Friday, July 17, 2009

Upcoming BBQ Events

Alabama
American Bass Anglers Barbeque Cookoff - Guntersville - September 19, 2009
American Bass Anglers Barbeque Cookoff - Florence - September 26, 2009

Arkansas
American Bass Anglers Barbeque Cookoff - Russellville - November 8, 2009
Bikes, Blues & BBQ - Fayetteville - Sept 23-26, 2009

California
Annual Blazin' Hog Competition BBQ and Zydeco Music Festival - Mariposa - September 19, 2009

Colorado
BBQ At The Summitt Competition - Dillon - August 7-8, 2009


Connecticut
Blues, Views & BBQ Competiton - Westport - September 26-27, 2009

Georgia
Dillard Bluegrass & BBQ Festival Dillard - July 31 - Aug 1, 2009
Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival - Kennesaw - Aug 14-15, 2009
Decatur BBQ Festival - Decatur - August 15, 2009
BBQ Beach Bash - Jekyll Island - August 21-22, 2009
Atlanta Bar-B-Q Festival - Atlanta - Sept 12, 2009
Hambone Jam The Great Barbecue Cookoff - Fort Valley - September 11-12, 2009
National BBQ Festival - Douglas - Oct 30-31, 2009
Big Pig Jig - Vienna - Nov 6-7, 2009

Illinois
Holy Smoke BBQ Cook-Off - Salem - August 1, 2009

Indiana
Ribberfest - Barbeque, Blues & Balloons - Madison - August 21-22, 2009
Hoosier Daddy State BBQ Championship - New Albany - Oct 9-10, 2009

Kansas
Smokin' Behind The Barn Championship Cookoff - Winfield - Aug 29 - Sept 1, 2009
The Great American Barbecue - Kansas City - Sept 7, 2009

Kentucky
American Bass Anglers Barbeque Cookoff - Kuttawa - August 22, 2009
Barbecue On The River - Paducah - Sept 24-26, 2009

Louisiana
Roastin` with Rosie Barbeque Festival & Cook-off - Jennings - Sept 11 & 12, 2009
Louisiana State BBQ Championship - Vidalia - Sept 25-26, 2009

Michigan
Kalamazoo Ribfest -Kalamazoo- August 6-8, 2009
Labadie Pig Gig - Bay City - August 6-9, 2009

Mississippi
Roast n' Boast - Columbus - September 11-12, 2009
Oxford Town BBQ Throwdown - Oxford - Sept 25-26, 2009

Missouri
Annual Great Pacific Missouri BBQ & Bluegrass Festival - Pacific - August 14-15, 2009
Sertoma Summer Sizzle - Springfield (Nixa) - August 14-15, 2009
Roots 'n Blues n' BBQ Festival - Columbia - Sept 26, 2009

Nebraska
Capital City Ribfest - Lincoln - August 13-16, 2009

Nevada
Best In The West Nugget Rib Cook Off - Sparks - Sept 2-7, 2009
Smokin' in Mesquite Open BBQ Championship - Mesquite - Sept 4-5, 2009


New York
Hudson Valley Rib Fest - New Paltz -August 14-16, 2009

North Carolina
Mountain High BBQ & Music Festival - Franklin - August 7-8, 2009
Blues, Brews & BBQ - Charlotte - Sept 11-12, 2009
Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down - Rocky Mount - Oct 9-10, 2009
The BBQ Festival - Lexington - Oct 24, 2009

Ohio
Jazz and Ribfest - Columbus - July 24-26, 2009

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State Championship BBQ Cook-Off - New Holland - August 28-29, 2009

South Carolina
Piedmont Blues & Hash Bash - October 9-10, 2009 - Abbeville

South Dakota
South Dakota State BBQ Championships - Vermillion - Sept 11-12, 2009
Rockin' Ribfest - Yankton - September 19, 2009

Tennessee
Music City BBQ Festival - Nashville - August 28-29, 2009
Tennesse State BBQ Festival - Lenoir City - Oct 9-10, 2009

bintang da terang



td si kacak tuh duk sebut si 'bintang' sgt dkt JJ...

ambik hg. da muncul da bintang tu td. hukk~ tibeee3.



tepat 115am td. nak off9 suda. i was too sleepy just now. and idk y.

out of sudden, jari ni terus check email b4 nak shut down everything.

then, i saw an off9 msg from aaa... BH. i was like~ okay. that was few minutes.

b4 115am. i replied, n yes, he's still there. so...chatting lah~! ahah.

i wanna make it short at 1st, but then. melarat plak until 315am td.

say goodbye je almost 15 minutes. uhuuu.



lgpon, lame x contact. lame jgk, kot? kot la. idk. x ingt. ahah~

we talked bout movies + cinema + raye + the fray + bad habits + future.

and there's a certain serious part there, and it was accidentally happened.

at d n of that, i said "slmt hari sabtu...minta maaf kalo de terkasar bhse"

and he said "sorry 4 everything". hukkk. takot ade yg trase je. haha.

but overall, it was ok + menenangkan. ahah~ pnjng umor die.

ok fine. 4get bout that. but, there's a part. that, i love.

it's the goodbye part and ... tibe2. seriously tibe2.






him ; jgn sdey byk2.. promise me dat

me ; mane de sdeyh

him ; da world is full of laughter n joy

me ; ni skodeng dkt blog ke ape nih?

him ; x de la. jgn lper pesan tuh.

me ; insya allah.





ske kan muncul d saat2 cam genting dgn tibe2? erm. kebetulan. kot.

baiklah. da
334am. jap lg 630am da nak gerak ke tnjng malim. fine...

kemas brg. tdow la sejam. kot. wahaha...tgkla~ ahah. dlm kereta.

tdow puas2. best anak tunggal nih. duk dkt blakang sorang2.

tdow la gaye bebas camne pon! hahahaha
XD



pastuh btolkan tudung x ingt dunia. tdung pon jd senget benget.

kemek sane, kemek sini. wahaha. baju pon mule kedut~

time nie lah cermin memainkan peranan penting. okay. ngarot.

ermmm... good morning everybody~! happy saturday~!
=]





here goes my no1 fav song from pretty ugly.

well, it's not 1 of their famous song, but seriously.

it's sooo sweet + meaningful~!



**jika diberikan satu peluang**





Jika diberikan ku satu peluang

Apa yang aku impikan

Pulihkan segala kesilapan

Jika diberikan ku satu peluang

Kembali ke masa silam

Kan ku pilih tarikh kita dulu



Bagai dijanjikan

Pertemuan singkat waktu itu

Bagai dituliskan

Kesetiaanmu



Pernah dulu ku sebutkannya

Pernah dulu ku ingkarinya

Bukan bermaksud

Melukakan hatimu

Ku lakukannya untuk kita

Ku lakukannya demi cinta

Bukan bermaksud

Maafkan diriku



Jika diberikan ku satu peluang

Apa yang aku impikan

Diriku dirimu dulu

Jika diberikan ku satu peluang

Tembusi masa depanku

Kan ku suluh tiga tahun dari situ



Saatnya terhenti

Seketika kau terima lafaznya

Saatnya ku nanti

Dikau bahagia











I Heart Corn

So...after the whole potato salad revelation, I was still on a corn kick that I couldn't shake. So I just went with it, and made some corn muffins!

I know I already ranted about how much I love corn, so I won't repeat myself here. But I do LOVE corn bread yet haven't baked much of my own, mostly because I seem to have a hard time deciding between the savoury and sweet recipes out there and I always feel like I need to have something to eat the cornbread with. But...corn muffins are easier. Corn muffins can be eaten on their own! And they should always be sweet! (or at least I think so).

For this recipe, I adjusted Michael Ruhlman's basic quickbread ratio for muffins, adding in cornmeal and corn. And it was really good! Slightly but not too sweet, plenty of corn flavour from the kernels and not too crumbly. A couple of notes...I actually used a lightly grilled corn cob for this because it was all I had left of the fresh corn. I wouldn't do this again though, because the corn chunks came out a bit dry since they had already been cooked once (I assumed this would happen, but again it was all I had). I also reduced the egg from 2 to 1, because I was also looking at other random cornbread recipes and decided for some reason that this was a good idea. I don't think it was - the muffins, while delicious were a bit on the dense side. I think the extra egg would help with that so I'm going to leave that as the amount of eggs in the recipe.

Corn Muffins
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk*
1 corn cob, hulled (you can also use frozen or canned corn here - it should be about a cup)

*I never actually keep buttermilk in the house, so to substitute, combine 1 tbsp of white vinegar and enough milk to make one cup and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugars, salt and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl.

2. Whisk together butter, egg and buttermilk. Pour into the dry mixture and stir until just combined.

3. Add in corn kernels

4. Drop by spoonful into a greased muffin tin, about 3/4 full. This will make enough for a dozen.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

like the whole week

13th july - i went to... carre4 x silap. wahaha.
erm... kempunan starbuck berminggu, x tahan. g jgk dunkin donut.
ambik ice blended ape tah. ahah...melayang RM 10.45

ptg, pas lunch, ambil slip + tman abah round2 kl.
jd org jakun tgk klcc dr dlm kereta. hahahaha... XD


14th july - erm. x ingt. ahah...mmg x ingt.


15th july - bergerak ke taiping. sampai ptg. mkn kuey teow doli~ wajib~!


mlm? mama n abah dinner. on9 kejap sorang2...
n google ttg apartment ria, genting highland. spooookkkyyyy~~~
tdow tepat 417am. ahah~


16th jul - bgn 630am... wuuuu. ngantok. gerak ke lumut.
owhhh...kem TLDM lumut mmg gempak gile3...
owh. semua pixca, hilang. i mean.... like the whole memory card.
gileeee frust~!!! memory card tuh empty trus~

sampai kl around 6pm.


17th july - tamat 1 paper - SCP. no comment~

ramai org keluar exam hall awal. semua nmpk happy.
ahah...pdn muke ko aqilah~ x happy. wahaha.

mlm. 815pm went to JJ. sampai2, parking...terus attack starbuck~ finally~!
and it reminds me of hawa. minum yg jelly2 tuh. ahah~ terbang RM15.



minum2 d taman. habis minum baru si kacak tu muncul...haha XD
borak3. ketemu plak 2 merpati itu~ moga kalian berbahgie =P
blk. n on9 skrng. tp sumpah celcom lembab amat3 ble mlm. bosan.


esok... 18th july.


bgn kul 5 lebeyh rasenye jap lg. sbb 630 da kene gerak ke tjg malim.
mama ade class di upsi. then, abah hantar sy ke rawang. umah finaz~!

tdow umah finaz. ahad... 19th july blk umah, naik train plak kot. abah ade golf~


isnin? 20th july - bz. lagi. ahah~



gemuk... sehat... tak bermakna happy.

bosan... rasa da taw semua? tak semestinya...


ahah. mencarut. eh salah... melalut. ngantok da ni.

tp tamak nak on9. cett~ addicted da. hurm...


till then.



Jameson Factory


I got a Diploma in Whiskey tasting .

http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/







As you may know I am in Love with whiskey so having a trip round the Jameson factory was a great treat .

So I am home




I have been cooking ever day . I have found Crazy amount black currants . So after making pots of jam I decided to make so cup cakes inspired by Claire from Violet cup cakes . Claire came and gave a fabulous demo at Ballymaloe.

Food competition

I am a self-proclaimed foodie. I love eating, I love cooking, and I love restaurants. I love it all. When my friends and I are planning a get-together, it typically involves a restaurant. And same goes for many people. Forbes published a recent article on women and the competitiveness surrounding dieting, body-image, and food choices, particularly in restaurants. My first thought: I don’t do this.
Wrong!
After a little self-reflection, I admit…I sometimes do fall into this trap, as well.Very much so unbeknown to me until now, by the way.
The first thing that popped into my head: cart surfing. Admittedly, I cart surf. When I'm standing in line at the grocery store, I do look to see what consumers are buying. Sometimes, their carts reflect their weight status...other times not. However, I like to call this "market research"...not cart judgment.
I have a friend or two whose metabolisms I envy. Health aside, I do wish cheeseburgers, french fries, Hamburger Helper, and homemade chocolate chip cookies were staples in my diet…without the addition of unwanted pounds, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension, however. There are definitely those out there who are just blessed. And while we like to dwell on the unfair luck of those individuals, we must recognize that they are far and few between. And we must recognize, that we cannot "keep up with them," as my mother used to explain as the ice cream truck slowly passed by my off-the-charts physique since the age of...birth.
On the flip side, there are those individuals who make you feel at ease and judgment-free when consuming something that may be.... “recommended in moderation.” As a kid growing up, my best friend and I would egg-on one another's poor food selections and converse about our diet short-comings at length. A lot. Surprise: we were both "chubby" kids, to put it nicely. We'd seek each other out to induldge in our local favorites: wings at Shanahans, falafel at Grape Leaves, et cetera. When we surround ourselves with or are surrounded by individuals consuming a diet we know to be not ideal, we do feel comfort when indulging in the same fashion, and we become desensitized to the implications and results of our actions. This is one huge reason obesity tends to appear in entire family and friend units, and not just scattered throughout.
That friend I just mentioned...she's visiting Mark and I this weekend. I'd better not let her drag me down, right? :)


While I follow a fairly steady diet of “80-20” (80% spot-on healthy eating, 20% more lenient intake), I readily admit that my dining out falls into my 20% allotment. I am a dietitian and a regular exerciser...but when I enter a restaurant don't expect me to be ordering grilled chicken and/or a salad! Sorry to disappoint, but I can make that at home a heck of a lot better for way less money. Limit the damage, have a plan, and eat moderately - that's my restaurant "Plan of Attack".

For so long, my now husband and I were in a long-distance relationship -- Italy-to-Chicago and Chicago-to-Michigan. When we were together, it was typically a whole to-do and we celebrated. Dinner, drinks, and maybe even the occasional dessert. He could surely reason as to why I didn’t boast the 115 lb figure suggested for my height…according to BMI standards, right? Yet, after living together for several months now, and with a steady diet of my cooking, I think he’s come to find out that my 80-20 really is 80-20…and I wasn’t just kidding myself. (Duh).
Read the Forbes article. Laugh a little. Eat, drink, and be merry…consciously. Darn us mean, conniving women!