Archive for the ‘The Kitchenettes’ Category

Menu Monday

Mar 15th, 10 / 1 Comment

Yum! I thought as it was Monday I’d actually try to, you know, post my weekly menu. It is a little crazy as B has some sailing to attend to & won’t be around for all of the meals, but I have a fabulous girlfriend coming over for some wine & a movie, so I’ll manage to make do! Lets see how the week is shaping up:

  • Monday

Turkey, organic cheddar, organic lettuce & red onion panini on whole wheat flax seed bread with a side of sweet potato “fries”

(This meal couldn’t be simpler – assemble your panini’s, brush the outer sides of the bread with your butter/margarine spread of choice and toss into the panini press, George Foreman grill, or frying pan with a second frying pan on top to squish it down. Toast for 2 minutes or until melty & delicious. Peel & slice a sweet potato or two, arrange “steak fry” sized slices on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil & sea salt & bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping them over half way through.)

  • Tuesday

(Organic) Homemade marinara sauce served over whole wheat pasta, topped with fresh mozzarella & a small side salad.

  • Wednesday

Pan roasted pork tenderloin, served with sides of wild brown rice & steamed long green beans. This is B’s favorite meal!

  • Thursday

Triiivia night! Lets go team!

  • Friday

Girls night! I’m going to assemble a home made pizza, with a whole wheat crust, goat cheese, roasted garlic, basil, and a little home-made marinara sauce from Tuesday that I’ll thicken up with some organic tomato paste! Voila!

 

What are you having this week?

Domesticity Win, Married Life, Menu Monday, Recipe ala Daisy, The Kitchenettes

Picky Eater

Jan 6th, 10 / 14 Comments

A few weeks ago a long email chain was sent between myself & three of my friends regarding a birthday dinner I’m hosting at my house next week. I’d offered the three birthday girls a meal of their choice, and due to personal preference we quickly nixed pork, certain cake flavors & cooked shrimp in pasta. We settled on lasagna and I was good to go before the quirks requests started pouring in. We are still good to go, but come next Tuesday I’ll be baking one of the most ludacris lasagnas known to mankind. I’m still debating on whether the half without ricotta will be an even half, or of I’ll randomly select certain slices/servings to be ricotta free- a bit of a hunt if you will. “YOU JUST TRY TO FIND THAT RICOTTA FREE SLICE WHY DON’T YOU?!” – said with love of course, as I finish frosting the birthday cake(s). Those picky birthday girls- funfetti AND yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

 

I can laugh all I want but this morning found me running back in the house because I’d forgotten a butter knife in my lunch sack (polka dots!) and I’d packed a banana and I simply cannot eat a banana unless the top is initially sliced so as to ensure a smooth, even peeling of the peel. My brother won’t eat leftovers (at. all.) and B will politely pick a mushroom out of any dish you give him. I can’t stand raw tomatoes (icky) or mushrooms (triple icky) and I find rice to be mediocre at best. My Dad will only eat soup with the “proper” sized spoon and my Mom detests smoked lunch meat & anything mushy. (More meatloaf for me!!)

 

The truth is, we all have our food quirks. I know, all of us should think that bread pudding was invented by Satan himself, but thus far membership in my similarly named club remains contained to myself. And me. And my imaginary friend named ME.

 

That said, I could eat my weight in hummus, a toasted bagel with cream cheese topped with red onion, cucumbers & a slab of smoked lox is nothing short of divine and I’ll arm wrestle anyone who tried to eat a bite of my rare steak prepared with hollandaise & crabmeat on top (Oscar style).

 

So I’m curious- what will you run screaming from and what will you hide from your family? Make me feel better, share your favorites even if it is Skyline chili dip, for which I will mock you. (My roommate in college would hoard Skyline chili cans more than her favorite shoes.)

 

Oh and in case you were debating, the rind of brie cheese is gross. Those who eat it are clearly terrorists. Terrorists with bad taste in dairy.

Domesticity Win, Recipe ala Daisy, The Kitchenettes

Menu Monday

Oct 26th, 09 / 0 Comments

It is no secret that I enjoy being domestic. Sure, by day I’m content to be an attorney and do my part to demolish the glass ceiling, but by evenings and weekends I’m happy to putter around my house- dusting, cleaning, smoothing, washing, cooking and the like. (Which isn’t to say I enjoy cleaning the floors. I hate cleaning the floors & the bathtub, the two worst jobs ever.) (It also doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy going out and having a night or two on the town, complete with cocktails & a little mischief…)  I registered for Martha Stewart’s massive book on housekeeping with the rules, tips and lists needed for everything from Thanksgiving dinner to ironing sheets, hand washing cashmere and setting up a perfectly appointed guest room.  I tuck sachets in with my clean towels, put nice soap in my guest bathroom & generally derive great comfort out of a well organized home. In my opinion nothing is better than sinking into the tub with a magazine, knowing that something delicious is baking in the oven and your entire home is clean and tidy. Maniacal perhaps, but it keeps me going.

 

 In today’s economy(Read: Apparently I missed the era of lawyers being paid 6 figures to scan documents and the like. Hmph.), I’ve found that I do best on my food budget by meal planning my week out. It keeps the “extras” down, reduces the amount of food I throw out (I refuse to eat anything remotely wilty, smushy or smelling the least bit “funny”) and prevents us from eating out after looking the cupboards, shrugging our shoulders and declaring it too hard to figure out for the night. I’ll try to do some menu postings in the month ahead (if you are game) and share where I find my cooking inspiration.  I present this weeks menu at Casa de Daisy, always subject to change based on my whim, the weather, or my general feeling of “don’t wanna.”

 

Monday:

- Easy peasy “Irish-Italian” made with ground turkey. The recipe is embarrassingly simple but I’ll probably get around to posting it on The Kitchenettes one of these days.

Tuesday:

- Roasted veggie and balsamic meatloaf with mashed potatoes & steamed broccoli

Wednesday:

- The Pioneer Woman’s roasted red pepper risotto (I normally add a pound of asparagus to mine)

Thursday:

- Meatloaf panini’s with brussel sprouts (I think I’m going to add red onion & balsamic vinegar to mine…)

Friday:

- Home-made Marinara sauce with pasta & salad

Saturday:

- B’s favorite marinated pork tenderloin with wild rice & roasted delicate squash

Domesticity Win, Lawyers, Menu Monday, The Kitchenettes