I Think I’ll Now Cook Everything “En Papillote”

Well, I’ve really outdone myself this week – you get two recipes instead of one (also – I might be too hungover next week to do this so now I’ve covered my bases). But first – the week. Unremarkable…. although given the circus I run that’s pretty good. My Husband worked late almost every night so by the end I was frazzled and drinking a lot of wine but everyone survived. Here are the “big” things from the week, in no particular order:

1. Our Son started telling us sporadically when he has to pee. Unlike before, now when he goes to sit on the potty now he actually has to pee. Do we have a self potty trainer on our hands?! MAYBE?! We are not pushing it since he is not even 2.5 years old yet but time will tell. I can already envision my more glamorous less diaper changing life.
2. I got my hair cut and highlighted (as promised in last week’s post). I look pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I went to Tula Organic Spa in Squirrel Hill and Betsy did my do. Just luck, no recommendation. She was awesome. Easy to talk to but also comfortable to NOT TALK which is great because I am too tired to talk (those who know me thought they’d never hear that!). I had to bring Baby to the appointment and when he was fussy Carolyn at the front desk snuggled with him. I should have asked if she was looking for some extra money as a babysitter…. she was great. They use Aveda products when I like. Finally, compared to prices out East and in Chicago they were VERY cheap. All in all, a win. Highly recommend for your hair care/styling needs. That paragraph sounds like a Yelp review. My sexy new do is just the kick in the pants I need because….
3. My vagina has been given a clean bill of health post-baby. I GET TO RUN AGAIN!!(among other enjoyable activities, obviously) I’ve thus far been on 2 runs and had one cross training day. My new running shoes are very loud, like me (when I’m not too tired).
4. I have a new favorite coffee. Enter: The Coffee Tree Roasters. When my Sister In Law was here she got some coffee there and really liked it… she is quite particular about her coffee so I imagined it was good but didn’t really care. We got ours at Trader Joe’s and it was fine. It was coffee. Then, one day I didn’t have time to go to TJ and this place was much closer. For $16.99/pound I got the Vienna Roast and am addicted. That’s more than I have ever spent on coffee (it was one of the cheapest there) but I guess for “coffee people” it is not that much? Whatever, it is totally worth it. What will I do when we move to Iowa? Probably shrivel up from lack of delicious coffee…..

It’s amazing how a little exercise and time to myself gives me so much more emotional and physical energy to then dedicate time to my family. Enter – the desire and energy for this week’s Sunday night dinner: Salmon en Papillote with a side of cauliflower “Mac and Cheese”. I admit, neither of these are particularly difficult but the former is a technique that feels fancy so totally worth checking out.

Dinner is Served!

Salmon en Papillote

Ingredients:

1. Salmon (as many serving filets as you want – skin off to absorb juices and flavors of veggies)
2. Veggies that will cook quickly (spinach, cherry tomatoes, asparagus etc)
3. salt/pepper
4. lemon
5. Parchment Paper (not for eating)

Preheat oven to 450.

Lay out parchment paper and fold it in half. Unfold. Put down veggies (I used spinach and cherry tomatoes) and place a piece of salmon on top. The set up should be near the center crease. Season with salt/pepper and put a few slices of lemon on top. You can take a lot of liberties with seasonings and veggies. Maybe a bit of herb butter on top? You decide!

Fold over the parchment paper and roll up the edges to seal. Do not tape. Place the packet(s) in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. The packets will puff up when they are done.

Remove and enjoy!

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese thank you Smitten Kitchen for this recipe… which I have slightly modified.

Ingredients (for 4 side dish servings)

1. 1 medium head of cauliflower (I made a double recipe… so 2 heads)
2. 1.25 cups sharp cheddar cheese
3. 4 TBSP butter
4. 4 TBSP flour
5. salt/pepper
6. Paprika
7. Mustard (about 2 TBSP… I just squirted it in)
8. 2 cups milk (I used 2%, recipe called for whole)
9. Breadcrumbs for top if you want!

Steam cauliflower for 10 minutes until just soft. Remove and let cool.

 

Meanwhile:  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk to combine; cook for 1 minute to ensure you get rid of the floury taste. Add mustard and a pinch of paprika and few grinds of black pepper, and stir to combine. Drizzle in milk in a thin, steady stream, whisking the whole time so that no lumps form. Season with salt and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring with a spoon; mixture should thicken. Stir in 1cheddar, a handful at a time, letting each handful melt before adding the next. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.

Remove cauliflower florets and cut up very small. Spread cauliflower florets in a 2-quart baking ovenproof baking dish. Spoon sauce over florets and mix together. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until until bronzed and bubbly, about 35 minutes.

Eat it all and do not share!

On Saturday we will be cleaning ourselves up for a Gala for my Husband’s job. WooHoo!!!

 

 

 

It’s not fancy or technical, but it IS tradition <3

Hello I am back! In full disclosure, I planned to write this a week ago…. then the weekend rolled around and I planned to do it on Sunday night but this parenting of two thing has really got me a disorganized and exhausted mess (well, disorganized for me….. let’s be honest here, I’m still REALLY, ANNOYINGLY organized). 8pm rolls around and we are done with dinner and I am either nursing our mammoth 1 month old or have fallen asleep on the couch watching HGTV or The Food Network. Yes, glamorous life. So, here it is – I will do my best to do this weekly… it will get better with time. In 18 years I’ll have more time.

This week is a little different, we were GOING to explore a new restaurant for our first date night out but our sitter got the flu so that didn’t happen. Instead, in addition to our food I’ll be sharing a bit of me time. ME. TIME. About 2 weeks ago I looked in the mirror and thought “what. the. fuck.”. I look as frumpy as I feel. I’m covered in baby vomit all day, I don’t get enough sleep, my face looks pale and saggy… all in all I am looking like the mother of a 1 month old and 2 year old. Oh, wait. I have also gone back to work. Let me remind you all that I am only available to work 8 hours a week and I am RARELY booked. In a crazy turn of events I have been book EVERY AVAILABLE DAY SINCE GOING BACK. Isn’t it ironic, dontcha think? This only adds to my exhaustion and feeling of frumpiness. Slight problem here, I am NOT a frumpy individual and I refuse to feel like one. I can be tired and covered in vomit but I will look and feel spectacular. SPECTACULAR. My OB should clear me on Thursday to start running again which will help… but I need a bit more.  Enter: Monday. It is a holiday so I am not working and the Nanny is coming.  When I am done typing this I will go and get a facial (thanks Mom for the bday present!) and then I will get my hair cut and colored (it has not been colored in about 7 years and has not been cut since before we moved to this God forsaken city). I have also bought a new, funky, pair of glasses (huge shout out to Warby Parker for their super cool glasses, affordable prices, easy process and great customer service) and bought a beautiful dress and Nordstrom for the black tie event my Husband and I have in 2 weeks (another shout out to Nordstrom and JoAnn for their legendary customer service). No, it is not fun trying on dressess when you are saggy and lumpy but it is fun to find one that makes you feel beautiful anyway. Enough about me? OOOOOOOOK. On to the recipe!

My Husband and I have been together for 9 years (married for almost 5!). For the first two years we went out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. Come year 3 and I am not sure why but we stayed in and made pizza. My husband made the dough and shaped it like a heart. We have had heart shaped home made pizza ever since! We used to make the dough, the residency and work started and we bought it. This year, I made it again (yay!). Below is the awesome no-rise crispy dough recipe that I made. In the past we have made normal dough for pizza and it is a bit soft so this is a keeper! another difference this year is that we got to include our Son in the tradition and he made his own heart shaped pizza ❤

Our Son making his own pizza. He picked out the ingredients.

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions:

Place a pizza stone inside you oven on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. You can also use a baking sheet but preheat to 450 and bake longer (we have a pizza stone because we are super cool).

In a large bowl, mix together the water, yeast and honey. Let that sit and get foamy, about 10ish minutes.

After 10 minutes, stir the flour and salt into the yeast mixture. Stir until the dough comes together, first using a spoon and then using your hands. If the dough is REALLY sticky, use a little more flour until it becomes silky, adding 1 tablespoon of flour as needed. Flour your workspace and knead the dough a few times with your hands. Let it sit for 5 minutes. The recipe didn’t say anything about this but I made the dough in advance and put it in the fridge (wrapped in plastic wrap) and it worked just fine so go for it!

Roll the dough out as thin as you possible can – at least 10 inches. If the dough keeps springing back, let it rest another 5 or 10 minutes. I used a floured parchment paper to roll it out on. If you have not put your pizza peel in storage and left it in CT like SOMEONE did, use that – otherwise the parchment and a few spatulas works very well. Feel free to cut it into a heart if it is Feb 14th!

Put on your delish toppings and transfer dough quickly to the pizza stone via whatever method your kitchen utensils will allow. Put in the oven and back for 10-15 minutes.It will be done when the crust is crispy and cheese is golden.

Remove pizza, cool, cut and EAT.

The Amazing Things Mommies Can Do

I cannot start this post without mentioning what is going on in our country – it would seem careless to do otherwise.  I have never been, nor am I now, a very politically informed person. Yes, I read the news daily and I vote and I have opinions but the finer nuances of the laws and regulations escape me (unless explained to me by my best – and well informed – friend).  But even I know – as many many do – that what is going on now is disgusting and embarrassing and enraging and so much more. Our country is unrecognizable. A country that strips the rights of anyone who is not a white Christian male, who supports bigotry and racism and sexism, who LITERALLY builds walls and who turns honest, hard working, intelligent immigrants and refugees away at our shores out of sheer ignorance is not our country. It is not what our country stands for. It is so very scary. As a new mom for the 2nd time I have not been able to join the marches or airport protests; but I am there in spirit, supporting the democracy of our country. I am doing what I can, as the mother of two white, Christian, males, to raise them with open and accepting views and to love and accept everyone BECAUSE of their differences. Its not enough , but our family will stand for nothing else. That is the one amazing thing that right now, I can do.

Soap box aside, I have also been able to do a lot of small scale amazing things in our home to make our family functional now that my Mom  has left and my Husband has returned to work. My Father In Law lovingly offered to come back immediately so there would be no gap in assistance but I assured him we needed a week or so to get on our feet and figure this family -of-four thing out for ourselves (he is now back and the help is much appreciated). There have been times (yes more than once) in the 3 short weeks of Baby’s life that I have had 5 discontinuous hours of sleep in a 48 hour time period… and yet, here is a list of 20 things this Mommy (and likely any parent who stays home with their children) can do without sleep …. or a 2nd adult around:

1. Scramble eggs while breast feeding Baby
2. Defrost crock pot meals over night and remember to cook them the next day for dinner (side note: these crock pot meals that have been living in my freezer for the past 3 months are amazing).
3. Get 2 children under 2.5 years old dressed, fed and out of the house by 9:30-10am daily to be sure we still attend every activity (gymnastics, library, museum, mommy and me etc) that our Son is used to during the week.
4. Remember to send thank you notes in a prompt manner.
5. Shower without a second adult around.
6. Make chicken fingers from scratch when the reality that there are no more in the freezer sets in.
7. Sing continuously with our Son even though the songs make me want to rip my ears off. A plus side of extreme fatigue is that after awhile the songs actually gain some sort of  humor.
8. Breast feed Baby while sharing a meal with our Son
9. Buy new undies for myself as a treat since pregnancy stretched out the old ones (only Baby in tow thank you to our Nanny!)
10. Vacuum
11. Take a 30 minute walk around a track with Baby strapped to me.
12. Read a new book without falling asleep immediately (strong recommendation for Mudbound by Hillary Jordan)
13. “Clean” bathroom and kitchen…. which sadly means wiping both down with Clorox wipes and sweeping the floor… ho hum.
14. Keep humidifiers filled.
15. Do laundry and fold on schedule so everyone is clean and happy.
16. Teach our Son about lying…. eg not calling me up to change his “poot” when there is in fact no poo in his diaper and he just wanted me to come upstairs.
17. Bake banana blueberry muffins with our Son AND Baby
18. Listen to two children cry and/or scream simultaneously and not cry myself.
19. Breast feed Baby while doing pretty much anything.
20. Be a kind and understanding person 80% of the time… which might actually be an improvement from my baseline since I have to consciously try so hard at it.

I know, this is not very exciting.  These are just the daily activities of any stay at home parent. But, as any parent of two young children knows – these are major accomplishments. Says who? Me, bitches.

No new recipe (just glowing praise for the freezer crock pot meals I have mentioned more than once since making them) and no exploration of new places. See you all in a few weeks when these things will hopefully (and let’s be honest – likely – because I’m a nut case) resume xo

Photo courtesy of Mary Beth Miller Photography. I have so much love for my family.