Flirt With Your Husband Friday: Lunchboxes

Do you pack your husband’s lunch?? Or maybe he packs yours??? (I’ll confess, I’m a spoiled princess who has her lunch packed for her every Monday morning --- talk about love.)  But I leave designated leftovers in the fridge for his lunch all the time ---

However the lunch deal works itself out in your family, it can be a time to flirt shamelessly. 

The next time you’re at the dollar store or the clearance rack of office supplies,  grab some of the adorable shaped post-it notes.  Not just the heart shaped ones, they’re obvious – try the Hawaiian shirt ones, or the bright yellow star shaped ones.  The unusual  post it notes make for great little love notes in a lunch box or even left in the fridge on the leftovers container. 

Whether you choose simple sweet notes:  “I love you”, or even just drawing hearts all over that Hawaiian shirt note --- or choose something a little more seductive --- “this shirt wouldn’t stay on you long if I were there” (okay, really cheesy, I know) – a little love note will give him a smile.  And isn’t that what flirting is all about??? It makes you smile --- and smile ---- and smile……..

Deep Dish Quiche

I’m almost ready to work the oven again.  The heat of summer is dissipating and we’re ready for hearty foods once again.  We’re still hosting guests fairly regularly, so I’m looking at quiches and frittatas for breakfasts.  This one caught my eye.  Its hearty, yummy and not your usual quiche

Deep Dish Quiche

Olive oil for the pan

1 onion sliced thinly

garlic (to taste)

1 package of baby spinach

dash of salt

pepper

refrigerated pie crust (I do NOT make my own pie crust anymore – Pillsbury’s is good)

1 jar of roasted red peppers

1 lb of mushrooms sliced and cooked

6 oz cheese

4 eggs

1 cup of milk

½ tsp dried rosemary crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 (always)

Using your large skillet (mine is cast iron) – heat a little olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until softened

Add the spinach, and salt and pepper.  Cook until wilted.  Drain off any excess liquid

Using a springform pan (trust me on this one) line the pan with the piecrust.  Make sure to come up the sides – that’s the point of “deep dish”

Spread half of the vegetables (all of them) over the bottom of the crust.  Top with half of the cheese

Repeat the layers so you have 4 layers in all

Beat the eggs and milk together. Add the rosemary

Pour over the vegetables and cheese

Bake for 50-60 minutes (until a knife comes out clean)

Labor Day

--- Aaaah, Labor Day.  Its such a bittersweet weekend.  On the one hand, it’s a long, three-day weekend with time to relax and enjoy.  On the other hand, it is the harbinger of fall, the exclamation mark on summer.  School is back in session.  The weather is beginning to hint at changes.  The beach is surely done for the season. 

But it also the promise of fall.  The whisper of changing leaves, crisp mornings, apple picking and pumpkins.  There is so much to look forward to. 

One of the wonders of living in the Northeast is the drama of the changing seasons.  Fall is incredibly different than summer or winter.  It holds wonder and joy that is all its own.  Labor Day can be a day to mourn the loss of summer ---- or it can be a welcoming and anticipation of the arrival of autumn.  The glass can be half full if we allow it to be.  

Flirt with Your Husband Friday: Back to School Date

When I was a child, my mother always looked forward to the first day of school.  No, she didn’t attend school --- it was her first day without children after the long summer.  One year (after an especially trying summer), she even kissed the front of the schoolbus.  I never knew quite what my parents did with the day (dad always seemed to manage to have that day off), but it was their day --- without the kids. 

Now, things are a little bit different.  For one, I TEACH at a school, which makes the first day of school one of the craziest days of the year.  For another, I’m now the grown-up – cherishing the ritual of the first day of school.  (I also have a much easier time imagining what my mom and dad might have done with their first day of freedom.)

So --- have a back to school date.  Go out to dinner on the first night of school if you’re a teacher (you won’t be up for cooking anyway – so plan ahead for it).  Or go out to lunch after the kiddos are all safely at school --- just the two of you.  It won’t matter if its McDonalds or some chic French bistro – its time alone together and a ritual that will repeat itself for years to come.  That’s what making family memories is all about --- repetition and rituals.  Maybe some day your children will be writing about how mom and dad always had a date on the first day of school.  

Summer's Swan Song

Summer is coming to a sure close.  I’m sad to see it end.  This weekend we’ll be having a family picnic at the Jazz Festival.  This is one concert that everyone in the family seems to be able to enjoy --- and we have widely diverse tastes in music! 

Since this is likely the last picnic of the season, I really want to make it a little extra special.  We’ll set up the table, with a tablecloth and cloth napkins.  It always amazes me how much that simple detail makes a picnic feel more special.  Even if I’m serving take-out or pizza (which, I confess, I’ve done once or twice) it makes the entire meal feel a little bit more elegant.  It only takes a few minutes to drop the used linens in the washing machine and later, the dryer.  Well worth the effort. 

Food will be a bit more challenging.  We’ll have the young children (who only eat white foods --- chicken, french-fries, rice, cheese, pasta etc), the vegetarians, the die-hard meat men, and one fairly fussy eater.  Mix all of that in with a little bit of food snobbery – and you begin to sense the menu dilemna. 

Whenever this kind of menu stress kicks in, I turn to my skewers.  Anything skewered seems a little bit fancier.  I can skewer the chicken nuggets for the kiddos, skewer a wide host of veggies for the vegetarians (and for me) and even skewer some fresh fruit for dessert later.  Mix in a salad, maybe a noodle salad as well, and we’ll have a lovely menu. 

Add some wine, some sparkling juice for the young ones and it will be the makings of an elegant picnic.  Care to join us???

Organizing the Car

I’m heading back to school/work so commuting is back on the table as an issue in my life.  I hate the car when its cluttery, messy, and yucky.  And I hate paying for car washes that never seem to last the day. 

So, I’m getting serious about this --- I’m attempting to organize the car.  I spend way too much time in the car to feel awful about that space.  I need to love my car and love being in it.  So, I’m determined --- the car will be an organized, pleasant, user-friendly space. 

First up --- a pretty trash bin.  Since I’ve gotten the new sewing maching and I’m trying all sorts of cute projects --- a new trash bin is on my list.  I can line it with old grocery store bags to make removing trash easier, but the bin itself WILL BE  pretty. 

Next:  a better phone charger.  I hate the one I have – sometimes it charges, sometimes it doesn’t and I never know which it will be until its too late.  All done with that problem.  New charger – that works.

File system:  I found this black (okay, not so cute) little file box that can sit in the front seat and keep papers, files, magazines, (the mail) and other stuff organized for me.  It has slots for scissors (I’m always hunting for scissors), pens and the like. 

Hanging organizer:  I’ve been looking at these but they’ve always seemed too “soccer mom-ish” for me.  They’re always shown in the pictures with kids books, games, and snacks in them. Not what I need.  But I’m re-thinking them.  I think that they could hold a lot of the cluttery stuff that accumulates in the car.  The maps that don’t fit in the glove compartment (yes, I still use maps), the dog bones, a travel pack of wipes (essential!), Kleenex (equally essential), an extra pair of gloves – could all go in the organizer hanging on the back of the passenger seat so that I can reach them. 

Last thing:  I need to come up with some sort of organizing bin for the cell phone and other gadgets.  They need to be right by the charger (naturally) but not falling into my way or in danger of having drinks spilled on them.  Any ideas?

Pencil Pouch for a Notebook

I just got a new sewing machine, so I'm trying all sorts of little bitty projects to practice using all of the funky new things this machine will do.  (I'm still in a little bit of awe at the machine -- I moved up from a 50 year old Singer Featherweight

-- to a brand spanking new Janome ---

 Its a little like stepping into Star Trek)  Anyway ---- I fell in love (don't I always?) with this little pencil pouch
(how chic and rich is it to have your own customized pencil pouch at work or school instead of the silly Walmart or Target ones??)
Check out the beautiful tutorial here

Chores Charts for Kiddos

I love cute, clever ways of helping kids learn responsibility.  This cute --- super-cute--- set of chore charts really got my attention

You can find links here.  This lady has a ton of pdf files with printables to construct gorgeous charts like these.
Another one that I loved:

Go ahead --- go check it out.

Corn, Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Corn, Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

·      Whole wheat tortilla (2 per quesadilla)

·      4-6 oz of goat cheese, crumbled

·      ¼ cup of corn kernels

·      1-2 strips of roasted red peppers cut into small pieces

·      ¼ cup of black beans

·      2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

·      fresh salsa and sour cream

Coat a large skillet with a very thin layer of olive oil and heat over medium heat. 

Place on tortilla in the pan.  Top with a layer of the crumbled goat cheese.  Layer corn, beans, red peppers and cilantro on top of the goat cheese.  Top with a second tortilla.  Cook about 2-3 minutes on medium low heat (be careful not to get the pan too hot- or you’ll fry the tortilla without melting the yummy goat cheese)

Serve with salsa and sour cream (and maybe some sangria!!)

New York Designer Fabric Outlet

I’m in love!! I found the most amazing fabric shop (and its not too, too far away.--- I might be in trouble here).  I’ve been missing the Schumacher outlet something terrible (its only been 5 years – I’m still grieving, you know).  I might have found its replacement!

New York Designer Fabric Outlet in Valatie NY is one amazing place.  Let me begin by saying that the name of the shop does not even begin to do it justice.  I probably passed it a dozen or more times and never even thought to stop.  It just didn’t interest me --- I had visions of something very – I don’t know --- New York.   This little outlet carries fabrics from around the world – the remnants of famous projects – from the White House to Paris – gorgeous fabric that graces some of the most elegant settings in the world. 

The best part?? The fabric sells for somewhere around 15-20% of the original cost.  Fabrics that originally sold for $350 a yard (gulp) can be found for $50, $35 and even $10 a yard. Those are my kind of prices.  And the fabric is beautiful … I can’t even describe them. They’re really amazing.

Find them right on Route 9 just above the Hannaford Plaza.  You won’t be sorry.  Really.  

Summer Gear: Organizing My Entryway

We’re half-way through the summer (okay, you don’t have to point it out – we’re MORE than half-way – but I don’t want to think about that yet).  The mess by the back door is beginning to get on my nerves.  We have a large collection of dog leashes, pooper bags, beach stuff, cooler stuff, sunglasses and more that seems to have accumulated there.  The organizing that I did to corral the winter gear is still in place --- but that’s the problem!  The winter gear is occupying all of the important real estate –  There’s no room for all of the summer gear.  Time to fix this before I lose my mind. 

I LOVE my antique ice-box by the back door – the inside of the ice-box holds (and hides!) all sorts of gear.  But right now the top is messy and stuff is piled on the counter, the table and the floor alongside it. 

Here’s what I’m thinking:

Ø  Magnetic hooks on the side of the ice box to increase the hanging space for leashes, keys, etc. 

Ø  A new wall rack/hook alongside it.  The old one only has 3 hooks – and although they’re large – they’re not cutting it.  It also has a shelf that we don’t’ really use – except to catch cluttery stuff that never seems to leave the shelf once it takes up residence there. 

Ø  A couple of small pretty baskets for the top of the ice box to corral the sunglasses etc…. similar to what I did for gloves etc in the winter –

Ø  A small bookshelf on the far side of the ice box – this could hold shoes, dog toys, cooler gear and the like without being obtrusive about it.  When the wetter weather comes, the shoe tray could sit right in front of the shelf. 

Ø  A tray (maybe a sorter?) for the top of the bookshelf for mail etc --- We have a bad habit of leaving it on the counter (what a mess!)   My previous plan had this on the top of the ice-box , but I’m really wanting that to look clean and tidy --- NO clutter --- not even the mail.  

Breakfast Cereal Tarts

So – with all of those guests coming, I thought I’d try out a few new breakfast recipes.  I’m loving this one – I do all of the work ahead of time and the presentation looks fantastic!!

Cereal Tarts

5 cups of corn flakes (or something similar – Wheaties, whatever)

1 cup of nuts (something breakfasty – almonds, pecans etc)

4 TBS melted butter

6TBS maple syrup (use the real thing, please)

16 oz carton of plain yogurt

16 oz carton of vanilla yogurt

2-3 cups of fresh fruit (berries, peaches, plums, whatever)

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Start by making tart shells:

Place the cornflakes and nuts in the bowl of your food processor and process until combined (just a few short pulses)

Pour the cereal and nut mix into a mixing bowl and drizzle with the melted butter.  Mix to form a mix like for a graham cracker crust.   Stir in the maple syrup

Press into tart pan (I loved this in mini tart pans so that everyone had an individual tart)

Bake for 10-20 minutes (depending on which size tart pans you use)

Cool

Now make the filling:

Remove the shells from the tart pans

Mix the yogurts together

Top the tart shell with the yogurt mixture and top with the fruit