Wishful Slacker

Our Thoughtful Boy

While I am the "wishful slacker," our cat Major is the true slacker for us all to emulate.  Not only does that boy have probably the most leisurely and carefree life of all creatures, but you can tell that he enjoys every second of it.  I'll make sure to post some of his sillier moments in the future (the ever-popular lying on his back pose with his legs in the air), but tonight I caught him being more reflective.  In actuality, I think he was eyeing our pork chops, but he'd prefer you all believe that he was in the middle of a deep, deep thought.

Sock knitting...slowly....

Over the weekend I finished knitting a sock.  It's pretty cute with nice Easter-colored stripes. 

A couple issues though.  First problem-  it's only one sock.  And typically, for a sock to work, it needs a mate.  This leads me into my second problem- it took me (and I'm not exaggerating) probably 2-3 months to finish just this one sock.

Yes, I've been busy and have been doing others things, etc, etc, but I had hopes when I started doing socks that I'd get at least more than just 2 pairs from a year's worth of knitting!  And I feel I owe it to this newly completed sock to get some use out of it.  I mean, is it fair to this sock to make it chill in my sock draw for the next 3 months until I finish its partner?  I'm sure I look goofy wearing only one sock as I sit here typing, but at least that sock feels loved.

It was a big step for me to move from back-and-forth scarves to socks.  My mother-in-law passed along a great website for learning to knit socks, which is what I've used to help jump-start this very important phase in my knitting maturity.  I have yet to find a nice knitting shop near me in Chicago so have felt limited to projects where I don't need anyone's help to get me out of a bind.  Alas- sweaters, baby booties, and felted purses will have to wait.

So, if anyone wants me to make them a pair of socks, and hopes to have the socks delivered by the year 2012- you'd best place your order now!

The Making of Public Enemies

The movie Public Enemies opens in theaters this week and I wanted to share these pictures that we took back in May, 2008.  Being a true story, several scenes were shot in the actual location where events occurred, including the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park.  Word spread like wildfire when the production crew came in and converted this section of Lincoln Avenue into how it appeared in 1934.  We and several hundred others flocked here on that Friday afternoon to catch a glimpse of the action.  Production vehicles and trailors were parked up and down Halsted, and many cool vintage cars were brought in.  They created artificial storefronts, laid street car tracks, and even sawed away all the metal parking meters- because obviously those weren't around in 1934 (heck, they can't even get them to work in 2009)!   

On a separate night, they shot scenes just down the street from our apartment building at Pine Grove and Surf.  All evening we kept hearing continuous rounds of tommy gun fire.  It was really loud!  Apparently Johnny Depp even paid a visit to our corner Red Hen bakery for a coffee.  For all the hype the production created around this area, the movie had better be good!

Two Buck Duck Chicago

For you Chicagoans, check out this cool website: twobuckduck.com.  The site offers coupons for really good deals in and around the city.  To get the deal, you pay $2, but the coupon values are worth much more than that.  For example, our favorite Italian restaurant, Sapori Trattoria has used twobuckduck.com.  For $2 you got a $15 coupon.  Pretty cool, eh?  The site offers 1 coupon at a time and they are only up for a few hours each, so it's worth checking out periodically.

Mr. "Breaking News"

One of my husband's and my shared themes is that we both had grandmothers with avid interests in current events and breaking news.  I remember huddling around the radio with my grandma, grandpa, and sister, listening to live coverage from Norway of Tonya Harding's 1994 Olympic skate.  There was no way my grandmother was waiting until NBC's coverage at 7pm.  "Wait, she's stopped skating and is in tears.  She's trying to tell the judge there's something wrong with her skate lace," reported the announcer.  It was thrilling, and when we watched the American tv broadcast that evening we all felt special for knowing the outcome in advance of everyone else. 

 My grandmother recorded every single day of the OJ Simpson trial.  As we went through her house after she passed away, we encountered boxes and boxes of these videotapes.  Not only that, but we came across every cheesy pop news novel that was ever written.  If it was about JonBenet Ramsey, the Menendez Brothers, or Princess Diana, my grandmother could have been a key consultant.  

As my grandmother's daughter, my mother also shares this passion.  During the goofy court hearings following Anna Nicole Smith's death, my mom and I almost didn't know what to do with ourselves.  "There is no circus here my friends" may be one of the greatest quotes in the history of American entertainment.  A few years ago a man near my parents' home in Michigan went nuts and killed his wife.  If that wasn't enough, his arrest took place after he fled to northern Michigan and was chased through the snowy woods barefoot by a helicopter, cameras rolling.  My mother tivo'd every news story documenting his trial, and sat us down in front of the tv each time we traveled home so we could get caught up.      

My husband reports having had similar experiences in his childhood.  His upbringing allowed him to develop "breaking news" superpowers.  He has this unnatural ability to know every major headline the second before the rest of us learn of it.  My mother has it as a personal goal to surprise my husband with a breaking news story prior to him discovering it for himself.  So far she hasn't won.  After news of Michael Jackson's death on Thursday she scrambled to send him a text message, only to receive my husband's response a few seconds later-"I know."  Between the two of them, at least I know that I'll never be left in the dark!  

YUM-O Steak Sandwich

I was very pleased this week to discover that both asparagus and arugula were on sale at our grocery store.  Immediately I thought back to Rachael Ray's "Steak Sandwich...Fork and Knife Required" recipe of which I was a huge fan when I was in grad school.  I made it several times on Friday evenings when my now-husband would visit me on the weekends.  The dish has such a wonderful combination of ingredients and tastes that it was a real treat for my genetics-stressed mind at that time.  It feels like a fancy meal from the first bite.  And, while I can now say that the ingredients are quite reasonable in price, back then when I had NO money, even splurging on a full-priced bunch of asparagus for this recipe felt like I was being extravagant. 

I think I had this memory in mind when I snatched up the discounted asparagus and arugula.  Remembering the frozen puffed pastry and skirt steak chilling in our freezer solidified my decision for this recipe to make a come-back.

We had it tonight and, as Rachael Ray would (sometimes annoyingly) say, it was YUM-O.

Steak Sandwich...Knife and Fork Required

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted, kept chilled (recommended brand Pepperidge Farm)
1 1/2-2 pounds beef skirt steaks
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped (optional- we frequently forget to buy the rosemary and it tastes fine without it!)
1 small bunch of thin asparagus
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 large bunch arugula, stemmed, cleaned, and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill on high (we use our Cuisinart Griddler)

With a sharp knife, cut the thawed but chilled puff pastry sheet into 4 squares, arrange on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Bake the puff pastry according to package directions, or until golden brown, all over, about 12 to 15 minutes.

While the puff pastry is baking, season the skirt steak with the 2 tablespoons of EVOO, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Grill the meat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  Remove the meat and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.  While the steak is cooking, trim the woody ends off the asparagus.  Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.  As soon as the steaks are off the grill and resting, add the asparagus to the grill.

Grill the spears, turning frequently, until the asparagus is tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove the asparagus from the grill and cut into 2-inch lengths.

In a bowl, toss together the grilled chopped aspargus, crumbled blue cheese, and chopped arugula.  Season the mixture with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Slice the steak thinly across the grain.  Top each golden brown puff pastry square with some slices of steak.  Top the steak with the asparagus salad and serve.

4 servings.

Where did this guy come from?

Have you all noticed that every time you turn on the television, Piers Morgan is on the screen?  He's the British bloke who was on Celebrity Apprentice (last season he won and this season he helped Donald Trump in the final) and judges on Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent.  All of a sudden, this guy is everywhere, especially on television shows about celebrities even though I have no idea how he got to be a celebrity to begin with.  My husband and I have surmised that the reason he is a celebrity is because he is apparently a professional judge.  And the reason he's a professional judge is perhaps because he's a celebrity.  Or is it the other way around?  Donald Trump loves him, so that has to mean something.  And he's now the "go to" guy for the media in search for updates on Susan Boyle.  Access Hollywood is all over him.

So, in a search to figure out who this guy really is and what he is really famous for, we've consulted the ever-reliable Wikipedia:
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Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (born 30 March 1965), best-known as Piers Morgan,^[1] is the former editor of British tabloid newspapers the News of the World (1994–1995) and the Daily Mirror (1995–2004).^[2]

He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children. Morgan branched into television mainly as a presenter, but has become best known as judge or contestant in reality television programmes. In the UK, he is a judge on Britain's Got Talent alongside Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell. He is known in the United States as a judge on the show America's Got Talent, and as the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice. Morgan is also the author of eight books.

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Ok, from that, it sounds like he is just famous for being famous and running tabloids.  And eight books?!  Appropriately, one of his publications is titled, Don't You Know Who I Am? (2007).  My answer- No. 

With the humidity comes the clouds

I knew that this would happen- an uncharacteristically chilly May and start of June quickly replaced by a hot, humid day!  I thought this thick band of cloud cover looked pretty cool coming in over the city and lake, with the bright blue sky above it.  If Mother Nature accepts requests, I would greatly enjoy a good thunderstorm...

Easy Sunday Meal #2

This was the slow cooker meal of our Sunday, a beef stew from the "Campbells Slow Cooker Recipes" book (as you can see, some days I'm not very inventive with the sources of our meals!).  This one has a long cooking time on low (10-12 hours!- you'd have to start really early on this one to eat at 6pm), but you can also cook it on high for 5-6 hours.  We cooked ours on low today but, because we made it primarily for leftovers it wasn't a problem that it finished cooking so late.  Browning the meat and chopping the veggies took about a half hour.  But, the beauty of it is that once these slow cooker meals get started, they're good to go.  Beef stew is generally not a meal one considers in the month of June, but with the help of Chicago's unseasonably cool temperatures it didn't seem too atypical!  Just like with the lasagna, we plan on freezing some of the stew to have again later.

Hearty Beef Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef for stew, cut into 1-inch pieces (we buy the already chopped stew meat)
Ground black pepper
4 Tbsps all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups cubed potatoes (we used Yukon Gold)
4 medium carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups beef broth
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water
1 cup frozen peas

Sprinkle beef with black pepper and coat with 2 tablespoons flour.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add beef and cook until browned, stirring often.

Place potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic in slow cooker.  Top with beef.  Add broth, Worcestershire, thyme, and bay leaf. 

Cover and cook on LOW 10 to 12 hours (or on HIGH 5 to 6 hours) or until beef is fork-tender.  Remove bay leaf.

Mix remaining flour and water.  Add flour mixture and peas to cooker.  Turn heat to HIGH.  Cover and cook 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

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We did try this and it was very yummy!  It'll make for a good lunch at work.  Sigh, work....

Easy Sunday Meal #1

We cooked and cleaned up a storm today.  I wanted to make some meals that we could use for a couple lunches/dinners this week and then freeze the rest to eat again next week.  I made Kraft's Cheesy Meat Lasagna, which is a very basic, easy, and yummy lasagna recipe.  According to the recipe notes, this version saves ~140 Calories and 10 grams of fat per serving over a traditional lasagna.  It uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta, lean ground beef instead of sausage, and reduced fat mozzarella.  We've made this before so I knew it'd be a good option.  I never froze lasagna before for a later meal but I am predicting that it will bounce back nicely when it's thawed.  I've always been a believer that lasagna tastes better the next day, so hopefully this will be a nice treat in a week! 

The first time we made this, we used the no-bake lasagna noodles, which made the prep incredibly simple.  I couldn't find no-bake noodles at our grocery store yesterday, so settled for the old-fashioned pre-cook kind.  I got whole wheat lasagna noodles and many of them lost their fancy edging in the process of cooking.  Wasn't a big deal, but they practically peeled right off.  I positioned the noodles that remained intact along the edges so it still looked pretty :-)  No one needs to know about the ugly noodles in the middle! 

Here's the recipe- Enjoy!

Kraftfoods.com "Better-than-Ever Cheesy Meat Lasagna"

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
26 oz. spaghetti sauce (we used canned tomato sauce we bought in bulk at Costco)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 egg
1 container (16 oz) low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained (or no bake)
2 cups 2% milk shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Brown meat with garlic and oregano in a medium saucepan.  Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes.

Mix egg, cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese.  Spread 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce mixture onto bottom of a 13X9-inch baking dish.  Top with layers of 3 noodles, 1 cup of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of the remaining spaghetti sauce mixture.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining spaghetti sauce mixture.  Cover with foil.

Bake 30 min. or until heated through.  Uncover; top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.  Bake, uncovered, an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yum!