I have a love/hate relationship with food network magazine. On the love side, their food looks GORGEOUS. I mean seriously. Even their french fries look like someone scoured the globe for the perfect fry. My food NEVER looks like their food. Even if I follow all the directions, have all the ingredients, and use the proper tools to make the dish. I know, I know, they have food stylists and all. But still. It is depressing when you set out to make some gourmet mac and cheese and it ends up looking like velveeta. (not that there is anything wrong with a good ole velveeta mac).
Tonight I'm experimenting with the Mix n' Match section of their magazine, and this month's feature is quick breads. You choose a fruit (apple, banana, etc) throw in some mix ins (oats, chocolate chips, dried cranberrys) and kazaam! quick bread. Or something like that. I didn't quite follow the directions. I added more chocolate chips (does anyone not add more chocolate chips?) I also added less apples (six small apples does not equal a cup, fyi.). At any rate, it smells good. Hopefully it will taste good. I'll update on the taste when it comes out!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter---The Navy Edition
This is the first major holiday we haven't been able to get home for since starting this crazy navy life a year and a half ago (man, time has flown by!). Couple that with the husband's crazy training schedules and I have to say I was a bit bummed. I'm used to family holidays being a mob scene: fifty plus people, tons of food, and enough drama to keep things interesting. Quiet family gatherings are just not my family's style. Loud drunken affairs are kind of how we roll.
Anyways, trying to figure out how to celebrate a just the two of us holiday with a heavy dose of "we only have a couple of hours together and he's worked a bajillion hours" thrown in was boggling to me. Should I cook a big meal? I made a big breakfast and he went to bed, but the thought of cooking some large meat (holidays involve a wide variety of large chunks of meat in my family: chickens, turkeys, legs of lamb, pork loins) was daunting, not from cooking perspective but from a "eating leftover chunk o' meat for the next week is depressing" perspective. I bought an egg kit and failed to dye eggs. I felt like a total easter failure. I mean, who forgets to dye easter eggs and has no clue what to cook for easter dinner?
So, I chickened out of our first holiday for two. We went out to dinner. And you know what? It rocked. The food was great. Someone else cooked it. Someone else cleaned it up. And I got cheesecake. And I came home and we webcammed with all my crazy relatives. Was it a normal family extravaganza? Not even close. But I got to spend time with my husband and wave at my grandmom, so all in all it was a good holiday. Oh, and Finn ate real non-turkey sausage for breakfast (we did too) so I'm pretty sure it was a good puppy Easter :-)
Anyways, trying to figure out how to celebrate a just the two of us holiday with a heavy dose of "we only have a couple of hours together and he's worked a bajillion hours" thrown in was boggling to me. Should I cook a big meal? I made a big breakfast and he went to bed, but the thought of cooking some large meat (holidays involve a wide variety of large chunks of meat in my family: chickens, turkeys, legs of lamb, pork loins) was daunting, not from cooking perspective but from a "eating leftover chunk o' meat for the next week is depressing" perspective. I bought an egg kit and failed to dye eggs. I felt like a total easter failure. I mean, who forgets to dye easter eggs and has no clue what to cook for easter dinner?
So, I chickened out of our first holiday for two. We went out to dinner. And you know what? It rocked. The food was great. Someone else cooked it. Someone else cleaned it up. And I got cheesecake. And I came home and we webcammed with all my crazy relatives. Was it a normal family extravaganza? Not even close. But I got to spend time with my husband and wave at my grandmom, so all in all it was a good holiday. Oh, and Finn ate real non-turkey sausage for breakfast (we did too) so I'm pretty sure it was a good puppy Easter :-)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
New Blog, New Perspective
My old blog started to feel a bit rickety. Then we moved (again). Then I stopped posting. I'm hoping for a new outlet with this blog. I promise to keep you posted on all the craziness that comes with Navy wife life, a few glimpses into life all over the U.S., my favorite bargains, tips and recipes, my love of cupcakes, my quirky dog Finn, and my favorite books and poems. For now. I'll likely also rant about reality TV, dumb news, and maybe even my husband's ability to throw socks AT the hamper but not IN it. (Clearly a preposition problem. That's what happens when you marry a science geek).
Currently, we are living up North. Sadly, the Navy does not take my love of the beach and all places warm into account when dishing out orders. So, we had a Chicago winter, followed by a lovely Charleston summer, and now a North Eastern Winter. (Yes, I know it is April, but since the husband scraped snow off the car this morning I think it still counts as winter). Having grown up in Baltimore City, it is odd to live in a place with a "rural" address. Luckily, Walmart is right around the corner, so I'm never far from groceries or entertainment.
Currently, we are living up North. Sadly, the Navy does not take my love of the beach and all places warm into account when dishing out orders. So, we had a Chicago winter, followed by a lovely Charleston summer, and now a North Eastern Winter. (Yes, I know it is April, but since the husband scraped snow off the car this morning I think it still counts as winter). Having grown up in Baltimore City, it is odd to live in a place with a "rural" address. Luckily, Walmart is right around the corner, so I'm never far from groceries or entertainment.
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