The Toaster is Toast
We have a slice toaster and a convection oven toaster right next to each other. The outlet for both of them sits right behind the convection toaster. Apparently, the plug for the slice toaster got too close to the convection when it was on one day, because it proceeded to melt through the plug casing! So one night while we were making our french toast sticks in the slice toaster for dessert, we heard a big ZAP and the power went out on the TV and Jeff’s computer… blew the circuit! Now we need a new toaster.
Pinnacle Bank “Profit” Party
Jeff’s work place, Pinnacle Bank, has finally started to turn a “profit” so they threw a little party to celebrate the momentous occasion. The theme was black and white, and it was held at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz. We were late arriving (of course) and got there just in time for the first course (salad). For dinner i had salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus, Jeff had a filet with some interesting pasta/gnocchi starch thingy that we couldn’t figure out what it was, and some brocollini. For dessert we had an apple tart AND a chocolate turtle cake. Mmm!
I loved seeing everyone’s outfits. I had to go shopping the night before because i didn’t feel like wearing anything i already had. I had a few outifts i could have worn, most of which i’d already worn to a Pinnacle Bank party though, so i thought that was no fun! I found a cute black AND white dress at Max Studio (outlet) – one of my favorite stores.
Jeff and I at the party. Jeff wanted me to find him a piano key tie but i had no time to shop for him!
Here is a pic of my belly as we were leaving the party. 20.5 weeks!
First Belly Shot at 18 weeks
Here’s a side-by-side of beginning of pregnancy and today! I’ve gained 7lbs and am up 3% in body fat (ah! whats a good percentage to be at when you’re pregnant?!?).
I have a lot of other photos of my belly from between these weeks, i am thinking of making a master side-by-side collage-type photo to add to the side of the blog. Maybe i’ll work on it next week!
Feeling great! Belly is growing slowly but surely… boobies aren’t growing at all though…! Dang.
Snow on the Hilltops
The news was making a big hoopla about it snowing around the area this weekend. Well, i guess it did end up snowing in some parts, but i didn’t really see anything besides hail! Though on my drive home from the gym, i did see some snow on the hilltops. I’ve seen this a couple of times before, so it is not too uncommon.
It did get cold enough for our deck to freeze!
A Little Rooster
Rainy day today, and a little rooster tried seeking shelter in the Schipper Design office. I think this is the same rooster who has a tendency to also stand by the back door (right by my desk) and just crow and stare in through the window. What a weirdo. He also kept pooping! Gotta watch where you step when you walk out the door!
Valentine’s Day 2011
Jeff and I decided to keep it low-key this Valentine’s Day and just picked up a heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy’s. They also had a dessert Smore pie which was like a cookie almost.
I didn’t get Jeff anything for Valentine’s Day, except a jar of Peanut M&M’s… But he got me (or us) a vase to hold our wedding sand because the other night, Butter’s accidentally pushed it over the edge of the dresser and broke the original decanter glass that we poured it into on our wedding day. So it was a very nice and thoughtful gift. We have it on our hearth over the fireplace now, so Butters can’t get to it.
Spicy Peanut Eggplant Stew
I have been craving this peanut eggplant dish that i think my Mom has made a long time ago when i was living at home. So I searched online for the recipe that sounded similar to what i craved, but couldnt find it. I tried calling my mom at this point but then after talking to her she had no idea what dish i was talking about!
But i did find another recipe that sounded yummy so i thought i’d try it anyway. The stew turned out really yummy and different from anything i’ve made before. The only thing i didnt like about it was i think i put too much lemon juice… so i’ve decreased it in the recipe below.
Ingredients
1/2 lb of chicken breasts, diced
1 large Eggplant, peeled, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
1/2 shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 hot chili, seeded and minced
1” cube of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes w/ juice
3 cups water or light veggie broth
1/2 cup creamy or chunky natural peanut butter
6 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, lightly packed
chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro leaves for garnish
Directions
In a large bowl or colander toss eggplant cubes with salt. Allow to sit of 30 minutes to soften, then gently rinse eggplant chunks with cold running water. Drain and set aside.
In a large stock pot heat 2 T oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and fry, occasionally stirring, for about 20 minutes until very soft, browned and slightly caramelized. Scoop shallots out of pot and set aside.
Add oil and fry chicken breasts until pink is gone. Remove from pan.
Add 1 T of oil to pot and add eggplant, stirring to coat with oil. Stir and cook eggplant for 12-15 minutes until slightly tender. Remove eggplant from heat and set aside (I toss it in the same bowl with the shallots and chicken).
Add remaining 1 T of oil to the pot again, then add ginger and chile and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground cumin, coriander, tumeric and fry for another 30 second then add onion. Stir and fry till onion is just slightly soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and fry mixture for 1 minute.
Pour diced tomatoes, water or broth, eggplant, string beans, chicken and shallots into pot with frying onion/spice mixture. Stir to combined and raise heat to medium high. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat.
In a separate bowl stir peanut butter to combine any separated oils. Pour a ladleful of hot soup onto peanut butter. Stir peanut butter with soup till creamy and peanut butter is completely emulsified. Scrape peanut butter mixture into rest of simmering soup, stirring to combine.
Simmer soup on medium-low heat, covered, for 35-45 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste after soup has cooled for at least half an hour. True to soup form, the taste improves when heated up the next day.
Kitchen Club 2011: Superbowl
We had another superbowl party at our house this year, and we paired it up with a Kitchen Club event. Here are some photos from the day:
Sandy’s Pigs in Blanket. I swear these were gone in 30 seconds!
Renee always brings 2 dishes it seems! She made a bunch of guacamole with home-fried toritilla chips, and Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers.
Carrie’s Deviled Eggs. OMG can you believe this girl had a baby like a month ago? Jealous, hope i look like that!
Charlyne’s Stuffed Mushrooms. She made them healthy and they looked and tasted great!
Forgot to change the setting on my camera! But here’s Jeff outside in the sun grilling up his sliders.
I made a Margartia Fruit Dip to offset all the salty stuff.
I made Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts. I’d never tried it before but it was really yummy. The only mistake i made i think was using thick bacon, which i thought would be better, but was too much for the little bite. Flavor was great though, a bit like barbeque.
Markus is here combo-ing some food, looks like all of Renee’s dishes in one bite. His wife Angie brought their famous Buffalo Wing Cheese Dip and some yummy homemade chocolate sandwich cookies. Didnt get a photo!
Wayne brought Chili, again forgot to take a photo.
Everyone watching the game, and the commercials. We played commercial bingo and Jaffry (Roger’s cousin) won! We gave out an Outback Steakehouse gift card.
Roger won the final square, and i think Markus or Angie won one of the quarters.
Onesie for “He/She McGirr”
Jeff’s Grandma “Nana” has been sending us packages in the mail labeled to “He/She McGirr”. Already?!?! Oh man! It’s gonna be one spoiled child here! First grandchild AND great-grandchild for all sides — except for Nana – she has got a few great-grandsons but no great-grand-daughters. So if its a girl it will extra special for her i am sure. Our next ultrasound scan is scheduled for March 9th where we COULD find out the sex of the baby but we have decided we want to be surprised at birth! “Team Green” as they call it nowadays.
Today we officially “announced” our pregnancy to the world on Facebook, so everyone knows now!
Announcing our Pregnancy
We decided to wait until after our most recent doctor appointment to share the news with our parents. Jeff made his call to his parents first, and then i did a web chat with my parents. I showed them a snapshot of the gummy bear photo! They are beyond excited for us!