Project 52 - Donuts - Week 40

40/52

Riley recently informed me that she's never had a donut. I almost believed her, but then realized that week before we had apple donuts at the apple orchard. She then made the clarification that she'd never had a donut with icing on it. She didn't have to twist my arm very hard before I agreed to treat her to donuts at a donut shop. It would have been easy to pick something up at the grocery store, but donut shops seem to be popping up all around town so it seemed like a good excuse to check one of them out.

I selected Glam Doll Donuts after getting some recommendations from co-workers. I drove down Lake Street to get there and had a funny moment on the way with Riley. As we were stopped at a red light, Riley excitedly exclaimed "there's a Halloween costume store!" I looked over to see her looking at a lingerie store... and then I noticed a bondage store a couple doors down. Haha, uh yeah... costume store.

Eventually, we got to the donut shop, and picked out our selections. Riley wanted vanilla icing with sprinkles and I settled for the salted caramel and chocolate.

Riley ate about half and declared that it was just too sweet. I ate all of mine, but would totally agree. Good donuts, but just too much icing for these girls.

Afterwards, as we walked back to the car I pointed out to Riley how I used to work at Christos across the street. I went down a little memory lane in my own head remembering all the times I would go out for drinks across the street after work with my co-workers. Boy, life has changed.

Half a donut may have been more than enough sugar for this kid...

Jesse was out of town again so this was another fun mom and daughter activity for us. Makes me want to explore more areas of the city that we don't normally go to.

Project 52 - Thai Food - Week 48

48/52

On our first date just over 10 years ago, Jesse and I talked about how I'd never been to Chiang Mai Thai in Uptown and that he'd probably been there over 100 times. I'd always wanted to go, but it took meeting Jesse for that to happen. We've been many times in the last 10 years, and while we've tried other Thai restaurants, this has always been a favorite. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to break the news to Jesse that they were closing their doors on December 23rd. Luckily, he took it better than expected, but it will be a sad day when we can no longer get our favorite spring rolls there. In the meantime we've upped our visits to the restaurant so we can get our fill before they close.

We headed out earlier this week to fill up on our favorites... fresh spring rolls, pad see yew with shrimp, and laab salad with chicken. I think we might try to visit one more time and I might even try some of the recommendations my co-worker suggested as her favorites. Never too late to try something new.

As much as we will miss this place, there are so many Thai restaurants around town that I'm sure we'll be able to get our fix., but the true test will be if the spring rolls taste remotely as good as Chiang Mai Thai's. They sure are hard to beat.

CSA

Jesse and I have thought about joining a CSA for some time, but didn't trust ourselves enough with the food. We were pretty sure we'd end up wasting much of it and in the end the purchase wouldn't be worth it. However, some of our neighbors were talking about it on NextDoor.com and suggested Earth Dance Farms. We liked that they had multiple sized boxes so we could get a small one to start this year and make sure that it was a good size for us before jumping to something larger. They also had a spring share, a fall share and an egg share that you could opt into. Initially, we decided to do the summer half share and the egg share, but then decided to add on a spring share. Since we are significantly into summer I figured I should finally talk about it here.

There were three spring shares delivered every other week which were filled with a lot of greens. The initial egg deliveries were a little heavy. I started a week late so I got 3 - 4 dozen eggs every other week to make up for the missed week. That was a little much for me (since I'm the only one that eats them), but I was able to give some to my dad and a neighbor so all was good. We have thrown out a couple things which was part of bad planning, but otherwise we've been able to eat everything and figure out what to do with it. This is certainly pushing us to try new things. Jesse even made a beef stew with the greens we received and we discovered that we all like (even Riley) kohlrabi.

We've received all sorts of items: arugula, romaine, cabbage (multiple varieties), kale, chard, asparagus, chives, radishes, green onions, cucumber, tomato, potato, braising greens, kohlrabi, mint, cilantro, popcorn, strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, peppers (multiple varieties), basil... and so on

I was going to take a picture each week, but that quickly went to the wayside. There are a total of 18 summer weekly shares which means that we'll be getting fresh food deliveries through October 22. The CSA drop off site is nice and close to our house which has made this a feasible endeavor for us.

Will we do this again? Probably. It's worked out really well and you can really tell that this food was picked fresh. We are definitely CSA converts.

More Christmas activities

We had a number of Christmas activities planned for this holiday season that we ended up skipping. First up was the Holidazzle parade. Riley loved this last year, but between scheduling conflicts and cold weather we decided to skip it eve though it's the last year it will run. The last thing I wanted to do was to get downtown, pay for parking, squeeze into a spot with the crowds, and then have Riley freak out about the weather. She hasn't been very tolerant of the cold so it's just easier to find indoor activities.

That leads us to the Macy's Santaland Display. We initially thought about skipping this because it's the same display it's been for the last couple years we've gone and Riley never wants to see Santa anyway, but Jesse and I had a Monday off and thought we could beat the crowds and go in the afternoon after picking Riley up from preschool. Unfortunately, it snowed that day which made the roads just crappy enough that we decided to skip it.

We still wanted to do something that day so we hopped in the car and drove a few blocks to Oak Hill park. The trees in the park are lit up with Christmas lights from November through March and it just feels so magical to walk around under them. Turns out it was a little too cold for Riley and about 2 minutes out of the car she started whining to go home. We got her to walk a loop around the ice rink, but she was crying by the time we got to the car. Ok, so much for that.

Meh, so the Christmas activities weren't quite working out as we wanted. I decided to find activities we could do in the warmth of our own home. First up, was making chocolate dipped pretzels with peppermint. I'm not a big candy cane fan so half the batch were minus the peppermint. I also couldn't decide on the kind of chocolate so I made several different flavors: semi-sweet, white, and dark. I brought some of these into work and plan to bring the rest to other family gatherings.

Someone is loving her new Christmas hair bows.

I also bought a gingerbread house kit for us to tackle together. The day after I bought it Riley got to make a miniature version at preschool which she loved. We planned to make ours the next weekend, but once Riley got a taste of making one at school she asked to make ours every time she saw the box.

We eventually found the time to put together the gingerbread house this weekend and it ended up being a lot easier than I thought it would after reading a number of experiences on other blogs. Riley really enjoyed this so this will likely go on our list next year too.

 

Insisted on wearing two new hair bows.

Next up was cookies for Santa. I had left over chocolate from the pretzel treats so I decided that we'd make chocolate chip cookies instead of decorating sugar cookies like we did last year. Why be wasteful? Plus, I love me a chocolate chip cookie.

"Hey mom, look at me". The only time I can get her to stay still for a picture is apparently when she is doing something unsafe and wants it captured on camera.

In the end, Riley preferred the pretzel treats which was a-ok by me. More cookies for me! Er, I mean Santa. Yes, I must save some for Santa.

Getting a little Riley love for making Christmas treats together.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! Merry Christmas!

Chef Riley

I've attempted to have Riley 'help' me with cooking in the past, but she only seemed mildly interested so I didn't really push it. It sort of fell to the wayside and I stopped asking her to help.

But then one day I was making pizza which seemed like a great thing for her to assist on.... and I was trying to keep her from whining about not being able to watch TV. Apparently, I just needed to introduce cooking at the right time for her because she fully embraced it. I sliced up all the toppings and she assisted with adding them to the pizza. At one point she got pizza sauce on her fingers so I encouraged her to just lick it off. She did and proceeded to pick up mushrooms, lick the sauce off, and then put them back on the pizza. That's one way to do it kiddo.

Never mind the sharp knife to her left.

She insisted on watching the pizza cook in the oven. I had a hard time convincing her to sit at least a couple inches back from the oven. Apparently, we have a bit to work on regarding the concept of a hot stove.

Final product which she did not want to eat.

Ever since the pizza making day, Riley gets excited when there is even a hint of a possibility of being able to cook. There have been times I've walked into the kitchen just to quickly grab something and Riley starts yelling "chair! chair!" At first I didn't understand her request, but it soon became clear that she associates the chair with cooking since that's what she gets to stand on. We've encountered some minor freak outs if you don't get her a chair so it just seems easier to honor her request even when you aren't actually cooking.

Buttering bread for me. 

Putting bread in the toaster oven.

I don't always have real things for her to do, but we usually find something for her to feel helpful.

And if she doesn't have anything immediate to do she'll make sure the cats have some 'toys' to play with - otherwise known as kitchen utensils. I now have to be more mindful of what utensils are within reach - such as the cooking scissors or the pizza slicer that's in her hand above.

Overall, cooking with her  has been a big hit. She wants to help any chance she can. Just tonight she walked into the kitchen and said "you cooking?"... so I didn't hesitate to pull her up a chair.

Freezer Meals

I've been meaning to do a serious day of freezer meal preparation, but have put it off for some time. However, my friend, Josie, is due with her second child in April so it seemed like a good time to make us both some food. I had intended to do this for Josie during her first pregnancy, but I was mid pregnancy myself and I could barely cook for myself. Instead I bought her some groceries. This time I was determined to make her food. I reviewed my cookbooks, recipes I've found on blogs, Pinterest, and other sites and decided to make the following.

Chicken Spaghetti
Tortilla Soup
Sloppy Joe's
Heinz 57 Meatloaf
Barbecued Pulled Pork
Red Bean and Sausage Soup
Allspice Muffins
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Muffins
Jambalaya

Yes, I realize that list is a little long. It is a lot of food, but I had some extra days off recently so I thought I could tackle it. My only real obstacle was not having enough rice to make the jambalaya after going to the store twice. Jesse picked some up a couple days after I finished most of the cooking so I was finally able to complete that one as well.

Some of the above recipes I've made before, but the tortilla soup, pulled pork, and muffins were new recipes. It's hard deciding what to cook for others because apparently not everyone likes what I like. I know Josie is a meat and rice kind of gal (I lived with her for 9 years and she made rice with every meal) and she informed me that her husband, Rob, is a meat and potatoes kind of guy so that helped me decide on a few items.

Once I decided which meals to make I wrote down all the ingredients I needed to purchase and made sure to double them. I then organized them by category (meat, produce, dairy...) and listed them in the order they are stocked in the grocery story. This made the trip go so much faster especially since I was shopping with a 2 year old.

As I mentioned I had some extra time off to tackle this so overall the planning, shopping and cooking took place over 5 days (not all day long each day), but I certainly could have completed this over 2 days.

Day 1: Planned food and created grocery list

Day 2: Went grocery shopping and completed some cooking

Day 3 and 4: Cooked. Day three I spent the most time cooking

Day 5: Finally made the jambalaya

Chicken Spaghetti 
(print recipe)
I got this recipe off of It's All Happening, a blog written by a co-worker. She has some great information about meal planning and freezer meals that are certainly worth checking out. We've made this recipe a number of times and it has always been a hit for the entire family. I made a few alterations to the original recipe. For example, I just cooked up chicken breasts, and used chicken broth from a box. Also, I can't do onions so I eliminated that from mine, but included it in Josie's (which I did in most of these recipes). Also, we love mushrooms so we added that to the mix. The recipe as is has always been too much for us to eat so I typically divide it into two baking dishes and pop one in the freezer for later.

Tortilla Soup 
(print recipe)
So this one was pulled out of USA Weekend. I've actually been finding a number of good recipes there. As I mentioned earlier this was the first time I made this recipe... and the first time I've made tortilla soup ever. Besides not being able to find canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce at the first grocery store I went to this was a pretty easy and fast dish to make. When I originally couldn't find the chipotle peppers I thought I might have to skip that ingredient, but that would have been a huge mistake as it gives the soup a nice smokey flavor... and quite a bit of heat. If I make it again I might cut down on the chipotle peppers a little though as it was a little too hot for me.

Sloppy Joe's 
This was really as basic as you can get. Cook up a pound of ground beef; add can of sloppy joe mix. Done. And I might add, this one received the most excitement when I explained to Josie and Rob what I made for them.

Heinz 57 Meatloaf
(print recipe)
I came across this recipe so long ago that I can't remember where it came from. I turn to it whenever I want to make a tasty, easy meal like meatloaf. I often add mushrooms, and red or green peppers to get some more veggies in there as well. This is definitely my favorite meatloaf recipe.

Barbecued Pulled Pork 
(print recipe)
This was another new one, I think. I got this recipe out of a cookbook my mother in law gave me (Favorite Brand Name: One-Dish Cookbook, Slow Cooker Cookbook, Casseroles Cookbook). I made pulled pork once before, but was completely unsuccessful. To this day I have no idea what the problem was, but am so happy to have this turn out. The meat was tender and pretty much shredded without much assistance. I only made one batch of this as I was hesitant it would work out. All in all this was pretty good, but a little sweet for my taste. I'm not sure if it was the BBQ sauce I selected or if I would enjoy a different recipe without as much brown sugar. If you have a good recipe for this or a BBQ sauce suggestion I would love to hear it.


Red Bean Soup with Sausage
(print recipe)
I found this recipe in the same cookbook as the Barbecued Pulled Pork and have made it three different times. The actual recipe name is Red Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage, but each time I've made it with a different sausage. The first time I made it I asked my husband to get andouille sausage at the store, but he came home with something else (chorizo?). I wish I could remember what it was because it was my favorite version. The other times I made it with andouille and then with a beef smoked sausage. Both times were good, but just not as flavorful. I've also added rice to this soup to make it heartier. I'm not a huge soup fan as I never feel full after a bowl so this helped it act more as a meal for me. Oh, and I should admit that I totally cheat on this one and used canned red beans and have yet to add the ham hock. Maybe next time.

Allspice Muffins 
(print recipe)
I've tried a number of muffin recipes from Annie's Eats, but this one and the next listed were the ones I've made most recently. This one happened to be my hubby's favorite so it is likely to get made again.


Peanut butter and chocolate chip muffins
(print recipe)
I actually made this with soy nut butter. Good, but I was hoping they would be a little moister - not sure if it was because of the soy nut butter or what. Regardless, they were tasty and most were eaten so I had to make sure I set some aside for my friend.

Jambalaya 
(print recipe) 
My friend, Liza, suggested this recipe to me. She has 4 kids and a hubby, and all have some dietary restrictions. I figured this would be a hit as I only had to feed three people and only one of those has dietary issues. This is the second time I've made it and turns out it is a nice solid and yummy meal; although, I think I might add some of those chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to spice it up a little more next time.

Once completed I added all items to my freezer food chart (I actually created mine in Excel, but didn't know how to load it so I've now created it in Google docs to share).

I created the chart since food has been known to get lost in our little freezer in the past. Plus, I now don't have to move everything around in the freezer just to see what I have. I simply check the list posted on the side of the fridge and mark off items once removed from the fridge.

So there you have it. This was a little time consuming, but will save on time in the long run so it was certainly well worth it. So much so that I am tempted to buy a stand alone freezer so I can prep even more food.