small things...

Other-People’s-Mother-Day…

I am getting good at celebrating other people’s mothers on Mother’s day.  I mentioned this to someone recently and they corrected me, “you have a mother.” And I was like, ‘shove it,’  (In my head, I was like ‘shove it,’ in person I was like, “uh huh, you are correct.”)

ANYHOW. Other-People’s-Mother-Day this year was fun!  I spent it on my favorite farm with one of my very favorite mothers and her own family.  I spent Thanksgiving with these same friends 2 years ago. (haha..I wish I knew the turkeyheads from that post – we’d totally still be laughing about it)

But back to my actual friends on this year’s actual other-people’s-mother-day…

 

::the mama and her girls

First I needed to bring a gift b/c all mothers deserve a little something on mother’s day, even if it’s from some-other-mothers-daughter

It’s a long drive out to the farm and for some reason everyone was on the road!? Why weren’t they home with their mothers??  I worried momentarily that everyone was headed to the farm, and would we get a seat and would there be enough sausages for everyone?

But when we got there all was well. We made a pit stop in the farmer’s house to use the bathroom.  One day I’ll get them to invite me in past the kitchen to sit in the living room and look out over the fields, but for now the bathroom will do

Before brunch was served we checked out what was happening elsewhere on the farm.  Lydia made a friend

We made sure the greens were growing

And then we headed inside the tent to wait out the buffet line.  There are few things at an other-people’s-mother-day brunch that makes me more anxious then waiting in line for the food.  All I can think about is, “are there still going to be sausages when I get up there? Why is that lady taking so long? Doesn’t she see all of us waiting behind her? Did she take too many sausages??”  But the food was worth the wait.

       

Do you notice anything missing from my plate?

That’s right, NO SAUSAGES.  My fear came true and when they ran out of sausages just before I got up there.  But my superhero other-people’s-mother saved the day and scored some sausage just after I left the line.  woo hoo!

We celebrated with sangria

look who else was on hand to celebrate:

It was a great day.

xo

erin

House Warming - nook

A while back I mentioned I was thinking about selling my condo.  I even spoke with a realtor, had a garage sale and told people I was doing it.  Then I went out of town for Christmas and when I came back I was really happy to be here.  To be ‘home’.  And I got quiet about my plans.

Then I received an email from my realtor who said “let’s get it listed!!”.  I told her, “I’ve lost my selling mojo” and she said, “don’t sell it if you don’t have to.”

And I don’t have to.  But what I do have to do is make some changes to this place.  I’ve essentially been living in someone else’s home with someone else’s stuff for the last 4 years.  (4 years?!? how the hell did that happen?)

So that’s what I’m doing.  Making some changes.  Some little changes. Some bigger changes.  My sister has agreed to help with some of the bigger changes.

So all of this was to finally say – Hey! I’ve redecorated my reading nook!

Did you know I had a reading nook?  I totally do.  Here is what it looks like all empty and ‘before’-like

And then here it is will a bit more ‘after’

I know it needs a little something more, doesn’t it?  But what?  suggestions please in the comments section!

A little peek at what IS there:

::rug from Cost Plus. Little table has been in my family and in storage for decades. I recently spray painted it blue (from black)

 

I’m serious about suggestions.  Something on the wall above the bookshelf, right?  what else? 

Mika is waiting for your brilliant ideas

Sundays in the Kitchen

I spent all day at home on Sunday as I’m slowly trying to put back together the room I had painted last week (pics to come).  I’m still missing a few integral pieces to that room but I’ll show off the finished project once it’s done!

So as I was busy climbing up and down ladders all day I decided an easy and tasty dinner was in order.  I bought my first tiny bunch of basil at the indoor farmers market this weekend.  They grew in a greenhouse and smelled like summer.

With a little spinach, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil the basil made a tasty little pesto

With a few mushrooms, Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella and my favorite recipe for pizza dough – this baby was born

This pizza crust is light and chewy – just how I likes it.  Want the recipe?

Pizza dough  - Barefoot Contessa

this is the full recipe.  I always halve it when I make my dough.  If you halve it make sure you’re halving all of the measurements called for in the steps.

• For the pizza
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Good olive oil
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
• Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 

For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (I don’t have this and just use my Cuisinart). When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of the flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl. When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch circle and place 2 circles on each parchment-lined sheet pan. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.)

Top it with your faves and bake for about 10-15 minutes. eat it.

 

It’s so much better than store-bought frozen pizza.  But hey, if you like a frozen pizza, just wrap this sucker up and toss it in the freezer.  what do i care?

House Warming

This is happening right now…

More to come…

Resistance

For the last few years it has been as if I cannot be moved. The more I recognize changes needing to be made in my life, the more I have stood my ground.  I think sometimes resistance to change is because we aren’t ready and somewhere internally we are aware of this.  I think MOST times resistance comes because we are scared of change.  I know that I have been scared. 

While I am decidedly less scared these days, I’m still in transition out of resistance.  This morning, however, I received a little sign from the universe/god/buddha/elvis.  I’ve been trying to meditate every morning.  I’m new at it and trying to figure out my own way of doing it.  But I have an awesome little spot for it (more on that in another post) and it's been a nice way to start my day.

So this morning I was thinking about "resistance" during this little medi-moment and suddenly my eyes popped open and (I thought) I lost my meditation flow.  At the same moment I caught sight out my window of a woman and her dog in the midst of a tug-of-war.  They were in a face-ff, each wanting to go in a different direction.  For a moment they each stood their ground and pulled against one another – in complete resistance of the other.  Then the woman stopped pulling.  She took a moment and then stepped behind her dog and gave him a push in the direction she wanted to go.  He wagged his tail and trotted along with her.

Aha, I thought, sometimes you just need a little push.

Sundays in the Kitchen

It’s been unseasonably warm here in the midwest this month.  People around here are alternatively swooning over the dreamy weather AND devising paranoid plans for the 2012-apocalypse that must be on its way.  I’m more of the mindset of “don’t-worry-it-won’t-last-this-just-means-it’ll-be-snowing-in-April”.  I’m also of the mindset to make warm weather eats!  that means salads.  sometimes it also means popsicles, but I ain’t ready for that.

I was re-inspired by own own post last week of sandwiches of days gone by, to make that asian coleslaw open-face sammy.  Plus I bought a box of random veggies this week and in it came a small hunk of cabbage.

I suppose the idea was to go Irish this weekend and whip up some corned beef and cabbage, but it was 80 degrees outside?!  that food is best for chilly, rainy weather. Did I ever tell you about the time I went to Ireland and it was 78-80 degrees and on the radio all week they were warning people to bring water with them wherever they went b/c of the heat wave and all.

Anyhoo, about that cabbage…

you chop it up with some red cabbage, carrots, green onions (just the green), jalapeno, honey roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds; then dress it with sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic-chili sauce, sugar and ginger.

and then you pile it high atop half a piece of flatbread and some sliced chicken.

And then you put it in your belly.

the end.

Bob and the Monster

Bob Forest is a drug counselor to the rock and rollers. to the celebrities. the the common junkies.

(source)

Those were the things I knew about him before going to hear him speak last night in front of a packed audience of college students, sober alcoholics, fans, and the curious. 

Here is what I learned at the show:

• He grew up super rich in Palm Springs. His family had their own plane!
• His family lost all their wealth after his father had one of the first open heart surgeries in California and paid for it out-of-pocket
• He quit school to be a nightclub dj playing songs like this one

• His best friends are these two guys

(source)

• And was a roadie for their band, until he got fired for leaving a show to go see his favorite band
• He then had some success fronting his own band, Thelonious Monster. Somebody called him the next Bob Dylan

• Then he went to rehab 20+ times.
• and then we went to jail and got clean
• And then he started helping everybody else

Somebody made a documentary about him. take a peek. it looks good

 

Bob Forrest reminded me last night that there is a lot of life to be living.

Sundays in the Kitchen

This Sunday was not spent in the kitchen, sadly.  It was instead spent curled up on the couch, napping and resting after a short bout of the pukes. (tmi?) But after a sufficient bit of sleep, water, tea and gatorade I started thinking about food again.

I started thinking about sandwiches, primarily.  Reminiscing about sandwiches actually.

(From a girls weekend in New Buffalo)

 

And this open faced miracle

And you can’t beat the breakfast sandwich.  Seriously, there are eggs and bacon under that giant croissant.

Why are sandwiches just so damn good?

*****

what’s your favorite sandwich?

Book nerd alert

This past weekend I had the chance to meet 2 of my favorite authors.  Well, I met one of them and kind of ogled the other one.  Apparently there was a big Writer’s Conference taking place in Chicago that I was only mildly aware of.  This is a conference i might have wanted to go to if I was ready to consider myself a writer.  I mean I ‘write’, but does that make me a WRITER? Like if you sing and no one hears you can you give yourself a Grammy? 

So as a consequence of this big ol’ conference there were writers everywhere, I guess, peddling their gifts.  And I got to see two of them.

The first just released her first book, The Rules of Inheritance

 

(source)

That’s her 18 year old self on the cover taken a few months after her mother died.  The book is the memoir of her experience losing both parents by the time she turned 25 and is really a coming of age story through the those waves of that loss.  This has been the first book I’ve read on loss that really resonated with me.  Like I’d like to hand this book out to people I care about and say, “This. This is what it’s like.” 

It was a small group at her book reading up in Winnetka, IL.  It seemed like a lot of friends and family, which made me feel like kind of a superfan.  I even raised my hand and told her how important her book was to me.  BOOK NERD ALERT.  And she signed my book. And I was a little awkward and weird talking to her. She invited me to stay and drink the wine and eat the crackers, but it occurred to me, “Maybe she is inviting me b/c I’m literally the only person here she doesn’t know at this book reading and I don’t want to be that strange girl who hung out and drank too much wine that they talk about later on like ‘remember that girl…clutching the book…who never left the party?!;” so I left.

I actually once was the only person at a book reading that the author didn’t know. I wondered why he was so happy to meet me and why he kept reading his book directly at me. 

maybe I’m a little sensitive on the topic.

The second book reading was given by I think my all-time-favorite author.  Pam Houston

Houston’s writing focuses a lot on women in the west.  contemporary more-true-than-fiction fiction.  I love it.  Her book reading was also a really small gathering, and it felt kinda like just hanging out with pals (who you don’t know and everyone is just really paying attention to one person.) but still, pals.  I didn’t end up actually ‘meeting’ her, because I had no book to sign.  And frankly, I didn’t know what to say to the woman.  I’m mean I’ve read all her books…do you just tell a person that?  It felt so small and I didn’t want to feel embarrassed by how much I admire her.  So I just kept it to myself.  And that felt fine.

But now that I write that I hear how it sounds…you should always tell someone when you admire them! spread it around. ah well.  next time.

So now I’m on a book reading roll….who will be next?

Sundays in the Kitchen

Because of the hours of my job and the length of my commute I bring both lunch and dinner to work with me each day.  Figuring out what I can pre-prepare on Sundays that I won’t be sick of my Wednesday is a challenge.  When does the need for variety happen?  When I was a kid I had a bologna and cheese sandwich EVERYDAY for lunch and I never gave it another thought.  It was what I liked, except for when all I liked was peanut butter and butter sandwiches. Don’t ask.  I think it made it extra creamy.  Though I do remember liking monday lunches the best about once a month because they included leftover stew meat stuffed in between two slices of bread with  a little ketchup and yes, butter.  Don’t be grossed out. I kind of want it right now.

The desire for variety kicked in, I think, when I started to realize that I actually like to cook.  I like to try new recipes, new foods – make my way through the growing collection of cookbooks and cooking magazines.  This is risky, people.  When you are cooking a meal that needs to last you several days and you’ve never made it before. Risky.  What if you hate it? Now you’ve got all this food you hate and a Panera menu in your hand.

So instead, what I try to do on Sunday afternoons is find a recipe of something I already know I like.  Save the risk for saturday night. rowr.

Please welcome the Whole Foods Sonoma Chicken Salad

::Sonoma Chicken Salad::

Ingredients

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Method

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.
When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

I wrap it up in a slightly grilled tortilla stuffed with lettuce.

mmmmmm, portable yumminess.

And look what’s for dinner, at least for 2 nights:

There isn’t a recipe for this, but here is what I do.  I go to my local fishmonger and I say, “hey what kind of already-marinated-salmon you got?”  And he says, “Bourbon, lady.” and I say SOLD.  and then i roast it with brussel sprouts and don’t even care what anybody thinks.

But what should I cook next Sunday?