New Year, New You

In past years, I literally bought every magazine on the stands with that phrase on the cover — Runner's World, Self, Shape, you name it. This year? I think my resolution from last year to not buy so many magazines in general will spill over, similar to the one the year before to stop buying energy/meal-replacement bars — I guess the good ones stick, like adding more yoga to my workout regimen and drinking more tea, which I started years ago.

I tend to make long resolution lists. My mother, God bless her, doesn't need a day on the calendar to start fresh or make a change, but for me it helps — they're more like goals for me, not resolutions. Here's this year's list (food related only, of course), because apparently I can't go for long without listing SOMETHING!

• Stick to my new budget, which I outlined on my last day of vacation (not fun, but I give myself props because this year I think it's much more realistic), especially when it comes to grocery shopping — and I printed a coupon yesterday for The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half. I even made my own reusable master grocery list after trying out Real Simple's and realizing that no, I don't need to replenish my stash of soda and frozen pizzas every time I hit the market. Because if I have a list, you can bet I'm going to get everything on it!
  
• Exercise "most" days of the week, with a minimum of yoga alone.
• Start putting my baby plans into motion — going green, wasting less, going as "natural" as possible, stressing less (wow, this is a list in and of itself!), no fear — because I really shouldn't wait for the baby to come to get started on all of this! I like Dr Oz's idea of eating things that most closely resemble their original form — so the longest section of my master grocery list is by far in the produce aisle.
• Involve my husband more in decision-making — especially when it comes to food shopping and paying the bills. I can use all the help I can get, and he's actually pretty decent in the kitchen!
  
• Recognize wants versus needs — while it's often difficult to apply this ideal in the moment, I'm hoping that if I post my resolution list in my home office this year and look at it every day (I'll have to jazz it up a bit first so it's legible) it will stick a bit more, from Papa John's cheese bread to pricey baby clothes.
• MAKE more! My cool friend Cheryl has done what not even Martha Stewart could do — got me interested in crafting. Of course I'd like to make my own tree topper since I don't have one, some stocking hooks which I also don't have, garland, a stocking for baby, maybe some summery coasters — but I'm also looking forward to making my own granola/bars, almond butter and bread. And you'll get to hear how they all turn out, trust me!
• Don't procrastinate. (Funny how this one came last.) This goes for phone calls, organizing, ironing and — gasp — doing the dishes. I'm ashamed to admit to how long I usually let them sit, so if I allow myself to try out lots of new recipes in 2010 I have to balance it out with washing up the baking sheets and the food processor right after. Time to whip out my baking soda, vinegar and lemons and get my green cleaning on!

Whether you're pro-resolution or not, I hope you had a fun night last night and enjoy a safe, happy and healthy NEW YEAR!

Things I want to do...

Surprise, surprise: I've started two new lists today! A random McDonald's ad in the latest Family Circle struck a chord with me this afternoon, and although I'll limit my ideas here to food-related tomes, I'm going to share two categories that I'm inspired to improve in my life with the impending arrival of the new life budding inside of me: 1) Things I want to do with my child, and 2) Things I've always wanted to do and never have. I figure that now's as good a time as any to put more energy toward becoming the person I see in others sometimes and know is inside of me, too.

Things I want to do with my child

• Go green. I want my child to tote around his or her own reusable water bottle when they get older and not resort to a case-full of plastic water bottles that I don't even have room for in my kitchen. Marketers out there have already created dozens of cute options for kids, and I can't wait to get my hands on them when Baby becomes Toddler. Smart and cost effective.
  
• Eat clean and exercise simply. I want my child to know, understand and appreciate where our food comes from. I want him or her to feel the relaxation benefits of a calming yoga session. If I'm sounding a little hippie here, bear with me — I'm aware that these are lofty goals and that sometimes unfortunately only the intention is present, but I don't want my child to notice the tension I used to feel when I couldn't get my daily workout in. I want to develop a no-stress attitude when it comes to entertaining at home. It's standard for me as a Virgo to want everything to be just so — but when I think about visiting with my friends and family, I don't think about how clean the bathroom was or how many calories were in the sandwiches. I remember how much fun we had and how delicious dessert was!
• Volunteer. Lots of options fall under this category, but especially during this time of year (and being pregnant) most of what I do revolves around food. Why not volunteer at a soup kitchen once a year — at a minimum — when the kids are old enough? On an episode of Martha Stewart this morning I heard a story about a family whose house burned down in the California wild fires this year while they were at the movies. They didn't even have the chance to grab photo albums and family heirlooms, let alone clothes or toys. Watching Martha dole out piles of accessories from Macy's brought tears to my eyes (another effect of my raging hormones?) — and it made me realize the importance of giving, not only to the people on my Christmas list. We all love and appreciate food, so serving it to those in need is a great idea.
• Focus on natural foods. I don't want economy-sized boxes of Sweet 'N Low in my cupboard come this time next year (and no worries, there's none in there right now for the sake of baby, either). If I feel pangs of guilt for putting anything in my mouth — straight-from-the-box pepperoni pizza, ingredient lists with unpronounceable words, apples so shiny it looks unnatural — imagine how I'll feel when I'm loading up my grocery cart with packaged convenience foods and cases of Coke, while Junior stares back at me from the car seat. Again — I know I may be being unrealistic here. Kids enjoy eating macaroni and cheese, and not all sorts are bright yellow and sticky. Sometimes it's easier to put a pack of cut-up apples in a lunchbox than it is to snip a few grapes off the bunch and dump them in the [reusable] lunch tote. This could mean big changes to lots of habits in my house, and it may end up costing more money — but it's an idea. A less-is-more type of goal. Quality over quantity. (Don't hate!)
• Redefine fast food. My husband and I don't eat much Burger King as it is, but I can understand how things will change once I have a screaming baby hanging off my arm, pets that want dinner, work that needs to be done and laundry that hasn't seen a bottle of detergent in weeks. But does "fast food" have to mean burgers and fries? Can't it mean a couple of handfuls of organic baby spinach, black olives, crumbled feta cheese and a hunk of crusty bread? I really should dig out that crock pot again...I saw a great crock pot cook book in a local book store last month and am kicking myself for not purchasing it because now, of course, I have no idea what it's called and who wrote it. But you catch my drift...I'd much rather pick up a rotisserie chicken than a vat of chicken nuggets — on a good day.
• Develop good old Southern habits. I'm not from the South, but there's something so endearing about a boy saying "Yes, ma'am" when asked to clear the dishes. I'm not sure if I'll take it that far, but I at least want to instill the typical Please and Thank you at the dinner table. I don't want the TV on while we eat; I want to at least try to get my kids to eat what I'm eating (for the most part — when they're older) and I want them to respect meals and meal times as an opportunity for the family to talk and catch up. Even if we each share only one good thing and one bad thing that happened to us that day, it's a chance to learn and communicate without glossy eyes and cartoon monster voices distracting us from the blessings we're about to enjoy. You should see the dirty looks I shoot at the hubby now when he talks on the phone during dinner...
  
• Embrace your heritage. My husband Sergio is from Argentina, and I want this to be more than simply something we talk about from time to time or a weird place we visit every so often. I know lots of Argentine (and Spanish/Italian — his family also comes from Spain, Italy and Damascus) recipes, and I'd like to enjoy at least one meal per week that's a throwback to his childhood. Milanesas (beef or chicken milanese) can be baked, not fried; Sunday pasta can be whole wheat; dessert is often fresh, in-season fruit. I figure that if I put a little thought into it and try to keep up my weekly meal planning (it's been going well since my last grocery store meltdown!), I can at least keep the idea on the back burner.
• Have fun with it. Although Sergio gave me that "are-you-crazy?" look when I asked him if they do breakfast for dinner in Argentina, I stand by the belief that it's a big thing here! What's wrong with the occasional pancakes for supper? A midnight snack of a bowl of Cheerios with milk? I know it sounds as though I'm making up a lot of rules (that I admittedly may never follow), so this is one for all of you who think I'm foolish, stupid or, yes, crazy. I'm giving myself permission to not be so strict about meals all the time. Vanilla pudding can be a fine snack. Yogurt may have to be lunch sometimes, if I end up with a picky eater. We call can't all be perfect 100% of the time.
• Share the responsibilities. I'm no hard-core feminist, but I can be resentful when I realize that — wait a minute — both my husband and I work (OK, I work from home, but I do wear the pants, so to speak), yet in the past seven years we've fully adopted the typical domestic pattern of, oh yeah, wife also cooks, cleans and does the shopping, dishes and laundry. If I can do anything to make the stereotype a little less obvious to my son or daughter, I'd like to. I envision Nanny 911-type shared task lists, taking turns cooking (Sergio makes a mean apple chicken!) and, obviously, help doing the dishes! Or at least learn how the dishwasher works, after we get a new one that doesn't sound like the noise at the beginning of every episode of LOST! Please!
• Don't use food as a reward. I may only be saying this because of my food issues, but for the sake of every struggling young woman out there I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that I scored well on my math test so I'm going to eat chocolate cake tonight. I'm all for certain foods as special treats, but I know first hand that rewarding myself for losing 10 pounds by celebrating with a scone from Starbucks is pure silliness. I don't have any experience in this with kids, so I know that I'll have to be creative when it comes to potty training and report cards, but I'd rather not create the food-reward connection if possible. I've screwed it up too many times as an adult, so I'd rather not confuse the heck out of my kids once they start putting two and two together on their own.
• Practice moderation. Banning anything will make the rebel in all of us perk up our ears, and I don't want mine to be the kid at the birthday party who's "not allowed" to eat ice cream or has never tried French fries. But for everyone in the family, learning self control is important. One box of Cocoa Puffs does not a life-long habit make — but it won't mean that all of these hopes are in vain, either. Healthy alternatives are always available, but when a bunch of baby carrots won't satisfy my craving for potato chips, I know that I'll buy a bag here and there. Having one cookie is better than sneaking into the kitchen and stealing five later.
  

So far I only have two things on my list of Things I've always wanted to do but never have, so you'll have to come back for that. It probably won't be anything extreme, such as eating chocolate-covered ants, but I don't want to exhibit an air of self-consciousness or fear when my children will be looking to me for confidence and inspiration — which is sort of the basis of these lists. I know that some of you reading this might be thinking "SMH" and rolling your eyes, but if you regularly read my articles you've probably already done that a few times anyway! So thank you for continuing to read and for indulging my possibly-fantastical ideals for Baby Numero Uno. This is a food blog, remember — so take everything with a grain of salt.

Mushroom & fontina paninis

This sandwich was so delicious that I had to stop and take a picture of it mid-meal — but apparently I was in too much of a food coma to notice that it was out of focus, so no photos today — sorry, Broke Socialite!

A word about panini bread: I completely lucked out, stopping at an Italian market the day before and buying Pane Turano — possibly the most perfect panini bread ever, because the wide slices fit just so snugly on my grill pan that it couldn't have looked more authentic. So I would try to find the widest sliced bread possible — not necessarily thick sliced; length (or width, whatever you want to call it — not my strong suit obviously) is more important than thickness here. A good quality bread will make or break your panini.

And now on to the non-recipe (because it's so easy, thank you, Bitty, for my new favorite cookbook, Kitchen Express)!

• ~2c sliced baby bella mushrooms (although any kind will work, really)
• Pat of butter
• ~1t fresh chopped oregano
• Salt & fresh cracked black pepper
• EVOO
• 4 slices panini bread
• Hunk of fontina cheese, shredded

1. Cook down the mushrooms in a saute pan with butter over medium heat until they've released a bit of liquid and look tender and yummy. Season with the oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Brush the outsides of your four pieces of bread with the olive oil and heat up your panini press or grill pan to medium to medium-high (see below).
3. Divide the mushrooms between two slices of panini bread and top with as much shredded fontina as will allow (before spilling out over the edges). Add another slice of bread on top.
4. If you're using a grill pan like me, set the paninis down and place a heavy pan on top so as to press the sandwiches together. Start your heat off rather moderate (medium for me) so as to slowly melt the cheese; flip the sandwiches and if you notice they have only slight grill marks so far on the first side, leave it on the second side for just as long — probably somewhere around five minutes each.
5. Once this original time has elapsed, crank the heat up a bit to get the grill marks more pronounced and the bread a bit more crunchy on the outside. The cheese should be thoroughly melty and gooey by now.
6. I like to get a little fancy with it when it's done and cut the sandwiches down the middle, on an angle. This gives it just a little gourmet touch; serves 2.

This is a method you'll want to come back to again and again. I think this kind of sandwich (well, we all know a good panini, don't we?) would be great with goat cheese, or perhaps just adding some prosciutto to the mix — you can really make it a kitchen-sink kind of thing with whatever you've got on hand. The best I ever had was tomato and mozzarella from a street vendor in Paris, so even simple ingredients can give you a big bang for your buck.

I served mine with oven-baked French fries, but they'd also be lovely with some salt-and-vinegar potato chips or a nice green salad. Enjoy!