missing usb cord!

We were in San Fransisco visiting BB and I think I left my usb cord there, so no pictures for a while. Too bad, cause Sam is getting SO cute and we have been making some really good looking food. Lets see, we had Sloppy Joe's (which we called sloppy Josa's in honor of my niece, much to her chagrin,) venison goulash over homemade egg noodles with rye bread ( I have been playing with the no knead bread recipe- this time I added rye flour and sourdough starter- the best bread yet!!) And yesterday I made delicious pizza with olives, caramelized onions, peppers, pepperoni and three cheeses.

San Fransisco was great, I wish we could have gone under happier circumstances. We went to Chinatown (my mom made me take a bus!!) and pretended we were tourists and got schlocky gifts and has yummy Chinese food. We had a picnic at the marina, and walked around alot. I also got to see so much TV that I usually don't get a chance to see, like ANTM. We also watched "Stylista", which if I had the CW at home I would be totally addicted to, its about kids who want a job at Elle magazine, and a hilarious show called "Whatever Martha" which should go under the category of "Things I wish I had thought of first, and probably did when me and my old roommate used to tape ourself watching bad eighties movies." This show consists of Alexis Stewart (Martha's daughter) and her friend watching old episodes of the Martha Stewart show and making snarky comments, and crafting along with her and making messes. Funny!

Anyway, we are home now and getting back in our routine. Sam says "up" now when he wants to get up, and we have had to strap him in to his high chair (which we probably should have done all along) because he tries to climb out of it. He also like to climb into snug spaces, like boxes, and flowerpots. He shakes his head "no" when he is doing something he shouldn't - like pressing the dvr button, trying to turn the burners of the stove, or throwing food on the floor. Yet he does it anyway. We also left the gate to downstairs open by accident, and he went down the stairs all by himself. That was pretty scary. all in all, we are very excited for his first birthday in less than a month!!

Dinner last night

This is what we had for dinner last night. apparently, alot of people besides me like to look at pictures of food. This was Black Pepper Chicken from "The Week" magazine. It took about 15 minutes to make and it was super good. When you are craving Chinese around here, you gotta make it yourself, so that's what we did. The sauce was brown sugar, ginger, chilies, fish sauce, and three times more garlic then the recipe called for. I also added a corn starch slurry at the end to thicken the sauce. Even Josa, who usually only eats white rice, was ladling the sauce over her rice. I should have added more chili peppers as well.

I have embarked on a daunting new project that should keep me occupied this winter. I am culling through my 1000+ collection of cooking magazines and cutting out the recipes and filing them in folders. It will take forever, but it is fun and kind of inspiring. I have a whole file of "Things that look great but in no way will I ever make them," mostly including lobster, caviar, truffles and fois gras. Well, who knows?

Project Runway season finale tonight!! I keep looking on line for spoilers but cant find out who won. I feel like I should make everyone dress up for the occasion. Those who know us will laugh very hard at that.

We took Sam to a puppet show at the Elementary school today. It was about bullying, and set to rock music to reach the kids, you know? Anyway, any time music came on Sam would bounce and rock and shake his head. Got to get the drum kit soon!!

Project Runway

Wasnt Leanne's wedding dress the prettiest? And Haha that Kenleys looked like an Alexander McQueen. Still, I am excited to see both of their collections. I am so gald its an all female final three! Go Leanne!!

No Knead Bread

Am I the last person in the world to try this bread? I hope I won't be the last. this was without a doubt the most perfect loaf of bread I have ever made, and the easiest! Every time I make bread, the crumb isn't right, or the crust, or whatever. This recipe produces the best crumb, the beast flavor and the best crust. It takes about 24 hours, so you have to plan ahead, but its worth it!

Sam Pictures

All the outfits we buy him are too long, but because his thighs are so chunky that's the size we have to buy!

Sam's new favorite pastime- helping unload the dishwasher

On another note- Prison Break- could it BE any better!!!

Adventures in Cooking

I made Pissadaliere last night, Pizza crust with anchovies, caramelized onions, fennel, olives and thyme. Delicious! I joined all of these food blogging sites so I thought I would do my due diligence and post some of what Anthony Bourdain calls "Food Porn." I had a lot of recipes for this but the one from Cooks Illustrated was closest. It was good but we decided either more anchovies (they are supposed to decorate the top in a cross hatch pattern, but we only had one can) or red pepper flakes to cut the sweetness of the onions.

Too lazy to Post

I have been to busy (lazy) to make the effort to post lately. I'm sorry. First and foremost, thank you thank you thank you to Erin, who fixed my formula soaked ipod. I forgot what a blessing it is to have upwards of 5000 songs at ones disposal during a road trip! I usually listen to just my play lists, but this time we put it on shuffle and got to hear some rarities that I forgot I had. Much better than scanning radio stations and getting Mexican radio, country, religion, Joe Walsh or "Mony Mony." Jeff and I agree sometimes the Spanish stations are the best bet. Although, sometimes we groove along to a catchy hook before we look at each other and say "Whoops! I think they are singing about Jesus!!"

Jeff and I took a rock star trip to Portland Last weekend for his birthday- really quick, just a day and breakfast the next morning. We stayed at the grossest hotel ever- The Banfield on 39th and Sandy- It was close to the bar and we did not make any previous arrangements. We probably wouldn't have thought it was so bad if the weekend before my dad had not put us up at the Homewood Suites. I have pictures of the Banfield but wish we had some of the other so I could post them next to each other. Anyway, we had a great time- We had conveyor belt sushi at Sushiville (Brian and I were hesitant, we love Saburo, but Jeff insisted and we were more than pleasantly surprised,) we went to the Galaxy which I pretty much hate on the weekends because everyone there is 12 and too hip and sings R&B. Then we went to the Ambassador which I like better now cause its non smoking, and Justen works the backroom.

We went to the Paradox for breakfast and what do you know, they remodeled it and took down the scary clown pictures. The food is still blandi-ish, but at least its pretty now and you don't have to go through the kitchen to use the bathroom.

Does anyone else think Leanne got robbed on "Project Runway?" If her dressed was a top scorer she should automatically be allowed into fashion week. I spent all of yesterday looking for spoilers because I have no patience and want to know who won. I guess she will get to show either way, because fashion week already happened, and they always have decoys.

Uncle Curt shot a Buck, so we have been taking care of that. This is one instance you should be glad I am not posting pictures. I handled myself pretty well, but I had to take a 20 minute boiling hot shower last night to get the smell out of my nose. It's actually pretty interesting, some we set aside for jerky, some goes into soup, some is dog food and most gets frozen. Finally the butcher shop part of my culinary degree is paying off.