First one is on the Books...

Hello,

Are you in shock that you didn't have to wait for 9 months for the next blog?  :)

I thought I would try something this year to keep the posts coming in a consistent manner, a month in review post.  It will be a book review, resolution update and life in review kind of a thing.  It sounded like a good idea in my head so I'm doing it.....

First, did January fly by really fast for you as well?????  It's like I blinked and January was over, however, I did get a lot accomplished.

I signed up thru Salt Lake School District Community Education in partnership with my Rowing Club for Winter Training.  It started on January 17th and it will run thru late March.  On Monday and Wednesday evenings, I go to West High School for ERG/rowing machine training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training,  or as I call it weights on speed).  It's kicking my butt in a very good way and more importantly getting me ready to hit the water in late March when the Rowing Season begins.  It's been really fun to reconnect with my rowing buds and has also reminded me how much I LOVE to row.  Resolution, Get outside more.......

In late December, a friend of mine brought to my attention a program called 'Creating for Happiness' which is a creative challenge to get you to form a daily practice.  I have a ton of supplies that I wasn't really using at home or truthfully, at all, so I initially thought this would be a great way to bring value into something I already own.  It turned into something quite a bit more and I'm going to be incredibly brave soon and do a post about my art, including pictures to share more about this 30 day challenge I did in January.   Resolution, Try Something New a Month...

I also challenged myself to drink at least 48 oz of water a day in January (I figured I would start small and set myself up for success) and did not have one day where I did not make my goal and on Rowing training days, it was WAY more.  I did two 'Something to Think About' Journal entries.  I chose them at random and they were very appropriate for the things going on in my life, so Ya a resolution that is being more than I thought it would be.  I am still on schedule for my Penny Savings Challenge, doing 1 week from January, a week from December, and two weeks from March.  Remember my plan was to be flexible on the route, but not on the destination.....  Resolutions, More water, At least 26 'Something to Think About' Journal entries,  Penny savings challenge

Now onto other things....
I read Les Miserable by Victor Hugo in January.  HUGE, HUGE book and could of used a bit of editing (I really could of done without the extensive information and history of the Paris sewers), but if you love the musical, do yourself a favor and read this book.   After that 1300 page plus book, I read a few others, but as I write this none of them are jumping out at me to say, recommend me, so I guess that's the end of that.

Work continues to be Nirvana and I am diligently studying and preparing for my new certification I am undertaking.  So WAHOO!  A happy work life!

I am in shock about the weird, warm, dry winter we are having.  It's quite honestly scaring me about our future water.  By the way, have you heard about the situation in Cape Town, South Africa?  They are running out of water!!  They actually have an end date for water.  It's scary.

I hope you have avoided the flu that has been ravaging the country!  I had a bit of a dental adventure but thanks to a very good dentist/oral surgeon I am well and good now and have avoided the flu, so I can't complain....

I hope 2018 is off to a good start for you...
Melissa

Rumbly in my Tummy...

As the year comes to a close, I am realizing that I didn't quite finish my food challenge.  :(  But I have a plan for the 6 items I didn't complete, they will be done in January.  I never tried a food that scared me...I didn't make a layer cake from scratch...I haven't taken my tour, but I did buy the groupon to do so...I didn't make mac and cheese....so, January is going to be a good food month.

But I did do a lot of things, very yummy things....
Instead of going thru all of them, I thought I would just hit some of my adventures.  As you will see, some were wonderful, but others are a work in progress....


49.  More dutch oven cooking, especially during the summer

May 14th, I got the charcoal out and had the first of what I plan to be many dutch oven meals.   The smell alone of it cooking just made my saliva pool.  I ended up using my dutch oven almost once a week during the summer.....

18. Make a condiment from scratch.

May 16th, I blended up the blend that had been marinating for lack of a better word for two days and viola, I had made mustard.  I also made ketchup, in my crockpot and then canned it!

21. Make a soufflé.

It turned out pretty well, but I think it could of been fluffier....

23. Cook a steak to perfect doneness.

I think I eat steak once a year, but I managed to grill it to the exact doneness I prefer and to the preference of those I was cooking for...  YA!!!

42.  Cheesecakes without the cracking

Well, I'm going to have to do this one again.....  I did not have the right size pan for my water bath and it went dry, so my cheesecake got dry and dry cheesecakes crack....  It tasted fine, but grrrrrrrr...
oh, well, I make another one down the road...

27. Feast on an ethnic food you've never had before.

Groupon helped me with this one, I now can say I have eaten Ethiopian food at Mahinder Restaurant here in SLC.

33. Make homemade pasta.

I actually took a class at The Salt Lake Culinary Center and learned how to do it, and let me tell you the difference between fresh made homemade pasta and dried pasta is MASSIVE!!!  The best part, it is soooo easy to make!

5.  Make tomato sauce from scratch.

Tomato Basil Simmer Sauce...trust me it's good, and the bonus, I canned it so I will be able to enjoy it year round.

34. Flip pancakes without them folding.

Here's what I learn with pancakes and eggs and flipping, control and speed help, but as folding prone flipper, size matters....  make your pancakes a little smaller so that they fit with little overlap on your spatula, you'll gain confidence and no more folding...


20. Visit your neighborhood farmers market.

I went to my mid week Sugarhouse Farmer's Market!!!  Not as much as I wanted but I did go this year!

I have no regrets attempting this challenge and not accomplishing all of them.  It pushed me to try new recipes and got me more aware of my food and my approach to it...

Melissa

A Literary Discussion, Part One...

As I approached my book challenge this year and chose the classics, I knew that I would be reading some pretty heavy books, however, the benefit of doing this for fun is that I don't have to analyze the books to death, unless I want to, and can just read and enjoy or survive the books.   This year I thought I would also include in these posts books that are not on the list that I read for my book club or just for fun.....

Here we go again!

--Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I am not going to lie, the first 200 hundred pages were so slow and hard to read that I really did not think I would finish my book club's selection, and then something happened that I can't really explain and  I inhaled the remaining 600 pages, yes it's a long one.  A story based in history with magic woven in as if it was real.  Two magicians battle egos, misconceptions and politics in this engaging book.  Characters grow, plotlines are taken to completion and the footnotes are just really fun.

#12 . One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What a crazy, wonderful book!!  It mixes magic and tradition with tragedy and change.  What happens if generation after generation keeps making the same mistake?  If we never learn from the mistakes of the past?   I am surprised how much I ended up enjoying this book and when I have time will read others by this author.

--The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and read this book and now I can't say that I'm happy that I did.  The paradox of it is this, by page 20 I knew I would dislike and loathe most if not all of the characters by the end and I KEPT READING.  It is well written, for the style, but I am going to be very happy when the 'Gone Girl' replicas and homages are done.....

#24.  Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

After I finished this novella of about 120 pages, I did something I normally do not do and searched the internet for information about it.  I understood the allegory of it, but I wanted to see why critics loved it so much when I couldn't wait for it to be over......and then I found the piece of information that made me go 'aha!'and it was this, one of the more famous adaptations based on it is the movie 'Apocalypse Now' that I have suffered through as a part of my top 100 movie bucket list adventure. I can now say I read it and never have to again.

#3.  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Have you ever lost yourself in a book?  I do, all the time.  I lose time and I leave my reality and live in the characters' world, but what happens if when you emerge back into your life, your sense of reality is changed?  For Don Quixote, the allure of romantic knight tales becomes real and he begins his quest of becoming a Knight and to be honest it doesn't really go that well.   His vision that allows him to see the best in things, like a castle instead of a ramshackle old inn, also causes grief when he sees dangers in things that are innocent.  The other characters also cause troubles by playing jokes on Don Quixote and Sancho, and for that reason the following line from the book sums it up the best.... 'For jests that cause pain are not jests, and entertainments are not worthwhile if they injure another.'

A fool can be wise; a wise man can be a fool; a simpleton can have the best answer for a complex problem; and an expert can cause all sorts of trouble, so go deeper and find out the truth of what is being presented...

--H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Three books in one?  How in the world will this ever work?  Just trust me when I say that just does.  Part book about grief, part hawk training adventure, and part biography of author T.H. White rolled into one.   I know nothing about hawks, but was thoroughly intrigued about the goshawk that Helen trains.  I knew little about T.H. White, but was immediately drawn in to his life.  I've been through grief and know that it's a deeply personal process and was surprised how deep she was willing to share.  I inhaled this book and can not recommend it enough..

#14.  The Iliad by Homer

Throw in a family that does not put the fun in 'dysfunctional' (Zeus and Hera, euwwww) with
men at war who trash talk and sulk like moody teenagers (with Achilles leading that list) and add a dash of blood and gore (splattering brains and pierced organs with spears)

and you have the Iliad....

A classic poem that may or may not of been written by Homer that may or may not of been based on actual events.

It was more interesting to read than I had thought it would be and I found that it ended up mocking the glory of war it set out to portray.  The Gods, Kings, and Commanders of the rank and file come of as petulant, whiny, and stubborn when innocent lives are on the line....  The rank and file as they are listed off are honest men who were called to arms by their leaders.

#8.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book starts out as fluff....the roaring twenties, youth, and parties, but by the end it turns into a deep and thoughtful examination of the way we treat others and judge their actions and what is acceptable within society.  Extraordinary writing!!!

#7.  The Odyssey by Homer

aka  The Iliad, the attempt to return home.....  Every time Odysseus is mentioned in the Iliad, the phrase 'A Brilliant Tactician' or the like is used, but on the way home from war, the phrase did not apply.  Follow him into war, yes....  Go on a road trip, can't recommend as he is the only one to make it home, everyone that left with him from the war, DIED...

Characters from the Iliad pop up through out this tale of woe and struggle.  My personal favorites, Helen's 'my Bad for starting a war' dialogue and the I don't want to be dead group in the underworld.   We are also introduced to Odysseus's long suffering wife, Penelope, who has a group of suitors to deal with, and his son who just can't wait to be king (sorry couldn't help myself) but really just needs some answers about his Dad...

I didn't love this, but I didn't hate it either....  I won't be reading it again, but I will recommend it to read as an experience...


#17 . Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

This is not a read in one evening book....  It forced me to slow down my reading by A LOT, by that I mean I read a chapter a night if that.  It is a book that makes you think and ponder and challenges your perceptions.  It was definitely not an easy read, but by the end I came to appreciate it.

#44.  Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

I read about a poem a night over the span of a couple of months.  Some resonated, others not so much, and some I could see where the controversy came from back in the day....

#37.  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did, but this is once again why I do these types of challenges, to discover books that I may not of read otherwise.  A cautionary tale of being careful of what you wish for and what you turn your back on, but what stuck with me the most is that your experience can harmfully impact another if you choose to believe that is the only possibility...

As this first quarter comes to a close, I have to admit that reading all of these heavy, dense, thinking novels is a little taxing at times and I have taken breaks and read 'fluff' books just to not have to think or pay attention to the plot.....

Still with my nose in a book,
Melissa

Pantry Challenge...

During the month of February I completed a  pantry challenge...
in a world of buy, buy, buy, I took a break.

The goal:

To see what I really use and what is just wasting my money and space by sitting in the cabinets and in the fridge.

The Rules:

The only purchases allowed are fresh produce and dairy products.

The plan:

To clean out and use things in my pantry and freezer.  I had a menu plan that didn't assign days, but listed recipes to make during the month.  I made favorites and new recipes and even made snacks and desserts.

The most surprising thing was this...

my cooking habits have changed, a lot.  I don't eat a lot of meat now, so even after not buying any meat for a month, I still have quite a bit in my freezer.  I use black beans at almost a 3 to 1 ratio to  kidney beans, who knew?  Condensed soups have now been banned since I have found a healthier, less processed, version that I can make from scratch with ease.   I love popcorn as a snack or dessert, coconut oil and dill.

I learned the following....

I would rather spend a bit of time to make something from scratch and know all of the ingredients instead of buying a pre-packaged options.  The breakfast and lunch burritos that routinely fill my freezer are cases in point.

I love to cook.

I love being creative to vary a menu and in finding new recipes to try.

I even had food to eat when I went down with a flu for almost a week....

The Results....

There was a little cheating when my favorite brand of herbs and spices went on sale at 50% off and when I ran out of yeast and couldn't make bread.


In terms of saving money, I did, but I used it to get ahead and do some extra things this month, which was very nice!

I am very glad I did this and will do it again in the future!

Off to plan my next meal...
Melissa

February 1st....

Did you know that February 1st is Baked Alaska Day?

It is and since I'm celebrating weird/unknown holidays this year, I decided to celebrate it!  :)  As an added bonus, it fulfills a Food Challenge item as well as I have never made a meringue before.

The first documented Baked Alaska was made in 1876, to honor the recently acquired territory of Alaska, by chef-de-cuisine Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico's Restaurant.  It consists of a sponge cake topped with ice cream and coated with meringue and then baked at a high temperature to firm and lightly brown the meringue.  Yum......

Before I continue any further about my adventures in making this dessert, I first need to say that I now have mad respect for food bloggers and those who style and take pictures of food.  WOW, it is difficult to do the work and take pictures!  One armed photography is an adventure, or maybe I need a staff to help me out...  Also, combating the lighting in my kitchen was not fun.

To get started, it's time to gather our ingredients....

Remember the first time you were home alone as a kid and found this and dug in and well, let's just say it wasn't good

ok, now we're getting to the good stuff!

You Scream!  I Scream!  It's Ice Cream!

You also need eggs, sugar, flour, baking soda, unsweetened cocoa powder, and butter, but they are not as fun and I also forgot to take their pictures.  :(

First off, let's melt the chocolate with the butter.

oh, my....

Now it's time to mix up the eggs with the sugar...

 Then add the melted chocolate mixture in... I tempered it a bit just to be on the safe side..

 So, I forgot to take photos of the next couple of steps, remember how I said I needed help and that food bloggers are talented?  This is why!!!  Remembering to show all steps, etc....

The cake is made by adding the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa then baked  cooled and cut into circles.
The ice cream is put on the top and frozen.
A meringue is whipped up and put on top and then frozen.

light and fluffy meringue on top!  Thanks Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!

The long slow slide of non fluffy meringue mixed with a hand mixer.

 This is where having the right equipment can make a HUGE difference!  I made two batches of meringue and in the first one I use a hand mixer and mixed and mixed and mixed and mixed and got a somewhat fluffy concoction.  I applied it to the brownie/ice cream and then put it in the freezer and then the long slow slide began....

Batch two, I used my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer with the whisk attachment... two minutes later, fluffy and light and no sliding occurred...

Lesson learned.  :)

Right out of the oven!  YUMMM....

Needless to say, the picture above is of the second batch!  You bake the frozen dessert in a preheated 500F oven, then turned on broil right before you put them in for a couple of minutes, and then you devour the yumminess!

It was fun to try a new technique and a new to me dessert!
Here's to fun New Year's Resolutions!!!

Melissa