Tom Thumb shopping carts get tricked out!

Things have been changing at my local Tom Thumb grocery store! Each time I stop in lately I notice little changes that making the shopping experience a little more relaxing. And yesterday morning I had to get a lot of groceries in the late morning, it was going to be dangerously close to my daughters nap time – so I was anticipating a melt down at some point.

http://www.milkandcuddles.com/

“Mad Men” style Pot Roast

OK, have you guys been watching the Emmy Award winning TV show “Mad Men” on AMC?? Because I am obsessed with it! It’s so fascinating to see what life was like in the 60’s. And although the show focuses on the drama that engulfs a Madison Avenue advertising company, a good deal of the family drama plays out in 60’s housewife, Betty Drapers kitchen!

I love watching the iconic 60’s dishes that get served on the show – tuna casserole, jello salad, ham with pineapple rings, TV dinners…POT ROASTS!!

It got me thinking, Pot Roast is a great classic American dinner.

Feel like getting in the “Mad Men” mood? Pour yourself a martini, and make this 60’s style Pot Roast!

~60’s Style Pot Roast~

YOU NEED:
serves 4-6

-3¼ pounds beef (top round is a cheap tasty cut)
-2 medium onions
-3 colored peppers of your choice
-4 celery stalks
-4 carrots
-1 bulb of garlic
-5 potatoes, quartered
- small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, & sage ( I use a mixture)
-olive oil
-sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

To Prepare Beef
-Take your beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven.
-Preheat your oven to 475°F.
-Break the garlic bulb into peeled cloves
- Pile 1/2 vegetables (except potatoes), garlic, and herbs into the middle of a large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. These veggies make for good gravy.
-Drizzle the beef with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the meat. -Place the beef on top of 1/2 the vegetables

To Cook your Beef
-Place your roasting pan in preheated oven. Turn the heat down to 400°F and cook for 1 hour for medium beef. If you like it medium-rare (as I do!), take it out 5 to 10 minutes early.
- Put the remaining half of your veggies & potatoes into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking. These will be the roasted veggies you serve with the meal. Halfway through cooking, if the vegetables look dry, add some water to the pan to stop them burning.
-When the beef is cooked to your desired doneness, take the pan out of the oven and transfer to a cutting board to rest for AT LEAST 15 minutes.
-Cut thinly for most tender meat.

ENJOY!

Bad behavior in public – do you say anything?

Sunday afternoon I got my weekly chance to have some “me” time. I look forward to a few hours of quiet reading at the end of every week when my sweetie takes the baby, and I get to have a cup of coffee at Barnes & Noble.

This past Sunday I was sitting in a grouping of those big comfy chairs they have. I had my coffee on the table, and few good books in my lap. I was a happy mommy. That is until the woman pictured below took a seat next to me. She proceeded to whip out a nail file – and the sound of scratching began.

I thought maybe she’d just broken a nail, and needed to fix it. That wouldn’t have bothered me at all. What bothered me was that she was filing ALL her nails. And with each scrape back and forth on the nail file – little pieces of nail were flying all over the chair, and onto table we were sharing. And -in my coffee. Yuck.

I tried to give her a look, to alert her to what was happening but she was fully absorbed in her manicure. I tried to just ignore her, but I couldn’t block out the constant scraping sound, back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth! Scraping, scraping! Never mind my coffee was ruined, as it now had nail shaving in it. After 20 minutes I reached my breaking point – so I whipped out my iphone and took pictures!!

I was hoping the shutter sound of the camera might cause the woman to look up, and see what she was doing. But she didn’t. I thought about just moving away from her, but all the other chairs were taken in the store. So if I moved, I would have had to carry my coffee and an arm full of books- around the store waiting for someone to get up. I only had a couple hours of time to call my own, so I stayed. After 20 minutes, I finally I screwed up my courage – and spoke up. I basically said, in as nice away as I could…

“Is there any chance you could do that in the bathroom?”

She looked at me like she couldn’t comprehend what I was talking about, so I went on…

“It’s just that all your nail filings are getting on that chair that other people have to sit on, and they are also flying right into my coffee, and all over the table.”

She shot me an angry look. And then put her file away and picked up her book.

VICTORY!!!!!

What do you do when someone is talking through the movie at the movie theater, or budges in line at the grocery store? Do you say anything? Do you just put up with it, and try to be zen? Which makes you feel better? Just taking an informal poll since this incident made me think about it. Am I the only one that thinks personal hygiene is supposed to happen in private?

http://www.milkandcuddles.com/

When do you forgive and forget?

The Picture below is of me shortly after arriving at the hospital… in labor. That was 17 months ago. Time flies, and at this very moment the baby girl that was in my tummy in this picture, is now running back and forth across the living room babbling to herself on a play phone! I think she has a bad connection, because she keeps yelling “hi!… hi?…hi!!?!” into the receiver

The day this picture was taken was the best day of my life, because it brought me my sweet smelling, pink bundle of love. But there is something else about that day that leaves me with a pit in my stomach.

My husband and I had hired a birth doula to help me through my labor. I lost my mom when I was 16, and when I married my husband I moved to Texas far away from all my relatives and friends. My desire for a doula was for all usual reasons, but also because I knew in that pivotal moment of my life – I would be missing an older female to guide me. It was important to me that I have a “mother figure” with me when I got scared, or when the pain became too much for me. But, the doula that we hired to be there, took our money…and never came.

You may wonder if we did our research? We did. We interviewed several different doulas, we took notes, we made sure they were in good standing with DONA the most notable doula association, an agency that oversees doulas and certifies them, we even picked a doula that had been voted the best in our area by readers of local magazine. And we asked questions…lot’s of them. In the end they all seemed great, but I felt most drawn to the older woman, I was looking for a stand in for my own mom after all. The doula was on her way to becoming a midwife, and was a trainer to new doulas in our area. She seemed like a great choice, she seemed motherly. We paid her, and she agreed to keep the two weeks surrounding our due date free.

When I went into labor we called her right away. She advised us to go get something to eat, and to rest up. Productive labor she said, was still  far away. My water broke a short while later in the cosmetic aisle in Walgreens … so we knew our baby was on it’s way! We called the doula again, she suggested we continue stay at home as long as we could. But she kept giving us reasons she shouldn’t come to our house, help me with the labor. We were both excited and scared, and went along with what she said. We stayed home despite the fact that I had Meconium in my amniotic fluid. She advised us to not call our doctor, since he would likely say to come to the hospital, but she advised us that wasn’t necessary. But as the evening got later my husband and I both felt uncomfortable following that advice, and went to the hospital anyway. She explained that she didn’t need to meet us there yet, because “we would have so much paper work” to fill out  first. And when we called her after I was given a room – she felt it would be better for her to “nap, and then wake up later and have lot’s of coffee.” She said she would call us in a little while, and let us know she was on the way. I was in full labor, and being given Pitocin to increase the strength of my contractions all night. She never called. And she never came. I was in labor through the night, and in the morning it was finally decided I needed a C-section ASAP. My husband called the doula, and told her she had missed my labor.

After getting home from the hospital days later, my husband called the doula to see what happened. She had no explanation for why she never showed up, but did offer him a refund of the money she had taken from us. Months went by…no money. We e-mailed her, and could see she opened our e-mail, but she would not reply. Michael tried, I tried, at first saying perhaps she had misplaced our address, and later asking her why she was not responding. Eventually she e-mailed me, and acted like she didn’t know why we were asking for a refund! It was infuriating. We had a new baby at home and no time for her games. But eventually we saw we had been lied to a second time. She had no intention of following through. So we contacted DONA. I submitted a formal complaint, waited for them to get in touch with her, get her side, and then interview us both on the phone. After months of waiting, I received paper work from DONA letting me know they had found her at fault. And recommending she refund our money, and write us a letter of apology, along with other requirements. She never did. And when I let DONA know she hadn’t followed through on any of those requirements, they told me they were just “suggestions” and they could not make her do them, and that they would not be revoking her “good standing” with DONA! So if another person researches her, just like we did – they will never know her history. It remains hidden, and she can continue to do this.

My husband is a wise man, and he has often suggested that we try to forgive and forget what happened. That she was wrong, but we only poison ourselves by continuing to feel hurt by it. I understand his point of view. But I often wonder if we should continue to pursue the matter for the sake of other expectant parents who may hire this woman, and never know her history. I also wonder if letting her win, will only serve to show her that being a rotten person pays. That it’s ok for her to promise to be there for someone in a pivotal life moment, and take their money…but not respect that agreement enough to follow through. Or at the very least, to apologize if something came up, and refund their money. Not to mention her advice to stay at home when she knew we had Meconium in the amniotic fluid. That could have caused our daughter to have long term health problems had it gotten in her lungs. Which thank God it did not.

Readers, this is the abbreviated story. There are plenty of other details that eat away at me. And I feel like I need to make a decision about this – should I contact small claims court? Write the Attorney general? Or do I just walk away? I’d like to have some closure on the whole thing, but I don’t know if I’ll get it by being the “bigger person” or by standing up for myself.



1920’s childhood – SERIOUSLY?

I was recently spending an afternoon reading parenting books at Barnes & Noble. Our daughter is 15 months old, and we are starting to get into “testing” territory – and my husband and I wanted a plan.

Cherry Blink Cookies

Doesn’t your mouth just water, looking at these cookies? Writing this recipe for Cherry Blink cookies down makes me want to make more right this very second.

I just learned how to make this particular recipe when my Aunt Kathy flew to Texas for my birthday this week…

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 cups Wheaties® cereal
* 1 cup sugar
* 2/3 cup shortening
* 2 tablespoons plus, 3 teaspoons milk
* 2 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 egg
* 2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup raisins
* 1 cup chopped nuts
* About 36 candied or maraschino cherries (they come in green & red!)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat oven to 375ºF. Crush cereal; set aside. In large bowl, mix sugar, shortening, milk, vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in raisins and nuts.
2.	Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls into crushed cereal; roll gently until completely coated. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press cherry into each cookie.
3.	Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or just until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Berry Chantilly Cake w/ Grand Marnier

Editorial note: Shannon contributed this post BEFORE New Year’s Eve because it is something she often serves for a NYE party. Due to a little disorganization on the behalf of Burb Mom editors, we did not catch it until now. BUT when I saw how yummy it was I couldn’t save it until NEXT year…and think that it would be a fun recipe to try anytime!

Want a yummy cake? Keep reading…

What about a cake that features the secret kick of Grand Marnier?!?

Berry Chantilly Cake w/ Grand Marnier

1 White cake round, 9 inch, baked from mix (Use egg whites in the mix to keep cake white)
10-12 Whole fresh raspberries
1 cup Fresh strawberries, stemmed, halved
1 cup Fresh raspberries
1/2 cup Fresh blackberries or blueberries
3 oz. Grand Marnier
1/4 cup Orange juice
Marsopone cream Frosting (recipe below)

~Directions~

-Combine Grand Marnier & orange juice. Whisk until blended. Place berries in a shallow bowl or dish, cover with Grand Marnier mixture. Marinate for 30 minutes.

-Using a serrated knife, cut cake horizontally to create a top and bottom. Drain berries and portion into center of one cake layer and spread. Drizzle with remaining Grand Marnier mixture. Cover the bottom of second cake layer with thin layer of frosting. Combine halves like a sandwich. Coat entire cake with a thin layer frosting. Top cake with whole berries.

Martha Stewart’s Marsopone cream frosting

-1 cup of heavy cream
-8 ounces of mascarpone cheese, room temperature
-1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

~Directions~
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to over-beat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarponeuntil completely incorporated. Use immediately.

3 Steps to Homemade Baby Food!

Homemade baby food – the perks are obvious! It’s WAY cheaper than pre-packaged baby food. You get to control the ingredients. Plus, it let’s you introduce food combinations, and ingredients you can’t find in typical jar food! And best of all- it’s FUN!

But it’s hard to do, right? And only granola loving, hippy moms living in communes do it, right? Right?

WRONG!

Making baby food is super easy, and you don’t need expensive equipment – although William Sonoma won’t tell you that.  All you need are some fresh fruits or vegetables of your choice, and a dream.

Here is how I make one of my daughter Molly’s favorite meals – Carrots & Green Beans with Dill.

You need:
Carrots
Green beans
Dill (optional)
Microwavable dish
Blender
Something to freeze your puree in

STEP 1- Prepare the veggies.
First I peel and wash a large bag of carrots. Or, if I’m feeling lazy (and I usually am!) I just buy a large bag of pre-peeled baby carrots, that are ready to go! You can also find carrots, and green beans in the frozen food section. I used frozen green beans in this puree.

STEP 2- Steam.
I stick the carrots and green beans in a large microwavable dish, add a few cups of water, and put a loose cover on them. You’ll know when they are done microwaving when you can pierce them easily with a fork. Above, you’ll find a picture of my carrots and green beans all tender from the microwave, and ready for step 3!

STEP 3- Blend.
It’s important to let your veggies cool down before putting them in your blender. Depending on the size of your food processor or blender you may have to puree your baby food in batches. Also, some fruits & veggies need very little extra water added to the blender because they are so juicy naturally. But other ingredients like our carrots and green beans, need water added to the blender in order to puree them smoothly. I use the leftover water from steaming, and add additional water as I need to. Blend for just a short amount of time for a chunkier texture baby food, or a longer time for a silky smooth consistency baby food. If you want to add any spices, this is the time to do it. I like to add a dash of dill before I blend, and after blending.

And then… wallah people!

Fresh baby food!

STORAGE- I use ice cube containers to freeze my puree, but you can also freeze portions in Ziploc bags. The benefit of using ice cube trays is that you can keep the cubes in a baggie in the freezer, and then pull out as many, or as few cubes as your baby is hungry for at any given time!

Making baby food is a simple, economical and creative activity! It’s also, thankfully, pretty mistake proof! Try different fruit & vegetable combinations as things at the grocery store go on sale. Hide vegetables your baby doesn’t really love, like spinach for instance – in sweeter vegetable like acorn squash or sweet potatoes! And don’t be afraid to taste your baby food as you go! In fact something like mango puree, is a pretty yummy adult snack as well!

And finally – HAVE FUN!

Linguine with White Bean and Olive Sauce- A perfect winter meal!

I recently discovered a favorite new recipe!

I saw it on PBS, during Sara Moultons “Weeknight Meals.” It’s a great rustic pasta dish- and it’s nice and creamy, but without cream!! Also, the ingredients are things that can be kept in your cupboard, so it’s an easy meal to make on the fly. Because sometimes it’s cold out, and you just can’t see yourself making it out of your house! The recipe is below. It’s  SOOOOOO YUMMY!!! Try it!

Linguine with White Bean, Sun-dried Tomato & Olive Sauce
Makes 4 servings
Hands-on-time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 20 minutes

Sara Moulton says: Mashing up white beans instantly produces a creamy pasta sauce – without cream – that’s capable of binding together all the ingredients in a dish. Here I’ve “beefed up” the sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and olives from the pantry. Of course, you could add any number of other handy pantry items – marinated artichoke hearts, canned tuna, frozen shrimp – or just toss in some leftover vegetables from the fridge.

YOU NEED:

Kosher salt
1 pound linguine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes (about 6 halves), sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch strips (scant 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup white wine
One 19-ounce can white beans such as cannelini, navy, or Great Northern, drained and rinsed
One 14 or 14 1/2-ounce can vegetable or chicken broth, or 1 3/4 cups Chicken Stock (see Episode 103)
1/2 cup pitted, brine-cured olives such as kalamata, chopped
Freshly milled black pepper
1 1/2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1/2 cup), optional

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the linguine in the boiling water until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the white beans and broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Coarsely mash the sauce with a potato masher or fork.

Add some of the reserved cooking liquid to the sauce, as necessary, to reach a creamy consistency; add the olives and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce with the linguine and serve. Top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, if desired.

* The only thing I would change when I make this dish again, is to add even more sun-dried tomato! The sauce actually tastes very light and creamy, but I would have preferred an even bolder taste!

Feeling very retro!

So I finally got over my nervousness over it’s math component- and learned to preserve & can!!

For my first project I made Strawberry Preserves with orange liqueur! Below are a few pictures of the experience.

The first one here, is of the ingredients in the strawberry preserves… strawberries, sugar, lemon, water, fruit pectin & orange liqueur.

Below are the strawberries,  sugar and pectin coming up to over 200 degrees. It smelled soooo yummy, and the color was really pretty. Wouldn’t these boiling strawberries be  nice computer wallpaper?

Okay, next I scooped the strawberries into mason jars and fit them with lids and screwbands, and put them in my water bath to can them. They boiled here for 10 minutes…

After they cooled, and I checked that they were all vacuum sealed, I made little labels and cloth tops for them! And soon they will be given away as Christmas gifts!!!! Yay for learning new things!!!

So in short, I feel very retro and 50’s homemaker now!

Also, should the end of the world come- my family will be safer because I can make, and can jam for us to live off of in our fall out shelter.

lol.

Next Page »