Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tiki VS Goats Cheese

The problem with asking other people if something is "good" is that everyone has different tastes. When vegemite peeked my curiosity all my online friends in the states said it was gross and that I wouldn't like it. But, I bought a pound jar and proceeded to finish it off in less than a month.

Vegemite was a learning experience. So when I opted to try goats cheese I didn't ask anyone if it was good. I did talk with friends about it and of course heard it was gross from a friend or two.

A few nights ago I bought some goat cheese and stuff to make pizza. The pizza I was aiming for was 6 cheese pesto pizza with heirloom tomatoes. Since my family might not like it, I sprinkled the goat cheese on only half the pizza and offered them think taste-test slices.

Results ... it was the only slice my son ate and my dad, who was leary, ate it first without realizing it at goat cheese - they really enjoyed it. I've been given the ok to try other recipes and I'm excited!!

The next few recipes will have different cheeses. What's in my fridge right now is Gorgonzola, Blue, Goats, Havarti and Cheddar. They will be mixed with fruit, on pizzas, or they will brave a chili.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Why is it that something so simple such as pizza sauce can give such a feeling of success? Today I made my own pizza sauce, from scratch and it was pretty tasty! It got thumbs up from the males of the household.

I took Brown Eye Baker's pizza sauce and made it to suit my tastes. Since I'm decreasing the amount of salt in my diet I used less salt and then added a bit of smoked paprika. With the sauce I made Calzones!

The calzones were filled with a mixture of onion, mushroom, bacon, pizza sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

A Picnic and Microsoft - The weekend post

Oh sure, no one would THINK a picnic and microsoft would be associated with each other but guess what ... er well you're right. Two different topics, I'm just too lazy to make two separate posts. Ok so here we go.

Saturday we went to a lovely picnic at our church. There was food, people and a stage with live music. The most inviting part was the 250 lbs of pork, beef and poultry they had barbecued for the event. After the picnic loads of folks took home leftovers so they didn't get wasted, unfortunately I had left hours earlier.

Sunday my computer decided to install XP service pack 3. I've attempted to install this thing 6 times and each time resulted with my computer not starting up. So, when it started installing it on it's own, I did NOTHING, and prayed for the best. Of course I bet my dad it wouldn't load and fortunately I lost the bet.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

VGT Omnivore's 100!

I saw this on a blog, Very Good Taste. Here are the instructions plus answers ^_^

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Food Tattoos, could you do it?

I was catching up on feeds and I caught this link at Apartment Therapy The Kitchn. Some of the tattoos are not something I'd personally get put on myself, but they are very nice. That's foodie dedication there!

I'm no stranger to tattoos, I have one currently. It's simple, it's a baby dragon and is a symbol of my son. I've considered getting a second tattoo that is hawaiian related. I've never thought of food items for a tattoo before. So after looking at those I thought to myself, what would I got for myself? Some ideas that came to mind are basil leaves, a pineapple, cupcake, or citrus slices. This is definitely something I'd have to work out on paper.

Feel free to comment with what you'd get.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The title says it all

I get feeds from far far too many blogs and on top of that, my feed reader is brief. If you've never used brief, it's an extension for firefox and has a habit of freezing Firefox 3. I've never had this problem before and I'm not sure what I should switch to.

On today's agenda we have laundry, laundry and of course Laundry. Possibly even a load of dishes. I'll also be arranging my pantry so that my dad can take the top shelf to the hardware store and have them cut a piece of wood the same size. This will add another shelf to the pantry and make Tiki very happy.

I've discovered a nifty door hanger system. You hang it on the door and there are loads of organization space to it. I'll look into it more into September when Mini Tiki is in school.

We are preparing Mini Tiki for the 1st grade. I'm not sure how I feel about him moving up but I suppose he'll be a happy camper. I have to get him some school clothing still and a back pack. Possibly even a few more school supply items.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Work Work Work


I woke up yesterday with a plan to blog but then I saw my kitchen. My dad hadn't taken out the garbage like I asked and the dishes had overtaken the countertops. So instead of blogging I did a bit of cleaning up. 1 load of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, walked the dog, and the garbage was taken out.

By the time I had sat down for computer time I totally forgot I was going to blog! It's ok, I might have ended up doing so but I didn't check. Oh well, here's what I was gonna type up yesterday.


We went to the beach Saturday and it was a pretty good day! There were loads of dogs, but almost all were on leashes. The two that weren't were heavily supervised by there owner and he get them distracted enough that we could walk by with no issues.

My dog was having a blast running in the water and sniffing every single rock. He loved sniffing the jelly fish, though one time he tried to eat one. He kept trying to go in the water but my dad didn't.

Towards the end my son and I ended up watch a family surf together. I was really impressed by them because lately I've just been seeing parents chatting while there little kids go into the surf. It's just nice to see families actually spending time together on the beach.

Eventually my dad pooped out and had headed back to the truck. A half later, after my feet had been cut up by rocks and whatever other sharp items had made their way into my shoes, I convinced my son we should look for "grandpoo". Then we ate and left.

It still hurts to walk so I'm keeping off my feet a bit more today. But now I'm doing laundry because today it is cool and windy!! I'm so happy for that!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Beach Trip Gone Wrong

Yesterday we went to the beach and heres a quick run down: Grayland, found beach glass, 3 dogs kept coming up to us and I probably was setting myself up to be mauled.

Basically we went at high tide so I could do a bit of beach combing. For the first time I found beach glass and I was beyond thrilled! It's a small, white but very nice!



We spotted some dogs off there leash and decided to travel some down the beach to stay away. After a while we decided to head back towards where we parked but sadly the dogs were still there and now they were interested in my dog. I was scared to death.

We have a couple of issues with big dogs coming up. First, I was mauled by a dog ... a large dog. Second, my son is scared to death of anything that moves, and a big dog is worse. Third, I have a dog that has nipped at other dogs who were larger than him.


Fierce isn't he?

Now it started with one dog coming over and trying to play with my dog. It was clearly in a playful mood. But my dog growled and he went away. But it came back with two buddies. The playful mood wasn't visible and I was scared.

The dogs wouldn't stay away and the owners didn't care. We ended up having to leave the beach and my son, who hates leaving the beach, ran to the car! Needless to say, it was a bummer.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Reggie and Betty


A few months ago I ordered an adorable lime and green octopus necklace from bunnyXproductions' etsy store. I have named him Reggie :) These octopus are very well made for wear or share! She has some nice onces right now, including an adorable octo zombie.



A package from my friends Talula and her husband Slacker arrived today for my birthday. They bought me the cutest Octo from the very store! I've named this lovely orange beauty Betty, because I like the name Betty! So now she and Reg are chilling on my printer away from children's grasp.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Turning 27 and Switching To Decaf

The month started with me buying decaf coffee. Then last week I mixed together decaf and half-caff. Now, today is the first official day of 100% decaf. I've had three cups so far, no headaches, it's great ... I'm tired as hell! But seriously, I feel great!

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm kicking off age 27 with new bras. I was shocked to find I have lost weight and have gone down TWO cup sizes. When wearing a proper fitting bra, I can actually see my feet while standing!!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Compact Fluorescent Lighting Bulbs

In my attempts to "go green" there is one thing I'm not so sure about: CFLs. You may have heard the good stuff like that it saves energy, lasts longer, etc. But recently I've heard talks about the mercury, possibly causing migraines, and various other worries.

It was time to change my kitchen lights and my dad was gungho on switching to CFLs right now. During our arguement I realized - he doesn't know where to recycle these or the proper clean up procedures. This scared me so I put my foot down - NO.

I'm searching now and will make sure my dad follows them. For this family, safety is a must .. no ifs, ands or butts.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Yay! The Beach!!! Let's never go again ...

Yesterday we went to Long Beach which is in Washington. For us it's about a 3.5 hour drive there. I prefer the sandy beach because I can walk barefoot which is nice and the drive is also nice, especially now that my dad doesn't drive too fast lol.

On the way we saw several critters make a mad dash across the road. Each one made it, thankfully, but as we drove they started getting bigger. First was a mouse, then a squirrel, then a larger critter .. I pretty much figured that if this kept up we'd eventually have a bear "scamper" across.

The beach was fun but we won't be returning to that one for a while.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Tropical Monday

Yesterday my dad said we would go to the beach today. I made a point of going to bed early ... ok I didn't stay up past 11:30 ... so I'd be well rested. I woke up to find out that there was no beach trip.

So I decided to make a salad for Tropical Monday. It has ham, rice, pineapple, coconut, macadamia nuts, celery, red apples, green apples, water chestnuts, yogurt, mayonnaise, and salt. It's very simple but after tasting it, it is very good. The rice will be added when it's served so it doesn't get too mushy.

Tomorrow we have plans to go for a drive, though I'm not sure it'll happen. We'll see I guess and at least I'll have salad prepared for when we return.

Plan for later this month ... buy a counter top compost container.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Vampires beware ...

If there are any vampires wishing to meet me, I must apologize but today just isn't a good day. I have about 12 carrots and 3 bulbs of garlic roasting in my oven at this very moment and I don't think it's really "vamp friendly".

I discovered a blog called Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once and they have a recipe for Roasted Carrots. While I unfortunately do not have access to the colorful selection of carrots they use, I do have about 10 pounds of organic carrots that I really do not want to waste. And of course, being me, I had to try it the next day (today.)

I have just pulled them out and dished everyone's up. They taste fantastic! I might try adding an onion in with them next time as well.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Blogging and dinner tonight

I've been catching up on some blogs, especially foodie blogs, and I'm amazed at how nice blogs can be when you update lol. Maybe I should start doing that?

Some exciting blogs entries ...

Talula's Musings visited New York with Pelandrone and saw a rockin' Aussie band called Tripod perform.

Then Rare Bird Finds recently mentioned an intriguing item Handsome Devil's Bay Rum After Shave Stick. I know a few folks who might dig that for a gift.

Passionate About Baking has been posting so many delicious looking recipes that I've developed a desire to bake!

I've sat down with my dinner to catch up on a few more blogs this evening. Hopefully my Sausage Veggie Salad and Roasted Asparagus (thank you David Joachim!) will stop any drooling and tummy growling that may occur from reading food blogs lol.