Does everyone make boef bourguignon after seeing Julie & Julia?

I saw Julie & Julia and I have to admit, most of it was too delightful for words and you would really have to be a terrible curmudgeon of a person not to like it. I was absolutely starving after I saw it. I wanted to go straight to Whole Foods and buy the ingredients to make the sumptuous boef bourguignon that they were torturing us with throughout the entire movie. Yum...

Julie came off as lovably self-absorbed...I could totally relate to her narcissism and her worries that she would never be considered to be a "writer." Although, I would say that her writing/cooking scenes just didn't really look that hard. Okay, so she had a small crappy kitchen. She should try doing all that stuff with three kids in the room. Now, that would be a real challenge. The scene where she comes home after having blogged for several months and having a New York Times piece written about her, and has 63 messages on her answering machine all from publishers and literary agent types, made publishing a book seem about as easy as hitting "enter" on blogger. And then we see Julia Child struggle for years to have her book published. Not surprisingly, Julia Child's moment of literary validation felt much more satisfying and deserved (maybe I'm just saying that because I didn't go to high school with Julia Child?)

All jealousy aside, the movie inspired and encouraged me a great deal. It made me want to come home and cook and write and get things published like crazy. Now, if kindergarten and preschool would just begin...

In the spirit of the Julie/Julia Project I thought it would be fun to blog about what we ate last night. Emma and I went school supply shopping yesterday and when I came home I had to make something for dinner, but was out of just about everything (except for school supplies). Is Sunday night like that at your house too? We are out of usual staples and just have to make something out of nothing. I kind of like those types of cooking challenges. They remind me of writing poetry, where the limitations force you to be more creative. So, anyway, I had ham and turkey and swiss cheese, bacon...and one egg. That was it (except for random veggies and fruit) in the fridge. Brandon suggested I make some monte cristo sandwiches, which is exactly what I was thinking could be made out of those ingredients. After I got over the initial shock that he knew what a monte cristo sandwich was, I agreed that would be a good plan.

We put the kids to bed (they had eaten grilled cheese sandwiches earlier) and then dug into our sandwiches. Wow! Delicious! So delicious, I have to share the recipe (or really method) for making your very own monte cristo. This sandwich pairs well with ripe peaches, a cute husband and a comfy couch. Bon apetite!

Monte Cristo Sandwich (adapted from Rachael Ray's original recipe)
4 slices bacon
1 egg (really 2 eggs would be better, but I only had one)
splash of milk
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
tablespoon butter
4 slices of bread
Grey Poupon mustard
plum chutney (this, oddly, is what I had on hand and it was fabulous, but any good jelly/chutney type of thing would do)
deli sliced ham
deli sliced turkey

Cook bacon until done and remove to paper towels. Drain off fat.
Reheat skillet over medium heat.
Beat egg(s) with milk, nutmeg and pepper. Add butter to pan and let it melt.
Turn bread in egg batter and then place in pan.
Turn bread after it browns, 2 to 3 minutes; spread mustard on 2 slices of bread and spread chutney on other 2.
Place a slice of cheese on 2 slices of bread. Add bacon, ham and turkey to remaining 2 slices and then set tops in place and press sandwiches together. Turn a couple of times and let set a minute or two to melt cheese. Cut sandwiches from corner to corner to serve.

You can dunk them in maple syrup if you want, but Brandon balked at that, so we didn't. Yum, yum, yum.

Do not be afraid of the bacon and the butter. If you are really that worried about it, go running or something. : )

Tonight, I want to make boef bourguignon, "Julia's boef bourguignon." I'll let you know how it turns out!

How does your garden grow?

We may not all agree on bailouts and health care, but can we all agree gardens = good?

We aren't going to be able to do much gardening this year...apart from killing our little sproutlings that are currently suffering on the windowsill, but I'm pumped about joining the Great Country Farm CSA . We'll get a weekly box of fresh produce and unlimited visits to the most fun farm ever. And lots of excuses to make that beautiful drive to Bluemont, VA. Can't wait until it's warm enough to go!

Got any gardening plans? Eating plans? Spring plans? I'm so jealous of all the Texans out there who are already picking strawberries and whatnot (Suzanne). This is the time to be a Texan if you can swing it.

Happy Saturday!!

What's cooking at Hot Rob's

Emma is my official sous-chef. Every time I fire up one of the burners on the stove, the sound of her stepping stool being dragged from the bathroom to the kitchen is not far behind. We made pumpkin bread together the other day, and I was shocked to discover that she had already buttered the loaf pan without me asking her to. The girl pays attention. The other day as we made pancakes, we were talking about what it would be like if we opened a restaurant together someday. We both agreed that would be pretty cool and that cousin Olivia would have to be part of the action because I hear she is quite the foodie as well.

So, I asked Emma what the name of our restaurant should be and she said, without skipping a beat, "Hot Rob's." Of course. What else would it be called?

We've decided that Hot Rob's will definitely serve pancakes...and pizza. I'm not sure what else. Maybe pumpkin bread? That sounds like a place I'd like to eat. With a name like "Hot Rob's" I envision lots of beach volleyball being played there. And also it seems like there should be ribs.

Two Weeks/200 Bucks

As the official cook and grocery shopper of the house, I have decided to rise to the challenge over at this mom blog (what up, Phillips family!) and try to feed my family for two weeks on $200. This was quite an undertaking for me. I like to cook what I'm in the mood for and not necessarily what happens to be on sale. So, here's what I came up with:

Monday: Roast chicken, roasted carrots, mashed potatoes (roast two chickens at a time and make stock with leftover bones)

Tuesday: Chicken (use leftover chicken) Caesar salad, fruit salad, bread

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie Empanadas (use leftover chicken and chicken stock)

Thursday: Fish tacos, guacamole, rice, black beans

Friday: Individual pizzas at home

Saturday: Make your own taco night!!

Sunday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: Grilled chicken + "butterflies + trees"

Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner (Brinner!)

Thursday: BBQ chicken (chicken breast + BBQ sauce + slow cooker=BBQ chicken) + baked potatoes + some kind of veggie

Friday: Cheese pizza (kids) & BBQ chicken pizza (grownups) (use leftover BBQ chicken), salad

Saturday: Pork tacos & quesadillas (use pork from freezer), guacamole, fruit

Sunday: Honey Teriyaki Chicken with rice & pineapple

I must admit, I'm using pork and fish from the freezer. I'm not sure if that disqualifies me or not, but I came in at $188 and change. The other grocery shopping bargain tip I've come up with is shopping online. If you have this option in your area, take advantage of it! You can look for the best deals on pork butt while surfing the net post-bedtime. Way more cost-effective than buying Paula Deen magazines when the natives get slightly bored in the checkout line. I ordered my groceries online on Sunday night and cruised right up to the front door of the grocery store and had them loaded into the mini van the next day. Pretty awesome.

We have had to go back to the grocery store for things like nighttime pull-ups and dishwashing detergent, but my friend Ramona says those things don't count as groceries and I am totally with her.

So, Hot Rob's is in business. Anyone want to come over for some pancakes? Or BBQ pizza? Or beach volleyball? You're always welcome at Hot Rob's.

I'm a new woman!

I have a new car! It is a "pimped out" (Brandon's phrase) minivan!! I haven't even driven it yet, but I'm looking forward to taking it for a spin when Teddy wakes up and it's time to take Emma to school. Watch out preschool car line, here I come! I'm a little nervous about driving such a big car, so let's hope I don't hit anything. If you live in Reston, VA, be warned: I'm on the loose! I'll try to post a picture of my new wheels soon.

We're all feeling much better over here. What a relief! I'm trying to get semi-organized in my own way. It doesn't look very organized, but my mind does feel a little clearer as a result. I'm headed out to do grocery shopping for the week after I drop Emma off at school. I did a little menu planning this morning and that makes me feel super prepared and even a little excited to cook dinner. I have to plan things out in advance or we end up eating scrambled eggs and mini quiches for dinner all week. Here's my plan:

Easy Lobster Paella (minus the lobster--I'm not that pimpin'. We'll probably do shrimp & sausage or something instead of the lobster)

Shepherd's Pie (thank you, Gwen, for the suggestion!)

Shrimp w/white beans over couscous (so easy and so yummy)

Corned Beef with carrots & potatoes

Reuben Sandwiches (way to use up leftover corned beef)


Here's a new projeck the kids and I are working on:




In an effort to move February along a little bit, and look forward to spring, we're planting seeds and watching them grow. Emma is taking notes and drawing pictures of how the seeds grow. It's only been a few days, but we already have some cute little sprouts! Spring is right around the corner...



That's it for now.... time to go cruising in the new "mommy car" as Charlie calls it. Happy Monday to all!

Animal, Vegetable.....zzzzzzzzzzzz

I have to confess, I am making slow progress on the Barbara Kingsolver book. Generally my first chance to read something that is not Knuffle Bunny or Cars and Trucks and Things that Go is at about 10:45 p.m., and as much as I like reading about food and farming, it is not exactly page-turning kind of stuff. Generally, by about 11:15, Brandon finds me asleep with the lights on, the book propped open to a recipe for swiss chard. I was excited to find a CliffsNotes version of the book on http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ . If you are not willing to sign on for 300 pages of farming and recipes and you are more the type to cruise on over to a website on your lunch break, then you might enjoy clicking on http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ -- if for no other reason then because it will give you recipe ideas for cooking seasonally (not with season-ing, although that is important too). Here's a link to Kingsolver's fall menu. Yum. Kingsolver also has resources for finding food locally here. If you got all fired up after seeing an Inconvenient Truth and then got bummed because you could not afford a Prius, don't give up! Buying locally grown food or growing your own food is a very important way to decrease the size of your carbon footprint.

I'm not suggesting a return to pioneer days here, people. Stay with me... nobody's suggesting that you start sewing your own frocks or churning your own butter. Seriously, it's really easy. Just click over here. Do it. Have you clicked there yet? Are you just being stubborn? Okay, now just put in your zip code where it says "where?" and then it will tell you where you can go buy locally produced food near you. See? That wasn't so hard.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I have been reading Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and boy am I in the mood for asparagus. Kingsolver's book recounts a year of her family's life in which they vow to eat only food that has been raised in their neighborhood or grown by them personally. If this passage doesn't make you want to eat a salad then I don't know what will:

In April I'm happiest with mud on the knees of my jeans, sitting down to the year's most intoxicating lunch: a plate of greens both crisp and still sun-warmed from thegarden, with a handful of walnuts and some crumbly goat cheese. This is the opening act of real live food.

And just FYI, she didn't pick up the goat cheese at the Whole Foods. She knows that goat. I love it. It's so crazy and extreme what Kingsolver does--picking up her family and moving cross-country to rural Virginia.. But is it so crazy? If you knew the journey that most of your food has taken to get to your plate you might just lose your appetite. It is completely ridiculous the amount of fuel we burn so that we can eat asparagus in December, or lettuce, or strawberries or tomatoes. I've never eaten asparagus straight from the garden, but to hear Kingsolver tell it, it is an ecstatic experience, one worth waiting for until spring comes again.

I really have an urge to grow something, but it seems unlikely in my townhouse with no yard and only a sliver of a balcony. I saw on Martha Stewart the other day that you can grow things in these cold frames all winter long. I would love to try something like that. Martha made it seem like it was really easy--just tap tap tap a few nails into place and you're done. I think it probably involves some sawing and some measuring (probably not in that order) and I am really bad at both of these things. These Chia Pet herb gardens seem like they might be more my speed. That's probably not what Barbara Kingsolver had in mind. The Chia Pet manufacturer does not exactly live in my neighborhood, but it would be a start.

We used to have a plot in a community garden when we lived in DC. It was our foray into gardening and we loved it. The first thing we grew that we were able to eat was a strawberry. One day the kids and I went to the garden and strawberries had magically appeared. We had to lift the leaves of the strawberry plant and look underneath to see them. I felt like I'd stumbled across someone else's birth, seeing those first little ripe berries. I picked the best strawberry--the only one not mushy from where it touched the dirt--carefully tucked it in my diaper bag and pushed my three babies home (Emma, Charlie and the strawberry) in the stroller. I presented it to Brandon on a paper towel when he got home. "Look," I said. "We made this." I ate half in one bite and he ate the rest. I think it will always be the best strawberry I have ever tasted.