Wednesday

This meal is really a celebration of July in Kansas. I improvised a little because the original recipe has shrimp on top. But I couldn't do that because shrimp is full of cholesterol...oh and it's not vegan. This one is better anyway and there is no risk of finding a poop vein.
Corn Cakes with Black Bean Salad and Mexican Rice
Shit. I will post this one later. I didn't realize that it is already after 11:00. I love you guys but I love sleep more....

Tuesday

"You could wrap a toenail in puff pastry and it would taste good." That's what the 16 year old kid at HyVee told me when I asked him where I could find puff pastry. I am going to use that quote in the hopes that it will make you want to try this recipe despite my pathetic attempts to photograph it. Because that kid is right...although the thought of it turns my stomach a little. These are Veggie Wellingtons. I have never had Beef Wellingtons but I can promise you that you will not miss the beef when you eat these. Vegetable Wellingtons
Serves 4
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. olive oil,
divided1 lb. asparagus, trimmed, and cut into thirds
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
1 5-oz. package prewashed baby spinach leaves
Pesto
14-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
16-oz. jar tomato sauce (Ragu Pizza Sauce is really good too)
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat 1 Tbs. oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, asparagus, and onion, and sauté 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables begin soften. Add spinach, remove from heat, and stir until spinach wilts. In the pan split the veggie in half. Then split the halves into halves again. And again. This will leave you with 8, fairly equal piles of the goods.

Lay puff pastry on well-floured work surface. Cut into eight squares, and line them up in two rows of four. Scoop sautéed vegetables into center of four squares, keeping edges clear. Take a small (very small) amount of water and gently brush the edges of the squares. Spoon about a tablespoon of pesto on the other 4 squares, keeping it off of the edges. Set the pesto puff pastry squares on top of vegetables, stretching dough gently by hand to cover entire surface. Press edges firmly with fingers or fork to seal tightly. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. You will need to cook it for less time if you have a dark coated pan. Just watch for the dough to turn a golden brown and then pull um out. Meanwhile, heat tomato sauce in saucepan until warm.
To serve: Use the sauce as a dip for the Wellington. Then call me and tell me how freakin fabulous they are and how much you love me.

Monday

I have several friends that seem almost fascinated by the food we eat. I don't know if it is because it is not typical or if maybe they are not very adventurous with food but whatever the reason a couple of them have asked me to write about our dinners more often. So, I started the week with every intention of posting a photo and recipe every night. Ahem...sorry about that. I need to play a little catch up.
Monday we had General Tao's Tofu and a spring roll. The recipe is here. The photo above is a little deceiving because I forgot to put the sauce on the food before I took the photo. This is what it looks like with the sauce.
This is the perfect recipe for people who are afraid of tofu or haven't really ventured out into making Chinese food at home. I love to fix this because it tastes like take out without all the fat and sugar and MSG. I do make a couple of changes to the recipe though-for starters I double the sauce. I like my rice to be saucy too and so will you. So double it. BUT don't double the sugar. It doesn't need it and neither does your body (or your very energetic 2 year old boy's body). Also you can use any veggies you like and you can put it on rice or noodles. I recommend brown rice because it tastes great and is better for you.
If tofu scares you I have a little advice. If you live in Lawrence buy Central Foods Tofu. They have it at the Merc and HyVee. Squeeze around until you find one that is firm. Take it home and put it in the freezer. The morning of the day that you plan to fix this dish take your tofu out and let it defrost in the sink. That night open up the package and give it a good squeeze. The more water you can get out of your tofu the firmer it will be and firm tofu is a good thing. Don't buy the silken tofu. That is for desserts. Oh speaking of that I have a great silken tofu dessert that I will post about this weekend. Anyway, don't buy the silken or you will never want to cook with tofu again. And that would be a shame.

In the works

I found new house numbers last week. I have been searching for new ones since we first moved in. The ones we have now are just boring old black ones like every other house on the street. I was hoping to find some at an antique shop but after a year of searching I have pretty much given up. These are from Paper Source and I really like the font and the size. I think they are going to be orange or maybe blue. Oh it' so hard to decide. Well, for now they are primed and ready for what's next. Check one more off the list.

Whew

Happy Friday guys! Have a good weekend.

Day 1: Get Healthy

I forgot how much I love sweating. This morning I got up at 6:00. I took Henry to my Mom's house and headed for the gym. I felt nervous. I don't really know why it is that I get nervous every time I do something new, even when it isn't actually new. I exercised every day before I had Henry. And yet I still felt my stomach flip as I handed the girl at the desk my I.D. Last night I packed my bag. I had a system 3 years ago; I was able to fit everything into a small bag. I couldn't figure it out last night. My shampoo bottles wouldn't fit in the side pockets, my flip-flops stuck to the towel. By 11:00 last night I quit trying to remember how I did it and just squeezed it all in. This morning I ran for 40 minutes. I did a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down. I ran a total of 4 miles. That is a 10 minute mile, which I don’t think is all that great, but I was practically giggling by the time I climbed off that machine because I didn’t think I would last 20 minutes, let alone 50.
The rest of today has not been as easy. The only bad thing about morning workouts is that I feel crazy hungry all day. I have been drinking green tea and water like a crazy person but I can’t stop thinking about dinner. Veggie lasagna. With garlic bread.

Doing my homework

Earlier in the week a coworker of mine was complaining about gas prices and she mentioned her frustration with the fact that we are not doing offshore drilling. Of course I totally disagree with offshore drilling but didn’t feel I had enough information to explain or debate with her. I decided to educate myself on the subject and thought you guys might be interested.

-Currently there are 33 millions acres of land, offshore, that is open to drilling and has not been explored.
-In addition to those acres there is 68 million acres of land in the lower 48 that is open to drilling and has not been explored.
-The majority of that acreage has been environmentally approved for exploration.
-The acreage that George Bush and John McCain want to open up is areas that are environmentally protected areas.
-If we do start drilling in those areas it will take at least 10 years before that oil shows us as gas at our pumps
-It will reduce the cost of gas by 2 cents per gallon.
-Bush has filled the Strategic Oil Reserve to 97.5%, approximately 700 million barrels, and refuses to open even a small percentage of the reserve to the public even though it has been paid for by the taxpayers already. The SOR is the fullest it has ever been in US history.

Think about who stands to benefit from the price of oil being so high.

“We have two oil men in office so of course the price of oil is going to go up. If Coronal Sanders was the president and the price of chicken went up we would know why.” Bill Maher

Obviously we cannot count on the government helping us out of this crisis. Alternative energy sources is really the only long term solution. In the mean time here are some tips to save on gas-

-Fill up in the morning. Gas is denser when it is cool so you will get more for your money.
-Stay above a half tank. Gas evaporates so the more air in the tank the more evaporation.
-Keep your tires aired up to maximum PSI. You will get better gas mileage.
-Remove non-essential items form your trunk. Weight increases the amount of gas you use.
-Keep your engine tuned up and replace your air filters regularly.
-Drive slower and avoid quick starts and stops. Don’t floor it.
-If you are close to your destination ride a bike or walk. With the money you save in gas you can buy an ipod which makes walking much more fun.
-Carpool
-Combine errands into one trip.
-Take the bus. It’s cheap and you can read a book while someone else deals with the driving.

Healthy

I’ve spent the last 6 months “planning” to lose weight. So far I have put on 6 lbs. Ehem…clearly “planning” isn’t helping much. I signed up for the gym on Monday and made a plan-

-M/W/F mornings at 6:30 my sister and I are going to the gym.
-Run: I used to be able to run for 45 minutes. My goal is to get back to that. I think I will start at 30 minutes now because I haven’t exercised for almost 3 years.
- Lift weights: just machines to get started. And some sit ups at home.
-Salads for lunch. It is all I really want anyway but I never take the time to plan it out and make them in the morning. I had one today for lunch and it was great.
-Eat 2 snacks during the day.
-No Friday doughnuts (at work…they do it to me every week)

I know reading about someone trying to lose weight isn’t very exciting so I will try to name all my posts about weight loss the same so that you can skip them completely if you want. Wish me luck.

WIsh List

Wade asked for a birthday wish list and I realized that the older I get the more expensive my wish list becomes. Oh well, here it is
letters::flats::cute tops::purse::another cute top::birthday cake::cake stand::cruiser bike::mixer::SLR camera (and 60 mm lens)::chi::rotating cake stand

*sigh* Sometimes making a wish list isn't that fun. Like when you have no money :)

Fun clicks

I just discovered Wordle. It is so fun. Just enter a blog address (This one is from Henry's blog) or type in your own words and then you can play with the font and the size and color and shapes. Great fun! But just let me warn you, it's addicting. :) This one is going on the fridge.

**Click on the photo so you can actually see what it looks like---because I cannot seem to make it any larger

My Guy

I have been without music at work for the past month because I couldn't find the charger thingy for my ipod. Last night while I was putting Henry to bed the Mister drove across town and bought a new charger thingy and then filled my ipod with new music. This morning is the first morning in weeks that I don't mind sitting here at my desk. It's actually been quite nice-a cup of coffee and new music. Love you babe. But don't think I forgot about that foot rub :)

drawing of headphones found on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateconsumption/136222273/

Friends

I just want to say thank you for all the comments, emails and phone calls regarding my Ouch post. I could not believe the response I got. You guys are awesome.I am right in the midst of our quarter end so I am swamped right now but I plan on writing all of you back (or calling). Thank you again. I love you guys. Muah.

Happy 4th!

Eat some sweets and blow some stuff up.

Dear Anthropolgie,
Why do you torture me with your super cute flats with pompoms that cost $98.00? I hate you. Where's my credit card?

Laura

I need to rock

When we first bought our house I was so excited to have a front porch because that meant that I could have a porch swing. As long as I can remember I have wanted to have a house with a porch swing. I found one that I loved a while back but decided to look around a little more and of course it is no longer available. I found this one at Pottery Barn. The price is reasonable and it looks like good construction. I am not sure about the ropes vs. chains. I think the first one I found had chains. Also, I wanted to get an unfinished one so that I could paint it a bright color, if I buy this one I will not paint it because the finish is so nice. But I guess that is okay.

After spending a week on a porch in a rocking chair on vacation I decided that maybe I don't need a swing, maybe a couple of rocking chairs will work. They don't require that I drill into the ceiling of the porch and they take up a little less space than the swing. The problem is that the price range is so wide and apparently so is the quality. Every where I look I find people that are pleased with their rocking chairs and people that say they are crappy construction. I don't want to spend a fortune on rocking chairs, but I also don't want to have them fall apart.

I also found this little bench at Pottery Barn and kind of liked it too. The pros are that Wade can sit on it when he plays guitar unlike the rocking chairs with arms on either side. That was his main complaint about the rocking chairs. But it is the most expensive of the options (even on sale) and, well, it doesn't rock. Then while searching for swings I found this, it is a swing lounger. Basically a bed on a swing. This is probably my dream swing but it doesn't make much sense for the front porch of a little bungalow. Someday though....on the back porch of our house by the ocean...a girl can dream.
Advice? Opinions? I am leaning towards a swing because I know I can find one that is well made and not break the bank. But, those rocking chairs sure look cute and it was really nice to use them on vacation. I need help.

Ouch

I had a “friend” chew me out the other day and it has taken me a few days to recover from the blow. I don’t feel that I did anything wrong, but I know that in every situation there is something to learn, something that I can take from it to help me be a better individual or a better friend. I think what I learned from this is to listen to my gut and act on how I am feeling sooner rather than later. This friendship should have ended long ago, the only thing we had in common was the age of our children and I knew that from the start but I felt guilty for not giving her a chance. And I felt guilty because she is a single Mom and was struggling. Now I feel guilty for not stopping it sooner to avoid hurt feelings. Another lesson, guilt is not a reason to stay in a relationship. So that is that…now I am leaning on my friends to remind me that I am not all those awful things she said to me because no matter how much confidence you have in yourself taking blow after blow from a person that speaks not in logic but in anger, can do a little damage.
On a more positive note my Week of No TV has been great. I worked on recovering our chairs last night and am almost finished with my book. I do miss The Daily Show and the Cobert Report a little, but it is worth it for the free time. Also, last night I knocked #23 off of the list. I told the story on the bean blog.

Meme

I was tagged for a meme and I almost didn't do it because my life is not that interesting and I think this particular meme calls attention to that. But, they are just so fun...I can't resist them. I still fill out the email one that has been circulating the Internet since 1998. So here goes. Pretend that it is exciting, okay?
*
What were you doing 10 years ago? Hum. 10 years ago I was living up on campus in this tiny apartment with my friend Sarah. I had just finished what I call "The drunk period" (1996-1997...man those were good times), had an annoying ex boyfriend making trouble for me, was getting ready to start back at KU for the second time and had just started dating this guy, named Wade. He was cute.
*
What are 5 things on your to-do list for today?
-Pick up Rolling Prairie
-Clean my bathroom
-Paint the dining room table
-Play with Henry
-Mail Annie's package
*
Snacks you enjoy: I am a terrible snacker, mostly because I don't have an off switch. A snack is a little something one may enjoy on occasion....not me...I will eat the whole bag, box, bowl, whatever. My favorite "snacks" are Red Hot Blue chips and a avocado chopped into little pieces. I also enjoy yogurt covered raisins from the Merc bulk section, but I have to buy a small bag or I will eat them all.
*
Things you would do if you were a billionaire: I would move...immediately. I would sell my house and move. I'd pay off people's debts, donate, yata yata yata... Then I would go to pastry chef school and I would open my own bakery. I asked the mister this last night and he said he would be on-board with a lifetime of surfing, playing music and eating baked goods. Oh, and I would have and adopt lots of babies and travel around the world.
*
Places you have lived:Lawrence, Kansas --this is the part that makes me look extra boring.
*
Jobs you have had: Pharmacist assistant, stockroom worker, nursery worker, accounting assistant, biller, maid.

You Rebel

Did you know that on June 29, 1964 the first television remote was manufactured? And they have been destroying the lives of able-bodied people ever sense. I am baffled by the amount of time one can lose in front of the TV and the number of people that watch TV for hours on end and feel fine about it. I guess that is good, I mean at least they have a way to relax. I am barely able to sit through a movie without doing something else. It drives my hubby crazy. I have to knit or do sudoku or make a grocery list or have my lap-top out while the TV is on. Without something to do with my hands I either get antsy or fall asleep. And then there is the guilt. I spend an hour watching TV and feel guilty for days for wasting that hour. Personally, I could do without cable entirely if it wasn't cheaper to get the package bundled with our Internet service.
Neither the mister nor myself find much good in TV and we try to keep it off. We especially restrict it for Henry...did you know that the average kid watches 4.7 hours of TV a day and 20 hours a week playing video games. This is shocking to me. We will never buy a video game system for our child, poor deprived kid. We will take him to arcades though, if they still have those.
Anyway, in "honor" of the 44 anniversary of the device that allows us all to sit in the same place for hours at a time without thinking or speaking to our family members I am declaring this The Week of No TV. And to help me through those moments where the desire for laziness seems overwhelming I have pulled out all the books that I have purchased over the past few months and not yet read and set them on the table where the remotes usually sit. Maybe next week I will be able to post a book review. First up David Sedaris.

Sneak Peak

I only got 5 of the 10 yards of Ivory Sketchbook that I ordered for the dining room chairs. Apparently it is a popular fabric. So much for originality....oh well. I am using those 5 yards to recover the seat cushions. I will cover the seat backs when I receive the other 5 yards. I had been throwing around the idea of painting the table another color but I decided to stick with the white and paint the walls a bright blue color. Kinda like this-
You can't tell from my picture but the fabric for my chairs has a blue in it. See-
We are going to paint the cabinets, moldings and bookshelves, white. Tile the kitchen back splash with white subway tiles and put in dark grey concrete counter tops. We bought this oven with part of our stimulus check.

I think by this winter we will have our kitchen finished and we can move on to the study. It's a good thing we only have 6 rooms in our tiny house :)

Renewal

It has only been a week but I am missing my life at the beach house. The time I spent on Folly Beach was really a celebration of summertime: fresh food, feeling the sunshine on your bare shoulders, family, windblown hair, the smell of sunscreen, bare feet, ice cream, sunshine until 9 pm, afternoon thunderstorms, driving with the windows down, freckles on my sister’s nose, sleeping with the windows open, talking into fans, sand castles, sweat, staying up late, saltwater kisses from a little boy, bright pink toenail polish, birthday cake, big sun hats, wildflowers, sun tea, lazy days, road trips. I am trying to find a way to get back there....permanently.

On the drive back to Kansas the mister and I pulled out the atlas to search for a place on the East coast that would fit our needs. Our list:

1. Somewhere that has weather that allows us to spend some time outside every day.
2. Somewhere that has options for recreation that are things we want to do and are within 15 minutes from our house.
3. Somewhere close to the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean is like truth serum for me. If I feel sad, it makes me cry. If I feel happy, the joy bubbles up in my stomach and makes me want to sing. It is like being drunk or a really good song, it just exaggerates my feelings. I love it.
4. Somewhere that is relatively close to my family. I miss my sisters and can't imagine life too far away from my parents.
5. Somewhere with dynamic, diverse, open minded, progressive, creative people.
6. Somewhere with great restaurants.
7. Somewhere that needs a cupcake shop :)

8. Somewhere with a university

9. Somewhere with coffee shops that aren't Starbucks and a downtown area that is not a mall. No mall at all would be fine with us.

10. Somewhere with good surfing (more for the mister than me on that one, but I do think he is dead sexy on a surf board so I am keeping it on the list)

11. Somewhere that isn't too touristy

12. Somewhere with good schools, preferably Montessori.

13. Somewhere that we could afford a little house. I don't need a crazy 3 million dollar beach house (although I wouldn't turn it down) but a little 3 bedroom bungalow is right up our alley.

So far Wilmington NC fits the bill. We are planning a vacation...eh, I mean a trip to do research on that area...in the fall.

Hey. Guess what. On our vacation I was able to cross #2, #5, a little bit of #27 and #28 with a slight adjustment off of the list. So far I am doing okay on #6 but failing miserably on #’s 4, 7, 8, 14 and 18. Oh and #30 is much harder than you think. Less than 2 months to finish the other 25 or so left on the list. I am thinking a few of them might make it on to my 31 In my 31st Year list. I guess it is good that I get an extra "thing" each year. And just so you know, #31 on the list is "Get back to the beach".