Author Archive for Trish

Blissfully moved

Published on February 26, 2010 in Uncategorized. Closed

Blissfully Hooked, my wedding site, has officially moved to its own site rather than being kept as a subsidiary (or something like that…) of loadofcarp.

And while we’re at it, Fish never got around to posting about our trip to Nashville the weekend before last, so I suppose I get to! Valentine’s Day was approaching, and we had decided to make it a couple’s weekend in Tennessee, between Fish and myself, two of his frat brothers and their girlfriends — one of whom goes to school at Vanderbilt.

That Friday after classes and all we got together for a long car ride (five hours or so, but exacerbated by idiots and gridlock on the road) across the Appalachian foothills in the snow, the first time I’d gotten to see the mountains of the eastern US (nothing in size compared to the Cascades or the Rockies, but still very majestic) and tucked in at a Doubletree in a pillowtop king sized bed with a warm complimentary chocolate chip cookie. At the time we saw the footage of that luger at the Olympics who crashed head first into the steel bars beside the track at 80+ mph. Second time an Olympian has died, from what the News said, and plenty gory — showing the actual hit and then the effects of internal bleeding as paramedics attempted to resuscitate him. I can only assume the poor guy didn’t even see or feel it. Some folks said it was because at age 21, it was his first Olympics, but even veterans often get injured on that particular track. At least the nation of Georgia continued in the Olympics in his honor.

Speaking of all of this, it’s a shame I can’t be on the west side of the nation, as my friend Katie and her brother drove up to Vancouver to participate in the fandom. They were able to attend several events such as hockey and curling (which is apparently way more interesting than you’d ever suspect!), and both were interviewed by Portland’s KGW tv news.

Anyway, that Saturday we spent perusing the main strip of Nashville’s Broadway, packed with record stores, poster shops, places to buy custom cowboy boots and hats, and dozens of bars, saloons, clubs (Coyote Ugly, B.B. King’s Blues Club, etc…), and taverns out of which live music filtered out through the doors to beckon us. There was even a box on a street corner that from afar looked like it should control the street lights, until you got too close and realized it was pumping out country music.

We ate at Big River Brewery, Olive Garden, and Cheesecake Factory over the weekend, and despite the cold we kept ourselves moving and had a fantastic time. Happy Valentine’s Day for us, indeed!

Tinkering around…

Published on January 29, 2010 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

As I’ve not had the greatest number of work hours at GameStop (hinthint, if anyone knows of any job openings decently within the Perimeter for someplace other than McDonalds…. ;_;), I’ve been tinkering with Loadofcarp via a new little tab you can see at the top of the page, titled “Blissfully Hooked.” Although there isn’t much to it yet, it’s my little personal project of creating a wedding website for Fish and I.

Right now I’m mostly creating the skeleton of it, including page titles as placeholders, general outlines of what will go on them, and links to related pages so it’s easy to get around. Sorry I don’t have buttons set up, though maybe I can create some by using Gimp, a free Photoshop-style picture editing program.

Of course, the only pages that have any meat to them yet are those for places to visit in Atlanta and eateries I thought of to mention. Because I obsess over being entertained and fed. Not sure if I have enough there yet to ask for constructive criticism…but I at least want visitors to be aware that it exists!

Vegetarian Paella

Published on August 29, 2009 in Hobbies and Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , .

I have a week until I move in with Fish, and it’s my day off. I could be packing, but honestly I feel more like being terribly lazy. So I’m posting for y’all my latest creation that I ate a couple nights ago. It turned out pretty well, though I’ve tweaked my recipe a bit to make it more efficient and delicious.

VEGETARIAN PAELLA

This is a really easy recipe that you can complete with very limited cooking experience: you really just cut the veggies included, throw the ingredients together, let it cook, and enjoy. As long as you keep an eye on the pot while it’s bubbling so that it doesn’t overflow, and stir often, little can go wrong! Add a couple cups of shrimp or chopped chicken if you want to make it a main dish with some meaty flavor, or eat it as a side dish on its’ own. If it’s as a side dish, definitely use less rice than is called for in this recipe or you’ll have lots of leftovers. It has plenty of protein and veggies so you need not worry about it lacking nutritionally, and it also has tons of flavor!

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 sliced cucumber
  • 1/3 lb green beans
  • 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 cup chopped artichoke (or canned, marinated artichoke)
  • 1 clove of garlic finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon canned minced garlic)
  • 1 can white or garbanzo beans
  • 1.5 cups dry rice (it should make about 3 to 4 cups cooked rice)
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Saffron, or turmeric (a little less than a teaspoon, as it has a stronger flavor)
  • Vegetable stock (double the volume of rice) or chicken stock
  • 5 teaspoons Olive oil
  • Salt (to taste)

Preparation

  1. First, pour the olive oil into a large pan (I myself use a dutch oven, the big two-handled pot, just in case because I don’t have a large skillet), making sure the pan is level.
  2. Add the green beans, cucumber, and garlic, and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
  3. Make a space in the middle of the pan and add the tomatoes. Cook for about five minutes, then add the paprika.
  4. Fill with broth and water and let boil for about ten minutes, then taste for salt.
  5. Add rice, white beans, half the artichoke, and saffron, (and meat if wished) spreading evenly around the pan. Let cook for about another 15-20 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Keep covered if you want the rice to be softer OR keep uncovered and cook for shorter time if you’d like it al dente. Stir often to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  6. Let it rest for a few minutes, but keep stirring to prevent sticking. Add the remainder of the artichoke on top before serving to add both an individual flavor and a touch of flair to the appearance.

Enjoy!