Why I don’t sleep at night.
02 Mar 2008 2 Comments
in Domesticity
Last night I woke up to this:
That’s right, I opened my eyes and Wes’s fist was on my pillow about 3 inches from my face. I was disturbed.
Never mind that he elbowed me in the head later that night.
A Domestic Goddess I am Not
27 Feb 2008 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity
One of the more interesting challenges I face in my new life in the Midwest is that of dinner chef. Since I am not working at present, my contributions to our family are the household chores: cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. These have not been imposed upon me by Wes, but rather are my way of thanking him for providing for me while I get my ducks in a row.
The sad fact of the matter is, however, that I am no cook. Given that I am now responsible for several meals a week, this is a skill I’m trying to improve upon. Wes has provided me with almost a year’s worth of his subscription to Cooking Light and I have been perusing them for ideas for new meals each week. Tonight I was hoping to regale you with my triumphant tales in the kitchen.
Last week I made a delicious dinner: chicken with onions, peppers and mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce. I served it with brown rice and we both enjoyed it very much.
Last night, I made a tasty creole recipe with Turkey Sausage, canned tomatoes and a box of Zataran’s. (Hey it counts as cooking if it requires the stove!)
But, this week I also decided to get more ambitious. Lately Wes and I have been enjoying a lot of Thai food. A particular favorite of ours is Tom Kha Kai, a coconut lemongrass soup with chicken and vegetables. Somehow I got the notion that I could replicate the soup we love so much on my own stove. I consulted one of my wisest friends, the internet, for a variety of recipes and suggestions on what I should include in my soup and headed to the local market to stock up. Surprisingly, the local Hen House has a great selection of Asian delicacies: fish sauce, coconut milk, and others. Sadly though, it is lacking in the fresh spice and vegetable department. I had to substitute or omit many ingredients. The result was predicable – the soup tasted nothing like I had hoped it would. Wes declared it not entirely a failure since “it’s edible!” but I was hoping for something better. So much for victory laps around the house.
However, I will persist. Just tonight I found ThaiGrocer.com who will ship me the fresh spices and herbs that I need, but couldn’t get here. I learned that I should cook the broth and chicken, and put the vegetables in the pot much later in the process. I also learned that this should make a downright tasty meal when served over rice. So I’ll try again and some day soon I’m hoping for this:
A little cleanup.
14 Sep 2007 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity
I realized the other day that I barely look at my blogroll any more. I have all my daily reads in my Google Reader and I rarely venture beyond that. So I’ve cleaned up the sidebar a bit, removed some of the images, and added all the people I read to my list. The list is very much indicative of my tastes: full of knitting, humor, creative individuals and great writers. And ok there’s a slight bent towards parents with really cute children too. If I’ve missed you let me know and I’ll add you right on in!
Excuse my dust.
Let the planning begin…
19 Mar 2007 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity, Here Comes the Bride, Let's All Go to the Movies, Weekend Update
In the first of what I’m sure will become a long series of posts, let the wedding planning begin!
Wes arrived in town on Saturday afternoon. After a little R&R and a wonderful dinner at the Chart House with Mom and Dad on Saturday night, we headed out to Malibu on Sunday to look at a wedding site. Don’t want to link here and extol too many virtues, for fear of jinxing it, but suffice it to say, we may have the WHERE of the marriage question settled. More details to come.
After the tour, we drove through Malibu a bit, grabbed some lunch and went to see 300 with Knitmeister S. We all enjoyed the movie, but it did get a little long in the middle. The stylistic and special effects were incredibly well done however.
Last night I cooked (I know… I’m not domestic!). I whipped up some chili and cornbread and we enjoyed some DVD’s, some knitting and some snuggling. We were in bed EARLY (I must be getting old).
Now today is recovering from the weekend, dreading going back to school (only 7 weeks left!) and fuming over being blown off by my superviser yet again. Can’t I just knit all day?
Hershey’s Chocolate
03 Jun 2005 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity
Butterscotch Brownies are like crack – I can’t stay away. I baked last night for my supervisor’s birthday.
***We briefly interrupt this broadcast to lament the closing of the Ralph’s market near my house. Ralph’s is MY store. Never mind Vons which doesn’t stock my favorite peanut butter, or Albertson’s which pissed me off during the great supermarket strike. Now that Ralph’s is closed I can’t get anything I need.****
Anyway, I went looking for my special brownie mix and Nestle milk chocolate and peanut butter morsels. I didn’t find either, but somehow came up with butterscotch chips and a different brownie mix. Well, who knew? I’m hooked. If you’re in the neighborhood stop by. 
Popeline 2005
21 Apr 2005 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity, Religious Persecution
Not really going to comment on Popefest 2005, but just thought it was an appropriate title since it’s STILL stealing all the headlines. Nevermind world hunger, AIDS epidemics or the war on terror. We want to know who’s going to wear the funny looking hat in Rome.
Still Buddy-sitting and making it through the week, though I’m ready for my long winter’s nap. Actually it’s beautiful out today and I would love to just lay out on the quad and nap peacefully. (Of course in college this translated to one of my friends trying to do something funny to me while I slept.) Actually I just think I’m ready for some home time – I realized today that I haven’t slept at home but one night in the last week. I want my tiny little messy studio life back.
I think tonight is finally going to be Netflix movie night – I’m heading home after work to pick things up and spent another night snuggling with Buddy. Wish it were a boy though!
Fluffy Bakes a Bridal Shower
07 Mar 2005 Leave a Comment
in Domesticity
Fluffy has just returned from High Tea in Aptos. Ok if this is all greek to you – Fluffy is yours truly, High Tea was the Bridal Shower for one of the brides-to-be, and Aptos is outside Santa Cruz (about 1.5 hours outside of San Francisco for the non-Californian’s). This weekend was the big bridal shower showdown of 2005, and it being my first hosting event and one with hands on experience, I would say it went quite well. Special mention to Ritter Gifts for selling the Victorian Tea Cups (party favors), Bristol Farms for their amazing tea selection, and Foodnetwork.com for their recipes. We feasted on cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches and cantaloupe and prosciutto sandwiches lovingly de-crusted by the bride. I suprised myself with domestic capabilities and included cheesecake cupcakes with cherry filling, brown sugar shortbread, amaretto raisin scones and lemon bars. (Side note – adding the lemon juice to the baking soda-flour mixture produced some 5th grade science results – think of the erupting volcano!) In all a fun trip!
Which brings me back to home and back to school. What a week this promises to be – Wednesday is the much anticipated Sardi’s event and then Spring Break baby!
