Well June was a blur!

Hello Friends!

As I said earlier, June was a complete blur! I've been lucky enough to have an almost full time job (35 hours a week), plus a fabulous part time job that has been keeping me busy.  Also, June was full of catching up with friends, dog sitting, vacation, and wedding planning for my sister and her awesome fiancee, Mike.  So, I've barely had time to catch a breath (much less post), but not being able to catch a breath because you're having so much fun is definitely the kind of problem I like to have. 

Since I have finally downloaded all my pictures onto my computer, I hopefully will be able to upload a number of posts and not just cram it all in here.  So, let's cover the beach, first, shall we?

This year we were lucky enough to return to one of my favorite places in the whole world, Edisto Island, SC.

We were able to stay for a WHOLE week together.  The beauty of this place is that it's not touristy.  It's just you and your family: playing pictionary, laying on the beach, laughing, making food, relaxing, talking about life, sleeping to the sounds of the ocean--so great.  I especially loved the beach storms we had at the beginning of the week. 

How amazing is that?  The only thing better than listening to the waves while you're going to sleep is listening to a storm WITH the waves.

The house was so cute.  I love that Pat and my room had this cool little turtle art work.

Here is a picture of Pat and I on our porch.

 

We ate ourselves silly over the course of the week.  I am so lucky to be in a family that loves to cook (and eat) just as much as I do.  Here's some selections of things we made over the week:

 Pat and I had made steak tips from the night before for steak and eggs the next morning...yum!!

 This the lime tart I made.  SO good here's what it looks like when it's cut and polished ;)

This is my turtle face... which apparently I make when I'm cooking.

 Lemon ricotta pancakes with watermelon.

 Now I KNOW that I have no more room for kitchen tools in my teeny tiny kitchen, but I will say that this skillet made making pancakes for a large group SO much easier.

 This is my brother's shrimp and grits! Can't take credit for this one :)

I wish that I had pictures of everything we had.  Pat made burgers and hot dogs on the grill (which was a feat in an of itself to get that thing lit) per the request of my grandmother.  Mike made some bangin chicken as well as fried fish and brats (which are also delicious for breakfast in lieu of bacon or traditional breakfast sausage).  We also had beach peach pie, of course (you aren't at the beach if you haven't had peach pie!) and other things that I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Finally, a moment for some family shots and other shots from the trip:

 Pat and I went to the driving range one morning- it was so hot but tons of fun.  He's a good teacher and I got a free woman's gold club from some random guy who had one in his bag that he had bought at the Salvation Army.

 Mike's representin Pat in his absence at the end of the week.

 I love this picture of my Nana.  So glad that she and I got to spend so much time together (we were car buddies). 

 My brother is too cool for school.

Last morning before heading out.  Little teary.

Until next time Edisto-thanks for a great trip.

Celebrations

Hello friends!

As I said in my last post, I have a lot of things to catch you up on.  The last few months were a whirlwind, but I am happy to report that this semester was much better than the last AND now it's O-V-E-R.

While I haven't had a lot of time to document my adventures on here, I have at least had a lot more time to cook and bake.  In the spirit of celebration, I'm going to highlight some of the foods prepared for holidays, birthdays, and other happy occasions from the last few months. 

More babies!

My friends Adam and Kasey and Amy and Steve had a joint baby shower this spring.  As my contribution to the party, I made these adorable little monkey cupcakes.  I used Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe (and just shortened the baking time).  It was super cold that day so the icing turned out a little chunky, but I loved them all the same.  

Valentines Day

I had a lovely Valentines Day with my super wonderful boyfriend.  Our menu that night was beef stew with crusty bread (the best way into someone's heart is their stomach, right?) and freshly made cookies and cream ice cream with raspberry sauce.  

Here's the raspberry sauce through it's stages of creation:

Getting the seeds out is crucial!

Finally, I made Valentines cookie's for my honey.  I used the Cake Boss' recipe for his black and white cookies, but a different icing recipe.  They were very cakey and, from what I gather from the consumer, pretty good :)

Birthdays :)

For my honey's birthday, he requested that I make him dinner instead of going out.  We had steaks with hasselback potatoes (uh..yum! and SO easy) with roasted green beans.  He's a Boston native and loves a Boston Creme Pie Donuts, so I made him some Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes instead:

The batter was very airy (baking soda) and I will use the cake recipe for future fruit stuffed cupcakes because they weren't too sweet. 

Here's one of the finished products.

For my birthday, we went to Pops (one of my fav restaurants in downtown Durham) and I had the minestrone soup and pork scallopini with crazy good polenta in a mushroom tomato sauce.  So good.  My honey also knows me well and knew I wouldn't be craving cake for my birthday dessert, so we went to Local Yogurt afterwards.  It was my second visit that day, as my best friend Jenni took me during our break about 4 hours before :).  

Unfortunately, no pics of that meal, but later in the week my girls and I went to go see Wicked and we ate at L'uva in downtown Durham beforehand.  

I had the pork belly with white beans and artichoke hearts seen above.  So yummy-- I just can't thank everyone enough for such a wonderful week birthday week!  Also, thanks for getting me through this crazy year-much love to you all!

Alrighty, that's my update for now! Looking forward to more adventures this summer!  See you all!

Brain Food

Now, I'll be the first to admit that, as much as I love food, it is one of the things that goes to the back burner when I'm stressed out.

*Hence, why I haven't posted on here in months (I have so much to share with you!).*

So, inevitably, my take-out eating out goes up...and it's not always the sexy, relatively good for you kind of take-out either.  I've been known to hit one of a few fried places along the way--but no golden arches--not until I know their burgers are safe! I have to draw the line somewhere.

However, in these times of poor judgment, occasionally I rectify my mindset and try to "reward" myself with a little brain food. 

This morning's offering:  

Muesli.

Muesli is a breakfast food, traditionally composed of uncooked rolled oats, dried fruit, and nuts.  It takes a little getting used to if you haven't had it before, but it's just like cereal and such a cheap, easy way to make a breakfast (and use up some of that HUGE can of rolled oats that I KNOW you have in your cabinet).

All you need:

1/4 to 1/2 cup (1/4 is usually good for me) of uncooked rolled oats
2 T dried fruits of your choice
1 T of nuts of your choice
1/2 to 3/4 cup of skim milk
Suggested add on's: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, a little bit of honey

I used apricots and ginger this morning with some walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a tiny bit of clove.

Speaking of clove, Clover got to enjoy a little bit of apricot this morning, too. 

Other things you can put in your Muesli?  Coconut, almonds, cranberries, blueberries, pumpkin (I usually do that one hot), strawberries, lemon zest.  The options are endless.


For my brain food dinner last night, I made some port soaked portobello mushrooms on some crusty bread spread with ricotta cheese and a beet salad.  Oh, and a big ol' glass of red to calm me down from the day. 

What's your brain food???

Couldn't have said it better

It's been a long, interesting week for me personally.  Komen's defunding of planned parenthood, election of Karen Handel a few months ago, and I'm just now hearing word of defunding stem cell research has left me angry, disappointed, sad, and so conflicted.  I honestly have felt cheated.  I've had some pretty heated conversations with some over this issue and within myself trying to make sense of all this.  Yet, I've still been struggling with the words that actually describe what this has all meant to me.

Then I saw this.  This woman says it better than I ever could.

(She also gives a disclaimer, but I want to reiterate that there are some graphic, but real images within this video.  But it is a real look into breast cancer.)

Heroic Woman Speaks About What Breast Cancer Means to Her



So where do we go from here?  I'm still figuring it out but first of all, I pray, send good vibes, and love to this woman and all of those struggling with this disease and to those that love them.  Second, I really hope that as people, we can set aside our differences and continue to stay focused on helping experts find a cure for this and other diseases, like AIDS, lung cancer, Alzheimers, MS, etc.  Third, I will continue to support breast cancer research, but I am still conflicted as to how I can support Komen without some major, major changes in their organization.  Thus, I will be more focused on looking into supporting others like the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

Thank you to this woman and all of those who are fighting this and other diseases.  Hopefully, we (I) can do more to support you and take care of each other.  

A Soup for All Seasons-and a New Shiny Toy!

I love soup.  And, I love soup for so many reasons.

1) 1 pot- love that
2) You feel full after just one bowl
3) It can warm you up after a cold day
4) One of the things that makes you feel better when you feel like crud
5) Great solution for a whole bunch of food you need to use up quickly

Just to name a few...

This particular soup I am going to share with you is a favorite of mine because it's relatively healthy, super easy and cheap, and its great in the summer or the winter time.

You will need:
2 stalks of zucchini or up to 4
2 to 4 stalks of yellow squash
1 yellow onion
A few cups carrots
6 cups of stock
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons butter
1 and 1/2 cups half and half
Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Paprika to taste
*Splash of Hot sauce-optional
*Note, however you want to distribute the ratios of vegetables is up to you.  If you want more of a yellow soup-have the squash dominate, etc.

1)Chunk Zucchini, onion, squash, and carrots and cover with the stock and boil until tender
2) Puree vegetables and put them back into the liquid

Enter my new shiny toy- the immersion blender!

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus! This is so much better than when I used to put spoonfuls into the blender and blend them up in batches.  You can do this, but let me tell you from personal experience-don't get impatient and put to much in because the steam will build up and throw off the lid, shooting bits of hot veges everywhere and can burn the ever living love out of your skin.

Look at this baby go!

*This batch was more green because I had more zucchini this time.

3) Make a rue out of the flour and butter and half and half.

Here's a little trick, too.  Instead of whisking the flour and butter together in the pan while it is melting (I've screwed this part up many times- leaving a lumpy mess).  Pre-mix the flour and butter together and melt the whole mixture at the same time (seen here):

4) Pour the rue into the vegetable mixture, mix with spices to taste (it may take a lot since the vegetables are a little bland).
5) Eat as is or top with sour cream or Greek yogurt, croutons, bacon, sausage, etc. and enjoy :) (It's great cold in the summer, too).  I use sausage and Greek yogurt this time.

Voila!

 

Duck Fat and Pimento Cheese

So, I have to share with you all that I had an amazing burger last night.

I mean, so amazing that after reheating it this evening I ate the cheese off the napkin that was sitting on top of said reheated burger because I didn't want to miss any of it.

Where was this burger you say?  


Bull City Burger and Brewery

My dear friend, Jenni, took me to this wonderful place.  The ingredients are fresh, farm-raised, hand-made.  They have a few options for pre-made burgers, but lots of options to build your own (including gluten free buns!).  I had a burger with pimento cheese (honestly, I think any other cheese just doesn't cut it on a burger anymore), pickles, and their special BCBB sauce (made with tarragon-YUM) and...wait for it... duck fat fries with rosemary and sea salt.

To...Die...For

Granted, a little on the pricier side.  Seriously, though, I'm not supposed to be eating burgers every week anyway!  It was well worth it.  You can taste the freshness of the meat and the home-brewed beer (I had the black lager-so light for such a dark beer) just set it all off.  Let me tell you this, their other fresh cut fries were also delicious, so my only other recommendation is bring a friend so that you can have both kinds!

Next time you want a burger-check it out! I'm rootin' for them!

And a Happy New Year...

Happy New Year! 

The beginning of this year began with me on the couch for a few days (including today) with a monster cold. While I've been pretty miserable, maybe this is nature's way of getting me to slow down for a bit before I go back to work and school. It's been difficult for me to think real clearly, (my words with friends plays have had to be somewhat delayed for fear that I will make irreparable damage to my game board-ha!) but I have been reflecting on the past year and setting some goals for 2012. Let me share them with you:

Reflections on 2011: 

2011 was a challenging year. There was a lot of change at the beginning half, both positive and negative. More than that, I was totally blindsided by the force of the first semester of my second year in the PhD program. I felt that I had gotten through the first year and kind of had things in an order. So, of course, I felt I could add more things to my plate.
Little did I know, however, that others were also ready to throw a bunch of stuff on that plate for me, as well.

I watched others go through this last year, but I really did not anticipate how hard it was going to be for me. That being said, I think that I really tried to make decisions this year that were true to myself and I am proud of myself for that. While I feel that there are obviously things I could have done better (be less stressed, take on less, etc.), I felt very much me.  For example, I took on a job that, while it didn't pay as well as my last one, I feel that I have learned a lot in working there. Also, the people I work with were integral to maintaining positive feelings and motivation. I am dating a person who is so supportive, positive, and genuine. There were times that I felt I was able to help others this semester and I'm glad that I took the time to do that. Also, while there were some ups and downs, I kept myself relatively in shape over the whole year-which makes me feel great!  Finally, I was able to make some great food creations when I had some spare time.  Overall, 2011 wasn't too shabby.

Goals for 2012: 

Like anything else, there's always room for improvement in yourself. So here we go:

1)Be more aware of the people and relationships that make life so much fun.
2)Stress less about temporary stress. When stressed, use this to drive you to do healthy things-like workout or something nice for someone else.
3)Make limits on work time and do things that are important to me: i.e. cooking, seeing loved ones, and reading.  This way, I can share more on this blog :)

Now, I see some potential barriers to these goals: 1) Extraneous responsibilities 2) Time management 3) Professional Direction (still in flux a bit). However, I think if I just take it a step at a time and continue to remind myself about what's important, 2012 is going to be great!

PS-the cupcake above is a champagne cupcake from Sprinkle Bakes. My roommate found it and I assisted her in making them and they are so, so good. I would highly suggest them for your next get together.

Best wishes for the New Year!