More Changes

Ok folks, stick with me here. I'm doing more changes to the ol blog. I liked my previous header but I kept thinking, this is more than just about muffins!

Ha! Don't know why but that makes me laugh.

Anyway, I changed the name to Recipe for crazy, because, well, that's our life - a little crazy. And I like crazy.

And the definitions of crazy pretty much fit:

• one who is or acts crazy (me, what?)
• full of cracks or flaws (ahem, duh.)
• being out of the ordinary (I like to think so anyway)
• distracted with desire or excitement

And recipe, well, you know, I like food. So, anyway, new name, new header and probably more changes to come. I say all this as if you care!

Later!

Did You Know...

I fired up my old Macbook last night and took a little trip down memory lane now you get to go too.

So, did you know...

1. The husband was once nicknamed mmm-bop? It was lovingly given to him by one of his guys friends when he looked like this.

Apparently, the long hair reminded him of the Hansons. Side note, my sister made Sweet P a onesie that said mmm-bops baby!

2. Then he let the hair go. And go it went. Can we say hill-billy?

3. One of our wedding pictures was used in an ad campaign in New York?

Yeah, I'm kind of famous like that.

4. I met Barry Switzer.

At an OSU-OU football game. And OSU won. And Toby Keith was there.

5. I've had 4 kidney stones. 2 I passed in Jamaica.

6. I have never lost money in Las Vegas.

I've only played a slot machine in the airport, but I won!

So, I bet you didn't know some of those things! Okay, if you're family, you did.

Anyway, happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Embrace the Camera - Remembering When

Sweet P was 5 days old...

photo by ashleyannphotography

I cried almost every day thinking about how she was going to grow up too fast. I wanted to absorb every single moment with her. She was so wee.

I held her.

I cuddled her.

I kissed her.

I rocked her.

I loved her.

These things haven't changed, but she sure has.

That sweet little, fragile baby from 7 months ago has already grown so much.

She doesn't just lay around, staring blankly anymore. She looks at me. She smiles at me. She kisses me back.

And, although I would love to be able to hold her again without her trying to squirm out of my arms, I am embracing her independence. She is beautiful and I love watching her grow.

A Short Little Cooking Lesson

When removing a cast iron skillet from the oven, remember to turn the handle away from you. If you do this, you are less likely to burn your arm.

So, if you ever make the Pioneer Woman's cornbread, you will thank me!



I made her beans and cornbread and it was SO good! She recommends serving it with sour cream and cilantro. That's not how I was raised. We always put a little butter on the beans with couple shakes of Trappey's pepper sauce.

Delicious.

Design Boom

I found this site and first thought of my sister because of these...

Yes, those are palette coasters. The packaging is awesome. I love some good, creative packaging.

And then I stumbled onto this photographer, Irina Werning. She takes an old photo and recreates it in her "Back to the Future" series. Here's one that cracked me up:

'mechi in 1990 & 2010', buenos aires
image © irina werning

So, now I totally want to go through pictures when I was little and do this! How fun!

This has been random!

Strange Little Crawler

The other night we got a video of Sweet P's goofy little crawl.

It cracks me up. Although it may not be the standard method of crawling, it works for her.

So, here's to doing things a little different!

Happy Monday!

Here Comes Trouble

People tell me quite often how dainty Miss P is. Well, I think I might agree. Look at those little toes!

She may be dainty but that doesn't mean T-R-O-U-B-L-E isn't on the way! In a good way, though.

See, little Miss has learned to pull up on things and stand. Now it's ALL she wants to do. She's keeping me on my toes while she's learning to use hers.

caught in the act

i did it!!!

 Happy Friday and have a great weekend!!

Embrace the Camera - My Loves

I already posted this picture this week, but I'm doing it again for Embrace the Camera.

My first love. The husband. Before our amazing Test Kitchen dinner.

And my second love. P.

P's first swing at the park!

I made this cake for our community group.



Then I got sick and couldn't go. So, now I have a massive cake in my fridge. What to do? What to do?



Looks like I'm going to will myself back to wellness with chocolate cake.

Hope you have a great Thursday!

Keeping it Real

After yesterday's long post, I'll keep this short.

We can't eat Chef-prepared meals every day so what do we do? Well, yesterday I had a play date with Sweet P and her friends at the park. So, on the way I stopped at Sonic to try one of their new hot dogs.

My sister told me about them a couple days before so I had to see what they were like. Here's the menu.

Confession time. I ate there two days in a row! I never really eat at Sonic either. I just go from time to time for happy hour. Anyway, yes, two days in a row for their new hot dogs.

I tried the New York dog first. It was good. Not great.




The next day I went back and tried the Chicago dog. It was really good. I took the pickle spear off because it was too difficult to eat with it on.




So, we keep it real around here. One night a 6 course meal, the next a hot dog from Sonic.

That's how I roll!

And here's Miss P at the park.

Happy hump day!

Tulsa Test Kitchen

Okay folks. Here's the post. Warning, it's long and you may need a snack after.

So, I had the privilege of going to one of Tulsa's best foodie experiences Sunday night. It's called Test Kitchen.

It's an "underground supper club" put together by the fabulous Jenny Vergara. Check out the website for more details but here's the rundown on how it works. You go to testkitchenok.com and sign up to get on the email list. Then you wait. Once a month you get an email with the next dinner's date so you can check your calendar. About 2 weeks later you get another email with more information, including the Chef, menu and price. If you're interested in going you reply to the email and say how many seats you'd like to reserve. Then all the people who replied get put in a random lottery. You may get to go, you may not, there's only 20 seats. If you were picked you get another email to confirm your spot the week before. Then, the day before the event, you get an email with the location. It's top secret and only the chef, organizer and attendees know the location and it's never held at the same place.

I got the email with the location Saturday and thought it was a little strange. We were going to be dining in an old church and the theme was "Sex, Food and Rock n' Roll". Hmm.

photo from TheChurchStudio.com

So we pulled up to the church and all the windows were boarded up. We actually drove past it thinking that wasn't the spot, checked the address and turned back around. We walked up the stairs and through the large wooden doors where Jenny greeted us and told us the night's plans. We stepped through a massive door and entered two small connecting rooms for the cocktail hour. The rooms didn't look like the inside of a church at all. There were various guitars on the walls and you could see what looked like a recording studio behind a massive window. (Kicking myself for not taking pictures of the rooms.)

As we mingled with the other folks we met some great people! As we chatted, we learned that we were in a historic Tulsa building. Turns out we were in a recording studio after all! The church was Church Studio. Mr. Leon Russell bought the building years ago and converted it into a studio. Now the theme for the night started to make a little more sense. As it turned out, the Red Dirt Rangers and Tom Petty recorded there. Nice!

After the cocktail hour we were led into the recording studio where a long candle-lit table awaited us. Everyone took their seats and Jenny led us in the Test Kitchen pledge and gave everyone a pin. We had been initiated.

The Chef, Kurt Fichtenberg of Hey Mambo, was introduced and talked about the night's menu. He was amazing! If you haven't been to Hey Mambo, you need to try it out.

Then the first (of six) courses came in. This is the "Sex" part of the theme.

Yes, that is a nude woman with sushi on her. If you've seen Sex and the City this might make more sense. Anyway, we were all served sushi off this woman. 

This was "yellowtail nigiri with scallion ponzu puree" and Chef paired a "rock melon infused sake" with it. Both were delicious.

Next came Red Dirt Stew (Red Dirt Rangers) with "red beans, watercress and crawfish" and it was paired with gran porter. Oh my word, the stew was full of buttery, peppery goodness.

Then came a watermelon salad with a "sparkling blanc de noir". It had sea salt, a little sugar and balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top. Again, delicious.

 

Up next was a palate cleanser and probably my most favorite thing I ate. It was "spicy lemon gelato with candied lemon rind" and it was served in a lemon bowl and paired with a riesling. AMAZING. The candied lemon rind was what dreams are made of. I wanted to lick the bowl. It will haunt me.

After that we enjoyed a "pan-seared pepper coated bison medallions with peppercorn-cognac cream, cheese taters and porky green beans" paired with rosenblum zinfandel. Wow. The taters and peppercorn-cognac cream, again, dreamy.

And just when we thought we couldn't eat any more, the last dish was served, "chocolate dipped honeycomb" and barenjager honey liquear. This was unreal. So good! 

And that was the end. We chatted a bit more and then headed back home.

So, are you hungry now!?

Seriously, if you enjoy food and are up for a totally unique dining experience, sign up now. You won't regret it.

If you're on twitter, follow @jvergara. Do it. Other twitter attendees: @ousooner44, @edsharrer and @pmlngold.


Also, here are a couple other sites that mention Test Kitchen:
tashadoestulsa
tulsapeople

And check out the photos her photographer took. Much better than mine and you can see more of the studio!


And now for some other random photos from the night.

This is me fake-singing into the microphone that Aretha Franklin recorded RESPECT! I'm that cool.

Eric was so cooperative.

That's better!

And with the fabulous Jenny Vergara! Oh, and you can see that table in the background in the studio!

Much love Test Kitchen, much love!