Unemployed in the Kitchen

Not Gone, Just Absent

2009-05-13T20:46:00.002-04:00

My kitchen and I could use a few sessions of counseling because we just can't stand to be around each other! I'm only partly joking.

I attempted a tomato basil soup today, sans-recipe - and it was mostly good. Garlic, olive oil, onion, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce. I simmered it for a while, tried to mash it unsucessfully, and eventually cooked up some mini-ravioli to add to it.

I've been in the market for a crockpot for a long time, and it might just be what I need to continue this blog, and not let my marriage crumble under the boooooring repetition of turkey sandwiches.

Maybe we'll go shopping tomorrow.

Seeking Motivation

2009-05-07T15:12:00.002-04:00

We have a fully stocked kitchen but without my brother, sister-in-law and pending niece/nephew needing dinner, I'm still not quite up the mountain that is embarking on huge meals.

I did make a good chicken pot pie with biscuits the other day, but it seemed tame compared to my previous adventures.

I had a great morning checking out a nonprofit where I'm going to volunteer. You can read about it on my Gardening Blog: http://unemployedinthegarden.blogspot.com.

On a different but blog related note: a very generous amazing friend reached out and offered me her lovingly-used computer. I am so excited to have a way to continue to blog and spend some of my unemployed hours online.

I continue to struggle with my daily pain but wish beyond anything that it wouldn't limit what I want to do. This unemployment thing would be fine if I could know that at some point in the future I'd have a way of having knee surgery. Yet, at our current rate it would take a miracle, or winning the lottery!

It's Plus One's birthday, so he's getting a boxed brownie "cake" - which I actually know he will appreciate for its fake sweetness more than anything from scratch I could conjure up. I have until he gets home from work at 8, so no rush to get the oven heated up.

Acclimation

2009-05-04T14:08:00.004-04:00

I'm adjusting to the new kitchen. Was it silly to think I would just dive right in with my old pots and pans and new countertops? I still don't feel totally welcome, nor inspired, in our new place's cookery. I started with sandwiches, progressed to spaghetti, and last night made Trader Joe's frozen chinese mandarin chicken with rice. I know I will get back into my groove soon. Until then, we're taking it easy.

We went grocery shopping last night to the tune of $150. It still amazes me how long we did grocery shopping via MUNI bus - and the convenience of a real car with a trunk, which doesn't limit us to three bags/whatever Plus One can carry. Once you go automobile, I imagine you never go back to public transportation.

On the employment front, I've essentially resigned myself to a non-working life. I know that paid employment will add stress and further compound my health issues which really should be a priority now. Further, in an attempt to build a life here and resist desperate housewife syndrome, I am seeking out volunteer opportunities. Would you believe that I'm nervous? It's as if these past few months have left me with amnesia about my abilities and intelligence. As if I could truly fail as a volunteer at a nonprofit. I've scaled career and professional mountains compared to this. Yet, memory is short.

I can only try to understand what it must be like for a stay-at-home mom to go back into the workforce after 5, 10, 15 years of unpaid-for-her-work-status. I really have no way to grasp the enormity of it.

Do you have a computer?

2009-05-01T09:07:00.002-04:00

My laptop, purchased in May 2005, has died. I am going through the mourning process, and trying to figure out what to do so I can continue to blog, update my FB status obsessively, keep up with email, and google endlessly.

So, what better time than to ask, most sincerely, if anyone out there has an old laptop in working condition that they are willing to donate? I'm not kidding. We can't afford a new one, even an inexpensive model - and I have a feeling someone out there has a computer sitting around that they no longer need.

I will pay you to ship it to me.

The reimbursement will be my forever thankfulness! So, preemptively, THANK YOU!!!

Dirty, dirty kitchen

2009-04-29T16:55:00.003-04:00

This has been a very frustrating non-cooking week. I need to make the world's longest story short and say simply that we rented a very disgusting, dirty, apartment for which the landlord does not care and would probably be condemned by the health department if they saw it. We've worked our way through most of the cleaning but its still not done yet. I've put some food in the fridge but have been left feeling defeated by the undertaking. My herbs are sitting unpicked on the window-sill and will probably grow to be the size of trees before I use them.

I do hope it gets better or I don't know what the future of this blog will be!

In other blogging news, cooking or not, I still plan to start a garden in the yard - a huge reason we picked this apartment. I'm looking for blog names and URLs and hope you give suggestions! Thanks!

Stuff Unemployed People Like

2009-04-25T18:17:00.002-04:00

Too tired from cleaning to cook, or write, but check this out... people just like me being funny

Even better is this entry: Unemployment ==> Cooking

Enjoy

My New Kitchen!!!

2009-04-23T18:43:00.003-04:00

It's a great day in Lancaster County! As of 10 am tomorrow we'll have our names on a lease for an apartment in the city, including a beautiful kitchen and beautiful backyard and I am sooooooo happy!

Ambitious Undertaking

2009-04-23T16:11:00.004-04:00

My kitchen is a, for lack of ability to avoid cliches today, three-ring circus. I've ventured to create a meal including:

Barbequed Pork (Turkey!) Burgers with Slaw

Serrano Chili and Cilantro Cornbread

and

Roasted Acorn Squash (Microwave Style)

I had plans for Tofu Chocolate Pudding, but that will only happen after dinner if I have the energy.

I would love and highly benefit from a kitchen where you can scoot around on a stool with wheels at counter-height.

Fajitas and Failure

2009-04-23T12:59:00.005-04:00

If you want to be reminded of your unemployed, failure status in the universe of career-minded society, try to secure yourself a rental unit. I am so thankful to all of the potential landlords who have frowned upon my lack of job. They've made me feel really great about myself and my accomplishments. I want to thank them also for making Plus One feel like his acquisition of a low-paying temporary position in a country of 13 million unemployeds isn't quite good enough.

Thank you for reminding me that I'm relying on my parents for financial help and that my educational background and work haven't served me to get to a stable place today. You make me feel like a superstar accomplished 26 year old when you ask if you can call my parents for verification that their bank accounts are stable and generous.

In order to meet one of these said landlords yesterday, I had to cook dinner - fajitas - in two parts. Prep and make. Prior to 4 pm I marinated the chicken in a mixture of cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, hot sauce and red pepper, sliced the peppers and onions, chopped the cilantro and chive for the rice, and laid out the other ingredients. After returning home, we turned the rice cooker on, sauteed up the chicken and "fajita", heated refried beans, made tortillas on the grill and finished with the mandatory cheese and sour cream.

We eat well, surrounded by family, and we are lucky in many ways. Even though we are poor, those things should be enough.

Banana Bread

2009-04-22T09:15:00.004-04:00

Talking about the weather is boring. Unless one of the reasons you changed time zones was for the summer warmth. Then it's really exciting to say things are heating up and I love it! I hate watching bananas brown on the counter, so I made bread. How can 3,600 people be wrong?
I made it in a 9X9 glass pain for about 33 minutes. Yum is the word of the week.
Dinner included spaghetti, meatballs - and a fresh, raw broccoli salad of minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and sugar.

We found THE apartment with THE kitchen and THE backyard aka garden spot. Now we just need to get it! We're going to the city today to meet the landlord and working our business savvy to see how fast we can push him. It's a little more expensive than we hoped for, but has a huge bedroom, huge living room, huge other room, HUGE kitchen, a sunroom, backyard which is essentially just ours - oh and a porch, and a basement! Ridiculously large. It's close to downtown and on a cute street, near a park. And to be fair, very very old, a bit worn down, and a very real chance for rodents, which grosses me our preemptively.

Please send positive apartment lucky vibes toward Amish County. We need them! Thanks!

Still Seeking Kitchen

2009-04-20T23:19:00.004-04:00

If we can't find a suitable apartment, how will I recreate the squash pizza and tomato corn soup I forget to tell you about yesterday? I don't know. I also don't know where I put the link to the pizza recipe. But here is Dr. Weil's Tomato, Corn and Basil Soup. If seasons had a taste, then I would say, "Stand aside, Watermelon. This soup is here to take your place."

If you don't yet know Dr. Andrew Weil, then let me introduce you.

Reader, this is Dr. Weil. He is a natural-living-healthy-eating-exercise-doing-find-your-zen (but in a reasonable way) MD who rocks my socks.
Dr. Weil, this is Reader.

Oh, good- I found the Butternut Squash Pizzas.

I didn't cook today due to apartment hunting. I will not cook dinner tomorrow due to further apartment hunting; however, lunch preparation is not off the table.

Unemployed Seeking Kitchen

2009-04-20T11:43:00.003-04:00

I want a kitchen. And all I'm getting is weird landlords on the phone. And apartments I wouldn't let my enemies live in. After utter frustrating over what appeared to be a lack of 1 bedrooms on CL, we discovered a novel source of classified ads - the newspaper! Lancaster is a few years behind the Bay Area in their technological proficiency.

We did some window stalking last night, and now have 2 appts. set up for today and 4 for tomorrow. No matter the exterior, I keep my expectations low for what is housed within the walls. In general landlords seem to have little regard for their property and tenants clearly don't take care of the space.

But, at a 50% discount from SF rent, one can't be too picky.

The Waiting Game

2009-04-18T14:10:00.005-04:00

I hate waiting. Most people do, but I win in my degree of hate. We are waiting for a landlord to call about the perfect little house with the backyard. Though we don't have it (yet?) I can't control myself from browsing vegetable garden planning websites. We went down the road today to a Mennonite greenhouse and bought herb plants - parsley, basil, lavender, rosemary, and chive. even if we don't end up with a backyard, we could grow these on a sunny windowsill. But I want my backyard. Yes, my. I want days of unemployment filled with weed-pulling and grocery shopping and cake rising and eating and even dishes if so necessitated. In our own little temporary pay-per-month.

I did tack on a casual job inquiry to an org email where I plan to volunteer in the coming week in prep for a fundraiser they're holding. I am tired of orgs requiring certain educational degrees for jobs any half-smart person could handle. So, I'm trying my hand at getting around it.

Brinner

2009-04-17T23:27:00.004-04:00

I looooove brinner! There are so many wonderful, different ways of doing brinner. You can do it carb-focused (pancakes, waffles, potatoes, french toast), protein-heavy (eggs, bacon, sausage, ham) simple and healthy (egg whites, fruit salad) fancy (eggs benedict) lazy (cereal and OJ) or Friday April 17th, 2009 style - Country Quiche in a homemade (Easy) Pie Crust with fruit salad, hashbrowns, and BACON!

The pie crust WAS as easy as advertised, and designed for savory foods like the aforementioned quiche. I was in the middle of a conversation while preparing the quiche, gave it a glance thought "hmmm that doesn't look quite right," put it in the oven anyway - and five minutes later realized I had forgotten the cheese! Needless to say, it stirred in just fine.

The fruit salad was beautiful - strawberries, honeydew, and red grapes. It's not that I possess special fruit salad making skills. But fresh fruit really does look pretty and its hard to screw it up.

And the bacon. Oh, the bacon. From the butcher. Where I drove. Two days prior.

Due to a situation that would involve a long, pointless explanation, we ended up with a pizza and fries as well. So after everyone enjoyed the quiche (all of it) the fruit salad (all of it) the hashbrowns (all of them - shredded, not diced if you're curious) and the bacon (of course all of it) - we had pizza! Right there, on top of the quiche crumbs.

I know a number of houses where this wouldn't fly. I'm glad I live in a house / and a family where you can have quiche and pizza in the same meal and not apologize for it.

I should mention, to close this disjointed entry, that I thought I'd make a funny last night and swiped this URL - http://employedinthekitchen.blogspot.com You can bookmark it or add it to your blog feed, but don't expect it to be happenin' anytime soon. As for the job market, over the past week I haven't found a single thing I am qualified for and nothing even worth the ink of a cover letter.

Roasted Chicken and Chocolate Cake

2009-04-16T21:33:00.006-04:00

I made a killer dinner. Clearly. The baby's mom aka my sister-in-law requested roasted chicken last night (for today). I had never roasted a chicken. I don't even like to work with raw meat. But I get super-charged by any food request because it essentially keeps me "employed" in this salary-less job. Plus One and I went to the Giant to get a chicken - not bad, around $5 on sale for a 4.5 lber.

I can't link to recipes because today's recipe was brought to you by creativity. Love. And garlic.

I got a late start because the bi-weekly Amish housekeeper finishes in the kitchen and does not remove the cleaning bottles and rags until exactly 4 pm.

I took the hunk of a bird out of the fridge, thankfully the inner-nastiness is contained in a plastic bag, that went in the trash, and I snipped off the tail with kitchen scissors. I then stuffed the bird with 8 cloves of smushed (but not crushed) garlic and a chopped up pair. On the outside I rained a generous amount of sea salt, ground pepper, and a sprinkling of thyme. I threw some haphazardly cut carrots and onions around the bird in the roaster pan as I was feeling a little rushed for time. It went into a 350 oven, but I can't tell you for how long, because I just kept checking it every 20 minutes until it reached the right temp inside.

On the side - I quartered lengthwise less than a bag of red new potatoes and made a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, 7 minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and some other things I can't remember. They went in the oven "a little later" than the chicken. Oh, before, I took a whole head of garlic, peeled only one outer layer from it, sliced the top off and put it in the pan with some olive oil...

Many many many minutes later we had a delicious chicken with roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables, and bread like Little Star Pizza makes - where you spread your own garlic cloves on the bread. Yum.

The cooking took 3 hours from start to finish.

No, these recipes were not from your wonderful suggestions. But dessert was!

A dear friend sent me a recipe for 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug.
It was good. You know its from a microwave but if I was craving chocolate, I would choose this (made from good ingredients) over a packaged cake (with preservatives). I recommend whipped cream on top!

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well...
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

Butchers and Burgers

2009-04-14T23:52:00.003-04:00

We had burgers today, but they didn't come from the butcher. The mere act of going to a butcher makes me awaken to the new reality that is my world. My world of fresh sliced cheeses - none more than $2.50/lb. Thick cut bacon - $2.25/lb. And you can get tongue and other parts but I'm not that adventurous - yet.

I was torn between making a brinner and black bean veggie burgers with a pasta salad. I felt like the brinner would be more appropriate for the weather, but also the need to rebel and deny the damp, coldness. We ended up with the burgers and pasta which were both delicious and packed with healthy. Healthy being the new noun.

(Note - the recipe's author is nuts. You don't need two bottles of dressing. Unless you want soup.)

(No Creative Title)

2009-04-14T00:15:00.002-04:00

Thank you for the comments and being my "groupies" I almost feel like I've made it in the blogging world.

After my long poetic sermon about quality food, awkward appointment times to see apartments left us out of the house for the entire span of dinner. When we came home I sheepishly asked my brother if I could have their leftover wonton soup. (Remind me I owe him wonton soup next time.)

We saw a decent place but at this point I am letting myself get excited about nothing. I don't even want to envision cooking in that kitchen with the back door and windows that overlook a plot where I could plant my own vegetable and herb gardens. No, no, no.

Note to self: must find time in busy schedule to cook meal tomorrow.

Constancy in Times of Uncertainty

2009-04-13T09:35:00.003-04:00

Food has sustained humans for thousands of years. And I don't mean mere caloric intake. It has been a source of constancy in times of not knowing what the next day holds, and for us, it is no different. We had an enjoyable Easter. It wasn't necessarily the family, the weather or the festivities. I think my main enjoyment came from, quite honestly, the food. For my entire memorable life my aunt and uncle have hosted Easter breakfast. It's not a fancy affair, but it's predictable. My uncle's pancakes have tasted exactly the same for all these years. As does the fruit salad, orange juice, sausage, ham, and kielbasa that is set on the table. Sitting down is not particularly relaxing because as soon as you take a plate, my aunt announces you have to eat quickly so she can wash your plate and prepare for the "next round" of people. It's just who they are, and how they "do" Easter. It's loud and the guests are obnoxious. There is nothing religious or sacred about the occasion. But it's familiar and I like it.

In the afternoon Plus One and I went to my parents' house where my mom was cooking a pot of pasta sauce (from scratch, of course) and frying meatballs. These, also, taste the same every single time. So when we sit at the table, and I ponder out loud our inability to get jobs, attain affordable health insurance, or imagine a future when Plus One and I have the means to afford a house, it almost doesn't matter. Because the sauce and meatballs are predictable.

I know that many are worse off than we are. But that is almost a fake comfort when I look at our credit card statements, our bank account, and the rising cost of apartments, coupled with the jobs that pay less and less as the weeks pass.

Yet, we have food and right now my enjoyment comes from discovering new recipes and planning to make them. I used to feel pride in the work that I did, the people I was able to affect through my jobs, the "good" I created in the world. For now, though, my pride is limited to the kitchen. Food is something a bad economy, subprime mortgages, political greed and corruption can never take away. It was there before and will be here after.

You have to hold on tight to these few things over which you do have control. The few things that give you pleasure and meaning when hope seems futile.

Easter Cookies

2009-04-11T23:56:00.004-04:00

I'm exhausted. While Plus One was at his training (aka don't hurt yourself on the job because we don't want to pay for your disability claims) I baked - all day. In total I made 120+ oatmeal cookies, two pans of shortbread, a batch of Hershey's dark chocolate chip cookies, and 50+ peanut butter sesame seed crackles.

The more I am around savory food, the more I want to eat. Alternately, the more I am around sweets, the less of them I want to eat.

I've made assorted cookie trays for all of the relatives who will be at my aunt's Easter breakfast tomorrow.

Cooking Comfort Zone

2009-04-09T22:36:00.003-04:00

I've hit a cooking rut - Help me break out!!
Mind you, I didn't start cooking 37 blog posts ago. I've been cooking for years with moderate success, minimal failure, but a record for playing it safe. I'm not sure if my culinary skills are learned, genetic, or a little bit of both but they lean heavily toward the Mediterranean region and hesitate to venture outside.

Partly due to this, I think my taste buds are becoming numb. I need something different. Something new. So I am requesting requests. Sure, I could peruse my fave sites for this week's dinner plans. But I'd rather take requests (orders?) from you.

I think/hope I have enough readers to fill a 5 dinner week. So tell me the name of a dish you love/want to try/think I should try. If you have a link or a recipe, great. If not, all the more fun as I try to create it.

And if you want to drive/fly to Lancaster, you are more than welcome any night of the week. We eat around 5:30.

Orange Aprons

2009-04-08T19:30:00.003-04:00

Plus One is officially E-M-P-L-O-Y-E-D!

Starting Saturday he will be sporting an orange apron at a major home improvement store in the lumber department. Someday, our grandkids will get to hear all about how their Abuelo got a college education....and then helped people pick out 2 by 4s for their deck projects.

But, yes, employed is employed and I'm not knocking it!

We did take a day off - and trekked to the Swedish furniture store with the blue and yellow signs. Under the self-imposed budget - $13 total for some nifty kitchen things.

Dinner was well-rounded but nothing that knocked anyone's socks off. Cajun Style Stuffed Peppers, sans shrimp. I used yesterday's slow-to-thaw pizza dough to create personal cheesy bread "pizzas" which were more raved about than the peppers. It reminds of the adage "give a kid a toy, she will play with the box" And some steamed corn on the side because I can't let the niece/nephew suffer any early-life vitamin deficiencies.

Pasta-throw-together and online apps

2009-04-07T22:56:00.005-04:00

I found three grammatical/spelling error mistakes in online applications for major corporations today. This doesn't make me any closer to getting a job. In fact, I couldn't even pass the preliminary screening for a major bank for their teller position - because I don't have "cash handling" experience.

The online app for a large retailer known for their red circles is supposed to take 45 minutes, but mine took twice that. Does that say more about ME or the people who designed the program?

This process continues to screw with my head in ways I could never have anticipated.

The dinner plan was pesto chicken pizza and though I took out the dough to thaw at 11 am, it was still partially frozen at 4. So with my self-imposed sense of responsibility for providing dinner, I was under the pressure to come up with a plan.

Here it went: dice and saute two huge pieces of chicken in canola oil, salt and pepper. Dice half an onion and mince 5 cloves of garlic. Saute in olive oil - careful with the temp... Boil up a lb of elbow macaroni - don't leave it up to Plus One to know when its overcooked. Just let him chop up the chicken. Take the artichoke hearts out of a small jar, chop em up. Reserve the liquid from the jar. Drain the pasta. Add a container of sliced mushrooms to the onions and garlic. Throw some red pepper flakes over the chicken, add the artichokes and artichoke liquid. Get it all together, throw some more salt and pepper over it. Then throw it over the drained pasta, stir it without mushing it. Stir in a few big pours of parmesan cheese. Throw in a glass baking dish and in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes.

So much more successful than anything career related we did today.

I think I need to get out of Lancaster County tomorrow. Thankfully we have a car and a full tank of gas.

More Taco Soup and Danger on the Road

2009-04-07T10:52:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, before we went to the DMV, I threw together a classic crockpot taco soup recipe. By 5:30 it was delicious and nutritious over rice.

The DMV is closed on Mondays.

Plus One's interview at the big home improvement store known for its orange logo went well. So well that pending a routine drug test, criminal background, and reference check, he will start training Saturday for a "part time, seasonal job" in the lumber department. It sounds like a company's way of avoiding giving benefits and denying employees the opportunity to collect unemployment when "the season ends" The job barely pays a living wage and the lack of benefits gets me no closer to my knee surgery but in this (now overly cliche) "economy" - any job is a triumph.

The DMV was open today and though this blog isn't about driving, it needs to be shared that at the age of 26 I am now the proud owner of a learner's permit - for the second time in my life. Take caution if you go out on the roads.

I am bugging the HR Director at the big new hotel downtown because he is making decisions this week and I hope he is smart enough to discern between ambitious and annoying. Hope. I do believe you have to find a way to stick out from the crowd.

I may soon have a new kitchen! We started apt. searching and so far, got stood up for one appt, saws an overpriced ick 2 bedroom, and found a funky awesome perfect amazing priced built justg for us split level one bedroom. Unfort the landlord offered it to another applicant. She has until 5 pm tomorrow to give a deposit IF she wants it. The kitchen is totally funky. Old school avocado green kitchenaid refrig and oven. They are probably on their last leg so while they would be uber cool to use, if given the place, we might see if we can get them replaced before the move-in date. If we're so lucky for her to turn it down.

I am checking my email obsessively. I haven't heard back from the temp firm about my references checking out. I have an utter fear that someone who supervised me at my last position will abstain from comment and this will appear fishy. If a temp firm says they can't use me, I...I...I... We will see what I will do next.

Please PASSOVER

2009-04-05T22:33:00.005-04:00

I don't think the Jews ever envisioned a BARELY Jewish family doing Passover buffet-style in a living room in Amish County. But we did and it was damn good. As my brother said, as a few of us perched with our plates, "This is kickin' it old school"

When I was little and my grandmother did the cooking I used to think Passover was named after what you said at the table. As in, "Please PASS OVER the Matzo ball soup" I'm too embarrassed to admit the age at which I learned the real meaning of the word.

I can't cite online recipes, as this one was truly old-school, sourced from recipes originally typed and then photocopied by the penny-conscious women's group at her synogogue, but here's what we feasted on:

Matzo ball soup - my favorite
Gefilte fish with horseradish - an aquired taste
Matzo and cherosets/herrosets/however you prefer to spell it
Noodle sweet kugel
Kosher matzo kugel - the first of two flops...
Green beans - my brother insisted on adding color to a notoriously TAN meal
Kasha and bowties
Brisket - 14 lbs to be exact

And for dessert: (there is nothing kosher or passover'ish about this potlucky list)
Sponge cake - my second flop. it didn't rise. everyone made fun of me. that's family for ya'
(Strawberries meant said flopped sponge cake)
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Rice Krispie treats (could I make this stuff up?)
Rice Krispie treats with peanut butter and chocolate chips on top
Maccaroons - three kinds
Old school jelly candies

Someone actually took a picture of the whole meal laid out and once I get it, ya know, you'll see it.

What's a Matzo? asks the Mennonite Grocery Clerk

2009-04-03T11:15:00.007-04:00

Passover prep is well underway but finding the ingredients has NOT been easy. Lancaster is not a Jew town.

We've had to go to 5 grocery stores to find the following:
matzo
matzo meal - never found
kasha
mini bowties
potato flour
gefilte fish
matzo ball soup mix
kosher grape juice - ended up getting giant brand due to the cost

I've made a mess so far with the sponge cake and kasha and bowties. I tried to make mini sponge cakes but they didn't come out of the pan, so we'll be eating cake squares from the boring pans. The kasha came out fine and is chilling on the desk under the thunderstorm bc there's no room in the fridge.

Next I'm making an Italian Love Cake which has nothing to do with Passover but everything to do with my Mom's birthday.

~ ~ ~

Yesterday I made a fabulous noodle kugel, just for the hell of it since I had forgotten that we can't eat it Saturday but had already bought the ingredients.

Then for dinner I made a Rachel Ray (not a huge fan but sister-in-law liked the recipe) called Renaissance of Tuna Noodle Casserole - which was nothing like Tuna Noodle Casserole but pretty damn delicious.

You, too, can make it, but seriously, Rachel. 15 minutes? Big fat liar. More like 1 hour!

Temping and Tilapia

2009-04-01T23:45:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you're inspired, sometimes you're not. These interviews suck the life out of you and leave you wanting everything bad for you and nothing good. But I've got a pending niece/nephew to feed so tonight I made simple tilapia with lemon/olive oil/salt/pepper, whipped mashed potatoes, and corn. Note: whipped mashed. Not just mashed. Actually they SHOULD be called mashed whipped because first you mash them then you whip them. Thank you, KitchenAid Stand Mixer and your nifty attachments.

The temp agency interview was fine. They do a criminal background check (as if I've ever had any fun in my life) and then call references. Ideas are churning in my head about careerism/continuity/resumes/references/extenuating circumstances/your word here. I know SO many people who are unhappy due to their jobs. And SO few who actually like what they do.

Chipotle Update

2009-04-01T11:04:00.001-04:00

A nice guy from said Burrito chain wrote back to say sorry they didn't have any plans for Lancaster but to keep checking their website.

At least I have a name and contact to harass. I now need to build my marketing plan.

I am trying to create a home version of the vegetarian fajita burrito. My first notion was to lightly flavor the rice with chopped cilantro, little canola oil and salt. It had the essence but needs some work.

Temping temping

2009-04-01T10:56:00.004-04:00

I'm hot on the trail for a temp job and am planning to rock this afternoon's interview at a decent agency. I have a feeling from website research that they are vetting me for an underpaid marketing coordinator position at a healthcare-related company. If Plus One can get a job with benefits, I would be happy temping. It seems to be my style, to get tired of places and people easily.

I think I mentioned they are loosely affiliated with one of my former jobs, so I want to slip in that notion and see what happens. It's all about confidence. And the online tricky Excel and Word tests they make you take to see if you can live up to your resume's skills section. And getting them to the call the references that aren't bitter and mean. So it's not actually easy but we'll see.

I know I haven't been in the kitchen much but I think this is attributable to our shrinking bank account. The more pregnant my sister-in-law gets, the greater the reminder that we can't stay here forever. We need to start looking at apartments soon. But we do have to eat so I'm marinating tilapia and will create something later. Last night we had damn good burritos....

Happy Anniversary, Plus One

2009-04-01T10:49:00.003-04:00

Today's the day, a year ago, Plus One and I went to City Hall. If you're going to get married, you may as well find someone as crazy as you are. That's all I know about marriage for sure.

Unemployment has been a theme of our relationship. From the first time he stayed with me in SF a few years ago, and stood outside one of my employer's offices, waiting as I got reamed for not fitting in with the company's culture, to hug me when I came outside crying, he's been around to not judge me when I quit jobs and get frustrated by the limitations that keep me from being that model employee every organization thinks they want.

When Plus One immigrated he couldn't work until he got his work permit, which took months, MONEY and paperwork. Irony. He's learned about the nuances of employment seeking the US and quit a perfectly good position so we could move to PA. He gets frustrated by the lack of opportunities, and I get frustrated by our constant state of middle-class poverty.

Still unemployed and still together, we've beat the celebrity marriage odds and are hoping for about 60+ more years. If every year is as long and stressful as the first one, I don't want to know what I will look like in 60 years. But I'm lucky as hell and try to remember that every night he keeps me awake with his snoring.

(No Creative Title)

2009-03-30T00:47:00.002-04:00

My brain is totally fried from applications and I haven't been spending much time in the kitchen. Every few weeks I have a couple of days when nothing I eat tastes good - everything tastes bland and nothing is really satisfying, so if you can believe it, there are actually days in my life when eating is not my mind's focus.

My New Mission

2009-03-28T11:23:00.002-04:00

To get Chipotle to open a store in Lancaster County. The one odd burrito joint that misspells burrito and uses ranch dressing is simply unacceptable. I've started my crusade with a quick note on their comment section. Step by step I will build a reputation for being serious and determined. I will find my contacts and allies in their corporate office, gather statistics on the need for the burrito joint out here and someday hope to see my dream realized. Because I don't think I can survive without one.

They don't franchise, otherwise, I'd be gathering investors.

From Lentil Soup to the Theater

2009-03-26T23:39:00.003-04:00

Around 4:00 I started chopping up veggies for Lentil Soup. The prep could have not have been easier - I threw everything in the pot and let it simmer for 1 hour+

Earlier in the day my brother offered Plus One and I theater tickets they weren't going to use for a 7:30 show. I figured we'd eat and the head downtown later.

Around 5:45, I poured the finished soup into bowls for Plus One and I, we sat down, looked at each other and I asked "Do you want burritos instead?"

The soup was delicious. I know because I did have one bite right before I served it. But I just needed a burrito! So we put the soup in the fridge, threw on some jeans and headed out the door with the tickets.

It hasn't rained much since we moved, and it hadn't rained in SF for months prior, so the downpour was almost a relief. Something different.

We found parking halfway between the theater and Carmelita Burrita (that's how they spell it) - the city's ONLY taqueria. I was a bit thrown off by the menu. I hate when East Coast or otherwise joints put sprouts and whole wheat in something and call it "Californian" But we shrugged and ordered as close we could to a chicken burrito for him and a vegetarian (read: not veggie burrrito) for me.

The first bites were good but the whole thing was just wrong. The rice was overly seasoned, the lettuce was dark romaine and barely chopped, the salsa was too spaghetti-sauce'ish and drippy, the cheese was cheddar and they had added something called a ranch sauce which I couldn't detect unless it was the unnecessary spice I felt halfway through. The only normal things about the burrito were the black beans and the tortilla itself (which they microwaved??) I won't say I was disappointed, because I had reasonable expectations for a burrito in this neck of the woods. It sure wasn't El Toro, La Taqueria, or Papalote! And it sure wasn't Chipotle.

The show was good, if long. The SpitFire Grill/musical version. I had at least 20 personal interruptions when I thought maybe I should be job searching instead. This is indicative of how much time we've been spending on it.

We'll eat the Lentil soup for lunch tomorrow.

But it sounds so good!

2009-03-26T11:55:00.005-04:00

Determined the Worst Food in America, Baskin Robbins has created something that looks really damn good.

One of my goals in moving to this rural oasis of quiet calm was to eat more natural foods and maybe even lose weight in the process. My diet has incorporated more fruits and vegetables, but I've been influenced by my roommates and now consume more meat, fat-loaded dairy, and the plethora of snack foods in the cabinet to the left of the stove. Part of the danger is wearing sweatpants everyday; it's easier to ignore the weight you're gaining.

I've been lacking motivation to create in the kitchen. Part of the deterrent is the number of containers with leftovers that sprout in the refrigerator. I don't want to make fresh food and in the process let the leftovers go to waste. We reasonably need about 2 more people to consume everything on a daily basis. (I doubt anyone is moving in soon.)

I've passed the first round of apps for an Admin position at the new hotel/convention center and have been asked in for some computer testing. Now I'm torn on whether or not to pursue it. Yes, we need income. Yes, jobs are competitive. But moving here I wanted to take time off and eventually (perhaps this summer) have long needed knee replacement surgery. I consider this step crucial to being able to work full time and sustain a job without letting my pain drive me crazy and over the "I resign..." edge.

But no harm in a computer test. I guess I'll do it.

Great Expectations

2009-03-26T00:17:00.004-04:00

The lasagna was not life-changing, nor the best thing I've ever tasted - just a few of the reviews I read about it on Allrecipes.com.

The recipe bugs me because I knew you couldn't do that much prep work in 15 minutes. Mine took 45 and that was with Plus One helping to chop the veggies. Sometimes I think the posters want to show off their skills and pretend they're faster at slicing and dicing.

I would make the lasagna again but with a number of changes. I would do half the meat and double or even triple the vegetables. I would also make the veg pieces larger (we cut them to quarter inches...) so each bite had more texture. Instead of no-cook lasagna noodles, I would take the time to boil regular ones. And in the baking process, I would cover it for the first 45 minutes to keep in the moisture, and then remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to brown the top.

After dinner we took a walk in the not-quite-yet-East-Coast-Spring-weather. I then worked on my paper job applications. In summary, applying for jobs so drastically beneath your skill set and experience is confounding to the brain. I spent A LOT of time thinking about how my former employers would react if they received a call from someone at the sandwich place, for example. Would they laugh? Share the news with my former coworkers? Smirk? be confused? Even care?

The whole thing takes you down the path of identity politics and career-oriented life progression. (I just made up those two terms but I think you get my drift.)

I tried typing more but it started to get cliche, so I deleted it and am now signing-off because my computer needs a break from me. And I, from it.

Application Collection + Cajun Chicken Lasagna

2009-03-25T16:40:00.007-04:00

We hit the road today with Plus One's application for a bilingual job at the children's center of a nearby township...and I needed to stop by the friendly chain drugstore to finish my computer application.

His drive-by was uneventful - the director wasn't available so he left it with the secretary. When I stopped into the drugstore, wearing the only dress pants with a zipper that still fit my well-nourished hips, I found the Asst Manager, who set me up on a computer. I then proceeded to answer an assortment of questions - basic arithmetic skills, reading coupons, data entry, match the person's name in Column A to the person's name in Column B, scenarios about problems in the pharmacy, unruly customers, and some subjective ones on answering the telephone and how to advise a customer on what glue to buy for a broken picture frame. (Could I make this stuff up?) I double checked every answer and when complete, the Asst Manager told me to wait to find the Manager. He eventually emerged to greet me, let me know they do not currently have any openings, but let's look at my app and score anyway.

My score: 96.3

Are you joking? Are your freaking kidding me? A 96.3? I know I did better than that! I checked my answers! I went to a $7,000/year private high school and received a top notch college education. I've written papers for political candidates, launched policy teams across the country, assisted research faculty at a world class university. I can do math and data entry and read coupons!

The manager gave me the schpeal about how they didn't have any jobs, but if one opened up, I would be in the list of those considered, and if I don't hear anything in 60 days, to reapply. I don't think he was very smart himself.

I was so beside myself that I not only freaked, while laughing, to Plus One, I also called my mother - who like she always had assured me that I'm smart and probably did better than the other people who apply.

But this is simply unacceptable! And yet, funny!

We headed back toward home and Plus One picked up applications for low-paying positions at 6 more banks, while I cheerfully acquired paperwork from a discount grocery store, a well-known healthy sandwich shop chain, and a women's clothing store that loves polyester but seems like it could be chill enough for part-time entertainment. Hopefully, they don't make me take a math test.

Coming home I both felt like a real idiot but also accomplished for our assortment of applications to fill out tonight.

And before I forget, check out the Cajun Chicken Lasagna I just put in the oven.

Are You Good Enough to Work for Minimum Wage?

2009-03-24T14:41:00.003-04:00

Stealing is: Bad, Good, I don't care
Tardiness is: Bad, Good, I don't care
Laziness is: Bad, Good, I don't care
Personality testing for jobs is: Bad, Good, Annoying and pointless

I don't know if its thinking outside the box, a reverse corporate ladder climb, or a little of both, but I've now applied for jobs at two supermarkets and two drugstores. Their online psychological questionnaires are a joke. I know this because if they worked, customer service would be excellent and stores wouldn't be losing millions of dollars to internal theft each year.

I don't think I would mind making sandwiches or filling prescriptions and fighting with insurance companies. These are things I do on a daily basis for no pay already.

Tuesday Searching with No Excuses

2009-03-24T12:20:00.004-04:00

Our car is in the shop, and my brother read my mind and put the roast in the crockpot before he left for work this morning, so we have no choice but to spend the day applying for jobs.

Plus One is working on an application for an HR position at a recently opened hotel downtown, and I am finding creative ways to pursue an admin job at the same place. This includes a personal Congratulations (and BTW, hire us!) card to the recently hired Director of HR. Thanks, Google, for helping me find my creative side!

I am also aggressively pursuing skills testing and an interview at a local temp agency who just happens to be a member of a prestigious women-owned business coalition that I worked with at one of my former jobs. It's all about the personal angle and human interest plug.

Sitting across the kitchen table from a stress out Plus One is not conducive to productivity but it's better than the couch I sat on for 8+ hours yesterday.

Tacos and Rice Krispie Treats

2009-03-23T22:52:00.005-04:00

Apologies for the slow to load, bouncing around ads and gadgets on the rightside. I'm learning.

Our new (to us) car was doing a funny jump thing every mile or so, so Plus One took it down the road and had to drop it off overnight. This could be good for our wallets because it will prevent us from going out to eat/shop/justify unnecessary purchases and keep us home job searching. Or cooking. Or fixing the blog.

We had a taco bar with all the good stuff for dinner - flour tortillas and corn shells, veg refried beans with chopped onions, tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, cheese, sour cream and a pot of steaming rice on the side.

Dessert was the baby's favorite.

Job Update: Plus One's bank interview went fine. It's sweet to have to drive 2 hours round trip for a 25 minute interview and find out the position pays less than a ticket to the movie theater. No job should pay less than a ticket to the movie theater! That should be our country's new gold standard for "living wage" The result would either be companies would raise their salaries OR the industry would pressure theaters to lower their ticket prices. Either way, everyone would win.

Tomorrow's plan is a crockpot pot roast. I don't think I will even end up eating it but the roommates love meat and I need to avoid a cooking adventure that could sidetrack me from some serious job searching that needs to occur.

Baked Potato Soup

2009-03-22T14:02:00.005-04:00

I have the Dan Quayle curse. Every time I type the word "potato" I think about him. Then I think of the Cheryl Wheeler Potato version of the Mexican Hat Dance.

Check it out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJaKqOzDvMQ

I'm hungering for sushi, but instead, as a totally unrelated alternative, I'm making Baked Potato Soup:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx

Maybe we'll go out for sushi tomorrow.

~ ~ ~

Eating it now - don't forget the cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon. Pretty darn good.

Coping Mechanism

2009-03-20T18:36:00.002-04:00

Plus One didn't get the job. That's fine. But the jerks at the org wrote him a typical "not you, someone better" letter - and they included their website address and said if he knew of anyone looking for employment, to please pass along the address!!!!!! Are you kidding me?????

I wanted to hit something with a frying pan.

Instead, I made oatmeal cookies. Excellent Oatmeal Cookies.

And for dinner I made us tilapia broiled with a sauce over it that sounds gross - mayo/shredded cheddar/lime juice/minced garlic/salt/pepper - but is really good - and some noodles on the side. Oh, and a simple green salad.

There are few things in life that food can't fix. I guess death but other than that I'm coming up short on other ideas.

Speaking of ideas. I worked on my non-kitchen to do list and it's rather lame. I deleted it.

I also made myself feel better by realizing/convincing myself that the reason bro and sis-in-law deserve to do the grocery shopping, too. Maybe they find it enjoyable - how novel. The activities in this area are limited, so they probably consider grocery shopping on the top of their weekly reason-to-go-out-and-accomplish-something list.

He was very cool about writing down everything we asked for. So while earlier I thought there might be a conspiracy to steal my job, I realize that they just don't want to give up the very cool Shady Maple ventures.

Giant Foods = Great Consumer Policy

2009-03-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

We bought strawberries the other day at Giant - the local chain grocery just down the street. (5 minutes by car, 45 minutes by foot - we learned the hard way)
The berries turned to mush the very next day so we drove over and I walked up to the service counter with my receipt and very simply informed them they went bad. They had been on sale 2 boxes for $4. The employee starts counting out money and hands me $16 and change. I didn't understand. Turns out Giant's policy is a 200% guarantee on perishable items. Starting with the non-sale price! $8 and change X two = a whole lot more money than I paid for the strawberries.

We ended up giving $10 of it back on 2 gallons of milk and 2 quarts of half and half.

But I consider that an excellent policy and won't hesitate to shop there AND return anything I consider to be subpar or a waste of our hard earned money.

Slow Food

2009-03-20T12:44:00.002-04:00

I came across an awesome 12 minute / 60 Minutes segment about Alice Waters/Chez Panisse/and her Edible Schoolyard. Though I never got the chance to eat at the restaurant when I lived in SF, I am proud that one of my awesome friends is a teacher in the schoolyard, and another is about to start an internship at the restaurant. No names :)

Its kinda inspiring to watch and we all need a reminder about how important healthy food is. I especially like her justification for the higher prices of organic, locally grown food

Check it out.

Not needed?

2009-03-20T10:26:00.002-04:00

I'm having painful twinges of panic that I'm not really needed around here. My brother just emailed me to say he and she will "rock" the groceries this week and they are going shopping tonight - oh, and if I or the other he have anything to add to the list, just let him know.

Doesn't he know that in my insomnia last night I planned 5 dinners and a coordinating shopping list? Why is he not getting the point? Of course he doesn't know I did - why would he know? He should just know!

I can't impose my unemployed-purposeless-directionless-need-to-cook-and-control-the-few-things-in-my-grasp
issues on my poor brother. So I will email him back as a normal person would, with a few additions to the list - and leave it at that.

They're just groceries, right? Well, not really. They're kind of the only exciting thing I have going on right now. A person can only surf the want ads for a certain number of hours before the double-vision sets in. And maybe they enjoy grocery shopping, too. I guess that's possible.

This is really sad and lame. I am now going to go make a new To-Do list which will include not just the requisite things that need to be done, but all of the things that I wish I had the time to do when I am not working. And they are not allowed to be kitchen related.

Not so Chocolate

2009-03-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

I had insomnia from the headache until 6 am - then slept until 10:30 but it doesn't matter - it was raining so we wouldn't have gone to Hershey anyway.

Plus One got a call about an interview for a part-time position at a bank! It's on Monday in Harrisburg. I can't find out from their website if they offer benefits for part-time work but I bet anything can be negotiated.

Keep crossed, please!

Cheap Lunch

2009-03-19T00:08:00.001-04:00

There are many charming things about rural Amish country. I find it hard to think of things other than the low prices. Everything is just cheaper here! You don't really want me to list them all, do you? Another time.

For now I shall reclaim the wonder of the sign we discovered - $4.99 All You Can Eat Chinese Lunch Buffet 11:30-2 -
Was it the world's best chinese food? No. Was it all steaming hot? No. Was it everything my dreams were made out of? Not a chance. But it was good cheap Chinese and $5 for lunch? You'd pay double that anywhere else.

Didn't cook today. Unless you count the spaghetti dinner - the bro grilled sausage and immediately after eating the meal I got a bad headache that hasn't let up. Instead of just popping pills for my every pain I should track what gives me these headaches. Sure, here's the record. Ate spaghetti, sauce and sausage = got headache. March 18, 2009.

The sweet, if odd, housekeeper comes tomorrow for 8 hours. She is Amish and talking with her is a bit awkward. Plus I feel like a real tool stepping around someone doing chores I'm capable of. Oh well. Not my house, not my dime. So the Plus One and I are going to go to Hershey. If you haven't been there you should know it does actually smell like chocolate. It's awesome but I will try to keep the expectations for a day without unemployed-poor-tension-fighting, low. We tend to start bickering as soon as we plan to do anything fun. But we're on a mission. The niece/nephew needs chocolate chip cookies that can only be bought in the Chocolate World store.

That's the soup!

2009-03-17T22:46:00.002-04:00

Blogging is a lonesome act of desperation. You write, maybe for yourself, but more likely in the hopes someone will actually read it. And mere minutes after begging my FB friends to do so, indeed I got a request from an awesome girl I haven't talked to in years.

So here you go, K! The best Chicken Taco Soup in the World!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Taco-Soup/Detail.aspx

The irish are known for their beer, not food

2009-03-17T21:20:00.001-04:00

To catch up, Saturday's Tortilla Taco Soup was outa-this-world and I would make it weekly if I had the audience. The sour cream, cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips and avocado slices on top are key. But even without, so freakin good.

I've never actually eaten corned beef. I don't taste things that smell that nasty. But my brother asked for it...in a nonchalant "if you don't want to make it, thats okay" sorta way and hell, its not like I have a job and since someone else is buying the groceries this month - corned beef indeed.

I threw a 2 lb'er in the crockpot with some beef stock, the included seasoning packet and a few half-hearted carrot and potato chunks. We left to run errands and 4 hours later, came home to uncooked potatoes. So I threw it all in a big covered dish and in the over at 375 for....1/5 hours?

I found a recipe for Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazingly-Easy-Irish-Soda-Bread/Detail.aspx
I've never made bread, but how could Amazingly Easy be hard? Only if the recipe undercuts the necessary cooking time by 30 minutes. It was easy but next time I would make 3-4 little loaves so it doesn't take nearly 2 hours to bake.

For my sister-in-law, the non-corned beef loving baby, and myself I made vegetarian stuffed cabbage. I started with olive oil and minced garlic, a medium chopped onion...sauteed...a can of chick peas, two tomatoes, salt, pepper, parsley and cumin. The results were mild, if thats a nice way of saying bland, but the redemption is knowing it doesn't get healthier.

I could not have tried less in the corned beef cooking but it came out perfectly. Go figure.

Still no word on the Plus One's job. Employers love love love the power they wield when deciding to call you - or not.

I found a good job post for myself - did I say that before? - and applied but I have no doubt my excitement for new ventures every 6 months will come back to bite me in the behind.

Back to the Basics

2009-03-13T22:56:00.001-04:00

When in doubt go back to what you know and love. Like Pasta. And Pizza. And Salad. Yum.
Dinner tonight was at the request of my future niece/nephew's incubator, so who am I to argue? Kudos to Trader Joe's for your garlic and herb fresh pizza dough. Hint: If you freeze it, when you're ready to use it toss it in a bowl and leave it on the counter for at least 4+ hours.
I had a messy good time rolling it out on a flour'ed counter. It ended up an odd shape and I finally resorted to slicing it and splitting it up onto two cookie sheets. Really, when it comes to pizza, its not the shape of the dough that matters.

Of course I didn't dare just pour sauce on it. I had to go and be all fancy with my olive oil and simmering minced garlic (can someone please buy me one of the Pampered Chef choppers? my half birthday is in a few weeks?!) If you don't I will have to steal my brother's when we move out.
Some shredded mozarella, a little parmesan, 10 minutes at 475 and voila!

The mutitasker that I am, I also had a pot of pasta boiling and some other sauce simmering for that. And about 2 hours prior I had made a chopped salad.

It wasn't an inventive day in the kitchen but I did discover a recipe for "Restaurant Style Italian Dressing" It's brilliant. You take a cup (or whatever) or crappy italian dressing, add a clove or two of finely minced garlic, a sprinkle of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil, 1/2 tspn of dried parsley (it says oregano but I didn't have that)...it's the perfect way to salvage your relatives' insistence on buying and eating Kraft salad dressing!

Since I like writing in backwards order of my day....way earlier I threw together the ingredients for the Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup (posted prior) I let it do its thing on low for 5+ hours, shredded up the chicken then kept the chicken in a separate container and fridged the crockpot (sans mechanical parts) and the tupperware of chicken. Why, you ask? Because it's safer to let the chicken chill on its lonesome ASAP, meanwhile the rest of the soup would be taking its time in the fridge. It's scientific. I'm just not bothering with the numbers for you. Take my word for it.

Tomorrow I will be mixing the chicken back in with the rest of the soup, baking up some easy-boring-from-a-box corn bread, and when my visiting parents show up with the grocery requests, attempting a knock-off of a Philadelphia favorite...and it's not cheesesteaks...

Finally Satisfied

2009-03-11T20:20:00.000-04:00

Thank you, AllRecipes.com, for saving my day from being a total disappointment.

3,463 reviewers can't be wrong, I thought - right?

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broiled-Tilapia-Parmesan/Detail.aspx

The fish was FAN-FRICKIN-TASTIC! And I made some lima beans and mashed potatoes to "go wit"

The Plus One has an interview tomorrow morning. Does even mentioning it jinx the whole deal? Some income for us sure would be nice.

Sticky Mess

2009-03-11T15:07:00.002-04:00

This special post seeks to counter the colorful image blogs with perfect food and tales of triumph over the evils of a failed attempt.

The sushi was edible at best. Also, sticky, chewy, salty, too sweet, and gigantic. I think I bought the wrong ginger - or just picked a bad recipe. The rice was a mess. The best parts were the avocado and cucumber! The rolls actually "rolled" just fine which I've read is usually the hardest part. In the end I enjoyed a deconstructed sushi - bits of avocado, crab, cucumber, ginger and some soy sauce sans rice and seaweed.

It took me three hours from clean kitchen to clean kitchen (CK - CK??)

Verdict:
Some things are best left up to the experts!

Nonetheless, in a further effort to avoid the mounting paperwork/bills/medical forms I will probably be back to make dinner and try to redeem this day.

Ginger = Fire

2009-03-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

It was an unfortunate morning for food. My plans for flaxseed-banana pancakes were a flop of the frisbee variety. Kinda depressed about our current financial situation and life's general stand-still I decided the best thing to do would be SPEND MONEY! So I got the husband up and going and we set out in search of food from someone else's kitchen. The main road in the area is (of course) called Main Street aka Route 23. If you take it in one direction you pass mostly bad shopping centers and houses, and in the other more bad shopping centers but if you hold out for 20 minutes you reach the haven that is Shady Maple Farm Market.

We stopped by to check out Yoder's (yes, so Amish sounding) restaurant but it was creepishly filled with seniors and probably mediocre coffee at best. We moved along thinking we'd sneak into SM's breakfast buffet but were 20 minutes late. We resigned to pick something up at the counter in the grocery store so we could pick up the groceries we wanted anyway. Luckily we found a woman making homemade pretzels (aw yea) - he got cinnamon sugar, I an almond kind, and with a glass of HOMEMADE lemonade the grand total was $3.25 for breakfast.

The husband is a general good sport when I wander the "needed" (like produce and bread) aisles but when I start searching for pectin, imitation crab meat, and special short grain rice he starts rolling his eyes. Tough sh**.

My goal was SUSHI- did ya guess?

I've peeled and marinated/pickled the GINGER. OUCH! That sucker awakens every cut in your hands and an hour later they are still burning.
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushiforbeginner/r/gari.htm
The challenge is, similar to carrots, it's nearly impossible to peel all of the garlic, so I plan to put the stubs in the chopper and use them tomorrow.

I have the short grain rice cooking and am soon to mix in the sugar, sushi vinegar and salt.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sushi-rice-recipe/index.html

I have fake crab, avocado, cucumber and carrot to attempt a simple California Roll. I figure the best place for fresh fish will be at Central Market but that's far far away and only open 3 days per week.

I wanted to do a cost breakdown because so far this is really adding up.
2 lbs of short grain rice = $4.99
3/4 lb imitation crab meat = $2.45
avocados = .79 each
2 kirby cucumbers = $1.12
1 lb carrots = .69 cents

Plus...the nori (seaweed), sushi mat, sushi rice paddle, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, soy sauce...

Correct - I will not use all of these quantities today but...

IT HAD BETTER BE GOOD!

Little island-themed grocer and asian mart in the NE

2009-03-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

We had a fab evening at our local branch of the not-prevalant enough island-themed grocery store. While in the cheese aisle I heard one employee ask another, "If you were going to make a tuna pizza, what would you put on it?" Though the Q wasn't directed at me, I blurted out kalamata olives. The other worker said "feta or goat cheese"; and when asked for the sauce I offered a lemon garlic aioli. We're going to call it the George Pizza in honor of the initiator. I'll let you know how it turns out next week.

Today we GPS'ed (that's a verb) to the Lucky Farm Asian Super Something Grocery Mart in NE Philly, to find the requisite makings for sushi - which I doubt we could find in Lancaster. Every aisle is filled with the often unpleasant, always pungent smell of foods not packaged well. Don't bother to ask for help locating what you want nor deciphering the packages. We opted for the Kikoman soy sauce, and the rice vinegar from Japan instead of China or Korea. We're hedging our bets on Japan having slightly better standards of food production. And though it might be an ignorant approach, we erred on the more expensive end, merely hoping that this will get us a safer product. The nori (seaweed) ranged from 99 cents to $9 dollars per package, but we settled for something in between - supposedly made in and shipped from NY state.

Weirded out by the pink-hue jarred variety, I am going to pickle my own ginger and grate my own wasabi. The available product comes out of a toothpaste-like tube. No thanks.

The next challenge will be finding sushi-grade fish. I'll keep you posted.

The Arch of Savings

2009-02-28T09:08:00.001-05:00

We're back North after a week in DC and our bodies are on detox from the crap we ate. Stop asking why the economically disadvantaged and urban-confined population suffer from obesity/heart disease/diabetes trifecta epidemic. The answer is the golden arch. It's simply the best deal in town, hand down. For the cost of a sandwich elsewhere you can buy two full meals. While in DC for 5 days we ate there 7 time. 7 times! And saved I-dunno-how-much-exactly-but-a-whole-lot of money. In addition to supporting the global chain we had assorted junk that didn't serve us well in energy production. But we're back now and detoxing.

Last week's bread lasagna, with a side of TJ's green beans, is in the plan for tonight's dinner at my parents' house. My awesome cousin is coming over from NJ to join us.

Husband O' Mine

2009-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

I need to give credit where it is due. My husband would and does clean up the kitchen at my request whether or not he is anticipating food. Which for a Latin guy is pretty damn impressive. I don't know what my mother-in-law would say but for a traditional Guatemalan woman she is pretty liberal and open-minded. And what mother isn't proud of everything her son does? She may as well be Jewish!

The Morning After

2009-02-27T08:46:00.000-05:00

My day of cooking was a success! The SOUP turned out as usual - which is good and healthy! If you were going to go on one of those soup diets, I'm high in fiber, low on fat, packs your daily veggies and tastes good!
The PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES were also great. Though mine didn't puff up like Gourmet Magazine's did. I think this is because I hand mixed the batter instead of hauling out the fancy mixer. When I can I like to do things by hand. You'd be surprised but it actually provides an upper body workout and it makes the final product all the sweeter.
The ULTIMATE POTATO GRATIN was decadent. My brother said it smelled like my Babush's (grandmother's) house which at first I wasn't sure how to take. But he just meant to the bacon/cabbage/butter smell. It will clog your arteries but you'll die happy. My pop-pop lived to be 92 years old and my Babush is still going strong, so maybe we shouldn't diss butter after all.

The real winner of the day was the BREAD LASAGNA. O. M. G. This stuff was amazing and perhaps better than traditional lasagna. I think the key was that the bread acted like a distributor of the sauce and thus, there were no crunchy burnt noodles or pools of sauce in the middle. You have to like eggplant. And not mind a soft texture. It melted in your mouth. I wasn't satisfied with just parmesan so I added some shredded italian mix cheese to the top to make it more traditionally cheesy.
We're going to have my parents over for lunch next weekend and I plan to make this.

And I want to share a TRICK- if you don't want your tin foil to stick to your casserole, spray it with cooking spray before you wrap it up. Even if it touches the food it will come off effortlessly and not mess up your top.

I wasn't hungry all evening but topped the day off with a fresh fruit salad to round out my diet. I sprinkled it with some flax seed for an extra punch.

I woke up craving pancakes with ground flax seed which we've made before -
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/pancakes-recipe/index.html
But by the time I reached the kitchen I changed my mind and made scrambled eggs instead - with avocado and 6 grain toast.
The key to PERFECT SCRAMBLED EGGS, as I learned from PBS' America's Test Kitchen, is to keep them at medium heat and never stir - just fold the eggs over and over until they're cooked through.

We're off to DC this morning - which conveniently coincided with my brother's business trip - so we get a car ride instead of having to take the train. For the next 5 days we will be eating Subway, Au Bon Pain, and anything else under $5/meal. We will also enjoy our favorite burrito place - CHIPOTLE!!! - which brings back good SF memories.

~On to the suitcase~

2009-02-26T12:21:00.001-05:00

I just got my husband to clean up the kitchen! All I had to do was tempt him with the three dishes + one dessert that will result at the end of the day. Rock on.

It's simple really. I'm unemployed and we're living with my brother and sister-in-law who ARE employed and therefore can afford a beautiful house with the most slammin' stocked kitchen in the world. Or Lancaster County, where we now reside.

We moved two weeks ago from the land of San Francisco where we indulged in culinary experiences on a regular basis - out of the apartment that is - because mostly our fridge was filled with frozen delicacies from Trader Joe's.

I've appointed myself head chef of this house for the time we reside here. And so far it's working out well. I love perusing the Internet for recipes and my favorite mainstays are olive oil, garlic, and fresh vegetables. Thankfully my relatives aren't picky and will eat just about anything as long as they didn't have to cook it after working.

My sister-in-law spends her days keeping a classroom of 1st and 2nd graders under control and my brother ticks through the hours trying to keep a marketing company revving in this crap economic atmosphere. So I am more than happy to provide them with dinner when they come home. Oh yea! She's pregnant too so I'm also cooking for my not-yet-born niece/nephew. Which I think is pretty important.

Lancaster is rural but thankfully filled with people who value food and therefore is dotted with awesome grocery stores. Within 10 miles we have a Giant, a local favorite called Shady Maple, a Menonite mainstay called Yoder's, WalMart, and in the summer dozens of cheap farm stands. (There should be at least one good thing that comes out of the chronic manure scent of this part of PA.) If you head to downtown Lancaster there is also the country's oldest farmer's market - Central Market which is only open three days a week but thrives by selling some damn good culinary treats.

I started the day off ambitiously. You see in addition to dinner I also want to leave the bro and sis-in-law with some food bc the husband and I are going to DC for a week.

This is what I started at 10 am - The Ultimate Potato Gratin
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/the-ultimate-potato-gratin-recipe/index.html
It was in the oven by 12 noon at which point I implored husband to clean up some of the dishes. He rocks.
I burned the first batch of bacon so after filling the house with smoke I had to start over. Oops.
It's still in the oven and in 9 minutes needs to get uncovered and baked for another 30 minutes.

Next I began a recipe that I cooked last week which my brother enjoyed but the sis-in-law couldn't taste because she had a cold. It's called Healing Cabbage Soup.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Healing-Cabbage-Soup/Detail.aspx
She is still sick a week later so I think it was false advertising. But it does taste good. I switched it up today by adding chopped carrots and a can of cream of celery soup.

The next things on tap are dinner and a dessert. I love love love Lydia who cooks on PBS and she made a poor-man's lasagna last week with eggplant and italian bread. PBS doesn't post their recipes so I found a nice woman who recreated it.
http://girl-fiend.com/archives/597

And I'll top it all off with a Gourmet Magazine find called Black Sesame Seed Peanut Butter Cookies.
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/03/black-sesame-seed-peanut-butter-cookies
I thought they looked like they had ants crawling all over them in the picture, so I'm using regular sesame seeds instead.

I'll let you know how it all turns out later!

For now let me thank:
Tyler Florence and The Food Network
All Recipes.com and JGCASE
girl-fiend.com and it's writer
Gourmet Magazine

Please don't call your lawyers. I am just commending your recipes and spreading the love.

~Back to my cutting board~