Ivy, Oats, and Obedience

We had a fun weekend chez Sarah and Puppies. Friday night was the Relay for Life at Warren Central High School. I had never gone to the Relay, although I was always interested in it. It was amazing to see what the people of Vicksburg put togehter. Every time I lose faith in the 'burg they do something like this that shows me it isn't totally horrible. The relay was VERY moving, and I fully plan to go every year from here on out. THere were tons of people out there walking the track for Cancer, and the teams all did such a good job of raising funds, raising awareness, and having a good time! The survivors lap was amazing, and it was so cute to see little Joshua toddling around. He was absolutely precious.

Unfortunately, i apparently picked up some poison ivy this weekend. I have some spots that are quite itchy, red, and aren't from my friendly neighborhood mosquito. Note to self: 1) benadryl will knock you out, don't take it at work, and 2) find said poison and get rid of it. I think it is either in the yard and the dogs rolled in it and gave it to me, or it is somewhere in the neighborhood and the dogs rolled in it and gave it to me. Aren't you jealous? On a good note, Obedience school continues onward. We are enjoying it. Madison is Really good at sitting, down, and sit/down stays. We need some work on walking in a good heel though. She wants to go pay attention to anything and everything except me. We are working on comming now and continuing to practice everything we have learned thus far. Other good news on the dog front is that the thug dogs have been MIA for almost two weeks now. After Obedience school tonight Madison and I went to pick up the mail. Normally we could never walk from our garage to the mailbox without getting lots of unwanted attention.

I tried a new recipe at the end of last week. I made oatmeal from scratch in the crock pot using steel cut oats. They turned out OK, but not fabulous. There was too much spice/sweet in it, and the raisins didn't have enough texture for me. I would definitely reccomend adding them after cooking in the future. I plan to give another one a try this week. I keep reading how steel cut oats are so much bette for you than instant oatmeal. I think next time I'll try making plain oatmeal and then adding the goodies at the end when I serve myself.

Maple Oatmeal with Dried Fruit and Sweet Spices

1 cup steel-cut oats

1/2 cup raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries, or sweetened dried cranberries

1 tsp applie pie spice or ground cinnamon wit a pinch of ground cloves, nutmeg, and allspice

4 cups water

2 tbl maple syrup

1. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Coer and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or overnight.

2. Stir the oatmeal well and scoop into bowls. Serve with mil and maple syrup or sugar.

Mexcetti

Made this one up tonight because I was too lazy to even go to the Super Junior for supplies. What was in the pantry made it into the pot...

Angel Hair
2 cans Rotel Chunky
1 can diced tomatoes
frozen corn (1-2 cups?)
1 can pino beans
Cheddar Cheese

Cook pasta to al dente. Mix Pasta, vegtables, and beans and place in a casserole dish. Top with cheese and bake until heated thouroughly and cheese has melted.

Chef's note: I wanted to use black beans instead of pinto, but I didn't have any in the cupboard. I also would probably use montery jack or colby jack cheese if I had some in the fridge.

Yummy!

Where can you find a girl like me?

So this weekend was the big Vicksburg Riverfest. It is a highlight of our year - an oppertunity to play downtown. Saturday afternoon there was an arts and crafts fair on the streets around city hall with all sorts of good fair food downtown. I hit it with Angela. The primary goal of our trip was to get food. I had the fried eggplant - not as good as I remember it being. Since it didn't do it for me I also had a polish sausage from the Whistle Stop Cafe (remember Fried Green Tomatoes?). It was fabulous. I ate half then and half later.. which begs the response, you know you are a redneck when place a pork product in your purse to eat more later! In support of local crafters etc. I bought an apron. It was yellow with a blue toile print - perfect for the yellow and blue kitchen I will have one day... Need to get on top of that one. I also got to see my friends from Paws Pet Rescue, the organization that fostered Madison and her siblings. I will say it again, don't "buy" a pet, resuce one - they can be so loveable.

Later in the evening we hit the RICK SPRINGFIELD concert. Yes, you read it correctly, 80's hearthrob RICK SPRINGFIELD! He was our main entertainment for the night. I gotta say, for a guy his age, he is doing pretty well. I was amused, although the only song I knew was Jessie's gir. Still, it was fun. I've got some pictures of Rick to post. We were right up near the stage towards the end of the show! It was a hoot and a half!!

Tonight Madison and I went to Obedience Class. I have to say, I'm really starting to enjoy it. I am seeing that with a little guidance we can become great mamma and puppy. Madison and I are beginning to do pretty well. Thus far we are working on heeling, sitting, come, stay, and down. She is getting pretty good with heel and sit. She is pretty good with stay. Come and down are our biggest challenges right now. We'll be doing our homework this week! I have to say that 4 weeks ago I never would have thought that I could have her in a sit stay, and stand about 2.5 feet away with 4 other dogs in a circle around us. I think Madison really enjoys the classes too - it is her oppertunity to spend time one on one with me. She never turns down an opperutnity for treats or love. Unfortunately, Daisy doesn't enjoy being left at home alone. But, now that it is springtime she is getting plenty of play time with me. She is turning into a pretty good little fetcher herself!

Yum, or Yuck?

In celebration of taking the PE I spent yesterday working on the house. Actually, on the yard. It was quite fun, or not. I worked way to much and didn't get nearly enough done. I started to mow the lawn, which didn't work so well. The front part got mowed, and then my lawnmower wouldn't start. So, for now I'm that trashy person who has half th yard mowed.

Later in the evening I went to my crawfish boil of the season with my friends Stephen and Stephanie and Bradley and Tina. I always think I want to eat crawfish, then I look at them and think I don't. Eventually I come around, and then I enjoy it. We had tons of food, and I went home feeling like a slob. For my fellow Yank's, you must eat crawfish while sitting at a table covered by newspaper. it should include potatoes, corn, mushrooms, and sausage cooked with the crustaceans. We got in touch with our inner rednecks by watching Nascar while doing this :-)

Me, a Professional?

I took yesterday off to study. After claiming I would get started studying for the PE for weeks, if not months, the time had come. I put in some hard core last minute cramming - although, it was mostly running practice problems. I made sure to get lots of sleep, and stay relaxed. Today was the big day. I got to show up at the Vicksburg Convention center at 7:15 AM. Luckily it was here in town and I ddn't need to travel far. The test started about 8:15, and it was 4 hours of fun, followed by an hour of lunch and 4 more hours of fun. The good news is that it was easier than I though. Either I passed, or I feel for every trick in the book. Hopefully I passed! If not I will know what to expect next time. Hopefully I'll have a positive update for you in the next few months. How it takes 3 months to score a standardized test, I am not sure -- but it does.

Studying for this exam brought me some good memories of taking the Fundementals of Engineering Exam during college. The FE is a standardized exam that you generally take during the last year of engineering undergraudate school. It is offered nationwide, and actually will be given tomorrow. I remember studying for the FE (could it stand for fail everyone?) the last few nights before the exam at the Perkins and University with my girlfriends. After the exam we were drained, beyond belief. But, we made our way to Murphy's, as required. A long night ensued, including Randolph putting down a $259 - there were lots of us drinking on it... and it involved pitchers of guiness and rounds of shots. From there we moved on to a party. Later in the night we were heading home, and another friend, Chad, had drinking waaay to much. He lived over in Urbana and the rest of us were in Champaign. Since he wouldn't stay on Tim's couch and insisted on going home, we insisted on walking him home. Halfway there Chad just sat himself down on the curb and refused to go... God Bless Drunk Logic - he felt tht he was just as likely to get accosted walking home alone and TIm and I were with two of us. LUckily, we were saved by the University police. A policewoman pulled up, wondering if we had a situation. Chad proudly owned up to "well yess ma'am alcohol as been involved, and I am over age, would you like to see?" She drove him home and we called it a night. OH those were some good times.

What a week!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks since I last posted. First off, I have to admit, I made those croque monsieurs from the Ina Garten Barefoot in Paris cookbook. They were fantabulous! I adored them. My aunt Kate gave me that book a few years back, and I hate to admit that this was the first recipe I had actually made. I've considered tons, but this was the first one. It was delish!


Recipe:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
3. To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
4. Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes.
5. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

I made a half recipe. Other modifications I made included using stone ground mustard rather than plain yellow. I also, put a little extra ham on because I"m a fan of the pork products!

Mondya I was in a wreck. It wasn't bad, but a woman backed into me at the Target. The Sarah-mobile has a nice dent in the back quarter panel. We'll be going to get it looked at later this week. Of course, when it rains, it pours. Tuesday afternoon I had a flat as a pancake tire. That I did get fixed immediately seeing as how I wanted to get home to my puppies.

Tuesday night was also my first book club meeting. This would be the book club through Lorelei Books. It was pretty cook to get to meet some new people and discus a book. So far our membership consists of a few young 'uns like me and a few older women. It is pretty cool to discuss with people of different backgrounds. We all have different things to say. THis month we read Mermaids in the Basement, by Michael Lee West. The book was pretty enjoyable. It wasn't something I would spend tons of money on, so let me know if you want to borrow it. however, it did crack me up. The characters were absolutely insane. I think that there really are people like them in the south!

Bella Tuscany.. and Delectable France

I picked up Bella Tuscany over Easter when my mom was in town. It is the sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun. I had a hard time getting into Under the Tuscan sun and never actually finished it. however, this book just looked better to me. So, I decided to give it a chance. I enjoyed it. Frances Mayes has a way with words. Her descriptions of foods and places in Tuscany have a way of captivating me. It makes me want to be there enjoying spring, or summer, or whatever season comes my way. I could have done without the later chapters. A few of the recipes were really interesting and i play to try them some time. It made me excited for my first trip to Italy

While in Jersey last week I caught some Barefoot Contessa. The croque monsieurs she made looked pretty yummy. Today was more of a soup day due to the overwhelming grey rain, so I decided to try my hand at French Onion Soup. I decided not to try Ina's recip because it called for things I defintiely couldn't get here... i.e. veal stock nd sherry. Instead I went with one out of my AHA cookbook. So, it is even healthy if you don't use too much cheese... but then again, who doesn't want cheese? It turned out really yummy, and I totally reccomend it. I put extra cheese on top and put it in the oven to bake the cheese up, but it was good enough that i don't know if I'll do that with the leftovers. I really need to get some oven proof crocks for things like this! The recipe was pretty easy, so I reccomend it to any and all, as follows:
Ingredients

• 12 slices French Bread
• 1/4 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (I actually used an italian mozerella/parm blend)
• 1 tsp light tub margearine
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 cups thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme crumbled
• 1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put the bread slice ona baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes, or until toaste
2. Sprinkle the parmesan over the bread. bake for 1 to 2 minus or until cheese melts. Set aside
3. heat a large pan over medium-high heat. melt the margarine an heat the oil in the pan. swirl to coat the bottom. cook the onions for 2 minutes. reduce the heat to low. cook covered until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sugar and salt. increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the onions are golden brown, stirring occaisionall. after the first 10 minuts stir more often to prevent the onins from sticking and burning
5. stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
6. to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. put two toasted bread slices in each bowl.

Serves 6...

The City of Cousinly Love

And onward with the travels of Sarah! Last week work sent me to Philadelphia, PA to take a two day continuing education course on finite element modeling. Sounds exiting, doesn't it? It was about as exciting as it sounds! Actually, the professor teaching it was pretty good considering the topic du jour. One of the best parts of traveling is getting to go eat delicious foods. This trip proved no different. On our first night in Philly we ate at Pietros, a yummy Italian place on Walnut street near Rittenhouse Square. The stuffed mushrooms were fabulous! The second night of the trip was absolutely the best! My cousin Jennie gave me some reccomendations for places to eat. We went to Dmitri's, a small hometown joint serving mediterarean style seafood. It had RAVE reviews on citysearch. Everything looked so good. We had hummus - yummus! For dinner I had one of the specials, a pan fried flounder. It was so good. i could tell that fish had never been frozen. mmmmm

After class Friday afternoon I took the train up to visit my cousin Rob, his girlfriend Courtney and their posse of critters. They are animal lovers and have become really involved in animal rescue. Right now they have two Pit Bulls, Brody and Piper; a cat with half a tail, Moon Pie; a bunny rabbit, Ernie; and a Chinchilla, January. I hadn't seen Rob and Court in a couple of years, so we had a great visit catching up. They have a really cute house, and I can tell they are doing some great thigns with it. The before and after's on their kitchen are so crazy I can't even verbalize them! We went out for dinner on Friday night before Rob had to head to Baltimore and Courtey had to hit the hay so she could get up for work on Saturday morning. Before we called it a night though, I got to see January take a bath. For those who aren't aware, they have everychild's dream bath - they roll around in dirt. I had always heard this, and now I've seen it! I also got to see Ernie try to hump January -- apparently he goes for anything female!

Saturday morning I slept in and enjoyed a fun morning wtih the critters. After I finally rolled out of bed we watched Shrek the Third. I really enjoyed it, but I'm a dorky child at heart! That afternoon my cousin Jennie came by and picked me up. We got in touch with our inner Martha Goersses (our grandmother) and hit the outlet mall. It was crazy! I enjoyed it, but it was insane there. I got some new sandals from Nine West and we both hit the Ann Taylor store. I then got to go to Jennie and Andrew's new house. They closed about a month and a half before I did. There house is really nice, and the garden is really intense. The previous owner was a master gardener so they have a really nice setup and get lots of birds out their back yard. We went to dinner with some friends of theirs and called it a night. Sunday morning we slept in and Andrew went and got us donuts from L&M - a yummy bakery. He is a total keeper. Jennie and i spent a little quality time with Ina Gardner, aka the Barefoot Contessa. At that point it was time for me to head out.

Luckily, I avoided the mass delay on Delta. Instead, I made it home safely and mostly on time. It was great to see the family, but it was nice to come home to my spoiled babies. Big kudos go to Alissa and JR for watching the dogs while I was out. I'm sure I'll be paying them back sometime.

Relay for Life

I am doing the American Cancer SOciety Relay for life this year. I've always wanted to get involved in it. One of the guys I work with had a scare last year -- his 6 month old son was diagnosed with leukemia. Joshua is now a survivor. I'm walking on their team -- and looking to raise funds. If you are interested in donating, feel free to donate online or contact me. It is supposed to be an amazing event. I look foward to participating.