Eggs Benedict

Some things are not worth dieting for. The eggs benedict breakfast at La Valencia hotel in La Jolla, California, is one of those things:


The egg was perfectly poached with the yolk just set, not runny. The toasted wheat muffin and shaved ham were in perfect proportion, and the hollandaise sauce was divine (and sparingly added - I hate eggs benedict that is drowning in sauce).

I was a good WW girl - I only ate one of them and I counted the points (I had to pour a packet of Sweet-n-Low over the other to keep from devouring it, too).

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The sixth Harry Potter movie opens July 17. I did some widget clicking on Warner Brother's site, which resulted in this:



Not sure about it. Seems a bit "loud." BUT, I can't wait for the movie to open!

Wicked Hot Chili Cookies

I'm thinking about entering my Wicked Hot Chili Cookies into the Pillsbury Bake-Off. With the exception of a vendor sponsored chili cook-off last year, I've never entered a cooking contest, and the thought of getting my apron wet on the Big Daddy of them all is a bit intimidating. I have so many questions!

Should I cut back the amount of chili powder in the recipe? I experimented with lots of pepper combinations before finally settling on one (the habanero cookies were completely inedible). If I lessen the amount, will they be wicked enough?

My base recipe is the Land-o-Lakes butter cookie. Have I altered it enough to consider it my own creation? Maybe I should tweak it some more. I wonder if the addition of more flour or baking powder would be wise?

If I enter the recipe, will I lose all rights to it, even if it's not accepted for the contest? Maybe that's an easy one to answer. I'll have to read the rules.

If it's accepted, can I really make a dough that has to be refrigerated and then bake and decorate several dozen cookies in the alloted time?

Anybody out there ever enter a cooking contest that can give me some advice? The deadline is midnight April 20.

An Abundance of Krause

What do you get when you mix seven aging siblings and their offspring with 30 pounds of tri-tip beef? A Krause family gathering! Dad's arrival Friday afternoon in San Diego set the tone for the weekend when he told Kenny he couldn't be missed at the airport - he was the one standing on the sidewalk in a bright red sweatshirt:


Kenny circled the terminal eight times before figuring out that Dad is obviously going color blind. So sad.

The rest of the weekend was full of talk about grandkids, ailments, and pills. Being barren by choice, I had two out of three topics covered. I sometimes wish Mom and Dad had waited to have children. I'd be a lot younger now.

The Big Party was on Sunday, and almost everyone was present. Three generations were represented, and the Krause Elders posed for a group shot:


The cousins also gathered for a picture, but Uncle Tim was already halfway through his bottle of gin and missed the shot on my camera. I saw it on Uncle Larry's camera, though, and unless someone can Photoshop a waist onto me, I prefer the picture remain forever trapped in your Kodak digicam.

It really was a great weekend, though. There's talk about getting together again at Jim's cabin. I hope it happens. It's been too long since I've seen everyone. I just hope that Broken Bow can handle the influx of old farts.

On Monday, Lisa and I went to the San Diego Zoo where we were mooned by a couple of polar bears:


I suppose that's better than being mooned by a couple of drunk relatives!

If it's Tuesday, it's weigh day. I lost another .6 for a total of 6.6 pounds. Yay!

Could Do List

Sorry for the posting lapse. I've had a creative block. Perhaps I'm getting too relaxed. I'm much more productive when I have too many things to do. I suppose I could do a few things around the house (I know The Professor would be happy about that).

For starters, I could tidy up my desk:


Funny, my desk at work isn't this messy. I also don't have a bottle of Captain Morgan at work. Coincidence? Hmmmm...

I could do the dishes:


But if I did them today, what would I do tomorrow?

I could also tackle the dining room. Everything left from our last garage sale is still stacked on the table or the floor:


Clearing all that junk out would make room for my new treadmill (thank you Jenny!):


Right now the cats like to stare and dare me to try and use it. Oh, don't worry. They don't scare me. I'll accept that dare...just as soon as I get back from my trip to San Diego (I leave Friday).

Today was Weigh Day and I lost another .8 pounds. That's a total of 6 pounds. Yay!

Five Pounds and Counting

It's Tuesday, which means it's Weigh Day. I lost another 1.4 pounds this week for a total of 5.2! Time for the happy dance.

There are storms brewing tonight so I'm keeping this post short (I need to shut down the computer and find the flashlights - looks like it's going to be a wild night). I just wanted to celebrate. Yay!

Balsamic Orange Glazed Salmon

Tonight I cooked my favorite salmon recipe. It's one I made up and, if I do say so myself, it's good. I know it's good because The Professor eats it every time I make it (which I can't say happens with all of my experimental cooking).


It's a fairly simple dish to make and takes about 20 minutes to prepare. You'll need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon diced shallot
2 small salmon steaks
juice from 2-3 blood red oranges (about 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and saute the peppers and shallot for a couple of minutes on medium high heat. Add the salmon steaks to the skillet (place them skin side down on top of the peppers and shallots). Pour the orange juice and vinegar into the pan. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to cook until the liquid is mostly gone, creating a sticky glaze. Make sure the fish is done before serving. Remove the fish to dinner plates and top with the peppers and shallot glaze. I serve it with brown rice and a green vegetable.

Mmmmmm!

Harry and Me

I'm a Harry Potter fanatic.

If you know me in real life, you know this about me already. This weekend, my favorite Harry Potter website revamped itself into a social networking site, and I have been wasting HOURS checking it out (and having a ball doing so).


I've been a member of the Leaky Cauldron and it's forum site, the Leaky Lounge, for three years, and it's been a great place to feed my addiction for all things Harry. Tomorrow we sort into new reading groups. We'll be re-reading and discussing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This will be my 11th reading group (my second time for book four).

I know. I'm hopeless. I even went to a Harry Potter convention last summer:


That's me in a lecture with Larabella Figg. She was there from Canada with her 20 something daughter. I went to the wizard ball with them, too. Here we are getting ready beforehand (I'm wearing my dress robes and carrying my handmade Bois d'arc wood wand):


I also have Harry Potter themed license plates on my car. Those are pretty fun, especially at stop lights when I catch the poor slob behind me peering over the steering wheel with a perplexed look trying to figure out what WWHPD means.

I wish I could properly explain my fascination with this wonderful world of magic, but I can't. I've started reading books about the books, trying to figure it out. Maybe some day the attraction will wane, but for now I'm firmly under Harry's spell (pun intended).

There were three entries for the Hawaiian swag drawing, and since I had three goodies I drew one name for each item. Actually, I enlisted Dustin Pot Pie's help in the drawing (I don't want to be accused of rigging the outcome). Nicole won the soap, Monica gets the coffee, and Aviva the pen. Congratulations! You're fabulous prize will arrive soon! (Nicole...please send me an email with your address).

Liquid Diets are Good

Aloooooooha! Turns out that you can drink like a fish on vacation and still lose weight. I weighed in this evening after my week in Maui and I actually lost .2 pounds! Can you believe it? I'm very pleased.


A first for me this time in Hawaii: I spent time at and in the pool! The first time I went to Hawaii I landed in an emergency medical clinic with a rash and puffy lips because, as luck would have it, Dillypoo is ALLERGIC TO THE SUN. But I threw caution to the tropical breeze this time and lathered myself in 85 SPF sunblock (two bottles of it in five days). The cabana Dad rented helped, too. I managed to leave the island as pasty white as when I arrived, although I do have some funny spots on my lower legs that look suspiciously like heat rash. Nothing a little Benadryl lotion won't cure (I hope).

I brought back some Hawaiian swag that I thought I'd share with everyone. If you're interested in receiving the goodies pictured below, just leave me a note in the comments section. Depending on how many responses I get, I'll draw one name from a hat as the winner. Doesn't that sound like fun? You can win a bar of pineapple/coconut Maui Tropical Goat Milk Soap, a bag of Maui Oma Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee (ground), and a pen from the Fairmont Kea Lani! Don't trample anyone in the rush to enter. Deadline is this Thursday at 10:00 p.m. Texas time.


And a mighty thank you to Dustin Pot Pie for the photographic evidence of my watery debauchery in Maui. It was the inspiration for my new layout.