The belly is making progress. Yay! Even a few people that know me said they could see it. There was definitely a lot more stretching in the belly region this week. Sadly, we didn’t get around to taking pictures this week. For the 20 Weeks post, I’ll be sure to have some.

Things I’ve learned during pregnancy (so far):

• The good
  • I’m more and less self-conscious about my body. Less, because I realize I was doing pretty good pre-pregnancy. More, because the bit of weight I’ve gained with almost no bump just makes me feel fat. Either way, there’s a life growing inside me and that’s pretty amazing!
  • If I don’t feel like working out, that’s ok. My goal is no zeros (some sort of activity every day)  so even if I don’t get to the gym, a short walk or a few squats is good for both the baby and me. And, a bit more shut-eye isn’t so bad either.
  • Pregnancy is a good excuse for just about everything!
  • My original small ‘girls’ are nice, comfortable, and fit easier into clothes.
• The Bad:
  • Not everyone gets the pregnancy glow. Some get dry skin, breakouts, and dull, dry hair. Yeah, that’s me…thanks baby. Maybe it’s still coming?
  • Not everyone can do the hairband trick with their pants. The few pounds I’ve gained went to my hips and thighs so my jeans no longer fit around them even if I don’t button them. I also think my hip joints have already widened because I find it hard to believe 4 pounds can make that much of a difference.
  • Energy levels should increase in the 2nd trimester? I’m still waiting. Okay, it’s not as bad as it was but there are still some days I can’t make if off the couch once I’m home from work. Playing on the internet even takes too much energy.
  • My brain is mush. Pregnancy Brain? A myth or not, my head is in a constant state of fog and trying to clear it up has proven impossible.

Big day tomorrow!!! We find out the sex of the little one. What’s your guess? Boy or girl? Will the baby cooperate? Please cooperate, little one.

Here’s your new chocolate cake recipe. Yeah, it’s that good. It’s a rich, dark chocolate cake with a touch of cinnamon and sea salt and a beautiful, shiny chocolate glaze. It reminds me of a fancy Texas Sheet Cake.

Here’s the bump! Ok, it’s still small,but it’s there! My mom predicts that by Week 20, it will be a real bump. Besides this being my first pregnancy, someone else told me that I’m probably carrying very low which is also why it’s taking longer for the bump to show.

It is absolutely amazing how differently women’s bodies handle pregnancy. Now that I’m experiencing this myself, I find it very interesting to read or talk to other women about how and when their body changed. You have so little control over it, which to me, has been the oddest (and most difficult) sensation.

I have a co-worker that tends to make awkward comments. For instance, he once told my coworker he liked the color of her “under blouse” (aka tank top or camisole).  He also once told me that my purple shirt looks very nice with my hair color. He really means well but the comments just come off so wrong. If he wasn’t such a kind-hearted guy that truly means the nicest thing, it would be completely inappropriate. I was walking down the hall and says “Oh well, it looks like you’re starting to show just a little bit.” I said “Yeah, just a bit.” His response: “Someday, it’s just going to pop out” while motioning like fireworks exploding. Then finishes it up with “Ya know, some women would love to be as svelte as you.” AWKWARD!! He also refers to my pregnancy as “my situation.”

On another note, I’ve got a new invention. Maternity jeans are awesome and so comfortable. Why the heck do we not have regular jeans with these type of waistbands? Just think, there would be a decrease in muffin-tops, the bump from your jeans button wouldn’t stick out from your shirt, and really, we’d all just be a bit more comfortable. Just a thought! Anyone want to go in with me?

Andy says it’s the best steak AND meal he’s ever had. Woohoo!

INGREDIENTS
2 10 oz. NY Strip Steaks, thicker is better
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Compound butter (my recipe below), butter or olive oil

Compound Butter
¼ C unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
6 cloves, roasted garlic
2 tsp chives, finely chopped

Make into log and roll in wax paper. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Brush steak with olive oil.
3. Season steak with plenty of salt and pepper. (Probably a bit more than you think is necessary.)
4. Heat a cast iron or oven proof sauté pan until very hot.
5. Place steak in skillet and sear on one side (about 2 min), flip, then move pan to pre-heated oven.
6. Cook until desired temperature. Depending on thickness, about 5-7 for medium-rare to medium.
7. Remove from oven, top with slice of compound butter and let rest for 3-5 minutes.

NOTES

I’ve also used this method to cook Rib eyes and it would probably work for a few other types of steak you might cook on the grill.

Mushrooms anyone? If you’re a mushroom fan, you’ll love this soup. It’s a hearty mushroom soup with a touch of cream. Perfect for this cold snap we’re having in the DC area.

Even better on the second day. Andy’s dad and brother want to open a restaurant. A restaurant serving second-day soup. Has a nice ring to it, right? While it may not be the best way to entice patrons, they’re so right. Think about it – how much better does soup taste next day?

Same goes for today’s Wild Mushrooms Soup post. It was good the first day, but by the second day, oh my!

Since it’s my week to host Project Pastry Queen, I want the recipe to be the same as the cookbook, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t tweak it a bit.

• First, lesson learned (again) – read the entire recipe before beginning. If I had read through the entire recipe, I would have realized we weren’t going to blend the soup and would have cut the mushrooms into much smaller, bite-sized pieces.
• Second, even if I had cut the mushrooms smaller, I would still like to blend some of the soup. I put half of the soup into another pot and used my emersion blender to make a very thick broth to add back to the yummy chunks of mushrooms.
• Finally, next time I may add garlic along with the onions. Garlic never hurts anything.

Also, don’t miss today’s other fun post!

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in large sauté pan. Add the onion and cook until medium soft and transparent.
2. Add all the mushrooms and cook on medium heat about 10 minutes, until they give up their liquid and the absorb it.
3. Remove the sauté pan from the heat and stir in the flour, 1 Tbls at a time.
4. Return the pan to low heat and gradually pour in the broth, stirring constantly.
5. Add the white pepper, nutmeg, lemon juice, and sherry. Simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
6. Add the cream and stir until the soup is hot.
7. Add the cayenne and season with salt, if needed.
8. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with chives.

NOTES

4 servings.

Recipe from Rebecca Rather’s The Pastry Queen.

For some strange reason, I woke up in the middle of the night with an inkling to take a pregnancy test. There was a line but it was faint. I left it on the counter and went back to bed. Of course, I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. Didn’t all the books and websites say that any line, faint as it might be, is still a positive? Andy also got up in the middle of the night, saw it on the counter, then came back to bed and fell asleep. We must have been REALLY tired. His brother did get married the day before…

Once we both woke up that morning, I said to Andy, “Ummm, we might be pregnant.”
“Yeah, I saw that on the counter but you didn’t say anything so I thought I was reading it wrong.” I told him I didn’t want to get too excited because it was still very early. You see, I’m fairly certain we had a very early miscarriage earlier in the summer. Of course, I’ll never know but it still put a fear in me that this wasn’t going to ‘stick.’ I decided we’ll take another test on Tuesday and if it’s positive, I’ll call the doctor.

Sure enough, two days later it was positive! I called the doctor, got an appointment for the same day. They just drew blood then sent me on my way. Two more days of waiting. I just wouldn’t believe the home test. Yep, they called us back on Friday and congratulated us.

I’m not really feeling too much different body-wise. Just a bit of bloating. Pleasant huh?  The girls hurt but not too bad. It’s kind of like what they’d normally feel like this week.

Emotions? Nervous. I’ve only had little moments of excitement. I’m quite the anxious type, so I am expecting the worst. Andy keeps trying to keep me calm.

Pre-bump at  5 Weeks.

Andy and I are expecting our first baby, due July 17. We’re already 18 weeks but don’t worry, I’ll catch you up on what you’ve missed.

So, what have you missed? The first trimester. Sick, tired, feeling fat and bloated. Sick, tired, etc. Sounds fun, right? Really, I have been documenting each step, so I’ll be adding multiple posts per week to catch you up.

We’ve even taken a few pictures of the non-existent bump. We were sorta waiting for a bump to show before we started the baby blog since that all people really want to see on the blog.

To get you started, visit Week 5; the week we found out we were pregnant!

Need a quick and easy dinner? Clean out the fridge and make a gourmet sandwich!

We had a Greek dinner the other night with lots of left over ingredients. Turns out I had just enough ingredients to make these awesome sandwiches!

You may not have all these ingredients on hand but you don’t need all the components. Just use what you have but don’t forget the good bread. It makes all the difference.

INGREDIENTS
Ciabatta Bread
Feta Hummus Spread (recipe below)
Tzatziki Sauce (or store bought)
Olives
Lettuce
Cooked chicken breast
Tomatoes
Pickled Onions (recipe below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Split and toast the rolls.
2. Spread one half with Feta Hummus spread and the other with Tzatziki sauce.
3. Layer the rolls with olives, lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, and pickled onions.

Feta Hummus Spread

1. In food processor (mini if you have one), add 1 C garbanzo beans, ½ C feta cheese, 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, ½ tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp olive oil.
2. Blend until smooth. Add 1 tsp water at a time to desired consistency.

Pickled Onions

1. Thinly slice ½ red onion. Mix with 1 Tbsp vinegar (apple cider is best) and a pinch of salt.
2. Let onions pickle for 30 min before using.

A light, refreshing summer treat in the dead of winter. Sure, why not?

This recipe started as Petite Pavlovas with Lemon Cream and Fresh Fruit. Huh?

I’ve tried making meringues a few times. My oven just doesn’t like them. I can’t keep the heat below 350 so they always brown before they thoroughly cook. I tried them again today with the same result. Ugh…so frustrating.

Anyway, I had this really great fruit (like, better than I can find in the summer) and wanted to use it before I go out of town tomorrow.

Here’s what I came up with and it’s incredibly easy.

Check out what everyone else did this week at Project Pasty Queen.  For the pavlova recipe, visit Emily at A Gilt Nutmeg.

INGREDIENTS

5 C mixed berries
6 Tbls powdered sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 C heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and dry berries.
2. Chop lemon zest.
3. Whip heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and 3 Tbls powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Fold in lemon zest.
4. Stir remaining lemon juice and 3 Tbls powdered sugar until dissolved.
5. Gently toss berries with lemon and powdered sugar mixture.
6. Divide berries into 5 bowls. Top berries with whipped cream or vice versa (or both)!

NOTES

5 servings

I debated participating in this week’s Project Pastry Queen. I don’t like coffee and the thought of Crème Brulee always seemed daunting, but I had some leftover whipping cream and knew I could leave out the espresso. I also had some leftover lemon curd and thought that would be a tasty addition.

Am I glad I did! It was so easy and barely made a mess in my kitchen. Not to mention, it was deee-li-cious!

I still don’t own those little torches. Do you? I want one so badly but have never been able to justify the cost. They’re probably only $30 but for the one or two times a year I need it, the broiler works just fine. However, after making these, the torch would totally be worth it! The broiler definitely works to carmelize the sugar on top, but it did warm up the custard a bit more than I would have liked.

Give it a try. I bet you didn’t know it was this easy to make.

Check out Sarah from 20 Something Cupcakes. She mad an awesome how-to video and has the full, original recipe on her blog.

INGREDIENTS

1/8 C whole milk
1 3/8 C heavy whipping cream
½ vanilla bean
4 large egg yolks
1/3 C plus ¼ C sugar
½ C lemon curd

DIRECTIONS        

1. Preheat the oven to 300.
2. Lightly coat ramekins with cooking spray. Distribute lemon curd evenly among ramekins.
3. To make the custard, pour the milk and cream into a saucepan over medium-high heat.
4. While the cream mixture is heating, use a sharp paring knife to slice the vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise. Separate the beans from the pod by scraping the inside of the pot with the edge of the knife.
5. Add the bean and pod to the heating cream mixture.
6. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
7. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the 1/3 C sugar until well combined.
8. Continue to whisk while slowly pouring the hot cream into the egg mixture.
9. Blend thoroughly.
10. Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove the vanilla bean pod and any bits of overcooked egg.
11. Place the prepared ramekins in a baking pan with sides that are at least 2” high.
12. Pour the custard into the ramekins.
13. Place pan in oven. While oven door is still open, pour enough hot water into baking pan to reach ¾ of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Close oven door.
14. Bake the custards for 1 hour. Check periodically to make sure the custards are not browning or bubbling. (Mine took only 45 min.)
15. Remove ramekins from baking pan and cool for 30-45 min.
16. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. (They can be prepared up to 3 days ahead.)
17. Just before serving, use the ¼ C sugar to top each custard with a thin layer of sugar.
18. If you have one, use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. If not, preheat the broiler. Place the ramekins 4” from the flame and broil, watching carefully, until the sugar is caramelized and lightly browned.
19. Serve immediately.

NOTES

4 4-oz ramekins

Adapted from The Pastry Queen’s Espresso Crème Brulee.