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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.