Happy le weekend

Snow Turtle & Friend

What a week! Between the blizzard that wasn't and running around trying to get ready for a trip next week, things have been a bit nuts. This weekend we are celebrating my husband's birthday with cake and a dinner out with friends.

Here are a few things I've enjoyed this week:

This article about "Goodnight Moon" made me laugh.

Flying through the streets of old London is pretty amazing.

I think I'm officially a creeper. I saw this instagram shot of Damsel in Dior and ran out and bought this dress. Bonus: it was 40% off in-store.

I also used a gift certificate I received for my birthday back in June to snag this dress that was on sale at Madewell.

This article about Stanford's response to the sexual assault on campus this past week was spot on. So great to see a school respond so quickly, and so well to something like this.

I went to the gym today and watched CNN while I was on the treadmill. In a half hour, I learned about 1/3 of what I learned in 5 minutes reading The Skimm this morning. Seriously, my favorite news source and daily newsletter.

Off to frost a cake!

Ginger Bread

Over the weekend, we were snowed / rained in, so we decided to do an quick excursion to the grocery store and then do some baking.

Ginger Cake

When I graduated from college and officially moved out of my parent's house, my mother gave me a binder full of handwritten family recipes. It's one of the nicest gifts, and I've added to it over the years. Some of my childhood favorites are in there, as well as some unkowns. I still don't think I've made all of the recipes in it!

Saturday, I tried a recipe for Ginger Bread that has been used in my family for over a century. Here's what we did:

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup hot water
2 well-beat eggs added last (1 egg will do)

Bake 350 degrees in greased pan.

There's a note to use bacon drippings for shortening. I guess they didn't worry about cholesterol and were very frugal. Though I didn't try it, I'm sure if you have them, it would be tasty!

Optional Lemon topping:
1 tblspn. warm water
2 cups confectioner sugar
3 tblspn. lemon juice
Mix well and pour over gingerbread while hot.

Music for a Tuesday

I've been in an Official Music Rut lately. Then, a friend recently told me about Gregory Alan Isakov's album, "The Weatherman". The whole album is beautiful. 

I love this quote about the album title: 

"To me, the idea of a weatherman is really powerful. There's a guy on television or on the radio telling us the future, and nobody cares. It's this daily mundane miracle, and I think the songs I chose are about noticing the beauty in normal, everyday life."

Any other musicians I should be checking out? Suggestions welcome! I've been listening to this one on repeat. 

Easy Chicken Soup

What do you have for lunch? I'm curious.

Lunch is my least favorite meal of the day. I'm such a snacker. If I'm working in an office and someone puts cookies out, I'm going to have (at least) one. I also spend most of my day looking forward to dinner, so a big lunch often feels like a commitment. For me, soup always seems like a good option, especially in the colder weather.

Lately, I've been going to Hale and Hearty almost every day. I'm slightly embarrassed by how often I've been going, and it's getting expensive!

The last time I was at my parent's house, my mom made a really tasty pot of chicken soup in about 20 minutes.  Saturday was a wet day in New York, so I grabbed what I had in the fridge and tried to replicate it. It came out pretty well, and now I have lunch for most of the week!

Do you have a favorite soup recipe? I'd love to try something new.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
2 tbspn. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small chunks
1 tbspn. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 spring thyme
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup small noodles
S&P to taste

What I did: 
Heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add onion and cook for several minutes--until it's becoming translucent.
Throw in garlic, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper and cook 10-15 minutes on low heat, until they begin to soften.
Toss in a bay leaf
Add tomato paste and chicken and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add chicken broth.
Turn heat up to high until it boils. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
Add pasta and cook for time the box or bag suggests.
Note: I undercooked my pasta as I'll re-heat later.

Voila! Easy, healthy, and hopefully tasty lunch. Serve with bread and cheese b/c all meals are better when bread and cheese are infolved.

I should also note that my son's daycare asks parents to provide lunch for the kids. I recently bought this tiny thermos and have heard that soup has been a hit at lunchtime.

p.s. I'm still working on my pictures of food. I promise it tasted better than it looks.

New Year's (End of January) Resolution:

Start blogging again.

I'm the worst. I have totally fallen off the writing bandwagon. I have an almost 2 year old now, and have barely written in his baby journal. And his baby journal is an adorable gift from Angloyankophile. 

So, that's my first resolution. Hopefully more to come.