This Interruption in Service Brought to You By My Television

Yeah, I know.....It's Thursday night and I still haven't posted my weekend update! My life has just been a tad too crazy to post this week. I know, I know, I'm posting NOW, what the hell...but my weekend was pretty amazing, so I want to dedicate some time to my post. I'm tired and haven't been able to concentrate this week. My office is moving locations, and I'm the admin, so I'm doing most of the work....it's been stressful, to say the least. My boss made me cry within 10 minutes of my arrival this morning, for crying out loud!

Over It.

So, in the mean time, I'm drinking wine and watching tv. My evenings are my sacred time this week. Right now I'm watching Last Comic Standing, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the laughs.

Highlights:

Really cute cute cutie toot from Seattle...he got lots of laughs, and I don't think it had too much to do with his cuteness.

Another guys says "Why is it that when someone hands us a slice of homemade cake we always feel the need to comment how moist it is???"

Such a true comment...I wrote it on the back of my phone bill so I could blog about it.

Final highlight, which has nothing to do with television, or work or crying....Nick and I have a Baby!!! :

Lost in Translation: Foul Language Edition

This afternoon's IM conversation:

Nick: K, I'm out like a trouble
Me: like a trouble?
Nick: Bubble, Bubble!
Nick: Damnit,
Nick: Like a trout
Me: what?
Nick: Bubble, like a trout
Nick: shit....
Me: what the fuck are you talking about?
Nick: I;m high
Nick: never mind,
Nick: Bye!

Weekend Recap!

Migraine.

3 Days.

Seriously. I had a migraine that started Friday afternoon, and didn't really end until Sunday evening. I thought it was gone Saturday evening. I had finally taken the right combination of drugs, water and sleeping, and when I awoke from my nap, I felt great!

I made a strata for Father's Day brunch, which was to be held the next morning at Nick's Dad's house. Recipe:

18 slices firm white bread (such as English muffin bread), crusts removed
6 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 ounces provolone, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

Line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange half of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of goat cheese and half of provolone over. Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions, and basil atop bread. Cut remaining bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Place strata under broiler until top is golden, about 30 seconds. Cut into large squares and serve.

Delicious! I've made it before, and it truly is a favorite. Unfortunately I woke up on Sunday and my migraine was back in a very angry way. Not only did I have the raging headache, but I was sick to my stomach - couldn't even keep water down.

Ah well, I guess the rest was good for me. And I received rave reviews on the strata!

Suck It, Utah!

I'm becoming more and more interested (read: concerned) in seeing what our summer is going to turn out like. We're currently experiencing the coldest June on record. Today was the first day that I have been comfortable without a jacket on, and the locals are starting to refer to this month as "Junuary". On Tuesday night there was a blizzard on Mt Rainier, which left 3 day-hikers stranded, and a fresh 7 inches of snow fell on Snoqualmie Pass.

In one week I'm leaving on a four day bachelorette weekend down in Sonoma. The plan is to drink lots of wine and lounge pool-side. And chocolate. There will be chocolate.

Inherent Goodness

So, I've been having a really hard time with a wedding gift. I know what I want to get, and it's just perfect, but I'm having challenges in actually obtaining the gift. It's a specific bottle of wine that is made in New York. The problem is that the winery only ships to addresses in the state of New York! What a pain.

So, I've been tirelessly searching for someone who knows someone who lives in New York. My thought was that I could order the wine online, have it shipped to said person's address, and they could in turn, ship the wine to me.

How is it that no one knows anyone in New York! Just when I was starting to give up, I remembered that I used to work for company that has offices all over North America. So I touched base with an old colleague that still works at said company, and she asked two of her New York contacts, and one of them came through for me! And MAN did she come through for me! Not only is she willing to go out of her way to deal with the post office in order to get the wine to me, but she is going to go out and actually buy the wine for me so that I only have to pay for one leg of shipping! At one point in our email conversation, she asks "Only one bottle? Do you need anything else while I'm at it?"

I'm thinking some cookies might be in order here....

Weekend Recap!

Here's what my weekend looked like:

Saturday

• Coffee until the early hours of the afternoon. Nick went to a friend's house to do some computer work and watch a few episodes of Battlestar Gallactica. while he was gone, I cleaned the apartment. Nick says he didn't recognize the place when he came home. Score one for Team Kim.
  
• Dinner was Orange Chicken made by Nick. Recipe:
  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Marinade:
• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Sauce:
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon chile paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 slice ginger, minced
• Oil for stir-frying, as needed

PREPARATION:

Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, and add the marinade ingredients. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce ingredients and the garlic and ginger.

Heat the wok and add oil.

When oil is ready, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until aromatic.

Add the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color. Push up to the sides of the wok, making a well in the middle. Add the sauce.

Combine the sauce and the chicken. Stir-fry for another minute and serve hot.

*Nick doubled the sauce and added sliced onion, broccoli and sugar snap peas.

Sunday

• Woke up at 10:30am - thought "1030's not too bad..."
• Breakfast of "Montana Mess" - hashed browns, bacon, green onions, cheese. Topped with salsa and sour cream. Yum.
• Errands. Found a cat bed for Cricket and some shirts for Nick. Tried to find lingerie for my friend's bachelorette party, but the boutique I visited was lame. Macy's, perhaps? Also went grocery shopping for dinner.
• Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs made from scratch. This is a favorite recipe from a cookbook I received for Christmas this last year. I've made it a few times, and it seems to get better every time I make it! Recipe:
  

MEATBALLS:

2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces.
1/2 C buttermilk
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 large egg yolk
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 t salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-1 1/2 C vegetable oil for pan frying

SAUCE:

2 T olive oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 T minced fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
freshly grated parmesan for serving

1. For the meatballs: Combine the bread and buttermilk in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes, mashing occasionally with a fork, until a smooth paste forms.
2. Place the ground meat, cheese, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the bread mixture and combine until evenly mixed. Shape 3 T of the mixture into a 1 1/2 inch ball. (when forming meatballs, use a light touch. If you compact the meatballs too much, they can become too dense.) You should be able to form about 14 meatballs*
3. Pour the vegetable oil into a 10 or 11 inch saute pan to a depth of 1/4 inch. Turn the heat to medium high. After several minutes test the oil with the edge of a meatball. If the oil sizzles, add the meatballs in a single layer. Fry, turning several times, until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.** Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Bring four quarts water to a rolling boil in a large pot.
5. For the sauce: Discard the oil in the pan, but leave behind any browned bits. (my "bits" are usually pretty black at this point, but still delicious for the sauce...) Add the olive oil and garlic; saute, scraping up the browned bits, just until the garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the meatballs and simmer, turning them occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm over low heat until the pasta is cooked.
6. Drain the pasta and toss with olive oil to keep from clumping. Serve sauce and meatballs over pasta with freshly grated cheese for garnish.

*I make larger meatballs, so only get about 8, per this recipe.
**I leave the meatballs sitting for about 10 minutes before I turn them. I make sure the meat has a nice crust on the bottom before turning, as this keeps them from falling apart. Usually one turn is enough to cook through if you follow this.

Post Post Post Post Post

Alright....I know I've been so so so so horrible about updating my website. Well, not recently...it seems that I have a tendency to post for a few days in a row, and then nothing for like, a MONTH. Ridiculous, right? SO....I think I'm going to follow in my mother's footsteps, and post regularly! I figure the best way to accomplish this is to give myself a reason to post, and that would be...dun dun dun...The Weekend Recap! See, this would not only give me a reason to post regularly, but would also keep you, my Faithful Reader, in the loop! It seems that I actually do quite a bit every weekend, but unless you are someone I email with regularly, you don't get to hear the stories or see the pictures. A prime example would be the awesome backpacking trip that Nick and I took last weekend!

Here's an excerpt of an email I sent to Mom:
Had a great weekend! Nick and I went backpacking with a group of friends. We went to this place called Ross Lake, which is commonly referred to as The Alps of The U.S., so as I'm sure you can imagine, it was pretty amazing! We hiked 7 miles in, then camped over night, then 7 miles back out. The area that we camped can only be accessed by foot or boat, so it was pretty remote, and there weren't very many people around. I'm pretty sore today, but it's SO worth it to be able to tell people that I hiked 14 miles with 30 pounds of gear on my back! I was the only girl in the group who carried my own stuff! Hard Core!!! ;>

TAG. I'm it.

Sean tagged me. Here we go.

What were you doing five years ago?
I was working at Starbucks Corporate office - working in a call center; I didn't have this website. I was probably still in the "I'm never making cakes if I open a baking company, because they always turn out like shit" phase.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (in no particular order)?
1. Clean my apartment. All of it.
2. Lingerie shopping for my friend's bachelorette party.
3. Come up with something interesting for dinner. Make it.
4. Find a baby gift for a friend who is expecting (no, not the one having the bachelorette party!) I'm thinking Burt's Bees Baby Bee.
5. Beep! Beep! Go get a fresh cup of coffee.

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Whole Cashews
2. Baby Bell Lite
3. Wheat Thins with a really yummy spreadable cheese
4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
5. Wine (I could only come up with four)

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Buy a storefront for my baking business
2. Pay for Nick's Law School
3. Quit my day job
4. Buy a vacation home (or 2...)
5. Take a long vacation

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Procrastination
2. Nail Biting
3. Pizza
4. Online Shopping
5. Not calling people back

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Seattle, WA
2. Camas, Washington
3. Topeka, Kansas
4. The Dalles, Oregon
5. Oregon City, Oregon

What are five jobs you've had?
1. Customer Service Rep in a Call Center
2. Executive Assistant
3. Bagging Groceries
4. Event Coordinator for high school grad parties
5. Crazy Cat Lady (unpaid - I do this every day for free)

There. Now maybe you know something about me that you didn't before. Please don't use it against me.


UPDATE: Nick just asked "When did you become such a Tetris Master???" Maybe I should add 'computer games' to my list of bad habits....

Helpful Hints

Alright, my birthday's coming up again. Here are some ideas:

• Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child; Hardcover
• Delon Asian Lily Body Butter
  
• Philosophy Coconut Frosting body wash
• Philosophy Amazing Grace shampoo and conditioner
• Food & Wine Magazine
• Esquin gift card
• REI or Joe's gift card
• Victoria's Secret gift card
• Half Price Books gift card

Any gifts will be reciprocated with a very cute thank you card!

UPDATE: I would love copies of this and this. The authors' respective websites are here and here. By going to these websites, you might be able to get in touch with said authors, and receive info on how to get the books signed (hint hint.)