She Likes Purple

Cookbook Recommendation: Joy the Baker Cookbook

In the past, I'd write this kind of thing over at Food Lush (I miss that place) but this is my only space to ramble these days, so lucky you.

I made a goal this year to cook one recipe a week from all the cookbooks I currently own, and let me just say that was a stupid goal. I edited the goal (my goals, my rules) to cook 30 recipes from my cookbooks anytime over the year. Just whenever. At my owwwwwn pace. I love making my own rules.

(I'll make a 10-recipe feast in December, for sure.)

Anyway, I'm seven recipes down. (You are BLOWN away by the time I spend in my own kitchen, aren't you?) And I noticed five of those recipes are from the Joy the Baker Cookbook. Guys, you really need this cookbook in your life. 

Every single thing I've made has been delicious and that's a pretty good track record. Mike raves! Mike is kind of picky and hates about 50% of the things I make. (He eats them all! He just requests I don't add any of those things to the regular rotation.) (I glare at him a lot.)

I made this goal to see what cookbooks I really love (since I paid money for all of them) and this is one I'm so glad I own. 

It's also like 75% chocolate, which is an excellent percentage in my book. 

Thanksgiving Menu

We're spending Thanksgiving with Mike's parents and I'm in charge of a dessert and a bread dish. Mike is in charge of his killer mashed potatoes. I wish I could share his recipe, but he wants to keep it a family secret. (He'd be the worst food blogger.) I'll try to get him drunk over the holidays so I can earn his permission. They're incredible. Everyone deserves to have mashed potatoes that delicious at some point in their lives.

I've decided to make:

1. Jalapeno cheddar scones. I've made these many times before. They're not spicy, at all, for anyone coming to my Thanksgiving dinner who might not like heat. The jalapeno brings flavor without much kick.

2. My mom is bringing a pumpkin pie, so I thought I'd bring peanut butter chocolate chip bars. They don't exactly scream Thanksgiving but there's a total of six ingreidents, five of which I already have, and they look delicious, too. 

What are you making this Thanksgiving?

(You are probably wondering why on earth I'm posting this kind of thing. I mean, great, I'm making scones, is that really POST WORTHY? Yes, it is, when you are trying to post EVERY SINGLE DAY OF A MONTH. This kind of challenge should really happen in February.)

Kristie's engagement party + the perfect party menu!

Whenever you ask Kyle to name his family, he'll name Kristie before he gets to his tenth finger. She's one of my very favorite people and best friends, and my kid wholeheartedly approves. Blood is thicker than water but sometimes water is turned to blood, or something less icky sounding than that. Kristie is our family, pure and simple, and as she grows her own family -- she's getting married this August to a wonderful man -- we wanted to celebrate with her.

So, A'Dell and I hosted a pretty kick-ass party this past weekend (if you don't mind me bragging a bit) in Kristie and Duvain's honor and it was such fun.

Kristie looked just beautiful -- I'm sure you'll agree -- and it was wonderful how many friends and family turned out to help the happy couple celebrate. It was one of those nights I didn't want to end, and that's how many of my nights with this group of good people is like.

The menu was also a hit.

We did straight appetizers and one kind of champagne and beer. Kept it pretty easy, thank goodness.

We served: baked brie bites (with and without pecans), pizza puffs (with and without pepperoni) caprese pops, jalapeno popper dip (OMG SO GOOD), southwestern eggrolls, mini fruit tarts (so easy!), smores bites, salsa, guacamole, and cupcakes.

I recommend co-hosting your next party, if you get the chance. A'Dell offered up her awesome home and tackled the decorations and booze, and I handled the invites (weren't they fabulous?) and most of the food. It wasn't nearly as stressful as when you handle a whole party yourself, and we also divided those tasks super simply. I did what I enjoy best and vice-versa. No arguments!

I also got to clean up nicely with Mike. That's kind of a rare thing.

It was a night full of laughter....

....and champagne and friends and food and love, and everything I wish most for Kristie and Duvain's life. Cheers you adventure-seeking, life-loving, beautiful couple, you.

***

All of the good photos in this post are courtesy of Jess, who awesomely made the five-hour drive from Houston to celebrate with Kristie and Duvain. Thanks for coming, Jess and Willy, and for letting me use your beautiful pictures!

Things of Note: Lately

Television this fall has been .... shitty, am I right? I love television, and I watch a helluva lot of it, but I'm almost always doing something else. Laundry, blogging, writing thank-you notes or to-do lists, flipping through a magazine. There are very few shows I turn everything off and stop everything I'm doing to watch. In fact, I can think of just two: The Vampire Diaries and Friday Night Lights (I have DirecTV, so am currently watching (and enjoying) season five).

What's the show you turn everything off for?

***

Kyle is finally (!!) saying mama regularly. He's not the most verbal child there ever was, but he speaks plenty and he's been saying dada and daddy for probably a year now. And he could point me out if you ever asked him where mama was, but he just so rarely SAID it.

He says it now.

Hallelujah, I don't have to start guilt-tripping him with details of my labor.

We were in Wal-mart last night (I hate that I ever have to write that sentence), and I was getting frozen veggies on one aisle and Mike was getting something a few aisles away, and I heard Kyle over and over and over going, "mama, mommy, mama, mommy, mama, MOMMMMMMMMY" and I just have never heard a more perfect inappropriate hollering.

***

I'm organizing a blogging meet-up dinner thing for people nearby. I think I may officially call it that, even. It's for people who happen to live in North Texas (or anywhere near North Texas, if you happen to enjoy long drives with horrible scenery!). Do you fit that description and want to be on the invite list? Let me know!

***

You should really make this lasagna. Jonna made it for us when we were in Boston and then I made it for my in-laws a couple weeks ago and MULTIPLE people told me it was the best lasagna they'd ever had. And I know I told Jonna this same thing.

It's delicious!

And easy!

And...DELICIOUSLY EASY OMG IT'S SO GOOD.

***

Kyle's teacher told me he's scrappy, which I sort of loved hearing. She then went onto tell me she thinks this, in part, because a much bigger kid pushed him down pretty hard the other day and he didn't cry or look upset, he just stood up, walked over to a chair and attempted to throw it at this kid.

Like a mini mobster!

My friend Kim said, "Come on, that's a kid you don't have to worry about. He's going to make it in life."

I'm ... proud? Maybe? Or terrified? Either or!

***

I'm honored to have one of my posts up at Story Bleed today. Thanks, Jennifer, for selecting it.

***

Finally, I finished Mockingjay this weekend (and, therefore, the Hunger Games series) and I just loved it. I cried at the end! Like a very sappy book reader! But, it was ... so good. And so rewarding without being cheesy. I was grumpy the rest of the day after finishing it and Mike finally said, "I know you're upset your book is over, but can you please snap out of it."

I don't even know what book to read next because IT WILL NOT COMPARE. NO NOPE WON'T.

(But, do you have a book you loved recently? Yes, I've asked this MULTIPLE times before and I have a super long to-do read list already, but I love talking books, so let me hear it.)

***

Thanksgiving is next week, which is a great way to show how grateful we are for family and friends and ... BLAH BLAH BLAH MASHED POTATOES DAY!!!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

A Few Family-approved Meals

Kyle's not so much a picky eater as he is an indifferent one. Sometimes he eats a lot (and a wide variety of things at that), but most of the time, he'd much rather be doing something else, like scaling the walls or playing with bugs outside in the 100-degree heat.

A sweltering day outside over carbs inside? If my labor wasn't a vivid memory, I'd wonder who this kid belongs to.

Anyway, if I can get him to eat a meal I've made for him, I'm stoked about it. I've had a little bit of luck lately, so I thought I'd share.

Dishes Kyle Has Asked for More of and By "Asked" I Mean "Signed" Because My Kid is Also Indifferent to Verbal Communication

1. Pizzagna from 30 Minute Meals. This was one of those glorious Rachael Ray recipes that I actually made in 30 minutes. Kyle ate every bite, including the peppers and mushrooms.

2. The Pioneer Woman's Mushroom and Swiss Sliders. I didn't add the spicy sauce to his, though.

3. Gnocchi. I just used the recipe on the side of the box we bought (basically I just poured some spinach and cheese pasta sauce over the prepared gnocchi), but he was practically licking his plate. 

4. Chicken parmesan burgers from Sweetnicks. Okay, confession, this is a parent-approved meal as Kyle didn't actually eat any of it but only because we made it after he went to bed and then proceeded to eat it all. He probably would have liked it! Tip, though: wait to pour the marinara sauce onto the bread until the last possible moment, so things don't get too soggy too quickly.

5. Pizza with brie, proscuitto, and mushrooms from Half-Assed Kitchen. I cut the amount of brie in half and added parmesan in its place. Mainly because I knew Mike would wrinkle his nose if there was too much brie. He's weird about brie. I KNOW, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Kyle liked this well enough. Although, come to think of it, he mostly just ate the crust. Still, tasty! Pizza is like a burger. Endless possibilities.

What have you eaten lately that you loved?

Running, Eating, Facebooking

I registered for a 10K yesterday. Unironically. Although I'm not sure why I just wrote that since I've never known a single person to register for a race ironically.

Or, come to think of it, to spend any money whatsoever ironically.

Registering for a 10K is just something I've never done before or ever thought I'd be ready to do before this year. After I hit "register," I thought: huh, maybe I didn't think this through because I'm ... pretty terrified. Excited, sure, but mostly terrified.

I started training last night. I have four months to finish an 8-week program, which -- if I'm applying my first-grade math correctly -- is plenty of time. That doesn't stop me from wondering how in the hell I'm going to run SIX STRAIGHT MILES (plus a little more). My goal isn't to finish. My goal is to run the entire time, even if my pace is more molasses-like jogging than running. At least it won't be walking. I don't need to pay to prove I'm capable of walking six miles.

I'm also seriously considering signing up for a bootcamp class through our local rec this summer. It's on my to-do list for the year, and I think I'm ready. I wanted to get some of the weight off first, so I wouldn't be too discouraged in class. But. Well. The class is at 5 a.m. You're probably puzzled by that time. Let me clarify: that a.m. means morning and that 5 means just a handful of hours after midnight, when I usually go to sleep. I'll be working out when it's practically still night. 

Working out in the middle of the night by choice sounds like the worst idea I've ever had. (And just this past weekend I had the idea to get up in front of a bar full of people and sing karaoke.)

I can't help but think, though, that finishing something so seemingly challenging might feel fantastic.

We'll see.

***

I've also had this nagging thought lately about starting a food blog. That's insane, I know it is, as I don't think the universe is going to give me a few extra hours to cram into my day. And without those extra hours, I'm pretty tapped out of free time.

It's just, I really enjoy finding new recipes, new ingredients and new techniques and products. I enjoy my time in the kitchen and would love to have a place where I track everything I'm making/baking/ruining. I'd also love to have one place where I keep record of all the fun restaurants I'm trying and what I've tried there. 

It's doing what so many projects and ideas and grand plans do to me: whisper in my ear until I totally forget about them or turn them into reality.

Again, we'll see.

***

Did you know I run a style website? You probably did because I very rarely shut up about it (I'm proud of it, and I think being proud of something is totally okay). Well, if you're interested, we've launched a Facebook page for Style Lush. Go check it out (it's actually really awesome, with links to fantastic things all across the internet, not just from our site).

***

Finally, it terms of my Real Marriages series, is there a question you have or a topic you'd like to see explored? I'm reaching out to a few people for guest posts, and I think knowing your thoughts on this will help me schedule well.

Mid-month update

This month I had a few goals: get our budget under control, get our dirty house under control, give up chocolate, give up snapping at people I care about and participate in the 29 Days of Giving exercise I've mentioned before.

New goal: make it to May.

I've done well on some things, not so well on others (uh, such as The Snapping). It is entirely unnatural of me to push forward and try harder the next week/next month when I feel I haven't done my best on something. It's unnatural to dust myself off and start over. I call it my Pass the Cupcake pattern, which sounds delicious, but it is really just metaphorically indicative of how I get when I slip up: my instinct is to say "ah, fuck it, pass the cupcake."

If I've done anything this year that I am proud of, even more than that 5K, it's dusting myself off and trying harder the next day/week/month.

Instead of saying screw it, I'm going to try harder the rest of the month.

***

Mike starts a new(ish) shift this week, and it's going to make running in the evenings nearly impossible. Unless I leave Kyle home alone, and although Molly is pretty attentive, I'm afraid she'd use that free time to exact her revenge for all the times he's stuck his finger in her eye.

So, I'm debating running in the mornings. 

I'm not a morning person. I feel good after I work out in the mornings, and it sets me up for a great day, but getting out of bed and into running shoes at 6 a.m. (when I'd need to get up) is about 10x harder than going out for a run after work. I'm a night person, always have been, but the thought of only running weekends bums me out.

Not that you can provide much more than, "Just get your ass out of bed already," I know, but if you do have morning work-out advice, I'd gladly take it.

***

Why does he look 15 here?

I think he was telling me about the unfairness of not having free access to Mike's fish tank. Or that he wanted more animal crackers. His tangents all sound the same.

***

Happy week, kids. I'm making this Caesar spaghetti at some point, which looks delicious, and am having dinner at Taverna for a co-worker, which thrills me to no end because, check out that menu, and I'm not footing the bill. So, week's highlights are all about food. No one should be surprised.

Let's mainly focus on the desserts

I originally thought I'd talk today about workplace flexibility, although I don't think there's anything left to say on the subject. I think it's all been said. Both much, much better and much, much worse than what I could (or, hell, will) say. Look, if you know what I'm referring to, I would never begrudge Heather the opportunity to go to the White House. If the White House (especially this administration) called me up and invited me to speak on nuclear physics, I would. I'd even pretend to hate Veronica Mars and champagne if it meant a White House invitation. But, that doesn't mean I (or anyone) shouldn't be allowed to say: I hope mothers who leave their home to go to work are well-represented too. Hell, my first thought was I wish my boss was invited. No one does workplace flexibility better than him, I swear it.

Workplace flexibility is huge and it's not a blogging issue or a gender issue. Without workplace flexibility I couldn't do half the shit I do, and everyone should be so lucky as me (even though there's plenty I find worthy of complaint in my life, agreed). It's why I'm able to go to Kyle's doctor appointments and his class Thanksgiving meal and occasionally take the day off to go to the zoo instead of attending staff meetings. It's a huge, important issue (for me, for millions) and wanting to see the right representatives speak on behalf of working parents doesn't make you a troll or jealous or full of hate. It makes you a responsible parent.

So, since I'm obviously not going to talk about it (ahem), let's talk about dessert instead.

I'm sorry but sugar is much better than Internet stuff.

I'm throwing a girl's dinner at my house soon, and I'm making dessert. Maybe even two desserts if I'm feeling crazy enough

If I shared a few things I'm considering making, would you, uh, help me pick one? Oh, I know, I could easily pick one without you. Which dessert to make is not exactly a brain teaser, but you get to 1) discover great new dessert recipes and 2) have an opinion about them. I'll also tell all the dinner guests that my blog friends helped me out.

1. The Pioneer Woman's lemon crumb bars

 

2. Giada's strawberry and mascarpone-filled cupcakes

3. Banana espresso cake

4. Chocolate truffle cookies

5. Love & Olive Oil's mini chocolate cheesecakes

 

6. Orange chocolate mini-cupcakes

7. Peanut butter fudge puddles

8. Smitten Kitchen's peach cupcakes

9. Eat at Home's (great blog) apricot pound cake

 

Oh, they all look so good, don't they? But which would you like to munch on at a girl's dinner?

Also, happy weekend to you.

March recap

March was a bitch. Albeit one of those bitches you can't help but love. Like Pink or Martha Stewart.

We got some news that bummed us out, but we're feeling confident (crazy?) that things will eventually be fine. Even if "fine" means living in denial. You do what you must. I also got a new writing gig at The Stir, and I love it. I LOVE IT IN ALL CAPS. (If you haven't added my posts' feed to your readers, you should.)

Style Lush continues to impress me. Case in point, I had lunch with Natalie (one of the SL writers) the other day, and afterward I thought: she's ridiculously stylish. And not just in the perfectly-put-together, hefty-price-tag-wearing way, but in the comfortable-in-her-own-skin way. She owns herself, that was clear, and helping you own who you are is my entire goal with the site. So, yes, I love it over there. Hopefully you do too.

We went meatless this month, and it was actually pretty doable if you're asking me. If you're asking Mike, it's a torture tactic the U.S. government should look into. He whined his way through the entire thing even though the entire thing was his idea. (That's a little peek into my life. Feel for me.) Every time I made something, he would say, "This would be better with a side of steak." But, we managed, and we're better for it, I believe that. We tried a lot of new things (some new things gave us food poisoning, ahem). We challenged ourselves. I like how that feels and hope to give up something again soon that I didn't think I could do without, but come to find out, I can. I can do a lot I didn't once think I could.

Like run a 5K. Man, that feat still makes me smile. I'm proud of myself, you should know. Doing things that make you feel like you can conquer the world or, more realistically, your life's to-do list? Yeah, that's not a bad way to go through life.

Then there's Kyle. Oh, you guys. He's the best. He's clapping and blowing kisses and he makes monster sounds when you say, "make your monster sounds!" And he can count to one (granted that's just pointing, but whatever), and he is becoming obsessed with books. We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear 97 times in a row, and I think he likes the blue horse best. He's still a shrimp who'd rather crawl all over the place than attempt to walk. Whatever you want, buds. You have your whole life to master walking. And when you crawl, you can see the ground better and the ground is where old pieces of English muffin live. He went through a pretty strong mommy phase this month and can I just say: IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME. He no longer wants his papa 24 hours a day, and it's nice to no longer have to constantly remind him why he should love me best. He also unloads the dishwasher and likes chocolate. 

He's still the very best part of each and every month.

For April, I'm going to get creative with gift giving, and I can't wait to surprise friends and strangers with nice things, even if those nice things aren't things at all.

I'm also hosting a girl's dinner this month and we're going to an Art's Festival and I'm gearing up for my next 5K. I also hope to get a really tight grip on our budget and the state of our house. See, our house looks like a crazed elephant ran through it most of the time. And I hate that! Maybe we'll take a stab at this "spring cleaning" thing everyone talks about.

I'm also making crab cakes this month.

And since it's finally (FINALLY!) spring, we're going to get outside, go to the parks near our house, drive with the windows down and get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Texas is annoying year round, turns out.

So, spill it, what are you looking forward to in April?

A few recipes

I'm keeping track (more or less) of what we're eating this meatless month over here, and you can find recipes and links and notes there, too, but in addition to all the meatless meals I'm eating, I'm also doing quite a bit of baking lately.

Basically, it's like this: those who can't do, teach and those who can't eat, bake. Or at least that's how it's been for me. I'm baking for anyone who will let me while I'm dieting. Kyle's been my tester, and so far he seems to think I'm an excellent baker. He eats everything I give him or at least waits until I turn around to feed it to Molly.

Mike thinks I'm doing all this baking to prove to him the mega-investment of a KitchenAid mixer would be worth it. He's not exactly wrong, I desperately want one (this one, preferably), but I try to comfort him by telling him of all the KitchenAid mixer giveaways I enter. I'm sure I'll win one any day now. If only I could convince the other 50,000 bakers on the blogosphere to stop entering them, too. (Or, feel free to win one and then give it to me. That works too.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some recipes I've been drooling over lately. The plan is to make them all at some point over the next few months, but life gets crazy, don't we all know. At least a couple of these are likely to go unmade in our house, and it'd be a shame if they lived and died in my inbox alone.

So, here you go:

Apple fritters -- I think it's been proven that anything with fruit in it is healthy. Can't argue with science.

Chocolate filled cupcakes -- I'm late to the Martha Stewart parade, but I'm finally here. I could spend hours getting lost in her site, looking at the holiday craft ideas and cupcake galleries. She knows her stuff, that crazy, uptight hard-ass.

Magic peanut butter middles -- I have almost all the ingredients to these cookie already in my pantry. It's as if I can't NOT make them.

Ricotta orange poundcake with strawberries -- I polled Twitter (more helpful than Google!) and it was unanimous that I could bake with alcohol while not drinking alcohol. So, no judgment allowed lovelies!

Banana espresso crumb cake

Chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes -- these seem complicated but I'd love to brighten someone's St. Patrick's day with these. 

Marble chiffon cake -- I have a soft spot for marbled desserts, and I have absolutely no idea why. That's an odd thing to cause nostalgia, but do you know me? Odd ain't off-base.

Black bottom coconut bars

Blueberry lemon pound cake -- I like pound cake. It gives the illusion of fewer calories even though that's ridiculous, I know.

Mocha silk pie -- The Pioneer Woman so very rarely fails me. I know a food blogger has staying power in my house, when a recipe gets Mike-approved. He's asked for a few of her recipes to "go in the rotation." That's as good as it gets for him.

And, finally...

Rocky road cupcakes -- That picture is worth a thousand "mmms," isn't it?

Which would you make first?