Tuesday, April 17, 2007

white flag

well, i was waiting to post until i had high speed internet (or access to it), but i am losing hope on that, so here i am. i am the french in the war - i give up.

so we made it to wisconsin safe and sound. the drive took me about 13 hours total. it really wasn't bad at all, nice and steady going. the dogs were well behaved and napped in the back. the only bad part was chicago - whose bright idea was it to close down the entire highway through the entire city to one and two lanes? did they not know 12 million people live there? driving through that was pretty ungodly, and the experience managed to strip away what little respect i had left for the speed limit. once i got through that, i blasted it to my parents' house.

have been going on interviews, and may have some options. waiting to hear back on some stuff this week; should be having some follow up interviews, so waiting on times for that. i am hoping against reason that i'll have something lined up by the end of the week. i'd really like a job [paycheck].

we've been house hunting as well. that is slow going. there aren't a lot of house rentals, and with 2 larger dogs, our options are further limited. we've got some places in a trendy area downtown to check out this week, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

other than the general job/housing stress, things are going pretty well. we were finally able to tell my parents that we're pregnant, and they are so very happy and excited. they can't wait! also got to tell my good friend maggie, who is super excited as well, and start spreading the news to the family.

bryan and i visited the milwaukee public market this past saturday. how freaking cool is that place! it's small, but has a good variety of vendors with lots of fun items. i saw a whole salmon that couldn't have been more perfect, and i found myself trying to find an excuse to serve a whole salmon to 4 people (i couldn't come up with one that would satisfy bryan). we're excited to go back, and are hoping to find a home close by so we can have saturday morning adventures there.

we've been having fun cooking for my parents as well. this past week, we made:

- lenora's chicken tostadas: on isla mujeres in mexico, there is a woman named leonora who runs a loncheria. she has the most outstanding tostadas for lunch. while she makes her corn tortillas by hand, i admit i cheated and bought ours. :) we fry those up, slather on sour cream, and layer on sliced avocado, shredded lettuce, roasted chicken, sliced tomato, mexican cheese, and pickled red onions. it's the onions that do the trick. so simple, and so knock out delicious.

- pork chops milanese with spinach and rice: milanese is an old stand by for us. just something a little extra.

- mousakka and greek salad: since bryan lived in greece, we really enjoy recreating dishes from there. mousakka is a good standard.

- shrimp and grits: my parents had never had this, so we had so introuduce them. our recipe includes bacon and onions, and bryan also added some left over garlic sausage. my mom was unsure about the grits, but dad loved it (2 healthy helpings worth).

- cashew chicken and rice: simple meal after a busy day.

- charcoal grilled burgers with pepper jelly: the addition of pepper jelly just about negates the need for much else on a burger. expect some monterray jack cheese. there's few better burgers that than.

i just did the grocery shopping today at sendik's, an upscale grocery store. suffice to say i had fun. our menu for this week:

- greek rubbed pork chops with lemon parsley rice and toasted pine nuts, and green beans: another easy meal.

- mediterranean roast chicken with roast vegetable pearl couscous: bryan's roast veggie couscous with golden raisins and toasted almonds is almost a meal by itself. with some roast chicken it's perfect.

- risotto with peas and prawns: what more can i say? yum.

- cedar planked salmon with pink peppercorns, cucumbers, and balsamic vinegar: a favorite of ours. the weather is just nice enough to use the grill.

- center cut beef tenderloin with baked potatoes and honey parsley carrots: everyone loves a baked potato + beef.

- red beans and rice: another southern favorite to introuduce my parents too. i found a lovely smoked ham hock for that extra oopmh.

if it wasn't for the love of a paycheck, i could stay home and cook all the time. speaking of, i need to start soaking some cedar planks.