karl pilkington & giving birth

i'm glad people with brains like this guy exist. i really hope he's real and this is not scripted.

so i discussed this twice today. and a didn't seem to understand, but the idea of a ceserean seems so much more civilized than all the grunting and pushing and sweating and an entire human shooting out of your hooha. i can not imagine why a better method hasn't been invented for the removal of new humans from the body.

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.