Simply Bo-vine! Beef Vindaloo

This little number is one of my favorite dishes from my childhood. My Mama Bird found this recipe in the local newspaper and trued making it. For such a random find it's a true gem!

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound top sirloin (or flank steak) 
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup minced shallots 
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1 cup beef broth 

Directions: 

1. Slice the beef as thinly as possible. (It helps if it has been in the freezer for 15 minutes and is a little bit firm and if you cut across the grain of the meat) 
2. Combine the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne, and the salt in a small bowl and set aside. 
3. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
4. Add the minced shallots and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes). 
5. Add the garlic and ginger root and cook stirring until fragrant (about 2 minutes). 
6. Add the spice combination from the bowl and cook about 1 minute. 
7. Add the beef, brown sugar, vinegar, and beef broth. 
8. Bring all ingredients to a simmer and cook until the beef is cooked through and flavor is well-blended (6 to 8 minutes).
9. Serve on a bed of rice or pasta and enjoy! 

Valentine's Day Love: Letters to God

Church on Sunday was a fantastic start to a new series. I was so happy that J and I got to be blessed the way we did in service and I left feeling so convicted, yet renewed by Him. We were given three tasks, one of which J was -much to my surprise- very into doing: writing a letter to God. So last night we made a plan, after dinner each of us was going to write and we did. Then we swapped and shared.

I truly enjoyed writing my letter to God. I felt freed. I felt like my relationship with Him was enriched. I felt honest, open, vulnerable. I felt loved. I needed to be able to be honest with myself, with J, and with God. And I was. 

Now it's my turn to be more transparent here. To let you, my dear readers, in more than I have before. To tell you all that I'm not perfect. My struggles remain constant and my vigilance grows tired. I forget all the blessings He has given to me and grow bitterness in my heart. I lose faith over and over again in growing weary, in exhaustion, in wishes seemingly unfulfilled. I like to look at pictures and see so much happiness and joy, but I know there remains so many unfettered feelings running amuck within the little body I call mine. 

Yet, through all the madness His faith remains. I can screw up over and over and over and over without running His patience through and through. He doesn't give up when I draw into myself and long to do it all on my own. He knows I will return and He will celebrate, just like it happened with the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. 

Here I go to make the dreams of being a strong Christian women, wife, friend, daughter, sister, best friend come true with the power and strength of Him within the tired little body that is me. Stay tuned for the journey (it's bound to be full of smiles, tears, laughs, cries, and, most importantly, Him). 

Simply Sweet Note about How Romantic this Truly was: 

This little activity made me fall madly in love with J all over again. J is an honest man. He doesn't make things over complicated. He just lays it out there. Thank goodness. I realized in his letter all of the reasons that we are so perfectly paired as best friends. God had us planned for all time and now it's our opportunity to shine, shine, shine so brightly in this world together. 

Calorie Count Ruins Eating Out Experience?

There are 450 calories in a Starbucks Grande Caramel Brulee Latter. There are 704 calories in a McDonald's Big Mac. There are 1,156 calories in a whole California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad. This information is no longer secret due to the California Health and Safety Code Section 114094 that requires companies with more than 18 locations to post the calorie count of their dishes next to the price of each plate.

Check out the far right columns in this picture. You can see the calorie count listed directly on the menu! 

While this new added feature on menus near you (at least in California!), you have the opportunity to be more conscious of your dining decisions. However, in looking at online news articles these added numbers do very little as seen in the California Watch's February 1st Daily Report:

"A yearlong study, published last month in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, found customers' orders were unaffected by menu labeling."

Seeing the calorie count allows for a greater awareness of the amount of food being consumed; however, important aspects of food labeling, such as fat, sodium, carbohydrates, sugar, and protein remain unrepresented.

Another fault in the bill pertains to the lack of calorie labeling on drive-thru menus. The bill does not provide legislation that regulates the signage for drive-thru orders. This poses quite a difficulty as a these businesses (such as McDonald's, In N Out, Carls Jr., and the list goes on) gather a great portion of their profits at the ordering window. Those customers that are not leaving their cars in order to gather a more convenient meal -we are all guilty of it at one time or another- are missing out on the 'educational value' that can come from seeing the calories of their chosen entree.

First Feature... EVER!

So I have the pleasure of sharing a new foodie friend of mine who I talked about in my last Eggs in Purgatory post! She invented the Summer in the Kitchen Blog Party... where you can escape the coldness of winter (unless you live in San Diego like me! and are more concerned with escaping the heat!) by creating a sweet little summber vibe in your kitchen!

I made dinner for J and wanted to make it a little bit fun and romantic by plopping ourselves on a picnic blanket on the floor! He thought I was silly, but was such a sport... and BOOM! Lovely little picnic with lots of laughing at me spilling my Eggs in Purgatory all over myself... Not so practiced in eating without a plate or table. But sweetly fun nonetheless!

Please check out my new friend, Laurie, on her blog and enjoy the other ways foodies brought summer into their kitchens!

Eggs in Purgatory at a Kitchen Floor Picnic

Being the church going gal that I am I wouldn't usually drool over something called Eggs in Purgatory... However, this was worth every sinful drool I committed! It's just delicious and the flavors together are amazing, especially considering I would NEVER have thought of putting something together like this! 

Thank goodness, Food Network Magazine put out an all Italian issue and included this dish. (Random fact: It's an Italian peasant dish that has made itself into culinary royalty!) I promise it won't disappoint! I changed the recipe a bit so it wasn't quite as much food (this still solidly serves four) and so it fit the flavors that I already know my Best Friend and I love! 

The dish was so steamy that it steamed up my camera lens! And the first bites burnt our tongues!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 ounces deli-sliced salami, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Italian green frying pepper, thinly sliced (My store didn't have these so I got two little sweet Mexican peppers that were rated as mildly spicey) 
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced 
• A splash and sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup of marinara sauce 
• 4 eggs
• A handfull (or two!) of mozarella cheese
• A loaf of bread to serve with (I used French because it's my favorite!) 

Directions: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. 
2. Add the garlic and cook until it's golden brown (3 or so minutes). 
3. Increase the heat to high and add the chopped salami, sliced onions, slivered peppers, and splash on those red pepper flakes. 
4. Cook, stirring lots, until the salami is brownish (about 5 minutes). 
5. Add the marinara sauce and 1/2 a cup of water.
6. Cook until the vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes).
7. Reduce the heat to medium. 
8. Make 4 indentations in the pepper mixture for the eggs. 
9. Break one egg into each indentation (Be careful with the shells! Use a bowl to crack them if you're a little rough like me!) 
10. Cover and cook until the eggs whites are white and the yolks are cooked to your liking.
11. Serve with slices of your bread of choice! 

It was so absolutely delicious on a piece of bread! 

The special thing about this sweet little dish was that J and I had it on a picnic... In the middle of my little kitchen floor! It has been beautiful in San Diego, but the sun is still setting absurdly early, so I decided this would be a cute way to make it seem more like summer (it really seems like it with the 75 and sunny weather!). J was such a sport sitting on the floor and listening to me rave about how sweetly romantic I felt like we were just sitting there. 

Here's the scene of the crime... Our offense: drinking beer with Italian which always calls for a nice wine!
But the floor is freshly cleaned if that makes up for anything. :) 

Timing the auto-timer on my camera proved to be a tough task, but this one turned out cute!
And yes, I'm still in my running clothes from that morning, talk about a lazy Saturday!

This summer activity in my kitchen was all started in looking at the so sweet blog of Laurie at Food is Love. Check out her summer in the kitchen challenge and try something out for yourself! It definitely doesn't have to be eating on your kitchen floor! 

It's 3:37 am.

Being awake in the middle of the night all alone is a weird feeling. It's one of those times when I truly can't wait to be married and have someone else breathing steadily beside me to remind me of what it means to sleep soundly and restfully. However, I am wide awake for no good reason, especially considering the busy day I have ahead of me tomorrow. Oh my, hopefully I'll be able to sleep a little bit on the drive from here to the Welcome Home party we are going to about an hour away from my house...

And I'm thinking Starbucks is going to be an absolute necessity before church tomorrow. Ooooph.

But in this restlessness, I think of God. I think of his constant vigilance. Jesus spent time alone in turmoil like in the garden of Gethsemane before he spent his final moments on the cross. There is something about late night wakefullness that leads me to think of Him. In moments of little sleep, when I wish for someone to be friends with me in my midnight loneliness I think of what God says to us in Ephesians 6:14-16:

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." 

This late at night, in my wishing for companionship to end my loneliness I realize the devil can so easily be at work in my heart. With no one to take my mind off worries -about getting a job, being the best wife I can- with no one to chat with and say, "Gosh I'm really not sleeping because my mind won't yet shut off" (Boy, do I wish I had a switch that I could turn to sleep mode!), I seem to just sit and wonder. Question my heart, my intentions, my worries... And late at night, the devil does his best work. But He will endure. With the clothing on that holds me strong, with the tools that He has made for me I will make it to dawn, to church, to the party.

And on a lighter note, it should help me to sleep REALLY well tomorrow night!

Song of the day: I Want to Know You More
By: Sonicflood

"In a secret, in a quiet place"... Midnight, all alone qualifies. And here I am, getting to know Him more!

All You Need is {Love}

So with all the blog trolling that I have done lately I found this sweet little challenge that is so perfect for Valentine's day! It's the All You Need is {Love} Challenge and it's seven days of sharing the love! I'm a little late in starting... But I really like today's so I'm going to just butt in late!

Check the challenge out here! 

Lovely Topic of the Day: 

What I love about my {Friends}

My friends are just one of a kind... 

I couldn't have made it through the trials and tribulations of the last two years 

without their smily faces and sweet spirits. 

(I'm leaving out my Best Friend today... since I spend so much time talking about him anyways!)

And the funny thing is my friends are my sisters... Yep, I'm in a sorority (surprise!) and I can't put into words the way these women have enriched, not only college, but my life. (Three of my bridesmaids are fellow Pi Phis!) 

Costume parties are big picture taking opportunities... So we don't always look like this!

My pledge class on Bid Day... One of our favorite days of the year! 

Inspired by a picture on one of the flair filled walls of Bucca de Bepo. 

Since we don't have a chapter house, we meet in the parking lot to get loaded on buses... and to take pictures! 

Then, outside of the sorority I have lots of random friends... But the one that's been around, well for my whole life actually, is my dear Mama Bird. Check her out, she's a hot mama! 

(Yep, I did just say that on my blog about you mom!) 

I can't begin to tell you all of the things my mom and I LOVE to do together... 

but to name a few: 

1. Run races together in ridiculously coordinated outfits (Duh! That's obvious from the picture!)

2. Bask in the wondrous sounds of country music! 

3. Cook and bake. 

4. Hang out with our dear boys who are so special to our overflowing hearts!

Song of the day: You've got a Friend in Me! 

By: Randy Newman (Disney) 

Not only do I love this song... But as you can see above, Jason and I were 

Woody and Jessy for Halloween which was a huge hit at my 

parent's big family Halloween party and the Pi Phi Halloween date party too!