some recipes

bang bang shrimp
large peeled and deveined shrimp
cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c mayo
1/8 c sweet thai chili sauce
1/8 c sriracha

dry shrimp well and toss in bowl with cornstarch
deep fry until just done
drain on paper towels
salt and pepper to taste

mix mayo and chili sauces together

toss shrimp with mayo mix


savory butternut squash pie
1 pie crust (deep dish and parbaked)
1 lb or less butternut squash (can roast own, but i used one package frozen)
1/2 - 1 whole onion, diced
1/4 t sage
1/8 t nutmeg
1/4 c heavy cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 oz goat cheese
about 1 c other cheeses (used mix of sharp white cheddar, parmesan and swiss)

sautee onion in olive oil until translucent. add squash and continue sauteeing. season with sage & nutmeg. remove from heat and place in food processor with egg, yolk, cream and cheeses. process until smooth. pour into pie shell and bake on 400 for about 20-30 min. until custard is firm and knife inserted comes out clean.
let cool. serve warm or room temp.

pray for me

facebook, you sure have made me ponder religion a lot these days. i travel in a pretty jesus free crowd. i didn't really grow up going to church. none of my good friends were big church goers. my mom says wacky things about angels following us around and likes to send out e-mails with cute pictures and inspirational phrases, but other than that, nothing very spiritual comes out of the mouths of the S family. so, it's kind of weird for me to imagine people my age getting up on sunday and going to church. and believing what is being said. and responding to the crises of others with "i'll pray for you." and i'm happy about this. but sometimes i wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to be one of those that just believes. obviously this won't happen for me. you can't just make yourself believe in something. and i don't want it to, but sometimes i like to what if. what if i had preferred going to church with mimmie and papaw instead of sleeping in at mamaw's. what if i'd gone to young life in high school instead of thinking it was weird and cultlike. what if i'd met and fallen in love with some good ol' tennessee mountain boy and just fallen into a life of wwjd. it seems like it's so easy to just be able to respond to your friends and neighbors problems with an i'm praying for you or an i've added you to the prayer list. it also seems easy to just believe god's timing is best and god knows best. surprisingly, as much as i like easy, i don't think this could ever work for me. i feel like there's all these people out there whose mom's have cancer, who are infertile, who have children with serious problems, who are lonely. and they are all smothering their insecurities and unhappiness with this very vague and abstract sort of answer. when you know they have to have these niggling little doubts that come creeping in at just the worst of times. i'm afraid one day they are all just going to explode.

reading: a collection of new yorker stories that feature the city of new york
cooking: lentil soup, artichoke spread for last night's dinner and miso soup for tonight's. all recipes from 101 cookbooks.

lucky day

today was my lucky day because i went to chick-fil-a for some "healthy" fast food and i was the 100th customer of the day, so my food was free. scary - things can only go down from here.

i desperately want to be in st. lucia right now at the ladera resort. please someone give me 10,000 dollars so it can be all inclusive and a luxury suite.

one down

i made the granola. that's about all i accomplished on my week of todo yesterday, but it is delicious. i'm probably never buying cereal again.

5 c rolled oats
3 c nuts (almonds)
2 c shredded coconut
1 c dried fruit
1/2 c powdered milk
1/4-1/2 t ginger
1/2 t cinnmon
pinch of salt
1/2 c honey
1/2 c vegetable oil
3 t vanilla

stir together all dry ingredients except for the dried fruit. add in oil, honey & vanilla (measure out oil first and then use same cup for honey and the honey just pours out). combine thoroughly
cook on 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10.
let cool and stir in dried fruit

i used almonds & dried apricots. i added 1 t almond extract and left out 1 t vanilla. i also chopped a dark chocolate candy bar up and stirred it in. 1 t pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 t ginger.
thinking more almond and less vanilla next time with dried sour cherries and chocolate.
also going to add in some flax.

this week...

i want to:
1. make big batch of granola
2. sign a up with the y and start going
3. NO GROSS FAST FOOD ALL WEEK
4. put up all the clothes in the floor in the back room
5. get rid of broken down dresser holding towels. organize towels and sheets in some other non-broken, non-smelly holder
6. get completely caught up at work. no junky desk no crap shoved in drawers.
7. get organized for school.
8. really make progress on the wallpaper peeling and back room reorganizing.
9. learn the new songs i printed out for piano yesterday.
10. do a little sewing with liz and lindsey.

i just finished the last of the enormous amount of tomato soup i made last week. i think it's one of the few things a & i have actually eaten every bite of. we tend to do the leftovers once or twice, but there's always a serving or two left. i thought i should record the recipe in case i want to make it again soon.

creamy tomato soup

1 large can of tomatoes (whole)
1 small can of tomatoes (whole or diced)
2 boxes of chicken broth
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, diced
fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, sage)
1/2 t allspice (or chopped fresh dill or basil if making in summer)
1 c or more of milk, half and half, or heavy cream

heat 1 T butter and 1 T oil in large dutch oven
throw in fresh herbs, if using, and sautee for a minute or two to infuse the oil
add the carrots, onion, garlic and celery
cook until onions are transparent and veggies are softening
add the tomatoes and their juice and one box of the broth
bring to a boil, boil for a few minutes, reduce heat and let simmer
simmer for at least 1 hour stirring periodically and adding extra broth from the other box as needed
now you can either put all this in the fridge and puree when ready to eat, or begin pureeing it in small batches in a blender
return pureed soup to pot and return to heat. keep heat on low and add in allspice and milk. do not let boil.
serve.
if making in summer, omit or reduce the amount of herbs used in the first step. after adding in the milk garnish with fresh dill &/or basil.
nice with a swirl of sour cream or creme fraiche.

weekend movies: burn after reading & alfie
reading: finished pope brock book. now starting on complete shirley jackson collection.

too old for champagne

the highlight of friday night was discovering the fun new cigar bar downtown and sharing prosecco with chris and a. it seemed important that we drink champagne and celebrate because i was sick on real new year's and didn't get to have any champagne. also we ate some oysters and some lovely charred peel and eat shrimp. perfect.

the highlight of today has been the 20 minute super hot shower i took only a little while ago (it is now 11:30 pm), the umpteen glasses of cold water i have been chugging down and the 48 hours mystery marathon that i planted my hungover butt in front of all day. ugh.

my dad is like a library (and other thoughts)

there were two quotes i really liked today. one of them was a daughter reflecting on her father's death; she said "when my father died, it was like a whole library had burned down." i like that (not the dead dad part, but the sentiment). i remember driving with sarah. i think we were coming back from visiting josh in greenville and we were lost in asheville or maybe we were in terrible traffic and looking for an alternate route. we talked to my dad and he got us home and out of the mess. this was before mapquest and gps systems. he always knows the backroads. i know if i called him from most anywhere in the southeast, my dad could get me home. the author's father died when she was 21, so she felt she never really knew her dad as an adult. i feel like i only know my dad as an adult. and not because of divorce or an actual physical separation. we were just never close when i was young. i don't think he really liked girls between the ages of 9-18. i really don't blame him. i don't think i like them much either.

the other quote was someone speaking of an incident in a grocery store. the author and another shopper were chatting in the tea aisle and he asked her if she knew what bergamot oil was (weirdly i know this because i looked it up myself not too long ago, also because i was looking at a package of tea and wasn't sure what it was that i was drinking. it's one of the most wonderful smells in the world. i wish my whole house smelled like oil of bergamot). when she confessed she did not, had at one time meant to look it up, but hadn't, the gentleman said"it's funny...the things we're content not knowing." and it is. this makes me want to pick up the dictionary more often. and it sort of ties into the not really knowing the people in your family. i feel like we are so full of secrets. a little more open now, but we can't ever really be close because we're always hiding things from one another.

at least this has taught me about the kind of family i want to make with a. i want to be close and kind and helpful. i want to be open and affectionate and aware. i hope if we have children one day he or she will think their father is also like a library. and i hope this means to them somewhere full of fun and stories and history and music. a favorite place. i think a would like being compared to a library. i could really carry on with the library metaphor for a, but that could be a little obnoxious (and something i would laugh at if i were reading it written by someone else). i really have no doubts about having a family with a. i don't know anyone more kind and patient and thoughtful. yesterday was our 2 1/2 year anniversary and he made me a card and organized our books into the fireplace like i had wanted to do. we're sort of rethinking the moving to florida thing and i'm not so sad or disappointed. it's kind of nice to think about really fixing this house up and enjoying it for another year. as i was driving up to our house today after work, i realized how much i would miss our little place when we have to move. it's cozy and it's us. especially now that a has taken to keeping the place nice and neat. i'm excited about our future.

listmania

i was trying to think of all the things i want to accomplish in the new year. i hate the resolution making, but i do like making lists. resolutions sound so strict. it's like saying you're going on a diet, saying you resolve to do something.

1. learn to play the wonderful piano a bought for me for xmas
2. learn to knit
3. learn to sew
4. get the house really clean. go room by room and throw away, give away, organize every corner. otherwise moving in july is going to be horrible.
5. take the vitamins every day
6. become really close with the gym. become a regular there instead of mcdonald's or the bar
7. try to become crafty enough to have a mostly homemade christmas next year
8. take a little more time with the personal appearance. maybe apply some rouge or gloss. or at least take a shower in the morning and not have crazy hair.
9. get on a better sleep schedule
10. take better care of my skin. i did buy some old lady face cream today. and some serum which sounds like it should do serious work.

lizzie sent us a thank you card today with a couple of pictures from christmas. there's one where i'm sitting at the table and look so enormous. i look like i ate everyone else's xmas dinner and might be thinking about eating the other guests. gross. it makes me angry with people who take my picture and even angrier when they show them to me. i have to get better about this. it's become ridiculous. start the food diary tomorrow and no lying.

first!

now the problem is what to write about on this blog. i like the food blogs and i like reading about recipes, but i don't think i want to spend every day blogging about recipes. sometimes i'm lazy and want to have taco night and then what do you write about?
i am starting a diet (we're calling it a healthy life change) but what could be more boring than reading about someone's highs and lows on their new diet plan?
same with the exercise program.
i don't have cute kids to write about, but i do have a very funny boyfriend and a quirky little cat.
also, i am exactly 4 months from turning 30. 120 more days of being in my twenties...
one month after the big b-day, a & i are moving to jax, so that'll be something to write about.
i guess, seeing as this is my narcissistic creation, it doesn't matter what i write. i can just yammer on about whatever i want, so here goes...

i will start with a recipe. i made this last night with all the eggs in the house. i had previously told a that i would make popovers to go with the beef stew i made. i also told him i would make mashed potatoes. instead i made this spinach-egg creation (neither of which he likes) and made nothing to go with the beef stew. which wasn't really a proper stew seeing that it was mostly just beef in some broth. i didn't have any carrots and didn't include the potatoes because i was planning on mashing them. but i really liked this spinach creation. i just ate a giant portion of it.

6 eggs
about 1 package of deli ham, julienned
1 carton (equivalent of 8 eggs) egg substitute
3 green onions
1/2 a bag or more of spinach (i shredded it in the food processor)
1/2 carton of cottage chesse (rinsed and added only the curds)
1/2 block of feta cheese
2 or 3 shallots
fresh dill
1-2 T milk, half and half or cream
3/4 t salt
grate in a little nutmeg
a few shakes of cayenne

preheat oven to 375
thoroughly spray a 9x13 pan
add ham to bottom
in large bowl whisk eggs with milk and cottage cheese curds
add remaining ingredients
pour over ham and bake about 35 min. until casserole is set and browning on top.

currently reading: Charlatan by Pope Brock
movies: Susan Slade, The Children's Hour