I Walk In This World

Hi kids.

GIVEAWAY Reminder.

Well.  Today was rockstar.  I thought it was going to again today, and since it was sunny and warm with blue skies, I am on cloud ten (because ten is better than nine).

My sister is here!

She’s my BFF times infinity. 

Now.  

We totally hated each other as kids.  To-Ta-LllYY.  Ask Dad.  He’ll tell you.  But we’re besties now.

Did everyone see Hillary’s flower?

!Ole!

<———–dies laughing

Din was Pizza Friday.  Whole wheat Boboli crusts, 1 regular veggie and 1 pesto.  I gotta give a shout out to my Weight Watchers girls, esp Chels, who helped me decide what to do with the pesto pizza.  Her suggestion was Out of this World.

Veggie pizza = pizza sauce + pecorino romano cheese + peppers + onion + mushrooms

Pesto pizza = pesto + goat cheese + sundried maters + spinach

Oh my gaaaaadddd.  The pesto pizza was unreal.  A total classic.  Plus some salad to balance it out.

Dinner on the porch.

And beer.  A Magic Hat HIPA, which is one of the best IPAs out there.  Totes.

This is a tough weekend for me and the sister, what with Mother’s Day and all.  So.  I plan to drink A Lot.  Y’all just have to bear with me.

I was at a forestry ecology conference all day, and have no pics from it, nor pics of lunch.  There wasn’t time.  It was a good day tho.  I’ll leave it at that. 

Breks was hurried (b/c I suck at getting out of bed on time) but great.  1 red berry waffle + blueberries + coconut + lite syrup AND 2 Applegate Farms chicken & apple sausage.  Ugh.  Those sausge are beyond good.  Srsly.  Try them.

Tomorrow, I have no idea what I’m doing.  Too many options and I have to decide.  Good thing I’ve got a buzz on, should help me really winnow things down.

What are y’all up to this weekend?

An ode to Smuttynose India Pale Ale.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER - Best American Beer 2004 Great British Beer Festival

 “Hands-down one of the best American-style India Pale Ales ever crafted. This brew is lip smacking, with an aggressive and pungent grapefruit hop character. Wonderfully balanced and insanely drinkable.” - Jason & Todd Alström, the Weekly Dig’s Beer Highlights of 2004

Portsmouth, NH is a colonial era seaport town, so it goes to follow that sooner or later we’d brew an India Pale Ale as a tribute to those big, hoppy 19th century ales that made the long sea voyage from England’s temperate shores, ’round the Cape of Good Hope, to the sultry climes of the faraway East Indies.

But there’s another reason we brewed this beer, one that’s closer to our home and hearts. Hopheads. 

Ten years ago we brewed our first batch of Shoals Pale Ale, our American interpretation of the traditional British ESB (Extra Special Bitter) style. At the time, it was widely considered to be darned hoppy. However, a funny thing happened over the last decade - our Shoals Pale Ale didn’t change; beer lovers did, and we started to hear more and more: “Why don’t you guys make a really hoppy beer?”

You could say, then, that Smuttynose IPA is a physical salute to the glory of the American hop grower. The citrusy hop flavor coming from a mixture of Simcoe and Santiams is pleasantly balanced by a smooth bitterness from the Amarillo hops. The beer itself is light bodied and crisp with a golden color that will throw a slight haze, as we bottle it unfiltered. At 65 IBU’s, this is definitely not a training-wheels IPA, but is meant for hop lovers looking to satisfy their craving in a way that’s not easy to find. We think they’ll be quite pleased.

             ~Smuttynose Brewing Company

Far prettier description than I could have come up with.  But gosh dang.  This is one smashing beer.  It is hoptastic and not sweet, for those of you IPA fans that like a mix of sweet in there.  This is sharp and full of flava.  I NEED flava.  Hoppier and bitterer the better.

Might anyone have any good IPA recommendations for me?  I am an expert.  But I always look forward to new suggestions & beers to sample.

Hmm.  Maybe Fridays will turn into IPA reviews here in Erin’s house.

How about Din, paired with the IPA?

At the table…

• Boboli personal sized whole wheat pizza with asiago cheese & peppers, onions, mushrooms
• tossed salad with goat cheese and lf rasp dressing
• Smuttynose IPA (in a proper glass)

I def ate the whole personal  pizza, and not just those pretty 3 baby slices up there.  C’mon…

The hubz is entertaining a visiting Aussie co-worker in Princeton, so Erin’s here with the dog, Sopranos DVDs, and eventually House Hunters International. 

Once again, my office reached a balmy high of 80 degrees this afternoon.  Being a cold blooded little duck, I was fine.  But my coworkers were suffering.  We shall see what Monday brings, with outside temps in the 80s (today was in the upper 60s).  I predict passing out.  Not me.  But someone.

Afternoon yogurt…

• kiwi
• honey OIKOS
• with krap mixed in (apricot, dried cherries, unsweetened coconut, kashi)

Ok.  It’s Friday.  Get off the computer Erin.  Don’t be one of THOSE people….

Yeah, I’m totally one of THOSE people…don’t worry.

Nite.

Dear Writers of The Office,

Please start injecting humor into your scripts else I fear you will start to lose A Lot of viewers.  Last night’s show was kraptastic, BIG time.

Regards,

A Concerned Viewer…

*sigh*  Is anyone else as disappointed lately with The Office epis as I am?? 

Swenyway…

I’m a Winner, kids, big time.

Look at the goodies I won for entering the Prada Goodie Bag Giveaway contest over at What Do I Eat Now!!!!!   You gotta go over and check out her Ho-bag shoes!!  Hey, is it totally geeky to say that both the hubz and I were excited about the Tupperware??  Look at all this cool stuff!

 Look at that cute drawing (courtesy of her little peanut)!!

Yeah, the mini cookies didn’t stay closed long.  They are AWESOME!  I have a newphew with Celiac disease, so it makes me really happy that there are SUCH good treats out there that are gluten free. 

Tupperware goodies!!!!!

Fan-flipping-tastic prize this is, and I can’t wait to try all the other treats.  Thanks lady, this was a great prize!

Din last night was just a mosh of leftovers that you’ve already seen earlier this week.

• crockpot curried lentils & brown rice
• 1 piece of curry coconut chicken
• fresh steamed green beans with a dash of sea salt
• sliced whole grain toast (for the lentils)
• IPA!

The highlight of dinner, aside from all that awesome curry, was This Beer!  Magic Hat has unleashed their Seasonal IPA (HIPA…half IPA) and it is a hoppy little bastahd.  Totally my cup of tea. 

Jealous?

It’s Confession time.  I had a 2nd beer, and thus my downfall began.  I had ~12 tortilla chips with salsa when I wasn’t even hungry, and THEN, to cleanse my palate, I had about eleventy billion mini chocolate chip cookies from my winnings.

I am a moron.

Hmmm…wonder where Yoda will show up today?  I gotta say, there have been some TOUGH photos, and you guys have been spot on with finding him.  Kudos!

Need I say more??

FYI, I’m betting my sister is squealing looking at this photo right now.  If any of her coworkers are reading this, please let me know if she’s squealing!!

Breks this morning was awesome despite being scarfed down in the car, on my commute.

• eggwhites sauteed with peppers & onions
• 1 pz turkey bacon
• 1 pz American cheese
• HOT sauce
• whole wheat mini bagel

Where did I leave off yesterday?

Oh…lunch.  Lunch was quick b/c the hubz and I needed to go out to run some errands (groceries, pet store, donate clothes, etc).  So I heated up the remains of El Mexicano from the other night, wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla, and sliced up some pear.  Very filling!

We rushed out the door, after a morning of computer work, with our list of errands in hand, and quickly found that just about every store is closed on Easter. 

It was surprising to me that SO many stores were closed.  We bounced from empty parking lot to empty parking lot, getting more and more frustrated as the day went on.  Finally, we got to our grocery store, which was open.  The drugstore next door is going out of business, so we swung through to see if we could get any great deals of their selloffs (we did!).  Leaving the store, we head back over to get groceries, only to find it closed while we were putzing around the drug store.

I was livid at this point.  We gave up and went home.  LOL, must have been being punished for not being religious or something.

After all that frustration, I was starved… 

• Dubliner cheese on TJs whole grain crackas

And in need of a drink…

• Merlot with a side of cookbook

Does anyone else read cookbooks for pleasure?  This was how I chose to relax (on the chair-and-a-half).  Hillary decided she needed to do some reading too.

Um, please ignore my crazy hair and scrubs.  This was post workout (40mins in the gym).

I spent much of the late afternoon, early evening in the kitchen.  I made…

• creamy pesto sauce (for tonight’s din)
• Crockpot curried lentils and rice (debuting later this week)

Sunday nights we typically have pizza for din.  Well, even our dang pizza shop was closed.  So I resorted to homemade (it was grrrreat)…

• Boboli whole wheat crust with pizza sauce
• Asiago cheese
• peppers & onions
• sprinkle of hot red pepper flakes

With a GIANT salad

• spinach
• green leaf lettuce
• cukes
• carrot
• maters
• sprouts
• dried blueberries
• almonds
• goat cheese
• drizzed raspberry walnut lite dressing

The whole set (with a Shipyard IPA on the side)…

We ended the night with another Netflix…Reign Over Me (Don Cheadle & Adam Sandler).  It was a pretty powerful and very real movie.  I think Cheadle can act his ass off, and handle any role with brilliance.  And honestly, Sandler was outstanding as a regressed, depressed individual.  For anyone that’s dealt with major depression or mental illness, this film portrays a superb portrayal of the reality of it (not overly downer…just very real).  I highly recommend it.

Whew…bizzy day.  Hope y’all had good ones!