his & hers

pantry pasta

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 04:12:00 +0000

I wanted to post this for the sake of remembering what we ate at least once weekly in the winter of 2014. It's this simple, simple pasta a happened upon from the NY Times food blog. The ingredient list sold me. I am a lover of all flavors bold, pungent, briny, and spicy. Plus it has kale which makes me feel healthy.

Here's the original recipe, but I add more of almost everything in the "sauce." I make it like this:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

While your water is working on boiling, heat 2 or so T of olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat (the dial on my gas stove is at a 2 at this point). Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes to your taste level (a lot for us!) and a pinch of salt. While the chile flakes are toasting, smash several garlic cloves.

Guys, I married a garlic lover. The first time I made this recipe, I used the "4 fat cloves" it calls for. Now I use something like 8 fat cloves. Sometimes more. I pluck the cloves off the head and lay them under the flat side of my knife... then I give them a WHACK to crush them and pop the papers off. So easy. And satisfying if you've had a bad day.

Now take something like 4 heaping tablespoons of capers out of their brine and dry them with a paper towel. You'll be so glad you did.

Then comes the scary part... the anchovies. I'd tasted, but never purchased anchovies until I decided to try this recipe. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Sick, I hate anchovies." Well, chances are you've never tried them, and if you did try them, your preconceived notions about them kept you from loving them. You are Elizabeth Bennett, and those anchovies are Mr. Darcy. Or something. Anyway -- the anchovies. Just do it. Take 4 or 5. Or 6. And add them to the chiles and oil along with the smashed garlic and the capers. Almost immediately, those anchovies will dissolve, leaving you nothing but a delicious taste that is not at all fishy. Trust.

Keep the heat low and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon, and something wonderful begins to happen. The garlic softens and turns golden, keeping a whisper of it's raw bite but mostly tasting mellow... almost roasted. The capers will caramelize and soak up the saltiness and depth of the anchovies that are now just a memory because they have literally vanished. It's magic.

By this time, your water is at a rolling boil and you can add 2 servings... maybe a half pound or so.. of short cut, whole wheat pasta to the water. We like fusilli or mini penne. Cook it until it's al dente.

With about 2 minutes left in the pasta's cooking time, add several large handfuls of kale to the sauté pan. This means half of a large bag of pre-cut, pre-washed kale from Trader Joes for me. Because I am lazy and YOLO. Sneak about 1/4 c of the pasta water into the sauté pan and stir until the kale is sautéed and soft. When the pasta is al dente, add it to the sauté pan with a slotted spoon, stirring as you go.

When the pasta is mixed into the kale mixture, turn off the heat and squeeze with the juice of 1/2 lemon. Next the original recipe gives the idea of "showering" the pasta with cheese like it's optional... and we always do this. By the bowl. We use the microplane and make a fluffy mountain of parm for each bowl. Usually I am vehemently against lemon AND cheese on pasta... it just doesn't make sense. But it's the right thing to do here. The lemon is really there to counter the salty and pungent, and the fine shaving of parmesan makes it all work together. Do it.

So that's what we're eating at least once weekly right now. For the first 4 or 5 times I made it, I made sure to add the anchovies when RP wasn't looking or before he got home from work. Then one night he glanced over his second bowl to me and said, "I love this pasta. What makes it so good?" And I felt like I had to tell him the truth, expecting him to give up on it. Let me just tell you that the man didn't care one bit and has enjoyed many happy bowls since - and he is a particular guy about his likes and dislikes (see the paragraph above about anchovies).

This is the meal I look forward to every week. It's delicious and satisfying - I hope you try it!

thoughts about treasure

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 18:20:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was making breakfast on a Saturday morning, minding my own business, until I passed the laundry room and my eye went straight to the six legged uninvited creature that was legs up on the tile floor. Starts with a C, ends with an ockroach. I want to die even typing that. I almost puked. Then I pulled myself together and ran out to the garage to get the pest control supplies that my mom got us as a housewarming gift. I spent the morning spraying the inside (twice) and outside of our house (three times) while visions of those little nasties taking their dying breaths danced in my head. I may have missed my calling as an exterminator. I put away my sprayer and gloves and treated myself to Sonic happy hour. Glad I took care of that.

Except that a few days later I saw another one.. and then another one. They were always dead, but this happened enough times that I completely lost my mind when one was next to my jewelry box on my dresser (SICK, right?!). Suffice it to say - I freaked the freak out. Bless Russ' heart who took the brunt of that meltdown.

The good news is I got some more heavy duty bug killing stuff. The better news, I haven't even put that stuff out yet and I haven't seen one of those little "visitors" in a week and a half. They must have heard my epic freak-out and told their friends. Score, right?

Except on Friday we had another type of uninvited visitor. The kind that would rather throw a brick through your window than knock on the door. The kind that proceeds to enter your home and violate your space by taking your belongings and rifling through every drawer and closet to find more valuables. The kind that evidently knows exactly how much time they have to enter, set off your alarm, take what they wish, and peace out. I certainly hope they felt welcome during their brief stay in our home.

I'm not going to pretend like it's not a bummer that we got robbed. It's a huge bummer. As I walked through our home on Friday morning with the police, making a list of missing items, I felt so much loss. Loss of belongings, sure, but the loss of felt-safety in our home took my breath away.

Yet, as I shuffled through the broken glass, holding back tears, the Lord reminded me of my time volunteering in the BSF children's program a few weeks ago. We ended our time together by memorizing this verse:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven - where moths (or cockroaches??) and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

God knew how true these words would become for me in a matter of days. He knew that it wouldn't be long until I'd be challenged to put my money where my mouth was as I recited these words with a tribe of wiggly nine year olds.

So, yes - some of our things were taken. But the great news is, they are things. They are not our treasures. Am I glad this happened? Certainly not. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I am grateful for the lesson this holds - especially right before the holidays when my Christmas list is already embarrassingly long. As I scrolled through said list this morning, I felt a little silly. Like my treasure belonged somewhere besides a Pinterest board now and in my closet in late December. I'm not sure what this will look like, but I am praying that the Lord would continue to teach me through this experience and move me to bless others with that.

So we cleaned up the mess, boarded broken windows, and got on with our weekend. We had friends for an impromptu dinner party and intense mario kart tournament on Saturday night and hosted our small group on Sunday evening. Godly friendships are a priceless treasure. The joy they bring into our home is invaluable. The laughter, tears, prayers, authenticity and vulnerability shared cannot be taken by anyone. I am thanking God for these precious treasures that He has given me this day.

5 on Friday

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 21:26:00 +0000

I'm linking up with Darci and many more for the 5 on Friday today. These posts were made for me - if I wrote a memoir, I'm pretty sure it would be in the form of a bulleted list!

1. I loved this chic little photo I came across on Pinterest the other day.

Seriously, how chic does she look? I decided to go for it myself and busted out my 10+ year old grey converse (a la Natalie Portman in Garden State -- geez louise!) and a little black jersey J. Crew dress. Let the record show that I took full advantage of summer casual at the office and wore chucks to work.

Also, let the record show that I looked about as chic as the brick wall behind that girl, but I can dream!

2. Stores are starting to release their fall clothes and I'm finding waaaay too many things I want on my bod. Sigh. If only decorating my house came as easily as buying clothes. Anyway -- here are a few things I'm saving for/adding to my birthday list:

pink and red together until I die.. this cute top is from Gap

I discovered these pants last year - the sloane-fit slim ankle pants from Banana Republic. If you're 5'3" and petite but have a booty, these pants will love you until the day you die. And this gorgeous deep green? Have mercy.

This pretty little necklace (also from BR) might have made it's way in my shopping cart last week when a 40% off coupon hit my mailbox. I'll be wearing this all fall and through the winter, I'm sure.

A version of this puffer vest hit J. Crew last holiday, and was quickly sold out everywhere. This is from the factory store and I am determined to lock it down this time!

Whoa this post got a little shopping heavy -- and a fashion blogger I am not. Switching gears...

3. The new Civil Wars album has been my soundtrack for this week. It's already one of my favorites. Plus it's on Spotify!

4. I made homemade biscuits for the first time last week, and they are pretty much all I've been thinking about since. Making biscuits is really no big deal - it's crazy how easy they are. I used this recipe and only used 1 tablespoon scant of sugar.

5. House of Cards is the latest show in our Netflix Queue and I really like it so far. Mostly I like Kevin Spacey's sweet accent and one-liners to the audience.

That's all I got! Have a great weekend.

Maui

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 20:51:00 +0000

After returning from Punta Mita, we went back to reality for four weeks before heading to Maui. (We'll put that on the list of sentences I never thought I'd type). Russ' parents planned an amazing vacation for us that included Stand-up paddle boarding ( I. am. obsessed.), snorkeling, surfing, a luau, sea turtles (I. am. obsessed.), beautiful beaches a s delicious food. The week went by so quickly! Here are my favorite photos:

paradise part 1

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 18:26:00 +0000

This summer has been incredible. So incredible that I've been a big time slacker on documenting any of it!

In June, my parents took us girls and our friends/partners to Punta Mita, Mexico for such an incredible vacation. We dinner cruised, food toured, pool lounged, ATV'd, slept late, zip lined, got massaged, and relaxed at a beautiful home that we rented for our vacation. It was such a sweet time with my people and their people! Ill let the photos speak for themselves:

Next: Maui with Russ' family! [what is my life?!]

5 on Friday

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:59:00 +0000

Lots of bloggers I love do a little list of 5 things they're loving on Fridays. So... here we go!

1. Frog Camp

I had the honor and privilege of attending TCU's new student program, Frog Camp this week in Bruceville, TX. My little group of incoming freshmen was made up of truly fantastic people. Seriously - compared to them at 18, I look seriously lame. And the facilitators that led our group were equally amazing. It makes my heart swell when I think about the truly quality students that TCU continues to recruit. And makes me thank my lucky stars that I got in when I did.

2. Joss and Main

I subscribed to Joss and Main e-mails almost a year ago, but haven't shopped their site at all. I recently started clicking on those e-mails rather than just deleting them, and WOW. I am finding so many things for my house at amazing prices. Have you ordered from Joss and Main? Is it too good to be true, or is their stuff really that great?

3. Bar Carts

Maybe it's my obsession with Mad Men, but I've been on the hunt for a vintage, gold detailed, mid-century modern bar cart for about a year now. I was shopping in Canton with RP and his mom and sister last weekend when I saw it - the perfect bar cart! When I got a little closer, I saw that the shelves were made from particle board, not glass or mirror like I'd hoped, but the frame was gold and the wheels were in good shape. When I asked the sweet lady running the booth how much for said bar cart, she goes, "Oh honey, I've been calling that a TV Cart." I'm pretty sure that would make Don Draper look at her like this:

Anyway, I got us a TV Cart for just $15! We have big plans to get glass cut for the shelves. Huzzah!

4. Oceans (Where feet may fail) by Hillsong

This song is just really speaking to my soul right now. The study of 1 Peter with She Reads Truth plus this song about Peter being called out on the water by Jesus is really drawing me to think about the man that Peter was and how much of myself I see in him. Anyway, it's doing a number on my heart and I love it.

5. These.

RP and I have picked up a little habit of having one of these every night before bed. I bought these under the guise of having something to offer people who drop by to see our new house. I need help.

Have a great weekend!

uh, hey?

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:34:00 +0000

Wrote this post AGES ago, and am just getting around to posting it.. Bear with me - this update is all over the place and all took place way back in May!

closing time:
We (finally) closed on our house on May 14. It felt awesome/terrifying to walk out of our realtor's office knowing that we were HOME OWNERS! We went for a celebratory dinner at Chuy's, because nothing says "Happy Home-owning!" like creamy jalepeno dip, am I right?

moving on...:
After the bliss of closing wore off, we finished packing. It was a beast. I have told RP several times since we moved that I NEVER want to move again, but just add on to our house as we need more space. Seriously. Hiring movers is one of the best decisions I've made in recent history.

unpacking/decorating/organization crisis:
This is the current state of things. I have looked forward to living in a house that I can paint and decorate however I please for years. Maybe this long wait is what has made me psycho about making everything perfect. As in, NOT unpacking a box until their is a FINAL DESTINATION for every item in said box. I need help (psychiatric, that is. don't come in my house. don't unpack anything. i will cut you. it's not you, it's me. issues). And girl lessons on decorating. Y'all hug RP when you see him because he is currently living with a crazy person. I like to think I'm on the other side of the worst of this, but who can say?

my life is on back-order:
LITERALLY (Chris Traeger style) everything we order for our house is on back-order/out of stock. This is really helping the situation outlined in the paragraph above. On opposite day.

real problems:
I have none. These are not real problems, they are just the current state of things. Just had to throw that out there. I am beyond blessed to have a (beautiful) roof over my head and a place to call home.

jai ho:
We attended a Hindu Wedding for one of Russ' co-workers over Memorial Day weekend. We made a little stay-cation out of it and stayed the night at the Omni Mandalay in Las Colinas (where the wedding was held). Um, most fun wedding ever. Let's just say that the wedding started at 9 am with a bedazzled horse, and ended (for us, anyway) at 12:30 am in the dance party of my dreams. The Indians know how to party, y'all. The ceremony was beautiful and so interesting to watch, the food was spicy and delicious, and the dancing. My word. My feet still haven't recovered. AND - the bride: so. beautiful. She wore three gorgeous outfits and looked like a princess. I felt so honored to be included in that special day.

We woke up on Memorial Day and decided to honor those that have served our country by traveling to the land of Swedish furniture: Ikea. This may or may not have been when the issues I mentioned earlier began. RP talked me off a ledge somewhere between the kitchen and bathroom demos, and we left with two side tables. Bless the man.

I'll post house photos once things are a little more put together - read: when I'm not frantically searching through a box to find my colander while spaghetti is boiling on the stove.

Hope you're having a lovely [less hectic] summer!

weekend alliteration

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:12:00 +0000

nonna tata nomming

[Mother's Day celebrating on Friday night with my wonderful MIL, Pam! The food was amazing, and RP took the opportunity to out-order me, as usual. And I didn't take any photos because I'm crazy]

stanley stalking

[took the in-laws by the house for a little peek!

bulldog babysitting

[our friends needed a little help on Friday watching their puppy, Ziggy. I mean, that face... ]

crack of dawn cleaning

[awake at 530 on Saturday AM cleaning and packing our bathroom. Who am I?]

donut devouring

[i was in a treat yo'self mindset]

west elm wishing and crate and barrel coveting

[nothing like a spontaneous little trip to Dallas to dream about furniture and decorating. RP was the champ of champs while I died Rachel Zoe style over end tables and headboards.]

taco tasting

[on the way home from Dallas we took a little foodie detour to Fuel City Tacos where the barbacoa and picadillo of my dreams sufficiently blew my mind. Magical.]

So simple, so good.

leo loving

[we met friends to see the Great Gatsby last night, and it did NOT disappoint! The soundtrack may be my favorite part of the movie - I mean, Andre 3000 and Beyonce singing Amy Winehouse?? Crazy In Love as a charleston?! Jay-Z, you are a genius (Chyea).]

kid corralling

[Today was our first day leading Children's Worship at church, which was a little like hearing cats, but mostly so fun. Also, many thanks to the 3 that chose to be baptized this morning a s shaved a good 15 minutes off our controlled chaos].

mom and the mercury

[We met Gail for brunch at The Mercury - so fun! I love my Momma and was so glad to celebrate with her today.]

i'm an idiot (sometimes)

[After a glorious 2 hour nap this afternoon, I declared this weekend the "best ever." I should have known that upon uttering these words I would eat them. I ran up to work to grab the iPad for a training I have tomorrow and somehow locked myself out of my office. Keys, purse, iPad inside. Lovely. TCU Police helped a sister out, and all was well.]

It was a weekend for the books indeed! A little last hurrah of sorts before the home improvement projects begin. Hope you had a fun weekend, too!

moving on

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:30:00 +0000

Whoa, baby, so much for "really blogging" in 2013. Does it count that I've thought about blogging since I wrote that last post?

What's been going on since my last little update? Lots of house hunting. Lots of travel for work - Orlando, Vancouver, Kansas City, Chicago, and Nashville - whew! Lots of events and opportunities to serve at church. Lots of good times with family and friends. And in the last six weeks or so, lots of decisions, paperwork, spontaneous fits of excitement, prayer, and a few near meltdowns, because...

We found our house!!

I've typed and deleted a bunch of cliche metaphors to describe this momentous event like "It's been a journey!" "It's been a wild ride!" "It's been a process!" and "It's been an adventure!"

It's totally been all those things, and also things like "headache" "near disaster" and "end of my sanity."

Above all that, we are just so excited! It isn't the house I thought we'd end up getting (one bathroom, y'all), but it is perfect for us, and we love it more every time we creepily drop by (we may be on a first name basis with the painters and floor guy - what up, Jose and Ramon?!). We have plans to add on in the next year or so, which I'm sure will be a whole new adventure, wild ride, headache, process, etc. Not to mention actually closing and moving in next week.

Anyway, I figure there's no time like the present to give this little bloggy another go. Here's to new adventures in playing house!

happenings

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:54:00 +0000

I made a semi-resolution... or really a half-thought on the way home from a New Years Eve party, "I'm going to try to really blog this year." Hah! How about a list of what's been going on?

1. I'm taking one class this semester, because last semester was like a war on my social life and sanity. My grad school actually became like real grad school (my grad program requires no thesis). I was reading/writing/posting/responding every day of the week, and I was a subpar friend, wife, employee, and sister for it. Never again. So far I feel affirmed in my decision to just take one this semester because my brain already hurts from ALL THE READING.

2. House hunting is still a thing. As in, we've been actively looking since September and haven't found "the one." I'm starting to think that Rhianna was talking about her first house when she sang, "We found love in a hopeless place," because Fall 2012/Winter 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas real estate certainly seems like a hopeless place sometimes. Will we find love? Surely. When? Who in the world knows. Right now we are trying not to drive each other crazy in our 1/1 downtown apartment, and trying to enjoy our cool/hip downtown living situation -- as in I was less than a block into my walk to meet friends for dinner last night when RP called me saying he'd pick me up and I jumped on that offer. At least I thought about walking?

3. My word for 2013 is "joy." This seems to be working out a little bit better than the whole resolution situation (see the first paragraph of this post). this book is helping -- a lot. Gratitude journaling is my jam, y'all. I don't know if I seem more joyful, but I sure do feel it in my spirit. Praise God.

4. I got crazy on some MLK weekend sales and bought lots of new big girl work clothes with the rest of my Christmas $$. My office is pretty business casual (I just tried to abbreviate casual to cazh... or casjh. nope), but I got a few fancy things that I'm excited to bust out. I'm also thinking about doing 30 for 30 challenge a la Kendi Everyday to get a little more creative with my wardrobe and curb my spending habit.

5. I'm also reading this book which is a MUST if you love the show, but NOT a good lunchtime read. Trust me on this one. It is also excellent birth control. You are welcome.

5 things on a Friday afternoon seems like all I can muster today. Maybe blogging will become the new house-hunting. Cheers and happy weekend!

february photo a day faves

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:22:00 +0000

Did you do the February photo a day challenge?

Here are my favorites from this month:

inside my closet

drink

green

hearts

money

something new

phone

shoes

I missed a couple along the way, but this was a fun challenge to take more photos.

I'm playing along for March, too!

Febru (wait for it) ary

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:55:00 +0000

February is one of my favorite months. It's my Gail's birthday, Russ' birthday, Valentines Day, AND presidents day.

It's been pretty great so far. We celebrated Russ' birthday with a series of rich and artery clogging meals and fun with friends. We started with Mellow Mushroom on Thursday, Mi Cocina on Friday, chai pancakes for brunch and Babes Chicken on Saturday. Not to mention 4 kinds of cake over the course of the weekend!

We celebrated Valentines with a post work pre class In-n-out burger.

We planned to celebrate another night and keep it casual on the 14th... But then I came home after class to an apartment full of candles and some brand new cherry red Hunters! That man... He gets it.

It was a glorious week, full of sweet time with Mr. Russ, celebrating his life and my most favorite greeting card holiday!

HAP-py birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:03:00 +0000

Today my favorite person turns 25!

I'm not great at waxing meaningful sentiments, but I will do my best. Russ, your birthday means so much to me, because without it we wouldn't be us (duh). You are my favorite person in the world, and my greatest treasure. I love the life we have together and being your wife. I hope this coming year is the best yet, and I can't wait to celebrate many more with you. Love you, babe!

(Also, thanks for catching up with me on age so I don't look like such a cougar. Rawr :)

february photo-a-day challenge

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Lots of people participated in a January photo-a-day challenge, and I was jealous because I was late to that party and it was mid-January before I found out about it. Oops.

I'm only one day late this time, and I'm totally doing it. February is turning into a crazy month and I am both super excited and super nervous every time I look at my planner. Hopefully taking a little photo here and there will help me remember the life and times of February 2012. Let's do this! I'll be throwing mine up on instagram (ekp1007) and twitter.

Ready set go!

parsley dreams

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:35:00 +0000

Hallo! Let's make Tabbouleh.

Are you familiar with tabbouleh? Also known as tabouli. No? You say it "tah-boo-lee."

Still no?

It looks like this:

And it tastes like parsley dreams. And it's healthy x 1000.

Tabbouleh and I go way back. My dad's BFF (what, dad's have BFFs) is Lebanese, and introduced us to tabbouleh and all kind of other middle eastern/mediterranean delights when I was just a wee tot. I was totally the girl with the weird lunch.

So, let's make some!

here's what you need:

3 (yep) bunches of curly parsley
2 bunches of green onions
9 lemons (or enough lemons to yield 1 cup of juice. this meant nine lemons for me)
6 firm roma tomatoes
1 cup of fine (also called light) bulgar wheat
extra virgin olive oil (rachael ray style)
and salt.

You also need a good chef's knife, because here's the bad news: you're going to hand chop most of this yourself. This took me about an hour last night, start to finish, but it's my lunch for the entire week, got me caught up on Parenthood, and was weirdly therapeutic. A win win win. Anyway, you need that knife to be nice and sharp so your chopping is more therapeutic and less frustrating.

(This is a Shun knife, and it doesn't mess around. )

First, rinse all that glorious produce under cold water in a large strainer. Now it's time to squeeze your lemons of their juices. If you're using bottled lemon juice right now, I don't want to know about it. Once your juice is all ready to go and free of seeds, microwave it for about 45 seconds, and pour it over the cup of bulgar wheat you have in a large bowl. Put a kitchen towel over the bowl and let it hang out.

Then take your first bunch of parsley (or about half of it) and hold it with the leaves facing downward into a salad spinner. Then take your knife and gently cut it away from the large stems. Do this until all of your parsley is off those big crazy stems.

Then spin spin spin in the salad spinner to get the parsley good and dry. At this point, you could garnish about 1000 plates at a restaurant, or you could keep going and make tabbouleh. Do the tabbouleh.

Working in batches, start chopping the parsley! You want it relatively fine, but not parsley mush. If we wanted that, we would just use a food processor and call it a day. If you had any big stems hiding in here, now would be the time to pick them out before you get chopping. You will be so glad you did this by hand (I hope).

About 30 minutes later, you will have a big bowl o' chopped parsley. The hard part is over.

Now it's time for green onions! Chop off the nasty walrus looking bottoms, and chop all the green and white parts until they're about the same size as your parsley. Throw 'em in with the parsley.

Now it's tomato time. Cut off the very top (weird brown umbilical cord to the vine) of the tomato, and halve that baby top to bottom. Good? Now cut each half in long strips, and then cross wise to have a dice. If these tomatoes are super seedy/juicey, you could omit some of the juice and seeds, but if not, don't worry about it. Do this until all the tomatoes are dicey and let them join the parsley green onion party. It's like Christmas in there!

Now, remember that bulgar that you have soaking in a hot tub of lemon juice? Have a peak at it and a little taste. It should be soft to al dente. Perfect. Pour it into the Christmas party and get your stir on. Stir stir stir. Now add olive oil - a little at a time. And kosher salt. I probably added 1 - 2 tablespoons of salt total.

it should look like this when it's done!

If you're like me, you want a bowl now because you can hardly handle the suspense. That's fine. Give in to temptation. But it's MUCH better if you let all of those flavors fall in love and get married for a few hours or overnight. I've had a big scoop of tabbouleh with lunch every day this week and it just keeps getting bettah. I think you could probably keep it about 5 days in the fridge. YUM!

January. What?

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:26:00 +0000

So... I fell into a black hole over Christmas.

Oops.

Here’s a little catch up of what happened the last 2 weeks of 2011 and into 2012:

We MOVED! We said goodbye to our first home together (many tears shed by me, even though I didn’t particularly love our side of town. I did love our apartment though. and you know, memories. Waaaah). We seriously love our new place though. We moved downtown and feel like we’re 5 minutes from everything. It’s grand.

We celebrated our first year of marriage! After moving all weekend long, this was particularly sweet. We saw a movie in the middle of the day (A Monday. Crazy cats, we are), got couples massages, dined at Reata (they catered our wedding!) and stayed at the Omni, my favorite Fort Worth Hotel. Totally lovely. We’ll take a trip sometime this year to commemorate the first year.

I got almost 2 weeks off of work which was GLORIOUS. I can’t tell you how badly I needed the break.

SOMEONE ELSE either cooked or bought us dinner every night for about 10 days straight. This was so magical. So magical that our refrigerator is still empty and I’ve lost the will to grocery shop.

We had Thanksgiving Dinner with Maisey on Christmas Eve Eve since she couldn’t come home for the real deal this year. Yummy.

We spent Christmas Eve with Russ’s family and Christmas Day with my family. Family time is just the greatest.
We learned a new game, the Game of Things - my new favorite!

Saw Les Miserables at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Les Mis is probably my favorite musical of all time, and this tour did not disappoint! I cried and cried, per usual. My father in law also got a sweet hook up that allowed us to tour the backstage after the show which was legendary.

Had a glorious Cox Family dinner at the Mercury. Yum. Wow.

We watched a LOT of How I Met Your Mother and Mad Men.

We both marveled at Ryan Gosling’s abs in Crazy Stupid Love.

“Did you like that movie, babe?”

“Yeah it was funny. I liked it.”

“Probably not as much as I like it though because it’s just so fun to look at Ryan Gosling. Sorry. You’re hot, too.”

“No, it’s fine. His abs are ridiculous.”

Love him.

I spent a day out with just my parents, and it was the best time. They are just hilarious, wonderful, generous people and I love them to pieces. A highlight of this shopping trip was discovering that my Dad used to think “All The Single Ladies” had no lyrics, it was just jibberish. Bless his heart.

New Years Eve was low key and perfect. We used to dress up and have a fancy dinner out every New Years, but since December has become laden with celebrations and rich meals, we’ve changed our tune a little bit. This year we went out for our favorite pizza and split the night with dear friends, Catch Phrase, and Wits and Wagers. The only thing missing was Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve. It was missing from Dallas Broadcasting, and I’m pretty sure that the only people who care about Big D NYE are the people who are there. Correct me if I’m wrong.

We whipped our apartment into shape and had a few friends over for New Years Day games.

The Bachelor started! I’m hoping that Ben F. finds “love” in one of these crazies, but who can be sure after that first episode? I’m also currently losing my fantasy league (you heard me), but there’s still time. Kacie B. all the way!

Now I’m back to work and trying to settle back into routine and combat the post-holiday puffiness that occurs when you eat a lot of bagels, chicken and dumplings, short ribs, wedding cake, Garrett’s popcorn, and other delights.

I’ve resolved to have monthly goals this year instead of New Year’s Resolutions so I’m less likely to fall off the wagon. More on those later. Hope your holidays were happy!

merry and bright

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:15:00 +0000

Wishing you and your family a most Merry Christmas, and a new year full of peace and hope.

this weekend in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:28:00 +0000

There are lots of blog year-end recaps that will be popping up in the next couple of weeks. But since we celebrate our 1 year anniversary on Monday (and move apartments and I have a paper to finish for school. Oops.) it suddenly seems very important to recap what I was doing at this very time last year. If I'm going to procrastinate (self-admitted, world's best procrastinator), it will be on this!

A year ago today I went home early from work, partly because I was GETTING MARRIED in 4 days, and partly because I was so sick to my stomach, I didn't know if I could drive home. For the past 2 months I'd had on and off pain and pressure, and the particularly strange phenomenon of being ravenous, eating about 3 bites of food, and feeling so stuffed I couldn't eat another bite. So, after a lot of fighting my mama on going to the doctor, my PA sided with her, and I ended up in the emergency room 3 days before the wedding, with gallstones, and surgery looking like a likely possibility. Drama. But I should mention now that I'm glad my mom won that one.

And dizzy as anything. So they gave me this cool bracelet.

Anyway, I got my act together, passed a few gall stones. My mama held my hand when I turned into a giant baby over my IV, got real with my nurse when he refused me ice chips, and knew all the right questions to ask in the ER. My Dad stayed with me all night in the hospital. I teared up just typing it. So so sweet. I loved having my parents there. I needed them! I was discharged the next day, just in time for my bachelorette party.

I was really fun for about 2 hours and then called the whole thing off at 9:30, because I wanted bed after being up all night in the hospital. These gals understood the abridged Bach party.

The next day was a whirlwind of brunching with Grandmas, pedicuring, last minute shopping, dining, rehearsing, and packing for my honeymoon!

Even without the actual wedding, this weekend was probably my favorite ever. Almost every person I care about in the world was there, and after months of planning each detail and anticipation, was overwhelmed in the best possible way. I felt so supported, lucky, blessed, and undeserving of such incredible people in my life. And to be marrying the most wonderfully perfect man for me (more on that later :-)

This weekend in 2011, we say goodbye to this little corner of our city and our very first home together, and start a new chapter in our new place. Right on time for our anniversary on Monday. I can't wait!

Tale as old as time

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:30:00 +0000

We are headed home to fort worth after a glorious weekend with the Pickett/Russwurm fam in Lubbock. We got to spend lots of time with family, and even got to visit baby Kameron Edwards and our dear friends, his proud parents. He was an absolute lamb and I could have held him for hours. AND we got a sweet surprise when the Tatums were in town, too! Such a great time with the BFFs.

Tatums, you look like naturals with that babe!

Drew directed his highschool's fall musical, Beauty and the Beast, and it was incredible. So much detail and talent. We were so glad to be able to attend since we missed last year's (it was the week before our wedding). I even got to meet my favorite little character, Lumiere!

Don't mind my blushing mug... I wasn't embarrassed at ALL that Drew had told him I thought he was adorable.

After the show we stayed up super late laughing and talking about everything from the Virgin Diaries to Beanie Babies. So many laughs. So many, in fact, that my MIL popped a blood vessel in her eye! Anyway. I so wish we lived in the same town as all of these precious friends and family. This weekend was so perfect in every way, and the worst part was leaving, as usual.

We need to hit the ground running when we get back to our little apartment tonight because the move is upon us! 6 days until the movers come and haul our stuff out of our first home together in to our new place. We're really excited, but there's just lots and lots to do. And of course I'm feeling super nostalgic already about the move and packing up our lives and all of the stuff we accumulated through year one of marriage... Yikes. I've got to finish a couple of stories for my fiction class, and Russ is 2 finals away from being done for the semester. Then the move, and then.. Our first anniversary!

This has really snuck up on me. I can't believe we've been married a whole year. Maybe I'll throw up a little recap of the year at some point, but for now I'm just excited to celebrate this year and us. (And have a break from unpacking for a little staycation). I can't wait!

I hope your holiday plans are going smoothly and you're taking time to enjoy this season. Happy Sunday!

the other white meat

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:59:00 +0000

During last week’s grocery shop, I got frisky and decided to make friends with my slow cooker. (I know. It’s a glamorous life, I live). I was intrigued by the whole “low and slow” method of cooking and was ready to give it a go. Like many of our kitchen appliances, the slow cooker was sitting quietly on top of our kitchen cabinets, just waiting to be used.

So I bought pork chops.

I have no idea how I made the connection from slow cooker to pork chops, but it happened – at the meat counter at Central Market. The sweet butcher handed me my ¼ pound of applewood smoked bacon (apparently the theme of last week’s eats was pork) and said, “Anything else today, ma’am?” and I exclaimed (too enthusiastically), “Why yes! I’ll have 3 of those center cut pork chops.” He wrapped them up in white butcher paper and handed them over the counter with a smile. It wasn’t until I had rounded the corner to the bulk foods section that I realized I had no idea what I was doing with pork chops, as I had never made them in my life (this is a recurring theme in my life. I read so many food blogs and cookbooks that I often subconsciously convince myself that I know how to make something and have made it thousands of times, when I, indeed, have not.) I had never (to my knowledge) eaten pork chops that had been prepared in a slow cooker, or even heard of such a thing. It was just one big new experience, and figured I was less likely to mess up chops if I let my slow cooker do the work.

I did a little reading online and found a recipe to go off of to get cooking times, etc. The general consensus was 6 hours on low heat, so I went home during my lunch break to make dinner (you know you’re old when…) so they would be ready at dinner time.

Here’s what I came up with. I loosely based my chops off of this recipe

Pork chops for 2: Low and slow

1 – 2 T canola oil

3 good sized center cut bone in pork chops (1 for me and 2 for the hungry husband)

½ c. ketchup

½ c. brown sugar

½ c. scant soy sauce

1 T + 1 t chili powder (I used a little under 1 T and thought it could have used more heat because we love spicy food).

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ white or yellow onion, thinly sliced

¼ c. water

Salt and pepper to taste

Season both sides of each chop with salt and pepper. In a cast iron pan, heat the canola oil on medium high until shimmering. Sear the pork chops 1 minute per side – you aren’t trying to cook the chop, just to get some nice color and flavor from all that searing goodness. Remove the chops from heat and set aside. In the ceramic bowl of a crock pot, mix the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili powder. Taste your sauce. If it needs more sweetness, add brown sugar. If it needs more salty kick, add a little more soy. When it tastes tangy and delicious, add the minced garlic and sliced onion. Add the chops and ¼ c of water. Turn the crock pot on low and set it for six hours.

Reluctantly head back to work and day dream about the deliciousness of your impending dinner. Arrive home about 5.5 hours later and inhale the glorious aroma that fills your apartment. Check the sauce to make sure it’s not too thick and not burning (add a little more water if it’s too thick or sticky). You’ll want lots of that delicious sauce to sop up with bread or your starchy side dish of choice. Crank up the heat to high for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking while you prepare your sides. We had our chops with cous cous, steamed broccoli, and toasted rolls with butter. It was all luscious. The sauce had the tang of a barbecue sauce but was more of a jus than a proper sauce – but we still loved it! The high point of the meal was when Russ goes, “I don’t even really LIKE pork chops because they are so boring.. but NOT THESE!” Well thanks for telling me, bud. I guess I am glad I didn’t know that Russ was bored with pork chops or I would have never tried them out!

The slow cooker did all the heavy lifting, and I couldn't get over how easy this meal was to put together. Try it soon!

a little tranquility before the storm

noreply@blogger.com (russ) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:08:00 +0000

Who would have thought the week leading up to the Super Bowl could be tempered? But here we are, 3 full days away from Sunday and the area is still covered with ice and snow and not with all the anticipated glitz and glamor. I'm sure ESPN and the NFL are loving this.

A storm calmed the storm.

It's amazing to witness everything and everyone shut down for almost 3 days. Schools. Businesses. Everyone has hidden to weather the storm (except the crazies who have a death wish for themselves and others). It's too bad that's what it takes to get everyone to slow down.

No one can seem to stop these days. We move from one thing to the next and whenever we're hindered from our frenetic pace, we go stir crazy. No one is immune to it. Not me (as an MBA student) and not you.

So before this storm melts and another one thunderously moves in, take time to reflect on the calmness of these moments and realize that this is probably exactly what we need.

now my feet won't touch the ground

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Friends.

Here is the stop motion video of our wedding! Do you know what stop motion is? I didn't until I became familiar with our wedding photographer's website. It's a video made of still images.. like clay-mation except not terrifying.

Here is what Erin and her husband Brad created... I cannot sing the praises of ee photography enough! Their attention to detail is incredible. I am watching this over and over again, remembering these moments of such a wonderful day.

Enjoy!

ee photography | emmelie + russ wedding from ee photography on Vimeo.

double snow day!

noreply@blogger.com (emmelie) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:11:00 +0000

So it's the second snow day in a row and we are just loving every minute. I know that I may retract that statement when the rumored "rolling blackout" hits our little apartment any second now and I'm freezing my tootsies off, but until then... this is pure bliss.

Some people might be super productive on snow days, but not us... Unless "productive" = watching every episode of Weeds to date on Netflix instant play, or catching up on our Google Readers. I have big plans to clean the apartment after one more episode...

Sometimes being productive is over-rated, I think.

The best thing we did yesterday was make soup - I think we can all agree that this is a very productive thing to do when you're snowed in! This soup is adapted from the Zuppa Toscana at the Olive Garden - your guilty pleasure and mine. I found the recipe via food gawker on this blog and made a few adjustments to meet our tastes. It's delicious and easy to make. Try it tonight.

Zuppa Toscana

Yields 8 servings

1 lb ground Italian sausage (we used mild but next time we'll use hot!)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you can take it)
4 slices of bacon (optional)
2 large shallots, finely minced (Russ hates onions so this is our compromise since shallots have a much milder flavor, but you could use 1 med. white or yellow onion if you don't have shallots)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups low sodium chicken stock
about 1.5 large Russet potatoes, sliced into disks 1/8 inch thick
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 cups kale, torn into bite sized pieces
Salt, black pepper or crushed red pepper to taste
Shaved Parmesan cheese for serving

In a large dutch oven or pot, brown the sausage over medium high heat. When no pink remains, remove the sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cook the bacon in the same pot until crisp and set aside. Drain off most of the grease from the pot and lower the heat to medium low. Add the shallots and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and translucent. (Be very careful not to burn the garlic!). Add 8 cups of low sodium chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add in the sausage, kale, and cream until heated through. Taste the broth and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and crumbled bacon.

(This would be delicious with toasted bread and a big salad. This was the original plan but we were so ravenous from our day in front of the television that we decided to forgo side dishes and dig in.)