Your Four-Week Meal Plan

Over the past few weeks I have been using a Real Simple meal plan in the October issue.  It is so slick.  Five recipes along with a big shopping list are given per week.  I'm a leftovers type of person for lunch and dinner, so this has been absolutely wonderful to make a meal or two, have it for a few days, and also have ideas and ingredients on hand for guests or more special dinners.  We had the turkey burgers after my sister's Chaska meet, the Brussels sprouts and cheese ravioli with bacon when my grandparents came over, and the steak on the grill for a fun night in with Paul.  It has introduced me to some foods that I hadn't bought before, but will now- Udon noodles, shrimp, pork, pecans, radishes, yum.  I would say that my grocery trips have been more expensive, but two weeks of meal planning has lasted me since the end of September.  And some of my dinners have actually looked like these beautiful pictures.

This week I will try chicken paprikash, shrimp with white beans and toast, and balsamic-glazed pork with lentils.  No mushroom and herb strata or Asian beef and mango salad for me.  What Minnesotan should buy mango?

Week 1:  roasted tilapia, potatoes, and lemons

           Penne with tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella

           Turkey burgers with creamy romaine slaw

           Pork cutlets with spicy noodles

           Steak with roasted carrots and onions

Week 2:  curry shrimp and snow peas

           Lamb meatballs with couscous and Feta

           Red currant-glazed chicken with spinach

           Chorizo potato tacos with black bean salad

           Ravioli with Brussels sprouts and bacon

Let me know what you like and what you try!  I would say my favorites turned out to be the spicy pork noodles and the cheese ravioli with bacon and Brussels sprouts.

November 13th, 2010

Snow.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts:

The Thaw Collection of Native American Art.

and Embarrassment of Riches: Picturing Global Wealth

Then, Pork, sweet potatoes, carrot cake at Spoon River on Chicago.

Finally, Das Boot.

Books on Tape

I've tried listening to more books on tape this fall, and I must say it's created tons of positive reinforcement for all the driving I do.  I get to listen to a bit more of the story anytime I get in the car.  It's especially helpful when I don't want to stress out to or from school.  I can wake up or unwind very easily.


Currently I'm listening to Native Son by Richard Wright.  The narrator is riveting, creating quirks and personality for the characters with his many voices.  I remember listening to The Cuckoo's Child by Suzanne Freeman multiple times when I was young.  I loved the young narrator who read the story and could picture the setting and characters easily as she spun them.  Reading outloud was (and still, embarrassingly, is) a way for me to get into stories.  I think I am probably more auditory than I think, perhaps needing to get started in a novel by hearing the character's names and the story's places.


A running total this fall:

Wicked- please don't read OR listen to this...horrible.

The Lacuna

The Bean Trees- both by the masterful Barbara Kingsolver.  They are musts.

Where the Red Fern Grows- yep, cried in the car on the way to school one morning as it was finishing up.

The Glass Castle- unbelievable memoir.

Native Son

The Chaska Public Library has not had the greatest selection for books on tape, but I grab the things I recognize even I'm not in the mood for them at the time.  Each book is between 10 and 20 hours, and it's interesting how much of a part-time job driving is when you consider how fast those hours in the car add up!

Black Bean Chili with Chard- SERVED IN A SQUASH!

This is quintessential fall food!  I tried it this past weekend with two great friends (the kind that appreciates quaint details like scalloped edges around an acorn squash bowl and the colors of chard, kidney beans, and tomato-soaked onions). 
 

Chili:
Heat 2 T oil in large stock pot
Saute 3 cloves garlic with 2 1/2 c. onions slowly until golden, about 9 minutes
Stir in squash chunks [we skipped this part because we baked our bowls]
Add 2 T. chili powder, 2 t. cumin *other spices to try- coriander, rosemary, cinnamon
Add 3 cans beans, 1 can diced tomatoes with juices, vegetable broth, bring to boil
Stir in one small bunch of chard and simmer for 4 minutes
Season with salt and pepper
Top with your favorite chili things- cilantro, red onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese


Squash Bowls:
heat oven to 400 F.
Halve squash and rub with butter or olive oil.  Sprinkle with spices and/or brown sugar
Put halved acorn squash face down in a deep broiler sheet with about an inch of water.  Continue replenishing water every 15 minutes or so for 40-45 minutes.


Serve with homemade bread, salad, Crispin, and Amy and Emma, and you have a treat!

Half Marathon

Over the weekend, Laura B. and I trekked down to Iowa for the promised half marathon in Mason City.  Laura, Nicole, who had worked with Laura at Woodstock, her sister Amy, and I had decided this while on a 17,000 ft. mountaintop in India together.  The race was a benefit for a local Catholic school.  Nope, no connections- just wanted to run 13. 1 miles- wherever.  The weekend was too short, but a reminder of how great of a connection we had on our travels together in July. 

Because Laura and I didn't preregister, we got a shirt that was too big, a number with a great big red slash through it, NO socks, and NO sausage  (sounds like a great race pack, eh?).  We met Amy, Nicole, and Amy's roommate Aimee in our hotel and drove the course.  Some of it we had to approximate, because it was on local trails, but for the most part it looked flat, wide, and not ALL pavement.  The race highlighted what puts Mason City on the map- a start line at Music Man Square (yes, 76 trombones hanging from the ceiling), and a scenic view of the Frank Lloyd Wright house and its neighborhood replicas. 

The evening before we ordered food from an Italian joint (I opened up Nicole's race sausage)

decorated T-shirts, the caption: "From India (17,000 ft)...to Iowa (1,100 ft)." 

and hennaed our calves.  Laura created an interpretation of the course, which looked like a little paisley.

The evening was comfortable and we headed for bed, feeling "warm and puffy," around 9:00.

Race-Day:
6:45 Up and at 'em.  Breakfast.  Tried to pack in some yogurt, oatmeal, banana, boiled egg, but only a small portion of each.
7:15 Dressed in our racing finest.  Weather is cool with a small breeze, yet almost humid.  Perfect for running.
7:45 Depart for high school to catch shuttle to start line.  I sat next to a guy who smelled like a crusty bar and looked like death.  He was looking forward to running.  "Anything's gotta feel better than this hangover."
9:00 Prayer and air horn in our ears.  Vamos!
9:30 3 miles down and feeling great- starting out slow, remember?  Slow and steady...
10:00 6...feeling great.  Starting to get passed by marathoners who started an hour before us.
10:10 7...feeling great.  More than halfway.  I start to think, "I could do a full."
10:30 9...feeling great.  Lots of great neighborhood cheerers and signs.
11:00 Almost done.  I start to think, "I would not want to be doing a full today."
11:05:26 Cross the finish line accompanied by my name, big push to the end, feeling great!
11:06 Wrapped in the big aluminum foil blanket, feeling loopy and teary, jelly legs.

After finding each other post race, we showered, changed, and wore out medals to a Mexican restaurant.  The fried ice cream was perfect.

India, Day 2- Delhi to Leh

Quoted from my travel journal (the tenses are weird to figure out on a blog).

"Yesterday at 2:30 am or so I was just starting to fall asleep at the Eurostar in Delhi with Nan.  Her train was late because a huge tree had fallen on the tracks and they had to clear it in the middle of a storm before they could continue.  We only had one hour before needing to get up for our flight to Leh.  At 4:00 am we met Chris and Nicole Farley, two staff members at Woodstock, and Nicole's sister, Amy.  We are all going on the trek together.  We piled into a hired taxi and started driving to the domestic airport in Delhi.  It was crowded even at that hour of the morning, and people were sleeping on the circular benches that surrounded pillars.  We took a bus to the tarmac, boarded the plane, and took our respective window seats (from Laura and Jed Bunkowski's recommendation).  The flight was 50 minutes, and after being served our natural lime soda and getting through the thick pink smog over Delhi, we waited in anticipation for the Himilayas.  They came out of the clouds eventually as razor sharp points, and the clouds gave way so we could see the lakes, ice and snow, and valleys of these huge mountains.  I was amazed the first time we saw a little green in the valleys , and more surprised to see villages that seemed to grow bigger as we approached Leh.  We landed and stepped off the steps of the plane to breathe in the noticeably thinner mountain air.  The sun felt a bit harsher, but the weather was lovely and a good break from Delhi's (haha I just typed Helhi and it kind of works) 100 degree nights.  We were greeted by a Ladakhi woman at the airport and began to fill out immigration forms.

775, 787, 788

A cab was waiting for us and we began the dusty grind up the hill to the Padma Guest House.  People filled up the streets and tiny cars squeezed barely by.  I was in wide-eyed observation and wonder, and with the impression that the world was so very big at that moment.  Mountains hugged the landscape in every direction, all brown on one side and snow-capped on the other.  A lorry brought our suitcases inside the gates of what seemed to be guesthouse-central.  We walked through our gate and saw white buildings with cherry-trimmed windows, balconies with chairs, an orchard and garden, and our friend Kate waving to us from the veranda cafe and lounge.  We had milk tea as we got over our shock and awe of the beauty and filled out more immigration forms.  It didn't feel Westernized, but the simple beauties felt local and honest.

792, 793

We were checked into our room- one window had a view of the mountains, 2 chairs, an ornately carved Tibetan table, and two twin mattresses pushed together to form a firm queen-sized bed.  Our room is padlocked from the outside and is attached to a bathroom with standing shower, sink, and toilet.  After unpaking a little bit, we feel asleep until 2:30 pm or so and then got dressed for tea and soup on the veranda.

our room pic

We walked into town later to Il Forno (The Oven) that promised to serve the best Indian, Italian, Israeli, and Chinese food.  The specialty was the large brick oven for woodfired pizza.  All but 2 of us had pizza; I had Dum Aloo: potatoes in a cooked chunky sauce with Garlic Nan (bread).  SO GOOD.  The sun set over out roof-top perch and the changing colors in the city below us were so beautiful.  We could see Leh palace from where we sat.  With the sun gone came the cold, and we walked home and went to bed early."

800, 802, 804, 806

India, Day 1- Minneapolis to Delhi.

Before heading off on my trip there were the usual last minute rushes.  I had forgotten a swim-suit and my Keens in Princeton (the Keens I drove back for after remembering in Rogers) and had trouble coordinating waterproof pants with my sister.  All my luggage was strewn over the living room and put into piles.

Mom and I stopped at REI so I could pick up some rainpants.  The only pair they had in my size were $90 Marmots.  Too bad.  When we get home I would be interested in looking up a phenomenon that my mom and I experienced.  Unbelieveably, we started shopping for headpands, Timbuktu bags, and Buffs when we should have been racing to the airport!  We likened it to someone who might feel the need to clean out their drawers during finals week- something controllable.

In Amsterdam there are a lot of colorful saris, head dressings, and talkative people.  Already, I have made two friends sitting next to me on my flight to Delhi.  They are both Indian and speak so much about how they love their country.  "There's nothing like it."  The landscapes and "mountains," they say, just aren't the same in the U.S.  We exchanged email addresses before navigating the world of customs, baggage, and taxis. 

1. customs- not a problem.  Stamped me through even though I filled out some immigration details kind of sloppily.  I followed a mother/daughter team from Louisiana and tagged along with their cues.

2. baggage- I was afraid it wasn't there for a few scary minutes, and then found it as I searched in the overflow section. :/

3. cabs- I walked up a ramp of sings with hotel names and customer names.  I went by 3 times before consenting to the fact that MR. MAN ONTTA meant me!  I had called Nan from my new friend Vheba's phone.  I found my driver in no time after that.  Once I stepped outside the airport, it was very clear that I was in a different place. 

-tiny cabs and cars for the most part, some resembling buggies or "deedledees" (JULIA!)
-dogs and cows roaming streets
-an all-consuming heat!  It was 100 degrees around midnight.  Coffee on the last flight was not a good plan- up at 1 am.

Left MSP 5:00 pm
Arrived AMS 8:40 am (1:00 am MSP time)
Left AMS 11:40 am (4:00 am MSP time)
Arrived DEL 12:00 am (around 12:00 noon!)

Sooooo, I'm up.

June 16, 2010

It came!  Hoooo my gosh now I can relax and not worry about forefeiting my wonderfully expensive ticket.

A Proud Fan.

Please note my newest blog favorite to discover of what.  Ariane and I watched episode 4 tonight.  So good!  There was a TAT-getting on this one.  One vice: there are far (far, FAR!) too many outbursts of song on this episode.  A capella, guitar, improvised, alcohol and/or love induced-- enough to make me curl up and walk right out of the room.  I really can't watch these people's faces when they sing badly.  It's really horrifying to me.

--

I spent another day in Jordan today.  Yesterday I attacked the filing cabinet and all the curriculum materials to get thinking, and then today I started in on the actual organization of costumes, materials, and instruments.  Mostly, there is just SO MUCH of everything; posters, games, hats/wigs, textbooks, on and on.

The tally of totally misused and abused instruments is as follows:
1 flute
3 (2 real, 1 plastic) clarinets
2 (1 real, 1 plastic) alto saxophones
1 tenor saxophone
1 trumpet
1 cornet
2 trombones
174 jingle bells
3009 recorders

Other findings of note...
Coconut bra
An actually awesome cartoon of Beethoven wearing headphones
"Meet Osmo" promo video from the Minnesota Orchestra.  Hm...
A sheet of classroom rules that includes # 20. No sitting in the closet to do worksheets and #21. Football.

I'm starting to look at colors for the room.  The office walls are bright blue, Ms. DeCorsey's office has been bubble gum pink and is now red and royal blue- I'm thinking she meant it when she said "make it your own!"  I hope that I can have the walls painted and carpet cleaned by the time I get back from India.  As far as Jordan Ace Hardware color goes, "Crippled Creek" is a peacock blue winner.  With a corresponding, slightly lighter color for the accent walls.  Perhaps "Brighton Beach" or "Over the Rainbow."  Fun job idea: writing color names for Benjamin Moore.  For teachers out there thinking about painting their room, at least look at this, this, or this before assuming that yellow makes for cheery 3rd graders.  For devine colors, look on.

I'm looking for a blue...

And this is my color family...             

Off to read the beautiful A Fine Balance.  This novel has it all, and is totally teasing me as an English major: Mistry uses crazy symmetry, understatement/minimalism, yet 500 pages, beautiful symbolism, messages about society that I can't quite come to terms with yet.  I need to chat with someone about this, really.

 

A worthwhile crime:

...from our neighbors' bush to my nightstand.

Sunday, June 13th

Last night I visited the Rangel's household for a BBQ get together of friends new and old.  The Lutherfolk began talking about forming the much-anticipated "Nordic Alumni Choir," and we spent some funny moments on dictionary.com searching for words with pronouncable Norwegian couterparts that would have something to do with our experiences.  The Rosas/Brockshus team had some good ones.


We are in need of Anna Scholtz for this project- and put the group name on hold until we have some help.  I say the next Nordic wedding that occurs, we get together and sing with as many alums as possible.


I am missing Wilderness a little bit.  It is a place that really sticks with you when you aren't near it.  For some reason, I picture staff members congregating in the entryway of Pinecliff more than any other scene.  I see the mostly nighttime activities of teeth being brushed and headlamps clicked on as clumps of staff head off to bed or start a late night game of cards.  There are other things, too, that I remember and miss.

 -the sounds of Pinecliff's lacquered benches scraping across the floor as we hungrily wait to eat.
-the feeling of packing on the night before a canoe trip; the most supreme multi-tasking I think exists.
-putting together the food for the trip and locking the red and blue Duluth packs into the locker.
-taking what feel like the same treks around Fishhook over and over and over again.
-feeling like a mother duck to the tiny (tiny) ones.
-the trip's first paddle stroke off of main dock, which starts the week-long journey from dread into pride and joyfulness and familiarity.

 

It all has a slightly dingy but happy glow about it.  Paul has been reminding me of the nostalgia of it all- and he feels it too because of his shift in perspective this year.  I hope to visit Wilderness and carry some canoes after I get back and settled from India: I'm thinking July 16th or 17th through the 23rd or 24th.
Tomorrow: visit JES, prep for Jen's wedding, and India planning!

Research: Where to live.

Trying to find a place to live has been slow-going and puzzling.  It's brought me to craigslist, rent.com, and facebook, so I can plead on an individualized basis with friends I know to be looking.  My principals are looking out for me and have put emails out to the staff on my behalf.  I have even gone so far as to sign up for a roommate profile online.  There are normals out there, right?  These are my possible future homes.


Chaska- Home to the Jonathan community.  Driving north on 41 back to Plymouth was really a lovely drive, passing through Deephaven and then Minnetonka.  The places I've been looking at are townhomes near Lake Grace with walking/biking trails and an association that seems to care about the community.  Near the University's Arboretum, good school district, and a pretty area with trees and windy roads.
commute: 10 miles

Shakopee- there have been several offers from fellow teachers to live in townhomes in Shakopee, home to Canterbury and Valleyfair.
commute: 11 miles

Chanhassen- home to...the dinner theater?
commute: 17 miles

Eden Prairie- close to whatever- 494, 212
commute: 20 miles

Jordan- perhaps I've been there done that with the small town thing.  Have Decorah and Princeton been enough?

KG??

moving...

I've recently accepted an elementary school position in Jordan, MN. Which means, well, lots of things.


-leaving my stellar one-in-a-million roommate, Ariane.
-leaving the high school teaching learning curve for another one.
-the chance to feel like a permanent employee with colleagues, students, and parents. And not really competing with the loyalty of the previous (ahem) one.
-many many more options for evening activities. Walk around the lake or arboretum? Trip to the Y? Dinner at Istanbul? Sure.
-Being closer to Paul, a perk that rides atop my list.


Life is a-changin' this month and next. I will be starting new adventures on August 1st and ready to move in to a new place (garage, hardwood floors, 2 BR, roommate, dishwasher, and close to trails and the Cities, please?). Hmmm...


This means that I've begun the cumbersome and somewhat awkward search for an apartment in the Chaska, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie area. I quickly banished Jordan from my list, based on the terrible experience I had with craigslist and rent.com properties (read: mouse poop, slanted floors and ceilings, and exorbitant prices). It was kind of a cute outing, both my parents and sister tagged along, the new Garmin in hand, punching in 3 digit small-town addresses.


Ariane and I have been in denial that we're moving, but it's happening.


I am in need of a summer hobby, and I thought that blogging could be it. We'll see where things go!