Meal Plan

I didn't follow the normal routine this week. I grocery shopped on Saturday night. . . at 10 p.m.. Oddly enough, the grocery store was still incredibly crowded.

Anyway, here's the plan for the week.

Sunday:
Breakfast: Sticky Buns and Home-made Egg McMuffins
Dinner: Mac and Cheese and Meatballs
Dessert: Chewy, Fudgy Brownies

Monday:
Sesame Chicken

Tuesday:
Pasta Puttanesca and Caesar Salad

Wednesday:
Italian Hot Beef and (more) Caeser Salad

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday:
New Orleans!

Dreaming

I live in a tiny, tiny, tiny house. It's just Brad and me and Memphis. We don't need much space. But, there are lots of people we love. And, there just isn't enough space for them to hang out with us in our tiny, tiny, tiny house.

So, I'm dreaming of remodeling.

Our kitchen and living room are in the same rectangle. I'd like to ditch the living room and make the space one big kitchen and eating area. Think big dining room table and butcher block island and a room full of people enjoying my food and drinking wine and laughing and maybe playing board games. I could entertain!

And, then there's the part of the plan that involves knocking down a wall and giving up my craft room. The craft room would become an ultra-small living room, and we could create an entry-way between the dining area and the living room.

All of this would, of course, require a remodeling of the basement. The paneling (YUCK!) would need to be painted, the carpet replaced with wood, and a space created for crafting, lounging, and a guest bedroom.

The best part? I think I have Brad convinced that all of this is a totally brilliant idea.

Curiousity

I love the Internet. Seriously. I probably spend more time with it than I do with any other person - Brad included.

Just because I was curious I Googled "top 100 searches."

And, my BFF, the Internet, totally made me feel like an idiot.

I only knew about one of the top five items.

1. brian westbrook
2. hannah storm
3. amanda knox
4. hannah storm tony kornheiser
5. ihop free pancakes

I'm sure you can guess which one.

I guess I'm not as culturally literate as I thought.

February Book Club: Jim the Boy

This month's book club pick. . .



Jim the Boy by Tony Earley

I sometimes try to imagine what it was like to live 100 years ago - no television, email, microwave, breaking news, or Starbucks. No doubt it would be a far less convenient life than I enjoy now, but I do think it would be easier, slower, more balanced.

Jim the Boy feels like how I imagine 100 years ago felt. Earley's book gives you time to notice the simple beauty of life, the importance of relationships, and the bonds of community.

Set in a small North Carolina town during the Great Depression, Jim the Boy tells the story of a few months of a young boy's life. Jim lives with his mother and his uncles, and it is the uncles that steal the show. They aren't fathers to Jim (his own father died just before Jim's birth), but they fill his life with love and safety and laughter.

And, the writing is beautiful. There are lines that beg to be read again and again:
"The uncles' electric lights drew fragile boundaries around their houses; around those boundaries a blackness crept that suddenly seemed as big and powerful as God. Jim had never noticed the darkness before. He felt on the verge of knowing something he didn't want to know."

I will concede that this is the kind of book you need to be in the mood for. Nothing really happens; it reads a lot like a collection of short stories. But, there are poetically arranged words and heart-warming characters hidden within its pages. This certainly is not something I would have finished reading without the encouragement of a book club.

Meal Plan

Sunday is grocery shopping day at my house. It's really all about me at my very best. There is advance planning and list making and organizing involved!

Here's the plan for the week.

Sunday: Spaghetti, Salad, and Tiramisu
Monday: Bringing guacamole to book club
Tuesday: Spinach Salad with Salmon
Wednesday: Brad is making turkey sloppy joe
Thursday: TX Chicken
Friday: Shepherd's Pie

Dear Ree,

I have to admit. . . I was really devastated that my name was not one of the four chosen (from more than 23,000 comments) to visit your ranch for the Surf and Turf: Weekend Cooking Giveaway.

I gathered my bestest friend and planned a weekend cooking getaway of my very own to console myself. You would have been very proud, Ree. There was plenty of butter involved and rest assured that we drank every last drop of wine that was not absolutely necessary for the recipes.


Here is our menu (painstakingly selected from a list of four possible menus):
Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Baked Shrimp Scampi
Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Baked Potatoes
Ice Cream Sandwiches

There was plenty of serious and hard work.



And, plenty of laughing.


One definite plus of having a feast at home instead of the Ranch was that the little people got to hang out with us. There was dancing and reading and snuggling in between all the serious cooking (and wine drinking).




And, when it came time to eat they both joined us. Well, not both of them. Luke ate with us while Dottie slept.


And, now for what you've been waiting for - the food.

The first course was a spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. Everything tastes better with bacon.


We enjoyed not one but two entrees. Entree one: baked shrimp scampi. It looked delicious both raw and cooked.




The pièce de résistance. . . one of your recipes, Ree. You said to season it liberally, and we did. There wasn't a nook or cranny of this baby that wasn't slathered in seasoned salt and lemon pepper and butter and peppercorns. And, it was delicious. Just like you said it would be.



On to dessert. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was delicious. We made the fresh cookies (still warm) into ice cream sandwiches.


And, here's what was left when it was all over with. Angie is such a great friend that she cleaned it all up while I snuggled Miss Dorothy. That's a real friend.


So, Ree, next time you have a travel-related weekend cooking getaway to the ranch please, please, please consider randomly selecting my name. I can guarantee that I would be the most thankful of guests, make you laugh a lot, bring plenty of wine, and do all the dishes after dinner.

Your adoring fan,
Barb

Friday = Happy Day

I love Brad and I love going places and I love having a busy life. But, today I'm really loving the idea that Brad is out of town, and I have no real plans this weekend (other than a big dinner with Angie and the Fam on Saturday).

I'm feeling happy and homey and comfy.

Here are a few things that are making me happy this day.

I bought an amazing coffee mug just before Christmas. This thing keeps my coffee steaming hot until like 10 a.m.. Seriously amazing. I love filling it up with Green Mountain Nantucket Blend and this creamer.


I love thinking about the day that I will have a chair like this - except it will be red leather and have a matching ottoman. I will sit in it all day, sip coffee, and read books.


I get to see these two on Saturday. Totally adorable! We're cooking up (Angie and me) a "Steakhouse at Home" dinner. . . more details to follow.


I already have my pajamas on and plan to wear them all day Sunday.


I will be here in less than two weeks. I will learn and see friends and eat and explore. Can. not. wait.


These little buggers are back. Must stock up.

A new (sweet) love

I always thought macaroons were these. . .


Recipe here.
Photo taken from here.

Turns out, I was right. . . sort of.

A macarOOn is in the picture above (note the two "o"s). And, I don't like those because I don't like coconut.

MacarOns (note the one "o"), however, are an entirely different story.

Here are some macarons.



1. ttv macarons, 2. red velvet macarons - heart, 3. Tower of Pierre Hermé macarons, 4. milk chocolate and passion fruit macarons, 5. Macaron Order - Sihan, 6. French Macaron Soap, 7. pistachio and grapefruit macarons, 8. macarons***, 9. Matcha Tea and Chocolate Macarons

I saw someone talk about the wonder that are macarons on Facebook and tried some at the French Market and was told I "had to listen to" this NPR report. I even bought a cookbook. And, someone found me this on Bakerella.

I need to make my own macarons. . . soon.

I've done some research. I think I'll go with Tartelle's recipe (on Bakerella). I'll need to get a Silpat (or two) and a pastry bag and tip (and get over the idea of leaving egg whites out for 24 hours), but I really want to experiment with this sometime soon.

Will report back.

Blogging Come-back: Chicago Weekend

It's been exactly one month since I blogged. I wish there was a good reason for that. The only explanation, though, is that I've been a slacker.

But, to make it up to you, dear readers, I present a plethora of pictures from a fabulous weekend spent with the Spahns.

Friday night we watched the Olympic opening ceremonies. The Olympics were a huge part of our Northwoods vacation almost two years ago. We're "Olympic buddies" of sorts. Highlights of the night include making fun of "the ugly" skiier, Brad's confusion (No, Brad. It's Apollo Ohno - not Yoko Ono.), and seeing the "excellent pants." No pictures, though, sorry.

Saturday was a big day in the city.


It took us some time to get going because Maddie and Memphis needed to play.


And, because Miri is so darn cute that all we really wanted to do was snuggle her and take pictures and make her laugh.



We started at the French Market.

There was plenty to take pictures of.


Think produce.


And cheese.


And loads of desserts.




And some randomness.


We had lunch at Elephant and Castle - where Miri paid the bill.


We took a behind-the-scenes tour at the Tribune building. Justin's a big deal there.


We shopped at Anthropologie where Brad was a great sport.


And, we topped it all off with cream puffs at Beard Papa's.


Many pictures were taken of the cream-puff eating. They shall remain unseen, but this one is too great not to share.


And, how did we finish it off? We came home and ate macarons.


Then, we ordered more food and watched the Olympics, of course.


On Sunday, the boys brought us Valentine's Day treats.



And, Miri begged me to read her a book.



And, they left for the Auto Show while Em, Miri, and I met Josie. Does something look different about Josie? She looks engaged, doesn't she!??!!



The fun was finished off with a stop at Oberweiss where Miri enjoyed her first ice cream. I was there for her first day of life - it seems only fitting that I be there for her first tastes of ice cream.



I ended the weekend exhausted - the best kind of exhausted, though. The kind of exhausted you feel because you're lucky to have great friends!