Cheesecake and Booze

The two things I missed on vacation 2008. The booze I planned on missing, but the cheesecake not so much. On the flight down, the flight attendant served J and I our meals separately so that Rex could sit on one of our laps while the other ate. It seemed like such a good plan. J ate first and his meal arrived with a slice of cheesecake. From that point on I couldn't wait for my meal. When it finally arrived my cheesecake had been replaced by a bowl of fruit. It is safe to say that I was very disappointed.

Let me continue my complaining about airlines with our trip through security to board our plane in NY. J and I loaded up the bins we needed, collapsed the stroller, took off our sweaters, jackets and shoes. Rex and I headed toward the metal detector. The guard told me to remove Rex's shoes - he is 22 months old, his shoes are the length of 1.5 Q-tips! Then the guard "padded" Rex down after we walked through the detector due to the fact that he had a sweater on. I still can't believe my 22 month old was padded down.

Tomorrow is our return flight. Hopefully I will get Rex through security with less fanfare and manhandling.

Blackened Steak Tips over Penne with a Ricotta Cream Sauce

This was my tasty dinner this evening. We tried to go to Miss Vicky's for dinner, but didn't realize that they didn't start serving dinner until 6pm which was a bit of an issue considering we arrived at 5:20 with a hungry toddler. We opted to dine at Shipwreck Landing for the second time on this vacation. The food is tasty, the service is good and it has a kid's menu.

We are about halfway through our vacation and boy is vacation different this year. Taking care of a toddler is much easier than taking care of an infant which is what we did on our vacation last year. This year Rex will play in the sand with his toys and nap on the beach so that J and I can actually get in some good tanning/skin cancer time. We have also been able to go out for early dinners instead of lunches this year which is nice. The other kink in our vacation is my pregnant status - no booze on the flight for me or rum and cokes since landing. Instead J has kept me from grousing too much by making me virgin coladas of one variety or another.

We are still working on a name for the little baby boy that will join our family in April, but other than that we are just trying to relax and not let any of life's other stresses get too us too much until we get back home.

Grilled Cheese and Clam Chowder

This is a meal I have had more often lately. It's quite tasty and ranks pretty high on my comfort food scale. I like my grilled cheese with mustard or tuna fish and I add pepper and hot sauce to my chowder. The meal just isn't the same without these things. Unfortunately I have not enjoyed a martini lately. I am pregnant and a tini is definitely off limits as are many other enjoyable things - raw food such as my beloved sushi; salmon - I can't wait for a bagel, cream cheese and smoked salmon to grace my brunch plate in the Spring; coldcuts - not really a big issue for me, but because I can't have them they seem to be everywhere and they look tasty. I will keep making due with my grilled cheese sandwiches, at least it keeps my mind off of the other foods.

Glazed Turnips and Celeriac Mash

Mmmm... the sweet foods of Autumn. Autumn is my favorite season. I love wearing sweaters and comfort food to me is usually Fall-like. The crispness of the air can almost make you feel as though pollution doesn't exist, even in NYC. That is until a city bus goes speeding past you.

I decided to get Rex a Halloween costume this year. He's going to be a lion. I hope he wears the costume well and doesn't get fussy. I will not take him trick-or-treating, he's too young to get loaded up on so much candy. I think I will just have him hang out with me while I hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. Hopefully it will be a nice night and we can sit outside.

Rex is doing great, he still isn't talking in many real words, but he does make sounds to reply appropriately to questions and conversation. I hope he has a word explosion soon. Sometimes I wonder if I am just not paying enough attention to him to pick up on what he is saying/trying to say. We are introducing the potty to Rex. He loves his potty book and he likes sitting on the potty when he is fully clothed, but that's about it. I may try some training pants and see if the relative lack of absorbency helps to move things in the right direction. It's getting really difficult to put a diaper on a standing toddler.

Banana Loaf with Iced Lemon Glaze

In my eternal attempt to reduce our household spending I decided to start baking more so that I will buy less processed and prepared foods. Yesterday I baked a banana loaf with iced lemon glaze, I am hoping my son enjoys a piece for his afternoon snack. I am not entirely sure when or how it happened, but I feel like I turned around one day and realized that our grocery bill had just about doubled. I do try to buy organic products when available and environmentally friendly cleaning products so I know that has upwardly affected our grocery bill, but does American cheese in the deli NEED to be $6 per pound?

Plum Tart

We joined an organic veggie and fruit co-op this summer. Every Tuesday Rex and I drive to a relatively nearby park to pick-up our share of the week's produce. Usually we bring home some tasty greens, squash, peppers, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes. We have also been treated to eggplant, Japanese turnip and hearty greens such as collards. The fruit share gets more and more tasty each week. The first few weeks provided us with blueberries and strawberries, but the past couple of weeks brought plums, peaches and nectarines.

The first week that I brought home something other than berries was a few weeks ago. After I unpacked our produced we were faced with the daunting task of consuming 2 pounds of yellow plums before they became overripe. I searched the internet for something to do with our plums and came across a plum tart recipe. I made the tart on a Wednesday afternoon while Rex napped and he was the first to try it that night for dessert. It was quite a hit with him as well as the adults in the house.

Tonight's dinner will consist of an open-faced eggplant, tomato and mozzarella sandwich. The eggplant and tomatoes are from the co-op. We have become a bit giddy about cooking and eating our co-op produce. Planning weekly menus based on the surprises in our weekly share proves to be a fun summer activity.

I have been in the cooking doldrums for quite some time and this co-op pushed me out of it. Thankfully the co-op continues into November so my cooking skills should stay sharp. Once it is over I will have to break out the slow-cooker and hunker down for winter.

Mango Lemonade

In our eternal quest to find cheap entertainment to offset the pricey entertainment we so dearly enjoy, we spent an hour or so at the street fair hosted by the Harlem Dance Theater. The fair took place one block away from our home so it was easy to get to and admission was free. When we arrived the dignitaries were staring to speak on the stage that extended into the middle of the street. Charlie Rangel, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, spoke first. He was followed be a few other prominent men from the Harlem neighborhood. Afterwards the dance theater performed.

Our son, Rex, was not exactly into the speeches so we strolled through the street fair and checked out all of the wares that were for sale. A NYC street fair usually consists of the following vendors: the tube sock guy; the onesie lady; the evening wrap guy; the cheap artsy jewelry booth; and the bag guy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tube sock guy and the onesie lady had sat this fair out. In their respective places were the dress lady whose dresses could be worn a variety of ways, sort of like a moby wrap, and the H&R Block table that gave Rex a balloon. Rex was enthralled with the balloon. A couple of days later it became clear that Rex favors inflated balloons. When he saw his quickly shriveling balloon on Monday he was pretty freaked out.

After our stroll we took a break from the fair and put Rex in a swing at a nearby playground - again, free. J also got to watch some of the kids' basketball tournament that was taking place - free. Eventually it came time to spend some money. J tried the fried shrimp and an iced tea and I had a mango lemonade. I was quite happy with my beverage. The shrimp was good, but had been fried earlier in the day. We also picked up a t-shirt to help support the dance theater so we could leave feeling a little better about ourselves.