Pickles!

My love of food and my love of writing have long been overlooked!

i return to my blog... considering no one will pay me to write anything :)

Have you ever heard of McClures Pickles?

I love pickles. something I have in common with the Duggars. I mean, i love them! But those yellowed grocery store jared pickles fail me. There is no crunch, there is no tang, there is no snap to the pickle. They are spongy, wet, and often unappetizing. I think the whole world would love pickles if they could taste an amazing pickle.

I was watching my favorite channel: The Food Network (no surprise there) and they have a show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate... snack attack! Ted Allen talked about his love of a McClure pickle, and they have been featured in BonAppetit Magazine, one of my favorite subscriptions. So... I was interested.

I have recently discovered that you can order many of your favorite foods from other cities over the internet. I discovered it with Berger Cookies, which deserve their own blog post, but back to pickles. The McClure family only sell their pickles by the case at $120 a case. Thats a little out of my grocery budget. but Market Hall Foods sells them by the jar for $12.50

I am so excited about trying my pickles... I just have to wait for them to arrive.

Free Coffee

Free coffee with an iPhone app! Best Day ever!

Comfort Food Round 2

Chris likes to find random videos online and play them for me to try and make me smile. I am not very good at navigating you tube and Chris has much more fun finding the best videos than I do.

He played this one for me and I can’t get the song out of my head!

On the poll, no one voted for chocolate cake. I was surprised since I always thought people loved chocolate cake. I am not a big cake fan, or really a very big fan of sweet foods altogether, a savory dish is more my style of comfort food. I could not stop thinking about it though, is chocolate cake no longer a comfort food? I decided to turn to the queen of comfort, Mama Deen.

I chose to make Paula Deen’s Mississippi Mud Cake. I don’t normally bake and the idea of exact measurements was frightening. After a late night trip to the store, and then sending Chris for one more ingredient, I finally managed to concoct the extreme, rich, sweet comforting cake. If you don’t find chocolate cake comforting, you have to try this recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Miss Paula Deen
Serves: 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Icing:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
Combine the sugar, salt, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Bring the butter, oil, cocoa, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add to the flour mixture.
Beat together the eggs, baking soda, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the chocolate mixture, mix well, and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the cake is baking, make the icing by melting the butter in the cocoa and milk over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the confectioners' sugar. Slowly mix in the nuts and the vanilla. Take the cake from the oven, and when it cools a bit cover it with miniature marshmallows. Pour the warm icing over the cake and the marshmallows. Cool the cake before serving.

Here is the cake portion in the oven, without a mixer I was nervous about the lumps you see in the batter.

While the cake was baking I made the icing, oh my! A stick of butter and a pound of powdered sugar later I had an amazing, fudgelike syrup, check it out!
Here you can see the marshmallow layer. I tucked in a layer of mini marshmallows and then put it under the broiler for 30-45 seconds to puff up the marshmallow and make it nice and soft. It turned out really nice.

Here are our plates of midnight comfort food, with the only appropriate drink; milk.

Wedding Website

I have been working on our wedding website and it isn't finished yet but here is what I've come up with. I'm not sure of the exact address but here is a link. Sign our Guest Book so we feel loved!

Wedding Website

Thanks to the knot!

Comfort Food

Comfort food has always been an interest to me; Food that provides more than just physical nourishment but emotional as well. Comfort food can be different things to different people, particularly from different parts of the country. In the North East where I grew up it was hearty vegetable soup that my mom spent all day making so the smells soaked into the whole house. In the South East where I live now, there is more bacon and Macaroni & Cheese. Chris is from the Midwest and he loves cabbage wrapped in pastry or homemade pasta with cream sauce. For the country as whole we think of Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, and gravy. How can so many different types of food give people such similar emotional satisfaction?

I decided to try to make some comfort food of my own after the results of the poll were in. Chris and I were talking and I asked if he liked Chicken Pot Pie. His eyes lit up. I have never been a fan of Chicken Pot Pie but I definitely think of it as a comfort food. Creamy sauce, juicy mild flavored meat, fluffy pastry, vegetables… it sounds comforting. After I decided I would try the pot pie I was on a search for a recipe. Often things non-acidic are described as comfort food, maybe because they don’t upset our stomachs. The problem for me is that they often are full of heavy cream and bad fats. (Maybe I’ll write the next blog about the types of fats and my passion against them being named “fat”)

I changed Cooking Light’s recipe a little based on what I had at the house and 

what we like. Here’s what I got, approximately of course.

Chicken Pot Pie
6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Ingredients
· 1 tablespoon butter
· 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
· 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
· 1 1/2 cups refrigerated diced potatoes with onions (such as Simply Potatoes)
· 1/3 cup Pino Grigio
· 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
· 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
· 2 cups chopped chicken breast
· 3 cups mixed vegetables (green beans, lima beans, corn, carrots, mushroom, broccoli)
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch· 2 tablespoons water
· 2/3 cup half-and-half· Cooking spray
· 2 ½ cups low-fat baking mix (such as Bisquick Heart Smart)
· 1 cup fat-free milk
· 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and thyme; sauté. Add potatoes; sauté. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in mustard and broth; bring to a boil. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken, mixed vegetables, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture and half-and-half to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon baking mix into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine baking mix, milk, and egg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Spoon batter over chicken mixture; spread evenly to cover. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until topping is golden and filling is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 348 (24% from fat)
Fat: 9.2g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 23.5gCarbohydrate: 43.3g
Fiber: 4.4g
Cholesterol: 55mg
Iron: 3.1mg
Sodium: 634mg

Calcium: 131mg

It was a little messy in the kitchen since I had to cook the chicken in one pan, cook the filling in one pot, mix the bread in one bowl, combine the corn starch in another bowl, and chop everything on my small counter. Once it all made it into my 9 x 13 though it looked pretty. The saucy filling was bubbling up the sides of the pan topped with a crown of fluffy bread.
Normally I cook for just Chris and myself but I had a special opportunity last night, I got to send some pot pie over to my neighbors, Ray & Kari. I don’t like to give out food I haven’t tried yet or even more uncomfortable; a new recipe. There was no other way though. I scooped some out and ran next door. As I was running out the door Chris called through a mouth of food that I didn’t need to be nervous, it tasted very good.

We ate our big bowls full of moist flavorful chicken, creamy broth, vegetables that still had their texture, and a thick layer of bread to soak it all up. The immediate urge to nap afterward was the comfort part kicking in. We left the dishes and lay down on the couch to soak in the warm full comfort of a hearty dish. If you wanted to try the pot pie I might suggest a little less bread on the top and trying a deeper dish, the 9 X 13 made a nice presentation but I wished the pie were a little thicker.

Thanks for all your input about your favorite comfort foods!

Wedding Cakes

As I am planning the wedding many things strike me but today; cakes. Why do we have cakes at weddings?

It seems to me that the protestant wedding is the most commercialized and lacking in true meaning. I look at Indian weddings where it is truly a celebration. The Jewish custom of the chuppah or breaking the glass. I am a little jealous. Chris and I have chosen a non-traditional wedding because the traditions seem empty.

Cake is one of those things for me, it’s tradition, but why?

 Research Links: One Two

This is what I found out:

The breaking of the cake or loaf of bread by the groom over the bride’s head symbolizing the breaking of her virginity and his dominance over her. (Absolutely not!)

 

It could have been a stack of sweet buns the couple tried to kiss over, and if they could it meant lots of children. (Eek! Not doing that one.)

 

Then there is the Bride Pie, which could simply have been a meat pie with a glass ring baked inside that single ladies would try to find to symbolize the next one getting married. (This one at least recognizes the bride is the center of the event but meat pies aren’t our thing)

 

Then the plum cake, which would have been literally sugar with icing, is an option but the rich simply used these to show off to their guests since sugar was so expensive. (Not the kind of meaningful tradition I was looking for)

My search didn’t really come up with anything I want to do at my wedding. 

I know my mom is a little disappointed. She has saved a small green figurine from her wedding cake; she had two of them hidden behind a pillar or something. She has put this figurine on every cake I have ever eaten. She calls him “the little green man” and she was certain he would go on my wedding cake. Besides that I am sure this figurine is full of lead and has poisoned every birthday cake of my life, he has not stood the test of time. He is a little faded and beat up. I want the little green man to make an appearance at my wedding festivities but I don’t want a cake. Personally, I don’t even really like eating cake.

I came up with a solution!

Freed’s Bakery in Las Vegas sells cupcakes. Bachelorette themed cupcakes. Now, I don’t think I can post the link because there is a waiver button about being over 18 to see the picture... If you dare check out what the little green man can stand behind now! It's a far cry from my 8 year old barbie cake. 

http://www.freedsbakery.com/las-vegas-bachelor-bachelorette

Pat's & Geno's

My trip to MD also became a trip to Philly to see Chris’ friend Andrew & his finance Melanie. I have been to Philadelphia on field trips to see a big broken bell and things like that but I’ve not been to hang out before. Melanie had to work during the day so Andrew was our tour guide. We got to see the Rocky stairs, although I’ve never seen Rocky and I thought Andrew might stop the tour right there to go watch the movie. We saw Love Park, boathouse row, and this cool junk garden.

The big tourist attraction however was Pat’s & Geno’s. Andrew told us we needed to try one of each to decide which one we liked better. Andrew even played along and wouldn’t tell us his favorite until we had decided.

We went to Pat’s first. It was busy and I knew there is a specific way to order a Philly Cheese Steak and I didn’t want to mess it up. We told Andrew what we wanted and he ordered, seemed like the best way. We then walked across the craziest intersection to Geno’s. Andrew ordered us the same thing we ordered at Pat’s. We grabbed a table covered in photos of famous people and stealthily unwrapped the Pat’s sub so no one at Geno’s could see.

First I tried Pat’s. Then I tried Geno’s. It was a really difficult decision. I had to try them both a few times before I decided.

Pat’s was pretty greasy, in fact some dripped onto my foot as we walked across the street. The meat was very tender. The bread was crunchy. I couldn’t really taste our provolone because of the slippery meat.

Geno’s wasn’t very greasy. The meat was tougher. The bread was soft. The provolone was easier to taste without as much liquid.

Chris, Andrew and I had a unanimous decision; Geno’s.

Our friend Jeff who lives in Orlando but it from Philly was appalled at our decision. He says that Geno’s is for the tourists and Pat’s is for the true Philadelphians. Maybe I’m just a tourist who doesn’t know a good cheese steak from a bad cheese steak but I do know this; that was the best lunch I’ve had in a long time.

Charm City Cakes

Chris and I watch The Food Network. We love Ace of Cakes with Duff Goldman, although our favorite is his associate Geoff Manthorn. Geoff is my favorite because his sense of humor, he is hysterical in that dry serious kind of way. If you haven’t seen the show, you should, but besides that it is about this bakery that makes crazy cakes. Since Ace of Cakes is filmed in Baltimore we decided to go find it! (I was secretly hoping Geoff would be outside)

We knew we wouldn’t be able to knock or wave or disturb the cake makers but we just wanted to see the place. We typed Charm City Cakes into the iphone and off we went. Only about 5 minutes from the city we ended up in a residential neighborhood, I was thinking the iphone had failed us when… There it was! Shiny and just like on the television. We were like kids, running over to the door to get a picture. All the windows were blacked in and of course there was a buzzer to get in, but we didn’t bother anyone.

As we were leaving we did see one of the girls from the show, but she is our least favorite. I was so excited that I am sharing my excitement with you.

G & M

I desperately wanted Chris to have MD crab while we were in town. As we walked into G&M we were greeted by a newly renovated beautiful restaurant. The mix of older couples, young businessmen and chatty women told us that their food had to be good enough for all the different needs. We were excited. We were seated on the second floor which was only tables for two. There were flat screens everywhere but it wasn’t obnoxious and loud like a sports bar.

We ordered two crab cake sandwiches. The waitress was the epitome of a Baltimorean. Chris was surprised by her gruff demeanor mixed with pet names. I think it was a grand total of 4 minutes later that our crab cakes were placed on the table. We were still playing around taking pictures when they arrived. Man, they were beautiful. I had mine with chunky applesauce and Chris had crinkly French fries.

I immediately ditched the bun and went to town while Chris tried to pick his up and eat it like a sandwich, it was adorable and clumsy. He caught on and left the bun. It was crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, flavorful, full of crab meat hunks and no oozing mayonnaise or other condiment. Perfection.

These weren’t budget sandwiches at 13 dollars apiece but for good crab cakes, it was worth it! Plus the dinner version went up to 25 dollars a serving. Full of delicious seafood comfort we piled back into the rental car and two cars were ready for our spot before I could even put her in reverse.

The Blue Moon Café

    Fells Point is an area of Baltimore known for its bars. There are a lot of bars; some amazing bars. Anytime you have bars clustered together you’re bound to find the most amazing bar food, which usually includes wings, pizza, or burgers. The Blue Moon Café on the other hand serves breakfast.

    Chris and I sought of the café after they were featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It’s a small building right off of the main bar street. We sat at a cute little table in front of an old fireplace. The whole place is charming, like an old, warn in pair of jeans that you could probably update but love too much.

    We ordered the Captain Crunch French Toast and the Mexican Scramble. The Captain Crunch French Toast is their specialty. The cereal is crushed up and the toast is covered in it before it is cooked. It caramelizes and sweetens the outside while retaining the crunch, mmmm. It is served with fresh fruit. The Mexican scramble is eggs, chorizo, cheese, peppers, and spice served scrambled with hash 

browns and a biscuit.The biscuit came out before anything else. It was gigantic, that is a half of my biscuit in the picture. It’s served with butter and strawberry jam. It was flaky and delicious, bordering on better than mom’s homemade. Chris even liked it :)

    The food came out in a hurry, the whole place was working very quickly. It was amazing. Chris stopped talking completely to shovel French toast into his mouth before his stomach could tell him he was full. The home-made 

whipped cream serves as the syrup as it melted on the hot French toast. The Mexican

 Scramble was perfectly flavored. It was spicy and savory. The textures worked so well together, I even scrambled in some of my has

h browns for more of a crunch.We were so full we couldn’t finish our big servings but o

ur bill wasn’t inflated at all. We stumbled out into the street in a food coma, similar to a beer coma.

Engaged!

I haven't had a change to blog about all the amazing foodie experiences I had in Maryland, Pannsylvania, and New York because it has been the most exhausting trip. I needed a few days to rest when I got back.

Plus... Chris purposed while we were in New York. It was the best. :)

We went to MD so Chris could see where I grew up. We went up to NY for a little vacation. It was my first time in the city. We arrived on Saturday morning after a long ride on the train. It was delayed at least an hour! I was excited to spend some time with Chris alone before his friends Andrew and Melanie arrived to hang out with us. Chris was acting so weird and I was getting upset because our whole trip had been so busy we hadn't had muh time to just be together. I wanted him to be happy that we had some time alone but he seemed so stressed out. We wandered around NY and Chris kept texting Andrew. I was sad he didn't want to talk to me. When we met up with his friends he seemed to get a little happier so when they all insisted that we go to the Empire State Building immediately I just went along with it.

There was a long wait and I actually asked if we really wanted to wait. We got up to the top and it was so worth it. It was beautiful and stunning, we went to every side of the building and took all these pictures. It was cold and windy so I asked if we could go. Andrew said ok, lets just get one final video/picture. The next thing I knew Chris was on one knee and saying, "Will you marry me?" I was Shocked! I think I said yes and couldn't stop staring at my hand. I was shaking and I just couldn't believe it was real. There was a woman next to us who overheard and congratulated us, which was cute. Andrew and Melanie were ready to move on to the next event but I was so shaken I started crying at the bottom of the building.

It was amazing, I'm in love.

Mrs. Rowe's

In 2005 Southern Living featured an article "Brake for Breakfast". They featured a restaurant called Mrs. Rowe's in Staunton, Virginia. Seeing as I am in Staunton I figured I should check it out.

It was a cute little place right off the main highway. I went with a party of 5 and we were seated quickly. Coffee was hot, and the menu was printed right on our paper place-mats which is something I'm not used to in FL but it had a southern charm.

I ordered the egg sandwich with fried apples. It was delicious and southern and just as roadside breakfast should be, in my opinion. The coffee was hot and the waitress was sweet. So if you're ever in Staunton and your craving a ham, egg, ad cheese sandwhich on wheat; check out Mrs. Rowes.

I am in Staunton Virginia. My sister is graduating from Mary Baldwin College and I am in town to celebrate. Cassie's idea of starting the party included a tattoo. She decided to get Shakespeare's signature on her ankle. 

Mom and I went with her to watch her get her 3rd piece of body art. Mom was very nervous for her. We both thought the tattoo guys were friendly though  and had a nice chat about how they would feel about tattooing a woman's woo-ha. 

Airport Dining

Good Morning. Its bright and early and I am at the airport. Gate 123, as you can see. The airport is an odd place. I always feel as if I am walking down a runway when I walk by all the gates of people staring at the walkway. And I hate carrying my carry on, but that’s another thing altogether.

Besides that though there are many odd things to do with food here. It is 9 in the morning and yet the little bar behind me is hoppin. Personally I love to have a nice strong beverage before I fly, it helps me sleep on the plane but I just can’t justify an $11 martini at this hour. I’ll have to stick with my other addition, iced coffee.

The air is perfumed with the smell of biscuits and cinnamon rolls. Every other person is carrying a McDonalds bag and the boy a few rows down from me just had the breakfast of champions, Doritos. Why is it that we arrive hours before our flight to zoom through security, to eat. Eating is a very social activity for most Americans. They serve food here at the airport, so we must eat? I had my bowl of Special K before I left the house. Maybe parents feed their children at the airport so they will be quiet. Goodness children are loud at the airport. I think we should stop serving $6 egg McMuffins and stop eating just because we can. If people could only try eating delicious nutritious food because their body requires fuel, maybe they would like it. Or maybe we should just keep feeding children to be quiet. 

My Trip

I am from Maryland. Reisterstown, MD actually which is a tiny no nothing town North of Baltimore. Urban Dictionary goes into detail about the town. I don't agree with everything the dictionary says but most of it is pretty true. 

Chris and I are taking a trip to MD so he can see my home state just like I saw Gillette, WY in December. I'm excited about showing him my hometown. 

This is the cow. It used to be called Dairy Fresh but they put the cow out front and everyone just called it the cow, so they changed the name.  They sell soft serve ice cream and italian ice. Its better than Rita's or Jeremiah's. This is our first stop on our trip, right after I pick up Chris from the airport.

The Cow is right on main street in the heart of Reisterstown so it is a good first stop. Main street is one of those super cute old school streets, my pediatrician still practices in an old home right on the street and I think the whole town went to him when we were young. 

Then we have to go have a crab cake sandwich from G&M. mmmm, my mouth is watering in anticipation. Just look at how delicious it looks. Crab is a Maryland specialty and there a lot of ways to eat it. The most popular is steamed crabs with old bay but they are expensive and Chris thinks the hassle of picking the crab isn't worth the amount of meat, so already picked crab meat is going to be the method of choice for our trip. If you're going to eat a crab cake then make it a great one. G&M doesn't have the tourist feel of Philip's Seafood so the price isn't a jacked up. The main things to look for in a crab cake is good jumbo lump crab, little filler, and great seasoning, but not covered with cheese & other nonsense. 

The other food necessity is the Blue Moon Cafe in Fells Point, as seen in Diners Drive-ins and Dives. I've already been there once and it is sooo delicious. I had the Capt Crunch french toast the last time I was there. Chris and I watched the episode together and he was so jealous that I went without him. I owe it to him to go again, and I can't say I mind at all. :)

We're also going to visit one of my favorite museums that I've ever been too. It's called the American Visionary Art Museum. It features only untrained artists. People just living their lives in ordinary ways creating for the pleasure of being creative. One of the rooms

is filled with tiny dolly made from scraps of fabric. The woman was a semstress, I think, and she used the remains of fabric to make dolls for little sister. You can feel the love she put into each of those dolls when you walk into the room, it's amazing. 

There is a lot more I'd like to do in MD with Chris but we're only going to be in MD for two days before we head to Philadelphia and New York. I'll let you know how the trip goes.   

uber

This is uber. Uber has been hanging out with me during my time off from work, considering I do nothing all day and have pleanty of time to let him outside and feed him. I have been working on training him and developing more of a schedule for the little guy. Check it out. 

This is his new "box". He hates it. I mean he hates the thing BUT when he has to go inside he doesn't whine, cry, or bark. Best of all, he doesn't pee!!!

The training literature said that dog's won't pee in their own space so their cage has to be small enough for them to fit without extra room. (and yes the wii fit board is being stored on top)

Chris was nervous about the box especially. And the stuff I read said not to force him into the box for long periods of time from the beginning or it would traumatize him. First we just made him sit in there to get treats. Then for maybe an hour when I left. We made it four hours. and finally about seven hours the other day, and man did he run for the door when we got back but he didn't pee in the box. Success!

This is uber's new bed. In this picture it is in the living room but now it lives in the bedroom. It's great because uber likes it much better than the box. It is small too, so he can cuddle up with the sides. He knows that when I go to bed he doesn't get to sleep on the bed anymore. Uber is a boy dog and when his hair gets long he pees on himself which is gross to me, a devout non dog person before I met uber. I don't like his pee fur on my nice sheets. Maybe that makes me shallow, oh well. Back to point, he knows that he sleeps in his little bed at night time and he doesn't complain at all. He likes having his own space a lot. 

His schedule is easy to keep up with my very open schedule right now but hopefully it will be ok to keep up even once I go back to work. He is a smart dog and knows when in the day he gets to go pee so instead of just peeing whenever he wants he knows its okay to hold it because a little walk is coming soon. I also changed his food, he never really ate his old food but he likes the new food and will eat it pretty much when I put it in the bowl. This is good because I will know when he will physically need to go outside based on when he ate. 

My Mystery Plant

This is my mystery plant that Chris brought to me. Turns out that it is called a Peace Lily. Spathiphyllum Annette is the proper name. Whatever that means. :)

It has dark shiny leaves and it doesn't like intense light, which is good since it has been cloudy around here lately. I think it is a very pretty plant and I have been trying to be a good mommy to my plant. It likes even watering and diffused light. 

I don't liked the wicker basket it came in and I wanted to find out if it needed the breathable basket or if a pretty ceramic pot would be fine. Turns out that the ugly basket can go and a pretty pot can replace it! Yay. This is the kind of pot I am thinking of. 

This one is from Crate&Barrel, which maybe is out of my price range but i think I could get something similar. It has to match the pink walls outside on my porch though so red is out of the question. I know the plant is mostly and indoor plant but occasionally I'd like to sit it outside on the porch. There was a little snail on it tonight so I think that it could make friends on the porch. :)

i love cooking

It has been raining for days here in Orlando which hardly ever happens here. I mean almost never! My parents gave me some of their leftover steamed crabs on Sunday and I was so excited about eating them. Unfortunately chris isn't from Maryland and isn't confident in his crab picking skills. I decided to pick all the crabs myself and make some of my favorite rainy day comfort food, a Maryland style crab soup. 

I used half a white onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 & 1/2 tbsp butter, carrots, red potatoes, fresh green beans, frozen corn, frozen lima beans, and 5 crab claws in 2 quarts of beef stock to start it off. I simmered the veggies for about a half an hour. I added some Old Bay, crab boil seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, parsley, and a half a can of yuengling. I gave it a few minutes and added the crab, and a can of stewed tomatoes. Another 25 minutes and it was dinner time! 

Chris had never really tried my kind of comfort food before. Being from the mid-west his comfort foods include cream and pasta not veggies and seafood. The sweet & spicy food was a hit! I served it with a little bit of a garlic herb bread and we both cleared our bowls. Just the tummy warming food needed for a rainy day. 

Nothing is more like something

So doing nothing is kind of fun...

 

I saw my cousin Harper's school play. 

I cleaned the bathroom. 

I had breakfast with my friend.

I went to the Star Trek movie. 

I hung out with my parents at Margaritaville. 

I watched the magic actually win at OBoys.

I got to go to Burtons. 

I organized my magazines. 

I bought Chris a present. 

I used my new present from Chris. 

I can actually drink a cup of coffee in the morning before it gets cold. 

I am trying to train uber, it is going well. 

I got my things from my family's house and unpacked them into my new house. 

I bought artwork for the walls. 

I have written in my journal. 

I did some research on local gyms. 

I walked to the greek restaurant on the corner. 

I ate at Brian's, which is also in walking distance. 

I rode my bike semi-successfully. 

I went to Cypress Gardens, which was lame.

I went to Summit.

I ate some skittles, which I love.

I took Chris lunch a bunch of times.

I slept past 11 one day.

I went grocery shopping.

I beat Chris at Wii bowling.

I am trying not to kill my plant.

 

Still to do:

figure out what kind of plant I have.

re-work my budget and see if I can afford the gym I liked.

eat more skittles.

make crab soup.

Brian's

I have moved to the antique row of Orlando which brings many exciting things, but most especially; new restaurants!

Saturday morning Chris and I went to Brian's, a tiny looking place right on the corner of Orange & Virginia. The plaid red curtains beckoned to me just a tiny walk from my front door.

We came in and the lady was friendly in a genuine way, not just that "i'm forced to be nice to you" attitude. Plus the place was way bigger than either of us thought. I liked not having to fight for a table.

We ordered coffee. Now that simple sentence may imply a simple act but I assure you that for us to be awake and out in public before 9am on a saturday that coffee needs to be delicious. Not burnt, too strong, too weak, or otherwise untasty. It was perfect. They even had a pitcher of cream of the table so when chris added his gallon (probably!) of cream we didn't have a mountain from those plastic buckets.

Chris ordered the strawberry stuffed french toast & I had the breakfast burrito. 1st up though was the sweet buns. Now, I am not a donut, danish, or sweet morning food kind of person. As you can see on the menu though these were supposedly good. Plus once she placed them on the table the intense cinnamon smell sucked me in. They were amazing, I mean, Amazing.

The amazing carried through the whole meal. Chris' bacon was as good as grandma's. My burrito was yummy. Nothing gourmet or fancy but good real cooking. What really stuck both of us was how friendly everyone in the entire place was. They all seemed genuinely concerned that we had a good breakfast. and we did!