Cat Got Your Tongue?

One of the things I really struggle with is finding ways to unwind during the work week. Since my day job started up in August, I feel like I've been continually on the go. Rushing home from work so I can get to they gym or go for a run, back home to throw dinner together, running errands, taking care of my house, working on the blog...and the list goes on.

I was chatting with my mom yesterday (OK, more like I was having a major meltdown and she was being a good, patient listener). Maxine the Bean has been behaving weirdly lately, and when mom suggested that Max might just want some attention, I went over the edge. "I don't have time to sit on my couch and pet my cat!" I shrieked. "I don't sit on my couch and pet myself! I don't sit on my couch and pet a man! I don't even sit on my couch!"

Whew. I think that means it's time to get a grip.

Incidentally, the part about not sitting on my couch is true. Unless you count the nights that I crash there, under the pretense of watching Top Chef, and then awake fully clothed and bewildered at 4 am. In that case, I guess you could say I sleep on my couch.

All in all, I think I do a pretty good job of fitting it all in. But when I keep it all up without allowing myself a break, I invariably start to feel like I'm missing those quirky, humorous little moments that make life life. It's as if life's just whooshing past me and I'm totally missing the point. And then, I bug out (see above).

I didn't really intend to unwind tonight, either. I planned to go to the car wash after work, rush home to write for an hour, go to the gym for back-to-back cycle and yoga classes, and then come home to write some more. Seriously? Are there that many hours in an evening?

Somewhere between work and car wash, I surrendered my plan, and I ended up having a--dare I say it--dare I say it?--relaxing night.

It all started with a drive along Columbia Parkway, through Mariemont, to Froggy's Car Wash.

Last week, I rhapsodized to my friend Kelly about how much I love Columbia Parkway, and I really do. Every Tuesday night, I take Route 50 home from work, just so I can drive the stretch of Columbia Parkway that runs between downtown and Delta Avenue. It's become a little ritual that I use to unwind and gear up for Wednesday morning.

Other times when I need to chill out, I pamper myself. But my baby's entering the geriatric stage, and she needs a little TLC, too.

So tonight, the car wash it was.

I had a totally trippy ride through the wash.

 

There were frogs everywhere! I whipped out my camera and snapped pictures all the way through. I'm sure the guys working there thought I was off my rocker!

While I waited for my car, I checked out the coffee shop.

Wait. Stop. Back up. What?

That's right, this car wash has a full coffee shop right inside. Being a coffee fiend, I had to check it out.

I went for broke and ordered a small iced coffee. It was pretty good! I asked the woman behind the counter if people come in just for the coffee, and she said they do.

There's my baby, getting a little love.

Spotting this sign capped off my evening. So glad I was able to slow down and enjoy the moment tonight, even if it was just at the car wash!

Dinner

I say I love to cook, and I do. I love to spend time creating delicious, interesting food. But I rarely have the leisure time to do this during the week, so I don't bother. Instead, I like to throw together creative salads, sandwiches, breakfast-for-dinners, or random plates of crave-able stuff.

I write a lot about going out. I love to go out, and the posts are fun to write! But if you only know me through the blog, it looks like I go out all the time, and I don't.

For a change of pace, I thought it would be fun to show you a few more of my easy, random weeknight meals. Because we're all human, right?

Tonight, I had a massive salad topped with cottage cheese, hummus, and avocado (AKA the holy trinity).

On the side, I had some stale crackers that I crisped under the broiler a la Grandma Angie, the most frugal lady on Earth. (It worked, Grandma! Just like fresh!)

Now, I'm stuffed. I'm off to bed! Or maybe the couch....

Have a wonderful day tomorrow!


How do you unwind?

Welcome Back

Hey there, it's been awhile! I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. I spent mine in one of the best ways possible--in the company of friends.

But, first things first: My little bro turned 27 on Monday.

 

Happy birthday, Carl! 

Wish I could've been there to celebrate with you!

Now, here's a little taste of what I was up to while I was away from Crave and Create. I hope I've whet your appetite, because the next few courses are on their way!

I Can Be Anything

Was anyone else enthralled with Reading Rainbow as a kid?

I can still remember my two favorite episodes...the dairy farm, and the crayon factory. Don't you remember all of those orange crayons?

Or maybe that was Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Incidentally, Mr. Rogers made a mean no-bake cookie out of, hmmm...peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and...maybe raisins. Sounds healthy, right?

Here's the recipe: Peanut Butter and Graham Cracker Treats. (Turns out I was way off on the ingredients!) I can still remember watching that episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and then making these with my mom and brother in our family kitchen.

Anyway, the point of all this is not to share my childhood memories, but to say that I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. It happened in the shower, as things like this so often do. See, for quite some time, I've been searching for a direction, a calling. What do I want to do? Who am I going to be? And I've been coming up short.

But now, like Julie of Julie of the Wolves, who on her epic journey home pointed her boots toward her estranged father Kapugen before lying down to sleep each night, I have found a new direction. It feels like I am turning my face toward the sun after a long, cold night.

If I'd had any powdered milk or graham crackers in the house, I'd have made a batch of Mr. Rogers' Peanut Butter and Graham Cracker Treats to celebrate.

East African Eggplant Curry

Funny how writing about your life forces you to put things in perspective. For example, I was reading over my last several posts today, and a few things became clear:

1. I look like a wino. What can I say? I love a good wine tasting!
2. When I edit out the mundane details and focus on the exciting stuff, my life looks 100% more interesting than it feels most of the time. Maybe I need to give myself more credit for being an exciting and interesting person?
3. When it comes to food, lately I've been going pretty heavy on the craving, and light on the creating.

This weekend, I decided to remedy that last point. I've had this recipe for East African Eggplant Curry hanging on my refrigerator door since I went through my first love affair with eggplant last winter. Finally, all of the stars and the planets aligned just right, and I continued my trip around the world (in Cincinnati) with this eggplant curry.

East African Eggplant Curry
adapted from Ashbury's Aubergines
(makes 4 servings) 

1 medium eggplant (1 lb, 2 oz), unpeeled, cut into 1/4" dice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small or 1 medium onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 t dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/2 t salt
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c water
1 can chickpeas, drained
cayenne pepper to taste

First, prep all of your ingredients. Dice your eggplant and chop your tomatoes and onions.

If you're lazy like me, you don't need to bother with peeling the tomatoes. Just give them a good squeeze to remove the seeds and chop them up.

Now, pat yourself on the back, because fiber is good for you.

Measure out the spices, and mince the ginger, garlic, and pepper.

Mise en place, which is a fancy way of saying "getting everything ready to go before you start cooking," takes a little time, but I promise it's worth the effort - your dish will come together much easier and you'll feel like a superstar chef!

Right. Now, heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. Add the onion and cook over low heat until it begins to soften, about 7 minutes.

Next, add the garlic, ginger, peppers, and spices and cook for another minute, stirring constantly so the spices don't burn.

Now, add the eggplant and salt, and stir until the eggplant is completely coated with the spices. Thanks to the turmeric, it should turn a lovely shade of highlighter-yellow.

Add the tomatoes, crank up the heat, and bring to a boil. While you wait, mix the tomato paste and water, and stir that in, too.

Once you have a good boil going, put the lid on and turn the heat down to low. Simmer, stirring often, for about 20 minutes.

Time's up! Add your chickpeas and give it another stir. Continue to cook until the eggplant is very tender and the mixture is thick.

Now, grab a spoon and try a taste. Adjust the seasoning if you like. If you're a hothead like me, add a few shakes of cayenne pepper. Careful, though! You want to be able to taste the fruits of your labor, not an over-seasoned, unbalanced dish! Taste as you go, and you'll be just fine.

Serve your curry with your favorite (whole) grain. I served mine with brown rice, but quinoa or millet would be equally great.

Check out this big, happy, family-style pot of love!

Enjoy!

Passport Not Required: Part IV

Here are some photos from last week's Hyde Park Farmers' Market for you to enjoy while I am at the market today.

Goldie Hocks

Mom and Dad

 

Black raspberry macron from Taste of Belgium

 

I swear that I don't just go to the farmers' market to eat! Sometimes, I actually buy things to cook with, like fresh produce or bread. Last week, I procured a couple of beautiful little eggplants that are going to turn into curry later this afternoon. All I need first are some nice, ripe tomatoes...

Hey, Cincinnatians, have you heard? The Hyde Park Farmers' Market is moving to the square next Sunday, September 5th!

Passport Not Required: Part III

I can't believe another entire week's gone by and I'm still writing about last weekend! As always, thanks for sticking with me as I explore the life/work balance.

Today's the perfect day to write this post, though, because it's my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

After we recovered from our trip to Findlay Market last Saturday, my parents and I continued our Cincinnati adventure at Laszlo's Iron Skillet, a Hungarian restaurant in Newtown. We've been talking about trying the Iron Skillet for years, and finally, the time was right!

A little family history... 

My dad's father, William Molnar, was Hungarian. His parents, Joe and Elizabeth Molnar, emigrated from Hungary at the turn of the 20th century. My Italian grandmother, Angie Molnar, is an excellent home cook (and one of my kitchen inspirations). When she met my grandfather, she learned how to cook the Hungarian dishes that he loved. During their life together, she spoiled him with homemade cabbage rolls, chicken paprikash, spaetzle, and delicious nut rolls.

That's Grandpa Bill and Grandma Angie in the middle, with friends during a trip to Europe in the 1980s. Don't they look like they're having a blast?

Here they are in Switzerland, on the same vacation.

My family has been lucky enough to enjoy Grandma Angie's Hungarian home-cooking for years, but we still couldn't wait to try the Iron Skillet!

Laszlo's Iron Skillet

Laszlo's Iron Skillet was established by Laszlo and Elizabeth Molnar in 1973. Using family recipes handed down through generations, the Molnars quickly became known for their German and Hungarian specialties as well as fresh breads and pastries. Like the recipes, the restaurant itself has passed from generation to generation, and is now co-owned by Laszlo and Elizabeth's children, Lazlo Molnar, Jr. and Monica Lippmeyer.

The Iron Skillet's menu includes a plethora of American and European dishes, and features the Eastern European specialties for which the Molnar family is well-known--cabbage rolls, goulash, paprikash, and schnitzel.  According to our waitress on Saturday night, everything, including the breads and pastries, is made fresh in-house. Impressive, especially when you consider the size of the menu. And they're doing a nice job of it, too--everything we tried was delicious!

We started with a basket of homemade buttered rolls, which had a texture similar to brioche but tasted like sourdough bread. Next, our waitress brought cold cucumber salad with parprika and hot slaw. We loved the cucumber salad, and it's on my try-this-at-home list!

Dad went with an Italian dish. He had the Chicken Piccata, a chicken breast cutlet served with a white wine-lemon-caper sauce and Parmesan risotto, and he enjoyed it.

But in my world view, when you have a chance to eat authentic Hungarian food prepared by a real, live, honest-to-goodness, straight-from-the-mother-country Hungarian chef, you just smile...

Do you think the M stands for Molnar or Magyar?

and order the Goulash, like I did...

The Iron Skillet's Szeklar Goulash, a combination of pork goulash and sauerkraut served over spaetzle and topped with sour cream.

or the Schnitzel (like Mom). 
 

The Hungarian Schnitzel, a veal cutlet, seared and topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms in a paprika-sour cream sauce, served over schnitzel.

And maybe the Cherry Strudel, too, which we shared.

The cherries were fresh, a combination of tart and sweet. And would you just look at that flaky crust?!

My parents and I really enjoyed our experience at the Iron Skillet. I'd love to go back to try the Mushroom Paprikash, or maybe for a cabbage roll (my all-time favorite Hungarian dish). Mom and Dad both said they'd like to visit again next time they're in Cincinnati, but something tells me it'll be awhile...there's too much left to explore in Cincinnati to go back to the same place twice!

Random Rant and (c)Rave

Sheeeesh. What a day. It went something like this.

It's nights like these I plan to cook, but by the time 8:30 rolls around and I've just finished taking care of things at home and prepping for tomorrow, this begins to sound like a perfectly reasonable and delicious dinner.

Carrot sticks, apple slices, and sweet potato chips, with hummus and cottage cheese for dipping.

Only I didn't eat it at my dining table, where I took the picture.

I ate it at my desk, in front of this...

(That's selzer water with Naked Carrot Orange Juice in my glass, by the way.)

and this...

and this.

Yes.

What do I have to say for myself? Yum. That's what.

And this: Get thee to a Trader Joe's, and buy a bag of these sweet potato chips. 

No, buy 3 or 4 bags. Because if you don't get them, I will. Seriously, I'm coming for them. Now.


Who's your favorite Top Chef-testant? Bonus: Pick your Top Chef final four.

I'm liking Tiffany, Ed, and Angelo right now. They'd be in my final four, along with either Kevin or Kelly. Ready for Alex or Amanda to go home anytime now. (Yes, I realize I'm being a hater--obviously, all of these people are amazing chefs.) Really, I'm still in a little bit of denial about Season 6 being over. I miss Jen, Kevin, and the Voltaggio brothers!