Whisking the night away...

Sunday, we got together with some friends for some good company and football.

As we hustled home from church to get something whipped up to bring to the shindig, the only things I could find in our cupboard were along the line of dried beans, jello, pesto sauce and a cake mix.

I quickly remembered a fast cake mix cookie recipe (1 box of cake mix, two eggs, 1/2 cup oil BAM)
and threw that together.

Unfortunately I suffer from "oh, these didn't take very much effort?" / "oh, so you didn't make these from scratch? hmm and you're a wife you say?" fears. Yea, unrealistic/lamesauce, I know this.

Que the jello, I figured somehow, somewhere, someone had to have come up with a frosting recipe with jello. As always, I was right.

Combine 1 pckg Jello
(select a flavor that best pleases your palate, as the recipe says)
2/3 c sugar (yeaaa)
1 egg white (that's healthy, right?)
and
1 tsp vanilla.

Stir until combined and then add in 1/2 c boiling water.

....

Here is where I must suggest a caution.
If you do not have a blender, beater, mixer, overly-obliging/buff husband with mad whisking skills :

... You may want to splurge on a canned frosting.

We took turns whisking the high-heavens out of this concoction for 7 minutes. I do realize this doesn't sound like a long time; but, oh... trust me. It was.

Our arms were so pumped, and it didn't even get fluffy! So we ended up just drizzling it over the top more like an icing than a frosting. Which left us with over half of the bowl left.

Who knew baking could be so intense?

Alligator Pears

Our local grocery store is having a sale on avocados 

(2 for $1, yea that's dirt cheap for around these parts)

Which lead to us eating guacamole sandwiches at the Cohen's house after playing tennis this morning. 

Which then lead to us picking up some avocados from the store.

Which lead to an amazing discovery ...

(although this is probably already widely known...)

Avocados are DELICIOUS with pesto.

We made some garden pasta, threw in some chicken, pesto and a diced up avocados.

Heavenly.

Little Brother?

The other morning, I heard Jebby rustling around in his cage.

I come over to find him tugging his blanket towards his bowl...

So that he can eat his breakfast while still wrapped up in his snuggly fleece.

Just like my brothers would walk around in blankets and sit over the heater vents on cold mornings and eat breakfast, before school.

NEMESIS!

Gah, such a cheap shot!

Goes straight for the eyes.

---

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty certain I have an especially hard time dealing with chopping onions.

I am in no way ashamed to admit I have tried many things-- including goggles-- to help with this predicament.

My mother in law chops hers underwater in a blender, but alas, we don't have a blender/food processor or the counter/cupboard space for one.

Now, every time I cut up an onion, I cut up several and place them in the freezer so I don't have to deal with them for at least the next few meals.

Oh well...
 I guess bloodshot eyes and cheeks streaked with mascara are just going to have to be an expected accompaniment to anything containing onions.

---

Unless you have any hints for me?

Birthday Brother

Saturday, we had the awesome privilege to attend my very first friend-big brother's/a mutual friend's, combined birthday party.

They made cupcakes, Gumbo and red beans and rice.

There was great food, great company and we ended the night bumming to Winco with the Clarks 

(we love the Clarks).

We give the birthday boy's first attempt (and success) at gumbo, and reoccurring success with cheesecake a full-bellied thumbs up.

What the future holds *mushy*

The other night, 

husband and I snuggled in to talk before we fell asleep.

He then proceeded to tell me about our future. 

All about our modest blue house a few hours away from Yosemite,
where we climb, camp, hike and swim
 Our wrap around porch where we eat during the summer,

echoing with the sound of the bare feet of our three children,
 with one on the way...

our big grassy back yard, little box gardens

and a giant oak tree in the front yard

...

And our seven rabbits, each named after the seven dwarfs, 

"Dopey is more of a giant puffball than a rabbit though," he says as he plays with my hair; "he is your favorite"

We also have a pygmy goat that just roams the back yard, his name is TinCan.

---

Could my heart hold anymore?

Dear 30 Day Challenge...

I know we haven't been together long. 

But I just feel the way I feel.

And after popping out of the shower and noticing the undeniable formation of oblique muscles.

I just have to say

...that...

I 

LOVE

you

!

...

also, I'm on an unprecedented Balsamic vinegar kick, but I don't think you really care about that. 

Just thought I'd let you know.

Did I just put honey on that?...

Successful last minute dinner was had by all (except Jebby, he just ate cat food) 

within 15 minutes of starting. 

Granted, it was just a salad.

But the chicken was good!

I wasn't sure what to make for dinner, so I peeked into my spice cabinet and in the back noticed a bottle of balsamic vinegar that I had bought to roast some cauliflower and Parmesan with. 

I decided to try my luck and popped on over to the computer and googled "balsamic chicken" I found several kosher/vegan/crazy expensive recipes and then stumbled upon one that I felt I could reduce down enough to just throw in the pan and serve with a spring salad mix.

So if you ever find yourself with balsamic vinegar and chicken, throw some along with olive oil and rough cut garlic into a pan sprinkle with salt and pepper then give a quick swirl of honey. I slapped a raspberry-walnut dressing (my favorite) and some Jalapeno cheddar crackers on the side and ended up with:

Two full bellies 

a happy husband

 minimal clean-up (which husband volunteered for anyway because I've been a grump) 

and a chicken dish that tastes similar to a lighter teriyaki 

So glad I put my 'I-really-don't-feel-like-cooking-but-we-have-to-eat' lazy frozen skillet dinner back in the freezer and tried my luck. 

What in-a-pinch recipes have you come up with?

The People you meet, the places you go...

Today I had the sublime privilege of traipsing around Historic Downtown Idaho Falls with my new buddy Erin.

We stopped by an antique store and gawked at all of the beautiful china, furniture, knick-knacks and vinyls.

We found ourselves stowed away in a little corner with shelves and boxes of Vinyls to be looked through and found one by the Ames Brothers. Intrigued to find out more, we had a little anachronism-esque moment while I pulled up one of the songs listed on the Vinyl on Youtube with my phone.

This is the gem that blessed our ears:

Charted at #3 on Billboard in November 1954, and #6 on UK Singles chart.

THE NAUGHTY LADY OF SHADY LANE:

The sweet lady behind the counter who rung up our purchases talked to us about the ups and downs of working in an antique store. She loved seeing different items come in, but it was always a little heart breaking when a rare piece slipped through her fingers, undetected on the individual vendor stocked shelves, and into the hands of a customer.

She told us about vintage jewelry, and about how she had kept all of her toys from when she was young, as did her husband. She also told us of her love for collecting dolls and her husband's interest in toy trucks. She shrugged slightly and smiled sadly as she explained that her and her husband had never had kids. She said; "I guess that's why we both are so attached to the sentiment of our toys."

People like her intrigue me. I was itching to ask more questions and get to know little bits more about her, but I didn't want to pry. I love the stories of every day people that I meet when I am out and about.

And I thought we were night owls...

We usually go to bed around midnight...

About two hours later, our little grump decides its time to train for his nightly marathon.

We are usually up around 8.

A few hours earlier, snuffle-butt decides it is time for his hard core marathon sprint.

Good thing we love our pokey little Jebby.