Shower Time!

So our little baby shower is tomorrow, and I'm very excited to see all the ladies, especially my sisters in law. I requested the shower traditional way, just women. One thing that does worry me, however, is looking at our registry, people don't seem to have purchased much off the registry... and I worry, that boy indeedy, they're marching their ways to Babies-R-no wonder it's crying like it's the end of the world you dressed it up like a clown, to pick up all kinds of mass-produced crap to shower me with tomorrow, that we really don't want to see in or anywhere near our house. This fear set in full-on last weekend, when Hubby went skeet shooting with a friend of his, and he told Hubby that his wife, who will be attending the shower, was *concerned* that we didn’t have enough baby clothes on the registry, and that we didn’t have enough *stuff* on our Pack and Play (travel crib). Now you have to understand… first of all, we get the Graco Pack and Play and car seat in our house, and I have all sorts of issues about the fact that we’re getting stuff from some big-ass manufacturer (and the fact that they just have too much “stuff” printed all over their boxes in the first place - in drastic comparison, two of our friends got us the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair, it blended right in with our regular furniture, AND the design of their boxes was just simple, clean, so European). As for the clothes… well frankly, we just didn’t want people going to Babies-R-Who the hell is going to wear that out the front door and sending us all the Winnie the Pooh and Disney crap. Hey, if we wouldn’t wear it day in, day out, why would we dress up the little human in that way?

Then, Hubby and I are like, exactly how much *stuff* does one really need to make a baby happy? Last I checked, the basic human needs were universal, independent of age – love, food, shelter. And, of course, clean underwear, but I characterize that under the shelter category. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling me exactly why it is that we need a minivan or SUV in order to really give a baby what it needs, and THEN, I’ll really lose it. I can already see the headlines: “Normally Calm Mom-to-Be Suddenly Goes Postal in Proclaiment of Social Independence”. And boy, then, I’ll really land myself in a fine mess.

My excitement and fear are now running full-on simultaneously for tomorrow's event... we shall have to see how the shower goes. And cookingwise... this week was pretty low key. Did stir-fry Monday night, with lightly sauteed Chinese cabbage, pepper beef (beef marinated in soy, salt, pepper, and stir-fried with red bell peppers). Tuesday night, I did pre-made stuff: got a can of organic Cream of Chicken, mixed together with some slices of chicken tenderloin (seasoned with just salt and pepper) and carrots, and served with bake-and-serve garlic toast (also organic).

Wednesday night, I tried my hand at miniature meat loaf for the first time in my life - and while I got the texture right, there was not enough seasoning, so unfortunately, it came out bland. Two small self-packed packs of ground beef (deck of card size), 1 egg, about half a cup of canned diced tomatoes, about half a cup of fresh bread crumbs from day-old French baguette, Adobo seasoning, thyme, and parsley. The big part I forgot was the salt and pepper... hence the blandness. Making the loaves (I made 2 miniature loaves), I put on some rubber gloves, and made the shapes lightly, much the same way I make my matzo balls. I baked them on a small cookie sheet, so that the grease can freely flow away, and not in a loaf pan (otherwise, the bottom would get really oily from the meat, and no doubt somewhat soggy. I also coupled the meat loaf with scalloped potatoes - sliced red bliss and sweet potatoes, sprinkling of flour on each layer, some salt and pepper on top, and about 1 cup of heated half-and-half poured over the mixture. The meat loaves were about 4" long x 2" wide x 2" tall, and they baked for about half an hour; the scalloped potatoes baked covered for about the same time, with an additional 15 minutes uncovered with a fresh sprinkling of mixed shredded cheese on top with paprika.

Last night - Hubby wasn't feeling terribly well, as he had come down with a bout of food poisoning... so it was just lone eating, though I did make 2 portions of food. I resorted again to pre-made stuff, some of Amy's Organic sliced polenta lightly sauteed, with fresh tomato sauce; with a side of Amy's chicken sausage. Premade again... been feeling lazy this week. I may investigate more our local organic supermarket, to see what seasonal produce and meats they have, for next week's menus.

And as for last weekend, I made a wonderful little snack - used Pillsbury Grand buttermilk biscuit mix, and filled them with some diced turkey (the turkey that my aunt had so wonderfully sent to us), dill, and shredded cheese. Alas, I made 8 of them... but by the end of the day, only 1 was left. Needless to say, between Hubby and me, they were a huge hit, perfect for nibbling as we painted on Sunday, and perfect for the rainy day that it was! I'll have to make them again, and take some photos of them, as they came out quite beautifully. I may, however, next time I make these filled biscuits, use less of the biscuit mix for each of them, as they did come out more bready than we would have liked.

So that's a rough and tumble summary of this week. Wish me luck (and patience) tomorrow!