The New Mrs. Ruddick

The Deja got married! It was so lovely to meet up with old friends and revel in Deja's happy event.

The Power of Rock

A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to have Elise and Brad and their adorable children staying with us. At first, it was only going to be for a few days, much to my chagrin; however, Brad ended up having an emergency appendectomy, which extended their stay by about a week. I was not pleased that Brad had to go through the grueling surgery (and grueling it was....it took double the time they said it would and the surgeon said he'd never seen worse), but I was glad to keep them a little bit longer. During their visit, Mike and Claire became fast friends.

At first she was hesitant...

but she inched closer...

and began to strum a little bit...

until she was rocking out...

and totally exhausted.

Eggplant Parmesan and Pizza Dough

For Elise.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 firm eggplant, thinly sliced long-wise
12 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
1/3 cup sliced, fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 T Olive Oil, divided
1 t salt
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 t Italian spices

1. Combine 6 T olive oil (may require more) with 1 t. of Italian spice blend. Baste the sliced eggplant on both sides with the mixture. Grill eggplant until tender.
2. In a medium-sized pan, heat 2 T olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves at medium heat until garlic is fragrant. Add 12 diced and deseeded tomatoes (should be about 6-7 cups) and 1 t salt. Simmer until the tomatoes are soft (about 15 minutes). Add basil and remove from heat.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a baking dish, place a thin layer of marinara on bottom. Then fold the eggplant vertically in a zig zag pattern, placing a slice of fresh mozzarella, a pinch of Parmesan, and a spoonful of tomato mixture in each fold. Stack the eggplant accordions in rows.
5. Once the baking dish is full, place remaining marinara, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top.
6. Bake for about 3o minutes or until juices are bubbling.

Recipe courtesy of Kendall, who, I believe, learned it in Paris from some gourmet chefs. Of course.

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 t. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 t. salt

(figure one batch per person)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add flour and salt mixture and mix until it forms a ball. Knead the dough on lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or until it is elastic. Cover dough with kitchen towel and let rise for 2 hours. Punch down dough and work out bubbles. Let rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone in place one hour before cooking. Divide dough and make into desired pizza size, add marinara (recipe above works or use bottled) and toppings. Cook in oven on pizza stone for 5-7 minutes.

No More Knee-Highs!

Yesterday was my last day of work up at the Church office building. Yes, my friends, there will be no more knee-highs and ankle-length black polyester skirts worn to work (a highly attractive get up that caused a man walking by me and Sara on the street one day to exclaim, "Mmmmmmmmmmm mmm mmmmm MMMM... I lovvvvveee Mormon women!"). I will miss my co-workers, and my ten minute walks around Temple Square checking out all of the brides and their grooms (who, for some unknown reason sometimes choose to wear very special attire: a white tux with tails, white cowboy boots, and a metallic, shiny, blue bowtie....really?), and I will miss being able to sleep on my way to work. I start a new job today. Wish me luck....

That's Disappointing....

I fell asleep on the bus to work this morning. When I woke up, I thought I was on my way home from work. Too bad I couldn't have slept through the whole day and been returned home in one seamless motion.