The New Most Popular Meal in My Life

It's fast, it's easy, it's bland, and it has been one of the only things I could/can consistently stomach for the last 2.5 months. Drum roll......

Special K

Skim Milk

See, I did have a legitimate one month long stomach bug. Then followed it up with the first trimester of our new pregnancy. We've got a new baby coming this summer! And I'm so excited that I've made myself sick over it. Or something like that. I'm hoping at 13.5 weeks I am on the other side of this badness. The absolute worst of it was around weeks 7 and 8. But I still had Special K for dinner 3 out of the last 7 nights of the week. And since I sometimes have it for breakfast too, I'm feeling pretty special. 

Today might be a turning point... I was home with L, we had an appt in the morning with her prospective preschool 2s program (seriously? I know. I had no idea.), and hit the grocery store this afternoon. Then I made dinner and semi straightened up the house before S came home. Things like this have not been happening lately. AND I think I might eat the dinner I made and just say no to my special friend. Progress. 

L has no idea what is about to hit her. She is just busy being busy and getting SUPER excited about the littlest and most fantastic things. What she is not excited about is the "I'm a Big Sister" book she got for Christmas. I now have about 30 pictures of her ignoring the book. Here are a few.

"Please take this away while I look at my owl book with no pants on."

This one took about 2 minutes of asking her to come see me and then asking her "where's the baby?" After she pointed to the baby she threw the book on the ground and ran away.

In a last ditch effort I set the book up like this and tried to get one of her walking up behind it. Out of absolutely nowhere, she did a somersault and I captured her mid flip. This was the winner.

So here we go! I'm hoping my cooking is going to pick up while my deathly ill feelings die down. We are really looking forward to meeting the fourth member of our family. Pregnant with a toddler is REAL LIFE. Wow. But I'm in it to win it. 

-RT

The Answer to Your Question: "Because it's Monday"

For about two hours today, I thought it was Thursday. Now I'm sitting here absolutely exhausted wondering how it became Monday again. I made the red beans tonight, but I over spiced OR I got a REALLY spicy jalapeno. The thing is, I can't really wrap my brain around that until it's not Monday anymore.

You know those days when you feel like you've cleaned the kitchen twenty times? Oh.. you don't? Well then you should go and come back when it's not Monday anymore. 

I asked Google to send me Monday photos. This came up. I like it.

I had a bright shining moment in today (you know, those few hours when I thought it was Thursday) when my lovely friends K and A were sitting at my kitchen table eating lunch. A was driving through on her way back to NOLA and K brought lunch. Spending a few afternoon hours with college friends is like sunshine and rainbows. Thursday is also Sunshine and Rainbows, so you can see where the confusion may have begun. 

Really today during the day was not Monday-esque, the day itself was productive and fun. Landy was in a funny mood and we got a lot done. For some reason, the Monday of the day is just sinking in now. Maybe I need some sugar to kick me up a few notches. 

Here are some random tidbits....

Landy had her second breakfast date with her good friend Lawson on Saturday morning. Don't worry, we had a four legged chaperone to make sure there wasn't any funny business.

We were down at the Texas coast with our good friends S & L. It was an awesome weekend filled with King Ranch Casserole, fresh caught flounder, and lots of Cookie Brownies. And lots of wine. There have been times at this house when I saw the sun rise because we hadn't been to bed yet. Times they are a'changin'. This Sunday we saw the sun rise while Landy was still sleeping. Then I threw on some jeans and went outside to catch a pic.

 

Some of my very good friends are undergoing massive power outages and floods in the North East. Most of these friends are seasoned hurricane vets who have NOLA hurricane experience, so I know they know what they are doing. I know how to get through power outages when it's hotter than hell outside... not too sure about when it's freezing. Extra blankets? Can you hook a generator up to an apartment? Curious. 

One last random note for any woman who currently lives or has lived with a husband, father, boyfriend, male roommate, or son. I cleaned out the fridge today. I saw some takeout styros and thought to myself "who was the last person to eat the lamb biryani?" Though I won't pin it directly on S, I had to capture this. The sure sign that a man has been the last one to eat the takeout... the fork/spoon is still sitting in the box in the fridge.

Tomorrow = back on track. I'll try and figure out how I spiced up my red beans. Maybe I'll post about that, maybe I'll think over whether anyone really wants to know. Uh, the anticipation must be killing you. Sorry about that.

Hunker Down,

-RT

Bean There, Done That

One of my most favorite things to cook is a pot of beans when the weather is cool. 1. It's easy. 2. You can make it healthy. 3. It's tasty. Please hold any 4th grade "magical fruit"/"good for your heart" jokes until the end of this blog post. 

Last week I put up a pot of black beans and they were fantastic. Someone asked me once what it means to "put up a pot" of something. I was kind of perplexed. I've always used that expression. I'm fairly certain it's southern if not Texan. I never really questioned its exact meaning and always use it to talk about cooking beans, peas, or other things you would cook for a long period of time in a pot on the stove. If someone has a proper history for this expression please fill me in... any linguist expert type people? No? Shocking.

The sorted life of black beans....

SO, I made black beans. I used dried beans, so they required some soaking. Step one in bean management involves sorting and picking through the dried beans to make sure there aren't any rocks or other non bean type items in there. Some people skip this step. I used to. Then I bit into a rock. Lesson learned. 

Bean Rinse aka Clean yo Bean

After you finish sorting, you want to give the beans a rinse in a colander. Then you have a few options.  All options start with you putting the beans in a pot (or large bowl) and covering them with LOTS of water. Specific amounts will likely be on your bean bag - mine said six cups. If you did the large bowl, make sure it is very large and cover it with a dishtowel to keep random mishmash from getting in there. Then leave the beans on the counter overnight or for at least 6-8 hours. You can do this same thing in a pot. I personally prefer the quick boil method. Mostly because I get tired at night and forget to soak the beans. For a quick soak, the beans need to be in a pot. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil, turn the heat of, cover them, and leave them to sit for 2-3 hours. 

 

Water Covered Beans

Boiling Beans

I did this first thing in the morning since I was making the beans for dinner that night. My plan was to have everything in the pot simmering by 4pm. When L went down for her nap I got to chopping. 

Back to the Grid Method.

Finished Product

I chopped one VERY large onion, sliced about six cloves of garlic (If you don't like garlic you should leave now before one of us gets hurt), and took the beans out of the pot to do one last rinse. I make this one a quick rinse so that I don't lose a lot of the goodness that is naturally in the beans. Next I got out my cast iron pot and turned the stove to medium to heat it up. Once it was nice and hot I added about a tablespoon of EV Olive Oil and tossed in the onions and garlic. 

My Garlic Friends

My lovely garlic press that has a slicing mechanism. Thanks wedding registry! 

Once in the pot, I stirred the onions and garlic until my house smelled amazing and the onions were soft and becoming "clear" in appearance. 

Clear Onions, Full Heart, Can't Lose...... it's late. shut up. 

I put a smoked ham hock in the pot and gave it a little browning on the sides before adding in about 4 cups of chicken stock. You can always add in water, but I prefer to use stock if I have it.  

Stock

Stock and Hock

 After bringing that up to a boil, I added the beans back in along with two more cups of water and two Goya Ham seasoning packets. It's like Ham bouillon. It's magical. 

Ham Flavah.

Full pot.

 I wanted the broth to cook off of the beans so they would be less like soup, so while I boiled them I left the top off and checked in on the broth level. I cooked them over a low boil for about 2.5 hours. You'll want to check the beans after two hours to check the consistency and see if they are getting to what you prefer. I like mine to still be firm, so 2.5 hour timing works well. 

Low boil, badly captured.

 After a couple of hours my beans looked like this. I took out a spoonful to sample.

Taste Test

 This is the point where I see if my beans need added salt. Because I am cooking with broth and a ham hock, and ham seasoning, I like to see how much natural flavor and saltiness I can get out before adding more in. I also (just to remind you again) don't really salt things that can be easily salted to taste after they are cooked. 

I love chopped tomatoes in my black beans. BUT tomatoes and cast iron are not friends. Also, if you put the tomatoes in too early, they wilt into nothing. I took about four roma tomatoes, gave them a rough chop, and put them in to cook for about 15 minutes with the beans. 

Tomato Party

Now  I want this again.

 The last thing I do, right before serving, is take an entire bushel of washed cilantro and tear it into pieces over the pot, dropping it all in but the stems. You have a couple of options with the ham hock. I usually leave it in and then add it to the leftovers, keeping it until all of the beans are gone. You can also pick all of the meat off of the hock and add it in with the beans and throw the non meat rest of the hock away. Do as you please. 

Up close and personal.

Finished product.

 We are usually a brown rice family. I like brown rice and if it's better for me, then bonus. I happened to have the brown and wild rice I used with the chicken soup that is fantastic, so I decided to try that out with the beans. WINNER. Here is a photo op in case any of you want to seek it out and try it. 

You know it's good because it says "Arroz"

Cooked to perfection, even though I need a new rice cooker. Suggestions appreciated. 

Things that are great to serve with this meal include: sliced avocado, Mexican cotija cheese, sour cream (or non fat plain greek yogurt), salsa, or pico de gallo. We did avocados and Cotija cheese. 

The final product. Perfection in a bowl! 

Because I was making this for us AND Landy, I didn't add jalapenos, which I usually do and love. If you want to do that, I like to add in one jalapeno (deseeded then chopped) with the onions and garlic, and then take a second jalapeno, chop the top off of it to expose the seeds and insides, and drop it into the water to boil with the beans. I remove the remaining whole jalapeno before serving. 

Cooking in pots is the best thing about cool weather. And if you happen to be home with the kids or on a Saturday or Sunday, you can work on it little by little throughout the day and still have plenty of time with your kiddos. This is also something you might be able to adapt to a slow cooker if you work during the day. I'm not great at slow cooking, but it's one of my goals to figure that out this cool weather season. Here's a quick recap of my ingredients:

1 16oz package of dried black beans

1 T EV Olive Oil

1 very large white or yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic

1 smoked ham hock

4-6 cups of chicken broth or water

1-3 packets of goya ham seasoning (to taste)

4 large roma tomatoes

1 bunch of cilantro

rice

Optional:

Jalapeno

Avocado

Cotija Cheese

Sour Cream (not really optional)

pico de gallo

This is one of my absolute favorites. I think I make it twice a month during the fall and winter. It is another warm, filling dish that is actually pretty healthy and simple. It is also EXTREMELY cost effective. On the health front, just remember, you are in charge of your own sour cream intake. I love sour cream, so I try to sub it out for plain, non fat greek yogurt. Can't even tell. Share your beans with someone you love. They are magical, after all. 

-RT

Houston: A Love Letter

I love Houston. A lot. You meet a lot of people who live here that do. More often than not, people who visit Houston don't get it, and that's fine. Mainly they are here to go to NASA (not in Houston, btw) or see cowboys. I know this because I used to book trips for people coming in from out of town. The number one request was NASA and cowboys. One group wanted to be driven to the nearest oil well. As a tour. Fun people. 

Just some local flair from the Art Car Capital of the World. No big deal.

Living here gives you the chance to really enjoy all that Houston has to offer. Tons of green spaces, amazing events, fresh farmers markets because we are so close to farm land, fresh seafood because we are an hour from the gulf, and patio weather 9 months of the year. Really if you are a true Houstonian, you likely sit on a patio 11 months of the year. August is not joke. It's ok to sit that one out. Here's an actual Houstonian on the heat:  "A true Houstonian doesn't run indoors when the heat comes out to play. A true Houstonian doesn't just tough it out- a true Houston actually enjoys it, welcomes it, and hugs the warmth whilst sitting on the beautiful tree-filled backporch of a cafe. Small refuges are taken from the sun under canopy trees and umbrellas while grasping a cold beverage. He and his beverage adapt to the heat of the outdoors; he glistens with sweat as his cold beer develops the frequent appearance of condensation Houston diners are familiar with."  Sweating is sexy. Just ask my girl Britney. 

Slave 4 U might have been filmed in Houston in August. Maybe.

One of the very best things about Houston is Houstonians. People here are nice. Like, really nice. I went to the grocery store this morning and said "Good Morning" 40 times in the span of an hour. I feel like Scarlett O'hara when she and Rhett take Bonnie Blue out for a walk. You know the scene. And if you don't, they are basically saying "good day" to everyone they pass.  When I am having trouble with the baby or with my car, or with anything, people stop to help. People stop to help everyone. I am not saying there are not assholes in Houston, I'm just saying there are fewer here than most other places.

The arts community in Houston is out of this world. The museums are some of the best in the country. The Museo del Prado is bringing 100 masterworks from their world renowned collection to the United States... and only to Houston. That's pretty kick ass. And there's something to be said for that. If we didn't have such an amazing museum and art scene, they wouldn't have made that decision. 

Fancy art works coming your way!

 Another fun thing about Houston is actually cowboys. The tourists are right. Here is a quote from the fab book HIWI :  "I often feel a pang of annoyance at people who come to visit and inquire if we Texans still ride around on horses. Then I realize, we do. It's the fourth largest city in the Unites States, and I am never surprised to see someone riding a horse through downtown."

Howdy Y'all! Trail Riders make their way through downtown.

 I could go on and on and on and on and on. The point is I love this city. Is it a place that you take your family for a weekend vacation when you don't know anyone here? No. Go to San Antonio for your family fun and see you later. Houston, like most towns, is the most fun when you visit to see friends or for a specific reason like catching a live band or going on a restaurant splurge. Houston has an insane amount of amazing upscale food, and then you get into the ethnic food. Tex Mex and Latin American of course, but also Indian, Pakistani, Korean, Thai, Chinese, Polish, Russian, and on and on and on. Come for a week and you will eat your face off so much that you won't be able to leave. Because you will not have a face. I'll try and fix it for you though, because I'm nice like that. Of course I'm nice, I'm from Houston!

Daenerys Targaryen is the only one who will be eating fresh horse heart.
But if you really wanted some, we could find it in Houston and you too could create the Stallion who mounts the World.

 I'm on a Houston high because we had a great day today on one of the Houston Culinary Tours organized by the visitors bureau. (more on our tour experience tomorrow) How these tours came about is that the CVB's PR director went to the best chefs in Houston and wanted to get a deal together where groups toured their restaurants. These same chefs had no problem with their pr and getting people in, so they wanted to do tours of the places they go in their off time. The ethnic local places that inspire their dishes. So that is what they did. Chefs here are amazingly accessible to people. On one of the original tours, Monica Pope who was on Top Chef Masters brought 21 tour patrons she didn't know to her grandmother's house to show them how she was originally inspired to cook. It's just crazy the things you can do here and the amazing people making national headlines and not having egos about it. People are accessible here. Arts are accessible. Houston is for everyone. The roaches fly, the humidity makes you look younger, the traffic gives you time to enjoy music or morning edition, the mosquitoes bite (but that's your fault for not spraying yourself down), it's very flat,  but that just means you can see things coming. Houston loves you! We're nice like that. 

Please enjoy one last cowboy. 

-RT

Under the Influence... of Antihistamines

There's a reason people hate Mondays. Most stereotypes and cliches are stereotypes and cliches for a reason.... I am a woman and I am also not the most focused driver. On the flip side, I see plenty of men using an electric razor on their way into work and they drive like shit too. Sorry I cursed... it must be the antihistamine. That, or somebody's got a case of the Mondays.

So glad I didn't have to hear this today...

I usually work on Monday, but instead I spent the morning at the pediatrician, late morning at the grocery store, nap time eating lunch, and the afternoon at the pediatric dentist's office, followed by another trip to the store for the things I wasn't together enough to remember this morning. All the while carting my 23lb ball of happies with me.  She was really a trooper. The teeth should be fine despite all 4 cups of blood that she spilled. We'll go back in 2 weeks to get the final prognosis. After we got back I was caught in the midst of what seems to be a 3 hour allergy attack. Babies don't understand allergies. Landon spent the afternoon putting baby wipes up to her nose while making raspberries, and fake coughing. This made it more bearable.

So this is my awful excuse for this post. I'm really afraid if I try to write a post right now I would get lost in an allergy/Monday induced sea of cursing and glass half empty. I've got big things planned for tomorrow. As for now, apologies sent to all of your little truly broken hearts. Truly. 

I'm out.

- RT