Hey, what do you know! I'm actually managing to do another post!
Tonight's dinner is adapted from Cooking Light March 2004. We didn't find any chorizo when went to the store this weekend, and I wasn't interested in doing a separate trip just to get it, so we chose some spicy Italian sausage instead. Yes, I realize that sort of deminishes the "southwesternness" of the dish, but as a native New Mexican, I don't care. Chili is a Tex-Mex dish to begin with, and I will mess with Texas if I want to.
It's on the stove now. Overall prep time was not bad, maybe 20 minutes until cooking time.
First impressions are good. It includes plenty of garlic, red and green peppers, corn, black beans and onions, as well as tomatoes, so the color is lovely. Colorful food always makes me think I'm doing something right (unless it's blue or pink. No food should be blue or pink.)
I just did something crazy with my keyboard on my Ipad. I hope I will be forgiven if I miss some spelling errors. OK, I fixed it. The Ipad has all kinds of gesture shortcuts that you find by accident.
Anyway... I was thinking the chili might not be spicy enough, but a test has proven that there is just enough chili powder in there to kick my butt. Maybe a little more cumin (always need more cumin than they recommend). Will return to post about the final product once it is done. Now I have some lessons to plan.
You know what, that was really quite good! Spicy enough to leave a tingle on the lips and make me sweat a bit, but not so hot I want to cough up a lung. You add a bit of semi-sweet chocolate at the end of the cooking time, which gives a nice depth to the dish, and serving it with a dollop of sour cream adds a necessary creaminess.
Overall grade: A (I will definitely make this again, particularly if I need something for a large group).
Monday, September 10, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak
First recipe - first day of school!
Despite the fact that I am technically working half-time, I was at school from 7-4:30 today and probably will be all week as I get to know the students and the schedules. It was just as chaotic as always as we try to figure out who will need support at what times and arrange our schedules and assistance as necessary. I was thrilled to see so many of our 4th graders back as 5th graders, and most of them seemed really happy to see me! When I left last year I didn't yet have a contract and wasn't sure where I would wind up this year, so the students didn't expect to have me back.
Anyway- so much to do and I'm running on adrenaline, but still got home and took care of business. Homerun for my team, as far as I'm concerned. Got the cats fed, grass watered, dishes washed, bills paid and dinner made all before 6pm.
Tonight's Menu:
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes
(Modified from September 2003 Cooking Light)
We started marinating the flank steak last night in a bourbon/brown sugar/soy/Worchestershire/soy sauce. I didn't feel like making the mashed potatoes, especially because I had a bunch of mixed heirloom potatoes, so instead I chopped them up, tossed with garlic, olive oil and Penzey's Forward spice mix and baked them.
The beef was grilled, and my husband thinks it wasn't his best ever. The potatoes were good, but could have used a bit more depth. I think the beef was a little too sweet-soy for me - I prefer a slightly heavier sauce.
Prep time- about 20 minutes (including making the marinade yesterday)
Overall grade: B
Despite the fact that I am technically working half-time, I was at school from 7-4:30 today and probably will be all week as I get to know the students and the schedules. It was just as chaotic as always as we try to figure out who will need support at what times and arrange our schedules and assistance as necessary. I was thrilled to see so many of our 4th graders back as 5th graders, and most of them seemed really happy to see me! When I left last year I didn't yet have a contract and wasn't sure where I would wind up this year, so the students didn't expect to have me back.
Anyway- so much to do and I'm running on adrenaline, but still got home and took care of business. Homerun for my team, as far as I'm concerned. Got the cats fed, grass watered, dishes washed, bills paid and dinner made all before 6pm.
Tonight's Menu:
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes
(Modified from September 2003 Cooking Light)
We started marinating the flank steak last night in a bourbon/brown sugar/soy/Worchestershire/soy sauce. I didn't feel like making the mashed potatoes, especially because I had a bunch of mixed heirloom potatoes, so instead I chopped them up, tossed with garlic, olive oil and Penzey's Forward spice mix and baked them.
The beef was grilled, and my husband thinks it wasn't his best ever. The potatoes were good, but could have used a bit more depth. I think the beef was a little too sweet-soy for me - I prefer a slightly heavier sauce.
Prep time- about 20 minutes (including making the marinade yesterday)
Overall grade: B
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Oops
I can tell that getting myself to do my cooking is going to be a real challenge, not to mention blogging about it! Getting in the habit of writing as a daily activity is going to take some time. I was reading an article on Slate recently about how the author had to start treating cooking as a daily chore rather than as something that you do for fun. I do like to cook when I have a lot of time and energy and people to entertain. When it comes to the daily duty of cooking (and then dishes that accompany it), I have a hard time forcing myself to do it.
Part of the problem is that my family rarely wants to eat and is available at the same time. In the past I have often worked late or had classes and my husband fences a couple times a week in addition to working later than the time that I want to eat. My son doesn't eat the same things we do, so he doesn't count. Many days we just eat what happens to be around- fruit, cheese, crackers, maybe some carrot sticks - convenience food. We eat pizza way more often than we should and eat out a lot on weekends. It's overall not very healthy (as anyone can see by looking at my round shape) and not great for the family, either.
This year, I hope that circumstances will permit a greater emphasis on cooking real, healthy, tasty food. For one thing, I am only teaching part time this year. In actuality, I will be at school from 9:30 to 2:30. I plan to go do my workouts and errands and get home by 4. That gives me enough time to spend with my son on homework and not feel rushed because I'm starving. Then I can have easy to prepare meals that we can all eat at about 6:30.
That takes care of the time problem, but doesn't solve the motivation problem. Often, I just don't want to cook. As the writer of the Slate article put it, suck it up, Buttercup. Just do it. I need one more chore like I need a hole in the head, but that's the way it has to be. I hope that once the habit is developed and I see the rewards of being healthier and more connected to my family that it will be easier. I think I should put together a playlist of "making dinner music", which will get me turned on enough to do it. Also, I should not sit down in front of the TV until it's done, because once I'm there I have a hard time getting anything else done.
Planning will also be critical. I have tons of recipies that are good and easy to make, but I have to plan ahead well enough so that we have fresh groceries available.
Finally, this is my opportunity to finally get my son to eat real, adult food. He has sensory issues and doesn't like most foods that are cooked or mixed. He eats raw carrots, but not cooked ones. He will also eat celery, but that is the limit on vegetables (other than potatoes in the form of french fries, but those don't count). He likes meat, as long at there is no sauce on it. He likes plain pasta and rice. He eats apples, strawberries and sometimes bananas. It's a very limited diet considering he's 12! We always joke about him being on the "pop" diet: popsicles, popcorn and poptarts. It's long past time to educate his taste buds a bit. It just hasn't been worth the battle before, but now if our last opportunity to do something about his nutritional deficits.
So... School starts Tuesday. I have this long weekend to do some planning and get groceries, then away we go!
Part of the problem is that my family rarely wants to eat and is available at the same time. In the past I have often worked late or had classes and my husband fences a couple times a week in addition to working later than the time that I want to eat. My son doesn't eat the same things we do, so he doesn't count. Many days we just eat what happens to be around- fruit, cheese, crackers, maybe some carrot sticks - convenience food. We eat pizza way more often than we should and eat out a lot on weekends. It's overall not very healthy (as anyone can see by looking at my round shape) and not great for the family, either.
This year, I hope that circumstances will permit a greater emphasis on cooking real, healthy, tasty food. For one thing, I am only teaching part time this year. In actuality, I will be at school from 9:30 to 2:30. I plan to go do my workouts and errands and get home by 4. That gives me enough time to spend with my son on homework and not feel rushed because I'm starving. Then I can have easy to prepare meals that we can all eat at about 6:30.
That takes care of the time problem, but doesn't solve the motivation problem. Often, I just don't want to cook. As the writer of the Slate article put it, suck it up, Buttercup. Just do it. I need one more chore like I need a hole in the head, but that's the way it has to be. I hope that once the habit is developed and I see the rewards of being healthier and more connected to my family that it will be easier. I think I should put together a playlist of "making dinner music", which will get me turned on enough to do it. Also, I should not sit down in front of the TV until it's done, because once I'm there I have a hard time getting anything else done.
Planning will also be critical. I have tons of recipies that are good and easy to make, but I have to plan ahead well enough so that we have fresh groceries available.
Finally, this is my opportunity to finally get my son to eat real, adult food. He has sensory issues and doesn't like most foods that are cooked or mixed. He eats raw carrots, but not cooked ones. He will also eat celery, but that is the limit on vegetables (other than potatoes in the form of french fries, but those don't count). He likes meat, as long at there is no sauce on it. He likes plain pasta and rice. He eats apples, strawberries and sometimes bananas. It's a very limited diet considering he's 12! We always joke about him being on the "pop" diet: popsicles, popcorn and poptarts. It's long past time to educate his taste buds a bit. It just hasn't been worth the battle before, but now if our last opportunity to do something about his nutritional deficits.
So... School starts Tuesday. I have this long weekend to do some planning and get groceries, then away we go!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
On Special Education
First of all, this topic is way more than I can cover in one short post. For one thing, it's my job. For another thing, it's my life with a special needs kid at home.
I am at a training today given by my school district in regards to new laws about seclusion and restraint of students, including those with special needs. I have to say it is very comforting to be surrounded by people who have felt the same things and dealt with the same things as I and have survived with a sense of humor and faith in humanity. Working with kids can be a huge challenge, and as special educators we often get the kids that other people have given up on (often with reason). It is also the most rewarding thing I can imagine doing short of 1) being a parent or 2) being an obstetric nurse.
I get to build close relationships with kids who have immense amounts to give to the world but who haven't figured out how to appropriately access their abilities. As a new teacher last year, I would be high one minute on having a student succeed and crying in the bathroom the next minute because of a sudden escalation. My goal this year is to regulate myself a bit better and insulate my life separate from my work. Part of the reason for starting this blog is to remind myself to move on at the end of the day and pay attention to the family time I have in the evening. I have to learn to not take my student's struggles so personally and be able to congratulate myself on my minor accomplishments. I hope that being part time this year will give me the room for reflection that I need to keep gong without getting burnt out.
I am at a training today given by my school district in regards to new laws about seclusion and restraint of students, including those with special needs. I have to say it is very comforting to be surrounded by people who have felt the same things and dealt with the same things as I and have survived with a sense of humor and faith in humanity. Working with kids can be a huge challenge, and as special educators we often get the kids that other people have given up on (often with reason). It is also the most rewarding thing I can imagine doing short of 1) being a parent or 2) being an obstetric nurse.
I get to build close relationships with kids who have immense amounts to give to the world but who haven't figured out how to appropriately access their abilities. As a new teacher last year, I would be high one minute on having a student succeed and crying in the bathroom the next minute because of a sudden escalation. My goal this year is to regulate myself a bit better and insulate my life separate from my work. Part of the reason for starting this blog is to remind myself to move on at the end of the day and pay attention to the family time I have in the evening. I have to learn to not take my student's struggles so personally and be able to congratulate myself on my minor accomplishments. I hope that being part time this year will give me the room for reflection that I need to keep gong without getting burnt out.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
On Pain and Getting Older
This was not going to be my topic for today. I had plans to blog about travelling and geekery over the last several days, but my body has decided otherwise.
On Saturday, I twisted my ankle a bit and this resulted in a bout of sciatica. For those who don't know, the sciatic nerve runs from the spine through the butock and down the leg. In my case, my ankle twist caused some muscle swelling which is pinching on the nerve. It was irritating for a day, then I moved a bunch of furniture in my classroom and it really flaired up. So I spent all of yesterday passed out with painkillers and muscle relaxants. Yay. Puts a dent in plans.
Here's the thing- this is not the first time this has happened. I struggle with ongoing aches and pains that I think are excessive, considering my age. I'm only 42, for crying out loud! Is there a particular reason I have headaches all the time (4-5 times a week)? I also have a lot of back pain and my knee joints creak and ache every time I go upstairs.
Yeah, I'm a little overweight and stress out too much, but my body seems to think that I'm 70. Most of these aches and pains don't keep me from doing anything- I still get everything done that I need to. What worries me is thinking about what my body will be like when I turn 60 or 70. Will I be able to travel and be active with my husband? We have all of these plans for retirement! What if my body won't hold out that long?
That is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog- to help me eat better and exercise more and take better care of my body. It's tough to do any of those things when you are passed out on the couch with painkillers.
On Saturday, I twisted my ankle a bit and this resulted in a bout of sciatica. For those who don't know, the sciatic nerve runs from the spine through the butock and down the leg. In my case, my ankle twist caused some muscle swelling which is pinching on the nerve. It was irritating for a day, then I moved a bunch of furniture in my classroom and it really flaired up. So I spent all of yesterday passed out with painkillers and muscle relaxants. Yay. Puts a dent in plans.
Here's the thing- this is not the first time this has happened. I struggle with ongoing aches and pains that I think are excessive, considering my age. I'm only 42, for crying out loud! Is there a particular reason I have headaches all the time (4-5 times a week)? I also have a lot of back pain and my knee joints creak and ache every time I go upstairs.
Yeah, I'm a little overweight and stress out too much, but my body seems to think that I'm 70. Most of these aches and pains don't keep me from doing anything- I still get everything done that I need to. What worries me is thinking about what my body will be like when I turn 60 or 70. Will I be able to travel and be active with my husband? We have all of these plans for retirement! What if my body won't hold out that long?
That is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog- to help me eat better and exercise more and take better care of my body. It's tough to do any of those things when you are passed out on the couch with painkillers.
Friday, August 17, 2012
On Writing
I'm not a writer.
That's what all of my students say, and I tend to feel the same way about myself. What we really mean, of course, is that we are not good writers, not professional writers or that we don't want to take the time and energy to write.
What most of my students think is that for a "writer" writing comes easily. The ideas, words, forms come spilling out with grace and ease. This, of course, is totally untrue. Any writer will tell you that the craft of writing requires a lot of study, thought, reflection and sometimes frustration.
Here's the thing - I am not really interested in putting all that much thought, study and reflection into my writing. I accept that this means I will never be very good at it. I can express my thoughts generally, but without really crafting my words.
My students also don't think carefully about the purpose of writing and the perspective of the reader. They just want to complete the assignment and get it over with. We don't focus enough in school on writing for different audiences.
In my case, I have thought about my purpose and my audience with this blog. I assume there won't be one (an audience, that is). My purpose is not to inform, instruct or entertain anyone else. If someone happens along, well... great! I would not do very well if I tried to create something for a specific audience, so I am doing this just for me, as a kind of challenge.
That's what all of my students say, and I tend to feel the same way about myself. What we really mean, of course, is that we are not good writers, not professional writers or that we don't want to take the time and energy to write.
What most of my students think is that for a "writer" writing comes easily. The ideas, words, forms come spilling out with grace and ease. This, of course, is totally untrue. Any writer will tell you that the craft of writing requires a lot of study, thought, reflection and sometimes frustration.
Here's the thing - I am not really interested in putting all that much thought, study and reflection into my writing. I accept that this means I will never be very good at it. I can express my thoughts generally, but without really crafting my words.
My students also don't think carefully about the purpose of writing and the perspective of the reader. They just want to complete the assignment and get it over with. We don't focus enough in school on writing for different audiences.
In my case, I have thought about my purpose and my audience with this blog. I assume there won't be one (an audience, that is). My purpose is not to inform, instruct or entertain anyone else. If someone happens along, well... great! I would not do very well if I tried to create something for a specific audience, so I am doing this just for me, as a kind of challenge.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Hmm.. How (and Why) to start
I suppose I should start this blog the same way we start a new school year - with some "getting to know you" games. However, since there is nobody here but me, it shall be a very boring game.
Here's me:
I'm a special education teacher living in Madison, Wisconsin. I am starting my first full year of teaching while trying to maintain my home, family and sanity. I have one son, a 12 year old, who provides daily joy and aggravation. I also have a husband who, fortunately, provides just joy (and stability and love and all things good).
Here's the plan:
During this school year, I want to cook at least four good meals a week for my family and blog about my journey.
So...why? Hmm... When my thoughts are all jumbled and scrambling to the top of my head I find it best to make lists. I am a fan of lists.
List #1: Why am I, a busy teacher with a family, bothering to blog about anything at all?
Here's me:
I'm a special education teacher living in Madison, Wisconsin. I am starting my first full year of teaching while trying to maintain my home, family and sanity. I have one son, a 12 year old, who provides daily joy and aggravation. I also have a husband who, fortunately, provides just joy (and stability and love and all things good).
Here's the plan:
During this school year, I want to cook at least four good meals a week for my family and blog about my journey.
So...why? Hmm... When my thoughts are all jumbled and scrambling to the top of my head I find it best to make lists. I am a fan of lists.
List #1: Why am I, a busy teacher with a family, bothering to blog about anything at all?
- Something new to do. I always need to have something to do, to look forward to. When I don't have enough to do I get lethargic and lay around watching too many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" or "House Hunters International" and then I feel guilty and dissatisfied about being unproductive. I seem to have two speeds: frantic and off (I am sesrching for a middle speed of 5, but that's another story).
- It's fair. I make my students write every day, so it's only fair that I do it too.
- To be a better cook. I hope that providing a healthy cooked meal for my family will make me a better cook by the end of the process. I'm not a terrible cook right now - I don't think my cooking has made anyone sick yet. I do tend to rely on cooking the same things frequently and I hope to break out of that rut.
- To help me get off my butt (and reduce the size of my butt). I don't really like taking the time to cook at the end of the day when I'd rather collapse with some cheese, crackers and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I'm about 50 lbs overweight, mostly because I rely on convenience and my cravings for sweet-fatty food. I am trying to get more exercise this year, too, but going to work out and then picking up half a dozen cupcakes is a bit silly (for which, read "stupid").
So that's it. I will try to blog at least daily for at least 10 minutes. I'm hoping to use these last two weeks before school as a clearinghouse of my thoughts and plans before I get down to the nitty-gritty of actually performing. Here we go!
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