That salad was my reward for this week.

See, this was one of those weeks. Surely, you know the ones. It jolted to a  start at a breakneck speed first thing on Monday. After a relaxing weekend running errands and hanging out with my cousins, I realized I had some work due earliy-ish on Monday. I frantically worked to meet a 12 p.m. deadline on this extra project. Frantically. And that is how the whole week felt – just frantic. I got everything done on time every day, but the pace just didn’t stop. I wrote and wrote and wrote, but I never really felt at rest. I just couldn’t turn off the feeling of rushing.

Then today rolled around … and I do mean rolled. I woke up late, after accidentally hitting the off button on the alarm at 6 a.m. instead of snooze. So, off to another breakneck morning, I went and went and went until just before noon when I raised my head from my agenda and realized … I was pretty much done. A few follow up calls later (actually I took a break and then made the calls), it was mid-afternoon and I was free.

At first I was like “what now?”

Then I just started writing. Yes, I finished writing, just to write a little more. You do realize I am a writer, right? Actually, it made sense. I channeled my peaceful feeling into a little get-ahead work. I sent out a few pitches to magazines and then drafted an essay that still needs a lot of work. But that first draft? Getting it on paper felt so, so good.

So this salad was the reward for a week well worked. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that are the best rewards . . . Read the rest of this entry…

When I flipped this sandwich out of the frying pan and onto Will’s plate, I instantly smiled. Do you see it? The simple, unmistakable shape was clear as day. Instead of shooting a photo of the most perfect sandwich in the batch, I went with the one with the perfect little unexpected heart.

Here, you can see it better in this one:

That perfect little unexpected heart is a lot like a mother’s love. You carry a child for nine and a half months. Of course you are supposed to love them, it’s expected. But loving that little seed in your belly is like talking to an imaginary friend. You know the baby is there and real. But before anyone can see or touch that baby, it’s intangible. It’s confusing and uncertain. Really, it’s an abstract thing – loving something, someone, whom you don’t know and who you’ve never met. It’s complicated. Then one day they are born. And you are expected to love them right away, instantly. You can’t help but wonder if you really can love someone whom you only know as the alien jabs in your belly. So, when you have that swell of emotion when the baby first cries, that pop of relief that they really have arrived safely, it is unexpected.

This evening after dinner, I curled onto the couch next to Will. He scurried his little warm body close to me and laid down in front of me. I put my arms around him and hugged him close, while his short hair tickled my nose. “I love you, Mommy,” he whispered.

Simple, unexpected, heart swelling. What more can a mom ask for? Read the rest of this entry…

It has taken me years – years -  to get to a point where I consistently make the effort to eat breakfast. The morning meal and I have just never been bosom buds. In the mornings, I am not really that into cooking. I just to burn everything I tried to cook before noontime (fortunately, I have conquered that problem). I’ve never really been a cereal girl. I used to love oatmeal, but an unfortunate incident involving a medication that I refused to take killed my taste for that, so I don’t crave it any longer. Honestly, if it wasn’t for my kids, I would probably have never really bought into the “most important meal of the day” stuff.

Fortunately, I have discovered a few foods that are good in the morning … to me at least. Pancakes, English muffins with delish cheese, tomato jam and an over easy egg can be a great treat. And any style of eggs can be a good thing in the morning too.

But I prefer easy. Before 11 am, easy trumps all else. Fortunately, quiche, as fussy as it sounds, is actually really easy. It’s, at most, 10 minutes hands on (less if the veggies are already cooked) and then completely hands off until it comes out of the oven. This recipe makes a quiche that is fluffy like a souffle, like little eggy clouds of cheese and broccoli when you bite in. It also reheats really well in the oven, keeping the crust crunchy. Paige loved it. Unfortunately, Will just wasn’t a fan.

Maybe it’s a guy thing? Read the rest of this entry…

Doesn’t that look good? It makes my mouth water to think about it, let alone see it. This delicious, juicy chicken burger is ranking tops on my short list of craveworthy foods. Yum.

It all started earlier this year. Shawn picked up the cleverly named Hamburger Seasoning (really, they went out on a limb for that name, right?) from Williams-Sonoma. We tried it a few times here and there in hamburgers. They were really quite good. I started selecting higher fat meat, which makes for richer, juicier burgers.  Oh, it really was good.

But red meat, and specifically red meat with a higher fat content, isn’t really the healthiest option. So, we tried out ground turkey, but it was a little dry. Then we used it with ground chicken. Oh, the ground chicken. With a hint of Hamburger Seasonings and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, the chicken burger takes on a flavor reminiscent of a beef hamburger, but without the grease or fat. The taste is sharp, a little pepper-y and so perfectly moist. Read the rest of this entry…

This evening, I was tucking Will into bed when I asked him if he knew what day tomorrow is. He didn’t, but he declared it to be the day we play the square game (Candy Land, in lay terms). The boy never forgets anything — this afternoon on the way home from school, I mentioned that we might play Candy Land tonight if we had time (we didn’t…he chose to watch Diego instead). But he didn’t forget …

Then I told him that tomorrow is Friday and his eye flashed with recognition. “We’re going to have fresh popcorn and watch a special movie!” he declared with certainty. Then he lowered his voice and reminded me that the special movie was a secret and not to tell he or Paige what movie we’d be watching. Good thing, because I am not sure what it will be yet. It’s only been a few weeks since we started the popcorn and movie tradition, but already it’s ingrained in him. He’s like an elephant … never forgets. Love that. Read the rest of this entry…

I love St. Patrick’s Day. Little leprechauns, corned beef and cabbage and yummy Irish beers. This year, I got to get into the spirit a little earlier than usual thanks to a St. Patrick’s Day crafts for kids story I wrote for SheKnows. Although I am really not crafty, I had a ton of fun preparing, creating, photographing and writing that piece.

Tomorrow, I will deck the kids out in their (so cool) homemade shirts for St. Patrick’s Day and cook up a good ol’ New England boiled dinner. Corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes … mmm. Can’t wait.

I am no expert when it comes to making corned beef. I simply buy the package in the meat section, use the seasonings and follow the directions. Easy peasy. Since it’s really not a good-for-you meal, I only make it once a year and I do it the way I have had for my entire life. It’s got that comfort appeal made that way, since it’s familiar and certain.

All I need to complete the meal is some good Irish beer. Read the rest of this entry…

Before I headed off to the grocery store on Saturday, I did something I don’t normally do … I planned out our dinners for the week and made a list of whatever we were out of for those meals. Did you catch that? Yep, I meal-planned for the week.

I’ve toyed with meal planning in the past, but it just didn’t stick then. Maybe I wasn’t ready for that level of organization, but I certainly had a treasure trove of excuses … I wasn’t sure what I would want on Friday on the previous Saturday. It takes too much time. It makes grocery shopping harder. Oh yea, I can be the queen of excuses.

But the thing that I found this time was that it was really easy to plan meals, focusing on the foods that I know I have and building from there.

At the grocery store, my bill was about 75 percent of last week’s (not even counting the extra trip or two I made) — and that is with having to purchase dog food for the month, which is not a small expense.

Now we are two days into the meal plan and I have stuck with it so far. What I love is that meal planning takes the mystery out of what’s for dinner. There is no last minute scurrying to figure out what I can pull together … it’s just there and planned. How easy is that? Read the rest of this entry…

It’s gray and dismal outside my office window this morning. It feels more like 6 am than 7 am as the clouds hang thick. The grass, which is just starting to show signs of the brilliant hue that we’ll love for three seasons, looks muted and pathetic. This is not the sunny day I was hoping for. I should have been up at 6 a.m. … but when the alarm went off, I turned it off with the intention of getting up in a minute or two. I felt wide awake at the time. An hour and a half later, I rose.

Not too long ago, a late start like this would have spelled panic, agitation and worry for my day. It wasn’t that long ago that I was stifled by stress and overcome with disorganization. My office is still a mess, but me? I’ve learned the art and joy of being organized about everything I do. That feels good.

I also felt that feeling of being stifled not too long ago with food. I wasn’t sure if Paige would be okay eating fish, although I had no genetic reasons for being concerned. That fear felt like it limited and thwarted me with cooking. So when we gave her a few tastes here and there, it was like the sun peaked through the clouds and I took a much-needed breath.

This particular recipe began nagging and playing in my head when I spied another very fresh, very fresh, very pungent bunch of basil at the grocery store. Of course, I didn’t leave without it.

The taste has strong notes of sunflower, but the sauce has the texture of pesto. Did you know that sunflower seeds are one of the World’s Healthiest Foods? Very high in vitamin E and vitamin B-1, they have been shown in studies to lower cholesterol levels, lower high blood pressure, reduce the symptoms of asthma and even may protect against cancer. Basil, which is high in vitamin K, is also one of the World’s Healthiest Foods. Ultimately, the dish is pretty nutritious, fairly low in calories and delicious over rice.

Read the rest of this entry…

What is a foodie?

When I hear the word, it makes me shudder a bit. Given the way the word is used, it isn’t exactly something I want to be called. It’s brandished about with contempt and even sarcasm like brat or WASP. It’s meant to mean someone who appreciates good food and drink. However, when I hear someone say it, it’s more like they are saying “picky, rude, food snob,” as if it’s a crime to actually like and enjoy good food. I mean, how dare someone taste an airy, light, puffy souffle and sigh with contentment and eschew a flat, poorly crafted, failed souffle? Seriously …

How did this word, meant to convey a positive, adoring relationship with food become such a pathetic shell of its intentions? Read the rest of this entry…