Weekly Recipes 2

This week has been filled with a lot of work and the beginning of my summer.  We are working on a Hansen garden project so even though my last day of work was Tuesday I've still been at work every day helping to move and replant our raised garden beds.  I am so excited for this to be a fully realized project, to have kids snap off vegetables and love them (or at least try them).  

It's also the start of summer break. I always dream that I will find a perfect summer job-make a little extra money working at a book store, restaurant, or bakery but it would need to be short hours and great pay to make it worth my while. I like to get a lot of reading, resting, and cleaning done during break.  

Here's what I made this week to keep us fed:

1. The black bean soup was amazing!  We had it twice.  Once just as soup and I served it with sour cream, guac, cilantro, and french bread.

The second time we had it with tortillas and rice, drizzling it together to make burritos.  I just had it as soup again as I'm opposed to the big fat flour tortilla. 

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2. Pork Roast:  I am experimenting with meat and I found this at a good price from a good source.  I looked at several different recipes and came to the conclusion that I could basically treat it like the pot roast my grandmother made.  I used my handy crock pot so it would be ready after I spent the afternoon at the garden.  I sautéed onions and garlic, browned the pork on all sides and scooped it into the slow cooker with celery, carrots, a few small yellow potatoes and some vegetable broth. I ate a salad while everyone else seemed to love the roast.

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3. Pork Roast part 2: pulled pork sandwiches for lunch today.  I read a Ree Drummond post about pulled pork and went with it.  Mine was already cooked so all I needed to do was "pull" it all apart.  She advised forks but I gave that up quickly and just used my hands.  As a veggie I have to admit it felt fatty.  Sesame buns, pickles, sweet potato chips, and a veggie tray made a terrific late summer lunch.  It would have made a great picnic except it was freezing outside today. Also Groovy Girl refused to eat them; she says BBQ sauce is disgusting. She, like me, ate the side dishes.  

4. Rhubarb sauce:  I love rhubarb and visited a friend who has a huge patch in her garden.  I brought home a hefty stack of stalks and used at least half to whip up this delicious sauce.  It's now in my refrigerator in glass canning jars.  The taste is amazing.  

I cleaned my entire kitchen yesterday also and it looks amazing. I reorganized it so I could clear clutter off the counter tops.  I love it.  This is my plan for the rest of the house.  That is my summer job. Unless a book store moves in downtown.  

How was your week in the kitchen?

Weekly Recipes

What I cooked this week...

With two kids home again I'm back to that grind of "what can I make that will please everyone..." It's never easy to please everyone, even when that means only 4 people.  I like it when those four/five people eat the food that I prepare with minimal fuss/pickiness.  Working full-time to come home and prepare dinner, I want that sit-down affair to be a happy time.

For a year and 1/2 teenage boy was living on his on in Colorado and it was just husband and I with Groovy Girl to attend to and I could cater my meals in her direction.  My husband literally will eat most everything set in front of him as long as it's not peanut butter or shellfish.

We are ecstatically happy that Teenage Boy returned home to go back to school even though he does throw a new twist into my meal plan.  If I went way back to early blog posts he is the one who "asked" us to think about eating meat. He played sports and as an active young male he begged, pleaded, and begged some more for me to add meat into our diet.

I don't mind meat as long as it comes from a healthy and local source, which also makes it expensive.  We can't do meat every night (which is what Teenage Boy would like).  He can through a meatless meal if pasta is involved.

The last couple of years I've tried to stay away from so much gluten. We've ruined wheat and it makes it hard to enjoy bread, pasta, sandwiches, and a nice cold beer.  It's okay; I've found many other delicious pleasures like hard cider, but it makes meal planning that much more interesting.

With all our different preferences it makes it difficult to plan the perfect meal.  It takes creativity and ingenuity.  And sometimes I just have to have a salad and be happy with that.  It's all good.

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1. Calzones: I made these on Monday night when husband was not home and I needed a purely kid-friendly dinner.  I mixed two recipes together and Groovy Girl did the calzone part on her own for both.  I made a lovely salad for myself and let the kids enjoy the cheesy, steamy calzones. They loved them. I used this pizza dough and filled it with good sausage, marinara, black olives, and cheese. Will make again especially because GG did all the work.

2. Artichoke and spinach pasta: This we enjoyed all together. Love it when we are all at the table as one. We had a salad so I could have just had that but the pasta looked and smelled amazing so I had a small portion.  Yum! The family ate it up. Again I combined two recipes from Pinterest: food network and budget savvy diva; I used what I wanted from both recipes making it as natural as possible. I used real spinach, 1 can of artichokes, parmesan shredded, fettuccine noodles, and a little cream cheese to add creaminess.  The roux was easy to make and the people at my table had 3-4 helpings.  I filled my plate with salad and had a small amount of pasta to try it. (meatless)

3. Bean burritos: I created these one night using quinoa, a can of black beans with sautéed sweet peppers mixed in.  The kids ate these with flour tortillas and I had corn, tastier, to me, and a much smaller portion. (meatless)

4. Stir-fry: This cleaned out my vegetable drawer; the last few spears of asparagus, last stalk of broccoli and cauliflower, a few peppers, a jar of Trader Joe's simmer sauce, a pot of brown rice and we had dinner at the table in record time.  I mixed in a little coconut milk for a change of pace and to tame the simmer sauce a bit for Groovy Girl. They didn't even know they were eating "leftovers".  (meatless)

5. Black bean soup: this is for tomorrow.  I cooked down a pound of black beans earlier in the week.

So all-in-all it was a creative week of meals at our house. And the BB soup will be a wonderful way to begin the week because it can be used in a variety of ways. How was your food week?

Girl at war by Sara Novic`

School is winding down and my desk is full.  I'm grading, collecting books, and preparing for an-end-of-the-year book fair.  My head is spinning maybe because I spent part of my week laying on the sofa reading Girl at War instead of getting stuff done.  It was worth it though; this is a great book.

Ana Juric`, a ten-year-old living in Croatia's capital has had a happy childhood until civil war breaks out and her life is transformed by food rationing, soldiers,  and air raid drills.  Suddenly life is very different and she feels out of control. The daily peace she felt is replaced with fear and uncertainty except when she is nestled together with her family:

That first time we saw it, my mother and I together, she patted my shoulder because these men were protecting Croatia and the fighting didn't look too dangerous. She smiled and the soup steamed, and even Rahela wasn't crying for once, and I allowed myself to slide into the fantasy I recognized as such even while my mind was still spinning it- that there in the flat, with my family, I was safe. (29)

The war circles around the Juric` family but at home there is a greater concern.  Ana's younger sister, Rahela, is sick and needs medical attention.  After visiting a female doctor in Zagreb Ana's family makes the difficult decision to get Rahela transported out of Croatia to America where she will recieve the treatment she needs. As Ana and her parents mournfully drive back to Zagreb they are stopped by a roadblock of Serbian soldiers.  It is at this moment that Ana's life will be forever changed and as it is with tragedy it makes her into the womas we later meet in New York.

Her predictable life studying in NYC has her on edge and she can't accept all that has happened to her.  She is at war with herself, trying to resolve what she experienced.  She makes a rash decision to travel back to Croatia to see if friends are still alive and to make peace with how her life has been shaped.

This is a transformitive story.  I enjoyed Ana's voice, her family struggles in New Jersey, and the difficult time she has with feeling comfortable after living, surviving a war where so many died.  Girl at war shows how resilent we are while making us fully aware of the damage caused by tragedy and war. It is a story of survival.  And we all need to read more of that.

It also brought to light this conflict for me.  In my small town we had an influx of Bosnian residents during this conflict.  They've succeeded in our community in many ways, been accepted and embraced, but it also makes me wonder what lies underneath.  Thank you,  Ana,  for this reminder; realizing the harm we do while fighting wars abroad and on our own streets would be a worthy reason to keep the peace.

On sale: May 12th, 2015 (go buy it now)

Thank you to @DavidEbershoff at Random House for my copy. My time-wasting habit of scrolling around twitter totally worth it when I'm able to scoop up an excellent book. It also in no way altered my review of this book.  I loved it all on my own.

Happy Mother's Day!

(Missing one child from far away...)

I hope everyone that is a mother had a wonderful day!  Being a mother is truly the hardest job; it comes with a lot of heartache and judgement.  My kids are not always happy with me, my ideas, and my suggestions.  I want the best for them-always.  Even though it is a difficult job I love being a mother and the payback can be amazing.

It's funny how the day started out as such a humble celebration, it was a way to honor and connect mother's who sons had fallen in the Civil War and later as a way to promote peace.  It's unfortunate that the holiday became so overly commercialized.  I do appreciate the simple things my children do for me.  I 'm happy with a meal together and several hand made cards.  Today we went for a walk, out for lunch, and a visit with my own mother.  It was a good day.  A simple day.

I also made chocolate chip cookie bars for school and folded laundry so it wasn't like I chilled the whole day.  It might be nice to pampered all day.  Right now BB is the important event at my house as I write and plan for my day tomorrow.

How ever you spent the day I hope it was relaxing and the focus was more on a shared experience than "stuff".

Starter curry from Jenny

I love my copy of Dinner; A love story for many reasons. It has fantastic recipes, amusing stories, and I agree with her on many topics. We love dinner at our house. Sitting down together eating and sharing conversation. When my son moved back after living on his own for a year and a half it was the dinners together that he raved about missing.  Every night he felt blessed to be back at the table eating good food with family surrounding him.

Even though I love this book I've only made a few of the recipes from this book. Chicken cutlets and dark and stormy are two top favs. I pulled the book out the other night and decided I was going to experiment with more of her recipes. 

Tonight I made Curried Chicken with apples. Everyone had 2nds and fought over scraps. Groovy Girl sadly didn't like some of the ingredients but she loved the chicken and the sauce. Apples confused her and those she refused to eat. She suggested a potato instead of the apple.

[yep, already had a bit or two but you can see the cilantro, yogurt, etc}

Here's the recipe so you can try it yourself.

Starter Curry;  Curried Chicken with apples (it is only one apple...really)

2 T canola oil, plus more as needed
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 large stalk celery, chopped
1 large apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T madras curry powder
3 medium-sized boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs) {Organic or farm-raised by someone you know preferred)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light coconut milk
Handful of frozen peas (optional) {I opted out-don't like frozen peas, or any pea from a pkg}
Few dollops of plain yogurt
Suggested garnishes: chopped cilantro or mint, sliced or chopped almonds

Heat the oil in a deep, large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes.
Add the garlic, celery, apple, and ginger.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the curry powder, stirring to combine.
Push the ingredients to one side of the pan, add a little more oil, and brown the chicken on all sides. If your pan is too stuffed, you can do it in two batches.) Stir all the ingredients together then add the broth and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Add the peas (if using) then cover and cook 10 more minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with basmati rice or flatbread and top with a dollop of yogurt and desired garnishes.

Enjoy this delicious recipe and many others in Jenny Rosenstrach's book and website.

What DID I read in April?

Not much is the answer.  It was a busy month and my lowest reading in history.  I read 2 (two) books in all those 30 days.  It was a month of starting books.   Hopefully more free time in May will help me clean up my record.

I started:

The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow:  This is the book club pick for May.  I've read the first 5 chapters and I don't know if I'm going to continue.  It was recommended by our oldest member, Jean, who diid this year.  We are reading it in memory of her so I would like to finish it but I'm not drawn to the story or the character of Gertie.

Girl at War by Sara Novic`:  I won a copy of this book by responding to a tweet from David Ebershoff from Random House. Girl at War is a story from Croatia, 1991, when the war is just beginning and Ana's childhood is a changed forever.  Ten years later Ana is in NYC for school and is haunted by memories of war.  I like this one and plan to read more this week now that I've made the choice to let The Dollmaker go for awhile.

Dreamsleeves by Coleen Murtagh Paratore: Groovy Girl and I started this one a few days ago.  I'm lucky she hasn't gone back to "I don't want to read with you" shenanigans (read all about that here) because it is the best way to end our day together.  Spunky  main character, Aislinn, has a lot going on with her 4 younger siblings and an alcoholic father.  They are saving money for a dream house in the country and her mother is pregnant again.  Groovy Girl and I feel this is not going to end well.

The life-changing magic of tidying up; the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo:  I read an article about this book and ordered it from the library (I already have enough books clutterin up my house)  I like her advice and am in the process of rethinking objects in my house.

The Organically Clean Home by Becky Rapinchuk (from cleanmama.net): Healthy recipes for cleaning.  Also ordered from the library.  Recommended by V and a topic of conversation while in Arkansas.

The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney: Recommended to me by a neighbor friend who happens to be a counselor.  One of my two kids at home right now is withdrawn and I'm trying to learn more.  This book is helpful and makes me realize why I'm socially awkward at times.

This is what I finished:

Nest by Ester Ehrlich:  Marvelous tale of Chirp who loves birds, nature, and playing outside.  Her mother is diagnosed with MS and Chirp, her sister, and father have to watch as she struggles to deal with this new reality.  Her family sets her apart in school as well, they are Jewish and her father is a psychologist.  Luckily they are surrounded by nature on Cape Cod and this serves as a healing force for Chirp.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart:  Crazy story of four orphans ready to save the world from mass brainwashing.  Mr. Benedict places an advertisement looking for gifted children and once they pass all of his tests they are rushed off to save the world.  Read for 6th grade book club and it was just exciting enough to take their minds off of Legend series for a just a bit.  Our last book for the year is Champion by Marie Lu.