Missed the deadline, Missed the enjoyable taste

November 2008, my dear friend Courtney created a calendar full of beautiful flower photos that she had taken as a small token for a very well known Columbus based company as a hopeful mini-gift as a follow-up to an interview with the company which she had recently completed for a studio photographer. This calendar was so stunning, that I had ordered a calendar for myself to hang at my desk at work; and proceeded to order others for family members for Christmas. The calendar received so many compliments from people that I work with, and really caught great attention of others - her and I decided together to try to make a 2010 calendar with a little different flavor - Desserts. I love baking, she loves taking pictures - it's the perfect combination for a great masterpiece!

Unfortunately, the craziness of live got in the way and being mid-January it is still not completed and we only have 3 pictures completed. Oops! Since it's still down the road, we decided now to just take our time in getting the pictures taken through the year and have it up and running for 2011.

This past Saturday, we met up at my parents house to create a cake that we could use for one of our months. She came prepared with the cookbook, and I arrived prepared to use all of my Mom's ingredients and rummage through her fridge to save money from my checking account. (Thanks, Mom!) We found this cake:

White Chocolate Cake

Looks good, right? A cake split in two pieces with some type of white chocolate custard in the middle with shaved white chocolate on top. (Drooling...)

After a quick run to the store, we are prepared to make the cake! Melt the chocolate, break the eggs, add the sugar, grease the pan, etc. etc. etc.

The batter does NOT look right at this point, but my Mom assures us that everything is fine and to put it in the oven and see how it turns out. My Mom is one of the most amazing bakers I've ever met in my life, so I trust her.

...20 minutes later...

What in the heck is this thing?! Yep - that's our cake. This is the cake that came out of the oven. It looks nothing like what we had planned. It looks nothing like the picture in the recipe book. Quite frankly, it looks like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. If you knock on those little humps, they are hard as a rock. Okay - it's weird, right? Wait, you haven't seen weird yet...

The bubbles on top, they introverted and the bottom of this "cake" has dents. See that big rip out of the side? That's the part that we ripped off to test the final product which was the consistency of a cracker. Don't believe me on being thin and crisp as a cracker - you will now!

Final Verdict:

Don't ask for this recipe, you won't like it and I am pretty sure that the publisher of this book should be forced to eat this "thing," after I toss it like a frisbee to them to enjoy!

**Looks like we're still on the hunt for 9 more desserts to complete the final project.It's a good thing we've decided to wait to debut until 2011, we clearly need more time!

Stealing mail is okay... just sometimes!

In keeping with my promise; I thought I'd post my first recipe of my "Healthy Year." My friends: I do make a promise to you as well that my blog will not turn into one big cookbook and only post recipes. I will only post those worth sharing; but I cannot promise that they will always be healthy. We all know I'm heavy into baking and if I decide to make something for work and it is a good choice - I might share those too! I'll post funny/serious/heartfelt blogs too, don't worry!

This is a very simple recipe - so simple that my sister made it for us for dinner tonight. Now, let me say - I would helped with cooking it and I am not lazy. My job was to pick up the tortillas from the store through the blizzard on the way home; followed by scraping ice off my car and her car so they were ready for the journey to work in the morning. So, while she cooked; I cleaned the cars. (Just wanted you guys to know I wasn't lazy and just not pulling my weight around here!)

My Mom had received a free issue of Cooking Light, and I promptly stole it from her mailbox. Oops! How'd it end up in my apartment?! Weird! This was a recipe that was in the January/February issue. I cannot take all the credit; and it is not an original that I just whipped up.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
• 6 (10-inch) reduced-fat flour tortillas (such as Mission)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 6 tablespoons light sour cream

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

2. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Enjoy!! Tell me what you think if you make it!! One a scale of 1-10, what would you rate this?

Dream Jeans

2006 was a very important year! I can count various things that happened within the year.

• I graduated from Ohio State with a Humanities degree.
• I started working at Cardinal Health.
• I moved in with a roommate, to move right back out back home due to personal life differences.
• I had a fight with one of my best friends, but made up pretty quick because we both realized that we cherished our friendship WAY too much to not speak any longer.
  
• I met a fantastic co-worker named Jen, who I got along with SO well and we always had a great time during interview days.
• I went shopping with my pal, Jen and bought these...
  

*My Dream Jeans*

Walking around Tuttle Mall, I ended up in one of my favorite stores - Banana Republic. I remember buying a pair of work pants during this trip - which the seamstress I took them too hemmed them too short and I could only wear them with flats. I also found these jeans on the sale rack. At the time, they were too small. I knew I was eating better during that time and knew that soon I could fit into these jeans soon if I bought them.

Fast forward to January 2010 - I've just almost fit into these pants prior to my gall bladder surgery and past that, the diet went straight down hill from there! I've used the past few months as a time to test the waters and if foods that would cause pain before was actually something I could eat now. Good news is: I can eat almost anything and the experiment now needs to end and I need to focus back on eating good again.

January 4th, 2010: Good bye Taco Bell, Good bye Pizza Hut & Good bye Raising Cane's. I am bound and determined that 2010 will be the year that I finally fit into my dream jeans! You can still see that tag coming from the pants... these pants are now visible and are hanging in my bathroom at all times to remind myself of my goal.To keep me honest, I am going to start blogging some great healthy recipes that I come across and cook. I will share them with my friends and family and hope that you all enjoy my upcoming recipes!

364 Days to go...

It is official, I am officially less than 1 year away from being 30 years old. It absolutely amazes me in every aspect to think that I have been on this earth for almost 30 years. I have so much to be thankful for; and continue to cherish the life that I have.

Within the past 29 years, I have learned great things in life that will remain with me forever. Things such as:

1.) Your family will be your largest supporter in life. No matter how many times my sister and I may have said we "hated" one another growing up, she is truly now my best friend. All of those fights that my parents and I had through the years, none of those fights matter anymore. I may have not been the greatest of students with the best of grades, but the life lessons that they taught me through those tough times have made me a dedicated worker, a supportive friend and provided me the idea not to be selfish.

2.) Friends may come and go, but there are a handful that will always like you for who you are. I've had some friends come and go through the years, whether it was a friendship spat or an instance of just growing apart. It's sad that those friendships ended, but there are also times that they ended for a reason. Those people I have in my life at this moment mean the world to me; and they like me for who I am. For these friends; I will never have to be someone who I am not. Whether they are local or long distance: I cherish every moment with them.

3.) Life your life to the fullest, everyday of your life. I have been given a pretty good life, and was fortunate enough to be provided with great memories. I have memories of vacations, family drives, spending the Holidays with family (which wasn't often growing up since majority of my family live in Seattle and we lived in Sacramento/Columbus), or just spending an hour with my Mom grocery shopping - I will remember them all. Because of the exposure to so many great things; it has opened my eyes to the fact I want to do and see everything! Obviously, it will be a challenge - but this will allow me always to have fun, and do what I need to do to make my life positive.

4.) Crying is okay; and always acceptable. Being a girl, I consider myself a pretty emotional person. However, I am not the emotional person who is full of rage and fits. My emotional side truly is a sensitive side. I like watching sappy movies. I like listening to love songs. I love watching the happy ending to a tv show where family members are reunited or when people have taken the plunge to lose 200+lbs. I love these tears!

5.) I have two hometowns: Seattle & Columbus. I often get the question where I am from. It's a hard question really - because I have so many great memories in two states. Born in Seattle, with my family all residing there with a handful of childhood friends, I call this home. Spending 14 years in Columbus, with another set of friends and great memories - this is also home. I often consider moving back to Seattle, and truly think about this everyday. I miss my family. I miss my friends. What would a life be if I moved back West?

In 364 days, I will be 30 years old and will continue to carry these traits that have made me who I am today. I thank my family, my friends and even those not in my life anymore for providing me with the chances to make me who I am today. I am proud of who I am. I am proud of some challenges which I have overcome. I am proud of the professional career I have created and the path I am headed down. I am proud to say that I am a very happy person with the life that I have and look forward to see what lays for me ahead.