I wanted to make my own crust, but lacked time so I went with a defrosted one from GB Russo’s. The toppings? Peaches (was supposed to be apricots, but there weren’t any available), shallots, chives, arugula, prosciutto, goat cheese and parmesan. It was pretty good. Not sure I’m a big fan of prosciutto, though. Dev didn’t help me with this one, and he systematically picked off most of the toppings until he was down to just the goat cheese and crust. I guess I can’t make him happy all the time.
Spring break has come and gone. I’m back to work tomorrow. I’ve been very neglectful of my online pursuits over the past week, but I made sure I got in some cooking pursuits this weekend while I had some extra time. Yesterday I made mac ‘n cheese with roasted tomatoes. Today it was whole wheat banana pancakes for breakfast, a fuzzy navel smoothie for a snack and a family teamwork dinner with Scott manning the grill for the turkey burgers, Devin putting together a kick-butt spinach salad and me cooking up some stovetop baked beans. Dev and I also made a whole-wheat chocolate blueberry cake. Yumma-yumma. It’s all about the food, you know!
I’m so happy that Dev likes to help in the kitchen. I don’t have to twist his arm. In fact, when he heard me rattling around with the pancake gear this morning, he grabbed his stool and was ready for flipping. (I let him handle the second flip from the pan to the plate.) And he put the salad together all by himself. He decided on ingredients (spinach, strawberries, carrots, celery, feta and goat cheese, pine nuts and sunflower seeds) and layered it all the way he wanted. It turned out great. He’s dubbed me a smoothie expert and he has the crown of salad pro.
We made muffins today. And pizza.
I don’t cook or bake nearly enough anymore. I get claustrophobic when it comes to cooking. I have to have enough time to plan and execute. But I actually put the muffins together spontaneously. Just grabbed a Cooking Light volume and fingered a recipe that seemed to match with the limited offerings in the pantry. We didn’t have quick-cooking oats but the regular kind seemed to fare just as well. And I recreated buttermilk with a bit of skim and some lemon juice. The smell lingered in the house for a couple of hours too. Always preferable to that of the hard-boiled eggs my husband sometimes cooks up on the weekend.s
Scott’s working at a client site this week, which is good. For most of the family. The dog is the one I worry about. She’s had it good the past six months, being alone only a few hours at a time. So now it’s back up to 8+ hours. And because I’m oh, so sensitive about her feelings, I hauled myself home for lunch to hang out with her. I don’t know why she can’t see this as an opportunity to power nap. But I really do understand. So I’ll probably do this the rest of the week.
I get perks from this situation, though, other than petting her very soft ears: lunch on the deck! Replete with a glass of blueberry sparkling juice from Trader Joe’s.
If anyone gets that title, bravo! I’m reaching back into the ’70s for that reference.
Anyway, I thought I should reintroduce myself since I’ve been away so long. It’s me. Lori. It hasn’t really been ages, but my frequency has diminished. I hate that. I used to be so dedicated to my online space. I’m spread way too thin on the internets, I believe. I need to work some time-management magic and set some priorities.
One of those priorities was to get in the kitchen this weekend. Here are the fruits (hee!) of my labor.
I’m quite fond of green tea. And I love weekends when I can brew myself a few cups. Well, four today to be precise. Took the chill off of the very cold day. Of course I’m going to need more of this stuff to deal with the frigid temps heading to Michigan this week. Brrrrr.
Yes, I ate this.
Do you ever forget how clever you’ve been? I made these without-a-campfire s’mores last year and completely forgot about the deliciousness. What’s summer without this type of decadence? I haven’t feasted on one yet this year, so I’m happy I came across photographic proof that I don’t need a blazing fire to partake. Just some nutella and a microwave!
Yet another dish that my child didn’t appreciate. I hope he grows some better 
tastebuds soon!
I’m not supposed to have caffeine anymore. Without going into major detail, it wasn’t getting along with my stomach. I had a slight panic attack at that news. Not because I’m a coffee addict, because I’m most definitely not. The majority of my caffeine comes from latte-type drinks four times a week and a daily does of green tea. (Well, and chocolate. Who could forget chocolate?)
The panic set in because I really, really do love a mocha or caramel macchiato, or a coffee frap of some sort from one of our local coffee spots. It took way longer than it should have to figure out, duh!…decaf. So I was spared. Whew!
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