Day 16: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.

My boss really inspires me because she is a strong woman and doesn’t back down in a man’s world.  I have learned a lot from her and had gained a lot of confidence from my job because of her.  She doesn’t like having her picture on the Internet.  So, I won’t use her, but she is the first person I thought about for this day’s challenge.

Instead, I will use a fun picture!  I love Kourtney Kardashian’s fashion and hair!  She inspires me through fashion!  I also love how they use reality shows to bolster their businesses and fame.  The Kardashians definitely know how to take an opportunity and make the most of it. 

I love her outfit!!  This is exactly the fashion sense that inspires me!  Even though my boyfriend and my mom think they are extremely annoying, I still like them.

Potato and Leek Soup

I am trying to cook some different vegetables.  I admit I love watching the food network.  I have seen several of the chefs using leeks lately.  I have never knowingly eaten leeks nor cooked with them.  So, I decided to give it a try with potato and leek soup and a recipe a found in the food network magazine.

Here is the base recipe, but I always change it up depending on what I have and what I think will actually taste good:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 large leeks, white and light green party only, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 and 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp.  Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.  Add the leeks and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the broth, 2 cups water, the potatoes and salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer until potatoes are tender.
2. Puree half the coup in a blender, then return to the pot.  Add the cream and bring to a simmer.  Add the peas and cook until tender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve topped with croutons, bacon and parsley.

I bought a bunch of 3 medium leeks.  They look like giant green onions.  So, you can pretend you are on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  (It was on TV the other day.)

I sliced them and put them in a bowl of water.  Everyone warns you to wash between the layers really well because dirt and sand can be caught in between the layers.

   

Mmmm…. BACON!  I thought about just eating the bacon pieces for dinner because really what else do you need? 

After the bacon was done, I chopped up the potatoes and cooked up the leeks in the pan.

Once the leeks are cooked up, I added chicken broth and the potatoes to boil.

Eventually, the potatoes were all nice and tender and I added some peas!  It takes almost zero time for the frozen peas to cook up.  Before long, my boyfriend and I had some yummy soup for dinner. 

Top the soup with some of that delish bacon and cheddar.  It was really good.  I had a bowl with some grilled cheese!  Be jealous!  :)

I liked the leeks.  They were really goooooooooood!  In fact, I wished I had more leeks and less potato in the soup. 

I want to try a leek salad that I saw on food network soon!  I bet it is going to be good!

Day 15: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.

I would love to scuba dive someday.  I think it would be so much fun, but I also have this overwhelming fear of it.  Fear of drowning, fear of being eaten by a shark, fear of being left behind in the ocean alone, fear of a school of fish overcoming me physical, fear of fish touching me (Ugh!  For some reason, fish creep me out a little with their scales and beady, unblinking eyes), fear of being surrounded by an ocean of water, and several other unreasonable fears.  Even with my fear, I still think it would be amazing!

Day 14: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I had to think about it for a little bit because there are so many people that I couldn’t imagine my life without. 

It all came down to one boy:

HAHA!  I love him, and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to this guy! 

White Red Belt Test

This weekend I went back to visit my parents for my dad’s birthday.  It was also my nephew’s karate white red belt testing. 

No karate place is complete without a little Chuck Norris art.

 

I might be bias, but he was amaaaaaaaaaazing!  Such as proud aunt!

 

They have to line up on one side of the room and do their kicks and punches all the way across.  Of course, there is a window for all the parents and family members to watch.  It’s pretty intense.  :)

He’s not the loudest in his “HA YAW!”  But, he’s getting there…

  

To complete his test, he had to break the wood with a throw of his elbow.  No problem for this karate master!

Little brother was at home getting his karate on too!  Throwing punches like a pro!

Day 13: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

I loooooooooooove Kelly Clarkson!

My boyfriend classifies her music as angry girl music, but I love it!

Day 12: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 12 - A picture of something you love.

Someone I love…

Some dog I love…

Some food I love…

Some flowers I love…

Some friends I love…

Day 11: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.

Just so you know… When you google “hate”, this is the first picture to come up:

Strangely disturbing…

The one thing that I hate is traffic! 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!  What a waste of time!  Plus, it causes people to act stupid.  I hate when people try to drive around everyone on the median or switch from lane to lane trying to outsmart the traffic.  Just thinking about it is making me tense…

An Irish Blessing For You

May you always have work for your hands to do
May your pockets hold always a coin or two
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain
May the hand of a friend always be near you
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you
- Irish Blessing

Day 10: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.

My ridiculous friend, Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!

I love him. I would kill for him.  He was my roommate for a couple of years in college!  Needless to say, we had a whole lot of fun!

 

Love you, Troll baby!!

Day 9: 30 Day Picture Challenge

So, I’m not following the “Day" rule, but I will get through it all in my own time.  My mom said I always tend to do things in my own time, which brings me to Day 9.

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

My mom has always been there for me.  From the time I was just a wee thing…

To Today…

 

She’s been there for me through a lot of bad time and also a lot of good times.  Here’s a picture of the “ole” lady when she was around my age:

Don’t you love the hair styles back then?!?? HA!

Here’s a picture of my mom gettin’ a kickin’ new skirt:

 

Here’s a picture of my lovely mother with my daddy:

  

Oh, young love… They met in high school, and the rest is history…

My mom has helped me through a lot, and I only look forward to her getting me through much more.  I love that lady!!

Kale Chips

I’ve been hearing a lot about kale chips.  They are a great healthy snack or side dish.  They looked weird to me… eating green leaves like a chip? Eh?  I’ll try anything once. 

I bought a big bunch of kale and spread it out on a baking sheet.  Covered it with some olive oil and salt and into the oven it went!

I put it in at about 325 for 15-20 minutes.  The oven at our new place gets crazy hot fast!  So, we have to be careful about baking things. 

They came out looking pretty good:

My boyfriend and I took the leap… Hmmmmm… Not too bad…… but they have a bitter after taste.  We decided we didn’t really love it.  If you could chew it reeeeeally fast and swallow without the aftertaste, then we liked it. 

Kale chips: Not crazy about them, but don’t hate them.  Probably won’t be making them anytime soon.  Sor…cause I’m only half sorry.

Taro Root… What?!?

My boyfriend had an idea to try taro root.  Apparently, we had it in Hawaii at a luau, but I don’t remember it at all.  I looked up a recipe that was similar to how he had it at the luau, and I found this:

We went to the Asian District to try to find all the correct spices and some taro root.  All we could find was this crazy, big taro root.  All the smaller taro root had been scalped over. 

I couldn’t even find all the right spices, but I got this blend of spices that seemed to have a lot of the same things that Ms. Manjula used. 

Well, just peeling and cutting up this ginormous root was a task.   There was waaaaaaaaaay too much to work with. 

In a feeble attempt to use as much as possible (I hate to waste food), I stuffed it a majority of it in a skillet.  Big Mistake!  It cooked unevenly… The spices were all over the place.

 

Long story, short…. It did not turn out like the video’s recipe.  It was weird and dry.  It’s pretty much like potatoes, but weirder…. haha!  At least, I tried…

OKC Asian District – Pho Cuong

Yesterday, the boyfriend and I went up to the Asian District to go grocery shopping.  We bought some taro root to try to cook.  (That should be fun…)  We wanted to go to our favorite sandwich place, Saigon Baguette, but by the time we got done grocery shopping, it was closed. 

Instead, we headed down Classen to find a different Asian restaurant to try.  We saw this bright green building with a lit up “OPEN” sign and swung across the street to jerk our way into the parking lot. 

Turned out to be Pho Cuong, I have no idea how to pronounce that, but it is Vietnamese Noodle Soup.  Yum!

They served the pho with bean sprouts and loads of fresh basil.  I love me some bean sprouts!  I can eat those things raw!  My boyfriend put a whole, huge sprig of basil in his pho…

 

I had the Number 2, which was pho with eye round steak and well-done brisket.  It was pretty good!  I loved the cilantro in the soup!

 

There were no forks in sight.  So, my boyfriend had to use “those stick things” to eat his noodles!  Heehee!  It was a little bit of a mess (this picture is a blurry mess)…BUT, a good mess. 

    

We really liked it.  Plus, it was really cheap and filling!  We decided to try some other new places in the Asian district because they all turn out so good and cheap to boot!

Day 8: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.

We would see this guy out at the bars all the time in Tulsa clad in spandex, of course.

Day 7: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

Wow… This is totally boring….

I would also attach a picture of my external hard drive, but I don’t want to overload you with excitement on a Monday morning. 

These drives have all my pictures of them from years and years ago.  I would be super sadie if I lost them or they got destroyed. 

I also have a couple of necklaces that I “treasure”.  One is from my boyfriend.  It is the first piece of jewelry he has gotten me.  The other is from my parents. 

Day 6: 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

Instead of a person, I pick my pup, Louis!  He has a good life… Watching the birds outside the windows…

Sleeping and taking naps all day…

 

Playing outside at the park and in the snow…

 

BUT, he does have to sit in the back seat…

 

In my eyes, playing, sleeping and eating yummy snacks all day is a pretty good life….  All play and no responsibility.  I’d take it!