While You Were Out

Have I explained on the blog before about how Ross and I never take a vacation together?

Okay, well NEVER is not exactly accurate. But it does seem that my employment and his school are forever at odds.

I came back from my super epic New York trip and everyone was asking, "How did you and Ross like New York?!"



Cos yeeeaaaah, we didn't do that together. We also didn't do this, this, nor any of this. But I'm not here to provide you a comprehensive list of all the stuff I do by myself. That's what this blog is for. Instead I just want to feel happy that Ross finally gets a turn to take a little break. He is officially done with his 3rd year of medical school, he has his Step 2 CK out of the way and he is all but ready to apply to residency. He still has a way to go but you learn to celebrate the small victories.

I kicked him outta the house and told him to use what we have left on those beautiful airline vouchers to visit family and friends in Utah. Our motto, as I am pretty sure I have well documented on the blog, is "If you have the time- find the money."

With 4th year and then intern year of residency and so on, you can't count on ever having time. And the money- well after awhile you stop worrying about having so little- so you just find a way.

He's off on an adventure and I am back at work, or sweltering at home in these warm temps. While he is gone I've been doing a complete bedroom over-haul.

Operation: Organization and Donation.



I have to do this while he is gone so I have enough time and space to make a mess and find a solution. On the right you can see that no matter how hard you try there will always be that pile of stuff leftover. That pile of stuff that you're just not quite sure what to do with.



I am proud to say I donated a bunch^ of stuff and threw away even more. It feels good!

My good friend Mary recently started residency at a nearby hospital. She invited me over for dinner so I made a simple dessert. I brought the leftovers to work and people were beside themselves. Really I think it was just nice to have a pick-me-up now that every one is coming back to work after summer break.



In other cooking endeavors, I thought I would make a special treat for Ross's return from Utah and eventual start of a school/ hospital work again.

I present: Brownie-crust Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake!

It is possible that I went a little over-board with the decorations on the top. Like homemade whipped cream!?

I made a Frankenstein recipe combing and piecing together three different recipes.



It involved a brownie crust, topped with a layer of fudge. Next a peanut butter cream cheese cool whip layer, then some Reeses cups and brownie. After that more of the cream cheese mixture, probably more peanut butter cups, a fudge topping then all the decorations.

It was delicious. It sounds kinda hard but it wasn't at all. Except for the brownie part it was no-bake too! 

BoWA #3

Remember when I was trying to make "BoWA" a thing? Yeah here it is again.

#1 Ice Cream Pebbles- Rainbow Sherbet. This is hands down my favorite ice cream. I bought on a crazy good sale, wondering how in the world a dry cereal could taste like my decadent favorite rainbow sherbet. I'm not a cereal person, and I'm a skeptic, so imagine my surprise when IT TASTES SO MUCH LIKE ICE CREAM! Time to go buy all the boxes in the whole world.

#2 The City of Redlands is a beautiful little city. After the Ross and I had at last year's summer concert series, we wanted to go more this year. Spoiler Alert: That didn't happen. We even ended up going to the same exact concert as last year. The Glen Miller Orchestra, but it was still a lovely time. 

  

#3 Take about 5 minutes to truly mull this over and get back to me if you don't think it is outrageously 100% true. 

The Official "Fun Vs. Effort" Graph of Pets

#4 Ross is famous for many things, one of which is his caramel corn recipe. I don't think we have attempted to make it since a botched (dang you humidity) attempt in Grenada. We fixed that. So much popcorn. Much tasty.



Finished product:



#5 "Straight Outta" filters are running rampant on social media. Most of them are annoying and lame, like "Straight Outta Provo." *eye roll* But this one made me laugh. My recent trip to NY really made me see how scary dry California is.



#6 I don't know why I feel an overwhelming need to share this, but it is definitely the cutest IT department ever.



#7 My best friend Kelli and I share a love for making (and receiving of course) care packages. It's just kinda our thing. Her care packages are always so perfectly timed. They always arrive right when I need them the most. Thanks! It is so perfect.

Palmdale

This summer I have spent quite a bit of time in Palmdale. Maybe I needed some time away from it, but it is one of my favorite places, for so many reasons. Here is a picture dump from the past summer months.

Beautiful sunset on a (rare) rainy day.

Every time I'm in Palmdale my parents treat me! They know all the best places to eat. Like this citrus coconut pecan shrimp. Or nachos pretty much served on Captain America's shield.



I had to introduce my parents to Dole Whips. All the times taking the family to Disneyland growing up, but they didn't know what it was! Ross used the pineapple soft serve but made a tropical/ shark-week themed treat with cheesecake bits, coconut, and a gummy shark.



While we are on the topic of food.... My mom made this amazing blueberry cheesecake with fresh blueberries. Simply epic.



Palmdale means Vallarta. Somehow I ended up there unsupervised. Pan dulce, horchata, and Pelon later, I came out mostly avoiding the pastry section. Settled for a tostada at home.



It was my first time getting the huge Pelon. Because I live large and I've made it. Ross had one taste and was revolted. Just tastes like childhood to me. No idea how I shared those things with my friends and playground kids and came out mostly okay and healthy.

Synge is such a user. He is crazy for ice cream too. He will get up in your face and start pawing at you.



One time my mom jokingly asked Synge, "If I lost my hands in a car accident would you still love me?!"Good thing he can't talk -I don't think my mom can handle the truth. Just look how devious he is.



With the time I spend with my grandparents, I also get to hang out with their cat, Sabby. I like this sassy photo. I captured her at the perfect moment.



Dad and Ross staring so intensely at the broken doughnut machine at Krispy Kreme. Seconds away from jumping in with a toolkit, or maybe just grabbing the machine and shaking it, "WHERE ARE THE HOT DONUTS NOW?!"



They crack me up.

August brings quite a few birthdays for my family, so we all got together for a party. So much food it wouldn't fit on the table. And Snapchat stickers. This snapchat from my cousin of the dog gettin' so intense on dat cookie. 

And homemade waffle bowls! Calvin gave mom and dad a waffle bowl maker but I guess the recipe for it sucks, so I set out to find a better one. Luckily others thought it sucked too so I didn't have to look long before I found one posted in the Amazon reviews. I perfected the method and have since forgotten it, so enjoy a bit of trial and error.

--Waffle Bowl Maker Recipe--

Ingredients:

3 large eggs 

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 c. all purpose flour

Directions:

-Beat the eggs, adding in the sugar gradually, beating until smooth. Add the cooled melted butter and the vanilla.

-Stir in the baking powder and flour, until all mixed. 

-Spray the iron with a light amount of cooking spray- this will make the first ones turn out imperfect but is important for the process. 

-Drop about a tablespoon of batter onto each bowl. Cook for about 40 seconds, open iron and with a towel or potholder to protect your hand, rotate each bowl about 180 degrees so all sides cook evenly. Use the cooking time as a guide and adjust. 

Of course the best part of going to Palmdale is hanging out with your parents! This time I learned that when my mom was little she was absolutely-fan-girl-status obsessed with the series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 

I've probably shamed her since I've never even heard of the series before. My mom goes into her magical closet and pulls out this old briefcase. She was not messing around when she was 10! She said that it had been forever since she opened this little time capsule. Inside were autographed photos, magazine clippings, and notes from the fan club she had formed. The best part was the script that she wrote. Dang, my mom was even smart and creative when she was 10. That script was super legit, all typed up on a typewriter and everything. That's some major stamina for a kid.

I'm likely forgetting other tidbits and photos from my summer lovin' in Palmdale, but for now this will do,

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cream Cheese Bars

I have sometimes involved cooking posts on this blog. Because I am a human, and I need food. Also, because I love food. This often leads me to prepare food for myself. And when I feel the situation warrants, I post about the experience.

A lot of my cooking is from scratch because it's cheaper. Not because I am Holly Housewife and I love making the kitchen a huge mess for something that is gobbled up in 5 minutes.

But sometimes it is cheaper to NOT cook from scratch. I enjoy those times. When I found these tubes (yay 2015 and tubes of food!) of cookie dough for less than a buck, it was hard to resist.

I remembered some chocolate-chip-cookie-cream-cheese bar somethings rolling across my Pinterest feed awhile back. Of course I had scoffed, "PPFFFTTT WHO JUST HAS MONEY FOR PRE-MADE COOKIE DOUGH!" and hence not re-pinned.

I guess I couldn't fathom the day I would be this rich! Here it is folks, two bucks burning a hole in my pocket.

I found pretty much the same recipe across the internet, using this one but doubling it (TWO TUBES of dough succkkkas!), and adding vanilla cos I do what I want. Some people cook with wine (you know what I mean), I cook with music. Sublime with Rome has a new album coming out but all we get for now is this single. I could listen to the first 30 seconds of that song on repeat all day.

I know because I did.

And can we please find another name for this dessert?

Smoothies for Dinner

It is hot. 

Holly Hannah Montana, it is hotter than two cats dancing on a hot dutch oven (right dad?). I step outside and I am exhausted. I take two steps and I feel like I am going to faint. Last week I rode the bus and as the rushing wind was coming through the window, sweat was just trickling down my temples, my hair was a sticky sweaty mess. DOES NO ONE ELSE ON THIS BUS FEEL THE SAME?

Anyways, I feel as a result of the recent uptick in temperatures I have somewhat lost my appetite. Usually I cannot stop eating food, so this is very strange for me. When it came time for dinner not only was I feeling incredibly lazy, but I also wasn't very hungry.

Enter: Smoothies for dinner!

In a valiant effort to clear out the freezer and pantry, I lined up the possibilities. 

Ross tends to be the mix master, and whipped up some options.

I have to ask. Does anyone else HATE that disgusting end of the banana that is always chalky and gross? Ross calls it the ban-anus. I don't eat no bananuses.

I'm not usually a huge fan tropical fruits, but one fruit I have discovered and become obsessed with is soursop. Through extensive research I found that I can find this wonder in the U.S. God bless the melting pot of America!

It is a pretty weird looking fruit.

Here they sell it in these magnificent smoothie-ready packets. Ross tends to add stuff anyways, but it is brilliant. I am a bit disappointed I have only discovered these packets now.



So for tonight it was soursop smoothies. Drinking up every ounce of our last moments in Grenada, in a non-alcoholic sense. 

Crock of CRAP!

In some ways, I am an all or nothing kinda girl.

Like I will either spend 2 hours cooking dinner, or 3 minutes.

In my mind, a slow cooker is a magical food machine, not a kitchen tool. People really rave about slow cookers, but I have this really weird mentality I just can't seem to get over. It's the mentality that indeed they are magical food machines.

This means that I dump a bunch of stuff in said Magical Food Machine, come back in 4 hours and the food (also magical) comes out amazing. Part of the magic is that the prep time needs to be less than 10 minutes. And I chop onions pretty slow. 

There are some recipes like that, of course. Dump this in, dump that in, dump that in too, then in 4 hours, here comes the magic.

See, to me that is a Crock-pot recipe.

But this recipe required like.... a bowl, a whisk, measuring cups AND spoons, a plate, a fork and knife, a saucepan.... like what? I was supposed to cook the meat, take it out, shred it, make a slurry, strain the ingredients in a saucepan *YAWN* What a crock of crap! That is just an incredible amount of work for me. I can't handle that people. So I did what I do best and half-assed it. This is a Crock-pot people, Half-Ass should be its first name.

I ended up substituting some ingredients, and halving the whole thing. You can find the original recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken here.

You mix ingredients and I massaged it into the chicken and between the skin. You cook it, and shred it. 

Then dump it back in. Please be impressed with the lighting and general photogenic nature of food stewing in a slow cooker.



I ended up throwing the cornstarch into the slow cooker instead, it wasn't as thick that way but it still tasted delicious.

The lesson of this story: Half-assing it ain't half bad. I don't know that this pearl of wisdom is a good one to pass down to the future generation, but that chicken was pretty tasty. I used it on a salad, but I imagine it would be a very versatile and flavorful recipe to use for many dishes. 

The END: Family Visit Day 6

When I woke up on Friday ... actually lets back up a bit. 

Thursday night when Ross  and I were driving back to our apartment, we were chatting about how quickly the week had gone. It seemed just like yesterday when my mom was saying, "It's only Monday! We have lots of time." But here we were, late Thursday on the cusp of "One day left."

When I woke up in Friday I was already a little sad that this was our last day with them. I don't mean to sound like they were dying, but lets face it, when I return to the USA in just 7 weeks we won't have the option of hanging out on a beautiful beach, leisurely searching for sea glass, or climbing around a waterfall.

I got over to their hotel as soon as I could (again, I'm making it sound like they were dying yeesh). We decided to do what we do best... bum it at the beach and fit in some more snorkeling. Throughout the week my parents kept commenting on how awesome it was that we were so close to the beach. Livin' out in Palmdale I'm sure my parents are used to the the standard "round up the troops!" mentality. That is, prepare for an hour plus trip to get to the beach + pack the boogie boards + make sure everyone (6 kids) have towels + does everyone have water? + did someone pack the sandwiches?!. You get the picture.



I'm sure it's nice to just be able to grab a towel and book and get in the car for a 10 minute drive. We decided to go to (the pictured above) Magazine Beach, which they hadn't been to. I terrified my parents when I off-handedly mentioned I wasn't 100% sure how to get to the beach and that it would be an adventure to get there. It involved some pretty bumpy patches and of course, the trademark "driveway" down the hill to get there. If you need a refresher, said driveway is two little crumbly tire track streaks. Pretty sure my parents had no faith in me, but that is just because they don't understand, it isn't up to us. Right Ali?

When we got down safe and sound we found a beach all to ourselves. We had a couple beach vendors come up to us (again with the spice necklaces in my nose folks!). One of them was talking about how there was a cruise ship in so in about 15 minutes the beach would be covered in tourists.

Call that guy Ms. Cleo cos my dreams came true in no time flat. As the tourists were pouring out of buses, DSLRs in hand, my parents turned to me, "Ummm... how did those big buses get down here?"

Yep. Those same fancy tire streaks. Haha. We all had a good laugh at that.

After sometime we decided all the wind was making the waves choppy so we packed up and headed over to Groom's. We enjoyed some snorkeling and relaxing, that is what vacation is for right? Afterwards Dad and I went to pick up some lobster I had ordered from a local fisherman.

Daddy the Science Guy struck again. I love this guy!



We waited for our lobster guy at the docks on campus. Not a bad view.



Not a bad view, but after three hours or more of waiting and back and forth, I was pretty irritated by his run around. Long story short, we left empty handed. I've made multiple valiant efforts to get my hands on fresh lobster and the only lesson I have learned is that lobster guys are LIARS. Such an incredibly frustrating experience.

But no worries. I dropped by work because my co-worker said her mom would make us some Oil Down (Grenada's Nation Dish). I was expecting just a small amount to sample and share but whoa! I'm so blessed to have amazing friends that really go above and beyond for me. She gave us a huge dish I could barely carry it was really that heavy. Another one of my colleagues made me and my crew a container full of gulab jamun. Which is an amazing and sweet dumpling type dessert.

For dinner we hung out at the hotel and had a West Indian feast!



Complete with Ting of course! I think my family was a little apprehensive about trying Oil Down, since quite often it has iguana and various animal parts, but this Oil Down was really incredible. Thanks Karla & mom!

During the week we had also picked up some pholourie mix. I think this is originally from Trinnidad so it fit right in.

It was really delicious too. We got these sauces to have with them. They are bottled right here in Grenada. The West Indian Hot Sauce is an absolute staple in my office at work. I work with women who have no sense of spiciness. This is a perfect example. The Nutmeg Banana Ketchup was also good, subtle like ketchup but a nice surprising flavor. 

As we cooked and hung out we made sure to catch their last sunset. :( It was sad but we were too busy yelling at the camera flash to go off, and shoving our face with food.

This estrellita!

Like I mentioned, the flash on all 3 cameras was not behaving. As a result, this one looks totally fake. Like the ones you get on Hollywood Blvd or Universal Studios.



My wonderful parents. Please don't go!



It was a pretty perfect night. After dinner and the sunset we looked at our photos from the past week, played with sea glass, and thought of everything we couldn't quite fit in during the trip. Despite that, it has been a fantastic week. I am so humbled by the sacrifices my family makes for me. The time, energy, and money commitments are huge to plan a trip like this. And if I know one thing in life, it is that I am one lucky girl!

Love you guys and miss you already.

Christmas Eve Picnic 2013

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 (cont'd, cont'd, cont'd)

Merry Christmas Eve

It was a fun and wild day full of sliding down waterfalls, visiting a small museum, and fixing a flat tire in Timbuktu, Grenada. So what better way to end the day than keeping with Christmas Eve Petersen tradition, with a ...

Christmas Eve Picnic!

By the time we finally got home we were so exhausted and drained that the prospects of the picnic were looking grim. But our motivation to keep tradition and love of cheese and crackers pulled through and the dream materialized.

Thanks to my wonderful friend Tammy, I learned that the Foodland in Port Louis can get pretty fancy. So before Rissa flew in, Ross and I loaded up on all sorts of fancy cheeses. Smoked Gouda, creamy Havarti, premium Swiss, jalapeno cheddar Jack, and good ol' fashioned orange cheddar cheese.

And just like last year, there was a cheeseball! With Rissa's help we were able to produce the most beautiful cheeseball ever!! Fancily rolled in chopped pecans (recipe here).

There was also an array of meats, ham, pepperoni, salami, chicken breast, and a summer sausage that Rissa brought down for us! Additionally, lots of different crackers, a plate full of chocolates and baked goodies, and a tin of Danish butter cookies. The Picnic this year was pretty intense.

Ross poured us some watermelon Jolly Rancher soda (spent so much money on cheese that we couldn't afford sparkling cider).

And we sat back and munched while we listened to Perry Como tell the First Christmas Story.

We hung our stockings by the (paper) fireplace with care while the soft glow of the (candle) fire danced upon the mantel.

The lights twinkled on the tree.

And before Santa even showed up there were already TONS of presents under the tree!

Now to bed so Santa can come!