Can Working Moms Have It All Or Have We Lost Our Minds?

Hello again! I am so sorry its been so long since my last post. I started this blog hoping to post twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays) but you can see how that’s gone! The last week and a bit have been completely crazy. Which has led me to the question  - can working moms really have it all or are we completely insane?

The past week or so has had me in a constant state of feeling like my brain is going to explode. A fiscal quarter ended at work which means I am putting out fires all day, every day as we try to close the quarter. I feel like I don’t get a moment to think.  And I had to leave work early during all of this to attend Jake’s parent/teacher conference and to pick up Ben early from preschool when he was sick on a different day. Jake started Spring soccer which means playing on two leagues, coordinating shuttling him to the practices and games that go with each and finishing up the Winter league which overlaps for a couple of weeks. I had to wrap up the fundraiser for Bens preschool that I agreed to chair. The Never King got some attention that I should have addressed and will, but I’m already behind. The Scotsman suggested I start another blog that includes comprehensive a list of of kid friendly convenience foods that I consider “real food” (see previous post) to make it easier for like-minded parents to shop without having to double the time it takes them in the grocery due to label reading. A great idea and I appreciate his support, but with what time? There was also laundry to be done, dinner to be cooked, and children to be played with. Oh – and blog posts to be written and "binder recipes" (see two posts ago) to try. And last week my seasonal allergies were in full force so I did all of the above (or worried about the fact that I didn’t get to a lot of the above) in a Benadryl-induced fog.

So that leaves me with today’s (lame) post and the question: am I crazy to think I can do it all? Am I putting too much pressure on myself? I want to work at my day job , make The Never King and The Bedwyr Press a success, be involved in Jake and Bens schools and after school activities, have a clean house, clean clothes and a good meal on the table. But is it possible to do all this or do I have to make compromises with myself? Or should I just shut up and stop whining because I know I’m very blessed? Anyone else feel this way?

I did manage to work in a little reading during all of this. Coming up I have thoughts on Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Gwyneth Paltrows new cookbook (don’t judge) and a cookbook by an author I “met” on an online forum. I’m also looking for my next good read – any suggestions?

Back On The Wagon

I have a confession to make: for the past few weeks dinner has been a big fail. Meal planning has fallen by the wayside. Dinner at the table – what’s that? And more take-out has been consumed than I’m willing to admit. This week, I’m determined to get back on the healthy family dinner wagon. Of course, I’ve picked an less than ideal week to start. We’re going away for the weekend which means grocery shopping will be done in rush before we leave tomorrow morning and I won’t be in the mood to prep meals for the week when we get home on Sunday night. But I’m going to try anyway. I’m starting with some easy standby meals and if all goes well I’ll get more ambitious in the kitchen next week.

In other news, last night I started A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table by the lovely Molly Wizenberg of the Orangette blog. I was only able to read a few pages before falling asleep (see previous post on sleep deprivation) but I am already smitten with Molly.

I’ve also dipped my toe into the big, bad Twitterverse. I have been afraid of Twitter (irrational, I know) and am now trying to conquer my fear. Find me at @culinarybiblio for more food, book and mom stuff and/or @thebedwyrpress for my adventures self-publishing The Never King.

And now for what you’ve all been waiting for (yeah, right). My meal plan for the week. Wish me luck!

Monday: Pasta and salad. With sauce from a jar. Boring, I know, but both kids have swimming on Monday night (usually it’s only one) and I know we will be home late and boiling water and heating sauce will be all I will be able to manage.

Tuesday: Pork Chops in Apple Cider. This is a recipe I’m pretty sure my mom made up but it’s really, really simple, kid-friendly and yummy. Take boneless, center-cut pork chops (although truth be told, I’ve used bone-in) and brown them briefly in a skillet. Leave chops in skillet and fill skillet with apple cider (apple juice works too, in a pinch) until the cider level comes half way up the chops. Cook until chops are cooked through (about 10 minutes for boneless, but double check. Trichinosis is not fun!). Remove chops from cider and serve. If you really want to get fancy you can throw some sliced apples and onions in with the chops while they’re cooking.

Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner –Omelets. The Scotsman is the omelet chef in our family so I’m delegating this dinner to him.

Thursday: Kids: French Bread Pizza Adults: Open-Face Caprese. The kids French bread pizza is pretty self explanatory – apply tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to slices of French bread. Bake at 350® for 10 mins or until cheese in melty. I’m going to kick it up a notch for the adults with this recipe from Rachel Ray for an Open-Face Caprese . 

Friday: Homemade Hamburgers. I don’t have a particular recipe in mind at the moment. I’ll probably just wing it.

So there you have it. What are you cooking this week?

My Goodreads Obsession and The Peach Keeper

If you are an avid reader and have not yet wandered over to Goodreads.com – don’t. You will not be able to tear yourself away. If you are anything like me it will become a huge time-suck, far surpassing any other social media. Even – gasp – Facebook.

I discovered Goodreads last Spring while researching ways to promote The Never King. What I found was a social media network of book lovers like me who do nothing but talk about books. It’s Facebook for bibliophiles! So why I am poking around Goodreads when I should be doing a million other things? I have met (in the virtual sense) so many like-minded people with which to discuss favorite books, what I’m reading and what I should read next. Looking at the virtual bookshelves of friends (real, live ones) gives me interesting insights into their personalities I didn’t have before. It’s also the perfect place to catalog all the books I’d like to read, but haven’t yet. No more emails to myself when I read or hear about a book I’m interested in or taking a photo with my phone of a book cover in Costco so that I can remember to get the ebook either at the library or on amazon (yes, I really did that). Here’s what I’m reading (don’t laugh, we all need a bit of fluff now and then, right?). What are you reading?

One of the many benefits of Goodreads is discovering books you might not have read otherwise. I just read The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen as part of a “pen pals” read for one of the Goodreads groups I belong to. I was paired with a lovely woman from Australia. She chose The Peach Keeper for us. I probably never would have read it if she hadn’t.   

This the first book I've read by Sarah Addison Allen and what a wonderful introduction it was to her! A nice, light, feel good story about coming to terms with ghosts of the past (both figuratively and literally) and finding true happiness. The characters are well developed and you find yourself caring about them and how their various stories end. It’s a good read about the meaning of true friendship

. It’s basically chick lit, and the story and its eventual happy ending aren’t all that original. What makes this book is Allen’s writing – the story flows seamlessly. And of course, because I love being in the kitchen as much as I love reading, this book got me thinking about what I can make with peaches. It may be snowing up here in Boston but I’m thinking of nice, ripe summer peaches!

Berry Peach Cobbler with Sugared Almonds

From Cooking Light

Filling:

3 6-oz packages fresh blueberries (it’s winter – I won’t tell if you use frozen)

3 6-oz packages fresh blackberries (ditto on the frozen)

3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced (I’m jealous if you can find nice, fresh peaches this time of year. I’m using frozen)

2/3 cup sugar

2 ½ TBS cornstarch

3 TBS fresh lemon juice (I will tell if you try and use bottled)

1/8 tsp salt

Topping:

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

2 TBS cornstarch

½ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

6 TBS chilled butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup half and half

1/3 cup sliced almonds

3 TBS turbinado sugar (I have often used plain ‘ol brown sugar in place of this)

1 TBS egg white

Preheat the oven to 350®.

Prepare the filling by combining blueberries, blackberries and peaches in a 13x9 inch baking dish that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle the 2/3 cup of sugar, 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/9 teaspoon of salt over the fruit; toss gently to combine.

Prepare the topping by combining the flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with two knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the half and half and gently knead the dough until just moistened. Drop the dough by spoonfuls evenly over the top of the filling. Combine almonds, turbinado (or brown) sugar and egg white. Sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350® for 50 minutes or until the topping is browned. Serve with ice cream.

The Culinary Bibliophile - Who The Heck Am I?

I have blog envy. It seems as if everyone I know has a blog except for me. I’m not envious because it’s brought  them fame, fortune or technological skills that far surpass mine. No, I’m jealous because I am told that writing a blog is a great creative release and well, it’s fun.

So here’s my blog. Why did I call it The Culinary Bibliophile? In short because it popped into my brain and sounded good (at least to me). But it speaks to my two passion; food and books. And books that have to do with food (including cookbooks). So I imagine there will be posts about recipes I’ve tried, want to try and my ongoing quest to be more creative with family dinner, a la Dinner: A Love Story. Books will also make an appearance, including the recently released The Never King by George Tyson, published by my tiny publishing company The Bedwyr Press. My quest to promote this book could be the subject of a whole other blog, but one is enough for now.

A little more about me: I’m in my early thirties, married to a Scotsman and live in a suburb of Boston. I have two fabulous little boys, ages 7 and 4. I’m a banker by day and a publisher in my “spare time”. Now that my boys are older and thus a little more independent, I’m trying to get back into the activities I loved pre-kids but didn’t have much time for in baby and toddler years.  Namely reading more, experimenting in the kitchen more, and having more “experiences” that fit in with my passions, such as actually going to book club meetings (I have belonged to two for nearly 10 years, but my attendance has been spotty in the past few years), taking some cooking classes, and finally, FINALLY getting my house at least somewhat organized. Oh – and I want to run a 5k despite being completely out of shape as I write this. A friend wants me to run one with her 10 weeks from now. We’ll see. I’m sure all of these subjects will make an appearance in the blog, too.

So that’s me in a nutshell. I’ll be back soon with my latest kitchen experiment and my thoughts on what I’m currently reading. I’m also in need of some recipes with spinach as the main ingredient (I’ll explain later) so if anyone is reading this and has a great spinach recipe, let me know.