Christmas!

I figure that so long as I post our Christmas pictures while it's still December, I'm not too far behind, right?

We actually celebrated our Christmas on December 23rd, because I was scheduled to work overnight on the 24th and 25th. Well, I actually ended up working the 22nd and 23rd as well, thanks to Matt's generous offer to cook the entire Christmas dinner (and clean up after himself!) and watch Eden all day. He did, and I can't imagine things going any better than they did!

Our menu for Christmas dinner was as follows:

Spice-rubbed roast beef
Country Potatoes
Green bean casserole
Buttered corn

The roast was one from the half steer we split with Pam's family earlier in the fall. The recipe we used was one from the Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, an excellent and artistic book that contains all you need to know about cooking succulent grassfed meat (for example, cooking it "lower and slower" than you would grain-fed beef). This particular recipe involved rubbing the meat with a combination of spices (including cardamom and cloves, which we chose specifically because it seemed especially Christmasy!) and then roasting it at the super-low temperature of 180 degrees. It came out absolutely perfect--tender, juicy, medium-rare, and with just enough spice to lend flavor without covering up the beef's own deliciousness.

The Country Potatoes are a recipe that Matt's mom makes for get-togethers which Matt and I are absolutely crazy about.

Country Potatoes

2 # frozen hash browns (we used two pounds of peeled, cubed potatoes. They didn't cook up quite as tender as we would have liked, so I think next time we might boil them for just a few minutes before assembling the casserole)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup (we actually just halved this recipe)
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 stick melted butter
1-1/2 c. corn flake crumbs (we used about two cups of torn bread crumbs, since we're all about croutons)
4 T. melted butter

Mix hash browns, sour cream, cheese, soup, onion and 1 stick melted butter together. Pour into 13x9 inch pan. Mix corn flake crumbs and 4 T. melted butter together and spread over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 12 (haha)

Utter deliciousness.

For the green bean casserole, we went the easy route and bought French-fried onions (though we've made them before) and used the recipe off the side of the can. We did make our own cream of mushroom soup, though.

We also had a delicious organic red wine with the meal, made better by Pam's introducing us to a wine aerator. It was a total revelation, especially to someone like me who in the past has had to work to enjoy red wines (not anymore!). It really mellows and softens the sharp, bitter edge that red wine often has to it, and we're definitely glad to have one of these on hand!

Here are a few more pictures from Eden's first Christmas:

All in all, we had a wonderful evening. It was simple, quiet, and shared with each other and one good friend. There were gifts, but no extravagance; there were also no obligations, no sense of "we should invite so and so" or anything like that. Just sincere, genuine, and heartfelt. While we missed our families, that was also allayed by the knowledge that next year we'll be nestled about as closely in the bosom of our families as possible, so we were able to enjoy this one quiet Christmas together, and appreciate it for what it was.

Cooking with squash

I've never been a big eater of vegetables. I've tried to browse the grocery store or farmer's market, and just pick up something in season (like hmm, kohlrabi? or so I hear it's beet season), and go home and cook it. Last time I tried that I ended up with the Swiss Chard incident, and there have been a number of other attempts that were equally unsuccessful.

So I'm not really sure what possessed me to pick up a butternut squash and bring it home, except that it seemed so robustly autumnal (this was back in autumn, mind you). Surprisingly enough, I ended up finding at least three uses for butternut squash that I liked quite a bit.

The first one was a variation on Easy Brown Rice Risotto, which was sort of a no-brainer because I've made it before and liked it with sweet potatoes. Here's how that went:

Butternut Squash & Brown Rice Risotto

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 1/4" cubes)
About 1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp rosemary
2.5 cups chicken stock
1 T butter
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup walnuts, toasted briefly in a dry skillet
1 cup feta cheese

1. Drizzle cubed squash with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary. Bake at 400 degrees 30-45 minutes or until roasted and tender.
2. Meanwhile, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add butter. Once butter is melted, stir in the rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook 45-50 minutes. The rice should be moist.
3. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Stir in Parmesan and roasted squash.
4. Garnish generously with toasted walnuts and feta cheese.

Hummus was next on the list. I actually didn't realize until after I'd made it that butternut squash was the first on the list of possible add-ins we'd listed for hummus way back when.

Curried Butternut Squash Hummus

1/2 butternut squash, cubed and roasted as above except sprinkled with curry powder instead of rosemary

Hummus prepared like this (or any other way)

Add the cubed squash to the hummus and process in a food processor until smooth.

I think my favorite, though, was butternut squash soup, even though I seem to have failed to take a picture of it. It was wonderful--silky, sweet but not too sweet. I had originally looked at a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but found that it had too many ingredients I didn't have on hand. However, commenter #3 on the afore-linked post had just the ticket; I made very few substitutions except to eliminate the leeks, chives, and brie.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, cut in half. Bake at 350 degrees/45 min.(cut side down on baking dish)
Chop 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 leek (white part mostly). Saute in butter in large pot.
Add cooked squash and 2 liters chicken stock to pot and bring to a boil.
Add one apple (peeled and chopped), one bay leaf, and one tsp. sugar.
Simmer 40 min. Remove bay leaf and mash/puree.Add salt and pepper to taste.

Next up I think I'm going to have to do a dessert round.

Snow!

We're having record snowfall in the Washington area today. We made the most of it and went out grocery shopping. As you can see, like a good Midwestern baby, Eden really enjoyed it:

Making our bed and lying in it

This is kind of a long story and sort of old news, but I thought it was worth reporting.

The takeaways from this rather long story, if you don't feel like reading on, are:

1) I (along with many in the scientific community) believe that the evidence shows that conventional mattresses are not safe and they contribute to SIDS.

2) A Guardsman mattress protection plan, like any warranty, is worth about as much as the paper it's written on. I paid around $70 for the original plan, so for my time and trouble I was compensated basically $55 toward a new mattress when I paid $350 for the original. Not a route I would go again. Our latex mattress does come with a limited warranty, but it's not anything we had to pay extra for. And, while they were super nice and responsive when I was scheduling a cleaning, they were suddenly very difficult to get ahold of when it came time to pay out.

3) Our latex mattress, while initially expensive, is comfortable, durable, customizable, and, we believe, safe--the safest option we've been able to find for cosleeping. This makes it a worthwhile investment for our family, who will spend over 1/3 of the rest of our lives there!

Here's how we got to this point.

Way back in 2006, I brought a Simmons Beautyrest mattress to our relationship that Matt and I have always been really happy with. I bought it in 2005, just before I graduated from college. It's a queen-size, which was always plenty of room for the two of us.

However, the bed was unfortunately about the only thing which did not escape our homebirth completely unscathed. Despite not actually giving birth in the bed--well, it suffered a little bit anyway. Enough said.

Luckily, I had purchased a protection plan from Guardsman which guaranteed that if anything ever made it through their mattress cover, they would replace the mattress. I contacted them to let them know that this was the case, and they politely informed me that they would first send a technician out to try to clean the spot; then if he couldn't, they would replace it.

The tech came and was very nice and helpful, but was unable to get the spot out with the first treatment. He informed me he needed to come back a couple of days later to try a stronger treatment which couldn't be combined with the first.

After he left, I noticed a strong ammonia-like chemical smell in the apartment, clearly a result of the spot removers used on the mattress. Coincidentally, while the tech had been here I'd been reading this article. Basically, New Zealand has eradicated SIDS for the past FIFTEEN YEARS (it's an older article) by wrapping their mattresses in polyethylene covers which prevent the interaction of toxic flame retardants (required by the government) and common fungus, which combine in mattresses to release poisonous gases.

They've attempted to share this research with the United States, where 8 babies a night die of SIDS, but despite the fact that it's a cheap, easy solution which can't hurt, the United States has basically said it's not interested. Why? The above article postulates it may be because admitting that government-mandated flame retardants are killing babies would be invoking a HUGE amount of liability, and because SIDS research is big business.

Sad.

Lest you think this is just one of my hippie trips, one of the New Zealand researchers notes that the level of success with their mattress-wrapping campaign amounts to one billion times the amount of evidence needed to establish scientific proof.

Fortunately, these covers are available in the United States. Unfortunately, they don't come in adult sizes, and as we are firm believers in the physical, emotional, and developmental benefits of cosleeping, our baby sleeps with us in our adult-sized bed.

Clearly we had to do something.

I called Guardsman and shared the above with them, saying I was uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping on the mattress now that it had been impregnated with chemicals and preferred not to go through with the second cleaning. They demurred, saying the chemicals were safe and nothing could be done about the warranty until a second cleaning was attempted. The tech subsequently came back and could not remove the stain with a second cleaning. anyway After a number of phone calls to Guardsman, they finally said that since we had bought the bed at a store in Iowa which did not deliver to Virginia, they could either purchase the bed in Iowa and we would have to pay to ship it out here, or they could give us a "courtesy payment" of $125.

When I paid $350 for the original mattress, $125 didn't feel like much of a courtesy. But since we didn't actually want another queen-sized Beautyrest mattress, for both size and chemical concerns, we grudgingly accepted it and started looking for another bed.

Incidentally, we were able to sell the mattresses and frame on Craigslist for another $125 to someone who didn't care about the stain.

So with our nominal cash in hand, the hunt was on for a safe mattress. Chemical-free mattresses are available in the United States, but by law they must either contain a natural flame retardant like wool, or you have to have a prescription to buy them. After much research on the various options, their cost, safety, durability, and comfort, the route we chose to go was a natural latex mattress which contains a wool layer, thereby bypassing the need for a prescription. There are a number of discount latex mattresses out there, but we chose to go with a Savvy Rest because all of their ingredients--rubber, cotton, wool--are certified organic. We don't believe that organic certification is the be-all, end-all in any way, but it's a starting point, at least. We also read a number of reviews and managed to track down a Savvy Rest dealer--a chiropractor about ten minutes from us who had a full-size bed set up in his office. We got to come over and roll around on it with Eden, as well as try out the layers (soft, medium, and firm) in all different orders-- the order in which the layers are stacked affects how soft or firm the mattress feels. It's also split down the middle, in case your sleeping partner prefers a different firmness than you.

We were sold, and the chiropractor (Dr Bruce Short of Herndon) even threw in a SavvyRest shredded rubber pillow for us. I sleep on this now and it is THE MOST AWESOME PILLOW I'VE EVER FELT. We hadn't thought about pillows posing basically the same problems and hazards as a mattress, but once we thought about it, it seemed obvious. Matt chose an organic wool Holy Lamb pillow, which he has also been incredibly happy with.

We've now had the bed for about a month (after a few weeks of camping out on a futon and an air mattress while we waited for it to be delivered) and we're thrilled with every aspect of it. It was relatively easy to assemble (it ships as six separate latex sheets plus the organic cotton cover, which zips over it). We also opted for a wool "puddle pad" which helps protect the bed in the event of leaky sleepers (such as diaper-free babies). We are loving the extra room (plenty for two adults, an increasingly wiggly baby, and\ two cats) and find the bed and pillows exceptionally comfortable. While the price tag (around $2500) was originally a little tough to swallow, we found that any king mattress was going to be pricey, and the peace of mind and durability this one offered was well worth it. From what I understand, other customizable sleeping options (such as a Sleep Number Bed) are comparably expensive, without the benefit of chemical-free organic ingredients. Plus, we anticipate sleeping on it for pretty much the rest of our lives, as extreme as that sounds, and therefore the cost-per-use makes it actually a great bargain.

Baked potato soup

Baked potato soup has become one of our stick-to-your-ribs cold-weather standards. I've tweaked the recipe I found here (no low-fat ingredients in THIS household!), and we like to deep-fry the leftover potato skins in the bacon grease and then broil them with cheese, bacon, sour cream, and salsa on top. YUM! Real hangover food. All in the name of not wasting a thing.

Baked potato soup

2 tbsp. butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4-6 baking potatoes (about 2-1/2 lbs.)
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
6 cups whole milk
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1. "Bake" potatoes in microwave until soft, about 8-12 minutes.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Place flour into the vegetables; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes).
4. Add mashed potatoes, cheese, salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil).

For a recipe for potato skins (pictured above), you can go here.

What we're up to

Eden's two teeth are making more of an appearance every day. At five months old, she's suddenly lots of fun to play with. Peekaboo is a favorite, along with any and every kind of roughhousing-- being thrown in the air, wrestled with on the bed, piled with pillows, hung upside-down. She's still really not eating any solid food, although we let her taste things on a pretty regular basis. Her favorites so far: butternut squash soup (more on that later), bananas, and chicken pot pie. She is also an incredibly fast army-crawler, so merits a lot of close watching.

This week and next, I'm off of school, so I've actually been enjoying some reading for pleasure (!!) again. Right now: Baby Hearts, Baby Signs, and The Grass-fed Gourmet Cookbook (thanks, Pam!). The latter is especially handy as we bought half of a grass-fed steer to share with another family this fall, so our deep freeze is full of steaks, roasts, and hamburger. We got an incredibly good deal on it and are enjoying incorporating a beef dish or two every week.

We're also preparing ourselves to move back to Iowa come September. While my preceptors haven't signed on the dotted line yet, we're not anticipating any complications and we're feeling like we've been called back in that direction. I'm actually hoping for a part-time job to open up at UIHC, and beyond that--who knows.

In the meantime, we're enjoying our last 50-degree Virginia December, and planning to visit Mount Vernon for Christmas since I work the holiday and so we'll be staying in town. Matt has a little time off and so I'll be picking up a few extra shifts and I'm sure we'll find a way to justify going out to eat once or twice as well.

All she wants for Christmas

Eden has TWO TEETH!! One showed up on December 5th and the other one the very next day. She doesn't really like anyone looking at or feeling them (let alone taking pictures of them), but take our word for it: they're here!

Settling back in

from Tristan & Isolde

After a few days of rough starts and not wanting to take a nap or nurse following our Thanksgiving travels, Eden seems to be back on track. Thank goodness! She usually takes a morning, afternoon, and evening nap and then goes to bed with us between 10 and 11pm and wakes up at 6 to go potty, then goes back to bed till around 9. Last night, she fell asleep around 9pm while we watched a movie (Tristan and Isolde--one of our favorites, for its beauty and simplicity and come on, how not to love someone with James Franco's versatility?) and slept through until almost 8am. It seems to have reset her somewhat because she woke up smiley and happy this morning, then fell asleep for a morning nap without protest (or excessive amounts of bouncing, back patting, and singing, which is what it sometimes takes).

On top of Tristan and Isolde, last night was also made special by the cooking of a fantastic batch of spaghetti and meatballs, which we've made before, and while this time the meatball mix seemed a little wet and ended up somewhat disintegrating when simmered in the sauce, it still made a delicious rich ragu to ladle over homemade spaghetti. We have this pasta roller and we like it quite a bit for simple, delicious, and relatively quick homemade spaghetti and fettucine. It's also by far the cheapest pasta roller we could find, but it works great for us. If you haven't made fresh pastas--I'd really recommend it! Ours calls for a recipe of 2-1/2 cups of flour (we use 100% whole-wheat) and 3 eggs (sometimes it seems like I need to add a fourth--probably depending on the size of the eggs). And--a bottle of red wine. We are unabashed fans of the $3.29 Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe's, and last night felt like we might just have something to celebrate. I have been working for over a year to try to set up midwifery clinicals somewhere--Virginia, DC, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, just somewhere! It now seems like it might be possible that I may be able to work something out with a midwife near Iowa City --you know, where it all began. My sentiments about this echo the same mix of sadness and excitement I had about leaving Iowa City in the first place--but then again, that's not news.

Back home for the holidays!

My apologies to the Hellenbrand clan for not having as many pictures of them--I lost my camera for the first 2 days of our visit. But rest assured, a good time was had by all at both locations (even if the transit between was a little rough).

We're here.

After a crazy, at times uproariously funny and at times frustrating trip, Eden, my mom and I arrived safe and sound. Some brand-new stranger anxiety and a major, major meltdown later, Eden is finally sleeping soundly. It's great to see everybody, but nobody ever said it would be easy.

Let the holidays begin!

image by redstamp.com

Today is Matt's birthday and his mom's. Happy birthday, guys!

My mom also arrived today.

Thus, we're officially kicking off our holiday season.

My mom is here to help out with Eden while Matt's on his annual business trip next week. (Last year Eden, the size of a tadpole, and I went along. The year before I did not.) So Matt will fly out to San Diego on Friday, then my mom and Eden and I are flying back to Cedar Rapids on Saturday. Matt will join us from San Diego on Tuesday and we'll have Thanskgiving dinner with my family. On Wednesday, we're headed up to Wisconsin to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with Matt's family. Then Matt, Eden, and I will fly back home Friday night. Got all that? And of course, there will be a number of meet-and-greets while we're back in the midwest--not the least of which will be Eden meeting three of her four aunts for the first time!

It will be interesting, to say the least, to travel with Eden. She hates being in the car and has difficulty eating and getting to sleep when there are interesting new people around. We're looking forward to going back and seeing everybody, though! Should be an adventure no matter what.

Other holidays in November:
My mom's birthday (November 23)
Pam's birthday (November 30)
Our Restonversary(November 30 I believe)
Our Pamiversary (earlier this week--November 15)

What a fine and festive month it will be.

Falling

How many more posts can I do on how the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same? Once again, like last year, fall finds us marveling at the beauty of autumn in Virginia, and reflecting on new beginnings and fresh starts and trying to find a place to put down roots. Of course, we're so lucky to have so many places to call home, and so many people laying claim to us (okay, mainly to Eden). But it does make life tricky in a bittersweet sort of way.

Anyway, enough of that. Here are some pictures of fall in Virginia this year.

I realize this one is a little Bigfoot-sighting-esque. But it's the first time I've ever seen a (live) fox in the wild and thought it bore magnification.

Free cookie and hot chocolate this weekend!

The only thing better than a $10 date is a FREE ONE, which looks like we'll be scooping up at Barnes & Noble this Saturday. There's one well within walking distance of our place, which is awesome given our recent commitment to keep Eden out of the car.

Speaking of yummy ways to celebrate fall, we're hoping this weekend to make up some Apple Cider Doughnuts and possibly some pumpkin bread pudding. We made these pumpkin pancakes last weekend with some canned pumpkin we got from the eviction, and there's more in the freezer. The pancakes were pretty delicious (though despite others' comments, we did find it needed a generous splash of additional milk), but pancakes have never been my forte--the standing around, the burning of outsides, the undercooking of insides. Bread pudding seems like a surer bet.

And speaking of freebies, tomorrow is the last day to answer a trivia question for a free lunch coupon at Ted's Montana Grill. We've each racked up a few of these but haven't been out to get them yet.

Salmon chowder

I couldn't find a recipe for the kind of salmon chowder I wanted to make, so I had to come up with one myself.

Salmon Chowder

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp dill
1 Tbsp parsley
~1/2 lb salmon fillets
3 medium carrots
2 medium stalks celery
2 medium potatoes
1/2 onion
1/4 cup butter or lard
1/4 cup flour
1 cup frozen, fresh, or canned corn
4 cups of whole milk
2-3 Tbsp salt
Sprinkling of cracked pepper

Heat oven to 450. Drizzle the melted butter in a 9x9 or similar pan that the salmon will fit in. Sprinkle herbs on top. Place salmon, skin side up, and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another side or until salmon is flaky and opaque. Peel off skin, flake salmon, and set aside.

Melt the 1/4 cup butter or lard over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the vegetables, saute 5 minutes or until lightly cooked. Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated and flour is lightly cooked. Add milk and simmer until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Stir in salmon, corn salt, and pepper, and simmer until vegetables are soft.

I give this a 10 and Matt likes it quite a bit too. Creamy, a little bit sweet, and not too fishy at all. There would probably be an easier way to cook the salmon--maybe poaching in the milk or a little broth?--but this is how I'm used to cooking it and so it works well that way for me.

Reston Oktoberfest

This weekend we found some time to hit the Reston Oktoberfest, as well as lunch at Uncle Julio's one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. (Which is, happily, within walking distance.) As you can see, a good lunch was had by all--even our smallest member.

Perinatal

On Wednesday, Eden and I had the good fortune to attend the Perinatal Symposium on contemporary birthing practices and birthing rights. It was organized by Jessica Clements, an acquaintance of mine who has recently become a friend. I volunteered to help pull some of it together; my brother even did the website design. (Thanks, L!) Some familiar names were there, like Henci Goer and Robbie Davis-Floyd, and Debra Pascali-Bonaro, along with some that were unfamiliar to me, but no less impressive--like Shafia Monroe and Aravinda Pillalamarri. I was blown away by the true multidisciplinariness of the event--midwives, doulas, nurses, lawyers, anthropologists, artists, and even belly dancers all came together out of concern for birthing women. Many of them spoke of the need to secure a safe birthing tradition for our daughters, something which had a new resonance for me as I've attended many birth conferences, but this was the first in which I had my own fuzzy-headed, chubby-cheeked little girl in my lap.

One of my other favorite things about the conference was that it was the first time I've been in a context where women were openly and proudly breastfeeding. From five-week-old twins to babies in arms to toddlers who ran up to their mothers to nurse, there was a whole lot of breastfeeding going on, and it was a wonderful thing to be a part of. Unfortunately, in our culture, breastfeeding is nearly always a solitary event, as opposed to more traditional cultures in which it is a normal, social part of everyday life. It made me realize what I'm missing out on the rest of the time. While so many babies and children meant that at times things were a little rambunctious and the speakers were hard to hear, it was also neat to have a constant undercurrent of squeaking, sighing, murmuring (and occasionally shrieking) baby noises as an appropriate accompaniment to the topic at hand, and as a reminder that to all of us there, it was of far more than just passing or theoretical significance.

Jessica introducing the panel

Debra Pascali-Bonaro

Shafia Monroe

Lynn Griesemer

Just in time for fall...

...a mac and cheese recipe that is SO GOOD! We are huge fans of the creamy Wisconsin Mac 'n Cheese from Noodles & Company, and this is a lot like it. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and basically halved it (with some rounding here and there) since the original recipe serves 12 and calls for more cheese than even we usually have around. I have also found you can reduce the amount of cheese in the sauce by about a handful, and increase the salt a little, and it will be just fine.

This is one of "those" M&C recipes people love to complain about--those which Involve a White Sauce. Making a white sauce is one of those things that personally I think takes longer to complain about than it does to DO. Just do it already! If you're not comfortable a flour-and-fat roux--the base for every gravy, white sauce, cream soup, pot pie filling, and other velvety delight known to the kitchen--it's time to get comfortable. It really couldn't be easier. Video tutorials abound, but basically, just cook the oil in the bubbling fat already. Then stir in your broth or milk or other liquid, bring back to a boil, and whisk together until thick and smooth.

Our butter is expensive, so I use lard.

Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac-and-Cheese
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics

Serves 6

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to l/2-inch pieces
2-3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for water
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-1/4 cups (about 9 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup (about 4 ounces) grated Gruyère or 3/4 cups (about 2-3 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese (I actually used about 1/4 cup Parmesan)
1/2 pound elbow macaroni

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. (I use a 9x9 square pan.) Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoons butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.

2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (I put it in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Combines a step and saves a dish.) Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 1.5 cups cheddar cheese, and Gruyère (or Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.

5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes (though we needed a bit more time to get it brown, but your oven may vary). Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

I also cook the macaroni first and make the cheese sauce in its pan while it hangs out and drains in the colander. Maybe Martha has somebody to wash all these dishes for her, but I don't.

Anyway, a great make-ahead meal and just all-around delicious!

Last fall...

Things were different, and certainly quieter. We ate bulgur and bananas for breakfast instead of eggs cooked in lard, which is what we eat now. Instead of getting up early to ride to work, I wake up, roll over, and nurse Eden before kissing Matt goodbye and settling in for the day. We're once again getting ready for Matt to travel to a meeting, but instead of going along, I'll stay behind with Eden. We still enjoy taking walks, reading together, and watching reruns.

Our philosophies on lots of things have changed. But the theme of contentment in that post still rings very true today.

Quiche of the week: Sausage, onions, mushrooms, & cheese

This week's quiche came about because I had leftover sausage from a meal of biscuits and gravy, leftover mushrooms from a dish of chicken and noodles that never materialized, leftover Monterey Jack from a batch of quesadillas, and half an onion in the fridge. I love that about quiche! I also love that it's possible to make a quiche pretty much one-handed. With one hand I sift together the lard and flour, clump it into a ball, and press it into a pan for baking. With one hand I can crack and beat the eggs together with the milk, saute the vegetables (OK, chopping takes two), and combine them all. This makes it an excellent meal to make when Eden is in the sling or the Ergo and I need to have one hand at least on standby to make sure she doesn't lurch out of it, or topple out when I bend down. So in addition to being healthy, tasty, easy, and cheap--one more reason it's on the menu every week!

To make this quiche, I utilized our standard quiche formula (though with only 1.5 cups of milk and 5 eggs, since we were low on milk) and threw in a handful of mushrooms, diced onions, and cooked sausage that I sauteed together in a little lard. I put the cheese (about a cup) directly on top of the crust since I've heard that keeps it from getting soggy.

Then I added the eggs and milk, and baked the whole thing for about 20 minutes at 425, enough to firm it up but not cook it all the way through because I'm actually planning for us to cook and eat it tomorrow. But Eden's extra-long nap in the Ergo this morning was too good an opportunity to pass up, so I made it ahead today. Just another thing to love about quiche!

Family pictures

These are actually from last weekend, when we took Eden out for a drive and picked up all those tomatoes. We're pleased with how well we've been able to incorporate her into our self-photography! Now, if only she'd look at the camera and smile when we do it...