Dishi's Bridal Shower

Well, I'm glad I drove down to Houston yesterday for Dishi's surprise shower. I'm glad she was actually surprised too! I had a good time and it was nice to see everybody. I actually got to spend some time talking to Maneesh and Dishi. My long drive was rewarded with cake (yeah!). I left around 8 and drove back up to DFW. Poor Ross was already asleep when I got home. I think Bailey was confused. Here's some photos of Me with Maneesh and Dishi and Bella. I can't believe how tall she is...and almost 4!

Yard Month So Far

I've managed to do some clean up in the back yard. It took a few days to get all the leaves cleaned up. I'm keeping our yard cart full. After cleaning up the leaves I started pulling weeds. I cleared the entire stone patio. I've really fought with the weeds on that patio over the last couple of years. I decided that I don't want to do that again this summer. So, after clearing off the leaves and weeds I distributed the dwarf mondo grass a little more evenly. Then I filled in the cracks with topsoil and mulch. It looks about how it looked when we first had it installed. Hopefully the mulch will keep down the weeds. After I finished up I watered the grass and cleaned off the stones. The plan is to put stones in around the big tree and have a kind of desert area. I would like to put in a flower bed next to that and then a garden on the other side.

This is the area of dirt that I'd like to turn into a garden. I'd like a variety of herbs. I'm tired of paying 1.99 a bunch for herbs at Central Market. Getting the patio done is a big accomplishment. I also planted some pansies in the flower bed on the side of the house. I'm not sure what I want to do with that area.

I'd like to have this all done before Passover. Maybe we could have a nice meal outside. Ross put down weed and feed on the front and back lawns. Our back yard is nothing but weeds. After I get the back taken care of I need to work on the front flower beds. I want to rip out all the holly and put a Japanese Maple on the corner. I don't know what else to plant out there. Getting the hollies ripped out will be a big enough task.

Death of Madam Geneva

I finally finished that book that I was reading about Gin. The history of gin makes for a really easy read. The English flirtation with prohibition is something that America, sadly, did not learn from. I'm glad that we (sort of) learned from our own experiment with prohibition. At least I got to have a gin and tonic on my birthday. The book made me want to try and make my own gin. At one point I was seriously researching stills online. I don't think I'll be distilling alcohol from grain, but I might try compounding (flavoring) some everclear with some sort of home-made still. I'll be sure and post about it if I ever do get around to it....

Birthday Bash

Last Saturday I had a birthday party. It was such a nice day outside and it was a really nice party. We started out with sushi, duck spring rolls and tuna sushi sandwiches. We then moved the party outside and had turns at the pinata. I can't thank Valerie enough for the pinata. It was the most fun I've had in a really long time. Here's a bunch of photos. Enjoy.

I had first crack at the pinata.

Margot having her turn.

We all enjoyed watching Tim samurai the cones off the drum.

Trying to spin Ross around and get him dizzy.

Joey and Ross spinning each other around.

Tejal, Ross and Tim.

Me with a knife!

Oatmeal Cookies

Last fall I got the urge for some oatmeal cookies. I searched through a bunch of recipes and found one that I liked. Of course I modified it. The cookies tasted all right, but the texture was not at all what I was looking for. The cookies turned out flat and lacey and fell apart easily. I wanted a nice chewy cookie. I ended up with a bunch of crumbly cookies that were easily mushed into a cookie ball. I decided this week to try to modify the recipe to get a more stable cookie. I only had enough ingredients for a half batch on Tuesday, but they turned out great (and are already gone). I made a full batch today and they turned out really well. So, here's my recipe for "sort of healthy" oatmeal cookies.

Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 scoop whey powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 c. oats

1 c. raisins (or dried cranberrys or dried cherries)

1. Cream the butter until light and fluffy.

2. Cream in the sugars and vanilla until smooth.

3. Beat in eggs.

4. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until slightly golden.

7. Let cookies cool at least 4 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.

8. Store in airtight container after completely cooled.

These were good with the dried cherries and I just tried one with raisins. It was just as good. It was interesting to see that the brown sugar I just bought was a lot lighter than the one I had in the cabinet. Oh yes, this recipe makes 3 dozen. It's going to be a challenge not to eat them all! I'll send a bunch to work with Ross and take some to the neighbors.

The Wedding

Well, so much has gone on since my last post, but I'm not going to try and cover it all. We went to Austin last Friday for Aaron and Sujata's wedding. On Friday we had County Line for lunch and then went to Amy's downtown. I had rum raisin and bourbon custard. Oh, the bourbon was so good. Then we went to a little get together that Aaron and Sujata were having. I got mehndi done on my hands and Ross played games with the guys. We got to see the sari ceremony and then got some sleep. On the day of the wedding one of Sujata's aunties helped me with my sari and it looked so nice. We had a pretty good time. On the way out of town we stopped at Amy's again (like we always do). Ross had mexican vanilla and I had sweet cream with strawberries cause nothing else sounded as good as the bourbon custard. I'm now trying to recover from all my travelling. I have a few days to rest before my birthday party, which I really need to get to work planning....

My hands with mehndi.

Start of sari ceremony.

Joey and the bride before the wedding.

The groom leaving the building.

Me in my maroon sari.

Tiramisu

Last night we had a little finger food party. It was a lot of hard work. The first thing I made yesterday was the dessert of course. Tiramisu. I made it for the dessert party, and it was a little soupy. I altered the recipe and this time it turned out great. Everybody liked the tiramisu, and I think it might have been the easiest thing I made yesterday. I did have a problem with the cream. Two tries and it didn't whip. I was baffled. That has never happened to me before. I chilled everything in the freezer, but twice it just sat there, getting slightly bubbly. Ross ran out for another carton of cream and it whipped up in seconds. Strange. So here's the recipe for a firmer tiramisu.

Tiramisu

3 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 c. espresso, cooled to room temperature
1 c. water
4 Tbl. sweet Marsala wine
savoiardi
3-4 squares of Ghiradelli chocolate, grated

1. Beat together yolks and 1/2 c. sugar in a large bowl until thick and pale.
2. Beat in mascarpone just until blended.
3. Beat cream in bowl until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in remaining 1/4 c. sugar and beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
4. Stir together espresso, water, and Marsala in a shallow dish. --Before I had the espresso maker I went to Starbucks and got a venti coffee with three extra shots.
5. Dip the ladyfingers one at a time in the espresso mix--about 2 seconds each side--and arrange on the bottom of a dish.
6. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the layer of ladyfingers.
7. Sprinkle half of the grated chocolate over the marscapone.
8. Arrange another layer of ladyfingers over the marsala and chocolate.
9. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.
10. Top with remaining chocolate.
11. Cover and chill tiramisu at least 6 hours.