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.