Friday, January 29, 2010

because it's Friday

I've been neglecting this blog big time. I promise to get back onto the straight and narrow!

What have I been doing instead? Everything!

We've been making Valentine's decorations:


Crying because we were promised the REAL Emily Elizabeth:


Baking:


Crafting:


Biking:


And generally being silly:

Monday, January 18, 2010

meal plan monday

January 18 – January 24

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: leftovers

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: roast turkey breast, maple mashed sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: cream of wheat, fruit
Lunch: turkey sandwiches, salad
Dinner: chicken with fresh basil, brown rice, sautéed sugar snap peas

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: turkey noodle soup
Dinner: homemade pizza, spinach salad, baked apples

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: black beans, brown rice, red sauce

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: waffles
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lentil stew

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eggs on toast
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: shrimp and lemongrass soup, Thai grapefruit salad

Extras:
Whole wheat bread, lemon ricotta cakes, cranberry orange muffins

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

play groups

Yesterday I hosted a group of women and their kids from my MOMS Club. It's funny how these groups have changed over time. My first play group consisted of 7 very tired mommies and our newborns. I think Ava was about 3 weeks old at the time. We didn't talk about anything but our transitions to motherhood. Now, the kids are old enough to go play board games or elaborate make believe games in their rooms (yesterday, one of the kids hung a sign on the bedroom door: NO MOMMIES ALLOWED!). There were 4 moms here yesterday whose kids were in school - but they came over anyway for some coffee and conversation about fitness, The Bachelor (hello! - craziest contestants EVER!!), shoes, celebrity crushes, and yes, a short bit of talk about our kids.

The younger kids still want attention, so they played within eyesight, but the older kids just wanted to be left alone to do their own thing...signs of times to come, I guess. I took a picture of the total destruction that was left in the bedroom, but for some reason it came out too dark, so I won't post it. Needless to say, if you picture a sea of play food, doll clothes, cars, wooden train tracks, and tutus about 7 inches deep from wall to wall...that would sort of begin to scratch the surface.

I made a French Lemon Yogurt Cake and several people asked for the recipe, so here it is. I'm going to note that this is a mishmash of recipes based on what I had on hand and I actually didn't eat any yesterday so I have no idea what it actually tastes like. But, then entire cake was gone at the end of the morning, so it can't have been too bad. I'm guessing it's nice and lemony, and moist from the yogurt. I've made both of the inspiration recipes to the letter and they were both delicious with a cup of tea. Both called for syrup and icing...I basically combined them into one concoction. I did lick the spoon on that...yum.

French Lemon Yogurt Cake
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties and Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life.

1 1/2 cups flour
2 T baking powder
2 T grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla and it was fine)
1/4 cup olive oil (you could also use canola, but I didn't have any and the olive oil made the cake smell yummy)

1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan or a 9 inch cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. In another bowl, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Pour into dry ingredients, stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake 30 minutes. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving platter.

3. Combine confectioner's sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon over warm cake. Cool completely before serving, or serve while still warm and gooey.

Monday, January 11, 2010

meal plan monday

January 11 – January 17

MONDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: vegetable and bean soup
Dinner: leftovers

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: sandwiches
Dinner: chicken breasts baked with green chilis and onions, Indian spiced cauliflower, basmati rice

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: cream of wheat
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: shrimp and pineapple curry, brown rice

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: turkey, apple, brie sandwiches
Dinner: tom kha soup

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: chickpea and roast pumpkin soup, grilled garlic bread

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: ebilskiver, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: pasta with pancetta and peas, shaved fennel salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eggs on toast
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: leftovers

Extras:
Orange quinoa muffins, granola bars, chocolate cupcakes

Sunday, January 10, 2010

heavenly soup

I've been in a soup craze lately...last week we had soup three times and next week it's on the menu twice. I don't know what it is...it's easy to make, leftovers heat up well, and my family will eat it in any form. Can't beat that!

This soup is from Ed Fretwell Soup in Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life. Such a great book - half memoir, half cookbook. This recipe makes a TON of soup. We have lots in the fridge and freezer for when the need strikes. If you're not into having so much extra cut this in half. This would also work really well in the crockpot - just dump all of the ingredients in at once and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Molly calls for cooking the dried beans separately, but I think a few cans would do in a pinch (4 for a whole recipe).

Vegetable and White Bean Soup
Adapted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

1 pound dried white beans
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 large sage leaves
3 T olive oil
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
4 large carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons
4 cups vegetable stock
1 bunch Swiss chard, trimmed and chopped
1 small head green cabbage, finely shredded
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Italian stewed and it turned out just fine)
1 T salt

Place beans in a Dutch oven and cover with cold water. Add garlic and sage, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for about two hours. Add more water so that there is always at least an inch over the beans.

Meanwhile, heat oven over medium heat in a large (at least 8 quarts) pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for about 1 hour. It won't look like there is enough liquid at first, but keep faith. After about an hour, add the beans and any liquid. Simmer another 40 - 60 minutes. Remove sage leaves, add salt to taste, and serve. We topped ours with grated parmesean and of course Joel had to add some crushed red pepper flakes.

Heaven in a bowl!

If you're going to go the crockpot route, use the dried beans - they will hold up better than canned. Just throw them in dried and they'll cook with everything else.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

the best thing

My favorite part of the day: lunch time. We talk about silly things, and I love their silly answers.

Mama: Where oh where is the sun? When are these clouds leaving?

Ava: Mama, the sun is on vacation...it went to Hawaii!

Emily: Beach! Mama! Go sand! Raisins!

I just love these little faces.


Monday, January 4, 2010

meal plan monday

My new year's resolution is to cook more from my cookbooks...I've got a TON and they need to be used! I'm also going back to the no-knead method for bread. This week, I made a batch of light whole wheat, and I'll turn it into a few different thing - olive tapenade, caramelized onion, and just free form artisan loaves. Joel requested ham this week, so we're having one mid week and then I'll use up the leftovers over the next month or so.


January 4- January 10

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: burritos using leftover lentils and chicken
Dinner: sausages, apple compote, custard filled cornbread, vanilla scented oranges

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs and toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: vegetable and bean soup, homemade bread

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: cream of wheat
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: ham, roasted green beans, sweet potatoes

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: ham sandwiches, veggies
Dinner: frisee with poached eggs and ham, French bread

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: ham and cheese omelets
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: split pea soup, red cabbage salad with lemon and pepper

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: yeast raised waffles, fruit salad
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: pork and rice dumplings with yogurt sauce, curried chickpeas, salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eggs on toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: monte cristo sandwiches, salad

Extras:
Light whole wheat bread, cranberry crisp, apple oat muffins

back in action!

What a month December was for us...family, holidays, presents, cookies, meltdowns, Zoo lights, snow (!), and lots of fun.

We ended the year with our annual New Year's at Nine party and had a blast! The kids karaoked, the grown-ups enjoyed cocktails and adult conversation.

Here are a few pictures: