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Friday, July 31, 2009

Train ride


These photos are from the train trip I took in March from my hometown of Lewistown to Pittsburgh. I was with my friend Bethany, who is so much better at remembering to take photos than I will ever be. The scenery was kind of depressing since it was a lot of industrial views and most of the places had overcast weather. March is a dreary time in Pennsylvania.

The heat wave continued today in Seattle with the temperature reaching the 90s again. I relaxed a little today now that my test is over and moving only makes you feel hotter. I broke into an extreme sweat just trying to vacuum the carpet.

Lucia came over and we made dinner followed by a trip to Molly Moon's for some ice cream. I got Birthday cake flavor, it was alright but kind of just tasted like super sweet vanilla. Philip rented Red Dawn and we watched it positioned between two fans, sitting in our own personal wind tunnel. All in all it was a pretty great day.

+ phone calls home
+ ice cream cones
+ terrible 80's movies

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

5 minute break from studying marathon





Found on Mightygirl

Is it really only Tuesday?


Today has been long. I've been studying for hours and I went to campus for a very long chemistry lab tonight. I'm kind of glad today is almost over.

I got a snack at the campus store today and tried Pop Chips for the first time. I got the Parmesan garlic variety and boy were they delicious. I'm not fan of rice cakes nor do I usually eat baked potato chips but these were different. They had a lot of flavor and were super crunchy. I think I'm going to keep an eye out for them at the grocery store.

Then when I got home I went for a walk, the weather is a balmy 84 degrees here tonight. I stopped by the grocery store on my way back to the apartment to get a tea. I've been drinking a lot of black and greens this summer and so thought I would try something new. I chose Kombucha tea. I had read online that it is great for overall health and could be potentially be beneficial for digestive health. I was leaving the store and took my first sip and almost spit it out. I purchased the original variety and it tasted like carbonated apple cidar vinegar, so gross. Even if this tea promised to cure all my ailments I don't think I could stomach a whole bottle. yuck.



+ Annie chewing her frosty paw treat
+ cookie delivery
+ heat wave (it will never get old for me)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Annie's 1st Birthday




Today Annie Dog Dobermina Egly is a year old. I can't believe she's no longer a puppy. We purchased her last bag of puppy chow at Costco this weekend. I'm a little surprised she made it to a year considering her love to eat all things sharp and poisonous that can be found on the street. I'm going to stop by the store tomorrow and look for some frosty paws. I want to make her some homemade biscuits but tomorrow I have to go to a 5 hour chemistry lab and before that I will be trying to learn all 206 bones in the human body for my anatomy exam on Wednesday night. School has been consuming my life lately. Annie will have to wait for the weekend to get her bone shaped cookies.

Today it was so hot, I think it reached 90 degrees. I love love love it. The cats slept all afternoon on their backs with their belly fur blowing in the fan breeze.

+ warm summer night air
+ new spices to try out
+ staying up late

Sunday, July 26, 2009

brown sugar ice cream + cherries





This is a lunch I made the other day and finished up the rest of the summer squash salad. I spent a hour or so today cleaning out the refrigerator and getting rid of all the leftovers. It looks so empty now that there isn't 3 week old containers of Trader Joe's hummus hanging around. I'm planning on trying a new diet this week that supposed to be good for digestive health. My stomach is always causing problems for me. Philip and I went to Whole Foods today so I could get so ingredients they didn't carry at my grocery store. Whole Foods is fun cause they have a lot of different things to try but it was so crowded in there, it was difficult to not run people over. I did get some new cleaning products. I love this Mrs Meyer's Basil cleaner I wish I could buy the entire cleaning line in basil scent, it never seems to be in stores like the other fragrances.

The second photo is my dessert tonight. I bought some ice cream on sale tonight. Its the new Haagen Dazs thats made with 5 ingredients, its so so good. I got brown sugar and milk chocolate and mixed with together. I have to say I really liked the brown sugar the best. I used my new sundae cups that Bethany got me for my birthday.

The weather has been so warm lately and the heat wave in Seattle is supposed to continue into next week. Lucia and I were supposed to have a water balloon fight tonight but I guess that will have to wait for another hot day. We did get to meet up for dinner at the Broadway Grill and discuss potential business ideas.

+ cherries
+ heat wave
+ cat grass

Friday, July 24, 2009

Garlic Herb Bread Twists



I made these bread twists yesterday and they were delicious. I really like having them warm with a salad. Here is the recipe

+ 1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
+ 1 Tbsp finely chopped thyme
+ 1 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano(2oz), divided
+ 1/4 c. olive oil
+ 3 garlic cloves, minced
+ 2 pounds pizza dough
+ 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsely
+ salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Stir together rosemary, thyme, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Stir together oil, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper in another bowl.

Roll dough into a 15" by 10" rectangle on a slightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin.

Spinkle one half of the dough (crosswise) with half of herb mixture and then fold dough in half crosswise. Roll lightly a roughly 10" by 8" rectangle. Cut lengthwise into strips with a pizza wheel or knife. Twist strips from both ends and place on baking sheet. Arrange 1" apart and brush with 1 Tbsp of garlic oil and let stand for 5 minutes.

Bake breadsticks, switching position of sheets halfway through, until golden about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together parsley and remaining 3/4 c. cheese in a shallow baking pan.

Immediately after baking, brush bread twists with remaining garlic oil. Then roll in parsley and cheese until coated. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Yesterday was my birthday and it was a wonderful day. I spent several hours talking on the phone with my family and Bethany. Lucia stopped by and Philip and I went out for spicy Thai food together. So much fun.

+ colbert report
+ seafood dinners
+ weekend plans

Rosemary and Thyme Breadsticks

Grocery Bag




A new bag I made for grocery shopping. It will really come in handy now that we no longer own a car. The perfect size bag for buying a week's worth of groceries

+ breadsticks
+ bourbon
+ birthdays

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Summer Squash





I made this pasta the other day with the leftovers in my fridge. I have so many tomatoes around from my farm delivery. I think I've been eating an average of 2 whole tomatoes a day. The pasta was just tomatoes, onions and garlic heated in olive oil over whole wheat pasta with fresh basil on top. My herb plants are really getting large. I bought some Thyme seeds over the weekend since I've been using it so often in recipes.

Yesterday Lucia came over to hang out on the roof and enjoy the heat with me. We made some iced coffees and finished most of the blueberry crumb. Later we made hamburgers on the grill. I had made some homemade coleslaw dressing earlier used that with my bag of cabbage. I can't seem to get enough coleslaw lately. We also made a side dish and I got to use my summer squash and zucchini. When I saw that summer squash in last week's delivery I had no idea what to make with it but this was so good. I hope we get more squash in the future.

Ingredients

+ 2 Tbsp olive oil
+ 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
+ 4 cloves of garlic, minced
+ 1/2 c. vegetable broth
+ 1 ear of corn, kernels cut from cob
+ 2 c. sliced yellow squash
+ 2 c. sliced zucchini
+ 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
+ 2 tbsp butter
+ salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the onion and garlic until slightly tender. Mix in vegetable broth and corn kernels and cook until heated through. Mix in squash and zucchini. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Mix the parsley and butter into skillet with the squash. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until butter in melted and serve hot.

+ pink lemonade
+ magazines in the mail
+ being able to open all the windows

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Blueberry Crisp


On Sunday we stopped by the farmer's market right before they were closing for the day. I got a bargain on 3 pints of blueberries.

I decided to make a blueberry crisp for dessert. I've really been hungry for sweets lately.





It is so good. Hopefully Lucia can come over today and help me to finish the leftovers.

Here is the recipe:

+ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
+ 2 Tbsp cornstarch
+ 3 pints blueberries
+ 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
+ 1 cup all-purpose flour
+ 3/4 cup quick-cooking or old fashion oats
+ 1/2 packed light brown sugar

+ 1/2cup or 1 stick cold butter
+ 3/4tsp ground cinnamon



Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar and cornstarch until blended. Add blueberries and lemon juice; stir to coat evenly. Spoon blueberry mixture into 2 quart glass or ceramic baking dish and spread evenly
In same bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. With fingers mix until coarse crumbs form. Crumble over blueberry mixture.
Place baking under baking dish to catch spills and bake crisp for 35 to 40 minutes until top is browned and fruit is bubbly at edges. Cool on wire rack 1 hour to serve warm.



I am off to spend the rest of the afternoon studying bones and bonding on the roof with lots of iced coffee.

+ birthday surprises
+ raisin bran
+ finishing to do lists

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I made a pie


This is the apple pie I made for my 4th of July party a few weeks ago. It tasted good but didn't look so great. I had my dough in the fridge overnight and some of it accidentally got thrown away. Philip mistook my dough ball for his old brie cheese and threw it out to make room for all our party food. I think we purchased the largest amount of ground beef I've never seen before that day. So I did a lot of patching to try and cover the top of it and although a little lumpy, it was tasty.

Yesterday we went to Tacoma. I got to see the huge Tacoma Dome and experience the aroma of Tacoma that everyone brings up in discussions of Tacoma. It was a fun day of thrift store shopping and trying to find the right parts to fix the Buick. The car has been running so much better but I still haven't driven since it broke down on me.

Here is a photo of Katie and Lucia from the 4th of July. It turned out a little blurry but its the only photo of anyone that I managed to take all day.

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+ Harry Potter tonight
+ waking up late
+ lazy weekends

Saturday, July 18, 2009

large photo

Just wanted to check out the different sizes of photos you can upload through Picasa.

This is Annie dog when she was still tiny, playing in the snow this winter.

Just testing out the photo options



mini cupcakes!



chicken dinner

I made my first roasted chicken today. I had to watch a quick youtube video on how to truss a chicken. It turned out to be pretty easy. So I got a 5lb chicken today and seasoned it with a little salt and some pepper and cooked it for 2 hours. It was so juicy and delicious. We had it tonight with some corn.

Photobucket

Next I want to make pulled chicken BBQ. I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. I made some cupcakes after dinner. Mini, teeny, tiny, little cupcakes that are so freaking cute!

The weather was so hot today. I wanted to spend every minute outside enjoying it. I finished my polka dot apron today. I have an idea for a new apron already that I may get started on soon. Can never have enough aprons.

+ sleeping cats
+ fan breeze
+ black grapes

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Too much science

I have two tests to take today and I'm nervous. I have to take my first chemistry exam in about an hour and later tonight I take my anatomy and physiology test. I feel like the metric calculations and tissue histology is all swirling around and nothing is organized. Its been only 3 years since I was in school but it feels like it was forever ago now that I'm trying to get back into it. So I'm taking a break to update this and then its back to rereading my notes again and again.

Tomorrow Philip and I are going to go car shopping. We're thinking of getting a Honda or Hyundai or maybe a Toyota. I hope we find something cause I do miss being able to drive places. Taking the bus isn't as bad as I thought it would be at first. It does take a long time and I go to class during rush hour so I do have to stand the entire trip swaying back and forth as the bus goes down I5. Although it feels like a workout trying not to fall over and hold on so I don't bump into all the people around me. I should probably get back to the learning and try to cram as much information as I can into my brain before 4pm.

+ sunshine
+ strong coffee
+ food blog distractions

Monday, July 6, 2009

pluots


pluot
Originally uploaded by cottoncupcakes
I tried my first Pluot today and they are awesome. They're a combination of a plum and an apricot. I got them in my first farm delivery last week. I think I'm going to use the bok choy that came with the delivery to make a stir fry tonight. I don't know if I've ever even had bok choy before. I heard its a lot like cabbage. I'm also going to try and make some cookies for this week. Maybe I'll make some oatmeal with chocolate chips.

I was thinking of trying to make my way through an entire cookbook to try new things. I tend to make the same meals week after week. I'm not sure what cookbook to use. I really want to try making more Mexican and Chinese foods. It would be fun to make my own burritos.

+ doing homework with Annie dog
+ fresh lemonade
+ Murphy's oil smell

Saturday, July 4, 2009

what to say...

It is actually hot in Seattle. I can not believe it! I don't even mean push up the sleeves of your cardigan hot but leave your cardigan at home HOT! I am loving every second of the warm weather before it leaves town. I spent the afternoon doing my anatomy homework while roasting on the roof deck.

I had today off from school to run errands and do the laundry. I know how to live it up during my free time. I also spent a few hours working on homework. I'm actually enjoying Chemistry so far which surprises me because I do not remember have a good time with it in high school.

Photobucket

This is a photo of my new living room chair. It doesn't really match the ottoman that I made but it is so comfortable it doesn't matter. We finally have a place for a guest to sit other than our uncomfortable kitchen chairs. Which is good since we're having a party tomorrow. Hopefully I will remember to take some photos because I don't even have any of my friends. In a few years if we don't live in the same place their faces will be all blurry in my memory.

+ nachos dinner
+ HOT weather
+ watermelon

Thursday, July 2, 2009

July is my favorite month

I started school this week. I like it so far but its been keeping me really busy. The summer quarter is only 4 weeks so they cram a lot into each week. I decided to make my July To Do list all fun things that hopefully I can get done this month. I don't want to go crazy spending all my time memorizing the names of all our bones. I am terrible at remembering to take photos but I'm really going to try and photograph the list as I go along.

+ bad TV
+ sunny days
+ free furniture
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