Desperation Dinners - it's working!

I just have to say – this whole 12-week menu planning thing is awesome! Yes, it was a pain in the ass to actually sit down and come up with that many meals – plus I added in a few parameters* that made it a bit more challenging – but if all I have to do is look at the menus for the week to do my commissary shopping, life is really good!

Last week was the first in our 12-week experiment and overall it was a success. The rating system I'm looking for is a three-thumbs-up – that means anyone under the age of 18 in this house actually ate the entire meal and said they would have it again. Miracles never cease.

And for the record: I am not a nutritionist, nor am I a chef. I am a mom, trying to feed 2teensandatween, day in and day out. This all came about because I was frustrated – not because as some have accused me, of being uber-organized. I'm definitely not. I'm also not super mom - believe me, my kids will vouch for that one. I'm just a desperate mom, trying to cook dinners that the majority in this house would eat and that wouldn't keep me in the kitchen all afternoon. If you can use any of this to help you, feel free.

*Parameters: I realized I needed guidelines to help me fill in the blanks on our menus. So loosely, per week I selected; one pasta dish, one bean dish, because of various schedules Tuesday nights are soup night so family members can come and go as needed (yes, all our soups are homemade - but sooooo easy once you get into it), Friday nights are sandwich/wrap or dinner salad night, and then a night with some type of fish. If I am using a recipe from a particular cookbook I have made a note, otherwise they are from all the various clippings I collected over the years (magazines and food columns).

Week 1 - Menus
Monday - Cheese, Bean and Rice Enchiladas (note to self - next time I need to double this recipe, with 2 teenaged boys there was definitely not enough food for them). 3ThumbsUp
Tuesday - Minestrone Soup and salad; I rarely make this soup since it takes me a long time and it makes a lot, but I wanted to make a dinner for a friend who'd recently had a baby and it was a cold day here, oh and Wrenn had also put in a request (it's my favorite soup you make). 3ThumbsUp
Wednesday - Orzo with feta, zucchini and red onions. 3ThumbsUp
Thursday - Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta and spinach saute.
Friday - Garlic Pizza, Greek Salad and Tomato Cheese Soup 3ThumbsUp

The only dinner that did not go over well was the Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta - they all ate it but with a definite lack of gusto. It was a new recipe, one of my many clippings, that wasn't a smash and so is now in the trash.

Week 2 - Menus
Monday - Mexican Lasagna and a salad
Tuesday - Kale Bean Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Wednesday - Baked Tofu with stir fry Broccoli and rice (Moosewood Simple Suppers)
Thursday - Yakisoba
Friday - Mediterranean Tuna Salad (Whole Foods p.125)

Bonus Recipe (this one's mine, one Jeff and I tried to perfect after having it served to us years ago in a little restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. I kept ordering it and then going home and trying to recreate it until we got it just right. It's super easy and the kids love it).

Tomato Cheese Soup (you'll never have Campbells again)

1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 can evaporated milk
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 (1 lb 12 oz) cans of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan (green can)
chopped parsley for garnish

Saute onion, add broth, tomatoes, basil, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf; add parmesan and evaporated milk and with immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add chopped parsley and serve. Enjoy and I hope you too will be ... inspired.

What's for dinner?

Ugh! As I’ve clearly stated in past posts, day in and day out … I no longer (if ever) enjoy being in the kitchen. I daydream about what it would be like to have someone else cook me dinner (um, I believe that was supposed to be my husband when we hit year 25, still waiting ...). I’m burnt out. Not inspired. Don’t care. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true, I do care enough that I still make dinner and we haven’t become part of the fast-food nation.

The question of “what’s for dinner?” I’m sure is an innocent one, coming from my 2teensandatween, they’re home from a sports practice, needing to desperately refuel. For me however, it’s like an immediate trigger for resentment. “Why do I have to always be the one to cook dinner?” I’m thinking in my most whiny mom-victim voice. And for a brief, glorious time this past summer I didn’t have to cook dinner – I informed our children that with no school, no sports, no excuses that they were on cooking duty. Surprisingly, there was no eye rolling, no heavy sighs – I got instead “o.k. – how’s this going to work?” So each child took a week, rotating through twice and for 6 weeks all I had to do was help them menu plan, purchase the groceries, and answer the occasional culinary question. It was a slice of heaven.

Once upon a time, when the boys were little, I was working full time and Jeff was in med school (yes, it was crazy; no, it’s not impossible – we managed somehow) I feel like I was more organized with our dinners. I voiced this observation with my mom once and she pointed out that I probably was – I had to be. You can’t pick up twin boys from daycare at 5:30, come home and then wonder what you have in the cabinet to make for dinner. I spent Sunday afternoons in the kitchen, the boys played, I listened to Prairie Home Companion (and Jeff was sure to be no where around since he can’t stand listening to this show), and I made dinners in advance. I was organized (or at least with time and distance that’s how I remember it) and it was nice – there was a rhythm to family life.

Fast forward, 12 years and I’m still in the kitchen – but definitely not organized, every night. I used to have a grocery list clipped to our refrigerator, most frequent items organized by aisle (I reordered the list every time we moved as I had to become familiar with yet another commissary). Yes, yes, I know … so I can be at times a bit well, a-r and yes that’s with a hyphen (Dear Japanese students, please do not ask me to explain this one … here is a link that will give you a good sense of this common slang term http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/top-5-signs-you-are-anal-retentive/). Over the past month or two I’ve noticed hfv (high-frequency visits) to the commissary – at least once a day, M-F. And inevitably, as soon as I’d walk through the door someone would say … “did you know we were out of …” – sigh. Aside from the kitchen, the commissary is probably the next least favorite place for me to be. Domestic Diva, I am not. Clearly a re-evaluation was in order.

I spent the better part of the day last week, combing through my cookbooks (I brought only a few) and recipe clippings (I brought them all – the idea that while in Japan I would use them or lose them). I came up with a 12-week menu plan.* No repeat recipes, because I am so tired of the peanut gallery voicing “but we just had x” or “I’m tired of eating y.” That is about the extent of complaints I will get though, because with one very steely look they know the retort “you don’t like it, you know where the cereal is – I am not a short-order cook.” I do have some family food challenges to consider – 2 have nut allergies (all tree nuts, peanuts and coconut) and now 3 out of 5 of us are pesco-vegetarians. It’s hard to make everyone happy. But darn it, with planning, a revamped grocery list (yes, of course by aisle – no circling back for forgotten items), and advance preparation on Sunday’s, 2011 is going to be a different year! The ultimate goal is less time in the kitchen, less time at the commissary – more time for things Japanese. I’m motivated and for the first time in years I’m actually inspired … in the kitchen.

* I had some friends here voice their astonishment that I could come up with that many menus and I offered to post the weekly menus with reviews. Check in on Sunday evenings for the reviews of the previous week and the upcoming weeks menu.

Yamate Western Homes; Holiday Decorations Japanese-style

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, a group of us decided to take a break from the base and head to Yokohama to see the Yamate homes that were decorated for Christmas. This section of western-style homes sit up on a bluff overlooking Yokohama, where the foreigners were granted permission to build homes and reside shortly after Japan opened up their ports to the west over 150 years ago. Most of the homes that we visited are post-Kanto earthquake era – many of the residences did not survive this massive earthquake in 1923. The homes are now property of the city of Yokohama and during the holiday season they are decorated, with varying degrees of exuberance, by different countries like Norway, Britain and Portugal.

We visited seven former residences of foreign business tycoons or consulates, and if you go to www.yamate-seiyoukan.org you can download a pdf with a map of the area and a suggested walking route. Our group decided to visit the homes reverse-route, starting with no. 7 the Former Uchida House with the ultimate goal of walking down from the bluff to land at the end of Motomachi Street – well-known in the area for great shopping and restaurants (another great link is to an article of the history behind Motomachi from the Japan Times http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090524x4.html). This decision proved to be a good one, no.7 has a small information desk and we were provided with English descriptions of the homes on the tour – that's like hitting pay dirt for us gaijins.

The weather was great, a crystal clear day, Mt. Fuji in view from the Yamate Italian Garden between nos. 6 and 7, and the with Ginkos in their full autumn glory along with some stunning Japanese maples their was beauty to behold both inside the homes and out. I went a bit photo happy with so many great holiday decorations, the slide show is the "best of." Even though this entry is post-holiday, I did it for purely selfish reasons – next year, whether we are stateside or still here in Japan, I wanted to be sure to have these photos very handy ... because the artists who created these decorations left me ... inspired.

Christmas Cookies

I will confess that in recent years baking Christmas Cookies has been low on my "to do" list during the holidays. I definitely do not need the calories and figure my children are no worse for the wear with all the other holiday fare to partake. Don't start feeling too sorry for them though ... I make Seasoned Oyster Crackers which are like crack on Ranch Dressing. Once you start eating these little "innocents" you need to get into a 12 step program to get off. They are addicting. And I make Peppermint Bark which I dread the thought of how many miles I would have to run to work off those sweet little delights. But this year the powers that be at the Commissary here decided to no longer carry my favored brand of Oyster Crackers and well, the Sunshine brand of Krispy Oyster Crackers they do carry, it's just not the same. Even our daughter Wrenn said "I don't like those other Oyster Crackers." So I decided to reevaluate this year. Cookies seemed more in the realm of "doable" and the Commissary still has unsalted butter! So cookies it is. But where are all those cookies going? Not on my ever-expanding hips. Victims? I have two English Conversation classes on Mondays and one on Tuesdays. The traditional Japanese ovens are notoriously small, not big enough for one cookie sheet much less two and so I decided to suck it up and make Christmas Cookies for my students with my sou-chef Wrenn right by my side. All the boys (adult and adolescent) were at other commitments this afternoon, and so I took advantage of some "quiet time" and Wrenn and I cranked out 8 dozen cookies. I do not recall the last time I baked so many cookies – and I can't get them out the door fast enough, my waist line is expanding just looking at them.

It was fun and it reminded me of crazier but somehow calmer times. When the kids were younger, more enthusiastic over the holiday season. Now it's a tough crowd ... this weekend I tried to get the clan to watch "Polar Express" one of my favorites but was met with much resistance. "We've seen that like 100 times." I'm thinking your point is? I saw "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and "The Grinch" like 100 times. It's Christmas, that's what you're supposed to do. Instead I cave and say: "O.K. fine, you pick the movie." How about "It's a Wonderful Life?" I hear. Really? Now I think that I have seen 100 times. At least.

I'll keep plugging. Each day is a part of a tradition – old and new. Traditions to share and traditions to hoard. This year I am grateful that our daughter decided it's not too uncool to help with the cookies ... and there's nothing quite like the smell of sugar cookies in the oven to get you in the holiday spirit and be well, inspired.

Happy Christmas

Spending the Christmas season in another country certainly gives you a different perspective. There is a shopping mall close to the base that has a gigantic holiday banner hanging out front that says "Happy Christmas." The first time I saw it last year it cracked me up ... they almost got it, and with so many Americans around you have to wonder why the marketing people didn't just stop and ask someone – did this translate correctly? I tried to explain to some of my Japanese students that in the U.S. we wish each other a "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy New Year." I haven't seen a sign yet that says "Merry New Year" but I'm on the lookout.

The holiday celebration here is not a religious one. With the population of Japan overwhelmingly Buddhist, the Christmas celebration has nothing whatsoever to do with "Christ's Mass."There are no Angels, no Creche scenes, no Baby Jesus in a manger ... just lots of Santas, reindeer and snowmen (interesting aside – Japanese snowmen are made from one large and one small ball vs. U.S. with three. You can imagine where my husbands comment went with that piece of info ... "so what you're saying is, Japanese snowmen have two balls." Some people never grow up.).

It is refreshing to see another country's take on a decidedly western celebration. Not all the stores are decked out like they would be back home but some stores that are decorated do have Christmas songs playing. And there's not all the hustle-bustle in the shopping areas like you would have back home – and that's definitely a plus side. I have an addiction to tenugui, a rectangular cloth that has a pattern/scene on them. Each time I drop into my favorite tenugui store in Kamakura I like to see if they have anything new out. It appears that with the change of seasons, the tenugui change also – from Cherry Blossoms, to Lotus Blooms, to Chrysanthemums, to Maple Leaves. The last time I stopped in I was pleased to see the tenugui with Santa on his sleigh, swooping down over Fuji-san and I thought perfect! I couldn't wait to get it home and put it up and be reminded each time I walk through the door to celebrate "Happy Christmas" and be ... inspired.

Christmas Decor – Handicap or Minimalist?

One of the disadvantages of moving every two to three years is that with each Christmas season you realize what worked in one home doesn't in the next (there are advantages too ... check in tomorrow for my thoughts about that one). The icicle lights that worked on the base house in Camp Lejeune, were added to so we would have enough for our home in Maryland. But we would have had to hire a cherry-picker to safely get them on our next home in Norfolk – although Jeff did attempt it the first year we were there and I just about had a coronary as I saw him dangling on a neighbors ladder – 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency, 3 years of fellowship ... all flashing before my eyes. One word – grounded.

Window candles? Looked charming in the house we rented in Bethesda, translated great to our first home in Norfolk, looked fine in the house we rented in Jacksonville, NC – and then it ended. Thus the purchase of the icicle lights. The lit wreath? Worked great in one home – the electrical hook up was close; the next home now we needed two wreaths for balance ... and so it goes. The inside is pretty much the same – what works one place doesn't in the next. Add to the decorating handicap the fact that with our limited weight allowance and Jeff repeatedly telling me we would have no storage, I brought very little in the holiday decorating dept.

In the spirit of Asian influence this years theme would appear to be minimalist Holiday decorating. The tree is up and decorated, some of our more prized Christmas decorations made the cut to travel overseas and are out ... and yet, still the house seems to lack a festive spirit.

We do not have "window treatments" per se in this house. The government housing office supplies us with vertical blinds at the sliding glass door (yuck) and miniblinds at the windows (double yuck). I'm too cheap to go out and buy curtains for the windows downstairs knowing this is temporary quarters, and with the sewing machine in storage there's no "whipping up" some inexpensive curtains. So my focus turned to the windows ... big blank canvases ...

I decide to get creative and I got the idea to purchase an ensemble box of Christmas ornaments from the Exchange and hang them from the window curtain hooks that are permanently installed ... just waiting for someone more motivated that I am to put some curtains up. Yesterday I took fishing line and strung up the ornaments hanging them from the ceiling – in varied heights and random color arrangements of course – and I have to admit ... it helped, a lot. This house will not win any Martha Stewart Home for the Holiday's Awards but with the Christmas music playing, the Balsam and Cedar candle lit and the decorations out this is our home for the holidays and I'm inspired.

Where are you Christmas?

Each day a little bit more goes up and comes out. This year my big motivation for having the house decorated before the 24th (no, I'm not kidding, sometimes it does come down to that) is that I'm having four Japanese ladies to our humble home on Wednesday – there's nothing like a deadline to get me motivated. So the tree is up, the lights are on ... if only we can carve a moment out of a crazy work schedule for our children to decorate the tree. With the exception of only a handful of ornaments, all we brought with us to Japan are the children's ornaments, so it falls to them to decorate the tree. One is methodical in his approach to placing the ornaments on the tree, the other can't seem to get through the task fast enough and has heavily edited what he wants to put on the tree, the last child is careful – looks at each of her ornaments with care and gathers information – "who gave this to me?" "where did this ornament come from?" Jeff jokes and says "if you mom goes before me you know I'll just be making all this up for you."

The Christmas music is playing and we enjoy a piece of gingerbread post tree trimming while Faith Hill sings "Where are you Christmas?"

Good question. In a vain attempt to get a photo out of my three children that we just might be able to send out this year, not only an hour before we were out on the edge of the base in some obscure place that I'd picked hoping that I would have three cooperative subjects. The light was fading, and with way too much teenager attitude permeating the air the few photos I was able to get looked anything but jolly. Sigh. "Where are you Christmas?"I wondered as I walked back to the car seething, one successful photo – that's all I wanted not feeling very much in the Christmas spirit.

Back at home the mood shifts, the spirit of Christmas softly filters through the air ... I'll take what I can get at this point. It's not exactly a tree trimming party with Eggnog and lots of laughter but it works for us. I'll keep plugging along, knowing that each of these moments is a potential memory in the making, and that it requires balance, a lot of balance. Recognizing this fact does for the moment anyways, leave me inspired.