Summer Cuisine Challenge: Week 6

Arugula, shaved fennel, and parmesan in a lemon-shallot vinaigrette.

Arugula, shaved fennel, and parmesan in a lemon-shallot vinaigrette.

Though we liked the parmesan flavor in general, we realized that the "shaved" requirement was key. We substituted grated parmesan for shaved parmesan, and tried to slice the fennel into shavings. The fennel has such a strong flavor and smell, however, that it simply needed to be shaved. Since my slicing skills aren't that honed yet, a food processor would have really helped!

One thing we've discovered that makes a big difference is making our dressings from scratch. They taste much better and we're guaranteed a dressing we'll actually use. If we can't use it quickly enough, we use it as a meat marinade.

Overall, this salad has good flavor, though we've had at least three other salads that we much prefer to this one.

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Sweet 15

Another Starbucks "Sweet 15" free drink card came in the mail recently.

Rich observed: "We ought to buy stock in Starbucks."

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Summer Cuisine Challenge: Week 5

Romaine Lettuce with Radicchio, Garbanzo Beans, and Feta Cheese in a Balsamic Vinaigrette:

And what would a light dinner be without a little something sweet? These are a combo of what we had left in the house: Chocolate Chip, Butterscotch, Walnut Cookies:

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Morning Musings

Banana Walnut Bread - One of my favorites!

The next eight weeks are going to be a little crazy for us so I may not be posting as much.

We tend to have major life changes concurrently. Last year, it was marriage, a new home, and new employment. This year, it is a new baby, a new home, and new employment, which will likely allow me to stay home with little Isaac. Needless to say, in about eight weeks, we will have to have worked out new health insurance, a new budget, added responsibilities at work and at home, and be settling into a new place. All the while our current job responsibilities need to be done well.

I haven't even put much thought into labor and delivery until the last week. Mr. Rich and I are taking some Lamaze Childbirth Classes, which are apparently the "best childbirth classes in the Washington, DC area." Hopefully, they will be helpful. I have no plans for whether or not to take pitocin, have an epidural, hire a doula, etc. In fact, thinking about all of that in addition to the previous concerns is a little overwhelming. I'm praying that the classes are simply informational and encourage us to make decisions that best suit our needs and situation.

All of these big changes make me appreciate my husband even more.  He has been diligent and discerning at each turn. Hopefully, come September, we'll have a place we can stay for more than a year, and though things won't be calm with a little one, they will be steady. It will be a little cooler. I can get to know my little son in the nice outdoors. We are really looking forward to the fall!

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Getting Ready!

These little man clothes are too cute! Thanks, Grandma Helen! We received the baptismal suit for little Issac, pressed and perfect. It's an adorable little manly thing - no long lace for our boy.

Rich couldn't believe how small these socks are. We can't wait to meet our little guy. I prepared our registry a couple of days ago ... Eight weeks to go!!

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Apple Crisp

Though nothing quite takes the place of his mom's apple pie, I've discovered that the crumbly top to a good fruit dessert is something the husband really loves.

This particular dish blends cold butter, flour, brown and granulated sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts over the top of sugar-coated granny smith apples.

Rich first tasted this when my sister made it several months ago and absolutely loved it! I'm still perfecting the fruit filling. This time I used a little too much lemon zest, so it had a strong lemon flavor. It's still a tasty, and overall, a classic and delicious dish!

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Summer Cuisine Challenge: Week 4

Green leaf lettuce, beats, toasted walnuts & goat cheese with a vinaigrette.

Thanks to Charlotte, I discovered that not all salad greens are what they seem nutritionally. Arugula, for example, though it is the lowest in calories, is not as high in Vitamins A and C and in Potassium as are both Boston, Bibb, and Leaf Lettuces. For a chart, click here.

This recipe called for green leaf lettuce, which I found in a mix with a few red cabbage leaves & shredded carrots. We used a vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar this time. It paired well with the beets. Our favorite flavor was the pasteurized goat cheese. Overall, it was a good salad - not our favorite - but not bad either. It was really nice to use greens other than arugula!

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Game Night (and other fun adventures)!

If there's one thing my husband really loves, it's sports. He particularly likes to watch them live. I'm learning a lot about games, players, and rules by simply being married to him.

Saturday, we decided to take a nice trip to the Washington Nationals stadium. We were lucky to enjoy a close game with the Colorado Rockies. Their pitcher was pitching a perfect game into the 7th inning. He was fascinating to watch.

In order to "stay interested" in the game, the husband likes to keep score. There's so much going on at once -average runs earned, batting average, purpose walks, etc. - that I have a hard time following it. I got distracted when a batter broke his bat - twice - and missed a big play. The bottom of the 9th inning was pretty exciting because the Nats had two bases loaded, two outs, and a score 1-2. They were almost home when the Rockies struck them out ... so close!

To top the evening off, my flip flop toe strap broke ... right before the game started and before we got to our seats. Needless to say, Mr. Rich was very anxious to solve the problem, sit down, and watch the game. So we purchased an $11 Nationals lanyard so that we could keep the shoe on my foot. Mad crowds dashed past us while I limped along as quickly as I could.

On the way back, the sandal lanyard knot kept coming untied. So we would stop and Rich would retie it in a different way to make it more secure. We would walk a few feet and then it would come undone again. People kept commenting as they rushed past us to get on their way. One teenage boy said, "now THAT'S love!" Another guy mumbled under his breath: "Princess."

Then these guys came out followed by a large flying bug that kamikazed my head and promptly got stuck in my hair. At this point - with my foot on Rich's leg - I began shaking my head and screaming, "Could you get the bug?!?!" Perhaps the most high-maintenance public appearance I've made. Then Rich said, "Remind me never to take a pregnant woman to a ball game again."

We decided to take the metro instead of be walking targets (as I was limping along) the seven blocks to our car. When we arrived the next train was 20 minutes away. For the next 20 minutes people crowded around us, many undeodorized, and we watched garbage and mice run around the tracks.

When we finally got to our car, we decided to stop for a drink. The bar was supposed to be serving for another half hour. After about 10 minutes no one had come to serve us even though the place was practically empty. So we left.

We picked up a light snack at Silver Diner and went home. What a night! I love this man!:

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Independence Day Weekend

[Most photos compliments of Rich's parents.]

Mr. Rich had to work most of the weekend, including late into the night on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. But, we had a nice surprise on Monday when he was given the day off! We went for dinner with his parents on Sunday night - and then to Asseteague and Chincoteague on Monday. It was a lovely, relaxing time.

We stopped at the J.M. Clayton Co. in Maryland and picked up a couple of cans of fresh, pasteurized crab meat.

It made this lovely crab dinner last night with a fresh lemon butter sauce, corn, and asparagus.

The company was also featured on the Dirty Jobs show twice. This is one of the jobs that is still too tedious for a machine to do well: removing the meat from the crab. The owner took us back and said that his "documented" migrant workers were more than willing to work on the holiday. It was a completely female team, all of whom will go back with the money they earn to their families in Mexico & South America:

We spotted wild horses almost as soon as we arrived at Asseteague, though they left evidence of their presence everywhere. The island was swampy on the western side and beautiful and hazy on the eastern side. Many people were camping there this weekend.

Unfortunately, the grass causes the horses bellies to swell. They aren't the healthiest looking horses I've ever seen, but they are somewhat fearless. The park rangers tell people not to feed or touch them, although they may come pretty close.

They were in no hurry to get off the road here:

We also saw quite a few people fishing for mussels. There is one clam at the top of this bucket. Additional people were on a dock fishing for crabs while the park ranger paced the dock to ensure the catches were of legal size.

With my hard working man:

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In Anticipation

My sweet colleagues surprised me with a baby shower potluck today. What a nice bunch! This is by far the best job I've had and it's coming up on three years. We have a few cute gifts now and a generous gift card to Babies 'R' Us. In addition, they thought it would be fun to use Morph Thing to see what little Isaac will look like. Poor little kiddo!

"Someone save me from the jaundice!"

I tried my own little Morph Thing when I got home. Here's our little genius kid. What a cutie pie!:

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Summer Cuisine Challenge: Week 3

One thing we discovered is that we have the "favorite spinner" of America's Test Kitchen. The OXO Good Grips "excelled at drying greens." Who knew? Thank you, wedding registry!

So far we tried this salad with grilled chicken strips and a romaine/iceberg mix; and with beef sirloin roast strips and arugula. It called for bibb lettuce, which looked less nutritious than the deep green arugula, so we decided to alter the recipe a little.

Arugula, sharp cheddar, apples, and dried cranberries in a basic vinaigrette.

Next challenge: fresh crab dinner. Thanks to Mr. Rich's parents, we have some fresh crab meat in our frige just waiting for a good recipe!

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Millions of Peaches...

Peaches are now in season! We bought a carton of 14 at Trader Joe's for $6.00. Unfortunately, we could not eat them fast enough, so I tried my hand at this pie.

I am fascinated by the pealing process. Cut an "x" on the top and drop them into boiling water for 30-60 seconds until the skin starts to peal. Then drop them in ice water for 30-60 seconds. The skin comes off very easily, leaving all of the flesh for the pie. I love the colors!

This crust just became 100 times easier to make when I began using wax paper on both sides and a rolling pin over the top. It's such a clean process!

Additionally, the recipe called for 4-6 Tbs of starch to keep the filling thick enough - esp. a problem with peaches. I used all 6, adding the extra two one at a time. It didn't look thick enough until the sixth was blended. Now is nice and full - not runny at all!

Voilà! It's so tasty!

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