Epicurean Exploits

This week, Karis and I made two new things, at least new to our house: Sloppy Joes and Scones.

My first scone, or the first I can remember, came about 1 year ago, when Karis and I spent Christmas in NYC with Karis' parents. We were at a little cafe underneath the UN, and I had a very hard time ordering a chocolate chip scone (because I didn't know what it was called):

Me: Do you have any chocolate chip muffins?
Cafe Worker: No, only blueberry.
Me (seeing a chocolate chip scone): Oh, can I have that chocolate chip thing right there?
Cafe Worker: No chocolate chip, only blueberry.
Me: But what about that, isn't that chocolate chip?
Cafe Worker: No chocolate chip! Only blueberry!
Karis: Oh, he means the scone, can he have a scone?
Cafe Worker: Scone? Here is scone.
Karis: No, not that one, the chocolate chip one.
Cafe Worker: No chocolate chip!
Karis and I together: It's right there!
Cafe Worker: Oh... here.

That's basically the story, except it took 5 minutes longer.

But anyway, Karis made scones using a recipe from Epicurious (Chocolate Chip-Toffee Scones, but we just made Chocolate Chip ones).

We were also inspired to make Sloppy Joes, I used part of 2 different recipes (Epicurious and Betty Crocker) but then also changed and add things on my own - mainly due to our lack of Worcestershire sauce:
Heat 2 Tbls Olive Oil (on medium high)
Add 1/2 cup chopped Onion
Add 2 chopped celery stalks
Add 1/2 green bell pepper
Add 1 jalapeno pepper
Add a lot of minced garlic (maybe 6-8 cloves)
Add 1 lbs ground beef
After brown add 1 cup ketchup
1 tsp Crystal Hot Sauce (my favorite)
1 tsp soy sauce
a dash of apple cider vinegar
a pinch of ground clove
Salt and pepper to taste
Served on potato rolls, makes about 6 Joes.

By adding the veggies in that order, they all had just enough time to cook and soften without getting mushy (ie. add olive oil, then start to chop onion, oil will be ready by the time you're done chopping, add onion then start chopping celery, etc...). The recipes I looked at said to let it all cook together and soften more after everything was added for another 15 minutes or so, I skipped that and it turned out great - it was nice to have a little bit of textural differences.

The last three ingredients (besides s&p), and extra garlic, were to substitute for the Worcestershire sauce, but the Joes were so flavorful, I think I'd do it the same way every time.

Long time no cook.

So we've lost our internet (neighbors moved) and have been very busy, but tonight we had a dinner I have to write about:

Jamaican Jerk Pork (from a Cooking Light: Grilling)

2 cups green onion (omitted)

1/2 cup chopped onion (omitted)

2 Tbls White Vinegar (used Apple Cider Vinegar)

1 Tbls Soy Sauce

1 Tbls Canola Oil (used Olive Oil)

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp freshly grated ginger (used powdered)

1 tsp allspice (used ground clove)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 cloves of minced garlic

1-4 habenero peppers (used powdered cayenne)

1 pork tenderloin (used pork chops)

We halved the recipe, did a quick marinade, threw it on the grill and served with white rice.

It was excellent.

August Rush

Summer has come and gone, and school is here (or just around the corner - depending who you talk to).

It's been a busy month: a new job for me, with school starting on Monday; and a new semester for Karis, with a job starting soon.

Both my mom and brother were born in August, he's in Utah and we'll be seeing her tomorrow. Karis and I are also going out to lunch tomorrow with my boss and a co-worker for an end of the summer wrap-up.

I've had a lot of free time this week, at least compared to 13 hours out of the house some days this summer, and Karis and I have made it back in the kitchen a few times.

We came up with a great double boiler technique tonight.

Back to Season One of Burn Notice.

School's Out (and that meant no homework!)

Actually, school will be in shortly; Karis starts school a week from tomorrow and public schools start the week after. During the last week of school a teacher asked if I would sub for her the first week of school (she was going to still be on vacation), but she hasn't contacted me in months and I don't have her info.

Karis is done working at Food Lion, she'll be back at the elementary school in the fall and we thought 2 jobs and a full credit load (7 different classes) was unnecessary.

My last day of camp was Friday, I worked from 8am-7pm (with an hour of travel time each way). But it was a great summer.

We had a week together of summer vacation before camp started, so I guess this is our second (and last) week of summer.

Today is church, Ultimate Frisbee with Yootz and a pastor's class with middle schoolers.

Tomorrow is hiking with the college fellowship.

And Tuesday is a church meeting, and then going camping for a few days with some settlers in Catan.

I don't think I mentioned, but last Sunday I officially started working as the Youth Director at Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church. We have a great group of kids ("Yootz"), and I can't wait for the school year to start.

As you can tell, it's an exciting time in the Nolen house.

Hot: Summer; Not: School

School is done for Karis for the semester, but she has summer school starting tomorrow for 6 weeks (or so). She'll be taking an economics course and the finishing all her pre-reqs (again) in the Fall.

I'm almost done with school: 6 different classrooms in these next 5 days, then memorial day and then only 5 more days of school!

We already have a lot of plans for the summer, weddings, camping, roadtrips... and working; Karis would probably like to spend the whole summer swimming, but you can't swim in the river and there's not really a good place around here to do it.

Still, summer will be good, but Karis said she already can't wait until Fall.

Killdeer

For 3 days this week, and 2 days next week, I'm subbing for an inclusive kindergarten (and we went to the zoo today). But my real reason for writing this is that outside the school, there is a killdeer nest.

There were 4 eggs, and 3 of them hatched today (in case you are wondering, both "killdeers" and "killdeer" are accepted plurals). Killdeer chicks are precocial, but they weren't up and running - both parents were there, however, the mother on the nest and the father was 10 yards away.

Because they are shore birds, I originally didn't think Killdeer lived in this area (even though Karis and I live down the street from Killdeer Ave).

Killdeers nest basically on the ground, often on gravel, and this one was nested a foot off the parking lot. Apparently she nests there each year, but this was the first year her chicks hatched (every other year the eggs were run over).

Unfortunately, the other teachers got WAY too close and scared the mother off the nest - Killdeers will do a "broken wing display" too distract predators. While it was fun to watch, I felt really bad for the Killdeer. Some people will just go too far for a "cute" picture.

(The above pictures are not from today, but are ones I found online.)

For the beauty of the Earth

It's the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day!

Go out and do something today: take a hike, a bike ride, sit outside in the sun, plant a tree, smell a flower...

Here's a great idea from Frederick County Government: 20, or so, simple things to do in 20 minutes or less (click on the link to the press release, and it'll pop up as a pdf). Take the Choose 5 Challenge, by picking 5 things on the list to do today (or 6, or 7, or...). Frederick County residents who enter the Challenge can win prizes!

Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church, where Karis and I attend, had its annual Earth Fest on Sunday. And the 2nd Annual Panhandle Earth Day Celebration is this Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 12PM - 9PM at Morgans Grove Park (off Rt. 480 Shepherdstown, WV).

Last One In Is A Rotten Egg

"I like to play indoors better

'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are."

- A Fourth-Grader in San Diego

On Wednesday there was a water main break in town, so Karis' afternoon classes were cancelled. We decided to go to Borders and use some gift cards we had; she got a John Grisham (The Broker) and I got Last Child in the Woods - which actually took us a long time to find, did you know Borders has a parenting section (apparently contained within the "Self Help" section)?

I'm about a quarter of the way into it and I think it's great. I could probably talk about the book for a few hours (and have talked more than a few hours about it to Karis already), but instead of writing an essay, or two, I'll briefly mention some highlights:

Richard Louv's thesis is basically that children need to be outside more, playing, exploring, imagining, he points to several studies, but it's not a "science" book (or an "environmental" book, he cares more about children being outside in the trees than the trees themselves).

He points to 5 general trends for today's society:

1. a severance of the public and private mind from our food’s origin
2. a disappearing line between machines, humans, and other animals
3. an increased intellectual understanding of our relationship with other animals
4. the invasion of our cities by wild animals
5. the rise of a new suburban form (one with even less open space and with covenants that keep people from having overgrown yards or gardens)

His answer isn't simply more education, he points out that people know more about the outdoors even though they are outside less (or at least they know more about the rainforest/tundra/himalayas but probably less about their own backyward). And the answer isn't just preserving open space, open space is often to be seen but not touched these days.

His call seems to be a very simple one: leave no child inside.

He isn't a Michael Pollan, Bill McKibben, or Annie Leonard (honestly, I like him more), but I see him talking about the same sort of thing. Really, I see him advocating a simpler life, one more connected to the Earth and to each other, but I also see him advocating a fun life, one of scrapped knees, child-like wonder, and dreams.

I would definitely recommend it for parents, teachers, environmentalist, recreationists, etc...

After a long day's work...

...I came home to find this in my fridge:

...thinking it might be Joshua's leftover Mexican food, I hesitantly peeled back the cover...

SURPRISE TRUFFLES!

1 Across: Alzheimer's Preventer

Recently, Karis and I have been doing a lot of crossword puzzles. I've always been intimidated by crosswords, I don't know a lot of pop culture, names of actor/actresses, or names of historic people and places. And you have to learn how to do a crossword puzzle, you have learn how to think like a crossword puzzler.

So, Karis and I have been starting off easy, we did a few Monday puzzles, then Tuesdays and now we're on our set of Wednesdays (since we mainly do NYT puzzles).

Interestingly, there are a few words that seem to be favorites of crossword makers: lei, tael, and sri (as a few examples).

I suppose Karis and I are now learning crosswordese.

For anyone who wants to begin puzzling, a good (I think), free, not too difficult (usually) crossword is the USA Today Daily Crossword - they also offer Sudoku and other puzzles.

First Day of Spring

Today I started the West Virginia Master Naturalist Program, run by WV Department of Natural Resources and the Potomac Valley Audubon Society. To become a certified Master Naturalist you need to take 64 hours of classes 48 hours of core classes and 16 hours of electives) and do 30 volunteer hours (in West Virginia or for West Virginians). And then each year you need 8 additional hours of training and 16 additional hours of volunteer work.

Core topics include Amphibians and Reptiles; Aquatic Habitats; Birds; General Ecology; Insects and Spiders; Mammals; Names, Classifications and ID; Nature Interpretation and Teaching; Recording, Sharing and Preserving; Terrestrial Habitats; Trees; Shrubs and Woody Vines; Wetland Habitats; Wildflowers and Weeds; and Wildlife Habitat Improvement.

Electives cover Geology, Succession, Mushrooms, Astronomy, Butterflies, Weather and Climate. (I'm really excited about the mycology class.)

My day was 12 hours long today (about 10 hours of class, plus 2 hours driving), and then tomorrow is more of the same. Classes are one weekend a month, and most of the rest are in (or a lot nearer to) Shepherdstown.

The Awful Din

(Milo and Dynne)

We now have an iPhone (but that's a different story), the point is we now have an iPod/mp3 player - my 5 year old iPod broke a few weeks ago... maybe a few months...

While an iPhone is a lot more interesting/valuable than simply an iPod (it has apps). Anyway, we can once again put music on a digital device. However, because my iPod had more memory than our new iPhone (and because it has apps; and because there are now 2 of us), we don't have enough room for all our music.

I managed to get my iPod working, but if moved it probably won't work again, so I went to take music off of it. But our computer has 6 GB free, and there are 18 GB of music on my iPod. So I was faced with a dilemma.

What to delete?

The 6 GB of NPR podcasts was an easy first choice, but that left at least 6GB left to delete.

The problem is that I have a lot of music I never listen(ed) to, but feel like I should have (Radiohead, Pink Floyd); and I felt that if I like one album of an artists, I should have them all (Johnny Cash, David Bowie).

I also have a lot of music on my iPod that I don't have anywhere else (ironically, Defiance, Ohio sells their music for $0.99 a song on iTunes, but offers it for free on their website).

Long story short: we have an iPod, we'll put some music on it, I lost a lot of music.

If you give a Karis a Cookie...

Almost every week we bake a new batch of cookies (because we eat a few dozen a week). Thankfully we have some great cookbooks, our main cookie cookbook is Martha Stewart's Cookies, though Rosie's Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book is our overall baking cookbook (pies, cakes, etc...).

This week I made (finished an house ago) "Hershey's Perfect Special Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies" - which isn't in our Martha Stewart book.

Last week's were "Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies," with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate. One really nice thing about the Martha Stewart book is that it's divided into different sections: Light and Delicate, Soft and Chewy, Crumbly and Sandy, Chunky and Nutty, Cakey and Tender, Crisp and Crunchy, and Rich and Dense.

And the week before that were Snickerdoodles (ours don't have cream of tartar - who new most did?), which I had heard of but don't think I ever had before Karis first made me them a few months ago (actually, I might have had them before that, just didn't know what the name was).

Snow Days and Winter Games

There are, or were supposed to have been, 20 school days in February (including 3 that haven't happened yet).

In the first 5 days, two were cancelled and one was a 2 hour delay.

In the second 5, all five were cancelled.

In the third, three were cancelled, two were delayed 2 hours.

This week is the fourth 5 days, and so far we've had both days!

Karis had her first day today - working as an aide at Shepherdstown Elementary for the First Grade - and I subbed today and already have a job for tomorrow, things finally seem to be getting back to normal.

The snow has given us a lot of time to watch the Olympics, though, and I've found curling to be surprisingly interesting. I also watched my second hockey game (go Team USA). And I've been making sure to follow speed-skating, long and short tracks.

Karis prefers figure skating... she even practiced her twists and turns when we went ice skating on Valentine's Day.

Anyway, back to curling.

Keepin' busy

Thanks to the record-breaking snowfall this week, Joshua and I have been enjoying an unplanned stay-cation. So, needless to say, with all the free time, I've tried something new. Surprise! Today it was Langues de Chat that I experimented with. Overall, I am pleased with the results, although I would make them a bit thinner next time.

Tomorrow I will be making Egyptian Lentil Soup - recipe courtesy of Moosewood. Just for me though - Joshua's not a big lentil guy. We'll see how it goes.

Good Eats

School is out today (snow day), so I figured I'd catch you up on what's going on down here (in Shepherdstown), and since Karis has been posting a lot about food I'd thought I'd join her.

For Karis and I, Alton Brown is our food hero and many of our recipes are either taken from him, or inspired by him - and we love to watch him on FoodNetwork (for the record, Mark Bittman is another favorite and Karis likes Back to the Cutting Board).

(we have this picture hanging above our bed)

Anyway, we recently just made Alton Brown's Peanut Butter Fudge and it was/is amazing, I never knew fudge was so easy to make.

Tonight we'll be trying his Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops, so hopefully it's not too snowy outside tonight!

The Mother Sponge and Mexican Soups

Today's Kitchen Adventures

Sourdough Starter

This was another new one for me,

but really, it can't get any easier than this.

One cup of warm water with one cup bread flour;

Feed every 24 hours until frothy and "beery";

Keep in fridge, feeding once a week unless used to make bread.

Viola!

"Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup"

Courtesy of backtothecuttingboard.com

Ingredients

• 16 oz. cherry/grape tomatoes (or 1 can of diced tomatoes, with chilies if like things spicier)
• 2 med. carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 3 tsp. olive oil
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 large onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. tumeric
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water (plus more if needed)
• 12 oz. frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 cup 2% milk shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Merlin Tyner

April 1998 - January 2010

Allez cuisine!

One of my favorite parts about having less coursework this semester is that I have ample time to be creative in the kitchen. Last week I made my own egg pasta for the first time and was pleased with the results. However, pasta tastes almost as good dry as it does fresh (although the texture of a fresh pasta is unbeatable), so I probably won't make it again until I have a pasta roller and cutter to speed up the processes.

Earlier this week I made a chocolate cake with mocha frosting, a cake that I may or may not have mentioned in this blog before. It's the one that I made for Joshua's birthday this year, and is so delicious in it's simplicity that I consider it on my list of top ten cakes of all time.

But as much as I love cooking, today is just too nice... I'm headed outside for a long walk before we grill.

Stitches Again

Proof that washing dishes is dangerous.

Christmas events, continued

There was much more to our winter adventures than just NYC, and I have been meaning to chronicle those as well.

The day before Christmas Eve, Joshua and I celebrated with Susan and Caleb. We had a wonderful time giving & opening gifts and eating at a great Asian restaurant. (Crispy beef with special sauce, it turns out, is exactly what it's name implies.)

Following our city excursion we met up with Joshua's extended family in State College. Although we both came down with fevers and the flu we had a great time playing ping-pong, catching up with family, and walking around the Penn State Arboretum.

We spent about one day at home, and then despite Joshua's persistent 100.4 temp, we left for Hershey, PA. Joshua's friend Nate was house sitting for a family friend (who didn't mind that, Dan, Steph, Jon, Tim and we were visiting) in a beautiful and disgustingly huge (try 6 bedrooms) frank lloyd-wright styled home. We had a great couple of days hanging out in their hot tub; exploring their barn, climbing wall, olympic sized trampoline (if there is such a thing); making large and delicious feasts; snowball fighting; being musical; playing pool/ping pong/settlers/scrabble; and laughing nonstop. All in all it was a perfect way to celebrate the end of one year and the start of a new one.

While we had a great vacation, it is really nice to be home relaxing while we plot our next adventure...

News from the Nolens, 2009

We started 2009 as a newly engaged couple, having only five months to plan a wedding, find a place to live, find jobs and make a plan for our immediate futures. While Joshua tends to be indecisive, Karis is rather opinionated, and was able to make most of our decisions for us (or at least worry and stress enough for the two of us).

While we thought five months would probably be plenty of time, it quickly turned into not much planning time at all; thankfully we had an enormous amount of help and support from other people, especially our parents.

Like all good engagements, ours ended with a wedding – specifically our wedding – which occurred less than 24 hours after Joshua finished his last final exam (talk about cutting it close). We were married at an intimate ceremony by a lake at dawn, with only our parents and sibling in attendance.

That evening, Karis’ parents, with the help of many others, threw us a beautiful reception. We had an amazing time celebrating with our families and friends.

Following the wedding, we honeymooned at a state park in Delaware, and spent a week “roughing it,” in a yurt with electricity and kayak. We had a great time celebrating our love and new commitment by hiking, kayaking, and exploring the internet café down the street.

With a lot of help from family and friends, we moved to Shepherdstown, WV. Over the past seven months we have really come to love our “artsy, liberal, new-age, granola-eating town”, even though it is south of the Mason Dixon line.

Over the summer, Joshua worked at Fountain Rock Nature Center as the director of nature camp; it was his 5th summer there. Karis got a job at a NYC themed coffee and bagel shop.

Karis started at Shepherd University in late August, and despite her heavy course load, it was her most successful and enjoyable semester so far. She plans on entering their nursing program in the spring of 2011.

Joshua began substitute teaching in mid-October (after a few weeks of “summer vacation,” otherwise known as unemployment), and really enjoys his job. He teaches all grades and subjects, and it is an adventure each day to see where he will go and what the students will be like.

In our free time, we enjoy cooking, watching cooking shows, reading about cooking and talking about cooking with everyone we know. We often go on long walks around town and through the mountains, usually with a pair of binoculars & bird identification book in tote.

This has been a year full of deepening love and new adventures, and we are looking forward to the beginning of a new year together. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each of you, and we thank you for the love and support you have shown us over the years.