we have longer than what the calendar says...right?

We've barely started summer and already I'm realizing how quickly certain things are approaching. In June we had two weddings in one weekend to plan for and look forward to.  Two weeks later we celebrated fourth of July...though I still feel like that shouldn't have happened for another couple of weeks. This Sunday I anticipate hopping on a plane by my lonesome and heading out west where I get to spend the next week driving back east with my dear heart as we move him from a-school to duty station. Once we're back on the east coast there will only be 6 more weeks until our big day.

And just like that, the realization of just how little time we have left is hitting me hard. The anticipation of getting on a plane by myself (I'm not a huge fan of flying) is giving me a little anxiety...but I know for a fact that my prize at the end of about 9hrs of traveling is worth it's weight 10X over in gold. And the experience of driving across the country is one that I have always wanted to have, and will remember for the rest of my life! And honestly, how can I complain when I'll have his company all to myself for about a week. These will be the last moments we get to spend with one another before another short separation, followed by the hoopla of family descending upon our houses and wedding craziness and then moving craziness.

My brain is a little on overload right now. Anticipating things such as finishing up at my job and leaving them down one stylist in a very busy salon, putting the finishing touches to all the wedding plans and wondering if we're ever gonna fully be done, getting through the wedding, and then moving my whole entire life down Cape Hatteras, NC.

To their credit, some members of my family are pretty good at consoling me when i'm on the verge of an overload. But the only person who I really want to be consoled by, and who really can calm me down completely, is on crazy schedules making him mostly unreachable by phone during most of the day, and very much so out of my arms reach all the time.

I find myself missing silly little things like getting ice cream or driving to wendy's at 12:30am with him, and watching miscellaneous sitcoms we stumble upon and becoming die hard fans! I miss just driving do mundane places like the grocery store, with my feet on the dash and singing along to silly songs. Basically, I miss life with my best friend, and as we get closer and closer to our big day, it gets harder and harder in the "I miss you " department.
Like when you start to picture your significant other as your phone...oops.

60 more days, and counting!!!!

I've been to the dentist a thousand times....

The next line should go something like "But I 'know' the 'drill'", but I don't actually. I am not one who has had to make any sort of visits to my dentist to have things drilled out of my teeth. I go in twice a year for a cleaning. Something at which I roll my eyes to. The only things I've ever heard them say is "Looking great! Floss more often, and think about removing those wisdom teeth." I am on good terms with the dentist, I suppose. I sit there and tolerate them telling me things I already know, while they poke around in my mouth with latex covered hands and pointy metal implements. blech How I hate people poking around in my mouth. It gives me the creeps, and I think I could do without that.

But last Tuesday morning I went in for a consultation to go about having my wisdom teeth removed. The prior weekend one of them decided to give me grief, causing my gums and cheek to swell and preventing me from eating solid food or really opening my mouth at all. I was living on Advil. By the time I got into the appointment my mouth had calmed down and I was finally able to eat more solid foods. But as soon as I opened my mouth for the Dr. I knew what was coming.

"Yeah, those need to come out." I left the office with 2 prescriptions to control infection (If he didn't like the look of my gums then he would have been terrified by them just a few days before) and two days between me and oral surgery. I heaved a great sigh and then plotted out the delicious meals that I could eat before losing the ability to chew for who knew how long.

Many of my friends have had their wisdom teeth out, and nearly all of them have had varying experiences. From staying in bed all week, unable to do anything, to going to dance class the night of (albeit a little loopy), to not having any side effects save chipmunk cheeks, to having their face swell and the newly empty sockets becoming uncomfortably infected. So, to be honest, I had no idea what to expect.

Friday morning arrived. I downed two horse-sized pills that did not feel comfy in my empty stomach and within the hour found myself patiently awaiting my teeth to be ripped out of my mouth. Yay.

Finally, they lead me to a funny smelling room with a sketchy looking dental torture chair in the middle of floor. The friendly woman sat me down, asking how I was while placing sensors on my ankles, thumb, and wrist. Through the open door I could peer across the hallway where there was a man partially hidden behind a curtain, bloody gauze in his hand, frustrated attendant by his side, wits not totally about him. Well, that's comforting... I thought :/ Finally the doctor came in, asked a few more questions, briefing me once more on the procedure. A mask was placed over my nose, sending oxygen up my surprised nostrils. They strapped my right arm to the chair to ensure my hand with the thumb sensor didn't go any where, and sprayed some freezing liquid on my left arm, numbing it for the injection of anesthesia. I became aware of two hands, one on either side of my head, blocking my peripherals, and felt like a horse with blinders. Did they think I was about to freak out? Did they not see my ears? My nose with a metal stud in it? I have no problem with needles, and was ready to just pass out and take a nap. It was weird, and annoying.

Finally, the ceiling started doing funny things and I must have looked a little amused because the doctor commented on the effects that should be taking place right about now....and that was it. I was gone. Can't say I felt a thing. Next thing I knew I was sitting in the back recovery room, not able to remember the trip from chair to hallway, mind coming quicker to consciousness than body. (an irritating phenomenon when you wish to simply leave)

And so, unable to feel my face, I left the building. Onwards to pick up drugs and starbucks :) As it turned out, I never felt any pain, (not because I was taking painkillers, on the contrary, I've slacked a bit in that area. They make me a zombie during the day, and unable to sleep at night) but much annoyance has occurred over not being able to chew real food. Living on a liquid diet with everything seeming to be dairy based is not enjoyable for an Italian who enjoys eating hearty, home cooked meals...

So, here I am. After nearly 3 weeks of not eating food, nearly 4 days of having less teeth, and nearly finished with popping pills, I am just peachy. Happy that I wasn't bed ridden for a week. Happy that I was up and running just a few hours after the procedure, even though I resembled a drugged up zombie. And happy that my little bro called me from school just to see how I was doing :)

...Not to say that I would willingly go through that again....

Hi. My name is Emily, and I'm a vegetarian.

Ok, you got me. I am not a long term veggie head, just for the month of February.

My brother came home a couple months ago with a proposition; A few of his school friends had suggested that for the month of February they all go without meat. I questioned the reason behind this, just cause I was curious. It sounded like a good idea to me, I don't eat much meat anyways, some of it makes me sick, some of it we just don't buy for budget reasons...

I never really got a straight answer as to why my brother's friends wanted to do this, I guess because they just wanted to try it out? Anyways, February rolled around and 2/3rds of my family decided to go with it.

Menu wise, I know my mom is stressed. Most of our dinner time meals consisted of Chicken, rice, some sort of sauce, and a spoonful of veggies on the side of your plate. I wish I could say that since deleting meat from the menu our dinners have been very exciting, but that would be lying. Actually, I really can't even remember anything we've eaten...it's like we haven't. Eaten, that is.

But last night I helped my mother prepare a pretty darn tasty meal. Black bean burgers and zesty carrots! and it was pretty darn delicious.



Preheat oven to 475.

Drain and rinse your beans, then pour into a smallish/medium sized bowl and mash them till they're kind of sticky.


Next, pour in in 1/2 bell pepper (the recipe said to use green, but I thought the red added a prettier color), 1/2 onion, and 3(or more if you'd like) cloves of garlic, all of which you've minced and diced and thrown in a food processor before adding to the mashed beans.





In a small bowl crack an egg. add 1 TBS. of chili powder, 1 TBS cumin, and 1 tsp Hot sauce.

Whip it all together, and then add to the bean mixture.

*******

Once the spices and beans are well mixed, pour in bread crumbs. The recipe called for 1/2 cup, but I ended up using a little more.

When the mixture is sticking together enough to support itself, form 4-5 patties and place on a baking sheet.

Place in your 475 degree oven for 10 minutes on each side.

They were a little dry. VERY flavorful, but still dry. The only thing I would do differently would be to drizzle a little olive oil over the burgers before baking.

You also could grill these, 8 minutes for each side.

chop 1 1/2 cups of clean, grated carrots.

Cook in 1/2 cup of water for about 5 minutes. The longer you cook the carrots, the softer they will be, so if you want softer carrots...continue cooking.

When carrots are done cooking, drain them, BUT SAVE 1/4 CUP OF THE WATER!!!

For the sauce, combine the saved water (1/4 C.), 2 TBS grated onion and juice, 1 TBS prepared horse radish, 1/2 C. Mayo., 1/4 C. (or more, to taste!) grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix together, add carrots and mix some more :)

Spoon into a buttered, 2 quart casserole dish.

Then, in another bowl, combine 1 C. fresh breadcrumbs, 1.4 C. butter(melted), and 1 tsp paprika.

Sprinkle over carrots and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Comment faire du pain delicieux

Last week, on one of my days off, my mother grabbed me on her way out the door and suggested I make bread to keep me busy. I haven't made bread in a really long time, and normally I'm not the one making it, simply the hander-of-ingredients. But there I was, no work to do, house to myself, and not much food hanging around to munch on(that's a good thing really.). So I got out the recipe. This isn't your normal bread recipe though. It was given to us by one of my mom's friends who was also my French(/math/science)tutor, Mrs. Jones.
Not only does Mrs. Jones speak multiple languages, solve mind boggling mathematical equations, and understand physics and the higher sciences, she also cooks amazing food!
Upon entering her house numerous smells of deliciousness smack you in the face, demanding to be noticed, yet hiding somewhere in her kitchen just out of reach. And it's all healthy stuff...well mostly :)
Today I will share with you my day of making this amazingly healthy, satisfyingly delicious, 10 grain bread, and hope that you make it yourself so you can enjoy a slice of mouthwatering goodness, too. :)


FIRST: Gather Ingredients
Oatmeal

• 3 cups of BOILING water
• 2 cups of oats (just the normal oatmeal kind, unless you want to use fancy ones)
• 1/2 stick of butter

When these 3 ingredients are mixed together, you are to let them sit for 20 minutes.

• 2/3 cup of honey
• 1TBSP salt
• 1 cup very warm watter(about 115 degrees)

Porridge

• 3/4 cup "Bob's red mill 10 grain hot cereal"
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups water (room temp)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 TBSP yeast
• 7-10 additional cups of flour (for kneading, I used about 9 or so)

Directions!

*Make the oatmeal -

pour 3 cups of boiling water over the 2 cups of oats and 1/2 stick of butter. Let this mixture stand for 20 minutes.

*Make the Porridge-
bring all the ingredients(from the porridge list) to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Let cool to a warm temperature. (I normally make the porridge while I'm waiting for the oatmeal...)

SET YOUR TIMERS!

sitting, waiting, smelling, sitting, waiting, smelling.

this is your 2/3 cup of honey, 1 TBSP salt, and 1 cup(8 oz.) of very warm water. (I used the water that was left over in my tea kettle from boiling for the 3 cups of water for the oatmeal...)

When 20 minutes is up, add the Honey, Salt, and Very Warm Water to the Oatmeal mixture and stir.

Grab the porridge and bring it over :)

2 1/2 cups of flour, 3 TBSP of yeast.

Add the Porridge to the Oatmeal and stir together, then add the 2 1/2 cups flour and 3Tbsp yeast.

Knead the flour and yeast into the wet mixture.


Then...

Stir in the first couple cups of the extra kneading flour. When gets so hard to stir that you wish you had a circus strong man to help you, dump the dough out onto a clean and floured counter. Flour is your friend. Remember that.

Stir in the 7-10 cups, one at a time, kneading until most of the stickiness is gone.

Grease your empty bread bowl, don't be stingy with your pam, or butter, or whatever your non-stick substance of choice is, and return the dough to the bowl.

You're gonna want to flip the dough a couple times to spread the grease around.

Let it rise until it has doubled in bulk, takes about an hour. Cover the dough with a tea towel, or something that isn't fuzzy, and place somewhere warm. Under a light, the back of your stove (if the burners are not on!)etc, away from cold.

Now's a good time to watch this video, since you've got an hour to wait :)














Almost there!






There we go! Try for the 'Muffin-Top' effect.

NOW GO PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES!!!

Now punch the dough in the center, knuckle dusters are not necessary, and pour onto counter.

Cut the dough into four even sized loaves...

and place them in thoroughly greased pans.

Place in your preheated-to-350-oven...

and bake for 45 minutes.

When the timer beeps I suggest you check the loaves. In my oven, this bread is done in exactly 45 minutes, but it may be more or less in your oven.

Remove the baked bread from the oven and slather the tops in butter.

As you can see, I just unwrapped the other half of that stick of butter we used at the beginning and applied it, like so.

When it's cooled enough, tip it out of the pans and eat away.

My favorite is to toast a couple slices, spread some butter on them, and then dribble honey on top. Most delicious! Now go! Try! Enjoy! And have fun!

This is good eats my friend.