Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Best Maps EVER

So my buddy Lindsey lead me to the wonderful world of Stumble Upon. If you don't know about it, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes. It's a website where you can create a profile and tell it what your interests are and what kinds of websites you like to surf. For instance, I told it that I like, cooking, travel, mind and body, music, crafts....stuff like that. All I have to do is click the little "stumble" icon and, POOF, there is a website picked especially for me! It's like having a little gnome in your computer that knows just what you like. You can "like" or "dislike" anything it gives you and it uses that info to narrow in on what you want. AKA it's addictive.

Anyway.............. I was stumbling the other day and this is what I found.


They are mapping stereotypes prints by Yanko Tsvetkov and they are so spot on! I can't decide between the one above that is called "USA According to Common Sense" or the one below which is "Europe According to USA." Both are hilarious and will need to be strategically placed on a wall of my house. ASAP!



If you get bored, I beg of you, go to his website and see the rest. But, beware, some are NOT kid friendly yet oh so funny.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A New Obsession

I saw Bon Iver on The Colbert Report last night so I had to Google. AMAZING! I told Tyler that I had a crush and he said it was okay. Enough said...

Friday, June 10, 2011

Memorial Day

Well remember when I said I was going to start taking my own pictures? I have gotten lazy and today I am just going to tell you to head over to Tyler's blog to see more pics! Warning: Gratuitous amount of  pictures of Strongbow will be present...
 
Memorial Day weekend at Lake Martin was nice and lazy but my Mom and little bro were greatly missed! We celebrated Jessica's birthday, went tubing (yes Tyler and I still scream like children when my Dad takes a sharp turn), ate Pizza at Chucks Marina, grilled some DELICIOUS Red Snapper, hung out in the hot tub and watched our huge pack dogs wear each other out!

Bacon-Grilled Fish with Creole Red Sauce 

For Fish:
•4 red snapper fillets (6-8 ounces and 1-inch thick each)
•1 pound sliced bacon
•1 large Vidalia (or other sweet onion), sliced into rings
•1 dash soy sauce

-Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Open fish basket and line one side with strips of bacon, leaving a 1/2 inch space between slices.
-Cover the layer of bacon with a layer of onion rings.
-Place the red snapper fillets on top of the onion. Cover red snapper fillets with more onion, then strips of bacon over the onion.
-Close the basket, and lightly sprinkle with soy sauce.
-Place the basket on the hot grill, and cook for 5-7 minutes per side, or until the bacon is just cooked through.
-Remove from grill and open the basket.
-Place a similarly-sized plate upside down onto the food, and flip the basket and plate over so that the food is on top of the plate. Lift off the basket, and serve.

For Sauce
(Recipe by:  Diana Rattray)
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1 large clove garlic, minced
•1/4 cup chopped onions, about 1/2 medium onion
•1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
•1/4 cup chopped yellow or red bell pepper
•1/2 cup chopped celery
•1/2 teaspoon paprika
•1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
•1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
•1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
•1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
•1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
•1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•1 can (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with juice
•1 can (approx. 1 2/3 cups) chicken broth
•4 green onions, sliced, with most of green
•1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
•2 tablespoons butter

-Heat butter and oil over medium low heat in a medium saucepan.
-Add chopped garlic, onions, peppers, and celery. Sauté vegetables for about 2 minutes, until just tender.
-Combine the paprika, Creole seasoning, thyme, oregano, basil, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and ground pepper in a small cup.
-Stir tomatoes into the vegetables then add the seasoning mixture. Sauté for 1 minute longer.
-Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the sliced green onions. Continue boiling, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Most of the liquid will cook away.
-Stir in the tomato paste until blended in. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons butter.

Friday, June 3, 2011

My Loot

 Who doesn't love free food?! Well I guess it's not technically free considering we bought the plant, but $1.39 for a summer's worth of veggies ain't bad! Plus, giving away half of my bounty because we can't eat it all has made me a bit of a local fav around these parts! I love being popular!



The Topsy Turvy is doing well. I was a bit worried for a little while but after we moved it to a sunnier spot it really started to take off. I helped my dad plant 6 plants in a Topsy Turvy Tree and his are coming along slowly but surely as well.



 Cucumbers are NUTS! These suckers double in size in only about two days. I wish I had a video camera on them so we could go National Geographic style and watch a time lapse of them growing like Barry Bonds on steroids. Tyler and I both hate cucumbers so these are going to be sacrificed to the pickle gods.

 These will soon be red bell peppers...because I am to cheap to buy them at the store!

 And baby jalapeno peppers....

 The tomatoes that we put in the ground are doing a little better than the ones in the Topsy Turvy but I think the others will catch up soon.

 The squash and zucchini plants are HUGE and have been feeding us for about a week now. I'm not really sure why I thought I needed another of each in the new bed. I guess those will be giveaways.



Oh I forgot...I pulled up the carrots, which were pretty small due to the heat, so I will be pickling those this weekend if all goes to plan. The onions also came up and have been super tasty!

Next mission: Convince the city to change our zoning ordinance to allow us to have chickens in the back yard!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Lately...

Okay okay I know, I'm a horrible blogger. I have excuses but all of which are annoying so I will refrain and just give you an update on what has been going on recently.
Here is how it will go work trip, play trip, work trip, play trip, all in 2 weeks.

Work Trip 1:
Two weeks ago
rather plesant
nightmarish flight home

Play Trip 1:
Orange Beach
Hangout Music Festival
Brandon and Margaret
Matisyahu and Avett Brothers
Too much fun

Work Trip 2:
Flight from beach to Chicago
Matisyahu (my ultimate fav) and Michael Franti ON.MY.FLIGHT!!!
Cold weather
easy flight home

Play Trip 2:
Lake Martin
Lots of food
Lots of sunscreen
Lots of fun

I also started school on May 23rd. Last semester, booo yaaa!!
Can you tell that I have been busy?! Oh yeah, I forgot, no excuses (what a lame idea).

In other news, the vegetable garden is busting at the seams and Tyler made another 4x8 ft raised bed for me. I started some zinnia seeds inside because the ones I planted outside seemed to get washed away or the birds got them. We are planning to turn a few more square feet of dirt and weeds in the backyard into a bed.

I think that is about it for now and because I generally refuse to do a post without something visual, here is a video of Matisyahu from the Hangout.