The more you spend, the more you save, right?

Let me begin with a little gripe. Why do car manufacturers put P.O.S. tires on new cars? Our van is four and a half years old and the Civic is THREE and a half years old, and both of them have horrible tires. Like the kind of tires where you try to start from a four-way stop and if it's been raining, you can't get going right away. ugh! So we knew this, and "budgeted" (as much as you can) for new tires for both vehicles this fall (before the snow comes). But then we realized that it's a lot easier to have car repairs done in the summer, when G. is off of work and we can easily run one vehicle up and not have to spend hours and hours sitting while the work is done.

This weekend both Sears and Fleet Farm had sales on tires, but since Sears is a five minute drive (and Fleet Farm is a 20 minute drive) we went to Sears. First the van. Buy three tires, get the fourth free (woo hoo!). Add in valve stems, alignment, tire disposal and a million other little things and it added up to $465.57 (saved $103.99). After I paid, the machine shot out two things--a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase elsewhere in Sears today and a $5 off any purchase coupon if I took a phone survey. I did the survey, and C. and I went shopping! We found her first-day-of-school outfit:

Cute khaki green capri-length pants (regularly $26 for $15.60) and a brown, 100% cotton, lace-trimmed tee (regularly $18 for $10.80) with a picture of a *horse* on it! (click on the pics to see bigger images) With tax and after coupons, just $17.32.

Three hours later, G's car was done. Same deal with buying 3 tires, get one free. Total of $357.86 (saved $69.99). Two more coupons. Shopping for T. He got a picture day shirt (regularly $22 for $8.99), socks that he needed (regularly $7.99 for $5.99) and another "dressy" t-shirt (reg. $9.99 for $2.49):



Then I went searching for something for me, to bring it up to $25. I am SO excited to say that I found something I'd been looking for all summer long: black cotton gauchos with a roll-top waistband (regularly $36 for $7.99)! Better yet part--they are a size XS! I am *not* an extra small size, but I'm happy to wear one that's cut generously to make me feel good ;) Total of $16.33 for second set of purchases.

Grand total if there were no discounts: $1112.74
Grand total after discounts: $857.08
Savings: $255.66


(see, now if I'd just have posted "I saved $255.66 today", you'd have been way more impressed)

Vichyssoise; Panini

My Dad always loved Vichyssoise and he made a wonderful one from a recipe in The Joy of Cooking. So when I saw that there were beautiful leeks in the grocery store, I knew I had to make some.

Vichyssoise
adapted from The Joy of Cooking
(non-dairy version below)

1 large leek, white and light green parts only, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons butter
4 medium potatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups milk (can use cream)
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives

In a medium soup pot, sauté the leeks and onion in butter for 3 minutes. Skin the potatoes and slice very fine. Add the chicken stock to the pot along with the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Puree the mixture, using an immersion blender (or you could use a blender or food processor). Add milk (or cream), salt and pepper. Serve piping hot (you can chill it, but we always ate it hot!). Garnish with chopped chives.

p.s. for those of you going the non-dairy route, the cookbook mentioned a second version, prepared the same up to the addition of cream. Skip adding the cream, then chill it and, before serving, stir in shredded cucumber. Sounds good to me! (I'd use olive oil instead of butter, too)
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Panini

You can choose whatever meats, cheeses, veggies that you want, but our faves are:

sliced pepperoni
thinly sliced tomatoes
lots of fresh basil
mozzarella cheese (we also like provalone)
butter and/or olive oil
crushed garlic
Italian bread

If using butter, melt it in the microwave. I like to use a 50/50 mix of butter and olive oil. Crush the garlic into the butter/olive oil.

Paint one slice of Italian bread with the oil/garlic mixture and lay down on a grill pan. Layer cheese and other toppings, then top with more cheese. Lay second slice of Italian bread on top and paint it with garlic butter, too. When you have all the sandwiches assembled on the grill pan, put a cookie sheet on top and top that with several bricks to smoosh down the contents. (I'm sure you can also use a panini press, but I don't own one!)

When cheese is melty and bread is crusty, flip and do the same process with the cookie sheet and bricks.

Serve immediately
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potato chips


p.s. I ate some of the leftover vichyssoise cold and it was good, too :)

Ala Carte at the Zoo

The Milwaukee County Zoo (of which we are members) does this cool thing every August for four days. It's Ala Carte, and is billed as "Feast With The Beasts". Tons of local restaurants set up tents at the zoo and you can buy yummy food and the zoo's open till 10:00 pm. They have entertainment (in the past we saw the Violent Femmes there) and raffles and freebies... Anyway, we traditionally go on Thursday, thinking it'll be less busy than the weekend days. We went this Thursday.

The bigger kids finally got to ride a camel:


We saw M's favorite animals, the giraffes, at their new house at the zoo. And obligatory silly photos after...



Then we saw T's favorite animal, the rhino (like Rambi from Donkey Kong Country):
The grizzly bears looked adorable, so I had to take a picture:



Oh, and we ate! We had jambalaya, nachos, chicken taco salad, sour cream and chive fries, and a hot fudge baked alaska eclair!

RIP, "You Knit What"

Ever since You Knit What decided to call it quits (exactly two weeks ago), my days have been missing that early-morning laugh-your-head-off-at-someone-else's-expense bit. But I think I found my replacement: Threadbared! It's not just knitting--some crochet and sewing. And they're vintage patterns, not current... but they're still damned amusing! check it out

The coolest thing...

In my blog-browsing lifetime, I've stumbled upon a few cool knitting things that I've participated in (Sockapaloooza; Dye-o-rama; Mason-Dixon KAL) and a few things that I thought were really neat, but didn't seriously consider participating in (Knitting Olympics; The Amazing Lace; Project Spectrum). But I just read an entry about something so cool, that I want to cry because I missed it all. It was a request for hand-knit fruit and vegetable hats to distribute to breastfed babies on WIC! Two of my great interests/obsessions: knitting and breastfeeding... and I missed it!

Read all the cool details (and see adorable pictures) here:

http://cantlivewithoutknit.blogspot.com/2006/07/incredible-harvest.html

Chicken Piccata

This is an easy one. I took it straight from Rachel Ray! The recipe is on Food Network.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

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Italian Bread from Breadsmith
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Tossed Salad with bottled dressing
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SEEDED watermelon (why is this so impossible to find?) from the back of a truck...and it was divine!

WIPs

I am slowly working on the socks from my dye-o-rama yarn. It's my fall-back project! I do a few rows every now and then. Here's the picture of them so far:

I wish I was a better judge of how much yarn I have left. I think these would rock as knee-highs! But do I have enough to make them knee-highs? I'm thinking probably not.... So I still don't know how to end them! And that's why I'm plugging along, two rows at a time. :)

Now, the tank. I love this pattern (FTMP) and I adore the yarn. After I knit the back, I wasn't sold and I didn't like how stretchy it was, so when I did the front (which is the exact same pattern as the back, but it continues where the back is bound off), I did two major differences. For the first row, I knit into the back of every stitch. It made a really cool, tight edge that shows off the seed stitch sections, making them kinda three-dimensionalish. Secondly, I bound off quite tightly for the armpits and the neckline, so it didn't sag. I think that worked really well, too! Look:See how it curves in on the bottom and the top is tight? cool... Only about 11 more inches of straps to knit, too.

But I started thinking that I'd have to knit over the back to make it match. Part of me hoped that it wouldn't be necessary, as it's the BACK, right? Well.... check this out:

I guess it's a good thing that I really like this yarn, huh? :) I'm also happy that the back is shorter, so it'll take me less time to knit. Live and learn. :) I have become an expert at tinking on this project, too. Oh, and dropping single stitches down and then picking them back up through numerous rows. :)

And you know how I posted that the kids only seem to play with legos at Grandma's house? Well, my living room floor has been coated in legos for the past two days. Be careful what you wish for!

Chicken tacos/Taco Salad

This is a meal that gets made (in various forms) a LOT in our house because everyone can use the fixins to make what they like. Pics above show G's soft-shell tacos plus nachos; my taco salad (plus margarita); C's hard shell taco and mixed chip dip

Here's the things I made (plus a listing of things I often make, but didn't tonight)

chicken breast, marinated in McCormick's Southwestern Seasoning and then grilled
refried beans (from a can)
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped onion
shredded cheese
sour cream
Pace picante sauce
Tostitos queso sauce
flour tortillas
crisp taco shells
plain tortilla chips

(this is the quick meal, taking less than half an hour from start to finish--plus time to marinate)

more involved items:
cilantro lime rice
homemade pico de gallo
homemade salsa verde
guacamole
black olives

Worst Mother Ever?

I feel like an all-around slacker. Since returning from vacation, I haven't really posted anything other than meals. That's because we haven't really done much of anything other than eat! Lots of sitting around, screen time, games, lazy summer stuff than none of us have been able to do since summer started!

I do have one entry for the "worst mother ever" contest. Here goes:

Since C. was little, I've belonged to an informal playgroup that developed from our La Leche League group. Now that most of the kids are older, we only meet (for the most part) in the summer, alternating parks. We pack lunches and bring something to share (yum!) and the kids play and the moms talk and it's wonderful. So this last Friday we met at a park on my side of town and on Lake Michigan. Only three families made it, but we had a blast. The kids played on the playground equipment and we had lunch, and then changed into swimsuits and trekked down to the lake. We could hear waves crashing on the beach as we walked down and the Southwesterly winds had made some substantial waves, indeed! The older kids had a blast on the "boogie boards" and innertubes, being tossed around on the waves and tipped over. It was such a contrast to our calm wading day at Lake Superior that my kids were thrilled! The smaller kids dug deep holes and made sand castles and had tons of fun, too. The moms watched carefully, chatted, and caught some sun. It was a fantastic day! After awhile on the beach, one of the younger kids needed to use the bathroom and her mom went in search of one. On their way back, this mom stopped at a sign posted on the beach and read it. Then she re-read it and re-read it. When she made her way back, she told the rest of us that it was a posting stating that the e. coli levels in the water were elevated and that people should swim "at their own risk". Furthermore, we were warned to wash hands with soap before touching food.

OMG... The waves had crashed over the big kids and I know that each of them got significant water in their mouths. The kids had been finishing their lunches while sitting on the beach. The moms looked at each other in horror. We packed up the kids as quickly as we could and ran up to the bathroom and scrubbed as best as we could with soap. Visions of hospitals kept reappearing in my head. It had NEVER crossed my mind to even look to see what the e. coli levels were. I grew up on Lake Superior where the water was never tainted!

I arrived home and G. asked how the trip was. I explained everything, including the e. coli advisory. He quickly looked it up on the web and found that it must have been an old posting, as the beach was listed as "open" for the day we were there. I love my practical husband.

And now it's 5 days after our trip and no one (knock wood) shows any signs of infection. I still feel like we just barely dodged a bullet and I don't know if I'll be able to take the kids back there or not. So sad...

BBQ Pork Sandwiches; Homemade potato chips

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

1 1/2 lb. boneless country style ribs (I've also used pork butt roast--boneless or bone-in)
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and Pepper
1/2 c. apple juice
1/4 c. water
1/2 cup (or to taste) barbeque sauce (we like Saz's)

Place pork in crock pot. Crush garlic over top. Season with salt and pepper. Crumble brown sugar on top of that. Carefully pour apple juice and water in bottom of crock pot. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until pork is falling apart. Pour off liquids and, using two forks, shred pork. Pour barbeque sauce over shredded pork and heat through. Serve on toasted buns with pickles on the side (we like Claussen kosher dills).
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Homemade potato chips

Slice potatoes (with peeling on) thinly, using food processor. Soak in cold water until ready to fry. Pat dry with towels and fry at 325 degrees for 3 minutes. Remove and drain. (potatoes can sit at this point for several hours) heat oil to 375 degrees, and re-fry chips until crispy. Drain well on brown paper bags or paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
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watermelon

Smoky Turkey Goulash

Smoky Turkey Goulash
(adapted from a few Rachel Ray Recipes)

2 T. olive oil
1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1 lb. ground turkey
2 t. Hungarian half-sharp paprika
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. coarse ground black pepper
2 T. fresh thyme leaves (6 sprigs)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 green (or red) pepper, diced
2 T. flour
2 c. chicken stock
1 c. sour cream

Heat olive oil in large, deep pan. Cook bacon until brown. Drain off most of the grease. Add turkey (seasoning with paprika, cumin, thyme, pepper and salt) and cook until brown. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, stir in, and cook 2 more minutes. Add chicken stock and 1/2 cup sour cream and heat until vegetables are tender. Right before serving, stir in remaining 1/2 cup sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.
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Pillsbury Italian bread
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cucumber, tomato and onion dressed with balsamic vinagrette
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watermelon

What we did on our summer vacation

Saturday
Drove up north; arrived about 6:30; had a yummy supper; played (why are legos always more fun at Grandma's house?)

Sunday
Went to the Iron County Fair; saw lots of animals and fair entries; visited the "petting zoo"; M. and T. rode on "Berry Go Round"; watched the greased pig competition; ate greasy fair food; out to eat at grandma's friend's restaurant

Monday
Went to visit one of Grandma's friends, who has a huge farm; saw horses (including a less-than-one-month-old foal), a baby calf, two pigs, a bunch of chickens, three dogs, and a handful of cats; rearranged Grandma's living room, but didn't have success in putting together a new entertainment center (Kmart sucks), so Grandma's TV is now on an end table...

Tuesday
Uncle S. had one of his first days off in months (he's a firefighter and the weather's been so dry that he's on fire watch nonstop) and he spent it with us! S. and G. played golf; we all went to Saxon Harbor on Lake Superior and swam (warmest it's been in years!) and had lunch; G., S., C., and T. took the chair lift and elevator to the top of Copper Peak Sky Flying Hill (that's Canada behind Uncle S. and T.)

Wednesday
Headed home about 9:00 am; stopped at Bay Beach;


got home and crashed!

Back from vacation

wow... I'm exhausted! :)

We just returned tonight from our summer vacation. I promise numerous posts with LOTS of pictures, but wanted to get this post out first.

I finished the MDK bib to match the burp cloth mentioned in this post. Thank you to all the MDKALers who helped with ideas and last-minute emailed directions :) I did a log cabin, and I like it in theory, but I'm still not sold on log cabins. They just don't turn out that neat on the edges for me :( But it was a fun experiment. At the end, I used a big circular needle to pick up and knit a trim all in orange. I also did two buttonholes for some adjustability and I used a button from my Grandma's collection. :) Picture below:

and now to catch up on email...

Szechuan Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Szechuan Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
(adapted from some old Szechuan cookbook my mom owns, but is no longer in print)

1 lb. boneless chicken breast
10 dried red peppers
2 T finely chopped fresh ginger
6 green onions
1/2 c. cashews
4 T. peanut oil

marinade:
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. soy sauce
3 T. rice wine
2 egg whites
1 t. salt

seasonings:
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. rice wine
1/4 cup tamari
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. salt (omit if using salted nuts)
1 T. sugar

stirfry vegetables:
About 4 c. of your choice of fresh veggies, such as carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, peapods, peppers, bok choy, napa cabbage, etc. cut into small pieces

To prepare:
1. Cut the chicken meat into pieces 1 inch or slightly smaller.
2. Make the marinade by mixing the cornstarch with the tamari and wine, then adding the salt and egg white. Mix the marinade with the chicken and marinate at least 15 minutes
3. Cut off the ends of the dried red peppers and shake out the seeds. Chop the ginger very finely and cut the green onion into 1/2 inch lengths
4. In a small bowl, mix the seasonings, first mixing the cornstarch with the soy sauce and wine and then mixing in the other ingredients.

To cook:
1. Heat about 4 T. cooking oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the red peppers, cooking over a medium flame until they start to char. Turn the fire up as high as possible and as soon as the peppers are black, add the chicken pieces. Reduce flame to medium (note: the charred pepper pieces have a bitter taste, so I take them out of the pan before adding the chicken)
2. At the same time, in another pan, stir fry the vegetables until crisp
3. Stir-fry until the chicken is white, then add the ginger and green onion. Cook, stirring for a few more seconds, then add the cashews or other nuts and the stir-fried vegetables. Pour the seasonings over the top (give them a quick stir first). When the sauce has thickened slightly and is glaze-like, remove to a serving dish and serve hot.


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Pagoda Cafe cream cheese wontons, served with Chinese mustard and Sweet and Sour sauce

knitting post

First of all (thanks to all who responded), I decided not to even make a baby kimono. Yeah, I know... it's adorable. Really, it is! But I was a bit afraid that I would run out of yarn, and I don't know if the baby is a girl or boy, and I hadn't tried some other MDK patterns yet, so I decided to do a burpcloth and bib set :) These are my two least favorite colors in the world, and yet I think they look kinda cute together. I'm improvising on the bib and I do NOT like how the sides are looking. Can anyone tell me a better way to put side-stripes? I was wrapping the yarns around each other so there wasn't a gap, but that looked messy, so I switched to knitting one row of 3 stitches yellow, then 4 stitches yellow the next row, but it's still looking funky :( HELP!



And I may go back (for awhile--till someone gives me good advice on the bib) to working on the tank top. I really like how much better the bottom looks on the front part (I knit into the back of every stitch on the first row as opposed to knitting regular on the back). See how much neater it is? Do I want to frog the WHOLE back piece now? I'll have to see if it's noticeable when I'm all done, I guess. It's the process, right? The joy in knitting--not the finished project :)

Gazpacho; grilled bratwurst; fried potatoes

Gazpacho

3 large, fresh tomatoes, or the equivalent of smaller ones (or, in the dead of winter, use a 16 oz. can of tomatoes)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cubed
1/4 small green pepper, cubed
1/4 small onion, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. red wine vinegar (or your choice of other vinegars)
1/3 c. light vegetable oil (or olive)
salt and pepper
1 slice bread
garnish: assorted chopped veggies and croutons

Peel the tomatoes by submerging in boiling water for 15 seconds, then plunging into ice water. Place all ingredients (except the slice of bread and the garnish) into a blender and puree. While blender is running, add the slice of bread. Pour soup over a handful of ice cubes and chill until serving time (at least two hours). Serve topped with your choice of garnishes (chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, chopped onions, croutons).

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Grilled bratwurst aka "brats"
This might be a Midwestern/Wisconsin thing...
We par-boil our brats for 15 minutes in water (or beer) and then grill them

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Then I just fried sliced potatoes and onions in an olive oil/butter mix and seasoned them with kosher salt, black pepper and Hungarian half-sharp paprika.

Chilled Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup; pork loin; salad

My friend Mo's Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

This is really good hot or cold.

1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into cube
4 cloves of garlic

Boil above until soft. Puree. Add chicken broth to the pot and stir.
(I actually boiled it in 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock and then pureed it right in the pot with a stick blender)
Heat through (even if you're going to eat it cold). Season with salt, pepper, fresh dill, and the juice of one lime (I thought half a lime was sufficient).

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Hormel Mesquite BBQ seasoned pork loin, grilled


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Mixed baby greens, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and scallions, dressed with salt, pepper and balsamic dressing

Tank top progress and a poll!

I finished the back of the tank top last night. I believe I found an error in the pattern, too. I've emailed Berroco to see if it's a true error, but from the looks of the pattern, each of the little inserts should be seed stitch, and the pattern had the middle inserts (three of them) being knit as ribbing. Of course, even though I *thought* that was what they meant when I read the pattern, I didn't decide for sure that it was wrong until I'd gone four rows into the repeat. BUT it gave me a chance to drop stitches and pick them up individually--a new thing for me. We'll see if it actually worked when all is said and done!

I love the feel of this yarn when it's knit up. It does untwist quite easily (especially when picking up individual stitches!), which is frustrating when trying to knit while doing something else.

One question/poll for knitters or just parents:
A girl (woman) that I used to babysit for from the time I was eleven years old is having her first baby and I wanted to make a MDK baby kimono for her. The first kimono that I made was out of the SugarNCream yarn, which is cotton, but not really soft. I have no money to buy more yarn now, but I have a big stash of SNC and also a lot of hand-me-down "baby" weight acrylic. Which would you rather have a baby kimono knit from--a soft acrylic or a less-soft 100% cotton?

And, finally, with the new computer, C. has been working on updating her blog more. I know that comments would probably encourage her writing, and they're just so much fun to read, anyway ;)

Shish-kabob and marinated veggies on the grill

Beef Shishkabob

Beef tenderloin or flank steak, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
Equal parts of: red wine, tamari, water
minced garlic
fresh grated ginger

Marinade overnight. Thread on skewers and grill.

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Marinated veggies

Your choice of veggies such as:
canned whole potatoes
peppers (green, other colors), cut into 1 inch squares
onions (vidalia, purple), cut into slivers, with root end still attached
zucchini, cut into circles or long slices
mushrooms (baby bellas, field mushrooms, etc.)

Italian dressing, bottled or made from scratch (we like Wishbone)

Marinade most veggies in dressing overnight, except for mushrooms which will absorb too much marinade overnight--4-6 hours is fine. Grill in a grill basket to save the effort of threading on skewers!

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Cucumber and tomato salad

1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
About 6-10 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
2 green onions, thinly sliced

dressing:
1 T. good quality balsamic vinegar
2 T. water
3 T. olive oil

Place veggies in bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then top with dressing ingredients. Toss and serve.

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(Also shown with cubed watermelon and a wonderful baguette from Breadsmith)