Under pressure

Finishing school and not starting my job yet have meant that I have more time than I have since before Eden was born to delve into matters domestic.

My favorite aspect of this realm is cooking, because above almost everything else, we Sullenbrands love to eat.

My mom has had a pressure cooker for the past 33 years, but I can't remember ever seeing it used. So when I got married and registered for kitchen stuff, we registered for a Cuisinart food processor, a KitchenAid mixer, a crockpot, and a slew of pots and pans, but it never occurred to me to register for a pressure cooker. Or to use one. Or what I might use one for.

Well, the Cuisinart and the KitchenAid lived up to my expectations, but I can't say I ever got next to the crockpot. First of all, I found it unreliable. Sometimes things were less done than I expected, necessitating removal to the stovetop and a hasty attempt to finish them before dinnertime. More often than not, they cooked much faster than expected, even on the low or keep warm settings, resulting in a burned-on mess with a barely-edible center. Either way, I never found it to live up to the "set it and forget it" promise that seems to accompany crockpot cooking. Nor did it live up to its reputation for tenderizing things, namely grass-fed meats, the way people promised it would--tough and stringy was more often the disappointing result. It required close babysitting and regular adjustments--not an improvement over the oven or the stove, in my mind. Plus, it's bulky, requires even more advance planning than cooking a regular meal, and lastly, imparts a hot-plastic kind of smell to the kitchen that I find rather toxic and disturbing.

Enter the pressure cooker, which I came across in my mom's cupboard the other day and which vaguely dawned on me as the solution to being busy with a toddler all day, up until about 15 minutes before everyone was hungry for dinner. Simple, multipurpose (cook with it! can with it! marinate in it overnight! use it like a regular saucepan!), and best of all--quick and effective. The first thing I tried was Spicy Shredded Pork, which I'd made several times in the oven as the recipe originally calls for. When I made it in the oven, cooking it for 3-4 hours on low, the results were tasty, but the pork was kind of tough and not very juicy, regardless of how much cooking liquid (or what kind--water, broth) I started with.

For the pressure cooker, I started with a 90-minute cooking time because general pressure-cooker guidelines call for reducing the cooking time in "your favorite recipes" by 2/3. Spicy Shredded Pork originally calls for a cooking time of "several hours," so 1-1.5 hours in the pressure cooker seemed like it should be more than adequate--and I didn't want to risk rare pork my first time out of the blocks.

Here it is marinating:90 minutes later:

And OH. MY. GOODNESS. Absolutely succulent, melt-in-your mouth results from a process that couldn't have been easier.

Pressure-Cooker Pork (adapted from the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Shredded Pork)

-Pork roast (butt, shoulder, whatever--approximately 3-5 lbs, depending on the size of your crowd; but believe me, you'll want to make extra. We ate roughly twice as much of the pressure-cooked pork as we ever did of the slow-baked oven version!)
-2 cups water
-1 large onion, roughly chopped
-Several cloves of garlic
-Splash of white vinegar
-Splash of olive oil
-Squeeze of lime juice
-Few tablespoons each of cumin and chili powder
-Few teaspoons of salt and pepper

Place all but the pork roast and the water in a blender or food processor and blend until it's a chunky paste. Rub onto pork roast, leaving to marinate as long as overnight (you can marinate it right in the pressure cooker if you like) or as little as a few minutes. When you're ready to cook, add water to the pressure cooker, lock on the lid and turn the stove on medium-high. Once the regular starts rocking (don't come a-knocking), reduce the heat to keep it rocking slowly. Cooking time begins now. Cook for 90 minutes (again, I'm guessing you could get away with less, especially if your roast is on the small side), then either let the pressure fall or cool it rapidly by running cold water over it. Pressure is reduced when the pressure valve drops. Carefully remove the lid, remove the pork and shred it with two forks. Drizzle on cooking juices as necessary (not very, in our case, but it comes in handy for keeping any leftovers moist.) Serve with lime wedges, sour cream, tortillas, buns, or whatever strikes your fancy.

You're welcome.

Beef stew is another recipe that we've made often, because stew meat is cheap, and it's a hearty, filling, and healthy meal. It's especially one of Eden's favorites. However, once again, regardless of how I cooked the meat--searing it first, not searing it first, slow cooking it, stovetop-cooking it--it still had a tendency to become even drier and stringier the longer I cooked it. Not a fatal flaw, but not an entirely satisfactory result, either, especially for hours of cooking. BUT. Twelve minutes in the pressure cooker (somewhat akin to seven minutes in heaven!) yielded (you guessed it) succulent, meltingly tender stew meat and perfectly soft, delectable vegetables. Not to mention the fact that you can go from thinking about dinner to having it on the table in under 30 minutes--tell that to your crockpot.

Pressure-Cooker Beef Stew
(adapted from the Presto Pressure Cooker Owner's Manual)

2 pounds lean beef, cut into 1-inch cubes (or 2 lbs prepared stew meat)
2 cups water
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 chopped onion
3-4 small potatoes, diced
Several sliced carrots
1-2 stalks chopped celery
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle of black pepper

2-4 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup water

Sear the stew meat over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker. Add ingredients up to and including black pepper into cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 12 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Add flour to water to form a paste (depending on how thick you want the stew) and whisk into stew, bringing to a boil until stew thickens, 1-3 minutes. I also add a cup of frozen peas at the end.

You can also branch out into casseroles, desserts, seafood, and all kinds of other things in the pressure cooker. I've got a sneaking suspicion that it just might turn chicken breasts from a dry, tasteless, unappetizing diet food into something--well, better than that. I'll let you know when I test my theory, but know in the meantime that you can cook a whole chicken in 15 minutes, and a chicken breast in just 3-4. You can also cook dry beans in just 3-10 minutes (carefully following the manufacturer's instructions, as beans are one of the foods that foam quite a bit during cooking and so care is required not to overfill the pressure cooker lest the vents should become clogged.) You can cook brown rice in just 10-12 minutes, and white rice in just 5-6. You can make stocks and soups in less than half an hour that taste like you simmered them all day, and you can even cook cheesecake in just 15 minutes!

And SOUP? You'll never have a need for canned soup again when you can make your own from scratch in under 20 minutes. Throw in a chicken breast, a few cups of water, some chopped carrots, celery, and onion, and a little salt and pepper, and you've got it made. If you're really feeling fancy, you can cook some noodles on the stove while the pressure cooker does its thing, then shred the chicken a little and add the noodles and voila, all in about the time it takes to open and heat up a (sodium, soybean oil, and MSG-laden) can:
Are you seeing where I'm coming from yet?! And best of all? These miraculous machines retail around $40-50 and can easily last for generations.

I know one question lots of people have is safety. According to Wikipedia:

"Pressure cookers have a reputation as a dangerous method of cooking with the risk of explosion. Early pressure cookers equipped with only a primary safety valve were at risk of explosion if poorly maintained, allowing food residues to contaminate the release valve. Modern pressure cookers typically have two or three independent safety valves, as well as some additional safety features, such as an interlock to prevent opening the lid while internal pressure exceeds atmospheric pressure. However there is still a risk of explosion, especially if cookers are not thoroughly and regularly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions."

To further reduce your risk, here's a link to a list of tips for making sure your pressure cooker experience is as safe as it is satisfying.

Here are a few other recipes from the Presto owner's manual:

BEEF POT ROAST
3 pounds beef pot roast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups water
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf

Pour oil into cooker. Turn heat selector to medium and brown roast well on all sides; remove roast. Pour water into cooker. Place roast on rack in cooker. Season roast with salt, pepper, onions, and bay leaf. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 45 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Thicken gravy, if desired.

SPAGHETTI MEAT SAUCE
1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes
1⁄2 cup water
1 cup chopped onion
1⁄2 cup chopped celery
1⁄2 cup diced green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Turn heat selector to medium and brown beef. Stir in remaining ingredients except tomato paste. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 8 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Stir in tomato paste and simmer, uncovered, to desired thickness. Serve sauce over spaghetti. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE
3 pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 cup diced tomatoes
1⁄3 cup white wine
11⁄2 cups sliced onions
1⁄2 cup chopped carrots
1⁄2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

Place all ingredients except tomato paste in pressure cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 8 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Place chicken on warm platter. Stir tomato paste into sauce in cooker. Simmer until thickened. Pour over chicken and serve.

Happy Birthday, My Lovely!

You may notice that I have not posted here in a number of months. This is mainly because my job requires me to sit at a computer all day long, answer email, Google stuff, type, edit, and the lot. In the end, computers are no longer fun--they are work. But, this caused me to ignore the chance to wish my favorite person a happy birthday this week on the blog. Katie, you are simply wonderful, and it is an honor to be your husband. I really enjoyed celebrating your birthday this year in our standard close, frugal, joyful manner. So here I wish my most important person, best friend, wife, and soon to be fellow parent to the first in a line of Sullenbrand hellions a wonderful birthday. I look forward to many, many more with you Katie, and I am honored and grateful for every wonderful day we get together in between. 

I also wanted to mention to everyone how excellent of a job Katie is doing with the pregnancy. She is a real tough girl. She has been working a lot lately, mostly 12 hour shifts, and still does more than her share of housework. And, she still has the energy to go on walks almost every day. It is hard for me to see her have to deal with the various challenges of being pregnant--bodily changes, harder time sleeping, harder time moving around, all while having to just go on with life. I think most husbands feel this way, and if you dont, YOU SHOULD. It is a lot of work to be pregnant, and if ladies didn't do it, we would not be here. So, Katie, thank you for all that you are doing to expand our family. I am always here for you, for all that you need, every step of the way.

For all that you are, I am eternally indebted. I love you, always and forever!

Weekend Update

So far we've been having an excellent weekend. Friday night, we kicked off birthday weekend (my birthday is on Tuesday) by redeeming my free birthday noodle bowl from Noodles & Company. There was a Baskin-Robbins a few blocks away and so we were also able to scoop up my free birthday cone as well. We came home and rented Elektra via iTunes to cap off the night. The tab for dinner, dessert, and a movie? $8.48. Well within the confines of a $10 date!

Elektra was OK--entertaining, but riddled with plot holes and completely in a different vein than its companion film Daredevil, which we enjoyed last weekend. And renting from iTunes is something I think we're going to stop--the selection isn't what we had hoped it would be, it takes us four hours to download a single movie at any time of day (which I think maybe has something to do with our internet plan, but who knows), and at $2.99 a movie, it's cheaper than the movie store but more expensive than renting a movie per weekend through Netflix. I know we just canceled our Netflix policy, but we're actually considering going back...who knows. The weather is nice again, so we may not.

Yesterday we went to a free "Cloth Diapers 101" session put on by a nearby small business owned by a local mom. We learned an absolute ton, had a wonderful time, and came away with some really helpful ideas. The owner is so helpful and knowledgeable, and it's always wonderful to find a resource like that nearby.

It broke the $10 date rule, but we'd saved up for a little bit to go out for lunch to our favorite Indian buffet. It did not disappoint, although the fact that I got a turmeric stain on my new favorite maternity tank top did...we're still trying to work on that. The lunch was delicious and, of course, necessitated a nap once we got home. I also wasn't feeling great yesterday--I seemed to be retaining a lot of water. My hands, feet, and face felt painfully puffy, and so we spent the afternoon at home, resting and drinking lots of fluids. Today, my wedding ring is fitting just like old times, and I no longer feel like the face in the mirror is twice the size of what I'm used to looking at. I think being on my feet for long shifts on Thursday and Friday had just taken its toll on me. Luckily, I've been blessed with a wonderful husband who will encourage/force me to lie down, put my feet up, and rest at times like these, and it seems to have been just what I needed.

Today, we got up and had the usual Sunday crepe buffet and plan to spend much of the day getting our apartment organized. We made a really fruitful trip to the dumpster behind our building last night and came up with a bookshelf, a 13-gallon kitchen trash can that we'll use for recycling (we're currently using three office-sized wastepaper baskets, which are really a pain because they fill up so fast), two brooms and a dustpan, a vacuum (which Matt cleaned out and now works just great), a small folding table (so we don't have to set beverages on the floor when we watch movies and pray the cats don't knock them over), and three huge blue glass canisters that will be GREAT for storing grains etc. There was also an entertainment center which I really wanted pretty badly, but that sucker was incredibly heavy and being almost six months pregnant, I'm somewhat less willing to strain myself moving heavy furniture than I might otherwise have been. We took it as a sign and left it for someone with a more able-bodied accomplice. We also received a free Pump in Style double electric breastpump off Freecycle, which is around a $300 value. We'll just need to purchase new tubing and accessories (the only parts that actually come in contact with your body or your milk) for a cost of around $30. What a day!

Co-operation

Crunchy Domestic Goddess has a post up about how much she loves her newly-discovered organic food co-op. Well, count us in, too. We don't belong to the same one, but we just recently started ordering from Quail Cove, an organic farm and natural foods warehouse on the Eastern shore of Virginia, and we couldn't be happier with it!

Living in Iowa City (and for Matt, prior to that Stevens Point and Madison, WI) we always had the advantage of a local brick-and-mortar co-op (or two). We were disappointed to find that there's no such thing anywhere near us in northern Virginia (or DC or Maryland, for that matter). Our choices for organic and natural foods are pretty much limited to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. In the case of the first, the selection is pretty limited and there's really no bulk buying available at all; in the case of the latter, the selection isn't always as good as you'd think, and of course everything costs an arm and a leg.

We were delighted to find that the prices at Quail Cove are very reasonable, and there's a drop-off site just 3 miles from our house. It's nice to do most of our shopping for the month all at one fell swoop, and pretty much just run out weekly for fresh produce.

Here was our last month's order:

Organic Russet Potatoes 5 pounds = $4.29
Organic Yellow Onions 3 pounds = $8.91
Organic Garlic Bulb = $7.50
Organic Turnips 1 lb = $1.49
5 lb Organic Orange Sweet Potatoes= $5.00
2 lb Organic Fuji Apples = $3.98
1 lb Natural Vital Wheat Gluten= $2.89
5 lb Organic White Whole Wheat King Arthur Flour= $5.90
5 lb Organic Yellow Corn Meal = $4.50
Mozzarella Cheese Block 6 pounds = $23.94
5 lb Organic Unbleached Flour= $7.80
5 lb Bunker Hill Raw Milk Cheddar = $27.45
1 lb Parmesan Block = $8.89
1 lb Bulk Organic Light Brown Sugar = $1.99

By far our favorite thing was the CHEESE. We ended up with a total of 12 pounds of cheese (mozzarella, parmesan, and raw mild cheddar), and not only were they delicious beyond what we're used to buying in the grocery store, shredding them up yielded close to 30 cups of cheese, with plenty leftover for slicing and snacks. I think it could easily last us another month after this one if we go lightly with it, and it's nice to have such high-quality product without any of the preservatives or additives you usually get with shredded cheese. The flour is also much fresher than what we're used to--the next best thing to being able to grind it ourselves.

The Secret Life of Bees

from The Secret Life of Bees

This weekend we rented The Secret Life of Bees from Redbox, and really enjoyed it. It's the story of 14-year-old Lily, a young girl growing up on a peach farm in the south who is haunted by memories of her dead mother. Together with Rosaleen, her young black housekeeper, she flees her abusive father and ends up at the home of the cultured and resilient Boatwright sisters, a black family who make their living through beekeeping.

I've always thought Dakota Fanning is an incredible young actor, and I thought the movie did a great job of evoking a specific place and time period. It's hard for me to even imagine what life was like in the south in the 1960's, but they do a good job of capturing the side-by-side coexistence of an incredible amount of hope with an incredible amount of hate. It's also nice--though too rare--to see a movie written by women, largely produced by women, and starring mostly women, though there are several good men playing strong parts in the movie as well.

The movie is based on the bestselling novel by Sue Monk Kidd. I've never read it, although my teacher Mark had recommended it to me at one point, saying he thought I'd like it. He was right. I did.

Merry Christmas!

photo by krisdecurtis

It's hard to believe we're already leaving Iowa tomorrow! We've had a wonderful time hanging out with family, seeing some old friends, eating at some of our favorite restaurants, and just enjoying being in such old familiar surroundings again. It's sad to see how much of the state is still devastated by the effects of the flood, and it's hard to get our minds around the fact that the music school (where we met, fell in love, and each spent many hours over the years) is unusable and may be slotted for demolition soon.

On a more positive note, though, here are few highlights of our gastronomic tour of Iowa:

Christmas dinner with my family! Despite a few mishaps by canines who shall remain unnamed, the amazing turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and cranberry cider and apple crisp and pumpkin roll more than made up for having to bust out the steam cleaner for the carpets a time or two.

Miguel's: a bar in Cedar Rapids that makes some of the best pizza I've ever had. They only take cash and they don't deliver, but it's oh so worth it.

Lou Henri's: our favorite Iowa City breakfast spot (which also serves lunch). Delicious eggs, pancakes, banana bread French toast, everything. Eclectic hippie college-girl waitresses and local art for sale on the walls.

India Cafe: a small, cozy Indian buffet that has a more limited selection than many of the northern Virginia mega-buffets, but still has the best naan we've had anywhere.

Tommy's Restaurant: a greasy spoon I never hit while I lived in Cedar Rapids, but which was the favorite hangout of one of the old men I knew when I worked in assisted living. He wasn't wrong: we enjoyed a huge, greasy, delicious breakfast for cheap (breakfast platters start at $3.99).

We wish we'd had time to hit:
Thai Spice: our favorite Thai restaurant, which makes (among other things) a mean yellow curry.

The Sanctuary: wonderfully cozy pub that has live music and a bar on one side, and a nonsmoking restaurant with fireplaces on the other. Delicious pizza and all kinds of other delicious late-night food, plus extensive cocktail and beer lists.

The Wedge: unbelievably delicious gourmet takeout pizza, unbelievably affordable, and generous with even the more expensive toppings (like pine nuts).

The Atlas: fresh, local food that's not necessarily health food (see the buffalo chicken wrap); the best tomato bisque I've ever had; and the world's most incredible mojitos. Not that I could have indulged...

On a less-than-fun note, our passenger-side window got stuck down on a 20-degree day, necessitating Matt's taking the door apart (in the cold) and running it up with a battery charger, McGyver-style. Very smooth. At least it happened when and where it did, and he was able to get the window up, and it looks like it will only cost around $40 to replace the switch.

Next, we're excited to drive up to Wisconsin and spend a few days with Matt's family! We feel incredibly lucky to have two such wonderful (and flexible) families to share the holidays with, and these are particularly special to us since they're our last ones to feel like "the kids"...this time next year, we'll be the parents!

Planet Earth

We've spent the week lying pretty low, as I've felt pretty terrible. Luckily, Matt has had the week off, and I've had most of it off, although I work overnight again tonight and tomorrow. But we've spent some lovely, lazy, cozy hours on the couch this week--most memorably, watching the Planet Earth series which we borrowed from some friends.

If you haven't seen this, we would highly, highly recommend it. The footage is stunning and also highly entertaining, and the soundtrack (composed for the series by British composer George Fenton) is breathtaking as well. For anybody who loves nature or music, but especially both, it's an experience you don't want to miss.

Knitting Knews

Not only has this turned into this, courtesy of the world's fastest-learning knitter...
...but now, in the space of one evening, we've got this:

Which, as you can see, looks good on just about everybody. But technically, it's for the baby.

And I even helped a little: I made the pompom.

Up & At 'Em

I'm spending the morning trying to clear up what happens during the week when we're busy all day and prefer to relax together in the evenings-- so that we can get out a little later and enjoy this crisp fall day. Nothing extreme, but plenty of dirty dishes, the litter box needs to be changed, the carpet could stand a vacuum, etc. Matt's at a meeting right now, and when he comes back we're making our weekend gold standard: Banana-Walnut Pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup. Now that we've gotten the go-ahead from the author on not separating the eggs beforehand (thanks, Joy!), I think we're going to try the whole-wheat version. We've also both had a hankering for sausage lately (that's what fall does to us, I guess!) so we'll probably have a little sausage-egg scramble as well. For the protein, you know :)

I'm not sure I've ever used this blog to publicly profess my undying love for Tracy Chapman, but I'm going to do it now. She's making cleaning a dirty kitchen an absolute pleasure. So melancholy, so lovely, so socially aware. Her music just tears my heart out. My current favorite song: Change, introduced to me by my little sister, after I was the one to introduce Tracy to HER back in our days of rambling around in our Woody together. WELL worth the $0.99. Thanks, Sneebs!

What's in a Name?

When the name is organic, claims Dr Bronner, there should be a lot. Recently the ultra-hippie company took a number of other cosmetics and body care companies to court, charging that their products contained petrochemicals and ingredients produced using pesticides, yet labeled themselves "organic" (and you can bet charged customers a premium to do it, too). Among the offenders: J/A/S/O/N, Kiss My Face, Avalon, and Nature's Gate. This is almost a moot point for us personally, since our beauty needs are taken care of by baking soda, vinegar, castile soap, (Trader Joe's or Dr Bronner's) jojoba, and tea trea oil, but I admit we've used some of these offenders in the past--and felt like we were doing the right thing by doing so. The case is still moving forward, but so far, progress is encouraging. And two companies, Ikove and Juice Beauty, have settled and resolved to make their products truly organic in the future.

Why is this such a big deal? Because what you put on your skin gets into your body. If you wouldn't eat it, you probably shouldn't wear it (which makes the ridiculous amount of crossover between our kitchen products and our bathroom ones not seem so crazy, huh?). Feel like it's your face, your choice? First of all, if companies are improperly labeling their products, consumers aren't able to make an informed choice. I can almost guarantee that the vast majority of people buying the above products did so because they're supposedly organic. It's certainly not because they're the least expensive! And besides, in addition to what you directly apply to your skin (or hair), you're also rinsing it into the water supply--which means you're exposing all kinds of other people, too.

We love Dr Bronner's products because they're pure, they work, they have tons of uses, and are packaged and manufactured in sustainable ways. We love even more that the company is willing to put its money where its mouth is, and open itself up to scrutiny, by taking the above kinds of actions.

Curious about just how good or bad the ingredients in your favorite products are? The Environmental Working Group has an awesome Cosmetic Safety Database where you can look them up. But the whole argument underscores why we've made the effort to switch over to using single, unprocessed ingredients wherever we can: because we know what's in them, and so we get to choose what we're putting on, and therefore IN, our bodies.

Now We're Cooking (In Cast Iron)

Picture by cybrgrl

As we're constantly undergoing efforts to eliminate toxic substances from our lives and generally do what's good for our family and the planet, the latest thing to come under our scrutiny has been Teflon.

The news about Teflon (despite what the manufacturers and the Environmental Protection Agency say), it's not good. And like so many health hazards, it's especially bad for anybody who wants to have a baby someday.

The story on nonstick cookware in our household is actually an interesting one. When Matt and I met, he roundly criticized it as crap for inferior cooks (or something like that). We went pan-shopping together and ended up with a set from Chefmate that we think is stainless steel, and hope isn't aluminum (hello, Alzheimer's!). The pans also stuck like a mofo, especially since I had grown up indoctrinated with the (false) belief that nonstick pans were a boon to your health because you could cook with a minimum of--gasp--butter or oil. So while Matt was away for the summer, I slipped out to Wal-Mart and bought the absolute cheapest nonstick pan I could find (and have probably been eating flakes of it ever since), which I hid in the cupboard and only used to scramble my eggs when he wasn't around.

Eventually I came clean (moving in together will tend to force the issue), and he eventually came around to my way of thinking. We both enjoyed the ability to slip 'n slide a fried egg onto a plate and wash the pan with minimal effort. But recently, we decided together that our recently acquired knowledge about bioaccumulation and the fact that we'd like to have a family soon meant that we should probably kick the nonstick pans to the curb.

So what now?

We'd already tried stainless steel (or aluminum...) and found it wanting. Matt had two cast-iron pans he'd rescued from his parents' camping gear--one of which he'd actually tried to get rid of awhile back, but I stayed his hand. How the tables had turned. Anyway, cast iron it was. Apparently, iron leaches into your food too, just like Teflon, only it's good for you, not deadly. They've also been around a long time. And you can pick them up cheap (or free) at garage sales, on Craigslist, Freecycle, etc...

For the most part, we've been really happy. They saute onions and mushrooms like a dream, and we can even make pancakes with plenty of butter (which is how we like them anyway). But there has been some trial and error involved, and there's a lot of conflicting advice out there. Some people say only wash with water, others swear a little soap won't hurt. Then there are those who say that actually, heating a little oil in the pan is the best way to get rid of sticky remnants, that using too much water can lead to rusting. Realizing that cooking fats aren't the demon we were taught they were (that in fact, they form crucial building blocks for the brain and body, but more on that later) has helped a lot, too.

We've found the latter advice to be most helpful. Eggs, particularly, stick like crazy no matter what we do. Boiling water in the pan doesn't seem to help much to get them off, but gently simmering a little oil seems to loosen them up. We also keep around a greasy old rag (well, it wasn't greasy to begin with) to wipe out the pan for cleanup. And that's it! We've also recently come across the advice that cast iron pans should first be preheated for 3-5 minutes, then the cooking fat added and allowed to completely liquify, and then and only then should the food be added. We're going to give that a try tomorrow morning and see if it makes a difference.

All in all, not as easy as nonstick, but we're sleeping better at night.

Lydia Maria Child: 19th-Century Literary Superstar

One of my absolute FAVORITE things about our trip to Harper's Ferry today was a little paperback book I picked up in the bookshop there. It's called The American Frugal Housewife (apparently to distinguish it from the English book from the same time by a similar name) by Lydia Maria Child. Originally published in 1844, it's an amazingly dense collection of tips (from housekeeping to healthcare), recipes, and other advice for do-it-yourself household management. She talks about how to cook cheaply but healthfully, how to treat basic ailments (and avoid going to a doctor), make candles, polish furniture...etc etc...and her tips are all sensible, cheap, and even green. In other words, if she'd had a blog, I'd be flattered to think that it would maybe look a little something like ours?

However, possibly the most fascinating thing about this book is the author herself. I had never heard of Lydia Maria Child, but she was an abolitionist and women's rights advocate who nonetheless believed that the lot of women would not improve considerably until slavery was abolished. She wrote extensively, books and political articles, and apparently her interest in economical living was sparked because her husband was a "charming dreamer" of lawyer, given to charitable causes (who apparently also grew sugar beets) and made very little money. Sounds to me like they were living the Sullenbrand version of the American dream! She has other books on parenting, religion, abolition, Indian rights, women's rights, and one called The Family Nurse, which includes such good advice as "Never meddle with medicines, unless some disorder of the system renders them really necessary" (p.2). Amen, sister! And apparently, she also wrote the song "Over the River and Through the Woods," (who knew?!) along with a book called The Progress of Religious Ideas which was praised by theologians and a novel, Philothea, which none other than Edgar Allen Poe called "an honor to our country, and a signal triumph for our countrywomen." She also expresses some ideas that are incredibly applicable to our times, almost eerily so:

"Nations do not plunge at once into ruin--governments do not change suddenly--the causes which bring about the final blow, are scarcely perceptible in the beginning; but they increase in numbers and in power; they press harder and harder upon the energies and virtue of a people; and the last steps only are alarmingly hurried and irregular. A republic without industry, economy, and integrity, is Samson shorn of his locks" (p. 99)

"Perhaps there never was a time when the depressing effects of stagnation in business were so universally felt, all the world over, as they are now" (p. 108)

"It is wise to keep an exact account of all you expend--even of a paper of pins" (p. 4)

"If you are about to furnish a house, do not spend all your money, be it much or little. Do not let the beauty of this thing, and the cheapness of that, tempt you to buy unnecessary articles" (p. 5)

Really, really good stuff. And this is her lighter work. She's somebody who obviously has an amazing intellect and a wonderful grasp of economics, philosophy, religion, and civil rights. Of course, like many great women before her and since, despite her singular devotion to her country, American history has largely failed to remember her.

Just for Fun

Here's a throwback to one of the catchiest songs--and most nonsensical videos!--of the 1990s. Enjoy!

Last Labor Day We Also...

...went to Shenandoah National Park for the first time. And this weekend, the one year anniversary of our first time there was probably our tenth time there, and the second time staying overnight in the park. Last year when we went it was much busier and all the drive up campsites were sold out. This year we were uber prepared with our overnight backpacking gear. We hiked in a couple of miles, made camp, ate our dinner, and retired to an early and quiet night of reading in the tent. It was a great night, a bit cool, but filled with sounds of millions of bugs, owls, birds, coyotes, and other animals that were heard but remain unknown. It was a wonderful night of being together.

Us in our cozy (camper for very small) tent

This is one of the huts for the Appalachian Trail hikers-not where we slept though

OH, what a handsome couple. I love this lady!

We have had such a wonderful weekend together. Katie and I often talk about how lucky we are in our lives, and how blessed we are currently that we have the gift of time. We know that we will not always be blessed with having free weekends on our hands, but right now when we do we try to enjoy them as much as we can!

What a Day!

Today was a day made for running errands on folding bikes: sunny, clear, and in the high 70's. Which was great, because that's just how we spent our day.

We started off at the (Historic) Lake Anne Center, which has become one-stop shopping for us in recent days. We only lately realized that there's an awesome old-timey pharmacy/lunch counter/post office there, and so today I transferred a prescription there, we mailed a book we'd sold on Amazon, and of course succumbed to our terrible weakness for breakfast sandwiches.

Apparently Larry the pharmacist has run the Lakeside Pharmacy since approximately the 1960's, and the Washington Post ran a story in 1999 about how beloved he is to the community. He's also mentioned frequently anywhere you find people reminiscing about Reston (books, websites, magazines). We enjoyed chatting it up with him and appreciated the fact that he filled my prescription with no questions asked--despite the fact that I had obtained in in December of 2007, my name had changed, it was written for a drug that's been discontinued, and it was originally written for a mail-order program. He simply substituted the appropriate drug (and my appropriate name), and had it ready to go in 10 minutes. This compares exceptionally favorably with my experiences at frazzled CVS and Rite Aid counters, who act like they're letting you get away with something they really shouldn't any time they fill your prescriptions. Not to mention the waiting. And the standing in line.

The Lakeside Cafe, where we ate delicious sausage, egg, and bagel/English muffin sandwiches while we waited, has an adorable setup inside with swivel stools and an old-fashioned lunch counter. However, this morning it was empty, as nobody could resist sitting outside on such a beautiful morning. For a couple of sandwiches and some orange juice, we walked away for about $7--possibly less than you'd pay for fast food, and considerably better--which was good, because we'd limited our eating-out budget to what we could scrounge up in change.

We're especially interested in their Central American offerings, and are planning to head back sometime soon for lunch.

There's also a farmer's market at Lake Anne which has been voted the best in Northern Virginia (and it has some pretty stiff competition). Here's the bounty of just one of the stalls:
Our menu for this week:

Baked potatoes and steamed carrots
Tamales with sour cream and salsa
Sweet corn and black beans
Pasta with grilled onions, peppers, and mushrooms
Cauliflower soup and steamed carrots
Tomato soup and grilled cheese
Baked potato pizza

At the farmer's market, we bought potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, and delicious Ginger Gold apples which we've been anticipating since last year. We still needed to make a trip to Trader Joe's for a can of beans, some cilantro, a bag of carrots, some bananas, cheese, and cauliflower, which was just as well because we were also running low on cat litter. We also biked to Whole Foods to buy six pounds of bulgur in bulk, and managed to enjoy some excellent snacks (ie samples) while we were there.

Lake Anne is also where our favorite bookstore is, and we picked up several books thanks to the store credit we earned the last time we traded some in. I'll let Matt tell you about his himself, but I got The Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year and Your Fertility Signals: Using Them to Achieve or Avoid Pregnancy Naturally. Nothing to get excited about yet: they're just books I think will be a great addition to my midwifery library. (But--does anybody have any experience with Fertility Awareness Methods of birth control? I am curious.) Here they are on the back of Matt's bike, while mine is strapped with a half-dozen fresh eggs:
Incidentally, as I was loading the eggs on the back of my bike, it flashed into my mind what an unfortunate thing it would be if I fell with them on there. Well, in my third fall of moderate seriousness (all of which took place on the street we live on; I guess the old statistic of being most likely to get in a car wreck a mile from home is doubly true for bike accidents), I tumbled off my bike while on a steep uphill and landed partway down a small ravine with my bike on top of me. Matt helped me get untangled and up and dusted off, and except for a few scrapes and a pedal-shaped imprint in the middle of my right thigh, I'm almost as good as new. And the eggs? Not a crack!

And lastly, for the first time we checked out the Reston Historical Society and Museum, also in the same plaza. They have some awesome historical information about the town, as well as some supremely groovy Reston T-shirts you're sure to see us sporting sometime soon. Also at Lake Anne, but not partaken of today: canoe/boat rental, as well as our (well, MY) barber. I can't think of anywhere we've ever had such centrality of location! In short, it's full of the kind of real people and local establishments which were so difficult to find in this documentary, and which are becoming harder and harder to find all across the country. It's a theme I was first introduced to when I was quite young by my parents, who fought the arrival of a WalMart to the small suburb we lived in and ran a one-man furniture repair/refinishing shop for 25 years, and continue to run a bed and breakfast in a hotel age. And it's one which has come to mean a lot to me.

Anyway, here are our bikes loaded after Trader Joe's (the rest goes in backpacks):


And on the way home, we happened across a doe and twin spotted fawns, not six feet from where we stood/rode. Excuse the blurriness. How sweet!
I remember at my interview for the hospital, the human resources woman (by way of telling me I was hired), enthused in a singsong voice, "You are going to LOVE living and working in Reston!"

That doesn't even begin to cover it.

Concert: Sarah Bareilles, Counting Crows, Maroon 5

As you may know, we've been dying to see the Counting Crows live ever since we narrowly missed their performance at Farm Aid last year. Last night, we finally got our chance: we had tickets to see them play at the Nissan Pavilion about half an hour away.
They were playing with Maroon 5, a band we both like, and we actually managed to get pretty decent tickets for about $35 apiece (plus, of course, exorbitant booking fees from Ticketmaster...). And, we were actually able to score much better seats by the time the Counting Crows played, because the house wasn't full. We didn't realize until we got there that the opening act was Sarah Bareilles, a name I wouldn't have recognized but who has a song or two that I did.
I thought she was great. While her onstage banter was a little silly, it was also pretty minimal and what she lacked in depth, she made up for with a big, beautiful voice and fun, catchy songwriting. At the end of the Counting Crows' set, she joined in for a huge, sloppy, lots-of-fun extended version of "Hanginaround" and held her own pretty well. She was really good live and somebody I wouldn't mind hearing more of.

Maroon 5 was intense and energetic, if just one hard-rock guitar riff away from basically being a boy band. Neither Matt nor I realized that lead singer Adam Levine was so...pretty? His voice, lovely and versatile, is several notes higher than I'd realized, and his stage persona struts and prances like a show pony. He claims he's not gay but sometimes thinks it would be simpler if he were. Anyway, he was entertaining and engaging, something that's valuable in any performer, and we enjoyed the show (if not the piercing screams it elicited from the teenage concertgoers).

The Counting Crows were simply breathtaking. They're one of the few bands left who are musically competent enough to let loose and make each performance completely different than the last. Adam Duritz was wild, spontaneous, and wonderful, and gave a really heartfelt speech about supporting local charities at the end. It was right up our alley. The songs played were mostly old favorites, extended and improvised, which made us really happy. We wished we could have gotten more (and clearer) pictures, but our camera died in the middle of the show.


Things I wished there were less of:

1. Screaming.
2. "Dancing."
3. Standing.
4. Those absurd babydoll/empire waist shirts that seem to be in fashion right now.

Below, I managed to capture all 4 in one picture, seated right in front of us. How lucky.

I actually didn't take notice of the shirts themselves until I said out loud to Matt, "Why are there so many women here who look like they might be pregnant?" For obvious reasons, I have pretty sensitive pregnant-belly radar, but I felt like my signals were getting scrambled by so many women women with completely ambiguous midsections. Finally, I realized that they were all wearing one of those shirts that make everybody look pregnant. Just. Not. Flattering.

Otherwise: a magical evening.

Review: The Keeper Cup (Male or Squeamish Readers May Want to Skip This One)

For the past few months, I've been using the Keeper Cup instead of tampons. And I love it.

For someone frugal-minded who works in women's health who wants to reduce the amount of waste put into the environment, as well as possibly be more in touch with her own body, a menstrual cup is such a no-brainer I can't believe it took me this long. Here are some of the advantages I've noticed:

1) Reduces waste. 14 BILLION tampons, pads, and applicators end up in landfills every year. Do you want to be a part of that? I don't.

2) Fewer health risks. Conventional tampons, even those that are supposedly dioxin-free, have been found to have measurable levels of the chemical dioxin in them. Dioxin is linked to cancer, endometriosis and a variety of other health risks. There are so-called "organic" or 100% cotton tampons, but they have not been demonstrated to be any safer than regular tampons. They're also linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome, most likely because the wicking action of tampons dries out the vaginal walls and creates tiny tears by which bacteria can enter the bloodstream. The cup collects instead of absorbs, so normal vaginal secretions aren't affected. While there is theoretically a possible TSS risk with menstrual cups, it's much smaller than with tampons.

3) Less expensive. The Keeper is $35 and lasts up to 10 years, if not longer. $3.50 a year? That's $0.29 a period! Definitely cheaper than paying full price for tampons, and even gives CVS a run for its money.

4) More convenient? I like the fact that I don't have to worry about "having another tampon" with me at all times. I store the Keeper cup in its cloth bag in a pocket of my work bag, and then it's always around when I need it. You can also insert it proactively, which is definitely contraindicated for tampons; this can be especially helpful for those who experience spotting or irregular and unpredictable periods. While I've tried keeping backup tampons in my purse as well, the wrappers inevitably degrade or the tampons get smashed and it seemed like there was still often not one available when I needed it. This left me begging a co-worker for one, crossing my fingers (and my knees) and going without, or heaven forbid, dropping a quarter in the slot (which often doesn't work!) for, heaven forbid, some kind of crazy SCENTED tampon from a machine. I won't even go into the social and health implications of those. And, you don't have to deal with the embarrassment of flushing a tampon and clogging somebody's toilet or septic tank!

However, I put convenience with a question mark because I know there are those that question emptying the Keeper while anywhere but home. Even somebody as ballsy as I am can't really envision walking out of the stall, chatting lightly with someone while rinsing my menstral cup into the sink, and then waltzing back into the stall to reinsert. Luckily, the Keeper only needs to be emptied about every 12 hours (and I've gone longer), so I empty it before I go to work and when I get home, and don't even think about it the rest of the day. And most women don't even work 12-hour shifts. (The rubber one--I can't speak for silicone models--also makes some squeaky noises as you fold it into shape, and I could see where the more self-conscious would find that embarrassing as well.) However, others note that you can easily empty it into the toilet and just wipe it out with toilet paper when out in public.

5) Effectiveness. Since I've learned to use the Keeper effectively, I haven't experienced the leakage that is pretty common with all kinds of tampons. Because it's held in place by suction instead of by the vaginal walls, you don't have leakage around the cup. I've heard it's possible with a very full cup, but I've been surprised that even after 12 hours, the cup is rarely more than 1/4 full for me.

Possible Drawbacks

1) Requires comfort and familiarity with your body. There's definitely more visual and tactile up-closeness with your body when you use a menstrual cup. I view this as a good thing. I think it would be especially helpful if young girls could get comfortable using them--it would help eradicate the view of their "lady business" as something dirty and mysterious, and also serve as a visual indicator of how much blood one really loses during a given cycle. (Less than I thought!)

2) Learning curve. It has one. But then, you have this with tampons too. I remember an entire period where I walked around bowlegged because I didn't realize that the applicator had to be fully inserted before the tampon was deployed...I thought you just positioned it nearby and sort of launched the tampon. Needless to say, it didn't launch very far, and was incredibly uncomfortable. I've also talked to girls who knew to insert, but didn't realize that one then REMOVED the applicator. OUCH! The Keeper cup takes a little time to realize how to insert and remove comfortably, but time spent getting to know your own body is a good investment, in my opinion.

3) Convenience/neatness? Once again, depending on individual circumstances and squeamishness, this can go both ways.

4) Need especially good hygiene. If you're not careful about washing your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom, the fiddling necessary to first figure out how to comfortably use the Keeper cup could place you at risk for a UTI, just from normal skin bacteria.

If you're ready to get on the bandwagon, you can get one here! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

As a side note, I use the regular rubber Keeper, but there are several silicone menstrual cups available as well. The Keeper Mooncup, Mooncup UK, Lunette, and DivaCup are a few; you can also find side-by-side reviews and comparisons of all types. Most come in two sizes, one for women who have given birth and one for those who haven't. (I found it especially interesting that the wording on the Keeper site recently changed to say "women who have given birth" vs "those who have not given birth OR have had C-section.")

Personally, I chose the Keeper because I thought the rubber looked and felt like more of a natural product than silicone, but I know many people are very happy with the silicone products. I also liked that the Keeper had a 3-month return policy, no questions asked (well, okay, one question: did you trim? Most people trim the stem on the Keeper for comfort, and you can NOT return it if you've trimmed more than half the stem. Don't ask me why. You can't use the the stem for removal--like a string on a tampon--because of the SUCTION!--so there's no reason they should require the stem to be left intact). In case you're not as pleased with yours as I am with mine, the return policy is something that's worth investigating before making the investment.

Buy This

Well worth the 89 cents.

Got Quinoa?

Tonight for dinner we had quinoa salads, leftover soup, and a splash of red wine.

First, the quinoa salads--something I was introduced to at the Farm. Because the woman who made them is a published author, I'm probably not at liberty to publish her recipe. But, you can find several recipes for good Tofu Aioli on the internet--one is here--and you can get creative in combining the quinoa (or another cooked grain) and a variety of cooked vegetables, using the aioli as a binder. Over a bed of greens, it's delicious, filling, and healthy, as well as vegan.

The soup was something I concocted over the weekend, and contained tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, black beans, corn, and a few pinches each of salt and chili powder. The pureed tomatoes, combined with water, were the base. To thicken it, we used cornmeal, a tip we'd read somewhere which lends a Mexican flavor to sauces and soups (we also used it in Matt's hot sauce).

And the red wine was a bottle of Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre, which a friend brought over for dinner yesterday. I'm usually a wimp when it comes to red wines, but I found this one delightful.

Other than that, I worked last night and came home to sleep the sleep of the dead (or at least the night nurse). Starting on a holiday night was a pretty good way to ease back into the swing of things after being gone 2 of the past 3 weeks. 

After dinner tonight, we went out for a bike ride to pick up a few things. We're in a money-saving mode (more extreme than usual) this month since I haven't been around to work much, so since we were both desperately craving dessert (perhaps in reaction to our ultra-healthy vegan dinner), we decided to do the frugal thing and whip up a batch of ice cream using things we had on hand, and eat it over a leftover brownie.

Saving money never tasted so good.

Saturday's Spoils

We biked about 9.5 miles today running errands. We're slowly developing a roster of favorite haunts around town, and one is definitely The Closet. It doesn't hurt that right next door is the outstanding Great Harvest Bread Company (website: darngoodbread.com), a no-frills bakery whose products have ingredient lists that read just like a recipe--just like they should. Sugar, butter, flour, chocolate, etc. They also give away free, full-sized slices of bread (and butter) and aren't stingy about how many times you go through the line. Love it!

At The Closet today, we picked up this mason-jar-type canister for $2, which I planned to put ice water in, but which worked perfectly for making an extra-large batch of yogurt (since we've got about 3 gallons of milk in the fridge, thanks to the $.99/gallon sale at Fresh World).

We also got these exceptionally sturdy insulated (aluminum? stainless steel?) coffee cups for a buck apiece.

And, since our originally herb garden was starting to look a little crowded, we bought this bowl for $4 and relocated the rosemary and the lavender to it--giving the basil and the thyme a little more room to breathe.

While we were repotting, we moved the strawberry to this lovely steamer, which we have adored since we received it as a wedding gift but which we used until it developed a crack. Now it's a beautiful flowerpot, complete with built-in drainage holes and a saucer for underneath!

And, we swung by Fresh World again and indulged in more spinach, among other things. The spread below cost us less than $5, and I'm pretty sure we're set for life now. Or at least for the summer. Most of it we'll probably end up freezing, but first I had to wash it, double-rinse it to try to get the sand off, spin it dry, and de-stem it. It gave me a taste of what life on a commune is probably really like.