Say WHAT?!

last week i met my new doctor. dr. moynihan, nd. i was pumped to meet her! my plan was to walk into her office, spill about my troubles (without crying of course - crying is not good to do during very first meeting with new doc), and then sit across from her desk while she enlightened me with a simple recipe (i was envisioning 3 vitamin c's mixed with two carrots and 1-4 glasses of red wine per day) that, if followed faithfully would make me 100% healthy and pain free.

HA!

dr. moynihan listened to me spill about my troubles. she listened to me cry. a lot. then she told me that yes, diet was probably playing a huge role in how i am feeling and that yes, we were going to test for food intolerances. (i was pretty excited at this point. sweet. maybe it was dairy. i could live without cheese. it would be a challenge but i could do it. maybe it was gluten? that's cool. i don't even actually know what gluten is so i could definitely go with it...) the doc talked up food intolerance testing. then she said that (unfortunately) typical food allergy/intolerance testing does not work for people with auto-immune diseases. SO - we were going to have to do it a little differently. the plan: i am going to determine what foods i do not tolerate by following the "hypoallergienic diet." for 6 weeks. (at the end of the six weeks you begin re-introducing each potential allergen one at a time, every three days to find out what is causing all of the commotion).

all of the sudden the sweet quiet doc sitting across from me appeared to be growing horns from her head as she named the things that are excluded from the h.a. diet:

dairy

wheat

gluten

sugar

soy

fruit (except pears. who knows?)

corn

caffeine (crap)

alcohol (HOLY CRAP)

fish

eggs

all meats (except lamb. again, who knows?).

here comes the kicker. the diet makes people extremely sick for the first week due to the shock of removing these foods from your diet and from detoxification.

SAY WHAT?!!!!!

i left her office feeling a wee bit less encouraged than i had hoped to. i thought about it all evening. my husband immediately reminded me that i recently said i wanted to go on a "salad diet" and i promptly reminded him that salad diets include things like ranch dressing and goat cheese and buttery, garlic-y french bread and wine to compliment the lonely salads... needless to say, i was scared of the h.a. diet. BUT (and this is a very big BUT) it had been a long time since i had heard a doctor say "i think we will find some answers."

so i have decided to be on board with doing whatever it takes to feel better. i love answers and i am strong willed.

i am not super strong willed however... which is why i will be starting the diet on a very specific day. the day after i have a giant piece of my son's first birthday cake (preceded of course by a delicious burger and half a six-pack).

h.a. diet meal ideas:

breakfast: puffed rice with rice milk (whoa. exotic)

lunch: rice bread with pear butter. raw vegetables (at least i can still have my carrots!)

dinner: plain indian rice or herbed millet (nope, i don't have a clue what millet is. soon to find out. the cool thing about millet is that it is not rice. at least i don't think so. by dinner, i may be sick of rice).

pray for me. cross your fingers. and your toes.

cheers.

Not that I'm a lush...

but I love a good cocktail, especially in the summer.  Tonight, I'm making Bootleg mix and boy howdy, I can hardly wait.

Here's the recipe, easy as can be:

12 oz can frozen lemonade concentrate
1.5 C water
1.5 C fresh mint leaves
Vodka, rum, gin or bourbon (choose your own adventure!)
Club soda
From Simply Classic, a Junior League of Seattle cookbook

Prepare the Bootleg Mix
Combine lemonade concentrate, water and mint leaves in a blender.  Blend on high speed 15 to 30 seconds, until frothy.  Spoon off froth and discard.  Strain mixture through a fine sieve.

Drink It, Already
Grab yourself a glass.
Put some ice in it.
Combine 2 oz bootleg mix with 2 oz booze, and 4 oz club soda.
Yummy!

BONUS TIP!  For those of you who aren't imbibing these days, for whatever reason (like our preggo Maria), this is also fabulous mixed into club soda, or with a little iced tea to make a fancy Arnold Palmer.
 
xo,
Jen

for those who need to wear swimsuits in public

Every month a few friends and I get together for Dinner Club. It used to be "Book Club" before everyone got too lackadaisical to actually read the book. And before that it was merely just "Wine Club" (but it never officially had that name or a scheduled date...it was just more like what happened whenever we all got together...and still does, minus me, the one with the baby bump). It was my fabulous sister's idea, of course, to make it more official and call it an actual dinner club. The point is to get together once a month at each other's cozy homes and show off our culinary skills trying out new dishes and creating grand tablescapes.

Each month the hostess picks the menu. A few days before the dinner she sends out recipes for the appetizer, salad, side and dessert to each dinner guest for them to make and bring to the dinner. Each recipe compliments the main dish that she is making. That way we are forced to try new and exciting dishes...and no one can blame you if the untried dish turns out to be a lemon.

This month's hostess with the mostest was my sister and her theme was "recipes for those who need to wear swimsuits in public." Every dish she picked for each of us to make was healthy and would be sure to turn us into bikini-clad babes in no time flat. OK, not really, but just really tasty, minus the calories. Most of her recipes came from the cookbook The Family Chef by Jewels and Jill Elmore. The dinner turned out to be a smashing success (with one debacle, but I won't mention names). By far the most raved about dish was the Chicken Lettuce Cups. You have to try them and serve them at your next dinner club!

Chicken Lettuce Cups
(serves 8-10)

the filling:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
24 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and very finely chopped
4 scallions, very finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 pounds ground white meat chicken (or combination of white & dark)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 small cans of water chestnuts, drained and finely diced

the sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons orange juice
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon chili flakes
4 tablespoons oyster sauce

the lettuce cups:
2 heads of iceberg lettuce, washed and leaves peeled for lettuce cups

1. For the sauce, mix all ingredients together with a whisk or shake together in a jar. Set aside.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add peanut and sesame oils. Saute mushrooms, carrots, scallions, ginger and garlic for 4-5 minutes until mushrooms are cooked and vegetables are soft.
3. Add chicken and cook. Stir constantly, breaking up meat.
4. When chicken is almost cooked, add the sauce, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking 5-6 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the lettuce cups.
6. Remove pan from heat, stir in water chestnuts, spoon mixture into lettuce cups and serve.

Enjoy! Happy swimsuit season!

Sun Tea

This morning Nikki sent us an e-mail about an adorable Mason Jar Drink Dispenser from Pottery Barn.  Okay, yes, it's $69, which these days seems like an obscene amount of money for what is essentially a 3-months-a-year glorified pitcher.  But I heart it so.

I mean, how could you not love it?

It started me thinking about something my mother would make every summer when I was a little girl:  Sun Tea.  My mom would put a few bags of Lipton in a plastic pitcher, fill it up with tap water, and put the pitcher out on the back deck in the morning before she left for work.  In the afternoon, we would come home and the pitcher would be warm and filled with dark tea, having steeped in the sun all day.  We'd put it in the refrigerator and enjoy it all week long, and week after week.

These days I might substitute Ginger Peach tea and would probably use filtered water, and maybe even (if I can swing it) put it in a $69 pitcher from PB.  But more likely I'll be pulling out one of my big, perfectly acceptable glass pitchers, covering it with plastic wrap, and calling it good. 

Now if only we Seattleites could get some sun, the Sun Tea revolution could begin!

xo,
Jen

of dads. Amazing dads

i am a big fan of fathers' day. it is a super holiday. i love the greeting card challenge it poses - the challenge of trying to find the perfect balance of funny (this year i went with a classic: homer simpson) and heartfelt (i got this one covered by tracing my 9 month old son's handprint on the inside). i also love this holiday because i consider myself to be exceptionally lucky in the DAD department. what better reason to celebrate?

here we are, me and dad sharing some of my favorite moments of all time - hammin it up on the dance floor at my wedding reception. we laughed the entire song away.

i will admit there was a time (during my bratty teenage years - "bratty" is an intentional and extreme understatement of what I really was...) when I didn't think he was very cool - but my oh my how that has changed. i don't think it would be possible for me to love and adore this man any more that i do. he is my "go to guy" when I need a garlic bread fix, a fit of laughter (the kind of laughter where you start to think you may actually have drool coming from both corners of your mouth and you might, just might have completed toned abs the next day...), or a non-judgmental partner to "people watch" with (the walmart parking lot is particularly fun for this sport).

he is funny. he is talented. he is handsome. he is generous. he is kind. he is the first man i ever loved. he is perfect and i am so thankful to call him my dad.

NOT ONLY do i have an amazing dad - turns out i am married to one too! ryan and i became parents almost 10 months ago. i am not exaggerating when i say that in the first week of our son's life - i only changed three diapers. ryan was so excited to do every single last thing associated with baby... he just took the reigns and ran with them. so. cute. he continues to be as excited about oliver as he was that first week.

i have kept a journal for oliver since the week i found out i was pregnant. occasionally ryan will sneak it from my bedside table and enter a few words of his own. I discovered the below entry one night after he had already fallen asleep. I laid awake for a long time - a huge smile on my face and feeling like the luckiest girl on earth. here is a snippet:

dear oliver,

you are super awesome. you crawled forward for the first time today. it was so cool. you were just sitting there chewing on a little squirl (yes, he meant squirrel) thing and mommy took it away and you came to get it. you crawled like three feet! you are getting to be such a big boy. i was holding you and feeding you your bottle before bed the other night and you fell asleep. your head was hanging over my left arm and your legs were hanging over my right leg. i realized how big you are getting! its weird to think that you won't be a little infant for much longer. i love you so much oliver. that big smile of yours and that cute little laugh is the best part of my day. i love how you just light up when you see me. i love being your dad.

love,

daddy

i will sign out with a few of my favorite images of ryan's journey through fatherhood so far.

happy fathers' day to all the greats out there and to all of the lucky ones who call them dad. ;)

Howdy Cjane, Can You Hear Me?

I'm back on commenting, much (I'm sure) to the dismay of my fellow Belles, Nikki and Maria.

But I couldn't help myself!  I couldn't!  And so I didn't.

I invited Cjane over for a look-see.  And maybe, just maybe, she will.

Swanky couches!  Teeny-tiny, smooshed cupcakes!  And lest we forget, babies!  Who could resist us?

Now if only we could (1) figure out our dumbo header and (2) post one of Nik's gorgeous pictures, already.

xo,
Jen

Those Cupcakes.

My daughter celebrated her second birthday on Sunday, and as a treat she and I took Monday off of work/daycare and stayed home to play with her many wonderful new toys.  We also, in a fit of ambition, baked cupcakes to take to her daycare for a little mini-party with her other "Big Tods" friends.

While Nora took a nap, I lovingly piped batter into teeny-tiny muffin cups.  I worked while she slept, the aroma of mini chocolate cupcakes wafting in the air.  When she woke up, I frosted the cupcakes, placed them carefully into baking pans, and let her sprinkle her little heart out with different colored sugars.  They were adorable!  We placed covers onto the pans, picked out some fun birthday napkins, and let the cupcakes sit on the counter until it was their time to shine.

This morning, I stacked the baking pans on top of each other and slid them into a grocery bag.  We loaded Nora into the car and put the cupcakes in the back on the floor.  We talked the whole way into work/daycare about the fun party to come this afternoon.  Hooray for cupcakes!

Mike parked the car in front of daycare and I started unsnapping, unbuckling, and unharnessing Nora from her uber-complicated car seat.  I looked out the back of the car and saw him holding the cupcake bag.  By its handles.  A high-pitched scream "WHATAREYOUDOINGTHOSEARETHECUPCAKES!" and heads everywhere turned.  Nora chanted, "What are you doing?  What are you doing?  What are you doing?" from the back seat. 

The 40 mini cupcakes smooshed together, tumbled one upon the other, at the end of each pan.  Argh.  Thank goodness two-year-olds don't care what cupcakes look like, right?

Well, having just come from the daycare party, I can state unequivocally that they still tasted delish.  And while I'm not a big Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee kind of person, I admit that this recipe tickled my fancy.  They were boxed cupcakes but gussied up just enough so that you felt like you made an effort.

Perfect Cake Mix CupcakesAdapted from Hello, Cupcake!

1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix (vanilla, devil?s food, or yellow)
1 cup buttermilk (in place of water called for on the box)
Vegetable oil (the amount on the box)
4 eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified on the box, using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.  Spoon 1/2 of the batter into a gallon Ziploc bag and cut 1/4 inch off of one corner.  Pipe batter into paper liners two-thirds full.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

Bake 12 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Remove cupcakes from pan and place onto a cooling rack; frost when completely cool.

Babies

After reading one of my favorite blogs (mentioned below) and hearing about the documentary Babies, I just had to go and see it. Anything nienie likes, I'm sure I will like, I thought. So today, on this dreary Seattle, perfect movie going weather day, I dragged my husband to see it. Giving him the sound reasoning that, hey we are about 4 months away from having one of those little bundles of joy ourselves, so might as well absorb any and all info we can get...including documentaries (AND I'm not making you go see Sex In the City 2...lucky you!).

Well, about halfway through, I could sense my sweet husband getting restless next to me. Is this torture about to end I thought?? (even though I would never admit that to him).

To say the least the documentary was kind of a snore. Mind you the babies were very cute. And the message was there...babies are babies, the same throughout the world. And every culture has a different way of taking care of those little sweet morsels. But no matter where you live, the most important part of taking care of a baby is the same...with lots of love.

I can't wait to meet our new little girl. Lord knows she is going to be LOVED.

PS - Of course I cried during the previews about another documentary about schools...gotta love those hormones! I hope the 5 other people in the theatre didn't notice. I told my husband next time we go see a documentary we should sit in the back and makeout.

PPS - Thanks Jen for getting us started. I heart both you and Nik. You are both fantastic belles to blog with.

xoxo,

Maria

uncoventional lullaby

"in west philadelphia born and raised - on the playground is where i spent most of my days - chillin out maxin, relaxin all cool - and all shootin some b-ball outside of the school - when a couple a guys who were up to no good - started makin trouble in my neighborhood - i got in one little fight and my mom got scared - she said your moving with your auntie and uncle in bel air...."

recognize this little jingle? that's right - theme song of the fresh prince.

our son is currently cutting three new teeth. yes - very awesome event to consume memorial day weekend.

my husband (ryan) and little oliver went for a very long car ride yesterday to grandma's house while i was busy assisting in shooting a wedding. "daddy" had to break out some lullaby songs to try to ease baby's teething anxiety. he ran out of ideas after several rounds of rockabye baby, hush little baby and the abc's (those are the only three he knows) and decided that since he has every line of the fresh prince memorized - that would have to do. apparently the soothing lyrics put baby right to sleep.

this afternoon when ryan started singing the fresh prince again and little o broke out his perfected stevie wonder dance, i had to smile. very big.

you've got to love the things daddies come up with.

oh how i heart oliver's stevie dance.

Inspired.

what i love about blog culture is simple. it is a massive wealth of inspiration.

i recently google searched "anthro astrid chair (i have been obsessed with this delicious anthropologie chair for months now). i subsequently spent at least 5 hours pouring through over 20 blogs with posts dedicated solely to my one and only. i read posts from at least 10 women whose budgets (like mine) absolutely would not stretch that far for one cute little chair... so they did the admirable budget savvy thing - they created gorgeous lookalike chairs by re-purposing craigslist and thrift store finds... brilliant.

with that, i have been inspired to learn to re-upholster.

a big thanks to jen for getting us started - on our way to returning the favor of inspiring others from our own little corner of the blog world.

nikki

Of Mollies and Mollys.

I can't say I'm new to blogging, because that just wouldn't be true.  I love blogs.  For whatever reason, I love two blogs by Mormon mothers who are also sisters.  I also love the blog of a fabulously real ex-sorority sister who just happens to have four (and almost five) kids and an obsession for Nordstrom.  But most especially, I really really, like super duper, love the blog called Orangette.

And what's not to love about it?  It's called Orangette (more on the orange thing in posts to come).  It's all about cooking, and stories about how to cook each delicious food, but not in an uppity way a la Cooks Illustrated.  Orangette's author lives in Seattle, just like me.  She loves Seattle, just like me.  She has a regular column in Bon Appetit.  She even has a book called "A Homemade Life", which I highly recommend.

So, although I'm not new to blogs, and certainly not new to reading Orangette or knowing about the author, I am new to commenting.  In a post about peas on Orangette today, for whatever reason, I decided to leave a comment.  Hooray me!  I'm clever, I'm funny, I'm connected to the matrix!  I cannot blame it on anything other than blogging exuberance.

Here's what my comment said:

Go Mollie!  Go peas!

I know there are many questions to be answered.  I know that it's not all that exciting of a comment, and not that great of a contribution overall.  It just reflected what I was feeling at the moment - peas!

But here's the irony:  Orangette's author, and my pseudo-Seattle-idol, is named Molly Wizenberg.  Molly.  (Not Mollie.)

Curses.

I think I'm off of commenting for awhile.

You have to start somewhere.

Okay, so I'm in my mid-thirties but I still remember that doing homework was a drag.   

That translates now into everyday life:  projects at work, tackling that messy closet, getting on the treadmill for a workout when I'd rather be eating a cookie. 

Whenever my shoulders slump and my spirit sags, I hear my mother's voice: 

"Honey, you have to start somewhere." 

And so I do.

With that, I formally and very happily inaugurate the Belles of the Blog:  Three women, three separate lives, three mothers, three chefs, three Marthas, three aspiring artists of various arts trapped in their not-so-glamorous day jobs, three friends who agree with Schoolhouse Rock and think that three *is* a magic number - that's us. 

We had to start somewhere, and that somewhere is here.

xxoo,
Jen