Happy fall everyone! Adam loves squash so on our last grocery run we picked up one of the pretty squashes. A little olive butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped garlic later, we had delicata squash oven-roasted tender at about 425 degrees! Our chosen sides were a creamy potato soup with smoked ham and salad.
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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Enzo, the lab terrier mix, waxes philosophical in this funny and thoughtful novel by Garth Stein. The book begins at the end of Enzo's life, when his body is graying and arthritic, with an optimistic belief: that a dog who's soul is pure enough will be reincarnated as a man in his next life. And that's what Enzo yearns for the most, being a man. Oh and opposable thumbs are a plus!
Dogs are so expressive even though they can't speak, and I know that Adam and I always joke about what our Cavalier Spaniel-Poodle mix, Lily's, internal monologue would be about us and the things around her. The Art of Racing in the Rain satisfies that mindset tenfold!
Enzo's owner, Denny, is a race car driver and Enzo's best friend. They watched taped races together as Enzo yearns to ride shotgun in Denny's race cars. I loved seeing Enzo's thoughts about Denny's newly found love, eventual daughter, and family strife. I felt like I was actually seeing this world through Enzo's eyes.
Aside from Denny, the human's didn't have to be too fleshed out although Enzo's love-hate relationship with Denny's wife was interesting. Dogs just don't like some people sometimes and even they don't know why. This book gives the impression that dogs are more like people than people themselves. This was a fantastic borrowed read that I plowed through on a flight from Florida to Seattle, Washington, and I'll buy a copy for myself as soon as I can. (Thank you again Danielle!)
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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As a huge fan of The Tea Rose, I eagerly dove into the sequel, The Winter Rose, although it turned out to be unnecessarily long. The storyline involving the youngest brother, Seamus, that was introduced too late in the game at over two-thirds of the way to the end! There was more 19th century British politics in this sequel than I expected, although Donnelly made it all very interesting. Joe Bristow became his own man, but at the expense of making his wife and main character of The Tea Rose, Fiona Bristow, an illogical madwoman flying at any chance to see her criminal brother, Charles. | The end of The Tea Rose didn't sit well with me as far as the left-field decision of having Charlie fake his own death, but the payoff in The Winter Rose is huge. As criminal mastermind Sid Malone, Charlie becomes an entity all his own and I can believe that he stuck in the dark corners of Whitechapel and rather enjoying himself until he meets India Selwyn Jones. First off, the name "India" is still laughable to me especially since her parents were a stiff-uppercrust pair from British High Society circles. That aside, her storyline of becoming a doctor in a time were that wasn't what Society ladies did with their time was enthralling. The sacrifices that India made later were both interesting and infuriating. I could have done without the six-year gap between the endgame of Sid and India's affair but I liked the setting change to Africa. Freddie Lytton was a wonderful villain, deliciously selfish and patronizing, but I couldn't see any reason for his villainy other than greed. There should have been more depth to the character to vindicate betraying his closest friends more than just greed. I liked this expansive book almost as much as The Tea Rose, but Willa and Seamie deserve at least their own short story. The special circumstances of the relationship and separation of Willa and Seamie would actually fuel a whole book, an idea that I would look forward to reading. | |
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Adam had bookmarked the website to this little place in Apopka, Florida, for me in July and the place charmed me from the first moment I set eyes on it! This old Victorian painted a cheery blue with white trim use to be called The Captain and the Cowboy a while back, but was bought and re-branded as a charming Old Southern-style restaurant
outfitted in rich colors, plush seating, and hydroponic garden. Yes, the ingredients are that fresh!
There was a pianist playing and singing in the large main room, which
made Adam and I crave a corner on the outer veranda so we could hear ourselves. Since I'm a soup fanatic I had to have the asparagus and pistachio soup with crème fraiche, which was fantabulous! The soup itself was lightly seasoned but pretty much tasted like its namesake, but the crème fraiche lightened the overall finish and made my taste-buds fall in love. Then my main course was the sauteed veal cutlet, which was layered with country ham and sage. There was a slightly bitter wilted spinach on the side, which I brought home out of gilt at the end of the night. There were also some tender roasted potatoes on the side and a strong white wine sauce, strong meaning a little too salty if I ate too much at one time. I liked the veal cutlet but I liked Adam's entree, a special seafood plate with yellow jack and thick, flavorful diver scallops, more by far! Between the soup, entree, freshly baked loaf of bread and cornbread in a cast iron skillet, we were too stuffed to even entertain the idea of dessert but we promised ourselves we'd go back soon!
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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I just saw this little guy at the feeder with another very red Northern Cardinal. They're so fast! I couldn't even snap a third photo before he flew up into the tree in deep camoflauge. The Painted Buntings I saw last year haven't returned but I'm still holding out hope that they'll be back some time. Until then, Cardinals and Blue Jays are abundant in my backyard, which makes me a happy amateur bird watcher. =D
Originally posted on marit.vox.com - Tags:birds, nature
- Mood:cheerful
 - Music:Television // The Learning Channel // Cake Boss
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Hamburgers are easy to make from scratch, the only Golden Meaty Rule on seasoning being not to overdo on the salty items! So I decided to buy about 1.5 pounds of the leanest ground beef at the local market and mix together some sliders, although I only used about half of the meat first and stored the rest. Here's what you need: Ingredients: 1/2 lb Lean Ground Beef
1/2 White Onion
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
4 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
Slices of Provolone (Optional)
Shredded Cheese (Optional)
1 Pkg of Mini-Buns Yeild: 5 - 6 Mini-Burgers
Building BlocksThe building blocks of meaty goodness are very simple and are generally the basics of any fridge, pantry, et cetera. I used Sargento sliced aged Provolone rolled up to fill a few of my burgers and sliced aged Swiss to line the mini-buns. If the egg looks out of place, it's really right at home; the egg will keep the burgers from falling apart!
Mix In the Mix-Ins
These little burgers are in the middle of being mixed and hand-molded into palm-sized versions of their regular-sized cousins. I used a spatula to fold my ingredients into the beef because I don't like when the meaty bits get stuck under my fingernails, but feel free to get hands-on with these! Especially since rolling the cheese into the middle of a mini-burger is easily done in the palm of a hand.
Mini-Burger BedsSmall burger buns made for sliders work perfectly but potato dinner rolls or any other kind of dinner roll works just as well. I topped my little burgers with red-tipped lettuce because the sweetness evens out the seasoned burgers and condiments.
The Foreman, the the Buns
After about 15 minutes on the Foreman grill, with one flip-over about half-way through, these burgers were ready for their buns. The Swiss got a little melty just after this photo was taken, but it was all in the name of tasty burgers!
Plated and Served
Wondering where that whipped butter in the first photo went? Smooshed into my burger of course! That detail earned a surprised laugh from Adam, but really, it's tasty! Two mini-burgers each were enough for us, but half a pound of ground beef will yeild about five to six mini-burgers. Once I'm actually able to make oven-baked potato wedges to be nice and crispy I'll post about them, but until then these sliders were tasty by themselves. Num!
Originally posted on marit.vox.com - Tags:food, recipes
- Location:Home
- Mood:creative
 - Music:Soundtrack // Coraline // The Party
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Adam and I were invited to Priscilla and Garrett's wedding in St.
Augustine, Florida, so we made a sightseeing weekend out of it filled
with lots of monuments, photos, and delicious food!
Guests at the wedding were encouraged to wear fantabulous Kentucky
Derby-inspired hats! Thus, Adam and I sporting our spiffy caps.
Everyone got in the spirit and sported their own caps too. The
reception was at the Casa Monica Hotel,
which is where Adam and I decided to kick up and relax for the weekend. It's a gorgeous historical place with comfy rooms and great service! Plus, the in-room Starbucks didn't hurt either. In addition to the wedding, Adam and I visited the Castillo de San Marcos, San Sebastian Winery, the courtyard at the Lightner Museum, and the beach at Anastasia State Park. Try the yummy breaded haddock and fries if you visit the park!
Oh and I also recommend the Santa Maria Restaurant, where we feed catfish while we ate! Some seriously delicious seafood at that place.
The rest of the pics from our weekend have been uploaded to this photo album.
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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Just visited the beach without a strong sun and a great breeze! Plus, these flamboyant little flowers are everywhere. =D
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Yesterday, instead of making a meaty pasta dish like I had originally envisioned I decided on a loaf of proteiny goodness: meatloaf. A few Google searches later, I decided on a Country Meatloaf recipe from About.com. With a few willy-nilly substitutions and additions, here's the journey to a meatloaf that can stand on its own without any tomato-based ingredient like ketchup!
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Olive Butter
8 oz Sliced Mushrooms
1 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Cup Thinly Sliced Celery
3/4 Cup Shredded Carrots
2 Tbsp Water
2 lbs Ground Beef
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Lemon Pepper (Optional)
1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (Optional)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil (Optional)
Veggies into the Skillet
Melt the butter and simmer all the veggies over medium heat for 10 minutes or until tender. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit at this point.
Meat into a Large Bowl
Combine the ground beef, flour, parsley, olive oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and veggies. Mix and fold over until you have a giant bundle of meaty goodness!
Square Shapin' Time
Put the meat into a greased, shallow baking dish; I used an 8-inch square baking dish. Pat the meat down until it takes the shape of the dish and bake for 55 minutes or until browned. Serve with optional gravy or pretty much any side dish you can think up.
A Slice of Loaf and My Side Dish
Courtesy of Adam, my side dish was a Yelptini Cocktail!
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This quirky little caper movie
hits an interesting medium between a dramedy between two brothers and
an Oceans 11 outting with a few twists. No one put forth a ground-breaking performance here, but Rachel Weisz
was just as captivating and charming as ever as a society shut-in who
learns dozens of skills and disciplines just to amuse herself. She
throws herself whole-heartedly into her roles and it shows. Plus, Rinko Kikuchi was a trip as the silent Bang Bang, the demolitions expert the Brothers Bloom rely on during their schemes. As
a result, both Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody were outshone by their
female co-stars but still did respectable jobs depicting the conflict
between their own characters. Ruffalo's character is too reserved to be
likable. Maybe a little more earnestness would have made his God
complex a little more sympathetic, but Ruffalo's performance came
across as distant and clueless to fit into the journey Adrien's Brody's
character was on. Then again, maybe Stephen was meant to be just a
hurdle on Bloom's journey, but I could have done without any words after the climax. The
final lines of the movie seemed tacked on, but didn't hinder my
enjoyment of the rest of this cute caper movie. There are more laughs
and tears in this movie than I'm mentioning but you should see it
yourself to find out. Rating (1-5): 4 Bang Bangs out of 5 Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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