Dear Deer

This deer has a floppy ear and I can't quite tell what is up. I don't usually get very good close-ups of deer, but the second one turned out well.

Bobby Flay's Pork

The recipe I mentioned last week was a hit!! Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze and Orange-Habanero Mojo is full of heat and flavor. Instead of making it with Island Rice, we had Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and it was the perfect accompaniment. My mom also made the pork and enjoyed it.

Additional notes: I used guava jelly which I found at Giant Eagle. The brand is Crosse & Blackwell with a jar like this. The price was about $3.59. I also brined the pork tenderloin which is my standard practice, and it involves submerging the trimmed tenderloins in a solution of 4 cups water, 3 Tbs Kosher Salt and 3/4 cup sugar, for at least 45 minutes. We cook our tenderloins to 145 degrees and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting. The interior should be a light pink for optimal tenderness.

---

We also greatly enjoyed another new recipe, Thai Chicken Saute, which we had with Island Rice. That also was the perfect side dish. According to previous recipe reviewers, I halved the chili sauce. The resulting heat level was ideal for me, and Ryan added a few extra drops to his own dinner. In addition, I added snow peas with the onions, and it rounded out the meal really well. I found the Sriracha sauce at Target for $3 or so.

Two Things

Two foods I greatly enjoy are Iced Peppermint Mochas (Iced Double Tall Nonfat 2-Pump Peppermint Mocha, no whip) and Chili N Lime Almonds. Together? Not so much.

If you like Starbucks or another coffee shop (even if it is your house), what is your favorite drink?

Also, money Saving Mom posted about her favorite frugal blogs. Check it out.

Lastly, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!

Equipment Corner

America's Test Kitchen has a lot of free content on their website, including equipment reviews. They are really interesting to read if you are keen on cooking or kitchen things(especially when the product you currently own comes out on top!). You may need to register with an email address, but it is free.

Go here to see free current season equipment reviews. I was intrigued by the test results of baking/cooking sprays.

There are also recipe tests for free, here, including:

• Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Green Beans
• Kansas City BBQ Sauce

Lastly, the Science Desk is also interesting. "What Happens to Alcohol in Stews?" was intriguing.

Picture Post (10)

Anne's son

My sister-in-law, Lori

Steps at The Plaza in Kansas City, MO.

More cool tile at The Plaza

Reflections (with Lisa and Ryan)

March madness

My sister-in-law Liana

The sky really was falling. Or so Ryan said.

Lastly, my husband and his blue, blue eyes

Yams or Sweet Potatoes?

I purchased yams last week to make Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I became curious about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams; I figured there was some sort of variance but never really knew what it was. From what I found online, what I bought last week were not actually true yams but sweet potatoes. These two "flowering plants" are not related botanically, and most stores sell a variety of or two of sweet potatoes, with one of the varieties being tagged as a yam. The terms are often used interchangeably, but yams are less common in the US than sweet potatoes. Apparently, the USDA requires that produce labeled "yams" must also have "sweet potatoes" on the label.

A summary of the description of yams:

• starchy in taste, like a baking potato
• dry in texture
• the skin a brownish, almost black color
  
• non-tapered ends
  
• the flesh is usually off-white
• requires a year of frost-free weather before harvest
• most commonly available in ethnic markets
• Yam Dioscorea Species
  

A summary of the description of Sweet potatoes:

• sweet in taste
  
• more moist in texture
  
• can have a skin that is thin and smooth
  
• can have a yellow or orange flesh and can have slightly tapered ends
• requires 100 to 150 days to harvest
• some varieties remain firm when cooked; some soften. It is the soft variety that is often sold as a yam in the US.
• Scientific name: Ipomoea batatas

The potato in the second picture, based on the above descriptions, is a sweet potato. That is what I purchased last week from a bin that said "Yams $.99/lb."

In conclusion, you are most likely buying sweet potatoes at a typical grocery store, even if they are labeled yams. It seems not all stores adhere to the requirement to include the label "sweet potatoes" with the yam label. Or, I just missed that part when shopping.

An aside: I was doing internet searches for information and came across this picture on flickr that I think is captioned incorrectly. Someone also left a comment saying so, and I found the pictures above from the link in the comment. I believe the commentor is correct in saying the potato on the left in the photo is not a sweet potato but a yam.

Recent Recipes

Moroccan Chicken Thighs: These were very good. I almost substituted chicken breasts but decided to stick with thighs and was glad. It's a flavorful meal, and based on the reviews, I decided to up the spices by half. We ate it with plain couscous, and it yielded three meals for us over the course of the week. Picture from Cooking Light.

White Bean & Tuna Salad: This is a quick, healthy, zippy recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis. We had it last night for dinner along with an oldie but goodie, Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter.

Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce: This is also a recipe from Giada. I made it last minute one evening since I had everything on hand, and we both liked it. I froze the remaining sauce.

I'd like to try the following two recipes sometime soon:

• Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze & Orange-Habanero Mojo by Bobby Flay. I think my favorite rice dish, Island Rice, would pair very well with this dish.
• Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Mango Basil Salsa & Lime Jasmine Rice. His rice recipe is very similar to Island Rice except the liquid is less (maybe because it's Jasmine rice?) and there is no pineapple. I'm sure it's still very good.
  

Lime 'N Chili Almonds

Ryan and I have recently been hooked on the delicious Lime 'n Chili Almonds from Blue Diamond. In fact, I might buy case of 6 from amazon since the per unit price is about $2.69. I would like to compare the Target price first. There are also other bold flavors such as Jalepeno Smokehouse, Wasabi & Soy Sauce, and Maui Onion 'n Garlic. They also have Salt & Vinegar which might be really good if you like salt and vinegar potato chips (I do).

The nuts have a great kick, and if you let them sit in your mouth for a moment before munching on them, the lime flavor blasts through. And you all know I love me some lime!

Photo from the Blue Diamond website

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Ryan and I had a new chicken recipe tonight and really liked it. You can find the recipe here from Cooking Light. The chicken had a good kick, and thigh meat is always moist and flavorful. This was actually my first time broiling chicken, and it worked great. The time it took to trim the six thighs was worth it, though if I had less time, it would be good to trim them ahead of time. We also had Chipotle Sweet Mashed Potatoes and a Ceasar salad (from a kit...very good!). Photo is by me since Cooking Light didn't have a photo with the recipe.

Recent pic

Travel Coffee Mug Success

Back in December, I posted about a review by America's Test Kitchen rearding Travel Coffee Mugs. A couple weeks ago, we bought one of the recommended mugs for each of us, made by Oxo. We really like them!! The seal is great, drinking is a breeze, and the beverage remains pretty warm for a while. Ryan has been filling the mugs with boiling water for 5-10 minutes in advance of pouring the coffee. That way, the mugs are heated by the water, and the heat from the coffee doesn't dissipate as quickly. The other day, however, we were getting ready to leave in the morning and I was hurrying. I grabbed my mug to take a drink, thinking Ryan had prepared my coffee. He said "it's not done yet" or something close to that, so I moved quickly to empty the mug of what I thought was the hot water in order to pour in the coffee. Oops!! There was not water, but coffee in it, and I had just dumped my coffee down the sink. There wasn't enough for a second mug so I went without. It wasn't a big deal since I don't have to have coffee every day but it was an interesting moment of wondering who "messed up". I was hurrying and assumed Ryan meant something he hadn't.

Back to the mug itself, we particularly like the locking button to seal the mug closed when not drinking. ATK's complaint over cleaning hasn't been an issue for us. Ryan was content to get any old mug from Starbucks but I of course had to get a well-rated rated mug and had to buy with knowledge, lol, so he patiently waited for me to buy them. I got them both for less than $30 total and saved about $5 off the regular price of each after a 20% off coupon and a mislabeling of the price at Bed Bath & Beyond. (photo from amazon)

Speaking of coffee, Money Saving Mom referred her readers to an opportunity for a free sample of Starbucks coffee. Check it out. I don't know how large the sample is or if they are beans or ground coffee.

Wedding Slideshow

Here is a link to our wedding slideshow!

Sweet Potato Fries

Have you ever eaten Sweet Potato Fries? The first time I had them was when two friends took me out to lunch a few weeks ago. We ordered them at Mojo Bistro here in Pittsburgh and they were fabulous! They were crispy on the outside with a smooth, mellow sweetness on the inside.

Fast forward to my honeymoon in Colorado a couple weeks ago, and sweet potato fries appear to be a staple in that area. I ordered them with nearly every meal and really enjoyed them. The next step is to find a great recipe to make them at home since they aren't as common at restaurants here. If you live around Pittsburgh, do you know of any other restaurants that serve them? (update: a quick search yielded a sandwich shop near us that serves sweet potato fries. It'll be fun to go there with my husband)

I hope to share an online wedding slideshow in a couple of weeks! Ryan and I had a wonderful wedding day with each other and our friends and family, and our honeymoon was all that we hoped it would be. We are thrilled to be married to each other!

Some more honeymoon pics here.

Stuff

I used to be better at blogging. I'd post photo quizzes, recipes, etc. Where have I been you might ask? Well, I am getting married in 23 days!! Wooooooooohooooooooo. That doesn't really answer the question but I'll pretend it does. Ryan and I are going downtown today to apply for our marriage license. Ryan is working hard to wrap up this quarter seminary despite some major setbacks. God is good.

• There isn't a single presidential candidate I like
• I can't wait to marry Ryan and see him EVERY day
  
• Work has been very busy and very frustrating at times, all stemming from the purchase of Benshaw by Curtiss Wright last summer. God has convicted me about my attitude and it's getting better.
  
• I'm excited to see my family in three weeks when they come for our wedding
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
• The salsa from this taco recipe is still my favorite, and it's really easy, and I cannot wait to bite into a Thai Burger again someday. They will be on the menu very shortly after Ryan and I return from our honeymoon. We hope to have his old roommates over for dinner so Ryan can brag about the upgrade in his living situation and I'll probably make those.
  
• CVS has been good to me (see here) with their Extra Care Buck deals and store coupons. Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for her regular posts on sales.
• The Bible study I was in just finished a 13-week series called The Truth Project, and it was very good.
  
• The Starbucks card I signed up for arrived this week.
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
  
• I complained in the past about airline delays. My last two trips went very smoothly with no delays! I went to Oregon with Ryan for Thanksgiving, and I went by myself for Christmas to Oregon.
• Yapta is a great tool. The price of our honeymoon flight dropped by nearly half over the last three months since we first purchased, and I have travel vouchers coming from United. I wouldn't have known about the price drop if Yapta wasn't tracking the flight for me.

This is a pretty cool video. You can't help get choked up (if you're a woman).

Copycat Recipes

My mom found a delicious recipe that copies Max & Erma's Tortilla Soup. The site also has many other copycat recipes from various chain restaurants. Check it out.

I'm Lost

Is the writers' strike over or was the new Lost season written previously? ABC has a trailer for the new season which doesn't appear to be a preview at all, and there is also a rapid fire, 8m15s recap of past seasons, and it's actually kind of funny with the way the narrator talks quickly and succinctly. Check it out.

Also, this baby is funny and cute.

Merry Christmas! I was in Oregon and am sad to be back since Ryan is still in Kansas through Saturday. I had a good time with my family though. We were apart this year since Ryan's family hadn't been all together for several years and finally were this year, and this was my family's first Christmas in Oregon. How was your Christmas?

We marry in 58 days!

Free $10 Starbucks Gift Card

Go here and fill out the information for a deal that was mentioned on this blog. I used an email address that I use for online things, and I put zeros in for my phone number.

Pumpkin Rolls

This is a recipe I must try. But when???

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

The recipe yields a lot of rolls (48) and it would be a risk for me to have so many delicious rolls in my home, so maybe I'll do half or less of the recipe.

Prince Caspian

Here is a trailer for Prince Caspian, which will be released May 16, 2008. I look forward to seeing it.

Cooking Stuff

• In September, I posted that I wanted to make Mexican Pot Roast Tacos by Tyler Florence. I've made them twice, including while I was in Oregon last week, and they are fabulous! The eight different people who ate them also thought the same. I really enjoyed Tyler's salsa in the recipe and was impressed with it coming from canned tomatoes. It is absolutely a keeper, and I made no changes to it. It's quick too if you don't do the tacos. I used my own guacamole recipe but Tyler's is pretty similar to mine. I used flour tortillas instead of corn, and they were awesome fried the way he instructs.
  
• Two must-haves for these tacos: queso fresco cheese (Costco and Sam's usually has it) and Cholula hot pepper sauce. Most grocery stores have it for $2-3, and it's the kind with the round wooden cap. I love that stuff.
  
• The second time making the tacos, I used the leftovers on nachos using Lime Tostitoes. Excellent.
  

• Looking for a new cheesecake to try? A friend (hi meg!) gave me this cheesecake recipe by Nigella Lawson and it is also AMAZING. I couldn't find custard powder when I made it, so I used 1tsp cornstarch and a little vanilla. Also, My aunt just sent me this cheesecake recipe which I'm dying to try, maybe for the next fellowship dinner. Because it received a 4-fork rating after 145 reviews, you can tell it's a winner.


• Other new recipes I've made recently include Caesar Club Sandwich (a "make again" recipe, was really good), Creamy Red Pepper Soup (pretty good - I added heavy cream to it). My friend who doesn't like soup liked it (I didn't know he didn't like soup when I planned the food, oops).


• I must rave about some Award-winning Thai Burgers - an explosion of flavor! My mom made them for us in Oregon, and she found the recipe in the paper. The creator is from Portland and she won $50,000 for the recipe. If you're interested, here is a video of her making the burgers on TV. My mom read elsewhere that lime juice loses most of its zing 40 minutes after juicing (is that the right time, Mom?) so add the lime juice to the topping and mayo just before assembling. The rest can be made ahead. Also, the burger mixture is best if it sits and chills a few hours or overnight before grilling. The flavors are more developed. Pic from the KATU website.

Updates

I haven't posted in a while...but I knew I had an excuse :-). Things to update:

• I'm getting married! (duh). Ryan and I are getting married February 23, less than three months from now! We are thrilled at God's timing and can't wait to be married. Pre-marital counseling is well underway, lots of wedding details have been settled so far. Ryan will have a quarter break for seminary, and we're honeymooning to Estes Park, Colorado. I'm honored to have Ryan's three sisters along with Erin and Danila as my bridesmaids.
• I was thrilled and thankful that Ryan and I didn't have any delays flying to and from Oregon last week for Thanksgiving. I head back for Christmas in three weeks. We had a great time with my family, and it was a delight to see my nephew Cohen grin and coo all throughout the week. Adam loves being an uncle. The misty waterfalls were beautiful and wet. The food was fabulous and abundant. God is good. More pictures here.
  
• I continue to be amazed at the work of God in His church in Airdrie, Scotland - He has been bringing many new members this year. Many. Praise be to God for building His church. He said He would do it.
  
• Ryan's sisters are visiting from Kansas this weekend. I'm so excited to spend more time with them! (We really like each other :-)). My menu plan is:
  
• Tuscan White Bean & Garlic Soup by Giada (make ahead) for lunch Saturday
  
• Cranberry Pot Roast (unbelievably fabulous roast....oh my) with some sort of made up Smashed Red Potatoes with chives for dinner Saturday, and green beans (probably with toasted pine nuts and garlic - an easy way to step them up). Individual Chocolate Melting Cakes are for dessert. I only have the Pot Roast in Word, which I can email. The recipe originally came from a NW B&B cookbook, and I adapted some pot roast techniques from America's Test Kitchen, including a roasting temperature of 300 instead of 350 and only bringing liquid halfway up the sides of the roast. I've cooked the roast for 4.5 hours in the oven that way and it really gets to the wonderful fall-apart melty stage. I also nearly doubled the cranberries.
  
• Lunch on Sunday will be the award-winning Thai Burgers I raved about in a post to follow soon.
  
• My recipe links became funky since I last checked. I revised the links, so they should come up cleanly now. I might revamp the way I share the links because I have many non Cooking Light recipes I like to keep handy that I have online elsewhere. I learned I can make free webpages using Google - maybe I'll try that.
  
• I have succeeded twice in cutting Ryan's hair. I think I'm too impressed with myself, according to Ryan.

A big cooking post to follow. . .

He Asked! I said Yes!

San Diego

I finished my photos from San Diego put pics in an album here. The surfer is Andy - he's good!

Airline Delays

I spotted an article about the increasing volume of airline delays which have occurred this year. They say 25.2% of flights have been delayed. I must be picking the wrong routes because 30% of my flights have been delayed this year (not all that much more, I know). Or, to put it another way, three out of four trips have been affected by delayed flights, where I got home late or arrived at my destination late (1 am instead of 9pm for example...). When you have no choice but to connect in another city, delays can mess you up big time. Fortunately, I never had to stay overnight anywhere, but I enjoy flying a whole lot less this year than I have in other years. The flights are packed, I get stuck in the middle seat, a plane I'm getting on hasn't arrived from another city, I run to another terminal to catch a flight I to which I was bumped (original connection already missed) only to have that one delayed 3 hours, having to change planes once boarded because the radio doesn't work, and more. When flying to Oregon, the plane Ryan and I were on was 14th in line to take off because of runway construction in Minneapolis. I now avoid Chicago and would rather fly in the morning than evening. It seems there is a similar trend with flights as there is in doctor's offices - the afternoon appointments are nearly guaranteed to be late because they are behind from the morning. It seems weather-wise, spring and fall are best because there are no snow storms or thunderstorms.

What's the solution? I don't know - the whole industry is a mess with unions, legislation and more. A handful of customers who are upset enough to avoid certain airlines won't make much of a difference. Passenger traffic is continuing to increase, of course. My best bet is to take direct flights when possible, but there are none to Oregon at this point from Pittsburgh. I'm flying to Oregon for Thanksgiving and Christmas and should be prepared to be delayed. What has your experience been?

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos

I saw Tyler make these tacos on TV today and they look fabulous! I hope to try them soon.

The Exploding Whale

My aunt found this video for me after telling Ryan and me about a story from the 70s of a dead whale which washed up on shore at the Oregon Coast. Officials' best idea for disposing of it was to blow it up. Here you have it, Readers! Do watch.

"Well, I'm confident that it'll work..."

Oregon Photos

Here are a few more photos from Oregon. More may be found here.

Oregon!

Ryan and I went to Oregon for a few days to spend time with my family. It was perfect. I am now back and wish I was still there. Pictures will come. For now, some highlights:
- Ryan is so "in" :-)
- We looked at old "us" videos from my childhood, including hugely embarrassing footage of my awkward teenage years (attitude + perm + braces = _____ ). The funniest (and well, scariest) part was when Ryan told us about the dream he had after that about me, as a teenager, running in a race with one leg and being disqualified because I lost my shoe, wore a flip flop instead, jumped in the race later and won. Fortunately, Ryan did not run away.
- the dogs still rock
- the coast was gorgeous.
- my mom's BBQ ribs are soooo good
- much laughter was had by all for all kinds of reasons
- I wore comfortable shoes to the airport. No running was necessary this time.

Wear the right shoes

I am back from Kansas. I flew out last Wednesday and drove back with Ryan yesterday (14 hours). The Clarks shoes to the right are completely cute and comfortable except when running nearly all the way around Chicago's airport to get a flight. I landed at 1 am instead of 9pm after delays, weather, missed connections and a plane which took 2 hours to taxi from the hangar to our gate, but I was glad to at least get in that night. I got my luggage the next afternoon. Ladies, imagine meeting your boyfriend's family for the first time without your regular makeup and toiletries! EEK!! Ryan's sister, Lori, was fabulous though and loaned me a bunch of stuff and I looked fairly normal. The weekend was wonderful with Ryan's family. There was much laughter! Next week, we go to Oregon for a few days to spend time with my family. I'm so excited!

Also, my nephew was born last week! Andy & Erin had their first baby, Cohen Andrew, and he's a cutie. I have tickets to go out to San Diego in about 5 weeks.

Lastly, Ryan is back for good! Our three month separation (with synod in between where we saw each other) while he interned out west is over. O.V.E.R. Seminary classes don't start for a couple of weeks so we will have some good times together, including making Bobby Flay's fish tacos sometime.

Pics

Here are some cool pictures of Antarctica.

Oh Papaya

One of my favorite fruits is papaya, but only with lime juice. Because of my severe lime leanings, I might like it better than others. I've had people try it though and most liked it. I halve, seed, peel and dice the [large] papaya and juice a lime over it. I'm pretty generous with my lime juice. Give it a try!

New job...of sorts

I work for Benshaw, and we were acquired this week after many months of work and negotiations. We have some new bosses, and the substance of my work will change, some for the better, some worse. Either way, there is a long transition period which has begun, and it's kind of like the calm before the storm...only not knowing what the storm is like or how long it will last! It's a good move for Benshaw. Curtiss-Wright was first founded in 1929, having roots in the work of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright Brothers. They have some really fascinating products and technology, particularly in the areas of the military and nuclear technology. The company's history is interesting.

Benshaw acquired by Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corp. said Wednesday it acquired Benshaw Advanced Controls & Drives for about $102 million in cash, to expand its product offerings in the commercial power, control electronics and systems markets. The business will become part of Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment, the company said in a statement. Benshaw is a Glenshaw-based electronic controls manufacturer.
Founded in 1983, Benshaw employs approximately 410 people. "The addition of Benshaw to the Curtiss-Wright family of companies provides a major opportunity to expand our product offerings in the commercial power, control electronics and systems markets," Curtiss-Wright Chairman and CEO Martin R. Benante said in a statement. Curtiss-Wright also has a Pittsburgh presence, with its Curtiss-Wright Electromechanical Corp. division based in Cheswick.

Friday Musings

- I started reading Heat, a so-far interesting book about the life of an amateur cook working as a kitchen slave, line cook, pasta maker and more. It's intriguing to me to learn about the inner workings of professional kitchens (oh man, the part where he had to dice 36 carrots into perfect one millimeter cubes just for making stock...the carrot first has to be trimmed into a long rectangle, then 1mm strips are made, then chopped crosswise to make 1mm perfect cubes. His "master" made him toss a whole pile and start again). Aside from some foul words contained in direct quotes, it's good so far.

- I continued to be saddened by our twisted world. It truly is anti-Christ, which is what God has said it is and will be. Muslim taxi drivers in Minneapolis are allowed to refuse people who have alcohol with them because of their "religious beliefs", but Washington pharmacists are not allowed to refuse to dispense the morning after abortion pill. There are many more things like that going on, some of them worse, and we don't hear about it much. I am comforted knowing that though the rulers of the earth set themselves against the Lord, "...the Lord will scorn them all. He will laugh who sits on high. Then His wrath will on them fall; sore displeased He will reply" (Ps. 2). Christ is King of all the nations and all that is contained in those nations, and there will be no end to the increase of His government and peace . Christ is build His church in the face of Islam and all else.

- I finished reading Infidel as previously recommended by Shannon and Catherine, and through it confirmed what I believed to be true - it's an illusion that Islam is about peace and tolerance. I think most of us know that, but my understanding of the different "kinds" of Muslims was further confirmed expanded - those who seem "moderate" aren't true Muslims. True, "good" Muslims are those who commit honor killings, excise their young daughters and beat their wives, according to the Quaran. They are NOT interested in talking things out in a diplomatic way.

- Ryan showed me the website of a photographer he knows who is a former customer from his Starbucks days. She does great work and has an enjoyable website of galleries.

- I'm wearing red shoes today

- Ryan and I are in the home stretch. In a little less than three weeks, our summer-long separation will end when, if God wills, I'll go to Kansas to meet his family and see him [:-) x 100]. Shortly after that, we anticipate traveling to Oregon to spend a few days with my family before the seminary year starts.

- I like taking pictures of babies

Snatcher

Ha! I think he knows he's guilty.
Video

Finito

I think I am done watching Lost for now. I have been having very vivid, frequent dreams related to Lost! They haven't all been bad dreams or good dreams...just dreams for the most part. I don't usually dream like that (or at least, I don't recall the dreams like that) and I think I OD'd on the show since I had it through Netflix. Just stepping back for now.

Pictures Speak: Being Found Out

(and: you have something on your mouth)

New Salad

Tomorrow, I'm making a new salad with my dinner when the mission team comes over. It's from the latest Cooking Light magazine and is called Asparagus-Apple Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. I will probably also do Asian BBQ Chicken and Island Rice, which I've posted about before. Recipes are in the link to the side (previously posted recipes). Asian BBQ Chicken is probably my favorite chicken marinade (easy, delicious).

I wish I cooked every night! I miss it! I have less motivation to cook when it's only me. I'm glad I have several things coming up for church when I'll cook stuff.

John Piper Books on Sale $5

I saw in a comment on Catherine's blog that the books in the store at Desiring God are on sale for $5! Check it out!

I have read and love: Desiring God, Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God, and Let the Nations Be Glad!. I have The Pleasures of God but need to read it. Other books that friends have recommended include Brothers We are Not Professionals and Future Grace

Sale ends tomorrow. The functionality of the site is touch and go.
__

The sale was extended to noon on Friday, and the site is working much better today.

Mocha Marbled Coffee Cake

I made the following cake for my sister-in-law's baby shower. I made it once a couple of years ago but this time, implemented a couple methods from America's Test Kitchen, which they use in their chocolate bundt cake recipe. If interested, I could email you the recipe in Word.

Mocha Marbled Coffee Cake
Makes 16 servings

2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup boiling water

1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp cocoa powder

12 Tbsp butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 whole eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp instant coffee powder or 2 Tbsp espresso powder, dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups sour cream (regular or light)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare chocolate mixture by pouring boiling water over cocoa and chocolate, whisking gently to melt and combine. Whisk until smooth and shiny. Set aside.
3. Prepare bundt pan by combining melted butter and cocoa to form a smooth paste with a fork or small whisk. Using a pastry brush, coat bundt pan with mixture, making sure to get in all crevices and far enough up the sides. Set aside.
4. Using a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Add vanilla and dissolved coffee.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour and next three ingredients (through salt).
6. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Mix just until combined for each step. Scrape down sides and bottom.
7. Put half the batter in a separate bowl and add the chocolate mixture, stirring to combine.
8. Place 1/4 cup of the coffee batter in two opposite sides of the pan. Place ¼ cup chocolate batter in the other two parts; spread until they meet. Continue placing about ¼ cup of each batter on top of the other kind of batter, to create a checkerboard pattern. Spread to even out after the last of the batter is done.
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with scant crumbs on it (but not doughy). Baking times may vary depending on your oven.
10. Let cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes; turn out of pan. After the cake is completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar, if desired, or garnish each serving with whipped cream.

...

Random photo from my file

I finally started and am sorta hooked on Lost. I've been renting the DVDs of season 1.

Second Annual Cooking Poll

Last year, I posted a poll for people to list their top 10 favorite ingredients. Knowing that tastes can change over time, I am going to list my 10 and compare to the list I made last year to see if there are any differences. They weren't in any particular order.

1. Garlic
2. Olive Oil
3. Salt: kosher and sea
4. Lime juice or zest
5. Balsamic vinegar
6. Piquin chiles (tiny, very hot dried chiles)
7. Parmesan cheese
8. Onions
9. Sugar
10.Chocolate

I just checked my old list, and three items didn't make it this time but ARE still favorites: coffee, cilantro and butter. How could I forget butter? I also checked my pantry...I have six varieties of salt! Oh man. And I have 10 kinds of vinegar.

Please, NO MORE

I have had enough. Of the house sparrow. That insists on chirping me awake. An hour before my alarm is supposed to go off. JUST because I have prevented him from nesting in my grill.

If he had a nest to build somewhere else, he wouldn't be on MY balcony, near MY window nearly all day chirping a high pitched chirp, starting at about 5:30 am. May I catch it and kill it please? Sounds extreme, I know, but after at least 10 different mornings in the last few weeks of waking up before my alarm during the work week....it gets tiring. Thus I googled "how to get rid of house sparrows" just now and plan to figure it out.

In the meantime, I took the foil out of my grill to allow the sparrow to be busy building a nest. I will keep removing it and keep letting him build it if it will keep him quiet!! I, by the way, have a fan in my window on high, I have the other one shut, and I have stuffed a towel on either side of the fan to shut out more sound. Doesn't work!

It is particularly frustrating today because I've had a full week, am tired, got to bed an hour later than I hoped and then couldn't fall asleep for two hours despite being tired! I know many of you go on little sleep all the time, but I guess in living by myself and being used to getting a good night's sleep, it's frustrating to have it disrupted by something like a bird. A baby? That is worthwhile. Not a bird.

"Under federal law, House Sparrow nests, eggs, young, and adults may be legally removed or destroyed", according to this site. Waking me isn't the only offense. I have a feeling that the two nests resting on wires attached to my building no longer have eggs or baby birds in them and are not sparrow nests. It is very likely the sparrow has already gotten to them based on what I've learned about how house sparrows attack and mutilate other birds and eggs.

My Food Diary

I would like to put out a recommendation for My Food Diary. It's an online food journal and support center for weight loss. I have been working and stalling and working and stalling for years to achieve certain specific fitness goals, and MFD has contributed to the successes I've had. I'm now stepping up and focusing more seriously on reaching my goals this summer, and MFD is an essential tool for me. It has been a great resource to teach me how to eat well and track my progress. It's $9 a month, which I think is GREAT (compared to Weight Watchers $12 or so per week and you have fewer tools). The features include:

• a very large database of foods, including hundreds of restaurants
• the ability to add your own recipes by inputing ingredients, amounts, and number of servings. It'll then give you the nutrition data per serving and add that to your "Fridge", which is your personal database of foods you eat.
• a body log, where you record your weight and measurements. It tracks it on a graph and lists how many pounds or inches you have lost, and how many pounds you have left to lose.
• an active forum where you can post questions, get support and learn more tools and ideas. I am in a group of about 7 women whose motto is "deadly determined" to reach our goals, for our own health, fitness and long-term wellness.
• a daily summary of how many calories you have left in the day to lose __ pounds per week and maintain your weight. It'll tell you "if every day were like today, in one month you would weigh ___" and it gives what date you'd reach our target weight.
  

How do you use it? Daily, you go to your Fridge, enter what you are eating or will eat, and it adds it to your diary for the day. It gives you a "smiley" on the summary page for things such as reaching daily amounts for vitamins and minerals (A, C, Iron, Calcium), high fiber, low saturated fat, water consumption, no dessert, and exercise. You get frowns for high sodium, no exercise, not enough calories, too many calories, and more.

The fridge starts out empty when you sign up. Over time, you'll add the foods you eat, like milk, cheese, etc. You can put anything in your fridge - ANYTHING. If a brand or type of food isn't in the existing MFD database, chances are the company's website publishes the nutrition data. If you have the nutrition label from the package, you can quickly add it to your fridge.

With the recipe building feature, I am able to add in the decadent desserts I sometimes make in order to know how many calories a slice contains.

The system doesn't let you eat too few calories without warning you. You are supposed to eat the calories you earn by exercising. Why? If you are already on a 1400 calorie diet to lose weight, but you burn 500 that day with exercise and don't eat those calories back, you essentially net 900 calories, which is way too few to be healthy and to lose weight in a healthy way. Your metabolism will slow and your body will store what you eat once it enters survival mode at that calorie level.

It works when I use and stay in my calorie range and log my food intake. The times it doesn't work = user error/failure, not method error. I know that not everyone is like this, but I believe I will need to be mindful on a long-term basis about what I eat in order to be fit and healthy. It's a good wake-up call to see how calories quickly add up without really realizing it.

The only downside is that a trial period isn't available.

Oh That Sparrow!

I identified the type of sparrow that is lurking around my balcony - a house sparrow. What I also learned is that they attack other birds! Maybe you knew that. They seem vicious, and I hope they are not attacking other nests that are near my balcony! The stories are sad.

My Bounty

I finally cut the lettuce which was growing in my railing box, and there is a lot of lettuce! I intend to take it to our fellowship dinner tomorrow for a sandwich toppings. My balcony is a great place to grow vegetables since there is full sun and no bunnies to nibble.


Also, my nasturtiums have made great progress from their early days as a seed:

Lastly, I am quite familiar now with the sound of Angry Sparrow who is likely irate that there is a Piece of Foil in the grill where his Nest belongs. He woke me up a couple times this week before 6 am. I hear you. This is still MY home, not yours, bird. You also shouldn't hang out long enough in my grill so that some "waste" is deposited. However, the two morning doves lounging comfortably on my balcony are welcome. So are the precious cardinal couple who feed each other birdseed.

Th Ancho-Lime Marinated BBQ Chicken went swimmingly with the couscous and vegetables I made yesterday. I grilled the chicken tonight and had some of the couscous leftovers. I loved it! So flavorful, healthy and complimentary.

After removing the chicken from the marinade, I boiled the excess in the microwave instead of discarding it, and I basted it on the chicken as it cooked. I might add some brown sugar to the rest of the marinade that wasn't used today (I made a whole recipe but used a portion for one breast of chicken).

More Recipes

I prepared the marinade from a recipe, Ancho-Lime Marinated BBQ Chicken today and will use it tomorrow on boneless chicken breasts. I was drawn to it for the lime and ancho chile part and need to restock some spices soon from Penzey's. I've been improvising with my lack of vanilla extract by scraping some vanilla beans for a couple other recent recipes.

Tonight, I am having the third grilled vegetable dish from my post below and hope it turns out well! I also made the recommended side dish, Onion Raita.

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UPDATE
My dinner was delicious and so flavorful! I made Grilled Vegetables & Chickpeas w/ Couscous. The accompanying side dish tasted great with it. I made some changes to the vegetables. I don't care for zucchini, so I left out that and the yellow squash and used only onions and red and yellow peppers. Also, I added ground red pepper, an extra tablespoon of lemon juice, extra salt, some lemon zest, and a crushed clove of garlic. I would definitely make this again and look forward to the leftovers. It's so healthy too! I didn't make any changes to the Onion Raita, and it was handy to grill the onions together for both recipes.

What I've Been Doing

Since I haven't blogged much, I must be doing something, right?

Besides working, I have been:
- visiting my family in Oregon
- missing Ryan who is in Colorado & Wyoming for the summer
- talking on the phone and writing letters to Ryan
- being more intentional about exercise and eating
- fellowshipping with many women over email
- editing and enjoying my photos from Oregon
- tending the flowers on my balcony
- adding more blogs of my friends and acquaintances to my Google Reader. I now have 16 and it sure makes it easier and faster to see new blog posts all in one place.
- enjoying the fellowship and instruction of bible study (John's Epistles)
- thankful for the wisdom and discernment God has been giving me and the great sermons I've been hearing
- watching ticket prices for trips to Oregon (Sept, Nov & Dec) and San Diego (Oct)
- realizing my prayer life still needs work
- wondering when my Verizon wireless overages will end

Besides working, this summer I will/hope to:
- reach my fitness goals for the first time EVER
- attend Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Danila
- see Ryan at Synod in three weeks
- see my pregnant sister-in-law in three weeks
- enjoy fellowship with the small, all-female mission team coming to North Hills in July (Hi Shannon!)
- fly to Kansas for a few days in August to meet Ryan's family
- fly to Oregon in late August with Ryan to spend time with my family

The birds are still attempting to build a complete nest in my grill. But I'm bigger and use the grill for cooking.

Books I'm reading or recently read: Passion & Purity; Tom Clancy's Splintercell Checkmate; The Robber Bride; Matthew; Luke