Kelly is 30!!!

My cousin Kelly turns 30 today! Happy Birthday Kelly!!! We celebrated by having dinner at Azia, along with all of Kelly's favorite friends and family. Azia was a great restaurant and the food was delicious. Our other cousn Chris also made an appearance, along with his new lady friend Jen... who is hilarious and adorable. It was a great night and I'm glad I could be there to ring in this milestone with my dear sweet cousin. Happy Birthday!

St. Francis

The Prayer of Saint Francis

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light, and Where there is sorrow, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

My friend Diana has this prayer posted on her blog today, and since this prayer of St. Francis is one my favorites too, I thought i would "borrow" it from her. Saint Francis of Assisi was a monk who had a deep love for animals and nature, something I have as well. But more than anything I think the beauty of this prayer is that it is simple in truth, yet rich in meaning. Sarah McLachlan made this prayer into a song and it is so beautiful. I hope that my life can always be an expression of this prayer... even though some days I fail miserably. Bad moods, bad feelings, bad attitudes. I wish I could be sweet and cheerful all the time, kind and giving and joyful. But life happens, and then what? Thank God for grace and that His mercy is new every morning. It's a journey, so i still have miles to go, and that ok too. Perfection is overrated anyway!

There ain't no party like a Natasha party!

As per request of my father's sister's daughter, I am blogging about America's Next Top Model. Last night was the first elimination of this cycle. (cover your eyes, spoiler alert!) Mila went home! And unfortunately, on my elimination pick list I had picked Mila as going home later in the show! Kelly leads with the most points, followed by Kyle and then yours truly! But I will make my comeback cause Kyle can't pick models worth a crap! One other noteworthy point is that all the models this cycle are just s0-s0. There are definitely no Natashas this time. Long live the Russian mail order bride! Meow!

BTW, I did my good deed today, by picking up 3 nails in the CUB foods parking lot. I have had the misfortune of having a nail in my tire on more than one occasion. So I just didn't want that to happen to anyone else.

Tonight my father's sister's daughter and my father's sister's daughter's husband are having me over for a little Office party! Vlach on!

Harvest Moon

I have a hard time getting up in the morning, when my bed is nice and toasty and it's still dark out. I just want to cocoon myself in my blankets and sleep until the sun comes up. The upside of getting up so early, is that I can witness beautiful sunrises and like this morning a big beautiful pumpkin looking harvest moon! What a treat to view such beauty early in the morning, I guess it makes up for having to get up early. I love big glowing orange moons, the best one i ever saw was when I was living in New Hampshire... beautiful and bountiful rising over the white mountains. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago I moved to NH, basically on a whim, or maybe it was my 20 year old naivety? Now at 30, I am quite impressed with myself for making such a bold move. Moving to a new state, to a place i had never been to, and i didn't know a soul! Who does that? But I suppose at that age what did I have to lose? What I gained in a year of moving to a new place is irreplaceable, my boldness in going still amazes me. Given the opportunity now, I wonder if I could so easily pack up and move some place new? At 20 I had nothing more than my clothes and a few possessions, now I have way more than that. But at the same time, I hope I am never too "stuck" in one place that if the opportunity was given I wouldn't be able to jump on board. Change isn't easy, but it can be the best thing for you. Life is too short to just sit back and watch it all go by!

"Given a chance and a rock, see which one breaks a window, and see which one keeps me up all night and into the day." ~derek webb

Speaking of glorious New Hampshire, another blessing of that journey was the meeting of Rachel, by BFF... and I am most excited because last night I booked my ticket and come October 11, I am on my way to see her! It has almost been 2 years since I've last seen her, and that is 2 years too long! Charlsh & Platypus back together again.

Is is really autumn? Oh how i love the way the trees look these days... Here are some autumn scenes from NH. Enjoy.

Holy Habanero Hotness!

Chili Peppers just ain't cuttin' it anymore. My taste buds crave something with a little bit more kick. I have moved on to the habanero and literally there has been a full out assault in my mouth! Um, but just don't rub your eyes after chopping up one of these bad boys, I learned that lesson the hard way! I am going to try my hand at drying the habeneros and making them into crushed pepper flakes! My only fear now is that I will out grow the heat level of the hab and then what will I do? Am I setting myself up for letdown, or just the inevitable dismantling of my taste buds? Only time will tell!

Habanero Shrimp with Couscous

Ingredients (this was all done by just throwing stuff together, so play around with it.)

1\2 habanero chopped (seeds included!! at your own risk of course!)

1 Tbls fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

1 Tbls fresh oregano chopped

1 garlic clove minced

1 Tbls spoon lemon juice

10 medium shrimp, deviened & tails off

1 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls white wine

salt\pepper\red pepper flakes
1 box of couscous

Make couscous according to package directions

In a large saute pan, saute garlic in olive oil until soft. Add shrimp, parsley, oregano, shrimp, lemon juice, habanero & white wine. Saute until shrimp is cooked. Add salt\pepper\red pepper flakes to taste. Serve over cooked couscous. Prepare for total annihilation!

This meal goes really well with a nice Riesling!

SWANK

The jig is up, I will now reveal what I did yesterday. I had a dinner party! I've spent the last 3 weeks planning for last night, planning the menu, revising it and designing it. Planning also included writing a grocery list and a wine list, along with pulling a table scape together and getting all the necessary decorations. A lot of time and effort goes into planning a dinner party, but it so worth it and so rewarding to then share the fruits with others. I invited 3 good friends, Kelly, Kyle & Sarah... I wish I could have invited more, but my table only holds four. Someday I hope to have a larger dinner party with more people and more decorations. For now, I will have to have my dinner parties in shifts, so don't feel left out if you are reading this, your turn will come! Even with only having 3 guests over preparations still took all day yesterday. Cleaning and grocery shopping, setting the table and decorating my home. It is now officially Autumn, so I pulled out all my harvest\Halloween decorations. Someday I know I will be one of those over the top women who decorate for every holiday, to the point where it is probably obnoxious! (but i don't care! ) The theme of my meal was harvest as well, incorporating all the wonderful produce now in season!The most rewarding part of the dinner party was the cooking and baking. Pulling together a 5 course meal can be a real challenge, but it is one that i was willing to take on with heart & gusto.

The menu consisted of the following meals:

Apps: Endives with beet & blue cheese spread

Soup: Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Main: Linguine with Squash, bacon & goat cheese

Sides: Tuscan Style Cauliflower, Broccolini w\ red currant vinaigrette & herbed garlic bread

Dessert: Sunken Chocolate cakes with cinnamon ice cream with honey crisp apples in syrup.

( the original menu had the chocolate cakes with coffee ice cream, but to follow the harvest theme, I changed it to a more appropriate apple topping.)

I had a great time cooking all the food, timing everything so it was all ready as my guests arrived. My guests were gracious and beautifully dressed in their swankiest outfits. Sarah brought me lovely flowers and Kelly & Kyle brought me little "dinks" (as kelly's aunt calls them) mini muffin tins and pink measuring spoons! Love it!

We chatted and ate and chatted more and ate more. It was so nice and relaxed and fun... that it never once seemed like work in the long run. I am now thinking that planning parties and menus and cooking might be a really fun job. hmmmm....

Here is to a bountiful harvest, good food and even better friends!

Sunken Chocolate Cakes with Cinnamon Ice Cream & Cinnamon Apple Syrup
Cakes:
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces, plus more for pans
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for pans
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs, separated
2 large egg yolks

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter 4 cups in a jumbo nonstick muffin pan, leaving the 2 center cups empty. Coat lightly with sugar, and set aside. Place butter and chocolate in a heat-proof bowl; set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally, until melted and thoroughly combined. Remove from heat; set aside.
2. Combine the 4 egg yolks with 2 tablespoons sugar, and whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and thick. Stir in the melted chocolate-and-butter mixture.
3. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and whisk until stiff and shiny but not dry. Fold into chocolate mixture. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, and bake until set and slightly springy to the touch, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in pan; carefully run a knife around edges of cakes, and unmold. Serve each with a scoop of coffee ice cream and apples & syrup poured over the top.

Cinnamon Apple Syrup:

Ingrediants:

INGREDIENTS
1 Honey Crisp Apple - sliced
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and water. Stir to dissolve sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples are soft and syrup has thickened. Serve over pancakes or ice cream.

Turtle Bread brings on the Memories

Yesterday was pay day, it was also Friday and I didn't feel like fighting traffic on my way home. The thought of driving to Linden Hills and stopping at the little shops was just so appealing. Linden Hills is such a quaint area of Minneapolis, and it holds plenty of memories. When I was 22 I was a nanny for a family in LH, and the two little girls Avery & Nathalie, and their wonderful nanny Sabrina spent many days traversing through Linden Hills. There are so many great shops and lovely homes in LH that you feel like you are on a set of a movie. (oh wait, they filmed parts of Jingle All the Way in LH.) I also lived in Linden Hills for a year a few years ago, it was such a transitional part of my life and everything was so up in the air. I had just left my full time job to go back to school full time to learn the craft of Jewelry Making & Gemology.

Anyway, back to yesterday. I stopped into Victory, one of my favorite Shabby Chic stores. They had these really fun candle votives with skulls & spiders & ravens. I settled on the raven, so very Edgar Allen Poe. I then went over to my favorite bakery Turtle Bread. I had a delicious bowl of split pea soup & a baguette. Split pea soup always reminds me of my friend Rachel. Back when we used to work in the kitchen at His Mansion, we would weekly have to make soup. On one particular day Rachel was in charge of making split pea soup. And since we made all our soups from scratch, we used ingredients like split peas that start out hard, but soften as they cook. Well for some reason or another the soup was a little too thick, a lot thick... and no amount of reassuring could convince rachel that it was edible. People ate it, I thought it was good. But if you asked her today she would probably still say that it was gross! I miss my times cooking with rachel in the kitchen. Lots of laughs and adventures, which the kitchen manager never thought was amusing. I think the final nail in the coffin is when I threw a huge cheese cutter across the room at rachel. Of course it didn't hit her and it was all in fun, but i think that was the last time we ever worked in the kitchen together at the same time! so sad! We had plenty other fun adventures in New Hampshire, so much so that one day I should write a book about them all. If you've ever read or seen Anne of Green Gables, Rachel and I were the modern day version of Anne Shirley & Dianna Berry. Kindred Spirits.

So back to Turtle Bread, I enjoyed my meal and then I ate my all time favorite cookie: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie! Meow!

I stopped into a few more stores and just meandered around to my little hearts content. My find of the day was a set of glasses that match my dinnerware! And they were 50% off! score!

Eventually I headed over to kyle & kelly's for a light salad and good times.

Today I have something up my sleeve that will be explained tomorrow...

hint: it has something to do with food!