2013 - Week 6

Hello from Week 6 :) How are you all doing?

My week went pretty well I think. Rock climbing is still going okay, I've finished almost all of the V1s, but then of course they put up more, so I don't think I'll get them all done. One of the days that I went to the climbing gym, the youth competitive climbing team was there, and I got totally schooled. I watched in amazement as these young kids scaled V3s with ease. Granted, they weigh next to nothing and have quite a bit of prior climbing experience, but it was still neat to see.

My journal writing and Bible reading has been going well. I guess I never realized how many dreams I actually have. I always seem to have something to write in my dream journal, even if it's short. One day, I didn't have anything though, but then I took a nap in the afternoon. I have to say, that was the craziest dream I've had all year. It was so vivid with crisp details and a fun story (the highlight was living in a eco-dome in the center of the Mall of America in preparation for moving to a similar dome on the moon) . . . fun stuff :) Do any of you record your dreams? I think it will be really entertaining to look back on some of these later on.

My new things this week were recipes again. One of my wonderful brothers bought me some truffle oil for Christmas, and if you read my 2013 - Week 1 post, you will have seen my previous attempt at truffle fries. This time I went for small cubed potatoes baked with olive oil, garlic salt, and plain breadcrumbs on them, and then I sprinkled them with more bread crumbs and the truffle oil after they were done baking. I baked them at 450 F for 35 minutes, stirring about halfway through. They were so good and truffle-y . . . yum. I don't know what it is about truffle oil, but the flavor just gets in my head and I can still taste it days later, it's so good :) Along with the potatoes, I used this recipe from Penzey's Spices for the chicken tenders and added some green beans so there was something healthy in the meal. I love Penzey's :)

Truffle potatoes with green beans and chicken tenders

My other new recipe came from another recipe magazine, but I don't remember which one. On Googling the recipe, I found the exact one from Martha Stewart, so maybe it was her "Everyday Living", I'm not sure. At any rate, I'm glad I found it because now I don't have to type  it all out . . . here is the recipe: Spicy Black Bean Soup. I am a huge fan of this recipe. I don't really like beans, and amazingly, I loved it. It tasted creamy and exotic . . . not something I thought could have come from my kitchen, that's for sure. I used the canned beans and toasted some corn tortillas to put on top. I just love cilantro and avocado, so that could be one of the reasons that I liked this so much, but I would definitely recommend trying it. I took most of the seeds out of the jalapenos, but I think next time I'll leave one of them with the seeds in because it could have been a little spicier, I just didn't want to overdo it on the first try. So, if you have a few cans of beans in your cupboard that you don't know what to do with, definitely make this recipe . . . it's so good.

Black bean soup

Until next week then . . . see you soon :)