Book Review

I finally finished Who by the Fire by Diana Spechler who so kindly sent me a copy to review.

I enjoyed this book but I wasn't wowed by it and I think that is because I read it at night before I went to bed. Which means I would read a chapter or two and fall asleep repeat night after night!

At any rate this is a book that takes place about thirteen years after the youngest of three is kidnapped. The brother quits college and moves to Israel to become an Orthodox Jew and he blames himself for his sister's kidnapping. The oldest sister is a hot mess and decides to go to Israel to get her brother to come home. The story follows a few different characters including the mother and a man who wants to help her "rescue" her son. I particularly enjoyed the ending and was one of those neat endings that makes you feel good inside.

I think this book is worth the read and I think you should all run out and buy it! ;o)

The anti-Christmas tree house

I was thinking maybe I should post about why I haven't talked about Christmas yet. Jamie and I went out two weeks ago to get a Christmas tree because in the three years we've lived in this house we've never had a tree. And really there is no room for a tree, the house is pretty damn small! But this year I was bound and determined. So, on our way to church one Sunday we were detoured out through Chester Springs and there was a cut your own tree place.

When we lived in Selinsgrove we did this every year and our tree was always $15 or less. Oh, silly me for thinking it might be similiar in price. This place was charging $8 a foot. The smallest tree we could find was as tall as Jamie. Um, no thanks. So, once again no tree for us.

We have, though put our cheap ornaments on all our plants outside and put lights up and a holiday mat on the front porch. I also have a garland with lights I put over our entry into the kitchen so we aren't devoid of all things Christmas. Oh! I also have stockings hung on the stairs with care, because of course we don't have a fire place.

Seriously, I can't wait for a larger house! This stuff drives me batty!

Anniversary

Today is Jamie and mine 8th wedding anniversary. We both forgot it. We're actually going to a really nice restuarant on Thursday so we'll celebrate then.

I meant to bring in pictures to scan, but that obviously didn't happen! This picture is stolen from Facebook from my mom's wedding last summer.

Jamie and I met in January 1997 at a fraternity party. My best friend was dating his best friend and she dragged me out one night. J and I spent the entire night talking until 6 am and walking around West Chester. I had actually been watching him for some time since we had shared an art history class the semester before. He was too busy hiding under his baseball hat to notice me! We had our first date a week later on Super Bowl Sunday, we went to see Jerry Mcguire and ate at the Olive Garden.

That November I moved in with him and we've been inseparable ever since, it's a lovely thing marrying your best friend! We've been through a whole hell of a lot of things from our first house burning down to losing my brother, our best friend. But we're in it for the long haul and we're looking forward to what this year will bring!

Happy Anniversary honey!!!

Such a product whore

Sorry, but seriously this might be the coolest contest ever. Check this out at http://www.mooshinindy.com/ -

If I were to win this package, I would give three of the computers to the following places:

One would go to my church for their academy. I know they are in need of technology and this would greatly help them.

One would go to my high school (or middle or elementary, wherever they deem it necessary) because I know budget cuts have been awful and schools are so in need of new technology.

(I think I'm seeing a theme here!)

The third computer I would solicit friends and family for someone they know that is in need of a computer. Whether it's a college student who desperately needs one or nonprofit or something else entirely. That would actually make a great blog post and readers could vote....hmmmm....

For the fourth, we need it desperately. Our computer is six years old and barely turns on and we are lucky if it turns off. It took Jamie two hours last night to print one thing which was for his business. Jamie is a contractor and given the economy this year we haven't been able to put the money away for a new computer. It would be a beautiful thing to blog at home in a matter of minutes and not hours, to create artwork (since we are both artists) without waiting for stupid Illustrator or Photoshop to load. If I didn't work with fast computers at work, I'd be in trouble. But poor Jamie doesn't and continually tries throwing the computer on the street!

That would be the 2nd thing we would do is donate our used computer (once Illustrator and Photoshop were taken off since those puppies are expensive) is to give it to the family down the street that are barely scraping by and they have two girls that could really use it for playing with and experiencing new things.

So- there you have it - now go enter this for yourselves!

Mmmmm Books!

I received my review copy of Who by the Fire by Diana Spechler so keep an eye out for a review for the book coming soon. I think I'll have to put Edgar Sawtelle on hold to read this one first!

Turkey

Okay, so I do have a good story in regards to Thanksgiving. We were supposed to go up to Central PA to visit friends and my mother and her husband and my aunt and uncle. Well, since Hera hurt herself we weren't comfortable putting her in the kennel.

This meant we were doing Thanksgiving with Jamie's family. His mother, aunt, cousin, grandmother, great-grandmother, his two sisters and their boyfriends/fiancee's.

So, dinner was to be at 4. We got there at three to visit and give presents to his great grandmother. The turkey was out of the oven resting and we were all ready to eat. His mother called his sister at 4:30 asking where she was. She said I just got out of the shower we'll be leaving in 10 minutes. They live over 1/2 an hour away.

It makes me so mad that she is so ignorant of everyone else's feelings. Not to mention a 99 year old that wanted to eat! We ended up eating without them and when they finally showed up we were out the door. She does this at every family gathering and it drives me crazy!

Wow

Sorry for the complete silence but I had off last week for my birthday and obviously Thanksgiving. I didn't do too much since Jamie had to work but I got a couple miles of walking with Sasha, some knitting done and reading. Thanksgiving we went to my MIL and celebrated Jamie's great grandmother's 99 birthday!

Saturday two good friends came down from Central PA for some steak and lots of wine.

And this morning Hera got her stitches out and seems to be doing pretty great which is a huge relief.

Coming up Jamie and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary on the 8th, which is quite fitting! We don't have much planned but we have a gift certificate to Sullivan's so we'll forego our usual Gilmore's jaunt.

I promise to be back with more exciting items soon!

Hubba Hubba

http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8470905&service=page&tab=vid

Does anyone else think it's kind of freaking cool that Jamie is working on this guys house right now?
He has a cribs episode but I can't seem to find it on the website. He's much sexier in person!

The evil that prevails...

What a week! Monday Jamie and I took off since we were too exhausted from dealing with Hera all night and we really didn't get to sleep until 4 or 5 in the morning. Wednesday I had to take her to the Vet to have her wound looked at and her bandages changed. She was fine leaving the Vet and even jumped in the car but when I got home she wouldn't come out. Of course I had a luncheon I had to be at at school so I took her with me. She, of course wouldn't get out of the car at school so she stayed in th back seat until I could leave. So, once again, another missed day of work.
I finally got her out of the car by putting the backseats down and carrying her out. I have a RAV4 so it is a bit of a leap when you can't use both front legs.

Today I woke up to a frantic phone call from Jamie saying he was stuck in traffic and it's snowing. I ended up taking the train into work which of course got me here late but I guess better safe than sorry!

The plan for this weekend is to go see Twilight on Saturday. Then I only have to work Monday and I have the rest of the week off for my birthday and Thanksgiving. We were supposed to head to Central PA but due to my dogs injury we can't kennel her and we obviously can't even get her into the car. I was quite upset about that on Wednesday but life is what it is. Hopefully we'll be able to get up for Christmas.

Peg Legged Dogs

This weekend started out great, Jamie and I went to see the new James Bond movie which was excellent. Saturday we made steaks and watched Iron Man (excellent) and Don't mess with the Zohan (hilarious if you have a 12 year olds humor which apparently we do!).

All good things ended on Sunday. I had gone to bed since we were up late at J's fathers house for dinner. About 12:00 Jamie came in yelling at me to wake up. Hera was on our bed licking blood on her leg which actually was about a six inch gash. I through clothes on and we raced to the emergency vet which is luckily not far from us. You can see what the poor thing looks like. She walks like a drunken sailor not quite knowing what to do with herself. We searched the yard and we can't figure out what happened. It was a clean gash but we can't find evidence anywhere. Unfortunatly our house is covered in blood. Our sheets, bedspread, carpet. It's quite awesome.

Thankfully she seems fine and should recover just fine but we'll know more tomorrow when we take her back to the vet to have the dressings looked at...

Ready, set, .....

Go check out www.lapetitechic.com and enter yourself a chance to win a Wii fit! Because I totally want one so maybe you shouldn't....hmmm....

So, anyway, tonight Jamie and I are headed to see the new James Bond film. Very excited here as we (more so him) are big Bond fans! Tomorrow J is scouting for deer with his dad and I'll clean, put away the flower pots and catch up on some serious knitting.

Such excitement around these parts, I'll tell you what! Hopefully this week there will at least be some exciting recipes with pictures, we'll see. That is if I can get to Wegman's tomorrow...

Mid Western Chowder

We made this soup last night and it was excellent. Easy to do and done pretty quickly, it makes a great week night soup!


Mid-Western Chowder--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recipe By: Bend Bulletin
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 small potatoes, chopped
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow squash,
sliced1 carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon thyme
1 dash nutmeg
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups 2% low-fat milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:In large skillet, saute onion and celery in butter or olive oil until just tender. Add spices (except fresh parsley), vegetables and potatoes to pan. Pour in 1 cup of the chicken broth and bring to low boil for two minutes. Turn heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat. In large soup pot, melt 1/4 C butter on medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and blend well, until paste is formed. Slowly add milk and remaining 1/2 C of chicken broth. Heat through, stirring with whisk. Add cheese and stir until melted. Carefully pour vegetable mixture from the saute pan into the soup kettle. Add dijon mustard and wine and stir gently. Salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and ladle into bowls. Serve with warm French bread.
. *The recipe in my newspaper omitted the flour from the ingredient list, so I'm not sure how much it was supposed to be. I used 1/3 cup and it seemed to be about right.

NOTES : substitute other veggies if you'd like, such as broccoli or cauliflower.Add a bit of chipotle
We added corn to the final product and it's definitely a good addition.

Relationships

Stephanie from http://hotfromthefurnace.blogspot.com/ posted a question about putting your significant other first and whether it's a girl thing or because she's been in a relationship for so long.

I've been with Jamie for nearly twelve years and I would have to say I put him first at all times. If anyone asks what we are up to I talk about his business or the projects he is working on at the house. Because, to me, my part of the life isn't interesting. I go to work, I hate my job and no one wants to hear about how much you hate work. So, I talk about Jamie. To me, that is far more fascinating.

Leading on to a tangent, I'm disappointed of where I am in life right now. This new year I want a better paying job with more responsiblity and I want to try to have a baby. But, I need the new job first since we barely get by on what I'm making and the economy is killing Jamie's business. I wish I had finished getting my certification to teach art, I wish I had gone to grad school to get my MFA. I wish I were working in the art field but I'm too far gone in education, I think, to ever change that. So, I think that leads back to the original question, that I'm not proud of myself. I turn 33 at the end of the month and it's time for some serious changes. I've been working slowly at working out every day, I only have a glass or two of wine on the weekends instead of with dinner. I have salads and soup for lunch and eat lots of veggies and fruit throughout the day. I've noticed in the past two weeks my clothes are finally getting looser.

So, the next hurdle in somehow figuring out where my life is leading. I applied for an art job at SU and I also applied for an alumni position with my alma mater. One job requires us to move. One does not.

I think the next two months are going to bring big changes one way or another.

Friday

I am so thankful that today is Friday! It's been a long strange week. Weird rumblings going on around campus re: my boss and I'm wondering what the outcome will be. I had two leads for jobs one down here and one back up in Central PA. We'll see if I get any interviews. My goal for the new year is a better job with more pay. I'm also networking my campus to see if anything will open around here.

At any rate we are headed up to see good friends this weekend and attend the wedding of my brothers best friend growing up. I'm so excited to see her happy and we love her fiancee! It's going to be a great day!

In between all of that we have to stop and see my grandma whom we had to put in a home and we haven't had the chance to visit her until now. My mom says she's not doing well but I know she's much happier where she was then in my brothers (furnished) basement! As you can imagine!

So, everyone have a good weekend and I'll catch up on Monday! ;0)

BAH

I am so so sick of the poor losers that the Republicans are showing themselves to be right now. I certaintly don't mean everyone, more importantly I mean my boss. He has been spouting all day that the Democrats will rue this day.

He thinks in six months Americans will be ready to put Bush on Mt. Rushmore. Dear lord. I can't even get angry anymore. I've never seen such blindness in my life! He's been justificating all day and saying that people see Obama as a savior.

Ack! Are you kidding me?

Indeed we did!

hee hee

Historic

I'm sure I don't need to post this but please go out and vote today. I actually got into a huge argument with my mother this weekend about her voting for McCain/Palin. She actually said to me that I don't see how you aren't voting for a woman. Seriously? I got so angry at her I couldn't even finish the conversation. Then her husband kept trying to push it and I had to stop him. He's a lawyer, I'm not - I do not speak well when my emotions run high. I could tell he was enjoying the process immensely.

At any rate, no matter who you are voting for (Obama) get out to vote today. I'm going to leave work early to get to the polling place before the 5 o clock workers get out.

Go OBAMA!

Weekend

My school was closed on Friday due to the Phillies parade down Broad Street. I briefly thought about going but Jamie was working and I wasn't going down there by myself. At any rate, when I left to take Sasha for a walk my neighborhood was packed with Phillies fans parking to go to the train station. Since we live so close to the station and the hordes of people going to the parade there was obviously an influx in parking. Apparently, the trains were so packed from Downingtown and Thorndale that they didn't even stop at the stations further down the line. Way to go Septa!

So, I took Sasha for a 3 1/2 mile walk at the Valley Forge State Park and it was a great day for that. I then cleaned, did laundry and went shopping. I was looking for a dress for a wedding but I didn't find anything cheap enough! I did, though, get a nice pair of cords from Old Navy. I then got my hair done and had a great time chatting with my hairstylist whose fiancee is Jamie's business partner. Jamie and I then made a quick dinner and some cocktails and sat on the front porch waiting for trick or treaters. Although the turn out was sparse we did enjoy talking to some neighbors.

Saturday my mom and her husband came to town and we went shopping for the wedding again. I found a cool velvet top that I think will work with a skirt I have. Mom also bought me a few other shirts which was nice.

Sunday Jamie and I got up early because of the time change and went for breakfast. We actually ended up splitting a chicken cheese steak and fries. Good food at 9 in the morning! We then went grocery shopping and stopped at Simon Pearce for a wedding present. Unfortunatly, that place is way out of our league. It's a shame because their stuff is so nice. Oh well, back to the drawing boards!
Jamie then changed the oil in our vehicles and I put away our summer clothes and then we watched football. Good times people, good time!

Who's Who?

I just got an email from our Marketing Dept. that my school is being closed tomorrow because of the Phillies win. While, for me that rocks because I don't do much it really messes with classes and schedules. This is coming from our President who won't close school (I work for a small two year school) if there is snow and ice short of a state of emergency, but he's closing for this? Quite hilarious if I do say so myself!

So do I go to the parade tomorrow or not?

Phillies

Just a quick post about tonights game of the Philadelphia Phillies. It's starting at 8:30 at the bottom of the sixth inning due to a rain delay on Monday. The powers that be decided tomorrow was still going to be too cold and rainy so the game is being continued today!


So excited to see the Phils win the World Series! My grandma is going to be going crazy!

I thought I posted this last night but apparently not! At any rate:

We won the World Series, in case anyone missed it! Jamie and I went to the bar to see the game because we figured if they win we would want to celebrate with people. It was so awesome to see them win! Apparently, the revelers in the city pretty much destroyed everything. There was looting and fires - insane!

mmmmm....food.....

So, the following are the recipes we did for our Halloween Party. I would so suggest trying these out for Holiday parties, particularly the Broiled Ricotta. For those of you reading that were at the party, we actually made it last night and it was lick the bowl good! For anyone else, we didn't make the ricotta because there were so many people and the pork and mac and cheese took up the oven.

At any rate, here you go!

This one is from Food and Wine and it was about making your own Ricotta. I got mine from Whole Foods and it was to die for yummy!This dish is really a must try for the holidays, it was so incredibly good!

Broiled Ricotta with Olives and Sun-Dried-Tomato Relish
Recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey Broiling ricotta intensifies its creaminess: It’s ideal with both sweet and savory toppings. Here, Maria Helm Sinskey serves it on garlic toasts garnished with olives and a tangy sun-dried-tomato relish.Cheese Recipes, Tips and More
ACTIVE: 45 MIN TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 10 MIN SERVINGS: 4 FastVegetarian © Tina Rupp Ingredients
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes,
thinly sliced2 teaspoons minced shallot
2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Salt
12 slices peasant or ciabatta bread, about 1/2 inch thick
1 garlic clove
2 cups Creamy Ricotta
1/4 cup pitted oil-cured Italian black olives, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small bowl, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with the shallot, parsley, oregano, vinegar, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and the 2 tablespoons of oil.
Season with salt.
Brush the bread on both sides with oil and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Rub lightly with the garlic clove.
Preheat the broiler and position a rack 6 inches from the heat. Spread the ricotta in a shallow medium gratin dish in a 3/4-inch-thick layer. Drizzle with oil and broil for about 10 minutes, turning the dish occasionally, until the ricotta is bubbling and golden. Spoon the relish and olives on top. Serve with the garlic toasts.

I made this one after an appetizer at Cuba Libra in Philadelphia. They served it with a pineapple, avocado salsa which we recreated and it was phenomenal with this recipe!

monster shrimp with orange chili glaze
Epicurious 2006 by Mario BataliSporting News Books
These are big shrimp, the ones that ate the other shrimp. When they opened the cage door after the death match, these are the shrimp that walked out of the ring.Don't turn your back on the grill while you're cooking these — someone's liable to abscond with them.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Asian red chili paste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds extra-large shrimp (16 to 20-count size), shelled and deveined
1. Put the orange juice, cilantro, chili paste, olive oil, garlic, scallion, chipotle, and salt in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade and blend until smooth.
2. Place the shrimp in a resealable freezer bag and pour the orange juice mixture over the shrimp. Chill in a refrigerator or ice-filled cooler for 2 to 3 hours but no longer.

I wish I had thought to take pictures but trust me, they both make great presentation!

Halloween Party

This is our friend Pam and a sampling of the food!

Jamie ready to grill the shrimp and looking confused!

Our friend Bobby Jo and our dog, Hera.

Towards the end of the night, you can see the tent broke in the upper left corner. We had high winds and drenching rains and the tent couldn't handle it. You can also get an idea of how freakin cold it was!

All in all the night was a fantastic success. Great friends, great food and lots of booze. Good lord! I made some great recipes that I'll post in another post and we'll definitly be repeating all of them, particularly the pork! We actually just finished it off last night, it was that good!

My only problem with the party was the 25 people that didn't bother replying to the evite and the six people that said they were coming and never bothered. That just really irks me - all it takes is a phone call! We were worried all night that we wouldn't have enough food and of course we had a ton left over. Boo-urns.

Anyway, we're looking forward to actual Halloween to see the trick or treaters! Although, once again, do we have enough candy????

Herbed Chicken and Dumplings

This is a Cooking Light recipe from the October 2008 issue. We doubled the recipe so we had lunch leftovers and it's perfect for this time of year! We will definitly repeat it, it's homey and tasty! As we were making it the smell just permeated through the house making us even hungrier!



Herbed Chicken and Dumplings



Fluffy herb-flecked dumplings, tender vegetables, and rich dark-meat chicken combine in this soul-satisfying classic. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Cooking spray8 ounces

skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

3/4 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut celery

1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

3 parsley sprigs

1 bay leaf

3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk


1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add celery and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaf) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute. Add broth to pan; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, chopped parsley, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring just until moist. Spoon by heaping teaspoonfuls into broth mixture; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. Discard parsley sprigs and bay leaf.Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 2 cups)CALORIES 285 (16% from fat); FAT 5.2g (sat 1.5g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g); IRON 3.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 133mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.2g; SODIUM 596mg; PROTEIN 25g; FIBER 3.1g Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2008

Pumpkins

This is the finished product. Jamie's scary one looks much better than mine!

Jamie freezing while I take the photos!

The final product! Mine is just sad!

This is the photo of set-up with the big white dog in the way.

Our Halloween Party is on Saturday so we had to start with the carving of pumpkins. The night before we cut out lots and lots of black rats and bats to hang all over the house. I'm so excited, Halloween in by far one of my favorite holidays! Lots of pictures to come on Sunday!

Exercise is hurty@!

So, although I exercise fairly regularly (cough, cough) I've decided to up the ante a big to kick up the weight loss. Monday night I ran for one mile and then speed walked for a mile. Tuesday morning I took it easier and just walked for a mile. This morning, since I ended up snuggling in the warm bed a bit longer than I meant too...dear lord winter is going to be hard!

If you've missed the boat on Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred you must go buy/rent/borrow this now! For 25 minutes she kicks your butt, but then you are done! 25 minutes! It's perfect in that you want to kill her but then it's done and you forget!

It kind of feels like you are cheating but when at lunch, eating my salad, I could still feel my legs shaking. Well, let's say I think it's working!

A Dress for a wedding?

Any opinions on this dress for a wedding? I'm not sure if it's too casual, although the wedding is in the daytime. Thoughts?

Pumpkin Polenta with Chorizo and Black Beans

I read about this recipe on http://www.suburbanbliss.net/

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/images/recipe/grp_edr_pourage_sz2.jpg

(Please bear with me, I'm still learning this and can't quite figure how to put a picture!

I actually took a picture but my capabilities at work are limited so I'll see if I can post it later.

Jamie and I both really liked this though it is a bit heavy and could also be because I added the rest of the cheese... oops. But I think I would make it again, it's an easy weeknight dinner and we used spicy chicken chorizo so it was slightly better for you. At least until I added too much cheese!


Pumpkin Polenta with Chorizo and Black Beans
Rachael RayFrom Every Day with Rachael RayNovember-December 2005FOUR SERVINGS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3/4 pound chorizo
1 medium onion
One 14-ounce can black beans
2 pimiento peppers or roasted red peppers
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 14-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup quick-cooking or instant polenta
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded Manchego cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)
1. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO (1 turn of the pan) and the chorizo. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, then add the onion and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the black beans and the pimientos and heat through, another 1 to 2 minutes. 2. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil and stir in the pumpkin. Return to a boil, whisk in the polenta and stir until it masses together, 2 minutes. (Watch out for splatters.) Remove the polenta from the heat and add the thyme, salt, pepper and cheese. Adjust the seasonings. Pile the polenta on plates and top with the chorizo and beans. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.

Science

So, Jamie and two of our friends visited Harrisburg this weekend to see the Body World's exhibit at the Whitaker Center.

http://www.whitakercenter.org/Bodies/index.asp

I just have to say I found it quite disturbing! Particularly since they were real humans at one time. My friend Jess and I were wondering if we would recommend it to anyone and I'm not sure we would. I think it's great if you were taking a life drawing class or studying medicine but other than that....

Take a look at the link to learn more about it!

For my first post - I'm linking to Stephanie from http://www.hotfromthefurnace.blogspot.com/. Check her out when you get a chance!


A. Attached or Single? Married to Jamie for eight years, together for more than I can count!

B. Best Friend? My very best and first friend is Meredith. We’ve weathered a lot together. But, Jamie will always be my best friend, we do everything together.

C. Cake or pie? The only pie I like is pumpkin, so cake I guess though I don’t have a big sweet tooth.

D. Describe your favourite outfit/ensemble? I prefer to be comfortable so khakis and cute shirts. I like wearing heels, but more so on the weekends since my job isn’t all that professional.

E. Essential item? Chapstick, diamond earrings, wedding rings and engagement rings.

F. Favorite color? Yellow and green. I love yellow in terms of paint for rooms and green for clothes.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears. I like biting their heads off.

H. Hometown? Middle of nowhere, PennsylvaniaI. Favorite indulgence? Shopping, whether for clothes or kitchen goodies. Also cookbooks, I have a serious problem.

J. January or July? July, by far. I hate winter with every fiber of my being.

K. Kids? If we are able we will have kids. Preferably two because I believe in siblings.

L. Life isn’t complete without? Happiness

M. Marriage date? December 8, 2000

N. Number of brothers and sisters? Two older brothers.

O. Oranges or Apples? Apples. .

P. Phobias? I don’t really have phobias, more afraid of death and getting sick than anything else.

Q. Quotes? "...having dogs forces us to keep living in places that are right for us. And I think of all the things I might have given up had my dogs not shown me what was important in my life: fresh air, a garden, an eleven-thousand foot mountain in my backyard." - Pam Houston "The Bad Dogs of Park City"

R. Reasons to smile? Pumpkin recipes, my husband, my dogs and good friends we got to visit with this weekend.

S. Season of choice? Summer by far but I do love fall when you first put on jeans and a sweater or sweatshirt.

T. Time of day? I like the morning when I exercise or out hiking but I do appreciate the night sitting on the couch, watching tv/movies with Jamie.

U. Unknown fact about me? Bathrooms skeeve me out and I cannot clean them, including my own. Jamie has that responsibility.

V. Vegetable? I love all vegetables but oddly enough I love lima beans.W. Worst habit? Hopefully I just kicked the worst of my bad habits.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I just don’t even know what this is about?

Y. Your favorite food? Chinese.

J. Z. Zodiac sign? Sagittarius