Today I go back to school for my third class in the sustainability certificate program. I have a morning meeting time in the sociology department this time around, which is a nice change from the evening courses that often left me feeling exhausted at the end of the day. I got my grades back from winter quarter and overall am pleased -- an A in the urban planning course and a B+ in economics. I think I'd normally be a little disappointed with a B+, but given my struggle to keep my head above water (due to my utter lack of economics prerequisites), the grade seems just about right. So, moving on.
While I'm excited to start my class this morning, the real treat is waiting for me on the hold shelf at the public library. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on a recipe for roasted chicken with caramelized shallots that was adapted from this cookbook. The chicken not only looks incredibly tasty, but is also a simple one-dish operation that you just stick in the oven. As many of you know, I love just about anything that can be roasted or braised for hours, so it's almost guaranteed to be a hit.
After sifting through the table of contents online at Amazon, I realized that it's been ages since I perused the cookbook section at the library. I feel truly spoiled that we have such a great public library system here in Portland and really should start taking advantage of it again. So, I went online and reserved the book (and then completely forgot about it). This morning in my email inbox I had a little reminder to come and pick it up! I can't wait to swing by the library on my way home from class and carefully select which meal I'm going to make first. I may also have to make a trip up to the second floor where all the other cookbooks live. I'm trying to create an arsenal of delicious, but not very complicated recipes that I can turn to once the baby arrives -- I have a feeling that cooking elaborate meals will not be on the agenda once mid-August rolls around.
The French Farmhouse Cookbook is perfect for this weather, since it's been terribly cold and rainy for the past few days. A simple hearty soup or roast chicken dish is just what we need to stay warm!
I mentioned earlier that our friend Ed was in town for a few days to do a couple of comedy shows. J was excited because he had a drinking buddy for the weekend and a very willing concert partner. I was excited, because Ed cooked us french toast and indulged with me in cupcakes and cookies after every meal. Thursday night, we went to see Ed's opening act for a friend, Wyatt Cenac, who was doing a stand-up show at Reed College. Any of you Daily Show fans might recognize Wyatt, who is a writer and a news correspondent.
After the show, we attempted to take them out for an evening in Portland, but ended up first at a bar that was closing up for the evening (at 10:30 on a Thursday night) and a gay bar in Old Town. Clearly, J and I are not as familiar with the downtown night scene as we are with our own neighborhood -- I certainly hope he doesn't hold this against Portland. Next time, we'll do a much better job of hitting the hot spots.
Since we stayed out until 2am, sleeping in was on the menu for Friday morning. Pine State Biscuits was also on the agenda, so we rolled on over to the east side and waited in line (in the rain) for a delicious breakfast/lunch. This is Ed's selection, a biscuit with fried chicken, egg, and cheese. I had a special menu item, which consisted of a biscuit, fried chicken, bacon, cheese, and apple butter. It was amazing. I had a hard time deciding between the special and the Reggie (bacon, fried chicken, cheese, and homemade sausage gravy). The sausage gravy smelled so good that I'm pretty sure we'll have to go back very soon so I can give it a try. After Pine State, J and Ed took a long walk around town while I passed out for a couple of hours in a food coma.
Even though Ed had been to Portland a couple of times before, he'd never really ventured outside of the city limits. So, he packed up his suitcase, threw it in the trunk of our car, and we headed out to Multnomah Falls for the afternoon before dropping him off at the airport on Saturday. It was a beautiful day in Portland, sunny, but still a little cool. The falls were spectacular and the moss was electric green because of all the rain that we got on Friday. I probably should have worn one more layer, but I always forget how it's usually 10 degrees colder than at home in the city. We didn't hike up to the top, because none of us were really dressed appropriately for the temperature. Also, we had delicious sandwiches waiting in the car (and I was starving)!
It felt great to have a guest in town again. It's one of the things that I truly miss about D.C. -- we always seemed to have visitors. I can't wait for the next couple of months when we'll get to have lots of friends and family visiting, which will make Portland really start to feel like home.
** Thanks, Ed, for taking a bunch of great photos this weekend!
Most of you who read my blog already know that on Tuesday afternoon, J and I went in for my second trimester ultrasound. Just in case you missed the excitement, we're having a boy! I have to say the anticipation of the appointment nearly killed me, since watching our baby up on the screen at 12 weeks was like crack -- I couldn't wipe the silly smile off my face for days. I'm still getting used to the idea of inserting "he" in all of the places where I've been saying "it" for the past few months. This makes the baby seem so much more real now. Oh crap! We're going to be parents!
Tuesday's ultrasound was even more amazing, because we could see the baby's bones and organs and it looked less like a blob and more like a human being. We also found that his activity level hasn't changed much since that first ultrasound. He rolled and kicked for nearly 45 minutes straight, to the point that the technician was thinking of scheduling another appointment so they could find a few more measurements on a (hopefully) less active day. The doctor came in and was able to coax the little guy to roll his head around (by gently jabbing and poking at my belly) for just enough time to find the elusive right hand, which was busy going in and out of his mouth. His left foot was found way over his head wiggling around. It's pretty cool that I can now picture what's going on in there when I get thumps and pokes in the afternoon. A good friend of mine suggested that we invest in a baby hamster wheel when he arrives. I'm starting to think that's not a bad idea.
The only disappointment from the day would be the set of photos that we got to bring home. The technician only loaded nine on the CD, four which were images of his lips and nose. Aww, his lips and nose, sounds really cute right? Except the rest of his face isn't in the picture. The screen capture resembles the print you would make if you mushed your face against the bathroom mirror after a shower. At the very last second, we were able to get a good profile shot though, and naturally, I think he's the cutest baby in the world.
The guest bed finally arrived on Monday, just in time for one of our first house guests in the apartment. Our friend, Ed, is in town this week from Los Angeles to do a couple of comedy shows, so I was relieved that he didn't have to sleep on a mattress on the floor. However, I was not able to assemble the guest bed without an extra set of hands, so Ed generously pitched in when he got in from the airport. As a note to any potential visitors, I will not make you build things upon your arrival (unless you really want to). It feels good to be one step closer to having that back bedroom in order! Now it's time for the fun part of figuring out colors and bedding!
This weekend Jesse and I spent a lot of time cleaning up the apartment (it seems like we do that a lot lately). Things had gotten pretty disorderly over the past week with me trying to finish up my final papers and projects. Also, we never really got around to finishing the back bedroom. Since our friend Ed is coming into town on Wednesday, there was a bit of motivation to keep up the momentum.
Between organizing and cleaning, I did take a break to do a bit of sewing and to make tasty snacks and dinner on Sunday afternoon. One of the food blogs that I read occasionally posted a recipe for homemade cheese crackers a few days ago and I'd been thinking about them ever since. It's a pretty simple recipe: flour, cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and a little water. The recipe they referenced called for regular grated cheddar, which is practically a crime in our house. Why would you make cheese crackers that don't even taste like cheese? It was simple enough to substitute what cheddar I did have on hand, Tillamook's extra-sharp white.
I realized after this cooking project that a full-size food processor is probably going to be at the top of my kitchen "to purchase" list. The mini food chopper just doesn't cut it. This isn't the first time that I've attempted to make a recipe that was just a little too big for the food bowl or too stiff for the motor. Anyway, the dough turned out just fine and the crackers are delicious. I used the smallest fluted piece of my cookie/biscuit cutter set, which worked perfectly. The crackers puffed up in the oven to just slightly larger than standard oyster crackers.
While I wouldn't call the end product a cracker exactly -- they're more like homemade cheese straws in texture than say, a Cheez-it -- the taste is phenomenal and would be way better than your average oyster cracker in tomato soup. I'd say bring these little guys to a party if you really want to blow away your friends.
Now that I'm a lady of leisure for the next few days, I finally have time to post a couple of profile photos of my expanding waistline. This week I'm 18 (going on 19) weeks along, so the baby is nearly half cooked. Up until this week, I really haven't been showing that much, but I feel like in the last couple of days my belly really exploded out. It'll be time to retire the purple shirt soon, which is one of two pre-pregnancy articles of clothing that still sort of fit. So for comparison:
15 weeks: A little bump that might be mistaken for a giant lunch or as I liked to call it my "burrito baby".
18 weeks 2 days: Hard to miss the belly, which now necessitates the use of an apron while cooking.
According to my Mayo Clinic Guide (my pregnancy Bible), the baby is about 5 1/2 inches long, or the size of a large baked potato. The rolling and tickling feelings that I've had for the past few weeks have definitely turned into thumps and pokes. Apparently, its ears are formed and all hooked up with the brain. One pregnancy source said the baby can "hear the tender beats of my heart" and "cooing sound of my voice." Barf -- I don't coo and I'm pretty sure my heart is more like a snare drum after climbing three giant flights of stairs everyday. Regardless, Jesse has been dreaming up a playlist of choice songs to make sure the baby comes out prepared to make the most of his extensive iTunes collection.
More importantly though, we go in on Tuesday for my second trimester ultrasound. I can't express how excited I am to see the baby again (and hopefully find out the sex). I'm not sure how I can wait a whole six days, but I'll try to distract myself somehow!
Yesterday was my last day of economics class (hallelujah)! It's not that I didn't enjoy it most of the time, but Monday, March 15th was a day that I had been dreading for a while. I had a final paper due in addition to a final take home exam, and to top it all off I had to give a presentation on my paper topic. Needless to say, I've been off the grid for a couple of days trying to finish all of the work. Because having a doozie of a Monday in terms of schoolwork wasn't quite enough, last night the organization I work for part time was hosting a lecture. Basically, I was at work by 9:00am and didn't get home until 10:30pm with class and stuff in between.
The day actually wasn't as horrendous as I imagined it would be and that's due partially to scaring myself shitless into finishing all of my work ahead of the absolute final deadline. This was a first. (I also convinced myself in that fury to finish my work Sunday night that I had somehow killed our baby, but that is an entirely other neurotic story.) I woke up early on Monday morning starving, with the baby thumping and poking around -- probably waiting impatiently for an energy rush from a giant bowl of cottage cheese.
The weather outside yesterday was unusually nice, which made being chained to a desk at work even harder. That is, until I looked up and a little sign was glowing. "Open Windows." It's not like I hadn't noticed the sign before. I just assumed it was something for fire code that meant the windows were operable. However, this was the first time I had ever seen it glowing. So, I turned around and asked the nearest person what it all meant.
Prepare to be wowed.
Apparently, a few feet below that sign is a high tech fancy weather meter. It calculates the outside temperature and humidity and when the conditions are just right, the sensor shuts off the HVAC system and flips on the light. It quite literally means "open your windows right now because it's beautiful out and you will love the fresh air." I looked around and nearly all of the office had the windows cracked, even if just a bit, and were basking in the gorgeous weather. The architecture firm that currently occupies the floor renovated the space, which is the top floor of a historic building. They're really into taking sustainability seriously and have done as much as humanly possible to advance their efforts -- there are even food scrap bins for composting in the shared kitchen area.
I have to say, this idea wouldn't work everywhere. I think there would be about 3.2 days a year when the weather would cooperate enough in Washington, D.C. to warrant turning off the heat or air conditioning in favor of fresh air. However, Portland has an abundance of really nice weather, so why not take advantage?
Today wasn't quite as nice, so I wasn't sad to be inside finishing that one final paper. It's done now and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Spring break officially begins.....NOW.
Hunger has been my downfall over the past couple of weeks. It has prevented me from staying in bed past 6am, even on the weekends, which I find to be highly annoying. I've thought about keeping snacks near the bed to coax my body into just one more hour of shut eye, but I'd have to invest in a mini fridge for our bedroom, because all I seem to want these days is dairy. My first breakfast usually consists of deliriously eating 1/2 - 3/4 cup of plain cottage cheese and a pint glass of milk and ice flavored with 3-4 oz. of coffee. And it can't just be any cottage cheese, it has to be Nancy's, which is tangy and thick and delicious. Put another way, all other cottage cheese is to mild cheddar as Nancy's is to Tillamook's Vintage White Extra Sharp. I am a total cottage cheese snob now and nothing is more soothing to my stomach than a Klondike ice cream sandwich, which are far superior to all other ice cream sandwiches.
Even with my increased appetite, the mental food roadblocks from the dark days of morning sickness have still made me uneasy about certain foods, like bananas and chicken. This week I have really tried to incorporate more items into my menu, especially bananas. I've been craving fruit all week after eating a slice of cantaloupe with lunch and thinking it was the best thing I'd ever tasted. That left me feeling invincible and immediately jumped to bananas Tuesday morning. I think that was a little ambitious, given the flashback from the dark period when I would greet the day with my face planted firmly on the toilet seat. This morning (as suggested by Jesse) I decided to take baby steps and try small bites instead. It worked and was totally delicious!
Believe it or not, there is cereal under all of that fruit, but it's just an excuse to consume excessive amounts of milk in one sitting. Blueberries are my latest kick, as in oh-my-lord-if-I-do-not-have-blueberries-right-now-I-will-die. However, since the fresh ones are still $6 a pint, I've had to settle with frozen. I could really care less though, because I can pile them high and they make my cereal (which is always my second breakfast and before bed snack) icy and delicious. In the last two days I've nearly gone through a whole bag. I think the blueberries have just about eclipsed my love for Klondike ice cream sandwiches, but not quite.
While I'm excited to start my class this morning, the real treat is waiting for me on the hold shelf at the public library. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on a recipe for roasted chicken with caramelized shallots that was adapted from this cookbook. The chicken not only looks incredibly tasty, but is also a simple one-dish operation that you just stick in the oven. As many of you know, I love just about anything that can be roasted or braised for hours, so it's almost guaranteed to be a hit.
