As you can see in the picture below, I was probably taking too many pictures and he started to get a little impatient. But I just wanted to be able to remember everything.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Our Trip to Italy: Siena
After two days in Florence, Matthew and I traveled down south towards Umbria. On our way down, we made a stop at the beautiful medieval Tuscan hill top of Siena.
As you can see in the picture below, I was probably taking too many pictures and he started to get a little impatient. But I just wanted to be able to remember everything.
As you can see in the picture below, I was probably taking too many pictures and he started to get a little impatient. But I just wanted to be able to remember everything.
Our Trip to Italy: Florence Part II
Here are the last few pictures of our visit to Florence. Florence was one of my all time favorite cities. The food was fantastic, the scenery was breath taking, the musuems were intellectually stimulating...I really couldn't complain about anything in Florence...except maybe the driving.
When we first got to Florence, we took a cab to the airport to pick up our rental car. The drive there was very unsettling. The driver sped through tiny hidden street ways packed with parked cars, flew through red lights and barely missed hitting a few vehicles during his haste to take us to the airport. Matt and I began to panic at thought that we would soon be driving through this choas. But we took comfort in knowing that we had upgraded our vacation package to include a GPS navigation system with our rental car. That is, until we found out that the company we booked our rental car, Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations or Sceptre Tours, did not actually reserve a GPS for us. We started to get desperate. We told the guy at the car rental depot that we would pay for a GPS whatever the cost may be. But no, they did not have any more in stock because they were all booked. Our panic escalated. We had no idea how we were going to get to our bed and breakfast. We thought we were going to die. Two extremely stressful hours later, we finally found our bed and breakfast. This of course was after wandering around aimlessly and stopping at various gas stations to ask for directions. We were relieved to finally be able to park the car for 2 days. But I still had a creeping fear of having to drive cross country in a foreign country without a GPS system. In the end things worked out as we got our directions from MapQuest and we eventually got the hand of things. But I will definitely never drive in Europe again, especially when you could use the rail system which is so much better.
*Later we found out that our representative from Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations or Sceptre Tours, had misinformed us. The GPS upgrade is only an option for people booking a package to Ireland. I thought, “Hello! You just sold me an upgrade under false pretenses!” Obviously I was very upset. The representative specifically told me that the advantage of upgrading would be that we would receive a GPS as well as an automatic car. We had lost valuable time, not to mention the undue stress it caused us during our trip and the surprise bill charged on our card from the rental car company when we got home. Needless to say, I very much enjoyed the trip, but if I had to do it again, I would NOT book with Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations again and I would strongly suggest others to avoid them.
When we first got to Florence, we took a cab to the airport to pick up our rental car. The drive there was very unsettling. The driver sped through tiny hidden street ways packed with parked cars, flew through red lights and barely missed hitting a few vehicles during his haste to take us to the airport. Matt and I began to panic at thought that we would soon be driving through this choas. But we took comfort in knowing that we had upgraded our vacation package to include a GPS navigation system with our rental car. That is, until we found out that the company we booked our rental car, Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations or Sceptre Tours, did not actually reserve a GPS for us. We started to get desperate. We told the guy at the car rental depot that we would pay for a GPS whatever the cost may be. But no, they did not have any more in stock because they were all booked. Our panic escalated. We had no idea how we were going to get to our bed and breakfast. We thought we were going to die. Two extremely stressful hours later, we finally found our bed and breakfast. This of course was after wandering around aimlessly and stopping at various gas stations to ask for directions. We were relieved to finally be able to park the car for 2 days. But I still had a creeping fear of having to drive cross country in a foreign country without a GPS system. In the end things worked out as we got our directions from MapQuest and we eventually got the hand of things. But I will definitely never drive in Europe again, especially when you could use the rail system which is so much better.
*Later we found out that our representative from Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations or Sceptre Tours, had misinformed us. The GPS upgrade is only an option for people booking a package to Ireland. I thought, “Hello! You just sold me an upgrade under false pretenses!” Obviously I was very upset. The representative specifically told me that the advantage of upgrading would be that we would receive a GPS as well as an automatic car. We had lost valuable time, not to mention the undue stress it caused us during our trip and the surprise bill charged on our card from the rental car company when we got home. Needless to say, I very much enjoyed the trip, but if I had to do it again, I would NOT book with Caesar Hotels Airway Vacations again and I would strongly suggest others to avoid them.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Our Trip to Italy: Florence
So we are back after a glorious week in Italy! It was quite the adventure. And although we ran into a few snags during the trip, things all worked out and we made it back home safely with wonderful memories. I took a great deal of pictures and will not be able to post them all at once. So what I will do is make a series of posts that showcase the trip in each region. Here are a few highlights of Florence. More to come!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Fish Tacos and Coraline
When I saw the movie Coraline (Two-Disc Collector's Edition w/ 3D)
, based on Neil Gaiman's book, I was really impressed. It was really beautifully animated, yet creepy--kind of like the Nightmare Before Christmas. I loved the movie, so much that my husband bought me the DVD version and we watched at home in 3D. But I couldn't get enough of the story that I had my husband bring me a copy of the book from the library (this is one of the perks to being married to a librarian). The book was just as creepy and I absolutely loved it.
Coraline [Mass Market Paperback]
is a twisted tale about a young girl who discovers an alternate reality where she meets a creature that looks just like her mother, except she has 2 black buttons for eyes and she calls herself her "other mother". In the new world world, Coraline is pleased to find that the "other mother" is eager to shower her with attention and delicious meals unlike her real parents, but she soon realizes that there is something disturbing about her and that the grass is not greener on the other side.
Gaiman does a great job with this story as it is well written. It may be marketed as a children's book, but it is a real treat for adults. But although this might appear to be a good bedtime story for children, keep in mind it is full of dark surprises that can probably cause nightmares.
But enought about this book, let's talk fish. My step father recently went fishing off Langara, an island south of Alaska. He caught and brought home a great deal of fish. I didn't believe my mother at first when she said it tasted like chicken, until she gave me a portion of halibut that I brought home and cooked for myself. It really did kind of taste like chicken. It was so fresh and delicious that it didn't taste like fish at all. My husband doesn't normally like fish but he really liked this one.
Originally I wanted to make macademia nut crusted halibut, but ended up settling for this recipe for fish tacos I found on Martha Stewart's publication, Whole Living Body+Soul. They were delicious.
Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Black Beans
1 tablespoon oil
12 six-inch white-corn tortillas
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tablepoon hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 pounds halibut, cut into 3/4-inch strips
1 egg
1 cup panko
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Wrap tortillas in foil paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Toss in cabbage. Set aside.
3. Beat an egg in a medium bowl. Place bread crumbs on a wide plate. Season fish with salt and pepper. Dip fish in eggs, then on bread crumbs being sure to coat well. Spread fish on an oiled baking sheet (I prefer to spray mine with pam) and drizzle with oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. After 10 minutes, add the wrapped tortillas in the oven to warm up.
4. While fish is baking, cook black beans in a medium sauce pan with cumin and chili powder, 5 minutes.
5. Remove fish and tortillas from oven. Arrange tortillas with cabbage, black beans, then fish.
Source: Adapted from Body + Soul Magazine recipe.
, based on Neil Gaiman's book, I was really impressed. It was really beautifully animated, yet creepy--kind of like the Nightmare Before Christmas. I loved the movie, so much that my husband bought me the DVD version and we watched at home in 3D. But I couldn't get enough of the story that I had my husband bring me a copy of the book from the library (this is one of the perks to being married to a librarian). The book was just as creepy and I absolutely loved it.
Coraline [Mass Market Paperback]
is a twisted tale about a young girl who discovers an alternate reality where she meets a creature that looks just like her mother, except she has 2 black buttons for eyes and she calls herself her "other mother". In the new world world, Coraline is pleased to find that the "other mother" is eager to shower her with attention and delicious meals unlike her real parents, but she soon realizes that there is something disturbing about her and that the grass is not greener on the other side. Gaiman does a great job with this story as it is well written. It may be marketed as a children's book, but it is a real treat for adults. But although this might appear to be a good bedtime story for children, keep in mind it is full of dark surprises that can probably cause nightmares.
But enought about this book, let's talk fish. My step father recently went fishing off Langara, an island south of Alaska. He caught and brought home a great deal of fish. I didn't believe my mother at first when she said it tasted like chicken, until she gave me a portion of halibut that I brought home and cooked for myself. It really did kind of taste like chicken. It was so fresh and delicious that it didn't taste like fish at all. My husband doesn't normally like fish but he really liked this one.
Originally I wanted to make macademia nut crusted halibut, but ended up settling for this recipe for fish tacos I found on Martha Stewart's publication, Whole Living Body+Soul. They were delicious.
Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Black Beans
1 tablespoon oil
12 six-inch white-corn tortillas
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tablepoon hot pepper sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 pounds halibut, cut into 3/4-inch strips
1 egg
1 cup panko
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Wrap tortillas in foil paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Toss in cabbage. Set aside.
3. Beat an egg in a medium bowl. Place bread crumbs on a wide plate. Season fish with salt and pepper. Dip fish in eggs, then on bread crumbs being sure to coat well. Spread fish on an oiled baking sheet (I prefer to spray mine with pam) and drizzle with oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. After 10 minutes, add the wrapped tortillas in the oven to warm up.
4. While fish is baking, cook black beans in a medium sauce pan with cumin and chili powder, 5 minutes.
5. Remove fish and tortillas from oven. Arrange tortillas with cabbage, black beans, then fish.
Source: Adapted from Body + Soul Magazine recipe.
Nutella French Toast Bake
At work we threw a surprise baby shower for one of the girls in our department. It was a breakfast theme so I brought in a delicious Nutella French Toast Bake that I made the night before. Everyone thought it was very tasty so needless to say, it was a big hit! I can’t wait to make it again.
We also made a really beautiful diaper cake that fooled people into thinking it was a real cake! It was so much fun to make and so incredibly easy. Normally a diaper cake costs $100 if your were to buy it, but it is so much cheaper just to make your own and it is so easy to make. I have included the instructional you tube video that we followed to make it.
Nutella French Toast Bake
12 slices day-old white bread
½ cup Nutella hazelnut spread
5 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon hazelnut extract
1. To make day-old bread, spread slices of bread on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 200 degrees F for 15 minutes.
2. Spread Nutella hazelnut spread on 6 slices of stale bread. Put Nutella slices together with the remaining of slices of bread together forming 6 sandwiches. Arrange slices in a single layer in a oiled 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt, hazelnut extract, and melted butter. Pour mixture over sandwiches evenly and turn to coat. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight. Before baking, bring sandwiches to room temperature.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Source: Inspired by The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day
.
We also made a really beautiful diaper cake that fooled people into thinking it was a real cake! It was so much fun to make and so incredibly easy. Normally a diaper cake costs $100 if your were to buy it, but it is so much cheaper just to make your own and it is so easy to make. I have included the instructional you tube video that we followed to make it.
Nutella French Toast Bake
12 slices day-old white bread
½ cup Nutella hazelnut spread
5 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon hazelnut extract
1. To make day-old bread, spread slices of bread on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 200 degrees F for 15 minutes.
2. Spread Nutella hazelnut spread on 6 slices of stale bread. Put Nutella slices together with the remaining of slices of bread together forming 6 sandwiches. Arrange slices in a single layer in a oiled 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt, hazelnut extract, and melted butter. Pour mixture over sandwiches evenly and turn to coat. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight. Before baking, bring sandwiches to room temperature.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Source: Inspired by The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day
.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Coconut-Avocado Ice Cream
My aunt recently bought a cute little condo in Green Valley and to celebrate, she and my cousin invited us over for dinner. They were very excited to show off their new place. For dessert, I decided to bring Coconut-Avocado Ice Cream. I knew well that this ice cream was very delicious, but I was hesistant to tell anyone that it had avocado. I wanted them to taste it first. When my aunt served it to everyone after our meal, everyone was eager to eat it without even bothering to ask what flavor it was. I was glad to see that they all enjoyed it. My aunt said that she didn't care that it had avocado--it was very tasty!
This ice cream is very rich with a pleasant aroma of coconut. The avocado really gives it a creamy texture. It does not have much of a presence in the ice cream in terms of taste, but it helps give it a lovely green color.
Coconut-Avocado Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 can coconut cream
1/2 cup white sugar
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
3/4 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
1. Puree all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill for 2 hours.
2. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
Source: Coconut-Avocado Ice Cream.
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