Sushi House (or raising spoiled Johnson County surburban kids)

I was raised in the country. There were wheat fields behind my house and I ran around barefoot through the woods in the summer, climbing the hay rolls and seeking out giant catfish heads nailed to trees next to ponds. I was stung by every kind of bee. I liked to watch the tadpoles grow.

I have scars from gaping holes made by who-knows-what that I couldn't be bothered to attend to and kept on playing while they healed crooked.

I knew to check for ticks at the end of the day and to pick up big rocks so that the holes they left opened away from me in case a copperhead was nestled underneath.

I climbed trees and scrambled across rooftops; I caught crawdads all day long in the lake and covered myself with mud.

I think we went out to dinner sometimes. It seems to me that we did. But if you had asked me where I wanted to go I would have said McDonald's. And I wouldn't have been able to name much else.

Yesterday my just 5 year old named her favorite restaurants: Sushi House, The Bristol, Cinzetti's, and Korma Sutra. While I am delighted that among these you will find Asian, Italian, Indian and seafood, I have to wonder what it means that my children are growing up this way instead of the way I grew up.

They become exhausted when asked to walk a block, have only our little fenced-in yard to explore and instead of knowing fields, know speed limits and the roads, highways, shopping malls and areas where all their favorite dining establishments are found.

Alas, I am a suburban Foodie and my kids are bound to love gourmet fare, the likes of which their single, working mother is rare to offer at home.

I meant to show you what we were eating last night at Sushi House but I gobbled it all up too quickly!

Suddenly, in the middle of this summer I am missing by spending far too much air-conditioned time, I long to live in the country again, near a lake, where there's nothing to do but wander around outside and see what's living there.

Where Have I Been All Your Life (or last week)

Everyone knows, care of Dooce.com that you can't blog about work.

But I will say that I have been spending most waking hours at work and when that is not the case, for the past week at least, I have been spending my time with a cowboy from Texas.

Having four kids might keep me from ever blogging again! 4 kids seems to leave a person with just enough energy to crawl into bed at night.

But what about people with 5, 6, and more? I like this because when you are a family of 6 or more nothing much exists outside of your family unit. You don't need to go somewhere for entertainment - it's always a party.

I should have snapped pictures of the shabbos dinner I served to the seven of us tonight (dont forget my cousin!) but alas I did not have my phone nearby to take any shots.

I made chicken noodle soup, salad, baked gefilte fish, roasted potatoes,carrots and onions, challah, roast chicken, broccoli caserole and served berries for dessert. Well, somehow we had tons of leftovers!

It's nice to have a houseful on Shabbat!

Blue Stem Happy Hour

I went to Blue Stem for happy hour on Friday and enjoyed a Sarsparilla martini featuring Shatto rootbeer milk and a whole lot of liquor.

We ordered the truffle fries which were normal french fries, a gigantic portion for 4 or 6 people that came with five yummy dipping sauces. My favorite was the truffle mustard.

But the real treat was the waygu steak tartare. It was so freaking delicious I can't explain to you. Yes, I felt like I was eating raw meat, or primo dog food, and I was, and I loved it. This was worth a future trip.

Chicken Pizza

On Tuesday I made pizza from leftover chicken, gorgonzola, munster, sharp cheddar, mozarella, and parmesan cheese.

I wasn't sure how it was going to come out but frankly it was just about the best pizza I ever made.

Roasted Lamb and Risotto

On Monday my sister invited me over for an amazing meal.

I can't believe what a great cook she is!

So yummy!

Somen

Today it was 110 degrees so I came home from work and made somen. It is the perfect summer dish in every way.

You can get somen noodles at Target I think, definitely at World Market and Whole Foods. It cooks very fast and then you put it over ice, throw some veggies, meat and sliced up Japanese omelet in there and you have a delicious dinner that is cool.

The sauce that goes over it, or soup really, is called memmi.

I actually made a video about it! It's been a while since I made one of those, but I like making them so much.

Feasting on Veggies

Note: small children who like pickles will eat green beans.