Pinterest Round-Up: Menu Planning, Week 2

Time for the second week of menu planning!  So, I said I would post on Friday, but time got away from me...As I have said, I tend to binge--well by mid-week I was certainly binging--I had a reasonably large order I was working on for the Anderson Ranch gift shop out in Colorado, but instead of buckling down to finish that ASAP, I decided to start a new cleaning project for myself, which turned out to involve a whole lot of thinking, tossing, and rearranging our little office space and my daughter's craft supplies (which is still not complete).  I also committed to baking a cake, participating in a cardboard challenge at my daughter's school, and riding my bike through the city for Ciclovia (it was much different riding my bike on the streets this time, since all the roads we were on were shut down to car traffic).  Anyway, better late than never.

I forgot to mention something in my last menu plan post--when I cook for a week with only three meals, there is some improvisation that has to happen in order for things to stay interesting and to use up any extra ingredients.  For example, with the Vegetarian Kale soup, I also made a simple rice dish.  It was brown and black rice, with some garlic and carrots.  I was happy with the colors of this--Happy Autumn :)  The next night, I made those Denver Sandwiches to go with the tortellini soup (which I froze most of).  When I went to reheat the soup for dinner the next night, some improv cooking was in order: in order to use up the ham, peppers, and half an onion from the sandwich, I made fried rice with the leftover carrot rice I had made two nights prior. YUM.

This week, the meals are getting a bit heartier--it's cooler, and the produce I have just lends itself to comfort food.  So, here it is:

This is so autumnal it's not even funny; just look at all that warm comfort, emanating from these Pork Chops and Squash with Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette.  I will probably serve this with some raw spinach that I picked up over the weekend, while getting some cake ingredients to remake a mistake.

This Lentil Chili is made in a crockpot--I LOVE my crockpot in the colder months.  I will be serving this with brown rice, and some raw veggies--keeping it simple, so while my food cooks, I can do a laundry list of other things!

This is another beautiful looking dish--Individual Pot Roasts with Thyme glazed carrots.

I may wind up freezing some lentil chili, but in the third week, these frozen leftovers are very helpful, since improvisation becomes key...when it's mostly about eating up leftovers and using up straggler ingredients.

On Photographing Soup

The other day, I had a Pinterest Round-Up of recipes I planned on using for the upcoming week.  I knew I wanted to make Vegetarian Kale Soup, but when I went to find a nice picture that went along with the recipe, there were none to be found...The photos were either grainy, out of focus, or just grotesque looking.  So, in that blog post, I said I might give photographing the soup a try.  Well, I did.  And, while they may not be amazing, they are certainly better that looking at a zoomed in image of someone's pot of soup. ICK.

Vegetarian Kale Soup

When photographing soup, or any food, really, there are several things you should focus on in order to avoid the unappetizing food photograph.  Who is going to want to make and eat something that looks gross?  

It seems pretty easy to make this mistake, but the gross factor can be avoided.  

Use natural light--I tried photographing some food, inside, at night--all the photos went into my trash--they were yellowish, and glaring, with a contrast that was too high to fix.  Bleh.

Allow you subject (food) to have room to breathe--don't go and zoom all the way into your pot/bowl--when I see food photography,  I want to drool over it, not feel like I'm drowning in it.

Quality, not Quantity.  So you made your soup in a pot...We know...But, really, do you think that a HUGE pot of liquid, with stuff floating in it is going to be attractive?  Take your ladle and spoon some of that scrumptiousness into a bowl.  Make it look pretty and neat--ready to eat :)

Focus on the "stuff"; clearly photographed broth, with blurry solids is a no-no. 

When editing, lower the contrast if necessary--contrast really brings out the gross factor.  

I by no means claim to be the guru of food photography; in fact this was my first really successful go at it.  My struggles with this subject, combined with the unappetizing food photos I sometimes come across, led me to write a little something on the topic--something is better than nothing, right?

leave your own tips down below!

Small Moments: A Scary Bike Ride and a Stroll to the Edge

I really thought for sure my small moments series was going to be put off, like I so often do with things relating to my blog.  It's so easy to get caught up in all of the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, all the while brushing off the little nag in your ear, whispering for you to slow down, to just let go and make some time to enjoy the environment around you.

Today, I (kind of) begrudgingly took to the city streets on my bike, to join my husband on his ride to class.  I say begrudgingly because up until today, I have only ridden on trails, free of cars, and not too much to think about in terms of my LIFE.  He thinks I should get used to it, and the only way to do that is to just do it.  So, I did...And, I survived.  We went only a little ways from our home to where he had his morning class at Rutgers University.  While he was in class, I moseyed around, through a part of the campus, and a little ways beyond, to the edge of downtown...Then, I got distracted by another project of mine, walked into Harvest Moon, a local Bar/Brewery to photograph a bartender, who also happens to be their brewer.....but we won't talk about that project because it's a secret....

it's electric!!
after I shot this, I started seeing different types of electric covers all over the place.

Draining.

Not my bike.

I love that fire hydrants around the city are old--no matter what new buildings are erected, these guys pretty much remain the same.

Observe...the observatory.

I even had a social moment! I know, me, talking to strangers.  This guy is a local.  
We chatted and I photographed him...because I could.
Dude has some nice cheekbones, doesn't he?

 A little note on photographing people....After I took this photo of the gentleman above, people started to become interesting to me.  Several times along my walk I wanted to photograph a person, without them knowing I was doing it...But I was terrified of getting my ass beat, especially by the homeless guy smoking his cigarette.  Any advice in regards to getting comfortable aiming a lens at someone who can easily tell you are photographing them would be awesome.  I know it's legal and all (thank you, public domain), but still...awkward much?

oh autumn, you are here.

yea, that's right, NYC we have one too....except ours is some alley-type street sandwiched between the train station and an apartment high-rise.

ohhh, this crane...I have photographed this thing several times recently from different locations.  I love it, what can I say.

this was pretty much the last photo I had time to take before I headed back to the bikes.

After my walk, I met back up with my husband to journey back home.  We took a different route back, which was on Easton Ave, a street with considerably more traffic, and less room to ride than the street we took going out.  Several cars beeped; overall it wasn't too bad though.  Once we got home I reflected on the ride, and came to this conclusion: I don't know if I could get used to using a bike for transportation in a city.  I like to think of bike riding as a relaxing activity, not one that's like this: GO, GO, GO, don't blow out your knee, but GO, GO, GO!!!  Cars and lights and pedestrians, OH MY!!

I may continue to make an effort to get used to the bike, but for now, I prefer my own to feet, against the solid ground.

Pinterest Round-Up: Menu Planning

So.  One of my beneficial binges comes once every two-three weeks.  And that is the creation of our (me and the-mouse-in-my-pocket's) menu plans for the upcoming weeks.  If inventory needs restocking, this menu plan is accompanied by a four hour grocery shopping fiasco...nooooo.....it doesn't take me four hours in the grocery store.  Two of those hours are spent driving to the army base "near" us to utilize their grocery.  Why, you ask? Because that's what I'm willing to do to save some money.  A lot of money.  So, I think ahead, and stock up on nearly all of the ingredients I need to make my recipes for the upcoming weeks, leaving off some critical produce that i know will rot before i make the food it goes into.  i also try to organize my menu plan in such a way that the produce that is known to  go bad first is used first, while heartier root crops and cold crops are saved for the end of the week or even the following week.  in between these trips of insanity, i just pop in to my loal grocery store to get whatever produce I left off the original list.  So there it is, some more proof that I'm a housewife.

This week is one of those fiasco weeks.  So, the list is long, and there are about two weeks of recipes (probably more, I always over estimate). When I'm making my plan, I like to think that I have the energy to cook every night, and that leftovers won't rot away in the fridge, uneaten, due to a lack of stomach space....In reality, I cook about three-four nights a week, saving room for leftovers that become lunches and parts of the two remaining dinners. On the weekends, I am mostly cook-free--my daughter spends most Saturday nights at my parents' home and on Sunday nights we go there for dinner for a nice home-cooked meal, NOT cooked by me.

Now, to the point of this post.  Well, sort of....  I have several recipe apps on my phone (food network, epicurious, and allrecipes). But, my number one recipe finder and storage app is Pinterest. Even when I use a different app to find a recipe, I pin it.  That way my meal plan/recipe inspiration is all in one neat and tidy place.  And, really, I don't find the recipe apps to be any more efficient on my ipad in the kitchen than the websites they are on.  So I say, just pin it. Yea, google, that's right, Pinterest is as cool as you.

Ok, NOW to the point.  I wanted to share with you my weekly recipe plan through a weekly Pinterest round-up.  Now your saying to self, "hey, she said she plans for three weeks! Why do I only get to see a week at a time?"  Well, now, if I gave it all at once, it wouldn't be a weekly round-up, now would it?  So, you'll just have to wait it out.

Here are some recipes to start you off: (disclaimer: I will not guarantee that all of the recipes I make are "HEALTH FOOD", but I do know that eating home-cooked meals, made from real ingredients is way healthier than eating something packaged, or pre-made...more on this another day)

I'll start with the one that I actually made last night (yes, it was Saturday..yes, I had just spent four hours getting groceries to my home..but my daughter was home, so really, what was a girl to do?)

It's this awesome Roasted Red Pepper Gratin from Epicurious.

It was super-fun to make--I enjoyed roasting red peppers and tossing them into a paper bag, while my husband stood by, asking, in disbelief, "Are you going to throw THOSE in THERE?!"

And holy-wow--this recipe called for 40 ounces of spinach (you would not believe how much this cooks down..well, maybe you would..but I had never cooked spinach in such quantity before.)  Oh, and then theres the gratin part: the recipes calls for ricotta, swiss, and parmesan cheese.  I used Jarlsberg to replace the swiss, since I already had some, partially used, in my fridge.  The flavor was intense, in a good way, and I felt good about eating something with so much cheesy flavor and SO much spinach. Just a note, if you decide to give this recipe a go: DO NOT over-salt it.  The cheese provides a lot of sodium into the equation, and the recipe calls for additional salt to be added--I did and it was fine, but any more would have made the food too salty.  When I make this again, I may even cut the salt back by half (I cook with very little salt, and rarely eat out, so I'm sensitive to it).  And, we have leftovers for lunch on Monday.

And, now, the rest of the week in food:

So, the photos out there on the inter-webs don't do this Vegetarian Kale Soup Justice.  It's hard to photograph soup, man...Maybe this week I'll give it a go.  More on that later.  I've made this soup before so I already know this one is a keeper.   This soup, for me, is a meal in itself.  But I will probably make some sort of rice to accompany it, since the grains are nonexistent.

Another soup, you say? Well, it's autumn...And this Tortellini Soup (that makes enough to freeze)
will be accompanied by....

This Denver Sandwich!!!!
(It's basically a yummy omelette on yummy bread).  My sammys will be going onto a bakery made whole grain bread rather than Ciabatta.  And, since I won't use the entire ham-steak thingy, I'll devise some way to incorporate into a future meal's side, or lunches for the children (by children, I mean my husband and daughter).  Serving a sandwich with the soup allows for the soup that I don't freeze to stretch a little bit for leftovers.

I will also be making some homemade granola later in the week.  The recipe is not on the internet.  It was shared by a member of my family, and is a very flexible recipe--you can pretty much add or take out almost all of the ingredients.  I'll post about how I make it later.

You can get more Menu Plan Pinterest Round-Ups every Friday, right here.  Hope you enjoy, and find some inspiration.

And, hey, let me know, in the comments section, where you find inspiration for cooking, and feel free to share any awesome recipes! 

Small Moments: A Familiar Walk

For the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about several things:

*I neglect my blog and am very erratic with my posts.
*I need to get outside more when I am home alone.
  -I have a tendency to become a recluse.
*I need to slow down more often.

This morning, while being a work-crazed, antisocial recluse, I decided to create a photo-project that would require me to venture outside, and maybe...even.....out of my safe zone (area immediately surrounding our home, which pretty much consists of a rather large park).

It's pretty simple: I go for a walk somewhere and take photos of the minutia--the small things that are often missed by most people....Edit and delete more than half of what I shot, and hope there are a handful that are "blog-worthy".  As a companion to these posts, I will also be posting additional photos on Instagram with my trusty iPhone, so be sure to check those out too.

Today, I chose to start with a familiar walk through a section of the park.  I was out for about an hour; it felt like 10 minutes.  I became so immersed in searching for and observing the little things.  Even things I couldn't photograph, like the sound of a little creek... the random motion of a dead spider, still hanging from a strand of web, being blown by the wind.  I found it all very meditative and motivational....I actually felt excited when I thought of journeying out to the urban-landscape, all alone.

This little maple is actually what inspired my location choice today.  It lives in a rock garden.  I remembered that in the fall, it turns a deep purple.  I was a little early in the season, but I still found it delicate and beautiful.  The clumps of leaves have a soft wispy texture to them.  Today, though, I was more interested in the sweet little seeds.

These beautiful seed pods were found hanging not even five feet away.  Their texture caught my eye, and the purplish accents drew me in for a closer look.

Next door to the pods, on a different bush I found this little creeper hanging out on his front stoop.  I hate spiders, but I must admit this is strangely beautiful.

Beneath the spider, was this leaf, damaged by I-don't-know-what.  To see that something as thin as a leaf has obvious layers is pretty awesome.  And, the colors, and organic shapes created by the leaf's "wounds" are perfect inspiration for future art.

I continued on, out of the rock garden.  The contrast on this wall caught my eye...plus, I have a thing for man made and natural forms coming together and/or responding to one another.

The sunlight was filtered and hitting this grass, creating a warm light.  The complexity of this baby is mind-boggling...And, did I mention, soft to touch--a fuzzy caterpillar of the plant world.

This guy is small, but honestly, around this park squirrels  are hard to miss--they beg from anyone with food, and will rob you blind if you aren't careful.  One time, a friend had a box of crackers outside.  She left it open, and walked a little ways away.  Immediately, a squirrelly boy had moved in and helped himself to some tasty cheese-its.

I continued on, through a nearby playground, to the edge of a wooded area.  These berries were striking; never knew they existed even though I had walked past the bush thousands of times.

These flowers are on their way out, but I found something beautiful about that.  More moving than beautiful...The ephemeralness of nature is something I have always been attracted to...I suppose that's a part of what makes me want to appreciate it more.

And then, I came to the bridge and started across...but then I paused eyeing a little path that led down to a little creek that passes beneath the bridge....I argued with myself for a full minute about whether or not to go down it (I know it seems silly, but there are unscrupulous people around and about from time to time--but really...in the middle of the day?)  I decided to go for it,and am happy to say, there was no one there but me myself and i....

oh, and this dude....this is the dead spider I spoke of...it was in constant motion from the wind, but I managed to get two semi-clear shots.  It was a beautiful sight to watch this thing bob, weave, and float around.  In the time I was there, it went up a foot, floated down about two feet,  and then proceeded to be moved by the wind in a horizontal motion back and forth, covering an area that was about three feet wide....I know there was a strand of the web, but it still was kind of mystifying how the range of motion was so great for such a tiny object.

Again, some damaged leaves.  I wished that more of the veins were intact, but I still found the positive/negative spaces interesting.

As I crossed the bridge I spotted these seed pods on a plant.  Oh, the complexity of nature...it never ceases to blow me away.

I climbed the stairs at the opposite side of the bridge, and noticed this, along the side of the rock path.  The symmetry of the leaves caught my attention, and of course, the complexity of the seed pod, became my focus.

Nearing the end of my walk, I came to this tree--it's one of my favorite trees in the park.  The way the branch twists and cuts through the space around it is wonderful...and it's a great place to sit....when there aren't spider webs all over it.

This was the final photograph on my walk.  The branch was probably sawn off a long time ago, the marks of aging and wear and tear are what i found lovely...oh, and the smattering of bright green moss contrasting with the duller brown.

This walk reaffirmed my love of the complexity found in objects so simple, that their beauty is often overlooked.

I will leave you with a message I found on a fortune cookie years ago: 

there is beauty in simplicity.

Bobble Stitch Washcloth

In recent months, I have been a knitting machine.  I tend to knit a lot when my husband is away, and this summer he has been away more than he's been home.  Some of my projects included washcloths--all different types, because I enjoy variety....and exfoliation....Of the six washcloths I had already knit, none of them really stood out as amazing in the exfoliation department...So, I went on a hunt, failed, and then turned to my book, Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia, in an attempt to come up with the best exfoliating washcloth I would make.  Well, I've got news: I found it, and the design has the added bonus of looking fun and somewhat whimsical.  It's my new favorite washcloth; now I just have to knit two more, for my husband and daughter.  

For the pattern I used the seed stitch for the border, which seems to be common among washcloths (it stays flat and contains the inside pattern nicely).  For the inside, I referred to my stitch encyclopedia and used the "garter stitch with bobbles".  I had to look up some additional info on the bobble stitch, because I was a bit confused when I got to the part where I had to pass 4 stitches over the one knit stitch...I was trying to pull them all over at once...One at a time, over the stitch closest to the end of the needle is the way to do it.

Below the images, I have provided the pattern (this is my first time writing up my own pattern; I think it's all correct, but if you find something that isn't working, please let me know)... Oh, and if anyone knows of any awesome exfoliating washcloth patterns, share away.

Nice n Nubby

These little bobbles really amaze me.

Bobble Stitch Washcloth

US 6 needles

Less than 120 yds, worsted weight cotton yarn (I used Lily Sugar n’ Cream in Country Green).

stitch note--mb (make bobble): k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 into same st, turn, p5, turn, k5, pass the 4 created st, one at a time, over last k st and off needle.  

CO 41 st.

Rows 1-6: work in seed stitch: *k1, p1, repeat from * to end of row

Row 7-10: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, Knit until 5st before end, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Row 11: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Rows 12-16: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, Knit until 5st before end, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Row 17: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, k3, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k3, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Row 18: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, Knit until 5st before end, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Repeat rows 7-18 three times (these are rows 19-54).

Rows 55-58: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, Knit until 5st before end, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

 Row 59:  k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k5, mb, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Rows 60-63: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, Knit until 5st before end, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1

Rows64-69: work in seed st: *k1, p1, repeat from * to end of row

Bind off, in pattern, and treat your skin to some texture :)

Binging While He's Away: Project Inspiration

I normally never really talk about, or even think to identify with the role of military wife...But the truth is I am one.  My husband is in the National Guard--now you're laughing and saying pshh, one weekend a month, so what?  Well, it's more than that...Theres 2 weeks ever year, there's month long required training from time to time..and yes, there are even deployments that can last a year (so far I have not experienced one of these, but I'm sure the time will come).  My husband is currently away on his longest stint since we have been married (1 month).  I must say, its been quite the ride.  The emotions alone have been enough--at first I was sad in an aching sort of way, then there was the longing, the loneliness, the lacking of adult companionship....blah, blah blah...sob story, right? Well, I quickly learned to embrace those feelings, and let the tears come when they wanted.  I let myself vegetate for the first couple of days, but quickly realized time was nearly standing still.  

I decided it was time to fill up my life with what I do best: Projects.  Since the end of May, I have begun many projects, finished some, still need to continue with others....I've deep-cleaned, made books, knitted, knitted some more, and some more, planned a little something for my husband's return, and made a date night jar....

Today was about that jar--I gathered my supplies at the beginning of June, during a contemplative moment about our relationship....I realized that the time we have together is precious, and we need to motivate to make the alone time we have with one another more meaningful and fresh. 

With a six year old, work, and school, this is rather difficult--most of the time we just want to sit and waste time when we have it.  Which is completely understandable--we are exhausted, and it's just EASY.  ...but easy is not always best...so, I decided to do the thinking for us when I was in this mushy mood, and came up with a list of date ideas and split them into three categories: Cheap n Easy, Out-On-the-Town, and Splurge.  Then, I let it sit..until today, at the end of June.  

Last night my husband asked if the jar was done and I told him no.  He gave me that little nudge I needed, and I got down to business this morning, after my mom picked up my daughter.

I used a sponge to color code the ends.

And, of course, I looked at the rather large sponge I was using, one end saturated with color, thinking I can't just rinse all that pigment out, so I went and got some paper, to apply the excess paint to.

Then I wrote on the sticks with my trusty bic pen

here's a little sample...There are tons of date ideas on the internet..Just look on Pinterest.

TaDa!
Now we have weeks worth of date ideas already decided upon--making date night a bit easier and fun :)

And, with the excess paint on my palette, I decided to add some more to my "scrap paper" side-project.  This will probably sit, untouched for some time, but maybe one day it will be finished.

Of course, I couldn't just have a plain jar--how boring would that be? So, I got out my mod podge and went to work.

Here it is, all prettied up..another project finished.

A few notes on Cooking/ Blog Hop

I love to cook...It's meditative and relaxing--I'm pretty sure I could just stand, stirring a pan or pot of whatever, watching the ingredients change and morph in texture and aroma for hours....but then the dish would just be bland, so I restrain myself.

I often turn to my trusty I-pad apps for recipes and inspiration, but I also have cookbooks and my trusty recipe box, which probably holds the most sentimental value for me.  Many of the recipes I have are from the family, so when I cook using them I think of where they came from and what the food tasted like when it was cooked by my Nana and my Mom.

For a creative challenge, on the Supporting Artists Team on etsy, participants were asked to create a recipe card to share.  This task was harder than I thought--I wanted to create a recipe card that was functional (of course), but also unique, attractive, and food-related--I wanted the card to be something that would bring a little extra joy to the kitchen and cooking experience.
Here is what I came up with:

If you're looking for a letter, my Blog Hop Letter is  O

To go along with this post, I have also decided to post a recipe I used right before I decided on the design I wanted to use for the recipe card.  The recipe is not mine, so here is credit, where credit is due. I found it on Allrecipes.com.  It was perfect, because the creator of the recipe is also from New Jersey, and she used FRESH Jersey Tomatoes to make it. Yummmm.  

Click this link for a tasty experience: 

JERSEY FRESH TOMATO SOUP

Oh, and did I mention, I made grilled cheese to go with it?  I forgot too, until it was completely devoured.  If you'd like to see my take on how to make the perfect grilled cheese, check out this blog post: The Art of Grilled Cheese 

Oh, and that reminds me: don't forget to dip the sandwich in the soup...it's amazing.