Bagels

HERE is the recipe I used to make bagels this week. It is different from an old faithful recipe that I really loved but that I lost to a dead link on the internet. This one is great, straightforward, and simple. I did not use the malt syrup that the recipe calls for, instead I used honey and it seemed to work just fine. I topped mine with fresh minced garlic, kosher salt, some I made with several different kinds of seeds, some I made with rosemary, salt, and garlic, and a few I made cinnamon and sugar (although I prefer the savory over the sweet).

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. I will definitely learn my lesson by printing this little baby out so that I have it no matter what!

Fresh Tomato, Green Pepper (and Cucumber) Salad

School is out and I am back in action around the house. Goal for this coming school year is to still do things I enjoy doing despite the long hours I put in..we'll see. For now, no worrying about it, just going to enjoy it and play as hard as I worked this school year...WATCH OUT!

So far I have been cleaning and reorganizing and rearranging and LOVE IT! I donated my hair to Locks of Love so I have a spiffy new haircut, which was free by the way because I let a Tricochi student use my head in order to take her test over cutting long hair into layers...her first time ever cutting a real person's hair and she did such a good job! I had a dentist appointment today and am CAVITY FREE!! SUCH GOOD NEWS BECAUSE I HAVE A HISTORY WITH LOTS OF DENTAL WORK, UGH! AND, tomorrow I am going with my mother-in-law for a manicure and pedicure through an awesome deal on Groupon.

Ok, enough of my gushing about how happy I am to be on vacation...Here's the recipe I made today for lunch. I am not sure where I got this recipe. I had the card in my recipe box and pulled it out while going through my recipes to menu plan this summer. Here it is!

2 large tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 cucumbers, chopped into small pieces
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
2 TB red wine vinegar
1 Chopped green pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 Red Onion (optional) **I didn't have it on hand or else I would have added it for sure!
Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, Italian herbs


Next up....Bagels! So sad that my usual recipe's link died. I found another recipe that I am going to try today.

Going to crash a Diddy party in disguise....

A little taste of a song I am enjoying off the newest Weezer album:

You don't keep house and I'm a slob
You're freakin' out cause I can't keep a job
We don't update our blogs
We are Trainwrecks


This song just cracks me up because it describes how things have been going so far this year...and really, in the end, does any of it really matter, nope. So, who cares if our place is messy or I haven't been on blogger or tweeted....

I am really pumped to be turning 27 tomorrow. I spent this weekend feeling really peaceful and content. My job is tough, but rewarding. The reason I have been so stressed is completely my own fault. I am learning how to deal...learning how to stop this need to always please and to stop being so concerned that I am messing up. I have had a rough few months (and all of last year) because I have not let go of these things. I have tried to hold onto things so tightly and that just doesn't work. I need to wake up, do my best, and leave it at that. I know how hard I work and that's all I can do. I have tried to force things and have worried over things waaaaaaaay too much and it has not brought me much gain nor peace/happiness. If I get a bad observation, or upset someone, what is the worst that could happen? It sounds insane, but I have to think these kinds of things through. My worst fear is disappointing someone who cares about me/believes in. I have to start living my life and not be so afraid of these kinds of things.

I have been putting myself and the people close to me through craziness and I am just not going to do it anymore! This next year is going to rock!

Bagels

Yay! Yay! YAY! I made bagels for the first time this morning!!

Check out this link for a great recipe.

I tried to post some great videos from E-How.com, however, I couldn't quite figure it out...so, if you need the visual, like I did, you can search on E-How.

I am super excited because bagels are so delicious and I never thought I could make them! I topped mine with a variety of things---garlic, salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, and cinnamon and sugar. The recipe makes 10 and I read that if you do not boil the bagels (which I did), you can freeze the dough, let rise, and then bake. This really cuts down on the time it takes, which it is rather involved, but TOTALLY worth it!!

Well, time to relax a little and clean up a bit before Tom's family comes over. Tonight, we are celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at an awesome pot sticker house in bridgeport!!

Happy Weekend to all!!

Summer Grilling

Tom and I bought a grill this summer and love it! I especially love it because we can have home-cooked meals without making our kitchen so hot. It is miserable to cook in there during the summer. It also saves us money on our gas bill, since our electricity is always higher during the summer in order to run our window-unit air conditioner. We bought a small, table top grill so that we can take it with us on our camping trips. Camping is WAY UP THERE on my list of things to do this summer...we'll see!

Last night's meal was probably our favorite meal so far. We grilled:

*Lemon-Herb Pork Chops--marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice, and rubbed on some garlic, oregano, parsley, sea salt, and ground black pepper. The secret was rubbing on some Rocky Mountain Seasoning from Pensey's. SO GOOD!

*Seasoned Apples--core the apples and fill with a little butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and then top with a few drops of water and seal in tin foil to throw on the grill for about 30 minutes. SO EASY and delicious!

I also made brown jasmine rice and green beans that I seasoned with Northwoods Spice from Pensey's, using the stove. I had a Fat Tire (my favorite beer) and Tom had a Heineken. It was such a fun night to sit at the dinner table, talk, and listen to some records. We both agreed that it was even better than the night before, where we went out to dinner. Sometimes it is so easy when we are at home to eat dinner in the living room and watch a movie or tv show on the internet. Sitting at the table was very lovely and I am going to make it a priority to do a little more frequently.

Tonight, we are grilling marinated round steak and seasoned carrots. I think we'll grill the apples again for dessert!