Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Happy T-Day and B-day!

I hope you all had a very relaxing and blessed Thanksgiving day and weekend. Tim and I were lucky to be able to spend Tofurkey day :) with some new friends from the church we have been attending, Portico Arlington (www.porticoarlington.org). We had quite a spread and I tried a new recipe which turned out pretty tasty. It’s called Pueblo Corn Pie and I have included the recipe below. I have decided to begin posting recipes I think are good enough for you all to make at home. Now that’s saying something!

 From Nava Atlas’ “Vegan Holiday Kitchen”

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium green or red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
  • 2 1/4 cups canned or cooked pinto beans
  • 2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes or one 14- to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, lightly drained
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup grated non-dairy Cheddar-style cheese + more for sprinkling on top (I just used regular Cheddar cheese)
  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, and cook over medium heat until translucent.
  2. Add the garlic and bell pepper, and continue to cook until the onion is golden brown.
  3. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, and seasonings. Stir well, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat.
  4. Bring 5 cups of water to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan or round Dutch oven.
  5. Slowly pour the cornmeal into the water in a thin, steady stream, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.
  6. Add the salt, and cook over low heat, covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  8. Oil a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish, and line the bottom with half the cooked cornmeal. Pour the skillet mixture in, and gently pat it in evenly. Sprinkle with the cheese (if using). Top with the remaining cornmeal.
  9. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cornmeal is golden brown and crusty. Add a sprinkle of cheese on top for the last 10 minutes of baking. Let stand for 10 minutes, then cut into squares to serve.
We also celebrated Tim’s 28th birthday on the night of Thanksgiving. Since he isn’t a huge “normal birthday cake” person, but loves fruit, I decided to make him a caramel apple cake. Oh yes... it was delish. In case you were wondering, the photos of the food came from the website (mine didn’t look quite this good :)...but almost!)  PS…if you are not on Pinterest (www.pinterest.com), you are totally missing out. That site is the most incredible place to find wonderful recipes and fantastic ideas. I have found pretty much all of my recipes there! I know you want the apple cake recipe, so here it is:



Caramel Apple Cake:
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples
  • 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
Brown Sugar Glaze:
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
For the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch pan (round or square) and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer until light in color and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well.
Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place the hot cake on a wire cake. While it's still hot, prepare the glaze. 

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan. 


The day after Thanksgiving, our friend Erik Torrez flew in and stayed until Saturday morning. He is a pilot for Delta and had an overnight in DC, so it worked out well for us! It was so fun to have an old friend to catch up with. We hope to be seeing him more often.


On Saturday afternoon, Tim and I were “tourists” in DC. We visited the Smithsonian castle, then headed through the National Mall to the Jefferson, FDR and George Mason memorials. We ended with the newest attraction in DC (opened October 16, 2011), the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial. We have been fortunate that the weather has been so lovely and not cold at all, so we can comfortably enjoy the sites around us!




Sunday after church, we drove to Ticonderoga Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our Christmas Tree! After much deliberation and after all the trees started to look about the same, we finally decided on this nice white pine. Tim kind of reminds me of a lumberjack in this photo! :)


After the tree adventure, we came home and relaxed...and tried to get ready for the “long” week ahead. I always think the week after a holiday week seems so much longer! I made manicotti, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, as well as these ridiculously easy treats. I cannot believe I have never thought of this myself. Sheesh.

No Bake Energy Bites
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
** I did not have coconut or chocolate chips, so I substituted 1 cup dried cranberries (or you could do raisins or dates or something) and 1/2 cup slivered almonds and I left out the vanilla this time. Mmm they are so easy and good and healthy…and quite addicting!

Stay tuned later this week for a sneak peek of our wedding pictures...yep, they are finished...all 945 of them :) I'll sort through and pick some of my favorites to post!

Until next time...

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

1st Monthiversary

Today is our 1 month anniversary! It is hard to believe we have only been married a month…the wedding seems like it was so long ago. Perhaps because so much has changed since that wonderful day!

Tim has been keeping busy with work, he comes home and tells me about the new cases he is working on. I try to follow along, but sometimes when “lawyer Tim” appears, “non-lawyer Asha” has a hard time tracking, especially with all the terms that are only used in the legal profession. I have to ask him to define about every third word. Sometimes I do that right back to him using medical terminology, and then the tables are turned!

I have just finished applying for both my Maryland and Virginia PTA license. I decided to apply to both states since we are literally a few minutes (just across the Potomac River) from Maryland, and this way I will have more options as far as jobs go. It was quite a process (and some days, a huge headache) especially with the name change …but I finally got it all finished! 

We do not have cable at our house, instead we opted for Netflix. The other day we watched a documentary called “Forks over Knives,” it was very interesting and gives a lot to think about! This is taken from the synopsis:
“Forks over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960’s with producing ‘high quality’ animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed. These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented – and in many cases reversed – by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public. The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced “nature’s perfect food,” to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments – while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.”

Also because of no cable, we don't get any of the Bears games, much to the disappointment of my die-hard-Bears-fan husband. Luckily, we have found a sports bar just a few minutes from our house that has a regular crowd of Bears fans that go to watch the games every week. Here we are in our matching jerseys…..oh yes…awwww…. :)

 
This past weekend, we visited Roosevelt Island. It’s pretty interesting: the Teddy Roosevelt memorial is in the middle of this island, surrounded by several different trails. We walked a few trails, then relaxed with a picnic by the Potomac, using our new picnic bag from the Hinkle’s!






Thanksgiving is this week! Our first Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. We plan to spend it with friends from church, and then host our first overnight guest, Erik Torrez, who will stay with us Friday night! He is a pilot and has to fly out of DC on Saturday. Old Town Alexandria has tons of activities the day after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season, so we plan on going to check it out! There are also lots of fun things going on across the river at the National Harbor…that place is unbelievable (http://www.nationalharbor.com/intro.htm).

Thanksgiving day is also Tim’s 28th birthday! So that’s double the reasons to be thankful and rejoice in all that God has blessed us with.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Until next time...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

We are here!

Hello everyone! Well, the wedding is over, the honeymoon is over, and we have moved to Alexandria, Virginia! Today actually marks 2 weeks since we officially inhabited our new home! We flew directly to DC from Barbados arriving very late on November 1, and the moving truck arrived the next morning. The photo below depicts our late night run to McDonald's and coming back to our first night in our empty house!
I am finally getting our blog up and going... it has taken me awhile for a few reasons:
1. We have been insanely busy getting things around, getting the house settled, unpacked, semi-organized, buying things we don't have, grocery shopping, etc. My mind is still swimming with things I need to get done!
2. I am trying to learn how to be a “housewife.” I am not good at this (for some reason I thought it would just come naturally?! Ha...right...). I hope to get better! Even though I love the Food Network and am a self proclaimed foodie, I am not so great at cooking, especially things that I don’t normally eat. Prior to being married, I would sort of graze all day long, but now that I have a hungry husband, I have to make real meals...or I feel like I should feed the poor guy after he comes home from working all day. He’s a pretty good eater, which is nice, but I’m just not used to having to cook like this. And as many of you know, I don’t eat meat and Tim does…so that presents a challenge in and of itself. I have cooked mainly all vegetarian so far (don’t judge, it’s been delicious: butternut squash pesto pizza; tofu teriyaki stir-fry; black bean enchiladas; penne with roasted vegetables…), which surprisingly Tim has enjoyed. I did attempt chicken (which terrified me), and Tim said turned out decent! I have a few other things lined up for this next week, so we’ll see. Meal planning and grocery shopping (which I love!) have taken up hours of my time…I do enjoy it but it is quite time consuming!
3. Changing my name on everything has taken MUCH longer than I anticipated. On top of that, many documents and records are still in my maiden name, which poses some problems when making phone calls.
4. Tim began work last Monday at the Department of Justice in DC. It is quite a change from his previous job, but so far he is enjoying it. He had last Friday off for Veteran's Day, so we made the most of the weekend and visited Great Falls Park for a nice hike. We are trying to soak up all the countless opportunities and activities that Northern Virginia and DC have to offer!

Things I’ve learned since living in Northern Virginia (this list will grow as I experience more of life here):
-Unlike Kansas roads, here there are normally at least 3-4 lanes going each way...the most we have seen are 6 each direction.
-People make U-turns all the time. Even 18 wheelers, right there in the middle of the road. It is kind of terrifying at times.
-It is pretty common to be sitting at a red light, watch it change to green, then back to red again ...and you have not moved at all.
-It is incredibly beautiful here. The rolling hills and colonial aura are so fun. The changing leaves on the trees take my breath away. It is good to live in a place with so much access to outdoor activities. LOVE!
-There are a dangerous amount of restaurants and coffee shops I’m dying to try.
-We live about 10 minutes down the street from the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery and 15 minutes from Mount Vernon. Fun for when visitors come!
-I really enjoy my weekly dates with TJ...Trader Joe's, that is! That place is phenomenal.

Until next time...