weekend delights

Well, let's just say I did not get that Sunday roast in the oven...yet. I did, though, finish my capstone book and it is with my advisers for review! That feels pretty good. We did have a few delicious treats. Baked ziti from Cooks Illustrated (thanks for the subscription Phyl and Darrel!). It is a fantastic recipe - calls for cottage cheese instead of ricotta and a few other tricks make it tangy and full of flavor. I'll post the recipe later but wanted to get these up given that you all read my posts first thing in the a.m. (it's just as informative as watching the news or reading the paper, I know).
Ziti sauce and pasta in process. Note the cool Le Creuset spatula in the hot simmering sauce...am I nuts using such a utensil?!? No, this one is made of that fancy stuff that can with stand heat, my curses and the next atomic bomb. Thanks Phyl!!

The final product - baked ziti (well, penne really), a delicious green salad with a great balsamic vinaigrette (garlic, dijon, balsamic, olive oil and lots o pepper).

And, this morning, we were quite hungry again (I am sure our stomachs have been stretched over the last two weeks). So I made some delicious whole wheat pancakes (Creme de Colorado) and eggs with aged white cheddar, green onion, canadian bacon, tomatoes and yellow pepper. The pancakes are delicious, but lets be honest, all Skellengers know they are just a vehicle for the 1940 Club Syrup. All hail Uncle John's Sugar Shack!! Eggs were delicious too!

You can barely see it, but the syrup pitcher has been upon many Carlson breakfast tables. My Grandma Carlson would make us breakfast and Geoff and I each had our own "Good Morning!!" rooster pitcher for milk. I have both now...Geoff, come over for breakfast and I'll get it out for you!

So, to work I go...left overs are packed and ready for my first day back! Mom, I didn't layout my clothes, but I did iron.

Ode to the Followers

I see a common theme in photos of furlough food followers.
A wave, a dog, a child, two doggies and a cat,
All following a human food blog, imagine that.

To the followers I say, thanks for your support!
You've left messages and emails and warm friendly smiles,
I never would have guessed you'd follow all the while.

A few more meals to post:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday a roast
To work I go on Monday morn, I am happy and excited
so please don't look forlorn.

My furlough, it's come to an end
but there is another 'right round the bend.
And furlough food will have posts galore
kept alive by two or three good friends.

They'll post and post...and post and post
if I know them at all
they'll post treats and meals
and
funny dog tails

But it is all of you I toast:

Thank you for reading and enjoying my ventures
It has been a fun, exciting and rewarding endeavor.
Through these times we will continue the pleasure
Of making it through many challenges together.

Make muffins, make muffins I say, and make the most of your day no matter what comes your way.

Dining OUT!

Despite the urge to spend every waking minute cooped up in a drafty house in Saint Paul, Todd and I ventured from the cool to the cold, cold world outside our door. Todd suggested we head out for a little bit and it was a welcomed suggestion. He sent me a text (yes, from the upstairs to the downstairs), asking if I wanted to go to a local neighborhood eatery...I was knee deep in recipes (or perhaps I was finishing up the text for my capstone book but I want you to think I'm looking at recipes and plotting meals and kitchen take-overs). I texted back, "You read my mind."

I donned my Tuesday best, Todd did too, and we headed out to the Nook (linked to delicious flickr images). This place is the stuff of legends, as Po would say (he's the panda in Kung Fu Panda). People of legends, meals of legends....You know it is a legendary place when they can get away with tshirts that say, "Have you had your nookie today?"

So off we went to the Nook (link to reviews), I in my sweatpants and smartwool top (my "furlough uniform" as I like to call it). He in his cat hair laden fleece and serious goatee, we were warmly welcomed at the Nook...a 21st Century Cheers, really.


Todd and I have now been here about four times so we're at the point where we don't even look at the menu. I have the delectable Juicy Nookie with fried onions and he goes for the California burger (with cheese please, and no mayo). It is a treat like no other, and I cannot believe we JUST discovered this place (thanks Zach) after living in Saint Paul for 3.5 years. We are about 2.5 miles from the joint and my new requirement is "if we want it we gotta walk it". Of course, I made that promise only AFTER I consumed my juicy. It is pure bliss if you're looking for that 1500+ calorie treat. Given that we had our proverbial coffee and cocoa this a.m. and that's about it, I was ready for some calorie overload.

Todd in anticipation:

Cindy's delight:
and from the inside.....
Zach, you drooling? Bill(y), you too? It was even better than it looks. And in no time flat, the Spartans had beat the Wolverines (expected but darn it) and I had decimated my nookie.


And now I'm about to collapse of sodium overload, and I'm really feeling like I've completely negated Sunday's dairy-less dinner. But it was fun to get out and see how the other half lives!

Post Script: Bill(y) was so tempted by our description of the Nook, he decided to venture all the way from Clarkston, Michigan. This photograph is from January's night out at the Nook. He ordered the Paul Molitor (juicy nookie with pepper jack cheese). How was it Bill(y)?

Furlough Midterm

Last night it was like I was back in school again sitting my stormwater final exam...I had two minutes trying to figure out how much runoff a 10 year storm would yield in an 20 acre urban setting with over 75% impervious surface, with disconnected wetlands and a curb and gutter system. EVERY question after this initial question hinged on whether or not my answer was correct....a stormwater pressure cooker (and I still can't answer that question, nor do I even know if it is a valid question).

Anyway, so I had a little anxiety about dinner last night. It marked the middle of my furlough, so I had Mom over for dinner again and put myself to the test cooking for her and Todd. She, by the way, walked from her house to my house (roughly 6 miles of urban pavement in the dark, and lots of winter ice...champ).

I decided to cook the other white meat and the seed of a leafy plant: pork and quinoa. And to throw that trick question in to the exam, I wanted to do so without dairy products (being a little lactose intolerant anywhere I can cut dairy is good...though I love all things dairy it is super hard to restrain myself!). Pork is not my first choice in a meat, but the recipe for adobo rubbed pork loin with pico de gallo sounded super flavorful and I wanted give that other white meat another chance. To complement the pork and pico de gallo flavors, I looked up a tasty quinoa salad. I had a fantastic quinoa dish at Cafe Gratitude this past fall and I wanted to see if I could recreate some of the taste (though not vegan style). And, to add a little extra green to the table I made a delicious guacamole that brought it all together.

Mom had seconds so either she was REALLY hungry from the walk, or it was pretty darn good. Probably a bit of both. Everything hinged on the pork as the main course, or so I thought. I think it ended up that each part of the meal was flavorful and hearty enough to be the main course! Here's a close up of the treats:

The quinoa salad and pork tenderloin. The pico is added to the pork and was unbelievably tasty.


Mom was excited to be in a warm house again and Todd, knife in hand, was just ready to eat already...stop taking pictures Cindy!

We ended the evening with a little cocoa by Todd - here's a process graphic:


All in all it was a pretty darn good meal. Todd loved the pork and my mom was smitten with the quinoa. I have to say, the quinoa was unreal - delicious lime flavor and bursting with cilantro, cherry tomatoes and black beans. I could have made a meal of the quinoa, guac and pico de gallo. The flavors were much needed during this long, cold winter. If I was true to the whole eat local and seasonality of our food - which I am trying to be better about - we would have had a meal of hard snow, fresh cut willow twigs dusted with switch grass awn from our front garden and accented with a little road salt. I needed a little light-hearted food goodness for my for midterm furlough and it was the most fun exam I've ever taken.

Adobo Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Recipe from Epicurious (modified a titch):
Pork

• 5 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 pinches cayenne pepper
• 2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 3- to 4-oz pieces

Pico de gallo

• 15 oz black beans cooked and rinsed
  
• ~ 40 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

To make pico de gallo, mix all ingredients.

For pork, preheat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, mix paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder, sugar, and cayenne. Rub both sides of each tenderloin piece with spice mixture (I let it sit for a good three hours). Preheat skillet over medium-high heat and pan-sear pieces until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to pre-heated broiler pan in oven until done (6 to 8 minutes for each inch of thickness).

Serve 1/2 cup pico de gallo over tenderloin.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa from Epicurious (modified a titch):

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ~ 40 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  

Whisk together lime zest and juice, oil, sugar and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Bring 2 cups salted water to boil (1/2 teaspon for 2 c water). Add quinoa and bring to boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender and water has boiled off. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Guacamole for two (Stephanie's recipe):

• 2 avos
  
• 1/3 red onion diced
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes diced
  
• juice of 1/2 lime (or a little more)
• dash of cumin, sea salt and ground pepper to taste
  

A few other fun photos from the evening...
Making the pico.


Salivating over the guac...hmm..not the best photo here, but Stephanie's recipe is awesome - lots o' lime and a bit of cumin makes all the difference!

Thanks for walking all this way Mom!

Todd's Fiber Wafers

Woa, stop the fan mail kids. It's overwhelming. :) I did sift through the thousands of comments and noticed that someone wanted the recipe for Todd's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip goodness (which he calls fiber wafers)...and here it is!

Pre-heat oven to 350

1 stick salted butter softened (not melted)

¼ cup white suggah

½ cup brown suggah

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all of this goodness together first, then add 1 egg mix just until combined, then add….

Dash of salt

Dash of cinnamon

¾ cup flouah

½ tsp baking sodah

Mix all of this goodness together then fold in

3 fist fulls of chocolate chips (no more, no less)

Then add 1 cup and a smidge more of quick oats (def. quick oats, not the not quick kind)

More flouah or oats you put in the cake-er they are.We tend to like them less cakey and more goooey.

Drop a good amount on cookie sheet for each cookie and press middle with thumb (this technical move makes them cook more evenly and doesn’t leave them under cooked in middle with brown edges).

Fill two glasses full of milk (or three in the case of Kimberly, Billy and Emma-dilemma), put in freezer, then put cookie sheet(s) in oven for roughly 10 minutes.

Consume all, preferably in front of a good movie like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or The Incredibles.

Smile...like this:

Just one of those days

...to make cookies.

Chocolate is food for the soul. Or so says the entire Zerger family...and I’d say my Dad would agree to that too...only his is in the form of a Babe Ruth.

I know we’ve all heard the statistics, but there are 11,100,000 people in the United States that are unemployed. That’s roughly three Twin Cities that are unemployed. That is pretty tough to stomach when you know it is an increase of 50% from the previous year.

Here’s an interesting link that graphically depicts the unemployment rate. It’s not the shwoopiest of websites, but scroll down really fast and you get an interesting picture. And scroll slower and you read interesting facts, like when the minimum wage was $0.75. Here's one from NYT and another from MSNBC.

Doom and gloom, eh? Dang this post is bringing you down, isn’t it? Well, just wanted to start out on the lowest point, relay three pretty cool observations for the day…and end with a smile…read on.

I got an email from my cousin, Bill(y):

I will be on multiple furloughs this year ... My voluntary 2% paycut was increased to 5% (now effective for everyone), 401k match was suspended, and we will now have 30 days of 'shutdown' this year, where you can use PTO time to cover, but if you use PTO time for other things, you have to pay for the shutdown days.

Ugly, but I'll take it all day long.

Yep, that’s what he wrote, “Ugly, but I’ll take it all day long.” I glazed over that in my responses to him – focusing on what this meant for his bottom line, trying to figure out if he was getting paid less and working the same or getting paid less and working less…and even I asked if he at least got a free lunch when they broke the news. But, I went back and read his email I saw the last poignant line, “Ugly, but I’ll take it all day long.” It stared me right in the face and said, “Snap out of it! Focus on the positive, not the negative!” Thanks Cuz, I needed that reminder.

Another reminder...music from the upstairs...

Todd is one of those 11,100,000 right now. I think its harder psychologically to be part of that statistic than it is to just not go to a place of employment. He IS working – likely harder than most people who are at work. He’s working on his own website, networking, reading and doing lots of yoga these days….he is smiling and sometimes I hear him singing to his music from the upstairs studio. And, as he said, he will come out on the other side in a better situation with a better understanding of the life-work balance.

And another...warmth of a friend...

On Thursday, Carrie came over for a little lunch, planning for her baby shower and a good hearty MN walk. She came in with a blast of awesome vacation energy. She and her husband, also recently laid off, made a powerful decision to embrace the opportunity in front of them. Carrie was invited to speak at a conference in Florida and they decided to make muffins, er, the most of it. They jumped in the car and headed south…they saw 70+ degrees on the thermometer, enjoyed the company of good friends, played in the ocean, relaxed, and I imagine they smiled a few times knowing Carrie. Three weeks later they came back to MN refreshed and excited to just be here and now. A few potentials on the horizon for both of them, but what I admire most is her perspective on it all….life is here and you just gotta live it.

It is all a matter of perspective isn’t it? Have a chocolate chip cookie today, and just forget about the guilt - enjoy the inner smile it brings you!

Todd made these in honor of his 3 week-a-versary. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal…delicious with an icy cold glass of milk. Ahhhh, food for the soul.

Thank goodness for that gym membership

Woa, time out. It’s gotten out of hand here. Asian turkey burgers, sesame noodles with shredded chicken, lemon loaf all in less than 24 hours….Can I go back to work now? Yes, I’m modifying ingredients to ensure lower refined sugars, fats, etc…but three items and 20,000 calories in one 24 hour span? That’s plain nutty. And all I gotta say is thank goodness for my gym membership and handy Nike+ gadget…I can track my runs, pace, goals and all that good stuff…which makes me feel like I can eat some of the goooooood stuff.

So, what made me do all these crazy things? I’m going to blame it on my mom for raising me in to enjoy kama’aina foods….I will eat anything with ginger and shoyu (or as mainlanders – now including me – call it: soy sauce). I’m probably destined for high blood pressure given the amount of soy sauce I had as a child, but I figure the ginger will magically counteract that by its known properties to boost circulation. Wait…hmmm…that sounds dangerous. Mom, what did you do to us?!?

Tuesday’s dinner: Asian turkey burgers…from the Grill Every Day cookbook. I highly recommend upping the cilantro and ginger – double time it. A delicious kettle chip (low salt variety for perfect potato-ness) was a great addition. Todd said, “Woa, hella good.” I think that means he likes them. (No we didn’t have any veggies, bad us. But we did have lots of them for lunch.)

Wednesday’s lunch: Sesame noodles with shredded chicken from America’s Test Kitchen. It is pretty good, but lacked a little punch. Any suggestions on what to add if I were to add anything? Of course, I already did up the ginger and garlic but it needed a little punch…red pepper flakes?

SESAME NOODLES WITH SHREDDED CHICKEN RECIPE

Featured on America's Test Kitchen and printed in Cooks Illustrated magazine, October 2004 issue.

¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup chunky peanut butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 piece (1-inch) fresh ginger, grated or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
2 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
Hot water
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1½ pounds), trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles or 12 ounces dried spaghetti
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
4 scallions, sliced thin on diagonal
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater (about 2/3 cup)

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon sesame seeds in a small bowl. In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 tablespoons; set the mixture aside (it can be left in the blender jar or food processor workbowl).

2. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a stockpot over high heat. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to 6 inches from the broiler element; heat the broiler. Spray the broiler pan top with vegetable cooking spray; place the chicken breasts on top and broil the chicken until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken over and continue to broil until the thickest part is no longer pink when cut into and registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Add the salt and noodles to the boiling water; boil the noodles until tender, about 4 minutes for fresh and 10 minutes for dried. Drain, then rinse with cold running tap water until cool to the touch; drain again. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil until evenly coated. Add the shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine. Divide among individual bowls, sprinkle each bowl with a portion of reserved sesame seeds, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6 (or an army, depending on your portion size – seriously we have enough for the next week).

And of course, I needed to make a pound cake of some sort – a little zing to the ginger’s zang. This is an old trusty recipe; Mom and I have made them as holiday mini-loafs for friends and family. From the Crème de Colorado.

And after a day of yet again shirking my capstone book, I capped it off with a good workout at the St. Paul YMCA….Krista came too and we had a blast. Thanks KMS!

This is my "mini" from the Nike+ website. :)

Kitchen Voyeur….or perhaps Kitchen Lurker (if you’re Erica)

**First things first...I have no idea what is going on with the html of this blog - why it is in one type and then another...various sizes, etc...My apologies for the disastrous formatting...I may be switching to WordPress tomorrow...back to story...**

Ever want to secretly peek in someone’s kitchen? Just want to see what they think are essentials? Being that I’m an aspiring cook, not really a cook, I need a peek inside all kitchens to take a gander at gadgets, cool tools and essentials. I have a lot of fun things I’ve acquired over the years (and yes, Mom, I do know how to use them...most of them), but at this point in my cooking adventure, I can point to three essentials. And, go figure, they don’t actually contribute to the cooking of things but they are essential to my, ahem, process.

Item Number One: My dear, dear Chemex coffee carafe
With a little experimentation, research and watching Darrel over the years, I’ve learned how to brew an exceptional cuppa coffee in my Chemex, if I do say so myself. Darrel (nearly father-in-law and the best deal finder in the WORLD), found this beauty at the SPCA thrift store…for probably somewhere around $5.00. As many of you know, I’m a sucker for a quad espresso over ice with a touch of vanilla, and I’ll still enjoy one from time to time, but a beautiful faux-lait at home is my new favorite thing. What’s a faux-lait you ask? It’s a Phyllis creation – coffee with warmed milk that is foamed with a swizzler (yes, that’s the name of the tool…which come to think of it is another essential). P.S. When you say faux-lait, say it with oomph, like you’re saying, “Olé!” and holding a sombrero….faux-LAIT!!




Item Number Two: Todd's dear, dear Chantal tea kettle
This has a bit of a back story; have a cuppa coffee, relax and let me tell you. Todd’s Aunt Barb passed away twelve years ago, and before she left this earthly place, she asked Todd what of hers he would like to keep. Without hesitation, he asked for her tea kettle. It has seen many a family event and is rich with memories; the sound of the whistle brings him back to her house in Berkeley in an instant. That kettle had been sitting upon our stove for the last five years and we used her frequently for tea and coffee, but she was a bit worse for wear. Darrel, my coffee coach, found an almost spanking new Chantal – in the SAME cobalt blue color that I hear was Barbs favorite color. Darrel did in fact pay exactly $5.00 for it this fall. It made the journey to MN after a lovely Thanksgiving in California. We've retired Barb's, as we would like to keep that one forever. I never knew Barb, but I think of her every morning when I hear the beautiful whistle of the cobalt Chantal, and I send my thoughts to her, wherever she may be.

Chemex and Chantal go hand in hand.

Item Number Three: The happy, happy gnome apron

Yes, Mom, it is the third essential. You’ve given me a few over the years: one with a pansy, one with an apple pie on it, a Hawaiian themed one, and a gnome one. What on Earth made you think I’d want one with snowman making gnomes on it, I’ll never know, but it rocks. It is the perfect size, perfect weight, perfect pockets and perfect tie ‘round the waste. I suppose there is a cook or two out there tisking at my apron wearing, but novice Cindy needs one or I’m going to be writing about laundry, not cooking. The gnomes and their snow antics remind me to enjoy this *%$#(@&!! winter, at the very least from the warmth of my kitchen.
See the gnome? I'll give you a hint...he's wearing orange shoes.

So back to kitchen peeking. While she’s still creating her list of essentials and figuring out what to share and what remains secret, I did get Stephanie to spill the beans on a beautiful, delicious looking soup she made on Monday night. She’s not technically on furlough yet, but in anticipation, she’s honing her cooking skills with a Cabbage and Sausage Soup. She claims she started with this recipe on Epicurious but as far as I can tell from the ingredients lists, she thought that recipe was crap about a quarter of the way into it and totally improvised. The result looks amazing and I just want a small little taste, please.

Stephanie's recipe:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 ounces fully cooked Wellshire Farms Kielbasa Pork Sausage (65% less fat version), sliced in half and cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 head large cabbage, chopped
3 cups sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 cups baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise, then halved crosswise
3 tablespoons Sierra Nevada Spicy brown mustard, or other spicy brown mustard
1 giant sprig fresh thyme, chopped
3 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups water
1 cup beer (I used an I.P.A.)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or other white vinegar
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
1 cup milk (more if needed for proper consistency)

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage slices and sauté until brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and mustard; sauté 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to same pot and heat over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, thyme, rosemary, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; sauté until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes (I keep the lid on in this step to trap the moisture). Add broth, water, beer, vinegar, sausage-cabbage mixture, and beans and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. While soup is simmering prepare the dumplings by mixing the dry ingredients together and then stir in the milk. Keep adding milk until the dumpling mixture just barely falls off the end of a large spoon. When the soup is close to ready, drop large spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into the simmering broth. Let dumplings simmer for approximately five to eight minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and eat! Makes about 8 servings. Yum..

Thanks Stephanie!

Domesticated Cat

Socrates, our wild-at-heart cat, mews incessantly at times and we have no idea why. I’ve come to the conclusion that she has no idea why, either. She just does it because that’s what she does. It crackles and gets a bit sad at times. Then again, it is a roar at times and she quite likes herself while she’s mewing.

Cooking, while I LOVE eating, is something I never thought would get the best of me. It is absolutely no part of my residual self-image. I’m bad ass like Trinity (a la Matrix), or at least that’s what I tell myself. No matter what, my self-image does NOT hold a wooden spoon and certainly does not own a white apron with wintery gnomes painted gleefully at the bottom of it. But here I am: wooden spoon and gnomes galore. And, blasted, I'm blogging about it.

Sigh.

So am I kind of bummed about all of this? Well the funny thing is, no, not at all. What I’m bummed about is that I’m not bummed. I actually like cooking despite the fact that I think, based on my vision of myself, I shouldn’t like it and certainly shouldn't admit to liking it. I’m not sure I’m any good, but I’m loving it and learning to cook the in the savory style of my mom (she’s a heckva cook when she has the time).

I feel a bit like Socrates the cat. She’s domesticated, and enjoys indulging in the domesticated lifestyle, but she mews now and again just to remind herself that, while she’s loving her cat food and mouse toy, she’s still a wild bad ass cat at heart.

Yesterday’s concoction: Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips from Runners World. It is ridiculously easy and they consider it a good post run food. Ha!

I’m a sucker for all-things pumpkin, so gave it a go. It is unbelievably moist, a little chocolaty and deliciously pumpkiny. I prefer large chocolate chips so just changed that one thing!

It's my job to make muffins?

Wait...what?

Yep, it is now my job to make muffins. This blog is borne of two things: (1) a Devin-ism (more on this in a minute), and (2) a decision my boss and co-workers have made to take some unpaid time off to ensure our place of work (a pretty cool landscape architecture studio in Minneapolis), and all eight of us make it through this economic implosion together.

First the Devin-ism. Though I've only heard this story second hand, it is apropos and I think of it nearly every time I, well, make muffins.

Devin, my stepson, had a tough day at day care. He was riding in his car seat losing himself in the landscape as the world passed him by. His dad could feel the sad energy radiating from the backseat. Todd (that’s his dad), asked him about his day and Devin, never short for words, told him how hard it was and how frustrated he was because the other kids weren’t willing to share or play nice. Todd, also never short on words, offered his years of wisdom to Devin. The words flowed freely and Todd talked about what sharing means, how to get along with others and relayed anecdotal stories of his days sharing Lincoln logs. Perhaps Todd shared a story too many and Devin continued to stare out the window. Sensing the loss of attention, Todd summed up with, “I know it can be tough Devin, and sometimes people don’t do what you hoped they’d do, but it is your job to make the most of it.” With that, Devin turned his head toward the rearview mirror and engaged Todd's eyes with an inquisitive look. He was about to speak, then paused and thought again...Todd looked at him through the rearview mirror with that raised eyebrow, "yes? yes?," waiting patiently for his question….and in all Devin wisdom, he said to his dad, “Wait, so you mean it’s my job to make muffins?”

Moral of the story: Sometimes, making the most of it is making muffins.

Second: the furlough. Yes I realize technically “furlough” is a temporary leave of absence from the armed services, but it is now a colloquial euphemism for unpaid leave from any sort of gainful employment. And, I’m on it. As a recent graduate of landscape architecture and urban planning, I’m damn thankful to have a job, and doubly thankful it is at a place like Coen + Partners. We’ve got a great crew, all of whom have agreed to take some unpaid leave in the next two months to keep us in the black for years to come.

So, while I could be a bit miffed about the loss of pay and the time away from work, I have decided to make the most of it, or as Devin may say, make muffins. Hopefully this place will become a repository of furlough stories, cooking adventures and other musings (post, feel free to post!)…but for its humble beginnings, it is a little place for me to share the wealth of my furlough….making FOOD!

Yesterday was Furlough Eve, and I made a delicious hearty minestrone (from the Creme de Colorado cookbook), garlic sourdough bread, and little french fudge cakes (thanks to Lynne Rossetto Kasper's and Sally Swift's How to Eat Supper).

Hearty Minestrone - Italian sausage, a medley of beans, spinach, summer squash, zucchini, chuck roast. I will be honest, I made this in November, but pulled a frozen container of it from my freezer on February 1st and it was even better than this fall.

sourdough garlic bread - get a good Parmesan and super fresh garlic....a little basil and oregano (and oil and butter) and poof! garlic bread to dunk!

little french fudge cakes - this is a meal in itself. The chocolate chunks become pools of molten chocolate and make you scream for some milk. Add some vanilla ice cream and it is pure bliss. I'd recommend trying some different percentages of chocolate (I used 70% Scharffen Berger), and it was a humdinger. Todd got the chocolate wobblies and I seriously could not eat it all.

Nothing like starting out on a full day of work with a full tummy. Wait....er, nothing like starting out on a full day of no work with a full tummy!