mad men inspired

Eric and I are huge fans of Mad Men. We streamed all of the previous seasons within months, sometimes watching four episodes at a time. We typically would sit and stare at the screen for a couple of minutes after the episode was over and think about what just happened? really? what will happen next? what do you think about Don? And that would lead into, "Want to watch the next one?" To which we would unanimously answer "yes!"

I have always felt that my marketing background has allowed me to be aware of the ad-wizards ploys. But folks, I've been taken. Yesterday I was at Target trying to identify my next facial moisturizer purchase. I sized up the Oil of Olay, looked at the Yes to Carrots, and took a step back to take in all of my various options: anti-wrinkle! moisturize! serums! Then I saw it sitting there in its lone self. Pond's. If you watch/ed Mad Men, you'll probably remember that Pond's cold cream was one of Peggy's first campaigns she was assigned to at Sterling Cooper. Well, I picked up the cream and stared at it fully recognizing why I was even considering it:  Peggy's words about a woman doing something for herself rang through my head. Hmph. Meanwhile, a woman in her 60s or so swooped in front of me and picked her own Pond's. I examined her face. It looked youthful. Sold. I put the Pond's in the cart. Now, I don't mean to say that I've been "taken" because I purchased a poor product. I just feel fooled for falling to the ads that I always say I can avoid...even it was clearly product-pushed to me via a TV show.

On that note, I realized that this was not the first time. No, dear reader, it wasn't! *gasp* In a recent online glasses purchase, I ultimately chose a pair that touted they were Don Draper-esque. Sure, he's a man. But hell, I'll take 'em!

I know I'm not the only one to fall victim to such advertising. It's normal. It's pop culture. I just never thought I would be *that* person. I like to pride myself on buying things because I like them, not because present day activities say "it's cool".

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a vintage cigarette case for my bubble gum smokes....

happy birthday, annabelle!

Henry's girlfriend turned two today. Don't worry. We've advised him regarding dating younger women. The birthday celebrations were marked with a luau. In March. In Minnesota.

Birthday girl digging her party.

Award for best caption here.

Henry hung back while the other tots streaked through the back yard. 

Double-fisting goldfish and cupcake. 

meatless monday: stuffed zucchini boats

This week's recipe is adapted from one of the recipe cards from the co-op. We had all of the ingredients in the house, except for the zucchini. Doesn't get any better than that, right? I have a confession though: dinnertime rolled around and I was like, "Veggies. Bleh. I want pizza. And I want it with meat. The unidentifiable kind." With a bit of encouragement from Eric, I marched into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of wine, and got to cooking. This turned out to be so delicious and completely hit the spot. It just goes to show that sometimes the brain knows better than the stomach. ;)

Ingredients

• 4 small/medium zucchini (or yellow squash)
• About 4 cups of fresh veggies that you have on hand, diced (I used eggplant, mushrooms, red pepper, onions, and tomatoes)
• Fresh herbs, such as sage, oregano, or basil (used just basil...and tons of it...just use what suits your palate)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the zucchini and trim the stem end off. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Put the zucchini on a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (until tender). While the zucchini is still warm, scoop out the center flesh with a spoon. 

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook whatever vegetables you are using. Add the fresh herbs and cook for just a couple minutes longer.

Take cooked zucchini boats and fill with cooked vegetables. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Note: another option would be to get a good melting cheese. You would then heat the broiler and place the cheese on top of the filled zucchini boats and broil until the cheese melts into the vegetables. 

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.