mmm...donuts

All I can think about this morning is donuts. doughnuts. doh-nutz. I cannot get them out of my head! Cinnamon sugar coated. Perfectly glazed. Bavarian cream filled. Chocolate dipped. Twisted. Powdered sugar sprinkled. DONUTS!Why do donuts sound so delicious? Could it be because Krispy Kreme has finally opened its doors again to the maddening crowd of Arizona? (You bet.) Maybe it's because Marta posted this delightful picture of donuts from Daylight Donuts and I want to pluck one of those babies right out of that virtual box? (Right, again!) But I'm putting my money on the fact that it's because I'm suffering through major sugar withdrawals from my "no-sugar ventures". Don't get me wrong, I did have a Oreo milkshake on Saturday night and enjoyed it throughly. I also had a smallish slice of Grasshopper ice cream cake last night after Sunday dinner. It was also very delicious. However, during the week, I've been pretty good. No "weekday dessert" for me and I've been diligent about working out and cutting out fat. The results are finally starting to show. Yee ha! I can't wait to show up at the beach with my rockin' new Shade suit, killer sunglasses (can't afford 'em, but love 'em), a very cute beach bag and a tan/toned bod. I will conquer!

But seriously, don't donut(s) sound soooooooooooo good?

weekly menu

Hey everybody! This week's is going to be a little nuts. I hope I can keep up with my diet and exercise routine (I've been doing pretty good). My brother and his wife are coming into town from Seattle resulting in a 3 day party for my family (see Friday, Saturday and Sunday meals as a reference). I'll also be traveling a little bit for work this week so we'll see how that goes. In any case, here's this week's menu (and a new menu template - still having problems with enlarging it. Help?):

Monday: Salmon Fillet with Mango Salsa over Steamed Rice

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Apple and Gruyere Cheese Panini on Sourdough (that about sums it up - nothing special, no recipe)

Wednesday: Whole Wheat Fusilli with Vegetable Tomato Sauce

Thursday: Something quick - I'll probably be home late because of a day trip to Washington. One of my favorite quick meals is 2 small corn tortillas with some sharp cheese melted on it and 2 steamed eggs on top along with some fresh, roasted green chilies. Yum!

Friday: (Family Party) Cheese Platter with Crusty Bread and Fresh Fruit (I wish we had a Beecher's in Phoenix so that I could buy some of that divine Gorgonzola or Roquefort. Maybe some Brie or some of their Flagship. I so wish you could try their Blue-Vein cheeses. I might be able to get Stephen and Leone to bring some . . . I love cheese.)

Saturday: (Family Party) - Don't know what I'm supposed to bring to a BBQ. Maybe I'll pamper myself and not bring anything.

Sunday: (Sunday Dinner) - Mexican Food?

What are you guys making this week?

erin go bragh

I am atrociously behind in my blogging. You probably all either hate me or love me for never posting anything. I thought it would make me happy to quit for a while but truth be told, I missed it a little. I've done some housekeeping around here but until I figure out how to make a cool blog, I will tell you about our St. Patrick's Day 2008.

I had never made corned beef and cabbage so off I went to the store to acquire the necessary items. We had predicted that since ASU is pretty much just full of drunks, that David would get out of class early and we could watch "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (please see this movie) while we ate our dinner and celebrated with a pint of Henry Weinhard Root Beer. Alas, I spent 4 hours preparing our delicious celebration of the holiday and David didn't get home until 10 p.m. However, the meal turned out very well and David took the leftovers to work for 2 days straight. He gobbled it right up and made me feel very happy with his compliments. I might make it again next year.

{martin and friends}

It is MLK Day and I am at work. {Bleh} for me but {Yea!} for you because I am one of the only people blogging today. Everyone else is sledding or shopping or sleeping in or sipping cocoa or studying (this one's David) or sight-seeing or sending "Thank You" cards from Christmas or shaping up at the gym or maybe just sitting around. Notice the common thread? All my action verbs started with "s"! I am obviously bored on this MLK Day.

My friends and I got together on Saturday morning for a little breakfast at Crackers and Co. It was so good to see them but even better to have some "girl time". When David and I first got married, I didn't believe him when he said that I would want some time for myself or with my girlfriends. In fact, it hurt my feelings that he felt that way. Now I crave my girls for some good conversation, reminiscing, belly-laughing and the wisdom that we gain from each other through our long conversations. I love being married (and I strongly believe in marriage between a man and a woman) but there is such a difference between the relationships of a man and a woman and a woman and a woman. I love each relationship so much and I am grateful for my friends! Thanks Tricia, Julie, Kemra and Sarah for a grand time! I love each of you!

{adachef's restaurant review}

Look. I love me a good hamburger, especially when it is homemade. Maybe that's because I find gross enjoyment in squishing raw meat between my fingers (especially in the summer when my hands are hot and sweaty).

Post-script: Save your "ewwww" comments for a rainy day. You can't sway me or my love for raw meat touching.

Anywho, David and I went to the cabin for a weekend getaway (more on that tomorrow after I download our crash-and-burn sledding videos off my camera). On our way home, we stopped at The Red Onion in Heber, AZ for dinner. I've been wanting to go to The Red Onion for months and he said, "Yes". And I was pleased. And I was very, very pleased. How often do you order a hamburger at a restaurant and they bring it out to you in such a way that you feel like you're at a summer BBQ at a friend's house sipping Izze's from the bottle and watching the kids do cannonballs and flips off the diving board? That's what I thought. Never.

Delicious, perfectly portioned, hand-formed hamburgers (a leetle disappointingly "unpink") with a generous slice of green leaf lettuce, 2 plump tomato slices, pickles, and of course - 4 slices of red onion. Ba doi. Top that toasted bun with some condiments and you have yourself a summer day, my friends. We will be going back for that bad boy (for $4.75 you better believe it).

{pumpkin cake}

I'm in a blogging mood today. We're off to the cabin this afternoon so maybe that's why I'm so bloggy. I think I just created a new word. Spread it around.

In any case, I forgot to post pictures of the cake I made for Stephen and Leone's open house. It was a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Walnuts, Mandarin Oranges and Pomegrante Seeds. It was delicious and very pretty. What do you think?

banana oatmeal blueberry muffins

I had fresh blueberries in my refrigerator this morning that I had to use. I also had bananas and oats but no eggs! I don't shop on Sunday so I had to make do. I found this wonderful recipe online. Don't forget to include the flax seed. I think it makes such a difference. I also didn't have applesauce handy so I substituted butter (which didn't mind because the flavor of real butter can't be replaced).

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (approximately 4 bananas)
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened (this is where I used 1/2 cup butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten (optional) - I omitted the egg because I didn't have any. I bet it would be better with an egg though.
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used whole wheat bread flour)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 Tablespoons flax seed, ground
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon stevia powder (can substitute 1/4 cup honey)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine oats and milk. Let sit while combining other ingredients. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas until you yield 2 cups. Add applesauce, vanilla extract and egg (if desired) to banana mixture. Add honey if using instead of stevia. Mix well. Add banana mixture to oat mixture, stirring to combine. In a large mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt). Do not use regular whole wheat flour, it will be too dense. If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, substitute bread flour. If you like the texture of chopped walnuts, wait until the final step and fold in along with the blueberries. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until done.

{extraordinary desserts}

After our honeymoon, David's parents had an Open House at their home in California so their friends and family could come. One of the best places to get fabulous desserts in San Diego is Extraordinary Desserts. My mother-in-law picked 6 cakes and placed them on different cake platters. It was so pretty and each cake was exceptionally unique.

Extraordinary Desserts also makes the most beautiful wedding cakes (like this picture). I loved my wedding cake but I would have loved to get one of these.

Another great thing about Extraordinary Desserts is the actual store. It's a dessert restaurant and on any weekend night, you will probably wait about 2 hours for a table. The whole place is romantically covered in lights and a beautiful garden patio. You can get the most delicious freshly made ice creams and sorbets, tortes, cakes, mousses, cookies, scones, creams, meringues and tarts. Oooo, this is making me want to take a trip to Little Italy or Balboa Park.

{sherlock holmes - cafe rio edition}

Getting your lunch stolen at work is not fun. Especially when it's a leftover Cafe Rio salad and fresh strawberries. This morning, I put my lunch in the refrigerator right by my desk in the break room. The thought of heating up that soggy tortilla and wrapping the rest of my salad up into a little burrito sounded delightful and I had specially sliced those strawberries to a perfect size. I really love leftover Cafe Rio so today was going to be a really good lunch day.

About an hour later, I went into one of our manager's offices. Let's call him "Smitty". Smitty was showing me some project renderings on his computer and as he tried to locate the pictures on his laptop, I noticed his half open desk drawer had a Ziploc bag of fresh strawberries tucked inside. Most suspicious.

After a quick trip to the restroom, I opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water - no salad. No strawberries. I quickly interrogated the office manager, asking her if she had cleaned out the refrigerator that morning. The answer was no but her solution (after I told her about the suspicious strawberries at his desk) was to root through his desk drawers when he went to the bathroom. Not a good plan. So, I sent out an e-mail to the entire office staff that went like this, "I had a bag of fresh strawberries and a plate of food in a tin foil container that I put in the fridge this morning. It is now gone. Did anyone happen to take it or throw it away? Please let me know cause that's my lunch. Thanks."

Very simple-like.

A few minutes later, Smitty arrived at my desk with a bag of strawberries in his hand. "Elizabeth, this morning, I accidentally knocked over your salad onto the floor {my heart breaks a little} while reaching for a Diet Coke. I thought these strawberries were leftovers from yesterday. I'll buy you lunch if you want."

Well, Smitty, I don't want a new lunch. I want my Cafe Rio leftovers!

A delicious dinner includes: a tall glass of Pellegrino with lime, a bunch of seedless grapes and whole wheat pesto pizza with fresh tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, steamed asparagus, mushrooms and grilled chicken. I buy the pizza dough at Trader Joe's and then we pile on the pesto sauce and toppings. Yummy!

As most of you know, my brother (a.k.a."Strawbs") is getting married in Seattle in December. I am so excited for him . . . and for me cause I get to go! I love Seattle a lot and David has never been so we are planning on doing as many cool things as we can pack into 3 short days. These are the things I know I want to do:

- have a breakfast of fresh strawberries and raspberries at Pike's every morning
- eat fish 'n chips at Ivar's (too touristy?)
- walk along the Pier and look at shops

I would love hike Mount Rainer but that will have to wait for another time since it will be December and too far away. I don't really care about the Space Needle (although walking by might be necessary to satiate David's construction interests). I also think it would be awesome to do a whale watching tour through the Seattle Aquarium but we don't have that kind of time or money. So, do any of you Seattle-living (or loving, for that matter) readers out there have any great ideas of fun things to do that are inexpensive and within the city? We also LOVE to eat so whoever recommends a good restaurant wins!

I need to tell you how cool I feel right now. I got 12 (TWELVE) comments on my blog yesterday. It is a record for moi and I feel fabulous about it. My 23rd birthday brought me --

Birthday Loot:

- one painting easel for my Etsy work (husband)
- 6 canvases for my Etsy work (husband)
- 2 Anthropologie skirts (husband)
- 1 Anthropologie and 1 Nordstrom shirts (husband)
- 1 Nordstrom dress (husband)
- 1 pair of pajamas (sister-in-law)
- 6 colorful Crate and Barrel bowls (mother-in-law)
- 1 gift card to Bath and Body Works
- 1 Peony scented body cream (sister)
- 1 birthday card with other loot (mother and father)
- 1 awesome butterfly balloon (mother and father)
- 1 birthday dinner of salmon tacos with mango salsa at Tia Rosa's (mother and father)
- 1 Bosch mixer (mother)
- 1 unknown present still to be received in mail (best friend)

Seriously, I got a LOT of loot this year! Like, too much, maybe. I feel so spoiled! But thank you everyone for the rad presents, birthday wishes, phone calls, thoughtful cards, support and love. I have the best family and friends. Plus, David picked out all the clothes himself without any help. What a stud.

After dinner, my parents were going to the church to do Humanitarian service (i.e. quilting) so since David was at school until 10 p.m. I decided to go along. After an hour or so, David called to say that he was on his way home early! Hurrah! So, he picked me up early (I'm a bad person) and we went to the store to pick up a piece of German chocolate cake so I could blow out a candle (see picture of David in his skivvies) after which I fell asleep while we watched The West Wing . . . again.

David likes to pretend that he is Sam and talk about how awesome and smart and clever and good looking he is. David has a man crush. Heh heh.

Overall, it was a good birthday and I feel really good about finally having a year to be my favorite number, 23.

Federer Rulz

David and I played tennis for 2 hours last night. That's right. 2 hours of ball hitting in 100+ degree weather. I haven't been that sweaty in a long time.

We have recently begun taking tennis lessons, and by "recently" I mean yesterday. It's actually a pretty sweet deal for these lessons that are twice a week. We start out with an hour lesson at 6:00. After the lesson is over, we go into "cardio tennis". It is pretty hardcore and another hour long session. I was really worn out at the end! The instructor hits balls to you constantly all over the court and you have to run or he will yell at you to "move it. move it. get it." I burned 1,187 calories and I feel really good about it. David rubbed my feet that night while we watched The West Wing DVD and I was in heaven. There's nothing like a great workout, and by "nothing" I mean these.

I really love the weekends because I get to do whatever I want. This weekend, I wanted to make a lot of things. So, here is what I made:

- 8 beautiful word templates for bedroom wall (more on that later)
- 1 dinner of grilled shrimp kabobs basted with honey butter sauce served with mango salsa
- 2 paintings
- 4 loaves of homemade bread
- 4 blog headers
- 3 decorated cards
- 1 handmade bird book
and I almost successfully convinced my husband to buy me an armoire from Goodwill for $40 so I could strip it, paint it, new-knob it and love it. He said no but I'm still working on him.

Next week, I will begin selling a lot of my "makings" on Etsy. Get ready!

David and I love a lot of restaurants but one of our favorites is George's At The Cove on the Ocean Terrace. It is in La Jolla, overlooking the La Jolla Coves. The view is wonderful, the service is spectacular and the food is unbelievably good. When we were there about a month ago, I ordered the herb crusted halibut over white corn, snap peas with marinated cherry tomatoes and a basil salad. (The picture to the left is not of this dish.) It was so good that when we got home from our trip, I tried to recreate the recipe . . . without a recipe. So, here's my attempt:

1 pound fresh halibut filet
8 ounces frozen white corn
1/4 pound sugar snap peas
8 cherry tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil
Rosemary
Thyme
Sea Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and trim the snap peas for later use. Trim the halibut and sprinkle generously with rosemary, thyme, sea salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan with about 1 Tablespoon butter. Lay halibut filet herb side down and let saute for 5 minutes until crusted on the bottom. Remove the halibut from the saute pan and place on oven sheet with the uncooked side up. Cook in oven for about 5 minutes until flaky. While the halibut cooks, add another Tablespoon of butter to the saute pan and add the snap peas. Let them saute until slightly cooked and add the white corn, stirring until the corn is warm adding the cherry tomatoes at the very end until they are juicy. Place the vegetable mixture on the bottom of a plate. Place the halibut filet on top (crusted side up) and sprinkle with torn basil.

(both images from George's At The Cove website)

Success!

I did it! I finally made a good loaf of bread! Actually, I made 4 large and 2 small loaves of delicious bread. My mom took me to a bread making class this morning and also bought me a Bosch mixer for an early birthday present. It has solved all my problems. Thank you Mom!!!!!