No lamb. Iz no k.

It's been a great week for cooking! I learned how to make pita bread. I forgot to take a picture before they were all eaten, but they looked like this out of the oven. They sure were tasty with my souvlaki, tzatziki (I'd hyperlink this for you but the recipe I used seemed to have disappeared from foodtv.com, so if you want it, send me an e-mail), and y'know tomatoes and onions as are appropriate for a gyro. I would've loved to make traditional gyro meat, but...I got no food processor or...a spit. I think I'm cursed though! This is the fourth time I've tried to make lamb souvlaki, and every time, without fail I've never been able to make it with lamb! What is that?! The first time, I couldn't leave the house, so I sent my friend out to get the lamb. Poor guy went to three stores before he found lamb at all, and it wasn't ground and they wouldn't grind it for him. So we used beef... :( The second time I found a place that sold ground lamb and it was on sale! But by the time I got there, they were out. The third time hardly counts because I didn't even put it on skewers, and I just used what I had on hand which was pork. (Can't really complain about pork though, can you?). This time though, this time I was ready. I had it under control. I found a place that sold lamb and I was totally stoked. This was on Monday. I decided not to buy it right then and there because of course they always sold lamb right? I didn't want to freeze it because I wanted to use fresh lamb, and they grind they're meat daily, so I was going to come back the night before my party...when I came back...ALL the lamb was replaced with BISON! Bison is not even remotely meditteranean! *sigh* That's my curse. No lamb for Jackie. Whatever happened to "iz ok, I make lamb?"...Iz no k. However the shindig was great. Greatest ward activity EVER. Mulicultural cook off! Right up my alley!

Modern Art or Something

This is a recent composition that is thusfar untitled. On the right, we have a homework assignement gone horribly wrong--a transparency that melted to the drum in the printer. On the left we have a piece of tupperware I found this morning that had fallen from the the top rack in the dishwasher only to land on the heating coil. Not so much leak-proof anymore, but it was actually never very leak proof anyway. These are set atop burnmarks in my kitchen table (which were not my fault by the way, that particular mishap doesn't claim my name). So I'd like you to comment and let me hear your cheesiest artistic interpretation as to what this could possibly mean to the soul of the artist...or the accident prone...whichever.

White Asparagus?

Tried white asparagus the other day. Intriguing. No doubt. You know me though...I'm stickin' with the green...Wow. That was succinct.

Chilis that Bite

I found the most wonderful thing! There's a farmer's market of sorts...but it's actually in a building and it's open all year round! It gets great produce, and it's really cheap! Plus, their weekly adds overlap on Wednesday's, so you get double savings when you shop then! They also have a huge cheese selection! I was so excited when I got in there, oh man. Grapefruit was 10 for $1. Amazing. It's called Sunflower Market, and there's also one in Murry if you're ever in town. So when I got home from that I made this Thai Green Curry Chicken and let me tell you, I love allrecipes.com. It's pretty much got every recipe I need (usually many different versions), with lots of friendly reviewers that tell you which recipes are the best and
what to do to improve any of the recipes. It also has nutritional information, so it's pretty much my favorite. I haven't turned away from foodtv.com, don't you worry, but for my everyday needs allrecipes.com is the best. Thanks Jenni, for showing me the real deal. Oh, while I'm on the topic of things that must stay--low fat coconut milk. Way to go people. Still the great flavor and silky smoothness, like half the fat and calories. Whoo-hoo! So anyway, as I was making this curry, I remembered that last time I made a green curry, it just didn't quite have the kick I was going for. I don't love really spicey food, but sometimes I want just a little excitement, maybe enought to clear out my obnoxious sinuses. I happened to have a few chilis from my dad's lovely garden, so I thought I'd chop one up and drop it in. Before I did so, I though "I should use gloves," but I didn't have any, and last time I tried to find them at the supermarket I was unsuccessful, I didn't want to borrow my roommate to ask if I could use hers, and I figured that it wasn't like it was a habanero or anything, what harm could it do? I'd be fine.... Most definitely not fine! I got capsaicin burn so bad! I washed my hands in the hottest water I could stand (which was tepid haha) and scrubbed and scrub with grease cutting dish soap! I tried lime juice, I even went to the extreme and cleaned the shower with a harsh bleach cleaner, and still--I couldn't get the chili oil out of my fingers! So I ran over to the drug store and got some aloe vera, and with repeated applications and more hand washing, the burning was finally alleviated. Whew! So basically, it was hard to enjoy the curry that night. However, the next night when my hands weren't hogging all the attention, I enjoyed a very lovely, delicious, green curry. Good stuff.

Ode to My Space Heater

Ode to my heater
So toasty, so warm
You keep me relaxed at night.
If it weren't for you,
There's a time or two,
When I might have wound up
With Frostbite.

Whoo-ee! I've never been so glad for a space heater (except maybe last year when I lived in the chilly, nay, FRIGID north country) than the past weekend, because I discovered on Saturday morning in an unpleasant way that my heater is broken (not the personal one...the big one). I didn't call the management because for them an "emergency" consists of something that will damage the property such as a fire or flood, not something that will potentially damage your physical (being cold or getting a cold--which I already had both of) or emotional state (being very angry and bitter). I'm afraid that I didn't get much of a buffer of a fall to prepare me for this forboding winter, we're in for. Most of the leaves haven't even turned in the valley yet, but we had our first flurries of snow on Sunday Morning. I know I should take the new and improved attitude of Phil Conners and gleam at the thought of a "long and lustrous winter," and it is beautiful, no doubt about that. Those mountains are always gorgeous, no matter what color they are, but...I can't stay inside all day by the fire (or space heater as it were), know what I mean? However, I'm going to be sensible this year and cave into wearing appropriate winter wear. I am actually wearing a woolen sweater at this very moment, and socks! That's pretty impressive for me. I MAY even buy a pair of...boots. The ellipsis were for dramatic effect. Did I ever tell you the story of how I got my space heater? No, but I will now. One winter morning, my Father asked me how I slept. I replied that I slept with a sweatshirt on, and three additional blankets atop my bed, and I was STILL cold (we often refer to my parents as polar bears). He then bought me a space heater, which I treasure to this day (and have been known to use in the summer at my parent's house).

Last weekend I went home to the beatiful vegetable garden that my Dad grows, and brought back a big box of vegetables, mostly zucchini and bell peppers! I made this zucchini bread, and it is to die for (or at least to live for)! I made some minor adjustments, on the advice of those lovely people on allrecipes.com that plug in to tell you how to improve the recipe. I replaced 2 of the cups of flour with whole wheat flour, 1/2 the oil with all natural apple sauce, I didn't add the nuts, I used 3-4 cups of grated zucchini, and I did not squeeze the water out of it--why would you do that if you wanted a moist bread worth eating? So good, and fairly good for you. I mean, it's got half the fat of normal zucchini bread, and it's made from a big pile of zucchini and whole wheat. Lovely!

Ambiguous squash, Greek Peppers, and oh yikes, no that's not what I'm here for! OR My Defenses Are Down, as it were.

Well yesterday I made "Zucchini 'Crab' Cakes." They, of course, tasted absolutely nothing like crab. They were kind of like a combination between a crab cake, Grandpa Stephen's stuffing, and what I imagine a latke(sp?) would be like. I liked 'em though. Anything that somewhat resembles Grandpa's stuffing has got to be good, right? And I love Old Bay seasoning, and am so happy to finally be the proud owner of my very own can. Today I made Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers which were lovely. It's a very interesting taste combo, but I liked it. Basically anything with raisins, pine nuts, and feta has got to be good. I love feta oh so much.
I also went to visit the doctor. I don't like to visit the doctor when I have sore throats, because they're never able to help unless it's strep...which it never is...but since my nasal and throat issues have persisted for a month, it was time to check it out. So I went and got your typical throat swab and went to the lab to wait for the results while watching Monster's Inc. When the nurse called me over to tell me the results, he had me sit in the "comfy" chair, which had an odd arm rest on it...I saw what he was up to, he was about to take my blood! "Wait, I'm just waiting for results from a culture," I said with detectable rising panic in my voice. I'd never had my blood drawn before. It wasn't bad at all. Anyway I've got some crafty virus that has apparently gotten into my bone marrow and decreased my white blood cell count--hence the fact that I'm stuck in an eternal cold! It also means that I'm slightly anemic, which is lame. So now I'm taking a multi-vitamin (I checked to make sure this one had iron) and some wierd herbal thing that's supposed to boost my immune system. I hope it works. At least I now know that I'm not allergic to dandilions or ragweed (at least when ingested).

Birthday

Fall is in the air and in the trees, which means that my birthday has come around again. The changing of the seasons accompanies my own change in age. The only noticeable difference is that I have a little harder, and dig a little deeper when someone asks me how old I am.

Because I was out of town prior to my birthday (more on that later I hope) I wasn't anticipating a very good one because I knew that I would spend all day doing "Language Science" homework, which I did. I diagrammed sentences for well over six hours yesterday. However, it was a pretty good day regardless. Elder Andersen sent me some French and Swiss chocolate which is, of course, heavenly. I bought myself some Danish Fontina, which I had never had before. It is very smelly, and very delicious, very much like a Swiss cheese.

My awesome brother, Stephen took me out to lunch for my birthday. He is such a gentleman, and is so nice to me. It's great having him here on campus. We had calamari, which is something I've only had once before, and it was overcooked that time and consequently...well, it tasted and had the texture of a garden hose. However, this deep-fried calamari had a not-too-chewy texture, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

How's that for a vacation?

How's that for a vacation, eh? Nestled in a little nook in the mountain range, we enjoyed activities such as hiking, ice-skating, trying various foods that are too rich to eat on just any day (a.k.a. Lobster Bisque!) , painting, biking, riding scooters, fishing, swimming, shopping, running, and just lounging around with the greatest people on the planet, namely, my family. What a great trip! I wouldn't have missed it for the world!