*** finding the entertainment in everyday life ***

Monday, June 30, 2008

Inherited Mom Phrases I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say

Ode to mom...
  1. Please let me get in the door and put my stuff down before you start talking or asking me things
  2. Please do not stand there staring into the refrigerator. Make a choice or just step out and close the door.
  3. Sit back from the TV...you are going to go blind!!!
  4. Where are my scissors????

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I strongly remember and find myself saying the most often.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Shelagh & Rorys 1st Strawberry Jam

We did it!!! It came out delicious - I'm so excited to have finally done this! There are a few small things I would change, but the Strawberry Jam project was a success. Both kids helped and had a great time doing it. I ended up consulting 2 different recipes - Pick-Your-Owns Homemade Strawberry Jam (LOTS of canning information here) and also a random article/recipe for Homemade Strawberry Jam I found via Google. Here's what we did...

I hulled about 3 containers of strawberries that we picked and then had to add in a 1lb container from the store to get about 7 cups of hulled strawberries which turned into 5 1/2 cups after mashing. The mashed strawberries on the left were the picked ones and the pinker ones on the right were the store-bought ones. The store ones smelled sweeter and were easier to mash.

Rory was the first to try mashing the strawberries with the potato masher and loved it. Below is Rory using his muscles. Shelagh had a more dainty approach. They both squeezed the juice out of 1 lemon together. Rory's hands got a little squished, but he was a trooper.

Here's the strawberry mixture after boiling with pectin, lemon juice and sugar. It was a beautiful crimson color and the kitchen smelled so sweet. Even though both recipes I was consulting, plus the pectin box jam chart, said I would get 8 half-pint jars, I actually got 10 plus a little bit more which Rory had on his PB&J today and Shelagh and I just ate. All the jars but 1 successfully sealed - yeah!! We're going to give some jars away. The kids are pretty proud of themselves.

Here's the 1st taste...

Next up will be Raspberry picking. I think we'll try a mixed berry jam with Strawberries, Raspberries, and maybe blackberries. This time I think I'll try Orangettes recipe which does not use pectin and uses much less sugar.

I'm sure I'll redo the recipe we used today, but I would certainly use less sugar. It called for 7 cups! That seemed like so much to me, but I didn't want to veer from the recipe the first time. It did come out very sweet, which I like, but I think I could take at least a cup out. There is a low-sugar pectin that calls for 4 cups but I couldn't find it in a couple of different stores. Also, they tell you not to use a blender or food processor to mash the strawberries, but I think I might use my smoothie hand blender on 1/2 of them to get less lumps. I like a smoother jam. Finally, I might get a food mill to deal with the berry seeds on raspberries. We'll see. Definitely a possible Christmas gift giveaway idea!!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Bought my Jam Supplies

Rory and I went to the local hardware store and bought the Jam making supplies. I got
  1. a case of half-pint jars
  2. jar tongs to lift the hot jars out of the water bath
  3. a wide-mouth funnel
  4. pectin (they didn't have the low-sugar kind so i might try the grocery store for some)

They didn't have that magnet tool that helps grab the lids out of the the hot water. I also didn't get a canner. I'm going to try to do this with a pot of water instead. There seem to be plenty of instructions out there on that method. I'll manage I'm sure.

I don't think I have enough strawberries for a full batch (5 1/2 cups mashed), so I will probably need to pick up some more just in case. Poor Joe wanted a smoothie this morning and I had to swat him away from my limited picked strawberries.

Both kids want to help. I'm thinking we'll work on it this on Saturday - it's supposed to rain and we have nothing planned other than my MUCH needed haircut appointment. My hair is ridiculously long and huge right now. I'm only 5 ft tall and am starting to look like Rumplestiltskin (Betsy, you can appreciate the visual, I'm sure). I'll take pictures of the jam adventure. Wish us luck!

Lindt Truffles

Is there anything better? I don't think so. I'm having a stare-down with one right now. It's the milk chocolate with peanut butter filling orange wrapper kind. I'm salivating and want so much to just eat it. Alas, it is only 11am and if I can just make it through lunch then I can have it as my after lunch treat...

UPDATE: I made it until after lunch. But, then the floodgates opened...The truffle went way too fast and I just needed more. Thank you, homemade chocolate cookie from the caf at work.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Strawberry Picking

We took the kids to a farm North of us to go Strawberry picking yesterday. This is one of my favorite things to do and I've been counting down days until the Strawberry festival. It was too hot to go on Saturday morning, so we hit the pool instead (good choice). We went Sunday morning after breakfast and a quick trip to Boston to see Joes new office. It was pretty muggy and hot and the strawberries were pretty picked over, but we had a good time. Both kids picked their own berries and were excited when they found all red ones (after several rejects of white and barely pink ones). Of course towards the end, we found more red ones, but I'm hoping to make jam and I'll just mix some blueberries or raspberries in if the ones we have aren't sweet enough. We hit the playground there, listened to some musicians playing at the farm, and visited the petting zoo. Rory was mesmerized by the peacocks and Shelagh sang Baa Baa Black Sheep to the disgusting looking, matted down, white sheep. We had ice cream for lunch and wrapped up a nice day with a long nap for me, Rory, and Joe while Shelagh played and read quietly in her room.

This will be my first time making jam, but I'm inspired by the article in Bon Appetit by Molly from the Orangette blog. The online version doesn't have the instructions for making it, but I clipped it out and if it ends up being easy, I'll post them. I'll take pictures too.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Green Thought: No toilet paper tubes

At work, the toilet paper rolls don't have those cardboard tubes in the middle. I discovered this today while finishing up a roll that just ended. The rolls get put through little small poles to suspend in the holder, so they seem to work just fine without those tubes. So, that said, it seems we don't need them. It seems easy enough to me to just get rid of this extra packaging. Just a thought...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Great Ending for Top Chef

I am so pleased about the results of Top Chef. I have to say, they really had me at the end and I thought that Lisa might have clinched it. Thankfully, Stephanie won as I was hoping she would. Richard really blew it, huh? I liked him and was happy to see him in the finale, but you could tell from the beginning that he was off his game. When he didn't have his menu finalized by the end of the prep day, it was a bad sign. When Tom C. asked him how things were going and he was totally wigged out...also not a good sign. Juxtapose that against Lisa being all cool-as-a-cucumber and asking why no one was talking and I was worried. I was getting so worked up thinking that she might win it. She doesn't have the range, she has a terrible attitude, she has sold out her other cast mates, and she can only cook Asian food. Not a Top Chef. Stephanie worried me with her lack of confidence about her dessert. And while I would not have liked that lamb dish, it was original and it got lots of props from the judges. I was a little disappointed that Richard didn't say something to the affect of "If I couldn't win, I'm glad it was Stephanie..." or something like that. He's usually such a great sport. He was so bummed out.

There is no release date for Seasons 1-3 on DVD. I realize it's reality and you can find out who won previous seasons easily, but I still would watch it and wish they would put it out. I just love watching the challenges and the dishes they come up with.

There is a final "reunion" episode this week. I wonder who will bitch about Lisa making it to the final. Did she even have any friends amongst the other contestants? Here's where the drama will play out and where Bravo squeaks out one more week of ratings. I'll watch though.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Mountain Getaway

Talk about a last minute deal...

On Wednesday AM, we booked a room at the Balsams resort in northern New Hampshire. It's one of those old-timey resort places (like Kellermans from Dirty Dancing!) and is at the top of NH just shy of the Canadian border. It was a 4-hour drive each way and my kids don't sleep in the car very much, if at all, on long trips (what's the deal with that????).

This is what we drove up to...

The resort was beautiful...we were surrounded by mountains and in the middle of nowhere. The first day was much cooler than I expected after coming off a heat wave in Boston (don't know why I was surprised it was cool after living in VT for 4 years). We muddled through by trying to be active...rode bikes, hiked with the kids, swam in the 87 degree pool (getting out was hell, but it was nice while completely immersed in the water), played at the playground there, etc. Next day was beautiful and much warmer with almost no wind. We had another great breakfast, played on the putting green for a good hour (amazing how much fun different colored golf balls and 17 holes can provide!), playground time, went out onto the lake in a paddle boat, swam, napped (Rory & Me) and golfed (Joe & Shelagh), swam again, had a nice dinner, played in the game room, and Joe & I managed to squeak out a game of Scrabble hiding behind the bed in our hotel room with a lamp in the closet and the kids sleeping within feet of us. Nice.

The high points of the trip for me were
  1. the view and mountain air
  2. the intimate and silly Scrabble time with Joe
  3. the kids having a ball in the pool (Rory can doggle paddle by himself now with a bubble!)
  4. reading an entire book (yeah!)
  5. yummy breakfast buffet 3 days in a row (i love breakfast)
The high points of the trip for the kids were clearly

  1. watching the commercials running on the Fast and the Furious video game in the game room (quote from Rory "I watching a cars movie"). Joe even played the game once, but the commercials that run were good enough for Rory.
  2. eating french fries (Rory) and macaroni and cheese (Shelagh) for 3 days straight. Plus, ice cream every day regardless of behavior to get them to last 10 more minutes in the restaurant.
  3. an 87 degree pool
What we've learned from this trip

  1. Rory HATES helmets and can scream for 15 minutes straight despite the beautiful nature bike ride
  2. Rory does not actually stop after 5 minutes into a tantrum as he used to do. He can actually have a 15-20 minute tantrum including laying on his belly in the grass and banging his arms and legs, textbook style.
  3. Without a nap, Shelagh can fall asleep in 2 minutes flat even in a hotel room with 3 other people
  4. Neither of my kids really sleep in a long car ride, even after getting car sick 20 minutes into the 4 hour ride home (Shelagh) or passing nap time and watching a DVD without sound b/c he hates the headphones (Rory - what is this kids deal with head apparatus? He likes sunglasses and baseball hats???)
We would definitely go back, although I think I'd wait until the kids got a little older and could do tennis, badminton, golf, etc by themselves and so we could do the croquet, bocce, more boating as a family. All in all a wonderful family trip away!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mini-Vacation

We're hopefully off for a mini-vacation for a few days before Joe starts his new job next week. We're completely winging it and are booking something today for tonight through Sat AM. Will it be Mountains or Beach?

Funny that most of our vacations have been last minute endeavors...Our 1st vacation together after we started dating to Tortola BVIs was booked within a week or 2 of going; same with our December trip to the Bahamas and now this - same day booking is our most aggressive yet! I guess we both work better under pressure :)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

How Do I Fit Everything In?

I've been asked how I fit everything in between work, family, cooking, the ridiculous amount of TV and movies I watch, etc. So, here's how I do it...
  1. I'm Type A. Basically, the busier I am, the more I accomplish. (Although I still complain about being too busy).
  2. I only work 3 days per week and not even a full 8 hour day really. My philosophy for the other 2 days, while my husband works, is to accomplish as much errand running as I can so that weekends are as completely free as they can be. Obviously, I also balance that with the kids time. If we food shop in the afternoon, I make sure we have a play date, an outing, library trip, or a playground/pool trip in the morning. If I need a whole day to get stuff done, then the other day is just for them.
  3. I food shop once per week and no more. I have Wednesdays and Fridays off, so I try to hit the store on Friday afternoons after nap time. This time of day on a Friday is not a good time for play dates and travelling too far and my kids are really good in the grocery store, for the most part. It's one of my favorite things to do and they seem to be kind of into it also (I know, it's the free cheese and the fresh muffin I give them in the store that probably is the real reason). Seriously though, we talk about all the fruits and vegetables; we play the color game and the number/letter game; Shelagh helps me load up the cart and unpack at checkout; and, finally, they fight over who can push the red and green buttons on the card slider at checkout while I pray to not get double charged and get angst over the crappy bag packing the grocery bagger is usually doing.
  4. While I do cook most nights and try new recipes during the week, I tend to pick shorter recipes and those that have the fewest ingredients for work nights (thank you, Everyday Food and standbys). I also tend to make more servings and try to get 2 meals out of 1. On Wednesdays and weekends, I am usually more adventurous and take on longer cook times, especially in the winter.
  5. My kids nap still after lunch. Rory can go for 3+ hours and Shelagh from 1 to 2+ hours and they still go to bed by 8pm. I usually cook, clean, email, do paperwork (bills, etc), and make calls during this time. I don't know what I'll do when Shelagh stops napping.
  6. I never watch Live TV and I rarely watch before 830pm. I live only through my prized DVR. I miss my TiVO terribly, but the Comcast DVR does the trick and I can't tell you the last time I watched a commercial. We tend to eat in front of the TV (although never with the kids) at night and we'll watch for 1-2+ hours depending on what we have to watch. If there is nothing on TV, we always have Netflix movies/TV shows. Yes, occasionally we skip the TV altogether, but not often unfortunately. We like most of the same shows and it's relaxing for both of us to unwind this way after each day. Joe and I keep meaning to implement a no-TV Tuesday or something like that.
  7. I read magazines at the gym and sometimes during breakfast, books at night in bed for a short time, and as much as I want to be the kind of person that at least reads the Sunday newspaper, I just don't and I'm ok with that.
  8. I did have a cleaning lady for the past 5 years which was really nice. I have since taken over all cleaning duties and that takes up 2 naptimes (usually Friday and Saturday) or in-between times. I try to do as much at once as possible and finish within 2 days if I can. I love that feeling of having the whole house clean at once rather than cleaning constantly one room at a time.
  9. I do laundry on Wednesdays or weekends. I don't fold until it's all done and then do so while watching TV. The real challenge is putting away the clean clothes before I need the basket again for the next round of laundry.
  10. If I really need to do some stuff without the kids (appointments for me, post office, returning stuff at stores), I try to do it on work days before or during the work day. I also usually blog at work vs home.
  11. My gym has really inexpensive babysitting and the kids are happy to go. I try to go on Wednesday and Friday mornings before a play date or trip to the park or pool. On Fridays, there is a fruit/veg stand outside our YMCA that is fun with the kids too. But, alas, if I must skip it I do pretty guiltlessly (is that even a word?).

That's the long and short of it. I also have tried to give myself a break if I can't get to something which is new for me. I strive to break some of my Type A ways and live in the moment when I can.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Reality TV & Top Chef

I cannot stand Reality TV. That's right. I don't watch Survivor or the Amazing Race, much to the disbelief of a few of my co-workers. NO AMERICAN IDOL or that Celebrity Dancing show. I did watch Real World back in the day...I think San Fransisco was the last one I watched, thankfully. Maybe a little of Boston. I do like Kathy Griffin's D List show on Bravo now and then. For the most part, though, Reality TV does nothing for me.

That said, I now LOVE Top Chef! Last summer, at our family beach house vacation, my sister insisted on watching Top Chef. A friend of hers from high school was competing in Season 3. I was instantly hooked! Also, my mom is a chef as is my brother-in-law. Plus, as any of you reading know by now, I love to cook and am obsessed with trying new recipes and restaurants and food magazines. This migration to Top Chef was inevitable.

** SPOILER **
Joe and I got hooked this year and have really enjoyed the show. Since Episode 1, I have been rooting for Stephanie and continue to hope that she wins. Although, if Richard wins, I won't be too upset. Richards food is a bit too weird for me, but I respect his talent and creativity. Stephanie cooks exactly what I like to eat. Antonia has grown on me too, but only since the episode when she started talking about her daughter. I didn't think she was very exceptional before that episode. VERY sad to see her go last night and especially for something dumb like putting her dishes on the same plate. That was a waste. Lisa seems like a total bitch and has such an attitude problem. I cannot believe she made it this far, but I'm not too worried about her winning...She'll screw herself up at some point in the final episode. She did seem a little calmer than usual in last nights episode. She must have really reevaluated during the break before they went to Puerto Rico. She was actually right to be disappointed that Stephanie and Richard didn't congratulate her last night. But, I can't believe she said it out loud. Baby.

I know the winners are known for Seasons 1 - 3, but I would totally go back and watch all 3 seasons. What a great show! If only they put better recipes online afterwards.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Quinoa

I made a version of the lemony quinoa from the Boston Globe Magazine recipe I clipped. I really liked it! Basically, I did the following:

1) Warmed up 2 Tbl Olive Oil & 1 Tbl butter in a large nonstick pan
2) Add in a medium chopped onion and saute until soft and starting to color - about 5 minutes
3) Add in 1 1/2 cups Quinoa and stir until toasty smelling - about 5 minutes
4) Add in 2 3/4 cups water and bring to boil
5) Lower heat and cover for 12 minutes, stirring now and then
6) Turn off heat, add in 1/2 lemons worth of juice and enough salt to flavor it well, cover and let it sit for another 12 minutes

It wasn't too lemony or salty. I would probably use more onion or maybe onion and garlic or just garlic. I love the texture. It was a nice change from rice, pasta, potatoes, and couscous. Kids didn't go for it, but whatever.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Friday Night Lights

Our summer TV project for this year has been decided. Previous years have included Alias Seasons 1-5 and The Shield Seasons 1-3 (We watched Season 4 first and then went back). We've heard great things about Friday Night Lights. Hopefully it won't be cancelled by the time we complete the past seasons as it's been teetering on the verge for the last year or so I think. Don't all the best shows get cancelled? (Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks to name 2). Last night we put in Season 1, DVD 1 which had Episodes 1-4. The pilot episode was awesome. The film style is almost documentary-like. You are immediately attached to the characters, especially the Coach and his wife. The frenzy of football in the community is like celebrity stalking. It's non-stop and overwhelms everything. No one is interested in talking to the Coach and his family about anything else. It's the most important topic of conversation everywhere - in school, on the radio, at restaurants, at social gatherings, etc. Nothing is taken more seriously.

Needless to say, we got sucked in and, yes, we watched all 4 episodes in a row. That was 177 minutes of Friday Night Lights in 1 sitting from the time the kids went to bed until almost midnight. I expected we'd watch 2 episodes, but then "what was 1 more?" and then "if we watch the last one, we can return the DVD before the weekend for the 2nd DVD of Season 1". Why the hell not. I'm quite tired this morning...

Monday, June 2, 2008

Movie: Dan in Real Life

I loved this movie! As with most movies that get a mediocre or higher review, it made it's way onto my Netflix list when it came out in the movies and I forgot about it until it popped up recently. I wasn't dying to see it, but there isn't much exciting on there right now and it had to be a little funny, right? What a pleasant surprise. I have to say that while I do watch The Office religiously, I do not care too much for Steve Carrell. I think it's the ridiculously dumb characters, such as the one he played in Anchorman, that I can't stand (I otherwise loved that movie, but he ALMOST ruined it for me). I don't love his Michael on The Office, but I love the whole ensemble cast so I still tune in every week. Little Miss Sunshine was the 1st exception for me relating to him. He played "dark" and deadpan so well in that movie...I just loved him in that and that was the only work of his I could speak of well. Didn't love 40-Year Old Virgin. Am holding out hope for Get Smart.

Dan in Real Life was a wonderful movie. Despite the fact that Dane Cook was in it (we turned off Good Luck Chuck after about 10 minutes), it was funny, it was heartbreaking, it was warm, it was just really well done. Both Joe and I enjoyed it much more than we thought. The cast was good all around. I wasn't sold on Steve Carrell playing against Juliette Binoche (weird, right?), but it worked. The music was out of this world! We watched a little feature about the music and how the composer was selected and how he created the original score for the film and I think I'm going to download it. His music sounded similar to Glen what's-his-name from the movie Once that I wrote about recently. It was so moving and I kept finding myself thinking about the music as the movie was running, which I don't often do.

Anyway, 2 people I've recommended it to at work both thought it was just okay. I completely disagree. Joe thought it was like The Family Stone a bit. I didn't think it was the best movie, but it was fine. The stories were similar (new girlfriend meeting the big, close family for the first time) and, ironically, that movie was on TV last night by chance and we watched a few minutes before going to bed. Dan in Real Life was ten times better in my opinion. Even with a lukewarm reaction by my co-workers, I stand by my recommendation.

UPDATE: Soundtrack is AWESOME! Both Joe and I have been walking around singing one of the songs. Love it.

Random Black Bean & Corn Salad

While reading Serious Eats last week, I skimmed through the comments of a question posted looking for interesting sides to bring to/have at a BBQ. They weren't recipes, but just ideas posted by various readers. We had grilled portobella mushroom sandwiches last night and I thought it was a good time to try out a Black Bean and Corn salad. It came out great! Here's what I did:

Salad Base
1 15oz can Goya Black Beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen Corn, thawed
1/3 red onion, diced very small
1/2 red pepper, diced very small
1 plum tomato, diced very small
salt

Dressing
I used an old Martha Stewart Everyday Food Favorite Vinagrette recipe and tweaked it a bit:
1/8 cup white vinegar & red wine vinegar (i combined both to make up 1/8 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
pinch sugar
3/8 cup safflower oil

I skipped the mustard although I usually use it for a regular salad vinagrette. I also cut the vinegar and oil in half, but didn't cut the other ingredients in half. I don't know why, but that's what I did. I didn't use it all either...I just drizzled and combined everything until it tasted good. I probably used 1/2 of what I made, but I'll use the rest for salad this week. It was enough for 4-6 as a side probably. I'll take a picture and post update the post later.

It came out great! It was really refreshing, easy to make, would be a good side to have at a BBQ or to bring to a BBQ for sure. I thought Shelagh would like it b/c she loves tomatoes, black beans, and corn, but I think the red peppers and red onion freaked her out. It would be a good light lunch to bring to work also I think.

Update: My lunch for tomorrow...

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Meal Planning wk of 6/1

Here's the plan for the week...


Sunday - Portabella Mushroom Burgers, Cousous, Black Bean & Corn Salad (from the comments of a post on Serious Eats about what to put on the side at BBQ's). Kids: Hot Dogs on the grill with the Mushroom burgers, same sides
Monday - Cider-Brined Pork Chops from Food & Wine this month, Roasted Blue Potatoes (if the sprouts growing from them can be easily removed), Broccoli.
Tuesday - Cod (?), Lemony Quinoa from the Boston Globe Magazine in mid-May (it also had Asparagus and Shrimp Scampi, but I'll make the full recipe another time), Spinach sauteed with Garlic.
Wednesday - Chicken Sausage (Basil & Parmesean), Brussel Sprouts sauteed w/ onions, Baked Sweet Potatoes .
Thursday - I'm out with the Sister-in-Laws. Kids: Mac & Cheese night