Cupcakes!

I've been trying some new things lately...NOT WATCHING TV. Or at least trying not to. Man, it's tough. I've been trying to bake more, knit more, and kiss Brobee and Toluca more. (ok, maybe not so much that. I think they get enough love.)  Here are some photos of my latest culinary accomplishments:

Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

And of course one of my little man!

Ready for Fall

Although I have to say this summer was a total bust, I'm ready for fall. It seems like we went to 40 weddings and showers, were working, and when I did get an occasional half day off on Friday, it was raining. Oh, and raining on the weekends, too. So let's just move on to fall. 

Kris got me a Kitchenaid mixer for my birthday, and I've been crazy about using it. I can't wait for the next few months to allow me to make pumpkin breads, pumpkin cookies, and pretty much anything pumpkin. Not to mention Brobee loves pumpkin. He's excited for fall, too.

But why is it every single season, I'm always ready for the next season? I seriously need to live in the moment for once. When it's winter, I'm ready for spring. When it's summer, I'm ready for fall. When it's fall, I start getting excited about Christmas time. 

Why can't the year just be 5 months of summer, 5 months of fall, and 2 months of winter?

Meet Mike!

Meet Mike Dillinger! 

New Garden!

Got the garden put in finally! We planted 2 tomatoes, 2 green peppers, 4 jalapenos, a batch of onions, a ton of rosemary, parsley, some oregano, basil, and 2 rows of strawberry plants! And of course, Catmint...not sure if Catmint is the same as Catnip...but that's all they had at the store...so I picked it up. 

Our Garden!

Hopefully they grow fast so it's not all dirt!

Me planting the green peppers.

Planting stuff again.

My gardening helper and I.

Front lawn...finally

So big lips FINALLY came to finish the lawn. He ended up not putting pachysandra in, and ivy instead. It looks a little bare now, but hopefully according to him, these shrubs will end up spreading to most of the garden bed. And I'll still have room to put some of my own perennials.

Shot of the front lawn, where the ivy will start covering the ground.

Our azalea

The weeping cherry, and a few flowers on the bottom

Toluca was exhausted from all her work that day.

Daddy's Boy

These photos are from the night before we left for the cruise. Kris was sleeping on the couch and Brobee just didn't understand why he didn't want to love him at the current moment. Ever heard of personal space, Brobee? Not everybody loves a big furry ass sitting on their face.

Salsa is not my thing

So while Kris was watching the Pens game, I really really wanted some homemade salsa. I had tried a recipe that a friend had made which was amazing...but I never got it half as good as hers. The recipe calls for two jalapeno peppers, with all the seeds. I tried it two times before and never got it right. First time was too boring, and the second time was too hot. 

Here's a photo of what I came up with this time:

So after two unsuccessful tries, I thought the third time would be a charm. I would get two jalapenos, and seed the largest one, and keep the other half for some spice. It is STILL TOO SPICY. I was dying last night. Even Kris thought it was too spicy! 

Then, to make matters worse, I managed to get some jalapeno on the front and up inside my nose. It burned so bad so I sat watching the game with an ice cube up my nose. I endeded up looking for home remedies for jalapeno burn online, and found that milk is supposed to help. So I ended up putting a milk-soaked paper towel up my nose for another hour. It finally went away. Then genius me stuck my finger in my eye. Then, it somehow worked its way under my fingernail...it is still burning as I type this. Lesson learned...the next time I make salsa, I'm wearing gloves!  The recipe is below though...Next time, I'm only using a quarter of one jalapeno's seeds...

Ingredients

• 2 fresh jalapeño chiles (or 4 fresh serranos, 1 or 2 habaneros or practically any fresh chiles)
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• ½ cup white onion, finely chopped
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire-roasted
• 1/3 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
• A teaspoon of fresh lime juice or cider vinegar (optional)
• Salt

Procedure

1. Set a small skillet over medium heat. Lay the chiles and garlic in the skillet and dry-roast until soft and blotchy black in spots, about 15 minutes for the garlic, about 10 minutes for the chile. While the chiles and garlic are roasting, scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water and pour into a medium bowl.
2. Pull the stems off the roasted chiles and peel the papery skins off the garlic. Scoop them into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the tomatoes with their juice, re-cover and pulse a few more times until the mixture is as coarse or smooth as you want your salsa to be.
3. Pour the tomato mixture in with the onion. Add the cilantro, stir thoroughly. Thin with a little water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Taste and season with the lime juice or vinegar and salt, usually about ½ teaspoon. If not using within an hour or two, cover and refrigerate. If you're not planning to use the salsa within a few hours, wait until you're ready to serve to add the onions and cilantro.