We'll Call this 'Saturday Morning in Pleasantville'
I've got a story to tell you, but let me explain to you before I begin, that I live in a very picturesque planned neighborhood. It is very whitebread with manicured lawns and HOA fees and covenants and all. Honestly, it kinda creeped me out when we first moved there, because I sort of felt like we'd be the bad neighbors cuz sometimes we go a couple weeks without cutting our 10 sq ft of grass out front, etc. So there, your scene is set.
Saturday morning, Matt and I were trying to figure out what we were going to do with all of this amazing free time called a weekend, so we put Tabs in her stroller and we all went for a walk while we had a chat to figure it out. After that topic was exhausted, we turned to other varied topics … just as we were heading back into our neighborhood from the lovely little path we walk along, we were discussing road sharing between cars and bikes. This is a topic that comes up more frequently than you might imagine. And let me say that I'm not really on either side. I don't think cyclists nor motorists really understand the correct rules and procedures. As a cyclist, I've been screamed at by cars, ignorant of the rules, telling me to “get on the sidewalk.” And as a motorist, I've seen cyclists do some really dumb stuff, mainly not follow the rules of the road.
So just as we were coming into our neighborhood, we heard screaming and tires screeching. Continue reading “We'll Call this 'Saturday Morning in Pleasantville'”
Much Improved
I have to say, after last week, I needed a great weekend. And as luck would have it, that's exactly what I got. We didn't do a lot of fun or interesting things. In fact, we actually got a ton done around the house, but we really got to take it slow.
Even better, I really *knock on wood* think Tabby's doing better. We had a pukey incident on Fri evening at my parents', but she's been puke-free for over 60 hours (a record high since this thing began). And she has stopped being fussy and needing to be held all the time, which is a big relief.
She's a happy sunny little baby who decided on Sunday that she can sit up. We got home from Target and I took her hour of her bucket and sat her on her blanket and she kept sitting … and sat and sat and sat. She's very pleased with herself and it really seems to open up new play opportunities for her. She still topples over, but she takes it in stride and smiles happily at us.
All in all, a much much much better weekend. Now keep your fingers crossed that it will last. 
Cherry Muffins
from: Hungry Girl
Ingredients
1/2 butternut squash
kosher salt
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and de-seed your butternut squash. If you're unfamiliar with handling them, you may have a little trouble at first. They're fairly easy to peel, but you'll need a sharp knife to cut them. Once your orange friend is peeled and seed-free, slice it in half. Then cut it up into french fry shapes. We like to use a crinkle cutter to make authentic looking crinkle cut fries, but they'll work any way you slice 'em.
Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover lightly with kosher salt (regular salt works, too, but we prefer kosher). Place tray in your pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes or so, flipping halfway through baking process. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and get crispy. Serve with ketchup, or however else you enjoy fries or sweet potato fries!
Nutritional Info (5 oz(
Calories: 65; Fat: 0g; Sodium: 486mg (includes salt); Carbs: 16.5g; Fiber: 4g Sugar: 3g; Protein: 1g
from: Fitness Magazine June 2007
Ingredients
2 med potatoes, cut into 1.5 inch chunks
2 C broccoli florets (the nice part)
2 T EVOO
1 t kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 400. Toss the potatoes and broccoli with the oil; add salta and pepper. Spread the veggies on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until paotoes are tender and golden, about 25 min.
from: Sunset Magazine March 2006
Ingredients
6 artichokes
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
3 T butter
onion, chopped
6 C chicken broth
2 T all purpose flour
3 T whipping cream
salt and pepper
chervil to serve (optional)
Directions
Trim leaves, stems and fuzzy chokes from the artichokes. Drop the hearts into a bolw of ice water mxed with the lemon jice and olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T salt. Drain hearts and add to boiling water; cook until tender. Drain. In a pan over med-high heat, melt 3 T butter. Add onion and stir until golden. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often 3-5 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and artichoke hearts; stir until mixture boils and thickens, 15-20 min. Whirl mexture in a blender until smooth. Return to pan and heat through. Add the cream and season with S&P to taste.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with chervil if desired.
from: Sunset Magazine March 2006
Ingredients
3 dozen baby artichokes
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 T salt
1 oz pancetta, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C mint
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
Directions
Trim leaves and stems from the baby artichokes, leaving just the tender yellow-green leaves. Drop the artichokes into a bowl of ice water mixed with the lemon juice and olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T salt. Drain artichokes and add to boiling water; simmer until tender, 10-20 minutes. Cut any larger ones in half, removing any fuzz at the heart.
Set a frying pan over med-high heat. Add the pancetta and stir until fat is rendered. Add garlic and stir until golden. Add the wine and the artichokes. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated. Add mint and season with S&P to taste. Serve topped with shaved or shredded parmesan.
from: Adapted from Epicurian
Ingredients
2C sugar
3C Flour
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp. baking powder
1tsp.(each) cloves, cinnamon,allspice & salt
3 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C vegetable Oil (or 1/2 c apple sauce and 1/2 c veggie oil)
2 C grated Zucchini (unpeeled)
1 C raisins
Directions
Soften the raisins using hot tap water. While they are soaking, sift all dry ingredients together. Mix in the soaked (and drained) raisins with the flour, making sure to coat them well. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Bake at 350 degrees. 1 hour for bread, 20 minutes for muffins.
from: some website
Ingredients
1 chipotle chili, diced + 2 tsps adobo sauce (I used canned chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce from Whole Foods.)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 medium vidalia onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup sherry
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
4 Hass avocados
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
1/8 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, brown sugar, cumin, and oregano; sauté until the onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the sherry, chipotle chili, adobo sauce, tomatoes and vegetable broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until thickened to stew consistency.
Heat oven to 400° F. Put 1/2 cup olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until very hot but not smoking, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, fry the tortillas, one at a time, for 2 to 3 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towel-lined sheet to get rid of excess oil.
Peel and pit the avocados. Immediately toss with the lime juice (prevents browning), cilantro, salt and pepper. Mash well.
Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce into a small casserole dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of avocado filling into each tortilla, sprinkle some Monterrey jack cheese on top, then roll the tortilla. Put it in the casserole dish, seam side down, against one edge. Repeat the process for the other tortillas, placing each rolled tortilla snugly against the one before it. Ladle the rest of the sauce over the rolled tortillas, top with remaining cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Note: These don’t reheat well because the avocado filling turns brown after a few hours. So it eat up while it’s fresh!
from:
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup pitted fresh cherries or canned cherries, drained
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
Directions
Directions for cherry muffins
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; add cherries and stir gently to blend. In a separate bowl, beat egg until thick and light in color; stir in the milk and melted butter.
Quickly stir egg and milk mixture into the dry mixture. Butter and flour 12 muffin cups. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake cherry muffins at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 12 cherry muffins.
Linky Goodness for Friday (cuz I luv u guys)
I've been getting the skinny on low cal recipes and products delivered to my inbox daily from Hungry Girl. It's not all up my alley, but it does provide some interesting ideas. In fact, it turned me on to my new favorite beverage: almond milk!
As I am a wordie, I just luv looking thru the words on Urban Dictionary. Some of my favorites:
fauxbia: a false fear
errorist: someone who makes frequent and egregious mistakes
mouse arrest: when you're grounded from using the computer
dinner badge: the leavings of your dinner upon your shirt
bisexy: a person of either gender that both genders agree is attractive
wifive: analagous, apparently, to an air five, but y'know, more web 2.0
ex-door neighbor: the person who used to be your next door neighbor Continue reading “Linky Goodness for Friday (cuz I luv u guys)”
Merde.
I got like 4.5 hours of sleep last night. Sort of. Here's how my day went.
4:51 AM – Get up, go to the gym (is just down the block from my house)
5:00 AM – Workout
5:35 AM – Head for home, shower and such
6:00 AM – Head for work
6:30 AM – Work
6:30 PM – Head home from work
7:00 PM – Arrive at home.
7:10 PM – Attempt to feed Tabby some applesauce … get puked on.
7:15 PM – Rinse myself and Tabby off
7:20 PM – Head for Urgent Care
8:10 PM – Arrive at Urgent Care
8:30 PM – Have Tabby's vitals taken
9:00 PM – Temped by nurse
9:20 PM – Seen by pediatrician
9:30 PM – Nurse arrives to do catheter (Tabby's third since she was born)
10:45 PM – Finally get clearance to leave from the pediatrician
10:55 PM – Stop at Safeway to purchase Pedialyte
11:30 PM – Try to stop at Taco Bell to get Matt food (he hasn't eaten since noon), however their credit card machine isn't working
12:00 AM – Finally get home
12:30 AM – Tabby and I go to bed
12:45 AM – Matt goes to bed (after having a bite to eat)
5:00 AM – Wake up after short, fitful night's sleep
I wish this was in any way a fabrication.
Miss Tabby is just fine … and charmed the pants off the doctors and nurses last night. We were just worried because we felt the whole puking thing had gone on a bit too long.
Middle Name
Ani tagged me to play this one …
The Rules: 1) You have to post the rules before you give the facts. 2) Players must list one fact that is relevant to your life for each letter in your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name then use a name that you like. 3) When you are tagged, you must write a post containing your own middle name game facts. 4) At the end of your post, you must tag one person for each letter in your middle name. Don’t forget to comment them telling that they are tagged and to read your post to get the rules.
K – Karaoke Revolution: my favorite game to play on the PS2, drunk or not. I usually score high, though I do not flatter myself that this is because I am any good.
A – Artistic: though I work in the realm of computers and the left brained, I actually score centrally on most of those right/left brained tests and consider myself to be fairly artistic. I'm no VanGogh, but I think I have OK color sense and sort of an artistic eye. Asthetics are important to me.
F – Food is a love and a hobby of mine. I really enjoy cooking and trying new things frequently.
E – Eczema is a condition I've had for as long as I can remember, but since I was about 18 they've had great steriodal creams to control it.
R – Ruh-roh: this is possibly my favorite sarcastic “that sucks” phrase. It comes from Scooby Doo, in case you didn't know.
I tag: Britney Spears, Wil Wheaton, Zach Braff, Roseanne Barr, and you if you are so inclined.
Avacado Enchiladas
from: Hungry Girl
Ingredients
1/2 butternut squash
kosher salt
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and de-seed your butternut squash. If you're unfamiliar with handling them, you may have a little trouble at first. They're fairly easy to peel, but you'll need a sharp knife to cut them. Once your orange friend is peeled and seed-free, slice it in half. Then cut it up into french fry shapes. We like to use a crinkle cutter to make authentic looking crinkle cut fries, but they'll work any way you slice 'em.
Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover lightly with kosher salt (regular salt works, too, but we prefer kosher). Place tray in your pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes or so, flipping halfway through baking process. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and get crispy. Serve with ketchup, or however else you enjoy fries or sweet potato fries!
Nutritional Info (5 oz(
Calories: 65; Fat: 0g; Sodium: 486mg (includes salt); Carbs: 16.5g; Fiber: 4g Sugar: 3g; Protein: 1g
from: Fitness Magazine June 2007
Ingredients
2 med potatoes, cut into 1.5 inch chunks
2 C broccoli florets (the nice part)
2 T EVOO
1 t kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 400. Toss the potatoes and broccoli with the oil; add salta and pepper. Spread the veggies on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until paotoes are tender and golden, about 25 min.
from: Sunset Magazine March 2006
Ingredients
6 artichokes
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
3 T butter
onion, chopped
6 C chicken broth
2 T all purpose flour
3 T whipping cream
salt and pepper
chervil to serve (optional)
Directions
Trim leaves, stems and fuzzy chokes from the artichokes. Drop the hearts into a bolw of ice water mxed with the lemon jice and olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T salt. Drain hearts and add to boiling water; cook until tender. Drain. In a pan over med-high heat, melt 3 T butter. Add onion and stir until golden. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often 3-5 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and artichoke hearts; stir until mixture boils and thickens, 15-20 min. Whirl mexture in a blender until smooth. Return to pan and heat through. Add the cream and season with S&P to taste.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with chervil if desired.
from: Sunset Magazine March 2006
Ingredients
3 dozen baby artichokes
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 T salt
1 oz pancetta, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C mint
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
Directions
Trim leaves and stems from the baby artichokes, leaving just the tender yellow-green leaves. Drop the artichokes into a bowl of ice water mixed with the lemon juice and olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T salt. Drain artichokes and add to boiling water; simmer until tender, 10-20 minutes. Cut any larger ones in half, removing any fuzz at the heart.
Set a frying pan over med-high heat. Add the pancetta and stir until fat is rendered. Add garlic and stir until golden. Add the wine and the artichokes. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated. Add mint and season with S&P to taste. Serve topped with shaved or shredded parmesan.
from: Adapted from Epicurian
Ingredients
2C sugar
3C Flour
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp. baking powder
1tsp.(each) cloves, cinnamon,allspice & salt
3 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C vegetable Oil (or 1/2 c apple sauce and 1/2 c veggie oil)
2 C grated Zucchini (unpeeled)
1 C raisins
Directions
Soften the raisins using hot tap water. While they are soaking, sift all dry ingredients together. Mix in the soaked (and drained) raisins with the flour, making sure to coat them well. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Bake at 350 degrees. 1 hour for bread, 20 minutes for muffins.
from: some website
Ingredients
1 chipotle chili, diced + 2 tsps adobo sauce (I used canned chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce from Whole Foods.)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 medium vidalia onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup sherry
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
4 Hass avocados
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
1/8 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, brown sugar, cumin, and oregano; sauté until the onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the sherry, chipotle chili, adobo sauce, tomatoes and vegetable broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until thickened to stew consistency.
Heat oven to 400° F. Put 1/2 cup olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until very hot but not smoking, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, fry the tortillas, one at a time, for 2 to 3 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towel-lined sheet to get rid of excess oil.
Peel and pit the avocados. Immediately toss with the lime juice (prevents browning), cilantro, salt and pepper. Mash well.
Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce into a small casserole dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of avocado filling into each tortilla, sprinkle some Monterrey jack cheese on top, then roll the tortilla. Put it in the casserole dish, seam side down, against one edge. Repeat the process for the other tortillas, placing each rolled tortilla snugly against the one before it. Ladle the rest of the sauce over the rolled tortillas, top with remaining cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Note: These don’t reheat well because the avocado filling turns brown after a few hours. So it eat up while it’s fresh!
