The Fruit of Our Travels

We're getting ready to leave Indiana and drive the last stretch back to our home in Houston, TX.
All of our visits have given me a couple of ideas. I have loved seeing family and friends but I'm also excited to get back to our own place where we control our own schedules, sleeping arrangements, activities... I like control.

• In Chicago, we tried deep dish pizza. It was great company, but I like my home-made version much better.
• Also in Chicago, Jenn made awesome grilled vegetables that I want to try. Red and yellow peppers, corn and asparagus. All heavenly. I don't know why I ever boiled asparagus.
• My mom is getting us bikes as an early Christmas gift (awesome) so I'm psyched to have no excuse. From now on, I will ride my bike the 3 miles to the co-op to get locally grown produce. I'll have to get more creative since you get what you get. The bikes will make it more convenient to get to the park where we drop off our compost too.
• Sam's grandma made a scrumptious Italian dish called pasta fasul that I want to give a try.
• I WILL MAKE MY OWN LATTE! So delicious but so expensive when you buy one at a time. I got a discount french press from Marshall's (I love that place because they sometimes have shoes that fit my huge size 11 feet) and am on the look out for a milk steamer. I hear it's just a little kettle/pot gig with a thermometer. Anyone know where I can find a very simple inexpensive version?
• Oh and we officially do not eat fish now. I used to say I was open to eating fish because my mom wanted to be able to make something that the whole family would eat. Now she realizes that you can make vegetarian dishes that carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores can all enjoy.

cross country

I ran cross country in middle school and high school. I was horribly slow and not at all competitive but it was so nice to be on a team. We had great fun together. I still run... but nowhere close to every day. Nowhere close. I wish. I should. We'll see.

We finally have our car back! I called the body shop over and over to tell them I absolutely needed it back by today and they just kept pushing it back. This morning, Sam called and they totally blew him off saying it would be "today or tomorrow" after they had told us yesterday that it would be done at 9:30am today. Reluctantly, I had to call and be really forceful today- I hated it!!!! But, surprise surprise, the car was read 20 minutes after the call. Grrr. My friend Sara is my saving grace for driving me too and from work while it was in the shop. Grace.

Cross country- We're off to the CHARMING midwest. 18 hour drive and then we'll be in Chicago to see my college friend Jenn. She's great; you should meet her. Better yet, you should go out with her in Chicago. Yay! Then it's off to Indiana to see Sam's parents at their beautiful calming and rural home. Stop 3- Northeast Ohio to visit my parents and my great ever-since-middle-school-girlfriends! I'm super excited about seeing these girls. We've been hanging out as a group since we were... 14? The interesting thing is that we're really different in a lot of ways but growing up together makes it easy to realize how great they are. Gab gab gab. Why I am I writing this? I have no idea.

Last night, Sam and our friend John cooked dinner for Sara and I because I was being a SPAZZ. They made spicy chickpeas. I had tried the recipe a few times and made it... not so well. Sam and John, being patient skillful people, followed the recipe and it turned out wonderfully. It was yummy. The end.

speaking of sam

check him out.
http://www.artbreak.com/wukusick
(you know you want to buy his art)

guest chef

Teacher summer has been threatened lately by the imposition of professional development. Yuck. I came home tired and hungry. So... GUEST CHEF.

SAM is making bread and veggie burgers!

We love this ridiculous picture, because it is ridiculous. This was Sam's first attempt at bread and I forgot to tell him that you have to let the yeast dissolve before you start. He also put the dough in the fridge to rise... which I'm pretty sure is a bad way to rise.... but I'm not sure.

Starving and tired, I realized that the dough was in the fridge and we gave up on this dinner. Instead we walked about a mile from our apt and got some Thai food. It was sufficiently yummy and I was full. All is well- until I drag Sam through Urban Outfitters asking his opinion about clothes I will never buy.

When we got home, I put Sam's bread in the oven and started making my own back-up batch. My back-up has been "rising" for an hour and doesn't seem to have risen at all. Not good.

Sam's bread however... turned out like bread! It's edible and kind of good. Go Sam!

Rereading this, I realized I said "Sam" far too often. I teach English. I should learn to use pronouns.

indulgences

1.) The Bachelorette (or the Bachelor... depending on the season)-


For a long time I thought I was not a big cheeseball. Actually, I think I thought I was a kind of rough around the edges, closer to tomboy than girly girl, kind of concoction of a human being. However, I now realize that I am a big mush. I gush. I cry about Deanna giving out her last rose. Season finale: annoying as all get out because they show you the same clips over and over and over again for two hours BUT adorable because they seem happy! Don't you want everyone to fall in love and have a perfect marriage (if they so choose)....? I do. Woah, cheeziness. If you haven't been watching, you can watch the full season on-line on abc.com. Sickening corporate promotion. What is wrong with me!?!
2.) Socially Responsible Ice Cream!!!!!


Ben & Jerry's rules the world and rocks my socks. Their commitment to running a socially responsible business proved to people with money (and without it) that socially equitable companies can succeed and improve their communities. Also, on my beloved instant Netflix, you can watch a documentary about B&J in the Special Interest-Wine and Food Section. great.

Boulder Ice Cream. New treasure I picked up at Whole Foods. I've only tried the Italian Espresso so far but it was heaven... while watching the Bachelorette. This company is possibly/probably better than Ben & Jerry's (B&J had to sell out to a major corporation in the 90s and still has influence about social responsibility... but not as much.) Check out their website and read the sweet things they are doing.


I love socially responsible businesses. I would work for Boulder Ice Cream in a heartbeat. Hear that BIC? Hire me. Or send me free ice cream.*

*If you go to their website you can click on a free ice cream tab and get a coupon for $1 off two pints. I guess that's $1 of free ice cream.

3.) Books! I love them. I swear I don't spend all my time watching horrible television and eating fattening foods.

My library books are overdue. I'm going to leave it at that for now.

Peace, love, and RBGH free dairy.

again with the fruit

you know how you have that plain yogurt you bought for the moussaka? and the fruit from the pancakes? and the honey for the home-made granola that is five million times more delicious than any kind you can get in a box?

Do this with it.

Drizzle the honey and dollop the fruit over the yogurt. Then eat your breakfast. Go on. Take it slow. Sip your tea. Read your magazines or your book. Stay in bed for hours.

Simple and Glorious

I love pancakes. Love LOve LOVe LOVE. They are so simple and so perfect. Quick but wholesome. Light and fluffy. Easy and PERFECT.

I do not love maple syrup. The real thing is better than the corn syrup in a squeeze bottle version, but I still don't like it.

Instead, just heat up whatever fruit you have in a pot on low heat and use that as a topping. It's much more delicious, very easy to make, and I'm sure it's better for you. Today I used frozen peaches and a frozen berry mix (organic frozen fruits from Whole Foods are a good bet) just because that's what I had. Fresh fruits are great if you have them around. Bananas, peaches, and berries are my favorite.

I also love playing Scrabble while eating pancakes. I was in a great mood this morning kicking my hubby's bottom... until his very last turn. I was winning by about 30 and we both felt like the game was over. Then, at the last minute, he got over 50 points on a long triple word score. Oh the sting of defeat. Oh well, the pancakes were great.

Protein Heaven

I had two great discoveries yesterday: workout videos that play instantly on Netflix and Vegetable Moussaka. First, I love Netflix. When you're between movies, you can get instant movies. The pickings are slim but it's nice to be able to watch something on computer screen with no hassle and no wait. It's even better when you think, "Hey, I feel like working out but it's too hot to go running and I can't get to the gym since my car is in the shop. I'll look on Netflix for work-out videos!" You check the Sports and Fitness genre and voila! I did kickboxing. It was fun and felt like a great workout. Good times.

It's also very fun when you discover a new recipe to add to your repertoire. At first when I saw this, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had no clue what "moussaka" really was. That problem was somewhat solved by looking it up on Wikipedia. Yeah... I was still a little confused but up for an adventure! I'm normally really intimidated by eggplant and try to avoid it, but it was great here. If you have some spare time, give this one a go. The left-overs will last for quite a while in the average 20-something's apartment fridge. This recipe takes a good deal of time and assembly but it's pretty easy. It also earned the "4 Stars: Make This Often!" award. It's really flavorful and chock full of protein. It's not the prettiest dish, but it's certainly tasty.


Vegetable Moussaka

• 1 pound eggplant, sliced


• 1/2 cup whole green lentils


• 2 cups vegetable broth


• 1 bay leaf


• 3 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 onion, sliced


• 1 garlic clove, crushed


• 8 oz sliced mushrooms


• 2 cups chickpeas (soak the dry beans for about 6 hours and then boil them before using in this recipe)


• 2 cups diced tomatoes


• 2 tablespoons tomato paste


• 2 tsp dried herbes de Provence


• 1 1/4 cup plain yogurt 3 eggs 1/2 cup aged Cheddar, grated

1. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and place in colander. Cover. Let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the bitter juices to be extracted.



2. Meanwhile, place the green lentils, broth, and bay leaf in a saucepan. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain.



3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Stir in lentils, mushrooms, chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, and 3 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.



4. Preheat the oven to 350. Rinse the eggplant slices, drain and pat dry. Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and cook the slices in batches for 3-4 minutes, turning once so both sides are browned.



5. Season the lentil mixture with salt and pepper. Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of a casserole dish, then spoon the lentil mixture on top.



6. Beat the yogurt, eggs, and a bit of salt and pepper together and pour the mixture over the vegetables. Sprinkle generously with the grated Cheddar. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately, garnished with the flat-leaf parsley.

eggs- i feel like i'm cheating, but i'm not vegan. catholic guilt i suppose.

I wrote out a post and then Blogger got angry and ate it. Grrrrr.

I don't have a lot of experience with eggs for eggs' sake so I decided to give the frittata/quiche/souffle family a try. Since I don't have a souffle dish, the frittata won the contest for my attention. It turned out okay and made for a very filling brunch. The sun-dried tomatoes are really powerful... the original recipe called for adding a few spoons of the soaking liquid from the tomatoes to the egg mix but I think that made it too pungent. The best parts about this dish were that (1) it's light and fluffy- always a plus, and (2) I was really proud of myself for managing to flip the frittata from the pan to a plate and back again. It felt like a magic trick.

Frittata with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

• 6 sun-dried tomatoes
• a few tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• pinch of fresh thyme leaves
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• salt and ground black pepper

1. Place tomatoes in a small bowl and pour on enough hot water to just cover them. Soak for 15 minutes. Lift tomatoes out of the water and slice them into thin strips.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Stir in the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and thyme and continue to stir over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add the grated parmesan.
4. Raise the heat under the pan. When the oil is sizzling, pour in the eggs. Mix them quickly into the other ingredients and stop stirring. Lower the heat to moderate and cook 4-5 minutes on the first side until the frittata is puffed and golden brown underneath.
5. Take a large plate, place it upside down over the pan and, holding it firmly with oven mitts, turn the pan and the frittata over onto it. Slide the frittata back into the pan and continue cooking until golden brown on the second side, 3-4 minutes more.
6. You're done!

banana pancakes!

I very much enjoy the song Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. I don't think I've heard it for a year but it just came on Pandora while I was preparing Frittata with Sun-Dried Tomatoes... fancy name for a recipe, huh? In that book Julie and Julia, all the recipes sounded fancy and important because they were in intimidating French. Later today I'm making Vegetable Moussaka... whatever that is. Sounds a little more intimidating, right? I've decided that I will be making all of the recipes that I've put a tab on.

Sam just looked over my shoulder to see what I'm writing and I immediately pointed out, "It's silly. No one reads it but Ashley." So, Hi Ashley! :) Hope the big move was stellar.