Saturday, I got my wish! We watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. and it was fun, for me. Mostly. (Don talks way too much during chick flicks, maybe something to remember next time.) For those that don’t know, Crazy, Stupid, Love. is about a middle-age couple who have grown apart and are going through a divorce. A young, alpha male (as Don put it) approaches the husband at a bar and offers to help him re-discover his manhood, in order to either find a way to move on or rekindle things with the wife. I enjoyed it. I laughed my ass off at the surprises and shockers when the parallel stories collided. I was impressed that I didn’t see it coming. (Those of you who have seen it I’m sure know what I’m talking about and those that haven’t, well I don’t want to spoil it for you.) It was a fun, light, chick movie. Don was a good sport and tolerated it but felt that it was not very realistic and certainly not something he would have chosen to watch on his own. LOL  So ladies, if you haven’t seen it, I say check it out and have some fun.

The bags under your eyes looks like Hugh Hefner’s ball sack.
~ Jacob, Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Oh my, this book was fantastic! Definitely a top fave. Maybe even something I could read again someday. (I have yet to ever re-read anything.) I was hesitant when I first started reading; I’ve tried so many books lately that failed me and I have read Dunant before and wasn’t overly impressed. So I was uncertain when I started. But I quickly fell into the story with it’s rich descriptions of first, Rome, and then Venice, in the 1500′s. The action ebbs and flows, much like the water in the canals of Venice. It was a pleasure to be along for the ride. In the Company of the Courtesan, is decadent, delightful, suspenseful, seductive, tragic…all these and more. If you are a fan of historical fiction, strong female protagonists, the period of the 16th century, or the history of Venice, then I heartily recommend this novel to you. You won’t be disappointed.

The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
~ Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!” 

I got the recipe from Juli over at paleOMG. I swear I’m not stalking her. I just subscribe to her blog and she posts a LOT of interesting recipes. This recipe for Sweet Potato Chips came out before the superbowl as a paleo food munchie option for game time. She had a lot of other great game day snacks if you want to pop over to her site and check them out.

For my attempt at the chips, I used one fairly large sweet potato I had hanging around. I sliced it up and laid the chips out on the cookie sheet as described. I had so much that I had to do two batches. The first I brushed with a healthy amount of coconut oil and sprinkled with salt.

I baked them as suggested for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, took the tray out and flipped the chips (that’s a tedious process) and then baked for another 5 minutes. They didn’t look quite done (although I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for to be “done”) so I left them in for another couple of minutes. I took them out and set them aside to cool and laid out the second batch. I noticed the baked batch seemed soggy so I went with a much lighter brushing of the coconut oil on the second batch. Then, those went in the oven for about 12 minutes before I flipped. Back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Again, they seemed soft so I kept checking them at 2-3 minute intervals and ended up leaving them in for 10+ more minutes waiting for the edges to curl and the chips to become chip-like. My signal that they had to come out was when two of the chips were actually starting to burn. So, I took them out and added them to my bowl.

The second batch definitely came out a little more crispy than the first which were so soggy I’m surprised any of us ate them. But they still tasted like sweet potatoes with a little salt which really it’s awful, it was just unfortunate that they didn’t come out more like a chip. Even my second batch were not crispy enough to have scooped any dip like those pictured on Juli’s post. I can only surmise that I used too much coconut oil, that perhaps they need to be cut thinner, or baked longer on both sides in my oven. I may try them again someday, I may not. If this looks tasty to you, give it a try and let me know how it goes in case you have better luck.

Food should be fun.
~ Thomas Keller

Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn’t have f’ed with? That’s me.
~ Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino

It was great fun sampling this aspect of Louisiana culture. Certainly was a new experience for us.

The dress code for the ball was formal, to-the-floor dresses for women, and black tie for the men. Some men wore tails even. Don wore his military dress uniform (since we don’t own a tux, and because it was a unique opportunity for him to do so.) I got an amazing deal on my dress at a consignment store last month; my clutch and gloves were my late maternal grandmother’s and it was special to me to have an opportunity to use them; Yvette loaned me the beautiful jewelry that coordinated wonderfully with the dress; and Yvette also treated me to a day at the salon to have my hair done. My goodness!

We first enjoyed an hour of performances and awards during the presentation of the royal court…

then we ate, drank, and danced the night away. I even managed some line dancing! Wish I had some pictures of all that but it was incredibly hard to get any photos because it was so dark. The choices were to blind folks with the flash, or get blurry shots without it.

It was a great time. We met some great people, might have made some new friends, and enjoyed the most formal event we’ve ever attended together. I felt like a train wreck this morning after not getting to bed until 2 am and getting up at 7:30 to help get Don back to work today, but in the end, a little lost sleep is worth the memories made I think.

The moments may have ended, but the memories last forever.
~ Unknown

Here’s what you need. Not much really.

• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup water
• coconut oil for frying

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, your egg and vanilla in another. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, combine well; add water and mix thoroughly. Looks something like this…

Frying the pancakes in coconut oil was a new idea for me. I’m so thankful for the tip! It really made things easier. My pancakes came out pretty well.

I was home alone so I actually cut the above recipe in half and it made these five little pancakes – perfect for just me. I dusted with cinnamon and drizzled a little honey on them and BAM. Delicious.

He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes.
~ Proverb

]]> http://thejourneyoftwo.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/almond-flour-pancakes/feed/ 0 walserjl IMG_3504 IMG_3505 pancakes2 IMG_3509-2 http://thejourneyoftwo.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/reading-corner-the-help/ http://thejourneyoftwo.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/reading-corner-the-help/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:07:14 +0000 Jessica http://thejourneyoftwo.wordpress.com/?p=3636 ]]> The Help, by Kathryn Stockett is OUTSTANDING. A fascinating, fabulous read. I thought the movie was good. The book was a million times better. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is worth seeing; I still say check it out if you haven’t. But I also encourage readers out there to pick up the book too. There is so much MORE in the book. This definitely ranks as a top favorite read of all time. (Thank you SO MUCH Jean for sending me a copy!) Kudos to Kathryn Stockett for writing such an outstanding debut novel.

I feel foolish, and even a little ashamed, that I really didn’t realize the way of life depicted in the story was such a short time ago. I mean the 60′s is barely 50 years ago! (You’re thinking, I KNOW.) Many, many people are still around that lived in these times. (Uh, huh. Where have you been?)

I have a better understanding of some things now, especially things I have encountered living in the south the last few years. When I encounter that random older gentleman who spouts racist or sexist remarks, I understand now that he never moved past the way of thinking that he was raised in and that he really can’t help his limited view of the world. Till now, I’ve just been appalled and unable to understand. It was all so before my time and completely beyond my comprehension in our current world. It doesn’t excuse the behavior by any means but at least I kind of understand where it is coming from now.

Between this book/movie and the tv show Mad Men, I feel like my eyes have been opened to the world of the 60′s and I’m fascinated. Fiction makes history come alive for me. It reaches me on a level that memorization of facts and dates and historical data never did in school. It places the information in a context that I can relate to and imagine. I know I was taught about civil rights, women’s rights, the history of our country, but I never absorbed the information in a way that it had any meaning for me. I was too young. Too detached. Too separated from the time period. Perhaps some of the ability to connect to the information comes with age and with relating to the passage of the years in a different way than you do when you are young. 50 years felt like AGES when I was young. Now, 50 years feels like a drop in the bucket. A lot can happen in 50 years, and yet a lot can remain unchanged in that same time too. When you are young, it is hard to look behind you and feel like the past has any connection to your present. I feel like I’ve broken through some invisible barrier that helps me see our cultural past more clearly and with a renewed perspective. It makes me eager to learn more, not only about this pivotal period in our history, but more about what it was it like for my parents and other living relatives who can remember these not-so-far-in-the-past times.

Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.
~ Robert Ingersoll

OMG. We didn’t know it was opening night. LOL  We are not paying much attention to the movie releases these days. Theater-going, as much as we love it, has been one of the things we’ve had to cut back on. Sorry, I digress.

I think every seat in the theater was full. Thankfully we got seated early so we did not get stuck down front like many of the late-comers.

Hmm, the movie. I have mixed feelings about it. We were drawn to it partly because of the sci-fi story, three friends who gain superpowers and explore how to use them, and partly because the story was set in Seattle, our home turf. It was interesting. Slow at times. Lots of action in others. I didn’t like the way it was filmed (the found-footage technique), but the overall story was intriguing. The special effects were pretty cool but some of the darker story development didn’t appeal to me. However, it seems actual critics don’t share my perspectives. The film is getting a lot of praise so if you like sci-fi, you might want to put this on your list to see. (I don’t think it would hurt the viewing experience if you chose to wait to watch it on rental.)

Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
~ Spock, Star Trek, 2009

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs venison sirloin (substitute with meat of choice if you don’t have or like venison)
• 1 can of rotel
• 1 8 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp of chili powder
• 1/2 cup cold coffee (say, what?)
• 2 cups beef broth
• sugar snap peas
• mushrooms
• turnips (instead of potatoes)
• carrots
• bell pepper
• celery
• sweet onion

How do you make it?

Easy. Get out the crock pot. Put the can of rotel and can of tomato paste in the pot. Go ahead and turn it on so it warms up while you brown your meat.

Don browned the meat on the stove, in a stainless, steel pan, no oil or anything. Don’t be worried if a little sticks to the pan. Once the meat is nice and brown, take it out and set it aside so it can cool to touch. Immediately de-glaze the pan with the coffee and pour entire contents from pan into crock pot. (This is his super-secret ingredient/step that he almost didn’t want me to share. )

Add the beef broth and chili powder to crock pot. Mix to combine.

Cube the meat and add to crock pot.

Set crock pot to high and let cook for 4-5 hours. If you want to stretch it out, say start in the morning and finish in the evening, just reduce the heat and let it cook longer. Either way, about an hour before serving, add your roughly chopped vegetables.

Should look something like this…

It was outstanding. The turnips make a great substitute for potatoes. You can’t even tell the difference in my opinion.

Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.
~ Ludwig van Beethoven

Boiling eggs used to be a mystery to me and also seemed too hard. Are you kidding? I’m laughing at my old self right now. In case there are some out there who are also still mystified by the method, let me lift the veil for you. It’s so easy you’ll be amazed.

I’ve gotten into the habit of making five hard boiled eggs every weekend, usually on Sunday for the coming week. Five because that’s what fits in my smallest pan quite well. And it seems like a good number for us. We tend to eat them quick enough that they don’t go bad – except that one time. We’ve learned (since that one time) to label the eggs with the date boiled so we know how old they are, just in case we don’t eat them as quickly as usual. We mark them with a sharpie when dry and put them back in the egg carton with the other eggs. This is also a handy way to know which eggs are hard boiled and which are not.

Place your eggs in a pan (you don’t want a lot of room for them to jump around and possibly crack so it helps to make as many as will stuff your pan full, hence my little pan of five eggs.) Salt the water a little. Turn the heat to high and wait for a rolling boil.

Once the water boils, turn the burner off, place a lid on the pan, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Leave the pan on the burner.

Eventually the water will stop boiling. That’s ok. The eggs are still cooking.

Get a cold water bath ready for your eggs. I usually put a bowl with ice in the sink when my timer warns me the eggs have five more minutes. I add the water just before adding the eggs.

When your timer goes off, transfer the eggs from the hot water to the cold water bath.

Leave until cool. I often forget them for awhile while I do other things. You can tell by touch if you take one out and hold it whether it’s still warm or fully cooled off.

And that’s it folks! Dry them off, place back in your egg carton and label them. Or label one side of the carton. However you like to do it.

Now get in there and make yourself some eggs and try some of the yummy recipes I linked up in the post!

Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.
~ Russian proverb