I've been avoiding this space because I have nothing good to say. For the last 11 weeks, the spouse has been working in Baltimore. He comes home on weekends exhausted. For the next couple of weekends, our schedules will be such that we will barely see one another, first with me traveling then with him traveling.
Because I spend the week home alone eating unsatisfying food, I often want to eat out on weekends. The spouse eats out for all of his meals all week, and probably wants delicious home cooked meals when he is home. It's quite frustrating, because I feel guilty for not cooking good food for him while he is home. While I usually enjoy preparing elaborate meals, I hate that I will spend a lot of time on a given weekend day in the kitchen preparing meals or cleaning up after one. There are also the normal weekend chores to attend to...laundry, housecleaning, etc. Yes, I do it all, from food shopping to clean up. I'm going to stop this train of thought now, before I start getting pissed that I've essentially become a professional housekeeper.
I am kind of hating life right now.
I am also hovering in indecision on many things, some big, some small. One small thing: should I even continue to post here? I enjoy Twittering a bit more. I like Flickr as well. But the blog, eh. No one reads it, and I don't blame them. I've even considered deleting my Facebook account. I won't, though, because I am seriously addicted to the Scrabble.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Food Boner
CPM and I used to travel to King of Prussia mall just to eat at Bertolini's, an italian restaurant that closed about a year ago. CPM loved the dish they called Fazzoletto. They even took it off the menu for a time, but he was so desperate, that he spoke to the manager, and was told to call ahead before we got there, and they would make it up for him as a special. That was some pretty good service for a semi-chain restaurant in a mall.
For some reason, I decided to attempt to recreate the dish today. I wanted to blog about it so I have a record of my recipe. CPM devoured his entire serving and half of mine, which is exactly what he would do at the restaurant, so I think I got it right! Fazzoletto as served at Bertolini's was sheets of pasta, topped with a spinach and ricotta mixture, with a mushroom gravy over top. I actually found an article from a Las Vegas paper online that sort of had the recipe, but mostly I had to wing it. Here is what I did...
Ingredients
11 oz fresh baby spinach
EVOO for saute of spinach
8 oz sliced baby portabellas
4 oz sliced mixed wild mushrooms
2 regular portabellas, chopped
8 oz mushroom broth
1 small container whole milk ricotta
2 cups whole milk, brought just to a boil
4 (2 for mushroom sauce, 2 for bechamel) tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme
pasta sheets, about 2 per person, 5 inches wide by 12 inches long (I got mine at Whole Foods in the fresh pasta section, it came in a 9 oz. container)
1. Saute the baby spinach in the EVOO until wilted.
2. Mix the spinach with the ricotta in a large bowl, adding some salt and pepper for flavor. Set aside.
3. Make a bechamel. I used this recipe, except I halved it: I melted 2 tbsp. of butter, then added 2 tbsp of flour, and whisked it until smooth. Once it turned the "toasty" color, I added the 2 cups of almost boiling milk, and whisked it constantly for 10 minutes. Once done, I put in 1 tsp. of salt and a dash of nutmeg.
4. Mix the ricotta/spinach into the bechamel. Set aside.
5. Turn on the pasta water at this point. The spinach/bechamel/ricotta mix can sit while you do the rest.
6. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan. Add all of the mushrooms. Stir around. Add some salt and pepper. I also threw in some thyme. Let this saute for a few minutes.
7. After a few minutes, add the mushroom broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes.
8. After 10 minutes, scoop about half the mushrooms out, and puree the remaining mixture using a stick blender (or use your regular blender). Add the mushrooms back. This is your mushroom sauce.
9. Put your pasta in the now boiling water and cook according the package directions.
To serve, I put one sheet of pasta in a dish, and folded it around several scoops of the cheese/bechamel sauce. Over top of this, I put a ladel of the mushroom gravy. Top with parmiggiano reggiano cheese.
Voila.
For some reason, I decided to attempt to recreate the dish today. I wanted to blog about it so I have a record of my recipe. CPM devoured his entire serving and half of mine, which is exactly what he would do at the restaurant, so I think I got it right! Fazzoletto as served at Bertolini's was sheets of pasta, topped with a spinach and ricotta mixture, with a mushroom gravy over top. I actually found an article from a Las Vegas paper online that sort of had the recipe, but mostly I had to wing it. Here is what I did...
Ingredients
11 oz fresh baby spinach
EVOO for saute of spinach
8 oz sliced baby portabellas
4 oz sliced mixed wild mushrooms
2 regular portabellas, chopped
8 oz mushroom broth
1 small container whole milk ricotta
2 cups whole milk, brought just to a boil
4 (2 for mushroom sauce, 2 for bechamel) tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme
pasta sheets, about 2 per person, 5 inches wide by 12 inches long (I got mine at Whole Foods in the fresh pasta section, it came in a 9 oz. container)
1. Saute the baby spinach in the EVOO until wilted.
2. Mix the spinach with the ricotta in a large bowl, adding some salt and pepper for flavor. Set aside.
3. Make a bechamel. I used this recipe, except I halved it: I melted 2 tbsp. of butter, then added 2 tbsp of flour, and whisked it until smooth. Once it turned the "toasty" color, I added the 2 cups of almost boiling milk, and whisked it constantly for 10 minutes. Once done, I put in 1 tsp. of salt and a dash of nutmeg.
4. Mix the ricotta/spinach into the bechamel. Set aside.
5. Turn on the pasta water at this point. The spinach/bechamel/ricotta mix can sit while you do the rest.
6. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan. Add all of the mushrooms. Stir around. Add some salt and pepper. I also threw in some thyme. Let this saute for a few minutes.
7. After a few minutes, add the mushroom broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes.
8. After 10 minutes, scoop about half the mushrooms out, and puree the remaining mixture using a stick blender (or use your regular blender). Add the mushrooms back. This is your mushroom sauce.
9. Put your pasta in the now boiling water and cook according the package directions.
To serve, I put one sheet of pasta in a dish, and folded it around several scoops of the cheese/bechamel sauce. Over top of this, I put a ladel of the mushroom gravy. Top with parmiggiano reggiano cheese.
Voila.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Balls!
On Friday night, I broke part of my car, my beautiful one year old car, by slamming the back gate down on a shopping cart in the Target parking lot. I cried when I saw what I did. I have to take it to the dealer to see if they can fix it without costing me a fortune. I have low expectations on this point. If I get out of there for less than 500 dollars, I'll count myself lucky. (I'm blaming all of the allergy medications that I've been taking for dulling my usual crack reflexes...Ha!)
On Saturday, I took my nephew to the zoo. We had a really good time! I'm surprised about this. I was nervous that there would be toddler drama of some sort. There was none. He walked the entire time, and except for a last minute change of heart when it came to riding a pony, was super excited to see all of the animals. Note to Philadelphia parents: the Zoo gives you your pony ride money back when the kid backs out. This is a great policy!
Love this:
He had no problem with the carousel:
Of course, I bought him some crap at the Zoo shop. One item in particular kept him occupied for the rest of the night at home, and the following morning...a giraffe "grabber" thing. Whatever. It was awesome and I broke it, as I was putting him into his car seat for the return trip to his house on Sunday morning. Yeah, I'm two for two on the breaking crap front this weekend. Except, I'm slightly obsessed with this cheap toy...I feel like I have to fix it or replace it, because the kid freaked out when he was home and realized that he didn't have his giraffe. It cost about two dollars and I can't get it out of my head. Yeah, I have issues.
At a certain point yesterday, I decided that I just can't do anything right. The sensation of being a total klutz was actually suffocating. After breaking two things in three days, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes to console myself. Then, I filled the cupcake tins too far, and the cupcakes exploded out of their holders, and stuck to the pans. This cupcake failure just continued my feelings of inadequacy. I had reached my breaking point. My loving spouse came into the kitchen and found me stabbing cupcakes in their tins. He quickly offered to take me out to dinner. This was a good idea. It gave me time to reflect on what to do with those failed cupcakes.
Thus, I made chocolate cake balls! And lo, they are deadly delicious. I used the chocolate cake and frosting recipes on the back of the Hershey's cocoa and followed instructions provided by the queen of cake pops, Bakerella for forming and coating the balls. (Yes, I am going out of my way to use "balls" as much as possible. Take that, Google.) One day, when I am less frantic, I will take my time, and try to make them attractive. For now, I just have to settle for them being adictively delicious.
Cake Balls! Chocolate Cake Balls!
On Saturday, I took my nephew to the zoo. We had a really good time! I'm surprised about this. I was nervous that there would be toddler drama of some sort. There was none. He walked the entire time, and except for a last minute change of heart when it came to riding a pony, was super excited to see all of the animals. Note to Philadelphia parents: the Zoo gives you your pony ride money back when the kid backs out. This is a great policy!
Love this:
He had no problem with the carousel:
Of course, I bought him some crap at the Zoo shop. One item in particular kept him occupied for the rest of the night at home, and the following morning...a giraffe "grabber" thing. Whatever. It was awesome and I broke it, as I was putting him into his car seat for the return trip to his house on Sunday morning. Yeah, I'm two for two on the breaking crap front this weekend. Except, I'm slightly obsessed with this cheap toy...I feel like I have to fix it or replace it, because the kid freaked out when he was home and realized that he didn't have his giraffe. It cost about two dollars and I can't get it out of my head. Yeah, I have issues.
At a certain point yesterday, I decided that I just can't do anything right. The sensation of being a total klutz was actually suffocating. After breaking two things in three days, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes to console myself. Then, I filled the cupcake tins too far, and the cupcakes exploded out of their holders, and stuck to the pans. This cupcake failure just continued my feelings of inadequacy. I had reached my breaking point. My loving spouse came into the kitchen and found me stabbing cupcakes in their tins. He quickly offered to take me out to dinner. This was a good idea. It gave me time to reflect on what to do with those failed cupcakes.
Thus, I made chocolate cake balls! And lo, they are deadly delicious. I used the chocolate cake and frosting recipes on the back of the Hershey's cocoa and followed instructions provided by the queen of cake pops, Bakerella for forming and coating the balls. (Yes, I am going out of my way to use "balls" as much as possible. Take that, Google.) One day, when I am less frantic, I will take my time, and try to make them attractive. For now, I just have to settle for them being adictively delicious.
Cake Balls! Chocolate Cake Balls!
Friday, April 16, 2010
It's been a while.
The last time I spent extended alone time with a toddler was many, many years ago. I was an ace aunt, I rocked the cool toys, I knew all the cool toddler shows (Blues Clues, with Steve, and Bear in the Big Blue House). Then those toddler nieces and nephews grew big. But lo, their mom, my sister, decided to produce a new kid and I'm spending the day with him tomorrow. It's an overnight visit. Just me and him. His uncle will be lurking about the homestead, of course, but Uncle CPM is pretty hands off when it comes to the kiddies.
The forecast calls for a little bit of rain, but I'm going to be brave and take him to the zoo anyway (yes, by myself). I just renewed my zoo membership and the kid loves him some monkeys. My goal is to wear him out. I have a feeling it will be me that is worn out before the day is done.
The forecast calls for a little bit of rain, but I'm going to be brave and take him to the zoo anyway (yes, by myself). I just renewed my zoo membership and the kid loves him some monkeys. My goal is to wear him out. I have a feeling it will be me that is worn out before the day is done.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Blarg
-Items sewn in recent weeks: none.
-Mood in recent weeks: extra cranky with a side of bitchy.
-Thing I have most want to say to people in recent weeks: Your kids are not as cute as you think they are. They make far too many shrieky noises and drop trash and toys on my lawn. Please, use birth control.
-Spouse's location in recent weeks: Baltimore, Maryland, i.e. not home. I'm not sure when he is going to come home for more than two days at a time.
-Diet in recent weeks: mostly unhealthy due to lack of responsible food shopping and meal planning. I may try to rectify that today. At the very least, I want to get myself some avocados and tomatoes for sandwiches that do not involve PB n J.
-My Philadelphian experience in recent weeks: hearing gunshots at home and driving through bad neighborhoods.
-Mood in recent weeks: extra cranky with a side of bitchy.
-Thing I have most want to say to people in recent weeks: Your kids are not as cute as you think they are. They make far too many shrieky noises and drop trash and toys on my lawn. Please, use birth control.
-Spouse's location in recent weeks: Baltimore, Maryland, i.e. not home. I'm not sure when he is going to come home for more than two days at a time.
-Diet in recent weeks: mostly unhealthy due to lack of responsible food shopping and meal planning. I may try to rectify that today. At the very least, I want to get myself some avocados and tomatoes for sandwiches that do not involve PB n J.
-My Philadelphian experience in recent weeks: hearing gunshots at home and driving through bad neighborhoods.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Bag Fail, Shirt Success!
Firstly, my husband is currently still sleeping. It is 12:15. I've been making all sorts of racket in the sewing room upstairs, and still he peacefully slumbers away. Amazing.
Yesterday, I spent a few hours attempting to make a canvas bag similar to one I saw at the Gap. Honestly, I don't even know why I try these things. Despite my best efforts, including the use of CAD to plot the pattern, the first result still looked a lot like a shapeless tote bag. I think I was meant to be a bag consumer and not a bag designer. I'm okay with that. I even decided against buying the bag, because I think the Gap bag would probably have looked the same loaded up with all of my crap.
This morning, I decided to tackle the men's shirt refashion as described here on Clevergirl's blog.
The first challenge for me is that I don't own a dress form, so I was winging the whole "pin to fit" part. On the first shirt that I attempted (purchased for 2 bux at the thrift store), I actually forgot that I am a pear, whereas Clevergirl is lucky enough to be normal shaped. So, I mistakenly cut too much off around the hips and wouldn't have been able to button the shirt after I sewed up the side seams. Back to the drawing board.
Luckily, my husband has recently outgrown a bunch of his dress shirts, so I have tons of raw material. I've been fixated on blue lately, so I chose a blue one to mess with. This time, I did better. A dress form would have definitely improved the end result. I tried to use an existing shirt to approximate where the shoulder/sleeve insertion point was located, and I still think I overshot the mark a bit. Also, it's a bit boring. It looks fine covered in a cardigan and with a scarf, but it feels a little blah all on it's own. See below.
To remake the sleeve, I used the sleeve pattern from Simplicity 4077. I'm getting better at the whole gathering and sleeve insertion process. It's like I actually enjoy it or something!
The end result
All dressed up
Kind of blah
Yesterday, I spent a few hours attempting to make a canvas bag similar to one I saw at the Gap. Honestly, I don't even know why I try these things. Despite my best efforts, including the use of CAD to plot the pattern, the first result still looked a lot like a shapeless tote bag. I think I was meant to be a bag consumer and not a bag designer. I'm okay with that. I even decided against buying the bag, because I think the Gap bag would probably have looked the same loaded up with all of my crap.
This morning, I decided to tackle the men's shirt refashion as described here on Clevergirl's blog.
The first challenge for me is that I don't own a dress form, so I was winging the whole "pin to fit" part. On the first shirt that I attempted (purchased for 2 bux at the thrift store), I actually forgot that I am a pear, whereas Clevergirl is lucky enough to be normal shaped. So, I mistakenly cut too much off around the hips and wouldn't have been able to button the shirt after I sewed up the side seams. Back to the drawing board.
Luckily, my husband has recently outgrown a bunch of his dress shirts, so I have tons of raw material. I've been fixated on blue lately, so I chose a blue one to mess with. This time, I did better. A dress form would have definitely improved the end result. I tried to use an existing shirt to approximate where the shoulder/sleeve insertion point was located, and I still think I overshot the mark a bit. Also, it's a bit boring. It looks fine covered in a cardigan and with a scarf, but it feels a little blah all on it's own. See below.
To remake the sleeve, I used the sleeve pattern from Simplicity 4077. I'm getting better at the whole gathering and sleeve insertion process. It's like I actually enjoy it or something!
The end result
All dressed up
Kind of blah
Friday, March 26, 2010
To do tomorrow morning...
Attempt to knock off a summer purse that I saw at Gap...
The best part of this project...all of the supplies cost me about $5 at Jomar. I'll work on it tomorrow, and if it is a total failure, I'll simply use the 20% off coupon that I have for Gap and just buy the real thing. I feel like I have to make an effort on my own, though.
The best part of this project...all of the supplies cost me about $5 at Jomar. I'll work on it tomorrow, and if it is a total failure, I'll simply use the 20% off coupon that I have for Gap and just buy the real thing. I feel like I have to make an effort on my own, though.
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