A quick update while sick...

I have been incredibly ill the last couple of weeks.  I am still far from 100% at this point but am beginning to feel better.  Due to the illness, I have not been cooking much and have been mainly eating foods that are quick.  I did make some roasted red pepper soup one of the days I was sick.

Cooking with Kaleigh; Part 15: BB-Que Portobello Sandwiches!

Kaleigh has been cooking in the kitchen with me regularly.  In fact, there was a day a week or so ago where she made an entire stir-fry herself.  She cut all the veggies, added the oil and even made the sauce.  She is really gaining a lot of confidence in her ability and I believe this video series is on of the catalysts.

Last night, since Ashley was working, we decided to make BB-Que Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches and roasted brussel sprouts.  Two of Kaleigh's favorite dishes.  She proposed making a new episode of Cooking with Kaleigh for the sandwiches.

I was excited to realize that I could use my new tri-pod and she was able to use her new cutlery.  I set the camera up and just let it roll, she took over!

When we finally sat down to eat, her sandwich was gone before I even got us waters.  She destroyed it.  She wanted another but sadly, there was not enough mushrooms.  I guess next time we will have to make more!

Wordless Wednesday

TexMex Pasta with Tofu

Breakfast Burrito

Alfredo Pasta

Days N Daze with Railyard Ghosts

Late last week, Ashley and I had the opportunity to go see a great folk-punk show.  There we several locals, including We Few that opened the show.  We Few doesn't play for long and a different iteration of the line-up each time I see them but they are always worth watching.

Rail Yard Ghosts really stole the show.  They have just more instruments and members than I thought and it makes for a great full sound.  The haunting hobo-esque old timey music was well complimented by their aggressive youthful angst.  They were a lot of fun to watch and listen too.

Lastly, Days N Daze nailed it.  I saw them about a year ago as well and they were just as good then.  The trumpet really adds some ska elements to their sound.  The misanthropic but fun energetic music had people in rolling chairs rolling through the room shouting their lyrics along with the band.  It was quite a sight and loads of fun.

Post Birthday Celebration!

I got a chance to use the deep fryer for the first time last night.  We decoded to make a variation of my seitan chickin nuggets along side some mashed potatoes and steamed brocolli.  The deep fryer was incredibly easy to use and efficient as just about anything I could have hope for.  It evenly fried the breaded seitan with great consistency and very little mess.

After dinner, Kaleigh gave me a belated birthday present.  She had ordered it but it took longer than expected to arrive.  I was very excited to find a pink salt brick!  We immediately put it in the freezer for ice cream after dinner.  It was a great post birthday evening.

I turned 34.

I celebrated my birthday this weekend.  I think it officially started on Friday evening when I declared, "I should not have to do the dishes on my birthday weekend", walked out of the room and someone else did the dishes!  We also had a great dinner that night.  Portabello mushrooms stuffed with spinach, onions, tomatoes, and garlic, with a side of huge brussel sprouts, and roasted fingerling potatoes and cauliflower.

The next evening, Ashley and I tried to go out to do dinner and a movie but both failed and we ended up making pizza at home and watching a dvd.  It worked out better that way, I generally prefer to stay in when I can.

Sunday, we headed for our first hike of the season.  Sweet Water Creek State Park.  I say it every year but this is really one of the best hikes in Georgia.  It was a really nice weekend day so there were quite a lot of folks hiking and we were short on time so we just hiked the shortest trail.  Kaleigh climbed her first big tree and we played on the rocks.

After the hike we headed to met the Atlanta family at Green Sprout for dinner and presents!  I got a (much needed) new baking sheet, an awesome tri-pod, and a camera bag to carry all of my lenses and new tri-pod.  Kaleigh even got me a stick as payback for the log I got her on her birthday!  We had a great time and I really appreciated everyone coming out.

Monday was my actual birthday and we had some homemade waffles for brunch.  Then we headed out to do some go-kart racing, rock climbing and arcade fun.  After a few hours we decided to get some take out from Green Sprout (again) and come home with a dvd and red velvet cake from Southern Sweets!

Ashley got me a potentially dangerous gift; a deep fryer.  Get ready to see the vegan deep fried foods fill up the posts!