Getting Older Never Tasted So Good
So apparently once you turn 26 you finally get over the hump, meaning the hump into adulthood. This actually came up a lot during the week of birthday festivities — seriously though, it ended up being a rollercoaster of emotions (shout-out: thanks for all my fun birthday surprises, love — you are wonderful!)
By Friday, I had moved past depression, into celebration mode and by Sunday I was ready to accomplish my greatest challenge of adulthood — COOKING.
Now some of you know that my cooking skills aren’t what they should be, disclaimer: my mom is wonderful and this isn’t from her lack of trying. I simply get too impatient and overly stressed when it comes to cooking a meal that doesn’t involve mac and cheese or a salad combination.
With my new birthday apron and delicious Anthropologie candle, I decided to tackle the impossible — cook a delicious three course meal that is not only tasty, but healthy.
That being said, I immediately headed to my vegetarian cookbooks to see what sounded good and what the boyfriend aka meat-eater could stand. For the appetizer I choose Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, for the main dish it was Salmon Crusted Chipotle with a side of Orzo Vegetable Salad and thanks to Blue Bell I ended the meal with Banana Nut ice cream (cheated a bit, I know).
Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 10 large fresh mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped peppers
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- Fresh basil chopped for garnish
Method
- Clean mushrooms with damp paper towel then remove stems and pull off stems.
- Finely chop stems and peppers and place in bowl.
- Add cheese, salt and basil, stir to combine ingredients.
- Spoon pepper mixture into mushroom caps and place in greased shallow baking pan.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Salmon Crusted Chipotle *This dish inspired by Hot Spiced Tea, thanks Amy!
Ingredients
- 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 pieces thickly cut, boneless salmon (with skin on)
- salt and pepper
- Whole Foods Chipotle Spread
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs (in the “asian” section at Whole Foods)
- mixture of italian dried herbs
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Set the salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Spread a liberal amount of the chipotle spread on the top of each salmon section.
- Stir together the panko, spices and olive oil in a small bowl, using your fingers to distribute the olive oil. I added about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dried herbs.
- Top the salmon with the panko mixture, evenly distributed.
- Roast the salmon for 10-12 minutes, or until it is almost completely firm to the touch and flakes when poked with a fork. Serve as soon as you can get your butts in the chairs and say a prayer of thanks for the wonderful meal you are about to eat.
** With salmon, it keeps cooking for up to 10 minutes after you pull it from the oven, pull it at 10 minutes, even if a little pink, cover with some foil and know it will be ready when you actually sit down.
Orzo Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place orzo in boiling salt water for 8 - 10 minutes or until tender, but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently. Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly. Set aside to cool completely.
Toss the orzo with the tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oilMix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.
TA-DAAH! Delicious dinner for two with enough for leftovers (my favorite).
Somehow I managed to avoid stressing myself out and just took one dish at a time. Wes was playing golf, so I could enjoy the peace and quite to just cook at my own pace. The grocery shopping was a bit annoying seeing as I had to go to both Randalls and Central Market to get all the ingredients for the dishes, but in the end I was very satisfied and think the boyfriend was very happy.
Lessons Learned #452
Word to the wise, don’t try mixing blueberry’s and chocolate covered raisins in a bag for a little afternoon delight. In theory, sounds delicious and semi-healthy. In reality, very messy and not so tasty.
You can thank me later (trust me!) YUCK!!!
Working out with the Bachelor
Yes, that is Austin’s very own bachelor. A few weeks ago my friend and I were heading to spin class, when we noticed a new addition to the class. He had on a hat, but you could just tell he was good-looking and totally my friend’s “type.” I told her she should just hop on the bike right next to him and petal all the way to his heart. Instead she sat in front of him so he could see her sweaty ass. During one of the breaks, she turned around, squealed a little and whispered “that’s THE bachelor.”
I’m not the most quite of people and in between breaths I yell, “what? what bachelor?” She just stares at me and nods her head back.
Yep, I’m totally that girl.
So that was the day I attempted to hook my friend up with the bachelor. I’ll keep you posted to whether or not my matchmaking stills work.
Golden State Here We Come!
What a way to cross the state line! Well, until it got dark and then the drive just sucked…except for our little dance party. I won’t bore you with the drive highlights, but I will say that around 10:00 p.m. things started getting a little crazy — the mind begins to wander after spending all day in the car.
Anyways, we finally make it to L.A. just in time to hit midnight traffic on I-10 (seriously?!) Apparently there is never a high traffic hour, that has just become the normal condition if you live in the greater L.A. area.
We had a pretty exciting few days planned out with tickets for The Office Family Feud taping as well as So You Think You Can Dance taping…in between we drank, laughed and overall had the best damn time ever. Unfortunately, due to the powers beyond our control, we had to end up missing The Office taping, but I hear its showing tonight and that is was pretty entertaining. Some of our friends did get front row seats and made friends with “Creed” - so jealous! I’d love to ask him how his blog writing is going 
Can you find us? Yes, the casting call did require our best “clubbin” gear (so glad you asked — wink, wink) and that is fake clapping.
One of the best roadtrips of my life, here we were on the last night. Back story I had been saving up this one firework since 2006 and wanted to use it for a momentous occasion — this totally qualified. Good luck on your job search, Nikki and visit often!
Destination Continued
While we were there, Nikki found a postcard with A WHALE ROCK! [insider info: Nikki is crazy about whales!] So that being said, the next two hours were spent on a whale rock hunt and while we didn’t find the exact rock from the postcard, we did find the one below. I think it looks more like a goldfish, but you get the point.
That night we got into Scottsdale where we were crashing with Stephanie’s mom and step-dad who we have never met. I know what your thinking, why would you stay with them? Would that be strange? Yes, it was a bit awkward, but it was a warm bed and a free place to stay. When we pulled into the driveway, Emily (Stephanie’s mom) greeted us with “so do you know who made the top 20?”
Now in my head I was thinking, ummm how would we know that? We’ve been on the road for 10 hours crazy lady! So Nikki and I eventually figure out that she’s asking about the top 20 for So You Think You Can Dance. Yes, that’s right, one of Nikki’s favorite shows, but def. not something we were able to follow since we were on a ROAD TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY (weeeiird!).
The next day we devised a plan to drive to Sedona - it was absolutely beautiful! We hiked a bit and walked around the town- who knew Arizona was so pretty?
Destination Known
What better way to start an entry about a roadtrip then that it was the best roadtrip ever!
Now I realize this is saying a lot, so let me explain. If you’ve ever lived with Dani Michalak your life in college was one constant roadtrip, super fun, but this was totally different. For the most part our stops had been planned and the last stop was the beach, so who could beat that?
Here is Nikki’s version – add her to your blogroll — so far she has some pretty funny stories from her L.A. adventure and I’m looking forward to many more to come.
DAY 1: Austin, TX –>Marfa, TX
We left on a Wednesday morning and arrived in Marfa, Texas around 7:00 p.m. We find our hotel, check in and take a walk around — basically up and down the one main street in town. We stop by a little grocery store and asked someone where we should eat. The answer, “ Well there’s Maiya’s or Alice’s…wait is Alice’s even open tonight?”
Music Review: Devendra Banhart
Have you ever heard of Devendra Banhart?
I’m guess
you haven’t, so go download “Lover” or “Seahorse” from his 2007 album, “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon” and get ready to be impressed. Born in Texas, he was given the name Devendra by an Indian Guru mystic before he went to live with his mother in Venezuela. There he was briefly brought up in the Divine Light Mission cult and eventually ended up in San Francisco.
On Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Banhart’s fifth album since 2002, he holes up in Topanga Canyon — home to canyon rock and the cocaine cowboy – to make an old-fashioned psychedelic folk album, occasionally calling on the delicious bearded gods for inspiration. He manages to take fantastically eccentric ideas and twist them into really good songs.
From Rolling Stones, “…on Smokey, Banhart gets touched by all sorts of Sixties muses: David Crosby, Donovan, Skip Spence and especially Jerry Garcia. With his Grateful Dead acoustic-campfire vibe he gets help from his usual commune of folk buddies, along with some strange celebrity guests: The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson on “Samba Vexillographica,” actor Gael Garcia Bernal on “Cristobal.”
With such highlights as “Tonada Yanomaminista” and the ballad “Bad Girl,” which resembles the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” — it’s got electric piano and Banhart confessing, “I’ve been a bad girl” — who wouldn’t love that?
Banhart calls his style “naturalismo,” his point being that the organic and the artificial aren’t so far apart. Despite what sophisticated music snobs might think, Banhart’s “freak-folk” sound is fun to listen to and remains one of my top favorites for this summer.
Oh and did I mention that he’s currently snuggling up to Natalie Portman? (wink, wink)
Game for You, Entertainment for Me
I’m working on a more detailed post to update you on what I’ve been up to, but in the meantime, I thought this might keep you busy.
Celebrities often change their names because their real ones suck. Prince, one of my all time favorites, tried to change his name to hieroglyphics. And Johnny Cougar slowly worked his way to John Cougar Mellencamp and finally John Mellencamp. Here are some others, can you match the stage name with their real name?
Do it if your cool!
(1) Henry John Deutschendorf (A) Rikki Rockett
(2) Cherilyn Sarkisian (B) Tina Turner
(3) Richard Allan Ream (C) Jay-Z
(4) William Bruce Rose, Jr. (D) Iggy Pop
(5) Chaim Witz (E) Axl Rose
(6) Anna Mae Bullock (F) Cher
(7) James Newell Osterberg, Jr. (G) Gene Simmons
( 
Butch Firbank (H) Elton John
(9) Shawn Corey Carter (I) John Denver
(10) Reginald Kenneth Dwight (J) Lou Reed
Moms, gotta love em’
Why do moms, even at the age of 25 still have the power to embarrass you?
So my parents got in town last night and my mom and I planned to grab lunch today after a client call. I show her around the office, introduce her to the new people then we eat. She comes with me back to the office so I can look up an address for her and she starts talking with a colleague in the cube next to me. All of a sudden I hear, “I’m so glad your friends with Linsey, she is such a sweet girl and needs a good friend like you.”
Ummm, WHAT?! Did you just say that outloud in my office? Cool mom, do you pay her too? Then I so kindly remind her that she has to be my friend, we work together on three accounts.
I actually remember my mom using “this line” once before with my best friend, before we were actually best friends. So either my mom has a sick 6th sense or she is just that strange.
Love you mom, even if you do publicly embarrass me and then naively shrug that you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about.
Butt Pants
They work! Spinning has never been so comfortable…well, maybe if I weren’t actually on a bike peddling like I was being chased by a mob of clowns…then that would be more comfortable, but you get my point.
So if you find yourself in the market for padded bike shorts a.k.a butt pants, I recommend going to Bicycle Sport Shop and picking up a pair of these delightful spandex beauties. I have my third official RPM spin class tonight and we are slowly recruiting more and more people from the office.
I like to think of it as a much needed physical vent session. It was either that or whiskey and I’ve found that whiskey on a Tuesday night plays tricks on the mind.
