Random post of different bits that have come to mind. Not useful for your everyday. Enjoy nonetheless. Do you have foods you’ve tried to like?

I just saw a salad dressing made with kalamata olives and feta. That has me written all over it, except…. I don’t like olives. I’ve tried. I’ve seriously tried to like them and just can’t. If I had to choose a cuisine to eat for the rest of time, I might pick Mediterranean. Bring on the feta, and the hummus, and falafel, and the salads, and all the cucumbers, and the herbed or grilled meats/fish. I just would have to skip the olives. I remember being in Greece in 2008 and thinking: if ever there was a time to like a really good selection of olives, it was then. Nope. A no-go. I like pickles and briney things like capers, but no olives for me.

Blue cheese & goat cheese. I just can’t do it. Just not my thing. I really love blue cheese dressing, but blue cheese itself is something my throat doesn’t really want to swallow. I don’t see the hype with goat cheese. I can tolerate it breaded and baked/fried. It is pretty pricey so I doubt anyone wants me to tolerate it.

Yogurt & oatmeal are weird ones I didn’t like forawhile and then after not having them for years (college + a few more years) I tried them again and felt like I missed so many years of enjoying them! That kind of came back when I was pregnant and not wanting creamy/squishy things. Now I eat yogurt or oatmeal for most of the week of breakfasts.

On the other hand….
I’m newly obsessed with these Pop Corners. I love them. The kettle flavor is the best, but sea salt and white cheddar are good too. They’re kind of like popcorn, kind of like a rice cake, but better.

I also am all about these itty bitty Greek yogurt cups. I can’t always find them, but when I do it is very exciting. They are tiny cups with shaved chocolate chunks in the yogurt. I like the tang of the yogurt with the bitter chocolate. I inherited 3 after sis wasn’t impressed. Now I get them whenever I see them.

I keep this dressing in my work fridge and I’m loving it.

May really breezed by, and for once it wasn’t because I was too busy. I think it was just quick because of the change in the seasons, being back into a routine, and also a dumb lingering cold. Now I’m 100% ready for June.

Today is National Burger Day so here are some of my favorite burgers. My Parisian burger with rosemary, swiss, truffle mayo, and a fried egg is hands down, my favorite.

I didn’t have a ton of earth shattering new posts for May but one of my favorites was a quickie Broccoli Rabe, Sausage & Orrechetti 

Also, who wouldn’t love Teriyaki Chicken Pizza? I also am proud to say I finally mastered spelling teriyaki. A win is a win folks, spelling was never my strong suit.

Progress on this year’s goals: 
The Year of the Earring: ehh. I kind of forgot. Maybe I’ll double-up in June 😉   

make more salad dressings: YES! I did it! I made basil vinaigrette for a tomato/mozzarella/orzo salad. Such a better pasta salad.

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: a work in progress. I was proud of my estimation and departure timing just the other day.

recreate restaurant menu items: I always see Broccoli Rabe, Sausage & Orrechetti  on menus which was easily created at home.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: I read That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo. It was pretty good, though not at all the caliber of his other works. Bridge of Sighs is one of my favorites of his. I started Paradox of Plenty though I’m not sure it’s a keeper. The forward is making me think it isn’t going to be a keeper. The data and science is already feeling like too much. 

use the crockpot more: meh. nope.  

seafood once a month: I devoured some salmon for a his/hers dinner night. We had caesar salad and topped mine with grilled salmon and his with grilled steak. This is a favorite quick meal for us. I’m sure it’ll come up again quickly.

Eckkk. We’ve all been sick in the C house for what feels like forever. Everytime I think we’re doing better another symptom creeps up. I’m 100% looking forward to a long weekend with no plans but to recuperate. I’m not gone, just a busy time and blogging has taken a backseat. Here are my recent items holding a spot in my heart.

We’re growing lots more herbs this year! Wait till you see what I did with some basil. Hint: it wasn’t pesto. Wait till you see what I want to make pesto out of! Hint: it isn’t basil. Tricky tricky!

Recently a few of my favorite ladies joined me for a quickie dinner at Cinquecento Roman Trattoria. Guys, they have these Neighborhood Nights on Sundays & Mondays. $20 for a choice of salad, choice of pasta, and a glass of wine. Plus free parking. Love it. It was so fun, such a steal, and it worked out so perfectly. We went sort of early-bird timing but I was home in time to see the little one go to bed. I had a polenta gnocchi which was so fun.

I made this baked oatmeal but swapped raspberries for blueberries and looooved it. I added flaxseeds & brewers yeast to give this a powerful morning punch. Yes, cold: I’m trying to knock you right outta my head.

I had two work events with cocktail party food. I had nothing to do with either food display but it is an important life lesson:
1st one: had 2 cheeses with some grapes and 2 kinds of crackers. So lovely and really simple. Crowd pleasing with 1 crumbly cheese and 1 softish cheese.
2nd one: had a premade tray: cubed cheese, pepperoni, and a sleeve of crackers, all of which had been refrigerated, resulting in sweaty pepperoni & soggy crackers. #fail I’m sure this cost only a tiny bit less than the 1st one.

Happy holiday weekend!!

My mom taught me about beauty, though that might not be the first thing she’d think of. She didn’t teach me about makeup or shopping, since she isn’t into either of those. She taught me the beauty of the arts – like live theater productions from an early age or all the musicals we could borrow from the library on VHS instead of Disney movies. She taught me the beauty of words – from books to cleverly written to-do lists written sometimes in Latin, to a clue on a Christmas gift so she’d remember what she wrapped. She taught me the beauty of homemade gifts and treats – like quilts and desserts from scratch. She taught me the beauty of real food – like quiche, lobster, and garden tomatoes. She taught me the beauty of nature – with trips to National Parks and for being green before that was a thing. She taught me the beauty of what love looks like – from loving my own baby to always celebrating the love I share with Mr. J.

Mother’s Day has a whole new meaning now but I’m so thankful for many lessons but I owe her all the credit of learning to cook. Some of her signature dishes nobody can make like she can, but I love trying, learning her tips and inspiring eachother.

Her quiche is unrivaled. Mine isn’t quite there, but it is getting better. My recent best one was Bacon, Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Quiche

She and I both love shrimp and scallops. I learned to make pan-seared scallops by seeing her make it look easy!

Freezing leftovers or additional ingredients is something Mr. J and I both picked up from our mothers. They can each go into the freezer, root around, and come out with exactly what they were looking for. Amazing.

I leave the clam chowder to her, but corn chowder is another good one.  She also agrees that bacon makes everything better.

Zucchini or Eggplant fritters are a dish I credit to her.

Thanks Mom!

I’m so happy it is spring! Sunshine! Flowers! Gahhh! I just want to be outside all the time!!! April was a fast and furious month with my return to work just in time to kick my event planning into full gear. I was so thankful to have a week of half days for the initial return so I could practice using my brain and wearing pants that button. Mr. J was home with the little one for 2 weeks and I really loved seeing them really bond while I went back to work.

I think the twice a week blogging is here to say. It seems to be a better schedule for me to have the chance to cook some good stuff but also not feel pressured to have every meal blog-worthy. Repeating meals or cooking without photos is nice, ya know?

My salad dressing this month was early but I was so happy with my Tuna Nicoise salad. It was the winner this month as my favorite. It also was my only seafood post this month. Oops. I’ll get on that.

This month I was also really proud of my bacon, cheddar, & caramelized onion quiche. Best one I’ve ever made. Plus I have more caramelized onions in the freezer just waiting for a chance to hop into a panini or ontop of a pizza!

I really loved this chicken meatball, cranberry, kale, and onion alfredo pasta dish. So good. This was my restaurant recreation that I just adored. It was oddly fulfilling to challenge myself to take the elements of a truly special dinner and recreate it as a quick weeknight meal.

The “smokehouse” burger with smokey aoli, havarti, caramelized onions, and pretzel rolls!

The Little One:

We’re so in love. He’s just a joy. That doesn’t mean every day, or every minute is rainbows & unicorns, but Baby T is happy and that spreads to us. He is smiley and coos a lot. Baby T’s hair is cracking me up. There’s so much on the back and not much on the sides right now. He’s growing so quickly! Sometimes I look at him and think he’s like a wiggly little boy rather than my baby! I imagine I’ll do that for the rest of his life, am I right?! The other day I took the babe in the stroller and brought one of the dogs on a walk. I felt like a million bucks getting the 2 out at once! Windsor is such a good dog and I was really proud of him. To show my appreciation, I was realllly careful not to bump him with the stroller.

Likes: daycare! Phew! It was an easier adjustment returning to work and starting him at daycare than I thought. They’re really sweet and he seems happy. We all did well with the transition. He loooves daddy! This month especially Baby T’s face lights up and he cracks a huge smile when he spots his Dad. It is really sweet to see. He likes grabbing at toys hanging above him and holding toys.

Dislikes: sometimes the early evening nap/snooze isn’t on the agenda for more than 15 minutes. He had a few nights where he was vocal about not getting back to this nap.

Progress on this year’s goals: 
The Year of the Earring: ehh. I got several pairs for my birthday so I still had a few to be “new” this month.  

make more salad dressings: YES! I did it! I made dijon vinaigrette for my tuna nicoise salad. Seriously so easy.

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: the daycare late fee is an incredible motivator/stressor to make this happen 😉

recreate restaurant menu items: I recreated a much faster version of the turducken meatball alfredo pasta I had from Isabella’s. Forget pinterest…restaurant inspiration is where it’s at.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: I didn’t read a ton, but I read The Children Act, which wasn’t amazing. Now I’m part way through Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian. That one is more adventurous. I was all jazzed to read a Laura Ingalls Wilder Autobiography until I realized it was annotated. Yeah. It weighed about 5 pounds and had a zillion footnotes. You can’t just read that. 

use the crockpot more: Nothing this month. 

seafood once a month: I think tuna on my salad is going to have to count. I’ll do a better job in May, also since it is grilling season.