I love a good road trip.

So some of my friends have once again not so subtly reminded me that it's been a long time since I posted anything. I kind of get in a funk sometimes. I haven't even been reading blogs lately. No reason. But I started back up in the last couple of days.

Here are some updates about the doin's at our house:

• I FINALLY got my hutch open. My mom gave me a brilliant idea. She suggested that I saw through the paint that had sealed the door shut. At first I thought it would cause too much damage, but then I came across my pumpkin carving tools, which includes a very very small saw. It fit in the space at the top & bottom of the door, so I just sawed down through the paint & it opened LIKE MAGIC. Thanks Mom. So I should be posting next week about the hutch and it will be filled with DISHES!
• We're getting an estimate on our roof soon. When the roof is done, then I can paint the outside of the house and it will no longer look like it's abandoned. I'd like to do a little more planting, too, and rip out those giant shrubs in the front.
• I'm having a garage sale, so I'm in organizing mode. I'm tired of moving junk. And living in a small place, we really don't have a lot of room for stuff we don't use.

But on to the subject of the post! We went to Dallas/Ft. Worth over Labor Day weekend to visit friends & pick up some of our stuff that we had left in Spain. We went to some great restaurants & saw some fun stuff on the drive. Here's a gallery of our weekend:

 Our dear friends Christopher & Ragna

We had a great time in Dallas with our friend Jessica. She took us to this great restaurant called Park. I loved that turquoise fireplace with the stacked firewood and horizontal wood planks. This was outdoor seating.

This restaurant had a California beachy 60s flea market feel to it.

 

This was inside.

 

This was some of the yummiest pizza we've ever had: dried apricots, proscuitto, boursin cheese and basil.

 The counter at Pinkberry (super tasty yogurt place), view from our table outside.

More spying on Pinkberry patrons. This was Vino's yogurt: mango flavored with berries and fruity pebbles.

So a big part of the whole road trip experience is stopping at funky places along the way. I'm glad Vino wants to do things like that.

 

 Saw this place in Oklahoma. We thought it was an icecream parlor. We thought wrong.

 

What??

Seriously. I think Vino wanted to take this one home.

Why would anyone think this place had ice cream? 

I peeked in the window of that pink camper. It has cheetah print carpet!

I asked that green guy permission first. He didn't care.

 

Of course there were singing metal frogs with GIT-tars.

 

I'll take one of each, please.

 

More than anything else at this store I wanted that soda bar arrow sign like nobody's business. Who cares that I have absolutely nowhere to put it right now. Lucky for me, it wasn't for sale. I really don't need a giant red arrow in my tiny house. But if I lived in a cool urban loft...

 

Pretty jar of ribbon on spools.

 

 

I was laughing at a shelf that had a giant head of the Burger King and one of Ronald McDonald on top.

It looks like I'm wearing a green chandelier hat.

 

Pink bike fencing.

 

Creepy doll-head fencing.

 

Last stop on the way home. Breakfast at this "famous" cafe in Oklahoma.

 

They were really nice to us, even though I was wearing my Husker shirt. 

It was the only clean thing I had left in my suitcase. :)

 This week I vow to return to the land-o-blog. I've missed it!

Caramel Corn & Other Tasty Treats

I love me some sugar. LOVE. I'm not supposed to have a lot of it, and I'm blessed with a husband who reminds me to keep my sugar intake in check. When I get to heaven, I'll eat all the chocolate & cream filled long johns I want, and they'll be good for me. In the mean time, though, I can SPARINGLY enjoy the tasty treats that Vino comes up with. Take, for instance, his stuffed strawberries.


I'll post a recipe & more photos of those later, but let me just say that they are divine. He's all about the presentation, as you can see. Here's what he made me for breakfast this morning:


I'm a lucky girl. :)

He also makes his own cooking show, which he posts on YouTube. There are several in the works, but the most popular one (and one that he just upgraded with cool graphics) is his caramel corn.


I brag about this stuff, but it's not because I'm biased and he's cute. It's because it is seriously the best caramel corn I've ever had, hands down. We made the video in our old house, before we sold it (that's me behind the camera). Every time I watch it, I miss my little kitchen! So for your viewing pleasure, and I hope for your eating pleasure if you choose to make the recipe, here's the love of my life, looking snazzy in my Pampered Chef apron. Enjoy!

Vino's Kitchen Caramel Corn Recipe

P.S. He'd love it if you checked out his other videos. They're mostly about us here in Spain.

Things that make me happy

It's snowing again, which is REALLY odd for Madrid. It doesn't look like any is accumulating, though. It's cold (about 36 F - cold for here, heat wave at home for a Nebraska winter!) and gloomy out. We've had a lot of rain lately, and I get happy feelings inside when the sun peeks out on those days. It's a reminder that the dreary days will not be here forever.


Today, Friday, is produce market day. A few vendors come to our tiny little town and set up stalls where they sell the most colorful produce. I'll take my camera some day, but not today. Because it's snowing. And overcast. Vino likes to get grapefruit there because he likes eating them. I like to get grapefruit (pomelo) because of how the the colors look when they are sliced in half on our turquoise colored plates. Silly, maybe, but it makes me happy.


Today I will go to the market and buy more mandarins for Vino, as requested, who is STILL confined to the couch, recouperating. We have another doctor's appointment next week. Poor guy.

Yesterday I turned 37, and he felt bad that he couldn't do much to celebrate. But he made me this, and it made me happy:


That's him on the balloon. I love Butterfingers, and we can't get them here. This one is from his dwindling "stash" in the cupboard. It really didn't bother me that we didn't do anything elaborate. It's not like he can get out and go shopping for me. I like homemade stuff, anyways. It always means more, no matter how humble. :) We ordered Chinese food and rented "The Secret Life of Bees" on iTunes, and had a nice evening at home. Maybe later we'll go out and celebrate. When it's sunny and warmer. That would make me happy.

Mediterranean Inspiration

I've been cooking more lately, especially soup. I love making soup! Ever since I started (and re-started, and re-re-started) the South Beach Diet, I've come to appreciate the genius that is Soup. There's something really filling about a hot bowl of thick soup, and it doesn't have to contain potatoes or rice or other SBD Phase 1 no-no's to keep me satisfied.

When we were in Tunisia last week, I fell in love with Mediterranean/North African flavors. Our friend made a feast for us one night of leblebi (spicy chickpea soup), brik (similar to an egg role, but with more egg inside), tagine (similar to quiche) and some other things.


Of course, everything was tres delicious. Like how I added in that bit of French? They speak French there, in addition to Arabic. I'll stop pretending now that I really speak anything other than English.


So back at home, I stood in front of our miniscule european refrigerator taking stock of what I could make soup out of. I had 6 tomatoes that needed using up post haste, a bunch of parsley that came free from Enrique the Friday produce market guy, and an onion. I also had a jar of turmeric & some other spices. I had never used turmeric in cooking before, but our friend used it in several of her dishes. So, being the Expert Soup Maker that I am (read: sarcasm), I decided to make up a recipe of my own. I actually liked it, and so did the man. When I just now asked him for a quote about my made up soup, he looked at me funny, but then came up with, "This soup made my tastebuds realize why they are alive & attached to me." Yes, a bit over the top. I will not include a photo of this soup because 1. I didn't take one and 2. it's not really a very pretty soup, as soups go.

Erin's Made-Up Mediterranean/North African Inspired Soup
(all measurements completely guessed & up for debate)

1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground corriander
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 Cup finely chopped parsley
1 liter chicken broth
2 Cups water
6 small tomoatoes, diced
1 Cup dry lentils
1 bulb roasted garlic, cloves removed (optional)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in the bottom of your soup pot. When it's shimmery, saute onions until transluscent. Add cumin, corriander & turmeric. Saute with onions for about a minute. Add the broth, water, tomatoes, lentils, garlic cloves, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. I like puree soups, so at this point I used my immersion blender to make the soup almost smooth. Garnish with a sprig of parsley & serve. Parsley makes just about any dish pretty-ish.

Served with:

Erin's Made-Up Mediterranean/North African Inspired Grilled Chicken Breasts

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
big pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
big pinch of teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix together all ingredients except chicken in a bowl that's big enough to marinate the chicken in. Poke some holes in the chicken with a fork, then add it to the bowl. Make sure the chicken is coated well, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then just grill. I have a big Foreman style grill in my kitchen that works great for grilling chicken. Serves 2.

It was revolutionary for me to think of making up a soup recipe. I don't know why I think everything has to be "tried-and-true" before it's acceptable for me to try making. I make up how to do projects around my house all the time, it's about time that spilled over into cooking! However, I probably will not be blogging about other failed & mutated recipes that made us reach for the pizza delivery number. At least not now. I want to enjoy my soup.

Tasty Treats I Will Be Making This Week...In Tunisia!

The man & I will be heading out-of-town this week for Thanksgiving. Actually, we're headed out-of-country, which I'm pretty excited about. We will be visiting a friend from home who lives in Tunisia. She has procured all of the necessities for an American Thanksgiving meal, which should be divine. I will be bringing a few contributions of my own. Fortunately, we each get one free checked bag for the plane so I can bring that can of cream-of-mushroom soup and the bottles of vanilla, almond & maple extract. So you can have a taste of what I'll be making this week, I'm posting the recipes. They are NOT MINE, so I don't take credit for them. They are uber-simple, which is the best kind of recipe, in my mind. So, here you go!

Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup milk
shake of Worcestershire or soy sauce
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed*
1 1/3 cups French Fried Onions

Directions:
1. MIX soup, milk, sauce and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
2. BAKE at 350°F (175°C) for 30 min. or until hot.
3. STIR. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.

Tip: You may substitute 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) cut green beans, drained or 4 cups fresh, cooked cut green beans.

Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients:
1 pkg. cake mix
½ C. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 C. chocolate chips (if desired)
1 t. vanilla (or any other extract)

Directions:
Mix, drop on cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes (or more) at 350°F (175°C). My favorite combo is yellow cake mix with almond extract!

And for breakfast...

Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
3 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. white sugar
1 1/4 C. milk
1 egg
3 T. butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Maple Syrup (my mom's recipe)
Ingredients:
4 C. granulated sugar
½ C. brown sugar
2 C. water
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. maple flavoring

Directions:
Combine sugar & water, stir till dissolved. Cover & boil 10 minutes. Remove from heat & add vanilla & maple. Stir till mixed.

The Last Bowl of Ice Cream

Tonight I had my last bowl of ice cream for a while. Tomorrow morning I am starting phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I've been talking about it for a long time, and meaning to start, but now I'm doing it. I'm a bit apprehensive because I don't know if I can survive without sugar. And I don't like eggs. Or fish. However, we watched our wedding video last night for the first time in a long time, and seeing how I looked then, knowing that I wouldn't be able to squeeze myself into that dress anymore, motivated me to finally start. My doctor recommended the diet to me a few years ago since I'm pre-diabetic, so it has major health benefits for me. Vino is interested in going on the diet with me, but since he bought ice cream and a bunch of other forbidden foods at the grocery store tonight, I'm not sure how long it will last. Who knows, though. He might decide he likes it. My parents just left last week after being here for a month, and my sister comes in a little less than 2 weeks - almost enough time to complete phase 1. I have decided that I'm not going to give up diet soda or coffee...yet. I would dread that. Just no real sugar or fat-filled milk in the coffee.

I kind of feel like posting this online makes me a little more accountable. Like I really have to go through with it or anyone who reads this will think I have no will power if I give up. We'll see how I do with a fresh tub of ice cream calling to me from the freezer. It was mighty tasty. :)