simpletruths

Quite possibly, the most amazing dinner, ever.

This dinner which was amazing for two reasons.  (1) The stars were aligned and we both got to sit down and eat it together, at the same time…while it was still hot! (2) It had the kind of flavor that makes you simultaneously speechless and  intent on finding a word that describes the wonderfulness of said pleasurable experience.

Here it is:

Oh, no, it’s not JUST a sandwich.  It’s a combination of the Portobello Sandwich…. From the Everyday Greens cookbook (http://www.greensrestaurant.com/bg-everyday.html), the goat cheese spread from G.Garvin’s book (http://www.chefgarvin.com/home.php?module=store&id=18) plus a little in kitchen creativity – and voila !!!

Specifics:

Sourdough bun sliced, brushed with olive oil and broiled until toasty; a spread made of Goat cheese mixed with pepper, garlic, shallot and parsley, and thinned out with a little olive oil; sliced red onion and avocado.

Two Portobello mushrooms brushed with olive oil, and seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper then baked for about 15min.  Sliced and tossed into a some balsamic I’d reduced while chopping apples for our breakfast tart. Turkey burger patty with Parmesan (from Trader Joe's)

And who needs French fries when you can slice up a sweet red bell pepper and toss them on the side.  

Lettuce from our farm fresh to you box

 

 

 

Deliciousness

 

A Year of Crochet

I have a tendency to both over extended myself and underestimate the time it will take to finish when it comes to crochet projects.  Part of the problem is that I feel like I should have all of this time to crochet, when, in reality my free crochet time is limited to my 15 minute commute into work and after everyone goes to bed (unless I'm blogging, of course).

 

Still, I have delusions of fiber art grandeur and spend way too much time looking for new patterns to try; getting sucked into ravelry, memorizing the ins and outs of crochetme and blogs upon blogs of yarn-loving goodness

 

With that in mind, here’s a [partial] list of projects I want to finish this year (*already started):

Orange buttoned neck warmer*

Spring scarves (3)*

Buttoned neck warmers

Funky, chunky cowl

Adult brimmed beanies  *

Kids brimmed beanie *

Baby bonnet

Toddler shell beanie* (oh- I’m almost done with this one – it’s so adorable, I"m probably going to make several more)

Slippers/house shoes

Green stripped scarf

Flower Headbands

Market bags

slouchy beret

wrist warmers

bell sleeved dance shrug

 

I'd also like to knit this:

 

 

(http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTicequeen.html)

 

never mind that I'm still in the process of my first and only knitting project to date.

 

All of that, plus the Little Bean has out grown his current set of crocheted adorableness and will need something to keep the sun out of his eyes his summer.

 

WIPs

I am very good at starting crochet projects, I'm just not very good at finishing them.  Which is why I have several projects in the works right now.

These are some of my WIPs: three spring neck warmers, one hat for a friends daughter (the yellow flower is going to be just above the brim), a black and gray scarf for a friends son, one chain-link "necklace" for my sister. Not included in this picture is another spring scarf in white, and 2 other hats.

Oh, and I have one orderfor a green scarf (to go with a hat I made earlier), and 3 hats - that's what happens when you crochet in the hair salon, you get improtu business.

This of course doesn't include projects I've abandoned...

Domestic Routines

    The beginning of the week is so full of possibilities.  Ambitious lists are made, procrastination is sworn off yet again. Laundry is done (usually on Sundays – Sorry Mrs. Collins) . Above all else, the week’s meals are more or less planned and grocery shopping is done – never on an empty stomach which only leads to disaster of the “why do we have 4 different kinds of frozen pizza in this bag?”  type.

O and I didn’t always plan out the menus for the week. Before we had the Little Bean we would pick one or two involved meals from our ever expanding shelf of cookbooks, to cook together – not caring if it wasn’t ready until 9 or 10 o’clock; the preparation was just as fun as the consumption. Now that we have our little guy to contend with, there are several things that have changed our approach to meal preparation

• Time – or lack there of.  With the current teething situation, Little Bean might wake up after only a couple of hours after he goes do sleep at 7:30, efficiency is key.

• Noise – the kitchen and bedroom share a wall so late night clanking of dishes and pots and pans is not welcome.

• Tag team – that’s how we cook now instead of together.  I’ll cut this while you run the bath water; you start the pasta while I put his PJs on; the timer is set for 15 minutes but stir it a few times so it doesn’t stick while I do story time…and so it goes, until baby is sleep and dinner is ready.

All of this because, baby or not, we still love to cook.  But we don't cook every night - hello leftovers - they make lunch the next day (and dinner) much easier.

So, what’s on this week’s menu?

Breakfast: Ginger pumpkin muffins (with crystallized ginger); hard boiled eggs

Dinners: sake sea bass w/ wilted greens and rice; curry sweet potato and butternut squash stew; Cannelloni beans w/ chicken andouille sausage and veggies

Other: marinated vegetable salad

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I made two batches of muffin this week - one breakfast muffin with crystallized ginger pieces and raisins, and one dessert muffin with walnuts and simi-sweet chocolate chipsdelicious. I’ve also been toying with reducing the amount of sugar in the recipes of my baked goods.  You can barely tell the difference, and I don’t feel as bad having a muffin for breakfast when I know it’s not entirely sugar laden – I save that for things like cookies and brownies.

Last night was first time since the Little Bean arrived 6 months ago that my muffins haven’t been overcooked (yay me)

The hard boiled eggs are just for me, they're easy to take to work,  O doesn’t like hard boiled eggs so he’ll just have to do with muffins until I decide to make frittatas again.

The beginning

…there was me.  A tired, working mom of a wonderful little baby boy, a loving wife to my amazing, silly husband; a sister, a daughter, a friend, and more. With each one of those new and wonderful titles, a little bit of time to just be me to me got pushed aside, and so here I am, claiming a little bit of it back. Never mind that most of my ‘me’ time comes in the middle of the night, or on my 20 minute bus commute.  

What better way to start off than with a list of things I love al la last September' Operation Nice.

The rules of Nice Assignment: Make a Love list state that: You can’t include a single person you know on your list. No “I love the way my husband laughs” or “I love hearing my little girl call for me.” It’ll be tough, I know. But this particular little exercise is about stripping away everyone who defines you and figuring out what you (not his partner; not their mother/daughter/sister/friend) love.

And so – my love list (clearly, this is not an exhaustive list in any sense):

I love delicious desserts and wonderful wine – I’m done with mediocre.  

I love galoshes.

I love things that are obviously loved – well worn sweaters, threadbare blankets….

I love fresh fruit

I love cooking and experimenting - a recipe is just a suggestion

I love old family photos; I love history

I love discovering new things

I love really long walks; I love wandering

I love picnics; I love smiling; I love exercise

I love stomping on crunchy leaves that have fallen to the ground in the fall

I love blank notebooks

I love dancing

I love hugs

I love skipping, running, jumping, and the general merry-making of being outside and acting silly

I love being a ‘regular’ at my neighborhood shops

I love my list of requisite must-see Christmas-time movies

I love flea markets

I love checking things off of lists

I love the Bay Area

I love board games

I love dress up clothes – I love having a place to go in them.

I love traditions

I love hand-me-downs

I love fields of wild flowers

I love wineries with free tasting rooms

I love making people smile