Robot Dinosaurs!

Ok this is very cool. Love when things aren't just CGI.

Beef Goulash With Dumplings

I found this recipe over at Simply Recipes one of my favorite food blogs. We've eaten it many times and it's got us through many a cold day. I know it's an odd food to post on one of the first warm days of spring but I'm strange that way. I'm the type of person who craves ice cream in winter. Plus there's never a bad time for soup.

A few notes on the recipe. Don't worry about crushing the carraway seeds. It will make it taste a bit better but it's almost not worth the trouble. In addition if you can't find spicy paprika (I know I couldn't) just use regular paprika in it's place and add a pinch of a spicy pepper such as cayenne. If you don't like spicy foods just use regular paprika. And don't skimp on the dumplings. First of all it's fun to play with dough and second of all they taste amazing.

Beef Goulash With Dumplings

Goulash

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp caraway seeds, toasted and ground
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon spicy Hungarian paprika
2 Tbsp minced fresh marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes (remove excess fat)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dumplings
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp melted butter

1 In a large covered sauté pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and sugar until caramelized (they turn a golden brown). Add the garlic and caraway seed. Cook another minute.

2 Add the sweet and spicy paprika, marjoram, thyme and bay leaf. Sauté another minute, until fragrant.

3 Add the tomato paste. Deglaze with the vinegar and the stock and add the pieces of beef, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook until very tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

4 To prepare the dumplings, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine with the milk and melted butter, mixing lightly. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into the simmering stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover while the dumplings are cooking! In order for them to be light and fluffy, they must steam. If you uncover the pan, the steam will escape and the dumplings will boil instead. After 15 minutes, test the dumplings with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the dumplings are done.

Serves 4 to 6.

No Milk!!!

Ok, so what do you do when you want to eat peanut butter toast and there is no milk left in the house? You top off your lovely slice of peanut buttery toast with fat free Reddi-wip! Leaves your mouth free to move and talk without the use of milk. Amazing...and yummy. :)

The end is drawing near.

Yep, on Monday I return to work. Six weeks off is a long time to sit around the house. Some days I was content and busy with games, movies, or other computer related projects. Some days I was bored out of my skull and moping around. I have to thank Ben, my parents, Brandi, and Angie for taking time out to visit me and getting me out of the house. You realize how important these little outings and interactions can be when you aren't able to drive. I'm not sure I am looking forward to the bombardment waiting for me at the office. At least I can say that my World of Warcraft character, Medeaa, has leveled from 30 to 36 and her jewel crafting skills went from 180 to 265. Soon Medeaa will be capable of making jewelry suitable to help the level 60s in our guild to pay them back for all the help they have given me along the way.

Working on Vacation

Why is it I feel so strange about the fact that this site http://vocationvacations.com/ has so much appeal to me. I like the idea of working somewhere on vacation. The point of vacation is supposed to be getting away from work. I think it's the idea I could work in a kitchen (or the chocolate store in Chicago which I think we've been to... that has appeal) and see what it's really like without having to actually go through line cook hell for years. Plus who can pass up a chance to be a sword maker.

What is paraskavedekatriaphobia?

A clue? It is something the English, German, Polish, and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe have in common. It is also similar to something in Greece and Spain, but there it occurs on a Tuesday.

Do you know what it is?

(Click on the "Comments" link below this article to leave your answer.)

Ugh...Car Repairs

So my car has been shuttering off and on lately. If you have ever driven a manual transmission and taken your foot a little too much off the clutch and not given it enough gas you know what I mean. Yet, the little bug made it to Michigan and back for Easter without any complaints. That's over 800 miles!

Well yesterday I had had it with the car vibrating my brain and scheduled an appointment at the Volkswagen dealership for today. Of course, the car was not shuttering when I drove it into their service garage and had to swear it really does do it. At least the Check Engine light was still on to back me up.

The first call...$770...with a highly recommended fuel injector cleaning for an additional $150. Apparently, the spark plugs and coil are now in a single unit rather than separate like they used to be in older cars- a very expensive unit. My wires were arcing, my engine was misfiring, and I was clogging my engine with fuel. Who knew?

The second call..."oh, ma'am your extended warranty covers only the coil, but there is a $100 deductible". Now...$350 (plus the $150 cleaning).

Just another 110,000 miles to go until we reach the 200k goal! Let's see if we can't keep her running. :)

She's a poet?

Many of you may not know that I have been writing poetry since freshman year of high school. Admittedly, I mainly wrote when I was sad or angry. So I suppose, thankfully, I have not written anything in the last three years. My English teacher was the first to show interest in my poetry and encouraged me to write more. That got me started, but mainly I would only share my poems with my paternal grandmother, Grammy. She was my kindred soul since she also wrote poetry and was in general an artist. I would spend my angst years of high school in the wee hours of the night hiding under a blanket with a flashlight writing poetry in my room. Since as I said much of it was created when I was sad or angry it is pretty raw and most likely will not be shared on this blog.

I will share the most recent one written on December 11, 2003 when Ben and I had only been dating a little over 2 months. I was feeling miserable with this nasty cold and trying to sleep as best one can in that sniffly, stuffy, painful state. Faintly I heard this knocking and Ben's voice trying to wake me up. I stumbled to the door in a disheveled mess. My glazed eyes where met with Ben's big grin and a warm dish of spaghetti and meatballs. What could be better?

Hush

My waves roar and crash,
My winds ripe through the dark,
     Churning sea and air alike.
This storm rages,
     Though confined to my cerebral walls.
My body feels withered and ill.

Then a whisper drifts past.
     A wave tries to tumble me further,
          But your voice follows.

A hush comes over my soul,
     And the sea rocks itself to sleep…

          The sky brightens,

               and I am aglow.

I marvel at your power with a smile.

How does my beacon reside within you? My serenity.

-M.LynnC.

When it is snowing in Spring...

Mel's Happy Place

Would you believe a place like this exists in the Chicagoland area? What's up with all the snow lately?

Our Babies...

It seems appropriate to start off the new blog with the 3 gals- Mel's Shadow (Winnie) , The Old Lady (Dusty), and The Snuggle Bug/Hisser/Mischeif Maker (Keiko).