Whole Wheat Mediterranean Pizza

It was one of those nights.  I needed a delicious dinner. I needed it fast, or I was going to get hangry (it's a real thing and it's dangerous for those around me).  I wanted it to be mostly healthy and homemade.  Oh, and I needed to use those cherry tomatoes that were on the verge of going bad.

So I turned to pizza, inspired by a recipe for whole wheat pizza with cherry tomatoes and olives I'd seen in Melissa Clark's Cook This Now cookbook.  But I was feeling daring.  I'm making this without even opening the cookbook.  Let's just see what I can conjure up, now, shall we?

To keep it healthy and fast, I used pre-made whole wheat pizza dough from the refrigerator case of Trader Joe's.  Instead of the traditional tomato sauce, I lightly heated some garlic and olive oil in a skillet and brushed that on top of my crust.  Thin slices of fresh mozzarella, halved almost-too-ripe cherry tomatoes, halved Kalamata olives, and a hefty dose of dill served as my toppings.  

Since I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, I tested out a suggestion I'd read - flip a metal sheet pan over, lightly brush it with oil, and use it instead of a pizza stone.  I heated the unoiled sheet pan up in the oven at 425 degrees Farenheit while I prepared my dough.  When the pizza was ready, I pulled the sheet pan out of the oven, brushed the bottom (now the top) with oil, and carefully maneuvered my creation onto it.  Since that bit involved multiple spatulas, a flexible cutting board and some hurried and hopeful movements, it was decidedly a good thing no one was there to witness it.

After 15 minutes or so, my pizza was done.  The crust was crispy and hearty, thanks to the whole wheat flour.  The fresh mozzarella had that marvelous chewy-melty texture you only experience with cooked fresh mozzarella.  The flavor of the tomatoes had been intensified through roasting and were marvelously juicy.  All I needed was a hearty sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a glass (or two or three) of red wine. Dinner for one, delicious, healthy and fast.

Next time, I get to play with my roommate's new pizza stone!  

What are your favorite pizza topping combinations?

Kryptonite...and Lunchboxes?

Earlier this week, I decided to treat myself to a new lunchbox. My current "lunchbox" is a small grocery bag from Whole Foods, about the size of an average gift bag. It holds nearly every size of plastic container I have, and it allows me to bring a variety of things in one bag without mushing things together. And, unlike a plastic bag (my previous lunchbox of choice), it keeps things in an upright orientation during travel, it doesn't make annoying crinkly noises with every step, and it doesn't need to be replaced every week.

That said, I want a new lunchbox. My current one is probably a year or so old, the colored coating is crackling off the handles, exposing white felt-like material. The inside has some questionable stains in it; who knew plastic containers leaked their liquid remnants after lunch?

I knew my criteria.  I want a lunchbox that can hold multiple containers (I hate pre-mixing things like salad and dressing, or spreading PBJ onto bread hours before consumption).  I want a lunchbox that keeps containers in an upright orientation, so it needs some stability or structure. I need something durable, because I use it every single workday. That's a lot to ask of a mere lunchbox.  But I had some  ideas...

First, I wanted to check out these BuiltNY lunchboxes. They are a neoprene (wetsuit) material with some incredibly fun patterns. My laptop travels around in one and the pattern just makes me feel a wee bit happier. But when I searched Sur La Table, I couldn't find them. A friendly clerk confirmed my suspicion - they no longer carried them. Drats.

Okay, on to Plan B. Get a new Whole Foods mini-grocery bag. So I enter Whole Foods...but only after I've made some rules for myself to prevent over-indulgence:
1) No frozen foods.  Our freezer just doesn't have any room. Seriously, no room. I'm working on that...
2) Try really hard not to get refrigerated foods. With some Tetris-like arranging, I could find room in there...but I already have plenty to eat that is hidden in there.
3) Try really hard not to get too much food overall.  And keep in mind you promised yourself to eat healthier (overall, of course. I'm not giving up stuff, just attempting to keep balance in mind).  I have way too much food in the cabinet and on the table. I must reduce, not increase the amount of food I have!


Gulp. Can I do this? Previous experiences suggest I'm not likely to succeed, though there is rare occurrence when I don't buy too much.

Armed with my 3 self-imposed rules and an over-the-arm shopping basket, I entered the store and wandered into the produce section.  Heaps of apples sang their siren song to me; NO!, I will not get more of you, I have a nice bag of McIntoshes and Honeycrisps at home, waiting to be used in my second attempt at Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie (coming soon!) and blogger Sassy Radish's Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cakes.  I wandered out with only a bag of carrots, needed for soup. Phew, okay, good so far.

Then I stroll up to the bulk bins and eyeball the beans and grains. I can't resist the price of arborio rice since I've been craving risottos with the arrival of fall.  Nor can I resist the opportunity to get a small amount of amaranth.  With only one recipe using the grain that I have found, I'm not sure what I'll do with it.  But I enjoy the challenge an unfamiliar ingredient offers.  Plus it's good for you!  I oogle the dried fruits, chocolates and nuts on the opposite side of the aisle.  My hand picks up a container of kale chips.  My mind turns over the idea. Hmm, they don't seem so bad. Maybe I'll like kale this way. Kale is awfully good for you...but $8 is really rather expensive... Hmmmmm...  No, I'll put it back and try some other time.   Whoa. I return to my senses. I almost bought kale chips. Kale. My mother's veggie obsession. I admit my self-control is slipping.  So I leave the aisle and enter the next.

Oatmeal. Ohhhhh man. I want it all! Steel cut, old fashioned, quinoa flakes....  This is where I officially lose it.  I fully admit that high-end grocery stores are my kryptonite. One of my many kryptonites, but certainly a highly potent one.  It's a painful admission, but with this clarity comes a little bit of self-control.  I'm able to resist more than I thought I would. I promised some items that I'd come back and try them later. Don't worry, though. I still found several items that made their way into my basket, including:

• Dried Anasazi beans - Bob's Red Mill knows the way to my heart. I never buy dried beans, but the label promised these cooked faster than most other types of dried beans. The label also asserted these are "Incredibly Tasty" (seriously, it's in the line above the name) and very nutritious.  Plus I've never even heard of them before and I loved learning about the Anasazi Indians when I was in school. 
• Canned Borlotti (cranberry) beans - I've heard a lot about these, but have never seen them. Had to try. I blame the Anasazi beans for pre-weakening my resolve. 
• Dried Thai bird chilis and dried galangal - Two key Thai flavors, neither of which I've seen before! They were also relatively inexpensive.  And I've always had a weakness for spices...  I can't wait to try pad thai with these!
• 2 jars of Whole Foods Brand tomato sauce - inexpensive, probably tasty, and I needed sauce, so these would be a fun change.
• Ground cardamom - I nearly did a jig of excitement when I found a jar of ground cardamom for way less than $12.  Had to. And I warned you that I have a weakness for spices.
• 2 bottles of wine - Whole Foods had some well priced wines.  I almost picked up a bottle of Tarima, the new Spanish Monastrell by the guy who made the late Luzon Verde (also a Spanish Monastrell/Jumilla).  Similar price and it's harder to find Tarima than I expected.  I resisted, but I know I'll be going back sometime for it.
• Kettle Brand krinkle chips in Sweet Chili Garlic - I couldn't resist a new flavor in my favorite potato chip. Could you? I thought not.

My basket was very heavy by the time I walked up to the registers. I'd taken to setting it on the floor while I walked up and down the length of the aisle, slowly scanning every item.  When the cashier started ringing up my groceries, I looked for the mini grocery bag to buy and use as my new lunchbox.  None were to be found.  The closest item was an intermediately sized grocery bag, advertised as a Trick or Treat bag, complete with a Halloween pumpkin, some bats, and Trick or Treat written across both sides.  Hmm, thanks, but I'll pass on this.  

So the lunchbox search continues.  And I learned a little something about myself.  Well, I admitted it to myself, since I already knew I liked being in high-end grocery stores way too much.  

A Fall Preview

Well, who knew almost a month has passed since I last wrote?  It certainly didn't feel like a whole month. It barely felt like a week!  As you would guess, I've been busy...so I'll see what I can recall from the abyss of my memory to share with you.

First and most pressing on my mind, I have my first exam on Friday for my crystallography class. 
I need to study. Like crazy. If you couldn't tell, I'm stressing out over this exam, for a variety of reasons, most of which are probably awfully silly.

So the rest of today and tomorrow are for studying. Friday morning we have our school's grad student research forum, where I have to present my poster (from the thermo conference I recently attended) for a few hours.  Since the exam is in the afternoon, I'll probably be skipping my bi-weekly yoga class, which is a huge bummer....

I've been doing better at exercising!
Not perfect, not everyday, but much more consistently. I think much credit for this success should go to the fitness classes at the gym that I've been checking out. Luckily, most of the fitness classes at our gym are free with your membership, so I can just pop into different classes as my schedule and interests dictate. I've been regularly attending a power yoga class during lunch twice a week. I love the instructor and I feel like I've made some progress, though I am definitely not an uber-flexible and mentally peaceful yogi!!!  And I probably never will be. But I've been enjoying the challenges of her practices and I look forward to class quite a bit. I even bought a cushy yoga mat that I keep at work!

I also tried my first spinning class...and I didn't fall off the bike from sheer exhaustion like I had anticipated.  Actually, I really like spinning and want to try to make a class once a week.  Unfortunately, the popularity of spin class plus the limited number of bikes available make it challenging to meet that goal (last week I wasn't able to snag a bike because of the gaggle of girls hanging out at the counter, snatching up bike tickets the moment they were released).   I'll continue my efforts, though!

I even registered for a TRX circuit training class on main campus that I have to pay for. It works out to $3 per class, which is such a deal. I've only done TRX once before, but I loved the workout it gave me. I did not love the extreme soreness of random muscles nearly as much, but I think circuit training will keep me interested and having more fun than just doing my own workouts (because I do such an excellent job of wiggling my way out of my more intense workouts).

Fall foods have captured my attention in the kitchen.
I seriously have so many recipes to try for apples and pumpkins that it's laughable.
 
I made a standard apple pie with a oat crisp crust. Tasty, as always.
 
Inspired by my first apple pie of the fall, I wanted to try a new apple pie recipe (Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie).  It was not exactly my best-looking pie. To be honest, I called the end result the Pie of Endless Frustration, because I'd had a frustrating day at work and the pie also chose to sass me (the crust wouldn't chill and firm up even after a few hours in the fridge, so the top crust of the pie was, um, edited out).
 
I also had the crazy idea to make a pumpkin pie from scratch.  An adorable little pie pumpkin looked at me in the grocery store and encouraged me - you can do it, it's not that hard, I might even make pie taste better (as if pumpkin pie could get any better!).  After a short delay, I muscled my pie pumpkin into cubes for roasting. No problem.  Making the pie filling, though, was a bit of an adventure. I mushed the roasted pumpkin (hmm, this looks like the contents of a regurgitated stomach) and stirred in the evaporated milk and eggs with a bit of patience and effort. The pie tastes quite good, though it isn't any better than one made from canned pumpkin. However, my sad, dull brown color of pie filling didn't even look remotely pumpkin.  I'll be returning to the ease and lovely color of canned pumpkin for future pies. But I'm glad I gave it a go.
 
I tested a new dish - roasted brussel sprouts with shallots, pear, and lemon juice. Very easy to make and quite tasty.  Unfortunately, I don't think I really want to eat more than about 4 brussel sprouts at a time.  So the remnants of this dish eventually made it to the trash can.

I also experimented with veggie "pancakes" - shredded zucchini, onion, black beans, and corn mixed with a mix of flour and egg and chili powder.  To be honest, I had no idea how much flour and egg to add, so I kept plopping another spoonful in, stirring, and guessing.  It worked, though, because there is enough batter there to hold the veggies together and to brown without being a full-blown pancake. I smothered these veggie pancakes in greek yogurt and hot sauce for a tasty little meal.

Despite my desire for fall foods and baked, cheesy dinners, I'm not ready for the fall (and then winter) weather.
As I've aged, I've definitely developed a stronger and stronger dislike of cold, rainy, dreary weather. It no longer means days off from school/work.  It just means I have to trudge outside, drive a car in the sub-optimal conditions (a feat made infinitely worse by the hundreds of moronic drivers in the Cincy area), and be freezing cold all the time.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to my pretty, fun, easy summer clothes and shoes! I'm not ready for months of grey skies and rain, with so little golden sunshine!  I'm not ready for a frigid apartment (being on the end of the building is not conducive to a warm set of rooms)!  I'm not ready for shivering in the shower because the bathroom window lets too much cold air through, even when closed!

What I am looking forward to for fall and winter:
-seasonal produce, like honeycrisp apples and pumpkin out the wazoo!
-holidays with family and friends, seeing everyone, and eating!
-wearing leather boots with a skirt (I've been wanting to try this since last year, but am paranoid about looking silly and ruining my boots with precipitation)
-possibly going to a Tennessee football game with Eric!
-watching football every Saturday
-Christmas shopping. I love it. I know, I'm weird. I also figured out most of my presents for others awhile ago.
-baked mac and cheese, grilled cheeses (ooo! try Trader Joe's Colby Jack slices on wheat/10 grain bread...you will melt more than the cheese!), potato gratin, stews and soups, chili....mmmm!
-the arrival of Yuengling beer in Dayton and Cincinnati on October 31st! Can you tell I'm counting down???
-the return of new episodes of Psych!
-a recently purchased, adorable stuffed penguin with scarf and hat and a matching fleece blanket from Target

Wish me luck on my test on Friday! When it's over, I plan to enjoy my weekend thoroughly!!! I have a potato-fennel gratin planned, as well as brownie-cookies, watching Psych with Eric, and seeing the new store close to being open! So exciting!

Formatting & Adventurous Baking

When I read other blogs, I usually feel inspired to blog right away. Sometimes I do, and you'll see a post that is relatively similar to my source of inspiration in either subject or writing layout. I admit, I'm not the most creative person, especially when it comes to writing.

Recently, I've added more blogs to list that I follow, thanks to Blogger's Blog of the Day feature or references in a blog I already read. All of these different writers have an amazing approach to their posts, and I want to mimic each of them! Of course, that's ridiculous. I really should figure out what I want to write about and how I want to do it. But....that would require picking a theme and sticking with it. I don't know how well I'd fare with that.

For now, I'm going to keep offering up a mish-mash of ideas and formats, though I'll certainly continue my love affair with bold titles on paragraphs. I just love bold and italics, don't you? I love variety in most aspects of my life, so why not reflect that here? I still would like to emulate some blog writers a little more, though, like Orangette - her stories always have an impact on me, even if it is to make me wistful for a food I've never had or a place I've never been or a person I've never met. Strange, I know, but her memories and her connections between memories and food are compelling and addicting to me.

Alright, moving along...

I've mentioned before that one of my coworkers is leaving soon and moving to a different state for a new job. I'm bummed about his leaving, because we share a passion for cooking and for complaining, so I always enjoyed our conversations. I wanted to make an awesome baked good to mark his leaving. That meant trying a new recipe. I had a few swirling around my mind. Baked's Sweet and Salty Cake (chocolate cake + salted caramel + chocolate ganache)...but after reading other blog's "reviews" of making this cake, I was honestly terrified. (Both blogs promised I could avoid their mistakes if I followed their tips but it sounded like something was bound to go wrong. Plus, other recipes from this bakery's cookbook are really rather more complicated than I think they need to be, so I don't go to them when I am feeling tired or busy.) Martha Stewart's Grasshopper Pie (chocolate crust + grasshopper [aka creme de menthe] fluffy filling). Smores Whoopie Pies (graham cracker pies + marshmallow and chocolate icing fillings). All good choices, all with a noticeable amount of effort which would thereby demonstrate my sadness at my coworker's departure. My roommate chose and I made the Grasshopper Pie. Her reason for choosing was the pure fun of saying "grasshopp-ah". I was a little shocked she didn't choose smores, which is a favorite of hers...but, I can't deny the fun of pronunciation.

I started on the Grasshopper Pie.
Step 1) Make chocolate pie crust...with some shredded coconut added in. Hmmm, I thought, curious. I've found that coconut is not widely liked, though I personally enjoy it. I loathe and actually gag when I think about the coconut in Malibu Rum, but I like real coconut quite a bit. I decided to go with it, and went ahead with a the coconut-chocolate crust.
Step 2) Make filling. This was broken up into a few steps and I started to get a little worried.
A) Steep milk with real mint leaves to up the minty flavor. I think I used too much real mint here, because in the resulting pie you can only taste this mint and not the creme de menthe (which makes it a less than successful Grasshopper in my eye).
B) Combine minty milk with creme de menthe (so green!), gelatin, sugar, and eggs. Heat over a double boiler to 150 degrees F, according to a candy thermometer. I assumed the temperature needed to be reached to cook the eggs and/or to activate the gelatin. This is where I started to get worried. I couldn't reach 150F....and eventually decided to call it quits on this step.
C)Set the bowl in an ice bath (another problem: I don't have ice. I tried a sink of cold tap water, which I drained and refilled a few times...but it's just not that cold) and whisk for 2 minutes until it thickens to a pudding consistency. Well, that just didn't happen. Whisk I did until my poor arm hurt. Let it sit for 15 minutes in the water to try to cool it down. Put it in the fridge for 15 minutes to try to cool it down too. Nothing worked; it remained liquid and decidedly not pudding-like. Damn.
D) I decided to repeat the heating to 150F process (though I realize it could severely screw things up), and I actually reached the temp! Woohoo, victory! I repeated the chilling/whisking process. Still no pudding-like consistency. Damn, damn, damn. So the bowl went into the fridge while I worked on Pumpkin Flans (started during part B). At 11pm, I decided to call it quits. The filling had won. I stirred in whipped cream, which remained clumpy in the non-pudding mixture, and poured my half-liquid, half-froth (from all the whisking) mixture into my coconut-chocolate crust, returned it to the fridge, and went to bed.
E) In the morning, the filling had set up. Victory! Sure, there were lumps of whipped cream visible, but I'm sure it'd taste just fine. I cut the pie into wedges, packed them into plastic containers, and hauled them to school. In transit, they smushed against each other a bit, so they weren't pristine wedges. But they definitely tasted good. More real mint than creme de menthe and the coconut was very detectable.

I think my coworker liked it, and that's what matters. In the future, though, I'd change the recipe by: not using coconut in the crust, not using as much real mint so the creme de menthe can shine through, and have ice for the ice bath. Sigh. What an adventure for a simple pie! But that's how a lot of my baking goes. I suppose that should be some eloquent metaphor for life....but....I leave that up to you.

By the way, the pumpkin flans were quite delicious. Like a pumpkin pie without the crust. I kinda like pumpkin pie with the crust, though, so I'll still make it that way too. I also had an issue getting the caramel out of the ramekins I baked the flans inside, which caused a brief panic during cleanup. The issue was resolved by soaking the ramekins (containing glass-like caramel hardened to the bottom) with soap and water overnight. Phew, crisis averted!

Tonight, I'm adventuring into making Indian food - Aloo Gobi. And some Peach Cake, since I have a few slightly bruised and very ripe peaches that I'd rather cook with than eat plain (I like a like firmness to my peaches). I'll let you know if there are any crazy disasters!

An Instant Classic

I've been flipping through cookbooks and cooking magazines a lot in the past few months, searching for new dishes to try, both sweet and savory. My recipe hunting arose from the desire to plan my meals for the week in advance so I don't buy too much at the grocery store. See, I'd developed this rather bad habit of buying too much without really knowing what I would make with it all, and far too much food went to waste.

Advanced grocery planning has worked well so far, except when I buy fruit. For some reason, I can't stop myself from buying too much fruit. The only progress in this arena has been to scale back on the amount of grapes I'll buy for a week; I went from a full bag to 1 or 2 clusters. In the summer, it's even harder to resist the siren's song of all the lusciously ripe fruit, like peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, pineapple.... But I digress.

There have been a few of these recipes I've tried out that, shall we say, won't be reappearing in my kitchen. The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake comes to mind. The actual slices of meyer lemon in the cake were too tough and bitter to enjoy despite being briefly boiled and then cooked in the cake. Several soups have also been sadly disappointing too. One was too sweet (sweet potato/north african soup, flavored with peanut butter and honey, was just too sweet for me, even without a full dose of honey), others lacked enough flavor to encourage me to polish off the entire batch of soup (tuscan veggie soup, which just didn't have any kick or memorable flavor to it).

But there have been numerous recipes that became an instant favorite. I've even returned to a few of these multiple times already, indicating they're here to stay. Ellie Krieger's Pumpkin Muffins (topped with tasty little pumpkin seeds) survive a month or two in the freezer individually wrapped; just set it on the counter before you go to bed and voila! a tasty and healthy breakfast component. Sorry, I need more than just a muffin for breakfast, so these often get paired with yogurt or a smoothie. Or Ellie Krieger's Asian Summer Rolls, which, by the way, I'm making for dinner tonight. They're perfect for the days you don't want to turn on the stove or oven and you just want to assemble. I fill mine with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, avocado and mint. It's also very critical to soak up as much of the dipping sauce as you possibly can. Trust me on this. Or Whoopie Pies. Hot damn, so tasty and fun. Or Ina Garten's Plum Tatin or Alton Brown's Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes...

Last night, I tested a new recipe and immediately knew it was going to join my repetoire of summer dishes. It may even make a cameo appearance mid-winter, so I can remember what summer tastes like. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to make.
Martha Stewart Living - Campanelle with Corn, Scallions and Arugula
http://www.marthastewart.com/777179/campanelle-corn-scallions-and-arugula

I took some liberty with this recipe, though...
*I didn't add arugula or parmesan cheese at the end.
*I substituted orichette pasta in for the campanelle pasta, since that's what I had in the cabinet.
*I eyeballed the ingredients - 2 handfuls of frozen and thawed corn off the cob (from last summer's crop!) in the corn puree + 3 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob added to the pan. And I didn't cook the corn beforehand. I was unclear about whether I should do that and decided, because it was already 9pm, that I would skip that possibly unnecessary step.
*I substituted a jalapeno for the Thai red chili, since that's what I found at the grocery.

The resulting dish was amazing - a combination of pasta and creamy corn, with a bit of smokiness from the crisped bacon. The addition of arugula and parmesan cheese would probably take this dish to the next level, but I am not a big fan of arugula (though I desperately want to be!) and absolutely detest reheating greens of any sort in a dish.

Birthday - Parts 1, 2,& 3

I know, it's really a bit too late to be blogging about my birthday 23 days after it happened. My apologizes! I've been making a very deliberate effort to be a more productive lab rat; it sort of worked and it also made me more crazy at work. My usually pristine and organized desk is covered in several stacks of papers that never seem to clear away. Drats.

And as I finally get to writing this, I realized I don't have any pictures from any part of my birthday. I honestly forgot to take my camera out.

Well, one time I was itching to get a picture of Eric and I at dinner, but I would have needed to ask a stranger to take the photo. I always feel so bizarre asking for that, especially if they aren't good at taking pictures, and I think Eric would've teased me for it. In retrospect, I wish I had asked someone to take the picture, because we don't get dressed up all that often and I think we look rather good together. Sigh. Oh well.

Anyway, back to my birthday!

I had three--count 'em, THREE--consecutive weekends of celebrating my birthday with family and friends. I promise, I wasn't being self-centered and clamoring for attention. It actually happened because there was no one weekend where everyone could get together for a party.

Birthday Weekend #1: Family Cookout
The first party occurred over Fourth of July weekend and, to be fair, it was billed as a Fourth of July cookout for Mom's side of the family, with the side intention of celebrating my birthday. My Aunt Norma and Uncle Rick, my Uncle Charlie, and my "cousins" (Uncle Rick's brother John and two of his kids) came over to my parent's house for an informal cookout. Now, we Landis' don't mess around when it comes to organizing food for a family gathering and this is terribly obvious with the copious amounts and the incredible quality of food, typically organized around a central theme. This time, we went Greek/Mediterranean.
Lamb meatballs at room temperature (courtesy of Michael Symon's traditional Greek recipe),
lamb kebabs,
potato-tomato-corn-onion salad,
couscous salad (one of our numerous variations, filled with veggies and lightly dressed),
and, for dessert, a raspberry-rhubarb crumble

Between stuffing our faces, we chatted and played cornhole and avoided the oppressive heat when not playing cornhole. Rick and Norma gifted me with two cookbooks, both signed during their recent trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic. The books are signed to both me and my mom, so we'll have to share them, but neither of us feels like this is much of a problem. I can't wait to try out some new recipes, including the one for the Greek-style lamb meatballs we'd been devouring all night!


Birthday weekend #1: relaxed, full of food and family....in other words, perfect!


Birthday Weekend #2: Fancy Dinner with Eric and Breakfast with my Parents
My actual birthday was Sunday of this weekend, and this was going to be a low-profile but awesome birthday weekend.

Friday, I brought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake (brownie batter blizzard flavor!) to Eric's apartment. His half-birthday is the day after my birthday, and I like to deflect some of the attention onto him. Plus it was the perfect excuse to get a DQ ice cream cake!!!! So yummy! I can't resist that crunchy layer + fudgy layer + ice cream + their icing. Oh man... We had dinner, and when asked what I wanted to do, I replied I wanted to watch a DVD of an old Nine Inch Nails concert.

Saturday, Eric and I spent the day together, which isn't something we often get to do because of work and errands. We lounged by the pool of his apartment complex (I need to get a tattoo in order to enter, if you base your criteria on everyone else at the pool...), had lunch, then I went off to get prettied up for our "fancy" dinner. All I'd asked of Eric for my birthday was a nice dinner where we got dressed up. So I spent an hour showering, applying makeup, digging a JCrew dress and heels out of the closet (they don't see much use, I'm sad to say...), and getting back over to Eric's. It was so hot and humid out, though, that all my grooming went to waste as soon as I set foot outside to get to my car; I was sweating all over and that just doesn't feel very pretty. Thankfully, Eric still thought I looked lovely and we headed off to The Winds restaurant in Yellow Spring. To me, The Winds feels like a special occasion restaurant, so it was perfect. Plus, Eric had never been there and I wanted to share it with him. There was a bit of a wait when we got there, so we wandered through their wine store next door. I wanted to buy everything! The wine, the cookies and biscotti handmade every day, the six-packs of microbrews, and....most wonderful of all...the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in the freezer (specifically the Rhubarb-Lime Cardamom that I've been dying to try for weeks). Our table still wasn't ready, so we had a drink at The Winds' bar. Eric had a Jameson on the rocks (so classy!) and I tried their seasonal Lavender Daquiri (lime juice, rum, and lavender simple syrup). While the drink was good, I was literally licking the rim of my glass to get all of the superfine sugar and dried lavender off. Mmm... We finally were seated and I wanted to try everything (except the fish, sorry!) on the menu. We shared a tomato bruschetta appetizer as well as the corn cake appetizer (fried dough with corn and carrots and a yogurt-lime dipping sauce). Eric ordered an enormous pork chop with cherry sauce, corn risotto (amazing!) and green beans. I had the Beet Salad (sliced roasted beets on the bottom, topped by arugula, shredded raw beets and horseradish) and the Fig, the Pig, and the Goat appetizer (roasted black figs with goat cheese and applewood smoked bacon). My food was delicious...but the figs were so rich and the arugula was so, well, arugula-y, that I wished I had ordered the ratatouille crepes. Oh well! I do not regret dessert at all! Eric chose the Chocolate Budino, a chocolate crust filled with dense chocolate filling (thicker and heavier than a pudding, but still smushable), sprinkled with fleur de sel and drizzled with fruity olive oil. Oh man. Oh man. So, so, so good. I wanted more olive oil and less fleur de sel, but I was in heaven. I've said this before and will say it many times more, but I would happily apprentice myself to The Winds' pastry chef, if he/she would teach me how they make the most amazing crusts to tarts and pastries. It crumbles and melts in your mouth at the same time. Ahhhh......

Sunday, Eric went off to work and I went back to my parent's house for a lavish breakfast of muffins, eggs, bacon, fruit, and ice cream cupcakes from Cold Stone Creamery. For the last several years, Mom presents a Cold Stone ice cream cake for my birthday. Their chocolate ganache covering will hurt your teeth, but you can't stop thinking about it and craving it. Mm! Mom decided to try out Cold Stone's cupcakes, which have a chocolate shell (replacing the cupcake liner) containing a small bit of cake and a hefty scoop of their rich, delicious ice cream and a bit of icing. She got the variety pack, so we had 3 different flavors. I immediately dove into the red velvet cake + cake batter ice cream combo...and loved it. Before church, I opened gifts from my parents. Mom always goes over the top in giving to others and this was no exception. It seemed like there was so much, I felt a little bad. The most prized present was my Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream cookbook!!! Woohoo!!!! It's amazing and I truly don't understand why she did it, but Jeni gave us all of her recipes, including her macaroons for ice cream "sandwiches" and different sundae combinations. Of course, it's a visually stunning book, as you'd expect from her store and her website. Mom made the lime-cardamom frozen yogurt last weekend and I cannot wait to try it in a few days when I get back to Dayton! I plan to work my way through this cookbook in less than 2 years. And I will still buy Jeni's :)

Birthday Weekend #2: relaxed, I did stuff I wanted, I have Jeni's cookbook!, I got to dress up and put on new wedge heels (Lands End Canvas espadrilles that are ridiculously high but adorable), and lots of time with Eric. Amazing!!!


Birthday Weekend #3: Cookout Party for my Friends
The weekend after my birthday, I invited a bunch of my friends over to my parent's house for a cookout/party. My hopes were very high that we would play one-handed beer volleyball, a challenging and hilarious game invented at my birthday cookout last year. I'm sad to report there was no volleyball playing, despite putting the net up. I strongly believe that if some of the game's co-founders had been there (Kara and Jeremy), we would've played. Perhaps next year....I'll keep my hopes up!

I wanted to keep this party simple, so we wouldn't exhaust ourselves preparing for it and so we could be done with preparations before the party started. I even wrote out a to-do list for Friday and Saturday. And we managed to do it! I suspect my mom did more work getting everything cleaned than I wanted her to, though. I'll have to keep a better eye on her next time. I created a menu that I hoped would please people and be easy to prepare. We had:
Handmade burgers
Hot dogs & sausages (not handmade)
Potato-roasted corn-roasted red pepper salad
Veggies + yogurt-curry dip
Muhammara dip + pita chips and bread
Fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, melon, strawberries)
Homemade ice cream sandwiches (chocolate chip cookies with either mint choc-chip or cherry cordial ice cream in between)

Ohhhhh, it was fantastic! The food was delicious (I ate a LOT, so that I could barely even have my ice cream sandwich! Unheard of!). The beer was plentiful and chilled (Magic Hat sampler, Christian Morlein sampler, and PBR). The weather was perfect for relaxing on the patio, especially when the sun went down. But best of all were all my friends being there. Seriously, something lined up the fates to bring together so many friends who are normally in a different city or state. Megan, Moe, Dan, and my late surprise guest David. My roommate Kayleigh drove up from Cincy, and Eric's parents joined us as well. Eric was there too, though Manning wasn't able to make it. It was so wonderful having everyone there!!!!

I was also excited to wear another new Patagonia dress for the party. It was the first time I'd worn the dress and I was happily surprised by the way the skirt moved, as if it were meant for dancing.

Eric and I noticed that both of our parents were chatting during the night and, naturally, they began to talk about "old people" topics, like health ailments, the weather, their respective cats, etc. I overheard my Dad tell at least 3 stories I know he's told Eric's parents before. I bet Eric that the next time they're together, we'll hear those same 3 stories again. We may need to prepare to introduce some new topics into their conversation...

While I didn't ask for any gifts and didn't expect any, I received some very awesome ones. Eric's parents brought over Magnum double chocolate ice cream bars. (They've only been available in the US for a few months, but I'd had them in Spain. Try one. Actually, be prepared to eat the whole box. They're incredible.) His parents also gifted me with a lovely Fossil wallet and keychain. Eric's mother initiated my Fossil obsession, so it was perfect that she further developed my love of Fossil products. My friend Megan gifted me with an orange ice cream scoop to match my orange ice cream maker (to make all the Jeni's flavors in!) and some beautiful earrings I'd been eyeing at a store we'd gone to together the previous week. She's so sneaky, I had no idea they were for me! My friend Maureen presented me with a gorgeously wrapped present that I didn't want to open because it was so perfectly wrapped (this always happens because her gift wrapping is so exquisite!). Inside was a bottle of Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise perfume, which I've been hoping to buy for awhile. Every time I wear it, I sniff my arm uncontrollably, looking like a crazy moron, but I don't mind because the perfume is just so darn lovely!

Eventually, everyone had to head out. After helping my parents clean up from the party, I met up with Eric and David to watch some of Sons of Anarchy (the boys' favorite show) before falling asleep, happy as can be.

Birthday Weekend #3: relaxed, ready for everything before the party started, thrilled to be with friends I don't often get to see (silly adult jobs!), full of food and drink, and surprised with some really fantastic gifts....overall, incredible!


I had three unbelieveably great birthday weekends this year, and while I don't have any pictures to document it, I loved every minute of it!

Only 343 days until my next birthday....

My Birthday!!!

With my previous two weeks being busy with preparing for weekend trips, my birthday snuck up on me this year. And it was the big 2-5...so I am the owner of a new, very pink Ohio license and the inability to remember that I am 25. hehe! I don't feel that "old". When asked, I'd probably say 21 or something, though I often feel like I'm still awkward enough to be a teenager. There are only a few ways in which I feel "old" - paying bills/worrying about money, having my body feel a lot older when I exercise, being tired without enough sleep, and not wanting to go to work. I think those are all things they don't tell you about when you're 5 and want to be grown-up. hehe!

To celebrate turning a quarter, I did two things: went out to dinner with Eric (a fancy little date where we got all dressed up - high heels for me! - and even had wine) and had a cookout with my parents and friends. I loved every minute of both things! Each year, I look forward to having a night with my family and friends - I don't even care if they know it's my birthday! I just like getting everyone together and having fun together....which is why I like throwing parties. I really enjoy assembling all the tiny details into one wonderful party for people I care about. It meant so much to have my friends around me, especially since I hadn't spent time with most of them in awhile.

I was so happy Maureen and Dan were at my cookout!

The guys invented a new game at the cookout - one-handed volleyball! The games took a lot longer to play and at times, they got quite heated (ahem, Jeremy!). Thankfully, the judge line (Tony), was able to resolve all problems :)

I had PBR tall boys as a surprise for these three hooligans. I think they liked them :)

Eric and I all dressed up for our dinner date. We actually wore the same outfits for Karemy's wedding last summer...but I think we still look darn good!!!

And to top it all off, I received my traditional ice cream birthday cake from my parents....and I had even more ice cream cake for Eric's half-birthday, which is the day after my bday. Delicious! I love ice cream, I love cake, thus my tremendous love of ice cream cakes (whether they contain any actual cake component or not) makes sense. :) Oh man, I want a piece right now!!!

Thank you for making my quarter birthday so wonderful!!!!!! I love my friends and my family!!!! You make me so happy!


(ummm, I also received my very first beer can coozy, which is awe-some! surprisingly, i owned no coozies until about 2 years ago. Maureen, my lovely sister, has given me both of the coozies i own - for bottles and for cans. i think of her every time i use them!)