Cooking Phenom

Its really hard to be a cooking phenom when you have inadiquate tools in your kitchen and possibly inadiquate skills. I can sharpen my skills through practice, but honestly there are some kitchen tools that I haven't even heard of. That's why swapmeets are good. There are booths full of stuff that you never thought you might need but secretly might want. This is how I obtained a small spatula and a dough cutter.

I added a "wish list" on the side of my blog of things I might need to make, say a fritata or a soufle, polenta (wish me luck on that.) Its not there to be vain or needy, its just things that might help out at some point and come my birthday or Christmas it will help my husband to not ask me fifty times of what I want or need. He'll only have to ask once since he never reads the blog. Let me know if there is a must have tool in your kitchens that I might not have that I can add to my list.

BTW... I have a cookie press already. Spritze cookies anyone?

My Funny Valentine

When this current picture was taken, I felt so silly. And shortly after we drove up to Maine where I stood and declared that I had an announcement to make... "We had engagement pictures taken today!" Ha, they all thought I was going to say something else. That was the best part. Anyhow, its actually kind of sweet and its not very often that just the two of us get to be together in a picture.

Which brings me to the next part of my story. A long time ago we declared that Valentine's Day was just a big let down. Boo commiserates that floral shops hike up the price of flowers which he is never willing to pay for. And I can never think of something clever and usually give up early in the hunt. I've hinted many times to the fact that Costco sells flowers at a discount all year long. This usually falls on deaf ears and I end up buying the flowers for myself a week in advance and just tell him that they're my "blank" flowers. (Insert any occasion for the word blank.)

So this Valentine's Day season he commented that he hadn't made it to Costco and wasn't sure if he would. Talk about 'anticipointment.' (thanks Sundahls) Anticipointment is the anticipation of something great and then being a little disappointed at the same time. There are two great occasions when this occurs: Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve.
So wallowing in my VD sadness and watching all these great VD surprises on Oprah my door bell rang. First thought was "Man I hope it isn't someone from church because I look like crap." But in reality it was Cupid bringing me my own VD surprise, flowers, even tulips that I love.

Boo got some Dove chocolates and a Tide-to-Go pen. How romantic and clever.

Noelle's Antics

Can you say 'hobolicious'? Noelle came in to see what I was doing on the computer and this is what she looked like. No idea where she found her hat, since we haven't been using it lately, one of my shoes and her pj's. Then as I go to take her picture she pulls a typical move and puts her finger up her nose. It doesn't get much better than that. Earlier she was carting around her goods in her doll stroller, in which case she was looking like a bag lady. Great things to come from her, eh?


This video is of Noelle saying "lasagna." She can't say it without making that face. However, she no longer will perform this trick for us, used and abused as it is.

Birthday Week Continues

We continued the birthday week celebrations on Saturday, Boo's actual birthday, by hiking around Papago Park in Phoenix. We went up to the Hole in the Rock, which was fun to climb around and see the cityscape.

As part of the park there is a tomb of George W. P. Hunt, who holds the record for serving the most terms as a governor in the U. S. From Hunt's tomb you can see part of the Phoenix Zoo. We could see the giraffes walking all around. We might have to visit there before it becomes too hot.

Our celebration continued as we took a driving tour of Boo's old neighborhood in Tempe. I don't think his parents would consider moving there today and probably would have moved away since. However, Boo has fond memories of running all around the area and couldn't believe his eyes at the development of the area. He even swears that he recognized the old man walking up and down the sidewalks.

On Sunday we had the best cake ever - Lindy's Coconut Cake. This was a learning moment and I'd like to share with you all. In this recipe it calls for "Cream of Coconut." So being the dilligent little cook that I'm trying to be we stopped by the grocery store to pick up the last few ingredients we needed. I marched to the ethnic section to get my cream of coconut and all they had was coconut milk. Well surely that wasn't what I wanted but I bought some anyway thinking that I would get home, Google it and find I could use this instead. WRONG! Not the same. I went back to a different store which had no better options for me. Again, I searched the web to find that indeed they were different. There are four varieties of coconut products to be confused with; coconut water, coconut milk, coconut cream and cream of coconut. The first three can be used for each other if that is your only option, however cream of coconut is that goodness used for pina colada drinks. This is not the site I originally found but it does a good job explaing and telling you where you might find such things. http://www.sonic.net/~alden/Nondairy.html So for a third trip, Boo went back to the store and looked in the liquor section (or for those without liquor sections in your store, where the marquritas flavor mixes might be) and found it. Definitely not the same.

Two Quick Things and Then I'll Be Out of Your Hair

Earlier today I picked up our dry cleaning, no big deal. Since Noelle was asleep I thought I'd try out the drive-thru option. I've always wanted to try that, but never have. So I pull up and the sliding door is open and the cheery lady tells me she'll be right with me. As I look through the door to answer I notice that she's totally workin' it. You know what I mean? Butt out, tight jeans, some plummers crack and serious muffin tops. YIKES! I just couldn't help but to be caught in one of those mini seizures of staring off into space and thinking about how funny and sick that was. Poor lady.

The second thing is that I'm currently in the middle of making my first ever souffle. Obvisouly not for the faint of heart. I'm a little scared and mad at the same time. I see on my recipe that it calls for some cream of tartar, but can't find when or where I'm supposed to use the cream of tartar. Finally, Boo comes in clicks around on the recipe and finds that its supposed to help my egg whites stiffen. So lame, why the heck couldn't they tell me that before? Don't they know I'm an amature? Linda T. always says "If you can read you can cook." I can read and can't really cook, especially when a recipe from Gourmet Magazine leaves out the part of the cream of tartar as a helpful hint. I'll let you know how it goes.

Birthday Weeks

Its not official, but I think we have begun the celebration for Boo's birthday week. You all might be jealous to know that at our house we celebrate for an entire seven days surrounding the actual birthday. Whoever's birthday it happens to be gets to choose when they want to start it and then it ends a week later. I'm not sure why we started this? Maybe because Boo wanted seven days of nice wife or maybe because one of us was feeling jaded by our childhood and needs to make up for the difference by celebrating our birthday for an entire week. Probably both.

Since Boo can't find his head with both hands because he's been so busy with work I have decided that it started already and we'll celebrate through to next Tuesday. This gives him a few days prior and post that we all have to be nice and give him preferential treatment.

As a part of the birthweek celebration I jumped online and found a great web site that helps you plan meals for as many days of the week as you want and then compiles a grocery list so that you have everything you need for all of those meals. http://www.oneclickdinners.com/ LOVE IT! The first two meals have been successful - Jamiacan Jerk Chicken with special rice, beans and sweet potato stuff and tonight was Chicken Keiv with lemony asparagus and the left over rice concoction.

It was so good Noelle wouldn't touch it. Which I don't understand because she's a good eater generally. I even sat at the table with her for a long period of time, post dinner to see if I could will her into eating some. Not a snowball's chance... So I told her if she doesn't eat her dinner than she could go to bed and she said "Okay Mama." Without much incident she went to bed, however around 11pm decided she was done and wasn't going to lay down. Boo is a major softy and spends a long time trying to calm her and nicely ease her back to sleep. Me on the other hand, I rule with an iron fist. I guess that method of parenting is a little premature for my not-quite-two year old. Ooops, lesson learned.

PS. - I probably should have tended to the crying toddler since it is Boo's birthweek.