Paul and I had the house  to ourselves this past weekend. The kids were with their other parents. Because we work together and spend so much time talking about work, we made a concerted effort to focus on topics outside of the office and enjoy our time alone. And we did. We relaxed. We  cooked gourmet meals, did some  wine tasting, sat by the outdoor fireplace, watched a movie, attended a Greek festival downtown, went on a hike and practiced putting at the local golf course. The latter was most fun. There is a gorgeous wooded park near our house with wonderful hiking trails and a golf course at the end of the road. We decided to take our putters and walk through the woods to see how many stray golf balls we could find. (Eight. ) It was an adventure. While we were putting we pictured ourselves retired and golfing at fancy resorts and it gave us something to dream about. That was on Sunday afternoon. Our time was cut short because Paul had to leave at 5:00pm to drive to L.A. He didn’t want to go and I sure didn’t want him to go either. He was driving down so I baked and prepared a care package for him to take with him. It is my way of being with him. Roast beef  and pepper Jack cheese sandwiches on ciabatta bread, grapes, homemade oatmeal/chocolate chip/walnut cookies and apple breakfast bread. If I can’t be with him, at least I know he is well fed.  I miss him.

Here are the recipes for the ROAD TRIP FOOD.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar (0r dark)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar ,eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine  the flour, salt, baking soda. Stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts and oats. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake in 325 degree oven for 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

APPLE BREAKFAST BREAD

Nothing lasts long in our house so I doubled this one. This one smells like Christmas.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2  cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 apples- peeled and chopped

In a large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs. Mix together. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Stir into creamed mixture until blended. Fold in apples. Pour into lightly greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese.

To know me well is to know that I love cake. My family used to joke that all the early photos of me were of me licking icing off my fingers.  Perhaps that is because the only time my parents took photos was on birthdays. Still, cake and I have had a long love affair.

I recently discovered this great blog called  Piece of Cake Decorating. They offer custom made cakes as well as directions on how to make your own. My favorite is the slumber party cake, a variation of which I have made for my own kids. Check it out. Great fun.

A reader named Shelly recently commented on my blog post Ocean Ditty New Dirty about how much she loves crab cakes. She is from Maryland, of course. Whenever readers comment on my blog and they have a blog too, I always check it out. Shelley’s is one you should read too. It is called, I’m Still Standing. She writes about her special needs child to offer insight into what her life is like. She also loves crab cakes and has a great recipe for them. Click here to read all about her.

The 16 days that I was away from my husband while on vacation with the kids gave him an opportunity to realize just what an indulged, pampered, doted on man he is. I’m not kidding. He’s spoiled and he knows it. Because Paul works so hard both at the office and at home (working on our never ending house projects), I have tried to make his life as comfortable as possible by basically waiting on him hand and foot. I make him a hot breakfast every morning, pack him a hearty, tasty lunch every day and serve up a gourmet home cooked meal most every night. I also buy all of his clothes and do all of his laundry. In addition I  am  his sounding board for him to clear his head and blow off steam over the day’s events, usually work related problems, which he  shares  with me while I am giving him a full body massage. So you can just imagine how much he missed me.

Ours is a relationship that is very close. The saying that love is better the second time around is especially true for us because we appreciate each other so much more. We’ve been through divorce. We know what the dark side of relationships can be like so we really cherish each other. So when I was reunited with my darling husband, I pulled out all the stops. Steak and eggs for breakfast, meat stuffed sandwiches for lunch and this dinner below that I just kind of whipped up that Paul said was the best meal he has ever eaten. I’m going to call it:

GETTING REACQUAINTED CHICKEN

Ingredients are approximate.

1 lb. chicken cutlets pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

flour for dredging

2 cups assorted mushrooms (I used a mixture of wood ear, shitake and porchini.)

2 shallots chopped

1 heaping T of capers

8 oz. creme fraiche

1/4 cup stoneground mustard

good quality olive oil (I used lemon infused from my friend at Coeur d’Olive.)

Dredge the chicken cutlets in flour and saute in pan in olive oil until browned on both sides and cooked through. Set aside on warm platter.  Saute mushrooms and shallots in same pan until browned and a little crispy. Remove and place on same platter as chicken. Over low heat, place creme fraiche and mustard in pan and whisk until smooth. Add chicken and mushroom and onion mixture, coat chicken with mixture, toss in the capers and  cover and let steam for 5-10 minutes and serve with pasta and crusty bread. The sauce is great on pasta. We had two types of ravioli. One kind  filled with the porcini mushrooms and the other with asparagus. Delish. Pair with a dry/fruity white wine.

I made this recipe for my vegetarian daughters and my carnivorous sons loved it too.  It has a robust flavor that satisfies a hearty appetite. Read the rest of this entry »

Paul was in L.A. last week and returned on Friday evening. He was driving back, about a 6 hour drive, and I knew he would be tired and hungry. I was soooo looking forward to seeing him. It was a weekend without the kids so I decided to make us a romantic, reunion dinner. Since we both love fish I chose pan-seared halibut with black bean sauce. He loved it. Here’s the recipe for two. Super easy with a very gourmet flair.

PAN-SEARED HALIBUT WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE Read the rest of this entry »

I just returned from taking all three girls shopping at Valley Fair mall, which is the big mall in San Jose; a 45 minute drive from our house in Santa Cruz. We have a small mall here, but it really sucks.  The stores are mostly tart stores filled with tarty clothes and since I don’t want my three daughters dressing in Britney Spears skank, I take them two or three times a year on a pilgrimage to the big mall. This is torture for me since most people who know me well know that I HATE shopping. Somehow I just missed out on that gene. It is not just because of the crowds or the dressing room lighting and three way mirrors, it’s just that it just… takes… forever. When I see something I like I buy it and leave. I don’t feel the need to ruminate over it like I was deciding my last meal. Let’s get on with it so we can go get a club sandwich at Nordstrom’s Bistro. (recipe to follow)

My children did not inherit my lack of shopping gene, and they LOVE shopping and embrace it with as much enthusiasm as they do for the Jonas Brothers. (B-t-w, did you hear Kevin got engaged?) So I realize I must embrace this time with them in much the same way that I should have embraced the colic years… and I try really hard, but sometimes I fail. Like today when I lost my patience when Cheryl couldn’t decide between the light pink, dark pink or hot pink sunglasses. When it became apparent that my ire was up because I said something like, “MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND LET’S GOOOOO!”, Eva, my new friend on Facebook, said, “Mom, chillax.” So I did. I chillaxed. We drove home to the sounds of Avril Lavigne blaring on the CD player and talked about all the cool stuff we bought.

Here’s the recipe for the Nordstrom Club sandwich I promised. It has become a tradition with the Shwanda women to order this sandwich ever since we first shopped together  for our wedding and bridesmaid dresses three years ago.  The special ingredient is the olive sauce. I asked the server for the ingredients so I could make it at home. It is also a great dip for French fries.

For the sandwich you will need sourdough bread, lightly toasted, avocado, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, string beans (slightly blanched) and thick turkey slices. For the sauce, blend in a food processor: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup kalamata olives, 1-2 cloves crushed garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Ingredients are approximate. So long at it looks light pink (not dark or hot pink) you’ve got it right. Spread the sauce on the bread and layer all the other ingredients. You will have a meal fit for a tired shopper.

Eva and Sophia are vegetarians so I am always looking for tasty non meat recipes the whole family can enjoy. This quiche is easy to make, adaptable to many different kinds of cheeses and vegetables, and can be served as a main dish or a side dish, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Read the rest of this entry »

There was a time in my life when I never left the house without wearing lipstick. These days I feel I’m lucky if I get out the door wearing clothes. At the risk of feeling sorry for myself, I can’t help but wonder what it is like to have just two kids who go to one school and live in one house vs. what I do have, which is five kids who go to four schools and commute among three households. Yesterday was a particularly shitty day. I put on my  fat pants (which smelled like mildew because I let them sit in the washer for two days) and they were snug (fuck!), I noticed  weird, long, stray hairs on my chin (Paul’s getting them in his ears. I keep forgetting to tell him.) and Eva’s science grade  plummeted even more. I asked her why she keeps forgetting to turn in her work and she shrugged and said, “Why do people trip?” How do I argue with that kind of logic?

I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. The world felt like it was spinning around me and I knew I needed a breather and some reassurance from someone that I was not a BAD MOTHER.  As if the timing could not have been more perfect, author Ayelet Waldman was doing a reading and book signing for her new book, Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace at our local book store. It was a kid free night so Paul and I had dinner downtown and then headed over to the book signing. Listening to her talk about her own bad mother experiences (her youngest son keeps getting suspended from kindergarten) made me realize that I was not alone.  I now no longer feel guilty that I don’t sew angel wings on costumes or feign interest in my tweener daughter’s stories about the weird kid in her class who eats paper. If you want to hear Ayelet  tell it herself, click here.

I made this great black bean and garlic sauce over halibut for dinner tonight and Paul loved it. I got the recipe out of a magazine called America’s Test Kitchen: 30 Minute Suppers, that  I bought last week  on impulse at the supermarket check out line.

PAN-SEARED HALIBUT WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE Read the rest of this entry »