And So The Blog Rolls On

Funny thing about this Blog. Sometimes I feel like I really have to have something important to share; like a great new recipe, the (yawn) details of a trip, or some deep, thought-provoking whisp of wisdom. Or I am whinning about something because I can't get anyone else to listen. Here's the deal. It's my blog, dang it, and I will write whatever nonsense I choose.

I like to read Ina Garten's blog on her Barefoot Contessa website. I haven't been able to establish any pattern of regularity to her blog posts, but they are always short, informative, and interesting without being overly done. I've tried to read Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman blog, but quite frankly it's just TOO BUSY (overwhelming, really), not all that interesting, and just not my cup of tea. I'd much rather be reading about life in the Hamptons than life walking among heaps of cow dung and slobbering bassett hounds.

I've been thinking maybe I'm not a regular blogger because since it's inception I've convinced myself I needed to write some long, wordy report about something interesting. But I don't! So here is my blog post for the day...

My son started 4th grade today. He thinks his teacher is hot. (I agree, she is.)

We moved this summer, as mentioned in my last post. I love my new house. It's roomy and new and already I've rearranged my formal living room twice.

Being a wife and mother to sports-crazed nincompoops wears me out. If we are not at a baseball game, we are at practice for it, practice for football, shopping for cleats and jock straps, or listening to sports talk radio for game scores.

And God bless my redneck black husband. He loves anything loud with a motor, whether it has four wheels or two. So if there is a race of any kind, (professional or not), a monster truck show, classic car show, demolition derby, tractor pull, motorcycle rally, or motorized Lazy Boy recliner race, chances are good we are there. Sorry to say I am not joking about the Lazy Boy recliner race thing.

My blog is the only thing I have that I alone get to totally control.

I've decided that McDonald's sweet tea is Devil Juice. So, wouldn't you know it- the day I decided to swear it off for good, I decided to try Steak-n-Shake's sweet tea. Well, not only is it even slightly better tasting, it too is only $1, except the cup is bigger, and if I happen to catch happy hour between 2 and 4 pm all drinks are half price. Now my dilemma is that I can't call Steak-n-Shake tea Devil Juice, that name has already been taken. What can be worse than the Devil's own juice? Who is more evil than he? Larry King Juice?

All right, and more item of concern. My Mom's garden was planted late this summer and I didn't make radish soup because she didn't have any radishes. Have a great day.

Stuck Like Chuck

Well, we finally did it.

Made a commitment.

A for-sure, for-real, planted-roots-and-ain't-going-nowhere kind of commitment.  My apologies to English teachers everywhere for my last sentence.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE.

Guess that means we are NOT moving back to New Mexico or Arizona or Nebraska any time soon.  Ok, not Nebraska ever.  Ewww.  No offense to Nebraskinians, I just don't like your state.

Yes, good ol' Pennsylvania is where we will be indefinitely.  So it's been a super busy summer.  These last few weeks in particular due to the move and all that is part of the moving process.  I have taken at least seven boxes of stuff to Goodwill, which coincidentally enough were full of things I originally bought there anyway.  Goodwill truly is the gift that keeps giving.

Our house leans towards a somewhat (gasp) contemporary suburban split entry style.  Which means all of my cutesy dollhouse country furniture and décor has got to find a new home.  Oh, I'm keeping some of it, but I will be setting up our new living quarters with more of a folk-artsy flair.

So I'm going through a minimalist phase, realizing that in this larger space less is going to be more.  At least that's what I keep telling myself now. 

I will post some pictures when I have some to share.  It may be sometime, so please don't wait with eager anticipation.

Bird Nests In A Blizzard

This past Sunday, we had our annual Easter dinner at my Mother's.  TJ and I made our bird nest cookies.

We make them every year, they are simple and very cute.  Almost as cute as the little boy holding one he made.

I was so excited to find butter in the shape of a lamb.  Mom had this at her Easter table alongside the Paska Bread, Hrudka and pickled eggs when she was little.  I remember hearing about it- so finding it in the grocery store was very nostalgic for her.  We actually have our Easter dinner on Palm Sunday so that my brother's families and I can make it without the pressures of being pulled in different directions on Easter Sunday. 

This week at my house we are celebrating what I call "Passover Light".  I call it "light" because I don't know enough prayers in Hebrew to give Passover it's proper due.  I think it's important to understand the significance of Passover prior to Easter.  Contradictory, I realize.  But that's us- just one big screwy contradiction.  Tonight I am making Matzo ball soup. 

Speaking of screwyness, did someone forget to remind Mother Nature that it is late March?  Last year at this time I had daffodils.  This was my commute this morning. 

Happy Easter, I guess.

To Blog or Not To Blog

That really is the question.  You know, for the last year or so, I've started a post here and there.  I've had fabulous recipes to share many times and just never did. 

A couple months ago I received a warning from DMCA for copyright infringement, and to those offended and/or violated, well- thanks.  I've had to remove one of my favorite posts.  Don't know if it was the images I cut and pasted or the excerpt from the recipe book I quoted. 

It was my Hoppin' John recipe post, in which I thanked Chalkie White of HBO's Boardwalk Empire for prompting my interest in researching Hoppin' John recipes.  That led me to discover an old cookbook called Charleston Receipts, which was the primary source of inspiration for my own Hoppin' John recipe.  But I can say no more lest I infringe upon someone's pictures or writings or whatever. If you want a good recipe for Hoppin' Johns, leave a comment, I'll be glad to forward it to you.

I realize I am the world's worst blog host.  My sincerest apologies to all two of you who read this waste-of- cyber-space. Blogging has taken a backseat to reality- 'twas once a way to escape boredom and exercise my writing muscles.  Now I'm afraid my blog is an afterthought.  My reality is that I'm working quite much more than I was a few years back when I started to blog, and my growing son is involved in every after- school activity and/or sport known to man. 

I've also taken on a second job, of sorts.  This past fall a fellow business associate and I started our own management company.  Small potatoes, really.  But like any start up company there has been a lot of researching, late nights and re-learning the business that I'm in, but making it my own business.  Does that make sense?  Probably not, but that's okay.  The biggest reward so far is that my business partner (who also owns a fabulous Chinese restaurant) hosted a real Chinese New Year's party this February complete with fresh lobster and LOTS of Tsing Tsao beer.  And plenty of gambling with Yen.  So maybe not gambling with Yen.  But it sounded like a good idea at the time. 

On a completely different note, my brother decided it would be a fine idea to give my son a Wii.  I hate video games, I always have.  The Wii is no exception.  Now, I find during the middle of the night, I awake to an empty bed, and where is my darling but downstairs playing with his Wii.  Not that one...  pervert that you are. 

I'm eagerly anticipating springtime.  Winter has drawn on for what seems like an eternity.  We had snow on Halloween and pretty much weekly since.  Easter is just over a week away, and the most I've done so far is hang a bunny wreath on my front door.  It's hard to be in the pastel mood when all is grey and cold.

School has come and gone.  I've finally gotten Moby Dick out of my mind, although recently the book was one whole Jeopardy! category and I totally kicked ass.  Sad- my life revolves around subsidized housing projects and reveling in the knowledge that I can beat my husband at Jeopardy! when there is a Moby Dick category.

I found out recently while reading Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa website that she will be stopping in Pittsburgh this October on her book tour.  Oh, guess who's gonna be waiting at the front of that line?  Yeah, me.  I adore Ina.  Fortunately my On Demand cable allows me to watch new episodes of her show whenever it's convenient for me instead of when they are airing.  So, I was able to watch all of the Barefoot in Napa episodes at my usual TV time, around 12 am Tuesdays.   Some people drown their sorrows in booze, I drown mine in Barefoot.  Nevermind.  I don't really have any sorrows.  On the contrary, things around here are pretty stinking good.

Well, such is my life these days, and as fun as this blog update has been it is time for me to get off of the computer and back to work.  I cannot promise future updates, but thank you for reading this one.





Best Wishes for a  Happy, Warm, and Colorful Easter!

A Dinner Worthy of 14 Anniversaries

Call me Ishmael.  Ooops- nevermind.

So- my wonderful, glorious, Adonis-like husband and I celebrated our 14th anniversary yesterday.  Did you hear me?  14 YEARS!  Given the times we live in, I'd say that's something to be mighty proud of!

Unfortunately the business of our every day lives prevents us from having our own private celebration- somewhere quiet, candlelit,and free of children.  Instead we settled for a quiet dinner at home; moderately quiet (meaning we turned the TV volume down), candlelit with an LED centerpiece, and definitely NOT child-free.  We've decided that the result of our Great American Love Story  should be permitted to join us for our celebration dinner, anyway.  More on the Great American Love Story comment in a minute.

Our Anniversary allows me reflect on the years Todd and I have been together and allow myself a moment or so to relive some of the spectacular times we've shared.  I love my husband.  There isn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that we were destined to marry from the time we both were conceived ourselves.  Almost daily I am amazed by our identical thought process when it comes to anything, really- from business decisions to finances to raising our son and even political perspectives.   It's like we share part of the same brain. 

And there is the opposite side of this brain-sharing thing, too.  Like he fills in the parts of my missing brain with his and vice versa.  Only I think I might have a few more missing parts than he does.

Usually for our anniversary, I write up a top-ten list of certain things, like why I love him and funniest moments in our marriage and so on.  I think I've posted one of them a few years back.  This year I didn't do that (yet).  I blame Moby Dick.

But I did take the time to recreate the first meal I ever made for Todd when we started to date.  Todd has always been a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  I, on the other hand, didn't eat meat when we met, but I did eat fish and chicken occasionally.  I knew two things about what he liked then, back in 1997.  He liked spice, and shrimp.

I personally was going through a weird stage in my life where (prior to meeting Todd) I had myself convinced I was going to move to Brazil and marry Christian Fittipaldi.  I immersed myself in Brazilian culture- studying Portuguese and learning the geography and history of the country.  I had a Brazilian cookbook and a recipe for something called Brazilian Shrimp and Corn Moqueca seemed simple and yummy enough.

So I made it, and Todd seemed to like it a lot.  The only problem was, due to my skill limitations in the kitchen then, any time Todd came over for dinner all I would ever make was this dish because it was the one thing I always got right.  (You should have seen my disastrous attempts at homemade garlic toast or grilled chicken that tasted slightly of lighter fluid.)  Needless to say, he ate this more in the first few months of us dating than any one man should be subjected to.  Finally I learned to cook different things and this recipe was forgotten about in my "Favorite Recipes" collection of my index-card recipe box.

So, in honor of our 14 years of wedded-bliss, last night I came home from work and made some delicious Shrimp and Corn Moqueca, along with some baby DelMonico's and some bacon-ey and cheesy twice-baked potatoes.  (The man needs his meat and potatoes and I respect that.  I need my bacon and cheese and he respects that)

So- In honor of November 13th, which was Friday the 13th in 1997 and the happiest day of my life until our son was born, I share with you my well-guarded secret to a happy marriage:  Brazilian Shrimp and Corn Moqueca!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small jalapeno, chopped and seeded (or 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Tabasco sauce, your preference
1/2 cup fresh, chopped parsley
1 tablespoons flour
1 cup of milk, or 1 cup of coconut milk (not sweetened) if you want to be authentic
1 can creamed corn
3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese   (Please do not use that nasty stuff in the green can.  Buy yourself a good hunk of Parm and grate it by hand or in the food processor.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a cast iron or oven-proof skillet, soften onion and jalapeno in olive oil for a minute.  Stir in shrimp, tomato sauce, parsley and Tabasco sauce (to taste) .  Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the shrimp is warmed through.  Sprinkle in flour, stir.  Gradually add in milk, bringing to a slow boil until the sauce is thickened.

Remove from heat.  Spread can of creamed corn over shrimp mixture.  Do not stir in!  Spread cheese over the top of skillet.  Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. 

Allow to cool slightly before scooping into shallow bowls.  You can put a spoonful of cooked rice in the middle of the stew or on the side before serving.

OK.  And to further explain the Great American Love Story reference from above, it was an answer to a question that my son asked recently.  I knew this day would come. 

TJ:  "Mom- you are white and Daddy is black.  But I'm brown." 

ME:  "We are not colors.  You are not defined by the color of your skin.  You are the result of a Great American Love Story." 

The End.

I Lied To You.

My preceding post is a lie.  I am not "falling" back into blog mode.  Instead I'm falling into a catastrophic rut with regular blog posts because my professor is making me read, reread, and obsess over Moby Dick.

I used to like this book.  Now it is etched deep into the once-creative recesses of my brain and any time I even start to write something for this blog, the first sentence I automatically write is "Call me Ishmael."

FALLing Back Into Blog Mode

It would be safe to say we had a busy, if not exhausting summer.  I will post pictures, soon.  I'm getting back in the mood to write, to blog, to create.  Anything.  Fall weather itself inspires me.  I took a day off work last week just so that I could stay home and decorate the house for fall.

I find that if I stay up with reading regularly and organizing a time just for my own learning and enrichment, I'm more motivated.  I'm starting with some online lectures at NYU.  I'm sitting in on lectures about early American literature.  It's a start.

I plan on taking advantage of the fall weather as much as possible, visiting every farmers market, fall festival or historical landmark that I can, squeezed in between my son's football practices and games.  And thrift stores...  I think the fall is the best time for thrifting!

I get back into the kitchen a lot more as the weather cools, too.  I hardly bake in the summer, and dinners are pretty much whatever is thrown on the grill -or- a lot of baseball tailgate type foods.  (Hot dogs and macaroni salad, anyone?)

So yes- recipes will hopefully be making a comeback!

Happy fall...

Oh, my blog, you are not

something that I just forgot.

Summer is busy, free time so rare.

No time for updates, but I really do care!

When I have a quiet hour or two

there is much to share with you.

A trip that found us far away,

(in another country) for several days!

Baseball games, picnics, and the drive-in,

then squeezing in a relaxing swim;

Day time trips to near and far,

netted some great bargains loaded into my car.

When I can I promise that soon,

I will fill you in on our exciting June!

I see the sun setting on our July,

but I'll tell you all about this month, too- so do not cry!

August approaches and brings a smiling friend,

and then I will write about the summer's end.

Until then, enjoy the heat and warm summer nights,

and for Pete's sake get off your computer and on with your life!

I'll blog later- enjoying myself too much worry about it now!