Jan 18
Today I went out of my normal head down approach to our neighbors and delivered some eggs. Now don't get me wrong, our neighbors are nice people. In the summer everyone exchanges friendly hellos as they're out doing yard work. In the winter, it's a little hard for various reasons - we're inside more, lack of daylight, etc.
Yesterday as my husband and I were headed out to do the recycling, the neighbor across the street and Zach struck up a conversation, which ended in us getting some canned trout and salmon. In return, Zach made the promise of eggs. Seeing the opportunity this evening (the neighbor was bringing in his trash cans) I seized it and ran the eggs over. I'd say it was a successful neighborly exchange.
Jan 9
Today Zach and I went skiing and snowboarding at Hilltop Ski Area. In my only previous attempt to snowboard (off the practice hill) in 2008, I made it on a chair lift once and never made it all the way down the mountain under my own volition. Today I not only made it down three times, but I also actually enjoyed the last two runs. In fact, the last run was great, except the very end where it was very steep to me. I fell back on my go-to technique, sliding down on my butt (works on cross country skis too). It was a beautiful day with the sun peeking out in the early afternoon and the mountains across the inlet in full view. I definitely won't wait another two years until I get out again.
Jan 6
Well, and coming up with a new one. As the date drew near for classes to begin, I started to examine why I was going back to school. After considering the reasons, I've decided that while yes, I do one day want a Masters in Public Administration degree, the career goals in which I want to accomplish with that degree or at least with that knowledge are not realistically in the next 5 years. In the meantime, professionally, I plan to hone my skills and seek out new experiences that allow me to expand my skills without necessarily requiring a whole new degree.
As for my life (that thing that happens outside of work) I plan to use this year to explore, whether its new foods, new places, new adventures. As long as its done in the spirit of exploration and learning, I think it will be time well spent. Those are my words for this year, explore, learn and evaluate. As I try to figure out where I want my life to go in the next 5-10 years and beyond, I think evaluation will be very important.
I believe I may have avoided the existential crisis for now.
Jan 4
I've been intrigued by the sea food mix at one of our local grocery stores for quite some time. I seem to walk by it on almost every trip to the store and even from time to time pick it up and peer into the clear plastic window. So, when I ran across this recipe from Self.com, although not exactly the same ingredients, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally buy the seafood mix and give it a try. I simply substituted 3/4 of the bag for the seafood called for in the recipe. The results were quite tasty.
Thai Seafood Hot Pot
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 oz dried rice stick noodles
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- Zest of 2 limes (about 1 tbsp)
- 1-2 Thai red chiles, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, minced
- 6 sprigs cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 2 sprigs basil, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms
- 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 large sea scallops, cut in half
- 1 cup frozen calamari rings, thawed
- Juice of 1 lime
PREPARATION
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Stir in noodles; remove from heat. Let stand until noodles soften, 7 to 10 minutes; drain. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook shallots, garlic and onion until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add stock, juice from tomatoes, coconut milk, vinegar, fish sauce, lime zest, chiles, sugar and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cilantro and basil; reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 minutes. Remove garlic, cilantro and basil from pot; add tomatoes and mushrooms. Return to a simmer. Add shrimp and scallops; cook 2 minutes. Add calamari and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among 4 bowls; top with broth and seafood; garnish with remaining basil and cilantro.
Dec 31
I made it not only until the fireworks at 8pm, but also until after the new year arrived. I'm paying for it a bit today.
Sent from my iPhone
Dec 31
Well about 1/2 the list is complete. I'll likely count anything done by Monday as coming in under my self imposed deadline, especially since I got distracted with demolition in the kitchen today. Off to tackle #2. Only one small wall to paint.
Dec 29
Made graham crackers tonight for the first time. The recipe came from the same book that had the instructions to make bacon.
Dec 27
Zach got me
this great book for Christmas and I decided to jump right in with making bacon. It's a 7 day process, but now all I have to do is wait and flip the bag in the fridge once a day. Once the meat has cured, I'll smoke and then slice the bacon. So far the process is really easy and makes me wonder why I didn't make my own bacon sooner. Next up, graham crackers.
