Foodmomiac

Trying to be the prepare-ahead type

This week is insane. Michael left last night for one business trip, and is going from there straight to another one. I leave tomorrow for my OWN business trip. He'll get back tomorrow night, and then leave again Wednesday morning (for a THIRD business trip). We both return Thursday evening, but then have to leave Friday for a wedding out of town. Shoot me now.

Since my life revolves around food, I spent all of yesterday cooking meals for the week in an effort to stave off my panic about the week ahead.

Here's a look at the menu I came up with (with plenty of help from Relish!):

Sunday: (last night): Chili with plenty of leftovers for lunches
Monday: Creamy Pasta with Lemon and Proscuitto (from last week's Relish! menu - we never made it)
Tuesday: I make my chili with chuck roast that I cut up, so I actually bought twice as much as I needed. Half was cut up into 1/2 inch cubes for the chili. The other half was cut into one-inch cubes for Beef Burgundy which will go into the crockpot tomorrow morning. That way, our sitter can show up at the house to a ready-made dinner.
Wednesday: Chicken and Rice Casserole that I made yesterday. This was a freezer meal from Relish!, but I just threw it in the fridge, since it needs to be thawed anyway, and we needed it sooner than later.
Thursday: Michael and I will be home too late for dinner, I think, so the au pair can heat up a frozen pizza for the crew.

An ode to my perfect breakfast (or late night snack)

Perfect Omelet
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

We moved from Toledo to Chicago over two years ago, and it was definitely the right thing for our family. I'm a big city kind of gal, and I LOVE this big city. I love the buildings, the sports teams, the people and the culture. And, of course, I love the restaurants.

However, there is one food item from Toledo that I have never been able to match here in Chicago. And that, my friends, is the gorgeous omelet pictured above. The #8 omelet, hold the mushrooms, add the American cheese, from the Freeway restaurant in Oregon, Ohio. (I need to mention here that I only hold the mushrooms because they are canned, and canned mushrooms are a travesty. The Mushroom Council is one of my clients, and I am a big mushroom fan, but I just can't do canned. Anyway...) The other ingredients in the #8 are onions and green peppers.

Why is this omelet so perfect? Part of it is the restaurant itself. The Freeway is dingy and weird, and has been that way forever (or so I'm told). It's one of those restaurants that serves the food on placemats that have weird nature images (like a deer standing by a creek, gazing off into the distance) or silly sayings. The placemat under the omelet pictured above had weather lore printed on top of images of rainbows, sleeping sheep and fluffy clouds. ("Onion skin is very thin, mild winter coming in. Onion skin is thick and tough, winter will be cold and rough.)

At Freeway, it's not unusual to overhear people say things like this as they place their order:

"Don't have a heart attack. I changed my menu today. Just want to warn you ahead of time."

The waitress call everyone honey, and they are the same waitresses that have ALWAYS been there (seriously - Michael's buddy Joe worked in the Freeway kitchen in the early 80s, and the same waitresses are there today).

The omelet itself is also fabulous (of course). The egg is paper thin. The filling is caramelized. The American cheese is gooey. If you're smart, you'll order your hash browns well done. If you're BRILLIANT, you'll order them with onions (which I forgot to do in the above picture), and they will come topped with the same caramelized onions that are in the omelet. Perfection.

Oh, and the best part? The bottle of Frank's Red Hot.

The Freeway is open 24 hours, so you can get this perfect omelet any time, day or night. I almost prefer night. You can't find a better late night/post bar snack than this one.

The continuing saga of me and exercise

I got an email the other day from a reader reminding me that I hadn't updated my 30-Day Shred blog category since late September. Sigh. Yes, I know.

The truth is, I haven't STOPPED doing the Shred. I did take a week off exercising, but then I got back into it. These days, I'm doing the Shred about two - three times a week. The problem is that I'm SO INCREDIBLY BORED with it. I have memorized everything that Jillian says. I can measure where I am into the lunging/biceps routine in Level Two, by noting whether she is talking about going jeans shopping or going bathing suit shopping (hint: when she mentions the bathing suit, you are almost done). In Level One, she says that if you feel like you are going to die, you should just follow Anita. In Level Two, though, she kind of develops a mean streak and says that you SHOULD feel like you are going to die.

I also know every blooper. In Level Two, Jillian turns her head the wrong way during the shoulder stretch. In Level Three, Natalie TOTALLY slacks off and skips part of an exercise and she gets away with it (unlike that time in Level Two that she gets caught - ha HA!).

So, yeah. Bored.

Yesterday, I surfed around the ExerciseTV options on Comcast ON Demand, and discovered a 20 minute Tae Bo workout. I was kind of excited, because I was a big fan of Billy Blanks back in the day. Sadly, this routine was pathetic. First, he has NO CLUE how to talk and workout at the same time. So, everytime he has something motivating or educational to share, everything stops. Second, he's wearing a loin cloth:

It's incredibly hard to watch someone wearing a loin cloth. Also, he looks a LOT like Lafayette, the drug-dealing, gay prostitute line chef on True Blood:

So, I'm kind of stumped. I LOVE the 30-Day Shred workout, but, UGH, it's hard to bring myself to do it every morning. I have the Wii Fit sitting downstairs and can easily move it to my bedroom TV for easy morning exercise, but is that the best solution? (Just read that a Jillian Michael's workout is coming to wii fit next year which will rock). Any other ideas? I have a treadmill. I have 5 pound weights. I need the workout to be 1/2 hour or less and to be do-able in my house.

Alone time and the exorbitant cost of organic chicken

Dylan has guitar class on Sunday mornings now. I love this for a few reasons. I love that she is learning how to play an instrument. I love that she earnestly wants to be a rock star. I love the place we go (The Old Town School of Folk Music - a Chicago institution that makes me want to take up the fiddle and go on tour). And today, I love that I got to drop her off and take some time to myself to sit at Starbucks and blog. I am not sitting in a house that needs to be cleaned. I'm not listening to kids fight. The extent of my multitasking is typing with one hand while I sip a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

It's only 11:30 am, but I have already been stupidly productive today. I left the house at about 7:30 to go food shopping, and was home by 9:30, having hit both the supermarket AND Trader Joe's. Of course, as soon as I got home, I realized that I forgot the mozzarella cheese, but I got everything else, including organic chicken.

Can we talk about organic chicken for a minute? For the record, let me state that I have ZERO PROBLEM paying upwards of $30 for a whole chicken. But, I will only do so directly from the farmer. You want to charge me that much money for a chicken? You have to look me in the eye to do so, my friend. So, imagine my dismay when I saw a $32 organic chicken at Jewel (our local supermarket - it's a Safeway store). Seriously? $32 for a chicken at a supermarket? Not happening, and I am just too skeeved out by chicken farming practices to buy non-organic, so I end up traipsing all over town to find my meat (that sounds dirty, but totally not intended that way).

Last week we went to Costco. I got TWO organic chickens there for $20. One was cooked that night, one is safely in my freezer for a chicken emergency. Today, I ended up at Trader Joe's. For the price of one whole chicken at Jewel, I got two packs of drumsticks, one huge pack of boneless chicken breasts, and a whole cut up chicken. I just can't understand the price discrepancies, though.

It's not just meat, either. Last week I bought an organic cauliflower at Jewel. The cost? $7. I feel like for that price it should come coated in gold leaf. Or crack, maybe.

Later today, I'm going to place an order for some meat and produce from my old friend Fresh Picks. I just can't take the strain anymore of trying to buy this stuff at a regular store. It's not do-able, and when my weekend gets away from me, and I can't make it to the indoor farmer's market, I don't want to be stuck driving all over trying to find a decent deal. At least the money I spend with Fresh Picks is going to real live farmers, and not to "the man."

Are prices where you guys live that bizarre??

Finding a meal planning system that works

I love the concept of meal planning. As I mentioned in my budgeting post a few weeks ago, I know for sure that meal planning helps us save money. The problem is that I have a hard time sitting down and actually doing it. Though I'm always bookmarking great recipes to my del.icio.us account, I can never recall them when it's time to plan the meals.

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but a few months ago I started writing for Cool Mom Picks (THE best mom shopping site out there, if I do say so myself). Mir, one of my fellow writers, wrote about the Relish! meal planning system a few weeks ago, and I promptly signed up for an account. I love this system, and, surprisingly, it's actually working for us. (I am surprised because I am never consistent with anything.)

Every Thursday, I get a link to the following week's dinner options. What I love about the site is that there is a lot of flexibility. I can choose any five meals I want from a list of 15, and they are very varied. Once my meals are selected, I choose the number of people eating each meal (I do six servings to cover the au pair and leftovers), and then a shopping list and recipes are generated as a PDF for easy printing.

Shopping is a BREEZE with this system. Everything is broken down by aisle, so I can easily write in any extra items I need (like Max's beloved apple juice or our never-ending supply of milk). I think it's really important to note that I don't follow the system exactly. Sometimes I use it just as a jumping off point. Like, last week I printed out a Mexican recipe, but because it was election week, and my emotions were making me tired (seriously), I kept it simple, and we did plain 'ol tacos instead of the Relish! option. All main dish recipes include a side dish recipe as well, but sometimes I'll adjust to make things easier on myself. For example, I'll use those organic Alexa French fries instead of making rice.

All of the recipes are coded with symbols that indicate the type of meal. For example, some are KF for kid-friendly, or C for crockpot. I have been choosing one crockpot meal each week, and for next week's menu, I made sure to also select one labeled with an M for morning prep.

We've only had one dud recipe (chicken in a crockpot with butternut squash), and I've been really impressed with the variety. I am making things that I would never usually make, and finding new favorites for the family. I also love the use of fresh herbs and nuts (an underused ingredient in dinner planning).

Next week our menu looks like this:

- Buttermilk unfried chicken, broccoli with herb butter (I'm guessing my family will want me to add potatoes as well, and I might swap out the broccoli since it's featured in another recipe as well)
- Apricot lemon chicken in the crockpot, butternut squash, couscous
- Bleu cheese burgers with sauteed onions, spicy french fries (kids will have regular cheese burgers, I'm sure)
- Creamy pasta with lemon and prosciutto, boston lettuce witih shaved parmesan
- Peanut rotini with broccoli, Asian spinach salad

Are you guys using systems that aren't your own? I know that Lauren played around with Six O' Clock Scramble for a while.

Partying like it's 1995 (and then realizing the next day that it really isn't, and that was probably not smart)

I loved my party. It wasn't fancy. It wasn't incredibly well-planned, but it was a ton of fun. We had a really great mix of people in attendance and instead of being weird, it was just kind of cool. There were some of my favorite bloggers, friends from the neighborhood, friends from Michael's college days, friends from Dylie and Max's schools, and great neighbors. The house somehow got straightened up, and the fire in the wood-burning fireplace looked beautiful.

I didn't go all out with food. The stress of the great au pair switcheroo was plentiful, and I didn't have the energy. Additionally, I wanted to keep things mellow. I can say, though, that the party confirmed my love affair with Costco. We had mini cheese souffles, giant hunks of great cheese, pita chips and hummous, chips and salsa, guacamole, spinach dip and a giant platter of veggies. For drinks, we had beer and wine. I rocked the $10 aisle at Sam's Wine, and it was all fine.

I did not take one photo, which is kind of lame, but speaks to the fact that I was busy having fun. I know that Melissa and Susan took photos, but the only photo that I've seen from the evening is on Chris' site. I have no idea what we are talking about in that photo, but it looks like fun, right?

This week lasted FOREVER

House in our Neighborhood
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

I truly apologize for the lack of posting. I have two reasons for this, though:

1. Today is the beginning of Nablopomo (blogging every day for the month of November). I wanted to save up all my brilliant thoughts for November.

2. We've had a major au pair issue over the past two weeks, and while I didn't want to write about it until it was over, it was consuming me, so I just couldn't really bear to write anything much at all. Does that ever happen to any of you?

So, here's the situation:

At the end of August, our first au pair Paty left, and our new au pair arrived. She was very bubbly and friendly and excited, and that was great! But, I started noticing some strangeness. She had a tendency to overreact to small things. Like, a lot. This wasn't a deal-breaker, but it was annoying. We juggle a lot in our lives, and dealing with another added element of stress wasn't ideal.

Then, two weeks ago, I got a phone call at work. She had gotten into a car accident with the kids in the car. My first reaction? I was NOT SURPRISED AT ALL. My second reaction? Jeez, why on earth am I leaving my children with someone who I don't trust?

The thing is, she overreacts to every stress. And life with two small children is full of stress. They fight, they have appointments and school to get to. There is traffic. There is rain. There is snow. The stressors are not going anywhere, and her inability to deal with them is what caused the accident. They were two minutes late for a program that Dylie was attending at the Jewish Community Center. The au pair thought the car was in reverse, but it was in drive, and she was going so fast (in her mania), that she went up onto the curb and hit a bus stop sign, scraping the shit out of my new car, and bending the sign over at a 90 degree angle. Not good. What would happen if there was a real crisis? What if there had been a person on the curb?

So, two weeks ago, I told her we wanted a "rematch." She had two weeks to find a new family, while we started looking for a new au pair. Oh yes, and if she didn't find a family in time, she would be required to pay her own way home, to Berlin. I knew I made the right decision in letting her go, but it wasn't easy. And, when she couldn't find a match for over 10 days? It was AWFUL. She was very upset the whole time. I felt guilty and stressed. This week has sucked. Luckily, on Wednesday night she finally matched with a family in rural Pennsylvania. She flies out this morning and our new au pair flies in this afternoon. CRAZY.

Oh, and on top of it all, I decided to throw myself a birthday party tonight! I haven't had a party for myself since my sweet sixteen, so this should be interesting.

Flight from hell

DSC_0102
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Last night, I was on the worst flight I've ever experienced. I was literally terrified for nearly the entire flight. It was a tiny plane (one and three), and we were en route from Nashville to Chicago.

I was sitting across the aisle from my colleague Erica, and when we weren't gripping our arm rests with white knuckles and scrinching our eyes shut in terror, we were asking each other if we recalled a time that a plane had actually just broken apart in mid-air due to turbulence. Yes, it was THAT bad. Not only were we diving up and down (literally like a roller coaster, and NO, I do NOT LIKE roller coasters), but the plane was just SHAKING.

What made me most crazy was the commentary (or lack thereof) from the captain and the flight attendant. First of all, the captain's microphone was malfunctioning, so everytime she tried to fill us in, she just sounded kind of crackly and incomprehensible.

So, we were forced to deal with updates from the overly perky attendant. At one point, the plane suddenly took a huge drop, and she piped up with, "That's why we keep seat belt sign on, boys and girls!" Boys and girls? Seriously?

How about.... "Hey folks, we know this is incredibly unpleasant and unsettling, but there is no danger. The plane will not break in half."

American Airlines did not impress me last night. I made it back to my house at about 8:30 pm, and promptly poured myself two fingers of Bourbon. That's my new thing, by the way. Bourbon on the rocks. But, only small-batch, single-barrel bourbon. Luckily, my sister-in-law Megen lives in Louisville and keeps us stocked.

Bye Bye Blue

Swingin'
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

I have a LOT going on right now that I'm not quite ready to blog about, but promise to do so as soon as it's all resolved. In the meantime, I had to share a momentous moment that we just had with Mr. Max.

Max's security blanket has always been this blue blanket that my mom knit for him when he was born. It is just a simple blue blanket, but he LOVES it. It doesn't accompany him to school, or anything, but it has always been a must-have for naps, bedtime, and anytime he feels under the weather or sad.

Unfortunately, Blue (that's its name) hasn't done very well. This is not my mom's fault. It was knitted very well. But, Max used to chew on it (when he was teething), and he also has this weird thing where he lays on it and rubs around (don't ask, and yes he will kill me one day when he's a teenager), and the blanket just kept getting shreddier and shreddier. It actually turned into a bit of a hazard, because with all of the loops of yarn hanging, he could easily get it caught around his neck (it has gotten caught on his wrist and foot a couple of times).

When we were in NY last week, we were all sitting around chatting about Blue, and my stepsister Jen had a great idea. She suggested cutting off one of the intact pieces of Blue and sewing it to a piece of fleece. And, that's just what we did!

On Sunday, we went to JoAnn Fabric and Max picked out a fleece pattern (blue with cars and motorcycles). As we drove home, I explained to him what my plan was. He thought about it for a moment, and then proceeded to FREAK OUT. "Mom! Why are you doing that to ME?!" I told him we didn't have to do anything right away, and that we'd wait until he was ready.

When we got home, he took his nap with the old, shreddy Blue, but the moment he woke up, he asked me to make his new Blue. And, that's just what we did! I took a 1/2 yard piece of fleece and cut fringe on two sides. i knotted the bottom of each fringe just to make it fancy (fleece doesn't need to be hemmed, because it doesn't fray). Then came the tricky part of the operation.

I cut off the one 8x8 square of Blue that was relatively intact and began sewing it on the fleece with some blue yarn and a yarn needle. Max stood over and watched me the whole time. He was fascinated. When it was done, he grabbed it immediately, and went to bed with it no problem.

I left the other piece(s) of Blue sitting on the windowsill until today. Today, I picked it up and asked Max if he thought it was OK to throw it out. He said yes, so we both hugged it, said, "I love you Blue!" and then he took it from me, and put it in the garbage! I almost started crying, but I held it together.

Such a big boy.

Remembering Miss Sullivan

One of the highlights of my time in high school was my participation in choir. I LOVED choir. I loved choir so much that I missed lunch to take choir.

The reason I loved choir certainly had a lot to do with the fact that I enjoy singing, but it had way more to do with the fact that my teacher was Miss Sullivan. Miss Sullivan was brand new to teaching and just nine years older than me. She was exciting and cool and incredibly beautiful. She was also down to earth and goofy which made her that much more amazing.

I have so many memories surrounding my time in choir. I remember the field trips we took to sing in choral competitions. I remember the feeling of singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I remember the time Miss Sullivan spent working with me to record a demo tape for my Vassar application. She even convinced me to put on my rendition of "These Boots are Made for Walking," a song I sang solo in front of the whole school at a performance. I was pretty awkward back then, but Miss Sullivan gave me confidence. She encouraged me to be who I was, and she made school fun.

One of the best things about Miss Sullivan was the way she could create choral arrangements for pop songs. I think of her every time I hear "Fantasy." When my friend Mara and I were graduating seniors, she surprised us with an arrangement of one of our favorite Erasure songs, which we then got to perform in concert. I will never forget how special that made me feel.

This morning on Facebook, I got a notification that I was tagged in a photo. I clicked through to check it out and saw the above picture, taken during our choir trip to Boston. In the comments of that photo, I mentioned that I wondered where Miss Sullivan was now. About 10 minutes later, I got a message from a former classmate, informing me that Miss Sullivan passed away four years ago at the age of 40. Here's to you, Kate. You will not be forgotten.