Martha Stewart Knows Her Loaves

I am a baker. I love to bake.

I love baking even more when I have an excuse. This week my excuse is this: Eric is moving to Memphis for 2 months while he trains with Pinnacle Airlines (they fly under Delta) and since I will not be going with him, I'm going to send baked goods in my place to make sure he's taken care of.

There are four items I'm making to send:

1. Chocolate Chip Muffins
2. Zucchini Bread
3. Red Velvet Cupcakes
4. Blueberry-Lemon Bread

Today I'm going to share the recipe and photos of numero quatro: Blueberry-Lemon Bread! (I found this recipe in Martha Stewart Living.)

You'll need a mini loaf pan and the following ingredients:

1 stick butter

2 cups flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

½ cup lemon juice

2 tbsp lemon juice

¾ cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Salt

2 large eggs

6 ounces blueberries (1 ¼ cups)

First, preheat your oven to 350. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup lemon juice. Simmer and stir occasionally until sugar dissolves and the syrup is thick (about 4 minutes). Let it stand while making cakes.

In a small bowl, combine heavy cream, remaining 2 tbsp lemon juice, and vanilla.

In a different bowl, whisk or sift flour, baking powder, soda, and ¼ tsp salt.

Now, in a very large red mixing bowl you bought from Wal-Mart a few years ago in a desperate search for something in which to make late-night munchie food, beat butter, lemon zest, and remaining cup of sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with cream mixture. Gently fold in blueberries using a spatula.

Just before dividing batter into your pans, spray them with non-stick cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among pans.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean (about 30 minutes).

Once the loaves are cool, take them out of the pans and brush the tops with the lemon syrup from your saucepan. This adds sweetness and moisture and all-around sinful deliciousness. Wrap up your loaves in wax paper or plastic wrap to store. They can also be frozen for later enjoyment; just take them out of the freezer and let them come to room temperature before eating!

Goodbye, House

Yesterday I was home in Dallas for the last time until Thanksgiving. Now, I know that many college students younger than me go through this kind of thing all the time. But I don't know them and I don't care.

It was hard.

I realized as I was sitting in the living room yesterday afternoon that I wasn't going to see my pets again until that time. This is a big deal, as I grew up with pets my whole life; they're part of the family. And up until now I've had the privilege to come home frequently and see my family and them. Now I'm going to have to wait several months before that happy, furry reunion.

Then I realized that I was no longer just “off at college”. I was really moving away. My house in Dallas is no longer going to be my house. It will always be my home, but from now on I'm going to have to make a new home that's really my own.

As these realizations dawned on me, I couldn't help but start to feel the sting of tears. I was doing okay holding it all in until I made eye contact with my dad, and then all blubbering broke loose. He came over and sat with me on the couch, holding me close and I let myself feel little again and just held on for dear life. My mom scooted over and Annie sat with us, too. Matt was asleep, but I know that in his dreams he was sitting beside us as well. We all sat there together for a few minutes, silent and knowing that a lot of things were about to change forever.

Growing up is great. I love it. I love taking steps forward. But no one ever tells you that those steps also inevitably come with grief, and that no matter how exciting the step forward is, it comes with changes. More and more, I'm starting to get used to that fact of life.

Eat This TODAY

Holy moly, guacamole. That is not what this recipe is, but that would be delicious, too.

This is a recipe that Eric introduced me to, which has changed my life forever. You wouldn't believe how incredibly fast, easy, inexpensive this is to make-- and it's SO delicious, makes plenty for leftovers, and will be just as good a day later as it is when you first pull it out of the oven.

Start with a chicken breast per person. I usually cook them by butterflying and seasoning one side with garlic powder, and the other with chili powder. (Eric likes to butterfly and season with "Kickin Chicken").

While you get the chicken going, boil enough spaghetti for the people you're serving. You want it to be just past al dente before you drain it.

As the pasta boils and the chicken cooks, combine a few things in a large mixing bowl: Rotel, Cream of Mushroom soup (trust me), and about 4 oz. melted Velveeta. Make sure it's mixed together well to keep the Velveeta from clumping.

When the chicken is finished, shred it and mix into the large bowl with the other elements. Once the spaghetti is finished, mix that into the large bowl as well so that everything gets coated well.

The next move is crucial: cover a 9x13 baking pan with foil, and spray the foil. This will make clean-up SO flipping easy. When the pan is ready, pour in the spaghetti mixture and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

It will come out looking like this and tasting even better. Enjoy!!!

Everyday Matters

Today was not really a special day. There wasn't a special date or event or task that needed to be dealt with. But today was awesome.

Today I got to drive out to the airport (about a 10 minute drive) and meet Eric for lunch. We went to the OG (Olive Garden) and ate unhealthy food. Oh my was it delicious. Afterward we headed to Borders so I could buy The Help before the movie comes out. Once I got my book we went back to the airport so Eric could get back to totin' that barge. Overall our time together was about an hour and a half.

We didn't necessarily do anything special, but as I was driving home, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

I am a big believer in everyday love; grand gestures have their place and they're important, too, but grand gestures don't make a relationship. The way you live your life every day makes a relationship. As someone who has had plenty of failures in this department, it's really exciting for me to be able to say that after almost a year, I feel like I'm finally in a healthy, happy, productive, and perpetual relationship. By that I mean that I can be myself-- all high maintenance, and lovey, and independent, stubborn, lazy, overly-cutesy-- and he can be himself-- all handsome, and affectionate, and quiet, and goofy, and pilot-y-- and it works. Our relationship seems to build on itself. When we are doing well, we do even better. When we are not giving our relationship the time and effort it needs, we start to really notice. And we've gotten good at avoiding that issue.

I never would have thought that something little like driving by his job for a kiss before I go to work (not even getting out of the car, but through the window like at a fast food joint) would matter so much and make such a difference. I never thought I would care. But I love our little "things". I love feeling like I can be myself. I love not being dependent on someone, but rather existing with someone.


That's all I've got for today!

The Countdown Begins

In exactly less than one month I will be migrating North. For about 4 years.

You see, I'm going to Loyola University Chicago in the fall to begin graduate school and get my Master's Degree in Sociology, after which I plan to get my Doctorate. If I don't pull all my hair out by then. (I doubt I'll actually go bald, but it might be close.) The area I plan to study is Race.

Oh boy, is that a hot topic.

It's mostly hot because people don't like talking about race, and most people who do like talking about it do so in a misguided way. This is most often the result of a lack of information, even though there is plenty of information available. I plan to use my degree to teach others about this topic, and make sure that they know where to access the information about the issue and how to share that with others.

I have a mentor who believes that education cannot "fix" the race issue. The solution is far more complicated. And while I agree with the solution he proposes, I have to at least believe that education can help others to be open to even acknowledging the problem. I have to believe that helping them to be open might cause them to be willing to talk about how to handle the problem, and I have to believe that believing all this does not, in fact, make me an idiot.

But it might.

I'm off to Chicago-- in exactly less than one month-- to find out!

Updates on the Sew-n Front

A summary of pictures:

New Sewing Basket!

New sewing basket storage

Apron pieces

Finished apron

OU T-shirt blanket

The End.

Fried Rice

Last night we ate delicious fried rice. It's super easy to make!

(For two people we start with 1 cup of uncooked rice.)

First, make your rice. Next, chop up about ¼ cup onion, and about 3 tbsp chopped bell pepper.

Spray a large pan with cooking spray and start browning the onion and pepper. Once they're thoroughly browned, add the rice and a little vegetable oil, about 1 tbsp. Let that start cooking and slice up about 5 baby carrots, and about 6-7 slices of deli ham.

Stir the rice, and add about 1 tbsp soy sauce. Mix in well. As it cooks, periodically add another tbsp of vegetable oil and soy sauce (you'll do this about 2 more times). Add in the carrots and ham.

If you like egg in your fried rice, crack one egg in a small bowl and whisk. Pour this over the rice, and once it's cooked, the rice is ready! Serve with extra soy sauce if you wish.

**This recipe is my best adaptation of how Eric makes his freakishly delicious fried rice.

Sew Handy

If you know me well you know that I'm an old woman at heart. I love to be a homebody and knit/crochet/sew to my soon-to-be-arthritic hands' content. I also really love giving the things I make as gifts to others, and I try to make things that I know are useful and actually enjoyed, not just random stuff that will sit in a closet or on a shelf.

Earlier this week I was very excited to replace my very old and broken sewing basket with a newer model that had more storage and organizational options. I no longer have to dig through piles of doo-dads to find what I need. Along with this new basket came a renewed surge of sewing creativity. I managed to measure and place the batting in what will eventually be my OU t-shirt blanket; I finished a small decorative pillow; and now I have made an apron!

I'm really jazzed about this apron.

First of all, it's cute. Like, really really cute. And secondly, it's something practical that I will use a lot. I love cooking and baking, and I hate constantly using the same dirty dish towel or going through paper towels or getting my clothes dirty. This apron will certainly serve its purpose.

However, in making this apron I quickly realized that I had plenty of material and plenty of desire to experiment with different patterns and sizes and varieties. I also have plenty of friends who also share a love for the kitchen and may like an apron to help quell their messy woes.

Coming up soon in the next few days I will be posting how I made my apron, along with pictures of the pieces and the process. Stay tuned!

Wash Your Hands

This Spring I read a terribly interesting, informative, humorous and tragic book called The Great Influenza by John Barry. As someone who grew up with a mild case of hypochondria, I found this book particularly interesting on the pure interest in diseases. But I seriously recommend it for anyone who is interested in learning about the greatest flu epidemic on record. 

 

Barry does a tremendous job interweaving the spread of the disease with the progress of World War I; in fact, he does a great job of showing how the war effort, in many ways, exacerbated the spread of the illness. He explains things on a medical level, going into great depths of how the virus works and how it mutates; he details the politics between scientists of the time; he explores the politics of the Wilson administration and the war effort; he retells the tragic stories of many people who died at the hands of the flu, as well as tales of miraculous survival. Most intriguingly, he postulates about the future of the nation and the world, as well as the future of the flu virus.

For instance, did you know that, according to Barry and many other highly credible sources, the U.S. is more likely to suffer another deadly flu epidemic than it is to suffer at the hands of a bio-terrorist attack? I know attacks have been attempted-- I refer to a successful one. Did you know that about 30,000 people still die from the flu and flu-related complications every single year? Did you know that the virus moves in a parabolic pattern; it moves from a milder virus, closer towards an extremely potent fatal virus, and back again.

I didn't know these things until I read the book.

This is one of those books that is completely not boring. It's over 300 pages long and I wish it had more pages for me to devour.

If you find yourself interested, you can purchase the book here. I highly recommend it.

I also highly recommend obeying those dinky posters that show you how to properly wash your hands to prevent the spread of disease...

Some Settling Thoughts

(I must give props to Becky for inspiring this post, otherwise she'll frown at me.)

The other day I had lunch with a professor, mentor, friend, constant source of humbling jokes: Paul.  Paul is the professor who helped Sociology catch my attention; until I took his class, I was headed straight for a Meteorology degree. By the third week, I was ready to change my major. I ended up taking a couple of other classes with Paul throughout my college career, and have gone to him with numerous problems, questions, and ideas having to do with my school career as well as my personal life. He was there when I needed to change my major. He was there when I got divorced. He was there at my graduation party, and he was at lunch with me last week.

I guess you could say he knows me.

A topic came up at lunch that I have been pondering over and over for a while, both before and after we discussed it. It's one of my favorite topics: Where I'm going to live when I "grow up" and settle down.

For most of my life I thought I'd end up back in Dallas. But a lot of things have changed over the last year, including my assumptions about what my life will be like. I have decided that I am hopeful/determined/excited/scared/eager to try to find a job and a home in Colorado.

I won't go into too much detail just yet, but I plan to divulge them all eventually. I do know that I want a giant garden with all sorts of flowers and vegetables. I want a home large enough to have space, but I would HATE an over-the-top monster house. And I want to live in a regular neighborhood, like the one I grew up in, where I'll get to know my neighbors and my kids will get to know their kids.

I have plenty of time for all of this to change again and I'm open to that-- but for right now, I'm going to enjoy dreaming about Rocky mountains and fresh air.

The Flashy Girl From Flushing

It was the 90s. The voices were nasal, the accents were Yiddish, and the hair was fabulous.

I love “The Nanny”. It is completely over the top and corny, but perfect. As a long-term babysitter and occasional nanny, there are several moments I can relate to. For instance, the hilarious moments with the kids, where it's the worst time in their life, but you know that they'll be thinking that about everything until they're 19; the awkward, and then the rewarding moments with bosses who appreciate you; the feelings of attachment you begin to have toward the people you are responsible for.

I love my job. There are times when I have to roll my eyes right along with the kids (my eye rolling is in response, of course)-- but there are other times when a kid gets sick or has a crappy day and you are suddenly the coolest person when you take their side about how lame that other kid was.

That's right. I take sides. It's awesome.

Being a nanny isn't a lifetime thing for me; but remembering that no matter how old I am, kids need to feel special and they need to be heard is valuable. The most important part-- remembering that no matter how old I am, I'm never to old to laugh at silly jokes with children who still see joy every day.

------------

Of course, wiping runny noses leaves something to be desired...

Independence Day? Psh. Independence Weekend

In approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes I will be headed South from Moore, en route to the Max Westheimer airport in Norman to meet Eric and pile all my crap into his car. We will then talk about how I need to scale back on the amount of crap I require for a weekend away, after which I will tease him for needing a specific pillow no matter where he is.

After this lovely exchange of blissful cuteness, we will depart, southbound on I-35, on our way to the sights and the sounds and the rush-hour traffic of Dallas. We're headed to my cousin's house tonight to wish him farewell as he gets ready to go study abroad in Spain! (I'm jealous.) After that we're spending the rest of our night hanging out with my brother and two good friends from high school.

Tomorrow we're having morning coffee with Becky and JAG, hanging out during the afternoon and taking my dad to a Rangers game in the evening for his belated Fathers Day gift. Sunday is a free day, although Eric has made us swear to, at some point, go to In and Out Burger. I'm sure it will change my life...

Monday we're celebrating Independence Day and heading back up to Norman so that he can teach idiots who almost kill him on a regular basis students how to fly. While he does that, I'll be soaking up UV Rays and skin cancer by the pool, enjoying a book and loving the fact that I have the freedom and privilege to do everything I just wrote about, without having to fear for my life or the lives of my family.

Have a happy 4th of July, and remember to be grateful for all the happiness we get to enjoy on a regular basis. Pray for those who don't have such luck, and please, please, pray for the men and women who serve our nation, and the families who miss and worry about them every second they do.