Make a roast without even trying.....

Seriously you can look like an awesome girlfriend (or a really together with it lady) with very little work....

Ingredients:
Roasting Chicken
Carrots (add parsnips too)
potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
chicken stock
white wine
lemon

1) Prep chicken and remove giblets (you can use them to make gravy I typically thicken the juices)
2) Cut all root veggies to be about 1/2 inch thick- try to keep them even for good cooking
3) Place chicken upside down in 9"x13" roasting pan and drizzle olive oil and rub into skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.* Flip chicken over and place in the middle of the pan. Repeat olive oil and seasoning
4) Scatter cut veggies around chicken and give a light drizzle of olive oil salt and pepper
5) Fill the pan with a 50/50 combo of chicken stock and white wine so the top of the veggies still stick out
6) Cut lemon in half and place inside the cavity of the chicken (keeps it moist and flavors the meat)

If you are good with your knife skills the total prep time should be around 10 minutes

7) Place in oven for 90 minutes at 350F

Get dressed, set the table and light some candles. Look like a rockstar when it comes out.

*If you want to get more creative you can try a cajun spice as well, rosemary or any other seasoning combo
2) Scl

Dublin Bound!!!

Tomorrow AM the Mr and I get to head to Dublin....

Pics to come

Imaginary Travel.... through the internet

Some of my favorite postings over the last couple of weeks in blogs I read:

The fastest food in the world

Most awesome diet ever

How to get rich fast

A party I was sad to miss

Wanted for my bachelorette party

Oh and an awesome job posting

The wedding Craziness has been moved to a separate blog due to my attempt to be a wedding bee.. you can follow here: http://4weddingsnamove.blogspot.com/

But for today I will make it easy for you-

We are having the big formal wedding in the States and a "fill in adjective" in jolly old England. So before I go into the disaster that was wedding planning we need to define what this England party wedding thing is.

First it needs a name because "English wedding" just ends up confusing a lot of people. So break out the thesaurus:
Main Entry: wedding
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: marriage rite
Synonyms: bells, bridal, espousal, hook, marriage, marriage ceremony, matrimony, nuptial rite, nuptials,spousal, union, wedlock
- none of these seem to clue in on the awesome party we plan on having so how about another word:

Main Entry: party
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: social gathering
Synonyms: affair, amusement, at home, ball, banquet, barbecue, bash*, blowout, carousal, carousing,celebration, cocktails, coffee klatch, coming-out,dinner, diversion*, do*, entertainment, feast,festive occasion, festivity, fete, fun, function,gala, get-together, luncheon, movable feast,orgy, prom, reception, riot, shindig*, social,soiree, splurge, spree*, tea

DO! Its the perfect English word for a party. After all Mr. FMB will be having a stag-do and I will be having a hen-do. So the English wedding is in Sheffield (the steel city and home of The Full Monty). So its official we are having a wedding and the Sheff-Do.

Now that that is settled lets go back to our classic of "A Tale of Two Venues"

THE WEDDING:

After the very romantic proposal (that involves its own post) I immediately had a decision to make. Do I get married at home in upstate NY or at my catholic college in central MA. I browsed the options available to me in both and decided to go for the campus wedding. However it is well known that our college chapel books up 2 years in advance. In fact its rumored that if you are a couple your senior year who may get married in the future you may as well book your date before you graduate. So with Mr. FMB's brother on a trip around the world, we settled on a end of July date and had a backup just in case.

Well I call up the chapel- date, time, open, booked, done. The college has a beautiful ballroom right on campus and the surrounding area has many other venues but are a good drive away. With everyone traveling to the wedding from as far as TX, CA and England (and we shouldn't let those last ones loose on roads with MA drivers) I went to book the ballroom- date, time, open, booked, done. I decided I was done planning the wedding for then (we were 11 months out still). Now before you venue crazed brides out there create a voodoo doll and pull out the pins remember... this is a Tale of TWO venues, so there must be more to come.

THE SHEFF-DO

Now due to round trip flights from England being in excess of $1000 in July many of Mr. FMB's friends are not able to make the trip (Luckily his entire family can though). So in comes the Sheff-Do. Mr. FMB being the diligent groom he is did some research around the same time I was booking the venue stateside. He saw a venue in the cheery English summer and liked it, however he did not want to book it without me seeing it. So several months later I am in England in December and we looked at the venue and WWIII began. Luckily a treaty was signed just as I was heading back to the states for work.

We continued to do some research and discussed what we wanted for the Sheff-Do with the safety barrier of the Atlantic Ocean between us. We picked out three locations: traditional ballroom in hotel outside the city, traditional ballroom in hotel inside the city, the skyline suite at an athletics facility inside the city. So we made appointments last weekend and took a train over to Sheffield. However this time we were armed with a secret weapon, one that allowed us to pick an amazing venue and and still save over 50%....

we changed our date to... a... Friday. This allowed us to book the best venue that we both fell in love with and still be able to afford furniture for the new house (although we may want to steal the hotels chairs). Which one do you think we decided on?

I will reveal pics of both venues tomorrow. What was your venue search like- too easy or did it require a mediator?

Call it what you want... but call it delicious

Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Máirt Inide, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, Fastnacht Day, Tuesday of Carnival, Terça-feira Gorda, Malasada Day, Sprengidagur, Uzgavenes, Pączki Day

Around the world in any language its a celebration we all share. As tomorrow is the first day of lent, a time of sacrifice and reflection in the Christian church, this Tuesday marks the last day of indulgence. Traditionally lent was a time of fasting (we get off easy not eating meat on just Fridays) so on this day all of the rest of the rich ingredients needed to be used up so they would not good bad over the next 40 days. In the anglo world they decided to make pancakes (US translation- Crepes) and top them will all the goodness.

Now for those of you who have not been graced with the magic that is Mr. Crepe there are two ways you can rock this boat.... Savory or Sweet...

For fillings:

Savory- bacon, brie, cheddar, rocket, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken, sausage, peppers, eggs, pesto, salsa, spinach, chorizo, pulled pork, salmon, steak, feta, caprice

Sweet- nutella, lemon, sugar, powered sugar, bananas, ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries, blueberries, any berries

As you can see the options are basically endless.... personally I plan on the following:

Dinner- Chicken, brie, spinach, sun-dried tomato

Dessert: Nutella and chocolate

What is your favorite topping combo?

An empty space... to fill with dreams

That is what my new house is. Since I have been here (3 weeks to date) we have been waiting on notice of our move date. All we can do till then is dream and plan and dream a bit more. One dream we have... a wedgie garden.

Now those of you who don't know a little background: vegetable = wedgetable= wedgie

I already have my awesome to the max waterproof and warm wellies from LLbean. And I have brokered a deal with my male half to build me up a raised bed so we can supplement our clay soil with other. (I also plan on composting for nutrients but that is another story). So in 2-3 months time when we have all that in what do we do.....

Well the man has been promised a chili patch of his own. Surely he will follow the slashfood blogs way to make your own chili sauce on that one. Other than that we need to be reasonable-

Herbs (will be separate and potted in planters for winter)

Tomatoes

Cukes

Zuchinni

Eggplant

Beans (of the green variety)

Squash

Peppers

Pumpkins

Carrots

Garlic

Potatoes

Parsnips

Now I need to do some reading as I will need to start seedlings indoors soon after the move, however some of these I have not grown before. Farmers almanac research to come....

My father failed me.....

... at least when it comes to driving. You see when I was a young girl of 16 we only had one car on the road, an automatic Toyota Sienna. So I learned to drive start, turn, three point turn, stop in snow and parallel park that large lass (now being able to parallel park my F150 all over Boston and Austin doesn't seem to hard). Just before I took my test my dad put the '95 Accord he had in storage back on the road and I was good to go from them on. When I moved to Texas I left the aging accord to my brother and bought Reba, my beloved F150 which was also an automatic.

Now I life in a place where gasoline is more than twice as much as the states and not only are the cars ridiculously small, they have the steering wheel on the wrong side and they are almost all standard. Basically I am screwed. Essentially I will end up buying a car that I wont be able to drive and will have to completely retake a road test in order to be legal to drive.

So this weekend the boy and I are to set off to Sheffield to plan the big party over there and were going to rent so I can get used to the roads. On our way home we can stop off at my rugby game and it will all be good right? So we check into cars and enterprise has a special on for £65 for a three day rental (ie we can actually function like normal people who own cars and do a few errands too). So we book an automatic only to receive a call an hour later that there are no automatics anywhere in the city of Birmingham to rent. Ugh!

Now logically the easiest would be for Tony to drive right? Well I explain that I booked with them, they cant provide anything but manual, so in exchange I will provide a manual driver if they wave the fee.... this fee is an issue and ridiculous. Now because I am robbing the proverbial cradle, there is an extra charge of £90 for Tony to drive. This more than doubles the rate of the rental. Sadly, Enterprise did not buy my logic. Somehow its a better gamble to let an american who barely knows how to shift a manual or drive on these roads have a car then someone who has been driving here for 9 years. Basically boys under 25 just can not be trusted.

So its back to the train for us... cue up a movie, pop a bottle of wine and poof we will be in Sheffield to have a roast dinner and out with friends.

Introducing the Ford Ka- a great vehicle for a family of 4 in the UK (if you are clowns)

... and eat it too

Unlike many other brides I do not get to taste any of my foods or cake (Atlantic ocean problem). I don't even like cake. Thankfully I have parental units who are willing to sacrifice themselves to go cake tasting for me this weekend (like angels I know....)

Anyone want to weigh in on the selection of choices?

Gènoise

A light airy cake made with fresh orange juice, layered with fresh sliced strawberries and Italian meringue buttercream.

White Cake

A light tender cake with alternating thin layers of raspberry jam and Italian meringue buttercream.

Chocolate Gènoise

Four layers of a chocolate genoise, laced with a hint of raspberry, layered with milk chocolate butter cream and white chocolate buttercream.

Devils Food

A luscious chocolate cake, soaked with rum syrup, layered with a semi-sweet chocolate Italian meringue buttercream.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake

A moist lemon cake, layered with a creamy lemon Italian meringue buttercream.

Opera Cake

A traditional French favorite, a light almond cake, soaked with an espresso syrup, alternately layered with espresso ganache and mocha buttercream.

Don't panic... this is not my cake. Mine shall be much much larger!

Tasty T- Date night style

Living in a house with 4 boys and their occasional girlfriends is in many words... interesting. Trying to save up money to buy furniture and decorate the new house makes going out a bit harder than it was back in my days of Boston. So what is a girl to do for date night? If we cooked at home it would be just another night in and most likely we would end up cooking for everyone as well (group date!) Luckily 2/3 of my favorite websites have British counterparts which many times end up being tasty.

In the case you have been living under a rock the last year (one company was offered a $6billion buyout from Google and turned it down... so yeah they are kind of a big deal) there was this brilliant revolution in coupons. Ever since the tinternet took off savvy savers have been taking advantage of its price comparisons and coupons. Then the revolution happened.... each day to your doorstep you can have a special deal over 50% off delivered right to your mailbox (or crackberry if you are me). Like it... buy it, print it, use it.... or if not just continue perusing your mail. Buywithme.com operates only stateside but often has more than one deal at a time. However my current lifelines are below (note I subscribe to Birmingham, Sheffield and London deals).

www.groupon.co.uk (US- www.groupon.com)- The host of our date night tonight as we bought a three course Vietnamese meal for two for only £15. Also known to have great places back in Boston like Redbones and many other favorites.

www.livingsocial.co.uk (US- www.livingsocial.com)- has great daily deals but also awesome get aways. We captured an amazing 2 night get away to the white mountains for after the wedding including meals, champagne and chocolate and a cooking class for only $275. Crazy right? Now if only they can have a wedding package deal so I can be done planning....

So go on my deal finding friends... in the comfort of your home, delivered straight to your blackberry.... so you don't have to look like the crazy coupon lady below :)

Used vs Ikea?

"Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct. If I saw something like clever coffee table sin the shape of a yin and yang, I had to have it. I would flip through catalogs and wonder, "What kind of dining set defines me as a person?" We used to read pornography. Now it was the Horchow Collection. I had it all. Even the glass dishes with tiny bubbles and imperfections, proof they were crafted by the honest, simple, hard-working indigenous peoples of wherever."- Fight Club

Us 20 somethings are definitely the Ikea generation. Cheap, functional, clean cut.... just don't fall into it as it will completely collapse under the weight of a toddler. So what is a young person to do when they need to outfit a house from scratch on the cheap... but they don't want to do the same in another year?

Well the one alternative are websites like craigslist.org or its UK version gumtree.com. If you are patient and have a good eye you can slowly collect the perfect housewares and furniture at less than half the price of even Ikea. Also an advantage is gained if you have your own transport and manpower to haul things away. A fabulous real wood dining set for £50... sure! Leather sofa and chair for £150... Score!

But somethings are just need to be bought new. Example one- a bed- mainly due to the cootie effect. Appliances also are worth the investment as repairs can be very costly. But everything else... gumtree here we come.... (except the 365 dish set, we will hit up Ikea for that... if you can find it in the maze)

I could beat a mugger with this purse!

Well those of you who know my style know I enjoy my large bags and wallets. My shoulder muscles have spent the last few years over-developing to comfortably carry large bags with all my ridiculousness in them. Mock me if you wish but when you need tissues, chapstick, pain killers, antacids, change or an epi-pen I am so your girl. However recently I have been experiencing a weight issue and its not due to my collection of sundries but the damn change I have been collecting.

I am slowly coming round to saying the word pounds instead of dollars but when it comes to pulling the money out of my wallet my thoughts have not changed. I pull out bills.. bills have meaning... bills actually pay for something. Unless you are paying a toll or buying a pack of gum or need to pay parking (save your quarters!!)....change is pretty much useless. So the change just collects. Well I currently have about 10 pounds or gbp in change in my wallet, this also happens to weigh about 10lbs so beware muggers because I will swing and take you down to chinatown. (Translation I have over $16 change in my wallet and it is almost considered a concealed weapon)

In order to save my poor shoulders I will start dumping all change into the "honeymoon" fund. Lets see where that leaves us in September!

Travel tools of the faithful.....

I will preface by saying I may be biased. I am a fan of two websites to plan most of my travel (although I will stray for discount airlines). These are www.kayak.com and www.hotels.com. Kayak does a great job of fare comparisons of the majors and makes it easy to link and buy. Hotels.com is typically the same price or better than conference rates and you earn a free stay for every 10 (when you travel for work this adds up fast... like two free nights in Dublin :) )

Now I know there are cheaper options when it comes to hotels however I have been burned by both hotwire.com and priceline.com. If you know the city you are traveling to well than these can be great options. However they are businesses out to make money and often their "zones" include sketchy areas outside of what the zone is named. Example- the banned hotel in DC on NY ave that is considered close to the conference center (2 miles close with no transport and amongst strip clubs). So if you are brave go for it... but if you are going on the blind better to be safe.

So this brings me to my next business trip to Germany. There are two conferences back to back in Bonn and Karsruhe. Both of these are local to Frankfurt which is a nice direct cheap flight from the Brum. So the plan is: Thurs- Friday Bonn, Friday- Sunday Frankfurt, Sunday- Tuesday Karlsruhe. Planes, Trains and conferences don't scare me... but where to stay and what to do in Frankfurt (I will be bringing the boy out to join me) I am left clueless.

Over the last couple of years all my travel has been for work or family leaving me no time to think of what I would do if I actually was to take a vacation somewhere. (OK yes we are going to Dublin but I have been there before, they speak some odd form of English and we intend on watching six nations and going to St. James Gate). Master of the web to coordinate travel I am, but I have no clue where to go to get suggestions on sites to see. Over the next week I will be investigating good travel advice sites and report back. Until then... kayak away!

(Doesn't this look like part of a Christmas Village?)

What does this picture make you think.....

Babies? Bad hair cuts we give out children? Did anyone think rugby? (or did you just think its a funny looking ball)

I am that rare american female that does play rugby and loves it. In fact as the wedding is 150 days away (according to our website http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/pwp2/view/MemberPage.aspx?coupleid=7559035717474831) I need to be active roughly 13 hours a day to achieve my goal. I have been intending since before I had that ring on my finger to get back into the same shape... honestly I have been intending it for the last 6 years but things keep getting in the way. Like school, work.. work.. work... travel for work

One thing that has been constant for me over the last few years has been rugby. For the majority of the year three times a week I beat my body into shape and accidentally get a few bruises along the way. (Due the the latter fact a one month rugby embargo has been placed for the month before the wedding... however I have a plan).

I am someone who either needs a very strict routine like I did for track in HS and college or I need to be entertained... like I was in grad school with great classes at the gym and joining a dance team. Basically I lack discipline unless I am being told what to do or distracted and don't realize I am working my butt off. I also HATE treadmills, stairmasters, bikes etc... and the weather in my former home of Boston has not been very nice the last few months (despite the constant drizzle in Brum I cant complain about the 40s and 50s we have had already in February). And in the end lets face it... its so much easier to be lazy and so much more comfy to watch a movie with a bottle of wine.

Tonight I attended my first practice with my new team Moseley (MWRFC). They are not as competitive as my old team BWRFC but the girls were warm, welcoming and I cant wait to go back on Thursday and hopefully play this weekend.

Why would I play this ridiculous sport you ask? Well because after we drink adult beverages and have fun (possibly negating health benefits but meh)... but the real reason is despite how shit I feel after a hard practice or a game... the smile that the little girl has on her face is how I feel every time I get on the pitch.

So good, so cheap, faster than take out....

Its a bird, its a plane... its the actually healthy for you pita pizza?

Perfect for that quick snack when its just you or its too hot outside this baby doesn't even require and oven as a small toaster oven will suffice. Also it can be customized to your liking or whatever happens to be in your fridge at the moment. As soon as I get back to the market this is sure to be a staple of my wedding dress diet in the UK.

Ingredients (substitutions)

Pita round (whole wheat, soy etc any kind of pita)

Tomato sauce ( or pesto/olive oil)

Cheese (FF shredded motz, fresh motz, feta, blue anything if you want to get crazy)

Toppings (veggies, meats anything your hearts content)

1) Leave the pita as is with the pocket in tack and place on a tinfoil wrapped sheet (for easy clean up). If you want to make more than one then just use a larger pan and your oven. Heat oven or toaster to 350F

2) Sauce it up

3) Cheese it up

4) Top it up

5) Pop it in the oven for 10-15 min or until cheese looks nicely melted and browned. Easily eaten if cut up with kitchen scissors

6) Enjoy

Personally I enjoy a traditional tomato sauce pizza, fresh motz, feta and spinach topping...

Post your favorite flavor combos as a comment!(or favourite flavour for my UK readers)

Don't unpack your bags yet....

So I have been making a pile of DIY projects for my England wedding (along side the pile of home decorating mags I have changed over to)... However my current living situation in a 4 bedroom 1 bathroom house includes the following occupants: 4 boys, me, cobalt and 2 local girlfriends.... needless to say space to DIY is low.

However we did receive good news on our house (the one I still have not seen the inside of). When we had the full survey done it turned up a few issues that needed to resolved, including the roof. While trying to get builder recommendations to come look at it, coordinating visits etc... the current owners just decided to fix it themselves. Paperwork goes in tomorrow and Tony and I are back on track to move in mid March. Phew!

The longer the wait the longer my piles and lists and the higher my expectations get. Even planning out our veggie garden in the backyard. Keep your fingers crossed!

The Melting Pot

And no I don't mean the overpriced fondue restaurant.....

One of the common things that the US and UK share is that we are both melting pots of culture. The US because we are a country almost entirely made up of immigrants and the UK because once upon a time they conquered the world. Each country has its own traditional foods that they consider theirs. Example:

US- Fish and chips

UK- Apple Pie (wait Chaucer cites an apple pie recipe... ) I mean buffalo wings

Well as seen above both cultures love to claim other cultures foods as their own. The most popular dish in the UK is Chicken Tikka Masala- an Indian dish so anglo-ized it is hardly recognizable. So one would think a trip to the grocery store would be a journey through 1000 lands.

Well going to cook a tasty meal of antipasto and eggplant parm I was regulated to the "international" isle for ingredients. Where 1/2 of what I wanted was not even there... and I had to make random substitutions. Luckily I was cooking for boys in their 20s and they will eat just about anything... and it did turn out alright.

I have already given up my diet coke for "squash" and just about all snack foods that I eat. I guess the US melting pot has a few different flavors than the UKs.

The law of lists

"When you complete tasks on your list the list will get longer"

At least this is how it feels! We received the US invitations in the mail and they are perfect. We sorted out a lot of the logistics but now there is a longer list of things to do after the logistics are sorted. Will be tackling the list on Sunday. There there is the whole issue of no venue for the UK wedding.

I guess I just added more to the list!

My last means of survival in the UK... The "Bacon Buddy"

First before I go into describing the one thing that will keep me from starving in the UK... lets talk bacon. In the states we have bacon and that weired ham thing called canadian bacon. In the UK there is a thicker less fattier form of bacon, almost enough meat to make you feel less guilty for using it as a sandwich meat, but tasty like our US bacon which is known as "streaky" bacon. When cooked it maintains a ham like texture with the smokiness and sweetness of bacon. That being said...

The Bacon Buddy

Simple, tasty, not exactly healthy, but good substinance when you need it. And also it is rumored to have magical properties after having a few pints.

Needed:

2 slices white bread

2-3 slices bacon, cooked (hot)

HP sauce

Assemble sandwich and devour.....

I promise next week will be healthier... :)

The "move" is completed....

I will be pleased to announce that I made it through immigrations with little struggle, Cobalt took the trip decently and was out in short time... had a lovely V-day dinner made by the boy including:

Ciabatta bread with olive oil and balsamic

Watercress, spinach, arugula salad topped with sliced grilled pears, prosciutto and goat cheese with a balsamic reduction

Layered Rosti, steak and pate' with a Madeira reduction, grilled mushroom and steamed asparagus

Some form of tiramisu

So now safely in a food coma, cobaly schnoozing away... the main parts of my crazy move are done successfully. The only sad things I left being my dearly beloved Bose and many quilts... but alas I will see them again in May.

Mission Accomplished

This is not a moment of Zen...

So the last week before the big trip has been manic. Mainly "s" started to hit the fan Thursday at 7:30am (this is a good time to freak out if your parents are educators and you can call them beofre school). So things that contributed to the freak out-

1) I applied for the wrong visa, my application was completely "Mickey Mouse", was denied and completely freaking out that I am going to get detained, some coke smuggler in the detained room will plant drugs on me, I will be deported and never allowed to ever visit England again... Oh and in that application that has been yet to be returned is my passport- no passport no getting on the plane.

2) After 7 months of planning for Cobalt to come with me- at the very last step- All of his original documents get lost in certified mail. Everything. And the UK is bonkers about letting dogs in because of rabies, and he looks like a funny miniature chinese deer now with his haircut, oh and on top of that the snow removal from our roof Thursday morning made him go mental barking for 2 hours straight.

3) I know I will be paying for extra luggage but I get 50lbs out of each bag- however some bags packed to the brim are far less... hmmm (also I am still going through everything again and again and getting rid of more and more).

So after calling my father, the boy practically ready to put me in a nutter hospital and good old Auntie Lisa I needed to stop freaking out and begin to clean the crap up. Within 24 hours a lot had been taken care of. Luckily I have a great job and boss and they understood that I would be off the radar until settled in Brum.

1) Got my passport and Visa back from the consulate via the UPS man in the AM. Along with it is a letter detailing how I have failed to meet any of the requirements for the visa (I agree). Now I will just take this with me, show them how retarded I am, confused I was and show them a letter from my boss and plane tickets to other places- I am here to attend conferences and hop around Europe before I get knocked up. Oh and here is my ticket back to the states so you only have to worry about me for three months. (In all fairness I still freak out about this sometimes but I am better with it- however I have now completely freaked out my father, stepmom and aunt- I believe this has to do with my theory of the "Conservation of Stress"- but alas that is another post)

2) Call the vet and USDA, both are amazing. Take the rare white chinese Cobalt deer to the vet again to fill out the form, rent a car and drive out to Sutton, MA to USDA for certification, pay $50 and explain the urgent situation to the Kansas lab who re-issues his Rabies certification and also notifies Heathrow animal receiving about the issue.

3) Borrow larger suitcases from parents so I can pack my bags inside of bags and game the system. :)

All I can say is thank God that VirginAtlantic has free drinks on board. After getting Cobalt, the bags and myself on the other side of the gate I will need one!

The Elusive Chinese Cobalt Deer