Projects to Tick OFF

We did one. We got the front porch concrete replaced. It looks awesome. I put some new plants and pots out and the porch really looks welcoming and inviting.

Come visit.

New Blog

I have a new blog, you can find it at http://shawn-whatsfordinner.blogspot.com/ It's called "What's For Dinner; The Eternal Question."

Have fun,

Shawn

So What's For Dinner Tonite?

Good Question!

I know from looking in the fridge that there isn't a lot of stuff for dinner, but the freezer is another story. We have some lamb, beef, fish, you name it. I'm thinking fish. We have cod. How about cod in a saffron sauce with tomatoes, onions and a big dish of rice. I have some brocolini in the crisper. Hey, we may have a meal.

Thaw the cod. I like the kind you get that's frozen in the package from Costco. It comes in individual portions. Lightly flour it after it has thawed. Add some S and P to your flour, put it in a ziploc bag and shake it baby, shake it. Put a light crust on your cod by cooking it in a saute pan with a little olive oil. Cook it through and then remove it from the pan. Scrape up the great bits on the bottom and add 1/2 a chopped yellow onion, and two grated tomatoes. Saute all this, then add some white wine, a little chicken stock and some saffron. Crush the saffron before you use it. This makes it all the more flavorful. If you can't get your sauce to thicken, take 1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken stock and add 1 tsp of corn starch, mix it together so there are no lumps.. Bring your sauce to a boil and then add the starch mixture. Let it bubble a few minutes, put your fish back in the pan to heat it up and voila! you have a great meal.

Now, take the other half of the onion, chop it really, really fine and saute it in the sauce pan you are going to cook your rice in. Add 1 cup rice and let it marry with the oil and the onion, then add 2 cups of chicken stock and bring it all to a boil. Turn down your heat, cover your rice, and let it cook for 20 minutes. When the rice gets holes in the top, it's time to take it off the heat. Fluff with a fork and eat with Cod.

Steam your veggie and you have a meal.

We're Getting Married and A Change In Direction

I know I've mentioned it before, but we are getting married. And there is still much to do. I've enjoyed planning things so far. So far!. But the crunch time is really going to hit. I've decided during all this to take this blog in a new direction, a food direction, because really, I am all about food. So, I'm going to start writing about what we eat, why we eat it, and what we're going to have. I'm a look in the refrigerator kind of cook. It may make it easier to see what happens in the kitchen.

Friday, and not a moment too soon!

I'm sitting in the back of my classroom watching my students take a test. It's open book, open note, and they aren't supposed to be helping each other. Geez! I really think they forget that I'm not an idiot and I was there age once, too.

For some reason, some random thought made me check out my sister's blog and lo and behold, she had written something, which then made me think I should write something, so here I am.

I was home the first part of the week with a double ear infection. I must say this is one of the worst things you could wish for in the minor illness category. Although, you can conveniently say that you didn't hear when someone asks you to do something you don't want.

I've been doing a lot of purse construction here lately. I'm really enjoying it. I'm using the Amy Butler designs which, after a little tinkering to make them easier for my weird brain to handle, are super. I've created a messenger bag out of bright red paisley and am working on a travel bag in a cool flower print. I'll post pictures this weekend.

It's snowing here, which makes for a grey day. I'd rather be home making bread or cooking something totally yummy.

Can you tell I have not been doing any wedding planning. I don't know why, but I just can't get into the swing of it. We will be in Reno in two weeks and then we are finding a place to have the wedding. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Some people may want to ski, but I think this is much more important. Once that is done, the rest is easy. Oh, yeah, I have to order a ketubah also. Getting Rob to sit down and look at Ketubahs is going to be interesting. Well, it's a must be.

I'm half way through the day, so I'll just enjoy the rest.

Wow!

I was supposed to be grading papers this evening, but I got to thinking about my family and then I got to thinking about my sister Heather's blog and so I went online to find out what was new in her house. She is as bad as me. Hasn't blogged for a month, actually to be technical, six weeks.

I have no room to cast aspersions, throw blame, or anything else along those lines. I just forget, or don't make the time, or well, whatever! I'm trying to plan our wedding, a honeymoon afterward, make a bunch of purses and stuff and do my regular job at the same time.

Well, our wedding, I may actually have some ideas where to have it. We've decided to rent a house at Tahoe. Just for a couple of nights. I think this might be the most economical way to do it. We'll have to have some place to stay anyway, because Doris' sister and nephew will probably stay at the condo. We need three nights. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I think this may be the way to do it too, because if I can find a house that has a nice enough yard, we can have the wedding and reception there also. It seems like a win-win situation for everyone. The website is www.vrbo.com. They have tons of vacation rentals, some really expensive, and some not so expensive. It might be a thought to go in together and get a house. It would save money for people who are traveling to the wedding. More bedrooms, more people, more fun. Just a thought.

I think I have the food squared away. I hope. I have to talk to the kosher meat guy and I also need to start thinking about non-dairy side dishes. No meat and dairy at a kosher jewish wedding. I have ideas about lots of things, but I should get organized and get them done. Dresses, flowers, rings, huppah, ketubah, ahhhh!

Well, must correct papers.

Could I really be organized enough to get this done every day?

Have you ever looked at the amount of stuff you do in a day? Have you sat down, pulled out the paper, and listed everything you do in a day? I know I do when I've had more than enough of being the only one in the house who seems to be able to do anything. You know, when people you live with can't even put a glass in the dishwasher when they are finished with it. They can put it in the sink, but they can't put it in the dishwasher. Why is that? Is it impossible to make the transition from the sink to the dishwasher? These are thoughts that I am sure many women ponder on a daily basis, while they are working like crazy to take care of every other thing they have to do.

I took a class on Saturday, just a short 6 hour class. Now, in that six hours, I could have cleaned the entire house, baked bread, done at least three loads of laundry, some ironing, and maybe started on a sewing project. I love Rob, don't get me wrong, he tries hard, but in that same amount of time he washed six pots and some pans, did two loads of laundry, and cleaned up the bill pile. That's it. The house looks like heck, the bathroom really needed to be cleaned and ..... well, I could go on and on, but why. It's impossible to explain why it's a problem. It's also impossible to understand why they think this small amount of stuff is applaudable and that they should get a standing ovation for doing it.

I guess I should just be thankful that he did something. Did I mention that he didn't put the stuff he washed away? He just left it on the counter.

Today, I'm going to go home and throw something in the crockpot and then start working on a sewing project for Lilly for chanukah. I've got three such projects to do, and so much correcting that I can't see over the pile on my desk. I'm so ready for the break I can hardly stand it. But, it'll all eventually get done and I'll eventually not feel like I'm being covered in stuff.