a new hobby

Don has picked up an awesome new hobby - he is turning into a serious breakfast chef.

Every weekend morning lately I've been treated to something delicious. Pictured above is a tomato and goat cheese omelet (with herbs from our overgrown garden). Since then he's moved on to more complex things - this most recent weekend I got crepes with fresh strawberries and nutella.

This is his best hobby yet.

the garden has gotten a little out of hand

This cucumber weighs three and a quarter pounds.

father's day brunch

Last weekend we hosted a Father's Day brunch for Don's family (my dad, alas, lives in Seattle, which is a little far to travel for brunch). We had eight people total, adults and children, which was down some from the numbers we hosted on Mother's Day, which required an additional table to be set out.


All this entertaining is really emphasizing our need for more permanent dining room furniture. (The need to remodel the kitchen is already a given!)

progress, of the extremely slow variety

So, in between jamming my finger on a crowbar and overstraining most of the muscles in my legs, I did manage to help Don get some demolition done on Sunday. We concentrated on the middle bedroom, and have now gotten it almost done. All that's left is the ceiling and most of the back wall, and we can move on to the back bedroom.

This weekend will probably be devoted solely to demolition (other than a brief break for me, to go to the crafting afternoon at Evelyn's!). As always, if you are feeling sledgehammery, you're more than welcome to come and help. If I get an actual confirmation of attendance by anyone other than me and Don by Friday afternoon, I'll arrange to cook dinner for whoever helps.

No photos of the progress yet; at this time of year I'm rarely home when there's enough daylight to go up and take pictures. I'll post some as soon as I get them.

pictures to follow

Demolition day has officially come and gone. A HUGE thank you to those who showed up (even though certain people couldn't be bothered). Unfortunately, even though everyone there worked like maniacs, we didn't get done. I was so busy actually helping for once that I didn't get any action pictures -- but by now you all know what demolition looks like. I'll get some pictures of the final scene of devastation and rubble tonight when I get home from work and try to get them posted this week.

Highlights of Saturday included Alex (aka Don's new best friend) showing up promptly at 8 with a big bag full of tools. Danielle was a demolition whirlwind, completely clearing every wall she touched -- up to four and a half feet. She also proved to be the consummate party guest, bringing along both a crowbar and cookies. Zenchick made friends with the cat, who loved the attention, and also managed to save me from being the person to step on the first nail, while Angie and Donna seriously went to town on the nursery closet and cleared that mofo completely out.

After we were done for the day, Alex and Danielle and Don and I all went out for dinner (after taking a break to go to various places and clean up) at Rub, which Don and I had never heard of or been to before. Very good barbeque that even sauce-phobic little me could eat, plus great drinks and a gigantic projection screen where we caught the crucial twelve minutes of that disastrous Redskins game. And wedge salad! I'm a dork for wedge salads. It's also just minutes from the house, which gives it about a million points in its favor. We're always looking for restaurants close by. Turns out if you just go over the Hanover Street Bridge there's all kinds of options. Who knew? I mean, other than Danielle.

Anyway, after that we came back home and collapsed. Sunday we slept in prodigiously, then watched TV and played video games until it was time to head out so I could take Don for his Christmas present: the deep-tissue massage I booked for him for the day after demolition day. When he got out he said it was the best forty-five minutes of his life, which means I continue to maintain my reputation as the best present-giver. After that, back home for more relaxation and a little web fun starting up my latest project.

As for the upstairs, I suppose now we'll just be hacking away at it ourselves until it's done. Don went to work about three hours early today so that he could leave early and get home while there was still enough daylight to work on it. We'll keep you posted.

productivity: pending

Can I tell you, I cannot WAIT until this weekend. I mean, aside from the fact that it's a weekend and I get to sleep more than usual, we're going to do something totally different from the norm: we're going to WORK ON THE HOUSE!

I KNOW! I can't believe it either. Don has been plotting and planning, so I'm assuming he's got a list of things to work on. I only care about one of them: the kitchen. We had to take the countertop that he built down for the HVAC guy, because one of the vents goes right under it and there was a radiator there, so HVAC guy needed easy access to the radiator to move it out of the way and install the vent. So we took down our countertop, but as we all know it took QUITE A WHILE for the HVAC guy to finish. Our microwave has been on the floor for WEEKS. The door-opening button is probably half-dead because I took to kicking it open instead of bending down to push it. Yes, I'm lazy.

Anyway. We finally get to re-install our countertop, which means the microwave will be in its place and various other things can be moved off of the main countertop, which gives me chopping space again. And let me tell you, I made a variation on this recipe last night and there was a lot of chopping involved. It wasn't fun with no counter space.

So I'm excited, because we're going to put the countertop back this weekend. We're also going down to Alexandria to help paint Lindley and Raymond's study and test out a mystery painting tool for houseblogger reviews -- stay tuned for that post.

Our next step is to put in some temporary electrical on the first floor. I don't know how much of that we'll get done this weekend, if any, but it's awfully nice to have it on our shoulders instead of somebody else's. Now, if stuff doesn't get done, it's our problem and not anybody else's. And we're in a lot more control of when things DO get done. I think Don's waiting to see what the weather's like this weekend before he decides whether we'll work on the electrical or get a few winterizing things done outside while we still can. But the kitchen is SO happening.


Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
(adapted from Ina Garten's recipe of the same name)

1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion (mine was fairly large)
4 small portobella mushrooms (Safeway is only carrying dwarf ones these days for some reason)
3 tablespoons olive oil (-ish -- it's not a precise measurement)
2-3 garlic cloves (I cheat and use the pre-minced stuff in a jar; one teaspoon is about one clove)
1 teaspoon salt (a good sprinkling -- you don't really need to measure)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (same)
1/2 pound orzo (orzo is a rice-shaped pasta; you could probably use something else if you wanted but try to use something small so the pasta doesn't overwhelm the vegetables)
4 scallions, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or julienned
8 ounces of feta cheese

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Chop peppers, red onion, and mushroom into approximately 1-inch pieces. Think "rustic". Put chopped vegetables onto a baking sheet, and toss with oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Roast vegetables for 40 minutes, until browned. Turn once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, make the orzo as directed on the box (it's generally 'boil for 7-9 minutes'). Drain.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisk to create the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, pour dressing over pasta while it is still warm and mix.

Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta and mix, then add the minced scallions and chopped basil. Mix.

Dice the feta into approximately 1/2 inch cubes and add to the bowl. Mix carefully so as to crumble the feta as little as possible.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes: This salad is seriously excellent as leftovers -- it chills very well. It might be good with parsley or lemon zest added for a little additional zing, but I made it as written and it's awesome.

vibes, good and otherwise

Don starts his new job today. I was up half the night being nervous for him while he slept rather peacefully. Of course he's in orientation all day, so he can't call me every other hour and tell me all about it like I want. He's not even in his actual office today, since his job is onsite on one of the many, many military installations in the area. He's at one of the corporate offices for the day, which meant that he had to leave the house at 7 this morning. Quite a drastic change for the man who was still in his underpants when I came home at 6 PM last week.

In other news, I managed to get a splinter in my foot last night, and this morning the puncture wound from it has made it very painful to walk. Which is unfortunate, since today's work at my day job involves a lot of walking back and forth to printers and the like. Sigh.

I made these cookies over the weekend, they're fantastic. Don was disappointed at first that they weren't chocolate chip, his favorite (he lives in eternal hope that THIS time, I'll be baking them), but by the end of the weekend he was violently protesting my inclination to take some of them in to the office to share. I did it anyway. (And yes, Mom, I used low-fat ricotta and it didn't make a darn bit of difference. Hooray!)

Hopefully someday soon this blog will actually go back to being house-related.

a recipe for you, from my mom

My mom is pretty awesome, guys. I mean, awesome in general, but also specifically awesome. A few days ago I emailed her this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, with a note that mentioned that it was full of things that His Pickiness Don doesn't eat (i.e. vegetables) but hey, didn't it look awesome. This is the email I got back late last night.

From: mommy@mommy.com
To: jamaila@thisisntmyemailaddress.com
Subj: food glorious food

I am slowly feeling better. Two nights ago when I was really sick I made banana chocolate chip muffins, which are, of course, known throughout the realm for their curative powers. They are also low fat - although not if you eat three of them before falling into a feverish stupor.

Tonight I took the stuffed pepper recipe you linked to and improvised. I stuffed grilled eggplant slices, but I bet the recipe would work fine in the peppers. [Sister] came over to eat them, and she is going to make them, but maybe chop the grilled eggplant and hide it in the couscous for taking to work potluck. They're a meat and potatoes group at [sister's workplace]. Of course, the filling no longer really resembles the stuffed pepper recipe - but it is sublime:

COUSCOUS WITH PISTACHIOS AND GOAT CHEESE (for stuffing or pilaf)

1 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
2/3 cup couscous
2 long carrots
1/2 large onion
1/2 yellow pepper (or other color)
cooking spray (preferably olive oil)
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios (crushed)
1/2 cup raisins, preferably golden
4 oz goat cheese


pour 1.25 cups boiling vegetable or chicken broth over 2/3 cup couscous, cover (I made the couscous in the bowl I was going to mix it in and covered it with a plate.)

grate 2 long carrots, 1/2 large onion, and 1/2 a yellow (or probably any color) pepper. Spray a large frying pan with olive oil spray and heat over a medium heat. Add carrot mixture and cook 10 - 15 minutes stirring frequently or until vegetables are soft. Sprinkle 1 tsp marjoram and 1/2 tsp salt over the vegetable mix and stir in.

Add the vegetable mix to the couscous. Add 1/2 cup shelled unsalted crushed pistachios, 1/2 cup raisins (I'd prefer golden raisins, but I didn't have them), and 4 oz crumbled goat cheese. Mix together well.

Stuff whatever you are going to stuff. We stuffed the grilled eggplant rolls (10 of them) and still had half the couscous mix left - but I think maybe peppers are bigger. We baked the rolls for 20 minutes at 350 in a covered cooking spray greased pan - really just to heat them. The peppers could be baked however peppers are baked. If you just made it as pilaf, you could bake it covered for 10 miniutes or so - or it might be hot enough right after mixing. We dawdled a lot.

There should be no alien vegetables in this that Don doesn't like.

mandatory relaxation

Don's dad is downstairs working on hooking up the last of the wiring for the HVAC. Installation Guy is set to come out and finish up on Monday -- but I don't care. I'm not worrying about it.

I'm under boss's orders to take a "stress-free" day off tomorrow -- he told me I'm not even allowed to check my work email (not so easy -- I'm a total email junkie). I'm not to work on Anapurna stuff either, says "boss" Lindley (unless it's totally stress free, that is).

So I went to the grocery store, got a pint of Haagen-Daz chocolate ice cream (full fat, even), and then came home and put together a huge bowl of pasta salad, an equally large bowl of pickled eggs, and a bunch of cut up vegetables with dip. Tomorrow, I'm going to stay in bed until noon, and then stay in bed some more and watch my favorite Food Network shows (I'm a huge Barefoot Contessa fan). I'm going to snack on food that's already made, that I don't have to worry about -- and that's cold. I might play some video games; I might not. I'm not going to leave the air-conditioned rooms upstairs. I'm not going to correspond with anybody, I'm not going to answer the phone, I'm not going to talk to anybody but the cat and maybe Don. Total shutdown, here I come.

And, in case you're curious --

Pickled Eggs

2 jars pickled beets
4-6 hard-boiled eggs

Empty the jars of beets into a big bowl (juice included). Peel the eggs and nestle them down into the beet juice. Add a little water if the eggs aren't submerged; try to get the beets to spread out and cover them some too. Refridgerate at least overnight; the longer they soak, the better they get. You may have to add a little vinegar later if they aren't sour enough for you.

Recipe courtesy of the lovely inhabitants of Chez Brinkley, ten blocks over. It's infinitely expandable. The bigger your bowl, the more you can make. Just add another jar of beets!

mmm restaurants

How about something that has nothing to do with my total meltdown whatsoever?

It's Baltimore's Restaurant Week this week. A whole bunch of really nice restaurants where it normally costs like a hundred bucks a head for dinner are offering a prix fixe menu for $30.07 a head. You can do lunch for $20.07, same principle. Go to the website here and check out all of the menus. I don't think we can afford to go this year, but I still like to drool over the menus. Plus, you can live vicariously through the Baltimore Snacker as he makes his way through Restaurant Week. That's always good.

DC's Restaurant Week is next week, and my favorite tapas restaurant, Jaleo, has a fantastic deal. Check that out, too, if you're down that way. I'll be up here, drooling.

freezeriffic

On an entirely different note, I can't wait until we can get a spare standing freezer. I saw this fantastic-looking recipe on the Food Network over the weekend, and it and a few others I have in mind are perfect for freezing. I plan to either go to the restaurant supply store (there's one down the street!) or look online and get some disposable aluminum baking dishes of various sizes with sealable lids so that I can prepare dishes and then freeze them pre-baked. Plus, I'll be able to freeze things like fresh strawberries and cubes of pesto (that may be going a little overboard, considering my general lack of aptitude for productivity). Right now, we have just a regular above-the-fridge freezer, which is crammed full all the time, so there's no room for big containers full of pre-made meals and the like.

I did try my plan out in miniature the other day, though: I was grilling chicken breasts for fajitas, and instead of the usual two, I went ahead and grilled four and stuck the extra pair in a tupperware container in the freezer (crammed it in under the ice cream, barely had room for the bagels!). Then, several days later, I came home on a busy, stressful weeknight, pulled the grilled breasts out of the freezer and defrosted them in the microwave while I boiled some pasta, then chopped them up and threw them into a baking dish with the pasta, a jar of alfredo sauce, and some shredded cheese (I keep shredded mozzarella and cheddar in giant ziploc bags in the freezer at all times, we heart cheese). Threw it in the oven for ten minutes at 400 and dinner was ready. So easy! And almost no extra dishes! I love it. I can't wait to do it on a larger scale. A couple of extra minutes on the weekend or a free day, and I'll have practically instant food for those nights (read: all of them) when we are busy, stressed out, and exhausted. And so much cheaper than going to Let's Dish (although I still think it would be fun).

Don says that once the downstairs subfloors are in and we stop throwing things through the floor into the basement, I can get my big freezer. Yay!

Got any good freezing recipes? I've found that most of what I've been coming up with are pasta dishes, although YNL's pre-marinated chicken variations are awesome.