Cookin' with Lidia

It's been a goal of mine to cook more meals rather than just cook food. When Nick is home from his weeks of oil drillin' I find it easier to actually do this. This is mostly because he is there to help me wash the dishes, but also because he helps me eat the food. But let's be realistic, we know I have no problem doing that on my own, the dishes on the other hand are annoying. Regardless, I sometimes feel motivated enough to suck it up and cook something worthwhile.

Earlier this week Nick's mom, Kathy, who also happens to be a big supporter of my blog, sent a cookbook to my Kindle: Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes. First I have to say it is really fun to be able to download your own gift. But more importantly, it should be noted that Nick's entire family is Italian, part Italian on Kathy's side and about 500% Italian on his Dad's side. My family is 0% Italian which means I still have quite a lot to learn about Italian food and cooking. Anyway, the book is awesome and really enjoyable to read. Lidia breaks each section into different regions of Italy and gives some history, as well as some personal accounts of the lifestyle, local foods, and her travels to the area, which I absolutely love. Another important aspect of the book is that there is quite a lot of variety in the food. Italian food is so much more than just pasta and I was really excited to see so many recipes with beans. Of course I also love that most recipes include cheese. I could care less about putting cheese on my burrito at Chipotle but when I get some really strong parmesan or gorgonzola I'm a happy camper. Fortunately our HEB happens to have a large section of specialty cheeses. For those of you who don't know, HEB is a grocery store found only in Texas that was once described by Nick as "a mix between Sam's club and Walmart." This description, of course, kept me from venturing inside of one for at least the first few months that I lived here until I went and realized that, while the description is true, they also carry pretty much everything you could ever need and actually have a lot of good stuff. Plus you really can't beat the prices.

Since I was determined to have my first dish be pasta free, I looked for something that was still somewhat traditional Italian and the gorgonzola risotto caught my eye. The ingredients were simple and I knew I would have no problem cutting the recipe in half. So on my day off I opted not to clean my incredibly messy house and instead made my kitchen a little more messy. The end result was worth it. Here's the recipe:

Risotto with Gorgonzola 
by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich


Ingredients:

6 to 8 cups broth (I used vegetable but chicken or beef works too)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup chopped onions

Salt (approximately 2 tsp)

2 cups short grain rice (I used Arborio)

1 cup white wine

8 ounces Gorgonzola, cut or crumbled into small pieces

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

Heat stock in separate pot almost to a boil. Keep it hot, near the pan.

Put Olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add onions and 1 tsp salt. Cook until onions are slightly wilted. Add rice and turn up heat, stir for a couple of minutes, until toasted but not browned. Pour in wine and cook, stirring continuously, until nearly all absorbed.

Ladle in 2 cups of stock, and stir steadily. When you see the bottom of the pan as you stir (about 5 minutes) quickly ladle in another couple of cups and remaining salt. Cook, stirring, until the stock again is almost completely absorbed, and then ladle in another cup or so. Continue until about 6 cups have been added, or add more if needed. Cook until risotto is creamy but still al dente.

Turn off heat and add gorgonzola (reserve a few spoonfuls for garnish) and sprinkle over some of the grated parmesan, stir until both cheeses are incorporated. Spoon into bowls and add more cheese if desired.

Lidia also suggests adding pealed and sliced pears, which I did, and I highly recommend. I also decided that some pecans would also taste pretty yummy with this combo. Just add as much as you like of either after the heat is turned off.

Also this is the exact recipe in the book, I used half the ingredients which still produced a lot of food.

The end result is amazing and it looks like this:

All the flavors complement each other well, and although the cheeses are strong, the blend perfectly. I also recommend eating this dish outside (which I obviously did) just make sure you eat it fast, otherwise it may be consumed by a curious little black dog. 

I really enjoyed cooking this, even though I made quite a mess in the kitchen. It's also nice to have something other than a pb&j or a microwave meal to bring to work tomorrow night. Willow was also very happy since I let her sample some of the cheese. She has a strong affinity for fine cheeses thanks to a certain member of my family who began feeding her jarelsberg cheese when she was just a puppy. 

I am happily full right now and looking forward to a night of kitchen cleaning and relaxing with my sleepy little dog. Thanks again Kathy for the awesome gift! 

Twins

I am ridiculous

Nick is also ridiculous

The Houston Galleria Apple store loves us for being ridiculous

Yes. I did it. 

Earlier this week, while blogging at Brasil I noticed it was dark and thought about how nice it would be to have a backlit keyboard. I also thought it would be really nice to sit wherever I want without worrying about needing an outlet because my battery was retarded. It only took about two days and a discussion with Nick to convince me that it was time for a new computer. You know, one that isn't 6 years old, bulky, and with a tiny harddrive (90GB was a lot 6 years ago). I had saved the money but couldn't quite justify getting a new one when, honestly, the 6 year old one ran perfectly. But when I get something like that stuck in my mind it's incredibly hard to get it out (Nick doesn't help either). 

So off we went to the Galleria (the 7th largest mall in the US according to Wikipedia). The Apple store was insane, per usual, even on a Tuesday afternoon. I found a sales associate who got the computer, recommended a case, and had me checking out almost instantly. When I left the counter I found Nick who was on the phone with a friend, who has been a Mac user for about 4 years; they were discussing whether it was worth it for Nick to get one as well. It took about 3 minutes before Nick was talking to another sales associate. I have never seen anyone look so disappointed about purchasing a computer. I think he hated himself for a few minutes. No worries, this quickly wore off once he got in the car and immediately opened the box. 

We left the apple store with some very well designed bags (read: backpacks) which came in handy because we also had to make two "quick" stops for shoes. "Quick" isn't always what you want it to be when you're in a four story mall and extremely anxious to get home (for obvious reasons).  But let's face it, I really didn't want to return to the Galleria for a while. I went last summer for the first time, I returned this summer, and hope to continue this yearly trend. Malls stress me out, not to mention I have to spend money when I'm there. No thanks. 

Finally we returned home to set up and play with our new toys. It was like Christmas. We actually ate lunch standing up and in record time before settling down to an afternoon and evening spent on the couch. 

Meghan meet Macbook 

Needless to say we hit it off immediately. We were made for each other. 

We've been having a lot of fun. 

And I really have to say it is an awesome computer. Yes, it's not a PC so there are some things I need to get accustomed to, but I am really surprised at how easy the Mac OS really is. I'm retarded when it comes to computers but I've still managed to navigate my way around, with Nick's help at times. It's actually been fun. 

Yes, I did a photo booth session with Willow. No big deal. 

Let's hope I blog more now that I have some new incentive to be in front of the computer. 

We basically live like this now: 

  

Trust me, I thought we both used to spend a lot of time in front of the computer...that was nothing compared to the past two days. I'll take a break when the honeymoon period wears off, although that may take a while. 

Zhen Zhen

I'm so in love with baby animals and just animals in general. I think my parents actually worried about me when I was younger. I'm not surprised, I was probably draining their bank account with all my stuffed animals that I just absolutely had to have. I just can't help it, they're so cute, I just want to snuggle all of them. I die every time I see cows, goats, or horses on the side of the road (which happens often when living in Texas). Pinterest does not help either. Although one of my most intense obsessions is pandas. They're so fluffy and sweet. They just love playing and the babies make such cute noises. I die. So for those of you who have Windows 7 I recommend the Panda Cam gadget. Its a live streaming video of the pandas living at the San Diego Zoo! They have several cameras so there are always different shots. Its amazing.

Sometimes they just like to hang out and munch on some bamboo

They also nap...a lot

That picture kills me. He's in a bamboo coma! I love it so much.

They also have a very well planned habitat with lots of trees to hang out it

I die every time I get on my computer and see a close up view of those little cuties

Can you tell I just used my phone to take pictures of my computer screen. Yes, I do it often, and then I send them to Nick. 

But sometimes when the pandas aren't around I just hit up youtube and watch videos of the little baby pandas playing

This is also one of my favorites

How can such a big sound come out of such a tiny little thing?

I also suggest you check out the San Diego Zoo website: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html

I also discovered that you can send email postcards from the panda cam...Sorry Nick.

Trendy Texas Treasures

So one of my very favorite people ever is here in H town! Ms. MC Wickham and I have know each other since kindergarten. We were little Catholic school girls together until high school when I went to the big bad public school and she stayed sweet and innocent for another 4 years by attending a Catholic high school (OK, that is slightly exaggerated). We coincidentally lived on the same dorm floor freshman year and finally realized how much we had in common and instantly became friends. 

MC is one of the most fashionable people I know. She always finds awesome clothes at awesome prices and puts together stylish outfits. Yes, actual outfits. This is something I am completely unable to fathom. If I can get clean clothes that actually fit me and can somewhat match then its an achievement for me. So I asked her to do a celebrity fashonista blog post with all the new items we acquired today. You can also see her blog (which is awesome) here. I love her, I love her blog, and you all are going to love this post. 

The fashonista herself...look how stylish she is. 

.........

Hey frands! Fashionista MC here. I'm in Houston right now and so excited to be hanging with MDiamond. Only seeing her twice in the past year nearly killed me. Seriously. I arrived yesterday morning, and after getting up for the airport at 4AM, our day, due to complete exhaustion, consisted of eating, a movie, and bed. Today though, we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on big bad Houston. After some Texas BBQ at Beaver's Icehouse, we decided to take our oh-so-thrifty selves on a shopping spree. Meghan took me to Buffalo Exchange, a place that I'd never heard of before, but loved instantly as soon as I stepped through the door. For those of you from Florida, it's very similar to Plato's Closet except with a way better selection and a little more retro. Determined to add some critical pieces to our wardrobe, we began our hunt. 

Items we were looking for: 

1. Blazers: After seeing Bridesmaids last night and seeing Kristin Wiig's totally cute, yet totally do-able outfits, we knew we each had to have one.
2. Scarfs: I know what you're thinking: It's summer, what are you....crazy?! Yes, I know it's summer. And if any of you know me at all, you know that I have a new obsession: Summer Scarves. Summer scarves are typically light and airy with brightly colored patterns that can be mixed and matched with tank tops and t-shirts. My wardrobe tends to consist of tank tops, jean shorts and flats during the summer. Add the summer scarf, and voila! You have yourself a fashionista.
3. "Going Out" Dresses: A must-have for any 23 year old gal. 
4. Shoes: wedges, flats, TOMS
5. Anything else that catches our I eye that we can't resist! 

Between Buffalo Exchange, and later trips to Blackbird Trading Co. (another local thrift shop) and the local Forever 21, we each walked away with items we completely love, and stayed completely within our budget! 

Item #1: The Summer Scarf, $10.50, Buffalo Exchange

As I said before, summer scarves are the perfect way to snazz up an outfit instantly. Pair them with a tank top or tshirt and shorts and you've got yourself quite the outfit. 

Item #2:  Black Wedges, $25.00, Blackbird Trading Co.

Wedges are our new favorite things. They are easy to walk in, and can be easily dressed up or dressed down.  The perfect addition to any summer outfit!

Item #3: Blazer (jcrew), $35.00, Buffalo Exchange

Ok, I just LOVE blazers. Pair them with a tshirt, jean shorts, jeans, a tank top, basically anything and voila - cute outfit.

Item #4: Turquoise Necklace, $4.00, Forever 21

Does turquoise ever go out of style? 

Item(s) #5: "Going Out" Dresses, $11.50 (Meg) & $17.00 (MC), Buffalo Exchange

Meg and I were so lucky to find these! At only $11, Meghan's blue dress was a lucky find. It's so comfy and can be dressed up for a night out or down for an afternoon of shopping. My dress had me at the criss-crossed back straps. Love them! PS - as you can probably tell, we adore dresses with pockets - another selling point for both dresses! 

 

Item #6: Pencil skirt, $10.00, Buffalo Exchange

Although I did not model this pencil skirt, it is absolutely perfect for a day at the office or a night out! I can't wait to debut this skirt back in FL.

And that's all folks! I'd like to thank Meghan for letting me take control of her blog for the night. I could have completely sabotaged her, and was so tempted, but....I didn't. Maybe next time. If you're interested in celeb blogging for Meghan or I, let us know! We're always looking for a some extra blog flair. 

Over and Out, Meghan followers. We're off to continue messin' with Texas. 

Rainy Day

Rainy days are awesome for doing absolutely nothing at all and pretending like you have an excuse for it. Houston hasn't had a rainy day in months. Since February I think I can remember a total of maybe 4 times that its rained and all those were in the last 3 weeks and only lasted about an hour, until today. It rained most of the day. I woke up just before 11 and it was dark in my room, even Willow was still asleep (very rare). I was going to hit up the gym and break in my new climbing shoes but my Wednesday climbing partner cancelled on me and who really likes driving in the rain? Not me. So then I got on gmail chat with Nick who is getting paid to do nothing today, I wish I would get paid to read all day and sit on gmail chat. Of course I wouldn't love to hang out with rednecks in the heat of South Texas and have to live in a truck or a hotel room. Nor would I really want to do anything that involves tools or stuff that looks likes this

No thanks, I'll take my sick kiddos over that any day. But back to my rainy day. Like I said its been months which means I haven't had a real excuse to do nothing all day in a long time. Although I promise the lack of precipitation has not kept me from taking advantage of my idle time. However, its already near 7pm and I've browsed Pinterest, then facebook, then various different blogs and tumblrs, then I baked cookies, and then ate the cookies and that's about it. Yes I did all this in an 8 hour time span.

If Nick had been home I could pretend like we just got to hang out all day and nobody would think I was being lazy. But he's not home, however, we did hang out all day. Kind of.

This is why my computer is now 500 degrees.

Does anything look different about Nick? Like say, his face? Because its naked. Yup, those crazy oil drilling Canadians down in South Texas made him shave the beard. Don't worry though, it can grow back in about 24 hrs.

Even though he's getting paid to do nothing today he did miss out on these

Chocolate cookies with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I got the recipe from the back of the Reese's peanut butter baking chips package and then just added 1/2 the package plus 1/2 a package of chocolate chips. They're so yummy and chocolaty I may die. They're all  I've eaten today, plus an egg because I wanted to eat protein and pretend like I did something good for my body. I recommend eating them with a glass of milk, which is also really good for your body. Trust me I'm a nurse so therefore I know how to live a healthy lifestyle, obviously.

Don't worry though because tomorrow I'm climbing and working all night. I just had to take advantage of my opportunity to relax. Its not everyday that I get to sleep for 11 hours and then wake up and do nothing. Nope, that only happens 4 days a week.

Things I'm loving- Kindle and Willowdog edition

Wow I haven't written a post in over a week, oops. I had intentions of writing one this weekend, but it is rather difficult to find time when you are taking a safe driving course in order to avoid points on your drivers licence. Its also even more difficult when this course requires that you spend a certain amount of time on each page so that a total of 6 hours is spent completing it. Hypothetically speaking it would also make it even longer if you were to fail the test at the end of the longest section simply by not reading a question correctly, therefore forcing you to go back and redo the section. I, of course, would never put myself in such a situation and, consequently, would never end up staying awake until 3:30 am on a Saturday night to complete the course. Nope, not me. But that is neither here nor there.

Plenty of other things have been happening around here. Most of these things do not include interacting with real humans. Unless you consider attending to constant beeping IV pumps at work for 2 day straight an interaction. Trust me, its not. Its difficult to spend time with humans when you work all night and your
boyfriend has to live in South Texas for several weeks drilling oil and sucking up to obnoxious Canadians...don't ask. So without further ado here is my next post about some things I'm loving lately.

I always enjoyed reading but let's just say that my new toy has definitely "rekindled" my love for books. I love how nice it is to carry one small, lightweight item around instead of large bulky books whose covers often get destroyed in my purse or work bag. And when I'm out and about and I finish a book I can just order another one and be reading it almost instantly. This actually happened at work the other night, and I just searched for a new book during my lunch break and was reading it before I had even finished eating. The only downside is that it makes it super easy to spend money. I just download books and amazon automatically charges my account which makes it feel like nothing is happening until I see 3 5$-10$ charges on my card, but lets not talk about that. You can also lend many kindle books to other kindle users for 2 weeks which is a pretty cool feature. There are quite a few books that are lendable too. And while not all books are available on kindle there is a surprisingly good collection and everything is usually between 5$-10$ making it cheaper than buying the hard copy of the book. I just wish that the HP series were available : (

Another awesome feature is the screen, its so so easy to read and when I'm at work I dim the lights around my desk and I can actually still read in dim lighting. You can't read in the dark but it is a lot easier than reading an actual book and it looks very realistic.

Aside from the actual kindle itself I am also obsessed with my case. Its super cute and it stands up on its own which is awesome. Plus who doesn't love yellow flowers?

I'm thinking I'll put together a summer reading list of books I recommend and a few books that I plan to read.


I also realized that I never did a Willow birthday post. I'm such a bad parent. We didn't end up at the dog park but she did get some vegan peanut butter cookies shaped like squirrels, topped with peanut butter and peanut butter ice cream. Anyone want to guess what her all time favorite food is? Unfortunately I am a bad mom and did not get a picture of her devouring the treat, but trust me, she did, quite rapidly too. However, I do have a pic of the cookies 

The recipe is also really yummy if you are a human as well, its one of my all time favorite desserts to make. I would say Willow is a lucky dog for getting so many treats, but really I am the lucky one. She so much fun and always makes me smile. I absolutely love how crazy she is when I get home from work in the mornings, its so nice to come home to such a sweet, happy dog. I love her

Night Owl

I love kids, babies, puppies, pretty much anything cute, but what girl doesn't? So considering how much fun children can be it would seem that pediatric nursing would be the best job ever, right? How wonderful to spend 12 hours holding and feeding sweet little babies and actually getting paid for it. Fortunately there are nights where that is exactly what I do. However, I think people can often be confused when they think about what it takes to be a pedi nurse. For example there are the countless 13-17 year olds I care for who overdosed on tylenol, various antidepressants, benadryl, etc. There are also the 6 year olds who are diagnosed with borderline personality or bipolar disorder. Seriously, how is that possible? They’re only 6! And my personal favorite was my severely malnourished 15 year old, who was OCD, and compulsively did backbends and back flips, over, and over, and over. If you’re wondering, yes, it is really difficult to eat more and gain weight when you won’t stop doing back bends. 

As crazy as it gets sometimes I’m still so so happy to not have to care for adults. If had to deal with dementia patients or the absolute worst thing ever: bedpans (bleh) I think I would hate my job. I prefer my little people, thank you very much. Even if I sometimes have to stick needles in them at 4am and make them hate me : ( Its always worth it to go back into work and see a kid start getting better and actually start acting like a kid again, because that is, after all, the reason that I enjoy working with those little people.  

 And speaking of nursing here’s another thing people don’t realize; how much night shifts mess you up. Yes, I wake up around noon most days, and yes, most nights I go to sleep around 2am. My sleeping schedule is actually worse than when I was in college. I am not much of a real person, obviously. So what do I do to keep myself occupied when the rest of the world is sleeping?

Well there’s the internet, duh

There’s also baking

And more baking

And then eating what I baked

There's Netflix instant queue

Then, Workouts because I baked waaayyy too much

And the most recent addition (whenever it arrives) will be hundreds of new books at my finger tips, or so they say. 

Currently it is just after 2 am in Houston and I'm not tired, oops. Fortunately I have benadyl. Yeah, I know, I'm not really much of a role model nurse.