What’s for Dinner?

I made this for dinner last night: Ma Po Tofu with Potstickers. My mom’s recipes. It’s one of Mike’s favorite meals. Ground pork, tofu, and garlic-black bean sauce. Mmmmmm.

Soup Group

One VERY cold winter about 10 years ago a Soup Group was born. I was a proud member along with a few other women I worked with. Every Thursday one of us brought in soup & a dessert for lunch. A few months ago during a team building session at Bagolitas called “Souper Tuesday” Janice brought in soup for everyone. I suggested we make it a weekly thing. Maybe it was a desperate attempt at curing my everlasting homesickness for Milwaukee. Nonetheless, a sign-up sheet was posted and we’ve been having weekly soup lunches ever since! This week was my week. I searched and searched for a not-to-expensive recipe to make (I love my co-workers but not THAT much). I decided on my mom’s recipe for Won Ton Soup. VERY economical but a little labor intensive. As luck would have it, I had to postpone my soupage until Thursday because of a crazy week at work. Here are some pictures of my Won Ton Progress (I’ve been inspired by many foodie blogs to start taking pictures of my kitchen adventures):

The first Won Ton.

My little Won Ton Army!

Simmer in chicken broth for 20 minutes…

Garnish with chopped green onions and serve! Since I’m new to this food blogging thing I forgot to take the picture BEFORE I started eating!

I told Audrey the Won Tons were supposed to look like someone praying but she said it looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket. I guess her description is closer except for a baby in a blanket it’s yummy pork & shrimp filling wrapped in a Won Ton wrapper!

No Reservations Weekend

My sister had an extra ticket to go see Anthony Bourdain at the Riverside Theater last Saturday. She she knows I’m almost as much as a foodie as she is, so I jumped at the chance to go. The tickets were purchased through the Bartolotta restaurant group and included dinner at Bacchus before the show. The 4-course dinner menu was pre-set: 1st – scallops with champagne sauce; 2nd – goat cheese and potato gratin; 3rd – roasted veal short ribs; 4th – poached meringue in  creme anglaise (I think it’s really called “floating island” or something in french but I can’t remember right now). All the recipes were pretty good – my favorite was the scallops – and taken from Anthony’s Les Halles Restaurant.

We had 12th row seats for the show which was 90-minutes of Anthony talking about who he likes/doesn’t like and what he really thinks about McDonald’s. This was followed by a short question & answer period. If the question & answer period were permanently erased from my memory I would not be sad. Being someone who takes pride in saying I’m from Milwaukee I was quite embarrassed at the stupid questions asked by the intoxicated foodies in the audience.

After the show, to avoid being stuck in the mad traffic rush back home, we went to Mo’s Irish Pub across the street from the theater. Part of the reason for choosing this pub was Anthony Bourdain’s answer to what his favorite drink EVER was (those of you who watch his show know he never turns down a drink). He replied “Guinness in Dublin.” My sister takes this one step further and says the best Guinness is one that you pour yourself on the rooftop of the Guinness brewery. Bragger. Anthony said the further away from Dublin you are, the less good it tastes. Milwaukee is quite a few miles away from Dublin but I think it still tasted okay. I wouldn’t know because I had a Blue Moon.

Hardware House Call

True Value on Dubuque St & Zeller St in North Liberty

School was canceled here yesterday due to a pretty good ice storm that came through. It left about 1/3″ of ice on everything. I started wasting away the day on Facebook and came across a picture of some ice-melt on the North Liberty True Value’s fan page. Yes, I’m a fan of a hardware store. Not wanting to venture out on the icy roads I jokingly asked if they delivered. The next thing I know the store manager is knocking on my door with a 40-lb bag of Ecosalt! Just one of the advantages of living in a small town…or having a good friend who just happens to be the manager’s sister (AND the store’s Facebook page administrator)!

Wake Up Call

I watched a new show last night on the channel Planet Green:  Blood, Sweat and Takeaways. In the show, six young fast food junkies embark on a grueling month-long journey into a world they know nothing about, to discover the tough truth behind their fast food fixes. They’ll also live and toil alongside the poorly paid workers, carrying out the most grim, physical tasks, living in appalling conditions and trying to survive on the wages. In taking on this challenge, the participants will also witness the effects these operations have on the local environment and culture. A big wake up call that I think everyone needs.

Just Dance!

My sister, Becca, and her daughter, Maggie came last weekend to celebrate Audrey’s 7th birthday. It was the 3rd time Audrey was able to celebrate her birthday. She sure knows how to take advantage of “her month!” Becca brought some new Wii games they had purchased last week and “Just Dance” was one of them. Here’s Audrey & Maggie cuttin’ a rug to the Spice Girls. It was just too cute NOT to record!

2009 At-A-Glance

JANUARY: Audrey turns 6 with a teddy bear birthday party!

FEBRUARY: Girl Scouts Father/Daughter Dance!

MARCH: Maggie & Becca come for a visit!

APRIL: Easter egg hunt in our backyard.

MAY: Hosts for Tyler’s graduation party!

JUNE: The Taylors come for a visit!

JULY: Weekend in WI Dells.

AUGUST: 1st day of 1st grade!

SEPTEMBER: Trip to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium & American Girl Doll store.

OCTOBER: Indiana Jones, pirate lady & monarch butterfly for Halloween!

NOVEMBER: Piglet joins our family.

DECEMBER: Christmas!

In the Kitchen

I FINALLY saw the movie “Julie & Julia” last night. I have now been inspired to cook my way through a cookbook. Probably not Julia Child’s, however. At first I thought it would be fun to find one by a chef named “Cindy” so I could do a “Cindy & Cynthia” spin off but after searching online last night I came up with very few results. I do have a small cookbook in mind but am also open for suggestions!

Nice Boy, Leo!

We got a new toy for Piglet that suction cup’s to the window so she can jump and play with it. It came down one day and Leo decided he would just carry it around for Piglet so she didn’t miss out on any playtime. How thoughtful!

more about “leo-piglet.MOV“, posted with vodpod

Merry Christmas Everyone!

There were many years wen I struggled to make all my Christmas cards and get them out on time. It was a love-hate relationship. I LOVE rubber-stamping but hated the quantity of cards I had to make but thought photo cards were a cop-out. Then Audrey came along and the time to make cards had vanished. Ever since, we’ve ordered photo cards from Shutterfly. I ran out this year, though, and had to send out some pre-made (eek!) cards to make up the difference. If your name is at the end of the alphabet I sincerely apologize for my short fall. I’ll make sure to order more next year!