Insomnia

I cannot sleep.  It's ridiculous.  I didn't go to bed until 12:45, but I couldn't stay asleep... I just tossed and turned and dozed in and out.  At 4:00 I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep... so at 5:30 I decided to get on the computer.

Lately I've been going through photos on the computer and deleting them because we were down to 12 GB of space.  Now we have 35 GB of space.  It's amazing how many photos we have on here!

Here's to memories!

moldy bread

the name

When it comes to naming things... well, let's face it, I'm horrible at it.  A pig's better at flying than I am at naming.

That's why I tend to leave things unnamed until someone else comes up with something that works.

This is also why my blog name is so boring.  I haven't thought of something that's awesome enough to change it to. . . so I've just left it boring instead.

It did come up with a new title for my blog, as I'm sure you've noticed, Gourmanna.  I thought I'd just explain it briefly.

I am not claiming to be a gourmet chef.  In fact, I've never cooked a gourmet meal in my life.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to try someday, but up to this point in time I haven't, and I'm sure it would be a disaster if I did.

However, I do claim to be a gourmand, a lover of good food/one who takes great pleasure in good food.  So, I just decided to incorporate my name into that and came up with gourmanna (with no intentional reference to the old testament's manna).

And, even though I do overeat at times, I'm not claiming to be a glutton either.  I'm applying the more modern definition of the word to myself, in which glutton and gourmand are not synonymous.

Basically, it just means that I like tasty, delicious food. :-)

spiedies

A while ago I made yummy spiedies, which is basically just an Italian-American kabob.  The meat marinates for... well, as long as you let it.  At least 1 day, but up to 2 weeks.  Mine marinated for 3 days.  And the flavor? It was delicious.

My largest regret is that... I don't have a grill.  It would've been so much tastier with a smoky flavor. . . with the juices oozing out and dribbling down my chin with each bite.... the slightly crispy or blackened outside of the chicken cubes.  Yes.  I want a grill (well, only sometimes, but really it would just mean I had one more piece of "stuff" and I hate "stuff"). 

The recipe suggested it be served with Italian Scali bread, but I didn't know how to make that so I made Greek Flatbread instead.  Unfortunately, I didn't cook it all the way and it was still a little doughy.  It was still good though.

See how juicy it is?  The juices didn't have anywhere to drip to when the meat was cooking... and the outside was soft, not crispy. :(

This was especially annoying... all the juices from the chicken just soaked into the bread and made it soggy.  Yes.  It would've been better with a grill.

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Jesse gave this one either a 4.5 or a 5, I think, but I can't remember for sure.

I would give it a 4.5 or so had it been made with a grill. :P  The vegetables are optional too. . . Jesse liked the onion but he didn't like the green pepper.  I think traditionally it's just the marinated meat that is eaten in Italian bread.

I will definitely make this again someday. . . once I have access to a grill. :P

Kung Pao Chicken

I made Kung Pao Chicken recently.  I can't remember where I found the recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients, so it turned out a little funky... plus I added too much vinegar which caused me and Jesse to both cough a lot during the consumption of it.  Also, Jesse's mouth caught on fire when he ate one of the red chili peppers.  Hehehe.

I think I would try it again... if I had all the ingredients.  It was fun to make and eat, with all the different textures in it.

Scallions, garlic, bamboo, ginger, chili peppers

garlic, ginger, chili peppers

chicken, snow peas, sauce + above ingredients

ready for consumption

The biggest problem I think I had was that I didn't have rice wine or black vinegar.  So it had a more bitter taste, and I think rice wine has a sweet taste.  Oh well.  Better luck next time. :)

Friand Fail

One of Jesse's favorite restaurants is a little "French" cafe called "La Madeleine."  He especially loves their chicken friand, something I'd only eaten once in my life.

Since he loves it so much, I wanted to make it for him as a special dinner.  After a lengthy search on the internet, I found a recipe.

Here are pictures from the cooking adventure.

Dried mushrooms rehydrating

Green onions

Fresh mushooms

Chopping the chicken

Cooked chicken

The sauce

Mushrooms + chicken

Mushrooms + chicken + cheese

  Puff pastries.

All baked!

Finished product

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The end result?

It was not good.  No, it wasn't horrible.  Jesse ate all of his.  I only ate a half of mine.  The other half plus the extra whole one sat in the fridge for a few days until I finally threw it out.

I think it had potential to be delicious, but it was a fail.

I personally think it just had too much mushroom flavor (I love mushrooms).  I think it was from the dried mushrooms; they had such a strong flavor.  Maybe if I'd gotten a different variety it would've been better, though I think it would've tasted best with only fresh mushrooms and without the mushroom broth... I'd use chicken broth instead.  It was just way rich and heavy with all those mushrooms.

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Maybe I'll try it again someday, but not any time soon... we're still recovering, and I made this mid November.

brr

Today is cold.

Days like this make me want to cuddle up and stay in bed all day, forgoing all obligations/plans/to do lists.

Sometimes I'd like to sleep the day away, but that usually happens more often in the summer, when I feel like melting into a puddle and dying.

I completely deflated the air mattress today and folded it up.  It had been inflated since the end of August.

Jesse and I moved into our second bedroom; it's smaller and easier to keep warm, especially since there's a window facing the south so it gets sunshine.  Our larger bedroom faces the north and is much bigger.  I like it in here.  It's quite cozy.  The other bedroom just looks so empty and sad now.  We still have our dresser in there and all our clothes in the closet... but it needs a bed or a futon or something because it's so empty looking.

On Sunday our nice neighbors offered us their old couch.  We took it, spent at least an hour rearranging the living room, and finally found a way to fit everything while still allowing the room to feel/look large and open. It looks so much more cozy, warm, and inviting with two couches instead of just the one we had.  Not that we need two, it just feels better with two.

On Saturday we're going to have a Christmas cookie party.  It was Jesse's idea.  I'm excited.  We're both excited.

Homemade pizza for dinner.  Yum.

14/14

I made it! Yay!

Today... today I am thankful for my husband, Jesse!  It's a super special day today, because it's Thanksgiving AND it's his birthday. :-)

I'm thankful I've got him in my life.  I'm thankful for his laugh, his smile, his goofy comments, the funny things he does, his passion, his dedication, his hard work, the way he loves me... even when I've hurt him... his forgiveness, his gentleness, his dreams, his desires, his heart, his patience, his relationship with God, and how he strives to be a good, godly husband.  I'm thankful that he respects me, loves me, communicates with me, talks with me, and seeks so much counsel before making a decision.

I love my husband.

13/14

Today I am thankful for. . .

YouTube!

Last night I watched Francis the Talking Mule on YouTube for the first time since I was... what, 11?  I've been looking for it everywhere, but no one has it!  What's the deal with getting rid of old movies?

I missed my Francis.

YouTube allowed my to relieve my childhood.  I got to laugh a lot.

Jesse didn't laugh as much as I did though.

But the show is so funny!  Francis is so sarcastic and clever.

YouTube is awesome because it has EVERYTHING on it.

Thank you YouTube for giving Francis back to me!

12/14

Today I am thankful for water heaters.

I am remembering a time in India when there was no hot water and I attempted to take a shower... it was more like me hopping in and out of the cold water and deciding which parts of my body were the most dirty, because I didn't want to be in there anymore.

I love taking showers with hot water.  They're so relaxing and cozy. . . and those of you how know me, know that I'm all about being cozy.

I can get clean and not freeze to death, and I can get the blood flowing back through my cold body in the winter (yay!).

The sad thing is, when you're paying your own water bills you don't really want to indulge in this luxury very often...  Hahah. :D

But still, I'm thankful that I have the choice of taking a hot shower.  I'd rather have hot, running water than a heater any old day.

Speaking of which.  I wonder how much longer it will be until we finally give into the temptation of turning on our heat?

11/14

I'm thankful for people who are older than me, wiser than me, more experienced than me.

Sometimes it's just nice for someone to say, "It's okay, you made a mistake.  I've made mistakes too.  But you know what?  Life goes on.  You take a breath, you move forward, and you don't let your past control you... you just let it teach you, grow you, and mold you.  It's okay to be imperfect... nobody's perfect.  You don't need to try so hard to be someone you aren't to do something that's impossible.  And I've come out of trials and mistakes a stronger and more beautiful person than I was before."

I like to hear that it's okay that I don't have it all together... and I like hearing the mistakes of others so that maybe, just maybe I don't have to make the same mistakes as them... that their mistakes and moments of pain can maybe, just maybe, keep a few other people, like myself, from having to work through a few days, weeks, months, or weeks of pain and insecurity.

I am so thankful for those willing to admit who they were, where they come from, the mistakes they've made, and who that's made them today.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

I recently made some delicious (unhealthy) pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.  Jesse loved them.

The original recipe's vegan, but I don't have vegan ingredients lying around.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Buns

1/4 cup warm water

1 package fast-acting active dry yeast

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat White Flour (I just used regular whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup warmed almond milk (I used dairy milk)
1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance buttery spread (I used dairy butter)

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp water (equals 1 egg) (I used an egg)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery spread, softened (again, I used dairy butter)

1)  In a large bowl, stir yeast, white whole wheat flour flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour and pumpkin pie spice, sugar, and salt together.

2)  In separate bowl, pumpkin, butter, almond milk and flaxseed meal mixture together.  Pour into dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Turn out onto counter coated with some of the remaining flour.  Knead the remaining flour into the dough until it is used up and you have a smooth, elastic dough.

3)  Put dough into a bowl coated with cooking spray and lightly spray the top of the dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise.  Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

4)  Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and raisins in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

5)  Roll the dough into a log the long way.  Next, using what I call my "dental floss trick", cut the rolls into even slices (I got 9 rolls).  The dental floss trick uses a long string of unwaxed, unflavored dental floss.  You slide it under the roll dough and bring it up and across like you are going to start to tie a shoe.  Then you pull each side to slice the roll dough. Place slices in a greased 8 inch squar baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover with plastic wrap (not tightly) and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Pre-raised

Baked

6)  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until they turn golden brown across the center.

7)  Remove from oven and let cool about 15 minutes.  Drizzle with your favorite confectioners frosting.

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Jesse's only complaint was that it need ten times more frosting... and it definitely did not.

His rating on a scale of -5 through 5 is a 4.5

10/14

I'm thankful for refrigerators/freezers!

Seriously.  Refrigerators and freezers make life so much easier and much more practical.

They make my ingredients last longer, they store and preserve yummy vegetables, they keep the ice cream frozen, the cool down our water, they allow me to keep leftovers rather than just being wasteful and having to throw things out (or overeating!).  They also make it easier for me to budget and be a better steward... because I can buy stuff in bulk and on sale and keep it until I need it.

I especially realize how wonderful they are when the power goes out (which hasn't been an experience in my married life, yet) and all the food starts to thaw, rot, and spoil.

Yay for refrigerators!

9/14

I am thankful for my parents.

They put up with a lot, suffered a lot, but continued to love me and instruct me despite my attitude.

Sure, they made lots of mistakes (not as many as I have, I'm sure).  But I'm still so thankful they didn't give up and me despite how emotionally and physically tired I have made them in the past.  I'm so thankful they raised me and allowed me to be who God made me.

I'm also thankful for their experience, wisdom, and generosity.  They're great role models and super fun people to be around... they're so hospitable.  Every kid in the neighborhood back home knows they're welcome over any time.  Every adult out there knows they can talk to my mom and dad and not only get great advice, but not to be afraid of any gossip or rumors.

I hope I've picked up some of their awesome traits.

Lentil Soup

On Thursday I made Roasted Pepper Red Lentil Soup.

ROASTED PEPPER AND RED LENTIL SOUP
Ingredients
2 red peppers *
200 g red lentils (about 3/4 a cup)
500 ml vegetable stock (about 2 cups)
red wine vinegar
1 onion
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
parsley/coriander **
2 bay leaves
tablespoon red pesto ***
salt and pepper
Method:
Halve and seed each pepper and grill under a hot grill until the skin starts to blister and blacken.  Remove, pop them into a ziploc bag and let them sweat for about 10 minutes.  You should then be able to pull the skin off easily.

 

Sauté the chopped onion in some olive oil until translucent, add the vegetable stock, lentils and the two bay leaves and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add the peppers and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool, remove the bay leaves and puree with a wand mixer until smooth and creamy. You can also press it through a fine sieve if you want it smoother, but I liked the fact that the soup had some texture.
Check for seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed and add some red wine vinegar for a little tartness.   (You can also add  a tablespoon of red pesto for flavour.)
Serve with shaved Parmesan and decorate with some parsley or coriander leaves.

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* I used a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper, because that's what was available.  I thought it tasted fine.

** I didn't use either, but I think some fresh cilantro would've been really yummy in it.

*** I couldn't find red pesto, so I just used the regular green basil pesto.

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On a scale of -5 through 5, Jesse gave it a 4.

8/14

I am sooooo thankful for a cozy bed and personal space heater.

Right now I am sleepy, exhausted, and sore.

A cozy bed sounds wonderful, inviting, and comforting.

I'm thankful for a warm room and a safe place to rest my body.

7/14

I'm thankful for shoes.

I love shoes.  They're so fun and cute and the potential to make or break an outfit.

I'm especially glad for shoes when it's cold outside, because they keep my feet warm.

Oh, and when it's blistering hot outside, so my feet don't burn on the pavement.

Or when I'm stepping in rocks or littered areas, so I don't cut my feet.

Or when I'm in a contaminated area so that I don't get infections or parasites, such as elephantiasis.

Seriously.  I am so blessed and so thankful to have multiple pairs of shoes to protect my feet, especially when I become aware that millions of kids around the world don't have shoes and sometimes don't even have clothes (especially not warm ones).

This is also why I love Toms... because they're working to give each kid a pair of shoes.  Next time I buy a pair of shoes, it's gonna be Toms because I want someone else to share in the blessings I have.

Soy Sauce Chicken (Chinese Noodle Soup/Vietnamese Pho?)

Yesterday I tried another new recipe that I found on userealbutter.

Soy Sauce Chicken
4-6 chicken drums (organic is preferable) (I used 4)
4-5 stalks green onions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 slices ginger root, peeled
2-3 whole star anise
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
enough water to cover the chicken
 
1)  Place all ingredients in a pan with a tight lid (or use a crockpot). Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer so that when you cover the pot, the liquid will not boil over. Simmer for 2 hours.

2)  I like to remove the bone and skin from the chicken and serve the meat with the broth over Chinese noodles with bok choy, napa cabbage, or spinach for a Chinese noodle soup.

I didn't have the ingredients for step 2, so instead... I removed the meat from the bone/skin/fat.  I let the broth cool and the fat congeal and skimmed off the fat and and also removed the chunks of ginger and anise (the anise is a HAVE to - it wouldn't be the same without it.  I found it in the Mexican aisle at Wal-mart.  It was about $1 for 20 or so anise stars)  Then I sauteed the few Chinese-type ingredients I had (celery, snowpeas, mushrooms, and two more green onions) until they were slightly cooked, but still crunchy.  I put the vegetables and meat back in the broth and served with some rice noodles I purchased at the Asian market.

The verdict?  It was delicious.  It actually wasn't salty at all (I thought it would be with all the soy sauce), but I also didn't drink the broth, I just ate what was inside of it.  It had flavor, it was fresh tasting, and the chicken was super tender and not bland like most boiled chicken is.

I will admit though, that it smelled a little gross while it was cooking (you'll understand what I mean if you make it).  I thought I was going to hate it. But... thankfully, its smell and taste were completely different.

On a scale of -5 through 5, Jesse said it was between at 3 and a 4.  I'm guessing that's a 3.5.

If Jesse liked it that much and he doesn't usually like Oriental food, you know it must be good. ;-)

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Oh.  I also made cookies on Monday.  They were scrumptious.

6/14

I am thankful for art/creative expression.

I'm not much of an "artist" myself, but I am totally mesmerized by the things people can create with their hands; drawings, charcoals, acrylics, watercolors, anime, oil paintings, metal sculptures, pottery/ceramics, clothing, blankets, calligraphy, wall hangings, statues, ornaments, glassware, jewelry, graphics, movies, etc.

I think it's fantastic, the resources we have to use our talent to express ourselves, our beliefs, our emotions, our stage in life.  Art has such power.

I also think art goes past what I mentioned above, into the fields of music, photography, and writing, and probably more things I'm missing.  I attempt to use photography and writing to express myself.  I try to paint pictures with words.

Clothing are especially awesome, because people have their own unique style that says something special about them.  Clothing style is definitely an artistic way of expressing yourself and your individuality.

 So yes.  I'm totally a thankful for this!

5/14

I just got back from the Asian market.  I was buying some ingredients for dinner tonight that I couldn't find anywhere else in town.

It made me think about something else I'm thankful for. . .

Culture!  Not my culture, not the American culture, and not Texan culture (in fact, these are my least favorite cultures), just culture in general.

I really appreciate how different people from varying geographical areas look, physically, how they each have their own unique style of dress, sometimes their own language, their own cuisine, their own traditions, their own humor, their own style of art, their own smells. . . I could go on and on, but I just love culture!

I also love how it varies in different regions of a country too.  It's phenomenal.  There's so much variety in the world... no two people groups are alike, just as no two people are alike.  Even with in the different regions, each family sometimes has slightly different traditions.  Wow wow wow.

Sometimes too, when you get a look at someone else's culture, it causes you to be more thankful (and less complaining) for your own culture and gifts.  On the other hand, being exposed to these things can also cause you to apply new traditions, beliefs, etc., to your own life/culture in order to grow and change in unique ways and be a better and more loving person.

So in that sense, the more globalized the world becomes, the more the cultures might change, which means you've got more to keep up with!

Someday I'd like to experience some of these cultures first hand.  It's one of my goals in life.

So yes.  I thankful for cultures and their awesome variety.

4/14

I'm thankful for language and books.

Language is so cool, how we get to communicate through different pitches from our throats and control how they come out with our mouths/lips/tongues.  And how somebody transferred those sounds into somewhat organized, logical characters/marks on paper.

I think it's stupendous.

I love being able to communicate with people and trying to grasp what they're feeling and experiencing.

I love that God can communicate to us through language and gave us a book to learn through.

I love that people can document their work/research/creativity on paper now and make it easily accessible to the public... so we all don't have to travel around to listen to orators.

Books provide such a wealth of information for understand and loving people and also understanding and loving God better.

I'm so thankful for this!

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I made a delicious soup I found on cooksister.com.  It was scrumptious.  Oh, and did I mention it was easy?

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

2 large potatoes, diced (I used 5 smallish red potatoes)
2 large leeks, thinly sliced (make sure you rinse them well in a colander, as they're pretty dirty)
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 4 cloves)
2-3 cups chicken stock (I used about 3 1/2, you just want enough to cover the potatoes, plus a little to make up for evaporation loss)
100 ml cream or milk (I used about 2/3 a cup half and half)
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Method:
1) Heat about 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and the sliced leeks, reserving about 4 Tbsp of leek slices for the garnish.  Add the potato cubes and sautee until the leeks begin to colour.

2) Add 2-3 cups of chicken stock (depending on how thick you like your soup) and bring to a simmer.  Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes until the potato cubes are soft enough to mash.
Remove from the heat, mash with a potato masher to break up the largest chunks, then add the milk or cream and blend with a wand blender until smooth enough for your liking.  (I just used a regular blender and poured it back into the pot when I was finished).

3) Add the dried thyme, check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  If the soup is too thick, add a little more water.  Return to low heat.

4)  Devour.

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We started a rating system, -5 thru 5, 0 being neutral.

Jesse's rating: 3.