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I bought my first dozen eggs from a coworker that lives out in Carroll County. I try to weigh every food decision I make in consideration of all the information that I’ve accumulated on the subject of food. There’s so much information out there that when it comes to figuring the mess out it’s hard to know whether you’re coming or going. Marion Nestle wrote a good book that provides a comprehensive analysis of what can be found inside your local supermarket, how to decipher the information given and what it all means for the consumer. She also has a blog that she updates regularly with useful information that you can find here.

I mention that because on some level I’d prefer it if the carton my coworker’s eggs came in was stamped with words like organic, natural and free range. The whole idea of it has just been drilled into my brain for so long which, of course, was the goal of ‘big organic’ that produced those eggs for the grocery store. All this is to say that I’ve concluded that I am happy to pay a buck fifty (I was wrong about 75 cents) for a carton of oddly shaped and randomly sized eggs even though they’re not certified by any government agency because I know that a) the chickens are her sons pets, b) she feeds the same eggs to her family and c) they are incredibly fresh.

Oh, and Chase’s first order of business? Crack and egg just like I showed her on Tuesday night, except unsupervised and on the dining room table. I saved the egg after the first tap and before it was completely decimated but as soon as I had the egg put somewhere safe Chase had moved on to carrying half a cake into the kitchen for me. Carrying it, I should add, by the plastic dome as opposed to the base. I saved that too and then I scooped her up and gave her a big hug.

Chase got a pair of new shoes today.  When I’m not in the market for new baby shoes I see tons of cute styles in all the stores but as soon as I’m actually ready to shell out for them I can’t seem to find anything that will do.  We tried Nordtrom yesterday they had a couple of different styles but they had might as well have just had two pairs of loafers, one in brown and one in black in terms of available cuteness.  I ended up buying an ok looking pair for way more than I wanted to spend because any price is too much to pay for something you don’t actually want.  I feel the same way about buying stuff you don’t need because you have coupon.  Anyway, they’re super cute and what I was looking for, I’m happy, she’s happy.  

I’ve been buying Stride Rite shoes for her since she started walking and I’m really happy with them.  The shoes, while not fabulously cute, strike a good balance between appearance and comfort.  The shoes are both sensible and durable and I haven’t heard any complaints from the wee one yet.  They make all of their shoes in wide widths that accommodate her fat little feet.  In spite of all that I still sometimes, as I do in all similar circumstance, question whether or not it’s really worth the extra money.  I have decided that it is.

I base my conclusion on a pair of patent leather mary janes that I picked up at Target.  The shoes are cute but they’re the first and only pair that gave her a blister.  The shoes are the right size but as soon as they were on she started complaining that she didn’t want to walk.  Sure enough, there was a blister on her foot by the end of the day.  That was enough to satisfy me, particularly since I discovered the Stride Right outlet at Arundel Mills.  Lots of good deals there and plenty of selection. 

Our neighborhood has many faults BUT today I was extra happy to be here.  We stumbled upon Art Blast at the BMA which ended up being a totally awesome way to spend an absolutely beautiful fall Sunday afternoon.  It was nice so we walked over to the playground.  We could hear loud music that sounded like a concert.  After swinging for about 2 minutes she decided it had to be investigated.  Of course, by the time we got down and up the other side of the park the band was playing their last number but no matter; the whole street was closed off and set up for big art projects to celebrate the museum’s newest installation.  We ran into some friends, did a little sidewalk chalk and then a big drawing that we turned into a button.  Have I mentioned that I’m really big on having fun for free?  

I haven’t posted a recipe in eons but I have one, maybe two in the works.  In the meantime, I made this fake trifle.  There’s no recipe for it.  It’s just a quick way to use up leftover cake.  I had intended to make a luscious version that I saw on Everyday Food but when it came down to it I just needed something sweet and quick.  I just cut the cake into small pieces and layered it in the cup with whipped cream, topped with berries and a little more cream and ate.  It was good though and looked really nice… made Ben jealous that I didn’t make him one, hee.  

You’ve seen the new ad campaign right?  I think I take the position on HFCS that a lot of home cooks take which is simply that if I can’t procure HFCS to use an an ingredient as a home cook I’m going to be highly suspicious… highly.  But this isn’t really a post about HFCS, this is a post about snacks.  HFCS comes into play because the ones that ben likes to eat unfortunately contain it and Chase loves to have bites whenever she sees him eating one.  All of my feeble attempts to offer her a store bought substitute also failed so as a last resort I decided to try my own.  Not to mention that dad agreed to give up his faves if the experiment was any good. 

I used a lot of different sources for inspiration including this, this and this.  I used a little big of each of the recipes and the result was a success.  I think that next time I would mix a double batch because 2c of oats comes out looking kinda puny but the taste and texture was right on.  They kept perfectly well stored on the counter in a tupperware container.  

They flipped out nicely and in one piece.  I meant to take a picture of them cut… but I forgot.  It was almost too late but I got a shot of Chase nibbling on one. 

So they were good, the thing is now I have to make them… like all the time.  

Have you made reservations yet?  If it’s in the budget, the restaurant week price just can’t be beat.  Considering that it’s not cheap to go out for a couple of plates of microwaved slop at (insert name of big box restaurant here) I think it’s worth it to shell out an extra 20 for a really nice meal. There are a ton of fabulous restaurants participating this year but I had to think practically knowing that we’d be a party of three.  I decided around 3 on Saturday that we should go out to dinner.  We all got shined up for our 6 o’clock reservation at Pisces at the Hyatt in the Inner Harbor.  Early reservations are a good idea if little ones are tagging along, the place wasn’t packed until we were on our way out the door.

I’m more of a neighborhood restaurant type of a gal myself but a hotel restaurant seemed like a good choice in this case.  A hotel restaurant works well for fine dining with a baby because they a) see tourists in all manner of disarray and are used to serving families, if even only on occasion, traveling together; b) you’re less likely to play second fiddle to regulars, in my opinion everyone is more likely to be on equal footing at a hotel restaurant; c) this particular choice was on the top floor of the hotel meaning that we had a view of the whole harbor including boats, helicopters and trucks driving by below.  The trip included not one but two awesome rides in a glass elevator as well as a walk around the inner harbor complete with bridges and waterfalls just to get there.  

All of that and we still weren’t convinced that Chase would sit still through the whole meal.  It wasn’t easy but we managed.  The staff was really accommodating.   When Chase really liked the dried cherries on Ben’s salad, the waiter brought a little dish out just for her.  The food was really good.  I had a delicious cream of crap soup to start and glazed chilean sea bass as my entree.  I like ordering fish when we eat out because it always tastes way better than when I make it at home.  I think Ben shies away from ordering fish out because he thinks it WILL taste like I made it at home and then always realizes he’s made the wrong choice.  All in all it was a lot of fun.  It would be fun to do a date night soon but in the meantime I’ll take my gourmet where I can get it and you should too.  Just don’t forget to call ahead for restaurant week reservations.  I heard people complaining that you had to call ahead to get the restaurant week prices.  Oh, and I caught a look at the regular menu on the way out the door… ouch, good deal is an understatement.  

There’s no better night to support local business than Thursday night.  The dinner planned for tonight will just have to wait patiently in the fridge until tomorrow.  I was not about to pass on the offer of Donna’s and a pitcher of sangria.  After dinner we crossed the street to Dominion Ice Cream.  Our neighbors have been telling us about Dominion for a while now but we hadn’t gotten around to trying it yet.  Especially since Ben is always sucked in by the Cold Stone vortex that shoots out and sucks people in every time the door opens.  

The thing about Dominion is the homemade vegetable ice cream.  I know, it sounds crazy but when you think about it, why not slip in a serving of spinach with dessert?  I ordered a kiddie scoop of sweet potato for Chase.  I tasted a blast of sweet potato in the first bite but on the second and third all I tasted was rich creamy ice cream.  Honestly, I had to help her with the cone before her scoop fell off.  She loved every bite of it.. and then she got down to the cone.  I should preface this by saying that she had a piece of pizza at dinner that she ate crust first, so it should be no surprise that the very first thing she did with the cone was to bite the tip off.  I wonder what that means about her personality.  More crappy phone pictures:

I have so many things to write about. I’ll begin by simply saying that you can tell you had a good day when your head is pounding from all the cheap tequila. Today was a great day in spite of the crappy weather.

1. Went to the doctor today for a checkup with my new GP. I brought Chase with me and got there at 9:15 for my 9:30 appointment. At 9:30 the nurse put us back in the exam room to wait for the doc and told me to don a paper gown. I donned said gown and waited… and waited. Do you have any idea how long you can chase a toddler around in a paper gown before it falls away in tatters? Yea, there’s a reason that we don’t wear paper clothes. It was already hanging on by a thread when Chase pointed in through the armpit to make sure I knew that the gown was insufficient to cover my boobs and then reached over to just completely rip it off. Clutching the shredded remains of the gown I searched the cupboards for a new one, stuffed the old one into the trash can and did a quick change. I was pretty mad at having to wait. I was almost at the point of just cutting my losses and going home when the doc showed up. It turned out that I really like her. I have high hopes that she’ll be as good as my last GP in PHL. He was the best.

2. I’ve been stalking a pattern for a bubble dress ever since I saw a little girl sporting one on one of our recent walks. The girl’s dress was just plain black and I loved the way that looked. Of course when I went to buy fabric I bought the opposite of what I wanted. Sometimes I just don’t know what my problem is. In the end I love the way the fabric looks but what a pain in the @ss to sew. I have another yard of it. I’m going to cram it way in the back of my drawer because I never want to see it again. It was like constructing the whole thing out of pantyhose.  I again was inexplicably unable to follow the directions as written but managed to cobble together something respectable.  The best part is that it went together in one night from cutting to finishing and you have to love a dress that doesn’t need a hem.  I think I’ll have C wear it to graduation on Sunday.

3. I took some pictures of some random cuteness we picked up in the last week. I found these egg cups at T.J. Maxx. I picked up the vintage cups at value village. It’s a set of 4 and they’re super cute. I figure why not let Chase have cute cups now that she’s able to use them like a big girl and if they get chipped, meh they were cheaper than the sippy cups ever were. The juice boxes are from Costco. Chase doesn’t drink juice at home but when we’re out I find myself spending lots of money on bottle water and the like. The idea with the juice boxes is to be able to have a sip of something cold in my purse that’s not all huge and plastic. They’re adorable and only 4oz, the perfect size.

4. The giant pink beverages were an attempt at a cocktail sometime earlier this week. I saw a recipe somewhere for a Jamaican refreshment brewed from hibiscus blossoms. I wanted to try it out but took the fake it don’t make it approach and started with red zinger tea bags (artistic license). It was great until I decided to add a shot of rum. I don’t think I care for light rum. I’ll make it again as iced tea, red zinger, lime juice and sugar over ice, yum.

5. We celebrated the end of the semester today with a happy hour playgroup. Chase had 5 friends and I had five friends and everyone had a blast. I made margaritas that were so good considering how little effort went into them that it’s just stupid. At almost 1.50 each I wasn’t shelling out 30 bucks for the number of limes it would take to make enough margaritas for 5 thirsty ladies and 2 thirsty hubbies. A little research yielded the following recipe: 1-12oz can limeade, 12 oz tequila, 1/4 c cointreau, 2 qts ice I worked in two batches, poured it into a pitcher, popped it in the freezer and poured into salt-rimmed glasses as necessary. As an aside, you should probably have a blender to make these. I, of course, do not have a blender. We replaced the last one with an immersion blender when the last one died. I had to improvise a little. I started with crushed ice and used the adapter of the immersion blender that’s kind of like a food processor mini chopper thing. It was an adequate stand in and frankly after a couple of drinks no one cared anyway.

The kids had so much fun. Chase may have a new boyfriend… or two!

This is what I found in the wake of the suspicious silence. I guess that’s what you get for leaving a bag of groceries for 10 seconds. Did you do anything today but eat grapes? Yes, but only marginally so. I bought a carton of milk from Whole Foods on Monday and brought it home only to have it leak all over the fridge. As a matter of principle I felt that it needed to be returned to the store. They happily gave me a new carton in exchange and now I don’t have to feel bad about wasted milk and money.
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Since Chase proved her mettle out in the yard today I’m thinking she might need more jeans. I get all funny about her clothes. She has good jeans, cute jeans for wearing to the store and what have you. Gardening jeans are something different altogether.

I always wonder if there’s enough craft in the world for everybody. Continue

Thanks Erin, for the heads up on this great recipe from the Cheesetique. It was a little bit of a grown up mac and cheese. I’ll admit that I improvised a little out of necessity so you’ll have to take my account of the recipe with a grain of salt. Mysteriously, I couldn’t find parpadelle at Whole Foods so I bought something that looked like the swept of broken ends of lasagne noodles. They served as an adequate substitute. I was also short on some of the ingredient so I scaled the recipe back to about 3/4 of the original. At 5 bucks a pop I only bought one carton of mixed cherry tomatoes and so was a little short on the required amount. I had two leftover bits of triple cream in the fridge but decided one was a little too ‘ripe’ and tossed it ending up on the short side with cheese too so I subbed in a little cream cheese. This probably affected the sharpness of the sauce but that was probably fine because Chase gobbled it up and Ben didn’t complain. The recipe calls for two table spoon each of parsley and basil. Let me preface this by saying I love cheese and anyone who knows me knows that I also have a weakness for Brillat Savarin triple cream but honestly, I didn’t measure the basil, I just kept adding it until the smell didn’t gross me out anymore. So in the end, it tasted good but man, that’s some stinky cheese to begin with now add a little heat and wow that really pops.

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Insalata di Verdure Cotte al Prosciutto
Lidia Bastianich

Lidia is one of my favorites. Maybe my all time favorite tied with Jacques. I’ve had Lidia’s Italian Table for years and don’t think I’ve ever cooked out of it. That made it the perfect target for my first ever ‘true’ roulette. I sent Danielle a message earlier today with the name of the book and she hit me back with a page number, 219. I was disappointed to see that the recipe called for beets but was otherwise happy to give a giant tray of veg a go. I probably could have made this entirely from what I had on hand but since I planned to go out anyway decided to supplement what would otherwise have some from the freezer and cupboard with some fresh goods. Continue