Tuesdays With Dorie - Tarte Tatin

I am really sad that i took such a long Tuesdays with Dorie hiatus. I used to be so good at baking every week. But one of my New Year's resolutions is to bake once a week, so this is me, starting back up again. This week's recipe is a Tarte Tatin. After reading the recipe i realized 1 very important thing, i do not have a cast iron skillet, or one that can safely go into the oven. And believe me, i unknowingly tried one of my regular pans. After throwing a few dirty pan in the oven to hide them during my new counter top & sink installation, i turned on the oven to pre-heat it and TOTALLY forgot about the dirty pans. eeeek!!! what is that burning smell!!! Thankfully i got them out right in time. I blame my mom for this one. She said, Oh i always throw my dirty pans in the oven to hide them. gross. lesson learned. Back to the Tarte Tatin, without a skillet i had to improvise. I also got apples, but then decided to use pears. So i made the caramelized sugar and the pears in a sauce pan and then transferred them to a spring form pan, and covered it with the puff pastry dough.

I loved the sound of the sugar bubbling in the oven, and what a lovely smell of pears and caramelized sugar and buttery pastry dough all melding together. mmmmm....

When i pulled the tarte out of the oven, i flipped it onto a big serving plate and it was messy and gooey. But once i had that all cleaned up, it really looked pretty nice. And then when i tried it, wow! it was sublime. So maybe it didn't look exactly like Dorie's (because let's face it, when does my stuff ever look like Dorie's?) but it tasted wonderful and I'm happy to be baking again.

seven

like i said before, i am so over resolutions. but there are a few things i want to accomplish on a weekly basis. i don't know about you, but there are many days, weeks, months, years! that go by and i feel so unproductive. i come home from work, plop down on the couch, turn on the tv and tune out. so i think there are a few simple things i want to do each week to feel more productive and resourceful with my time. i picked 7 things. why 7? i just like the number. i'm not going to beat myself up if i don't do all 7 of these things every week, but i do want to at least try.

1. bake. every tuesday i used to participate in "Tuesdays with Dorie". i'm going to start back up again. look for my baking posts on tuesdays!

2. cook. over the summer i read, Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child. i also watched the movie Julie and Julia recently. needless to say, i was inspired. i actually own the cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. so each week i will be cooking one thing out of that cookbook. i love french food, but the thought of making french food scares me. viola. here i go! next week i will be making Haricots Verts a la' Anglaise. or buttered green beans... everything sounds better in french!

3. craft. i have oodles and oodles of crafty projects up my sleeve i want to start creating. but first i need to put together my crafting\sewing\designing\knitting room. it's a nightmare. ugh.

4. volunteer. just to contribute to something other than myself. more giving and less getting.

5. write a letter. no, not an email. a real honest to goodness letter. the kind you put in an envelope and gasp! put in the mail. with a stamp and all sabrina? YES! if you would like a real life letter just let me know, i will write to you too.

6. write on the "other blog". my awesome friend heather (you know, of the EO) invited me once upon a time to write on her other blog (if life is a highway). i have only contributed a few times. i would like to contribute more. i once almost went to seminary. i had dreams of being a theologian. but the world doesn't need another theologian, the world just needs more love and hope.

7.read a book. and finish too please. i am a serial book starter, but not a finisher. i am reading about 12 books right now. ridiculous? totally. once i finish a book i will do a book review. and if i really love it, i will give it away. works for me. works for you.

(more than once a week i will also exercise. I'm a blob. i will brush my teeth at night and not just in the morning. i know gross, right? i get lazy at night. i will wash my face. i don't wash my face at night either. thank GOD for good genes. but GOD likes you to take care of those good genes too, and teeth.)

One other thing i'm going to do and so can you...

(photos are found on vi.sualize.us)

Get There.

happy new year. happy new decade.

this poster is a step by step how-to happiness guide for me. for you.

hap-py: characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment or joy.

as my co-worker friend Liz says: happiness is a choice.

she also says: get there.

"I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?" ~Ecclesiastes 3:22 NASB

still true*

*(this is a re-post from something i wrote in july 2007)

I have a lot on my mind tonight. My purpose in doing this blog was primarily to write about my silly little life. Though not meaningless, my life is important in this world, although I am not famous nor have i done any acts of greatness or saved any one's life. I am just me, plain and simple, silly and all... So I've just been thinking about life in general. People, places, things... to everything there is a beginning and an end. And to everything there is a season. Good things happen in life, great things happen in life, but so do bad things and difficult things. There are immense joys and deep sorrows. People live, people even die, even though no one likes to think about that, let alone really talk about death, it still happens. So what is my purpose here? Is my life just one more life in the multitudes that have gone on before me, or will proceed me? I guess the question to ask myself is: Does my life matter? I really hope in some small way my life does matter, that i am here for a reason and a purpose. I may never do anything super great, and doubtfully will I ever be famous... but if I make a difference in even one person's life, is it worth it? I answer with a resounding, YES!

and all of that is still true. two and a half years later it's still true. but now i have this to add: you are important. you are loved. you are chosen. if you think you are capable of making a difference in the life of someone... you are. your smile, your laugh, your light, your presence. every little thing you do in love will not go unnoticed.

be the change you wish to see in the world. ~m. gandhi

happiness in the new year.

Dear Destiny...

i am so over resolutions. i am so for new beginnings. there are surprises around every corner.

"amazing things are going to happen this year." ~k.v.

i believe.

So God,

So Life,

So Destiny...

I Am Ready Now.

Be Better, Not Bitter!

Be Better, Not Bitter!, is a mantra I have used and continue to use in my life. I was reminded of this during an almost all day adventure of putting together a kitchen cart. I so badly wanted to give up and "finish it tomorrow" (cue whiny voice), but someone reminded me to Be Better, Not Bitter!
It worked! And we finished! Triumphantly!


Okay, you can now oooh and ahhh over my new Kitchen Cart!! Viola! More Counter Space!

A Year in Review...