Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

I found this recipe on the SmittenKitchen blog. It was modified from an Ina Garten recipe. I don't usually make cakes and fruit breads, but it looked so moist and seemed like a good project for Shelagh and I to do together. It came out just as I imagined it...really moist and soft and perfectly lemony. I don't dislike cake, but it's usually too dry for me and I am not too partial to regular frosting - butter cream or die I say. I can easily turn down a piece of cake, but never ice cream or chocolate. What I really liked about the recipe was that it offered many substitutions to vary it - different fruits, oils, nuts, citrus flavor. This is definitely a re-do.

Meal Planning wk of 4/27

Here's the plan for this week...

Sunday - Ham, Bowtie pasta w/ pesto, Roasted Cauliflower
Monday - Sliced Flank Steak, pasta w/ red sauce, braised fennel
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Pork Chops, mini Corn & Scallion cakes, Roasted Broccoli
Thursday - Pasta w/ Wild Mushrooms & Salad; Kids: Mac & Cheese or Quesadilla

The Corn & Scallion cake recipe is new from Everyday Food this past month. The kids should like those hopefully.

Fibbing for Fashion

I innocently fibbed to Rory this morning and got caught by Shelagh. He had on these cute baby blue shorts and a brown collared shirt this morning with a matching hat, so I tried to get him to wear Shelaghs old baby blue Crocs with it instead of the red ones he's currently obsessed with. I sneakily hid the red ones at the bottom of a basket of shoes and told him they were in the wash when he whined for the red ones instead. While I gingerly put the blue ones on him through some protests, Shelagh dug to the bottom of the bucket with a "Hey buddy, look what I found??" I had to sweep her into the next room to avoid him seeing them. I went through pretty drastic measures to have him match today. I'm sure I shouldn't care that much...BUT, doesn't he look cute???? It was kind of worth it. Plus, one of Shelagh doing her "Movie Star" pose with her "party hair" that captures her personality perfectly!

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I snagged this off of another blog, Busy as a Bee, that I read sometimes. End of the day at work/not a lot of work today, so what the hell. Of COURSE I'm an exclamation mark! It's the NJ in me for sure...at least the "loud, brash, and outgoing" part.

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Movies: Atonement & The Loss of the DVR...

Our DVR died. Despite Shelagh being DEVASTED at the loss of our Super Why! collection (it's not in On Demand for some reason, so we had taped a bunch for the kids to watch while I make dinner), it sometimes is a relief when that happens. It happened once before and we had back episodes of a few shows that we were wavering on (24, 30 Days, etc) so it just confirmed that we were done with them which was a good thing.


This time we lost a few eps of Dirt (a guilty pleasure as are most FX shows, but I do like it); We Are Marshall which I was 1/2-way done with; and Reds which we had watched about a 1/3 of and were so-so with anyway. The biggest loss was all the Series we had set up to record. We had to have over 20 set up and b/c we mostly watch TV out of the DVR and not necessarily on the night the shows come on, it took me a bit to figure out what to reset on the new machine (which arrived the next day I am happy to report). I would like to note that we don't watch 20 shows all at once, but rather HBO, Showtime, and FX have shows we like year round for shorter time periods (well that's me rationalizing my TV habit, I guess, but it is what it is). We missed taping Mad Men this week - bummed about that. We are both really enjoying that show - they are replaying Season 1 on AMC now so we're catching up on it and will be back in for Season 2. We were able to watch The Office and 30 Rock online last night. Loved the Jim and Pam stuff by the way. They are really doing a nice job managing that relationship while keeping things light and not focusing whole episodes to it. It's just kind of going on in the background. More Kelly Kapoor please!


Netflix saves the day! We watched Atonement this week and both liked it. I didn't read the book but I generally knew what it was about beforehand. I had read a couple of interviews with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy and was looking forward to seeing both of them in it. It seemed really well cast - the 3 Briony's were all wonderful. The love scene was powerful and intense and the loss was really well played out. That green dress was insanely beautiful...I couldn't stop staring at it...the color, the low back, the draping...it was completely eye-catching. It reminded me of the play of green in Great Expectations (Gwyneth Paltrow/Ethan Hawke), which I thought was an underrated movie by the way. There was something about the director and the color green in that movie and after reading about that it's all I could think about watching it. Kind of the same thing with Atonement...the dress just took over like it's own character. There were a few slow parts in the movie, but all in all I would recommend it.

Saturday in Boston

Saturday was a fantastic day! It was a beautiful, sunny day...I think in the high 60's/low 70's. After a chocolate chip pancake breakfast and Shelaghs dance class we went to the playground near us. The kids are like crazies being let out of an insane asylum right now. I might as well have had them in jail all winter b/c you let them into a playground now and they are all over the place...just so happy to be outside. Rory has now decided that since it is warmer out he will only wear Crocs handed down from his cousin ("Mommy, I want Jasons Red Crocs! I no like fuzzy Crocs. Just Jasons Crocs") and isn't into his jacket at all. He's loving his sunglasses this year (thankfully, b/c he has really fair eyes and gets extra sensitive to sun) and only wants his "Lellow" hat - which is actually beige but yellow is his favorite color and that's that.

After lunch and a quick nap we decided to take the kids into Boston. We put them in the stroller and walked along the Charles River looking at all the sailboats and the rowers in the water. There were tons of people out riding bikes and skating, picnicking, dogs, sunshine...just a perfect afternoon. We played on the beautiful playgrounds they built right there and then walked down Beacon St to Beacon Hill to sit at a cafe on Charles St and have coffee and "special hot" (hot chocolate). Shelagh pointed out that Joe's cappuccino was "just a fancy way of saying coffee". Thank you Fancy Nancy. He was properly humbled. We went to Annas Taqueria for burritos and quesadillas and then went home to watch the Muppet Movie and munch on popcorn.

I appreciate what a perfect day it was and look forward to many more this summer :)

Lobster Corn Chowder

We had a cooked lobster tail and claws in the freezer from my parents last visit, so I decided to make a Lobster Corn Chowder I found on Epicurious. It was really easy and didn't take long to make. Both Joe and I thought the soup itself was so good it didn't even really need the Lobster. I left out the cayenne pepper, but otherwise followed the recipe split in half. It would be a good soup to serve at our next Supper Club we host probably end of summer/early Fall. I just have to find little cute cups to serve it in and some funky bread sticks maybe.

The Crock Pot and Shredded Pork

Last week, I decided to give my crock pot a try again with a pork shoulder I had in the freezer. You see, my freezer is packed almost completely full (Well, for me it is. If you asked my mom who has the worlds most packed freezer, it is spacious and has lots of potential). I'm trying really hard to minimize my used freezer space a bit more and to meal plan with my leftovers so as to reduce the amount I throw out. Also, I recently purchased a crock pot. I should note that I have an aversion to specialty appliances and that this purchase was considered for a long time before I pulled the trigger. I don't have a bread machine, a pizza stone, a panini press, a cappuccino machine, a standing mixer, a pasta machine, a wok, etc. While I cook a lot and enjoy trying new things, I hate the clutter of all those devices when most things can be made with something more universal that can be used for more things. I do actually have a crepe maker (love those despite not having used it in about 9 years), but I think that's my only real specialty product.

For someone that cooks from scratch all the time and is kind of picky about the food I make, the crock pot always represented crappy food to me. If you are just throwing everything in at once and walking away, how can it really be good? Well, I'm trying to reconsider this theory. I have to say that while I really want the crock pot to work out, I haven't really found any great recipes that have worked. I did a chicken that I overcooked; a beef stew that was just bland; and country style ribs that weren't good either. I did buy 2 books and am constantly on the lookout for crock pot recipes. I used it on Thanksgiving to keep the mashed potatoes warm for 3 hours before serving and it worked great for that at least! The stick of butter I had floating on top probably helped.

Anyhoo...I tried a recipe from Food & Wine for Carnitas Tacos. I had a 2 1/2 lb pork shoulder in my freezer that I cut up into 1 1/2 in. cubes. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, and oregano and put them into the crock pot. I put 1 large onion sliced thickly layered on top and cooked on low for 6 hours. I shredded the pork and lo and behold, it was good! I used the pork the first night for what ended up being burritos for Joe and I instead of the tacos in the recipe. Now I had all this leftover shredded pork to eat and found a recipe on Epicurious for Mexican sandwiches which involved making my own refried beans. They came out great and were so easy! I followed the recipe for the refried beans. I spread them on large Portuguese rolls with shredded cheddar, a little sour cream, the reheated pork, avocado slices, and some sauteed red peppers I had leftover. Yum, yum. I did over salt the beans a bit, but otherwise I was really pleased with the results of both meals! Yeah crock pot, you didn't let me down.

Very Observant about Noses

Says Rory last night while we were snuggling on the floor with a scrunched up face of disgust...
"Mommy, you have crumbs in your nose."

Says Shelagh, as Joe reminds me, last year after being discovered picking her nose...
"Mommy, but my nose was very crowded. I was trying to make space."

Classic moments.

Movies: Into the Wild and There Will Be Blood

We watched these in the last week and liked both of them!

Into the Wild: This was a beautiful movie. It was sad and you felt so lonely for the main character, but the scenery and music were so good and I found myself feeling inspired and having admiration for him. Emile Hirsch reminded me a bit of Tom Hanks in Cast Away. The vital difference being, of course, that the Tom Hanks character didn't mean to get stranded by himself on a desert island and the Emile Hirsch character did mean to go off on his own and live life independently. Plus, I guess in Into the Wild, there was a lot of time devoted to his journey to get to his independence and the few people he did meet and befriend. The intensity of his hatred for his parents and what they represent was disturbing to see played out. As a parent it's scary to see a possible outcome with your child that is so terrifying and can lead to such a sad ending. Anyway, despite it's sad ending (which most people know at the beginning, so sorry if I'm spoiling a bit) and the extreme disgust he has for his parents, it was kind of inspirational to see him pursue his dream with such intensity and determination. The music is awesome too!

There Will Be Blood: Daniel Day-Lewis COMPLETELY deserved Best Actor for this. Holy crap was he fantastic! I was expecting the movie to be very weird as I had read that despite all the praise DDL got that it was strange and off-beat. I didn't think that was the case at all. I did wonder out loud to Joe if perhaps DDL is so damn good that the other actors can't possibly match up in intensity -OR- if the character had that much charisma that the other characters, even with intense portrayals, could never match up in the story and maybe that was part of the point. It came in at 2 hrs 40 mins which is long, but we were good until the very end when we were ready for it to be over. Anyway, highly recommended.

Green Updates: Websites, Cleaning Stuff, and Kitty Stuff

A few things on green...

1) I added a new website to my Blogs list called Re-Nest. These guys actually have several blogs all linked together: Apartment Therapy (design for green homes), The Kitchn (food related), ohdeedoh (design and kids), Re-nest (design for green homes), and Unplggd (home tech). I like them all, but I read Re-Nest the most. They have a post on there recently on the overabundance of phone books being delivered. In the last 2 weeks, I've received 7 new phone books from Comcast, Verizon, and a local town agency. It's insane! I recycled them all and opted out from Verizon so far. Re-Nest posted about this organization that helps you opt out of the phone directory list.

2) I got some free loot from Method, the eco-cleaning product company. They are found in Target, amongst other places, and have both scented and unscented products. I have an aversion to scenting in products - both home and cosmetic - so I appreciate this. I'll let you know how they are after I clean on Wednesday!

3) I found biodegradable kitty box liners at Petco and they seem to work just as well (ie the cats haven't popped their nails threw them or pulled them out of place thereby peeing directly into the cat box). I'm sure they've been out there for quite some time, but I never go into big pet stores so I haven't noticed. I'm having a problem with one of our cats peeing/pooping out of the box (it's so gross and I'll post about it later. Suffice it to say that the cat almost met her demise last week and somehow her cute little face and snuggly demeanor saved her yet again). It's been going on for about a year now and I'm insane over it. The vet suggested setting up MANY cat boxes with all different litters and letting her choose, so that's what I did. I went to Petco and got 2 new boxes (that's 4 total) and 3 different litters. She hasn't gone outside of the boxes in 8 days. Fingers crossed. They suggest cleaning the box(es) twice per day but who the hell has time for that???

Meal Planning wk of 4/4

Here's my plan for the week...

Friday - Steak Tips, Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower, sauteed polenta; Kids: Sausage, pasta w/ sauce, roasted broccoli & cauliflower
Saturday - Take Out
Sunday - Slow cooked pork tacos, Black Beans w/ Cumin & Oregano
Monday - Chicken Under a Brick, Escarole sauteed w/ garlic, Butternut squash/Pumpkin ravioli
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Chicken Garlic & Herb Sausages, green beans, Butternut squash/Pumpkin ravioli
Thursday - Miso glazed Cod, spinach, sauteed polenta; Kids: Annies Mac & Cheese (Rory will now eat Arthurs and Elbows - yeah!)

Playing in Boxes

This was a good hour of entertainment this weekend...who needs toys?

Small injury...

Followed by a nice relaxing Little Einsteins