- Nasal Rinse. If you have a cold, sinus infection, or otherwise snotty nose you MUST use this.
- Bagel Making. Who knew it was so easy?!
- Africa. It pretty much speaks for itself but have your friend of 17 years there and it's even better!
- M.
- Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD. She will kick your butt over and over again and you'll keep coming back for more.
- My Sewing Machine. From aprons to Halloween costumes, this machine does it all!
- Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I don't know how I ever lived without one before now and if you like to make bread, this will make you love to make bread.
- Apple Cake. Heaven in a cake. Even better toasted and buttered.
- Pandora.com Only the best online mix of music. Too bad they have started to stop the streaming every 20 minutes or so if you don't click on their web page.
- Snow. Living on the east coast means real live snow and it's still just as wonderful as the first time I saw it falling.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Year's Top Ten
Now, in no particular order here are the . . .
Top Ten Things that Rocked My World This Year
Monday, December 29, 2008
KitchenAid Rapid Mix Cool Rise White Bread
Big Red is the new stand mixer that I received for Christmas. I was determined to try out the different attachments as soon as possible so I decided to try my hand at bread. To avoid my inability to knead I usually make my bread in my bread machine, downside is that my bread machine only produces cylindrical loaves, not great for sandwiches other then Bologna. Now, with Big Red's help, I can make dough in a snap and it comes out looking like an actual loaf of bread. The part I liked most about this recipe was opening the fridge after a couple of hours to see two perfectly risen loaves of unbaked bread, the smell during baking was even better.
Ingredients
Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer. Leaving dough in mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in greased 8 x 4 x 2 inch baking pans. Brush each loaf with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 400F while letting dough stand at room temperature. Uncover dough and puncture any gas bubbles which may have formed. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden on top. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3-1/2 tsp salt
- 3 packages active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup butter - softened
- 2 cups very warm water (120 F to 130 F)
Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer. Leaving dough in mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in greased 8 x 4 x 2 inch baking pans. Brush each loaf with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 400F while letting dough stand at room temperature. Uncover dough and puncture any gas bubbles which may have formed. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden on top. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Enjoy!
Mom's Apple Cake
I have been absolutely in love with this recipe for the past month. I made it the first time for my boyfriend's siblings, the second time for the potluck at work and the third time for my boyfriend's mom and aunt. It has gotten rave reviews from all around. That being said, you simply must try this recipe. It is a breeze with an apple slicer which I now believe everyone should own. This cake will dissapear very quickly but if you have the chance to take a slice, toast and butter it, I promise you will not regret it.
Mom's Apple Cake Ingredients
from Smitten Kitchen
6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples
1 tbsp cinnamon
5 tbsp sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil***
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a tube pan. Peel apples and slice using an apple slicer. Cut each slice into chunks. In a medium bowl toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Layer Method
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.
Combined Method
Mix batter with cinnamon apples. Pour into prepared tube pan or approximately three loaf pans (batter should come halfway up the container it is poured into). Bake for 1 1/2 hours for tube pan or approximately 1 hour for loaf pans or until a tester comes out clean.
***I have been tempted to tweak this recipe to lower the fat by substituting apple sauce for some of the oil. If you did this I would imagine you would have to lower the sugar to balance the sweetness of the apple sauce. It might also give the cake an even better apple flavor. I have not tried it myself because the original is just so tasty but if I continue to eat it at the rate I am, I just might have to.
Mom's Apple Cake Ingredients
from Smitten Kitchen
6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples
1 tbsp cinnamon
5 tbsp sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil***
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a tube pan. Peel apples and slice using an apple slicer. Cut each slice into chunks. In a medium bowl toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Layer Method
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.
Combined Method
Mix batter with cinnamon apples. Pour into prepared tube pan or approximately three loaf pans (batter should come halfway up the container it is poured into). Bake for 1 1/2 hours for tube pan or approximately 1 hour for loaf pans or until a tester comes out clean.
***I have been tempted to tweak this recipe to lower the fat by substituting apple sauce for some of the oil. If you did this I would imagine you would have to lower the sugar to balance the sweetness of the apple sauce. It might also give the cake an even better apple flavor. I have not tried it myself because the original is just so tasty but if I continue to eat it at the rate I am, I just might have to.
I must have been really good this year
I have to say my 4-day Christmas Vacation was pretty awesome.
Not only did I get one of these:
But I also got one of these:
The low-light of the weekend was almost sending myself to the ER and burning a hole through the arm of my bath robe. You see I was baking apple cranberry crumble pies and when I went to take them out of the oven I misjudged how close my arm was to the heating element on the top of the oven. Lucky for me the bath robe protected my arm. Unfortunately the bath robe now has a huge burn hole in the sleeve. Lucky for me my friends here in Alexandria gave me a new bath robe for Christmas.
The highlight of the weekend was using the stand mixer. I couldn't wait to get it out of the box which meant that M benefited from ultimate chocolate chip cookies and homemade white bread this weekend. As he says, it was an instant return-on-investment. I'm looking forward to making bagel dough in the mixer as it is a little tedious by hand and also trying out foccacia bread. Ever since college I have wanted to make that at home.
Not only did I get one of these:
But I also got one of these:
The low-light of the weekend was almost sending myself to the ER and burning a hole through the arm of my bath robe. You see I was baking apple cranberry crumble pies and when I went to take them out of the oven I misjudged how close my arm was to the heating element on the top of the oven. Lucky for me the bath robe protected my arm. Unfortunately the bath robe now has a huge burn hole in the sleeve. Lucky for me my friends here in Alexandria gave me a new bath robe for Christmas.
The highlight of the weekend was using the stand mixer. I couldn't wait to get it out of the box which meant that M benefited from ultimate chocolate chip cookies and homemade white bread this weekend. As he says, it was an instant return-on-investment. I'm looking forward to making bagel dough in the mixer as it is a little tedious by hand and also trying out foccacia bread. Ever since college I have wanted to make that at home.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Chocolate Death Cookies
Alright, so these cookies are actually Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Chip Cookies but after making and eating them I have renamed them Chocolate Death Cookies because, honestly, you will die from the level of chocolate in them. They are really really rich and sweet, so consider yourself warned.
If you do decide to embark on making these do note that they are crunchy cookies with an almost meringue like consistency. But they are delicious, in fact they are all I have been thinking about all day. Also note that the recipe is written to be used with a stand mixer, as that was my awesome Christmas present this year. But I have included regular steps for those who are without.
Ingredients
In your standing mixer bowl with paddle attachment (or large bowl with electric mixer or whisk) beat eggs and sugar at speed 4 until thick. Once thick add chocolate/butter mixture on stir speed. Staying on stir speed, add flour and baking powder until combined. Then add chocolate chips and walnuts. (If you don't have a mixer just stir in ingredients until combined)
Using plastic wrap form dough into two logs, 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. Wrap tightly and place in refrigerator until solid, approximately 1 hour. ***Dough may be frozen and saved for later use, thaw in refrigerator before baking.***
Heat oven to 375F. Unwrap dough and with a sharp knife cut into 3/4 inch thick slices. Place slices on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top. Cool on baking sheet and store in airtight container up to 1 week.
If you do decide to embark on making these do note that they are crunchy cookies with an almost meringue like consistency. But they are delicious, in fact they are all I have been thinking about all day. Also note that the recipe is written to be used with a stand mixer, as that was my awesome Christmas present this year. But I have included regular steps for those who are without.
Ingredients
- 11 1/2 ounces 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips or 12 ounces 60% chocolate bar broken into pieces
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
In your standing mixer bowl with paddle attachment (or large bowl with electric mixer or whisk) beat eggs and sugar at speed 4 until thick. Once thick add chocolate/butter mixture on stir speed. Staying on stir speed, add flour and baking powder until combined. Then add chocolate chips and walnuts. (If you don't have a mixer just stir in ingredients until combined)
Using plastic wrap form dough into two logs, 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. Wrap tightly and place in refrigerator until solid, approximately 1 hour. ***Dough may be frozen and saved for later use, thaw in refrigerator before baking.***
Heat oven to 375F. Unwrap dough and with a sharp knife cut into 3/4 inch thick slices. Place slices on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top. Cool on baking sheet and store in airtight container up to 1 week.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Ding Dong Brrrrr!
This morning it was 1F. Okay so it was really 17F with a windchill to 1F but still it was really cold. With yesterday being the official start of winter I guess this is to be expected but it doesn't mean I have to like it. If only it would get back to the 30s again. <---- I can't believe this California girl really just typed that!
Today I also got to install my wireless door bell at work. It's so much fun! In case you are confused as to why a dietitian would need a doorbell, here's the story. When patients arrive they check in at the front desk. The front desk person then prints an encounter, attaches it to the patients chart and then puts the chart in my box. My box is located near the front desk; outside of my office through a door and around the corner. So in order to see whether my patients were here I used to have to get up every five minutes and walk over to check my box. Which meant that if a patient didn't show up I spent the half hour constantly checking my box instead of getting on with other work. Now that there's a doorbell, the front desk staff simply rings the doorbell when they put a chart in my box. So I can stay in my office and get work done instead of constantly checking to see if my patients are there. It's really exciting.
Today I also got to install my wireless door bell at work. It's so much fun! In case you are confused as to why a dietitian would need a doorbell, here's the story. When patients arrive they check in at the front desk. The front desk person then prints an encounter, attaches it to the patients chart and then puts the chart in my box. My box is located near the front desk; outside of my office through a door and around the corner. So in order to see whether my patients were here I used to have to get up every five minutes and walk over to check my box. Which meant that if a patient didn't show up I spent the half hour constantly checking my box instead of getting on with other work. Now that there's a doorbell, the front desk staff simply rings the doorbell when they put a chart in my box. So I can stay in my office and get work done instead of constantly checking to see if my patients are there. It's really exciting.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Time for Change
Despite having a sinus infection and mucous the color of yellow highlighter, it's been a good week thus far. I had a meeting with my boss yesterday to discuss my position at the clinic and I feel that it was very successful. We touched on a lot of topics that have been bothering me for sometime and I feel like she listened and acknowledged what I had to say. Whether things will change or not, only time will tell, but at least I have said what I needed to. Moving forward I think I will be able to do more of what I like and less of what I don't like. Always a plus in my book!
This week I have also discovered the wonders of Christmas shopping online. I haven't set foot in a shopping mall in a very long time and was actually dreading getting all my Christmas shopping done. Until I realized that with a few clicks here and there I could complete all my shopping online. In about 20 minutes. Yeah, I know I'm a little slow at this realization but better late then never, right?! I still have a few Secret Santa gifts to purchase but the family is done and for that I am relieved. Unfortunately I won't be there to see the looks on their faces as they unwrap their presents but I am sure they will tell me all about it over the phone.
This week I have also discovered the wonders of Christmas shopping online. I haven't set foot in a shopping mall in a very long time and was actually dreading getting all my Christmas shopping done. Until I realized that with a few clicks here and there I could complete all my shopping online. In about 20 minutes. Yeah, I know I'm a little slow at this realization but better late then never, right?! I still have a few Secret Santa gifts to purchase but the family is done and for that I am relieved. Unfortunately I won't be there to see the looks on their faces as they unwrap their presents but I am sure they will tell me all about it over the phone.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Nutrition Group Classes
Today I remembered what it is that I like about out-patient nutrition counseling . . .the group classes. Group classes allow the patients to interact not only with you but also with the other patients that have similar medical conditions. The patients joke, commiserate, learn and grow together. It's awesome and honestly it's the first time that I have been left with a smile on my face after working with Adults for a long time.
Today was my first Diabetes nutrition class. Usually I counsel the adults one-on-one for half an hour sessions. Today I attempted to counsel 10 adults in one hour. I say attempted because unfortunately the weather was against me and only three showed up, but still it was tons of fun. I even had my new 3D food models to show them visually what 1/3 of a cup of brown rice really looks like. It's funny to see how shocked they are when they think about how much they usually eat!
But seriously, from here out group classes are the only thing I want to teach. Forget one on one counseling, or only make it one day a week. Group teaching is not as tiring as saying the same thing over and over again to different people all day long. Plus you get energy off of the group you have at your table, not all the time but I would hazard to say the majority of the classes. This reminds me why I wasn't so opposed to my nutrition rotation at Kaiser out-patient in Los Angeles.
Today was my first Diabetes nutrition class. Usually I counsel the adults one-on-one for half an hour sessions. Today I attempted to counsel 10 adults in one hour. I say attempted because unfortunately the weather was against me and only three showed up, but still it was tons of fun. I even had my new 3D food models to show them visually what 1/3 of a cup of brown rice really looks like. It's funny to see how shocked they are when they think about how much they usually eat!
But seriously, from here out group classes are the only thing I want to teach. Forget one on one counseling, or only make it one day a week. Group teaching is not as tiring as saying the same thing over and over again to different people all day long. Plus you get energy off of the group you have at your table, not all the time but I would hazard to say the majority of the classes. This reminds me why I wasn't so opposed to my nutrition rotation at Kaiser out-patient in Los Angeles.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Can Today Get Any Better?
So I don't want to jinx it but today has been a really good day.
- Despite being rainy it's 60 degrees outside.
- Two of today's patients have lost between 6-8 pounds in the past 6 weeks. And one of these patients was a patient that has been unmotivated to change for the past four months.
- I was able to get a substitute for work on Saturday so I can go out of town for the day.
- I'm going to the Caps hockey game tonight.
- I don't have to empty out my kitchen for roach treatment this Friday. I've actually not even seen a baby roach for the past four months.
- I got super cute pictures of Paige's little boys in the mail.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Weather Rollercoaster
Yesterday it was 27F. Today it's 50F. Tomorrow they say it will be 60F. But don't worry at the weekend it will be back to 30F. What is going on here?
Monday, December 08, 2008
It Snowed!
It sure did! Yesterday, or maybe it was Saturday. Either way it snowed and I saw it. We've been having a few random snow flurries here and there recently but since my office doesn't have a window I had missed them all. But I saw this one. It was awesome. It even stuck on the cars for a little bit.
This morning it was 27F. Brrrr.
This morning it was 27F. Brrrr.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Skillet Scramble
The best way to use up leftover ingredients when you have a little extra time in the morning is to throw them all in the skillet. You could even add some shredded cheese over the top if you desire. Adjust amounts based on the number of people you plan to serve.
Ingredients
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bacon, and potatoes to skillet. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove onion, bacon and potatoes from skillet and cook eggs in skillet. Place on top of potato mixture and enjoy.
Ingredients
- onion, diced
- bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
- potatoes, cubed
- eggs
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bacon, and potatoes to skillet. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove onion, bacon and potatoes from skillet and cook eggs in skillet. Place on top of potato mixture and enjoy.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
All Clear
My house is finally void of Thanksgiving visitors. On Monday I took my parents to the airport and last night I took Olive the cat back to her house. I have to say it's kinda weird walking around my apartment with no one else there. I still hear the neighbors above and the people outside but it's definitely quite without parents or a cat around.
Monday, December 01, 2008
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