Key Lime Pie

After having key lime pie at Darling's Diner for my husband's birthday, I've concluded that it is my favorite pie variety and having been thinking about it since.

I looked at pinterest for different recipes and decided on Borden Brand's version since it was quick & simple.
Key lime pie success!

I used Nellie & Joe's key lime juice  (there is a pie recipe on their bottle, which I might try too) from Whole Foods and grated some non-key lime lime zest on top. Yummy.

extra ORDINARY

After my appointment yesterday, which focused on my shitty job search, I got fired up about my photography. My doctor is awesome and he's getting me to focus on, as he calls it, but I still feel funny saying it, "my passion for photography." He is trying to help me get a job (career) in photography. I appreciate his efforts. After my appointment, a trip to Barnes & Noble, and a stop at Kiwi frozen yogurt (tart yogurt, berries, pretzels and m&ms), I came home, attached a lens to the camera and starting taking photos in my dining room.

It felt good to actually take photos of things. I am constantly take mental photos in my mind: studying light, cropping images, zooming, etc. So, yesterday I focused on the everyday bits of my dining room, perhaps the most under used room in my house. I concentrated on not decorative items, but the pieces that have been in the house since its construction in the late 1930s. OK, one shot is of the crown moulding that didn't exist in the house until 2007, but still, the wall is original.

Life is short. It's time to stop, pick up my camera and looks at the little things that make a whole.

We got a new window put in this week. This is the original wood work. Beautiful.

This is the window sill & chair rail. I love the uneven wood and the colors.

Radiator cover.

This is a damaged portion of the hardwood floor. I love the triangles. The missing piece of wood is my favorite section.

This is an old phone jack.

Look at the beauty and complexity of the hardwood flooring. Imagine the time it took to do this. Each house has it. Incredible.

I have loved this weird little section my entire life. I like how the wall juts out. When the crown moulding was added, it made me love it even more. I'm weird, I know.

So far today I...

1. Used my new single filter thing-a-ma-jig for the keurig. This way, I can buy my own coffee and not spend eleventy billion dollars on those k-cup bad boys. Sad to say, the coffee was not strong enough. I will push it to the limit tomorrow and see what happens. My foreshadowing: I put too much in and end up with grounds in my coffee. (Grounds in my coffee, grounds in my coffee, and... you're so vain...) Yeah, I know it's not "grounds."

 2. Bought clothing at K-Mart. I felt embarrassed, but whatever. Fat ladies need to shop at fat-friendly stores. Unemployed fat ladies need to shop at cheap-bastard fat lady stores.

 3. Made a reverse-applique t-shirt and promptly nipped a hole in the t-shirt and then threw everything out.

4. Decided that after my therapy appointment, I'm going to spend an hour or so in Barnes & Noble and buy myself a book. Lately (within the past year or so) have developed a fascination with witch historical fiction. Talk about a niche market. Not that teen crap, sophisticated witch fiction. Ha. I make myself laugh.

5. Am unsure if I will purchase 50 Shades of Grey. Part of me wants to out of sheer curiosity. The other part of me doesn't because I know I will hate it because: it will be shittily written, there's too much hype about it, and finally, it will make me feel even more sexually inadequate.

Nothing.

This is my third attempt in about a week to write a blog. All these thoughts I have that I am trying to make funny, and it's just not happening; plus, my life is thankfully pretty boring. Today's highlight: purchasing a basket for $19.99 at Burlington Coat Factory for my entryway.

You want fries with that?

I may be asking that soon. If I can't find a job. Which it turns out, I can't. Ugh. I'm so frustrated.

I feel like, and I have no evidence to back it up, but I feel like the years I spent at home raising my daughter are being held against me. I don't know what else it could be. Yeah, the economy is shitty, blah, blah, blah.

BUT... when a place you worked for 5 1/2 years before giving birth, a place where your husband and friend currently work will not even call you for an interview when you fit every requirement for a job, it's difficult not to ponder the motives.

True, I didn't like my job there when I was there. But that was six years ago. I have changed. I know that I am not looking for a career, when I was there before, I was. I felt underutilized and unappreciated. Now, I couldn't care less, underutilized me, don't appreciate me. I have other places where I can get those things.

Fuck it. Maybe it's time to clasp pearls around my neck, tie an apron around my waist and up my meds.

Quiche

I've made Cooking Light's Spinach, Caramelized Onion, and Feta Quiche many times; but not recently. Cause I got tired of it. But, since I'm no longer working and have time to make meals, and because my kid has developed her father's picky food trait, and because pinterest is awesome, I've been cooking a lot.

I adapted the quiche recipe a bit, and I guess it's no longer "light," but it's very delicious and Abby loved it. "Mom, this Keith is delicious!" Score!

I made this whole wheat crust, subbing sucanat instead of sugar (much better than the pizza dough crust recommended in the recipe.)The one review states to double the oil and milk. I didn't find that to be necessary. I especially liked how the crust was assembled in the actual pie plate.

I used half a bag of hash browns and diced the onions. There were a lot left over (wouldn't fit into the crust) so I served them along side of the quiche. I used the same amount of eggs and egg whites as the recipe states. My changes: about 4 oz. of farmer's cheese and 2 oz. of smoked gouda (the smokiness really adds a lot of flavor!)

So basically, I followed the recipe swapping out the crust and adding smoke gouda and farmer's cheese to the egg & feta mixture.

Like I said, I served with the leftover potatoes and onions, and a side salad. And of course, I topped mine with sriracha because it is awesome.

Pretend the photo is in focus.

Q: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

A: To have its neck snapped, feathers plucked, skin removed, and then been breaded and pan fried for my dinner.


(Notice the child's hand point to the chicken.)


Yes, I purchased and prepared a chicken breast for consumption. I bought it at Whole Foods, I feel better about that knowing that the chicken ate normal chicken food, walked around in its proper setting, and lived a happy chicken life before having its neck broken.

I was a bit queasy about the whole process, but went about it anyway. It smelled really good while it was cooking, and I enjoyed hearing the crackle of the chicken frying away. I just used some whole wheat bread crumbs, wheat germ, and parmesan for the breading. I pan-fried in canola oil.

I ate it with a side of whole wheat pasta (the family's main course) and some broccoli rabe. It was delicious.