don’t you wish you lived in austin
I should probably mention that this weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with 5 pretty amazing ladies! We are all from Austin, except Jessica! She was visiting for the IACP conference. Unfortunately Austin is having this ultra extreme heat wave and it was brutal! Don’t judge us by this extreme (not normal) weather, Jessica! Please!
Photo courtesy of Jenn!
Jenn, Me, Jessica, Brittany, Mandy & Stephanie
And this is why I love blogging…meeting new friends and new people is a blast. Plus now I have new happy hour friends and that is never a bad thing! Cheers ladies!
donuts are always a good idea. always.
This is recipe week on my blog. Nothing fancy. I’m not that kind of cook. Just easy stuff. Like stuff you have in your pantry and need to use. That’s all. So don’t get all excited on me. But maybe you’ll find one or two you want to make and then I’m happy. I’m insanely easy to please.
I have never once claimed to be a baker. Not once. I don’t like to bake. Mainly because I am not good at it. No really, I’m not. And how many of you actually enjoy doing something you’re not good at? I rest my case. But last Friday was National Donut Day (only in America, right?) and I thought it would be fun to make donuts. I don’t own a deep fryer. Nor do I want to. So the only thing left to do was bake them. Except I don’t exactly own a donut pan either. I thought about buying one but going back to that “I hate baking thing” I figured this would be a waste of money. So what to do? Google to the rescue! I stumbled upon The Pioneer Woman’s Muffins That Taste Like Donuts recipe and the clouds parted and the angels sang. I made a few changes only because I didn’t have a few of the items and I really didn’t want to go to the store for the fourteenth time that week.
All I can really say about these is that they are wonderful! I ate one immediately…that whole let cool thing wasn’t about to happen. And then I ate another a little while later after the roof of my mouth returned to a more normal temperature. National Donut Day was complete in my house and it made last Friday a little bit less sad.
Muffins That Taste Like Donuts from The Pioneer Woman
1-3/4 cup Flour
1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/3 cup Oil (now here I didn’t have any oil except olive oil and I thought that would be icky so I subbed pumpkin)
3/4 cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
3/4 cups Milk (and here I didn’t have any milk except almond milk)
FOR THE TOPPING:
1/4 cup Butter
1/3 cup White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.
Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.
I also never claimed to be a pretty baker. But didn’t your mama always tell you not to judge a book by its cover? I’m sure she did. And now I am telling you not to judge these muffins based on how they look. They’re good. Really they are.
rest in peace
Today is not a good day. Today we are putting our dog, Kodi, to sleep. He is (originally) Keith’s dog and is almost 16 years old! Thankfully he doesn’t have cancer or anything like that but he is really old and his body is just giving out on him. It is hard to watch. He can no longer walk without lots of help, he is on pain medication and arthritis medication, and his quality of life and dignity is fading fast. This is really a difficult time for us both. I take comfort in the fact that he has had a good life and he will be missed. Keith has been thinking about this for a while but I have been the one saying no. I wasn’t ready. Kodi and I bonded when I had my accident and since then I haven’t wanted to let go. I had this horrible insomnia and I was so depressed and he was the one who laid by me day in and day out. Right now I am dealing with a lot of guilt. I feel guilty. I mean he trusts us and we are putting him to sleep. I feel awful. I have a temper and I yelled at him from time to time when he accidentally messed on my floor or when I was in a bad mood. I hope he knows I love him and I really will miss him a lot. I had my private moment with him last night and promised him I would take care of Keith. He was very loyal to Keith and I firmly believe the reason he hung on so long was because he didn’t want to leave Keith. So I wanted him to know that above all I would look after him so he could go in peace.
the comforts of home
Happy Thursday! Wow…where has this week gone? I guess when taking a vacation in the middle of the week it really throws off your sense of time. At least it does for me. One of the things I miss most when being gone is cooking my own food in my own kitchen. Don’t get me wrong I love to eat out and try new things but towards the end of any time away I find myself missing the comforts of home and for me that means food.
One of mine and Keith’s favorite things to make is tabbouleh. Keith’s mom used to make it all the time growing up and it was one of the recipes she graciously passed to me. I changed up a few things to make it my own and we eat it all the time. It was actually the first thing Keith requested I make once I got back home.
One of the things I did differently was to substitute quinoa into the recipe versus the cracked wheat in my mother-in-law’s recipe. I love quinoa. It is actually a seed (not a grain) that has a fluffy texture when cooked. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. This appeals to both me and Keith as we are protein lovers!
Quinoa Tabbouleh
1 cup uncooked quinoa, soaked
2 full bunches of parsley
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
5 lemons, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
First, you must soak your quinoa for about 15 minutes prior to cooking. To soak: pour 1 cup of dry quinoa into a bowl and fill it so the water covers the quinoa. Let is soak for 15 minutes and then drain it in a mesh strainer. Bring 1-3/4 cups of water to a boil, then add the 1 cup of quinoa. Simmer uncovered for 12 minutes. All of the liquid should be absorbed. Cool completely.
While the quinoa is cooking, use a food processor to finely chop all the parsley. Place into a bowl. Chop the tomatoes (you can use more or less than 1 cup. I use less because Keith isn’t really a tomato guy…but feel free to add more according to your tastes) Add the tomatoes to the parsley.
Once the quinoa is cooled add it to the parsley and tomato mixture. Stir to combine. Next squeeze the juice of the lemons into the bowl. (again you can use more or less here depending on your tastes). And finally add the olive oil. Stir well to combine everything.
Let chill for several hours. I usually let it sit overnight for all the flavors to blend.
This is such a light and refreshing meal. It tastes so fresh. I love to pair with my roasted red pepper hummus and some grilled chicken and we a winner! It is good to be home.
What Kelly Said 