Broccoli Rabe(d) For Time?

After a brief hiatus (while getting settled in my new job), I am happy to be back and blogging again! When I last posted, it was Thanksgiving and I was reflecting on the hard and happy times alike during the preceding year. Since my last post, the happy times have far outnumbered the hard times!  In January I took a quick (and bittersweet) vacation to Florida to visit my family for a few days (and say a tearful goodbye to my uncle who had passed away in September).  In February I left a job that was making me miserable, accepted a job that is making me happier than I've been in years and had a lovely impromptu Valentine's Day getaway with Doug.  The arrival of March brought foot surgery for Doug and several weeks of recovery at home; the silver lining being the opportunity for us to spend some fantastic quality time together while he was recovering. All in all, the past few months have been good to me - busy, but good.  All that busy, however, has led to less home-cooked meals and more take-out on the way home; something I have vowed to change time and again.  So while I make a concerted effort to spend more time in the kitchen, I need my life to get on board and quit positioning itself between me and the stove! 

But seriously, have you ever had one of those days when life gets in the way?  Where no matter what your intentions you can't seem to accomplish what you set out to...and for no real reason?  I had several of those days last week, but none more so than Wednesday.  Typically, Wednesdays at work are pretty standard - halfway through the work week, not terribly taxing or stressful and this particular Wednesday was par for the course.  I had a fairly productive day at work - however replete with last minute meetings and ad hoc tasks that led me somewhat off my intended track - still I left feeling moderately accomplished.  Upon arriving home, life's intervention kicked it into high gear when I opened the door and the doorknob fell off in my hand. After temporarily reattaching the doorknob and making a mental note to permanently fix it later, Doug arrived home and was motivated to clean so we began a cleaning spree (which mostly consisted of dusting and organizing the wine collection - no small task - and some light vacuuming).  We got distracted by a cute puppy outside who needed our love and attention as well as our two cute puppies inside who needed our love and attention.  And while outside, we noticed that the small patch of front lawn needed "mowing" (there's so little of it that we use a weed whacker to "mow") so Doug started weed whacking the lawn, I began raking the grassy bits and before you knew it we were pulling dead grass out by the roots, tilling the soil over the entire grass patch and spreading new grass seed; our fingers crossed for a plush new lawn.  By the time we returned inside it was after 8pm and I'd lost all motivation to do the only thing I'd wanted to do since leaving work - cook dinner! See?  Totally life's fault!  Doug's brother was going to be joining us for dinner (his arrival was imminent) and seeing as I'd promised a home-cooked meal, last minute take out wasn't an option.  I needed something fast - and hearty enough for two hungry guys!  So I uncorked a bottle of wine, poured Doug and I each a glass and had dinner on the table in less time than it would have taken to have a pizza delivered - and well before Steve arrived! Life, if you're listening, I'm requesting more nights like this (i.e., wine and quick dinners) please!

Stuffed Cabbage and Rain Storms

I know I've said it before, but what is with the rain this year?! I can't help but think of the nursery rhyme I grew up singing.  Rain rain go away, come again another day? Maybe not. Rain rain go to Spain, never show your face again? That's more like it!  


I spent a good part of the summer looking for the silver lining to all the rain.  All I came up with was that it must have made home gardeners quite happy.  I can't be sure, though, because I have a green black thumb.  It's all I can do to keep my potted basil plant alive but my father fancies himself quite the gardener and I'm inclined to agree.  So maybe all the rain this year was good for dad's garden because he procured quite a bounty: a plethora of peppers, 2 types of eggplant, green, yellow and butternut squashes, never ending tomatoes, broccoli, herbs, cabbage and I think I saw the beginnings of a few small pumpkins! On a trip home in late August, I made sure to plunder the family farmer's market of some precious booty! In all honesty, it wasn't so much a plundering as a Hurricane Irene induced hand-out.  Fear of the impending hurricane had left dad scrambling to harvest as much of his garden as humanly possible and I (along with the rest of his neighborhood) reaped the benefits! 

Nurgers?

You've gotta love technology.  We've come so far, yet sometimes it seems like all this progress does nothing more than hamper interpersonal communications.  I admit it; I'm guilty of falling prey to the instant gratification communication needs of the cellular technology age.  I am an avid texter.  I'd rather shoot off a quick text message than have a lengthy chit chat.  No small talk, no pleasantries - why should I pick up a phone and actually talk to someone when I can get my message across in 160 characters or less? And, with the advent of smartphones with Swype and Slide-It keyboard technology it's become that much easier to send messages.  I can swipe out a text message in seconds flat (she says with pride)! There's only one problem.  My smartphone isn't as smart as it claims. 

For years, I had cell phones with T9 technology to predict and auto-correct my typing errors.  But could it be?  Was there something better?  A phone that would seemingly know what I wanted to say almost before I did? I had to have it! Welcome 2011 and enter my very first smartphone with Swype.  Simply slide your finger across the touch pad keyboard, drawing the pattern of the word you want to spell, and the phone will correctly predict what you are attempting to say.  A lot of the time, it's surprisingly accurate.  But then there are those times, the times that there's been an entire website (which can be lewd) devoted to, when auto-correct seems to take on a mind of its own and your intended sentiment becomes one big fail. Which is exactly how we ended up having nurgers for dinner one night.

Smoky Southwest Turkey Meatballs

Sometimes necessity really does breed invention.  Such was the case with these meatballs.  It started with a package of ground turkey a few days shy of its expiration date.  I needed to get this turkey out of the fridge and fast so the brainstorm began.  Turkey burgers?  Not tonight and besides, they are so much better when grilled outside on a perfect 70 degree evening, 2 puppies playing at our feet, and with my grill master away for the night, this was not that perfect 70 degree evening. A Greek twist?  Maybe another night.  Spaghetti and...?  Nope...not in the mood to make sauce.  Our old standby with soy sauce and lime (recipe will be forthcoming)? Nah...I needed something different.

Have you ever had one of those moments where, blinded by hunger, nothing sounds good?  I know it barely makes sense but it's precisely how I ended up staring into our pantry, bemused and befuddled by the litany of spices looking back at me and desperately seeking inspiration.  Nearly an hour later, after sorting through and reorganizing said spices I emerged with a brand new bottle of smoked paprika, some ancho chile powder and an idea for a smoky southwest inspired meatball.  So I was off to Fairway for some fresh produce and to spend an exorbitant amount of time perusing the cheese case.

The last time I got pulled into the vortex of a fresh cheese case, I discovered baked ricotta with chocolate chips.  I'm finding it hard to put into words just how delightful this cheese is, not because there isn't enough to say about it, but because words simply can't do it justice.  The texture is velvety and smooth like traditional ricotta, only firmer, yet not quite as firm as ricotta salata.  Slightly sweet, it dances over your tongue as it warms in your mouth and the chocolate chips begin to melt, perfuming the cheese with an almost tart butteriness. It's almost as if someone solidified the filling to the most perfect cannoli - I'm sorry, cannoli shells, but your crunchy services are no longer needed.  Anyway, where was I?  Oh yes, on my way to Fairway, my intentions to gather a few quick items for my meatball experiment and then get lost in cheese (not too difficult for me, as I'm sure you've gathered).  What happened when I got there gave me pause.