Angel Island and Family

So on Wednesday my Aunties took me out on Angel Island as a belated birthday present. Angel Island is a really awesome island in the middle of the San Francisco bay that was used as a Military base, Quarentine, Immigration Station and Seal hunting habitat. Now its a museum and camping area. We took the ferry from Tiburon, which is a fun little 20 minute ride across the bay, and there was rumor a dolfin was around but I never saw it. The Aunts, Terri, Don and Amy all came. We had a little snack in the cafe on the island which was.. Dissapointing.. I had some chili which was totally cold, even after i asked them to reheat it. And it was pricey... $22 for a pulled pork sandwich?!? Ooofff...

We went for a little hike up the side of the island, watched beautiful views and enjoyed the PERFECT weather. Around 2 we headed back for our Segway tour!! Segways are SUPER fun it turns out! As we pulled out of the harbor up the mountain some homeless looking teen punk kids boo'd us and i laughed meniacly at them... Yea Im a dick :) Our tour guide, Joe, was much like the tour guides I have had of late, a bored 19-21 guy with a summer job. But he really liked us goofing around with him and gave us an extra long tour. We had great views of the bay and the bridges, and there are SOOO many abandoned buildings I would like to explore.. Actually am DYING to explore. I had already declaired to Gentleman Friend that he will need to take me camping out there so we can explore without being bothered. We did get to stop off the Segways at one point and explore one building which was AMAZING

After we caught the last ferry out, we headed to a nice little mexican place in Tiburon. I had a grilled chicken breast in peanut sauce with black beans and rice which was SO delightful! We also split some Flan, and a plate of Churros... Mmmm....!! Also saw seagulls eating peoples chips. Yummm!!

Happy 4th!

Hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the birth of our dear nation by blowing up small parts of it :) I had a lovely time.

Tuesday I got to meet the gentleman friends Mother, Stepdad, Neice and Nephew. Big step? good timing? What ever. They were increadibly delightful, and had driven all the way out from Utah (yes, he's a utonian). We spent the day in the Muir Woods/Muir Beach area. The ninjas (kids) played in the ocean and in the little river that runs through right there. There was much hand holding and general grossness to be had, with perfect weather. So cute!! After words we went for fried chicken and ribs at a local to GF's placee, Hard Knox. OMG YUM!! Eat there!! No food pictures because I am dropping the ball... but well worth it!!

Yesterday, being the 4th and all, I was supposed to work. But my asthma kept acting up and I sounded like a whooping cough victim (im sorry, survivor) So I got off early. After doing some homework I headed over to the GF's place to meet up with that group and we got ready for fireworks!!! So did I mention the GF's place is in the middle of nature? And its AMAZING? We walked about 10 minutes up the mountain and were able to watch 3 different fireworks shows!! So good!!! The kids really loved it. (picture there of Fashion Rachel with a ninja)

 

Inspiration Point

After a lovely night I had to head home to supposedly do homework. but seeing as I took a day off the recover from coughing fits I guess there was no rush.. except for everyone having to get ready for work/travel/etc.... BART was slam packed on the way home and stupid people made the train take 2X as long....  When the doors are closing you have to either be inside or outside of them!!! ARG!!! Anywho... 

Today I clear out of Janets.. No more unlimeted interwebs T_T But it will be nice to have her back. Also the Aunts and Amy are back. I was missin everyone!!

Accomplishment!

Finished over at the Piquat Museum. Its bitter sweet, on one hand its done and Im free, but I like working over there. Of course I had a very awkward moment when one of the head people came up to me and mentioned the job was supposed to be done by June. oops. Oh well, I had no idea. But my side is DONE!

Made another chicken in the crock pot! Super easy:

Chop potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and half a bell pepper (I used orange) and toss in pot. Cover one chicken in cajun seasoning. toss in the pot. Put Crock on low for 7-9 hours. Inhale. :) OMG I love the crock pot!!! I also made this last night:



All I can say is, YUM. Holy crap yum. And good with soy milk even! (Vanilla Soy, lol) Make this soup. Now.

I have been on an Adam Carolla riff for the past few days. Just obsessed with the pod cast. so many hours of podcasts!!! lol

A dinner to remember

I dont have any pictures, but last night was a great night. Firstly, I am currently unemployed! Saturday was the last day at Passport and Yesterday was the last day at corporate pet shop. Sad, but also good. I came home, and threw a chicken in the crockpot. (The lemon pepper chicken posted below) Some beets the the oven for Everything Salad and took a nap. lol. After getting up, cleaning and putting on clothes (in that order) I prepared for guests!!

Alix came first, then Greg and John from Mantra. We ate, drank (Porter, YUMMO!!) and made fun of the pets. Castor was a ham, and showed off the whole time. I let Cooper out in his ball and him and Castor played chase and generaly were adorable. Everything went so well. We listened to Justin Farren and laughed and laughed for hours. Such a good night.

Im finally packing up for the move. Everything is going down to Toledo to get shipped, and only the bare essentials are going in the car. Im meloncholy about the whole thing. I want to be back in California so bad, but Im going to miss this place like hell. Detroit is like no other place on Earth.

One chicken, one goal

So I bought a 5 dollar chicken from Trader Joes. My goal for this chicken? See how much I can get out of it :) Today I took it apart, removed the thighs, legs, and wings. I took off one breast for Black Bean and Chicken Salsa Soup. Again stolen from A Year of Slow cooking

--1 pound chicken (I used frozen breast tenderloins) 
--1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
--4 cups chicken broth 
--1 cup sliced mushrooms
--1 cup frozen corn 
--1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
--1 1/2 tsp cumin 
--1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end) 
--shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cilantro (all optional) 

updated 12/15: Pace salsa is pictured in the ingredients. Pace, and many Campbells products are now no longer being classified as "gluten free"---please read all labels and use your best judgment when making choices to feed your family. You can read a discussion about the labeling, here.
The Directions. 

You will need a 4 quart or larger.

If you know you are going to make this the night before (yay for meal planning!) soak the blackbeans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans.

If you don't have super hard water or live in a super high altitude, you can quick soak the beans by pouring boiling water over them and let them sit for an hour or two. I did an hour, but 2 would really be better if you have the time. 

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.

Cover and cook on high for 9 hours. Yup. High. For 9 hours. It took a crazy long time for the beans to soften, but they did. 

If you are using beans you soaked overnight, canned beans, or pre-cooked beans, you can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time. 

If you'd like to thicken the broth (I did this), you can use your immersible blender (I love that thing) to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditonal blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot.

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving, and garnish with shredded cheese and avocado slices. 


I dont think I used a full pound. But One breast down, lets see how many meals come from this :)

Cooking

Today I dont have to be into work untill late, so I did some cooking. Last night I made a yummy Chicken and wild rice soup!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 large celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 12 cups (3 quarts) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, medium dice
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, medium dice
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add broth and rice, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender but still has some firmness, about 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Add chicken, and season with freshly ground black pepper. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add parsley, taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

It came out amazing!! As for today I made carrot chips, sweet potato chips and candied tangerine peels. Yay for poor girl making food!