraid to get back on the scale and see what kind of damage I've done.   Let's just say my Memorial Day Weekend was full of beer, wine and  chips.  Lots of chips!   And, what would chips be without guacamole.   So, now that Tuesday is here it's time to get back on track!!!!!!  

Speaking of the track, I also haven't been good about running.  I've been experiencing some pretty severe back pain ever since my fall over month ago.   So, for June I'm really going to focus on working on my abdominals and back strength so I can get back to running regularly.   If your on Pinterest there are ton of examples of "Ab Challenges."   But, I think I'm going to develop my own, being I really want both back and abs -- a little more planking and a little less doing sit ups ....

In the meantime.I've been making it to spin class at least once and sometimes twice a week.  I finally bought a pair of spin shoes over the weekend.  I wear a size 44.   They don't carry that size in Women's at REI!   I had to buy the men's shoes or special order them.    Lot's of women I know have big feet, but I'm the only one I know who is 5'6"!      Meal planning is relatively easy for us this week b/c there were a lot of leftovers from the weekend.   Here's Oliver's lunches and our dinners:

Tuesday
Hamburger and Cheese - diced
Corn - cut off the cobb
Watermelon
Grapes

Dinner:   Black Bean and Corn Chili -- No recipe.   I'm using canned black beans -- which I don't normally do, but after all the work over the weekend I wanted to keep it easy.   We have two ears of grilled corn left, so I'm going to slice that off the ear to add to the black beans along with some peppers, onions & spice.

Wednesday
Black Bean & Cheese Burrito
Carrots
Watermelon
Banana Muffin

Dinner:  Greek Salad -- I like the Ina Garten Greek Salad Dressing Recipe

Thursday
Hummus & Veggies (carrots & peppers)
Pretzles
Watermelon
Banana Muffin

Dinner:  Grilling some leftover "dogs" (which are really nitrate free organic sausages), veggie burgers and some more corn on the cobb

Friday
"Hot dog" - cut up
Corn - cut off cob
Grapes
Banana Muffin

Dinner:  Siracha Salmon.  It's Gwyneth's Recipe.   But, don't let that stop you.  It's delicious.   Probably sauté some green beans to go with!

 Fortunately it is a short week!   So, I only had to come up with four days of stuff.   I don't think I could have handled a fifth!

Have a healthy week!