CSA Week 2

I'm a bit late, but we are in the middle of moving so things are a tad bit crazy. If you saw the update from the last blog you know our second week was a pretty good one.

We got chives, green garlic, spinach, a spring lettuce mix, radishes, strawberries, and bok choy. I was incredibly excited about the bok choy, but because we haven't adjusted to a schedule of getting new produce on a Thursday, it wilted by the time we got to it. I was hoping to grill it, but... I'll just have to try it this week because our new box had a bit of baby bok choy snuck in with the spring mix!

In terms of how this box went, I'd say okay. It was a solid box, but I just wasn't a fan of the recipes we tried. The spinach went to good use though-- I love green eggs (we use this recipe minus the ham)! Who wouldn't love eggs that are chock full of nutritious spinach that still taste like regular scrumptious eggs?! 

Overall, joining the CSA has been a money saver so far. Right now we are getting a ton of greens which is in no way a problem, especially since good salad greens and kales are quite expensive at the grocery store. The green garlic is useful too. It can be used in unique ways (including a green garlic soup that I was not a fan of at all), but we've mostly used it in place of fully matured garlic. 

Shopping at the Farmer's Market is also quite helpful. This past week was quite the week too. We hit up the market and then went strawberry picking. As a kid I was not exposed to this wondrous task. Even as an adult, I thought I hated strawberries. As it turns out, I VERY much LOVE them. 

I was not lying. The top flat is from the market-- they are my freezing berries. The bottom two are from a solid hour of hard work in a field. If I had picked much longer, Jeff would have physically carried me away! I'm not even that good at it-- Jeff goes twice as fast since he grew up on a farm, and an older couple flew right past me! I like to think I'm just thorough, but I'm just a city gal who is hasn't quite mastered the art of quickly picking berries. But who cares? At the end of the day, I had all of these to eat (some did end up in a cobbler)! 

I also picked up some crooked neck squash at the market-- it turned into a lovely bread. It's not even wildly unhealthy (the initial recipe calls for white chocolate chips, but I just left them out). 

It's good on its own, and I'm hoping to use some of it for French Toast topped with a fresh strawberry syrup. 

As A Good Friend Would Say, "Frustration Station!"

I try to blog at least once a week, but something always seems to get in the way. It's not that I'm lazy or have nothing to blog about... I'm just absolutely distracted by God knows what, and then the week passes, and shit. No blog. Unfortunately, I may or may not be able to keep up with it like I want to for at least the next few weeks. Why?

Quite a bit has been put on my plate at work. I won't get into because it will either make you sad or it will make you cringe or both. I also avoid talking about work on my blog because I grew up in a world in which you did not talk about work on your blog. I've alluded to the fact that I'm a teacher ( I think, if not, now you know!) so just imagine the possibilities, or don't. Regardless, the "stuff" that occurred sort of made me go into what I've been referring to as turtle mode. After the semester ended, I went into my shell, and I've only come out a few times.

I've also been dealing with hip pain for an entire fucking year-- that's a year without running. Holy hell. We finally got to the MRI point. I was oh so lucky enough to have to get an arthogram before me MRI. I hope you never need either. Tomorrow I get the results of the MRI, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry no matter what. The doctor will either tell me I have the labral tear he thought might be there, or he'll tell me nothing was found so he has to send me to another doctor. It's a lose-lose situation. I think I've only staved off the tears because I haven't seen the MRI or heard my doctor officially speak any of these words yet. Here's hoping I can hold back the loud "Fuck, balls, shit, piss, cock, mother fucker!" until I get back to the car.

And in other terrible, horrible news, my Kitchen Aid Mixer is also hurt. She can be fixed though! But I'm spoiled rotten, and it's hot as fuck down here, so I won't be sharing any wonderful recipes with you because I won't be baking anything unless it's a box of brownies. Seriously, I only use my hand mixture to whip up the frosting for the Angel Food cake. Oh, and to mash potatoes. That's pretty much why it exists. 

So, yeah. No delicious cookies or cupcakes for a while. Which deeply saddens me because I was ready to make Strawberry Mimosa cupcakes. Thankfully our bounty of local strawberries will freeze up nicely and still workout well for the cupcakes. If only I could flash freeze them so they would thaw to a near perfect fresh berry. Or maybe we could live in a world where strawberries are always in season... or at least longer than two fucking weeks. Next year better be better! This is two short seasons in a row! Gah!

We've Got a Musing and a Gem... and a Silly Kitty!

So I've been a bit busy lately. Between work, weird work occurrences, physical therapy for my hip bursitis, and just typical life busyness (this word looks weird), I feel like one of those poor beheaded chickens. It doesn't help that the weather has been rather wonky... tornado warnings in February! And I have to say, it's super weird and kind of scary not having cable during a storm (we canceled a while back because it's pricy, and we have yet to get the stuff to make the local stations work). I miss turning up the volume to extra loud so I can hear Jim and Nick (the weather dudes, obviously) while I hide away in the bathroom with the kitties. Thankfully, I'm safe as are Maggie and Purrcy and the husband.

Unless Purrcy decides to get more daring. Although, I'm not sure how much further he can take it, considering he's sprained his paw in a toaster, tried to put his healed paw in the hot toaster, got stuck behind the refrigerator because I guess he thought jumping behind it was a good idea even though we weren't home, and he had no escape plan, fallen from the top of our refrigerator into a pile of glass shards created from his fall, and whatever else he does while we're sleeping. But I digress.

Despite a jam-packed schedule, I managed to do some baking. Since I'd had such a terrible run of bad luck with new recipes, I tried out a Martha Stewart recipe because Martha has never steered me in the wrong direction.

I went with her Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon cookies... but I omitted the peanuts. Still delicious! So how to make these bad boys and girls?

Ingredients:

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (I used vegan butter because I'm lactose intolerant)
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 sugar 
• 2 large eggs (Use an egg replacer to make it vegan if you want because my chocolate chips are vegan so I assume it would work out just dandy!) 
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to about 350. I say about because you all know I have a shitty oven. 
2. "Whisk" together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. That's right. I whisked it... with a fork. I'm not Martha!
3. Cream the butter and peanut butter together. Martha says to do it for two minutes. I just guessed. 
4. Cream in the sugars. Again, Martha says to mix it for two minutes. I guessed! 
5. Mix in the eggs and the vanilla (Note: Martha says to add the vanilla at the end with the chocolate chip cookies. That seemed strange to me becuase no other recipe has you do that, at least that I know of. So I added the vanilla at the "normal" time.).
6. Gradually add in your flour mixture that you so gracefully whisked together. 
7. Once combined, fold in your chocolate chips. 
8. Refrigerate the dough for about fifteen minutes or until it's kind "firm."
9. Scoop dough on to parchment paper lined baking sheets (seriously, screw oiling the pan anymore). 
10. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes (I baked mine for 11 minutes, but I like a chewy cookie.).
11. Enjoy! * 

 * I forgot to take a better picture of the cookies, and I'm too focused on eating them to take another picture.

Let Them Have Icing!

I've been trying to post about something since The Superbowl. But there have been mangled fingers and failed recipes. Sure I could post about the appetizer we took to a Super Bowl party, but it's just not as exciting as posting about a new baked good, at least to me. Tonight I tried Brownie Mix Cookies. They are far from terrible, but they just seem off... They tasted like brownies in the form of a cookie, but something just wasn't right. *sigh* Hopefully, it's not because I used a different brand of brownie mix. what can I say? I love Duncan Hines. Plus, they were on sale today-- 10 for 10! At least I had the forethought to by an extra box! Back to the cookies though.

The good news is, the icing turned out quite well! It even looks pretty! I also got in some practice with the fancy decorating thingamajig. I obviously need more!

I suppose I'm especially disappointed because I used a dairy-free cream cheese. So I really expected it to be the part that fell flat. But alas, I now have a container of cream "cheese icing" waiting for a home. Perhaps I'll find something for it tomorrow. For now, here's the icing recipe. Maybe you have a good home for it.

Ingredients:
1. 5 ounces of cream cheese (I used Better Than Cream Cheese by Tofutti)
2. 3 tablespoons of butter (To stay dairy-free I used Vegan Buttery Sticks by Earth Balance)
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 2 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add in vanilla and sugar.
3. Spread or pipe onto a tasty treat!

Introversion Can Be A Bitch

I came across this today...

I'm not sure if Khalifa actually said it (also, the uncapitalized "i" irritates the ever living hell out me). Regardless, it's true. I am shy. I'm also introverted-- no they are not one in the same. I just happen to be both. But I digress.

People rarely get to know me. They think they know me, but they really don't know me AT ALL. And it's not that I don't want them to know me. In fact, I can think of a few people I've tried to get to know, to let them in, past my facade. I've failed. Or have they failed? Maybe I'm just supposed to be the chick that bakes, writes blog posts laden with f-bombs, and is married to your really awesome co-worker.

But that's not me... well, it's not an all-encompassing description of me anyway. That's the problem. Now, you might be thinking, "You're not trying hard enough. You just don't put yourself out there enough." But that's fucking bullshit.

A few people know me. A few of them may even read this (Yeah, I'm talking to you.). And I'd like to believe they'd testify that I'm worth getting to know, that I do "put myself out there." They know about my fears, my biggest accomplishments, all of the "whys" and "hows",  my mind-boggling obsession with figuring out if the comma (especially that last one) goes inside the quotes or outside the quotes because across the blogosphere and in books and magazines the standard appears to have changed, my obsession with food-- particularly cheese and ice cream despite my lactose intolerance. They know I'm so fucking complicated that no blog post could ever convey the depth of my soul (I'm just that deep!). Actually, that sentence might because it's one part facade, one part reality, in a way that isn't discernible. Hell, Jeff just asked if I was okay because I'm not chatting with him because I usually chat with him even when he doesn't want to chat which is weird because introverts aren't usually chatty, but I am really fucking chatty.  

So why am I so God damned invisible? Forgettable? Or do you just avoid me because you all are just afraid to tell me that my baking actually sucks?

End of the Year

I fell off the grid again. I seem to be doing it a lot lately. What can I say? Life doesn't always make blogging easy... well, really the tough part is actually sitting down to write.

Regardless, I'm here now, offering a bit of an end of the year wrap up... let's face it, it's the holiday season, and that means my resurfacing will likely occur after the new year.

So what have I been up to? Do you care what I've been up to? Honestly, I wonder how many people actually mentally answer that question, let alone read my blog (Hi, Rachel!). But I digress.

1.

Why, yes. I got a tattoo. For those of you who cannot decipher the above script, it reads: Darling. It's nothing bold or showy or even visible to the public on an everyday basis. But it's mine-- it's a reminder of who I am, who my Grandma was, and who I should continue to be.

I always wanted a tattoo, but I never had a reason to get one... the permanence scared me. I never thought I'd have a reason to get one, but then life happens. I didn't realize how much my Grandma meant to me until it was too late. I loved her... I thought she was a bad ass. I just never grasped the extent of her bad ass-edness (God, I wish I had come up with a better word) until she was no longer my Grandma--she was a lifeless vessel in a hospital bed. I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that I was able to recognize how amazing she was, even if it was too late.

Now here I sit, tattooed with my Grandma's signature. It's as if she marked me... a Darling-- forever an independent, strong, and hardworking soul. Some people say you regret tattoos after you age, wrinkles everywhere. Maybe... but not this tattoo. How can you regret being a Darling? You can't. How can you regret something so cathartic? You can't. How can you regret a daily reminder of your strength? You can't.

So here's to you Grandma Darling!

2. I have actually baked in the last month or so. I never blogged about it. I meant to... I even took pictures!

Jeff actually helped too! Sifting is time consuming. So if there's a free set of hands, you grab them. Someone pours while someone sifts. And speaking of time consuming...

Thank God for my KitchenAid Mixer. Beating egg whites for twenty minutes with a hand mixer... BLAH! Honestly, making an Angel Food cake (that's what I made... I think I forgot to mention that earlier) from scratch should require a KitchenAid Mixer. Grandma used to make hers with a handmixer, but then she got one of these for her birthday... converted! Speaking of her birthday, this is actually documentation of me making a birthday cake for her. Weird? Maybe. Do I care? No.

Especially because I got to eat Angel Food cake and ice cream. Honoring your totally awesome Grandma, honing your baking skills, and eating a tasty dessert is quite amazing. P.S. If you want the recipe, let me know. Sometime I'll get it posted to my other blog.

3. Jeff and I put out Christmas decorations.

This is not everything we have... there are red and green glittery tea lights, a Christmas village, a make shift tree of Christmas cards, and a bunch of other stuff. Seriously, it looks like Christmas threw up in our living room. It's kind of weird too-- I'm a "Happy Holidays" kind of girl, but you'd never guess from the looks of this place! And yes, Maggie gets her own stocking!

We also have a tree. It's fake, but it's still exciting to have a "real" fully grown Christmas tree!

4. Grading papers and napping... speaking of napping...

I'm Not An Olympian, But I'm Trying To Change The World...

In case you didn't already know this, I used to be that kid who wanted to go to the Olympics. I know. Who didn't? But I think I wanted more than most... not as much as those that actually go or even attempt to go, but I really, really, really, wanted to go. Alas it wasn't my fate. I was born into a family that couldn't afford it. I'm sure... actually I know my mom would have found a way to scrap up the cash for me to make my dream come true, but I think somewhere deep down in her supermom vat of knowledge, she knew I was never meant to be the next Shannon Miller. I'm neither blonde nor flexible.

Seriously though, I think she knew that life was not for me. I wasn't made to eat, sleep, and do gymnastics. I was made to eat, sleep, tumble, do homework, and on a rare occasion hang out with friends. She didn't want me to miss out on the simpler things in life... like cookies and boys and working in Lowe's Garden Center. I know all of that sounds lame compared to being an Olympian, but  I'm happy where I am right now... and I think competitive tumbling did enough damage to my body. I can't imagine having anymore problems than I do now.

Will I ever forget my dream? No. I will always reminisce about what could have been, but for now I'll just have to stick with being a college speech instructor, helping students shed their fears...

and a silly baker and blogger who hopes to help the world one local, organic carton of eggs, one local chicken, and  one t-shirt from Locally Grown Clothing Company at a time all while having no elbows! Okay so I do have elbows. I'm not sure I could have tumbled without them, at least not the way I did. Regardless, I'm a reminiscent gal who thinks you should think about where and who your food comes from... minus today's Velveeta incident. I don't think any of us want to know where it comes from. All I need to know is it's unfortunately delicious.