I'm all about the bandwagon

The last couple of nights we've watched my recording of the previous nights Conan Obrian show during dinner. The first night I was, a little let down, it seems so squished together... I loved that he had Jack White on the show though. But last night, or I guess technically the night before, was HI lerious. I kept cracking up. I have a now new found respect for Tom Hanks, and that Taiwanese interpretation of CoCo's show was pure gold. I loved how they depicted all the guest with bongs... Anywho... I've never watched his shows, clips of it sure, and every now and then I would flip onto it for a few minutes. But I was never a hard core CoCo fan. I started riding the wave of following him on Twitter, being outraged on his behalf for what went down before, and now, I've got his TBS show on my DVR.

Last night I did more zucchini with mustard, plain baby carrots cooked, chicken breast cut into strips with a little cumin on them, and white rice with soy sauce. Oh, and of course a big mixed salad. All in all about a 600 calorie meal. Very full and satisfying. I was also able to avoid any kind of dessert or treat afterwards. Hard boiled egg and oatmeal with raisins for breakfast this morning, and my big ass cup of tea.

I had been blissfully ignoring the calories of the sugar that I put in my tea, but today I looked it up. 15 calories in one packet of C&H sugar. Break my damn heart why don't you.

I put 6 packs in my tea this morning, but I'm planning on slowly backing off.

I also watched the 2nd episode of The Walking Dead last night while I played Angry Birds on my Droid. Still enjoying it mightily, I don't know if I'll ever get bored with zombies...

I've got to say though, AMC is doing it very well. They're approaching it with such seriousness and tact. It's a really good drama, that just happens to involve Zombies.

They'll start naming children after me...

I made a truly amazing discovery last night. 

I've decided to go on a uber low calorie diet until Thanksgiving. (I need to lose about 15lbs to fit into my Dickens costume)

I got home late last night, and in preparation had earlier asked my honey to go food shopping for me. I had decided to make my first low calorie meal and planned on pan grilled Talapia, steamed zucchini, steamed broccoli and a large tossed salad with Low Fat Catalina dressing. After everything made their way onto plates, I wandered around in the kitchen a little lost for a while, trying to decide how I would dress my veggies. I couldn't put butter on them as I normally would, I didn't think spices would quite cut it, and I'm so not into the whole drown everything in katsup theory. In a flash of inspiration and desperation I grabbed the bottle of spicy brown mustard and made a couple squirts onto my veggies. What a revelation. It was so tasty, and such a great compromise calorie wise. I can't tell you how excited I am. You should definitely try this with your dinner tonight...

My non-existant child stepped on a crack

We've been in the new house for a week exactly now. The first full night in the house I broke in the kitchen by making Mini Irish Carbomb Cupcakes and Garlic Deviled Eggs (Vampire Repellent) for my companies Halloween luncheon. Things went very smoothly despite my exhaustion. I love making these cupcakes, not just because of how damn good they are, but because of how amazing everyone's reactions to them make me feel. The look of delightful surprise when they taste the kick of whiskey, and the groan of pleasure for the amazing Irish Buttercream frosting. Mmmm. I'm drooling already. I actually had 2 for breakfast before I put them out for everyone else. Yum yum yum.

Saturday morning before the cable guy came, I threw my back out helping Jay move the TV's. I was in bed all Saturday, all Sunday and all Monday. Monday I went to the doctor and got some good drugs. I'm up and about now, but I still have this ache that's just killing me. No bueno. There was so much I wanted to get done on the house this weekend, and about 5% of it happened. I'm looking forward to being completely mobile again so I can finish unpacking and get back to life.

*sniffle*

Our kitchen is totally packed up. No more cooking for me for the next few days. All of the cupboards are empty. Now it's down to the refrigerator when we make the actual move. We did pick up the keys today and sign all the papers. Exciting!

Kitchen Envy

I'm having kitchen envy already. I haven't even moved yet and I'm scared that I'll resent whatever new kitchen I end up with. The place we're hopeful for has a super tiny kitchen and I'm trying to figure out a good way to carry the kitchen over into the dining room for added space. I don't want to slow my roll. :(

Mini-Vaca Splendor

I'm back from my death defying romantic getaway. We motored down to Anaheim on Wednesday night stopping in mumble-mumble for dinner at Andersen's, famous for their Split Pea Soup. I tried it expecting a chorus of angels... not so much. It was tolerable, nothing amazing... but it's totally possible I'm just not a fan of split pea soup. We stayed the night in a Motel 6 mere blocks away from the Happiest Place on Earth. NO, I did NOT get to go. *pout* BUT! We had lunch across the street at this tiny little Mexican place. I got the small portion of the Nachos, couldn't even finish them. But boy howdy were they good! Fresh made tortilla chips, fresh guacamole, beefy chunks with plenty of sour cream. My only complaint was that there wasn't enough cheese. But still totally delish. 

After lunch we hopped back on the bike not exactly sure where we were going, but we wanted to kill some time in LA before being able to hang out with my cousin that night. We ended up at Santa Monica Pier which was great. The weather was gray and the perfect kind of chilly. We walked to the end of the pier and then sat on a bench for a while. On the bench next to us was a man and woman and the man was playing snippets of guitar pieces and playing them well. It was so enjoyable just sitting there and listening to him strum. After wandering around for a while we got back on the bike and headed toward West Hollywood, we wanted to see the sign and then be near at hand for cousin time. We found our way to Hollywood Boulevard and gazed upon the sign while we filled up on gas. We then made our way to Grauman's Chinese Theatre to mingle with the stars. 

After doing the touristy photo bit we went across the street to enjoy some frozen yogurt. French Vanilla with black berries. YUM! We finally got the go ahead from my cousin so we headed over to her house and from there we went straightaway to Pink's. I've been DYING to get a dog from here for the longest time. Every time there's any kind of special on Food Network or PBS that mentions them I start drooling like Pavlov's dog. (haha Dog! get it?) Unfortunately it was physically impossible for me to order and eat the entire menu so I settled on "The TODAY Show Dog" which is 2 franks in 1 bun, mustard, chili, cheese, onion and guac. Jay got a Slaw Dog and my cousin and her boy got 3 chili cheese dogs. We ate and hung out and talked for a long time just enjoying the pleasant weather and environment. I think I would be okay with living in LA if I could go to Pinks once a week.

It was time to get on the road so we snaked out of LA with Santa Barbra as our end point for that night. Let me tell you, that ride was as cold as a witches tit. When we finally got into Santa Barbra, there was not a lodging to be found. We eventually ran into a Super 8, only to be told that rooms were $100 a night! WHAT!!! So we called around to other hotels in the area, and guess what?! Everyone was full up! I felt like Mary right then, except I wasn't about to give birth, but my back was killing me and all I wanted was to get warm and wet in a bath tub. So we caved and got a room, but it was soooo not worth it. The room was tiny, tinier than tiny, it smelled, AND only had a stand up shower. Oh well, c'est la vie. I crawled in bed and crashed hard. The next morning we enjoyed their breakfast bar of pastries, bagels, cereal and  beverages before heading out for Monterey. 

The ride up Hwy 1 was gray for most of the way, very cold and very twisty turney. It was fun and, eventually, in the last couple hours, got sunny and very beautiful at parts, but never really truly warm up. 

We made our way into Monterey and stopped at the Best Western Victoria Inn, super nice, very quaint, short walk from cannery row. Best part? Fireplace! We got into our room, dropped off our stuff and headed down town in the hunt for lunch. I was starving! We ended up settling on this cute little pizzeria that served these HUGE slices of pizza, I'm talking "the size of a a whole small pizza" slices. I had a cesar salad and polished off my entire slice including the crust, but the pigeons I was feeding helped with that bit. After our late lunch we walked around a bit enjoying being off the bike. My shoulder and neck were killing me so we went back to the inn where I promptly fell asleep in a steaming hot bath... After Jay woke me up we went back and forth over where to eat dinner, walked back to cannery row and then argued over dinner again. We finally agreed on Sly McFly's where Jay said he's never eaten before because when he's in town for Laguna Seca it's crazy packed. We ordered sandwiches, chicken for me, fish for him, and enjoyed the local entertainment that started playing around when we got our food. Jay joked and called them the cantina band from Star Wars. The lead singer was a little leggy.... 

The next morning we got on the bike and went to Jay's favorite Monterey breakfast joint called The Breakfast Club. We were really lucky and got there while there wasn't a line, we sat at the counter and I spent a good 10 minutes trying to figure out what I wanted. Everything looked so god damn good. I settled on "Annies Breakfast" which is an english muffin with bacon, 2 eggs, jack and cheddar cheese, avocado and sour cream on top with a side of their potatoes. I substituted bacon for sausage, deconstructed the sandwich a bit, and loved every piece I could eat. It was so filling though. I can not wait to go back and try something else. 

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, convinced them to watch out bags and walked to the aquarium where I spent the next few hours in total bliss. The best part was I had my own personal tour guide in Jay, he was able to give me the rundown on each exhibit and tank about the various sea life. I even got to pet a bat ray and got my sleeve soaked in the process. About 2 o'clock or so we decided it was time to get back on the road. On our way back to the hotel I wanted to stop for frozen yogurt at MYO. We shared my incredible concoction which consisted of: vanilla and dutch choc yogurt, reeses, butterfingers, caramel turtles, caramel sauce and gummie bears. I'll admit I went a little crazy, but it was still amazing... 

The ride back home was a blur, we went through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate and then over the Richmond bridge. It was more than time to get off the bike when we pulled into the garage, I was having a mild panic attack which was way not fun. We were starved and decided on Claim Jumpers for dinner and even though it was a Saturday night we managed to sidle up to the bar and watch the awesomeness of the dessert station while we waited for our food. I got a wedge salad and the Butternut Squash Ravioli and was in pure heaven. I hate to say it, but besides for breakfast at The Breakfast Club, this was the best meal of the trip for me. But they do say hunger is the best seasoning.

Om nom nom nom

If there is anything better than avocado with spike on some sort of bread product, you would be very hard pressed to convince me of it. Breakfast was AMAZING.

People Suck

Last night my fiddle case, fiddle, 2 bows, recorders, harmonica, tuner and music were stolen out of my car. Super bummed.

War Zone

This weekend was my sister's 40th birthday. It was a huge deal, live music, lots of alcohol and lots of food. Friday my kitchen was a complete war zone. I was making: a Peanut-Butter Chocolate Cheesecake, Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Creamy Garlic Hummus, and Pita Chips. My Honey was brewing up huge batches of Chicken n Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo and my cousin and her Mark were up from LA for the party and were making "Cream Cheese Things" and Sage Corn Chowder. 

Now thankfully my kitchen is large enough to accommodate that many people and that many dishes. And on top of it my sister and two of our friends were hanging out as well rehearsing music for the next night. The kitchen was full to the max and smelled so amazing. 

I was pretty good about cleaning up as I went, but after most everyone had cleared out and there was only the chowder left simmering, I was able to hang with my cuz while my Jay cleaned everything up. I am not looking forward to leaving this kitchen behind when we move.

Failures/Successes In Baking

I made a huge step towards my ultimate goal of being awesome!

I bought myself a Cuisinart Stand Mixer! (And it was quite a deal let me tell you!)

I have coveted one of these for pretty much my entire life. I would have daydreams of myself frolicking in the field hand in… bowl, making daisy chains while “So Happy Together” plays in the background.

That’s how fanatically I wanted one. And I cannot begin to tell you how much it fills my heart with glee seeing it sitting on my counter. I am not a materialistic person, but this mixer makes me as happy as world peace might.

I knew that when I got it home Wednesday night I was going to spend some time breaking it in. I had my mind made up to make my first Apple Pie and also I had it half in my mind to make some bread. I went to Safeway first and got a sack of granny smiths, a bag of sugar, some more butter and some yeast packets.

Now if I had settled on some recipes before I went to the store I might have been better prepared, but I knew that I could probably wing it if there was a hang up.

I started my apple pie by making my dough. The recipe I was using called for flour, salt, shortening and cold water. I decided that the dough recipe was too simple to use my mixer for and I went after it the old fashioned way. I wish that I had thought to use my food processor though…

I lost count in my flour scoops and just guessed when I reached the 3-cup mark, but in reality I think it ended up being more like 4 cups. I then added my salt and cut up 2/3rds of a cup of butter into the bowl. Using my dough cutter I blended it until parts of the flour were balled like they were supposed to be, and there were no more large chunks of butter. There was way too much loose flour for my liking but I went ahead and began mixing the cold water in with a fork anyway.

I was not happy with the consistency of the dough but I worked it until it held a form and divided it into two balls. I rolled out one of the balls, which took some effort, and laid it in the bottom of my cake pan.

I’ll make note that I actually did have pie pans, but I would not find them till the next day. This is what happens when you’re so excited you lose track of big details!

After the bottom crust was formed I pulled out the apple peeler and corer and watched in delight as my sweetie peeled my apples in no time at all! I had never seen a peeler in action before and could not get over how efficient it was!

After the apples were cut I tossed them in a mixture of flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a little allspice. I piled them high in the bottom crust and topped with some pats of butter.

I rolled out the second crust and placed it gently over my mound. After I cut off most of the scrap I formed a cute little ridge around the outside and protected it with some strips of foil. I placed it in my 375 degree oven and hoped for the best!

While the pie was baking I figured I needed to make some bread if I was actually going to use my mixer that night. I looked at a few recipes and decided Honey Wheat bread sounded divine. I was going to work off of both the Honey Wheat bread recipe in a Betty Crocker book and the Molasses Wheat bread recipe in the Mixer recipe book. But again, me, the excited girl who’s too excited to pay attention carefully did a few silly confused things. First I put in my mixer bowl 1 packet of yeast, 2/3rds cup of warm water, and 1/3^rd cup of flour. It tells me to mix it and let it sit for a few minutes to let it begin to make bubbles while I bring together the rest of my ingredients. I pull down my wheat flour, look in the bag and what do it see??? Moths! Growing Moths! As in larvae! Ewww! Okay so this calls for a quick change of recipe (after I get the bag the hell out of my house). I look back in the book and realize, I shouldn’t have mixed flour in with my water and yeast, and whaaat? I don’t have powdered milk, which most of the white bread recipes call for. So I think, “Screw it! Bread is simple! People have been making it forever, it’s flour and liquid and yeast! I’ll do it my own way”

So I decide that instead of Honey Wheat Bread, it’ll be Honey Bread. I look at these recipes for rough guidelines and I start adding flour to my bowl to mix willie-nillie.

After the kneading process where I’m supposed to pull the dough out to let it rise I realize I did NOT add enough flour. It is so sticky! I think I lost a quarter of the dough to the mixer bowl!

I go ahead anyway and put it in a bowl to let it rise. It rises really well and I figure I’ll just plow ahead.

Meanwhile my pie has come out of the oven smelling delicious even if it was a little lackluster in appearance. We each had a slice and declared it wonderful.

Back to the bread… It rises, and I divide it, again losing half of the dough to the bowl due to stickiness, but my wonderful boyfriend is a genius and has me coat my hands with a cooking spray to protect them. I divide the dough and form each half into loafs and let them rise again before sticking them in the oven.

Let me tell ya… I may have screwed up the recipe, but it was still super simple and it came out tasting super good. We devoured one loaf before we went to bed! I put a pat of butter on mine and Jay put some honey on his. The crust was so crisp and golden and delicious. I cannot wait to make more bread!