hjshorter

How old are your kids, tejon? Mine are 4 and 17 months. And yes, the prep can be interesting, especially now that Ian is counter height.

I think all the egullet parents should plan a middle of the night chat one of these days! OK, Lunch: Emma wants leftover chinese food from last night. Chicken with broccoli, long beans with minced pork, rice. Scott took all of the pork and preserved egg congee to work with him, so I nibble on the chicken and beans with a generous blob of chili-garlic sauce. Pre-shopping fridge cleanout turned up slimy cilantro and cauliflower about to go bad. Dinner was supposed to be curried tuna (Mahdur Jaffrey's recipe, it's a staple around here) but with funky cliantro that may have to get put off unless we get to the store today. And I have to fit the cauliflower into the meal too, or chuck it. I break out Quick and Easy Indian Cooking and look for a cauliflower recipe. Score! "Cauliflower with ginger, garlic and green chilies." A plan: curried tuna, cauliflower, pita, cucumber raita. Now to work the prep and grocery store around Emma's 3-3:55 ballet class.

No, you get to post separately on your trip. I want to hear all about the foraging!

Please keep telling us what your kids ate, it's very interesting (at least to me). We had a 2:30 wake-up . Argh. How old are your kids again, G? You'll find that the kids generally eat much better than I do.

I replied on Katie's blog and got tagged. I'll blog for a few days and then tag someone who replies on mine - so watch out!

Here we go. Fasten your seat belts and try to remain awake. Emma woke at 1am after having a bad dream, then it was Ian's turn at 2am, just as we had fallen asleep again. Woke this morning at 6:30 feeling less than refreshed. Breakfast: 2 cups of hot coffee, more or less. I can never keep track because as soon as what's in my cup cools off, it gets poured out and replaced by fresh. I large chocolate chip cookie - snagged before Scott whisked the rest off to the office with him. Fixed pancakes, orange juice and sliced banana for the kids. One slice of cheddar and half an apple as a midmorning snack. Eaten because vitamins + coffee + empty stomach is a recipe for disaster. We put off grocery shopping yesterday, so it will have to be done today with both kids along. Ack!

Hoping that it peters out before getting to the DC area. Seriously, we will be assembling our flashlights and other emergency stuff in case it gets this far north.

I would be willing to take this on, unless Lady T really wants to. Beans, you sound like you might be a little bit busy next week. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

That was very good - the only frozen yogurt I've ever liked. I'm taking my daughter to B&J's today for a cone.

It's true. When I lived in NYC, and used to make trips with the wife to NJ malls, I spotted a couple of them. You're right -- it's all pre-packaged stuff... Yes, they have the little kiosks here in the DC area during the holiday season. It's not the same as fresh, but I always buy some just because. I would swear I've seen them at a non-california airport too - maybe in Denver?

My local grocery had LU cookies on sale this week, so for research purposes I came home with Petite Ecolier, milk and extra-dark chocolate varieties and raspberry and orchard pear Pim's. The raspberry Pims were OK, the pear were...wow. I have a hard time limiting myself to just one. And the DEA should definitely be looking at classifying the Petite Ecolier, especially the extra-dark kind.

I would say that we use 5% of our cooksbooks all the time, make or have made one or two recipes from 70%, and have never cooked from the remaining 25%. It's embarrassing to admit how many books I buy knowing I will never use them.

Thanks for bumping this up. It's actually cool here (70 degrees) and raining - there's a nip of fall in the air. Time to get out the cake pans. I would be interested in the orange cake recipe too.

We'll be there, V. Magnolia Grill with Ian would be torture, so we'll be sitting that one out.

Holy cow Katie, how do you do it? And that chef's table. What jerks. Loved the hospital section. Please print that post and save it for your friend. She will want to read it when he's two and taking apart her house. And where were you when I had my son last year? I could have used a magnum or three. Champagne is the perfect new-mother gift - much better than flowers.

Yes, what did you think?

Even lazier than Kristin: Leftovers! Chili (from The Best Recipe) with cilantro and sour cream - made on Sunday Corn tortillas Steamed broccoli (requested by my daughter) Fudge covered Oreos for dessert

Hey, what's wrong with sardines? I never thought of them as something to be embarrassed about. We have several kinds on hand - our fave is the kind packed with chilies. Of course we eat them on Saltines...are those embarrassing too? Thanks for the broiling tip - sounds GOOD.

Alton Brown's pizza recipe calls for 2 T. kosher salt in the dough. It was the worst pizza we have ever made. We complained on the FTV Good Eats message board, and AB explained that 2T of Diamond kosher (what he uses) was not the same as Morton's kosher (what we use), and changed the recipe to reflect that.

Non food: the contents of my Tupperware drawer, and the broiler pan, that young Mr Shorter has thoughtfully strewn all over the floor.

Oh, I forgot the Old El Paso taco seasoning, salt and sugar loaded Jif peanut butter, frozen broccoli, tater tots (organic!) and fish sticks (also organic!). And the Lean Cuisines in the freezer.

I noticed recently that one of my favorite dives in Washington is no longer...Mr Eagan's. Classic. Dark, naugahyde booths, terrible jukebox, waitstaff (I'm not even sure that I would call them that) that looked at you funny if you wanted a glass for your beer - Malawry was trying to remember if they served food; my guess is that even if they did, you wouldn't want to eat it. Always had a regular afternoon crowd. Another good one (15 or so years ago) was the Oxford Tavern near the National Zoo. There was no sign, we always referred to it as the "zoo bar." It has since been gussied up, with live music even - maybe to attract the tourists.

Thanks! Once it's done I think I'm not going to eat a restaurant meal for a month. Except, perhaps, on a whim. Heh. Is that granite? Whatever it is, it's gorgeous.

Rosie, will you have kids in the party? Jaleo and Zaytinya are good with kids, as long as you arrive early, or the kids are old enough to not mind waiting a bit for dinner. I second Vengroff's Ethiopian recommendation. Dukem, or Meskerem - and kids love being able to eat with their hands. I will work on some more suggestions.

Looks great!