Taking a Break...

Hi Everyone,

I have some job responsibilities to tie up and we're also hitting the road soon, so I'm going to take a break from blogging until April 14th or so. I'll still be reading from time to time, but it's just time to breathe a bit.

Have a great couple of weeks!

Wijvenweek/Singular Saturday: Today's Wijvenweek theme - What men just don’t get - REALLY

LISTENING



Join Jenn in Holland for other singularly wordy individuals...





To see other wijvenweek blogs on what men just don't get, (especially if you speak Flemish), please visit the Wijvenblogs page.

Wijvenweek/What's Cooking Wednesday: The Ideal Man

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To see other wijvenweek blogs, (especially if you speak Flemish), please visit the Wijvenblogs page.

And please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

As you can probably tell by the title of my blog, I enjoy cooking and food. (Too much, but that's another story).

Today's theme for Wijvenweek is "The Ideal Man." It's also, however, What's Cooking Wednesday and I couldn't miss that. So I tried to think of what I'd want the ideal man to eat.

Okay... so maybe I'm stretching a bit... but here goes.

Well, I'm lucky, because I'm married to my ideal man. He's loving, has a great sense of humor, loves many of the same things I do, is a great dad, and so, I'm lucky that way. Another of his inestimable charms, however, is that he eats just as my ideal man should.

Before I met D, he ate a lot of this:






and this:





and this:



By the time I met D, his tastes had changed (thankfully). In fact, on our first date, he made me this:



No... I'm not kidding. How could I not have fallen in love with him?

Today, we're both in mid-life and we both care about healthy eating. So in honor of D (my ideal man), and What's Cooking Wednesday, I give you a couple of his favorite recipes:


Cucumbers in Sour Cream adapted from A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality by Darra Goldstein

Ingredients

2 cucumbers
1 cup reduced fat sour cream (I prefer Breakstone)
2 TBS cider vinegar (white balsamic works well, too)
4 TBS snipped fresh chives (or equivalent number of dried teaspoons)
2 TBS snipped fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried dill)
pepper to taste
2 tsp salt

Nutritional Info


Fat: 2.6g
Carbohydrates: 4.5g
Calories:45.6
Protein: 1.7g



If the cucumbers have been waxed, peel them; otherwise, washt them well but leave the peel on. Slice the cucumbers very thin and pat them dry with paper towels. Mix together the remaining ingredients, adding vinegar to taste. Stir in cucumbers. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before refrigerating. Serve well-chilled.

Serves 6.

Number of Servings: 6


Lowfat Cornbread

Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 TBS maple syrup

Nutritional Info


Fat: 1.0g
Carbohydrates: 13.4g
Calories:70.1
Protein: 2.4g



1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray an 8X8 cooking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray.

2.Combine dry ingredients; add beaten egg, maple syrup and buttermilk, mixing well.

3. Pour batter into baking dish. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Number of Servings: 12



Slow Cooker Mixed Chili

Ingredients

1/2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. lean ground beef
12 oz. of ground turkey breast
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped fine
1 TBS chili powder
1 medium onion, chopped coursely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn kernels


Nutritional Info


Fat: 6.8g
Carbohydrates: 24.1g
Calories:225.5
Protein: 18.6g



1. Heat olive oil on medium and add onions. Cook until they are soft - 5 - 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
2. Add meats, cook until meats are browned. Drain and blot with paper towels.
3. Place meat mixture and all other ingredients (except for the corn) in a slow cooker.
4. Cook on high for 1 hour, low for 4 - 6 hours after that.
5. 20 minutes before chili is ready, stir in corn.
6. Top with fresh cilantro, reduced fat sour cream and reduced fat cheddar, if desired.

Serves 6

Number of Servings: 6

As always, nutrition information supplied by the recipe calculator at sparkrecipes.com. Enjoy!

Wijvenweek/Shopping: How to be a Lady at a Bookstore

To see other wijvenweek blogs on shopping, (especially if you speak Flemish), please visit the Wijvenblogs page.

Today's topic is shopping.

I am one of those strange female creatures who hates to shop. I get no pleasure out of shoes, make-up, bargains, or the latest seasonal fashion.

I can be convinced to drum up a little enthusiasm for: Ikea, other quirky household type stores (but I rarely buy in either), and specialty food shops.

There is, however, a shopping experience I love: going to the bookstore.

So here is a primer on going to the bookstore in a ladylike fashion, since that's what we're all about this week:

1. Choose your outfit carefully. Make sure you are correct for the season. No white before Memorial Day, no capris in January, no Doc Martins in July.

In fact, leave the Doc Martins at home.

Just this once.

Please.

Hats, gloves and just the right touch of lipstick, powder and rouge can make or break the look. This should be about right:



Too formal, you say? Mais non! It is our job as women to look our best at all times. Anyone who knows me truly, knows I always follow this dictum. (Anno... shhhhhhhhh).

You might want to ditch the cigarette, however, as books and fire generally don't mix, and the length of the holder would be unwieldly and ash might fall on a book or three. And you still need a hat.

If you don't look like Audrey Hepburn, perhaps you should rethink your trip to the bookstore.

Well, at least you tried.

Now assuming you have the right look down, the next job is to select the proper venue for your outing.

I favor independent bookstores. Independent bookstores are unique and individual and aren't slaves to corporate favor. Some of the wonderful independent bookstores in Ann Arbor include Nicola's Books, Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore, Crazy Wisdom, Shaman Drum, and Common Language Bookstore, among others.

The only trouble with independent bookstores is that they rarely have a tea room, and to have the proper outing, a tea room is de rigeur, because you might want to luncheon.

Ladies don't have lunch, they have luncheon.

Just ask Nancy Drew.

So once you have selected the proper outfit and the proper location, what should you do upon entering the bookstore?

Start by exploring all the aisles, pausing briefly in the finance and history sections to show that yes, women can be interested in such topics, too, but find your final destination in either cooking or fiction, preferably the romance section. Because, as we all know, those sections contain our true passions. If you're not actually a reader, and you decide to go on this outing as an experiment, you can certainly pick up a fashion magazine instead. All the best stores have media sections these days.

Choose a book or three (more would be awkward) and make your way to the tea room or cafe. Order some tea and crumpets. This order will mark you as a true lady. It's not quite enough for a luncheon, but it will allow you to have sustenance while not applying grease marks to your unpurchased books. For tea, the most ladylike choice would be a chamomile/lavendar blend. It's calming and good for the complexion.

If you insist on keeping the cigarette holder, and you still haven't been removed from the store, then order a single espresso - no crumpets. Remember, your sustenance is also an accessory.

Sip your tea, nibble on a crumpet, and allow your mind to embrace the writing within your chosen selections.

When you are done, spring to your feet and dash away from the table, leaving the books there in seeming forgetfulness. This allows you to have read the books without actually paying the authors, editors, publishers and agents (well maybe not publishers) who slaved and gave at least six months of their lives (and maybe years, in the case of the authors), to make sure that you can have this precious experience.

Walk gracefully through the double doors leading to the street (because all the really best bookstores have double doors) and take in a breath of fresh, springtime air.

In the words of our President: Mission Accomplished.

See you tomorrow for What's Cooking Wednesday and "Meals that Men Like".

Wijvenweek/Music Monday: "Obsessed about my Bre*sts" - The Condos

For other tales of musical adventure, please visit Soccer Mom in Denial.

First of all, thanks to everyone who helped us out on our vacation plans. Your answers not only clarified this particular road trip, but actually, now we have plans for several others! Yay!




Today is the start of Wijvenweek (Women's Week) - a project started by a group of Flemish women bloggers. You can read more about it here, over at Goofball's place, who invited me to join. Basically, a group of international women bloggers are going to spend the week blogging about issues that are particular to women in an ultra-feminine, humorous way. You can see all the daily posts here. Most will be in Flemish, but there will be some English entries as well.

Now for me, that's going to be a bit of a challenge. For example, there is not an ultra-feminine bone in my body. Secondly, in terms of all things ultra-feminine, in my life that's led to more tragedy than comedy. But I'm giving it my best shot, as the fab Pat Benatar would advise me (who deserves her own Music Monday).

So, today's theme is "my body," and my body, sadly, can not be discussed without starting with my bre*sts.

When I was younger, I was the envy of many of my classmates. I had THEM - the "sisters," "the girls," and I had them early. Oh, to be so envied... and yet, here are some of the things I experienced, because when you're young and you have THEM people a. think you're older than you really are, and b. that you want IT. And we all know what IT is, don't we? And if you need a reminder of just how clueless I was at that age, you can read all about it here. I was so not ready for IT in any way, shape or form.

So here are some of the highlights of my long history with my bre*sts:

1. In seventh grade, the boys in my class stealing into the girls locker room during gym time and stealing my bra. Then I had to go to my MALE teacher (walking cross armed back up from gym) and explain to him what happened and that I needed it BACK. And then he sent me out of the room so he could question the ENTIRE class about it.

2. Finding out that my first real boyfriend had only gone out with me because of my big bre*sts, but then dumped me for someone else who also had big bre*sts, but would do IT.

3. Having my pediatrician suggest bre*st reduction surgery when I was 17 (I was a whopping 36C at the time).

4. Having strangers approach me and discuss the joys of bre*st reduction surgery. Complete. Strangers.

Yeah, so, like, my breasts aren't my favorite thing. And why don't I get that surgery? Well, a. my insurance won't pay for it. Despite documented back and massive other health problems, women with big bre*sts are left to hang, so to speak. B. the couple of times I've had surgery as an adult, things never went well. So, I'm scared. Call me a wuss.

So to change to a lighter tone, I give you The Condos singing "Obsessed about my Bre*sts". This is just a great song that goes much deeper than "the twins" and one that I'm sure every woman can relate to.

Since youtube is still not speaking to me, here is the link.


Happy Monday!

A Question...

And Happy Easter, to those who celebrate!

Okay, here's the question:

D, C and I are going on a road trip in a couple of weeks. We're heading south, and/or maybe east or west. Places we may stop MAY include KY, TN, NC OR Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

C is 14 and would do some museums, but not JUST museums. He's also not into amusement parks.

We all hate shopping.

We're all nerds.

We like hiking (moderately). We like quirky things. We like good food. We love soaking up the culture of the new place.

Any suggestions?

We'd be very grateful. (We're already very disorganized).

HUGE thanks on this!

Springtime in Michigan

Taken from my front door at 9:40 a.m.:



Taken from my front door at 6:30 p.m.: