As you know, this week we are having the special treat of the Locavore Chef prepared meals. Yesterday was a delicious etoufee, and we had that again today for lunch - courtesy of our leftovers - over a large bed of spinach. Unfortunately, I am sick. Therefore, I feel that my congestion is probably making the meals seem ever so slightly less tasty than they really are. I hate being stopped up. Fortunately, the food so far is so full of flavor, that it's still very delicious to my ailing nose. Today's dinner menu included a surprise.

Melanie, aka the Locavore Chef, left us very clear instructions posted clearly on our fridge of what to eat and when (and how to heat it up, what to pair it with, etc). Did I mention they were clear? Tonight's dinner menu was supposed to include a spinach salad with chicken and walnuts dressed in a lemon vinaigrette.


That's not a picture of spinach. That's a picture of the salad as we prepared it, because we saw "salad" on our menu, and grabbed for the giant bowl of salad in the fridge instead of the box of spinach to use as the leafy green base. Sorry Melanie! I'm not sure how annoying it is to a chef to have her handiwork messed up; hopefully, not that annoying.

The way we ended up eating it, though, was awesome. It included an arugula and chive leafy base (prepared by Melanie), white meat chicken (roasted by Melanie), walnuts, home made croutons, and lemon vinaigrette (made by Melanie). We tossed the salad with all the fixin's first, and then Christopher made the croutons. So, the salad had a little bit of time to sit and rest. The salad was wonderful. Despite not really being as the chef intended...

To follow dinner, we had a sweet dessert - nectarine cobbler. I really don't think there is anything bad anyone could or would say about any cobbler of any kind. They are just sweet and warm and gooey and ...even better a la mode!


In my opinion, the photo does not really do it justice, I couldn't get a picture I really liked, but the ice cream was smooth and creamy and cool next to the cobbler. Just as nature (and the Locavore Chef) intended.
We might be becoming just a bit spoiled...

Read More...

We like food. We like local business. When these two things come together in delicious harmony, it doesn't take much for us to get behind it. Case in point, how many times do we have to tell you to go to the Global Peace Factory? Go there people! Where did I have my birthday lunch last year? That's right, another local eatery, The Salad Stop. This in mind, it was our pleasure to have The Locavore Chef prepare some meals in our home today.

The Locavore Chef is one Melanie Ester, personal chef. Her business is developed around providing custom meals with seasonal, sustainable ingredients (local and organic as much as possible). She was in our kitchen today cooking from before 11am until 2-something. When she was done, we had meals stocked in our fridge for 5 nights of dinners (plus leftovers and a dessert!). Not only that, but I came home on my lunch break, and Melanie prepared lunch as well.

Our first meal (lunch) was a delicious spinach salad with strawberries and walnuts. This was followed by a hot pasta dish with a tomato sauce including green bell peppers and onions. I have to say, it felt a bit like our apartment was a restaurant. Because, one, someone else was cooking. And, two, while we were finishing up our salad, Melanie walked over with our pasta bowls. It's odd to be served in your own home. But it was certainly relaxing!

Dinner was delicious. Melanie prepared etouffee and told us how to heat it up appropriately and add shrimp. It was hands down the best shrimp etouffee I've ever had. I say this not having sampled a million of them, but enough to know that the sauce must be hard to make. When I've ordered it in restaurants before, I'm generally disappointed at how oily everything tastes. This tasted fresh and flavorful. Plus, with Melanie's clear instruction, the shrimp was perfectly done.

If the plating doesn't look good, that's our fault. We spooned everything out and added the scallions/parsley. But, I think the plating isn't bad either for a couple of amateurs.


I'm very much looking forward to our Locavore Chef meal tomorrow. We'll be eating tonight's leftovers for lunch and customized meal #2 for dinner. Yumn!

Read More...

For the past couple of months, we've lived further away from Dallas proper than before (as you may know). This change has had some unexpected consequences. One of those consequences has been an increase in exposure to Texas wildlife. There are quite a few old trees, woody areas, and fields nearby. There's also a golf course, but that's neither here nor there. Renn has enjoyed squirrel chasing and bird watching very much.

Each morning, I walk Renn sometime between 5:30 and 6:00am. It is still dark at this time, and all the nocturnal creatures are going about their business.

Last week, maybe Tuesday, we were walking and Renn tugged on the leash to sniff the trash that was set out for pick up. He grabbed something. I saw it was a cookie (gross) and gave him a stern "No! Drop it!" He reluctantly complied. I could tell he was telepathically saying "But mom, it's still good!" I kept us walking forward.

The next day, I remembered to keep him on a short leash as we passed the same house with the same trash sitting out for pick up (pick up is on Wednesdays, so I'm not sure why they had it sitting out on Tuesday anyway). He started to pull towards the trash, and I thought surely an animal has already picked up whatever cookie mess what there yesterday. I told him no and then finally saw what he was pulling toward.

It was a raccoon! Not just any little 'ol cute raccoon. This raccoon was 1.25 times the size of Renn! And so close to him, I became concerned that the raccoon was going to get aggressive and try something. I've never seen a raccoon that big; clearly it's well fed.

I kept walking at the same pace forward and kept Renn close to me. The raccoon, disturbed from his 5:30am meal, starting circling behind us and off he went into the wooded area across the street. Crisis averted.

I'll add raccoon to the growing list of animals that Renn has met not including other dogs. So far, this list includes armadillo, gecko, bird, cat, raccoon, squirrel, chipmunk, frog, turtle and bunny.

Read More...

We do not usually celebrate Valentine's Day. Not because we are opposed. Simply because we're pretty good at showing our love the other 99.9% of the year; we don't really need to go out of our way just because Hallmark says so. Not to mention, I'm not much of a romantic. And only recently have I started liking chocolate (see post about my personal culinary evolution). However, we were out for a sit at a coffee shop one afternoon, and they were advertising a special for the following weekend - Valentine's weekend, so we thought, why not?

It exceeded our expectations on all accounts. The price was right, definitely not overrated. The food was amazing, and the time we spent there was quite enjoyable.

In total we had champagne, salads, a cheese tray, chicken alfredo flatbread, chocolate covered strawberries, carrot cake, and two coffees. I'd go into detail about each course, but why do that when I can just show you?

Hopped up on caffeine and sugar, we didn't sleep much that night. However, it was completely worth it. It made us realize that perhaps we could be down with the whole Valentine's thing.

Read More...

I've missed three days of work this week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Unfortunately, we have just begun our brand new training class for our new hires (5), so they have been calling me each morning to check on the status of the schedule and try to make it in where possible. Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't even try to get out. There was clearly too much ice on the road to make it out safely. Thursday I went, and the roads were icy in places but manageable overall. This morning, I gave it a good college effort.


Knowing that there was snow (I had to brush it off to be able to see through the windshield, I had already walked Renn, etc), I left even earlier than usual. I'm not fearful of driving on snow. There's plenty of traction, and I did it in Connecticut two winters in a row with no problem. I got out of my neighborhood easily (wondering how to drive in snow? Just repeat the mantra, "just keep moving - just keep moving - slowly -slowly - just keep moving." Do that, and you'll make it just fine.) I got to the highway just fine as well. Then I got on the highway and that is where I began to wonder about the wisdom in trying to make it to work.

The highways looked as though no road crews had been out at all during the week, which is just not true. I was driving, thankfully, over packed snow. However, under the snow was a sheet of ice. I know this because I drove home on it the day before. Driving down the highway might as well have been going through a school zone. Larger trucks regularly passed me on the left. That was ok with me, if I drove a heavier vehicle, I might have considered going a little faster too. As it was, my car was already bouncing along rather roughly over the unclean road at 20 miles an hour.

A mid-size truck (somewhere between a moving van and a semi) passed me on the left. For whatever reason, I couldn't see his tail lights. He was just a big dark spot on the left. Then he got ahead of me a little further, and started kicking up all the snow ahead. I couldn't see him, and I couldn't see two feet in front of me due to the artificial gale created in his wake. I kept going at my steady speed and just kept the wheel straight. After about 45 seconds (felt like longer), he got far enough ahead of me that I could see again and the snow/wake died back down.

That's about when I decided I probably shouldn't keep going. The condition of the road just seemed to be getting worse as I drove towards Lewisville to make my way to Plano. Without much other choice, I had to call my partner at work to let him know as well as my boss. I don't like to talk and drive under normal circumstances, but this was a bit harry. My boss sounded frustrated (not at me, but at the weather). Her shift doesn't start until a couple hours after mine, so I had to wake her up to tell her that I wasn't coming in. My partner sounded happy. He has two sons that he was going to be able to entertain at home. Then I called (I was annoyed by all the calling) my new hires and let them know training was postponed.

Finally, I got off the highway and turned around. To my surprise, going the other direction was even worse. It was a bit of a free for all. We had about 25 feet of highway with no discernible lanes, so I just made what seemed like the best path for myself. There were much fewer cars on the road going north than there were going south. I got back home at almost exactly 7am, when my shift starts. Right on time, wrong location.

I thought I'd get on blogspot and post about something other than the weather. Afterall, Facebook is blowing up with winter weather photos, complaints, and comments. But then I thought to myself, "I guess my one-hour round trip this morning is worthy enough for a quick read." Sorry if you're already tired of hearing about snow!

Here's yet another cute picture (he doesn't know any other kind) of Renn in snow. He loves it!

Read More...

Hahaha. Hahahaha. Seriously, I realize that this may be what one would consider "low" humor or idiotic. But, I can't help it. Since watching this skit (because I don't know what else to call it), I regularly sing this song to Christopher, Kim, and Nathan (a co-worker). Ok, well I have to amend that. I've never actually sung the song to Kim in person, but I sing it to her every time I poke her on FB from behind my laptop screen. Kim, if you didn't know that, now you do! It makes me smile, and the song is just so darn catchy.

So, some background (because Mom, I know you have no idea what I'm talking about yet! ;) ). College Humor is a comedy site that does skits and webisodes. Some of it is not Sunday school appropriate, so watch at your own risk. However, most of it is mild silly humor. You can compare them to SNL or Mad TV - ish. Christopher watches it more regularly than I do, but he's pretty good at making sure I don't miss any of the really funny stuff.

"Jake and Amir" is one of their regular sketches. Jake and Amir work together. Amir is a very annoying co-worker who constantly tries to act as though Jake is his best friend. Ok, so that's really all the background you need regarding College Humor.

Auto-Tune the News is another humor website. But, why am I explaining this to you? You (this time not talking to mom) already know and love T-Pain-style broadcasters and politicians. In fact, you actually get your news (sad) from BarelyPolitical.com.

So, the Poke Me song comes from the character Amir trying to get Jake to display his BFF-ness via FB poke. I know, I know - this is too much explanation for something you probably won't think is funny. But I've been laughing for months. So, just give it a shot.

Poke Me Video

Kim...Christopher... Accept the poke. That's it.

Read More...

What is it about moving that I enjoy so much? I know that all my friends and family come close to abhorring it. It's not the packing that I love so much, and definitely not the unpacking. But all the parts that surround those events make me happy.

Getting ready for a move. This part is fun because it usually involves apartment and/or house hunting. Even if you know where you are moving to, just looking is a good weekend activity to keep an eye on what's out there on the market. It is family time without spending any money (other than the gas it takes to get you to the various places). It's turning up the radio and singing along. And it's getting to take tours of places that you're curious about.

Then there is the packing. Some might describe this as a chore. I don't disagree, but it's not so bad if you make it fun. This time around, we popped in Christopher's newest CD, Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons and worked on getting everything in the appropriate pile to be donated, tossed, stored, or kept for use. Oh man, did we get some use out of that CD between Christmas day and moving day.

Next step is the moving. We are lucky to always have helping hands willing to spend a day moving stuff around in exchange for some pizza and good company. The physical activity is fun to me; so I would not call this part a chore. In fact, I offer my services as box lackey as often as I can to nomadic friends. No one seems to be as nomadic as we are. But maybe they just can't see the appeal. ;) By the way, our excellent planning and rock star friends had us moved in a matter of a few hours. We picked up the U-Haul at 10am and were completely done with cleaning before 3:30pm. We had the bed made in the new place by 6pm, and had the room laid out the way we wanted by the following evening.

Then comes the unpacking. I would have to say this is my least favorite part. Similarly, I've never minded doing the dishes and putting them in the washing machine. However, I've always hated putting the clean dishes away.

Overall, I'd have to say the best feeling is the consolidation and purging of stuff. I'm not a big "stuff" person, and I don't like to hang on to things. Just ask Christopher, things lay around too long and I'll likely take them to Goodwill or give them to a friend/neighbor. That doesn't mean I treat my stuff poorly or don't appreciate knick-knacks, antiques, and the like. I just like for the stuff I have to be useful in some way. If it's hanging on the wall making us happy, then it's useful. If it's sitting on the end table because there is no better place for it collecting dust, then it's not useful. If it's in the closet for 4 seasons having not been worn, it's not useful.

Overall, this move was a successful one. And I'm appreciative of the good music, good friends, and good planning that made it so.

Read More...

As adult humans, most of us feel a drive to improve ourselves in some way. Many people want to improve their bank accounts, or waist line, or knowledge. This year... maybe two or three months ago... I realized what I want to improve. Well, ok, there are many things I am working on improving, but one thing in particular is a recent change. I am working to improve my palette. I want to be a cultured culinary connoisseur.

Christopher is on this kick with me as well. Previously he didn't like the following: tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, amongst other things I can't remember right now. With the exception of tomatoes, all those things are now on the I-like-it list. His willingness to be more open to foods he previously didn't like encouraged me to recognize what I didn't like and try to change it.

One food item that I never liked growing up was mushrooms. I liked mushroom flavored things, just not the fungus itself. With consistent effort to try different types of mushrooms, I can finally say that I like 'em. The first type to make it onto the list was Enokitake; that was followed by Portobello. More recently, I've added White Buttons and Oyster mushrooms. The final mushroom to make it onto the list was Shiitake. I admit, I'm still not in love with Shiitake, mostly because the flavor is so powerful that it's a bit overwhelming. However, I'll never refuse a dish just because mushrooms are in it. And I don't order things sans mushrooms. I even voluntarily put them in my stir fry at home.

So why is this important to me? Well, mostly, I find that picky eating is a quality that I don't care for, and I'd like to rid myself of it as much as I can. The happier I become, the less I talk about things that I don't like and focus on the things that I do like. Therefore, why not like more things in turn?

There is one food that I have never liked and is a serious damper on this phase of culinary growth. Those of you who know me even the slightest bit know what I'm talking about. It's chocolate. Yes, the food that the majority of the rest of the world adores has always made me scrunch my nose in disgust. I used to like Butterfingers, but even those, I found, have lost 100% of their luster, and I can't really see myself eating one ever again. So, what to do about this? Well, I don't want to leave any stone unturned; therefore, chocolate is included in my quest.

Believe it or not, I have actually found two food stuffs that I enjoy that contain chocolate... oooh.. make that three, I just remembered. The first item I tried and liked was Strawberry Soyjoy Bars. Delicious. The second, Hazelnut Quadratini Wafer Cookies. Delicious. And finally, Quaker Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips Granola Bars. ... not "wow! delicious", but edible if I'm hungry.

I consider these three items to be three baby steps for the grocery store and three giant leaps for me. I don't think I'll like Triple German Chocolate Cake anytime soon, but who knows maybe I'll like it at some future unknown date.

As a random side note, the guy at the table next to me at the coffee shop seems to be sermon writing. FYI.

It might take some time before I conquer the mountain that is the availability of chocolate and chocolate products. In the meantime, I'll still be trying more and more mushrooms and liking the heck out of my meals.

Read More...