Red Neck Iron Chef

I LOVE Iron Chef America.  I wish I could cook like they do on that show and I try really hard to mimic them. Most of the time I fall short, it my have something to do with formal training ;)  Anyway... Today AJ asked me if I have ever heard of "Sous Vide" At first I was like "Sous what?" but then a light bulb went off.

IRON CHEF!

EMERSON CIRCULATOR!

He preceded to tell me that no fancy emerson circulator was necessary, we could cook that way with our cooler.

My Mind Was Blown.

AKA, I was very intrigued.  Sous Vide means under pressure and when you cook Sous Vide you have to put the meet in a vacuum sealed pouch and put it in mildly hot water (aprox. 131*) for about 3 hours.   We decided on cooking a rack of lamb.  One problem... We couldn't find a rack of lamb... at any store in Pullman OR Moscow (Idaho, not Russia) So we settled on lamb chops.

And Now... For your viewing pleasure... A step by step tutorial on how to Sous Vide...

First pick your meet, season it, and add in aromatics. I chose shallots, garlic, and rosemary. Vacuum seal it into a tidy little pouch.

Next whip out your handy dandy Coleman cooler (I swear everyone in America has one) and fill it with water.  Not just any water, 131* water.  I bet you are wondering "Where did you come up with 131* Amanda?" and I'll be happy to answer that. The internet, giver of all knowledge.

Now plop your little pouch 'O' meet in the water and hang out for 3 hours.  Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature.  If it gets too cold, add more hot water.

When 3 hours have past take your met out of the water.  It will look like this...

Not very pretty so go ahead and slap them on the grill for a little color

Now plate them up with some delicious sides.  I chose asparagus and potatoes au gratin.  I do not get points for plating.

Our chops were pretty good but the cut of meet was a little fatty for me (and I burnt the asparagus) I did make a super tasty red wine reduction sauce which made up for it a little bit. (Thats what the red on the plate is.  Not blood, reduction sauce)  Cooking Sous Vide did make the meet very tender so tomorrow night we will be trying this process with fish.

Putzing around Pullman

Alright, I have had many requests for a photo tour of Pullman and since I can almost guarantee non of you will be visiting this tiny town in the three years I will be here I'll go ahead and comply.

There really isn't much to see. You can get anywhere in this town in a 20-30 minute walk which is something I really like about it.  We moved in the summer when it is pretty quiet but I know come August this sleepy little town will double in size with rowdy college students.  I can't wait!  So here we go with the tour...

Our tri-plex, we are in the middle.

Walk a mile uphill both ways in the snow... and you get to the Architecture building (Carpenter Hall) where I will be spending most of my time.  5 whole stories full of Architecture nerds!

And here is a lovely view of campus.  Everything in this town is on a hill, I'm not kidding.

The whole town is connected by a rec path.  It makes it really easy to get around without using a car.

A short walk from campus is the down town area.  It's really cute, I especially like the hanging flower baskets.  Today all the stores had sale items out on the sidewalks.

And finally... Cougar plaza.  Thats right folks, I am a 25 year old Cougar.

That concludes the photo tour of Pullman.  Y'all come back now.

Official Washington Resident

Goodbye CU Alumni plates.

I am sad to see you go but I must be a Washington resident so that I don't owe the government my first born when I am done with Grad school.

Washington Plates are not that bad.  It would have been super cool if I got AAK instead of AAU but I guess I'll have to live with being just plain cool instead of super cool.

P.S.  I was supposed to take you on a photo tour of Pullman.  Last night I started out on my walk of the town to take my pictures.  I made it .5 miles and had to turn around and sprint back to the house because of...um...stomach problems.  I almost didn't make it in time, YIKES!  Anyway, I am planning that walk tonight, after I digest my dinner, so look for the Pullman post soon.

Home Sweet Home

WOW!  Two blog posts in two days!

So I have moved to Pullman, Washington.  No Pullman is NOT near Seattle.  It is on the Idaho border about and hour and twenty minutes south of Spokane.  It is a tiny town with a school (Washington State University) and not much else.  I moved here to go to said school for 3.5 years to get my Masters degree in Architecture.  More on that in a later post...

To the point Amanda...

We have moved into a cute little two bedroom unit in the middle of a triplex.  It is small but we are trying to make it homey(sp).   I have done a good job turning my college furniture into adult furniture and I am quite certain my unit looks WAY better than all the other college students in our complex.  You should have seen the couch our neighbors moved in yesterday...YIKES!  In order to make our place nice and organized I needed some bookshelves.  As much as I would LOVE to run to the nearest Pottery Barn (1.5 hours away) and buy the best looking bookshelves in the place, the budget does not warrant it.  Hey I'm a college student again I have little to no money, but I promise this time not as much Ramen.  This is where my best friend Craig's List comes in.  I LOVE Craig's List.  Sure people have used it for random liaisons and lets face it murder, but I have used it to sell old electronics and even find this great apartment.  So naturally, being on this tight budget, I turned to my old friend Craig's List to find some decent looking inexpensive bookshelves.  It took a few weeks but I did find the perfect selves for the space for $25.00! (and a matching DVD case that I have no clue what to do with)  But hey, you can't beat that price.  So here are the before and after shots of my wall.

From dull...

To full...

What an improvement for very little money :)

The Little Changes of Life

Crows feet
Celulite
droopy skin
pooch...

All words I use to describe aging.  All warning signs I am starting to see in MYSELF!  AHHHHH!  It's almost enough to lock myself in my room and never come out again.  I swear I just noticed all of these things THIS week.

Wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Is that my face? MY FACE? Where did those dark circles come from? And what is with the fine lines? And don't even get me started on the slight dimpling of the thighs and droop of the upper arm. How do I stop this!!! Oh thats right...

More work out, less take out
More eye cream, less ice cream

It makes me start to think about this...

So... Just how much does Botox cost?
I kid, I kid.  I don't want to risk ending up like this...

Lovely, just lovely

I mean a little more working out, a little more eating right, a little less couch time.  Not too much to ask for.  Oh and eye cream, lots and lots of eye cream.  But I guess I can't complain too much because I look like this...

and not this...