Coming backAs I sit here at my laptop, I think ... "How am I going to do this?" Where do I start? What am I going to talk about? HOW am I going to even begin writing about the journey that I have been on?
Countless times have I started typing and set aside a few words, a paragraph or two, or even a whole page. Though, I never did post. I didn't think I was ready. Thoughts, feelings, insights, etc... entries in my email or journal, in personal texts, on scraps of paper, or swimming in my mind. And I am finally deciding to bring it all together. To share my burdens, my joys, my strengths and weaknesses, my insights, ... my life; this blog is no longer just about food. And if there's an ear out there, I am blessed. And perhaps I can bring truth to your world, as God has brought it to mine. Truth. About our purpose here. Truth. About my struggles. Truth. About my joys. Truth. About health. Truth. About our world. There are so many lies we were born or taught into believing and their manifestations are far beyond UgLy. But when we learn the Truth, we can make the changes we need to be better for our Lord and Savior. The changes that perfect us and make us new. I am becoming new. It is no easy journey and I am certainly not through, but I will no longer let the waiting period dictate the postponement of sharing my story. And so let it begin. This is my story... |
"Food is an infinitely rich subject, and there's always something about it to understand better, something new to discover, a fresh source of interest, ideas, and delight." |
When I last left off, I was on my way to making chicken and dumplings (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-and-dumplings-recipe.html#comments - of course, I only used this as a guide and didn't add everything nor make my own stock. Also addin cumin gave this dish a well-rounded taste). And I did! It was a thick chicken and vegetable soup with a bit of milk and then dumplings cooked on top. Honestly, it felt like I was making pancakes, but instead of frying them in a pan, I was boiling them on top of chicken soup!! I'm not sure if you're supposed to flip dumplings over either, but since I did not see the tops cooking anytime soon, I decided to flip them. Along the lines of cooking pancakes, the dumplings DID have holes at the top indicating that they were ready to be flipped. Food speaks. We must listen. The next three days I was working in the dish room (Sunday), on Prep 2 (Monday - diets for the reptiles, some mammals, and enrichment), and then on research (Tuesday). Tuesday night I was finally able to attend Bible Study and once it was over literally flew out of there to get home and go to SLEEP. There's a saying about when people are hungry and angry and it's called 'hangry', but when they're angry and sleepy I'm not sure what the term might be. Let's just say I was a cranky, exhausted child of sorts. Wednesday morning I made whole wheat banana and cream cheese pancakes and then met my intern co-workers at DAK to explore the park a bit more. Since Kilimanjaro Safaris was backed up and had a ridiculous waiting time, we decided to traverse into Asia and go on the Maharajah Trails as well as go into Africa for the Pangani Trails. We saw several birds, a duiker, okapi, tigers, bats, eld's deer, reptiles and amphibians (a REALLY BIG TOAD!!), and colobus monkeys. I learned about Bar-Headed Geese and that they migrate over Mount Everest and go through the Jet Stream. In order to stay warm, they flap their wings 50 mph and can even travel 1,000 miles in a day!! Aren't animals amazing??? :D After those two trails, we sat in on The Flights of Wonder show about several exotic birds (macaws, toucan, an owl, and several more). It was as entertaining as it was educational! Soon after lunch, we had a 2 hour class (part c - the last class) and I worked an additional hour since the shift was free for the taking (yay overtime!) That night (last night? What day is it?) I ate the rest of my chicken and dumpling soup and decided it was time to make my 'recipe of the week'!! CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE!!! I made them for my one roommate and I. Served with frozen yogurt they were to DIE FOR. And although, they weren't cooked all the way, it was no problem; it was like a warm fudgy brownie sundae with hot fudge. The interesting thing about this was that my stomach had been bothering me the past few days and not only did this have no effect, but it made my stomach feel GOOD! Like Julia Child always said "butter, Butter, BUTTER!" Oh and here's the recipe for the lava cake: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-chocolate-lava-cake/. I had semi-sweet chocolate chips and a hershey's chocolate bar so I really have no idea if I was over or under the amount of required chocolate, but it still turned out loverly. This morning I finally found the local library and borrowed Eragon and another book about Ruth and God. With these two books, one that I was put on the waiting list for (The Fault In Our Stars), and another book I ordered through Books-A-Million (I Like Giving), I will be reading a lot of books! And I can't wait to get started! For lunch, my roommate and I went out to Olivia's cafe at Old Key West Resort. The story goes that Olivia wanted to start her own restaurant, but couldn't afford the tables, chairs, silverware, napkins, etc and so made the deal that she would supply the food if everyone supplied the tables, chairs, etc. And so all of the silverware, napkins, chairs, and such are different! How's that for cool? For an appetizer we split Conch Fritters served with a Key Lime-Mustard sauce and a Rémoulade sauce. They were described as being similar to hush puppies. Although I'm not crazy about fried food, I was in a "go big or go home" mood along with the "when are you ever going to try conch again" thought. The Remoulade sauce went really well with the fritters. It looked like a red pepper creamy sauce and yet tasted like a semi-smoky and spicy sauce. For my entree, I got their Duval Street Burger (medium rare) which is topped with Grilled Shrimp, Pepper Jack Cheese, Avocado, and Pico de Gallo on their Pineapple-Coconut Roll (!!!!!) accompanied with coleslaw. I could only eat half of it, but what I did eat was scrumptious. (And don't worry, I took the rest home). It was the shrimp and pineapple-coconut roll that truly persuaded me! We then spent the afternoon shopping a bit and now we are home. Dinner was a simple salad of romaine lettuce, spinach, feta cheese, and red wine vinegar since we had lunch around 1:45. Watching Treasure Planet tonight. And dessert just might find its way into my tummy again... Pictures are taking a while to go from my phone to my computer so, for now, I will at least share those taken today:
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Hello! And a happy Saturday to you all. I'm not sure about y'all, but here in the South we've been experiencing semi-humid, 80 degree weather with sporadic precipitation. Remember, you are always invited to come down and visit! Last time I left you I was in between my 9 day work week (with 1 day off in between). After my day on the dishes, I worked research and then worked deliveries. Delivery day was our meeting day and so since meetings occurred during lunch, we prepare lunch for the meeting! (I know. I said meeting three times in one sentence... and lunch twice. But this isn't graded so I can do whatever I please!) Anywho, there were scrambled eggs, pancakes, strawberries, gravy and sausage with biscuits, hash browns, bacon, peanut butter and jelly cookies, zucchini muffins, chocolate and fig scones, and an assortment of juices and soda. It was veryyyy filling and, though quick, the meeting was enjoyable as well. Since my night did not go exactly as planned that night, I decided to stay in, watch a movie (or tv), have dinner and then dessert. A simple night. O but before that, I lounged by the pool on the cushioned, wicker 'sofa' and drew in my sketchbook (from years ago). I was flipping through the pages as though expecting for my old drawings as a child to show up: ducks and birds, simba from the lion king, etc. I actually bought this sketchbook maybe about a decade ago in Sarasota, FL. And I've kept it ever since... drawing just let's your mind wander out loud without any rhyme or reason. The following day was spent working out, cleaning a bit, and tanning (I even got a little burnt!). Later in the day, I met up with my co-workers and we went out to a Mexican place for dinner. Despite my several comments about not eating Mexican food, I was really in the mood for it so that's the type of restaurant I looked up. As I assume many restaurants do, our bread and butter was instead chips and salsa. For an appetizer we split guacamole with some more chips and salsa as well as the few curly slivers of carrot and cilantro laid on the plate likely as a visual aesthetic. I was inclined to get fajitas, but knowing that I could make that easily at home, I went for the pork tacos (properly: carnitas). The dish came with three carnitas, mexican rice, and charro beans. But now that I read the description, I feel like they slacked terribly on the cilantro, white onions, queso fresco and avocado salsa that should have been there .... They were okay to be quite honest. I've seen people rave about this place, but I was really not impressed (says Miss Food Snob). Despite the mediocre food, the company compensated. Yesterday morning commenced with a 5:30 AM wake up call from work. Except my immediate response was FRSIGHFE LOUD NOISE fnsf3awddoha238e43 TURN IT OFF fgnrsog535nfef (mentally thinking this). And so I rejected the phone call and then looked noticing that it was from FL... Shoot!! Realizing someone from work was calling to ask if I wanted to pick up a shift, I tried calling back but by the time my message was received, someone else had taken it. Snoozing in and out of sleep, I finally got up at 7 AM wondering what in the world I was going to do for the day. I couldn't tan because of the overcast sky, didn't want to go shopping because I was alone, and didn't want to go to the parks for the same reason. Eventually I went to the gym because I was bored - not even because I needed to exercise. But having the day that I did gave me time to recover a part of who I am and so made me realize a few things. The source of my thoughts came from two podcasts from NCC in WA, DC. The pastors/book writers (there were 2 guest speakers along with the main pastor) talked about the theme of 'I like giving'. They spoke about how the greatest gift we can give someone else is that of inconveniencing ourselves; driving your friend to the store, fixing a stranger's flat tire, giving away your lunch when you've no idea where you can get another one, etc. It reminded me of the person that I want to be and strive to be: a giver. And another thing: although I am one who encourages others often, I realized that I too need that encouragement. This morning reminded me of the little value of money and the true value of heart. If we were a more generous people, we could change the world - even if it's one person at a time. So I've got to stop and think, "Do I have 2 minutes in my day to spare for the elderly man who can't load all of his groceries into his car?" God make me a better person. "If you're too busy to help someone, then you're just too busy." The rest of the day was filled with movie watching (Kiki's delivery service) and baking (lemon meringue pie - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/magic-lemon-meringue-pie-recipe.html). I followed the recipe almost to a T. Since I hand-whipped the egg whites, I added a bit more cream of tartar to help the meringue stand up a bit and also added a bit of lime juice into the lemon curd to add a little something extra. The condensed milk form (rather than corn starch form) was DELICIOUS. I made it for last night's dinner where I again met up with my co-workers, but this time we cooked together: steak and mushrooms in a gravy sauce with mashed potatoes, steamed summer squash, mac n' cheese, and lemon meringue pie. During our meal, we watched Disney's Brave. Not wanting to drive half an hour back home, I stayed at one of their apartments where we watched Back to the Future (such a classic and I loveee Christopher Lloyd!). This morning was very peaceful. Since they actually have a couch (I do not), I was able to not only sleep on it, but also lounge on it while reading my Bible and my book as well as journaling. And the downpour of rain only enhanced the zen atmosphere. Around 10 I left to do some grocery shopping and ended up buying things and spending amounts that I had no intention of buying or spending. For instance, I walked into target to get certain foods and the first thing I saw were the bathing suits. And eventually I saw clothes on sale. I ended up finally finding my new bathing suit and acquired (or rather purchased) 2 shirts in the process. I also bought my ingredient of the week: canned bamboo shoots. I've seen them at one of the dining halls at PSU, but I've never worked with them myself and so thought I would give it a try. But tonight my recipe of the week is for dinner: chicken and dumplings.... Despite the warm weather, the sky still looks ominous. And, hey, there's just something sort of magical about staying inside all cozied up watching a movie while the wind is howling and the sky is dying to break. It just broke. And torrential downpour does not even begin to describe this type of precipitation. Howdy folks! And happy belated Valentine's day (or Single's awareness day) out there! My night at Columbia with my two roommates was surprising. I saw this because the night before V day we had a one hour wait to get a table when we were expecting the actual day to be busy rather than the eve of the day. Nevertheless, we waited 20 minutes and snagged three spots at the bar and ate there instead. Having had so much time to look at the menu, we split a pitcher of freshly made sangria (with lime, orange, and cherries) and ordered our own tapas. I split lobster croquettes and then order black bean cakes and a salad with a homemade garlic vinaigrette. For a salad (which they were actually very well known for), it was pretty darn good.
The next day I had work and was on my last day of training at the window (aka where we prepare bird diets and speak to the public while doing so). It was really fun and multitasking is always a challenge (but a fun one of that!). And meeting so many people and answering any questions that they might have is always enjoyable. That night I ventured off with one roommate to meet the other two at Epcot. Before meeting up, we went on Tower of Terror and had a blast. Granted, it is one of my favorite thrill rides and I just can never ever ever get tired of that free fall feeling!! Afterward, we all met up and saw Fantasmic which was... FANTASTIC!!! I expected a firework show and this, my friends, was no silly firework show; it was that and oh so much more. Since I didn't have work the next day, I watched Secret Life of Arriety with my roommate. Or ... more like I "conked out" not even 5 minutes into the movie while she watched it. But I've already seen it so it really wasn't an issue. The next day we both had off and so went to Epcot during the day. Sunny, blue skies, and a warm climate... The only way to make the visit better would have been smaller crowds! But we just walked around and saw the Chinese Acrobats, went on the Norwegian boat ride, and wandered through shops. Having been exhausted all day, I just relaxed at night with a cup of hot cocoa and some of Publix's (from an actual half gallon! - since really everyone has downsized and simultaneously and deceptively increased their prices for smaller amounts... ) Coconut, caramel, and chocoate frozen yogurt. DELICIOUS. And then after work yesterday I went back and bought a half gallon of rasp and dark choc fro yo because it's $3.50. So I'm stocked up for a bit! And I went for a 3 mile run yesterday and we all know that exercise = more calories burned = more energy required. And energy = food!! Today I worked on dishes. After all, someone has to do the grunt work, right? It's not hard, but it thoroughly exhausted me... O and the meaning of my post's title is that I worked for 4 days, had Saturday off, and work another 4 daI will try to get my pictures up tomorrow, but in the mean time stay warm!! I know most of those reading this are stuck in 2 feet + of snow and I wish I could enjoy it with you and go sledding!! *Child at heart* Was, am, and always will be. <3 Yes: I am breaking my once-a-week posting but slipping this one in (and then we'll see where we're at). Yesterday was another research day and went by pretty darn fast. The morning was a bit comical and frigid since we were working in the lab which happened to be 59 degrees! I think the cold made us a little silly actually...
After work, all four nutrition interns (me being one of the four, of course!) went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and hopped on Kali River Rapids since the day was soo beautiful. Two of us got soaked and two of us went back on! Surprisingly, one soaked and one fairly dry (me) intern went back on the ride while the other two stayed behind. The second time around, we were on the ride with three other young adults who happened to be French! So, of course, I engaged in conversation with them and it was their first time to Disney! So exciting :). In the end, they were the ones who got soaked. After part two of 'Kali', we went on Expedition Everest, did a little bit of shopping, and then parted our ways home. The drive itself was beautiful (seen below). As we all know, pictures never capture the true sight of things, but I tried. Today I started training on Prep ANW where I mostly make bird diets. And the most exciting (and challenging) part about this station is that you are actually out in public, interacting with the guests! And although I've talked and made diets plenty of times before, most of the conversations were not as intellectual as some of the guests are looking for. Needless to say, I've got some practicing to do! After work was a lazy evening in terms of working out. And for dinner, my gnocchi got way to soft so I pan fried it and tossed it in with tomatoes, tomato sauce, cheese, and herbs. Nothing too special. Tomorrow is an evening out with the girls since most of us don't have Valentines! So we are each others' valentines. :) Cheers. Soooo here we are again! My slacking off transforming into a week's worth of stories.
Our Italiano roommate night consisted of pasta with a tomato basil sauce, cheese, broccoli, herbs and spices, homemade onion and garlic bread (served with an EVOO and balsalmic vinegar dipping sauce as well as roasted garlic in place of butter for spreading), wine (red and white), and great conversation. And for dessert we had homemade crepes (compliments to Steph) with nutella, leftover cheesecake and m&m brownies, and Brittany's trash (chocolate covered peanuts, chex cereal, pretzels, and chocolate chips). It was a wonderful night really. I also made homemade granola (recipe below, with the picture). The next four days I had work and so went to bed as early as I could, which ended up being between 8:30 and 9:00 pm. But all four days I was more tired that I'd ever been on the previous days of working. So my nights were pretty uneventful. Though one evening I did get the chance to watch Brave. Highly recommend that you watch it if you haven't seen it yet. And if you have, I still recommend you watch it again!! This past week I was training on Prep Station 2 which consists of certain small diets (reptiles and small mammals), enrichment for certain spp, and some large diets (kangaroos, babirusa, etc). This station was much easier than the other last two (and I'm saying that because I was done before lunch started!). One more week of training and I shall be 'on my own'! I'm super excited! :) Which leads us to my two days off.. yesterday I woke up at 6:40 am (since I went to bed so early the night before), worked out at the gym, and went to church. Having gone to church before and the superbowl party (with a bunch of 20 year olds), I knew a few faces and so met more faces! I love making friends. Following church service we all went to Quizno's for lunch, parted, and hours later met up to play tennis! I have finally found not just one person but 6 people who play tennis!! And then some! It was a really exciting day. Rewind to the night before and I bought pork to make pulled pork. I seared 2.2 lbs of pork loin cuts in a pre-heated cast iron pan which I then placed in a crock pot with XX Dos Equis Amber beer, beef broth, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, mustard powder, and stewed tomatoes. I would list the proportions if I could, but I was just adding to taste or at least to what I thought was appropriate once it all stewed together and the flavors matured properly. Another jump behind this event: after getting home from work I was exhausted and so made a chai tea latte with almond milk. Well since I was consuming caffeine, I eventually felt my blood sugar drop which led to my 'I could eat anything at this moment' phase. And so once I bought the groceries, I tasted the beer and didn't detest it. I can't say I liked it, but I also cannot say that I didn't like it (and I DON'T like beer - and I can honestly say this since I've sampled several having worked at an Irish Pub where they constantly switched out their draft beers). But the reason I stated my blood sugar low is t explain the fact that anything could have tasted good at that moment and so may have explained my thoughts with the beer. That or I might have actually semi-liked it. Who knows... Back to the end of playing tennis last night. I got home around 7:30 pm and having no energy to make gnocchi, just cut up a potato and cooked it in a pan with the pulled pork and its juices. So last week's 'recipe of the week' was pulled pork. This week's recipe was gnocchi! I made it tonight for the first time in my life and it wasn't as delicate as the homemade ravioli that I made a week ago; it didn't try to fall apart while cooking. I boiled the gnocchi after chilling it for a bit and then added it to a medley of pulled pork and its juices, mushrooms, spinach, and cream cheese. After plating it, I topped the dish with cheddar cheese and then almost died because the dish was THAT good. Like ... I really just can't explain how good it was so you need to make it to understand. One thing I read, though, about the gnocchi: you can't over-work the dough or else the gnocchi will get really dense and chewy. Fortunately, I avoided that and ended up consuming gnocchi pillows or clouds. <3 <3 Oh and my ingredient of the week last week (chayote squash) ended up being a substitute for 1/2 of my farfalle pasta so to lighten up on the gluten for dinner. I just mixed it in with tomato sauce and it was okay. Nothing I would recommend, but maybe I just didn't cook it right to show its true flavor. But the ingredient of this week is.... a PLANTAIN! And so now that I've completely messed with your brain, let me jump back again to this morning. Knowing that I wanted to do everything and more, I woke up early, ate breakfast, took care of some things, went running, and headed out to magic kingdom for the day! I felt like a kid again and despite being alone, I don't feel alone. I've gotten too used to going on adventures by myself, I guess you could say. But I know I'm not alone, even if the presence of other's isn't coming from those still on this Earth... Since Disney permits 3 fastpasses for the day, I chose Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion as my three. My favorite was Peter Pan's Flight. I felt like a little child again. Yes, I was by myself, but I wasn't alone; I was sitting alongside a younger me... It was as though I was riding with the little Coleybird from years passed. She resonates with me. And I believe she always will. I left around 3 and did a little shopping. Ended up buying one HUGE honeydew and so that shall be incorporated into several smoothies, if not enjoyed by itself. Alas. It is that time again: bedtime. Tomorrow is a research day, which is followed by 3 days of training on Prep ANW where I'll being preparing diets at Conservation Station, in DAK's Rafiki's Watch. Meaning? Guest interaction!! I'm really excited for this station! Tomorrow after work, the other interns and I are going into DAK for some fun and may even try the partially wet/potentially soaked ride Kali River Rapids! Until next time! Hey folks. Life has been busy so my posting frequency has been much lower. (sorry about that)
As you know, my car had another hiccup with the keys this time, but since then all has been calm. I just hope it isn't another 'calm before the storm' or that everything looks perfectly normal and still, but I'm in the eye of the hurricane. Onto more interesting events... Thursday and Friday were part b and c of my training on station 3. As you progress over the 3 days of training for each station, your trainer takes a more hands-off approach because eventually (ie yesterday/Sunday) you will be working a station alone as trained, full-time employees do. So Sunday I was actually on my own portioning out the meat diets (formulated by our head nutritionist), pinkies/fuzzies/hoppers/adults (all mice), rats, rabbits, fish, and other meaty goods to all of our carnivores and omnivores. Some people could find this station difficult because of the meat and potential smell, but I love it!! You've got to be quick on your feet (as I believe I've said before). And once you're in the groove, you start remembering trends and can move faster through the diet sheets. Saturday was my day off and so I didn't hesitate to make plans. The morning was the typical lazy at first and then kick my butt into gear and workout kind of a morning. Lunch was planned at Hollywood Studios with a college friend and her husband who were visiting Disney for the weekend. We all ate at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre Restaurant (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/sci-fi-dine-in-theater/) for the first time and the venue was just fantastic! I find with Disney dining that although the food may not always be top-notch, their themes surely are. The dining area was set in a large room that had the appearance of a drive-in movie theatre: cars parked together, in front of a large movie screen, under a dark and starry sky. The cars have actual tables in them so that when you're sitting and dining, you're also looking at the movie screen (which was playing old clips from movies once known by many - myself sadly not included). We happened to get a table in the back behind this whole scene so we got the real big picture. The table was a glittery pink with an umbrella above and a speaker behind to hear the movie screen's audio. And onto the food... Though the original plan was to get beer (myself not included - beer is GROSS. BLEH... though I will admit cooking with it involves a completely different science and flavor and so is something yet to try). However, the table adjacent to us had ordered milkshakes and BOY did they look good!! So it really goes without saying that we all ordered milkshakes (me and oreo milkshake and them chocolate) all of which were delicious and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. For actual food, I ordered a medium rare, angus beef, cheddar cheese burger with cucumber salad (have to have some form of health in this meal. And, well, I don't like greasy fries because they make me feel sick). Let's just say I put that meal away pretty easily ... And it was DELICIOUS. After lunch, we parted our ways and I headed over to the Orlando outlet stores to finally find a bathing suit. I was on a mission: Victoria's Secret Outlet, The Swimwear Outlet, The Mall at Millenia (Victoria's Secret x 2, Forever 21, AE, Swimsuit Store, Macy's, +). Sad to say, I did not find a bathing suit that a. fit me, b. was the desired style, and c. was cheap (aka not $50 for a top). I guess it's not swimsuit season? I got back home and decided to make ravioli to cheer up the situation. Taking won-ton wrap, I filled them with smoked sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and possibly something else but I actually can't remember! I pressed another won-ton wrap/sheet on top and used an egg wash to seal the two together. After a little bit of chilling in the refrigerator, I the cooked the raviolis - one at a time - on a slotted spoon in boiled water in case the filling started to seep out. The sauce was a homemade creamy parmesan and parsley (skim) alfredo type. It was a scrumptious meal. Which reminds me. My 'new recipe of the week' was a chicken and vegetable in a lemony alfredo sauce over mashed potatoes. My inspiration came from http://www.themotherhuddle.com/creamy-lemon-stove-top-chicken/, but I pan-fried the chicken instead of deep frying it and used skim milk instead of heavy cream. I also added onions, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and some garlic powder. Mix all of that together and top it over homemade mashed potatoes and you've got me sinking in my seat savoring over the creamy, lemony goodness that the plate has to offer. Jumping to Sunday night, I went to a superbowl party and brought spinach and onion dip, hummus deviled eggs, and fudgy cheesecake brownies with m&m's (all homemade). There was a lot of food so I ended up bringing back some brownies and dip to share with my roommates. Being that the brownies have actual chocolate (no cocoa powder), butter, and real cream cheese, they're hard to stay away from. I found the recipes at: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spinach-onion-dip-00100000089171/index.html http://getoffyourtushandcook.com/2011/04/not-so-devilish-deviled-eggs.html http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/08/04/cream-cheese-cheesecakebrownies/ The spinach dip was more of an inspiration rather than a recipe to follow, but I'll credit it nonetheless. Today and tomorrow are my days off so today was filled with lazing around, running, cleaning and dancing, paying bills, and tanning (it was 83 degrees here today). Not sure what tomorrow has in store for me, but I do know that part of it will involve making my homemade granola and homemade bread for an Italian-themed roommate dinner: pasta, veggies, sauce, and cheese with homemade bread, wine, and a board game. Real quick, I realized I never explained my Monday last week. I ended up exploring Animal Kingdom and since I was by myself, I got to spend as much time anywhere I wanted to go so it was nice. That night I think I made pizza. Or the next day. I really can't remember. So much has happened since then! One last note: my new ingredient of the week. I was looking in Publix for some type of vegetable or fruit and almost picked up Yuca Root. But then my friend was reading off of the internet that it had to be cooked to detox the root, so I quickly put that back, searched elsewhere, and found Chayote Squash. I really have NO idea what I'm going to do with this nor what the flavor profile is so I've got to do some searching. |
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February 2017
"Food is an infinitely rich subject, and there's always something about it to understand better, something new to discover, a fresh source of interest, ideas, and delight."
From Pennsylvania to France to Washington DC to Florida, I've had myself many an adventure. Now it's time to indulge in the life of a Floridian. With great food, great friends, and great experiences, I offer you stories and pictures to take you away, into my world at Disney. Categories |