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.!

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...

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.  

Bell's Oberon Carnitas and Happy Peony Season

I love my peonies.  When we moved into this house it was late winter/early spring.  There was nothing growing at all.  That spring was fun to see what our yard produced.  Let me say that we bought this house for the yard.  We were accustomed to Chicago-sized lots where your garden was basically a window-box.  So that first year when multiple peony bushes sprouted all along our driveway and front beds was good times.  Almost makes buying this house at the very height of the market worth it.  No, no it doesn't.

So peony season is the best.  I cut those suckers just as fast as they bloom and fill the house with flowers.  Last week we were backing down the driveway and I caught sight of the first burst of peony color.  I might have screeched in excitement.  I might have screeched loudly and intensely enough to make Carter slam on the brakes like he'd backed over the dog, whip his head toward me and yell, "OHMYGODWHAT?"  It was then that I'd realized my misstep.  "Um....I'm just pleased to see the first peony blooming" was not quite as satisfactory of an answer as I needed.  He then did that thing he does where he puts his face in his hands and then looks up to the sky and pretends to be asking God for help.  It's cute.

So I could go on and on about the peonies. (Mr. T. voice: "I pity the fool who goes on about the peonies.  Because you've won that contest.")   But a bit more:  they were about three weeks early this year.  They were cut and arranged for Memorial Day, which hasn't before happened.  We had special guests this year, and there wasn't a lot of sleeping going on.  What there was a lot of, besides peonies?  CARNITAS.

Bell's Oberon Carnitas (for 4-6)

2ish lbs. pork loin, cut into about 2-inch chunks

Spice rub
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chile powder

Mix spice rub and coat the pork chunks.  Heat a heavy, oven-proof pot to medium high and add a few pieces of pork at a time to sear.

Remove pieces when seared on all sides and continue to cook remaining pork.

When all the pork is cooked and removed, add one of these beauties (Bell's Oberon, Go Michigan!) or something similar to the pan, with the juice of one orange.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to scrape up all that spicy pork loveliness.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Nestle all the pork back into the beery sauce, cover, and cook in the 250 degree oven for 2 hours.  Shred with two forks and go to town on this business because it is so flipping good.

Serve with any or all of the following:
Warmed corn tortillas (warmed in microwave and covered with a damp kitchen towel
Guacamole or avocado slices
Lime crema (me being fancy for Greek yogurt mixed with a bunch of lime juice.  really good.)
Green salsa, also known as salsa verde for those who speak Espanol
Chopped fresh cilantro (always funny to put a spring on your front tooth and smile widely at your guests.  Always.)
Thinly sliced radishes
Chopped green onions
Chopped lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Cheese - a good Queso Blanco or Mexican blend (not really necessary but go Dairyland!)
Beer

So there we were.  Memorial Day weekend.  Special guests.  Calling "Pork me" when a new taco was needed (or wanted).  Really good corn on the cob that came from elsewhere than here. (Eat locally except when you want early corn.  Or citrus.  Or bananas.  Sorry.)  Crowdpleaser.

Pork and Mango Skewers and also Shopping Sucks.

As much as I love food and the planning and preparing of meals, I really don't like going to the grocery store.  Awful.  I shop like a hoarder because I dislike it so much.  Or maybe I just like having six bottles of barbecue sauce in my pantry.  We ran out of ketchup once and Carter was dumbfounded.  WE NEVER RUN OUT OF KETCHUP.  It was like watching Dan Jansen fall during that Olympic speed skating race he was a shoo-in to win.  (I can't believe that's the first comparison I thought of.  Yes, it was EXACTLY like that.)  Witnessing the impossible.  But I truly do get twitchy if our reserve rolls of TP number less than ten.

Part of my anti-shopping bent is for sure my attitude toward my fellow shoppers.  I don't like them. They bug me as follows:
1. Stopping their carts in the middle of the aisle so nobody can pass on either side.
2. Stopping to slowly compare nutritional labels directly in front of the yogurt/cheese/cereal I want.
3. Other people's kids.*
4. Check writers.  At the very least use a debit card.  You obviously have a bank account.
5. Asking me about the items in my cart.  Just pony up the two dollars for the same tortillas and give it a whirl.
6. Kids over, say, 5 years old who are allowed to ride in carts.  Because these are usually the kids who would benefit from not riding in carts.

Wow, only six?  I'm much less of a B than I'd thought.  Nice.

*Now, my boys are not, by any stretch of imagination, particularly well-behaved.  There was an 'incident' at Target C. 2008 when my strategy of buying them a bag of popcorn at the snack bar to keep them busy while I shopped turned horribly wrong and they began sticking the kernels up each other's noses and shooting it out of their nostrils while shrieking with laughter.  Not my parenting high point, but I pretended I was their nanny and announced very loudly that their 'mother' was going to be disappointed when I told her how poorly they were behaving.  So there was that.  But what really gets me are the parents who pretend their child's behavior isn't a cause for concern.  I recently witnessed a woman whose child was chucking - not simply tossing - items out of their cart and the woman did the Parenting Magazine bit and was like, "Nigel (oh for Christ's sake NIGEL), we don't throw things out of Mommy's basket.  Would you like an organic grape?"  You know the tone she used.  You know it already.  Placating and dulcet.  KILLS ME.

So because I would rather poke my eyes out than go to the grocery store I've become pretty good at using what we've got on hand to make a meal.  Last week Carter called on Wednesday with news that his Thursday meeting in California was cancelled and that he'd be home for dinner.  Super.  Except there was no dinner.  And there was no way I was going to the store.  I should add that in no way does he expect a home-cooked dinner, but I kind of feel like it's the least I can do.  I have come to despise the whole airport "process" and he does it every week.  So I make him dinner.  I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer that I pulled out to thaw.  Then I checked out the contents of the fridge.  I had a mango and some zucchini that needed to be used.  Ding ding ding.

Pork and Mango Skewers
Cube the pork in about 1 inch pieces.  Do the same to the mango.  Place on skewers.  I love the word skewer.

Pour some sweet chili sauce over the skewers, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Sweet Chili Sauce. 

Ready to grill.

Grilled. Fini.  

So I served these over rice and they were, excuse the brag, fantastic.  Will make these again.  Will make these for guests.  

For the vegetable, I served zucchini super thinly sliced and tossed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and thyme leaves.  I used my mandoline to slice the zucchini, but as I'm typing this I'm thinking a vegetable peeler doing long thin slices of zucchini would maybe be better.  But as it was:

I love zucchini but overcooked zucchini?  Holy yuck.  That's the thing: it goes from great and firm to overcooked and mushy awfulness in an instant.  That's why I love serving it raw, as above.  

So it was a really good meal, with just using what we had on hand and without going to the grocery store and, God forbid, using the self-checkout line.  Self check-outs. Christ.  Signs should be posted on those things that read: "We've thrown the concept of customer service out the window.  Welcome."  I've given up on them completely after my last attempt left me talking back to the thing like a crazy woman. "I DID place my item on the belt, you a-hole."  Anyway, it takes me longer to find and scan those dumb barcodes and key in my produce numbers than it does to wait in the longest line.  So I choose the line with the real person.  And the National Enquirer.  The End.  

"Hail to the Victors' Salad" plus P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps

The boys were born at Mott Childrens' Hospital at the University of Michigan.  I'm not sure if they give kids a shot of something at birth, but they both LOVE the Michigan Wolverines.  I guess maybe it's more just living in Ann Arbor and going to school with so many friends with parent/grandparent alumni whose influence has infiltrated our everyday life.  "Go Blue" has been a part of their vernacular since they were three.

Mostly because of their friends they've been singing or trying to sing the Michigan fight song, "Hail to the Victors" for years.  The song goes, "Hail! To the victors valiant..."  Except they give it their own twist: "Hail! to the victors' salad!"  They think it's about salad.  Awe.some.

There they were with Vanderbilt hats (from the Smiths), yet I fear with an injection that made their blood Maize and Blue.  This town is something else. 

Fast forward six years and those tiny creatures have grown into little Michigan fans with their own ideas about what to eat.  They do pretty well.  When they both loved these lettuce wraps (albeit the holy mess they make while eating them), I knew that no matter what team they cheered for, we were going to be ok.  

P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps (via Cooking Light)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Cups coarsely chopped shiitake and baby portabella mushroom caps (I do half and half)

1 1/4 lbs. ground turkey

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1 cup thinly sliced green onions 

1 (8-oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped

Lettuce leaves

Sauce:

3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

2 Teaspoons Sriracha (Rooster!) sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Place mushrooms in a large bowl.  

2. Heat second tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add turkey, garlic, and ginger to pan, cook 6 minutes or until turkey is browned, stirring to crumble.  

3. Add turkey mixture, onions, and water chestnuts to the mushrooms in the bowl; stir well.  

4. Spoon 1/2 cup turkey mixture into each lettuce leaf.  Combine hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha and salt into a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Spoon sauce over lettuce wrap.

This dish is all about the sauce.  We make two bowls when we eat this with the boys and cut way down on the Sriracha for theirs.

Bowl of goodness.

Oh yeah.

I usually buy butter lettuce to serve these wraps.  The perfectly uniform iceberg they serve at P.F. Chang's?  Crazy genetically modified space lettuce available only at P.F. Chang's.  Any big leafy lettuce will do; besides, the lettuce is only the vehicle for the sauce anyway.

This dish has great memories for us because the first time we made it, probably three years ago, it was a fabulous summer night and we sat on the deck with good friends drinking beer and devouring this as our appetizer.  Since then, we've moved it to main course status because the main course was always a letdown after the lettuce wraps.  You do what you have to do...

I also have good P.F. Chang's memories because there was one in Chicago between my office and Carter's and we'd meet there for lunch as often as we could (about once every other month).  It was a treat.  Every time we see one now one of us starts, "Do you remember in Chicago..."  We're super super cutesy like that.  Every time we speak to each other it's like a love poem.  For instance, this past Valentine's Day I received a text that read, "Happy V.D."  Ahhh...after I realized the holiday and that the text wasn't a reference to venereal disease, I was really touched.  Poetry.

"Hail! to the victors' salad!"

Le Pique-Nique, Part Deux

On our trip to Europe in September we rented a car which marked the first time either of us had been there with wheels.  It changed the whole feel of the trip to not be beholden to train schedules.  Freedom!  (Remember Freedom Fries? Oh my.)

So we got ourselves a sweet Renault Picasso, which I have to believe is the PT Cruiser of France.  Not stylish in the least.  But we enjoyed the new luxury of being able to leave our un-necessary items in the car instead of packing our hotel rooms.  And we also enjoyed having a ready-to-go picnic in the back seat.  Good sweet JESUS the French know how to picnic.  Good bread, good cheese, a ripe piece or two of fruit, a selection of cured meats, some assorted olives (anchovy stuffed goodness), and once in a while a bottle of Rose.  Happy travelers?  Yes we were.

We have several great picnic memories.  On the banks of Lake Geneva, high in the Italian Alps, on a public beach prior to checking into our swanky hotel in Cannes....all good.  But the one that sticks out most in my mind was our last of the trip, on the day we made our way to Versailles and back to Paris to fly home.  We saw a roadside sign for a "Parc Floral" and decided to make it our lunch stop.  In keeping with some sort of really really good kismet/mojo/karma we were granted on this trip, it was gorgeous; one of the top places we'd seen.  And we were there a good month past the garden's prime.  Still amazing.

Setting up le pique-nique.

Carter relaxing while I was checking out the rose garden.  They had these loungers all over.  The picture would've been funnier had he been about three feet to the left.  Yes, I've been living with 

three boys for too long.  

 Ahh...this is what I pictured every dreary day this winter to lift my spirits.  This and those olives.  

Dahlia garden.  Amazing.

We returned home with lightened spirits and a renewed wish to travel more.  I personally returned home with a desire to have more picnics.  And to make something resembling those splendid baguettes we bought in France.  I had some pretty spectacular fails before I came across the King Arthur website. They brought in the concept of a starter that had to set overnight.  It was different than all the other recipes I looked at or tried.  And it was better.  Original recipe here.  

Baguettes

STARTER

1/2 cup cool water

1/16 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast

1 cup Unbleached Bread Flour

DOUGH

1 teaspoon active dry yeast 

1 cup to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

all of the starter

3 1/2 cups Unbleached Bread Flour

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, to taste

Directions

1) Make the starter by mixing the yeast with the water (no need to do this if you're using instant yeast), then mixing in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; overnight works well. 

2) Mix yeast with the water, then combine with the starter, flour, and salt.  Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface may still be a bit rough. Knead for about 5 minutes on speed 2 of a stand mixer.

3) Leave the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer or place in a lightly greased medium-size bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and then again after 2 hours.

4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into three equal pieces.

5) Shape each piece into a rough, slightly flattened oval, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.

6) Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten it slightly, and fold and seal again.

7) With the seam-side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 15" log. Place the logs  onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan or pans.

8) Cover them with a cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaves to rise till they've become very puffy, about 1 1/2 hours.

9) Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450°F

10) Using a very sharp knife held at about a 45° angle, make three 8" vertical slashes in each baguette. Spritz the baguettes heavily with warm water; this will help them develop a crisp crust.

11) Bake the baguettes until they're a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2", and allow the baguettes to cool in the oven.

Yield: Three 16" baguettes.

 Not so sure about this...

 Feeling more sure.

Ooh la la Sassoon.  Still not as good as the French, but I'm gaining.  Now I just need 

re-access to all that cheese.  

Orange roses on my beautiful new tray (thanks Beanie and Puff!). The end.  

Alone Again, Organically. Plus Carrot Ginger Soup.

I'm looking at a pretty full month of single parenting (save a visit from my mom, who ok technically is the grandparent but for sure is an adult and a reinforcement, which is all I need) so I'm going all in on this year's garden.  Group activity and also forced family fun (the Triple F, as we call it).  Yea!  I could be painting our hallway and also all the trim. OK, I could stand to repaint every single wall in this house.  I could be cleaning out and organizing the basement, ditto the garage.  But I figure those things have been on my to-do list for so long that they can perish there a little longer (like 2014 at this rate).

Alright, already.

I have two little friends at home who are very supportive of this idea, "as long as our garden is organic."  Oh Jeez, Ann Arbor, you win already.  "Mostly organic?" I asked as I hid the jumbo sized container of Round-Up behind my back.  "All organic.  No chemicals," they both replied.  Right.

Their school classes took a field trip to an organic farm last fall.  It stuck apparently.  I was a chaperone on the trip and was chatting with a couple of the other moms about how all the farm workers were really strikingly beautiful and maybe it was because of all the fresh air and hard work and all the organic (!) food they eat.  And their skin!  How it glowed, etc.  I was potentially rambling.  Hard to tell.  Anyway, one of the other moms leaned into me and with a lowered voice said, "You do know they're all like 23, right?"  There was also that.  But it was probably more the organic food.

So Sunday we (broken down as 87% Carter, 12% me and 1% the boys combined) framed and dug new raised beds.  My 12% was plenty of work.  We then went to the store and went crazy buying seeds and starts.  They boys were really into it, although if H. had his way we would plant only pumpkins and gourds (for craft projects, naturally).  I'm thinking about all the fresh veggies we'll be getting and all he wants is gourds.  Organic gourds.  For the love.  We bought him one at the grocery store a couple years ago and he promptly named it "Gordie" and slept with it until it started to mold, at which point we got "Gordie 2" and you can see where this story is headed...

Number one on D.'s list was carrots.  I'm good with that one.  Especially since one of our favorite soups  (and it freezes beautifully) is Carrot Ginger.  So easy, healthy and fast.

Carrot Ginger Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 - 1.5 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped into big chunks
4 cups (32 oz.) chicken broth
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh or jarred)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Greek yogurt and chives, for garnish

Add about this many carrots (I know, I annoy myself too).

1. Saute the onion in the olive oil.

2. Add carrots and broth, cover and let boil on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until the carrots can be pierced easily with a fork.

3. Transfer in batches to a blender (or blend with an immersion blender) and blend until smooth.

4. Add ginger, salt and pepper.

5. Serve with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and chopped chives.

What could go wrong?

I made this on Friday and we heated it up after the boys' soccer game on Saturday.  The soccer game where we had to pull out parkas and hats and mittens.  That game.  Go Wolf Pack.  I've discovered I'm nothing if not a fair-weather sports fan.  This soup was all I could think about.  Well, that and what indoor, temperature controlled sports they might like to play.

  Gardenia topiary (one of a pair) that I bought WAY too early to put outside but, even in their ugly nursery pots, they are gorgeous and making the house smell like there aren't three boys and a dog living here.  I'll probably kill them (talking about the Gardenias here) by the time I can transfer them outside. That's H.'s pig, Mr. Porcine.  The kid loves his crafts.  That is all.  XO

Un-Paula Deen Mac-n-Cheese

I make a conscious effort to not let small things bug me.  And it takes a lot of effort.  I still want to stick a poker in my eardrum, however, when Paula Deen says 'oil.'  It comes out "AHHHL."  I get that she's a Southerner; I just feel like she could make an 'O' sound if she really tried.

One of the more puzzling pairings was when Ms. Deen did segments on the Today show with Al Roker.  How was it ever a good idea for those two to be giving America tips on what to eat?  It reminded me of the church cookbook my dad gave me: In the 'Salad' chapter there was a recipe that called for chopped-up Snickers bars.  Good salad.

Giada De Laurentiis did have some good recipes when she did segments on Today.  I was even able to overcome her overly dramatic pronunciation of Italian words.  "Beautiful BUffala MOZZaRELLa." What ruined her for me was our friend Scott who pointed out how disproportionally short her arms are. Unfair but true.  He tucked his elbows to his side and pretended to cook with only his forearms.  It was hysterical and I now can't look at Giada the same way;  We had no choice but to break up.

One of the multitude of magazines I receive is Cooking Light.  It's actually one that I pay for (Mags for Miles accounting for the bulk of the rest).  I love how the Paula Deens of the world love to make their dishes more luscious with BUDDER and AHHHL, but Cooking Light does the exact opposite.  Their Baked Mac-n-Cheese here is proof.  Instead of loads of cheese or cream, the base of this dish is low-fat cottage cheese, pureed in a food processor.  Pair this with the new-fangled pastas with extra fiber, protein and vitamins and the result is a mac-n-cheese I'm pleased to give my kids (and, OK, myself).

Baked Mac and Cheese

1 (12 ounce) package macaroni (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste "With 2.5 x the Fiber!")
1 (16 ounce) carton low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
cooking spray
1/2 cup panko (I pre-browned the panko in a skillet with 2 teaspoons olive oil (AAAHL)
1 tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley

Blended cottage cheese, who knew?

Where's the BUDDER?  Just pureed cottage cheese and very little cheddar and parmesan.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place cottage cheese in a food processor; process until smooth.  Combine cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and add to bowl with cheese mixture.  

4. Combine pasta and cheese well and spoon into a 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet; toast panko until golden brown.  Remove from heat and combine with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan and either fresh or dried parsley.  Sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  

Done and done. 

If Carter ate cheese, this would be in the family dinner repertoire for sure.  Alas, he doesn't, so it isn't.  But when he's gone?  Semi-family dinner.  This actually went over so well this time that I might buy little thermos cups to send this mac-n-cheese for lunch.  

Again, for something to bring a family who needs a meal?  I think this would be great.  Vodka optional.  

Lilac season!  Free bouquet of the week.

X2. (Actually X6; our house is full of lilacs.  It's dreamy).  Searching for the re-blooming lilacs I've been reading about.  Talk about a dream come true; 

When re-blooming peonies are an actual thing, I'll be done.

Hold the door for the person behind you. 

XO, 

Leah