The Time Has Come for Colds and Overcoats

This is the Father's Day Card Boyfriend sent to my Dad, saying it reminded him of me!

It probably feels that way, but this blog isn't turning in to a recipe blog, I promise. It's just for now, while the weather sways between sunny and kindof warmish and freezing and overcast/rainy there aren't a whole lot of adventures going on in my life. Plus, I'm really trying to focus on finding on job so that doesn't make for very exciting days, either.

Boyfriend's name has been resolved, sortof. I'd prefer to call him Beau because it means both handsome and someone's sweetheart which Boyfriend is and it's also a guy's name so it'd be easy just to start referring to him as that, but after reading everyone's suggestions in the comments he would like to be called MOTH Dude, like some sort of super hero! He has been thinking up a MOTH Dude theme song, contemplating what sort of outfit MOTH Dude should wear, and even referring to himself (in public!) as MOTH Dude to drive me crazy!

Friday night MOTH Dude and I headed out to an uncelebratory dinner for me not getting the job. There is a SsS BBQ Barn not far from us and we've been wanting to try it because they serve ribs. It wasn't that great and we won't be going back. I ordered a margarita and it tasted like a frozen lemonade, I don't think there was any tequila in it at all. The ribs fell of the bone, but there was less than you'd get at Tony Roma's in Sydney and they needed more sauce. MOTH Dude was starving so he ordered a damper roll that was $5 and the size of a bread roll! We were full when we left, but not satisfied and for $87 you want to leave a place satisfied!

After that, we went over to the Soccer Player and the Hairdresser's place and hung out with them and the baby and it was just a fun, relaxed night sitting around talking and watching the football game on in the background.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Farmer's Market at The Entrance with MOTH's parents. It was a beautiful day and although the market was super crowded and more expensive and had less produce than I am used to, it was nice that after we were done shopping that we could sit on the walkway with our feet hanging over the water and look for schools of fish swimming by. Saturday night, we went over to the Farmer and Tinkerbell's house and it was another fun, relaxed night of sitting around and talking with friends.

Sunday morning, I slept in super later, while MOTH actually got up early and was productive. He went out for a dive at one of the local beaches and it was so cute to see him when he got home because he was bursting with excitement and happiness over all that he had seen. He told me all about it then proceeded to pass out for 3 hours, while I baked up a storm for our weekly dinner at his grandparents' house.

And that was our weekend! Now it's Monday, nearly noon my time and I'm waiting for my family to get back from dinner so I can call my Dad for Father's Day. I'm also working on finishing up my contracting job for the University my Mom is working for and I've got soup started in the Crocpot. So yeah, it's not a recipe blog, but I do have another recipe for you all today. Now a) I claim to not eat pork, but I ate ribs the other day and there is ham in this soup, so I guess I go through phases and b) Yes, I know ham and lentil soup sounds kind of yuck/boring, but it's actually really, really good! One of our family friends threw this together with stuff she found in our fridge the day after Easter and I was skeptical at first, but after having a taste I was hooked and had been craving it ever since! It's really cheap and easy to make, which is a bonus, too! MOTH and I both agreed that the soup kind of tastes like smokey Mexican beans.

You Will Need

1. Crocpot

2. 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3. 1 Medium Brown Onion

4. 1 Heading Tablespoon of Minced Garlic

5. 1 Large or 2 Medium Ham Hocks

6. 1.5 Liters of Chicken Broth (I use a brand called Massel)

7. 1 Bag of Green Lentils, I think the bag is about 300 grams? or maybe 1.5 cups worth, dried

8. Blender

What To Do

1. Turn your Crocpot on to high and add Olive Oil.

2. Chop up the Onion and add that and the Garlic to the Oil. Let sit for a few minutes, I don't know if this really sautes them or not since Crocpots cook at such a low heat, but I like to pretend it does anyway.

3. Throw in your Ham Hock(s).

4. Add .5-1 Liter of the Chicken Broth.

5. Let the Ham Hock(s) simmer away on low for 6 hours. Meanwhile, soak your Lentils in water for 6-7 hours (can also be done before hand and soaked the night before).

6. Add Lentils to Broth and turn up to high for 2-3 hours, until Lentils are soft and all meat is falling off the bones.

7. Fish out the bone and fat.

8. Scoop half of the Lentils, Ham, and Broth out and into a blender and blend on a medium setting for about 15 seconds.

9. Pour the blended stuff back in with the Broth and other Lentils and mix the two batches together.

10. Serve with hot bread.

We got 6 HUGE servings out of this.

I Can Tell You Buy at Costco

Look at me, I'm a delicious heart attack on a plate!

Have you ever been at least 500 miles from the nearest Costco and found yourself craving a Chicken Bake? No?? It's only us?

From the first time he came to California, Boyfriend was hooked on Costco's Chicken Bakes. I think they are probably about 25% of the reason he now makes the trip out to visit my family every year!

After his second trip to the States, Boyfriend asked if I could try and find out how to make the Chicken Bakes at home so I found a copy-cat recipe and he has been happy ever since.

What You Will Need

1. Enough pizza dough for one pizza. (I used one of the Aldi pizza kits with the pre-made, but uncooked dough)

2. Mozzarella cheese

3. Parmesan Cheese

4. Green Onions

5. 2 Slices of cooked Bacon

6. 1 Cooked Chicken Breast

7. Cesar Salad Dressing (Don't make the mistake I did this last time and get the Aussie stuff because it's cheaper-it was kinda sweet and really gross! Stick with Paul Newman or Cardini's)

What To Do

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2.Roll out pizza dough in to a rectangle (Aldi's is already in this shape). If you'd like to make 2 chicken bakes, rather than one large one, then cut your rectangle in half so you are left with 2 long, skinny pieces.

3. Cut up 2 green onions, using the majority of the white end from both of them and the green end from 1 of them.

4. Spread between 1-2 tablespoons of the Cesar dressing on to the pizza dough (dough should have a thin layer of dressing across all of it).

5. Sprinkle mozzarella over the dressing, again you want a thin layer across all of the dough.

6. Spread chicken pieces, bacon pieces, and green onion slices across the mozzarella using as much of each ingredient as you like.

7. Sprinkle more mozzarella over the top of the chicken, bacon, and green onion so that ingredients are lightly covered.

8. Sprinkle a small amount of parmesan cheese over the mozzarella.

9. Roll dough in to a burrito like shape and tuck in ends of dough so that fillings don't spill out.

10. Spread a handful of parmesan cheese over the top of the Chicken Bake and make sure you press it in to the dough a bit so it doesn't fall off.

11. Bake on an oiled or baking paper lined cookie sheet in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

Image from Kevin and Amanda

Well....that's what I should be doing! I've been slacking this week on my walks. I'm really nervous about getting this job and it's all I can think of. So instead of walking, I've been watching old episodes of Australia's Next Top Model and eating things that taste really, really good but probably aren't the healthiest for me.

If you're looking for comfort food, tonight's recipe will hit the spot! I know it doesn't look like much in the pictures, but it is heavenly. Boyfriend isn't home yet and after trying the sauce, I had to have a little bowl to hold me over til he gets here.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Recipe from Kevin and Amanda via the Pioneer Woman (They also have really nice step-by-step pictures on their blog you should check out for more details.)

Here's What You'll Need

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Montreal Steak seasoning (I didn't have this so I used some other chicken seasoning we had)

1/2 pound penne pasta

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chicken broth

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (I didn't know what this meant so I used some really plain, organic pasta sauce)

1 cup heavy cream (I used 300 ml of whipping cream)

1/2 to 1 tsp salt & pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (Didn't have)

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded (Boyfriend was supposed to bring this home from his parents' bush but he forgot)

Directions

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. (Oops!)

Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. (I just cut my chicken in to really thin strips)

Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.

Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side. OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side. Set chicken aside to cool.

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins).

Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half.

Meanwhile, slice chicken.

Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low. (Mine didn't need any salt so taste before adding)

Chop the parsley and basil, add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. (I also tossed the chicken in to the mix.)

Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken.

Home is Waiting Here for You When You Return

Nae has made it back safe and sound to Santa Cruz. I spoke to her earlier today, after 30 hours of flying and stops in Dakar, Senegal and Washington, D.C. She sounded happy and not at all tired. She said she misses South Africa already and would like to move there. Maybe someday she will find a way to. I was glad to hear her voice again and to hear more details about some of the things she saw and did. The fire has been lit under her bum to pursue grad school so that she can propose a cool project idea and get back down to S.A. to study sharks upclose and personal again.

Anyway, these pictures have nothing to do with Nae's return, but are from walks I've taken over the past few days. I hope you enjoy. (Be warned, you might get bored-there are lots of mushroom pictures! Haha, I don't know why I think they are so neat.)

An area that has become a swamp where there was never water last year.

Kookaburra blending in with the trees and grey sky.

The little flash of color in the top left is one of two rainbow lorikeets that flew past me as I walked close to their nesting spot.

There are tons of ugly termite mounds on trees along the path.

The only bright spot in our backyard.

Looks like we will have a few more bananas this year.

I think this might be garlic. We have a garlic plant in our front yard at home and these flowers look really similar.

Someone thought it would be a good idea to try and build a castle in our neighborhood. They ran out of money and it was never completed.

Isn't this one freaky? I've never seen a mushroom like it. It looks like it should be from a Super Mario Brothers game. There is a little fly on top and I don't know if this mushroom was its home or its deathtrap.

I Told You I Didn't Want My Picture Taken, You Snapped It Anyway

We're back from the wildlife rehabilitation center (there are a few pictures from it at the end of this set) and Boyfriend is napping so I've had some time to watch the river go by and to look through all the pictures I've snapped on the trip so far. We'll be leaving here in the morning and it looks like we might run in to some rain and snow on our trip back down to San Francisco, fingers crossed that we don't need chains because we don't have any! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

A cold and rainy day in Fort Bragg, CA

The view from our hotel room in the morning...a gorgeous day and a gorgeous view!

One of the locally brewed beers that Boyfriend really likes.

I had no idea we had elk anywhere in California!

Where we got out for a 2nd time to look at this river (the Smith) and where when we got back in to the car, I backed over a rock that punctured my oil pan. Had we not pulled over immediately we could've seized the engine on our car, but we were smart enough to pull over. We had to wait an hour and a half for a tow truck (in the dark dark as we were up a ways in to the mountains) and then got stuck in Crescent City, CA for the night at a really sketchy motel, but at least they were able to fix my car quickly and cheaply and we're not still in Crescent City awaiting a new part!

The nicest thing we found in Crescent City: their lighthouse.

What's a girl to do when stuck in a place like Crescent City waiting for her car to get fixed??

Back on the road. Back to pulling over (put this time in paved lots) to check out the Smith River.

I'm really only about a 2 minute walk from my car, but the trees and mountains seem to dwarf it.

One of the grey wolves at the Wildlife Images Rehabilitation Center after her walk.

Eurasian lynx