I'm still here

Nope, haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just moving!  The house is up for sale AND rent.  Hopefully one of those things happens soon.  Me and Molly are currently in about 1/3 of the way through our drive across the country right now.  My mom is traveling with us and we are having fun.  Sightseeing along the way.  Today we are going to be checking out Oklahoma City.  Molly is traveling like a dream!  I think all of my stressing about how she would travel was not necessary.  

Anyway...this is my long winded way of saying be sure to come back soon!  I will be in California by Sunday and will hopefully be up and running in my kitchen by the end of next week.  I'll even give you a tour of the new place.  I'm ready to get there and back to the kitchen.  But for now, it is time for a great hotel breakfast and then back in the car.  :)

I made a recipe!

I have never really gotten the itch to create my own recipes.  I find great pleasure in following a recipe to the letter.  This is probably why I prefer baking to cooking.  I have a great amount of respect to people who can just throw a little of this and a little of that into a pan and create this amazing dish.  For some reason, as much as I like being in the kitchen, this type of creating never appealed to me.  That is until today.

I had two bananas on their last legs and you can't really make many banana recipes out of just two bananas.  With the upcoming move, I am all about using what I have on hand.  The idea of a banana cookie was intriguing to me, so I decided to see what I could come up with.  I honestly thought these would turn out horrible.  I had no idea what I was doing when making these and was guessing at amounts for each ingredient.  I also kept adding things to the cookies...oatmeal, chopped dark chocolate.  

So, how did they turn out?  Pretty darn good.  I might make a change with them next time, but I was surprised at how tasty they were.  The oatmeal made them pretty hearty and they didn't spread AT ALL when they baked.  The banana added a great addition sweetness and the hint of cinnamon was surprising and unexpected.  Overall, I am really pleased with my first cookie creation from scratch.  Try them if you have two bananas staring you in the face!
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

6 T unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c white sugar

1 large egg

1 t vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas

2 c oats

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

4 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine melted butter and sugar.  Add egg and mix until combined.  Mix banana and vanilla into sugar mixture.  Set aside.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.  Once combined, add to wet ingredients and mix until combined.  Mix chocolate chunks into batter.

Place uniform scoops onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned.  Cool and enjoy!

Steeler Training Camp

I have a confession to make.  I LOVE the Steelers.  Like...they are the most awesome football team ever!  I don't even like football.  That is how much I love the Steelers.  I went to Steelers Training Camp today for the very first time.  Training Camp takes places about 15 minutes from my moms house.  It was so exciting!
I was so excited to see all of the Steelers signs and gear and stuff!  I bought three shirts while I was there.  I needed to supplement my Steelers garb before moving to CA!
I LOVE Ben Roethlisberger and seeing him so close up was so exciting!
Troy Polamalu is adorable!  He appears to be a bit injured and rode past us in a golf cart after practice was over.  I was so angry that I didn't get a picture of him.
Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu in the same photo!  Eek!
Did I mention I love Big Ben?  What a neat experience!  I head back to NC tomorrow and this has been a whirlwind trip to PA this weekend...but now it is time to get back to NC and get ready to move.  :)

Missing Blogger

I have been a horrible blogger the past few weeks and I hate to say it probably won't get better in the immediate future.  The movers come to the house in two weeks.  I have a TON of downsizing to do in the house before they get here.  Have a trip to Pennsylvania planned for this weekend.  I'm trying to use up food in the kitchen before the movers get here and so my kitchen time has been pretty boring.  I promise that I will be a better blogger once I get settled in California.  But until then, I will fill you in on what I have been up to since I got home.
I headed down to Wilmington for a farewell bash for my lovely friend Kim the first weekend I was back.  Kim and her family are moving to Hawaii (tomorrow!) and I will totally be visiting her there.
Here is our group before taking a yummy shot.  It was so humid and hot out that night, but it was nice to be outside.
I got new bedroom furniture.  I figured it was time to have my bedroom "grow up" and I got this furniture.  There is a dresser and mirror as well.  I LOVE this furniture and just hope that my new place will be big enough to accommodate it all!
Molly has been freakin' adorable since I have been back.  It's like I haven't been away for 6 months and she just picked up right where we left off.  About a week ago I found her curled up in my magazine basket in the living room.  There was a blanket in it, so at least it was comfy.  She just looked so cute!

I was able to get home in time to see my friend Chris in the last stages of pregnancy.  This was us after we met for dinner the day before she was induced.  SO BIG!  :)
And then two days later I got to meet Sophia.  She is SO TINY and cute and I can't believe she is 8 days old already!
And of course there was Jekyll Island.  We all spent a good amount of time at the pool bar.  We made friends with the bartenders over the course of three days and enjoyed a lot of Bloody Mary's, Key Lime Coolers, Drunken Monkey's, and Island Blue Coladas.  What a blast!

My sister and I got pedicures while we are at Jekyll as well.  My feet have been tormented by the 6 months in Iraq.  I am the type of girl who would get pedicures every two weeks or so, regardless of the time of year.  They are getting back to normal, but it is taking some time.  A week before the Jekyll trip, I treated myself to a spa day.  It consisted of a vichy shower, hour long massage, ear candling, customized facial, hair cut, and spa pedicure.  Oh, there was a tasty lunch in there as well.  I was at the spa for over seven hours and it was AMAZING and totally worth the splurge!
We got all fancy and went to the Sunday brunch at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel as well.  Holy macaroni batman, was that food good.  I was glad that I had run 6 miles that morning so I didn't feel as guilty about indulging as much as I did.

That has been my time in a nutshell since I have been home.  I have been to the movies once (to see "Julie and Julia" and it was totally cute!), I have eaten out more times than I can count, I have spent time with lovely friends and family, and I have relaxed.  I am stressed about the upcoming month, but am looking forward to it as well.  Posting may be kind of sporadic until I get settled in California, but I will be back and me and my KitchenAid mixer have a lot of things we want to conquer.  Stay tuned!

Vacations are the best!

I am currently on vacation!  I am with my sister and brother-in-law at Jekyll Island, GA.  I have been here before (check out that post here) and it is still one of my favorite places.  My brother-in-laws sister and her best friend are also here.  Last night we enjoyed dinner at the "Rah" Bar.  That is a picture of it above.  It is on a wharf and you get great views of the water.
Here is me and my sister!  I really love this picture of the two of us.  We are going for pedicures together this morning and I can't wait!
The menu at the "Rah" Bar is pretty simple.  Your regular low country favorites.  The only thing I wish they had on there was hush puppies...I was totally craving them last night!
I had a half dozen Rah oysters...I ate about half and shared the rest with the table.
And half a pound of peel and eat shrimp.  So good!  There were crab legs and red potatoes at our table that I tried as well.  It is such good food!
And you get to look at views like this.  How is this not the best place ever?  I will post more about my vacation soon!  Have a great weekend!

Back in the dough

My oh my...I forgot how incredibly therapeutic getting your hands dirty in a bowl of dough could be.  I was finally ready to get my bake back on and I bought an awful lot of blueberries on my first trip to the grocery store (they were on sale and I was completely excited to have blueberries for the first time in six months!).  I love scones so I decided to make some fresh blueberry and lemon scones.  

I turned to Dorie for the scones and used her Cream Scone recipe (on page 27 of Baking...if your interested).  Instead of currants, I added about a cup of fresh blueberries.  I also added the zest of one lemon.  I topped them with some demera sugar before baking as well.  I used my silicone mini-scone pan from King Arthur Flour to bake them in because it makes it oh so easy.  24 minutes later, I had delicious scones.  I love the pop from the fresh blueberries.  Dried fruit is great, but fresh is so much better.  Especially when it is blueberries.

I'm not sure when I am going to get back in the swing of things with Tuesdays with Dorie.  The next month is going to be crazy...a lot of short trips and also moving across the country.  I think I will try but officially make my return once I get settled in my new place, about mid September.  Can't wait to bake with all of you lovelies soon...but until then, I am loving being back in the kitchen!

I'm Back!

I have been home now for about two days and it has been great!  I have eaten out, enjoyed an afternoon on a boat, slept, caught up on some TV, been on a few runs, and finally kicked the jet lag!  I may have enjoyed a few beers too!  My cat has fallen right back into our old routine with me and I have been really liking this relaxed mood!

Sorry this post doesn't include a pastry or something involving baking, but not quite up to that yet.  I have been seeing Green Monsters all over a bunch of blogs that I enjoy reading and couldn't wait to get home to try one.  I have had one every day since I got home and am in love.  One of my favorite ways to enjoy a smoothie is to combine a banana, strawberries, and some vanilla soy milk.  That is so yummy to me.  This smoothie tastes just like that and has so many other yummy things!  This Green Monster included a banana, some milk, a handful of frozen mixed berries, a scoop of Original Amazing Meal, and a large handful of baby spinach.

If you haven't tried one of these, you are completely missing out!  Blend one up and enjoy...your body will thank you!

See ya later Iraq!

It's been fun, but now it is done!  Next time I post here it will be from the comfort of my house...and there may be food!  So come back soon and thank you to everyone for all of your support the past six months.  It has been a blast getting to share a little piece of my deployment to Iraq with all of you.  See you soon!  

P.S......You don't get a smile like that until you go home...which I am!  Woohoo!!

Getting ready to hit the road...and food!

Is it strange that I took a picture of a fork and knife?  Maybe.  But tonight was the first time I used real silverware in six months!  There are five officers leaving at the same time as me and we had a going away dinner with all of the officers in the headquarters at a Turkish restaurant on base called Lara Restaurant.  Now...don't think this is normal, to eat at a restaurant in Iraq.  This place just recently opened and has GREAT food!  And they serve it with real silverware, which is huge!
We placed our orders ahead of time and the Shepard Salad was already on the table when we showed up for people to enjoy.  It was a rather strange combo of things, but tasty nonetheless.
I ordered the chicken kabobs for my dinner.  They are served with yummy veggies and on top of freshly made flatbread.  It is all prepared over charcoal in the restaurant.  You leave smelling like a barbecue.  Super delicious.
I also ordered the cheese bread.  Not sure what the cheese was on this, but the combination of the freshly baked bread, tangy cheese and fresh herbs was to die for!
I finished off my meal with some rice pudding.  It may not be very photogenic, but it was so creamy and had a great flavor.  Overall, I was so pleased with the meal and am in a partial food coma from it!
I received an award today...it is always nice to receive recognition for your hard work, even if you know you couldn't have done it on your own.  My Marines are responsible for a lot of what is in that award.  You never do anything on your own!
At dinner, I got my going away "plaque" as well.  It wasn't a surprise because I bought all of the flags for all of the officers going away, but I really like it.  It is an Iraqi flag with our unit patch in the center instead of a star.  It also has my name, billet, dates I was with the unit and Operation Iraqi Freedom 09.1 on it.  

The party is drawing to a close here...tonight is poker and tomorrow is my last full day in Iraq.  Poker is a weekly tradition...hmmm, maybe I will take some pictures and share those later!  :)