shokufeh is…home

Last night, Sam went to see The Dark Knight. While I’m sure it’s a fabulous movie, my tolerance for watching violence and explosions is low. I instead had the rare treat of spending time alone with MrMan. It’s usually Sam that gets to do that, while I run off to book group or LSA or some-other-such. Having eaten dinner early to allow Sam to make it out the door, provided “extra” time in our evening. We eventually met up with my parents for a walk around the neighborhood. Or should I say, a ride-and-walk-and-stop. So many things to explore, requiring MrMan to get off his tricycle (sometimes while it was still in motion), to examine more closely. Not much for getting my parents’ heart rates up, but fun nonetheless.

Phrases I particularly enjoyed hearing come out of MrMan’s mouth:

• John join us – in reference to Sam’s friend having come to the door to get him. “Join?” Where does he get this vocabulary?
• Poor big guy – said over and over again after seeing a smushed dead toad. I think that toad was the highlight of his evening. If he’d had his druthers, we probably would have stood there for 20 minutes, staring at it. (We limited it to about five minutes, I think.) Or, perhaps even better, we would have spotted a dead toad at every corner.

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Last night, I asked MrMan how his lunchtime lentil cheese casserole was. He told me that he didn’t like it and that he spit it out. His teacher confirmed that for me this morning. I am having the same casserole for lunch today, cold and sliced on bread. It’s okay – no strong feelings in either direction. No strong taste. We still have more, so I’ll likely try it in one of the ways the cookbook author suggested – with tomato sauce.

The banana wrapped curry tofu? Whole ‘nother story. Very tasty, and liked by all. So much so that Sam didn’t feel that lunch was worthy enough a time to eat it again, so we’ll be eating the leftovers for dinner. And it’s something I’ll make again. I’m going to post what I made here, as I changed Scribbit’s recipe a bit. I was going to keep track of the differences below, but it’s kind of cumbersome, so check hers out for another version, and for the more detailed cooking directions. Next time I make this, I’ll assemble the day before and then just bake when we’re ready to eat it, as there isn’t the same over-marination issue one has with fish. I made only four packets, as the amount of tofu I had lent itself to that many. We ate it with jasmine rice and Gailan.  Plenty of sauce is leftover. Slurp!

12 green onions
1.5 heads of garlic, minced
1/2 c fresh cilantro
1 – 2 tablespoons minced lemongrass, from freezer section (grocery was out of kaffir lime leaves)
A bit of lime zest
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Packet of Indonesian White curry – Bamboe brand (I wanted to make a less spicy version, so that MrMan wouldn’t suffer)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 13 1/2 ounce can of coconut milk – I used one labeled “for cooking”
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Squirt of Sriracha
2 trays of fried tofu – one plain, one with black fungus
Juice from one lime (plus another lime for the table)
4 sections of banana leaves big enough to wrap your fillets (you’ll find them on your neighbor’s tree, or in the frozen food section of the Asian market)
aluminum foil

Put first three ingredients in food processor. Saute in oil, along with already minced lemongrass and lime zest. Add curry and paprika. Saute more. Add coconut milk, squirt of Sriracha, and soy sauce. Bring to boil, then simmer to let thicken.

Place sheet of aluminum foil on counter, then a section of banana leaf. Place tofu in center, squeeze lime juice onto it, then spoon sauce to cover. Fold up banana leaf, then fold up aluminum foil. Do this four times.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Serve with rice and another squirt of lime juice.

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So, I don’t know if it’s exactly called menu planning if I don’t assign specific days for specific meals. There was a time I used to just go to the store and buy whatever looked good and then throw together meals. Then, when time became more of a premium and money became more tight, I started planning meals, with particular meals planned for particular days. But, more often than not, the week’s plans would get changed a bit (or a recipe would make more food than anticipated and last several meals), and that would result in my stress over not having followed the schedule and usually a meal or two unmade and the food not being used.

So, my more recent technique, which seems to be working for me is to plan four to five meals for the week, buy for those meals, and then decide from day to day what to make. For this week:

• The aforementioned lentil cheese casserole – not my usual style, but the cookbook author claims it to be tasty. I figured it was worth a whirl.
• Smokey Miso Tofu
• Banana wrapped curry tofu – a variation on this, using fried tofu. (We do eat fish, but I couldn’t bear to part with the money required to buy halibut – frozen, at that – and figured it was worth trying with tofu.)
• Sushi rice bowls

It would seem I’m feeling Asian this week. Sides will include:

• Beet, feta, and mint salad
• Gailan (Chinese broccoli)
• Bok choy

Given how many (read: all) of the above recipes are new and unused to me, I suspect there will also be a night of banana pancakes and scrambled eggs.

For more menu plan ideas, go here.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure and my bragging of last week, I do feel compelled to share that, yesterday, in addition to my weekly trip to Whole Foods, I visited the Asian grocery.  Between the two, I spent $100 on groceries.

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As Sunday night comes to a close, I’m trying not to focus on all the things left undone.  Rather, I’m trying to see what I’ve done to (fingers crossed) ease tomorrow morning, and what else I might do to make things go smoothly.  Last week, every morning seemed to go awry at some point.  Resulting in MrMan crying and feeling frustrated.  And my being tense and frustrated.  I think part of it was coming back off of vacation, followed by several days of my being gone for work.  With my getting home last Saturday night, from essentially two weeks away, some of the little things (like laundry) and some of the big things (like snuggles) weren’t quite in place for Monday morning.  And things didn’t get better.

I like to think we’re better positioned for this week.  Laundry is mostly washed and put away.  Food is bought and somewhat planned, and one main meal component is cooling on the stove. I’ve showered and  brushed my teeth.  My lunch for tomorrow is containerized.  MrMan’s soy milk for school is containerized.  In a minute, I will put his lunch for tomorrow in a container, so that he might hopefully enjoy some lentil cheese casserole while his classmates eat pot roast.  And I’ll put his school paperwork and sheet/blanket in a bag, ready to go.

And finally, another thing I can do to ease tomorrow is to go to bed posthaste.  As my conference suitemate of last week said, it’s pajama time.

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As I read about other people’s grocery bills, I try to figure out if I’m fooling myself or starving my family. Or perhaps I am just a shopping genius. A week’s worth of groceries costs us about $75. I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods, which tends to get a bad rap for being expensive. But like anyplace, it depends on what you buy.

Probably my biggest money-saver, in comparison to these people I read about, is that I don’t buy meat. I try to make enough dinner that we can take the leftovers for lunch the next day. I’m not always successful in that, so I do include in my shopping a couple of healthy-ish frozen meals, of whatever brand is on sale, for Sam and I to fall back on for lunch. So far this week, we’ve eaten:

• whole wheat pasta spirals with a sauce of yogurt, cottage cheese, pecans, broccoli, and garlic
• spinach, mushroom, and red onion quiche in a spelt crust, with whipped carrots
• corn on the cob, fava beans, baby bok choy, avocado, and breaded Quorn nuggets
• our speedy go-to of vegan meatballs, canned sauce, and pasta

Tonight is up in the air – we have leftovers from last night, or refried beans and cheese on corn tortillas. Either of which can be accompanied by organic salad greens and/or mushrooms.

This morning, I was feeling like a lame mom, wondering why this week’s mornings have gone awry. And was planning to write about it, but got sidetracked by my perplexion (deal with the word) over grocery bills. And now, not to get cocky, I’m feeling pretty good about getting healthy, easy, and inexpensive meals on the table. The self-flagellation will wait for now.

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I don’t think I realized that I missed Chicago until I was walking through O’Hare yesterday. An old familiar friend. At which point I realized that next month would be three years since I was here. Is that really possible? Where did the years go? I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, given the swiftness with which time seems to pass. We’re already in the second half of July somehow. The first few days were of the normal sort, from what I can remember. Then we hit the three day weekend and the time warp. A day at work. Then off to DC for family fun and a wedding. (I’ll try to post pictures to flickr this week.) Back home for a night in my own bed. Half a day at work. Then on to Chicago for a meeting and a stay in a university dorm.

Which brings me to the above heart swelling at being back in a former hometown (even if in a different part of the city). And the poo-of-scary-proportions (posp) some of you may have read about on twitter or facebook. I thought I was at the point in life where the only posp I needed to worry about was that of my son. Yesterday, I got off the El, had a nice stroll through campus, arrived at the dorm. Where I found several other women waiting to check in. Seems that there was a communication breakdown and the rooms weren’t ready for us. As the waiting women talked, I found out that one of them had actually checked in, and found a suite where the linens hadn’t been changed and there was food in the kitchen. So she checked out again. After we’d all waited for a while, we decided to leave our bags and go to dinner. Came back at 10 pm, checked in, got to my suite. All seemed in order. Until I had to pee. When I lifted the lid, I was faced with the posp. Lest you think I exaggerate, please know that three others ran in the same fear I did. After I made use of the bathroom at the other end of the suite, I went down to the front desk to request that the posp be dealt with in the morning. A little later, a couple of student workers came by to check on the situation, lifted the lid, and screamed. One went so far to wonder if they should move me and the other occupant to the rooms of the women who weren’t to arrive until today. And she firmly closed the door to the bathroom, worrying that something may happen to us. This morning, a residence employee arrived, donned his big orange gloves, lifted the lid, and exclaimed, “Oh, shit!” Then explained he was not equipped to deal with the posp and that he would call a plumber. As gross as this all is, I do get a certain sense of satisfaction that I am not alone in fearing the posp. And at this point, it’s funny.

Erm, I don’t think I set out to write about the posp. Back to the travels…. MrMan’s only concession to the fear of flying was the command that we hold both of his hands. He described the plane as “enormous.” And in case we didn’t know what that meant, he followed it with a “big” and a “huge.” We were delayed for an hour on the tarmac in New Orleans, but that went much better than expected. And paled in comparison to my parents and brothers spending the night in the Atlanta airport a couple of nights later. (And this was within 24 hours of my mom flying home from China.)

I’m glad we went a few days early. Cousin bonding all around. Saw an old friend from camp days of 25 years ago – she’s now friends with my cousin. It was so sweet how MrMan tried to keep up with his 5 and 7 year old (second?) cousins. Surprised Meisa by walking into her parents’ house and calling her phone. She was so shocked when she came down to answer it. Went to the zoo one day. Saw the Jim Hensen exhibit at the Smithsonian another day. Bridal shower and pedicures. Was reminded how I love a big city – a topic probably worthy of its own entry. Late night hanging. Lots of food. Time with my brothers. And we even remembered to take a picture of all seven of us.

The wedding itself was great. My cousin glowed with happiness and beauty. The readings and the sermon were very meaningful. The groom’s family had such an exuberant love for celebrating. I got to accompany two cute flower boys down the aisle. MrMan had been talking for weeks about throwing flower petals and did a great job, even bending down to move onto the carpet any of his petals that fell astray. It was also a pleasure to meet the other women Meisa had chosen as her bridesmaids, all of whom I’ve heard about for years. And to perform with them their traditional dance tribute to the bride. I never thought Madonna’s “True Blue” could be so moving. But it was, because of the love we all have for Meisa.

At the reception (in a beautiful setting), there were three kinds of cake. All were delicious. I know that because I’m lucky enough to have two brothers, and all of us were lucky enough to get a different kind of cake. It was funny that this serendipity made us, all adults, so happy. So much so that I went over to thank my parents for having three children. It also made me happy to just be with the extended family. It’s a rare treat to be together with my child, husband, parents, and brothers. Even rarer to have all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. There are often a lot of inconveniences and dramas associated with weddings, but I guess we keep having them because they bring us all – not just the bride and groom – together.

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