and now this guy is governor?

i'll make this short, but i felt like i needed to blog about this. i'm watching Eraser, the Arnold Swarzenager (i'm giving up on spelling that) movie from 1996. i mean, he's such a hero. in the past 10 minutes alone he's jumped out of a plane, caught a parachute mid-air, put it on, avoided getting hit by the same plane by shooting out the windshield and just now he saved himself and vivica by letting loose some alligators on the bad guys. oh, and arnold isn't the only awesome thing about the movie. they've got photon laser guns that shoot through houses and allow the shooter to watch the milk you're drinking go down your esophagus. this is just ridiculous. and the best way to spend this stormy sunday.  

also - did anyone see justin timberlake on snl last night? i have such a huge crush on him. don't worry, justin's fine with it. 

into the wild (or, "how the youth staff tried to get justin to love the outdoors")

this past thursday i had a chance to do something that i haven't done in quite a while: load up a pack with 30 pounds of stuff and march into the wilderness with my fellow youth staffers. i'll be honest, 3 weeks ago when someone threw out the idea of a youth staff backpacking trip, i put the odds of it actually happening at about 5 to 1 (does that mean i didn't think it would happen? i don't really understand odds). but it did!

our original plan was 3 days on the cumberland trail and around prentice cooper state forest. day one changed the plan a little bit. why? well, after getting started later than we wanted, finding out what we thought was 5 miles would really be 7, and then adding on 3 miles by taking some unintended detours, we were starting to hurt pretty bad. oh, and did i mention that for the last 4 miles we were racing against SUNSET?! i realized my shoes were a little small, that my knee did not appreciate a lot of down and uphill, and that my lower back does, in fact, realize that i am approaching the ripe old age of 27. sweet mercy, i haven't been in that much pain for a while. my greatest comfort was (and is) that most of my team felt the same way.  we ended up making it to the campsite just in time. we had enough light to gather some wood, filter water and set up tents but that was IT. but who cares when you have a roaring fire? or cup o'noodles? or you're in the prettiest campsite ever right next to a rushing river? someone else on the team said "i have never wanted to quit something so bad in my entire life, but i knew that i couldn't do it. there was no option besides getting to the campsite". in my opinion, that is the best and worst thing about backpacking. you sometimes have to push yourself because there is simply no other option. 

after the standard night of very little sleep - followed in the morning by a thunderstorm moving through, we re-evaluated our plan. aching bodies and a 70% chance of more storms the next night made us decide to cut the trip to one night. our second day was spent hiking 6 miles out through some of the most beautiful forest ever. stunning overlooks, waterfalls, and what seemed like half the trail turned into creeks (it was wet, people) made me almost wish we could do it again the next day then my feet reminded me that they hate me. i will now give you my top 5 highlights:

5. our campsite by the river

4. the sound of thunderstorms rolling in in the morning

3. actually making it to our campsite

2. front row seat to sara's great fall (after which she got up and acted like nothing happened, leaving behind two nalgenes IN a creek. i was already laughing so hard i couldn't tell her to come back. i mean, she acted like it JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN. that made it so much funnier)

1. my husband saying he would do it again (now, you need to know, i love backpacking. justin - not so much. he's tough, he's in shape, but he loves his indoor sports and not going 2 days without a shower. this was a very big deal.)

and hopefully there will be pictures to come. and hopefully, in those pictures, i will look awesome.

an injury haiku (warning, contains a bit of gore)

a blow to the head

now he looks like rocky b.

he is my husband

* ok, he looks more like rocky TODAY because its all swollen and black and blue. but seriously, its quite a gash.  he hit it playing basketball, left blood all over the court. then went to our friends' house and got stitched up while laying on the kitchen counter. how gross is that? 

my new career and my not so new hobby

tonight i blog from my kitchen table - or my dining room  table - whichever way you want to look at it, and i have SO MANY things to tell you about. where to begin? on my fashionista friday? or my sunday night boredom creations? or the most recent savory recipe that i sort of got from an old southern living? well, for lack of a better plan, we'll just go in that order. no pics tonight, just a lot of links, and maybe a couple recipes. so here we go.

fasionista friday, or, "the day of little dreams" was something that my sweet friend amelia came up with.  she needed some high fashion pics for her portfolio (she's a truly gifted photographer and artist), her friend fran needed some test subjects for some out there high fashion hair, and ruthie and i didn't have to work on friday. what came of this? check it out here, at her blog.  it was one of the most fun days i've had in quite a while. i mean, who doesn't want to be a model for a day? and yes, i mean, a day. i don't know if i could actually be in a career that involves sitting in hair and make up for two hours, dressing up as a hot mess, and holding almost awkward poses in the blazing heat on a daily basis. but for a day? i was americas next top model.  keep in mind, anything that looks great in those pictures is the product of 4 artistic geniuses.  (fran on hair, jen on make up, kelly on wardrobe and amelia behind the camera).  i  think miss j would be proud.  

tonight i got bored and started browsing food blogs. have i told you about my new food blog obsession? they're like cookbooks but better. i think they're better because its all these recipes that someone else has already tried and they can tell you how they turn out! plus, if you stalk them long enough, like i do, you start feeling like they're your friends.  anyway, the product of all this boredom and food blog reading is these yummy little cookies from orangette. if you want a delicious cookie recipe that is so easy you don't even need a mixer, this is what you're looking for.  a huge shout out and thank you to sara who provided the yogurt.  i'm telling you, it is awfully handy having the littens in the same apartment complex. now they're done and sitting all chocolatey and gooey on my counter and the only thing left to decide is - do i want my dessert with red wine or milk?  

and last night's culinary creations.  saturday night ended up being the ONLY night this past week that both justin and i have been home for dinner. so, i felt like it called for some cooking.  i made becca's party chicken - it was delish. you should all get that recipe from her. and to go along with it i made this corn and zucchini skillet from a southern living way back in 2001. the main reason that this was convenient was that zucchini and corn were absurdly cheap at the grocery store, and i'm a sucker for sale produce. when i found this recipe i was sold. i changed it beyond recognition,  so now i will give you the huenschhold corn and zucchini skillet (mine, btw, was way better for you and i am sure much tastier):

Huenschhold Corn and Zucchini

2 small zucchini

2 ears of corn

1 Tbsp butter (or, cut out the butter and use all olive oil if you wanna be real healthy)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

about a teaspoon of lemon pepper

salt to taste

Crumbled feta (i used about 1/4 cup)

fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Cut zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then thinly slice them crosswise.  cut kernals off corn and into a bowl.  

Melt butter with oil in a skillet (i used a 10 inch omlet pan) over medium high heat.  Add zucchini and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.  

Add corn, lemon pepper and salt and continue to saute until zucchini is soft.  Top with feta and keep heating until cheese melts.  Serve with fresh basil on top.  SOOOOO GOOOOD.

the original recipe also called for pimentos and mozzerella instead of feta. i don't know, ours was REALLY good. you could probably use just about any kind of cheese you wanted, and it would be great.  

and that's all i've got for right now.  i'm off to eat some cookies. 

I love the earth

But, for the record, not as much as i love human life. but no time for that discussion - happy earth day everyone! i'm "celebrating" by working from my porch. saving gas? saving, um, i don't know. our office has no internet so we're here. 3 out of five of us. 

also, there are so many bees out here! they're boring into the wood above our windows. big ol bumble bees. and i'm not very worried because we just rent this apartment and we've told maintenance about this and they don't seem to be very worried. 

plus, out here i can look at my herb garden, which is growing like crazy. that picture is me and some home grown oregano, which i have a lot of. any ideas for fun things to do with oregano?

this is why some have called me "granola crunchy"

I have always sort of loved the term "granola" when it is used in reference to people who love the outdoors and all things "natural." in fact, i once heard someone off handedly say "oh, you're from chapin? that makes sense. people from chapin are granola."  maybe i like using this as a descriptive term because i love the actual granola cereal SO much. i buy it regularly and it constantly sits in my pantry, snuggled tightly between the cocoa puffs and lucky charms.  well, now that i'm obsessed with this blog called "orangette" and SHE makes her own granola, i decided to try it out.  i know this may make me at total hippie wanna be, or one of those girls who is too cheap to buy stuff store bought (chicken stock is my next undertaking) but after making this bag of beautiful goodness, i might never go back.  

so true to recent form, i will include the recipe for all of you. mine is adapted from orangette's which is adapted from nigella lawson.  the greatest thing about granola is that you can totally work it how you wanna work it. like dried fruit? add a ton! hate sesame seeds (like me)? leave them out! wanna add coconut or chocolate chips? i bet it would be great! just remember to add wet ingredients with wet, and dry with dry. ok. here we go!

Granola Crunchy Granola

Dry ingredients:

5 cups rolled oats
2 to 3 cups raw almonds or pecan halves, or a mixture
1 cup hulled raw sunflower seeds
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

Wet ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup brown rice syrup*
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, such as canola or safflower

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and put racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.  Get out two rimmed full sheet baking sheets. 

In a HUGE bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. You can also add sesame seeds (3/4 cup) but i didn't. And if you accidently got roasted and salted sunflower seeds that is ok too. i did that and it turned out fine.  In a smaller seperate bowl mix together all the wet ingredients. If you can find the individual cups of apple sauce they work really well and they keep longer than buying one giant thing. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients in the HUGE bowl. 

Spread the mixture on the two baking sheets and put 'em in the oven.  Bake them for about 35 minutes or until light golden brown.  Set a timer for every ten minutes to stir them.  Stir them one more time when you take them out. It'll be soft but don't worry, it'll get crisp as it cools.  

After it cools you can add dried fruit if you want.   I added cherries and raisins and it's perfect.  I also sent my dad a batch with no fruit and it was tasty as well. And that's it! store in a freezer bag in the fridge and it will keep a long time. enjoy morning after morning (or night after night) with yogurt or milk. and think of me as you're feasting on hippie food.  

*brown rice syrup almost caused me to give up this endeavor. then i accidently found it at a health/organic food store.  it's sold in a jar in a section with syrups and sweeteners. it's a gluten free sugar substitute and they would probably carry it at your local whole foods or organic market. and yes, its actually made of brown rice. i don't understand it. it's weird, but makes a mean granola.  

"mama, add a little water to that soup" - Newsies

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  Not only do we get to celebrate Jesus Christ defeating death and the glorious relationship we can have with our father because of this, but we also get to sit around for a long Sunday dinner with sweet friends.  Then, if you're me, and you're really lucky, these folks drop in and you get to sit around for another long meal with more sweet friends: 

(this might be the most awkward picture we took. so i decided to post it)

chris, holly and meagan stopped by on the way back from birmingham and i twisted their arms into staying for dinner. miraculously, i had everything i needed to make sara butler's famous fiesta soup, seen here:

and i feel like i need to say here that this soup tastes much better than it looks. 

This soup is actually completely fantastic.  Everybody loved it and i somehow managed to freeze a good bit of it. By holly and meagan's suggestion, i will post the recipe so that you too can entertain with grace and ease, and really good mexican soup.  

Sara Butler's Fiesta Soup (feeds 5 with enough to freeze for another meal)

8 cups chicken broth

4 chicken bullion cubes

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can diced green chiles

1 can diced tomatoes

1 box mexican or spanish rice-a-roni (both rice and spice packet)

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (i used fresh lime juice - thanks for taking the time holly)

2 cloves garlic (sliced or chopped or pressed)

1 medium onion chopped

1 tablespoon cumin ( i accidently bought three things of it, so if you need some . . . )

1 2/2 - 2 cups chopped or pulled cooked chicken ( i used the second half of a rotisserie chicken)

Sara's Directions:

Add all ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer with lid on for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve with grated cheddar, monterey jack, tortilla chips, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.  

My Directions (b/c i had to text Sara to clarify a few things, and then i changed a few things):

Get out a huge soup pot, melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. saute onion for a couple minutes, throw in garlic, saute til onions a little soft. Dump everything else in, turn on med. high and stir a lot cause the rice will stick. once it boils, turn the heat down to low and put the lid on. stir it every 5 to 10 min or so so the rice doesn't burn to the bottom. After about 35 minutes its done!