Bad blog habits.

Is it possible that another week has passed and I didn't post at all?  So sorry.  It seems a little tricky these days to find time in between work and wanting to fall asleep at 7pm because it's dark out already.  It's Saturday and this past week already feels like a blur.  The highlight of the week was having April and Will over for weeknight dinner party on Tuesday.

I was in the mood for Asian and we had some pork chops from our CSA so I decided to make our favorite pork stir fry.  It is loaded with fresh ginger and the combination of the snap of fresh green beans with the sweet and tender pork is perfectly matched with the salty soy/ garlic/ ginger sauce.

I wish you could smell this while looking at the photo.

Normally, we serve this stir fry with some brown basmati rice.  Speaking of, do you have a rice cooker?  If you don't, you really should.  We had contemplated getting a fancy electric rice cooker, but decided to try our luck with a microwavable one instead.

Nothin' fancy.

It isn't anything amazing to look at, but it does really make the rice cooking much easier.  Since April is a vegetarian and wouldn't be partaking in the pork stir fry, I decided I needed to make something other than plain rice for her.  So I made up a little extra rice and then made Shiitake (Portabello) Fried Rice.

Fried rice is the best.

For some reason when I went shopping this week I wrote down Shiitake mushrooms and read it before picking them up, but my hands went directly to the Portabello bin.  Weird brain stuff must have been going on, but it totally worked and was super yummy.

Since this was a weeknight dinner date and I wouldn't be getting home until about an hour before dinner was to be served, I did all the prepping the night before.  That meant chopping veggies, cooking rice, slicing pork, and grating ginger.  I have to admit that while I was doing the prepping I wasn't enjoying it.  However, it's really nice to follow a recipe the next day and feel like you're on a cooking show and prep cooks have done all the chopping and you can just add things as the recipe says.  

For dessert, April brought over some peanut butter and chocolate covered frozen banana slices.  So. Good.  We had a great time chatting with them, as always, and I think the food was a success.

In a strange turn of events, we realized after they left that we had a Groupon to our favorite ice cream place, Herrell's.  Herrell's is owned and run by Steve Herrell, who is a pretty big celebrity in the ice cream world.  I see him in the Northampton store sometimes and he also seems like a nice guy and a good person to work for.  He is also the true inventor of the mix-in concept, which was kind of stolen by Cold Stone Creamery (no link for them!).  Anyway, we totally didn't want to miss out on using our Groupon, so we went down to grab a quart of Burnt Sugar and Butter to bring home.  Once we were in there, we couldn't not get ice cream to eat right then and there.  I don't stray from Burnt Sugar and Butter unless they are out of it (which makes me sad), but since I knew we had a quart to bring home, I decided to be super adventurous and get New England Chocolate Chip, a slightly maple ice cream base with chocolate chips.  It tastes nearly identical to my old standby, but that's beside the point.  A very sweet end to the evening, indeed!

Pork and Green Beans with Ginger Sauce (from Stir-Fries Best Ever Wok & Pan Recipes, published by Bay Books)

**We make a half recipe and it works great for the two of us, but also stretched for three of us this week.

3/4 C soy sauce

4 tbsp white or rice wine vinegar (get the rice wine!!)

1 tsp sugar

pinch of dried chili flakes

3 tsp cornstarch

1 1/4 pounds pork fillet, trimmed into thin slices (put it back in the freezer for about 10 minutes after it's thawed for easy slicing)

2 tbsp peanut oil

11 oz fresh green beans

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1.  Place the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, cornstarch, and 1/3 C water into a bowl and mix well.  Add the pork and toss to coat well.  (I literally ALWAYS forget the water here.  It works out to being a thicker sauce and a little stronger in flavor, but definitely still works!)

2.  Heat a wok over high heat, add half the oil and swirl to coat the side.  Drain the pork, reserving the liquid, and add to the wok.  Stir-fry over high heat for 1-2 minutes, or until brown.  Remove the pork from the wok.

3.  Heat the remaining oil, add the beans and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant.  Return the pork and any juices to the pan and add the reserved marinade.  Bring to the boil and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Shiitake (or Portabello) Fried Rice (adapted from Vegetarian Cooking & Vegetable Classics, by Roz Denny and Christine Ingram)

2 eggs

3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil and it was fine at this heat)

12 oz shiitake (or Portabello) mushrooms, chopped into small pieces

8 spring onions, sliced diagonally

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 oz butter

6-8oz long grain rice, cooked (definitely go with 8 oz.)

1 tbsp medium dry sherry (I forgot to pick this up, so I used a little white wine.  Whatever.)

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

salt

1.  Beat the eggs with 1 tbsp cold water and season with a little salt.  Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick skillet and pour the eggs, making a large omelet.  Lift the sides to allow all of it to be cooked (no flipped required).  Roll it up and turn it out of the pan onto a cutting board. 

2.  Heat another 1 tbsp of the oil and stir-fry the spring onions and garlic, until softened, but not browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove them to the cutting board with the omelet.

3.  Add the pepper to the pan, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, add the butter and the remaining 1 tbsp of oil.  Add the mushrooms and stir-fry over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes until softened and browned.

4.  Pour the sherry over the mushrooms and then stir in the rice.  Heat the rice over moderate heat, stirring to prevent sticking.  You can add a little more oil if it's getting really dried out, but I didn't have to.  Stir in the onions and garlic, sliced omelet, soy sauce, and cilantro.  Cook a few more minutes and serve while hot.

Today I am...

happy that:  I get to go see Shannon today!

less than happy that:  making my coffee seems like such a huge chore right now.

daydreaming about: getting my Christmas shopping started soon?  Will this be the year that I finish early?

 

Current reading:  Still going on Catching Fire, albeit a little slowly.  It's because it's getting dark so early.

Next up:  Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins 

Playing on the flute:  I blame it on the dog upstairs.

Weekend catch-up!

Happy weekend, everyone!  I got to leave work a little early yesterday so I could skip out to Worcester for my friends' wedding.  I worked with Mike at the EcoTarium and Krystal was a volunteer there.  If two people could ever really be made for each other, it's them.  They balance each other so perfectly.  Their wedding was beautiful and fun--a great kick-off to the weekend!

Me and the beautiful bride!

We got home pretty late, so it was only right that we stayed in bed a little late today.  When we got up, Matt and I went to the Route 9 Diner for breakfast.  I had a Sante Fe omelet (avocado, tomato, and onion--topped with LOTS of Frank's Hot Sauce.  Yum!) and Matt had Irish Eggs Benedict (English muffins topped with homemade corned beef hash, a poached egg, and Hollandaise--I stole a few bites and it was delicious!). 

When I came home, I forced myself to do some laundry and watched some Felicity on Netflix.  Then, I did something pretty awesome.

No, I didn't upload the incorrect picture.

Why is a closed door amazing?  Well, it's my closet door and I haven't been able to easily close it since we moved into our current apartment in June.  There are some hooks on the doors and for some reason I've been just hanging stuff up there rather than really putting it away.  My shoes were all falling off the racks and it was basically chaos.

Now it looks like this!

I should have really taken a "before" picture so it made more sense why this is a triumph for humanity, but I didn't, so you'll just have to trust me.  I got another bag of stuff for Goodwill and a dress and purse that I might be able to get some cash for from the consignment shop.  Getting rid of stuff always makes it easier to give everything a place.  Since I have a lot of clothes and not a ton of room in my dresser and closet, I have some plastic drawers that I use for off-season clothes and miscellaneous stuff that I don't use as much.  They were totally disorganized and full of stuff that I just couldn't deal with.

Those little pink things?  Post-its with labels of the drawer's contents.   Yeah, I'm crazy.

To reward myself for all of this organization, I bought myself my first-ever cashmere sweater.

Isn't it dreamy?

I've been wanting to invest in a good cashmere sweater for awhile now, but I could never decide what kind of sweater, what color, what weight, etc.  It felt like this huge commitment so I just never got one.  But, today was the day.  Oatmeal is one of my go-to colors since it goes with everything and that buckle--amazing!  Also, I really strongly favor cardigans with a sort of drapey bottom, so this is right up my alley.  It's also SO SOFT.  Thank you, Cynthia Rowley and whoever is responsible for this sweater ending up for more than 50% off its retail value at TJ Maxx.

Now I'm hanging out, finishing laundry, and planning my meals for the week while I let in a little fall air and burn my Autumn candle.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Today I am...

happy that:  the fall weather is back and hopefully here to stay!  Sweater weather is my favorite!

less than happy that:  it's starting to get darker a lot earlier these days.

daydreaming about: wearing my new sweater.  I might just keep going to pet it.

 

Current reading:  I finished Hunger Games earlier this week and I absolutely loved it!  Just getting into Catching Fire now, but I'm liking it a lot so far.

Next up:  Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins 

Playing on the flute:  I tried playing the Zelda theme song the other day (I thought Matt would like it), but the neighbors' dog was freaking the eff out so I decided to stop.  I really need to have my flute tuned up.  Yeah, that must be the problem.

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.