I love NYC in the fall.

I had a perfect New York day today.

Ian and I met two friends for a fantastic brunch at 12 Chairs in Soho for brunch this morning. What does a pregnant woman really need except for some cheese blintzes and a lovely Israeli breakfast plate? (Answer from Ian: a whole lot). Really though, the food was fantastic, and my fresh mint tea was so good on a crisp morning.

After brunch, we went to the Film Forum and saw a matinee: The French Connection.

On our way home, Ian and I got off the subway a few stops early, purchased some chai and apple cider (respectively) and had a nice walk back to our apartment.

I can't say that I've seen any leaves changing colors yet, but everyone looks a little happier, a little less stressed out, and just a little more willing to smile. I'm looking forward to visiting our farmers' market tomorrow morning and getting some fresh produce for the week.

I think part of this change is an openness I'm learning to foster; I feel like I spent so much of the first and second trimesters of this pregnancy (and our move to New York) stuck inside various uncomfortable symptoms. Although it's never fun to not feel well, or to broken out in an awful rash, or... you name it, I think there is something to be said about dwelling on the awesome and amazing nature of what my body is doing, how all of these little inconveniences are for this new life, and how everything that is weird or gross or painful has a chemical/hormone behind it to help this new little baby grow and thrive!

In the first week of our birthing classes, the instructor talked for a few minutes about really living in the moment, whether you're having a great day, uncomfortable with the weight of the baby and swelling feet (what? who?), in labor, going on two hours of sleep with a colicky baby... no matter what. This is really fantastic advice; it made me think about how much time I've focused on the negative and not looked at the big picture or just enjoyed what has been happening.

As this will most likely be Ian's and my only child, and thus my only pregnancy, I really wish I had spent more of the pregnancy in an empowered, aware state. I wish that I had tried more to look at the positive and the beauty of what is happening, what we are doing and building together.

On that note, I'm off to do a little prenatal yoga before bed and practice my squatting.

Fall is Here: Pumpkin Muffin Time!

I know, they sound odd, but these muffins are wicked delicious! I found a recipe on epicurious.com and tweaked it to my liking (and my attempts to be a little healthy in my muffin-making endeavors).

My changes:

• I made 18 regular-sized muffins instead of the 6 giant muffins. Do I love a giant pumpkin muffin? Yes, yes I do! Would my midwife kill me if she knew the amount of carbs one of those has? Yes, yes she would.
• I used all white whole-wheat flour, which made them a little less cake-like, but I'm okay with that
• instead of using all oil, I used mostly applesauce (1/3 cup maybe?) and topped off the measuring cup with oil
• I added about 1/4 cup ground flax
• I added a decent helping of cinnamon
• I added 1/2 cup of craisins to the wet mix with the crystallized ginger. I would recommend adding a full cup, 1/2 cup was not enough!
• I adjusted the icing - I only had dark molasses and it was strong tasting the first time I made the icing. That batch was scrapped, and I remade it without the molasses, adding a little vanilla and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon.

Weekly Menu

• Oven-Roasted Miso Sesame Salmon, served with Brown Rice and Stir-Fried Bok Choy
• Moroccan Chicken with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Almonds, served with Whole Wheat Israeli Couscous (one of my all time, favorite meals!)
• Salt- and Pepper-Crusted Pork, served with Roasted Parsnips and Carrots with Fresh Herbs
• Spring Green Salad with Sausage, Sprouts, Apple, and Homemade Sage Croutons

 You may notice these meals getting progressively meat-packed. My midwife said the swelling in my feet would improve if I ate more protein. After doubling (at least) the protein I eat every day, my feet really do look and feel so much better. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are back to their normal size, but compared to where they a month ago, these feet are sexy!

Review: The Girl in Blue

The Girl in Blue by P.G. Wodehouse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



One word: Delightful.



View all my reviews

Review: My Ántonia

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I've heard fantastic things about this book for years and finally read it. It was a nice, gentle read but I can't really say I loved anything about it except that Cather presented a strong woman as a central character, which is rare in literature. I'm actually surprised that so many people are so worked up about it. I can't help asking myself, did I miss something here? If so, we can only blame it on my gigantic pregnant belly and the fact that I exclusively read this book during rush hour on the 1 Line.



View all my reviews

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?