Monday, February 27, 2012

Make This!

Crispy Roasted Garbanzo Beans!

Make these! These are delicious & so easy!
 The last time B &I were in Pullman, we looked all over town & in Moscow for locally grown lentils.  We couldn't find them anywhere. We finally found out the Pullman Chamber of Commerce sold them (but it was on a Saturday & they were closed). This time, I went in during business hours & purchased two bags. Now I wish I had purchased more (next visit!!).
The larger bags of Palouse Brand lentils have a QR code.
You can scan it & see exactly where on the Palouse that particular package of lentils were grown. So neat!!
 After I purchased the lentils, I checked out Facebook to see Palouse Brand Lentils had a FB page. They did! With recipes too! Once I read the recipe for the cripsy roasted garbanzo beans, I had to make them. I rushed home from work today & did just that.

Here is the recipe Palouse Brand Lentils recommended. I found a different recipe here (using homemade Moroccan spice).  Make this snack! You will not be disappointed. ☺

Check out Washington State Magazine for an interesting article on lentils.

Pullman Visit

Last Thursday, I drove over to Pullman to visit Naseem for her 18th birthday. I was lucky enough to spend 3 whole days with her. I baked cookies, cupcakes & party popcorn for her to share with her friends.
I love how these turned out!
Birthday treats

Party popcorn!
Click here for the party popcorn recipe. I found it on the very fun blog She Wears Many Hats.

One of the nice things about driving to Pullman is the Palouse Scenic Byway. Miles & miles of the most beautiful rolling hills. It is something you really have to see in person to appreciate.
Fellow Cougs: You know what I mean!!!!





 I made it to Pullman in good time. Naseem & I visited for a while, but she had an important midterm in the morning. I let her be & walked around on campus for a while so she could study. 

Later, we met up at the library so she could finish up a research project.

After she was finished, I took her out to a birthday dinner at South Fork restaurant. Guess what I had: If you said Cougar Gold Macaroni & Cheese...you were right!!!!
YUM!!!!!

Want to make your own Cougar Gold Mac n cheese? Click HERE for the recipe.

On Friday, I got up bright & early and went up on campus.
 I stopped at one building to surprise my friend Pam; but I was the one who got the surprise. Pam took Friday off. Darn it! I left her a nice note & some 'Crimson & Gray' WSU cookies I had baked and went down to the basement to visit the Charles R. Conner Museum.

The museum has over 700 taxidermied animals, but I liked this guy best.
 Then I headed over to French Ad to surprise my friend Karen. Another surprise for me. Karen was in a meeting & unavailable for most of the day. I learned my lesson: email friends the next time I am planning a trip to Pullman. I left Karen some of my cranberry shortbread and headed downtown to meet my dear friend Katie for lunch. Katie & I have been friends for 15 years. She moved to Spokane about 7 years ago & made the drive down to Pullman. We had a fun reunion & I loved every minute we spent together. 
Katie & I

Me, Nas & Katie
 Katie & I met up with Nas for a brief visit, then went back up on campus. Katie took me to her sorority Gamma Beta Phi. We were able to see her photograph on the wall with her pledge class from 1991. We were also given a tour of the house by a really sweet girl, Michelle. My favorite part was when Michelle asked Katie, "How did you get your hair so big in the 90's?" It was so funny!☺

I said goodbye to Katie after we spent 5 hours together & helped Naseem deliver all her party supplies to a friend's apartment. I stayed for a while to clean & frost cupcakes; but then left when about 50 people arrived at once. Too crazy for me!
We woke up to snow the next morning.
We had to cancel our plans to visit a few neighboring towns, as the snowstorm got worse & created blizzard conditions that shut down the highways out of Pullman. So we stayed in & I met some of Nas' friends.

Hanna & Liza
I convinced the girls to let me order pizza from Pizza Pipeline for dinner. I used to love to order pizza from them. I have to say...I prefer the pizza from Costco now. Sorry PP!

 We were really pumped up for the basketball game later that evening. It was WSU's final home game & against our rival UW!
GO COUGS!!!!!

 We sat with Nas' friend Marcus.
Fun fact: Marcus was Naseem's first friend at WSU (bonus fact: Marcus speaks fluent Spanish).
It was a fun game with WSU up by 13 points at one time. Sadly, we lost the game 55-59. Oh well, next year!!!

Nas went out with friends after the game & I went to bed. I was so sad to pack up my things & leave. It was a fun filled three days & I am already looking forward to my next visit.

I miss you Nas!!! Thanks for giving up your weekend for me!♥
Beginning of the drive home.


Oh Baby!

Look who we got to babysit last night!!!! Baby Moses!!

Moses arrived sound asleep. He awoke after about 15 minutes & was surprised to see us.

Omid getting a suspicious look. Don't let this photo fool you.
Omid received the most smiles from Moses. I won't lie: I was envious.

Moses posing with one of the dead animals in the man cave.

Look at that face!!! So kissable!
Mo & me.
Fun Fact: Sarah called Moses 'Momo; last night.
Momo is Japanese for 'peach.' Moses' skin is as soft as a peach;
so the nickname is very fitting!!
This video is so cute! Look closely to the left. You can see a jealous Remy trying to get a kiss in.

A big THANK YOU to Chris & Sarah for allowing us to babysit your darling boy!!! We enjoyed every minute of it!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Naseem!!!!

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY NASEEMJOON!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!


I am headed over to Pullman today to help her celebrate. I am taking: party popcorn, 8 dozen cookies, 4 dozen Funfetti cupcakes & lots of Dollar Store birthday party supplies. Should be fun!!☺

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Get Crafty!

Colored Staples!

I have to thank my sister-in-law for this idea. I never knew colored staples existed, but they do! Make your own with different colored sharpies. So cute, so easy!



Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!!

One of my favorite things about today: hearing the younger elementary students say "Happy Valentimes Day!" It reminded me so much of when Nas & Matty were younger. Sigh......

Happy 'Valentimes' Day from the Zombie Vizsla!

I made these treats for Matty to take to school & pass out. He came back with 100% positive feedback from the CHS crowd (yay!). I also saved a few to pass out to special friends at Fox & the DO. You know who you are! I appreciate all of you!
 Happy Valentimes Day!♥

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Make This!!

Bastani akbar mashti!

Looking for an exotic tasting ice cream? Try bastani akbar mashti! Persian rose water/pistachio/saffron ice cream. This is a great dessert & so different from the usual vanilla, chocolate fudge brownie or coffee flavored ice cream Americans are used to.  You can purchase it at any Middle Eastern grocery store for about $8 or you can make it yourself - it's so easy.
Here's what you'll need:
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I used President's Choice (Fred Meyer) Double Vanilla)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp ground saffron
2 Tbs (1/8 cup) rose water
1/3 cup slivered pistachios

Have all your ingredients ready to go. Place the ice cream in a large mixing bowl. Let it soften for about 15-20 minutes in the fridge. DO NOT let the ice cream become too liquid or too soft!!

Rose water & saffron - you can purchase these at any grocery store.
Fun fact: try substituting 1 tsp of rose water instead of vanilla in
your sugar cookie dough. ☺
Add the whipping cream, rose water & saffron to the ice cream. Mix well.
Add the pistachios.

Pour into small bowls or containers & immediately place in the freezer. Done!
*Bastani akbar mashti usually has chunks of frozen cream in the mix. To do this, freeze the whipping cream in a small saucer (covered!!). Slice the cream into small squares & mix in to the ice cream just before placing it in the freezer. I froze the cream, but left it uncovered. Unfortunately, my cream took on a freezer-burn taste & I had to toss it. :(

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Netflix This!!

Boardwalk Empire!

Omid and I decided to give this show a try after all the accolades it has received on various award shows (yes, I watch those!).  We loved The Sopranos & were so sad when it ended. Boardwalk Empire is a little bit 'Soprano-esque' right down to using several of the same actors. If you loved The Sopranos, you will definitely love Boardwalk Empire.  R32UE58ENAXD