Sad Country Songs...

Always bring tears to my eyes. I guess it a little bit of being the middle child and having a fucked up childhood. Maybe that's why I hang onto things that I shouldn't, maybe its why I can find peace in a rainstorm, maybe it's why I did so much fucked up shit in my past.

Now my life is so straight, so on the right track.

Yet I still crave drama.

I have to stop this. I have to get back on the tracks and keep chugging along. I love everything I am and become... yet there is that little voice in the back of my mind that sometimes says "more".

Maybe I've had too much wine, but sometimes I just want a change, knowing it will make me unhappy.

I seriously just want to snuggle into Memphis right now, I just need to smell him. I know that makes no god damned sense.. because it doesn't, yet it makes perfect sense. I knew early on that horses were to be my life, although they took so damn long to trot right into my life.

Now I will never have it any other way. I will drive the shitbox, I will work the second job, or I will sacrifice what I love just to have a horse.

I need a good long ride in my future.

Sundays

I'm fairly certain this is THE best day during the week. I don't know if it is because its my only day off, which probably is the reason, but this day is pretty freaking awesome. I've got a fresh pot of coffee on the coffee maker, a fresh batch of banana nut muffins in the oven, and happy dogs at my feet. The weather is chilly and there is a light blanket of snow on the ground, but ya know what? I'm still incredibly happy with everything.

Memphis, by the way, is doing amazing! I honestly love this horse. I'm worried that I don't have that "click" connection with him yet, but I didn't have that with Buck either in the beginning. That took about a year for Buck and I, but in the end, Buck is the ONLY dog for me. Buck knows it too, he always wants "mama" whenever I'm around and I'm fairly certain that he would do just about anything to please me. I have to admit, I am known to sit on the floor with him, my head on his chest, and baby talk him while rubbing his ears. He may be 120lbs, but he is the biggest baby I have ever known. Which, I guess in one light is a great thing, as I have about 3 families and friends that have told me that they will take him if I am ever not able to care for him.

Sunday's are good for rambling on and on too :D

Back to Memphis. I think we have the bolting out of the stall thing taken care of, and by "we", I mean Fair (which will be a pseudonym for my trainer lady from here on out) has this taken care of. She spends seven days a week with my big dumb animal, so she,unfortunately, has to deal with more of his antics than I do. There isn't much, I honestly think he is an all around good horse and I hope to have him for the rest of his goofy life. He just has the bolting out of the stall and pawing when bored.

I was out with him on Weds night last week to groom him, since I figured he would be muddy. He was actually pretty clean and was a very good boy for grooming. He just stands there and lets it happen. He is iffy about his hooves, which I wonder if the front ones aren't sore because he paws so dagon much at feeding time. I'm waiting on the farrier atm and while his hooves aren't "bad" by any means, I am beyond anal about horse care. Any who, Memphis like I said is a little iffy about his front feet being picked, but is usually fine with the backs. He gets the one, two, three method that I had used with Dodge for discipline and it seems to work VERY well with him. He has a good head on his shoulders and learns quickly.

I've only ridden him twice since I've had him because it has been MUDDY. Where he is stabled at, it has a water drainage issue. So while he is safe and dry in the barn, the pasture tends to get standing pools of water and it has nowhere to go. I'm too concerned about my safety and Memphis's safety to take the chance. Which is fine, we can work on ground work and just basically get to know one another better.

I know what I want to work on in the spring with him with riding. I hope to do plenty of trail riding and hope to buy a trailer by summers end so that I can take him to the trails safely. I'm sure Fair won't mind to trailer him with her as long as I come help her with the trail rides next year, but there are going to be times where I'm not going to want to do the same trail over and over again.

I also hope to start him on some poles and get some bending happening as I want to start working him in patterns.I need to get him responsive to leg and get him neck reining. In a few years I hope he is a responsive horse that is my "trusty steed".

Anywho, I'm going out to see him today, so I hope to get some pictures and what not!

Mephis

So I bought another horse! Lets just say bring on the horse expenses is an understatement.

500 - The horse himself
30 - To move him
25 - Farrier
14 - Wormer
250 - Board
65 - Pulling the Coggins
17 - Two buckets for stall

I'm sure I'm forgetting something somewhere but this is all the immediate up front costs to bringing him home. Yikes.

He has the same issue Dodge did which is rushing out of the stall. I asked around for some advice and have a game plan in my head. I know he is just testing me to see what he can get away with and I try to be somewhat fair in how I treat my animals. On Friday we are going to work our asses off at the stall scenario. I'll get him.

In all he is what I wanted: 15 hands or taller, Tennesse Walking Horse, and a easy goig disposition. Oh and to be gaited, he has WONDERFUL gaits. On Sunday I'll work with him more with that and hopefully come to a understanding with him. (I said hopefully, not expecting miracles here.)

I'll get pics up soon, I'm too lazy to copy and paste.

So long time no post!

I've either been too busy to post or just have not had the energy to post. Lets see here.... I started school again, but this time I'm just going to take it S.L.O.W. I am working at the insurance company and still do not have a new horse. I see a prospect that I'm going to look at on Friday, so we'll see. I REALLY just want another gaited horse, like really really. Dodge spoiled me in the ways of riding.

Chickens are doing great, the rooster is mating with my two oldest hens and their eggs are coming out fertilized. ( you can crack and egg and see if it is.) Yes, we are eating the fertilized eggs. They are yum :D I am still waiting on my younger ones to freaking lay, they are 24 weeks now. The only one that looks close is my easter egger, she is getting red in the face and comb. I hope she lays green eggs! *crosses fingers*

Not much else, but I do hope to start posting more, I really do. With pictures!

Ack, how to have the bank account take a beating!

This month has been hard on the pocket book. First Buck had to go to the vet.... twice... for that thing on his face. That was 180 total for both visits. (this is why I love my vet.) Next up is car registration, I have just plum forgot about it and I need to go get it done. So there is 250 out the door. Next up is our gym membership which I forgot to change my credit card on...... goodbye 100 bucks. I need to pay my dentist, 70 bucks. Then all of our other monthly bills. Sigh. Thankfully Buck's bills are getting paid off through working at AutoZone. I did tell Joe that we are eating our blow money this month and whatever extra he makes at work needs to go into the account. He's not happy about it, but understands it. Thank god next month I can work full time! Then we need to pay for my school, which is 3800 bucks. Ouch. We need to cash in a mutual fund we have been saving for that. Need to cash in another mutual fund to fund our savings (don't really need that fund anymore)

Thankfully the other mutual funds have all been converted to Roth IRA's, including Joe's traditional IRA. Our goal there is to get an IRA open for me in December, granted we get our savings built up to our 10k goal, which if the spending of bills on stupid crap stops, we should have no problem doing.

My plan in August is to work as much as freaking humanely possible. Since I won't have school to slow me down I should be able to work every single Sat and or Sun that month. Which will be nice and go into savings. I will be so burnt out by the time this is all said and done. But in December when I finish my fall semester, we have our 10k in the bank, and we are finally able to focus on paying off the house, it will totally be worth it. It's just a daunting task to start out at.

This post should have gone in my debt thread, but eh, I just post here more often. And besides, we don't have any other debt but the house. Which we hope to have paid off in 5 years. *crosses fingers*

Gosh I should post more....

Life is going good right now. I currently have an A in physics and a C in chemistry. Why a C and not a goddamned B? because I missed a few things on the last test and took my B to a C. Not happy or proud about it, but I will figure it out.

Chickens are doing fine, getting ready to take them off their starter feed and switch them to a adult feed you could say. Since I do have a mixed age flock, I've been trying to figure out what to feed them. I think I have settled on a game bird feed for the time being. Something that is 18% protein and non-medicated. I dunno yet though, I need to call the feed store and talk to them. Stupid chickens.

So we were going to build a run that was fully enclosed so the girls couldn't get out. But we kinda stopped the enclosure where the top door was supposed to be and the girls get out. I don't particularly care, as long as they stay in our yard, which they have been. They can fly about 3.5 feet, well not all of them. The Jersey Giants seem to not care so much about flying, I hardly ever find them in the yard. I rather like the Jersey Giants and my Dominiques... the easter eggers though? Screw those birds, it's fun to have green eggs but not so much to deal with their stupid stupid natures.

I sold two birds to a family that wanted chickens for their kids. I sold them the Jersey Giants as those are known to be a good docile breed and good with kids. I have one confirmed rooster and its a Jersey Giant. I'll get some pics of him tonight, he isn't crowing yet and it could be a good long time before he does. We may keep him depending on how loud/annoying his crow is.

I sanded the run down with about 2 inches of sand, I need about 4 more inches. About 800lbs more of sand. Off to home depot this weekend to get more. Everywhere I've read has said that sand is the best medium for the run because it offers excellent drainage and it dries to fast. So far I like it and I will do just about anything to keep the smell to a bare minimum. I had friends over that didn't even know I had chickens until I showed them. They said that they were expecting my yard to smell. Nope, no smell here.

Farmers markets are abounding everywhere! Next weekend I plan to hit a few and stock up on tomatoes and peppers and then spend Sunday canning. My tomato plants outside I've not allowed to set tomatoes until they get a little bigger, so they have more time to go before they give me what I want. I also am sick of weeds and grass in the garden and have decided that this Sunday I am covering the entire thing but the tomatoes in contractors plastic. I'll let it die and remove the plastic in the fall. Which will work because then the chickens can finish picking up the mess for me. They are awesome little foliage killers.

What else, what else.

Whew!

Long time no post! I have been super duper busy lately and getting the time to come in and post has been a doozy.

The chickens are doing great! Everybody is outside in our coop/run and they are lean mean eating machines. They have already eaten all the grass in the run and I think its only been 3 weeks! Fine by me, in the next week or so we are going to fill the run with sand. From everything I've read it keeps the run dry, the smell down, and chickens like to dust bath in it. Although, atm I do not smell anything in or around the run, but I would like to keep it that way. Probably pick up a bag of the horse stall dry out stuff as well to help facilitate my goals.

They have almost gone through the 50lb bag of food and getting ready to open the next one. Surprisingly, they don't eat as much as I had anticipated, though I expect this to change the larger they get. Dinner has a kill date of about 2-4 weeks. She still is psycho bird, so she has to go. I have not handled the little ones very much to know who gets the slit there and who stays. I guess it will be a random guess when that time comes.

As far as the garden goes, yuck. I left it to seed last year, which I know was a huge mistake. At this point I am going to buy some of the contractor black plastic and cover over half the garden with it. This has a two fold effect - it essentially kills everything underneath it and it will make next year a breeze at garden prep. I thought of letting the girls take care of it and am still entertaining that idea, but that would mean building something for them to stay in. That is not out of my realm of stuff to do. I could put 4-5 of them in a box type set up, something that I can move once they kill that area of ground. It would be cheap since I have the chicken wire and plenty of leftover wood. Hell, I may just do it.

School is going good. I am actually taking the time to study this time around, which is new to me. I know when my answers are wrong and get really frustrated if their not right. Tomorrow is my first test and I'm slightly nervous. I'll post up how that goes. Other than that, everything is just dandy.

Cuteness of epicness!

Just a quick update! I'll post more crap later, but for right now just go awwwwwww

Dogde.

It has been almost a year since her death. I am still quite shaken by it, she was taken way too soon from me.

I met Dogde (AKA Dukes Angel) sometime in March of last year. When I saw her I though that I could NEVER take her on; she was skinny, overgrown hooves, and needed a stud chain to even walk 2 ft. The first time I saw her lunged, my eyes just about bugged right out of my head. This horse had zero manners unless that chain was snapped.

I had been taking lessons for over a year and at the time, was VERY unprepared for what horse ownership would bring to me. Though, I don't think that mattered because Dodge trampled over my whole life. All I had ridden up to that time was QH's in my lessons since I was at the moment fantasizing about Western style riding. I was fairly certain all I wanted was a QH. From nowhere here comes this large black Tennessee Walker that took me over in no way a person could, not even my husband.

When I first took her on she needed a bath because she had HORRID rain rot from standing in a stall and being just very un-kept for a year. She LOVED her bath, I still remember her quiet eyes just watching me while I bathed. After that day with the bath she quickly calmed down and just waited for me to do anything with her. I then fell in love with her, nothing was going to keep us apart.

I went out the next week and bought a lunge whip, a lead rope with a chain, treats, and called a farrier. I was terrified she had founder, since she had been standing in grossness and her hooves were HORRID. When farrier came out and trimmed saying that she was fine I was beyond relieved. I had clearance to do whatever I wanted with her. I got her on a better feed and she started putting weight on quite fast. We dove right into training, well half-assed training since I really didn't have a clue what I was doing.

Despite being a total newb, I was out at her place every other day mucking her stall, put down fresh shavings, cleaned out her water trowel, made sure she had plenty of food, and did all the care for her. Her and I became attached to each other quite quickly and I think we both taught each other a lot.

The first time I rode her was the shakiest thing ever as I was completely terrified. She was bareback, I had just put on her bridle, and I expected her to *at least* not throw me off. We went nowhere, but she tolerated me. We did that quite a few times before I moved her to a boarding facility and learned what blood, sweat, and tears really meant.

I got bucked, ran into a wall, bit, totally worn down, broken toe, and a almost smashed in face, but I would do it all again. We worked through so many issues together and the only one I feel bad about was her woah, I gave too many mixed signals and that was the one we never got put together.

I remember our last ride together, her ears pointed forward; doing exactly everything I asked her to. This was the ride I had been working 3 months for. The ride I had always wanted with her, all the way down to opening and closing the gate with me on her back. I still tear up thinking about the last time I was with her, because it was everything I had ever dreamed about as a kid.

The call from my barn owner was one of tears one rainy Sunday morning letting me know that Dodge had passed on in the middle of the night. The autopsy revealed that she had gotten intestinal colic and it ruptured. I spent many nights after she passed questioning what did it and how it happened. I had her pasture boarded since she had been kept in a stall over a year and I just wanted her to be a horse. I had fed her one cup of grain before turning her out after our last ride together, but that was almost 30 minutes after the ride was over and she was cooled out. The vet said it best to me, that sometimes there aren't reasons for losing the ones we love.

If I wasn't going to school these next 2 years I would already have another horse. What she taught me in our time together was beyond what I got in lessons. I gave her everything and she gave it right back to me. I love you Dodge. May you forever rest in peace and know that because of you, I will always own a Tenn Walking Horse.

Lots of stuff!

Hopefully I can get the pics of the run up tonight, we have been building it since Sunday, but because of the stupid rain, it hasn't been getting much work at all.

The chickens need to go outside. They are now flying out of the tank and perching on the edge. Just watching you.... it's sorta creepy. I'll probably end up clipping their wings in another week or two, since they seem to LOVE trying to fly everywhere. Silly chickens.

I finally got school figured out. I have UofL in the fall and I'm going to Jefferson Community College in the summer. Chris Rock says: "It's a disco with books". From what I've seen of the people there, I am struggling to NOT believe that. No worries, get these two classes out of the way and then one more year at UofL and hopefully I can get a teaching job next year! *crosses fingers* My head is looking straight up towards awesomeness!

In other news, the milk thistle I've been taking I am assuming is doing a awesome job. I almost cannot drink anymore or I get drunk, like super fast. I am assuming that my liver is trying to repair itself or something because right before I started this supplement, I could hold my own. Now I'm barely keeping up. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, it's just such a major change.

Sleep Paralysis

I have had this issue for as long as I can remember. My very first experience was when I was still living in Alabama. I remember waking up and just not being able to move, nothing wanted to do anything. My brain was screaming at any limb to do something but nothing was happening. I can't quite remember what eventually woke me up, but it was about 5am because Dad was up doing something and that was usually when he was up for work.

I've gone through these episodes on and off throughout the years and mainly can calmly either talk myself off the ledge of full blown terrifying fear or go into an extreme state of panic. I can say they almost have always happened where I have woken up from a deep sleep and then tried to fall back asleep.

Last night though... was one of my worst. I guess I'm writing about it just for a record for myself. One of those just in case in the future things. I've read up on this type of thing before and a lot of experts say this could be where abduction theories come from and I'm to say I believe them after last night.

I was just laying there watching Adult Swim as always and started to fall asleep. I am fairly certain that I was asleep since I really don't remember the first episode of Family Guy ending. At some point I "thought" I woke up and "thought" I was looking around at the room. The blanket was where it should be and I could vaguely hear the tv still going in the background but everything was silvery. The blankets folds where bright silver with black for the shadows but there was thousands of folds. Almost like a crystal pattern.

Now I'm not normally a nutcase, and as much as I've always been afraid of the dark, I've never had a reason to be afraid of the dark. I swear I saw something at the foot of the bed. Even typing this it brings the terror back. I started to scream, but not sound was coming out. I kept telling myself to scream as loud as possible so Joe would shake me awake, but nothing would come out. I did the only thing I could do, which was close my eyes again. (even though I'm not 100% certain my eyes were open or closed)

I opened them again and whatever the thing was was closer to me this time on the side of the bed and I swear to you it looked human yet not. I'm not sure if it was an alien or a really horrid fragment of my sanity, but it was there. I remember trying to scream again and feeling so defeated because nothing came out and all I could do was lay there. So I "closed" my eyes again. When I opened them it was right fucking there. Right next to me.

It touched me.

I woke up at this point screaming. Joe shoots up and holds my hyperventilating self and tries to talk me off the ledge of crying. I swear to god that thing touched me. I know it was probably just the sleep paralysis thing in motion but it touched me. I can still feel it, still see it.

Now I'm beginning to think I should see a sleep doctor. I've had some sleep walking episodes, I rarely sleep an entire night through, and have had vivid nightmares in the past. But that, that topped the cake. There was nothing to explain what had happened. I couldn't even tell Joe what happened, I just said I had a nightmare.

So there, think I'm crazy. I just want to know what that thing was and why it was there. WTF is my mind doing?

Dinner will be Dinner....

I am sick of this chicken. If there was a way to kill her now and eat her, oh how I would. You put your hand in the brooder and she starts flipping out. When you pick her up she is flapping like crazy, starts pooping everywhere, and just a nutjob in general. Her sister is soooo calm compared to her. I can pick her up, she just sits down, no pooping, and doesn't run from you. I really like her.

That's fine, Dinner has a kill date of late July. She doesn't need to be of laying age to become fried chicken. I have no patience for a nutty chicken. In other chicken related topics, they are getting more feathers in; which is totally cute. They will be feathered out or almost done before my next batch of chicks. This means I need to get that coop finished up.

Nothing really else going on, need to figure out my fall schedule at UofL, which advising has been no help. (this is a major related problem) Eh, I'll get it figured out. I also need to mow the lawn........ and somehow attempt to get the diesel in my backyard....

Chicks!

I know, I know, I have been MIA lately. I've just had nothing to post about at all. BUT NOW I DO!

:D

Chicks! If you don't think these are cute then you are a communist. Plain and simple. You can start to see the striations on their wings. Once full grown they will be a striped black and white, they are cute little Dominiques!






They are quite easy to take care of suprisingly, they just eat chick starter. I included the last picture to display my sweet set up. Haha!

I have 8 more coming in about two weeks....... I'm the crazy chicken lady!

In other news my garden is coming along nicely, I have framed it all out this year so it isn't all overgrowing into the grass. Note I have finished replacing the dirt but you get the idea.



My tomato and pepper plants are also doing great! I started these about a month and a half ago and they are healthy and really happy looking.

This is totally not food related, well not quite until tomm, but guess what Joe and I are thinking about?

Getting another horse! Do a happy dance with me please.

Mussels with white wine and tomato's

This is one of those recipe's that I was staring into my fridge and saying hmmmmmmmm



Mussels with white wine and tomato's

1lb mussels cleaned
2-4 sun dried tomato's
1-2 fresh tomato's
1 teas crushed red peppers
Cooked pasta (2-3 servings)
1-2 cups white wine
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teas dried basil
1/4 cup finely chopped salami (or other hard delicious meat.. heh heh meat)

Chop up both kinds of tomato's and add to a saucepan. Heat till the tomato's start to break down, about 2-3 minutes. Add everything else but the pasta and steam till the mussels are done. (they will pop open.) Spoon the mussel mixture over the cooked pasta, leaving the liquid in the pan. Boil the wine mixture till reduced by half and pour over each bowl. Serve!

Carnitas!

I have an unhealthy obsession with Carnitas. I mean it's borderline crazy. I love their crispy exteriors, fall apart interiors, and their oh so juicy greatness. I mean I could kick Joe out of bed and put them in his place. Not really, well maybe, on a night I'm mad at Joe. HA.

I also love my heart and knowing how these are REALLY made makes my heart ache and want to have a heart attack right now. The way they are supposed to be made is with braising them in lard, I just cannot bring myself to do that. I had to get creative and am fairly certain I have made the best carnita on earth! EARTH. Nah, I'm sure there is better out there but I am content with my version.

Please also remember I don't exactly measure, so to make an actual recipe, I am forced to put measurements. Please follow with some discretion.



Carnitas

1 teas paprika
1 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas salt
1 teas chili powder
2lbs pork shoulder, leave fat on
1-2 orange slices (optional)
Water to cover
Olive oil

Cut up your pork into 1-2 inch chunks. Mix the spices and add the pork, tossing to coat all the pieces. In a large ovenproof saucepan heat 1 tabls of olive oil. Brown the pork in batches, making sure to attempt to get most of the sides. Heat an oven to 300F. Once the pork is browned add it back to the saucepan and add enough water to come up halfway of the pork. Add the orange slices. Cover and place in the oven. After 1.5 hours remove the cover and stir the pork. Roast another hour or so.

Pour off the water from the pork. Turn the broiler on high in the oven. Broil the pork on all sides till the outside is crispy. Serve with lots of tortillas, guacamole, salsa, cheese, and whatever else your heart desires.

Honey of a Whole Wheat Bread

K, well I have quite a few recipes that I need to add here. I'll start with one of my absolute favorite breads first. This is our standard issue sandwich bread in our house. It comes from the Red Star Yeast book I always talk about. Pure love.

Honey of a Whole Wheat Bread



I know how lazy am I? I just totally took a picture of the ingredients. I am a genius, gosh I should like start a cult of genius's or something.

Anywho, in a large bowl combine 2 cups of the all purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat, yeast, and salt.



In a 4 cup measure, bowl, or whatever you want add the milk, honey, water, and butter. Now a side note about the butter, I do not use it and instead sub coconut oil in my recipes for bread. It doesn't taste like coconut and it helps the bread keep longer. Proceed how you wish. I pop mine in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Add to the flour mixture with the egg and beat for 3 minutes.



Add the second cup of whole wheat flour and switch to a dough hook. Then add another cup of white flour. Turn the mixer back on and let the dough hook form the dough. If you are mixing by hand, mix in as much flour as needed to bring the dough together and dump onto a floured counter. On either method, add flour as needed to prevent sticking and keep the dough a little sticky yet firm. Knead 5-7 minutes by hand and 2-4 minutes with a stand mixer.

Put dough back into bowl, cover, and let rise until double. About an hour or so.





Punch down dough, split in two, and roll out to a rectangle on a floured counter. Roll the rectangle up starting with the shorter end and place into a greased bread pan. Allow to rise again till double, about 30-40 minutes. Bake at 375F for 35-45 minutes till tops are nice brown and the bread sounds hollow when thumped. Cool completely before cutting.

Updating

I know I've been totally slacking lately. Hopefully on Monday I will post a whole lot of stuff. I'm making ribs this weekend and I will have pics.

Teriyaki chicken!

I took no pictures of this dish, I really need to up my picture game, really. So this is a mixed dish, something that I make at least 2-3 times a year and this would be perfect for a small informal summer dish eaten outside. There isn't a whole lot of heat, despite the jalapeno's, but I guess you could omit them if you like.

Teriyaki Sauce

2 tabls brown sugar
3 tabls water
1 teas rice vinegar
2 tabl soy sauce
1 tabl rice wine
1 teas cornstarch
1 teas water

Add everything into a small saucepan but the cornstarch and 1 teas of water. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to about medium. Stir together cornstarch and water and add to hot mixture, making sure to stir well. Keep heating until thickened. Remove from heat.


Pineapple Salsa

1/4 pineapple
1/4 mango
1 small onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1-2 hot peppers
1 squeeze of lime
Very tiny pinch of salt

Chop all the fruits and veggies up into a small dice. Chop the cilantro till fine and add to a bowl with everything else. Stir well.


Compile your stuff:

Here is where it gets fun! You can do chicken, like I did, or hit the steak, pork, shrimp, tofu, or anything else your heart desires. Grill whatever meat you are going to use basting with the sauce. After its done cooking pull off the heat, top with the extra sauce and then cover in salsa. Serve with salad and a wild rice mix.

Simple, healthy, and really really really good. I had one guy eating the salsa out of the bowl. I have also done this dish with a great looking chunk of fish. The possibilities are endless.

I will say though if more than two people you will need to double or triple the amount of sauce. No matter, it easily does it.

Good luck!

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing...

Here is all I'm going to say, make this and you will be eating salad till your ears fall off. Yes, your ears. This dressing I'm thinking I could sell at the farmers market..


1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tabls minced garlic
2 tabls brown sugar
1 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper

Just mix it all up till its smooth and creamy. I use a mason jar to make mine and just shake the shit out of it till its smooth. Freaking yum. Go make some! Go make some now!

Ideas for salad toppings here are steak and blue cheese.... GO GO NOW!

Lasagna!

I had some friends over the other night for dinner and made some lasagna, because it's stupid easy and feeds a lot of people. This recipe makes enough for about 10-12 servings. I'm only posting it here since Facebook wouldn't let me send the person who wanted it a message. Evil.

1lb lasagna noodles cooked
1 large container ricotta
1 egg
1 tabls oregano (dried)
1 tabls basil (dried)
1 tabls parsley (dried)
1 teas garlic powder
2 cans of crushed tomato's (large cans)
1-2 bags mozz cheese
1-2 bags shredded parm
1 roll of sage sausage
1-2 teas sugar
1-2 teas salt
Lots of pepper


Brown sausage in a large saucepan and drain. Add crushed tomato's, salt, pepper, 1/2 of all the dried spices, all the garlic powder,and sugar to the mix. Allow to simmer 25-30 minutes. (you could skip this step and just buy a jar of spaghetti sauce) Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. I usually find I need a tad more dried spice and more salt. I don't measure anything so it's hard to me to try to put it down.

Mix the other half of the spices, salt and pepper to taste, egg, and ricotta cheese together. Put one layer of noodles in a greased pan and top with 1/3 of the sauce mixture. Top with more noodles and then top those noodles with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle parm and mozz cheese over the top (about a third). Keep layering till you run out and then top with remaining cheese and bake at 375 for about 35-45 minutes.

Tropical Fun Day!

This meal I'm about to post started all because I wanted cilantro, limes, and jalapeno's. Since the asian food store always has those in abundance, that is where I went to get it all. Then I saw a coconut, then, then, and then. So here we are, with a tropical kind of menu that I am sure will please friends once the weather warms up and you have some entertaining to do.

This is pretty freaking spicy, but that is because I am spice fan. The spice can be downplayed if you want to by removing the ribs and seeds of the jalapeno, but that, to me, takes the fun out of it!

Cilantro Grilled Chicken

2 limes, juiced
1/2 bunch cilantro
4-5 cloves garlic
2-3 chopped jalapeno's
Coconut water from a fresh coconut
1 tabls sugar

Whiz it all in a food processor and BAM! you have a marinade.

Coconut Rice

1 small onion
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar (scant)
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 can water
Cilantro to taste
2 tabl butter
1 cup rice

Melt butter in a pot and add onions. Cook till onions begin to look translucent. Add rice and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar, milk, and water to the pot. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. When rice is tender, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro to taste.

The rest of the recipe is fairly simple. Marinate chicken (whatever parts you like) in the marinade for 1-2 hours. Simply grill them over a medium high flame till done, basting as needed. This chicken was AWESOME and I cannot believe I just made it up. I would highly recommend you try, unless you don't like cilantro, then I can't help you. I added chopped mango to my chicken for a little sweetness but you can do as you like. A white wine is your best bet with this dish. YUM.

I have no pictures because I ate it all. :(


Coconuts:

I actually bought a coconut for this dish, you can find hundreds of instructions on the right way to open them on the internet.. I highly recommend using an actual whole coconut for this recipe.

Gumbo!

I regret that our camera is in the car that Joe took to work this morning. I will have pictures of the finished dish, just not of the prep. I lied.....

Gumbo is one of those things that I seriously miss a lot about living in the south. There used to be this restaurant we went to on the gulf that had THE BEST seafood gumbo on the planet. Sadly, the restaurant has since closed down and I cannot just call up to get the recipe. If you ever get the chance, take a trip to SOUTH Alabama and Louisiana. Seriously, just go to eat. There are things that you will find to be so sweet and fresh, yet have so much love into preparing them, that you may not want to leave.

Now that being said, I do believe there are as many recipes for gumbo as there are people named Rachel. That's a lot. I generally stick to a chicken or shrimp gumbo with a chicken stock base, only because I don't make nor use seafood stock in my house. Though you can use any stock you want and have on hand. I would stay away from beef stock unless you are desperate and its all you have. My methods for gumbo are a combination of what I have read and my own experience, having adjusted to my own taste as such. It's all part of the fun of gumbo and it is fun!

Rachel's Gumbo

1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup flour
1-2 chopped onions
1-2 chopped bell pepper
4-5 chopped celery stalks
3 quarts chicken stalk
1-2lbs of andouille sausage
1-2lbs of shrimp or chicken
Dash of paprika
Dash of cayenne
Dash of crushed red peppers


1.) First things first you must make a roux. This for a first timer is a daunting task and all I'm going to tell you is SLOW DOWN. You will be standing above the stove for about 20 minutes, so have time set aside for this. Combine the oil and flour in a large soup pot and stir together with a long handled spoon.

Turn your burner or stove top on 3-4 on the heat range, NO MORE. Start stirring. It will start out looking a little lemony in color, but it's going to change as it heats up. Keep stirring and stirring and stirring. It will change to a tan color as it starts to cook. If you want to, stop here and continue with the recipe, I like my roux as dark as possible without burning so the choice is yours.

Keep cooking until it turns almost a milk chocolate color. If at any time you see a black speck throw it all out and start over. Burned roux has a horrid flavor that will not be saved by any means. The roux will also change texture as it gets to the chocolate color point, almost grainy like. Just be patient.

2.) Once the roux is to your liking add in all the chopped veggies. Be VERY careful with this step, roux is known as cajun napalm... and not for nothing. Stir really well and cook a little longer till the veggies start to soften.

3.) Add in everything else but the sausage and meat. Simmer for 35-60 minutes.
Then add your sausage and simmer another 30-60 minutes, then add the chicken till cooked.

You should have a nice thick gumbo at this point and serve it over rice. Now, there are other versions to this, some use okra and some others use file' powder. I prefer a roux gumbo and so this is what I make 99% of the time. You want to serve this with a good french bread either homemade or store bought. Yum!

I am the greatest cook alive!

No, not really. But I am quite happy about the results of dinner last night. It all started with this noodle bowl I ate for lunch one day that was spicy and sweet and the packaging said it was Korean. Soooooooooooo, I set out to make the sauce. This is not to say that the first time was wonderful, or the second, or the third. There was so much internet scouring for weeks trying to get a recipe that was similar. Low and behold, I think I have it.

Note that this is pretty spicy and there isn't a way to downgrade the spice without loss of flavor, so if you can't take the heat then you'll have to skip this one. Please also note that I'm not entirely sure that this is a Korean dish, I took the sauce and ran with it.

I do recommend going to an asian food store for the entirety of this recipe. You will save so much money by doing so.

Korean Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce Noodles



The above should be what you need for the entire dish. Please note that I actually added Shrimp into mine at the end because I'm a badass like that.

Sauce:

6 Tbls Korean chili paste
6 Tbls Ketchup
1/4 cup sugar
1 teas sesame oil
1 teas soy sauce
1/2 juice lemon
1 teas rice vinegar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside. The red pepper paste will come in a container like this:



The rest of the meal:

1 pkg asian style noodles
1 zucchini
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 large handful frozen squid
As much radish kimichi as you can stand


For the noodles remove two sets from the packaging and put the rest back in the freezer. Here is a closeup of the noodles I used, there are a million noodles in the frozen food section of the asian food store, have fun!



Slice the zucchini in half and then slice into half moons. Chop the green onion and pull out some of the radish kimichi and slice into smaller chunks. Your set up should then look something similar to this:



Radish kimichi looks like this:



The rest of this dish is fairly simple. The noodles only require barely simmering water to cook and will cook quite fast. In a wok or saucepan, heat over high and add a tich of olive oil and throw in the squid. (shrimp too if you are using them) Cook till they are done and transfer to another bowl. Add the zucchini and cook for about 3 minutes till it is still firm and not squishy. Transfer to a bowl. Add the drained noodles to the wok and pour the sauce over them, stir till they are nice and really hot. Transfer to 2-4 plates and top with the remaining ingredients and the seafood. Sprinkle on the seeds and you are in business!

Alrighty, lets get some updates going!

Root beer:

Seriously, like how delicious could homemade root beer be? It is so delicious. Joe has had one to two glasses a day since the first batch finished its time in the bottle. I will put a picture of the extract used:



The directions are super simple:

1tbls of root beer extract
2.25 cups of sugar
1/4 teas yeast
Water

I used a glass bottle for mine because its what I had on hand but this is a very large recommended nono. Use 2 2 liter bottles for it. Mix it up in both and allow to sit in a dark place 3-5 days until the bottles feel firm. That's it!

For you Kentucky folks, I got my extract here

Cinnamon Rolls

I made these this morning for breakfast and mmmmmmmmm delicious! (I think I love that word) The recipe comes from "The Red Star Centennial Bread Sampler" and this is one of my cherished bread books. My mom had this book when I was a kid and it was where I learned to make a whole lot of bread. When I moved in on my own I wrote the Red Star Yeast company to see if they had a copy and low and behold they did! They even sent it to me for free! How is that for customer service!

The recipe that I use out of it is for Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls, I have no idea what makes these things so scrumptious but holy heck! They are something to be amazed at!

3 cups flour
1 pkg yeast
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teas salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 teas cinnamon
2-4 tbls butter

This is a direct bread method, that's where you make no starter it's just all mixed together. (remember these are my quasi technical terms here)

Combine the first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In the microwave heat the next three ingredients till warm, not hot. Butter does not need to melt here, we are just looking for the ingredients to be warm. If the butter is melted it usually means the mixture is too hot, let it sit for a bit. (I've been known to stick it in the freezer because I'm impatient) Add the egg and milk mixture to the flour mix. Stir with a spoon until it is mixed.

Start adding up to the other two cups of flour, you are looking for a very sticky dough forming which upon the addition of more flour will start to form a ball in the bowl. When it does here are your two options for kneading...

1.) Use your stand mixer if you have one. Turn that baby onto 2-3 for the speed and let it go making sure that the dough continues to pull away from the sides by adding more flour as needed. (a tiny bit at a time)

2.) Turn the dough onto a floured counter and get kneading! Basically you want the mixture to be somewhat sticky yet not clinging to your hands. Add flour as needed to get this consistency. To knead start with the palms of your hands and push the dough away from you. With your fingertips gather it back and roll it towards you then push with your palms. Eventually it will turn into more of a roll, just fold it over itself and keep going with the rolling and gathering. Over and over and over till you think your arms are going to fall off. You are looking for a smooth looking dough with a slight bubble or two on it.

Either method let rise in the kitchen till it doubles. Should take about an hour. Punch it down and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the extra butter and mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl.

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Spread it with the butter and sprinkle with the sugar mix. Starting with your smaller end, roll up into a large log. Cut into rolls with a sharp knife and place into a greased cake pan or pie plate.

At this point you have two options:

1.) Let rise for another hour and bake at 425F for about 30-40 minutes, until tops are brown

2.) Put in the fridge overnight and bake the next morning. (I prefer this method.)

Either way, whip up your favorite frosting to frost with and you are in business!

Bread Pt 1

So this whole topic today is going to be about bread and how to make it. I'll go ahead and say this is probably my FAVORITE thing to make. I'm one of those people that love to start a loaf in the morning and love on it till it goes into the oven. I think I remember helping my mother knead dough as a small child, watching with wonderment when it rose, and then the warm fresh out of the oven bread with some butter on it. My first attempt at yeast bread was with cinnamon rolls and the first batch I'm pretty sure was a flop. Though, being somewhat persistent like I am, I eventually got them to be pretty damn good. So this is going to be long, pull up a warm cup of tea and lets get talking all things bread!

Types of recipes:

There are two different methods for making all bread and I am sure they have technical names to bakers across the world, but I call them direct breads and indirect breads. It is the most nontechnical terms ever...

In a direct bread the dough is mixed with all ingredients together. It is kneaded once, risen once, then shaped, allowed to rise again, and baked.

For indirect bread the dough starts out with what we call "starters". These are made up to 48 hours before the bread is even put together. The rest of the ingredients are added only after the starter has had time to work. They are then kneaded, allowed to rise, given another 2-3 more risings after the first, shaped, and allowed to rise again before baking.

Both methods yield an awesome bread. When I first started turning out the loaves I always used the direct method....later on down the line when I got more comfortable with my abilities (we're talking years here...) did I make a switch to indirect bread.

Kneading Methods

There is a really fun way to knead bread and a fairly boring way... but all kneading is very important. Thinking back about my mothers bread when I was a kid, she had it wrong. Sorry mom, I really am. Her bread always had a thick thick crust that I rather hated. Sometimes the bread would separate from the crust even. I have since learned that my moms adage of "You have to keep kneading till the dough takes no more flour" was giving her the problem with the crust. I have a point to this.

Kneading is essentially beating up the bread with your hands or by machine. There is a lot of science in it with proteins, gluten, and some chemistry, but I will spare the boredom to the reader and hit straight to the point.. maybe

Under-kneading will make a rough un-put together loaf of bread. Over-kneading will cause the crust problem my mom always had. Personally, I really do like hand kneading bread, but that isn't to say as of late I haven't been using my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment out of sheer laziness.......... It will take a long time for a new bread baker to have an eye for the dough being ready so just be patient.



That is about it to making bread, the rest is all idle time waiting on rising or waiting on a starter to complete itself before mixing. Tomorrow I'm going to make a loaf for dinner so I should be able to get pics... should... and I'll be able to get the recipe up for the bread I'm making!