Newlyweds Dish
There really is no one on earth like your mom! And from all of us here at Newlyweds-Dish want to wish our moms and all you moms and moms-to-be out there a very happy Mother’s Day. Thanks for all you do and the role you play in empowering us as women, wives and mothers!
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Lately I’ve been completely out of kitchen inspiration and seriously strapped for time. While browsing the grocery store the other day, I was floating in some kind of food doldrums, which could be dangerous. The last time I floated the grocery store doldrums without a list I ended up with a bag of croutons the size of a newborn.
I was thinking croutons couldn’t possibly go bad and I wouldn’t have to buy croutons again for like 3 years. And look at all the money I’d be saving during those “crouton emergency moments”. I’m still trying to find a container big enough to store them.
Anyway, I left the grocery store with the staples, and to my husband’s relief no super sized bulk items this time around. Still floating in the doldrums, I floated past the fast food joints on the way home and made myself a healthy sandwich when I get home and unpacked my groceries – the exciting life I lead.
Around 2 p.m., my dad gave me a call and said that this woman had stopped by his farm stand business and was headed to the dump to throw away a few cookbooks. He mentioned to her that I liked to cook and that maybe I could use them instead of tossing them into the landfill. So she left these “few” cookbooks with him.
I guess inspiration can fall from the sky…or someone’s trunk. I went to inspiration lost, to inspiration overload in about 3 hours. Thank you, Mystery Lady. When my dad said “a few cookbooks” I thought maybe like 5-6 not close to 40 mostly brand new collections from Cooking Light and Southern Living magazines and even one from the California Prune Board with about 50 recipes for prunes.
Apparently you can make prune brownies, which my husband would probably consider “a waste of good ingredients.” So no prune brownies in our future.
Since Jan. 1, I’ve been attempting to eat healthier along with a couple friends. Now with any lifestyle change, there are daily ups and downs. I’ve been operating under the rule that if I really crave sweets, I have to make them at home. No buying allowed. This is also why I’ve probably only lost a few pounds but it’s hard to separate a woman and her decades long love of sweets. Somedays I feel like Charlton Heston, “from my cold dead hands” except with sugar not guns.
Flipping through my new collection, I found this Peanut Butter Brownie recipe in the Cooking Light cookbook from 2001. These are super fast and easy and light. After I tasted them I really couldn’t believe they were light. The only problem my husband had with this recipe was unlike my 4 pounds of croutons, there weren’t nearly enough of these decadent goodies.
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Brownies
From Cooking Light Cookbook 2001
(Photo by Jen O’Brien)
Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with knife. Combine flour, chocolate chips, soda and salt in a bowl.
Combine sugars and remaining 5 ingredients in a bowl and stir until well blended. Add flour mixture and combine until blended. Spread batter in pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 16 brownies with 125 calories each.
(You can also freeze these, if they actually hang around your house.)
I moved to the U.S. as a high school student so I thought moving to another state after marriage would be a piece of cake. But boy was I wrong. I got married last September and moved 515 miles away from my family and friends. Initially it didn’t bother me much because I was so busy with wedding festivities. But soon after my husband returned to work I realized just how hard it was going to be. I am extremely close to my family and was used to seeing my friends at least once a week, but after moving to a new place, I knew no one.
Everything was new to me, and while in the past moving had been fun and exciting, this time it was intimidating and stressful. As if adjusting to a new family and a new relationship wasn’t hard enough, I had to find my place in a new town. I moved from the east coast where the job market isn’t so bad to the land of Ford and Chrysler where the job market is bleak.
As soon as I settled into our new condo, I started doing some research for things I wanted to explore and opportunities for me to expand my horizons without spending too much money. While I looked for a job I wanted to keep myself busy during the day and also enjoy the free time I had with my husband.
It was exciting to explore the hidden gems in my new town, which included visiting museums, farmers markets, and scoping out restaurants for my husband and me to enjoy. One of the things I truly love is photography and recently I signed up for a class with a nearby college. I also found it helpful to attend community gatherings and volunteer for things that interested me. Also, community gatherings are a good way to meet like-minded people.
Find out what is unique in your town and try new things. For example, Michigan has one of the most beautiful parks in the nation, which really encouraged me to explore the outdoors more frequently. Your local library is another great source to find out what is happening in your community.
My husband and his family are very active in their local community, which helped me meet a lot of very interesting people. One of the things I’ve learned in the past couple of months is that you cannot expect anyone to go out of their way to make you feel at home; you are the one that will make your new surroundings feel like home.
For now, this is my home. And even though I don’t see myself raising kids in this town the people I’ve met and the time I’ve spent here so far are precious to me. The key to transitioning from the home you know to a new home is to be patient and have an open mind. You can buy a house, but it takes time and effort to make it your home.
I was contacted by a bridal Web site asking questions about bridal hijab after they read this post on my personal blog. Enjoy!
Did you have difficulty trying to work hijab into your wedding garb? Was it hot or uncomfortable, difficult to match colors to fabric, or hard to accessorize?
Not really. I needed to have sleeves put on my outfit so my mom matched a reel of thread to my clothes, mailed it to my super stylish aunt and uncle in London, and they mailed us back a beautiful fabric.
My husband wanted our second reception in the backyard of his childhood home so his parents worked really hard to make that happen since there are A TON of factors to consider when throwing an outdoor shindig! We got married in July so it was hot, but we were surrounded by our family and friends so our focus wasn’t on the weather, but on everyone celebrating with us.
What advice do you have for women that wear hijab who want to be stylish and beautiful?
A lot of people ask this question. I know it’s not intended this way, but a question like this has a way of insinuating that because a woman wears hijab she can’t be stylish nor can she be beautiful, which is totally untrue!
My advice for all woman is the same – don’t settle. If you’re a vegan, don’t serve a ham hock at your wedding because you want other people to be happy. No one is going to bleed to death if they don’t eat steak at your reception, nor is anyone going to need to be resuscitated if you don’t reveal a sizeable amount of hair bedazzled with Indian bridal jewelry on your wedding day.
As an American, did you feel any pressure (or have any desire) to have the big, white wedding dress? Alternately, did you feel pressure from friends or family more steeped in other cultures to participate in their idea of what a wedding should be like?
My parents were really supportive of everything I wanted so basically they were my shield against any aggressive wedding idea infiltrators.
Regarding the dress, traditionally Indian brides wear red, but I always knew I wasn’t going to. There was a brief moment where I thought about wearing white, but when we started planning I decided to design my own dress and decided against white. My mom and I went shopping for fabric samples and met with a bridal gown seamstress that came recommended through a friend. Even my dad was helping me with sketches and ideas!
At the time, my grandmother had fallen quite ill with age, was almost blind and had moved out of her home. But before her house was sold my aunts went through all of her belongings and with my grandmother’s permission gifted much of her stuff to designated grandchildren. One of the items I was given was a sari that my grandfather’s family gave to my grandmother when she got married. The moment my dad showed it to me I knew that’s what I was going to wear at my wedding.
When I told my grandmother I was going to wear that sari at my wedding she sat quietly for a while, presumably taking it all in, trying to envision what I would look like in the sari she once wore in her youth. Then she gave me a smile of pride and approval and I felt comforted even while knowing she would never be able to see me get married in it.
It’s the million dollar question that women all over the world want an answer to: How do you get your body back post baby? Melissa, Lexia and Nicole share their thoughts, tips and tricks on how to reclaim your body after carrying and delivering a baby…uh…and placenta!
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