The other day, I was watching TV, and saw a commercial for pasta, and it looked really good, so I started my search for a new pasta recipe. I found a great one!
I went to foodnetwork.com, and went found this recipe that was featured on "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger." The only thing I changed is that I used regular fettucine, instead of whole wheat (they didn't have whole wheat at the store we went to), and added a couple of grilled chicken breasts. Oh, and I left out the onion, because onions are gross. It turned out great! Honestly, I can't imagine having this without some kind of meat. The chicken was definitely a nice touch.
Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup crumbled feta cheese or a 6-ounce block
1 pound whole-wheat fettuccine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes. Add roasted peppers and saute until heated through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor with stock and all but 2 tablespoons of the feta. Process until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce, adding pasta water by the tablespoon, if needed. Sauce should cling nicely to pasta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide among pasta bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining feta cheese.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Changes
I posted some more blog links that I have seriously been slacking in posting. Seriously. So, check them out. The ones underneath Mommy Memoirs are all new. AND I finally fixed the link to Patrick and Jasmine's blog.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Bragging Rights
Do you have an item in someone's etsy shop named after you? Didn't think so....but I do! How cool am I?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Update...Plus, Argentina
Update: If you go back to my posts about Brazil, I've added some pics. Check em out.
Argentina
We arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, late in the afternoon on Saturday. The biggest difference...the weather! It was hot and sunny in Rio, and chilly and overcast/rainy in Buenos. Pretty soon after we got in, we went straight for the grub. Argentina is known for their beef, so we wanted to get our fill. Grant read about this steakhouse in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and thought it would be a good place to go. It was called Cabana Las Linas, and it was fabulous! I'm not a big red meat-eater, but the steak I got was easily the best I've ever had. Grant also ranked my steak as the best ever, and his came in a close second. We got homemade Dulce de Leche ice cream for dessert, which started my Dulce de Leche obsession while in Argentina. Apparently, it's very popular in South America, particuluarly in Argentina.
The next morning, we had a scheduled tour of the city. The tour itself wasn't that great, because the tour guide kept switching between Spanish and English, and with her thick accent, it was hard to tell when she was actually speaking English. However, the stops that we made on the tour made up for that. We went to this cathedral, which was just beautiful inside. The entire floor of the cathedral was made up of mosaic tile, with floral designs. Thinking about how much work that would have been blew my mind!
Then we went to the neighborhood of La Boca.
You'll have to go to the link that I provided to read about it (if you're interested, of course), but it was just a very cool neighborhood. While we were there, Grant got attacked by a couple of tango women, looking for money. They did this to a lot of men, but I think they particularly liked Grant. They kept pinching his cheeks, and saying "Precioso!" and kissing him. He didn't particularly care for this, but went along with it anyway. He said one of the funniest things ever in regards to the "ugly" one. He said, "Did you see where she made me put my hand? On her fat butt!!" My stomach so sore from me laughing so hard!
After the tour, we asked to be dropped off at the market at San Telmo. Grant found a cool old watch, and I found a cute little handmade dress for our little bambino ($7!). We also found a great French restaurant. I got another steak, and Grant got the rabbit. As you can see, the presentation was gorgeous!
We found our way back into that square where the cathedral was, and Grant decided he wanted to feed the birds. Even though, when he did that in Venice, Italy, he was so disgusted afterwards. I reminded him about that, but he still wanted to. Again, he was disgusted afterwards. So was I.
Later that evening, we went to a tango dinner show. It was so cool! Those tango dancers are incredible!
They also had a couple of other things along with the tango. This one guy....well, I'll let the video speak for itself. My jaw was open most of the time while watching his performance.
On Monday, we took a walk to the Teatro Colon, which we found out is closed for rennovations. Grant was a little sad. It's supposed to be really beautiful inside.
Then we made our way to the cemetery that Evita is buried in. The cemetery was pretty impressive. I've been to the one in New Orleans, which at first, I thought would be pretty similar. But this one was so much more intriguing, with all of the elaborate tombs.
We're back in lovely Dayton now, so I'm spending the day doing laundry, uploading pictures, and trying to get some rest before I go back to work tomorrow.
Argentina
We arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, late in the afternoon on Saturday. The biggest difference...the weather! It was hot and sunny in Rio, and chilly and overcast/rainy in Buenos. Pretty soon after we got in, we went straight for the grub. Argentina is known for their beef, so we wanted to get our fill. Grant read about this steakhouse in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and thought it would be a good place to go. It was called Cabana Las Linas, and it was fabulous! I'm not a big red meat-eater, but the steak I got was easily the best I've ever had. Grant also ranked my steak as the best ever, and his came in a close second. We got homemade Dulce de Leche ice cream for dessert, which started my Dulce de Leche obsession while in Argentina. Apparently, it's very popular in South America, particuluarly in Argentina.
The next morning, we had a scheduled tour of the city. The tour itself wasn't that great, because the tour guide kept switching between Spanish and English, and with her thick accent, it was hard to tell when she was actually speaking English. However, the stops that we made on the tour made up for that. We went to this cathedral, which was just beautiful inside. The entire floor of the cathedral was made up of mosaic tile, with floral designs. Thinking about how much work that would have been blew my mind!
Then we went to the neighborhood of La Boca.
You'll have to go to the link that I provided to read about it (if you're interested, of course), but it was just a very cool neighborhood. While we were there, Grant got attacked by a couple of tango women, looking for money. They did this to a lot of men, but I think they particularly liked Grant. They kept pinching his cheeks, and saying "Precioso!" and kissing him. He didn't particularly care for this, but went along with it anyway. He said one of the funniest things ever in regards to the "ugly" one. He said, "Did you see where she made me put my hand? On her fat butt!!" My stomach so sore from me laughing so hard!
After the tour, we asked to be dropped off at the market at San Telmo. Grant found a cool old watch, and I found a cute little handmade dress for our little bambino ($7!). We also found a great French restaurant. I got another steak, and Grant got the rabbit. As you can see, the presentation was gorgeous!
We found our way back into that square where the cathedral was, and Grant decided he wanted to feed the birds. Even though, when he did that in Venice, Italy, he was so disgusted afterwards. I reminded him about that, but he still wanted to. Again, he was disgusted afterwards. So was I.
Later that evening, we went to a tango dinner show. It was so cool! Those tango dancers are incredible!
They also had a couple of other things along with the tango. This one guy....well, I'll let the video speak for itself. My jaw was open most of the time while watching his performance.
On Monday, we took a walk to the Teatro Colon, which we found out is closed for rennovations. Grant was a little sad. It's supposed to be really beautiful inside.
Then we made our way to the cemetery that Evita is buried in. The cemetery was pretty impressive. I've been to the one in New Orleans, which at first, I thought would be pretty similar. But this one was so much more intriguing, with all of the elaborate tombs.
We're back in lovely Dayton now, so I'm spending the day doing laundry, uploading pictures, and trying to get some rest before I go back to work tomorrow.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Brazil: Days 3 & 4
We didn't make it to the internet cafe yesterday, so I'm making up for that now.
Yesterday, we went to the beach again. I don't think I talked about all of the hagglers on the beach. You basically can't go 5 minutes without being asked to buy something. It's really annoying. At one point, I was sitting there, wearing my sunglasses, and a guy selling sunglasses came up to me, and shoved a pair in my face. If only we spoke the same language, I would've told him how stupid that was. Instead I just pointed to my sunglasses and tried to shoo him away. Another strange thing that we noticed at the beach, is that there are a lot of "standers," as we've come to call them. People who come to the beach without a towel, and just stand the whole time. Growing up in a beach town in Florida, I've spent a fair share of time at the beach, and I've never seen this before. Very strange.
After the beach, we got a quick and dirty lunch at one of the beach vendors, then we made our way back to the hotel. Rested for a bit, then caught a cab to Sugarloaf, which is probably the most recognizable landmarks of Brazil, next to the Christ the Redeemer statue. We timed it so that we would be there right around sunset, and our timing ended up being perfect. You take one tram to the first little mountain, and then a second tram to Sugarloaf. Both of these stops offer fantastic views of Rio. Breathtaking, really. This was also the place that we saw the most fellow Americans. There just aren't that many here, that we've seen. It's always nice to hear your native tongue spoken in a foreign country.
After Sugarloaf, we walked to a restaurant that is like a buffet, but they weigh your food, and charge you by the kilo. Good food, and very cheap. That's one thing that I've noticed about Rio in general, is that everything is pretty cheap.
Today, we met a tour guide around 9 am for a tour through the Tijuca Forest. He picked us up in an open-air jeep, and there were 2 other Americans (ironically from Ohio) on the tour with us. This was such a cool tour! The forest was easily 5-10 degrees cooler than the rest of the city, and we saw some beautiful sites.
We've been seeing advertisements for something called Açai, but we weren't sure what it was. So while we were on our tour, we asked our guide (who spoke perfect English), and he said we should definitely try it, and that it's delicious. Apparently, it's a fruit that they make into a smoothie and mix with Guarana syrup. So after our tour, we went to a corner diner-type of place for lunch. Got a little sandwich and a Açai to share. It was fabulous! I can't describe what it tasted like, because I've never tasted anything like it before. I liked it so much, that I got one for dinner, too, which we had at the same corner diner.
Now, we're just sitting here at the internet place, catching up on email, and enjoying our last night in Rio. Tomorrow, we're off to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We'll be there for 3 nights. I really can't wait to post pictures, because we've taken some cool ones. Like Pinky said in her comment on my last post, I didn't bring my card reader, because I didn't know if we would be able to check our internet, and if we did, I really didn't want to upload pictures to some random computer.
Yesterday, we went to the beach again. I don't think I talked about all of the hagglers on the beach. You basically can't go 5 minutes without being asked to buy something. It's really annoying. At one point, I was sitting there, wearing my sunglasses, and a guy selling sunglasses came up to me, and shoved a pair in my face. If only we spoke the same language, I would've told him how stupid that was. Instead I just pointed to my sunglasses and tried to shoo him away. Another strange thing that we noticed at the beach, is that there are a lot of "standers," as we've come to call them. People who come to the beach without a towel, and just stand the whole time. Growing up in a beach town in Florida, I've spent a fair share of time at the beach, and I've never seen this before. Very strange.
After the beach, we got a quick and dirty lunch at one of the beach vendors, then we made our way back to the hotel. Rested for a bit, then caught a cab to Sugarloaf, which is probably the most recognizable landmarks of Brazil, next to the Christ the Redeemer statue. We timed it so that we would be there right around sunset, and our timing ended up being perfect. You take one tram to the first little mountain, and then a second tram to Sugarloaf. Both of these stops offer fantastic views of Rio. Breathtaking, really. This was also the place that we saw the most fellow Americans. There just aren't that many here, that we've seen. It's always nice to hear your native tongue spoken in a foreign country.
After Sugarloaf, we walked to a restaurant that is like a buffet, but they weigh your food, and charge you by the kilo. Good food, and very cheap. That's one thing that I've noticed about Rio in general, is that everything is pretty cheap.
Today, we met a tour guide around 9 am for a tour through the Tijuca Forest. He picked us up in an open-air jeep, and there were 2 other Americans (ironically from Ohio) on the tour with us. This was such a cool tour! The forest was easily 5-10 degrees cooler than the rest of the city, and we saw some beautiful sites.
We've been seeing advertisements for something called Açai, but we weren't sure what it was. So while we were on our tour, we asked our guide (who spoke perfect English), and he said we should definitely try it, and that it's delicious. Apparently, it's a fruit that they make into a smoothie and mix with Guarana syrup. So after our tour, we went to a corner diner-type of place for lunch. Got a little sandwich and a Açai to share. It was fabulous! I can't describe what it tasted like, because I've never tasted anything like it before. I liked it so much, that I got one for dinner, too, which we had at the same corner diner.
Now, we're just sitting here at the internet place, catching up on email, and enjoying our last night in Rio. Tomorrow, we're off to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We'll be there for 3 nights. I really can't wait to post pictures, because we've taken some cool ones. Like Pinky said in her comment on my last post, I didn't bring my card reader, because I didn't know if we would be able to check our internet, and if we did, I really didn't want to upload pictures to some random computer.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Brazil: Day 2
Here I am again, same internet cafe, different day. Today was very cool. We went to breakfast then caught a bus to Corcovado, which is the famous "Christ the Redeemer" statue. Amazing. We took tons of pictures, some of them are (hopefully) very cool.
**By the way, this is a "baby's perspective" picture. There will be more...**
Then we took the bus into Ipanema (we're staying in Copacabana, and Ipanema is the next beach town over), to try to find some Feijoada (kind of sounds like "fish water"...."fesh wata"), which is a famous Brazilian dish. Apparently, it's usually only served on Saturdays, though, so the place that we went to didn't have it. But, they told us about Casa de Feijoada, which serves it all the time, so we went there. It was quite a feast. And very interesting. I'll have to write more about it later.
Then we went back to the hotel to rest a bit (this was around 4 - things in Brazil take a lot more time than you think they will). And now, we're waiting to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry at a local movie theatre. It will be in English, with Portuguese subtitles.
I just have to quickly say that in all of our travels, Brazil is definitely the most unique place we've visited. A vast majority of people don't speak English, and really, a lot of them don't even speak Spanish. And Portuguese is very different than Spanish. Different, but also kind of similar. Some words are the same, some are completely different, and some are just pronounced differently. So we use a mix of English, Spanish, what little Portuguese we've picked up, and odd sign language-type motions. We're getting around, but with a lot of difficulty.
Well, our movie is about to start, so I'll have to end for now.
Tchau (pronounced like the Italian, "Ciao"...see, they don't even say "Adios"!!)
**By the way, this is a "baby's perspective" picture. There will be more...**
Then we took the bus into Ipanema (we're staying in Copacabana, and Ipanema is the next beach town over), to try to find some Feijoada (kind of sounds like "fish water"...."fesh wata"), which is a famous Brazilian dish. Apparently, it's usually only served on Saturdays, though, so the place that we went to didn't have it. But, they told us about Casa de Feijoada, which serves it all the time, so we went there. It was quite a feast. And very interesting. I'll have to write more about it later.
Then we went back to the hotel to rest a bit (this was around 4 - things in Brazil take a lot more time than you think they will). And now, we're waiting to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry at a local movie theatre. It will be in English, with Portuguese subtitles.
I just have to quickly say that in all of our travels, Brazil is definitely the most unique place we've visited. A vast majority of people don't speak English, and really, a lot of them don't even speak Spanish. And Portuguese is very different than Spanish. Different, but also kind of similar. Some words are the same, some are completely different, and some are just pronounced differently. So we use a mix of English, Spanish, what little Portuguese we've picked up, and odd sign language-type motions. We're getting around, but with a lot of difficulty.
Well, our movie is about to start, so I'll have to end for now.
Tchau (pronounced like the Italian, "Ciao"...see, they don't even say "Adios"!!)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Hello From Brazil!
Well, as Tink mentioned in her recent post, we met up in NYC on Sunday, which was just so cool.
On Monday, we left for Brazil. Little did we know that it would be a very hectic, and very long trip. Short story...
Our plane left NYC almost an hour and a half later than scheduled. We missed our connecting flight from Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro, even though we were told that we wouldn´t. Thought we were going to be spending the night in Sao Paolo, but at the last minute (literally) got on one last flight to Rio, which arrived late, and left late. Our transfer that was supposed to pick us up in Rio was not there, understandably. We ended up getting a taxi to our hotel, paid for by TAM Airlines, and got to our hotel around 3 in the am. Woke up around 8:30, ate breakfast, bought some sunscreen, and went to the beach.
Saw many, many skimpy bathing suits being worn by people who should never consider wearing that little of clothing. **Edit: People that looked even scarier than I did in a bathing suit, if you can believe it.**
Drank out of a coconut.
Went back to the hotel and watched the E! Channel (that´s for you, Summer) and took a long, long nap. Ate a wonderful, cheap (by American standards) Brazilian dinner, along the lines of Tucanos in Albuquerque.
And now I´m here in an internet cafe typing this. Was so happy to have a nice, relaxing day since the last few days have been very busy. Oh, and I also have cankles now, thanks to sitting on a plane for about 9 1/2 hours.
On Monday, we left for Brazil. Little did we know that it would be a very hectic, and very long trip. Short story...
Our plane left NYC almost an hour and a half later than scheduled. We missed our connecting flight from Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro, even though we were told that we wouldn´t. Thought we were going to be spending the night in Sao Paolo, but at the last minute (literally) got on one last flight to Rio, which arrived late, and left late. Our transfer that was supposed to pick us up in Rio was not there, understandably. We ended up getting a taxi to our hotel, paid for by TAM Airlines, and got to our hotel around 3 in the am. Woke up around 8:30, ate breakfast, bought some sunscreen, and went to the beach.
Saw many, many skimpy bathing suits being worn by people who should never consider wearing that little of clothing. **Edit: People that looked even scarier than I did in a bathing suit, if you can believe it.**
Drank out of a coconut.
Went back to the hotel and watched the E! Channel (that´s for you, Summer) and took a long, long nap. Ate a wonderful, cheap (by American standards) Brazilian dinner, along the lines of Tucanos in Albuquerque.
And now I´m here in an internet cafe typing this. Was so happy to have a nice, relaxing day since the last few days have been very busy. Oh, and I also have cankles now, thanks to sitting on a plane for about 9 1/2 hours.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Up, Up, and Away!
We leave this morning to go to NYC for 2 nights, where I'll be meeting my long-time internet friend Tink, plus meeting one of my best friends from high school who, ironically, is very good friends with Tink (the PCC world is a small one). Then it's off to Brazil for 5 nights, and Buenos Aires for 3 nights.
Don't worry, there will be many, many pictures when we get back.
Don't worry, there will be many, many pictures when we get back.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Seeing Stars
Over the weekend, Grant and I saw the new movie, Stardust. I was skeptical, but he said he heard good reviews, so we should try it. I'm so glad we did! It was such a great movie - adventerous, funny, beautifully filmed, etc. Robert DeNiro's character is hilarious - not at all what you would expect from him. So if you get the chance, I highly recommend this movie.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!
Well, today is Grant's birthday. Which is great for me, because for the next 9 months, I don't have to hear about how I'm an older woman.
He met me at work in Yellow Springs today. I made lunch reservations at the Winds Cafe, which turned out to be a fantastic dining experience!!
Grant got a ricotta cheese omelet, which was delicious, and very fresh tasting. I swear they got those eggs straight from the chicken coop when he ordered it! I had the stuffed poblano, which was stuffed with rice, ricotta cheese, dried fruit and olives. It was amazing. I'm now trying to find a recipe that's similar, but I'm having no luck. I might just have to make that a little experiment of mine sometime in the near future. For dessert, Grant got jalapeno flavored creme brulee (which is not as terrible as it sounds. It was very good!), and I got a peach crustada.
Anyways, happy birthday to my sweet husband. For his birthday gift, I think I'll take him to Brazil next week!
He met me at work in Yellow Springs today. I made lunch reservations at the Winds Cafe, which turned out to be a fantastic dining experience!!
Grant got a ricotta cheese omelet, which was delicious, and very fresh tasting. I swear they got those eggs straight from the chicken coop when he ordered it! I had the stuffed poblano, which was stuffed with rice, ricotta cheese, dried fruit and olives. It was amazing. I'm now trying to find a recipe that's similar, but I'm having no luck. I might just have to make that a little experiment of mine sometime in the near future. For dessert, Grant got jalapeno flavored creme brulee (which is not as terrible as it sounds. It was very good!), and I got a peach crustada.
Anyways, happy birthday to my sweet husband. For his birthday gift, I think I'll take him to Brazil next week!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
You just wouldn't understand unless you went there...
I found this video...actually, I've seen this video several times, as it's made its way through the PCC world. Anyways, even if you've never been to PCC, hopefully you can still appreciate this, especially if I've told you some of my stories.
The setup - it's basically just a group of guys, acting like guys in their dorm room. Then, since there are no locks on the doors, a resident advisor came in to see what all the fuss was about.
The setup - it's basically just a group of guys, acting like guys in their dorm room. Then, since there are no locks on the doors, a resident advisor came in to see what all the fuss was about.
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