On October 25, I bought a plane ticket to New Jersey. Its been almost 3 years since I've been home, so this year we decided to spend Christmas with my family.
On October 29, Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore, destroying most of what my childhood consisted of.
Mr. V is from New Orleans, and his childhood home flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He knows the power of hurricanes because he's lived it. After Katrina, he became somewhat obsessed with following and tracking large hurricanes, so we had been watching Sandy as she made her way up the east coast. Initially, neither of us thought that the damage was going to be as extreme as it was. But as Sandy got closer and closer to the Jersey Shore, we began to worry about my grandparents. Their house sits no more than 15 feet away from the water. During bad thunder storms the waves in the bay have gotten so large that they splash the side of my grandparents' house. Mr. V became extremely focused on the path the storm was taking, and I started to worry myself when he started making comparisons to Katrina. He typically jokes around and makes light of huge storms. He pays attention to them, but he doesn't typically worry about them. So his Katrina comparisons began to worry me a bit.
We started following the local newscasts and realized that just about every town in the entire state, that sat on the water, was under mandatory evacuation orders. Oddly, the area my grandparents live in, never went to a mandatory evacuation. It remained voluntary to the end, and I will never understand that.
We called my grandparents and tried to convince them to evacuate. They refused. We called them again. They refused again. Mr. V tried to explain the devastation his family faced after Katrina and while that seemed to concern them a little, they still refused to leave. I'm not sure what happened the morning of the storm, or what they saw that made them change their minds, but when I woke up on the 29th, I had an email from them telling me that they were evacuating and going to a Red Cross shelter with some of their neighbors. (Don't get me started on the fact that they didn't want to be a burden on anyone, so they refused to go to my dad's house or my second cousin's house...even though both my dad and my cousins insisted that they could stay with them.)
They made the right choice. The first floor of their home flooded. Their downstairs is a complete loss. One of their cars floated across the street and is also a complete loss. They weren't able to access their neighborhood for a few days because it was under water. When they were finally allowed back, my cousins ambushed them at the house, and took them back to their house, which had no damage.
They fared better than some of their neighbors though. My grandparents lost a few windows, their air conditioner is gone (it ripped off of the house), their entire deck was ripped off and washed out to sea, a car is destroyed and the whole first floor of their house had to be gutted. But some of their neighbors lost even more. A home directly across the street from them collapsed. Some houses that also sat right on the water had the entire back ripped off of them - making everything inside the house a total loss. At least my grandparents still have their second floor.
Based on the damage their whole neighborhood got, I am still baffled as to why that area never went to mandatory evacuation orders, especially when every other neighborhood like theirs on the shore DID issue mandatory evacuations. I'm just glad that they are ok. I have to admit that while I was sitting here watching the news from back home, I started thinking of everything on the ground floor of their house that I was going to be upset about if it got destroyed. But its kind of amazing how that train of thought disappears. Once I heard how much damage there actually was, the only thing I cared about was that they were ok. I am so beyond happy that they were smart enough to evacuate. I hate to think of the idea of them in that house, while it was flooding.
The bad news is that they aren't doing well mentally. They have moved out of my cousins house and are renting a house from a family friend (this friend stays in Arizona for the winter). My aunt has come down from Vermont to help them organize themselves, but they just aren't doing well. They're depressed. They want to get back into their own house. They're 86 years old and I just hope that they will live long enough to move back into their house. That probably sounds horrible to think that way but my aunt is really worried about them and so is my mom. Their mental state right now isn't doing much for their physical state.
So on October 25th I bought plane tickets looking forward to going back home. Now tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to New Jersey scared about what I am going to see when I get there. Aside from my grandparents, my uncle also suffered some loss. He owns a store on the Seaside Heights boardwalk. His store is still there, but the pier behind it collasped, and the boardwalk itself got destroyed. From what I understand, the store is salvageable, but there is a lot of damage and he probably won't re-open until the spring time - which means he's taking a big loss on profits since he is usually open 364 days a year.
In the end though, it could have been worse for my grandparents and my uncle, so I guess my family got lucky. I'm still nervous about what I am going to see tomorrow though. Also, when I planned my trip home, I planned for us to be there for Christmas, and then drive up to Quebec for a few days. We booked a winter package at a hotel in Quebec City, which is non-refundable. I'm looking forward to that part of the trip, but a huge part of me wishes I was able to cancel the Quebec part of our trip so I can spend more time with my grandparents. I guess I'll make the most of the time I do have though. I am dreading seeing what their house looks like :-(.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Meow Monday
A long time ago I attempted to start posting "Meow Mondays" and of course, I slacked off and only did 2 or 3 of them. In an effort to be a better blogger amd to share the amusing cat antics I came across this morning I'm going to try again to post weekly cat fun.
As for today - This is SK. Called SK by me, but called Shitay Kitay by Mr. V. He's a stray that was living in the parking lot of the hotel we lived in for 2 months when we first moved back to Texas. He was pretty feral, but we fed him every night and when we moved into our house we trapped him and took him with us.
I wanted to tame him and find him a home, so we put him in a large dog crate (which is recommended when you relocate feral cats) for about 2 months. 2 months is NOT the recommended amount of time to leave them in a cage (I think its 2-4 weeks that is suggested), but I promise it was a large cage (actually 2 large ones tied together) and he had more than enough room to move around. It turns out he took longer to tame than I had anticipated (for anyone wondering, we've successfully tamed several ferals already so we're used to this...I just underestimated the feral-ness of this one) AND he's a VERY dominant male cat, so when we did let him out of the cage, he would violently attack another stray that has been in this neighborhood for years now. I was starting to get worried because I couldn't have him trying to kill other cats in our yard, but letting him live in a cage forever wasn't an acceptable solution either.
To make a long story short, eventually we let him out of the cage permanently and decided that the other strays in the neighborhood would just have to work it out with him. I had naively assumed that we could find a home for him, not taking into account the fact that Corpus Christi has more stray animals than any other city I've ever lived in. I also thought that once we let him out of the cage, he'd run off. I assumed he'd come back for food, but that was all. I didn't think he'd be our backyard cat forever.
Instead, he has parked himself in our backyard and NEVER leaves. He owns the yard. He has successfully scared off any neighborhood stray that comes into our yard, and he doesn't tolerate my inside cats very well either (when they escape outside). This is now HIS yard and Mr. V and I have joked around that when we sell or rent the house we'll have to advertise it by saying, "It comes with a cat." We haven't figured out what we're going to do with him when we move yet. I had no intentions of taking him in as my own cat since we're maxed out. So now I have a stray cat in my backyard, who thinks he owns every inch of the backyard, and I guess he's technically mine now since I feed him (and yes we've gotten him neutered), even though that was never the plan.
Anyway, this is what I saw this morning when I looked outside the bedroom window. Did I mention that he thinks he owns the backyard? These aren't the greatest picture since they were taken on my phone, through a window that really needs to be cleaned, but here's Shitay Kitay aka SK sleeping in one of Mr. V's plants. Clearly, that plant was put there to serve as a bed for him.
As for today - This is SK. Called SK by me, but called Shitay Kitay by Mr. V. He's a stray that was living in the parking lot of the hotel we lived in for 2 months when we first moved back to Texas. He was pretty feral, but we fed him every night and when we moved into our house we trapped him and took him with us.
I wanted to tame him and find him a home, so we put him in a large dog crate (which is recommended when you relocate feral cats) for about 2 months. 2 months is NOT the recommended amount of time to leave them in a cage (I think its 2-4 weeks that is suggested), but I promise it was a large cage (actually 2 large ones tied together) and he had more than enough room to move around. It turns out he took longer to tame than I had anticipated (for anyone wondering, we've successfully tamed several ferals already so we're used to this...I just underestimated the feral-ness of this one) AND he's a VERY dominant male cat, so when we did let him out of the cage, he would violently attack another stray that has been in this neighborhood for years now. I was starting to get worried because I couldn't have him trying to kill other cats in our yard, but letting him live in a cage forever wasn't an acceptable solution either.
To make a long story short, eventually we let him out of the cage permanently and decided that the other strays in the neighborhood would just have to work it out with him. I had naively assumed that we could find a home for him, not taking into account the fact that Corpus Christi has more stray animals than any other city I've ever lived in. I also thought that once we let him out of the cage, he'd run off. I assumed he'd come back for food, but that was all. I didn't think he'd be our backyard cat forever.
Instead, he has parked himself in our backyard and NEVER leaves. He owns the yard. He has successfully scared off any neighborhood stray that comes into our yard, and he doesn't tolerate my inside cats very well either (when they escape outside). This is now HIS yard and Mr. V and I have joked around that when we sell or rent the house we'll have to advertise it by saying, "It comes with a cat." We haven't figured out what we're going to do with him when we move yet. I had no intentions of taking him in as my own cat since we're maxed out. So now I have a stray cat in my backyard, who thinks he owns every inch of the backyard, and I guess he's technically mine now since I feed him (and yes we've gotten him neutered), even though that was never the plan.
Anyway, this is what I saw this morning when I looked outside the bedroom window. Did I mention that he thinks he owns the backyard? These aren't the greatest picture since they were taken on my phone, through a window that really needs to be cleaned, but here's Shitay Kitay aka SK sleeping in one of Mr. V's plants. Clearly, that plant was put there to serve as a bed for him.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A New Addiction
I sat down yesterday to write a new post, but instead I ended up reading through all of my old posts. All I can say is wow...I thought I sucked at blogging back then, but I REALLY suck at it now. I actually managed to post somewhat frequently back then. I've really slacked off.
This time I have an excuse though. Pinterest. It has been consuming my life. I've been wanting to sit down and write a new blog for a while now, but every time I sit at the computer I end up browsing through Pinterest and losing hours of my day.
If you've been living on another planet and you don't know what Pinterest is, its basically a social networking site in the form of a virtual pinboard. You pin things that you find all over the internet, like recipes and crafts, and you can re-pin things from your friends pinboards.
The good news is that I'm not just wasting time on Pinterest. After I had pinned several hundred different things, I told myself that I needed to actually do the things I was pinning....otherwise whats the point of having 100 different dinner recipes pinned if I never cook dinner? So I've been slowly working my way through my massive collection of pins and I have to say that its been fun! Mainly, I've been trying out new recipes, but I've thrown a few crafty things in there too. The recipes have been a lot of fun because before now, I hated cooking. Its still not my favorite thing in the world, but some of these recipes look so good to me that its been fun to try to re-create them. So as my blog update, I figured I'd post all of the Pinterest things I have been working on....especially since I haven't been doing much else with my free time.
First up - Crockpot Orange Chicken
Since I'm not a food blogger, and I have no intention of ever becoming a "real" food blogger, I don't have a lot of pretty blog-ready pictures of my creations, but I do have a few, just to prove that I actually cooked something! Here's my version of the Orange Chicken:
So far this has been my favorite meal of all of the ones I've tried. Unfortunately, its been Mr. V's least favorite meal. I'll probably make it again, but maybe just for myself since he didn't seem to enjoy it too much. He says that he's really picky about his orange chicken, so I can understand why he didn't like it too much. It tasted really good (to me) but it didn't taste like orange chicken that you would get from a Chinese restaurant. It was similar, but not the same, so if someone is looking for authentic orange chicken, this probably isn't it. But if you just want a good, tasty meal then try this out! I thought it was delicious :-).
Click here for the website where I found the recipe via Pinterest.
Crockpot Orange Chicken
Ingredients:
• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks• 1/3 cup flour
• olive oil
• 1/2 T salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 T ketchup
• 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw or throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 4 T brown sugar
In a bowl, mix the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and ketchup.
Pour the flour in a small bowl.
Cover the chicken breast chunks in flour and shake off the excess.
Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken.
The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it's going in the crock pot.
After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot.
Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3.
Serve over rice and even add veggies if you want a healthier meal.
Enjoy!
Pour the flour in a small bowl.
Cover the chicken breast chunks in flour and shake off the excess.
Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken.
The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it's going in the crock pot.
After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot.
Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3.
Serve over rice and even add veggies if you want a healthier meal.
Enjoy!
As for the side dish, the original recipe suggested serving over rice or with vegetables. Mr. V created our side dish, and it was incredibly good. I'm beyond impressed that he can just create recipes off the top of his head. I'm not sure that my own cooking skills will ever get to that level, so I think I'll just stick with the actual recipes for now. Here's his recipe (seriously one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten):
Coconut Mango Rice - created by Mr. V
1 cup Rice (Jasmin Rice is best)
1 can of coconut milk
1 mango
water
Boil 1 cup of the coconut milk with 1/2 cup of water.
Add the rice when the water boils.
Continue cooking until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
Add the rest of the coconut milk to rice.
Cut the mango into cubes and mix into the rice.
*For a spicier rice, add 2 or 3 chili petins
Eat!
Mr. V and I both liked this recipe, but it was VERY filling. So my suggestion is to cut the recipe in half if there are only two of you eating it. Also, if you have any of the filling left over, Mr. V used that for his lunch the next day. He stuffed some fresh tomatoes with it and said it tasted like chicken salad.
Click here for the blog that Pinterest linked me to with the recipe that I used. (Note - I don't like onions and leave them out of recipes when I can. I left the onions out of this one, but I still posted the recipe the way it was originally written. Personally I think it tasted just fine without the onions and really don't see a need for them at all.)
Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole
Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole
2 (8 ounce) cans Reduced Fat Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls (I used regular ones)
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup, undiluted (no fat free for me - I just used the regular stuff)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or swiss cheese (or any cheese of choice)
1/2 cup milk
Filling
4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)
2 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion flakes
2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (or use about 2 cups, can use cooked turkey)
1/2-3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)
Set oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Mix together milk, 3/4 cup cheese and undiluted chicken soup (can season with black pepper if desired).
For the filling --- (make certain that the cream cheese and butter are very soft) in a bowl, mix the soft cream cheese with butter until very smooth, then add in garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tablespoons milk; mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry). Season with seasoned salt or white and black pepper to taste. Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture (or a little more) on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole.
Drizzle the remaining sauce on top (you don't have to use the full amount of cream sauce, just use as much as desired) and sprinkle with 1 cup (or more) grated cheese, or amount desired. Bake for about 30 minutes.
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup, undiluted (no fat free for me - I just used the regular stuff)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or swiss cheese (or any cheese of choice)
1/2 cup milk
Filling
4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)
2 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion flakes
2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (or use about 2 cups, can use cooked turkey)
1/2-3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)
Set oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Mix together milk, 3/4 cup cheese and undiluted chicken soup (can season with black pepper if desired).
For the filling --- (make certain that the cream cheese and butter are very soft) in a bowl, mix the soft cream cheese with butter until very smooth, then add in garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tablespoons milk; mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry). Season with seasoned salt or white and black pepper to taste. Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture (or a little more) on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole.
Drizzle the remaining sauce on top (you don't have to use the full amount of cream sauce, just use as much as desired) and sprinkle with 1 cup (or more) grated cheese, or amount desired. Bake for about 30 minutes.
(recipe was adapted from http://www.recipezaar.com/Kittencals-Chicken-or-Turkey-Crescent-Roll-Casserole-78814)
So far Mr. V and I seem to be in agreement that this next meal experiment - Spicy Chicken Rigatoni - has been our favorite so far (our favorite together...I'm still putting the Orange Chicken as my personal favorite so far). I've already made it twice, whereas all the other recipes I've only tried once so far.
As I mentioned before, I'm not a food blogger and don't plan to become one, so my pictures are really lacking that pretty food blogger-ish quality that all the food blogs that I read have. Needless to say, my picture of my version of the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni looks pretty disgusting...but I assure you, its really quite yummy!
Click here for the original recipe.
Spicy Chicken Rigatoni
(The person who posted this recipe recommended cutting the amount of crushed red pepper in half, but I actually added more than the recommended amount to make it more spicy. I guess it depends on your personal taste and how well you can tolerate hot and spicy food.)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 Tbs crushed red pepper
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 Tbs chopped garlic
- 6 oz chicken, sliced
- 3/4 cup. Marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
- 2 tsp butter
- 1/4 cup peas
- 1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
- additional 1/2 t crushed red pepper (for garnish)
directions
- 1 - In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic and sauté just long enough for garlic to caramelize and red pepper to release flavor into the oil. Add sliced chicken and sauté briefly to coat in spices and garlic.
- 2 - Add Marinara Sauce first and then Alfredo Sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°. Turn off flame, add butter and peas and incorporate into sauce.
- 3 - Drop cooked pasta in boiling water for 3 seconds. Let drain for 15 seconds. Toss with the sauce. Place pasta and sauce in pasta bowl, reserving the majority of the chicken to be placed on top of the pasta. Using a rubber spatula, scrape any remaining sauce from the pan to the pasta. Garnish with crushed red pepper and serve.
This next recipe - Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas - was really, really good. I forgot to take a picture of this one though so you'll have to use your imagination or click through to the blog that I got the recipe from. Original recipe is here. (As a side note, I love the Pioneer Woman's blog!)
Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadilla
(I used precooked, frozen chicken for this, just to make things a little easier.)
Ingredients
- 8 whole Flour Tortillas
- Butter Or Margarine
- 2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
- 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
- 1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
- Cilantro
- 3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce
Preparation Instructions
(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.)
(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.
Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.
To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You'll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)
Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.
My second favorite recipe so far has been this one: Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce.
Again, my photography skills kind of suck when it comes to food pictures, but here is my version. Definitely not food blogger quality, especially since you can see where I slid the food away from the other food on the plate in an attempt to make it look better. Instead of looking better, you can just see the remnants of the food I slid across the plate...
Yield: 4 servings
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.
To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.
The next recipe is Penne Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
I don't have much to say about this one, other than it was pretty good and I would definitely make it again. Mr. V also gave his approval. There's nothing spectacular about it, but its not something I've made before and I was pretty impressed with the result.
Original recipe is here.
Penne Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
As far as recipe experimentation goes, I've been trying to duplicate a certain recipe for about a year now. I love Thai food, but one thing I have discovered about this delicious food is that no two Thai restaurants are the same. I've eaten at Thai restaurants in every place we've lived and whenever we go on vacation we usually find one to eat at. Not one of them has even slightly resembled another in the way their food tastes. Back in Washington, there was a local Thai restaurant that had AMAZING peanut sauce. I always ordered something called "Thai Best Peanut Sauce", which was chicken, on a bed of spinach and bean sprouts with rice on the side. I was addicted to this peanut sauce. I'd get carry-out from this place at least once a week, but sometimes even more often than that. We have tried three different Thai restaurants since moving to Corpus Christi and none of them taste anything like my favorite restaurant in Washington. I did manage to find one place that has really good peanut sauce, which makes it a nice substitute for the one I had to leave behind, but I'm still on a mission to find something that tastes identical. Since my search for a similar restaurant is proving to be fruitless, I decided to turn to turn to the internet for recipes to see if I can re-create the peanut sauce. I have several different peanut sauce recipes pinned on my Pinterest boards, but so far I've only made two of them. Neither of them taste anything at all like I want it to. They were decent and I'd make them again, but I'm still hunting for that perfect peanut sauce recipe!
First I made this - Noodles with Curried Peanut Sauce
Original recipe is here.
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 to 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional garnish: lime wedges, cilantro leaves
Directions:
1) Bring 1-1/2 quarts salted water to a boil. Add noodles and return to a boil. Simmer for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes, or until noodles are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Transfer noodles to a serving bowl.
2) Meanwhile, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, coconut milk, lime juice, coriander, curry paste, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until peanut butter has melted and a sauce has formed, about 3 minutes.
3) Pour sauce over noodles, tossing lightly until each noodle is coated with sauce. If sauce seems too thick, thin by adding pasta water, a spoonful at a time. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. Serve hot or warm. Yield: 4 servings.
And finally, I'll stop boring you to tears with my final meal experiment: Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons (but I'll be back later with more posts showing my breakfast, side dishes and dessert experiments!)
I cheated a lot with this one. Basically, I took the idea and completely ignored the recipe. I used tomato soup from a can and added milk and basil to it. I made the grilled cheese with American cheese, not cheddar, as the recipe calls for. And I put Italian seasoning on the grilled cheese (which I do normally). However, if you're interested in the actual recipe, and not just the idea, then click here or read the rest of this post.
As a side note, I was pretty impressed with the presentation of this one. Its almost food blogger quality (and ok, I have to admit that Mr. V actually put it all together, so he's the one who made it look pretty - not me.)
6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup whipping cream
Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.
In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.
6 thin slices of bread
3 ounces Cheddar, thinly sliced
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine the butter and thyme. Spread one side of each bread slice with the butter mixture. Place 3 slices in the pan, buttered side down. Top with the cheese, then with the remaining 3 bread slices, buttered side up. Cook, turning once, until toasted on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the sandwiches from the pan. Let them cool slightly, then cut them into 1-inch squares. Makes about 60 croutons.
(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.
Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.
To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You'll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)
Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.
My second favorite recipe so far has been this one: Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce.
Again, my photography skills kind of suck when it comes to food pictures, but here is my version. Definitely not food blogger quality, especially since you can see where I slid the food away from the other food on the plate in an attempt to make it look better. Instead of looking better, you can just see the remnants of the food I slid across the plate...
Find the original recipe here.
My notes about this particular meal: The recipe is enough for 4 servings. Since there's only the two of us, I cut the recipe in half. However, the apricot sauce that goes on top of the chicken I did NOT cut in half and I think I made just enough for two pieces. I guess you're supposed to use less of the sauce if that is supposed to be enough for 4 servings, but I think I used just the right amount to make it taste good. So my suggestion is to NOT cut the sauce recipe in half if you cut the rest of the recipe in half. And if you make the full recipe then double the sauce recipe.
As a side note, this was a really, really easy recipe to make. The prep time is super quick (5-10 minutes) and it comes out tasting like you spent hours preparing it. Definitely a recipe to make again.
The side dish in the picture is the same side that we ate with the Orange Chicken. Its Mr. V's creation of Coconut Mango Rice again - its delicious!
Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.
To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.
The next recipe is Penne Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
I don't have much to say about this one, other than it was pretty good and I would definitely make it again. Mr. V also gave his approval. There's nothing spectacular about it, but its not something I've made before and I was pretty impressed with the result.
Original recipe is here.
Penne Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
- 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded Italian-style four-cheese blend
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
PREPARE pasta according to package directions, adding sun-dried tomatoes to boiling pasta water for last two minutes of cooking time; drain.
MEANWHILE, COMBINE evaporated milk, cheese, basil, garlic powder and pepper in medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
ADD pasta and sun-dried tomatoes to cheese sauce; stir until combined.
As far as recipe experimentation goes, I've been trying to duplicate a certain recipe for about a year now. I love Thai food, but one thing I have discovered about this delicious food is that no two Thai restaurants are the same. I've eaten at Thai restaurants in every place we've lived and whenever we go on vacation we usually find one to eat at. Not one of them has even slightly resembled another in the way their food tastes. Back in Washington, there was a local Thai restaurant that had AMAZING peanut sauce. I always ordered something called "Thai Best Peanut Sauce", which was chicken, on a bed of spinach and bean sprouts with rice on the side. I was addicted to this peanut sauce. I'd get carry-out from this place at least once a week, but sometimes even more often than that. We have tried three different Thai restaurants since moving to Corpus Christi and none of them taste anything like my favorite restaurant in Washington. I did manage to find one place that has really good peanut sauce, which makes it a nice substitute for the one I had to leave behind, but I'm still on a mission to find something that tastes identical. Since my search for a similar restaurant is proving to be fruitless, I decided to turn to turn to the internet for recipes to see if I can re-create the peanut sauce. I have several different peanut sauce recipes pinned on my Pinterest boards, but so far I've only made two of them. Neither of them taste anything at all like I want it to. They were decent and I'd make them again, but I'm still hunting for that perfect peanut sauce recipe!
First I made this - Noodles with Curried Peanut Sauce
Original recipe is here.
It tasted decent enough, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I'd eat it again though, so if you're not as picky as I am when it comes to peanut sauce, then you'd probably like this recipe. (side note - I don't know why I can't get the picture to turn so its not sideways.)
Noodles with Curried Peanut Sauce.
Ingredients:
6 ounces dried flat Chinese egg noodles1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 to 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional garnish: lime wedges, cilantro leaves
Directions:
1) Bring 1-1/2 quarts salted water to a boil. Add noodles and return to a boil. Simmer for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes, or until noodles are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Transfer noodles to a serving bowl.
2) Meanwhile, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, coconut milk, lime juice, coriander, curry paste, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until peanut butter has melted and a sauce has formed, about 3 minutes.
3) Pour sauce over noodles, tossing lightly until each noodle is coated with sauce. If sauce seems too thick, thin by adding pasta water, a spoonful at a time. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. Serve hot or warm. Yield: 4 servings.
Then I tried this - Chicken with Peanut Sauce
(this is probably my prettiest food picture)
Recipe is here. This one I would do things a little differently if I make it again. Out of the two peanut sauce recipes that I've tried, I liked this one the least. It tastes too vinegary, so if I make it again I would reduce the amount of vinegar and add more peanut butter and peanut oil. I'm not sure why the recipe calls for the amount of vinegar it does, and why there doesn't seem to be a lot of peanut butter in a peanut sauce recipe. I'll have to experiment with this one again one day.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup warm water, plus more as needed
- 3 Tbs. creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tbs. soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. rice vinegar
- 2 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp. chili paste
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 lb. dried rice noodles or rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water to cover for 15 minutes and drained
- 1/2 lb. baby spinach
- 1 Tbs. corn or peanut oil
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 Tbs. chopped roasted peanuts
- 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
Many kinds of dried Asian noodles need to be reconstituted in hot water before they can be eaten. Place the noodles in a large bowl, add hot water to cover, place a plate on top of the noodles to keep them submerged and set aside for 15 minutes.
Directions:
Make the peanut sauce
In a blender, combine the 1/4 cup warm water, the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili paste and sugar. Process until a smooth sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick, add up to 1 Tbs. more warm water.
Cook the noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Plunge the reconstituted noodles into the water for 5 seconds and drain immediately. Pour the noodles back into the warm pot, add the spinach and corn oil, and toss gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Assemble and serve
In a bowl, toss the chicken with half of the peanut sauce. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl or platter and scatter the chicken on top. Garnish with the peanuts and cilantro and serve immediately. Pass the remaining peanut sauce at the table. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Asian, by Farina Wong Kingsley (Oxmoor House, 2007).
In a blender, combine the 1/4 cup warm water, the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili paste and sugar. Process until a smooth sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick, add up to 1 Tbs. more warm water.
Cook the noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Plunge the reconstituted noodles into the water for 5 seconds and drain immediately. Pour the noodles back into the warm pot, add the spinach and corn oil, and toss gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Assemble and serve
In a bowl, toss the chicken with half of the peanut sauce. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl or platter and scatter the chicken on top. Garnish with the peanuts and cilantro and serve immediately. Pass the remaining peanut sauce at the table. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Asian, by Farina Wong Kingsley (Oxmoor House, 2007).
Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry was my next experiement.
This is another one that I will definitely make again. It also got Mr. V's approval.
Recipe can be found here. I left out the onion, because again, I hate onions, but I don't think this needed the onion anyway. Mr. V loves onions and doesn't particularly like leaving them out of recipes if it can be helped, but he said he would never know that this recipe needed an onion. He liked it just fine without one. So personally, I'd recommend leaving it out, but I'm copying and pasting the recipe just as its written anyway.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds, 3-⅓ ounces, weight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Large Cubes
- 1 whole Onion, Peeled And Halved
- 2 cloves Garlic, Peeled
- 1 whole Small Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Quartered
- 1 can (156ml Can) Tomato Paste
- 1 can (about 400ml Can) Coconut Milk
- 1-½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala (Indian Spice Mix)
- 2 whole Dry Red Chili Peppers (optional For Extra Heat))
- 2 Tablespoons Water
- 1-½ Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 bunch Coriander (optional, For Decoration) Instructions
1. Place chicken cubes inside the slow cooker.
2. Place the rest of the ingredients (except chili peppers, cornstarch, water and coriander) in a food processor bowl and process together until the mix is smooth(ish). Pour sauce mix on top of the chicken, mix well, add hot peppers if using any, then close the lid. Cook on low for 6 hours.
3. An hour before serving, mix together water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add to the chicken curry and mix well. Place the lid back on for the rest of the cooking time.4. Serve on top of steaming white rice, something wonderfully aromatic like jasmine or basmati rice. Decorate with lots of chopped coriander. Inhale. So good!
This next one was super easy to make: Linguine with Garlicky Breadcrumbs
I didn't get a picture of this one, but there's a picture of it with the recipe here. It does call for linguine (obviously since its in the title) but I used spaghetti instead and I thought it worked perfectly. I also used bread crumbs from a store bought can instead of making my own. It was a good meal, but I definitely added too much garlic. That will need to be simmered down a bit the next time I make this. Other than the overpowering taste of garlic, it was pretty tasty!
Linguine with Garlicky Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 1 slice day-old hearty white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), torn
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 ounces uncooked linguine
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
-
1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 250°.
- Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 2/3 cup. Place breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Bake at 250° for 30 minutes or until dry.
- Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Return pan to heat. Stir in breadcrumbs, and cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place pasta in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.
And finally, I'll stop boring you to tears with my final meal experiment: Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons (but I'll be back later with more posts showing my breakfast, side dishes and dessert experiments!)
I cheated a lot with this one. Basically, I took the idea and completely ignored the recipe. I used tomato soup from a can and added milk and basil to it. I made the grilled cheese with American cheese, not cheddar, as the recipe calls for. And I put Italian seasoning on the grilled cheese (which I do normally). However, if you're interested in the actual recipe, and not just the idea, then click here or read the rest of this post.
As a side note, I was pretty impressed with the presentation of this one. Its almost food blogger quality (and ok, I have to admit that Mr. V actually put it all together, so he's the one who made it look pretty - not me.)
Before I copy and paste the recipe here's my 2 cents. This is a great idea. But it doesn't work as well as you would think. I HIGHLY recommend DIPPING the grilled cheese into the tomato soup, but not actually using it as croutons. Reason being - the soup will make the bread VERY mushy, VERY quickly. Then it becomes a texture issue. I love grilled cheese, but when it became all mushy it was actually a bit nauseating to eat. If you don't mind really mushy food thats not typically mushy, then you might not care. But I had to eat my mushy sandwich, while telling myself "It tastes like grilled cheese" over and over in my head just to choke it down. The taste was fine in general, but wow the texture made for some disgusting eating. So my advice - dip the grilled cheese...don't let it just sit in the soup! If you do that, then this is a really tasty and good idea!
Roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons
6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup whipping cream
Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.
In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.
Grilled cheese croutons:1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon thyme6 thin slices of bread
3 ounces Cheddar, thinly sliced
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine the butter and thyme. Spread one side of each bread slice with the butter mixture. Place 3 slices in the pan, buttered side down. Top with the cheese, then with the remaining 3 bread slices, buttered side up. Cook, turning once, until toasted on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the sandwiches from the pan. Let them cool slightly, then cut them into 1-inch squares. Makes about 60 croutons.
And that ends my super long post about food! This has been pretty time consuming, hence the lack of blog posts. I still have more food to post and also some crafts that I got ideas for from Pinterest so those will be other posts for other days. In the meantime, try out some of these recipes! They're pretty yummy!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Anna - a Year Later
Its been just over a year since the world lost a wonderful person and heaven got a beautiful angel.
I still can't believe that Anna, my college roommate and best friend is dead. The word "dead" just doesn't even seem like an appropriate word to describe someone who was so full of life.
Anna left this world on April 4th, 2011, very suddenly and very unexpectedly. I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the past few days, because as the anniversary of her death and funeral approached, the sad feelings began flowing again. I certainly haven't forgotten about her, but it is true that time heals people. After her death, as the year went on, other things began to consume my thoughts. Normal, every day life took the place of the feelings of sadness in my mind. But every now and then something would happen where I just needed a friend, and the realization that I couldn't pick up the phone to call Anna would hit me like a ton of bricks and my tears would start all over.
After Anna died, I wrote this. And everything that I wrote there still holds true. Anna was such a genuinely GOOD person, and a fiercely loyal friend. If you look up the definition of the word "loyal" in the dictionary, her picture should be there. Her death opened up my eyes to a lot of things, mainly the way I act and treat people. I had vowed to become a better person after losing her. I wanted to stay in touch with people more and be a better friend to people and I have to sadly say, that I didn't succeed at that goal. I know I'm not a bad person, but I didn't make much more of an effort to stay in touch with people and I had wanted to. I wasn't always there for my friends and I should have been. It makes me wonder how Anna did it so easily. Being nice and being "good" just came so naturally to her. Aside from the fact that losing any person so young is a tragedy, its also such a tragedy that the world lost a person who was so "good".
This past weekend was hard. It was Easter weekend, but my mind was elsewhere. Last year at this time I was back in North Carolina, watching and crying as my best friend was lowered into the ground in a coffin. The next day I tried to make sure that my friend Alice wasn't forgotten as she celebrated her 30th birthday. It was essentially a celebration of life and death in one single weekend, and sadly, I think that this weekend, for years to come, will always hold those memories for me.
I'm happy that my memories of Anna are still so strong, but sad that its already been over a year since she left us. Time really does move fast, and I hope that as the years go on my memories of her don't become more distant.
I find myself getting angry sometimes when I think about her. I find myself thinking "Its not fair." The reasons I get angry are selfish reasons, but I can't help it. Anna and I spent 3 years as college roommates. When I was growing up, I met my mom's college roommates and their children. I heard the stories my mom told me about college, and I met the people who went along with the stories and I met their children, who were around the same age as me. And now, I find myself getting angry that my (non-existent) children will never get to meet Anna. And as much as she wanted kids of her own, it never happened for her. So my kids will never be able to meet her kids, and hear the stories that we tell together about our time together at Catawba. Its a stupid thought in a way, but its also a really sad thought. I wanted to go to college homecomings in 20 years, and meet up with Anna and introduce people to my old roommate, and I will never be able to do that. I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted to be a better friend to her. I wanted to be able to always call her when I needed an ear to listen to me or a friend to cry to. But I can't do that. And I'm angry about that.
I know this post is kind of rambling , but I don't know how to fully connect all of my thoughts right now. I'm just sad. I miss Anna. I hate that someone who loved life was taken out of this life so young. Anna was very religious and loved God so there is no doubt in my mind that she is in heaven right now. But at the same time, as much as she loved God, I also know that she didn't want to die this young. She had plans for the rest of her life that she will never be able to complete. She had hopes and dreams that will now never come true.
So in her memory, I thought I'd post some old pictures of Brooklet (because let's not forget that she is the first person who ever called me Brooklet) and Anna. These are in no particular order, and none of them have captions right now. I may go back and caption them if I have more time one day. For now though, I think the pictures themselves speak for our friendship. I don't think they need to be in order or captioned for people to understand that.
I still can't believe that Anna, my college roommate and best friend is dead. The word "dead" just doesn't even seem like an appropriate word to describe someone who was so full of life.
Anna left this world on April 4th, 2011, very suddenly and very unexpectedly. I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the past few days, because as the anniversary of her death and funeral approached, the sad feelings began flowing again. I certainly haven't forgotten about her, but it is true that time heals people. After her death, as the year went on, other things began to consume my thoughts. Normal, every day life took the place of the feelings of sadness in my mind. But every now and then something would happen where I just needed a friend, and the realization that I couldn't pick up the phone to call Anna would hit me like a ton of bricks and my tears would start all over.
After Anna died, I wrote this. And everything that I wrote there still holds true. Anna was such a genuinely GOOD person, and a fiercely loyal friend. If you look up the definition of the word "loyal" in the dictionary, her picture should be there. Her death opened up my eyes to a lot of things, mainly the way I act and treat people. I had vowed to become a better person after losing her. I wanted to stay in touch with people more and be a better friend to people and I have to sadly say, that I didn't succeed at that goal. I know I'm not a bad person, but I didn't make much more of an effort to stay in touch with people and I had wanted to. I wasn't always there for my friends and I should have been. It makes me wonder how Anna did it so easily. Being nice and being "good" just came so naturally to her. Aside from the fact that losing any person so young is a tragedy, its also such a tragedy that the world lost a person who was so "good".
This past weekend was hard. It was Easter weekend, but my mind was elsewhere. Last year at this time I was back in North Carolina, watching and crying as my best friend was lowered into the ground in a coffin. The next day I tried to make sure that my friend Alice wasn't forgotten as she celebrated her 30th birthday. It was essentially a celebration of life and death in one single weekend, and sadly, I think that this weekend, for years to come, will always hold those memories for me.
I'm happy that my memories of Anna are still so strong, but sad that its already been over a year since she left us. Time really does move fast, and I hope that as the years go on my memories of her don't become more distant.
I find myself getting angry sometimes when I think about her. I find myself thinking "Its not fair." The reasons I get angry are selfish reasons, but I can't help it. Anna and I spent 3 years as college roommates. When I was growing up, I met my mom's college roommates and their children. I heard the stories my mom told me about college, and I met the people who went along with the stories and I met their children, who were around the same age as me. And now, I find myself getting angry that my (non-existent) children will never get to meet Anna. And as much as she wanted kids of her own, it never happened for her. So my kids will never be able to meet her kids, and hear the stories that we tell together about our time together at Catawba. Its a stupid thought in a way, but its also a really sad thought. I wanted to go to college homecomings in 20 years, and meet up with Anna and introduce people to my old roommate, and I will never be able to do that. I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted to be a better friend to her. I wanted to be able to always call her when I needed an ear to listen to me or a friend to cry to. But I can't do that. And I'm angry about that.
I know this post is kind of rambling , but I don't know how to fully connect all of my thoughts right now. I'm just sad. I miss Anna. I hate that someone who loved life was taken out of this life so young. Anna was very religious and loved God so there is no doubt in my mind that she is in heaven right now. But at the same time, as much as she loved God, I also know that she didn't want to die this young. She had plans for the rest of her life that she will never be able to complete. She had hopes and dreams that will now never come true.
So in her memory, I thought I'd post some old pictures of Brooklet (because let's not forget that she is the first person who ever called me Brooklet) and Anna. These are in no particular order, and none of them have captions right now. I may go back and caption them if I have more time one day. For now though, I think the pictures themselves speak for our friendship. I don't think they need to be in order or captioned for people to understand that.
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