Just in time for Halloween

During the fall these little weird worms make their home in the trees around Austin. I really don't know much about them, except that they make trees look like Halloween decorations,, which I LOVE. What little I know about these little worms, is that they don't harm the tree. So we have left them in the tree in our back (we don't like that tree anyway). Our neighbors have a tree that is totally consumed by these worms.

Check it out...

Garlic and Oregano Marinade, thanks to Mr. Flay

Ingredients:
4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, cut into quarters
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar (preferably Spanish... I used regular vinegar)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoons ancho chile powder (available in Hispanic or specialty markets, I couldn't find this so I used Chipotle peppers)
12 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves
2 cups pure olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method

In a blender, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, honey ancho chile powder, garlic and oregano and blend 30 seconds. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until emulsifies. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 3 cups.
Season the chicken quarters with salt and pepper to taste and marinate in the Garlic and Fresh Oregano Marinade 2 hours refrigerated.

I really liked this Bobby Flay marinade. I was worried it would be to garlicky but it was a very nice balance of flavors. I searched high and low for the ancho chili powder. I went to a Spanish market, to a natural foods store, and my typical grocery store. Nada. So, I went with the chipotle chili pepper flakes. I have no idea how this would have change the flavor, but I would like to try it with the ancho powder. I would also probably marinate the chicken longer than the 1 1/2 hours that I had time to do. I will use this marinade again!

Quite the night


Yesterday was a girls day at the spa, then dinner, then a bar, then a comedy club, then back to the bar. :) My friend Lisha was in town so we could spend some good quality girl time together. Our day started off with a stone massage at Halina in Round Rock. I haven't had a stone massage before, but Shae has and she really liked it. I have to say that it was relaxing but I think I'll stick with my normal massage. There wasn't enough massage time since time was taken away to put the stones on and off of me. Like I said, it was relaxing, but I would rather spend my money on a regular massage.

Picture with my stones

After our massages, we found a place for our pedicures. We didn't want to do it at Halina because it was to expensive. We found a place less than a mile from Halina, so it worked out perfectly. I was able to watch the Texas-OU game at the salon, so I had the best of both worlds! Of course, there were some ladies in the salon that made a big deal that all of the women were in there to get away from the game. I played nice and didn't say anything :)



After our wonderful pedicures, we went home (Lisha and Shae went to Shae's house, and I went home) to get ready for our night out. We met up at Trudy's for dinner and drinks! I tried a pomegranate mojito, and enjoyed it! It was refreshing and a bit tart. Dinner was tasty as well.



We had a couple of hours in between dinner and the show, so we headed over to a bar across the street. It was pretty dead since it was only 9pm or so. We had a good conversation with the three bartenders, so it made the time fly by. I tried a new shot this weekend.... dirty bong water. It has pineapple juice, Blue Curacao (spelling??), and other stuff. I have no idea, but it was tasty! There was a band there that Shae loved.. LC Rocks. They are an 80's cover band that came equipped with the long permed hair, the leather pants, and the wind machine to make sure their hair was flowing as they sang their songs. They were really good, and it made for a good time.


After the bar we headed over to the comedy club to watch Carlos Alazraqui, who has a role on Reno 911. I don't watch Reno 911, so I don't really have a clue who this guy is. But he was pretty funny, as were the two comedians that performed before him. Cap City Comedy club wasn't that busy, but we still had a good time!!!!

After the comedy club we headed back to the bar to see if LC Rocks was still playing... and they were! I have to say, I couldn't keep up with these two partying mama's! I ran out of steam around 1:00am, but I had to be a trooper for my friends!! :) I switched to water and sat down (my shoes were killing my feet!!) while the ladies sang and danced with the band!

Please excuse my six chins.... this isn't the best angle but I was bending backwards to fit in the picture (it was a self portrait)

Lisha posing with one of the band members. I think he has more eye makeup on than Lisha does!!!

This cute little old guy was drinking and dancing all night. He was there with his daughter (who really looked like his granddaughter). He was 76 years old.

The crowd dancing while listening to LC Rocks

Okay Okra

Growing up in Arizona, I didn't really eat much okra. I'm sure that is partly due to okra not being that popular in AZ and that my parents didn't eat it either (not big in NJ-- at least not that I am aware of). So this southern veggie is a little unknown to me. Jim went to visit his parents a couple of weeks ago and he was given a huge bag of okra that his mom grew in her garden. The only way I have ever eaten it is fried so I went in search of a recipe. Most fried okra recipes called for corn meal, but I didn't have any on hand. So I decided to go with a beer batter instead. The batter got a little sticky once I threw the okra in there and it clumped up a bit, but overall I think it came out pretty good (even though I think okra is a bit slimy!)!



Beer Batter

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
couple shakes of salt
couple shakes of pepper
one shake of cayenne (or Cajun seasoning)
1/4 c veggie oil
1 egg
1 cup beer (I used Bud Light)

Heat vegetable oil in a pan. I used about a 1/2 cup of oil.

Mix flour, baking powder and seasonings. Add egg, beer and oil to dry mix. Mix until most lumps are gone (make sure not to over mix).

Chop okra into bite size pieces (about 1/4 inch), then dump into the batter. Use a spoon to get the okra out of the batter and into the pan. Let the okra cook until browned on both sides.

Once you get the okra out of the pan sprinkle it with a little salt and enjoy!

Last weekend

Last weekend Jim had a golf tournament during the day and at night the women met up with the men down in San Marcos to enjoy some dinner and drinks. The tournament happens once a year and most of the guys look forward to it! Ashley and I drove down together since Jim and Jason drove down together earlier in the day. Jim got to see a lot of people that he doesn't normally get to see, so he had a really good time. I just tried to keep up with all of the names of the people that I met that night.

Here are some of our completely sober pictures from that night....... :)

Wednesday Night TV



Wednesday night tv seems to have a lot of new shows. Out of the three that I have watched, I think I am going to like Pushing Daisies and Private Practice. I figured I would like Private Practice since I am a Grey's Anatomy fan. I also checked out Back to You which starts Kelsy Grammer and Patricia Heaton (is that her name? the wife from "Everybody Loves Raymond"). I wasn't very impressed, it was okay but way better stuff on TV.



However, I was impressed with Pushing Daisys. A nice change in the type of show, and it was narrated in such a way that reminded me of The Grinch. The main guy (crap, I can't remember his name) has a power where he can awake the dead for 60 seconds. He has a deal with a private investigator to figure out homicides to collect the reward. I look forward to the show next week, I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Quick Supper

I love visiting Costco and eating their samples as I shop :). There were days when Jim and I worked together that we would head over to Costco to eat lunch by trying all of the samples. It wasn't really to save money, but it is a great way to eat just enough. Kind of like going to a party and eating their appetizers.

During a shopping trip (I really was there to buy some things) I tried a pre-made pot roast sample. I wasn't sure what it would taste like, but I was pleasantly surprised. As I stood there debating whether to buy a package I heard three other people say "wow" and "yum" while trying the pot roast. So I thought, why not! I think it was about $5 a pound.

It was very simple to heat up, you could either stick it in the microwave or you could boil it in the plastic bag that it came in. I opted to boil it. I could tell that Jim thought I was nuts for buying it, but he ended up clearing his plate! The meat was just a tad dry, but overall very good and I'll buy it again.

Vacation Pictures- New Jersey and Philadelphia

Waiting for a train to Philly

Using the self portrait function on the camera for a subway picture

This was a FANTASTIC turkey melt sandwich that I had at the Reading Market in Philly.

Downtown Philadelphia Pictures

Pop Pop enjoying his afternoon beer

The weather was perfect for sitting on the porch

Sunset on the Delaware River