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Last night we celebrated Jack's 32nd birthday with an Asian dinner. (Asia Mart on the north side of Indy had an excellent selection of international groceries. Asia Mart, Trader Joe's, Cookie Cutters, and Chickfila are all on the same street within just a few miles of each other. It's awesome.)

We had Thai Whole Fish with Coriander. Whole fish was one of Jack's favorite dishes to order in Vietnam and Thailand, and he gutted and fried the fish for me. Now that should be in the Art of Manliness!

Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls - this recipe from epicurious really is very similar to the way my Vietnamese students taught me, but we used the traditional rice paper wrappers instead of wheat wrappers. And Spicy-Sweet Green Beans. And rice, of course.
For dessert a simple and completely un-asian peanut butter pie.
The ever=photogenic Kinsley joined us, and entertained our babies while we were frying things.


It all turned out well, and Jack was sincerely excited about his kindle and his vinyl.

meatless monday: more pizza

I make pizza from scratch fairly regularly, and though a while back I felt I had absolutely nailed pizza dough, lately my crusts just haven't been doing it for me.

So tonight we got serious, and broke out the Peter Reinhart (in this book, which Jack gave me for our anniversary a couple of years ago; or, in an abbreviated version, here).



Clearly, we need to practice tossing our crusts, but even in funny shapes, this was a delicious dough. We topped it with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh sliced tomato, bufalo mozzerella, parmesan, and goat cheese. With spinach salad and zinfandel, this was the best pizza we've had in quite a while.

meatless mondays: cold dinners, and etc.

Now that summer is here, and Jack only has to go in to school a few hours a week, I'm having a hard time remembering what day it is.

It's a lovely thing to be able to forget.

I've also been opting for the simplest of foods, mostly served cold.

I like to make a pasta salad along these lines, with orzo, cherry tomatoes, spinach, feta, and pine nuts.

Tonight we're having arugula, potato, and green bean salad, which is surprisingly delicious.

And last night we rolled sushi, with avocado and smoked salmon.

We bought a grill on Memorial Day weekend, just a simple round Weber, and grilled bulgogi on it last week. Yum. Tomorrow we'll grill some surf and turf deliciousness.

Despite the fact that the latest Bon Appetit had Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover, I've been using a lot of its recipes: crispy roast chicken thighs, watermelon granita (use less sugar than they recommend!) and strawberry/blueberry striped popsicles. And then sitting by the (inflatable kids') pool.

meatless monday: RAMPS edition

At the Winter Farmer's Market in Indy, we bought ramps, one of the the first spring vegetables to appear. Elliott pointed us to a few good recipes that I'd love to try, but tonight we kept it simple - Scrambled Eggs with Ramps, Mushrooms, and Asparagus. The scramble had a nice mild garlicky flavor from the ramps. I served it with slices of grilled homemade crusty bread, and I meant to serve it with fried potatoes too, but somehow I completely forget about them. For dessert we had (frozen) blueberries and some raw milk gouda, which we also bought at the winter market. It was a delicious meal.

meatless...

Jack left today for New Orleans and the TESOL conference, but Mimi is here to keep us company. She's vegetarian, so I decided that this week we'd try vegetarian dinners Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday instead of just Monday.

Tonight we tried these spinach pancakes that a friend pointed me to, and they were amazing. Don't let the name "spinach pancakes" detract you. These exceed expectations. I could have eaten twice as many as I cooked.

Tomorrow night we'll have a winter standby (for the last time - spring is in the air!) -- Curried Squash and Red Lentil Soup with flat bread -- and Friday we'll make mushroom pizza.

noodles to slurp

There is no movie that makes me want to eat more than Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love," (2000) which is a beautiful movie and features beautiful people slurping up wonton noodle soup from street stalls in Hong Kong in the 1960s.

Just thinking about this movie always makes us want noodles. And yes, we gave up tv for Lent and haven't watched the film in years, since we were dating, but we have been thinking about it. And so we gave wonton noodle soup a try, and here's what we came up with. It was pretty satisfying, and Rosie-approved.

In the Mood for Wonton Soup (4 servings)

For the wontons:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, deveined, tails off, and finely chopped
1/2 Tbs oyster sauce
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
sprinkling of salt and pepper
40 wonton wrappers, at room temperature
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients up to the wonton wrappers.
Mix well.
Put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper, and brush the cornstarch/water mixture on all edges.
Fold over to form a triangle, press to secure edges, encasing the filling.
Bring two corners together and press to secure.
Place on a dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
Store in fridge if not using immediately.

For the broth:
2 quarts chicken broth
1-2 Tbs fish sauce
3 carrots, sliced on the bias
2 cups washed and roughly chopped bok choy
8 oz fresh chinese style noodles (check the fresh produce section where you find mushrooms and tofu...)

Bring the chicken stock and fish sauce to a boil. Add the carrots and wontons. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until wontons float to the surface. Add the noodles and cook for two minutes. Add the bok choy and cook for one minute more.

Spoon into bowls and slurp!

meatless monday: lentil shepherd's pie

I had such high hopes for this lentil shepherd's pie, and it was fine, but it wasn't anything to write home about. In flavor it was very one-note, and I couldn't figure out what it was missing - something spicy or acidic or tangy, paprika or just more salt...

But I did like the cauliflower mashed potatoes (and I didn't mash them with veg. broth, as I wasn't trying to be vegan...I used butter and milk).

meatless monday: spicy soba noodles

It's not much to look at in this iphone picture, but it tasted delicious and like we were still living with Japanese and Korean housemates.


Smitten Kitchen's Spicy Soba Noodles with Shiitakes and Cabbage. I used Bok Choy instead of napa cabbage, because that's what I had, and I added a shredded carrot to the veggie mix. The flavors were nearly perfect - I think I'd do a little less ginger next time, but otherwise I'd definitely make it again.

meatless monday: broccoli with cashews

This year, broccoli with cashews has been one of our favorite side dishes. Tonight we decided to make it the main event by adding some lightly fried tofu and serving it over steamed rice. It was totally satisfying. (If you make it, I suggest toasting the cashews for 8-10 minutes at 375 before adding them to the sauce.)


Jack has just gotten over a sinus infection, and I have just come down with one. Rose slept for three and a half hours this afternoon, and I suspect she may be fighting off a little something herself. The snow and ice are back. And I miss NyQuil.

meatless monday: falafel pitas

One of my favorites so far. And chickpeas are an excellent source of iron for this slightly anemic pregnant lady. The falafel was homemade, but all the rest was easy - pitas, hummus, yogurt dressing, and some lettuce and tomato.

meatless monday: chard and white bean soup

A fairly simple, hearty meal. We ate it as Deb suggested, with toast and a poached egg.


It seemed like the right thing to do as the ice and snow headed our way. Here's hoping we still have power when we wake up tomorrow!

mushroom pizza

Today it snowed all morning and I didn't feel like going to the store. So we made dinner with what was around the house: some bread dough that was in the fridge, tomato sauce made with a can of diced tomatoes and based on this recipe, and a few lonely mushrooms. Oh, and Mary Ann Lepine style, we had apples slices and carrot sticks on the side.

black bean veggie burgers

I spent way too much time cooking and washing up today. I do not know why I decided to do it this way.
Meatless Monday Menu:
Black Bean Veggie Burgers (a favorite recipe from way back in our first year of marriage)
on Belle's Hamburger Buns, with mayo and baby arugula
with Butternut Squash with Brown Butter and Thyme
and Baked Kale Chips

and Scotchies

PS: If I ask Rosie to read me a book, she says, "No, mommy. I cannot know the words." It's totally adorable how she doesn't use contractions.

meatless mondays commence

There will be no 52 in 52 this year.

There may be a 12 in 12 for some of us, but I'll get back to that.

The 2011 resolution Katie has proposed is to have meatless Mondays, and Mom and I have signed on. This semester (at least), Jack and I are trying to eat vegetarian dinners twice a week, and to eat red meat only on the weekends.

We kicked off meatless Mondays with a rich Mushroom Alfredo Fettuccine and caesar salad, using our secondhand pasta maker for the first time. The pasta was delicious.



Mushooms
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Saute together in a little butter until soft and browned. Set aside.

Faux Alfredo

Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Whisk in 4 oz cream cheese and 1 tsp garlic powder until smooth. Slowly add1 cup milk, whisking to remove clumps. Stir in 3 oz grated parmesan, 1 tsp salt, and freshly ground pepper. (This still needed something...nutmeg? I don't know.)

Add mushroom mixture to sauce and spoon over pasta.

48 of 52

I guess it's true that during Christmas break, all I want to read are murder mysteries. (Number 1 of my 52, read during the end of last Christmas break, was also a Miss Marple.) I didn't want to include this in my 52, because it's really nothing more than escape reading, but time is getting short. And to be honest, it's still the case that all I want to do when it's cold and grey outside is make myself a hot chocolate and curl up with Miss Marple.


Hot Chocolate

Combine
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 scant Tbs sugar
pinch of salt
drop of vanilla
1 cup whole milk

in a small saucepan on the stove. Whisk until combined, and heat to desired temperature.

I like to then add a splash of coffee and/or a drop of starbuck's peppermint syrup. And I like to top it with marshmallows.

It's extremely decadent and may be the reason that at almost 6 months pregnant I already look more like 8 months. But I don't care.

upland

You know how in some movies, like Capote or Frozen River, they'll open with a sweeping shot of a barren, flat, wintry landscape, just to set the tone?

That's where I live now. In case you were wondering.

Also: Jack thinks he has grayed as much in this first semester at Taylor as Obama did in his first year in office.

I think you get the point.


Some mornings, even though the night before you made granola and quiche lorraine, you still feel a need to make banana crumb muffins. I can't explain it.



Here is Mom's granola recipe. It's great with a little Brown Cow Maple Cream Top yogurt.

Yummy Granola

3 cups rolled oats

¼ cup sesame seeds

½ cup chopped almonds

½ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

½ cup coconut

1 t. cinnamon

¼ t. nutmeg

1/8 t. salt



1/3 cup, plus 1 T. maple syrup or honey

1/3 cup, plus 1 T. coconut oil or butter

1 t. vanilla



Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in small bowl. Pour wet over dry and mix well. Spread onto a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, stirring every 12 minutes.


Cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Makes about 6 cups.

hearty lentil soup

I make this soup a couple of times each fall/winter, because it's so quick and warm and healthy and filling. This makes 4-6 servings.

1 lb ground turkey, or lean ground beef
1 1/2 cup dry lentils
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 cups spicy V8
about 10 oz canned mushrooms, drained
2 cubes beef bouillon dissolved in 3 cups water
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
cayenne powder to taste
dash Worcestershire sauce

1. Brown meat in a big soup pot, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Drain and return to pan.

2. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook on high until it boils. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for about an hour, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

39 of 52

I bought this cookbook because over the last year or two, one of our favorite tv shows has been the "River Cottage" series, which is nearly impossible to find on dvd and was introduced to us by some friends in Seattle.

This cookbook is designed to be used by families, so that even the youngest kids can participate and learn how to cook the basics. With kids in mind, each section has a "project" families can take on, like making homemade butter. It's also filled with interesting facts about the histories of different foods and the farming techniques currently used. It is unabashedly in favor of free range eggs and meats. I think it would be a great cookbook for any family to use for the basics, and it was fun to read.

mom's flank steak

I have a photocopy of this recipe, handwritten on KFIA letterhead (we lived in California) and noted "SL July 86 P 385". I think the SL is Southern Living...but does Southern Living have 385 pages? Someone more informed will have to weigh in here.

Anyway, this is really the only way I know to make steak, and it's what Katie always wanted for her birthday dinners growing up, and it's quick and very delicious. I will reproduce it here as written.

Tangy Flank Steak

1-1 1/2 # flank steak
1/2 c veg oil
3 T vinegar
3 T lemon juice
2 T worcestershire sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T fresh chopped parsley
1 1/2 t salt
2 t dry mustard
1 t pepper
1/2 t garlic salt

Combine ingredients
Marinate 2 hrs covered in refrig
Grill

We always broil it instead, 5-7 minutes per side. Tonight we had it with mashed red potatoes on the side.

29 of 52

This is a neat little book advising how to create your own cleaning products, health care solutions, and garden. Sometimes I like to think that when we are in our own place I will do these kinds of things, but reading this book made me doubt whether or not I'm really committed.

Before you can start making your own all-purpose cleaner, and face wash, and laundry soap, and toothpaste, and headache tinctures,(etc.) you do have to invest in a number of items (herbs, essential oils, borax...not to mention glass jars and cooking and mixing equipment solely devoted to these creations) that are not necessarily easy to find. Something makes me think that might be especially true in a small town.

So, I'm probably not going to make my own toothpaste. But here are the kind of things I am more likely to try...