Sourdough Biscuits

As you know, I made this sourdough starter a couple of months ago. After baking two underwhelming loaves of bread, I forgot about it for a while in the refrigerator. Since I really didn't feed it at all in October or most of November, I was a little afraid of even opening the lid. When I finally worked up the courage, I found a grayish watery substance on top that looked dead and swampish. However, I was assured by the internet that this is perfectly normal and went ahead and poured off the top liquid, gave the starter a stir, and fed it according to the instructions in the Bread Baker's Apprentice -- 1 cup starter to 4 cups flour and 2 1/2  cups water. 

Just before Thanksgiving, I found a klondike-style sourdough pancake recipe in a 1985 Mother Earth News that sounded like a great way to use up some of the 4+ cups of sourdough starter. The pancakes were so fantastic that I moved on to their biscuit recipe (this one from ME's August 2011 issue). The biscuits were very tasty, but the texture needs a little work. I followed the recipe to the letter, but think that I need to work on the technique of incorporating the dry ingredients with the wet. I went against my best judgement and stirred the dough, when I should have just gently mixed in the wet stuff and dumped the crumbly mixture onto the counter while folding to incorporate. I've found that the best biscuits are made when you work the dough as little as possible -- only folding it in thirds on the counter a few times to create the flaky layers that puff up when cooked. 


We experimented with the scalloped edges vs. smooth and the vote was unanimous in favor of scallops. The edges got a little crispy in the oven, which was a great contrast to the sourdoughy chew. I'm definitely going to try these again very soon to see if my folding technique improves the already great-tasting treats. 

Welcome to the 21st Century

When J and I moved to Portland in 2008, we sold (and gave away) a lot of our possessions** in order to cram all that we owned into a single 7'x7'x6' moving crate. Among the things we left behind was our medium-sized, but rather bulky television that we scored on Craigslist. When we got to Portland, our apartment was not much bigger than our studio in D.C., so we decided to go without TV for a while (that and we felt rather broke, since the economy tanked and I was without a steady job). 

Three years and three months later, we took the plunge and bought a TV -- a brand new, flat, and comparatively light TV. I can attest to it's relative lightness, because I carried it 4 blocks home from the car. We now stream our Netflix and Hulu onto 32 inches of beautiful screen. And M watched football in high definition for the first time on Thanksgiving day. He was enamored with the clarity (as was I) and even after the TV was switched off for the afternoon he would walk up to it and point while saying "boot ball." 


We had to do a bit of rearranging to accommodate the new technology. In terms of decor, it does nothing for the mid-century modern credenza that had to be placed awkwardly in the corner. However, it felt wonderful to kick up my feet and watch a little Masterpiece Theater after a long day with M, so I'll bend this time on appearances. 


**One possession that made the move and still remains is that damn drying rack from Amish country (seen to the right in the above photo). It's like the weirdo kid that shows up in all of your vacation photos, but I can't give it up, it's just so functional. I still maintain that if you come to visit, we'd be happy to air-dry your entire wardrobe on our 15-foot-tall rack in the living room. Some day we'll have a house with a basement where the drying rack can live out its retirement in peace and solitude after years of being shoved around, kicked, cursed, and crammed in closets.

Goodbye October

October 2011 turned out to be an incredibly shitty month. Lots of travel, sadness, and unanswered questions. It's fitting that it isn't even acknowledged in my blog. But I'm back, maybe not fully, but life continues and there's lots going on lately. My job has picked up, Miles is growing and changing like crazy, and we're looking to move to a bigger place -- I guess I'm not giving October enough credit. 

It made me remember how important family and friends are in my life. If I'm smart (and I like to think that I am) I will keep October close by and use it as a reminder to take a break now and again from my busy life to be thankful. Here Miles and I are with my sister, her fiance, Eric, my parents, and grandmother all together for the first time in a very long while. 

Sourdough Success and Failure

Yesterday I was determined to make this bread submit (rise) in time to have it before bed. In my rush to get it proofing before picking Miles up from our nanny share, I did something stupid. I left my KitchenAid mixer running on the countertop for less than 30 seconds while checking out the next steps in my cookbook and BAM! It somehow walked its way off the countertop and onto the floor. Luckily, the dough was almost finished kneading and looked ready to go. 

I set the dough to rise on the warm oven for three hours and contemplated the fate of my poor mixer. From what I can tell, the cord took a brunt of the force and came nearly completely out of the back of the motor. Today, one of my tasks after taking Miles to his one-year checkup is to call around and find a repair shop so the KitchenAid will be up and running again when we get back from our October trip to the east coast. After rising for three hours, I divided the dough into two balls and put one on the stove to proof again and one in the refrigerator to proof overnight. I got impatient and decided to go ahead and start the baking process at 10:30pm (about an hour early). 


The dough looked perfect when I set it on the peel, but somehow the semolina flour didn't get under one of the edges and it flopped onto the baking stone in this sort of amoeba shape. As you can see, my cuts in the top weren't deep enough either, so overall, the appearance is less than ideal. However, the taste was fantastic. I'm excited to try again today with the loaf in the fridge, but this time give it the proper amount of time to rise and maybe leave it on the sheet pan so it will retain its beautiful round shape. 

September Projects

September is almost over and I don't even know how that happened. It's not been Miles' best month, to put it mildly, he's been a bit of a tyrant through his cold, growing pains, and teething. There are some clues left behind from the rubble of Hurricane Little -- piles of clothes soiled with snot and drool, chewed up books, miscellaneous kitchen gadgets in various states of disrepair, and some dried up raisins and frittata ground into the carpet. Somehow in the chaos, I managed to start a couple of cooking and sewing projects on the weekend and in between naps, work, and fluctuating nanny schedules. 


My first project involved breaking out my Bread Baker's Apprentice book and doing two things that I've been meaning to try for a while: pizza dough and sourdough bread. The pizza dough was a success. I made six dough crusts and froze them for later use. The other night we decided to give them a try and they were wonderfully delicate and stretchy and when coupled with my baking stone, we made pizza that rivals our favorite pizzeria. Dough win.

The sourdough has been more of a challenge. I embarked on making my own starter over a week ago and still have yet to make a sourdough loaf. I feel like I've spent more quality time with the seed and barm than I have with my own child. Maybe if Miles smelled like rye flour and pineapple juice, I'd love him more. The process is easy enough. It starts out with dark rye flour and some liquid (pineapple juice for the first two days) and goes something like this: mix, cover, ferment, uncover, mix, throw out half of your bubbly (stinky) concoction, mix, cover, ferment, mix some more, throw out some more, uncover (shielding your eyes from the fumes), refrigerate, wait wait wait, warm up, mix, cool off, rise, wait wait wait, flip yet another page to find a list of 12 more steps to go. I think you get the point. 

So here I started, with a weeks worth of variations on the starter in my Pyrex measuring cup, and am today, finally at the bread making step. I was so excited to have a fresh baked sourdough loaf on the table for dinner, but after reading through each step carefully, I realized that the bread won't be finished until about 9pm. Bummer. I should have started the process when I woke up this morning! Well, lesson learned for next time. And there will be a next time, because I have a bowl full of barm in the fridge that needs to be fed, rocked, and snuggled (I kid). J and I have made a pact to bake at least three batches before giving up, then I'll freeze the starter for later so I don't have to start the process again. 

The other project was making Miles a chair. I've been searching around for a mini upholstered chair for Miles to climb on and relax in, but they're either all terribly ugly or insanely expensive. So, I spent one evening on the internet and found a lady on Etsy who made a pattern for a plush kid's chair. I purchased the pattern on Tuesday and with great restraint, waited all the way until Saturday to get the supplies. J watched Little all afternoon while I went on an epic run to JoAnn's and Fabric Depot. Little took stock of the foam and batting and determined it was a worthy project. I had all of the pieces cut out by Saturday night and spent Sunday in my sweatshop pumping out the slipcover. The instructions were pretty good (not outstanding though) and I had to scratch my head and dig deep into my brain's sewing chest to figure out how to get it all put together. 

In the end I'm pretty happy with the results. Would I do it again? No. It was only slightly less expensive than just buying a stuffed chair from Pottery Barn, and was kind of a pain to sew. However, it looks adorable in our living room and Little loves it, so totally worth the mild annoyance. I have to go back and fix the arms (they need more stuffing) and I goofed when putting in the zipper, so there's a slight pucker on the right side (this may never get fixed though, since removing a zipper is high on my list of things never to do). I don't think Little will care though, because he now has his own piece of furniture to love and jump on. 

Chicago Trip

Little and I had a wonderful trip to Chicago last weekend to visit my good friend, Lauren, and her husband, Ken. We escaped the oppressive 95º+ heat in Portland and the music festival bender that consumed the weekend for Jesse and our good friend, Tyson. I was pretty nervous about the 4 hour flight to Chicago, but Little (all things considered) was a pretty good traveler. I won't go so far as to say I had a great time on the plane (who does, really), but it could have been worse. Way worse. 

It was wonderful to visit with Lauren, since I haven't seen her since Little was just a few weeks old. She and Ken purchased a wonderful old house in Evanston and we fully utilized the screened in porch for breakfast and dinners, as well as the back yard for happy hour bloody mary's. Mr. M loved the stairs and terrorized their two cats, Simon and Louisa, every waking moment. His growls of "kittay kittay kittay!" could be heard all over the house as he tried (in vain) to get his mitts on one of the cats as they scurried around trying to escape. 

We took an afternoon drive over to Wagner Farm, just a few minutes from Evanston, where he ran around looking at pigs, cows, and giant farm equipment. I'd like to say that the animals were the object of his affection, but it was the blue tractor that gained his love. He was incredibly excited about the giant wheels and spent quite a bit of time inspecting the rims and tires. 

We also took a walk over to Lake Michigan and spent a lovely Sunday afternoon watching the waves lap onto the beach. Tons of kids and parents were playing and swimming in frigid water -- I know this because I only allowed my big toe to get wet. Little was a little unsure about the sand between his toes and refused to leave the beach blanket. I could tell it was a tough decision for him, because the lure of kids and beach toys would otherwise be too much temptation to resist. He happily barked orders from the safety of the green sheet and finally lost patience even for that. We put him in the stroller, brushed off his feet, and he happily cooed and dozed until we were ready to head home. 


I arrived in Portland Monday evening exhausted, but happy. It was a great trip and I'm so glad I decided to visit. 

Birthday Boy

I had grand plans for Miles' birthday. I was going to bake a cake and there were going to be memorable decorations to remember the big milestone. Then, we were hit with an August heatwave that I (smugly) talked about avoiding the week before. I was also hit with ton of work in preparation for a new lecture season. Even with a ton of help from my mom, some days Miles is a tornado that whips and whirls around the apartment on a seek and destroy mission. So, instead of cute homemade decorations (in typical Brasilliant style), Miles got a pretty sad Happy Birthday banner from Fred Meyer and a store-bought cake. 

One thing that I did not compromise on was my desire to have his first cake at least be a tasty one. While the banner was not what I had imagined for his first birthday, the cake was worlds better than I would have ever made. It was no larger than a cupcake, but was one of the tastiest non-chocolate cakes that I've had in a while (or maybe ever). Miles' birthday treat was white cake with a triple berry cream and a delicious blueberry or huckleberry core. The outside was rolled in delicious white chocolate and topped with more of the delicious filling. I had some reservations about getting him a pretty feminine looking cake, but my mom reassured me at Zupans (the specialty market that sold the cakes) that he'd probably turn out well adjusted despite the frilly wrapper and cotton candy colored frosting. Besides, who doesn't love berries?

That afternoon, following some present opening and a nap, we sang happy birthday and brought over the cake. Miles was pretty excited when we put it on his tray, but he wasn't quite sure what to make of his cake padded fingers after a while. He gave the cake a few tastes, but it was pretty different than anything he had before. The sweetness made him shudder. After a while the tray was smeared with icing and filling and he flapped his little arms to say he was finished. We got in a few photos before he really insisted on being released from the high chair. Jesse and I grabbed a fork and enjoyed a few bits of tastiness discarded on his tray. 

Miles was much more interested in helping Jesse take down his Fred Meyer decorations. I don't blame him, they were pretty pedestrian, but oh so shiny and intriguing to a one year old boy. Next year, dude, we'll go all out. Homemade cake AND decorations of your choice. Not that you'll remember anyway, but I will. 

Summer Saturday Evenings

You could say this is part two of our great Saturday on one of the hottest days of the summer. The temperature got up to 95º yesterday, which doesn't compare to the scorching temperatures other parts of the country, but was pretty huge for us. We went to the park with Miles in the morning, but by 10:30am we knew it was time to close down the shades, turn on the fans, and move like turtles, so not to work up a sweat. Miles took a two hour nap after our romp in the park, which left him with a hollow leg. He proceed to eat anything put in front of him (with bamboo fork in hand) -- a scrambled egg, some watermelon, 4 or 5 silver dollar pancakes, blueberries, and some graham crackers. 

We were a little nervous that he might have used up all of his nap time in this early long spurt, leaving him cranky and restless for the BBQ we wanted to attend in the afternoon. So, after the large lunch and reading A LOT of books, we took him out to a different park for about 30 minutes before nap time. He ran around again and by 3:30 he was exhausted and happily went down for his afternoon nap. He woke up cheerful and ready to party. YAY!

We arrived at the BBQ around 5:30 and our friends Rhiannon and Josh had set up a kiddie pool for the boys. The water was a little cool for Miles to take a dunk, but he happily played on the edges as Ethan and Daniel happily splashed around and handed him any toy that he wanted. Miles ran and ate like he had a second stomach to fill (growth spurt maybe?). The weeks leading up to his first birthday have maybe been the best yet. He's happy and playful and seems to get smarter by the minute. This week alone he's started to use a spoon, learned to drink from a straw, and learns new gestures almost instantly. 


My mom is coming into town tomorrow and my dad is soon to follow. I can't wait for them to see what a different baby he's become! 

First Bites

This evening after work, J and I threw Little Duke in the backpack and headed down to the Deschutes Street Fare for beer, music and tasty food from top-notch food carts around town. The evening was a fundraising event for a local family services organization here in Portland, so on top of all of the above, an all around good night. 


Our first food and beer pairing was from Fuego de Lotus, which served up tasy arepas (a Venezuelan-inspired street food) paired with Deschutes Cascade Ale. The arepas -- white masa cakes filled with tasty goodness -- were fantastic. I got the chili chicken and J sampled the pork belly. Yum. We will definitely go back, because Little downed half of my arepa and was kind of ticked that I dared to eat the rest myself. Also, for those of you who are interested, their arepas are gluten free. 


Second beer and food pairing was from Perierra Creperie. They served up both sweet and savory crepes, but there was no question which one I would get -- the sopressata, brie, pear, and pepper flake crepe (when matched with banana and nutella) was the winner hands down. M gave it 10 fingers up. I said Yum and was inspired to create our next pizza with similar ingredients. The crepe was a revelation, but so was the beer pairing. Deschutes Pilsner was surprisingly good. I'd actually order it again, which is saying a lot, because I just don't think that many American beer companies can compare to their German counterparts. Well done, Deschutes.

And the final food and beer pairing was more for M than for me and J, Nutella sandwiched between two waffles from the Flavour Spot. The waffles were crisp, tasty, and delicious. M loved the carb/Nutella dinner and smeared it all over his face and backpack. He then rubbed it in his hair for good measure. Of  all the food carts that we sampled tonight, Flavour is the one that I'll most likely seek out, because I'm on the search for a place that can make waffles that even come close to the ones we had in Ghent. I'll need a few more samples before I can decide if they stack up! 


J stayed to listen to the live music and I headed home with M in the backpack. He bobbed and clapped all the way home, just as he did to music at the street fair. He was pretty tired when we came home and gave me hell changing his diaper before bed, but as I kissed him goodnight I got a whiff of waffles and hazlenut -- all was forgiven. 

Rough Mornings (and Afternoons)

As I've mentioned before, J usually takes Little for the first hour or so in the morning after he wakes up so I can get a little extra sleep. Yesterday morning though, 7:30am came rather early and I was pretty bummed to find a very fussy baby staring at me as I walked into the living room. The situation called for a trip outside for some fresh air and a way for us spend time together without Miles clinging to my body. I happily lugged the stroller downstairs and we set off to the Lovejoy Bakery. 

Little zoned out in the stroller and I reveled in the silence of our neighborhood at 8:00am. He ooohed when trucks would go by and I took the occasional break to poke my head around and say hello. Once we got to the bakery and I ordered breakfast, we parked ourselves at a cafe table that was just feet from the road (not an ideal location for most, but perfect for our purposes). Miles squealed with delight at the passing cars -- especially the streetcar -- and I read the Washington Post on my phone. We shared a cinnamon swirl muffin and washed it down with coffee (for me) and water for Little in his sippy cup. He'd point his finger at my plate and grunt, a form of communication that he uses a lot lately to signal MORE MORE MORE! He also flaps his arms around like a little bird to signal when OH MY GOD I'M FINISHED WHY ARE YOU STILL TRYING TO FEED ME?!

Anyway, back to the bakery. I'd hand him a bite, he would examine it in his fingers and stuff it in his mouth and give me a sweet little grin. I think he was unsure about the cinnamon at first, but then realized it was a baked good and, like his father, was helpless to its powers. Little polished off about half of the muffin and then chucked his last bite out of the stroller and flapped his arms. Finished, moving on. We stayed for a few more minutes so I could chug my cup of coffee and turned around to head home. Little somehow found a pacifier in his stroller and made his little sleepy sounds (like a car with a dead battery trying to start) all the way home. I crossed my fingers that he would not fall asleep in the stroller. Once home, I fed him, rocked him and he went down for a nap without a fuss. He was so tired, yet only slept for 40 minutes (smacks head in frustration). We made sure to administer a full dose of ibuprofen before his next nap (damn you teething)!

Today was a much better day. I actually got work done, thanks to my friend T, who so kindly offered to watch the dude for a few hours this afternoon. I know I complain a lot about teething and we have more than half to go before they're all in. Maybe I should buy stock in Advil. It's going to be a long haul.

Kimchi Love

I've been sad since one of our most interesting restaurants in the neighborhood, Tanuki, closed down its northwest Portland location. It served Japanese drinking food -- lots of spice, salt, and interesting ingredients -- and prided itself on "no sushi, no kids". Needless to say, we didn't frequent much after M was born, but I remember the few meals that we ate there fondly, particularly the kimchi fried rice. I think about it often. 

A few weeks ago, I decided to purchase a jar of kimchi for just this purpose. I've been a little nervous about trying it, I'm not sure why because I love kimchi. Perhaps it was the fear of failing to even come close to the dish at Tanuki. What prompted us to make it was one unusual ingredient (other than kimchi) that we added to the refrigerator this week -- quail eggs. When we were buying our fresh eggs at the local farmers market on Thursday, the farmer added a little bonus to our bag. I've never had a quail egg, so we wanted to make a special dish to highlight this special ingredient.

The fried rice (recipe below) was quite simple and came together in about 15-20 minutes including prep time. Jesse was the wok master and I orchestrated the ingredients. M loved watching and flapped his arms around as the wok sizzled with each new ingredient. After the rice was done, J fried four quail eggs sunny side up to go on top of our bowls. The final product was quite beautiful and tasty, but I'm not sure we're quite there yet in terms of matching Tanuki's greatness. I'm okay with that though, because it means I don't need a babysitter to have kimchi fried rice.


Brasilliant's Kimchi Fried Rice


3c. cooked rice (we used brown basmati)
1c. kimchi, chopped
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T soy sauce
2T butter
1/3 c. tiny Pacific shrimp 
1 fried egg for each serving (we used 2 quail eggs)
2 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish


Saute kimchi and onion in a wok over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and onions are translucent. When onions and kimchi look sufficiently cooked down, add 1T butter, soy sauce and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. 


Add shrimp and cook until curled, just a minute or two. Toss in rice and another tablespoon of butter and stir to combine. Fry the eggs and place on top. Sprinkle with green onions.


Enjoy!

Parents of the Year

It was a rough day. This week has been extra busy for both me and J. Little seems to have gotten over the rough patch that consumed the last two weeks, but has still been a lot of baby. We discovered that he's probably phasing out one of his regular three naps, which has thrown our schedules a bit off balance. Today though, we threw the schedule out the window (and Little's much needed second nap) and decided to go out and enjoy the warm summer weather. We were going to head down to the Oregon Brewer's Festival on the waterfront, but it was pretty warm in the sun and the idea of heading into crowd with Miles on edge was not in the cards. 

So, we hopped on the Max to Mississippi Avenue and picked up lunch at the food carts and a drink in the beer garden at Prost. There was a nice shady area with a corner bench to wrangle in the little dude, but also gave him the freedom to roam around. He had a blast throwing his truck into the planter around the perimeter and gently touching the flowers. As we sipped (okay gulped) our beer and blocked Little's many attempts to fling himself under the picnic table, for a split second I was reminded of our trip to Belgium and Germany last fall. It was our last trip before really thinking about having a baby and we relished our time in the sun -- today I made every attempt to block the sun by forcing our unwilling 11-month-old to wear his sun hat.

We thought we might be able to get him to nap so we could enjoy a second drink, so I attempted to nurse him to sleep. It almost worked, but then he opened his eyes and realized there was a lot of action going on. I always try to be discrete about breastfeeding in public, but today Little insisted on hoisting up my boob toward the gentlemen who were sharing our picnic table as if to say "dudes, I don't know what you're drinking, but you should order a Mass of this stuff." He was very proud of himself and we quickly asked for our check, since he literally had not napped in six hours. 

Thankfully, on the way home he conked out in the backpack, but the rest of the evening has been a bit edgy (for lack of a better term). Clearly, he's had a growth spurt because his pj top that fit just fine not that long ago was way too tight. After wrestling him to get it on, drama ensued when we realized that there was no way in hell that it would fit over his meaty biceps. We laughed mostly out of frustration that we would in fact have to take off the shirt and try to get him into another one before bedtime. He squawked and ran around like a tiny t-rex with his arms pinned to his body because the shirt sleeves were so tight. Like any good mother I photographed his misery, because we needed to kill time before the next round of dressing and honestly, it was tragically hilarious.


Little went to bed about 7:45 and is just now settling down to sleep. It'll either be an awesome night because he's so exhausted, or the worst night ever, because he's so exhausted. Only time will tell and I'm not exactly looking forward to finding out. Needless to say, we won't be winning any parenting awards this week.

New Job, New Nanny

Well, not a new job yet, but soon. My supervisor at work accepted a new academic position, which means he has a lot less time for running our lecture series. Luckily, he feels pretty confident in my abilities, so I'll be taking on some more responsibility -- as he likes to say, I'll "curate" the next season -- more hours, and more paycheck. We had arranged for a nanny to come in to watch Little a couple of days a week before we went to Los Angeles (oh yeah, should probably blog about that sometime), and her arrival couldn't have come at a more perfect time! I'm pretty busy at work "curating," J is finding his way in the new company, and well, Little has kind of been a jerk lately. Mostly it's teething, but also he's figuring out that he has control over things (like what goes in his mouth) and likes to exert that control when we all seem to be tired, hungry, or both.

He's really developing quite a personality, which is awesome and tiresome. For those of you who have been around Mr. M for an afternoon, you know what I'm talking about. He's active and fun and is strong as an ox. Walking is his new favorite activity and he's getting quite good at it. He's still taking some spills (cue bruise on forehead), but for the most part doesn't seem to mind. His personality really came out this past week as I had quite a bit more work to accomplish during the day. I was ignoring him more than usual and he was pretty pissed about it. I realized that working from home for me is not going to be possible for extended periods of time. Little is very good at entertaining himself, but not when I'm in the room. The minute my laptop opens, he's clawing at my pants, shirt, and boobs (which is highly annoying) and has even started biting to get my attention. Of course, I let him know that this isn't allowed, but really, it's my problem not his. When I'm here, I need to be present (not in front of my computer). 

As the summer moves along and I start to get a better idea of my new work schedule, we'll probably up the number of nanny hours a bit. On the one hand it's hard (especially knowing that a large part of my paycheck goes to pay for childcare), but on the days that Lindsay comes in, I'm happier, Little is happier, and as a result, J is happier too. I actually make dinner, we have conversation, and I don't count the minutes until Little goes to bed (okay maybe sometimes). And then he gives me his "night night" face and waves bye bye. How can stay angry at that?

July 4th Home and Away

The weekend leading up to July 4th was packed with activities. Friday night after a stroll in town, we stopped at REI and checked out the backpack style kid carriers. Along with another family (who had a toddler that was not very impressed by the backpacks) we peppered the sales associate with questions, had her help us get fitted and J walked around the store with Little harnessed in a backpack. We were a little worried about how he'd react, given that it was nearing bedtime and we were all a little tired, but felt a huge relief when J hoisted him up and he immediately called out "oooh oooh ooh!" For any of you who have spent even a small amount of time with Mr. M know very well that this was his seal of approval -- Little loved the backpack. After thinking about it for just a short while, we went back to REI and picked up the carrier as an early birthday present for J. Little cooed and shouted and smiled the whole way home. He loves sitting up high and having a great view of what's going on in the world. 

To really test out his tolerance for the new pack, we headed down to the waterfront for the Portland Blues Festival. It was a pretty warm afternoon, but Little bobbed along to some Zydeco music in the shade and really only fussed when we took him out of the backpack (notice how stoked he is while we pose for a family photo). Also, look at how long those legs are these days. Geez, he's starting to look more and more like a little boy.

As if one adventure wasn't enough for Saturday, we took Mr. M to his first Timbers game and sat right in the action with the Army. I was a little worried about the noise, but Little actually liked all of the waving flags, balloons, and chants (he even bobbed his head when he heard some familiar ones). Unfortunately, he only made it through the first 30 minutes of the game. However, if we didn't have general admission seats, we wouldn't have had to show up 107 minutes early and he might have lasted well into the second half. 

On Sunday, we packed our things and headed to Hood River for the night and spent the afternoon with friends and her family. Joanie's parents have two dogs, Sadie and Minnie, who were very sweet to Little. Sadie loved bringing him toys and Mr. M would grab on so they could play tug of war. Then, Sadie would give him a million kisses on his hands and face and in his ears. Little hated the ear licking and would run away, but then come right back and start the game again. It was pretty great. On Monday morning we claimed our spots in town and watched the Hood River July 4th parade and picnicked in the park afterward. Tired and full, we drove home Monday night and I crashed at 8:30pm. Little was pretty tuckered out too and slept nearly all night.

Summer

Still a little cool for June (not that I'm complaining), but I see many days in the park ahead.

Knee Deep

....In teething.

I can't even think straight because a certain someone is having such a rough time with his two front teeth. He's been a pathetic mess all day and only wants to put his head down on my shoulder or his high chair tray. I feel terrible, but I'm about to go all great-grandmother on his gums with the back of a metal spoon. Okay, not really, but I am being very permissive with the objects that he chooses to gnaw (belt buckles, wooden spoons, shoes, towels, and even plastic bottles).

For the most part he's been a trooper, but today was pretty rough. Even after two doses of ibuprofen, he was frazzled at best. J and I were counting down the minutes until his bedtime this evening (even though I know bedtime for us will not be restful).

A couple of weeks ago, I was the lucky recipient of this book (via a Facebook contest). It's by the same author as the book that Eric & Lea gave us for Christmas, which I have loved. I decided to put one of the recipes to good use. We had some extra watermelon and pineapple in the fridge, so I pureed it up and popped it in the freezer in some ice pop molds. I'm hoping it will be a nice (if messy) treat for the little dude tomorrow. I altered the recipe slightly and eliminated the honey and lime since they've not yet been introduced into his diet. I have to say, I'm not sure they would be necessary, as the pineapple watermelon puree is pretty darn tasty on its own. I'll make sure I post on other recipes from the book as I try them throughout the summer!

Project Birthday

My friend, Elizabeth, arranged a Project Runway themed party for her birthday this weekend. It was brilliant and the most fun I've had in quite a while.

About twelve of us were invited to her place, where we spent the evening competing in PR-style challenges that led up to the final challenge of the night -- remake a hideous Goodwill dress into something that you'd wear today. Everyone was instructed to bring a pair of heels, three of their favorite accessories (to populate the "Bluefly Accessory Wall"), and a tank top/spandex in case we were chosen as models. 

There were five models, five designers, and four judges. At random (and with some trading around) I ended up as a designer and was charged with remaking this dress (well not this exact dress, but something pretty identical) into something more modern. My model, Margaret, and I were charged with making a split-second decision between five equally hideous frocks and opted for this one instead of a leopard print house dress. We had a few minutes to confer and she was sent to the workroom to stake out a table while I visited "Mood" (Elizabeth's guest room) to shop for fabric. I wish I had brought my camera, because there would have been a lot more documentation. 

Once in the workroom, Margaret and I decided on a converting the dress into a short jumpsuit with puffed sleeves and a collar. We paired it with pink pumps and hat from the accessory wall. Elizabeth had a sewing machine on hand, but it was missing a foot petal for about 1/2 of the challenge, so I ended up sewing the sleeves in by hand and safety pinning the dress hem into shorts. Thankfully, Margaret was a natural on the runway and made our outfit look awesome. In the end, we made it to the top three, but the judges were divided on the use of the pink hat. Regardless, it was an amazing party.

I was exhausted when I got home at nearly 1am -- by far the latest I've stayed out while having fun in quite a while.

Personal Chef

Little made an outstanding developmental leap this past weekend. He figured out that there are ways of eating that don't involve his mom and dad shoveling food into his mouth. In other words, we embarked on new mealtime adventures while trying to figure out age-appropriate finger foods so he doesn't develop scurvy from a steady diet of Cheetos and astronaut food (I kid). So, I spent the weekend doing some research online and in the kitchen to re-envision some of his favorite foods. He's not turned into a picky eater, just changed the game overnight, insisting that he selects what he puts into his mouth and when. Fair enough, I suppose, but it would have been nice to get a little warning. After a few meals (and a day of him not eating nearly enough) I think we've found some solutions. 

The little sir now enjoys a variety of nibbles that were prepared with love (and in exasperation) by his mother-turned-personal-chef. It's a job for which I'm entirely under qualified, but heck, I'm taking on all kinds of work beyond my scope, so why not tackle Little's nutrition as well. It certainly beats the stuff that's sold as baby snacks these days -- cheese puffs, sugary fruit snacks and biscuits, and crisps that claim to contain vegetables, but provide no dietary fiber and are of very little nutritional value. I'm sad that we're unable to incorporate yogurt and cottage cheese in his diet anymore, but we're finding new ways to introduce protein and calcium that are even more exciting.

A few things I've learned in my short stint as a nutritional consultant: 1) oatmeal and turkey loaf make wonderful splat noises on the bare hardwood floors 2) my otherwise useless Exxon shareholder reports have done a splendid job of catching rogue grapes and tofu bits 3) the five second rule applies over and over again 4) the sheer happiness on his face makes the frustration worthwhile. 

This Week's Specials:


Turkey loaf:(sounds gross, but quite delicious) made of ground turkey, carrots, applesauce, oat bran, spices, and herbs

Sweet Potato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Cubes: Roasted to creamy perfection with a dash of olive oil
 
Breaded Tofu: Rolled in Cheerio crumbs (easier for little fingers), also comes battered and baked for dinner menu


Oatmeal bites: A breakfast favorite cooked a little longer with applesauce and diced into small cubes. 


Diced fruit: Quartered grapes, cantaloupe, ripe pears, bananas, watermelon, and honeydew. 

Sichuan Feast

Finally getting around to posting on my Sichuan feast from Mother's Day. After J and Little let me sleep in and presented me with flowers and breakfast treats, my only request was that we do a fun cooking project from a pretty cool cookbook that I checked out from the library (which is now almost overdue and I must renew, crap), Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. Two things that I liked about this cookbook: it has a rather nice index in the front of cooking techniques, ingredients, and equipment to ensure success, and the recipes are all wonderfully simple (aside from the occasional hard to find ingredient).

One of our favorite Sichuan dishes is Dan Dan noodles (and the reason I checked out this book in the first place. We have a recipe from Cooks Illustrated that is good, but I always felt the recipe was pretty Americanized (like many of CI's Asian recipes). I read through Land of Plenty, educated myself on the staples of a Sichuan pantry, and made a rather detailed shopping list. We drove out to 82nd Avenue to Fubonn market to pick up the necessary ingredients. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, the "facing-heaven" dried chiles that are a staple in Sichuan dishes were nowhere to be found (a post-market internet search revealed that some import issues make them all but scarce in the US). We subbed dried chiles that we could find at the store and I think it turned out alright. Among the other staples that we purchased, rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, black vinegar, Shaohshing rice cooking wine, Sichuan peppercorns, preserved vegetables (mustard tubers), and sesame paste. Oh and I shouldn't forget the fresh noodles. Yum!

The first step was to make a chile oil with the crushed, dried chiles by getting the oil hot in a wok, letting it cool to a certain temperature, and pouring it over the dried chiles. It made a ton of oil, but apparently it keeps for a very long time in a cool dark place. The next step was to toast and grind the Sichuan peppercorns. The pepper has a wild smell and lends a distinct taste to the dish -- sort of citrus and spice. After the peppercorns started smoking, we put them in the coffee grinder and then sifted to weed out any large pieces of debris. Much of the flavor doesn't actually come from the peppercorn, but from the husk, so when you look at it closely there's a lot of little sticks and flakes that would make for an unappealing texture in the dish. 

Finally, we got down to cooking. We fried about 1tsp. of the Sichuan pepper in 1T of peanut oil until hot and added the 2T preserved veggies until fragrant. We then added about 1/4lb of beef, some soy sauce until the beef turned brown and crispy. Then stirred up a sauce of Sichuan pepper, sesame paste, soy, chili oil, vinegar and cooking wine. We put the fresh noodles and the sauce in the hot wok and tossed it around until warm. The finished noodle dish was pretty amazing, unlike anything I've ever tasted, and really quite easy. Garnished with some scallions, it was perfect. And my new camera captured the details perfectly -- I'm super excited about that too.

As a side dish, we stir fried veggies -- peas, bell pepper, carrots, tomato and cucumber. Next time we'll use significantly less oil than the recipe calls for on the veggies. They were swimming in it at the end. We added a little homemade chile oil on the noodles for some kick and washed it down with ice cold Sapporo. Couldn't have asked for better results with our first stab at authentic Sichuan cooking. I think next time, we'll tinker with the sauce just a bit, but otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing!

Webmaster (Not So) Extraordinaire

Wow, it's been a full nine eleven days since I posted last. I'll go ahead and blame my absence on preparing for/recovering from our four-day trip to Texas, but really, I should throw in a little laziness and chaos too. Work has been busy with two lectures in a row and we're still juggling our work schedules to watch Little (I know, I know, I need to find a nanny already). And to pile on top of the chaos of coming home, I think Little is teething again and turned into a Tazmanian devil. He literally destroys all sense of order in his path. But he does it with such a sweet smile, so how can I be mad?


I still haven't gotten around to writing that post about my Mother's Day Sichuan feast. That'll have to wait for another day because there's real work to be done. I have fundraising deadlines, mail merges to run (fun stuff), Tweets to post and a website to build (ha). I never thought when I took my part-time job at a non-profit last year that I'd be pushed into the deep end of databases, InDesign, Tweeting on a regular basis, and now, overseeing (and probably doing) a new website design. But something has to change, our website is pretty bad. We got an email on Wednesday night a couple of hours before our lecture that said:

"Hey, I love [Non-Profit Name], but your website is crap. I was going to say that your website needs a little fine tuning, but when I went to the staff page to try and contact someone, the person in charge of your information systems doesn't provide an EMAIL ADDRESS. Ha ha ha. AnyWho. Still love you and will see you tonight (I'll be the one with the bag over my head)."

We had a good chuckle and my boss emailed back that the website is the same vintage as our computers (2005) and that while the website may suck, it has done so reliably for the last six years. He assured her that we're trying hard to to change that by updating the website over the summer. The only thing stopping us from doing it sooner is funding. Hence, the fundraising drive.


And hence, my new role as web designer/IT lady.

First Mother's Day

Little and J worked together to make my first Mother's Day a special one. J woke up early with the little guy so I could sleep in as late as I wanted. Getting up at 9:30am to the sounds of Little babbling in the kitchen was pretty amazing. When I finally decided to roll out of bed, I found the breakfast room tidy with flowers and sweet treats from Ken's. My guys made it very easy to be a mom this weekend.

After breakfast, we lounged around the apartment, marveling at how great it feels to be parents while Little entertained with giggles, feats of strength (trying to do pullups on the dining room table), and cheesing the camera with his two bottom teeth. He also reminded me of those teeth this morning when I wasn't paying him enough attention by gently nibbling on my big toe. Those things are sharp. He'll appreciate them in not too long when he can enjoy a greater variety of his parents' culinary adventures. We made a Sichuan meal last night that was pretty out of this world. More on that tomorrow.

As an extended Mother's Day gift, Little was a delightful baby this morning (allowing me to finish a long overdue blog post for work). While I was typing away, he did a few chores around the house.  I guess he was embarrassed that I never polish the brass knobs on his changing table, so he took on the task himself. Such a helpful lad. I'll have to talk to him though about being more gentle in the future, don't want teeth marks on the hardware.

Our Best Pizza Yet

Saturday night, J and I decided to whip up some cocktails with the leftover grapefruit from my Easter tart. We also decided that since we couldn't go to the Timbers game against Real Salt Lake, we would make a fun dinner and watch it at home. We hadn't made pizza in a while, mostly because we've never gotten the crust quite right and while tasty, is always disappointing in some way. I'm pretty sure we prepared ourselves for this time not being any different, because pizza is a lot of fun to make -- and eat. While I prepped the toppings, J juiced the grapefruit and concocted our version of a traditional Greyhound (recipe below) and we brought the laptop into the kitchen to stream the soccer game. 

I must admit, we did not make our own dough this time. It's a day-long (or with some recipes, two-day-long) process and we have an Italian market up the street that sells frozen dough for less than $3 and it is quite tasty. We let the dough thaw and rise for about 4 hours and I flattened it out on the counter. We let it rest for about 10 minutes and transferred it to the pan. J made up a sauce of tomato paste, fresh garlic, some dried basil, and a little water. I thinly sliced mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion in addition to the paper thin slices of pepperoni J had cut at the deli. We brushed the dough with olive oil, spread the sauce, topped it with mozzarella and a bit of Parmesan, layered the mushrooms, pepper, onions, and then pepperoni. We sprinkled just a bit more of the two cheeses and salted the outer crust, and threw it in the oven for 10 minutes. As we peered in the oven window I was shocked at the beauty that we created. Seriously, look at that pizza!

Now, two things that made this pizza outstanding: heat and thinly sliced toppings. While we prepped everything for the pizza, we cranked the oven up to 550º (highest temp) and let it heat up for at least 30 minutes. As I mentioned, J had the pepperoni sliced paper thin and I did the same with the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions. This ensures that the toppings don't get soggy, and even crisp a little with the high heat. And look! We got bubbles. That never happens at home. I was so excited about how this pizza turned out that we're going to try it all over again sometime this week. 

The cocktails were not exactly a perfectly paired beverage for pepperoni pizza, but they were delicious and tasted like summer. They were also necessary for the numerous toasts we made on our perfect Saturday night. The baby is in bed! Cheers! The Timbers beat Salt Lake! Cheers! We rock at making pizza! Cheers! And Cheers!


Awmercy's Greyhound Recipe

2oz. Gin (not your best gin here -- we like Seagram's)
4oz. Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (with pulp)
~1 tsp. Honey

Pour room temperature ingredients into a cocktail shaker, stir to dissolve honey, throw in a few ice cubes and shake to chill. This drink is very simple, so needless to say, it's the ingredients that make it spectacular. Our grapefruits were particularly tasty and the honey was fresh from Salt Spring island in Canada.

And We Shall Call Him Mischief

Little is now more mobile, but more importantly, more curious. He's in and on and under anything within his path. At the end of the day, it looks like a mini tornado touched down in our dining room and living room (as evidenced by last night's photo). I'm not complaining (much), his mischievousness makes him increasingly more fun. 

Today he figured out how to pull fun stuff out of my fabric and notions stash. He tried ripping and chewing the lace, but (unlike the newspaper) it just wouldn't budge. He quickly lost interest and moved on to his next target.

 


















He's particularly fond of the drawer pulls on the chest that serves as his changing table. They make a fabulous noise when pulled and dropped and apparently taste pretty good too. 

He also found a new morning time friend -- his shadow.

And all of his tasks are accomplished with an endless supply of determination.