You step out our door and this is what greets you on the hallway windowsill... striations of snow layers
The Nethercutt Family and the dust bowl
7 years ago
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Apparently It Snows Here
Let me lead you on a little tour of our neighborhood from a couple days back...
You step out our door and this is what greets you on the hallway windowsill... striations of snow layers
You step out our door and this is what greets you on the hallway windowsill... striations of snow layers
The Growth of the Paperwhites
Look! I haven't killed them yet! (Though I have killed my CF card on my good camera, so you're stuck with these not-so-great pictures for now).
Day 9, getting bigger!
Day 9, getting bigger!
Catch-up Day
So I made no food last week and we drank no good cheap wine this week. Our week was full of friends and wedding adventures instead!
One of Brad's best friends got married over the weekend in Pittsburgh. Brad's known Ryan since elementary school and he's one of a great close group of friends from San Diego. Ryan met his wife (!) Vera working with a ministry in Pittsburgh called Earthen Vessels Outreach. It's involved in the urban city with kids ministries and Ryan's working with them restoring this really old church to be their new sanctuary. It's really cool. Brad got to be the best man in the wedding so we were there a few days early and helped set up everything. Our friend Nicole was also in the wedding and it was great to hang out a lot with her. And a bunch of other friends came out as well. My camera is having flash card problems so I don't have any pictures to show you yet, but I hope to have some up soon. Congratulations Ryan and Vera! We love you and we were so glad to be a part of the wedding!
One of Brad's best friends got married over the weekend in Pittsburgh. Brad's known Ryan since elementary school and he's one of a great close group of friends from San Diego. Ryan met his wife (!) Vera working with a ministry in Pittsburgh called Earthen Vessels Outreach. It's involved in the urban city with kids ministries and Ryan's working with them restoring this really old church to be their new sanctuary. It's really cool. Brad got to be the best man in the wedding so we were there a few days early and helped set up everything. Our friend Nicole was also in the wedding and it was great to hang out a lot with her. And a bunch of other friends came out as well. My camera is having flash card problems so I don't have any pictures to show you yet, but I hope to have some up soon. Congratulations Ryan and Vera! We love you and we were so glad to be a part of the wedding!
Paperwhites
So I found a new favorite cheap thing that I never knew existed. Call me late to the game on this one, but I am not much of a botanist so I've never heard of Paperwhites. But it turns out they are related to an Amaryllis, which I have heard of, and they are a really easy to grow bulb plant. This is how easy to grow they are... you stick them in a bowl of water and they bloom in 3 weeks. That's it. You're gonna want some stone to hold them in place.
The best part was that they were 50 cents for each bulb at this nursery my friend Sarah and I were at! So I got five. And put them in a bowl. And put some stone and water in the bowl with them.
Aren't they cool looking? I love my camera with natural light to work with.
I'll update you on their progress. I'm thinking I might be able to not kill them!
The best part was that they were 50 cents for each bulb at this nursery my friend Sarah and I were at! So I got five. And put them in a bowl. And put some stone and water in the bowl with them.
Aren't they cool looking? I love my camera with natural light to work with.
I'll update you on their progress. I'm thinking I might be able to not kill them!
Weekly Recipe Wrap-Up
Another week, some more good food!
This week was full of some yummy meals. The first was a turkey burger night. It was based off of this Southwestern Turkey Burger recipe, though I used some white cheddar on top and turkey bacon. It turned out lovely, at any rate!
The next meal was one I've been craving for a while. I've made it a few times before, and it's a delicious four-cheese baked macaroni and cheese dish. Emeril's recipe is the baked macaroni recipe I tried first, and it was so good I've never thought to try and find another. You can't see it quite as well in the picture, but it's creamy and nutmeg-y and yummy goodness. I was so excited to finally cook it and serve it. (But we needed a bit of a break between the Thanksgiving amount of food and serving this monster.)
The last recipe was a new one for me. A friend on Facebook was talking about a Greek shrimp recipe and it made me think about making shrimp. I went searching for a shrimp meal that sounded delicious and like something I've never made. This is what I came up with. Good ol' Ina Garten. Always good for some really great food that taste wonderful. (Cook's note, I used half the butter it called for, and next time I'll add another half cup or so of bread crumbs to get a little more crispiness.) It was delicious. Both brad and I really liked it. And I like that it didn't include the pasta that's usually in shrimp scampi.
Here's the shrimps before cooking.
And here they are all finished and bubbly. Mmmmmm.
The side salad with the shrimp was a really easy spinach salad with some hard boiled eggs (thanks Trader Joe's for selling those by the bag), and a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette to go with the shrimp.
So there you have it. Christmas is coming! And I'm hoping to have some very fun pictures of snow and cold up soon. You can enjoy our white christmas vicariously (or you can live here too and wish you were in sunny so cal... either way). Have a wonderful holiday season!
This week was full of some yummy meals. The first was a turkey burger night. It was based off of this Southwestern Turkey Burger recipe, though I used some white cheddar on top and turkey bacon. It turned out lovely, at any rate!
The next meal was one I've been craving for a while. I've made it a few times before, and it's a delicious four-cheese baked macaroni and cheese dish. Emeril's recipe is the baked macaroni recipe I tried first, and it was so good I've never thought to try and find another. You can't see it quite as well in the picture, but it's creamy and nutmeg-y and yummy goodness. I was so excited to finally cook it and serve it. (But we needed a bit of a break between the Thanksgiving amount of food and serving this monster.)
The last recipe was a new one for me. A friend on Facebook was talking about a Greek shrimp recipe and it made me think about making shrimp. I went searching for a shrimp meal that sounded delicious and like something I've never made. This is what I came up with. Good ol' Ina Garten. Always good for some really great food that taste wonderful. (Cook's note, I used half the butter it called for, and next time I'll add another half cup or so of bread crumbs to get a little more crispiness.) It was delicious. Both brad and I really liked it. And I like that it didn't include the pasta that's usually in shrimp scampi.
Here's the shrimps before cooking.
And here they are all finished and bubbly. Mmmmmm.
The side salad with the shrimp was a really easy spinach salad with some hard boiled eggs (thanks Trader Joe's for selling those by the bag), and a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette to go with the shrimp.
So there you have it. Christmas is coming! And I'm hoping to have some very fun pictures of snow and cold up soon. You can enjoy our white christmas vicariously (or you can live here too and wish you were in sunny so cal... either way). Have a wonderful holiday season!
Weekly Recipe Wrap-Up
So this one's on a Monday, oh well. And this is about two week's worth of recipes and goodness, so be prepared for a long one with lots of yummy photos!
It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving when Jonathan was in town. He was here for a work training deal and stayed over the extra weekend to hang out with us. Fantastic. A new person to cook for! I was in the mood to cook scallops again after the great Charleston scallop sucess. But most of the recipes I found were of the same variety. But then Epicurious saved the day with this fantastic Nantucket Scallop Chowder recipe. It's like clam chowder, but with scallops and bacon. So, yeah, it's delicious. (Cook's note, I added corn, and next time I'll use my immersion blender and add in some more potatoes that have been all creamed together to add a little more of that chowder thickness... but it was still amazing.)
The finished product with some lovely paprika and bacon all over it
The best part of that meal, though, was the appetizer. I've made quite a few caprese salads in my day. My roommate in college, Elissa, taught me the beauty and deliciousness of them in college and I've loved them ever since. What's not to love about tomatoes, mozzarella and basil? But this caprese was the absolute best caprese I have ever had in my life. Everything was perfect. Heirloom tomatoes (on sale at Whole Foods), buffalo mozzarella, and Thai basil (a little spicier than regular basil). Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmm. I could probably eat this every day. And the heirloom tomatoes looked really cool too with their scalloped edges and such.
And what's the fun in having heirlooms if they aren't different colors? Bring on the yellow tomatoes!
The next couple dinners that week were just fun, easy dinners. I knew I'd have more cooking than even I would want to do on Thanksgiving, so I took a bit of a break.
Here's one of my favorite things, breakfast for dinner!
And here's a great chicken corn salad that's one of my go-tos whenever I see boston lettuce in the store. It's based off this recipe, though it's been modified a bit over time.
And last, but not least, was the turkey tortilla soup that I was forced into post-Thanksgiving. So, as you know, I didn't roast a huge turkey for thanksgiving. I did this Turkey Osso Bucco recipe instead. It turned out wonderfully. But I way overbought on the turkey parts. We just used the turkey breast pieces I'd gotten, and so I had these two gigantic turkey legs left over that I didn't know what to do with. (Those large dinosaur legs in the boiling pot of water in the Thanksgiving post.) So after some thought and worry, because I didn't want them to go to waste, we finally hit on a spin off chicken tortilla soup, just with turkey. I boiled those legs for almost an hour, forgetting that this was not the most efficient or effective way to deal with really large pieces of meat. But they finally got cooked, and they were shredded into a lot of spices and goodness and topped with tortilla chips. It worked out. But I'll try and not recreate that next year...
Phew! That's all of them! Have a great week! And for all you west-coasters out there, just know that we had the first legitimate snowfall of the year over here! So it's awesome for now, but I'll soon be rather jealous of you all. :-)
It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving when Jonathan was in town. He was here for a work training deal and stayed over the extra weekend to hang out with us. Fantastic. A new person to cook for! I was in the mood to cook scallops again after the great Charleston scallop sucess. But most of the recipes I found were of the same variety. But then Epicurious saved the day with this fantastic Nantucket Scallop Chowder recipe. It's like clam chowder, but with scallops and bacon. So, yeah, it's delicious. (Cook's note, I added corn, and next time I'll use my immersion blender and add in some more potatoes that have been all creamed together to add a little more of that chowder thickness... but it was still amazing.)
The finished product with some lovely paprika and bacon all over it
The best part of that meal, though, was the appetizer. I've made quite a few caprese salads in my day. My roommate in college, Elissa, taught me the beauty and deliciousness of them in college and I've loved them ever since. What's not to love about tomatoes, mozzarella and basil? But this caprese was the absolute best caprese I have ever had in my life. Everything was perfect. Heirloom tomatoes (on sale at Whole Foods), buffalo mozzarella, and Thai basil (a little spicier than regular basil). Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmm. I could probably eat this every day. And the heirloom tomatoes looked really cool too with their scalloped edges and such.
And what's the fun in having heirlooms if they aren't different colors? Bring on the yellow tomatoes!
The next couple dinners that week were just fun, easy dinners. I knew I'd have more cooking than even I would want to do on Thanksgiving, so I took a bit of a break.
Here's one of my favorite things, breakfast for dinner!
And here's a great chicken corn salad that's one of my go-tos whenever I see boston lettuce in the store. It's based off this recipe, though it's been modified a bit over time.
And last, but not least, was the turkey tortilla soup that I was forced into post-Thanksgiving. So, as you know, I didn't roast a huge turkey for thanksgiving. I did this Turkey Osso Bucco recipe instead. It turned out wonderfully. But I way overbought on the turkey parts. We just used the turkey breast pieces I'd gotten, and so I had these two gigantic turkey legs left over that I didn't know what to do with. (Those large dinosaur legs in the boiling pot of water in the Thanksgiving post.) So after some thought and worry, because I didn't want them to go to waste, we finally hit on a spin off chicken tortilla soup, just with turkey. I boiled those legs for almost an hour, forgetting that this was not the most efficient or effective way to deal with really large pieces of meat. But they finally got cooked, and they were shredded into a lot of spices and goodness and topped with tortilla chips. It worked out. But I'll try and not recreate that next year...
Phew! That's all of them! Have a great week! And for all you west-coasters out there, just know that we had the first legitimate snowfall of the year over here! So it's awesome for now, but I'll soon be rather jealous of you all. :-)
