Monday, April 30, 2012

Risotto with asparagus & walnuts


Serves 4

This was a fantastic healthy dinner, and super easy to cook - you can't mess this up! We were going vegetarian that week, but I can imagine that you could sauté some chicken and throw it in if you so desired. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 & 3/4 cups risotto rice (see below)
2/3 cup dry white wine
6 & 3/4 hot vegetable broth
7 oz. asparagas stalks, cut into 2 inch lengths
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
salt and pepper
1 lemon, to garnish 
Parmesan cheese, to garnish

What is risotto rice, you ask? I had a hard time finding it at the store, but pick the rice that looks Italian. It is important to get this variety of rice, because it has a distinctive texture and regular rice will not cook right for this recipe. Here's the HEB brand:


Directions: 

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, until 
softened.

2. Add the rice and stir over medium heat for 1 minute, without browning. 

3. Add the wine and boil rapidly, stirring, until almost all evaporated. 

4. Stir the stock into the pan a ladleful at a time, letting each addition be absorbed before adding more. 

5. After 10 minutes, add the asparagus and continue cooking, adding stock when necessary. 

6. After an additional 5 minutes, test a grain of rice - it should be "al dente" or firm to the bite. 

7. Stir in the walnuts, then add salt and pepper to taste. 

8. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, adding a slice of lemon and parmesan cheese to each bowl. 



Enjoy! :) 







Friday, April 27, 2012

The Eating Experiment... and the Organic List.

A couple of weeks ago, Ian and I underwent a food experiment: we cut out all processed foods and red meat/chicken from our diet. I have been having stomach issues for awhile now, and have been taking acid reflux medicine for it. This was an effort to see if a change in what I ate affected how I feel... well BIG surprise... of course it did! Now, just as a side note: I wasn't eating terribly before this, I consider my diet to usually be average-American (not obese, average!)... casseroles, spaghetti and meatballs, hamburgers, that sort of thing. I think everyone knows there's a lot of crap in the food we buy at the grocery store... but everyone just chooses to live with it for convenience sake. Apparently, my body has been protesting, because since the experiment, I've gone 3 weeks without medicine and felt fine! 

So what have I learned from all of this, you ask? Certain things are worth the extra time and extra dimes to buy organic and make from scratch, other things not so much. For example, here is a list of produce you should try to buy organic vs. it doesn't matter (from http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214).

12 Most Contaminated by Pesticides (buy Organic!
  • Peaches
  • Apples
  • Sweet Bell Peppers
  • Celery
  • Nectarines
  • Strawberries
  • Cherries
  • Pears
  • Grapes (Imported)
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Potatoes
 
12 Least Contaminated by Pesticides (don't worry about it!)
  • Onions
  • Avocado
  • Sweet Corn (Frozen)
  • Pineapples
  • Mango
  • Asparagus
  • Sweet Peas (Frozen)
  • Kiwi Fruit
  • Bananas
  • Cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Papaya
So... I will be posting some of my favorite recipes from our week of experimenting... our menu was: 

Broiled Tilapia
Salmon Burgers
Walnut and Asparagas Risotto
Quick Veggie Soup
Mexican Bean Salad
Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Friday, March 23, 2012

Atlanta Aquarium

For Spring Break, Ian and I went to my parents house, and hour north of Atlanta. While we were there we visited the Atlanta Aquarium, which is one of the largest in the world. It was so good to see my family and I feel very blessed because I get to go back in a week! Yay! But, I wanted to share with you a few photos from the aquarium, because I was amazed by the marine life there.





The aquarium has a tunnel beneath it's biggest tank, so you get to see the underside of some really big fish!



Scary!

Whale Shark

Ian has nightmares about these Japanese spider crabs. They can grow to the size of a small car!

Dragon Seahorse

This octopus was so funny! He was hiding behind a rock, and when I pulled out my camera he slowly pulled himself out and made this pose. When I put the camera down, he immediately went into hiding again!

Name that movie! Hint... you can kind of see Nemo swimming by. 

Did you know Beluga Whales have belly buttons? Well, they do!

History is written by those who make the wake, not by those who ride on it, nor by those who watch safely from the shore. 

Don't they look plastic?

These frogs are super poisonous. Indians used to rub the tip of an arrow on their skin to infect prey.

And this one is poisonous enough to kill 10 humans.

Sad day.




My sweet mommy and me! Do we look related?


Have a fantastic weekend :)

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Easy Necklace


Ian and I were waiting for Lens Crafters to finish making his glasses last Sunday, so we were walking around the mall. Express was having a big sale, and miraculously, this tea dress that I fell in love with 3 months ago was there. Originally, it was $90, and I don't pay that much for clothes... but at the sale they had one left in my size for $25! I was so excited. But then... I didn't have a necklace to match it! So, I decided to make one...


Some women love shoes... I love jewelry. Unfortunately, it can be an expensive habit to maintain, so I've turned to making my own jewelry instead. The instructions for making an easy (and cheap!) necklace below will allow you to make a necklace on a gold or silver chain with whatever beads you choose... so yours may not look like mine. Here is what you will need (I recommend Hobby Lobby for this, but any craft store should have some variety).

Supplies:

Beads of your choosing... look at the hole size to make sure it will fit the chain you use.

Crimp Beads. They come in various sizes, choose a small or medium variety. Again, compare the hole size to the chain you pick out.

Jewelry Hardware... Pliers, Wire Cutters, and Needle Nose Pliers. You will only need the first two for this project. These are the mini size, which I prefer because jewelry parts can be tiny. I got this for $5 by using this coupon: http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/coupon.cfm . Both Hobby Lobby and Michael's usually have a 40% off coupon on the internet. Google it and save!
Open ended necklace. This variety is the easiest to work with, and it's called Slide-A-Bead. If you can't find it... no worries, I'll show you the traditional clasp style in a minute.




Instructions for Slide-A-Bead Chain:

1. Decide an order for your beads, and then string them on your chain:
2. Slide a crimp bead on the end of the chain.

3. Use your pliers to clamp down and squish it flat near the end (right past the part that slides into the tube to clasp the necklace) to keep the beads from sliding off.

4. That's it! Enjoy!




Instructions for Traditional Clasp Chain:

1. Decide an order for your beads, and then string them on your chain.

2. Thread the open end of the chain through the hole in the middle of the oyster-like crimp bead cover. If the chain is longer than you want your necklace to be, feel free to pull more or less chain through.
3. Slide a crimp bead where you want it, and use your pliers to clamp it flat. Then, use your wire cutters to cut off the extra chain.

4. Let the flat crimp bead sit in the oyster-like crimp bead cover, and use your pliers to close the oyster. Be gentle! I broke one by clamping it too hard.
5. You're done! Enjoy your necklace!


Extra Info:

1. Beads (and crafting supplies in general) can get expensive quickly! Michael's, Jo Ann's, and Hobby Lobby run sales quite often, so Google the store's weekly specials before you go. Everything I used for this project was at least 50% off.

2. It doesn't take very many beads to make this project, so don't over-buy! I had so many extra beads, I decided to make a second necklace to give away! Subscribe to my blog by entering your e-mail in the right side bar, and the 3rd person to subscribe will receive the give-away necklace!






Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Spring is Here! (Or at least... almost here!)



Hey! Many of my friends have personal blogs. I always kind of thought to myself... what's the point? But then... I find myself reading and looking forward to their posts. So I thought I'd join in on the fun, especially because Ian and I are on the countdown until we move to Bellingham, Washington in 77 days. Since we're leaving the rest of our family and friends here in Texas, I thought it might be fun to have an easy way for you to stay in the loop. I also intend to share my cooking and crafting adventures... as well as a few tips and tricks I learn on here as well! Stay tuned...

How can you not love a kitty like that??? She must have had some pretty exciting adventures last night... And, as for Ian and I... we didn't intend to match today, I promise! But we looked so cute together I just had to take a picture :)