Nothing Fails

My lovesick co-worker Marcus recommended the following song for our wedding. It seems appropriate for how I feel right now. Things have been difficult and strained. Though some things are still clear to me.

I probably wont play it at my wedding (fair game for you and Mr. Fish, Marcus!)...but it is beautiful. <3

I'm in love with you, you silly thing
Anyone can see
What is it with you, you silly thing
Just take it from me

It was not a chance meeting
Feel my heart beating
You're the one

You could take all this, take it away
I'd still have it all
'Cause I've climbed the tree of life
And that is why, no longer scared if I fall

When I get lost in space
I can return to this place
'Cause, you're the one

Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
You washed away my tears
Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
Nothing fails

I'm not religious
But I feel so moved
Makes me want to pray
Pray you'll always be here

I'm not religious
But I feel such love
Makes me want to pray

When I get lost in space
I can return to this place
'Cause you're the one

I'm not religious
But I feel so moved
I'm not religious
Makes me wanna pray
I'm not religious
But I feel so moved
I'm not religious
Makes me want to pray

Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails
You washed away my tears
Nothing fails
No more fears
Nothing fails

My Bella

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today. It could be the weather...dark and gloomy. It could be that the realization that I will be a married woman in 78 days is hitting me, or perhaps the fact that my last day working at a job I abhor is in 19 days. It could be that I am moving in with my fiance (sorry honey) in less than a month, and I am apprehensive to see what it might do to our relationship. It could be that I have so much on my plate, so little time, and SO MUCH CHANGE. Anyways, all I want is my puppy Bella.

Speaking of change...Bella is turning two this year (September 14th). It is hard to believe...but when I look back on just how little she was, it makes me a little sad.

Here is Bella the day I brought her home <3







She was soooo cute!!










Then my baby grew up.









It's hard to explain how much I adore this little white fluff ball. Some people think that I am projecting my feelings I would have for a baby onto Bella. This could be it. However, I know that it isn't me taking care of Bella, rather its the other way around. Bella takes care of me. I understand that a baby would rely on me for its nurturing. Where as Bella nurtures me. Bella seems to understand what I am feeling. She knows when her mommy needs a snuggle. She knows when I need to get up. During the entire time we were house hunting I was willing to give up everything, save one thing. I HAD to have a yard for my Bella. A nice fenced in yard where she can run and play fetch. We gave up square footage. Closet space. Even an urban neighborhood, so that we could give Bella this:



And I am so glad we did. I cannot wait to bring her home and to show her her new back yard. =)

Love you boo boo face <3.

Our first place

We signed the lease on our first place on Sunday. I spent most of memorial day weekend shopping for furniture and allowing my creative energy to flow. I feel like I am about to run over with ideas. It has become a constant distraction...ideas breaking through my thought process like an interrupting child. Wreath ideas for the front door. Paint ideas for the dining room table. Chandelier ideas for the dining room. Furniture arrangement for the living room. Here are the images of our house when it was staged.














It is a three bedroom rambler. It is the perfect size for our little family.

We ended up going to Ikea this last weekend, which turned out to be pretty beneficial. They had some great sales. We managed to pick up a $199 tv counsel (below) for $99. We also got a new coffee table, which I plan on dressing up with a white vase and mirrored tray. We also picked up two black nightstands. Here is what I have so far for our living room...








My hands are a little tied because we can't paint...but I don't believe that will be much of a problem, since luckily the walls are painted a neutral rather than just plain white or even worse... Here is some of my inspiration for our house. (I don't have the credits for these images...so if they are your's, please let me know.)

A-ha!

Stuffed tomatoes anyone?! I found a French recipe for stuffed tomatoes and quinoa, aka tomates farcies. How exciting! It is a traditionally summer dish, but is served warm and is really more received to be a comfort food dish. On this gray drizzily day, comfort food sounds lovely.

Tomates farcies are also not vegetarian...not traditionally at least, and are stuffed with sausage. This isn't a problem for us resourceful vegetarians...we just substitute. But what is a girl to do when she is gluten free, AND doesn't feel like going to the grocery store after her workout? What about chickpeas? I know those are in the pantry...and I love them. It appears that I will mix diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, cilantro (or some kind of seasoning...Herbs de Provence?!) and Swiss cheese to stuff in the tomatoes. Since I wont be adding sausage...I think I will stuff them with the quinoa as well.

The author said that some people use breadcrubs as a binder, but she never does. I wont be either.

Here is the original recipe:
- 1 or 2 tomatoes per person: you want medium-size or big tomatoes, not plum-size. I like sto use Beefsteak tomatoes
- Hot or mild Italian sausages; about 1/4 - 1/2 per tomato
- Fresh cilantro or fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- Tomato Sauce ( I generally use about 1.5 cups for 8 medium tomatoes)
- Grated Swiss cheese (I generally use 1/2 cup for 8 medium tomatoes)
- Salt and Black pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375F (180C)
Slice the top of the tomatoes and keep them (we call them chapeau (or hat)).
Carve the tomatoes, trying not to cut through the skin. Reserve everything you get out (la chair)
Place carved tomatoes in a baking dish. They have to be tight so that they don't fall apart when they bake.
Take the skin of the sausages out and put the meat in a large bowl
Cut the chair a tomates in small dices, discard the extra juice and mix in the dices into the sausages
Add cilantro (or Italian parsley), Swiss Cheese
Pour tomato sauce and mix well,
Add salt and black pepper to taste
Stuff the tomatoes and cover them with their chapeau.
Cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
My Personal Comments:
I use pork, chicken or turkey sausages depending on what's available at the supermarket that day.
The tomatoes will release a lot of juice as they cook. I use it to cook the Quinoa or to pour over it.
You can reheat the tomates farcies; you can therefore make them in advance. Just cover them with foil so that they don't dry too much when you reheat them.

http://whatareyoufeedingyourkidsthesedays.blogspot.com/2010/02/stuffed-tomatoes-with-quinoa.html

We shall see how this goes! =)

Slacking Off

Wow...it is evident I have been slacking off a bit. I had dinner cooked for me two nights in a row by my chef of a mother. I have nothing to report except for the fact that I still have much to learn.

So I believe waiting in our pantry is quinoa and a box of tomatoes (I asked you, SM, last week when we were at Costco what ON EARTH we were going to do with a giant flat of tomatoes...and you said eat them. Yeah...we haven't touched them yet.) Dear lord what on earth should I make!? I am just going to add to the pressure with the thought that my mom would have an idea and be able to whip it up in no time.

Leftovers

Friday night was a relaxing evening. After working out, I came home to heat up leftovers from the past two nights.



Afterwards, we went down to The Landing to meet my parents at the wine bar for a glass of wine. We concluded the night by falling asleep on the couch watching an episode of Dexter.

This entire weekend was really pretty lazy. I cooked dinner Sunday night, which was simply sauted bell peppers and mushrooms with garlic in a pre-made butternut Squash pasta sauce on top of quinoa. Pretty tasty, and quick. I think I needed a weekend off.




We have stopped actively looking for houses for a little while. It seems that a lot of homeowners are master photographers. What looked like quaint in a photograph looks downright shabby in person. A lot of homeowners do not want to wait a month for a mortgage payment (not that I blame them), so we are looking a bit early for a July 1st move in date. We are looking at a place tomorrow...it does seem that they would rent to us...if they HAD to...they would rather rent sooner. We shall see.

So, I am feeling rather lazy. I am not sure if it has to do with just momentum from the weekend, being overwhelmed or just rather feeling like stale leftovers. I have only 22 working days left. I am attempting to strike a delicate balance between caring and realizing that I am on my way out. While I do not want to be a burden on my office, nor do I want to lose the three paychecks I have owing to me, I also feel an undeniable urge to turn off this computer and run out the door.

It is especially bad today because my boss is at his son's college graduation. I am stuck here in the office, with nothing to do, knowing that I can take time off if needed. However, I fear looking like a slacker.

So here I sit and blog about how I don't want to be at work and look up new and exciting recipes to try out.

Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets

Last night my boss came to me at 4:15 with dictation that he wanted out by the end of the day. My boss doesn't just dictate something, sign it and send it out. Rather dictation is always a work in progress. He changes sentences, moves things around, rephrases whole paragraphs so the letter says what he really meant. I could have strangled him...

...the only thing redeeming him was the fact that he is out today.

Anyways, all I could think about was he was going to make me late to the gym, which would mean I would get home even later to make dinner with fH. I ended up getting out of the office at 5 on the dot...I am such a rockstar...minus the leather pants.


I managed to get my workout done and was home by 7:30. Not bad if I might say so myself. A few days ago when I went grocery shopping, without really thinking, I ended up purchasing a bag of lentils rather than a can of lentils. Lentils require some amount of cooking. Luckily it takes about 20 minutes and fH is fully capable of following instructions. By the time I got home I had freshly cooked lentils on the stove and a nice and hot oven waiting for me. What a lucky girl I am. I chopped up the sweet potatoes and orange bell pepper and put them in a bowl with the sesame oil. I didn't use green beans because they were all floppy at the grocery store...yuck! In a separate bowl I whisked together the ginger (I didn't mince it finely enough...next time I will grate it), garlic, and curry powder (you really cant overdo it with curry powder...I would add more next time) with veggie broth.

Putting together the packets is quite simple. I used a slightly different technique then the recipe called for. I laid out a length of aluminum foil and put a fourth of the potato mixture on it, and scooped a 3/4 cup amount of lentils on top of the potatoes, I then folded the aluminum foil over on top of the mixture (folded it in half essentially) and rolled up the sides, making a sort of bag. I then poured a 1/4 of the liquid in through the top and rolled the top up. The recipe makes 4 packets. They cook for about 25 minutes.


From: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/spice-market-sweet-potato-and-lentil-packets-424902

Meanwhile, I noticed that the recipe suggested pairing this with quinoa. fH took that task upon himself, and just following the directions on the Costco sized bag of quinoa with veggie broth, it turned out so good! We had never made quinoa before.



*What is quinoa you might ask? Apparently is isn't really a grain...it is a seed, and is related to spinach, beets, and Swiss chard. It is usually substituted for any grain, however. It is rich in protein, iron, potassium and other vitamins and minerals and is a good source of fiber.*

Because I was missing the green from the green beans, I threw some brussel spouts...mmm I love brussel sprouts...

...tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper in the oven. They remarkably were done about the same time as the packets. Everything came out wonderful. The sweet potatoes were perfectly cooked. Sometimes I surprise even myself.

Here is what the finished meal looked like:



Anyways, tonight is left over night. Spice Market Packets again. I love leftovers...it makes life just a little easier, I think.