Quiz Question

Whenver our Maximum Leader goes through her cat door, she reminds me of one of these.


Quiz question: What are they and where are they referenced?

Cheezburger of the Day

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Reflections on Weekend to Remember

This past weekend my husband and I went to Family Life's marriage conference called Weekend to Remember. I have wanted to go for about a year now and have known quite a few couples from our church who have gone. This past weekend they came to a town near us, so we decided to go along with 2 other couples from our church. 

Let me just say, it was a HUGE blessing, especially for me. David was a little skeptical but at the end he said it was better than he expected as well! If you ever get a chance to go to one, I would highly recommend it!

I wanted to share some thoughts that made an impact on me from the weekend.

• When couples fail to make necessary adjustments towards oneness, the result is isolation. (Taken from the Weekend to Remember workbook) 
• Our marriage is not about us, it is about reflecting God's image. (Bobby Conway, speaker) 
• Love is a radical commitment to meet the other person's needs. (Bobby Conway, speaker) 
• The goal of marriage is not to be conflict free but to handle conflict correctly when it occurs (Taken from the Weekend to Remember workbook) 
• If a man thinks he is leading and turns around and no one is following, he is just taking a walk! (Jill Eenigenburg, speaker)
• A prayer to God: Take charge, change me. (Jill Eenigenburg, speaker)

At the end of the weekend, we renewed our vows along with everyone else that attended. It was a great way to end the weekend, renewing that commitment to each other again. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. Your marriage is definitely worth the effort and the time to make it even better than you could possibly imagine! 

Recipe of the Week - Penne with Almond Sauce

This week's recipe is a recipe that I saw Giada De Launrentiis make on her FoodNetwork show, Giada at Home. I decided to try it this past week and we ended up having David's parents over to try it too. I did change a couple of things and I have marked this accordingly. I really liked it, and hope you do too! 

Penne with Almond Sauce 

1 pound of penne pasta

2 cups (9 ounces) blanched, slivered almonds

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock **I used vegetable broth 

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 store-bought, rotisserie chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups) ** I left the chicken out to make this vegetarian

1 cup frozen petite peas ** I used broccoli instead of peas, hubby doesn't like peas. 

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 large lemon, zested

Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups grated Parmesan

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a blender, combine the almonds, chicken stock, olive oil, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is heated through, about 4 minutes (mixture will be thick). Season with salt and pepper, to taste

Put the cooked pasta into a serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Toss together until the pasta is coated. Add the chicken mixture, the remaining cheese and the basil. Toss the ingredients together, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Photo Credit: FoodNetwork

Now it's your turn! Share a recipe that you tried this past week or one of your favorites in the link up below. Please include in your post that you linked to my blog hop and try to include a Recipe of the Week button. This is not a regular blog hop. All blogs who link and have not included a recipe will be deleted from the blog hop. The hop is open until Tuesday night at 11:59pm. 

Looking forward to all the yummy recipes! 

This recipe is also linked to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays

Hudson Opera House

Although the majority of Hudson’s Town Hall (which dates back to 1855) has been painstakingly restored over the last decade, its most spectacular space - the Old Opera House, remains gloriously dilapidated. If you ask nicely at the front desk they'll let you have a peek. Here’s what you’ll see...

www.hudsonoperahouse.org

Another 3 legged Giraffe

I've found another error in the book.  If you were making Goats Cheese, Caramelised Onion and Mushroom Pizza Tostada with Rocket and Pine Nuts - Page 97, it would be reasonable to expect it to actually contain caramelised onions, mushrooms and pine nuts?!  They are in the title but nowhere to be found in the list of ingreedients or method.  In reverse the ingreedients include 16 cherry tomatoes yet no mention in the method of what to do with them.  Yet again no photo to offer guidance or clues.  I'm begining to wonder who, if anyone, tried these recipies out prior to publication...

I again emailed the peeps at Giraffe who seem to be a wee bit embarrassed by it now.  But not embarrassed enough to offer me any more gift vouchers or to come back to me (as yet) with the correct recipe.  So what I eventually made was an inspired by version rather than the lopsided real deal.

To give them credit usung flat bread as the base for a pizza is a pretty good idea and I'd definately use it in this way again.  No idea what the required Lebanese flat bread is but the garlic and parsley version I used was delicious.  From then on in I did pretty much my own thing.  Pasata on the flatbread followed by a topping of Mozarella, Goats Cheese, Spinach Leaves, Olives and Shiitake Mushrooms, then topped it off with the rocket just before eating (but after photographing!)  Mr added peppers and chicken to his whilst Boy and Girl went further astray with ham, pineapple and wait for it - baked beans!

Morning Dew Drops

S.Kenney 2011

S.Kenney 2011

S. Kenney

The older I get, the more I don't take anything for granted.  Increasingly, I stop at some moment during the day and soak in the harmony that prevails in my life.  It wasn't always like this.  Childhood was not a happy time in my world.  I have few of the nostalgic moments that many other bloggers share so wonderfully.  I have existed in relative bitterness and plaguing self-pity for a very long time.  I truly know that life could change at any moment.  I learned that very young.  I marvel every day at a life of tranquility.


Age, however, seems to be a good friend. I love being in my 40's.  Much of the insecurity and uncertainty that I faithfully carried around with me has dissipated in the last few years.  My children are more than half grown and I look at them with pride as well as appreciation, realizing they are going to be o.k. in this world.  I do consider myself a "late bloomer" in that I wish I would have known to appreciate all of the small moments with greater clarity and vision understanding that  parenting does come to an end someday.  Regrets?  No, not really;  I know that I was trying my best at the time.  I've stopped trying to change the events of the past and know that everything in life has a time and a place and now its time to move on.  Move past.


Morning walks are no longer tasks to be checked off on the to-do list.  Taking time to do activities on my own is a blessing bestowed on me at this stage.  But, I also know it will be a precursor of how life will evolve in the next couple of years.  I'm ready.  I know I have to be ready.


I see more details in life.  I see more dew drops.  I see more.

If Tim McIlrath Wins, He Still Loses

So some dude named Tim McIlrath performed at one of the Wisconsin Union rallies recently. He played that ghastly CSNY song, Ohio, and urged the ralliers to "rise against" ... compound interest tables.

Fight the power! Or maybe the exponent!
Poor Timmy, you see, can't seem to fathom the whole pensions-are-underfunded thing nor does he get the idea that the Unions are the power. They negotiate with the politicians who agree to have Union dues taken directly out of employee paychecks so part can be handed over to the politicians to re-elect them so they can go back and negotiate with the Unions again. In any case, here's the Timster crooning that lovely ballad written to commemorate a few students who got shot after they spent a cheery afternoon throwing rocks and bottles at people with guns.

The song is a fitting choice for too many reasons to list here. It's a famous ballad from a group that personified the empty-headed selfishness of the time that led us to so much that is wrong with America today. The kids in the audience will spend their lives paying, paying, paying for the idiocies of the CSNY crowd. Perhaps his next selection might be that wonderful paean to sexual gratification for males and economic slavery for single moms, Love the One You're With.

Or maybe just a reenactment of the Greek riots of last year.

These Unions won their fight with The Man, Timmy, but lost to the compound interest tables. That's your stage down there in the bottom center at about 0:35, getting peppered with rubber bullets and engulfed in tear gas. Go on up there and play, man, go on! You're next!

A Crazy Little Thing called Love (First Love)

Well, i'm not so into the Thai movie and I rarely watching movie. But this movie, from the first I saw the trailer in youtube, i'm so into downloading it. Oh Gosh. This is really touched. I'm crying myself watch it though. =')P
This is the best movie. Funny and touched.
Well, i'm not going to tell you the story here. You should watch yourself. =P
To summarise, this story portray two students that fall in love from the first time in junior high school.

"People change, Time change, But heart never change."

this is the trailer.

have a preview..=)

No more FB. Can i survive?

Hari ni ain telah deactivate my FB account.

Kenapa? Biar lah rahsia. Nobody will miss me la.

Besides, it's temporary only. I'll be back soon.hihi =)

So, pasni ain update status in my blog je la.

Td ain buat stocktake kt the ZON.

ain belikan mak chocs Hershey sbb mak teringin.

hehe =) ain beli Ferraro Roche sekali.

Last weekend ain balik kg.

Ain nk upload gmbr ain n adik tp ain takde kabel HP.

Ain da pinjam kt Aminah.hopefully die bwk sok.hehe

Wahhh..byk sgt keje nk kene buat.

ain ingat nk amik last paper ACCA.

ain pun tak pasti lagi ape ain nk wt in the future

ain harap tuhan bg ain petunjuk..=)

Kepada seseorang yg ain ingati selalu,

take care of urself..

I will always pray for u and for us.

How To Change A Tire

Crispy Honey Roast Pork Belly with Onions (Marco Pierre White-adapted)

I'm a nerd when it comes to what I love. I google and research and spend all my free (yes I lie. fine, I confess. even when I'm supposed to be studying.) time on it. It being food. And I have my cooking idols too, and like any fan girl I watch all the cooking shows they do. Everyone knows the usual famous British chefs, and I love them all too, but I recently discovered Marco Pierre White. He's the original British celebrity chef, the youngest chef at his time to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, and our favourite Gordon Ramsay was trained under him. He hwas actually quite hot, albeit 20 years ago. He still has that bad boy charisma and humour to send me gushing to disinterested friends (and sisters) hee hee hee.

Watch him talk about pigs and fat women and then watch the pleasure he takes in cooking, then come tell me I'm being a fangirl. Anyway, that second video practically made me salivate and I knew I had to go roast a pork belly.

There are many different tips out there on getting the perfect roast pork belly with crispy crackling. I'm going to try them all out, not all at a go duh, but definitely a to-do thing, along with testing out the different velveting methods for perfect Chinese stir-fry meat, so keep checking back ;)

For now, I followed Marco Pierre White's recipe, but had to make changes to the roasting times and temperatures, and the glaze because people have commented it's too sweet and really quite unnecessary. i.e. What I really got out of his recipe are his tips for really crispy crackling for a roast pork, like rubbing oil over the scored skin first. A little disappointed in my new favourite chef ):

Crispy Honey Roast Pork Belly with Onions

300g pork belly, skin-on (originally 1 kg, but, I'm not feeding a whole family here.)

generous sprinkling of sea salt, black pepper

clarified butter (or you could use oil. don't use sunflower like he said.)

2 small brown onions, halved, skin-on

2 bay leaves

sage leaves (which I didn't have)

cold water

For the glaze

1 tsp coriander seeds

(2 star anise, which I didn't have)

1 tbsp honey (his recommended amount is really too much)

80 ml of water

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees celsius.

2. Score pork belly skin (my butcher did it for me!). Rub the clarified butter or oil over the pork belly skin.

3. Pour some cold water into a roasting tray, then place the pork belly on a roasting rack over the water. Roast for 2hours at the bottom rack of the oven.

(My crackling didn't become crispy, so I turned the heat up real high to 220 degrees celsius for an extra 20-30 min.)

4. Meanwhile, bring the ingredients for the glaze to a boil and let it simmer and reduce till you get a syrupy consistency.

5. When the pork belly is done, leave it aside to rest in a warm place (It's important to let all roasts rest. It makes all the difference really. This allows the juices to return to the meat. Some chefs even recommend letting it rest for the same amount of time the meat cooks! hmmm.)

6. Over medium high heat, melt some butter and fry the halved onions, cut side down. A few minutes later, add the bay leaves, just to brown slightly, before transferring to an oven for about 25 min.

7. Boil to reduce the tray of water (plus collected porky juices/fat) by about a third, till you get a nice gravy sauce.

7. To serve, glaze the crispy skin with the honey reduction. Cut the pork belly into thick generous slices, arrange the roasted onions around it, and drizzle the meat juice gravy over.

Such a rich roast would go really well this a sharp and sweet Braised Red Cabbage with Apples, and if you don't want to do the honey glaze plus gravy, I think a Celeriac and Mustard Sauce would be brilliant too.

Crispy skin, juicy meat, with the flavour and richness of the fat running through the pork, and then that caramel sweetness of the onions and honey! Come share my joy and salivate together!

Crack

Cut

Crunch

This is part of What's On Your Plate?, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Plater Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday and Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.

Spicy Mushroom Gravy

Playing around with my new Blogger app on my Droid.

Simple and Easy Pulled Pork : Good Food , Cheap

Ive been meaning to get to this one for well over a month,  I must admit it slipped through the cracks lol .  A request from a friend reminded me that I never did actually finish this post , just got as far as uploading the photos.  Now , like making chili , or gumbo there are a million different ways to go about making a pot of pulled pork and I'm sure more than a few people have a very strong opinion on it :))  What I'm making here , is the simple and easy method.. just a few minutes prep and the slow cooker does the rest !!  

What you will need :  Makes approx 16 servings 

1 Large smoked pork shoulder -                $8.00 for 8lbs on sale 

--  Please note , when using a commercially smoked piece of pork DO NOT add any more salt.  I made that mistake once , and it was almost inedible.  

5 or 6 medium red or white onions             $3.00 for 10lbs = $ 0.60

2 large utility carrots                                    $ 3.00 for 10lbs = $ 0.25 

6 or 7 cloves of garlic                                   $ 3.00 for 3 heads = $ 0.50

3 hot dried chili ( You decide the heat here ... I should have used 6 !  )  

Chili Powder 

Black Pepper

Hot Sauce & Worcestershire Sauce 

1L of homemade Beef or chicken stock - prefer the beef  ( 4 cups ) - 

                                                   Total Cost $ Under $10.00  , or about 65 cents a serving 

Assemble your ingredients :)  Wash and peel the carrots 

I like to give the pork shoulder a good rinse first , to help remove any excess salt.  Then score the fat to the meat , using about 3/4 to 1" squares. 

IN a hot skillet, quickly give all the sides a little colour :)) 

Meanwhile , back at the slow cooker. I added the rough chopped carrots , beef stock , dried chili , Lea & Perrins, and some Bourbon Street Bad hot sauce for a southern kick :)   I set it to high for the first hour , then its slow and low the rest of the time!  Add a tablespoon or two of chili powder too 

Add the pork shoulder to the pot, lol and this is my BIG crock pot.  You my need to move things around a little :) 

IN the same pan I browned the pork in, give the onions and garlic a quick sizzle. Add them to the pot, and cover the lid.  Check back in a hour. 

IT should look something like this , and start to smell amazing . 

I ended up letting mine simmer for a good 8 hours,  you can get away with 4 or 6 .. but I like 8 .. makes it just fall  apart ! 

Remove the carrots , and get in there with a couple of serving forks.  Shred it well. 

Of course a sample is required to test the seasoning :)) 

Sampling the pulled pork ... plain so I can judge the flavours :))Mmmmm good!!  

Later I added some extras, a little red pepper, onion and mushrooms, on a toasted garlic ciabatta roll!!  

I also turned some into a loaded jacket potato :))
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/01/creative-leftovers-pulled-pork-n-beans.html

That's it ,  Its only about twenty minutes worth of work , and the rest is just waiting :))  Sampling is allowed so its all good :)) So what do you think of my latest Good Food , Cheap post ?  Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated :)  Happy Cooking !

Mardi Gras

Last night we headed to cocoa village for some dinner and drinks. We had no idea it was "mardi gras" down there! Needless to say we had a great night. Things like this won't happen once we become pregnant, and we both know this. We are taking full advantage while we still can.

A sweet band at Murdock's. They played some surf rock jams and some reggae.

Mardi Gras parade!!! This pirate ship float was definitely my favorite. We also found the secret entrance so we didn't have to pay. Score!

After the parade we caught a blues band. They were probably the best live blues band that I've ever seen! And check out this killer bass...just beautiful!

We had a great night with great people!