kathleen lately

Holy schmoly, I just realized how long it's been since the last time I wrote! Actually, I was scolded today for not writing in so long, so I feel bad for abandoning my duties to entertain. So here I am!

First of all, I would just like to note that I am attending Auburn University, aka the SEC west champions, and the #2 football team in the nation (hopefully future National Champions)!!!!! War eagle!!! This has been an incredible football season, and I'm so glad that I've been in Auburn to witness it.

Really, not too much has changed in my life lately. I work a lot, study a lot, etc. I got to come home this whole week for Thanksgiving break, which was supposed to be devoted to studying for finals, but yeah right. Of course I'm procrastinating as much as always. You would think that I would learn, but whatev.

Oh, and I guess this is new news since my last blog, but I am officially studying abroad next semester. As in, I have a plane ticket and an apartment, so this is legit. The only thing in my way now is my visa, so basically the whole French government stands in my way.... I didn't really think it would be a problem, but it requires a lot of paperwork and an interview with the French consulate in Atlanta. My appointment was last week, and I got all the way there (got lost multiple times), and was told that I had not properly registered with the French Foreign Ministry's student website. I had created an account, but due to the extremely vague instructions, I didn't do all that I was supposed to. And they wouldn't even let me see the consulate. So I get to go back in two weeks to try again... so frustrating. But hopefully this time it will all work, because I really don't know what I'll do if I don't get a visa. It's a little late now to be backing out.

I have actually cooked some lately, but this is kind of more of a catch up post, so I'll write about food later.

Also in the past couple of months, I've discovered that I kind of like being single. It's really not the worst thing in the world, especially for someone as busy as me. I like doing my own thing. Not that I'll never date again, but right now I'm content where I am. And I definitely can't see myself getting married anytime soon. There are so many people that I went to high school with that are married, or engaged, or even having babies! It really blows my mind, because I still feel so young and irresponsible. It's like people don't realize what a commitment getting married and having babies is. It's not like having a goldfish, people. Maybe for some people getting married young works. I'm not totally bashing it. But it freaks me out. I just don't feel old enough to get married, and certainly not to have babies. Let it be known that if I do decide to have kids someday, which despite what I say, I probably will eventually, it's going to be many years from now. I have way too many thing to do before then that don't involve kids. That may sounds really selfish, but I think it's more selfish when people have kids and still try to do all the things the way they would if they didn't have kids. I want to be financially stable and mature and responsible before I even consider it. I can barely handle a big, lazy dog for now. But that's enough on that, I'll get off my soapbox.

I promise to write more often from now on! And when I'm in Europe, you better believe I will be blogging and posting plenty of pictures, so don't worry!!

xoxo

all I do is win, win, win

I am currently watching Sister Wives on TLC. And I'm completely weirded out. How is this ok?? They just added a fourth wife, but the first three are mad that the guy kissed her before they got married. Umm, do they know that he is also sleeping with three other women besides them? Soooo creepy.

In regards to my last post, I am doing much, much better now. I was just having a really bad week, aided by a little pms. Bad combo.. But this week has been wonderful. I got to see my mom last Sunday, and we shopped in ATL, so that was fabulous, of course. I worked every day this week, but it wasn't a bad week at all. Luckily, I don't have a lot going on with school right now, as all of my tests seem to happen at the same time.

Aannd I have some good and bad cooking news. The good news is that I did cook something.. the bad news is that it sucked. It was my own fault too. I tried to make this pasta fagioli recipe that was in my Food Network magazine, but didn't have time to finish it before I had to go to work. So I stuck it in the fridge and decided to finish it today... not good. I ended up just throwing it out because it was horrible. Lesson learned: if you don't have plenty of time to finish something, then save it for another day.

In other amazing news, Auburn is 6-0!!! And we are currently the highest ranked SEC team! But now I just hope they can keep it up. I'm actually going to the game this weekend because the fam is coming into town, so I expect to see the Tigers kicking some tail and taking names. That being said, WAR EAGLE!!

oh, monday..

My life has been extremely blah lately. I mean, I work, I study, I work, I walk duke, and I work. So yeah. Lots of work. Which is good in some ways, such as in making money ways, but stressful. On the other hand, it takes my mind off of things. Things that I'm not even really sure about. I just feel so distant from people lately. Possibly because I work so much, but I don't know.. it's weird, I guess, but I really miss my high school friends. I don't so much miss high school, but I miss my group of girls. I wish we could have a big reunion and it could be like old times. College is too hard.

Once again, no cooking going on.. I'm eating like a poor college student finally. And it sucks. Well really, it's not that bad, it's not like I'm eating Ramen. Gross. What I'm obsessed with right now are the personal pizza crusts that you can buy and then make whatever kind of pizza you want. They're delicious, and at $2.50 for a pack of three crusts, they're very economical. Which is what I need right now, I suppose.

That's it for now, though, I know, I can't even stand how boring I am. So I'll spare you any more boring details. Ciao!

it had to be you

This.week.has.been.miserable. Today, I had three tests. Three. Last night, I had my first all-nighter... today I feel like I got hit by a car. By the third test, I could barely read. Luckily, the one that was supposed to be hardest was first. However, I studied so much for that one, that I kind of ignored the other subjects and ended up doing mediocre on both. Oh well. C'est la vie. But seriously, you would think that teachers would kind of collaborate a bit, especially since most juniors in business school are taking the same classes..

So I have some semi-bad news for my three avid readers. There won't be much cooking going on for the next few months. Why? Because it's part of my desperate attempt to save money for France. I really should have started two years ago for this. I figure if I can sacrifice eating well for a couple months, then I can eat well when I'm there. I mean, I'm even selling football tickets, so that's when you know I'm hard up for cash. Although the first two games were somewhat miserable, so I'm not too broken up by that.. It seems like the student section has been fuller than usual, because it's been super hard to find seats this year. I even kind of got in a fight with a frat pledge last week for trying to save a whole row. So if you are looking for a ticket, I'm probably selling! But remember, I'm trying to make money here, so it won't be super cheap.

I was going to write more since it's been awhile, but I literally can't even think right now. My brain is done.

un bon jour

It for some reason just dawned on me today that "bonjour" literally means good day. Five years of French and I'm just now figuring that out. Fail. Anyway, this dawned on me because today was a good day. Nothing exceptional happened, but compared with the last few days I've had, the simple fact that nothing bad happened was enough to make it a good day.

I spent yesterday cleaning up crap, quite literally. Someone was kind enough to drop off a rotting carcass of some large animal in the empty lot by our house, which of course, Duke found.. as if it wasn't bad enough cleaning him off and giving tomato juice baths, it gave him diarrhea. All over the house. Always on the carpet, of course. He actually went out of his way upstairs just to go on the carpet rather than tile. Lovely. Yesterday was the only day that the thought has ever gone through my mind to give Duke away. In my defense, I was upset about several things at the time, and the Duke incident was just icing on the cake. Fortunately, I've come to my senses and realize that Duke is one of the best things to ever happen to me.

In other news, let's talk about the lamb. It was delicious. As in, one of the best things I've ever cooked. The lamb chops were crusted with rosemary, bread crumbs, and mustard, and then roasted. It was super simple. I was very worried about overcooking the lamb, as it's supposed to be eaten medium-rare. However, medium-rare freaks me out a bit, so I went for medium. And they were perfect. With them I made Julia Child's version of potatoes au gratin. This consisted of scalloped potatoes, butter, swiss cheese, salt, and pepper layered in a casserole dish and then covered with beef broth (which she recommended instead of milk if serving with lamb). They ended up very liquidy, which I don't think was the intended result, but they were very good, nonetheless. Not so great leftover, however. I even went for presentation with this meal, which I'm not usually very good at. I felt kind of lame about it since I was just cooking for myself, but honestly, I can't afford to feed lamb to people. I would love to, but come on. I'm a poor college kid. And it does kind of suck cooking by myself, as I guess I'd gotten used to having someone equally passionate to cook with. But it seems that what's meant to be, will be, and right now, what's meant to be is for me to cook alone.

So tomorrow is kind of a big day for me. I'm going to talk to the guy who is in charge of the student exchange program that I want to do. Basically, if the credits all transfer and I will graduate on time, I'm going for it. I feel like things are really starting to fall into place for me to go. It's something that I've always wanted to do, but I've had my doubts. One of the main ones was JP, not that I wouldn't have gone because of him, but for some reason, I didn't want it as badly then. Also, finance was a major concern. But I found out that my scholarship will cover the program fees, and then my father informed me today that I have a couple thousand dollars in a fund that my grandparents set up years ago that has to be used while I'm in college. Why he waited until now to tell me this, I don't know. Anyway, it's looking quite probable right now. Which I'm super stoked about. It's nice to finally have something fall into place. (hopefully!)

But, it is getting late, and I have five (FIVE) classes tomorrow, so peace out!

priorities, priorities

For some reason, I was thinking earlier today about the personal finance class I took my freshman year of high school. I didn't really get a whole lot out of the class, as the teacher wasn't very good, but I do remember making budgets for when we lived on our own. I don't really remember how much money we supposedly had, but I do remember thinking that it would be fine with me to eat peanut butter every day if that meant that I got to spend my money on important things, like clothes and shoes. My, how times have changed...

Not that I don't still spend money on clothes, but I definitely don't eat peanut butter every day. Or ever, for that matter. And when I think about spending the spring in France, one of the things I'm most excited about is the awesome food I'm going to eat. Which is why I'm trying to save up like crazy now. I might be broke by the time I get back, but at least I'll have some great memories.

So, just in case you're wondering, I'm already starting to eat my words since my last post. I do like that there's some structure in my life now, but I'm pretty dang busy. They've been scheduling me four days a week at work, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm also taking six classes... so yeah, not much time for fun. Well, there won't be once I really start getting into my classes. And obviously it's football season, so I'm sure that'll really make me feel better about missing fun. Ugh. I keep telling myself it's for my future...

Anyway, I haven't really made anything crazy cooking-wise lately.. BUT, tonight I'm making lamb. Mustard and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb as a matter of fact. With Julia Child's Gratin Dauphinois, which are basically potatoes au gratin. And let me tell you, it's not so easy to find lamb here in Auburn. Kroger only had stew meat, and at Sam's I would've had to practically buy the whole lamb. But Publix came through for me once again. I honestly don't know why I even bother going anywhere else. So I'm pretty excited about dinner, and I will for sure write about it asap!!

back in action

Summer's almost over!! I never thought I would be excited to say that.. but I can't wait for things to get busy and normal again. I'm going to come back and read this in a few months and laugh at my stupidity, but whatever. This summer has been full of crap on top of crap, so I'm not sorry to see it go. Not that there haven't been good times, but it seems like there have been an abundance of bad ones. But, at least I'm starting this school year with a good attitude.

For you people bored with my philosophical ramblings, there's light at the end of the tunnel! I have food to write about today! First of all, I have officially made preserves. Which also means that I'm officially an old woman, but that's not so bad, I guess. It was a recipe in my Food Network magazine (which I would highly recommend subscribing to). It's called Plum-Vanilla Preserves, but good luck finding the vanilla beans required for the vanilla part. I ended up just using vanilla extract, because where in Auburn do you even buy vanilla beans?

Now, let me just say that I have no experience or know-how about preserving anything, so bear that in mind. It's mostly just heating things up and stirring, but you have to get the right temperature and consistency.. which I seemed to have. It all seemed to be great, with a good gel consistency, until the last step where I was to add plucots. Then it somehow seemed to go all thin. They were supposed to be sealed in the jar for 24 hours, so I thought that might help. Not really. They still taste good, but more syrupy than jelly-ish. Oh well, here's to trying new things.

Also from my latest Food Network magazine was a recipe for pepper jack stuffed chicken. It was actually the cover recipe, so of course I had to try it.. and it was delicious! And super easy too! All you have to do is mix shredded pepper jack cheese with baby spinach and stuff that into a slit in the chicken breast. Cover the chicken breast with Cajun seasoning and olive oil, and either grill or bake until done. And voila! It was wonderful!

Other than that, I haven't experimented much lately.. I've really been wanting to make a pie, but my roomies aren't here, and I'd feel like a fatty having a pie all to myself. So get ready Meghan and Heather, because it's coming soon! Although that won't go well with my swimsuit diet, I suppose. Not that I'm actually dieting, don't worry people. However, I am single again, so I have to look good, right?

That being said, I have more old lady things to do like laundry and such, so that's it for now!

you & me could write a bad romance?

Well, I'm in a Carrie Bradshaw mood today, so I'm going to write about relationships. I started thinking about this after listening to "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem & Rihanna. I've never been an Eminem fan at all, because I find him disgusting, but I oddly like this song. Yes, it's violent and masochistic, but I still like it for some reason. And obviously, a lot of other people do too, because it's at the top of the charts.. but why? Are we a self-loathing society?

But I don't think we are, I think we're attracted to the extreme passion in the song. For some reason, passion=romance.. even though it's violent passion. Hopefully most of us can't relate to physical abuse, but I think that the abuse they sing about can symbolize emotional abuse, which most of us can relate to in some form. And for some reason, we're attracted to this Bad Romance. We want the kind of romance that no matter how bad things get, we still need each other and can't stay away. It's nothing new.. think Romeo and Juliet. They were forbidden to be together, but ended up dying for each other. Not the healthiest of relationships. Or what about the Notebook? We all remember when Noah said, "So it's not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this every day. But I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day."

That kind of thing gives us a rush, makes us believe that such a romance can exist. But the reality of things is that when a tornado meets a volcano, something's gonna go wrong. Lady Gaga wants your ugly and your disease.. or at least she thinks she does. I think that an actual disease might be manageable. But what about those that are emotionally shut-down? How do you deal with that one, Lady Gaga?

That's the opposite end of the spectrum: the passion-less. While too much passion may be explosive, the lack of is just as hurtful. The match might be perfect on paper, and you might look really good together.. but the deeper you dig, the more problems you find. Maybe he's only with her because it's easy and convenient, or maybe she just can't be alone. I think that's why our divorce rate is so high. People get married before they've ever had to go through a hard time, simply because that person was there, and seemed like a good match. But then when that time comes, they can't deal. They find out that they weren't really in love, they were in "conveniency like".

I don't know about y'all, but that's not good enough for me. I consider myself to be a somewhat passionate person.. I do what I love, and I don't hide my emotions. But even I put up a wall sometimes. I spent several weeks recently blocking out certain parts of my life, and while it did make things easier for the time being, those things never disappeared. I've still had to face them, and it honestly feels better to hurt than to feel nothing at all. I feel sorry for people who are so emotionally closed off that they can't feel. And I think that it happens more often than we realize, to people that we don't expect. That girl with the new job and house that seems to have it so together might secretly be afraid that she'll never be able to let her guard down. And she would probably trade it all for that happiness.

But at the same time, I don't want the kind of passion that Eminem sings about. Let's be honest, we don't love the way you lie. I, for one, hate being lied to. If you don't, then you should probably seek help. I want to love and need someone, but I don't want to hate them too. Or want to set them on fire. Surely there's some happy medium between burning your beau, and being bored with your beau?

and life goes on..

Ugh. My hard drive on my Mac crashed. I lost everything. EVERYTHING! It's mostly the pictures and music that I'm upset about. Supposedly I can reverse sync my ipod and get my music back, so that's good... and most of my recent pictures are on facebook. But still.. finals start Thursday, so this could've happened at a better time. I'm having to do this at the library, so double ugh. There's not much I hate more than the school library.

Anywho, I have been cooking a bit lately. Nothing terribly complex, but cooking just the same. I tried the Maestro method with steak the other day. As in, used the same butter that they do. Which is butter mixed with truffle oil and rosemary, all of which I just happened to have(seriously). Rub that all over the steak, and cook, either on a grill or on the stove (which I did since it was raining). I made a baked sweet potato and a delicious greek salad, and voila! It was fab. The key to a good greek salad is what olives you use. I usually use black, but this time I stepped it up to kalamata, and it made a HUGE difference. So much better.

Other than all the computer crap, there's not much going on in my life right now. I never know how much detail is too much in the blog world. I'm not one for keeping secrets or anything, so I'm pretty open about things. I don't know if people who read my blog (yeah, I know about those 2 of you out there) really care about the minute details of my life, but then I figure if you're reading this, you're either really bored, or interested. So I guess I'll keep on dishing.

But like I said, I'm at the library, so it's not somewhere I want to be for long, plus I'm tired. Ciao!

my bucket list

Yesterday I was on my way back to Auburn after a lovely 4th of July with my family, and for some reason I decided to make a bucket list. So here goes..
1. Live abroad for some period of time. Hopefully I'll be living in France for a few months next year, so this is no prob.
2. Legitimately learn to fluently speak French. Yes, I'm on my 5th year, but I still stink at speaking the language. I want to really be able to speak it and communicate, and then pass this on to my children.
3. Learn to effectively shoot a gun. For some reason, this has seemed important to me recently. I need to be able to defend myself, I'm an independent woman. This may also involve joining the NRA.
4. Open a successful restaurant.
5. Go to Europe and just go with no specific plans. Definitely not by myself.
6. Learn how to ballroom dance.
7. Be in the audience at Saturday Night Live.
8. Buy a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. I know I'm trying to be less materialistic, but this is a long-time dream of mine. Totally worth it.
9. Plant a garden of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
10. Fall in love with a God-fearing Southern gentleman who makes my knees weak.
11. See the Northern Lights.
12. Go to every Disney park in the world.
13. Have kids and be a great mother.
14. Name at least one of the above children after a Harry Potter character. Currently, it would be Lily.
15. Attend culinary school.
16. Learn to be more spontaneous.
17. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. Not dive, because I'm not that intense.
18. Learn to see the good in people and appreciate the small things in life.
19. Be in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.
20. Finally have my own horse.
21. Have a restaurant review published.
22. Sleep under the stars at least once.
23. Kiss Taylor Lautner.
24. Learn how to make coffee finally. It's the one thing I can never get right, ironically.
25. Eat at a restaurant with multiple Michelin stars.
26. Go on a blind date. Just once.
27. See either Britney Spears or Lady Gaga in concert.
28. Be able to be that person that tips outrageously well.
29. Drive across America with friends.
30. Win some kind of contest.
31. Stop worrying about unimportant things, such as what other people think.
32. Watch the sun rise on a beach.
33. Live in a way that other people know what I believe.
34. Go on a Mediterranean cruise.
35. Attend some Olympic event.
36. Attend Fashion Week in New York.
37. Go back to Egypt.
38. Learn how to sail.
39. Actually finish some sort of workout plan.
40. Learn to be happy whatever the circumstances.

That's all I got for right now, but I'm sure there are a bunch more that I just haven't thought of yet!

la vie est belle

Once again, it's not really about cooking today.. it's just so hard to be motivated to cook for only myself.. knowing I'll be eating the leftovers for the rest of the week. Omelettes are about as much as I've done lately.

However, yesterday I did get an amazing opportunity to go to Atlanta with a couple of my friends, Brittany and Jessica. Brittany's gotten involved with this ministry called SafeHouse Outreach in downtown Atlanta, so I went to see what it was all about. It's an outreach to homeless people, but not really a shelter. They provide counseling type sessions, and have worship services and food every night. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of the staff, and it was really cool. One of the guys that does counseling now is homeless himself (he lives in the SafeHouse). John told us his entire life story, and let me just say that nothing that's ever happened to me even comes close to his better times. His father was a coke dealer and his mother was on heroin. From there, his life just continued to spiral downward, and even when it seemed like things might get better, something horrible would happen and he would end up homeless again. I guess I've always kind of thought that if you work hard, you'll be successful, but John was living proof that this wasn't true. He has a college degree which he worked his butt off to earn, and through a long series of events, still ended up homeless, and even in jail at one point for asking for a sandwich.

But he wrapped up his story by saying that he had been through all of that to get to where he is today, and where he is today is exactly where he wants to be. He gets to help people and he gets to wake up every day excited about his job. He said, "the people who work in those skyscrapers always look so sad", and that really made me think. I've become a very materialistic person, exactly the person society wants me to be. I've wasted so much time and money in my life on things that bring me temporary happiness, if you can even call it that, when all along I don't need anything for happiness. This man has almost nothing to his name, but he loves people, and he gets to show God's love to them everyday.

I'm not saying that I'm going to stop buying things, but what I want more than anything is to experience the joy that this man had. And I know that to do that I'm going to have to completely re-evaluate my relationship with Jesus. I've really let that slide over the past few years, not just because of college (not that it helped). I've just fallen into the way of the world; not being bad by any means, but certainly not pursuing a growing relationship with Christ.

So perhaps this breakup wasn't such a bad thing. I think right now I just need to get things right with God, and then maybe in the future I can concentrate on a relationship with a guy.

After all, everything happens for a reason, right?

sweet home alabama

I never thought I would say this, but you know, I really love living in the South.. It just feels like home to me, where all of my best memories are. I used to think that when I grew up I would live somewhere exotic and foreign (Egypt?), but the older I get, the more I love the south. I'm not saying I would never leave, but I would always miss it. Constantly running into people you know, sweet tea, family, that twang, the opening notes to "Sweet Home Alabama", and of course, football.. all of these are comforting to me. I don't even think I could date and for sure not marry a non-Southern boy. They're just more charming, and certainly more conservative and polite. Who would ever understand my family's love for pie like a Southern boy? After all, Rhett Butler is my ideal man. At least as long as he looks like Clark Gable.

I don't know what prompted that proclamation of love for my home, but there it is.

I've been doing some reading lately, and I have fallen in love with a new book series! Well, they're new to me at least. If you haven't read "The Hunger Games", then you should. Well, not if you're looking for something light and fluffy, but if you like intense books, it's a must! It's like "1984" meets "The Most Dangerous Game". Supposedly there's going to be a movie made of this book sometime soonish, so hopefully this series won't become like Twilight.

Another one that my friend Brittany recommended to me is called "What's a Girl to do?" and it's a Christian book about dealing with breakups and such.. it's also very good. However, sometimes books like that are hard to read. Because it's things that I know deep down, but don't want to actually have to deal with. Such as when the author makes the point that it is much better to wait to be married until God's time for you than to take it into your own hands and end up being miserable. Obviously, that sounds reasonable, but I just get so impatient sometimes. It always seems so much easier to plan things my way, but I always get knocked back down when that happens. Sometimes it's just so hard to completely surrender my plans to God, even though I know deep down, that His way is so much better than my way. Even if it does mean waiting until I'm 35 to get married.. (ugh!)

I know this is mainly a food blog and I haven't written about food much lately, but there isn't much to say.. Meghan's gone home for the summer, and it's no fun cooking for one person. Not to mention that I haven't had much appetite lately.. I lost 4 pounds this week! However, the heartbreak diet is not one I would recommend.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. " Jeremiah 29:11

the start of something great?

The past few days have really led me to wonder, do we ever really know people? We know what they tell us, and how they act around us, but we can never know if that's the real person, or simply the act they put on for us. I wonder this because JP broke up with me, insisting that he is neither entirely comfortable nor entirely happy around me.. oh btw, he still loves me. Yeah, you're right, that doesn't make ANY sense. Oh well, he can run from difficulties his entire life if he wants to, that's his prerogative. Just don't drag me down next time.

I thought it would be horrible and all to be single again after so much time, but honestly, I haven't even been that torn up about it. Maybe because he's already been in WI for a month, so I haven't seen him anyways, who knows.. but I am excited, because since it didn't work out with him, that means God has someone so much better for me out there and I can't wait to meet him!! No sense crying over spilled milk..

Other than that, summer continues to drag on. It has seriously been a horrible summer. All I do is work and go to class, and it's too ridiculously hot to even want to go outside. Never thought I'd say it, but bring on the fall semester!

Summer breeze

As with all of my former journaling exploits, I've fallen off the wagon. Sorry to all of my devoted fans out there (all two of you!), I will try to do better.

So very much has happened in the past month.. Finals, graduation, summer classes started, JP moved to Wisconsin, I started a new job.. whew. It's been busy. BUT, my new job is awesome. I'm hostessing at a new restaurant in Auburn called Maestro 2300, and it's not even in the ballpark of RT. The food is amazing, the executive chef is known throughout the U.S., and the staff are all well-educated, clean people. So nice. Next week, I start food-running, and then I move up to cocktail waitress and server! yay!

And yes, JP has officially moved to Wisconsin. It's weird and lonely, but at least I can snuggle with my dog. And he's really excited about his job and Madison, so I'm happy for him. I just wish I could have helped him move in and such.. but I have class and work. Hopefully, I'll get to visit in August.

Alsooooo, the aforementioned roommate has moved out, meaning that my life just got way less dramatic and that I got to move into her room which has an enormous closet. Not quite Carrie Bradshaw's closet, but a heck of a lot closer.
So that's what's been going on in my life lately. I haven't been cooking a whole lot other than just basic things.. although I did make a Julia Child recipe a couple weeks ago. It was a whole roasted chicken with pearl onions, potatoes, and bacon. It was pretty good, somewhat like coq au vin, but not quite as good. However, it was not very good leftover. The butter and such formed this weird, hard fat in the dish, so I just threw it out. And then Duke ate it out of the trash can, sending me into a panic because he literally ate the entire chicken, leaving no remains, while I was in the shower. Chicken bones can be fatal for dogs because they can puncture their organs. So naturally, I had a very nervous couple of days, waiting for those to pass. He did get sick, but is fine. Thank God. I don't know what I would do without my sweet dog.

Speaking of my sweet dog, he's known for his running away. That's actually how I ended up with him in the first place. But he hasn't done it much to me until lately. Last week was entirely my fault, because I left the back door open, trying to air out my ex-roommates bedroom (it was full of cats last year). So obviously he ran out, and it took us awhile to realize it. He didn't go very far and came back though. He's run out a couple times this week, and he seems to think it's hilarious. He runs really fast for a little bit, then turns around and teases me a bit, then keeps running until he gets tired. It's ridiculous, but kind of funny too because he always comes back. What an odd dog.

Oh! I just remembered a cute little recipe I found in my latest food network magazine. It's just simple popsicles, but I haven't made popsicles since I was little, so I thought it was cool. All you have to do is get one of those popsicle molds, and pick two juices. The recipe called for cherry and peach nectar, but I couldn't find those. Instead I used mango and guava, which happen to be two of my favorite fruits. They kind of combined when I poured them into the mold, but they were still delicious. I think my mom used to make them with kool-aid, so you could probably use any kind of juice with these. And voila, you've got a great summer treat!

Au revoir!

rainy day

Woo-hoo, I am RT-free!!! I quit last Thursday, and my last day was Sunday!! Unemployment really is blissful. Yes, it's nice having money coming in. However, any job that makes me hate my life is not worth the money, especially the meager amount of money that I was making.

But, as I leave my job, John Price got one!! He got the job at Epic in Wisconsin!!! I'm so happy and excited for him, but I will miss him dearly. Now I for sure have to find a new job in order to be able to go visit him. Annnnnddd, him getting this job means that if I get to study abroad, he has to come visit me! We made a deal, and now it's in writing, so it's legit.

I have had a chance to cook this week, what with all this newfound free-time. I made spaghetti, which is pretty boring, but easy and good. And of more note, JP and I made sweet-tea ribs. Well, mostly JP made them, because when we cook together he usually cooks the meat. I guess it's a man thing. But they were actually pretty good. I saw the recipe in my food network magazine and thought it looked interesting. You start by rubbing the ribs with tea grinds. You then make very concentrated tea and add sugar to it. This is used as a sort of glaze for the ribs. They had to cook for about an hour and a half. JP was skeptical about them, but he usually underestimates his abilities.. they were good. I made a vegetable medley with carrots, sugar snap peas, asparagus, green beans, and onions. I also made last minute deviled eggs, just for the heck of it. It was a pretty good dinner if I do say so myself. I don't know whether I would want to make the ribs again, because I prefer saucy ribs, and these were more of a dry rub. But it's all about experimentation with cooking, so I'm glad we did it.

I also made banana pudding for dessert, and JP seemed to think that I should definitely make homemade pudding. I used a Paula Deen recipe, and I would NOT recommend it. It wasn't hard, but I did everything exactly how it said, and the pudding never thickened. I even refrigerated it overnight, and got nothing. So I decided to go with instant pudding, which was a good decision. After sitting for a few hours, and getting the vanilla wafers all good and soggy, it was delicious. So I probably won't even bother with making pudding anymore. No need.

Now I would like to take a moment to vent about a certain pet peeve of mine. I'm so sick of people acting like they are something that they aren't. For example, liking horses DOES NOT make you a cowgirl. Or even a country girl. I like horses, but I don't wear Wranglers, or rope cattle, therefore, I'm not a cowgirl. Please people, don't make up who you are. That's just stupid. Not that I'm talking about anyone in particular (cough, cough, crazy roommate).

That's all for that, just had to get that out there.

Peace and blessings, peace and blessings!

working life

Let me just start off by saying that I absolutely, positively hate Ruby Tuesday. It's not even a hatred I can fully describe. I could deal with it if I were making good money, but in fact, I'm not even making minimum wage. People there (when there are people there) tip terribly. I feel like people don't realize that we make $2.13 an hour and depend on their tips. I bust my tail trying to be great at what I do, and am rewarded with a dollar or two. I mean, REALLY?? Don't spend it all in one place! I'm really not a bad server, I made $15-$20 per hour at Ketchup! And it's really just embarrassing working there. They don't cook their own food, everything is pre-packaged and portioned, they basically just heat it up. This almost hurts me, as I love food and cooking. It's desecration. My manager is a super creeper and actually has groped other girls working there before. THIS IS NOT OK. Currently, I'm just trying to decide if I should wait til I find another job to quit, or just go ahead and do it. I kind of feel like I should. Did I mention that I loathe the place? The salad bar is the only redeeming quality, but oh wait, I have to sneak that because they're so ridiculously stingy.

Sorry, had to get all of that off my chest. Never again will I so much as I apply to a chain restaurant. It's just expensive fast-food. Awful.

So today I took JP to the airport.. his first flight. He has a job interview tomorrow in Wisconsin... but I really hope he gets it. It'll be an amazing opportunity, even if it sucks that he'll be that far away. But seriously, of all the places, Wisconsin? It's like a cold Alabama. Oh well, at least they have the Packers.

I had a lovely visit today with my mom and sisters today. They came all the way here just to see me.. and Duke, of course. But anyways, I have procrastinated long enough studying for accounting tomorrow, so I've got to run! Hopefully next time, I'll be RT-free!

Happy Easter!!

It has been an incredibly long week. I'm now training at RT, which is super awful. This training includes grueling, boring computer training, and then following other servers. I hate following other servers because I feel like I'm in the way. Also, I do the work and they get the tips.. although yesterday the guy I followed split his with me, which was super nice of him. RT is really not that different from Ketchup, excluding the menu, so it's rather boring. But as of Wednesday, I'm legit.

I don't really know why this past week was so busy, but it seemed ridiculous. Probably because I want to do everything and more, so I end up over-extending myself. My own fault. I didn't get to go home this weekend because I had to train yesterday, but had a lovely weekend nevertheless, mostly due to my very sweet boyfriend and my puppy. I did really miss spending Easter with my family though, but perhaps they'll come visit me soon (hint hint).

I haven't cooked a whole lot this week, but I have some. A few days ago I made my mother's specialty, stuffed French toast.. stuffed with cream cheese, that is. This masterpiece is made by slicing a French loaf down the middle and filling it with cream cheese (any flavor). You prepare an egg wash made of four eggs, some milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. then cook it on the stove and voila! Delicious! It can be topped with either a fruit syrup and whipped cream, or just regular syrup. Yuuummm.

Today I made banana bread because I had a bunch of bananas that were about to go bad. However, it's kind of been one of those days, and I forgot to put sugar in it. Luckily, it was only in the oven for ten minutes when I realized it, so it was still doughy enough to stir some in. It turned out surprisingly well.

It's been one of those days when it feels like more than one day.. we did go out to Chewacla again today, so that was fun.Easter dinner consisted of a Big Mac and fries.. which sounds stupid, but it was pretty dang good. Duke went swimming, which is odd for him. It wasn't a traditional Easter, but I still loved it!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful day!

victory at last!

Ok, you can all take a collective sigh of relief. I finally got a job! I am now employed by the lovely Ruby Tuesday of Auburn, AL. yay... note the enthusiasm. It's somewhat of a conundrum, because I've been looking for a job for a while because I could use some money, however, I like having my freedom. I can go home whenever I want to, I have plenty of time to study and goof off, and lots of quality time with my dog, friends, and boyfriend. However, now it is back to reality. I'm actually kind of nervous, mostly because serving is such a stressful job, and I don't want my school work or social life to suffer. I know, get real. Also, now that I've worked in a restaurant, I know how other employees view new employees.. so that's nerve-wracking.

But enough of my whining, I really am glad to have a job. I probably won't know what to do with myself having extra money. Hasn't happened in a while. Once again, I haven't cooked any this week, because I've somehow managed to survive on leftovers until yesterday when I finally went to the grocery store. BUT, I did make a wonderful discovery today! I went with some friends to Chewacla State Park today, and it made me fall in love with Auburn all over again! I brought Duke too, and he loved it.. turns out he's quite the adverturer. We hiked, climbed rocks, and other outdoorsy things. And of course, I forgot my camera, so there are no pictures, but I think we'll be visiting a lot more.

But anywho, I'm about to go to bed as I have to wake up early for church. I get to work in the nursery tomorrow! yay babies!!

à bientôt!

my beautiful baby sisters

I haven't done any cooking recently because of being home, and celebrating my birthday and such. However, I am currently waiting on John Price to finish cooking dinner. Yes, he is that good.

Last week I went home for spring break, and honestly didn't do a whole lot, but somehow always seemed busy. I did write a paper on Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, so that's something I suppose. But even though I didn't go to the beach or anything, I still had fun. I got to spend a lot of time with my little sisters, which is always good. It's different being away from them for so long. I still think of them being so small, and I just want to scoop them up and hug them. I forget that now they're old enough to be embarrassed by that. And also too heavy to be scooped. They really are hilarious. My favorite moment of them last week was when I took them to Dairy Queen. As we were leaving, they saw the Cullman Chiropractic Care and began quoting the commercial, "I play high school sports, and I go to Cullman Chiropractic Care for my regular adjustments", complete with awful southern accent. It was awesome. They just feed off of each other, and Laura especially has such a quirky sense of humor. They're commercial connesieurs, and currently the McDonald's Filet O'Fish commercial is their favorite. Not that they would ever go near a Filet O'Fish.



I love them so much and am so excited to see them grow up, even though it completely freaks me out! It's amazing to see them grow into their own personality!

beaucoup de beurre

It's spring break!! YAY!! Well, not really so exciting.. I've done a whole lot of nothing this week. As in today I literally watched half of the first season of Desperate Housewives on Hulu. But I guess that's acceptable every once in a while. Tomorrow I'm going to try to plant some herbs, so that might be interesting.

I did make a big French dinner for my family on Monday night, so that was fun. I made Poulet Sauté Aux Herbes de Provence, green beans, special mashed potatoes, and Gateux a l'orange. All Julia Child recipes except for the potatoes, which are a John Price recipe that I can't get enough of. I was able to find a chicken that was already butchered, so that was wonderful to not have to do that myself, as it doesn't turn out very pretty. The chicken was fairly easy, just cooked in butter and herbs with a hollandaise-type sauce poured over it. Honestly, it would have been just fine without the sauce. Not that the sauce was bad, it was just pretty good on its own. The green beans were not very good. I used frozen beans and then cooked them with lemon juice and butter, as the recipe said. It was an odd taste combination I thought. The cake was very good, and not terribly hard. I don't think my icing turned out quite right, as it ended up being more of a glaze, but it was still delicious. It actually tasted remarkably like the sauce on the All Steak's orange rolls. So a good mistake.

Let me just say that I used four sticks of butter in this meal. FOUR. I actually used light margarine because of the horrible amount, but still. Four sticks of light margarine is still a whole lot.

In other news, Duke is officially heartworm-free!! Unfortunately, he has had an awful case of diarrhea since we've been home. I think he's confused and misses Phoenix. Poor puppy :( But it is getting annoying to clean up his messes, as he never fails to go on the carpet.

It's my birthday on Monday!!! I get to celebrate with my family and go shopping this weekend, so yayyy!!

à toute à l'heure!

And the Oscar goes to..

I thought I would dedicate a blog post to the Academy Awards red carpet today, because Hollywood really outdid itself this year.



This was my favorite dress of the night. Penelope Cruz always dresses so well, but this Donna Karan dress is absolutely gorgeous.



Cameron Diaz looked absolutely stunning in Oscar de la Renta. I don't think she's ever looked this good.



Diane Kruger's Chanel haute couture dress drew mixed opinions, but I love it. It's different from everything else. Good job Karl Lagerfeld.



Rachel McAdams in Elie Saab, looking lovely as always.



Demi Moore in Versace Atelier. I sure hope I look this good when I'm her age.


What were they thinking??



Charlize Theron, really? This dress would have been fine if it weren't for the giant chest rosettes.. This reminds me of when all the girls in Mean Girls cut holes in their shirts directly over their boobs..




SJP & Chanel, you have truly disappointed me. Where's the style Carrie was so famous for?


Until next year Oscars!!

je veux t'amour et je veux ton revenge

Ahhh, I finally have a chance to write. It has been a VERY busy week and a half. Last week I had three tests, so I didn't see much light of day, much less have a chance to cook. This week I've changed my major and have been busy trying to plan my future. You know, no biggie. It's so hard for me, because I know everything is under God's control, but at the same time I'm forever trying to plan everything myself. It's so difficult for me to give up that control. Anyway, after much thought and prayer, I'm changing my major to Entrepreneurship. I think it's a better fit for what I want to do (own a restaurant), and it can get me started in management. International Business ended up not being exactly what I thought it would be, or maybe I'm just getting older and reality is setting in. It sounds glamorous to live in Paris and whatnot, but truth be told, I'd rather live close to my family and just travel extensively.

With that change, I'm going to either have to take summer classes or 18 hours per semester... so probably summer classes because the latter sounds repulsive. Au revoir to summer fun. Oh well, I need to buckle down I suppose.

On another note, I still am unemployed. It seems as though I will never find one, but hopefully sometime soon I will... although I'm starting to run out of places to apply to. At this rate, I should be getting less picky, however, that's not the case.

Like I said, not a whole lot of cooking lately.. although last Saturday, JP and I did cook a wonderful dinner. We made beer can chicken, although we actually used Coke, because I think it probably ends up about the same. JP did the chicken, which he has gotten pretty good at, and it turned out magnificently. We served salad with my special dressing, and his special mashed potatoes. His potatoes are sooooo good. He uses red potatoes, cuts them up, boils them, and then simply adds butter and sour cream, (and sometimes bacon),mashes them, and they are so very tasty. I made a mixed berry pie for dessert, so that was easy and delicious. All in all, a wonderful meal, and very easy too.

Tonight is Cajun chicken pasta, as I'm getting low on groceries and not buying more with spring break being next week. Ohh, spring break, where I get to be around an always fully stocked pantry and be served nice, hot meals every day. Yes, I'm going home for spring break.. but that's not so bad after all.

Houdini-Dog

I officially am stupid/have a genius dog. Today while I was at the bank, I left Duke in my car. All of a sudden, I heard a teller talking about a dog outside. It was of course, Duke. He managed to fit his pony-sized body through my honda civic window and was outside marking the bushes at the bank. Thank God he didn't run into the road. I swear, this dog is going to be the death of me.

Anywho, last night I made my second Julia Child recipe, Boeuf Bourguignon. This was the recipe that basically got Julia's book published, so I had high expectations. It consists of beef in red wine sauce with bacon, pearl onions and mushrooms, so it is basically like coq au vin with beef. It was long and tedious, but not actually super hard. I started by blanching the bacon, which I find odd, because I have always had bacon fried. If I made this again I would fry the bacon because it just wasn't very good this way, but my book said to do it this way so I did. After that I browned the beef, added the bacon along with carrots and onions and put them into a casserole dish. After that, I added wine and beef broth and it simmered for 2 1/2 hours. That's basically it, then add the pearl onions and mushrooms (which I left out) when its done and voilà! Boeuf Bourguignon! It was pretty good, but honestly, not as good as the coq au vin.. I think if it had simmered longer at a lower temperature, the meat would've been more tender, but oh well. It was still pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.

I think I'm done with French food for a bit, just for the time being. Also, you might be proud to know that I've applied for 3 jobs this week. Haven't gotten one yet, but hey, it's a start. Next week I have three tests, so I'm kind of glad I don't have one right now, as I'll probably be stressed anyways. It seems like teachers always pile on the tests at once. ugh. Maybe if I would prepare more ahead of time it wouldn't be so stressful, but where's the fun in that?

In lieu of studying...

I'm happy to report that La Petite Maison was completely fabulous and totally worth the hour and a half drive. It was a super cute little restaurant, albeit in a slightly ghetto spot. The atmosphere was cozy, not stuffy, and the food was delicious. It's owned by two sisters that are from the south of France, so it's legit. I had the Demi Canard Rôti à la Parisienne, which is a half roasted duck with cointreau jus. It was soooooo good. I tried to subtly take a picture of it, but it was too dark, so you'll just have to trust that it was artfully presented. If you haven't had duck you should try it. It's a lot like chicken, but a lot greasier, so therefore, a lot better. John Price had swordfish, which was also very good, and not fishy. We had crème brûlée for dessert, and it was served with fruit and chocolate sauce, so it was obviously fantastic. All in all, an excellent meal. My only issue is the fact that the closest French restaurant is that far away. Why must Alabamians go to Georgia to eat French food? Alabama needs me, if for no other reason than to bring them French food someday.

Other than that, it's been a pretty low-key weekend. We had college lunch today at church, which is always exciting because it's free food, potluck style. I've successfully procrastinated on all homework for the weekend, so that's good. Tomorrow I for real am going job-hunting. I'm praying that I find something simply so I don't have to spend more time searching. But I guess that's it for now, ciao!

Job, schmob..

Well, I have not gotten a job yet. Nor have I looked for a job. I have every intention to, but honestly, I just loathe applying for jobs. Way more than I hate actually working. I actually kind of like working. And I need to work. I've made the executive decision that I am studying abroad next spring semester, so I have $13,650 to make, not including airfare and food. So I better find one (start looking) soon.

Since I am lazy, I decided instead to make my first Julia Child recipe. Yesterday I made Tarte Normande aux Pommes. That's Custard Apple Tart to the non-Francophones. This recipe uses her Pâte Brisée Sucrée (sweet short paste, or crust), and it actually wasn't super hard, although I have made many crusts in my lifetime, so I may not be a good judge. The Powers' are a pie-eating kind of family, so I learned early. The filling was simply apples in sugar and cinnamon, arranged in the tart pan, with custard placed on top and baked. It turned out beautifully, and was absolutely delicious (remember, this is coming from a pie expert). I picked this recipe because it didn't have weird or expensive ingredients, so I would definitely recommend it.

The dogs (Duke & Phoenix) are now best friends. Look how adorable they are!!

Tonight, John Price is taking me to Atlanta for our late Valentine's Day!!! I'm very excited, and I will definitely give the inside scoop on La Petit Maison! à toute à l'heure!

Happy Mardi Gras!

It's been a super chaotic week, so I haven't had a chance to write lately! Not to mention that there haven't been too many culinary adventures because I'm still working my way through gumbo...

So I got a dog. More like a small pony, really. He's a black lab- Newfoundland mix, so he's huge. My family rescued him, but weren't able to take care of him, and since I've got nothing but time, I took him in (much to my sisters' dismay). My roommate has a 2 year old German Shepherd, Phoenix, so it has been a super exciting week in our small household.

But on another note, I did try out my fondue pot last week. I got it at an after-Christmas sale at Williams-Sonoma, and Valentine's weekend seemed like the proper time to use it. John Price and I made Cheese Cider Fondue, which used Cheddar and Swiss cheese, and instead of cider, we used Simply Apple juice. It was very yummy. We were going to go to a French restaurant in Atlanta, but happened to get about 5 inches of snow that night, which of course in Alabama means that you cannot drive. Which was for the best. We'll go this Friday, and I'm sure it will be blog-worthy.


Tonight, I made tilapia with lemon butter sauce and pearl onions, with roasted vegetables. It was very simple, but very good. Also, in honor of Mardi Gras, I bought Cafe du Monde beignet mix at World Market, and they turned out great! It was super easy and quick, so I would definitely recommend buying some.

I'm going tomorrow to look for a job.... ugh. I need one, but life seems so hectic already. Oh well, I have another mouth to feed now and not to mention blinds to replace after he tore them down trying to look out the window, so a job is necessary.

A necessary evil.

gallons of gumbo

So... gumbo. It was harder than it seemed like it would be. I had to start out by making a roux, or a thickener, which is the hardest part. It's only oil and flour stirred together and simmered, but it's tricky to not burn it. I burned my first one, but the second roux was a success. Other than that, it's mostly just throwing stuff in a pot, or a crockpot as I used. It turned out decent. Not great, but I better start loving it because I have tons of leftovers.

I started looking through my new Julia Child cookbook, and it's blowing my mind. Her recipes are crazy intense, but she also provides very exact directions. And she includes what the common mess-ups are and how to fix them. Genius. But also, a lot of the things in there are waaaay out of my budget. Such as filet steaks stuffed with foie gras and topped with truffles. Yeah, right.

In other news, I just want everyone to see how incredibly adorable my baby sisters are.


That's right, they're modeling their new leopard print snuggies. I love and miss them so much!

First Blog Post Ever!!

Bonjour!!

I should probably start out by explaining what I want my blog to be about. In the past several years, I have developed a passion for cooking. I've gotten a lot better, but there are definitely still some mishaps in the kitchen. I thought keeping a blog of what I'm cooking would be a good way to track my progress, and possibly provide entertainment to some. I don't know that anyone will actually ever read this blog, but you never know.

I'm a student at Auburn University, majoring in International Business. I have no idea what to do with that, but I do know that someday I will open my own French restaurant. So be on the lookout for that... probably in about 45 years when I win the lottery. In the meantime, I just attempt to cook great things on a poor, unemployed college student's budget. Not that I'm complaining about all that my wonderful parents give me. But Julia Child doesn't take these things into consideration.

So anyways, I've been pretty busy in the past week, but I have had some interesting cooking experiments. First, I made a cake for one of my roommate's birthday.. Martha Stewart's Yellow Cake with Mocha Buttercream Icing, to be exact. Which went fairly well except for the fact that I thought that coffee grinds would be a good substitution for instant espresso powder. The icing had a nice grainy texture.. but not actually so bad once it was refridgerated. The real disaster that week was when I made Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni. Now, let me just say I have never eaten crushed red pepper before. But one of my roommates last year ate it like it was candy. I probably should've taken into consideration the other gross things that she ate. So I thought that sprinkling it liberally over the sauce would be yummy. Not so. That dish has been renamed Fire Sausage and while it had potential to be delicious, I ruined it with toooo much crushed red pepper.

I was getting discouraged by this point, because I don't usually have this many problems when cooking. So the boyfriend and I cooked one night, and I had the idea to make authentic Coq au Vin. As in, I single-handedly butchered a whole chicken. And I did it well. The chicken was then marinated in shiraz and vegetables overnight. The next day I cooked the chicken with bacon in bacon grease with a wine reduction and pearl onions, shallots, and mushrooms. It was one of the top 5 things I've ever cooked, possibly ever eaten. Not to brag or anything, I was just really proud of it. John Price made loaded mashed potatoes and a delicious Butterfinger Pie for dessert, so it was definitely a healthy dinner.
I'm making gumbo tonight, so hopefully that'll turn out well, although I have been warned that it's harder than it appears. We'll see. OH! My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking came in today, so I'm super excited about that. In other words, get ready for some future exciting posts!