the times they are a changin....

Most of you know this by now, but for those that don't.... I'm headed back to the workforce on Monday! Woo hoo! I came across an amazing opportunity to work for a holiday and seasonal decor wholesaler. And it's in Northfield, to boot! I've enjoyed staying home with Henry and will miss so many things about it. Too many things to even recognize at this point. But my head and heart are ready for this new adventure. We found a great day care for Henry (thanks, Donya!) to attend, and Eric is going to *try* to get day trips as much as possible. Meanwhile, I'll be figuring out how to rock out the working mom thing. I already have my new crockpot cookbook sitting front and center on the countertop. I have a feeling many, many meals will be prepared from it. I guess that's what you all have to look forward to for Meatless Mondays! ;)

We had Henry's two year appointment yesterday: he's healthy. :) Tall, healthy BMI, big head. Everything is right on track and he's a "normal" two year old who is developing his own personality.

I need to upload our photos from Burlington, but rest assured and know that we had a lovely trip. I know it was keeping you up at night. ;)

meatless monday (on tuesday): caprese sandwich

Lunch is often a challenging time. I'm hungry, I want something fast, and I want something good. My "go to" sandwich lately has been the easiest of easy to make and oh so delicious.  I didn't have a name for it until I decided to post something about it here. I'm pretty sure it was just called, "Ally's Awesome Sandwich" but now I'll coin it as the "Caprese Sandwich." All you need is the following: Arnold's sandwich thins, fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, and a tomato. Build your sandwich to your liking and voila! you have lunch. I'm guilty of cheating on the co-op and purchasing most of this stuff from Costco. The pesto there is a ginormous jar (of course) and costs the same price as the little, itty bitty jar at the store. Also, Costco has these logs of mozzarella for a really reasonable price. And yes, those sandwich thins are there too. So that's that. 

Sorry for not posting this on Monday like I was supposed to. I found that my day was perfectly content just hanging outside on the front porch soaking up this last bit of amazing weather. Really, I just can't get enough of it. They are saying it could possibly even be close to 90 later this week. 90?! In October?! All I can help but think about is how this is one sick joke being played by the weather gods. I can hear the banter now, "We'll trick them with a warm, cloudless fall day and then BAM! bring them to reality with frigid, can't feel your toes weather." Yep, folks. The glass is half empty today. ;)

meatless monday: polenta-stuffed peppers

I have tons of cookbooks. An obsession with them, really. If I'm bored (a.k.a. procrastinating) I scour Amazon up and down for the latest and greatest book that will cure any of my "what's for dinner" woes. The shopping cart usually gets filled with five or so and then I realize that I'm on a budget and just use the amazing interweb to keep my culinary juices inspired. Alas, this week is yet another Martha Stewart fave: Polenta-Stuffed Peppers.

This recipe really holds on to this last part of summer with red peppers and sweet corn. I followed the recipe fairly closely with the exception of adding more cheese. :) When you go to her recipe, take note how hers look and how mine looks (pictured left). I wonder if I'll ever be able to plate to the point that it looks restaurant-presentable. Probably not. Don't hold it against me. 

It's been really nice eating less meat. Nice on the wallet, that's for sure. We have our inaugural themed dinner party at our house this Saturday where the host makes the main dish and then the other couples will bring a dish (appetizer, dessert, side dish). The host chooses some sort of theme for everyone to follow, and I chose "Tomato and Zucchini Bumper Crop" for the first one. My friend Ali does this monthly with her friends in Appleton, so I thought I'd bring it here to Northfield. I'm on the hunt for a zucchini lasagna recipe that will blow everyone's mind.... I did find a zucchini, eggplant and goat cheese recipe but I'm concerned that it won't exactly be a crowd pleaser. The last thing I want to do is invite people over and feed them crap. So we shall see. 

meatless monday: zucchini fritters

Martha Stewart never fails me. Really, her recipes are always reliable. I made these zucchini fritters the other night and went to bed with a stomachache because I ate so much. We partnered them with a simple cherry tomato salad. Yum.

By the way, I completely forgot to take a picture while making these. I'll try to remember for next week!

meatless monday: karina's sweet potato black bean enchiladas

Life was really tricky when Henry was allergic to both wheat and dairy. I realized how often I threw cheese into things to make them taste delicious and often struggled with the "what's for dinner" dilemma. I really didn't like the idea of a "mom and dad dinner" and  "Henry dinner". Early on in my search for tasty gluten-free recipes, I came across the Gluten Free Goddess blog. I would say that I used her recipes for about 90% of my cooking for a good year until Henry became tolerant of wheat. I recall a few times when Eric and I would be chopping vegetables together, commenting on the food and ingredients, to which we'd then typically say, "Oh Karina...." and then we'd smile and take a sip of our wine.

One of our family favorites of hers are the sweet potato black bean enchiladas. The first time I made these, I remember thinking that they were going to be horrible. Enchiladas without cheese? Not possible. Trust me though. The vegan version of these is delicious. De. Lish. Us.

meatless monday: rotini and black bean salad

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual Love Fest/Potluck with the Northfield mommas. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon with the greenest body of water I've ever seen, Lake Byllesby, as the background. Anyway, it was great to get all of the families together once again. I will no doubt remember this potluck as the one where Thisbe ran away. And away. And away. :)

In any event, today's recipe is the pasta salad (yes, another pasta recipe) I made for the potluck. Of course, all credit goes to Epicurious/Self Magazine.

Rotini and Black Bean Salad

8 oz whole-wheat rotini (or any pasta)
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or grapeseed oil)
1 can (19 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels, blanched (or frozen corn, thawed)
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white parts only
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 ripe avocado
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. While pasta cooks, whisk together vinegar and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil until dressing thickens. Set aside. Drain pasta and rinse briefly under cold water. Drain completely. Place pasta in a large bowl; add beans, tomatoes, corn, green onions, chives, and cilantro. Toss gently. Pour dressing over pasta mixture and toss again, gently but thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Peel and slice avocado and toss with lemon juice; use as garnish. Serve immediately.

Meatless Monday

Whenever I hear "Monday" I think of 6th grade choir when we sang The Mamas and The Papas' "Monday, Monday". I was stuck singing nothing but, "Ba-da ba-da-da-da." This comes as no surprise from any of those who have heard me sing. I made choir solely by the fact that our school was so small they couldn't turn anyone away. Of course, I was a bitter 12 year old because I truly believed I should have had a solo singing Monday's praises.

In any event, my blog has been a bit dry lately. It's true. It has. It won't hurt my feelings if you agree. I've been trying to think of something that I could undoubtedly post once a week to keep things going. The solution? Meatless Monday.

The Thorkelson household has significantly cut down our meat intake over the past year. This has been for many reasons. Primarily, it's because we want to live a long, healthy life. I won't get on my soap box, because I firmly believe "to each their own"and a lot of people prefer to get their protein from animal sources. However, we've been pretty inspired by reading books like The China Study and following blogs of those like Kris Carr. All of this information has had me seriously consider the transition to a plant-based diet. I'm not there yet. But I think it's safe to say I'm *almost* there. Eric is even considering it, which surprises me the most. When we first started dating, he said it'd be a deal breaker if I were a vegetarian. I then ordered a double bacon cheeseburger to make sure I would seal the deal. Kidding. Kind of.

Anyway, I thought I would start posting a weekly meatless recipe to join in on the "Meatless Monday" movement. Of course, these said recipes will be posted on Monday.

Now for the first recipe....

Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes with Pasta
This one is super easy and perfect for these summer days....

Ingredients
Penne pasta
1 Eggplant, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Ricotta cheese (about a dollop per serving)
Fresh basil, chopped (as much or as little as you like)

Directions
Toss eggplant and tomatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast your eggplant and tomatoes in oven until tender (about 45 minutes). Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss eggplant, tomatoes and fresh basil with pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and top with ricotta cheese. Voila! So easy.

Octopus? Dolphin?

I'm finally up and running again at HOPE Center. With vacation, Eric's schedule and life just happening, I've been away for a couple of months. Usually I'm the lone ranger at the front desk, but yesterday I had a partner: the new intern. And she's deaf. I was told this and I instantly searched my brain of all of the sign language I know...and then I realized how impractical my limited sign language skills actually are. Do you think she wants a glass of "milk"? "More" paper clips? "All done" with the stapler? I've never felt so paralyzed in my life. I wanted to talk to her...tell her I liked her tattoo. Loved her dreads. And just make small talk. Small talk gives me comfort. But I couldn't. HOPE Center, of course, is on top of their communication efforts though. They have a very cool instant messaging type system for people like me who don't know sign language. So we did have our formalities and introductions via that system. But I needed more. I found myself catching her attention and showing her that I know how to sign "octopus" and "dolphin"...as she kinda giggled at me, the director explained that I have a toddler at home (hence the kooky signs). *sigh*

However, I was most amazed yesterday that I was the minority at the office -- most everyone knew sign language. Just another reason for me to admire those ladies at HOPE Center. I go back in a couple of weeks and am determined to learn by then how to tell her that I like her dreads and tattoo. :)

Henry the Magician

Like all aspiring magicians, Henry has been working on his "disappearing object" trick for months. Months. And he finally has it down. He can close a book and say, "Jack go?" and then frantically search the pages and find Jack jumping over the candle stick on page 26 of Mother Goose's nursery rhymes, to which he says "Dare e sss (there he is)!" This is usually partnered with a high-pitched squeal and giggle as he realizes how surprised we are. Now as I said above, this trick did not get perfected over night. Henry has really spent some quality time on this one.... We've been diligently practicing by putting animal crackers down our shirts, trucks in our pj's, and sippy cups in mom's sock drawer.

[Note to reader: I actually do see him put any of the said objects in their respective hiding places. However, I have missed a few of the "Where go?" questions of Henry. This morning there was a ball at the feet of his pj's. And a few days ago I pulled him out of his high chair only to find no less than 10 raisins fall to the floor.]

I think I'll try to get Henry to perform a magic show soon. Tickets will be $1 and all proceeds will go toward a rabbit (so that he can pull him out of a hat one day).

Well, off to pack. I'm headed to GF to visit my BF (yes, I thought that was clever) this weekend.

What's your bright side?

I tackled yet another thing on my "Thirty by 30" list -- making my own place mats and napkins. Place mats are done. Napkins are next Friday's project. Of course, this feat was not tackled alone. My mom set me up with her sewing machine and gave me a thorough step-by-step tutorial. Most important take away: starch is your friend. Check.

On the way to my folks' house to re-enter the world of sewing, Henry and I listened to his Music Together CD [again]. Now, I do enjoy this music. I really do. And I enjoy it even more when I can hear Hen sing along in what *almost* sounds like the lyrics. Despite all this, I wasn't really up for nursery rhymes for the ride home. WCCO trumped "Jumpin' Josie". I tuned in just in time to hear Esme Murphy take calls from listeners about their "bright side" of the day. The first few I heard were, um, well..."eh"...not to judge or anything, but I was like, "Really? That's your bright side?" But then almost as if Pollyanna Eric were in the car with me, I was reminded that the small joys and triumphs are really what do get us through our days...or our lives for that matter. Yes, it's cliche. But it's cliche because it's true.

This has me thinking about how I've been seeing the glass half empty lately. I have never considered myself a pessimist. I actually always thought that I was dangerously optimistic ("You want that quarterly report done in a half hour? With added supplements? And 1,000 bound copies? Sure! No problem! I should even have time for a cup of coffee too!"). But my mindset has shifted to the dark side lately. And I think it's high time for it to shift back to where it belongs and is most comfortable. So here it goes....

My bright side is that Eric and I have a date tonight:  a one act play at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater (free!) followed by filthy dirty martinis on the rocks.

Take that Mr. Negative Nelly.