Chunnan's New VW Tiguan SEL

Latest Quilt Top

Peggy should be able to see some of her leftover fabric in this quilt along with other scrap pieces I'm trying to use up.

Job Interview

I have a job interview on Thursday at CPES, Inc. which stands for Community Provider of Enrichment Services, not to be confused with COPES (the program Peggy was using in Seattle) which stands for Community Options Program Entry System.

At CPES I would teach a crew of adults with developmental disabilities the art of landscape and yard maintenance. They have residential and commercial accounts.

So I have 3 days to read my newest book, "Job Interviews For Dummies."

Happy Birthday!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my hubby. Here's wishing him a Happy 46th!!

I am a big goober!

I really am!

Stromboli Saturday

Well, as mentioned previously, Chunnan has been urging my to cook more and tossing recipes at me to try. Today was Stromboli. Funnt, if you look up "stromboli" on dictionary.com it lists an island and a volcano, but nothing about this tasty rolled sandwich. To be fair though, if you don't get it just right your stromboli can have something of a volcanic eruption...see details below. The first step was to roast some red peppers. I'd never done this before to I watch a few YouTube videos on the subject then dove right. I halved two red bell peppers, cleaned out the insides, rubbed them with vegetable oil, salt, and pepper. I turned up the oven to 500 degrees and roasted them for 22 minutes.
After roasting the peppers looked like the pic above. I think I should have moved the rack closer to the element because most of the videos showed more black on their peppers. So, after they come out of the oven I put them in a glass bowl and covered it with cling wrap so the peppers could steam to loosen the skin. When they've come to room temperature (30 minutes or so) the skin just peels off fairly easily. Its a messy job and you'll be temped to run them under the fawcet because they're slimy and the skin sticks to your fingers, but don't do it because you do not want to rinse off all the smokey roasty goodness.
Lay them out on a cutting board and slice them into thin strips. Their soft and slimy and really really yummy! The videos said you can store them in the fridge in an oil bath if you like, but we used them all right away.
We bought a 1lb ball of frozen pizza dough at the grocery store, let it thaw in the fridge, let it sit out until it came up to room temp, then sliced it in half and rolled out each half into a 12"x6" rectangle. To build the stromboli layer the middle with salami, provalone, proscuitto, peppers, and chopped basil.
Wet all of the edges with water to make the dough sticky then carefully roll them up and crimp the ends closed. Cover them in an egg wash then sprinkle them with sesame seeds. I think the next time I do this I'll roll them the other direction. There was barely enough width to create the "rolled effect" and, as you see below, we had a little bit of a blow-out during cooking.
Cover the uncooked stromboli with tin foil and cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then uncover and cook another 20 minutes. Let them rest for 5 minutes after cooking. As you see above, one of the stromboli exploded and the cheese leaked out and dripped off the edge and now I need to clean the over bottom. On the good side, the baked cheese on the pan was REALLY yummy! Also, be sure to fully cover the stromboli with the tin foil during the first part of the cooking. My tin foil was loose and the ends overcooked.
Here's a pic of the stromboli blow-out. Again, I think the seam gave way because there was not enough bread-on-bread contact during cooking. Try rolling it the other direction or go lightly on the filling to fix this.
Here's a pic of the inside of the stromboli when sliced. It has the appearance of a big hot pocket here, not the spiral of bread and stuffing on the recipe picture, so, rolling it the other direction might be the best way to go next time to get the right construction result. I think I'd also poke a few holes in the bread before cooking as they had a lot of open room inside, like they had ballooned due to too much air expansion while cooking.
We served our stromboli with a salad of spring greens, radishes, grape tomatoes and zucchini. I chose a roasted pepper dressing and Chunnan had oil and balsamic vinegar on his. I thought it taste great though Chunnan said he didn't really taste the roasted peppers or basil very much.

Lazy Saturday in WA

I got a Job!

On Monday I filled out an application for the Dispatcher position with Valley Protective Services, Inc. While I was there the receptionist told me they were interviewing for that position at the time of application submission. So I met with a supervisor who gave me 2 test's: one was a spelling test (I missed one) and the other was a "what would I do if I received a call like this" test. On the second test I forgot to get the callers information and where they were calling from, but he thought my answers were good otherwise.

On Tuesday I got a call from the Dispatch Supervisor and he wanted to interview me today at 2:00 pm. I arrived there at 1:50 pm to discover that he was not there. So after the receptionist called him, he had forgotten all about our meeting. He asked if I could come back at 4:00 pm, which I said I would.

This job is in Chandler which is about 20 minutes away from Maricopa, so I asked where the mall was and went there to wait until 4:00 pm.

I returned to the office at 3:50 pm and discovered that he would be about 15 minutes late. When he finally got there he told me that there had been a family emergency and that is why he had forgotten. (By this point I am a bit concerned.)

So he interviewed me and offered me the job. He told me all about the position, I filled out a stack of paperwork, he showed me some of the computer screens that I would be dealing with and told me more about the job itself. I finally left there at about 7:30 pm.

My position is Thursday - Saturday and every other Sunday from 6pm to 6am. I am not crazy about this, but it is the first offer of a job that I have gotten and we need the money. So for the time being this is the job that I have....at least I can say we now have a paycheck coming in. Oh yeah...it pays $23,624 salaried.

Valley Protective Services, Inc. sends armed and unarmed guards to local businesses and apartment complexes during the evening/nighttime hours for security. They also offer plain clothes officers to be inside businesses to watch for thieves. They also have officers that drive from location to location checking things out and making sure nothing is going on that is illegal. At this moment, this is about all I know of what they do.

Updates

OK...well here's the latest from Eric's side of the family...

Nick Jr. called the police from the neighbors house a few weeks ago because Nick Sr. was threatening suicide again. The cops took him to the hospital where he was until this past Saturday when they let him out. Nick Jr. stayed with the neighbor down the street while his Dad was in the hospital.

On Sunday, the cops came and arrested Nick Sr. for vehicular manslaughter from the car crash that killed his wife a few months ago. Apparently they set a $6,000 bail, but he could not pay it of course. However, they weren't able to deal with his medical needs with his diabetes so they let him go on his own recognisence (sp?) that same evening. He will be getting a court appointed attorney.

We found out this morning that Eric's nephew Michael (Liz's son in OR) was hurt yesterday evening at track & field practice. Not sure exactly how it happened, but someone threw a discus which hit him in the back of the head. It broke some part of his skull so they had to do surgery to remove the broken bone fragments and put a plate in his head. The surgery finished about 2 a.m. this morning. He is doing fine and in ICU but will probably be transferred to another room tomorrow as long as everything stays OK. The doctor said he was lucky because if it had hit him just a little lower, he probably would have died.

As for me...

I went to the pulmonologist (sp?) today and my breathing is slightly improved. Last appointment 6 months ago, I had a maximum volume intake of 54%. Today I was up to 58%.

Long time no chat

Wow, so many posts to keep up. Food looks tasty and the trip pictures were neat.

Anyway, a couple of peeps have asked me for updates on mom and dad, so here they are.

Mom is doing better, although not resting like the doctor told her to. Her diet is bland, but she is sticking to it really well. If any of you have suggestions of sugar free, low sodium foods or meals, please send them my way or her way. She is tired of eating the same things over and over again.

I am still working on her moving out, but she is still battling the demon of feeling guilty if she leaves. In due time, it will happen.

Dad- Overall he is doing ok, healthwise. He just started losing his hair, by his surgery site, this past weekend. The rest is growing back at a rapid pace. He has not been sick at all. The only major side effects are fatigue and an amped up appetite, due to the anti swelling med that he is on. Today started his fourth week of treatments. He meets with his oncologist on Tuesday to determine his futre chemo schedule. And I believe May 4th, is his last radiation treatment.

Right now his biggest battle is staying positive. He believes that he will never be able to accomplish anything, since the diagnosis, so he is a bit down on that.
I am planning on writing a letter to oprah, at his request, telling his story, in addition to my best friends story. Her dad has cancer, but was just diagnosed as cancer free after two years. Probably will not get a response, but it's a project I want to take on.
He has started making his bucket list, so I am hoping that I am help make some of his wishes come true.

Well, that's about it in a nutshell. Gotta run, but I will try to update a bit more often.

Me.

Easy Fresh Fruit Tart

Chunnan's always looking for new ways to eat berries and to make me into his personal pastry chef. This one turned out really nicely so I thought I'd share it with everyone. I was just going to send you to Cook's Illustrated with a web link but I can't find the recipe on their web site...just in this magazine Chunnan bought. So, I'll type in who I did it below. Enjoy!

Take a frozen puff pastry sheet and put it in the fridge to thaw for 24 hours. When you're ready to begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Butter a cookie sheet and unfold the dough onto the center of the cookie sheet. Wet your finger and run it along each edge of the sheet of dough then fold the edges over onto the main sheet to form a square "dish" which will hold your berries when it's all said and done. Take a sharp knife and slit the folded edges all the way around so the puff pastry can rise properly during cooking. I think my knife might not have sliced deep enough because the edges on my pastry are curled in instead of nice and square. It ight actually be better to slice off a half inch on each side of the sheet and just lay the slices on the edged of the remaining sheet.

Next, mix 2 teasoons of sugar with 1/4 teaspoon of powdered cinnamon and coat the flat center of the pastry. This will add flavor and crunch to the final dish. The recipe then said the poke numerous holes in the center area of the pastry so that the flat area will not balloon when cooking. Bake the pastry shell at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes or until, as Alton Brown says, "it's golden brown and delicious".

I did poke LOTS of holes in my pastry, but it ballooned anyway, so, as soon as it came out of the oven I just took a wide spatula and pressed the center down until it was flat. Tranfer the pastry to a wire rack and allow to cool for one hour.

So, next we need the filling. There are two layers, cream cheese and glazed fruit.

Take 4oz of cream cheese (half a block of Philly Cream Cheese in my case) and soften it up, either by letting it come to room temp or a sort burst of microwaves. Next soften two tablespoons of smooth strawberry jelly (not preserves or jam) in the microwave (I actually use about twice this amount) then whisk the cream cheese and softened jelly together until it's smooth and pink through and through.

Rinse and drain your berries gently. If you have a salad spinner put three paper towels in the basket then put your rinsed berries inside and spin it for 15 seconds or so. Now soften another half cup of the strawberry jelly in a glass bowl that's large enough to hold all of your berries. Again, I used a bit more than the recipe actually called for. When the jelly has cooled a bit add the berries to the bowl and gently fold them into the jelly to coat all the berries in the glaze.

When the pastry is fully cool pour the cream cheese onto the flat area of the pastry and spread it around to cover the pastry's center evenly. Now pour the glazed berries on top of the cream cheese and gently nudge them around until they cover all of the cream cheese.

Place the completed tart into the fridge for 2 to 4 hours or until everything is nice and chilled and the glaze has firmed up. Slice and eat...a nice whipped topping or even a scoop of ice cream would round this off nicely!

If you make it, please let us all know how it turns out. Mine comes ouot of the fridge at 2pm. Can't wait!

Feeling Nostalgic

I mentioned to David in an email today that I remembered when you kids used to hide Easter eggs over and over again and how much fun you had. Then I went to a poetic website where there is a challenge to write a poem each day of April (National Poetry Month) and I've been trying to do that. Each day they post a new "prompt" to write about for that day. When I got there today the prompt was to write a poem with the title "So We Decided to...." (fill in the blank). These two thoughts just seemed to go together, so here is my poem for Easter, April 12, 2009.


So We Decided to Hide Them Again


All my kids were just wee little folk
when we boiled the eggs, the white and the yolk
and colored them all with vinegar and dye.
Seemed like forever before they would dry!

Then before the kids got out of bed,
before they ever raised their heads,
before their eyes even opened their lids,
the eggs were all so thoughtfully hid.

With cries of glee at the first break of day
they all arose and were on their way.
With baskets in hand they scurried about
“I found one here!” was the common shout.

But once the eggs were all gathered up
a feeling of gloom seemed to interrupt
the joy, for the hunt had come to an end.
So we decided to hide them again!

Each child took a turn and had such fun
at watching the other children run
to find again the hidden eggs
‘til they all came in with tired little legs

But smiles on their faces,
around the table taking their places,
looking forward with anticipation
to gobbling down their lovely creations!

Sinister Intentions #1

I found MagCloud.com yesterday and was immediately obsessed with the potential of print-to-order magazines.  As a proof of concept, I've created a 12-page magazine featuring five of my stories and illustrated with my own photography and a special photo Peggy took back in Virginia.  There's even an advertisement for Clever Mojo's upcoming game release, Ogre Castle.

Take a look at my first publication HERE.

I think this would be a GREAT idea for Mom to publish her poems, and maybe our next family book could be a family magazine.  I've also thought about publishing the photos from my Taipei trip a few years ago with some of my recollections and experiences; a catalog of Clever Mojo Games products, art, and stories; a family photo calendar...tons of possibilities!

It will be cool if/when I sell one of my magazines through the MagCloud web site.  Wish me luck!

.

Happy Birthday!!

Wishing you many many more!!

From Wa to Az

We left David's house sometime shortly after 6am Wednesday. We went to Starbucks and got on the road around 6:30. I had forgotten to turn in the phone charger to my work phone the day before, so we drove by there (it's basically on the way) to turn it in, then got back on the road.

It rained until we were about midway though Oregon, which was about 325 miles of the trip. Portland is directly over the border from WA to OR. We arrived there at 9:45am, which I thought would be late enough to miss morning traffic. But just before we crossed the border traffic stopped. We were basically stopped for 30 minutes.

We pulled into Phoenix at 4pm. Unfortunately, it was Phoenix, OR. So after getting gas, we got back on the road. Shortly thereafter we crossed the border into CA. WA was all rain, OR was half rain, half clouds. But as soon as we hit CA, blue skies baby!

So I was able to take a few pics while driving through CA. This is Mt Shasta in Northern CA.



We stopped for the night about 70 miles north of Sacramento, CA. in Willows, at 8pm after having driven 700 miles in 13 1/2 hours. We should have been able to do that faster, but we did have a lot of rain and hills and vehicles pulling trailers in CA have to go 55mph. We drove about 62 instead, but still much slower than we had hoped to be going. Our trailers pulled just fine at 75mph.

We got back on the road Thursday morning at 6:45, after visiting the Starbucks conveniently next to the Days Inn. Another 800 miles to go. Thankfully I had some books on CD that Momma had given me before my move to WA. I took some more pictures today also.

We were behind the big truck and when Alie pulled out to pass it, she cut in front of these bikers. After they passed me I saw their Hell's Angels of California jackets.



Yellow hills somewhere north of Los Angeles, CA.



Windmills (and a timely train) somewhere around Palm Springs, CA.



More windmills, all the way to the horizon, if you squint.



We arrived in Phoenix (AZ this time) at 10pm and since John was already in Phoenix we stopped to see him for 15 minutes before continuing on to the Loen's house in Maricopa. We arrived there around 10:45. So after 16 hours of driving today we were finally done. Looking back on it, we should have taken 3 days to do it. 2 days is fine if both people are in the same car and one can sleep while one drives, but for both of us to have to drive the whole way, 700-800 miles a day is just too much.

On the back porch of the Loen's house a hummingbird has built a nest.

On Their Way To Phoenix :'-(

Fred and Alie planning their route through Portland

Fred & Alie waving goodbye

Fred & Alie...going...

...going...

...gone.

We love you and miss you...Drive safely!