Color Me.... Italian
Thursday, September 06, 2007
September already....
I really can't believe September is here already... yesterday, was so nice! It actually dropped below 90 degrees! It was still a little hot right under the sun, but the shade and breeze felt awesome. The sudden "drastic" change in temperature put me in the mood for soup. lol =D So, I made a veganized version of my Grandma's corn chowder... my absolute favorite. It was so delicious. I can't wait for fall to really get here! I can't wait for halloween!!! We're going to be a family of zombies HAHA! Tony birthday is this month too. =D And mine is next month, on halloween actually. I'm going to try my hand at Thanksgiving dinner this year... I've already been going through my cookbooks to see what new things I can try to practice before then... I love the fall. And then CHRISTMAS!!! yay! =D
¶ 6:58 AM 0 Comments
Friday, August 31, 2007
Yeah, okay.
I was browsing Allrecipes.com for something to make for dinner tonight and also for my lunch bunch next week, which the theme is International food. Anywho, a list caught my eye called "Even Vegans Have Sweet Tooths." First thinking, "Even Vegans Get a Sweet Tooth" would be a better name haha, then reading the description:
"Delicious vegan desserts without scary ingredients like tofu or egg substitute."
Okay. I continue to scroll down to read the first recipe in which the list's author states:
"Just substitute vegetable shortening for butter."
Like vegetable shortening isn't scarier than tofu or egg substitute?
Yeah, okay.
"Delicious vegan desserts without scary ingredients like tofu or egg substitute."
Okay. I continue to scroll down to read the first recipe in which the list's author states:
"Just substitute vegetable shortening for butter."
Like vegetable shortening isn't scarier than tofu or egg substitute?
Yeah, okay.
Labels: food, vegetarian
¶ 5:51 AM 0 Comments
Thursday, August 23, 2007
potty and food in one post??? wth.... =)
Today, we started potty training Carlee....
(I've been dreading this for so long)
But today I finally decided it was time to seriously start.
After 2 accidents, she got the idea that she was no longer in comfortable diapers, and started sitting on the potty. It took her a while to actually relax enough to go, but she did it!!! Hopefully, she'll want to continue using the potty after today.
I'm hoping that this means it will be fairly easy.
**Crossing fingers!!**
Not only was I excited about getting Carlee to use the potty, I was uber excited about dinner too. It took all afternoon, and a lot of work, and quite a bit of time to do all the wrapping.... but it was worth it!!!
For dinner, we had vegan lumpia. I used a recipe a friend has given me a while back, and altered it a bit. I used the fake meat crumbles instead of beef, and left out the egg that it called for. Minced carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and soy sauce also went into the "meat" mixture. *Thank goodness for food processors!* I used water instead of egg whites to close the wrap and amazingly it worked! So why use egg? I don't get it. Anyway, they came out really good. Tony was in heaven. I even had 18 that were left over, so I froze them so I can cook them later.
To top it off we had vegan brownies that were so rich and delicious. I used a recipe out of The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton. I just found out that she blogs too, Vive le Vegan, so of course I had to go leave her a comment. =) The brownies were really delicious. Tony said I had definitely found the way to his heart. haha.
It's days like today that I feel really accomplished.
=)
(I've been dreading this for so long)
But today I finally decided it was time to seriously start.
After 2 accidents, she got the idea that she was no longer in comfortable diapers, and started sitting on the potty. It took her a while to actually relax enough to go, but she did it!!! Hopefully, she'll want to continue using the potty after today.
I'm hoping that this means it will be fairly easy.
**Crossing fingers!!**
Not only was I excited about getting Carlee to use the potty, I was uber excited about dinner too. It took all afternoon, and a lot of work, and quite a bit of time to do all the wrapping.... but it was worth it!!!
For dinner, we had vegan lumpia. I used a recipe a friend has given me a while back, and altered it a bit. I used the fake meat crumbles instead of beef, and left out the egg that it called for. Minced carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and soy sauce also went into the "meat" mixture. *Thank goodness for food processors!* I used water instead of egg whites to close the wrap and amazingly it worked! So why use egg? I don't get it. Anyway, they came out really good. Tony was in heaven. I even had 18 that were left over, so I froze them so I can cook them later.
To top it off we had vegan brownies that were so rich and delicious. I used a recipe out of The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton. I just found out that she blogs too, Vive le Vegan, so of course I had to go leave her a comment. =) The brownies were really delicious. Tony said I had definitely found the way to his heart. haha.
It's days like today that I feel really accomplished.
=)
Labels: carlee, food, vegetarian
¶ 12:00 PM 0 Comments
Monday, August 20, 2007
Going Vegetarian 2
The video in the last post does not have any disturbing animal footage. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. It's actually about global warming and the effect of factory farming on global warming... and how "environmentalist" politicians and Hollywood stars are still eating meat. I chose to post that one because it's what started my whole interest and my research. So, if you didn't watch it because of that, you should take a look, it's actually pretty interesting. Well, it was to me anyway. I wouldn't post shocking animal footage... yet anyway. Maybe someday I'll be a brave enough little vegetarian to use my own blog to show my own beliefs and such, but until then, if you're interested in finding out the truth of factory farming, go to GoVeg.com and watch the video called "Meet your Meat." I guarantee you it will open your eyes. Even if I did post it, sadly, I think only maybe one viewer would watch it, and it would probably be my mom. =) *Love ya Mom!*
Unfortunately, nobody wants to know where their food comes from, nobody wants to know what is involved in getting that meat to their plates, or how that meat is affecting their bodies. The same goes for so much of our processed food. Nobody cares what hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup is, or what it's doing to their bodies either. The shit these companies are putting into the nation's food is killing us.... slowly. But if you don't care enough to research it for yourself, you should do it for your kids. One of the facts I read that convinced me to go vegetarian was "heart disease starts in childhood." Because your life long eating habits is what creates heart diseases; they don't happen over night.
This really made me think. Do I really want to put food into Carlee's body that might eventually cause her a heart attack at age 38 if she eats it until then. Ummm... I don't even have to think about that for a nano second. The answer is NO! Oprah used to say on her show (it is one of my favorite quotes,) "You do as good as you know how, and when you know better, you do better." This has been one of my personal mottos since I first heard her say that a few years ago.
I have researched for the past two weeks. I've read: Raising Vegan Children in a NonVegan World, Vegan Freak, Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet, and am finally starting on reading through my first vegan cookbook: The Everyday Vegan: Recipes & Lessons for Living the Vegan Life.
Becoming Vegan is possibly my greatest asset as we begin this next health step. This book was so full of information, I couldn't put it down. It has everything you would need to know. What vitamins you need, how much you need, where you can get them, what diseases and cancers these vitamins prevent!!! Deficiencies to avoid with a little planning (mainly B12, but now vegetarian foods are fortified with it), and even about deficiencies meat-eaters get as well (without even knowing it!) It even has info on being vegan while pregnant or breastfeeding. There's info on how to eat vegan if you're very athletic or into bodybuilding. Best of all, there's info on nutrition of vegan toddlers! This is definitely staying in my personal library. So, yes I've done my research, and I now know WAY better, and we're going to be doing WAY better.
After only two weeks, I feel so much better! It's really amazing. I heard that it takes 6 months for all the chemicals and such from eating meat to fully leave your system. I can't wait to see how I feel after 6 months then, if I already feel this good. This is just after two weeks of eating vegan at home, and vegetarian at restaurants (which we've been to only 1 restaurant in the past 2 weeks lol.)
Another event fully convinced me I had made the right decision. My cholesterol results came back from a test I had done in July. Now, we ate very healthy. We never even considered eating hydrogenated oils, we ate 90% lean beef, chicken, skim milk, only whole grains, no HFCS, everything was as healthy as it could get (or so I thought.) When I read my results and the explanation from the doctor I was shocked. My cholesterol is a little high! WTH? only a little, but still! I ate the healthiest I knew how, healthier than ANYONE I know!!! and I still have higher than normal cholesterol?!? Are you freaking kidding me? Now, don't freak out family, it wasn't too high, actually it was just a few points too high. But still. Eating the way we were, I should have had the optimal cholesterol levels that they want you to have, and I didn't. Now, high cholesterol runs in my family. Had I known that animal products were the only source of cholesterol in our diet, I would have become vegetarian permanently a lot sooner. I wasn't too freaked out about the results, because we had already started eating vegetarian; I knew I was already going to be reversing this bad cholesterol I had accumulated. However, I couldn't help but wonder, what if I hadn't had that test done just then? What if I hadn't found out how bad meat is for you with its cholesterol and saturated fat? What if I hadn't researched vegetarianism at all? Where would I have been in 10 years? 20? 40? On cholesterol medicine? On the verge of a heart attack? No, I'm taking care of this now. I'm taking care of myself now and I'm taking care of my family now. End of story.
Unfortunately, nobody wants to know where their food comes from, nobody wants to know what is involved in getting that meat to their plates, or how that meat is affecting their bodies. The same goes for so much of our processed food. Nobody cares what hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup is, or what it's doing to their bodies either. The shit these companies are putting into the nation's food is killing us.... slowly. But if you don't care enough to research it for yourself, you should do it for your kids. One of the facts I read that convinced me to go vegetarian was "heart disease starts in childhood." Because your life long eating habits is what creates heart diseases; they don't happen over night.
This really made me think. Do I really want to put food into Carlee's body that might eventually cause her a heart attack at age 38 if she eats it until then. Ummm... I don't even have to think about that for a nano second. The answer is NO! Oprah used to say on her show (it is one of my favorite quotes,) "You do as good as you know how, and when you know better, you do better." This has been one of my personal mottos since I first heard her say that a few years ago.
I have researched for the past two weeks. I've read: Raising Vegan Children in a NonVegan World, Vegan Freak, Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet, and am finally starting on reading through my first vegan cookbook: The Everyday Vegan: Recipes & Lessons for Living the Vegan Life.
Becoming Vegan is possibly my greatest asset as we begin this next health step. This book was so full of information, I couldn't put it down. It has everything you would need to know. What vitamins you need, how much you need, where you can get them, what diseases and cancers these vitamins prevent!!! Deficiencies to avoid with a little planning (mainly B12, but now vegetarian foods are fortified with it), and even about deficiencies meat-eaters get as well (without even knowing it!) It even has info on being vegan while pregnant or breastfeeding. There's info on how to eat vegan if you're very athletic or into bodybuilding. Best of all, there's info on nutrition of vegan toddlers! This is definitely staying in my personal library. So, yes I've done my research, and I now know WAY better, and we're going to be doing WAY better.
After only two weeks, I feel so much better! It's really amazing. I heard that it takes 6 months for all the chemicals and such from eating meat to fully leave your system. I can't wait to see how I feel after 6 months then, if I already feel this good. This is just after two weeks of eating vegan at home, and vegetarian at restaurants (which we've been to only 1 restaurant in the past 2 weeks lol.)
Another event fully convinced me I had made the right decision. My cholesterol results came back from a test I had done in July. Now, we ate very healthy. We never even considered eating hydrogenated oils, we ate 90% lean beef, chicken, skim milk, only whole grains, no HFCS, everything was as healthy as it could get (or so I thought.) When I read my results and the explanation from the doctor I was shocked. My cholesterol is a little high! WTH? only a little, but still! I ate the healthiest I knew how, healthier than ANYONE I know!!! and I still have higher than normal cholesterol?!? Are you freaking kidding me? Now, don't freak out family, it wasn't too high, actually it was just a few points too high. But still. Eating the way we were, I should have had the optimal cholesterol levels that they want you to have, and I didn't. Now, high cholesterol runs in my family. Had I known that animal products were the only source of cholesterol in our diet, I would have become vegetarian permanently a lot sooner. I wasn't too freaked out about the results, because we had already started eating vegetarian; I knew I was already going to be reversing this bad cholesterol I had accumulated. However, I couldn't help but wonder, what if I hadn't had that test done just then? What if I hadn't found out how bad meat is for you with its cholesterol and saturated fat? What if I hadn't researched vegetarianism at all? Where would I have been in 10 years? 20? 40? On cholesterol medicine? On the verge of a heart attack? No, I'm taking care of this now. I'm taking care of myself now and I'm taking care of my family now. End of story.
Labels: food, vegetarian
¶ 1:30 PM 0 Comments
Monday, August 06, 2007
Going Vegetarian
After seeing this video on a friend's myspace page...
I went to the website the guy talked about in the end: Go Veg and after reading all the articles, and watching the videos, we've decided to go vegetarian. Haven't quite decided if we're going to go vegan, or not since we love cheese... but we're definately going to try. I felt really naive after reading all the info, because I honestly thought that farms were still like Charlotte's Web type farms, just on a bigger scale. And they definately aren't, they're the extreme opposite. Anyway, I won't preach, I'm sure everyone is thinking, "Here she goes again with her nutty food obsessions..." lol, but I really feel that this is going to be healthier for my family and better for the animals.
Anyone else out there vegetarian? I've got a lot of research to start doing... the last time I went vegetarian I ended up anemic because I didn't know what I was doing. This time I'll do better.
I went to the website the guy talked about in the end: Go Veg and after reading all the articles, and watching the videos, we've decided to go vegetarian. Haven't quite decided if we're going to go vegan, or not since we love cheese... but we're definately going to try. I felt really naive after reading all the info, because I honestly thought that farms were still like Charlotte's Web type farms, just on a bigger scale. And they definately aren't, they're the extreme opposite. Anyway, I won't preach, I'm sure everyone is thinking, "Here she goes again with her nutty food obsessions..." lol, but I really feel that this is going to be healthier for my family and better for the animals.
Anyone else out there vegetarian? I've got a lot of research to start doing... the last time I went vegetarian I ended up anemic because I didn't know what I was doing. This time I'll do better.
Labels: food, vegetarian
¶ 12:19 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Some paper crafting
Since the flight this past weekend was cancelled, we have to try early this week. *crossing fingers* Today, we had thought about going to the beach, and that ended up not happening. I did get pretty much the whole day "off" as Tony took care of Carlee all day, and I even got to get some crafting done. I went upstairs and flipped through a whole stack of craft books. I had wanted to try a little bit of sewing, but talked myself out of it since I didn't want to try anything new when I'm already quite stressed, plus I didn't want to start a big project when we're (hopefully) leaving in a few days. So I flipped through a few more books, saw a picture of a decopaged bowl that held a candle, and knew I had the tissue paper to do it (what packrat doesn't have tissue paper?) and I had a plain glass decorative bowl that I meant to spruce up years ago. I ran and grabbed it, started cutting up my paper, and cut out some butterflies from some left over wrapping paper from Carlee's birthday (yes, I'm telling you, I save EVERYTHING.) haha. Anyway, here's how it turned out:
I'm quite pleased with it. :D It was a perfect holder for a candle.
Last week, I also got to make 2 sets of cards for a card swap. Again, I used some left over wrapping paper from Carlee's birthday party. I had fallen in love with the print (which was why I used it for her presents) and saved everything that was left over (stealing it back out of the wrapping paper trash pile after the party more than once LOL). Tony could not understand why I saved it until he saw my simple little cards:
I wish I had a scanner :( Oh well.... This one I love too. I used one of my favorite stamps and colored with color pencils (copying the design on the stamp.) I couldn't figure out what else to do with the background, because to me it looks a little plain with just the blue, but I didn't want it to take away from the girl either. Anywho... I only made one because it took forever to color. :D
So that's what I've been up to today. :D I also have a 2 carrot cakes cooling right now. One I'm taking to the MOMS Club lunch bunch tomorrow. I can't wait to taste it and see how it came out.
Oh, also amazingly, today was the first cloudy day so far this summer. It looked like it was almost going to rain. Almost. But didn't. ¶ 11:44 AM 3 Comments
I'm quite pleased with it. :D It was a perfect holder for a candle.Last week, I also got to make 2 sets of cards for a card swap. Again, I used some left over wrapping paper from Carlee's birthday party. I had fallen in love with the print (which was why I used it for her presents) and saved everything that was left over (stealing it back out of the wrapping paper trash pile after the party more than once LOL). Tony could not understand why I saved it until he saw my simple little cards:
I wish I had a scanner :( Oh well.... This one I love too. I used one of my favorite stamps and colored with color pencils (copying the design on the stamp.) I couldn't figure out what else to do with the background, because to me it looks a little plain with just the blue, but I didn't want it to take away from the girl either. Anywho... I only made one because it took forever to color. :D
So that's what I've been up to today. :D I also have a 2 carrot cakes cooling right now. One I'm taking to the MOMS Club lunch bunch tomorrow. I can't wait to taste it and see how it came out. Oh, also amazingly, today was the first cloudy day so far this summer. It looked like it was almost going to rain. Almost. But didn't. ¶ 11:44 AM 3 Comments
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
I was in heaven yesterday
After a few months of craving a Denny's or IHOP style breakfast, we finally had one for dinner last night. Yesterday while at the Nex, I noticed....
A WAFFLE MAKER!!!!
I've been wanting one for a long time now, and the nex just never had one. One of my friends asked why I didn't just order one online, and honestly 1.) I don't really like online shopping for stuff like that and 2.) even if I had looked it up online, I probably would have talked myself out of buying it. Anyway, so there were only 2 left and I grabbed one. :D We didn't want to wait til next weekend to eat a nice breakfast, so we had it for dinner. Waffles, syrup, blueberries, whip cream, eggs over medium, bacon... oh man, it was delicious. It's crazy what you start to miss from home. Waffles was my #1, and my hubby is my hero for buying me the waffle maker!
A WAFFLE MAKER!!!!
I've been wanting one for a long time now, and the nex just never had one. One of my friends asked why I didn't just order one online, and honestly 1.) I don't really like online shopping for stuff like that and 2.) even if I had looked it up online, I probably would have talked myself out of buying it. Anyway, so there were only 2 left and I grabbed one. :D We didn't want to wait til next weekend to eat a nice breakfast, so we had it for dinner. Waffles, syrup, blueberries, whip cream, eggs over medium, bacon... oh man, it was delicious. It's crazy what you start to miss from home. Waffles was my #1, and my hubby is my hero for buying me the waffle maker!
Labels: food
¶ 10:43 AM 1 Comments
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Executed Duckie and other various things...
You know, before we had Carlee, we had our cats to add some laughter to our lives. Then Carlee came and she added even more. Some days, there's an event that involves both cat and kid, such was the case today. When we came downstairs this morning, Carlee found this:
The poor annihilated duckie was funny enough to start my day, but Carlee's reaction was even more priceless. "OHH NOOO! DuGK! Oh NOOO MOMMY DUGK! Head! Dugk! Head!" She repeated the phrase while she diligently tried to place the head back on the duck. After several unsuccessful attempts she finally handed the pieces to me, and simply said, "Dugk. oww. head. yeah."
"You're right," I answered. "Looks like Dori got a hold of your duckie." She was happy with that answer I suppose because then she took off, and I took the duckie away with a smile on my face that I couldn't get rid of.
***
The tiramisu the other day was so delicious. oh. my. goodness. delicious. It just melted with sweetness and the vanilla flavored coffee that I used. It barely lasted the two days. I had originally planned on taking a small piece to friends, and Tony insisted that I didn't. He wanted to be selfish with it, and I let him. I even gave him the very last bite.
***
I am finally done with my geology course. I once again feel that release of stress and weight on my shoulders. I always feel that after finishing every class though. Tony thinks it's funny that I stress out so much about it, but I take my classes very seriously, and I want to do my very best. Once I'm done, though, the feeling of accomplishing something is worth it.
***
Yesterday I went to the market with my friend Angela, who I just found out blogs as well. She loves photography too, but she's much better than me. Her photos are gorgeous, AND she and her husband get to travel a lot more than we do. I'm jealous. :D
Anyway, we went to the Mineo market, and I was so happy to go. I really need to get out in the economy more often. Angela introduced me to her veggie vendor and when he offered his cheek, for a split second, I COMPLETELY forgot that they kiss on the cheeks. lol. I felt like such a DA. I recovered quickly though, and I think I played it off okay. hehe. I ended up buying 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) of ripe peaches for 1.50 euro, and 1/2 kilo (1.1 lb) of cherries for 1.25 euro. You can't beat that. I also found some gorgeous wool yarn that I'm looking foward to using in my next crochet project. I want to start going to the markets more often, and I promise I will take my camera, because I really want to share it with you guys. I love the market, people watching, and seeing all the wares. It's fun.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Labels: carlee, college, food, italy
¶ 4:26 AM 1 Comments
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Saddest Celery Ever
I should really REALLY start grocery shopping on the economy. Seriously.
This is what I found at our little commisary when I went to go buy ingredients for the chicken cacciatore I had planned on having tonight. Well, I'm NOT going to use this... I was going to try, but then opted against it, since it really just grossed me out that the celery didn't even break when I bent it. It actually swayed back and forth when I moved it... eww. I had also planned on making tiramisu to go with dinner, and since I was looking foward to trying that all day, I made it anyway, even though we're now having tacos. Cacciatore will be for tomorrow, and hopefully we'll have some tiramisu left over.
:)
Labels: food
¶ 8:36 AM 3 Comments
Monday, May 21, 2007
My weekend was awesome, how bout yours?
Friday we joined our friends for dinner at the Valle dei Margi agriturismo. It was our first time going, and it was soooo worth it. The restaurant's orchard surroundings were serene, the food was so delicious, and the company was fun. But the food... ah, the food, I can't go on enough about the food. When we first arrived, we were offered fresh grapefruit juice and an assortment of nuts and olives, etc. We stood and enjoyed the sweet and tangy juice and chatted for a bit until the waiter came and took us to our table.
It was a very empty night, Emy says usually Saturday and Sunday are the most packed nights. But it was nice to be able to hear the music, each other's conversation, and the occasional Italian conversations going on the background. At Valle dei Margi, they have a set menu every night. You go, eat what they bring out, and pay, but I hear you never have to worry about not liking something on the menu, and I definitely believe it.
I can't be positive about the order of everything, but I believe we first tasted the vegetables and cheese appetizers. The eggplant was so tasty, the cheese a bit strong, but good, and the bruschetta was awesome. There were artichokes, too, but Tony liked them better than I did; they were soaked in some kind of vinegar maybe? I didn't care for it too much. There was also quiche, and I don't remember what else....
Then the pastas.... Two different kinds. One with sausage and fresh tomato sauce, my goodness it was so good. The other had a mushroom sauce, and was just as delicious. It made me want to keep taking just one more bite, so that I could taste it again....
The meats came out next. One was sort of beef steak that had a somewhat sweet taste; it was interestingly good, definately a new flavor for us. The other was pork with what I think was some kind of cheese inside, and that was also very tasty.
Thankfully I had paced myself perfectly and had just enough room for dessert. A small sweet biscuit cookie thing with cream on top, very sweet and yummy. But then, my favorite, a sort of mini sweet empanada with sweet cream inside, oh it was so delicious. And a bowl of fresh fruit! One type I had never seen before, and it was so good. A mix between a plum and something... or other. I don't know honestly, but it was good. Fresh fruit right from their orchards! How amazing is that!?! And to imagine that we just found out how incredibly close this agriturismo is to our house! After living here for almost a year! Oh my, had we only known earlier..... :) It was a perfect night really, and to top it off, Carlee was very good for the babysitter. How perfect!
***
Saturday was awesome for me as well. I got to go with a few moms from our MOMS club to the mall! Etnapolis is one of two malls here *I think there's 2. American style malls are a very new concept here, as I understand it. The cities' economies are still largely based on mom & pop shops, each business having it's own little specialty. So, it was fun to see so many big stores all in one place, like back home. I came home with so many bags, lol. Mostly filled with summer clothes, since for some reason, most of my accumulated wardrobe is for fall or winter. I fell in love with so many tops. The colors are so bright and alive, that just looking at them made me feel happy. So I picked up quite a few of them. :D
We ate lunch at a Mexican style restaraunt. Mexican food cooked Italian. hehe, it was actually pretty good. I got the taco plate, with three different types of tacos (which I have no idea what types they were now that I think of it). But two of them I liked, and one not so much. The hightlight of the meal was dessert. The whole reason we chose this restaraunt over the others: the mango lime icecream. Boy, do the Italians know how to make their icecream! I was in love with this flavor. And when our friend V didn't finish hers, I couldn't let it go to waste. LOL. It was THAT good!
We shopped and chatted and shopped and chatted some more, until finally we headed home around 6! I had so much fun that the day really just flew by. It was so nice to just get out with the girls.
***
Sunday was Carlee's birthday party. We got up early in the morning (well early for us on a weekend anyway,) and started the cooking. We had the deviled eggs, the potato salad, and the cake to make, and the decorations to put up. All before 2 pm. So we got to work.
Everything was going well, until the cake. I had found a new recipe for frosting online, since I didn't want to use the Wilton's recipe anymore, because of the shortening. Yuck. The first batch I made came out the right conistency for decorating, but I was going to do the outline first, so I thinned it out a little bit. Well, I ended up, not using all of it for the outline, and since I felt pressed for time, I didn't want to make another batch just to be able to do the stars. So, instead I just colored it and used it for the coloring in part also. So, there were no stars on the Dora cake, except for her hair, which I used premade icing since there was no way I was going to be able to make my white icing black. In the end, even after the cake breaking in half while I tried getting it out of the pan (before icing it), the cake came out okay. Not my best, but Carlee knew who it was, and that's what mattered. :D Plus, just knowing that there was no trans fat in the icing was nice.
The box cake however had me mad. I never thought to check the box cake for the hydrogenated oil. I mean, why would they need to put it in the box cake? I don't get it. But they do. For the whole cake - 12 grams of trans fat. How awesome is that? Needless to say, I will never make another box cake again. I will be making my own from now on.
Carlee had a blast though and loved eating all the icing off her cake. And I let her. She played with all of her friends. She opened her presents, they played with play dough, and at the end got to blow bubbles and take rides in her new wagon outside. After everying was said and done, I really felt we gave her a fun party. Which I was a bit nervous about, since it was our first real kid's party for Carlee.
I can't wait until next year, when she has more of an idea of what's going on. Even when we sang her happy birthday, she had this bewildered look on her face, like, "What the hell is going on?" lol Thanks to everyone who sent or gave her presents, she is really having fun with all of them. She made out like a bandit this year.
***
The only part that sucked this weekend was last night... While we were playing with Carlee in her new tent (set up in the dining room) I looked outside the back window, and not realizing how much hair the cats have gotten on the drapes, took in a face full of it. In that second, I knew I was in for a world of hurt... and in about 5 minutes after getting out of the tent, it hit. Last night was miserable. I immediately took my allergy medicine and my sinus medicine and hoped it would take care of it quickly. It didn't. My head felt like it was going to explode, and I was sneezing every few seconds it felt like, and Tony laughed at my two piles of tissues, one one each side of me on the couch. Gross. I don't feel as bad as last night, but I'm still not completely through this episode yet.
And now back to our normal hectic schedule. I gotta cram for my next geology test due this week, a lab (with about 7 parts to it) is due this week, Carlee's doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and Tony doesn't get a day off this week. So the upcoming week is busy for us, but this past weekend made up for it already.
It was a very empty night, Emy says usually Saturday and Sunday are the most packed nights. But it was nice to be able to hear the music, each other's conversation, and the occasional Italian conversations going on the background. At Valle dei Margi, they have a set menu every night. You go, eat what they bring out, and pay, but I hear you never have to worry about not liking something on the menu, and I definitely believe it.
I can't be positive about the order of everything, but I believe we first tasted the vegetables and cheese appetizers. The eggplant was so tasty, the cheese a bit strong, but good, and the bruschetta was awesome. There were artichokes, too, but Tony liked them better than I did; they were soaked in some kind of vinegar maybe? I didn't care for it too much. There was also quiche, and I don't remember what else....
Then the pastas.... Two different kinds. One with sausage and fresh tomato sauce, my goodness it was so good. The other had a mushroom sauce, and was just as delicious. It made me want to keep taking just one more bite, so that I could taste it again....
The meats came out next. One was sort of beef steak that had a somewhat sweet taste; it was interestingly good, definately a new flavor for us. The other was pork with what I think was some kind of cheese inside, and that was also very tasty.
Thankfully I had paced myself perfectly and had just enough room for dessert. A small sweet biscuit cookie thing with cream on top, very sweet and yummy. But then, my favorite, a sort of mini sweet empanada with sweet cream inside, oh it was so delicious. And a bowl of fresh fruit! One type I had never seen before, and it was so good. A mix between a plum and something... or other. I don't know honestly, but it was good. Fresh fruit right from their orchards! How amazing is that!?! And to imagine that we just found out how incredibly close this agriturismo is to our house! After living here for almost a year! Oh my, had we only known earlier..... :) It was a perfect night really, and to top it off, Carlee was very good for the babysitter. How perfect!
***
Saturday was awesome for me as well. I got to go with a few moms from our MOMS club to the mall! Etnapolis is one of two malls here *I think there's 2. American style malls are a very new concept here, as I understand it. The cities' economies are still largely based on mom & pop shops, each business having it's own little specialty. So, it was fun to see so many big stores all in one place, like back home. I came home with so many bags, lol. Mostly filled with summer clothes, since for some reason, most of my accumulated wardrobe is for fall or winter. I fell in love with so many tops. The colors are so bright and alive, that just looking at them made me feel happy. So I picked up quite a few of them. :D
We ate lunch at a Mexican style restaraunt. Mexican food cooked Italian. hehe, it was actually pretty good. I got the taco plate, with three different types of tacos (which I have no idea what types they were now that I think of it). But two of them I liked, and one not so much. The hightlight of the meal was dessert. The whole reason we chose this restaraunt over the others: the mango lime icecream. Boy, do the Italians know how to make their icecream! I was in love with this flavor. And when our friend V didn't finish hers, I couldn't let it go to waste. LOL. It was THAT good!
We shopped and chatted and shopped and chatted some more, until finally we headed home around 6! I had so much fun that the day really just flew by. It was so nice to just get out with the girls.
***
Sunday was Carlee's birthday party. We got up early in the morning (well early for us on a weekend anyway,) and started the cooking. We had the deviled eggs, the potato salad, and the cake to make, and the decorations to put up. All before 2 pm. So we got to work.
Everything was going well, until the cake. I had found a new recipe for frosting online, since I didn't want to use the Wilton's recipe anymore, because of the shortening. Yuck. The first batch I made came out the right conistency for decorating, but I was going to do the outline first, so I thinned it out a little bit. Well, I ended up, not using all of it for the outline, and since I felt pressed for time, I didn't want to make another batch just to be able to do the stars. So, instead I just colored it and used it for the coloring in part also. So, there were no stars on the Dora cake, except for her hair, which I used premade icing since there was no way I was going to be able to make my white icing black. In the end, even after the cake breaking in half while I tried getting it out of the pan (before icing it), the cake came out okay. Not my best, but Carlee knew who it was, and that's what mattered. :D Plus, just knowing that there was no trans fat in the icing was nice.The box cake however had me mad. I never thought to check the box cake for the hydrogenated oil. I mean, why would they need to put it in the box cake? I don't get it. But they do. For the whole cake - 12 grams of trans fat. How awesome is that? Needless to say, I will never make another box cake again. I will be making my own from now on.
Carlee had a blast though and loved eating all the icing off her cake. And I let her. She played with all of her friends. She opened her presents, they played with play dough, and at the end got to blow bubbles and take rides in her new wagon outside. After everying was said and done, I really felt we gave her a fun party. Which I was a bit nervous about, since it was our first real kid's party for Carlee.
I can't wait until next year, when she has more of an idea of what's going on. Even when we sang her happy birthday, she had this bewildered look on her face, like, "What the hell is going on?" lol Thanks to everyone who sent or gave her presents, she is really having fun with all of them. She made out like a bandit this year.
***
The only part that sucked this weekend was last night... While we were playing with Carlee in her new tent (set up in the dining room) I looked outside the back window, and not realizing how much hair the cats have gotten on the drapes, took in a face full of it. In that second, I knew I was in for a world of hurt... and in about 5 minutes after getting out of the tent, it hit. Last night was miserable. I immediately took my allergy medicine and my sinus medicine and hoped it would take care of it quickly. It didn't. My head felt like it was going to explode, and I was sneezing every few seconds it felt like, and Tony laughed at my two piles of tissues, one one each side of me on the couch. Gross. I don't feel as bad as last night, but I'm still not completely through this episode yet.
And now back to our normal hectic schedule. I gotta cram for my next geology test due this week, a lab (with about 7 parts to it) is due this week, Carlee's doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and Tony doesn't get a day off this week. So the upcoming week is busy for us, but this past weekend made up for it already.
Labels: cake decorating, carlee, food, italy, shopping
¶ 7:52 AM 2 Comments
