Modern Domesticity

Blueberry Pancakes

2011-01-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

I meant to take a picture before I started eating, but I couldn't help myself. Oops.

I don't know about you all, but I LOVE blueberry pancakes. LOVE. The thing is, we don't usually eat sweet stuff for breakfast. Our standard weekday breakfast is "fried" egg whites, Canadian bacon, and hash browns. We make the whole thing into a little stack and it's really quite tasty. On the weekends though, I like to kick things up a notch. Usually we have whole eggs and real bacon and actual potatoes and such, but every once and awhile I need my sugar fix. That's where these pancakes come in.

It took me ages to find a pancake recipe that really knocked my socks off but I finally found one that works every time. The key is to take it easy with the stirring. I'm serious. Whatever you do, DO NOT over-stir the batter. Over-stirring makes your pancakes tough, dry and nasty, which is probably why we didn't eat very many of them until I found this recipe. What really takes it over the top in this instance is the fresh blueberries. Oh, man. What is it about cooked blueberries that is so fantastic? When I figure it out, I'll get back to you. I'm sure there will be lots of ~~cooking~~ ~~eating~~ research involved.

Anyway, try this recipe this weekend. I promise you won't regret it!

(And, if you want to substitute chocolate chips for the blueberries, I totally won't mind. Just include your address in the comments. I'll bring the bacon!)

Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp melted butter
additional melted butter
3 - 4 oz blueberries (to your tastes)

Directions
Heat an electric griddle or heavy skillet until very hot. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Crack egg into a measuring cup, lightly beat, then pour in buttermilk. Add the egg and buttermilk mixture and 2 tablespoons butter to the dry ingredients, whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps. DO NOT over mix!

Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush melted butter onto the griddle. Wipe off excess using a folded paper towel.

Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Immediately place blueberries on top of batter. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden brown on bottom, about 1 minute.

Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heat-proof plate in a low (175-degree) oven. Serve with butter, maple syrup, and lots of crispy bacon. Yum.

Adapted from The Best of Martha Stewart Living Favorite Comfort Food

Is Thought Enough?

2010-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

This blog has never been about the thing I'm about to blog about. This blog is about cooking and crafting and having too much pumpkin, but the thing I'm about to blog about is also a part of who I am, so I feel compelled to share it with you now.

A friend - not a real-life friend as we've never met in person, but certainly a REAL life friend in that I feel I can count her as such - is going through something really scary right now. Her little boy, completely out of the blue, had a seizure the other night. Tonight, he had another. I found out via Twitter, which seems so silly but also makes me so thankful that, for all the drivel that goes on there, there are moments when things that actually matter are shared.

In her blog and her tweet, she asked for prayers. The thing is, I don't pray. I consider myself Agnostic and no, I don't particularly want to debate that right now, thankyouverymuch. Since I don't pray though, I've always said to people, "You are in my thoughts." I write it on sympathy cards and say it to friends all the time. And yet, right now, that just doesn't feel like enough. I know that prayer brings comfort to some but I just know that's not the answer for me.

That said, your thoughts? If you do believe in prayer, does the knowledge that someone is thinking of you and concerned for you enough to provide comfort, or does a higher power need to be involved for it to make a difference? And if you don't pray or don't believe in prayer, do you say or do something other than keep people in your thoughts?

I hope for this to be a polite, genuine discussion about the ways in which we extend comfort to others, but note that I am not above ass kicking if folks get all shouty up in the comments.

The Great Pumpkin Strikes Back

2010-10-02T14:52:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day since the official start of fall that it's actually been COLD. It's basically been in the 50's and pretty dreary all day, which to me is a fantastic excuse to spend the whole day inside cooking. Unfortunately, we had some errands to run before I could settle in - although those errands yielded a new cake stand, a Toffee Mocha and some sewing supplies, so I can't complain. :-) Once I got home though, I was in full on kitchen mode.

I'll talk later about what we prepped for batch cooking day (it seems that our batch cooking has extended itself to the entire weekend, rather than just one day) but for now let me tell you about two delicious, pumpkin-laden things we made today: Pumpkin Butter and Pumpkin Yeast Bread. Are you drooling yet? Oh, that's just me? Okay...

First, the Pumpkin Butter. If you're thinking, "I bet that's a lot like apple butter," you're correct; it really does taste quite similar. I was actually a little disappointed that my batch didn't taste more like pumpkin! I used apple cider instead of apple juice and I think that, along with the fact that after 20 minutes I deemed it "thick enough", is why mine didn't come out tasting like a spreadable pumpkin pie. I probably would have gone the full 30 minutes with it if it hadn't kept leaping out of the pot and splattering my arms, which was both surprising and painful. Next time, I think I will try it in the CrockPot with less cider, since the crock requires less liquid than a stovetop version. Also, 2 teaspoons of ginger was quite a lot - I'd probably reduce that, too.

Honestly, though? Even with the apple and ginger overtones this is amazing. My batch yielded about 5 cups of spread and I was a little worried about what I would do with it all until I saw this post about the Trader Joe's version. Apparently, it has a ton of uses, including a topping for oatmeal and granola, a stir-in for plain or vanilla yogurt, and a delicious addition to pancake or waffle batter. They say you can also mix it with softened cream cheese and spread it into a graham cracker crust for a quick pumpkin cheesecake! Um, yes please!

As for the bread well, I'd had my eye on this recipe since I started getting the hankering to cook with pumpkin again, and Bryan was finally ready to make it today. We decided to throw caution to the wind and make it in the bread machine, which turned out to be a bit hilarity-filled when we realized that the dough had risen to the top of the bread machine. The resulting loaf was so high we could barely get the pan out of the machine, and the slices are at least 10 inches tall. Despite looking like we put an engorgement charm* on it, the bread is DELICIOUS and yes, even better with a little pumpkin butter slathered on it.

The only downside to all this cooking with pumpkin is that we still have half a can left from the bread that needs to be used within the next few days. I've been eyeing two recipes in my queue, Pumpkin Gingerbread and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. What should I make next?

*I rarely talk about anything here but cooking and crafting, but can I just say that I am beyond ready for HP7 to hit theaters?!?

Batch Cooking Sunday

2010-09-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been in a bit of a cooking slump - at least where recipes not containing pumpkin are concerned. I went through a span of a few months where I was extremely ambitious in the kitchen, to the point where I was churning out completely amazing food, but at the expense of about an hour or two of time almost every weeknight. It was delicious, but exhausting.

After a few trying weeks where all I wanted to do was call for takeout, I decided that the best thing to do was to scale back a bit. We introduced tacos to our weekly staple of meals and they have become one of our new favorite things to throw together on a night when we're tired or busy. I've made some simple pastas, soups, and casseroles, all of which have been delicious and were made in a fraction of the time that I used to spend in the kitchen. (I promise, I'll post about them soon.)

Last night though, we watched Rachael Ray's new show, Week in a Day. The concept of the show is that in one TV hour, Rachael shows you how to make five dishes that you can eat throughout the week. I thought this was totally brilliant, except that Rachael's food takes FOREVER to make and we already had ingredients on hand for a bunch of other things that I was going to prepare this week. So, I decided to spend my afternoon in the kitchen making nearly everything for our meals this week. On the list?

Heart Smart Banana Bread (to take to work tomorrow - my coworkers need a treat!)
We had some Kroger-brand baking mix in the cabinet, and three ripe bananas on the counter, so this seemed like a good way to use them up. I used whole eggs because that's what we had on hand, and added 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. It SMELLS amazing!

Stuffed Pepper Stoup (Monday's dinner)
I made this up to the point where you add the chicken stock and crushed tomatoes, then turned off the heat and am letting it cool. When I get home from work tomorrow I'll take the pot out of the fridge, bring it back up to a boil, and add the orzo. We love this recipe.

"Healthified" Spinach and Rice Casserole (Tuesday's dinner)
I came across this one last year when I was on Weight Watchers, and made some changes to it today to make it tastier. Namely, I used 2 cups of diced ham and a little more cheese, and added more seasoning based on what I remembered from last time. I stopped the prep on this right after stirring in the spinach and rice, then added the ham and cheeses without bringing it to a boil a second time.

Baked Ziti (Wednesday's dinner)
I saw this on Annie's Eats last weekend and immediately bumped it up in the queue. I followed the directions for this exactly and up to the point where you combine all the ingredients and put them into your baking dish. I can't wait to try this with a crisp green salad and garlic bread. Mmm.

I also made this soup for today's lunch, and I have to say - it's fantastic. We pureed it at the end with an immersion blender to make it sort of creamy and blend the flavors. If you try this, make sure you don't skip the apple-red onion salsa and cranberry sour cream! I know they sound odd, but seriously... they totally MAKE the dish.

Right now I'm taking a break, but I hope to churn out a loaf of pumpkin bread to take to work with the banana bread (it's from a mix, so don't go thinking I'm THAT ambitious today) and an apple cider bundt cake (oh, it looks so good) for our desserts this week. And, unfortunately, I still have to make tonight's dinner: Curried Butternut Squash Soup with thick slices of fresh pumpernickel from the bread machine and our favorite Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.

Honestly though? I'm so tired right now, you guys. Being in the kitchen and on my feet for the afternoon was exhausting! It took me about two hours to prep everything, but I should also say that Bryan helped me with quite a bit during this time, including continually removing dirty prep bowls and utensils and washing out pots and things that couldn't go in the dishwasher (which was full and running while I was doing this, oops).

Even though I'm wiped I feel really good about having dinner ready to go for the next three days... and I'm sure I'll feel even better about it when I'm relaxing on the couch with Bryan while dinner heats in the oven!

The Great Pumpkin

2010-09-25T06:19:00.001-07:00

I am, officially, obsessed with pumpkin. This time of year I go wild for anything made with pumpkin, including coffee drinks, bread, cakes, muffins, pasta, and soups. This year, however, I'd read that there was a "pumpkin shortage," and that due to several poor harvest years in a row, we might not see the canned stuff gracing the aisles at our local supermarkets until November.

Well, this injustice will not stand! Armed with a little too much ingenuity for my own good, I decided to buy WHOLE pumpkins and puree them myself. All in the name of fall, of course...

Right?

So, a week ago I roasted and pureed two cute little sugar pumpkins. It wasn't that hard, but it wasn't that easy, either. Our food processor has a hard time pureeing things so that they're perfectly smooth and it look me an hour, several bowls, and a myriad of cooking utensils to get it all perfectly smooth. When I finished, though, it was a lovely shade of orange that's far more vibrant than what you see when you crack open a typical can of the stuff. Gorgeous.

Unfortunately, my pumpkin needs are greater than what I can churn out of a few sugar pumpkins in an afternoon. Thankfully, Amazon has everything, and so we ordered a case of 12 cans of the organic stuff last week. THEN, we went to the grocery store last night and THEY HAD CANNED PUMPKIN. It was the regular stuff, the Kroger brand, but we got so excited that we bought six cans and vowed to cancel the Amazon order as soon as we got home.

I'm sure you can figure out where this story is headed...

We couldn't cancel the Amazon order. Oops. Apparently it's shipping Monday, which means that I will now have the following for my pantry: six cans of Kroger brand pumpkin, 12 cans of Farmer's Market organic pumpkin, 2 cups of homemade pumpkin puree, and 3 whole sugar pumpkins.

Ack. The whole sugar pumpkins are currently posing as a delightful centerpiece for our dining room table, but I doubt the cans will offer us the same sort of harvest charm. I've been hunting for recipes to use it and so far have found a few promising ones, including this Chipotle-Pumpkin Black Bean Soup and this Pumpkin Yeast Bread. I'm especially excited, because the pumpkin surplus gives me plenty of excuses to make Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage, which is so so so so so so good.

Last night though, we made these pumpkin spice lattes, and I have to say... they were pretty good! Give one a try (you could probably do it on the stove top if you don't have a mini CrockPot) this weekend and let me know how you think it stacks up the Starbucks original. :-)

Last Day, Late Day

2010-07-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today I slept in until 9:30. I never do this.

I'm up around 6:30 AM on weekdays, so I try to be up around 8 AM on weekends. Bryan usually sleeps until nine-ish, so I typically spend the hour before he gets up puttering around on the internet and figuring out what we're going to have for breakfast. It's nice. It's a routine. I like my routine.

Today, however, things were a bit different. I was actually up at 7:30 but for the past five days I've been waking up during the middle of dreams and feeling really groggy. I went back to sleep, figuring I'd only be out another half hour and then could commence with my last morning off. Apparently, my body had other plans. When I woke up again and looked over at the alarm clock, I literally jumped out of bed, shouted, "OH MY GOD I SLEPT IN," then turned to Bryan and shouted, "IT'S TIME TO GET UP!!!"

Bryan, being a reasonable person, just looked at me like I was insane. Which I am, because it's my DAY OFF. Granted, it's the last day of five in a row that I had off and I haven't even touched the laundry pile or organized my closet, but I'm ON VACATION.

Because I am mildly insane, and to make up for being so lazy on my vacation and daring to sleep past the hour of 8 AM, I spent the rest of the morning making pancakes, a pan of lasagna for later, and dying my hair a gloriously bright shade of red.

It really seemed like the thing to do.

P.S. It may seem like this isn't possible, but I swear it's even brighter in person!

P.P.S. Please disregard the extra chin that's threatening to expose itself. I'm not sure where it's coming from, but I suspect that it has something to do with the aforementioned pancakes and lasagna.

On Our List

2010-06-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm off work today, and it's going to be a very exciting weekend. Since we are enjoying a three-day weekend, it's only appropriate that we have three very exciting things going on throughout.

A.
We're finally painting our bedroom. You have no idea how thrilled this makes me, because painting the bedroom means that new linens (and furniture? maybe?) are in the very near future, and that's the part I really like. I posted a picture of our fabric board here a few weeks ago, and I can't stop looking at it. It took me a little while to find exactly what I wanted, but now that I have I am absolutely in love with it.

2.
We'll also be getting our gaming on vicariously through Mario Marathon 3, which started a few hours ago and will be going strong through at least Sunday evening (probably longer). I am a self-professed geek and I absolutely love this event!

Basically, three thirty-somethings from Lafayette, Indiana play through all the Mario games throughout the course of a weekend to raise money for Child's Play, an organization that raises money to donate toys, games, books and cash to children's hospitals (Riley in Indianapolis, for example, is one of the recipients of their donations). I came across Mario Marathon partway through their first year (2008), and was excited to see them raise over $11,000 in just a weekend. Last year the marathon raised almost $30,000 over five days, which was just amazing.

This year they've only been playing for a few hours and are already up to nearly $9,000 in donations. Not only is watching them play the games entertaining, but seeing an online community band together to raise money in this capacity is just amazing. When we're not painting or enjoying the other activities on this weekend's list of excitement, I'll be tuning in to root the guys on. You should all check it out - pop on over and chuck them a couple of bucks! After all, it's for the kids!

D.
When we're not painting or (vicariously) gaming, we're going to be embarking on a new cooking adventure: canning. I recently decided that it would be fun to try, so in preparation I bought a Ball Canning Discovery Kit two weeks ago. We now have mason jars, recipe booklets, canning salt, some specialty seasonings and a number of other goodies to go with. I think we're going to try making some salsa, a few jars of pickles, and this Zesty Zucchini Relish to start. We already love to freeze leftovers, so the idea of canning them is just irresistible. Yes, we're geeks. See above.

Also on the cooking list for this weekend are a) making Beer Can Chicken with our second CSA bird, 2) enjoying copious amounts of this tasty Pineapple-Mango Salsa, and d) whipping up another batch of the Pioneer Woman's Breakfast Burritos. Last time the recipe made 14 burritos, which froze and reheated beautifully! It was fantastic to pull two out and not have to do anything for a hot and filling meal in the AM. Speaking of the AM, it's possible that English Muffins will make their way into the mix, but we have a lot going on already... so we'll see how it goes.

Now that you're all drooling on your computers, I think my work is done. Also, I hear the rustling of drop cloths in the bedroom, which I think means I need to skedaddle and ~~tell Bryan what to do~~ help Bryan with the priming. And don't worry, I'll post pictures when it's all done. I promise!

The Official Start of Summer

2010-06-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend, some of my very favorite people came into town. It was glorious. We ate, we drank, and we were most definitely merry.

Friday night, there was Aver's Pizza and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Saturday morning, there were pancakes and bacon and later, Asian Noodle Salad. Then we all went to the Taste of Bloomington (my very favorite event in my city) and ate lots of delicious food and drank some beer. Then we came home and ate some more. This morning, there was Eggs Florentine Casserole and Cinnamon Rolls. I cooked until I dropped, and it was worth every floury, buttery, sugar-coated minute, because my very favorite people are the most kind, gracious eaters ever. Seriously.

Mostly, this weekend was a great time with friends... but also? It totally reaffirmed why I loved to cook.

The weekend also reaffirmed my love of food bloggers, whom I should really thank for my success this weekend. Without Annie's Eats I would never have discovered the cupcakes that made everyone groan with delight. And The Pioneer Woman - oh, The Pioneer Woman. Her recipes have never failed me, and the salad, which is by far one of my favorites, even garnered a marriage proposal.* I probably don't even have to tell you that the cinnamon rolls were a hit, because if you've ever had them you know they're AMAZING, but the egg casserole was an equal home run. Seriously, folks, this is good stuff. If you're entertaining at all this summer, give these recipes (and blogs) a look-see.

My only regret about this weekend was that we didn't take many pictures. It would have been lovely to share all of the amazing food we ate with you, but it was all gone so fast no one even thought about it. :-)

*It was from an equally straight female friend, but still - it was a marriage proposal!

Sweet Dreams

2010-06-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned that we're redecorating the living room, and now that the room is nearly complete, we're moving on to another: the bedroom. After weeks of looking at paint colors, eyeing bedding online, and changing my concept about eleventy-billion times, I've finally decided on a look that I really love. Our main concern was balancing my need for girly accents with Bryan's need for as gender-neutral a look as possible, and this is what I came up with.

And yes, I put this image together all by myself. Thank you, InDesign!

The main bedding is from Target, and in the photos it looks decidedly gray, but it's got more brown in it in person. At the moment I'm working with an Etsy seller to quote the custom shams and pillows, and I'm considering ordering some half yards of the fabric so that I can match yarn for a hand-knit blanket. We'll do white curtains, I know that for sure, but art and other little elements like that are still up in the air. And, our current furniture is still a hodgepodge of mine and his, but we have looked at headboards and nightstands in dark brown wood that we both like. We'll be painting and getting the linens this summer, but the other stuff is down the road, I think. :-)

Anyway, what do you think?

Handmade for Summer: Drika.B

2010-06-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am decidedly a "big purse" kind of gal.

This can be mildly hilarious at times, since I'm so petite - the big bags that I love so much hang past my knees when draped over a shoulder, and make me look like a tiny pack mule. A good friend of mine (who so happens to be tall and slender) always carries a little purse - no exceptions - and she always looks so organized and chic doing it. So, I decided that it was time to try carrying a smaller purse, and figured a handmade one was a good place to start.

Enter Drika.B, whose unique creations use a variety of interesting fabrics and textures. I loved everything in her shop, but ultimately decided on the Birds in Brown Wristlet, which was a nice combo of neutrals with a pop of color.

Isn't it cute?

I was initially a little wary of buying a printed bag as my "main bag" for summer, but as it turns out, the birdies really don't get in the way. The bag itself is roomy enough to hold my essentials (wallet, iPhone, keys, lip balm/gloss, pen, grocery list, etc.) without being jammed full or overly weighty. The jute wrist strap is sturdy enough that I don't feel like I'm going to snap it off if I choose to carry the bag that way, but it's just as convenient to tuck it under one arm and go.

I'm not sure that I'm a small purse convert forever, and if the time comes for a new bag, you can bet I'll go back to Drika.B. I love these two that she has in her shop right now.

Photos by Drika.B

The Sand Chain Jute Handheld Satchel is neutral enough to go with everything I own, but still adds an element of interest to an outfit. The Azure Antler Jute Basic Tote is made with a Joel Dewberry print that I just cannot stop looking at - I love the combo of colors in the fabric.

Can't you just see yourself traipsing around town with these on your arm? I can!

I did not receive anything free in exchange for writing this post - I just really liked my wristlet from Drika.B!

Handmade for Summer

2010-05-31T06:58:00.001-07:00

A hint of what's to come: clutch by DrikaB, skirt by oliviabolivia. Ignore the pale as death legs, please.

Buying clothes is frustrating, y'all.

I have several problems with most of the clothing available today, but the biggest one is that so much of it just flat-out doesn't fit. I'm short, but I have hips and a butt, so finding clothing that fits my curves without being too long feels nearly impossible. The other issue I have with most clothes in stores these days is that I just can't seem to find the kinds of things I want to wear. Lately I've been gravitating towards unique pieces with a vintage, boho, or shabby chic kind of feel and frankly the local Old Navy just isn't stocking that sort of thing these days.

Don't get me wrong, stores like Old Navy and Target are great for basics and the occasional cute or comfy piece. I wear Old Navy jeans and tanks almost exclusively, and I can still find decent pieces for work at Target if I scour the racks. Even when I find something, though, there's still the fit issue.

I'm honestly not sure what the breaking point was for me, but I remember heading over to Etsy one evening a few months back and thinking, "I'm going to buy a handmade skirt." So I did. I contacted a great seller and asked her about making one of her existing skirts in a different size. She was fantastic and the skirt is amazing. So began my journey into buying (almost exclusively) handmade this summer.

Throughout the next week or so I'll be posting pictures (gulp) of all the wonderful things I've gotten so far, and also a selection of things that I'm still dreaming about. (It's mighty convenient that I'm doing this just in time for my birthday in early July, no?) Stay tuned!

I Like Big Buns

2010-05-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I have a bread machine. We love our bread machine. We love it so much that just about everywhere we go, we tell people that we love our bread machine and brag about everything we've made with it. Last weekend we went to another couple's house for dinner and by the time we left I'm pretty sure we'd convinced them that they needed one, too.

We've made some really delightful bread in our bread machine, including a delightful rosemary-olive oil loaf that's always a crowd-pleaser. (It sparked the conversation that led the aforementioned couple to ponder a bread machine of their own.) Here's the thing about the bread machine that surprised even me, though: you can make more than just bread with it. Pizza crust? Check. Bagels? Oh yeah. Naan? You betcha.

All that stuff is great (and it really was great) but the one carb-y creation we've made that has completely blown my mind was so ordinary that it hadn't even occurred to me that we could make it in the bread machine until one mildly lazy Sunday when I thought, what about hamburger buns? I'm sure you're all, "Well, 'what about hamburger buns,' Meghan?" and I'm going to tell you what about hamburger buns.

They're incredible.

This is where I would post a picture of our hamburger buns on a baking sheet, fresh out of the oven with golden brown tops, or sitting on a plate with a gloriously grilled burger on top, but every time we've eaten them they've been gone so fast I haven't gotten a chance. Seriously, they're just that good.

After mulling it over for awhile, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that bread machine buns - or at least buns you make yourself - are so amazing because they aren't filled with corn syrup and bizarre, twenty-syllable chemicals. The recipe we use calls for flour, milk, sugar, an egg, butter (just a wee bit!), yeast and salt. That's it. No fillers, no ridiculousness - just bread.

The other reason these buns are amazing is that they're soft, but substantial. If you buy a bun at the store it's either so soft that it's falling apart halfway through a sandwich, or so crusty that you have a hard time biting through it without losing a tooth. These are the perfect texture. And the flavor? Slightly sweet, yeasty, delicious. The reason for this, I am sure, is relatively scientific: the bread machine kneads the dough so much better than either Bryan or I ever could.

If you have a bread machine, try making these buns this weekend! I guarantee you wont' be disappointed. If you don't have a bread machine, well... either you can run out and get one immediately, or give me a call and I'll make you dinner sometime.*

I guarantee my (hamburger) buns do not disappoint.

*Seriously, ask my friends... cooking for people is basically my favorite thing to do EVER.

First the Pillows, Then the Curtains!

2010-05-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

A year ago this June, Bryan and I moved in together.

In that time, we've re-painted the living room and put in new windows, but the decor part of the whole process has been pretty slow-going. Last week we picked up the pace with a new console table (there's something really grown up about having a console table, no?) and TV stand - as I type this Bryan's in the process of putting together the latter. This week however, we got something really exciting.

PILLOWS.

Our living room is pretty manly: espresso brown leather couches, "dark tobacco" wood furniture, and warm, cocoa-colored walls. I'd been searching high and low for some unique-looking pillows that would pull in the colors of the manly basics but also be a soft contrast to all the dark colors. I've always loved the combo of coffee and cream, with a splash of robin's egg blue or lemon yellow, so I was hunting for things in that color family.

I'd seen these DwellStudio pillows at Target before and loved them, but last night they just somehow fit. What I loved about them then that I love about them now is that they have a sort of handmade, vintage look - but at Target prices, which are a little more in my budget. (Seriously, the stuff on Etsy was lovely but SO EXPENSIVE.)

I just love how the seriousness of the little birdie contrasts with the playful dimensionality of the fabric flower. The brown pillow has the same, smaller, flowers all over the front and both have geometric prints on the back so if Bryan ever gets sick of the floral business we could flip the pillows over and they'd still go with the rest of our decor.

We've already found curtains in the exact same shade of blue that we're going to put up in the windows, and I'm going to knit some pillow covers and a blanket in soft shades of cream, white, and beige to help soften the tough leather of the couch. This pattern, which is knitted up in super chunky, super soft wool yarn, caught my eye months ago and will probably be in our home soon. I'm thinking a buttery cream or soft beige-y linen (rather than this gray-blue) would be perfect.

Lacy Chunky Throw pattern by Wenlan Chia

Once that's sorted out, we'll have to figure out what to put on the walls, and maybe check out rugs and vases and lamps and now I'm getting ahead of myself. If I focus on one element at a time, I won't get too overwhelmed. Although, I do love this knitted wreath.

Knitted Wreath pattern by CocoKnits

Later last night, while we were checking out at Target, Bryan was paying for the pillows and I asked him if he ever thought he'd be buying accent pillows. His reply? "Nope."

It was a big night for both of us.

Biscuits

2010-05-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago, we made these sandwiches. I haven't been able to stop thinking about them since, which is why we're having them again today.

I have a dear friend, Jessica, who likes to keep me informed regarding all things Good in life. Case in point? Joy the Baker, a delightful baker-blogger whose recipes and photography have made me drool in equal measure. That her writing is entertaining and has a unique voice kept me coming back for more. This post, about How to Impress a Boy By Baking, piqued my interest... but it was another recipe that completely won my heart. Friends, I speak of Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits. I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods today, but around these parts it's rainy and plans to be that way for the whole weekend. I can't think of a better reason to celebrate being indoors and in one's sweatpants than with buttery flaky, cheddar-y, black pepper-y biscuits. Can you?

Just... make them. Make them now. Don't worry about the butter and the shortening and the badness. Just go with the flow, and I promise you will have a completely delightful breakfast experience. I don't consider Bryan and I to be very proficient bakers, but our biscuits still turned out flaky and delicious. We had ours as sandwiches with fried eggs and center-cut bacon and couldn't stop exclaiming to each other about how awesome we were. If you're not into the egg thing, I can assure you that they were also delicious with plain 'ol butter on them, and would probably be lovely with some apple butter for a sweet/savory combo. OR, you could be really dangerous and serve them alongside say, some Cajun Chicken Pasta.

If biscuits aren't your cup of tea I can also speak highly of the Weekend Waffles with Maple Black Pepper Bacon and the (odd-sounding but delicious-tasting) Avocado Pound Cake. The waffles are some of the yummiest I've had at home, and the bacon... well, can you ever really go wrong with bacon? As for the pound cake, the mere mention of it has gotten some wrinkled noses, but I assure you it's a unique and must-try flavor. If the idea of sweet avocados trips you up, try thinking of it as a quick bread, rather than a cake. The texture really falls more into that realm, anyway.

Now that I've vicariously expanded everyone's thighs... it's biscuit time!

Rocking My (Hand-Knitted) Socks

2010-03-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

I like think of this as the knitter's equivalent to a "fun flask."

Friends, I have discovered sock knitting, and I think I might be addicted.

Sock knitting is just so, so delightful. The idea that you're making SOCKS - SOCKS, I TELL YOU! - is so completely satisfying that it's hard to resist making an entire drawer's worth. From casting on the trim at the top of the leg to turning the heel and grafting the toe, the whole process sounds hard but it deceptively easy, a concept that makes one feel like a knitting rockstar without the tears usually associated therewith.

Most importantly though, the yarn used to make socks is completely fabulous. Right now I'm a huge fan of Knit Picks yarns (their Imagination and Stroll Hand-Painted yarns are amazing), but I'm really tempted by the stuff over at Blue Moon Fiber Arts and some of the things I've spotted on Etsy. Blue Moon is an "indie" shop that spins and dyes all their fibers by hand; they also make some of the yummiest colorways I've ever seen. I'm currently lusting for Chapman Springs, Sherbet, Storeytime, and Titania in their Socks That Rock! blend. So yummy!

I digress. (Sorry. It happens when I start chatting about yarn. Ask Bryan.)

Back in mid-January I dug a hank of Knit Picks Imagination in Gingerbread House out of my stash drawer and cast on for my first pair of socks using this pattern. It took me about a month to finish the first sock because I got distracted by other projects, but once I cast on for the second sock it only took a week of sporadic knitting for me to finish it off. All told, I think I probably spent about a day's (24 hours) worth of time making my socks. They turned out a bit big (for technical reasons that I won't bore you with here) but I was so proud of them that I decided not to gift them and instead kept them for myself.

IT'S A SOCK!

I sense the universe may be trying to punish me for being selfish with my knitted goods, because I sort of maybe accidentally unintentionally felted them... while wearing them. Oops.

These are my teeny tiny, Gingerbread House feet on Friday morning.

So. I wore my awesome socks to work on Friday because it was cold out, and I wore them with these cheap ankle boots I have, knowing that my foot would probably get pretty sweaty, but not thinking about HOW sweaty it would get encased in synthetic material and covered in a wool-alpaca blend sock. I noticed that the socks got softer and smoother throughout the day, but it wasn't until I got home and took off my boots that I realized that my feet had sweated so profusely (gross, I know) that they were FELTED around the toes and on the sole of the foot.

Thankfully, the socks were so big on me to begin with that they're still wearable and even still a little too big. The felting might actually help them last longer (less wear and tear on the delicate toe and heel stitches), but all of my gorgeous knit work in that area has been lost. I'm so bummed about this, but I'll continue to proudly wear my socks anyway, because they were both a joy to knit and a lesson in my new favorite kind of knitting.

Hair Schmair

2010-03-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

I had a completely delightful experience at a local salon tonight, and I feel compelled to share my joy with the world.

First of all, you must know that until tonight, it had been six months since I'd had a hair cut. SIX MONTHS. And friends? It was starting to show. I have this somewhat ambitious desire to knit as much of my wardrobe as possible, and I told Bryan the other night that if this concept is going to work, I can't look like I had to knit my wardrobe. I was really starting to look like some kind of refugee, or if not someone who had escaped persecution at the hands of her government, at least a girl that had run away from her stylist.

Ok, so it's not that bad. It definitely looks pretty scraggly around the ends, though.

Speaking of, I should make it very clear that I'm not here to trash my former stylist, as he was perfectly serviceable and did make me happy for the majority of the time I went to him. For me, however, the bloom was off the rose and I was a little tired of feeling like he wasn't listening to my hair-related concerns or even really focusing on me as a client while I was in his chair. It's a good part of the reason why I didn't go back for six whole months, and that's really too bad for both him and my hair.

So.

I drive by this little boutique salon called Mira several times a week, and a few weeks ago I started to toss around the idea of going there for my next cut in my head. I talked myself out of it more than once, until that conversation in the car this week, and on Wednesday I called to make the appointment. They wanted to get me in that day, but I needed at least a day to figure out what I wanted, and I'm glad I was scheduled when I was because I may not have met my new stylist, who was a joy to work with.

Tiffany was incredibly warm, friendly, and very talkative... which is great for someone like me who enjoys chatting with creative types but can't make very good small talk. As soon as I sat down in her chair I was completely at ease because she knew exactly what I wanted and gave me suggestions for what she'd do to make it work. For example, I wanted my hair to look thick but have volume, so she put layers inside the cut to give it lift without making it look like my hair had been chopped to bits. She even offered up helpful tips about styling the cut once I got home, using a flat iron as a curling iron, and what I could do with my color on a future visit.

*applause*

By the time she walked me to the front to pay for my services I was completely won over, and didn't think twice of it when she said, "give me a hug!" and patted me heartily on the back. She asked if I needed shampoo or styling products, but didn't try to up-sell me, which I appreciate. It also doesn't hurt that what I paid for the cut and brow wax (which she did as well) was incredibly reasonable: $35 for the cut/style and $12 for the wax. I left with a pretty little "welcome to Mira" bag of samples, and I've already scheduled a follow-up appointment for a cut/color and brow wax/tint for eight weeks out. Even though I just left I'm so, so excited to go back.

(Actually, they do free bang trims so I'll probably try to get in for one in April and consult the stylist on the color situation then. Guess I will get to go back sooner than planned!)

My only complaint - if you could call it that - is that while they offer a full range of salon services relating to hair, facials/makeup application, and aromatherapy massage, they do not do manicures and pedicures. I'm perfectly fine doing it myself, but it would have been great to find one full-service source for my girlie pampering.

Oh, and P.S. Citizens of the Interwebs - If you're ever looking for a gift idea for yours truly, a hot stone massage would be a great pre-hair cut treat... not to mention a good way to take the edge off the inevitable brow wax.

On Fashion, Part I

2010-03-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

I am 27 years old, and I have a subscription to Seventeen magazine.

Oh, shut up.

I have the subscription because I was placing an order on Amazon and needed to spend a little more to get the free shipping and at the time, a year's subscription to Seventeen magazine was $5. So I added it to the cart, thinking it would give me a few laughs. I've had the subscription for about a year now and to my surprise, I do sit down and read each issue when it arrives. It has performed admirably in the laugh department, but lately I've had some problems with what I see when I open the magazine.

I must be 87 and not 27 because the so-called fashions they're encouraging teenagers to wear these days are horrifying. Acid-wash jeans? Stripes? Leather and floral? Leggings as pants? I REPEAT: LEGGINGS AS PANTS?!?! I'm dying over here, because if these poor girls where famous, they'd be written up on Go Fug Yourself - which is hilarious, but not exactly a noble distinction - every week. While I'm sure some questionable knee-sock, plaid mini-skirt, and animal-shaped backpack recommendations were made when I was reading 17* and under the age of 17, I am also sure they were nothing like this.

Also, can I just say that the prom dresses and hairstyles associated with them have COMPLETELY CHANGED from when I was going to prom (spring of '99 and '00). We were all about the big poufy ball gowns with corsets and boning, and those crazy updos with the twisty bits and the ringlets... Oh, I wish I had a picture, because both dresses I wore fully captured this look. One of them was by Jessica McClintock. Raise your hand if you remember THOSE dresses!

Girls these days are wearing chignons and curled 40's style bobs and these dresses that I probably wouldn't even leave the house in now that I'm in my 20's. They're wearing these crazy outfits with mini skirts that I would never have worn as a teenager, but probably should have because I was quite skinny back then. And the truth is... they're really not wearing anything any crazier than those plaid kilt minis with knee socks that were everywhere in the mid-90's. I think that I'm probably just old. And cranky. And completely annoyed with everything I see in stores these days... but that's another post.

Confession? Once I got past the bad fashion spreads, the two things in Seventeen magazine that have been the most valuable have been the hair styling tips (I apparently missed that class back in high school) and the healthy recipes/eating tips they feature each month. I have to give them mad props for encouraging teenage girls not only to eat, but also to make better, healthier choices. Their support of a positive body image also has to be commended, even if the models they feature are mostly the size of toothpicks.

On that note, stay tuned for "On Fashion, Part II". :-)

*As seen in the majority of Clueless, or this Versace ad that I very clearly remember from one of my mom's issues of Vogue back in the day. 15 years later, I still love most of Alicia Silverstone's outfits in that movie. Is that weird?

OH NOES

2010-02-06T17:27:00.001-08:00

You know that horrible, sinking feeling you get when you accidentally put a beloved sweater in the dryer, only to discover that you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT HAVE PUT THAT SWEATER IN THE DRYER because it shrank or even worse, felted itself?

Ok, now that you're imagining that feeling, imagine what it would be like to do that to a sweater that you made yourself. Yeah.

I have been a knitter for like, six years now. I have made a number of things in wool, and I have successfully "blocked", or hand washed and laid flat to dry, a number of items. Tonight, however, I got the bright idea to put this turquoise cardigan that I just finished knitting in the dryer on the "Air Fluff" cycle to try and speed things along. Here's the thing about wool though: it will felt with even the slightest bit of agitation, whether there is heat along with that or not.

So, after only twenty minutes of "Air Fluff" time, I took my beloved turquoise cardigan out of the dryer and realized, with horror, that it was starting to felt. Now, it's still pretty damp, so odds are that this is salvageable. The pattern notes describe the fit as being "like a jacket" and I'm pretty sure that when it dries it will fit the bill on that note perfectly. Problem is, when wool felts, it shrinks. So I think the answer to this will be to put on the sweater for short increments of time as it dries to help it keep it's, that is to say MY, shape.

Yes, I will be wearing a wet sweater around the house for fifteen minutes every hour until I go to bed - which, as it turns out, may not be until 2 AM because I took migraine medicine earlier and have been drinking caffeine all afternoon/evening and am COMPLETELY WIRED right now.

(As if you couldn't tell.)

So, in conclusion: if you ever think it's a good idea to put a sweater in the dryer, don't. You may spend the evening wearing it around, and I'm here to tell you that the feeling of wet wool in the dead of winter is not exactly one wants to experience.

That is all.

Hey Mom, Look What I Knit!

2010-01-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is the Metropolitan Diary Skirt, from Twinkle's Town & Country Knits. Isn't it cute?

Ladies and gentlemen, I knit a skirt yesterday. I've been wanting to knit a skirt for quite some time now, but it's taken awhile to find a pattern that was not a) knit on teeny tiny needles, 2) mildly frumpy looking and d) too long for someone as short as I am. Finally, FINALLY I found a pattern that fit the bill and that I loved, and so I knit the skirt up there yesterday and wore it to work today.

That is not my skirt up there, nor are those my legs... or my hips... or my hiney. That is the lovely photo of the lovely model in the book. I am having the darndest time getting a picture of me in my skirt - which is a nice taupe-y brownish gray color - because it's cold and gray and disgusting out and apparently the light in our house isn't sufficient enough for photography. *shrug*

At any rate, I knit this skirt and I wore it to work and even though that isn't me in the photo, I love the skirt and think it's positively adorable. I was actually bummed that none of my coworkers asked about it, although to be fair the portion of my body that the skirt was on is well below the eye level of most average-sized adults, and so they probably didn't get down that far when saying "Hello," and "How was your weekend?" and all that.

Suffice it to say, this project gets a big 'ol thumbs up, and I'd be happy to share my project notes - I had to make some modifications to accommodate the hips and hiney not shown in the above photo - with anyone who is interested in making one of their own.

In other news, I had every intention of making Stuffed Cabbage Stoup for dinner and writing a long, rhapsodic post about how much I love and adore it and want to make stuffed cabbage-y babies with it... (weird, right?) ... but now that I am home from work I am sleepy and congested and starting to think that the leftover BBQ Meatballs and mashed potatoes from the other night might be a better, faster, no-actual-cooking-required sort of option.

They really were quite good...

Oy With The Poodles Already!

2010-01-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I made The Pioneer Woman's BBQ Meatballs, and I swear to you guys that I had every intention of blogging the hell out of that recipe today. It was amazing and delicious... and oh my lord, I am still thinking about those meatballs. You should make them immediately.

Then today I went to lunch with some friends, and after we went to an IU Basketball game, and I now I have one of the worst migraines I've ever had. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't have the energy or the motivation to say anything more on the delicious dinner we had last night.

I hope to return with my regularly scheduled posting (which has been virtually non-existent lately, oops) tomorrow. In the meantime... if you have migraines, how on earth do you go about dealing with/getting rid of them? Tips, tricks, and general advice would be most welcome.

Thanks readers! (All... three of you. :-D)

Out With The Old...

2010-01-01T07:16:00.001-08:00

Oh my.

This is embarrassing.

My sincerest apologies to anyone who had gotten used to reading about my cooking and weight loss adventures during the month of November, only to be left high and dry for all of December. It's really quite a shame, because I made some awesome things during my unintentional hiatus... although I'm here to admit to you that absolutely none of it was healthy.

NONE.

I'm mostly okay with this, but getting back on the horse this coming week is going to be hard, y'all. As we enter 2010, I'm still struggling with finding a good balance between cooking and eating all of the yummy, delicious things I want... and somehow managing to lose a little weight and fit in some exercise here and there. I'm thinking the key is in the latter, as much as I hate it.

That said, stay tuned for some awesome food-related posts in 2010, as Santa was VERY good to both Bryan and I. He is the proud owner of a new bread machine, and I received a Cuisinart Griddler, which I think means that there is a lot of French Toast in our future. Remember what I said about the exercise? Yeah... Good thing I got all those workout DVDs, too!

Day... Oh, I Give Up

2009-11-29T06:11:00.001-08:00

Well, damn.

Unless I were to bombard you with posts between now and tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I'm not even going to make my modified NaBloPoMo goal of posting once per day in November. *sigh* Honestly, I'm not all that sad about it. In the grand scheme of life goals, posting in one's blog every day is probably not one I should beat myself up over not achieving.

Mad props go out to my friend Melody over at Present History for being two days away from meeting her NaBloPoMo goal, however... and I honestly think she's managed to pull out an interesting post every day. Three cheers for Melody!

And now, on with our "regularly scheduled" program...

I'm not a big fan of the whole Black Friday shopping thing. For one, I have a fiery hated of crowds and annoying people, and when they're crowds of annoying people that are impeding on my space bubble, I tend to get extra cranky. In years past I have participated in a bit of the madness with my mom, but this year not much caught our eye so we slept in and headed out later in the day to check things out. We must have had some kind of shopping guardian angels looking out for us on Friday, because when we went to Target there were precisely two of these little cuties left.

For $3. Yes, I said $3.

If you didn't happen to get one for $3 this weekend, don't dispair; the regular price is a reasonable $10. I'm just excited because for slightly less than the price of a Grande Starbuck's Latte, I got my hands on this adorable little slow cooker, which will be perfect for making dips and other small appetizers. I'm going to break it in today by making The CrockPot Lady's Spinach Artichoke dip. Yum yum yum. With some low-fat/fat-free dairy swaps, it's actually pretty reasonable and I'll probably eat mine with some low-fat crackers, pretzels, and carrot and celery sticks. Mmm. I'll post the recipe with my modifications later. :-)

And speaking of that over-priced Starbuck's coffee, this morning I made a delicious Peppermint Mocha swap that only came out to 2 Points for a nice-sized, rather satisfying cup. I managed to make it with stuff I have on hand, and it was SO SO GOOD. I absolutely insist that if you like Peppermint Mochas you should stop whatever you're doing and go make it NOW. Seriously.

"Diet" Peppermint Mocha

1 packet diet hot cocoa mix
1 shot espresso or two if you're feeling dangerous
1 tbsp liquid Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer
6 oz hot water
optional: fat-free whipped cream, sprinkles, crushed candy cane bits

Dump the hot cocoa packet into a mug. Prepare the espresso* and pour it into the mug also. Using a fork or a small whisk, whip the cocoa and espresso together until smooth and a bit frothy. Add the creamer and whip together some more. Finally, add the hot water and give one final stir. I drank mine plain, but if you wanted to get really fancy, you could top the drink with some fat-free whipped cream and sprinkles or crushed candy cane bits. Yum!

*I used my awesome Tassimo machine to do this, but you could also use instant espresso. If you do instant, just combine it with the diet hot cocoa mix in the first step, then add the water and finally, the creamer.

A Breakthrough?

2009-11-21T17:12:00.001-08:00

You may have noticed that I didn't post yesterday. Oops. I didn't completely forget, but I also chose not to worry too much about it when - in full-on snuggle mode, I might add - I passed out on the couch while watching Back to the Future II. I woke up in a mildly agitated state, demanded that Bryan blow out the candles in our new wall sconce immediately, and fell into bed where I promptly went back to sleep.

It was fantastic.

And so, I choose not to feel guilty about not meeting my goal of posting every day in November, although I still would like to have a post for every day... which means that at some point in the future I will probably post twice to make up for it. Yes, this justification completely mollifies the sense of guilt and shame I probably should be feeling for not making it through NaBloPoMo on the straight and narrow. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business!

Tonight Bryan and I did something mildly out of character for us: we made something for dinner, decided we didn't want it, and went out for something else. We hate wasting food, and since we're trying to eat healthy we also hate going off plan. It all worked out for the best though, and that's why I'm writing about it so cheerfully.

You see, we made chili. This amazingly delicious, yummy, healthy turkey chili with black beans and zucchini and fire-roasted tomatoes, and it sat in the slow cooker all day while we were out with my parents, who were in town for a visit. I made this chili with the intention of all of us eating it for dinner before they left, but they decided they weren't hungry and opted to leave before we sat down to eat. I was honestly a little disappointed by their early exit, an as soon as they left, I turned to Bryan and said, "I don't want this!"

It's so good you guys, but it just didn't sound like what I wanted. Do you ever have moments like that? We have them a lot, and they usually result in is re-arranging our weekly plan to have something another day... but since dinner was already finished it could have been a bit of a problem. The good news is that this chili - like most - reheats fantastically, and I like having leftovers in the freezer, so we packed it all up into individual serving-size containers for lunches.

Then we grabbed out coats and went out for Chinese.

Chinese food is one of those things that you think isn't that bad for you - it has vegetables! - but it really is. Even things that look harmless, like chicken and broccoli, can be full of nasty greasy sauces. Ordinarily I would have ordered one of these dishes, felt bad about it, and then vowed to get back on Plan the next day. And we did sort of order something bad, but we also ordered something GOOD and that's why I'm so optimistic right now.

What we ended up doing was getting an order of steamed shrimp and broccoli, and an order of sesame chicken. When we got home, we plated up 1/2 cup of rice each, split the shrimp and broccoli order, and each took a small scoop of the sesame chicken. I only ate half of what I portioned out of the "bad stuff" and I was satisfied with that. I honestly could have eaten more of the steamed dish, so we agreed that next time we'll just get one or two of those and use our own hot sauce and tamari to flavor things up. Both are 0 Points for a good sized glug - not bad!

It was honestly such a big take-out breakthrough for us, and for me personally, that I don't feel at all guilty about throwing caution to the wind. Restaurants are one of my biggest weaknesses when I'm trying to eat healthy and learning that the "healthy" option really is good was so liberating. Now I just need to find a way to rationalize away the goat cheese and walnut salad and the ham and pineapple pizza with smoked mozzarella and pine nuts that we split at brunch, and I'll be good to go. :-)

Nothing Post

2009-11-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I posted a nothing post, but it was sort of negative. Does it still count as posting every day if I post a nothing post and it's positive?

You see, I've had a lovely evening of doing virtually nothing that will culminate in enjoying a piece of the new Dove Peppermint Bark Dark Chocolate (1 Point!) before I drift off to sleep early. There are few things I love more than going to bed early. And yes, 9:45 pm does still count as "early" for me, although 9 on the dot would have been exceptionally delicious, like the chocolate. Seriously guys, dark chocolate may be one of the best flavors on earth.

So, who else is with me on the whole going to bed early thing? Isn't it amazing?

Well... We Caved.

2009-11-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

I went a little off the reservation for this meal and friends, it was worth every single bite.

My cupcakes went over pretty well at the Thanksgiving Pitch-In today, although there were roughly six pumpkin pies in attendance and those seemed to be the more popular dessert choice. No matter, as I brought the rest home, and Bryan and I will be enjoying them for dessert for the next few nights. At 3 Points a pop, I think can afford to indulge.

Speaking of indulgence... the 3.5 weeks that I haven't eaten out at a restaurant finally caught up to me and tonight I basically demanded that we eat food at a restaurant. We started out genuinely trying to think of a place that served something healthy, then resigned ourselves to the fact that doing so would probably result in us eating something we weren't really wild about. Ultimately we decided to spend our calories on the good stuff, and so we went to Sweetgrass.

I totally splurged and got their fancied up shrimp and grits, and it was just as delicious as I remembered the last time. Yum yum yum. I'm so glad I splurged because it was worth every single delicious bite. Last time, however, we splurged and got an appetizer... and dinner... and drinks... and coffee... and a dessert to share. That's my favorite way to do a restaurant meal, but when you're going out on a weekday and watching calories, you've just got to cut back! I'm glad we did because when I got up from the table I was satisfied but not disgustingly full.

After dinner we ran some errands and I'm still happy to report that my feet are the only part of me that regrets any of the evening. I wore my cute heeled knee-boots which were not, in Nancy's words, "made for walkin'," and well... my dogs are barkin'.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Cuppity Cakes!

2009-11-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

You have no idea how hard it is to be in a house with these cupcakes and only eat one. Well, 1.5. Technically 1.25 because the first didn't have frosting and we shared it. I'll shut up now...

The cupcakes featured in the photo above are my contribution to my company's annual Thanksgiving Pitch-In. For you less countrified folks, a "pitch-in" is apparently another term for a potluck, which means that everyone has to bring a "covered dish." In years past we had a sign up sheet for food that was split into a variety of helpful categories, but this year management has apparently decided to wing it because there was no sign up sheet.

I cannot even begin to tell you the kind of panic not having this simple little bit of organization has thrown me into. First I agonized over what the definition of a covered dish actually is. Is it literally a hot side dish with a lid? Can the definition be expanded to baked goods and salads as well? Then I agonized over whether bringing a dessert would potentially leave us with too many desserts. Everyone brings a pie to this sort of thing, so what if we had like, twelve pies? Then I agonized over the possibility of a Thanksgiving event without green bean casserole, which is what I usually bring but pretty quickly decided against this year. In the past it's never been that popular, plus it's kind of a pain to make it in the morning, only to have to refrigerate it and reheat it and mess with the texture of the topping.

It was a very ridiculous process that culminated in me consulting at least half a dozen different people on what I should bring, only to choose something completely different: Cider Cupcakes.

I wish I could say that I made one of the many fancy-pants versions that's currently saturating the web, with a mix of cake flour and whole grain pastry flour, with butter from my own cows and cider from my own apple orchard and cider mill, but alas... I cannot. No, I used a Duncan Hines mix with some of my own swaps, and it turned out really freaking awesome. The cupcakes on their own are amazingly delicious, but with the Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting on top they're absolutely divine.

Best of all, I managed to make utterly decadent and delicious cupcakes that are 3 Points each - which is pretty dang good when you consider the facts, which are presented below. Enjoy!

Cider Cupcakes
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Cake Mix
2/3 cup apple cider
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) light butter
1/4 - 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used one of those little single-serving cups)
3/4 cup egg substitute
2/3 tub Betty Crocker Whipped! Cream Cheese Frosting (18 to 20 tbsp worth)
2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish

Combine cake mix with the cider, butter, applesauce and egg substitute. Mix and bake per package directions. While cupcakes are cooling, mix frosting with cinnamon. When cupcakes are completely cool, lightly top each one with just over 2 tsp of frosting. Sprinkle on additional cinnamon, if desired. Store cupcakes in an airtight container, out of sight and mind. :-)

P.S. If you're not a fan of frosting, these little gems are only 2 Points without it. I bet they'd be delicious with a little fat-free whipped topping and some fresh berries... Yum.

Looks Like Someone Has a Case of the Mondays...

2009-11-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Today was going pretty well. Then I burnt my hand while making dinner. After dinner, Bryan and Hope (the cat) and I were having some post-dinner snuggle time, and she suddenly decided it was time to play, which meant that it was time to scratch the hell out of my right forearm.

It still hurts. Like, a lot.

So, since I'm currently clutching my arm and alternately running my hand under cold water and the DVR is full of cooking shows, and I'm a week behind on Gossip Girl, I'm going to bury my head in the sand and possibly also some ice cream for tonight.

I'll promise that I'll return with my regularly-scheduled Weight Watchers musings tomorrow.

Sunday Sunday SUNDAY!

2009-11-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

Lately I feel like I've been making some controversial confessions, like about how I just want it to be cold already, and that I like Rachael Ray and such... but what I'm about to tell you probably isn't all that controversial or confessional.

I hate Sundays.

I really do. For me, Sunday is the anti-Friday. Sunday night from about 5 PM until bedtime is probably the worst 5ish hours of the entire weekend, because I usually spend them a) not wanting to do anything at all, 2) lamenting the fact that also I did nothing all weekend, and d) thinking of all the things I would do to make up for it if I had Mondays off. It's torture. Mondays are pretty bad, but at least by the time I've woken up on Monday morning I've resigned myself to the fact that it's time to go to work, things haven't gotten done, and nothing I do is going to change that.

Today has been a little different, though. Today I was up bright and early and after a nice breakfast and some snuggle/computer time, Bryan and I basically went our separate ways to get our various household chores finished. I cleaned the bathroom and wiped down mirrors throughout the house, then started on laundry and just generally organized and picked up things. Bryan worked on finishing the jamb and trims on our windows so that we can put up the new shades tonight or tomorrow. I put together dinner (which is all ready to go when we're ready to eat) and worked on some Christmas afghans, and now we're relaxing before dinner. It's nice.

I'm still kind of dreading the end of the day, but after getting a TON of laundry done and cleaning and just generally getting things TOGETHER around here, I feel slightly less annoyed about this whole Sunday thing. I'm sure I could come up with my usual list of things to do, but for right now I think I'll have a glass of wine and just chill out about it. :-)

What do you all do to get organized before the start of your week? Any tips to pass along?

Reason #238473984783 Why I Love the Slow-Cooker

2009-11-14T16:42:00.001-08:00

I love bread. Like, really love it. A lot. It's one of the things I have to eat in moderation now that I'm doing this whole Weight Watchers thing, but I do still get to eat it and that makes me happy.

Bryan has been baking his own bread since January and honestly, it's so delicious that if we weren't trying to lose weight we'd probably just stop buying bread at the store altogether. The original recipe he used was the infamous New York Times one for no-knead yeast bread, and it always turns out really well. We started experimenting and changing things up, eventually using the basic recipe with half whole wheat flour, and trying our hand at sourdough and rye breads.

One of goals has been to get slightly lighter, higher loaves, so we abandoned the no-knead technique and started using longer rise times, letting it rise in a warmer place, and even kneading longer. We discovered the set of dough hooks that came with my fancy pants KitchenAid hand mixer, and that seemed to work, but nothing was quite achieving the results we were looking for.

Last weekend we discovered the concept of baking bread in the slow-cooker, and I am pretty sure it's changed our lives forever. Seriously. It takes about two to three times as long to do it, but the humid environment of the slow-cooker products a loaf that is both crusty without breaking teeth AND soft and chewy on the inside. On Friday I even let the loaf do it's post-punch down second rise in the slow-cooker on the warming cycle and that worked out even better. We basically decided that we're going to keep making it this way from now on, which is sort of awesome because it's really easy. Plus, we can tag team: Bryan makes the dough, and I "bake" it.

Looks like I'm going to have to start working out to offset all this bread baking...

Well, damn.

Sorry, Guys

2009-11-13T18:53:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to write a humorous post about our experience at dinner the night we went to see Terry Gross speak at the IU Auditorium, but I've been typing in the little window here for about 45 minutes and I'm tired and I just can't get it right.

Suffice it to say, it's a funny story and a relationship-based inside joke rolled into one, not to mention a sort of manifesto (if you will) on what I believe as a proud NPR-listening, reusable bag-using, Farmer's Market-going, chain restaurant-avoiding, Obama-voting liberal.

Unfortunately for all of you, it's Friday night and I'm WIPED so it's going to have to wait until another day. Instead I will tell you that Bryan and I had Papa Murphy's (yes, a chain) Hawaiian De-LITE pizza for dinner tonight and it was both DELICIOUS and in my Points budget.

Yay.

Yum-O!

2009-11-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the soup we had for dinner last night that was taken pre-Weight Watchers... hence the grilled mozzarella cheese sandwich shown in the picture. I made it with fresh mozzarella and I am here to tell you that I would have MARRIED that sandwich if it were legal.

Alright guys. It’s confession time.

Ladies? Guys? Are there any guys that read this?

I like Rachael Ray, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

If you’re still reading, just bear with me, ok? Ok. I will concede that her voice can be grating and that she talks with her hands too much. I totally agree that her recipes have annoyingly cutesy names and use WAY TOO MUCH olive oil and cheese, and hardly ever only take 30 minutes despite her repeated claims. I admit all of these things, but I still like her. I like her cooking show and her talk show, her travel shows, her magazine, and her many cookbooks. I even have her oval sauté pan and ceramic soup pot, and I would buy the rest of her ridiculous kitchen tools if I thought we had room for them in the utensil drawer. (We don’t.)

Mostly, I like her food. Her recipes sometimes have ingredients lists that are about a mile and a half long, but most of the time I get finished making her food and I think, OH MY GOD THAT IS SO DELICIOUS I CANNOT BELIEVE I MADE IT MYSELF. I SHOULD MARRY MYSELF. YES. I once spent almost two hours making her Charred Chilis Rellenos with Green Rice, a dish that is supposed to be a 30-minute meal, and afterward I was sweaty and gross and exhausted, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Ditto the Park City Cashew Chicken, which didn’t take nearly as long but as just as fantastically unique and delicious.

I’ve read criticisms of her MYOTO dishes that accuse them of not being authentic. Frankly, I’ve never assumed that anything she made was supposed to be “authentic”, just delicious. The comments on her Thai Shrimp Curry are pretty scathing, but you know what? I’ve made it several times and not only is it delicious, it quells my cravings for takeout and costs about half as much as a trip to the local Thai place. Do I still love the local Thai place? Of course I do! I could go on about the argument for “authentic” food for days, but I’ll stop short of that and tell you about the Rachael Ray recipe we made for dinner last night.

It has one of those silly names, so it that bothers you, feel free to call it something else. Delicious might be a good start, because that’s what it is. Healthy would be a good follow-up because truth be told, with a few small modifications, it’s that too. Ready? Hang onto your socks, because I guarantee this “stoup” will knock them clean off and into the laundry basket.

That reminds me, I really need to get cracking on the laundry already.

Stuffed Pepper Stoup
Serves 6, or I suppose 4 if you’re really hungry (it’s filling!)

Olive oil cooking spray
1 pound ground sirloin
½ tsp allspice
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 green peppers, cut into bite-sized dice
1 medium onion, cut into bite-sized dice
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken stock
1 28-oz can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup orzo pasta
1 good shake dried basil

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat, spray with olive-oil flavor cooking spray. Add the ground beef to the pan, and season with the allspice, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, or until the beef is browned.
Add the garlic, green peppers, onion and bay leaf to the pot. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes more.
Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in the orzo and dried basil, and cook until the pasta is al dente, 8 minutes.

Notes
I omitted the (two tablespoons!) of olive oil from the recipe completely, reduced the amount of ground beef from 1 ½ pounds to 1 pound even, used dried basil instead of fresh and omitted the parmesan cheese. If you’re not watching calories and fat or are one of those silly fresh herb snobs, feel free to add all of these things back in, just know that it’s absolutely scrumptious without! My soup came out to 5 Points per serving, which I think is incredibly reasonable for a soup that contains ground beef. If you want to lighten it up even more, or are a vegetarian, substitute veggie crumbles for the beef and vegetable stock or broth for the chicken stock.

Yawn

2009-11-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

Alright, so... I forgot to take a picture of my Peppermint Mocha, but suffice it to say it was quite a bit smaller than this one and not covered in delicious whipped cream and cocoa bits. SO SAD.

I'm tired, and I was unexpectedly social tonight, so this is going to be somewhat short and sweet.

I absolutely adore Starbucks Peppermint Mochas. ADORE THEM. I also love that the holidays have started to include things like holiday-flavored beverages and foods, even though most of them are off limits now that I'm on Weight Watchers. Bummer. It's fun finding swaps for things, but it's even more fun when you behave yourself and manage to eat/drink the real thing.

My friend Jessica called and asked if I wanted to get coffee with her tonight, and I couldn't turn THAT down, and I had such a good Weight Watchers day that I could have a guilt-free Peppermint Mocha while we were there. I am happy to report that as a result of my Good Weight Watchers Day, my mocha was worth every single Point (4) and that I don't feel the least bit guilty about it. It's a good feeling.

What's your favorite holiday food/drink item? Just be forewarned that if you say it's The Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake and you just had some tonight, I might have to punch you. It's nothing personal, I promise... :-)

The one thing I do feel guilty about is possibly forgetting to request decaf and ingesting two shots of espresso after 7 PM, but I have a Kindle full of trashy romance novels and a DVR full of TV to keep me company.

HELP

2009-11-10T17:10:00.001-08:00

You guys, it's been a rough week, and it's only Tuesday.

Oy.

Last week I did really well with Weight Watchers. I was so proud of myself because I got all the way through the week, logged absolutely every bite of food that went into my mouth, and still had 8 Points left. I got home from work on Monday and I was actually excited to weigh in and see what kind of results that brand of self-discipline would yield.

.2 pounds. That's it.

I was so frustrated and annoyed that I actually went so far as to take off my work clothes and weigh myself again. The number didn't change. It's not early enough for me to have plateaued, so that wasn't the problem. I actually went so far as to measure portions of things like rice and pasta, which I'm usually really bad about, so that wasn't the problem either. Best I can figure, it's that week this week and I'm retaining water. Damned water. I'm so small that on my figure, water weight can be the difference between a real weight loss and a .2 pound weight loss.

The most frustrating thing about not losing much weight - and especially the number .2 - is that I used to cheat on Weight Watchers all the time, and that was the weight loss I would be forced to log after those weeks. And yet, this week I was perfectly well behaved... better than well behaved even, and I still got screwed. I told myself I would stick with this for as long as it took to get to my goal, and that I wasn't concerned with losing weight within a particular time framem but I said that with the notion that I'd at least see a 1-pound per week loss.

Urrrrggggghhhhh.

I came home from work today and decided that I needed something that tasted bad for me, even if it really wasn't, so we had Indian Curry leftovers from this past weekend with a (yes, measured 1/2 cup) of basmati rice. I even had some pumpkin ice cream (Edy's Slow Churned Light, of course) for dessert and I'm only one Point over for today, so I'm calling that a win. Still, it's really hard to resist wanting to eat one of everything featured in the episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives we're watching. Or one of everything on the Pioneer Woman's site.

HELP.

As a compromise, I already figured the Points for PW's Chicken Scallopine (modified a bit, of course) and we're having that for a splurge on Sunday. Still... it doesn't compare to just being able to go out and eat whatever I want. I know I'll be happier when I'm at a healthy weight, but DAMN, it's really, really hard to get out of the mindset that eating a giant piece of cheesecake will make me happy, too.

Variation on a Theme

2009-11-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of my potentially never-ending series on why I'm jumping the gun with this whole holiday business continues...

If you could smell through your computer screen, then you'd know why this is the best holiday candle scent ever created.

I read or heard somewhere - probably on Radio Lab in specific or just NPR in general, because that's how I roll - that scent is one of the most powerful senses because of the way our brains tie scents to memory. For example, I have a slightly unnatural aversion to the scent of Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea body lotion, because it was the scent my mom wore when she was taking care of me during my bout with mono during college. I still can't smell it without feeling nauseous.

Generally though, my mom has very good taste in things that smell, whether they be for the body or the house. My mom is sort of infamous for having candles on just about every surface in her house, and that number merely increases around the holidays. Not only does her house look amazing all season long, but it smells amazing too, and to this day her favorite holiday candle scent of all time is Christmas Eve. It's by far mine, too - one whiff of that candle and I'm instantly transported to my mom's living room at Christmas.

While we were at Target this past weekend, I spotted their holiday collection of Yankee Candles and stopped to sniff all of them in turn. As it has been over a year since I smelled it, I was absolutely convinced that their Home for Christmas scent was a dupe for our beloved Christmas Eve. I liked the scent of Home for Christmas, but something didn't seem quite right. It wasn't until I went to the Hallmark by my office today and smelled the actual Christmas Eve candle that I realized I couldn't have been more wrong.

As soon as I took a whiff of the jar, I was no longer in the aisle at Hallmark. I was in my mom's living room, wearing my crazy flannel pajamas and slipper socks, munching on a piece of peanut butter fudge while White Christmas played in the background. The tree was twinkling in the background, and I'm pretty sure there were twin pomegranate martinis (a more recent memory) sitting alongside bowls of Christmas M&M's and Hershey's Kisses on the coffee table.

It's sort of nutty but that one candle, that one simple and delicious combination of scents, holds so many memories for me and they all came flooding back in one swift instant. I must have looked completely crazy, standing there and holding the candle in my arms, all the while sniffing it with a dopey grin on my face. I was so enthralled with the scent and the sense of comfort it gave me that I left with one of those HUGE freaking jar candles for the living room, and three votives for the bathroom.

I must be stopped.

I've lived away from the house I grew up in for almost nine holiday seasons now, and I think every year I miss it just a little bit more. I'm not sure that my mom realizes how special she's always made the holidays for me, just by doing little things like lighting scented candles. I'm thankful for this year though, because I get to go home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I'm finally in a place where I'm looking forward to making some of my own traditions, complete with my very own Christmas Eve candles.

So what if I lit them tonight, two full weeks before Thanksgiving?

Plantastic... Sort of.

2009-11-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I posted our PLAN for dinners that week. It started out looking something like this...

Monday - Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup
Tuesday - Chicken, Broccoli and Brown Rice Skillet leftovers
Wednesday - Crock Pot French Onion Soup
Thursday - Quick & Easy Cioppino
Friday - Chicken Chop Suey
Saturday - Crock Pot Gumbo
Sunday - Shrimp Creole

And ended up with the last three days completely jumbled and changed around because I decided a) I didn't feel like making the Chicken Chop Suey, 2) Crock Pot Gumbo could be made on a week day after all, and d) I'd rather have Bryan make Shrimp Creole during the week, too. As a result, our weekend has ended up looking a little something like this:

Friday - Stuffed Peppers Meh.
Saturday - Brown Sugar Chicken OMG YUM TRY THIS NOW!
Sunday - Barbecued Shrimp Yummy in my tummy, for sure.

Everything we had was made in the Crock Pot, which was kind of a fun change of pace - not to mention that I wanted to try out the cute little 4-quart model I got on Saturday. It cooks kind of fast because it's still pretty new, but overall it gets rave reviews from us. I just wish it had a timer/automatic off function like my 5.5-quart SmartPot, but... you can't have everything.

Anywho...

I had planned to post our meal plan for this coming week, but to be honest... I don't have it set in stone yet. I know, I know, I made such a HUGE deal about how great it was that we plan ahead and log all our Points and blah blah blah, but here's the deal. We have ingredients for a handful of recipes already on hand, and a full-to-bursting freezer of leftovers. In fact, we also have a fridge full of ingredients that's threatening to escape its confines and kill us in our sleep. It's obscene and overwhelming and mildly embarrassing. Most of it is alcohol we can no longer drink in large quantities, juices we must now sip sparingly, and vegetables (on sale at Kroger, woo!) that take up a surprising amount of space. Oh, and condiments. We like our condiments. (We have a shocking amount of salad dressing for people who really don't like salads unless the main green is spinach.)

So, I planned a few meals, but I think we're going to wing it a bit over the weekend. I guess I could still post the plan... Here's what I've got so far:

Monday - CrockPot Gumbo with Jiffy Cornbread Muffins
Tuesday - Stuffed Pepper Stoup with a Yummy Antipasto-Style Spinach Salad - recipe coming soon!
Wednesday - Shrimp Creole with the leftover Jiffy Cornbread Muffins
Thursday - Turkey Meatballs with Quick & Spicy Tomato Sauce and Whole Wheat Spaghetti leftovers
Friday - CrockPot Indian Curry leftovers with Basmati Rice and Naan
Saturday - Whatever Sounds Good which may be CrockPot Apricot Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and my favorite spinach salad of all time
Sunday - Whatever Sounds Even Better and that could possibly be CrockPot Thai Curry

So, we'll see how it goes. Next week I'll probably report that we completely upended the plan and made haggis or something crazy like that.

I have no intentions of making haggis, but I was amused to find that there is a non-skeezy recipe for it in my Make It Fast, Cook It Slow book that translates the usual preparation into a sort of meatloaf. Crazy!

Bring It!

2009-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

There is a snowman on my dining room table and I am proud of it.

I am about to say what I have to say with the full knowledge that it might just get me pummeled by thousands of tiny, virtual, somewhat ineffectual fists. I want you all to know that I am ok with this.

The high here for today is 71. It is sunny, and cheery and warm, and I am Not Happy with this development.

Warm, sunny weather makes me feel stupid for wearing sweaters and fuzzy socks, and guilty for spending all day inside in this getup when society seems to feel that that I should be outside, frolicking in the sunshine. I'm a homebody. If "fall and winter" were a hit song currently climbing the pop charts, it'd be my "jam," as the kids say. (Or said sometime in the mid-80's. I'm really kind of out of touch.)

Warm weather makes me feel weird about making chicken in my Crock Pot and roasted acorn squash and spinach salad with apples, even though it's November. It makes me feel uncomfortable about all of the tea bags I bought at Kroger today, even though I'm still pretty content drinking hot tea when it's 90 degrees outside. Most importantly, warm weather makes me feel weird about the snowflake napkin rings I just bought to match our snowman placemats and coordinating plaid napkins, despite the fact that they look good on my dining room table.

See? Cute, right? We really should have people over for dinner soon.

I am staying strong, though. I am wearing a sweater and fuzzy socks. I am making that chicken and squash and salad. I've lit candles, made a cup of tea, and now that our errands are done, I refuse to go outside and do anything that even resembles frolicking. I am Staying In.

Believe me, when it's still cold and disgusting and potentially snowing in March, I will regret that I ever said any of this. I'll be shivering in the sweaters I loved six months before, cursing the frost that still covers my car every morning, and longing for spring, and the 70-degree day that I left, forsaken, back in November.

Alright, bring on the hate...

Or am I not alone in this feeling?

TGIF

2009-11-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, given the sheer amount of meals that we cook at home, one of them is a flop. It kind of stinks and it actually disappoints me more than it probably should, but I try to remember that screwing up a recipe isn't the end of the world.

It's actually just an excuse to eat more ice cream. :-)

The recipe in question was the Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers from this blog that I love, and I was SO EXCITED to make them. I've been feeling kind of crappy due to a string of "lady migraines" so you can imagine my surprise when I jumped out of the bed we just put new, cozy sheets on this morning and skipped out to the kitchen to put them together. The actual assembly was super easy, and they looked really cute and delicious when I put them in the crock. I set the time on my SmartPot for seven hours and left for work.

Ten hours later...

I came home with yet another migraine, hoping to enjoy one of my peppers for a late afternoon snack and opened the Crock to find a ton of liquid and slightly mushy peppers. Oops. I looked at the mixture and panicked because it was still pretty pink, so I cooked them for another half hour on high, which basically destroyed what was left of my beloved peppers. They were mushy, watery and the texture of the filling was just sort of off. I'm not blaming the recipe writer on this one, because her peppers looked fantastic!

Bryan and I both agreed that we would make some modifications to the recipe to suit our tastes though, the biggest one being cooking the ground turkey before adding the other ingredients. I would probably just brown it off, then add some garlic, and a raw onion, chopped. I'd also use a little more rice in the filling because well, I like rice. Instead of putting the pepper tops back on the stuffed peppers I'd chop them and mix them with the meat, tomatoes and ketchup. I'd also maybe add a little fat-free cheese of some sort to help bind it all together. I'd omit the water called for since I think the crock generated enough liquid to keep them from completely drying out... and last, but not least, I'd cook them for less time and on a day we'll be home to keep the peppers from completely falling apart. I think the time they spent on the "warm" cycle may have been what killed them.

Bummer.

I'm not totally dismayed though; we're trying two more recipes from Stephanie's Blog this weekend, including the infamous Brown Sugar Chicken and her adaptation of a Pioneer Woman recipe, Barbecued Shrimp.

Yum.

And Now For Something Completely Different

2009-11-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Today I was in the car on the way home from work, and out of all the indie emo rock it contains, my iPod decided it would be a good time to play "Funny Honey" from Chicago. I thought this was sort of odd, considering that I hadn't heard that song in quite some time, and yet I remembered all the words and sang along in my off-key, sometimes warbly voice for the remainder of the drive home.

It was pretty fantastic.

Listening to this song filled me with a multitude of thoughts, which I will try to outline for you in a bullet point fashion.

Wow, I love this song!
I haven't seen this movie in awhile.
I should have a movie musical marathon!
Will Bryan put up with that?
[The next thought has been removed to protect the innocent.]
What other movies haven't I watched lately?
"Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash."
"That CAVIAR is a GARNISH!"
Must text Abby later and make sure that nothing bad happened.
Oops, red light.
I am going to watch Chicago this weekend.

And so, dear friends, I think I am going to watch Chicago, When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail this weekend because when I can't have gallons of comfort food, I choose gallons of comfort movies.

Oh, and maybe a little Twilight with Rifftrax accompaniment, just to cut the cheesefest a bit.

What are your "comfort food" movies?

I Am Superwoman, Hear Me Crave Cheeseburger

2009-11-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

This is what I ate today instead of a fast food cheeseburger and fries. Given the circumstances of today, I think I deserve a Weight Watchers medal. Seriously.

I get migraines; I think a lot of women do. I've been having them for a few years now, and I think I may have finally figured out what triggers them. To put it as delicately as I can, these migraines probably won't go away until something else I experience monthly does. Ahem.

Yesterday I was hit with a pretty bad one, but I got lucky and was able to chase it away for awhile. I made it through the work day and the evening, but right around the time I was enjoying my nightly dessert I got slammed with another attack - literally, I was standing by the sink, running the ice cream scoop under hot water and I started feeling this horrible stabbing pain at the back of my head. NOT FUN. I ate my ice cream, took some meds, passed out, and woke up this morning with some neck and back pain, but little to no headache symptoms.

I don't know if work is a trigger for me, or if I'm just cursed, but I was there about half an hour this morning when it came back. I tried to wait it out, but gave in and took meds a little while later. After two hours they hadn't kicked in, and the neck pain was starting to make me feel nauseous. My boss is very kind, because she let me leave early, and so I came home.

When I feel crappy, all I want to do is eat bad food, and today a cheeseburger literally sounded like THE BEST MEAL ON EARTH. Actually, it is one of the best meals on earth, but right now I don't trust food at restaurants (too high in Points) so going out was not an option. I came home and powered through my headache pain and made the meal shown at the top of this post, which was a Boca Cheeseburger patty on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce and onion, and a hash brown patty with ketchup on the side. I got to eat all of that for fewer Points than a McDonald's cheeseburger, and I was actually pretty satisfied.

Now, if we can just knock that crunchy-salty-chocolate craving out, I'll be good to go. Can someone send me some calorie-free chocolate? That's be great, thanks.

Knit Frenzy!

2009-11-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

I really want to wear this sweater. Will someone finish it for me?

I go through phases with my crafting, to the point where I've labeled the time between August and March "Knitting Season." Every year, without fail, I work on my projects like CRAZY until the weather warms up, and then I cast the needles and yarn aside for less hermit-y pursuits. Last year I was in the heady throes of a new relationship and barely knit at all, so when I picked it up - and rather voraciously, I might add - this July, I was surprised by how quickly I managed to finish the projects I took on. Between then and this very moment right now I have started and completed:

three sweaters
five slouchy berets: two lace, three cabled
three afghans
one corset belt

I knit one of those sweaters in a span of three days, and the first of the slouchy beret collection in just one frenzied evening. Our living room has taken on the rather charming look of your crafty grandmother's house, with multicolored afghans draped across the backs of our two couches. Pretty soon my yarn stash started taking over one corner of the living room, and I think Bryan was getting ready to find me a 12-step program for yarn addiction. At one point I decided I was going to knit my entire winter wardrobe, a notion hat went out the window the first time Old Navy had a $15 sweater sale.

Something funny happened on the way to my full-blown knitting addiction, and that thing was food. Before Weight Watchers, it was an obsession with hunting down delicious recipes, no matter what their calorie counts, and now it's become an obsession with trimming down those delicious recipes so I can still eat them and feel satisfied. The hands that spent so much time knitting have spent the last few weeks hunting down recipes and information on the internet, a task which leaves them unavailable for crafting. For shame!

When I abandoned my daily crafting habit, in addition to a gift scarf and several gift afghans, I also left behind a very cute hoodie. I started it all the way back in mid-August and at the time I was making it so quickly that I was completely convinced I'd have it finished by mid-September at the latest. I raced through the never-ending body and hood only to get tripped up on the sleeves. The sleeves! It's not that knitting a sleeve is particularly hard - in fact, the way I did it, the sleeve is already attached to the body of the sweater and I won't even have to sew any seams when I'm done - but I keep looking at the sweater and at the one partly finished sleeve and it DRIVES ME NUTS. I want to finish it because I want to wear it around and show it off, and I want it to be OUT of my knitting bag, but I can't seem to bring myself to do it.

The way I see it though, if I can blog every day in November, and I can stay "on plan" with Weight Watchers every day in November, then I can knit or crochet every day in November, too. That means I can finish that scarf and at least one of those afghans and that freaking hoodie in November, right?

Right.

Good thing we're having leftovers for dinner tonight.

I should probably go knit the rest of that sleeve now...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

2009-11-02T17:07:00.001-08:00

I learned about this thing called NaBloPoMo (sounds like some kind of Asian dumpling, doesn't it?) today via a friend's blog, and I'm kind of excited about participating. When I started writing here I wanted to do it daily, but I've been really bad about keeping up with it. And, since I just happened to remember to post yesterday, it seemed like a perfect time to get started.

So... *whistles*

Earlier tonight Bryan and I went to Target to buy some very exciting things: The Simpsons season 12 DVD (they were all out), caulk to patch the garbage can, eggs, and a loaf of bread. While we were there I got sucked into the vortex that is the entire small appliances/dishes/linens section and came out convinced that I need another, smaller Crock Pot, not to mention one of absolutely every adorable Christmas-y type thing they sell.

I would totally use those dessert plates with the snowflakes and candy canes on them that were sitting on the shelf next to the coordinating forks and pie server AND the adorable mugs, right? That's what I thought.

When I am in a rational state of mind, I have very specific rules about the buying of Christmas decorations and candies and other holiday-type things. In general my rule can be summed up as follows: NOT UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING. And yet, every year I go out a few days after Halloween and find myself completely charmed by everything I see that's been put out for Christmas. It's all just so... festive! And shiny! And cute!

At one point even Bryan seemed to be held in the thrall of the Target seasonal merchandise, because we both giddily agreed that a particular snowman doormat might be a good idea. That, dear readers, was when I realized it was time to grab our stuff and get out of there. Don't get me wrong, I am all about getting into the spirit of the season, but as soon as my very practical boyfriend agreed that we needed a doormat with jolly snowmen printed on it, I snapped back into reality and realized that it's only November 2nd.

November 2nd!

Who am I kidding? We'll probably pick up that silly little doormat when I go back to get the Crock Pot this weekend... but someone needs to stop me from getting the penguin candy bowl and the candy cane appetizer dish and the reindeer kitchen towels, ok?

Visit NaBloPoMo

Plantastic!

2009-11-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways I have found to stay organized - in life and while trying to eat better - is to come up with a PLAN. Before we jumped on the Weight Watchers bandwagon, Bryan and I started planning out our meals for the week using a Google Calender that we share. It's nice because we can both edit it when needed, and it's also convenient to access on the go. (Plus, Bryan likes to "anticipate" dinner. Don't we all?) Here's our plan for this week:

Monday - Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup
Tuesday - Chicken, Broccoli and Brown Rice Skillet leftovers
Wednesday - Crock Pot French Onion Soup
Thursday - Quick & Easy Cioppino
Friday - Chicken Chop Suey
Saturday - Crock Pot Gumbo
Sunday - Shrimp Creole

The recipes without links are from various cookbooks that we have around the house - and before you call my bluff on the whole "dieting" thing, keep in mind that just about all have been modified to reduce Points values. Anyway, after planning it all out I realized that we were planning to have two cajun-inspired rice dishes in one weekend, so we may mix up Sunday's dinner and do something else we like with ingredients we tend to keep on hand, like Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta.

The important part is that we have it planned, our Points for the week are tracked (all of them), and we have a grocery list going in Google Docs that we can add to and then print out before we go to the store. Depending on what's in the ad this week, we'll finalize our list, print it out and head to Kroger on either Wednesday or Thursday... and then hopefully we won't have to go back until the following week!* :-)

*Unlike this week when I completely spaced out the fact that I threw away my curry powder and we were nearly out of coffee and had to make an emergency trip to the store. Oops.

Pumpkins + Apples = YUM

2009-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of scary movies, and I haven't worn a costume in years... but I do like candy and just about anything that has pumpkin in it so... Happy Halloween, everyone! :-)

I woke up around 8 this morning, and in an odd turn of events, Bryan was ALSO up shortly after 8. He usually sleeps until 9 on the weekends, so in a weird but pleasant way my morning has been sort of thrown off. We've been "marathoning" Mario Galaxy all this week, so he's been playing since he got up, and I've been in the kitchen (typical, lol) making breakfast and all kinds of delicious goodies, namely Apple Pumpkin Bread.

It might sound like I did something special with the bread but I really didn't - it was a box of Kroger Pumpkin Bread mix, 1 cup of apple cider, 1/2 cup of egg substitute and 3 tablespoons of applesauce. Mix and bake per the package directions and presto! Apple Pumpkin Bread. Bryan and I each had a slice this morning with some faux-butter spray and it was delicious. I ran my version through the Points tracker on Weight Watchers.com and came up with 3 Points per slice. Not bad... but definitely just a treat!

Anyway, we didn't really have anything planned for this evening other than a sort of fall-themed dinner, so I invited our friend Jess over to join us. Jess LOVES Halloween, and this year it's a pretty big day for her - she just started a new job, her boyfriend is having a birthday, and they're celebrating their one-year anniversary. For unfortunate but unavoidable reasons relating to their busy schedules they can't be together this weekend, so I thought she might enjoy our company in lieu of his. She's bringing champagne and our plan is to celebrate, have some good food, and then get our geek on with a little Wii or some Rifftrax.

So, the dinner! I'm making Apple, Cheddar and Turkey Meatballs, Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges, and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion. Everything is Weight Watchers friendly, which ROCKS... although the meatballs and the salad required some minor modifications to make them as such (like using 2% milk cheese in the meatballs and reducing the olive oil in the salad dressing). I get nervous serving food I've never made before to company, but really, Jess is the sweetest dinner guest ever so if it sucks I'm sure she'll be understanding and open to getting pizza. :-P

Oh! I almost forgot dessert! You cannot have company over for dinner without serving a dessert, so that's in the oven as we speak. We're having this crazy spice cake that I'm making with Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix, and some other fun, healthy ingredients - the "recipe" is below. The cake itself turned out to be 3 Points per piece, so I'm debating how we're going to finish it off. I'll let you know what I did when I post pictures of everything tomorrow.

What's are you all doing this Halloween? Do you have any fun Halloween traditions in your family? Whatever you do, have a great day!

Apple-Pumpkin Spice Cake
2 cups Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix
1/2 cup apple cider
6 tbsp egg substitute
1/4 cup canned pumpkin

Mix all the liquid ingredients in a bowl; add the cake mix and blend per the package directions. Pour the batter into a prepared 8 x 8 baking pan or into a cupcake pan prepared with paper lines. Bake per the package directions. Cool completely, and top with fat-free Cool Whip (0 Points!) or whipped frosting. Either of these options could be used plain or with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg to up the spice factor.

It's On!

2009-10-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

After a weekend of radio silence, I'm back to report that I am in fact, back on Weight Watchers. Despite the fact that I struggle to stay on it (which is a result of my own lack of self-control, not any kind of fault with their plan) Weight Watchers really rocks and is incredibly easy to follow.

If you're not familiar with Weight Watchers, here's how it works for me: I get 18 Points each day, plus an additional 35 Points per week to use as I wish. My own personal strategy is to start the week by logging everything I could possibly eat every day - sort of like "over-budgeting," if you will - so that I can fit in little splurges here and there throughout the week. Today, for example, I had the following items logged:

2 egg whites (.5)
1 medium baking potato (which Bryan made into hash browns with cooking spray and salt and pepper (3)
1 slice Canadian bacon (0!)
1 cup black coffee with 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie creamer (.5)
6 oz Yoplait Strawberry Shortcake Yogurt (2)
1 large banana (2)
1 small apple (1)
1 piece light string cheese (1)
2 servings Campbell's Light Chicken Mushroom Barley soup (2)
1 serving sugar-free pudding (1)
1 serving Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup (4)
1 serving Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion (2)
1 Pumpkin Spice Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting (3)

The above total is 22 Points. I usually try not to go over 23 Points in a day (18 regular Points plus 5 Weekly Points), so that's good. I ended up not having my pudding (my lunchtime sweet) because I was full after having soup, an apple and some string cheese. I forgot to take my banana to work, so I didn't have that either - that takes me down to 19 Points.

I figured out my "plan" for the rest of the week (LOTS of soup - I'll post recipes as we go) and even if I don't exercise AT ALL I have a whopping 13 Weekly Points left! I'm really excited about this, but not so excited that I plan on not using those extra Points to have some treats throughout the week. Perhaps one of my beloved Reese's Cups*?

*In order to help me keep my sanity, the candy bowl has been moved from the immediate vicinity of the couch, to a much more appropriate and hard-to-reach spot on the dining room table.

Back on the Wagon... Perhaps.

2009-10-14T16:20:00.001-07:00

It is one of the unfortunate facts of my life that I have been cursed (or blessed, I suppose) with short stature. Tall people are constantly telling me how lucky I am to be so petite, but I doubt they'd be saying this if every single pair of pants they tried on were a good six inches too long. How short am I, you ask?

Oh... 4'8".

Honestly, I've mostly come to terms with this. I have a step stool in the kitchen, and I'm not shy about asking people to help me get things off of high shelves when I'm out shopping. I wear a lot of skirts, because they're usually the right length. I've also embraced heels. And when, at 27, people are still somewhat mocking me for having genetics that I cannot change, I tend to let it roll off my back.

The one downside to being so small is that I tend to gain weight pretty easily. Last August, I went on Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time and in two months I lost about ten pounds - half my goal. I felt so good about myself, not to mention just healthier and more energetic. In the midst of the loss, I started dating my sweetie and little bit after, in the euphoria of having met him, I completely threw caution to the wind and starting eating whatever I wanted. A little over a year later, I've gained all that weight back, plus a little more.

You know, just for good measure.

I told myself that as long as I was happy and felt good and could still zip up my pants, I wouldn't worry about this, but yesterday I pulled a pair of pants out of my closet and BAM! It happened, that whole trouble zipping thing. I thought about it for awhile, and I realized that even though I am pretty happy, I really don't feel all that great. I've been tired and headachy and just generally sluggish for the last month or more, and I have to wonder if it isn't in part caused by the weight gain.

So, I think it might be time again.

Every time I go on Weight Watchers I convince myself that THIS IS THE TIME that it sinks in and I actually follow through and lose ALL THE WEIGHT I need to to make my goal, and that it will be a REAL LIFESTYLE CHANGE and not just something I throw myself into for a few weeks before giving up and eating a bunch of things that aren't very good for me. I was SO GOOD for the amount of time that I was really focusing on eating better last year, and I would very much like to get back to that place and balance healthy eating with all the cooking and baking that I want to do.

I suppose this will be my unofficial experiment this fall and winter - can I be a domestic goddess and lose weight at the same time?

Slow Cooker Sunday

2009-10-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

I like gumbo. I do not however, like messing around with making a roux, de-heading and shelling shrimp to make stock, or standing over a hot stove when I could be knitting.

I do like making things in my slow cooker, and that's why I'm really looking forward to trying this Slow-Cooker Chicken 'n Rice Gumbo Soup tonight. It really couldn't have been easier - I prepped the ingredients and threw them into my Crock Pot after we finished breakfast this morning, and now they're quietly simmering away in the kitchen, making the whole house smell fantastic. Seriously, you wish you were here right now!

Can't you smell it? :-)

Slow Cooker Chicken 'n Rice Gumbo Soup
I made some modifications to the original recipe, including doubling the amount of chicken thighs and adding some additional spices, which are noted below.

1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 lb fully cooked smoked sausage, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, sliced (1 1/4 cups)
1 large carrot, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
5 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 box (10 oz) frozen cut okra, thawed, drained
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
hot pepper sauce, optional

1. In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except okra, rice and pepper sauce.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (180°F).
3. Stir in okra. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 20 minutes longer.
4. Spoon soup over rice in soup bowls. Serve with pepper sauce.

As for the knitting I'll be doing while I'm not fiddling around with dinner, I've got my third cabled slouchy beret of the season on the needles. Yes, third. The pattern is Natalie Larson's Star Crossed Slouchy Beret*. It's so cute and simple, and works up astonishingly fast - I started the one I'm working on now yesterday afternoon and I'm hoping to finish early this afternoon.

Stay tuned for pictures and a review of the gumbo, as well as a finished picture of the hat!

*The link is to Ravelry, and only accessible if you're a member.

Ratatouille!

2009-10-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love food, and I love cooking, and so I think it may not come as much of a surprise that I adore the movie. Besides being a Pixar venture, and absolutely adorable and heartwarming from start-to-finish, it holds a special place in my heart because of it's subject matter. Every time I watch it I'm reminded of how much I love food and cooking, and one scene in particular perfectly captures that feeling for me.

When the angry food critic, Anton Ego, is at Gusteau's to review the restaurant, Remy suggests that they make ratatouille. Colette, the other chef, denounces it as a peasant dish - but when Ego takes a bite, it instantly transports him to his childhood. I love how the scene shifts from the surprise in his adult eyes, to the memory of enjoying the same dish as a child. It's kind of ridiculous, but I can't help it... every time I see that part in the movie, I get a little teary-eyed.

The dish that Ego tastes at Gusteau's and the dish that he remembers eating as a child are very different in presentation - a nouveau stack of vegetables versus what is truly a peasant's stew - but in essence they are the same, and I love that. Food is nourishment, first and foremost, but it's also comfort and art and innovation. I love that I can take a handful of ingredients, and by following a list of steps, turn them into something entirely different - something that makes the people I love smile and ask, "What is this?"

Although I don't have any recipes or yummy food pictures to post today - I'm being taken out to dinner tonight at Sweetgrass, a local restaurant we haven't tried yet - I do have a link to a recipe I've made that I think is quite good and appropriate for today's post. It's Rachael Ray's Ratatouille Pasta Toss, and when we made it earlier this summer it was quite delicious!