turtle's life

URL CHANGE!

2010-04-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

I've created a more photo-centric website over on squarespace and will no longer be posting on turtle's life. I've really enjoyed your comments and hope you decide to follow me here:

http://bkm.squarespace.com/

Technically, there are two blogs:
http://bkm.squarespace.com/pictures
http://bkm.squarespace.com/words

Pictures will be updated more frequently, almost daily.
I'm working on a consolidated feed.

I hope you guys decide to check it out, I'm stoked :)

Grocery Challenge - Week 3

2010-04-01T12:03:00.002-05:00

March 22-March 28
TOTAL FOOD: $78.77

Grocery Bill: $78.77
Yankee Taco Salad
The Mushroom Soup!
Piquant Chicken
Pork and Venison Sausages with Oven Roasted Broccoli

Again I made salsa and we had leftovers and other snacks for lunch.

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Super Saver Challenge 2010
Grocery Challenge Week 1
Grocery Challenge Week 2
Grocery Challenge Week 4
Grocery Challenge Week 5
Grocery Challenge Week 6
Grocery Challenge Week 7
Grocery Challenge Week 8

Kiwi Wednesday

2010-03-31T12:40:00.000-05:00

Doggy Pin-Up?

Polaroid Generator 2 by RawImage

David's Graduation

2010-03-29T23:53:00.001-05:00

Grocery Challenge - Week 2

2010-03-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

March 15-March 21
TOTAL FOOD: $43.01

Grocery Bill: $3.34
Turkey Chili

I worked all day (read 23 hours) on St. Paddy's Day and the Husband brought me Freebird's for $14.67.

The rest of the week was spent on our OSR trip. We had a very low food budget ($15/day). This is because we had a $90/week food budget already in place.

The trip total was $25 over this budget.
$25 transfers to our food budget.

We're not doing too bad, so far, huh? And it's been easier than I would have thought.

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Super Saver Challenge 2010
Grocery Challenge Week 1
Grocery Challenge Week 3
Grocery Challenge Week 4
Grocery Challenge Week 5
Grocery Challenge Week 6
Grocery Challenge Week 7
Grocery Challenge Week 8

Yankee Taco Salad*

2010-03-25T04:19:00.001-05:00

My mother's recipe. It's pretty healthyish until I add extra Catalina and sour cream. Oops...

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 regular sized cans kidney beans, rinsed
1 tomato, chopped
1 can sliced olives (I buy whole and slice them myself)
1/2 large purple onion, chopped
1 c shredded Mexican cheese mix
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
Crushed taco chips
Catalina dressing
Sour cream

Brown ground beef. Add taco seasoning according to instructions. Let cool.
In large bowl, combine lettuce, kidney beans, tomato, olives, onion, cheese and beef. Mix well, careful not to squish kidney beans.
Add crushed taco chips, then Catalina dressing to taste.
Serve with dollop of sour cream.

The salad mixture without the chips and dressing keep well, so I usually mix it up in small batches. The leftovers that aren't mixed go into the fridge for a quick lunch the next day.

Enjoy!

*The title changed after someone reminded me that this is no ordinary taco salad. This is definitely a Yankee salad, my mother is from MI. Tex-Mex salads, of course, have no Catalina and kidney beans. They have refried beans and salsa. Equally tasty, for sure!

Back from the OSR

2010-03-23T11:58:00.001-05:00

I'm back on the radar after four industrious travel days. Here on the radar there's tons of work to be done. The not-so-fun trip clean-up (read: a living room full of crap to sort through) and fun stuff, like building a light tent, editing some photoshoots, of course editing trip photos, and soliciting photography jobs.

I'm a bit wary of the last task, but it's the one I'm looking forward to the most.

Old San Antonio Road

2010-03-18T17:44:00.001-05:00

[Wikipedia] Also called El Camino Real or King's Highway.

Originally, we planned a trip to New Orleans this Spring Break. I was looking forward to ~~the history and architecture~~ the food and cocktails. I had every intention of needing to be rolled out of New Orleans due to my record-breaking weight gain.

Alas, the food budget on the trip was killer, and when we analyzed our trips for more fun/less money, New Orleans was the first (and only) to go.

We're moving up our El Camino Real roadtrip. Tomorrow, Friday, we'll visit family in Dallas. Then we head to the LA border, drive the OSR to Mexico. Check out our preliminary route:

View El Camino Real de Tejas in a larger map

Luke

2010-03-15T02:30:00.001-05:00

I want to get better at photographing faces. Particularly faces of people I'm not well acquainted with. It takes a certain amount of guts to walk up to someone you don't know and ask to take their photo.

Anyone who is familiar with me in 'real life' would say, "If there's one thing Brittany Kalaj Margulieux doesn't lack, it's GUTS."

And the would be Oh So Right, except for in this situation.

To fix my gutlessness, I'm beginning to photograph faces. I'll start with people I do know and branch out. Baby steps, people.

Above is Luke. A fellow bartender at my place of employment.

There you have it - Face #1.

Grocery Challenge - Week 1

2010-03-14T15:30:00.007-05:00

March 8-March 14
TOTAL FOOD: $78.77

Grocery Bill: $43.08
Piquant Chicken with Rice
Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms and Anchovy
Velvet Chicken with Ramen
Cabbage Soup Leftovers with Elbow Noodles
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Leftovers

For lunches we had some cold-cuts in the fridge and leftovers from dinners. For snacks, we bought baby carrots and I made salsa. We already had pretzels and almonds in the pantry.

We had the legs for the Piquant Chicken in the freezer, so we sprung for a $10 jug of wine for the recipe. It's budgeted as half food, half entertainment.

After The Husband defended his thesis, we had celebration dinner at a local sushi joint.
The bill was $39.57.

Even with a celebration dinner, this week added up to well under our projected $90. We expect our weekly totals to increase as we exhaust our pantry items. But until then - extra savings. Woo!

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Super Saver Challenge 2010
Grocery Challenge Week 2
Grocery Challenge Week 3
Grocery Challenge Week 4
Grocery Challenge Week 5
Grocery Challenge Week 6
Grocery Challenge Week 7
Grocery Challenge Week 8

This is the Face of a Post-Thesis Masters Student

2010-03-13T18:46:00.000-06:00

Happy much? Feeling accomplished? Eagerly awaiting your celebratory Aggie Roll?

The Husband successfully defended his thesis on Thursday. The event was slightly overshadowed by the cookies I made for the event. Only slightly...

Cabbage Soup

2010-03-10T12:23:00.000-06:00

When the Fiance grabbed a head of cabbage at HEB last week and voiced a need for cabbage soup I was more than happy to oblige. I thought back to the cabbage soups of my childhood (really not that long ago) and racked my brain for an ingredient list. Nothing came to mind but cabbage.

I called my mother who referred me to my father's mother. Grams was happy to hear from me and even happier to talk about food - welcome to my family. First off, I asked her if I could use the extra ham hock from the package I used for the bean soup. She said of course, but it wasn't necessary. Then she dove into the recipe.

"Boil the cabbage with some salt and pepper. Add some tomato sauce to taste. The Hungarians like the cabbage really mushy. They stew it for hours, but the Albanians like it a little harder. I like mine pretty soupy, but your grandpa likes mostly cabbage...
..."

And?...Nothing. It turns out that my memory of a very cabbagy cabbage soup was entirely accurate. But it tasted so good! And the thing is, it still does. I modified the recipe only slightly (an onion - I have to have an onion!)) Here it is:

Ingredients:
1-2 ham hocks
1 head of cabbage
1 onion
1 can tomato sauce or paste

Boil ham hocks in a soup pot for a few hours. I like to boil them on at least medium heat with a more vigorous boil. Then the ham hock really falls apart. You can leave the hocks in; take them out; or let them cool, separate bone and meat, and throw the meat back in. I go for the last option.

Chop onion and saute on medium in olive oil. Add onions and tomato sauce to soup pot.
Chop cabbage and add to soup pot. Salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer until the cabbage is as done as you like it. I suspect that if you are Hungarian, you may prefer your soup mushy and liquidy - textured and dry if you are Albanian.

Serve over noodles.
(I suggest elbow noodles, but I used egg noodles in the photo.)

Top with parmesan cheese. Usually, I try to act fancy and use shredded parmesan, but good ol' Kraft from a shaker is all I put in this recipe.

*Edited and re-posted with new photo from 11/18/08

Ditched the BlogHer Ads

2010-03-09T13:00:00.001-06:00

It wasn't you, BlogHer Ads. It was me.

I'm just not ready for that commitment. I...uh...

Yeah, no. It was you. You had an easy platform and attentive administrators, but you weren't doing anything for me. I just wasn't feeling it. I felt used.

Sorry, BlogHer Ads. Maybe next time.

Or not.

Love,
BKM

Crunch Time Super Saver Challenge 2010

2010-03-06T14:20:00.107-06:00

To save some extra cash for our trips in the coming months, we're strapping it down for the next 12 weeks.

Neither The Husband nor I are stranger to Crunch Time Saving. Early in our dating relationship, during the first quarter of 2008, I was fervently saving for my taxes due. Rice and beans, fervently. At the time, I was a well paid contractor at a small engineering firm and hadn't saved a penny for my thousands due on that ominous day in mid April.

By the time I saved my taxes, we decided that I would join The Then Boyfriend on his summer trip - meet him in China and travel to India. The kicker was that when we returned, I would move to College Station to be near him. The rest is history. The point is, I continued scrimping and saving nearly every penny to pay for the $5000 trip and have a tiny savings when I moved to CS. That trip was worth every day of canned beans, rice, and frozen veggies drowned in salsa.

As far as The Husband's experience with crunch time saving...well, he thinks every day is Crunch Time! One term is frugal. Another is financially minded. Another is cheap ass! Nah, he's not that bad. But you see where I'm going with this.

---

Grocery Challenge 2010
For the last 7 months, our weekly averages:
$89 on groceries
$53 on dining out
TOTAL: $142 / week

The Challenge:
For the 12 weeks of March 8-May 30 will spend $90 a week on ALL FOOD.
TOTAL SAVINGS: $600

Translation:
No eating out
No gourmet purchases (we enjoy a fancy cheese and wine night every now and then)
Even stricter grocery list prep and meal-planning (I already meal-plan like a crazy person because I like to cook specialized meals)
Utilizing our typical cheap recipes and finding others (Serious Eats Eat for Eight Bucks)

Entertainment Challenge 2010
For the last 7 months, our weekly average for entertainment:
$52 on netflix/shows/bars/Specs Liquor

Translation:
Visit the bars, less
Cheaper alcohol for the house

The Challenge:
For the 12 weeks of March 8-May 30 will spend $15 a week on ALL ENTERTAINMENT.
TOTAL SAVINGS: $444

Of course, if we can come in under budget, even better! I'll be sharing the details of the Grocery Challenge with you on a weekly basis. I'm looking forward to it.

---

Grocery Challenge Week 1
Grocery Challenge Week 2
Grocery Challenge Week 3
Grocery Challenge Week 4
Grocery Challenge Week 5
Grocery Challenge Week 6
Grocery Challenge Week 7
Grocery Challenge Week 8

2010 Travel Plans

2010-03-05T12:49:00.006-06:00

Since it's our last few months to live in Texas, we've planned a series of roadtrips to explore the state.

-Not in-state but something we've always wanted to do: New Orleans over Spring Break
-Lubbock to visit a friend at Texas Tech and Monahans to visit the Sandhills State Park
-Texas Hill Country
-Drive El Camino Real
-As long as we lived in Dallas, neither of us extensively visited Fort Worth. To fix this shame: Fort Worth and Fossil Rim
-Matagorda Island

We hope to take all of these trips by mid-May so that we can take one *grand* summer roadtrip through the western US, Canada, and Alaska. (Interactive map, below.)

View Summer Trip 2010 in a larger map
We thought about doing another overseas trip this year, but one of my favorite cousins is getting married in June and we don't want to miss it. Plus, the overseas trips we were looking at are pretty pricey (Africa and Eastern Europe). When the numbers are added up, we can go on all of our Texas roadtrips and this western North America trip for almost half the price than either of the overseas trips.

Some trip highlights:
Arkansas to the Margulieux family cabin
Chicago for my cousin's wedding
Michigan to visit family
Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Wild horses in Montana
Banff, Alberta
Whitehorse, Yukon
Anchorage, Alaska
Denali National Park
Vancouver, BC to visit a good friend
Seattle, WA
Crater Lake, OR
Down Pacific Coast Highway
Redwood National Park, CA
Parks and wild horses in Nevada
Salt Lake City, Utah
Colorado to Boulder, where we'll probably live

Throughout the drive, we'll stop at local foodie joints, breweries, geological sites and camp at mountains/parks/waterfalls.

72ish days of awesomeness.

Of course I'll be taking photos like a madwoman and updating along the way. Updating unedited photos, at that, because I have no idea how I'll be editing my photos on my little Eee PC!

Ch-ch-change-es.

2010-03-04T16:39:00.002-06:00

Why is Kiwi looking so scared, you ask?

Maybe it's because İske is proving her love more than this scrawny canine?
Maybe Kiwi's scared. Scared that this will happen to HIM if İske is allowed to freely haunt the halls at night as she's been doing.

We've entered into a new era, here at the Margulieux household. One where domesticated animals aren't only to be petted and pampered. Thanks to Iske, we've realized our pets should earn their damn keep!

You better start thinking about what you're going to contribute, Kiwi. Or ELSE.

*All links are to the same gruesome photo. Our first gift from the Queen, the First Feline of Casa M. A mauled mouse, found in the very center of our living room floor this morning.

Homemade Anise Biscotti

2010-03-03T13:08:00.003-06:00

This recipe is from my Great Grandma Tersigni, and may have come from her mother from Italy.

Ingredients
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1 yolk
1/4 c butter
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp anise extract
1/4 tsp minced aniseed
2 tsp baking powder

Cream eggs, yolk, sugar, and butter. Sift in flour, blending well. Mix in anise extract, aniseed and baking powder. Bake in 8x12 buttered baking tin (I used Pyrex) at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cake is dry in center. (I used the toothpick method.)

Turn on cake rack, remove pan, and cool.

Cut in half lengthwise, and slice crosswise in 3/4 inch slices. Arrange slices on cookie sheets and place in 450 degree oven for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

These get better the staler they become. Dip in coffee or tea for a quality snack.

The Fate of Seedlings

2010-03-02T10:35:00.001-06:00

Cats love houseplants. And dirt. You don't need to tell me - I'm struggling with my new bonsai, a Christmas gift from The Husband. I routinely find tiny fukien tea leaves strewn about my bedroom with little bits of decorative moss.

What I didn't expect, though, is İske using our garden pots, brought inside because of the frost, as a nest. What a weirdo.

Woman Seeking User-Friendly Video Editing Program

2010-03-01T00:18:00.000-06:00

A friend and I are playing around with a new project. We have a flip, and I need suggestions for a user-friendly video editing program. Our needs are pretty basic. Suggestions?

Our Official Plans

2010-02-26T11:58:00.002-06:00

...are to have no plans. I'm talking about our post-Masters life.

The Husband has been applying for jobs since October and he's finished his application for the CU-Boulder grad program. School is a backup; his first choice is a job.

Places we could be in the next year (maybe more than one):
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Boston
Boulder
Houston
Saudi Arabia
Washington DC
Virginia
Las Vegas
Seattle
Even College Station or Dallas, though we doubt it.

Places we are sure we'll be next year:
[chirp chirp...nothing]

Last semester I was losing my mind with all of this uncertainty. I wasn't upset about change or any of that mumbo-jumbo, I just wanted so badly to geek out online: researching neighborhoods, loft prices, restaurants, and culture of our new city.

But it seems I cannot. And frankly, I don't know when I'll be able to.

What a lesson in patience (or pulling my hair out, whatevs).

For now, I'm having imagining all of the different paths our lives could take:
Stay in College Station and rent a house that's really in the country...
or a loft in downtown Bryan.

Take a temporary job in Saudi Arabia and live in some sort of Westerner compound, TALK ABOUT AN EXPERIENCE.

Grad school or job in Boulder. Work, commune, and climb with the hippies (and reunite with my dear friend Maegan to get into some solid, but awesome, trouble*). Work on my photography and/or open a small business?

...

See, I just need to relax. This can be fun! Do you ever imagine where you'll be in the future? Any life-changing events coming up? I'm a champion imagine-er, and I wonder where you see yourself going in the next couple of years. Share?

*Revised 3/1/10. See comments, below.

Snow Day in Central Texas

2010-02-24T10:53:00.000-06:00

A typical Texas saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait a couple of hours."

So true.

Just this Sunday I was raving about the spring weather - the warm temperature and strong sunshine.

A day and a half later, yesterday, College Station was blessed with snow. REAL snow. Excuse me if you're from anywhere north of Oklahoma, but this is a BIG deal for College Station. Typically, if there is any frozen precipitation at all, it is of the fake snow variety: icy, slushy, rainy.

This, people, was legitimate snow. Fluffy, white, sticky, school-is-cancelled-until-further-notice SNOW.

Plaaaay day.

Wonders of Zazzle

2010-02-23T12:59:00.003-06:00

Today I received this in the mail. It is a birth announcement I put together for little Landon. It was as easy as finding a nice color-scheme from BeezKneez on Zazzle. I thought the this taupe format went really well with the muted photos.

I love Zazzle and used the site to create our photo Christmas cards this year. The fact that you can completely design your own or edit other users' creations is awesome. Also, it's relatively cheap, with higher discounts for purchasing higher quantity.

I'm so glad Kendrah used this design, and thrilled to physically see my photos. Too often they sit in my computer. I'm going to start making more of an effort to print off and frame my favorites.

Emerald Park

2010-02-22T17:07:00.002-06:00

This Sunday, Spring was bursting through Winter here in Texas. The sunshine and seventy-degree weather demanded a picnic and motorcycle ride. There was simply no other choice. We looked up a new park and headed out, armed with snacks, my camera, and some good company.

After the park, we didn't want to come inside. We set up the hookah in the backyard and hunkered down for an evening of conversation and aptly named wine.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Watching the Olympics: İske Edition

2010-02-19T14:38:00.003-06:00

Healthy Oatmeal Bread (with Honey)

2010-02-18T13:31:00.001-06:00

By the second day with the new food processor, it was calling me. I ended up using it three times. Seriously. Inspired.

My first task was to see if the machine was able to mix/knead bread dough as advertised or unable to, as many critics declared. I started off easy with their own Cuisinart Wheat Bread. It was SO NICE to contain the bread-making mess to one counter and one bowl, as opposed to both counters, two bowls, and the kitchen table for kneading. Boring, but a success.

Next, I tried to make the Healthy Oatmeal Cookies that I've made before. Emphasis on tried. These cookies are a great healthy snack or quick breakfast. They have tons of oatmeal, whole wheat flour, raisins and nuts, and are sweetened with honey. Win, win, win. Especially when applesauce is used to replace some of the oil, which I did not do this time.

Everything was going along just smoothly until it came time to crack an egg. An egg that I did not have in my possession. But how in the hell do we not have eggs! We eat eggs sometimes TWICE A DAY!...Oh, er...I suppose that is why we don't have any left...

In a mad frenzy, I changed the recipe from cookie to loaf. I prepared some yeast in warm water, let it sit for a few minutes, and add it to processor. In said frenzy, I forgot to add my raisins and nuts.

From then on, I was winging the Healthy Oatmeal Bread recipe, and am quite happy with how it turned out, and can only imagine it tastes even better with raisins and nuts.

Healthy Oatmeal Bread (with Honey)
(original recipe)
Ingredients:

Dry ingredients
2 cup whole wheat flour (maybe more depending on the moisture of the mix)
3 cups of Large Flake Rolled Oats (smaller flake is ok too)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg

Wet ingredients
1 cup honey
1 cup oil (corn, grapeseed or olive)
*you can also use some applesauce to replace some of the oil if you wish*
2 Tbsp molasses
2 tsp Vanilla
1 packet yeast in 1/3 cup warm water (let sit and bubble 5 min)

Extra ingredients
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts (or other nuts)
cornstarch for bread pans

Hardware
3 small bread pans
(mine are about 3 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches - small is important so the loaf cooks through)

Preparation:

In a large bowl , mix all the dry ingredients together.
Add and mix all the wet ingredients.
(Hint: measure honey after oil in same measuring cup--your honey won't stick)
Add the raisins and walnuts and mix.
Mix well, like kneading. Here, I added a few pinches of flour.

Cornstarch three small bread pans, and divide your glop. Let sit for about an hour. (Mine didn't rise very much here, but they rose a bit in the oven.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In 15-20 min, the tops will seem like they're burning. I reduced the heat to 375 degrees and cooked for another 12-18 minutes.

A delightfully moist, sticky, crispyish crusted, dense bread that's a great on the go snack.