My mom is a “St. Patrick’s Day” baby…. Well her birthday is the day before St. Patrick.  To celebrate we went on a mother daughter date to Sur La Table to learn all about Irish cooking.  Instructing us was local chef Jason Cruz.

The Menu for the evening included:

Irish Apple and Parsnip Soup – this had to be my favorite dish of the evening! I honestly never knew parsnip tasted so good.  I also didn’t know that apples and potatoes would make a good combination, in a soup no less.   I can’t wait to make this dish again.

Guinness and Maple Glazed Salmon with a side of Potato Mash with Braised Cabbage (Colcannon)

I had my hesitation about mixing mashed potatoes with cabbage but the combination was really good together.

Bittersweet Chocolate Irish Whiskey Cake

The cooking class was extremely fun and great way to spend time with my mom.

Happy Birthday Mom!

A few weekends ago … Allyn challenged me with a day at an autocross event, to test out my new beetle.  With no hesitation I agreed.

So what is autocross?  Autocross is a competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course of obstacles, seeing who can finish with the best speed.

Our day started with putting numbers on the car.  Then we got our racing assignments.  We were both racing in the second heat, which meant were helping on the track during the first event.

Allyn drove first to show me how autocross … I don’t think I was prepared the high speed plus all the quick turns.

After that it was my turn to take the wheel.   I had no clue what I was doing during my first run.

At the end of the day Allyn got 3rd place and I finished last. In the end it was a good way to see how my car could handle and it was tons of fun!!!!

The purpose of our road trip was to obtain a new play toy for Allyn, a 2007 Volkswagen GTI Fahrenheit.

Fahrenheit models of the GTI are distinguished by their Magma Orange paint job, special Fahrenheit badging, a commemorative plate placed on the steering wheel, body-coloured interior panels, orange stitching on the DSG boot, steering wheel, park brake handle and floor mats, as well as special gunmetal-colored 18″ “Charleston” wheels. The Fahrenheit also came with a European tuned suspension.

The Fahrenheit GTI was available only with Volkswagen’s DSG transmission. Only 1200 Fahrenheit GTI models in Magma Orange were produced for the US.

For Allyn, it was love at first sight…. It was love at first sight as the car was pulling up to the hotel.

Then when he was handed the keys he was a super happy boy

I always enjoy fixing lasagna; however it is often too much for just two or three people.  Lasagna rolls are my solution to fixing lasagna for a small number of people.  Surprising I found them to be pretty simple and easy to make as well.

Italian Sausage Lasagna Rolls

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

½ pound ground Italian Sausage, cooked

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

½ cup pesto sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

2 cups marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375

Add the butter to a medium saucepan set over medium – low heat.  Once melted, add flour, whisk to combine. Cook for one minute. Gradually, add the milk, whisking constantly.  Raise the heat to medium-high, continue cooking, making sure to whisk constantly, until sauce has thickened; season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.   Pour about ¼ cup of the white sauce on the bottom of a 8 X 8 baking pan and spread in an even layer.

In a medium mixing bowl the ricotta cheese and pesto; season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay cooked and cooled lasagna noodles on a flat surface (a cooking board) works well.   Place a 1/3 cup scoop of the ricotta cheese and pesto mixture on the noodle and spread covering the noodle.  Sprinkle the Italian sauce and cheese on top on the ricotta cheese mixture.   Roll the noodle up, then place in the baking pan.  Repeat with the remaining noodles.

Pour the remaining white sauce over the lasagna rolls, and then top with marinara sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the rolls.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has browned and sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.

January is all about new beginnings and resolving to be better.  While I have been trying to play catch up with blogging, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and talk about self growth.  Several months back I wrote about how I was in a rebuilding phase of my life.  Since I wrote that post I have been living life to fullest and enjoying every moment of it; while I have changed, it has been for the best.  I have discovered new things about myself and gotten back in touch with things I enjoy.  

When Mason came out as gay, part of me did not know what do, I became numb, because so much of my life was focused and centered on him.  I started focusing on myself, for the first time in a long time, for someone who is selfless; this was a great challenge and was hard.  I focused on my health and fell back in love with running.  I learned how to make new friends and seize every moment.  Professionally, I began focusing on new career goals and took a serious look where I was and where I wanted to be.  I continued to focus on the things I enjoy – photography, cooking, traveling, family and friends. 

As I have been focusing on becoming my best self, I learned that loving yourself is a must.  I also learned that it is okay to take time for you.  In the end no one else is going to take care of you but you and sometimes this is a hard lesson to learn.  

Time is my biggest nemesis today.   There are so many things I want to accomplish, do and experience.  I know I will do, accomplish and experience all of these in time. While each days brings a new challenge,  I love my life and would not have it any other way.

So where am I at?  Professionally, I am growing.  I am doing what I love. I am learning to balance a demanding career and professional life with an equally demanding yet fulfilling personal life.  From a personal perspective, I am doing what I love and surrounding myself with positive people. 

So what is my best self… I think it is a girl who is striving and pushing for the best in life and not giving up on what she really wants.   It living my life to fullest and being happy and not letting the negative get in the way.

For Christmas I basically gave Allyn a trip to Washington DC and New York City.   On Christmas Day we left San Antonio and flew to DC to begin our adventure…

This Christmas was a different but yet was priceless.   This Christmas marked the second Christmas without my Grandpa.  I think it is around the holidays that I miss him the most.  His joy of opening presents, laughter and his love for Chocolate Covered Cherries and Christmas Cookies.  This Christmas also marked Allyn and I’s first Christmas together.

A few weeks ago I stubbed across a recipe for a chocolate root beer bundt cake.   I gave it a shot and fixed it when we had some people over for Allyn’s birthday.   Overall, this was one of the easiest and best from scratch cakes and icing I made.   To get the cake to taste more like root beer added more root beer than what was called for, to both the cake and the icing.

Cake

2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Frosting

2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup root beer

2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

For the root beer Bundt cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy–do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

For the root beer frosting: Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving, with the ice cream on the side.

After a day at Comic Con, we enjoyed a nice relaxing evening at the Domain, one of the new shopping in northwest Austin. After a relaxing dinner we enjoyed some time fireside.

The next morning we woke and met up with aunt for brunch … we went to Walton’s Fancy and Staple.  We all had the French toast, which was delicious.

After a nice brunch, I showed Allyn around downtown Austin and the UT campus a little …

** note to self … this was Allyn’s and I first road trip to together **

On the morning of Saturday, October 28 … I pulled myself out of bed early to get ready for a road to Austin – Comic Con, which was featuring a reunion of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation … this was a must attend event, for my inner geek.

The highlight of Comic Con (at least for me) was the panel hosted by Patrick Stewart.  Stewart talked not only about his time on Star Trek and other filming projects, but also gave insight into Shakespeare and spoke highly of the great music and food, which Austin is known.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get tickets to the panel/dinner with the entire cast of Star Trek but we were we did walk through the autography area.  Allyn got an autography of Will Wheaton and I got a autography for LeVar Burton.

Aside from stargazing at the cast of the Star Trek the rest of Comic Con was pretty fun as well….

We got to see and DeLorean that was featured in the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  Allyn also enjoyed a brief conversation, picture and had his copy of the book signed.

There were tons of people in costume, which made for some interesting people watching …

There were tons of cool artist there and were able to snag a couple of pretty neat pieces of artwork.

There were also plenty of memorable for sale, which brought back tons of childhood memories.