Kitchen happenings

Yea, the blogging hasn't resumed to its usual routine, but there is hope. I'm really enjoying cooking on Sundays (even though it does take time and it is draining) but it makes for easier weekdays and because of that, it's all worth it.
Tom was craving Mediterranean salads for lunch; so one Sunday I made a rosemary chicken - with olives, onions, and cherry tomatoes. This was served with couscous (to which I added almonds for some crunch) and some lettuce. I then took the breast meat and shredded it to go with lettuce, olive, pepperoncini, cucumber and bell peppers for salads for weekday lunches (served with red onion + red wine vinaigrette).

That same Sunday, I made meatless meatballs (vegetable kofta) and turkey meatballs (sorry no pictures here). For the kofta, I followed this recipe (http://sindhirasoi.com/2009/02/16/vegetable-kofta-curry/). I baked the balls and stored them for later use.
I made kofta curry on Monday, using my mom's Mauritian curry recipe to make the sauce, served with garlic naan from Publix and cucumber-carrot raita (veggie in yogurt). Our first meatless Monday.
On Tuesday night, I shredded the dark chicken meat from Sunday and simmered it in a bit of canned red enchilada sauce. I couldn't get the corn tortillas to not tear as I rolled them, so I made my version of Mexican lasagna: corn tortilla, layer with chicken enchilada, cheese, repeat. Serve with sour cream and lettuce.

Wednesday night was leftover night although Tom got home and decided he wanted spaghetti with turkey meatballs. I can't remember what we did for the rest of the week or the beginning of the next. I know that on last Thursday night I made a roast which didn't get done until close to 11 pm - which mean minimal cooking on Friday. I made garlic mashed potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, and asparagus. I also tried zucchini Parmesan crisps and those were very yummy.

Another Sunday came - I shopped for the entire week and tried to stay under budget (we went over but slightly). I cooked up some chicken in the evening and made the Mediterranean salad that Tom loved before. All prepped, ready to pick up and go.

On Monday, we went to my friend's house for Canadian Thanksgiving and it was a blast. Tuesday night was leftover night, with roast and green bean casserole.
On Sunday, I had sliced my peppers and have everything ready for fajitas. I also have stuff ready for fried rice if I want. Decisions decisions. We'll find out in the next post. Thanks for stopping by!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh, hi October

Hmm, October, you are here already. I guess time flies when you are having fun, mostly in Mauritius.
We had a lot of fun on the island and celebrated our wedding a third time.
While I was gone, I got two papers accepted and since I came back I've been working on two new ones. I also have several hours of teaching this semester, so in brief I am keeping busy.
We are also trying to get better at eating in, which means better meal planning. Here is a recap of the happenings in our kitchen.
Breakfast Sunday with leftovers: Egg and veggies frittatas with a side of turkey kilbasa and my new favorite drink, pink champagne.

I also decided to try a recipe from my Spark cookbook, caramel popcorn (made out of air-popped corn), only 116 calories for 2/3 cups. Filling and oh so yummy.

Also in the same weekend, Tom made a pot of chilli (he added a 1/4 teaspoon of cocoa and he said it has changed his life or rather the way he makes chilli) and I made a pot of broccoli cheese soup (from Spark People again). This made for 8 meals (lunch or dinner), which meant a few nights when I didn't have to worry about supper.

And finally on Saturday, I had a sweet tooth craving and decided to make my own apple pie, basically one apple cooked in butter, sugar, and Mauritian rum, then topped with graham crackers. Into the oven, and comes out with a dollop of fat free Cool Whip.

Hopefully, we're caught up now and my blogging will be more frequent.

Wednesday blessings

I woke up this morning at my regular time and thought, I have an hour until I talk to my parents on Skype. I made a mental list of everything we needed to talk about and the errands I have to run. Then I dozed off. I woke up about 40 mins later when Tom's phone rang, and I heard him say, "Yes, I'll be there". Who would call him that early? Soccer friends? Are they trying to set up a scrimmage game for today? Tom came back to bed and I asked who it was. He said his dentist, trying to confirm his appointment for today. The following conversation ensued:
K: "Why are you going to the dentist on Sunday?"
T: "Whaaatt? Dear, what day is it?"
K: "Sunday"
T: "Oh sorry honey, it's Wednesday."
K: expletives

I managed to be late by only 10 minutes. But I count my blessings - I have a fabulous job where my boss doesn't care at what time I come in and my co-workers don't say judgmental  things (at least to my face) about my attire or hair. And I live 5 minutes away from work.

K to the lab: "everyone brought their lunch today?"
Lab: "Yes, did you?"
K: "No, I don't pack lunch on Sundays!"

ps. Sunday mornings are Skype mornings with the island folks and Sunday is usually soccer day for T.

Weekend in review

This weekend was different, the past week was different. I got pulled in several directions at work: I taught aspiring medical students on Tuesday and I really enjoyed it. Then I had to do bench work, which hadn't happened in a while this year. I am also helping a faculty understand some of the computer work that we do. Plus we had a few deadlines from our collaborators.
On Wednesday, I hosted craft night and managed to finish all of Nitin's (my sister's future husband) 24 boutonnieres.On Thursday, I made coconut macaroons for Tom to take to his lab meeting on Friday. We had book club on Friday night, I think of it book club with reading optional (since this was my second attendance and I hadn't the book again). We had fun, ate yummy food, drank adult beverages, and chatted the night away. I think Tom might have enjoyed having the house to himself after a stressful week at work.
Saturday was weird, I put in a full day of work - I haven't worked a Saturday since I started this position. I managed to sneak in a workout in between experiments and after work, I made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby to get the flowers for Payal's 24 boutonnieres. I'm hoping that hers won't take too long to make. Saturday night we went to a going away party for one of Tom's soccer friends. It was a late fun night. Sunday was an easy going day. I managed to drag Tom to Pelham to pick up a gift for my sister, then we went to Party City looking for costumes for an upcoming party, and finally landed at Cajun Steamer's. I was craving crawfish and this is a decent place for Cajun food. The plan was to then walk to the theater and catch a movie but with an hour in between finishing dinner and the movie starting, we decided to just go home and be lazy. Or somewhat lazy. I tackled a few loads of laundry, and made banana nut bread. Tom doesn't usually ask specifically for food but he had requested banana bread. I also cooked some asparagus and mushrooms to go with our lunch pork chop wraps. 
I think my goal as far as cooking for the next four weeks is to use up everything (almost) in the fridge/freezer. I'm also switching us to a low(-er) carb household minus the bread I just made ;) So plenty of proteins and veggies.
I'm finding it really hard to not show how excited I am about going home! My last trip was in 2009, time flies!

Fourth of July, or the anatomy of a great time

We had a fabulous fourth of July. Amidst fears of torrential downpours (it sprinkled on and off all day), we hosted our annual 4th of July party, complete with yummy food, the Independence Day movie, beautiful fireworks and great company. We initially wanted a small group because we can't fit that many people in the apartment, should it be really yucky outside. Then Tom met up with his soccer buddies on Tuesday, and suddenly we were expecting 16 people. In the end, we had a few no shows, but still a great time. I think this turned out to be our best 4th of July Party.
I woke up relatively early for a holiday, 8 am and started cooking at 8:30 am. First, the corn were shucked and put in the Crock Pot for 4 hours on low. I love our big Crock Pot.

The buffalo chicken dip went in the smaller Crock Pot (this one is a huge hit at parties), on low until all melted and combined. Then on warm until people get here.

Then I prepped the coleslaw. Publix had a sale, buy the dressing, get the bagged cabbage/coleslaw mix for free.

Finally I started to work on the cake. I had baked an Angel Food cake the night before but instead of using a tube pan, I used three round pans. I didn't expect the cake to be that much smaller than my trifle stand, but I think it still worked. I made a cheesecake dip to use as frosting (heavy whipping cream, sour cream, Neufchatel cheese (1/3 fat free cream cheese), sugar and vanilla. 
I brushed the cake with a mixture of pineapple juice and coconut rum. Layer cake, frosting, and berries. At the end of the night, there was less than half of the cake left.

I got to use this heavy baby, a wedding present from my former labmate Paula, to make the frosting.

I also had some of the cheesecake dip and made these strawberries as a gluten free dessert.

I was done in the kitchen by 10:30 and started to clean the house. Tom woke up and helped too. We were done by 2, with plenty of time for showers and relaxing before our friends came over at 4 pm. Tom grilled brats and his friend Chris brought ribs. Our friends also brought baked beans, potato salad, and Touchdown Taco dip.
One tip that I took to heart this time was to start the party with an empty dishwasher. And it made such a difference. Throughout the night I would just put dishes in the washer, and at the end of the night, I was done with clean up in less than 30 minutes. We also used disposable cups left over from the wedding, which also helped. Now for firework pictures.
Tom's:

Vulcan's:

Finally Friday

This week, I happened to catch David's Letterman Top 10 sung by Backstreet Boys.
It made my week:
http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/0_SX6k9WYaiHvlCnM4SUtWAjLh1jc8xZ/david-letterman-backstreet-boys-top-ten/

Weekend recap

This weekend was busy and lazy, if that makes any sense.
Friday, Tom had lab meeting and he brought red velvet cookies.

After work we went to Good People Brewery before meeting with Colm and Will at the new Birmingham Barons ballpark (my first time). Since it was a Friday night game, it concluded with fireworks. We had a wonderful time.

Saturday morning, I ran some quick errands, mostly to make these luggage tags. Every year, my mom sends me a Mauritius calendar and with our upcoming trip, these had pretty pictures to use for the tags.

Saturday afternoon, we treated ourselves to On Tap while watching the end of the Brewers game. We came home and watched Thor.

Sunday was a fabulous day which started with brunch at Five. We had never been, and we absolutely loved it. I had the best shrimp and grits in Alabama. Tom had egg Benedict served on crab cakes. Their Bloody Mary bar was very nice too. We were glad to go at 1:30 ish because it was less crowded but still very busy.
Then we went to the outlet mall, mostly because we were headed in that direction and Tom wanted new sunglasses. The reason why we were going to Leeds is because of fireworks. As you know, July 4th is coming and Tom loves his fireworks. Every year we go to the main warehouse in Leeds.

Then we ran to Brookwood Mall to grab a few things, came home and watched Jack Reacher and Snitch, we unexpectedly liked both.
And happy daddy's day :)

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

First weekend recap:
Friday was very low key, mostly because work has been very busy and stressful and with bad weather moving in, it was the perfect time for a major sinus headache. Tom picked up pizza on his way home, as if he sensed that I was upset. We got caught up on all the episodes of the Walking Dead.
Saturday, I ran errands in the morning and after lunch, Tom and I ventured out, first for a stroll at Best Buy (he was looking for a game, and I love checking out appliances), then to Yogurt Mountain. We eventually ended at Publix to figure out dinner plans. Brats on the grill it was.
Sunday, was Sunday Funday. We celebrated Nate's graduation first at Courtyard (because I was craving crawfish), then to Cocina for a few Margaritas. We had so much fun! It was a great way to decompress and get ready for this week.

Last night, I attempted cooking a whole chicken, because I've always wanted to, plus I don't have to cook much this week. It was a simple recipe from America's Test Kitchen. So with the leftovers, I can give in to my cravings for this week: salad, with chicken, dried cranberries, almonds, and blue cheese. I also made some fried chips, I love our new mandolin.