The kids are in bed and we are all packed. The family that rarely goes on vacation is finally going on vacation. A car will pick us up at 6am in the morning and we’ll arrive in Seattle before noon (love gaining time). Of course I will be back online soon as I simply can’t seem to stay away (and unfortunately I do have some work to do while on vacation). Is it weird that I spent almost 5 hours today cleaning the house, leaving barely enough time to pack? I hate hate hate coming home to a messy house and while I normally do not mind cleaning the apartment, for once I wished someone had come and done it for me. I think I was/am a bit nervous about leaving the business for 2 weeks - and the timing isn’t great for my work projects either - but I’m nervous about having to ramp the business back up when we get back. 2 weeks is a long time to be away, and the nature of both our jobs being what they are, it’s hard to accept that we won’t be earning any money for half of August (the big downside of being self-employed - no paid vacations!). We’ll have to work extra hard when we get back to get ready for Fall and grow the biz (the trip and the slower summer season have been sort of a benchmark in the timeline for developing new business), but in the meantime, I will try and not think about it too much. See you on the other side of the country.

Here’s an example of a dish I made up from ingredients that were laying around. I bought some shrimp, yellow squash and sweet peppers and figured that I’d find something to do with it. When it was all finished I realized it was pretty much a ratatouille with the addition of shrimp (and no tomatoes). I marinated the shrimp, cooked the vegetables separately and mixed it all together and served it over couscous. I suppose if it was served over rice I could have called it a stir-fry.

Shrimp Ratatouille (serves 4)

1-1/2 pounds large shrimp, cleaned
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the shrimp, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, cilantro, paprika, salt and pepper together in a bowl and set aside to marinate while you prepare the vegetables. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet until very hot. Add the yellow squash and cook until it starts to caramelize, stirring occasionally, maybe 4-5 minutes. Add the green and red peppers and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil, heat until very hot again, and add the marinated shrimp. Cook for just a few minutes, turning once, until just cooked. Add the cooked vegtables and stir to mix. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper and serve.

We recently had an order of brownies that went to the American Ballet Theater as a gift. I couldn’t bear the thought of having the brownies just arrive in a brown shipping box, which is what is normally done with regular orders, so I came up with this little packaging idea that made them much more presentable as a gift (I don’t get star struck that often, but it’s the ABT!). So if you ever wanted to ship a single order of brownies as a gift….

Hard to believe that in a few short days we’ll be on a plane. I haven’t really thought about our trip since I’ve been busy with my meetings for the past 2 weeks, but now that the weekend is here, I’m making some lists. I did manage to find a cat sitter and she came over the other evening to pick up keys and meet our cat. I think you know by now what a personality Mia is, but maybe you aren’t aware of how bossy she can be. Mia was right there with us when we gave the cat sitter a tour of the apartment, spinning her own version of instructions. But it’s not the fact that she was talking to her the entire time, despite the fact that both Mark and I were trying to actually relay some info. It was all in her delivery. She didn’t sound like a just 4 year old yammering away, but her mannerisms, tone, hand gestures and body language were really more akin to some bosslady giving instructions to her staff. Where does she get this from? We don’t have “staff”. We don’t even have a cleaning person - seriously, where does this come from? oy…

… but this time I have given in. There are just too many good mid-summer sales right now! It’s dangerous to see just how easy it is to spend some cash once you start, after having been good about it for so long. I picked up these Matt Bernson sandals the other day at 40% off and I’m glad to have some options other than flip flops to wear, which is what’s usually on my feet during the summer (don’t look at my toes, I’m finally using my Mother’s Day Pedicure gift certificate tomorrow - my first pedicure in 5 years). I also picked up a few other good deals and suddenly, I feel like my wardrobe’s refreshed. Never mind that I’ve been rationalizing my happy purchases with the usual “oh, you’ve been working so hard, you deserve it” crap. I think I’ll just shove those thoughts under the bed.

Speaking of shopping, I recently discovered a shop that I immediately fell in love with called Utowa. I happened to stumble upon it on one of my days wandering around the city looking for flowers for the wedding cake (the store housed a eclectic trio of fashion, makeup and flowers). It’s not like it was off the beaten path - on the contrary, the shop was on 18th between 5th and 6th, a few doors down from City Bakery, but I had never noticed it before. I happened to be walking on the same street the other day and noticed that the store had a huge “Closing Sale” sign. So sad. What a short-lived newly found discovery.

I’m a sucker for short ribs. Even in the middle of July, with our 100-degree heat index, I could not resist these thick, meaty ones from the store. I did a few things to lighten it up a bit. First, I did not add any onion or garlic to the pot, instead I added extra carrot and celery. Second, for the liquid I used only white wine and water, flavoring it with some lemon thyme and rosemary from our balcony garden, along with a bit of citrus zest and ginger. Lastly, I pureed the cooked vegetables into the cooking liquid after I removed the cooked ribs. It made it into a sort of thin vegetable puree, which is a little lighter than the sauce would have been by itself. The kids never eat braised vegetables anyway, so at least they get a bit this way.

Summer Short Ribs (serves 4)

3 pounds short ribs
2 Tablespoons canola oil
4 stalks of celery, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 one-inch pieces of fresh ginger
2 small sprigs each of rosemary and lemon thyme
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Zest of one lemon and one lime, grated
Water to cover

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Season the short ribs well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a dutch oven until very hot. Add the short ribs and cook, turning, until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add the vegetables and herbs to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir briefly, then add the remaining ingredients. Return the short ribs to the pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, and put into the oven. Bake for 2-1/2 hours. Remove the short ribs from the pot again and set aside. Discard the herb stems and ginger. Cook on the stovetop for about 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Turn off the heat and cool for a few minutes. Puree the vegetables into the cooking liquid using an immersion blender. Return the short ribs to the sauce and serve.

Can I tell you something funny? Well, like typical siblings, the girls are engaging in equal parts play and equal parts fighting. If you grew up with siblings, you know what I’m talking about because it’s not the bigger scuffles over toys that are tiring, it’s the constant jabbing and poking and taunting, mostly on Mia’s part. It’s like she just can’t resist doing something to Claudine as she passes by. I think C is getting tired of being picked on too now that she can express herself. Not only does she tell us the occurring offense, but she now saids “Mia, Mia” for any little bump, scrape or fall even if Mia is nowhere to be seen. She’s also resorted to pinching her sister back, a rather hilarious attempt at getting back at her since the pinches coming from her little fingers are so dainty. But to further make her point, she’s been saying “pinch”, like a little exclamation point, while going at it, but it’s been coming out sounding like “bitch”. We can’t help but crack up when we hear “bitch! bitch!” after Mia gives a little push or whatever. Hahaha, love toddler mispronunciations. At least she has a good handle on how to say “fork”.

These cupcakes might come as a surprise to anyone who knows my general color preference (I mean, my favorite color is gray), but I do love a spot of bright color. Who knew that I would love this assorted arrangement of technicolor cupcakes that Mark made for a birthday party over the weekend? The wrappers totally complete the package, but our seven year old client requested chocolate cupcakes with bright colored frosting. Thanks for the inspiration!