Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

It's a bit early, but I couldn't resist being the first to wish you a merry Christmas. Have you and your elves been relaxing after the wonderful Christmas season you brought us? I can picture you on the beach right now (drinking pina coladas).

Santa, I've been a very good girl this year, doing some amazing science in the lab with the hopes of eradicating tuberculosis. I will send you a copy of my thesis, so you can judge for yourself. For being a good girl this year, I would love it if you could bring me this one gift this year (or in the next 10 years):
A cabin near Nicolet National Forest (I like this one, it's pretty sweet). It is about 2 hours from our beloved Green Bay Packers, 4 hours from the Milwaukee Brewers (and the Drankas), and 4 hours from La Crosse.

As always, cookies and milk will be provided. Thank you Santa!

Love,
Me

Tasty Tuesday Beer Edition

It seems as if everything just picked up the pace. The super amazing boyfriend is going to a conference to present a poster soon, but he also found out that his abstract was selected for a talk at a second conference when he gets back. The selection comes with a travel award! So proud of him.
On my side, we're waiting on my first paper to be reviewed, while I finish the second paper. This week is packed with science experiments and writing, and hope to get my second paper out by the end of May.
Anyways, busy schedule leads to crockpot cooking, especially since it got colder this weekend (yay!). On Saturday, I made a beer stew with beer batter bread (both courtesy of Laurie). Tom chose creamed spinach (I added artichoke hearts) and it all turned out really yummy! No cooking for a couple of days = winning! :)

Random post

Was reading an article about the alcohol content in wines on Slate. Scrolled down and saw the following comment. Really Cece?!!

Someone said moss?

I've been wanting to do this for a while, and it finally happened. I picked up all the supplies from Hobby Lobby and within an hour of starting, it was done and on display, and the floor had been swept clean. I had originally thought of this for the balcony but for now it's in the entry way.

Tasty Tuesday

I'm always amazed at what you can find these days at the store. I remember my college days when I would stock up on guava juice when I saw it at the local Walmart. In Birmingham, we found guava jam, and coconut water. FYI: coconut water is almost transparent and different from coconut milk. And the coconut water tastes surprising similar to the real thing:












 Then there are a few things that I find in the house. In order:
Ghee - clarified butter (the label says 99.9% butterfat, 0.1% moisture). There's a reason why I've had this for a while (~ 2 yrs, in the back of the fridge) and only just opened it. A favorite in Indian cuisine. Also saw this at the store by the house!
Spices - I have two containers which contain my Mauritian spices and ingredients.
Saffron - Wikipedia says that it's the most expensive spice by weight! Add boiling water to a few of these and use the water to add flavor and color to the dish.

















One of the containers had briyani spice, or as the Indians would have it Biryani, and the other day I decided to make this Mauritian favorite: Chicken, lightly fried potatoes, peas, hardboiled eggs, are marinated in spices and yogurt. Everything (including the marinate) is placed in a pot, and is then topped with half cooked rice (flavored with saffron), mint, and cilantro. Cook for about an hour. Serve with a chunky tomato chutney (almost like a simple salsa), and salad (cucumber and carrots go very well with this dish). I've tried making it a couple of times, but could never get it right. This time, the taste was spot on. Maybe it's because I used the ghee? The slow cooker works (you need to cook it for about 4 hours on high to get the rice cooked through) but I would use a regular pot next time. Yum!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mommies out there (including new triplet mom, Laura), Happy Mother's Day!

Early this week I received this in the mail and couldn't stop laughing. Yes, I approve the spay/neuter campaign, but the wording was a bit out there don't ya think? I liked the little caption on the right that said "financial assistance available if you are on Medicaid or Food Stamps."

In 2008, I had a chance to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom here in the States. Back home, Mother's Day is the last Sunday of May, and Father's Day is on the first Sunday of June, although my mom told me last night that they are both celebrated on the same day, the last Sunday of May.  So in 2008 we went to one of my favorite places, the Melting Pot. Can't wait to go there again with you Mom, and hopefully Dad will go with us too!

I made crepes - this is something that we would make as a treat to have with tea on the weekend. We drink a lot of tea back home and almost always at around 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays when we wake up from our midday naps, or come back from the beach. My sister was the crepes expert, she could always tell when the batter was of the right consistency. I, on the other hand, still can't do that, and need exact measurements (thanks Joy of Cooking, yours is a good one). So as a treat for Mother's day and for the fond memories of my family, I made sweet crepes. Sorry Dad, next time I'll make savory ones.

The Fallen Giants

To mark our second anniversary and a successful committee meeting, we went away for the weekend: Sipsey Wilderness area, in the Bankhead National Forest. We just had a few storms with a lot of rain and the waterfalls promised to be gorgeous. So off we were, backpacks and all.

So ready to be on the trail (and to test my new shoes!)

The storms blew down a few tall giants, making it challenging to keep on the trail, yet the scenery was breathtaking.

Other challenges: we had two steep descends with ropes; we also made it to one of the many waterfalls. We encountered a 4 ft snake, no worries - no one was bit (when we got home, Tom found out that it was a non-venomous black racer). We were both on edge given that this time of the year is ripe for snakes, boars, and possibly bears. We had bear mace but an accident can happen so quickly.

We made it to our campsite. Tom set the tent, gathered wood, and got the fire going. He really was in charge and doing everything! We had a few backpacking meals, and brought two steaks. One of the things that I've learned on my trips with Tom is to get a hot bed of coals, and lay a flat stone on top of them. The stone then becomes an instant pan. I love our sporks (SPoon, fORk, and Knife). Breakfast the next day started with a nice cup of hot tea!

We had a few hikers stop by and ask for directions. We also had a group of 3 young guys who were completely lost and in the middle of the dark night, Tom helped them get back on the trail and probably saved their lives.  They were so not prepared for a hike, let alone spend the night in the wilderness. We hope that they made it out of the park safely.
We had a great time, the weather was perfect too (we were maybe at 82 degrees at the highest, and about 62  at the lowest). We are definitely tired tonight and we'll be sore for a day or two.

Oh, Happy Easter y'all! :)

Sunny Sunday

Good news: Over the past week, one dahlia bloomed. It's gorgeous! And the strawberries are flowering!










Bad news: Aphids! On the lettuces, peppers, and the bulbs! They were in quarantine, and had been sprayed but in the end we decided to throw them away, dirt and all.

Tasty Tuesday and recap

Time flies! I've been away from my blog for quite some time, mostly because I don't blog from lab, and by the time I get home, I'm so drained that I don't even switch on the laptop. It's especially hectic this week, since I have a big committee next week, and we're dealing with some serious lab drama. I may not blog for a while, who knows!

On this edition of Tasty Tuesday:

CRAWFISH IS BACK!
I met with my BFF Nate last weekend and had a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon. It's crawfish season! How to eat crawfish at anytime of the day on the weekend: Courtyard Southside and Courtyard 280 start their all-you-can eat crawfish at 11:30 am and they run out in about 2-3 hours. Cafe Firenze on Hwy 280 start their crawfish feast at 3 pm. It's all for $15 per person. I love Courtyard Southside - Tom and I went there this Saturday and they let us take Tom's uneaten plate home. There will be no wasted crawfish in my home! Peel 'em and throw them on some lettuce (of course, from the garden), with some cherry tomatoes, sliced onions - yum!

Matt fighting the crawfish

As Tom's last birthday treat, I made him heart shaped eggs with toast and jelly. This is all he eats before his soccer game on Sundays. This past Sunday night, I attempted my first quiche, and made pastry dough from scratch. I used broccoli and mushrooms in the filling. I think it was tasty. And I didn't have to cook for two days! :)

Broccoli and mushroom quiche

Today while I was at lab, I got a special cake request from Tom, watergate cake (http://southernfood.about.com/od/coconutcakes/r/blbb262.htm). I've never made this cake and I hope it turns out ok. It's cooling on the kitchen counter, then it's frosting time.
Since this is for his lab, I had to make sure that ingredients were gluten-free and did not have red food color. I used yellow cake mix instead of white (Betty Crocker makes a gluten-free yellow cake mix but not in white). I used twice the coconut, no pecans, since the pecans packaging said traces of wheat. The only food color was yellow and blue in the cake mix. I substituted the dream whip powder with cool whip, and instead of milk, I used water. I'll let you know next time how it turns out (with pictures if possible) and whether anyone had an allergic reaction.

Garden recap:

All is well in the garden, lost one lettuce head. Three still left. The peppers and gladiolus are doing so much better after I transplanted them. The morning glories have twisting vines. They need a trellis, soon, really soon. Maybe we'll get one this weekend. I can't wait for my Dahlia to bloom.
We have some contamination, I think it came from the potting mix used (got the cheapest one at Lowe's).
Found some pretty flowers on a walk around the neighborhood. Used an old but clean garlic glass jar to display them.
And last but not least, Tom is eating off the garden! He is always drawn to this plant. Can you guess what it is? He had the same plant by his mailbox back at his parents' house.

The Garden!

The morning glory will need a trellis soon

There is some kind of contamination

Can't wait for this Dahlia to bloom

Found these flowers on a walk around the neighborhood

Question of the week - what is Tom eating? 

Finally Friday

I know that everyone's talking about the conversing twins, but on this week's awesomeness, is this dog;
I don't know how to put the video directly in this blog (it's not on youtube) but here's the link. 
http://video.mx.msn.com/watch/video/dog-is-a-total-showoff/8de98bja

I want a dog, preferably all trained, please! :)