Tuesday, October 31, 2006
An even more modest dinner...
Yes, we had an even more modest dinner than yesterday… If you can believe that… I was in a rush and completely out of ideas. And it had to have no meat for all of us. So I made a quick omelet with tomatoes and cheese, French fries and cucumber/tomato salad. That’s all. That’s the extent of my home-cooking today.
And now there is all this Halloween hoopla. A day I’ve never celebrated, cause by the time I came to Canada I was too old. But in a neighborhood where all the houses have creepy pumpkins outside, and with a kid of my own, I feel that I must be doing something… But what? I bought candy, I hang a poster on the door. I got myself a weird looking hat so I can scare the kids away tomorrow. And the kiddo got an outfit (via his grandmother). So tomorrow he’ll be going “trick-or-treating” with his dad (no way I’m going out and freezing my pregnant little bum).
But am I supposed to be doing anything else? I feel like there is all this Halloweening in the air, and I’m out of the loop. And I need to figure it all out, cause I’m sure in a couple of years or so the kids will be expecting something. Like ghosts in the basement or vampires in the bedroom…
So I better get a head start on it all, while I still got time. I just hope the local college has a Voodoo-101…
Sunday, October 29, 2006
A really modest dinner
Yes, tonight’s dinner was really modest. Composed of roasted veggies and fish patties. Hubs also got himself some take-out while at work, so I didn’t have to overdo anything… I was planning a soup… but… well, you know by now…
Anyways, the recipe for fish cutlets, the best and tenderiestest (what, there is no such word? there is one now!) and tastiest fish cutlets in the world, eatable even by people who hate fish:
Take a few fish fillets. I used 400 g bag of frozen haddock, defrosted. Pretty much any white fish will do (sole, pollock, cod, etc…). Put it in the food processor. Add a tablespoon of mayo, about half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Salt, pepper, one egg, one small onion (or half of a large one), and about a cup of flour. Usually I start with half a cup of flour, blend all the ingredients, and then check if it’s too watery. If it is, I add more flour. Today I wasn’t satisfied till I had a full cup of flour – hence the directions. I honestly don’t think that a few spoons either way would really affect the result, so go on, experiment, don’t be scared!
Now, preheat some oil in the frying pan. Than spoon mixture into the pan, shaping little patties, about a centimeter in hight (Just under an inch? Sorry, but I still think in metrics… ) Let them fry till the side is crusty. Then flip them over, and fry on the other side. Then turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes, to make sure the fish cooks through. Done. Serve with horseradish, or mayo, or ketchup, or whatever else you like.
These patties are also amazing if you chill them overnight (in the fridge) and make a sandwich in the morning. Toast, mayo, tomato, patty, pickles… the works… Yum, yum!
As for roasting the veggies, I’ve already covered that before. But just in case you are too lazy to reread all that and want quick instructions, here they are: Chop pealed veggies that you like (my favorites are sweet potatoes, plain potatoes and zucchinis). Add a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic and half of a chopped onion. Mix everything together with some oil, salt and black pepper, (and optionally a teaspoon of dry oregano flakes or parsley flakes or any dry herb you like -- some people even like rosemary… don’t know… never tried that… when I do, I’ll let you know…) and bake for about 45 minutes at 400 F. That’s it. Could it be any easier? If it can, please tell me, I’m a sucker for easy recipes. Like things that cook themselves. And taste good. And don’t require chopping/pealing/washing… And are not TV dinners… A girl can dream…
And after dinner, reach into your purse and find a humongous bar of chocolate which you promised yourself that you bought it for like a whole month, and absent mindedly eat it all away within just a few minutes while catching up on latest news in the blogosphere… And then blame everything on the weather…
Blame it on the rain...
I haven’t been home. I haven’t been cooking. The weather has been… How should I say it politely? Don’t think polite language has a word for it… Let’s just say it’s been raining… And raining… And raining… Making driving awful, head splitting, and mood nasty.
So, I’m trying to be positive here. What are at least five positive things about rain?
1. I don’t have to water my lawn. One point for accommodating laziness…
2. I don’t have to wash the car. Wouldn’t show anyways…
3. Well, at least we are in no immediate danger of a drought…
4. Ahem… something from my old science class… about the cycle of water on the planet… it’s obviously working… on overdrive… so, I guess, it’s good?
5. One more… One more… Positive… About rain… ah… Streets get washed? Yup. That will do. Streets get washed. That’s a good thing. They need a clean up.
So there, rain is a good thing. I’m feeling all better now.
Now let me just go and “gently” kick my pillow.
PS: and here are some more reasons to love the rain:
It makes car wash a breeze...
It brings out the inner observer/genius in the road-sign-creating people...
And where the heck can I buy an umbrella like that?
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Cheating...
Today was supposed to be a whole family vegetarian day. But someone has cheated. And that someone was… me. Yes. Me. Cause I was a fishetarian today. I had three separate dreams about fried fish, so when I woke up, my first action of the day was to send hubs to the store to buy me some fish. I figured it was destiny. And you can’t argue with destiny.
So he got me some wonderful sole fillets… And this recipe is so easy, I’m actually going to try and explain it. Basically, you should have fish fillets. Cod, Sole, Haddock, Pollock work great. Defrost them if frozen. Naturally. Now, put some oil in the frying pan, and heat it. Separately put some water (clean water, the kind you’d drink) in a separate bowl, and chop lots of cilantro into there. Set aside. Now, put some flour in a separate plate or container. Dip each fillet in the flour, and then put it in the frying pan. Fry on both sides, till there is nice crust, cover, hold for a couple of minutes to make sure fish is well done.
Then take the fillet out of the pan and dip in the cilantro mixture. Just a quick dip.
Take out and put aside on a plate (line plate with paper towel or a regular towel to soak in the moisture). Do the same for all fillets. That’s it. Isn’t that simple? So quick and easy…
Serve with mashed potatoes. Or French fries. That part is totally up to you.
And that was my dinner.
And the hubs, had tofu. Cause I didn’t want to ruin his vegetarian day…
Poor guy…
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The one where I attempt to give some explanations…
Maybe I should just rename my blog… Seriously… My dinner seems to be nowhere in sight. Good thing I didn’t call it “Where is my cooking?” or it would be a constant search and rescue operation…
Cause yesterday I went to my parents. And naturally ate there. To top it off, I brought leftovers home. And kiddo went to grandma, and naturally ate there, and brought leftovers home. And hubs went to pick up the kid, and naturally ate there, and brought leftovers home. And then this morning he took the kid to the doctor (nothing urgent, just some very pleasant regularly scheduled shots, after which, apparently, my kid would not talk to the doctor… I can see his point…) and then got some food on the way, and brought it home… So… Who needs cooking? And what if I’m going out tomorrow again? And get a home cooked meal? And why am I complaining, isn’t having a chance not to cook is a great thing? (Yes, it is, but it seriously makes your blog slide off topic…)
And you’re probably wondering what is it that I’m doing that I constantly have to go to my parents’ house without the kiddo. Well, I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. But be assured, it’s honest work. And I don’t do it that often. Lucky if I manage once a week. Very lucky if I do it twice. Remember this? Well… that’s what I’m working on. And my dad is helping me. Cause I don’t want to have another “coulda/shoulda/woulda” in my life.
(And now if you’re intrigued, stay tuned – maybe in about 10 years something will come out of it…)
PS: And yes, I still take the kiddo there about once a week too. He needs his grandparents, you know…
PPS: And what’s up with Blogger? It won’t even let me post anything…
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Totally unrelated to cooking...
Boy, I really gotta think up a strategy about what to post when there is no actual cooking to post… Today we had left-over pie and some Japanese food. (Really legitimate reason – kid wanted miso soup. I’m sure of it. I can read his mind.) Tomorrow I’ll most likely be off to my parents…
So… what do I put in between? A poem? (Nah, if you want to read good poetry, go here… ) Another list? (Kinda out of ideas… I mean, we’ve covered weird… What else is there?) Brooding? (But I’m actually in a good mood… So nope… can’t think of any serious life-altering questions at the moment…)
So, random thoughts it is… (it are? these are? Man… I gotta reread my grammar book) Or rather, random pics I found during my very fruitful internet session while waiting for inspiration…
Virtual reality...
It's official -- I'm not driving in China...
Honey, I think you forgot to cook it...
Sometimes the wheels just don't cut it...
What's better than a nice clean shave?
And you thought you're overworked...
Well, so much for the filler post. Hopefully I'll get back to my regular nutritious programming before the cows come home...
(or swim?)
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Creativity unleashed...
I’ve been busy… I’ve not been cooking… I’m sure you guessed it, cause if I had, I’d be definitely showing it off… No wait, there were pancakes yesterday…
Here's proof:
But honestly, that’s about it. Leftovers, going out... Sometimes there are days when cooking is just not necessary. Today should’ve been another not-necessary day, cause I was supposed to go to my parents. But THANK YOU WEATHER very much, I’m stuck here, and can’t wiggle my way out of this one…
So I decided to channel my “I hate you weather” attitude into some more creative stream and cook something new for dinner. So a new chicken dish was invented. Totally loved by hubs and kiddo.
Recipe? Really simple… I chopped five cloves of garlic, and fried it in a pan for a few seconds with about a teaspoon of cumin seeds. Than I added two sliced breasts of chicken. Stir fried for a while. Then added salt, pepper, about a teaspoon and a half of curry powder, a tablespoon of tomato paste, and about a cup of water. 15 or 20 minutes later, I added two tablespoons of sour cream, and one tablespoon of flour. (Note that I occasionally add water, but I can’t give measurements, cause I just add till I think I have the amount of sauce I like…) Simmer 5 more minutes and… done. Serve with rice.
Hubs was so ecstatic that he also decided to commemorate the event by taking the pictures himself. So, without further ado, here it is:
I think the set up is pretty good, and you can clearly see his passion for spring onions… Not too bad for a first time!
Oh, and then I also made a pie… Yup… I was trying to seriously compensate for the weather and previous slacking…
Isn’t it pretty? I think I’ve only made it once before. Homemade dough and all. Had a nice cabbage/carrots/onions/eggs filling. Yummy…
And while mommy was being creative in the kitchen, the kiddo had finally discovered his construction set and left me in peace long enough to finish all these contraptions…
Friday, October 20, 2006
Five weird things…
This is yet another post meant to cover up some kitchen slacking… Yesterday I wasn’t home at all, so that’s forgivable… Today… Am… Thinking… There must be an excuse… I’m looking for it…
And while I’m at it, here is a completely random entry about me, meant as a total distraction…
Five things people find weird about me:
1. I like Britney Spears. No, not the tabloids… I actually like the music… I know… When I acquired the “In the Zone” record my whole family eyed me with suspicion. Even now if I pull it out and play it, I can see the look of serious concern on their faces…
2. I love tomatoes… No, I really love them… I used to freak everybody at work by bringing a whole tomato and eating it like others do peaches. Did you know tomato is a fruit? It is. My bio teacher told me so. And I took her seriously.
3. I hate “Sienfeld”. I really hate “Sienfeld”. And it’s not cause I never gave it a chance. Seriously! Hubs watches it almost every night, and I probably have seen all the episodes by default… But I just can’t stand watching people I would never in my life want to meet…
4. I’ve never made a grilled cheese sandwich. I wouldn’t even know where to start… I’ve baked bread, made pizza, and am not all that bad when it comes to sandwiches in general. It’s just the grilled ones has always escaped me.
5. I cover my face in the cinema if I see someone making a fool of themselves. Or something embarrassing of any kind. Proper diagnosis has not yet being established. So next time you see somebody in the cinema with a jacket over their head – it’s probably me. Come and say hi. I’m a friendly ghost.
Now it’s your turn to confess five (or so) weird things about yourself…
And here’s to the power of blogging. I never did come up with a plausible excuse. So I got my butt up, dragged it into the kitchen and made spaghetti for everyone…
What a good girl… Totally normal now…
And I’m totally not mentioning that we had a mall take-out today. Cause it didn’t happen. That was a never lunch…
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Everything you never cared to know about mushrooms…
Today I would like to talk mushrooms… Yes, mushrooms… Not pumpkins… I know… But honestly, fall is all about mushrooms. In the wild at least. Cause that’s when they naturally grow. (Them, and lots of other wild eatible things, like berries and fruits, but in the modern super-marketed world we can be forgiven for completely forgetting about that.)
By now you’ve probably noticed that I cook quite a lot of mushrooms. It’s not a fluke. It’s a Russian thing… Did I ever tell you that Russians love mushrooms? They do. Every fall they leave their cozy cities and head out into the forest for mushroom gathering… And that’s not to mention canned/pickled/dried year-long varieties (lovingly preserved at home… and shame on me – I have never learned how to do that).
Why the national obsession? I think it really stems from history (and geography, of course). You see, pre-Soviet Russia was a pretty religious country. Russian Orthodox church dominated many spheres of life. And the uniqueness of this church was (and still is, but certainly not as dominant in the mainstream population) its dietary regulations. Whereas some other religions forbid certain foods altogether (pork, beef, etc…), Russian church did not forbid anything in general, but had certain times a year when certain things were forbidden. Essentially, it came down to over half a year of not been allowed to eat meat/chicken. The strictness of the regulations varied: sometimes you could eat fish, sometimes you essentially had to be vegan. Sometimes even stricter. Couldn’t even use vegetable oil in cooking. But I digress… Let’s get back to mushrooms…
So, in view of the no meat/chicken/and-often-fish allowed, and in the absence of tofu, people relied on mushrooms for sustenance. Not to mention that plenty of mushrooms in the nearby forest = lots of free food, and I’m pretty sure people have been budget conscious since the day they were invented (people, that is). And mushrooms are pretty yummy too… let’s not forget about that.
Which reminds me, that basically, contrary to popular belief, there are loads of Russian vegetarian recipes. Developed over centuries of country-wide half a year long vegetarianism. My favorite Russian cookbook was originally written in mid 19th century. It has a huge section on veggie soups, stews, pirogies, etc… And naturally, lots of mushrooms too.
So for our dinner today, we had… suspense… suspense… you’ll never guess… sautéed MUSHROOMS! Ha! Wasn’t that a nice lead-in? (And the recipe was, by the way, adapted from the aforementioned book...)
A wonderful mix of fresh Portobellos with fried onions, greens and sour-cream… (Fry a chopped medium sized onion in melted butter (a table spoon), add chopped Portobellos (I used 5 caps from baby ones), fry for a bit (till mushrooms get a nice brownish crust) add a couple of tablespoons (or one really big one) of flour, mix well for about a minute, add a cup of stock or water, chopped dill and parsley (to taste, I probably used a fist of each), salt, pepper, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then add a cup of sour cream and bring to boil. Turn it all off. You’re done. Serve with fresh herbs of your choice. Parsley and dill seem like the natural choice to me. But then again – they always do… Hubs preffers spring onions.)
And as a side dish I roasted some veggies. Whatever I found in the fridge/pantry. Today it happened to be a zucchini, a sweet potato, about three or four regular potatoes, a red bell pepper, an onion and four cloves of garlic. Salt, pepper, and mix with a bit of oil of your choice. Optionally add a teaspoon of dry parsley or oregano. Even finely chopped fresh parsley would do. But not necessary.
Bon appetit!
PS: I now have an official proof that I need to get out of the house more. I spent the whole day thinking that today was Monday. Which is why I only made a vegetarian dinner. Luckily I had some chicken leftover from yesterday, so hubs didn’t have to suffer through an extra-vegetarian-day-meat-withdrawal convulsions… But he loved the mushrooms anyways…
PPS: Elvis is in the building:
(Yes, that is my finger in the corner... I still have to work on my picture taking skills...)
Yet another "almost no cooking" day...
I would love to report that I’m improving… but instead I’m completely obliterating the family budget on more restaurants and take out. Though the reasons are partly legitimate – I wasn’t home, and was feeling sick, and was hungry.
So today for lunch/dinner/first-real-meal-of-the-day-that-happened-at-six-PM we went to a nice Japanese restaurant. Where I got a little bit of everything, and had to give half of it all to the kiddo, who for some reason completely adores Japanese food. Maybe has to do with the fact that when pregnant with him, I ate everyday at a Japanese restaurant for three months in a row. I’m not kidding. Ask my family. So essentially the kid is made out of miso…
And then at night I had the hubs bring me some samosas. (No pic, cause they were gone too fast…)
Feeling that I have to do something, I made a stir-fry for the boys. Almost the same way as usual, except I used black bean sauce.
And right now, as I type, and as it is past 12:30 AM, the hubs is dispatched to an all-night grocery store searching for the perfect cake. Cause I’m craving something sweet.
And cause he can be really wonderful sometimes…
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
No cooking...
These past couple of days have been nasty. Good old morning sickness decided to pay a solid revisit. Not that it has really left, but at least I’ve been eating… Well, it’s been unpleasant. And there’s been absolutely no cooking… And very sporadic eating…
So tonight when I finally craved something, we went out. And I got my grilled calamari. Yes, I know, it’s not vegetarian. But in this state I’m not all that particular…
And there was also veggie souvlaki.
And that’s about it. Really nothing else to report. Hopefully will be back on track soon.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Mommy’s little helper…
So today I had my dad and brother coming over. And wanting to impress them with my cleaning skills, I dug out the good old vacuum cleaner, and was all set to impress.
But then somebody totally stole the spotlight…
I have to say -- I now feel much more optimistic about the state of our house when I’ll have two of them…
And as for dinner, it was pretty easy. Cause surprisingly enough, out of my entire cooking menu my family is in total awe over a simple chicken stir-fry. Which I naturally made for them. It was accompanied by some cauliflower mix (courtesy my dad) and coleslaw (courtesy my dad and the food processor). I love easy-maintenance guests :-)
Now if I could only get my son to do the dishes…
Friday, October 13, 2006
We! Got! The! Car!!!
Drum Roll Please…. The Car! It’s been acquired! And delivered! And we have it!
To explain yesterday: see, we were supposed to get it yesterday. And it was there, ready to go and all. Until my husband noticed that that “totally new” car had over a 100 kilometers on it. Seriously. They were trying to push us a car used for test driving… And you know how careful people are when they test drive an unfamiliar car… Checking the breaks and speed and all… And it’s not like we are buying a cheap car. When you pay this much, you want it new. Period. So hubs made all kind of noise, and they agreed to change it.
To Mazda’s credit, they were quite amicable about changing the car and re-tinting the windows. And now we are proud owners of a whole new 2007 Mazda 5. Galaxy Grey. With moon roof. And air bags. And heated mirrors. And enough trunk space to fit all my groceries. And the last part made me the happiest. Cause that’s how boring I am now.
And of course when I saw the car in all its unscratched new shining glory… I stalled. I was too terrified to drive it. I guess it’s like eating your very first dinner out of insanely priced china. All you can think of, is what if the stupid plate drops. All I could think of, is how the heck will I get out of this crowded parking lot. Which is why I drove home our battered oldie, while hubby courageously (with a bit of superiority air, I must add) drove my precious new baby. So the baby is now in the driveway, and I’m still too chicken to drive it.
In the parking lot. Awaiting a brave soul to get it out of there...
In front of our house. Where it truly belongs...
Isn't she a beauty? Inside and out...
And now let us return to our regular broadcasting schedule and talk about food. Did you know that I make mean sandwiches? I do. I can make them out of absolutely anything. It’s in the slicing. And the layering. Today it was cheese/tomato/cucumber/picles/tiny-bit-of-mayo-cause-I-hate-mustard-and-can’t-stand-dry-sandwiches. Yum.
And for dinner I was again inspired by Asha’s wonderful Chole. But in the end my concoction had almost nothing in common with the Chole, except for the use of blender. (And the award to best countertop appliance this week goes to my Super-Fantastic-Food-Processor-That-Does-Everything-I’m-Too-Lazy-To-Do-Myself-Like-Chopping-Dicing-Slicing-Blending.) Cause I was in a creative mode. And because at least one of the dishes had to have chicken, or hubs would declare a hunger strike.
So I fried up a couple of onions. Added ginger and garlic and about a teaspoon of cumin seeds. Then blended it all with half a bunch of cilantro, salt, pepper, a can of tomatoes, and a one and a half teaspoon of curry powder. Then, for myself I added the sauce to fried cubed potatoes (three) and chickpeas (can), and for the boys to a lightly fried chicken and a few of my potatoes (about half of my fried cubed ones), which I generously sacrifices for them, for there wasn’t that much chicken there…. Plus half a cup of water (to each version). Cook for about 20 minutes. Add a tablespoon of sour cream. Bring to boil. Turn off. Ready. Serve with rice. Delish...
The chicken.
And the veggie.
Confession: I think I slightly burned the chicken version, cause I got carried away reading the specs of my new car… But they didn’t notice… I know that, cause the hubs had three helpings, and he’s a very picky eater (though he thinks he’s the most flexible thing since elastic band).
And now I must leave this blog for I'm off testing my new car.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
This post has no clear focus, except for maybe spaghetti…
Very busy day. Lots of it was spent outside the house. The part in the house was spent sleeping. Dinner was, therefore, leftover spaghetti and grandma’s.
Now, normally I make some easier-manageable pasta for the kid, like shell pasta, or rigatoni -- basically something of a small grab-able variety. But today he demanded my spaghetti (despite having perfectly acceptable shell chunks right in front of him). Which is the set-up for the following photo-essay, entitled “what the heck is this?” Ahem…, trying to distract my audience from very apparent lack of cooking… Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to post an explanation… (as in, the car better come through…)
What is wrong with this pasta? How are you supposed to grab it? No really, how?
Now, maybe if I try to stick it in my mouth with both hands...
Well, almost there...
Mom! I want more!
So that's the story of our first spaghetti. The story of subsequent cleanup will have to remain untold… It was way too graphic...
And on a different note, look who made a reappearance!
Yes, the Cheetos that started it all are back… And are taking good care of mommy's cheesy cravings.
And what’s up with the weather? We had rain, we had hail. And now it’s 1 Degree outside. And it’s gonna be in the minuses overnight… (And enough with all the "and" already...)
O summer, where art thou?
an update...
It is amazingly gratifying to know that there are people that seriously care about your blog. Especially when those people are family members. Especially when they call you about 12:30 AM at night completely shocked that nothing has been posted for two days!
So, on an absolutely urgent request from my father I’m posting an update on today’s and yesterday’s dinners, just so the record is complete.
Yesterday was a go-to-my-parents-and-eat-there-and-cook-nothing day. Which explains the no post. Today’s (though effectively the day ended almost an hour ago), dinner was a reruns show of greatest hits (and least time/ingredients ones) from the past week. For dinner last Wednesday’s spaghetti was re-featured in all its glory and vegetarian/carnivorous versions.
Here is proof that I made both:
(Yes, I know – the stove needs some serious scrubbing…)
And here is the veggie version as served on a plate. It’s only fair, cause last time the chicken won the coveted spot…
And for breakfast the amazing vanilla yogurt pancakes made a grand reappearance (cause I had half a jar of yogurt left, and couldn’t think of any other way to use it).
Proof:
So dad, I’m ok, and I’m cooking :-)
Why the lack of creativity? Probably has something to do with the most annoying weather we’ve been having – where it rains and rains and rains some more. And then stops only long enough to lure you outside, and then poor again with a vengeance. So in a weather like this it’s hard to be creative. Especially when it’s next to impossible to get out to buy the most basic groceries.
Generally I’m actually quite fond of fall. The colors nature shows off are so much more versatile and delicious than during its other seasons, that I just love driving down a country road and staring… (Though that’s probably not a very safe idea…) But this wet and dark and gloomy part is downright depressing. Makes me want to become one of those hibernating animals, fall asleep, and wake up in the spring.
That is also why I spend all my computer time looking for a cheer on other peoples’ hilarious posts, which leads to me writing a big fat nothing…
But I promise to improve. Pinky swear…
Monday, October 09, 2006
a day that should be scrapped
One of those days… A day that just plain sucks for no particular reason… A day where your son takes forever falling for his nap, and you pass out with him for about 3 hours in mid afternoon, and when you wake up the daylight is over, dinner is not made, baby is hungry, husband will be back any minute and you still feel completely crappy.
Oh yeah, it also is a statutory holiday. Meaning that everything is closed. Any thought about doing something that comes to your mind is an automatic no-no. Library? Closed… Community center? Closed… Shopping? Closed… And of course your husband is one of the few people in the country working a full regular day… So much for family fun...
So you figure yesterday’s leftovers will mostly do. But just in case, you make a half-hearted attempt at a soup, and call it a day.
And tomorrow better be better. I mean it.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
My personalized feast
At the early breakfast hour (of about 2 pm today… long story…) kiddo and I discovered that we had a whole big jar of vanilla yogurt. To save it from inevitable slow death in the fridge (cause no one here likes plain vanilla yogurt… can’t remember why I got it in the first place…) we decided (ok, ok, I decided – but he didn’t object) to make vanilla pancakes. Which require just a couple of cups of flower with a teaspoon of magic baking powder, 2 eggs, yogurt (I think I used about 2 cups), and some milk to get the desired consistency. They turned out so good, I don’t think I’ll go back to making them with milk only… In fact, I’ll try it with some other yogurt soon, like peach or strawberry… That’s ought to be good.
It was a surprisingly beautiful day outside. I mean, it was over 20 degrees outside (in October! after all this rain!), and sunny and so nice that I figured pregnant or not, sick or not, we are going for a walk. Even if it’s just a short one… So I loaded the kiddo in the stroller, and off we went.
As the kid enthusiastically pointed out every “va va” (dog…) to me, I was thinking that one more step, and mommy will melt on the sidewalk. Seriously, these past few months spent locked in the house, and moving only in the car have taken its toll. I felt like I ran a marathon before we even reached the end of our block. But I braved it. And was rewarded with a kid that went for a nap almost as soon as he hit the bed (if only the phone didn’t keep waking him up, Daddy!).
And then at night I was all by myself again. Cause the boys went to grandma’s. Which meant that I was free to make myself anything I wanted, without worrying whether anyone else would like it. And I decided to treat myself. To go all out. And I have created a nice layered eggplant/veggies something (boy, I’m creative with names…). All for myself! I don’t care if no one else is crazy bout eggplant with carrots, I AM (ok, there were other veggies too, I’m really not crazy about eggplant with JUST carrots -- there are limits to my insanity), and I’m having them!!! And I did! I even decorated it. Just for myself. (Well, maybe I am loosing it a little… Maybe I should start inviting people over, or something…)
I then microwaved some potatoes, added just a tiny-tiny bit of butter, and lots of chopped dill.
And to feel less guilty about all those calories, for dessert I had an apple. Very healthy indeed.
After which I watched “Elisabeth” on TV, and wondered at how did people ever live without phones, computers, fridges… Heck, they didn’t even have proper bathrooms or showers! I mean, did you see the amount of makeup she wore? And no shower or running water! She must’ve needed a whole court just to wash it all off…
I love modern conveniences…
PS: I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the never-ending patience of my father whom I call about 100 times a day with intelligent questions such as “how do you fry an eggplant?”, “how to microwave potatoes?”, etc… Just so no one here thinks that I’m taking all the credit for myself.
