POOF

And like *that* I was gone...

Got some back-dated posts to make (from pictures I have taken over the last month but was unable to download and share for a while). That's fixed and all I need now is a little time.

10-8-09 Buttermilk Pie

I baked pie to help a friend celebrate her birthday. The consistency of a pie is something like a custard pie, only it has a sweet tang from the vanilla and lemon extracts. The picture quality is not excellent - I was in the car rushing to get to her place and let the fun (and pie eating) begin!



I am pretty sure she won't mind if I share the recipe:

3 eggs
1 c sugar
2 T flour
1/2 c melted butter
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t lemon extract
1 c buttermilk

Beat eggs slightly
Add sugar and flour
Add butter, mix well
Add buttermilk and extracts
Pour into pie shell
Bake at 325 degrees F until custard is set (abt 45 minutes)

10-7-09 Work Table odds and ends

The table in the break room at work often features goodies that folks no longer need or want. Usually what ever is there is grabbed up quickly. These boxes of hamburger helper (which happen to be expired) and a box of instant flan have not been adopted!

10-5-09 Promoting Good Health

In the bathrooms at work and in the break room, they have added hand and spray sanitizer, in an effort to help stave off the germies around. I think it's awesome!

10-3-09 Sunny Saturday Study Session

Pro: It was a beautiful Saturday.
Con: I spent a lot of the time studying.
Pro: I studied outside.
Con: I didn't get as much done as I had hoped.
Pro: I got to eat tasty food and drink good caramel lattes.
Overall, not bad. And Killer Bunnies with friends rounded out the evening.

10-2-09 Office Picture Frame

I got this picture frame as a gift from a friend after some other mutual friends moved out of town. At the time he gave it to me, it had several beautiful black and white pictures in it, one of which remains in the second row on the right. Since then I replaced it with some other pictures that mean a lot. I look at the frame daily since it hangs above my desk in my office at work. It helps me to think of these important people as well as the friend from whom it was a gift and am thankful.

10-01-09 Thought Dump

It seems like I get sunk when the batteries in my camera are dead. Also, my hard disk on my computer is very nearly full so I hesitate to download the photos currently on my camera's memory card, which is also hurting my chances of getting items posted.

It seems that most of my photos lately have been of food products - not sure if that's a function of making some delicious-tasting and -looking meals lately or if it's just all that is interesting in my life as of late.

I have been spending a lot of free time studying but that should all be over in about three weeks - thankfully!

9-30-09 Wedding Soup

(I am sure by now you are noticing a recurring theme...)

We got some miscellaneous Arkansas-grown greens in our basket this month. J. saw in them some hearty wedding soup so we decided to give it a whirl. I had some chicken stock I had made and frozen, along with some shredded chicken from the same batch of stock. J. whipped up a batch of tiny meatballs and, using his mom's recipe, put together a bright wedding soup. We ate it topped with grated parmigiano reggiano and with pizza bread leftover from the other night.


Have you had wedding soup before?

9-29-09 Fall is in the Air

And on the plate...

Smashed Arkansas-grown sweet potatoes, steamed brussel sprouts, Arkansas Rice Pilaf (with Arkansas brown rice and Arkansas Shiitake mushrooms) and Homemade Pizza Bread (leftover dough from Sunday's pizza).

9/29/09 Photo 1: Lottery Day

On the November ballot, Arkansans voted in the ability for the state to hold a lottery. Monday was the first day on which scratch-off tickets were available.

This was one of the coffee cups in the cabinet at work. I quaffed my daily coffee from it on Monday in honor of the occasion.

9-28-09, Photo 2: Cultural Experience

A friend and I attended UALR's Artspree which featured Kathakali - a Classical Dance Drama from Kerala, India.

9-27-09 Homemade Pizza

We got some pesto in our Basket a Month this month. I think they intended that the pesto be used on the homemade spaghetti, but we decided to slather it on a pizza crust. We had some mushrooms, olives and fresh mozzarella cheese to throw on that one. The other one was topped with some leftover meatballs and farm-fresh ricotta cheese.

Baking them in cast iron skillets makes all the difference in the world.

9-26-09 "Learnin iz bad on Saturdayz"

Kitten says: "Saturdays are not for studying."

9-25-2009 Sunshiny day

After a bunch of dreary, gray days, it was nice to drive into the sun on the way home.

9-24-09 September Basket-a-Month

Obtained our September Basket-a-Month.

So many beautiful colors in this basket: orange, green, purple, white, brown, red, and black!

Contents included: Greens; sweet potatoes; farm-fresh milk, eggs, butter, and ricotta cheese; ground beefalo; fresh basil pesto; fresh spaghetti; black Arkansas apples, shiitake mushrooms, an Arkansas-grown tomato; herbs; and brown rice. Oh, and some apple-elderberry jelly.

For information on how to subscribe, visit ArkansasFood.Net.

9-23-09 Overqualified

Someone in the house got an invite to apply for this card.
Sure, it has no limit.
It also carries with it a $500 per year annual fee.
Shredder hasn't been used lately, but you better believe it got some use for this!

9-22-09 No Pic

9-21-09 Study Session with a Friend

9-20-09 Mortar and Pestle

A component of my Wild Plants and Their Uses class involved crunching up some Jewelweed and adding it to vinegar to yield a spray which would help to relieve itchy skin.

9-19-09 Map & Compass

Someone learned how to use a compass today. Like, as in, if I put in a heading, then I know in which direction to walk so I can find a location. Look out world!

9-18-09 Raptor!

Attended a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman seminar this weekend. When I noticed on the schedule that the presentation on Friday night would be on Raptors I wondered what Dinosaurs had to do with being an outdoor woman in Arkansas. Then, when the presentation began, we learned that Raptor = a Bird of Prey.

Rusty Scarborough gave quite an excellent presentation on birds of prey in Arkansas. Here he shows off a Red Tailed Hawk which was rescued after falling out of a nest.

9-17-09 Sleepy Study Session

I will sit for a certification exam next month so a lot of time will be spent studying. Sometimes with kitten help!

9-16-09 No Picture

Watched my blackberry float away from me Tuesday night. It was drying on Wednesday.
My camera batteries were dead.
No picture today!

9-15-09 The Root Cafe's Cheese and Herbs Class

Rebecca gives instructions to the class about how to curdle and drain our cheese.

9-14-09 Trashy Sloppy Joes

Grilled Cheese Sandwich topped with Sloppy Joes. Served with canned corn on the side. A wonderful dinner.

9-13-09 Hearty Breakfast

We reused rolls from Saturday's dinner to build this delicious breakfast. We made little garlic toasts, melted cheddar cheese, topped the breads with crispy bacon and then finished it off with poached eggs. It was too filling to eat the whole thing.

9-12-09 OHIO State Football

We had friends over for dinner and to watch the Ohio State Football game against USC. We had a nice dinner and good conversation with friends. It was a good game until OSU lost.

9-11-09 Movie Night

Went to see the newish Transformers movie at the cheap theatre. That's right, admission is only $1.50. We paid way more for our popcorn and cherry coke than we paid to actually *be* entertained. We didn't get suckered into this little trick though: Popcorn Seasoning only $1.50 - made with Real Cheese!

9-10-09 Football is Back!

Ah yes, that great time of year is upon us once again! Time for Steelers Football, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and a frosty beverage. I love Football!

9-9-09 Off-Target

Did a little shopping. Not among my purchases were these beauties. Among the items I did purchase were two pairs of pants that fit me nicely. Yay stuff.

9-8-09 Totally Tomatoes

Attended another class offered by the great folks of The Root Cafe. This one was on canning tomatoes. As I've never canned anything before, I learned a lot. Also met some really neat people and ate some delicious "crisis" salsa, as Jack termed it. He said it was "crisis" salsa because he had roughly 20 minutes to throw it together before class began.

Haven't tasted our product yet, as it's locked away safely in cans, but maybe one day soon...

9-7-09 Free Food!

The promotion of "FREE FOOD" is well-ingrained in me. It probably started in middle or high school and definitely permeated college and graduate school activities. It was further cemented in my graduate education which taught me that one strategy of getting students to show up for programming is to provide food, or at the very least, candy. For those of you who were unaware, Chick-Fil-A offered a free original chick-fil-a sandwich if patrons donned the logo of their athletic team of choice. We bought the sweet teas, so our investment in the meal was something like $3.26 (plus gasoline to drive there and our time commitment). Totally worth it.

9-6-09 Girls' Night

This portion of my counter top seems to be the spot that collects a bunch of stuff to indicate the day's activity. Today it collected some washed dishes, chip bags, empty cans and bottles. Remains of a party with some of my girlfriends. We had a nice time sitting around the table, snacking and talking as we flipped through a few cook books, admiring the pretty pictures and discussing the goings-on of our lives.

I am thankful for relaxed time and conversation with good friends.

9-5-09 Weekend Project II

A Very In-Progress Picture

9-4-09 Weekend Project

My weekend project this weekend is to remove the wall paper in our downstairs bathroom. This is a before picture.

9-3-09 Paint Project

The plan for the up-coming long weekend is removal of wall paper in the downstairs bathroom. A secondary component of that will be to paint the room. We went to the store yesterday to bring home some swatches. The green at the very center of the photo is the color of our living room. We were thinking to keep the downstairs rooms in complimentary colors so are looking for a "mango" or "orange" color for the bathroom and one of the browns will be used in the kitchen.

9-2-09 Corvettes Continued

Saw some Corvettes, left over from Tuesday night, on my way to work. They were all lined up and traveled down the road in an orchestrated and coordinated approach. Quite mechanically beautiful, truth be told. They almost feel like some type of bird to me.

9-1-09 Calling Cool Corvettes

The Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY is celebrating its 15th Anniversary. Many Corvettes stopped in Little Rock on their way to converging upon the Museum this week. We benefited by a visit from family.

8-31-09 Cleaning House

Monday involved cleaning house for guests to arrive on Tuesday and making pierogi and andouille sausage for dinner. No picture.

8-30-09 Trader Joe's

Before we left Atlanta, we visited a Trader Joe's and picked up a few things, not least of which includes some mini peanut butter cups, some honey sesame cashews, ginger beer, and a 12-bean soup mix. Sadly, since it was Sunday, I was unable to purchase a bottle of happiness.

8-29-09 Good Eats 10th Birthday Celebration

Ventured to Atlanta to attend the 10th Birthday Celebration for Good Eats! Had a super awesome time and it was totally worth the drive and time spent away from kitties!

I took this picture as I opened the program from the performance and found a hand-written autograph from none-other than Alton Brown. The ladies sitting next to us had autographs in green ink - likely one pen ran out. I can't believe he personally signed autographs for every program - roughly 6,000 autographs, based on the capacity for the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Indicative that he cares about his fans. This, as you might expect, brought me to tears right there in my balcony seat. I didn't get to meet the man, but I still felt touched that he took the time to do that for me and each other fan in attendance. Thanks AB. Thanks Good Eats Cast and Crew!

08-28-2009 Steelers Gear

Of course, it's not sanctioned by the NFL, but these here balls of yarn are going to turn into a Steelers scarf for lil ol me. :)

8-27-09 Cookbooks

Anyone who knows me even a little knows I'm passionate about cooking and food. I have a whole slew of cook books and recipes printed out from various sites and blogs I have found. It's a big ol' mess in my kitchen book shelves. I aspire to do something to organize and clean out these books. Perhaps I'll start putting some up with the summer clothes...

My favorites are probably the Weight Watchers Cookbook that I was gifted from my longest friend V. and the one that I received as a favor from one of my family reunions which contains many family recipes. The most used cook books are probably Betty Crocker and Classic Vegetarian, though my new Baker's cook book has been getting a lot of use lately.

What's your favorite cook book?

8-26-2009 Sen. Ted Kennedy

The United States lost a good leader. He had fought for and realized, in spite of his immense material wealth, many changes to help the everyday man. He gave back and definitely deserved the name Kennedy. He will be missed.

8-24-2009 Armageddon + Groceries

No photo, I'm afraid.

Upon getting home, J was watching Armageddon. That frickin' movie makes me cry every time. After that, we ventured out to get groceries.

8-23-09 Leftovers

"I'm glad you're not a picky eater," I said.
"Why?"
"Because if you were, we wouldn't get to have breakfasts this good."

Dinner leftovers turned into a lovely, hearty breakfast.

8-22-09 Study, Buddy

I am scheduled to take a certification exam for work in October. Unfortunately, this means studying outside of work time. The weather allowed for open windows at the end of August this past weekend. Needless to say, the kitties appreciated it!

8-21-09 Talking Time

Two very good friends came over for some important time spent talking Friday night. Poor J. was falling asleep in the chair so we sent him up to bed around 10:30.

8-20-09 Stuffed Shells

When we first moved to Arkansas from up north, we had trouble finding some of the noodle varieties we were used to having from living in an area with a high concentration of Italians. I complained without end about it. A family member brought down some pasta on one visit and my mom sent me back with some after another return trip. We have since been able to find some additional varieties, with the exception of my favorite pasta of all time: cavatelli.

Anyway, after a business trip, it was nice to come home to a home-cooked meal and a smiling face.

8-19-09 Italian Food in Arkieland

One thing I have noticed about living in Arkansas: the Arkansans treat the STATE like a city. If you talk to people who live in Little Rock, they'll tell you where to eat when you're headed to the other side of the state. I guess Ohioans do that to some degree too, but I don't know that restaurants' reputations extend three hours away. Tontitown was settled by Italians in the late 1800s. Since I had to travel to the region for work, I thought a visit to the legendary Tontitown restaurants was merited. I dined tonight at the Venesian Inn (no it isn't a typo...). I dined on homemade spaghetti with meat sauce and meatballs.

8-18-09 Raw Foods Class

J and I attended a raw foods class tonight. It was a very basic class in which we learned some of the basic principles of raw food, learned what a vitamix is and prepared three dishes. We tasted a total of seven dishes (the instructor Lorna - seen below - prepared some as a demo). The dishes included a green smoothie, cream of broccoli soup, nut mylk, tzatziki on cucumbers, ole cheese, and cheesecake with blueberry sauce. (note: the links I have posted aren't necessarily from the instructor but wanted to share some of the general information I learned.) Most of the dishes were made with nuts as a base or a major ingredient. Lorna said she wanted to prepare things that would be simple for us to replicate at home and for raw food starters.

Here's a picture of the raw "cheesecake" which has no dairy. I don't remember all the ingredients, but I know it had cashews, coconut, coconut milk (made from coconut and water). It didn't taste like cheesecake exactly, but it was a decent approximation.

I think I liked the ole "cheese" the best which was a nut-based "cheese" spread which had jalepenos, sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and would make a really a excellent dip at a party.

8-17-09 Plastic Bag

We adopted the smallest kitty LB on June 11. Since then the larger tortoise shell kitty (Kira) has pretty much had a conniption when he was even in the same level of the house with him. She is finally starting to warm up to him a little (only minor growls instead of hissing and running away when he comes near her). Anyway, they were almost playing together over this bag tonight. Very cute. Paulo, the fluffy orange one, just laid there and observed, as he does most of the time.

8-16-09 Bridal Fair

A friend of mine is getting married in March 2011. She invited me to join her at the Little Rock Bridal Fair. Her main goals were to see about a venue for the wedding and get a start on the planning. We walked around and gathered cards and pamphlets from several vendors. I took a few pictures and got some kind of smelly soy wax rubbed on my left hand (before I realized what she was doing it was too late to protest).

8-15-09 Snuggle

The lighting is pretty bad in this picture, but it's evidence that LB does slow down long enough to snuggle with Paulo sometimes. It was so sweet. I was sitting in the chair and Paulo was hanging where he usually does. B had finally done enough running around and he decided a snuggle with a fluffy orange kitty was right on time. I usually feel that way too!

8-14-09 Whiteboard

We write all the tasks we hope to complete in a day, week or weekend on this whiteboard on my refrigerator. Friday morning saw it with a pretty long list including cleaning for the week and several other chores. We busted our butts to get it mostly cleared by Friday evening so that we could generally relax all weekend. Although we didn't get everything done it felt good to wipe away most of the junk.


You can see the other odds and ends of life - a picture of a friend's sister and a picture of some friends on their wedding day, along with a note about our retirement accounts, plus a flyer from a company which does powerwashing of houses (something we need to get done). You'll also see the giant stack of Box Tops for Education waiting for a friend's daughter to return to school! ;)