Buffalo Mozzarella, Balsamic Glazed Plums, Pine Nuts & Mint

Another amazing, fabulous, winner of a recipe from Food52.com.

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I made a version of this appetizer to take to my friend's dinner party last night. It wasn't really a party, just two couples and three kids, but it always feels like a party when we see them. How can you beat good company, happy kids and free flowing wine?

I didn't have pine nuts so I used pistachios. We didn't have buffalo mozzarella so I used fresh. Then I didn't use a well sealed bowl to carry it in the car so I wore the smell of balsamic vinegar all evening. I would suggest avoiding that.

This was a smash success. Super easy, too. I'm thinking about putting the whole thing over pasta as a main course. Think?

Line Diet, First Week

Okay, before we start let me just say that I KNOW I'm not fat. I've really wrestled with posting this because I'm sure I'm going to piss some people off. I WAS 160 lbs but I lost most of that 2.5 years ago. This is about those last few pounds that will NOT go away. This is about being in my forties and wishing for my twenties body. This is about a post baby body and the cute, pre-baby wardrobe in boxes, still waiting for me. Anyway, this week ends in defeat.

Friday, September 24 - 126 lbs - Didn't think to take a screen shot.

Saturday, September 25 - 123 lbs
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I'm only trying to lose about 8 lbs, the last of the baby weight. I was a skinny girl and even though I'm 44 years old, I'd like to fit into my old jeans. But seriously, the goal eludes me. I've seen drops like this a zillion times. Tomorrow or the next day I'll be 126 again. It's like a magnet. Or a Twilight Zone episode.

Sunday, Sept 26 - 124 lbs
Didn't juice yesterday. It shows.
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Monday, Sept 27 - 124 lbs
Juiced yesterday, did pretty well and had a fabulous dinner but ate too much of it. I'm guessing I'll be lighter tomorrow if I'm careful today.
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Tuesday, Sept 28 - 123 lbs
Ate well yesterday. Juiced until noon then mostly had left overs from the Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash dinner I made the other night. Unfortunately, I'm out of good produce so there won't be juice today. So sad there's only three weeks left at the Farmers Market! Here's my weigh-in:
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Wednesday, Sept 29 - 124 lbs
Ugh. I feel lighter but the scale does not lie. I meant to juice all day today but Coco and I slept in until 9 am (don't be a hater!) and somehow, even though class (Adventures in Storytelling) doesn't start until 12:30, we ended up rushing around trying to get out of the house on time. Oh, and it turns out there's a candy store RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the school. Very evil clever, those candy sales people.
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September 30 - 125
I am officially over the line.
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What did I say last week? It's like a Twilight Zone episode. Except that by logging my weight daily, I am forced to accept the truth. I made NO effort to lose weight this week. I only made juice two days out of seven (well today is still possible!) I had a glass of wine most evenings. There was candy involved. Last night was a friend's birthday and there was MUCH wine and PIZZA involved. So I can't feel betrayed by my body. Pretty much the other way around if I'm being honest.

I'm going to call this a learning week. The question is, do I need to reset the goal? What would I have to weigh tomorrow to be back on track? Sigh.

I Have to Share: ZipList.com

Do you ZipClip? It's a function of ZipList.com and it's awesome. ZipList is an online recipe clipping service that puts all the ingredients into a database so when you're menu planning, you just click on the various recipes in your recipe box and a shopping list is automatically generated. Did I mention it's free?
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ZipClip is a little button you put on your menu bar. Whenever you come across a recipe you love, click the button and viola, ZipClick sucks up the ingredients list, photo and URL into your own private database.
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I'm not saying it couldn't be better - the software needs work. But even as is, ZipList has revolutionized menu planning and grocery shopping in the Fitch home. If anyone knows of a better online recipe clipping service, let me know!

Corduroy Peasant Top and Dancing with the Stars

Well the "star" in this case is the Cat in the Hat. Coco hates getting her photo taken but I bribed her with an episode on PBS. She broke into song and started dancing. "Here we go go go go on and Adventure!"
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So viola! The the new peasant top in corduroy. This will go really well over a turtleneck sweater when it gets colder. I love the colors and with the fine wale, it was surprisingly easy to work with. The last time I tried corduroy was when I first got my sewing machine and had NO idea what I was doing. I purchased a thick wide wale corduroy skirt at a thrift shop with the plan to upcycle it into a cute dress for Coco.

Well it was awful to cut and worse to sew. I was getting the fluff out of my hair and off the floor for days. And forget about getting the needle through several layers at the hem. It was easier to get the needle though my thumb (which I did.)

Coco took one look at the finished project and started crying. The little rat critic was only 2.5 years old...

By the way, I only used half a yard of Patty Young for Michael Miller. With a size T3 it was tight - some of the selvage made it into the seams but I have improved my skills to the point that all the seams are enclosed so that you would never know. Next time I'll buy a full yard and make a skirt with the left overs!

Linking up to:

Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash

Do you know about 101CookBooks.com? Heidi writes and photographs beautifully - she's got a great eye and great taste. All the recipes I've tried have been delicious . I definitely can't say that about Martha Stewart.

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Last night we had Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash. The balsamic vinegar and fresh thyme mixed beautifully with the roasted squash and onions. One thought, though. The recipe did not call for soaking the farro so I didn't. It tasted lovely but I thought the consistency wasn't quite right. Next time I'll give it a soak for twenty minutes and see if that helps.

Halloween Skirt... or Pirate Skirt, I guess

So today was our first day of Children's Theater (yet ANOTHER drop off class. Who knew and why didn't anyone tell me this??) Coco proudly sashayed in wearing her new Halloween skirt covered in scary skulls and was promptly told by the one boy in the class, "You're a pirate."
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"No I'm not, I'm scary!" she replied. "Pirates are scary" the sweet boy explained as he wandered away. "WELL I'M A HOLLAWEENIE!" she yelled after him. Yes you are, my love.

The inspiration was the Lazy Days Skirt, of course, but the hem is my own strategy. Next time I'll take photos while I'm putting it together. And there will be a next time, never fear. I'm basically a two hit wonder at this point. I can do a peasant shirt and an elastic skirt and I plan on doing both until my kid gets a job and starts buying her own clothes. Or until I take another sewing class. Magic Eight Ball says, "Cannot predict now."

I'm linking up to:

The Line Diet or Steve Ward Diet or Easiest Diet Ever...

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Nicole at Make it Lovely has this great 30 Before 30 list that I'm way too old to join in on but I did crib a fantastic idea she cribbed from the internet. It's called the Steve Ward Diet which basically is just a simple graph where you plot your desired weight loss by date. On days when you're above the line you eat nothing but broccoli or lean fish or if you're me, you drink fresh veggie juices all day. On days when you're below the plot line, you eat as you wish.

Nicole's chart is here and the original post is here. My contribution to the conversation (besides potential public diet failure) is the awesome online chart I found here. This lovely thing does all the work for you. Did I mention it's free?

And here's another contribution: a juice recipe that will keep you going.

One large cucumber, whole
One zucchini whole
Two small apples whole (if they'll fit through the mouth of your juicer)
One lime (sloppily cut off the peel)
Two handfuls of spinach
One small red pepper (deseeded)
One stalk celery
Quarter avocado (peeled)

Put everything except the avocado into the juicer. Soft stuff like spinach will juice better if you sandwich it between the apples. Pour juice into blender, add avocado and a handful of ice. Blend, drink a full glass immediately and put the rest in a sealed container. Drink in three hours.

That should get you through til lunch. On fatty days I'll repeat three more times throughout the day. You'll pee a lot but you feel pretty great. Let me know if you want more recipes. I'll probably post more anyway but I can get more specific if you tell me what you like.