What's for Dinner?

I really enjoy cooking and about this time last year I started planning a weekly menu and making my grocery list according to that menu. This may not sound like rocket science, but it has revolutionized my world... Now I only go to the grocery store once a week because I actually have all the food that we need. I use this grocery shopping checklist from Real Simple and it is the most wonderful thing in the world. There was a brief period when I lost mine AND Target wasn't carrying them, so I had to make my lists from scratch and that took forever. Most weeks it takes me about 30 minutes to plan out our meals for the week, go through the recipes and make my shopping lists. I've stopped buying unnecessary food and I've cut our monthly grocery bills by about 50% (which I find impressive).

I get asked frequently what I am making for dinner, so I decided to post my weekly menus here, along with where to find the recipes.

Abby is 5 and she eats what Nick and I eat. On extremely rare occasions (if I'm making something really weird) I will make an alternative, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, available to her. There are nights where she doesn't like what we're having, so she eats rice or fruit or whatever our side item is. I am mean and she won't starve. For the most part, she eats a good and varied diet and I want her to grow up enjoying a lot of different food and with a willingness to try new things. She wanted Brussels Sprouts for dinner on her birthday, so I think that we're doing a good job.

So, here's the menu for this week. It's a short week because we are going out of town for the weekend.

Sunday:

Trader Joes Frozen Chicken Pot Stickers

Brown Rice

Fruit Salad with Yogurt
This was my lazy night, as it was just Abby and me for dinner--Nick had a meeting

Monday:

Bacon & Chicken Quesadillas with Guacamole and Sour Cream

(from Weeknight Kitchen with Lynne Rossetto Kasper http://www.elabs7.com/functions/message_view.html?mid=789897&mlid=499&siteid=20130&uid=e8e70320a5)

Green Salad or Fruit

I am a huge fan of The Splendid Table and I recommend signing up for the "Weeknight Kitchen" emails--you'll get one new recipe a week. These quesadillas took A LOT longer to make than other quesadillas that I've made, however they were that much better. Give yourself 45 minutes to make them so you won't be frustrated.

Tuesday:

"PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps" http://www.recipezaar.com/P-F-Changs-Chicken-Lettuce-Wraps-15865

Brown Rice

Fruit Salad

I think that this recipe from Recipe Zaar tastes almost identical to the Lettuce Wraps at PF Chang's. We don't like water chestnuts, so I add extra mushrooms to make up for those. I also only make half of the two sauces, as I think that it makes too much. I recommend reading through the comments first, as there's some good ideas for adjustments that you might like.

Wednesday:

Crispy Tortilla Eggs with Avocado and Lime

This recipe is from the cookbook "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper" by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. Right now this is my favorite cookbook.

Green Salad

Thursday:

Dinner Spanakopitas

This recipe is from the cookbook "Back to Basics" by Ina Garten (who is the Barefoot Contessa)

Fruit Salad

Greek Yogurt with Honey

I just got this cookbook from the library and am excited about trying some new things out. I'm taking it in the car to read on the way to New Jersey. Yes, I read cookbooks. I think it's fun.

Now it's really finished

The Take Along Farm Playset is now available on Etsy--come visit me at http://www.giupettos.etsy.com/. Here's some pictures of the finished product.

In case you were wondering...

Both my resume and CV were finished this afternoon. The resume was a total let down after doing the CV--those should be standard. I'm also feeling quite smart after listing all my accomplishments, so maybe everyone should update there stuff every once in a while.

I also have two more ideas for Natalie's present...

The Pointy Kitty from Wee Wonderfuls: http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html

Or, these little mice from Vintage Ric Rack: http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-because.html

I have scraps for all of these guys, plus the little nesting dolls. How will I choose?

Procrastination

Right now I am supposed to be working on my resume and CV. I've never had a CV before, so writing one is challenging and I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Nick has taken Abby to the Children's Museum, so everything is quiet, however I am procrastinating.

We are planning to go to Nick's family this weekend for the Fourth Day of July (that's what Abby calls it) and we will see our cousin, Baby Natalie, who is about to turn one. I decided today that I should probably bring Natalie's present, so we can give it to her in person. So, I've been looking at many of the different sewing sites that I enjoy to get ideas. I think that I'm going to make a set of Matryoshka Dolls from Maize Hutton. I'm thinking about enlarging the pattern to make Natalie a set of 6 dolls. These dolls look really cool and I think that the sewing is simple enough that I'll be able to finish it up in the car, if needed. Here's the link if you'd like to make a set of these. http://www.maizehutton.com/matryoshkadoll.html

While I was looking around I found these beautiful dolls at The Purl Bee. (Here's the link to that project: http://www.purlbee.com/hand-sewn-felt-dolls/) I love these dolls. (I also love felt and I love the fact that these are 100% hand sewn and that you don't have to try to turn any of the parts.) I really want to give these a try and they are going in my project notebook. Unfortunately, these look time consuming. The directions are really good, so they don't look hard, as much as it looks like they will take a lot of time. I think that I will put them on Abby's Christmas list. I'm wondering if I can alter them a little to turn them into Princesses or fairies, as that is what Abby is into right now. I'm imagining making a giant hollow log play set for her for these fairies to play in.

As much as I don't want to, it's off to the resume/CV project. I hope that everyone got to be a little lazy on Sunday.

Finished!

I finished my barn last night. To be totally honest, it's only 95% finished, as there was still some glue drying and I need to do the buttons and loops that will hold it closed. I'm also on the fence about a handle so that it's "take along."

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It took a LONG time, much longer than it should have because of my interruptions.

Abby is wearing the rubber gloves from the kitchen and raiding my measuring cups, so I need to go see what that is about. Here are some pictures.

Amber Waves of Grain

I finished the corn field for my toy farm last night and here's the farmer, posing with his corn. When I think of the line "amber waves of grain" from America the Beautiful I usually think of wheat, not corn. However, the only corn song that I could think of is Jimmy Cracked Corn and I Don't Care, which I have never enjoyed, so today we will remember that corn is also a grain (I think) and part of those "amber waves of grain." Abby thought that the corn looked like flowers. Hopefully when the whole thing is assembled, you will easily know that it is corn. I'm rather impressed with my corn. I also made a tree. To me this tree looks a little like the trees in "The Lorax," but a round tree is the only way that I could think through a tree. Again, notice the tiny cows.


Last night I also made the best sandwich in the world for dinner. I know that is a really big statement, but it was that good. I made a Pan Bagna, which my cookbook says translates to "bathed bread." As I only know about 12 words of French and Bagna isn't one of them, I'll have to take the cookbook's word for it. The other name is a Provencal Tuna and Vegetable Sandwich. It has goat cheese, fresh tuna steaks, olives, arugula*, tomatoes, basil and a dressing made from olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic. It was so pretty that I took a picture of it. After you make the sandwich, you wrap it up in plastic wrap and squish it with canned goods for 6 hours. Nick took the res of it for lunch today--I wish that I had more. Tonight is "top your own baked potato" night, which isn't as exciting, but is still tasty.

I'm working on Farm Assembly now. More pictures will come when that is done...





*Which I wish we called "Rocket" like the British do. Eating something called "Rocket" on your sandwich is way cooler, although "arugula" is a fun word to say.

The Plumber that Wasn't

So, after all the freaking out about the plumber coming today, he called at 8:55 (he was supposed to be here at 9:00) and said that he was "tied up" and wasn't going to be able to come.* He said maybe he would come this afternoon** or maybe Thursday. He didn't ask if I was available either this afternoon or on Thursday. Clearly, the model of the solar system needs to be revised, as the world revolves around this plumber, who I found out today isn't really even a plumber, he's just a handyman guy who does some pipes stuff. Wow--that fills me with confidence. He also told me today that he thinks that he's going to need to knock a hole in my bedroom wall to address one of our issues and that "the shower might not work for a few days."***

This seriously messed up my day. Since I'm taking some time off from work this summer, an unplanned sabbatical, we'll call it, I find that I need to plan out my time. I feel kind of like the character Will in "About a Boy" who does nothing and organizes his day into 30 minute units of time. My time units were all messed up today.

However, as Scarlett O'Hara says "tomorrow is another day."

I did enjoy an impromptu trip to Whole Foods today to pick up some Rye Flour, as I am now the proud owner of "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." This book does live up to its cover tag line: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking. I enjoy the flour aisle at Whole Foods, as I get to think about all the grains that I know nothing about.**** The flour aisle is like an aisle of possibility. I love baking. The only thing about this book that makes me kind of sad is that the bread doesn't need to be kneaded. To most people, that's a good thing, as they don't want to have their hands be all goopy for 8-15 minutes. I do miss the kneading and will probably try my old bread recipe, complete with 12 minutes of kneading, but the new baking techniques and see how that turns out. Or maybe I'll just make some Play Dough and knead that.

I worked on my felt corn today--that took several tries and many failed attempts at corn silk. I think that I've perfected the process, so I'm off to make a whole field of it now.

*Seriously, who saw this coming?

**Nope. That didn't happen.

***I'm guessing that in plumber/handyman land that means that it will be down until Christmas.

****What the heck is Spelt. I'm going to need to Google that later.

My Farmer

This is my Farmer: My grandpa and grandma* on their wedding day. I meant to post this picture earlier when I posted the farmer that I made today. You will see that there really isn't any resemblance--we'll call it artistic licence.





I am getting ready to go to bed, but decided to post this picture. I am worrying tomorrow about what to do when the plumber comes. Many of you may think that this is a weird thing to worry about, but then maybe everyone worries about this kind of thing. I never know what to do when people are working in my house. I feel weird being idle, but I also feel weird doing stuff. I don't really feel like I can go about my day because there's some weird guy in the house, but then you don't want to lose the whole day either.





So, I am resolved to keep sewing my farm.**** Tomorrow I'm starting work on the barn yard. I am trying to incorporate several elements from the real farm in Herscher.** I know that I want to make the fenced in area for the cows, because I have so many memories revolving around those cows. I'm also planning to do a corn field, as I have figured out how to make stand up corn out of felt.*** After that I'm not sure... I have many good memories of the ponds, but the ponds are really far away from the barn, so it doesn't seem right to put them in front of it. I also liked the apple orchard, but try as I might, I can't figure out how to do a good felt apple tree. I think that I maxed out on felt corn. I also always liked the half-circle lane--not a driveway, it was a lane, but the lane was in front of the house, not the barn. Decisions...Decisions...





So, I guess I need to sleep on all of these ideas.





Wish me luck with the plumber tomorrow!!

*I love my grandma's Jackie O wedding dress!





**I always want to spell "Herscher" wrong. In fact, I just had to Google it to make sure that I was spelling it correctly. Google is like my online spell check feature. I wonder if the makers of Google ever thought that it would be used that way. I have a high school friend who works for Google now--if we were still in touch, I could ask him...If your wondering, the spell check feature on Blogger doesn't think that I'm spelling Herscher correctly.





***Perhaps I'll do a "felt corn tutorial," as I'm sure that many others are wanting to know how to do this.





****Out of order footnotes--did that mess you up? This one was added while I was revising. Anyway, I'm resolved to keep sewing, but am totally at a loss regarding my iPod. Do I use the speakers? Do I use the headphones? The headphones seem REALLY weird to use in my own house, however I'm in kind of a weird music place right now and don't really want the plumber to comment on that. You know what would be really cool--a ROBOT plumber who didn't interact with me at all and just sent an invoice when everything was done.

The Happy Farmer

Did anyone else play a stringed instrument in elementary school and play the song "The Happy Farmer?" As I sewed my farmer today, that song kept running through my head.

I am not good at sewing small things...

First, my farmer is really small, which made him REALLY hard to turn right side out. The stiff denim made it even harder. I started trying to turn the legs at 1:29

and I wasn't finished with it until 1:43.

Here is my hair-less farmer (with no hands or feet).

And my farmer with crazy hair.

After a haircut, here's my Farmer with his cows. I haven't decided if the farmer is REALLY big or the cows are REALLY small. Proportion doesn't seem to be my strong suit.

Tomorrow the plumber is coming to fix our leaky faucets. I'm not sure about sewing when the plumber is here. I don't know why I feel like that. I'm ready to start the barn yard tomorrow, so we'll see what I get done.

I'm happy to have finally finished something after all my time off!

Wow--that was longer than I planned

So, my unplanned hiatus turned into an even longer unplanned hiatus, but now I am back for real. I promise!

Tomorrow I'm getting back with the program and I think that I'm going to finish my farm. After that I'll be doing activity bags as birthday gifts for my best friend's kids, which will be available at my Etsy store.

Since today is Father's Day, I made a special dinner for Nick. Lately I have decided that I want to be the Barefoot Contessa when I grow up, however I think that I will wear flip flops. The Flip Flop Contessa doesn't have quite the same ring to it. I wish that I had neighbors that showed up (with a nice and complementary beverage) right when I was finished cooking, as I always make too much. I made Panzanella, which is a Tuscan Bread Salad, as part of our dinner. A bread salad sounds weird, but it's not--it's yummy!! Here's my recipe, which is complied from several different ones (the Barefoot Contessa's being one of my inspirations). This makes a big batch, so you could either bring it to a picnic or have it in your fridge to eat for lunch all week.

Father's Day Panzanella

For the Salad

• 1 small loaf of stale bread, cut into cubes--rustic style bread that's kind of chewy works best*
• 5 ripe plum tomatoes, cut in a rough dice
• 1 large cucumber, cut in a rough dice**
• 1 small red onion, cut in as small of dice as you can get
• 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and cut in half
• 2 TBSP grated cheese***
• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed****
• 15-20 Basil Leaves, shredded and chopped

For the Dressing

• 1/2 Cup Good Tasting Olive Oil*****
• 1/4 Cup Good Tasting Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and Pepper to Taste--don't be stingy

Combine all the salad ingredients. Whisk the dressing together and pour over the salad. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Because this post is more about food than anything else--I have a book recomendation. (In my head, that's not a non sequitor.) I am re-reading "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell before the movie comes out this summer. This book really made me want to learn to cook. I'm still looking for a first edition "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, but I do have her "The Way to Cook" which I love to just read. I'm glad that our PBS station still re-runs Julia Child, since she tought me how to commit to flipping an omlet. You much commit, otherwise, you'll just drop it on the floor.

See you soon--with pictures of something that I've actually made!

*I actually baked a small loaf of "crusty white sandwich bread" from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day last night and let it get stale on my counter--this may have been going a little too far, but boy was it good.

**Some recipes called for the seedless/English cucumber here. That would be fine, however, I used a regular one, as it was on sale.

***Parmigiano-Reggiano would be ideal, however I'm not allowed to spend $15-$19 per pound on cheese any more, so I used regular Kraft Parmesan. Yes, Nick's Italian ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves now.

****These could be omitted, however I like them if your planning to eat the salad as a stand-alone meal, as I am planning to do for lunch the rest of the week.

*****Holy cow, I have a lot of footnotes here. If you can, find a store where you can taste the olive oil before you buy it. In my city, both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods will allow you to do this. I like an olive oil that tastes kind of fruity and isn't bitter, but you might like something lighter.

A Brief Hiatus

Hi...

I'm back from a brief and unplanned hiatus. New posts will be coming soon.

I did break down today and buy cows for the farm, which I hope to finish up soon. Ideas on how to make the farmer are percolating.

I need some good sleep--more interesting information will be coming soon!

Back to the cow drawing board

I've been working on my farm on and off now. More off than on, as Abby is home from my parents, but staying home from school this week because we have company. I finished the cow last night while the adults were watching TV and the little people were sleeping and that will not be the cow that is sold with the barn*. So I'm re-thinking my farm animals. I may give the farmer a try and do plastic animals. I may sell the farm only and people can get their own animals. I may get a burst of energy and give the cow another go.

I'm planning to start a prototype that will be for sale on Etsy if it goes well. My daughter has a lot of opinions about her clothes and a lot of trouble getting dressed in the morning. This makes mornings unpleasant at our house and I am envisioning that it will get worse in the fall when she starts kindergarten. I'm planning to make Abby a wall hanging/soft sculpture with five pockets for the school days of the week. On Saturday or Sunday, we'll fill the pockets with her clothes for the week and hopefully there will be fewer fights in the morning. I don't really care if she wears Wednesday's clothes on Tuesday, but at the end of the week, she'll wear what's left. I'm thinking about doing a small "pocket within a pocket" for underpants, socks, hair ribbons, etc. If it works out, I'll post it on Etsy as a custom order only item, because I want it to have the child's name and I might try my hand at quilting some scenes on the squares. I think that this could also be used to organize school supplies/home work for multiple children, or other things. I'm excited to make it. I may go get the canvas over the weekend.

Speaking of Abby starting school in the fall--I am border-line obsessed with ideas for cool things to put in her lunch box next year. She doesn't really like traditional sandwiches. I like to cook, so I've been working on making a lot of things "mini" and more portable. I'm also exparimenting with how traditional hot things taste when served cold. I'm keeping a lunch box notebook, so I'm sure that I'll do a post with my lunch box ideas in the weeks to come.

In other news, my friend that is visiting has me pondering a career change... There will probably be more about that later.

*It will be the cow (and I use the word "cow" really loosely) that is in the trash.