Tasty Tuesday

Saturday was a big cooking day:
1. Mushroom, tomato, and green onion frittata for brunch
2. Islander cookies (white chocolate chip and coconut cookies) - these are my go-to cookies, I feel like these originated from my island. They are also well liked by BFF Susie so I made them as her belated birthday gift. Someone else may or may not be getting some in the mail this week.

3. Inspired by the Sparkpeople cookbook, I did some meal planning over the weekend, and decided to try out the recipe that Ms. Laurie had sent me - refrigerator bran muffins. They are really good. The name comes from the fact that you can store the batter in the fridge, and bake them as as needed in the microwave. I made a dozen, which should last for a week for breakfast (my version of grab-and-go breakfast). They are unbelievably moist and healthy too.

4. The Sparkpeople cookbook also had a recipe for multigrain rolls. I enlisted Tom (whined until he made them) since he is the official bread-maker. While these turned out ok, I was hoping for them to be bigger so that I can use them for lunch sandwiches. They were also denser, probably because the recipe called for whole wheat flour and whole wheat bread flour, and we didn't have whole wheat bread flour at the house. So for next time: let them rise for longer (since it was cool in the kitchen), and use bread flour (we have regular not whole wheat). I think that the bread machine was one of my best purchases. It beats having to stand there for 10 minutes working dough! 

Prior to going in the oven, baseball size

5. I also made smoothies (which I kept calling milkshake all day), and froze leftover in individual containers for a quick sorbets later on.

6. All while this was happening, I made some honey garlic chicken in the slow cooker, served with mashed potatoes. I'm starting to use blue cheese dressing and yogurt instead of milk and a lot of butter, and we really like the tangy taste of the  blue cheese. Unexpected, but yummy!

Recap

Last Sunday, I squeezed in a trip to Babies R Us, and realized a few things to avoid annoying crying kids and their annoying whining parents:
Don't go to B-R-U on Sundays
Go early in the morning (as the store opens)
Go to a dedicated B-R-U not one that has both Babies and Toys-R-Us. I felt overwhelmed by the size of this store.
Anyway, the point of that store was to pick up items for the cupcake baby onesies. 

On Sunday, I also re-purposed an empty Clorox wipes box as a grocery/trash bag dispenser. I had green flannel, scrap paper, a glue gun, and a pair of scissors. So simple! Instructions at http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/07/summer-social-guest-project-make_21.html

The garden is surviving the cooler weather. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will get about a dozen jalapeno peppers. This guy is looking big and happy, with plenty of flowers.

I'm also waiting on about 4 green peppers from this guy.

The greatest surprise has come from this guy. I wasn't a very good scientist (didn't label my seedling pots), and I didn't know what this plant was until it started to look like a pepper. I thought it was a jalapeno pepper plant, turns out it's another green pepper. It has a few peppers on it with more flowers.

The flowers are looking great too. I think that they are enjoying a reprieve from the atrocious heat. Marigolds and Petunias:

The balcony garden makes me so happy - might become the preferred eating and studying spot on the weekend.

Monday cravings

For once, my cravings are mostly vegetables:
Cauliflower, carrots, and potato curry (a Mauritian dish)
Eggplant (stuffed or sauteed)
Stir fry (chicken and veggies with peanut sauce over noodles)
Mushrooms
Veggie pizza
Artichoke and spinach dip

Sounds like I'll be going to the store soon to pick up some yummy veggies (since I skipped on grocery shopping this weekend).

Happy Monday!

Finally Friday

Today, I had to present my work to the department for our workshop series. With that done, I can post an update, a craft update.
My friend Liz is expecting twins (yes, that's the second friend expecting multiples), and for her baby shower, I made her a couple of diaper cakes. I used a different method than when I made Susie's cake, and the new ones look so much better.

I purchased the two boxes of 108 diapers at Babies R Us, and was rewarded with a $20 gift card, which I will use to make onesies cupcakes for Janya, Sachin's new born, New Orleans baby girl:

Another simple project: Paper 1 got published in its paper form, and I decided to frame it against a purple background (frames were 50% off at Hobby Lobby last week). I bought two, so when Tom's paper gets published, his will also be framed but against a green background. These could be hung up in a future home office.

Oh, also, Paper 2 was submitted before we went to the beach :) So things are going well here.
Happy Friday!

Beach Trip

Our friends, Robert and Svetlana, decided to get married at the beach, and we were thrilled to be invited. We left for Gulf Shores on Friday afternoon, and stayed at a hotel right across the street from the beach.Since we got in late and it was in the low 40s, there wasn't much to do Friday night, except for dinner and enjoy cable TV.
On Saturday, we looked for a breakfast place (eating places start opening at 11), and found a quaint organic cafe. We then headed to the beach, and we barely waited five minutes before we ran in the water. Oh what a mistake! After about 5 minutes in the ocean, I started feeling a burning sensation on my forearm, and brushed it off as maybe I had cuts that I wasn't aware of. Tom's feet started to get nibbled on by little fish, and then he felt something slimy by his hand. Looked down, and there it was. A jellyfish. We came out of the water, and looked at my forearm - yes, I had been stung, all over my forearm and around my elbow, and had boils/blisters. 15 minutes after going in the water, I was now wandering Walgreen's aisle. Apparently, they make a "Jellyfish Squish" - cute word of the weekend - which is just a 4% lidocaine solution. A combination of shower, Zyrtec, cortisone cream and some jellyfish squish, and I was feeling much better. Just in time to get ready and go to the wedding, which was beautiful. Simple elegance would be the way to describe it. We were at the beach for over 6 hours, and had a blast. I was very grateful for my hat - but sorry to have forgotten my jacket at the hotel. It got cold after sunset (which was gorgeous), and gladly borrowed Robert's sweatshirt.

We slept in on Sunday and had lunch at the Shrimp Basket.Yummy platter of clams, oysters, and crawfish! Their coleslaw even had shrimp in it. We went to the beach, and this time walked for a bit. Saw a few beached jellyfish, and someone talked to Tom and pointed out in the not-so-far distance a 7-8 foot shark. We decided that swimming might not be auspicious that day. Instead, we went to the Coleman Factory outlet. Two things: outlet and 30% sale on everything (except fuel). We stocked up on camping supplies (mosquito supplies, fire starters, foam sleeping pad etc...). Santa even found an early gift for Tom. After our shopping trip, we went to Papa Rocco's - a sport bar, where almost everyone was a Packer fan. We watched the Packers v Broncos, and Brewers v Diamondbacks. Their food was very yummy, and their drinks strong.
We checked out of the hotel on Monday morning, and went to the outlet mall in Foley. No shopping that day. We turned around, and searched for Tin Top restaurant - a recommendation from the landlords. Unfortunately, it's closed on Mondays. Instead, we went to Lambert's Throwed Rolls, and OMG, I love the concept and the food. Waiters come around with carts and give you rolls, fried potatoes, fried okra, cabbage, macaroni and tomatoes etc... on top of what you order. They will also throw you a roll if the waiter is across the room. The food was delicious! Our tummies full, we started on our 5 hour trip home.

It will be a while before we get rid of all the sand in bags, and in my camera, which I found out does not like sand.

Tasty Tuesday

After a wonderful weekend at the beach (post and pictures coming later), I was craving some homemade food. I gave Tom a bunch of suggestions, and he chose beef and bok choy. Starting with the recipe for Spicy Beef with Shrimp and Bok Choy, I changed a few things: replace shrimps with sliced carrots, added some chopped garlic and soy sauce, and skipped the red pepper. 

I went to the store after lab to pick up ingredients - maybe I was tired, in a hurry, or still in vacation mode, I made several mistakes: picked the wrong kind of English muffins, read the wrong weight on a package of brats (the store had a sale on a specific product, and realized the mistake as I was checking out), nearly forgot the beer, and picked up rice wine vinegar instead of rice wine. Since the recipe called for the 1/4 cup of rice wine, I diluted the rice wine vinegar with water (1:1). Overall, it still turned out very yummy! Out of 45 minutes of prepping and cooking, I have beef, carrots, and bok choy pasta for a couple of meals; beef, carrots, and bok choy served on lettuce for salads for a few more meals; and blank slate pasta for something else this week. Happiness!

Just dreaming

Unexpectedly, I have to start thinking about goals for next year. This one will be a biggie: save money (goal 4 from previous post) but for a trip for a new state (goal 5).
Clues:
1. not one of the lower 48 states
2. it can get really cold
3. Tina Fey (in her portrayal of a certain female politician) said that one could see Russia from one's backyard

I would love to stop in another state on the way there.
Clues:
1. it is the only state named after a US president
2. Microsoft headquarters
3. Some of my favorite wines come from that state.

Just dreaming too about Green Bay and Lambeau Field.
Anyways, this is far far away from now, but it's nice to dream?! :)

Tasty Tuesdays

After a long day of a long science week, I came home Saturday, still caffeinated and with a mind running full speed. The paper was written, the new figures saved, and the machines (yes, Old Boy is fixed!) were running. I made a list of all the things that I needed to accomplish at home, and the list was long. How to best tackle a long list? Multitask! That included getting the slow cooker to work. I found this recipe for honey garlic chicken on A Year of Slow Cooking. I broke out the 5 lbs honey bottle (bought for the original purpose of making mead earlier this year) since the sauce called for 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup honey, and 3 cloves of garlic. I modified the recipe: used chicken breasts instead of thighs, and didn't use all of the sauce. The chicken cooked quicker than 5 hours (I think it was done in about 3 hours) on low. After about 2.5 hours, I added some frozen Asian veggies to the slow cooker. Oh my! This one was a winner! I'm glad I combined the unused sauce with two other chicken breasts and put the whole thing in the freezer. On a busy weekend, I know that I can thaw the whole thing and put it in the slow cooker, and 3 hours later, BAM! Dinner's ready! And I tackled a lot of chores while the slow cooker was making me supper. On a side note, football is also a great time to fold laundry!

On Sunday, I decided to make Mauritian food - unfussy goodness. It's called Kitcheree and is made from lentils and rice. It starts with oil, onions, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, parsley and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes (I used canned) and cook for another 5 minutes, then add sliced carrots, and lentils (we call them red lentils). Then water, lots of water. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, and then added uncooked rice and let simmer for another 45 minutes until rice is cooked (checking and adding water if needed). We often add cauliflower along with carrots and serve it with a lettuce and cucumber salad plus a simple vinaigrette. In this picture, I have a tuna "rougaille". The term "rougaille" is basically a dish that's mainly made up of tomatoes. Other ingredients are herbs, onions, garlic, sometimes ginger, salt, pepper, and sugar. Rougaille is one of my favorite foods from home. Vegetarian options include rougaille with peas or soya. Non veg options are tuna, chicken, or sausage (basically any meats, including hot dogs and Spam). While this was simmering, more things got done around the house, including recycling, gardening, and more laundry. After a quick stop by lab to get another set on, trips to Payless Shoes (unfruitful search for beach sandals ) and the recycling center, it was time to watch the Packers.

Earlier today, Tom had his committee meeting (it went really well). He had asked me to make him cookies and we chose oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Joy of Cooking. I was a bit worried because I didn't have the 3.5 cups of oatmeal but had just enough for half the recipe (who needs 48 cookies anyways? lol). It was lighter on the choc chips too. I managed to sneak in a cuteness factor in the cooking process. I had leftover butterscotch chips from Scotcheroos and used them to make initials cookies :)
This was an upgrade from the store-bought brownie mix for his lab meeting on Friday. So, if you find a good deal on cake & brownie mixes, snag a couple - they will come to your rescue!
I've also discovered a new stress symptom - insomnia, even on days when I don't drink my morning cup of coffee. Since I'm a morning person, this is definitely an issue. On my last trip to Publix, I picked up some Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea. We were introduced to this tea when we were in Boulder CO last year, and toured the Celestial Tea factory where they made everyone wear these weird hair nets:

Anyways, the new night ritual is to shut down the laptop and not think of work, dim the lights, turn down the TV volume, and sip on the herbal tea goodness. It has helped, and I'm sleeping much better. Sometimes, simple things work :)Time to shut down the laptop and start winding down.

Recap

The majority of this week was marked with being sick and thus a blur. I had a fever on Monday night and Tuesday, which makes me believe that I had the flu rather than a cold. I'm feeling much better now, which means a working weekend.

Excited about the cooler weather: Pumpkin inspired food and drinks? Yes please!

This is one of my favorite beers, courtesy of Will. We can't find this beer in Birmingham. Maybe that means that we will take a trip to Kentucky at some point?








Reading science papers and the Sunday paper

Creating presentations and scienc-y stuff

Crafting barrels (or planning to): To do - Seal the barrels inside and out. Drill holes on the bottom of barrels. Paint something decorative on the outside. I'm thinking one in Packers colors (alternating slats of green and gold) and the other in LSU colors (purple with gold dots). Put some clean glass bottles on the bottom (better drainage and use less soil). One planter might hold herbs, the other tulip bulbs. I need to get a mesh to prevent the squirrels from messing with my plants.

Also check out this blog for a creative way to use planters. Maybe some day when I have all the tools I need:
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/06/recycled-wine-barrel-planter/




 

Disliking being sick

Wondering whether I should plant tulip bulbs this fall

Craving seafood

Worried about my talk next month 
Hoping to have enough jalapenos from the garden to make hot sauce: three green peppers in the making; our primary jalapeno plant has about 20 flowers on it; our secondary pepper plant is doing much better in its new location. Still no flowers on it though. But everyone got a healthy dose of plant food last week.

Loving football season! Geaux Tigers! Go Pack Go!

On a side note, we were supposed to be at the Packers game today (Packers v Panthers). We both got busy and couldn't go. Here's to hoping for an epic Matthews v Newton battle. Right now, a lot of not-so-girly words have been yelled. Hopefully the Packers will bounce back.







Watching reruns of House and Bones

Listening to classic rock radio stations (I also like the new Lady Antebellum)

Cooking soup (or planning to)

Looking forward to our upcoming beach trip!

Spring 2009, Orange Beach, AL

Weekend recap

The weekend started great - I got to run a few errands before traffic got crazy, then set up an experiment to run overnight. Dinner, laundry, cleaning up.

Errands:
CVS: I had $1 in ECB to use before 9/12. They had a good sale on a moisturizer that Tom uses, plus I had a coupon. I had two coupons to stack for this shaving cream that I've been dying to try (after coupons it was free! my first free item!). I also got a free Mars candy bar. I saved about 52% at CVS (earlier today, I found the $1 ECB that I was supposed to use - oops). Looked at the CVS ad for this week and found something that I will go pick up tomorrow after work.
Christmas Tree Shops: When I want something, I will usually not buy it, and think about it for a while, and if I still want it, I will go back and get it. In this case, barrel planters. I got two. These will be for a craft project sometimes later. When making soup last weekend, Tom said that we needed a quart-size measuring cup. I found those there for super cheap. 2 quart Pyrex measuring thingy was $5.49. I also got a smaller one. A freezer mug in pink was 64c! And aquaglobes were 79c each (earlier we got slightly bigger ones at 3 for $10). So yeah, I was pretty proud of that trip.
Lowes: my plan was to find some potted plants and herbs for the barrel planters, but didn't find anything that I liked. Good part = no money spent :)

Dinner was a blue cheese and buffalo chicken pizza (homemade crust was amazing).

After Lee, we turned the AC off. I entertained the idea of switching it back on when the thermostat said 82 yesterday, but resisted. I attributed the fact that I was hot to regular weather. I had a headache last night, and tonight the sniffles and sore throat are showing up. And I kept falling asleep in the living room. So tonight, chicken noodle soup and lemon + honey tea (the Xmas kettle is getting a lot of use). Hopefully I didn't catch GERMS from running around town, and that it will be all ok tomorrow morning. The washing machine is putting me back to sleep as I type.

Have a great week, and stay away from GERMS!