Vacation From Vacation

Annapolis, MD...just before the storm!

It's been such a whirlwind summer, and although I'm having a blast...I feel like I need a vacation from vacations!  After spending time in Annapolis, Nantucket, Charlottesville, getting ready to move rooms, and having an awesome birthday party...I just need some rest!  Hopefully this weekend while the guy is away in Atlanta...another weekend trip I had to pass on for work....I can get caught up on sleep, laundry, and dry cleaning.  Not to mention cooking and attempting to repair my balcony garden..some type of blight got my tomato plants and then spread to most of the herbs.  I'm hoping I can recover the few that haven't been touched and replenish the rest with starts from the nursery or farmers market, although its rather late in the season.  I'm hoping to try and make some sort of makeshift greenhouse out of my sunroom this winter though so I can keep enjoying the benefits of fresh ingredients even with snow on the ground.

Snip, Snip, Snip

I really think there are few things more satisfying than quickly mincing garlic or dicing tomatoes with a perfectly sharpened chef's knife that is just the right weight...but cutting people out of your life is one of those things...once you get past the anger at yourself for letting them (back) in (again) despite feeling like you should have known better from the beginning. But regardless of the number of times I made the mistake before...I won't again. And even though making that cut was hard, painful and at times really kind of sucks...the rest of the time, I honestly feel better..gone from cell phone, g-chat, and my life all together is the constant wondering if things are going to fall through, what the next fight will be, why I'm always at fault, why I'm supposed to put up with everything, yet never get any slack myself...gone, gone, gone, bye, bye, bye. 

I even once made cookies with nuts in them for this guy...what the hell was I thinking!  The first sign I was in a toxic non-relationship was when well, I let the toxins in. Classy move, classy move. Oh well, the past the past..again...but this time, it will stay that way! 

Changes

I never update, and not that I really think anyone reads this, but I feel like I should update because I want to take some time for myself. Lots of changes and yet none at all, moved, broke up with boyfriend, got back with boyfriend, broke up again; had my position cut, took a part time job, had my position restored when the budget was actually voted on; stepped up my working out in a big way only to have it drop off in the last few weeks.  I've also bought several new cookbooks and been growing my own herbs and vegetables again...can't wait for the tomatoes to start being ready to eat :)

In a summary of other news, my mom has suggested I try online dating (creepy only coming from her), I'm off work for 10 days in a row in July (mostly because I don't want to have to acknowledge my birthday) and I've amended my major life goals to now include becoming a trophy wife or at last getting a guy wealthy enough to pay for the plastic surgery I will start needing in a few years.  So basically I want to become some totally awesome mix of Chelsea Handler, Paula Deen, and Teresa Giudace.  

New Kitchen

I'm finally all moved and settled (well, unless you count the guest bedroom/study which is still full of boxes and just stuff) and glad to be done with most of the moving.  I organized the kitchen, bathroom, my bedroom and figured I would put all the remaining things in the extra room so the clutter doesn't stress me out and I could actually take time to go through stuff and get rid of things...I feel like I am forever on a quest to get rid of things, yet I keep going shopping.  Maybe I need counseling regarding that...go figure.

I have a long list of things I want to do today, but for some reason, I'm still in bed. Maybe it was staying up until 3 am, maybe it is not having unpacked any paper or notebooks to make a list, or maybe its because its a rainy Sunday.  Either way...its 1:00 p.m. and I haven't even had a glass of orange juice yet. 

Seared Scallops

I took a break from packing tonight to cook one of the last dinners I'll make in my old kitchen...which not only helped clear my mind from all the packing clutter, but helped clean out the freezer a bit.  I found a bag of frozen bay scallops (the little, dime and nickel sized ones) and set them in the fridge to thaw out earlier in morning, so they were mostly defrosted by the time I went to make dinner. I've "rapid defrosted" them before by placing the scallops in a strainer and running cold water over them, but last time I wasn't very satisfied because I felt like it made them dry and a bit stringy.  Probably my imagination or just bad job of flashfreezing, but oh well since it wasn't an issue this time.

I followed a recipe (below) from my Christmas present to myself, The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook for pan-seared scallops, which looked similar to the recipe used for the pan-seared scallops we had at the now defunct Carytown Seafood Restaurant in Richmond, with the exception of using a ziploc rather than a prep bowl to coat the scallops and making the sauce after the scallops. The recipe was pretty straightforward, and for once, I pretty much went by the book.  The only changes I made were adding a bit of basil and garlic to the flour mixture, and adjusting the amounts since I only used 1lb of scallops rather than 1.5.  The white wine I used was a nice dry Mediterranean White I found on sale at Harris Teeter for $4.99 while picking up all my prescriptions yesterday.  The pretty label attracted me at first more than the price, but I was pleasantly surprised by the glass I drank while eating dinner.  However, with the actual meal I drank my favorite reisling, Cheateau St. Michelle.

I was surprised by how nice they turned out- making bay scallops is always a challenge in avoiding overcooking, and I wasn't really sure how mixing the balsamic vinegar and white wine would work together.  The sauce actually ended up being delicious, but I think this recipe would work better with sea scallops, since the flavor from the bay scallops was a bit overshadowed by the sauce.  Either way, it was delicious and fun to try something new.  Scallops are one of my favorite foods, so I always love finding a new twist to an old classic.

  Recipe is below with my additions & comments in italics.  

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  pounds  sea scallops
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1  tablespoon  balsamic vinegar
• Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)
• Garlic Salt (to taste depending on the flavor of the spice you are using, but about a teaspoon)
  
• Dried Basil (approximately 1 teaspoon)
  

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add scallops. Seal bag, and shake to coat.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm. I have found with the smaller bay scallops that once they have been seared on one side until brown, constant stirring and flipping works the best, while with the larger sea scallops, searing on each individual side yields the best results. 
Add wine and vinegar to pan; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring with a whisk. Stir in scallops; remove from heat. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Ugh, Frustration!

No posting or cooking in a while because I've still been feeling like crap! despite just completing two weeks of antibiotics on Tuesday.  I kept feeling rapidly worse and called the ENT doctor (I'm way too lazy to try and figure out how to spell otorhinolargyinologist correctly at this hour) on Thursday in hopes that maybe I could get an appointment.  I think the receptionist felt pity on the barely-there sound of my voice and squeezed me in for a quick visit at the hospital in between surgeries this afternoon.  Apparently my cold which turned into a sinus infection had spread into my ears and upper throat, so I'm now on ridiculously strong antibiotics, steroids, two inhalers, Mucinex, probiotics and some other pills that are supposed to keep the antibiotics from destroying my stomach lining....for 21 days.  That is sure going to be fun.  My pharmacy total came to $65.18, which was nice because I was honestly expected a much higher number. Thank goodness for health insurance!   I go back in three weeks for follow up and hopefully all will be well so I can keep putting off the sinus surgery I was supposed to get last year.  Fingers crossed for me!

I've also been busying trying to get ready to move next week this week, despite feeling like crap.  I've been working hard though...and so far have packed a grand total of...two boxes. I've thought alot about what to pack, and made lots of lists though, so I feel like I should celebrate some progress at least...right?!?! I also in a clear display of priorities, updated all my magazine subscription addresses online and then remembered I should probably tell my bank about me moving too.

Okay well here is hoping the PM cold medicine kicks in soon and that I can actually sleep rather than be up half the night coughing and sneezing.  I need to be nice and refreshed tomorrow, because in addition to packing and starting to move things to the new house, grocery shopping MUST occur. There are absolutely NO vegetables, fresh or frozen, in my kitchen and I have REALLY been craving grilled asparagus lately.  Mmmm...getting hungry just thinking about it. 

PS..A friend and I decided to go to the Virginia Wine Showcase in February and they have an entire seminar dedicated to olive oil tasting hosted by All Things Olive, a really cute little shop in Maryland that has the most amazing flavored olive oils ever.  And I found out that Dave Matthews owns a vineyard that offers $5 lunch at tastings Monday-Saturday.  Next time I have to drive down to Charlottesville to see my oncologist I'll definitely be stopping to make the day and drive a bit more enjoyable.  Fortunately it will be this summer since I've been cancer free for almost 3 years now :).

Okay, bedtime for real now.

Classics My Way- Crabcakes

Dinner tonight involved using up some crab meat that was about to go bad, but I really wasn't feeling the typical Old Bay fried crab cakes that instantly comes to mind.  I found a recipe card with my the recipe my dad uses to make crabcakes, straight from Maryland's Eastern Shore..however, I was slightly bothered to realize that almost all of the ingredients were things I try to avoid at all costs when cooking (although, this recipe does make good classic crab cakes so its posted below).

Cookbook consulting revealed lots of great options, but of course I was missing a critical one of everything that caught my eye.   So I did what I almost always end up doing anyway...improvising.  I put the crab meat in the bowl and drizzled olive oil over it to use to help hold the cakes together instead of using eggs and mayo, and stirred in just a tad bit of Old Bay and Worcestershire sauce to give the meat a hint of the classic crab taste..probably about 3 tablespoons of olive oil (extra virgin, of course), a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and not enough Old Bay to estimate,  just sprinkled over the top of the crab and stirred in a few times.  I then experimented with adding basil, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese to by smelling and tasting (a benefit of using olive oil instead of egg. The result was good, but still missing something.  I decided to use crushed cheese garlic croutons to add the texture to the crab cakes, and ended up using about half a cup of croutons (before crushing) as filler.

Rather than fry in butter like the "classic" recipe calls for, I mixed olive oil (my favorite ingredient) and 1/8th of a tablespoon of butter in a non-stick skillet to give the cakes an authentic (but a bit healthier) taste.  I quickly learned that without the egg and mayo, it was harder to keep the crab together, so I used smaller sized crab cakes and found that one pound of crab meat made about 9 mini cakes. I cooked them on medium-high heat (side note: I hate using electric, especially ceramic stove stops, but that's a whole other issue) for about 8 minutes, until they were warm and just brown on each side.  This was another benefit of not using eggs, as they didn't have to cook as long since the crab meat was pre-cooked and no salmonella concerns with using olive oil.  End result was: everyone enjoyed them, with no leftovers.

Also, my sister whipped up some excellent zucchini, which I would never normally think to pair with a crab dish.  Little Sister transformed a bag of $1 frozen grocery store vegetables by sauteing the zucchini in butter ( I would have used olive oil, but I'm not complaining!) and seasoning them with salt, pepper, lemon pepper seasoning, and a squeeze of juice from half of a fresh lemon for about 10 minutes, while draining the excess water from the pan.  It was an EXCELLENT side dish, and my mother- who hates zucchini, even liked it.

Grandma's Classic Crab Cake Recipe
1-lb crab meat
1 egg
1 tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Old Bay seasoning, to preference
Bread Crumbs (at least 1 tablespoon), to preference



Mix all ingredients in bowl and form individual cakes. Fry in hot skillet using real butter.

2009 In Review...

 I'm celebrating the conclusion of an old year and the start of the new one by taking full advantage of once again having a working laptop and being able to write my every thought for the world (aka, myself and maybe one or two random people) to read.  Copying the fabulous syle of my friend Emily, I'm going to do summary and reflection of each area.

Career: I definitely made progress in this area, as 2009 saw the year I got the first real job, and had a few crappy ones.  I got hired by an agency in February, but lasted only two days there because I couldn't deal with the amount of unethical practices I saw there.  So...it was back to waiting tables with a masters degree...how much fun that was!  I took two long-term sub teaching jobs in the spring, and then ended up quitting waiting tables and I spent one whole month enjoying life and actually not working anywhere...then it was back to bartending, at a new restaurant that opened up in Clifton, which was the only restaurant I have ever worked in that I actually enjoyed...and one week after starting there, I got an offer for a *real* job doing pretty much exactly what I wanted to go to grad school for, working as a therapist in a mental health clinic and in a local high school...full time hours, and only 4 days a week, free license supervision, and I like everyone I work with...the job is a bit stressful at times, but at the end of the day I am really lucky to be doing what I'm doing..and to have a good job in the middle of a bad recession.

Health: No cancer this year, so that was a positive! Did have some other health issues, a few surgeries and tons of tests done, but by the end of the year, I was mostly feeling back to normal (albeit way too out of shape for my comfort).  Hopefully, no further surgeries on the horizon in 2010, but we'll see. One surgery I was supposed to have ended up being postponed, so no sinus-fixing nose job in my near future, which is ok with me because I was pretty scared about that one...despite the fact I want to get a cosmetic nose job someday.  Yeah, I know, I don't make sense...but I'm awesome 

Housing: Ugh. This is one area in 2009 that I am not happy with...not going to go into detail, but living out in the suburbs is really not fun, and my goal is to move into the city (either DC or Alexandria) by my 25th birthday. Really though, I suppose its not as bad as I expected moving back home would be, seeing as I spend a good deal of time staying with the boyfriend in the city. 


Friends:  Moving from Richmond back to NoVa at the very beginning of the year made me pretty lonely at first...but I was really fortunate to meet alot of great new people and connect with some old high school and college friends who were also doing the whole adjustment to homelife post-school completion transition with me.  I like to think we are all pretty awesome...if not sketchy..or shady Aremenians.  This was only a one-wedding year for me, with being a bridesmaid in Ashley's wedding in September, but another friend from Hollins, Jen, got engaged to a great guy and I'm excited about being a bridesmaid in her wedding in May of this year. 

Family:   2009 saw a new addition with the birth of my cousin's baby Ethan, the adorable first male grandchild/greatgrandchild in our family...and of course, no matter what, we all agree that he looks more like Beth than Mike.  On my dad's side of the family, my grandmother sadly passed away August 2 at age 89.5. 

Relationships: Ha.  Where to begin with this one? Started off the year engaged, that clearly didn't end well...had some really bad dates, some okay ones, and dated a few losers...but this summer met a great guy who I've somehow not gotten bored with yet...and who might (if this is possible?) be a bigger nerd than I am.

Travel:  Not as much as I'd like to see happen in 2010...I made a few visits to Richmond, some beach trips (yay for champagne on the 4th of July with friends...I think I feel a new tradition coming on?), a trip to Williamsburg with the boyfriend where we discovered the budget-friendly awesomeness that is the Williamsburg Winery, got stuck in some colonial stocks, and generally drank during the day...also took a roadtrip to Tennessee to see my favorite dominatrix, Ashley Wilson, get hitched in a gorgeous ceremony. 

Misc:  Fitness! I signed up to run a half marathon in November but wasn't able to complete it...I think the most frustrating thing for me in 2009 was having undiagnosed health problems that contributed to me feeling kind of crappy most of the time and not being able to work out and participate in fitness like I used to.  I also was working so much in low paying jobs while looking for a real one I kind of lost track of my ability to eat super healthy as I had been previously, but towards the end of the year as I got into a new routine I got back to it more.  

Organization!  I think I probably cleaned out my closet multiple, multiple times this year and in the process of moving and adjusting from a one-bedroom apartment to one bedroom, I cleaned out, simplified, and got rid of tons of stuff I didn't need. Definitely still a work in progress, but progress nonetheless.  



Oddly I feel so much more accomplished after writing this than I felt on New Years Day when it hit me that it was actually 2010...then again, I think maybe that had more to do with having a ridiculous hangover than with self-reflection and insight and all those other fun therapy words. 

Simply Delicious Food, Hangover Edition

Yesterday the boyfriend and I just didn't know what to do for dinner...we were both a *tad* hungover, but hungry, and our plans for sushi were squashed by all of the local sushi places being closed for New Years.  After getting off the metro and realizing our misfortune-although in hindsight, eating sushi on a holiday weekend when the restaurant's supply is likely not fresh and 99% of the staff are as hung over as we were would probably not have been the best of ideas- we decided to go to Giant and just find something that looked good and was easy.  

We debated everything from pizza to steak-which we NEVER eat- and in the end, deciding on crab legs, shrimp and pasta tossed in a plain butter Parmesan sauce.  On the way out the store, we stopped by the deli to get some bread for dipping and noticed they were carrying a new type of prosciutto and decided to try a piece....and then promptly bought half a pound. 

We got back to the apartment and the boyfriend promptly told me to have fun on my new laptop while he worked some magic in the kitchen.  Using an iron skillet, he briefly sauteed plain shrimp wrapped in prosciutto and it was unbelievable!  I've had bacon wrapped scallops before, but never would have thought of the combination of using prosciutto and shrimp.  The best part was the prep was unbelievably easy- I think it took him a total of 5 minutes to make and create the dish, as the shrimp were bought pre-cooked and the prosciutto was sliced fresh in store.  This would be an easy dish to make and share at parties, pot lucks or just an easy treat during the week, and one I would definitely recommend.

A few hours after eating our delicious appetizer even faster than we made it, we sat down for dinner with steamed crab legs and capellini pasta tossed in olive oil, garlic, butter and lots of fresh grated Parmesan.  In a bit of an unexpected twist, we paired it with a bottle of Gragnano, a sparkling red wine served chilled.

New Year...

Today's Horoscope:

Cancer

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No one develops a talent overnight. Practice, practice, practice. You'll get there.


 Very appropriate for the first day of a new year, seeing as this is the time when I'm always feeling motivated and semi-inspired to actually enact some change.  Clearly I've made some new goals, and now that I have a computer- thanks to a $700 Best Buy trip that hurt worse than my hangover this morning- and a new camera, I'm going write and document my progress (and failures!).  This is probably the 6 millionth blog I've started, but I'm actually going to stick with this one. I guess that is the first goal I'm going to publicly announce- keeping up with blogging better. In addition to all the others- which I'll write about...tomorrow.