It's strawberry season and I love them so!
Some ideas to jazz up your "fresas"...
Creamy:
Slice desired amount of strawberries in 4 pieces and sprinkle with just a little bit of sugar, and set aside. What the sugar does is extract some of the juices from the berries and creates a great topping to just about anything, I like using frozen cool whip (lite tastes good too, or chocolate). Scoop out cool whip like ice cream, and pour some of the strawberries with some of the juices on top. If looking for an extra touch, chocolate syrup should do the trick. You can use this for an easy dessert at a dinner party. Just portion the cool whip in bowls before and keep in the freezer. Add sugar to the strawberries before so you will only have to top the cool whip and serve!
Savory:
Combine spring salad mix, pecans, strawberries and sprinkle some goat cheese on top and you have a refreshing salad. Drizzle a bit of balsamic vinaigrette on top and yummy! Balsamic works great with strawberries. many cooks will reduce balsamic vinegar, to a syrup, and use it for a topping on strawberries. I haven't tried it but balsamic is actually a sweeter vinegar and more full bodied than most so I can bet it tastes good. Another tidbit about balsamic, it is aged like wine, so make sure not to skimp on it. A good balsamic is important to a dish just as a good wine would be.
Other good combinations:
Rhubarb. Rhubarb has to be cooked (or it will be more sour than a lemon) so either cook it with sugar and let cool then combine with strawberries for a great ice cream topper or cook the strawberries with the rhubarb and use as a pie filling.
Cream. A classic way I used to enjoy them would be cut up in a bowl with a little bit of cream poured on top and sprinkled with sugar. Brown sugar would add a good flavor to this as well.
Goat Cheese. It is tart and the berry is sweet, put it on top of a cracker and you have the crunch. A great combination if trying to figure out what in the heck to do with all of those strawberries! I love goat cheese. it satisfies my cheese cravings but is relatively ok for you and since it is pretty rich, a little goes a long way!
Banana. Umm.. Duh :) I also love frozen bananas but since strawberries have a lot of water in them they freeze way too hard but make a strawberry sundae without ice cream, replace with frozen bananas and you have a healthier version for a sundae. Don't forget to top with whip cream and maybe a little of that chocolate syrup...
Chocolate. Again, easy... but have you ever tried dipping strawberries in chocolate pudding??? Sounds a little different but so good and at least pudding has calcium in it and can be proportionate with the individual packages.
That's about all I have for now but get creative with those fresas and don't limit yourself to sweet when they can be just a delicious paired with savory flavors!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Birthday...
So, I'm turning 26... I still have to think a minute about how old I am. I suppose that is a good thing that I don't feel 25 (almost 26) but yikes!
The new stuff:
Still working on the house... It's getting there! I will post pictures once they are done painting, I can't wait :)
Sarah's wedding is creeping up... So much anticipation for this event. I know it will be everything she imagines it to be and more, I will make sure of it!
Summer heat... Poor grandma and Phoenix heat, I feel I can't even say it's hot compared to what she has to deal with (105+) but it's going to get friggin' hot (~90). The past few days have been pretty hot and we are getting used to the heat. The plus side, it makes me crave fruit and veggies more than fatty stuff and I drink a lot more water than I did before so maybe the heat is a blessing in disguise... The neighbors all say we will get used to it so I am crossing my fingers and realizing I need to invest in some sun dresses :)
Life is great. Jose is such a sweety and I am so blessed to have him love me and take care of me when I am down and so patient when I go crazy. I am truly blessed :)
Live, Laugh, Love
The new stuff:
Still working on the house... It's getting there! I will post pictures once they are done painting, I can't wait :)
Sarah's wedding is creeping up... So much anticipation for this event. I know it will be everything she imagines it to be and more, I will make sure of it!
Summer heat... Poor grandma and Phoenix heat, I feel I can't even say it's hot compared to what she has to deal with (105+) but it's going to get friggin' hot (~90). The past few days have been pretty hot and we are getting used to the heat. The plus side, it makes me crave fruit and veggies more than fatty stuff and I drink a lot more water than I did before so maybe the heat is a blessing in disguise... The neighbors all say we will get used to it so I am crossing my fingers and realizing I need to invest in some sun dresses :)
Life is great. Jose is such a sweety and I am so blessed to have him love me and take care of me when I am down and so patient when I go crazy. I am truly blessed :)
Live, Laugh, Love
Monday, June 22, 2009
Excited :)
As you prolly guessed, I am starting to get excited about our NYC trip... The countdown is 159 days or 22 weeks and 5 days or 5 months and 1 week! So I have started to compile places we want to go and places we have to eat... We have decided to not set a schedule, it makes things stressful by trying to stick to it. Instead I will compile a bunch of places we would like to go and the times they are open, costs and location and try to take each day at a time. The only for sure things we will do are: visit Matt (I can't wait!), go to Ground Zero (Jose really wants to go) and go to a tall building (either the Empire State Building or Rockefeller Building). I really want to go to Katz's Deli (I love When Harry Met Sally, on of the best movies of ALL time!!!) and Ellen's Stardust Diner sounds like fun and I know Jose will get a kick out of it (I haven't ever been). I would like to go to Tavern on the Green but it is pretty pricy and I can bet we can find better food in Little Italy so I doubt we'll go but we might walk by it on our tour of Central Park.So besides the planning, our house was painted last weekend... The final touches need to be done so wait 'till next week for pics. All of the imporvements are about done, we just need new garage doors and finishing the demo of the pool and we need new grass in the front yard... I don't think we will ever be done with stuff but that's what houses do, constantly improve and I would rather it be that way then lose value, especially in this economy.
That's about all, I hope you all have a great week and enjoy summer!
Live, Laugh, Love
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A sign I am getting old :(
We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain on Monday... Tuesday Jose and I were is so much pain that today we are still feeling it. We didn't even go on all the rides... It is probably because I hate heights and I was tense on every single ride but I did not expect to feel like I was beaten with a bat :(
So yeah...
The diet is a learning process, even after years of doing it, I am still learning new things about myself, which is great! I have lost two pounds (as of Sunday) and can't wait to see what the scale says next week. Jose is having positive results too, he feels and looks skinnier.
I have started planning Sarah's bachelorette party but since she reads this I won't indulge anything, except I am having so much fun doing it and I have to be careful because I could totally go over board.
On the vacation front, it looks like we won't be taking one. I have been able to come to peace with the decision and we figured that we wouldn't be able to enjoy it because we would be worried about the dogs and what not the whole time. I just make sure to enjoy all of life's little moments and that helps me stay sane.
That's all folks!
Live, Laugh, Love
So yeah...
The diet is a learning process, even after years of doing it, I am still learning new things about myself, which is great! I have lost two pounds (as of Sunday) and can't wait to see what the scale says next week. Jose is having positive results too, he feels and looks skinnier.
I have started planning Sarah's bachelorette party but since she reads this I won't indulge anything, except I am having so much fun doing it and I have to be careful because I could totally go over board.
On the vacation front, it looks like we won't be taking one. I have been able to come to peace with the decision and we figured that we wouldn't be able to enjoy it because we would be worried about the dogs and what not the whole time. I just make sure to enjoy all of life's little moments and that helps me stay sane.
That's all folks!
Live, Laugh, Love
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Ain't he wonderful???
Friday I got frustrated... frustrated that I didn't have anything for dinner, frustrated I don't get paid until Monday and tired of cooking on a budget, diet friendly and easy...
So, Jose being wonderful, decided to make dinner for me. The second time ever but he did it all and it was delicious!!! He made BBQ chicken with cauliflower and for an appetizer we had clam cocktail. It was diet friendly and I love him! I will admit I felt weird having him cooking and me not, but I will definitely want him to do it again, as he reminds me that it is only on certain occasions.
Tomorrow we go to Six Flags!!! Yay!!! I am deathly afraid of heights but I like roller coasters so it will be fun :P
Live, Laugh, Love
Thursday, June 11, 2009
My Struggles
So I have started dieting, again. It seems like I will be doing this for the rest of my life but I guess if that's what it takes :( I have joined Spark People and for those of you trying to diet, it really helps. It is free and allows me to network with other people (pretty much all women) and they help me with my hurdles and I help them with theirs. It really is great.
We need a vacation! With all of the home improvements, we never get down time at home. It seems, when we are home there are always things to do, cleaning, yard work, scrap booking, laundry, paying bills, etc... When we are away from home we are at work or at Jose's parents' house and that is nice but we don't stay long and the dogs are either away from us or with us. We will be venturing up north this Sept but I am thinking that is just too far in the future. I think we will go crazy before that and Sarah needs a sane MOH! I have thought about making that trip into a vacation by taking our time but I don't think that is going to happen and, again, it is too far in the future... We will be going to NYC but that is in Nov/Dec and, again, far away and we will not be bringing the dog with us on that one. I would love to go on a family vacation next month but we'll see...
My garden... Jose's dad and Steph were so generous and helped clean the area for my garden, now I just need to turn the dirt and mix it with compost or planting mix... I will do that this weekend, in between the house cleaning and laundry :( I don't like doing laundry... I know... who does, right???
I am having issues trying to find recipes that will satisfy Jose and still be diet friendly... I was able to do this before but I had included pork in the diet and it has too much cholesterol so now what do I do??? We are bored of fish and chicken already :(
What else... We need new bedroom furniture, what we have just isn't working for us and our room is cluttery, driving me crazy...
I think that is about it, thanks for letting me vent and I know much of it isn't worth getting frustrated about so I will brush it off in a bit, but for now... thank you
We need a vacation! With all of the home improvements, we never get down time at home. It seems, when we are home there are always things to do, cleaning, yard work, scrap booking, laundry, paying bills, etc... When we are away from home we are at work or at Jose's parents' house and that is nice but we don't stay long and the dogs are either away from us or with us. We will be venturing up north this Sept but I am thinking that is just too far in the future. I think we will go crazy before that and Sarah needs a sane MOH! I have thought about making that trip into a vacation by taking our time but I don't think that is going to happen and, again, it is too far in the future... We will be going to NYC but that is in Nov/Dec and, again, far away and we will not be bringing the dog with us on that one. I would love to go on a family vacation next month but we'll see...
My garden... Jose's dad and Steph were so generous and helped clean the area for my garden, now I just need to turn the dirt and mix it with compost or planting mix... I will do that this weekend, in between the house cleaning and laundry :( I don't like doing laundry... I know... who does, right???
I am having issues trying to find recipes that will satisfy Jose and still be diet friendly... I was able to do this before but I had included pork in the diet and it has too much cholesterol so now what do I do??? We are bored of fish and chicken already :(
What else... We need new bedroom furniture, what we have just isn't working for us and our room is cluttery, driving me crazy...
I think that is about it, thanks for letting me vent and I know much of it isn't worth getting frustrated about so I will brush it off in a bit, but for now... thank you
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Where is the love? My Thoughts...
As I was driving home yesterday a song came on that got me thinking...
Where is the happiness? I was thinking about how people can get so caught up in their tragedies and problems that they fail to realize that thousands of people in the world are dealing with issues far worse than they. This made me start to think about what I have gone through the past few years and yes they were painful and no I would never wish them upon any one else but I don't like to wallow in the past and I thank God every day that I am able to appreciate the life I have to live.
Where is the understanding? As I was pondering the above thoughts I started to think about Prop 8. I find it sad and frustrating that we are still back at square one. Why can't people see that? Aren't we taught to treat everyone equal regardless of their beliefs, sex or skin color? How is this any different? If people are worried about the religious aspects then why should it have anything to do with what the government decides? From what I understand, Christ loved all, regardless, and who are we to judge and condemn? Are you God? Why do people put so much energy into this when there are babies dying from starvation, people homeless and children getting raped? This seems like a fight that should have been over long ago. Let everyone know what it feels like to express eternal love to another and no one has any right to take that away. We live in America right? The land of the free?
As I always say: Live, Laugh, LOVE
Where is the happiness? I was thinking about how people can get so caught up in their tragedies and problems that they fail to realize that thousands of people in the world are dealing with issues far worse than they. This made me start to think about what I have gone through the past few years and yes they were painful and no I would never wish them upon any one else but I don't like to wallow in the past and I thank God every day that I am able to appreciate the life I have to live.
Where is the understanding? As I was pondering the above thoughts I started to think about Prop 8. I find it sad and frustrating that we are still back at square one. Why can't people see that? Aren't we taught to treat everyone equal regardless of their beliefs, sex or skin color? How is this any different? If people are worried about the religious aspects then why should it have anything to do with what the government decides? From what I understand, Christ loved all, regardless, and who are we to judge and condemn? Are you God? Why do people put so much energy into this when there are babies dying from starvation, people homeless and children getting raped? This seems like a fight that should have been over long ago. Let everyone know what it feels like to express eternal love to another and no one has any right to take that away. We live in America right? The land of the free?
As I always say: Live, Laugh, LOVE
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