Steal My Sunshine

Hey guys...just wanted to update you...due to circumstances way beyond my control, blogging on the regular isn't going to be happening for a while. I don't know for how long. I am really, really sorry, but there are lots of changes going on in life right now and they have to take priority! I mean, as I write this, my head is throbbing and angry.  I'm trying, I really am...I know I have taken some breaks this year, and here I am doing it again, but I don't want to give up this blog, but time is not on my side right now.  I may pop in from time to time and I am not entirely sure how long this hiatus will last...I want to keep it open ended.  But for real.  If I have a couple of minutes I WILL stop in and write something!!  I hope to be back soon with good news and totally revitalized!!! Hopefully you don't go anywhere!!

Romeo and Juliet

Welcome back to Throwback Thursday, where I turn my laziness into  an opportunity to repost something I already wrote! Today, you kind of get a two for one because embedded within this post is a link to my post from the year before that!

So, if you got the hint yesterday, it was my wedding anniversary.  Fifteenth wedding anniversary, in fact.  And people really did say it wouldn't last.  So, my husband's track record with remembering the past couple of years has been, ummm, yeah.  Not good.  As you will see in the linked post (I was PISSED OFF when I wrote that one!)  So, like I said the other day, I am writing stuff in advance because I knew I was going to be busy.  Part of that being busy was over the weekend when we celebrated our anniversary.  And I am 99.99999999999% sure he is going to remember as we already have made plans.  But I would put nothing past him.  Its a special skill he has mastered.

By the way...I still haven't recovered from House ending...

Anyhow, enjoy this look back...

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Happy Anniversary?

So. Fourteen years ago today I was a bride. A very young bride. On a cruise ship. Sailing to Grand Bahama Island...where, incidentally, I would have NO ISSUE with moving to...other than the whole hurricane thing. Loved it there! Wanna see it?? I mean the island?? Ok....


That pretty shallowish water near the island, yep, we snorkeled there. This was an activity that did not agree with me for a few reasons. One, we did not have our own personal snorkels. We had to use loaners. None of the mouth pieces seemed to fit me right (that's right, make your little jokes here) and I ended up ingesting A LOT of sea water, which I totally advise against doing...that is unless you like getting really sick. Ha ha. Second, for as vast and beautiful as the reef we were on was, I felt totally claustrophobic. No idea why - the water was crystal clear and you could see so far, but I felt like everything was closing in on me - perhaps because I was totally surrounded and immersed in water. That has to be it. Thirdly, my stupid husband had the audacity to yell "shark!" when I finally made myself venture a good distance from the boat. Jackass. I should have known then. Needless to say, I spent the rest of that little charter cruise at the bar doing my best to kill all of the bacteria from the sea water with alcohol. Seriously though, it was a great trip and the perfect way to get married - with no one else there. We had our reception six weeks later and weren't all wound up about everything being perfect and from the ceremony just happening. Actually, our mothers joked with each other as we cut our cake at the reception that you could tell we had already been married for a spell because our natural smart ass personalities were shining through and we weren't all on our best behavior because we had JUST gotten married a couple of hours prior.

Now, I am not sure how exciting this anniversary is going to be, considering the past couple of years. May I refresh your memories?? It was good....Clever plan to make your wife angry

Yep, that shit was priceless. I will never forget it, though he still claims no memory. Also, something I think I failed to mention in that post was that the previous year he forgot it too, although not quite in such a grand fashion. This year he put it in the calendar on his phone, which you would think would jog his memory. Not so much. This past Friday he was organizing his work schedule and today was highlighted, and I am not even kidding when I tell you he said this, "What the hell is the 22nd?? Ooooohhhh. Riiiiiight." And then he laughed nervously. I am not expecting much. I will let you all know. And he might even be lucky this year if he does forget because I am pretty upset about House ending. I am still sad and in shock that I watched my last brand new episode ever. That might work in his benefit. I just might be sitting on the couch watching the DVR over and over, completely oblivious to the fact that he forgot again. Or not...


So, last year, I was still pretty mad the next day. You can check that out here too...Yep, I'm still mad... (and awwww, if I don't miss Astronomy Pirate and Erika!!)

My life is so fun. Don't hate. I can't help it. Anyhow, in honor of the beautiful Bahama Islands, I give you today's recipe...

Island Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
3 ripe bananas mashed
2 eggs well beaten
3/4 cup pecans chopped

Directions
Work first four ingredients together by hand until crumbly. Add remaining ingredients - be careful NOT to over mix!! Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes in a greased 9"x5" loaf pan.



Music...ok, this song for whatever reason reminds me of when I got married. Probably because it was out at the time. My husband HATES it, but based on his track record with remembering our anniversary the past couple of years, I don't really care. So there.

I Do, I Do, I Do

A Day in the Life

Good Monday to you all!!  Yes.  I am going to admit it...I am writing this in advance.  I have reasons.  One, you all may have noticed that I have not been posting on the regular.  This is because there is SO MUCH stuff going on that I have just been running out of time.  Also, I know that this weekend is going to be super busy, so I am just planning ahead.  Regardless, I promise to be around more this week!

So, I haven't done a meatless post in a while, and its Monday, so how about that??  

Oh good. 

Because you had a choice....

Anyway...give this a go...

Okra & Chickpea Tagine

Ingredients

1 pound fresh or frozen okra, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

10 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 plum tomatoes, diced, or 1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes

1/2 cup vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon harissa, (see Ingredient Note) or hot sauce, or to taste

Directions

Place a large bowl of ice water next to the stove. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add okra and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the okra with a slotted spoon to the ice water. Drain.

Tie cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string.

Heat oil in a tagine dish set over a heat diffuser or a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, 3 to 6 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, broth, cumin, the okra, cilantro sprigs and half the bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium; partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and salt; cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; discard the cilantro sprigs. Stir in harissa (or hot sauce). Serve sprinkled with the remaining bell pepper and cilantro leaves, if desired.

Ingredient note: Harissa is a fiery Tunisian chile paste commonly used in North African cooking. Find it at specialty-food stores, mustaphas.com or amazon.com. Harissa in a tube will be much hotter than that in a jar. You can substitute Chinese or Thai chile-garlic sauce for it.

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And some food for thought...

Its a fun day...

Clint Eastwood

I'm not saying you're stoned.

Nope.

You could be drunk.

You could be bored.

You could be like me and just completely exhausted and you're still up and are eating to stay awake.

Whatever.

I am not here to judge you.

But, I mean, regardless.

You're hungry.

Right?

I knew it.

So how about a snack.

And its really easy.

Torpizzas

Ingredients

Flour tortillas - how ever many you need to make as many pizzas as you like

pizza sauce (or if you want to mix it up, salsa...the head it all up to you)

grated cheese (whatever kind you like, mozzarella, cheddar...fit your mood, your sauce, whatever....and on the subject of grated cheese, I recently read that you shouldn't buy pre-shredded cheese from the grocery store because you don't know how long it has been since it was shredded...and I thought about it and yeah, I mean, sometimes my cheese shreds seem a little dry and not agreeable to melting, so I started grating my own and it tastes way better and melts like a champ.  Although, if you are baked/drunk/sleepy, you might want to use a cheese grater with caution...maybe adult supervision is required.)

Toppings...pepperoni, bacon, extra cheese, peppers, onions.  You're the boss.

Directions

Place the tortilla on a plate.  Slather with sauce of choice.  Sprinkle with grated cheese shreds.  Add toppings.  If you can't wait more than a minute to eat, pop it in the microwave for 30 - 45 seconds...until the cheese is melted nicely.  If you have a minute, you can put it in the oven at about 425 degrees F for about ten minutes...or throw it on the barbecue grill for a couple of minutes.  Oh yes.  

Boom.  

Torpizza.

Word.

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Choke on this...

Enid

FUCK YEAH!!  I love it when I remember music I forgot about...you know, like I was saying the other day?  Its so wonderful...just in time for me to get completely sick of the mix I had going on!  

Anyway...I promised it would be back and it is...

So, the weather has still been pretty amazing, so I'm not bitching about that...no, no.  Let me tell you what the fucking beautiful weather has done to me...it makes me enjoy being outdoors.  And that's all fine and well.  That isn't the problem.  The problem is I AM NOT FUCKING SLEEPING.  AGAIN.  I mean, really?  Really?

I guess so, yes really.  

Fuck.  

And really, if you aren't sleeping, that pretty much fucks up the rest of your world.  Because you get all punchy and cranky.

Anyway.  

Also, I'm kind of irritated that I still don't have as much time in the day as I need to get everything done and then have time to do the things I want to do AND get enough sleep.  

That is just asking WAAAAAY too much.

And now for something yummy...

Hazelnut Truffles

Ingredients

3 dozen hazelnuts

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon hazelnut liqueur

1 (6-ounce) package white chocolate baking squares

2 (2-ounce) chocolate candy coating squares

Directions

Bake hazelnuts in a shallow pan at 350°, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes or until toasted.

Microwave morsels and whipping cream in a 2-cup glass measuring cup at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until morsels melt, stirring twice. Stir in liqueur. Pour into a wax paper-lined 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan; freeze 2 hours or until firm to touch.

Shape 1/2 teaspoon chocolate mixture around each hazelnut, coating completely, and place on wax paper.

Microwave white chocolate baking squares in a 1-quart microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring twice. Coat plastic candy molds with a thin layer of white chocolate using a small paintbrush; let stand 1 hour or until firm. Place coated hazelnuts in molds; brush with remaining white chocolate, sealing to edges of molds. Let stand at room temperature 1 1/2 hours or until firm.

Invert molds; tap firmly on cutting board to remove candy.

Microwave coating in a 1-cup glass measuring cup 1 minute or until melted, stirring once. Pour into a small heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Snip a tiny hole in 1 corner of bag; drizzle over truffles. Let stand until firm.

Ok, now please, PLEASE, for all that is good and right with the world...somebody complain about something.  Anything.  I feel so all alone.

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And now some food for thought...

'Cause couches can be bitches.

Throwback Thursday

So, I think that I have made it pretty clear that I am all kinds of busy right now...but I want to keep posting!  I am just not all that creative.  So.  I am introducing Throwback Thursday we we will look at past posts - maybe some of them deserve some more attention, maybe some are just so awesome they need to be looked at again, and maybe I'm just lazy.  

Whatever.

This first throwback post is pretty recent.  And I really think enough people didn't see it when it posted, but over the past month or so, it has been one of the most viewed posts!!  So, did you see it?  If you didn't, here is your chance!!

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Guest Post

Hello and welcome to cooking with me. I don't often make a complete meal, and I won't be making a complete meal today either. I'll do my part, and you finish it if you want. It's not like many people have a complete breakfast, so, just make it and stuff the fucking thing in your mouth.

Parmesan Eggs

I make just one egg, I like to save them so they don't have to be bought as often, but you can make as many as you want. You can scramble them or you can fry them, the only important thing is that you add a pinch or two of salt and a generous amount of Parmesan cheese before putting them on heat.

If you don't have an un-cracked egg seasoning tool lying around, well it sucks to be you. You might as well just stop salivating over my delicious eggs right now and give up like a whiny baby. Or, you could crack the egg into a bowl while you heat your pan with oil/butter/whatever you use to make sure your egg doesn't stick like a clingy ex-girlfriend.

Cool, we're halfway done. Now you pour that Parmesan and salt seasoned egg into a pan and cook that bitch just how you like it. I don't know how it is that you like it, so you just go ahead and figure that out on your own. But while it cooks make sure to add more Parmesan. We don't want all the good stuff to be in the egg, do we? No, we need something visually pleasing on the outside. 

Almost done? Good. Now if you're making this for someone else, or you want to trick yourself into believing you could be a chef, sprinkle a little parsley on it. Just a dash, about as much as any female respect left on a common rap song. It'll make it look all nice and whatever. You know. Stuff.

No, we're not leaving it at just the eggs.

I like me some bagels. They're filling and nice and such, go really well with eggs too. I could just tell you to add bagels, but I've noticed something terrible. Not enough people use jelly on their bagels.

I understand why, too. It's because most people look like fucking idiots when getting the substance out of the jar and onto the round surface. Let's just do this.

How to put jelly on a bagel

without looking stupid as fuck

First, get your desired jelly, or jam, or whatever. It's jiggly fruit that goes on bread, find it at your local supermarket.

Second, grab a spoon. Don't go for the knife, that's the reason you look like FUPAweed at a razor party. Just grab a spoon, and realize you've been thinking of it the wrong way your whole life. The spoon isn't this one thing you put in your mouth, it has two sides. Two.

Scoop a bit of jelly on your spoon, pour it onto the bagel, flip it around, and with the shallow face looking away from the bagel, spread it around as if it were a knife. Don't you feel like a genius now? Yeah well, you're welcome.

If you don't have spoons, you can also put a knife in the jar, mash it against the side of the jar, and spread it like a normal, semi-liquid substance. But then if you don't have a spoon, I should be telling you about a soup recipe for you not to make.

Here's the result.

If it's a little blurry, you should get your eyes checked. And if it doesn't look that amazing, it's alright. It's obviously because I didn't put a fork on it. That too has an explanation. You see, I'm a man. So when I'm presented with an egg and a bagel cut down the middle, I lift the egg, put it on the bagel, sandwich it, and proceed to eat it with the very same spoon I used to put jelly on the bagels.

This was great fun guys. I want you all to know that I'm actually an alright human being when I'm not telling you to fuck off, and that you should have jelly with your eggs more often. It tastes delicious.

Eat some breakfast.

  -  D4