Passover

I love Passover. Most Jewish holidays are kinda depressing (well compared to Christmas). Passover is about freedom. I totally dig that. Plus, matzoh ball soup is involved, one of my favorite comfort foods, especially when I feel like ass. On Passover I get to make food that reminds me of family and gatherings. Erik and I made up our own traditions for Passover. During sedar we have philosphical discussions about the concept of freedom. This year I am not quite sure how much discussing will be going on, since there are three 14 month olds to contend with. We are making some yummy food though. I made a mocha tofu filled almond cake with dark chocolate ganache. It is made with agave nectar instead of sugar. I hope there is some left for our guests tomorow. I keep eating it! Even though there is no sugar it still tastes decadent, almost like tiramisu, but not. We are also going to make a 5 hour roasted chicken. The chicken comes out moist and succulent. Hopefully, the skin comes out crispy. We are trying a new recipe this year called Passover Puffs. Essentially, they are little souffle looking things made with spinach, mushrooms, carrots, and matzoh meal. Anything is better than the usual kugel. I am not sure about the veggie yet. First, I want to see what looks good at the market tomorow morning. This year I am not making the soup until after Passover. I wanna cook down that yummy carcass we're roasting tomorow and use that.

This will be a weekend full of cooking. On Sunday we are going to Katy (eek...it's kinds like venturing over the bridge in to Jersey from Philly) for Easter, so I am making strawberry shortcakes, with agave nectar. Since strawberries are in season here if it comes out well maybe I will post the recipe. If you're lucky!

Oh, and I will also try to remember my matzoh ball soup recipe as well. Have a happy and healthy weekend.

A bit of quiet

Through out my life I have always yearned. Since moving here I wanted to to home, missed my friends, the East Coast, pizza, bagels, good Italian restaurants. I even missed assholes (They have them here...they just come in the form of Christian right fundamentalists and yeehaws...New York has a different type of asshole, perhaps I should call them...douche-bags, sorry dad). New York and Jersey accents are coveted by me, like a breathe of fresh air actually (I think that may be apart of the reason why I love my acupuncturist...he is from Jersey). Erik and I continually had the conversation about moving home. When Maya and Amara were born I spoke of when I'd go back to work. I figured after they were a year I'd start looking for a job. After they turned 9 months I began thinking about how we should move in to a bigger house. I am always wanting more, bigger, better. Sometimes all that wanting makes me loose sight of all the amazing things that are happening now, here, in this very moment. I think finally I am starting to "get it". Perhaps (scoff, pshah, yeah right) I am growing up. It is about friggin time.

Instead of trying to figure out what's next I am enjoying what's now (at least for today). I like being home with Maya and Amara. It has been beautiful outside. I try to take the girls outside to enjoy the blooming flowers and sun. I cannot forget to turn my music up and to sing, loudly, even if the windows are open. When I cook dinner it is not always about what needs to be chopped or diced, but about the joy of doing, and the delicousness that comes out of it. A free minute relished. The small, cherished, at least for the moment. A sort of quiet peace has entered my life. Do not get me wrong, I still yearn, but if we stay in our house that is OK. I will work at some point, but for now I am not, and I am enjoying it. My life has been full of adventure, and I am sure it will continue to be. Sometimes it is nice to just be in it instead of contemplating the darn thing all the time.

San Antonio

Erik, the gals and I went to San Antonio this weekend. We thought it would be a great learning experience for ALL of us, and a nice prelude to our big trip to Philadelphia and Jersey in June. The girls were fabulous. They slept through the night, napped well, and had a good time eating different food. We stayed at a Marriot Residence Inn, which is perfect for families. The room had a kitchen equipped with an oven, toaster, and even a dishwasher. Also, there were two bedrooms, so the girls stayed in one room, and we had our own. Last time we went away Erik and I had to eat take out in the hallway leading to the bathroom, whispering in the dark, as the girls slept, so two rooms was a nice change of pace! We even got to watch a movie (Slumdog Millionaire...awesome). Of course before we left I read Zagat's, so I knew exactly where I wanted to eat lunch and dinner during our stay.

The first night we hit the river walk. The river walk is GREAT!!! The riverwalk is a meandering, cobblestone walkway with waterfalls, the occasional duck, beautiful trees and restaurants along a natural river that runs through San Antonio. Most of the places are kinda touristy, but there are also some great restaurants along the river. Plus, it is great to eat on the water and people watch. We walked along the river with the stroller until we had to keep picking the darn thing up. There are lots of steps, bridges, and bumpy crevices along the pathway. Plus, some parts of it are narrow...not fun with a stroller at all. The next night we walked along the street above and took an elevator down to where we needed to be. It was a lot more pleasant.
The first night we ate at Boudros, a Texas bistro. It was wonderful. The gals had grilled fish with fries and veggies that came with a remoulade. We all ate guacamole prepared table side which was delicious. They smoked their own serranos and added fresh squeezed orange, something I never thought of adding before. Orange juice added a great citrusy punch to the guac. The girls loved watching the waitress prepare the guacamole tableside as well. Also, while eating on the river they saw their first ducks. Boudros has a barge that people can eat on, as they float and ride around (how fun!). Our table was right next to the barge. The girls loved watching the boat bob, sway, and take off. I ordered duck three ways. It came with a duck confit eggroll, which I gave to the girls because I was not in the mood for it. There was also a roasted leg with a cherry sauce. It was AMAZING, fall off the bone good. The third duck was chopped in a Lousiana style red sauce that had a spicy bite. Amara actually was grabbing it and eating the duck straight off my plate. Erik ordered a chicken chop with avocado rissoto. He gave me a perfect bite, yum. We all had a wonderfully relaxing night.
The next day we got lunch from Texas Farm to Table. Texas Farm to Table is a place that has boxed lunches made with mostly local products. The ham in Maya and Amara's sandwich was made in New Braunfels, it was a thick, juicy slab o' meat and really smoky. There sandwich came with on think slices of bread with lots of roasted red peppers and melted swiss cheese. I got the vegie sandwich which was carrots, zucchini, hummus, chive cream cheese and mushrooms on whole wheat toast, and Erik got grilled chicken with more of those roasted peppers. The sandwiches came with pasta salad and fruit. I was disappointed that Erik and the gals' sandwich seemed like the same thing with different meats added, but they were both tasty. Furthermore, on the website it said the packaging the lunches came in were compostable, but it was the same old plastic containers with the "2" on the back of em'. Oh well. Lunch was easy and healthy, and that suited us just fine.
We ate in Hemis Fair Park near the playground. The playground was kinda nasty. There was lots of garbage in the mulch and three bums chilling out on the park benches. I wished it was cleaner because it had some fun looking mazes and slides to explore. The park was created for a World's Fair. There were interesting looking man-made waterfalls. We also checked out the Alamo. It was right next to the hotel. The mission and church of the Alamo were quite beautiful, despite all the death that occured there.
Our second and last night in San Antonio we ate at Acenar. Before we left my friend, Jenn, told us to check out the restaurant in Hotel Valencia. I picked Acenar because it had a high food rating in Zagats. I had no idea it was in Hotel Valencia, go Jenn! Hotel Valencia actually housed Citrus as well, another really cool looking restaurant, as well as a very happening looking lounge. Acenar was a bit off the beaten path; towards the business district and away from all the other restaurants. We loved it! It was a modern Tex-Mex menu, with baby goat and slow roasted pork on the menu. The salsa came in a fluted glass vase. It was not too spicy and had a great, smoky flavor, addictive. I was not too impressed with the wine menu...it contained Woodbridge (a turn off for sure), but they had prosecco (sparkling Italian wine), so I was happy. Erik drank about three of the fresh lime juice margaritas. For the girls we ordered mushroom crepes that came with an avocado creme as well as the empanadas. The crepes were made with cornmeal. They were simple and perfect for the glas. The empanadas had an extremely spicy sauce on it, which would not come off. I wish they put it on the side, since I was even having issues with how spicy it was. I was boring and ordered fish tacos, but Erik got gulf blue crab tinga tacos. Tinga means it is sauted with onions, tomatos, and garlic. His tacos were juicy, filled with heaps of crab, and straight up delicious we loved them.
On our way out of San Antonio Erik got breakfast tacos at Torres Taco Heaven. He got the chorizo, egg, and potato taco, as well as the ground beef or pico taco. Both tacos came on homemade flour tortilla. The beef, as Erik tells me, is all about the flavoring. For me tacos are all about the tortilla, if it is not homemade...yuck. The beef was tangy and well seasoned, the chorizo, soft and not too spicy, and the tortillas did not get soggy. Yum. Oh, and of course on the way back I had to stop in Luling for the que'. I got myself a meat sampler of ribs, sausage and of course, brisket at Luling City Market. This place is the real deal. You get your meat in the back, by the smokers. It comes in brown paper, with some sliced onion and a pickle if you ask for it. If you really want sides you gotta purchase that at the front. Erik actually said it was the best sausage he ever had, a lofty statement coming from the meat-loving man. It was pretty damn tasty. The ribs had a perfect crust, and the brisket was thick and did not need any sauce. Luling is known as one of the best places for bbq in the country, damn straight. It would make a vegetarian a meat eater. The shit was no friggin joke.
One pound on the scale later we are back and getting in the swing of our lives again. I love road trips and am happy that we now have the confidence to take them with the gals.

Reef restaurant

This past weekend Erik and I went out to dinner at Reef restaurant. I was incredibly excited to try Reef. Bon Appetit magazine named the number one seafood restaurant in the country, an incredibly lofty statement. Bryan Caswell, the chef, has worked for Jean Georges and it shows. Reef uses seasonal ingredients and locally sources his fish. I wish more places would start doing this. Plus, Bryan Caswell, the chef and owner, gets his fish from Airline Seafood on Shepherd. Airline Seafood has beautiful, gleaming, fresh fish mostly from local resources.
Reef is reminiscent of the ocean. Along one wall is relaxing white waves. The candles and light fixtures almost reminded me of coral. Additionally, the tables are made of mother of pearl, mimicking white sand and the wine cellar almost reminded me of being encased in an aquarium. The whole vibe of the place was completely transporting.
Reef has really interesting fish selections, like sea bream, tile fish, and amberjack. There was even something his friend caught in a spearfishing competition that he drove over to the restaurant because he wanted it to be on the menu, how cool!
The bread, which kind of reminded me of the stuff you get at bbq joints, was a white, mini burger roll looking thing that came with jalapeno jelly (so Texas). I loved the idea of the jelly, but I wish the bread was a bit more refined for such an amazing place. The jelly was great though.
We ordered the kanzuri cured yellow tail in cucumber water. The waitress told us that kanzuri is a chili paste from the mountains of Japan where the peppers have been exposed to the snow. I was really excited to try it. When the dish came I immediately dipped my piece of fish in the paste. It was a bit over powering. I liked it better with a smidgeon of the paste and the cucumber water. The dish was light and had really bright flavors. It was a perfect start to a meal.
For our main dishes we ordered redfish on the half shell with fried macaroni and collard greens and asparagus tips dressed with what tasted like asian fish oil as well as the grilled scallops with the truffle polenta and mushroom ragout. We also ordered a side dish of the fries with the Sriracha Remoulade because it was listed on the 100 Southern foods you must have before you die...and let me tell you that list was RIGHT!
The food took about an hour to arrive. I was starting to get cranky and give our server the hairy eyeball towards the end. I like to linger and enjoy my meal, but we felt a bit forgotten about.
The fried macaroni and cheese was divine. It came out in a square surrounded by a crispy bread crust, so each bit had crunch to it. The collard greens were perfectly salty and sweet. The redfish was OK though. It was seasoned well, with traditional Lousianan spices, but it was just a tad overcooked. The fish was moist, but not as much as it should have been considering how fresh it was. It came with the scales in tact, which is why it says its on the half shell. All in all I expected a bit more from the fish. The grilled scallops were also OK. They were excpetionally fresh, bit I wanted more of a nice, grilled crust on the outside. They were a little soft. The polenta was nice, but I did not taste truffle. I enjoyed the meal, but perhaps other dishes may have been better. The fries and Sriracha Remoulade were phenonmenal. I wanted to like the dish (I am not kidding). I am on a mission to replicate the dip which I think was a combination of oil and egg (mayonnaise) combined with sriracha, lime, and salt, heaven.
Overall is was a good dining experience. I want to go back and try the mussels and crab cake. Supposedly one of the soux chefs that created the recipe is from Baltimore, so that crab cakes gotta be good. Erik and I will be back to give it another chance. There were many dishes on the menu that sounded interesting, plus I gotta have that remoulade again. Go.

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My new food idea and lamb stew with papperdele recipe

I have been trying to figure out how to incorporate food onto the blog...you know since it is called "The Kitchen Table and all. The list with what my family was eating for the week did not work. Since I am technologically inept it just ended up pissing me off. Instead I will experiment with adding a few recipes a week that my family particularly loved. Many friends ask for recipes and have questions about what my wee ones like to eat...so I will post that on the blog as well. Oh, and my agave nectar recipes too, for those that want some yummy, somewhat healthy (sometimes really healthy actually) sweet treats that you will NOT feel guilty about eating. AND to overwelm you just a bit more I thought I may also write about all my great food finds as they occur (just in case you are interested).

This week I made a really great, warming lamb stew. For the past few weeks in Houston it has been HOT, at about 80 degrees. This past week it was COLD at about 48 degrees (I have become such a wimp!), especially after we started to get used to the warm weather. The lamb stew was perfect for a cold, rainy Friday night. It was one of those stick to your ribs meals. Yum. Oh, and I got the recipe from Everyday Pasta by Giada (one of my favorite chefs).

Lamb Stew with Papperdele (this recipe fed 3 people). We drank a nice, hunky malbec with this. It went well.

Papperdele is a thick, wide pasta. I sops up juices very nicely. Giada says fresh pasta is best, but my market did not have any and the dry was still delicious. Also, cipploini onions are sooo yummy. They are super sweet. Maya ate them plain. If I had a restaurant cippolini would be a name I'd contemplate for it. It is such a cool word, cippolini.

tablespoon or so of olive or grapeseed oil
1 pound of lamb sirloin (ask your butcher to cut it into 1 and half to 2 inch pieces. Also you can use boneless leg of lamb. I found sirloin easier because it was already trimmed of the fat and cheaper too).
2 tablespoons of flour (white or whole wheat...you just need enough to coat the lamb).
2 pieces of garlic minced
1/4 cup of dry red wine wine
1 3/4 cup of beef broth
1/2 14 ounce can of diced tomato with the juice
1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 carrot cut into one inch pieces
9 cippolini onions
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 package of papperdele
two tablespoons of parsley
1 1/2 tablespoon of butter
1/8 (or more) cup of parmesean cheese (freshly grated)

Leave the lamb out to rest for about 15 minutes while you prep everything. I usually prep, by the way, when my daughters are sleeping. If your kids are awake give them some mixing bowls and spatulas to play with. If you do not kids, open up that bottle of wine your are going to use and pour yourself a hefty glass. Shit, if you do have kids pour yourself an even heftier glass!

Salt and pepper the lamb. Add the oil to a heavy sauce pan. Coat the lamb in a bowl with the flour. Brown the meat, about 5 minutes or less a side. Take the meat out and add the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about a minute. Add the wine and get those nice brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce to half then add the broth. Add the lamb back into the pan. Let lamb cook with lid slightly open for an hour. Meanwhile boil some water and add the cippolini onions. Cook for about 2 minutes. Take the onions out with a slotted spoon. When they cool peel off the outer layer and cut off the stringy parts. After the lamb cooks for an hour add the onions and carrots and cook for 25 minutes more with the lid off. Meanwhile boil a pot of slated water. Boil the pasta, if dry, for about 9 minutes. When the pasta is done toss it with the parm and the butter. When plating use bowls. Add the pasta, pour a little stew over the papperdele, and sprinkle some pasta on top. Enjoy!!!!

Boob feeding

Four days ago I finished breast feeding Maya and Amara. I thought when I'd be done it would be a relief, but I am actually kind of sad. Breast feeding was beautiful. It gave me a whole new perspective on life. Being a woman and being able to provide for one's children on that level...there is nothing else like it. Literally, I gave the girls my self. Woman who do it are rock stars.
Initially breast feeding was not easy. In fact, breast feeding the girls was one of the hardest things I have ever done (aside from birthing them). Women do not usually talk about how hard breast feeding is at first. Many women cannot handle it. Breast feeding, plus new babies mixed with a huge jolt of hormones is just too much. I was determined to feed them. Nothing was going to stop me, not burning nipples, blisters, leakage ALL over the house, or the occasional clogged duct.
The first few months were incredibly difficult. In the middle of the night my breasts would start burning horribly. The only thing that would help relieve the pain was hot water. I showered twice a day with the hottest water my body would allow pounding on my poor, sore boobies. It felt like they were almost frost-bitten, but instead of fingers and toes it was mammary glands. Before I fed the girls I would put my boobs in a measuring cup of hot water and stand by the kitchen window into my neighbors horribly ugly backyard. I did this 6 or more times in a 24 hour period. Around this time the blisters on my nipples started. I had to make twice the amount of milk, so my boobs were incredibly full (I mean bigger than Dolly Parton...not sexy at all REALLY, plus Erik could not touch them because of the PAIN, so fellas get that idea out of your head...it was not AWESOME). There was no relief to the blisters because the girls were constantly sucking on where they were. As I fed them I would scream out in pain and cry. It felt like torture. Most people would have stopped feeding their children at this point. I kept on going. We bought heating pads. I used those heat packets and walked around with them in my bra all day (because the burning thing started to occur during the day too). When my boob would get clogged I learned another type of pain. Clogged boob is when the milk cannot come out, it gets stuck, and it is not comfortable. I would have to vigourously massage the boob as the girls would suck the milk out. When my boob unclogged milk would spew out of me like a gyser.
At about 4 months it got better, but it took that long. The girls became better feeders. It got to the point where I could just lay down. They would crawl up, nuzzle in to me and feed. All that crap I went through was totally worth those moments when the three of us would cuddle together as they fed. It was heaven. The most natural thing in the world happening since humankind began. It got so much easier. I am so glad that I trudged through all that bad stuff because in the end it was wonderful, that connection...unexplainable. I am proud to. Pretty cool. I will miss it.

My intention (or there lack of)

I am trying to figure out what the intention of my blog is. What do I want to get out of it? Where are my posts going. Lately I have been really hesitant to write. I even skipped a week. It felt more...public. I wrote the post about my whole "smelling" experience and someone got offended. It made me feel...like I had to be careful. Edited. It is really hard for me to feel edited. It is just not in my nature, but I also do not want to hurt people. Plus, at the time it was the only, "comment" to speak of...that just seemed like bad mojo. I even made one of my best friends and husband write a comment to make the one really bad one seem better. Sad huh? I had no idea the woman I wrote about even found me. I am not even sure how.
My writing is just beginning, again, and I am really new at the whole blog thing. I know I have to be mindful of my subject matter and who reads what I write. I know one day when I may be looking for a job my coworker or potential boss may see this, but I have never been the kind of person who "thinks" about what I write or say for that matter...this has gotten me in to trouble numerous times. Erik thinks I should shut this blog down or just write about food on this blog and start another "shadow" blog anonymously, so I may write FUCK as much as I want.
I want this blog to be my truth, whatever that may be in the moment. Sometimes I will write about food or a great restaurant (or not so great) or an awesome meal I made or ate, but sometimes I will write about my fears, issues, memories, or whatever is in my heart at that moment. So, the subject of the blog, for the moment, will be "my truth". It is my special place where I get to explore the different aspects of who I am. It is public for all to see. Sometimes I tell people I have a blog and blush...I am not sure if what I have to say has any relevance to others, but I am also not sure that really matters. I have to be OK with that.