Pru says that when I’m on a mission, it’s best to stay out of my way.  He has become adept at recognizing all the telltale signs: I stop talking mid-sentence, then get this faraway look in my eyes right before I launch into a series of non sequiturs, muttering to no one in particular.  It happened recently while working on an intense work project with someone I’m lucky enough to have as my friend and self-proclaimed bossy big sister.  This one’s for you Sally.  ‘Cause you’re my gyro.

My Middle Eastern menu consists of beef gyros with tzatziki sauce and tahini dressing.  The tzatziki  is easy to make and requires very little effort beyond procuring the ingredients and slicing the cucumber paper thin, a task made easier with the use of a mandoline.  For the tahini sauce, tahini paste comes in a jar, found in Middle Eastern grocery stores or Whole Foods.  Or you can make your own.

The beef gyro was a little intimidating at first, but use the food processor to ground your meat to the pasty texture it’s intended to be and you will make this part of your regular dinner repertoire.

Beef Gyro

INGREDIENTS
Ground beef, 1 lb
Salt and pepper to taste
Oregano, 1 tsp
1/2 onion
garlic, 3 cloves
bacon, 3 strips

DIRECTIONS

Combine ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano in medium bowl. Mix with hands until homogeneous. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to over night.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place cold mixture in bowl of food processor with onion, garlic, and bacon. Process until smooth puree is formed, about 1 minute total, scraping down sides with rubber spatula as necessary.

Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. With moist hands, form meat mixture into rectangle.  Pat it tightly to avoid air pockets in your meatloaf-like brick.  Bake until center of loaf reads 155°F on an instant read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Allow loaf to rest at room temperature for fifteen minutes.  Then refrigerate for a couple of hours as this makes it easier to slice thinly.

Adjust broiler rack to highest position (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from broiler element) and preheat broiler. Slice loaf crosswise into 1/8th to 1/4-inch strips. Lay strips on rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil until edges are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Tent with aluminum foil.

Tzatziki

1 c Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
dill

Mix all ingredients and allow flavors to blend together for a couple of hours.

Tahini sauce

Tahini is ground sesame paste and you can find it at Whole Foods or Middle Eastern markets.   It’s like peanut butter but without the sweet nutty taste.  You can probably get away with omitting it but you’ve come this far, you might as well take another tahini step. Sorry I’ll stop punning now.

Finely mince or 2 cloves of garlic and mix with 1/2 cup of tahini paste, some lemon juice and olive oil to taste.  The mixture should be something like very runny peanut better.  When you first crack open your jar of tahini, you will find a layer of oil on top which is not only normal but awesome because of all that rich and creamy goodness.  Just stir it well before using.

Stuff pita pockets with beef gyro and spoon tahini sauce and tzatziki over the beef, serve with cucumber and tomato salad.

 

I went to a conference last week which I had been dreading for weeks.  This is unusual for me–I love that I get the chance to hear about innovations and creativity and what happens when hunches become ideas and then plans and then finally, action.  In short, I love learning and the excitement of applying lessons back in my own work.

Then my son was born.  And the thought of being away from him for more than a day was heartbreaking.  You’d think I was going off to Afghanistan, that’s how dramatic this whole scene unfolded.

When I finally broke the news to him that I was leaving for a few days, it did break our collective hearts–my husband included because he watched this whole conversation unfold while J and I sat on the couch with my boy on my lap, refusing to let go.

“But Mommy, when will you come back?”

“I’ll be back on Wednesday.”

“Is tomorrow Wednesday?

“No, honey.  Tomorrow is Monday.”

So that turned into a lengthy conversation and a lesson about the days of the week, the difference between work and vacation and just because you go on an airplane doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going on vacation. It all ended with an earnest promise in between sniffles, “I’ll be brave.”

It was a long three days barely eased by Face Time.

When I got back, there was a request for Mac and Cheese and then the bigger request, “Don’t go away again, OK?  Me and Daddy were sad because we didn’t have a Mommy in the house.”

So while it’s no substitute for a mommy, the Mac and Cheese like a mommy, brings comfort and warmth to your heart and to your belly.

Inspired by Homeroom, my new favorite restaurant in Oakland, I tried my hand at 3 different kinds: Sriracha Mac which is as awesome as it sounds, English Cheddar Mac with panko and Gruyere Mac trailer style with hotdogs and potato chips–only mine was made with chicken apple sausage. All were incredible.

Ingredients

One of my favorite people on earth is my friend Dorothy. She was one of the first faithful followers of this blog and so I’m thinking that merits at least one post being dedicated to her. Besides that, she’s tall and graceful and never makes me feel like a stubby little hobbit when we walk next to each other. She’s one of the few people who really appreciates my inner dork, the one who just lets me be. Early in our friendship, she once gave me a card that said:

I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.

That’s when I knew we were going to be friends for a very long time.

So when she asked for my recipe for beer braised short ribs this morning, rather than send her an email reply, I’m dedicating this post to her. And by the way, she’s not a Dot or a Dotty, as those nicknames don’t do justice to the presence and grace that is my friend Dorothy.

Recipe
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
3 to 3-1/2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
1 bay leaf
12 oz Guinness or any beer you like
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp beef bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water

Procedure
Brown beef short ribs and set aside. This is an additional step, I know and you can probably get away with just putting the raw meat in the crock pot. But I really love the color and the psychological security of eating browned, fried meat so trust me on this one. Brown the meat.

Place onions in a 5-qt. slow cooker; add ribs and bay leaf. Combine the beer, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, thyme, bouillon, salt and pepper. Pour over browned meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer juices to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine flour and water until smooth. Gradually stir into the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

It’s the first week of a new school year. But this one’s special. This week is the first week of kindergarten. J started kindergarten and it was more eventful for me than for him. He wasn’t into the uniform–“Moooommmm, my neck’s too tight!”–referring to the collared shirt he now has to wear. “Mooooommm, I don’t like the snaps!”–gone are the days of elastic sweats (hello, snaps and buttons). But apart from the struggle of his now tighter and daily attire, kindergarten is a blast. The kindergarten teacher, who heretofore will be referred to as Mrs. R, is a little frightening, not horribly so, just enough to remind me of my own Catholic school days with structure, discipline and with about as much flexibility as a freshly starched and newly ironed pleated polyester skirt. So it goes without saying that we already have homework; she was actually very clear about this. “Kids Club (the school’s after school program) is for doing homework. EXCEPT for kindergarten. We will save the homework for you so you can work on it together with your child!”

Our homework this week is to come up with words that start with the letters A and B, as well as to memorize our address. We got to B and after the obligatory “book, “bug” and “boobs” (he is a boy after all), I threw in the word ‘balance’. It started a rather eye-opening discussion for both of us as I started to try and create a definition that would be somewhat meaningful for my little 5-year old so that he doesn’t go back school and to Mrs. R and spit out gems like ‘boobs’ and ‘bunghole’ (please blame Pru for that one). “Balance is when we try and do a little bit of everything. Like when you go to school, have fun, play with your friends, play with your cars and your iPad and practice your letters–you have balance. But when you do too much of one thing, you don’t have balance.” The discussion trailed off and into thoughts of my own ongoing struggle with balance. I tend to, as I always do, get consumed by work. I intended to take the day off on J’s first day of kindergarten, but I had an afternoon meeting that I couldn’t miss. Of course, no one at work told me that I had to go to that meeting. I inexplicably decided that on my own. I also haven’t blogged in awhile.

So I am trying to reclaim my balance this morning with roasted tomato soup. San Marzano and cherry tomatoes grown in my and my neighbor’s backyard and roasted in a 325 degree oven for one hour were the flavorful base for this creamy and surprisingly easy and comforting soup.

Recipe:
2 pounds of roasted tomatoes, any variety
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 tsp of bouillon if using water, otherwise omit if using broth
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Combine all ingredients in a pot and puree using an immersion blender. Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are warmed through. Best served with grilled cheese sandwiches or parmesan crisps. Croutons are optional but should really be mandatory because it just makes you feel better.

The “Smart Stick” sounds a little profane, but really is a handy tool. Insert inappropriate joke here.

B is for balance indeed.