10 Things

1.  Music movie montage - makes me happy do ya wanna dance?
2.  Weather is getting warm  - glad we have a swamp cooler.
3.  Gotta put cages on tomatoes and hill the potatoes.
4.  Need to buy Harry Potter Tickets - Can't wait!
5.  Fourth of July weekend... already?  Really?
6.  Got to get back to the gym.
7.  Presidency meeting tomorrow - lots to talk about.
8.  Stampin UP convention 15 days away - YIKES and YAY.
9.  Need to make a hair appointment - cut and highlights.
10.  Salmon and green bean panzanella - recipe coming

Ta Ta for now

 

New Adventures With Seeds?

Nope, I am not planting a garden...already did that.  I am talking about Quinoa.  It has become quite popular recently, so Ralph and I thought we would try it.  First time - didn't turn out so great.  Second time - yummy.  Things I learned.
1. Quinoa needs to be rinsed well.  Even the boxed  stuff you buy off the shelf or from the bulk bin at your health food store needs to be rinsed.    It has a bitter like resin coating called saponin.  You can tell it is on the seed when you rinse because it creates a soapy like suds.  Believe it or not in South America the saponin is used for detergent.  Yes.. rinse well
2.  The Quinoa seed is full of things that are good for you.  High in protein, calcium and iron.  It is a good source of vitamin E and several B vitamins.  It contains all 8 essential amino acids which is great for human tissue development.  It is exceptionally high in lycine, cystine and methionine.  (these are good for people who get cold sores - helps prevent.  Trust me I know)
3.  Quinoa does have a higher fat content than other grains/seeds, but it is good fat.  It is also gluten free for those with wheat problems

Now...with that out of the way here is a recipe I used that I think is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 1/2 C quinoa
1 1/2 C cooked black beans (1 can equals about that amount)
1 1/2 T red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 1/2 C cooked corn (cut from about 2 large ears - or you can use frozen)
3/4 C chopped bell pepper - I used red, orange, yellow and green
2 stalks of celery - chopped
1/2 small red onion - chopped (1/3 to 1/2 C)
2 pickled jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped (I did not add this - didn't have any on the shelf)
quartered grape tomatoes - as many or as little as you want
avocado - as much or as little as you want
1/4 C chopped cilantro
*I added one large breast of chicken cubed and cooked.  You could also add steak sliced thinkly or shrimp or any other animal protein that suits your fancy
** Ralph added fresh chopped cucumber and loved the addition.

Dressing:
1 Clove garlic minced
5 Tbls fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin - or to taste
1/3 C olive oil

In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve.

In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary).

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, and coriander and toss well.

Make dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.   Add the tomatoes and avocado to the salad just before serving - that way they don't go mushy :)

Ta Ta for now

$1.00 Sandwich

So yesterday Jimmy Johns celebrated their customers by offering sandwiches #1 - #6 from their menu for $1.00.  I love their sandwiches and I have my favorites.  The Vito and the Gargantuan are at the top.

My friend Allison from work and I hopped the TRAX train down to Broadway to see how long the line was.  We knew that if the line was too long we could always go to Rich's burgers which is too stores to the east and they are so yummy.  It was a win win situation. 

We arrived and saw the line wrapping around the corner of the building for about 15 yards.  We knew that JJ processed orders quickly so we were hopeful.  We asked some customers leaving the shop how long they waited.  They said 20 minutes and the line was much shorter now.   Allison and I knew that we could wait that long for a Vito so we got in line with all of the rest of the crazy JJ fans.

 

We only waited 12 minutes and we were able to sit in the air conditioned store and enjoy every bite.   YAY for customer appreciation days, Yay for friends that do things together and YAY for me!

Ta Ta for now

Angry Birds

So, it wasn't too long ago that I learned about a game app, that you could down load to iphones and the like, called Angry birds.  My confession is that I have never played it, but my nieces and nephews love to play it. 

It just so happened that we had a birthday celebration to attend, so I thought based on some cards others I  have seen, I would try and create an angry birds birthday card.

This is what I came up with

 I used mostly my Stampin UP punches.  The words were typed out on the computer using an "angry birds" font.  I think it was well received. 

We had the old stand by of Aunt Vinnies chocolate cake and gummy bears on top.  The kids love having Grandma make their birthday cake and I think she loves being able to make it for them.

Too much fun.  I gotta get working on my swaps for convention as well as more birthday cards.  June and July I get hit pretty hard with the projects.  Still love it!

Ta Ta for now

Pictures of Riley and Sadie Belle

We took Sadie Belle to her new home over Memorial Day weekend.  Here are a few shots of her and Riley playing it up.  She loves to chew on his jowls and his ears.  I guess they are easy access.  He was so gentle with her and I think he enjoyed the playmate.

While we were in Idaho Riley developed a strange little wart growth inbetween his toes on his front paw.  He actually has those growths once in a great while and they never bother him.  Well...they have never been between his toes before.  He licked and licked and licked until it was raw.  I didn't really want to take him to the vet for a cone of shame, so we put neosporin on the sore - wrapped it in gauze and then borrowed one of Moms thin trouser socks to put on his foot to keep him from licking the sore raw.  The sock worked pretty good, he still licked it, but he couldn't get to the skin.  By they time we went home it was getting better and within a week the growth was gone.  Here is a picture of his little boot with the red tie that he had to wear.  We are so thankful that Riley's Grandma gave up a pair of socks for him.

These last two are of Sadie Belle - isn't she a cutie

Here she is in Mom's robe pocket.  She is a perfect fit.

What a cute little puppy belly.  Just want to kiss it.  It has been a long day - sacked out !

New Diggs

So while I was in GV visiting my Mom over Memorial Day weekend she took me into "town" to show me the changes that had taken place.  There is a brand new library, and the little shop there in the center of town is moving into a much bigger facility,.  The pictures were taken from my front seat of the cars, so they are not great, but gives you the idea.

This is the old Crouch Merc still in use and will be converted to something once the grocery portion moves to it's new facility

 New Store - I am not sure what it will be called, but so much more of a selection.   The prices have been reasonable too - maybe not so many trips to Boise when it gets finished.

 Old Library - completely boarded up.  Lots of childhood memories in that old building

.New Library - This is a sweet new facility.  Not a great selection of books, but they can order any book in that you want to read.  They also have a great community/meeting room that can be used.  A great kids section.  What I liked most was the two big leather couches by a big old fireplace.  I could totally see myself hunkered down for some quiet time and a good book.

I also have new Diggs for work.  We are hopefully in our final resting place.  It is nice and hopefully will stay that way as they continue to hire new people.  If you click on the picture you can see my Thor cup right in front of my CPU.  LOL

We spent half of Friday and half of Monday moving.  The last half of Monday and all of Tuesday our main computer system broke, so they sent us home early on Tuesday so that we didn't have to sit at our desks and twiddle our thumbs.  Those moving days were unique as we got to wear jeans to pack up and unpack our things.  My honest opinion is that dresses are more comfortable.  Now....I have a lot of catching up to do.  Month end reports are right around the corner.  YIKES!


Ta Ta for now

Satans Beverage

Ok, maybe that is too strong of a description, but it is a temptation that I cannot resist. 

So one of my favorite beverages is a certain flavor of soda pop.  I know you are thinkin Dr Pepper and yes that is one of my favorites, but I would have to say this particular flavor trumps the Dr.   Mountain Dew came out with it several years ago - one of their many fruity drinks that are so not good for you.  I don't even care for Mountain Dew as it is so sweet and so caffeinated I usually feel sick when I have had some.  I am not sure what prompted Ralph and I originally to try it, but it became a favorite that was saved for a treat.  Mountain Dew took it off the shelf not much after that and I have missed it greatly.

It just so happened as I was buying a few things to take on a road trip I noticed this drink in one of the small coolers by the checkout stand.  I purchased four of them and was tempted to clean the store out.  I resisted and was so excited to get home and share my find with Ralph.  We saved them for the trip and enjoyed every sip of this sweet nectar as we drank them over ice out of my 7-11 Thor cups. 

The Mountain Dew folks have brought it back - unfortuntely only temporarily, but I will imbibe and stock the pantry shelves until it is no longer available.  Poured over ice it is one of my favorites.  Citrusy Grape yumminess.  A weakness that is so not good for me.  Thus the name we have dubbed this drink. 

For those that care...we do have power restored to most of the home.  Our laundry room has some live wires somewhere.  Ralph got quite a jolt when he went to plug the washer in and finish what he started.  So...the electrician is coming back tomorrow to do some more "research"  LOL 

Could Someone Please Turn the Lights On

Yesterday morning Ralph called to inform me that the power was out at the house...except for half of the kitchen and half of the TV room.  The owner had taken the day off yesterday to get the swamp cooler hooked up and do a couple of fixes on the property.  Ralph told the owner of our dilemma, but for some reason it didn't sink in as a major problem until around 4ish that afternoon when he asked Ralph what was wrong with the outlet the microwave was plugged in to.  DUH!!!!  After looking at the breakes, they figured there had probably been a power surge to the property and the breakers needed to be replaced.  Well the wiring is so old, they have to be purchased form a specialty store.

Fortunately, a friend of ours had invited us over for a barbecue so we didn't have to worry about that.  She served us burgers with all the fixings and corn on the cob.  With ice cream and berries for dessert.  We were spoiled.  After dinner we came home to unload the fridge and take the contents up to the family compound to be stored in a spare fridge until we have power restored to our home.

As of now, the breakers have been replaced and guess what....we still don't have power.  The owner is now consulting a professional electrician.