Magazine Meal Planning starting with Tilapia

So great to be cooking again after my month+ of recuperation.

But, my brain's not up to speed with it. Making dinner every night has a rhythm--once I've got the groove down it goes fine. But after a vacation, or any break from cooking, it all feels slow and awkward again. I can't string together two meals in a row.

So, I snatched up the October issue of Real Simple when the cover saidA Month of Easy Dinners

I bought groceries for the first week of dinners last night. Tonight we had Tilapia with Peppers and Olives. You know what was great about this? Eating real food. Under the push of the little kids' moans, I end up dumbing my menus down to varieties of pasta, cheeseburgers, and egg dishes. It was good to get out from under that.

I broiled the Tilapia instead of pan frying it. I was afraid I'd bought too much when I laid the filets out on the pan, but there were no leftovers, and we could have eaten one more. I only used half an onion, since I knew the younger kids wouldn't want the onion/pepper mix. The flat-leaf parsley came from my garden.

And the reviews were good too.

--Younger elementary school ate her fish, without the vegetable topping, and loved it and had seconds. I didn't expect that.
--Older elementary school had a little fish, but his braces were hurting too much for him to have an appetite.
--Middle school snacked in the afternoon again, and then declared she was not hungry, and could think of things more fun than sitting with us. Too bad. She ate her required two bites, and then half a jar of spanish green olives.
--High School loved it. Later she asked, what, you're going to blog about it? I kidded her back, "wouldn't that make a great movie?"
--Husband really loved it. For him I had put the olives on the side; he doesn't like them.
--And I loved it. It was so great to be eating real food.

Definitely I'd cook it again.

Tomorrow: Beef and Bok Choy Stir Fry. Just in time to use up the leftover rice from Sunday.

Hurray, remodel postponed again, indefinitely?

My husband has wanted to add on to our new house, doubling the size of the living room. I really don't want to. I'd like to enjoy the house just the way it is. We haven't been in the house half a year yet. There's been enough remodel upheaval converting part of the garage into an office, and redoing the driveway. I love the new windows we put in the children's rooms. But now I want to be done.

And now, to my delight, my husband agrees.

So, no more frantic research on how to redo the kitchen before a wall is torn down. And, I can relax in the WHOLE yard, not feeling it is about to be snatched from me. It's much easier for me to buy a smaller turkey than take on the kitchen project. I've got too many kids that I would rather pay attention to.

Edited to add: Boo. The remodel is back on. (October 20, 2009)

This makes me want to add a half bathroom

That's right. It's a floating concrete sink that's a topo map.

It makes me want to add a 1/2 bath to the house (yeah, where?) so the guests could wash their hands before all its topological glory.

http://www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com/2008/11/concrete-done-right.html

Actually Jim Mather can catch arrows

Love this xkcd



But it reminds me, I do know someone who can catch arrows. I was taking karate at his studio a couple years ago, when my schedule still permitted. I don't know if he's also a ninja though.
http://www.ckakarate.com/staff.php

unrelated xkcd favs:
human-sized hamster ball

Hey, a kitchen designer in my area.

I noticed her comment on houzz. pderas. Peggy Deras.

blogs

http://kitschykitchens.blogspot.com/

http://kitchen-exchange.blogspot.com/

http://ApplianceNotes.blogspot.com/

static website

http://www.kitchenartworks.com/

and she pointed me to this canadian kitchen designer, useful spaces.net

who pointed me to http://kitchensync.typepad.com/

Edited to add:
http://www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com/

Search for the true bed

The one true bed. No longer made by Pottery Barn

Another bed she really likes, but it's $1320, and made out of PINE.

\\http://store.wellappointedhouse.com/scadaybedtru.html

She'd like this, if it came in the right size. This is actually a toddler bed.

http://uniquewoodentoys.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17151&category_id=365

http://www.thefurnituredomain.com/1528btwsr.html

Roman Shades

I put new, larger windows in my kids' rooms. We've got sheet tacked over them for privacy.

I couldn't think of what to do for window treatments that would be modern, and appropriate in a child's bedroom.

I actually paid Jennifer the amazing decorator to come over, to give me some ideas of what we could do.

This time she didn't have anything amazing that I hadn't thought of before. Well, she had some things I hadn't thought of, but I didn't go for them.

So, I think we're going with roman shades in a neutral color, no pattern.

Just now I started looking for made-to-measure roman shades on the internet. duh, why didn't I think of that before?

JCP

http://www.jcpenney.com/products/C046482.jsp

Is going to cost $100 to $300 a window, depending on fabric. There's a sale going right now. All the fabric choices are polyester. Not sure that is a problem, actually.

The Shade Store

http://www.theshadestore.com/category/shades/roman-shades/view/all

Is going to cost me $850 per window.

They do have cotton, linen, silk, etc.

Candice Olsen said linen could break down in the sun, I think.

smith+noble

quick quote $475 per window, cotton canvas

100% hemp, or bamboo or silk or linen, $609 per window