Beach Times

I finally made it!

Such a wonderful, calm, and beautiful place.  I love love love being able to walk out my back door, and straight onto the sand.  

It's been an adventurous couple of days.  This is Mr. Gingerbread's first vacation with the whole family as my husband.  He's fitting right in, and no one is holding back their funky quirks anymore... 

We've also been fishing a lot.  He's really into this fishing thing.  We have managed three trips to Half Hitch Tackle shop in the four days since we arrived.  I caught a big salt water catfish the other night, and managed to let a lady fish go this morning right as it was in the surf.  

An awesome storm rolled in yesterday.  So we stayed in and watched "The King's Speech."  If you haven't seen it - go now and rent.  

Funny story. 

You know those rings you exchange on your wedding day?  Those ones with the whole everlasting bond attached to them? (Mr. Gingerbread says "covenant" is a better word.)  

Well, my husband, whom I love, LOST his....

It was in the canvas bag, then it was not, then it was lost.  

I cried and got really sad.  You see, I bought it with my own money for him, and it was THE ring after all that was used in our ceremony.  

I dug in the sand for hours... I looked everywhere... twice.  Three times.  A lot.

Finally, Dad and I drove to Destin and bought a metal detector.  And tonight at about 10:06 pm, I found that little b******.  I was so happy and relieved, and sub-burned.  

I'm a ginger after all. 

Bread WIN!

Today I redeemed myself.

I made this sticky pile of yeasty-ness into three (count 'em) THREE loaves of whole wheat bread (courtesy of allrecipes.com)!  

It took a lot of whole wheat flour and kneading... which for the disc in my back threatening to slip, was not cool.  Also, I don't have a lot of counter space.. so my kitchen table (one of the greatest things I got when I married Mr. Gingerbread) became my workspace.  

As soon as the bread comes out of the oven you have to brush it with melted butter.  Believe it or not this is really healthy bread.  It has honey instead of sugar and it's whole wheat...  just a couple of tablespoons or maybe half a stick of butter in all... soooo healthy.  Besides, who eats the whole loaf anyway??

uh, me.

It's just that good. 

I'm always surprised when the dough actually rises, it's like a mini-miracle.

I am surprised to find that bread making, at least this recipe, isn't that hard.  It's just takes patience... and a 30Rock marathon to take up all the time...

This was the first serious kind of bread I ever made.  It's simple and straightforward so it's a good one to start with.  Just take an free afternoon and go for it!

I also made some cookies.

My favorite type of cake is red velvet with cream cheese icing.  So when I found this recipe at How Sweet It Is, I was really excited.  It's a cookie recipe made with store bought cake mix.  Cake cookies are always yummy and easy to make.  

I put more chocolate chips in than she does... her way is better.  The reason being is that the cookie dough, though delicious, is quite oily.  So there needs to be more dough than chips to keep it all together.    It also turns your hands and white spatula pink.... worth it!

Aren't they lovely?  She puts cream cheese icing on them.  I did that the first time I made them and it was wonderful!  They also taste fine just as they are.  They are very soft, and taste just like chocolate chip cookies if you aren't to keen on the red velvet. 

I've been very busy.  But only because the next couple of pics will be from the beach!!! Vacation here I come! 

Bread Fail...

When I was at my Granny's house, she would take her perfect dinner roll dough and place it in a big greased pan and put it on the stove top.  She put it on a hot burner to help it rise...

I tried that today..

Half of my dough was baked on the bottom of the greased pan, and I was too panicked to take a picture... d***

It looks ok, but it is half the size it's supposed to be.  This is cinnamon pull apart bread from Joy the Baker.  Her photography is waaaaa-hay-hay-hay better than mine, and her bread looks immaculate.  She has tons of good looking recipes.

Subliminal message: you need this...

It was surprisingly easy to make.  A little messy.  And stressful if you cook half your dough in the greased pan on top of the stove like I did... still learning.

Obviously, it's up-side down. I was letting it cool.  I know, I know, "what the %$#& are you doing letting it cool!? You should be eating that with coffee, whip cream, anything.. "

I'm taking it to the beach house family vacation for breakfast one day, but trust me it took a lot of will power not to pull off one of those ends and dig in! It smelled won-der-ful! 

The next loaf I made today was Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread.  A healthier version of a classic breakfast bread.  It has honey instead of sugar, and whole wheat flour instead of regular flour. 

Can you tell my photography is slllllooooowwwwwly improving?? 

Cooked to perfection.  Sure took a long time... I usually do about 45 minutes, even though it asks for 55.

I feel accomplished.  The end. 

  

Pork Chops with Cream Sauce

It's quick and delicious.  But pork chops are tricky.  Cook too long it's like a piece of rubber, not long enough there is the possibility of making yourself sick... and I am NOT doing that with 4 days left between me and a beach vacation!

I start with butter.. and probably (definitely) more than the recipe calls for.  Then you season those lil guys with salt and pepper and throw (gently place) them in the hot butter.  Add some wine and when they get done, pull them out!

My favorite part it still to come.  Please take a moment to take in my super cheap wine. 

ok.

Now my favorite.  I love mushrooms. I like them raw, I like them cooked.  Everything.  And they are only made better when cooked in butter, heavy cream, and wine. 

I always put too much wine and cream in.  So it took an extra long time for the sauce to reduce down.  

We enjoyed this with a side of wheat couscous and green beans (buttered).  The butter was Smart Balance so I hope that maybe makes it ok. probably not... I work out...

Pork Chops with Cream Sauce from Allrecipes.com 

Ingredients

4 boneless pork chops

• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
• 
  
• Directions:
• 
  
• Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, and arrange in a single layer in pan.
• 
  
• Pan-fry for 2 minutes on each side to brown. 
• 
  
• Pour in wine, and cook until the chops are done. (160 - 165 degrees)
•  
• Remove chops from pan.
• 
  
• Pour cream into the sauce pan, and then add chopped up mushrooms.  Increase heat to high; cook for 5 minutes (or until mushrooms are done), stirring frequently. 
• 
  
• Return chops to pan to warm.
• 
  
• Enjoy!

Passed!

I am excited to report a passing score! I was so relieved... Now I can curl up with my newest book,

I got it yesterday and I am already a third of the way done.  It is VERY entertaining, and sooo funny!  I have been going through the first four seasons of 30Rock, and love it!  I knew if she wrote the show, and it's hysterical, the book must be too.  Don't skip the "reviews" on the back either..

especially the one from the tree that says something like, "it was worth it!"

Only 3 more days...

The test is in three days, and though I've gotten the "oh, don't worry," and "wow, I didn't even study for it," I'm still nervous.  Getting certified to teach is an expensive process.  The tests are $200 and if you fail, they are more expensive the second time around...

Regardless of all this, my newly-wed duties don't stop.  I cooked, but I use that term loosely... as I don't consider a jar of spaghetti sauce and a 1 pound of ground beef reeeeally cooking.

Once a week, we do breakfast for dinner.  This week we did easy omelettes.

Sometimes I wish I could afford all those super-earthy, natural ingredients.  As you can see, my eggs are snowy white with minimal spots.  I'm not as posh as my blogging counterparts, but hey, I'm a beginner! Up until about 6 months ago, I had zero time to cook, much less try to take intricate, macro pictures...

I'm sorry to say, but poor lighting, poor camera operation, and really poor photography spoiled all my dreams of amazing macro glory.  It's a work in progress. 

Imagine perfectly staged foodie pictures with vibrant, shredded cheddar, delicious sliced turkey, and sweet caramelized onions.  All of this on top of fluffy, perfectly cooked eggs.  

Ok, not that pretty.. but everyday it gets a little nicer and a little more delicious.  

P.s. on my trip to Memphis last weekend, I passed this sign and was at peace with the world. 

Studying!

I thought I graduated from these things... But no.

This is my life for the next couple of days... I hope hope hope hope I pass!

Did I mention this is the second worst study guide ever? It is... 

Lil Scott

So every Thursday or so I clean our apartment. Trust me it's not that big a deal.  It takes me about an hour (if that) to vacuum and everything.  Sometimes I wait till Friday, but tomorrow at 4:30 AM (ew) I'll be getting up to catch my flight back to Mississippi to visit this lil nugget,

This is Scott, my week old nephew! It is so surreal when your brother grows up and has a baby of his own.  I mean that was the guy that grew up down the hallway from me, and who is looking mischievous in all our baby pictures together!

This morning to celebrate finishing the apartment, a workout, and the bulk of the laundry I made an iced coffee for myself.  It so simple, you just make a pot of strong coffee or use coffee from the morning and chill it in the freezer.  I've read where you can even make coffee ice cubes and blend them for slushy coffee, but that's too much time between me and chocolate awesomeness.. and I don't have a blender. :(

Then I simply put the chilled coffee, ice, non-fat milk, no-cal sweetener (splenda, truvia or good old sugar!), and as much chocolate syrup as I can in a big cup.  I usually put a full cup of coffee in, and half as much milk. 

You can see me trying to save up my calories for the chocolate syrup by using truvia and non-fat milk.  Ya, it didn't work... but that's why God created people like Tony Horton. 

Then I stir. You can shake if you are feeling "Bond-ish"...

Speaking of Bond, you know what else would go well on iced coffee?? Whipped cream! 

Homemade whip cream is the best and it is sooo easy to make.  Alton Brown says to put the bowl you are going to mix in and your hand-held mixer attachments (what are those things called???) in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to mixing.  I tried this, and it makes things go a lot faster.  

To make the whipped cream you just put 1 cup of HEAVY whipping cream for every 2 tablespoons of sugar (or splenda I guess, but who wants healthy whipped cream? no one. the end.)

See, Scotty likes it!

Then when the peaks happen, you  devour, and hopefully some will make it to the coffee.  Once those peaks happen, don't mix any more, or you end up with sweet butter. Which is also delicious on just about everything.

You really can't go wrong with heavy cream. 

First Post, and it shows...

Here it goes! This is my first post, so I thought I would begin with telling you a little bit about me.  In December I married the man of my dreams, and then moved to Florida.  In the span of two weeks my life changed considerably.  As my hubby and I adjust to the relative domestic tranquility of married life, we also have to adjust to a new town.  And though my husband has a job, I still do not, so I have a LOT of time on my hands...

With this time I have begun to teach myself some cooking skills.  In school I never had time to cook... my meals were mainly fried and sooo delicious...

One of my favorite places!  If you've never been there.... oh man you need to make your way to the nearest Cane's and get you some!  And. the. sauce. oh wow.  Mouth-gasm.  

Then I got married, and my husband is all about some whole wheat and health food... and a budget.  Married budgets are not as fun as single people budgets.  Single people budgets have a lot of shoes involved.  Married people budgets have a lot of student loans involved.  So I was forced to start cooking a lot at home.  And with all my free time, start some baking experiments as well.  

This was my first attempt at bread.  It's a honey whole wheat bread from Allrecipes.com, a wonderful website with great recipes and ratings.  I know it doesn't look like the picture... but hey I'm a bride!