J. here (I know, hide your disappointment, but JE is DARing with her Mom, who is visiting us this weekend.). I just had to post pictures of the latest Melton breakfast. If you don't get the reference, watch this. If not for our theme of naming posts by song lyrics, I would have entitled this post "Nanerpus's Adventures in Appleland" (We have a bit of an apple theme in our kitchen.). I also considered "This shit is bananas, B A N A N A S" from "Hollaback Girl," but in the end, it has to be the original.
The pancakes are banana pancakes, with cinnamon and vanilla, which we had with vanilla maple syrup.
Two other things I note, before turning from the Nanerpus. First, I find it particularly amusing that in the third picture we can see the Nanerpus's lesser brethren, kind of like an adoring banana audience, or maybe like a couple of sidekicks in the Fruit Justice League (or even better, like red-shirted Ensigns to our Nanerpus Captin Kirk's away team to Appleland). Second, I wanted to take a picture of the "deposed Nanerpus," i.e. the Nanerpus on top of the pancake stack that remained after our repast. JE would not allow it, feeling that it was beneath the Nanerpus's dignity. Yes, you read that correctly, "Nanerpus's dignity." Creative credit goes to JE for the Nanerpus and the whip cream; I just cooked the pancakes.
Now, nothing can follow the Nanerpus, but I think the Rasperry Chipotle Roast Pork Loin (yes, it deserves capitalization) from last night wouldn't get booed offstage. I am normally pretty critical of my own cooking (for example, the banana pancakes had poor shape, and I got the butter too hot, robbing me of the nice brown hue that one normally associates with pancakes.). Nonetheless, I must say, the pork loin last night was sublime.
I paired the loin with some toasted sourdough rolls (that I found on Manager's special, aw yeah) and some asparagus that I needed to use soon, and all the flavors really came together. It really sang when you put some of the leftover rasberry chipolte sauce (i.e. not used in the glaze) on the pork loin on top of the roll. Divine.
We also had some homemade salsa with chips for an appetizer (you can see it in the third picture; JE made the salsa), which, while inconsistent with the main course from a flavor perspective, was delicious. The two things I'm most happy with are: (1) we have leftover pork loin and sourdough rolls, so I'm thinking sandwiches; and (2) I didn't realize it when I bought it, but the pork loin that I bough had two pork loins in it and I have leftover rasberry chipotle sauce . . . so I can make it again soon.
Finally, I leave you with some pictures that I took of the trees in our backyard last night during the snow. I wanted to capture the great things that can come from things that we don't normally consider great. Walking the dog in the cold is not the most fun thing in the world. Nonetheless, because I walked the dog in the snow, I got to see how beautiful the snow was on the trees. And the falling snow with the flash had a nice effect, I think. Your milage may vary.
Title: Nanerpus Song, Denny's Commercial.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
My funny Valentine
Ack! How on earth did I let two weeks go by without a post? Of course, more than half of that time was spent in mad-dash preparations for Children's Advocacy Day, a day where GSKWRC (well, two other staff members and I) took 24 middle- and high-school girls to Frankfort for a day. Time, the weather, and a million other elements conspired against me, but we perservered and had a great day on Thursday. On Friday, I managed to put together a decent mailbox for our office Valentine's party (thank goodness I made those valentines a couple of weeks ago!), then came home and crashed!
Today, my sweet valentine treated me to a heart themed breakfast, a trip to the Athens Schoolhouse Antique Show and a fabulous dinner. Pictures of breaskfast and dinner (and a shot of how I spent my pre-dinner hour--yes, I was drinking wine and reading blogs while he slaved over salad, homemade dressing, steak, and my favorite mashed potatoes) are below.
I've not taken a picture yet of my Valentine's present, a cast iron fireplace insert, which fits almost perfecty inside our mantel. A little more work and I'll have that part of our living room complete!
Title: My Funny Valentine, by Frank Sinatra
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Love is all you need
A few pictures of the crafting projects that kept me busy this weekend--
A scrapbook based on the word "LOVE" using pictures from the ice storm. This is actually J's Valentine's Day present, but it was so darn cute I had to give it to him early.
I finished my Valentines for my colleagues at work. I might still add a piece of candy of some sort. We'll see if something comes to me.
Decorations for the mantel. I got the idea for the candy cane letters from Marie at http://www.makeandtakes.com/ and used a skewer to make holes while they were still warm. A little red ribbon and they look great!
Title: All You Need is Love, by John Lennon/The Beatles
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