#cooksoftumblr

[mychlapci]

rise and grise

#breakfast #breakfastboy #breakfastgirl #scrambledeggs #healthyliving #salad #breakfastsalad #saladliving #cooks #cooksoftiktok #cooksoftumblr #cooktok #culinary #culinaryarts #cottagecore #housewife #househouseband #tapwater #table #dining table #fork #sponsored #purchaderaycon #usecodebraekfastfor10%off #sponsorship #teadrinker#coffeedrinker #loveislove

[whatscookinwithabby]

Spaghetti kind of night 😍 with homemade cheesy garlic bread. I could eat this every day

[reginacooks]

Day 356

A better day with the balance. I’m getting better. When I’m sick, it feels like I’ll never get better and I go through bouts of terrible thoughts that I’ll have to live with whatever is going on forever and I’ll never be able to enjoy life again. Dramatic, I know. But being laid out like this has made me also reflect on people who are sick who truly have no prospects of getting well. And that’s led to my feeling gratitude, for every day, every precious moment I have with my children, for every breath I can take with ease. I know these episodes of Meniere’s will return, but at least I know they will also eventually pass.

I drove today, and tonight Billy and I will go on a walk - my first walk in about a week. I sat in our garden today and had tea. It was beautiful! I enjoyed that hour so much, just sitting, talking with Billy outside, enjoying my tea and cookies, of course, and just being outdoors. So wonderful. There are buds in our yard.

Around 6:00 I got on dinner. I had pork chops but no recipe. I looked for some online, then just decided to chuck the recipe idea. I can do this! Smeared the chops with Dijon, dipped in flour, egg, and panko w/ oregano, and fried in a little olive oil and butter. We were all kind of swooning over the delicious smell. I made some garlic green beans and Billy mashed the garlic potatoes. YUM.

[themadcuisinier]

Fried Chicken Tikka Masala and Waffles. Started with a cardamom and garam masala waffle made with almond milk, then fried chicken marinated in yogurt, garam masala, cumin, dried peppers, garlic and ginger. Topped with a maple syrup infused Indian tomato cream sauce.

[eightysixsanity]

Idk. Just something I made for lunch today. Juevos rancheros with cornbread, soft curd scrambled eggs, pepper jack, chorizo patty ground by a colleague. #food #foodporn ? #juevosrancheros #chorizo #scrambledeggs #cornbread #pepperjack #familymeal #cookslife #cooksofinstagram #cooksoftumblr

[hausofdenniswan]

What do you do when you want to make chili but only have tomato sauce instead of diced or fresh tomatoes and are too lazy to drive to the store? Make a Beef and Bean Tomato Bisque! 3-15 oz cans of tomato sauce 1 cup of milk 1 lb ground beef, browned and drained 2 cans bean of your choice (I used low sodium kidney beans) 1 cup of corn (I added this for good measure 😂) Combine the sauce and milk together in a Dutch oven. Season to taste and let simmer. Brown your meat while the bisque is simmering. Toss remaining ingredients into the bisque and let simmer for 30 minutes on med-high heat. Seasonings used: coriander, cumin, sea salt, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, allspice, ground red pepper, chili powder, minced garlic, chopped onions.

[whatscookinwithabby]

Beach Day and Fault Line sugar cookies

[reginacooks]

Day 307

Lady Gaga, you got me at “.....our flag was still there.” And down came the tears.

What stood out was the dignity of those present and the relief, that our country is moving on from such a terrible phase. The poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, whom I had never heard read before, was a symbol of rising up and moving on, of power and of youth.

Celebrations mean cake! Also, Inauguration Day calls for a special dinner. Special to me is “Spag Bol”, as the Brits call it. Spaghetti Bolognese may be one of my favorite pasta meals. If I see it on a menu at a restaurant, I have to order it. Years ago, I scribbled out my British friend Sarah’s recipe, and today I dug it up and it’s now simmering on the stove. Smells divine. 

Amazon Chocolate Cake just came out of the oven. Later on tonight, we’ll have that with our champagne. Anger, divisiveness, meanness - good riddance. You are not welcome at this table. President Joe Biden, VP Kamala Harris, I’m happy for the normalcy and the respect you will bring to your offices, and for the tone that you’ve already set to help bring us back from the brink and back on to steady ground.

Good food, starting with chopped chicken liver, an old family favorite. (Butter, onions, liver, s&p, red wine sauteed then pureed.) Spread on a warm bagel for lunch, with a cup of hot tea.

Spag Bol:

Amazon Chocolate Cake, from Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook:

Let’s celebrate a new chapter.

[reginacooks]

Day 330

No school today. Lots of time. A slow day, so I started a project: homemade ravioli. I mean, why not? Well, I guess I could answer that by saying I don’t have a pasta maker. But as one of the recipes I read said, Italians have been rolling pasta by hand for centuries. I put on my apron and got started mid-afternoon. 

I didn’t have semolina flour either, but this recipe didn’t call for it in the dough. And this is the recipe I used for the butternut squash filling, but there was so little dough and so much filling I had to do a google search to see what I can do with all the leftovers. Layered with phyllo was the best answer I found, so the phyllo is now thawing for next week. 

At dinner, I announced that this would have been easier with a pasta maker and someone said that it sounds like a good birthday present. How true! We had just enough ravioli for everyone, which means we didn’t quite have enough. But I turned the scraps into noodles, so there was that. Next time, double the dough.

[reginacooks]

Day 327

A few posts back I talked about being on a committee for church, and how I struggle with committees in general. I talked with my sister, Amiel, about it and she gave me a great suggestion. Find an emotional connection. 

The last few times I met with this committee, I followed Amiel’s advice. There was a moment when someone was suggesting that after our church service, we break out into rooms (on Zoom) and people can join a room based on an activity they’re interested in. People were throwing out ideas: hiking, cooking, parenting. There was a pause in the conversation - my window moment. I unmuted and suggested we have a crying room. The president of the board threw back her head and laughed. Others laughed. She said, “Wailing! A room for wailing!” That was my emotional connection, and I’ve felt connected ever since. Doesn’t take much to make a person feel they belong. I’m now looking forward to continuing the work involved in helping the church pledge drive, and better getting to know the others in this group.

This morning, I made Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookie dough from The Gourmet Cookbook. I wasn’t craving a baking moment after teaching today, but I was hungry, so I turned on the oven and scooped out tablespoons of dough anyway. Good call. I needed that pick-me-up with my tea. I tuned into the news and was kind of sorry for that. More angry Republicans who do not want to hold the former president accountable. For anything. Turned it off and just enjoyed my cookie. I’ve started reading a new book: “A Better Man,” a mystery by Louise Penny. I’ve read others of hers and they are fun. Nothing too serious. But an escape. 

I did a quick food-run today and decided against buying crumbled feta for THIS chicken recipe. The grocery store did not have a block of feta (I don’t like the crumbled) and standing there in the store aisle I decided that feta didn’t sound like a good idea on top of chicken after all. But I did include the dill, and that did make a positive difference. A mild herb, but very noticeable.  

I began marinating this chicken in the morning, with lots of garlic, lemon juice, oregano, and s&p. The potatoes were so wonderful, soft and oily. A big salad went supremely well on the side. 

I wonder if all the garlic we eat helps keep us healthy. No one in my family has been sick for a very long time. My kids hardly ever get sick. I cannot recommend garlic highly enough.

Here’s how much went into the marinade today:

Delish!

[reginacooks]

Day 300

This means that I have 65 days to go in order to fulfill my (fabricated by me) challenge.

Fran Lebowitz has some funny/insightful things to say about “challenges.” For one, she doesn’t like them. Rock climbing, “...anything that requires a helmut...” According to her, a challenge is something that’s hard, that you don’t want to do (that’s why it’s a challenge) but you have to do. (Laundry was her example.) She says that life is hard enough without adding fabricated challenges to it. I only partly agree. Like her, I would never sign up for anything that could cause bodily injury, like a marathon. No thank you. (I can no longer really run anyway, having pushed two human beings out of my vagina.) But I think giving oneself a challenge can make life more interesting, and maybe even more satisfying. Fulfilling that challenge can uplift a person’s self-esteem, too. (I know she’d frown at that, being the cynic that she is.) Writing this blog has put some structure to my day, and I’m glad I thought to do it at the beginning of this pandemic. I’m glad I gave myself this task - I can call it - because it’s not only brought structure, but joy as well.

Today our staff meeting was devoted to our well-being. Toward the end, someone gave a short mindfulness session. He’s the “mindfulness coordinator (?)” - didn’t catch his title - but he leads teachers in mindfulness practice. I liked him a lot. He said that our brains experience the same sensation when we are physically in a place we like, and when we’re simply thinking about a place we like. (The converse is also true.) He asked us to close our eyes and go to our favorite place in our mind. Instinctively I thought of our backyard and my new swing chair with the comfy pillow, in the fall, on a bright, sunny day. He led us through a short visualization exercise, and I really and truly did feel better afterward. I’ve just signed up for his workshop which our district is offering for free.

I’m always surprised when I hear that other people’s lives are “out of balance.” I feel like I must be the balance queen. I take care of myself! Maybe it’s a form of selfishness, but I’ve always been good at meeting my needs. Exercise, family, love, reading, and of course, food. Today in our staff meeting I heard someone say that she was so overwhelmed, and her class (in her own home on Zoom!) was so challenging, she didn’t have time during the day to go to the bathroom. When I hear that all I can think is that she’s brought that on herself. The presenter was quick to say it’s because she cares so much about her students. While that may be true, and I’m sure it is, that is not me. If I don’t take care of me first, how the heck am I going to be present for them? That has never been skewed in my life. Sorry, four-year-old students. Mine and my family’s needs come first.

Admittedly, I have the luxury of creating balance in my life partly because I have a part-time job. But when I worked full-time, for many years, I also found ways to take care of myself, every day. 

I guess it’s also a matter of what one considers “taking care of oneself.” Obviously, that varies from person to person. For me, the sunset outside my kitchen window around 4;30 p.m. today helped feed my soul. Along with the smells of pork tenderloin simmering on the stove, bathed in milk, butter, and fresh rosemary. I find cooking meditative. And I try to include everything that I really love into each day - time with my family, cooking, eating, reading, writing, walking. 

There’s a quote that I love, and I don’t know who said it, or even the exact quote but it goes something like this: How you spend your days is how you live your life. Amen to that.

[reginacooks]

Day 354

It’s wonderful to see both my kids excited about their sports. Gabe came home today from football telling me all about a great move (is it move?) he made. I basically have no idea what he’s talking about, but I’m happy for him. Interception. That’s what it was. The coach cheered and told him afterwards that those are the kind of moves (that word still seems wrong) that will get him starting. I have no idea if I’m using the right lingo here. I feel like I’m speaking in a foreign tongue when I start talking about sports. 

After dinner, he put on his helmet. He likes wearing that thing. Billy asked him if they’ve started concussion training yet. We’re laughing now.... Anyway, I’m super happy for him because he is happy. There are worse things he could be doing than playing football.  

And we haven’t seen Ethan so excited about running in such a long time, too. He did his long run the other day, eleven miles. And today he met with his team. He came home saying that he left the other guys in the dust. He has such a funny, modest way of bragging. He’s so humble, he doesn’t brag, except when he does brag it’s in such a fun-loving, sheepish way. He is completely quiet, and he surprises people by his sudden bursts of talent. 

I was so glad that we were able to have a healthy meal with so little effort. I put three whole sweet potatoes in the oven around 4:45, made a glaze for the salmon (1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 t soy sauce, 1 tea mustard), and suateed a zucchini w/ garlic, and gave the boys some peas. Dinner done. 

Tomorrow I have my PT appointment. I’m expecting miracles. I know I shouldn’t. 

[reginacooks]

Day 318

Sometimes soup is the best answer. To anything. To cold. To snow without sun. To gray skies and low moods. 

I’m grateful that my low mood took a turn mid-afternoon when a friend Face Timed me and we had a good heart-to-heart. So needed. I had tea, she had her Manhattan. And it blew fresh air into my house and heart. Billy had his own talk with a family member, and I was glad he reconnected with her. At dinner, over warm bowls of soup, we talked with the boys about school and the new quarter which begins tomorrow. New beginnings are good.

[reginacooks]

Day 316

I am smiling in this picture for three reasons: First, I’m slightly tipsy. It’s the weekend and it’s my glass of wine night. Second, I love THIS pizza and I’m happy to be making it for my family. Third, I just got off Zoom with one of my closest, oldest friends. We haven’t talked in a long time. Wow - so good to invite a friend and her beau into our home. We NEED other people! Talking with them for an hour plus was so enjoyable. Actually, it helps breathe fresh air into my relationship with Billy. Life gets kind of stale when it’s just us all the time. Our conversation with them reminded me that it’s so important to reach out and connect with others. Especially now. (BTW, I’m wearing my favorite Slices of Citrus earrings. Real blood oranges.)

Oh my - this pizza was good. I made two of them, which the four of us ate entirely. 

And then there was this sunset outside my kitchen window. Many reasons to be glad. Let’s not forget that, REGINA!

[reginacooks]

Day 313

My son took off for a run late afternoon when Zoom School was finally over for the day. Minutes later, he appeared out the window, running back to the house. Something was up. “Where’s Winston?” he asked. He looked scared and was looking on the ground near the house. “There’s a cat in a cage. It looks like Winston. I can’t tell.” I called Billy from the lower level to see if he was down there. Nope. Ethan was frantic, then Billy was frantic. Years ago, a neighbor of Billy’s had a cat who was put in a cage by another neighbor and doused with water. Today happens to be very cold outside, and wet. I told Ethan to go back to the house and check if the cat has on a collar. Our cat wears a blue one.  Ethan was about to run back when in ran Winston, scraggy-looking, sopping wet, looking traumatized.

Billy put on his coat and shoes to go speak with the neighbor. 

We blasted the heat, and Winston went under the hutch to lay on the heat vent and clean himself. He wouldn’t let us dry him off. Ethan sat by the vent near Winston, and I went to the kitchen to have my tea. But that’s when I heard Ethan crying. I went back and sat by him, and told him he did the right thing by coming back to the house. I told him that Winston would be OK. Ethan sat  huddled on the floor stroking his cat and I put my arms around his neck, rubbing his back. Ethan cried some more.

I am always profoundly moved when Ethan cries. Several years ago, when Billy and I were reading up on kids with ADHD, we learned that these kids sometimes do not show empathy, or much of it. And while I would never say that Ethan doesn’t have empathy, he is very reserved in his emotions. I always feel like it’s kind of an honor when he shows deep emotion in front of me. It’s a way of letting me in. 

Having an animal - Winston is our third cat - has been a comfort like no other. Winston is aloof, he’s not a lap cat, and we cannot keep him inside. But he lets us nestle our heads into his fur. He lets us pet him and scratch him. When we first got him two years ago from the Humane Society, we thought he was a horse inhabiting the body of a cat for all the galloping he did up and down the stairs. He’s mellowed, but he still can be very frisky, so the boys have fun playing with him, teasing him with the red string, with his cat nip, with the fly swatter which he likes patted on his rear end. 

When Billy came back from talking to the neighbor (who is Asian and doesn’t speak English well) what he gathered was that the neighbor was trying to catch mice who were nibbling at the wires on his car. Maybe he meant rat? He had just pulled up, so maybe his kids sprayed Winston with water while he was in the cage. Billy said he was very apologetic, it was hard to argue with him. But Billy told him there are other cats in the neighborhood who roam free. Who knows if he understood. 

Then the neighbor came up our front walk, apologizing again. I saw what Billy meant. He was profusely apologetic, saying he put the cage away. And that it won’t happen again. We do wonder if he fabricated the story about the mice. Hard to say, and hard to know how to respond, or if we should respond further. We wonder if our cat will be safe hanging out around the neighborhood.  

Ethan put his shoes back on again to head out the door for his run. I saw him pause, reflect. Our cats, and the passing of them, have helped our kids to feel deep emotions.

Winston is hanging back, but he’s going to be OK. 

Now, dinner. I took a risk tonight. I was so in the mood for spicy. We’ve been eating a lot of mild-flavored food lately. I wanted something Asian, with heat. But Chinese food really intimidates me. I decided to search on the NY Times Cooking site, do a little investigating. The first dish that popped up looked wonderful. I read it - yep, I can do that, yep, I have that ingredient. Yep, I can buy that today. Yes, all around. But on further reading, I noticed that the recipe called for deep frying the chicken in three cups of oil! I scrolled on. And I landed on this wonderful recipe: Gong Bao Chicken with Peanuts. The risk I took was that for the first time ever I cooked with dried chile peppers. Shocking that I’ve never used them before. I’ve been afraid that they would be too spicy. Yes, this was spicy, but removing the seeds takes away a lot of heat. And for me, this was perfectly spicy. Heat, but not overly so. 

Cooking is a journey. Whenever I venture beyond the familiar, I always learn something new. And right now, my taste buds are doing the happy dance.

A lot of ginger and garlic:

[reginacooks]

Day 302

I loved our post-dinner conversation. We all just hung out at the table, talking about running, college majors, travel, places we’d been, football. Grrrrr. Gabriel wants to play football when they resume school. Ethan has been trying to dissuade him from doing so, as are Billy and I. But as his parents, we haven’t said much about it because if we’re too forceful, he’ll want to do it even more. So, we’re just hoping the urge to play football will fade away. 

I spent a very long time in the kitchen this afternoon. I finished reading my book this morning (Portrait of a Turkish Family) and tried to rest this afternoon after teaching. Couldn’t fall asleep. I think I’m a little sleep-deprived at the moment. Too wound up, I guess. So, I headed to the kitchen around 4:30 and stayed there until dinner at 7. Billy went out to get a bottle of wine, mid-cooking, and I had a glass of red. Haven’t had any wine this week, so that was something I immensely enjoyed. 

I took a long time in the kitchen because I was making Vietnamese spring rolls, which are very easy to make, just a bit time-consuming. Lots of little steps for each roll. The peanut sauce is a must with these. Without the sauce, they are very plain, verging on bland. With the sauce, they are good.  I wanted to have some of these tonight with the stir-fry (using the leftover pork from earlier in the week). Gabriel loved the spring rolls. I liked them, Billy a little less so, and Ethan hardly at all. My intention was to make them for our trip to the winery tomorrow. I made several; I also made a cheese spread with all the Bulgarian feta I have, and cream cheese, lemon, and olive oil. Tomorrow morning, I’ll make an apple pie. There will be too much food, but when did anyone ever complain about too much food?