Superbowl Cookies

I know, I know, the Superbowl was a week ago---but I'm finally getting to my pictures. Last Sunday was cold and snowy, so chocolate chip cookies were in order.

Baking with the roomies (well, I baked... we all ate):

Cookies! One batch has chopped pecans.

Roomies in the kitchen

We ate a couple as they were cooling down.

I look amazing on Sunday mornings, ch-obviously.



Our team mascot, Kaiser.

 The cookies were at hit at one of the two Superbowl parties we attended (the batch was eaten before the second party). They were even used to make some... unique... sandwiches. I can't explain it, just know that candle wax was used as a topping . Yummy?

Focus

I feel like my life has been very much "in limbo" lately. I'm trying to figure everything out (whatever that means). What are my next steps? Where do I want to go from here? What are the opportunities that are available to me? What are the opportunities that I need to create?

My head is going to explode just thinking about it.

So, in the meantime I've been trying to take one day at a time. What are the little steps I can take? What are the things I enjoy?

For example, this weekend has been excellent. I've been able to cook, eat lots of food, spend time with family and friends, and also focus on myself (and focus on my growing pile of laundry).

Here are some great pics from my Saturday morning hike with family and friends. It was 60-degrees in Denver---in January! Heaven.

View from our hike in Deer Creek Canyon

My brother, Peter, his wife, Alissa, and their awesome dogs Dublin and Rowdy

Adam and his huskies, Deuce and Maverick

Peter and I

Adam and I

I also headed to Downtown Denver on Saturday night for a friend's birthday party. We started the evening with dinner and desserts at The D Bar (short for The Dessert Bar). Oh. My. God. The place was amazing. It's tiny and seats about 8 people, but the wait was worth it. Go there. Now.

My cooking conquests also continue. I love cooking because it's a challenge for me. I started not long ago knowing nothing. I could barely boil a pot of pasta. With every new recipe I feel like I've accomplished something... I learned something... I grew in a small way. It's all about baby steps.

Since the weather is getting colder again, I dusted off the Crockpot and made some homemade chili and cornbread.

Steaming chili

Skillet cornbread

Yum!

I'm trying to take one day at a time and celebrate the little accomplishments as they come. So far, it's working.

Happy New Year!

My niece, Ava, ringing in the New Year!

I am super-excited for 2011. Last year seemed to be a tough year for most people. Admittedly, it was a tough year for me. Not that everything will change at the stroke of midnight, but the initial outlook and excitement of a new year is inspiring.  I have a number of things that I'd like to work on or strive toward, but I don't want to call them "resolutions." This is because I always have goals for myself and because the word "resolution" often equates to failure. We laugh at people's feeble attempts to work out every day or eat perfectly or whatever. However, I believe that working towards self-improvement, whether you do or don't finish a specific task, should never mean failure. The action of doing something alone means that you are a step ahead!  That's my pep talk for this year. 
One of my goals for 2011 is to continue cooking and to try even more recipes. So, this morning I dragged myself to the gym (I'm an out-of-shape mofo! Another thing to work on...), ran to the grocery store, and came home to make a spicy Thai green curry dish. This stuff is soooo good and sooooo spicy that it was making me sweat. Yum!  I adapted the recipe from here. I can tell I'm becoming a better cook when I now can look at a recipe and easily adapt it according to my tastes and what is in my kitchen.

Score!!! Pictures! (Taken with my new, awesome camera that Santa brought for Christmas.)

Thai Green Curry in the skillet. Lots and lots of food. Yum!

Heaven, anyone?

Random, but here's a picture of my roommate, Miles.
This man lives on cereal and his TV. True story. Love it!

Learning New Things About... Myself

Despite the 20-some-odd years of living within my head, I'm still learning new things about myself. My thoughts, emotions, likes and dislikes---you name it. It's all fascinating, and sometimes a little shocking.

Things I've recently learned about myself:

I bought a dress (gasp!). I never wear dresses unless attending a formal event, such as a wedding. I love this dress and I feel like I belong in the show Mad Men while wearing it. Except that it has been sitting in my closet for 3 weeks. For some reason, I can't seem to wear it in public. Sigh.

I don't like coconut milk (or anything coconut flavored, really). I made this great spicy Thai Green Curry recipe. Except that it calls for coconut milk to mix the curry. Coconut is a giant mask that covers the taste of everything surrounding it. It's like crop-dusting your food with coconut-foul. The leftovers are now sitting in my fridge, untouched. Next time, I'm using broth instead of the abomination that is coconut milk.

The Denver Art Museum has free admission on the first Saturday of every month. I need to go more often. I recently killed some time just wandering around their gift shop and it took everything in me to not buy out their print and card collections.

I often pride myself as being a very motivated and hard-working individual. But some days I need a little help getting out of bed when the alarm goes off. (More days than I'd like to admit, actually.) So I took some cornball advice and created a motivational poster. The magazines I clipped from also tells you something about me: Better Homes & Gardens (thanks, Christy!), Runner's World, and Oxygen. There is a lot of blank space because I plan on regularly adding to it. This poster has only been in my life for a couple of days, but I already love it! It's amazing what a few words and a little bit of glue can do for you.

From Eco Street

Moving. Moving is scary, scary shiz. First, though, I need to find a new position that suits both my interests and my skills. I'm excited about the prospect, and a little nervous. But if it isn't hard then it isn't worth doing, right? Right??

In the end it'll work out. It always does.

And I'll have fun learning new tips and tricks about myself along the way.

I Like Food

I have to admit, this learning-to-cook thing is fun. A lot of fun! Of course, I have a loooooong way to go, but every time I try a new recipe I feel slightly more confident in the kitchen.

After eating my heart out at Lake Powell, I need to start watching my calories. My jeans are a little too tight for comfort.

Nonetheless, I am displaying some of the recipes I've conquered over the past month or so. Food porn. Enjoy!



Rice Crispy Treats with Peanut M&Ms

I made these for our most recent Guns & Garters extravaganza. Shooting guns is shockingly fun. I like it. Be scared. Be very scared.

The peanut M&M addition was compliments of my roommate---and a stellar idea it was.



Baked Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

The recipe said four servings. Obviously, there are seven burritos here. Luckily they're quick and easy to freeze and I can pull one out for a quick dinner at any time.



 The yummy stuffing: monterey jack cheese, brown rice, spicy black beans, mashed sweet potatoes.



 The spicy black beans were a particular favorite. I'll have to remember this mix and include it in anything and everything. Yum!


Banana Crumb Muffins, a popular recipe from All Recipes

These were good, but I like my other recipe for banana bread better.

Pioneer Woman's Artichoke Dip

Also yummy, but not one of my favorites. I'm a cheese and queso person. :)


Addditionally, I have been smart enough to beg for lessons from some of my amazing friends.


Emily!

Here's Emily on one of our girl's/baking nights where we gossip, make new recipes, and eat our creations while watching chick flicks. She is making an amazing chocolate and peanut butter dessert---waaaay better than Reese's peanut butter cups!


Breakfast Casserole

Here's a breakfast casserole recipe I got from a friend and took to Lake Powell with me.

It's a mixture of eggs, milk, sauteed veggies, spicy sausage, and lots o' cheese. A new favorite!!!



Chocolate Pots du Creme

And, here are some absolutely decadent Chocolate Pots du Creme. The one and only time I've watched the Food Network, they were making this and I had to have it. I even tracked down the recipe online.


Delicious!

I had my aspiring chef friend, Matt, help me with these. Too bad I didn't get his picture. In any case, any type of souffle is very hard to get right, and without Matt being there I would've messed up the recipe countless times!

I also learned that I'm ungodly slow at cooking. I knew that I was slow in the first place, but it truly came to light while watching Matt. For example, I slowly and carefully beat eggs. He just picks up the bowl and whisks the hell out of them. I mean, really, they're beaten eggs. Why be a perfectionist here? So many things to learn... I love it.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

We Know More Than We Think We Do

Oftentimes, I feel like I don’t know anything. Seriously. I am just a mass of cells or whatever wandering around the universe with no purpose---and no intelligence.

Then someone asks a question and I’m able to quickly and succinctly answer them or, at a minimum, send them in the right direction.

So maybe we know more than we think?

For example:

1. At work, the editors who are technically above me constantly ask for my advice on everything from letters and book descriptions to how to deal with difficult authors. It’s amazing how much I know about the publishing business. If I can’t answer, at least I am aware enough to say, “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask x or check out y?”

2. Cooking. I freak out every year when it comes to planning meals for our Lake Powell trip. I don’t know why. I’ve become a significantly better cook over the last year (I could only go up from incompetence). However, when cooking at home the only person who suffers from a complete mishap is me or my roommates. When on vacation, the 5 of us eat only two meals---breakfast and dinner---and we eat well. Very, very well.

The good news, though, is that I’m not as intimidated by new recipes. I already have my two dinners planned. Breakfasts are a challenge since I never make them on my own. I don’t think the guys will be too pleased with my standard instant oatmeal or yogurt and granola. I’m actually excited to try some new breakfast recipes this weekend. If they don’t work, there’s always eggs, bacon, and pancakes---and you can’t go wrong with the classics.

3. I don’t consider myself a fitness expert by any means. I do admit that I’m more active than the “average” person (whatever that means). Living in Boulder, I usually think that I suck as 60-year-olds pass me on trail runs. Recently, though, a number of friends have asked for my advice on training---and shockingly, I can answer their questions as well. More importantly, answering their questions means sending them to more reputable sources.

So maybe we shouldn't sell ourselves short? No, I don't know everything nor do I profess to. But then again, I'm not a waste of space either.

Nom, Nom, Nom

I've been cooking more lately---yay! Actually, I'm trying to save money and in doing so I'm working through all the leftovers in my freezer. This means a lot of frozen meat. I mean, a lot of meat. I don't eat nearly as much meat as I used to, so this is kind of hard for me. In fact, I'm typically a "weekday vegetarian" in which I don't eat meat during the week and at work. On weekends though, it's fair game!

So in working through my freezer this past week, I have conquered two lovely new creations:

First: Spicy Italian Meatballs

Meatballs!

These are my lovely little spicy Italian meatballs. Perfect for that leftover hamburger meat in the freezer and it makes a boring, old pasta disk soooooo much more exciting. I never knew what a dash of red pepper flakes could to to instantly spice things up. I got the recipe from here.

Heating up some spaghetti and meatballs in the amazing All-Clad pan that I got for my b-day.

I know you're supposed to use regular spaghetti noodles with meatballs, but I had penne on hand. So deal with it. And one day I'm going to have a giant kitchen filled entirely with All-Clad utensils. (I'll keep dreaming in the meantime.)

Second (and definitely a keeper): Homemade Pizza with Carmelized Onions and Grilled Chicken

Get in my belly!

Pioneer Woman kept broadcasting a version of this recipe, so I've been craving it for weeks. Honestly, weeks. I only substituted chicken for the proccuitto (because that's what I had in my freezer) and used a tomato sauce under the toppings. The carmelized onions are to die for.  I typically don't like onions but I'm drooling just thinking about it now.

Strangely enough, I think that working meat back into my diet is helping me both perform better in soccer and (gasp!) lose some weight. Usually by mid-week, I'd feel so protien deprived that I'd instinctively reach for the nearest candy bar just to eat something. But then again, this is probably just an excuse. No matter what I eat, I'm going to be reaching for the candy bars.

A note on the fitness side of things. In the past 4 days I have done a sunrise climb up Mount Quandary and have played four soccer games in a local tournament. AND I had a stellar goal in the tournament! It was a set play across the box---I brought it down with my head and 5-holed the goalie. Goosebumps, baby.

Mount Quandary double-rainbow

Justin & I at the summit

And, because I'm obsessed with my Kindle I took a picture of it while reading in the park on Saturday.

Dear Kindle, I heart you.

Random

Since I've been gone for so long, I'd like to share some of my random thoughts via cell phone pictures taken over the last couple weeks. Yup, that's right: I still don't have a camera. And I like it. Don't hate.

I've been riding my little commuter bike as much as possible. My goal for this week is to not drive my car unless I'm leaving town. It's easier said than done.

It's after 7pm on a Tuesday night. I'm at work. This is what my desk looks like. I hope I don't run into the Creepy Janitor.

I can actually look cute some days! Here's my rockin' new halter and cute scarf. The only good thing about having linebacker shoulders is that I can rock the halter tops.

I love, love, love my Korean shirt from Adam. He has a shirt from Boulder in return. Check out the awesome project, TXP.

Besides the office, I spend a ridiculous amount of time here: Boulder Indoor Soccer.

My office is boycotting Amazon. They're bullies. But I have a huge and slightly worrisome crush on my new Kindle. It's that amazing.

I have been cooking. Not as much as I should, but still. Cookies!

Lastly, I'm debating about going here: Australia. We'll see.

Random Thoughts + Stuck at Work + Cell Phone Pictures + Hot Chocolate = Love

Update 2.0

An update on my last two crazy weeks:

Lake Powell

Below are the few pictures I managed to snap with my camera phone. Remember how I need a digital camera? Yeah, still haven't bought one. I guess it isn't that high on my list. One thing about taking pictures is that you're always behind the camera instead of in front of it---good news.

My poppa catching a fish

Pretty largemouth bass

Bill hanging out

Randy silently fishing in back. If the fish didn't splash, you'd never know he caught anything. The rest of us yell, scream, and proclaim our greatness to the world whenever we reel something in.

This is now one of my favorite pictures. The two fishing pros---my dad and Bill---showing off their loot.

But it wasn't all fun and games. There was a lot of work to be done on the boat. Here are the guys working in the engine compartments. Why is everyone in the engine, you ask? Well, because of this....

We're sinking.

Here's the story: I went for a gorgeous run and came back with a bag of ice for our margaritas (priorities). Sheri then pronounced that we're sinking. I thought she was kidding. Not so much. I went to the back of the boat, snapped this picture of the engines, batteries, and generator submerged in water, and then I started bailing. Yes, bailing. With buckets. Meanwhile we were also hooking up electric water pumps. The picture above was taken after we had already set up a couple pumps---there was even more water before I got there.

Once we got all the water out the guys were able to determine the problem. When OffShore maintenance was replacing a seal, they didn't replace the rubber on seal or put the cap on correctly. On top of this, the bilge pump hose was off so it kept pumping water back into the engine compartments. Insanity. But the crises was averted and we've all lived to sail another day. Hurrah.

So after the long weekend, I am now back in the office. On a good note, I haven't had to play any soccer games this week. Yay! As for my round belly, boooooo.

Cooking

I haven't had the chance to cook in a while, so last night I tried a new recipe. For some reason, I thought zucchini pancakes sounded good. I wasn't thinking straight at the time. The progression:

Food processor! I was able to score this from my mom.

Zucchini! The food processor rocks. I can't imagine grating all this by hand.

So, you're supposed to form the zucchini and spices into little patties, cover them with bread crumbs, and fry them up in olive oil. Sounds easy enough, right? The start of it seemed to go well.

And then this happened. Either my pan is misshapen or the stove is not level---probably both---because all the oil pooled to one side of the pan. So instead of frying the patties and cooking them throughout, the breading just stuck to the pan and burnt. Awesome.

The final result was edible but I also learned that I don't like zucchini that much. Too bad my roomie, Kyle, wasn't home. He usually gets a kick out of my cooking adventures. He laughs, cries, and then takes over because he can't watch anymore.

Finally, I had to post this picture because it cracks me up. (See the pun? Get it? I'm so witty.) It's an ad for a fitness company. Happy Friday!