Dawn & Ben

I received my first birdfeeder for my Birthday last week.  Oh, the joy I thought I'd feel watching the cute little birdies flock to my new feeder...... No..... I found there is a different feeling you get when owning a birdfeeder. The urge to shoot fuzzy little creatures you normally find "cute".  I could never really do that but they better watch out if I get my hands on a broom.
 
So, as I've been learning to live with these furry criminals, I've also seen many fantastic birds. Cardinals are my favorite, but I also have goldfinches, chickadees, purple finches..... and last night, my very first Rose-breasted Grosbeak!!
Anyhow, here's a little preview of the best part of having bird feeders!

 

Ahh, such fond memories of moving…. Well, not really. There’s a reason Ben’s trying to off himself with a sharpie. For those of you who know us, you’ve heard for years now how we’re moving “here” or “there” until it was to the point that you all said “we’ll believe it when we see it”. I lost count of all the places were going to move…Portland, Oregon…Portland, Maine….Seattle…..Denver…..   We tried to move away from Minnesota for years but never quite made it. Well, we FINALLY made it and was it ever a journey.  Things really fell into place so last minute and before we knew it, we only had a few days to move. It took one more day than we planned to get everything packed and onto the van. Those were the most tiring two days of the entire move. It seemed like we’d never get to leave. Just when you thought you were close, there was still stuff EVERYWHERE. It really seemed never ending. By 7:15 PM the day AFTER we were supposed to leave, we were in the van! Small victory! There was barely enough room for all three of us in the cab. Poor bandit squished himself onto the bench seat between us and for two very long days on the road, we chugged and bounced along. Oh, that van made me so seasick. You couldn’t even read  the van shook so much.  It got to the point where I was about ready to climb out the window I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Then, on day two of the van, we were parked in the “truck” area at an oasis outside Chicago. Sandwiched between two semis, in a long line of semis. Bandit and I were chillin in the van while Ben ran for some drinks.  I stretched out across the seat for some much needed un-scrunching when the van rocked forward and then back. I thought it was a shift from a heavy truck passing behind us then I though, ‘Did someone hit us?!!!’  I was too chicken to get out. There was only a few feet between the semi and me and I didn’t want to become a pancake if something was moving our van around. I smooshed my face against the passenger side window and peered at the side mirror. I saw a big white semi tractor behind us. Oh no! We were towing our car….I wondered what our car looked like. No one came to say they were sorry and I wasn’t about to get out where no one could see me. I called Ben and told him to get back because I think some one hit us. We looked closely and didn’t see anything. Still I was bothered. At the next stop, we looked again….and we saw that the trailer blinker had been pushed in.  We probably HAD been hit by that semi who probably tried to pull into our parking space since we were so much shorter than the other semis. Fortunately, that corner of the trailer was the ONLY side on the back sticking out much further than our car!! Disaster averted!

On we went, jostling down the road, praying to never be in another moving van again.

 

Our life on a moving van taken in MN.            Dawn & Bandit stuck in the van        

Then, finally, the light at the end of the tunnel! “Welcome to Michigan”!!!

After crossing the border we made another stop. I didn’t need my coat, the sun was shining, no regrets on leaving snowy Minnesota….and then we kept going….and going…..and the snow came back. Welcome to Grand Rapids, Michigan… Land of snow. I asked Ben to turn around and take me back down to where it was warm! I wondered if I should have moved south instead. Austin maybe? No, maybe it would be Ok. (Ask me once it is 75 and I’m at Lake Michigan).

We pulled into our temporary new home in the cold and dark, but with family to help us unload…and then more to visit, and one to stay the night. Then we remembered why we moved. =)

Meet Stanley the cat. Ben made him for me...with a teeny bit of help  

It turns out I'm also not the only one that loves my new Stanley..... Bandit is very interested in the new cat and gets excited whenever he sees it. Apparently, he thinks it was made for HIM.....to tear the stuffing out of.

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Thank you,
The management

I'm not so much into the measuring, but here goes.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large can of plum tomatoes
1 small (15 oz) can of stewed whole tomatoes
Some basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat cup olive oil over medium (or medium-low). Add onion and parsley and saute until onion is translucent (6 minutes or so). Add garlic at about 4 minutes. Add in tomatoes and basil. Reduce to a low simmer, cover. Simmer on low for about an hour and a half. Grab a potato masher and mash everything into a nice, chunky sauce.

For mine, I had some leftover shallots so those went in. I also wanted a little kick so I added some cayenne pepper before simmering. A little at this stage goes a long way. Then, since I had already added the cayenne, I threw in the rest of some salsa I wanted to use before it went to waste.

That batch has gotten rave reviews from the testers so far.

PastaSauce.pdf (178.02 kb)

Every guy should know how to make a good risotto. It takes effort but it's hard to screw up. It's versatile, and it's a little something extra special.

If you don't know how to cook, you can still make a stunning risotto to impress your date / wife / girlfriend / etc. (NOT ALL AT THE SAME DINNER!)

Here's my favorite, some alternate ideas at the bottom... I'm sorry, this is actually from a recipe, but I don't remember the source.

There are three kinds of Italian short-grain rice that can be used to make risotto; Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nano. Carnaroli is the best but I can only ever find Arborio, which will work just fine too. Carnaroli is a bit longer grain and has more starch, and a good risotto needs starch!

ok, enough babbling...  Read the rest of this entry...

This recipe was Dawn's idea. She told me one day that she wanted orzo and tomato juice. To be honest, I was reluctant to try it (despite my love of all things tomato-based, I don't like tomatoes or tomato juice). She talked me into it. Here is, roughly, what I make.

16 oz package of orzo (orzo is a rice-sized pasta, size really depends on brand)
4 cups veggie stock (one box of vegetable stock)
48 oz tomato juice (one bottle of Campbell's or V-8)
Garlic to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
Salt and pepper to taste (you see where I'm going with this)
Basil to taste

In a large pot, heat a little olive oil and add in the garlic. Saute for a bit. Add a couple cups of water and the veggie stock. Bring to a boil.

Add in salt (not as much as you might normally for pasta since you're going to keep the liquid), the orzo, about a quarter of the tomato juice, and the italian seasoning and basil. Boil on low for about 7 minutes, stirring often. (the orzo will want to stick to the bottom of the pot)

Add in the rest of the tomato juice, or enough to get it to the consistency you want. I shoot for something nice and soupy bit a little thick.

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with some grated parm and a dollop of sour cream (trust me, you mix that sour cream in, it's awesome). Garlic crostini go great on the side

Comfort food in under 15 minutes!

OrzoSoup.pdf (177.76 kb)

 

This goes together super-fast. And, like the rest of the recipes I've posted, I'm eating this right now.

There are two types of noodle that work really well for this; Udon noodles are a wheat noodle, but they're made with a harder wheat than Italian noodles. Very nutty flavor. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat. Intense flavor and you'd better like something that holds up like that. I almost always use udon noodles.

So, simmer your noodles for about 8-10 minutes (I find these cook better over a simmer / low boil whereas I usually boil my Italian noodles). While those are going, get some broccoli florets and some carrot matchsticks together. Some cauliflower if the mood strikes you.

If you don't like to make your own florets and matchsticks (which would take you a couple minutes with a good chef's knife), then they're readily available at the grocery store.

After the noodles are done, drain them, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

On your pot, get a little water boiling and blanch your veggies until they're hot / done like you like them (I like them warmed through but still crunchy)

Add the noodles back, sprinkle everything with a little toasted sesame oil (a little goes a very long way), some olive oil, and a lot of soy sauce (we use tamari but a shoyu would work very well). Add in some cracked pepper and toss well to combine everything.

Tasty.

No, not little donkeys, food. Well, I suppose in some areas that'd be the same, but not here.

Long grain rice, cooked (it's a 2:1 ratio, and broth works good... so I do 2 cups veg broth to 1 cup rice, simmer for about 50 minutes)

Refried beans, heated. I just get a can of beans, put in a sauce pan, add about half a cup of water, and heat on ultra low while the rice is cooking. Mix with the water and stir occasionally. The water just keeps them from drying and gives them a good consistency for putting on your burrito

Spinach, sauteed. Fresh works good too, but sauteed is a bit nicer in my opinion. I like to add some cracked pepper when I'm cooking the spinach. Just put it on the heat enough to wilt

Salsa, lots of salsa

sour cream

Some colby jack cheese. Or, a lot of companies have pre-packaged 'Mexican' mixes

Burrito shells. The bigger the better. A 12" shell is a full 4" tastier than a wimpy 8" shell.

Layer rice, beans, spinach, salsa, cheese, sour cream, wrap and eat. Be happy.

It was very warm today...I'm afraid it will be the last warm day of the year. We took our bikes out for a ride and I spent most of the day in denial that it is going to snow soon. I'm hoping to be able to do a bike tour next year so I'll spend a lot of the winter pedaling the exercise bike with a grumpy face while I watch the world ice over outside. So how many of you read the words "bike tour" without raising an eyebrow? If I weren't always attempting to do something stupid, what would there be to entertain you with on my blog? Now if you know me, you know I'm not calling bike riding stupid...but that fact that I will try to ride a few hundred miles is stupid. For those of you who don't know me, what are you doing on my blog? Kidding. Welcome. To catch you up, I can barely pedal up the tiniest of hills. I'm 100 pounds of wimp. Plus I've never stuck to anything that involved physical torture. So I'm seeing if I can break that streak. (Not to mention get physically healthy.) Plus, scenery on a bike is much more intimate than from a car....especially when it comes to the insect part. But no, really, the trees, the flowers...lakes....the fresh air. It will be well worth it.

Well, that was some of the biggest news. There are some really great trails like the Katy trail that goes across Missouri or the 524 mile one they are working on in New York. Let me know if you want to come along for the ride!

When we’re not trying to give ourselves heart attacks, we’ve been geeking out playing Blokus, watching netflix movies, working on our web sites and blogs, and planning a trip for our 8th anniversary in a few months.

p.s. I finally put comments back on our blog incase you want to leave a note!