As the youngest of my family, I got spoiled with many post-childhood years of things like Santa Claus gifts and visits from the Easter Bunny. In fact, these rituals continued well into college as my mom struggled with her empty nest. Then my nephew was born, and it all went out the window. Damn kid.
I get it. These holiday rituals go from getting as a kid to giving as an adult, but what about in the in between when you're a childless adult?
Behold the return of the Easter bunny, at least in our house. Carolina Man and I decided to give each other Easter baskets, which ranks up there as one of the best ideas of all time. It's a gift to have a partner who gets excited about silly things like this, and is just as excited to put together a basket for me as he was to get his.
Highlights of my basket: a 4-lb bag of Starburst jellybeans; Real Simple wedding planning book; Toy Story 3 in 3D! Highlights of his basket: a new workout shirt; Cadbury chocolate eggs; and more peanut butter chocolate eggs than you've ever seen.
The only trouble is that we're both on a health kick (down 10 lbs and 7 lbs respectively!), so the abundance of candy options presented a problem. We took different approaches (I bought a little, he bought a lot), but I've been amazed by the restraint we've both shown. Granted it's required stuffing it all into a shoebox that is under a number of other things in our pantry, but despite working from home with the knowledge that there is candy galore available at all times, I haven't touched a single piece before 8 pm. You have no idea how amazing this is.
But, I just loved that we reclaimed the fun of the holiday for ourselves. We sipped on mimosas, made brunch, and watched TV. It was the perfect day. Isn't it fun to have your own family and do whatever the hell you want?
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Hangry
Hangry. I love this world. Hungry + Angry = Exactly how I feel.
After our lovely all-inclusive vacation, not to mention weeks of post-engagement celebratory snacks of buffalo chicken dip and brownies, Carolina Man and I were ready to get our eating and exercise back on track. Since moving to NC, I'd put on a little bit of love chub, and I'm ready for it to come off.
And that means carrot sticks. And chicken breasts with salt and pepper. And 6 am ass-kicking workouts. And Jillian Michaels. It's a recipe for crankiness. Throw a little wedding planning on top of it, and you've got a serious crankypants in the house.
On the plus side, I've lost four pounds. On the negative side, I am dreaming about french fries and ice cream sundaes. Isn't it incredibly unfair how easy it is to put on a weight but seriously difficult to take it off? It sucks to log every little thing you eat, and use food scales to measure every thing you put on your plate. Part of it is that I haven't settled into a routine and plan that works best for me.
And that means I'm hangry. What about you? Got hanger?
After our lovely all-inclusive vacation, not to mention weeks of post-engagement celebratory snacks of buffalo chicken dip and brownies, Carolina Man and I were ready to get our eating and exercise back on track. Since moving to NC, I'd put on a little bit of love chub, and I'm ready for it to come off.
And that means carrot sticks. And chicken breasts with salt and pepper. And 6 am ass-kicking workouts. And Jillian Michaels. It's a recipe for crankiness. Throw a little wedding planning on top of it, and you've got a serious crankypants in the house.
On the plus side, I've lost four pounds. On the negative side, I am dreaming about french fries and ice cream sundaes. Isn't it incredibly unfair how easy it is to put on a weight but seriously difficult to take it off? It sucks to log every little thing you eat, and use food scales to measure every thing you put on your plate. Part of it is that I haven't settled into a routine and plan that works best for me.
And that means I'm hangry. What about you? Got hanger?
The Proposal: Part Six...The End
Did you all think the last post was the end of the engagement story? I can understand why. It did end with the actual proposal, but there's more to the story!
Carolina Man walked me back to our room--a gorgeous suite with a balcony overlooking the place where we'd just gotten engaged. To celebrate he'd scattered rose petals on the floor and had a bottle of Dom Perignon chilling in the fridge. (He later told me that the bottle wouldn't fit in the fridge that was in the room, so management had sent up a larger one. Now that's serious customer service!) As he popped the bottle, I said, "I've never had Dom Perignon before!" And he said, "Me either!"
In between delicious sips of champagne, we stopped to admire the ring. He'd actually had it since before Christmas, but decided not to really look at it until he'd given it to me. Now that is some serious restraint.
With a pleasant buzz, we made our way to the hotel's five-star restaurant. The service was impeccable. The food, however, was a little too fancy for our liking. You know food that's just completely overdressed? Like what they make on Top Chef? That's what it was like. So, we didn't eat much except for the delicious scones in the bread basket. There was a waiter walking around with more of them the whole night, and I think we ate about half a dozen each. And, of course we had more wine, which we ended up having to cork because we couldn't finish all of it.
Tipsy and happy, we made our way back to the room, and happily passed out from such a wonderful day. But, before we fell asleep, I had one more envelope to open.
I know you're wondering what else there might be on this PPD. Well, believe me, the apex of the day was about three hours ago. But assuming you said, "Yes," I have booked us a couple's massage at The Umstead Spa for 9 am tomorrow.
What better way to start off our lives as fiancée and fiancé?
I love you so much!
Carolina Man
The next morning we woke up with no hangover (an engagement miracle) and made our way down to the spa for a relaxing massage before heading home to show my mom the ring.
We had such a wonderful experience at The Umstead that we're thinking about having our wedding there! But for now, we're just enjoying the engagement.
Carolina Man walked me back to our room--a gorgeous suite with a balcony overlooking the place where we'd just gotten engaged. To celebrate he'd scattered rose petals on the floor and had a bottle of Dom Perignon chilling in the fridge. (He later told me that the bottle wouldn't fit in the fridge that was in the room, so management had sent up a larger one. Now that's serious customer service!) As he popped the bottle, I said, "I've never had Dom Perignon before!" And he said, "Me either!"
In between delicious sips of champagne, we stopped to admire the ring. He'd actually had it since before Christmas, but decided not to really look at it until he'd given it to me. Now that is some serious restraint.
With a pleasant buzz, we made our way to the hotel's five-star restaurant. The service was impeccable. The food, however, was a little too fancy for our liking. You know food that's just completely overdressed? Like what they make on Top Chef? That's what it was like. So, we didn't eat much except for the delicious scones in the bread basket. There was a waiter walking around with more of them the whole night, and I think we ate about half a dozen each. And, of course we had more wine, which we ended up having to cork because we couldn't finish all of it.
Tipsy and happy, we made our way back to the room, and happily passed out from such a wonderful day. But, before we fell asleep, I had one more envelope to open.
I know you're wondering what else there might be on this PPD. Well, believe me, the apex of the day was about three hours ago. But assuming you said, "Yes," I have booked us a couple's massage at The Umstead Spa for 9 am tomorrow.
What better way to start off our lives as fiancée and fiancé?
I love you so much!
Carolina Man
The next morning we woke up with no hangover (an engagement miracle) and made our way down to the spa for a relaxing massage before heading home to show my mom the ring.
We had such a wonderful experience at The Umstead that we're thinking about having our wedding there! But for now, we're just enjoying the engagement.
Get Me Out of This Chocolate Cake Coma
Instead of getting me a gift for my birthday, SCL made me homemade chocolate cake from scratch with three scrumptious layers of nearly flourless dark chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. The thing has more than a pound of dark chocolate and I don't even want to know how much butter.
I have a confession: my relationship is making me fatter. Normally I hate talking about weight because I think we all obsess about it too much, but I can't overlook this sudden change in my own body. When SCL and I were broken up, I dropped about five pounds, probably because I was feeling down. But normally I'm an emotional eater, which leads me to think a break-up would actually cause me to eat more. When I decided to hop on a scale a few days ago, I was shocked to see I'd gained almost all of my break-up weight loss.
Some of this, I think, was due to that week on the road. But I can't overlook that SCL and I don't have good eating habits together. We eat a lot of homemade pizza, and we both have an affinity for chocolate. I think we do better apart, but together we're a diet disaster. Maybe it'll be better when we've totally separated our groceries. But we're such bad influences on each other when we eat a meal together.
Did you pack on the pounds when you started dating your significant other? Has anyone managed to get them off? And how do you change your habits together? I need some advice.
I have a confession: my relationship is making me fatter. Normally I hate talking about weight because I think we all obsess about it too much, but I can't overlook this sudden change in my own body. When SCL and I were broken up, I dropped about five pounds, probably because I was feeling down. But normally I'm an emotional eater, which leads me to think a break-up would actually cause me to eat more. When I decided to hop on a scale a few days ago, I was shocked to see I'd gained almost all of my break-up weight loss.
Some of this, I think, was due to that week on the road. But I can't overlook that SCL and I don't have good eating habits together. We eat a lot of homemade pizza, and we both have an affinity for chocolate. I think we do better apart, but together we're a diet disaster. Maybe it'll be better when we've totally separated our groceries. But we're such bad influences on each other when we eat a meal together.
Did you pack on the pounds when you started dating your significant other? Has anyone managed to get them off? And how do you change your habits together? I need some advice.
An Unexpected Dinner Guest
Last night I was supposed to meet a friend visiting from Boston and another DC friend after dinner. But at about 6:00 I get a call from Boston friend that she's been in the city all day, is tired, and would really like to meet up earlier. Without missing a beat I invited her to come over to our apartment for dinner. "We're making pizza! We have wine!" Great. She was on her way.
As soon as we hung up, I though, oh crap. What if SCL doesn't really want my random friend coming over right now? He had been spending most of the day trying to update my laptop's operating system. When I told him about my conversation, we debated over what to do food-wise. We'd only been planning to make dinner for ourselves, so we'd only defrosted enough dough and cheese for one pizza. Should we make two? Make a salad? We decided on a second crust, which SCL promptly defrosted and starting rolling out.
"What kind of pizza do you want to make?" he asked. "We can make pepperoni, sausage, barbecue chicken, pesto chicken..." I figured I'd better call Boston friend to ask what she'd prefer. I felt so awesome, having all of these delicious options for her. And then she says: "I can't have pizza. I'm gluten-free."
CRAP. Not only have I invited someone to dinner at the last second, but now I have to tell SCL that she's gluten free and we really didn't need that second crust defrosted or rolled out. "Can you re-frost a crust?" I asked. "We'll find out," he said, rolling his eyes a little. He wanted to know if her being gluten-free was health-related or a lifestyle choice. If the latter, he said he would tolerate but not approve--to which I responded "Would anyone really give up bread if they didn't have to?"
Now we're scrambling to find something for Boston gluten-free friend to eat. Oh yeah, we bought this huge pack of crackers from Costco, which happen to be gluten-free (and therefore pretty disgusting...and we now have a lot of them!) We had veggies, hummus, and other non-wheaty things. It was going to be alright after all.
Friend arrives. She eats the veggies, hummus, and crackers. We have wine. We catch up. SCL quietly and graciously does the host thing. I am very grateful.
Having a partner who doesn't get mad when plans change at the last second, who doesn't get too irritated when those new plans change again, and who steps us as host for a dinner he didn't plan to serve--he's pretty much the best. Ever.
As soon as we hung up, I though, oh crap. What if SCL doesn't really want my random friend coming over right now? He had been spending most of the day trying to update my laptop's operating system. When I told him about my conversation, we debated over what to do food-wise. We'd only been planning to make dinner for ourselves, so we'd only defrosted enough dough and cheese for one pizza. Should we make two? Make a salad? We decided on a second crust, which SCL promptly defrosted and starting rolling out.
"What kind of pizza do you want to make?" he asked. "We can make pepperoni, sausage, barbecue chicken, pesto chicken..." I figured I'd better call Boston friend to ask what she'd prefer. I felt so awesome, having all of these delicious options for her. And then she says: "I can't have pizza. I'm gluten-free."
CRAP. Not only have I invited someone to dinner at the last second, but now I have to tell SCL that she's gluten free and we really didn't need that second crust defrosted or rolled out. "Can you re-frost a crust?" I asked. "We'll find out," he said, rolling his eyes a little. He wanted to know if her being gluten-free was health-related or a lifestyle choice. If the latter, he said he would tolerate but not approve--to which I responded "Would anyone really give up bread if they didn't have to?"
Now we're scrambling to find something for Boston gluten-free friend to eat. Oh yeah, we bought this huge pack of crackers from Costco, which happen to be gluten-free (and therefore pretty disgusting...and we now have a lot of them!) We had veggies, hummus, and other non-wheaty things. It was going to be alright after all.
Friend arrives. She eats the veggies, hummus, and crackers. We have wine. We catch up. SCL quietly and graciously does the host thing. I am very grateful.
Having a partner who doesn't get mad when plans change at the last second, who doesn't get too irritated when those new plans change again, and who steps us as host for a dinner he didn't plan to serve--he's pretty much the best. Ever.
I came home from New Haven...
And SCL had made me a cake. Not just any old, box-mix cake either. A delicious, rich, full of dark chocolate masterpiece.
I should go out of town more often. :-)
I should go out of town more often. :-)
Hospitality
Shoot, y'all. That was one helluva week! I cannot even tell you how very happy I am that it's the weekend.
As much as I would've liked to have had a quiet night, SCL and I had company (the most polite, warm, and gracious company) over. One of my favorite things about living in DC is being able to offer up our place to friends who come through for conferences, meetings, etc. I'll be honest; yesterday I was way too tired to be thrilled about a night of hosting, but as the night went on, I realized that one of the best parts about being grown-up and having our own place is sharing it with cool people.
Again, I have to give SCL his propos. He was an awesome partner and gracious co-host! Honestly, he did most of the cooking, cleaning up, and even some nerdy computer techie stuff today before our guest left for the airport this morning. The whole time I was thinking, "Wow, I have a great significant other. He's so kind and welcoming to my friends." I never thought about it much before, but having your S.O. treat your loved ones well is a way for them to show you love.
It was kind of fun to treat my friend to a worry-free night. She'd had a long week and had been staying at hotels for the last few nights. Not being from a big city, she had been super-stressed about navigating DC, so I took her to and from the Metro personally. We made our self-proclaimed famous pizza-- veggie-only for her--and she was so grateful! I had forgotten how fun hospitality can be.
I didn't grow up in a house where people were very welcome. I had the occasional sleep over, but we never had dinner parties or guests over often, probably because my parents were too busy. Also my dad is a weirdo (a subject for another time). I was never shown what it means to be a hostess and invite people into my home, so it's definitely a learning experience. But my hope is that SCL and I will always have a home where friends are invited, welcomed, and shown love.
As much as I would've liked to have had a quiet night, SCL and I had company (the most polite, warm, and gracious company) over. One of my favorite things about living in DC is being able to offer up our place to friends who come through for conferences, meetings, etc. I'll be honest; yesterday I was way too tired to be thrilled about a night of hosting, but as the night went on, I realized that one of the best parts about being grown-up and having our own place is sharing it with cool people.
Again, I have to give SCL his propos. He was an awesome partner and gracious co-host! Honestly, he did most of the cooking, cleaning up, and even some nerdy computer techie stuff today before our guest left for the airport this morning. The whole time I was thinking, "Wow, I have a great significant other. He's so kind and welcoming to my friends." I never thought about it much before, but having your S.O. treat your loved ones well is a way for them to show you love.
It was kind of fun to treat my friend to a worry-free night. She'd had a long week and had been staying at hotels for the last few nights. Not being from a big city, she had been super-stressed about navigating DC, so I took her to and from the Metro personally. We made our self-proclaimed famous pizza-- veggie-only for her--and she was so grateful! I had forgotten how fun hospitality can be.
I didn't grow up in a house where people were very welcome. I had the occasional sleep over, but we never had dinner parties or guests over often, probably because my parents were too busy. Also my dad is a weirdo (a subject for another time). I was never shown what it means to be a hostess and invite people into my home, so it's definitely a learning experience. But my hope is that SCL and I will always have a home where friends are invited, welcomed, and shown love.
Cheap Eats: Black Bean Deliciousness
Besides watching oodles of Dexter, this weekend I decided to get creative and make up a recipe. We had 2 cans of black beans in our pantry that probably came with one of us from CT, so I figured it was time to do something fun with them. I'm finally getting comfortable enough in the kitchen (and with knowing SCL will sweetly eat anything I make, even if I refuse to eat it myself) to start making it up as I go.
Here's the concoction:
1 cup rice
1 onion
1 green pepper
4 flour tortillas
2 cups cheese (cheddar, jack, whatever you like)
1 jar salsa
1 container sour cream
1. I cooked the chicken in the skillet, threw in a little cumin and lime juice to make things interesting. Diced and cooked the onions and peppers with the chicken.
2. Cooked the rice. Drained the beans.
3. Mixed the chicken, onions, peppers, rice, beans, salsa, and sour cream together.
4. Layered the bottom of a casserole dish with the tortillas (I cut off the ends to make them fit). Put 1/2 of the mix into the casserole. Another row of tortillas on top. The rest of the mix on top of that. Sprinkled top with cheese.
5. Cooked for 30 min at 350 degrees.
Result: absolutely delicious! And enough servings for 4 meals, which makes me very, very happy.
Tonight SCL and I are doing dinner separately. He's got class (boo) and I've got a reception on Capitol Hill to attend. The invitation promises that "unlimited complimentary wine and generous appetizers will be served." Holla for free food and wine!
Here's the concoction:
1 lb. chicken breast
2 cans black beans1 cup rice
1 onion
1 green pepper
4 flour tortillas
2 cups cheese (cheddar, jack, whatever you like)
1 jar salsa
1 container sour cream
1. I cooked the chicken in the skillet, threw in a little cumin and lime juice to make things interesting. Diced and cooked the onions and peppers with the chicken.
2. Cooked the rice. Drained the beans.
3. Mixed the chicken, onions, peppers, rice, beans, salsa, and sour cream together.
4. Layered the bottom of a casserole dish with the tortillas (I cut off the ends to make them fit). Put 1/2 of the mix into the casserole. Another row of tortillas on top. The rest of the mix on top of that. Sprinkled top with cheese.
5. Cooked for 30 min at 350 degrees.
Result: absolutely delicious! And enough servings for 4 meals, which makes me very, very happy.
Tonight SCL and I are doing dinner separately. He's got class (boo) and I've got a reception on Capitol Hill to attend. The invitation promises that "unlimited complimentary wine and generous appetizers will be served." Holla for free food and wine!
Bonding with Your Partner, Homemade Pizza Style
Over the last year, SCL and I have become what you might call pizza purists. It's not that we don't enjoy on the occasion a slice of Domino's, Pap John's, or other commercially-prepared pies. It's just that we think we do it a LOT better, healthier, cheaper, and delicious-er. You should try it, too!
The elements of the perfect pizza
1) The crust. This took a lot of hard work, attempting many different recipes, until we discovered the right one for our tastes. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and is called Jay's Signature Pizza Crust. Seriously, trust me on this; it is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy. Each recipes makes two thin or one ridiculously thick crust. We usually double the recipe, split up the dough, and freeze each ball separately. One tip: the pizza dough will be a bit sticky if you follow the recipe exactly, so feel free to add up more flour until you get the right consistency.
2) The sauce. (I'll stick to tomato sauce for now.) I do not purchase jarred pizza sauce because it is so easy and cheaper to make your own at home. We buy a big can of tomato puree and I mix in garlic powder, oregano, basil, and black pepper. You could add a bit of tomato paste if you want it thicker. Also, I do not recommend using canned tomato sauce as its too watery. Trust me, tomato puree is the way to go.
3) The cheese. Do not buy shredded cheese! This is a big no-no. Shredded cheese has some kind of added preservative that makes it rubbery and gross when it melts. Buy some low-moisture mozzarella and grate it yourself. We buy ours at Costco because we can get a 5 lb. block for what it would cost for 1-2 lbs at the grocery store. It freezes just fine if you are careful to wrap it in plastic wrap, and some even suggest shredding the cheese when it's a little frozen because it's easier to grate. Tip: use the smaller grate as you'll need less cheese if it's more finely grated.
4) The toppings. This is the time to play! Some of our favorites are:
Mashed Potato and Bacon (Use the potato as a sauce. Believe me, it's delicious)
Sausage, Pepper, and Onion
BBQ Chicken and Red Onion
Pepperoni, Feta, and Sundried Tomato (If the tomatoes aren't in a jar, add them towards the end of cooking or they'll get charred!)
5) The baking. We figured out that it's best to cook the crust for a few minutes before adding the sauce, cheese, and other toppings. If you put it all in together, the crust might be underdone. Underdone crust = yuck. Ours cook at around 425, but you may need to adjust for your oven. If you like your cheese a bit browner, you can broil it for a few minutes (but be careful or your toppings might burn.)
6) The eating. Self-explanatory. We usually can polish off a whole one in one meal because the crust is so thin. It's perfect for two people with healthy appetites.
Happy Pizza Making!
The elements of the perfect pizza
1) The crust. This took a lot of hard work, attempting many different recipes, until we discovered the right one for our tastes. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and is called Jay's Signature Pizza Crust. Seriously, trust me on this; it is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy. Each recipes makes two thin or one ridiculously thick crust. We usually double the recipe, split up the dough, and freeze each ball separately. One tip: the pizza dough will be a bit sticky if you follow the recipe exactly, so feel free to add up more flour until you get the right consistency.
2) The sauce. (I'll stick to tomato sauce for now.) I do not purchase jarred pizza sauce because it is so easy and cheaper to make your own at home. We buy a big can of tomato puree and I mix in garlic powder, oregano, basil, and black pepper. You could add a bit of tomato paste if you want it thicker. Also, I do not recommend using canned tomato sauce as its too watery. Trust me, tomato puree is the way to go.
3) The cheese. Do not buy shredded cheese! This is a big no-no. Shredded cheese has some kind of added preservative that makes it rubbery and gross when it melts. Buy some low-moisture mozzarella and grate it yourself. We buy ours at Costco because we can get a 5 lb. block for what it would cost for 1-2 lbs at the grocery store. It freezes just fine if you are careful to wrap it in plastic wrap, and some even suggest shredding the cheese when it's a little frozen because it's easier to grate. Tip: use the smaller grate as you'll need less cheese if it's more finely grated.
4) The toppings. This is the time to play! Some of our favorites are:
Mashed Potato and Bacon (Use the potato as a sauce. Believe me, it's delicious)
Sausage, Pepper, and Onion
BBQ Chicken and Red Onion
Pepperoni, Feta, and Sundried Tomato (If the tomatoes aren't in a jar, add them towards the end of cooking or they'll get charred!)
5) The baking. We figured out that it's best to cook the crust for a few minutes before adding the sauce, cheese, and other toppings. If you put it all in together, the crust might be underdone. Underdone crust = yuck. Ours cook at around 425, but you may need to adjust for your oven. If you like your cheese a bit browner, you can broil it for a few minutes (but be careful or your toppings might burn.)
6) The eating. Self-explanatory. We usually can polish off a whole one in one meal because the crust is so thin. It's perfect for two people with healthy appetites.
Happy Pizza Making!
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