Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A preview of my spectacular photography..

So, I know you can't see this guy very well due to my inablity to zoom with my camera phone.. but he has been popping up on my swing set lately (the swingset came with the house.. don't jump to any conclusions!) and yesterday he even brought a buddy.. who flew away before I could get a picture. Pretty amazing to see. I am slightly perturbed thinking about the fact that he is probably scaring away/eating all my beautiful cardinals.. and also that he could easily eat Scoot. But it is still pretty neat. Here is another picture I found on google that shows you a better view of what kind of bird I think he is.. the closest thing that I thought he looked like is a red-tailed hawk. But the images of google look like a smaller bird.. the two birds I saw are HUGE!

Life in Coon Rapids is so exciting!

Bad Blogger!

So I have been a bad blogger.. but I have an excuse, kind of. I blame it all on my irresponsible nature.. which I'd like to blame on someone else.. but I have all very responsibly minded influences in my life.
First, I lost the charger to my camera.. so all my pictures I had taken with that.. I can't blog with until I find one of my two chargers for my camera.. I know, I know.
Second, I somehow managed to drop my phone in a cup of water.. and lost all the pictures on there.. Again.. I know how ridiculous I am.
So, I am out of pictures to blog with..but I have a new phone.. so I will catch up soon.. maybe. :)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Little things

Listening to this


Watching this, surprising I know.


Eating this.


Reading this


and this.


Enjoying these.

What are you enjoying right now?

Last Resort Taxi... at your service!


If you are ever in need of a ride back from the airport, I would love to help! But, be sure to check with your friends, neighbors, local Target cashier.. and if all else fails, call me! And maybe for your own peace of mind.. don't check my driving record.. you will feel so much better if you don't! :)

Tuesday Naphtali and Aidan came home from the East coast!
Aidan was a very lively passenger!

The ever-lovely Naphtali, with her equally lovely hat!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

GILAD

How can you resist this face?
I discovered Gilad last year when I was living at home for two weeks before I got married. Apparently, this is who my mom works out with every morning.. Dad did you know this? Anyways, I was hooked and bought this, and I am amazed at what a great workout it is! I always feel so motivated, which I think is due in part to all the winking and " Let's get rid of all this MUSH-MUSH on our thighs" and " You LOVE this exercise, you WANT this exercise"... etc. And all the winking. Eric is absolutely scandalized by Gilad. Nothing like a man in 80's spandex to motivate you. Ha!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Farmer's Market, Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways....

We found the most amazing gelato ever, at the Farmer's Market.. you are probably fully aware of how great it is, by the entirely too happy look on my face! We ended up choosing salted caramel and raspberry rhubarb, a winner for sure.


After Eric took the picture of me, he asked to "borrow" the gelato, and I never saw it again.. I have a rough life.



More beautiful flowers.


Dan, you must come visit me and we will go to the Farmer's Market and buy cheese, they had so much delicious cheese! All locally made and aged like you wouldn't believe.


I love kohlrabi with a little salt, and I have been eating it like it is going out of style.


I bought a beautiful bunch of carrots, and have been waiting for my lovely mother to come visit, so I can make her favorite cake!


My Dad always says, "I like pictures of dogs", I happen to like pictures of beets. I also thought Naphtali would appreciate the beets.


Last but not least, Snappy Dog Salsa, extra spicy. So incredibly delicious, and it lives up to it's spicy name. It has Eric's eyes watering when he eats it, and he's an Indian!


All in all we had a wonderful time at the Farmer's Market in St. Paul. I had never been to any farmer's market before, and it exceeded my expectations. There are so many beautiful displays and fun people to watch. We have also suddenly become very healthy, with berries every morning, and squash and kohlrabi coming out of our ears along with every other vegetable!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Rhubarb Muffins

I recently have become obsessed with rhubarb.. I know I am a little late to catch onto the trend, but I cannot get enough of it! These muffins are wonderful, but they get even better if you toss in some raspberries!

Rhubarb Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with paper cups.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix by hand just until blended. Stir in the rhubarb and walnuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling almost to the top. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, white sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of this mixture on top of each muffin.

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes before removing. Makes 24 muffins.

Credit: here


My favorite part of my new car...


There is an opening for the handle of my coffee mug in my new car!!! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? I also kind of feel like a rockstar with my sunroof.
If you think I am a little over the top, you should have seen my last car.

Himalayan


Credit: here

On Sunday evening we were in the area and Eric and I decided to visit my all time favorite restaurant Himalayan with our wonderful friend Malaika. Like always, the food was delicious, the service was great, and we had Yak dumplings! The best. The restaurant, I think, aims to serve food from all the regions the Himalayans cover, but it seems to be predominately Indian food with a little flair. Please visit my favorite restaurant, you won't be disappointed, and I would love for it to stay in business for many years to come!


The lovely Malaika and her mango laasi.


Yak dumplings!!


The enormous naan!

My all time favorite spicy chicken tikka masala.

Please excuse my terrible photography skills, they aren't wonderful to begin with, and then I used my phone to take all these pictures.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Grilling Season

Eric and I grill all the time. Since MN has such teeny tiny summers.. compared to the winters, we want to make the very most of our warmth! This summer, I found a wonderful grilling recipe that I use all the time. Almost every time I have company in fact.. so if you really want to try it, feel free to invite yourself over!

This is an incredibly versatile recipe, the first time I made it, I made it with skirt steak, which is what the original recipe called for. This gets a little spendy for bigger groups, so lately I have been making it with chicken breasts, which is just about as good. It's also very spicy, the rub and the avocado sauce especially.

Spicy [ Insert Meat Here ] with Avocado Dipping Sauce

RUB
2 tsp Kosher salt
(Easy on the salt.. it gets intense. Also, you can use any type of salt if you need to)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp chipotle chile powder (Or ALOT more!)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
( I usually double or triple all these spices, I like it flavorful!)

AVOCADO SAUCE
1 English cuke
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp minced jalapeno
1-2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

In a small bowl mix rub ingredients.


While we are on the subject, for the chipotle chile powder I found this. Normally I'm not much for bottles of premixed seasoning, but this stuff is really great. I use it on everything now.


Next, brush the meat you are using with olive oil and then season thoroughly with the rub. Let stand for at least 30 minutes. Next, cut about three inches from cucumber and coarsely chop, place in food processor with other sauce ingredients and puree until smooth. Garnish with dill and refrigerate until ready to use.


Enjoy your meat and maybe serve it with some wonderful summer berries.

Recipe adapted from a recipe in the June 2010 Better Homes and Gardens, which I receive thanks to my thoughtful Dad.

Must Have Been a Rough Day...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fur Ball

This guy needs a haircut, badly. I have decided after one too many extra "bad behavior" charges at the groomers that I am going to cut his hair myself. I am very foolish, I know. If you have ever met Scoot you are most likely fully aware of his "bad behavior". They always ask me before his haircuts.."Is there anything we should know about, is he especially high energy?".. I always do my best to act shocked that they would even ask such a thing about my little darling. I don't want to give them any more reason than they already have to charge me more! So, I am off to buy a clippers and attempt to groom him without killing myself or him. Wish me luck!