Coldbuster and Catching Up on The Bachelor

Posted in Food by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Friends, I hope you’ve managed to avoid the stomach flu and colds flying around out there. Sadly, our household seems to be a magnet for it all. I figured since Declan started day care in January that we’d be seeing some sort of kids-share-all-their-germs-and-bring-it-home cold, but whoa. That stomach bug came to us with a vengeance. First Declan got sick, then Mumbles, and then it wiped me out too. And just when I’d gotten good and healthy, I got a cold. It’s been a rough, rough few weeks for us.

Similar to chicken soup and saltines (my go-to comfort food as a kid) or toast with butter, which my dad always made for me, Mumbles and I have a new family coldbuster comfort food: pho. It’s not a big jump from plain ‘ol chicken soup — but I like that the veggies are more plentiful and fresh and you can choose what goes in it. Conveniently, we have a Pho Company just around the corner from us (I wish it was a darling little hole in the wall, but just as well, I guess, it’s a bright, clean, modern chain) so it’s super easy to call in an order and grab it on the way home or hop in the car and be back on the couch slurping away in no time.

Mumbles and I always order extra veggies and we both have a little ritual of using our fingernails to cut the jalapenos into little pieces to drop in our soup (though we have to be extra thorough in washing our hands afterwards so as not to get jalapeno juice in our eyes by accidental rubbing later on — ouch!). Lately, I’ve been ordering chicken and tofu but Mumbles prefers just chicken and I don’t like mushrooms so I steer clear of those.

Do you like pho? How do you order yours? I always eat mine with a fork and then a spoon but Mumbles is committed to the chopsticks and full face-in-the-bowl slurping down to the last drop. There’s another clean, bright, modern chain near my work that dubs themselves “the Chipotle of Pho” — you pick the ingredients that they throw in your bowl as you walk down the line.

What are your favorite comfort foods and coldbusters?

In Bachelor news…
I did manage to catch last week’s episode of The Bachelor but please forgive my silence in regards to recaps. Just for a minute though: who else was totally shocked that Nikki got to meet Camilla already??? WHAT?!?!? Do you think she’s the front runner now? I can’t get over how crazy that was. And, I have an inkling that Clare will be sticking around until the end too. What say you?

[photo via Pickled Plum]

5Aug2013

What a Crock

Posted in Food, For the Home by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Mumbles, bless his heart, has been such a loving husband — making meals and snacks, cleaning the house, taking Baxter for walks…all so I can get as much rest as possible, eat well and stay calm, happy and relaxed while our son is growing inside me (p.s. still so weird to think that I’ve got a human in me!). The other day, Mumbles devoted about 40 minutes of prep time in the kitchen to prepare a delicious meal of veggies and pork that were set to marinate overnight and cook the next day in the crock pot. We had a quick cautionary joke between the two of us about the last time he tried to make a crock pot meal and in the hustle of getting out the door for work that morning, forgot to plug in the crock pot before he left. Ahh! Such a sad, sad realization when you come home expecting your house to be filled with delicious aromas only to find unsafe, uncooked pork and veggies that have been sitting out all day lukewarm. What a waste!

Well, I wish I could say the same thing didn’t happen to us again a few days ago, but I’d be lying. He did plug it in this time but he thinks perhaps when reaching for something on the counter nearby that he knocked the plug loose. Either that or our crock pot is just too old (it was a hand-me-down from his mom in all its vintage navy, orange and yellow flowery awesomeness).

All that happened and the next day I saw Target Does It Again post this photo on Instagram of a delightful new Target collaboration with French Bull and I immediately knew I had to have the crock pot. Had to. Seeing that it wasn’t available in stores near me, I ordered it right away. I can’t wait to surprise Mumbles with it!

If you’re looking to spice up your kitchen with some appliance flair, the French Bull line at Target also includes a toaster, K-cup single cup brewing system, and a blender. So fun!

23Apr2013

Lime Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Posted in Food by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

lime shrimp and coconut rice via Williams-Sonoma

Whenever I need to treat myself (or friends) to a nice dinner, this is always the recipe I think of first. Why, you ask? Because it’s delicious and I love the coconut-lime combo. Do yourself a flavor favor: grab the necessary ingredients and give this one a go for yourself. You’ll thank me later! Oh, and don’t forget to put on Harry Connick Jr.’s “A Wink and a Smile” while you’re prepping…it always puts me in a good mood!

Here’s the recipe (via Williams-Sonoma), and if you’re a coconut lover like me, I recommend sprinkling in a generous handful of shredded coconut to the cooked rice to give it even more of a coconut kick! To round out the plate, we usually add a side of healthy black beans, which makes a great combo for a delectable day-after burrito (that’s if you’ve got any left over!).

Enjoy!

What are your favorite go-to recipes?

18Aug2011

What’s for dinner: Stuffed Artichokes

Posted in Food by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Okay, not quite dinner, I know (although I could eat these stuffed artichokes until I’m downright stuffed myself). I found this lovely little recipe and video how-to on Daily Candy about a year ago and have been making it for quiet nights in and dinner parties to rave reviews every time.

The recipe instructs that you cut off the top of the artichoke and the stem so that it can sit flat.

I use kitchen scissors to snip off all the pointy leaf tips then open up the artichoke so it looks like a pretty ranunculus flower.

Then, create a simple little mixture of Parmesan, oregano, bread crumbs (I usually just crumble up crackers or wheat thins – whatever I have on hand), and garlic salt to taste.

Spoon the dry mixture into each little leaf so that later there’s a tasty nugget on each of the leaves when you pull it off. Add some garlic to the center and then place the artichokes in a pot or deep pan with a half inch of water in the bottom. Drizzle a little olive oil over the artichokes, turn the stove to medium heat and steam them for about 40 minutes.

When they are done the leaves will be easy to pull off and it’ll smell crazy delicious. Be careful, though, because it stays hot and steamy for a while.

Never eaten an artichoke like this? Pull an individual leaf and hold it with your fingers by the tip. Put the bottom in your mouth and slide it through your teeth to get the meat of the artichoke and cheesy goodness. If you’re entertaining, don’t forget to leave out a plate or bowl for guests to discard their scraped-off leaves (kinda like the already-sucked-out-shells of edamame). On the other hand, if you’re at home in front of the couch, just chuck ’em back onto the plate when you go back for the next one!

Enjoy!

17Aug2011

What’s for dinner: BBQ Ranch Salad

Posted in Food by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Mumbles is like a lot of guys in that he has to have meat on his plate to consider it a meal. This was pretty tricky for me in the early dating stages, as I’ve been known to have meals that consist solely of bread, cheese and wine. (I later learned to add salami and nuts to round it out a bit for him). Even sometimes now when I’m not up for cooking meat I get a little worried… that is until I decided to make myself like black beans. Dr. Merrett can attest to the fact that I’ve told her [probably a million times over] of how I learned to love tomatoes while living in Spain with BFOTB, forced myself to eat pickles until I began to crave them, and even tried to partake in the party staple deviled eggs (that one hasn’t stuck yet). So, I’m proud to present the new Mumbles and Stick Girl go-to favorite for when we don’t want to cook meat but still want to pack a punch of healthy protein in a meal: the BBQ Ranch Salad.

I cut up a bunch of fresh veggies like celery, tomatoes, carrots, and bell peppers (and would have used corn if I had any). Next I added in half a can of black beans and some pepper jack cubes to give a slight kick to the salad, then added the leafy greens and tossed everything together with light ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. The finishing touch was crumbling some tortilla chips on top.

It was super delicious and because I was too lazy to dirty up more dishes/find it somewhat romantic to eat out of the same bowl (again with the two forks, one bowl – this is really starting to stick! – or just completely make people throw up in their mouth a little. gosh, we’re like the kind of couple that sit on the same side of the booth at restaurants… okay, yes, we do that, too, sometimes. stop judging me.), we were fighting back and forth over all the yummy nuggets of goodness in this tasty salad.

What are your go-to recipes when you don’t have/want meat?