:( A goal not completed.... yet?

One of my goals is to read 50 books in one year, which I started January 2010 and unfortunatley only made it to 30! I am all set and ready to go for 2011, starting with the book "Saving Max" by Antoinette van Heugten which is off my books to read list. Hopefully it will be a good start to reading for 2011!


"Max Parkman—autistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressive—is perfect in his mother's eyes. Until he's accused of murder.

Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worse—using drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous.

Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death.

Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer?

With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him."

2010 Christmas Cards

Very plain, but still happy with the result. Hoping to keep on making Christmas cards every year!

Thai Peanut Chicken

Officially my 25th recipe!! Another goal off the list, but I will continue posting new and yummy recipes!

Ingredients
1 13.5- or 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 chicken legs (thigh-drumstick piece) or two 1- to 1-1/2-pound Cornish game hens, halved
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together coconut milk and peanut butter until nearly smooth. Whisk in broth, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, curry paste, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Bring just to boiling over medium-high heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and black pepper. If desired, remove skin from chicken. Add chicken pieces, one at a time, to flour mixture, shaking to coat.
3. In a large skillet, cook chicken, half at a time, in hot oil until brown, turning occasionally. Transfer chicken to an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Pour peanut butter mixture over chicken. Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 1 hour for chicken (1-1/2 hours for Cornish hens), occasionally spooning sauce over chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes more or until chicken is very tender.
4. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Skim fat from sauce in dish. Spoon some of the sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with the remaining sauce and hot cooked rice. Makes 4 servings.

** I decided to use cooked and diced boneless skinless chicken breasts instead, and it turned out yummy, I also used crunchy peanut butter which was a nice extra. Really enjoyed this recipe!

Book # 30 - Little Bee

"We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it , so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again. The story starts here..."

24.....Recipes!

I am at 24 recipes!! I only need one more new recipe and I will be scratching this goal off my list, help me go out with a bang and send me some really good recipes so I can make the last one memorable.

Sweet Potato & Cumin Soup

Ingredients
100mL (10desertspoons) vegetable oil
2 small onion or 2 leeks
2 heads fennel
10 mL toasted cumin seeds
3 tsp K0sher salt
4.5 lbs. sweet potato
5-6 large carrots
1000mL Vegetable or chicken broth
1 can (400mL) cocunut milk (really makes this soup special)
pepper, pepper, pepper

Directions
1.) Peel, dice, and chop all vegetables. In large pot, heat oil and add leek, fennel, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until softened. Then add potato, carrot, and broth. Bring to boil and let simmer until vegetables are soft.
2.) Puree and add pepper :)
3.) Let cool and serve.

# 49 - Get dressed up and go to a really fancy dinner....

So for our anniversary in June, Ryan bought me a gift package for the spa that included - back massage, facial, pedicure, hair and makeup. I didn't want to use it on any given day, as I didn't want to come home with my hair and makeup all done just to cook dinner and do dishes, so in other words I was saving it up for a special occasion. My birthday was last friday so I decided in advance that this would be a good opportunity; so I took the day off work and off to the spa I went. Since I was going to be all dolled up, I told Ryan that I wanted to go somewhere really fancy for dinner, not just fancy, but really fancy cause I wanted to get a nice dress. He made reservations at the Chateau laurier and Jen and I went on the hunt for dresses. It was beautiful, there were very few people there so we had the restaraunt to ourselves, we weren't overdressed and had a great evening. I had ceaser salad to start, prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies, with a delicious chocolate desert! We went out after and stayed the night in a nice hotel. All in all, a great evening, but so much fun to get dressed up!