Musings

Secret Ingredient Pizza

2010-04-18T20:01:00.005-05:00

Can you guess what it is? Your first hint is that they are very good for you--high in Omega-3s.

You second hint is that they are low on the food chain, meaning they don't get a chance to take on a lot of contaminants.

So what are they?

SARDINES!

Do you love them/hate them?

I was in the latter group, but then have read many positive things lately about their health benefits. Then I realized I don't think I've ever actually eaten them.
So tonight, I did. And they were good. Granted, I think I did a good job of masking their flavor, but I did eat them, they weren't fishy, and I liked what I ate.

I made Eating Well's whole wheat pizza crust, baked them sans toppings, then spread mashed avocado on top. The next layer was a mixture of the sardines (packed in olive oil), mashed with lemon zest, lemon juice, white balsamic, black pepper, crushed red pepper, Italian parsley, and mint.

This was very loosely based on Alton Brown's Sardine-Avocado Sandwich.

Now I need to find some other ways to try them. I want to start eating more fish, and am shooting for 3-4 days a week (not just sardines).

And here's one of the supporting articles I read about the benefits of sardines.

http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/food_news/what_s_in_your_fish?utm_source=EW_SlimDownSpecial_Blast_Apr10

2010-04-10T12:56:00.003-05:00

I love spring! The colors, the flavors, the freshness, and the sunshine. Not the wind that we have so much of here in Oklahoma though.

Here are strawberries, blue cheese stuffed olives (they are like my crack), asparagus with avocado oil and white balsamic vinegar (raw), and chicken with brown rice, cheesy sauce, and roasted broccoli garnished with almond slivers.

Oh, and the color here is so much better than normal because it was taken at my desk at work and I have some natural sunlight.

Cool Bento

2010-04-08T20:53:00.004-05:00

Cool as in I didn't have to use a microwave!

Raw asparagus with lemon juice/avocado oil/fresh black pepper, strawberries and grapes, Fage yogurt, a dried fig, and a two egg tamagoyaki. This was perfect for a night where I didn't cook, didn't have leftovers, but had odds and ends in the 'frig. The eggs take mere minutes to make. This is a very low effort, yet filling lunch.

New Blog

2010-03-21T15:14:00.003-06:00

I just added a blog to the sidebar--"Fed Up With School Lunch".

Interesting reading. Check it out!

Pre-Bento

2010-03-11T20:05:00.004-06:00

I have some catching up to do! I have all of these pictures on my phone, but just have been so tired that sitting at the computer to post just hasn't been on my radar.

At any rate, here is tomorrow's lunch, but presented on one of my salad plates for tonight's dinner.

I used two Eating Well recipes. The first was for oven fried chicken fried steak. I'm a CFC purist. I like it thin, crispy, and fried to a golden goodness. Fortunately (or not?), I only make it maybe 1-2x a year. I had some leftover cubed steak in the freezer that I needed to use, so decided to try this recipe. Surprisingly, it didn't disappoint. It was crispy, flavorful, and tender. I did omit the cornstarch and just upped the quantities of the wheat flour and corn meal. Instead of making the gravy called for in the recipe, I made a mushroom-sherry sauce. It was good, but I doubt I'd repeat it. I served with roasted broccoli drizzled with avocado oil and fried garlic (from a jar). I don't like broccoli, so am proud of myself for eating it. Twice.

Norman's Finest-A Hidden Gem

2010-03-01T20:55:00.004-06:00

OK, so I am sending you to another blog for their review, but thought I'd share anyway. This is where K and I had our first date, our 1-year anniversary date (of dating), and last New Year's Eve.

It's just a bit outside of town, and oh-so-worth it.

The lobster bisque is the best I've ever had. OK, so it's the only I've ever tried, but it truly is one of the best things I've ever eaten. Ever. I wanted to lick the bowl.

Anyhow, here is the review.

Whispering Pines--Norman's Best Kept Secret

Two Meals or a Game of "What Doesn't Belong"

2010-02-28T21:16:00.005-06:00

I made a quick visit to a local Asian grocery on Friday. There are two decent ones in the OKC. I like the other one better (Super Cao Nguyen to anyone local reading this). This one is OK, and is more on my way home from work so it'll do. I left with two bags of produce for $18 (and also a container of fried garlic from Thailand. Yum.). I hope I can eat it all before it goes bad!

Last night I made some Thai-Style Dumplings for the freezer. OK, linking to that recipe is a bit misleading. It's the original dumplings I made years ago, but I didn't follow it closely. I ground up some pork chops and then added carrots, baby bok choy, onion, lots of ginger and garlic, and of course soy sauce and sesame oil. I ran out of wontons, so tonight's dinner was made with the leftover meat mixture. I did spice it up more with ginger and soy sauce, because after eating a couple of dumplings last night, I thought they needed more seasoning. Yes, I have a seasoning problem. I like a lot of it.

So, the ground pork mixture was part of my dinner. I just slow cooked it in a touch of toasted sesame oil until done. I ate it with some brown rice, a pickled daikon radish and carrot salad, some garlicky sauteed green pea shooters, and some maple-dill caramelized carrots. Guess which doesn't belong? :)

I bought some dill at the market and the smell has been enticing me. I HAD to use it tonight, and I have a plethora of carrots, so there you have it. The recipe I linked to was my guide, but I used maple syrup in place of the agave nectar, and added a teaspoon of butter because well, I like butter. This was a good meal, balanced, and notice in the picture of my salad plate that most of the plate is veggies. That's good right? And yes, that is a salad plate. Read: Small.

On to tomorrow's lunch. It's not much different, except I have sweet potatoes instead of maple dill carrots. Guess which doesn't belong? Food pairing has never been my thing. I eat what I have and/or what I like. It's also topped with some Organic Garden of Eden Gomasio.

And there is Cosmo in the background, hoping I drop it.

99 Things

2010-02-26T20:44:00.004-06:00

Found this interesting floating around in blog land and thought I'd give it a whirl.

Instructions:
Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (that's on my list of places I want to go!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (the one I remember the most was while on a North Florida beach)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (land but not world)
8. Climbed a mountain (does driving a 4 wheel drive count?)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm (I grew up in Oklahoma.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (not to the extent I'd like)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (badly, from Bologna to Geneva)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (raised them from 5th-10th grade)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (both)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (no desire to)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (does this count if I didn't realize it at the time?)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (badly, while intoxicated)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (amazing!)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Snorkled at Dry Tortugas)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (the mud slides we had at the creek/canyon behind the house were the best)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I've donated blood).
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I have dolls in the attic)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (jumped out of a swing in 4th grade. Left arm. Broke my nose in softball)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (and even witnessed my parents' wreck. I think that was the last time. . . )
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (1997 Nissan Sentra)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (sports days)
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House (I didn't go in)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (I've been called once and they filled the jury before they made it to me)
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo (2009 on the top of my foot--love it. It's a sunshine. I love sun rises and sunsets. It reminds me of Dakota.)
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (drive by)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Adios, Aspartame! I don't even miss ya.

2010-02-22T22:23:00.002-06:00

I mentioned before that I am DONE with diet sodas. I am really wanting to get, and keep, aspartame out of my diet. I had my last beloved Diet DP a week ago today. During this last week, I have gone to the gym six times, done two strength training workouts at home, drank four cups of coffee, and have felt all together GREAT. It's amazing. I don't know if it's the lack of aspartame, a different mind-set, drinking tons of water, vitamins, or a combo, but something is working because I feel great. I'm even getting up in the wee morning hours to go to the gym.

Today's schedule went something like this:

5:15 up and at 'em for the 30 minute commute to the Y near my work

6:00 Elliptical (33 minutes)

6:40 Treadmill (30 minutes-ran/walked two miles and my old achy knees felt great)

Shower/clean up at the Y

8:15 Arrived at hotel where off-site meetings were. Yes, today was a bonus as I didn't have to be at my desk at the normal 7:30 a.m.

5:00 Elliptical (33 minutes)

6:00 Volunteer in-service

8:00 home

9:00 Upper body workout (30 minutes with weights/band on the Wii)

I feel great! It's amazing. If I could manage that sort of workout five days/week, would I get skinny? I don't know, but if I feel as good as I do now, it'll be worth it!

Now--10:30 and bedtime! I have more meetings tomorrow and they provide lunch, so no food to share. I will have a new bento up in a couple of days though. :)

Thanks for reading.

Yum!

2010-02-08T20:38:00.004-06:00

I saw these at my local health food store, and just had to try it. YUM! I got the mint variety. It was a bit of a splurge, ($3.79 for a 4-pack), but since I am about to go OFF the diet soda, I'm entitled. The mint soda I am drinking now is not sweet, is bubbly, and has just a hint of mint. It would also be good with rum. :) The big draw to this is that I know what everything on the product list is-all natural ingredients!

As for the details, these are made by the R.W. Knudsen family. I'll look forward to trying out more of their products.

Bright and Cheerful

2010-02-03T21:25:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow's lunch provides some splash of color that I desperately need to see! The weather has been so dreary and gray/white. I'm sick of it. I'm ready for spring. Until then, I can at least pack some colors in my lunch!
On the top, I have baby carrots and about 1 T. of goat cheese seasoned with some lemon juice, lemon rind, and pepper. On the bottom, I have some cucumbers marinating in rice vinegar and some crispy spicy pork (usually the filling for my pork carnitas) topped with cilantro/onion and a squeeze of lime juice. I put the cheese in a divider cup so I can easily remove it to heat the pork.

This lunch is sort of light on carbs, but I will probably eat a granola bar in the afternoon before I go run so should be in good shape there!

I Love My Lock & Lock!

2010-01-25T20:23:00.005-06:00

I really do love these containers. They make me think twice when filling them-this is all I can have for lunch, so what can I pack in it that will be nutritious and filling? I don't want to fill it full, as that would be too much (seriously--it holds like 800 ml).
My lunch today consisted of leftover brown rice with leftover filet mignon, some baked sweet potato with cinnamon and cayenne, spicy garden mix with a pickle, and a tamagoyaki. This was perfect. Just a few bites of steak (YUM), a bit of rice, a compartment packed full of sweet potato--it's so good for you, and then the omelet and veggies. I didn't feel guilty; it really was just enough.

Have I mentioned that I love my Lock & Lock?

Tomorrow's lunch is very similar, except I made some fried rice with egg, broccoli, enoki mushrooms, and soy sauce. I have a little bit more steak, the same spicy garden mix with a pickle added in, and for "dessert", some new trail mix I saw at Sam's made by Back to Nature called Bar Harbor Blend. I've bought their products before and am really impressed by their ingredients. This blend is vanilla almonds, chocolate covered almonds, and dried cranberries. A serving is 3 T. I packed just under two. I think it will be a nice sweet finish to my meal.

And again, I love my Lock & Lock!

Tri-Color Bento

2010-01-20T20:51:00.005-06:00

I finally cooked something from my new cookbook, Bento Love. I wanted something with meat, but only had thick cut pork loin chops in the freezer. The recipe I used called for ground chicken; I just ground two pork chops in my food processor and followed the recipe. I actually doubled the recipe, as I prefer to cook for more than one meal. I actually got THREE meals out of this double recipe. Yay me!

Anyhow, it just involved mixing your ground meat with a broth made of soy sauce, mirin, and lots of ginger. You then cook it on low heat until most of the broth has cooked away and the meat has browned. Stirring regularly is required to keep the meat from clumping.

The next color of this bento is from scrambled eggs. You beat the egg with some water, sugar, and a dash of sesame oil. When scrambling, use chopsticks moved vigorously in the pan to create small "scrambles". The third color is snap peas. I subbed green beans that I stir fried with some garlic and olive oil. This meal was dinner last night, lunch today, and dinner tonight. I served it over brown rice. Healthy, hearty, and flavorful--this is something I will make again!

The really surprising thing is that no one at work made a comment about it. I guess it looked too normal and boring. :)

The other layer of my bento consisted of some Kashi Stoneground 7 Grain crackers and a feta cheese spread from Central Market. These might be my new favorite crackers. Check them out!

Beans and veggies!

2010-01-18T20:50:00.003-06:00

I made a weekend trip to Dallas w/ my dear friend Anna to hit some stores, see some people, eat some good food, etc. Unlike last time, I don't think we took any pictures this time around. Odd.
Anyhow. After all of that shopping, I couldn't decide what to make for dinner or lunch tomorrow. I finally went with the "minimal effort" path.

On the top left and moving clockwise, I have some pickles from Central Market as well as a spicy veggie mix that has some peppers and olives, then a grape-blue cheese-walnut salad, then some great Northern beans heated with garlic, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, s&p, then drizzled with balsamic syrup. Yum. Finally, a tamagoyaki (Japanese egg omelet).

The container I used is something I picked up at H-Mart, but could find here. Each section holds about 1/2 cup if packed (I measured the beans). You can't tell, but the grape section is just over 1/2 full, as is the egg section. The other is packed, but it's veggies. Hopefully this will be another aid in portion control!

Two Bentos=Three Meals

2010-01-11T22:08:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow will be a long day-one of those that make you wonder if it will ever end. To help me get home quicker, I am taking my dinner with me rather than waste time stopping somewhere.

The lunch bento is some pork carnitas meat I made this weekend (it's cold here, hence the yucky look) and sweet potatoes in the big layer. The bottom layer had the cilantro/onion mixture for the meat, a quarter lime, some dried blueberries with a few dried cherries, and some Kashi Stoneground 7-Grain crackers. Looking at this now, I think that's too much meat! Haha.

Mr. Bento has my breakfast, the usual Fage yogurt. The preserves of the day are pineapple/mango. The main course is peanutty noodles with broccoli slaw, onion, garlic, ginger, and some thin sliced pork. It's topped with fresh cilantro. I ate it hot tonight, but tomorrow it will be cool after being in the 'frig all day and then in my cold car.

I have some cheese (Dubliner Cheddar and another Dubliner that is similar to Gouda), some Back to Nature sunflower and basil crackers, pecans, and a couple of Hershey's mint truffles for good measure.

Super Pho'

2010-01-04T22:15:00.003-06:00

When the weather gets miserably cold, and my house is so chilly that I just want to cuddle under a blanket, I crave Pho'. It is one of the BEST.FOODS.EVER. The Pho' I can get here in my little town isn't quite as good as what is in the Vietnamese area of OKC, but it will do in a pinch. What is Pho'? Well, I describe it simply as a beef noodle soup. The depth of flavor is so much more than what comes out of my kitchen. Try it!

I was able to make two meals out of tonight's Pho' and pack it in my Mr. Bento, so I have it to look forward to tomorrow. However, I ate all of the beef tonight. The beef is very thinly sliced and added to the broth raw. The simmering broth cooks the beef quickly. You can then add whatever garnishes/spices/vegetables you want. My lunch tomorrow will be the Pho' broth with the noodles, vegetables, a shrimp spring roll (with yummy peanut dipping sauce), and sweet potatoes. Also yogurt with jam for breakfast. I really think this is more than I will be able to eat--so much food but oh so good!
I realize this doesn't look that appetizing, but it really is! I promise! :)

Back to Work, Back to Bento

2010-01-03T19:25:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year! 2010. That just sounds so weird. And, since it is the beginning of the year and the holiday binging is over, it's time to get my fat a$$ back in gear. OK, it's not really fat. At least, it's not the area where the extra cushion goes when I over indulge. Anyhow, maybe bentoing (that can be used as a verb, right?) will get my back on track with my lunches. Now if only the Bentos could exercise for me, because that's my real issue. When it's cold outside, I just want to bundle up and hibernate!

Tomorrow's lunch:

Top layer: Baked sweet potato mashed with cayenne, cinnamon, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. As much as I wanted to, I skipped the brown sugar and butter. :) Also, some beef stewed all day in red wine, broth, onions, garlic, etc. It looks gross because it's cold, but is oh so yummy.
Bottom layer: Fage yogurt with Morello Cherry Preserves (which I am running low on--fortunately a trip to Central Market is in my NEAR future), and some True North Almond Berry Crisps. I'm sad because I can't find the Berry Crisps anymore. The lady at Sam's said it was limited edition. Bummer. The plain almond ones are good too though.

Mr. Bento

2009-12-22T21:37:00.005-06:00

I got a Mr. Bento last week! It is so cool, and will be great to take my lunch along on our many work road trips. This really holds A LOT. This is my lunch and breakfast. From the top left, I have garbage bread, sweet potato salad and olives, Fage 0% Greek yogurt with mango butter, and tamajoyaki.

What is garbage bread you ask? Well, it's pizza dough- I prefer whole wheat-rolled into a rectangle, topped with whatever ingredients you like, rolled up, baked at 350 for about 40 minutes and then sliced. True to it's name, mine had ingredients I had to really get creative to put together. I started with sun dried tomatoes and bacon, but thought it needed more substance. I then smashed up a can of great northern beans, added some fresh garlic and just a tiny bit of water to thin it. I first spread this on the dough, then topped with the tomatoes and bacon. I also added some black pepper and crushed red pepper.

Surprisingly, the beans "disappeared" in the final product. I couldn't see them or taste them, but I didn't feel as guilty knowing that bit of healthy goodness was hidden away.

I've already made my bento for tomorrow. I doubt I have time to post again until next week, so I am posting it here. Tonight after visiting a sweet little old lady and then some last minute Christmas shopping, I decided that cooking was not in my plans, so I called in an order to O' Fusion, one of my favorite new restaurants in town. I tried something new--Garlic Pork, which was described as "fragant vegetables with meat of your choice (pork!) in a spicy red garlic sauce." Now, I like vegetables. I do. But this was the first dish from there that I have been disappointed in because those fragrant vegetables consisted of broccoli. Had I eaten in, I would have complained, but didn't realize until I was home. Oh well. I ate some anyway, and have enough for two meals left over! I also got an order of Tom Kha Gai soup. This is chicken in a coconut broth with vegetables. Very rich and flavorful. However, mine is better.

Here is tomorrow's breakfast and lunch. Garlic pork with broccoli and garlic rice, yogurt with pineapple/mango preserves, more sweet potatoes and olives, and Tom Kha Gai soup.

Introducing...

2009-12-21T19:08:00.000-06:00

COSMO!

Who is currently working on his prepositions--on vs. in. :)

Name That Dog!

2009-12-17T23:20:00.002-06:00

After much careful consideration, I've narrowed the name possibilities down to four. They are none of the same ones I have considered since meeting this little guy on Sunday. Go figure.

Anyhow, isn't he a cutie? He is just the sweetest thing, and I think the medicine my little Peanut needed after losing Harley (I may post on that later). Anyhow. Read on for the choices.

Cosmo, Copper, Ember, or Zephyr. I have a favorite, but I'm not telling yet!

Three in a Row!

2009-12-16T21:44:00.004-06:00

Wow, three days in a row to Bento AND to blog? Amazing! So for tomorrow's lunch, I have some broccoli and bok choy cooked in a bit of sesame oil with garlic and soy sauce, marinated flank steak, brown rice, more sweet potato goodness. Have I mentioned that I LOVE this salad? Have I mentioned that I bought 8.5 lbs of sweet potatoes yesterday? Also some more cranberry salad and a couple of my favorite blue cheese stuffed olives--pure goodness.

About the flank steak. Remember the sweet potato/peanut butter sauce I made for the noodles for Bento #1? I have some left over. I HATE wasting food. So, I thinned it with water, added sesame oil, lime juice, Sriracha, a bit more peanut butter, and marinated the steak overnight. Then I pan broiled because my grill is out of gas for the time being. I like my flank stake on the rare side of medium. Not quite rare, but more so than medium well, otherwise is gets too tough and is difficult to eat.

I got several interesting comments on my Bento today. The cold tamagoyaki turned one person off. Truly, I would have me too until I tried it. Something about adding the tiny bit of sugar makes it taste so much NOT like an egg. Not that that makes any sense. You just have to trust me on this. Try one. You'll like. I'm not crazy about eggs, and I actually LIKE this.

Another Bento!

2009-12-15T22:04:00.005-06:00

So, two days in a row! I have the same sweet potato salad, but made with white balsamic vinegar and not as much so hopefully I don't drown out the sweet potato flavor again. In the silicone cupcake cup, I have a simple cranberry salad. The bottom layer is roasted broccoli with a dusting of Parmesan, blue cheese stuffed olives, and another tamagoyaki that is sort of hidden under the broccoli. I have to admit-I don't like broccoli. I buy it because I know it's good for me and with hopes that I'll find a way to incorporate it into my diet. I ate some tonight for dinner, along with an egg tamagoyaki because what is easier than a two minute egg?

Bento!

2009-12-14T22:00:00.007-06:00

OK, so it's been a while. I'm back. I don't know if it will be permanent, but as for right this instant I am here.

I made my 2nd Bento tonight. The 1st really shouldn't count though, because it was more of a snack/breakfast. Not lunch. Tonight I made lunch. For tomorrow. I may try to do this a couple or three times a week. We'll see.

So. What did I put into my bento? Sweet potatoes. Lots and lots of sweet potatoes. I shredded a sweet potato, mixed it with a homemade balsamic viniagrette spiked with some cayenne and chili powder, added some chili-toasted pecans and golden raisins. Next, I shredded a sweet potato (do you see a pattern here?). I boiled it until tender. I pureed it with some peanut butter, garlic, S&P. I mixed this with some organic brown rice udon noodles. It looks ugly, but it tastes good so I am happy. That is the big layer. The small layer is made up of 5 blue cheese stuffed olives (my latest guilty pleasure-I can't get enough of them), some Food Should Taste Good sweet potato tortilla chips, and a 1 egg tamajoyaki (Japanese omelet). There was also room for one hershey's kiss mint truffle.

Oh, and here is a picture. I must say--it doesn't look appetizing. The pretty sweet potato orange is covered up by other things. Oh well. As long as it tastes good, right?

And many thanks to Avie at Avie's Bento for giving me my very first bento and answering all of my questions.

Grilled PIzza

2009-06-23T19:49:00.007-05:00

The best thing I've tried in a LONG time.

I use Eating Well's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. It's a quick and easy one to make, even on a busy week night. The only things I do differently are to use honey instead of sugar, and I also don't use the quick yeast. I use Fleischman's Active Dry yeast. I dissolve it in the water with the honey before adding it to the other ingredients.

I wanted simplicity, so made a Pizza Margherita. It's divine! Plump juicy tomatoes (unfortunatley not home grown), fresh basil, mozzarella, olive oil, a dusting of finely grated fresh Parmesan. Did I mention that this was most excellent?

The method? Use your favorite pizza dough recipe. Roll it out thin. Get your grill super hot (mine was fluctuating between 450-700). It would have been hotter but I work I slow. Put it on the grill, close the lid for a few minutes. I used direct heat. For a thicker crust, use indirect, but I'd put the dough on the hottest part of the grill, turn that part off and then turn the other burners on (assuming a gas grill).
Flip dough--it should have some little bubbles forming.

Quickly add toppings. Shut for 2-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. I added the basil and Parmesan after turning the heat off.

If you are using vegetables, cook and/or drain them first to prevent a soggy pizza. I drained my tomatoes--they were juicy! I prefer the mozzarella that is in little balls-bocconcini.

I can't wait to make more grilled pizza!

Sorry about the picture quality. They were taken w/ my phone.

This is how pizza should be--thin and crispy so you can hold it!

Beautiful!

Simplicity

2009-05-26T19:48:00.006-05:00

First of all--Tammi got it right, and no wonder since I know we've both been making this cake for years! The green cake is made that way by the addition of Midori Melon Liquor. It's good stuff. The recipe also calls for a box of instant pistachio pudding. I forgot to add it and it was still good, just not as green as it normally is.

On to today's entry.

Simplicity.

The weather is getting warmer. I'm yearning for more fresh vegetables. One of my favorites is the simple tomato (OK, it's really a fruit. I am aware of this). These days, it's difficult to find farm fresh tomatoes, which saddens me greatly! I am growing some myself this year. If that is a FAIL, my dad has some started that look incredible. At any rate, I took a gamble last week and bought a couple at my local grocery store.

Tonight, I coarsely chopped one of them, along with a peeled and seeded cucumber. I added a handful of chopped mint (that grows profusely next to my hosue), some basil, the juice of a lemon, the zest of half a lemon, toasted pine nuts, freshly ground pepper, and parmesan cheese. Heaven in a bowl!

If you are cooking for someone who needs a bit more protein, add some leftover chicken. Mix and match your herbs. I used mint and basil because that what I have, though I don't yet have much basil. Add some garlic or other vegetables. You can't really go wrong. I intended to use chickpeas instead of pasta, but realized I am out. I like the Barilla Plus pasta because it has fiber and protein in it and tastes good too. You could also omit the pasta and just make a veggie side salad to go along with your main dish. I love spring/summer and the bounty of fresh produce that comes along with this time of the year!

Here is the recipe.

Pasta, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
Barilla Plus Rotini, 4 oz dried (2 servings)
Red Ripe Tomatoes, 1 large whole (3" dia)
Cucumber (peeled), 1 medium
Parmesan Cheese, grated, 15 grams
Lemon Juice, 1 lemon yields
Pine Nuts, .5 oz
Lemon Zest-from 1/2 of lemon
Basil, 8 leaves
Fresh Mint, handful
Freshly Ground Pepper
Salt

Peel and seed cucumber.
Toss with chopped basil and mint, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper.
Chill.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Run under cool water.
Toss with vegetables. Top with toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and more herbs for garnish.

Number of Servings: 2

I even entered this into a recipe calculator. Not too bad. . .
Per serving:
Calories 329.6
Total Fat 9.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Cholesterol 5.9 mg
Sodium 175.4 mg
Potassium 427.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 47.7 g
Dietary Fiber 6.1 g
Sugars 4.2 g
Protein 15.6 g

(I actually got 3 servings out of this--220 calories, 6 grams of fat).

GREEN???!?!?!!

2009-05-19T22:35:00.003-05:00

What could this be? Any guesses?

It's a GREEN cake! OK, this was back in February I think. Or March. Any guesses on what flavor it is? Why is it green?
I forgot to add one of the "green" ingredients, so it wasn't quite as bright as it usually is. The ingredient wasn't missed, so I'll omit it from now on.

What Do You Get When You. . .

2009-05-10T23:14:00.003-05:00

Mix 2.25 lbs of ground beef, 1+ lbs. of Italian sausage, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 lb. of mozzarella, onion, 2 eggs, lots of garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and crackers for binding?

Homemade meatballs, which I made for my mom for Mother's Day today! I haven't made them in quite some time, and totally winged it, but they turned out pretty darn good. I put a tiny piece of mozzarella in the middle of each for a bit of cheesy goodness in every bite. Of course, I made about 100 meatballs (so it seemed). I was feeding six. We had plenty of leftover, so I brought home at least 2 more meals worth.

My only negative? I didn't have time to make the marinara. I used the jarred variety. However, it was good. Classico is my jarred brand of choice, for those time like today when there is no time to do it the old fashioned way. We decided on meatballs at 1, and still had to go to the store to get the ingredients.

This makes me want to make a big batch of meatballs here at home and freeze them. Of course, if I do that, I'll also have to make a big pot of marinara. YUM.

Oh, and I almost got enough protein today. Yes, I had a meaty dinner, but I skipped lunch because I was either driving or cooking.

At any rate, tomorrow I have leftovers, plus I bought more cottage cheese to dig into for breakfast.

Food Watch and More

2009-05-09T21:25:00.003-05:00

So, I realized today that if I eat 1 cup of cottage cheese a day, I'll get almost half of my daily protein needs! I do like cottage cheese. Do I like it enough to eat a cup most every day? We'll see. Tonight I had it as my part 1 of dinner with a cup of pineapple chunks (drained). I had been working outside after running errands, and after I came in the house and showered, I realized I was shaking because I was so hungry. That was the fastest thing I could find (that was also healthy). Never mind that the cottage cheese was a full 8 days past its expiration. It passed the smell test, so I ate it.
The rest of dinner, after I scarfed this down? Two homemade corn tortillas, heated in a cast iron skillet until crisp, then topped with a very slight drizzle of melted butter and about 1/3 cup of avocado salsa each. Quick, easy, and very tasty. I had some salsa that I made last week-more like a hot sauce actually, in that it only has jalapenos that are boiled until tender, and processed with a can of fire roasted tomatoes with salt and garlic powder to taste.
The tortillas came from this little tortilleria in the old Capitol Hill neighborhood of Oklahoma City. They were hot when I bought them! Yum, so fresh. I also got some flour ones.
Anyone have any more ideas for how to eat cottage cheese? I also like it with salt, pepper, and fresh tomatoes. I've still got a bit of time before I'll have fresh tomatoes, and supermarket tomatoes just won't do (yes, I'm a "tomato snob"). I suppose I can try it with just s&p. But every day?

On another note, here is a super COOL website that Mark Bittman wrote about in his blog (see a link on the right side of this page for his blog). It's called Food and Water Watch. You visit a virtual supermarket, click on any food you like, and find out, for example, that processed garlic is just as likely to come from China than from the U.S. Avocado that you buy in the U.S. is more likely to come from Mexico--3 out of 5 avocados consumed here are imported. The odds that apple juice that so many kids love is from here in the U.S.? One in five. It's much more likely to come from China. Interesting stuff. I try to eat local as much as I can, but I know I don't do enough. And there are some things, like the pounds of apples I eat in a week, that I can't get local, and I am unwilling to give them up!

Well...

2009-05-07T21:10:00.003-05:00

I grilled a chicken breast for dinner tonight and managed to eat half of it. It was OK. However, I still ended up low for the day on protein. I forgot to take a picture of my dinner, but I'll describe it.
I pounded it as thin as I could, drizzled it with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary. I let it marinate for about 20 minutes. This was plenty!

I also cut up 2 zucchini and a yellow bell pepper. I also drizzled them with the same mixture, plus a touch of cayenne.

I grilled all of the above and tossed with 1 oz (pre-cooked weight) of Barilla Plus pasta and 1/2 oz. of Parmesan cheese.

Not surprisingly, the 2.5 oz. piece of chicken was the last thing left in the bowl. Sigh. But I tried. And I'll have the same for lunch tomorrow.

I did splurge on dessert tonight. My latest addiction is Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. OMG, it is phenomenal! I could eat the whole pint (actually, I have before). I only had a small serving tonight. I have to stretch it out over at least a week. :)

Food Woes and other Musings

2009-05-06T22:05:00.003-05:00

So I've been trying to drop a few pounds...watching what I eat (portion control), and have started going to the gym more.

Nothing seems to have changes over the last month, so I started tracking my food intake again, just to see what gives. After 3 days (one of eating out for lunch and dinner because of work), it looks like I am not eating enough! GRRRRR. Plus I am not getting enough protein. Really, this isn't a surprise. Last year when I tracked for most of 3 months, I struggled with that. I've realized that while I like red meat-there's nothing like a grilled steak cooked medium, I'm not crazy about many other meats. I like chicken--if it's fried. I like sausage. I LOVE bacon. You see where this is going? I'm not a fan of just plain white meat, the healthy kind. . . Sure, I'll eat it if it's there, but I don't crave it. I don't come home and cook it. So, I'm needing to step back and reevaluate my eating habits. Protein is needed to build muscle. Did I mention I've been hitting the gym? I'm actually enjoying the body sculpting class I've been attending. I like that for a few days after, I can feel the muscle group where we really focused (calves this week). I feel like I am doing my body good! However, if I'm not giving my body enough of what it needs to be stronger, then it's almost like I'm wasting those gym efforts!

I'm going to try and menu plan next week and incorporate chicken and/or shrimp into more meals. I'm not excited about it, but maybe if I surround the meat with yummy vegetables and delicious seasonings, I'll do my body good.

I also bought some weights and a stability ball today, so on those days when I can't make it to the gym, I can recreate some of our class here at home. For the first time, I am WANTING to work out at home! Now I just need to make sure they don't just end up just accumulating dust.

Oh, and I do think I can see a bit more definition in my arms. YAY me!

Shower Time!

2009-05-05T21:02:00.005-05:00

Saturday was exhausting! I think I am still recuperating!
The big hit of the day was the cake, made by a friend of mine. Isn't it amazing?
Next up was the BL-Tea Sandwiches. I'll post the recipe at the bottom.

Look at the detail. You can see the stitching.

Yum-Sangria! Hiccup. I may have gotten a bit buzzed at the shower--that's a first for me!

The fruit bouquet my boyfriend got for the occasion. Awesome!
BL-Tea sandwiches. Half on marlbe rye and half on mini-wheat.

Cucumber sandwiches in the middle and chicken salad on the sides. I was disappointed in my chicken salad. I think I've lost my touch.

The other punch--orange-y, pineapple-y. I bet it's good with vodka.

Tortilla roll-ups

And the recipe, with my edits in red.

B-L-Tea Sandwiches

1 1/2 pounds of thick-sliced hickory-smoked peppered bacon (I didn't use peppered bacon. I used thick cut though and made more like 2.5 lbs)
24 (4 ounces) sun-dried tomatoes (I used a 16 oz. jar of tomatoes packed in oil, drained and patted as dry as possible. I then didn't have to soak them in hot water because they were already nice and soft).

1 cup homemade or prepared mayonnaise (yeah, I don't do the homemade!)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

24 1/4-inch-thick slices of rye bread

6 ounces lamb's lettuce (mache) or other baby lettuce leaves, enough to make about 2 loosely packed cups

1. Heat the oven to 375F with the rack in the center. Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer without touching on 2 baking sheets and bake, one at a time, in the oven for 10 minutes each. Remove and drain off the fat.Continue to bake until the bacon is crisp, another 10 minutes. Drain and let cool on paper towels. Crumble the bacon into small pieces, about 1/2-inch each. Set aside.
I cooked it in my cast iron stove top in 3-4 batches. I cut it up before hand too.

2. Meanwhile, heat 3 cups of water in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Place the sun0dreid tomatoes in a medium bowl and cover wih the very hot water. Allow the tomatoes to soak until they are soft, about 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and finely chop. Combine the tomatoes and the mayonnaise. Season generously with salt and pepper. (Hmmmm....think I forgot to add salt or pepper. Oops.)

3. Spread each bread slice with the mayonnaise mixture. Generously sprinkle half the bread slices with the bacon. Arrange the mache over the bacon, sprinkle with pepper, and top with the remaining bread. trim the crust. Slice each in half and serve. (oops. I only put the mayo mixture on one side of the bread. Like it matters :-) )

Makes 2 dozen.

From Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook (Clarkson Potter, 1999)

What I've Been Up To

2009-05-01T21:00:00.003-05:00

I've been insanely busy with work, getting back into a gym habit, and just life.

The latest twist on this is a baby shower I am cohosting tomorrow-I am doing the food (I volunteered). Because of crazy work, I ended up doing 90% of my shopping for it today after work. Ugh. That's too much.
Anyhow, here is the menu. Recipes/pictures to follow later.

Sangria
Fruity Punch
Spicy Tortilla Pinwheels

Trio of Tea Sandwiches:
Chicken Salad
Cucumber Dill
BL-Tea

There will also be a fruit bouquet, vegetable platter, and of course CAKE.

My Life Haiku

2009-04-22T22:46:00.002-05:00

Much too tired to post.
Gym is kicking my arse hard.
Oh my aching quads.

I don't want to cook.
Too much effort, I say no.
Maybe tomorrow.

Market Finds

2009-04-19T15:57:00.005-05:00

Last week, I made a trek to Cao Nguyen in Oklahoma City. I bought all of this produce for like $14! Seemed like a bargain. Granted, some of it I have no idea how to use, but that makes it all the more fun!

Lemongrass--I sense Tom Ka Gai Soup coming soon. Some of the greens are interesting; I imagine I'll just cook them in broth until wilted. The brown thing on the left is taro root. Lemons and limes are so cheap there-I stock up to use them as a finishing touch to soups and salads. Jicama is great in salads--it adds texture and I like the crunch! I've already used the eggplant. It became this:

Steamed in my awesome bamboo steamer that Avie gave me, topped with rice noodles, cilantro, and a shoyu sesame sauce. It was good, though I over steamed the eggplant a bit. Next time I'll know. . .

Bubble Tea

2009-04-16T20:17:00.005-05:00

I first had bubble tea in Chicago about 5 years ago. I'd heard of it, but never seen it anywhere. I was walking down a Chicago street--can't remember the name, but it was NE of where my friend Jackie lived in Lincoln Park. I can still see the street. The shop owner was a friendly man--I promised to come back if I ever visited Chicago again!

Anyhow, I've been on a bubble tea kick lately. I've bought the tapioca pearls. I have the instant boba milk tea mix. It's good. However, when I looked at the ingredients...well, it's not something I can allow myself to have all the time. Yeah, no fun. It's just instant tea, powdered milk, sugar, and sometimes flavorings/colorings. The tea shops have flavored teas--mango, taro, coconut, . . . really just about any fruit you can imagine and then some. I decided tonight to dig around in my tea stash to see what sounded good and found some Thai tea I forgot about. It was perfect! It's called Sweet Thai Delight and is by Yogi Tea.

The ingredients are organic redbush leaf, organic cinnamon bark, organic anise seed, carob pod, stevia leaf, natural coconut flavor, and natural butterscotch flavor.

To make the bubble tea, you add the tapioca pearls to bowling water, boil for about 3 minutes, turn the heat down to medium and cover for another 8-10, until they are the texture you like. Drain and rinse.

Make your tea, whether the instant stuff or leaves you steep yourself. I added some agave nectar to make it a little sweeter without a ton of calories, and topped it off with some milk. The instant stuff is already very sweet and had milk powder in it.

Add your bubble tea straw and you are set!

I have some black tea with blueberry flavorings that I may try next.

A tumor???

2009-04-14T19:21:00.003-05:00

So, Harley had surgery today to remove a tumor of some sort! Poor guy has been through so much! Getting him in the house was a comedy in and of itself. You just had to laugh. Determined dog whose hind legs wouldn't work, his owner who made the poor decision to dress in BLACK today, and a towel. He finally made it in thanks to my boyfriend coming to the rescue!
We'll find out soon if the mass was cancerous or not.
In the meantime, here's Harley thinking about getting out of my car (I was waiting to catch him) and then when he finally made it to his pillow.

And yes, he has drool hanging out of his mouth. Darn anesthesia does that to him every time!

Finding Humor at Harley's Expense (and Peanut's)

2009-04-12T20:32:00.005-05:00

So you'll have to read down to the bottom for the funny part. I have to provide the back story. Harley dog (138 lb. Alaskan Malamute/St. Bernard mix) has quite an extensive medical history. Things have been sort of quiet on that front (thankfully) for the last 1.5 years or so. Well of course he was due! A few months ago, I noticed this black thing on the top of one of his back legs. It didn't seem to be bothering him, so I just made a mental note to let the vet know on our next visit.
Well, that plan changed today. Yesterday, Harley was messing with it, and this morning it was bleeding and he was obviously not feeling well. Off to the emergency vet we went. Sadly, this is a fairly familiar routine for us.
We didn't get any answers at the vet, but we did get this awesome halo for him to wear so he won't be able to gnaw at his sore. I am taking him to his vet first thing in the morning where he will spend the day.

When we got home, I took my stuff in and then Peanut followed me outside. I have to help Harley out of the back of my SUV. So as he's at the edge, about to gingerly jump down (while I pick up his tail end and let him down easily), Peanut decided to jump into the back of the car.

However, the halo is clear...and she didn't see it. Also notice that it is rather large, so its span was wide. So she jumped up and directly into it and promptly fell back down to the ground (landing on her feet). She did this twice before looking at me confused like. I was cracking up. Harley is just standing there and if he could talk, he would have been saying, "Get the f$%# out of my way. I want OUT NOW."

You can see the boo boo on Harley's left hind quarter. They cleaned it up but it continued to bleed a bit. Poor guy. :( I think they will do a needle aspiration and depending on what they find, decide where to go from there. Sigh. A dog's life isn't always easy, is it?

School Days

2009-04-12T11:42:00.004-05:00

I used my day off work on Friday to visit my former students and school. I got there when they were at lunch. I got some hugs, smiles, and a cold shoulder. Yes, a cold shoulder. The student I was most worried about dealing w/ another transition actually handled it pretty well and has adjusted with no major problems. I've talked to her on the phone a few times. She's a hoot. Anyhow, she looks over at me when I walk in, and then quickly looks away. No reaction. A minute later, she says to the girl across the table, "Did you know Ms. B got a new JOB?"
It took her about 20 minutes to warm up to the fact that I was there to see her. I was cracking up. It's sort of what I'd expect from her. She just needed some time to process is all.
Anyhow, it was good to see them and get those hugs and smiles. I miss that.
I also was surprised that my advisory class (homeroom 6th graders) slowly came up one by one until I had about 8 or 9 of them around me, but none talking. I felt like a celebrity! LOL. I had some good kids in that group, and it was good to see them as well. The boys would come up and say, "Hey Ms. B." The girls came up and hugged me. I did get a few, "Are you coming back?"
Sorry kids. I'm not.

I also got to visit with former coworkers a bit. It was about a 3 hour visit all together. Fun times.
Do I miss it? I don't miss teaching. I do miss my kids and the daily interaction with them, the chance to see them grow and shine, to "get" new things. I don't miss the stress of feeling like you are never doing enough, juggling so many things and wondering when exactly you're supposed to do them, dealing with some teachers who don't want spec ed kids in their class (fortunately, I didn't experience this often), and working till 6 or 7 regularly. No, I don't miss it. My current job has its own set of stresses, of things you just have to deal with, but all in all, it's a much easier job. Yes, I do leave exhausted some days, the travel can be difficult, but it's nothing like the trenches.

Beavers Bend Restaurant

2009-04-12T02:53:00.001-05:00

This restaurant was located off of 259A----somewhere. It's a loop. If you enter the north loop of 259A, you make 3 left turns and you'll see the restaurant. Just keep turning left as you can.
It's on the river south of the dam of Lake Broken Bow. Beautiful area. It was a little to chilly to sit outside, but we tried. We lasted for about 10 minutes. Long enough for a little squirrel to come check us out and see if we had any food to share. We didn't at that point.

The view from outside.

Anyhow, we were the only people in there, though it was a little early.
We both ordered the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a salad. Yeah, and you've heard me complain about putting on a few lbs. with so much travel recently? I wonder why? That is something I rarely eat, so will order it every now and again. Unfortunately, it's been years since I've had any as good as my own. Unfortunately, I never make it anymore because of a) guilt because I SEE how it's made firsthand and b) I make the world's messiest kitchen when I make CFS. No really. I do. Flour EVERYWHERE. Grease splatters. Ugh.
Anyhow. I think I will just refrain from ever ordering it again, unless I am at the Del Rancho. It's just not worth it if it's not super- super- better- than- mine- good. And it's not. Ever. And this one was about $12. It wasn't really crispy. It wasn't hand battered at least 2 times like I like it. It was OK, but. . . not all that.

Oh, we also each had an order of cake to go. It was homemade and it WAS worth a trip back. Hummingbird Cake, made by grandma. It had pecans, bananas, cream cheese frosting, 3 layers. Yeah, good stuff.

Here's a branch of the river downstream a little bit.

Banh Mi

2009-04-11T10:57:00.001-05:00

What do you get when French cuisine collides with Vietnamese? You get Banh Mi--Vietnamese sandwiches and we have a great place for them in OKC! For those of you out there familiar with the Asian district in OKC, Saigon Baguette (Banh Mi Ba Le) is the sandwich shop underneath the Braum's milk bottle on Classen.

The sandwich is comprised of pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro sprigs, sliced jalapeno chiles, pate, and pork or chicken. I had the #1--with everything. This sandwich, with tax, is $2! How amazing is that? I shared it with a coworker. It was plenty for 2. Granted, it's not stuffed full of meat like many American style sandwiches, but it was just enough.

Another one of my new favorites are Vietnamese style spring rolls with peanut sauce. They are awesome! So fresh tasting and light. They had these by the checkout stand, so I had to buy them. I think they were $3. I ate one and shared the others and converted some coworkers with my "weird" food.

Saigon Baguette features six versions, including one with the traditional pate. But don’t think deviled ham; the pate is more akin to thin-sliced bologna. Other fillings include chicken and pork either barbecued, sliced, grilled or in meatball form. Not on the menu but available is an all-vegetable version.

Catching Up!

2009-04-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

I am so far behind! I have so many places to blog about, so little time. I really can't remember who I need to blog about next. I think I'll just do one big post on my Broken Bow trip last week. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

So my coworker and I headed to Papa Poblano's for dinner the afternoon we arrived (that is, after getting some wine at Girls Gone Wine winery). She had the tacos al carbon; I had the carne asada. Their salsa is a simple one with just tomatoes, peppers, salt and maybe a touch of onion. We got some white queso and it was Oh so good.

My carna asada. It tasted good, but the very thinly sliced meat was overdone so the texture was akin to beef jerky. Not quite what I had in mind. I was jealous of my friend's al pastor.

McCurtain County (a large county in the southeastern corner of the state) is a dry county. This means no liquor can be served in restaurants. For shame, right? I had to explain this to my coworker, as I grew up in a dry county. So instead of a good margarita, we both had a tecate in a chilled glass with salt and lots of lime juice. So refreshing! The decor of this place was cute and lively.

I was in town by myself the next night, so guess what I had? Yes, I could not get the tacos al pastor out of my mind, so I went back for another beer and a meal by myself. I actually only ate one taco and saved the rest for lunch the next day. If I go back to this place, this is what I'll get. Simply flavorful, spicy pork, garnished with onions, tomatoes, and cilantro and a bit of lime on home made corn tortillas. Simple. Delish. For a while, I have been "sick" of Mexican food. It just doesn't appeal to me like it used to. However, I think I've realized I'm not a fan of the Americanized Mexican food--the enchiladas heavy with cheese and sauces, the fried things, the gobs of rice and beans. I like simplicity. Even with this meal, I could do w/o the rice and beans. Just give me some flavorful, tender meat on a tortilla and garnish it with fresh veggies and I am a happy girl.

Dallas Wrap-up

2009-04-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

OK, I need to get the Dallas trip wrapped up, because I have SOOO many other interesting things (OK, I realize that is completely debatable) to blog about.

After the Hong Kong Market, we headed further north to have some dumplings. YUM! Jeng Chi, in an Asian themed strip mall on Greenville in Richardson was recommended to us by my long time Tish. She told us exactly what to order, and I'm glad we listened though we were both so stuffed! We had hot juicy dumplings, potstickers, green onion pancakes, and the big hit--snow pea shoots! The shoots were bright green, tender, cooked in a bit of garlic and delectable! Everything else was good as well, but we just scarfed the green stuff down!

We also checked out some interesting stores in the strip mall. I got some bamboo cheap. Anna picked up some little cat figurines (for which I'm sure there is a proper name, but I'm unaware of). We also saw a Japanese book store that also had a porn selection! We didn't check any of that out though. LOL.

Next up was Central Market, complete with live music!

On a Saturday late afternoon. Yes, we are brave. I love that store. The produce is heavenly. The fresh meats are inspiring (though because of the distance to travel, we didn't get any). I stocked up (haha, understatement) on my beloved tiramisu cordials. They are my big vice, and probably a huge reason I feel like I've gained 5 lbs since that Dallas trip! Haha. My other favorite CM staples are the flour tortillas, olives, their own brand of olive oil, and the bulk food section.

Anna was ready to check out and get her goodies HOME.

Oh, and you have to love cut-outs of bunnies sniffing arses. At least that's what WE saw when we looked at this, so of course I had to get a picture!

We're already talking about the next time....

I love this artwork that was near the check-out. So colorful!

After this stop, we hit one final Asian store in Plano just off of Legacy before coming home. We got home at midnight. A full day--but so much fun!

Some interesting things at the last store follow.

Fruit flavored beef jerky? That just doesn't appeal. At. All.

And tongue flavored cookies? Wow. Maybe next time I make cookies. . .
Various fun treats

A Brief Interupption

2009-04-05T14:49:00.000-05:00

I'll do the concluding post of the Dallas Road Trip soon, as well as some reviews on my recent work trip.
For now, I want to share some photos from the Medieval Fair held every year here in town. It's....interesting. Enjoy the pics!
Because there are so many pics, I made them smaller...so if you want the full thing, just click on them.

WHY?

Nice. I love the tail.

I always wanted to wear wings. Maybe I'll try this next year.

She was holding the child earlier. Brave mama!

A joust!

Are those....mouse ears?

Dancers

She looks deep in thought.

The duck is wearing a diaper.

Bridges of McCurtain County (and Pushmataha)

2009-04-03T20:05:00.000-06:00

I'll finish the details of my Dallas road trip this weekend. For now, I'm tired. Here are some pictures from my most recent road trip to SE Oklahoma for work.

My favorite: HW259 between Idabel and Broken Bow.

On the to Antlers on HW 3.
I think the next 2 were also on HW 3, but my memory is blurry as to exactly where.

I think bridges are kind of cool.

Our next stops

2009-04-02T07:53:00.000-06:00

After our fantastic lunch at Café Madrid, we headed to Half-Price Books to browse a little before making another food stop. In Dallas, there is a HUGE one on NW Highway. It was super busy, and super overwhelming, but we managed to each get some good finds—Anna a bit more than I.

Love this display in the cooking area!

Cookbooks galore! My favorite (that I did NOT buy) was on marijuana cooking, complete with pictures. I had no idea the things you could do . . .

We then headed to Hong Kong Market, near Walnut and Audelia. Next to Hong Kong Market was a super busy (Americanized in the mass production concept) café that sold bubble tea. It wasn’t quite what we were expecting. I’ve had bubble tea before and this was more like a smoothie. At any rate, I like it for the tapioca “bubbles” that float in the tea.

We also noticed an interesting store that said "Herbs" so decided to check it out. We walked in...and it was dark, a bit musty, and appeared to be more of an Asian vitamin store. We spent about 60 seconds walking up and down the 2 aisles and then left. Can you say awkward?

The Market itself was super busy. Unlike the café, we weren’t the only light skinned folks there. I picked up some good finds—what I’m most excited about using are some green tea noodles. I have no idea what I’ll do with them, but I look forward to trying. I have almost 2 lbs. so there are plenty of noodles with which to experiment! I also picked up some essentials—tempura dipping sauce, green onions (.25 a bundle), udon noodles, and tapioca balls for my own bubble tea.

2nd Stop: Cafe Madrid

2009-03-30T19:38:00.000-06:00

It was Anna's idea to eat appetizers at various places so we could eat more. With that in mind, I remembered my trip years ago to Cafe Madrid for tapas. I liked it, but never made it back. We arranged to meet my HS friend Tish there for lunch, and I'm oh so glad we did!

We each picked out 2 small plates and then we all shared. Everything was EXCELLENT. I so want to go back here!
We had white asparagus in a vinaigrette. How can you go wrong with asparagus?

And grilled marinated chicken. Yum.

And then the Andalucian Meatballs in Almond Sauce. I expected the sauce to be more flavorful. It was good, but pretty mild flavored. The meatballs were a blend of possibly pork and beef and maybe veal? We weren't sure, but we all enjoyed them.

This was easily my favorite. I forgot to take a picture before I got mine (a little over eager maybe?) Fried goat cheese with honey and caramelized onions. OH MY GOODNESS. Amazing. Really. I'm trying to figure out the "shell" on the goat cheese. I'm wondering if they weren't dredged in flour and then egg white and then flour again and lightly fried? It was a thin crispy coating, not heavy at all. Someone mention phyllo dough, but it was too perfect for that...I think it had to be dipped in something. At any rate, this is something I will recreate.
We each ate one, and then at the end when there was one serving of everything left, Tish said she thought the last piece needed to be split in half. I eagerly said I'd take the other half. Because we hogged the cheese, we let Anna have the last serving of chorizo in wine and garlic sauce, which was also very very good and probably my 2nd favorite item. We also had some papas fritas with a flavorful grated cheese on top. This was the perfect meal for a time we wanted sustenance, but didn't want to be miserable.

Now off to figure out how to do that amazing goat cheese. . .

First stop: Penzeys Spices

2009-03-30T17:09:00.000-06:00

I *heart* Penzeys Spices. Their spices are fresh, cheaper than the grocery store, and walking into their store is like a sensory journey. From the cinnamons (yes, there is more than one kind of cinnamon) and vanilla to the flavorful curries to the every-kitchen-needs-them staples like cumin and oregano, it is a wonderful experience. I used to order from them via the Internet, but lately have been able to time trips to Dallas with my re-stocking efforts.

Look at all of the spices!

Curry. It's perfect for a non-Indian cook like myself who doesn't know where to start when making my own curries.

I like Penzeys so much that I spent more there than any other place we went except for one. Their products are THAT good.

Tokyo Sushi

2009-03-30T05:39:00.001-06:00

This weekend was a fantastic, food filled weekend. It started with dinner at Tokyo Sushi at 75th and N. Western in OKC. My fellow food-crazy friend Anna and my friend Christie and I all met up at a Tokyo Sushi at 75th and N. Western in Oklahoma City for what was the beginning of a food-centric 30 hours for Anna and I.

I'm fairly new to traditional Japanese food. I've had and enjoy the Hibachi style that you find in US cities, but how can you go wrong with steak, rice, and veggies cooked in front of you?
I'm wanting to try sushi more, because I think I *might* like it if I know what to order. I'm not quite ready for completely raw, but my friends say it's good, and so I'm willing to work my way *up* to that! :)
Tokyo Sushi was good. The service was pleasant. There were many Asian people there, which I think is a good thing! I got one of their Tokyo Box meals so I could sample quite a few different things. From the top left and moving clockwise, you see shrimp and eggplant tempura, pickled ginger and wasabi, teriyaki salmon, seaweed salad with pickled daikon, sweet egg omelet, seafood dumplings, and California rolls. I just realized that I *forgot* to try the seaweed salad, but everything else was excellent! The tempura was light and crispy, without feeling heavy. The salmon was moist and flaky, and the teriyaki wasn't overpowering. I didn't think I'd like the omelet, but was surprised that I did and I even plan on making some at home! It was like a light custard of sorts-mildly sweet with a soft texture and not rubbery at all (which is how I think of eggs for some reason. Ha!)

Oh my, the dessert. This was a tempura fried ice cream. Vanilla ice cream was surrounded by pound cake, battered, and fried. We shared and happily devoured ALL of it.

Fried peaches, something that reminds me of Harry Bear's in Moore. These are something everyone should try. You won't be disappointed! They were served with a cinnamon dipping sauce.
Another picture of the tempura ice cream. Can you tell we liked it?

Next up: Our Dallas road trip, one stop at a time. Stay tuned!

Sneak Preview

2009-03-29T09:59:00.000-06:00

Random Pictures

2009-03-25T20:14:00.001-06:00

I wish I could take a good picture and drive at the same time, but I can't. Instead, I get pics like this. This was a low traffic area and taken out of my sun roof. It's the west side of the state capital building. Pretty colors in the sky anyway!

The east side of the capital building, another day, while going around a curve. It almost looks haunted, like it's glowing!

The view from my chair on the 4th floor. Yes, the window is dirty but still a pretty sunrise.

I'm glad the Red Bud is the official state tree. I'm also glad I have a small one in the back yard. I'm not so glad that my other Red Bud died.

Frittata Matata (hey, it rhymes!)

2009-03-25T19:11:00.000-06:00

When I don't want to put much effort into dinner, and I have veggies that need to be used, I make a frittata. Tonight's frittata was made up of red bell pepper slices, pickled garlic, rosemary, avocado, goat cheese, just a tiny bit of Parmesan, and S&P of course. Oh, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.
Frittatas are easier than omelets because you don't have to worry about the filling falling out or flipping them. They are easier than a quiche because they don't have a crust. At least I think that's the difference--quiches have crusts. Say that fast 10x! Anyhow, I usually cook my veggies (but not avocado) a little to tenderize them and to release any water they are holding (think mushrooms). I beat 2 eggs, 1 egg white, and about 1/4 cup milk together. When veggies are tender, I pour the eggs over and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the egg is starting to set. During this step, I add the avocado and cheese, It'll sink a little, but I like it closer to the top for the browning that comes next. I then put the frittata in a hot oven on broil for just a few minutes to finisih cooking the top. Cook until the egg is set. Easy, isn't it? Here' s a picture of mine. I am so not good at this food photorgraphy thing, I like pictures! By the way, this is 2-3 servings for me.

Goat Cheese & Black Pepper Gougères

2009-03-24T18:49:00.000-06:00

I was perusing some food blogs today, and came across this one. I've made a version of gougères before, and they have always been a favorite to whip up, scoop out, and freeze so I would always have some ready to pop in the oven. I love goat cheese, and sometimes I want something a little "carb-y" to eat with salads. This seemed like the perfect thing. I don't have any fresh herbs mature enough, and nothing that I had dried was calling to me, so I used lots of fresh cracked pepper. I also browned the butter before adding the milk and flour. They came together very quickly. While a few cooked (the rest already setting in the freezer), I was able to assemble my salad for dinner.
Here are the results

See how pretty and puffy they are? So tender, and the goat cheese was just subtle enough. OK, the the website I linked from has many more picture, and hers are a lot better. I was too anxious to sit down and eat already!

Might this be a "deconstructed salad"? I just put all of the extras around the side of the plate as I chopped them, then added the already dressed salad in the middle. I had avocado, clementine slices, cucumbers, dried cranberries, pistachios, and carrots. Fresh pepper is on top, and it was dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Costa Azul

2009-03-22T16:57:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been pathetically slow at getting new posts up. I will try to do better, as I have some fun stuff coming up that I can blog about!

My last road trip took me to Tulsa. I met up with 3 friends--interestingly from 3 phases of my life (Tiffany from college and Applebee's, where we worked together, Becky who I met shortly after moving to Norman and who was my roommate for a year, and Anna, the newest friend and fellow foodie nerd.)

A coworker had told me about Costa Azul. She said they have the best tacos. Well, I love my tacos. I am not a huge Tex-Mex fan these days. I like it, but it's just not my favorite. Now tacos--they are akin to the street food you get in Mexico, and if they are the "real" thing, they are among my favorites. I much prefer Mex-Mex to Tex-Mex. We all found the place easily enough. It's located on 31st near Garnett, just off of 169. We were the only Caucasian people in the place-just as my coworker had told me. That bodes well, doesn't it? Anna and I both ordered the tacos--a huge bargain at $1.50 each. We both got carne asada, carnitas, and tacos al pastor. I think my favorite was....well, I don't know. They were all AMAZING. Carne asada is beef, flavorful, cut up in small pieces. I don't know how they seasoned it, but it was delish. Carnitas is fried pork. Not deep fried. Something similar to stir-fried? It was slightly crispy yet still tender, and again very flavorful. Tacos al pastor was made with roast pork. Juicy, tender, and again full of flavor. All tacos were served in homemade soft corn tortillas and sprinkled with white onions and cilantro. Simply. Delicious. Cheap. I could have eaten 6 easily, but 3 was just right. I was full without being miserable. I'll definitely go back to Costa Azul when I am in Tulsa!

The Korean House

2009-03-04T21:58:00.001-06:00

The Korean House is off of SE 29th in between Sunnylane and Sooner in Midwest City. Look at all of this good food! I love the condiments--you get so many!
We had Japchae--noodles and beef with some vegetables, tonkatsu--breaded pork cutlets fried (but they weren't greasy at all) served with shredded cabbage and a yummy dipping sauce, and bulgogi, that is the plate of meat! It is very flavorful and tender. The condiments are all you can eat. We had kimchi, some pickles, these little crepe like pancakes, daikon radish with carrots, potatoes, bean sprouts with rice vinegar, and some seaweed like dish. It was all GREAT! I can't wait to go back. Thanks to Avie for introducing me to this wonderful place!

Next up: Costa Azul in Tulsa

Yummy!

2009-02-24T21:24:00.000-06:00

I finally remembered to try my pickled mango tonight. I had it with my leftover panko chicken and rice. YUM YUM YUM! Good stuff. That makes up for the pickles only being OK.
I can't wait to go back and try more delectable stuff at this market.

This is all the blog I have the energy to post tonight. Coming next: The Korean House review.

Yes, I do Still Cook

2009-02-23T21:24:00.000-06:00

Friday night, I ventured with Anna and another friend to Banh Cuon Tay Ho (Little Saigon Shopping Center, 2524 North Military Avenue, after eating a delicious meal at the Korean House (review coming soon).

Oh. My. Goodness. This place was phenomenal. Granted, there was a lot of stuff that I had no idea what it was, much less how to use it. However, I did pick up some goodies.
Tapioca balls, green onion rolls, some yummy recommended by Anna spice blend, limes (5 for $1), cilantro (.59 each)

Enoki mushrooms (.59 for the pack), garlic greens, ginger, daikon radish, japanese pumpkin

Baby bok choy, pickled mango, Korean pickles

Soup spoons, pocky (love this stuff), rice candy, and coffee candy (from Singapore, oddly enough).

And then there was this guy

which is about how we felt at discovering this awesome place. I love how happy he looks! Heehee.

Back to my blog title--yes, I do still cook. Tonight I used some of my ingredients to make a well rounded meal.
I stir-fried the baby bok choy with a lot of ginger and a touch of sesame oil. This was delish! I shredded the daikon with some carrots, tossed with some rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and another dash of sesame oil. I steamed some sushi rice. Finally, I breaded some chicken cutlets in panko and lightly pan fried them. All of this was topped with some toasted black and white sesame seeds and a soy dipping sauce that I whipped up. Not bad, and I have leftovers.
Here is what it all looked like, and I should add that this was way too much food for me!

Finally--A GREAT Review

2009-02-22T21:32:00.001-06:00

This is about one of my favorite Oklahoma City restaurants, The Queen of Sheba. This is Ethiopian food, and yes they do eat! I have eaten Ethiopian at a total of 3 restaurants (Ft. Collins, CO, Crystal City, VA, and OKC). I have liked them all.
Ethiopian food is traditionally served family style without silverware. In place of silverware, you use a crepe-style bread called injera. Injera is made from a self-fermenting grain called teff. I've had some injera that tastes similar to sourdough. However, the injera at The Queen of Sheba is very neutral. It's spongy in texture, yet hearty enough to scoop up delectable portions of meat and veggies.
The last time I ate there, I was with two Ethiopian virgins, including my friend Anna. I suggested we get something so that we could sample a bit of everything. They were agreeable, so we got a meat sampler that also included my favorites--delectable lentils, chickpeas, and other vegetables.
My favorite is the lentils cooked in berbere. Berbere is an Ethiopian spice blend that chili pepper and other spices in it. They also have meat dishes cooked in variations of berbere. I also like the chickpeas; they are very mild and a good suggestion for someone knew to Ethiopian cuisine.

Here is our platter of food. Starting from the salad and moving clockwise--green beans, lamb, my favorite lentils, potatoes and carrots, beef in sauce, chickpeas, and in the middle is 2 chicken legs in a rich, spicy sauce. It is all on a large piece of injera. Behind the platter is a place of rolled up injera. They provide all the injera you need, which is nice when you don't have silverware to rely on!

The service here has always been very good, though it can be slow at times. They are very courteous, kind, and have been helpful the times I've had questions. It is located in OKC at NW 23rd and MacArthur in the SE shopping center. The storefront faces MacArthur.

The Good and the Bad

2009-02-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

On our way home from Atoka on Thursday, I got hopeful thinking we were going to eat at one of the renowned Italian places in Krebs (near McAlester). However, do to time constraints, we instead ate at a place called the Pig Out Palace on the I-40 service road at the Henrietta exit. It's a buffet place, but they also have a regular menu--think truck stop fare. Lets just say that I skipped the buffet--though the cobbler did look good. I had a burger. It was OK, a bit dry. I hope I don't have to go here again, but probably will due to convenience. At least the service was good! With a name like Pig Out Palace, is it no wonder that the focus is on mounds and mounds of buffet food that had possibly been in the warmer for hours? Yuck.

Same Scene, Different Day

2009-02-21T12:59:00.000-06:00

On the Road Again

2009-02-21T10:40:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm going to make these next reviews brief so can get to the good stuff.

My next work trip was to Stigler. I'd never been to Stigler, though I know people from my childhood who live there. We decided on a local cafe like place called the Eaton Hole--named after the owners. Rustic on the inside, we sat next to a stuffed bobcat. I took a glance at the salad bar and was not impressed. Mounds of iceberg lettuce just turn me off. What a waste. I went with the simple Patty Melt at 4.99 with onion rings. The patty melt was fine-meet was cooked appropriately and wasn't too dry. The onion rings were made from thin slices of onions--more like onion spears than onion rings. They were crispy and not too greasy. They were served with a dipping sauce that turned out to simply be ranch dressing topped with Zattaran's Cajun seasoning. They also had complimentary hush puppies. They were good but a little too greasy.

Next up was just the other day in Atoka. I had a couple of friends tell me that the only decent place in town to eat was a Mexican place called Cazadores, and this was backed up by the hotel staff. Lucky for us, it was across the street from the hotel. We risked being splattered ala Frogger and walked across the highway full of semis. It was standard Mexican. The service was good, though the brightly painted wooded seat backs were uncomfortable. I had a chimichanga with fajita beef. It was small--which is good as I hate it when they are huge and then I eat it all and feel miserable. :) I barely ate my rice and beans, but they were typical. The pico had cilantro in it, so that made my happy. Everyone else was pleased with their meals as well. I'm sure in the event I have to go back to Atoka, this is the place I will eat dinner.

Another Obsession--Sunsets and Sun Rises

2009-02-20T23:14:00.000-06:00

I pass by this pond right after I leave my house to go to work. I have eat least 20 shots of this location--taken as I am driving with my hand out to the side and the camera on continuous. One day last week I was able to almost stop as there were no cars coming.
This might be my favorite yet--notice the bird? I "felt" him take off but didn't see him until I saw my pictures. I definitely want to get this one blown up.

Casa Soto

2009-02-20T23:02:00.000-06:00

My first road trip with my new job was to Weatherford. Actually, it was to Burns Flat, but that town is too small for a hotel so we stayed about 35 miles away in Weatherford. I texted a friend from there on our way and she gave me some restaurant suggestions. We decided on Casa Soto for Mexican food.
My coworker and I both went for the tacos. I can't remember what they were called exactly, but they were described as having grilled steak, served with cilantro, tomatoes, and onions, plus the requisite beans and rice. And of course, I had a margarita.
The food was good, not great, but good. The cilantro was missing, though my friend said you couldn't buy it in Weatherford. :) The meat was good--tender, good flavor, but a little dry.
Next time I'm in the area, this is a place I'd eat at again. Service was good, prices were fairly cheap.

This was a few weeks ago, so I've forgotten details. As I get caught up and more into "real" time, I'll have more details and pictures!

Thanks for reading...

Coming Soon. . .

2009-02-19T22:49:00.000-06:00

Restaurant reviews from the Oklahoma road.

My new job has me traveling the state fairly often, many times in small towns that don't have chain restaurants (yay). I'll try and leave an account of these road trip eating experiences here, as well as some of my favorite places around Norman/OKC.

Coming Soon:
Casa Soto (Weatherford)
Eaton Hole (Stigler)
Cazadores (Atoka)
Pig Out Palace (Henrietta)
The Queen of Sheba (OKC)
The Korean House (Midwest City)

It still hits

2008-12-10T21:01:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, though maybe not as strongly in the past. Maybe it's the holidays. Maybe it's because he'd be the age of my students.
Mostly, it's probably because I don't want to forget about him. I want him to stay close to my memory. I want to be abl eot share his memory with my own family some day.
He would be 11 now. What would he want for Christmas? Books, a phone, or a baseball glove, or possibly a fishing pole? It's hard not knowing.

Love you and miss you still Dakota, my precious nephew.

Christmases Past

What's a Coming?

2008-12-09T22:53:00.001-06:00

My last day as a TEACHER, at least in the traditional sense. I am ready to move on, but I also feel these ropes holding me back. I know it's what I need to do, but sometimes question if its what I want to do. I'm excited by the opportunity before me, yet wondering how to hold on to those little moments of today.

I'm torn, but I know my kids will be fine. Will I?

A Repeat?

2008-12-09T19:59:00.000-06:00

I made the soup below again tonight. It's very cold and windy, and I started thinking about this soup around 3:00 today. It is the perfect thing for a cold wintry night!
I did add about 3/4 cup cooked chicken and served it over brown rice. It makes it much heartier and filling, though is just as good without.

I have cooked more lately. I am also preparing for the holidays.

I have make the Mixed Nut Spiced Toffee several times this season--it's always a hit. I use whatever nuts I have on hand, or sometimes not at all. I think I will make some to take to work next week.

Sunday, I made these Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies. Well, I didn't make the filling yet. I doubled the recipe and just made the cookie part and they are in the freezer. I remembered that the cookies were fairly large (IMO), so I made some of them smaller. I think I'll have about 42 sandwiches when I am done. I have thought about these cookies often since the last (and only) time I've made them. I hope they are as good as I remember!

I made these Peppermint Meltaways for Thanksgiving. I think I must like peppermint more than the rest of my family. I want to experiment some by adding some cocoa to these.

I am still deciding what else to make. I think this year I will go with more tried and true. I just don't have the energy to try much new.
On that note, I think it's time to have some Chai-Spice Snickerdoodles. YUM. It seems like I tend to like the things that are a little bit "different". All-spice in toffee? White pepper in cookies? You get the picture. Seriously though--these cookies are amazing.

I also think I will try the Maple Spice Walnut Cookies again. I liked them the first time, but was talking while preparing them and didn't add all the flour needed (darn ADD). If you love maple, you'll love these! Plus they are a cooking light recipe.

I may also make the Gingerbread Truffles that I made a few years ago. However, when looking up that recipe, I saw this one for Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel. So maybe I WILL try something new.

I think that sounds like enough for one person (to make, not to eat!) for one year, don't you?

Peanut Soup

2008-11-13T23:00:00.000-06:00

ETA: A Review is below the recipe.

What is it about soup? Why does it just call my name? Is it because I'm lazy and prefer one pot meals? Is it my ultimate comfort food? Or is it because it's usually economical, freezes well, and is easy (again)?
At any rate, I came across this on the CLBB today and it's on my to try list, though I need coconut milk and cilantro. I think I should make a run to the asian grocery on southside to stock up on coconut milk and some asian condiments.

Peanut Soup, Senegalese-Style
Vegetable Soups, by Deborah Madison

1 to 2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or hot red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup peanut butter, preferably organic and unsweetened
1 cup coconut milk, or more to taste
Sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Yogurt
Lime wedges

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot, then add the onion, garlic, and cilantro stems. Give a stir, then cook over high heat for a few minutes to warm the onion. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion has softened somewhat, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and curry powder.

2. Add 3 cups water and the tomatoes. Stir well and bring to a boil. Drop in the peanut butter and simmer until the onions are soft and the peanut butter has dissolved, about 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Season the soup with salt.

3. Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro. Serve with a dollop of yogurt in each bowl and a wedge of lime on the side.

________________________________________________________________________________
I finally made this and WOW! Possibly a new favorite? It made 6 generous servings.
The only changes I made were to use Low-Fat Coconut Milk, and only half an onion. I also used more curry powder.
This was a soup that tasted better by the bite. I think it'll be even better left over for lunch tomorrow. I am freezing the rest--this will be perfect on a cold wet day!

Tales From the Trenches

2008-11-10T21:41:00.000-06:00

I *heart* my kids. They continue to make me smile, to make me glad for my job, to make me sad to know I'll soon be moving on. They make me laugh, they frustrate me, they inspire me.

Last week, one of my students had a rough end to the day. She hit another student (loud tears ensued), she calmed down, I walked her to the bus area, turned my back for just a minute to talk to a parent, and then she went after another student (not mine) who is in a wheelchair and defenseless. She got her pretty good 2x. I intervened once I realized what was going on. She sat on the ground and then went after me! I still have 4 scabs on my hand and 2 on each leg (I was wearing a skirt) to show for it! She calmed down, a parent had to come get her because we couldn't put her on the bus with the way she was acting. This was 3 days ago.

This morning, she arrived at school and immediately apologized. We started working and she then saw I was wearing slacks and said, "Oh, I'm glad you are wearing pants today. Remember how I scratched you last time?" Ummm, yes I do! I asked if she wanted to see where, and of course she did. However, she didn't really notice because her thoughts were interrupted with, "Oh, those boots are really cute." Giggle. It really just cracked me up that her thoughts seemed to be, "Thank goodness you wore pants in case I have a bad day again--that way I won't scratch your legs again."

Later today, another student went to the bathroom, came back, and was very serious. She asked me if I had any baby wipes. Of course, I don't. She said she had to poop, and it was (Held hands out far). I said, "Big?" She agreed, "Yes, it was big and I don't think I got it all. I want baby wipes so I can get clean."
We decided to go to the nurse to see if she had anything we could use, but she didn't. Deep breath. I asked her if she needed me to help clean her, and of course she said yes. (I changed diapers the first 3 years I taught--2 of those were for middle schoolers. Some were girls. Some had reached puberty. So, while not pleasant, this is something I can do). We went into a faculty bathroom. I put the gloves on. She looked at me and said, "Drop them?" I said, "Yes, drop them." Let me tell you--those are not words I ever thought I'd hear in my teaching career! She then said, "I'm sorry to have to make you help me with this." Awwww, so sweet. After all of that, her bottom was clean as clean can be! Now THAT confused her. Whew, crisis averted.

Cranberry-Chipotle Fruit Compote

2008-11-08T12:47:00.000-06:00

With Thanksgiving fast approaching (how in the heck did it get to be NOVEMBER already?), I've been mentally preparing a menu, or at least the part of the menu I will be making. I came across this recipe on the CLBB and it piqued my interest. Sweet and spicy, utilizing fresh cranberries, and versatile--I HAD to try it. So, I made a half recipe today to take to a friend's house to watch the OU/Texas A&M game.
So far, I have only licked the spoon (and I DIDN'T double dip), but I think I will like this! I am serving it with cream cheese and organic blue corn tortilla chips. I hope I have none left to bring home, because I know me--I would eat it with a spoon!

Cranberry-Chipotle Fruit Compote (link to Epicurious).
The only sub I made was to omit the dried peaches and use double the amount of dried apricots.

Coming Soon

2008-11-03T22:27:00.000-06:00

I recently found an old web page of *MINE* circa 2001-02 or so. I had many recipes from my supper club on it, including a tried and true one for baklava! I'm going to post them here more for my reference than anything.
Baklava, bieroks, Tom Ka Ghi soup, sauerbraten, and more.
YUM!

How did I find it? I googled a recipe I was looking for. One of the hits was for an angelfire site. I ignored this, as it didn't seem like a reputable source (unlike cooks.com, recipeczar.com, etc.) After not finding what I wanted in other links, I clicked on the angelfire link and realized it was MY page I had just shunned! Shame on me.

Quotables

2008-10-30T22:24:00.000-06:00

"I know you're really pissed at me."

OK, that quote along doesn't say much. But if you heard her tone, saw the look on her face, you'd have wanted to laugh as well!

And I wasn't. I told her I was not mad at her, but wasn't happy with the way she was acting.
For the record, this is an 11 year old girl w/ intellectual disabilities. She's been a pill the last two days. Things only got worse today about 15 minutes later. It was interesting to say the least. Thank goodness tomorrow is a new day!

Random? Yeah, That's Me.

2008-10-29T18:16:00.000-06:00

Cooking just isn't what it used to be to me. Anymore, it's "I have to eat to function. What can I throw together to at least pretend to enjoy?"
Budget, time, blah-ness (I know, that's not a word), effort...I just don't have it.
Unless I make soup. Soup I can get motivated for. It's usually cheap. The big bonus is it stocks my freezer, allowing me to grab something on the way out the door for my lunch. With an apple, a piece of cheese, and/or celery sticks, it's a balanced meal!

The other exception is when I'm craving something specific. Like tonight. I think it's the cold weather. I am craving Indian food. Not wanting to splurge on the $10 buffet, I came home and assessed my pantry.

Here is what I did (am doing--it's still cooking).
2 small sweet potatoes (one was sprouting--pretty purple leaves. It was time), 1 yellow squash, a 1 inch piece of diced ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup sliced onion, 1 cup green lentils (Yields about 3 cups cooked), a handful of carrots, 3 cups homemade chicken stock (from my freezer).

Sauteed onion, garlic, and 1/2 the ginger and 1/2 jalapenos in a bit of olive oil until my eyes watered.
Added sweet potatoes, cooked for 2 minutes. Added a lot of curry powder, salt, pepper. Added enough broth to coat pan. Stirred. Added remaining jalapenos and ginger. Sneezed.
Added one can of coconut milk.

Meanwhile, cooked 1 cup lentils in 2.5 cups of chicken stock. I had to add a bit more water before they got tender.

I added them to the other ingredients simmering away, along with the squash. It cooked until the squash was tender, and then I ladled it into a bowl. I served it with a piece of whole wheat pita bread and a dollop of low fat plain yogurt.

Yum. Had I been stuffy, this definitely would have cleared me up! Better yet, I have leftovers.

Wow, I can still cook, and can improvise half decently. Who knows if this would pass muster in an Indian cook's kitchen, but it works for me.

More Soup

2008-10-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

As mentioned last week, I made the Meatball Soup (Sopa de Albóndigas) and wow. Just wow. I can't wait to have this when there it is 30 degrees outside and I am cuddled under a blanket on the couch.

Meatball Soup (Sopa de Albóndigas)
6 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups)
Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons coriander seeds (I used 2 1/2)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds (I used ground--it was all I had)
* 4 whole cloves (I used 6)
* 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, broken
* 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (I used medium grain brown)
* 2 tablespoons grated fresh onion
* 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1 pound ground round (I had ground buffalo--much leaner, but worked out fine)
* 1 large egg white
* 1 garlic clove, minced (I used 4)
* Cooking spray
* 3 cups chopped green cabbage
* 2 cups chopped onion (I only had one small onion, so it was more like 3/4 cup)
* 1 cup sliced carrot
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 1/2 tablespoons drained chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I used 2)
* 2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used 4 cups broth)
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped (such as Muir Glen) (I used a 28 oz can of muir glen diced)
* 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato

Preparation

Cook the coriander seeds and the cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 1 minute or until toasted and fragrant. Place the toasted spices, cloves, and cinnamon in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground.

Combine 2 teaspoons cinnamon mixture, rice, grated onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, beef, egg white, and garlic in a large bowl; set remaining cinnamon mixture aside. Shape beef mixture into 24 (1-inch) meatballs.

Heat pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add cabbage, chopped onion, carrot, and celery to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining cinnamon mixture, chili powder, and chipotle; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Add meatballs; cover and cook 15 minutes. Add potato; cook, uncovered, over medium heat 20 minutes or until potato is tender.
*****************************************

My notes:
I have learned that I need to up the spice called for in most recipes, hence the additions above. I wouldn't change it!
I had 30 meatballs, and I thought they were generously sized.
It was spicy--my nose ran. I consider that a good thing!
Maybe a bit busy for a weeknight supper, but it made a TON. The recipe said 6 servings. I got 8, and would have had 10 if I had enough freezer bowls, and I felt like they were very hefty servings beacuse it is all so filling!
I did add extra water at the end because it was too thick for my tastes. The flavors still shown through.

This is definitely one I'll add to my regular rotation--though for me, that's maybe 2x a winter as it fills up my freezer!

An Old Favorite

2008-10-13T21:06:00.000-05:00

Though it's not really cold yet, the weather is turning gloomy and overcast.
I didn't have any inspiration for dinner tonight--just too tired from a busy crazy weekend.
I turned to my pantry and realized I had all I needed to make an old favorite--
Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup from Cooking Light 2005. I've made this many times over the years and it never disappoints. It's simple, hits the spot, is great left over, and used ingredients I almost always have on hand.

Ahhhh. Comfort food. I love fall.

The Magic of a Penny

2008-10-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

This is book fair week. Our wonderful librarian has ties to a certain Book Fairy, who bestows $6 book passes to unsuspecting students school wide. Of course, teachers were able to give the librarian suggestions as to who might need the pick-me-up of a free book or two!

I have a student who has been complaining about never getting to get books and oh, how much he wants one. I sent notes home, but he didn't bring any money. So, I enlisted the Book Fairy. I was a little bit late as she hadn't visited him before our book fair visit yesterday. He found books he liked, but was so sad. Our librarian gave him a "lucky penny" and said just maybe, he'd receive the luck of the Book Fairy. Little did she know what she made the rest of my day like.

We discussed how long it takes luck to happen--1 day, 2 days, 3 days, etc. He asked me if luck meant his mom giving him money for the book fair. He decided to wear his good luck penny in his shoe. We were walking down the hall to the computer lab, having one of our many discussions about luck. He stopped suddenly and said, "Now wait a minute. Oh no. I don't really believe in magic!" I explained that luck and magic are not the same thing. Eventually, he quit talking about luck.

This morning during announcements, guess whose name was called? He was in his homeroom, so I didn't get to witness it, but I heard that he was beside himself with excitement. He then took his shoe off and showed everyone his lucky penny. He got his book this afternoon and was just happy as could be.

The Magic of Good Luck Penny. Would he have been as excited if he hadn't connected the thought of getting Book Fairied with luck? Was it the luck that was magical, or just the free book? I wonder.

My Next Soup

2008-10-06T23:12:00.000-05:00

Which will probably be after the OU/TX game. I should say my next "New" soup, as I'm sure I'll have some old standy-bys on the menu.
I just keep going back to look at this one.

Meatball Soup (Sopa de Albóndigas)

Anyhow else want to try it first and give me the heads up?

Can You Handle More?

2008-10-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

About how my kids melt my heart? They do. They really really do.

Today during 1st period, we were doing math. Like most "typical" kids, my kids are not fond of math. One of them finished an addition sheet I gave him (2 digit no regrouping) and got them all correct with no prompting. During the first week of school, he couldn't add 8+5 and it took him all hour to miss 3 similar problems. Today he finished a sheet with 100% accuracy, and then did more! Of course, now I have to try something else for his portfolio for that standard because he did too well for the first "official" trial for it to count (and my opinions on this I'll save for an entirely different post). Anyhow, once he saw he got 100%, he said he was finished. Ummm, no. There is time on the clock--you are NOT finished for the period. There is always more work to be done. I pulled out a sheet, and he said, "No thank you." Again, "Yes, thank you. You will do THESE problems (I circled the ones he was to do) and then if I say you are done, you are done. Do you understand?" His reply? "I'm sorry teacher. Yes teacher." He then sat down, did what I asked him, showed me, and apologized at least 2 more times for "talking to me that way". My TA whispered to me, "I LOVE our class so much. Last year...." What was unsaid? Last year, I likely would have been met with any of the following:

"You can't tell me what to do. You're not my momma."
"Stupid bitch."
"You're the worse teacher ever. I wish you never would have come here."
"I don't care what you want me to do," followed by pandemonium that might include throwing books, cussing up a storm, tipping chairs, etc.
Silence and refusal to comply
Getting up and leaving the room

This is exactly why I prefer to teach students with intellectual disabilities vs. students with emotional disturbances. Now, students with ID do tend to have behavioral problems, but it's nothing I am unable to handle. Students with ED? I am so not equipped for--patience, understanding, training, and so forth. It's not anything I feel like any education or experiences I have had prepared me for--and I knew this going into it, but didn't really have a say so. And when you mix these two populations of students? It's a double whammy.

I'm so thankful that if this year is my last time in the classroom, it is with the group I have now. They are precious. They warm my heart. They inspire me. They make me glad I became a teacher.

Palin's Experience in Just 12 minutes

2008-10-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

Soup!

2008-10-02T22:19:00.000-05:00

I love soup. It calls to me. I don't know if it's because to me, it's the quintessential comfort food, or the ease of throwing everything into a pot and having a meal. :) Though I do make soup during the summer on occasion, I make it A LOT during the fall and winter. The crisp morning air starts my day off with me craving soup!
I came across the "Your Daily Soup" area of the Cooking Light website. They will have a new soup recipe every day of October. Today's soup was a simple Cheddar Soup.
You start with celery and carrots plus a surprise ingredient--a green apply (I used Granny Smith). Cook until tender, add broth and a diced baking potato and simmer until potato is tender. Puree-which is why I have an immersion blender, and then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar and a t. of Worcestershire. Simple, good, and perfect for a cool fall evening.
I did goof, of course. I was hungry and not patient. I should have let it cook a bit longer (though did cook longer than the 15 minutes suggested in the recipe) so the potatoes would be more tender. As it is, this soup tastes good but doesn't have a pleasant mouth feel. Cook's error, but it's not so bad that I won't finish the pot off over the weekend. Next time, I'll just make sure I cook it a little longer.

Always an adventure

2008-09-30T22:45:00.001-05:00

Today was a field trip day. My class joined with another to go up to a camp for special needs youth and adults for a field day. I was sad that 2 of my kids were sick and missed it, along with one student from the other class. We still managed to have a fun day. I really think this was the first time some of these students had ever been out "in the country"! They thoroughly enjoyed it.
We played games, had a picnic lunch, took a hike through the woods, and then went paddle boating.
Some quips and quotes from the day:
I drove one of the vans, and our speech pathologist rode with me. As we got onto the interstate, she said, "I'm sure glad I'm not driving. I'd be a nervous wreck." From right behind us, K quips "I'm sure glad you're not driving either!"

M was singing from the back of the van, "We're going to the country, the country, the country, we're going to the country...."

M said to B on as we passed a farm pond, "Hey. When we grow up, let's go fishing there."

"That was the most fun I've ever had!"

"Let's hunt for bears in these woods."

I think this was the first time on a boat for many of our kids--priceless memories!

Two of the students from the other class decided I was their buddy today. They walked with me, held on to me, and oh yeah--one of them tried to kiss me right before he got onto his bus. He got within inches (he had come from behind me), and pulled back, and he turned and ran to his bus.
Middle schoolers. Hormonal middle schoolers. Hormonal middle schoolers with intellectual disabilities. Never a dull moment!

Finally, I end this with a picture. No, not of our group. I took this from the back of a paddle boat, sitting in between 2 kids who were starting to try to stand up as we were about to dock.
I just thought it was cool looking.

They Melt My Heart

2008-09-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

Daily.

My students, my kids. They are precious. The things the say, the things they do, the way they help each other out and are proud of doing the right thing. Sure, they have their quirks (who doesn't?). Some of them throw tantrums--actually it's just the girls. Hormones maybe? I love these kids with all of my heart-and will miss them so when I move on to the new job, likely in January.

I've been sick this past week, missing 1 1/2 days of school. One of my TAs was out sick Friday. I haven't felt great at week, and Friday decided to have a low key day with math games, manipulatives, sight word bingo, books online, etc. so as to maintain a distance from them (due to this massive sinus infection), and let them have a bit of a relaxed day. I am off last hour, and 2 of my kids were in another resource teacher's room, visiting with their elementary teacher. I was leaving early to go to the Dr. and stopped in to see how the visit was going. When I said good-bye, K looks at me, asks very seriously "Where are you going? Why?" and when I told her, she said in her most grown-up serious voice, "Sweetheart, goodbye. I really hope you get to feeling better."
I almost lost it. Precious.

Cool Weather + the blahs==Chicken Soup

2008-09-21T17:56:00.000-05:00

But not just any chicken soup. I was blog surfing this morning from the couch (where I've been most of the weekend) and came across this recipe from Joe's blog. It called out to me. Granted, I had to switch some things up due to what I had in the freezer, as I'm not going to the store today.
Here is what I ended up doing.

Chicken and Ham Wild Rice Soup (Adapted from Joe's adaptation from Land O'Lakes)

3 tablespoons butter
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 cup 1/2" sliced celery
1/4 cup diced onion (I used red onions--all I had)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry
4 cups cooked wild rice (Mine was mixed with some brown rice)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup 1/2" cubed cooked ham
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, tossed with 1 T. flour
salt and fresh ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat - add carrots, celery and onion. Cook until softened, about 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in flour - cook 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in broth and sherry. Stir in rice, chicken and ham - season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in cheese, cook another few minutes until cheese it melted into soup.
Serve with crusty french bread.

Makes about 6 to 8 servings
************************************************************************
This was good! Very filling, not too cheesy or heavy, and I'd imagine fairly healthy. The ham I had was already sliced--so it was too thin for my tastes. I might consider omitting it next time, and there will be a next time. I love the richness the sherry added. I've made wild rice & cheese soups that use beer, but I think I might like this combination a bit better.

Wow

2008-09-19T21:04:00.001-05:00

I'm watching some news show--20/20 I think. It's talking about the stock market and how it's affected the rich. Someone was interviewed and was saying how someone he knows said giving up his private jet was one of the toughest things he'd ever had to deal with.
Just wow. Really? Material bullshit?

Dude, come spend a day in my world. Giving up shopping at department stores and buying red meat may humble you a bit. So sorry to hear you have it so rough. Expletive. Expletive (I just called him a name that starts with an F.).

What Books Have You Read?

2008-09-14T20:05:00.001-05:00

I love to read. I have always read almost anything I can get my hands on. Lately, I am more quick easy reads that don't require much thought, but have been known to read more serious material.

While blog surfing, I stumbled across this Meme. I promptly "borrowed" it.

How many have you read??

Apparently, the National Endowment for the Arts believes that the average American has read only 6 of the books on the list below.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE
4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I've read parts of it)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (I think I tried to read this once)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (Don't like sci-fi/fantasy though)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (It's sitting on my night stand)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (blah--no desire)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (one of my favorites)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (Read on my own in 6th grade and again in HS)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving (I started this once; it belonged to my now ex-bf)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (I think I read this as a kid)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (It's about a boy with autism--very interesting)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (sitting on my bookshelf)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (one of my all-time favorites)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Well what do you know? I have read more books than the average American- 24 books on this list, to be exact. It's sort of sad that that's only 24% of the list though!

This book reminded me of several that I've intended to read--hopefully I'll get my hands on them soon!
What about you? What books have you read? Does this list inspire you to read more?

Insulting?

2008-09-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

OK, a political thread.
I've followed this year's election coverage more than I have in the past. I watched some of both national conventions. I was shocked at the McCain's VP choice and find it somewhat insulting that he seemed to pick her because...she has a uterus. It just appears that he picked her to try and get the female voters who wanted Clinton and are disappointed in Obama, never mind that their stance on many issues are miles and miles apart. The polls have made a swing towards McCain since her appointment (a rather large one), and it just makes me wonder--are those numbers different because Palin is in fact a she, or are people really paying attention to what the candidates stand for and making their choice based on that?

Another issue--I'm already sick of all the negativity surrounding both campaigns. I'm tired of hearing one party's candidates bash the others. And you mean we have 2 more months of this? I may just unplug my TV and be done with it. I really have no care or concern to listen to the negativity. Tell me what your stance is, what you stand for. Address the concerns that many Americans have--the war, the economy, the energy problem. Let us make our decision on who to vote for based on facts, not a bunch of harsh words thrown each way. Please?

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

2008-09-10T22:36:00.001-05:00

September 11 would have been Dakota's 11th birthday. His last birthday alive was his 4th. Wow, so much time has passed.

It dawned on me last week that my students are just a wee bit older than Dakota would be if he were here. In fact, I had one turn 11 the weekend after school started. I catch myself working with them and wondering what he'd be like. I don't really think he'd be in a class like mine. I think he'd be the ham of whatever class he was in. I think his classmates would love him--and accept him and his differences because he had such a sweet spirit; who couldn't help but love him? I think he'd be walking, though probably with assistance. I think he'd be eating much more through his mouth vs. his g-tube. I think he'd need a muzzle sometimes to keep him from talking, as he was already a chatterbox. I know he'd still be the apple of my parents' eye, the center of their world.

I miss him still.

Camp E

2008-09-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

This is a rerun (posted elsewhere) but I am too tired to drum up new material.

What a Week: A Recap of Camp E

Another week done….

This was my 7th (and possibly final, though I am already rethinking that decision) year to serve as a counselor at a very special camp for children whose lives have been affected by cancer. Many of them are now healthy, typical kids. Some of them still bear the scars of their treatments, which may include physical scars, amputations, facial deformities, bone aches, limps, weight gain from steroids, stunted growth, hearing loss, and so forth. Others are still in treatment and dealing with what this brings them—low blood counts, no hair, easy bruising, lethargy, and emotional strains. Others who have come to camp healthy in the past are now a shell of what we remember them as, as they are facing the dreaded relapse—which often times means an even more difficult battle than the ones they have already faced. Counselors also learn that for many of these kids, cancer isn't the worse thing they've had to face. Yet, through all of their hardships, these kids come to a camp in the country (one girl called it creepy because it was in the woods) and find time to laugh, make new friends, fit in, and hopefully learn to be a kid again. How blessed am I to get to experience this awesome week yet again!

My cabin was made up of 6&7 year old girls (plus one 8 yo), and what a rainbow of diversity we had! Hispanic, Indian, African American, Nepalese, Polish, Caucasian, all living together for a week. The girls were the sweetest, most helpful, easy going bunch I think I've had yet. We had a little girl who had a brain tumor and radiation as an infant. We had been told she would require a lot of hands on. Well, how wrong the information was. Yes, her walking was unsteady. Yes, she had a hearing aid and cochlear implant and glasses. Yes, she wore braces on her feet. But most importantly, yes she was very intent and headstrong and insisted on taking care of herself to the fullest extent possible. She even fell down a time or two as she rushed to hold the door open for fellow campers. What a joy her sweet helpful (and stubborn) spirit is. We had a 3rd time camper in our cabin, who at 8 years old, acts like a little adult. She is already talking about how she wants to be a counselor when she grows up. I don't doubt that she will be a very good one. She was such a mother hen to the other girls, and a huge help to her 6 counselors.

I love that camp enables these kids to fit in. I love that the kids I have seen over the years—not always in a cabin with—have blossomed into young adults. There is the camp graduate (age 15) who is small for his age, has some facial deformities from radiation, who always wore sunglasses and a ball cap and never looked up. Last year, he participated in a skit. This year he did more and he also showed up to camp w/o the baseball cap. I talked to him a bit one night and got a hug. Chances are, I'll never see him again but will always remember the progression he made over the years, and I have to think camp had a lot to do with that.

Our little girl who I mentioned earlier brought with her a little stuffed animal. The animal was well known throughout camp by the week's end. We joked that if she was lost, camp would shut down and an all out search would go on. Fortunately, Pinky made it home, though she needed a bath. Anyhow, on the ropes course, we were unsure if little Miss Independent would participate. She got harnessed up and sat and watched her cabin mates go before her. One of the camp counselors who works summers there (a former camper himself) came up to her and said Pinky needed a harness as well. He proceeded to harness little Pinky up. Pinky went up the incline wall hooked onto a carabeener. She then went down the zip line with her owner. I really don't think that ride would have happened if Pinky would have stayed on the ground. We were all amazed and touched at the gesture shown by this young man.

Anyhow, another year has passed…camp was really great, though very hot. I enjoyed the time with my fellow counselors and the kids. I really don't think I'm ready to give this part of my life up; it's too rewarding, too fun, and a strong dose of perspective.

On another note, my first year at camp happened the week after Dakota died (more pictures here). I left for camp the day after his funeral. That first year is a blur—as it is for new counselors, but even more so for me. I had that heaviness over me. As the years have gone by, I always associate camp with Dakota. Just the timing…the healing. That first year I spent some early morning alone time at the chapel just thinking, reflecting. I managed to do that most years afterwards. Well, this year was the first time I didn't feel that connection. I realized on the last night that I hadn't thought of him all week. This at first made me sad, a bit guilty maybe. Then I realized that maybe for the first time I was completely "there" for my campers, without any personal issues lingering in the back of my mind. Anyhow. Camp truly is a healing place.

Maybe I'll try this again

2008-09-04T22:53:00.001-05:00

So many thoughts, so little time. I've had a lot on my mind lately. I really want to try getting them down again, so we'll see if I make the time.

In my latest news, I won't be a classroom teacher much longer. Life is a changing. As soon as a replacement is found-you know that will be hard because hello, it's me, J/K, I will be moving on to the state department of education as a Special Education Coordinator. I'm excited about the opportunity, anxious, and sad. I love my kids this year--they are so much of why I came to this profession. Some of them are the age my nephew Dakota would be if he were alive. He would be 11 on Sept 11. It's hard to believe the time that has FLOWN by. Anyhow. My kids. Precious. Sweet. Lovable. Goofy. Entertaining. Where do I start? I have so many funny little stories that I need to get down so I don't forget them. They just really make me laugh and it does my heart good.

After last year--yeah, I didn't blog did I? That was a part of my quest to try and be positive as possible to make life a bit more bearable. It worked, because I am here and sane today. Anyhow, after last year--which I would describe as my worst year teaching and the only time I've ever questioned the decision to switch careers--the year is such a breath of fresh air. And now I will be leaving MY KIDS. Sigh. My reasoning? Financial. I think I am too old to do the 2 jobs thing, at least if my 2nd job was bartending like I had thought about earlier this year. I can't imagine the toll that would take on me, mentally and physically. Yes, I did it when I was in my early 20s, but I was in my early 20s! And it was rough then. Nothing like ending your dad with a liter of beer, a melatonin, and then 6 hours of sleep and 2 jobs and college classes. Yeah, I couldn't do it again. So anyhow, it's about money. I had decided that this would be my last year teaching in Oklahoma; I was either going to have to move back to TX (Yuck) or go back to the corporate world (Yuck). This job enables me to stay in OK (making what I would be making in TX as a teacher but 12 months vs. 10 months a year) but continue to work in the field of special education, which is truly where my heart lies. I won't be working with kids, but I will be working FOR kids, so I think I can live with that.

My anxiety lies with the things I've heard about how political things can be there. Really though, there are politics in any work place. Politics, cliques, favortism, etc. It's a part of life. I can handle that as that's nothing new to me. My philosophy is to just go in, do my job the best that I can, be nice/cordial, and let things play out as they will.

That's all I have in me now. I'll see if I can continue this and actually blog about entertaining stuff!

Beer Can Chicken

2007-08-08T22:32:00.000-05:00

So the other night, I had a chicken I wanted to roast. It was too hot to do it in the house. I decided to try my hand at beer can chicken, though I used a Diet DP can filled half full with beer and spices. I rubbed the chicken with Penzey's Bicentennial Rub, minced garlic, and shoved half an onion in it's cavity. I also rubbed it with some olive oil. I cooked it on indirect heat (gas grill) for about 1 1/2 hours. I turned it 180 degrees once. I think this was by far the best 'roast' chicken I have ever made! I can't wait to do another....

So I had leftovers. Tonight I decided to make chicken enchiladas. I used the leftover chicken, a can of green chilies, some onion, jalapeno, chipotle powder, and shredded colby/jack cheese. I rolled them in flour tortillas, nested them in my big cast iron skillet, and put them on the grill-indirect heat. Meanwhile, I cooked some brown rice with green chilies, some black beans with salsa mixed in, and sour cream sauce. For the sauce, I used a carton of low fat sour cream, 1 cup of chicken broth, cumin, chipotle powder, salt and pepper. I heated it slowly, stirring with a whisk. I mixed some flour and water and added to thicken it up. Once it was the right consistency, I poured it over the enchiladas, topped with more cheese, and left until the cheese was melty.

I served it all with sliced avocados and salsa. Yum!

Both are sure to become staples in the coming months!

I'm back!

2007-08-07T23:09:00.001-05:00

OK, so I think I may be ready to get back to this blogging business. I still have another blog for school related stuff--anonymous, so email me if you want the URL.
This blog will continue to be random musings--about life, love, the pursuit of happiness, and an occasional recipe or three. I still like to cook; it's just usually the sort of RANDOM throw something together with the ingredients I have on hand. See the random theme here?

So, my summer has flown by. I've volunteered at 3 camps--one for individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome, one for youth with disabilities, and one for kids with or in remission from cancer. The first two are at the same location here in OK. The last one is in TX (I've blogged about it previously). All were so much fun, but so different! I hope to continue to do all of them.

Let's see, in other news--I've moved schools. I'm going back to middle school and am SOOO excited. The people there have been so friendly and welcoming. I'll be the mild MR teacher. My caseload is about 10 students and I'll be teaching the four content areas--social studies, language arts, math, and science. I'll also have an advisory class full of typical 6th graders. I can't say how excited I am about my class!
To that end, I've spent several days cleaning out my classroom. I think I've eliminated enough stuff to fill a couple dumpsters. It seems like the wonderful teacher I am replacing (after 9 years!) was a pack rat. So, I've been unpacking. And unpacking. And so forth. Wow. I finally feel like I've made a dent in things. This evening, my roomie came up and helped me hang some fabric. It's a deep crimson color and looks great! I've taken some before pictures of the room; I'll take some more once it's all done.
I'm heading back up there tomorrow to continue going through all the books. I'm eliminating a lot of things. As a rule, anything that is older than me goes. Actually, anything from about when I graduated from HS and sooner goes. Anything that is redundant goes. Things that have yellowed paper are gone. Anything that has a substantial amount of missing parts-trash. I think I have all of my social studies/geography/map reading books in order. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the literature books.

That's all for now...it's been a long day.

Hello!

2007-04-05T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hi there. It's been a while...I've been deciding where to take this blog. I've actually been considering going 'undercover' and writing a 'tales from the classroom' blog. If I do anything in more detail than what I've done, I'd prefer to do it much more anonymously. So, I'm pondering. If I do that, I'll post as much here and ask anyone interested to email me for the blog address.

In the meantime, life is busy and pretty good.
I went to Florida on Spring Break--I needed it!
Here are some pics from Florida and a few others.

Salty Sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-03-04T20:16:00.000-06:00

I was craving something a little bit sweet today, and these cookies really fed that craving!
These combine saltiness with the crunch of peanuts and a bit of chocolate. They are a crisp cookie. It was hard for me to just eat one! This is definitely a recipe I will turn to again. I might try to use more brown and less white sugar next time to try and get a chewier cookie. Either way, they taste really good!

Salty Sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 2007 Cooking Light

2007-03-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

Wow, so it's been almost a month. February flew by--I have a lot of trainings/conferences, had to scramble to get some meetings done around my schedule, and have been sick on top of that. I'm actually home from school for the 2nd day today.

March 2007 Cooking Light has some good sounding recipes. I made about 5 or 6 from the Jan/Feb issue. I hope to do better this month.
Here is the list of what I hope to make. There are more that sound good, but that I know I won't make because of the ingredient list.

Desserts
Piña Colada Cheesecake Bars
Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chai Latte Brownies

Main Courses
Penne with Pancetta, Spinach, and Buttery Crumb Topping
Thai Chicken Sauté
Superfast Kofte
Sesame-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Pineapple, Mango, and Red Pepper Relish
Chicken and Potatoes over Sautéed Spinach
Stir-Fried Szechuan Steak on Rice
Flank Steak with Chunky Mojo Relish
Open-Faced Jerk Vegetable Sandwiches
Cuban Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Rice
Zesty Citrus Chicken
Parmesan Chicken Paillards with Cherry Tomato Sauce
Grilled Chicken, Mango, and Jicama Salad with Tequila-Lime Vinaigrette
Gulf Fish en Papillote

Salads
Chicken, Carrot, and Cucumber Salad
Carrot-Pineapple Slaw
Carrot and Cucumber Salad
Kisir
BLT Bread Salad

Breads
Mummy's Brown Soda Bread
Souther Corn Bread with Molasses-Bourbon Butter
Sesame-Sea Salt Breadsticks

Soups
Sausage and Spinach Soup
Theresa's Double-Tomato Soup
Irish Colcannon and Thyme Leaf Soup
Sweet Corn Chowder with Hot-Smoked Salmon

Other
Mango Salsa
Dal with Cucumber Cream and Pita Chips

Things I Learned

2007-02-04T20:50:00.000-06:00

I had quite a weekend!
Here are some highlights.

1-It was easier to get into bunk beds when I was 11 or 12 than it is now.

2-It's really quite hilarious to be having a conversation with a young adult (23 years old) with exceptional needs about pooing. It is somewhat refreshing about how open and earnest she could be--"Oh no. I have the runnies. Ohhhh no."

3-Roasted marshmallows are as good as they were when I was 10.

4-When I get down from a bunk bed (record 8 times in a 15 minute span last night), it's kind of scary. And I almost hurt myself.
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I went to a camp up near Guthrie, OK called Making Promises Happen. I've been there briefly before, but this was my first time to be a counselor there. It was the young adult weekend--those from 17-25 or so with disabilities. I was paired with a 23 year old girl with cerebral palsy. She was a hoot! She kept me laughing most of the weekend. She had such a happy disposition most of the time. We had tough time after she almost fell going from the toilet to her wheelchair. She got really worked up and I had to put on my 'mean face' and tell her to get a grip and get back into her chair already! This was over a 15 minute span, and we were missing the dance! Once we got to the dance, she kept telling me, "Jennifer. I'm a little bit upset." She never said it was at me, but I still kept my distance for a while. Later she danced with me so it was all good!
I got yelled at pretty good (and hit some too) by a girl with some behavioral issues. I heard she was wishing death on me last night because I told her it was time to go to bed. Those are the people that I just want to crack--I want to figure her out so I don't spend 5 minutes or so trying to reason with someone you just can't reason with! I think she was OK with me today when I left because I let her have my chair at the talent show, and I smiled and said bye to her.
Oh, the talent show! It was something else. The kids loved it, and it was fun to see them all get up and strut their stuff. No shame in this bunch!

A New Leaf

2007-01-29T22:49:00.000-06:00

I'm embarking on a new career. Well, OK it's not what you think. It's not a career at all, it's just something else to take up my time when I'm not working. I'm excited as it's something different for me. Last week I was voted (unanimously) to the Board of Directors for a local non-profit agency. It's a different type of agency than most in that it serves as a landlord to 19 other agencies, most of which are United Way agencies. It's called Community Services Building, Inc. We maintain and take care of the OLD state owned building. In turn, our clients pay about 50% market value for rent, get free internet and utilities, and are housed in a centralized complex. They are then able to put more of their budget towards serving their clientèle. Some of the agencies in our building are CrossRoads Headstart (benefits some of my students), Compassionate Friends, Full Circle Adult Day Care, Among Friends--for adults with developmental disabilities, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meals on Wheels. All of these are the types of non-profits I like to support, and have been involved with many of them or similar type agencies in past years. I'm excited, if a bit anxious. I'm used to the hands-on type service-like I show up at the hospital, wash up, and then play with kids in the emergency room for a few hours. This will involve PR, budgeting, board meetings, and some Saturdays spent doing whatever needs to be done. It's different, but an experience I'm looking forward to!

Things have been wicked busy lately, so I've pretty much fell off the cooking bandwagon. I'm all about convenience lately. I hope once I get through the next week or 2, things will settle down. Until then...

History

2007-01-20T21:06:00.000-06:00

I grew up about 10 minutes from my great-grandparents' homestead. I have many fond memories of riding horses, exploring, playing with my cousins, 2nd cousins, and 3rd cousins, mischief, and good home cooking. One of the things my cousins and I did was play in our great-grandparents' old house. At that point, it was dilapidated--no windows, mice, probably snakes, and so forth. I think we tried to sleep it one night, but got scared and went in to the house my great aunt and uncle then occupied.
Anyhow, all of this background is intended to show the house my grandpa grew up in. It was his parents, at one time his grandparents, his 2 sisters, and 1 brother. So, at the most there were 8 people living in this house.

Wow.

My freezer is getting stocked!

2007-01-18T22:31:00.000-06:00

We were supposed to have a work potluck on Wednesday. As school was canceled, it was moved to Thursday. I really thought we'd end up back in school this week, so I defrosted my hamburger meat with plans to make Sweetnicks Cheeseburger Soup. Well, school is out again tomorrow. So, I had all this hamburger meat. I knew that whatever I made would need to be frozen, as it was 2 lbs. of meat. So, I set out to make some beef, bean and barley soup. No recipe, of course. Basically, it went something like this:
Brown meat, drain.
Saute finely chopped onion, garlic, celery, and carrots until tender.
Add 6 cups of water+ 6 tsp. of Beef Better Than Bouillon, 1 large can of pureed Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme to taste. Bring to boil.
Add browned meat and 1 1/2 cups of quick cooking barley.
Cook 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of thinly sliced mushrooms and 1 can of drained and rinsed kidney beans. Cook for 5 more minutes.
And here is a blurry picture. I think the steam was messing with my camera!

Now I need to go portion it up and put in the freezer, along with the chili I made earlier this week.

Earlier today, I was craving something fried (I blame the weather). So, I cooked up some corn fritters from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which is my favorite go to cookbook for basic recipes that I don't make everyday (pancakes, biscuits, scones, etc.) I read this cookbook almost cover to cover when I got it--it's a great kitchen resource for the beginning and experienced cook alike. The fritters are made from flour, cornmeal (I used coarse ground cornmeal that I make polenta with in place of some of the cornmeal because I wanted more crunch), baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, egg, and of course corn. I also add a few dashes of cayenne, because I like the kick of spice with the sweet corn and maple syrup that I dip them in. Yeah, so much for my eating healthy this year. Again, I blame the weather! I make these about 2x a year and never tire of them. Crunchy, spicy, sweet...they are a tasty treat.

Enough already!

2007-01-17T22:13:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, we had freezing rain/ice pellets that lasted off and on through Sunday. Monday we were out of school for MLK day. It's now Wednesday night and we haven't been back to school. The soonest we'll go back is Friday, but then we could get 5-10 inches of snow this weekend and be out of school on Monday.
This is crazy-I don't remember having this many snow days in a row when I was a kid, and we lived out in the country. I recall a huge snowstorm when I was in kindergarten. I think they let us out early (being a stand alone school district--K-12, they could do that). Anyhow, my school bus got stuck in a big drift about a mile from our house (near where I would run the Scout into a ditch about 12 years later). This was before the time of cell phones! So, an area farmer (Mr. Standridge) brought his big John Deere to the bus and the remaining 3 or 4 students got to ride a tractor the rest of the way home. I would imagine today that there would be way too many liability concerns for us to have even looked at that tractor. Besides, with every kid having a cell phone (so it seems), we would have just called our parents and had them come get us.

Spiced Beef Corn Bread Cobbler

2007-01-14T19:39:00.000-06:00

This came together very quickly. Moist and flavorful, the spiced beef had tremendous depth of flavor with allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne. The diced tomatoes gave the mixture moisture and additional flavor. The meat mixture is topped with a cheesy cornbread mixture, which is then topped with a small amount of more cheese. I used medium cheddar; I would advice using sharp because I think that flavor would really meld well with the other flavors. I added a can of black beans, which I will do in the future. I think I would add an additional can of diced tomatoes, for more moisture and flavor. All in all, this was a delicious and easy recipe to make, and perfect for a cold winter night.

Spiced Beef Corn Bread Cobbler

Ice + Cold = Soup/Chili

2007-01-12T23:11:00.000-06:00

The ice storm that was supposed to hit this afternoon actually hit around 8:30 a.m. Brrrr....it was in the 60s last night and now it is in the 20s. Gotta love this Oklahoma weather! We have a 3 day weekend, and once I realized I would be homebound, I decided to stock up on soup fixins. Tonight, I turned to a recipe I made last year, almost a year ago actually. Rachel's Buffalo Chicken Chili with Blue Cheese Toppers really hit the spot on this cold night. If you don't like blue cheese, I don't know that I would try this as think the blue cheese toppers really make the dish. The chili is a spicy and flavorful, slightly tomato-y, thick mixture of chicken and finely chopped vegetables. On it's own, it's OK. Once topped with the toppers, a whole new depth of flavor is added. This is actually really easy to make--I don't know why I haven't made it again. I use chicken breasts and chop them in my food processor to ensure I lean soup. I upped the amount of hot sauce--I used at least 1/2 cup of a mixture of Frank's hot sauce and Frontera brand Habanero sauce. I like it spicy! :)

I'll probably have this tomorrow and then will freeze the leftovers.

I hope to make some regular chili this weekend for the freezer, a hamburger soup, and maybe I'll do some baking as well.