What's left of the pie (tart) that rocked

Book club was here tonight. The lemon meringue tart was awesome, and I will be waking up in the middle of the night to have some, just so you know. Usually I'm an all chocolate/caramel/ice cream girl, and not into the fruit stuff. But if I want it in the middle of the night, it's good.

By the way, the book was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," and it gets one of my best reads of the year. I highly, highly recommend it!

Comfort Food

When I was 8 or 10, we drove up to Oregon for Thanksgiving to be with my dad's cousins. The matron cousin who was hosting is such a dear... had she lived closer, I would have adopted her as a grandmother. I remember waking up before everyone else and wandering out to the kitchen, and there she was, buzzing about the kitchen before anyone was up. She sat me down and offered me the most incredible bran muffin, hot from the oven (really the only way to eat these, though the microwave works exceptionally well, too), and asked if I wanted tea. I'd never had tea before, and I felt so grown up being given a steaming mug of Earl Grey. It was cold outside, but I was snuggled up and cozy with my muffin and my tea, and this lovely grandmotherly soul. It's one of my favorite memories. I try to recreate it once in awhile by making my own.

I made this last night... it's a "Boppy" cover for a shower on Saturday. The problem at the moment is that I don't have a boppy to fit it to. I'm borrowing a neighbor's this afternoon to see how it goes. I have a feeling it's too big. Better too big than too small, though, right? I'll let you know what I think. The pattern is here.

Have a lovely day, all!

16 Meals

This weekend I got to try out Once-A-Month cooking with my dear friend Mandi and her good friend Jen (with whom I also went to college!). I'd been turned off to it for some time for two very good reasons, I thought. 1.) My mom tried it when I was a kid, and we all hated the recipes. It seemed like way too much work for what we got, and 2.) I love to cook, and didn't want to give up my favorite recipes. Well, Mandi ain't no fool, and she and Jen do 16 freezer meals (8 meals twice for each family) every 2-3 months, and just pull out a few meals each week. BRILLIANT, I thought, and signed on the dotted line. For $120, I got 16 meals that serve 4 people--two of those meals are salmon, by the way. I was really impressed at how organized they were, but also how easy the day really was to cook. Remember those awful group projects from college? Well, this is like my reward for that. Three women working together, eager to pull her own weight and get the job done well. I highly recommend this, though I do need to reserve judgement until we've eaten the meals. They all looked really good, though, and I think it's going to be a keeper for us. They use Recipezaar.com, by the way, if you are interested.

Here was our menu:
Farmer's Casserole (eggs, ham, potatoes--we used tater tots)
Sweet Salsa Chicken (for use in tacos or over rice)
Beef Noodle Bake (looks really yummy, a bit like a stroganoff)
Creamy Chicken Noodles (with broccoli)
Tortilla Casserole
Orange Chicken (apparently just like Panda Express's Orange Chicken)
Baked Ziti (always a fav of mine)
Honey Ginger Salmon

Not bad, eh? Some of them do have some night-of prep, but not more than a few minutes, really. Most you thaw, stick in the oven, and throw a vegetable on the side. BIG kudos to Mandi and Jen for all their work getting so good at this.


*Note: Not a meal made on Saturday

Making Meals

This has been the season of bringing meals to people. Since I quit my job to stay home, I've come to know more of the moms at church, so I've been added to more and more lists. I'm generally pretty glad to help out in this way, and I know how much it means to new moms. However, with so many just past and so many coming up, I am in need of a little variety from my go-to meal. I have a few ideas, but I'd really like to know what meals you love to bring.

To jog your minds, here are a few I've brought in the past:

* Spice-rubbed BBQ chicken (not thermally spicy, just herb-y spicy) with veg. and bread
* Sage Pork Chops from Everyday Food, oven-roasted broccoli and parmesan rice,
* Linguini Marvini with Chicken (from Real Simple), with pan sauteed green beans

I love bringing some of our most yummy meals because I feel like I really want to congratulate these moms. But occasionally these meals can be a little frantic to prepare in the last few minutes. This is especially true because I have to get them done early, before Steve is home, and during "the poison hours" with Lu. I worry about bringing lasagne or salad because I wonder if they get a lot of that. So hard to tell! I've thought of borrowing their crock-pot, making the meal in it (with a crock-pot liner, of course, so they don't have to clean it!), and bringing it early in the day so they can eat whenever. But then that means two trips to their home, which gets tricky, too.

So what are all your meal-bringing secrets?

P.S. Just as I was writing this I literally got an additional request for meals to bring!

Grr.

I canceled my order. They emailed me and said I couldn't have their free gift.

An amazing deal

I've been reading a blog called moneysavingmom.com, and she pointed me to an amazing deal. I had to pass it on. I'm getting 5 pounds of ground beef from Omaha Steaks for about $0.36 a pound. Like delivered to my door, shipping included. The deal is outlined here, at a different site. It seems complicated, but really it's not bad. One thought... if you use my recommendation, and two people buy stuff from my recommendation, I get a little incentive, so here's my link to the Omaha Steaks website to start with. Hope you'll enjoy it!

EDIT: Looks like they fixed the deal so that there is a minimum. =( You can check it out and see what you find, though.

It's August WHAT?

Wow, I have no idea how we got to the middle of August already, but I ain't complaining. The more we move along, the closer we get to Autumn, glorious Autumn! I'm such a whiner. =) There have been events, big and small, good and otherwise, that have pushed along the time, and I'm working to enjoy the things of summer (like the pool!).

I also thought I ought to report that the summer meals I set out to try were big hits! We didn't end up trying a couple of them, and I'm not even sure if I could tell you quite why. Trouble finding ingredients for the right price, not having the right ingredients at the right time (i.e. poor planning), etc. But the ones we did try were fantastic! Quick run-down of the big winners:

(Rating system in our house: 1 = I'm getting myself a grilled cheese instead; 5 = best meal ever, ever, ever. I'm generally pretty happy when I get a 3 from the fam, and I'll even serve 2.5's as staples when needed.)

*Antipasto Salad (idea from Everyday Food)
- Lettuce, salami, fresh mozzarella balls (cheap at Fresh and Easy!), prociuto, olives, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, shaved parmesian.
4!!

* Tortellini Salad (Thanks, Susan!)
Added chopped raw zucchini instead of tomatoes... we're not a tomato family.
4!!

* Mini baked potatoes, stuffed with goat cheese & bacon, with grilled Steak sandwiches (Inspired by both Everyday Food and Rachael Ray)
4!!

* Lemon Chicken with Pesto Dipping Sauce (thanks, Jamie!)
4!!

* Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Fried Shallots (Rachael Ray, Summer 08)
4!!

* Shrimp Quesadillas w/ avocados (RR, Su 08)
4!!

* Bacon, Avacado, and Turkey sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread (using Artisan Breads in 5 minutes a Day)
3.5 - Sadly the whole-wheat I made was a bit too much for this sandwich. A bit brick-ish.

* Southwestern Chili Mac Salad (RR, Su 08)
4!!

The recipes before Germany returns to winter in a few days

Okay, this post is primarily for Susan. It's my list o' ideas for summer meals. At first glance, it looks expensive, but I have some ways around this (like a friend who has an avocado tree, some stashed stuff, and some new discoveries for cheap ingredients). And sometimes it sounds a little funky... Shrimp and Ham Rolls? But trust me, I wrote this list when I was hungry, so if it sounded good then, it sounds good when I'm hungry later! If the idea sounds at all good, let me know, and I will direct you to the recipe! I tried to give credit here where it was due.

*Antipasto Salad (idea from Everyday Food)
- Lettuce, salami, fresh mozzarella balls (cheap at Fresh and Easy!), prociuto, olives, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, shaved parmesian.

* Tortellini Salad (Thanks, Susan!)

* Mini baked potatoes, stuffed with goat cheese & bacon, with grilled Steak sandwiches (Inspired by both Everyday Food and Rachael Ray)

* Lemon Chicken with Pesto Dipping Sauce (thanks, Jamie!)

* Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Fried Shallots (Rachael Ray, Summer 08)

* Paella

* Shrimp Quesadillas w/ avocados (RR, Su 08)

* Bacon, Avacado, and Turkey sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread (using Artisan Breads in 5 minutes a Day)

* Southwestern Chili Mac Salad (RR, Su 08)

*Shrimp & Ham Rolls (RR, Su 08)

* Meatball Kebobs w/ Peppers, onins & Mushrooms (RR, Su 08)

* Fish Tacos w/ Broccoli Caesar Slaw (RR, Su 08)

* Grilled Chicken & Avacado Sandwiches

* Chicken Cordon Blue Panini (RR, Su 08)

* Chip Crusted Chicken Skewers (RR, Su 08)

* Cheesesteak Sliders (RR, Su 08)

* Prociuto Cheeseburgers w/ Mushrooms (Martha Stewart, June 2007)

(Yes, lots of Rachael Ray this time. I picked up a magazine for my little vacation, and she happened to really hit the spot this time.)

The day of perfect meals

Let's assume that money, calorie count, and full stomachs are no object here. Let's also assume everything here is served in small portions, too, just to protect your sense of feeling over-full at reading this. Keep in mind, another day might look completely different.

Breakfast:
Kona coffee first. One degree below scalding. Then a pineapple/passionfruit mimosa to go with breakfast. the perfect Italian cappuccino. A helping of a really, really good egg casserole with some kind of fancy pork product like prosciutto; excellent cheese with it. Roadside stand strawberries. Mandi's potato casserole. Cinnamon bread french toast. Hash browns like they make them in really good short-order-cook restaurants. Finish off with the perfect Italian cappuccino.

Lunch:
Clam chowder from Legal Seafood in Boston. Some kind of seriously yummy salad like a waldorf or cobb or chef salad, definitely with good feta cheese in it. Hot and melty sourdough bread. A bit of really amazing fetuccini alfredo. And then dark, dark bread ala Campus by the Sea. Thick, rich oatmeal chocolate chip bars for dessert. To drink? The iced tea whose teabags come in that yellow box. I think it's passion fruit iced tea, but it's a black tea and just a HINT of fruit.

Dinner: Steamed clams bordelaise from Stagnaro's. Stuffed lobster tail from legal seafood. Perfect sauteéd spaghetti squash and roasted asparagus for veggies. A couple of bacon-wrapped scallops. Maybe some sauteéd orzo or roasted fingerling potatoes. THE ravioli from Sorrento. A glass of savignon blanc. For dessert? Some kind of dense, chewy brownie concoction with chocolate chips and fudgy frosting. Or maybe a Claim Jumper's deep dish peach crisp. And maybe gelato with a half-shot of espresso poured over it.

The possibilities are endless, but that right there would be a pretty darn good day.

The Darwin Award for Wednesday

This was too good not to share. Other post titles considered were:
* When my brain left my body...
* It's only been 16 years since high school chemistry and physics...
* Ka-boom!
* Sacrifices for the Culinary Arts
* How to reverse a good hair day in five minutes flat.
* How to make your house feel like Fresno in the summer.

Okay, so right after Lucy went down, I started working on the bread that I've been raving about (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day). Had the oven all pre-heated, ready to toss the first decent looking loaf into the oven. Did okay putting the loaf on the baking stone--it folded over on itself at first, but I managed to re-shape it quickly. Next step: create steam inside the oven. I had accidentally left my (nice) baking pan in the oven while pre-heating, so it was already in the oven. Here is where my brain left my body. I poured the hot water into the baking pan--did I mention the pan was glass??? CRACK! SPLOOOOOSH! Tinkle-tinkle... (Not sure how to re-create that lovely glass-shattering noise.)

The rest, I will sum up with this: Thank goodness for shop vacs and band-aids, and the ability to laugh at myself!

Go to bread

See, bread is everywhere in blog-land! Angry Chicken just posted about an oat loaf that I MUST make. It just looks all chewy and aeromatic and oooooh, just yummy. Her comments were, "It's the kind of bread that would hurt someone if you threw it at them."

Which reminds me of high school.

I dated a guy in high school that got arrested for breaking a school bus mirror with a sandwich. Apparently, that was my "bad boy" phase. If anyone knows where to find Andrew Prieb, I swear I will send him two slices of the oat bread for responsible sandwich making.

Other musings... I was so proud of the craft blog world backing up a friend recently. Someone posted some nasty accusations that were clearly false, and then the beautiful world of encouraging crafters came to her aid with so many kind words. I'm so proud to be a teensy part of it. It is an odd feeling to be involved in such an encouraging community that does not have Christ at the center of it specifically. But then as I pick up more about individuals, I see that an enormous part of this community really does have Christ at the center of it. It causes interesting ponderings for me. Wish I could have a cup of coffee with Jamie Pipher and Amanda Witt (would love to meet you someday!) to chat about it.

I also have had some really sad thoughts recently. Found out about an old friend choosing a very sad life for himself. Just learned of some friends who may be going through a miscarriage. Just aching for some people. Wish I could go "sit shiva" with the latter, and wish I could know just the right thing to say or do for the former.

But on we go with our days, and off to Story Hour for us.