The free pasta dinner contest is now closed, and the winners (by random computer number-picking script) have been contacted. They are:
#2: Lisa
#8: Teri
#29: Carrie
Congratulations, winners! If you haven't received an email from me, please check your spam folder. (Except for Teri - I had to contact you via DeltaPOST because I couldn't find an email address for you.)
Congratulations to the winners, and enjoy your free dinner! Be sure to come back & post a comment letting us all know how you liked it. :)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Best birthday present ever!
I had a feeling it was going to happen on my birthday, to be totally honest. I was about 90% sure that he had the ring already. The kids were making oblique references to my birthday, when normally they wouldn't even notice it was coming up (although to give them props, they really didn't breathe a WORD about the proposal). And Mr Wonderful had hinted that he wanted me all to himself on my birthday - he even took the day off of work! - so I switched nights with Babydaddy. It's not like this proposal was coming as a complete surprise anyway; we decided before he moved in last October that we were planning on getting married, and we wanted to get engaged this year.
So on my birthday, I woke up thinking: "This is the day!" Mr. Wonderful took Rugrat to school for me, which meant I could sleep in a bit. All morning I was trying to work and not be too distracted. I had lunch planned with my coworkers in WC, which meant I'd be gone for about 3 hours or so.
When I got home, Mr. Wonderful was relaxing on the couch, watching TV. There was a lovely white bouquet on the table that wasn't there when I left for lunch, so I said, "What's this?" and pulled out the envelope that was stuck in the bouquet. He said, "Oh, are we doing this now?" I kind of smiled and said, "Should we wait?" He replied, 'No, now's fine..." and he paused the TV and came over by me and put his hand in his pocket. I thought, "Oh my God, this is it!" So I opened the envelope, and inside was a little note. I sort of blanked for a second. It was just two words: "Double woobie." Now, Mr. Wonderful and I each have a down pillow that we sleep with, all curled up around it as if it was a stuffed animal. We call these our "woobies" because they're not used as pillows really - they're more like security blankets. Anyway...it was a clue! So I went upstairs to the bedroom, with Mr. Wonderful trailing me the whole way.
In the bedroom was a clue that led me to the fireplace...then another clue that led to the clothes dryer, then finally a clue that led to the oven.
Inside the oven was a letter rolled up and tied like a scroll, and big wrapped present behind it. He grabbed the scroll and said, "Open the present first, then you can read this." So I pulled out the box and thought, "Damn, that's WAY too heavy to be a ring!" Turns out it was an All Clad saucepan that I'd been drooling over for a while! I was both thrilled and disappointed - thrilled at the saucepan, because I really, really wanted it, and disappointed that he wasn't going to propose. But then he told me to read the letter, which was folded up at the very bottom, so you could read most of it but there was some that was hidden. And when I started reading, I knew that the proposal WAS going to happen, RIGHT THEN!
And so, of course, the phone rang.
First my cell phone, and then the house phone. Mr. Wonderful said, "Don't..." but I'd already decided to ignore the phone; this was way more important at the moment! Turns out it was my boss, who was in a meeting with a client and had come across an error on the website we're developing for them. *sigh*
Anyway, so I stood there, kind of shaking a little and trying to read the scroll , which was a beautiful letter about how as we grow older, our birthdays become more mundane, and the presents more practical, and we lose that sense of magical anticipation. But, it said, he wanted to start a new tradition, so every year on my birthday, he would ask me one question:
(and then I unfolded the bottom of the letter, which showed what was hidden...)
"Will you marry me?"
And I started crying a little bit, and then HE started getting all misty-eyed, and I said, "Yes! Yes!" and he asked me if I wanted to see the ring, so I said, "YEAH I want to see it!" and started laughing a little. And then he said the words I'd been waiting to hear: "Will you marry me?" and of course I said "Yes" again.
And the ring? The ring is beautiful and perfect and I couldn't be happier with it. It's a radiant-cut (rectangular but sparkly, not like an emerald-cut) diamond in a very delicate beautiful white-gold setting, with a filigree underneath the semi-cathedral setting and milgrain detail on the band. And of course pictures do not ever do it justice, but if you click on this one, you'll see the other two photos I've taken of it. :)
Is it kind of redundant to say that I'm blissfully happy and thrilled to be marrying this wonderful, amazing man? I cannot believe how lucky I am, to have found him again after so long, and to find out that this incredible man, who's been in my life since high school, has turned out to be the love of my life.
Free Dinner!
I am proud to be able to host my first blog contest: a free dinner giveaway! I have three gift certificates for a Tuscani Pasta dinner from Pizza Hut. The kids & I had the Chicken Alfredo version on Friday, and let me tell you, this is quite a bit of food. It's three pounds of pasta, plenty for four adults (the kids and I only ate about half the pan), plus five warm, soft breadsticks.
If you'd like a free pasta dinner, all you have to do is add a comment to this blog post. I'll pull three names at random tomorrow night (Tuesday) and contact the winners to arrange delivery of your gift certificate. Good luck!
If you'd like a free pasta dinner, all you have to do is add a comment to this blog post. I'll pull three names at random tomorrow night (Tuesday) and contact the winners to arrange delivery of your gift certificate. Good luck!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
I've been promising to make stuffed peppers for Mr Wonderful ever since he got transferred to the local hospital, in celebration of his massively reduced commute. But the thing is, I hate stuffed peppers. It's basically meatloaf in a green bell pepper. Ick. But the other day I saw a 30 Minute Meals episode where RR makes a poblano pepper stuffed with corn & topped with cheese, and I thought it sounded perfect. Mr Wonderful & I love Mexican food. I decided to change it up a little, though. I had leftover chipotle peppers in adobo and some enchilada sauce (after making Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada Casserole for a friend who just had a baby), and this is what I came up with. It may not be the most photogenic meal I've made, but it is one of the tastiest!
Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
2 pasilla peppers (the store didn't have poblanos, but they would work just fine if you can find them)
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 c frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatos, drained well
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
2 chipotle peppers in adobo (from a can), minced
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 c shredded cheese (I used bagged Mexican mix, but you can use jack or cheddar or whatever floats your boat)
1 c enchilada sauce
salt & pepper
Preheat the broiler. Wash the peppers and put them (intact) on a baking sheet & pop them under the broiler. Broil for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice to ensure even charring. You want them blistered and blackened just a little bit, but not completely deflated and turned to mush. (Leave the broiler on after taking out the peppers. You'll need it later.)
In a saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and corn. Season with salt & pepper, and allow to brown up just a little. Then add the black beans, tomatoes and cumin. When everything is warmed through, turn off the heat and add the fresh cilantro.
By this time your peppers should have cooled enough to handle. Make a slit from stem to tip (not cutting all the way in half, just slicing the pepper open), and remove the stem and seeds. You should have a kind of floppy pepper "cup". Fill the cup with the corn mixture - really load it in there. Top each pepper with about 3/4 cup cheese. Pop it under the broiler, keeping the door cracked open just a bit so you can keep a close eye on it. Don't let the cheese burn! You just want it to melt and get golden brown.
Heat the enchilada sauce in a pan or in the microwave. When the peppers are finished, plate them up and spoon about 1/2 cup of the warmed enchilada sauce over each one.
Stuffed Pasilla Peppers
2 pasilla peppers (the store didn't have poblanos, but they would work just fine if you can find them)
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 c frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatos, drained well
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
2 chipotle peppers in adobo (from a can), minced
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 c shredded cheese (I used bagged Mexican mix, but you can use jack or cheddar or whatever floats your boat)
1 c enchilada sauce
salt & pepper
Preheat the broiler. Wash the peppers and put them (intact) on a baking sheet & pop them under the broiler. Broil for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice to ensure even charring. You want them blistered and blackened just a little bit, but not completely deflated and turned to mush. (Leave the broiler on after taking out the peppers. You'll need it later.)
In a saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and corn. Season with salt & pepper, and allow to brown up just a little. Then add the black beans, tomatoes and cumin. When everything is warmed through, turn off the heat and add the fresh cilantro.
By this time your peppers should have cooled enough to handle. Make a slit from stem to tip (not cutting all the way in half, just slicing the pepper open), and remove the stem and seeds. You should have a kind of floppy pepper "cup". Fill the cup with the corn mixture - really load it in there. Top each pepper with about 3/4 cup cheese. Pop it under the broiler, keeping the door cracked open just a bit so you can keep a close eye on it. Don't let the cheese burn! You just want it to melt and get golden brown.
Heat the enchilada sauce in a pan or in the microwave. When the peppers are finished, plate them up and spoon about 1/2 cup of the warmed enchilada sauce over each one.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Smoky-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup
Smoky-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup
1 Tbsp EVOO
3-4 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored and diced
About 1 dozen fresh sage leaves
1 jar butternut squash puree (I get those big jars from Williams-Sonoma), or one large butternut squash, roasted & pureed (if you're not lazy like me)
2-4 cups chicken stock (one big box = 4 cups)
2 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels. Add the onions to the pot and saute in the olive oil and bacon grease for a few minutes, until translucent but not browned. Add the diced apple and saute for another couple of minutes. Chop up about half a dozen sage leaves and add them to the apples and onions, and season everything with salt & pepper. (Reserve another half dozen large, beautiful sage leaves for garnish.) When the apples are nice and soft, add the butternut squash puree and about two cups of chicken stock and raise the temperature to medium-high. When the soup starts to bubble a bit, lower the temperature back down to medium and break out your immersion blender and blend it up until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more stock (final amount will depend on how much butternut squash puree you have and how thick you like your soup). When everything is heated back up again, taste the soup, and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
To garnish, melt two tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter is completely melted and done foaming, add the reserved whole sage leaves, making sure to keep them separated. Remove the sage leaves after about 30 seconds, and drain on a paper towel. The leaves should be crispy. Chop the cooked bacon and the fried sage leaves and top your bowl of soup with a little of each. Delicious!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Meltdown
WTF is going on with the country this week? Did somebody slip LSD into the coffee at the Capitol?
I am referring, of course, to the Wall Street bail-out, also known as: "OMFG, we gotta give $700B to the Treasury Secretary RIGHT NOW! And never, ever ask him what he does with it." What the hell? Has our president finally gone completely insane?
Look folks, first of all: why the hurry? What's going to happen on Monday that is so freaking dire that you have to clean up the financial devastation this week? What will happen if the deal doesn't get signed by Friday afternoon? Will Wall Street implode on Monday morning? Will all the banks refuse to open their doors? Is Manhattan going to fall into the East River? Seriously, WTF?
And who in their right mind (Paulson, I'm looking at you) would ever think that Congress would agree to hand over $700 BILLION without any accountability at all. No oversight and no investigation into his methods, now or in the future, by any court or group or committe or organization whatsoever. Really? So Paulson could actually just take the $700B and run off to the Bahamas and we'd have no recourse? It would actually be perfectly legal, under the terms of that original plan.
And now we have McCain wanting to postpone the first Presidential Debate. Ah yes, of course he had to finagle something out of this. What does he get? Well, his idea is to cancel Friday's debate, and have it next week, instead of the Vice Presidential debate. Will the Vice Presidential debate be rescheduled as well? Ah...no. He wants to cancel that one permanently.
A couple of things come to mind:
This woman just scares the living daylights out of me. She's no more intelligent than Shrub is (and we are all seeing how well THAT's worked out for the past eight years, especially now). Do we really want this imbecile to be a 72-yr-old heartbeat away from being president of our country? God, people, wake up! How can you choose your president based on how much you want to hang out & drink beer with them (or their running mate)? I don't know about you, but I want a president that is really freaking smart. So smart it's scary. Someone who, if I was in their presence, I would feel completely inadequate. I want someone in the Oval Office that I can trust to make well-reasoned, logical decisions based on intellect, facts, and excellent foresight and judgment. Someone who doesn't just react to a crisis, but actually takes steps to avert crisis in the first place by having a PLAN for direction the country needs to go in.
Please, people. THINK. And register to vote, if you haven't done so already.
I am referring, of course, to the Wall Street bail-out, also known as: "OMFG, we gotta give $700B to the Treasury Secretary RIGHT NOW! And never, ever ask him what he does with it." What the hell? Has our president finally gone completely insane?
Look folks, first of all: why the hurry? What's going to happen on Monday that is so freaking dire that you have to clean up the financial devastation this week? What will happen if the deal doesn't get signed by Friday afternoon? Will Wall Street implode on Monday morning? Will all the banks refuse to open their doors? Is Manhattan going to fall into the East River? Seriously, WTF?
And who in their right mind (Paulson, I'm looking at you) would ever think that Congress would agree to hand over $700 BILLION without any accountability at all. No oversight and no investigation into his methods, now or in the future, by any court or group or committe or organization whatsoever. Really? So Paulson could actually just take the $700B and run off to the Bahamas and we'd have no recourse? It would actually be perfectly legal, under the terms of that original plan.
And now we have McCain wanting to postpone the first Presidential Debate. Ah yes, of course he had to finagle something out of this. What does he get? Well, his idea is to cancel Friday's debate, and have it next week, instead of the Vice Presidential debate. Will the Vice Presidential debate be rescheduled as well? Ah...no. He wants to cancel that one permanently.
A couple of things come to mind:
- OMGWTFBBQ
- McCain wants more time to prepare for his debate against Obama
- McCain really really doesn't want Palin to speak any more than is absolutely necessary and most certainly doesn't want her matched up against Biden, who is articulate and intelligent.
This woman just scares the living daylights out of me. She's no more intelligent than Shrub is (and we are all seeing how well THAT's worked out for the past eight years, especially now). Do we really want this imbecile to be a 72-yr-old heartbeat away from being president of our country? God, people, wake up! How can you choose your president based on how much you want to hang out & drink beer with them (or their running mate)? I don't know about you, but I want a president that is really freaking smart. So smart it's scary. Someone who, if I was in their presence, I would feel completely inadequate. I want someone in the Oval Office that I can trust to make well-reasoned, logical decisions based on intellect, facts, and excellent foresight and judgment. Someone who doesn't just react to a crisis, but actually takes steps to avert crisis in the first place by having a PLAN for direction the country needs to go in.
Please, people. THINK. And register to vote, if you haven't done so already.
Friday, September 19, 2008
South Beach update
So I'm nearly three weeks into the South Beach diet and man, week two was a killer. I got progressively more pissed off as the second week went on (PMS doesn't help, y'all) and finally I just made an executive decision to end Phase 1 early. My weight loss had stalled and I was getting extremely frustrated with the lack of starchy foods. So I started small, with whole wheat english muffins, and it really saved things for me. I was ready to dump the diet altogether, I was just getting so angry. But now things have lightened up - we're eating whole grain breads (and whole wheat pasta once...more on that in a sec) and fruit now, and I've lost a total of nine pounds in nineteen days. Yay, me! Only nine more to go...well, fourteen if I really want to push it, but I'd be happy with just nine.
Anyway, the whole wheat pasta: eww. It was okay, I guess, but it was grainy and just not fabulous. I can't remember what brand it was but it was something I hadn't tried before. I'll stick with the Barilla "Plus" brand - that one's whole grain and they still managed to get the pasta smooth and tasty. So do yourself a favor, if you're looking at the whole wheat pasta option, stick with the Barilla brand. And no, they didn't pay me to say that.
I'm happy that the weather's turned cooler (although looking at the forecast, it seems like it may have been a fluke). I love cooking soup, and you just don't feel like eating soup when it's 90 degrees outside, yanno? So far I've made Black Bean Soup, Tom Yum (Thai shrimp soup), Roasted Tomato Soup and Smoky-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup. I'll get a recipe up for that last one in a few days; I just made it tonight and let me give you a little hint: Bacon. Apples. Sage. Yum! So far I'd have to say my favorite was the Roasted Tomato soup though; we got a bunch of tomatoes in our CSA box yesterday morning, and still had some vine-ripened ones too, so it was the perfect dinner last night. With a couple of pork chops topped with a little Dijon mustard pan sauce, it was just a little bit of heaven.
As you can see, I'm definitely not eating the carbs at every meal. I'm trying to eat my starchy foods early in the day and then have a dinner without any bread or pasta. It keeps me full in the evening and I'm not snacking as much in front of the TV. Knitting helps with that too...you should see the progress I'm making on projects these days! I designed a baby sweater for a friend's baby shower and knitted it up in less than a week, and I've got all but one sleeve done now on my cushy green Mmmmmmalabrigo v-neck sweater. I've got lots of projects to get moving on though, starting with Dad's socks (about 2/3 of a sock to go!) and Sister's sweater (a gift that I'm hoping will be nursing-friendly, since she's due in early December).
And finally, in apparently unrelated (but not really) news, I've found quite a few old friends on Facebook. I was even contacted by an old high school boyfriend (one that I certainly never thought I'd speak to again...he went a little wackadoo there for a while). And this old HS boyfriend? Just had a quadruple bypass 2 weeks ago! OMFG!! How does a guy in his mid-thirties gets QUADRUPLE fucking BYPASS surgery??? That is some scary shit right there. Makes me even more thankful that I'm doing something good for my body now - losing weight, eating healthier, exercising a bit.
Anyway, the whole wheat pasta: eww. It was okay, I guess, but it was grainy and just not fabulous. I can't remember what brand it was but it was something I hadn't tried before. I'll stick with the Barilla "Plus" brand - that one's whole grain and they still managed to get the pasta smooth and tasty. So do yourself a favor, if you're looking at the whole wheat pasta option, stick with the Barilla brand. And no, they didn't pay me to say that.
I'm happy that the weather's turned cooler (although looking at the forecast, it seems like it may have been a fluke). I love cooking soup, and you just don't feel like eating soup when it's 90 degrees outside, yanno? So far I've made Black Bean Soup, Tom Yum (Thai shrimp soup), Roasted Tomato Soup and Smoky-Sweet Butternut Squash Soup. I'll get a recipe up for that last one in a few days; I just made it tonight and let me give you a little hint: Bacon. Apples. Sage. Yum! So far I'd have to say my favorite was the Roasted Tomato soup though; we got a bunch of tomatoes in our CSA box yesterday morning, and still had some vine-ripened ones too, so it was the perfect dinner last night. With a couple of pork chops topped with a little Dijon mustard pan sauce, it was just a little bit of heaven.
As you can see, I'm definitely not eating the carbs at every meal. I'm trying to eat my starchy foods early in the day and then have a dinner without any bread or pasta. It keeps me full in the evening and I'm not snacking as much in front of the TV. Knitting helps with that too...you should see the progress I'm making on projects these days! I designed a baby sweater for a friend's baby shower and knitted it up in less than a week, and I've got all but one sleeve done now on my cushy green Mmmmmmalabrigo v-neck sweater. I've got lots of projects to get moving on though, starting with Dad's socks (about 2/3 of a sock to go!) and Sister's sweater (a gift that I'm hoping will be nursing-friendly, since she's due in early December).
And finally, in apparently unrelated (but not really) news, I've found quite a few old friends on Facebook. I was even contacted by an old high school boyfriend (one that I certainly never thought I'd speak to again...he went a little wackadoo there for a while). And this old HS boyfriend? Just had a quadruple bypass 2 weeks ago! OMFG!! How does a guy in his mid-thirties gets QUADRUPLE fucking BYPASS surgery??? That is some scary shit right there. Makes me even more thankful that I'm doing something good for my body now - losing weight, eating healthier, exercising a bit.
Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel
Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 boneless pork rib chops
1 small onion, cut in half and then sliced radially to make thin wedges
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
juice and zest from one orange
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the pork chops with salt & pepper, and when the oil is hot, add them to the pan, and then don't move them for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, flip the chops over and brown the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove the chops to a plate and cover with foil.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, and then throw in the onions and fennel. Let them cook for about 5-6 minutes, until they get soft and begin to caramelize. Add in cider vinegar and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add in the chicken stock, orange juice and orange zest. Let the veggies cook for another minute or two, then add in the nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Add the pork chops back into the pan and cook until the interior temperature of the chops reaches 145.
I served these garnished with supremed orange wedges. I'd show you a picture of it all plated up beautifully, but I had to pack it up into tupperware and take it over to the hospital because Mr Wonderful was working the swing shift. He started working at the local hospital a few weeks ago, and I've taken dinner to him a couple of times now. It's nice to share dinner together, even if it is in the less-than-romantic atmosphere of the laboratory break room.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tom Yum Soup
South Beach Tom Yum Soup
5-6 c chicken stock
1 stalk lemongrass
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
2-3 small cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c sliced mushrooms (I used cremini)
1 red bell pepper, sliced (slices cut in half so they're not too long)
1/4 c thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts divided
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp Sriracha
2 cans light coconut milk
1 lb cleaned, shelled shrimp
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
First, prepare the lemongrass: remove the tough outer leaves, trim off the root end, and then thinly slice just the ivory-colored part. Take the thin slices and either pulse them in a blender or food processor, or do what I did, and have your Rugrat mash them well in a molcajete. The lemongrass should end up looking like little bitty threads.
When the lemongrass is prepared, put the chicken stock into a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. I used about a box and a half of chicken stock (about 6 cups). To the chicken stock, add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, and the white parts of the green onions. Add the fish sauce and Sriracha, and then let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes, until the veggies are tender and the flavors have had a good chance to combine. Add in one can of coconut milk and taste the soup. Mine was very strong at this point, so I added another can of coconut milk to mellow out the flavor a little bit. If you need a bit more salt, add another shake or two of fish sauce. Bring the soup back up to a simmer and add in the shrimp. Let the shrimp cook about 2-3 minutes (if your shrimp are on the small side; 4-5 minutes if you've got bigger ones), until they're opaque, pink, and curled up. Take the soup off the heat, stir in the green parts of the green onions and the chopped cilantro, and serve.
Note: You could add some fresh shredded basil to this and it would be wonderful; I just didn't happen to have any and it wasn't looking all that hot in the grocery store.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Black Bean Soup
Black Bean Soup
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced (or one small diced onion)
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 wax peppers, chopped (I had these in my CSA box last week)
1 serrano pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained
1 large tomato, chopped
2 c chicken stock
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp Sriracha
salt & pepper
Heat the olive oil in a fairly large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the celery, onions, bell peppers and wax peppers. Season with salt & pepper. Saute until the veggies begin to soften, maybe 4-5 minutes. Add in the serrano pepper, garlic, and the white parts of the green onion, and saute for another minute or two. Add in the black beans, tomato, chicken stock, cumin and Sriracha, and stir well to combine. Let the soup come up to a simmer and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Then, using an immersion blender, blend up the soup until it's only a little bit chunky (you can transfer about half of the soup to a blender and puree, then return the blended soup to the pot, if you don't have an immersion blender).
Serve hot with low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, some plain low-fat yogurt, and the reserved sliced green parts of the green onion.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Slow Food Nation
In my big recap last week I forgot to mention my trip to San Francisco for the Slow Food Nation expo! Read all about it and check out my sad iPhone camera skilz here.
I gotta say, the South Beach thing isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We're on day eight now, and while I definitely have moments where I'm craving carbs in a big way, for the most part, it's not a big deal. You don't ever have to be hungry on this diet; you can eat pretty much all you want, as long as it's on the "approved" list. I have eggs just about every morning for breakfast and it keeps me full for several hours.
One thing I was really worried about was beverages. Missing out on my Dr Pepper is tough, but it's not as bad as I thought because of two glorious products on your local grocery store's shelves. First: Crystal Light. I hadn't tried it in several years, and vaguely remembered a very saccharine-tasting faux-fruity Koolaid substitute. But it's really improved a lot; I've found four flavors that I really enjoy - Sunrise Orange, Cherry-Pomegranate, "Hydration" Mixed Berry, and the White Tea-Blueberry. And at only 10 calories each, that cuts a lot of calories out of my daily intake. Don't get me wrong, I don't drink these all day long. I drink a lot of water, too, and I have a cup of green tea in the mornings when I get up (no sugar, no milk). But the Crystal Light really helps when I'm craving a glass of juice or just something sweet to drink.
The other thing that's helped a lot is Coke Zero. I HATE HATE HATE Diet Coke. I know it's got its devotees, but I cannot stand the aftertaste and how it tastes all sickly-sweet. Coke Zero is made with a different sugar substitute, though, and if you drink it ice cold, it has NO aftertaste (somehow it gets a bit weird when it warms up a little). Love this stuff. And it works quite well for the daily afternoon caffeine boost. It's no Dr Pepper, for sure, but I think I can live with it.
I gotta say, the South Beach thing isn't as bad as I thought it would be. We're on day eight now, and while I definitely have moments where I'm craving carbs in a big way, for the most part, it's not a big deal. You don't ever have to be hungry on this diet; you can eat pretty much all you want, as long as it's on the "approved" list. I have eggs just about every morning for breakfast and it keeps me full for several hours.
One thing I was really worried about was beverages. Missing out on my Dr Pepper is tough, but it's not as bad as I thought because of two glorious products on your local grocery store's shelves. First: Crystal Light. I hadn't tried it in several years, and vaguely remembered a very saccharine-tasting faux-fruity Koolaid substitute. But it's really improved a lot; I've found four flavors that I really enjoy - Sunrise Orange, Cherry-Pomegranate, "Hydration" Mixed Berry, and the White Tea-Blueberry. And at only 10 calories each, that cuts a lot of calories out of my daily intake. Don't get me wrong, I don't drink these all day long. I drink a lot of water, too, and I have a cup of green tea in the mornings when I get up (no sugar, no milk). But the Crystal Light really helps when I'm craving a glass of juice or just something sweet to drink.
The other thing that's helped a lot is Coke Zero. I HATE HATE HATE Diet Coke. I know it's got its devotees, but I cannot stand the aftertaste and how it tastes all sickly-sweet. Coke Zero is made with a different sugar substitute, though, and if you drink it ice cold, it has NO aftertaste (somehow it gets a bit weird when it warms up a little). Love this stuff. And it works quite well for the daily afternoon caffeine boost. It's no Dr Pepper, for sure, but I think I can live with it.
Spicy Seafood Stir-Fry
Spicy Seafood Stir-Fry
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Sriracha
1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/2" wide half moons
1 chopped bell pepper (I used red)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used cremini, but any would work)
3 baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 container of tofu, diced (I used silken but I think firm tofu would hold up much better)
1/2 lb cleaned & shelled raw shrimp
First make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. Add the tofu and set aside.
Heat the canola oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is rippling slightly, carefully throw in the zucchini, bell peppers, and mushrooms. After the veggies have started to soften and brown slightly (just a couple of minutes), throw in the bok choy, the tofu and sauce, and the shrimp. Cook just until the bok choy is wilted and the shrimp is done (opaque, curled up, and pink). Serve over rice (or not, if you're on Phase 1 of South Beach).
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Caribbean Dinner
I roasted the chicken bone-in, skin-on, as usual at 400 for about 40 minutes, but with a Jamaican Jerk seasoning on the skin rather than the standard salt & pepper.
The long grain white rice was cooked per package instruction, but instead of water, I used one can coconut milk and enough chicken stock to bring the liquids up to 3 cups. After cooking, I fluffed up the rice and tossed with some fresh cilantro and green onions.
But the black beans were my favorite part...
Caribbean Black Beans
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 small chopped onion,
1 chopped bell pepper (I used orange, but red or yellow would be fine)
1 minced (seeded) jalepeno pepper
1 minced clove of garlic
1 can beans
1 large tomato
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onion, sliced thinly
salt & pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Throw in the onion, bell pepper and jalepeno, and saute until the vegetables are softened. Add the minced garlic and saute for one more minute. Then add one can of rinsed & drained black beans and a large chopped tomato (I used an heirloom from our CSA box) and just let the beans warm up. Take the beans off the heat and toss in some chopped cilantro and green onion. Serve with the chicken and rice.
The beans are vegetarian, so I've tagged this post as vegetarian. You could easily omit the chicken and still have a filling, delicious meal.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Greetings from low-carb land
The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of back-to-school prep, board meetings, PTA volunteer duties and all kinds of things. Rugrat started back to school last week, and he's already had a clash with his new teacher. Big surprise. The kid is nothing if not strong-willed, and when the teacher asked the class to lay out their math homework a certain way, he decided that HIS way was better because it used less paper. And proceeded to argue the point with the teacher. So we had a little phone conference yesterday, and of course Babydaddy and I hammered the point home that following instructions is just as important as getting the correct answers. I love my son like crazy, but honestly that kid is not an easy one to live with sometimes.
I'm editing the monthly PTA newsletter this year, as a way to stay more in touch with what's going on at Rugrat's school, and because it was something I could do from the couch. You know how I am about my couch. LOVE it. Anyway, this is a bit of an adventure; there's lots of people involved in submitting articles, reviewing the draft of the newsletter, and sending me changes. There are a few people who (I have been warned) are consistently difficult to deal with: late submitting articles, etc. I've laid down the line in the sand though; I have said that I can work on this on weekends only since I have a full-time job, and if the principal of the school doesn't get me her article on time, oh well. The world won't stop turning.
I am also on the board of a new project that my supervisor at work is starting up: Classes for Causes. The basic premise is that people will teach classes, and the proceeds from those classes will be donated to the charity of the teacher's choice. The site is currently in development but we will be rolling out the beta version very soon, because we're planning to have our pilot class at the end of October. Supervisor is holding the first class: Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing. I am considering teaching classes in knitting and creating your own cell phone ringtones. Mr Wonderful is even getting in on the act; he'll be teaching a course in self-defense. Anyway, we've had two board meetings so far, and as the Board Secretary, I am responsible for typing up the minutes. Which took like an hour and a half last night, because we had a three-hour Strategic Planning meeting on Tuesday. My eyes were BURNING by the time I shut down the computer.
And things have been crazy busy at work. I'm desperately trying to get on top of things, but there is just SO much right now. So I'm working like a demon, trying to get done by the end of the day, so I can pick up Rugrat or go to the gym and fix dinner.
Speaking of dinner, Mr Wonderful and I have started the South Beach diet. Essentially it's a low carb diet for the first two weeks (meat, veggies and lowfat dairy only), then you add in complex carbs (whole grains, fruit) for the second phase. We started the diet on Monday, which was interesting because we were gone all day - since it was Labor Day and we both had the day off (joy!) we took a day trip to the coast. A nice drive through Sebastopol and Guerneville, out to where the Russian River dumps out. We saw a bunch of seals frolicking in the water, skipped rocks in the river, watched the pelicans dive for fish, saw a paraglider (is that a word?) jump off a cliff and float down to the beach, and ate crunchy veggies with a vegetable/ricotta dip.
Phase one hasn't been that bad, actually, although I do miss Dr Pepper and chips. Crunchy salty things are my downfall, and I've been missing the faux-cheese flavored snacky foods. But we've stuck to the plan (on day five now!) and have each lost five pounds already. We took measurements (waist, chest, hips & thighs) at the beginning and will compare when we take measurements again at the end of phase one. I'm pretty excited about this; I didn't think I'd lose weight this fast, and it's a great incentive to keep going. I doubt it will continue falling off at this rate (it must be mostly water weight, right?), but it's great to have some validation.
But man, I would LOVE to have a piece of fruit right now. I can't believe how much I am craving fruit these days, now that I know I can't have it.
I'm editing the monthly PTA newsletter this year, as a way to stay more in touch with what's going on at Rugrat's school, and because it was something I could do from the couch. You know how I am about my couch. LOVE it. Anyway, this is a bit of an adventure; there's lots of people involved in submitting articles, reviewing the draft of the newsletter, and sending me changes. There are a few people who (I have been warned) are consistently difficult to deal with: late submitting articles, etc. I've laid down the line in the sand though; I have said that I can work on this on weekends only since I have a full-time job, and if the principal of the school doesn't get me her article on time, oh well. The world won't stop turning.
I am also on the board of a new project that my supervisor at work is starting up: Classes for Causes. The basic premise is that people will teach classes, and the proceeds from those classes will be donated to the charity of the teacher's choice. The site is currently in development but we will be rolling out the beta version very soon, because we're planning to have our pilot class at the end of October. Supervisor is holding the first class: Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing. I am considering teaching classes in knitting and creating your own cell phone ringtones. Mr Wonderful is even getting in on the act; he'll be teaching a course in self-defense. Anyway, we've had two board meetings so far, and as the Board Secretary, I am responsible for typing up the minutes. Which took like an hour and a half last night, because we had a three-hour Strategic Planning meeting on Tuesday. My eyes were BURNING by the time I shut down the computer.
And things have been crazy busy at work. I'm desperately trying to get on top of things, but there is just SO much right now. So I'm working like a demon, trying to get done by the end of the day, so I can pick up Rugrat or go to the gym and fix dinner.
Speaking of dinner, Mr Wonderful and I have started the South Beach diet. Essentially it's a low carb diet for the first two weeks (meat, veggies and lowfat dairy only), then you add in complex carbs (whole grains, fruit) for the second phase. We started the diet on Monday, which was interesting because we were gone all day - since it was Labor Day and we both had the day off (joy!) we took a day trip to the coast. A nice drive through Sebastopol and Guerneville, out to where the Russian River dumps out. We saw a bunch of seals frolicking in the water, skipped rocks in the river, watched the pelicans dive for fish, saw a paraglider (is that a word?) jump off a cliff and float down to the beach, and ate crunchy veggies with a vegetable/ricotta dip.
Phase one hasn't been that bad, actually, although I do miss Dr Pepper and chips. Crunchy salty things are my downfall, and I've been missing the faux-cheese flavored snacky foods. But we've stuck to the plan (on day five now!) and have each lost five pounds already. We took measurements (waist, chest, hips & thighs) at the beginning and will compare when we take measurements again at the end of phase one. I'm pretty excited about this; I didn't think I'd lose weight this fast, and it's a great incentive to keep going. I doubt it will continue falling off at this rate (it must be mostly water weight, right?), but it's great to have some validation.
But man, I would LOVE to have a piece of fruit right now. I can't believe how much I am craving fruit these days, now that I know I can't have it.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Slow Food!
Saturday I went to the Slow Food Nation expo in San Francisco, courtesy of Foodbuzz, the food blogger portal that I am affiliated with. I had a fantastic time, eating lots of great food and meeting the swell folks from Foodbuzz (why did I never put it together that "RyanTheGirl" is actually Ryan, the Managing Editor?), as well as some other food bloggers. In fact, the highlight of my trip was, of course, a visit to the CHEEEEEEESE pavilion, where I met Stephanie of The Grub Report. In my little Internet-centric corner of the world, that's like meeting a celebrity - she wrote recaps for TWOP once upon a time. She's got my dream life: a freelance writer, trained at culinary school, and she works in the best CHEEEEEEEESE shop in the world. Where, presumably, she gets to sample the wares all day long. Lucky, lucky woman. How she stays so thin, I have no idea.Here's my quick recap of the Food Pavilions at the Slow Food Nation event (please excuse my sad iPhone camera skilz):
First up - cheese!
Of course, the cheese was glorious. That yellow cheese was STRONG - I can't remember what it was (and they didn't have a sticker), but it wouldn't be first on my list of cheeses to take to a desert island. The Northern Lights Blue was fantastic though, as was the fresh goat cheese crottin from Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery.Next, I went to the wine pavilion. I don't have any pictures of the wine, but I had a lovely Stag's Leap Petite Syrah. Yum! I then headed for the fish pavilion, where they were serving (from bottom to top) calamari in a lemony vinaigrette, a sardine on a toasted baguette with sauteed onions and lemon, and albacore tuna with baby greens (I *think* it was arugula). Delish!
Then I went over to the charcuterie pavilion, where I had some amazing jerky made in Berkeley, a slice of salami, cotta, and a little bit of toast with "cured" lard with rosemary and garlic.
Next I wandered over to the pickles & chutney pavilion, but didn't stay for a taste of everything because me + pickles = ewww.I decided instead to mosey on over to the beer pavilion, where I tried a Jamaican Red brew that was a bit hoppy for my tastes, but still quite yummy.
Then it was off to try some bread! Yummy, warm naan from the Indian side of the bread pavilion (there was also an Italian side, with brick-fired slices of pizza, but I was all about the naan on Saturday).
I wasn't too enamored of the potato-stuffed naan (it was actually too spicy for me, which is really saying something), but the other two were amazing. And the green dipping sauce was wonderful - verdant and spicy and fresh tasting all at once.It was getting pretty late, so I decided to have a bit of dessert and tea, and head out. I stopped off at the honey & preserves pavilion and got this little bite of deliciousness: a honey mini-cupcake with rose-scented royal icing, topped with a half a pistachio. I'm sorry, but this is the best photo I got with my phone. You'll just have to trust me that it was beautiful and luscious.
And then it was over to the ice cream pavilion for one of the highlights of my day. I got to try salted caramel ice cream! And it was unbelievably good. It wasn't salty, but the salt brought out a kind of tang or something in the caramel that made it richer and fuller, somehow. I'm not even sure how to describe it, other than by saying that it was damn good, and if you ever get a chance to try salted caramel ice cream from BiRite Creamery, you should NOT pass it up. The other two ice cream flavors in my bowl were "Mr Espresso" and something called "Foresta Noci" or something like that. The coffee ice cream was good, but nothing earth-shattering, and the other one was just kind of odd, with these little crunchy bits of *something* in them. (Again, horrible photo, I apologize...)
Lastly, I visited the tea pavilion, which was lovely, but took a crazy-long time to go through, because each "tasting" is actually a 15-minute tea ceremony with a tea guide. The tea was good, but not something I'd probably drink on a regular basis, as it had very strong tannins. However, I did learn that your cup of tea is only as good as the water you use, and that mineral water is best to bring out all the flavor elements in your tea.
And that wraps it up! I headed for home full of new ideas and flavors, and happy to have been a part of this amazing food movement.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Easy Asian Sole
I do not like fish. I will go out of my way to eat anything other than fish, unless it is deep-fried or comes inside its own shell. But I am trying to eat healthier these days - I consider myself kind of "in training" before starting the South Beach diet in earnest - and I've been inspired by watching reruns of the BBCAmerica show You Are What You Eat. So with that in mind, I picked up two petrale sole filets at the grocery store and whipped up this quick and easy meal. And here's another first: with all the delicious green onions, cilantro and ginger, I'm submitting this as my first entry to Kalyn’s Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by Cooking 4 All Seasons this weekend.
Easy Asian Sole
2 filets sole
1 cup milk (approx)
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp chile paste (sambal oelek)
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced (green & light green parts only)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Put the sole in a wide dish and pour the milk over it - the milk should just barely cover the fish.
In the meantime, mix up all the rest of the ingredients (except green onions and cilantro) in a bowl. Mix in about half of the green onions. After the fish has soaked in the milk for 20 minutes, pat it dry, season with salt & pepper, and put it in a shallow oven-safe dish. Pour the dressing over it. Bake for 10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. Serve over brown rice (they have frozen brown rice at Trader Joe's - cooks in 3 mins in micro!) and spoon a little of the marinade over the top - the rice tastes great with the dressing. Sprinkle with the reserved green onion & the cilantro.
This really turned out well, and soaking the fish in milk first removes a lot of the "fishy" taste that I hate.
Easy Asian Sole2 filets sole
1 cup milk (approx)
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp chile paste (sambal oelek)
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced (green & light green parts only)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Put the sole in a wide dish and pour the milk over it - the milk should just barely cover the fish.
In the meantime, mix up all the rest of the ingredients (except green onions and cilantro) in a bowl. Mix in about half of the green onions. After the fish has soaked in the milk for 20 minutes, pat it dry, season with salt & pepper, and put it in a shallow oven-safe dish. Pour the dressing over it. Bake for 10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. Serve over brown rice (they have frozen brown rice at Trader Joe's - cooks in 3 mins in micro!) and spoon a little of the marinade over the top - the rice tastes great with the dressing. Sprinkle with the reserved green onion & the cilantro.
This really turned out well, and soaking the fish in milk first removes a lot of the "fishy" taste that I hate.
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Omnivore's Hundred
Paraphrased from Chocolate and Zucchini:
The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of 100 foods that Andrew Wheeler, British food blogger, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life.
He offered this list as the starting point for a game, along the following rules:
My list is below. I've had exactly half -- I guess I have a ways to go before considering myself a true "foodie!"
Please feel free to repost on your blog, and if you don't have a blog, share your personal list in the comments. :)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I've had turtle soup though!)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (mmm...unpasteurized cheeeeese)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (one of my very favorite foods)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25.Brawn, or head cheese (oh, hell no!)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (I've had mango, but not salted)
34. Sauerkraut (ew ew ew!)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I've had cognac, and I've had cigars, but not both together)
37. Clotted cream tea (yum!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (eaten in New Orleans)
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42.Whole insects (Absolutely NOT!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46.Fugu (I don't think I could bring myself to try it. Too chicken.)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I've obviously had McD's before, but never a Big Mac)
56. Spaetzle
57.Dirty gin martini (I hate gin. But I've had a dirty vodka martini & loved it)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63.Kaolin (no thanks)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs (recipe here)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75.Roadkill (This is another one of those "not just no, but HELL NO")
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82.Eggs Benedict (no no no! Runny eggs! Ewwww!)
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89.Horse (what does it say about me that I would eat a rabbit but not a horse?)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of 100 foods that Andrew Wheeler, British food blogger, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life.
He offered this list as the starting point for a game, along the following rules:
- Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
- Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
- Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
- Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.
My list is below. I've had exactly half -- I guess I have a ways to go before considering myself a true "foodie!"
Please feel free to repost on your blog, and if you don't have a blog, share your personal list in the comments. :)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I've had turtle soup though!)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (mmm...unpasteurized cheeeeese)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (one of my very favorite foods)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (I've had mango, but not salted)
34. Sauerkraut (ew ew ew!)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I've had cognac, and I've had cigars, but not both together)
37. Clotted cream tea (yum!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (eaten in New Orleans)
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I've obviously had McD's before, but never a Big Mac)
56. Spaetzle
57.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs (recipe here)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82.
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Friday, August 15, 2008
Olympics
Am I the only person in the world who really doesn't give a rat's ripe ass about the Olympics? Seriously, I could care less, but it seems like every blogger I follow must make some mention of the swimming or the diving or the gymnastics, and how it goes on and on until 2 AM, and yet they can't tear themselves away.
Why?
Anyhoo, I made it through the first week back at work post-vacation, and I'm barely hanging in there. It's been a crazy busy week, with Boss & Boss's Wife gone (Boss's Wife is our receptionist/designer/HR guru/fill-in-the-cracks person). Of COURSE the servers had to go down. Multiple times. Multiple servers, including our mail server, which went down twice. Le *sigh*. Not to mention the backlog of emails and work that piled up while I was gone. Why is it that you go away for only a week, and yet you have something like three weeks' worth of work backlogged when you return? It's like some weird axiom of vacation.
The vacation itself was lovely, quite relaxing except for the nine-hour drives that bookended it and the hellacious heat. I got a bit of a sunburn when we went to the waterpark one day (for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS OMG I thought I was gonna die it was about 1000 degrees y'all!), despite spraying on the SPF multiple times. My side-boobs are peeling now. (Lovely. And probably TMI, huh?) That'll teach me to wear a bikini to a waterpark in Palm Springs.
I also got a Baby Surprise Jacket (tm Elizabeth Zimmermann) done while on vacation, from cast-on to buttons. An old friend of mine is having a baby shower this weekend. I've known her since Jr High, so I wanted to give her something a little more special than just a store-bought package of onesies. This is the fastest I think I've ever done a project (except maybe for the Easy Flame Lace Hankie, which is normally a shawl, but I just made a little square out of the lace Malabrigo sample I got at Stitches West). I'm very proud of it and can't wait to give it to her tomorrow. :) This is also the first non-family gift I've knitted.
Hmmm...let's see, what else. Oh yeah, Rugrat has anosmia, which is the clinical name for not being able to smell a damn thing. FMIL did a little research when I told her about it, and sent me an email with her findings. Turns out that it can be caused by all kinds of scary things, like a tumor (eek!) and some weird disease that would mean he wouldn't go through puberty (double eek!). So I took him to the doctor post-haste, in an effort to get a referral to an ENT. His regular doc was on vacation, and the substitute doc did not want to do the referral (WTF? It's all Kaiser, I don't see what difference it really makes) but she did send him for an x-ray and gave him allergy medication because she thinks it might be due to "inflammation." Which, no. Because it doesn't come & go with the seasons, y'all. And lest you think I'm overreacting and that he really can smell, I tested him (with his eyes closed) on: coffee beans, ground cinnamon, and white vinegar. Not a damn thing. He said they all smelled like "air."
Mr Wonderful and I are planning on doing the South Beach Diet once the kids get back in school. It's time to lose the thirty pounds I've packed on in the past year or so. Not a moment too soon. Mr Wonderful got food poisoning yesterday, and was up half the night, throwing up. And they wouldn't let him leave work early - they told him to "sip water every fifteen minutes and if you need to, get an anti-nausea shot. Then you can work through your shift." WTF?? He works in a hospital. Does it not occur to these folks that perhaps it would be good to keep the vomiting person away from patients? He might actually be contagious; they don't know. Of course, I think he was being a dumbass for not just calling in sick to begin with. When you hurl half a dozen times before your shift even starts, it might be time to call in sick. And to top it off, he's going to the Aikido class tonight. He says he has to, because it's so-n-so's last day, and so-n-so's parents are coming and everything. Whatever, dude. You can take a night off and let the other black belt guy take over, when you're busy vomiting your guts out all damn day and getting no fucking sleep the night before. I do NOT understand that man sometimes.
Why?
Anyhoo, I made it through the first week back at work post-vacation, and I'm barely hanging in there. It's been a crazy busy week, with Boss & Boss's Wife gone (Boss's Wife is our receptionist/designer/HR guru/fill-in-the-cracks person). Of COURSE the servers had to go down. Multiple times. Multiple servers, including our mail server, which went down twice. Le *sigh*. Not to mention the backlog of emails and work that piled up while I was gone. Why is it that you go away for only a week, and yet you have something like three weeks' worth of work backlogged when you return? It's like some weird axiom of vacation.
The vacation itself was lovely, quite relaxing except for the nine-hour drives that bookended it and the hellacious heat. I got a bit of a sunburn when we went to the waterpark one day (for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS OMG I thought I was gonna die it was about 1000 degrees y'all!), despite spraying on the SPF multiple times. My side-boobs are peeling now. (Lovely. And probably TMI, huh?) That'll teach me to wear a bikini to a waterpark in Palm Springs.
I also got a Baby Surprise Jacket (tm Elizabeth Zimmermann) done while on vacation, from cast-on to buttons. An old friend of mine is having a baby shower this weekend. I've known her since Jr High, so I wanted to give her something a little more special than just a store-bought package of onesies. This is the fastest I think I've ever done a project (except maybe for the Easy Flame Lace Hankie, which is normally a shawl, but I just made a little square out of the lace Malabrigo sample I got at Stitches West). I'm very proud of it and can't wait to give it to her tomorrow. :) This is also the first non-family gift I've knitted.Hmmm...let's see, what else. Oh yeah, Rugrat has anosmia, which is the clinical name for not being able to smell a damn thing. FMIL did a little research when I told her about it, and sent me an email with her findings. Turns out that it can be caused by all kinds of scary things, like a tumor (eek!) and some weird disease that would mean he wouldn't go through puberty (double eek!). So I took him to the doctor post-haste, in an effort to get a referral to an ENT. His regular doc was on vacation, and the substitute doc did not want to do the referral (WTF? It's all Kaiser, I don't see what difference it really makes) but she did send him for an x-ray and gave him allergy medication because she thinks it might be due to "inflammation." Which, no. Because it doesn't come & go with the seasons, y'all. And lest you think I'm overreacting and that he really can smell, I tested him (with his eyes closed) on: coffee beans, ground cinnamon, and white vinegar. Not a damn thing. He said they all smelled like "air."
Mr Wonderful and I are planning on doing the South Beach Diet once the kids get back in school. It's time to lose the thirty pounds I've packed on in the past year or so. Not a moment too soon. Mr Wonderful got food poisoning yesterday, and was up half the night, throwing up. And they wouldn't let him leave work early - they told him to "sip water every fifteen minutes and if you need to, get an anti-nausea shot. Then you can work through your shift." WTF?? He works in a hospital. Does it not occur to these folks that perhaps it would be good to keep the vomiting person away from patients? He might actually be contagious; they don't know. Of course, I think he was being a dumbass for not just calling in sick to begin with. When you hurl half a dozen times before your shift even starts, it might be time to call in sick. And to top it off, he's going to the Aikido class tonight. He says he has to, because it's so-n-so's last day, and so-n-so's parents are coming and everything. Whatever, dude. You can take a night off and let the other black belt guy take over, when you're busy vomiting your guts out all damn day and getting no fucking sleep the night before. I do NOT understand that man sometimes.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
CSA
If you haven't heard about them before, CSAs are Community Supported Agriculture. Basically it's a system for buying produce directly from local farms. Often the farms grow organically, and the produce is always seasonal and super-fresh. I've been thinking about signing up with a CSA for a while now, and since Mr Wonderful and I are planning on starting the South Beach diet soon, this seemed like a great time to do it. So today I signed up with Farm Fresh to You, a CSA north of Vacaville, east of Lake Berryessa. It's extremely flexible - they do deliveries every week, every 2 weeks, or every 4 weeks, and there are several different options to choose from (fruit only, veggies only, mixed, small box, regular-size box, etc). And they deliver right to your home or office! Considering food prices these days, it seems very reasonable, too.
I'm excited to start eating more locally & seasonally, and Mr Wonderful & I are both looking forward to losing some of our extra "fluff."
I'm excited to start eating more locally & seasonally, and Mr Wonderful & I are both looking forward to losing some of our extra "fluff."
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