Weekly Menu!

It's been quite awhile since I've posted a weekly menu, but to be honest, it's been awhile since I've planned a menu! But, thanks to the bounty of our local farmers' market (less than a block from our apartment!), we've planned a menu!

• Pork Tacos (using leftovers from our roasted pork loin with a chipotle honey glaze), with avocado and limes, and sauteed chard
• Spaghetti and Meatballs with Rosemary, Baguette with garlic butter and a side salad
• Stir-Fried Tofu, Eggplant, and Shiitake Mushrooms with Sesame Sauce, Brown Rice
• Turkey drumsticks, roasted beets, and broccoli
• Fish (TBD - whatever is fresh!), baked potatoes, and a farmers' market.

For breakfasts I'm making Banana-Walnut Muffins (supplemented with oatmeal and dried fruit, and granola with fruit and yogurt).

And... I'm making a Key Lime Pie for my sweetheart, because he is so grand!

Muffins!

Well, we're in NYC and, after two days of fighting against the heat, our new AC unit finally got the apartment to a cool enough temperature for me to warm it back up again with baking!

My goal is start baking bread for us 1-2 times a week, but I thought I'd start with muffins this evening. Yum! This recipe is an adaptation of Morning Glory Muffins from the America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook, but I changed quite a bit. Enjoy!

The Yummy Muffins
Makes 12-14 Muffins

3 cups flour (I used three cups of white whole-wheat flour), sifted
3 Tbsp. flax seeds, ground (optional)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated apple, carrot, or zucchini (press the water out if using zucchini)
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (toasted, preferably)

Heat your oven to 375 and lightly grease a regularly-sized muffin tin.

Whisk together the flours, ground flax seed (if using), 1/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Using either a standing mixer or a hand-held mixer, beat the softened butter and 1 cup of sugar together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes, until completely smooth and a pale yellow. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Reducing the speed to low (medium low if using a standing mixer), add the sour cream and dry mixture a bit at a time. Beat until just incorporated.

Fold in the apple/carrots/zucchini, pineapple, coconut, raisins, and nuts, being careful not to overmix your batter.

Spoon the batter into your muffin tins. The batter will be stiff and you can fill the muffin tins quite a bit as the muffins will rise up nicely and should not overlap/burn. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the muffins.

Bake until they are golden brown and a toothpick/cake-tester comes out with a crumb or two attached, 23-27 minutes (rotating half-way through is preferable). After letting them rest for a minute or two, use a large spoon to flip the muffins out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.





 

This Week's Menu

It's been so long since I've put a menu up, I thought I would for kicks. Our recent strategy has been planning 3-4 main meals and getting "cheater" meals to supplement (you know, pasta and pasta sauce, etc.). We've been eating out a lot, a combination of my many food whims and our combined deadlines, so no need to purchase food and have it go to waste!

Menu:

• Risotto with Acorn Squash, Leeks, and Basil (adaptation)
• Thai Shrimp-Salmon Curry with Jasmine Rice (adaptation, made this already - sooo delicious and good)
• Thai-Style Beef with Noodles 

Somebody may have also put chicken sausages into the shopping cart and has been eating them as late-night snacks with sauerkraut and ketchup. Please don't judge.

Heat Wave!

I believe we are having what you would call a heat wave. As in, it's 10:10 PM as I write this, and my weatherbug says it's currently 86 degrees outside. Crazy, Michigan.

Our poor little window AC unit is pumping as well as it can and "cools" our main room to about 74-80, the bedroom and bathroom are pretty intolerable, and even the apartment was just too warm for me today. I've never been really sensitive to heat before, but now if there isn't enough circulation and above 75 inside, I'm so darned uncomfortable. I'm going to blame the baby for this. Baby, I love you, but my goodness.

That and the ALLERGIES. I have never had seasonal allergies this terrible before. With the permission of my midwife, I'm taking double doses of Zyrtec (which she says is stronger than Claritin, should you feel miserable with Claritin like I was) and taking Benadryl to be able to sleep at night. And my throat and mouth are still constantly itchy, and my eyes are still watery and itchy. But I can breathe and am mostly functional, which wasn't the case last week.

My weatherbug says grass pollen has been high the past two days, so I'm going to blame the grass for my suffering. 

Anyways: Yay, Summer!

To escape from the heat today (after a ridiculously long nap), we ventured to our lovely, large library to sit in the cool and drink iced coffee. I love our library! After hanging out there until nearly close time, we went to Temptations for dinner for Indian food. And oh my goodness, I had the best dish I think I've ever had at an Indian restaurant: Lamb Methi. NOM to the NOMNOM.

Based on the taste profile and appearance, the closest recipe I could found online is here. This recipe is for paneer (cheese) instead of lamb and has peas mixed in, but I imagine otherwise it's a close comparison. Ian and I plan to visit the local Indian grocery store in a week or two and try to recreate this goodness. Seriously, I mean, I know I'm really into food right now (what?), but this was ridiculously good. If I wrote sonnets, I would write a sonnet about this sauce.

We move in about one month. The following things must be accomplished:

1. Pack. Obviously.
2. Find a buyer for our 2010 Yaris (interested, anyone?). We have an appointment for routine maintenance and a price check at the dealership this weekend, we'll see what they say.
3. Find  movers / a moving method. So glad that the University essentially covers this part of our relocation. 
4. Find homes for both of our kitties (this makes my heart sad, but it's necessary).

Now 10:31 PM, and it still says it's 86 degrees. Oh well.

Cinco de Mayo

We usually go out for Cinco de Mayo and snag some tasty eats and margaritas, but in attempts to stick to our budget, I decided to do a little cooking at home.

And I'm going to CHEAT. I've been craving chicken mole, but do I have the patience, ingredients, time, or desire to make it by hand? No, no I do not.

The plan is to doctor some store-brought mole and serve chicken mole tacos with fresh queso fresco, guacamole with poblanos, and caldo verde. I'll cheat some more and use a frozen margarita mix so I can make a virgin one for myself. And it will be a delicious, cheater's meal.

I do plan on making my own coconut flan, that will redeem me a little, right?

To-Cook Recipes

For some reason I can't save into my recipe-box in epicurious.com right now, and I'm lusting after... well, all food.

So, as part save-for-later and part blog entry, here are some desserts I'm dying to try:

• Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed Blueberry Sauce
• Lemon Creme Brulee Tart
• Tarte au Sucre
• Lavender Tea Honey Bread
• Hazelnut Gateau Breton
• Sticky Toffee Banana Pudding

And some main courses that sound like heaven right now:

• Grilled Cheese and Fried Egg Sandwich
• Thai Shrimp and Halibut Curry
• Risotto with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Basil
• Tacos with Carnitas or Carne Adobada
• Chicken Marsala
• Salmon Cannelloni with Lemon Cream Sauce
• Thai-Style Beef with Noodles
• Farfelle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream
• Korean Rice Bowl with Steak, Asparagus, and Fried Egg
• Chicken and White Bean Chili

 What have we learned? Apparently I'm craving really fatty and delicious things - lots of CREAM in these recipes, which wasn't intentional, I swear. Also, meat. Yummy, yummy meat.

Okay, enough. I'm a hungry, pregnant woman and I'm going to go cook some dinner before I start nomming on my hand.

A Sunday Night

It's shortly after midnight on a Sunday evening. Ian and I got back from Honduras very late last night (we visited my sister, Sarah, and her husband Jason, and their wee babe, Josiah). Our trip was really great - it was wonderful to see where Sarah and Jason have been living for over two years, and just to hang out. There was much reading, lots of cooking together (and good food!) - a very restorative and baby-full trip.

Josiah was the first baby Ian ever held. Despite initial nerves, Ian is a natural and great with babies, at least this one.

Today was spent trying to catch up and get moving.

Overall, I'm really feeling very much better. Apparently my body is adjusting to the pregnancy hormones swimmingly. I'm sleeping much better, am done feeling green (for the most part), and while I still have much less energy than normal and some headaches, I'm not feeling low overall or terribly ill. Which is fabulous. I think, all and all, I really only had about 2-3 weeks of the greens. Compared to some women, I think I'm rather fortunate.

I also am told I have "the glow"... and have a cute little Buddha belly! This is my favorite part so far. It just 'popped' this last week. According to my endless ravaging of pregnancy blogs, most women don't start showing until they are well into their second trimester, but I guess since I'm so darned short, there isn't room for everything! I'm a strong believer in the full belly maternity pants (and don't regret getting them so early either). My only hope is that... if I look like I'm 4-5 months just starting into my third month (10 weeks today), I don't turn into a monster/whale/elephant later on. Sarah assures me this won't happen, but I've got to be worried about something, so I'll choose that.

But the forgetting! Ian and I now have a song called "pregnancy brain," because I seriously can't keep track of anything. Today I lost (and then found) not only my ken ken book, but two cookbooks, my keys, my purse, and my wedding ring (had to take it off to make some pizza dough). Although, I am happy to report that all burners are off, and I even remembered to turn the oven off immediately after using it, AND remembered to close the freezer. True progress.

We visited Babies 'R Us today on a pregnancy pillow hunt and ended up doing a little pre-registry navigation for prices and ideas. It's exciting to see Ian getting excited about the baby and what kind of crib we'll want. And the fact we both made it over 5 minutes in BRU? Amazing. Truly amazing.

This evening I made a late dinner of Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza, as found in the Real Simple magazine I found in the airport yesterday. So tasty! We used a frozen pizza dough which ended up being quite a bit thicker/fluffier than the crust pictured on the website, but it was delicious all the same.

I also made some cream scones from my very favorite cookbook, The New Best Recipe by the Cooks Illustrated team (quick plug - most delicious everything, and apparently now only $24.50? If you don't have this essential cookbook, even if you are a vegetarian, you should get it). I found a nearly similar recipe here as I didn't want to type out my own adaptation. I'll just say that I used white whole wheat flour to give them a little body (10 oz), and made an 8 inch round, which I cut into 8 slices to make the scones. Also, a word to the wise, if you are too lazy to make your own lemon curd, for heaven's sake, buy the $8 jar instead of the $4 jar. I had to resort to strawberry jam... and now my project is to find a recipe to cook up the cheap lemon curd. Any ideas?

It's my blog, I can whine if I want to, whine if I want to...

It's my blog, I can whine if I want to, whine if I want to. You would whine too if it happened to you...
(or maybe you're a better person, one can only hope).

My primary role? An incubator. A short, "mildly overweight" (thanks caloriecount.com, you make it not seem so bad) incubator. As of today, April 16th, 7 weeks and 5 days pregnastic/pregtastic. And I'm really ready for Ian to take a turn (what, that's not how it works?!?). I try to keep a positive profile for FB and the world, but it's my blog, and I can whine if I want to:

• Nausea: whenever, however, after whatever; as far as I can tell, I have no way of predicting when or what makes the nausea happen, nor does anything really seem to alleviate it. Just comes and goes in waves, doing it's thang. 
• A serious case of the bloaties. Gross. I'm surprised my husband still loves me; I'm pretty sure I fart on his legs all night long.
• What is sleep? I don't know. It takes an extra hour or two to fall asleep and actually stay asleep, and then I wake up 3+ times in the night. So I'm getting less sleep when I need more sleep. 
• The Ladies: I was on the larger side before but have elevated up an additional cup size or two, and my trusted shelf tanks/ sleep bras = "wake up in pain because you rolled over or coughed in your sleep" bras. Yeah. I'm now sleeping in an high impact sports bra (as advertised, best for running, tennis, and high intensity aerobics. Or sleeping, right?). I know the instant I try to shop for a new bra, I'll explode out of it in a rush of hormones, so as of right now, I'm living in denial of my cup-flowith-over situation.
• These crazy taste buds! Bitter and sour are amplified to the point where I very nearly sugared my salad tonight post a smattering of Italian dressing. But my cats would've judged me, so I abstained.
• Sneezing makes my uterus contract, or my ovaries hurt, or something. (So anatomy isn't my thing)
• I want to eat everything, but never what is put in front of me. So now I'm just picky and rude. Not how my mother raised me. 
• More caffeine please! Only 1-2 cups of tea to get me through the work day? Really?!? 
• Tylenol actually doesn't help a headache or migraine. I've had two ridiculous headaches that drove me to tears in the past two weeks.
• The dreaded RLS. Don't believe Restless Leg Syndrome exists? Fool. I was an antsy bed-companion before the whole baby thing, now it's a whole lot worse.

I think the real problem is that I'm working almost full time, am finishing finals, and am pregnant. It all equals a lot of stress and not a lot of time for relaxation or the kind of sleep I need, plus I get crusty when I'm tired, hungry, or don't feel well... which is kind of all the time.

Ian is wonderful though. My wonderful partner, my heart, my love. He only gets mildly annoyed when I leave cooking or clothing trails. He does most of the cooking, he does most of the cleaning, all of the dishes, and addresses the litter and feeding/quieting of the kitties. He holds me and massages me and lotions my itchy back and tells me how great I'm doing (he's encouraging, that one!).

Okay. Whining done and out of my system. I'll be a beacon of positivity and pregnancy bliss in a week or two.

Review: Understanding Sexual Violence: A Study of Convicted Rapists

Understanding Sexual Violence: A Study of Convicted Rapists by Diana Scully

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a comprehensive, interesting study with great social and feminist theory. My only complaint is that it is dated, especially in conversation with the literature review.



View all my reviews

Blackberry Scones for Lovers

Blackberry Scones

These scones are healthy with fruit, whole grains, and flax, and only about 300 per serving, although they yield a large scone. They are also fast, only about 25-30 minutes from start to finish. 


This is a great basic recipe you could add almost anything to. I used blackberries when I made these as that was what I had on hand, but they would be good with some grated lemon zest, or some minced crystallized ginger, or even shredded ginger if you put it in the wet mix. You could also experiment with almond or another flavored abstract. I really want to try the following combinations: dried cherries and walnuts, lemon and ginger, and raspberries, white chocolate, with almond extract.


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 - 1/4 cup ground flax (optional)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
2 eggs, room temperature, plus one egg white
1/2 cup skim milk
about 1 cup frozen blackberries (I chopped mine in thirds so they were still in fairly large chunks . I would recommend keeping these frozen until everything else is done)

Heat the oven to 425F. Lightly butter or grease a large baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, flax, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mix until it resembles small crumbs and is integrated fairly thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs, then add the milk. Using a wooden spoon (as the mixture will be thick and sticky), stir the liquids into the dry mix until just moistened. Very carefully (especially if you are using fresh berries!!!), fold the berries into the mix.

Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and flatten into a circle that is about 3/4-inch thick. Don't worry about the dough being perfectly level; uneven scones are the prettiest! Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into six wedges and carefully transport them to your baking sheet. Whisk the egg white, and lightly brush on the scones.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they are golden brown.