puppy link

i figured out what breed those webcam puppies are. Shiba Inu. so cute.


cajones

Pecan Tart Recipe

Cream Cheese Crust
1/2 cup of (unsalted) butter, at room temp.
1 (3 oz) pkg. of cream cheese, chilled
1 cup all-purpose flour

Pecan Filling
1 egg
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
2 Tbsp. (unsalted) butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cup chopped pecans



1. Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 12-cup muffin pans (or mini would work too...). Spray with cooking spray. (im starting to think you could probably make them in paper muffin cups too, but i dont really know... it would definitely save on clean up)

2. Prepare crust. In large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until blended and smooth, about 45 seconds. Mix in flour until a smooth dough forms, about 30 seconds. Divide into pieces (about 1 Tbsp. each) and roll each piece into a smooth 1-inch ball. Put one ball of dough into prepared muffin cup. Use clean fingers to make an indentation in center of dough, then press dough up sides of each opening until even with top edge of each muffin cup (i didnt do this... i left them low so the crust wouldnt be super thin). Check to see that the bottom of each cup is covered completely with dough and that thickness of sides is even.

3. Mix filling. In a large bowl, whisk egg, brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and salt until smoothly blended. Use a large spoon to stir in 1/3 cup of the pecans. Fill each muffin cup with about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. filling. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup of pecans evenly over each tart. Wipe any drips off pan.

4. Bake until filling is firm and crust edges are lightly browned, about 18 to 2o minutes. Cool tarts in man until firm, about 20 minutes. Use a small knife to loosen each tart. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature. Store at room temperature or in refrigerator in an airtight container.


the recipe claims that it will make 18 of them. But i only had a 12 cup muffin tin and chose not to wait like an hour to make another 6. so i divided them into 12 cups and it was just fine.

after thanksgiving thoughts

sarah, did you get home safe? also, did you try that pecan tart? was it too sweet for you?

im curious if i could use the same sugary base but add a different nut to it and have it taste good as, say, an almond or walnut or cashew tart... is there a nut consistency that making a tart/pie would require? hmm

the sweet potatoes turned out alright. couldve made them less sweet and had them turn out better. the crumbly topping made me consider a sweet potato pie and i found an alton brown recipe. the images i saw looked very similar to a pumpkin pie. i might have to try it it see how it turns out...

justin and i went to the store today (black friday... it was crazy parking wise, but since we went noonish, the stores werent mobbed). we got a fake tree. it was fairly cheap and it doesnt look bad. im also not worried about the cats leaving their little mice in the water filled tree stand. justin had a fake one growing up, so i bent to his tradition. brought it home, put some lights on it. im procrastinating doing anything else with it. i wouldve waited to put it up, but i wanted to see how it looked. the display model at target was up on a platform that was like 4 feet high, so i had no real idea. i'll post pictures when i hang some things on it.

i love you guys lots!


cajones

Love you, Sarah!

Always awesome to have us all together. I agree, we should definitely get some sisterly bonding in at xmas time.

Have a safe trip home.

lots of *hugs*
jill

p.s. if you ever feel sad, click the link below ;)
http://cdn1.ustream.tv/swf/4/viewer.49.swf?cid=317016

Thanks!

Dear Sisters,

Thanks for welcoming me home for Thanksgiving. The food was amazing, and while I wish I had got more "just the three of us" time, it was great to see you. When I am in town for xmas, we should have some sister bonding. I miss you both already.

I love love love you. I am especially thankful for both of you.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Sarah

Food Line-up and WHY AM I STILL AT WORK?

Ugh, why oh why am I still at work? *sigh*

Anyway, I figured since I am just waiting on work things to finish I would post what is on the menu for tomorrow!

Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes in some form
Carrots
Peas
Waldorf Salad
Cranberry Salad
Can-berry Sauce
Gravy (hopefully!)
Home-made Rolls
Mini Pecan Pies
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie

YUMMY! I don't think I forgot anything but if I did I'll be back to edit. See you two tomorrow!!

jill

OMG!

It's almost Thanksgiving! So excited! :)

jill

a little thanksgiving video...

kitten update

octavian seems to be doing fine again. occasionally he limps for a few minutes after waking up, but i think thats because roland sleeps on his legs.

glad to hear youre coming, sarah. i miss you :)

cajones

Ignore that last one

Jill,

Ignore that last post and set one more place at the table. I am coming home.

Chelsea happened to be online when everything went down, so she has the details, but basically I am coming home for Mon to Fri, and coming with mom to Thanksgiving dinner.

I love you and I am excited to see you both, although the circumstances aren't ideal.

xoxo
Sarah

Thanksgiving

Chelsea left me a message today informing me that Jill was considering purchasing a plane ticket for me to get home for Thanksgiving, as a Xmas present.

First, let me say that I am so touched and appreciate it very much. Unfortunately, about a week ago I became aware that I couldn't afford to go home, so I volunteered to cover a ton of extra hours in the lab and the bookstore. At this point, as much as I would love to take you up on your offer, I am obligated to work through my Thanksgiving break. In return, I have requested an extra long break over xmas, so I can come home for maybe 2 weeks.

I hope you guys have an awesome awesome time and I will be thinking about you. Will try to call in a few days, once things stop being so crazy (covering classes for one of my colleagues this week.)

My love and gratitude,
Sarah

kitten news

back story:
octavian was limping for like a week. started off like he was a gangster or something and he was just trying to be cool, but then it got better... then got worse... then better again... then on monday he was refusing to put any weight on it at all. so i called a vet and got him an appointment. brought them both in to get checked out. roland was all shivery. octavian was kinda nervous too. neither liked getting their temperature taken via the backdoor. but they didnt meow all pathetic like or try to get away from the doctor or hiss and scratch anyone. they have the beginning signs of gingervitis. the vet extended octavians leg and felt all the joints and everything. he didnt make any noises or have any issues. so she gave us some anti-inflammatory medicine and sent us on our way. told us to call them if it got worse.

new stuffs:
octavian isnt limping at all with the medicine in his system. hes getting rough with roland again... being the instigator. i separate them when they are getting crazy. he doesnt seem to mind me squirting a syringe of goop into his mouth and swallows it just fine. hopefully it gets better soon. i only have enough stuff to last til the weekend. the vet suggested we make him take it easy, but with roland it would require us keeping them locked in separate rooms all day while we're at work just to be sure. and im just not willing to do that when they tend to sleep all day anyway. we are not letting them chase eachother around when we're home and octavian seems hesitant to jump up on anything, so hopefully that will be enough of a rest for things to get better.
as for the gingervitis, the vet gave us some trial thing of toothpaste. i dont plan on doing it regularly, but i tried to get both cats to let me rub their back teeth last night. roland wasnt pleased but let me do it after i forced him to stop puckering his lips. and octavian seemed to have no issue with it at all. i put a little of the poultry flavored paste on my finger for them to taste and they both seemed to like it. so maybe i'll make a go of it.... im not buying a freaking cat toothbrush though.

Have you read the following?

Lamb (by Christopher Moore)
World War Z
The Dark is Rising series
The trashy vampire novels by charlaine harris

Gift for mom

Hey ladies.

I have an interesting gift idea for mom, but it seems a little pricey and I was wondering if you guys wanted to go in on it with me.

Silly, overpriced memorabilia

Its a game from when mom was a teenager (almost) called Flip Your Wig, and its a Beatles game.
In decent condition, it sells for $100-200. Like I said, pricey. But I think it would just tickle her pink.

If you guys are stumped on a present we could go in on this. But it may be too much. What do you think?

Also, do you guys know of any books she wants?

Sarah

Recipe Request

this one's for you, sarah. i know you have a recipe for it somewhere... in your brain perhaps.

i want a recipe for challah bread. the simpler the better. not planning on making it like right now. but it is a recipe i want to make some time this winter. :)




cajones

Don't Take it to geeksquad!

Hey there Sarah. Nice to see a post from you :)

Don't take your laptop to geeksquad or any other computer fix-it place. Not only will it cost way too much money but we have also... tweeked... your laptop and those places wouldn't appreciate the tweeks. That's a nice way of putting it anyway haha

Rich can probably fix it but not over the phone. He'll have to see it. I'd say just bring it with you at Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you are really eager and it doesn't cost a ton, feel free to UPS it back to us.

Sounds like you had a crazy Halloween. I haven't dressed up in forever. It would be nice to do that again. We get basically no trick-or-treaters though. Only 4 total this year.

You should update your list on here with some stuff you want/need for christmas. I don't have a cool idea already planned for you this year like I did last!

*hugs*
jill