Maternity Leave is OVER and also FATTOUSH!

Haven't posted in a while.  I have a good reason: my seven years of (unpaid) maternity leave has come to an end.  I'm working again and I couldn't be happier.  I don't want to jinx my situation, but it's a good one.  I'm reeeeeal fortunate.  Once the boys go back to school I will be even more fortunate.  Quick emails have been fine, but to talk on the phone without interruption when the boys are home?  That's a Syria-Lebanon-ish negotiation that mostly involves me withholding their new Skylanders game until I absolutely need them to be silent.  So far?  Works like a charm.  I buy myself at least an hour.  Barring the dog barking at the doorbell in those goddamn DiGiorno Pizza commercials, or at any and every UPS truck, the situation in my dining room/office is positively professional.

The boys continue to be crazy and make me laugh almost as much as they make me yell at them.  Seriously, how do they NEVER know where their shoes are?  The other day I asked them what they wanted for lunch and H. replied, "Two words, mom, two words. You guess."  So I ran the gamut and did: hot dog, pepperoni pizza, turkey sandwich, etc, etc.  Finally, I gave up and asked him to tell.  His two-word response?  "NOT. CHOS."  Come on.  I'm not sure if I've ever laughed as hard.  Even better is that he still is adamant that 'nachos' is a two-word noun.

What's been better than NOT. CHOS. in the meal department for the younger set lately has been a big pot of pasta mixed with pesto, shredded zucchini and corn cut off the cob.  This has been the boys' summer staple and what's great is that it can be served warm or cold.  It's a calorie bomb, but a pretty nutritious one, which is what we're looking for as H's nickname is currently Ribs McGilicutty.  Also, my boys insist they HATE (do we really need that word at this age?  No, we do not.) zucchini.  But in this pasta dish with the pesto?  They've never even raised the slightest question to the addition of random greens.  They EAT IT UP.  And then I pat myself on the back for out-foxing a couple of newly-minted seven year-olds.  Yea for me.   Not proud, but then there's Jessica Seinfeld, who also can't be proud for sneaking in two tablespoons of veg into her kids meal and writing a book about it.  Wait, yes she was proud.  Proud enough to buy Mzzz. Winfrey a crazy number of Louboutins as a thank-you for having her on the Oprah Show.  What is that?

Anyway, I've been trying to figure out the new work/life schedule and it's been a challenge.  We have an amazing sitter, whom I've been trying to convince to abandon her current college plans and attend the U of M part-time so she can still be in our employ.  Strangely, this hasn't gone over so well with her.  What?

My crazy involved meals have gone by the wayside, but here are a few of the recent highlights that have been quick, fast and good.

1. Fattoush!  My friend returned from the Middle East with a load of spices, among then Sumac.  I was so excited and thankful and then asked what I was supposed to do with them.  She said, have you ever had Fattoush?  That great salad with the pita chips and great dressing?  Yes, yes I have.  She said Fattoush is Fattoush because of the Sumac.  Well, then.  Off we go.

Mmmmm.

So it's Romaine lettuce with grilled chicken that I'd marinated in greek yogurt and lemon.  Chop up some cucumber and throw in some toasted pita.  You're good to go. And it is soooo good to go.  

For the dressing I soaked about 2 teaspoons of ground sumac in 2 tablespoons of water.  Added some olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.  So good, and such a great summer meal.  

2. Trader Joe's Chile Lime Chicken Burgers

As a freezer staple, this is one of the tops.  You can cook them from frozen, and screw the photo on the box, they are much better on one of those super thin buns topped with Hoisin sauce, red onion and lettuce.  Who doesn't love a burger?  And these are on the healthful side of burger-dom.  

Lastly, my dinner tonight, which was a dinner for one.  I'd made a big batch of rice and beans for the boys.  I had some Kale that was on it's last legs so I minced it and added it to the beans.  Greens where you can get 'em.  Once the beans were cooked (dry beans taste better, really), I seasoned them with lime juice, cumin and salt.  So my dinner was a base of the spicy black beans with kale, which I topped with an egg fried in a bit of olive oil (so good), and added green salsa, chopped green onions and a bit of diced avocado.  It was dreamy, dreamy good.  So good that I'm cooking another batch of black beans now so that I can replicate this meal tomorrow.  

I may well dream of this tonight it was so good.  Or else George Clooney taking me to Lake Como.  One or the other...

The boys have had pre-season soccer camp the past two nights.  When we got home tonight I had D. perched on the kitchen counter to take care of a well-earned knee scrape.  Our conversation went as follows: 

D: "What's that smell?  It smells like poop."

Me: "Don't know, can't smell it.  Check your feet."

D: Smells his foot, "Yep, it's my feet."  

Me: "AWE.SOME."  

Summer 2012.  The end.  

Asian Turkey Meatballs for Bunheads and Go USA!

Oh Oh Oh Olympics.  I watched the opening ceremonies Friday night.  Well, I fell asleep by the parade of nation's M's. Mauritius, I believe it was.  Missed the U.S. completely.  That was a hell of a long show.  But since then, and as happens every four years, I've become very involved in random sports such as skeet shooting, water polo (go Betsy Armstrong from Ann Arbor), cycling and tennis.  Plus swimming and gymnastics, of course.  And synchronized diving.  What an amazing random sport is synchronized diving.  Also table tennis.  Not ping pong by a long shot.  Those kids are getting a workout.  I'm loving it all.

Is there any chance that loud flip-flop walking may become an Olympic sport?  If so, I feel pretty confident about some medalists in our home.  Good GOD they clomp along.  I've held off getting them flip-flops until this year because I feared they'd trip and fall, much like their mother.  They don't fall, but they sound like a pack of elephants.  My next purchase will be ballet slippers x2.

Speaking of ballet (there's a new sentence lead for me), the boys caught a promo for a show called "Bunheads" on ABC Family and they laughed hysterically.  Like it was so close to butthead but somehow perfectly acceptable.  So now they're calling each other 'bunhead.'  But it seems to come out at perfect moments, like we'll be playing tennis in the driveway and one will launch a ball into the trees.  The response as of late has been, "Nice one, ya bunhead."  It is so impossibly hard not to laugh.  And then I have to reprimand with, "Please don't call your brother a bunhead," which just makes me laugh more.  Oh my God, they're going to be derelicts because of me.

Thankfully, their impossibly loud flip-flop clomping, bunhead-calling leads them to the dinner table with this family-friendly hit (from skinnytaste.com):

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice and Roasted Broccoli


1/4 cup panko crumbs
1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil


Dipping Sauce
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp chopped fresh scallion

 All Aboard.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

 Ready to bake

Add 1/2 head of broccoli on a separate baking sheet.  Coat broccoli with a mixture of garlic, hot pepper flakes and olive oil.  

Add meatballs and broccoli to the oven, cook for approximately 15 minutes. The broccoli roasts in the exact time the meatballs take to cook.  Strategery.  

 Carrot Rice with Cilantro

 Ready to serve

Plated

Rice
Cook according to directions one cup of long-grain rice with two cups water. When done, add one cup shredded carrots about a tablespoon of chopped cilantro.  Gets a little more veg into the meal and it looks pretty.  Stir to incorporate.  If you're feeling crazy, add 1-2 teaspoons of rice vinegar. Adds a little zing.  In my awful New York accent: "and who doesn't love a little more zingggg?"

Add the Dipping Sauce (or, Pour Over the Meatballs and Rice Sauce) and serve it up.

Even the Bunheads will approve of this one.  Go U.S.A.!

The days are long...but at least there's Tahini, Lemon and Dill Dressing

Since the boys arrived on the scene one of the phrases I think of most often is, "The days are long; the years are short."  Well these days of intense heat and drought and "whatcanwedoooooo?' have been really really very extremely long.  They're refusing all offers to go to camp.  Any camp.  Swimming and tennis lessons are over.  I looked at my watch yesterday thinking SURELY it was dinner time...it was 3:30 p.m.  Even here at del Boca Vista, that's a bit early.  

I was needing an activity last week when the temperature was around 100 degrees and the pool would've been miserably crowded.  Plus I would come into contact with at least one stray band-aid.  There's little that grosses me out more than stray band-aids.  (We just got Angry Birds band-aids and the incidence of band-aid needing injuries spiked 165% 'round these parts.)

Anyway, inspiration struck and here's what H. occupied himself with for a almost an hour.  

Look at that smile!  He was thrilled.  It was totally not like the time I asked them if they wanted to go someplace really special and fun (the zoo) and D. got really excited and asked, "Like TARGET?"  That was kind of sad.  But H. loves vacuuming.  Asks to do it all the time.  It's all I can do do muzzle an exuberant, "YESSSS!" when he asks.  Now for the other 13 hours to fill...

Beets from the garden.

I've been occupying myself with these gorgeous beets from my garden.  If I were to write like I spoke, the above caption would read, "BEEEEETS FROM MYYYY GARDEN!!!!!!!!!!" As though I invented the damn things.  Carter learned his lesson about my profound and perhaps disproportionate excitement at what the garden has produced on his birthday.  The timing was maybe unfortunate but I took the first perfectly ripe cherry tomato, hid it behind my back and said, "I've got a very exciting surprise for you!"  Turns out we have differing descriptions of "very exciting."  And also "surprise." To his credit, he recovered quickly and pretended to love that birthday tomato as much as I loved presenting it to him.   

This evening's dinner - for me - was a roasted beet and spinach salad with toasted walnuts and goat cheese.  Not much of a goat cheese fan, except when it's paired with beets.  It was really good and made even better by my new obsession: Tahini, Lemon and Dill dressing.

Tahini, Lemon and Dill Salad Dressing

1/4 C. Tahini

1/4 C. water 

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 teaspoons sugar or honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Is there a fair around here where I can enter these beauties?  Feeling new-gardener confidence...

Dinner for the boys (they had their new favorite and super easy pasta which I will share at some point, probably when school starts) and myself was finished and cleaned up by six o'clock.  This summer I am one giant white visor away from retirement.  Del Boca Vista indeed.  

There's a toilet in my bedroom + summer favorites

We're finally, finally re-doing our master bathroom, a.k.a. the "you cause me depression" room.  Seriously, starting every day faced with Brady Bunch-era cocoa brown wall tiles and 1960's special coordinating floor tile wasn't pleasant.  We ridded the house of much of the 60's touches when we moved in.  For example, our living room which had some fantastic mauve carpet with matching walls.  But it was ok because the trim was DARK mauve.  Nice contrast.  So that's gone, as is 95% of the wallpaper.  Ugh, the wallpaper.  It was everywhere and it was hideous.  

So the renovation is underway.  The toilet has moved from the bathroom to a corner of our bedroom, which is lovely.  There's a fine layer of drywall dust over everything.  We are now sharing a bathroom with the boys, which is a little bit shock and awe for me.  I was brushing my teeth one morning when H. came in to use the bathroom.  He was doing his business and saw a squirrel through the window and then turned his DOING HIS BUSINESS body away from the toilet to track the squirrel.  Shock and awe.

Looking good, future shower.

There's a pocket door separating the shower area from the vanity and Carter's been keeping the door shut to avoid more drywall dust escaping.  But I can't help peeking.  And he called me out on it: "Do you keep opening that door expecting Nate Berkus to pop out?"  Me: "Don't be silly."  But secretly, Yes. YES I TOTALLY DO.  And well done, Carter, for knowing who Nate Berkus is.  

Some of the things I've been loving this summer:

We went to the Toad Hollow tasting room in Healdsburg, CA, and had a nice time.  A really nice time. So nice of a time that we ended up ordering a case of a past vintage of this wine to be delivered to our house in Chicago.  It arrived and, strangely, it didn't taste as nice as it did in Healdsburg.  We suffered through.  I was shopping for a good summer Rose (no accent on Blogger) and found my little Toad friend again.  This vintage is really good.  Served ice-cold it's been our summer go-to wine.  (Ann Arbor friends it's at Plum Market for about $8 a bottle. Bar-gain.)

American Spoon (nice Michigan company) Cherry BBQ Grilling Sauce.  This makes everything better.  Shrimp kebabs, salmon, chicken, pork, all your fish and meat items.  It's really, really good.  Summer staple.

Arizona Tea Arnold Palmer Iced Tea & Lemonade Stix (even though 'stix' is not a word).  Loving these little guys.  Just enough caffeine to power through a late afternoon slump.  I took a couple to the lake today and they helped me be "fun mom" as opposed to my usual, "you guys know how to swim so I'm going to sit in the shade and read my book - mom."  

Smoothies.  The boys and I have one a day and I jam so much good stuff in them they have no idea. Greek yogurt, 2-3 cups of frozen fruit, a raw egg (Salmonella be damned), a little OJ, water and at least two cups of spinach.  I know.  The first time I heard of spinach in smoothies I recoiled a bit. But then I tried it and it adds no taste but plenty of fiber and vitamins.  And the boys haven't even noticed. Suckers.  Just kidding.  But not really.    

What?  SPF 110?  That's totally normal.  Carter calls it liquid denim.  And it kind of is.  I need a spatula to scrape this stuff off at the end of the day.  But after my dermatologist suggested that, due to my red-haired-fair-skinned gift, that it's not "IF but WHEN" I get skin cancer, I'm going to hedge my bets.  

Whell, Hillbilly Handfishin' is coming on and I must go watch my stories.  Until next time...

Poor Golf and Nicoise Salad. Happy Summer!

Carter had a birthday a week or so ago.  He likes to golf so I got a sitter and made a tee time.  Nice, right?  I'm not all about me.  Except that I hadn't been golfing since the month after the twins were born, which is closing in on SEVEN years.  Mymymy.  My grasp on my LPGA card is sliding.

At least someone was happy...

So yes, I was confident I would be great.  Good one.  Thankfully, the course was empty so I had only one witness of my poor shots, of which there were many.  It was also a course that had just opened the back nine after clearing the debris from this spring's tornado, so some holes looked like you were playing the apocalypse course.  Trees 12 feet in diameter were uprooted like a pulled beet.  The destruction was wild.  

I recalled the day I'd played in Carter's work outing in Chicago.  We were at the turn on the 10th hole, right by the clubhouse, where a lot of people were eating lunch on an outside patio.  I can't reaffirm how important it was that there were a number of people eating lunch on the outside patio.  It haunts me to this day.  

Carter hit his tee shot and it was nice.  Just about where he wanted it to go.  Then I proceeded to tee off from the women's tees because why wouldn't I?  I'm a woman after all.  And I shanked the shank of all shanks.  My drive, from a driver, hit a steel bridge about 30 feet away.  It sounded like a gunshot and had an echo worthy of a car backfiring in the Grand Canyon.  ALL heads turned and I froze like a deer in headlights.  At which time Carter hit the pedal on the golf cart and started to drive away.  Without me.  He got as far as the bridge before he reversed and we both collapsed in laughter.  We often come back to the phrase, "At least you came back."

Happy Birthday to my friend who came back.

Right after his birthday we left for Minnesota and some family time.  It was great.  It was bloody hot.  It was also full of heavy meals.  Well, maybe not heavy meals, but just full of meal-to-meal time, which I feel happens a lot when visiting family.  When we host people in Ann Arbor it's the same thing.  Meals become a ground zero from which all is built.  What is that?  I feel like maybe we're establishing an equalization between hosting and feeding?  That's up for further discussion.  

What's up for discussion now is the Nicoise salad.  Yes, I know there's one of those accents in the 'C' of Nicoise, but I don't know how to do that on blogger.  So we'll go without.  But we'd been fed very well in Minnesota and we need to begin our cut-backs (i.e. no more ribs of any kind.) We're full into salad mode as of now.  

So I present the gorgeous lettuce from our yard.  It's called a spotted something (I don't remember) and it is quite good.  

Spotted lovely lettuce?

Plated.  One with egg, one cluckless. 

Close-up Nicoise-ness.

Nicoise Salad (for 2)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Scrub and chop 4 small Yukon Gold potatoes into an approximately 1" chop.  Oil a baking sheet and roast potatoes for 30 minutes.  

1 can of the best Italian tuna available

2 cups assorted greens

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup of a red onion, sliced as thinly as possible

2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in quarters

1 cup haricots verts (skinny green beans steamed for three minutes in the microwave and rinsed in cold water)

1. Arrange greens on two plates

2. Add divided tuna, onion, eggs, roasted potatoes, par-boiled haricots verts, and tomatoes to each plate

Combine vinaigrette:

2 tsp anchovy paste

2 Tbsp grain mustard

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Drizzle over arranged greens and serve.  

This will make more dressing than you'll probably need; save the rest for your salad tomorrow. 

In other news, we saw an armored truck (at a TARGET) in Rochester and I looked at Carter and asked him if the did the same thing I do every time I see an armored vehicle:  immediately scan the area for suspicious cars and/or men wearing Ronald Reagan masks.  He just shook his head and did that thing where he looks to the heavens for an answer.  Am I sensing a trend?  

Yep, The End.  Thanks.  

Sorry Ann Curry + Snap Pea Salmon Quinoa

Ok, I might have called her Rainbow Brite previously, but now I feel bad about Ann Curry.  Her wardrobe is unfortunate.  My god, those outfits.  And this is coming from a woman who has worn little more than yoga pants and fleece tops for the last six years.  And clogs.  Yes I do.

But now that she's about to be fired and she still has to come to work each morning at some ridiculously early hour and be all, "Hey, good morning, let's have a great show today."  What?  Who can do that?  I mean, Al Roker was probably a lot to deal with already but now she has to chuckle at his lame puns knowing her exit is imminent and be graceful about it.  That's superhuman.  I watched about 45 minutes this morning and it's not hard to read the underscoring sentiment.  Or maybe it's just me imagining pop-up video style text bubbles reading, "Shut the F up already with the weather puns, Al" or "Thanks for nothin', Lauer, you a-hole."  She's been a pillar of class and grace, thus far.  If I were her I would be so tempted to wear that crazy smock dress featuring the Today Show rainbow from waist-to-hip for the rest of my days.  That's right.  Rainbow Brite every single crazy day.  

Oh Ann. My condolences.

My defining moment of departure from the Today show had nothing to do with Ann Curry.  I'd always turned on NBC as a default.  I remember getting ready for school with Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel. I watched with horror Katie and Matt's live coverage of 9/11.  And then Matt Lauer interviewed the Colorado teenager who spilled her frozen yogurt on President Obama's shoe.  Yogurt on a goddamn shoe.  Over and out.

Plus said teenager had that speech inflection where every sentence rises in pitch at the end and comes out like a question.  What is that?  I hope it's only prevalent in girls so that we can avoid it entirely because it might kill me.  Literally.  Just kidding about the literally; I know how to use the word correctly.  

So I'm breaking up with the Today Show but I'm jumping into bed with a new love:  The Newsroom.  I watched the pilot twice yesterday.  So good.  The pilot is on You Tube and the show looks promising enough to allllmossssst make me order HBO.  Except it airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. and it's a rare Sunday eve that sees me awake at 11:00 p.m.  And also I'm cheap.  So most likely I'll bide my time until it comes out on DVD and then I will ignore my children and watch the whole thing in one long and delicious sit-down, thus reprising my former nickname, Leah de la Sofa.  

God, Mom, no.  I'm not really going to ignore the boys.  Joking.  

Um...sooo... it was really hot here last week and I needed to throw together a rare weeknight dinner for all four of us.  Turning on the oven or grilling wasn't going to happen.  So we ate saltines with peanut butter.  The end.  Joking again!  I kill myself (no, not literally).  I had a ton of snap peas and spinach from my garden.  (Oh, how I'm loving my garden.  But that ramble--and it's going to be one heck of a ramble--is for another time.) I made an all-microwave meal.  And it was decent.  

Abundant snaps

Snap Pea and Salmon Quinoa (for 4)

1 cup uncooked Quinoa

2 or so cups snap peas, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups spinach, washed and finely chopped

1 (approx. 1 lb) salmon filet, cut into 4 pieces

Citrus Vinaigrette

2 tbsp. olive oil

Zest and juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon (I like a lot of lemon, the boys not so much)

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar (or preferred)

2 tbsp. orange juice

2 tbsp. chopped chives

Salt and pepper, to taste.  I have a salt problem and feel like it needs a little extra salt.  But that's me.  

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions (I microwaved, clearly).

2. Trim and chop about this many snap peas (it's a little over two cups.  I measured!), microwave with a little water for 1 minute.  Add to bowl with quinoa.

3. Microwave chopped spinach for 30 seconds.  It will look horrible but will add color and vitamins.  Add it to the bowl and stir well so the spinach doesn't stay clumpy and the quinoa fluffs up.

4. Mix vinaigrette together and add, stir again.  It looks like a lot but don't fret, the grain soaks it up. 

5. I salted and peppered and lemoned the salmon and cooked each piece of individually, in my handy microwave egg cooker, for 55 seconds.  Alternatively, I'm sure you could do it all on a plate covered with plastic wrap but I've got no idea how long it would take to cook.  Helpful.

Salmon in the microwave egg cooker

6. Let the salmon rest for a couple minutes, flake with a fork and add to the quinoa mixture.  Maybe add chopped, toasted walnuts if you've got them.  Add a little crunch, yes?

7. Serve it up and enjoy a fresh, healthful no oven meal that's not a sandwich.  Or Ben and Jerry's Phish Food frozen yogurt.  Not that that's happened.

View from my bedroom window.  So much nicer in the summer.  The end.

Grilled Caprese Chicken and Forty is anything but Sporty.

I just had a birthday.  A very big birthday.  The kind of birthday you don't really think is going to happen to you and then, blam-o, there it is.  There was much talking and planning for said birthday.  I made one thing clear: no parties.  Don't get me wrong; I love celebrating birthdays, just not my own.

So there was a party.  It was lovely.  The food was fantastic and the setting pretty.  I'm very thankful.  

The best gift I was given was from my in-laws: 3 days in Chicago by myself (Carter was working).  I had lunch with my dear friend J.  I went running by the lake on an incredibly shiny day.  I wandered aimlessly and shopped my way up and down Michigan Avenue. It was heaven.  

In fact, it was so idyllic that I began imagining life had we stayed in Chicago.  I pictured frequent trips to the Art Institute and the concerts in Millennium Park.  I imagined taking the boys to a ton of different restaurants and appreciating all the cultures that co-mingle in a big city.  Pretty, pretty picture. 

And then a (I'm guessing here) homeless and drunk man called me a whore.  I was all, "Ahhh, this blouse is Tory Burch.  So no.  No I'm not."  He didn't get the reference, but the women behind me sure did.  Sisterhood against the traveling men with no pants. 

Picture of downtown from Diversey.  Yes, I was taking pictures because I needed a break from running.  But still, incredible day.  

I had a string of days in Chicago that made me almost forget the times when it's not so nice.  For example, the time I exited the train at Chicago Ave. and a frosting-heavy Dunkin' Donuts bag hit me with such gale force winds that I had to take off my mittens to pry it away from my trouser leg.

Or the time that I cashed in a very nice gift certificate I was given to get massages for both Carter and myself at a very swank spa.  It was raining sideways.  Umbrellas were nothing but a cute accessory; they served no purpose.  Taxis were, of course, non-existent.  I arrived soaking wet with some kind of otherworldly alien hair.  It was cute.

But this trip was fantastic.  A great summer kick-off.  My little friends had fun.

And then they got their work-out.

When we returned home we were excited for summer.  And excited for this meal:

Grilled Chicken Caprese (for 4)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
4 slices fresh mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 - 1 lb tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used grape tomatoes and cut them in half)
1/3 C. white wine
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Start with the tomato sauce.  Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sugar and stir consistently, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and turn heat to medium-low.  Stir consistently and add a splash of wine when liquids dry up.  Be careful not to burn (note to self right there).  Stir, adding wine when necessary, for 10-15 minutes, until everything is nice and mushy.  Add salt and balsamic.  Cook a few minutes longer.  If you want a smoother sauce, blend with an immersion blender.  If you're cool with the chunks, don't.  Cooks choice.

Onion and tomatoes, beginning to cook down.

Cooked and added balsamic.

Blended.  It was a Saturday night.  I had time.  I blended.  

Grill the chicken breasts.  Let's not reinvent the wheel here, everyone knows how to grill chicken breasts.  After you flip them, wait a minute and add a slice of mozzarella.  Cook it like a cheeseburger.  As an aside H. used to adorably call cheeseburgers "cheese-ham-a-burgers."  It's my blog. I get to do that.   

Pull that cheesy chicken off the grill, top with a scoop of the tomato-balsamic sauce and some fresh chopped basil.  Serve with some grilled vegetables.  Whatever you have.  Vegetables are always better grilled.  

 Plated with grilled zucchini, pepper and onions 

(the dregs of the vegetable drawer if I were to be honest).

Summer on a plate.

In other news I gave the boys their dinner tonight and H. looked at his plate, looked at me with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Mom, did you try your best on this dinner?"  Yep.  That happened.  I took a deep breath, looked at him and said, "Your sitter will be here at nine in the morning."  The end.