Today we traveled through Milwaukee and stopped by Trader Joe's for some fresh food inspired goodness. I wasn't sure what we would make for dinner tonight. Given the time and how tired we were from a day of bridesmaid dress shopping, it had to be fresh, easy, and satisfying. I usually like to start with the vegetable section. If you find your vegetable of choice, your imagination can start to run about potential pairings. Trader Joe's always has a great vegetable selection for cheap. $2.50 for a plate of broccoli rabe for two. $2.50 for a container of fresh cheese tortellini. $2.50 for a jar of alfredo sauce. $2.50 for a container of diced pancetta. 30 min. dinner solved.
Pancetta Alfredo Tortellini & Sauteed Brocolli Rabe:
Serves 3
1 tray of broccolli rabe
1 tray of Tortellini (about 2 cups) from Trader Joe's
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup diced salt pork (bacon, pancetta, salt pork, or ground italian sausage meat).
dried thyme
dried basil
olive oil
1/2 cup water or chicken stock
Get 6 cups of water to a boil and add tortellini. Cook for about 12-15 min (depending on your preference of doneness).
On a large frying/sautee pan or wok, brown the meat in about 2 tbsp of olive oil together with dried thyme. When meat is brown (about 5-8 minutes), take out and set aside.
Now throw the broccoli rabe into the frying pan to brown a little. Add water to steam for about 10 minutes. Add more water if it dries up in the pan. When broccoli rabe is done, take out.
Now, pour alfredo into the frying pan and mix well with the bits in the pan. Add a sprinkle of dried basil into the sauce and let it come to a light bubbly boil. Turn off the heat.
Drain the pasta and pour into the pan with sauce. Now add the meat last and mix all together.
Serve pasta with side of fresh broccoli rabe and a side of chilled chardonnay. A delicious and surprisingly light meal in less than 30 minutes.
Bon appetit and Namaste!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Pork Chops and Gravy!
Since moving to Wisconsin, I have seriously learned to cook just about anything because nearly nothing is accessible here as far as food beyond beef and potato is concerned. No, that's an exaggeration. Many ingredients are available, just unfortunately not cooked accordingly. Also, given how my life has changed with our busy professional lives and babies and dogs, it's even trickier trying to make gourmet inspired meals on the cheap quickly. So I think that I may dedicate the next chapter of my blog from this point forward to professional mom-inspired healthy quick meals on a budget. It is my hope to one day have these made into youtube videos or into a book for fun. They recipes are too delicious and awesome not to share. To begin, I will start with tonight's meal.
Pork Chop in Mushroom Gravy, Baked Scalloped Potato and Jullienne Fried Veggies.
10 min prep. 60 min cook time.
Serves 4
4 pieces of boneless pork chops (1/2 - 3/4 inch thick)
kosher salt
crushed black pepper
worchester sauce (3 tablespoon)
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced mushroom of choice
2-3 tbsp flour
1/4 can chicken stock
yellow squash julianne
asparagus
1 small tangerine
5 small yukon gold potato - sliced 1 mm thick.
dried thyme
Slice potatoes and place in small baking dish. Fill with water and soak for 3 min. Dispose of water and season with salt, pepper, dried thyme and olive oil to preference. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 385 F for 60 min.
Julianne veggies. Place on a nonstick frying pan. Sprinkle kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil and juice of half a tangerine (or any kind of sweet citrus). Hold off cooking until the potato is 30 min into cooking.
Marinate pork chops for 30 min with salt, pepper ,dried thyme, and worchester sauce.
When the potato is about 30 min from finishing, beging heating a nonstick frying pan with olive oil. Add pork chops and cook 5 min each side. A little longer if the meat is 1 inch or thicker. After a total of about 10-12 min, take the meat off the pan and set aside. Now throw in the mushroom in the pan used for the meat and saute with little more olive oil. Add the juice of the other tangerine if you like to deglaze the pan.
Meanwhile, start frying the veggies in the other nonstick pan and allow the veggies to char a little per side.
As the mushroom starts to cook all around and brown, sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp flour evenly and mix into the mushroom. Quickly add 1/2 can of chicken stock and mix the floured mushroom into the stock to avoid clumping. Let the sauce cook at a low bubbling boil for about 5 min. Add more stock if necessary to prevent sauce from being too thick.
Meanwhile, stir the veggies to keep from burning too much on any side.
Once the mushroom sauce is done, add the porkchops back into the pan with the sauce and keep warm until the potato is done.
This is a most midwestern inspired dish that has become of my downhome favorite healthy quick gourmet inspired meals. The total cost of this dish for 4 people turns out to be less than $8.00.
Bonapetite and Namaste!
Pork Chop in Mushroom Gravy, Baked Scalloped Potato and Jullienne Fried Veggies.
10 min prep. 60 min cook time.
Serves 4
4 pieces of boneless pork chops (1/2 - 3/4 inch thick)
kosher salt
crushed black pepper
worchester sauce (3 tablespoon)
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced mushroom of choice
2-3 tbsp flour
1/4 can chicken stock
yellow squash julianne
asparagus
1 small tangerine
5 small yukon gold potato - sliced 1 mm thick.
dried thyme
Slice potatoes and place in small baking dish. Fill with water and soak for 3 min. Dispose of water and season with salt, pepper, dried thyme and olive oil to preference. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 385 F for 60 min.
Julianne veggies. Place on a nonstick frying pan. Sprinkle kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil and juice of half a tangerine (or any kind of sweet citrus). Hold off cooking until the potato is 30 min into cooking.
Marinate pork chops for 30 min with salt, pepper ,dried thyme, and worchester sauce.
When the potato is about 30 min from finishing, beging heating a nonstick frying pan with olive oil. Add pork chops and cook 5 min each side. A little longer if the meat is 1 inch or thicker. After a total of about 10-12 min, take the meat off the pan and set aside. Now throw in the mushroom in the pan used for the meat and saute with little more olive oil. Add the juice of the other tangerine if you like to deglaze the pan.
Meanwhile, start frying the veggies in the other nonstick pan and allow the veggies to char a little per side.
As the mushroom starts to cook all around and brown, sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp flour evenly and mix into the mushroom. Quickly add 1/2 can of chicken stock and mix the floured mushroom into the stock to avoid clumping. Let the sauce cook at a low bubbling boil for about 5 min. Add more stock if necessary to prevent sauce from being too thick.
Meanwhile, stir the veggies to keep from burning too much on any side.
Once the mushroom sauce is done, add the porkchops back into the pan with the sauce and keep warm until the potato is done.
This is a most midwestern inspired dish that has become of my downhome favorite healthy quick gourmet inspired meals. The total cost of this dish for 4 people turns out to be less than $8.00.
Bonapetite and Namaste!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Who? What?
What is a perfectionist? Is it someone who desires to control every detail of their environment and life? That's an impossible task. Is it someone who makes an art of controlling uncontrollable chaos? With a lot of compromise to the little details that may matter. Lately I've been looking at myself in the mirror, feeling half proud about my recent weight loss but also a little depressed about the bags under my eyes. I look completely worn out and aged. From emotionally draining stress, from defiency of fun, from lack of good shopping and poorly fit clothing. Which hits me when I meet moms my age or a little older around town who look completely gorgeous, glossy lipped, flawlessly made up skin, shiny perfectly sculpted hair, soft tender hands, awesome intelligent personality, super stylish...I wonder what amount of energy and time it takes to look that way and keep looking so perfectly that way. I know that image is an important part of the business I'm in I have to look "put together". But with everything that takes up my time and day, it's a tall order. Waking up at 7am to get babies ready for the day, heading to the office with infant in tow, all the work I have to do to get my business ready for launch, heading home every day at 4pm to cook dinner, picking up my preschooler at 5:30 pm, feeding family, cleaning dishes, bathing babies, cleaning house and/or laundry, caring for dogs, finding time to shower, putting my preschooler to bed, nursing the baby throughout the day. I'm usually not done till around 11:30p.m. - 12:30a.m. at best. I'd be lucky to have just 15 minutes in the evening to sit down over a quiet glass of wine. I feel lately that I've just been managing chaos, juggling insanity. I feel like it's been like this for a while. I've become the grey grid line on a grid sheet supporting the drawings on it.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Darle a la luce.
The Italians have a saying, "Darle A La Luce." "To Give To the Light." My second daughter was born October 1, 2011. Welcome to the world Casey Quynh Garrels. We are blessed to have you in our lives.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Today my daughter turns 3. I can't believe how time flies. She is no longer a baby but is a self declared big girl. Just last year exactly to date, I posted on my facebook page the following comment, "My baby turns two today! Two year accomplishments: sleep in own bed, drink from a cup, count from 1 -10, recall letters a-z, learned all the colors, recognize half the shapes, switched over to pull ups, and completely potty trained herself. Siggghhhh. I don't think she needs me anymore. 8(" This year's accomplishments, "count into the 20's, add and subtract, recognize letters and write the word 'Mom', draw actual characters, sleep on time and in own bed, watch an entire movie at the movie theater, and have full on silly adult conversations."
She's amazing. What lucky parents we are. In the back of mind are the dark fears of those early teenage years. Dear God, I hope we all skate by them quickly with few shallow scars. For now, I'm holding her tightly to my chest and squeezing out every possible lovable kiss and hug I can get like a chintzy novice gamer playing Mario Brothers for the bean counting pleasure of it. I may not be blessed with money, but my family is amazing and I have to thank God every day.
This second little one is also about to arrive soon too. Hopefully not today because I can't imagine splitting the difference between a Dora themed birthday party and a Hannah Montana birthday party. It would just never work out. I am a bit scared anticipating the pain, the labor and the possibility of things going wrong again. I've drafted a will, am in the process of adding more money to my life insurance policy, and will be preparing my power of attorney tonight.
My mother told me that in the old culture, a baby will bring a certain karma to the child's family. If it's good, then it's very good. This past year, everything seemed to have happenned all together with the pregnancy. The business has been going well and has proven itself to me. Even if no profit has been made, I am excited over the fact that I've had consistent clientelle period. My reputation has been good in the area of patent law so far. I'm building value through advertisement at this point and we'll see how the next year will be for us. Meanwhile, I had a product idea which looks very promising and it seems that we are closer to realizing something very interesting than may be apparent. Clay is also on a similar track and I'm crossing fingers and toes and hair now. Oh gosh, the imaginary finish line in my mind all this time was to get to this point by the time the baby arrives. The next marker would be the beginning of next year. We'll see how it all goes. Meanwhile, I'll live on hugs and kisses.
She's amazing. What lucky parents we are. In the back of mind are the dark fears of those early teenage years. Dear God, I hope we all skate by them quickly with few shallow scars. For now, I'm holding her tightly to my chest and squeezing out every possible lovable kiss and hug I can get like a chintzy novice gamer playing Mario Brothers for the bean counting pleasure of it. I may not be blessed with money, but my family is amazing and I have to thank God every day.
This second little one is also about to arrive soon too. Hopefully not today because I can't imagine splitting the difference between a Dora themed birthday party and a Hannah Montana birthday party. It would just never work out. I am a bit scared anticipating the pain, the labor and the possibility of things going wrong again. I've drafted a will, am in the process of adding more money to my life insurance policy, and will be preparing my power of attorney tonight.
My mother told me that in the old culture, a baby will bring a certain karma to the child's family. If it's good, then it's very good. This past year, everything seemed to have happenned all together with the pregnancy. The business has been going well and has proven itself to me. Even if no profit has been made, I am excited over the fact that I've had consistent clientelle period. My reputation has been good in the area of patent law so far. I'm building value through advertisement at this point and we'll see how the next year will be for us. Meanwhile, I had a product idea which looks very promising and it seems that we are closer to realizing something very interesting than may be apparent. Clay is also on a similar track and I'm crossing fingers and toes and hair now. Oh gosh, the imaginary finish line in my mind all this time was to get to this point by the time the baby arrives. The next marker would be the beginning of next year. We'll see how it all goes. Meanwhile, I'll live on hugs and kisses.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
it's really hard being a mother. particularly for the first time. trying to get every bit of detail right. and you wish that you had the kind support of your partner sometimes, even if they are participating more from the sidelines. i don't ask for very much in my day or my life. typically, i do my work with natural inner passion for doing things well and getting things done. but a kind word or an encouraging, 'job well done' really tells me that there is a witness out there to my hard work and that i am doing the right things in life. which is why when you get the opposite reaction to what you believe to be good work, it just makes you wonder about the point of your own existence.
i have been working hard the past year to get my daughter to sleep by 9pm. at first, her sleep schedule mirrored ours and it was all over the map. mostly after 11pm and many times by midnight. she also would not sleep in her crib and had to be coddled in our bedroom. a nightmare which i could not figure out how to remedy. as she became more of a toddler and could communicate better, we slowly got into a routine of sleeping by 10:30pm. it seems like we've been sleeping by 10:30 pm for a while, but only recently has she gotten to expect it, ask for it, and would consistently fall asleep on the clock. i have acheived to get her biological clock on a time schedule. tonight, a milestone in my eyes, she fell asleep exactly at 10:30pm and in her own room for the first time. what all went into making this happen? rearranging her bedroom entirely to include a new big girl bed that would fit me in it. that way, i would be laying down with her comfortably and singing her to sleep. it also involved the fact that i'm now switched back to working part time so that i can afford to start cooking dinner at 4pm, feed her by 5pm, bath her by 7:30 pm and start her bedtime routine by 8:30pm. In the past, when i worked full time, i would start cooking until 6pm, feeding her by 7pm, skip the bathing many times, and then start trying to chase down her nervous energy by 9:30pm to which I usually succeeded inconsistently between 10:30 to 11pm.
getting bed time right is hard on another level. from the moment i wake at 7:30 am until the moment i sit down to eat my dinner at 6:30 pm, i am either caring for the baby, the dogs, my husband, the house or my own business. i am also currently 8 months pregnant. the only moments when i am able to relax and enjoy myself, or at least that i would like to, is around 9pm when my favorite t.v. shows are on. i sacrifice so much of my time throughout my entire day for my family, business and home that when 9pm rolls around, it is really hard for me to give up that possible moment of self indulgence. i suppose i could give up my 9pm show also and start the bedtime process an hour earlier for my daughter. perhaps she'd be asleep by 9:30 pm or 10pm. at some point, i will have to get there. but i am alone in this process. i am sacrificing my time all day and it is a very soulfully taxing job. i wish sometimes that i could switch off, take a break, and let someone else take over a couple of nights a week. and since it doesn't work that way, primarily since my daughter prefers me in running the sleep process, i wish that i had more positive words of encouragement each time i reach little milestones in our objective of getting to that 9pm mark. it's an accomplishment for both my daughter and i. in the level of sacrifice i have to make in my day, in my work, in my effort and disclipline, to get to this point. i've peeled yet another layer of skin off my onion peel life to get closer to the point of yes. someone, please just do me a favor and say thankyou for the fact that i even bothered to peel another layer off. throw away that extra work hour. throw away that extra t.v. hour. throw away that extra couch hour. and if you don't agree that falling asleep consistently by 10:30 in her own bed is not good enough, at least lie about it for the sake of a hard working, tired pregnant wife who's managed to create an otherwise perfect life for everyone.
i have been working hard the past year to get my daughter to sleep by 9pm. at first, her sleep schedule mirrored ours and it was all over the map. mostly after 11pm and many times by midnight. she also would not sleep in her crib and had to be coddled in our bedroom. a nightmare which i could not figure out how to remedy. as she became more of a toddler and could communicate better, we slowly got into a routine of sleeping by 10:30pm. it seems like we've been sleeping by 10:30 pm for a while, but only recently has she gotten to expect it, ask for it, and would consistently fall asleep on the clock. i have acheived to get her biological clock on a time schedule. tonight, a milestone in my eyes, she fell asleep exactly at 10:30pm and in her own room for the first time. what all went into making this happen? rearranging her bedroom entirely to include a new big girl bed that would fit me in it. that way, i would be laying down with her comfortably and singing her to sleep. it also involved the fact that i'm now switched back to working part time so that i can afford to start cooking dinner at 4pm, feed her by 5pm, bath her by 7:30 pm and start her bedtime routine by 8:30pm. In the past, when i worked full time, i would start cooking until 6pm, feeding her by 7pm, skip the bathing many times, and then start trying to chase down her nervous energy by 9:30pm to which I usually succeeded inconsistently between 10:30 to 11pm.
getting bed time right is hard on another level. from the moment i wake at 7:30 am until the moment i sit down to eat my dinner at 6:30 pm, i am either caring for the baby, the dogs, my husband, the house or my own business. i am also currently 8 months pregnant. the only moments when i am able to relax and enjoy myself, or at least that i would like to, is around 9pm when my favorite t.v. shows are on. i sacrifice so much of my time throughout my entire day for my family, business and home that when 9pm rolls around, it is really hard for me to give up that possible moment of self indulgence. i suppose i could give up my 9pm show also and start the bedtime process an hour earlier for my daughter. perhaps she'd be asleep by 9:30 pm or 10pm. at some point, i will have to get there. but i am alone in this process. i am sacrificing my time all day and it is a very soulfully taxing job. i wish sometimes that i could switch off, take a break, and let someone else take over a couple of nights a week. and since it doesn't work that way, primarily since my daughter prefers me in running the sleep process, i wish that i had more positive words of encouragement each time i reach little milestones in our objective of getting to that 9pm mark. it's an accomplishment for both my daughter and i. in the level of sacrifice i have to make in my day, in my work, in my effort and disclipline, to get to this point. i've peeled yet another layer of skin off my onion peel life to get closer to the point of yes. someone, please just do me a favor and say thankyou for the fact that i even bothered to peel another layer off. throw away that extra work hour. throw away that extra t.v. hour. throw away that extra couch hour. and if you don't agree that falling asleep consistently by 10:30 in her own bed is not good enough, at least lie about it for the sake of a hard working, tired pregnant wife who's managed to create an otherwise perfect life for everyone.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
It's been a cool summer this year. Some would say that summer never arrived and that we're already in the midst of fall. The belly is growing with no name yet to agree on but I had my first dream of this chubby spirited little girl in dancing clothes stealing mommy's make-up and attention. Kaolin has reached a new milestone in her life, now attending a new more advanced preschool. This morning, she fulfills her daddy's dream and takes her fishing rod out for a first throw of the reel into a local pond. I see a father-daughter tradition in the works reminiscent of "A River Runs Through It".
The transition to the new school was harder than I expected, with mixed emotions flying from both Kaolin and myself. It's a school now, not much a kumbaya daycare environment. There is little coddling involved, which tears me up inside knowing how much she's missing the hugs and kisses of Ms. Claudette and Ms. Vickey. We've attempted to heal the morning separation wounds with ice cream at the end of each day. We talk about the scariness of the new environment, the difference between her old and new teachers, and about being brave. As I cross each day off on my mental calender, with lots of prayers that it gets better for her, she amazingly pulls through and now seems to begin the adjustment. What a brave example for her mommy, who was ready to pull her out of the new school entirely from the torture of her first week's misery. I am so proud of my little girl. You see the strength grow in her from overcoming the toughest challenge in her little life so far. At home, she has become noticeably more independent, responsive and responsible. If all goes well as I hope, then perhaps I can pat myself on the back for being a good mommy afterall.
Work has also been an epiphany in my life as well. I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that I am now working for myself and will possibly never answer to another person again. The distance I travel in my own career will be directly reflective of my own effort and skill. It's such a different route, one which I had always anticipated but only after I'd done the traditional work for another person. Doing it so early makes me feel a little like a rogue warrior. Or like a dog who's been let off the leash, having to direct itself for the first time on its own instinct and experience. I have been very fortunate these past few months with regular customer calls without having even advertised yet. It's hard to shoot far when you're expecting a child in less than 4 months. For a while, I felt paralyzed standing in the middle of a crossroad. Family and health versus business. Though I'm still struggling with the inner instinct of hitting the ball hard, I'm intentionally lobbing soft ones right now. Enough to sustain the game until next year. The anticipation game is stressful half the time. But I am grateful for my good fortune, the regular clientelle, and the ability to take it easy with my family during the better part of the season.
The transition to the new school was harder than I expected, with mixed emotions flying from both Kaolin and myself. It's a school now, not much a kumbaya daycare environment. There is little coddling involved, which tears me up inside knowing how much she's missing the hugs and kisses of Ms. Claudette and Ms. Vickey. We've attempted to heal the morning separation wounds with ice cream at the end of each day. We talk about the scariness of the new environment, the difference between her old and new teachers, and about being brave. As I cross each day off on my mental calender, with lots of prayers that it gets better for her, she amazingly pulls through and now seems to begin the adjustment. What a brave example for her mommy, who was ready to pull her out of the new school entirely from the torture of her first week's misery. I am so proud of my little girl. You see the strength grow in her from overcoming the toughest challenge in her little life so far. At home, she has become noticeably more independent, responsive and responsible. If all goes well as I hope, then perhaps I can pat myself on the back for being a good mommy afterall.
Work has also been an epiphany in my life as well. I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that I am now working for myself and will possibly never answer to another person again. The distance I travel in my own career will be directly reflective of my own effort and skill. It's such a different route, one which I had always anticipated but only after I'd done the traditional work for another person. Doing it so early makes me feel a little like a rogue warrior. Or like a dog who's been let off the leash, having to direct itself for the first time on its own instinct and experience. I have been very fortunate these past few months with regular customer calls without having even advertised yet. It's hard to shoot far when you're expecting a child in less than 4 months. For a while, I felt paralyzed standing in the middle of a crossroad. Family and health versus business. Though I'm still struggling with the inner instinct of hitting the ball hard, I'm intentionally lobbing soft ones right now. Enough to sustain the game until next year. The anticipation game is stressful half the time. But I am grateful for my good fortune, the regular clientelle, and the ability to take it easy with my family during the better part of the season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
