Caramelized Onions

Ok. I am cheating.  This is not really any sort of recipe.  I was just curious.  So I took an thinly-sliced onion, put it in a skillet with some salt, pepper, and olive oil and put the heat on low.  From there, I just took a picture when I started them, and then every ten minutes until I decided they were finished about thirty minutes later.  You start with your eyes watering and end up with DELICIOUS-NESS.

These onions went on a pizza with roasted broccoli (told you we were obsessed), spinach, and cherry tomatoes.  Veggie pizza means it's healthy.....

Ski Bunnies

Hey everyone! I'm kinda keeping up right?!?  Well, we have been a little busy lately.  Stud has finally emerged from the back hole that was his November / December schedule and we have been trying to do as much as we can in his few days off! He worked all the holidays, and I went home. He was working 12 hr shifts and told me he would be more miserable if I was in RI alone, so home I went.  My time home in December was great!! My office is CLOSED for the week between Christmas Day and New Years Day, so it makes it so easy for me to have a nice break home where I can relax.

When I made it back to Providence, the mild winter had ended, but so had Stud's miserable schedule!  We have been able to get out of Providence and go skiing twice this month, both times to Stowe, VT.  Stud has been skiing forever, and I am just getting started, so the more I am out there, the better I am!! I can aaaalmost keep up....on the bunny slopes.  We were able to go with a big group of friends one weekend and then just the two of us the second weekend.

We have recently discovered that there is some pretty good skiing only about an hour from Providence at Wachusett Mountain!  I have been able to get up there once and Stud is heading up soon.  I can't think of a better way to get out and actually be active this winter.  I am hoping we will see the end of the single digit temps soon as well so we will be able to go more often!

I am so glad Stud has been able to enjoy winter, even though I think we have about a million months left of it.  I am ready for the warmth!!!!!

Roasted Broccoli

I love broccoli. It was probably one of only a few veggies I would eat as a child, and then it became the veggie I made myself in college when I wasn't eating Easy Mac. But then....broccoli and I fell out of touch. All due to the fact that Stud HATES broccoli. I was so confused! But since we both need to eat our veggies, I said goodbye to broccoli and we started eating A LOT of salads.

But recently, I've had enough. Broccoli is delicious and Stud is a grown man. He can deal and learn to love it. Plus, I meal plan so he had very little choice! At first he would eat it only if he could smother it in sauce. But now!! I have discovered a way to make him LOVE broccoli just as much as I do and it is pretty much the easiest thing on earth.

He said, and I quote, "green nuggets of heaven."

There is no real recipe here, just chop however much broccoli you want and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until slightly charred. If you want to be super fancy, top with lemon juice or parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven.

I even toss mine with the olive oil etc on the cookie sheet to save a bowl. SO EASY!!

Daily Fluff

I have been a very busy Christmas elf over the past couple weeks, so instead of anything of substance, you get TWO overly adorable photos of Beau and his new bestie, Turner.  He babysits and I'm obsessed.

 

Happy holidays!



 

 

 

 

 

Holiday Season!

Welcome to the holidays!!  I love this time of year, and I feel like I am starting to get into the holiday spirit! It has been oddly warm in Rhode Island (almost 60 today...whattt???), but looks like maybe some winter is coming next week.  Stud and I got our tree up before Thanksgiving, hopefully it survives until Christmas!  He has a TERRIBLE schedule this year, no holidays off, so we started early so he can enjoy the season on his few days off. It was also the last day off we had together until January, so we were one of those weird couples embracing the holiday creep.  We listened to Christmas music for one day then went back to normal until after Thanksgiving...I promise!!

I was able to get home for Thanksgiving, but as I mentioned, poor Stud was stuck here working.  We made some big meals on Monday and Tuesday to last him through the week, Mushroom Lasagna and Bolognese (coming soon!).  So at least I know he was eating well and he had Beau to keep him company.  And I brought him back some gifts and prizes....

I had no idea you could FLY with airplane bottles!!  I crammed as many as I could into one quart size bag, and no questions were asked!  Good to know... I had a great break home, it had been about six months since I had seen my family.  So I did a lot of relaxing, eating, sitting, napping, and eating. As I said, it was nice.  Our Thanksgiving is always a late lunch, and just my family of four (five when Stud can make it), and of course, we need TWO pies for four people.  AND IT WAS ALL AMAZING. I also get to go and see Stud's family for dinner on Thanksgiving, so I get two meals - it's the best. I practice for weeks.  It always so nice to see everyone during the holidays!

EASY Pad Thai

So Stud and I are fans of ethnic food (he much more so than me...there is this Ethiopian place he really wants to try, and I keep switching it back to Pan-Asian), and for him, the spicier the better.  I am always on the lookout for meals we can easily make at home, where the level of spice can be adjusted for each one of us.  We have been making pad thai for a few years now, but it was always such a PROCESS that we hadn't made it in a while.  Then I stumbled upon this super fast recipe on Cup of Jo and decided we had to give it a try. There are some uniquely Asian ingredient on the list, but they are things we tend to have on hand since we make Asian food quite a bit.  I also made some adjustments, because well, we wanted a little more pizzaz and we are down with mega leftovers.

EASY Pad Thai

1 lb rice noodles

1 lb chicken breast, diced

4 eggs

1-2 shallots, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

3 green onions, chopped, white and greens separately

Cilantro (if wanted)

Peanuts (rough chop)

Canola Oil

Lime Juice

Sauce:

1/2 c. chicken stock

4 T brown sugar

6 T fish sauce

2 T soy sauce

1 T Sambal Oelek (can be omitted or increased)

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and put 3-4 T over the chicken to marinate and set the rest aside.  Then, since this comes together so quickly, I like to get the rest of the ingredients ready, so time for some chopping.  Also, follow the directions on the package of rice noddles - usually involves letting them sit in the hot water for 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness.  Once everything is chopped, add some oil to a large skillet and heat up the oil, and add the chicken.  Cook until there are no obvious pink parts remaining and push to the side of the skillet where it can continue to cook.  Add some more oil if necessary, and add the shallots, garlic, and the whites from the green onions.  Saute for a couple minutes until the shallots begin to soften, then crack in the eggs, breaking the yolks. I like to let them sit and get some brown parts, but up to you, so I let them sit a while, then stir, then let them sit, then stir etc until the eggs are all cooked.  Add in the noodles, sauce, green parts of the green onions, cilantro, and peanuts and stir until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce.  Squeeze the juice from one lime over the pad thai, top with sriracha and enjoy!

Another Year...

Welp, another year has passed and here I am, blogging again.  I am going to try this time...really I am!  I have no more class (haven't for a while now), Stud and I are still eating delicious foods, and we still are learning about our new city - Providence.  So I thought why not.  Stud has actually been cooking ME dinner for the past month or so (maybe I can get him to write some up here again!), he had a relatively easy month, but we are heading into a long winter with his schedule, and I will be doing a lot more of the cooking.  Example - right now.  Stud is working, and I am experimenting with some Black Bean Burgers.  They are in the oven and they smell delicious, but I think I needed to mash the beans more.... Hopefully they don't completely fall apart!

In conclusion, I am back.  Again.  Woot!

Thankful

Stud had today off while I had to work. I came home to homemade lobster pot pie. LOBSTER!! I think he's a keeper.

It was phenomenal.

Daily Fluff

How Beau feels about Hurricane Sandy.

Prosciutto Spaghetti

This is one of those meals I refused to eat as a child.  It was a red sauce.  I had issues.  But when i finally passed through my tween years and decided to try food that wasn't white, I discovered the deliciousness of prosciutto spaghetti.  The recipe was a staple in my house growing up and since I no longer have access to my parent's freezer, Stud and I had to make our own batch up here.  My mom usually makes a double batch since she has a stand alone freezer, but Stud and I made a single batch and had enough for one meal plus on quart for the freezer.  This meal was also not a stretch to get on the table at a reasonable hour.  It has to simmer a little, but Stud was happy to stir and taste test.

Prosciutto Spaghetti
3/4 lb. prosciutto, sliced thinly
2 28oz. cans Italian tomatoes
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 c. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 T. dried basil
2 t. oregano
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 t. salt
Black pepper - plenty

Dice the prosciutto and cook in the olive oil and butter until crispy.  Remove a spoonful for garnish if you want (I say YES).  Add the onions and garlic to the prosciutto and cook until soft.  Add in the basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook the herbs for a minute or two.  If you have whole tomatoes, I would puree them before adding them to the sauce (I had whole ones).  Add the tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer.  Let it simmer for about thirty minutes and then serve with your favorite spaghetti!

ENJOY!!

Daily Fluff

Things are starting to get a little chilly here in RI, and since we have no idea how to operate a radiator, we have pulled out the space heater. Beau approves.

Home and Such

Stud and I recently made a week long trip home capped off with a wedding of two of our good college friends in Nashville.  It was so great to go home for a week and relax and spend time with our families without either of us having to work or study, something that hasn't happened since college summer vacation.  Stud was especially appreciative of the week off since he has been working so hard in the hospital.  It was a great week since we got to see all of our family and friends in Louisville and then see all of our college friends in Nashville!  We crammed a lot of reunions into one week.

Meanwhile, fall has arrive in Rhode Island....

We had our first night below freezing already and it's only October....I'm nervous about the upcoming months!!

Soup Season!

Stud and I have out first soup of the season simmering on the stove for dinner! A delicious batch of chicken gumbo (chicken stock and a roast chicken vs turkey). We added 2 jalapeños in with the veggies, seems to be a great addition for my spice loving husband.

I love fall.

Happenings!

Things have been happening up here in Rhode Island!

Over Labor Day, I flew down to Atlanta and spent the weekend with some great friends on Lake Rabun.  After moving to a new area where I don't know many people, it was so relaxing to spend a weekend with good friends from home and college.  Our activities included pontooning, tubing, jumping, swimming, drinking, eating, napping, sunning, and laughing.  Poor Stud could not come along, but we are hoping we can all do it next year and he can join! The work schedule of an intern does not provide for much freedom....poor guy.  I did bring him back a party favor, some neon shades.

The following weekend my parents came to visit and we had a blast exploring Providence.  We went down to Newport (it's after Labor Day, significantly more manageable!), and had lobster rolls on the beach., YUM! We also explored a good portion of the restaurants in the city, some I had been waiting to try for a while.  Al Forno (an Ina Garten fav), might have been the most tasty...but they were all so good.  We also went over to Federal Hill which is the Italian part of Providence.  It has some phenomenal food stores, and I stocked up on Italian goodies.  Including some Porchetta and this delicious mozzarella roll that included arugula and prosciutto.  We had some good sandwiches last week!

In other news, I have started a job!  Woohoo for employment!  And my computer has decided to lose it's mind, so I am currently blogging from Stud's computer which does not like blogging.  I have to do one picture at a time and I have another delicious looking sandwich that it refused to upload.  I will try and keep up with the blog as things change again around here.  Now I am off to make some pasta for dinner!

Daily Fluff

Last week, Stud and I went hiking in the White Mountains.  Since it's about four hours away, we were committed to an overnight.  And it was supposed to rain.  We planned to hike the following day when the weather was supposed to clear up, so we could sleep in the rain and hike in the clear mountain air.  Well....that didn't happen.  It rained more on our "hiking" day than the day we drove up.  So our six mile loop with two summits of over 4,000ft mountains turned into about a three mile hike with a summit of Mt. Avalon, not one of the 4,000 footers in the White Mountains.  We were wet, tired, and ready to get back on the road.  Someone who did have a BLAST??  Beau.  That dog must have been a mountain goat in another life.  There were some STEEP ascents and Beau flew up them without a problem.  And don't worry, when we got anywhere close to a ledge, he went back on his leash.

Picnic Shrimp Salad

For Stud's birthday beach picnic, I tried to make it minimal effort, but still something special.  So I purchased most of our snacks and then made a batch of shrimp salad as our "entree" and still not too heavy or work intensive for the beach.  And it was amazing.  We have been eating a lot more seafood up here since it's so fresh, and shrimp salad was a great and quick way to have some on hand.  We ate the leftovers over the next couple days as shrimp rolls, in a salad, and just with a spoon. PS I am really enjoying the New England style rolls.

Shrimp Salad
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/8 c. mayonnaise (like one big spoonful)
Juice from 1 lemon
1 T. capers
1 green onion
Hot Sauce
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

I roasted the shrimp to minimize clean up and to make it as easy as possible.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with tin foil.  Toss the shrimp with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast for about 8-10 minutes until the shrimp are pink.  While the shrimp are cooking, mix the mayo with the lemon juice.  Slice the green onion and roughly chop the capers and add to the mayo mixture and add hot sauce to your liking.  In our household, that's pretty spicy!  Also, ALL of the measurements can be adjusted to your personal preference.  I love capers, so there are a lot.  I also liked the tartness that comes from a lot of lemon juice.  So adapt to whatever you like!  Once the shrimp are cool, chop them into bite size pieces and toss with the dressing. In my opinion, the salad was better the longer it sat, so feel free to make it early.  Our beach shrimp rolls were delicious!

WHALE TALES!

Today is Stud's 27th birthday, and he of course, has to work.  But yesterday, he had a day off so instead of giving him a gift, I planned a birthday day celebration.  He had no idea what we were doing until we were about half way there yesterday when the the curiosity finally got the better of him.  For his birthday, we went to Plymouth, MA and had lunch, went WHALE WATCHING, and then had a picnic dinner on the beach!  I planned a pretty awesome day if I do say so myself.  Plymouth was 1. closer than I thought (only an hour) and 2. a very cute New England harbor town!  Before we got on the boat, I made sure we went and actually saw THE Plymouth Rock.  I had no idea there is a literal rock.  What I also learned is that the Pilgrims first landed at Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod, were dissatisfied with the lack of fresh water and the bad for crops sandy soil, so left the women and children behind to explore the Massachusetts coast, eventually settling on Plymouth.

 

Whale watching was much more crowded than I thought it would be on a random Thursday.  We went with a company called Captain Johns and I think they sent out three boats yesterday afternoon.  Each boat had a naturalist on board who knows all sorts of random facts and can also identify all the whales.  It was about an hour and half ride to the whale feeding grounds, and once we were there, the whales put on a great show!  We found a group of four humpback whales feeding together, and they surfaced several times very close to our boat!  Some of the pictures below are from the Captain John blog since I was too entranced by the whales to take decent pics!

Captain John

Captain John

Captain John

And then the very best!  We had a whale do a spinning head breach and one of the passengers managed to capture it on video (I love his commentary - I got that!):

Then we drove to the beach and had a picnic dinner while the sun set.  It was a great way to end our day.  I think Stud was able to enjoy his birthday (a day early) and get to relax some as well.  And whales are the coolest.  For sure.

Block Island

Last week, Stud had a rare day off that was not a shift switch, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and went over to Block Island!  It is a tiny little island about an hour by ferry from the mainland, and it's a gorgeous spot.  So quiet compared to some of the beaches in Rhode Island!  I woke Stud around 9:30 so we could head down and catch the 11:00 ferry. Dogs are welcome on the ferry and on all the beaches on Block Island, so Beau came along for our adventure.  He DID NOT like the horn on the ferry, but other than that seemed to enjoy his first boat ride.

When you arrive on Block Island, there are tons of small beach front B&Bs and little hotels and a small little town with some really cute shops and restaurants.  Stud and I packed lunch and ate it on the ferry, so we were ready to get going once we got on shore.  Our first stop was about a mile walk, the island has plenty of bike and moped rentals, but we wanted to get some exercise, so off we went to the Southeast Lighthouse.  There are two main lighthouses on the island, but this one had a really close beach as well!  And not too shabby of a lighthouse...

From there we walked about 20 feet to the Moheagan Bluffs lookout which has a little path down to a beach.  We walked down the beach and found a spot where Beau wouldn't be harassing strangers and set up for an afternoon at the beach.  The ocean was great, it was a nice sandy beach and Beau was playing the in water the whole time we were there.

As you can tell, we had amazing weather for our day on Block Island...we went through a substantial amount of sunscreen (I was tan...Stud was a tomato).  After the beach, we walked back to town, did a little shopping, and grabbed dinner at a little seafood restaurant.  While waiting for our 7:30 ferry, we had a cocktail on the beach and just relaxed.  I think it was good for Stud to actually sit and do nothing after a stressful first week in the ER.  Our ferry back was during the sunset, it was an excellent way to finish a great day on Block Island.  I think we will be back for sure!

Yankees?

Hello everyone!!

Well, I'm back! Back whenever my last post was (so long SO SORRY), and I fell off the blogging earth, I was consumed by work, my MBA, and trying to figure out what Stud was going to do with his life.  Since then, there have been some huge happenings!  To sum it all up if there are any of you who aren't friends and family - Stud graduated, I graduated, we went to Thailand, and then moved to Providence, RI!  That makes it all seem so easy....But don't be fooled!  There were several weeks in there where it was a mad panic, mainly the one week we had between Thailand and the date for our movers to arrive.  So Stud is a real doctor, practicing Emergency Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital with the Brown University residency program (I have yet to hear the end of the Ivy League-ness coming out of his mouth....).  For all those concerned, and I'm pretty sure the main reason people come back to this blog, Beau has transitioned well to life in New England.  He has also gotten over his fear of waves and seems to be enjoying the ocean.

So, from now on, I will try and be a better blogger and update friends and family on our happenings here in Rhode Island as well as my experiments with seafood.  Below are some pictures to summarize what we have been up to!

DOCTOR!!!

Koh Tao, Thailand

Driving the 16 hrs. to Providence from Louisville

Beach dog!

Friends came to visit!

LOBSTER ROLL.