Sunday Smoothies with Sweet or Savory Breakfast

What to do with the fruit that is turning the corner?  The fruit the husband tried to throw away because he thought it wasn't good?  The fruit that you bought because you wanted it and then forgot about?

The strawberries were on sale and sold in a display next to the yellow sponge cakes.  I had much healthier plans for the juicy red berries, but they sat in the drawer in the refrigerator for just a day or two to long to simply eat them raw.

Smoothies!

Smoothies are always the answer.  Well, almost always.

A slice the pretty-darn-ripe banana with the same paring knife I used to halve the berries.

Give the berries a quick rinse and toss in the blender with blueberries and milk.

Everyone blends on low for about 30 seconds then a quick whip on high before evenly distributing into 4 short glasses.

Older son and his girlfriend are making pancakes.  A few with blueberries, some with "chocolate chippies" and I'm not sure if their was one or two with both.

The Mr. and I opt for savory sausage patty on toasted english muffin with scrambled egg.

We plan our day; son will play football with friends for awhile, his girlfriend is heading off to work, hubby and I have a morning errand date which includes a stop at Dunkin' for a french vanilla coffee for me, then son and hubby are off to do some guy shopping before we all plop in front of the t.v. for a bit of football playoffs.

Sundays are for that slower pace, a decreased sense of urgency, more casual and laid back while still feeling Fed Well.

Creamy Garlic Chicken Viewed 2 Ways

Cooking, food, family, blogging, photography...love when it all comes together. I received a book for Christmas about food photography for bloggers and I continue to try to implement new techniques.  Placement, angles, composition - learning and experimenting. 

Dinner was:

1 lb. roasted boneless, skinless chicken breast

3/4 lb. thin spaghetti

Creamy garlic sauce

Once the chicken breast was roasted, I removed them from my "Magic Pot" a red dutch oven and set aside.  The remaining stock was mixed with a generous pat of butter, some champagne, a bit more chicken broth which was thickened with cornstarch, fresh garlic and parsley.  

Here's a secret - when using a pot from oven on the stove, place and keep pot holders on your hands at all times.  Yes, I forgot the entire pot was HOT and grabbed the handle with my left hand.  Ugh.

Once the sauce was thickened and my hand coated and dripping with aloe vera gel, the sauce was poured over the pasta and a reserve in the gravy boat.  The chicken was carved and 3 out of 4 of us were Fed Well.

 Which shot of the dish do you prefer?

What's in the water goblet?  I sometimes break the rules and pour a generous splash of Moscatto in my glass.

Avocado Specials

Every other Friday a small group (some of the members change), including myself, has lunch together typically at the Chinese or Mexican restaurants within walking distance from work.

This past Wednesday one of the members asked if we could go to the diner instead - she had a craving.

Of course!  I am always up for a diner!

 

 Two white boards of specials are posted in the lobby area and I stick to my new rule once seated and only look at the specials.  One sheet of paper with many avocado based dishes.  Sounds good to me.

Not sure what made me look at our waiter's feet when he was taking the next table's order, but we love the kicks.  Also classic, but are they practical when on your feet for 8 hours?

Last year we belonged to a celebrity divorce pool.  Each of us selected 10 celebrities we predicted to be divorced in 2012.  I had the most wins and as a bonus we selected one celebrity we thought would wed in 2012 and I got that one right as well.  Believing in karma and the power of the universe, I want to avoid any subjects that negative in 2013 as I suffered a few pretty substantial bumps in the road in my personal life in 2012 I suggest we instead have a celebrity marriage pool with a baby option as the bonus.  However, our lunch talk turns to theorizing who or which department will be most impacted by the upcoming announced layoffs or job elimination or cost savings initiative or whatever you want to call it.

Back to the food, I ordered the California Benedict.  A toasted english muffin topped with avocado, grilled tomato, poached eggs and Hollandaise served with a side of breakfast potatoes.  Absolutely delicious.  My avocado may have needed one more day to reach peak texture and personally, I would have preferred raw tomato but it was fabulous none the less.

The California omelet contained similar ingredients and my friend said it was delicious. 

The main reason for selecting a diner was so another friend could have a tuna melt with fries.  A diner classic.  She was quite happy with all components.

We haven't made any decisions about the celebrity pool.  We are going to wait and see what happens with the job eliminations.  Wait and see.  Wait and see.

We were together, had our first co-workers lunch of the new year and left feeling full and Fed Well.

My Happy Meal Includes a Strawberry Shake

The start of a brand new year, one of the coldest days so far in the northeast and I have a craving...

for a strawberry shake.

I find it is best to just give in to the craving.  After all, how often do I eat this way?  McDonald's is definitely on the rare side of the scale.  How pretty was that shake though?  So thick and sweet topped with whipped cream and a CHERRY!  When did that happen?

I would like to think every bite of food shared with others and creating memories leads to feeling Fed Well, but if the golden arches proclaim it to be "pure joy," well, that sounds pretty fabulous.

I spend my day job in consumer research and product claims are a part of my work.  Is it puffery to claim every bite will be "pure joy?"  

Does it matter?  With the level of brand recognition McDonald's enjoys, do their slogans or tag lines really weigh heavily on their consumer's mind?  I know what the food tastes like, I know it is convenient and I know it will currently satisfy a craving.  Enough said.

I am a little suspicious about them calling out the 100% pure beef claim.  Do they want me to think about the pink slime?

I really used to enjoy a traditional hamburger happy meal sometimes until they changed the fries to apple slices.  If I go to McDonald's, again, I know what I am getting myself into and look forward to the deep fried, salty, and bit of "bad."  Slipping me fruit is agitating.  I create my own version of the old favorite and upgrade the fries and enjoy my strawberry shake.

Was it pure joy?  No, but it was just what I wanted at the time and the memory will sustain me for quite awhile.  The best memories of fast food meals go back to my teen years when a friend worked at the local chain...I escape for a few minutes and am left feeling happily Fed Well.

More than Pie

Pizza.  Growing up pizza meant Friday at school or Mom was sick and Dad had to get dinner.  It was a treat and growing up in New York meant of course that I've only ever known the best pizza in the world.  Thin crust, oozy gooey cheese and a bit of sweet tomato sauce.  

I remember being able to split a pizza with one girlfriend.  Yes, we each ate four whole slices while we talked about boys and fed quarters into the jukebox.

I remember thinking pizza was still a Friday treat as a new wife and mother.  We would go grocery shopping on pay day then out for a pie.  

Something about pizza and talking it over.  Tonight I am a little tired after my first day back at work.  I'd had almost 2 weeks off for the Christmas/New Year holidays and have done my fair share of cooking so I welcome the break of pizza.  Funny enough, my sons told me this past year that they are tired of pizza.

Tired of pizza?  The statement seems outrageous to me.  We only have pizza maybe twice a month at the most and who doesn't crave a perfect pie?

This evening though my older son, husband and I gather around the kitchen table and have a good, hard chat about safety in the workplace.  Our older son is concerned about some of the work conditions at his job, what to do about it if anything and how many of his examples are negligence on behalf of this employer or if they are simply employee responsibility or preference.

  

The classic New York style cheese pizza or pie has survived all of my stages of life from childhood through adulthood and has likely been appropriately served as a casual meal, a birthday celebration and yes, we even had some as a late night snack after our wedding.  

Pie is just the thing when you need to talk it over and feel Fed Well.

Stony Brae for a New Year's Dinner

The husband and I have definitely had a tumultuous year so we are welcoming 2013 with open arms and decide on Stony Brae for dinner.

We've been spending quite a bit of time together during the holiday season and I actually worry for a minute that we will be that couple that doesn't speak during the meal.  Does it happen?  Do two people just ran out of things to say?  Or do they decide to coast?  Coasting leaves people stranded.

We're not going to make it if we coast.

The outside of the restaurant is seasonally decorated.  It's warm and welcoming.

Tasteful decor continues inside with a simple table arrangement.

The real icicles outside the window perfectly accent the corner tree.
 

The holiday menu is Prix Fixe with five courses.  Everything looks and sounds fabulous.

We begin by sharing stories about what we remember from the past 29 New Year's we have celebrated together including our own house party and many we have spent at my husaband's good friend's house.

Our culinary adventure begins with a simple warm "bread biscuit" on a wooden board with chilled butter.  The crust is firm but not crumbly and yields a soft and doughy center.

"Remember when I hollowed out a loaf of Italian bread and threw the little balls of dough at people at our party," my husband laughed.

"Yes, and I remember you doing your best Saturday Night Fever dance moves.  I have the pictures to prove it.  I also remember you being in bed for 2 days after the party."

The crab cakes are lush, sweet and tender as well as a generous portion.

I begin with the bacon and chive tart topped with carmelized red onions.  A savory start that sets the tone for the rest of the meal.

The other diners are a mix of couples like us and groups of four or six.  Laughter.  Stories.  The unspoken hopes for the new year.  A new start.  Another chance.

The salad is dressed and while I prefer to eat mine without dressing, it is light enough to still taste the actual vegetables.

Soup.  The hug of a meal.  An embrace from the inside.  I love soup.  His, the French Onion of course and mine, the Butternut Squash - also no surprise.

Mine is silky and smooth.  The creaminess is offset by the two croutons and in a way, I wish for more of the crispy bread.

"What do you look forward to in 2013," we ask each other.

More physical activities like bicycling, he would like to change careers, I would like to sit still and be disciplined enough to finish writing the book I have started.  We agree we want to be together.  A fine start indeed.

A classic roast chicken with potatoes and asparagus for him.  The poultry is succulent, the potatoes are crisp and the asparagus just tender enough.

I ordered the Brontosaurus, I mean pork shank with orecchiette and I am drooling just to look at it in the deep bottom plate.  The bark is well seasoned and crisp, the flesh is fork tender and sweet.  I am overwhelmed by the sheer size of it but smiling from my satisfied soul by the taste.  I gave it my best effort but had to ask for most of it to be packaged for home.

A pot of tea.  Talk of the future and what our life may look like when our sons are out of the house.  What will we be like as empty nesters?  What do we want it to look like?

If he has dessert it is almost always an apple pie, crisp or crumble.  Tonight is no different.  We know what we like.  We know what we want.  I also know I am full.  I try a spoonful of his but that is as much as I can handle.  Well, that is as much food as I can currently handle and so we ask for my dessert to go.

We laugh our way home, watch a bit of television and have some champagne.  I finally decide to taste the eggnog bread pudding with vanilla ice cream.

We continue to make plans for our tomorrows together and days we will decide to stay together and be Fed Well.

Preparing for 2013 and Home Made Ice Cream

With a mom and a sister, we rotate hosting holiday meals;  I host Thanksgiving, my mom Easter and my sister Christmas.  Other celebrations may be held by the one who simply wants to and this time my Mommy wanted to have a Sunday family dinner with a touch of post Christmas and a splash of pre-New Year.

We begin with a simple plate of cheeses, pepperoni and crackers.  Thing about simple or classic, if the ingredients are delicious that is all that matters.  The Colby and Cheddar were creamy and sharp respectively and a perfect start.

 

My mother asked for a volunteer to carve the turkey and I admit, I secretly (or maybe it's not really a secret at all) love to carve meat.  It is like a personal challenge to have the slices come out just the right thickness and the same.  Here's how it went this past Sunday -

The trick for me is to remove the breast meat from the turkey itself.  So yummy.

Can you tell this is my mom's stuffing and not mine from Thanksgiving?  Is it the classic or vintage Pyrex?  Doesn't matter.  It is delicious, loaded with sausage and a comfort food I count on.

Mashed potatoes.  Real mashed potatoes.  May seem like no big deal to some, but really, it's carbohydrate heaven.

When the meal is consumed, everyone finds some entertainment as I take my first attempt at home made ice cream with my younger nephew.  I bought him an ice cream maker for Christmas and neither of us has ever used one.  Classic Jenga helps keep us amused as the paddle whirs the ingredients together.

After a time the canister with the mixed dairy products, sugar and vanilla is placed in the freezer where it will never set up in time for us to eat it the same night.  We pull it after a time and scoop out the small bits of solids for everyone to have a tasting.  We all agree it tastes like a luxurious melted milkshake.  My sister will take home the canister for an overnight freeze and I did find out my nephew enjoyed the results.

This year my mother gave all of her grandsons red socks for Christmas and explained it was because she saw Sherlock Holmes wearing them in the movie.  My sister asked the boys/men to wear them to Sunday dinner and of course I took some pictures.  I generally try to keep their faces out of the blog but here's a peek...

And so today is a day for new beginnings, fresh starts, a new year...how will you be Fed Well?