Cyrano de Bergerac

I became familiar with this play when my brother, Stephen, brought home the film version. I loved it then, and I love it now. This was my favorite show at the Shakespeare Festival. The play is about our hero, Cyrano. He may have a big nose, but he is also a gifted poet and swordsman. He is in love with Roxanne, but doesn't think he has a chance with her. Roxanne is in love with young Christian, seen on the left. Christian is supposedly gorgeous, but not so very bright...but he's bright enough to know he's not bright, so at least he's got that going for him. Cyrano wants Roxanne's happiness, so he offers to write love letters to Roxanne for Christian, and he does it with no agenda. The letters are beautiful and sincere. Christian and Cyrano both go off to war, and Cyrano risks his life twice a day to run back and deliver letters to his beloved Roxanne. I won't spoil the end, because you really ought to see the movie. This is the show that made me cry at the festival this year. Cyrano shows what unconditional and unceasing love is while he gets nothing in return. It's so touching, and it makes you wonder: What good is courage, if you don't use it for the things that count? What good is love if it isn't expressed?

TACO STAND!

Oh man, I wish my camera was working properly, so I could show you my actual beauty of a taco that I had today. This one looks really greasy: I can assure you that mine was not. It was perfect. I have been craving some good ole taco stand tacos for months. The problem with taco stands, is sometimes they roll off and you lose track of them...and sometimes they close at dinnertime...but I was heading back to one I knew of on 5th South in Bountiful, when I found a new one, on Main Street in Bountiful. It was delicious. I was not disappointed. Sometimes, the simplest, and most mobile things, are the best.

Wouldn't it be nice?

When asked what my favorite food is, my usual reply is baked brie with cranberry chutney on crackers. Delectable. When I go to Cedar City, I like to go to the Garden House. It's a great little restaurant that used to be a house. The decor and the garden create a beautiful balance between the old and the new, and the jazz music only adds to the fun. This time, I got to sit outside, and it felt straight out of a fairy tale. They take a good sized wedge of brie, wrap it in filo dough, and bake it. They're cranberry chutney is wonderful. It has a spice in it that I can't quite pinpoint. It has a distinct, clean refreshing flavor, but I can't quite tell what it is. The tangy zing and sweetness of the cranberries balances perfectly with the mellow, creamy, slightly bitter cheese. They serve this with a side of fresh seasonal fruit, which this time, happened to be melons and pineapple. It's so good.

Pastry Pub

The Pastry Pub in Cedar City is a wonderful place. First of all, every sandwich and salad there contains Muenster cheese, which is my favorite. They make a great salad that is made up of lettuce, slivered almonds, citrus fruit, muenster cheese, feta cheese, and a raspberry poppy seed dressing. It's lovely! This picture of muenster is deceptive. It's actually slices of muenster wrapped around some sort of cream cheese concoction, but I think it's pretty. I love pansies, they're up there with my favorite flowers. I think they're beautiful, but I also like the irony of the fact that "pansy" has become a term to describe someone who is a wimp or a chicken, and yet pansies last far into the winter when the other flowers have long since kicked the bucket and are among the first to pop out of the snow in the spring.

HEROES

Now, I prefer pics in my blog to have more bright colors than this, and frankly I'm not in on camo, but these people need to be honored, and there is nothing more beautiful than honorable people who believe in something. Who, with bravery and duty, fight for it with all the fighting in them. These are our heroes. What you see here is what is called the "largest re-enlistment ceremony ever held in military history" held on Friday, July 4, 2008 at Al Faw Palace, (former palace of Saddam Hussein), in Baghdad, Iraq. A Chicago pizzeria donated 2000 pizzas that were prepared by volunteers for this event. I'm truly touched to hear of this event, and am so grateful for the many men and women that protect me and my country and the rights that we enjoy.

Stir Fry Salad

Here's another good salad that's good, and good for you too. Make sure to use the unsweetened pineapple. However, I went on a spinach kick last semester, and 1) I may or may not have gotten food poisoning from it, and 2) I'm so sick of it cuz I ate so much of it. So at this point, I'm going for the crispetty crunchetty romaine even though spinache is probably way better and loaded with more vitamins etc....It's not good for me if I can't handle any more! That's what I'm sayin'! You could also just drop the lettuce and serve this stir fry as you normally would. Which reminds me...we don't have a wok anymore... :(

A'ight. Another healthful dish is black bean soup. Here's a great, simple, cheap, easy, healthful recipe I got from Jenni.

1 can chicken broth (normal size)

1/2 cup salsa

2 cans black beans

1 TBS chili powder

You can adjust the measurements to accomodate your heat preferences. Basically stick that in a pot and heat it up. Blend it with your immersion blender if you're fortunate enough to have one, otherwise you can SMASH IT REPEATEDLY with a potato masher, or something. Black beans are so good for you. Loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, this soup is good for you! About 1 cup of black beans alone contains 227 calories, 15.2 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fiber! Check it!

Healthful, Flavorful, Bene...erm...ficial!

Healthful, Flavorful, Bene..wait, that's dog food...but this is not, and this is good. Basically, here we've got the makings of a delicious down home dish that my mommy used to make me when I was young. It's loaded with vegetables, and I tend to use spaghetti squash instead of noodles because 1) I like the taste and texture of spaghetti squash better than noodles, and 2) they're way fewer calories, and if you're tryin' to keep a close eye on those, then this is a good dish fo' you.

Cook a spaghetti squash, and get all the meat out of it and into a casserole dish, top it with spaghetti sauce, then top that with steamed vegetables. We traditionally use zucchini and summer squash, but you could use whatever combination of vegetables you want ...I think my mom used mushrooms too...I ALWAYS omit those...I think water chesnuts and baby corn would be fun!). Layer that with some white cheese...monterey jack sure is nice. You could add some (cooked) lean turkey get some lean protein in there if you were feelin' it. Then stick it in the oven til the cheese is melted.

You can do anything with spaghetti sqush. It's a super good super food.

Clam Sauce

Ain't nobody don't like no clam sauce! And so, here is a good recipe for clam sauce, especially designed for people whose only fresh fish happens to be brine shrimp...

True Dat / Indeed

If you haven't already, you should WATCH THIS! It's a great speech by J.K. Rowling at the Harvard Graduation. I was going to put a quote here, but the whole thing is good.

Cool Salad Lacking a Cool Name

You got it Launa. Lime/Pear Salad. I need to think of a cooler name for this salad because it's rockin'! Basically, I julienne me a juicy, ripe, pear and I put a little salt, pepper, sugar, and lime juice on it, and let it get all juicy for a few minutes. Then I put a little sour cream in it and stir it up...it creates it's own dressing. Way to go, Pear. So then I just dump that on some salad greens with some cold cuts and some cheese, of course. Then you get the sweet and the salty and the salad all goin' on at once. Healthful, delicious, fo shizzle.

Grapes 'Splode When Ya Grill 'Em

Here is a lovely recipe. It's only 220 calories and 6 grams of fat for a serving of two skewers, and to be honest, I think it tastes a lot like the chicken kabobs at BC chicken. One tweak that I made to the recipe was using 1 teaspoon of coriander and no cumin, and I used lime juice instead, but that's just because it's what I had on hand. I would let the chicken marinate for a lot longer than 20 minutes in the 'fridge, acuz it's mo' bette' dat way. These also make great leftovers! If you don't have a George Forman (*sigh* I love the George Forman...that I also kifed from my Mommy...) then you could probably just cook up the chicken in a skillet (minus the skewers) with the grapes and everything and serve it atop whole grain brown rice. I haven't tried it, but I bet it would work and I bet it would be delicious!

GYRO not jai-roh

Wow. I was starving today at a paper store, but there was a Crown Burger just across the way...like an Oasis in the desert! Now, normally I do not like tomatoes, and I'm not a huge fan of raw onions, but this gyro sandwich made me so happy! I can't imagine it without the onions, I think they were key, with the creamy tzatziki and the spiced meat. It was sooo good.

Cinnamon Bundt

Alright folks, while I'm on the subject of cakes, this is one of my very favorites. I just use canola instead of corn oil, and I like to add a glaze on top to make it a little sweeter. I tend to only put the pecans in the middle of the cake, because they overcook when they're on the bottom...or top...it's debatable with a bundt. This recipe makes a great cake, because it's tender on the inside, but it's got a harder exterior, giving it great texture. The glaze can go something like...

3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup apple juice, 1/2 tsp vanilla, some cinnamon, with optional 1/2 teaspoons of butter and/or almond flavoring. Nuke it 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, and dump it on the bundt as soon as you remove it from the pan. Good times!

Lemon Cake

Here is another good cake. The directions are a little confusing, so here's what I do instead: I just put a little bit of lemon juice in the actual cake with roughly 1/4 teas. of ground ginger (fresh would be great, but who really has that lyin' around?), and I put the 1/3 cup lemon juice in 1 cup of regular granulated sugar and melt that in the microwave, then I pour it over the cake that has been perforated like crazy with a skewer or a fork, etc. I like this one. It's very moist like I liked it! Thanks go to Jenni for showing me this one.

Zere's a hole is zis cake!

Here is a lovely coffee cake recipe. I'm all about cakes with yogurt, sour cream, and/or pudding in them. Basically, I like me a moist cake! I also love this bundt pan that I kifed from my mommy! By the way, I don't like the glaze that the recipe calls, for, just use plain maple syrup. You could heat it up if you wanted, but cold is just fine. Sooo good.