Cooking Misc.: June 2004 Archives

I was going to skip writing about this because, although it was quite good, it's not really "cooking." Then I got an issue of Real Simple in the mail with the coverline "The Easiest Dinner Ever," a story all about sandwiches for dinner. I've been redeemed!

Although the recipes they include are for substantial sandwiches, and mine was of the lunchbox variety: almond butter and apple slices on whole-wheat bread. It was just so good, though, you don't understand. I love the crunch of the apples in the sandwich (although I'm a fan of nut butter and banana sandwiches, too). Very schooldays.

I was going to skip writing about this because, although it was quite good, it's not really "cooking." Then I got an issue of Real Simple in the mail with the coverline "The Easiest Dinner Ever," a story all about sandwiches for dinner. I've been redeemed!

Although the recipes they include are for substantial sandwiches, and mine was of the lunchbox variety: almond butter and apple slices on whole-wheat bread. It was just so good, though, you don't understand. I love the crunch of the apples in the sandwich (although I'm a fan of nut butter and banana sandwiches, too). Very schooldays.

I cannot get this right! The focaccia I made this weekend was bland, flat, chewy, gross. I can't bring myself to throw it out, but I'm going to have Todd do it.

I think the flavor is easy to remedy: add more salt. And I was pretty optimistic about the texture, too. The dough was really sticky, but it had this nice, bubbly look to it. I think the problem might have been that the recipe called for a lot of sauteed vegetables scattered over the top, which didn't let the bread rise in the oven at all (and may have flattened it a bit). The edges were nice, though kind of hard (I think I cooked it too long to try to get the top that was under vegetables to be more brown and less pasty-white).

Should I try this recipe again? Or give a different one a try? Does sticky dough sound right?

It's hard to imagine being nauseated for seven weeks, isn't it? It was for me 10 weeks ago, when, just a few days after finding out that I was pregnant, the nausea started. I'm excited about being pregnant (we had wanted this for a while), but I never imagined how it would rob me of one of my favorite hobbies, this blog. I've been eating to keep my stomach settled, my weight up, and not with the pleasure or curiosity I used to have. At points I couldn't imagine ever being interested in food again, and the only "cooking" I could handle was putting my breakfast in the toaster.

The worst of the nausea has passed, but I'm still not 100 percent back in the kitchen, as I'm sure anyone who has read this for a while can tell. And even eating out can be a minefield. Never excitedly say to a pregnant woman, "Now you can eat whatever you want!" It simply isn't true. Meat has to be cooked to the point of inedibility (to my mind anything past medium-rare qualifies), there are fish with too much mercury, soft cheeses and deli meats could give the baby listeria, no raw fish (I've been eating California rolls). Peanuts could cause a severe allergy if there's a history of allergy in your family. My favorite diner breakfast, eggs over easy, is off limits. (By the way, I'm not a scientist, so don't take what's written here as the last word. I'm feeling neurotic and super-cautious about this whole thing, and the Internet is a blessing and a curse of too much information.)

It's been one of the most frustrating things about being pregnant, suddenly being in a high-risk group with young children and the elderly. Just as frustrating as discovering nothing in my closet fits. So, whoohoo, I'm gaining weight at an alarming rate, but I don't get to enjoy it as much as I should be. Poor me.

It's hard to imagine being nauseated for seven weeks, isn't it? It was for me 10 weeks ago, when, just a few days after finding out that I was pregnant, the nausea started. I'm excited about being pregnant (we had wanted this for a while), but I never imagined how it would rob me of one of my favorite hobbies, this blog. I've been eating to keep my stomach settled, my weight up, and not with the pleasure or curiosity I used to have. At points I couldn't imagine ever being interested in food again, and the only "cooking" I could handle was putting my breakfast in the toaster.

The worst of the nausea has passed, but I'm still not 100 percent back in the kitchen, as I'm sure anyone who has read this for a while can tell. And even eating out can be a minefield. Never excitedly say to a pregnant woman, "Now you can eat whatever you want!" It simply isn't true. Meat has to be cooked to the point of inedibility (to my mind anything past medium-rare qualifies), there are fish with too much mercury, soft cheeses and deli meats could give the baby listeria, no raw fish (I've been eating California rolls). Peanuts could cause a severe allergy if there's a history of allergy in your family. My favorite diner breakfast, eggs over easy, is off limits. (By the way, I'm not a scientist, so don't take what's written here as the last word. I'm feeling neurotic and super-cautious about this whole thing, and the Internet is a blessing and a curse of too much information.)

It's been one of the most frustrating things about being pregnant, suddenly being in a high-risk group with young children and the elderly. Just as frustrating as discovering nothing in my closet fits. So, whoohoo, I'm gaining weight at an alarming rate, but I don't get to enjoy it as much as I should be. Poor me.