Fresh Tart

Woo hoo! We finally pulled off episode three of Feminine Hijinx, thank you, thank you. It felt great (hearing myself saying the word "great" on FH, not-so-great, OMG, soooo Minnesoooota, it cracks me up every time, and I say it a lot) to get out of the house, and over to Suz's, to see my girls and have a chat. I have been holed up here for so many days, loved getting out the door!

And today, out the door again (proof, at left, ha), I have lunch with my aunt Marge - my aunts Mary and Marge both drive in to Minneapolis from Willmar to get their hair done, which is lucky for me, because I get to meet up with them for lunch when they do (although I had to miss Mary and Brucie last week because Nathan was sick). Today we're eating at Kozy's, at the Galleria, a relatively new spot that I've been meaning to try. It's always fun to see Marge! (I had the funniest thing happen upon waking this morning - my usual thoughts, what day is it... what do I have going on today... I groggily opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the word "Marjorie" on the book at my bedside, The Woman at the Washington Zoo by Marjorie Williams, and I thought, oh! Lunch with Marge! Hurray!)

Not quite sure yet what the dinner plan is, I'll have to see how big my lunch is and go from there...

Seeing Marge at lunch was awesome, as I expected. She is so lovely, definitely a day brightener. She reported that my uncle Jim and cousin Kim are sick too - everyone's going d..o..w..n... So irritating. We Need Spring! We Need Spring! I stopped at the store on my way home to pick up a few ingredients for dinner and also bought myself a basket of forced bulbs - I need something fresh and blooming in this house! We Need Spring!

I'm not making a particularly spring-y dinner tonight (although tomorrow night I'm planning lamb chops and asparagus...). Swedish meatballs (recipe posted in comments, below). Nathan loves them, and so do I. John, not so much, but he won't be with us for dinner so it's a perfect night to make them. I'd happily have them with mashed potatoes (prrrrr...), but then I lose Nathan, so I'll go with egg noodles. And a salad, I could use a salad. Definitely getting back an appetite for real food. Yes!

Good meatballs, nice. Happy Natie, can't beat that. Have a good night!

Love Story, pretty much the opposite of Feminine Hijinx, is what I actually did last night. Because I was still sick yesterday, after my hopeful start in the morning. What a seriously crappy week! It was kind of therapeutic, I think, to bawl my eyes out - even though it's a rather silly story, to which I already knew the ending - for a good hour or so. A real, good cry, I had to keep taking my glasses off to mop at my eyes, which made me laugh at the same time I was sobbing. I'm kinda a mess...ha.

So, today, I'll soothe myself with yet another bath, cup of tea, perhaps some soup. My appetite is nil, sorry, no inspiration recipe-wise. You never know, though, I'm inspired to start cooking at very odd times. I did a fair amount of cooking over the week just to keep my spirits up, even though I couldn't taste much. I've lost even that motivation as this has dragged on, but I'm ever hopeful that my sense of taste, and appetite, will return and then I'll start flipping through cookbooks...checking for ingredients...stay tuned!

I cooked! I ate! I'm alive! I even had half a glass of A to Z Pinot Noir (taking it very easy there, but it did taste good...). I lay in bed all day, rested and watched movies instead of trying to get things done, and I really do feel better. Unbelievably cool food scene in the movie Spanglish (otherwise just OK), I noticed in the credits that Thomas Keller was the food consultant. No surprise there, the chef and restaurant in the movie imply French Laundry all the way. Mmmmm...French Laundry. Napa Valley. Heaven on Earth. But here I am, in Minnesota, slowly reemerging - I think. I keep reclaiming my health, only to fall again. But this time, I really do feel better. Simple dinner, three small homemade tortillas topped with avocado, raw onion, sprinkle of chipotle chili powder, coarse salt, squeeze of lime. That's it. Warm, cool, crispy, creamy, little spicy heat - oh thank you, thank you, my sense of taste is coming back! It's very depressing to not taste food. When I make a full recovery I can tell I'm going to be chomping at the bit - New York, California, something mind-blowing. It probably won't happen, I'll just have to think about trips past. That's OK. To have a peek into feeling like myself again, I'm grateful enough for just that.

Check out Suz, the bronze medalist (or should I say metalist?), from yet another pic that I stole off her blog. Since, as often as I write about Suz, I would have mentioned that she were an Olympic athlete, you've probably already guessed this isn't her medal. It actually belongs to her friend Trish, hard-won for her role on the USA Women's Hockey Team in their recent Torino appearance. So cool! We should just make this picture the banner for Feminine Hijinx, forget about Kim and me! This pretty much sums us up. Dorkin' out, little bawdy, and lots of fun. I'm thinking I'm up for a recording session tonight - I have a voice (so far today), coughing has lessened considerably, got some sleep last night. Yeah baby, I'm ready to go!

Today I have some major menu-planning to set my mind to. My stepdaughter A's Bat Mitvah is coming up at the beginning of April, and we're hosting a cocktail party/reception afterward (while she's at her big dance party) for about 60 friends and family. I've decided I'm going to prepare the food myself, which is probably insane, but that's the plan. I do love to throw parties, and we'll keep this relatively simple since it's an after-dinner affair, so it really will be more fun than chore. The biggest chore-factor will come from getting the house ready, sigh, I've got several unfinished projects around here. Several. Well, that's what entertaining is for, right? To get together with family and friends? Hell no! To get the house cleaned and fixed up! If not for the pressure of a few parties per year, I'd get nowhere. Seriously lame, but true.

I raided my cousin Kim's photo website for pictures of my cousin Michael's wedding this past weekend. So fun! I saw everyone on Friday, but not the day of the wedding (the day I got sick), and I'm not surprised to see that everyone looked gorgeous. I even snagged a pic of my dad dancing with the bride, Amanda! And my dad's four sisters, my Meyer aunts, including Jean and Kathy, who don't live in MN. Even Stace, now on the two-week countdown to the birth of Baby Boom Boom, with daddy Bowen. Thanks for the pics, Kimmy, I love seeing them, makes up a little for not being able to be there. I'm still bummed that I missed it.

(L-R: Dad & Amanda; Mary, Jean, Marge, Kathy; Mary, mother of the groom; Bruce, Michael, & Craig; Bowen & Stacey; Kim, the photographer)





Another forcibly quiet day for me (still sick, boooooo), although I am, for absolutely sure, ha, running over to the store today to grab a steak for dinner tonight. I won't feel much like eating it, but we have both kids tonight and I want to put something decent on the table. I'm thinking sauteed broccolini and crispy oven-roasted potatoes as well. Nathan worked his butt off over the last few days and got all caught up with the homework he missed when he was sick last week, so we should have a relatively relaxed night. It'll be nice. What with John and A's trip to Florida, and her preparations for her school play last week, the four of us haven't sat down to a meal together for a few weeks! The reality of divorce/remarriage/stepfamilies - we don't get to see each other all the time. And you know what? Probably keeps us liking each other a lot more, so it's not all bad...

And congratulations to Andrew, Rishia, and Baby Noah (here, having a little chat with John). Noah's adoption became official late yesterday - woo hoo! You have amazing parents, Noah, and they have an amazing little boy (how adorable is he?). Knowing Andrew and Rishia as well as I do, I predict Noah grows up to be one funny, foodie man. Is there any better kind?

I did get to the store - finally - woo hoo! Major accomplishment for me, and it took all my energy, so lame. Picked up a flank steak and some broccolini. Potatoes are in the oven, getting crispy. A few minutes before we eat, I'll quickly broil the steak, and saute the broccolini the way I do to make Pasta with Broccolini (with olive oil, sliced garlic and red pepper flakes; just sans the pasta). Kids are here, doing their homework, chatting, and it's really...nice. Nice to be home, with my family.

Dinner's done (we ate early) - so g..o..o..d! Steak, potatoes, broccoli, such a classic combo, for a good reason. It's hearty and delicious. Have a good night.

Have you ever tried these before, Weetabix? I bought them on a whim from the organic cereal section - I like whole grain cereals for breakfast, obnoxiously whole grain. Turns out Weetabix is a popular British cereal, eaten in many different ways - fried (ugh, although, I haven't tried it), toasted with jam, as a hot porridge, even as baby cereal. Apparently quite versatile, these Weetabix. And delicious, I just ate them with cold milk and fruit. They get soggy quickly, which might put off some, but to me was a huge plus. Comforting and tasty. I'm on a comfort food roll here, as you can tell, what with two soup recipes yesterday and raving soggy cereal today. Sigh. I can't tell if I feel better today - I'm just really, really tired at this point - but my goal will be to slip into the store and come up with something interesting for tonight.

My cheer-up tulips from Suz are stunning this morning, all opened up and so springy looking! Perhaps they'll inspire me to unpack from the weekend and start the process of re-entering the world of the living.

Oh! I just got word, from my friend Chris, that my beloved former boss, the great Jim Toscano, is retiring from Park Nicollet Institute. I worked for 12 happy years for Jim, my whole adult life up to the point that I resigned (a few years ago). In typical Jim fashion, he's retiring to start another job, as president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation! How fabulous. But what a loss for Park Nicollet, where Jim has been a leader of and mentor to all types, from clerks to physicians, for more than 25 years. A gifted leader, fundraiser - and epicurean! Woo hoo for JVT! And for his awesome family. Jim is thebest of leaders and I'm jealous of his lucky soon-to-be employees. They have no idea what they're about to learn. Lucky, indeed.

With a raging fever (it keeps shooting up in the afternoon, shit!), I prepared Papardelle with Tuna Sauce for dinner. Impressive, huh? How many of you, or your spouses, cook for you with a fever? That's what I thought - not many. That's how much I love my family (that's not quite fair; half of it is that I am BORED to death, doing nothing all day, so cooking a dinner that I can't taste is sort of a pleasure. Or something.) Tasted good, I think. Some nice Pinot Noir (I'm sorry, I'm too wiped to get up and see what Pinot I'm drinking, but I'm sure it's something we have a few bottles of and therefore it will come back up again) to accompany. As tired as you are of hearing about me being sick, that's how tired I am of being sick. I'll leave it there, it's a bore. And I'll shut up, and go to bed, and give 'er another hope - that you, or I, are not sick tomorrow, anymore. UGH!

A little stir-crazy here, I can feel it coming on. Funny, when you have the right to lie around and be lazy, it's not that much fun anymore... Hopefully that means I'm feeling better, at least this morning. I'm thinking, yeah! I can do it! I could head to the store, I could cook something today! I'm not counting on actually pulling that off, but we'll see. I will certainly bake, with what I have available, just to achieve something. I don't really need to bake bread - I still have challah rolls in the freezer, which have sustained me through the last few days. Pop one in the microwave until just warm - ahhhh, yeasty heaven. Thank goodness there is no Hope Creamery butter in this house or I'd be a yeasty, buttery, coughing mess. OMG, a soft, warm challah roll with a cold slice of HC...prrrrr... Snap back to reality, Stephanie! That's not moderate! Perhaps I can make garlic soup, that would be good for me. Delicious too. I think I have some gruyere to grate on top. Could use some crusty bread with that, so there's my baking challenge - dense, crusty bread to float in garlic soup. Very rustic, very restorative - and very doable. Just what the doctor ordered.

I was too sick to record Feminine Hijinxlast night, damn, but it looks like we're on for this coming Thursday, woo hoo! It's one thing to listen to us chicks cackling while discussing poop (and wine, food, family, religion, and sex; we cover it all!), quite another to listen to me hacking and sniffling. Cackling = good. Hacking = bad. We're going to start inviting guests to join us soon...look out! We may call on you! And oh! I got my FH clock, hung it by our downstairs bar. Looks fabulous, I'm so proud of Brian's logo design, looks great on products. Haven't received my mug yet, should arrive today. And haven't ordered the thong underwear yet, which totally crack me up (ouch, bad pun). Soon, soon...

Consider...the matzoh ball. That deceptively-disguised dumpling of deliciousness. They're not pretty, I admit it, in fact to the degree that I wouldn't so much as taste them for years. But my god they are good. Tender, salty pillows of yumminess. I'm not Jewish, and I LOVE them. John is Jewish, and he doesn't. So it has nothing to do with ethnicity - I figure, you're either a dumpling person, or you're not. I AM. Oh my, how I am. Matzoh ball soup is the first thing I want when I don't feel well. And if I'm honest, it has nothing to do with the soup, and everything to do with the mmmmatzoh ball. John picked up said soup for me last night and I loved it so much that I whipped up a few matzoh balls for myself for lunch today. I just happened to have a package of Manischewitz Matzoh Ball mix in my cupboard, which produces an excellent matzoh ball (pictured here). But making your own is a snap and worth trying at least once. If for no other reason than to use schmaltz. Yes, it is an actual thing (ingredient), other than an adjective for sappy. (Recipe is posted in comments, below.)

Garlic soup is a-simmerin', I found the energy to do it - because it requires boiling garlic in water. I can handle that. (Recipe in comments, below.) This cough! I have the ugliest cough in the whole world - deep and loud, it literally consumes me. Tears and snot run down my face, I choke and can't breathe, I pull muscles - once I cracked a rib coughing, while I was pregnant with Nathan. It's this beast that possesses me, I hate it. Be gone! Be gone! (Maybe I subconsciously came up with the garlic idea to rid my body of this demon. Or not. Sorry, a little punchy, bored, and tired. I'm not really a demon-believer kind of person.) Did not bake bread, do not have the energy for that. Am making croutons from bakery cheese bread, nice, dense, serves the purpose. After I eat it, I am going. To. Bed. (And hoping not to cough all night...)

Check out the bags! Miserable night of fever and coughing did this to me. Nathan looks adorable when he's sick; Nathan's mom, not so much, eek. John and Nathan took such good care of me, it was very touching. At first I was freezing, so Nathan had John make me a hot-water bottle like I'd made for Nathan last week. If that's not a perfect example of what goes around comes around, I don't know what is. The sentiment alone warmed me up. An hour later I was boiling hot, sweating, even with the winter windows wide open. I dozed on and off all night. My fever is down this morning and I am hoping I'm past that part. So today, a day for lying low and hopefully some dozing between coughing fits. woo. hoo.

Oh, and a total aside, given how crappy I feel it's actually pretty funny - Nathan and I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast on our drive home from Spicer, MN, yesterday. The McDonald's in Litchfield. I walked in wearing my Dottie mink (the fur coat my mother-in-law Dot gave to me), no make-up, huge Audrey-Hepburn-black sunglasses, black Chuck Taylors, black circles under my eyes (see above), baggie jeans, a fever, and a barking cough. I figure I looked like a sort of insane diva. Needless to say, we drew a few stares. And that's not the funny part. The funny part is that I, on a whim, ordered a sausage biscuit and it was - fucking sublime. I hate to admit it, because 75% of the time I scorn McDonald's (you know, except when I eat there and thoroughly enjoy what I've had). I don't know if it was me feeling so awful, or the perfection of this pre-fab-but-deliciously-homemade-tasting-anyhow biscuit, with just the right amount of crispy, spicy, salty sausage, or some combination of both, but I loved it the way I love the duck foie gras ravioli or veal sweetbreads at Fugaise. I did. I slowly savored every bite. I think I even closed my eyes, the highest honor I bestow upon an eating experience. Washed it down with a huge cup of steaming real coffee - I only do decaf, but I knew I needed something to power me through our 2-hour drive home. Real coffee + sausage + biscuit = perfection. Hilarious. Not moderate, and not epicurean. I've lost my bearings, sigh.

Now I'm sick. Inevitable, I guess. And I'm not at my cousin Michael's wedding. Nathan and I did make the groom's dinner, a lovely and funny evening hosted by my aunt Mary and uncle Bruce. Michael (bottom) and Amanda (left) got some good ribbing during various toasts, and Nathan laughed so hard, I love seeing that. And seeing family members I don't get to see nearly often enough, like my uncle Del and cousin Maya (below left) and my cousin MaryBeth's adorable little boy Luke (below right). But oh, I was already half-down by the end of dinner. Some petty family members (does anyone escape this? Guess not...) plus a little pushback on the "inappropriateness" of Feminine Hijinxearlier in the day by someone in my world (apparently girls talking shit about sex, swearing, and cackling about everything else under the sun in public is inappropriate and embarassing to everyone who knows me, ooops; must be why it's so fun!), a fever, nasty cough, two-hour drive, and the last straw - a dark, moldy cabin to bed down in - totally did me in. I was up all night coughing, and decided at oh, about 3:30 a.m., that I had to throw in the towel and come back home. Where there's John, light, good smells, my kitchen, my bath, and my own BED. I don't know if I'll sleep one whit better tonight - the fever and cough are only worse, and when I cough, LOOK OUT, it's an evil thing - but when you're sick, there's no place like home. In fact, in general, there's no place like home. HOME! I do love being home. Especially when Suz brings me cheer-up tulips and totally brightens my day! And Kim sends me an amazing cheer-up email that fortifies my spirits! And John wraps me in a huge hug, offers to go get me matzo ball soup, takes Nathan out to grab some dinner, and insists that I rest. Lovely. Alright, I gotta get in bed.

So my best to Michael and Amanda, who are at this very moment being toasted and showered with good wishes and will soon be dancing up a storm. And who thankfully, I'm sure, have not a clue that I'm not there. I would have loved to see Amanda in her dress, I'm sure she is glorious. And there's nothing I love more than kicking up my heels at a wedding dance! LOVE to shake it on the dance floor. Damn. But, never mind, my best to you both! You're both awesome people. And Michael, remember - a Happy Wife is a Happy Life. Words to live by, I am not kidding. Amen. And don't forget to have fun!

Pizza. My boy wanted pizza this afternoon, finally, we might have a break! He's slowly perking up, after three days of fever, fatigue, and general malaise - woo hoo! It's so sad seeing him sick, breaks my heart. And of course he's pretty tired of it himself, ha. Plus, he'd like to recover in time for my cousin Michael's wedding this weekend. BIG Meyer Family event, all the uncles, aunts, cousins, sibs, half-sibs, parents, step-parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, you name it, they'll all be there. Dinner Friday, wedding and reception Saturday, brunch Sunday. Par-tay! I love getting together with my Meyer family relatives, it's always a terrific time. And a good chance for me to wear heels - we all range in height from 5'8" to 6'5". I kid you not. I'm right smack in the middle at 5'11", ha. Love it. Big, toothy smiles and looooong legs, those define a Meyer. And a love for FOOD and cooking! I am such a Meyer!



I am NOT cooking tonight, however. I feel like I've been cooking for no one but myself for the last few days and it seems a little silly. I guess we are getting through most of it - John took lots of yummy leftovers for lunch today. And I partook of chicken, beans, and rice myself. Oh fine, maybe I will make dinner. Since I'm eating out for the whole weekend, I guess I'd probably better at least think about it...

Oooh, got my Molton Brown Naran Ji handwash today, yum. And a new shower gel, Inspiring Wild-Indigo, also amazing smelling. I'm telling you, one of life's little luxuries, lovely bath products. Last forever and totally make my day. That and perfumes, candles, clean laundry, fresh air, flowers, nice wine, Nathan's little-boy scent, John's closet, cookies - basically anything that smells good.

(From top left to bottom right: Meyer smiles Nathan, Stacey, Marge, Mary, me; honorary Meyer smiles John and Suz, because their smiles are so real, warm, and awesome!)

Kept it very simple for dinner; John had the steak sandwich he couldn't pull off for lunch. Me? A sublime, and pure, turkey, avocado, sweet onion sandwich on whole grain. I savored it, enjoying every..single.. bite. Sauteed the deli-sliced turkey a bit to warm it up, added it to whole grain, plus sliced, raw sweet onion, toasted it in the same pan, and right before I ate it I opened it up and spread it with avocado mashed with nothing but a bit of salt. No cheese - or anything else - needed. Fabulous.

Nathan's still sick. My stepdaughter also sick. John and I - so far, knock on wood, cross our fingers, whatever it takes - are still healthy and washing our hands like crazy (a la Suz). Enough with all of this sickness, it's time for spring! And at 6:30 a.m. today, a lovely cardinal agreed with me, woke me up in fact, singing a decidedly spring song, I had to think about where I was for a moment. A little sign, so sweet!

Nathan's not hungry for much of anything, but I figure the first thing he'll want is some sort of toast/bread/crackers, so I think I'll bake bread today (challah dough baked as rolls). Maybe he can help me out a bit. He is a bit b..o..r..e..d with hanging with his mommy, although grateful too. He got the chills from his fever right before bed last night, so I soaked him in a lovely, warm lavender bath (Thymes Ltd.), blew his hair dry on high heat (makes me sweat every time I attempt it to straighten my hair), and tucked a hot water bottle into his bed to warm it up before he climbed in. He was buried under fleece and down and fell asleep immediately. I knew he would wake up at some point sweating but for the time being he was finally comfortable. Not fun for him! Poor little guy!

My oh my, a nice little lunch (for me...). Chopped steak with onions and mushrooms (from last night) on a homemade roll. As John would say, kill. Reminded me a bit of the naughty little tenderloin sandwiches at Ike's. Or the FAB brisket sandwiches at Maverick's, OMG, they are insanely decadent. Good (great) for takeout but amazing when you eat in, with their crinkle-cut diner fries, and/or onion rings. Nothin' fancy, but so damn good. Nathan (when he's healthy) loves Ike's, the burger. It is pretty incredible. Makes me think of when he was a baby, first learning to talk, I've got him on video, in his bath, saying, "Food." That's it, just "food." Hilarious. That's my boy! I hope he feels better soon...

Basically ate alone again tonight - awww... Couldn't wait for John, who will be home soon, and little Nate just wasn't into eating much. After a lovely, hot shower, I made roasted chicken, spicy beans, rice, and an avocado/tomato/onion relish (recipes for chicken and beans are at right, relish is in comments). Delicious, nutritious, and super-easy. Good combo, ha! Nathan had a few tablespoons of rice with beans and a couple of bites of chicken, but that's all. And I think John's going to skip the chicken and go for the same chopped beef sandwich I had for lunch! So I'll be having chicken, rice, beans, and avocado for lunch tomorrow as well. (I had bought the chicken thinking we were having our usual Wednesday night - both kids. As sometimes happens, ha, that plan fell apart, and I didn't feel like freezing the chicken, so I went for it. Can't say I've ever roasted an entire chicken for myself before, but I'm happy that I did.)