la cocina compartida - summer workshop 2011

"The Shared Kitchen" about sums it up for me.  I can't get nothin' done in my kitchen without tripping over some babies/toys/magnets/papers/cereal.  Such is life.

But this post isn't about me, or even about my kitchen.  This post is about my dear old friend Katie and the super-fun cooking workshop she hosted a couple of weeks ago.  Which I of course jumped at the chance to attend.

Katie: Would you like to come to my cooking class?
Me: Do Mexicans do the Macarena? I'm SO there!

Katie = Awesome.  I've known her since gradeschool, and I miss her tons.  While I'm here living the dream in the same town she and I grew up in, Katie is doing all kinds of amazing things in a city in the middle of Mexico.  She is back in town for a few weeks and decided to organize a cooking class to teach a few friends how to cook authentic Mexican food.  She so graciously invited me to attend, for which I am thankful.

We prepared then gorged ourselves on all kinds of deliciousness, all while she described little tidbits about the local culture in Guanajuato and her experiences while living there.  I'm just grateful that she thought to invite me in the first place.  But next time I expect a real invite to Mexico. 

Here's a sample of the food we made.  Please excuse the pictures.  My camera is a piece of caca:

beautiful katie







ceviche, drunken salsa, and cucumbers



newlyweds

roasted chile and tomatillo salsa.  warm and smoky.
i just wanted to pour the bowl in my glass and drink it.

sopes.  i don't know either, but they were fun to make!



beet root and jicama salad.  i'd never before had either one. 
soooo good.

the main meal:
refried black beans, rajas con cremas, and beef with peanut sauce.



liquid crack, or, coffee with cinnamon and sugar.  served with flan. 
so good you'd smack your mama.





and last but not least, good conversations.


My dear Katie:  thanks for the fun night out, amazing food, and cookbook!  See you again next year? 

picnics rule & meal list thursday

I'll just get this week's meal list out of the way so we can quickly move on to the fun stuff.  Business in front, party in back, am I right?  I am from MO after all.  (And no, I did not intend for this to be a teaser for mullets.  Mullets will not be found further down this post.  Well, OK.  Lila kindof has a mullet.  But it's not her fault.) 

Summer Squash Casserole
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and Salad
Creamy Avocado Pasta with Roasted  Grape Tomatoes (Found here on tastykitchen.com.  This one might be a bit frou-frou for some dudes but it is an awesome, super easy summer dish.  Heck, if he gets all fussy about it just serve it with chicken and tell him he can EATITANDLIKEIT!  Also, follow her recommendation about not serving this dish left-over.  We all know that an avocado the morning after is not pretty.  Make fresh and devour!)

Recipes here.


Back to bidness.  So does anyone else out there think that picnics are super awesome?  Taking our kids on a low-key weekend picnic dinner is definitely among our favorite activities.   Assuming our schedules and beastly St. Louis weather permit, of course.  They are easy, cheap, and they get the kids out in the fresh air and out of our hair so we can enjoy the view and unwind from the long week. 

Here are the pictures from our picnic dinner last Friday night.  I might need a picnic now, right here on my bed.  Where's the cheese and crackers?

 The important stuff:

"Why yes, I think I will try a tomato."

 "On second thought, I'll just stick with salami."

 Done eating, time to play...

...and run up and down the hill a hundred times.



"Horsey!"  (statue of King Louis IX of France)



Time for a break!



And time to teach the important things...



...like sharing a cookie...

...and sharing a laugh.

("The Wheels on the Bus Go Poop-Poop-Poop.")

...and of course, one last trek up the hill.  (Thanks, Dad!)

meal list thursday: lunchtime edition

We'll deviate a bit this week to fulfill a special request.

My gorgeously smart and stylish sister approached me recently about putting together a list of meal ideas.  Not for dinners, mind you, but for her workaday lunch.  Currently she lives alone and doesn't do much cooking for herself.  My gargantuan family occupies her condo every Easter and Thanksgiving and for the other 363 days a year, I'm pretty sure her fridge holds nothing but Crystal Light and Boca Burgers.  (I know this because I spy in her kitchen.  And I still haven't figured out WHAT Boca Burgers are.) 

So I thought I'd put together a list of a dozen meals that she can cook, divide into pre-portioned servings, store in the freezer (or quickly prepare in the morning), and grab as she walks out the door for work.  Sounds easy, right?  Then she requests the unrequestable: "Oh, and do calorie counts too.  I want to know what I'm eating."  Uhhh, no deal Missy.  We all know I had to repeat more than one math course in my life and my only working calculator is on my Verizon Razzle.  I'm just the ideas girl, Maria.  You're the brains and you know it.  I'll keep it relatively lean, I just don't have the fancy numbers to back it up.

(I'm secretly doing this because she is an awesome massage therapist and I'm hoping to score a free massage or three.  This is also for my other sister Krissy who lives with a gal pal and doesn't cook very much either.  And because she said she'd design a cookbook for me.)  

(Tangent: Remember that part in Twins when Danny Devito comes to the sobering realization that his brother (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) was created to be the most perfect physical specimen while he, Vincent, was created from the "leftover crap" in the petri dish?  Mmm-hmm.)  

If you're going to give this method a try, you will need to invest in a dozen or so quart-size Pyrex freezer/dishwasher/microwave safe food storage containers.  This way you can store your single-portion meals in one container, keep it in the fridge or freezer, and pop it in the microwave when you're ready to eat.  (You gotta keep it easy for these cute unmarried girls and their fun active lifestyles and gobs of free time.  If they get bored with domestic chores it's no big deal because they don't ACTUALLY have to do them.)

So here is the lunchpail list.  Why not make 2 or 3 of these meals on a weekend, then throw it all in the freezer for a grab-and-go lunch for the next couple of weeks?  DO IT!!!!

The following meals can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer:

Simply Scrumptious Hamburger Soup.  This stuff is the bees knees.

Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken.  Serve with tortilla chips, warm tortillas, or over rice.  YUM.

Chicken Noodle Soup.  A classic.

Turkey Sliders. Make and freeze the burgers ahead of time and prepare with fresh bread and cheese in the morning before you leave for work.

Any of your favorite pasta dish, like Mediterranean Penne Pasta, Pasta Con Broccoli, or Spaghetti and Mini Turkey Meatballs. (Sidenote: Pasta freezes and reheats well, if stored correctly. Adding extra sauce or olive oil to the pasta helps it maintain the right consistency and appearance after you thaw and heat. And if the pasta looks a bit dry after thawing, just add a bit of water or olive oil as it heats, and stir gently.)

Spinach Lasagna


The ideas below can be pre-made and kept in the fridge all week:

Pizza or Calzones.  Better than a Hot Pocket.

Chicken Salad with Sliced Bell Peppers and Tomatoes on Sandwich Thins

Awesome Unnamed Vegetarian Bagel Sandwich.  An idea that I stole from a girl I know circa 1997.  This is another sandwich you can make fresh each morning before work.  It's so darn easy you'd be stupid not to try it.

(All recipes can be found here.)

Other tips: 

• Grill and slice a few skinless chicken breasts and peeled shrimp, then freeze in single-servings in freezer-safe bags or containers.  Add to pastas or salads as an additional lean protein. 
• Add lots of grilled or roasted vegetables to whole-grain pasta to fill you up and help you get your daily dose of veggies, not to mention, a fiber-boost from the pasta. 

if i had an orchard

We spent Saturday morning at an orchard nearby, to pick the last of the season's fresh peaches.  We try to go at least a few times per year to get the best of what they have to offer: peaches, blackberries, apples, pumpkins.  Unfortunately we missed our chance for blackberries this time around as they sold out just last weekend.  But the trip did have its (unplanned) advantages: we learned that the peaches (the "best crop they've had in years," according to one of their workers) were half-price! 

Going to Eckerts is one of my favorite things we do with our kids.  And 23 pounds of peaches later, we were happy. 

So begins the task of eating the heck out of them before they go bad.  Not to worry: in the coming days I'll do my best to make peach sauce for ice cream, individual-sized peach pie pockets, and stock some away in the freezer for a rainy day.

And we're off!

...off to find more!

I think the stains on her shirt say it all.  We had a great time!

 

And we got even more good news: honeycrisp apples will be ready for picking at the end of the month.  Who's coming with me???

overheard

The other day, while baking 'nola bars for the millionth time in my life, Finn said something so funny to me that I keep replaying in my head and laughing about.

It was Saturday evening (yes, this is my life) and I was trying to throw a quick batch together before bed so that we'd have breakfast the next morning before church.  I mixed in some dried cranberries and pulled a bag of shredded coconut from the fridge.  Right about that moment Finn came in wanting a snack, and I dropped a few coconut shavings in his mouth like I was a doting and dutiful little mommy birdie giving her chirpy little boy a snack.  He ran off to our bedroom again and continued with his latest obsession, Microsoft Word.

Pretty soon he was back into the kitchen wanting more "white stuff."  Then back to the laptop to push AB34AB34AB34AB34AB34AB34 or maybe this time he was experimenting with the Shift button.  Because, you know, it makes a star if you push it when you push the 8.

After 2 or 3 running sprints to the kitchen he finally popped in and exclaimed, "Mom, I need more white things in my mouth like lot of 'em."  At which point I just gave him the rest of the bag as a prize for racking up 16837650583635 cute points.

drylok on cinderblock and meal list thursday

I've been a busy bee and it's not by choice, man.  Eric returned from his 4-day mancation last week but we immediately rolled back into Basement Work, otherwise known as UGH, LET'S JUST MOVE.  We're partially-refinishing our basement with our own bare hands, which just might have been the worst idea ever.  And I'm pretty sure I'm the one who came up with it.  Right now we're in Drylok® Hell and for the last two nights I've been doing all kinds of man-work, sweating in a t-shirt and boxers, covered in paint, and even listening to the Cards game on the radio.  Apparently all I'm missing are testicles.

Manual labor is the worst IMO.  Next time I'll suggest that we go all female and just write a dang check to get the work done.

Rant over, meal list below, recipes here.  As a reminder, these recipes will make enough food to last 2 meals for 2+ people.

Mexican Lasagna with Sliced Bell Peppers and Tomatoes (served with ranch dressing for dipping, natch)
Pasta Alfredo with Roasted Vegetables
Turkey Tenderloin with Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Sautéed Zucchini (This one is a bit of a cheat, using pre-seasoned tenderloins.  Don't judge.)
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Fries

new scenes, green beans, and other things

We tried a new restaurant this weekend, a rarity in our household for a couple of reasons.  Sure, because the majority of our meals are home-cooked, but also because we rarely go anywhere without our kids.  Thus, we stick with the places we know best, where we've taken our kids a hundred times and aren't worried about pretentious hot spots or whether our son (with allergies) can have anything on the menu. 

However this does NOT mean that we have sold out and only hit up the drive-thru-kids-eat-free-chain-restaurant hot spots, either.  We try to have some semblance of pride despite having 2 toddlers (one who poops her pants) ruling our lives.  And sometimes it's nice to take our kids to places that WE actually enjoy too.  We are regulars at a couple of neighborhood mom-and-pop pizza joints, pubs, and few others, and usually save the grown-up places for our dates which are few and far in between.

So, we went to Winslow's Home.  Apparently it's been open for three years but I'm pretty sure I've been busy for most of that time so we're just now getting around to checking it out.  The menu is small, seasonal and simple, serving food grown on a farm in Augusta.  The atmosphere is rustic-meets-industrial-meets-market.  Just the tables alone I wanted to steal for my dining room, not to mention the chandeliers made from milk bottles and the sweet kitchen gear for sale. 

I had a roasted chicken entree with buttermilk green beans which was enough for me and the kids, while Eric had a pulled brisket sandwich which I'm pretty sure was slow-simmered in candied crack because it tasted like dessert and I'm still thinking about it 30 hours later. 

The staff and other patrons were so kind even as our 2 babes tore through the aisles probably trying to figure out ways to pocket Swedish Fish from the candy display. We left the place happy and full, with an orange, jolly ranchers, and tootsie rolls for the ride home.