Happy Boxing Day! And a Christmas Recap

Hello my dears!

I hope that everyone had a marvelous Christmas...or if you don't observe Christmas, a fabulous couple of days off. 

I can hardly believe that it's Boxing Day.  Christmas arrived like a hurricane, with Mr. MF and I desperately trying to hold on and get everything done before the day dawned.  We had a wonderful Christmas at Chez MF, celebrating with family who were kind enough to drive down to be with us, and Facetiming with those who were elsewhere.

I will get around to posting some pictures of the festivities later this week (once I've gathered them all from the various cameras on which they reside), but as I'm thinking of it, let's have a quick "Christmas lessons learned" post on the past few weeks.

Lesson #1:  You can never have enough ribbon, and the ribbon you do have won't be enough.  The standard ribbon roll is deceiving and often only has enough to cover one big package and maybe a small package. I had to make an emergency ribbon run this year because I ran out halfway through wrapping.  My mother and aunt told me that they went all out at Costco and bought ribbon and packs of gift tags, splitting their loot, and still have plenty left over.  I think that sound brilliant.  "To do" list? Checked!

Lesson #2:  Save the gift boxes you get for next year.  This year I did 95% of all my shopping online, and most of the gifts I bought didn't come with a gift box.  To add insult to injury, the stores where I did shop in person were saavy enough to charge for gift boxes.  Outrageous!  I'm saving all my gift boxes from this year for next Christmas. 

Lesson #3:  As always, Nigella Lawson rocks. Using her Nigella Christmas cookbook, I prepared a wide assortment of recipes for the various holiday parties I hosted over the weekend and into Christmas eve.  The following were huge hits:  Chocolate Chip Chili, Spoonbread, Steamed Chocolate Pudding, and the delectable Poinsettia cocktail.

Lesson #4:  Remember where you put your light timers.   Mr. MF and I love using light timers so that we don't have to mess with unplugging the Christmas lights on our trees.  We program the timers for a 4:30pm "on" and a 9:30pm "off" and we're set for the season.  The exterior tree has a manual timer that gets packed away with the Christmas decorations every year, but the indoor tree's digital timer is often used at other times of the year when we're going on holiday.  Which is why it's important to remember where you put your timers so that you don't have to constantly plug and unplug your tree's lights, gnashing your teeth in frustration because you know that the light timer is somewhere...only to find it right in front of your face on Christmas night.

Lesson #5:  Here are the stores that came through for me big-time for gifts this Christmas season:  One King's Lane; Stella and Dot; Amazon; Lands End; Old Navy; and Ikea (for children's toys).

Lesson #6:  Be sure to plan out time for the little Christmas activities you'd like to do, otherwise they may not get done.  I didn't get around to doing the following things, despite my best intentions: making a homemade handprint ornament with Bebe (will be doing that this weekend!); having a Christmas movie night with Mr. MF; throwing a low-key holiday lunch for family and friends; making homemade stocking stuffers (homemade chutneys, jams, infused spirits); making sugar cookies to handout as party favors to friends; going to a performance of the Nutcracker ballet; and doing an "ooooh-cruise" where you drive around neighborhoods and admire the festive holiday decorations.

What did you do this Christmas season that you will (or won't) repeat for Christmas 2013?

xoxo,

MF

Delicious and quick weeknight supper...a Christmas season essential!

I have a bit of a crush on Nigella Lawson.  I adore her and everything she stands for.  I have almost all her cookbooks (can't wait to get my paws on her latest, "Nigellissima"), and use them in my regular menu planning rotation throughout the year.

As I planned my menu for this week, I worked exclusively out of Nigella's Express cookbook.  I figured that with the office holiday party, various gift exchanges, and a fair amount of Christmas baking I had scheduled, I needed to cut myself some slack in the dinner department.  And am I ever glad I did, because last night I made a variation on Nigella's Rib Sticking Stir Fry, which was fabulous!  I adapted the recipe a little for the culinary preferences of the house, and so that's what I'm going to share with you here.  This recipe is so fast, is cooks in mere minutes. 

Here's what you need:

• 2 Chicken Breasts (I like to use the Smart Chicken brand)
• Package of frozen stir fry vegetables (I used Birds Eye Sugar Snap Stir Fry)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I prefer Kikoman's low sodium soy sauce)
• 1/4 cup sake (I've been using this Fu-Ki sake)
• 1 heaping tablespoon chili garlic sauce (I LOVE the Tuong Ot Toi Viet*Nam paste)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1.  Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips (Tip: the thinner you slice the chicken, the faster it will cook).  Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat. 

2.  When the oil is shimmering, toss in your chicken strips, spreading them out across the pan's surface, and sear them on both sides, about 2 minutes a side.  (Tip: once you've added the chicken, leave it alone in the pan until it's time to flip it.  If you resist the urge to get in there with your spatula and stir it around, it will brown faster and more evenly.)

3.  While the chicken is cooking, combine your soy sauce, sake, and chili garlic sauce in a Pyrex measuring cup.  Give it a good whirl with a fork to combine.  Set aside.

4.  When the chicken is done, add in the frozen veggies. Though the veggies are frozen they will thaw quickly in the heat of the wok, and that's all you want, so don't go too far away from your range.  You are also allowed now to put the "stir" in stir fry, so get that spatula and go to town! 

5.  When the veggies have lost their permafrost, add the sake-soy-chili garlic mixture into the wok.  Stir away and enjoy your savory perfumed steam facial.

6. Et voila!  You're done!

I had some dried Udon noodles that I boiled, drained, and tossed into the wok at the last minute.  (Nigella's original recipe uses cannellini beans in place of rice or noodles, but that wouldn't fly in the MF household, unfortunately.)

You could make rice as well, though that would require a little advance planning, since the stir fry is the work of minutes.  Udon noodles can be found in the international section of your supermarket, and take all of 3 minutes to cook in boiling water.   I use the Hakubaku brand (pictured at right), which I quite like.

So there you go, my dears!  I whipped this up last night after lounging on my couch and complaining about my aching feet.  It was a nice respite from some of the more traditional Christmas fare I've been chowing down on, and the spicy-soy flavor is really refreshing to the palate after all those glasses of egg nog, and plates of gingerbread pudding and chocolate truffles.  It's also quite light, surprisingly enough.  Try it tonight!  

xoxo,
MF


P.S.  For those of you interested in making the original Rib-Sticking Stir Fry, here's the recipe from Nigella Express:

Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry
Serve 2
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz. chicken or turkey breast fillet, cut into 1-1/2 inch x 1/4 inch strips
4 cups chopped stir-fry vegetables (from a package)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Heat the oil in a wok, and over fairly high heat add the chicken or turkey strips and toss them about to color. Once the meat has seared, add the vegetables and toss around again until beginning to soften, then add the soy sauce and the wine. The soy will help the meat strips bronze beautifully. Once the heat is back up and sizzling, add the beans and toss everything about to mix before tipping onto two plates. Sprinkle with the herb and serve straight away.
 

Modern Femme loves...Christmas Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Time to eat treats with impunity...

Using up the last of my colored sprinkles on Nigella's Chocolate Christmas Cookies...

Breaking out the silly Christmas tree cake pan that I found at TJ Max last year...

Looking out the living room window at our "outside Christmas tree" always makes me happy...

As does looking at my inside Christmas tree, adorned with lights and festooned with ribbons...

I love the Nutcracker Ballet and have been slowly gathering a collection of Nutcracker ornaments...

Uncle Drosselmeyer grins mysteriously, backlit by fairy lights...

The Nutcracker battles his foe, the Mouse King...because what tree is complete without an action sequence?

The Nutcracker theme continues on my mantle with my beloved Steinbach Nutcrackers...this one is a nod to my husband's Irish roots...

This Merlin Steinbach was my husband's as a little boy...

Steinbach Nutcrackers are expensive, but so wonderful to collect. Here is my Beekeeper, and his little miniature companion - a gift from a sweet friend!

Aside from Nutcrackers, my other obsession is Christmas stockings...I had these made by my tailor from festive fabrics...

And my newest Christmas addition is this wonderful card tub I found on One King's Lane...perfect for displaying your Christmas cards from friends and family!

How do you decorate your homes during the holiday season?

xoxo,
MF





Thoughts brewing on 2013 "goals"

Hello dear readers!

Well, the past three weeks have been a blur.  Mr. MF and I decided that this would be a good time of year to re-do our basement by ourselves. And by "ourselves" I mean Mr. MF.  From Monday thru Friday the man has a full time day job, and then for the past month, his nights and weekends are consumed by his second full time job, which is redoing our basement.  That means that I, for all intents and purposes, am a single parent on the weekends.  Which would be manageable, except that it's the holiday season (I don't know if you noticied?) and on top of caring for and playing with Bebe, and doing all the routine household chores by myself, I've also been trying to do holiday shopping, decorating, baking, etc.  It's just been crazy.  To give you an idea, I was up on Sunday at 4:50am to start the day, and actually considered staying up once I put Bebe down (for the second time) at 3:45am this morning to get stuff done around the house.  Then I mentally slapped myself across the face and went back to sleep. 

But I can't complain (although perhaps the first paragraph might seem like I am, it's meant more by the way of explanation on my spotty blogging this past three weeks). I am truly blessed, and have spent the past 48 hours thinking of and praying for those in Newtown.   I hope you all hugged your loved ones a little tighter this weekend.  I know I did.

ANYWAY.  Let's get down to brass tacks, as my mum would say.  I have a Christmas picture posting coming up, like hopefully tomorrow, AND there's the Embracing Change series with three more interviews in the queue.  That's all in the hopper to go up on the blog over the course of this week.  But today, I'm leading with my lighter side.  I don't know if y'all remember my post on goal setting?  Well, I've been thinking about goals for 2013, and I've come up with two things for my list.  One of them isn't so much a goal as a fun project.  Let's start there. 

I have a new found admiration for Dita Von Teese.  I've spent the past week rather obsessively reading about her.  I could go on and on about what I love about her ethos, persona, artistry, etc, but I promised you light so here's it is - I love her dedication to glamour.  I love that you never see this woman out and about without a red lip on.  I love that she looks classic and ladylike even running errands.  I love her avowed determination to celebrate the feminine mystique.  In contrast, I often feel accomplished if I can get out of the house having brushed my hair and putting mascara on.  Most of my clothes have to be washed immediately because they're covered in "baby" (food, snot, drool, etc) by the end of the day. 

I have a feeling that Dita would find a way to look glamorous even as the mother of an 8 month old (I mean, look at the below pictures of her grocery shopping!!), and so here it is:  I'm going to go glam for one full month in 2013, as inspired by Dita.  I'm talking red lips, jewelry, nice lingere, tailored clothes, no jeans.  I want to see if I can pull it off, and I want to see how it makes me feel.  I'm still thinking through the details, but it's going to happen.  I imagine I will take pictures of myself everyday and post them here so that you guys can keep me on the up and up.  I think it would be fun if you wanted to join me!!  What do you say?  Up for a little glamazon action in '13?

The second "goal" for 2013 is more of a traditional goal.  I need to start eating better.  I don't mean dieting, but rather incorporating more fruits, veggies and whole grains into my daily intake, and backing off the carbs.  This isn't a weight loss thing - what I need is more energy.  I have been feeling wiped out lately, and I suspect that my current eating habits are not helping with my low energy levels - AND - after a respite,  my historically problematic skin has started breaking out again.  I'm curious to see if changing my diet helps my skin out.   I'm thinking about incorporating the following things:

• Kim Synder's Glowing Green Smoothie - I've heard rave reviews about this smoothie, especially about energy levels and skin tone. 
• Drinking more water during the day - keeping a carafe of cucumber and mint water (a la Martha Stewart) on my desk.  I used to do this religiously, and have fallen out of habit.
• Eating more whole grains and "ancient" grains.  Farrow, quinoa, etc.  Maybe they'd fill me up more?
• Start yoga again.  Bebe and I are starting baby yoga classes at my local community center in January and I can't wait!

Anyway, I'm going to work out a plan regarding these two "goals" and share it with you once it's firmed up.  Let me know if you'd like to participate in my "Month of Glam" project - I'd love to post reader pics alongside mine!!!

xoxo,
MF

Prayers for those in Newtown

My dears:

I am devastated, as I'm sure are you, by the news of the horrific murder of innocent children and their teachers at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown CT.  My heart is breaking for the parents of the children, and the families of all those affected.

Hug those you love a little tighter tonight, my dears.  I'm sending hugs to you all.

xoxo,
MF

The long-overdue Thanksgiving Recap

My dears!!

This is a long overdue Thanksgiving day recap.  I had a child care emergency last week that sucked all my energy away from blogging, but here I am, situation sorted, and ready to go!

Anyway, Thanksgiving at Chez MF was fabulous!  I hope you all had nice T-G’s as well.  I’ll start my recap two nights earlier, with the brining of the bird. On Tuesday morning, I assembled all the non-perishable ingredients for the brine:

Brine Ingredients

They included allspice, caraway, cloves, mustard seeds, cinnamon, star anise, black peppercorns, honey, maple syrup, kosher salt, onions, and oranges.  Not pictured but included later were a bouquet garni and parsley stalks.   Tuesday night, I chucked everything into my trusty Homer bucket, and submerged da bird.



Try as I might, those drumsticks insisted on being periscopes!

Fast forward to Thanksgiving day.  Our guests were arriving at noon, so I was up at 6:30am  to start preparing.  I made everything in advance this year, freezing what I could, and refrigerating everything else.  I relied on the microwave to reheat things like these AH-mazingly fluffy mashed potatoes.



Whipped Nirvana

I set the table the night before, keeping with my favorite Thanksgiving color - orange!  I brought those yellow frondsy things for $4 at the supermarket - I liked the pop of sunshine they brought to the table.  The mini white pumpkins and pears are all plastique, from Tar-gay.  I added the clementines that anchored everyone’s napkins as an afterthought, but they did fabulous double duty as palate cleansers after the meal!

I love me some orange...and clementine.

I was feeling pretty good when I took this next photo.  It was 11:00am, my cheddar crackers were baked and ready to go, the turkey was coming to room temperature preparatory to entering the oven, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was on the telly. Life was good! 



Feeling ready!

I made a cocktail that has rapidly become an old favorite: Martha’s Apple Cranberry Ginger Punch.  In the past I’ve offered guests a variety of drink options and let them choose, but this time round I thought it would be fun and festive to start off the party with a particular cocktail.  I had extra cranberries left over from the punch ingredients and decided to garnish the cocktail glasses with them.

Drink me.

They were delicious.

Don't mind if I do!

Nigella Lawson’s recipe for a Spiced and Super Juicy Turkey never fails to disappoint.  She has you paint the turkey with maple syrup and melted butter, and the bird always emerges from the oven with a Saint Tropez tan and the most crackling skin.  YUM.

Le turkey, bronzed and beautiful!

At this point, things really started happening, so unfortunately, I have no pictures of the spread before it was devoured.  But I can show you my favorite way to wrap up a feast:

Closing ceremonies.

Nothing beats some strong French press coffee, biscotti, and a little Widow (aka Veuve Clicquot) to put the perfect cap on a day of thanks. 

Other than, of course, eating hot turkey sandwiches in your pjs at 7:00pm (originally I wrote "of course, hot turkey sandwiches in your pjs" before realizing that without a verb, that sounds like a messy and unfortunate way to end the day).

Isn't this a joy-inducing sight??

I hope all of y’all had nice Thanksgivings. I’m going to scoot and go work on some overdue posts, so check back soon to see what else I have up!

xoxo,

MF