S.O.S.

Remember last time how I said I was making a chicken curry soup for some friends on Saturday? Well I need a good bread to go with it. Rolls or biscuits or something like that. So I'm sending out an S.O.S. for recipes that aren't too difficult and don't require ingredients that I wouldn't already have.

On second thought, no biscuits. Emily and her Mom gave me the key to the mint with their recipe but I'll have to really work my ego back up before I try homemade biscuits again after my epic fail.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Pumpkin Muffins

I really like allrecipes.com. I get most of my recipes from that site because each recipe is like a blog post in that people leave comments about how they liked or didn't like or changed the recipe. I read the recipe and then the comments where people made changes and make my muffins accordingly. I usually use the base recipe (flour, oil, baking powder, etc.) as the recipe prescribes and change the other ingredients like nuts, raisins, and spices to my own taste. 

That's what I did with these pumpkin muffins and they are so good!

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (you can use 1/2 cup brown sugar instead of adding raw sugar)

1/4 sugar in the raw

dash of cinnamon

dash of ginger

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 eggs

a little more than a cup canned pumpkin puree (the recipe called for 3/4 cup but I wanted to be sure they'd be moist. Using whole grain flour usually makes for dry muffins)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup apple sauce

generous squirt honey

1/2 cup chopped walnuts and pecans

I know that looks like a lot of ingredients but I just throw in whatever I have on hand and seems to go together.

Directions:

Put raisins in a cup and cover them with hot water until they're plump (until you're done with the rest of the recipe). Stir all dry ingredients then add rest of the ingredients (including raisins) and mix until all contents are moist and well distributed. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.

These are the first moist muffins I've made using whole wheat flour. They aren't too sweet. If you want dessert muffins, you can add more honey. I used half of what the original recipe called for. The batter turned out to be enough for 16 muffins so I saved what was left over after a dozen and baked a small batch this morning.

In other news, Brian has an interview this morning. He just left. And he looked so handsome that it was a shame we weren't going on a date. I couldn't help snapping a photo :)

We are having our friends Drew and Keano over for dinner Saturday. I think I'm going to make a chicken curry soup that I found in a Rachel Ray magazine. It looked interesting. The broth is apple cider and the ingredients include, but are not limited to, a half a head of cauliflower and a large sweet potato. I hope our guests will be as excited about eating it as I am making it. I bought a HUGE jug of apple cider from the super Target in preparation for this meal. (It was the only size I saw and it was on sale.) I think we'll have apple cider floats for dessert since I have a lot of cider on hand.

Too-da-loo!

FAIL: Homemade Biscuits

I would like to make it known from the outset that is a descriptive post not a prescriptive post. I am an amateur biscuit maker and would not suggest that you do as I do. 

I found my recipe on oldfashionedliving.com yesterday. The website had "oldfashioned" in it, so it sounded credible to me. 


Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 tablespoons butter or shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
about 3/4 cup milk

Sift Flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift again. Cut in shortening or butter. (this is where I use my hands by rubbing the butter into the flour). Add milk gradually, stirring until soft dough is formed. Turn out on slightly floured board and lightly "knead" for 30 seconds, enough to shape. Roll 1/2 inch thick and cut with 2 inch floured biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased sheet in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits. You can also make tiny tea biscuits that are only 1 1/2 inches wide with a small cutter or glass bottom. These are great served with tea, jam or honey. Makes 24.

I bought a sifter yesterday morning in preparation for this baking adventure. And I must say that sifting two cups of flour can really wear out my hand. I had to take a break and I'm not being dramatic. Making biscuits got me all homesick thinking about Maw Maw and her biscuits. And then it got all me all depressed because I knew mine wouldn't be nearly as good as hers if they were even edible.

The dough was really thin and I didn't have anything to roll it out with so I used my nalgene (for non-mountain people, that's a water bottle). I knew they were a little too thin as I put them on the pan, but I said a little prayer and shut the oven.

It turns out that God did not make my biscuits magically delicious. Which makes sense since God is not a genie. I reaped the natural consequences of years of watching Maw Maw make biscuits but not learning how to make them myself. They were terrible. Brian ate three anyway and said they were good. I wouldn't even eat them. So Brian and I had to have a talk about what it means to be credible. I explained that if he says that things are good when they are empirically not good, he loses credibility with me when I need to know if something is good enough to serve to other people.

Like today, I made pumpkin muffins (recipe will be posted soon) and brought one to Brian's friend who works the shift after him at the Coffee Cart. I didn't want to feed his friend a mediocre muffin but I couldn't ask Brian if it was good because he lost credibility with the biscuits. But I'm not complaining about Brian. He's a real gem, eats everything I make without complaining.

We had two left over biscuits and you know me, I hate to waste even the worst of foods.  So this morning I made chocolate gravy in which to drown them. I was able to eat about a half of one and so was Brian. I didn't like the recipe I used for the gravy as much as the one my friend LaShanda's mom made when we were growing up. Does anyone have a good chocolate gravy recipe?

I Kid You Not

It's october 10th for goodness sake.

I said the S- word.

I think I've mentioned Higher Grounds before (the coffee shop whose internet I mooched before we got internet). The owner is what makes the coffee shop so great. Jeff knows his customer's names and at least pretends to be interested in their lives. He's from Iran and is a really neat guy. I like him so much that I'm afraid to ask if he's hiring at the risk of ruining our pseudo customer-patron relationship.

I dropped in for coffee with another Mines wife yesterday. I feel like a real regular walking up to the counter without my wallet since we have a credit. I was working there so much that we thought it would be a good idea to put twenty dollars on a tab and since we've got internet I rarely go anymore so our tab is lasting well into the semester.

I ordered a caramel macchiato and remembered that Brian said not all coffee shops make macchiatos like Starbucks. A real macchiato doesn't even have milk. So I asked Jeff if it was the Starbucks kind or the European kind. And you'd have thought I said the F- word. "Starbucks? I do not like Starbucks and I have only been there one time in my life and I will never go back. I would not know if it is like Starbucks."

I started mentally backpedaling. I had just deeply offended Jeff. It was like something out of a movie. You know how movies make foreigners look when they get mad? Like they will have some kind of life-long vendetta against you. "Uhh, I didn't mean I wanted it to be like Starbucks Jeff. What I ... uh ... meant was that Brian told me that there are two kinds and sometimes you have to ask which kind. That's just the only way I knew how to explain it."

I think Jeff could tell I was flustered and sorry so he changed his tone and his expression and went on telling me about how he goes to coffee conventions and knows how Starbucks roasts their beans. They burn them he tells me. And says it's very bad for your health. I think he even said it will give you cancer.

I'm not sure about all that but I'm easily swayed about health related things so I'm going to do some research. And never, never say the S- word in Higher Grounds again.

Hi. My Name is Ahsley

I put off changing my name for about two months. I was busy (read: lazy) and not really sure how to go about that process. That is until Focus told me a couple week ago that they wouldn't draw up a freelance writing contract for me unless I changed my name (if I intended to change it). After a dramatic tear fest and a pep talk from Mom and some Social Security Office research from Erin, I dried it up and went to the Lakewood Social Security Office to stand in line with a really sick looking sea of humanity. 

I normally would not cry over the privileged of taking my dear husband's name but it had been an emotional week and the task at hand felt daunting.  Turns out though, that it's really simple. 

1. Take a number (Literally take a ticket with a number and wait for your number to be called, I took a number beside a very ill-looking young man with a hospital face mask.)
2. Take marriage license to clerk and fill out a short form with new address and name. 
3. Sign a very official looking document verifying that your new name and address are listed correctly. 
4. Go home and wash your hands very thoroughly.

They said it would take a couple weeks for my new Social Security card to arrive. It came yesterday and my new legal name is:

Ahsley Brooke Ramsey

Looks like I will be repeating steps 1 through 3 and possibly 4 again this week.

It's Been a While

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I think I mentioned that I'm having some neck/back trouble a few posts ago. It's gotten much worse. I've seen two chiropractors and a physical therapist, done all the stretches that they gave me, cut my time on the computer drastically (thus the reason for less posting) and tried to stay away from any activity that might prolong the healing process. 

This morning in church I had to ask Brian to rub my neck during the sermon because of the pain, it was that or leave. I'm sure we looked like the disgusting, distracting PDA couple, but I didn't care. Please pray for me. I'm frustrated and feeling at a loss. And I feel sorry for Brian. He has been steadfastly compassionate toward me and pitched in more than normal even with his school work being at what feels like an all time high. I don't have that kind of endurance. After taking care of a sick person for a day my tendency is "You've had your day. Walk it off now."

My last day at Boundless was Wednesday. I'm not sure what capacity I'll have with them moving forward. We're still working that out. But I'm so thankful for this layoff. To continue to work from home would mean I would have to buy a completely new computer/desk setup since working on a laptop and ergonomically incorrect space was what caused all of this. I just didn't know any better. And now I feel really stupid for doing this to myself.

I had wanted to finish my wedding thank you's last week since I wasn't working, but looking down for a long time to write isn't very good for my neck either. If you're one of the many people who've yet to received a written expression of my appreciation, please know I have not forgotten you :) I really look forward to acknowledging the people who've made our little apartment functional and beautiful with their generosity and those whose encouragement and advice has enriched our lives. And writing thank you's has a very profound affect on my heart: it breeds gratitude.

Well I should really get off the computer. I do miss updating you guys on the blog and talking to you on the phone. Since we don't have great reception at the apartment, I make my calls when I'm out driving but talking and driving is bad for my neck so I haven't been doing that as much.

Tonight is the first night of small group. I cannot tell you how excited I am about being with people. Some days the only living creatures I see are Brian and the squirrel that lives on our porch. I'm hoping for some friends to come out of this. This morning we sat behind another newly married couple. The husband is a engineer (who offered to be a reference if Brian applies to the company where he works) and the wife is unemployed like me and they are in our small group! They have serious friend potential. I tried not to come off needy. I didn't want to scare them away like I do the squirrel.

I really hope this post wasn't a pity party or too complain-y. If it was, I'm sorry :). And again, I would really covet your prayers for my healing.