The Big E is for Eating.

On Sunday, Matt and I made our annual trip to the Big E.  The Big E is a giant fair celebrating New England, which means it is right up my alley.  While a lot of people are quick to complain about our nasty winters, humid summers, impolite drivers, etc., I genuinely love New England and all that is has to offer.  There is a building for each state (fun fact: these buildings are technically in their home states, despite the fact that they are located in West Springfield) that house local crafters, farmers, artists, and all sorts of other stuff...

But mostly, the Big E is all about food.  Deep fried food.

After our first stop for mini-donuts (breakfast), we made our way to the alley between the CT and NH buildings for Texas baked potatoes (brunch).  We joked that CT is the lamest state in New England (sorry, Shannon!) so they have to take something from Texas to make them cool.  But whatever, the potatoes are delicious.  Matt and I split one--my half had butter, bacon, chives, and cheese and Matt's had all of the aforementioned goodies plus BBQ pulled pork.  As usual, when I got really excited about the food we were eating, I forgot to take pictures.  For lunch, we had pizza from the American Flatbread Company in VT.  It's so so so good.  For an afternoon snack, I had a gyro, while Matt had a White Hut burger.  And finally, for dessert we had some deep fried Oreos.  I wish they weren't good... but, they are.  They really are.  I feel like I might be missing something, but I'm pretty sure that covers our gluttony for the day.  I realize it's a ridiculous amount of food.  That's why we only do it once a year.

I did remember to take some pictures of non-food stuff at the Big E.

The sweetest little baby alpaca, ever!

Matt wants to have an alpaca farm someday.  I am actually on board with this.  Although, he really wants a llama.  Because they're so angry looking.

Hard to tell, but this is Matt and Jake riding the big, yellow slide!

This was Matt's first time ever riding the slide.  (Know that I am picturing your look of complete disbelief, April!) I seriously don't know how he got to be 27 years old without riding the slide, but I'm glad he has it under his belt now.

Aw, he liked it!

When we got home, we pretty much collapsed to the couch.  Eating that much food takes away any energy to do anything else.  While Matt and I were on the couch, Lulu found a new place to sleep.

Inside the broken drawer of our coffee table.  Cats.

Today I am...

happy that:  I finally had time to sit down and finish this post since I've been working at it for two days.

less than happy that:  there are dishes to be done.  Boo.

daydreaming about: Krystal and Mike's wedding on Friday!

Current reading:  Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Next up: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  Meh.

Success!

Science is a lot more fun when it does what you want it to.  This is what I've been working on all week.

It's pretty AND it tells exactly the story I wanted it to tell!

And since I know you'll get this, Shannon, it was really hard to keep myself from cutting off the edge with half smiles.

Blargh!

Okay, I dropped the ball a little on my resolutions this week.  Mainly, I have been having a really difficult time being positive this week.  Work has been totally chaotic and stressful, I've been coming in early and leaving late (which I make it a point to NOT do under most circumstances), and I've just overall been a bundle of nerves since Monday morning.  Since it's Friday (my favorite day of the week), I decided to do a brief check-in with the blog and with myself to remind myself to move on from this bad week and make next week better.

I did cook some delicious things this week, but aside from the Golden Tomato Soup I invented on Sunday, I really didn't take any pictures.

So yummy!

I made this up as I went, but this is a brief overview of what I did.  I think the most important thing is that you start with fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes.  I chose one large yellow, two marbled orange/ yellows, and a small green (roughly 1.5 pounds).  Remove the skin of the tomatoes, which is done easily by either blanching them quickly in boiling water or singeing the skin with the flame of a gas burner or the broiler.  Heat 1/4C olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan.  Briefly saute one clove of garlic then squish in the tomatoes.  Try to mash them up as you go and cook for about 5 minutes.  I pureed this mixture in my blender here, but be very careful, it's super hot and full of oil.  Return to pan and add a 15oz can of chicken/veggie/beef stock.  Simmer for a few minutes and at the last minute, add a few tablespoons of cream/ half and half/ milk and some torn fresh basil.  Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and some crusty bread croutons.

I promise to be back this weekend with better posts!

Today I am...

happy that:  it's FINALLY Friday, I might join my coworkers and boss for a beer this afternoon, and it's Big E weekend!  Woo!

less than happy that: there is a LOT of rain in the forecast.  And, it's super humid and gross today.

daydreaming about: maybe getting a haircut tomorrow and going to the Big E.

Current reading:  Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Next up: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  Meh.

Saturday...

I had  a pretty great start to the weekend yesterday.  Matt is away in NH this weekend with friends, so I used the opportunity to get caught up on a few chores and things that have fallen by the wayside in the last few weeks.  I had an unfortunate encounter with my most feared household pest--the house centipede--while I was getting my cleaning supplies to scrub the bathtub.  I am not afraid of most bugs.  I even caught a wasp a few weeks ago and set it free out the window.  Not house centipedes, though.  They are so gross.  Anyway, I was very brave after my encounter and continued on with my cleaning.

I won't bore with stories about my cleaning except to endorse my two favorite cleaning products, ever.  First, I clean our hardwood floors with Method hardwood floor cleaner.  It smells like almonds and that alone makes me want to clean the floors every day.  In general, I use Method products whenever possible.  They always smell great and have a low toxicity rating.  Next, is a product introduced to me by my friend, Shannon, of Hello, my name is Quilt.  The product is Barkeeper's Friend Liquid Cleanser.  It will make your stainless steel shiny and new and even made our very old bathroom faucet look great.

After my cleaning, I took a walk downtown to the farmer's market.

Those red and pink flowers in the front were like velvet, totally gorgeous.

I didn't have a lot of cash on me, so I didn't buy a whole lot at the market.  I knew I wanted to get some yellow tomatoes to make soup this week.  As a general rule, I only like yellow and orange tomatoes.  Apparently they are lower in acid and are therefore sweeter.  I bought some orangey-yellow marbled beauties.

So many varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

This trip was dual purpose, since I was also walking to begin the process of breaking in my new moccasins!

Finally, new shoes!

I was advised to buy my usual size even though they felt a little snug.  I've been wearing them around the house with some thicker socks underneath so hopefully this was the right decision.  It was on the chilly side (compared to being 80 and humid on Monday) so I also stopped in Urban Outfitters and bought what I think is going to be my favorite fall sweater (in purple).  And, it was almost 50% off!  Score!

I went to the grocery store for the rest of our list for this week's dinner.  As I've mentioned multiple times, I love our co-op, but for some reason they never have cauliflower, brussel sprouts, or spaghetti squash.  So, I also stopped at Stop and Shop.  I hadn't intended to have a second cup of coffee, but there's a Starbucks inside of Stop and Shop!  It isn't my fault. 

At least I got a small?

For dinner, I made Fusili with Roasted Acorn squash and Bacon.  It was so delicious and very fitting for an autumn day.

From the farmer's market, sweet and delicious!

Bacon from our farm share.

Jenn and April came over for dinner, we enjoyed some Woodchuck Hard Cider, and watched one of my favorite movies of all time, Waitress.  Today, I plan to do some relaxing and start Hunger Games.

Today I am...

happy that:  it's sunny and I still have a whole day of weekend left!

less than happy that: can't think of anything!

daydreaming about: brewing some chai/ thai tea later.

Current reading:  Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Next up: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  I did stop and look at some music yesterday, but I think I may need to revisit some of my old beginner stuff before getting into anything new.

Ogunquit, ME in our own apartment...

Every summer for the past four years, Matt and I have taken a brief trip to Ogunquit, ME.  I think I can safely speak for the both of us by saying it's one of our favorite places.  (It's also really the only place we've ever traveled together, but whatever.)  Usually we go up with Matt's parents and his sister, Annie.  This year, we had some trouble getting our schedules aligned and ended up going separately.  We missed having his family around to meet up with, but we did enjoy our brief stay in early August.

Our friends know that our trip plans typically consist of mapping out where we will eat each meal.  I used to end up eating a lot of incarnations of Caesar salad (which is totally my favorite meal, so I wouldn't complain) because I didn't like seafood.  I have gotten a little more adventurous recently and although I will never love lobster as much as someone I know...

A look of determination.

I have started to enjoy some seafood.  The primary reason I don't like seafood is not the flavor, but the texture.  I can't even write about why I don't like it because it gets me weirded out just thinking about it.  Enter, swordfish.  Guys, swordfish is so un-fish-like in its texture that I almost don't even realize I'm eating an ocean dweller!  Wahoo!  On this particular trip, we went to The Lobster Pound.  As you saw above, Matt enjoyed a lobster from the outdoor tank.  I ordered Grilled Swordfish, Cajun style with curried melon salsa.  It was so incredibly delicious that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since.  Matt and I decided to try to recreate it last night.

The swordfish was coated lightly in olive oil and liberally seasoned with salt-free Cajun spice (from the bulk section at River Valley Market), sea salt, and a little black pepper, then grilled on this sweet little set up below.

When it was done cooking, I put a little butter on top and when serving, I topped it with some mango salsa.

This was a make-it-up-as-I-go recipe, but I think I added:
1 champagne mango, diced
1 cube of frozen cilantro (a great way to keep herbs on hand!)
1/8 cup diced onion (purple would be best, but I didn't have any so I used white)
1/4 jalapeno, diced very small
1/4 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground pepper, maybe 5 turns?

The potatoes are Salt and Vinegar Potatoes from the August issue of Real Simple.  I don't feel like writing out the recipe, but it's basically sliced potatoes and onion coated in olive oil, apple cider vinegar (I could drink this stuff!), salt, and pepper and grilled in a foil packet.

Finally, we added some grilled asparagus to round out the plate.  Yum!  I felt like we were savoring the last bits of summer through a window to Ogunquit.

For dessert, we had some locally made coffee ice cream.  I think this is becoming a theme, but I love dessert so I often forget to take pictures.  It is made of sugar, cream, milk, and locally roasted coffee beans, so how could it be bad?

I realized that I forgot my little round-up on the last few posts, so here it is, again:

Today I am...

happy that: my Western blot had some sort of interesting results.

less than happy that: there are big, dark, scary rain clouds outside.

daydreaming about: finally getting new shoes for real this weekend.

Current reading:  Bossypants, by Tina Fey (about 3/4 of the way through)

Next up: Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  Sigh, still nothing.  I'm not living up to this part of the resolution, so far.

Weeknight dinner and The Office.

Since Matt and I moved in together 4 years ago, we have been trying to get into some sort of grocery shopping/ cooking pattern.  In our first apartment, I think we went out to eat quite a bit and otherwise ate spaghetti and tacos.  I actually love to cook and (I think) I'm pretty good at it, but I just wasn't quite sure of the whole planning what's for dinner and shopping accordingly thing.  In our second apartment, we made a lot of progress.  We began getting our meat from a farm share that we split with some friends.  I started planning our weekly dinner menu on the weekends and we went shopping together.  (A little aside--Matt loves the grocery store.  Okay, I do, too.  We actually went on our first technical date to the grocery store.  A sign of things to come.)  We are now in our third apartment together (we moved progressively closer to where we had both dreamed of living, and now we're here!), and most weeks we have a great system in place.  This weekend, however, the grocery shopping just didn't happen.  So, last night we had to do grocery shopping after work.

Fortunately, I did plan out the meals for the week, so I had my list ready to go and we left as soon as I got home.  Our grocery store of choice is River Valley Market, a co-op with lots of local produce, an incredible bulk foods and spices area, local dairy/ eggs, and one of the best delis I've ever seen.  I can't say enough how much we enjoy shopping here.  If you are used to big name markets, it will seem very small to you.  I've realized that it's small because they cut out all of the aisles of over-processed junk, which we shouldn't eat, anyway, so hooray for RVM!

The original plan for last night's dinner was Grilled Cajun Swordfish (I am new to eating fish and I absolutely fell in love with this style of swordfish when we were in Maine this summer) with Salt and Vinegar Potatoes, and Grilled Asparagus.  Our plans were slightly derailed when they didn't have fresh swordfish available.  No problem, we would just have the sausage and pasta dish instead.  I mentioned before that RVM has one of the best delis I've ever seen.  They source a lot of the meat locally from farms that responsibly raise their animals.  Last night, there were at least 10 different varieties of in-house-made sausage, ranging from apple cranberry chicken sausage to lamb and mint sausage to turkey breakfast sausage and chipotle pork sausage.  We picked up some Italian hot chicken sausage and were on our way.

This recipe is adapted from one in the August 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine.  It boasts that the recipe costs less than $2 per serving.  And it is SO good.


Bucatini (or Spaghetti) with Turkey (or Chicken) Sausage and Zucchini (or Summer Squash)
12 ounces bucatini or spaghetti (Bucatini is like hollow spaghetti, it has a great texture, but I can never find it in my co-op, so we used whole wheat spaghetti.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound Italian style sausage, casings removed (the recipe calls for turkey, but I used Hot Italian Chicken Sausage, and imagine you could use pork sausage, as well.)
1 pound zucchini or summer squash, cut into discs or half moons (I used all summer squash.)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic (I just realized I never added garlic, but it was still delicious!)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I actually used Romano)
1/4 cup fresh oregano

1.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Reserve 1/2-3/4 cup of the cooking water and drain.
2.  Brown the sausage in 1 teaspoon of oil, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.  Once fully cooked, transfer to a plate.
3.  In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add the squash, onion, and garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are browned and tender.  We used a non-stick pan and it took quite a long time to brown, so if you want quicker browning, I'd go with a non-non-stick pan.  Double negative!
4.  In the pasta pot, toss the pasta with the sausage, vegetables, Parmesan, oregano, and the reserved cooking water (add more if the pasta seems dry.  I used about 3/4 cup).  Top with more cheese, of course!

Cooked sausage.  Drain away most of the grease, but leave a little to keep the pasta moist and flavorful.

Chef Matty!

Lots of summer squash, yum!

I must confess, I actually staged this shot.  Not very well, but whatever.  That is not  my red wine.  Red wine gives me headaches.

We were finally ready to eat dinner at about 7:45, which is kind of late for us.  We decided to catch up on Season 7 of The Office while we ate.  For dessert, we ate the remaining Apricot Chocolate Chip Espresso cookies I mentioned the other day.  I even remembered to take a picture...

Nothing like cookies and a pint glass of milk.

All in all, it was a successful evening, despite our weeknight grocery store trip and swapping of dinner plans.

10 years and 1 day.

I noticed a lot of posts of blogs and Facebook and Twitter yesterday about the tenth anniversary of September 11.  I did think about writing something, but in some ways, I feel like we, as a nation, are not defined by that day, but by the day after.

I was a senior in high school.  When Mrs. H. interrupted our floriculture class, we all knew something was up.  Ms. C.-C. returned, clearly shaken and said, "Students, the United States has been attacked in New York."  I didn't know it until that moment, but her daughter was in the armed services, and she knew in that moment, it likely meant that war was imminent.

When we left that class, the hallways were loud.  No one knew what to make of what we had seen.  In gym class, Mr. F. made us go outside to play boom bat.  (Boom bat is like baseball with all foam bats and balls.  It is the dumbest game ever.)  In a move that was rather defiant for this group of seniors, we walked off the field, walked back inside, and demanded that someone let us watch the news.  For the rest of the day, we went in and out of lessons and watching the news, even though our principal tried to tell the teachers not to let us watch tv.

I wondered then and still don't understand why he thought by not watching the news he could shield us from what was happening.  Our world was changing and closing our eyes and ears wouldn't stop it from happening.  In AP English, my favorite teacher of all time, Mr. R., canceled his lesson plan and allowed us to have an open discussion of what we were thinking and feeling.  The range of emotions was huge.  To be honest, I didn't really feel anything.  I hadn't made sense of it yet, so how could I form feelings?

We learned late in the day on September 11 that a classmate's father worked in Tower A.  She spent the morning frantically calling him, unable to get through.  It turned out that he was caught at home a few extra minutes that day and missed his train.  It still gives me goosebumps to think about that.

But, back to what I was saying about the next day.  The next day, I got up and went to school.  My parents went to work.  They did not break us.  Over time, we revisited the topic of September 11 and people were still emotional about what it meant for the future.  This year, when I learned of the death of Osama bin Laden by U.S. troops, I again didn't know what to feel.  I am no longer the 17 year old who lived September 11, 2001.  The death of the mastermind behind the attacks did cause some sense of closure, but I wondered if it would change anything.

I do not talk about feeling patriotic often.  I try to take things on from a worldly perspective and sometimes I disagree with the moves we make as a country.  However, I do recognize how lucky I am to live here.  For all of our faults, there are greater things that define us.  We are a nation that will not forget.  We are a nation that keeps going.  They did not break us.

Who loves weekends?

It is not a huge secret that I don't love my job.  It's totally tolerable, but when Friday afternoon rolls around, I find myself staring longingly out the window at weekend freedom.  Freedom, of course, is a relative term, since Matt and I have had our weekends packed full of activities from weddings to birthday parties to concerts and everything in between.  Still, I love weekends and try to savor every moment that I am not in the lab.

On Friday night, Matt and I decided to grab a quick bite before he headed out with friends.  We have a favorite Indian restaurant that is a short walk into town, but there is often a wait there and they go all out with their meals, so it is not a quick option.  We have been wanting to try another place that is right down the street (just another reason we love Northampton!), so last night was the night.  We split some Chicken Shahi Korma and Chicken Vindaloo with Garlic Naan and Whole Wheat Puri.

Indian food just never looks that appetizing, but it's so delicious!

The verdict was that this restaurant was decent, but will not be replacing our favorite place.  However, service was super fast, so it will be an option for nights that we need Indian and can't go to our usual place.

This morning, I had my usual wake-up call from a little grey furry alarm clock.

Meet Lulu!

We adopted Lulu from a local shelter almost two years ago.  She runs the show at our apartment. She is usually very sweet, cuddly, and tolerant of us constantly picking her up.  In the morning, though, she has an annoying habit of waking me up by licking my eye lids.  I have to hand it to her, it is extremely effective, and since her reflexes are much faster than mine at that hour, she can wake me up and run away before I get a chance to spray her with water or otherwise deter her from scraping my eye lids with her sandpaper tongue.  

So, I got an early start today.  I fed Lu and made myself some raspberry coffee.  I really love raspberry coffee, so as soon as I took a sip, I forgave Lulu for disrupting my slumber.

I only own mugs with penguins on them.

I threw a load of laundry in and decided to make some Pear Spiced Muffins.

These are the worst muffin tin liners ever.  They made my muffins a little wonky, but they still taste divine!

Pears are my favorite fruit and these muffins are amazing.  I hate raisins (I feel like I'm not supposed to hate them, but I really really do) so I omitted them.  I probably could have substituted some other dried fruit or added some walnuts, but I actually really like my muffins plain.  My Grammy Marge used to make me non-blueberry muffins when I was little ( I know, I know, what kind of crazy person doesn't like blueberries?), so I find muffins without adornment very comforting.

I did mention I'm not that great with pictures, right?

My plans for today include finishing up our laundry, bringing my car to my Mom's so Walter can give it a little tune-up, a quick trip to the mall, and tonight we are heading to the Amherst Brewing Company for our friend Chris's birthday.  I intend to have some fried pickles and enjoy time with some of my favorite people.  Happy weekending!

Today I am...

happy that: I'll be finished with laundry by 10am.

less than happy that: nothing!  It's the weekend!

daydreaming about: fried pickles.

Current reading:  Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Next up: Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  Nothing yet, but maybe I'll find some sheet music this weekend.

Resolutions, confessions, and dinner with friends.

I feel compelled to share with the class that this is my fourth attempt at blogging in the past six months.  I decided I wanted to chronicle some aspects of my life--my search for the right career, my cooking and baking endeavors, and my trials and tribulations as a research technician--but, blogs are weird.  A blog feels sort of like a diary, but you let (and encourage) other people to read it.  Um, what?  Each time I came up with a theme for a blog and began writing, I felt like it got too personal, too whiny, or just not interesting to anyone but me.  I read a lot of blogs, but recently a trip to Running Foodie made me realize what I was doing wrong.  The entry was about body image, but I realized that I have a self-talk gremlin that's a real jerk.  The gremlin was making it's way onto my blogs and making me feel worse, rather than better  The take home message from the entry about self-talk gremlins is to never say something to yourself that you wouldn't say to someone else.  And with that, I put into motion my September Resolutions.

I know it's more traditional to make resolutions at the start of the calendar year, but because my boyfriend, Matt, and many of our friends are teachers, I sometimes feel like the school year calendar is the norm for us.  And, why not make resolutions in September?  The umbrella resolution is to be more positive, enjoy the wonderful people I have in my life, and cut myself some slack.  Maybe it's because I'm a scientist and I'm trained to be as specific as possible, but I knew I also needed to make a list of specific things I wanted to change, or else it would all fall by the wayside.  They are, in no particular order.  To begin playing the flute at least two times a week.  To plan and cook dinner at least 4 times a week.  To bake something (and give most of it away) at least once a week.  To read from a book, as opposed to a blog or magazine, every day.  To chronicle my resolutions here, updating at least twice a week.  And, that's it.  I am not sure if doing these things will make me a better person, but I do think they will make me a happier person, and that is enough for me right now.

Because I read a lot of blogs, I know that many people who have blogs are talented photographers and spend a lot of time staging photos of their food or crafts or friends or whatever.  I am not one of those people.  I leave the photography stuff to my friend, April, of April Eve Images.  But, I will try to include some sort of visual representation of whatever I'm blogging about.  Today, it's a dinner we shared last night with April, her boyfriend, Will, and his roommates, Dave, and Greta.  Will lives right down the street from us and we hope to have many dinner parties like the one we had last night.

April was the chef last night and she made some really delicious risotto with asparagus, mushrooms, and peas.

Stirring away.  Look at the steam flowing from that pot!

I asked her if I could help somehow, but she had already done the bulk of the work for the risotto, including sauteing these yummy looking mushrooms...

Seriously, yum!

She said I could make the salad dressing.  These are her directions.

"Blend that shit together."  So technical.

We ate dinner by candlelight on the porch.  We were thoroughly entertained by Dave and Greta's cat, Felix, a.k.a. Fefe, who was observed smelling April's hair and using her back to do some parkour from one side of the window sill to the other.  After dinner, I brought out some Apricot Espresso Chocolate Chip cookies, with modifications from Running Foodie.  I forgot to take pictures of them, but you will have to trust me that they are the best cookies on the planet.  All in all, it was a successful night with great food and great company.  

Today I am...

happy that: it's Friday!  And that it isn't raining!

less than happy that: iTunes mysteriously deleted my favorite Regina Spektor album!

daydreaming about: getting some new shoes this weekend.

Current reading:  Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Next up: Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Playing on the flute:  Nothing yet, but maybe I'll find some sheet music this weekend.