ZimWex Family Blog

You May Have Noticed...

That I haven't exactly been following through on my one recipe a week thing. Not even close. I just somehow can't really do it. It is the one thing too many that just can't be done. At this point, I am lucky if I get cooked food on the table at all! If I am lucky enough to find time/space/energy to come up with a few more new recipes, I will be sure to post them. Until then, I will spare you the post of the every other night mac n cheese! AZ

Mexico 3:: Resort Life

So, when you sit around a resort all week, without taking in much culture.....*

This is what you do!

You read...

You swim...

You show off your summer fashions...

You are brave...

You drink...

You look at the sky...

You spend time together...

\

You also fight with your siblings, get grumpy over trying new foods (Even when financially motivated!), really, really, really complain about putting on sunblock, bitch that your wife is working too much, spend time in the Playa del Carmen hospital, administer vile-tasting antibiotics, and try to figure out who hit who first.  Those things just don't make quite as cute pictures.  But they all happen, too.

All in all, I'll take the package.

AZ

*Hot Mayan Ruins aside....

Mexico 2:: Cooling Down

After the hot and dusty day with our good friends at Chichen Itza, our tour guide, who is a Mayan archeologist who my friend Megan hooked us up with, had arranged a gorgeous lunch and swimming expedition at a nearby cenote (which is a freshwater sinkhole, basically).  So cool.

We arrived, exhausted and were greeted with some nice lemonade.

We hiked down about 60 steps to get to the quiet cenote. (this is it from above)

And found ourselves in this absolute wonderland.

We had to consider for a few minutes before we got in...

But once we did, it was amazing. Once we got over the fact that it was (gulp) about 180 feet deep, we could enjoy this view above us.

And, then, Lunch! Wonderfully hand made tortillas...

Which, I think, may be some of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!

We really enjoyed our meal, even those of us who sometimes* are afraid of new tastes.

AZ

*always.

A moment of suburbia.

My daughter Ruby is, quite improbably, a Brownie.  Who knew that there were Girl Scouts in downtown Manhattan? Am pretty sure that a few years ago there were no scouts to be found wandering a West Village whose stores numbered Condomania and the Pleasure Chest among them.

Now, however, the Girl Scouts have arrived! And Ruby is an enthusiastic Brownie.  This week was the week of all weeks; the cookies arrived.

And she was off..

.

And the girl sold 261 boxes!! And, along the way, made some pretty nice neighborhood friends...

Way to go, Ruby.

AZ

Museum of the Moving Image

I spent last Sunday at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. It was closing day for a cool Jim Henson exhibit, so we checked it out and also watched two episodes of the Muppet Show on the big screen...Starring...Julie Andrews and Gene Kelly!*

The Museum has been redone this year, and is a great place for a family outing. We combined it with lunch at 5 Napkin Burger across the street, and were happy and stuffed!

Check it out and bring your families....

AZ

*Gene Kelly, like most Muppet Show hosts, was well past his prime, but the Pigs in Space segment did not disappoint!

Lunch Spot:: Kuku Canteen

I have recently been eating at a cute Korean lunch plate called Kuku Canteen. Its clean, affordable, fast, and has a good vibe (And lots and lots of spicy stuff).

My favorite is the shitake mushroom salad which has some crazy addictive dressing I like to put a little Sriracha sauce on the side.  Also, in this photo, note the Kimchi on the side..

T usually orders the bulgogi, but everything is really good...

Check it out next time you're in the neighborhood!
AZ 

New Restaurant:: Tortaria

The other day a friend and I met up for lunch at a new Mexican restaurant called Tortaria.  I had no expectations going, so was totally charmed to walk in and find this!

The place was completely great looking.  Luckily, the food was delicious, fast and cheap!  I got the fish tacos, and tried a bite of my friend's Pulled Pork torta, which was also good. They have good salsas, homemade guacamole, and seemed that the rest of the menu was good, too.  We ate for about $10.  I highly recommend a trip to Tortaria the next time that you are near Union Square.  

AZ

In Which she forces them to eat new foods:: #4

Okay, this is the frenzied Sunday evening version of this post.

It includes;  ZERO photos.  ZERO recipes.

But only the simple confession that I did manage to find a new dish this week.

BAKED ZITI!!

Amazingly enough, we have never made it before, and, like many other school lunches, it was requested at home.

So...on a tired Sunday night..with a messy kitchen and too much homework, I made the world's easiest Baked Ziti.   And though it was not so exciting, this worked very well for the under 13 set!

I basically boiled a pound of ziti and mixed it into a baking dish with one container of ricotta, one cup of mozzarella, and a jar of Rao's Marinara sauce.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350°. Sprinkle with parmigiano! Easy. Done.

I'll admit it, I had my mind set on a few more exciting things when I proposed the idea of a new recipe a week.  But, I'll take what I can get.

I paired it with some peas, cooked with garlic and scallions, which were also a big hit. And,  of course, a big loaf of Italian bread.

And, predictably, yes, two gave the big thumbs up, one picked her way through it, and one refused to take a bite.  

It would be way too easy any other way.

AZ

 

Right now I am...

Wondering who Jane Fonda's plastic surgeon is. Wow. 

Thinking that the mermaid dress as an awards trend has really got to end.

Planning to watch more television.  All those shows look good....

Enjoying beginning Downton Abbey

Recognizing that I was not particularly fast on that trend!

Nursing three semi-sick children, sometimes with patience, and others with irritation...

Regretting that irritation.

Enjoying very much the cappucinos, lattes, and of course the cupcakes from Molly's Cupcakes. 

Mixing pomegranate seeds into yogurt in the mornings.

Wishing Tanya didn't have to be away this week.

Trying to get more sleep.

Listening to Violet practice "On the Good Ship Lollipop" over and over again.

Choosing the Adele station on Pandora almost every day.

Shivering as I walk Snoopy around the block...and not much further, unless I really have to!

Laughing both times this week (!) that we watched the Wanda Sykes special on HBO, bringing our lifetime total of watching to at least 45 times...

Realizing that Violet's Sixth (!!) birthday is approaching.  

Needing a plan for that birthday.

Hoping to attend a yoga class this week. 

Collecting money.  Jerry and Ella have raised almost $1000 each for a fundraiser for school, and Ruby has sold more than 250 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. 

Enjoying that we have had three very quiet weekends in a row.

Forgetting to give her kids allowance.  Each and every week. What makes this particular task so difficult to remember?

Negotiating about computer time. Always...

Writing.

AZ

 

In which she forces them to eat new foods:: #1

And we're off.

And, yes, it went somewhat the way I had predicted.

But... I did it. Cooked a whole new meal. Served it and did not cook any other additional food for the kids.  Three of them got dessert. Only one went to bed in a fury over being denied a post-dinner snack.* And the wife was conspicuously un-suspicious of the entire situation.**

The menu was....

Roast Pork with Balsamic Vinegar.

 Quite good (what isn't with balsamic vinegar?), but too unnecessarily complicated.  You could easily accomplish the same thing grilling the pork quickly.  No point in even reprinting the recipe.

Potato and Pancetta Gratin, from the River Cafe cookbook. (where most all of the best things I make come from).

4 oz. pancetta affumicata thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves peeled and finely sliced
20 sage leaves
2 lbs. roseval or similar yellow waxy potatoes peeled
1 cup double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
parmesan freshly grated

Preheat the oven to 375.***
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pancetta over a medium heat.
Stir in the garlic, add the sage, cook for a minute and remove from the heat.
Slice each potato lengthways down the middle so that you are left with two thick slices.
Place in a large bowl and add the pancetta and oil mixture and the cream.
Season with salt and pepper and toss together.
Put in a baking dish making sure that the potato pancetta and sage are evenly distributed cover with foil and cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
About 20 minutes before the end of cooking remove the foil so that the surface of the potatoes becomes brown.
Add a little parmesan 5 minutes before the end.

 

We LOVED This recipe and I will definitely make again and would also be a good potluck recipe. I had to cook it longer, but think I used the wrong kind of potatoes or sliced them too quickly. Nonetheless, at the end of the day you are eating potatoes, heavy cream, bacon, and cheese.  Very hard to f$*(% up.

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Oil

I totally did not make my kids finish this because I myself did not like it. I never cook broccoli rabe...But like it in restaurants. However, it was totally bitter. Advice?

All served with a baguette.

And so, for one first early January week, a goal accomplished! Hold your applause, please, until I make at least a second one.

AZ

*worth noting that this particular child goes to bed in a post-dinner no-snack fury easily half the days of the week, so I did not take that one too personally. 

**full of surprises after 20 years of wedded bliss...

***who knows how to make a degree symbol?