Surf and Turf

Traditionally, I've not been a web surfer. It's not because I don't want to, but more because time never seems to come find me. But lately, I've bumped into a couple of sarcastically humorous sites (one blog written by a grumpy doctor, another showcasing the gorgeous people who hang out at walmart) which are amazing time sinks. I won't post actual links since we are attempting to keep our blog G-rated but it won't take you long to find those sites if you search certain words.

The turf part (for you astute readers who have been anxiously waiting to figure out what the title means) is running this morning in the drizzling rain with Steve and Charlene. It's a fit punishment for not getting out to run much this past month.

A day of baking, cooking, shopping and cleaning for moi; hubby and buddies are hanging out at the house with their project.

Enjoy a ghoulish day.

New oven adventures

Despite the careful wrapping of sweet potatoes, some sticky syrup fell onto the oven. Why not try the self-clean function at this opportunity? So far, so good... though it certainly smells "hot" in the kitchen.

Happy Birth-day

Here's a shout-out to the birthday girl... Hope you had a fabulous day, Lora! We love you!

And, congratulations to Ann and Chris on your new baby boy! Happy to hear Rylan is healthy, and all are doing well. Thanks for the pix.

Terrific Tuesday

I met some VERY interesting people today! Wish I could give details but prudence requires that I not share that information via this public forum. Needless to say, the day flew by quickly, despite sniffling my nose contantly. Yes, I was that annoying person who really should have stayed home.

Dinner update: caprese salad for appetizer, lemon pepper flounder, broccoli and baked sweet potato. I decided to try the delay time bake on the oven and it works well!

Weekend Blur

Sometimes the weekends fly by so quickly! We enjoyed a gourmet meal of cornish hens, roasted potatos, sauteed green beans and salad, topped off with a fruit parfait for dessert. Compliments to G'pa Milo for a beautiful dinner! Of course we found the company just as exciting.

Troy worked on his research projects and homework diligently all weekend, putting in nearly 12 hours on Saturday and another 8 on Sunday at school.

This weekend, I worked, hit the gym, caught up on a million chores (though there are still some remaining) and started a new knitting project (yes, 2 other projects are needing to be completed) but ahhhh, the thrill of something new! Thankfully a few of my knitting buddies understand this illness.

Tonight I found a 2 mile scenic path around a lake in Apex to run... just the right length to burn off stress but not too overwhelming. After a dinner of beef fajitas, I was glad I had run a little earlier.

Plodders Unite!

This NY Times article was disheartening for a newbie runner like me. I've not even completed a full marathon, so why not discourage the idea even more?! Evidently I would fit into the "plodder" category (extrapolating my average mile time which no doubt would increase significantly past the 3 mile mark!) Apparently, some marathoners disdain the slow lane. Errrr, it takes effort for me to get to that point!

Mo' rockin'

This week's experiment is "Chicken Butternut Tagine" a deep-spiced Moroccan dish with chicken, butternut, olives and raisins from the latest Cooking Light magazine. I opted for serving it over basmati rice instead of couscous since that was on hand. The mix of salt and sweet with the curry-type flavors warms the tongue with a pop at the end. This one passed the hubby taste test!

Bipolar weather, Football addiction, and Test taking strategies

This week's weather alternates between cold and hot in a matter of hours. A new word for this mixed up season needs to be coined, such as "sautumn" or "fummer" or "sall" or something. Plus, my wardrobe is all over the place. Do these weird outfits (summer light dress, winter weight sweater and open-toed shoes) make sense anywhere but in NC in October?

We also been following stellar football teams such as the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears this season. The good thing about rooting for the underdog is the thrill of an occasional first down, much less a win. If you don't expect anything, then you'll never be disappointed!

Some people are excellent strategists and buzz through standardized tests, knowing exactly the answer the test-writers are seeking. The rest of us poor test takers bumble through each question, reading every detail and wasting time trying to understand the question, let alone the answer options. We've been in test taking mode these past couple of months, and finally gathering the little pearls on mastering the questions quickly.

This ain't sashimi, folks!

For Troy & those blessed with that kind of brain

Troy might be influencing me more than I realize, since this cooking for engineers website is quite interesting for me to read. (You can only imagine the analysis that goes into every little detail.... and who in world knows what "orthogonal" thought means??!!)

Food adventures and misadventures

One of the highlights of fall is all the yummy produce. We've eaten some juicy and sweet clementines, apples, butternut squash, etc recently.

I've been trying to become friends with my oven, especially the convection part. My previous attempt at homemade pizza using the convection function was disappointing because despite par-baking the crust, it wasn't fully baked, and then the cheese on top was nearly burnt but underneath, the cheese was yet gooey. So, tonight I tried again using the regular bake function and the pizza turned out better. Perhaps pizza is not amenable to convection.

While the pizza stone was preheating (Cooks Illustrated suggests an hour) I baked a cake which came out looking good, but we haven't tasted it yet.

Last week, I baked oatmeal raisin cookies with convection and they turned out ok. Supposedly, convection baking requires less cooking time but that batch of cookies needed about the same as normal baking. The oven also has a convection roast function but that seems almost contradictory as roasts require long, slow cooking to tenderize the meat. There's definitely a learning curve with this convection business.

My new favorite thing

Thanks to our moms, I recently got this 5.5 qt Le Creuset french oven which I've been watching for almost two years now. It's fantastic for soups (latest one being mashed potato soup), stews, roasts, etc. since it easily transfers from stovetop to oven and vice versa. Thanks to all my sisters-in-law, I also have lots of new recipes to try out. Fortunately Troy is willing to be adventurous.

On the pier at Alligator Park

"Noculars" at the Alligator Park, while wearing crocs

As we were standing on the pier, a rambunctious little boy careened onto the wooden planks in his spiderman plastic bike, jumped off, climbed the railing and almost dumped over into the water, where the alligator was floating, as his mom was trying to catch up. She thanked us profusely for hanging onto her kid. Soon after that, she dug through her big purse, found some cheerios and threw them into the lake. What is the proper thing to say in that situation????Notice the turtle hitching a ride on the gator's back. This creature didn't look too friendly. Later the same day, we learned about a golfer who had his arm bitten off by one.



Minzie loves Uncle Troy and his "noculars." He tied the neck strap so it would hang around her neck better. "Look at me, I'm like him." Minzie demonstated to me how noculars work in the photo above. She saw white birds, black birds and pumpkins with her noculars during the weekend. And yes, that's her friend Dora on her feet.

Toss them shoes!

Please look at this bird...

In an effort to distract from my alabaster legs (not easily accomplished), I am posting some good photos of a Clapper Rail. I spotted this life bird this morning along the boardwalk to the beach and Youngin took the photos. I had never seen one of these before, though I have heard them several times on the coast.

Guess whose legs?

Thanks, Hyesoo, for an excellent shot!

Fun, sun and happiness

Ahhh... it's been sunny and warm! We jumped into the ocean, and enjoyed the perfect waves. We found a neat little seafood stand, cooked up some fresh scallops and extra-large shrimp.

The best part of today are two cute, inquisitive, beach-loving girls who give out fabulous hugs.

Hilton Head Island

We are headed for a long weekend of family fun. We're meeting my parents, Younguk, and his female troop in SC. Can't wait to see the girls.... I'm guessing they've changed a lot in a few months. Plus, conversations with 3 year old girls are always interesting!

Walkers

All of the sudden on the bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, streams of people were walking past our house. Took us awhile, but we figured out that it was for the Crop Hunger Walk. Not really sure what that is about, but sure drew a crowd. Nice to see!

And for all the font gurus out there...

Here.

And here.

tg

Fish Fry

Ok, blog commentators, want to see how many puns we can dredge up from this story?

This is our town...

... but must reflect the other side of Cary's tracks!