Honey Peach Frozen Yogurt: On getting involved

When I was in graduate school, I got a paid internship position to teach one class at a local Bay area high school.  It was in a beautiful neighborhood, this lovely suburban school, and to be given the opportunity to teach while in graduate school was one of the more coveted positions.  I had very little teaching training under my belt (uh - try 3 months) and the only thing I had going for me was probably my positive attitude and an naivete that thought I could handle anything that came my way.

I look back on that year with a lot of regret and a lot of cringing, because as a first year teacher, I was horrible.  I only had the one class but I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.  The students in my class were of such a random range of abilities that I had no idea how to bridge the gap between those who couldn't and wouldn't write and those for whom writing was easy but were bored with what was happening in class.  Every single day was a new adventure of dread, where I walked in trying to figure out how I was going to get this done.

There is one memory, however that stands out, and it is the memory towards the end of the year.  I think the month must have been around April, and we were working on the final unit of studying ourselves.  I wanted to have a class potluck and have kids bring different foods from their family's files of specialties.  One student, (whose name I will NEVER forget) stood up and said, "I ain't bringing nothing to this stupid potluck."  Immediately I got up and said that she needed to sit down and be respectful or leave.

Another student, (whose name I will also NEVER forget) stood up and got angry and, "If you aren't bringing anything, you sure as hell aren't eating my food."  I quickly shushed her and asked the first girl SB to leave the classroom and go talk to the dean.

SB got up to leave and I helped guide her outside and as I was shutting the door, she suddenly turned with fire in her eyes and pulled the door back open and reached towards and behind me to grab the other female, KF.  Suddenly I was stuck in between the two of them and was dragged out into the corridor.  As the two girls began tearing into each other, I somehow (superhuman fearful strength) managed to wiggle my way out and began screaming at the girls to stop.  At this point both girls had gotten full fledged into the fight.  Several teachers came out into the hall and someone called security but all stood by watching.  My students in the classroom gathered at the window and watched the action with apparent glee as the fight was pretty vicious and crazy. I couldn't stand seeing the girls ripping each other apart so I jumped on the back of SB, who proceeded to smash me against a wall so that I would let go.  (I did.  Because that wall smash HURT despite my layer of fat.)  I continued screaming and trying to get in between the two of them to stop the fight.

It took two security guards (burly ones at that) to break them apart and when they were finally separated, there were bald spots on both girls, both girls had lost their bras, neither of them had shirts with any buttons on them and the scratch marks and bleeding were something out of a cat-gone-feral-on-innocent-people photograph.  I was shell-shocked as both girls were escorted down to the office and I went into the classroom to try and gather my wits and settle the class.

When the class was over, I was shaking and I broke down in tears in my car.   I couldn't imagine what had happened and what had just occurred.  My back ached a bit from being smushed into the wall and my thumb had some tenderness from having the doorknob yanked from my hand.  Desperate for some normalcy, I decided to go and get a cup of coffee from the Starbucks down the hill.  I took inside with me a container of peach yogurt and sat in the corner of the Starbucks eating my peach yogurt and staring at a cup of coffee.

Peach yogurt always reminds me of this event and I still have to smile at my foolishness.  I'm not sure what made me try and break the girls apart, but I know that I wouldn't have been happy being one of those who stood by and watched.  I had to do something and so even if it was a bit foolish, I'm not sorry I got involved. My entire year of teaching is something else entirely, but the moment of getting involved, I'm not sorry.

This peach yogurt is simple to make and delicious to enjoy.  It does have that tartness from the yogurt but it is fat free and totally delicious and a treat.  It's such a lovely treat that it even sweetens a tough memory.

Honey Peach Frozen Yogurt
Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients
3 ripe peaches, peeled and cut into chunks. (about 3 cups of cut fruit and you can use a mix of white and yellow)
¼ cup honey
2 ½ cups Fage Greek yogurt

Method
With a blender or a hand blender, puree peaches. Add, honey and yogurt and puree more.. Pour contents into ice cream maker and turn on for 25 to 30 minutes, until mixture is stiff and bunching into the blades.

Remove all frozen yogurt from ice cream maker and store it in another container. Freeze for an additional 2 hours. Serve.

Printable recipe

Asparagus Turkey Wrap: When your last one goes

Tomorrow is Son's first day of school.  Technically it's nothing more than a meet and greet, see the classroom and talk to other parents, but for all intents and purposes, Son goes to his first day of school.  I have been talking it up, telling him bits and pieces about his school and trying to warm him up to want to go.  He was excited when he heard he was in the "monkey" class, thrilled when he heard he was going to the same school that Sisters had attended and asked if there were going to be many fire trucks in the classroom. I responded most likely.  Son seemed excited, thrilled even to be finally going "somewhere" every single morning instead of being locked in at home every single day.

Only this evening, as I reminded him he might want to wear his "favorite" t-shirt to school tomorrow, and told him that he couldn't wear his crocs to school, he suddenly turned to me, his eyes big and wide (this child actually has bigger eyes than the other two) and said, "Mom.  I don't want to go to school.  I just want to stay at home."  I looked at him, and said, "Why not?  You have been wanting to go.  You begged me to go. Now you don't want to go?"

He looked scared and confused and I reassured him, but inside a little part of me (a VERY little part) wants to keep him home a little bit longer.  I have no doubt that his school is going to be an amazing experience.  (He is only gone 3 hours.)  I love the activities, the curriculum, the action, and all the fun that will be had there.  I know he will too.  But sending him, my last is like cutting that last string of attachment that was once there with all the children.  It is the start of independence.  It is also the start of his education and his road to manhood.  And a part of me sheds a tear.  (a very small part.)

It is also, a NEW PERSON's LUNCH I have to freak out over!!!  Son won't be eating lunch at school daily, but there may be times when he does.  And for that I've been trying to figure out what I could possibly make for him.  Fortunately his school will happily microwave anything that needs to be warmed up so it isn't  a major issue, but I thought I should come up with something else.

I came up with these wraps.  They are kosher (important at Son's school), dairy-free and decently nutritionally balanced.  I like that there is some roughage mixed in with the carbohydrates and a bit of green makes the whole thing prettier.  I don't think it is necessary to cut it (I think Son's words were "I want to eat a WHOLE ONE") but if you like smaller more manageable pieces you can.  They do unroll fairly easily unless grabbed properly, which is why perhaps a small fork stabbed in each one might be helpful.

Asparagus Turkey Wraps
Serves 1

Ingredients
1 tortilla
2 slices of turkey
2 to 3 asparagus spears, trimmed and steamed
olive oil (or mayonnaise)
salt and pepper

Method
Lay tortilla on a flat surface. Layer turkey and asparagus. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of pepper (and salt if you think it is needed. I didn’t need it.) Roll up the tortilla, starting with the part that has the asparagus.

Slice if desired or leave as a large wrap.

Printable recipe

Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake with Raspberry Soaking Syrup: The things you keep in your bed

I think the sort of things that you keep in your bed and next to your bed are interesting ways to learn about a person.  For example, when I wake up in the morning, there are at least two or three cookbooks or cooking magazines in my bed and a few novels strewn on the floor next to my bed.  My night stand has a few of my obsessions on it - an alarm clock (with a snooze button), hand cream that I apply religious every night and foot cream, which is also applied nightly.  Truthfully my hands and feet are NOT soft, and I'm trying to somehow actually achieve that.

Daughters sleep in bunks and what they take into bed with them is also pretty telling.  Daughter #2 has every single stuffed animal in her room on the bed.  She insists on putting them under the covers with her and giving them each a bit of blanket.  In addition, at the foot of her bed there will be a number of books that she has read before going to sleep and another bunch of books on the floor.  Daughter #1 sleeps on the top bunk and in her bed I'll find scraps of paper on which she has written notes to herself and her friends, a few bookmarks and several books she reads at the same time.  The nightstand has scatterings of bits of treasures and things that both girls have found and nonsensical things that I try to throw away, only to hear the screams of NO MOMMY.

When Husband wakes up in the morning, there will be a laptop in the bed, as well as a blackberry, an iphone and a regular phone.  He falls asleep with all of them in our bed and around his bed will be scatterings of books, papers, and his Kindle.  If he was able, he'd also have a bag of cheetos on the bedside table but I have forbidden food in the bed (a habit I HATE) and so he's forced to go downstairs and eat them.

Son sleeps with at least one or two toys in the bed.  You'd think he'd choose something soft or small but he always chooses the LARGEST truck or car and sticks it on the pillow next to him.  Tonight he sleeps next to a 2-foot-long fire engine which he inherited from our neighbor.  This toy is pretty darn annoying as it has realistic fire engine sounds whenever you push different buttons.  The sounds are so realistic that I keep running to the window to see if there is a fire next door.  If it isn't this fire engine, then it's 25 of his cars, or the bag FILLED with his cars.  He never seems to mind the hard objects (and I guess he gets that from Husband as me as we can sleep in a bed with laptops and cookbooks.)

But if food were allowed in my bedroom, and there were things that I loved to have next to me around, and I didn't worry about my waistline and my general over all health, and I wasn't scared of an ant problem - this cake would be right next to me or possibly in my bed.  The combination of chocolate and raspberries and that bright red syrup on top is just a combination that can't be beat.  I LOVE IT.  The bright pop of red would also be a great accent for the bedroom which is mostly muted tones and restrained colors.

Alas, this one will stay in the kitchen (and more likely in the kitchens of others since I love it too much.)  It's beautiful red color lends itself well for special occasions but is easy enough to make for everyday.

Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Soaked in Raspberry Syrup
Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Ingredients
Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
6 oz fresh raspberries, picked over
½ cup dark chocolate pieces (I got mine at Whole Foods which was 73% cacao, and Ghiradelli’s makes a chip that is 60% cacao) A bar of dark chocolate can also be cut into small pieces and used.

Raspberry Syrup
⅔ cup of sugar
6 oz of raspberries, washed and picked over, pureed and strained (makes about ½ cup)
2 tablespoons orange juice

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract. At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour, a bit of sour cream, a bit of flour.) Remove bowl from mixer. Using a spatula, carefully fold in both raspberries and chocolate pieces. It is okay if the raspberries get a bit crushed and crumbled.

Scoop batter into pan and spread evenly with spatula.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack which is placed on top of a cookie sheet. (You’ll be able to soak the cake in syrup with the syrup being stuck all over your kitchen counter.)

While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine sugar, strained raspberry puree and orange juice in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Let the cake cool completely.

Printable recipe

Okay - so maybe the ENTIRE cake next to my bed isn't feasible.

But a single slice might be?  (If only I could get over my aversion to food in the bedroom.)

Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas: Weddings and whatnot

For EC and BS - Congrats!

In an amazing turn of events, Younger Brother is getting married.  I am very excited to welcome a new sister-in-law and Children are excited by the prospect of a new auntie that will play with them, run with them and entertain them while Mom takes a nap.  (I'm excited about this prospect as well.)  But coupled with the benefits post-marriage, I have to survive one thing...the wedding.

The problem is I hate dressing up.  I mean, I like it once in a while, but on a wedding such as this, where I am the older sister, I start wondering if I am going to look like what I really am - the dowdy, matronly older sister of the handsome young groom and the blushing, young, verdant bride.  The comparisons are not to my benefit.  After all - my body has seen the wear and tear of three children and the raising of those children.  And to those of you who think that children are not wearing on your body, I should show you before and after pictures of each of my children and what carrying and birthing a child has done to my body and my face - not that I regret it or anything.  Maybe you are one of those lucky ones for whom being a mother has only added to the overall glow and beauty of both your face and body.  I, am not one of them.

I have fallen back on the only thing that I can think is the fountain of youth - exercise and better eating.  Now mind you, I try not to use the word DIET, lest Mom gets really excited and thinks I'm suddenly going to look like some Korean K-drama star (and she reads this blog so now she knows) but I am being much more careful.  I'd like NOT to be the thick-waisted older sister in law at the wedding.  I'd like to be the hip pretty sister-in-law...although that may be a bit of a stretch.  (I'll take youthful looking sister in law.)

So - one of the things that I have given up 6 days a week are starches.  And being the person with the appetite that I have, I've been digging around finding things to take starch's place.  (I stopped eating bread, potatoes, crackers, cereal, and my all time biggest sacrifice - chips.) Even pasta and rice I do not eat 6 days a week.  In its place, I've put in new and interesting things -like green vegetables.

I came up with this dish on a day when I had some leftover Spicy Turkey Sauce.  The kids got to eat their sauce on pasta (a really lovely looking orrechiete) while I ate my sugar snap peas covered in sauce.  The combination, to my surprise, was delicious and satisfying.  I ate my portion (controlled) and enjoyed each bite.  Children, upon seeing my apparent enjoyment of the dish, demanded their own pasta, sugar snap peas and sauce dinner.

The sugar snap peas are bright in flavor, lively in texture and a snap to make.  So don't hesitate.  You don't need to be on a diet to enjoy this great side dish.

Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas
3 to 4 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
10 oz sugar snap peas, chopped into ½ inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Heat a frypan over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic and chopped sugar snap peas all at once. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and saute until sugar snap peas are bright green and crisp tender. Finish with salt and pepper if necessary. Enjoy.

Printable recipe

Soft Egg with Avocado and Tomatoes: My obsessive nature

For SH, master of the soft-boiled egg

Friend SH posted a picture on her Facebook a few weeks ago, and in it was the simplest of things - a soft-boiled egg, cut avocados and cut tomatoes.  Underneath it she wrote, "My favorite breakfast."

I saw that picture and my mouth watered.  And suddenly I became obsessed with the idea of a soft-boiled egg.  I'm not one for poaching eggs (truthfully because I stink at it) but the soft-boiled egg would have a similar texture and the all-too-wonderful runny yolk.  I dreamed about the mixture of the ingredients and kept telling myself that yes, I would make it.  Only I kept on missing the perfect moment.  The avocados were not ripe or Daughter #1 had finished all the tomatoes.  Whatever the reason, I kept missing the chance.

In the meanwhile, my obsessive nature asked her repeatedly how she did it.  How did she make that egg so perfectly.  She told me how, over and over.  And then today, FINALLY I also had in the house, tomatoes and avocados.  And the first thing on my mind was making this dish.  For lunch.  And I did.

Yum.  Daughter #2, a self-professed egg lover also enjoyed it. (And I won't tell you how many eggs I wanted to eat, and how many eggs I actually did.)  This is one of the those dishes where the sum of its parts is far greater than any single ingredient.

before you open up the egg

Soft Egg with Avocado and Tomatoes
1 to 2 servings

Ingredients
1 or 2 roma or other ripe, delicious tomato, cut into large pieces
½ perfectly ripe avocado, cut into pieces
1 (or 2) eggs
salt and pepper

Method
Place egg in saucepan. Fill saucepan with enough water to cover eggs. Place on stove on high heat. Bring to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce heat slightly to keep eggs at a rolling boil (not a super intense boil) and allow eggs to cook for four minutes. Once the eggs have cooked for four minutes, immediately remove from heat and drain all the hot water and put in some cool water. Peel as soon as you are able to, and place on top of tomatoes and avocados. Finish with salt and pepper.

Printable recipe

after you open up the egg

Ham-Vegetable-Roll Up: Lunchtime eats.

There are nights I go to sleep and have nightmares.  In this nightmare, I wake up late, the kids wake up late and I can't figure out what to pack them for lunch.  In my nightmare I dash madly around the kitchen where there are tons of ingredients but I can't seem to make them work together.  I madly stuff food into a lunchbox and throw it after whichever child and cross my fingers and hope that they eat it.  In the process of throwing a lunchbox stuff full of nonsense to Children, I wake up in the cold sweat.

It seems that nightmares are often not that far off from reality.  I go to sleep with the most basic plan of what might pass for lunch for Daughter #1 (she's actually easy - pack a sandwich and go) and think of the same basic thing that Daughter #2 likes for lunch - which is basically rice, seaweed and an egg.  Add Son's dietary restrictions and the fact that his school is kosher, well - my mornings ARE nightmares.

I came up with this after friend SH brought over a much more sophisticated version that she found on David Lebovitz's blog that my kids gobbled up.  She used prosciutto and basil (dairy free for Son) and also had a version with feta and prosciutto and basil.  They were both delicious.  And as I saw Son gulp them down, I thought to myself, well why not?  Why not make it something that they can eat more often.

So right then and there I steamed some asparagus, allowed them to cool, and then wrapped them up in ham and whatever sliced meat I had around.  The result was Son and Daughter #2 gulping them down.  They are fairly simple to make (just steam asparagus or vegetable) and then wrap it up.  I also tried a version with spinach and basil and I loved it as well.  (Son did not as he is going through a vary annoying "I hate spinach" phase.  My response is to chop up spinach smaller and ram it into whatever I can.  I know.  Nuts.)  I did hear from JL that her girls would eat the ham and leave the vegetable, but it can't hurt to try, right?  It packs easily in a lunchbox and it is a nice balance of vegetable and protein and is far superior in nutrition to Son's favorite lunch of rice and seaweed.

Certainly beats having my nightmare.

Ingredients
Steamed long vegetable - think carrot or asparagus.  Also fresh baby spinach leaves work well.
Your favorite deli meat - ham, turkey, salami, prosciutto are all nice choices.
fresh basil leaves (optional)

Method
Lay deli meat down.  Place asparagus or a few spinach leaves in the middle.  Roll up.  Basil leaf in the middle is optional.

Spicy Turkey Pasta Sauce: Flexibility

For SH - my new flexibility partner and TCG who helps keep me flexible.


Physically, I am strangely flexible given my age.  (almost 40.)  I can still do the splits (easily), I can do a bridge, and I can twist my body into random contortions thanks to fairly dedicated exercise and yoga practice.  I love the flexibility of my body and I love the challenge that comes from maintaining and extending that limberness in my limbs.

I often wish the flexibility in my body carried over to my emotional and mental flexibility; it often does not.  I'm stubborn and freakishly stubborn to boot, and I have set ideas and set ideals and set ways that I often can't seem to break.  I get on a routine, a schedule, and an orbit, and moving out or changing any of those things is often near impossible for me.  When I have to make modifications or change, I get extremely worked up and agitated over it.

But I'm seeking that flexibility.  I want that flexibility of mind and body.  I'm trying each day to let more go and to let more in, to allow God to do more and have me do less.  It's been an interesting journey, finding this mental and emotional flexibility, but a good one.

In honor of my new quest for flexibility, I thought I'd create a spicy turkey sauce that can be enjoyed in a number of different ways.  (Flexible sauce!  Flexible life!) The result was really great and Son and Daughters and I loved it.  It's great to make a huge batch of and then freeze for later flexible eating.  (Flexible freezer eats!)

**Note - in an effort to be even further flexible, I actually ate mine without pasta or polenta over Asparagus bits.  I almost didn't miss the starch. (Almost, but I'm flexible.)

Spicy Turkey Pasta Sauce
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fennel seed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more if you like it really spicy)
¾ cups red or white wine
28 oz can of roma tomatoes with juice, pureed
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like the kind that comes in a tube for convenience sake)
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade (really thin strips)

Method
Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook, browning turkey. Add garlic, fennel seed, oregano and chili pepper flakes and cook for an additional 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add wine and cook off liquid for about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and honey and reduce heat to low. Cover and allow sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add basil right before serving. Serve over your favorite pasta or over pan fried polenta.

Printable recipe

Definitely can be flexible about eating this.

Giveaway Winner - RENA SEO!

Rena - you won a beautiful canvas print!!  If you want my photograph, let me know I'll be happy to send you one.  Otherwise, feel free to choose whatever you'd like and get your own beautiful new picture.

Hugs and lots of wishes!

Joanne

Beef Shawarma: On friends

For Hans and Franz who will never appear again and SB, HKL, HYK, SP, CJR, JEL, and CY for coming and the husbands, HUSBAND, BB, LL, KK, SL, LR, HJL who let them come.

Friends do crazy things for you.  I know this because during girls' weekend, my friends did some crazy things for me.  Originally I had thought of the weekend as a way for ALL OF US to get away to be together, to celebrate the changes in our life (motherhood, age, job changes, life and death) and that was why we were gathering.  Somehow, the girls were under the impression that they were coming for me.  ME.  They all told their husbands that they HAD to come out to celebrate my 40th.  MINE?  HEY!  I thought we were celebrating ALL of our birthdays!!

In addition, one friend, who knows of my intense admiration and undying love for a certain chef, Tyler Florence, began emailing the manager of Wayfare Tavern WEEKS in advance, basically seeing if Tyler could somehow come and meet me.  I had been to the restaurant four times already, and never have I had the chance to meet Chef Tyler.  To meet him, on this girls' weekend was her idea of a cherry on top of a huge sundae.  She went back and forth with the restaurant manager, explained how all the girls were coming in from all over the US, showed him my blog and basically begged and pleaded for Chef Florence to make a quick appearance. (She even offered to forward various plane itineraries as proof of this grandiose event.)   In the end, he didn't show up, but we got the lovely private room in the back and I got to see a really lovely series of emails from my friend to the restaurant, trying to arrange this meeting.  The email was better than meeting the chef.

Still another friend, had it in her mind that she wanted to get me something really rather lovely for my birthday.  I pretty much considered spending time with all my friends the BEST present of all. (especially given that we were all without kids and just eating and having fun.)  She saw me admiring this beverage dispenser at Tyler Florence's shop and I could see her wanting to buy it for me.  I loved the idea of it more than anything, and told her to stop thinking about buying something.  I did want something similar and set my heart to get something like it at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Yet another friend was determined that I see my favorite Top Chef Masters contestant and subsequent winner, Richard Blais at an after hours event at the hotel where we were staying. Tickets sold out quicker than we had expected so we didn't have a chance at entry.  Not to be stymied, she determined that we should try and get in anyways, and we walked over to try.  Heavy and mean looking bouncers in the lobby pretty much deterred us rather quickly and so we made our way back to our hotel room.  As we were getting on to the elevators, another couple walked in clearly looking for that event.  Our elevators weren't going to the event so they walked away, but not before this friend screamed LOUDLY, "HEY!  DO YOU HAVE ANY TICKETS?"

On another day, we decided to go shopping.  I've shared often and confessed my complete lack of ability to shop any longer.  We had, in our group, a few very fashionable folks, who wanted to take me shopping and show me the ropes.  One friend was convinced that I was wearing jeans that were too big on me.  She really wanted me to try on a smaller pair.  At one point, I was in a dressing room trying on jeans with an audience of four very supportive women outside who assured me that no, the tighter jeans did not make my legs look like sausages.  (this is my greatest fear with tighter jeans.)  I was not convinced however, and somehow managed to make the friends go back to THEIR rooms to figure out if THEIR tighter jeans were making their legs look sausage-y.  (They didn't because these girls don't the type of legs that make sausages.)

I had several wardrobe malfunctions (this is what I get for trying to wear new things that are outside of my comfort zone) and I am thankful that TMZ was not around to film these fashion faux pas.  I'm sure I would have also made Glamour magazines "Don't" section (do they still do that?) and several other "The worst fashion EVER" pages.  No matter.  One friend managed to fix up my wardrobe in a jiffy (by stretching out a shirt and making it unwearable again.  EVER.)  But no matter. It was hilarious and fun.

The weekend, in short was fun and hilarious.  It was too short, too packed and too exhausting but so worth it.  Coming back I was refreshed and rejuvenated and was excited to be home - until I came back to sick Son, stressed Husband and cranky Daughters.  I let the glow of the weekend carry me through and help me survive those first few hard days back.

It took me almost a week to recover from the weekend and a while to even get back in the swing of cooking. But when I did get back to it, one thing I found myself repeatedly thinking about was shawarma.  I wanted to try it again, this time with beef.  I mulled over which cut of meat, how to cut it, and how to prevent tough meat.  I came up with this version, which by the way is a complete cheat, easy version of real shawarma, win which meat is cooked on a spit while thin pieces are shaved off.  This is pseudo shawarma if you will.  The flavors are really yummy and well - Son and Daughters gobbled it up.

Beef Shawarma with Tahini Sauce
Adapted from Food and Wine, May 2011
Serves 4 to 6

Beef
Ingredients
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2 to 2 ¼ pounds flank steak
1 white onion, halved and cut into thin slivers

Method
Prepare the flank by slicing it once down the center, along the grain. Cut each half into a half (so that you have quarters) again down the grain. The four long strips will now be cut AGAINST the grain, as thinly as possible. (a quick trick - slightly freezing the meat for about 10 minutes makes it much easier to slice thinly.)

In a large bowl, combine the cumin, oregano, garlic and lemon juice. Stir in the oil and a generous pinch of salt. Add the beef and onion and let stand for 15 minutes or alternatively, you can cover and refrigerate until needed.

Heat a large fry pan or griddle until very hot. Add the beef and onion and cook over high heat, turning occasionally, until the meat and onion are charred and tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve with the tahini sauce, hot sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, rice and pita/flatbread.

Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Method
In a blender or mini food processor, combine the tahini with 1/4 cup of water, garlic, lemon juice and puree until smooth. Add the mayonnaise and puree until creamy. Season the white sauce with salt.

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yumminess in my hand.

Grilled Kimchi Pork Belly Cheese Sandwich: How much do you really know about me?

For GT, my super fan.  For JH, whom I also learned is a super fan.  (thanks to HKL.)

During my girls' weekend, I had the opportunity to meet someone who calls herself my #1 fan.  She is a friend of one of the girls who was here for the weekend and happens to live in Marin.  It all worked out and I had the chance to meet her and spend some time with her. (She even brought me a present.  WHEE!)   She told her friend that she was incredibly nervous and I was flattered and bemused at the same time.  (Who is that excited to meet me?  Hard to imagine still.)

I sat at Wayfare Tavern, in a private room, surrounded by all my girlfriends and my #1 fan, and laughed with good friends over excellent food.  We giggled and had side conversations and enjoyed the sweetness of many years of friendship between us.  GT, the #1 fan, at one point in the conversation, in a segue about cats, said in passing, "But I know you're allergic to them."  I was floored.  Another one of the girls at the table overheard, and said incredulously, "Joanne?  You're allergic to cats?"  (Yes. Very much so.)  GT, someone who had only really met me through my words on the blog knew this fact when the 6 other women in the room had no idea.  I had to laugh.

Suddenly JEL decided to give GT a quiz about me.  She wanted to see if truly, this woman was a real fan.  Quick.  Can you answer the following questions about me WITHOUT going back on the blog?  (GT answered all correctly.)

1.  What foods is Joanne allergic to?

2.  Name at least 6 things to which Son is allergic.

3.  How did Joanne and Husband meet?

4.  For which cause did Joanne collect money for?

5.  What was this year's 2011 VBS theme?

6.  Which state did Joanne visit earlier this year?

7.  What did Joanne used to do in her former life?

And bonus...(which was not asked to GT)

8.  What is one of Joanne's favorite cuisines to cook?

Lest anyone think that all this adulation and adoration from a fan is going to my head, fear not. Son, Daughters, and Husband keep me well grounded and remind me over and over again that yes, I'm only a human being with many faults.  However, it was really wonderful basking in the moment of being someone's "idol" (maybe I go too far with that term) and feeling a teeny, tiny bit like a star.  (But please.  No pics of me on the TMZ.)

The answer to #8 - I love cooking FUSION.  I love mixing what is traditionally Korean and messing with it and turning it into something new.  This kimchi porkbelly cheese sandwich is just that - a mix of all that is wonderful about Korean food with an American classic - grilled cheese.  I can't tell you how good it is because words don't do it justice.  I can tell you that it's totally worth making and if you do make it, make it for a crowd of people so you can hear them ooh and ahh, and for a moment, you too will feel like a star!

Grilled Kimchi Pork Belly Cheese Sandwich
Makes 3 to 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of chopped kimchee, with the liquid
4 slices of bacon or samgyupsahl (pork belly) cut into fourths
1 cloves of garlic pressed
1 tablespoons ginger grated
1 tablespoons sesame oil or vegetable oil, more if needed (if you like sesame flavor add sesame oil, and if you find it too strong, add vegetable oil - or a mix of both)
1 tablespoon of sesame seed

6 to 8 slices of bread (I used wheat for “health” reasons)
3 to 4 slices of cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
1 to 3 tablespoons of oil for grilling (or butter if you prefer)
2 scallions, chopped

Method
Place bacon or samgyupsahl (pork belly) in pan with garlic and ginger over medium high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes to render some of the fat. Add kimchee and the kimchee liquid into the fry pan. (The more liquid you add the spicier and saltier it will be.) Stir and cook over medium high heat, reducing liquids, and adding oil if necessary. (if it starts looking dry add a tablespoon of oil.) Dish is completed when the thicker pieces of kimchee take on a slightly translucent quality. The riper the kimchee the faster this happens.

Heat another fry pan or panini press to medium. Brush one side of bread slices with a bit of oil. Place one slice into fry pan. Add cheese and top with kimchee pork mixture. Cover with another piece of bread and cook until bread is toasty, cheese is melty and all is coming together, 6 to 8 minutes depending on equipment used.

Sprinkle with scallions as a garnish. Enjoy!

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Star Making Power

Steamed Tofu with Spicy Sauce: What is good for one may not be good for another

For my favorite kimchi addict, SB

In preparation for my girls' weekend, my minivan was pimped out (as pimped out as a minivan can be anyways).  I removed all the car seats, all the junky bits of crackers, and all the sticky messes and had the car detailed.  The outside was waxed and the inside was sparkly.  My ride was posh.

Inside the car were hot mommas on our way to Napa for a day of feasting, wine tasting (with no whining), and fun.  It was the weekend we had been planning for a few months, coordinating 8 different schedules to gather 8 people from four different states.  5 separate airline flights were taken in order to all meet.  It was, in essence, a reunion 10 years in the making.  At the center of all this planning was me, and I dubbed myself the "cruise director" (I was referred to as Julie McCoy, a Love Boat reference for anyone who is too young to know the show)  I took the happiness and enjoyment of the guests I was driving around seriously and to heart.  I felt  a heavy burden of responsibility to make sure that these wonderful people, who had traveled far were going to have a fantastic time.  FANTASTIC I say!!

On our way to Napa, we stopped off at La Boulange Bakery, a personal favorite of a couple of other girls and mine.  We walked in to grab a variety of baked breads and to enjoy a simple breakfast of croissants and hot coffee.  I sat and savored my breakfast only to look over at one of my guests, SB, who did not look like she was enjoying her breakfast.  She said, "I don't really like these croissants."  Her comment was met with cries of dismay from the others and comments of, "You don't mean that!!"  (How DARE she not like something so delicious?)

But she wasn't so into the croissant.  And that one misstep with breakfast essentially set her on a huge spiral of not enjoying food.  I watched her eat without enjoyment at Bottega and later at Morimoto.  Her discomfort with food became my discomfort.  At one point I turned to her and asked her, "What can I do?" and she could only shake her head and say, "I need kimchi."

Kimchi in Napa was going to be a hard find, although in retrospect Morimoto had kimchi (served with a pork chop) and I began stressing about how I was going to find something to settle SB's stomach.  Clearly her Korean food nature was unsettled and unhappy and only a quick fix of kimchi would be able to reset her system.  I kept thinking about how I would get some kimchi for her and how I would be able to provide the thing that she most needed.

I ended up sending a series of texts to two girls who were going to meet us the following morning.  I begged them to bring kimchi and rice so as to discharge my duties as cruise director properly.  The two kimchi delivery girls, CY and JEL brought the kimchi to the Ferry Building, and there we discovered kimchi fried rice and an opportunity for SB to eat her kimchi and rice in peace.  The color of her face went from wan to healthy, her mood went from down to hyper, and suddenly it was like the clouds in the sky separated to reveal the sun.  I felt immense relief knowing that my cruise was a success and that no one was going to be unhappy.

I wished very much while watching her suffer that I had had a portable kitchen with portable food to make a portable meal.  Someone should invent this.  If I had had a few simple ingredients, I'm sure that this dish would have helped settle her upset stomach and gotten her on the right foot for eating.  Next time I'll be sure to travel with kimchi and the ingredients for this dish.

It is simple to prepare with simple ingredients.  I love it for its lusciousness all the while keeping it very simple. Simplicity means it can be made often (in our house at least twice a week for my tofu loving girls) and it can be made without too much thought.

Steamed Tofu with Spicy Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 block firm tofu

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (I prefer low sodium for almost all of my cooking)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (Kadoya brand is my preference)
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
1-2 teaspoons of red chili powder (고추가루 gochu gahloo) - optional if you do not want spice
2 teaspoons sesame seed

Method
In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, red chili powder and sesame seed. Set aside.

Slice tofu in half and then slice into ¾ inch slices. Carefully layer tofu in a saucepan, trying to keep all the tofu straight. Don’t crumple them or squish them together as you will ruin the shape. Pour ½ cup of water in the pan. Place pan over high heat and cook, until water boils, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully spoon tofu slices onto a place. Spoon a bit of sauce over each block of tofu. Serve immediately.

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