Revealing My Quirks-I have been tagged…

I knew this would happen sometime… :)  I have been tagged and asked to list 6 of my quirks.  This is tough people!  I read other people’s lists and they just don’t seem too odd…So here it goes-

First the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.  That would be the delightful Laura
2.Post the rules.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag at least 3 people. Steph , Giselle, and Ryan
5.Make sure the people you tagged know you tagged them by commenting to them.

So here is my quirkiness revealed:

1.  I didn’t get my ears pierced until I was 30 because I was too freaked out before that time.  I had to make a friend go with me to make sure I actually went through with it.

2.  I keep books in my bathroom…I have no other space for them and I have lots of shelf room in there. :)   (and much to the chagrin of a few friends, yes I do read in the bathroom!)

3.  I am still attempting to follow all of the beauty magazine advice to not wash your hair everyday…Everyone says it is better for your hair, and I would love to be able to do it.  The thought of not washing your hair for a couple of days grosses me out, but I can only skip my hair washing for 1 day IF I don’t have to leave the house that day. 

4.  When I was in junior high I was served a hamburger that was still cold in the very center.  That single event caused me to not eat beef for almost 10 years.  I made myself eat it again in cooking school, and I like it now.

5.  I have worn pants to church one time in my life (except for the few church services at a campground.)  I don’t think there is anything wrong with wearing pants, and it doesn’t bother me one bit if other people do, I just have this huge mental block because I have never done it even once until last year. 

6.   In reading the quirky habits of others, I am beginning to conclude that my lack of daily routine might be a quirk-I don’t have a morning routine or a bed-time routine.  I have trouble eating the same thing too often.  I like to make my eggs different ways-just to mix it up.  Same goes for my oatmeal-I like to vary the combinations of fruits and nuts I put into it.

My Pride

On my way to a lavish Medieval Feast last night, I had a very strong urge for some coffee.  I haven’t been drinking any caffeine since about Thanksgiving, but the urge was strong-it was that afternoon slump time and I had a 2 hours drive…I was all psyched up to savor that real Starbucks, no decaf this time.  Really, you have no idea how much I was looking forward to this!

And then it hit me!  I couldn’t get coffee. 

It wasn’t the desire to keep to my no caffeine plan, it wasn’t a concern that I might interrupt that evening’s sleep pattern, and it certainly wasn’t the sudden urge to prepare for the upcoming recession.

It was my pride.  There was no way I would walk into a coffee shop.  I had just passed the one drive-through Starbucks I knew of.  Aghhhh!  Why had I dressed up BEFORE my drive?!?

Post Christmas Open House Cooking

I love cooking when I have the time and when I have the right inspiration to cook…I’ve gone through many cooking seasons and at least for the time being my days of setting my alarm to keep a new type of bread right on track at 2 am or spending several days making croissants and danishes from scratch are long gone.  These are the days of gourmet in 30 minutes or quick-invent something that everyone will like from the leftovers or make gobs and gobs of food for a party in one day or less.

 Hosting an open house with my sister Erin gave me the chance to cook up a storm.  One little thing about me and cooking is that I can not, never have and probably never will, cook in small quantities.  It kills me.  I have to make more.  I can’t dream of someone not getting enough or of -horrors- of a platter being empty before the party is over.  So what started out small, grew and grew and wonder of wonders-we had plenty of food.  (I panic every single time I host a party…I think it is genetic.  My mom laughs at me when she is not the one responsible, but ha, when she is the hostess, she does the exact same thing.)

So if you need to quick a bunch in a hurry I heartily recommend-

Jalapeno Bacon Thingies from thepioneerwoman.com

Olive Cheese Bread from the Pioneer Woman.com

I also made some great new spreads, and they are winners because they are different and made in the food processor!

Fresh Herb and Walnut Dip

4 oz. cream cheese

3 oz.  feta cheese

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

2 large basil leaves

2 large mint leaves

2 parsley sprigs

2 green onions, chopped

2 Tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of this in the FP, blend and serve with celery and apples.

Greek Cheese Spread with Roasted Red Peppers

1/2 cup ricotta or cottage cheese

3 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup feta

1 Tbs olive oil

lemon juice to taste (1/2 -1 lemon)

2 garlic cloves

2 chopped green onions

2 parsley sprigs

3/4 cup roasted red bell peppers

Toss everything in the FP, blend and serve with veggies and pita wedges.

Quick and Easy Christmas Treat, part 2: Mini S’mores Kits

Always on the look out for little gifts that are inexpensive, quick and fun, I was so pleased to find this idea:

A Mini S’mores Kit

Place these items together in a fun Christmas gift bag and voila!  S’mores Kits!

Fill a small Ziploc bag with a handful of mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

Add a snack sized bag of mini grahams

Toss in a tea light and a couple of cocktail picks

And then your happy recipients can enjoy!  

First Annual CFT Auction

What a success this was!  I am still so excited about the great responses with both donations and shoppers.  I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people around me-especially my family.  The family really, really came through for me on this event!  My dad was the master of ceremonies (and many people saw a side of him that they had never seen before), my brother donate a number of key, key items, my sister in law is an awesome gift basket maker, my sister made beautiful flower arrangements and gathered a lot of donations, my other sister got us some more donations, my mom came through with all the last minute stuff and was a great sounding board the whole time…my family is great!

 And to top it all off, I also have some truly wonderful friends as well.  :)  All in all, the auction turned out very well and I think that next year’s will be even better. 

Thanks all!

Postrio and our Girls’ Weekend

Sara, Giselle and I had a wonderful weekend away to San Francisco recently with a great room in Union Square, lots and lots of shopping, and a fantastic dinner at the Postrio restaurant.

We got up there on Saturday night, and in true form, had no set plans for dinner…I had some ideas but was doubtful of our ability to get a table.  After about 5 or 6 calls to some of my top choices, we were looking at the 24 hour diner down the street or dinner at 9:30.  Keep in mind that one of our group was pregnant and all of our group just loves to eat, 9:30 was not an option.

 We could call the concierge. 

How about we just sit there watching TV for another 30 minutes and hope we think of something else?

Why did we hesitate to call the concierge?  Umm, no good reason, but no one wanted to do it.  So finally I buckled and made the call…how embarrassing to admit to a cool city person that you are a tourist and have no plans for dinner and you have some standards for eating and you don’t want to eat at midnight…

He was very kind and withheld all verbal judgement and laughs at our country bumpkin ways.  He punched away at his computer and saved us!  There was a table at Postrio at 7:00.  A table at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant.  We had been saved from eating at the Westfield mall that night.  He did kindly warn us, “You all are in for a treat.  It isn’t a casual dining restaurant though, so is that OK?  Dressing up a bit for the evening?” 

“Oh, of course that’s fine.” as I quickly ran through the 3 clothing items I brought with me, but kept a cool, refined and citified tone to my voice… “Thanks so much for your help!”

Then I had the good news for the gals-a great dinner ladies!  And the dress is elegant casual  (concierge’s words.)  No problem, right? 

Well, as we headed to dinner that night, we had completely convinced ourselves that jeans were elegant enough…that we all possessed an inner elegance that more than equaled the finer duds that others might have.  We were going to pull off sophisticated in our jeans.

We were admittedly a tad under-dressed, the hostess was a bit snobby, but the waiter was gracious and the food was amazing, absolutely, totally worth every bite, wish you had more, but you’re really are full, amazing.

We shared the pomegranate and pear salad and the roasted beet salad. 

Then for dinner I had:GRILLED PAINE RANCH SQUAB
squab mince, wild rice, shaved fennel, Black Mission figs, Bing cherry-veal sauce

It was amazing.

Sara had: CRISPY WOLFE RANCH QUAIL
candied pistachio, heirloom melons, chili glaze

Amazing.

Giselle had: ALASKAN HALIBUT
sweet gulf shrimp, snow peas, baby carrots, tapioca, coconut curry

Amazing. 

We highly recommend each of these dishes.  And mid-way through the dinner, we had lost all pretense of citified behavior.  I was pumping the waiter for any and all details on the food, we were laughing way, way too much, staring at other tables, talking about people…and laughing way, way too much.

Fun with Old Friends

There is so much to be said for time spent with long-time friends who have known you through thick and thin. 

Faith came into town this weekend so several old pals got together for dinner and the time flew!  I usually get to Friday night and feel like my brain has processed plenty, thank you!   But we had no lack of conversation, laughs, old memories, laughs, good stories, laughs, and new stories.  Anyone who knows Faith knows that she can make you laugh. :) 

Every now and then I looked around us at the restaurant to see if we might be as loud as I feared we were…

Judging by the fact that every time I looked up some table was looking over at us I think we were loud. 

 Of course, I am sure they were all really just wishing that they were have having as much fun.

Alas, I have no pictures, just memories…