typhoons and other stuff

Well... it's been a while since I've updated the blog.  No excuse really, I've just been occupied.  So lets see... what have I been up to...
I had a temporary job selling wine.  It was pretty interesting, I got paid almost as much as I did as an Assistant Manager at my old job, which is hilarious in a bad way.
Quite a lot of derby over the past 4 months, though most of it has been our off season.  I purchased new skates with the money from my temp job.  I really wish they'd get here already.  I will be posting a picture as soon as they get here.  Probably too excited about this.
Taking lots of pictures of the food I've been making over the past few months.  So lots of recipes.  I've been dabbling in more vegan, or vegan-ish recipes.
Cross Stitching.  Yes, I was the nerd that started cross stitching at age 9 or 10.  Looking to open an etsy shop.  I will post here when it goes up. :)

oh... right.  Theres another typhoon on the way.  It's supposed to hit sometime on Wednesday.  That's going to be far more interesting than i want it to be.

I made pita bread for the first time ever.  It was considerable more easy than i thought it would be.  I got the recipe from the bpal.org forum.  Even though I haven't worked with yeast bread very much, this was a very easy introduction.

Pita Bread
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for kneading
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt, preferably sea salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

1. Dissolve yeast in water. Add in olive oil, salt, and sugar. Stir gently.
2. Add flour and knead to incorporate. I often add a little extra water (just a few tablespoons) at this stage, since I prefer to use all the flour. Sometimes the specified amount of water just won't "take" all the flour. Knead until the dough is mostly smooth.
3. Put the dough in a warm (but not hot) place to rise for 1-2 hours. The dough should be roughly doubled in size.
4. When the dough has risen, divide it into 6 or 8 roughly even pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Cover loosely with a tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
5. Roll each ball out to less than 1/4" thick, using additional flour as necessary. Do not stack the disks or they will stick together. For ideal "puffing" let the disks rest a few minutes and make sure to cook them in order.
6. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. I wouldn't advise non-stick, because these cook best with no oil and I don't like to heat non-stick pans empty. Once the skillet is preheated, add one pita disk. Cook for 15 seconds on one side. Turn. Cook until browned, then turn and cook the other side. Be prepared for this to take as much time as 5 minutes. Set aside, repeat with remaining dough.

The recipe turned out very well.  I will be repeating this often.   it's so much better than any flat bread that can be purchased on island. Its not as good as restaurant naan, but then again what is?  If only I could figure out have to make lavash I'd be set.

Missouri Fury and the knock out recipe

In the new form of roller derby it is customary to pick a nick name.  Usually they are puns, a play on words or other delicious forms of humorous fun in name form.  After much deliberation I decided to choose Missouri Fury.   I love my home state and I have been known to go into fits of rage.  It's perfect.

I found something amazing recently.  When we moved to Japan we were introduced to curry and it has become a favorite when we go out to eat. I recently found a fairly easy meatless variety I could eat all week.

I made a few revisions to this recipe.  I used two Japanese eggplants and did not peel them or pre cook them since it was not needed.  I also made my own "garam masala" out of spices I had in my kitchen.
Eggplant Chickpea Curry

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon mined fresh ginger (i used dry)
1 pound tomatoes chopped roughly (i used canned)
2 pounds eggplant cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
2 teaspoon garam masala (i made my own)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup vegetable broth
1 15 oz can chickpeas

Saute onion in oil over medium heat 5 mins. add garlic and ginger for another minute. mix eggplant and tomato in stirring constantly for a minute. put in all the spices and vegetable broth. cover and bring to a slow boil for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. add chickpeas and cook uncovered for 10 mins.
Serve over rice. Yummy!!

A real velvet unicorn painting and some new stuff

There have been a few new and exciting changes for me in the past month. First off, I joined a roller derby league!  It has been a lot of fun so far and I can't wait until I get better.  Second, I have had a bit of a diet change.  I've been eating vegetables in all kinds of new ways, especially types I used to hate.  I bought a new cook book and haven't looked back since.  My husband isn't too thrilled about all the food changes so sometimes I find myself making two meals.  Whatever works, right?
It is my birthday this Friday and my husband surprised me with this fabulous painting that is now hanging in our living room!

Reminds me of some amazingly cheesy stuff my sister used to hang in her room. After I made the blog post about the unicorn painting I kept joking around about how great it would be to have a unicorn painting in the living room... a bust with a rainbow. Does this man know me or what?!?
This is just how behind I am in writing. This recipe I did for Valentines Day.

Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

1 egg, beaten

1 clove garlic, minced

2 ounces feta cheese

1/2 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 pound ground turkey


Mix ingredients together and mold into burger shapes on a plate, make 4 patties.  Heat a frying pan prepped with non stick oil on medium heat.  Flip burgers once they are formed and brown on the first side. Cook until the juices run clear and no pink remains.  Flip again if needed.

Brussels Sprouts

A dash of olive oil

half an onion thinly sliced

spoonful of minced garlic

1 lbs thinly sliced Brussels sprouts

Heat oil in  a frying pan on medium high heat. Add onions until barely clear, then add garlic and dash of pepper if desired.  Add Brussels sprouts and saute until lightly brown.

These are delicious!  Highly recommend trying both of these recipes.  Now to prep my mass backlog of blog posts....

How many short stories can you really write about your cat?

The story isn't about Charlie, my cat, exactly... but he's in it.  I think I forgot how good it feels to finish a story.  It was just a 500 word story but I forgot what a high it can be. It's really different than working on a novel, I really need to mix it up more often. Another bit of great advice from my imaginary mentor Neil Gaiman.  I read his blog a lot.

So the only thing I've actually completed on my last post is number 3. Sort of. its a new story...
It's been a while since I've posted.  This is something I work on when my husband is at work or busy but he's been having a lot of 3 and 4 day weekends.  I've cooked a few things that i will be posting with in the next couple of days but here's a couple I've been meaning to post.

Despite not being able to get a good picture of this one it must be shared due to is deliciousness. It's one of my best go to easy awesome recipe. Modifications on my version here. Original link provided.

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

1/4 cup quinoa

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped (or shredded if you dislike the oniony texture)

1 large clove garlic, chopped (i used minced)

1 lb ground turkey

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (optional)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon lime juice

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool. (don't skip this step, found that out the hard way)
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, lime juice, soy sauce, eggs, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon lime juice in a small bowl. Drizzle the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Savory Onion Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons margarine

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 tablespoon margarine

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch round or one 8x8 inch square pan.
(I used my regular bread pan)

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, cut in 2 tablespoons of the butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
2. Fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of the butter or margarine until clear and golden. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl beat the egg and stir in the milk and the cooked onion. Pour egg mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. You will have a soft dough. Pat dough into the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese over top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

On again off again part 2... sort of

On my quest to become a more productive individual, in the last week I have managed to accomplish almost nothing.  I've even managed to lose some of my cooking confidence, but my pride is definitely easy to bruise anyway. I have a short list of things I would like to accomplish.
1. Get Japanese drivers license.  That right, I'm such a bum that I still don't have one.
2. Go for a walk everyday that it is not pouring rain.  I've managed to not go for a walk alone yet.
3. Re-work an old story and complete it.  I need to submit something somewhere, I don't even care if it gets published at this point.  It's more important to say I tried.
4. Find an online graduate program that I am at least interested in besides this one.  Minimum requirements: it must cost less than $40,000 and be completely online or have classes on Kadena.
5. Bake my husband a pineapple upside down cake for v-day, being a housewife is about all I can give right now.  I was gifted a balloon tin of Godiva and season one of Community.  He knows me so well. :)



Sometimes I find inspiration in seemingly unrelated fields to what I am working on.  Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Star Trek (yes all of them) have been my best companions lately.  I love to read as well, but sometimes it doesn't matter how you take in the story.  I find television to be as much a valid way to take in a story as a series of novels, sometimes its much better.  It bothers me that TV is looked down on by some readers as much as fiction is looked down on by non-fiction and literature only advocates. I find value in almost all forms of story telling.  It's perfectly okay to have a preference, but its condescending to assume that preference makes you better than others.  I'm sure I will add more on that at a later date.

On again off again and my favorite cookies

I've been having a lot of trouble with motivation, no surprise there I know, mom.  But I have a huge opportunity here.  I can write with out having to worry about eating and bills (in theory- stay with me).  I have always need an artistic outlet, always always.  Cooking is the newest version of my never ending need to express myself.  It's the best thing I can ever do to be heard.  With out diving too far into my head I know that's what its all about. I have the need to stumble out loud I guess.  So here it goes...
I used to watch my much older step sisters with their own forms of art.  One played the clarinet in band, when we went to see her concerts I would dream of one day being able to play an instrument. I remember thinking the cork grease in her clarinet case was lip balm. EW.  My other sister was into fashion. design and painting.  I adored everything she did, except the hideous clothes she tried to get me to wear.  As most younger children do, I was quick to imitate and try to be like them.
When I was four I started ballet.  Many little girls take ballet or dance when they are young, its cute, its fun.  I wasn't very good at it.  Hated practicing. It was almost a game to see how much I could get away with with out trying.  The ballet experiment ended at the age of 10.
In early elementary school I remember that we were all required to write little books.  The the kid with the best book out of each grade would travel to a larger competition and have a chance at getting published.  My books always sucked. I was a terrible writer when I was in first grade. Needless to say I never thought I would be any good at writing.  I also suspect many of the kids didn't write their own books, especially looking back. But I sure as shit did.
In middle school I started playing the saxophone.  It was very enjoyable.  I wasn't the best, at first but I was pretty damn good.  Usually second or third chair out of eight kids. Not too bad. Of course I moved after my first year in band.  Then all the shit hit the fan. I was suddenly an only child(long boring sad story) in a new school with no friends.  Not to mention I had a terrible band teacher.  I almost failed the class.  So that was my first experience with being afraid of something I love to do.  The following year in band the kids in my section got so physically and verbally abusive I quit.  Walked out. Left for good.  But I made a friend, finally, Jamie.  She pretty much insisted I be her friend and wouldn't take no for an answer.  I'm glad she did.
I started drawing a bit. Doodling.
My mom was in perfect agreement with me leaving band in middle school but in high school she insisted I try again.  I'm very glad she made me go back.  It became such a huge part of my identity for the next 8 years it's hard to think of who I would have been with out it.  The saxophone became an extension of my own voice.  I was finally good at something. Sports and academics be damned.  I spent quite a bit of time practicing.  Jazz Band, wind ensemble, symphonic band, marching band... the only down side was having 3 different teachers, the school couldn't hold on to anyone for more than a couple of years and that may very well still be the case.
I dabbled in various forms of artistic expression throughout high school. Drawing, painting, music, ceramics, and poetry.  I loved all of it.  This was when I became very interested in literature.  I'd been reading Anne Rice since I was 13.  I was very lucky my high school had a lot of classes to take that focused on my interests in all of these things.  Shakespeare, British Lit, mythology ect. but it was all for fun, I thought music was going to be the thing that took me somewhere.  Despite how well I did in my school it wasn't my musicianship that was impressive it was my lack of fear to try things.  My skills were decent, but I made up for what was missing with an adventurous spirit.  Unless it had to do with auditions.  Concerts are one thing, standing alone in a room with three people staring at you is quite another.  I never made it to any kind of regional or state anything.  I always choked.  By the time I was a senior I felt myself becoming resentful of the process.  All the work, the practice.  I'd always fuck it up.  That was when i learned the valuable lesson, sometimes it doesn't matter how badly you want to be good at something, sometimes you just aren't good enough. 
So that's my biggest fear in this... what if I'm as mediocre at writing as I am at playing the saxophone.
Balls.

On that note here's some delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies
The link to the original and below is my mothers variation.

2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 350F
mix all ingredients except the last two, once well mixed add flour and chocolate chips together.
spoon golf ball sized portions of the dough on to a cookie sheet. bake 9 or 10 mins, or until done.

An easy recipe with lots of pictures for no particular reason

I'm not feeling particularly articulate today so this will be short.  This is a very good recipe, I cant wait to make it again. There is the link to the original recipe, I am adding my exact variation on here.

Tortellini with spinach and cherry tomatoes

• 1  (8-ounce) package spinach ricotta tortellini
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1 1/2  cups  cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup  chicken broth
• 2 small zucchinis peeled, sliced and salted
• 1/2  (10-ounce) frozen package of spinach thawed and squeezed dry

Cook tortellini according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
While tortellini cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and  saute 30 seconds.
After peeling and salting the zucchini saute it in a separate pan until soft, or desired tenderness.
Add tomatoes, broth, and baby spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tortellini and zucchini; cook 1 minute.  Add sea salt if needed.