2 (more) things

I left two things off my "29 things" list.

I remembered them the same afternoon I wrote the list, but it felt like cheating to go back and change things.

It's driving me crazy, though.  I'm OCD like that.

Hagarmann's Sugar Cookies and Guitar Hero.  

They should both be on my list.  

Last April we went to St. George for Jesse's Birthday with the Moody family.  It was lots of fun. Jessica and James brought their PS2 and Guitar Hero2 and we played often.  

I'd met Guitar Hero prior to this and hated it - but I fell in love on this trip.  The crazy thing is that I sucked.  Like, bad.

The day after we got home from St. George I said to Matt "I'm kinda thinking about buying guitar hero for the Wii..."

And before I knew what was happening we were in the car and on our way to Game Stop.  

Matt's like that.

He's the type of person that takes action.

So while I would have spent the next several weeks pondering the purchase, he physically hustled me and both babies out to the truck, buckled us up, and made way (with great haste) to the closest video game store.

We spent several months addicted to Guitar Hero III, playing almost nightly and working our way from 'Easy' to 'Hard'.

Then Guitar Hero World Tour came out.  We're 'Experts' now - isn't that ridiculous?  Shows how much time we've wasted playing this silly game.  We probably should have learned to play a REAL guitar.  Then at least we'd have something to do around the campfire.  

One day a comet's going to hit, people, and we won't have TV after that.

(that's an inside reference to a book, not an end-of-the-world prediction, FYI)

On to Hagarmann's.

Theses cookies are like paradise.  I didn't even like sugar cookies until I tried them.

The first time I had them I said "there's almond in there..."

I said it in a spooky, trance-like voice.

And I was right.  They add almond extract to the cookies and to the frosting.  It's heavenly.

I'm dying to duplicate the recipe.  My one attempt thus far was a failure.  I almost cried.  The dough smelled right...but when they came out of the oven they weren't even close.

Becki has a client who has a boyfriend who works at Hagarmann's.  She's promised to ask for the recipe, but keeps forgetting.  And who knows if the recipe is even accessible by underlings, anyway???  

I've scoured the internet with no luck.  

I've got to find this recipe and conquer this cookie.  It's imperative to my mental health, my wallet and my waistline.

Once I was passionate about Mrs. Fields Cinnamon Sugar Cookies.  But I found that recipe, and now I'm impervious to the mall bakeshop.  

Once I was enamoured of the Tropical Chocolate Chip cookie at Paradise Bakery - but I mastered that recipe and again, I got over it.

Once I know I can have a cookie any time I want it, it loses it's hold over me. 

I have to find the Hagarmann's recipe.

These cookies cost $1.75 a piece.  Isn't that sick?

If you can help me, please do.  It's obvious that I need professional assistance.

I'm debating whether or not to post this.  I feel like it makes me sound insane.  

Which may not be too far off.

Wannabe me

Way back when Matt and I lived in Logan and went to Utah State University we had a problem.  

It was the Food Network.

We watched Emeril, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, Mario Batali, the Iron Chef...

and we cooked.  and we ate.  and we got fat.

After a while, I realized that the Food Network had directly contributed to our substantial weight gain, and I banned it from our lives.

And we lived happily ever after.

Right.

Anyway, it's happening again.

I have a serious addiction to food blogs.

They are so fun to read!  They inspire and challenge me, and they make me want to cook and bake ALL the time.  

That's a bad thing for me, as I already have uncontrollable cooking/baking urges.

I've been a serious stalker of the Pioneer Woman  for some time, and now I've begun branching out.  Lottie and Doof is a new favorite.  Cupcake Project is SO much fun. 

The truth is, I'll happily follow links from my favorite food blogs to new food blogs for hours at a time.  I have to tear myself away from them.  

I try at least 2 new recipes every week, and I'm making up my own more recipes more than ever before.  

I'm spending a LOT of time in the kitchen.

Trying to balance that out with time spent in the gym, so we don't have another Food TV-style incident on our hands.    

The most embarrassing part about my food blog addiction is that I've started taking pictures of the food I make.

Last week I attempted to make Matt's favorite soup - corn chowder.  It was a Wednesday night LOST themed meal.  Each weeks meal is based around a character.  Last week was Kate - I made what I considered to be 'Diner Food', since her mom worked in a diner, and that's where many of the characters met her.  We had (faux) Fried Chicken and Corn Chowder.  

Anyway, the corn chowder was a triumph.  I've never been a huge fan of corn chowder, but this was beyond yummy.  It was awesome.  And I had to take pictures of it.

As I was photographing my soup, Matt looked up with one of his "what the Hell are you doing?" expressions.

And I confessed...I'm a wannabe food blogger.

If I could take a decent picture, I swear I'd be posting recipes all the time.  

Here's my corn chowder - because seriously, people, it was SO GOOD.  

1. Finely chop 2 medium carrots, 2 stalks celery and 1 small onion.  Lightly salt vegetables. Saute in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until soft.

2. Transfer to crock pot and 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika.

3. Peel and chop 2 potatoes into small pieces and add to crock pot.

This I let cook on low for about 3 hours.  

4. Add 4 cups frozen corn kernels and 2 cups whole milk.  

I turned the crock pot up to high and let cook for another hour.

After an hour I removed the bay leaves and used my wand mixer thing to puree some of the soup.  I just sort of poked it around until the texture what where I wanted it - still with lots of chunks.

Meanwhile, I peeled and boiled 4 additional small potatoes.  When they were soft, I melted half about 5 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.  Then I added about 3/4 cup of whole milk to the butter and put it back in the microwave for 30 seconds, until it was hot.  

I used a potato masher to mash the potatoes and work in the butter/milk mixture, until I had a very thin mashed potato - almost a puree.  This I stirred into the soup, along with about 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  

On top we dolloped a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkled more shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.  It was to die for.

And here's the final picture.  Sadly, this is the best of about 20 that I took.  There are no garnishes on it, it seemed easier without.

I'm aware that my 'recipe' kind of sucks.  I'm really bad at step by step instructions, etc.  It looks unclear - even to me!  Far too many about's.  Real recipe's don't say 'about' so often.  

Oh well.  I guess that's why I'm not a food blogger.

But the soup was good.  Try it.

P.S. I know my LOST dinners are silly.