I'm OFF...
796 miles from Horseshoe Bay to Niceville, Florida!
I will post a blog with some pictures of the darling little ones.
Happy December, everybody!
our story, as it happens
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
a few photos
I was pretty busy eating, drinking and being thankful yesterday so I didn't take many pictures. I managed to get a few good ones of our laid back Thanksgiving in Horseshoe Bay.
Before dinner we played a little frisbee
The food was better than ever, simple and delicious. I kept it pretty traditional and made everything totally from scratch...roasted turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed corn, green bean casserole, cranberries and the very best cloverleaf butter rolls I have ever had the pleasure of eating. In my fat-dreams I would have eaten the whole batch right out of the oven with a stick of butter.
We drank a lovely bottle of wine with dinner
And had some fabulous pumpkin cheesecake for dessert
The NEXT DAY SANDWICH is what I choose to call this pile of deliciousness. One of those cloverleaf rolls upside down and cut into 3 slices with turkey, crumbled crispy stuffing, cranberry sauce and bleu cheese
Before dinner we played a little frisbee
The food was better than ever, simple and delicious. I kept it pretty traditional and made everything totally from scratch...roasted turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed corn, green bean casserole, cranberries and the very best cloverleaf butter rolls I have ever had the pleasure of eating. In my fat-dreams I would have eaten the whole batch right out of the oven with a stick of butter.
We drank a lovely bottle of wine with dinner
And had some fabulous pumpkin cheesecake for dessert
The NEXT DAY SANDWICH is what I choose to call this pile of deliciousness. One of those cloverleaf rolls upside down and cut into 3 slices with turkey, crumbled crispy stuffing, cranberry sauce and bleu cheese
Congratulations to the Jones Family!
On Wednesday, November 26, Elizabeth & Aaron welcomed a beautiful 8 lb 2 oz baby girl into their family.
MADELEINE GRACE got here just in time to be a Thanksgiving Baby, and we are all thankful for her healthy arrival.
Congratulations Elizabeth, Aaron and Big Sister Noelle!!!
For updates and pictures, check out Elizabeth's blog.
MADELEINE GRACE got here just in time to be a Thanksgiving Baby, and we are all thankful for her healthy arrival. Congratulations Elizabeth, Aaron and Big Sister Noelle!!!
For updates and pictures, check out Elizabeth's blog.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
ellie jane & amy liz
Doesn't tiny Elizabeth Jane look quite similar to tiny Amy Elizabeth? It's not just me, right?
Elizabeth, November 2008
Amy, November 1980
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for little girls. I look forward to being an aunt to a few of them and then raising one or two of my own. Boys are awesome and I want a few of those too, but girls are kind of incredible. I am thankful to have little girls to get to know this year.
Elizabeth, November 2008
Amy, November 1980 This Thanksgiving I am thankful for little girls. I look forward to being an aunt to a few of them and then raising one or two of my own. Boys are awesome and I want a few of those too, but girls are kind of incredible. I am thankful to have little girls to get to know this year.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
It smells like Thanksgiving in here
Because I have been busy in the kitchen all day. I made creamed corn, blanched green beans, mushroom soup for green beans, baked corn bread muffins to crumble and dried bread cubes in the oven to make stuffing, put the turkey in an apple brine, baked a pumpkin cheesecake and made a practice batch of the shrimp recipe I'm doing for my FNS application video. Also, I made a bleu cheese spread because I was considering doing it for the video, but decided on the shrimp so I am eating the bleu cheese dip with grapes, almonds and pita chips right now. It's delicious, I'll give you the recipe if you ask.
My "set" is all situated in the dining room, which is where I'm filming it because I couldn't find a spot or angle I liked in the kitchen. I have a basic script written on a huge dry erase board and all my prep and props laid out. I have to bake a batch of Amy's Honey Garlic Baked Shrimp just ahead of time to use as the "after" shot, it's marinating now. Susan is on her way over now to help me practice and then film it. I'm kind of nervous, I think I heard her car. I couldn't sleep last night because I kept going over what I should say all night long....
Anyway, tomorrow will be awesome. We are going to get up early, drink Mimosas with raspberries, put the turkey in, watch the parade, eat snacks, I'm going to make cloverleaf rolls and we'll finish up cooking dinner together while we drink wine and eat cheese. Joseph might not have to open Lorraine's after all, which would be an awesome unexpected treat. He may decide he should though, which would be okay.
We will thoroughly enjoy our Thanksgiving alone, but today we agreed that this is the last year at home alone for us. Next year for Thanksgiving we will make sure to be someplace with some people we love cooking and eating as a big family. Big, loud family dinners is something we talk about during our delicious quiet dinners together.
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that each of you is surrounded by the people you love most. Enjoy the delicious food tomorrow and the very special company around you, or in your arms. Both of our families are celebrating the addition of a precious baby girl this November, and we're are as happy as can be for both the Lord and Jones families. We are looking forward to meeting our nieces Elizabeth and Madeleine.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
My "set" is all situated in the dining room, which is where I'm filming it because I couldn't find a spot or angle I liked in the kitchen. I have a basic script written on a huge dry erase board and all my prep and props laid out. I have to bake a batch of Amy's Honey Garlic Baked Shrimp just ahead of time to use as the "after" shot, it's marinating now. Susan is on her way over now to help me practice and then film it. I'm kind of nervous, I think I heard her car. I couldn't sleep last night because I kept going over what I should say all night long....
Anyway, tomorrow will be awesome. We are going to get up early, drink Mimosas with raspberries, put the turkey in, watch the parade, eat snacks, I'm going to make cloverleaf rolls and we'll finish up cooking dinner together while we drink wine and eat cheese. Joseph might not have to open Lorraine's after all, which would be an awesome unexpected treat. He may decide he should though, which would be okay.
We will thoroughly enjoy our Thanksgiving alone, but today we agreed that this is the last year at home alone for us. Next year for Thanksgiving we will make sure to be someplace with some people we love cooking and eating as a big family. Big, loud family dinners is something we talk about during our delicious quiet dinners together.
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that each of you is surrounded by the people you love most. Enjoy the delicious food tomorrow and the very special company around you, or in your arms. Both of our families are celebrating the addition of a precious baby girl this November, and we're are as happy as can be for both the Lord and Jones families. We are looking forward to meeting our nieces Elizabeth and Madeleine.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
in my kitchen
I marinated some tri-tip in my staple kick ass marinade (balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, rosemary sprigs & honey) and then Joseph grilled it. Always delicious.
The next night I made:
fried rice (shrimp, leftover tri-tip, ham, onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, garlic, ginger, broccoli, almond)
We had a guest for dinner. Joseph brought his buddy Clay home after a long day of disc golfing at TPDGCC (that's Twin Parks Disc Golf Country Club) in Dripping Springs. They were very hungry and Clay was a VERY ENTHUSIASTIC fan of my cooking, which was nice. At one point Clay said, "I'm impressed, I'm blown away" and Joseph said, "That means she's happy, she loves to impress." He was the best kind of dinner guest too, the kind who takes the dish you're drying and the rag out of your hand to do it for you and gets a paper towel to clean up the mess you made on the floor and were planning to ignore. We drank some nice wine and started out the night with panko fried shrimp and veggy eggrolls with apricot hoisin sauce and some incredible seared rare tuna (thanks, 909). I didn't get pictures of any of that, but I wish I did because the tuna was so crazy bright reddish purple.
Clay after eating so much he "could only think about taking a nap"
The next night I made:
fried rice (shrimp, leftover tri-tip, ham, onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, garlic, ginger, broccoli, almond)
We had a guest for dinner. Joseph brought his buddy Clay home after a long day of disc golfing at TPDGCC (that's Twin Parks Disc Golf Country Club) in Dripping Springs. They were very hungry and Clay was a VERY ENTHUSIASTIC fan of my cooking, which was nice. At one point Clay said, "I'm impressed, I'm blown away" and Joseph said, "That means she's happy, she loves to impress." He was the best kind of dinner guest too, the kind who takes the dish you're drying and the rag out of your hand to do it for you and gets a paper towel to clean up the mess you made on the floor and were planning to ignore. We drank some nice wine and started out the night with panko fried shrimp and veggy eggrolls with apricot hoisin sauce and some incredible seared rare tuna (thanks, 909). I didn't get pictures of any of that, but I wish I did because the tuna was so crazy bright reddish purple.
Clay after eating so much he "could only think about taking a nap"
Saturday, November 22, 2008
in my kitchen
I made :
3 meat lasagna (italian sausage, pepperoni, ground beef)
I froze most of this lasagna, in individual portions for Joseph to eat after work.
chocolate almond oatmeal bars
bark:
white chocolate peppermint / white chocolate cookie crumble
and mixed berry coffee cake
Monday I traded Susan a pile of holiday baked goods for a haircut. And then we had lunch. A lovely Horseshoe Bay day.
3 meat lasagna (italian sausage, pepperoni, ground beef)
I froze most of this lasagna, in individual portions for Joseph to eat after work.
chocolate almond oatmeal bars
bark:
white chocolate peppermint / white chocolate cookie crumble
and mixed berry coffee cake
Monday I traded Susan a pile of holiday baked goods for a haircut. And then we had lunch. A lovely Horseshoe Bay day.
sad
Tonight I baked cookies to bring to some friends I had not seen in a while. I was hoping to invite them over this weekend to fix them a nice dinner and catch up on all the latest. I put 7 huge chocolate chip & toffee cookies on a pretty plate, labeled it with a "Made for you with love by Amy" sticker, hopped in the car and drove the 12 seconds down the street to their house. I knocked on the door and stood in the doorway with a big smile on my face, cookies in both hands in front of me.
*****The friends I was there to visit are our neighbors from the condo we lived in before moving to our house. I became friends with Mrs. P, over the course of a few years, while our dogs played on the driving range in front of our condos. She is no less than 50 years older than me, but she laughed at the same things I laughed at, her little white yippy dog (Sissy) loved to run and play with my huge wolf dog (and the wiener, God bless Bosco), and she was always very happy to see me. We would meet out front with the dogs and then I'd walk with her up and down the range while she told me about her grandkids and I told her about Joseph. Eventually, I started to take food to the Ps, and then Mr. P became quite fond of me too. Any time I made soup I took them some and I quickly learned that they LOVED sweets. I enjoyed how happy the food I brought made them, and it was nice to have someone to share extra leftovers with who appreciated it. Mrs. P would wait a few weeks and then bring me back a big pile of clean tupperware containers and lids. Joseph would always see her coming (it took a while) and yell "Sissy's mom is coming to talk to you!" so that I could answer the door and he could avoid a long conversation. They have been the only neighbors I've ever considered friends while living in Texas.*****
Mr. P answered the door and I handed him the cookies. I asked if he had gotten the note I left earlier inviting them to my house for dinner tomorrow. He took the cookies, then looked down at his hands and then back up at me. A knot formed in my gut. He said, "Marilyn isn't here, she's with our daughter. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's this week and she's pretty mad at me right now so she's with our daughter. So I think I better take a rain-check on dinner." He went on to explain that he'd been noticing signs for a while and had made the appointment behind her back because he knew she wouldn't go willingly. Since being diagnosed, she has started medication, but is still too angry to come home, so she's staying with their daughter for a few days. He looked at his hands most of the time but at one point looked up and said, "I knew she'd be mad at me, I knew they'd all be mad at me, but I did the right thing and that will be clear in the end." I said over and over how sad I was to hear that, that I was so sorry.
I am a sucky lazy ass for not going back to see them more after we moved. Their place is literally 4 streets over, a 5 minute walk. I walk my dogs every day and could rarely be bothered to go the other direction, to pay a visit to some friends who would have been very glad to see me. It doesn't do any good to feel bad about things I did or didn't do, but I do. I missed out on a year of being a friend to Mrs. P because I moved 1/2 a mile away, and now it's too late. I don't know a whole lot about Alzheimer's but I know more than I'd care to, and it's all AWFUL. I would wish that on no one, especially not Sissy's mom.
If you pray tonight, say a prayer for my dear friends.
*****The friends I was there to visit are our neighbors from the condo we lived in before moving to our house. I became friends with Mrs. P, over the course of a few years, while our dogs played on the driving range in front of our condos. She is no less than 50 years older than me, but she laughed at the same things I laughed at, her little white yippy dog (Sissy) loved to run and play with my huge wolf dog (and the wiener, God bless Bosco), and she was always very happy to see me. We would meet out front with the dogs and then I'd walk with her up and down the range while she told me about her grandkids and I told her about Joseph. Eventually, I started to take food to the Ps, and then Mr. P became quite fond of me too. Any time I made soup I took them some and I quickly learned that they LOVED sweets. I enjoyed how happy the food I brought made them, and it was nice to have someone to share extra leftovers with who appreciated it. Mrs. P would wait a few weeks and then bring me back a big pile of clean tupperware containers and lids. Joseph would always see her coming (it took a while) and yell "Sissy's mom is coming to talk to you!" so that I could answer the door and he could avoid a long conversation. They have been the only neighbors I've ever considered friends while living in Texas.*****
Mr. P answered the door and I handed him the cookies. I asked if he had gotten the note I left earlier inviting them to my house for dinner tomorrow. He took the cookies, then looked down at his hands and then back up at me. A knot formed in my gut. He said, "Marilyn isn't here, she's with our daughter. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's this week and she's pretty mad at me right now so she's with our daughter. So I think I better take a rain-check on dinner." He went on to explain that he'd been noticing signs for a while and had made the appointment behind her back because he knew she wouldn't go willingly. Since being diagnosed, she has started medication, but is still too angry to come home, so she's staying with their daughter for a few days. He looked at his hands most of the time but at one point looked up and said, "I knew she'd be mad at me, I knew they'd all be mad at me, but I did the right thing and that will be clear in the end." I said over and over how sad I was to hear that, that I was so sorry.
I am a sucky lazy ass for not going back to see them more after we moved. Their place is literally 4 streets over, a 5 minute walk. I walk my dogs every day and could rarely be bothered to go the other direction, to pay a visit to some friends who would have been very glad to see me. It doesn't do any good to feel bad about things I did or didn't do, but I do. I missed out on a year of being a friend to Mrs. P because I moved 1/2 a mile away, and now it's too late. I don't know a whole lot about Alzheimer's but I know more than I'd care to, and it's all AWFUL. I would wish that on no one, especially not Sissy's mom.
If you pray tonight, say a prayer for my dear friends.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Another boring food blog
We had a lovely banana pie to enjoy for dessert, a cold bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge and only one more night to have dinner together before Joseph's work week started, so I wanted to make something nice. Joseph was gone in the evening playing church basketball, so I had the house to myself to really go all out. I am on a mission to use a lot of the ingredients taking up space in my freezers, so I decided it was time to use all the shrimp shells I had saved. I also found some giant head-on prawns (what up, 909!?!), perfect. About once a year I make shrimp bisque out of all the shrimp shells I have saved, but to change it up I decided on chicken with shrimp sauce instead. I had never made this before, but it came together like I had been making it for years. Still inspired to be prepared for my fake tv show, I took a few pictures of the long ass process of making Amy's Shrimp Sauce.
Here is the very abbreviated version of steps:
Chicken breasts marinating in white wine and lemon juice, about 3 hours
Frozen shrimp shells
Giant prawns, shells and heads went in the shrimp stock
Heads, shells, carrot, celery, green onion, bay leaf, garlic & water, simmered for about an hour
Pureed in batches, put through chinois, cooked down by half, through chinois again, combined with 2 cups milk that had been reduced down to 3/4 cup to make shrimp milk
Separately, made a small roux, deglazed with whisky, then added shrimp milk, which thickened to make the final sauce. (I opted to reduce down 2% milk, rather than use heavy cream. I usually mount with a lot of butter at the end, which makes it shiny and velvety, but I didn't and the only butter in this sauce was from the roux. It was just as good and WAY less fattening.)
Dredged chicken in seasoned flour, seared, covered with sauce, finished in oven
Final product, chicken with shrimp sauce and prawns on top
White & wild rice and big ass peas went with it
Isn't he so cute?!
Just so it's clear, I'm not trying to impress anyone or make any other home cooks feel inadequate. Occasionally I hear an annoyed, well, I can't make anything like that so I just made blah blah blah, which after a while makes me feel bad. My intentions for posting all the food blogs are not to hear praise or to show off in any way. This blog has become a fun way for me to record the things I create and want to remember and that is why I continue to post food blog after food blog. I realize that very few others have the time, resources or desire to spend most of their free time in the kitchen doing what I do.
Here is the very abbreviated version of steps:
Chicken breasts marinating in white wine and lemon juice, about 3 hours
Frozen shrimp shells
Giant prawns, shells and heads went in the shrimp stock
Heads, shells, carrot, celery, green onion, bay leaf, garlic & water, simmered for about an hour
Pureed in batches, put through chinois, cooked down by half, through chinois again, combined with 2 cups milk that had been reduced down to 3/4 cup to make shrimp milk
Separately, made a small roux, deglazed with whisky, then added shrimp milk, which thickened to make the final sauce. (I opted to reduce down 2% milk, rather than use heavy cream. I usually mount with a lot of butter at the end, which makes it shiny and velvety, but I didn't and the only butter in this sauce was from the roux. It was just as good and WAY less fattening.)
Dredged chicken in seasoned flour, seared, covered with sauce, finished in oven
Final product, chicken with shrimp sauce and prawns on top
White & wild rice and big ass peas went with it
Isn't he so cute?!
Just so it's clear, I'm not trying to impress anyone or make any other home cooks feel inadequate. Occasionally I hear an annoyed, well, I can't make anything like that so I just made blah blah blah, which after a while makes me feel bad. My intentions for posting all the food blogs are not to hear praise or to show off in any way. This blog has become a fun way for me to record the things I create and want to remember and that is why I continue to post food blog after food blog. I realize that very few others have the time, resources or desire to spend most of their free time in the kitchen doing what I do.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Banana-Berry Cream Pie
I made pretty incredible pie this afternoon. I had some bananas that were starting to brown so I needed to use them. I had nothing to do this afternoon, except take the recycling tp the recycling center, which is my very least favorite chore on earth. I avoided doing that by making up a new pie. Joseph said he wanted a banana cream pie with Vanilla Wafer crust. I had been leaning toward making a banana cake because I had cooked down a bag of frozen berries from 909 (thanks, again for all the goods!) that would be an awesome filling between layers. But then I found some stale butterscotch brownies that I had frozen a few months ago. I saved then after they were stale because I knew they would make a primo pie crust one day. Today's the day, and I decided to blend the berries and then swirl them into the banana cream. I rule. Here's my creation, using brown bananas, hand-me-down frozen berries and stale brownies:
Banana Berry Cream Pie with Butterscotch Crust
I am really working hard on my Food Network Star application video. I don't want to look like an ass, which I feel I do on camera, so I am practicing a lot. The original deadline for applicants was October 20, which I missed. Apparently, they didn't find the one they want because they've extended the deadline until December 1. When I daydream I pretend like I'll get the call the day after I send in my video: "Amy, you're the one we've been waiting for!" I don't like to even entertain the idea, because I hate to be disappointed. I don't even know if I could host a tv show, I'm kind of a gooberish klutz, but I have a ton of experience and knowledge to share and I absolutely love everything about cooking. I don't want to regret not at least applying, so that's that.
In an effort to prepare myself for pretend my new show, I did something I usually do not do, which is take pictures as I cook. I just take pictures of the end result. But today, I took a few pictures of the steps to making my Banana Berry Cream Pie.
Strawberries, blueberries & raspberries cooking down with just a sprinkle of sugar
Butterscotch brownies in cuisinart
Brownie crumbs, to be mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar and 4 tablespoons melted butter
I pureed 2 ripe bananas, which I added to basic vanilla cream filling.
Butterscotch brownie pie crust
Dessert!
Banana Berry Cream Pie with Butterscotch Crust
I am really working hard on my Food Network Star application video. I don't want to look like an ass, which I feel I do on camera, so I am practicing a lot. The original deadline for applicants was October 20, which I missed. Apparently, they didn't find the one they want because they've extended the deadline until December 1. When I daydream I pretend like I'll get the call the day after I send in my video: "Amy, you're the one we've been waiting for!" I don't like to even entertain the idea, because I hate to be disappointed. I don't even know if I could host a tv show, I'm kind of a gooberish klutz, but I have a ton of experience and knowledge to share and I absolutely love everything about cooking. I don't want to regret not at least applying, so that's that.
In an effort to prepare myself for pretend my new show, I did something I usually do not do, which is take pictures as I cook. I just take pictures of the end result. But today, I took a few pictures of the steps to making my Banana Berry Cream Pie.
Strawberries, blueberries & raspberries cooking down with just a sprinkle of sugar
Butterscotch brownies in cuisinart
Brownie crumbs, to be mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar and 4 tablespoons melted butter
I pureed 2 ripe bananas, which I added to basic vanilla cream filling.
Butterscotch brownie pie crust
Dessert!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
She's HERE!!!!
ELIZABETH JANE LORD
was born shortly before 10am today. She weighed 6 pounds 11.5 ounces.
See Kate's blog for more info and pictures!
Baby Elizabeth, there are many people who love you so much already. I can't wait to meet you and see your sweet face.
Congratulations Jack, you are going to be a Great BIG BROTHER!
Congratulations Kate & Kevin, your family is perfect now!
Lots of Love to the Lord Family of Four.
was born shortly before 10am today. She weighed 6 pounds 11.5 ounces.
See Kate's blog for more info and pictures!
Baby Elizabeth, there are many people who love you so much already. I can't wait to meet you and see your sweet face.
Congratulations Jack, you are going to be a Great BIG BROTHER!
Congratulations Kate & Kevin, your family is perfect now!
Lots of Love to the Lord Family of Four.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Suddenly So Excited
It's lucky for me that I have extra time on my hands these days because I have created a big project for myself. I'm suddenly VERY excited about the upcoming holidays. I have decided to become a Christmas Candy-maker this year, and my loved ones will reap the rewards. I have been reading cook books and recipes for days trying to come up with a perfect combination of candies and confections to share this winter. Mmm mmm mmm. So far I've practiced up on white chocolate peppermint bark and dark chocolate truffles. I got some darling little "Made with Love by Amy" labels for packaging. I really love Christmas. The process of stocking up on all the ingredients (sugar and chocolate basically), setting up my kitchen to produce large quantities of good quality candy, actually making it all, storing, packaging, decorating, it is all so much fun to me. Maybe I will become a professional candy maker...
I did the very first bit of my Christmas shopping this week, which also piqued my excitement. I have gifts for a few people and ideas for a few more. I think we'll do a bit more shopping this weekend in Austin, although the shopping I do this year will not even compare to what I did last year, so ya know. I'm on a mission, to have all my gifts bought and wrapped, as well as the candy made and packaged, to be mailed by December 1, since I am leaving town that week. I can do it, that's plenty of time.
Sadly, we will not be getting a Christmas tree this year. Since I will be gone for most of December and we won't be at home for the holiday, there is no point. It's only sad for me because I absolutely LOVE decorating our house for Christmas. Joseph is glad to be without the hassle and money spent on "all this Christmas shit". Our tree last year was so sweet and we had such a really lovely awesome Christmas here together. I was looking forward to enjoying the peaceful and quiet Powderhorn Christmas like last year... but plans change, and being with family will be great too. We will still be putting the lights and wreaths up on the back fence, of course, it is way too wonderful to skip.
Thanksgiving will be just the two of us and we'll celebrate on Sunday. Joseph will have to be at Lorraine's on Thanksgiving for a show (that's actually one of the busiest nights of the year) so we'll have a small meal that day and a real all-out holiday the following Sunday.
Getting ready for the holidays means that another year has come and gone. The years seem to disappear faster each year and I hear that it only gets faster. I feel like I didn't achieve enough this year, but I don't think I'll be satisfied with the passing of a year until there are three of us at the end of it. I made a similar comment to Joseph recently, to which he replied: "we traveled, camped at some beautiful lakes, saw both of our families, cooked and ate and drank like royalty, bought a car, lived and loved and were happy, you got into shape and I can count on my fingers how many times all year that we used an alarm clock... what more could you want from twelve months?" I love his happy & content outlook, it's priceless and I'm lucky to spend every day with someone so pleasant, but I am driven by things I cannot control to want more. We're on our way and our life will happen the way it's meant to happen, so I strive to achieve Joseph's level of satisfaction and gratitude in our every day life.
I did the very first bit of my Christmas shopping this week, which also piqued my excitement. I have gifts for a few people and ideas for a few more. I think we'll do a bit more shopping this weekend in Austin, although the shopping I do this year will not even compare to what I did last year, so ya know. I'm on a mission, to have all my gifts bought and wrapped, as well as the candy made and packaged, to be mailed by December 1, since I am leaving town that week. I can do it, that's plenty of time.
Sadly, we will not be getting a Christmas tree this year. Since I will be gone for most of December and we won't be at home for the holiday, there is no point. It's only sad for me because I absolutely LOVE decorating our house for Christmas. Joseph is glad to be without the hassle and money spent on "all this Christmas shit". Our tree last year was so sweet and we had such a really lovely awesome Christmas here together. I was looking forward to enjoying the peaceful and quiet Powderhorn Christmas like last year... but plans change, and being with family will be great too. We will still be putting the lights and wreaths up on the back fence, of course, it is way too wonderful to skip.
Thanksgiving will be just the two of us and we'll celebrate on Sunday. Joseph will have to be at Lorraine's on Thanksgiving for a show (that's actually one of the busiest nights of the year) so we'll have a small meal that day and a real all-out holiday the following Sunday.
Getting ready for the holidays means that another year has come and gone. The years seem to disappear faster each year and I hear that it only gets faster. I feel like I didn't achieve enough this year, but I don't think I'll be satisfied with the passing of a year until there are three of us at the end of it. I made a similar comment to Joseph recently, to which he replied: "we traveled, camped at some beautiful lakes, saw both of our families, cooked and ate and drank like royalty, bought a car, lived and loved and were happy, you got into shape and I can count on my fingers how many times all year that we used an alarm clock... what more could you want from twelve months?" I love his happy & content outlook, it's priceless and I'm lucky to spend every day with someone so pleasant, but I am driven by things I cannot control to want more. We're on our way and our life will happen the way it's meant to happen, so I strive to achieve Joseph's level of satisfaction and gratitude in our every day life.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Lentil soup is gross, right?
As I mentioned before in my baked beans blog, I did not like beans of any kind for most of my life. Only in recent years have I begun to appreciate the bean, that they are not only super-healthy, but when cooked properly, quite delicious. I was never a picky eater at all, in fact my attitude toward new foods was always open, excited and willing to try most anything. I liked most every food I tasted my whole life, and so my love affair with cooking became what it is. Anyway, I liked practically everything, except beans. Even in culinary school I wasn't swayed from my stance against them, apparently SCI students weren't producing anything that great. The point of this entire silly paragraph is to introduce my next bean-venture and newest culinary challenge.
LENTIL SOUP
My sister was a little less excited about food than I was growing up. She wasn't picky so much (that pretty much wasn't an option), but there were definitely more things she did not like to eat than Mike and me. She would also "forget" to eat, which is something that has yet to happen to me, but anyway. The one single thing that Kate liked to eat that I would not touch was lentil soup. I found it completely repulsive and did not understand any one's affection toward it. My mom and grandmother liked it too, the Progresso kind in the blue can. So Gross.
I'm still on my happy-cold-weather kick and excited to be cooking soups and stews again. Always looking to add to my rolodex of food knowledge, I have decided to learn to make awesome lentil soup before I see everybody next month. I will make it as delicious as I can and then I might understand why you all like it. Even if I don't fall in love, I'll make it for all of you. And I can make it without pork, Kate, if that's still your deal.
-5 hours later-
So I made the soup. And it's really good. Much better than I expected it to be. It's not much to look at...
Along with a 16 oz bag of lentils I used 2 oz pancetta, 8oz of chopped ham and a ham bone, as well as onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, half a pale ale for deglazing and 6 cups beef stock. I also added a big handful of chopped spinach at the end.
Check one more thing off my list.
LENTIL SOUP
My sister was a little less excited about food than I was growing up. She wasn't picky so much (that pretty much wasn't an option), but there were definitely more things she did not like to eat than Mike and me. She would also "forget" to eat, which is something that has yet to happen to me, but anyway. The one single thing that Kate liked to eat that I would not touch was lentil soup. I found it completely repulsive and did not understand any one's affection toward it. My mom and grandmother liked it too, the Progresso kind in the blue can. So Gross.
I'm still on my happy-cold-weather kick and excited to be cooking soups and stews again. Always looking to add to my rolodex of food knowledge, I have decided to learn to make awesome lentil soup before I see everybody next month. I will make it as delicious as I can and then I might understand why you all like it. Even if I don't fall in love, I'll make it for all of you. And I can make it without pork, Kate, if that's still your deal.
-5 hours later-
So I made the soup. And it's really good. Much better than I expected it to be. It's not much to look at...
Along with a 16 oz bag of lentils I used 2 oz pancetta, 8oz of chopped ham and a ham bone, as well as onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, half a pale ale for deglazing and 6 cups beef stock. I also added a big handful of chopped spinach at the end.
Check one more thing off my list.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Call me Sandra Lee
No really, don't. Sandra Lee is the annoying bimbo on the food channel who accompanies every "semi-homemade" meal with a "table scape". I didn't do it intentionally, it just happened. When we sat down for dinner tonight I realized that the entire table matched, place mats, plates, flowers, lemons and limes. I was amused by how domestically darling I am, even on accident. 
We had the other marinated pork loin leftover from camping. I boiled down the marinade and made a sauce, which was really good.
I made some veggie couscous and green beans. For dessert we had HEAVEN on a plate. No other title quite captures it. I had a slab of leftover Chocolate Ganache cake from 909. It's melted chocolate, heavy cream and vanilla beans cooked together, then molded into solid cake. It's ridiculous and can only be eaten in single square inch portions, unless you're Joseph. I served it with just a small scoop of vanilla Haagen Dazs and a big ladle of strawberry-orange coulis.
Strawberries boiling with half an orange with 8 cloves stuck in it
Here are recipes for the pork, veg cous cous and strawberry sauce, all of which could fall into my quick, economic, healthy & delicious category. I must clarify that I do not believe all the recipes I write down to be "healthy". I mean wholesome, always containing natural fresh ingredients, though not necessarily always low in calories or fat. As long as it's made with fresh ingredients and isn't fried, you're on the right track.
Honey Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin
In a ziploc bag combine with 2 or 3 pork tenderloins: (use the leftover for awesome cuban paninis or in a stir-fry)
1 cup dijon mustard (I used the last inch of 4 separate mustard bottles, any good quality mustard or combo of mustards will work)
2 T minced garlic
1/3 c honey
1/2 c water
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
drizzle olive oil
good squeeze hot chili "rooster" sauce
big pinch salt
Store in fridge overnight or at least 4 hours. Grill and baste with marinade half way through.
Veggie CousCous
I used pearled cous cous, which is larger than traditional cous cous. Either will work, if using regular small cous cous, follow this recipe until adding the pasta, after that follow package instructions.
In 2 T butter in a shallow pan saute 1 stalk celery sm. diced, 1/4 green pepper sm. diced, 3 green onions chopped, 1 carrot sm diced, 2 T garlic minced and 1/4 c pinenuts or slivered almonds for about 5 minutes. S & P. Deglaze with 1/4 c white wine, stir frequently until most liquid absorbed. Add 1 1/4 cup cous cous, stir to coat. Set temp to med-low. Have 2 cups hot vegetable stock nearby. Add stock slowly, stirring often as the pasta absorbs the liquid and swells. Add stock until all liquid is absorbed, the pasta is cooked through and the texture is creamy. I added 1/2 c milk at the end, which made it creamier. Stir in a handful of frozen peas, corn if you want and quartered cherry tomato. Season again and keep on low til tomatoes are wilted. If you wanna be naughty, throw in some butter.
Strawberry Orange Coulis
In small sauce pot combine 2 cups frozen strawberries (or any combo of berries. Fresh works great too, but frozen fruit is always available and affordable), 1/4 c grande marnier, cointreau or OJ for the preggos & kiddos, 2 T sugar, pinch cinnamon or one cinnamon stick, zest of one orange, juice of half an orange, juice of half a lemon and a clove-studded orange half and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool in fridge. You could use it hot too, but I wanted it cold. Once cold, smash as much juice and pulp out of the orange that you can and then remove it. Blend with hand blender or in blender. SO FREAKING GOOD, could be used for cheesecake, chocolate cake, ice cream, layered in parfait with pastry cream, cake and berries, on angel food cake or anything you want to dip into or cover with strawberry lovely-ness.
We had the other marinated pork loin leftover from camping. I boiled down the marinade and made a sauce, which was really good.
I made some veggie couscous and green beans. For dessert we had HEAVEN on a plate. No other title quite captures it. I had a slab of leftover Chocolate Ganache cake from 909. It's melted chocolate, heavy cream and vanilla beans cooked together, then molded into solid cake. It's ridiculous and can only be eaten in single square inch portions, unless you're Joseph. I served it with just a small scoop of vanilla Haagen Dazs and a big ladle of strawberry-orange coulis.
Strawberries boiling with half an orange with 8 cloves stuck in it
Here are recipes for the pork, veg cous cous and strawberry sauce, all of which could fall into my quick, economic, healthy & delicious category. I must clarify that I do not believe all the recipes I write down to be "healthy". I mean wholesome, always containing natural fresh ingredients, though not necessarily always low in calories or fat. As long as it's made with fresh ingredients and isn't fried, you're on the right track.
Honey Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin
In a ziploc bag combine with 2 or 3 pork tenderloins: (use the leftover for awesome cuban paninis or in a stir-fry)
1 cup dijon mustard (I used the last inch of 4 separate mustard bottles, any good quality mustard or combo of mustards will work)
2 T minced garlic
1/3 c honey
1/2 c water
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
drizzle olive oil
good squeeze hot chili "rooster" sauce
big pinch salt
Store in fridge overnight or at least 4 hours. Grill and baste with marinade half way through.
Veggie CousCous
I used pearled cous cous, which is larger than traditional cous cous. Either will work, if using regular small cous cous, follow this recipe until adding the pasta, after that follow package instructions.
In 2 T butter in a shallow pan saute 1 stalk celery sm. diced, 1/4 green pepper sm. diced, 3 green onions chopped, 1 carrot sm diced, 2 T garlic minced and 1/4 c pinenuts or slivered almonds for about 5 minutes. S & P. Deglaze with 1/4 c white wine, stir frequently until most liquid absorbed. Add 1 1/4 cup cous cous, stir to coat. Set temp to med-low. Have 2 cups hot vegetable stock nearby. Add stock slowly, stirring often as the pasta absorbs the liquid and swells. Add stock until all liquid is absorbed, the pasta is cooked through and the texture is creamy. I added 1/2 c milk at the end, which made it creamier. Stir in a handful of frozen peas, corn if you want and quartered cherry tomato. Season again and keep on low til tomatoes are wilted. If you wanna be naughty, throw in some butter.
Strawberry Orange Coulis
In small sauce pot combine 2 cups frozen strawberries (or any combo of berries. Fresh works great too, but frozen fruit is always available and affordable), 1/4 c grande marnier, cointreau or OJ for the preggos & kiddos, 2 T sugar, pinch cinnamon or one cinnamon stick, zest of one orange, juice of half an orange, juice of half a lemon and a clove-studded orange half and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool in fridge. You could use it hot too, but I wanted it cold. Once cold, smash as much juice and pulp out of the orange that you can and then remove it. Blend with hand blender or in blender. SO FREAKING GOOD, could be used for cheesecake, chocolate cake, ice cream, layered in parfait with pastry cream, cake and berries, on angel food cake or anything you want to dip into or cover with strawberry lovely-ness.
Happy Campers
We're back from what can only be called, OUR BEST CAMPING TRIP YET! It was wonderful. We got there around lunch time on Sunday. It was about 80 degrees and the sky was like this.
We set up camp, which was the easiest its ever been. If you've heard horror stories about our first tent, rest assured, we got a nifty new little dome tent that practically sets itself up. Our site had lots of trees, was secluded from other campers and was on the edge of a little cliff, with a path through the woods down to the lake.
After a quick swim and some exploring for Cooper and pretend duck hunting for Marshall in the afternoon it was time for dinner. First we walked down a little hill and watched the sun set.
We had honey-mustard marinated pork tenderloin, roasted baby potatoes with caramelized onion (Joseph thinks they're better than Morton's Lyonnaise potatoes), broccoli and a grilled California peach.
Just because we're in the woods doesn't mean we skip anything. We enjoyed an eight year old Sonoma County Chardonnay (Thanks, 909!), which went perfectly with our dinner. 
We spent the rest of the evening cuddled next to the fire listening to "camping music", drinking Knob Creek & 7up and occasionally taking pictures of ourselves. Camping Music is a collection of 5 cds that we only listen to in a busted-ass old cd player when camping or near a campfire... Grateful Dead, Graham Wilkinson, Lemma and 2 Bob Marley albums. This compilation became our "camping music" last year and will remain so forever.
The moon was awesome and the sky was clear, we barely needed our flashlights. It got considerably cooler in the evening, but much less so than we had anticipated. All of our extra blankets and fleece hoodies stayed in the car, we slept with the door of the tent unzipped and only one blanket on top of us.
Monday we drove over to the rec center so I could swim and Joseph and the dogs could play a few rounds of disc golf. It rained a little bit while I was swimming, but the guys didn't mind and kept playing. We headed back to our site, did a little more exploring/swimming/duck chasing/picture taking and it was time for dinner again.
We decided that since it was looking like it may rain again and we wanted to end our sweet trip positively, it would be best to pack up our stuff and head home right after dinner. We had barbequed chicken, skillet beans & corn bread muffins (see previous blog), and pasta salad. The dogs had bratwursts. Deliciousness!
We packed everything up and were home by 6:30pm. After showers and pajamas and a few shows on dvr, we were asleep by 11. You can imagine how our happiness continued this morning as we lay in our warm dry king sized bed listening to the POURING rain!
We set up camp, which was the easiest its ever been. If you've heard horror stories about our first tent, rest assured, we got a nifty new little dome tent that practically sets itself up. Our site had lots of trees, was secluded from other campers and was on the edge of a little cliff, with a path through the woods down to the lake.
After a quick swim and some exploring for Cooper and pretend duck hunting for Marshall in the afternoon it was time for dinner. First we walked down a little hill and watched the sun set.
We had honey-mustard marinated pork tenderloin, roasted baby potatoes with caramelized onion (Joseph thinks they're better than Morton's Lyonnaise potatoes), broccoli and a grilled California peach.
Just because we're in the woods doesn't mean we skip anything. We enjoyed an eight year old Sonoma County Chardonnay (Thanks, 909!), which went perfectly with our dinner. 
We spent the rest of the evening cuddled next to the fire listening to "camping music", drinking Knob Creek & 7up and occasionally taking pictures of ourselves. Camping Music is a collection of 5 cds that we only listen to in a busted-ass old cd player when camping or near a campfire... Grateful Dead, Graham Wilkinson, Lemma and 2 Bob Marley albums. This compilation became our "camping music" last year and will remain so forever.
The moon was awesome and the sky was clear, we barely needed our flashlights. It got considerably cooler in the evening, but much less so than we had anticipated. All of our extra blankets and fleece hoodies stayed in the car, we slept with the door of the tent unzipped and only one blanket on top of us.
Monday we drove over to the rec center so I could swim and Joseph and the dogs could play a few rounds of disc golf. It rained a little bit while I was swimming, but the guys didn't mind and kept playing. We headed back to our site, did a little more exploring/swimming/duck chasing/picture taking and it was time for dinner again.
We decided that since it was looking like it may rain again and we wanted to end our sweet trip positively, it would be best to pack up our stuff and head home right after dinner. We had barbequed chicken, skillet beans & corn bread muffins (see previous blog), and pasta salad. The dogs had bratwursts. Deliciousness!
We packed everything up and were home by 6:30pm. After showers and pajamas and a few shows on dvr, we were asleep by 11. You can imagine how our happiness continued this morning as we lay in our warm dry king sized bed listening to the POURING rain!
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