moving on up!

I know this is unexpected… but the blog has moved! (Trust me, it is a month early and unexpected for me too!)

The domain expired and because of some confusion with renewal with WordPress it expired a month early. I’ve been planning on starting a new blog lately, one that is slightly less formal and more broad in topic, so while this may seem a little abrupt, it has been a long time coming.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my recipes and musings so far and that you will continue to read what I have to say over at my new blog, A girl named Meredith asks…

Thank you all for your support! I hope you check out my new site and help me make it into something wonderful.

The Versatile Blogger Award

Big thanks to my friend Hayley for passing the The Versatile Blogger Award down to me! She’s a great person who I’ve known since college (freshman year?) and we always ran in the same random social circles. She is also super crafty and witty and you will like her!

Here are the rules:

• Nominate 10-15 fellow bloggers
• Inform the bloggers of their nomination
• Share 7 random things about yourself
• Thank the blogger who nominated you (that’s right, suck up to me)
• Add the VBA picture/badge to your blog posts:

Without further ado, here are my nominations: Cely, Carla, Ben (another college friend), Angry Runner, Rachel, Alicia, Bess, Laura, Kendra, and Sarah (another college friend!)… Some I know in person, some I know via other blog projects, some I babysit for, and some I just find hysterical and blog-stalk.

7 things about me you may or may not know (and may or may not want to know):

1. This summer, when Rahul moved to DC, I started teaching myself Hindi. You’d be surprised what you can find on the Internet for free! And being the total language nerd that I am (I speak 3 foreign languages — Spanish, French, and Portuguese), I got really excited for verb conjugations. Once I learned enough and practiced the script, I wrote Rahul a short letter as a surprise! He was pretty impressed.

2. The following situations give me incredible anxiety: the dentist, taking off and landing in a plane, stepping onto an escalator, the parking lot at the Austin Whole Foods, and using Saran wrap.

3. For several years, I was convinced that the lyrics of TLC’s “Waterfalls” song went something like this… “Don’t go, Jason Waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.” Jason Waterfalls. Recently, Rahul & I discovered we both misunderstood the lyric as Jason Waterfalls in our youths! I thought this was common so I asked some friends and they think that we’re absolutely stupid for thinking that. I guess that makes it true love?

4. I need to eat breakfast almost immediately when I wake up, and have been this way ever since I was a baby. There is an old family joke about how one of my first words was “braffix” which I would scream from my crib until I was fed. I’m still pretty unintelligible within the first hour of the day if I don’t eat, even if it is just a piece of fruit.

5. I love pickles. Love, love, love them. I have a giant jar of dill spears in my fridge right now… a flavor I’ve only recently started to like. Bread and butter will always and forever be my true pickle love.

6. I’m up to 9.5 miles in my half marathon training (group run). I’ve already developed a really attractive dance to “Pumped Up Kicks” that I like to do when I run. I also have one that I do for “Fly Like Paper, Get High Like Planes” that was developed with my friend Megan while cruising the streets of Richmond in college on the prowl for men Thai food.

7. I am terrible (TERRIBLE) at video games! I have zero hand-eye coordination and I get really frustrated in high-anxiety situations. I make my brother beat all the bosses in games and I just make my character frolic around collecting money and slashing grass with swords.

so good, they’ll disappear

Yesterday, I really needed to bake something. In addition to a 4-day-long rain storm (which caused my roof to leak into my apartment) and it being finals week for my graduate program, I found out my brother’s deployment to Afghanistan was being moved up by a week. He’s leaving tomorrow, not the 15th. Like I said, I needed to bake something.

And what does any other emotionally (un)stable woman in her 20′s do when in need of cookies? Why, she bakes ninjabread men and constructs battle scenes on her dining room table while eating their heads.

Normal, right?

(FYI, these epic ninjabread men cookie cutters were a gift for Rahul and he handed them down to me for my own enjoyment. But you can find them here!)

Ninjabread Men (Gingerbread cookies) — makes 24-36 cookies
1 egg
3/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 3/4 cup white flour
In a mixing bowl, combine softened butter, egg, brown sugar, and molasses. When well combined, add in the spices, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Slowly beat in the flour until a thick dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until chilled and firm. (I divided the dough in 2 and froze the other half to use later). When dough has been chilling for at least 1 hour, preheat the oven to 375*. Roll out the dough on a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin and use cookie cutters to cut into desired shape. Bake for 10 minutes for softer cookies, 12 for crispier cookies. Decorate as desired.

my love affair with Hill Country

Back in September, Mary and I headed into the heart of Hill Country (west of Austin) to see the scenery, eat the barbecue, and taste the wine, so I knew what to expect when I rolled into town with my mom. We have been staying at a quaint, country bed & breakfast out here and we’ve certainly enjoyed the pace of things here as a relaxing alternative to San Antonio. The views are spectacular, the wine is delicious, and the livestock like to lick me. Yes friends, I feel an overwhelming urge to drop out of graduate school and move here.

Because of my deep love for this area, I’ve compiled my version of a visitor’s guide. While in Hill Country, please proceed as follows:

Find a hammock. Stat. Then sit it in for an afternoon and just listen to the leaves rustle in the wind.

Grab a local beer at the Fredericksburg Brewing Co. And be sure to try the bratwurst.

Flirt with a random Argentine winemaker who now lives in Texas. It will get you winks, flushed cheeks, and a personalized bottle of wine. (Note: this works best if, like me, you actually speak Spanish and have lived in Argentina so you have random facts with which to impress said Argentine man.)

Then eat a salted caramel, which will inevitably change your life.

Ignore all warning signs asking you not to touch/pet the livestock and proceed to make several new best friends. I named this one Pemberly.

And, at last, marvel at the big sky and the endless beauty of Texas.

Now, mama and I are back from the Hill Country and spending our last day together before she flies out Thursday and I cry my eyes out.

Perhaps I’ll be back with a recipe on Friday. Special requests?

Davy Crockett and carbohydrates

Mama and I are currently snuggled up on the couch in our bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg, deep into a bottle of wine (story behind the wine to come) and I thought I’d share a few pictures of our time in San Antonio! We remembered the Alamo, ate far too much, and enjoyed a margarita or three. I’m having a great vacation, so far!

Plenty of drinks were consumed (Lent doesn’t count on my Spring Break, y’all) and plenty of walks were taken on the Riverwalk. I loved San Antonio but we’re definitely happy to have a couple relaxing day in the countryside before my mom leaves me. I’ll be back with more tales later this week!

my Lenten promise

Are y’all participating in Lent this year? Now, I don’t think that the concept of a Lenten promise is singular to those who go to church. On the contrary, I think that everyone can participate in certain aspects of Lent.

The official idea behind a Lenten promise is to spend 40 days of almsgiving, repentance, and self-denial to grow in your faith and spirituality. Most people are familiar with the self-denial part, as you probably know people who have given up junkfood, sweets, or meat for Lent. In the past I’ve given up coffee, sweets, and carbs (not all at the same time, but all equally disastrous). But this isn’t necessarily a spirtual practice! I think that knowingly eliminating something that unnecessarily takes up your time and money can be a great thing for everyone.

This year, I’m choosing to eliminate alcohol for Lent, with the exception of a wine tasting I have planned with my mom next week.

Aside from the increase in spiritual time, I’m choosing to give up alcohol because I realized how much time, money, and calories I waste going to happy hour with friends or having a few beers with dinner on a Saturday night. I feel that, once Lent is over, I will hopefully be more mindful of that in the future when I go out with friends.

But what everyone forgets is that in addition to giving something up, you can also take something on in your life to improve it in some way. In addition to eliminating alcohol, I am taking on financial responsibility. That’s a pretty umbrella term, but let’s just say that I’m trying to pay closer attention to where my money goes and how much extra I have to put in savings instead of wasting.

So far, I’ve opened up a Money Market savings account and created a budget spread sheet. I’m going for the big time, y’all. I’m going to figure out how much I spend on groceries, entertainment, restaurants, and really get responsible about my savings. I already feel so adult and empowered!

So religion aside, is anyone considering giving up a vice or taking on a challenge? It doesn’t have to be food! I know people giving up mean, judgmental thoughts. And my friend Emilie is taking on writing meaningful letters to special people in her life.

breakfast goodies giveaway!

Today I got up on the right side of the bed. Ever since, I’ve been in an incredibly amazing, ridiculously giddy mood. I’m not sure if it is because I’m finally feeling human again after the flu, or because today is Texas’s 175th birthday, or because I’ve recently increased my consumption of green vegetables, or because the birds are chirping and the high is above 75* for the 10th day in a row…

But I am in a wonderful mood today. Winter tends to get me down with all the depressing happenings of my life. And school and family issues haven’t been making it easier. But I woke up, rolled out of bed, and decided that I better get on with things or I’m going to be in a pretty sad state of existence for the rest of forever.

So we should celebrate this. I’m giving away a little care package of breakfast goodies (who knows what will be inside it… I still don’t) to one of my readers! Hopefully the recipient will wake up, eat these goodies, and be in an equally exquisite mood. Simply head on over to my Facebook site, become my fan, and answer the question on my status for your chance to win! Contest closes at midnight central time on Thursday and I’ll announce the winner on Friday!

The food porn above is brought to you by: Mini Mocha Scones, Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Buns, and Plain Bagels.

**Open to residents of the continental US only. Sorry Canada, Hawaii, and Sarah Palin.**

10 things I hate about food

Over the past few days, I had the flu. At one point my temperature reached 103* and I dreamed I was a member of the cast of “Footloose”. I was tired, coughing, and stayed in my pajamas from Thursday night – Sunday afternoon. No cooking was accomplished.

In my feverish, influenza-induced crankypants state, I compiled a list of food-related hates. Sometimes these things make me want to attack things with knives. Please enjoy.

1. I hate food mold. I would rather throw away perfectly good Tupperware than rinse the moldy food out of it.

2. I hate wasabi. No, not even on sushi, so don’t ask.

3. I hate lamb. Rather, I’ve never even eaten lamb because the smell of lamb makes me sick. During Easter one year at my aunt’s I had to duck out to the back porch for air while they were carving the lamb. I would probably like it, but I hate the smell too much.

4. I hate cutting squash. It hurts my hands and I won’t put up with it.

5. I hate celery. But we’ve already discussed this.

6. I hate orange juice with pulp. Under no circumstances will I drink pulpy orange juice. My mom used to buy 2 cartons of OJ for me and my brother. He likes extra pulp. He’s a butthead.

7. I used to hate mushrooms. They’re slowly growing on me (pun intended).

8. I hate stuffed meat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: stuffing meat is not natural.

9. I hate marshmallows that aren’t burnt. If you don’t burn your marshmallows, I think you’re disgusting. (Just kidding. Kind of.)

10. I hate all flavors of Jell-O except green/lime. There’s no commentary to add here.

nerd alert

If you were unsure before, the following information will be definitive proof of my true and very profound inner nerd. Let’s press on.

You might know that I’m in graduate school. What you might not know is that my degree will be in Hispanic Literature. Some people think that means I’m a nerd because I read books, poetry, and critical essays all the days of my life. Some people think I’m even more of a nerd because I read them in a language that is not my native tongue.

I’d like to discuss my favorite book of all time with y’all: Cien años de soledad (100 Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez.

Written by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, this is the story of José Arcadio Buendía and his wife Úrsula who found a fictitious town (Macondo) which is a metaphor for Colombia. The town actually makes an appearance in several other works by García Márquez. It spans several generations and most editions come with a large family tree to keep readers from being totally confused. The characters are incredible. There’s war, sex, magic, ghosts, family, adventure, and love. I love the symbolism, metaphors, and major themes. I love the author’s ability to tell the story, even though the plot is non-linear. This novel is one of the best examples of magic realism, a style highly representative of modern Latin American literature. When I grow up and become the matriarch of a big family, I’m modeling myself on Úrsula Buendía. I can’t think of a single thing about this book that I don’t like.

Have you heard of Love in the Time of Cholera? Same author.

I certainly don’t think a single one of my readers is stupid, but people tend to avoid “real literature” or “heavy literature” because they think it is too hard to read or too deep. But please, if you are looking for something to read, go for this one. Trust me. And I promise you can find it in English.

What book brings out your inner nerd?

send help

No, I’m not stuck under a mountain of bagels. Nor have I dropped my BlackBerry in butter (again).

I need your help because I want to know what kinds things y’all want me to write about! I have about 2 recipes ready for publication, but other than that I’ve worked through my backlog. I want to know what y’all want me to write about! How to’s? Recipes? More single gal surival strategy?

Send help soon. Wine & cookbooks are not helping the situation.