(late) case of the mondays

destination: london

recently got adobe lightroom

played around with presets

here is my favorite so far

coming up next: flatbread and hummus

case of the mondays - santa fe

going crazy here folks.

my top choice for an MBA is sending out decisions on this Friday. however, if you're accepted, they start making phone calls a few days prior. so i wasn't going to start to worry until wednesday afternoon. then, some jackass on the online forums actually pretended that he/she got a phone call today and threw everyone into an anxious panic, including myself. until i read a few posts down that they were just kidding and that we should all relax. my response to him? go to hell. i was relaxed until you posted, shithead.

so for today's case of the mondays, i'm imagining going to a calm, peaceful place while i push away the demons in my mind.

i've posted on Santa Fe before - http://doughmesticity.blogspot.com/2009/02/our-santa-fe-trip.html, but i'm really just taking you to one place on our trip

let's all go to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

here's a view from hiking among the rocks

in particular, i'd like to escape to this narrow passageway. the rock walls were tight and high. i remember feeling like this was my own space. my own world of hard earth.

if felt like there was nowhere to go, but up towards the sky.

the laziness continues

actually, i've been baking up a storm, but since the actual baking is taking quite a lot of time, this blog post will be about a very simple, but delicious pasta dish that can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes.this is what hubby likes to call a one-pot meal. just everything thrown together. there are many variations that i go through, but this is one of hubby's faves. and mine. it's tasty, easy, and like most of our other food, somewhat healthy.

3 links of turkey sausage (we like jenny-o, sweet italian style)

penne pasta (you could use whole wheat to up the healthy factor)

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp olive oil

~ 3/4 cup frozen spinach

jar pasta sauce, about 1 cup

break out the Forman grill, heat it up and put on the 3 turkey sausage links.

while that's going, start pasta water

chop the garlic

heat pan and oil

saute your garlic, then add the frozen spinach and saute, then add pasta sauce

pasta water should be ready now, add penne

turkey sausage should be done by now. take off the grill and let it rest for a minute on a cutting board.

slice turkey sausage, add to garlic/spinach/sauce and cook on low until pasta is ready.

drain pasta, but keep a little water and add it all to sauce mixture.

mix and let cook together for just a minute.

check to see if you need any more salt/pepper.

that's it!

the whole thing should take about 20 minutes.

you could add other things if you want. it's just a very casual weeknight sort of dinner.

lazy cake

sometimes, i want cake. but i don't want to bake. so i microwave.

yes, microwave chocolate cake.

it's not fantastic, no, but it's quick, easy and you only need to clean one cup, and two spoons.

take a microwave safe mug and add:

1 tbsp + 1 tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp flour (i use whole wheat)

1/8 tsp baking powder

tiny pinch of salt

2 tbsp sugar (i actually like 1 heaping tbsp instead of 2)

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk (non fat)

1 tbsp plain yogurt (non fat)

1 tbsp chocolate chips (or more, however much you feel like)

mix it all together and microwave it for 1:30 min on high. my microwave's pretty strong, so if your microwave isn't, maybe 2 min. i like to spri

nkle a few more chocolate chips on the top when it comes right out. b/c i use non fat milk and non fat yogurt, i admit, it's a little dry. also, if you don't eat it within 30 min, it gets hard b/c it was microwaved. but, the whole thing is done in just a few minutes and there's so little cleanup.

and it's still pretty tasty.

case of the mondays - lanai

today sucks. not because it's monday. but because it's dec. 14th and one of the MBA programs I applied to released it's decisions.

and i did not get positive feedback.

so, instead of wallowing about this, since it's pointless and i'll just eat a lot of food and get fat even before the holidays are here, we're going to lanai!

lanai is one of the islands of hawaii

there are only 3 hotels on the entire island, and two of them are four seasons resorts.

hubby and i honeymooned on lanai (among other islands).

we stayed at the gorgeous Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele.

and because i was so enamored with the place, i totally forgot interior pictures.

but this is part of the property in the back.

when we got there, they gave us fresh-squeeze pineapple juice. it was delicious. of course. they had fruit in the lobby and i grabbed an apple on our way out to explore.

i mean, i guess it could be said that i have a small head (but i'm kind of short, so it's totally proportional). but this apple was gigantic. i didn't stand a chance.

we drove on this red-dusted road to get to the Garden of the Gods (Keahiakawelo).

so named because to rocks bring to mind god-like images. fields of this. some had much bigger boulders.

what i loved was that from one of the small hills, you could see Molokai.

we did also visit the other Four Seasons resort and went snorkeling there. while i was resting, hubby was out trying to get close to the dolphins. yes, that speck in the middle is a dolphin.

the view of Manele Bay, where we were snorkeling. ahh, lanai was a beautiful island.

there's a lot to do on the island, tiny as it is. we didn't do it all and what we did actually partake in, we don't have lots of photos. but still, i can think back to it and see it very clearly in my mind. one particular restaurant was great (and amazingly, not connected to four seasons, though those were all wonderful too). the Lanai City Grille, part of the one other hotel on the island, Hotel Lanai. not only were the portions generous, but it really was delicious. i can still remember that i had pork chops. with a pureed vegetable. and greens. there was garlic.

for the rest of the day, i will think about lanai. the chocolate-covered pineapple spears from our four seasons resort. the dinner and music at lanai city grille. beautiful, enchanting hawaii.

case of the mondays - venice

do you have a case of the mondays?

i do.

i have a case of the mondays every monday.

i just have that kind of job. do you?

if so, would you like to travel with me?

every monday, let's take a trip.

i've been to a number of places in my short life and each monday, we'll visit a different place.

to start, let's go to venice.

ahhh, beautiful, amazing venice.

with it's gondolas

many, many gondolas

and markets, just brimming with produce. none of which are actually from venice. most not even from italy, like the pineapples in the corner and the bananas hanging up top. but a vibrant scene, nonetheless.

the swordfish head looked particularly appetizing . . .

mui mui, trying to blend with the local scene. too bad we didn't buy it. the packaging and transporting thing would have been an issue. but the guy who owned this store was great! we went back to his place several times to buy little masks as souvenirs for friends.

mui mui eating a cream puff in a square. lots and lots of squares in venice. the streets, canals, bridges, etc. are all a bit confusing. but if you are ever lost, just keep walking until you get to a square. locate the square on your map, and you are all good.

Venice's most famous square - Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. mui mui, mom, and dad, among the throngs of tourists there.

one of the things i loved about venice was that you could look up at anytime and see beautiful carved details like this

the food at this one restaurant, something with pumpkin in the title, was also very much loved. completely forgot to take a picture of the food before we started to eat. this was towards the end of the delicious meal.

Venice was a beautiful, lovely place. bye. sigh.

our thanksgiving

this year, we celebrated thanksgiving in london. so before we went, we had thanksgiving with friends. the whole spread - turkey, mashed potatoes (which sort of looks bigger than the turkey), asparagus, sweet potato biscuits, stuffing, brussel sprouts with bacon, pecan and caramelized apple pie, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce. mmmm, lots of food.

our friends digging in

my favorite dish of the night (almost, i liked them all actually) - cornbread stuffing with sausage, butternut squash, craisins and parsley

caramelized apple and pecan pie - it's hard to see the apple, but it's in there

gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake

another shot of the gingerbread and pumpkin cheesecake, this time, with caramel sauce. and let me tell you, it wasn't easy to take that picture. one hand with the caramel sauce and the other one trying to steadily take the picture, all while the sun is setting outside.