Tuesdays at the Table

It will come as no surprise to most of you, but I'm not the cookbook type. Nearly all the recipes in my repertoire have been ripped straight out of a magazine. This one comes to you straight from the pages of April's Cosmo.

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Pasta Ponza
via Giada De Laurentiis's cookbook, Giada at Home

Ingredients:
2 cups halved red cherry tomatoes
2 cups halved yellow cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
1 lb ziti
1 1/4 cups grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup parsley leaves (or cheat and use parsley flakes)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8x8 glass baking dish.
2. Combine tomatoes, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle bread crumbs over mixture.
4. Drizzle with additional olive oil and bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden.
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook 8-10 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the water.
7. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl.
8. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the pasta.
9. Add the cheese and toss well. If needed, thin the sauce with a little of the reserved water.
10. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

The End

So today is the day. The final 2.5 hours of The World's Greatest Television Epic, otherwise known as LOST.

I am officially in mourning already. Wearing my black bikini on the beach. Staring morosely at the waves while the piano theme from LOST plays on a loop in my head for sixteen years the entire day. Drowning my sorrows in circa 1970's Dharma beer a series of margaritas.

I have high hopes for tonight's episode. I am sure it will be the fastest 2.5 hours of television ever. Carlton and Cuse still have a heck of a lot of ground left to cover. In The End I just hope it's satisfying. Please, please, please let it be satisfying.

Tuesdays at the Table

Anyone who's read around here for any length of time knows that I am addicted to coffee in any shape or form. Liquid, chocolate, brownie, shake - if it's got espresso in it, I'll take two!

So when I ran across this recipe in People magazine, I ripped it right out! Espresso? Cake? Microwave? 150 calories? I might have died and gone to Heaven. Care to join me?

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Espresso Cake in a Mug
via Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbs devil's food cake mix
1 tbs fat-free sour cream
1 tbs fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 no-cal sweetener packet

Instructions:
1. Place coffee and chips in microwave-safe mug sprayed with nonstick spray.
2. Add other ingredients on top and mix well.
3. Microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds.
4. Cool slightly before eating.

Food + Friends + Flickr = Fantastic Fun

If you follow me on Twitter then you already know that I got to meet the lovely Ally from Cute on the Cheap when I was in Louisville a few weeks ago. She and her sweet husband, Al, took my friend Jamie and I to Ramsi's Cafe on the World, home of what is possibly the best brunch buffet on the planet. If you're ever in Louisville, you must go. It's insane.

Anyway, I finally got our pictures from the weekend. This one's for you, Ally!


And just because she's wonderful and fantastic and let me drag her all around Louisville for a weekend and took all the pictures because I was too lazy to bring my camera, this is my girl Jamie. Sup, playa?


You can see more pictures of our Louisville weekend (and Carrie Underwood!) on Flickr.

Sugar High

If for some reason, you should find yourself saying, 'Self, we really ought to send Sara a present, but what shall we send her?', allow me to gently point you in a sure-to-make-Sara-smile (and-gain-twenty-pounds-that-she-won't-even-care-about) direction:

Baked by Melissa

Holy mini-cupcake heaven. I want them all. One Two Five of every flavor.

Laptop down

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My laptop has been dead for a little over a week now and I think the worse of the withdrawals are over. I'm pretty sure the only reason I've managed to survive thus far is because I have all day to be on the desktop in the office, so by the time Nate comes home, I've got all my emailing, blogging, researching done and I can hang out in the living room with him. Well, except for the time that he then spends in the office, checking email and doing whatever it is he needs to do.

I shudder to imagine what life will be like once I go back to work in a few weeks. Then we'll both be fighting for desktop time in the evenings and there will be no more blogging during commercial breaks on the couch (my prime blogging time!). Although we've discussed replacing the deceased party, someone doesn't quite seem to share my sense of urgency on the matter.

Of course, this hasn't stopped me from researching the heck out of shiny new laptops. I've never had to purchase one on my own (Dead Dell was my old work laptop that I got as part of my severance) and I am completely floored by the sheer number of options and decisions to be made. 2GB, 4GB, 6GB. i3, i5, i7. Screen size. Screen resolution. Touch screen. Touch pad. Memory. Hard disks. Bits. HOLY COW.

So I'll do the only thing I know to do. Which is ask you. What laptop do you use? What do you like about it? What do you hate about it? What would you do differently if you had to purchase one again?

Tuesdays at the Table

Well, I'm back to a few weeks off as a Lady of Leisure and I plan to make the most of it. And by 'make the most of it' I mean, I will do as little as possible. Unfortunately Nate doesn't have quite the same definition as I do. He seems to think that since my days are free, he should come home to a gourmet meal every night. Riiight.

But in the interest of at least pretending to be domestic, I think I will try this super easy recipe for dinner tonight. He'll think I slaved away all day when really all I did was sit on my duff and watch The Time Traveler's Wife while drinking Starbucks. Sounds like a productive day to me.

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Parmesan Meat Loaf
via Real Simple

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large egg
1 grated onion (or cheat and use onion flakes like I do!)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (or parsley flakes)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use Italian)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup tomato paste

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients in large bowl.
2. On a foil-lined baking sheet, form the mixture into an 8-inch loaf.
3. Bake at 400 degrees until cooked through, about 40-50 minutes.

Serves 4.

There's a boy who works at Starbucks....

To promote their new Any-Way-You-Want-It Frappuccinos, it's Frapp Happy Hour at Starbucks from 3-5pm every day this week! Although, technically it should be Happy Hours, since it's actually two hours, but whatever! As long as they are giving me a frappuccino at half price, I don't care what they call it!

I tried their new Extra Coffee Caramel Frap with non-fat milk yesterday and it was delish. The more coffee, the better in my opinion!

So in honor of Happy Hour week, here is a little tribute to Starbucks from one of my favorite Broadway stars, Kristin Chenoweth. Makes me giggle every time!

Happy Mother's Day

to the best whole world Mom a girl could ask for. I hope that some day I will share the same kind of relationship with my (future) daughters that you share with yours. Thank you for always being there to listen, support, pray and celebrate. I love you!

Tuesdays at the Table

We love a good sandwich at our house, especially in the summer months when it seems like we are running in a hundred directions of every day of week. We eat them for dinner at least once a week, so I'm always on the lookout for good recipes to add to my repertoire. I ran across this one in April's Real Simple and can't wait to try it.

Sliced Egg Sandwich with Herb Mayonnaise
via Real Simple magazine

Ingredients:
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Pumpernickel bread
2 sliced hard boiled eggs
Lettuce or watercress


Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, parsley and Dijon mustard. Spread on 2 slices of pumpernickel bread and form a sandwich with 2 sliced hard-boiled eggs. Top with lettuce or watercress, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

What I learned from my sisters

- She who showers last will shower fast...cause there isn't any hot water left.
- You snooze, you lose...the last brownie, the front seat, whatever. See also #1.
- Each successive sister has it easier than the last. This is the only case where it sucks to be first.
- If you are doing something you shouldn't be doing, at least one sister has likely seen you do it.
- Said sister will use this knowledge to her advantage the next time she snoozes and loses.
- Your underwear drawer is the only safe place to keep chocolate.
- I will always have three best friends. And they all have the same last name.


Today I am thankful for....sisters who are not above bribing each other with cupcakes if it gets all four of us in the same place at the same time.

I love you, girlies! Can't wait to see you in just 24 days!

Love, Ruh

May I give thanks

Do you ever just feel out of sorts? Not mad or upset or sad - just not 'right'? I don't know how to describe any better. Just out of sorts.

That's been me the last few weeks. There's nothing particularly wrong, no one big thing I can point to and say, 'That's what's making me feel bad'. I've just not felt like myself.

And that's not okay with, well, myself.

Because I sure do have a lot to be thankful for! Who am I to sit around feeling sorry for myself, when God has blessed me immeasurably above all I could ask or imagine? Just because those blessings aren't in the form I particularly asked for doesn't excuse my ungratefulness. I've been acting like a 5-year-old, who upon opening all her beautiful gifts on Christmas morning, looks around, stamps her foot and says grumpily, 'But I didn't get the dollhouse I asked for!'. In fact, I'm surprised He hasn't reached down and spanked me for my poor attitude lately.

Thankfully for me, and my behind, His mercies are new every morning and I can start this month with a brand new slate. Determined to be thankful for all that I do have, instead of focusing on the things that I don't have.

Today I am thankful for....days that on the surface seem trying but are really just God's way of showing you how many people love and care for you.

What are you thankful for today?