A Better Meatloaf

...or a better title: what I wish I knew 10 years ago about cooking.  It is rare that I flex my domestic goddess muscles too often on my website because it would look like the inverted muscle Popeye attempts to flex before a spinach binge.  But the little knowledge I have I will pass onto my lurky readers. 

So you think you're a meatloaf aficionado? Just consider some of these tips.  First it's important to buy the right kind of meat.  Buying ground chuck will give you a juicier/flavorful meatloaf.  I get the 90/10 ground beef.  If that's too expensive for you, just scrape the fat off the top like I used to do.  Then I have a handy tip for those end pieces of bread that my family can't stand to eat.  Put them in a food processor with a little milk, and presto! You have breadcrumbs.  It makes your meatloaf more tender than dry breadcrumbs. You knew that already?  Oh the years I've wasted finding something else to make for dinner, when I discovered I was out of store-bought breadcrumbs. 

Grating an onion rather than chopping it helps it cook through and makes your meatloaf taste better.  Are you a cheese lover like me?  Gently add a 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese to the mix, and another 1/2 cup on top. 

I read mixing the meatloaf gently prevents it from becoming tough when it bakes.  I can't have raw meat getting on my heels and pearls when I cook so I mix the ingredients gently with rubber gloves because I find utensils just make things messier.

I make a simple sauce to top my meatloaf using peach or pineapple syrup (from the can), cornstarch, brown sugar and ketchup.  If I'm pressed for time plain old ketchup suffices.

Make sure the meatloaf rests after you take it out of the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute, and gives you time to finish watching that TLC show you love so much before all chaos breaks loose when you call everyone to supper.

In the same line of thought that you would call broccoli "baby trees,"  the name for meatloaf around our house is endearingly called "mommy meat."  I guess years ago I was trying to make it sound more appealing to my picky two-year old son.  If this works for you, by all means there is no copyright on my idea.  And if I can help one family cut out their McDonald's run once a week, then dog gone it this post has not been in vain.

Gotta run, I think I smell it burning now.

The Chiropractor Has A New Patient

Julian woke me up at 4:00 a.m. because he woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. He's sleeping soundly and I've been up since then with my mind racing over trivial things no matter how I've tried to calm it. It's now 6:30.  It doesn't help that I'm in the middle of a stomach bug and could probably use the rest. But while up and not interrupted, why not blog?

I was reading over a little magazine my chiropractor gives out and saw a small paragraph on how chiropractic care helps children with ADHD.  I thought, why not?  I have full trust in my chiropractor that he wouldn't do anything that wasn't necessary and he's not the money hungry type like a few I've known.  That is proven in my next sentence.  I was concerned about the cost, only to learn a child's visit is only $12!  I scheduled a visit for that very day.

It turns out his back was completely out of alignment!  Even his hip was out of alignment!  It's hard for me to grasp the idea of children's backs not being easily self-adjusting.  Ideally, our bodies are supposed to self-align when we go to sleep at night (you stomach sleepers know who you are).   As adults, we are constantly putting strain on our bodies.  What does Julian do but reach for that PS2 controller and sit back on his beanbag? 

I am praying this was the trick we needed to get the rest of the school year on track.  He is doing well overall, but that's because of having an aid. Being more consistent with his Omega 3 oil supplements should help as well.  He will need adjustments now every week for a few weeks so his body can be "taught" where everything is supposed to stay.  Before this visit, he was complaining of neck pain. Because of his anxiety, it's hard sometimes to know what is real and what is overexaggerated.  It turns out, the neck pain was real and now feels better. 

At school today, Julian's going to get a copy of his music program on DVD and I hope to have the part with his solo put up on my site for your viewing pleasure.  I will just have to wait for my I.T. department (aka Julio) to upload it for me.

Now I ask you, how am I going to get through today with only five hours sleep?

The Decemberists--still obsessed

First, I'm finally up and running again after a bad sinus infection.  So now is catch up time, including this blog.  It occurred to me last week that I might not see the Decemberists this year at all.  One member of the band was not able to complete last year's tour and the rest of the schedule was cancelled.  So for this year their lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy is venturing out on his own tour starting April 7th through May 3rd.  The closest he comes to Philly is Brooklyn.  If I didn't have kids that had to be at school/preschool the next day I would go.  I suppose there is always a chance of another tour later in the year, so I'll hold onto that.

Yes, this Decemberist obsession is not going away anytime soon.  My hubby is quite perplexed because it's the only band I listen to.  He's not used to me like this.  He didn't know me that well in seventh grade when I was obsessed with the Carpenters.  Or in ninth grade when everything was the Beatles.  Eleventh grade ushered in an obsession with female singer/songwriters like Ann Wilson, Natalie Merchant, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Sarah McLachlan.  All these singers have been etched into my heart and shall remain there.  He did see me through my Jewel phase but not since then (and her selling out) have I been so excited about music.

So to get my fix, I preordered Colin Meloy Sings Live from their website.  The first 300 orders are personally signed by Colin himself!  I'm not able to tell which number I was so I'll hope for the best.  Here's the rundown of types of songs on the album from their website:

"Included on Sings Live! are songs from Meloy's first band, Tarkio, as well as cuts from every Decemberists full-length pre-The Crane Wife. There is also a tune from the 2006 EP Picaresqueties, two previously unreleased originals ("Dracula's Daughter" and "Wonder"), bits of covers of songs by the Smiths, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac, and a traditional folk song in debt to Shirley Collins' arrangement."

This is Colin's third solo album. The others are Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey, and Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins.

So you may ask what makes the Decemberists so special? Most of Colin's songs are deep.  Everyone in the band is an accomplished musician and so are experts at evoking the exact type of emotion Colin's songs need.  No two songs sound alike.  From the last post about them, I have a new appreciation for their album Castaways and Cutouts.  The song "Odalisque" is a favorite.

Julio has loved the Decemberists since 2005.  As you can tell from his blog, there are other bands out there he likes too.  The band that should receive honorable mention is Camera Obscura.  They rock, just in a completely other way.

At least I'm not the only one.  Madeleine is still hooked on the song "Crane Wife" (part 1).  She prefers it as a lullaby.

I guess it's my turn...

I've felt so bad for all my friends and family because this winter has been so hard on most of them.  I've had 24 hour periods that I felt I was getting sick, and the next day I was fine.  So of course the one weekend we had big plans, we can't go.  It started Friday with a slight sore throat and the chills.  Saturday I woke up to a major sore throat and coughing.  Today has been a little better, but now I have more "productive" coughs. 

I haven't followed the advice I've given everyone that has helped me all winter: Take flax seed oil supplements.  Maybe you have something else that works, all I know is that is what has worked for me (in addition to normal vitamins, etc.).  I was so busy this past week, I didn't take them at all.  This is not something I've dreamt up, this is recommended in the book Perscription for Nutritional Healing under preventing sinus infections category.  If I never mentioned it before it's an excellent book to have in your library. 

Well, tomorrow should be better and I'll have more energy to blog.  Look for upcoming articles on the Decemberists, the latest audio drama in the works, and Julian's solo!

A Night Spent with the Bravest of Women

Before our vacation, I had the opportunity to spend a night with women who have cancer.  Most of these women are mothers of young children, and that's where having courage has to be it's hardest.  Let me tell you why I was there.

My mother is currently in remission.  She has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.  The only thing the doctor could say is that it will come back, possibly stronger than before.  It has a five year survival rate after diagnosis.  The good news is it has been about five years, and she really is doing great.  A while back, she had seen a flyer for a makeup class for cancer patients and asked if I wanted to go.  I thought,'You're asking me to do something with you...and it involves being girly?'  Please understand that my mother and I never had things like a "mother/daughter day"  or spent time together when I was young.  I had to learn about being girly from other women.  So now she wants to go to a make up class...with me?  It was time with my mother that I always wanted.

The make up class was held at a local hospital in a conference room.  There were six women besides my mom who had cancer.  Most of those women had breast cancer.  Most of the women brought along a sister or a friend for support.  Our hostess was a woman who owns a local salon that specializes in wigs for cancer patients.  She taught the women how to wear a turban properly, and the different style wigs that are available.  The women started to open up to eachother.  One had said how they make realistic wigs that look like you have roots.  I thought, never again am I going to complain that my roots are showing when I'm in between salon visits. 

Then, they started talking about their kids.  This was heartbreaking for me.  It's tiring enough being mom to a toddler, imagine after chemotherapy treatment.  These women were in their thirties and early forties.  What surprised me was how upbeat most of them seemed.  I know a positive attitude is everything, but it seemed like they thought cancer is a rite of passage.  Most of them had a family member and/or a neighbor with cancer.  Thirty years ago, was there a large group of young women like this suffering with cancer?  It's not supposed to be something everyone goes through.  I had read the population that suffers the most because of cancer right now is African-american women in their thirties.  I can name three young African-american women I know of that have died of cancer in the past six years.  What is the toxic cocktail of environmental/genetic/nutritional deficiencies that are the cause of this?

On a lighter note, each woman got a big tote of top brand make up.  Almost each big name cosmetic company donated something.   The hostess showed them how to not look so tired while in treatment, so people can stop telling them they look so tired.  If you would like more information on these types of classes, you can contact your local hospital, Wellness Center, or Gilda's club.

I know my mom enjoyed the class, and I enjoyed the time with her.  When I dropped her off, I called Julio to let him know I was coming home.  He said I was going to be upset because of a botched project he had been working on for me.  I said, "After tonight honey, I'm just glad to be going home to my healthy family."  If there's anything that puts it in perspective for me, it was witnessing those women's strength through suffering.  What have I to complain about?  Absolutely nothing.

Our Winter Vacation part 3

Friday was our romantic day out.  Where do we go?  Pawn shops and used book stores, of course!  Ocean City has one pawn shop and I don't recommend going there.  It was dirty and disorganized.  What was extremely surprising was, I found a Charlie and Lola DVD for Madeleine there.  That is her very favorite show.  By this time of the week, the cheerleaders were swarming into OC for their convention.  This affected where we were going to eat that night.  Val had recommended Reflections at the Holiday Inn.  It was voted the most romantic restaurant in Ocean City.  I was afraid of how pricey it could be, but I could be guaranteed it was cheerleader free. 

It was a very romantic restaurant.  We sat by the fire and we're one of the only couples there.  I prejudged the place, thinking they would never offer specials.  It said in the back of their menu they have $20 3 course meals from 5-6 p.m.  Of course we got there at 7:00.  The food was good, but overpriced for my taste.  Afterwards, we walked to the beach.  This was the first time this vacation we had done so.  It was almost surreal.  Clouds hung very low above us, and it was so quiet.  It's so humbling to stand there and look out at the ocean.  It got very cold after awhile, and thus ended our date. 

In OC, they have an indoor skating rink at the Carousel Hotel that is open year round.  I used to go ice skating often back "in the day."  Now it's every three years or so.  If I lived near a rink, it would be a hobby I would love to develop.  So all of us went over to the Carousel on Saturday.  Andrea and I were going skating, but I convinced the kids to give it a try.  Normally, they have the adult sized walkers there so we wouldn't be falling everywhere, but no longer had them.  It took a few minutes, but I was skating without a walker and feeling pretty confident.  Once I got my balance, I helped Madeleine onto the ice and we went very slow.  She did good considering she'd never done it before.  Julian, however, took to it like a fish in water.  With his walker, he was fearlessly zooming around.  He's normally very reluctant to do new things like this, so he made me very proud that day.

I will now tell you the one place to avoid at all costs in Ocean City.  The Breakfast Cafe in West Ocean City right on Rt. 50 will make you nauseous in more ways than one.  It advertises it's the locals favorite place to eat.  We thought this true, because at the next table the marketing director for the OC convention center introduced himself to us and began to chat.  Don't the locals have standards?  When we first come in, Mark starts putting together the largest tables so we can all sit together.  These tables were not wiped off, but we figure the waitress would do that when she comes.  When we have to ask her to wipe them, she makes excuses not to.  She says another waitress was there eating, so it's not dirty.  Yeah...clue number one to high tail it outta there.  There's no kid menus, so we order a regular cheeseburger for Julian.  There are no indications of what comes on the side with the meal.  Assuming from the price, I think it comes with fries.  I feel assured when the waitress asks if he wants fries with his meal.  So we all order and wait...and wait....and wait some more.  There are only two other people in this tiny hole in the wall (it hurts to refer to this place as a cafe, let alone a restaurant) so what's the big deal?  She brings our meals out one by one with five minute increments in between.  When we ask what was the hold up, she had no clue what we meant.  The food was bland and overall pretty gross.

We get our bill--$40!  The fries were not included in any meal, and were $3.00 as a side.  I bring to her attention that she asked if we wanted fries, so I assumed it came with the meal.  She said chips come with the meal.  I say no where on the menu is that mentioned.  She said it was just understood.  All we could do was walk out of there with our stomachs in tact, and pray not have food poisoning. 

The food didn't sit that well on the three hour ride back home, but we held it down.  It snowed signifigantly while we were away and was a nice treat for the kids to see.  Oh, and that diet I was supposed to be faithful to while on vacation...let's say I have some work to do now that I'm home.