Pancakes for One

I woke up this morning feeling particularly grouchy. It was 6:30 (way too early to be awake on Labor Day), there were skeet shooters spraying down my house with birdshot, I was still sick with a swine-flu-like virus, and I knew that my milk was not fresh, thus killing any chance of having a decent breakfast. As I was laying in bed, feeling sorry for myself, I started thinking about pancakes. I have had this craving for pancakes for the past couple of mornings, perhaps stirred by the fact that my mom used to make sure the family always had a really good breakfast to look forward to on our shared days off from work and school. I got on the internet, surfed around, and found this recipe for pancakes for one. No milk required. With a little editing, here it is.

Ashley's Pancakes for One:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons toasted wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons instant buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• Butter and maple syrup

Directions:

In a bowl, combine flour, dry buttermilk, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, beat egg; add water and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until the second side is golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. Makes about three thin pancakes.

I'm pretty sure the wheat germ makes them healthy, too!

Pan Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

During the summer, the Bible study group I meet with gets a little more relaxed, and whoever is hosting usually makes some kind of dinner for us to eat prior to studying our material. This week, Jake is hosting, and he is making pasta with two kinds of sauce. Well, I absolutely LOVE pasta. If you mention it, I will have to go eat some, and Jake mentioned it last Friday, which was a long time ago now! I made it until today, and then I had had HAD to make something with pasta. This recipe is from my mother (with my own twist on it), and it's really easy and delicious.

Pan Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

Penne Rigate

Olive oil

Two cloves garlic, crushed

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano

A handful of fresh spinach

Two fresh basil leaves, if you have them

2 Italian sausages, cooked how you like them and thinly sliced

Cook the penne according to the directions on the package. (I used 1/2 cup because it was only me eating tonight, and leftover pasta is not as good as fresh pasta.) While the penne is cooking, saute the crushed garlic in a splash of olive oil. When it gets relatively done, dump in the whole can of tomatoes. No need to worry about straining them. Cook this mixture over medium heat until the tomato liquid starts to form a sauce. At this point, shred in your fresh basil if you have it and stir the mixture around until the basil wilts a little. Turn off the heat, and shred the spinach into the mixture, stirring again until the spinach wilts. Toss the sauce with your cooked penne and sausage. Sprinkle on some parmesan for a tasty garnish. Enjoy!

When I decided to make this tonight, I only had frozen, uncooked sausage, so I decided to broil some in the oven as I lack a grill. Well, I started cooking the pasta and the sauce, opened the oven to check the sausage, and it was ON FIRE. I shut the door and just stood there for a minute, then had the presence of mind to turn the oven off and put a baking sheet over my fiery sausage.

I then had the following conversation with Christie via facebook chat:

me: so I definitely just lit a sausage on fire in my oven... go me

Christie: mmm i bet it will be so good tho

Because that's what friends are for.

The sausage was delicious. I highly recommend roasting it over an oven fire until thoroughly blackened.

Mmm!

Tasty Recipe

I'm leaving on a road trip to NH tomorrow, so I have been packing, planning, and running around all day today preparing. I did, however, take the time to make some cookie bars to bring on the road. One of my friends posted this recipe on facebook, which looked good to me, but needed some minor editing. (Peanut butter, raisins, and cinnamon applesauce? Not in my kitchen!) Here is my revised version:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup Bisquick (slightly rounded)
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup regular applesauce
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with whatever oil available; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, stir together baking mix and oats until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.

Press dough into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. (Mine took about 18.)

Cool completely before cutting into bars. (I skipped this step and ate one while they were still warm. Mmmm!)

Here is what they looked like:

I can only figure that these are healthy-- no butter, no added salt, and no processed sugar. They have a different taste than what you might expect, as the flavors of the honey and the applesauce really stand out, but it is a good taste! I will be wrapping the rest of them up in some waxed paper and stowing them away for the trip.

Musical Obsession: Regina Spektor

(Photo from npr.com)

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! NPR decided to post Regina Spektor's new album on their website for all to enjoy. Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105518205

The Rain, Rain, Rain Took My Baby (Chive Plants) Away

I got all excited because I thought I was actually going to have success at growing something from seeds, but after a surprise thunderstorm during the night on Friday, I awoke to find that my chive plants had taken a steep plunge off the side of my porch. (Apparently they realized they were in my care and committed "chive-icide.") I thought all was lost, but then this morning, when I decided to clean up the carnage and start over, I saw this:

Somehow, despite the fact that over 75% of the soil fell out of the pot, the chives hung on. They are brave plants to continue to remain in my care... I plan to add more soil to them later, and vow to move them closer to the house when it storms from now on!

Do-it-yourself: Air Conditioner Repair

I recently moved into an old house that does not have central heating and cooling. Instead, it employs two window units to chill the place down, which usually works out alright as it is not a very big house. The a/c unit in the bedroom is a Whirlpool brand relic. I initially doubted its cooling capacity, but that thing has been an absolute air conditioning beast, chilling my bedroom down to temperatures that normally only occur in places like Siberia and the Upper Peninsula so that I may snuggle up under as many layers of blankets as I like, even when the MS weather is 90 degrees overnight.

However, in the past week or so, I have been noticing that the unit has been making some funny noises, almost like the fan was trying to chew something up. I did not think it was terribly abnormal, but it did seem strange to me that the noises only occurred in the morning, after the unit had been running all night. This morning I finally took a look at it, and this is what I saw:

That would be ice, people. Lots and lots of ice. There is only one cure for an ailment such as this one, and that is to defrost the unit. This can take up to 36 hours depending on the temperature of your house / outdoors, how much ice there is, etc. I decided to take the Ashley approach, which is always to agitate the situation in order to speed it up.

I'm pretty sure this goes against every electrical safety thing I have ever learned, but oh well. It is working, and I haven't lit anything on fire. Yet. It is really hot in here, though. (And I know, it's really messy in my house, but I just moved, which I think is a worthy excuse.)

That cup fills up about every 15 minutes, and I've been defrosting for about three hours, which should tell you how much water is coming off the thing. At least it's draining outside, not inside like I expected it to! 

Once this thing is ice-free and dry, I'll have to take a look to figure out what is causing the ice to form. It could be something as simple as a blockage in the airflow, which I can just adjust, or it might be that the unit needs to be recharged, in which case I will be calling the landlord!

In other, better news, my chive plants are growing! I actually planted something that grew! I had a couple of starter kits,

which came from Target c/o Jake, but I have a particularly brown thumb and can't usually keep my plants alive for longer than it takes to get them from the store to my house.

But there it is-- growth! There are actually two little chive plants growing. Hopefully they don't figure out that they're in my care and decide to kick the bucket.

To update on the a/c situation-- it appears the problem is a severely nastified filter. I plan to clean it off and let the fan run for a while to get it all dried out. Hopefully I can get it running properly before nightfall!

Midnight Cravings

It is the middle of the night and I am jonesing for some chocolate. I searched relentlessly through pages and pages of recipes on the internet, each one as unsuccessful as the last. Most of them take too long to satisfy my impatient appetite, but then I remembered this one, which my friend Joel sent me a few months back. It would be great except for the fact that I have no microwave and don't have a clue as to what temperature my oven is actually heating (not that the recipe says how to make it in the oven, but I'm open to a little experimentation). The reason why I have no microwave is due to a recent move, and I have been having a daily microwave vs. vacuum cleaner debate. I need both, but have only money enough for one, and I'm thinking that quick-midnight-chocolate-cake-recipe almost weighs out dead-bug-and-dog-hair-sucker-upper. Anyway. I then rummaged through the cabinets to check out all my ingredients, briefly debating making tapioca pudding before deciding that that is just the gross and desperate result of a tormented, snacky mind. After consuming a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I decided to make the chocolate cake recipe after all. Then I realized I have no idea where the dish I would bake it in has gotten to. So I ate another handful of chocolate chips and some coconut flakes, wrote this blog, and am now going to bed. Tasks for tomorrow include finding the baking dish and purchasing a microwave... maybe. I will probably just try the oven experiment.

Product Review #1: The Dark Roast is Yum

I absolutely cannot make it through the morning, at least not with the appearance of being any sort of human life form, without a cup of coffee. I'm pretty picky about the selection of my caffeinated beverage-- only certain brands are acceptable, and I like to grind the beans myself. I usually like to drink Dunkin' Donuts tasty blend, but here in MS the Double-D's are pretty difficult to come by (the stuff they sell in the grocery store is produced by Proctor & Gamble, so it's not "real," unfortunately). 

About two weeks ago, I ran out of my DD beans, so I switched back to the old standard, Community Coffee Medium Roast beans. They are a close second to the DD's, and waaaaaay more palatable than Folger's or anything else you can buy for a reasonable price at Kroger. Yesterday, I finished off my Community beans, and headed out to Kroger to buy some more. Much to my chagrin, Kroger had put the beans on sale, and the only bag left was Dark roast. Dark roast?! Noooo!! How am I supposed to drink dark roast in the a-m? Price speaks louder than any other variable, though, and when I compared the $4.99 beans to a lovely $10.79 bag of Starbucks, the Community beans won out. Well, I am sitting here now enjoying the most delicious cup of coffee I have had lately. The dark roast is not so bad!

On a side note, a DD's just opened about 30 minutes from my house, so I will be going there tomorrow to stock up. Nothing will ever beat out the DD's!

The Hunt

Although I have found gainful employment making old ladies believe that no shoes will love their feet like the shoes at my store, I do not feel that shoe sales will be a fulfilling job forever, so I have been busily hunting for another job. I am a licensed teacher, so it would make sense for me to find a teaching job. I'm having a lot of fun filling out tons of paperwork, and occasionally I find something excellent, like this recommendation form for one of the counties with which I am applying:

2. Check any traits below which characterize the applicant:
__Nervous
__Tense
__Discouraged
__Depressed
__Irritated
__Critical of others
__Argumentative
__Impatient
__Intolerant
__Domineering
__Sullen
__"Cocky"
__Easily embarrassed
__Frequently worried
__Prejudiced toward race or nationalities
__Lacks humor

(Later on the form...)

3. Is there any reason this person should not be considered? ____________________

So... any check marks in question 2 should probably answer question 3, right? Or is question 3 just in case my references haven't already said enough bad things about me? Just saying.

Musical Obsession: Azure Ray

Please enjoy the musical stylings of Azure Ray.

Musical Obsession

Needtobreathe.

Encouraging music for a change. Enjoy

Buy my stuff, y'all

You know you want to. Check out my etsy.com store, featuring some awesome knitted cards... as can be seen below.




Also, I got a job. Gainful employment!

Unemployment Blues

So here I am, back in MS after the holidays with noooo job. I had an idea in my head that perhaps one of the jobs I applied for before I took a month vacation would pull through, but that was not the case. Silly me for thinking that a Master's degree would be the answer to my employment problems! In any case, I've been back in the south for three full days so far (working on the fourth as I type), and I've spent those three days trying to find gainful employment. (Read : I have not applied at the strip joint. Yet. Nor do I hope to have to.) What follows is a step-by-step chronicle of my employment search so far.

Step 1: Do some laundry. Because, you know, if you're going to get a job, you won't have as much time for that anymore, right? Right. Laundry done. Interview-ready outfits clean. That was Monday.

Step 2: Drive to Columbus to use the internet because Tom, the guy who manages YOUR internet, decided to mess it all up and then not answer your e-mails. Thanks, Tom. Spend the day searching frantically through anything that looks like you could do it (waitress, census worker, babysitter? um, no thanks) and compile what feels like a mostly complete list of potential employment. Breathe a sigh of relief, which is followed shortly by a migraine that lasts all afternoon and puts a stop to your application process. That was Tuesday.

Step 3: Go through the entire list and figure out what you will need to do in order to apply for these jobs. Then, start doing those things.

Step 4: Resign yourself to the fact that you might actually have to use your degree. When I got my Bachelor's degree, I had just finished up sixteen weeks of student teaching hell, and so decided not to ever become licensed to teach in the state of MS. Bad decision! A year and a half later, I am shuffling through old paperwork and making trips to campus in order to complete the licensure application packet so that I can hopefully make some money. Steps 3 and 4 were Wednesday.

Step 5: Return to Columbus to use the internet, because Tom is still a biznatch. Tom, if you're reading this, FIX THE DAMN INTERNET. I don't pay you $25 a month for nothing. Hey... maybe I could have Tom's job! Anyway. Step 5 is now, Thursday, and I just finished applying for a sweet secretarial job that I found. The next step is to go take a timed typing test, which should be pretty easy to pass seeing as how I grew up in the age of IM. Then I'm going to apply to Lowe's. And the strip joint. Just kidding.