Lightning

Here are some fascinating lightning photographs taken by a professional photographer, which I found using StumbleUpon, with my interests set to photography. And that, folks, is all I have for you!

Well, I also stumbled upon this "photo" which is pretty cool. Move your mouse from the left side to the right side and see it change.

NOW that is all.

Cakeness

I made a Double Chocolate Torte for Ryan's birthday yesterday. I made it ahead on Saturday night, and it turned out wonderful! The bottom half is a dense, dark, chocolaty cake (minimal flour), and the top half is a smooth mousse. It's a great do-ahead dessert that isn't necessarily "quick" but is worth the multiple steps involved.

It continues....

The mother bird must be ready to lay her eggs....they made a lot of progress today from last night! Any ideas to keep them from building? I can't let the nest remain there. Or, if I do, how long would the nest need to be there? Maybe I could put a box with some holes in it so they can get in and out and place it underneath the grill.

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UPDATE
My mom gave me the following idea which I think might work. The wind will blow the foil and scare them off. I put the nest above under the grill in a plastic crate. We'll see. I doubt they'll use it since I touched it. It's a foil seahorse! haha.

They won't give up

A month ago, I took a picture of a nest some birds had built in my grill:

I removed the nest (no eggs were in it, thankfully) and since then have removed parts of a new nest several times. Before using my grill tonight, there was yet more work done on a nest. I removed the materials, and within 30 min of turning the grill off, they were at it again:



I'm worried that one day, I'll open the grill and find a completed nest with eggs. What then? They can't live there all summer! They will also be competing with wasps for use of my grill as a home!

More, yes, more

Now, I don't plan to post a picture of the nasturtiums every day but liked this one.

No Joke!

Real growth this time, from this to this in two days:

It helps that nasturtiums are probably the easiest flower to grow from seed, and they grow quickly!

Mega Growth

Woah! Day 5?

Psych! Remember that word?

Signs of Life in steps

Photo diary of a nasturtium, #1

From this:

To this, in a few days:

(sorry, pics aren't working right now)

Oh Dear

"Diner scarred for life after sausage explodes in her face"

I read this headline and thought, Right, scarred for life? Rather, an exaggeration of emotional scarring as a result of embarassment that your sausage dinner exploded. Well, that's not the case. It's a lot worse.

Call that Number, Folks!

How would you like to meet your mate this way?

Food

Cranberry Pot Roast: turned out great, will type/post recipe if requested. I couldn't find fresh cranberries, but a can of whole cranberry sauce was an acceptable substitute. I combined the instructions in the recipe with instructions from America's Test Kitchen and was pleased with the results. In short, the roast was cooked for about 3 3/4 hours at 300 degrees. I was happy to see it got to the stage of being "melty" and easily falling apart when I cut it. It was cooked in beef broth, chicken broth and white wine, among other seasonings, with the liquid coming halfway up the sides (per ATK).
Swirled Cranberry Cheesecake: this didn't happen, unfortunately, since fresh cranberries weren't available. I made Texas Sheet Cake instead. I hope to make it in the future.
Green Beans with Pine Nuts, Garlic & Basil: didn't happen since I couldn't find fresh basil. Instead, I made Green Beans with Pine Nuts, Garlic and Diced Tomatoes (adapted/made up), and my guests liked it quite well.
Lasagna: didn't happen. I made Macaroni Salad from America's Test Kitchen for the fellowship dinner instead. Main ingredients, besides pasta and mayo, were red onions, dijon mustard, lemon juice, cayenne, celery, salt and pepper. I liked. Friends liked.

I also made Tuscan White Bean & Garlic Soup for myself, from Giada De Laurentiis: easy (especially if you have an immersion blender), high in protein, nice taste. Two out of two friends approved.

Last week, I made some sandwiches called Venetian Panino for Lord's Day lunch, also by Giada. I liked them a lot and would make them again. I'm not a fan of a strong dijon mustard flavor, and the spread for this sandwich was just right.

A bunch of recipes.

Everyone won the photo quiz! Good job.

I made my favorite green bean salad this week two times (once for myself and once for friends).

Finally, today is my Friday! Benshaw is closed tomorrow for Good Friday. I'm having some more friends over for dinner on Saturday and am making Cranberry Pot Roast (Northwest B&B cookbook), Confetti Mashed Potatoes (Three Rivers Pgh cookbook), Green Beans with Pine Nuts, Garlic & Basil, and Swirled Cranberry Cheesecake. The beans and dessert are new recipes. It's too bad it has turned cold again for several days because I really wanted to make some summery food, like hamburgers and this potato salad.

I'll be cooking a lot tomorrow and Saturday because we also have a fellowship dinner for church after our morning Lord's Supper service, so I have a salad and a main dish to prepare. I'm considering a new recipe, Four Cheese Lasagna from the issue of Cook's Illustrated that came in the mail yesterday. It contains fontina, gorgonzola, gruyere and parmesan cheese, plus a fifth cheese, ricotta. Yes, it's still called Four Cheese Lasagna! The recipes featured in Cook's Illustrated also contain a write-up of methods tested for the final, best recipe. If I don't make this dish, I might make the a meat lasagna recipe they've published.

My aunt emailed me this salad recipe which sounds delicious. Browned butter has a wonderful flavor. All of these recipes have a touch of flare that is different than your basic recipe...which I love!

Good Tidings!

Yay! I just purchased tickets to travel to Oregon in May! My family is quite excited of course, as am I. The bonus is being able to visit the beauty of Oregon in addition to seeing my family. And the dogs. It's exciting to think about going to Oregon so soon after being there a year ago (this is compared to 9 years passing since the trip before that, so this is a good rate!). Lord willing, I will be able to go a couple more times before the end of the year.

Quiz #11

I bet you never thought you'd see one of these again! A photo quiz, that is.

News bits

I saw an article today about a measure in Germany to curb infanticide by providing drop bins for unwanted newborns. How sad! How horrendous that this happens. While it's good that they want to reduce deaths by giving the mother a drop-point for her unwatned baby instead of murdering the child, it's just so sad that it happens. Even more, the article indicates some women have murdered more than one baby. What is also sad is these mothers are arrested for killing their children outside their womb, but no action is taken against mothers who kill their unborn children. The article may be found here.
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"Woman, dog both sick after eating recalled pet food"
I feel bad she's sick, but really, eating your dog's food to get the dog to think it's people food? She could have completely avoided this. I feel worse for the dog that is poorly trained and sick!
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I'm making a couple new things this week and next, so I'll post my results. Recipes include:
Garlic-Herb Marinated Chicken Kebabs (Cook's Illustrated)
Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bon Appetit)
Double Chocolate Tort (Bon Appetit)

Cooking Style

Here is a quiz my aunt sent me, called "What is Your Culinary Style?" Have a go at it! I came out "Healthy: You are a health-conscious chef who knows that you don't have to sacrifice flavor to lose the fat. You believe in a well-balanced diet and like to cook with fresh, straightforward ingredients. For you, the trick to making good food lies in the seasoning; which is why you are never without herbs and spices."

I think that is pretty true for me. That doesn't mean I EAT healthy, but I do like fresh, straightforward ingredients and good spices/flavors for cooking. I also took the grilling personality quiz and came out Expert.

Rebecca's feet are cute.

I am a bad blogger, I know. I KNOW. No photo quizzes, no recipes. I've been doing stuff and spending time with friends. The reason for no photo quizzes: no ideas! Needtocomeupwithsomeideas. Reason for no recipes? I've been making the same thing over and over - Island Rice! I know I ought to stop while I am ahead and while I still love it. Wait! I do have a new recipe. I made some soup last night and it was a new recipe, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Recipe here. I used regular brown rice though and not the boil-in-a-bag rice. That is about all I have for you. Rebecca had a funny idea and posted a picture of her feet as a way to fill her blog! hehe. I love you, Rebecca!

My family's belongings arrived this past weekend; thanks to God for that.

I took a typing test here and had the following result the first time: "During the test, you typed at a speed of 64 words/minute and made 16 errors. According to these results, you are an expert typist and should consider taking the corresponding course when you register." They tell you not to backspace but I forgot that, and I think they count that as an error in additon to the things we normal people would consider errors. The second time, I had 75 wpm and 8 errors! haha. Try it if you like.

Drawwwwwwwwwwwl

Drudge said it best in its headline "Kentucky Fried Hillary: NY Senator Adopts Southern Drawl In Church Service".

Listen here. It reminds me when Al Gore changed his tone noticeably when speaking to a black audience. What are they doing "preaching" in churches anyway?

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I have made Island Rice a couple of times recently and would consider this my favorite rice dish. I first made it a few months ago, and I substitute 1/2 cup lite coconut milk for 1/2 cup of the water called for. This goes fabulously with spicy chicken or pork, such as Asian BBQ Chicken or Jerk-Style Chicken. I have also had it with sauteed onions and red peppers with all the fixings for fajitas and eaten it in a tortilla or piled on a plate without a tortilla.

Rebs!

Rebecca and I had a fantastic time catching up!

Nothings and Somethings Bullet Style

• My family arrived safely in Oregon last Friday and received the keys to the their new house on Wednesday. Their belongings should arrive in the next week or so, and in the meantime, they'll paint and make some minor changes to the house.
• I went to McConnell's Mill last week and enjoyed a beautiful hike with a good friend. Pics here. It was my first time hiking there in the winter after a dozen times in other seasons, and it was a delight to see all the snow.
• I haven't cooked anything new for a while! Nothing to share there.
• My old college roommate, Rebecca, is visiting tomorrow! You may have noticed some funny dialog in the comments from her on here about how incredibly excited we are so see each other (and you can find ones from me on her blog). We last saw each other in July 2005 at Danila's wedding, and even then, it was a busy time. So we are going to talkandtalkandgiggleandtalkandeatandlaughandtalk for hours and we'll love it!
• My cup runs over.