HaPpY nEw YeAr!1!

Please, don't get me started on New Year's Resolutions! That'll be another post. :)

Well, well, well... this stepford wife finds herself and The Husband staying in tonight. It's one of the biggest date-nights of the year, but I'm OK with that. In fact, I decided that this would be the perfect time to try not one, but two new recipes!

I've been thinking about tonight's dinner all week. The Husband is working today so, of course, this dinner should be extra special. I want my husband to know how much I appreciate him bringing home the bacon all year long. :) Anyway, I defrosted the beef shank from the freezer. Or I should say grass-fed, natural beef shank.

OK- it's called a shank but really, it's part of the leg. That means it can be tough from all that walking a grass-fed, natural beef cow would do. It also means that it's full of beef flavor! I decided to try this recipe. Google also pulled up a FoodNetwork recipe, but I really like the way this was written, as if by a sister-stepford wife! So, I journeyed to Whole Foods and picked up everything I needed, fighting the crowds in the parking lot and listening to bawling children caught eating the bulk yogurt pretzels. Anyhoo, I got home and got cookin'! It's now simmering on the stovetop and only needs another 2 1/2 hours to go. My entire domain smells rich and meaty. mmMMmm....

Tomorrow, we're going to a New Year's brunch at my sister's house. Since I now have a gluten sensitivity (yes, I am a sensitive woman after all) I thought I'd make a gluten-free chocolate raspberry cake. And, since it's San Francisco I made it vegan as well. This took a bit more research than the cow leg. I mean, there's a ton of vegan cake recipes out there, but they all use stuff I'm not sure about, like tofu and strange egg-substitutes. Anyways, I found a recipe that seemed to satisfy me. I depended a lot on the reviews. The dough tasted OK- not great but then again, there's no gluten. or eggs. or butter. or milk.

Now the cakes (ooOOoo... yes, it made two round cakes) are out and cooling on a rack on the dining table and, I gotta tell ya', they look like cake. Score '1' for the vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free cake recipe. Tomorrow I'll make this chocolate icing and ice it at my sister's place. I mean, it's got chocolate in it so it can't be that bad.

Perhaps I'll let you all know tomorrow how it went.

My Way

For what is a woman, What has she got? If not herself then she has naught. To say the things she really feels and not the things of one who kneels.... Unless she has to kneel in order to get at the grime!

During the school year, hubby and I have an unwritten agreement: Don't complain about how the chore is done unless you want to do it. So for 9 months of the year I don't comment on much because I'm just too damn busy to do it myself and, really, I'm ever so grateful to hubby for picking up my slack.

However, summertime is my time and household chores get done my way. To be honest, it's only a few little things (but all you married ladies know that it's all about the little things in a relationship), and here they are:
1. Dishes are washed my way.
2. The food storage containers are stored my way.
3. Laundry is separated my way.
4. Bathroom towels are arranged my way.
5. Floors are swept and mopped my way.
6. Dinners are made my way.

And, there's nothing the hubby can do about it!

Unless he wants to do them himself. :)

Satisfaction

One of my greatest satisfying moments comes at the end of the day. After dinner is made and eaten; after the dishes are washed; after the pots and pans are dried and put away. When the kitchen counter and stovetop are cleaned and wiped, the floor is swept (and sometimes Swiffered) and the kitchen is nice and clean. It's like leaving a hug for me to fall into the next day.

Ahhhhh..... can you feel it, too? I love going to bed knowing that when I wake up and groggily head for the kitchen in the morning everything is neat and tidy. My shiny kettle smiles at me while I fill it in my cheery empty sink. I don't have to worry about making room on the counter for the (clean) cutting board because there's nothing on the counter! Even my food scale is buffed up and ready for anything.

Once breakfast is made, I take my plate and mug of coffee to my clutter-free table top. What better way to start your day?

Unlike my pre-Stepford wife days when I'd have to fumble through a tower of dirty dishes for skillet, plate, etc., wash said skillet, plate, etc., make my breakfast, then make room someplace for me to sit and eat. How did I manage to live that way for so long?

Good to Be Back!

Greetings! Oh, my, it is so good to be back! Now that summer is here I can finally free my inner Stepford wife. Although I've been on "vacation" since Friday, today feels like the first, full day of summer vacation and what a busy day it has been!

First of all, woke up to my three sweet girl ratties. Made myself coffee and kissed the husband good-bye. Then I made my own breakfast, finished my coffee, and went on a nice, long walk (need to get back into top Stepford wife shape!). Showered. Called a girlfriend of mine for lunch, but she was busy so I made my own lo-cal dish. Then it was off to the library to indulge in a stack of summer reading. (For starters, Sue Grafton's B Is for Burglar.)

Once home, I just sat on the sofa reading my book and watching episodes of Murder She Wrote. (I just love how she manages to solve each case with poise and manners.) I finally felt ready to do battle! I emptied the dish washer, cleaned the kitchen, took out some recycling, stored my classroom materials (4 crates of stuff), and did a load of laundry. I really wanted to make the husband something wonderful for dinner, but we're on the Primal Diet and all his old favorites are not PD friendly. So, I figured I'd just do his usual chores for him so that he can relax this evening. Honestly, I think he'd appreciate that more.

The JOY of Cooking

I have a small collection of cookbooks. Most of them are from WeightWatchers. The recipes from these books usually get a "meh" response from hubby. The food is good enough to eat, but not so great as to warrant being made on a regular basis. The only exceptions seem to be the ethnic foods. THOSE hubby really seems to enjoy, so I enjoy making them.

The one cookbook which consistently gets "yummmmm" reviews is The Joy of Cooking. Almost everything we make out of this book is amazing. I think there may have been one or two recipes that were so-so.

Anyway, as a Stepford Wife it is my job to provide tasty dinners for my husband. Summertime is cooking time in my house. I have the opportunity to shop and spend hours in the kitchen cooking up yummy stuff. This summer, I have tried four new recipes.

1. Pesto Vegetable Lasagne: This really should be called "Pesto Spinach Lasagne" because that's really the only veggie called for in the recipe. I make the pesto from scratch (out of Joy, natch) and use whole wheat lasagne noodles which hold up very nicely after boiling. I've already made this twice, it's that good!

2. Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken: another tasty chicken recipe. We eat a lot of chicken breast in this house, so any new way to make it is appreciated. I liked it, and hubby had seconds, so that's always a good sign.

3. Black Bottom Cupcake: O. M. G. This is just the most awesome cupcake in the world. I wavered, asking myself "to frost, or not to frost" and NO FROSTING is the way to go. They were so rich and moist and gooOOood. My sister, nephew, and neighbor loved them.

4. Applesauce Cake: This was a very nice spice cake. It's more autumnal than summery, but went over well with our neighbors. I used brown sugar as suggested in Joy for a more spicey-cakey flavor. Again, no frosting but a dusting of powdered sugar. It was still a nice cake after sitting in the fridge, covered in cling-film, for 3 days. The rats liked it too, of course.

All these recipes are full-fat. Joy does make some suggestions for decreasing the number of calories in some of her recipes, but nothing tastes as good as the original recipe. That's why I still keep the WeightWatchers books around. I need to eat something low-calorie in order to make up for all that oil and butter! :-)

I LOVE THE MAGIC ERASER

That's basically the thought of the day.

Today was Sweep and Mop day. It's when I, obviously, sweep and mop the kitchen and bathroom. I do have a small broom for my small kitchen and bathroom, but when it comes to mopping I just use the Swiffer Sweeper. It's perfect for lazy housekeepers like me! Actually, I'm not all that lazy, but the Swiffer really does fit our lifestyle. We have no kids and no big, messy pets so I don't need any heavy-duty mops and buckets. Plus, the rooms are small enough that one Swiffer wet sheet is enough to clean up the kitchen and bathroom floors. And, the velcro edge is great for scraping off bits of dinner.

However, there are times when a bit of grime is lodged inside the small pits in the linoleum. That's when my Wonder Tool comes in- Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. It's not that expensive (about $3 for 2) and really does seem to magically erase any dirt my Swiffer can't get at! It also takes care of any pot scratches on the tile counter. I also used it to attack the grout on the floor of our 1950's bathroom tiled floor. Only 5 minutes and PRESTO the grout was white and beautiful!


Really, whenever I get a chance to whip it out, I go looking for more places to use it. The Magic Eraser is fantastic against the dirt and stuff left from your fingers on doors, kitchen cabinets, the 'fridge, and light switches.
Oh, the Magic Eraser puts me in such a good mood!!!

To Market, to Market

You know how the line to your favorite ride at Disneyland or where ever is so long? And you just stand and wait in it for 2 hours (or more)? And then you finally board the ride and it's all over in about 2 minutes?

Yeah, the farmers market is kinda like that for me.

I wait all day for it to start. I make a list of all the tasty, fresh fruits and veggies I'm going to buy. I go the the ATM so that I've got cashish. I drive around a bit to find parking.

And when I finally get there it's all over in 10 minutes. Not only did I spend all my money, but I also go a little over because there's ALWAYS something special to buy that I hadn't planned on. This new I went to had rotisserie chicken! With rosemary potatoes! It was $12, just for the chicken!! There were also kettle corn and tamales.

I'll have to bring more money with me next week. :-)