restaurant.com

Pfffft. That's the sound of the holidays being slowly, but surely, deflated. Christmas this year felt really anti-climactic. There was all the regular cheer, spirit and zeal while opening gifts...the denouement was just so..meh.

Maybe this comes with maturity or change or unrealistic expectations. Shopping felt like more of a chore this year than it has in the past, but I'm proud to say that I stayed within the $40 limit we set per couples with my cousins. Kudos to the Restaurant.com web site.

I've used this site in the past, though not often. Basically you can buy a discount gift card and use it towards a meal at numerous restaurants listed on the web site. More or less it gets you an ample discount with purchase of another meal or a minimum bill. The Mister and I took my Mom out for dinner at Pescatore's restaurant in Glen Mills, PA. (Excellent service and lobster bisque.) We got a $25 discount off of our meal because we spent $50. You can purchase a $100 giftcard on the site for $40, and I found a 50 percent off coupon code online (there are also 80 percent off coupon codes floating around). Before purchasing, I did a search by zip code to make sure there was a good restaurant selection and most areas have a nice variety of establishments. 

Not bad for $20. 

olive oil chocolate chip cookies

I've really enjoyed baking these past few weeks. The sense of accomplishment, the warm smells, the endless applause...it's all been quite lovely. Quite. 

Just one hitch. Each time I drop in a stick or two of buttery goodness into my creation, I cringe. The problem is that butter is so vital to a good baked product. The texture, the melt in your mouth factor, the mouth watering smell...isn't it worth a few clogged arteries? 

Luckily I was able to find a adequate substitute: olive oil.

These cookies turned out moist and fluffy. In fact, I sent two dozen cookies to work with the Mister and the he came back with an empty plate. In fact, he claimed they were all gone by lunch.

While the pudding cookies are my best work, these cookies are a slightly healthier alternative.  

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Slice of Feist

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup of chips (I used mint and dark chocolate)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients and gradually mix in remaining ingredients. The mixture will be sort of crumbly and should then be molded into small balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees, 10-12 minutes. 

I baked them for 10 minutes, then threw them back in for another two minutes.

These are definitely going into my recipe box. They'd be great for a holiday cookie exchange or for a Christmas party.

thanksgiving: new tandoori traditions

I must admit, I was nothing short of skeptical when the Mister announced that he would be making both a tofurkey and turkey on Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, my parents have always opted for Indian food in lieu of the traditional fixings. As a child, I always found this disappointing. As an adult, I was ecstatic to have all my favorite Indian dishes prepared for me during my short visit home.

There was push back after this announcement. I was first to dismiss the Mister's proclamation as ridiculous, and told him to forget it. We always have lamb curry for Thanksgiving, thank you very much. My sister was ambivalent and my cousin was in deep denial. (You would understand our feelings if you've ever tasted my Mom's lamb curry.) We have it every Christmas and Thanksgiving; it’s our holiday tradition. 

My Mom hates to tell her beloved son-in-law no, so she inevitably told him he could make a Thanksgiving lunch. This was acceptable to him, but somewhere along the line the Mister managed to rally my Mom to join him in making a big dinner with all the bells and whistles.

Before I knew it, they were excitedly preparing the new menu. Tandoori turkey, tofurkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy…um, was this really going to happening? Oh, and our delicious mutton curry was moved to Saturday night.

I announced to my husband that I wanted nothing to do with this anti-Thanksgiving tradition. He shrugged and accepted my lack of culpability.

My Mom purchased a 15-pound turkey and a tofurkey at Raisin Rack (organic/veg grocer) in Canton, Ohio. They worked all day to marinate and bake the ‘urkeys. They made Indian-style cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with chili powder and turmeric, and a beautiful, orange gravy for the turkey.

The Tandoori spices were delicious and the turkey was succulent. You could smell the garlic, coriander and onions. The tofurkey was, in fact, so delicious that the carnivores took seconds. Well, needless to say, I think we have a new tradition for the Bebe.

Tandoori Turkey

Tandoori Tofurkey

swiss chard and goat cheese soup

In my continued domination of leafy greens, I have swiss chard in my sights. Swiss chard is one of those superpower vegetables. Very high in vitamins A, K and C; it's also good for iron and fiber. When eaten raw it tastes nasty and bitter, but when it's cooked properly it tastes like a dainty version of spinach. It's so full of health benefits it's worth adding to our dinner menu.

In my eyes, soup can do no wrong. If I could eat soup every day, I probably would. And now that I think about it, there probably isn't any reason (short of my own laziness) that I can't eat soup every day. I found an easy and tasty recipe on Dianasaur's Dishes recipe blog. 

The recipe is only for two servings, and I adjusted the recipe for four servings and increased the amount of onion. It's very healthy and it doesn't really need the goat cheese. It's a light soup and tastes very fancy. The Mister was really impressed and thought this was the type of appetizer that would be great for a dinner party.

Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Soup

4 cups chopped swiss chard

6 cloves minced garlic

6 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons goat cheese

2 tablespoons milk

salt and pepper to taste

Saute swiss chard, onion and garlic in olive oil. Add broth and puree. Combine goat cheese and milk, add to the soup. Taste and add appropriate salt/pepper.

zucchini and chipotle cheese scones

I'm obsessed with making the perfect scone. I've probably had three scones in my life, and once was seventh-grade home economics, and let me assure you, they were all gross. Until this recipe, I wasn't even really sure what a good scone is supposed to taste like.

The zucchini-chipotle cheese scones were inspired by a recipe on Ciao Chow Linda's recipe blog  and was my second attempt at scones.

My first try was not quite disastarous but took a toll on my cooking mentality. The recipe I found was on was on The Foreign Kitchen blog for cheese scones, and looked really promising. The only problem was I didn't read down to the commentary to see that the recipe called for four teaspoons and not four TABLESPOONS of baking powder. Fully expecting the scones to explode, I literally ran to the oven to check on them. Surprisingly, even with the mess up, they were edible. But apparently too much baking soda can cause a little bitterness and they were extremely dry.

With a lot of butter, the Mister dubbed them digestible. But I definitely felt dejected. (The blogger from The Foreign Kitchen was kind enough to apologize for the mistake and it's been fixed.) The photos look so good, I will definitely try them again.

Zucchini and Chipotle-Cheese Scones

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 1/2 cup flour

3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used mostly chives and a little oregano)

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup cheese (I used chipotle-cheddar, but I think anything potent will work)

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, herbs. Cut and add butter, stop mixing when the butter is in small chunks. Add eggs, buttermilk, zucchini and 3/4 of the cheese. Pat into 12-inch round circle. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cut into 8 slices. Preheat oven to 400, bake 30 minutes.

Serve hot!

The scone is a very tasty meal and compliments a nice soup or salad. The Mister really loved these and I think he was truly shocked at how well they turned out. (The first batch was sort of atrocious in comparison to this one.) After inhaling two for dinner, he packed up some more for lunch today and just called me saying someone on his staff wants the recipe!

shout out: the christmas tree shops

Doesn't it feel like every year Christmas starts earlier and earlier? This year I think it was mid-October when the mall started to look like Rudolph barfed up a bunch of tinsel and lights.

Many sane shoppers wonder who this blatantly grotesque display of commercialization is aimed at. Well, wonder no longer. It's me! I heart Christmas and it really can't start early enough for me. I've already put up two wreathes in the kitchen and some jingle bells on the front door. The dining room centerpiece is undergoing a green/red/gold overhaul and the Mister negotiated next week for the stockings. (After exclaiming, "But it's not even Thanksgiving!" while I was scampering down the hall with them.)

Two years ago, I stocked up on decorations for our condo in Philadelphia at Target's post-holiday sale, and at 70 percent off I made some really great buys. But this year I don't want to wait until after the holidays and we have a much bigger space to fill up with red and green. 

Enter The Christmas Tree Shops. Owned by Bed, Bath and Beyond and located throughout New England and the Midwest, The Christmas Tree Shops is an excellent place for a bargain. (It's "shops" and not "shop" because originally it was three shops in one.)

I've found misc for the kitchen, bedrooms, and of course, all the Christmas crap I could carry with my grubby little mitts. My favorite find was a console table that I put in our second floor hallway ($29.99). A new store opened a few months ago in Cherry Hill, NJ and that's the location I visited this past weekend. There were five aisles of wreathes, wrapping paper, linens, centerpieces, candle holders, fake trees and holiday cards. Unlimited and insane. The biggest downside was the crowd. (The amount of rudeness that ensues around the holidays never fails to amaze me.) I guess that's what I get for going on a Sunday afternoon.

My new console table.

If you've never been, it's worth the trip. The Mister loves a great deal, and we probably go once a month. In fact, when my Mom comes to visit she requests making a special trip out to Christmas Tree Shops. 

Check out the online circular for this week's deals.

maternity clothes

Pregnancy is full of little joys and annoyances. As your expectant body changes and grows (sideways), you're left in awe (and hormonal irritation) of your rapidly disappearing waistline. There's the stage where your stomach hasn't quite swelled to give the appearance of pregnancy, but you definitely appear to have put on weight. 

Denial is a scary thing. Rubber bands through the button were used to gain another week out of pants. I eventually gave up on the button altogether and used my burgeoning backside to keep up my corduroys. Finally, the zipper fell lower and lower until it was really best for the public that I investigate some maternity wear.

Perhaps had a adjusted my attitude and accepted the inevitable I may have shopped smarter and spent less money. Yes, I'm only using the clothing for nine months, but given my levels of discomfort and lack of clothing options and I was in a constant state of discomfiture. The reality is that post-partum, maternity clothes are going to be the most comfortable articles of clothing.

Since I was still working, my wardrobe needs were two-fold. Finding clothes with versatility was key. Instead of finding short cuts (for example buying clothing a size up to postpone the inevitable), investing in some staples will be worth your while. I did the bulk of my shopping online, the selection in stores was often picked over. I conducted a plethora of online searches and waddled around countless department stores.

Maggie Maternity

Maggie Maternity was my splurge. The clothes were so soft and fit me through the entire pregnancy (and towards the end everything was busting at the seams). I could use these items for both work and personal. I purchased the Classic Maggie Box ($195.00) with a black figure tee, bump trouser, model tank and silhouette skirt. All the pieces were used for both work and home, and post-partum these were my favorite items. I loved the tank so much I also bought it in plum.

Old Navy

If you need a great deal, Old Navy is the place to go. I bought a pair of khaki corduroys and found my favorite pair of preggo jeans (which I used up until a month ago). They also have a lot of basic t-shirts and tanks, which are great for layering. The sales racks were a source of countless finds for me, and weekly visits gave me an assortment of lounge wear.

Gap

For general style and quality, I think Gap was my ultimate favorite. For work, I purchased one pair of black pants and one pair of khaki pants. I also bought some plain sweater dresses and a few long sleeve shirts. Most of their maternity clothes are the same as the regular clothing; you'll find all the latest colors and trends. They frequently send out 25 percent off coupons and they have mark downs all the time.

Ann Taylor Loft

When I was pregnant, they were phasing out their maternity line, which was frustrating. I did snag a corduroy skirt from a final sale rack in Cherry Hill, NJ. Apparently, they revamped and brought it back a few weeks ago. Their styles are classic and I'm sure the quality is on par with their regular line. The prices are higher than Gap and I think they are targeting the "working woman" as their market niche. I've always been pleased with Loft's quality, I'm sure the maternity line is no different.

Target

I purchased a lot of tops and tanks from Target; they have great basics. My favorites were long sleeve shirts in brown, black and white, I also bought tank tops in white and nude. I didn't have much luck with pants (they ran long) or dresses/skirts (the selection was limited in stores). The prices are Target prices, generally reasonable.

H&M

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an H&M locally that carried the H&M Mama label. My sister was kind enough to notice that the H&M in Washington DC did have a maternity section. (If you go the H&M web site, it tells you which stores carry maternity.) I found tanks, dresses, skirts, sweaters and vests here. I'm confident that if I was able to stop in frequently I would have had even more luck.

Figure 8 Maternity

I stumbled across this site during one of my online searches. The prices are reasonable and there is a nice variety offered on the web site. I found the quality to be hit or miss, but for the most part I was pleased with my purchases. If you do an internet search, you should be able to find a coupon code to save 15-25 percent off.

Some of the popular stores, which didn't impress me, were Pea in a Pod (way too pricey for me) and Motherhood Maternity (clothes were a little big and looked cheap overall). Kohl's has a maternity section, but everything was a little big for me, same with JcPenney. I've heard that Gap Outlet is a great place to shop, but I didn't have a convenient location to peruse.

I packed up all my maternity clothes, officially, as of last week. If one bundle of joy is all you can handle, I think ebay will offer a nice outlet for gently used maternity clothing.