Paying for Pain

Confession time. I actually watched Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty. And guess what, I even liked it. While I'm not a huge fan of Ms. Simpson, the show did examine how different cultures celebrate different types of beauty (and yes, you even saw the Americans get berated for showing to much skin in a Muslim country.) On the episode where the happy trio (Jess, Ken and CaCee) went to Thailand, they all tried the Thai Yoga Massage. I was intrigued ... and ever since, I've wanted to try it myself.

This morning was the morning I was going to submit myself to being stretched and pulled by someone else other than my children. Her name was Miko and she seemed innocent enough. She pulled me and forced my legs into pretzel like configurations. There were moments of acupressure that made me want to laugh and there were moments that almost made me want to cry. When there was pain, it was the good kind.

At the end of the session, I think I was about three inches taller. She commented my hamstrings were particular tight (which I never realized just how tight until today ...) It's something I recommend if someone wants to force their body to new heights. It emphasized to me how I should really get on the yoga train a little more frequently. It is a massage that does leave you feeling a little like pudding or clay, but not in the my body has been beaten way. So, if you just want to relax and have someone work your stress away, this is not for you. This is for those who want to put a little effort into it along the way, too.

My Day as a Food Network Star

Okay, well, I wasn't really a Food Network star for a day ... but it was time to conquer my resolution of testing out one recipe from each issue of Food & Wine this year. Too kick it up a notch, I decided to conquer two recipes from February's issue. I wanted to pick one that would stretch me, and then one that I figured the men in my life would definitely like. And, then to top off the day, D has been begging me to make a coconut cake that was in Food Network Magazine for the last two months. So, since a blizzard was brewing, I decided I might as well see how far I could push my culinary skills.

My first challenge: Ricotta Blintzes with Lingonberry Sauce. Unfortunately, lingonberry jam was not available at the grocery store, so I did have to adjust and K asked me to make dark cherry sauce instead. This recipe definitely taught me a lot when it came to learning how to make crepes. As any good chef, I did try the crepes before assembling the rest of the blintz, and i have to say, I may have found a perfect crepe recipe. They tasted great ... I did have to switch a couple of pans, because unfortunately, I discovered my crepe pan was chipping ... and I didn't want to scrape poison into my family's breakfast.  And finding the best pan in my arsenal took a couple of tries. I ended up using a small non-stick pan, so the crepes weren't as big as I wanted ... but I adjusted and made it work!

The ricotta filling was simple and sweet and the dark cherry sauce made me focus on making a reduction. I think I could have reduced the syrup a little more. The verdict from my men: delicious! I was glad that they liked this since last month's recipe was more for me. D was more of a fan of the crepe than the filling, but he's not a huge fan of ricotta to begin with.

Next up: Buttered Noodles with Toasted Sage. This was a simple recipe that was all about the flavors. And toasting fresh sage. That was fun, because I also experience my first time making brown butter (not sure if that was supposed to happen, but it ended up adding depth to the pasta.) My only issue was when I added the Parmesan ... it melted all weird and I spent the next few minutes stirring the pasta over heat to get it to melt so that it would spread evenly throughout the dish. Initially, it just clumped and attracted all the spices ... detracting from the dish in a big way. I can not believe the rave reviews this simple dish received. D said he loved it more than once. To get D to say that about a simple pasta dish ... never would have predicted such a reception. It was a nice treat to have pasta without marinara sauce, that I can say!

The piece de resistance of the day was definitely the coconut cake. When a recipe states that it will take you four hours to make ... you know this is not a recipe you make just for any reason. You make this for love. This four-layer masterpiece had me making custard, simple syrup, buttercream and toasted coconut. I was on my feet making sure that everything was mixed perfectly. It also was the first time I had to split cakes so that I could make four layers.

While making the cake was a lot of fun, I was getting more and more nervous on if it would turn out. I intentionally left out the rum, since we didn't have any and we're not huge fans of rum flavor to begin with. In the end ... it turned out like this: 

The flavors were great, but you definitely need to be a fan of coconut to like this cake, because it is infused with coconut throughout. But, if you want to impress someone and have half a day you can dedicate to making the cake ... I say ... go for it!

Good Food ... Slow Service

For the fourth year of my wine club, we have decided to venture out of our homes and into the world of professionally prepared cuisine. We're taking to the restaurants. For February, we dined a restaurant called True Thai. I had planned on bringing my camera, so that I could document the evening, as I always try to do with my wine club adventures ... but alas, the batteries were low, and there were no other batteries in our charger.

The first thing I have to say is the restaurant was deceptively large. From the outside, you think that it will be this small quaint little joint ... it is a monstrosity of restaurantness! It felt as though the place kept on going and going. When the host told us that part of our party was already at the table and we just needed to go to the back ... well, I had no idea we'd be walking a block to get to the back! The size of the restaurant is probably a necessity due to how crazy busy it was. Therefore, I'm going to say that those two factors both probably had something to do with the fact that our service seemed a little slower than ideal. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I tend to consider myself a bit high maintenance - yes, I will probably have a question and I will end up ordering a separate dish at the end of the evening to bring home to D. (He loves restaurant food ... but isn't a fan of restaurants ... so he always asks me to bring home something.) But, man ... our server would disappear for very long stretches of time. Oh, and did I mention we were eating spicy Thai food? The water was not replenished often enough. Thank goodness I only wanted one glass of wine ... I don't think I would have had a chance to get a second glass.

To the food. I had a delicious young ginger stir-fry. If you like ginger, this would have made your evening. It had a great spice to eat that just sung in my mouth. I did have to have some rice with it to tamper down the heat. I went gutsy and ordered it at the hot level - which totally left my lips burning. I had calamari added. I was delighted when the server told me it was not breaded (my question :)) and it was such a perfect compliment to the dish. Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc (should have gotten the Riesling) it was lovely and refreshing meal. We had some appetizers beforehand ... some amazing toasted cashews and a corn cake that had full kernels of corn. (The table ordered some cheese wontons, but I passed on those guiltlessly.)

If it weren't a 30 minute drive from home, I would definitely add it as a place where I might order takeout ... otherwise, I'll venture there on a non-weekend night.

Next month: Mexican!

Wine, Medicinal and Cleansing

My favorite little wine shop (it's just a liquor store, but has an amazing boutique wine assortment) held a wine tasting this afternoon. Me and three gal pals decided it was the perfect way to spend the first warm Saturday in two months. I've gone to one in the past and so I sort of new what to expect, and because they have all the wine on sale, it's also a great time to stock up. The last time I went, and got 12 bottles ... and it's a year later and I'm down to three. (Yes, because D doesn't drink, I have to really commit to wanting to drink wine for three nights in a row before I open a bottle.)

Overall, I have to say, I wasn't in love with the assortment they presented this evening ... but they did have a few gems. I'm not usually a white wine fan, but there were three that I was so pleasantly surprised by: Grans Fassian Piesporter Riesling ... delish. It was sweet in a non-cloying way and made me smile. Definitely something I would enjoy drinking and maybe even get D to enjoy a glass. Then I discovered the Lobster Reef Sauvignon Blanc. I love SB and the grapefruity essence of it. This was heavenly. It was so citrusy and divine. I don't know if I can save it for a hot summer day, but I know it would be the perfect beverage. The last white I really enjoyed was the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. If you've seen the movie Bottle Shock (which, if you haven't, I highly recommend ... if for Alan Rickman alone). It's the wine that is from the winery in the movie. It was amazing, but at almost $50, I wasn't quite ready to commit to adding it to my collection for the time being. But I definitely recommend it for someone who needs a smooth Chard that's representative of what a good Chard should taste like.

I didn't find any reds that made me swoon today, but maybe it was just that I was in a light, vibrant mood and the reds were weighing me down. Too tanniny for a day like today. Perhaps. I did pick up a good bottle of Garnacha that I know I can rely on just so I have one at the ready ... when I'm ready to commit, that is.

Silliness Works When You're All Together

Today was a rather busy Saturday by every account imaginable. We actually got up so that we could be at the grocery story by 8:30 so that we could be done by 10. (Yes, it typically takes us 90 minutes to two hours to complete our grocery shopping, because we have to walk through the entire SuperTarget to make sure we don't miss any exciting new treasures). And what caused this timeline, you might be asking ... we were meeting some friends with an eight-month-old to attend a family music hour at the library.

This was our first foray into family music hour, and we were lucky because it was six months to five years ... so K just made the cut-off age (though, since they don't make kids show proof of age ... even if he hadn't, we probably could have brought him.) It was just like how you imagine (or what you've seen on TV). Lots of fun-loving parents with children, singing and dancing and just being silly.

K was one of the older kids there ... there were maybe two girls who were probably around his age. O was one of the younger kids there (with maybe our friends' son being the youngest). Both boys tried to take items from other children. Although, K did it to try to help the instructor collect the items (however, I don't think the little girl he took it from quite understood this.)

And who perhaps had the best time ... D. He enjoyed it so much and commented we should try it again. Yes, when it comes to which one of us was genetically predisposed to be a stay-at-home parent ... it was definitely him. I'm wondering if this will make him reconsider attending some of the ECFE play times that are tailored toward stay-at-home parents. I doubt it ... but maybe it will make him branch out a little.

I enjoyed it, too. It was fun to just be silly as a family and watch the boys around other children. (O was at first very intimidated and clawed onto me for dear life ... but after a few minutes, he wanted to just walk all over the place.)

Here's to silliness!

Religion - Something Parents Often Have to Address

I grew up raised Lutheran. Okay, let's be honest, my parents were those parents that dropped their kids off at Sunday School and then went about their errands while we learned about the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Occasionally, my mom would have us attend service ... which would typically result in my sister and I holding in our giggles during the hymnals (because I can't sing ... but at least I tried.)

My dad rarely attended church -- probably because he came from a fairly religious family and I think it was his way of rebelling a little from that. After leaving the parental nest, I haven't really attended an organized religion function, such as service. Now, I think I've mentioned before that I actually have a religious studies minor and took a plethora of classes in college to help expose myself to the various world religions.

I consider myself a very spiritual person, who believes in a higher-being (and I happen to refer to the higher-being as God). However, I am not a fan of organized religion, and I like the Buddhist philosophy. But as K gets older, I begin to wonder how we'll address the question about God when K starts to hear things from other kids or hears something on TV. I'm not sure how we'll approach it, but I think we'll try to introduce our children to all the varieties of religions so they can choose the path that best suits them.

This decision not to follow an organized religion as a family has put us in a couple of precarious situations. When we decided not to have the boys baptized, I had a few family members really struggle with that decision. In the end, they respected our decision and understand why we feel the way we do. So, I know D and I will be able to present this in the best way possible for our two little men.

Winter Doldrums

This winter has been particularly brutal. I've had a chill for the last three weeks that I cannot shake off. I don't know if it's because last winter we were pretty much in house arrest with O being a premature newborn, so I had an extra break from a typical winter ... but man, I need to shake this chill!

The feet of snow are piled high, the wind is like needles that send an intense shot of poison in your veins, and I feel like the green grass of spring is a long way off. Thank goodness the groundhog didn't see his shadow. I guess that give me a little hope. I think I am going to have to make it a ritual that every winter  we need to go somewhere sunny and warm in February. This cold intensity is seeping into my soul and cracking my veneer. I just want to snuggle in a blanket, read a good book (I'm taking a break from the list and reading the collective works of Anthony Bourdain).

Well ... I think it's time to open a bottle of wine, snuggle, turn on the fire and look forward to spring ... technically only like, what, six weeks away!

The Delicate Beauty of a Thank You Note

Sometimes, I think I may be stuck in the 18th century. When it comes to crazy etiquette-type things, manners and rituals. One of those items is the concept around the thank you note. I have very strong feels around the proper process, expectations and timing around a thank you note. This past year, we had five weddings on the schedule. The handling of their thank you notes has all been very different.

Now, D and I decided that we would ship gifts in advance of attending the wedding (wins all around for us and those who get the gift, really.) So, the thank you note has become even more important to me, because it helps ensure that the recipient actually received the gift. I spend money, I want to make sure that the gift is received.

So, here's the situation today. My lovely sister was married on November 26 ... no thank you card. (I don't even think she sent out thank you cards for her showers ... which is a whole separate issue, because we provided the thank you cards for her and they were addressed by the attendees!!!!) The last wedding of the year took place on December 11. Unfortunately, it was the same day as the big snowfall and we weren't able to get out of our driveway. But ... I thought, at least, I did have the gift shipped in advance. So, far ... no thank you. My fear is that they didn't receive the gift and my money disappeared in a black hole. But clearly, it's just not a priority.

Is it a generational thing in this day of twittering, text messaging and social networking? Is a handwritten thank you too much to expect? Should I consider my gift as payment for the food and costs that the couple invests in their wedding?

Maybe I'm just too old and crotchety ... I mean, even when I'm told that I don't need to write thank you notes for a work shower, I always did. I just feel like it's a small investment in time to show people your appreciation for all their support. Call me crazy.