It is no longer summer outside, the holidays are coming and with them the cold and holiday parties. We decided to whip up a healthy breakfast in order to suppress the inevitable weight gain and stave off the wintery blues. I present to you: A whole grain english muffin topped with baby tomatoes, avocado and an egg (sunny side up). It was delicious and worth the effort.
These past two weeks, in fact, these past two months have been very hectic. That also explains a “writer’s block” that this blog has suffered from. Hubby’s has had a ridiculous work schedule and I’ve been busy taking care of the baby while he’s bringing home the bacon so to speak. I work also, but manage a much more respectable schedule — at least for now.
I couldn’t wait until yesterday (Friday, at last). We acquired groceries, the house was clean and were both very ready for the weekend. Whole Foods was running a rediculously great sale on New York Strip Steak and so we picked up a single steak, haricot verts and russian fingerling potatoes. We didn’t want to go out, since dinner out with a 13-month old is hardly enjoyable, and we didn’t have a babysitter, so we had dinner at home: Romance for Three.
Hubby whipped out his Shichirin grill and made a perfect steak. I drizzled olive oil, garlic and salt over the haricot verts and boiled the potatoes to be dressed later. While the potatoes are not an homage to my homeland, we did prepare them in a typical russian style: dressed in sour cream, garlic and dill.
And now, the ultimate key to a flawless romantic dinner for … three: feed thy child before you eat and ensure plenty of nibbles (i.e., cheerios, kix, cookies… etc) to play with.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
I recently discovered that cooking or doing anything for that matter is simply impossible if you’re also the chief caretaker of an active toddler. Our dinners and lunches have gotten progressively simpler, easier to make and healthier. The latter is due to the lack of time in preparing any sauce or anything else too fattening. Chicken, chicken, more chicken. Did someone say chicken? Of course even chicken can be spruced up and made into something special. To me, there are only two special chicken dishes: sous which is something my mother makes and homemade chicken soup.
I made this dish recently … it took a long time, but it was a lazy weekend. First, a whole chicken went into a giant pot to make chicken stock along with parsnips, onion, parsley and celery. Then, two chicken breasts were roasted whole in the oven with salt and olive oil to be shredded and added to the stock. Lastly, onion, garlic, celery, carrot and potato were sauteed lightly along with shiitake mushrooms to form the base of the soup. Mmm good! I finished off with petit peas for color and added green.
Today is Veteran’s Day. It is a great time to recognize all the women and men who serve their country tirelessly, safeguarding those in need putting their own welfare at risk and sacrificing time with their families. I know very well what it is like to be a member of a military family. My father served in the [USSR] army for 26 years. I remember very well what it is like to miss him, to see him in his full gear going off on patrol into the night, away for exercises and also the joy that it was to see him come home.
I alluded to this briefly before, but we lived in Baku during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Soviet army was ordered to keep order and defend the Armenian population in Azerbaijan. As a result, the families of the armed forces became targets themselves and we were subject to constant harassment, threats that culminated with sniper shoot outs. In the winter of 1989 while under heavy sniper siege (which saw the deaths of several of my sister’s classmates), we were transferred to the city’s barracks and prepared for immediate evacuation. The few days we spent there, sheltering from sniper fire were tumultuous. I saw my dad lead a fire-team in returning fire from the room we were staying at, my mom in tears as we said our goodbye leaving for Kiev while he and the other officers stayed back. I was 5 or 6 then and didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but the memories and visuals stayed with me. So I really mean it when I thank those who put their lives at stake to make sure we live ours to our fullest potential.
… and I think it is a perfect reminder that there is NO traffic in either direction on the Washington D.C.’s beltway! 🙂 My commute was just shy of 25 minutes, a far cry from the usual 50 minute commute (each way).
The summer and fall were busy seasons in our family as they were peppered with many children’s birthday celebrations. Although tiring to commute up north to Pennsylvania and Delaware, it is always great to see family and watch kids play together. This past Saturday marked the last of the children’s birthdays; It was my nephew’s 9th birthday and I had offered to make his cake. My sister and brother-in-law accepted my offer and gave me free reign on the theme. Their sole request was that the cake be any flavor other than chocolate. Begrudgingly, I agreed. I mean c’mon, how can you not want a chocolate birthday cake?!
Regardless, a roasted apple spice cake with cream cheese (and butter) frosting was baked with love and adorned with fondant legos. It was a hit with the kids and sophisticated enough for the adults despite the aqua blue icing. Maybe next year, I’ll make Sophia’s cake…
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Sophia turned 1 just recently and we had a lovely tea party in her honor. We’ve since been a little preoccupied with getting ready for Halloween and preparing for Hurricane Sandy and so this post is a little late. Sophia was fortunate to be surrounded with lots of friends and family on her big day and received many lovely presents. Each one is special and we are trying to ration opening them since she’ll have to wait until next October for a whole new batch.
I wanted to share one particularly special present: a little bed for a doll made by my dad and custom bedding made by my sister.
It is beautiful! Made from lovely light wood and stained and sealed by hand by my wonderful nephew late at night right before it was to be presented to Sophia. My parents and sister collaborated in secret and even hubby and I did not know. The mattress and pillows are hand-made and hand-stuffed finished off with custom bedding including a quilt and pillow shams. What I wouldn’t give to have gotten something like this when I was a child.
This beautiful piece of art has become a staple in our family room. Sophia routinely comes up to feed the dolly (also given by my sister, brother-in-law and nephew) in the bed. Since she doesn’t sleep with a pillow yet, Sophia routinely tosses them off and climbs in bed to be with her “Lyalya”.
We planned a nice celebration what with Sophia turning one. Although not exceptionally girly, I decided that a little tea party was in order to toast her with our family and friends. We sent out proper invitations and planned to serve tea sandwiches, scones and the likes. The day finally came last Saturday. All in all, after recuperating from the exhaustion of prepping and the hard work of celebrating, we’ve got pictures to look back on.
