Tasty Tuesday and recap

Here is a recap of the main moments of the past few weeks.
I was inspired when I went to the grocery store and bought some veggies and two mangoes. Tom didn't care for eating mangoes on its own while I grew up eating them as an after dinner treat in the summer. So I improvised and made a mango salsa topping for grilled chicken, with a bonus of using cilantro from the balcony garden. Tom absolutely loved it. I also had some Brussels sprouts and spinach on hand so I made a maple and bacon Brussels sprouts and creamed spinach.

And just like that my inspiration went away. I barely cooked last week, we had grilled cheese one night for supper, french toast on another and I'm sure I skipped dinner altogether on some days.

This weekend was a bit better. Tom was super excited when we opened a wedding gift that came last week. Why? Because it was a dehydrator/jerky maker. So that's what we did on Friday night, make beef jerky. I don't think that we have any left.

Memorial weekend was quiet for the most part - Tom put in a lot of hours which meant that we couldn't go camping. I took it easy, finished thank you cards, and did a few chores around the house.  Tom declared that it isn't a holiday weekend without grilling and he made the most delicious steaks that I ever had. Our pepper plants are already producing although they are very mild. Tom stuffed them with sour cream, wrapped them in foil, and on the grill they went. He was also craving his mom's pickled cucumber, and Laurie was very kind to provide Grandma Skemp's recipe.

We also found out that something was wrong with my car, she's getting old (I got a new radiator put in yesterday). One of our water bottles in our emergency kit broke without our knowledge and a gallon later we had dripping water in our entry way. We were glad that our landlords live right next to us - Tom went and got them and they said that there were no water pipes in that spot. Crisis averted.

Tasty Tuesday

And I think I may be an inspired cook again.
It had been a while since we cooked at the house due to wedding leftovers and then my short work trip to DC. While I was there though, I went to this little Afghan restaurant close to the hotel and had some very tasty food (it was very similar to Pakistani food or a milder version of Indian food). I had their pumpkin dish and something that was very to lamb biryani but sweeter.

Kadu Buranee: Sautéed pumpkin with garlic yogurt and meat sauce

This weekend we celebrated our first anniversary; we started with red velvet cake and champagne, exchanged gifts, then saw Iron Man 3. Tom insisted on IMAX 3D. It was a great action flick. The plan was to have dinner at Cajun Steamer, which has decent Cajun food but with a 35 minute wait, we turned around and tried Southern Legacy BBQ and Brew. It was inexpensive and good. Tom had spicy wings (which were really spicy) and I had a burger (which was a bit overdone and dry). Their Southern Belle cocktail was very yummy and Tom liked their beer selection.
On Sunday we decided that we needed to eat healthier so I stocked up on some basic veggies. Sunday night I tried a recipe from the Bon Appetit cookbook from the Drankas (flank steak salad with shallots dressing) and a potato au gratin from Jacques Pepin. I did modify the recipe for the flank steak since I didn't have the full amount of red wine vinegar or shallots. I also had spinach on hand, and thought that maybe some tomatoes and homemade croutons would add a little something.

Then last night I made mushroom and shrimp orzo - the recipe from allrecipes called for a whole stick of butter but I thought that was overkill. But I liked that instead of the typical pasta recipe where you cook the pasta and strain, you actually use water and white wine and let it absorb, almost like a risotto. Served with some spinach and choice of dressing.

I miss an herb garden because these dishes would have been so much better with some cilantro or parsley. Maybe this will be a project for this weekend. Anyways, here is to more cooking, I hope!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mommy Day! We love and miss you!

Weekend warrior

It might not have been a typical weekend warrior event but by the way that we both felt last night, I'd like to think that we worked really hard. We marked a new turn in our Larson household, starting to make Tom's room into "our" room (both my parents thought that the craft room was the master bedroom, after all, it does have a nice non-working fireplace and curtains).
We consolidated closets, boxes, and moved furniture around. We bought a new cabinet for the kitchen to help with storage. We installed a new bar in one of the closets to store all the leftover wine and beer. This is still work in progress. The place is starting to shape up and I already have doubts about the new location of the futon but we'll see. Next up on the list, curtains, pillows (I'm really inspired by Anne B's blog), more consolidating, and organizing the pantry.
For now, I'm excited to hang out with the girls at craft night tonight, my trip to DC, and our first anniversary.

Oh May!

Wedding craziness is past us, at least for now, until the third time.
It didn't feel quite right to have the May post on May 1st - that was Grandma Mae's birthday, and we had just been to her funeral a few weeks ago.

Excited: seeing all the wedding pictures soon
Worried: I don't think that I'm really worried right now
Watching: Scandal
Reading: nothing in particular
Listening to: nothing in particular
Creating:  I need to pick up a new craft/hobby
Cooking: I'm really inspired to cook and looking forward to trying recipes from my new cookbooks
Loving: Keurig Caribou coffee
Thinking: about my professional development and the Mauritian trip/wedding
Looking forward to: my upcoming trip to DC