Moth Man

And now back to our weekend...
Sunday was game day, which means big beers, overloaded nachos, and Polish sausage. Thankfully we picked the right day, since the Red Sox won on Sunday and went on to lose 3 out of 4. The game was followed by naps, dinner in, and an Irish pub crawl. We hit up O'Callahan's and the Elephant and Castle before ending up back at Fado with a few other friends. By the way, none of these places actually qualifies as a real Irish pub. They are still fun, but if you want authenticity, check out this crawl.

Monday was slow going, since we were all so stuffed and a bit hungover, but we pulled it together and headed home. We have made the drive between Chicago and Ann Arbor many times, and never stop along the way, so we decided to hit a few "attractions". E and I did a quick wine tasting at Contessa, visited Grandpa's Cider Mill (Which you can skip, since it sucked. We were expecting kitsh at the very least, but got nothin'. The cider in the case was frozen, probably made last year, and it looked like an empty warehouse inside.), and got truffles at the Chocolate Garden, before buying a flat of peaches at Fruit Acres and getting back on the road. We listened to David Sedaris audiobooks and drove into a rain storm. Then we went to bed.

I had hoped this was the end of our saga, since E had a 7:30 AM flight to Charlotte and I had to work, too. Alas. I was startled at 3 AM by my beloved climbing out of bed and slamming full force into the dresser in the dark. He turned on the light and mumbled, "What the hell is that?" Now fully awake, I looked over to the window where he was pointing. Something was stuck in the vertical blinds, flapping against the window and causing a ruckus. It was a moth. Not a city moth, whose growth is obviously stunted by exhaust fumes and smoke, but a farm moth, one grown fat on the honey of apple blossoms until it reaches the size of a small bird. I can only imagine that it had stowed away in the flat of peaches we bought in Coloma, taking a little nap in the sweet-smelling box. Upon awakening in our pitch black kitchen, it must have been totally freaked out. Finding little greenery on the first floor, I'm sure it felt trapped, and careened up the stairway looking for escape. Spotting our bedroom windows, it smelled freedom, and flung itself at top speed into the blinds, where it got stuck and continued flapping like mad.

This brings us up to real time. E grabbed at the moth monster with a tissue, but only succeeded in setting it free. It flew behind the dresser and went silent. Hoping to get back to sleep, E put out the light and climbed back into bed. As if it would be that easy, my love. Literally the instant that I fell back asleep, I was awake again. The sound was like that of a playing card tucked into a spinning bike wheel combined with erratic heartbeats, and I had no idea where the moth was at this point. E got up again and switched on the lamp. Torn between it's desire to live and it's instinct to move towards light, the moth appeared and jumped into the lamp shade. I heard a sizzle, which could only be the tears of the moth hitting the hot bulb, as it realized it had made the wrong choice. E was on him in a second. He marched into the bathroom with the crumpled tissue, flung it down onto the tiled floor and pounded it with his fist before tossing it into the trash. "Are you sure he's dead?" I asked. Somehow I knew the moth was a male. All I could picture was myself, waking later to hear a soft thumping from the cabinet, Edgar Allen Poe style, then opening the door for the moth monster, crazed and desperate, to fly out and attack me in the face.

I never fell back to sleep. I lay in bed for several hours until E left for the airport and then wandered downstairs when my stomach started grumbling. How I could eat after this weekend is a mystery to me. I have yet to open the cabinet and am contemplating ways to avoid it until E gets home on Thursday and can take out the trash. I'm sure I'll be less paranoid once I sleep a little. We'll see.

Overindulged

I think that one word pretty much sums up my Labor Day weekend. I'm back home to rain, thunder and lightning, but I couldn't scare less. After our 4 day jaunt in Chicago, all I feel like doing is laying around and reading, and gray days are perfect for that. What I really need to be doing is a two hour workout followed by an acai berry detox, but I doubt that's going to happen.

Our Tour de Fatty Foodies began on Friday night, with 22 oz. Fat Tires and BBQ at Heaven on Seven. Saturday was to be a long day, and we would need our fuel. We gorged ourselves on brisket, pulled pork and sweet potato polenta, sampling every hot sauce we could get our hands on. We spent the remainder of the evening watching the Red Sox game on TV, too full to move beyond our hotel suite. We figured that was ok, since we had a long weekend ahead of us.

Saturday began with brunch at Frontera Grill, which besides the incredibly long wait for our food's arrival, was well worth the hype. Get in line early for the first seating and you won't need to wait longer than 25 minutes for a table! I had the Huevos Motuleos (two fried eggs on a crispy tostada with roasted tomatoes, country ham, peas, sweet fried plantains, queso fresco and black beans) and a tall Michelada. Heaven. Sadly, E was jealous of my food, having ordered something sort of boring, but he was happy after tasting the Habanero Salsa. It was insanely hot, forcing tears and sweat, which is why they offer it as an "all you can eat" condiment. I doubt anyone gets past the first bowl!

We followed brunch with a much needed stroll over to Millennium Park to check out all of the new sculpture and architecture exhibitions. All of the new installations are so futuristic, it looks like alien pods have landed, sustainable, eco friendly alien pods that is. We didn't get a chance to go back at night, but apparently the space is illuminated after dark, so it would be worth checking out! We wandered through the Jazz Festival, too, but didn't stay long, since jazz really isn't what we are into. I find it a little boring to be honest, sue me.

After exhausting our feet, we jumped into the car to drive up to Hot Doug's, where the line already stretched around the building. E spent our almost two hours in line surfing the web. Thank God for that Blackberry, or else I know he would have killed me. "You really want to wait in this line for a hot dog?" Yes. Yes, I did. When the hot dog is a Smoked Crayfish and Pork Sausage with Cajun Remoulade and Smokey Blue Cheese and the french fries are cooked in duck fat, yes. We also ordered the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris, cut both in half and traded. Once he took a bite, E stopped complaining. Hands down these were the best dogs we have ever eaten. Heaven on a bun, people.
On our way home we stopped at the Bleeding Heart Bakery since it is just down the road. I know, you are wondering how anyone could eat a cupcake at this point. I ordered a Half Acre and a Holy Mole in honor of brunch, but couldn't even think about eating them. They went into the hotel fridge and were nibbled over the course of the weekend. We then had to rush back to get ready for dinner at Shaw's with business people. I could barely make it through a martini, let alone more food, but had to order something to be polite. We definitely need to go back one night when we are hungry and sit in the little wet bar. It looks like a fish shop back home, and has an awesome menu. We spent the rest of the evening having beers at Fado with our friends the Robinson's, before passing out in the hotel.

This is where my story gets put on hold. It's not much of a cliff hanger, but I don't want this post to get any longer than it already is. I'll come back later to tell you about the rest of what I ate all weekend long and why I didn't sleep all night last night :)

Celebrate good times, come on

I apologize if that song gets stuck in your head now!

I'm the kind of person who will come up with any reason to throw a party, bake or make gifts for people. I just like celebrating things, even mundane things. The past few weeks we've had lots of things to celebrate, so I got to tinker to my little hearts content.

First, our beloved D came out for a long weekend all by her lonesome. It was her very first time traveling by herself, and it also happened to coincide with her "5,000th Day." You may be wondering, "What, pray tell, do you mean by 5,000th day?" Well, I will tell you! My lovely dork of a husband was listening to one of his favorite albums from one of his favorite bands: Tool's "10,000 Days". He wondered, "How many years old is someone who is 10,000 days old?" Being a math guy, he banged out the figures and discovered that he and I are both several years beyond that, since 10,000 days equals about 27 and a half years. Suddenly he thought, "Wait! 10,000... 27... 5,000... 13... D money... bacon..." He's always thinking about bacon. A bit more figuring led E to discover that his little sister would be 5,000 days old on the Friday she arrived at our house. Of course, I had to throw her a party.

How to throw a 5,000, 10,000, or 15,000 Day Party:
Make dessert: Every celebration needs dessert. Find out your party recipients favorite flavors and make something to match. I hate when people make their own favorite thing for a party. "Oh, I just adore beets! Everyone must love beets! I'll make borscht!" Only to discover that the mere scent of a beet makes the birthday girl want to spew. ("Hey, Phil, If you're gonna spew, spew into this!" Random film quote of the day!) You also need to decorate the dessert with appropriate flair. I used toothpicks, a big circle punch, and a marker to make the little picks for D's cakes. Easy, cute, done.

Buy the appropriate number of gifts: Or make them if you are crafty and have an unlimited amount of free time. There was no way I was making 5,000 of anything. I couldn't even commit to buying her 5,000 of any one thing. Instead, D got 5 different things: M&M's, mini-marshmallows, index cards, paper clips, and post-it notes. It's back to school time, and she only had a carry on bag, people. Other fun ideas include anything you can buy in bulk at Costco, pennies, books equal to the days in pages, or prescription meds (if you are an Amy Sedaris type partier).

By the time D's plane came in, she was so tired that we didn't get into playing any 5,000 Day games; we didn't even eat cupcakes until the next morning. But you could go ahead and force the party person to walk 5,000 steps, jump rope for 5,000 seconds, eat 5,000 saltines, whatever amuses you. Just don't make anyone drink 5,000 ounces of hard liquor.

Aside from our long weekend with the little sis, we have had lots of babies born to our friends lately. We haven't gotten the chance to meet any of them yet, but it always gives me the chance to get crafty. I've made name letters for every baby born to a friend or family member since my nephew Nic was born 7 years ago. You can see some of them in my flickr set. Usually I mimic the colors and theme of the nursery or bedding, but I take other requests. I'm waiting for some hard core friends to want tattoo and flame letters, since I'm tiring of baby elephants and Pooh! This week I had to make letters for Parker, Vanessa, and Joplin (baby jungle animals, ladybugs and more ladybugs) and also need to make new ones for Nic, whose adorable kite themed nursery letters are a little young for a seven year old. He wants Batman now. I can't even stand it. When did he get so old? Bottom line, if you know somebody who is having or has recently had a baby, let me know. I'll whip 'em up for ya!

Our last little bit of celebration is this coming 4 day mini-vacation to Chicago for Labor Day weekend. We have Red Sox tickets, hells yes! I'm also determined to satisfy the food groupie in me by visiting some of the restaurants of the celebrity chefs with whom I am obsessed. In case you didn't know, I am not all that concerned with what SJP is wearing today, but I can tell you what flavor profiles Grant Achatz is toying with this week. I know, lame. While I will sadly not be visiting Alinea for dinner (just can't justify the $500 bill!) I will be pushing for brunch at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill, a trip to the Bleeding Heart Bakery and a dog at Hot Doug's. We won't spend ALL of our time eating, (hello? I did mention a Red Sox game!) and there will be lots of time for any of the huge amount of events going on in the city this weekend. Here's a pretty comprehensive list in case you're in town, are lost, and are looking for something to do. We're thinking of doing some thrifting, hitting one of the 70 farmer's markets, and maybe the Jazz and Polish fests. Sweetness.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day everyone!

Giveaway Time!

This week I get to host yet another giveaway thanks to the folks at Uprinting.com This time around you can win 500 Business Cards. You may choose from three business card sizes, then choose the paper and the color. These are high quality Die Cut Business Cards for you to design and personalize in any way you choose. I'm going to use mine for sub cards so that I can leave an eye-catching reminder of my awesomeness on the desks of teachers at school :)

To win, just leave me a comment telling me what you would do with your business cards. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you win. I'll choose two winners on Monday, September 7th using random.org. Good luck everyone!

Shipping must be paid by Winner. Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY.

That time of year again...

Before I start babbling, I just need to let everyone know how excited I am ( and offer more evidence of what a big dork I am!). My Painter's Palette won the Craftster Challenge, I was featured for Foodie Friday, My Sex and the City Cupcakes are featured in Bakespace's newest newsletter, and my Oreo Crunch Fudge Bars are on the Hot 100 list. Fun! Now on to the babble...

I can't even believe that it is time to start thinking fall. I'm so resistant to letting summer end that I am just ignoring all of my usual late August rituals. Since I am yet to procure a full time teaching spot and may be subbing again in September, I am letting it all slide! Usually I do several things that help me to get ready for back to school without losing my mind:

A huge wardrobe once over: I pull out all of my fall clothes and try everything on. I then sort things into piles. One for the great-as-is stuff, one for anything that needs repair or tweaking, and one for items not worn in two years. The latter get photographed and posted to my Wardrobe Swap Shop. I use the next few weeks to do repairs and wash and iron all of the rest. Then I figure out what I need to buy. I love Tim Gunn's list of Ten Essentials, which I agree is the base of any great wardrobe. Once I'm happy that I have them all, I start scoping out new things I want to try out from fall collections, fashion blogs, or magazines. I'm a sucker for Lucky and InStyle since they tend to cater to more realistic shoppers like moi. Also, I like perusing Closet Couture, but many users have a style that can be a little too much for work wear! I make a list, check the sales and go to the stores, where I then STICK TO THE LIST! This is essential for me, since I am sometimes an impulsive shopper. It's for this same reason that I avoid online shopping. It would be the death of my bank account! All of that "Free Shipping for orders over $100!" and "10% off if you order by 9 PM!" is oh so tempting, but I've learned to stay away!

A freezer/pantry once over: I tend to buy food in bulk and when on sale, so my freezer fills up quickly. I take these next two weeks to pull out anything more than a month old and get cooking! Since the weather is still warm enough for grilling, I take full advantage of it. I absolutely love this Grilled Tuna with Mango Jalapeno Salsa and this Sweet and Sour Grilled Pork Loin with Apples and Onions is a fantastic meal for the transition into cooler weather. I also want to get the most out of late summer produce, so now is the time for freezing any berries, making jams, or canning fruits for the fall. I already made the blueberry preserves and raspberry dessert sauce that will likely make up part of many Christmas gifts this year (Yes, I just said Christmas. Ack!).

School Supply Shopping This is usually another big item on my to-do list, but if I'm subbing, I won't end up doing this at all. Normally I go through the same routine as I do with my wardrobe: check to see what I am low on or what new items I want to use, check sales and make a list. I still get all of my teacher discounts and specials, but I'm avoiding the office supply and book stores until I know for sure what I will be doing in September. I must admit, I'll miss it a bit. I love shopping for new books! For anyone who needs to boost their classroom libraries, end of summer yard sales and your local freecycle are the way to go! I have picked up most of my books there, especially from moms looking to clear out the bedrooms of their college bound kids!

Although I am sad that summer is ending, I must admit that I love autumn. I am looking forward to apple picking, wearing boots with tights, Halloween crafting, and costume parties, but still. The heat, the the food, the lazy afternoons are just bliss. However, it could be worse! If I had been on the beach at home all summer I would be suffering so much more! Wait, did I just discover a benefit of living in Michigan? Whoa.

Tori and a few tidbits

In case you are not one of my local friends, several of whom were irritated by my incessant bragging the past few weeks, get ready! I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to see Tori Amos at the Detroit Opera House this past weekend from my favorite radio DJ, Martin Bandyke. Tori Amos, as in the musical embodiment of my emotional teenage years, stylish, amazing, talented beyond compare and eclectic crazy cool Tori Amos, who somehow, despite my obsession with her, I had never seen in concert! I was thrilled; Eric not so much. Luckily we had dinner with our friends the Robinson's a few nights before the show, inspiring my dear husband's truly selfless and charitable suggestion: "Katja, why don't you go?" Katja dutifully agreed and Girls' Night Out plans were set in motion.

Katja has never been to downtown Detroit and I have never been in the Opera House so it was a fun adventure even without what ended up being one of the greatest live shows I've seen. We had what I thought were great balcony seats, until I saw this lucky duck's photos! (A side note: I'm now in love with Pink is the New Blog! You can go check out more photos and the set list from the show there.) Tori looked fabulous in her hot pink leggings and stilettos, while straddling a piano bench and playing several keyboards at once. Her energy and the power of that voice gave me goosebumps more than once. I was so excited to hear Winter, Icicle, Precious Things, and Caught a Lite Sneeze, but the new songs were equally stellar. If you have not heard the new album yet, get on it! And if you live anywhere near where this tour is headed, go buy tickets now! You will not regret it.

Our evening ended with our meeting the boys at the Berg and heading to Brown Jug for the cheapest beer in Ann Arbor. Lots of young drunks, but if you want a seven dollar pitcher at midnight, you can't go wrong. Snacks next door at Pancheros and home to bed. I'm still humming Body and Soul.

On another note, I need to congratulate the winner of my second giveaway, Cora! Cora has won herself an 18x24" poster print from Large Format Posters. She was lucky, and she was the only person who entered properly! Looking back I see that the sponsors probably need to rethink charging a handling fee for a prize. It seems to be a real turn-off for readers, which I totally understand! Even if it is only five bucks, people don't want to pay for free prizes because then they don't really seem like free prizes at all, do they? Exactly.

Painting Never Tasted So Good

Okay, so I haven't done a Craftster rave in a good long while, so I think it is about time! If you haven't visited the site and you are at all crafty, you should do so immediately! It is by far the best of the social-networking-for-crafty-people sites! I first found Craftster way back in April of 2006. I had just been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy and was stuck in the house, pitying myself and getting more bored by the moment. I started working on a scrapbook that I had been neglecting and ended up searching the web for supplies. Somehow this led me to Craftster, which was serendipitous to say the least. The inspiration, information, support and friendships that followed have made me a Craftster fan for life. Anything you want to learn to make, you can find it, anything you want to share or show off, you can do that, too. Want to swap some goodies or make some friends? Go for it. I became so swap addicted for a while that I had to do a craft detox.

With our recent move, work, and all of life's other obstacles, I have been neglectful of Craftster lately. A twitter post by one of the admins alerted me to the newest monthly challenge: Incredible Edibles. Create a project mimicking craft supplies entirely out of food. Obviously this challenge was made for me. I knew everyone would be making cupcakes or cakes for this challenge so I wanted to make something a little different. Instead of sweets, I created a savory appetizer platter in the form of a painter's palette. The bread palette was baked using a whole wheat dough based on the master dough recipe that I always talk about. My version of the recipe follows along with recipes for each of the "paints" and a few other ideas in case you'd like to try this with other colors or flavors! Each "paint" is a different flavored dip or spread. The paintbrush is more bread, with fennel fronds for bristles, tied on with onion skin. After it was finished Eric and I devoured this for dinner with several glasses of vino... nothing left but crumbs!

Don't forget to head over to Craftster and vote for my entry between August 6th and 12th!

How to:

Make your bread dough:
- In a large Tupperware container, mix 1.5 cups of lukewarm water with 1 envelope of yeast and 1/2 Tbls. of kosher salt.
- Add 3.5 cups of whole wheat flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon until all flour is combined and dough is sticky.
- Cover with a towel and let rise in a dry, warm room for 3-5 hours or until dough doubles in size.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees. I recommend a pizza stone, but if you don't have one you could do it on a baking sheet instead. If using the stone, put it in the oven now. PLace a roasting pan on the bottom rack of your oven.
- Dust your work surface (I do this right on a pizza peel because I then transfer it to a pizza stone, but you can sape it right on the baking sheet if that is what you have) and hands with flour. Cut 3/4 of the dough from the container, and shape it into a crescent like a painter's pallette. Cut a circle from one side for the thumb hole.
- Shape remaining dough into a rod for the paint brush and any other shape you'd like (I used extra dough to make little baguettes for dipping).
- Slide dough shapes onto pizza stone or put baking seet in oven.
- Pour 2 cups of hot water into the roasting pan and shut the oven door to catch steam. Watch out for hot steam when you do this because it burns like a mother!
- Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until crusty and browned. (You may need to take smaller shapes out earlier, so keep an eye on them!)
- Cool completely.
- Cut organic paint shapes from the "palette" using a serrated knife and dig out a little bowl for your dips. Save any bread that you pull out; you'll need it later 'cause it makes good eats!
- Spoon dips into each little bowl and serve with veggies and the extra bread. When you run out of dippers you can just start tearing your palette into delicious little pieces! Cheesy

Recipes for Dips in rainbow colors!

RED: Roasted Red Pepper And Eggplant Tapenade

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 large red peppers, cut in half, with seeds and stems removed
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbls. fresh basil
1 Tbls. fresh oregano
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbls. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Place eggplant and peppers on a grill or under the broiler.
Cook until slightly charred, turning once.
Remove from heat, peel skin from peppers, and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse garlic and herbs until finely chopped.
Add peppers and eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and pulse to chop.
Add oil and blend until just combined.

ORANGE: Savory Sweet Pumpkin Dip
1 small can, or 1 cup cooked, pureed pumpkin
1 large golden delicious apple, diced small
1 medium onion, diced small
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a sauce pan, melt butter.
Over medium-high heat, cook onion until translucent.
Add apple and cook until just softened.
Add nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add pumpkin and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to avoid burning.
Add half of the chicken broth and cook 2-3 minutes.
If dip is very thick, you may need to add the rest of the broth and cook another few minutes.

YELLOW: Garlic Yogurt Sauce
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. kosher salt
3 drops yellow food coloring

Blend all ingredients well and serve cold. You could actually color this with any shade since it's white anyway. I was too lazy to make the yellow corn dip below!

YELLOW Option 2: Chipotle Corn Dip
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/2 cup diced fresh tomato
2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the onion, garlic, cumin and chile powder, stirring, until you can smell the spices and the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the tomato and corn, and toss once or twice to coat with the onion mixture.
Transfer to a medium-size bowl and allow to cool.
Stir in the sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to let the flavors develop.

GREEN: Sweet Pea and Onion Spread
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) peas
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbls. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined. Again feel free to puree it, but I like a little texture.
** Guacamole would also make a good green!

BLUE: Blue Cheese Fondue (I didn't have room on my palette for this, but it is delicious!)
1 lb. Blue Cheese (crumbled)
1 cup nonfat milk
2 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. flour
1 Tbls. nonfat sour cream
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Blue food coloring

Crumble Blue Cheese and set aside.
Add butter to a small pot over medium-low heat.
Stir in flour, then milk.
Slowly add crumbled Blue Cheese while stirring.
Turn up the heat to high and stir in nutmeg.
As the fondue starts to bubble but before it boils, lower the heat and add the sour cream and a few drops of food coloring to make it nice and blue.

Hope you all enjoy it; we sure did!

Print the Recipes!

Giveaway Time!

Thanks to two much needed and thoroughly enjoyed summer vacations and the recent move into our new home, my blogging has fallen a bit behind! I promise to update soon with some fun new recipes, a couple of DIY projects and a slew of summertime fun photos! Meanwhile, I am excited to announce my second giveaway! Since the first one went so well, I'm hoping for an even better response this time around!

Large Format Posters offers poster printing or custom poster printing on their website. "Here at Large Format Posters, we love photos as much as you do. And we all have plenty of them lying around, right? Well, now is your chance to enlarge that special photo you’ve been wanting to display. The photo can be of anything you want, as long it will make you happy to see it enlarged!"

For this giveaway they are offering a High-gloss or Semi-gloss 18x24" Digitally Printed Poster for you (a $25 value). The printing and shipping is free, however, there are three disclaimers! One, you must have a high resolution photo available for your print, two, there is a $5 handling fee, and three, the giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. If you are unwilling to pay the fee, or do live in the U.S. or Canada, please do note enter the giveaway!

I am considering using my print for another wedding photo, but I can't decide! I don't want our living room to look like a shrine to our wedding! 18X24" is pretty big! Here are some options:







To enter all you have to do is leave me a comment about what picture of your own you would like to have enlarged. For a second entry, leave another comment to let me know which of my photos you think would make the best poster print. And for a third entry, post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to me. Come back and leave another comment telling me you've done this so I can enter you again! The contest will end August 6th at midnight EST. Best of luck to everyone who enters!

Summer Snapshots

There is only one thing I love more than summertime and that is summertime in Rhode Island. It's the beaches, yes, but it's also Del's lemonade, clam cakes and chowder, bonfires, and of course, time with the family. I miss my family to bits living way out here in the Midwest, and summer is one of the two times of year I get to spend lots of time at home. One of my favorite things to do is hang out with my nephews, with whom it is pretty clear to everyone, I am obsessed.

Not that I need an excuse to share photos of these cutie pies, but I got one in my email box today anyway. Uprinting.com, lovely hosts of my first giveaway, are sponsoring a summer photo contest. You should remember that UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards.

Now the photo contest asks for one photo submission, but how can I choose? The above photo was taken of Nic in the backyard during Charlie's first birthday party. He's being attacked by the sprinkler, and I just can't get over his face! Actually, it's a volcano sprinkler, and he is sitting on it, so that may explain his reaction! I'll consider that photo the "official" entry, since it looks a little more photojournalistic, I guess. I can't resist showing you more though!

The next two were taken last summer at Sand Hill Cove, where we spent our honeymoon. Yes, we invited friends and family to the beach house the entire week of our honeymoon, and we had so much fun I wouldn't have had it any other way. This is Charlie taking a break in the shade, munching on a very juicy nectarine. That pout puts Derek Zoolander to shame!



This photo is of Nic's first time on a borrowed boogie board. Once he got on that thing it was impossible to get him out of the water! I love how it almost looks like he's surfing in this picture!



Thankfully, the countdown is on for our summer trip home! I can't wait to stuff my face with clams, chug D&D iced coffee, fight off a sunburn and get sand in my bikini. See you guys in July!

"All I need is food and creative love" Part Deux

I am a bargain hunter. When it comes to shopping for food, clothes, even nights out on the town, I plan ahead. I clip coupons from the newspaper, print them online, read grocery fliers, and keep my trusty Sam's Club card close. Unfortunately, even my best made plans often go awry. We eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in our house, and the selection is usually determined by what's on sale. Sometimes though, I buy way too much. Eric often has unplanned meals out with clients, which can sometimes blow my dinner plans, leaving a bag of slowly wilting salad greens or a pint of mushy raspberries to rot. Nothing irritates me more than throwing away spoiled food. I'm now on a mission to never do it again. The "never" may come back to bite me, but I'm working on it. I'm getting good at creating recipes that include produce that has seen better days. Now, we're not talking fuzzy mold or slimy ick here. If you see that in your vegetable drawer, by all means, chuck it and fast! I'm just talking about spinach that is a little too wilted for a nice salad, or fruit that has gone a little soft. Here are some ways you can use up produce that is just past its prime.

If you have:
Spinach:
Yes you can always saute it up with a little olive oil and serve it as a side dish, but that gets old. I used a big bag of baby spinach and adapted a Martha Stewart Recipe for this Spinach Quinoa Bake. I added more vegetables and cut out several of the prep steps to simplify things. It was really delicious, and a fantastic vegetarian option. It was also a good way to help me figure out what the heck to do with quinoa, since I bought it for one dish and then felt lost. Now I love it!

Vegetables:
If you have carrots, peppers, squash, or even more spinach, soup is the easiest way to go! This recipe works well for leftovers as well as the stuff in the bottom of your crisper. Since it is pureed, you can use anything you want. Plus, its vegetarian, so you can please all of your friends with this one.
If you aren't into soups, Scrap Wraps are the way to go. All you need are some sandwich wraps and creativity. Saute up any veggies you want in a little olive oil. Then spread a whole wheat wrap with a little hummus, mayo, or anything you like and go crazy with toppings. I love whole wheat wraps with garlic hummus, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and roasted red peppers! You can even do sweet wraps when you have too many apples. Slice and saute them in a pan and wrap them with peanut butter and walnuts, yum!

Berries:
Overripe berries are the bane of my existence, since they can be very expensive and are often cheaper when bought in bulk. It's easy to toss them into a blender with some yogurt and whip up a smoothie, but a little more time and effort can give you more impressive results. A pint of quickly softening strawberries was turned into the Strawberry Key Lime Muffins you see above. They are so moist and sweet I'll be sending the rest of them to the office with Eric to stop myself from eating the whole batch. I then used a half pint of raspberries for the frosting of these Sweet Crescent Rolls. I'm a little late to the crescent roll party, but better late than never. I know people have used them forever and ever, but I'm just lately discovering their versatility. I also love that they are now available in a reduced fat version! We used to wrap them around hot dogs or ham and cheese to make lunches for Delaynie, but I like them sweet! The extra raspberry frosting can be refrigerated in an air tight container for several weeks, so you can use it for fresh fruit, vanilla cupcakes, or my favorite, brownies.

Test Kitchen: Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse

My friend Kay is getting married in August, and I am lucky enough to get to help in putting her bridal shower together. There's nothing I love more than parties! The invitations are all printed and sent, so now it's just on to the food. I've decided to make a couple of varieties of stuffed breads for the party, now that I am newly addicted to that no-knead dough. I have been dying to try out the Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse posted on the Artisan Bread in Five Blog, so this week I put one together as a test. I wanted to add a few more flavors though, since the recipe is pretty basic. It turned out beautifully, and Eric and I devoured the whole thing within 24 hours. Test kitchen success means this version will definitely be going to the party!

If you'd like to make a fougasse my way, you will need the following ingredients in addition to those called for in the ABin5 recipe:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
kosher salt
dried oregano

- Follow the ABin5 recipe to prep your dough and roast the peppers. If you don't have time for the peppers, you can use jarred roasted red peppers. However, you want to dry them very well on paper towels first!
- Spread minced garlic over the bottom.
- Sprinkle cheese over garlic and top with a layer of red pepper strips.
- Tear basil over peppers before folding the dough over and sealing the edges.
- Brush the outside with olive oil and sprinkle it with oregano and kosher salt.
- Bake as directed. Note: I skipped the "pan of water" step and had no problems with my bread being dry. This could be because I used jarred red peppers, though, so they up the moisture quite a bit. I suggest following the recipe the first time to see how your oven will do!

I think I'll do something with caramelized onions for the next version... maybe with goat cheese? Mmm mmm good!

Congratulations!

Congratulations are due to Janet and Maya, who were chosen at random as the winners of my first giveaway! Janet and Maya have won an 18"x24" poster print of any photo of their choice from Uprinting.com, and just in time for Father's Day. You can visit them for all of your printing needs, from canvas printing and poster printing to business cards. Thanks also to all of you who took the time to visit and enter the giveaway. I appreciate that you stopped by to read my little blog! Keep an eye out for future giveaways... I love giving free stuff as much as I love receiving it!

Cupcake FAIL

We've all had those moments in the kitchen when things just go terribly wrong. I'll never forget the first time I tried to bake brownies without any adult help. I was probably 8 or 9 and I thought it would be simple. Just follow the directions on the box! Unfortunately I didn't know about oils back then, so I poured half a cup of olive oil into the bowl and baked up some of the most disgusting brownies you could imagine. They looked and smelled like delicious treats, but then we ate them. Revolting.

I've had lots of kitchen mishaps since then, but I am only upset by it on rare occasions. Those occasions are the ones when I have what I think is a fabulous idea, but it turns out to be, well, half baked.

Such was the case with my bloody Twilight Chocolate Cherry Chip Cupcakes. Since we've all read Stephanie Meyers' book (really, you don't want to get me started on that series!) and hadn't seen the movie, the girlfriends and I decided to have a little viewing party. Bloody Blackberry Pomegranate Martinis and my cupcakes, what could be better? My fabulous idea was to bake chocolate chip cupcakes with a cherry cordial in the center, so that when you bite into it, it will bleed. Genius right? I should have thought through the logistics a bit more. After baking, the chocolate inside melted completely, and the cordial soaked into the cake, leaving a sticky, gooey mess stuck to the cupcake wrappers, the sad little cherry sitting alone right in the middle. Grr.

I shouldn't have worried about it really, since they tasted lovely and we were too distracted by Robert Pattinson to really care about the cupcakes, anyway. He's almost gorgeous enough to make me think reading all four of those books was worth it. Almost. Anywho, I'm looking for suggestions for the next time I bake these cupcakes. I thought of putting a chocolate wafer cookie in the bottom before pouring in the batter, but the cordial will still melt. What I need is to put a filling into the cakes after baking them, but it will need to be liquid in order for it to really spill out. That liquid will have to be encapsulated in something to prevent it from soaking into the cake, but I'm at a loss. Ideas, anyone?

My First Giveaway!

Everyone loves free stuff, especially when the economy is in the crapper and we are all dealing with shrinking budgets. The first things we have to do without are obvious novelty items, but we also have to get creative with gift giving and celebrating on the cheap. While I pride myself on being able to make fabulous parties and presents out of almost nothing, a little help doesn't hurt. That's why I am so excited to get to host my first giveaway, just in time for Father's Day!

UPrinting.com just contacted me with the chance to offer one of their 18″x24″ poster prints for giveaway to one lucky reader, and so here we are! While I haven’t used UPrinting.com’s services for myself yet, a quick scan of their site showed me I likely will be soon. Their greetings cards are so tempting! I’ll be able to order my own 18″x24″ print soon, and I’m so excited! I'll be using mine for a long overdo hanging of our wedding photo! If you visit the UPrinting.com site, you’ll see that they do more than just poster printing and canvas printing: everything from business cards, door hangers, letterhead, and more. Just a note of warning: if you are a paper junkie like me, you may start drooling.

If you’d like to win this 18″x24″ poster print from UPrinting.com, all you need to do is leave me a comment on this post telling me how you’d use a 18″x24″ print. A portrait of you and your dad? Your children and your hubby? Maybe a shot taken at favorite vacation spot or sports venue? For an extra entry, blog about this giveaway (and leave an extra comment with your blog link!), linking back to this post and www.uprinting.com (you must have both links to be valid). Don't forget to leave me your email address so that I can contact you in case you win!

This giveaway will end at midnight (EST) Friday, June 5. The winner will be drawn at random, will be posted here at go ahead and snicker, and will be notified by email.

PLEASE NOTE: per UPrinting’s rules, the 18″x24″ print is only open to residents in the U.S. and Canada!

Good luck to everyone!
p.s. Check out many more giveaways, including the 1st Birthday Carnival over at The Giveaway! Watch out though, stalking the site can be addicting!

Red Alert!

or What to do in Detroit during the Western Conference Finals

Ok, so I'm not a hockey fan. Let's just get that out of the way. I've already made it very clear that I'm not a Detroit fan either, but when you live in Michigan, you at least have to pay your respects. Detroit is a fantastic sports city, which sounds blasphemous coming from my die-hard-Boston-fan mouth. But, it's true. Even if the unemployment rate has skyrocketed, businesses and residents are running for the hills, and the buildings look like they are crumbling around you, Detroit knows how to host sports fans. While the Lions continue to be one of the biggest jokes in football, Detroit still has the Tigers, Pistons and yes, the Red Wings. And you should see these fans.

Eric got us tickets to see the Red Wings at the Joe (that's the cool people's name for the Joe Lewis Arena), for game one of the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. From the moment we got out of the car, it was obvious that the hockey nuts are insane here. Screaming curses and taunts at the few Blackhawks fans they could find, or even at their own friends in red jerseys, they were the loudest, most bearded and monochromatic hockey fans I've seen. The nice thing about the Joe is that you get right off the highway and drive into a parking garage, then walk directly through a tube to the arena, where beer awaits you. No need to walk or even drive through the city, which allows fans to ignore the desperate homeless and filthy streets while handing over $8.75 for a jumbo can of Miller Light. Woohoo! Everyone was drinking and milling around and hollering random chants until we got to go inside and find our seats. They turned out to be amazing.

As we settled in, I figured everything would continue like any normal hockey game. Nope. After a show full of pyrotechnics, huge banners and flags, and ear splitting noise, the National Anthem was sung by a tiny blonde with big pipes. Just before the end of the song, fans threw an octopus onto the ice. Then another. And another. I'm talking a real octopus here. Now maybe this isn't a surprise to other people, but I don't follow hockey aside from occasional highlights on Sports Center, so I was a little taken aback. The octopus seems to be the Red Wings mascot (who the heck came up with that?) so I guess it is acceptable, even admirable to toss seafood onto the ice at the end of the song without appearing disrespectful. Everyone went nuts and the screaming only got louder as each new octopus came flying through the air. Whatever floats your boat people.

The game itself was exciting in typical fast paced, body checking hockey style. We immediately realized it is impossible to get good pictures when everyone is whizzing by you at the speed of light, but extra large beers and Cheli's nachos made up for it. That and a very intoxicated young lady fighting with the guys behind us provided ample extra entertainment. She actually tried to climb into a seat occupied by a man twice her size who was with eight friends. She even came back for more after being escorted away by an usher. Just another example of why girls out drinking together must always follow girl law: Never let anyone out of your sight after consuming large amounts of alcohol! Especially not when she is young and cute and wearing a mini skirt.

In the end the Red Wings won the game in overtime, but we didn't get to see that. We left in the third period, while Detroit had a lead. Eric had to work in the morning and honestly, we were getting tired. Real hockey fans would probably say that the tickets were wasted on us, but to them I say, "Pbbllt!" We had a great time, had a new experience, and while I doubt we'll become true Red Wings fans ourselves, at least we earned an appreciation of them and their odd fish wielding ways.

I'm a Convert

Over the past year or so I have heard lots of buzzing about this amazing no-knead bread recipe that was changing the way bakers everywhere will make bread. Being a person who had never made bread and honestly, had no plans to do so, I wasn't all that interested. I love bread, but baking it just wasn't something I'd ever really gotten into. That is until I watched a video segment featuring Jeff and Zoe. I loved how simple and versatile it looked, so I decided to give it a try this week. Turns out, this is the bread recipe my librarian friend Lauren gave to me weeks ago, after she raved about it at lunch one day. She had made some alterations and lots of notes, so I went with Lauren's version for my first try.

The Master Recipe, Lauren's Way:
2 packets granulated yeast (approx. 4 tsp.)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
3 cups lukewarm (about 100 degrees) water
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

In a large plastic resealable container (I used my ancient Rubbermaid Cake Carrier!) mix yeast and salt into water. With a wooden spoon, mix in flour until uniformly moist and no dry patches remain. It will be moist and cling to the container.
Cover (not with an air tight lid! I just used a towel) and let stand at room temperature for between 2 and 5 hours. I know this is vague, but it really depends on the heat and humidity in your kitchen! You'll know it is ready when the dough has flattened or begins to collapse on top.

At this point you can cover and refrigerate the dough for up to two weeks, pulling off portions and baking it any time you want fresh bread. When you are ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on the dough, your hands, and work surface. Cut a grapefruit sized ball of dough from the container with scissors. Turn dough in your hands, pulling dough gently to form a baguette. Dust well with flour.

Place dough on a cookie sheet and let rest uncovered for 40 minutes. Using scissors, cut 1/4 inch deep parallel slices into the top of baguettes and place on middle rack in a preheated 450 degree oven. Place a roasting pan beneath the bread and quickly pour in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, shutting the oven door quickly to trap steam.

Bake for 20 minutes. If your baguettes are not golden brown, crack open the oven door to release steam and bake another 5 minutes until tops are crusty.

I let my dough chill overnight and then baked off three small loaves in the morning. It was so delicious, I ate most of it myself, including the sandwich I powered through at lunch. Then I went to Barnes and Noble to look through the book. The only thing that stopped me from buying it was the unfortunate lack of photographs. I want to know how a recipe is meant to look when it is completed, plus I just love great food photography. I put the book, full of lots of interesting adaptations on the Master Recipe, back on the shelf and went back home to my trusty computer. I found Jeff and Zoe's blog, which offers many of the variations found in the book, along with gorgeous photos and even corrections for some of the mistakes printed in the book. They are also working on a second book, which I hope is fully of glossy images and fewer errors. Next up for me is the Roasted Pepper Fougasse, but I think I'll add some parmesan and fresh basil.

Chit Chat and Chocolate and Cheese

If you have read any of my past posts, you may have noticed that clicking on the majority of my links will lead you into a special little place that I adore. It's warm and inviting and smells like vanilla. It's about time that I dedicate an entire post to Bakespace, to help out those of you whose lives are, unbeknownest to you, a dark, empty void.

Yes, it's an online community, yes, it's a recipe sharing site, but it is even more than that. It's a place to find cooking mentors, inspiration, and advice. You can find a perfect recipe, get tips from the author on how best to execute it, and even learn the background story. It's those stories that got me hooked on Bakespace from the get go. I'm a sucker for sap, and when I started reading about a girl who lost everything in a fire and was trying to recreate her grandmother's famous cake from memory, I about lost it. The site is full of food rock stars like piday and krrispy (who I actually watched win a Bake Off on Food Network way before I found her on Bakespace!) and also lots and lots of regular people looking to share some ideas and a love of food. You can sign up for monthly newsletters, which takes me back to the reason I was inspired to write this in the first place.

This month's newsletter focuses on food photography, a subject and art about which I have much to learn! I have a cheapy little digital camera, and I have never even read the manual. Usually I just turn off the flash, set my dish near a window, zoom in close, and pray. Apparently, that technique is not all that bad, since the site's creator, Babette, has included three of my photos and recipes in the Bakespace newsletters (Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes in February's chocolate issue, Peanut Butter Fudge Bars in the brownie issue, and Scrap Wraps this month) and I just found my brownies on her blog, too! I'm such a goofball that I get excited when people like what I make, but even more so when other people go out and try it for themselves. I love it I get an email from a member whose family enjoyed one of my recipes. Makes me warm and fuzzy.

I'm not the only one who has noticed how much Bakespace rocks, by the way. The site has been nominated for a Webby again this year. The Webby Awards are like the Oscars for websites, and will bring tons of buzz and attention to the site if they win! So get your butts over to Bakespace and sign up, post some recipes, make some friends, and then go vote!

What's for Dinner?

After the butchering debacle of Easter ( I mean I love meat, don't get me wrong, but there is something about carving a whole leg!) I knew I had to do something with the 7 lbs. of leftover meat in my fridge, or risk feeling guilty for being wasteful and impulsive. I didn't want the poor little guy to have sacrificed himself for naught. Plus, lamb ain't cheap! I knew there was a way to eat lamb for days on end without becoming bored, sick, or worse. The fact that this week was also spring break helped immensely, since I get really bored when I don't work and I need projects to keep me busy. Therefore, I decided to give myself a little dinner challenge for the week. It looked like so:

1. Create five meals for the week using up all of the remaining lamb.
2. Lamb can only be the main ingredient of one meal
3. Round out each meal only with items already in the pantry and refrigerator
4. All meals must be healthy and designed to feed 4 (that way E could take the rest for lunch the next day)
5. No repeats!

It turned out to be pretty easy, since I also wanted to use up ingredients I had purchased for Easter dessert and side dishes, but I did have to get a little creative to keep from getting entirely sick of meat. I started with the aforementioned 8 lb. leg of lamb, 1/2 tub of ricotta, 1 bag arborio rice, 1 c. Greek yogurt, several lemons and a bunch of mint. These ingredients led me to make the following dinners:

Monday: Grilled Marinated Lamb
This is essentially what we ate on Easter Sunday.
Marinade:
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbls. dijon mustard
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh oregano
juice of 1/2 lemon

Pulse 1/2 oil and remaining ingredient in a blender to combine. While blending on low speed, add remaining oil in a thin stream until marinade is thickened. Set 1/4 cup marinade aside and pour the rest over lamb. All of the lamb was marinated overnight, then grilled for 3-5 minutes per side. We served with a salad of mixed baby greens, grape tomato, and green onion tossed with remaining marinade.

Tuesday: Spiced Lamb Pita Pizza with White Bean Hummus
This meal was inspired by the lamacun I used to eat when I worked in a Turkish restaurant in Rhode Island. It was one of my favorites. Lamacun is just a meat pi, but the hummus and yogurt sauce made this really tasty. I've made hummus many times, but all I had was white beans in the pantry, so that was a first. The texture and flavor were both really similar to hummus with chick peas, so we didn't really notice the difference! These pita pizzas were so good, we had to stop ourselves from eating before we got sick! I will definitely be making these again.

Wednesday: Sauteed Vegetable Risotto
After making lamb stock on Sunday, I used it for this risotto. I always try to cook at least one "vegetarian" meal per week. Heart health and carbon footprints and all that jazz! You can really make this with anything!

Thursday: Lamb Ragu with Polenta
I made the Ragu with the remaining grilled lamb, pulsed in the food processor until finely chopped. Therefore I skipped the browning step in the recipe and just added wine and the lamb at the same time. I served this over polenta with a side salad. Mmm... polenta.

Friday: Vegetable Lasagna
Okay, so arguably this is not the most creative way to end the week, but it was Friday and I was over it! The leftover ragu became part of the sauce for this dish.
Filling:
1 c. ricotta
1 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. shredded parmesan
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Beat all ingredients to combine.

Sauce:
2 cups lamb ragu
2 large cans of crushed tomato
1 cup of cooked chopped spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir ragu, spinach and tomato in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Saute onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil until tender and add to sauce. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
To assemble lasagna, pour 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 9 glass pan. Layer two sheets of Bertoli no-boil lasagna. Top with 1/4 filling and 1/2 c. sauce. Repeat 3 times. Top final sheets of lasagna with sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes.

Overall, the challenge was a success, especially since E had no idea we were eating lamb half the time. Everything was delicious, everything was health conscious, and it's all gone. I don't think I'll be buying lamb for quite a while though!

Easter for Agnostics

Easter weekend is not usually one I consider to be all that exciting, as far as the holidays go. We don't go to church any more, haven't for years; I'm now realizing J.C. never even appeared in our conversations. Ah, the loss of faith. Alas, since there are also no presents to buy, it's really only about the food for us. I'm happy as long as I get at least one Cadbury egg. This year Easter weekend happened to be one full of nice surprises, however, including...

Free Tickets to Tigers Opening Day: E has never been one for surprises or having exceptional luck, but things are looking up for him in both categories. Not only did he score us Cubs tickets for Jessica's visit to Chicago (more on that at a later date!), but he also nabbed tickets to opening day at Comerica Park. Now, as you all now, we are not Tigers fans, but we never say no to a ball game. A ball game on Good Friday that marks the start of the season? Even better. We plunged headfirst into the dirty D with some friends after several mimosas and were met by riotous drunkenness and snaking lines. Sweet. We ended up at the Fillmore, if only because it had the shortest line. The placed was mobbed and the crowd control was so frightening that the security guards closed the restrooms. Apparently they thought forcing drunk people to hold their pee would make them go party elsewhere. It worked for us. Note to Self - next year, arrive before 9:00 AM if you wish to get into a decent bar without bribery, personal injury or criminal behavior. Overall, I figure being psyched for Opening Day in Detroit only really makes sense if you like Detroit.

Then there was WhirlyBall: Two of our friends had birthdays this past week, and they celebrated after the game with a party marked by sake bombs, confetti cupcakes, and yes, drunken WhirlyBall. Having never even heard of this before, E and I weren't quite sure what we were in for. It's basically like lacrosse and basketball blended and played in bumper cars in a venue that allows alcohol and smells like a bowling alley. Oh, how I love a bowling alley! If you're going to play here in Ann Arbor, get ready for awesome 80's era neon carpet, classic video game machines, a diesel jukebox and some painful hip bruising. It reminded me of our curling expedition, in that we were clueless and left with a mark. It certainly takes a little practice if you want to get good at it, but otherwise, twirling around in a bumper car after many beers is just as entertaining if you aren't all that competitive.

Last but not least comes food: My parents decided to make the drive out to A2 for Easter, so it was really nice that we didn't have to spend the holiday alone! It was our typical affair, which means the food was slammin', the guys fell asleep, and the dogs were under everyone's feet. Not all that exciting on the blog-front, but the new recipes are certainly worth sharing. Dessert was an experiment inspired by one from a Martha recipe. It turned out so well I may have to make it every year. The Ricotta Rice Pie is sort of a mix of rice pudding and Italian cheese pie and worth every fattening calorie. We also bought an eight pound leg of lamb since that was the smallest the butcher had, and most of it was marinated and grilled a la Tyler Florence. The enormous bone and the remaining meat became a lamb stock and stew, and we'll be eating it all for weeks. Check it out in the event that you happen to have some giant bones lying around and a few hours to kill. I'm off to spend my week of vacation with my Wii Fit and some Bravo marathons. Nice.

When the luck runs out...

as it surely will, some patience and tact are required. Neither of those make my "Top Ten List" of personal charms. However, I think my mother would be proud of the fact that I have taken the high road in light of several disappointing and also frustrating recent events.

I read lots of blogs: food blogs, fashion blogs, craft blogs, random slices of everyday people's lives blogs, whatever. One thing I have noticed is that some bloggers like to be very revealing. While I enjoy some personal details, going too far is the first way to get me (and I'm sure others) to never read a blogger's posts again. I'm talking about "trashing your boss and mother-in-law while criticizing your sister's parenting skills, fat thighs, and fashion sense" too far. I wonder if these people don't find themselves soon out of a job, or at least in family therapy. Griping to the world about your anger, while it may make you feel temporarily unburdened, will also come back and bite you in the ass. It's reminiscent of that classic video that everyone and their mother emailed around a few years ago. I feel saddened by these posts, and often wonder if the bloggers have no sense of professionalism or really just have no other outlet for their feelings. I, on the other hand, have chosen to deal with my lack of luck as of late with healthier, while not very exciting, alternatives.

Thrift Therapy - I have always been a huge believer in retail therapy. Nothing could lift my spirits better than a trip to Nordstom and a new pair of strappy sandals. However, thanks to my recent loss of real income, my old mantra (Beat the blues! Buy more shoes!) has lost its ring. Now, it's off to Value World with my 50% off coupon. I never knew thrift stores had coupons, but now that I'm broke I'm catching on. Last week, for a grand total of 25 dollars, I bought three scarves, a cardigan, a skirt, a dress, a sweater set, and two slips with the tags still on. All name brands, all in fabulous condition, and all a big surprise to me. While I'm not entirely new to the world of thrifting, I had heard that Ann Arbor was not a great place for it. Too many hip college kids scoring all of the loot before we old people could get to it, that kind of thing. Happily, this was incorrect. I left the store with stuffed bags and a lifted spirit.

Boredom Baking - While baking is something I do often anyway, baking to avoid boredom is one of my favorite things. This is when I try new recipes, play with old ones, or make up my own. It is also the time when I usually create the things that become the stuff of legend, at least in my own mind. Ask anyone at Eric's work about the Irish Car Bomb Brownies and you'll see my point. Today was a pretty simple recipe day, as far as creativity goes, but I'm still pleased with the results. I adapted a Quaker Oats scone recipe to make Cranberry Orange Scones first. They are buttery, flaky, and melt in your mouth, which is really all I want from a scone. I ate two for breakfast, so I have a date with the Wii Fit later. It's also cold and cloudy today, making it a perfect soup day, thus inspiring the Mushroom Barley Soup I made for lunch. I've yet to decide what is on the menu for dinner, but I'm thinking Cuban sandwiches. This has kept me busy for most of the day, so I've had little time for thoughts of murder.

If neither of these strategies appeals to you, you can go out for a run, do some yoga, paint a room, do a pub crawl all afternoon (just make sure you call a cab!) or whatever it takes to keep you from getting so depressed you feel the need to ditch your smarts and vent online. Unless you want to lose your chances of maintaining gainful employment and a happy relationship, bitching in your blog won't get you anywhere. :)