Stuffed Shells

We visited my mother last weekend. She invited my youngest uncle, his wife and kids to dinner along with my grandmother and sister. She served stuffed shells, tossed salad, sausage and bread for dinner. My mother was never much of a cook when I was growing up. Her dinner menu consisted of a constant rotation of spaghetti with meat sauce, Chinese pudding (don't ask), American chop suey (again, don't ask), tuna noodle casserole, hot dogs and beans, macaroni "sudan" (this is in the don't ask category as well), grilled cheese and soup, green bean stew, pancakes, tuna and peas on toast, baked chicken coated in Seven Seas Italian dressing, and last and least - hamburg gravy. Therefore, by these standards, stuffed shells was rather upscale. It was a tasty dinner, my 2 year old son ate 2 entire shells. It was also a good visit.

Much of the talk for the weekend revolved around the yard sale my mother is planning for the summer. She has many things to get rid of, but for some reason she thinks these items are worth something. She wants to price her 30 year old tent that "sleeps 6" for $50. I think $15 would be a better price point. She's never going to use it again and if she doesn't sell it she'll throw it away so why not just get $15? I really hope her ego isn't destroyed the day of the yard sale.

The weekend was also good because I survived my mother without alcohol. I am less than a month from my due date and I really didn't know if I would have the stamina for her. Turns out I did alright.

Lindt Truffles

These are my most recent guilty pleasure. Pregnancy does not leave many choices for guilty pleasures so while the truffles are pretty tame they are pretty much my only option. I am partial to the white chocolate ones. I usually buy the variety bag and I wonder why there are fewer white chocolate truffles than milk or dark chocolate truffles. Maybe it just seems that way?

Quail Eggs

About a week or so ago we visited friends in Brooklyn. They only live about 11 miles away or a 30 minutes car ride or a 60 minute subway ride away and it amazes me that we only manage to see each other once per year. Why does adult life make keeping in touch with friends so challenging? Anyway, we brought our 2 year old with us and he was immediately intrigued by our friend's tiny little dog. He is more accustomed to our 60 pound clumber spaniel who moves at a sloth-like pace due to her advanced age. This sprite little dog seemed like a doll to Rex and he kept trying to figure out how to pick the toy dog up. As Rex contemplated his moves with the dog, we adults chatted and snacked.

Our friends had prepared a very nice snack for us - great cheeses, tasty artichoke dip, cerignola olives and quail eggs. Our friends who do not have a young child and who do go out to dinner regularly informed us that quail eggs are very popular at trendy restaurants. My husband and I had heard about new types of eggs such as quail and ostrich eggs that are being sold at Whole Foods and other specialty markets, but between raising a toddler and being pregnant our restaurant hopping days have become a thing of the past (hopefully to be resurrected in the coming years). So besides feeling woefully out of touch, non-trendy, and parental, we were genuinely happy to try the quail eggs they prepared for us. Rex and I enjoyed the eggs quite a bit. My husband wasn't as impressed.

Toward the end of the evening, Rex once again occupied himself with the dog while we finished up chatting with our friends. My husband and I are tentatively planning a holiday party for the end of the year and if we can pull that off we may see these friends twice in the same year!

Almost Irish Stew

I made this dish in the slow-cooker a week ago when my mom and sister visited. Everyone enjoyed it which was good. Being together with my mom and sister was something of an experience this time around. I really don't know where to begin, but my mother tried to convince me that monkeys don't have tails and my sister thinks that her employer would not have had the right to tell her she couldn't take time off to go to Obama's inauguration. I think they both must be out of their minds, at least a little. It seems the longer I am away from them, the less I understand them. I just can't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't gone to college and made a life for myself. Am I destined to be irritated by my family? Should I readjust my expectations and acknowledge that they don't understand my views just as I don't understand theirs?

Oh and my sister slurps - I hate slurping.

Swedish Meatballs with Cabbage and Apple Salad

This was our dinner last night. The salad was great and the meatballs were good, especially if you could tolerate all of the butter in the sauce. Thankfully I made a dessert that wasn't particularly heavy so we didn't feel too gross by the end of the night. I have to admit that even though the butter was heavy I am looking forward to the leftovers. I guess I am a glutton for punishment. I do enjoy our weekend meals that can turn into cooking extravaganzas. I don't enjoy the mess that the cooking creates, but I guess that's the price to pay. There's always a price.

Hungarian Beef Borscht Leftovers

J made borscht last weekend. It was the first time either of us had had such a dish. It was pretty tasty, but the recipe stated that you should make it 24 hours in advance and then reheat it. I had some leftover borscht for lunch the following day and it definitely was more flavorful. It seems that just about all meals are more enjoyable the second time around which boasts the question, why? Is it that the work of creating the dish has retreated farther into our memories so we can relax and enjoy the dish more? Is it that we already know what to expect from the dish and that allows us to be most pleasantly surprised if the dish seems more delicious? Does the refrigerator have some magical power? Is there some augmentive force in my Ziploc containers?

Should we make all meals one day in advance?

Parmesan and Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin, Potato and Baby Spinach Gratin, Brussels Sprouts and Goat Cheese Salad

This was our dinner on New Year's Day. Since J and I have been together I have always taken the first foods of the New Year seriously. I figure we can eat terribly anytime so we should eat well on New Year's Day. I guess it helps that we enjoy cooking and cooking together. The meal was excellent and we had enough beef for two more meals.

In addition to good food New Year's Day also brings some pressure to identify resolutions. I have quite a few this year. Many of them are small or things I can't do anything about immediately. Here are my resolutions for 2009:

~ make at least 1 blog post per week. I was going to aim for once per day, but I know that won't happen once the baby gets here so I am trying to be realistic about my goals.

~ stay on top of household clutter. I need to really get moving on this one. Thankfully the Christmas decorations are down and put away so I should be able to get things organized soon.

~ pay bills in the office every Monday. I want to start using that room more often and be more organized about bill paying.

~ Be more mindful about spending!

~ lose this baby weight quickly after Niner gets here. I want to get back into leather pants shape by the Fall and be able to wear a bikini if we go on vacation in December. Speaking of being pregnant here is what I look like at 25 weeks: