A little bit of this and that

This post could probably be 25 (exaggeration) posts on its own. However, we traveled again this weekend and then I was on the road again yesterday for work. I'm exhausted and my house and life need my attention right now so this will just be a quick recap of things I've been wanting to post about.

• Arts and Crafts: My springy green hydrangeas on the dining room table weren't going to cut it for fall/winter. While at the beach mom and I decided to start an arts and crafts project I saw on YHL a while back. Ever since I saw this YHL post, I had my mind on some of those goodies for the new centerpiece. Mom and I grabbed some (faux) winter squash at WalMart for $1 each and a can of glossy white spray paint. In no time I had an inexpensive "ceramic" fall centerpiece. Ta da

Pretty sweet $6 centerpiece.

(Hickory nuts courtesy of mom and dad's front yard. Plate I had.)

• Recipe: I never made quiche before but have enjoyed eating it lately. I had eggs on hand that I needed to use and found this recipe (scroll down) to try. Holy yum! I did not use the cayenne pepper. The quiche was delicious but not very filling. You need to fill half your plate with sides. However it received a "4" and I will be making it again. 

• Current Obsession: While we're on the subject of food, shocker I know, I have to mention my current obsession. (Remember this summer it was feta and cucumber?) Right now, sweet potatoes and apples. Cube a sweet potato and apple. Place cubes on a roasting pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with some paprika and roast at 450 for 20-30 minutes. Oh man, it is so good. It is like eating candy.

• Tigers: Victory! This past weekend we had our first and only trip to see the Tigers play this year. I think we picked a good game to see.  I had several pounds of peanuts (don't ask) and I decided to try boiled peanuts for the first time to bring to the tailgate. Easiest thing ever! Cover peanuts in water and dump 1 -2 cups of salt in the pot. Boil for 4 hours. Yum. Oh and you need to use "green" peanuts. Little did I know, the peanuts are not actually green, but green refers to freshly picked. You can laugh at me. 

I am so excited about being home for the next week or so and hope to blog a little more often during that time. 

A

What scares me about fall today...

snow!

It's been raining here for a few days straight...very unusual.

That rain is already turning into snow in the mountains.

Here are two pics of what I woke up to this morning. One pic from the backyard, one from the front.

I don't think I've ever said, "check out this snow!" before Halloween even gets here.

Happy Snow Day!

B

What I'm loving...

about fall today

Today, I am loving the afternoon sun in the fall. James and I spent some time in the yard yesterday afternoon, and I absorbed all of the afternoon smells and light. People are already rockin their wood fireplaces and the smell to me is unbeatable. And sunlight lighting up all the leaves was picture worthy.

The other thing I am loving about today....I have a new job, within the same company, starting Monday!! Happy last day to me!

B

Happy Fall

I am loving some fall right now!

I just returned from two weeks back "home" in NC. It was the perfect time of year to go. The heat had just broken and it was chilly, sunny days with cool nights. I had so much fun and miss everyone terribly. From football games to girls' wine nights, I loved every morning, lunch, and evening. Thank you NC!!

Coming back out west was exciting, too and fall is in full force. Here are some pics I took when I got back in town.

The 30 degree nights have finally taken a toll on the summer veggies. Before the frost hit, we picked more zucchini than I know what to do with...here are some pics, but to date, we have picked about 10, all this size...zucchini overload!!

Every day I seem to find new things that keep me in love with fall. Today, it's fall leaves/twigs in a vase inside and spiked apple cider.

Enjoy your fall day!

B

Beach

The best thing about going to the Big Island (no not Hawaii) is there is not much to do. It is a wonderful escape from life. While I still worked full days, cooked, and cleaned, it was an escape. It was a getaway from the normal routine but not too much that it was hard to get back to real life once home.

Since my ADD is in full force, here is the shortened version of our time with mom and dad.

We enjoyed sunsets on the deck



Okay, so I lied. We didn't sit out on the deck and enjoy too much of anything because the mosquitoes were so horrendous, but I did stand out there long enough to capture the peaceful waterway sunset.

The dock was finished before we left so we grabbed some fishing poles and headed down to the dock to cast a few times before we became dinner for the mosquitoes. (yes, they were that bad.)

Wes caught our appetizer.





I caught dinner but it took both of us to reel it in so we couldn't snap a picture. Okay, so I lied again. I believe it was my fourth cast when I got stuck in the oyster bed and called it quits.



While we were fishing, dad was up to his new favorite "chore." Driving around on the riding lawn mower...in his dress clothes.



A little more studying (okay, a lot more studying), a few more walks on the beach, a trip to the Myrtle Beach outlets, and a delicious dinner at Mr. Ps with friends, was the end of our long stay with mom and dad. We're already looking forward to our return next month. Thanks mom and dad for letting me move back home for a week!

A

Citrus Tacos

Yum!

The recipe is for grilled pork tacos. However, we made a vegetarian version and they were so good. Instead of heating up the grill, we just cooked the shrimp in a skillet and used whatever else we had on hand. We made baked potato wedges to have with tacos. I thought it was a great meal and I think mom and dad agreed. Here are the recipes with our edits.

Grilled Pork Tacos with Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Ingredients
2 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1 1/2 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops 1 lb raw shrimp
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
1 ear shucked corn can corn kernels, drained
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced ripe nectarine diced peach
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 minced seeded jalapeño pepper
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage shredded romaine lettuce

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine 2 teaspoons Tablespoons lime juice, 1 1 1/2 tablespoon oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, ground pepper, and garlic pork in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate 10 minutes while preparing everything else at room temperature. Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, pepper, and garlic. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Slice pork into thin strips.

3. Lightly coat corn with cooking spray. Place corn on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes or until lightly charred, turning occasionally. Let corn stand 5 minutes; cut kernels from cob. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add kernels and toss constantly to heat through and slightly char. Combine kernels, 2 teaspoons juice, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, bell pepper, and next 3 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a bowl; toss. *In the same skillet used for corn, add shrimp and half of marinade. Sauté until shrimp is cooked through.

4. Place tortillas on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Warm tortillas. Toss cabbage with remaining 2 teaspoons lime juice. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates, and divide pork evenly among tortillas. Top each taco with about 1 tablespoon cabbage mixture and about 2 tablespoons salsa. Fill your tortillas with shrimp, lettuce, and pepper/fruit mixture. Squeeze a little extra lime juice on top if you wish.

The recipe above was enough for four packed tacos. It is realistic to get 6 good size tacos out of it. One taco was enough for each of us with the side of sweet potato wedges.


Baked Sweet Potato Sticks

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 sweet potatoes, sliced lengthwise into quarters
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix olive oil and paprika. Add potato sticks, and stir by hand to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Notes: For 2-3 people I use 2 good size sweet potatoes and cut them into eighths lengthwise. I place the wedges in a bowl and toss them with a little bit of olive oil and paprika. You don't want them soaked in oil. Put them on a baking sheet and in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Check them after 30 min. Eat these yummies at room temp.

Enjoy!
A

Delicious Fall

Fall and Spring battle each other as my favorite season, but right now Fall is winning. Between the mum and pumpkins, college football, apples, and crisp air, I'm loving life. I'm also loving being home although I am missing the boy.

Mom, Dad, and I spent the past weekend working in the yard (dad jokingly calls me "speedy" when it comes to yard work), hanging out, cooking, and enjoying a meal with some of their sweet friends. This yard is HUGE! We picked up sticks and other trash from the construction crews as well as threw some mulch down. I think I provided some help even though Dad may disagree :) We headed over to one of their friends' houses for dinner one night and had a delicious meal. I found it so delicious that the guy whose house we were at said "I think it's great to see young people eat so much." What can I say, I enjoy good food. We took the recipes with us and I'll have to share after I make some of them. Mom and I made Apple Spice Cake to take to the dinner party and holy yum. I found the recipe in Whole Living (you know the healthy Martha mag) and have been wanting to try it. It screamed "Dad would love this" and knew we had to make it during a beach visit. If you are up for a somewhat intimidating and slightly time consuming recipe yet delicious fall recipe, then give it a shot.

Glazed Apple-Spice Cake

Serves 8

A few things to note before you get started: Dice the apple first and set aside. Don't forget to save the cores and peel. Don't worry about removing the seeds form the core. The batter will appear very thick, but don't worry you're doing it right. Fill the pan about 3/4 of the way as the bread doesn't rise much. We doubled the recipe (recipe below is for one 5x7 loaf) and made one 5x7 loaf, one smaller one and 10 muffins. The bread is the way to go. We tried it with and without the glaze. Use the glaze. The bread is most delicious after the glaze has been applied and allowed to sit for an hour or so. Serve at room temp. The rest of our notes are in the recipe below.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground allspice
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup applesauce
2 apples (We used Gala)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter (sprayed canola oil) and flour a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan.

(Cut your apples first. See directions below starting with "Peel"))

In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.

Use an electric mixer to beat together butter and light brown sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add molasses; beat until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, plus vanilla, and beat until incorporated.

With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in applesauce; add remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.

Peel and core apples, reserving the peel and the core. Cut apple into 1/4-inch cubes, and fold into the batter. Transfer to pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. (We cooked the 5x7 for just under and hour and it was perfect. The smaller loaf cooked for about 40 minutes.)

(Leave in pan and) Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, and apple core and skin. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-high heat until syrupy, about 10 minutes. (Our never got syrupy but it still worked)

Remove cake from pan, and brush glaze over top and sides of cooled cake. (Let stand before tasting)

This is great to bring to friends as a "Happy Fall" treat.

Enjoy!
A

New York

Oh, hiiii! It's been a while. Preparing for NYC, hanging out in NYC, and a last minute trip after NYC has left little time for the blog. Without further adieu, here is a brief recap of the city I love oh so much.

While this was only my second trip to the city and within 12 months of each other, I feel like I know the place. I can walk around with comfortable confidence and have a feel for where I am. Well that is only in a small area - Times Square/Central Park/Union Square/Soho. I have craved many times throughout the past year to walk around the city. (Amazing that I said the word crave and didn't mention food.) I love the hustle and bustle energy you feel walking down the streets at any time of day. It is perfect for the ADD folk.

My trip was short. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and took the nauseating cab ride into Times Square to my hotel. Oh gosh, I am sick to my stomach thinking about how awful that cab ride was. (All pics were taken with my crackberry. I apologize for the quality.)





After dropping off my luggage, I was starving and had to grab a quick bite to eat. I was so anxious to walk around that I stopped at the restaurant, Pax, right across from the hotel. There were so many options. I grabbed a wrap and bowl of chicken noodle and took my seat right in the middle so I could hear all the conversations going on. I loved the little old ladies behind me talking about their crossword puzzles they were working. Too cute.

Last year when we went to the city, we didn't make it to Union Square and never even thought about it. I decided to forego my original plans of sitting in Central Park for the afternoon and headed to Union Square. I don't take cab rides while in the city unless it is to/from the airport so I mapped out my route to Union Square while eating lunch in hopes of not looking too much like a tourist while walking. I took my time and stopped in a few shops on the way and around Union Square.

One of my main reasons for heading down to the Square was based on a suggestion to checkout Eataly. I was so overwhelmed by this place that I didn't even take pictures of it. It was amazing and I think I could have spent hours and lots of money there. You'll have to check out the website to read about it but simplistically, it is many markets within one large market. There is a gelato counter, coffee counter, sweets counter, bakery, pasta center, meat counter, cheese counter, etc, etc. Not only are there numerous food counters/centers, but there are small restaurants out in the open between the counters. I walked in circles for a little while and then couldn't make a decision on what to try so I left. Yes, I just left without trying one thing. I'm still upset about this.

On my way back to Times Square, I stopped at a little Italian restaurant and sat at the bar with a glass of wine and bowl of pasta. It was fine but I wouldn't recommend it so I'm not going to go search for the name. After a stop for ice cream, I headed back to the hotel to catch up on work and crash before meetings the next day.

Thursday was full of meetings in the hotel and I finally managed to get out around 7pm. A few of us work related folk headed to a Brazilian steakhouse, Plataforma Churrascaria. Holy meat! I've been to brazilian steakhouses in the past, but this one was red meat overload. The only items they brought to the table besides red meat was pork or chicken sausage and some not so appetizing chicken breasts. The chicken breasts looked so plain that I didn't waste the tummy room on them. I must say though, the flank steak was out of this world. I think the other girl and I ate more than the men. We also had some delicious bottles of wine. I searched the wine list and can't figure out which Pinot Noir it was but if I ever do I will share because it was wonderful.

Friday morning I woke up and walked around the city before my flight. I headed down 5th and stopped to see the craziness at the Today show...at a distance.



I planned on having coffee and watching the Today Show crowd at Dean and Deluca, but I walked up to it and it was no longer there. I was shocked. Plan B: I headed down 6th and stopped at Pret for my morning green tea fix and a cranberry orange muffin. Delish! I snagged the perfect window seat where I could watch the city at 8am on a Friday morning.



Then it was back to the hotel and a much more pleasant cab right back to the airport.

I mentioned in the beginning that I made an unexpected trip after NYC. Friday morning as I was walking through the city I was talking to Mom and we decided that since the boy was out of town for the weekend and we were planning a trip to the beach the following weekend that I would just head to the beach for a week! About an hour after I got home from NYC, Mom was there to pick me and Bo up and head to the beach. What amazing parents huh? Mom drove to Columbia last minute on a Friday afternoon, loaded up the car, and headed right back to the beach so Wes and I wouldn't have to have two cars eventually at the beach. (I will say it again, I'm rotten!)


This little boy was ready to get to the beach.

I must express how thankful I am that a) I have a job and b) I have a flexible job that allows me to work from the beach for a week on a whim. Ah, I'm sitting here on my lunch break staring at the waterway and enjoying this gorgeous weather while the old dock is being torn down in preparation for the new one!



It has been so nice to be home and I am so happy I have many days left here. We can't wait to see Wes and for him to join us for a long weekend at the beach.

A

Very Important Edit: A HUGE congrats to the Gamecocks for their deserved win and beating the #1 team. Those gamecocks played every second of that game. It was not luck. It was skill that won the game. More congrats follows the win for a top ten ranking. Well deserved.

Cheese Dip

Cheese is probably in my top three favorite foods. When you combine salty chips with it, it may be pushing number one.

We had some friends coming over to watch the game we will not discuss (let's just say, no matter what, even if they don't show up for a game, I will remain a loyal Tiger fan) and I had to throw some munchies together real quick. I remembered picking up two cans of Rotel at the grocery the last time they were on sale for buy one get one free so I thought I could quickly throw together a Rotel cheese dip. I forgot though that the official Rotel cheese dip calls for processed cheese which we just don't keep around. After some research, I found recipes I could combine to make a dip. Super easy and really delicious.

Rotel non-processed Cheese Dip

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp All purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Cup milk
1 1/4 Cup shredded cheddar (we love the white extra sharp)
1 tsp mustard (used dijon because it is what I had)
salt and pepper to your liking
1 can Rotel (well drained)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and salt until well combined. Add milk and mix constantly until thickened. I think it took less than 5 minutes to thicken. Add cheddar and mustard stirring until cheese is completely melted. Add Rotel and mix until heated through. At this point you can serve it immediately or transfer to a small crock pot to keep warm. In my opinion, the crock pot is the way to go and serve it with salty chips of your liking, aka Tostitos (stock up when it's buy one get one free).

Add this to your next at home tailgating event.

Since I'm a loyal fan, Go Tigers!
Ashley