Pi vs. Pie

Happy Pi Day, everyone.  Not that I'm really celebrating....I didn't even realize the "all-important" connection until, while walking to work today, I noticed little chalk messages written all over the sidewalks on campus.  Someone actually took the time to write out 20 or so digits of Pi in multi-colored chalk.....math geeks!  Don't you have something better to do than show off your unusual interest in things that the rest of us would rather erase from our memories (if they're not already forgotten, as in my case)?  Then again, maybe I'm just jealous.  And references to Pi and Albert Einstein (I learned from the sidewalk that it's his birthday today, too) bring up painful memories of my least-favorite subjects.  That could be why I made it a point to walk right on top of the rainbow-colored inscriptions.  I did refrain from shuffling, however, so I don't feel too bad.

So, in lieu of a "Pi Day" celebration that I can't really condone, I think I will make it a "Pie Day."  And, in lieu of a real "Pie Day" (because, sadly, I have none), I will make it a "Pie Hole Day," which, of course, means a Pushing Daisies marathon, complete with my favorite Pie Maker.  Add to that some homemade soup, a cozy bed, and hazelnut hot chocolate, and you've got the perfect way to end a rainy, post-DST Monday.  I know I should get out and run/go to FHE/do something productive, but this sounds so much more enticing.

Ned, the Pie Maker.  Enough said.

A little bit of sibling rivalry never hurt anyone...

Did I mention I love crafting?  I don't always have the time or energy for it, but when I do, I just love to make cute stuff!  I'm sure there are lots of women like me...who are probably better at it than me, too.  Oh well!  

Usually the crafting bug hits around the holidays (rightly so!), but as I often have to make a trip to Michaels or Hobby Lobby for work (I love my job!), and we have tons of scrapbooking stuff at my work too (and, did I mention, The CRICUT!  I LOVE my job!!)....I have kind of been in the mood to craft.

My supplies are really limited, but I am amazing at finding good deals (if I do say so myself)!  Yesterday, I went to Michaels in search for materials to make cute book covers.  Kathy had shown me a really cute mini Book of Mormon that she had covered for a Relief Society activity, using scrapbook paper and ribbon, and of course, I had to make one myself.

Everything I bought was on sale, but I am particularly proud of the stamps...the stamps with the two birds on a branch and the cupcakes were each a penny (!!), the shoes and handbag stamps were each 50 cents, and the bird stamp was $1.  

Five stamps for $2.02!  Go me!!

Lessons learned at the Hub

The TSC (that's USU's Taggart Student Center, folks) has failed to impress in its culinary offerings thus far.  I was craving Asian food for some reason (perhaps because my co-worker, Carly, had some tasty-looking noodles and veggies at lunch.  Thanks, Carly!  ;D), so........where else could I go but the Hub?

 I have to admit, this mix of cafeteria- and food court-style eating is a somewhat intimidating, albeit convenient fixture of the Student Center, offering a challenge to a reluctant decision-maker like me.  Pizza or sub sandwich?  Do I go healthy and choose the ubiquitous salad, or do I give in to my ever-present desire for carbs, defy convention, and order a bagel and cream cheese for lunch instead of breakfast?  Well, driven by a hankering for teriyaki sauce and sticky rice, today I was a little more sure in my decision-making, and went with the pre-assembled chicken/veggie/rice bowl under the heat lamp.  Not usually the best place to find authentic Asian food.  I should have known this. 

Don't get me wrong...the food wasn't horrible, just not great.  And the extra teriyaki sauce I was so eager to add actually made it worse, I think.  I had to force myself to shovel down the last bite (I can't stand to waste food, especially when I paid about 6 bucks for it!), which is never a happy way to end a meal.

So, needless to say, I came away from the experience less than satisfied, and almost immediately began my Plan of Attack for dinner.  When I got home, all it took was a glance in the fridge, and I knew what I would be making.  Leftover jasmine rice+fresh green beans+some secret ingredients=a recipe for craving-satisfying success.  

Ok, so I guess I won't keep the ingredients secret.  As much for my benefit as for yours, again, I am documenting this meal and its creation...because one day, I'd like to remember how my life really revolved around food. 

Wait...what? 

 Oh well, here it is anyway..... ;)

Jenny's Sweet and Spicy Green Bean Rice Bowl

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

One large handful fresh green beans, washed, ends trimmed (about 3 cups)

3 sliced cloves garlic

1/8 cup chopped peanuts

1 tsp. chili paste (in the Asian food section...can use chili garlic paste, too)

2-3 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. rice vinegar

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. honey

1 cup leftover rice

Sautee the green beans and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet/frying pan.  After a few minutes, add peanuts, then once green beans and garlic are tender and lightly browned, add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, then add brown sugar and honey.  Keep stirring and cook until the sugar has melted and slightly caramelized, coating the green beans and garlic.  While the green beans are cooking, put rice in a serving bowl, sprinkle with a little bit of water, cover in plastic, and reheat in the microwave for about 1 minute on high.  Serve green beans over leftover rice.

Craving Satisfied!

Lessons learned:  If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.  

And skip the extra sauce.

I think this is turning into a cooking blog...

Asian Wheat Berry Salad

So, another recipe, just because I love cooking so much...I think I'm obsessed with food!  :)

Asian Wheat Berry Salad
1 cup hard wheat berries, cooked (add salt and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour)
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste), sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 small carrots, chopped into medallions
1 cup cooked edamame (also boiled in water and salt)
1/2 cup peanuts, shelled and skinned
3 small clementines, peeled and wedges cut out
3-4 strawberries, chopped
1 cup rice vinegar (to taste)
1/8 cup soy sauce
3 tbs. sesame oil (to taste)
3 tbs. honey (to taste)

Sautee the onions in a bit of olive oil, then once onions are translucent, add garlic and carrots.  Cook until onions, garlic, and carrots are slightly golden, then add peanuts and cook for a minute or two.  Remove from the heat, then add the wheat berries, edamame, clementines (plus any remaining juice), and strawberries, and stir.  Then add the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey and mix until well integrated.  Chill for at least an hour or overnight.

Yummy.  And it kinda seems like it would be good for you, too!  ;)

Beware: excessively long blog...consider yourself warned! :D

I know, I know...I've been slacking.  I haven't blogged since Monday!  Well, it's been a busy week.

Tuesday morning, I slipped and fell on the ice in my parking lot.  Ouch.  Funny, I wasn't sore at all from skiing, but I was walking around like an old woman at work because of my little incident.  I figure it was long time coming...I had been lucky to avoid it for so long!  At least no one was around to see.  And now I have a gnarly bruise on my hip where I fell.  :D

Tuesday night, I went to the temple with my ward...I had been planning this trip for a while (I'm the ward Temple Trip Coordinator), and was really scared that people wouldn't show up.  But it was a success!  Can I just mention that I love that place?!  The temple is awesome.  And this time, I actually stayed awake for the whole thing.  Yay me!

Then we had a dinner at Bro. Roderick's house, with lots of yummy food.  They're so awesome....Sis. Roderick also brought lots of names for us to do the work for at the temple.  What would I do without such amazing people in my ward?

After dinner, we had a game night at my house with a few people from the dinner, as well as some of my roommate's friends.  We played "White Lies," and I learned, to my surprise, that I am a really good liar!  Good thing?  Maybe not.  Haha.  Just for your comfort, I hate lying.  Even if I might be good at it.  ;)

Then we played "Curses."  I'm really bad at this game.  So glad I got out early....hee hee.  But I really enjoyed laughing at all the other people making fools of themselves.  Especially Taylor and his witch voice.  Ha!

Thursday night I went bowling with Jason, Cade, Taylor, and Matt (after taking a 3-hour nap after work, that is!).  I came in last, of course (I REALLY need to practice!), but I still had fun.  Same time next week guys?

Yesterday was a great day at work...we went on a field trip to the Village Inn with our kids and their families.  We had been playing "restaurant" at school all week for snack (which was SO much fun, by the way!  I absolutely loved it.), so this was the culminating event in our restaurant theme.  Not a bad way to spend my Friday!  I love my job.  :)

After work all of my coworkers and I had a Girls' Night at Le Nonne here in Logan...a great little authentic Italian restaurant on the cutest dang street in town.  I think the ambience was enhanced by the winter storm that blew in, though I don't know if it was the storm the weather people hyped it up to be.  Just a few inches of snow, that's all!  A little bit sketchy to drive home in, but I didn't let that stop me, because I had a delicious dessert in the passenger seat to get home safely...if you haven't heard of Profiterol, you'll at least understand the words "chocolate-covered cream puffs."  Yes, I made it home alright, and savored every last bite, then followed it up with some Roastaroma tea.  I also had a 3-hour-long chat with my twin sis.


Life is good!

Here it is...Profiterol!

I don't think the camera can capture all the deliciousness...

Just call me Jonny Moseley!

That's right....I'm a skier!  I ski.  Starting today.

Now let's just get this straight...I'm a California girl, a city girl, and I could probably count my experiences with snow on one hand, before moving to Logan.  I've never even worn a pair of ice skates (I'm rubbish on roller skates, or anything with wheels, for that matter!), let alone a pair of skis.

But I decided to go along when I heard that a bunch of people from church (my Single's Ward and about 3 other wards) were going up to Beaver Mountain Ski Resort for our Family Home Evening activity.  Up until the moment I set foot in the rental shop, I wasn't sure I wanted to try it.

Let's just say that I have a wonderful mother who always tried to keep me safe and protect me from scary things like rip tides and avalanches and kidnappers, so there are quite a few things I haven't done and places I haven't been.  But to my mom's credit, I'm still alive, and have never even broken a bone.  And I've had many opportunities in my adult life to be adventurous and prove to myself that I have the courage and the ability to do scary things.  Like skiing.  

But I'll admit, upon arriving at the ski resort and looking at the slopes, I was sure that I would be staying inside the lodge, safe and warm, drinking hot chocolate and laughing at all the people face-planting outside in the snow.  It took a little coaxing, but soon I was all set up with borrowed snow pants, a warm wool sweater and of course, rented ski gear.  Then there was no turning back!

My ski rental receipt.  Proof!
The only proof I have, really, since I didn't take any pictures.

First of all, I should mention that just walking in ski boots is no easy task!  It's like learning to walk all over again!  My friends Lucy and Pearl gave me some pointers and some encouraging words, but my first few tries down the smallest of hills I could find were, in a word, discouraging.  I fell a couple of times, but even after four or five times, I just couldn't get the hang of it!  I didn't feel comfortable at all.  I wasn't even having fun.

When we went inside for a chili/hot chocolate break, it was all I could do to convince myself to go out again, just to get my money's worth.  Thankfully, one of my friends from the ward (who also happens to give ski lessons) offered to be my personal instructor.  For free!  Thanks, Matt!

Finally, with Matt's help, I didn't feel like skis and I were mortal enemies any more!  We actually got on pretty nicely after a while.  You know, it really helps when you learn the right form and technique...go figure!  I was perfectly to content to just stay on the bunny slope the rest of the night, but Matt had to challenge me to go up the lift to the big hill!  I couldn't back down.  Maybe that was my pride...I always have to try something at least once, just to prove that I can do it.  I'm a perfectionist, what can I say?!  But I also trusted that Matt wouldn't let me die.  Because that would just be a horrible way to end the night!

So, yep, I went up that lift, and I skied down the whole mountain without even falling.  Ok, so Matt stayed in front of me the whole time, offering his hand or arm or shoulder or whatever I needed to steady myself, even acting as a human bumper when my skis started getting away from me.  But I did it!  I skied.  And it was pretty fun, after all!  I knew this day had to come sooner or later, living in Logan and all, but it feels pretty good....I guess I can cross this one off my list!

Oh, and Beaver Mountain, I'll be back!

I Heart You....

For the past few days, maybe even weeks, I have really had a hankerin' for smoothies...of course, that usually happens to be around 7:30 in the morning, and I'm just not willing to risk incurring the wrath of my 10 (!) sleeping roommates just to satisfy my smoothie craving.

But I figure that on Saturday morning, around 10:30, no one can complain!  Today was the day.  I looked up some recipes online, just to get ideas as to measurement, but I already knew what I wanted to use.  I love it when I wake up with ingredients swimming in my head, and I just know they'll make something tasty.  I was right.

Here's the recipe (again, approximated...I just kinda use whatever I have on hand and throw stuff in as I see fit):

"I Heart You" Smoothie

1 frozen banana (defrost by running under warm water, peel with a butter knife, then cut into chunks)
1 handful frozen strawberries
6 ounces organic plain yogurt (you could use vanilla or strawberry...if sweetened, omit extra sugar)
8-10 ounces unsweetened almond milk (or soy, regular, vanilla, anything!  see note above about sugar!)
1 tsp. vanilla (omit if your yogurt or milk are sweetened/flavored)
2 tbs. natural chunky almond butter (or smooth)
1 packet organic instant oatmeal with flax seed
2 tbs. light brown sugar (to taste)

Put everything into a blender, and puree until smooth!  Voila!

Coyote Yummy!