Size six

Brown Sugar Shortbread with Lemon Curd and Fig Jam

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:55:00 +0000

I've been reading a lot of food blogs lately, especially after my Epic Roasthouse dinner with all the Fabulous Foodies of FoodBuzz, which I still need to post about. I found a blog of a foodie in Japan which has incredible recipes. One of my coworkers was leaving to take a new job up in Chico and so I gave him a handful of recipes and told him to pick one for his “parting treat”. He picked this one.

The cookies and the jam are both super easy to make. In fact, I couldn’t believe just how easy it was! For the wine in both the shortbread and the jam I used Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc. They turned out quite nicely, so nicely in fact, that I made a batch Monday night and a batch Tuesday night.

Here is the jam reducing on the stovetop. It was such a gorgeous color. I didn’t cut the figs into small enough pieces so I had to use my Pampered Chef Chopper in it to get it saucier. It worked perfectly. I could have used my immersion blender as well, but it was in the pantry and the chopper was right next to me.

Finished Fig Jam

Max, keeping an eye on the cookies while they bake.

Lemon Curd

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:30:00 +0000

My good friend Amber made this incredible lemon curd for her wedding cake. (Oh yes, she baked her own cake for her wedding!) On her wedding day, as she was icing her cake, she commented to me that she made too much lemon curd. Me, being ever resourceful, asked what she was going to do with it - especially as she was about to leave on her honeymoon in a few days. Suffice it to say that I finagled the beloved lemon curd and packed it away in my cooler - with a promise that I would blog about it when I was done. So here is one of the ways that I used the curd.

One of our interns at work had taken another job and so I needed to bring a treat in for the office. I decided to make some cupcakes with lemon curd frosting. They were quite popular at work. In fact, in the afternoon of the day that I brought them in, my boss called me into his office. He told me, quite sternly, that he was unhappy with me. I got a little fidgety, thinking "Crap! What did I do?" Then he says, "I ate three cupcakes today." LOL! I guess they were pretty good.

I used some of the curd on a spoon, straight out of the jar. I spread some on pancakes as well. Lemon curd is really delicious and I'll have to learn how to make it. Maybe I can finagle some lemons from my neighbor's tree...

Here is a photo of Amber's wedding cakes and cookies. Much nicer than my little cupcakes!!

Amber & Matt's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Amber and Matt were married on September 9, 2009 in Oakhurst, CA. It was beautiful and I'm very honored to have had the opportunity to marry two good friends who are so in love.

How does your garden grow?

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:10:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last ventured into my garden to harvest any veggies and man, oh man, are there zucchini. There were two ginormous ones that probably should have been picked a week ago. Oops. I'm a haphazard gardener at best. I hope they make good zucchini bread, because I could make about 4 loaves with those whoppers.

I was very excited to see so many lemon cukes coming in and I also have quite a few pickling cukes as well. Good thing we're going through those homemade pickles because I am going to have to make another batch this weekend! Also, my beans are starting to come in nicely. I'll have to find a tasty recipe that includes bacon for those bad boys. And I have a handful of ripened tomatoes as well, with lots of green ones still waiting for that sun.

As you can see, I've got a wild garden. I didn't pull the grass weeds and so they are growing everywhere. I can barely walk in there to harvest my bounty. Anyone want to come over to pull some weeds for me? I'll pay you with dinner....

Bacon Jam Follow Up

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Here is a follow up to my previous post on Bacon Jam. I put some Bacon Jam on my cheeseburger tonight. It was delicious, adding a little sweetness coupled with the caramelized onions and the ketchup. Just a little bit of barbecue sauciness and a hint of smokiness. Much better than a bacon jammed piece of bread with avocado and tomato. And the pickles were a nice contrast, tart and crisp!

Pickles and gardening

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:38:00 +0000

My garden has been growing nicely and I have had a lot of cucumbers come in, specifically, pickling cucumbers. They're the little ones that are really crunchy and good for making Japanese style pickles as well. My friend gave me his mother's recipe for Dill Pickles and so I made a batch last week. The recipe is super easy and I was able to get everything done within an hour, from cleaning the pickling container to setting wrap over the top to let sit.

The pickles are very crunchy and perfectly tart. I cut them in quarters or halves depending on the size. I figured that would help them cure quicker and then I would be able to eat them sooner. The recipe basically consists of cucumbers, vinegar, water, pickling spice, garlic, dill, and salt. You put them all in a container and a week later they are pickles.

The recipe said to put them into glass jars, but I didn't want 3-5 glass jars hogging up precious space in my refrigerator. So I went to Target and got a gallon plastic container with a locking lid. It was only about $6 - a real deal! I'm sure it will smell like pickles from here to eternity, but I figure if I just keep making pickles in it, who cares?

These are some of the cukes from my garden - the pickling cukes and a lemon cucumber, my first so far. It was delicious in a salad. I have a couple more growing but they are still too little to eat. I also have about 15 watermelons growing and a couple of zucchini are starting to grow as well. My beans are finally starting to come in and I have a bunch of green tomatoes. Unfortunately, I don't think it's been hot enough for them to ripen. I might have to make some fried green tomatoes though because I don't want them to go bad. My potatoes are also all over the place and I think I need to thin them out and harvest some. I have no idea when they're ready though, so that will definitely be a learning experience! I'll post some photos of my garden later this month. I'm SO excited for the watermelon!

Bacon Jam

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Well, here it is. The Bacon Jam. And the name says it all. It's bacony and jammy. To be honest, I was a little afraid when I opened the box from Fedex. For the Bacon Jam looked a little like potted meat in the clear plastic container. It looked a little fatty and a little potted and I was afraid. I brought it home and contemplated just leaving it sit for a while but then I decided I needed to open it right up and give it a shot. So that's what I did. I took a little spoonful and I ate it.

The Jam is smoky and a little sweet, kind of like the sweetness from caramelized onions. The bacon flavor is not as powerful as I expected. In fact, when I told some people that I was hoping to spread it on a BLT, they thought that it would be too much bacon. HA! First, I scoff at the notion that you can have too much bacon. It's simply not possible. Second, I thought the crunchiness of the bacon would enhance the jamminess of the bacon jam. I'll have to try it this weekend.

I put the bacon jam on some toasted sourdough bread from Boudin, along with a few slivers of avocado and some tomatoes from my garden. It was tasty. I think the heat of the toast helped bring the bacon jam a little bit more warmth and the thought of coagulated bacon fat fled from my mind as I contemplated my first bite. The jam is very smoky, with that little tinge of sweetness. Jalapenos would probably be nice with it, giving a little more heat and a bigger kick.

Once Aaron gets home I will make a little up and see what he thinks.

Catch up

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:24:00 +0000

It's time to catch up...

It's been several months since my last post and although I've thought about all the things I should be writing about I have failed in my execution. I've got a ton of photos that need to be uploaded of meals, fun times and various things that I want to write about and I am determined to get back on track. So as a precursor, I offer this...

A sample of my weekday of late:

5:00 am: alarm goes off
5:30 am: get out of bed and get ready for work
6:00 am: grab my coffee and head out the door - in the car today since it's going to be a long one
6:50 am: arrive at work and roll up my sleeves
11:00 am: stop working and head over to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building to pick up some fruit for the office, some salad stuff for my lunch this week and some bread at Boudin for dinner tonight
11:35 am: back at work and in front of the computer
12:20 pm: 10 minute break to reheat my dinner from last night - korean bbq beef, steamed rice and broccoli
3:30 pm: 5 minute break to see what the girls on the other side of the office are doing
6:55 pm: leave work and head back to the car for the drive home
7:50 pm: arrive at home and give the hubby a kiss and the bread while he's making dinner: spaghetti!
8:00 pm: grab the last of the Hall wine, drink, savor, shower and get in my comfy clothes
8:15 pm: head back upstairs, plate up some spaghetti and head back down into the basement with my man and my dog to eat and watch America's Got Talent
9:00 pm: go upstairs, put away the leftovers, do the dishes and pour another glass of wine, this time a Rosenblum Syrah
9:15 pm: turn off the fan and the lights, lock up the upstairs and head back into the basement.
9:16 pm: look for the dog, head back upstairs and let him in.
9:17 pm: head back downstairs, login to the computer and check email. Finally update my blog, albeit without photos or anything truly interesting.

So that's where we are. It's about 9:30 pm, I've still got 1/2 my glass of wine and I'm going to make a To Do list, Facebook, finish my glass of wine and get ready for bed. Just another day in my life.

South Bay Run Team - Wing Champion 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:56:00 +0000

That's right, I am the 2009 Champion. This past weekend I beat the other 5 people who were competing to be the fastest wing eater from the South Bay Run Team of Team in Training. This was a fundraiser for the team, with each contestant asking for pledges per wing. I wasn't going to do this fundraiser but I decided since I was a little behind in my fundraising that I would just go for it. I received pledges from 10 people totaling $11 per wing. I was hoping to manage to eat 20 wings in the 1o minute time limit, after doing some research on the web. I also figured that if I could eat 3 pieces of pizza and 4 wings for dinner that I could probably manage to eat at least 20 wings.

The Community Captain for the team, Brian (the Killer Bee) put me in the competitive heat. He told me that his goal was to eat 1 more wing than I could. I had done some research as well about the best method for eating wings quickly. There are several nice videos from Cluckbucket that detail different methods. I decided to go for "The Grenade" technique, minus tossing the wing after pulling the pin. This method served me well as I was able to eat 29 wings in 10 minutes. Really, I blew away the competition as the 2nd and 3rd place winners both had 25 wings.

As you can see, it wasn't pretty. But I was focused. People were cheering us all on, taunting the two guys who were on either side of me... I just kept shoving that chicken in my mouth, trying to swallow and drinking a sip of water from time to time. It was insane. I was pretty happy when the 10 minutes were up. I wasn't quite full yet but I knew that I would be stuffed once my stomach realized how much food I had stuffed in it.

The amazing part is that we raised over $2,000 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society in pledges alone! Smoke Eaters, the wing establishment where this fundraiser took place, also said that they would donate 15% of all receipts during the fundraiser to LLS. It's amazing what we can do in just a few short hours if we try!

If you would like to donate to LLS, please click on the link to go to my LLS homepage. Your money will go to fund research that is making a difference to those who suffer from blood cancer.

And if you want to know when I'll be eating wings again...I'm going to say, maybe in a few weeks.

Go Team!

A long week

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:37:00 +0000

It's Wednesday night at 9:30 pm and this is what I'm surrounded by - my puppy, my mother-in-law and my husband are all sound asleep. I guess that's what a dinner of Wing's Chinese food will do to us! The dog didn't get any Wing's but did have a full bowl of adult dog food. I guess you could say we're all fat and happy. I think it's almost time for me to shower and get in bed as well, but as long as I'm here I might as well give an update!

Saturday we had a great run in Capitola. I ran just under 12 miles due to a short-marked course. I felt pretty good for the first half but I was definitely lagging during the second half. I managed to pick up the pace a little but I kept thinking I wanted to stop and rest. Over all I averaged 9 minute 17 second miles. Not too bad for 12 miles and me being a sprinter and all!

This week we had Cause for Celebration at Foothill College. One of the scientists who has received funding from LLS spoke. Wow. It's amazing to hear about the research that is being done and he was every bit the excited scientist. I'm thankful that there are people out there who are able to do this research and who will hopefully find a cure for cancer one day soon.

I'm not a believer in super-long life. I really want my life to be full and if that means that I only live to 50 or 60, so be it. I've had some conversations recently about how this or that is bad for people and we should cut back on meat, or sugar, or cheese, or wine, whatever. Yes, I believe that it's better to have everything in moderation. But if I want to enjoy a nice juicy steak or a sugar filled marshmallow, so be it! I work my butt off (well, not literally!) and my heart is healthy. But I love rare meat. I love sushi. I love...SUGAR! And I'm okay with that. I'll never be 130 lbs. again (hm, maybe someday, but that's a different blog post...) and that's okay. I'm happy with who I am and what I eat. Mini Raviolis from Chef Boyardee are okay once in a while. So is my beloved bacon. I don't eat them every day. I eat a lot of veggies, some yogurt, some lean proteins. My belly is happy and so am I.

ANYWAY, we had a mini-workout on Monday after the speeches. And last night I led 5 other runners for a buddy run where we stopped about 1/2 way through to do some core work. It was awesome. I hope they want to continue with that because I definitely felt it today! I'm leading another buddy run tomorrow night and then Saturday we're running at Almaden Quicksilver. I'm excited for some hills. It'll be great!

A new week

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:19:00 +0000

I've been a running fool this past week. Tuesday we had a great first Buddy Run leaving from the LLC Office. We only did 2.75 but I actually ran closer to 4 miles between running back and forth between the different groups. It was fun, except the part where I tripped. My husband says I have problems because I always get banged up, at least once a week! What can I say...I'm talented that way I guess. I've always had at least one scrape on my body between nicking my hands on cupboards or tripping and skinning my knees. I think I must have weak skin... :)

Thursday we had another fun track night. I just wish they would get those lights turned on - it would be nice to be able to see everyone at track! We ran 2 x 400, 1 x 800 and repeated. Nice, quick, and easy. I love track. It's so fast!

Saturday we had our OYO run and I joined up with Chris and Stan at Rivermark. All our runners worked their tails off and had a good 4 mile run. I managed to go 5 miles, doing the running back and forth between the groups.

On Sunday I went down to Sports Basement to join in on their run. I only did 4 miles. It was raining and very windy and the trail was closed at the 2 mile mark. I met a nice woman named Amy who is starting to get back into running with her boyfriend. We chatted the whole way and the time flew by!

Tonight I took Max for a run. He's been cooped up for a while because of the stormy weather. He's finally tuckered out, thank goodness! I'm tuckered out too but need to get everything ready for tomorrow - gotta leave for the train at 5:30 am to prep for those auditors!

Brand New...

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:40:00 +0000

It's a new year and I've been a huge slacker. Well, sort of, I guess. I joined Team in Training for a second season, this time to run the full marathon. I think. ;) I started taking the final class I need in order to start taking the CPA exams. I'm working some overtime, trying to catch up on all the piles of work on my desk, preparing for the auditors, working on the financial statements. So although I've been a slacker in terms of laundry and blog posting, I've still been busy. That's my excuse, anyway!

So here's a quick recap...

Team in Training started last weekend and I currently have 9 great runners to mentor. Our first track practice is tomorrow, and I am SO excited! I love track! I'm really looking forward to getting to know my mentees and am slowly working up the courage to commit to the San Diego RockNRoll FULL marathon. I'm having a hard time getting past the idea that it's 26.2 miles, but whatev!

Second, I'm taking an online course at Foothill College. So far, so good. It's Excel for Accounting. Pretty relevant to what I do on a daily basis and so I've been able to coast so far. The great thing is that there are no tests, just homework due on a weekly basis.

Third, work has been super busy. This makes me happy, but I have a lot to get done before next week and tomorrow is Thursday. GAH!

Also, during this time period, I started riding my old mountain bike to the train and to work because it's faster and easier. Plus, since I'm the first stop on both sides, I always am able to get on the train. When I took the train out of Sunnyvale there were always bikes that were turned away and that's why I got the Xootr. Well, a couple of weeks ago I hit a car that pulled out in front of me. It was drizzly and he didn't turn to look my way before he turned. Suffice to say that my front tire was bent and my hip and shoulder were less than perfect. And get this, the guy who pulled out in front of me was a personal injury lawyer! I went to my chiro and he started working to heal me. After 3 treatments I was almost as good as new and finally had clearance to run. After some haggling, the lawyer agreed to pay for my chiro and pay for the repairs to my bike. I took my bike to my local shop and George, the owner, wrote up an estimate. It came to like $90. But George says...."You're not really going to pay to fix this bike up, are you?" My old bike was a steel Mongoose that weighed about 40 lbs. I had to bend my knees to pick it up on my shoulder in order to get it on the train. LOL! We talked about bikes for a bit and he showed me some Bianchi hybrids that he had.

Isn't it beautiful? It took about a week and a half to get everything picked out, test ridden and purchased. In the meantime I started riding Aaron's Cannondale to work. It was a little scary, being a big fancy mountain bike and all, but boy, was it light. I could curl my bicep to lift it! Me being the do-do that I am, I locked it up in front of my building in SF, just like I locked up my Mongoose. Well, day 3 and it was stolen. Dirty rotten bastards. It still pisses me off. I guess they didn't care for the Mongoose but a Cannondale was a different story. Turns out that it was the second bike stolen that week. Um, hello, Mr. Security Guard, couldn't you have given me a head's up earlier??? So, my pretty new bike will be going up the service elevator with me everyday and coming into the office. And even then I'll probably still lock it. :)

So I think that's about it. That should catch me up through the beginning of February. And I promise that I'll update more often in the future. I've got TNT happening and so I might just use this for my training journal.

Happy New Year!

The Season

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:39:00 +0000

Today on my way to work I started thinking...

Thinking about a lot of different things, actually. One of the blogs I read has been touching on the subject of fear lately. Fear is an amazing thing. It can take hold of you in a gut wrenching way, it can come unannounced when you're all alone, it can happen most anytime. But it's the way you meet it that makes a difference.

I have been very lucky in my life. Very lucky or very ignorant. I have never been one to doubt myself or my actions. I am very happy with myself and my life.

Sure, there are the 30 lbs. that I would love to lose. The financial security that I yearn for and the hope for children one day. But looking at myself...I am content. I have always had that. And for that I am grateful.

Self confidence is a tricky thing, I think. A lot of people profess to have it but I think a lot of people are fooling themselves. There seems to always be this need to show how good you are or what you have accomplished. Competitiveness. Oh, Lordy, I could write a book... But are you content with who you are and what you have?

I wish that everyone could feel that this holiday season. We get wrapped up in presents and food and parties and blah, blah, blah. It's not easy, especially in this time of recession and cutbacks. Funds are tight and people don't have the same resources they once had. It's not easy.

Hope is good, it drives us and makes us focus on important issues. Look at the recent election. Change CAN happen. It has happened! I have hope for the new generations to come. I look forward to bringing my offspring into the world because there is hope that we can improve what we have here.

And what do we have? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you what I have.

I have love. I have family that means the world to me. I have friends for whom I would walk the earth. I have the sweetest little puppy who runs like the wind and makes me smile every time I think about him. I have a job that satisfies me and challenges me. I have a home with heat and down comforters. I have a new computer with a ginormous screen and a Christmas tree that is 10 foot tall and all lit up. I have a team to run with in the spring and a doctor's appointment on the 30th to get new orthotics. I have a refrigerator full of food and freshly made rice crispy treats. I have it all. For that, I am thankful.

Life isn't always easy. It shouldn't be. We need to know that life isn't fair. It's not an easy ride. But if we work our butts off and do everything we can to make it worthwhile... well, it will be. Life is what you make of it. Be confident. Believe in yourself. Make it happen. Go big, or go home. But we all know...going home isn't an option.

I wish you all Happy Holidays and much love. Go out there and get 'er done. It's the only way to live.

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:12:00 +0000

Right now, the weather outside is frightful.
But our Max is so delightful.
And since I have no place to go, let him pose, let him pose, let him pose!

I know, I'm terrible. But I have managed to take a photo of most of our tree and Max. I had a hard time getting the tree topper in there without cropping his head. I've been wanting to get a new tree topper for about 10 years now but I can't find one that I absolutely love. Why don't they make nice ones anymore?

Aaron brought home our tree a couple of weeks ago. He loves the big bushy trees that look to me like they've been shaped. I prefer the noble firs but he thinks they are too skinny and spare looking. So, he almost always gets his way. I don't complain because this is his favorite holiday and I love seeing him sit in front of the tree staring at the lights.

Isn't he the most handsome fellow? If only he wasn't such a mischievous little monkey. Here's the latest Maximus story...

Aaron's best friend Lance came to visit this last week. He lives in Missoula, where my best friends live. Since one of my friends was leaving this Saturday to go on a cruise during Christmas I asked Lance if he would drop her present off for me. I put it in his suitcase and considered it done. Last night as I was wrapping presents and getting my packages ready to mail I saw it. Tricia's present, sitting on the pile of already wrapped presents.

Me: "What the hell? Shit! God-dammit!"

My mother: "What's wrong? What happened?"

Me: "Shit!"

My mother: "Why are you cussing so much?"

Me, realizing I'm talking to my MOTHER on the phone while cursing: "Oh, nothing, just a present I thought got sent already..."

I thought Lance put it back on the pile of presents but Tina told me that she found it next to the stairs, under the vacuum. After closer inspection, I realized that there were two mini-puncture marks in the present. No slobber, thank goodness. It turns out that while Lance was packing, Max was trying to help. He grabbed the present out of the suitcase while Lance wasn't looking and brought it back downstairs. Lance flew out that afternoon. Such a good little monkey. Always getting into trouble! That's why it is a good thing he is so dang cute!

The life of a dog

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:58:00 +0000

It's the holiday season. Here in California, the leaves are falling from the trees and it's turned brisk. That doesn't bother Max at all, he loves to go for walks! One Sunday we took a walk downtown to go watch the San Jose Holiday Parade. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun. Max was trying to look and smell everything at once.

Oh look, a pole!

Oh look, another pole!

Mmmm...ivy, I love this stuff!

Max is pretty good walking on a leash. He gets a little excited and wants to sprint right from the start but he slows down once he realizes that he gets to smell and pee on everything. Ah, the life of a dog!

Life in General

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:44:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post for some time about my daily happenings... the Christmas tree we put up, the lights, the runs, my poor little Max hurting his leg, again... but then I get lazy and just don't feel like writing.

I've had some things that have made me get a little panicky lately. I have to take .33 of a credit for my damn CPA exam qualifications and I finally registered for the class. But holy Mary, honestly, I'm so over it. I just know I need to do it so I can start taking some different classes so I have a prayer of passing those frickin' tests. Can I just be an adult, already???

The economy is in such shambles. What is going on? Gas is finally at an acceptable price, but then where the heck did my 401k go? It's a fraction of what it was just months ago! Argh! I finally feel like I have some room to breathe and then...wham. You'll be working until you're 70, lady!

On the other hand, some very good news from my friend Amber. She signed the contract and set a date. She's getting married in September of next year and asked me to marry her and Matt. I'm very excited. I love weddings! And Amber has been a very special person to me for a very long time. She has this impish smile...you can't help but love her. Matt is very lucky to have her.

But then. There is always a then. You see, there is this news that just breaks my heart. Someone I love very dearly in my family has a genetic disease that is non-curable and although I have known this for a long time... it hurts. I don't want to write any specifics because...well, it's personal. But it's scary and hard. How do you cope with losing a loved one? How can I possibly spend enough time with them? What can I do to make it better? How can I fix this? Me. I'm the one who fixes the printer, the stove, the lights, the computer, the drain...anything! But I can't fix this. My heart is heavy and I don't like it.

Tomorrow is a new day and there is always the hope that just maybe...maybe there will be a cure. At the very least, equal rights for those that are sick. I know that day is coming, but still I worry that it won't be in time.

I am very thankful..

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Thanksgiving was a small affair at our home this year. Tina, Aaron, Maximus and I enjoyed dinner together and watched movies. I'm a bit of a tyrant in the kitchen and so I spent about 6 hours preparing dinner upstairs. I spent about 1/2 an hour downstairs with Tina and Aaron while they watched Fred Claus and then I went back upstairs to finish. I love cooking solo. I don't even mind helping out with dishes afterwards.

We had the regular dinner - turkey, mashed taters, cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls and yams. I baked the yams in the skin, cored them and mashed the insides with some butter, put them back in the skins and put a couple of mini marshmallows on top to roast some more. They rocked. I made brussels sprouts casserole instead of green bean casserole. I don't like green beans that much but dig on brussels sprouts. And gravy. MMMM gravy. Max even got some turkey in his meal that night. He kept me company in the kitchen most of the day, so he earned it.

After dinner we watched Hellboy 2 and rested our bellies. Then it was dessert, with a homemade apple tart and a TJ's pumpkin pie. I don't like pumpkin or pie that much, so I prefer to just buy it. But the tart was yummy, especially with the homemade caramel sauce on the top. I could just eat that caramel sauce with a spoon, it's that good.

I hope you and your families and friends all had a great Thanksgiving. Much love to you all!

Thanksgiving appetizer

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:41:00 +0000

As an appetizer for Thanksgiving I thought I would try this recipe that I found on the web from the Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York. Bacon wrapped spam cracker sandwiches. Basically, you take club crackers (try the whole wheat ones...they're better for you!) put a slice of bacon flavored spam in between and wrap them with bacon. They suggested using thinly sliced bacon but all I had was hickory bacon from Costco. I think the thin sliced bacon would work much better.

They came out allright. A little salty for me, but tasty. I had to soak up the bacon grease several times during the baking. These are not low fat, nor heart healthy, even with the whole wheat crackers!

Food, glorious food!

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:36:00 +0000

Some of you may have noticed that I love food. I love savoring flavors on my tongue. I love to cook and I love cooking utensils and new pots and going grocery shopping.

This weekend, although productive, wasn't too exciting. There was the Friday night laundry, Saturday morning run and the putzing around/reading Twilight that evening. This morning I met a friend for crepes and hit the farmers market then did some gardening. Not a whole lot of gourmet cooking. Except I did prep for the gravy for Thanksgiving. I baked some turkey legs/wings/necks with some carrots/garlic/onions/celery and then boiled it all down into stock for the gravy. Max will get the meat parts with his dinners for the next few days.

My whole point is that because I live such an exciting life, I want to tell you about a meal that I had recently that was divine. And my beloved husband, Aaron, made it. He found a recipe for carbonara that Rachael Ray makes for her husband. You can find it here.

Here he is, tossing the egg in with the hot pasta.

Beautiful Carbonara

Look how pretty, with my cute plates and the Boudin bread and salad. We cooked up some shrimp separately because the pancetta wasn't enough protein. And because shrimp are good. Especially when cooked with butter and garlic. Now look at the fullness of the pasta pan. You should have seen it shortly thereafter. Tina and her boyfriend came home from the gym - a little late and that's why we didn't set the table for them. Between the four of us we pretty much killed the whole thing. Even the salad. I think there was a piece of bread left. Obviously, I'm not the only one at my house that loves to eat!!

I heart running

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:58:00 +0000

I had the best run that I've had in a long time tonight. I felt like the wind. It was amazing. We had track workout, which I have always loved. 2000 meters/2 minute break/1600 meters/2 minute break/1200 meters/2 minute break/800 meters/2 lap cool down. I started the first rep with a 8.5 minute mile average then went down to a 8 minute mile average, down to 7.5 minute mile average and finished strong with a 6.5 minute mile average. Ooh-rah! That's right, baby, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I sincerely hope my good friend Smith doesn't read my blog. Because...I think I like it so much that I might do another season of TNT. The people are a lot of fun. We run! And then we eat! What is not to like about that? And, to be honest, the pain of the Nike Women's Half Marathon is fading away. I can barely remember the extreme pain I was in as I crossed the finish line. I mean, I think I was in extreme pain. It's kind of foggy. And the high that you get after exercising is heaven. I love it! I feel so good right now that I'm acting uber-silly. Both Aaron and Tina laughed at me numerous times tonight. But I have a huge smile on my face. Except my belly is so full from the absolutely scrumptious chicken that Aaron made tonight.

Get this... He looked up a recipe for baked barbecued chicken on the internet and then made it. It was succulent. It was divine. I wish I would have taken a photo for your viewing pleasure. Giant chicken bone-in breasts and baked potatoes and salad. Sigh. My belly is REALLY full and I only ate half of my dinner, thank goodness. I love my man.

So back to the running...What do you all think? Should I join TNT again? I'm thinking for next fall since I'll be in class this spring. But then again, maybe I should just do it. And I'm thinking of applying to be a mentor. I think it would be a lot of fun and the group really is terrific. Things to ponder in the next few weeks...

Wonderful Wednesday!

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Aaron had the day off today so I decided to take today off as well. Now that it's the Holiday Season, he'll be working every weekend until January AND he only gets one day off a week. Poor fellow. Since we won't be seeing a lot of each other we thought it would be fun to have a day off together. We plan on doing it in December too, although we might be shopping that day!We slept in until 8:30! and then got up and had some coffee and changed into some running gear. We packed up the monkey and drove down to Almaden Quicksilver Park. We were going to do a short walk/hike/jog. Max has been limping on one of his paws and so we only did 2 1/2 miles. He did start limping towards the end of the run, so it's a good thing we keep it that way! Max had a great time and did a fabulous job on the trail. Of course, there were no other dogs or animals to distract him, but still...baby steps. We did let him off leash and he stayed close to us and didn't wander too far off the trail.

Isn't he such a handsome fellow?

Bacon Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:26:00 +0000

Doesn't that look scrumptious? A brownie, one of the most divine desserts on earth. It's gooey, chocolatey, melts on your tongue. And it has bacon.

"WHAT?" you might say. "Bacon? Are you nutso, or what?" Well, the answer is maybe. I saw this recipe on Bacon Today. It's a pretty good website, to tell the truth. It has a lot of very interesting information about what is going on in the Bacon World. Yes, I capitalize it. You know why? Because Bacon Is Important. It's delicious. It's savory. It's a bit of heaven on my tongue. After seeing this recipe I decided that I needed to try it. Why not? What's a little extra bacon in my life? And I was able to make a breakfast burrito this morning with some tasty bacon as well. Bacon for breakfast, check. Bacon for dessert, check. Oh, and I did add a little bacon grease to the onion while I was sauteing it for the Shepherd's Pie.

Here's the brownie mix with the bacon laid in it - ready to cut!

Hey, where did that bacon go? It's going in the oven!

Finished product.

The brownies weren't quite a hit. They weren't pushed away either. In fact, both Aaron and Tina ate every bite. They had a quizzical look on their faces while they were eating though. Hey, me too.

I cooked the bacon fully, but still soft. I think I would have preferred the bacon pieces a little crunchier. They said that it really didn't matter, that they would have preferred the brownies sans bacon, but that they would likely still eat the remaining brownies without taking the bits of bacon out. Myself, I thought that the smoky flavor combined with the sweetness of the chocolate was interesting. It was a good combination of sweet and savory but like I said previously, it needed to be crunchier. I think I would like chocolate covered bacon, as long as it was crispier than a cracker bacon. Kind of like one of those little boy crackers with the chocolate on them. They're French and they are Heavenly.

We still have some brownies left...come over and try one if you dare!

I'm the Luckiest Girl in the World

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:57:00 +0000

I have the best aunt EVER. My aunt came to visit in September from Japan. She speaks only Japanese. I speak English, French and just a tiny, tiny bit of Japanese. We hit it off fabulously, with a little help from my mother.

Just an aside, the aunts that I have in my life are terrific. Auntie Barb taught me to be a hostess. She could throw a party like none other and I love her to death. She opened up her home for my wedding. And the kinship that I saw at one time between Aaron's mother, Sharon and her two sisters was something that I really appreciated since my father has never been super close with his family. But meeting my mother's sister was something very, very special to me. For one, she LOVED Max. She would spend a lot of time with him, on his level. When someone loves your dog, you love them. How can you not? But back to what really connected me to my auntie, AKA Yoko Obachan... food.

It turns out Yoko Obachan is a terrific cook. She loves to cook and is a bit of a tyrant in the kitchen. (Sound like anyone you know? LOL!) Well, while she was here, Yoko Obachan taught me to cook a little. She showed me how to make authentic gyoza, which Aaron simply devoured. She made agadashi tofu which was divine. She made pickles and showed me a lot of tips and tricks. In short, I love her. She will forever be in my heart and you can bet your sweet petunias that I will learn Japanese and one day take a trip to Japan to visit and spend enough time with Yoko Obachan so that I can learn more from this amazing woman.

Before she left, Yoko Obachan gave me some money to thank me for having her and my parents for the 5 days or so that they stayed with us. I guess it's a Japanese custom to bring gifts for your host. She did that, bringing us presents and some delicious treats from Japan, including tea cups, Costella (sponge cake), home-made dried seaweed, seasoned seaweed, umeboshi (pickled plum) and numerous other items. My mother told me that she wanted me to use the money to buy some Le Creuset cookware. We had passed by a Sur la Table during one of our many excursions and we both stopped to window shop. My mother told me that Yoko Obachan had the full set. I told her that I was jealous! And so she left the money so that I could purchase some. Well, it's obviously been a couple of months since my family left and during that time I was able to save up some more money so that I could buy a set. And buy a set I did. See! It's right there, from top left to bottom... a bouillabaisse pan, some white mixing bowls that can go in the oven, an extra deep cast iron pan for braising, a sauce pan and a large au gratin dish with a silicone whisk and some new measuring spoons. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't cheap. But it was OH SO WORTH IT. I am in seventh heaven. I still caress the cookware, gaze at it lovingly. Aaron and Tina both think I'm just a little nuts. But I know there are those of you out there who know exactly what I'm talking about. They are simply beautiful and I will baby and love them for a long, long time. Sigh.

So anyway, I obviously needed to cook something in them, right? Friday night I had made a leg of lamb roast on the grill and mashed potatoes with sauteed asparagus. I made sure to make a lot. I mean A LOT. We had about 1/3 of the 5 pound lamb roast left and about 5 cups of plain mashed potatoes left. I had actually made an old friend's recipe for Shallot-Sage Smashed Potatoes sans sage but reserved a good amount of mashed potatoes before adding the shallot mixture. The Shallot-Sage Smashed Potatoes were a big hit. You can find the recipe here. Try it. And try some of the other recipes from Jamie and Jen's blog. You won't be disappointed!

Back to the story. Since I had that gorgeous au gratin pan, I thought...Shepherd's Pie. How perfect! How lovely! I could use TWO of my new pieces of cookware. Yahoo! I took the recipe from Joy of Cooking. I love that cookbook. It's fantabulous. When I first got married, I bought it because I thought it was required of a new bride. I opened it, looked through it and promptly thought, "What a crappy cookbook. There are no pictures!" Now, however, I love it. I love the fact that you can read all about the type of meat, vegetable, method of cooking, what have you. It's very informative and a huge resource to me.

This is the skillet, with onion, celery, carrot and a little EVOO.

After adding the chopped lamb and some flour, I put it in the gorgeous au gratin pan. Sigh.

Finished product.

Now mind you, this was a large pan. Aaron, Tina (our roommate, in case you didn't know) and I ate 4/5ths of this. I managed to hold myself to one serving, but Tins and Aaron went back for a second. It was very good. I forgot to make sure we had A-1 or Heinz 57 on hand though and so poor Aaron had to use Worcestershire Sauce. End result: Belly Full and Happy. Check!

So even though my Yoko Obachan doesn't know about my blog, let alone can't read English - Domo arigato Yoko Obachan. Anata no koto dai-suki desu.

Playing with fire

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:57:00 +0000

I have always been fascinated by fire. It seems to be alive, moving and glowing and hot. I love campfires and candles, gas ranges and barbeques. I like lighting matches and always tried to collect as many packs as I could from every place I went.

When I was a kid, I got in trouble for playing with matches. My sister had written a paper or something for school and used matches to burn the edges of the paper to make it look like it had been charred in a fire. I thought that was SO cool. I decided to play with some candles or some such thing and I got in trouble.

You have to understand that I was a great kid. Seriously. I got straight A's, played sports, worked hard. I didn't keep my room THAT clean, but that's what my sister (with a couple bucks from my allowance) was for - she helped out a ton, being the neater child and all. I didn't drink, smoke, do drugs. I lived to make my parents proud of me. So when I got in trouble, it was terrible. I was a very emotional child. Shoots, I think I still might be an emotional child! I could tear up at the drop of a hat.

On the day that I literally played with fire, my father caught me. He didn't yell or do anything mean. He just calmly told me that I needed to write a two page paper about why I shouldn't play with fire. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. What better punishment for me than to make me think about what I did wrong? Taking away TV - eh, who cares? But make me write a paper? Yes, sir! I really thought long and hard about what it meant to play with fire and I wrote the best paper I could. Unfortunately, I don't think my dad still has it. He gave me a lot of the stuff from school; report cards and test scores and whatnot. But I still think about that paper when I light candles and matches.

Isn't it funny the things that stick with you? I can't remember a lot of things from growing up, but that is one memory I can't imagine forgetting.

Tina rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (SIZE SIX) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:44:00 +0000

I just had to post this about my friend Tina. She plays rugby for the Berkeley All Blues and she is a rock star. She's #4 in the photo, scoring a try in the semi-finals for the US Club Championships being played this weekend in Florida. They beat the MN Valkyries 40-5 on Friday and are playing in the Championship game right now. It's still the first half but they're beating NY 17-0! Go Blues! And I hope Tins scores another try. She's definitely a rock star!

Edit: 11/10/08

I just read the story online and Tina got sin binned. Can't wait to hear it first hand. Congrats to the Berkeley All Blues on a national championship!!