On dining with strangers

I had dinner last night with a new friend at a new (to me) restaurant in the Big City. I parked my car a block away so as to not completely embarrass her with my well used, dented, unwashed mini van in need of a good decluttering – no sexy single girl wants to be seen out on the town with THAT.

(Truth be told, neither do I).

She arrived first, and when I got there she says we can either wait for a table or sit at the community table. With a smile, I masked a flash of panic at talking to strangers all night on a first date, and agreed it would be FUN! YEAH, THAT SOUNDS FUN! THAT WOULD BE GREAT! YEAH, LET’S DO THAT!

Within 30 seconds of sitting down my new Friend Who Talks to Strangers introduced herself to the other couple sitting at the table, and as it turns out they know each other. Kind of. They both ride Dressage horses in Redmond – which I’m told is like horse ballet, so I can imagine it’s like a five katrillion to one chance we would end up sitting in a tiny Seattle restaurant together.

Octopus with clams and chick peasA third couple was seated next to us who turned out to be either sisters or friends – I can’t remember which one. We spent the evening ooooo-ing and aaaaahhhh-ing over each others’ plates of food, and actually passed one of ours around to be smelled by the others.

I had octopus for the first time, and Bryan is going to kill me for this because he’s always trying to get me to try octopus. But like everything else that is important to him, I only acquiesce if a chick friend also suggests it (Remember Freakonomics? Remember Iron Man? Remember white water rafting? Chicks all told me to do it). But it’s like I had no choice. My Friend Who Talks to Strangers was all, if you like mussels and if you like scallops, you will like octopus, which to me sounded like a triple dog double dare. Of course I loved the octopus. But this place cooked everything to such perfection, and in the most exquisite sauces, that I think I would have died and gone to heaven had they served me snow tires for dinner.

By the time we reached the chocolate crepes and dessert wine portion of the meal (!!!) we were all exchanging business cards with one another. I was fascinated by the gal sitting across from me who bought land with her husband about an hour north of Seattle and started a winery. They are attorneys. They are city people. They’ve never done this before. I was all, YOU HAVE TO START A BLOG!

Their first harvest after five years of growing will be this October, and I suggested she host a special wine tasting for Seattle bloggers to help spread the word. In fact, I now think she should host a special wine tasting for Seattle moms for which I can hook her up with some extra special Mommy Needs A Glass of Wine shirts. If you’re reading this, New Friend from the Community Table Whose Name I Didn’t Catch, please pull out that card I gave you and email me, because I would love love love love love to visit your winery.

As it turns out, I still have a brain. I am very happy with the life choices I’ve made, staying home with my kids. But sometimes when I find myself dining at a table with marketing directors, physicians and attorneys, I feel a slight stage fright when introducing myself as a stay at home mom – I assume the other person is making assumptions about me. But last night as we discussed Twitter and blogs and our kids and horse riding and pilates and wine making, I feared no assumptions. We were just six people brought together randomly by a unique dining experience, and we enjoyed the evening all the more because it.

As we parted for the night my new friend said I should pick the restaurant next time, and I was all, YOU MEAN WE GET A SECOND DATE? I think it was the new sexy jeans I was wearing. All I know is, I plan to call every restaurant in Seattle to find out who else has a community dining table.

For the record, Bryan is the better cook.

We took the kids to the lake today with their bikes – the lake nearby with a bandstand, a series of docks to run around on, and a couple restaurants. Quite spontaneously we decided to have lunch at the hamburger stand, and figured as long as we were going to eat crappy, we might as well go all the way and get some milkshakes, too.

As I swallowed my last bite I said, “I’m going to feel like crap later, aren’t I?”

And Bryan was all, “I feel like crap now.”

But the shakes? And the mushroom burger? And the garlic fries? Worth it. Hell, I lost another pound over a holiday weekend, so I can spare it, is the way I see things.

When we got home the kids went down for naps, and we slouched on the couch, moaning in our saturated fat.

“I can’t imagine eating dinner, tonight,” I grunted. “I think maybe I should just steam a big pot of broccoli.”

And for some reason we found that hilarious, and proceeded to list all the other vegetables we were going to eat for dinner to right the injustice we’d committed on our arteries.

Turns out we weren’t kidding.

artichokes w/ lemon wedges

I know! Right? I’ll let you catch your breath after that beautiful scene.

Recovered?

And now this…

tomato, avocado, and zucchini salad

Bryan added saute’d zucchini to some chopped tomato and avocado, and dusted with parmesan cheese and a pinch or two of salt. We ate this first while the artichokes steamed, and then we partook.

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eating artichokes

(My sister’s mouth is now gaping open that my children eat artichokes.)

Lunch Today: Feta Pockets

feta-cucumber pita sandwichI was caressing my Costco-sized tub of feta the other day, and happened to notice a recipe on the side label for Feta Pockets. I made this once for myself, and like any other good thing in my life, I turned it into an obsession. If you come to my house, now, you will be served this Feta Pocket. Period. No exceptions. I am no longer eating anything else for lunch. It’s light AND filling, and though I haven’t added up the calories, I can’t imagine it has too many for lunch. I think the 200 calorie whole wheat pita carries the most weight, but it also provides the bulk that prevents me from being snacky two hours later.

Here’s the recipe as it appears on the label, but I usually eyeball the quantities, and make enough for only two. If no one is eating with me, I save half for the next day. One adjustment I have made is to add the sprouts to your sandwich separately. Trying to stir them in with the yogurt makes them soggy and clumpy, and we don’t want that, do we?

Feta Pockets (from the President brand feta label):
In a medium bowl, stir together 2T sesame seeds, toasted, 4oz crumbled feta, 4 cups sprouts, 2 small chopped cucumbers, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cut 4 pita breads in half. Spoon mixture into bread halves (I used Greek pita, which doesn’t have pockets). Cut 2 medium tomatoes into slices and place slices on filling in bread half. Makes 8 servings.

Dinner Tonight: Fish Tacos

12 oz package, (2)Taco salad is a regular occurrence at the ZugHaus. So is Chicken Taco Soup. Really, anything containing black beans and/or green chilies is a staple in our house.

Normally I make taco salad with ground beef, onion, green chilies, and black beans. But every once in awhile I like to change it up. Because I’m spontaneous like that.

Last night I made fish tacos using frozen tilapia fillets from the frozen section of the meat department. If you’re unfamiliar with tilapia, it a light, white, fish that doesn’t have a strong fishy taste. It’s also reasonably priced if you’re shopping on a tight budget. For the locals, the cheapest place I have found tilapia is at Winco, in the meat department’s freezer section, next to the whole fish with the eyes staring back at you.

(Pictured is a package from Fred Meyer – I used 2 for this recipe).

cover, and saute on medium heat until cooked throughflake into pieces
add black beans & lime juiceFish Taco Salad

The other beauty of tilapia is that it’s a fairly small fish, so it thaws quickly when frozen. I cooked these, however, without thawing. I just opened up the package, put them in a pan on medium heat with a little water, covered them, and went outside to make sure my kids weren’t drowning in the kiddie pool.

A few minutes later I came back and they were thawed and cooked through (you can tell fish is cooked when it turns opaque).

I sprinkled some salt and a chili seasoning over it all (pick your favorite seasonings), and broke it up into pieces. I then added two cans of black beans and the juice from two limes, and stirred it around a little.

This was done so fast, I went out to sit on the back deck with the kids – where I may or may not have enjoyed an adult beverage – until Bryan came home. When he walked in the door we assembled all our favorite taco toppings together – green onions, cheese, fresh salsa, sour cream – and served it as a salad. Obviously you can serve it with chips or tortillas if you prefer.

Dinner Tonight: Fajita Chicken Fingers

fajita chicken fingersI’ve been a little hyperactive since recovering from the flu. This includes spontaneous interpretive dance as well as the completion of 42 loads of laundry. After naps I rushed everyone out the door to squeeze in an 11th hour trip to the library – I wanted books about The Passover from the Children’s section. Suddenly, the 5:00 call from Bryan came in (he calls every day on his way to the bus – I know, totally awesome).

Happy to hear from him, but totally not in the right location to be making dinner, we buzzed home with books in tow.

Did I mention I’ve been sick for a week? I wasn’t exactly prepared with a menu plan or anything, so the best I felt I could do was broiled chicken and a salad. But to be honest? Kinda tired of the big slab of meat. I didn’t exactly set out to make this dish, but it sort of built itself. Here’s how:

Preheat oven to Broil.

Put five frozen, boneless chicken breasts on a broiler pan and place in the oven with the rack in the middle.

Run downstairs to switch over your laundry to the dryer, then start a new load.*

Run back upstairs and pull chicken out of the oven. Breasts should be thawed enough to be able to slice into chicken fingers. I buy the Costco breasts, and I sliced them lengthwise into three-ish strips.

Salt and pepper to taste, then broil 12-15 minutes.

Turn, salt and pepper other side, and broil another 12 -15 minutes.

Meanwhile….

Empty two cans of black beans into a sauce pan. Add salt, cumin, chili powder, and … what the hell, just dump in a cup or so of salsa and call it a day.

Set the table.

Put out your salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheddar.

Thinly slice red or green onions (red onions would be yummy if saute’d on high heat until practically charred).

Chop lettuce and/or heat tortillas.

When the chicken is done, serve fajita style by placing a chicken finger in a tortilla and topping with everything else.

OR!

Create a fajita salad, which is what we did.

For a meal that took me 40 minutes from start to sit-down, this got rave reviews from everyone. Definitely a do-again.

*This step can be substituted with folding some laundry. Or you could change a diaper. Or wash some dishes. Or, you could just stand there and wait a couple minutes until the chicken was thawed enough to slice. Whatever.

Lunch Today: Blue Mandarin Chicken Salad

voila!After we got home from church this morning, Bryan said he had a great idea for lunch. So he cooked and and watched! He is the more creative cook between us. I do a lot of tweaking of recipes, or combining of several different recipes, or adapting ideas to work for our family – generally needing a good structure to start with. But Bryan makes stuff up based on what ingredients we have available. Bryan can also eat something in a restaurant, then come home and duplicate it – as in the case of P.F. Chang’s famous Lettuce Wraps.

He’s the cooking equivalent of musicians who can play a song after hearing it once.

What he came up with today, I call Blue Mandarin Chicken Salad.

chicken saute'd with chopped almondsSaute chicken in Yoshida’s marinade until chicken is well browned and marinade is evaporated. Yoshida’s marinade can be found in the Asian isle, next to the soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. In fact, if you have teriyaki sauce at home, you could probably just mix in a little brown sugar or honey to sweeten it.

Today we used a can of chicken (comes like canned tuna – in water, needs to be drained) to save time, but in the future we will likely use 1-2 chicken breasts cut into pieces. The canned chicken still tasted great, though.

Fill a large bowl with crisp lettuce (we used romaine hearts), and a can of mandarin oranges. Add blue cheese crumbles, and chop some roasted almonds. Add chopped almonds to the chicken, and saute together until almonds are warm. Add chicken mixture to the salad, toss, and serve with salad dressing.

lettuce and manderine orangesblue cheese
chop almondsadd chicken to salad

Bryan and I ate nearly the whole bowl of salad between us, and the kids ate peanut butter and jelly, so this probably isn’t a family style meal. But if you’re having a friend over for lunch or bringing something to a pot luck, this was very tasty!

Dinner Tonight: Broiled Pork Loin

pork loinWith all the fancy cooking I do (or at least that I’m capable of doing), every once in awhile Bryan says, “We haven’t had any kind of grilled meat with just salt and pepper lately.”

For his simple tastes, I’m thankful – especially on nights like these when my dinner plans change unexpectedly and I have to come up with something quick after being gone all day. So I pulled these pork loin chops out of the freezer, defrosted them in the microwave, and broiled them with salt and pepper.

So easy I took a short nap while I did it.

True, with solid hunks of meat you don’t get as much bang for your buck budget-wise, but there are deals to be had out there. I picked up a pack of these really thick loin chops in the “clearance” section of the meat department, marked down for a quick sale. They were $8.62 for four chops, but they are super thick. I’ll eat half of one, and my kids will eat half of the other half (they eat NOTHING. I’m surprised they survive on what they do). We’ll even have an extra for Bryan’s lunch tomorrow.

I served with steamed broccoli and a salad.

Dinner Tonight: Chicken Taco Soup!

taco soupThis is one of our favorite meals for the winter – so warm and comforting! And more importantly – so easy! I make this a lot when we have people over for dinner because I can throw everything into the crock pot in the morning to avoid rushing around before everyone arrives. Here’s my recipe, which I made in a 5 quart crock pot for six adults:

Chicken Taco Soup
4-5 frozen chicken breasts
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 onion
4-6 cups water
handful or two of frozen corn

Put the frozen chicken into the crock pot – no need to thaw. Add the onion and all things canned, cover with water. Turn crockpot on low and cook all day. About an hour before serving, remove the chicken and shred with a fork, then stir back into the soup. Add frozen corn, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 30-45 minutes on low.

Serve in a bowl over chips, and top with sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, green onions and salsa.

Prepare to unbutton your pants after the meal, because this makes a generous amount – there is usually enough for seconds.

Dinner Tonight: Crock Pot Meat Balls

crock pot meatballsI can’t take credit for inventing this one. A friend recently moved, and someone brought this yummy dish over to feed all the helpers.

I bought the carton of soup on sale for $2, and the meatballs were on sale for $6 (in the frozen foods isle). I dumped them into the crockpot, and voila! – dinner prepared by 9am in about five minutes. I plan to add chopped broccoli toward the end, and will serve over rice and spinach, with a salad on the side.

What easy meal have you discovered lately?

Dinner Tonight: Crustless Quiche and Polish Sausage

crustless quicheI told you this was going to turn into a food blog.

I’ve had requests for more recipes, so here’s another “easy peasy” meal I can throw together with my eyes closed and one hand wrapped around a cocktail: polish sausage and a crustless quiche.

The polish sausage (or smoked sausage – whatever you’re into) is lower in fat if you buy the turkey version, and we all still like it. You basically just need to heat it up in the microwave, broiler, or saute’d in a pan. Sometimes I cut it up and stir fry it with veggies, and sometimes I cut it up into tiny pieces and throw it right into the quiche.

Really, you won’t be tested on this, so do whatever.

I found the quiche recipe on an Atkins-related bulletin board online (don’t EVER try that diet – go South Beach for low carb). Every time I make it I throw something different into it. Kind of a clean-out-your-aging-veggies-before-they-die sort of meal. But here’s the basic thing to get you started:

  • 1 1/2 -ish cups diced veggies (enough to cover the bottom of your pan – onion, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, whatever)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
  • 8 eggs (or one carton of Kirkland brand Egg Starts from Costco)
  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • salt and pepper

crustless quiche 2Spray pie plate with non stick spray, spread veggies on the bottom, top with cheese. Beat the eggs and cottage cheese together, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour into the pie plate. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes, let it set before slicing.

See? Easy.

Not to throw you off, but when I make it I usually use a dozen eggs. And I bake it in a 9×11 pan. And I don’t really measure anything. And I use whatever I have on hand, in my free-spirited cooking kind of way.

Hopefully this will last longer than the sticker chart did.

snack boxesMy kids are starting to drive me crazy with the “I’m hungry” all the time. I had two different friends suggest designating a snack drawer in my refrigerator to fill with snacks my kids can help themselves to, that I refill daily with healthy snacks. I thought this was a great idea.

It took me awhile to get around to implementing, but today I launched Project Independent Snacker.

I showed the kids their baskets, taught Thomas that his name started with the letter T, and explained the basket would be filled everyday with snacks they could eat whenever they want without asking me first. BUT – and I made sure to repeat myself several times – when the basket is empty, there will be no more snacks.

They were like yeah, yeah, sure, gimme that juice box.

I’m sure it will take a few days for them to get over gorging themselves on free food, and I will also have to gauge how much snacking they really need to do during the day. I may have to add or take away the quantity of food.

In this basket is a cheese … thing – I’m not sure what you call it since it’s not a stick. But Ruthie doesn’t like white cheese so I had to improvise – an apple, a juice box, a container of trail mix, and a container of carrots with hummus. Other snacks I have for variety include apple sauce cups, little boxes of raisins, granola bars, crackers, and celery with peanut butter. I’m sure I’ll think of more, but that’s actually probably enough variety.

It felt weird buying all those individually packaged snacks, though. I don’t normally do that, and I’m sure the Earth will haunt me in my dreams tonight and whisper wickedly, “YOUR TRASH IS SUFFOCATING ME!” But for now that’s how I needed to start this thing off – I needed it to be easy so I would finally do it. Once I get into a groove with it I’ll go back to buying bulk and put stuff in containers.

I’m hoping this routine will stick, unlike that stupid sticker chart I made. That lasted, like, five days because Ruthie is so not motivated by stickers.

She’s motivated by watching me melt down into a temper tantrum.

Easy Peasy Dinner: Artichoke Chicken

artichoke chickenThings have been slow on this pile since the implementation of NOT SLACKING OFF, and when you factor in that I’m not screaming with rage or contemplating the demise of my children, what else is there to talk about?

This may turn into a food blog.

Speaking of which, thought I would share Bryan’s favorite dinner with you. It’s yummy and low-carb and super duper easy – takes me, like, TEN MINUTES to whip together after a busy day. Thing is, you have to like mayo, which I know not all of you do, and you have to like artichokes, which I know not all of you do. But ever since we started eating actual artichokes with the kids as weekend snacks, they totally dig the idea of artichokes from a can.

Here’s the recipe:

1(ish) cup mayo (I use light)
1(ish) cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
1 can artichoke hearts
pepper to taste

(and because the above ingredients look extremely boring white, I usually add something else, like chopped red pepper, or sun dried tomatoes, or broccoli, or something)

Mix together and spread over thawed chicken breasts in a baking dish, and bake at 350 until done. What would that be, like 30 minutes or something?

As you can see, my cooking style is as free spirited as I was before I had children am.

American Traditions: Christmas, apple pie, and… the Wii?

homemade apple pieThis weekend my dad and step mom came over for dinner to celebrate Christmas since we were gone for so long over the holidays. We had a great time, and after dinner and presents Bryan challenged my dad to a bowling match on the Wii. Turns out my dad and step mom are both extremely competitive – my dad in the playing, and my step mom in the commentary, as in “David, you have to throw the ball harder to get a strike!”

After the umpteenth “old man” reference Bryan made about my dad, I mentioned he might want to lay off the old man jokes.

His response? “When a man comes into my own house and beats me at my own game, he’s gonna get some smack talk.”

There was also a reference to bringing a cup.

For dessert I made an apple pie – my first ever! And not only was it my first apple pie, but I picked the apples from the tree myself (along with friends – who actually did the picking, not me, but you get the idea), made a batch of apple pie filling, and canned several jars. Wow! What a homemaker I am. It was delish, and I highly recommend the Better Homes and Gardens Canning and Preserving book, where the canning recipe came from.

Here are some pictures from the big canning event in early October:

Recipe Swap

Recipe Swap nightLast night about nine or ten gals came over for a Recipe Swap and Menu Planning Party that I hosted. The group was mixed, consisting of friends from all different compartments of my life, including local bloggers.

I didn’t really plan to have a format, so everyone just brought their cookbooks and notebooks and index cards and we swapped swapped swapped. We mingled, and chatted, and nibbled on veggies and called out things like, “Anybody need a good enchilada recipe?” or “Does anyone know how to make pesto?” or my personal favorite, “Tell everyone about that great chicken dish YOU make, Jen!” (Nothing like a little flattery to get you multiple dinner invites).

We had great fun, and I hope to do something like it after Thanksgiving – maybe something crafty-like, or maybe we can all get together and address our Christmas cards together. Or whatever. I just think it’s fun to get together!

Leah of My Pink Toes had to cancel at the last minute, but she wrote up a blog post about it and left us with a few recipes.

Annagrace at Love Drunk lives a little too far to attend, but coincidentally, she had this recipe on her blog this week.

And Dacia also posted many of her favorite recipes at her lovely craft blog, here.

If you have a favorite recipe to share, leave it in the comments or link to your own blog.

I will also take this time to point out a few things about this picture (click to enlarge if you care to indulge me).

First of all, you will notice the pieces of orange streamer paper taped into each corner near the ceiling. These are left over from Ruthie’s birthday party TWO YEARS AGO when I yanked them down. The pieces stuck to the tape didn’t come down, and here they still sit.

Secondly, you will notice the faux iron plate rack hanging off center above the piano. This used to hold a giant white platter, as I have storage issues in my kitchen. I have since decided to go completely IMpractical and hang a piece of art there. However, I cannot get the plate rack down. The screws are stripped or something, but the damn thing will not come off the wall.

You may have also noticed my latest organization project, which was to remove all the random photo frames off the piano and put them on the wall in hopes of eliminating clutter on the piano. They just always looked so terrible on the piano, and besides, that area needed some height. Hopefully I didn’t just make my wall look cluttered – what do you think?

And what you can’t see in the picture is that I rolled my kitchen island over to the wall under the window, opening up the kitchen wide and spacious. Wow! What a difference that made, and nobody was bumping into each other trying to pour a drink! I think I may just keep it over there and roll it back out into the middle when I need to cook.