Fresh Tart

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.)

Nathan's home again today, the third day in 2 weeks, sigh. He spent the morning with Carter and then I - after finally making my Byerly's run! - swung by and picked him up. I don't think he's going to be much into eating dinner tonight, we'll have to see. I'm making one of John's favorite things in the whole world. No, not chicken and rice (that's tomorrow night, ha) but chopped steak. That's right, good old-fashioned chopped steak, his Nanny Claire used to make it for him, it's a nostalgia thing. I bought choice NY strip steaks and chopped (small dice) them myself, coarsely, added salt and pepper, and made several patties. Before I cook them tonight I'll dredge them in flour, saute them, and make a mustard/mushroom pan sauce. With roasted asparagus. Should be nice.

Suz sent me an email saying that iTunes rated our podcast explicit - holy shit! Me? Explicit? I mean, this has nothing to do with f-bombs, I don't even think I've said fuck yet on Feminine Hijinx. It's purely the content! Don't say I didn't warn you...

Mashed potatoes... Mmm... Love 'em. Which is why I don't often make them. Because no one else around here does, pretty much just me. John will eat them, especially with chopped steak and roasted asparagus, one of our favorite veggies. A heapin' helpin' (well, not too heapin') of comfort food, ahhh. I ate it alone, what with Nathan not feeling well, and John having to work late to make up for being away on vacation part of last week. But that's OK, still tasted great. Especially those damn potatoes... The key to great smashies is putting them through a potato ricer. Takes about 2 minutes and makes them perfect, and I've experimented with all the techniques. Nothing touches the ricer for fluffy mashed potatoes. Add a little butter and half-n-half to taste, little salt (I'm not a fan of pepper on mashed potatoes, to me this food is meant to be purely white) and there they are, potato heaven. Delicious with the mustard pan sauce.

There is no recipe I could post today that could top the dish featured on Planet Dan. I'm not even going to put the pic on my blog, lest someone think that I created this dish, so check it out by going to his blog. Yeah. Baby. There are definitely people weirder than I am, good to know. Because exposing my weirdness/silliness/grossness on Feminie Hijinx, for the whole world to hear, caused me to not sleep very well last night. Had the typical "vulnerable" dreams - driving in a car that wouldn't accelarate, caught in public in my underwear, the whole nine. Pretty funny. Hey, being almost-40 is all about taking risks, shaking things up, doing something new. Posting on this blog is something I never thought I would do. And I love it. And doing Feminine Hijinxis definitely something I never thought I'd do. And I love that too. That's what good friends (and husbands!) are for - to push you past your comfort zone. Consider me pushed! Eeek! (Here we are last night, the chat before the official chat, a photo I stole off Susie's blog. Apparently, I have none of my own content today. Yet. Gimme a few hours...)

I'm back! AND I made a lovely dinner, an innovation, because I did NOT go to Byerly's, yesterday or today, which I really needed to do. I love the pressure, I guess; sometimes our best dinners come from what I think is nothing. Tomorrow I'm hitting Byerly's for sure. John was away for the weekend, back tonight, and we had one of our awesome nights of just hangin', chatting, cooking, listening to music, laughing. Really nice. He listened to Feminine Hijinxfor the first time and laughed his ass off which made me feel great, I must say, he loved it. So that was cool, along with our simple tapas-inspired dish of oven-roasted potatoes, tomatoes, and onion tossed warm with a tuna salad composed of again, Genoa brand tuna packed in olive oil, chopped scallions, and minced green pepper (recipe posted below, in comments). Poured a Spanish 1991 Mas Donis with it, wow, really hit the spot (and dig those pigtails!). Although with his food John chose a SO (short for soda) instead of the lovely wine (that's an Orangina in his hand). Bus-ted! I'm telling Stu!

Nathan and I had a great night last night, but it had nothing to do with Chinese food or going to a movie! We decided it was too cold, and he was feeling rough with the start of a cold, and our timing was all messed up anyhow, so we innovated and ordered in from Davanni's (pizza for him, piece of lasagna for me) and watched Ghostbuster's on cable. Total BLAST. We were both so glad to be indoors, warm and cozy, that was half the fun.

So tonight we had scheduled the second recording of our Feminine Hijinx podcast, but poor Kim, Maven of Mischief, was terribly sick yesterday, nasty stomach virus that's knocking everyone down, so we probably won't pull it off. Hopefully she's able to rest - vomit-free, ouch - all day today! Be well, Kim!

Hallelujah, She is Risen! Or so Suz exclaimed upon seeing Kim at church this morning, so we are ON, woo hoo! Since the kids are off school tomorrow, they're coming too, for pizza and rolling their eyes at their goofy moms. Thank you to Wine Genius Stu Williams for helping me out with wine ideas for the podcast - one per week is the idea. We're starting with a wine Kim brought last week, but after this, Stu's recommendations, can't wait. After we have a couple of podcasts under our belts, we'll make the Feminine Hijinx website live and I'll put it here on my blog as well. Bet you're all dying to hear it, ha. The website is pretty incredible, I must say, what with Cory's photos/concept/web design/recording, Brian's art design, Susie's songwriting/performance, and my and Kim's, um, what have we contributed Kim? We're reallly good at drinking wine, uh, that's it! Cheers to the wine drinkers! (Especially those who drink wine in a Jesus Loves You cup!)

Made myself a quick and satisfying lunch, nothing but a tuna sandwich, but with packed-in-olive-oil Genoa tuna, scallions, little lemon, arugula, chopped tomato, and a toasted whole wheat roll, pretty damn delicious. Potato chips would have been incredible with it but 1) we don't have any, and 2) I hardly need those empty calories. I've been not-so-moderate these last couple of weeks, if I'm honest (as if I can hide it, what with this blog, ha), and I can tell. Tight pants. Damn! Good thing I'm having pizza and wine for dinner tonight, nothing like salt and alcohol to make you feel trim in the morning. Good Lord. Hmmm...I think I'll go grab me some exercise and a glass of water and attempt to keep it all in balance.

Wine+pizza=yummy. And get this, also had some chips, as a little snack-y beforehand, so there, got my chip fix. And Suz baked a chocolate cake, with Killer Chocolate Sauce as icing, fabulous. So properly fortified, Kim, Suz and I recorded the second Feminine Hijinx, while the kids played upstairs. Hoooeeee did we have a blast, and hooooeeee is it on the bawdy (raunchy!) side (and, a bit gross, just so you know, we open with a conversation about www.smellypoop.com, we're odd and kinda crazy, I admit it), so be warned. Because now our website is l...i...v...e - www.femininehijinx.net - check out it, have a listen, buy some merchandise (we've got it all, I'm telling you), and enjoy. Unless you're related to me, then I'm too uncomfortable with you listening. Seriously. Okay. Good night!

I love it when Siggy Roo's jowls get stuck in his teeth, it's so endearing! This weather is hard on the old guy, I can see him picking up his feet while he tries to pee - not easy when you have long, shaky legs. He pulled it off, but just barely. He's such a sweetie. Rrrrrrooo!

And speaking of sweeties, Nathan and I are having a mom/son night out tonight. Dinner and a movie, I'm really looking forward to it. Haven't decided yet where we'll eat, I'll see what he's up for. He digs Greek and Chinese particularly. And of course, the ubiquitous pizza, his true fav. He occasionally gets a bit burned out on 'za, however, so hopefully he'll be up for something a little more interesting. Maybe I can talk him into Mexican, I've had a hankering along those lines... Hmmm...

Today, a quest for productivity of some sort. Didn't achieve much yesterday, I have to confess. I just don't want to go anywhere when it's -10 degrees, funny thing. But I do have errands to run, I've got to brave it today. And of course, laundry is not very dependent on the weather, ha. No excuse there. OK, Stephanie, kick 'er into gear!

OMG, I just whipped up the most incredible lunch for myself. Wow. I should have paid closer attention to how I did it, I was just cooking a craving, basically. Talked to Nathan, he wants Chinese tonight, and I have that above-said Mexican desire, so I pulled out a can of pinto beans, made a quick chili sauce to simmer them in, cooked myself a couple of fresh tortillas (sooo easy, and sooo good, that store-bought won't much move you again), topped it all off with chopped arugula and raw onion. Even had to have a quick glass of red with it, it was so delicious. Damn! Now THAT took care of my Mexican craving, and it wasn't nearly as naughty as a big, cheesy burrito. (I'll write up what I did and post it in comments, below.)