Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

I shall start by saying that my boyfriend, Alexander, started what should have been a great day. He woke before the sun to go throw some flies at fishies. He should have stayed on the river.


Clear Creek Canyon & I-70

First, his Badgers lost.



(I interrupt here to say HOOK 'EM and BAD BUFFS - get ready to get OWNED next week! Shout out OLE MISS & OREGON STATE - I love those upsets! ROLL TIDE!)

Back on track...then we decided to go camping. One of our friends wants to go fishing for Kokanee salmon tomorrow, and he invited us to go along. Awesome!



That plan quickly went to pot. Why? Because Alexander's girlfriend (yours truly) managed to do this:


As my wet, naked body was attempting to open the shower door, the entire thing exploded on me. Alexander just heard a giant crash and me screaming HELP! HELP! while I laughed at the sheer absurdity of what just happened and cried at the pain. Bwahahahaha. Then he was running around like a crazy man looking for my flip flops so that I wouldn't destroy my feet even further. Said flip flops turned out to be under the pile of glass, convenient. The whole scene was out of this world.

I was really lucky that nothing much happened other than a TON of scratches and a couple of deep chunks of skin missing. Most is on my right arm, right leg, and left foot (yay! it missed the new tattoos). No face lacerations, no accidental feet amputations, no major head wounds. I'm pretty lucky, I'd say.




The glass is kind of pretty, though...


Now he is sleeping on the couch. My whole arm is throbbing and I am afraid to go to sleep. We are NOT going camping. *sigh*

Is this whole Palin thing a joke?

Am I, and the rest of the American Public, being punked? I said I wouldn't say much about politics, but seriously...this just seems so surreal.

Get me to Mobile!

I got these fortunes within three days of each other:




Which leads me to believe that I need to be on the lookout for a leprechaun. Perhaps the leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama:






Back to your regularly scheduled day...

*thanks for the leprechaun tip, Ashley N.*

permanent + couldn't resist

I got my tribute tattoos today. Two for dad, one for pets.


My dad had this same tattoo on his big toe.



Four pets that have gone before me: Willie, Lizard, Bean, Belle



My dad's dates. I like that they don't necessarily look like dates.


Suggest:
I don't really care to make this blog an explosion of politics, I'm too cynical, too jaded, and I just don't feel like ranting all over the place in this blog. BUT...the Charlie Gibson interview with Sarah Palin was just painful. She is an embarrassment to women, and I fear the very idea that she could possibly be VP...or PRESIDENT. This whole thing is appalling and insulting.

I think everyone should read this blog: Women Against Sarah Palin

I'm just sayin'.

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Currents

Mood: Remembering + Sleepy
Listening to: The Cranes + Daphne, rain
Weather: Cold + Rainy

deeeeelicious!

My Amish Friendship Bread starter finished bubbling yesterday, so guess who has plenty of delicious bread to share? Each starter makes two loaves of bread, and I have four starters. I cannot think of a single friend in the Denver area who would be interested in this, but if you are reading and you want, let me know.

Chocolate Zucchini

I made one Banana Chocolate Chunk and one Chocolate Zucchini. I based my recipes on THIS recipe (from allrecipes.com) but made adjustments for altitude and taste. This was my MOST successful altitude baking experience, it is amazing how much the altitude truly does screw up a perfectly good batch of brownies or cookies (or any other baked good). I was a little nervous about this bread falling and being disgusting, but it is WONDERFUL!! So wonderful that we've almost eaten half of it in a day's time.

Banana Chocolate Chunk

The modifications that I made were quite simple. For the banana bread, I simply added two over-ripe bananas (large) and 1/4 of a bag of chocolate chunk chips. For the zucchini, I food processed (finely chopped) one whole zucchini (large) and added about 2 tbsp of cocoa. I think it could have used a little more cocoa. The altitude adjustments were a decrease in baking powder by 1/4 tsp, decrease sugar by approximately 1/8 c, more banana/zucchini than I would have used at sea level (to increase the moisture content), and lowered the temperature by 10 degrees. I've seen altitude tips that suggest raising the temp, but this has never had a positive outcome for me. I baked it the same amount of time the recipe called for and it is perfectly moist and, most importantly, DID NOT FALL! YAY! Another tip for altitude cooking is to make SURE to HEAVILY grease the pan because for some crazy reason things REALLY stick above 5000 feet.

I think my next batches will be pumpkin bread (add one whole can of pumpkin + spices) and maybe a peach bread or something. I am not sure.

Porky

I also made a Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin last night (marinade made from soy sauce, minced garlic, brown sugar, Jamaican Allspice, olive oil, black pepper) and it was just OK. The flavor was delicious, but I think that the pork itself was a bad cut or something. I make tenderloin quite often and this one just didn't have the right consistency...it was kind of spongey. Gross and totally unappetizing, I could not finish it. That is SO annoying after marinading and cooking all day. The sides were good, though...basil steamed green beans and long grain and wild rice. I will probably make the pork again because despite the texture, the flavor was good.

Here, Ikey Ikey

Other than my food obsession, I must mention Hurricane Ike. I am glad this little bugger turned a bit and is now most likely not going to directly hit my family and friends in Corpus Christi. I LOVE crazy weather, and I know my mom and brother do too, but it still makes me a little nervous when a possible Category 4 is heading their way. I am still keeping an eye on this guy, but my prediction is that he will hit Galveston.



Finally, today we must reflect. Seeing Ground Zero a few months ago really drove home how huge the magnitude of this tragedy really was in a way that I hadn't felt before. I don't think there is a whole lot to say that hasn't already been said, so I will just take this day to observe, respect and remember. I also hope, with all my might, that the politicians and news media don't use this day in an effort to gain votes and viewership, because that is just tacky.

Love to all.

tissues may be necessary...

This is pretty much my favorite thing on the entire internet. It's old and I've seen it a hundred times, but I could watch it over and over again.





And the Whitney Houston version...ridiculous...





I just love animals.

happy little clusters

I really love fiber (an odd thing to love), so when I saw this FREE SAMPLE OFFER I had to sign up.

Yesterday I got my free sample of Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal in the mail, along with coupons and a free sample of their fiber bar.

This cereal is LOADED with fiber (13g per serving!) and you can definitely taste it. But, I think it actually tastes pretty good. Somewhat branny, but the clusters help to offset the hardcore taste of the flakes. Now, if you are used to eating Cheetos for breakfast you may not like this cereal, but I think most people will like it. Plus, with 13g of fiber (about 1/2 your daily recommended amount) I think anyone should be able to choke it down.

In my opinion, fiber is one of the most important things you can add to your diet. It helps with digestion, makes you feel fuller, is amazing for your heart, helps with weight loss/diet, and gives you very healthy poops. Some other great sources of fiber include whole grains, ALL vegetables, most fruits, beans/legumes, and nuts.

Eat more fiber! Your ass will thank you, in more ways than one.

you can't you won't and you don't stop!

Random observation:

I walk everywhere. I see strange things all the time. Today...well...I don't know how STRANGE it was, but this little situation struck me.

I was walking on 13th Street near the Logan intersection and this guy was JAMMING out in his car. I mean...his radio was sooooo loud. Not just "hey this is a great song I'm going to pump it!" but ear-breaking, heart throbbing, so-loud-you-could-hear-it-two-streets-away type of noise. In some sort of Lexusyuppiemobile.

I love Beastie Boys so I was pleased to hear this dude jamming out to this. But when I looked over...the guy was like TOTALLY STONE FACED. No emotion. Not even bobbing his head ever-so-slightly. No finger tapping. NOT EVEN A PINKY!! It was like he was a statue. A statue in a fancy suit. No tattoos, no piercings, no emotion, no nothin'!

Now...I don't know about you, but I just cannot help but flail my arms around, wiggle, headbang, pull out my invisible microphone...whatever...when the music is blasting in my car. And I NEVER blast music as loud as this dude...and I don't wear fancy suits.

So...hey guy! Think you could maybe move around, just a teeeeeeensy weeeetle bit, next time?? Thanks.

I am so stuffed...

Good lawd.

I ate too much...and this is why:

farmer's market loot

rustic bread...we couldn't wait to eat some

So I had a full afternoon to make something, and thought I had enough fresh tomatoes outside to make homemade marinara. Unfortunately squirrels REALLY like tomatoes, and I only had 6 tomatoes to work with. Back to the drawing board...

pomodori

I decided to make "semi-homemade-not-so-marinara-sauce". Luckily I had a jar of sauce lying around (*tip: always keep emergency jar of marinara). Basically 1 jar of Newman's Own (or whatever brand you wish, though I totally recommend N.O.) Marinara Sauce + lots of fresh veggies. Dump entire jar into large pot, then add fresh chopped onion (1/2), chopped whole green bell pepper, tons of minced garlic (used 5 cloves), and peeled/seeded chopped tomatoes. TONS of chopped basil (around a cup or so) goes in once the sauce is done cooking and removed from heat.

I love naturally occuring shapes (this is not a worm!) - inside seed area of bell pepper

Yes, peeling and seeding fresh tomatoes is as fun as it sounds. (*tip - do not blanch tomatoes to peel, it will cause them to be mushy and tasteless). I also added about 3/4 c water, you may need more or less depending on what type of tomatoes you used (yellow tomatoes are not super watery, but red are).

naked tomatoes

Next I simmered this concoction for about 4 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. The process:

pre-simmer

2 hours in...bubbly (I really wish I could have bottled the aroma)

final product...with steam. mmmmmm.

Once the sauce is done simmering, all basil goes in (basil flavor is much more intense this way than if it had been simmering the whole time).

organic chicken breasts are little! yay for little breasts!

Next, I started on protein and veggies...Free-range organic chicken, the other 1/2 of the onion - chopped, 4 more cloves of chopped garlic (I really like garlic), 1 zucchini chopped, and fresh green beans. I decided to simply steam the beans. For the chicken, I sliced it into thin strips and cooked it in a cast-iron skillet, along with the onions and garlic. Once the chicken was almost finished cooking, I added the zucchini and basically stir-fried it all while the pasta boiled.

tons of chopped basil and handmade pasta

thar she cooks!

And this, kids, is why I am so full....

deeeeeelicious!

And the best part? Leftovers tomorrow. No cooking for me!

On a completely unrelated note, I am also making an Amish Friendship Bread Starter...this is day 7 (of 10):

Notice the bubbles...hopefully the time-effort will be worth it. This is something from my childhood and I just remember it tasting SOOOO delicious, so I decided I needed to make some and pass it around.

So that was my day, with laundry and other boring stuff thrown in. Why are weekends so short?

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Currents:
Mood = full & content
Listening to = That 70's Show
Weather = the wind, she is a blowing
Desires = sleep

falling leaves + vegetables + calcium

Colorado in the fall

I freaking love fall. Why?

• college football/pro football
  
• long sleeve t-shirts + jeans + sandals
  
• colors + smells = sensory overload
  
• savory foods
• steel-cut oats for breakfast
• rain + snow
• THANKSGIVING!!

New Hampshire in the fall

My boyfriend, Alexander, is from the land of fall : New England. Every year thousands of people make their pilgrimage to the Northeast to view the leaves in his 'hood. I wish we could go this year, but it does not look like we will be able to make it in time. We will, however, be in Chicago and Wisconsin during the leaf change, so it should be interesting to see the foliage in that part of the country.

Corpus Christi year-round...lovely, yes...but no changing leaves

Where I am from there is no such thing as fall, which is probably the reason I love fall so much - I was deprived most of my life! In Corpus Christi the seasons are summer and...some other mix of the others. Leaves don't really change, and the weather is completely unpredictable, either burning hot, raining, or freezing.

Aspens & Evergreens

In Colorado the leaves are pretty interesting: most of the state is covered in Aspens and Evergreens, so the stark difference between the dark evergreens and the yellowing Aspen leaves is truly gorgeous. I can definitely feel fall in the air here this week. The temperatures are starting to drop and it's getting harder to leave the house without a scarf.

I was especially reminded of autumn today when we went to one of the last large farmer's market of the season. In just a few weeks there will be no farmer's markets in this part of the country, and that makes me sad. Today we got plenty of onions, squash, green beans, potatoes, and peppers. We have plenty of tomatoes and fresh herbs left in our garden, so we avoided those stands. In addition to the lovely veggies, we also got some handmade lemon-garlic fettucine, rustic bread, and sampled some great meats and sweets.

Leche

My favorite sample was from the local dairy, and I am wholeheartedly considering getting milk delivery. It's amazingly CHEAPER ($3.29/half gallon) than the organic milk I currently drink (Horizon Organic 1% with added Omega 3 @ $3.99/half gallon) and they also deliver all kinds of other dairy products and farm goods, such as free range organic eggs, all at the SAME price or lower than my local supermarket. But the pecan on the pie is that their non-fat milk tastes like sweet delicious nectar of the gods, not white water.

I digress...so tonight I am going to make a fab meal out of the veggies we got and have. A tomato harvest is on the agenda for later, and I think I shall make a delicious homemade marinara today. Throw that together with the pasta and zucchini, plus some steamed green beans with garlic, good bread, a nice Chianti Classico, and cool weather...perfect combination.

More later, after the harvest...

Namaste

cherry popped...

This is my first post. I have decided to start blogging simply because I have a horrible memory and cannot remember anything. It's more of a personal diary, things that happen, food I eat, experiences I take on. Any and all are welcome to follow along, my life is an open book. :)