Worlds Largest Pepper Mill

In celebration of Dad's and Johnny Arkansas' birthdays, we all headed east to Emil Lene's Sirloin House. Emil Lene's is a no frills sirloin house in the middle of a field off of Smith Road. If you want atmosphere and swanky digs, this is not your place. There is no menu and don't expect anything on draft, bottles only. There is a certain charm that comes from a restaurant that has a tree in the middle of the dining area. Nolan just loved this feature and couldn't get enough of posing for photos. The best part of the meal is the pepper mill, words don't do this justice:

Happy Birthday Commish!

It's my Dad's birthday. How old you ask? Let's just say that there's the perfect beer out there for him this year:

My Dad sure doesn't look or act 64, he still has the energy of a 34 year old. Trust me, he keeps Corey, Jeremy, and Johnny Arkansas on their toes. He'll really put those men to the test with our upcoming roofing project, I'll have to document this one very well;) Thank you for continuing to build the tool arsenal and help whenever we need anything.

(Love these in progress shots!)

I wish you a year of many "appointments", travels and projects. But more importantly, I hope this is your year to win the Lang Cup!

You're the best Dad and I love you very much.

pure barre = pure torture

I went to pure barre for the first time today after my girlfriend Julie suggested that I'd love the workout. (Julie and I have done pilates together for a year so I had every reason to believe her.) OH MY GOODNESS - it was 10x more difficult than any Body Pump class I've ever taken and so different than pilates.

I'm in dang good shape right now with doing pilates 4x a week but this was such an intense class. The parts of class that focused on my strengths from pilates were okay, but the portions that were ballet focused were incredible. The article in the Denver Post last year was dead-on. I don't know if I'm naive or a sucker for punishment but after reformer tomorrow I'm heading to another class. Hopefully tomorrow isn't as killer as it was today.

Pardon my absence

It's been a month since my last post and I would love to say I was off on a fabulous vacation. The fact is, I've been in a big rut. The routine of work, pilates and more work has hit me hard. Couple that with the February weather and the "dirty" landscape that takes over Colorado and it's been a depressing month.

There were some high points, we celebrated a lovely little Valentine's Day and enjoyed watching the Olympics. But as it stands now, I'm dying for spring and something fresh. Here's hoping that the weather holds and we can avoid a big spring storm. In the mean time, I'll keep looking at the great articles in Sunset and hope my yard looks like this very soon.

Be Mine Valentine!

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, here's my list of gift ideas to remember the one I love:

1 - Ecco World Class Limited Editions, size 45.

2 - A new staff bag.

3 - A vacation to somewhere warm & tropical, Poipu Bay anyone?4 - Or...a weekend of luxury at the Broadmoor concluded by their champagne brunch.

5 - A new watch, technically a replacement for the TW robbery watch.

Or...maybe I'll settle on making him dinner and giving him a carefully selected Hallmark;)

Baking Lady - Decadent Chocolate Cake

Do you follow Blonde Designs Blog? I love every post they do, as former art directors at Martha Stewart, their taste is impeccable. Can you imagine having them as room mom's? (Do they even have room mothers these days? Mom was mine for a number of years and was great!) A few weeks back I saw this post concerning their book club and when I saw the chocolate cake, I had to bake it last week for the KU/K State game. It is an amazing cake, has the perfect consistency and is super moist. Add this one to your recipe book - it's a definite keeper!

Cake:
1 C boiling water
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (chopped into small pieces for easy melting)
8 T butter
1 t vanilla extract
2 C granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 T baking soda
1/2 C sour cream
2 C less 2 T flour, sifted
1 t baking powder
Chocolate Frosting (see below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour a bundt pan. In a large bowl pour boiling water over the chocolate and butter. Let stand until melted. (The smaller pieces of chocolate melt much easier than leaving the bakers squares whole.) Stir in the vanilla and sugar then whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix the baking soda and sour cream together then whisk into chocolate mixture.

Sift flour and baking powder together, then add to the chocolate batter, mixing thoroughly. Beat the two egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a quarter of the egg whites thoroughly into the batter. Scoop the remaining egg whites on top of the batter and fold together. Pour batter into the pan. Back on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes or until the edges pull away from the side of the pan and the cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then unmold on a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting
2 T butter
3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
6 T heavy cream
1 1/4 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly, add more powdered sugar if necessary to achieve the consistency you want. Spread on cake while frosting is still warm.

Cooking Lady - Black Bean Soup

Since I've been working 60-hour weeks this past month, I've been using my Sunday afternoons to cook multiple meals to last a week. Last Sunday I made black bean soup that turned out great. I think this one is definitely worth sharing:

Black Bean Soup
2 cloves garlic
2 cans black beans
1 can chicken stock
1.5 C salsa
2 C water
1 chicken breast cooked & cut into 1" chunks
1 T lime juice
Goat Cheese to garnish
Avocado slices to garnish

Brown the garlic in a heavy sauce pan in 2 T olive oil. After nicely browned, add the black beans, chicken stock, salsa and water. Bring to a boil then use a potato masher to thicken the substance. Lower to a simmer and add chicken chunks and lime juice. Allow to simmer further for another 10 minutes. Serve warm w/goat cheese and avocado slice as a garnish.

ENJOY!