Tex-Mex Pasta

I made this for the first time two months ago, when Husband was on night float and we were having all sorts of scheduling issues, so I was looking for quick dinners ready in 45 minutes or less. Husband rarely says when he likes something that I make unless I prod him for his opinion (though he is more than happy to offer up his $0.02 on his own accord when he does not like something I cook or bake), but this was a rare occasion where he spoke up stating that he liked dinner and hoped it worked its way into the regular rotation.

Since this is the first time I am posting a recipe with buttermilk, I'll share my trick. Apparently most people do not know that buttermilk can be easily frozen for use in cooking and baking (and honestly, why else would you be using it -- do people really drink it straight up?). Most recipes call for buttermilk in half or full cup increments, so whenever I need buttermilk, I buy a quart of it, use what I need, and then pour it in half-cup aliquots into little storage containers and stack them up in my freezer. Then, I always have some buttermilk handy -- just take it out of the freezer and move it to the refrigerator the morning before you plan on using it so it will thaw. I am always amazed at the number of people who either buy new containers, use a half cup, and throw out the rest, or do not make recipes which call for buttermilk because they think it is too wasteful since they don't know what to do with the rest!

Tex-Mex Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef, ground turkey, or soy crumbles
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) corn kernels
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
• 1/2 lb dried macaroni or ziti (I use whole wheat)
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup tomato salsa
• 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add beef/turkey/soy crumbles, onion, and green peppers, and cook until meat is cooked and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add corn, chilies, uncooked pasta, tomatoes, salsa, buttermilk, and chili powder, and stir thoroughly to ensure that all pasta is moistened.
   
3. Bring to a boil, then cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Stir before serving.

Moroccan Vegetabes with Couscous

A few weeks ago, I had a thesis committee meeting. I was also, simultaneously, trying to crank out some changes to a purification protocol, so lab was demanding quite a bit of my time. Knowing this, Husband lovingly told me that he would just stay out of my hair and play playstation.... but first, could I wash a few loads of his clothes, pick up his clothes from the dry cleaner, and oh right, get him a few things from CVS because he is too lazy to run next door?

Times like these, it seems like I have no control over my life -- my life is either run by my PI or my husband -- and I feel the need to break free and rebel. I could protest and not do laundry, but sending Husband to the hospital stark naked doesn't seem like a good option for anyone involved, so I choose to rebel with my cooking. Ninety-five percent of the time, I cook based on what he likes, meaning I constantly pass over foods that I like (i.e., anything based with lots of vegetables). For example, Husband LOVES stromboli. I don't. But, because he loves it so much, I find myself rolling out dough twice a month and make him a huge stromboli and I eat a tiny bite-sized stromboli with a huge pile of steamed broccoli... and Husband is, of course, quite pleased with this arrangement. But when I'm totally stressed out, that's when I disregard his wants and needs in the kitchen, and make something that I'm craving. I thought this was fantastic... Husband picked out the chicken I cooked him on the side, choked down what was on his plate, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when order returned to the world as I once again returned to stromboli-making the following night.

Moroccan Vegetables with Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
• 2 russet potatoes, cut into large chunks (peel if you dislike potato skin)
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1" chunks
• 2 cups chopped whole plum tomatoes with juices
• 2 small zucchini, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas
• 1 cup couscous (I use whole wheat)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Stir in the onion and cook until tender (approx. 3 minutes). Stir in spices and cook until aroma is released. Stir in carrots, potatoes, and squash, and toss to coat. Cook vegetables for 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and water. If necessary, add enough water so that vegetables are submerged. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in zucchini and continue to cook for 20 more minutes.
4. Stir in the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper if desired.
5. Serve hot over couscous.

Wedding Recap Part 1: The Prologue

It seems fitting to start the recaps today, as six years ago this very day I heaved a giant sigh, rolled my eyes, and reluctantly agreed that Husband could give me the title of his girlfriend… provided that he didn’t actually tell anyone about it.

Of course, with a start like that, a bit of a back story probably helps. So, today, you’re getting the history of Julie & Husband.

We met the day after I moved into college my freshman year (he was a year ahead). Far from love at first sight, I thought he was a pompous jerk (and his opinions of me weren’t much better). However, I found out that he was a biology major and had spent the summer interning at a genetics lab… and already knowing that I may pursue a Ph.D. in research, I thought he could be useful to keep around (yes, I am conniving). We continued to run into each other through mutual activities (science department and music department), and not-yet-Husband even invited me along to a Chanukkah party (just as a friend) at a private university up in the middle of Maryland held by his childhood best friend. Several years later I found out that I was his third choice after two girls he was actually interested in dating were unable to attend, but anxious to escape studying for finals, I decided to go along, and after a night of frying latkes for everyone else in attendance, earned the nickname “Latke Julie” that his friends from high school continue to call me to this day.

Interested in another girl at the time (and I got to hear all about how wonderful and amazing she was), Husband was just interested in pursuing a friendship with me (but I still thought he was a pompous jerk, so I kept my distance). He would leave long-winded messages on my answering machine, complaining about how I never called him back, and upon hearing one of these, a friend who lived down the hall promptly declared that someday, we would wind up married. I laughed and laughed and said I had much better taste in men… Kenny, if you’re out there, I guess after just a few months, you knew me far better than I knew myself.

My sophomore year, we wound up in the same cell biology course. During the week of midterms, my roommate was sick and rater than study for midterms, like any good friend, I had moved into her hospital room and was staying with her and keeping her company as her parents were unable to make the trip out to D.C. While in class, I mentioned that I was not feeling very prepared for the upcoming organic chemistry exam, and Husband (having taken the class the previous year), offered to help me out. The rest, of course, is history. After asking me out a mere nine times, I finally agreed to ONE date (just to get him to leave me alone). One date led to another… and then a month after our first kiss, I finally, reluctantly, agreed to the official title of “girlfriend”.

Four years later, he proposed, and a year and a half after that, we were married. And in case you were wondering, my initial judgment was dead on – I still think Husband is a pompous jerk (and he probably still doesn’t think much better of me!).

first picture of us -- Feb '03

Diary of a Doctor's Wife, Episode 004

This year, toward the end of Thanksgiving dinner hosted by my husband's aunt and uncle, my husband's aunt's (through marriage) niece showed up to visit, along with her six year old daughter. Technically speaking, she is not at all related to my husband, but since she lives with my husband's uncle and is at almost every family gathering, she has become, in essence, a cousin.

The cousin and her mother were unable to attend our wedding, and thus we had not seen them since... quite possibly, last Thanksgiving. She was well aware of the fact that we were married now, from the big deal of her great-aunt and uncle shopping for formal attire and spending the weekend away, but had not processed the fact that Husband was now a doctor.

Upon realization of this, her eyes suddenly lit up. "OH!" she gasped, "He's a doctor! So THAT'S why Julie married him!"

Alas, now I can even get snarky comments from a six-year-old regarding why I married my husband. Also, what, exactly, are they teaching children in kindergarten these days? Back in the good old days, every boy in my class wanted to be a fireman or a policeman. Now, do they all stand up and say "When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, so I can land me allllll the honies!"