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May 14th, 2009
08:52 am - Sionara, Livejournal
Well friends, I have put off Livejournal for some time. I'm leaving you, LJ, nothing personal. You can now follow me here: aplusbequals.blogspot.com/.
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April 5th, 2009
03:10 pm - Please assist
So when I want to post photos on Livejournal, I have been uploading them to Photobucket in order to get the required URL for posting. Why can't I do that same thing with Picasa's Web program? It gives me a URL for each photo, but LJ apparently doesn't recognize it. Anyone have some advice? I'm annoyed. I am trying to exorcise Photobucket from my life.
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April 4th, 2009
02:48 pm - Food of course
Well it seems I have slacked in the Livejournal department (ahem). I have many photos of recent weeks to post, but iPhoto was fighting me and Bill wanted to show me all about the new Picassa but of course I was too stubborn so here I am, posting sans photos. Will do that later. Had an excellent time grocery shopping earlier. Want to know what we got? Of course you don't, but of course I'm going to post it anyways. Let's see here...
onions
carrots
baking potatoes
cauliflower
broccoli
green beans
jalapeno
garlic
ginger
lemons
squash
bell peppers
swiss chard
bok choy
shitake and portabello mushrooms
strawberries
apples
bananas
white vinegar - for laundry, mostly
red wine vinegar
brown mustard
coconut milk
ice cream cones
pint of milk
plain yogurt
mozzarella cheese
wild rice
cardamom pods
barley
red lentils
beer
Wasn't that fun? Oh, also got the dogs some milk bones and another bovine hoof so they don't have to "share" the other one. Ha. Four-legged critters do not share, no matter what anyone has told you.
Tonight we are geared up for rooting on UNC basketball, as I have done since I could say "Go Tarheels!" (my dad went there, among other colleges...U. of Wyoming and U. of Oklahoma). I'm steaming some delicious local clams I bought from the seafood guy that comes to our office every Friday (I love Florida), and Bill's making a pizza.
One of our original 5 tomato plants kicked the bucket, seemingly from cold stress. We have moved our garden due to the seasonal change in sun position (gardening in pots has its advantages), and have added poblano peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, crooked neck squash, and snap peas to the mix. It's rained twice this week, and our 4 inch tall peas are already blossoming, as is the banana pepper. So exciting.
In Lexi news...her two F's have been raised to C's, and are still rising. She is ahead of her classes, finishes things on her own, and is proud of her work. It has been a great few weeks.
Will post photos tomorrow. Right now I have a date with Bill, the sun, and an Amstel Light.
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March 8th, 2009
11:48 am - Tales from a tiny kitchen: Brunch Edition
This is the start of a delicious brunch. Do you all like sweet potatoes? You should. For this, you'll need to partially "bake" it in the microwave:
This brings me to another point. We have a tiny kitchen. I am pretty proud of myself for doing alright in the 2 square feet of counter space. Technically there's about 4, but let's take a look at the space hogging offenders:
Oh jeez. My two beverages, a bowl for scraps, some dry blueberry wine (made in Florida) I bought yesterday, the sugar, oy! What a mess
Move a little to the right and what do we have (besides cheesy backsplash tiles)?:
An awesome pitcher crafted by our friend Joe, holding a slew of wisks. Also my large, unorganized stash of printed recipes, and this month's Eating Well magazine. Lordy.
Step a little further right, into the corner (yes, the counter ends here), and behold! Yikes!!:
What's a girl to do with all this stuff? We use it all every day, it just seems right on the counter. Plus the above cabinet is chocked full of spices so no room for the pesky psyllium and spirulina. Those utensils are also housed in a ceramic vase made by Joe. That Joe, he's a good (and talented) friend.
OK enough of this silliness. Let's make brunch. Heat up your pan:
Dump in your taters. I had a random yukon gold potato hanging out by itself in the pantry, so I plopped that sucker in there too:
Now it is very important not to fiddle with these puppies while they're frying, otherwise they'll break up and not be crispy yummy morsels. I have little patience, so I distracted myself and went and emptied the trashes while they were browning up.
Meanwhile, get out your eggs. If you get yours from a coworker with chickens, they might look like this:
Once the potatoes are getting nice and brown, add the onions and some salt/pepper:
Drool.
Stir and cook until it looks delicious to you. Here's what mine looked like:
Now time for those eggs. I fried ours, and broke the yolk on Bill's because that's how he likes it. Weirdo:
Speaking of the weirdo, he's doing pushups in the living room right now, while singing along to a G Love cd. Hehehee
So assemble your hash with the egg atop. Here's mine, with hot sauce:
Here's Bill's. He likes cheese:
Enjoy!!! Not only tasty, but full of stuff that's good for you. Oh! I checked this out from the library:
My sisters and I are opening a place sometime in our lives. Bill will bake the bread, my dad will roast the coffee, and we'll slowly conquer a niche of the world. Ah, dreams :)
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March 5th, 2009
12:47 pm - Interesting
I have recently encountered a whole slew of people that avoid Chik-fil-a because of it's "religious overtones." I am intrigued. Wikipedia, in all its wisdom, does tell me that the restaurant chain, and its owner, do lend support to Christian organizations (particularly youth activities). Are these folks avoiding Chik-fil-a the same ones that avoid Walmart because they support cheap foreign labor? If so, WHAT THE HECK? That seems like an ignorant parallel to draw. I can agree with some people about boycotting (or cutting back) on certain organizations because of their craptastic business practices, but just because the food chain donates money to Campus Crusaders for Christ? What...you can't live without your chicken sandwich on Sundays? Boycotting a company that supports child labor seems worlds away from boycotting a company that supports Christian values for teens. Ridiculous.
People confuse me. I guess everyone has their "thing." Obviously, this isn't all that is going through my head about this subject, but still I repeat: what the heck?
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February 18th, 2009
08:29 pm - A man of character
As a post Valentine's day entry, I would like to tell you the top three things I love about Bill...right now...that are on my mind. Of course there are many reasons, but these three stick out at this second:
1) Every day, we take leftovers from dinner, plus some produce snacking items, for lunch. Every day, Bill texts me at lunch, thanking me for the "delicious food," or "being such a great cook," or "you are awesome" or something of that nature. It never gets old.
2) When we go somewhere outside (like last weekend's Everglades trip), Bill knows the names and distinguishing characteristics of every bird we see. If he doesn't know, he will find out. He is an excellent teacher, and it is fun watching people listen to him intently.
3) He just brought me a cone of sherbert.
I am so blessed.
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February 16th, 2009
06:56 pm - Many photos
This post is mainly going to be photos. Remember the fair last weekend?
Cornish game hen...expect to hear about these on our upcoming farm:
 Phyllis Diller reincarnated as a chicken:
So many plans...
Quick story. Two weeks ago Lexi and I worked on her science homework here at our house. We did key terms and concepts for the chapter about weather. Fast forward to last Monday, when I took her to the fair (5 straight hours of rides, oy!). We were on the ferris wheel, and she said "It looks like a tornado is coming, maybe we should get down." I asked her what made her say that? Her reply: "Those look like cumulonimbus clouds, which are the ones that form tornadoes." Bless her heart, she retained homework information. I gave her a high five, and was beaming with pride. Despite the fact that she does terribly on tests, the girl is learning. We're half way there.
So what else? Oh yes, an update on our glorious tomato farm operation. Despite three nights of having to bring the plants in (freezing weather in Florida??) the harvest is in full swing. Last week on one day alone I picked 2.8 pounds from our measly 5 plants.
This past weekend we went to Ft. Lauderdale to meet up with my best friend ever, who was on vacation with his girlfriend Aimee, her brother, and some other friends. We stayed at Aimee and Mike's parents house. We swam, ate delicious food and drink, went to the Everglades, rode an airboat, and had a jolly time. Washington DC is too far away.
Notice the gator in the background:
Literally two seconds after stepping foot into the park:
Richard and Aimee:
Green heron:
I'll spare you the other hundred photos. I am busy as anything at work this week. Oh well, can't complain.
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February 7th, 2009
12:14 pm - Food and chickens
This has been a rough couple of weeks on many fronts...not so rough on others. A staggering couple of realizations about my 'Little Sister' Lexi and her home life are just the tip of the iceberg. I don't know how kids are expected to put on a happy face and do well in school when things at home are nightmarish. She has made so much progress with me, though. In the beginning, everything was 'stupid,' and 'I don't care' was her favorite phrase. Now she laughs, jokes, talks tons, and asks to do things that interest her (like pick and eat tomatoes and oranges from my garden, shockingly enough!) She reads out loud without too much fuss, she has her homework out and ready to do when I meet her in her school's library. She knows she has to finish homework before we do fun things like see a movie or go bowling. She also asked me if I had ever mentored any other kids, or just her. She was all smiles when I told her she was my first and only little sister. Cute.
Today we are going to the county fair. 4-H is housed in the same office as I am, so this is a big fun affair for everyone. I'm particularly excited to scope out the chicken breeds...our farm is getting closer to a reality.
On the menu for this week we have:
Beet and red lentil soup
Coconut chickpea curry with cauliflower
Sesame peanut soy noodles
Grilled fish with lemony potatoes
Spanish grilled vegetable sandwiches w/ Bill's homemade buns
Chipotle-lime glazed shrimp
Swiss chard and onion enchiladas
Oh! Bill had a bison burger for dinner last night, while we were out with Shannon. I tried a bite even. Delish. Tomorrow we are back to Ft. Myers for Luke's first birthday. Among other things, we got him some Florida author/critter kids' books that look super cute. Much to my dismay, however, I read last night on the back of one that it was printed in China. Figures. Fair photos to follow.
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January 25th, 2009
03:25 pm - Detox, revisited
Today is the actual detox day of our week of fun. No eating today, only drinking water, and a rather delicious spiced cranberry juice concoction. I thought I'd be famished, but surprisingly I'm holding up well. I do, however, have a list of things a mile long that I want to make after Wednesday.
But all in all, I feel goooooood. Bill too. I thought I'd have to guard the fridge but he's holding out swimmingly. What an adventure this week has been.
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January 19th, 2009
11:20 am - Detox
Bill and I have been planning to do a detox diet for a while now, just never got to it until now! I did one in 2006 when I lived in Ft. Myers, and it was pure genius. Made me feel like a million bucks, and wasn't really that hard so what the heck. I ate a bunch of junk over the holidays, let's start with a clean slate eh? The actual food you eat during the course of the 10 days isn't really that different than what we eat normally, it's the prohibited foods that get tricky. No caffeine (biggest one, ohhh how I love one cup of joe in the a.m.), no salt in any form, no sugar or any of it's freaky chemical counterparts, no dairy (eeks! i love cheese) and no alcohol. That first one is a kicker. The others, well, probably shouldn't be eating them much anyways. The goal is to rid yourself of built-up junk, and promote superb digestive health. I also lost 5 pounds last time so that's not too shabby either.
You "prep" your body for 7 days prior to the actual detox day. This entails eating tons of liver-loving foods like crucifers, leafy green veggies and herbs (no wimpy lettuce, we're talking kale, dandelion greens, etc.), citrus, sulfur-rich foods like garlic, onions, eggs and daikon radish, and other liver-benefitting foods like artichoke hearts, asparagus, celery, beets, etc. You also have to eat colon-caring foods like flaxseeds, whole carrots, raw apples, pears, and berries every day. No wheat, gluten, or any of it's friends. Add in some protein (fish, chicken, or spirulina powder in your smoothie), some olive or flaxseed oil, and voila! You will not only have a fridge that looks like an exploded garden, but will also feel great. Salt, sugar, and wheat products are in about everything out there, it's amazing how your body reacts to their absence.
The 8th day is the actual detox, where we will drink only water and a spiced cranberry juice mixture throughout the day. This is when all the built-up toxins etc. will be eliminated. I won't go into that ;)
Seems pretty logical and smart when you look at the list of foods you're eating, compared to the ones you're not. For dinner we had tilapia cooked in parchment packets with cilantro pesto, peppers, and asparagus...and spiced, steamed carrots and cauliflower on the side. It was delicious, and I was stuffed. I love doing this kind of stuff!!
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