Rock Soup or Flank Steak?

Posted on by Amy
While we waited for our dinner to braise this afternoon, the girls and I went outside, where Miss proceeded to make her own dinner of Rock Soup. It all started with puddles this morning, which we used to “paint” the driveway with sticks and grass, and then sponges and sponge brushes. This afternoon, however, the puddles were all dried up, so I got Miss a bucket of water and she proceeded to “paint” some more.





Who knew that a bucket of water and some sponges could provide such entertainment?? Lass just loved being in the grass.





After a while, the painting stopped and Miss said, “I stiwing (stirring!)” so I asked her what she was making. “Wock soup!” was her answer.

Everyone had to taste some and we “oohed” and “aahed” over how delicious it was.
Lass especially enjoyed it.
Shortly after filling up on Rock Soup, I had to come inside to finish fixing our real dinner. Tonight was the night I used our most recent “Chopped” ingredient, flank steak. I decided to use what I learned in my cooking class on braising to make the flank steak, since it is a pretty tough cut of meat. The dish? Braised Flank Steak Stew with Fennel and Leeks. It was delicious. Even Miss gobbled it up. Here’s the recipe:
Braised Flank Steak Stew with Fennel and Leeks
Ingredients:
1.5 lb (approx) flank steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp minced fresh lemon thyme (or regular thyme)
Salt and Pepper
Flour
1 cup chopped carrots (about two handfuls of baby carrots)
2 celery ribs chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup red wine
zest from one lemon
beef stock
1.5 lbs Dutch baby potatoes
1/2 stick butter
vegetable oil
2 fennel bulbs, sliced
1 large leek, halved, rinsed, and sliced
4 tsp sugar
Put the cut up steak, thyme, and garlic in a bowl and add a few tablespoons of olive oil (enough to wet all the steak) and some salt and pepper. Mix to get the meat well coated. Put in refrigerator overnight.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. While your pan is heating, start flouring your meat (make sure you shake off the excess flour). Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and let it get hot, then add your meat in batches.
Get the meat pieces nicely browned. Then remove to a plate, add more oil, and do the next batch. Repeat if necessary.
I had to cook the meat in three batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Lass woke up from her nap after the second batch and decided to help me out.
Once all the meat is browned, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and put in the carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until they start to soften and brown.
Then pour in the red wine. Let it cook for a minute or two to reduce a bit. Then put the meat back in the pan, making sure to also get any accumulated juices on the plate poured into the pan. Add the lemon zest and enough beef stock to cover the meat half to two-thirds of the way. Cover the pan and put it in the oven for about 2 hours.
About a half hour before your meat is done, start cooking the rest of the stew. Cut the larger baby potatoes in half. Put them in a sauce pan with enough cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil and boil until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain off water and add butter and salt to taste. Smash up the potatoes as you stir in the butter.
Once your potatoes start to cook, put another skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Slice your fennel and leek. Blot them dry with a paper towel. Put about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in once your pan is hot. When the oil is hot, put in the fennel and leek and stir to coat. Stir them occasionally. You want them to start to brown and caramelize. Add sugar during this process (fennel has very little natural sugar in it, so adding sugar helps it to caramelize nicely). Cook until softened and browned.
Pull the meat out of the oven. Taste the sauce and check the consistency. When I took mine out the consistency was perfect, but the sauce needed more salt. Add S&P as necessary and adjust thickness of sauce as needed (to thicken whisk some cornstarch and beef stock together and add, or add more stock to thin). Put some potatoes in a bowl and top with beef mixture and then fennel/leek mixture. Makes about 4 servings.
I would not have done anything differently with this dish other than maybe skipping the leek and adding a third fennel bulb. The fennel added a delicious sweetness and crunchy texture, but the leek didn’t really seem to bring anything to the dish. My husband was wishing for more fennel, though I thought the ratio of fennel to the rest of the dish was okay, so maybe I would add more fennel, maybe not. I guess since the elements are put together after they’re cooked and each person can choose how much fennel to add on top, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to cook another bulb and then each person can add as much as they want. Otherwise, I was extremely happy with the dish! Next week, two ingredients (in one dish)!

Dance! Momma

Posted on by Amy
Last night, we went dancing.

After a fun-filled day of play date and picnic at the park followed by naps and more outdoor fun, I put on my favorite dancing shoes and my husband and I went to a grown up party.




We ate delicious food, met new people, drank adult beverages, listened to a great band, and most importantly danced ourselves silly. We danced with the completely un-selfconscious frenzy of Those Who Do Not Get Out Much. We danced with joy and 80s moves galore to songs like “Footloose” and “Living on a Prayer.” “Ballroom Blitz” made me nearly pass out (and pee my pants a little). We danced for over three hours straight. We danced until we were sweaty and laughing like fools and dizzy and falling down with exhaustion as the band packed up after playing a fantastic show. We danced like the world was about to end… Rapture indeed.
It was the kind of night that kept us talking about how much fun we had as we dragged ourselves home and into bed. The kind of night that made us feel like we had way too little sleep (when Lass woke up at 6). The kind of night that led to laughing recaps of favorite songs and best moves over coffee and breakfast and Saturday morning snuggles.





It was the kind of night that serves as a reminder that, as much as we love being with our girls and spending time as a family of four, it is great to have some time to be totally focused on each other for a while (even if I was texting the babysitter during the band’s break). I like to dress up and go out with my hubby and have a conversation that isn’t interrupted every three seconds. We don’t make a rule when we go out not to talk about the girls. We don’t need to. Sometimes we talk about them and that’s okay, but we can spend plenty of time talking about anything and nothing. Last night we barely talked at all. The band was too loud. So we laughed and gestured and sang as loudly as we could and occasionally yelled an “I love this one!!” and tried to out-do each other’s dance moves. Speaking of which, last night was the kind of night that reminded me that I am not as young as I once was. I am feeling that dancing today. And it was the kind of night that reminded me that head banging to ACDC = majorly sore neck in the morning. As Miss would say, “Owie.” Just relaxing tonight.

All By Herself

Posted on by Amy
Yesterday I helped Lass up to here:

She danced and played music and thought she was big stuff.


So big in fact, that today she decided to get herself up.
Big Sis gave her lots of encouragement and congratulations.
She was so proud of herself!

Three Years

Posted on by Amy
Three years ago today, I married the man of my dreams. I know. Saying “the man of my dreams” is totally cliche. However, I think the reason many phrases become cliche is that they are so true. My husband really is the man of my dreams. Before I met him, if I thought of the kind of person I wanted to, or dreamed of, spending my life with, I would have described him. Handsome. Intelligent. Funny. Considerate. Hard-working. Sans piercings… You name it. If I once wished for a quality in a potential mate, he has it. And then some.

Another way I could describe my husband is to say that he is my soul mate. All right. Another cliche. But it’s true! The man could have been created especially for me. He gets me. We’re a great team. He completes me. Oops! There’s another one 🙂

Okay, how about this? My hubby is my best friend. My BFF. Cliche? Maybe. But also true. I would rather spend time with him than anyone else. I love to spend time chatting with him about all sorts of things. I also just love to be in the same room with him even if we’re not talking. He could be working on his computer and I might be reading, and I will always choose to read my book in the same room as him just to be near him.
He is the person I look forward to waking up with every morning. He is my partner in all things. He makes me laugh. He does the dishes while I put the girls to bed. He encourages me to pursue my interests, like book clubs and cooking classes. He lets me know in many ways how much he appreciates me. He does fun things with me like our “Chopped” at home adventure. We share the same values. He loves me and respects me and takes care of me. He is a wonderful dad to our girls.


Here’s to three years of wedded bliss, harmonious matrimony, living real life every day with the man of my dreams. My soul mate. My best friend. My husband is all these things. Truly. Cliche or not. He floats my boat. Lights my fire. Trips my trigger. Yep. I love him.

They Listen

Posted on by Amy
Ever have those moments (or days) when you swear your child doesn’t hear a word you say? When it seems like your little ones are intentionally ignoring you? When you feel like you have to repeat yourself ten times before your darling acknowledges you’ve spoken, and then half the time you get a response of “I don’t want to”?

 

Hello? Hello?


I told her at least three times to stop jumping on this ball before she stepped down.

Such is life with a toddler, I suppose. And of course, I know Miss hears me. She knows the things I’ve taught her. She can say her ABCs and sings all sort of songs I’ve sung to her. She can sort of count to 20 (the 14, 15, 16, 17 gets a little muddled) and she knows the sounds that all of her letters make. She can recite all or most of many of the books we have read over and over (one of my favorites is when she “reads” Brown Bear, Brown Bear and instead of saying “Teacher, Teacher, what do you see?” she says “T-shirt, T-shirt…” Perhaps I need to enunciate a little more). She typically uses her manners nicely. I hear her using phrases we have said to her many times, like “Keep trying” and “That’s not a toy,” or even “No Ma’am!” (said firmly to her sister). She recently started saying “Damn it!” after I said that in front of her once. Of course, much to my chagrin, she spent several moments in front of my in-laws last week saying over and over, “Damn-it-Damn-it-Damn-it!” while walking around their room frowning and pointing her finger emphatically. Lovely.

 

The point is. The kid hears what I say, even when she is studiously ignoring it. Both of my girls hear what I say all day long.

 

Yesterday Miss showed me something different about her capacity to hear me. She showed me that she really listens and internalizes the positive things that I say to her. Of course I’ve always known that she does, and this isn’t really a grand epiphany. Obviously a toddler/preschooler internalizes what she hears and sees from her parents all the time. But yesterday I had a moment when I saw just how important it is to tell my girls I love them a hundred times a day. To tell them how beautiful and smart and good and kind and strong they are. I tell them these things constantly, and now I have been reinforced. Yesterday Miss repeatedly stated, “My Mommy wubs me” and did this adorable patting of her chest with both hands. She did the same with “My Daddy wubs me.” I know, I’ve already posted here about the little love fest we’ve been having around here lately, but this is different. As amazing and swoon-worthy as it is to hear my two-year-old repeatedly saying “I wub you Momma” and many other variations on that statement, it was even more rewarding to hear her saying in such a heartfelt way in her tiny little voice, “My Mommy, she wubs me.” And just as good, when we were singing a song about her eyes she said, “My eyes are pwetty.” Yes. Cha-ching!

 

Hearing this from my older girl just thrills me and I hope to hear lots more of it from her and similar things from her sister. I know there will be days when the “I love you Moms” won’t be so forthcoming, but as long as my girls know how much their Old Mom “wubs” them, we’ll be okay. They might curse me someday for any number of imagined tortures. But deep down they’ll know, if I say something like “You-are-not-going-out-of-the-house-wearing-that-studded-leather-biker-jacket-I-don’t-care-if-you-bought-it-with-your-own-money,” I’m saying it out of love and a desire to not have my darling daughter look like a Hell’s Angels groupie (and in case you’re curious, yes, my Mom said something almost exactly like that to me 20-ish years ago). Hopefully somehow they’ll remember that things like curfews, and sleepovers not permitted because the other kid’s parents are sketchy, and “don’t forget to floss” nagging are all coming from the place within a Momma where every hope and dream for nothing but the very best for her children resides.


 

And if my girls remember that their Momma and Daddy told them every day that they are beautiful and smart and funny and good and kind and strong, maybe it won’t sting so much if other kids sometimes tease or tell them otherwise. Maybe (please oh please) they won’t really care if the boy they kind of like doesn’t return the sentiment. Hopefully, when they make mistakes or experience failures, they will not be defined by them. Hopefully they will be confident and kind and strong. Maybe it all starts with “My eyes are pwetty.” Yes. They listen.




They Listen

Posted on by Amy

Ever have those moments (or days) when you swear your child doesn’t hear a word you say? When it seems like your little ones are intentionally ignoring you? When you feel like you have to repeat yourself ten times before your darling acknowledges you’ve spoken, and then half the time you get a response of “I don’t want to”?

Hello. Hello?
Such is life with a toddler, I suppose. And of course, I know she hears me. She knows the things I’ve taught her. She can say her ABCs and sings all sort of songs I’ve sung to her. She can sort of count to 20 (the 14, 15, 16, 17 gets a little muddled) and she knows the sounds that all of her letters make. She can recite all or most of many of the books we have read over and over (one of my favorites is when she “reads” Brown Bear, Brown Bear and instead of saying “Teacher, Teacher, what do you see?” she says “T-shirt, T-shirt…” Perhaps I need to enunciate a little more). She typically uses her manners nicely. I hear her using phrases we have said to her many times, like “Keep trying” and “That’s not a toy,” or even “No Ma’am!” (said firmly to her sister). She recently started saying “Damn it!” after I said that in front of her once. Of course, much to my chagrin, she spent several moments in front of my in-laws last week saying over and over, “Damn-it-Damn-it-Damn-it!” while walking around their room frowning and pointing her finger emphatically. Lovely.
The point is. The kid hears what I say, even when she is studiously ignoring it.
Yesterday she showed me something different about her capacity to hear me. She showed me that she really listens and internalizes the positive things that I say to her. Of course I always knew that she does, and this isn’t really a grand epiphany. Obviously a toddler/preschooler internalizes what she hears and sees from her parents all the time. But yesterday I had a moment when I saw just how important it is to tell my girls I love them a hundred times a day. To tell them how beautiful and smart and good and kind and strong they are. I tell them these things constantly, and now I have been reinforced. Yesterday Miss repeatedly stated, “My Mommy wubs me” and gave me a hug. Now, I’ve already posted here about the little love fest we’ve been having around here lately. As amazing and swoon-worthy as it is to hear my two-year-old repeatedly saying “I wub you Momma” and many other variations on that statement, it was much more rewarding to hear her saying in such a heartfelt way in her tiny little voice, “My Mommy, she wubs me.” And just as good, when we were singing a song about her eyes she said, “I have pwetty eyes.” Yes. Cha-ching.
Hearing this from my older girl just thrills me. ‘Cause I know there will be days when the “I love you Moms” won’t be so forthcoming, but as long as my girls know how much their Mommy “wubs” them, we’ll be okay. They might curse me someday for any number of imagined tortures. But deep down they’ll know that “You-are-not-going-out-of-the-house-wearing-that-studded-leather-biker-jacket-I-don’t-care-if-you-bought-it-with-your-own-money” (yep, my Mom said something like that to me 20-ish years ago) comes from love and the curfews and sleepovers not permitted because the other kids’ parents are sketchy

Movie Day

Posted on by Amy
This was yesterday









It was a beautiful day and I knew that it was supposed to get cold again this weekend (as in highs under 50 degrees), so we took full advantage of the warmth. We stayed outside all day, even having a picnic in the front yard instead of coming inside to eat lunch.


Today is kind of gloomy and cold, and Miss woke up with a low-grade fever. She hasn’t shown any other symptoms, but didn’t want to do much playing other than lying on the couch and maybe hiding under the covers.



So I decided to make it a movie day. We started out with a new Care Bears movie (she loves the Care Bears!) and then put in Madagascar (the “Wion Moobie”) after lunch.
I’m not much of a TV person, and normally I wouldn’t let her watch two movies in one day, but sometimes you have to break your own rules, especially when one of your little one isn’t feeling well. I would much rather have days like yesterday, outside playing all day, rather than sitting in front of the TV. I’d also rather have my girl feeling well and being her little spunky self. But since she isn’t feeling great today, a movie day is a nice change of pace. It’s a real treat. Something totally different, which makes it that much more special and fun. She thought it was pretty cool, and it was a great opportunity to all snuggle on the couch.
Unfortunately this afternoon her fever started creeping up.
She didn’t even finish watching Madagascar. She asked to go to bed. She never does that!
My poor girl had the hardest time falling asleep, but fortunately the acetaminophen kicked in and she was able to get comfortable and get some rest. Her fever went up high enough that I called for a doctor’s appointment for this afternoon. It breaks my heart to see her feeling sick. I’m hoping this will be just a quick bug and my sunshine girl will be back to feeling like herself by tomorrow.

Lots of Love and Lobsters

Posted on by Amy
Miss has been overflowing with love these past few days. She’s always a pretty loving girl, but these past few days she has been extra affectionate. Example: A couple of days ago we spent 10-15 minutes sitting on her bed, during which time she said over and over again, “Momma, I wub you Momma!” and “I wub you so much Momma” and “Momma, I so pwoud of you!” and “Awww, I wub my Mommy!” She gave hugs and kisses and patted my back and snuggled up to me. I was soaking it up.
These days she’s giving extra love to me, to her baby doll “Big Baby,” and all her other special toys that she sleeps with (Elmo, Bear, and Teddy Bear). She does this funny little wiggle and scrunches her face up when she is saying how much she “wubs” something or someone. It is enough to make me turn to mush.

Of course Miss doles out the love to her sister too. “I wub my Lass” (she uses Lass’s real name though), “Weew (we’re) best fweinds.”

Sometimes she gives love to her sister a little too much. . .

She’s also giving extra love to our dogs. “I wub my Tessa,” she says. We recently found out our older dog has liver cancer and I have explained to Miss that she’s sick. Yesterday Miss took one of her play pots and put some toy food in it and kept trying to give it to the poor dog. I asked her what she had made for Tessa and she said “I made chicken soup for Tessa to feew betteh!”
I don’t know what has prompted this outpouring of extra love from my big girl, but I’ll take it. I am trying to burn into my brain the feel of her little squeezes and the sound of her voice saying, “I wub you Momma.” I never want to forget her little wiggle as she nestles up to me and coos “Ooo-hoo-hoo, you so pwetty Momma.” The love from my girls. It’s like a drug and I can’t get enough of it. It’s a salve for the moments when I am tired and crabby and snap at Miss more than I’d like to admit. Today has been a day with too many of those not-so-lovely moments, which is probably why I’ve chosen to write about these, my little loving girls. This is the stuff I need to think about when I’m feeling frayed, worn out, frazzled, from the stuff of being stay-at-home Mommy. I need to think about it because it lifts my spirits instantly, but also because I need to remind myself that if I wasn’t stay-at-home Mommy, I might not get these moments, or maybe not as many of them. And I wouldn’t miss them for anything.
And now on to my “Chopped” adventure and recipes for the week. This was my third week of our home version of Chopped. The ingredient this week was lobster. I have never cooked lobster before, and only rarely ever eaten it, so yesterday I splurged at the grocery store and bought five lobster tails. My idea was to use the lobster in two ways. I wanted to make it into a salad and use it as a kind of stuffing for an open-face halved avocado, and then make a stuffing to put into a split lobster tail. I used mostly the same flavors in the two stuffings. It went very well and the finished meal was delicious, if I do say so myself.
Here’s the recipe:
I used 5 lobster tails (though you could probably use 6, or even 7; see below). Three of them I boiled for 8 minutes, as instructed, and the other two I took out after about 6 minutes, since I was going to use them as the stuffed lobsters and didn’t want them to get overcooked when putting them into the oven with the stuffing. However, in retrospect, I would cook all of the lobster tails for the full 8 minutes. See my comments at the end of the recipe for how and why I would do this part differently.
Lobster Salad
3 boiled lobster tails, broken into small pieces (I’m sure you could also use lump crab meat)
1 stick melted butter
1 Tbsp minced capers (rinse capers before chopping them)
1/2 tsp dried dill
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Mix all ingredients together and put in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes, just to let it thicken up a little. Don’t chill too long or the butter will solidify and the salad with be very thick and dense (if it does get too cold, you can just mix it well to break it up again and it will be fine). Cut 3 avocados in half (I used 2, but there was enough salad to do 3, I think), remove the pit, and spoon the lobster salad on top. You could also serve this salad on a bed of spinach, or maybe in a wrap or sandwich or with crackers.
Stuffed Lobster Tail
3 Lobster tails, cooked and split down middle (I used 2, but there was enough stuffing for 3, maybe even 4)
3 pieces white bread
2 scallions, minced
1/2 Tbsp minced capers
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 stick melted butter
1/2 tsp dried dill
Combine all ingredients but lobster to make stuffing. When I made this, I took two lobster tails out of the boiling water a little early for this part of the meal. As mentioned above, in retrospect, I would do this differently and go ahead and cook all the lobster tails for the full 8 minutes. I took the two tails out early to try to prevent over cooking the lobster, since I planned to stuff the tails and then put them in the oven. However, one of the tails I took out early was not cooked enough to even be able to get it out of the shell (it was still mushy). So I put it in the microwave to finish cooking the meat and used it as one of the three lobster tails in the lobster salad. I used the other tail that I took out early (not sure why this one wasn’t as undercooked and came out of the shell easily) and one that I cooked the full 8 minutes to do the stuffed lobster tails, and they both ended up being a little bit overcooked after baking them with the stuffing inside. So, bake the stuffing separately at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Then stuff it in the split lobster tails, as shown below.

While you’re stuffing the tails, preheat the broiler. Put the stuffed lobster tails under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the top of the stuffing and warm the lobster a bit. Plate it with a stuffed avocado and serve. I probably should have prepared another vegetable to complete the meal a bit better, and I know the way I served it makes it look kind of like a goofy face. I couldn’t resist.

I’m really proud of how these recipes turned out. I got a little bit of inspiration for the stuffed avocados from a novel I was reading (the main characters ate crab-stuffed avocados that were steamed), but other than the beginnings of an idea, I came up with these recipes on my own, using an ingredient that I was not familiar with cooking at all. And other than changing the process of cooking a little, I would not change the recipe at all. This week was really fun, as my husband was very impressed. I think pretty soon we’ll be switching to two ingredients each week (to be used in the same meal). Happy eating!

Midwest Love

Posted on by Amy
We wait a long time for spring here. Sometimes, like this year, it’s a really long wait. We cherish the few days of sun and warmth we get in between March and April snowstorms (we had another snowstorm after I confidently posted here that spring had arrived for sure). But eventually, it always comes. And spring here is so worth the wait.
This is the Midwest.
We have spectacular thunderstorms. Miss has learned to embrace them rather than fear them.


And we have beautiful, perfect days of sunshine and breezes and 75 degree weather. This past weekend we were at the Farm and many of Miss and Lass’s cousins came down to visit. It was so fun to watch the girls with their cousins playing and getting all sorts of attention as the “out-of-town” cousins. It makes me sad that they don’t get to do this more often, but they sure did take full advantage of the time they had to play. Saturday was a day of playing chase and rolling in the grass, horsing around and swinging, sidewalk chalking and kite flying and more chasing while mommas visited and kept watch.





















And just in time for the appetites that got worked up, a weiner roast for dinner, complete with s’mores for dessert. Miss had never had s’mores before. In fact, she’d never had marshmallows before. She was puzzled and thrilled by their stretchiness and gooey-ness and stickiness.











And after dinner? A sword fight with indulgent older cousins of course!
On guard!

The evening was topped off with a friendly game of softball, in which even the littlest ones were allowed to join.




After a few minor injuries, the game was switched to kickball, which Miss enjoyed even more.




When you wait so long for it, you appreciate it so much and try hard to make the most of every moment during days like these. Miss keeps saying, “Where’s my kids?” and “I want to play with my cousins.” I’m sad that we live so far from family, but happy that we can have days like these. Maybe it’s like the weather. Maybe since we have to wait so long between visits with family, when we have them we make the most of every moment.
I’d like to add that we were traveling on Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers I know. My Mom, my Grandma, my Mother in law, my Auntie, all my “mom-friends”. . . Thanks for all you bring to my life.