The Black Bra Theory

 I've had a lot of company in the past month: brunch for college classmates, Book Club, Easter dinner and an overnight stay for a college chum and her daughter.  In the old days, an announcement of "Company is coming!"  would cause my family to start rocking and keening, like mourners brought in for an Irish wake. I don't really blame them - I used to get a little hyper before guests would arrive. Um, in the same way that NASA gets a little focused on the details before a lunar landing. Just a teeny bit over the top....  

 I come by this honestly.  My mother would be so stressed before entertaining, all six children would simultaneously find activities far from home. Once, in an effort to keep the kids from using the hand towels in the guest bathroom before company came, she left a scathing post-it note on them which read, Don't even THINK of using these towels! Unfortunately, she neglected to take the post-it down before company came. We watched, puzzled, as guest came out of the bathroom looking dazed and wiping their hands on their pants. Whoopsie! 

 Part of the problem is that I am, I was, a caterer. So I want the food to be amazing. This has led to unrealistic expectations of what I can actually accomplish, given the restraints of gravity, time travel not being invented yet, the need for sleep.  Years ago when I had 2 kids under the age of 4, I was prepping for lunch my sister in law and her new boyfriend and was lamenting to my friend that I wasn't going to have time to make my own croissants (!), to which she replied, What would a mortal do? She had a point. 

 Ah, the quest for perfection, my long time enemy. I'm not sure when I took on this yoke but we were tight for a long time, and everyone around me paid. Somewhere on the way to 50, I let it go.  I'm thinking that my years of catering showed me that, despite hours of planning and organizing, someone is going to be wearing a black bra. Let me explain: I was catering a party in rural Virginia. When it came time to change into our catering uniforms, one of my wait staff discovered that she was wearing a black bra - not the look I was going for under our white tuxedo blouses.  Since I didn't know the hostess well enough to ask to borrow one of hers, I quickly decided we'd be wearing our catering aprons that day. Hence, the Black Bra theory was born. You can plan, make lists, double check everything, but someone is wearing a black bra and you need to roll with that. 

 So now, while I do wish the front stoop sat a wee bit closer to the house (you don't actually have to jump the gap to the front door but it's close) or that I had recently replaced like, all the carpet in the house, I don't fuss. My focus now is on making sure my guests have a good time. They are more likely to remember the Peeps centerpiece than the perfectly organized pantry. I like the house to be clean and the food to be good and, if I have time, I like to make favors - just a little something to bring home.  But I no longer wish my house were bigger or that I had a new kitchen floor (well, I actually do wish I could replace the floor...). I count my blessings and in being grateful for what I do have, I don't need to focus on what I don't. 

 And what I do have are amazing friends who love to come and eat my food, a nice small house which could always use some tweaking, and a family that no longer lines up for a dose of anti-anxiety meds when I tell them we are having company.  It's not perfect by any means, but it's perfectly wonderful all the same. So please come visit....I love to have you - and I mean that! 

 

De-tox Monday - a recipe

 For those of you reading this in a Peeps-induced coma, fingers swelled up like sausages from the sodium in yesterday's ham, there is hope. Sure, we all went a little wild with the Easter candy. I have learned that jelly beans are a gateway drug: 10 of them are 1 point on WW, but how about 1,000? And like  every well meaning drinker (I'll just have one glass of wine; I have to get up early in the morning), the next thing you know you are in the pantry trying to silently get the foil off a Cadbury egg. Oh, maybe that was just me.....

 So I'm claiming De-Tox Monday and starting off my day with these Banana Oatmeal Muffins. For one thing, it's a great way to use up those bananas you left rotting in the fruit bowl as you reached for yet another Reese's egg. Ditto with the greek yogurt in the refrig and boca burgers in the freezer. Welcome back into my life, healthy foods. I had a brief fling, it meant nothing, and I know you will see me to bathing suit season, just a few short weeks away.....

 These muffins are from a new favorite blog Chocolate Covered Katie, a great source of healthy desserts. We love to make a batch and freeze some. I pack them in my lunch for a healthy snack or for a post work out nosh. I cut the oil in half to make them lower fat and substituted applesauce. You can also add coconut, almonds - whatever strikes your fancy. 

 I always do favors when I entertain - the caterer in me won't go away - so for Easter I made a batch of these muffins in adorable baking cups and wrapped up pretty so we could all start off the week right. 

 And I promise over the next few weeks, you won't hear a Peep out of me about Easter candy....

from Chocolate Covered Katie 

Oatmeal Cupcakes To Go 

(makes 24-25 cupcakes)

Adapted from: Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal.

• 5 cups rolled oats (400g)
• 2 1/2 cups over-ripe mashed banana, measured after mashing (For all substitution notes on this recipe, see nutrition link below.) (600g)
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 NuNaturals stevia packets (or omit and use 5 tbsp liquid sweetener of choice–such as pure maple syrup or agave–instead)
• optional: 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 2/3 cups water (640g) (If using the liquid-sweetener option, scale water back by 1/3 cup.)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp oil (45g) (I really like coconut, but veg oil will also work. For lower-fat substitution notes, see nutrition link below.)
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• optional add-ins: cinnamon, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts, ground flax or wheat germ, raisins or other dried fruit, etc.

Preheat oven to 380 F, and line 24-25 cupcake tins. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine and stir all wet ingredients (including banana). Mix wet into dry, then pour into the cupcake liners and bake 21 minutes. I also like to then broil for 1-2 minutes, but it’s optional. These oatmeal cakes can be eaten right away, or they can be frozen and reheated for an instant breakfast on a busy day.