Thor's Pretty and Dessert is Good

You know what I love?  Movies and food.  This is a story of how the two came together for me recently.  A few days before the 4th of July, a friend had asked for my friend Carol's recipe for a dessert called Better than Robert Redford.  This is apparently a classic dessert that she learned from her Mother In Law, Ruth.  As I was perusing the recipe I was struck by two things...1st there was a good chance the friend asking for the recipe probably only has a vague notion of who Robert Redford is as I don't think she's out of her twenties.  And two adding caramel to this thing might be good.  So good in fact that it might warrant the dessert getting a new name. 

Which leads me to a movie I saw recently.  It's called Thor.  You might have heard of it.  It's based on the Marvel comic of the same name and apparently Thor makes an appearance in this new Avenger's movie that's playing at what they call a movie theater.  A movie theater is a place you go with your sweetie before you have kids.  After that you can still go to the movie theater, you just see animated films that normally don't have shirtless guys with abnormally large pecs.  So anyway back to Thor.  To say I have been smitten by Mr. Chris Hemsworth as Thor is a bit of an understatement.  And at the very least he deserves to have a dessert named after him!  So without further ado see the recipe for what I'm calling Better Than Thor below.  And if you would like to try the original Better Than Robert Redford you can go to the link below.  Please note however that Carol tipped me off that you need to double the crust ingredients in the recipe at the link or it won't be thick enough:

http://www.recipe.com/better-than-robert-redford-dessert/

Better Than Thor Dessert

·  2  cups

all-purpose flour

·  2  cups

coarsely chopped pecans

·  1 cup

(2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

•  Jar Caramel sauce

·  1  package (8 ounces)

cream cheese, softened

·  1  cup

confectioners' sugar

·  1  container (8 ounces)

frozen whipped topping, thawed

·  4  cups

milk

·  2  boxes (3.4 ounces each)

instant vanilla pudding

·  2  boxes (3.9 ounces each)

instant chocolate pudding

·   

Chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips

Pre heat the oven to 350.  Use your mixer to make a batter of the flour, pecans and melted butter.  Once it’s mixed spread it into a Pam sprayed ( or whatever technique you like to use for greasin’ it up) 13 x 9 rectangle Pyrex ( or whatever brand your 13 x 9 is).  Try to make it really even.  This  isn’t my strong suit and my crust looked a bit like rough terrain, but still tastes fine.  Martha Stewart I’m not.  Once you are happy with your spreading, bake the crust for 15 minutes.  Then cool completely.  This step could take awhile so maybe plan to take a break here and read War and Peace or something.  But clean your mixer first since you’re going to need it again.

Once the crust is cool, spread a jar of caramel sauce.  I use Hershey’s because it’s the only one at my store that doesn’t also qualify itself as passable for butterscotch.  Since I’m not 100% that those two are capable of passing for one another, I choose the one that doesn’t seem to have an identity problem.  Use the whole jar.  What else are you going to do with it? 

Let this set for a minute and meanwhile… beat your cream cheese and sugar in your mixer.  It was expensive, we might as well use it.  Once it’s fully combined fold in half of the frozen whipped topping.  ( I used Publix lite…I know, I know … it’s like drinking Diet Coke with a cheesecake or this.)  Then spread the mixture over the caramel.  This worked best by making six dollops across the caramel, then spreading the dollops.  Otherwise it’s all going to mix together.

Next make the vanilla pudding using 2 of the cups of milk per the package instructions.  Use the same dollop technique you used above to spread this over the cream cheese layer.  Then make the chocolate pudding using the remaining 2 cups of milk and again, spread as you have been.  Now spread the remaining whipped topping over the whole mess.  At this point, cover and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.  Generally the longer it sits the better it gets. 

Sprinkle with nuts and mini chocolate chips.  Cut and eat.  Think about Thor.

Is Today a Holiday or Something...

Well wow!  I was just reading my friend Scott's blog and clicked on his links.  Lo and behold there I was!  So immediately I had to come and post.  Today is the 4th of July.  I have to honest... It hasn't been the greatest holiday thus far.

Our day started when my daughter, who had booted my husband out of our bed because she was sick, woke me up crying about her stomach hurting.  This had been a complaint since yesterday and was accompanied by a fever of about 102.  So after combing the internet reading about appendicitis, I decided to call the emergency nurse from our pediatrician's office.  Her advice?  Take her to the ER.  So the day started at the ER.  They gave her a non private room which would eventually fill up.  One person came in with MRSA.  If you know me, you know how that went down.  Lot's of deep breathing ensued on my part.  As for my daughter, after a battery of tests they put her on a 24 hour watch and we were able to go home but have to follow up with ped's tomorrow.  Of course she's mostly fine now.  Isn't that the way?

I went on to develop a pretty intense headache which has hung around despite lots of pain killers.  Finally around three,  I felt ok enough to get my cookin' on and so it began.  And I took pictures of some of it.  Check back tomorrow.  If it turns out, I'll do a post and you'll have a new recipe.  Or maybe even if it's a disaster I'll post that too.  We all need a laugh right?

Well Happy Independence Day or as friend of mine posted on Facebook and I'm going to boldly steal right now, Happy Michael Bay Day!

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Braciole?

Every heard of it?  Neither had I until my good friend Debbie introduced me to it.  It's a very slow cooked beef dish where the beef has a savory filling rolled up inside and is slowly braised over a period of time.  Every since I had Debbie's I've wanted to try it myself.  However when I asked Debbie how to make it she said something like, "you pound the meat, roll it up with string...maybe put some garlic in or parmesan and then cook it in your gravy for about 8 hours."  Now I'm no master chef, but I'm very familiar with this description.  In general terms it usually means the chef or cook has prepared the meal so many times that they are giving you the essence of what they do.  I know this because I have a tendency to simplify my recipes too.  So I set about finding a recipe.  I never found one I liked very well and forgot about this treat until I was flipping through...wait for it:

It was the last place I would have thought to look, but honestly should have been the first.  So tonight I decided to give the recipe a shot.  Here's an overview of what went down.



First I made a filling of bread crumbs, prosciuto, shallots, parsley and a lightly beaten egg.  It said to finely diced all, but I just used a food processor.

That's my Mom's classic Westbend cheapie from the '80's.  I've yet to find one that works better.  Then I moved on to the beating part. 

It looked something like what you see above.  I was left with something that looked like this:

Then I put about 2TBS of prepared filling on the hammered meat ( which I should point out at this point, if you are a freak like me and fear cross contaminating your kitchen...approach this recipe with caution as a big mess is about to happen in said kitchen.)  Now the really fun part, I rolled up the hammered meat with the filling inside like a meat burrito.  Then I tied the things with string.  There's no picture of this part as I was busy hyperventilating about the mess I had made and the possible spread of germs.   Next I had to brown the meat burritos.  That looked like this:


When I was done I had four meat burrito's and big SIGH, I could set them aside for a moment to get the sauce going.



After quickly washing my Westbend, I chopped some onions and carrots.  Yep CARROTS.  I know they are traditional in Hunter's sauce I think but  I had my doubts.   Honestly though,  it really added to the flavor of the sauce.  First I chopped them:


And next it called for me to cook them for 5 minutes.  Here is where I had my first problem as they did burn a little bit.  If I make this again, I'll pay closer attention...

After this point, it was time to make the sauce.  It included these guys:

I used Malbec because Debbie likes Malbec and she inspired me to try this so it seemed the thing to do.  This is not the best one I've ever had but in this case and for this purpose,  it was ok.   Now the recipe calls for about 1/2 cup of each of the above items plus tomato puree which for inexplicable reasons I don't show above.  :)  However I added more and if I hadn't I definitely would have had a problem.  Once your sauce is boiling you add your beef back in, which looks a bit like this:

Next I let this simmer covered on lowered heat for 1-1/2 hours give or take.  I may or may not have let it go about 15 minutes longer.  :)  Then the recipe called for thickening the sauce by simmering uncovered a bit longer after you removed and kept the beef warm.  I did this step but honestly my sauce was probably thick enough.  Here is what the finished product looked like once I cut into it.  And no,  I don't have a picture of the plated meal because I'm a terrible photographer and the one I took is out of focus.  Let's never speak of it again.

All in all this Braciole was pretty good, but it wasn't Debbie's.  My Braciole's were gigantic in comparison to hers and not nearly as tender.  But I must say the flavor was intense and the sauce very unexpectedly pleasant.  If I were doing this again I would make the individual beef rolls smaller and cook the whole thing longer. 

C25K, Myofacial Pain and Anna

I was doing pretty well in my C25K journey up until week 4.  At week 4 things started getting hard.  It seemed like my legs were weaker every day instead of stronger.  This flies in the face of everything I've ever learned about training.  I became discouraged.  And probably a little depressed.

Then I went into week 5.  At this point my legs actually felt bruised.  It hurt to touch them.  That's when I knew it was probably more than just the working out.  You see a few years ago I was diagnosed with something called Myofacial Pain Disorder.  I don't talk about it alot and I'm hesitant to write about it here, but then again, why not?  For the most part I ignore that I have this.  I don't recommend this to anyone.  You should do what your doctor prescribes.  But for me, I just haven't been able to get there.  I haven't taken the medicines, but I do some holistic things and watch what I eat...and drink (boo).  The main thing seems to be getting the right amount of sleep.   Not sleeping makes me feel awful.  And yet I will always try to stay up later and later.

So today after having taken a week off from C25K, I decided to give it another go.  My daughter was sitting on the couch playing on her iPod touch when I remembered a blog post from my friend, Mike, about running with his daughter who is a little bit younger than mine.  He wrote enchantingly of how he didn't really want her to accompany him on the run but then once he said yes, she was a joy.  She out ran him the whole way, even finding the energy to add in twirls and pirouettes.   Even though my gut told me my daughter, who is much more like her Nana than me, wouldn't enjoy the run I decided to ask if she would like to go.  I was genuinely surprised when she said emphatically that she did want to.  Then she appeared downstairs looking for all the world like the 7 year old version of the iPod silouhette campaign.  Pink tank top, jeans with bedazzled lightening bolts on the pockets, Twinkle Toes sneakers and headphones perfectly in place. 

Again I thought...this isn't going to work, but off we went.  My first mistake?  I neglected to check that she was on the same workout week as me.  She wasn't.  Second mistake?  Forgot to make sure her music was low enough that she could hear me telling her to get to the side of the road.  The second mistake I quickly fixed easily enough. 

Meanwhile the application intones for me to run.  I took off.  I felt good.  I easily ran the first set.  It was great.   Then I realized my kid was no where to be seen.  So I stopped.  Finally I saw a tiny little pink figure heading my way, "MOMMY!! WAIT UP!!!"  She finally reached me and we walked together for the next little bit.  Luckily I was on a long walk portion of the workout.  "MOMMY STOP!  MY SHOE'S UNTIED."  We then walked on.  "MOMMY IT'S HOT!  LET'S GO BACK."  "Come on Anna, you can make it.  It's time to run again.  You get on the inside we'll do it together."

We ran for exactly one minute.  "MOMMY THIS IS HARD.  MY LEGS ARE FALLING OFF.  I'M GOING TO VOMIT."  So we stop and I check her heart rate.  I am after all the daughter of a CRNA.  It was fine.  My heart rate was more elevated. 

So I finally gave in, and we walked back, hand in hand, arms swinging.  "WHAT SONG ARE YOU LISTENING TO MOMMY?"  "Rabbit."  "WHO IS THAT?"  "A really cool band you should know about.  I'll put it on your playlist."  "THANKS!"

Even though, I didn't finish my workout (which, man, I totally could have today),  and Anna declared she's never running again, I cannot in the end say that the work out was a total disaster.  Actually it was kind of good.

Family Day

Today was a rare Saturday for me.  I spent it with both my daughter AND my husband.  Normally that does not happen, but all the stars lined up and today we were to have a family day.  It was going to be perfect.  Just like a Publix commercial.  Or one of those RomCom scenes set to that Sixpence None the Richer song...except of course not romanctic.  That would be weird. 

It started off well enough...we all were crowded on the couch watching Eric Ripert's Avec Eric.  Good show, if you haven't seen it.  Anyway I digress, around this point my daughter started lamenting about having a playdate.  I said, "We're going to have family day."  And she responded, "I hate family day.  I want to play with a kid."  Alrighty then.

And we were off venturing out to the home show at our local Civic Center.  Honestly there is one thing I know, there is NOTHING a kid loves more than going to a home improvement tradeshow.  Playdates?  What are playdates when there are flooring samples to look at?  She was a good sport and feigned an interest in a berber carpet sample for a bit, but soon, even the free candy set out at each booth wasn't cutting it.  All was not lost however, as the organizers of the event had the forethought to have Coo Coo the Clown there.  Coo Coo looks like your average clown which until today I had no problem with.  But as my daughter drug me closer and closer to Coo Coo, my heart began beating faster and faster.  Suddenly big boldly colored shoes and orange wigs seemed as dangerous as hunting knives.    I kept seeing Tim Curry in Stephen King's IT.  Finally I signaled my husband to come and relieve me.  When I told him the problem, he laughed and walked away.  I started yoga breathing.  Finally we got our balloon Princess wand and made our escape.  Shortly after that, loaded down with business cards we'll never use, we left the show altogether. 

This is when the trouble really started.  At this point, I decided it would be a good idea to have my two beloveds accompany me on a drive around town looking at houses.  I love doing this and therefore they will love it too right?  Ha!  Soon both of them are lamenting about home, playdates, and naps.  Guess who wanted what? 

It didn't get much better from there.  We then headed to the Earth Fare.  It's our new organic grocery store and I'm smitten.  Smitten means that much like the liesurely drive around town looking at houses, I'm now liesurely and lovingly contemplating every item in the store.  My husband is about to lose his mind.  "Superbowl!  We just need something for Superbowl!!  Pick something!!  Turkey Burgers!!!"  And me, "oh but that pepper crusted trout looks nice and oh look at all those different kinds of salsas..." The highlight of this fiasco had to be a fight between my husband and myself in front 16 year old check out kid  about who was picking up the check.  And while I can't be 100% certain,  I'm pretty sure the look on that kids face was the same look I had for Coo Coo. 

New Year, New Me?

So, I've jumped on the band wagon.  Which one is that you ask?  Oh you know the one where the month of January is spent dieting and attempting to exercise.  Some genius at work decided our office should do a Biggest Loser contest (note there is no actual affiliation with the TV show Biggest Loser. :)  )  I stand zero chance of winning this thing, but it seemed like a great opportunity to get motivated.  You see, I haven't actually exercised in 7 years.  7 years ago I had a baby and while she is the apple of my eye, she's put a dent in my workout schedule.  My husband is what you might loosely call a rock star who also has a day job.  I also have a full time job. We're busy.   It's a pretty common theme I think.

So anyway last Saturday I had the opportunity to walk out my front door with the intent to exercise.  I was completely tricked out for this event.  I had my iPhone on my handy new arm band.  The C25K application cued up.  Earbuds in place.   Rabbit on my playlist. I was ready.  Of course I had long ago thrown out anything resembling workout gear.  It all pretty much dated from the 80's so really, it needed to go, but I was dressed for my workout in jeans and a pretty nice Seminoles shirt I happened to have.  To sum up, I looked like an idiot.  I briefly considered aborting the whole mission, but instead I just kept walking.  It's the one boon of hitting 40 that I've found.  Genuine lack of caring about looking like a total idiot. 

The C25K app starts off with a "brisk 5 minute walk".  I can't say I was brisk but I was walking and it was ok.  But soon a voice intoned, "RUN".  Since the voice was a little scary, I did what he said.  My legs literally felt like I was pulling them through sludge.  I almost cried and this was only the first of 8 or so  :60 runs with :90 of walking in between.   The entire workout lasts 30 minutes.  I didn't think it was going to be possible for me to make it.  However somehow I did.  I'm not saying I ran a full :60 each time, but I kept going at least.  And since then I've managed to do it three more times.  Each time has been a little better, but still it's pure pain.

And the moral of this story is?  If you are currently working out, never stop...

The First Post

I've joined the new millenium about a decade late.  I know nothing about writing a blog, so bear with me.  It does turn out that I'm pretty good at reading blogs.  We'll see how that translates.  Probably you'll find alot of Pioneer Woman knock off posts.  Be forewarned.

Why Thymes and Tribulations?  Thymes because I do alot of cooking and actually do use Thyme quite a lot.  And of course, it's a bit of a double entendre.  Tribulations reflects the results of most of my cooking forays.  However I don't imagine I'll always write about cooking as holding down a full time job, I can't cook everyday.  So hopefully anyone reading this will bear with me as this whole venture is definitely unsculpted clay.  I initially wanted to call the blog, Cooking and Other Disasters but when push came to shove,  it seemed too negative even for me.  So Thymes and Tribulations it is...for now.

Above all please bear with me on design.  I really hate what I've selected so I'll be changing it as soon as I figure out how.  :)