The girls and I made Beloved a coffee cake for Father's Day. I used this recipe, and had checked it yesterday. I looked at what we had in the cabinets, and surmised that I had everything I needed. Yet, when it came to the eggs, I panicked, thinking "I don't think we have any!" We did. We had 3 (needed 3). Then it came time for the sour cream, and I had thought yesterday "oh, we just used dollops of that on our tacos the other night, surely there's 1 1/4 cups left" - there wasn't. There was probably 4/5ths of a cup. So then I had to research substitutions. To get 1 cup of substitution of sour cream, you need 7/8th cup of buttermilk, and 3 t's of butter. In order to make buttermilk, you need 3/4 a cup of milk plus 2 t's of vinegar. I asked E to come figure out the fractions for me - b/c I needed 1/3 cup of buttermilk. Not 3/4, not 1. 1/3. I needed to know how many t's of vinegar for THAT? She couldn't really figure out the proper starting place. So I did it.

Okay, fine. The batter came out great, we got the cake in the oven. A quick check, though, showed it was a little darker than I thought it should be after 20 minutes (of 55). I looked and thought perhaps the oven was running HOT, b/c last night, when Beloved did the dishes, he left a pot cover over the burner that serves as the vent. So no heat was escaping. Then I realized not only that, but the little dot that I thought was 375, was actually the little dot for 400. Shit.

I think it's okay, though. It's out of the oven now, and cooling. Yeah it's sort of dark around the edges. But. Whatever.

The girls made him cards last night. When they really put their time into making cards, they make masterpieces. E's is like a little scrapbook, and she did a pastel drawing of a sunset on a beach that came out really gorgeous (I may photograph it later and post it).

Now I have to get them to call X.

This is where Father's Day causes angst for my kids. They don't like doing it toward 2 people. They feel/understand/know that they have TWO people to honor on this day, but they wish they could just pick one. But they don't know who to pick. X is their "father" - duh. But Beloved is a huge part of their lives, and plays the role of "dad" 350 days a year. And honestly, he does it a lot better than X.

Well, we're gonna eat coffee cake, and then the girls and I are going to the Town pool. They asked yesterday, and I thought, "I think they can go on their own" (it's 3 blocks away). Then I thought, "Oh! Wait! I am no longer unhappy with my body to the point of not putting on a bathing suit! *I* can go swimming! I can do laps! I can have fun!" So ... I'm going, too.

I was going to go to the gym this a.m., too, but when I got up at 7, I thought calling to see what their Sunday hours are would be a good idea. They opened at noon. Glad I didn't bike over. Since I was going to swim today, I just did some sit ups, push ups and weights here at home.

After the pool, the girls will either a) do something with Beloved, or b) get kicked out to the park with their roller blades and soccer balls while I sit here studying for the fucking bar exam.

Fucking bar exam. I hate you.

Labels: *E*, *J*, beloved, cooking, Father's Day, swimming, X, Zuska the Dork

posted by Zuska @ 12:06 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I cooked! It was great!

As anyone who's ever read this blog before knows, my husband is the cook of the house.

I have had failed attempts, thwarted attempts, and pathetic attempts at cooking since he took the throne.

Today was a successful attempt.

I was annoyed with myself last week for taking the easy way out (even though it ended up delicious and fantastic and hit every one's spots) and I resolved that tonight, I would cook a real meal.

And I did!! I made "Pork Chops Stuffed with Feta and Spinach" and it was really really really good. I also created my own salad (not too creative, don't get your hopes up) with tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic (oh boy, GARLIC), olive oil and a wee splash of balsamic vinegar. Oh, and basil.

Basically, it was all the yummy-ness of bruschetta without the carbs.

It rocked.

The whole dinner rocked.

Wanna know why?

Because I rock.

So there.

Let me know if you want the recipe - I looked for it on line to link to, but couldn't find it. I got it from my Cooking Light Magazine, and am not inclined to make like Beloved and type it out (I think he only types things out when he changes them, anyway), lest someone be fooled into bookmarking my blog thinking it's a FOOD blog, which --- ha!!!

But if you want, I post. I type super-fast.

Labels: beloved, cooking

posted by Zuska @ 9:59 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Because I am, after all, a grown up

I did do work after my last post. I read 2 assignments and wrote a short paper. Not too shabby for a lazy-sloth-like-being, eh?

It is my turn to "cook" tonight. See the quotes? That means, "it's my turn to go and pick up some prepared foods at Trader Joe's."

Tonight's lazy-ass meal -- a roasted chicken (perhaps 2, they're little, and we like our chicken), pita, hummus, tabouli, and if I can find some - yogurt mint cucumber sauce.

Beloved just rolls his eyes at me. Why oh why, when I only have 2 nights/week that I'm responsible for am I so very pathetic? I am, really, so very pathetic.

Thursday? It's my other night to "cook." Beloved works into the evening, and the girls and I are going to the play (I'm actually working at it ... my kids aren't in it that night), so I'm fairly certain I'll take the Qs out for sushi.

If I can get my shit together, I really could COOK on T/Th. I could plan a meal, do the shopping, and actually take out some pots and pans. The problem is I need to carve out time to go through recipes. This is where I fall short - this is what I can't find within myself. The ideas, the planning. I am done with class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. I certainly have time to shop and cook.

Other than complaining about my lack of domesticity, tonight will be an exciting evening. IN the works: American Idol and LAUNDRY!!

The only good thing about hte laundry is that it will be primarily the girls' stuff tonight (with a few of my stinky gym clothes thrown in for good measure), which means they fold, they put the crap away. Which is yet another of my flaws .... I never put laundry away. I have 2 stacks of folded laundry next to my bed, b/c I washed it, I dried it, and I folded it. I just didn't put it away.

Oh yeah, and I have a laundry basket with another load of clean clothes that I did NOT fold.

Pathetic.

Or, perhaps, just in need of some domestic assistance. Next year, Zuska, next year.

Labels: cooking, housework, laundry, law school

posted by Zuska @ 4:01 PM 1 comments

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Hoping the Motrin Will Kick In

What a crazy busy day that is almost over even though it feels like I just got up.

E did great in the spelling bee this a.m.! There were 50 kids, from all 8 schools in the city/town. She came in 11th. She lasted longer than I expected her to, and I feel like a horrible mother to say such a thing. I know she's a strong speller with an excellent vocabulary, and we had spent most of our time working on her weakest area - teaching her to go slow, and picture the word in her mind. Because if she didn't, she'd skip entire syllables, just from going quickly.

I thought, though, that she was going up against people who were taking this a hell of a lot more seriously than we were (because E really didn't want to - she had low practice tolerance, and wasn't that interested in becoming a Spelling Bee Zombie).

Now that we're on the other side -- I don't think that was the case at all. I think most people were in it for fun. Some kids got out on simple words, some on harder words. There didn't seem to be too much hand-wringing, and I saw little to no tears when people got out.

I was proud of E's performance. She was, too. She got out on the word "procession." When she first sat down, she was in very good spirits, and said she felt good about how she did (she survived probably 7 or 8 rounds). She got more and more agitated, though, as the remaining rounds were full of words she knew. A friend of hers (the last from our school, E was the second to last from our school on stage) got out on "acquaintance" and I asked E "do you know this word?" and she said yes. Her friend dropped the first "c," though, and I asked E if she would have gotten that "c," and she said no, she really wouldn't have.

Later, after her irritation at the easier words (like "monitor"), she said she felt good at the 4th round, like that was far enough to believe "I am smart" and she knew she'd be fine with getting out at any point after that. I think 9 kids were cleared on that round.

We brought a friend of J's home with us from the Bee, and we fed them, and had some calls back and forth with her mom to plan what was next --- I ended up taking the 3 girls to a play being put on by the group the girls often are a part of. They took the winter off because of the school play.

The girls were great and happy and the play was fine - but starting when we walked out the door to the play, I had a headache brewing. At the half-way of the play, my head started to feel like it would surely explode. I came home and tried to rest, but J is coughing like mad - a deep chest cough full of gunk, and I had to stop resting in order to find and administer child-appropriate medication.

Beloved acquired a Greek cookbook at the library yesterday, and the smells comign from the kitchen have my stomach scrambling to get out of my body so it can go be with the food. Man, does it smell fantastic. I can't wait for dinner.

Labels: beloved, cooking, food, kids, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 7:22 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I'm not completely inept

As anyone who reads regularly knows, my husband is the cook in our house. He does a great job, is adventurous in his cooking, and often pleases all of the famberly with his creations.

Every now and then, I like to make a go of it myself in the kitchen. Now that I'm done working full time and have a decent school schedule, I told him I will cook on Tuesdays and Thursdays.* He works on those days, and it seems fair. I also can pick the girls up early on those days, and they're fun to plan and cook with.

Yesterday was the first of my scheduled cooking days. I didn't know what I was going to cook until approx. 11 a.m. that day - which just proves that Beloved and I share zero genetic material. He plans out all the meals on the weekend, and does his shopping all at once. I know that's the right way to do it - but I can't do it that way, and never could. It's part of why I so willingly abdicated the realm of the kitchen to his rule.

I made a sirloin steak with oven roasted potatoes and fresh green beans. What made the meal a hit was the Tarragon Garlic Sauce. It was drizzled (or rather, plopped) on the steak and potatoes, and seemed to be a hit for the girls as well as Beloved. Today, the sauce served as salad dressing on my steak salad.

I enjoyed cooking last night - it went well. J. helped by prepping the beans, and I had all my timing right (another reason why I often suck at cooking --- things are NEVER ready at the same time). Beloved did help to assure me that the steak was properly cooked toward the end of the process, but he didn't have to step in and take over (like he has on past occasions).

I did think, however, that it would have gone great with a glass of wine. Damn.

*Oftentimes, because Beloved works late on Thursdays, I "cook" by saying to the girls, "who's in the mood for sushi!!??" Or, "hey, let's go to Chef Chow's tonight!" Thereby forcing my darling beloved to fend for himself when he gets home later in the evening. But we always have leftovers, so I know he's fine. Tomorrow is one of these times --- the girls and I are going out for sushi.

Labels: cooking

posted by Zuska @ 1:04 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

muuuuch better

Last night I stopped what I was doing at 10:30 p.m., and went to SLEEP!! I got up at 5:15, went for a run, and now I'm getting in the shower at 6:30.

I had a productive evening - I am slightly surprised, b/c toward the end of the day at work, I was having to map out (on paper) everything I was reading in order to comprehend the words. If I didn't write things down, I would find myself 3 pages in without any clue as to what I had just read. I have a super-duper lot to do this week, and potentially not enough time to do it. Bringing things home is not an option, with the Solstice prep that is going on around here.

When I got home, however, I hit a 2nd wind. First of all, the book I made for my parents came in, and it's GORGEOUS. I am very happy with the quality. VERY HAPPY. That put me in a good mood. Then I cleaned up the kitchen from the night before, then I took my first two loads of laundry down, then I came upstairs and started cooking dinner, then as it was simmering, I ran down and brought the second two loads of laundry down, then i came up and served the family, then we ate, then I ran downstairs and put the second two loads in the dryer, brought the first two loads up and dumped them on the floor for the kids to fold,

Then I locked myself in my room, and got 2/3ds of e.'s scrapbook completed.

Tonight: stop on the way home to pick up a frame for e.'s gift to her sister and some supplies from an art store; then complete e.'s gift, and wrap them both.

ugh.

Labels: cooking, holidays, housework, life

posted by Zuska @ 6:23 AM 1 comments

Monday, December 04, 2006

While Watching Studio 60 ...

They're doing a Christmas show. It's funny.

I am very glad that blogger put the damned stuff back on top. The quote-thing, and the link thing, and the little bullet point list thing.

The family bought me presents!! I love them. This is what I got:

New Wine Glasses (8!!! of them!!) (I broke all my old ones);
A New Necklace;
New Earrings;
A Novel;
Bose in-ear earphones!! Woo hoo!! My iPod is a NEW CREATION, I tell you, a NEW CREATION.
Also, Beloved made me a delicious chocolate cake.

And many people called me, b/c they love me.

And I got work this afternoon, and it was a rush, and a little frantic, and I was *happy*!! (for 1.8 hours).

Tomorrow is Beloved's turn. I suck. He made me Chicken Marsala and my favorite squash and a cake and all - he went shopping and cooked. Tomorrow? We're gettin' burgers. At a *restaurant.* And then, we're having sundaes. Meaning I have to buy ice cream. And fudge, which I will heat up. And I will buy nuts, and sprinkle them on top.

Do you see the disparities?

But it's what he said he WANTED!! I would do anything he wanted. And this is what he said.

I think he just knows my limits. He doesn't want to push them, b/c if he does, he's gonna have to eat, like, charcoal on his birthday. heh.

Labels: beloved, co-op, cooking, life

posted by Zuska @ 10:18 PM 1 comments

Thursday, November 23, 2006

what our day looks like

as i have said, this is my ex's year to have the girls for thanksgiving. he is a little closer this year, so we drove them to a meeting point yesterday. i believe they've only spent one other thanksgiving with him in the past, b/c he couldn't get time off, or whatever. in 2004, however, they did spend it with him, but since he was further, and they needed to fly, they took the whole week off from school. at least e. is getting a little too old now to take time off casually, which is why we did the exchange yesterday.

since beloved and i have been together, we take our holiday without the girls for an "us" day. we have tried different versions in the past - we've done jammies all day watching movies in bed eating take out and partaking in questionably illegal relaxation methods, we have gone out to eat, we have cooked, but non-traditionally, and we have shared the day with my sis, back in CA when she lived with us, and watched movies and cooked way too much food. that time was kidn of fun - we each cooked 3 appetizers, and that was our dinner. i believe it was christmas, and sis's son was with his dad, and my kids were with their dad, and so we were just 3 mellow adults.

this year, though, i said i wanted us to cook. i wanted to still have the holiday together (as in, alone), b/c it's not something we get too often. we are spending christmas at my parents' house, and even though we were in their neighborhood yesterday and could have easily stayed for thanksgiving dinner, we really wanted our time for us. but i didn't want take out in bed, b/c that was, quite frankly, a wee depressing for me. even though i try to buck tradition sometimes, i am an oldest child from new england - i'm a bit of a traditionalist. there's no escaping it. blood and all that.

so we're cooking! beloved is brining the turkey, and as soon as i get off my lazy ass and stop posting, i am peeling potatoes (white and sweet) to get going on my 2 mashed potato recipes - one cheesy and one glazed in brown sugar. sweet potato brulee, they call it. i already made the cranberry sauce, and he's going to do the gravy and stuffing and the veggie. i was going to make dessert, but uh, i bought ice cream instead.

we were thinking of eating at 2, b/c i love mid-day meals on holidays, but since we didn't wake up until 10, that was changed. i find that another fun thing about our laid back holiday (i.e., no company coming, nowhere that we have to be) - we can be flexible like this.

we woke at 10, lay on the couch watching the wet Macy's Parade, and then we suited up to go out into hte practically-freezing rain and go for some pre-feast exercise (although last night's dinner with my parents made it so that it was also post-feast). i did my usual route, but was slow thanks to the weather.

we are now planning on eating by 6.

we were still goign to do our movie marathon. we rented 2 from the video store, and were expecting 2 from netflix. but netflix did not deliver, and we are slightly (or more) disappointed.

beloved was in charge of a classic and a foreign, and i was in charge of a "big dumb" and a creepy. i chose Wicker Man (the original, not the recent one), and Mission Impossible III (i refused to go to the theater to see Tom Cruise when this came out, but I can't wait to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman - i LOVE LOVE LOVE him - as the bad guy). MI III is the one we have, Wicker Man did not arrive (jerk). Beloved chose Diabolique as the foreign (which seems like it will be creepy, too, so that's good), and Sunset Boulevard for the classic, but that one also didn't arrive (jerk).

we are on hte fence about whether or not we can watch a movie while the bird cooks. it's a little bird (10 pounds), and while beloved keeps saying it will be in hte oven for 3 hours, i think it may surprise us and be done in 2, and i'll need to do my taters.

we'll see.

hope everyone's having yummy foods and good fun.

[google docs intrigues me, so i'm trying to create this post on google docs, and then i will publish it to my blog. this would be useful for me in settings where i do not want people to know i have a blog. such as, school, or eventually, work.]

Labels: beloved, cooking, holidays, movies

posted by Zuska @ 2:16 PM 0 comments

Monday, November 20, 2006

my first day off

today was mostly spent on the field trip.

i know that i recently was begging for colder weather,

but .... uh ....

i could have appreciated it more if it came, oh, say, tomorrow?

we went to this wolf sanctuary in far-off town in our state. we all sat outside, on this wooden deck, under an awning. the sun was not out. we just came off this stretch of 60 degree weather, and while almost everyone had on their warmest winter coat, and almost everyone had gloves .... we didn't have all the fixins, and we needed them. i wished i brought my beautiful wool indian scarf that beloved bought me last year. i was so cold. all the kids were so cold.

but we all survived. and the kids all got to fake-howl, and they made the wolves howl, and it was cool.

the bus driver we had was a bit of a trip. he got lost. several times. we crossed the charles river SIX TIMES today - 5 of them on the way there. we should have crossed ONCE. hello? how can you get paid to drive people around the state, and not know your way out of the city in which you LIVE? i mean, come ON. i guess considering the taxi drivers that i have been subject to, i should not be surprised. but i was. b/c my kid was in the very back seat, and i was in the third seat from the front, and this guy's ignorance made it entirely possible that we would be separated .... permanently.

we did return safely to the school, and the kids went back to school, and i went home "to go for a run" and instead, i fell asleep on the couch.

but then i went for a fun walk into town to buy a bunch of bottles of wine and such for the holiday.

and then i picked up the kids.

really, i had so little responsibility today - it felt great. i was a rider on the bus. the kids were the focus, and i was just there to keep people from getting hurt and/or lost.

tomorrow (day off #2 -- let's see how much i accomplish)

1) go for a run
2) go get my driver's license
3) go to social security office to change my name (i.e., erase married name)
4) go to school to submit my writing requirement
5) go to town hall in my town to apply for new passport b/c of stupid old married name and me wanting to get married in Canada in approx 2 months;
6) go get my hair CHOPPED OFF
7) go home and cook a roast
8) pick up kids
9) finish the damned roast
10) eat with the fam
11) make muffins with the kidlets
12) sleep? maybe? hopefully?

This is a day OFF??

Labels: cooking, family, food, marriage, parenting, wedding

posted by Zuska @ 8:13 PM 1 comments

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Post-Exam Weekend

i ended up downloading Grey's Anatomy, but have not watched it yet. i fell asleep on the couch on Friday afternoon as it downloaded, and have been spending time with the kids since then.

it's been a nice, restful weekend thus far. we went to a pizza party with e.'s soccer team on friday evening, and while e. hung out with other 11 and 12 year olds, j. played with one of their little sisters, and i sat and chatted with moms (one of which i have a history of large amounts of dislike toward, but am trying to get over it, b/c i am no longer the one who is on the verge of middle school). i thought we'd be there for an hour, and instead we were there for two. it was nice, though.

yesterday i brought the girls for haircuts, and they look adorable, then j. had a "playdate" and e. and i drove into downtown (scary!!) to get her the next size cello. it's not only shoes and pants that she is outgrowing.

and then the day was over. whoosh!!

we spent the evening watching Road to Morocco with the kids, and then Gosford Park without. i liked Gosford Park (not that i didn't like the other - but i'd seen it before).

today we have NOTHING planned. NOTHING. we've talked about perhaps going for a walk, and j. likes the idea, but e. does not. we're all still in jammies right now, and i really am not too anxious to change that. i have made my shopping list for a roast i'm making for Tuesday, some muffins i'm making for the girls' "family breakfasts" on wednesday, and for thanksgiving - for which i'm making: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.

i think this week's food bill is going to be around $500. jeez.

Labels: cooking, holidays, home, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 11:42 AM 0 comments

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Finally, success

i cooked tonight. moroccan salmon. it came really really good. i served it over couscous, and the girls didn't like that so much, but they ate all their salmon, and their tomatoes, and their red peppers. i thought it was great, and didn't realize that i like couscous.

beloved wasn't home, b/c he works late on Thursdays, so he didn't get to enjoy it with us. i don't know if he'll have some when he gets home or not. which sucks, b/c i hate to keep leftover fish, and there's a good bit left over. damn.

Labels: cooking, food

posted by Zuska @ 8:26 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

twice-failed experiment

i didn't post on this last week, b/c i was feeling so defeated. as i posted some time ago, beloved's return to the work force made it so that every now and then, i have to cook. I knew that it was a good thing for me, and for the family in general, and i went on and on about how much i don't LIKE to cook, how I'm not GOOD at cooking, and so forth.

My first few endeavors, however, turned out quite well. But then, starting last week ... not so much.

I don't think I'm just making excuses to blame my failures on circumstances. The stew recipe that I made was the result of much perusing of recipes and magazines. The latkes (even though they weren't the best I've made) came from years of experience and trial and error.

Then, the end of my quarter neared. It was time for me to come up with a recipe or two, b/c beloved was on the way out the door to shop. he gave me plenty of notice and reminders - he is not to be blamed. our shopping routines are as firm as the earth's core, at this point. i know when he goes. but i still found myself immersed in law review article about afghanistan or about evidence rules re: submission of affidavits for summary judgment in negligence cases instead of immersed in magazines and recipes.

And so I grabbed the quickest things I could find that I felt I could throw together into an edible meal.

and twice now, i was wrong.

last week, it was chicken with garlic and soy sauce. There was a LOT of garlic, so I thought, "mmmm, garlic" - my favorite flavor. But it didn't cook that way - the chicken was bland, and dry. It went with these crostinis with beets and goat cheese ... but they actually didn't go together so well, even though the crostinis were yummy.

tonight was my turn again, and i had this pesky thing called a tax exam until 4 p.m. or so, and i just could not focus on thinking about food. not that i was 100% focused on the tax exam, but anytime i had to think of cooking or food, the tax exam blocked all those thoughts, and made me think, "ah! i have too much to do! i can't think about food!"

so i picked a crock pot recipe.

i found it on some random website with a list of other crock pot recipes. apricot lemon chicken.

i was a little worried that there wasn't enough liquid (1/4 cup orange juice and the juice of 1 lemon), but beloved assured me that it would be fine. it called for dried apricots chopped up, which we had, b/c they're a favorite snack of mine. but beloved got this kind that were ... uh, no sulfur? no SOMETHING, and instead of being apricot colored, they're dark brown/blackish. of course it doesn't affect the taste, so it's usually fine.

however. in a crockpot, all day long (admittedly longer than the recipe actually called for, since i left the house at 8 and was not home until 5ish, but couldn't serve until beloved and e. got home, both some time after 6), the sulfur-free apricots turned everything, well, black. including the lemons.

and it did cook too long. there was a slight singed smell when j. and i got home.

i thought it was fine, though, and when the girls whined about being starved before Beloved got home, i served them some chicken and some green beans, and told them to eat. i was waiting for him, but they couldn't - or else they would have just perished from starvation.

it took them a long time to eat. e. looked sort of pukey. and tearful. so i told her if she didn't knock it off, she had to eat triple the amount.

when it came time for beloved and i to eat, we approached the girls' plates, and saw the overcooked leathery outsides of the chicken breasts pushed to one side, and looks of dread on their faces at the thought of us making them eat it. they begged for more green beans.

then WE looked pukey. i told them that as a reward for their longsuffering, they could have some halloween candy, which is otherwise disallowed on weeknights b/c it makes them grouchy in the morning, and sort of not able to wake up. but tonight, they ate poops. so they were able to indulge.

and beloved made us pasta and meat sauce. we ate REAL food.

but it is upsetting. i suck!!

i told beloved that i will not yet accept defeat. now that i have no more pressing exams looming --- I will put time into the planning and the search for GOOD recipes again. I do believe that my recipes (yes, two weeks in a row) were defective.

yes, i'll keep telling myself that.

grumble grumble moan groan.

Labels: cooking, life, parenting

posted by Zuska @ 8:28 PM 2 comments

About Me

Name: zuska
Home:
About Me:
See my complete profile