Fun Fact!

Here's a fitness fun fact for you:

The average human being burns 115 calories per hour simply by standing! The average human only burns 80 calories by sitting.

I've resolved to do more work standing...how about you?

Where I've Been...

I haven't posted here in a long time. I could cite a lot of reasons (work, housework, needing to sleep more than 6 hours per night, etc.), but in reality, I've simply been an observer of the online world instead of a participant in it.

I'm going to try to change that, although I plan to take baby steps. Life is simply incredibly busy right now. But some improvement is better than none, right?

One of my last posts before I fell off the face of the earth, was about how I was finally fed up with my diet; feeling overweight and generally gross. So for my first post, I wanted to give you a brief update on how all that has been going.

My friend Emily said recently that my weight loss journey would have been fun to chronicle here...but frankly, I was and am still too embarrassed of how far gone I was...how literally gross I looked and felt.

So here's the story (in as much detail as I can comfortably provide):

Last summer when we moved, I lost a bunch of weight the weekend we moved and directly afterward. And that makes sense: I was moving boxes, hauling large pieces of furniture, eating very little for days at a time as we struggled to finish moving over the course of a single weekend (people who move in a day, I don't see how you accomplish it)... And then after the initial move was over, there was the unpacking, the organizing, the running back and forth to the hardware store for paint, tools, and other random bits needed to fix up our new nest. Overall, I lost between 10 and 15 pounds at the start of the summer. And sadly, I got used to eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, because I was working it all off.

But in reality, I was deluding myself. I wasn't in great shape, even before the move (as numerous pictures from last year's prom can attest -- honestly, I looked like I was pregnant). And although I lost a bit of weight during and immediately after the move, I gained it all back, plus more. By the time I was willing to admit I had a problem, my problem was a big one. This past spring, I had gone shopping with my mom and discovered that I needed to buy pants in the next size up. For some reason, that failed to get my attention, even though it obviously signaled that I had gained some weight. But then, things got even worse: by mid-summer, the pants and other clothes I bought in the spring, the ones that were a size larger than those I had been wearing? Yeah, those clothes were too tight too.

Realizing that I had a choice between buying all new clothes in a still larger size or getting a grip on my life and health was a wake-up call. I knew that I had to change my habits and my life and that I had to do it quickly and permanently. So I made some hard decisions (or, at least, decisions that were hard for me at the time):

1. I gave up drinking soda, and I did it cold turkey. For those of you who don't think soda and caffeine are addictive, let me tell you about the dark days following that decision. I had cravings non-stop. I literally dreamed about drinking Dr. Pepper out of a chilled, ice-filled glass. One night in particular the dream was so vivid that I woke up in a panic, convinced that I had relapsed and actually had been drinking the soda. It took my husband (who probably thought I had completely lost it) about 10 minutes to convince me otherwise.

2. I immediately cut back on how much and how often I was eating. Even though every health magazine and weight loss company known to man touts the effectiveness of journaling what you eat, it really is true. Forcing myself to write down everything I put in my mouth was an immediate check to my eating. Did I really want to have to look back at my weekly consumption and see that Snickers bar staring back at me? No, I didn't. In my own, admittedly amateur opinion, I'm a combination grazer and emotional eater. Being a grazer means that I'm a great person to invite to your parties: I will eat your food all evening and praise you endlessly for it. However, it also means that I continue to eat long after I'm full, just because the food is available. Being an emotional eater means that I use food as comfort: if I'm sad, I eat. Likewise, if I'm happy, angry, pensive, thoughtful, etc., I'm going to eat.

What all this means is that I had to completely re-think and re-do my eating habits.

3. For several months, I completely cut red meat out of my diet. Now, I will be the first to admit that red meat gets a bum rap for all sorts of health problems (increasing the risk of heart disease, raising cholesterol, etc.). But my purpose in giving it up had nothing to do with any of that. It was simply easier for me to stick to my diet if I gave it up. So, for example, whenever my husband wanted to barbeque hamburgers, I had a chicken breast fillet instead of a burger. Whenever he wanted hot dogs, I had a chicken sausage (Member's Mark chicken, spinach, and asiago cheese sausages from Sam's Club -- delish!). All these little changes, over time, added up to big differences in my health, my weight, how my body looked, and how I felt about myself.

And so.............without further ado.................

Here are my current results. I say current, because I'm not done yet. And, as Emily suggested, I'll be documenting the journey from here on out.

1. I have currently lost a total of 40 lbs. In practical terms, here's how that breaks down:

When I started my weight loss journey, I had a BMI that was officially in the obese category. Now, I'm on the high end of the normal range.

I have had every single pair of pants I own (minus those I've bought recently, of course) taken in. I can't even begin to explain how good it felt to feel the seamstress grab a HANDFUL of fabric and know that it was all extra fabric that was going to be cut away. I can't explain how good it felt as I drove away from the seasmstress's shop to hear my mother say from the passenger's seat, "My God, Kristen, you've lost at least 4 or 5 inches from your waist! Those pants were just huge. I can't believe they ever fit you." Not only that, but pants that I've bought since I started losing weight are getting a little baggy. Some of the women I work with have started to tease me that those need to be taken in now too.

I've dropped three dress sizes -- officially. I was always in the 10-12 range since high school. And based on American measurements, I was considered normal. I never thought I would ever again wear a dress sized in the single digits. But now, here I am.

2. I now work out at least 3-4 days each week. Even if I don't make it to the gym, I have several DVDs and at-home routines I've torn out of magazines that I can work through. I've come to the conclusion that it isn't so important that I go to the gym and work out every day for x number of hours. Instead, I try to make exercise a part of my daily life, but if I miss a day, I don't make myself crazy over it. I just start fresh the next day. Eliminating the idea that missing a workout was a "failure" was difficult for this perfectionist, but it's been so worth it in the long run. Missing one workout doesn't make me a failure, just like going to the gym every day for a week isn't going to magically get me back to the weight I was in high school.

3. I have discovered the joys of walking. I love going for walks around our neighborhood (I actually drove my car through the neighborhood this past summer to map out a 3-mile route). I walk with a playlist I made for my iPod that is composed only of songs that have at least 100 bpm (beats per minute). That's the minimum I've found that will get my heart rate up and keep it up for the duration of my walk. One afternoon I left for my walk and had gotten about a quarter mile from my house when the battery charge in my iPod went dead. That day was a turning point for me. The old me would have turned back and gone home and not walked. I would have charged the iPod and thought, "Well, maybe tomorrow..." The new me kept walking. The only songs I could remember that definitely had 100 bpm were those I had recently learned in a CPR refresher course: "Stayin' Alive" by The BeeGees and "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. By the time I finished my 3 miles and stretched out in the driveway, I was sick of The BeeGees and Queen. But the point was, I finished. The old me would have quit. The new me had a funny story to tell at lunch the next day.

4. Today, I welcome new challenges: at my cousin and aunt's urging, I've signed up for my first half marathon. I'm really enjoying training for it, and I'm looking forward to walking it with my family.

I've changed the way I cook and the way I serve food. I felt like I had to find a happy medium between the foods my husband and I love to eat and eating healthier. So I've adapted a lot of things and changed the way I eat them. (I'll be posting some of those recipes in the days to come.)

I also enjoy food in moderation now. As I said earlier, I gave up red meat for a couple months at the beginning of my weight loss journey. When I had lost 25 lbs., my husband took me out to dinner and insisted I treat myself to a burger. I had a patty melt at Red Robin and it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. I think my husband enjoyed listening to me rave about the burger as much as I enjoyed eating it. And that night taught me several important lessons as well. First, it's okay to eat the foods you love, even the "bad ones," so long as they are a treat and not an everyday staple of your diet. Second, something you only eat once in a while tastes so much better and is such a treat that you enjoy it even more than if you got to have it any time you wanted. And finally, despite how much I enjoyed my burger, I learned that I shouldn't reward weight loss with food. Better to treat myself to a new blouse. Still, that was probably the best patty melt I've ever had.

It's been a little over 6 months since I've had a soda, and while I do miss it occassionally, I've gotten used to drinking iced tea instead. I would argue that, especially in the summertime, there's nothing better than a tall, cold glass of iced tea. Not even a tall cold glass of Dr. Pepper.

Movin' On Up

We moved over Memorial Day weekend.

I realize this may not be earth-shattering news in your world, but it sure rocked mine on its axis.

Let me back up. Hubby and I had been on a perpetual house hunt for roughly three years. We loved our old house. Could have lived in it forever and probably died there, except for a couple minor details:

1. It had a one-car garage. And we have two cars. And Hubby was getting just a wee bit sick and tired of having to go out to my car on winter mornings to scrape the ice/frost off the windshield. (That was the trade-off for allowing him to park his car in the garage.)

2. The basement bathroom was...problematic. Anyone who knows me, knows that replacing a cracked shower stall floor became a year-long struggle in which much effort and sweat, not to mention curse words, were expended. And during which time I was confined to the upstairs bath, which DIDN'T HAVE A SHOWER. I repeat: there was no shower head in our upstairs bathtub. So I spent a year taking baths.

3. I now hate and loathe baths. Wouldn't take one if you paid me a boatload of money.

4. There were only 2 bedrooms.

Anyway, bath-time neuroses aside, there wasn't anything terribly wrong with our old house, so we took our time in looking for a new one. And finally, finally, FINALLY, we found one that is awesomely awesome. And spacious. And purty. And did I mention, awesome?

*Please note that I will try mightly to find time to take some photgraphs of the wonder that is my new kitchen ASAP.

So, we moved. And I discovered what it's like to not know where anything is. To continue leaving my shoes in a big ol' cardboard box because that's easier and more convenient than unpacking them. To not be able to cook anything for 2 straight weeks because we remodeled the kitchen immediately (all new appliances and quartz countertops). To be in the process of re-painting every single room in the house.

In short, I went from living in a house with several deficiencies, but overall, nothing majorly wrong, to living in a war zone.

But I love it anyway.

And I know that when we're finished, it will be beautiful, and we will have put our own unique stamp on the house.

But I probably won't get much cooking (or blogging) done this summer. And I wanted you to know why.

I will try, however, to post some kind of updates about the ongoing renovation projects. Hubby and I are babes in the woods when it comes to that stuff, but we're learning fast. (We have no choice.)

Perhaps my next blog post will be my adventures on our new riding lawn mower (it's candy apple red and very sleek -- I like to think of it as the sports car of yard work).

This is my next book. As a long-time fan of the Fox series Bones, I figured it was high time I read the novels on which the series was based. I think there are 9 or 10 books in the series, which gives me plenty of reading material for the rest of Spring Break, as well as the start of summer vacation. I think I'll be able to take my coffee out to the front porch later this week to read in the yard. I can't wait!

The Time Traveler's Wife: The Reviews are In

I have been eager to read this novel for a while. It was on my to-do list for about a year, and then it was made into a movie. Now, I have a strict rule about reading books before I watch any movie based on said book. Clearly, this item on my to-do list had reached critical mass.

And still I didn't read it. Call it procrastination, call it laziness...I call it life getting in the way. I had papers to grade, recipes to try out...dang it, people! I had to SLEEP! (We will cover my devotion to sleep in another post...or therapy).

Long story short, The Time Traveler's Wife didn't get read. And truthfully, I hadn't even purchased it.

And then, Hubby and NetFlix did an end run around me. He ordered TTW from NetFlix. And those ruthlessly efficient fools had the nerve to send us the DVD. What nerve!

Anyway, they forced my hand. I headed to Border's that very afternoon and procured a copy of the book (Buy 1, Get One 50% off, no less). And so I read it. Finally.

And, people, here's the part that I really, really, really, really hate to admit:

I didn't like it.

TTW had so much potential -- it was a love story that overcame time itself, for Pete's sake. And then there were the problems:

**Potential Spoiler Alert**

1. The science-techie component. We get that Henry is a time traveler. It should have been left at that. Not explained as a genetic disorder involving mismatched pairs of chromosomes, or something. Such a prosaic (albeit unlikely) explanation took all the magic out of the story. Having known the basic background (it's a love story about a guy who can time travel and a gal who can't) prior to reading the book, I had theorized that maybe Henry was from the future, etc., etc. The idea that someone would leave their own, seemingly advanced time, just to meet the girl they would fall in love with decades later (they first meet when Clare is a child and Henry is an adult) seemed like such a romantic concept to me. Turns out the real story was much more down-to-earth. And that much more disappointing.

2. Maybe I'm a stodgy grandma dressed up as a gal in my late-20s, but I don't like a heart-warming love story spanning space and time to use unnecessarily ugly words. And by ugly words, I mean dropping the F-bomb...for no good reason...literally 3 pages after I had thought to myself, "Okay, there's a wee bit of sex in this book, but at least they haven't said the F-word." And then, BAM! There it was.

And then there's the C-word. I rank this above the F-bomb, in terms of sheer offensive-ness. Is offensive-ness a word? Probably not. Anyway...the C-word I refer to is not as benign as crap. The C-word I refer to is...stay with me here (and keep in mind that this site is a family place)...the C-word refers to...ummm, lady parts. And that's all I'm gonna say. Move along, people, nothing to see here. I'm going to go blush and stammer to myself for a few minutes. I'll be back.

All right, I'm back. And let's never even allude to that word again after this post is over. However, in the interests of a fair review, I will explain my problem with its use in this novel. First, like the F-bomb, it has no place in this type of novel. Second, it's an offensive term (am I getting repetitive yet?) that no self-respecting woman would ever use to refer to herself in any way whatsoever.

**Definitely a spoiler alert**
3. I hate a love story with a sad, tear-jerker ending. It's just inappropriate that when two people have managed to overcome the limitations of time itself that they can't live happily ever after. It is my understanding that the movie ends differently than the book. It's the only reason I plan to actually watch it. Yes, I was that disappointed with the book -- I actually contemplated not watching the movie.

And so, as with all my recent book reviews, I have to give this one a rating. And sadly, I have to rank this one low. The lowest rating I've given so far.

It gets...** (2-stars). Sorry, TTW.

I Am Scout

My favorite book of all time is To Kill A Mockingbird. I think I read for the first time when I was about 10 or 11. When I read it for the first time, I remember thinking it was funny, and that I liked Scout's spunk. And for whatever reason...reasons lost long ago in time and space (name that movie), I kept coming back to TKaM. Over the years after that, I averaged reading it about once a year -- usually in the summers, when I had a little free time. In fact, I remember my mother's old copy of the novel traveling with us nearly every summer that my family drove to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (at least 9 years).

As I mentioned above, I have my Mom to thank for giving me my first copy of TKaM. She went to my high school back when they sold students the books instead of renting them out for the year. So my Mom kept her copy from freshman English. I found it in a box in our basement one summer, along with copies of Swiss Family Robinson and The Illustrated Man. Even though I've read all those books and read them each multiple times, Mockingbird was always my favorite.

For the past 6 years, I've been an English teacher and had the pleasure of teaching this novel in my classroom. I hope that at least a few of my students see the same potential I saw in Mockingbird: humor, good morals, family values, and most of all, a darn good story. I hope at least one will find a copy of this book someday and re-read it and think: "This story is as good as Mrs. Miller always tried to tell me it was." That's the hope, anyway.

And so, due to my love of Mockingbird, I've always been interested in other aspects of the novel: it's autobiographical nature (the story is based on Harper Lee's early years in Monroeville, Alabama and many characters are loosely based on people from the neighborhood where she grew up), Harper Lee's unlikely friendship with the...difficult Truman Capote (she wrote large chunks of In Cold Blood, but received very little credit for her contributions -- she was even listed second in the dedication, behind Truman's lover), and finally, why Mockingbird was something of a one-hit-wonder -- Harper Lee never published another novel.

All of these issues, and many more besides, are addressed in Charles Shield's biography, I Am Scout. And unlike other biographies (and most nonfiction, truth be told), I was fascinated. The book is engagingly written and reads like a good book -- not your typical biography. It's informative and fun and has lots of pictures.

Oh, yes, and it's because of all these things that I Am Scout is so appealing to students. I use this book in both my junior American Lit. class (which reads Mockingbird) and in my senior Contemporary Lit. class (which reads In Cold Blood).

Overall, this is a great book and I recommend it to those who are bored with more common non-fiction offerings.

The Time Traveler's Wife

I'm starting this book today. I've been wanting to read it for a really long time. And I had to read it before I saw the movie. It's just not the same to read a book post-movie. I already know what's going to happen, and if the movie was disappointing, then I really lose all enthusiasm for what might be a really good book.

As a devoted bookworm, that would be a real tragedy.

The Basketball Belly

This has been a great year for many reasons...

Hubby got a great new job.

The basketball team went 21-8 and we won our conference outright for the first time since 1984 (when our big man's dad was on the team).

I got to go to the State Cheerleading Competition for the second time. Always fun to spend time with the girls and coaches.

But, like all good things, this year will come to an end.

Unfortunately (at least at the moment), I have a souvenir to remind me of this year: my basketball belly.

You see, basketball season, particularly when your hubby coaches AND works as an administrator AND is the Athletic Director, is all about late dinners. When will he be home? And, "Hey, we beat our cross-town rivals! Let's go out for a late dinner and celebrate!" (And celebrating usually involves nachos...oh, nachos...)

Anyway...

Since this was a particularly good season, with lots of nights of celebrating with lots half-priced appetizers at a local restaurant (don't judge...I hadn't had any dinner), I gained a little more than my normal winter weight.

I used to joke that I gained weight every winter just like bears do before they hibernate. A particularly apt joke, considering my deep and abiding love of sleep. But this winter's weight gain was a little on the ridiculous side and I need to be getting something of a grip on the situation.

And so I have come to two dramatic conclusions. (I know you're on the edge of your seat for these announcements...aren't you? ...............Hello? Is this thing on?

........Anyway.............

Conclusion #1: I will not do even one tiny spec of clothes shopping, not even for accessories, until I have gotten some control over the situation. If you're sitting there, stunned into silence, and shaking your head, believe me, I know how unlikely and drastic such a course of action sounds. But it's the best incentive I could think of to actually achieve results.

*Possible side effects of Conclusion #1: Getting to go shopping for lots of new, and exceptionally cute clothes in a smaller size.

Conclusion #2: I will share the story of my quest here, with you -- the good, the bad, and the ugly (my first ab workout will likely fall into the ugly category). Triumphs and utter failures. Nothing will be off limits. Heaven help you all.

Wish me luck. I'll report back tomorrow with my Day 1 Workout.

Spring Fever

I have Spring fever.

This past week was a tease. Warmer than its been in months. Sunny. Birds chirping. You know.

I celebrated! I leaped, I sang, I frolicked. I painted my toenails bright red.

And then today happened. 40 degrees. Spritzing rain. Windy.

Crappy.

And all I have to say is: "WHY?!?!?!"


Desperately hoping Spring returns ASAP,
Kristen

A Christmas to Remember

Man, do I have a great family! =] This Christmas, I asked for (begged, pleaded, bribed...) lots of kitchen equipment. Basically stuff that I didn't register for when I got married, because I thought I'd never used it. And now, having realized how often I cook and how helpful some of these things are, I don't want to have to buy them myself! haha!

So what was on this year's wish list? So happy you asked. Here ya go!

1. Dutch oven (at least 7 qt.)
2. French rolling pin
3. *Large* mixing bowls

I had heard of Dutch ovens previously, but never figured I would make enough soups in enough quantities to justify owning one. Little did I know that those suckers are darned useful for making just about anything. So I got a 7 qt. creamy white Martha Stewart Dutch oven from my parents (Love it! Thanks!!) and a Lodge Ware 3 qt. Dutch oven from the hubby (who listened to and remembered me ranting and raving about how much I wanted/needed/demanded a Dutch oven -- he's the best!).

I also already have a rolling pin. It's a traditional, granite pin by Kitchen Aid and, like nearly everything I registered for, it was dishwasher safe. But the spring that enabled the pin to turn properly apparently was not dishwasher safe and rusted terribly. Leading to a situation where, the second or third time I used the thing, I took it out of the dishwasher after cleaning it and rust-colored water ran out of the handle area onto my foot. I know what you're thinking: "Ewwwww!" And you know what? You're right! That's exactly what I yelled at the very top of my lungs. So in addition to the Martha Dutch oven, my parents also got me a French rolling pin. It will be ideal for rolling out the crusts for my favorite apple tarts.

Now, let me say that I have mixing bowls. But I didn't have really huge, honkin' mixing bowls that I could mix up say, a double batch of homemade meatballs in. Well, now I do (thank you to my mother-in-law, Linda). This set comes with 4 nesting, stainless steel bowls and airtight lids for each. The bowls are dishwasher safe, and have already been put to good use mixing up a batch of the aforementioned meatballs.

Finally, let me say that I am blessed to be able to cook for family and friends and do so often. This past year has been an amazing one, with a visit from my best friend this past summer and several family lunches and dinners with both my and my husband's family.

I'm a lucky girl. And I'm lucky to share it with you. Happy Christmas! Happy 2010. May this new year be even better than the previous.

*Details in a future post about our New Year's Eve party and all the yummies we served. =]

Oreo Truffles

Today is the first day of final exams. Which means that all my grades had to be finished yesterday so that students would know their grade going into finals. Which meant that last night, for the first night in a long time, I had -- wait for it -- nothing to grade! Bliss! Joy! Rapture!

Which meant I couldn't wait to get home and cook something. So for my project, I picked something I could bring to school and share:

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
1 package Oreos
1 8 oz. block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 lb. of chocolate (I used Dove Milk Chocolate Silky Squares, but have also covered the truffles in white chocolate, turning them into Inside-Out Oreos)

Directions:
Break up a package of Oreos into chunks and place in a food processor. Process until smooth (no chunks in thr truffles!). Add the softened cream cheese and process until the mixture comes together (generally, you'll know this has happened when the mixture forms a shiny clump on one side of the food processor's bowl). Using a small ice cream scooper (mine is 1-inch in diameter), scoopt the Oreo mixture out onto a wax paper- or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. While mixture cools, melt chocolate in a double boiler.* Remove cooled mixture from the refrigerator, roll scoops into balls and dip in melted chocolate. I used forks to remove the balls from the melted chocolate so that the excess could drip off. Place chocolate-covered balls onto another wax paper- or parchment-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate overnight.

These are incredibly rich, so enjoy them with a large glass of milk handy.

*If you don't own a traditional double boiler, or, like me, discovered that chocolate burns easily in a traditional double boiler, try this trick:
Place a glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl isn't touching the water. Congratulations! You've just created a homemade double boiler. Chocolate (or anything else you're in the mood to melt) will melt more slowly, but I've never burned chocolate using this method.

Cheddar Dill Scones

I am so behind on my blog postings! I don't know where the time goes these days. Not only that, but the last few posts I have managed to squeeze in, I forgot to upload pictures.

So this weekend, I will be trying to rectify this situation. I will be doing my best to get my lst few posts' pictures inserted in their proper spots, as well as blogging some of my recent kitchen antics.

For now, however, here's a recipe I tried recently for cheddar dill scones. Like so many others in my repertoire, it's a Barefoot Contessa recipe. In making these, I did learn several important lessons, however, which I will now share:

1. Ina's stand mixer is bigger than mine. In the future, I will cut her scone recipes in half.
2. Read the manual for the food processor's shedding attachment before just blithely assuming you know how to use it.
3. Invest in a cookie or biscuit butter for future scone-making. Some of my "free-hand cuts" were a little too generous.
4. Read the whole recipe over again before putting scones in the oven to avoid the inevitable baked-on mess when I realize that I forgot to sprinkle cheddar over the top of the scones before baking.
5. Make sure all your ingredients are very, very cold. The butter needs to be very cold so that once the scones are in the oven, the water in the butter will evaporate and create steam, which makes the scones puffy and delightful.

Overall, these were very good. Buttery, rich, and they made the whole house smell heavenly. Quite indulgent, and best served in small portions! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Cheddar Dill Scones:

Ingredients:
4 cups, plus 1 Tablespoon of all-purpose flour, divided
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Teaspoons salt
3/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup fresh minced dill
1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of milk, for the egg wash

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine 4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Add the butter and mix on low until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
4. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and then add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until blended.
5. Toss together the cheddar, dill, and 1 Tablespoon of flour and add to dough. Mix together until just incorporated.
6. Dump the dough untila well-floured surface and kneed for 1 minute until the cheddar and dill are well-distributed.
7. Roll the dough out until it's 3/4 inch thick.
8. Cut dough into 4-inch squares and then cut in half diagonally to make triangles.
9. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes until the outside is browned and crispy and the inside is fully baked.

Vegetable Lentil Soup

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm starting to get that Christmasy urge -- the one that makes me believe it's totally sensible to stay up till midnight stringing lights just so on the Christmas tree, or re-arrange the furniture to accomodate another Christmas tree, or generally string tinsel and garland over anything and anyone foolish enough to stand still while I rush about in a holiday frenzy. Some people would write this off to a typical young married woman's urge to create the "perfect holiday," something that no sane person has ever attempted, nor achieved. No, in truth, I rush around and get too little sleep because I truly believe this is the most wonderful time of the year. There's a feeling I get at the holidays that I don't really have any other time of the year -- everyone is kinder and friendlier (unless your holding the last Tickle-Me-Elmo doll still available for purchase, in which case, people are vicious, but still...).

Anyway, for several years (ever since I got married, as it turns out), I have been wanting to make soups in the late fall. Thick, luxurious, warming soups that I can eat with a chunk of warm crusty bread while curled under a fleecy blanket. Don't that sound wonderful? Ah, but sadly, life has always gotten in the way: there are errands to run, papers to grade, clothes to launder...you know what I mean.

But this year, I vowed, would be the year that I actually followed through and made...something!

So tonight, on my way home from school, I stopped at the store and picked up the ingredients for Vegetable Lentil Soup. Overall, it came together easily and is bubbling merrily away as I sit here, typing. For anyone keeping track, this is yet another Ina Garten recipe, although healthier than most of her other recipes. I liked that too -- I need to be watching my girlish figure as we head into the holidays (the better to scarf down my grandmother's cookies and other assorted goodies on Christmas Day!).

Vegetable Lentil Soup
Slightly Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 pound French green lentils
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onionss)
4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (about 2 leeks)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves) -- I used more; I love garlic!
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or about 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium-diced carrots (4-6 carrots)
*2 cans diced tomatoes
3 quarts chicken stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

**Denotes my addition to the recipe -- I never met a vegetable soup that I didn't want to add more veggies to!

Directions:
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Double check the seasonings and adjust if needed. Serve hot and enjoy!

Christmas Cookie Ornaments

I have given in...

It's only November 11th, and in the past week I have caught myself humming Christmas carols, planning holiday cooking, scheming ways to sneakily purchase Christmas gifts, and generally getting into the Christmas spirit nearly a month too early.

Each time I realize I'm doing one of these things I guiltily force myself to stop. I caution myself to enjoy each day (it's been ludicrously warm around here lately, so it hasn't been difficult to do that...but still...), stop and smell the roses, whatever I can to distract myself from Christmasy thoughts.

Well, I officially give up. I've thrown in the towel, I'm waving the white flag -- basically, pick your favorite metaphor for surrendering -- I"m doing it!

I found a recipe at allrecipes.com for a white cookie dough ornament. In the past, I've made gingerbread-looking ornaments with cinnamon, but hadn't found a good recipe for a white flour/bread dough-type ornament....until now.

Yesterday I made a double-batch of the ornament dough and stuck it in the fridge before running errands and going back to work for a couple hours. The dough was simple, came together easily, and has only three (inexpensive) ingredients. Today I had lots of fun cutting out all sorts of shapes using cookie cutters, and even worked on a couple free-form ornaments.

Best of all (or the worst, depending on your perspective), the house smells like baking sugar cookies. It's wonderful for the house to smell so good, but the downside is that the dough isn't meant to be eaten. Let me say again: THIS IS AN INEDIBLE RECIPE!!!

Here's the recipe. I'll be posting pictures of cookies as they are finished.

Christmas Ornament Cookie Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cup of warm water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl and mix well. Slowly add water, mixing as you go. When all the water has been incorporated, stir well (no need to worry about developing those glutens!). When you've mixed the dough as well as possible in the bowl, dump onto a well-floured board and knead until the dough is smooth and supple. You can either use the dough immediately or refrigerate it until ready to use.

When you are ready to make cookies, you can either pull, squish, and squeeze pleasing shapes from the dough or roll it to about 1/4 inch thick and cut using cookie cutters. Either way works well.

Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour.

*Mine got a little brown after an hour, so for the second batch I cut the cooking time to around 45 minutes. Bottom line: use your best judgment.

For decorating cookie dough ornaments, I have found that using fabric paint (also known as "puffy paint," those of us alive in the '80s probably remember this as the last word in fashionable t-shirts) accurately simulates the look of royal icing on cookies. After that, I raid the local craft store for buttons, beads, etc. -- anything that resembles candies, dragees, and other decorations.

French Apple Tart

*Pictures Coming Soon!*

As I think I've mentioned in the past, I'm a little addicted to watching the Food Network. One of my favorite shows is Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. I know a lot of people (including my parents...hi, Mom and Dad!) who think she's dull as dishwater to watch, but everything she makes always looks so good and is so simple. Perhaps the problem isn't that her show is dull, but that people are easily bored by the deceptively simple (yet awesome) recipes she makes. Either way, I've yet to find a recipe from Barefoot Contessa that hasn't become a fast favorite.


Today's recipe was slightly scarier than my average Ina recipe, however. You see, I have a mental block/phobia regarding my ability to make pastries, breads, biscuits, etc. I believe my phobia on the subject goes back to the first year I was married and tried to follow a recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits. Somehow, instead of being a sticky, but cohesive dough, what I got was a *liquid* (I know, ewwwwww, right?). Anyway, I have shied away from recipes of that sort ever since (the closest I've come since is baking up a can of those Pillsbury whomp biscuits -- so named because you have to whomp the tube on the counter to get the biscuits out -- and yes, whomp is a technical term). But I digress...


What was scary about the French apple tart recipe was that it called for making my own pastry. Granted, this looks easy as can be when Ina does it on TV, but remember, I have a phobia. So it was with great trepidation (look it up, it's really a word) ;) that I started today's project. In case things went badly, I didn't take any pictures of the pastry-making part of the recipe. But here's the thing. It really WAS easy. It actually worked EXACTLY the way Ina said it would. And now, as the smell of simmering apples and cinnamon (I tweaked Ina's original recipe just a tad) fills my kitchen, I relax, sniff appreciatively, and say to you, Happy Fall! I also say to you, go make this! Right now!


French Apple Tart


Adapted From: Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics "Easy French"

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup ice water

For the apples:

• 4 Granny Smith apples* (I only used 3 and had left-overs)
• 1/2 cup sugar* (I only used a heaping 1/4 cup -- the apples were plenty sweet already)
• Cinnamon, to taste*
• Just a tad of freshly grated nutmeg*
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
• 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam (I forgot to add this.)
• 2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water (I forgot to add this too. The moral? Never multi-task and make dinner while making dessert.)

*Denotes my additions/changes.

Directions

For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour*, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

*45 minutes was plenty of time.

Isn't She Lovely?

Today, in honor of my friend Cari's birthday tomorrow, I made my famous (or infamous, depending on whether or not you ask my parents about it) homemade angelfood cake. Normally, this cake (which first appeared several months ago in my blog) is flavored with lemon zest. However, in honor of Cari's birthday, I went with orange zest for this particular cake. Rebellious, yes? Then, just to prove what a wild and crazy person I really am, I covered the whole she-bang (technical term) with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. As the title says, isn't she lovely?

Presto! Pesto

I haven't posted anything recently, not because there's nothing going on in my kitchen, but because I've been so darned busy! Between the husband's promotion at work (!!!) and going back to school, I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger (as the saying goes).

But as I said above, that doesn't mean I've neglected my cooking...just my blog (oops). Anyway, despite being busier than ever before, I'm going to try to catch you up with all my recent cookery. For now, however, I'll leave you with last night's uber-fast dinner:

Whole Wheat Linguini with Homemade Basil-Spinach Pesto

I used Barilla Whole Wheat Linguini and cooked it according to the package directions. Of all the different types of whole wheat pasta I've tried, I think this one is the best (I find many walk a fine line between being beyond chewy and needing to be boiled to mush just so I can chew it).

Anyway, the biggest and most delightful surprise of my night was the pesto; one of a series of things I've thrown together in my food processor recently (I love that little gadget!). Here's how to make your own (and keep in mind that I just wandered the supermarket, grabbing things that looked interesting).

Ingredients:
1 package (about a cup) basil
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
3-4 cloves chopped garlic (don't stress about chopping it, remember it's going in a food pro.)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Olive oil as needed

Directions:
Roughly chop the basil and spinach and dump it in the food processor. Add the garlic and the toasted pine nuts and walnuts, and parmesan cheese. Blend until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Once combined and with the lid on and motor running, stream in olive oil until the pesto reaches the desired consistency (I think I used between a 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup of olive oil -- I liked the chunkier texture). Toss room temperature pesto well with pasta and serve with additional parmesan cheese if you like.

*For those of you who are counting, this is the second recipe I made up all by myself! =]

Pasta Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

We grilled tonight (as you can plainly see). We couldn't decide what to grill, so we grilled a little of everything. If you look closely at the back of the picture, you can see the grilled tilapia. This was our first experience grilling fish and I was a little worried we'd be scraping umm..."blackened" fish off the grill by the end. I should have had more faith in hubby's grilling skills; as well as in my prep skills. I doused the filets liberally in olive oil and rubbed it in well. Then I used some Pampered Chef Sweet and Smoky Barbeque rub on the fish. I love this rub and it goes particularly well with fish. The fish was absolutely delicioius! Perfection! Major props to me (and hubby!). =] As you can see from the picture, we also had burgers and hot dogs. Hubby does a great hamburger -- I season the patties with salt and pepper and while they are grilling he bastes them periodically with barbeque sauce. The hot dogs are Hebrew National. I love their slogan ("No Ifs, Ands, or Butts!") and their dogs are yummy too!

But for me, the highlight of dinner was the pasta salad I made. I didn't really have much of an idea of what I was going to make to begin with. I knew I wanted to make something healthy that would provide plenty of left-overs for lunch this coming week. So I wandered the grocery store and picked out some veggies, all familiar favorites: a red pepper, a cucumber, a pint of grape tomatoes, and a handful of green onions. My plan was starting to come together. When I got home I boiled about 1 1/2 cups of Barilla Piccolini pasta. While that was boiling, I chopped my veggies (I meant to take a picture, but forgot). Finally, with about 2 minutes to go until the pasta was ready (I should have done this first), I started to make my vinaigrette. I was basically just throwing things together, but it turned out so well that I may never buy salad dressing again!

Homemade Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley (I would have used fresh, but forgot to pick some up, so I improvised)

Blend all ingredients on low in a blender, then with the motor running, stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached. I used about 1/2 cup (guesstimate) and my vinaigrette was VERY thick.

I drained my pasta, then dumped in into a large bowl and covered it with about half the vinaigrette and tossed (so the sauce could soak into the warm pasta), then added all the chopped veggies. Finally I poured the rest of the vinaigrette over the top and tossed the whole thing well.

This is the first recipe I ever created (although I'm terribly afraid that it isn't that original), and it was wonderful. The vinaigrette tasted very similar to a caesar dressing, almost as though it had parmesan cheese in it. I'm not sure what combination of ingredients did that, but it was a fortuitous coincidence.

This would be a great, simple salad to take to a picnic or potluck because it can sit at room temperature., for hours, if necessary. I plan to make this again and often! You should too! =]

Multigrain English Muffins

This weekend marked the second recipe that Emily and I chose to make and blog about together. This week, Emily chose the recipe: Multigrain English Muffins. I was excited to make these since I enjoyed Emily's multigrain bread recipe. Interestingly, the weekend we chose to make the muffins was also the weekend that my husband and I redecorated our guest bedroom. Although I guess I can't technically say we *redecorated*, since that implies that the room was decorated before. And being used for storage and generally looking like a dump isn't exactly what I'd call the latest in interior design. So, where was I? Oh, yes, we were decorating, and the last thing we had to do was hang the curtains. No problem, right? Ha -- that just shows you know nothing about me!

I started the muffins early and then left them to rise for the first time while hubby and I tackled the curtains. The curtains were ironed and hung with the maximum amount of trauma and cursing, and then I returned to check on the dough. It was supposed to rise for an hour and "double in size." Ummm...I was willing to swear under oath that the stuff hadn't moved. Huh. Around this time, Emily texted me. Her dough wasn't rising either. Okay, now, I wasn't looking forward to making and baking multigrain hockey pucks, but it was comforting to know that it wasn't necessarily my fault. After a series of texts, we agreed to leave the dough to rise for another hour. Then, regardless of how it looked, we would roll the muffins out and cut them out. I was still apprehensive, but hey, at least we had a plan.

As you can clearly see from the pictures, despite my fears, things turned out very well. The dough didn't rise nearly as much as the original recipe claimed. Overall, the muffins were very good. I've eaten them with butter and jam, used them as hamburger buns, and had them toasted with scrambled eggs. I plan to make these again, and soon! Thanks to Emily for a great recipe.

Multigrain English Muffins (Recipe Copied From The View From the Thirty-Second Floor):

Ingredients:

adapted from Martha Stewart, June 2009
Makes 13 muffins

1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups white/wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon course salt
1/4 cup flax seeds
3/4 cup milk

Combine warm water, honey, yeast and butter in the bottom of your mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. Make sure the dough smells like yeast or is foamy. You want to make sure you activate the yeast. Combine the flour, wheat germ, salt and flax seeds in a separate bowl. With the dough hook attachment, turn your mixer on and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk. Mixture will form a ball. Let the mixer run for about 5 minutes to knead the dough. (You can knead the dough by hand if you don't have a stand mixer)

Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead just a few times. Put the dough into a bowl brushed lightly with oil so that the dough doesn't stick. Turn the oven on warm and put the bowl on top of your oven, cover with a dish towel and let rise for 2 hours. The dough will not rise much, so don't panic. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead for 1 minute. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 3 inch ring cutter to form 13 dough rounds. Place the muffins onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Cover the muffins with a dish towel and let rise again, for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place English Muffins on the skillet in batches. Cook the muffin for 7 minutes on each side. The muffin will brown - don't let it burn. Take muffins off once they are cooked on both sides. Cool. Serve immediately or put in the freezer and take them out one at a time as needed.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

** Just before the tip popped off my piping bag.

**My iced cappucchino made it into this picture! =] Oh, and that red tea kettle? It was a wedding present from Emily of T.V.F.T.T.S.F. fame! =]

Ahh...the ice cream scooper. One of my favorite multi-taskers.

Recently my friend Emily (of The View From the Thirty-Second Floor) and I have started a blog project that was originally suggested by my husband. In the spirit of the Tuesdays with Dorie group, Emily and I are going to jointly choose a recipe, make it (she in Chicago, and I down St. Louis way), and then blog about it. This way, we can both try new recipes, something I know we both want to do more often. As our inaugural recipe, we chose the Homemade Oreo Cookie recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Now, as some of you are probably aware, I consider myself something of an Oreo lover (an Oreo fiend is how my husband once described it). So I was highly skeptical about achieving an authentic Oreo taste. Here's how things went down:

I came home from teaching summer school today, grabbed a quick lunch with the hubbie, and then sent him off to open gym so that I could have the kitchen to myself (being married to a basketball coach is so convenient sometimes). The cookie dough came together very quickly, although I was surprised that the dry ingredients were mixed together before adding the wet ones (that's pretty much backwards from every other cookie recipe I've ever made). According to the directions, rounded teaspoons of dough were to be spaced 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. How fortunate that I had a tiny ice cream scoop to use to scoop up and drop the dough. I can't emphasize what a great time-saving measure this is. Plus, the cookies were tiny enough that lots could fit on a single cookie sheet, so I got them all baked in two batches
(even more awesome!). While the cookies were baking, I mixed up the cream center for the cookies. According to Smitten's directions, she piped the icing centers on the cookies and it was easy as could be (she noted that having to ice the cookies individually would be an "unholy p.i.t.a." -- I couldn't agree more). Dutifully following directions, I got out, assembled, and filled my piping bag...and promptly squeezed the tip right out the end of it! Note: for future reference, use a Ziploc bag, snip off the corner, then throw it away and be done with it.

Overall, this was a fairly easy recipe to complete, leaving me plenty of time afterward to clean up the kitchen and even (seriously!) clean and redecorate my spare bedroom (I promise I'm not making that up.) before hubbie got home.

I excercised some serious self-restraint and didn't even sample thecookies until hubbie could join me. Together we each ate a cookie. Here are my first impressions, uncensored:

"Umm...the cookies are chewy. I've NEVER eaten a CHEWY Oreo."

"Hey, the creamy center tastes just like the center of an Oreo. I rock!"

"Dang, this thing just sucked all the moisture out of my mouth. Need. Milk. NOW!"

Overall, these are pretty tasty, but, at least in my mind, can't hold a candle to a real Oreo. Of course, there is an unexpected up-side to this recipe. As my husband pointed out, these are undoubtedly better for you than an actual Oreo. But is healthy eating really the reason we eat Oreos?? =]

Homemade Oreo Cookies

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Recipe Note (This is from Smitten Kitchen's original posting):

Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself, go ahead and use the full amount.

Note: I plan to make these cookies again to use for ice cream sandwich cookies.