The baking bug

Now that the weather is cooler and the holidays have started, the baking bug has hit me again. I think I'm going to make some nice rye bread today or maybe pumpernickel. I should probably start with the rye as hubby isn't that used to really dark breads (I love them!) I didn't even bother getting caraway seeds as I find them too overpowering. I just want a nice, mellow, flavorful bread and of course I am looking forward to that wonderful aroma permeating through the house! We have a White Elephant Party to attend this weekend and I think I may bake some light little lemon cookies. I have this beautiful Holiday Cookbook that has all of those wonderful decadent cookies, cakes and candies. I've been wanting to try these for awhile, but have never gotten around to it. If they're good, I'll post a photo and the recipe.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Boy do I ever have a fun weekend planned! I hope you can tell I am being TOTALLY sarcastic! My hubby does have all 4 days off, and that's great! I always love when he's home and the kids love it too, especially my girly, she is SUCH a Daddy's girl. We took a bit of a break from home remodeling as we were both sick as shit of putting down floors. We had to take a breather! But now it is time to get back down to business before the holidays. Next week is our "bulk trash" collection, so we can put out all the crap we pulled out of the house, the old sink, toilet, etc... This is a beautiful thing so we can reclaim the garage. Our goal this weekend is to take EVERYTHING out of the garage and put it in the driveway. Then we can go through every box and decide what really needs to stay and what needs to be launched out to the curb for trash week. Unfortunately, we don't have the $400 for the cabinets yet, but we are saving up for them and hopefully will be able to get them in the next couple of months. At that point the garage will be a usable area. We have an old rug that we will throw out there, we'll buy some folding chairs and one of those long folding tables (everything has to fold up in case there is a hail storm coming through and we need to put cars in the garage). We already have our dart board up, so maybe we can actually play on occasion (I've missed that). I'm just looking forward to a nice organized space to store art supplies, mine and the kiddos', and scrapbooking supplies, etc... All of my stuff has just been crammed into cubbies and boxes and we seem to just rotate them from area to area, never being able to actually have it accessible for use! Anyway, that is the weekend plan. If by some sick reason we actually get finished with that in a timely manner, I highly doubt it, we will continue with interior paint! Yes, I started it last weekend, I painted the accent wall around the fireplace and now it is time to bring the new color to the rest of this house. This ugly ass yellow in the great room has its days numbered! It has officially worn out its welcome! I will probably do the painting myself in the den and kitchen, but will have to hire out for the great room. I don't have the capability to paint 20 ft. ceilings! But I can't wait, I tested the new color in some different areas and it is GORGEOUS! I am so slick in my design choices! :-) Anyway, if we can manage a turkey dinner in there somewhere, I suppose this weekend will be a success! My wishes that all the rest of you have a nice Turkey Day, if you celebrate it, otherwise, just have a nice week!

To keep it or not...

This blog is seriously neglected! I tried to use this one to explore my more artistic side, whether it be with photography or food, but it just seems to sit for weeks. I felt 30-something got a little heavy at times and wanted this one to have a lighter feel, which it does, but I find it a little dull at times. So, I may be archiving this site and just going to 30-something permanently. It would be a helluva lot easier to keep up with! Then again, I just went through looking at the archives and I suppose there is interesting stuff on occasion. I don't know, we'll see. I just think this blog gets more attention in the summer when I'm out taking photos and doing stuff. Lately I have just been around the house schooling, cleaning and generally be bored as shit!

On the Menu!

Tilapia with Mango Salsa served with Rice and Black Beans

4-6 tilapia fillets
olive oil orange juice
salt, pepper and crushed red pepper

In a shallow baking dish, mix about 2 tbsp of olive oil with about 1/4 c of OJ (or just squeeze a nice-sized whole orange), sprinkle with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Add the tilapia and coat on both sides, pop in a 400* oven for 10-12 min.

For salsa:
Mango, onion, avocado, tomatoes, lime, jalapeno, cilantro and salt.
Chop 1 small or 1/2 a large onion, dice 1 avocado, peel and dice 1 mango, dice one good sized or 2 roma sized tomatoes, chop 1 jalapeno and 1/4 cup or less (depending on taste) of cilantro. Put it all together and add the juice of 1 lime and add salt to taste.

For Black Beans:
I actually used canned the last time (just didn't have time to soak and blah, blah, blah). So one can of black beans, drained and rinsed. Before adding beans, saute a little onion and some fresh tomato. Add the beans to a pan and add some water, just enough for them to simmer and get hot. Add to taste, salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Reduce it a little so it thickens up a bit, then garnish with cilantro before serving.

Serve the fish over a bed of rice then spoon the salsa over the top. Black beans on the side. Yummy! This is a very quick and healthly little meal. If you're actually steaming rice and not using the quicky stuff, you'll want to get that going first. The fish takes only 10-12 minutes and the beans and salsa about that as well. Enjoy!

Piggy costume!

It's kind of pathetic that I spend hours on a costume for a 16 month-old that she wears long enough for me to snap a couple of photos! She did wear the outfit trick-or-treating, but actively refused to wear the ears, and she normally LOVES to wear those ears! Fickle girl! But tell me the costume was cute! There is a close up of the tail which I was extremely impressed with how well it turned out. The front was pretty non-descript, just pink, but the back had the spots and tail, too cute. I can't wait until next year when she's walking and able to go to the door!

The masterpiece progresses...

We are close to a finished product and this costume is becoming more and more outrageous every day! As if there weren't enough bells and whistles on this thing, the hubby thought it was prudent that there be lights. So off he went and discovered LED lights that he now has strung and poking through the box and it has a battery pack on the back that can be set to a constant "on" or "intermittent". So my son will blink and shine his way through the neighborhood. And if that wasn't enough, I'm sure he will have NO risk of being hit by a car as he has a giant push-light on the back of the costume, 2 reflectors and he'll most likely be wearing his light-up Spiderman sneakers! Hell, I don't think my XMAS tree has as many lights on it as he will!

Constructive Criticism???

My hubby looked at the blog and said I take horrible food pictures! He says they look disgusting! :-( I do admit, I can take a great picture of my kid or of wildlife or bugs, but I do kinda suck at food photos. Is it the flourescent light in my kitchen?? Or maybe the flash? Well, if any of you have been turned off by the food photos, just let it be known that they might look gross, but they really are tasty! I'll try to do better in the future.