Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Another Hump Day where Jared and I don't go to class. Jared is sick, something close to a kidney infection, mom thinks.And since mom is like, the kidney problem guru since she had kidney failure, dialysis, and now a kidney transplant, I'm inclined to believe her. I'm making him drink green tea (which will help clean out toxins without the kidney working overtime) First and foremost, though, there's a very very large glass of cranberry juice he is delighted about (which I think he is crazy for because unless it is with some other delicious juice, cranberry juice does not taste good to me) Mostly, though, I'm pretty excited about spending the day at home with him, and writing with him.

Mom made potato pancakes this morning, and after one bite I had to immediately go share with Jared, who was still in bed. They are amazing and delicious and all sorts of other things. combined with the leftover corn dogs we made last night, lunch was delicious today.

Here's the recipe for the corn dog batter. We kept the spices out last night (Mom isn't a big fan of them) but they taste excellent either way.
NOTE: this recipe will make enough batter for approximately 16 hot dogs, and have some left over (I just added corn meal to thicken it, and dropped it by the spoonful into the oil to make cornbread balls).

Delicious Corn Dogs
1 1/2 c cornmeal
1 1/2 c flour
2 T brown sugar
1 T chili powder
1 t cayenne (less if you don't like yours spicy)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 milk
3 eggs
1 T canola oil

Combine the dry ingredients (in this case, sugar is a dry ingredient) and then add the wet. Mix together. Coat the hot dogs in a light dusting of flour, and then dip into the batter. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and then serve.

Oh look, more potato pancakes. Yum.

Until Jared and I give in and purchase a digital scale, Alton Brown and I are no longer on speaking terms. I love his cookbook, but every time I go to bake something and check to see what he has to say on the subject the ingredients are measured in ounces and that breaks my heart. Every time. So for now, Good Eats has been shelved.

Today is our break in the middle of the week. But. Jared had a fever last night and was delirious, and I was up all night in pain from my hip, so we ended up skipping class and sleeping until noon. Then we got up, and it turned into a pretty productive day. While Jared did wall repairs in the laundry room, I made biscuits and gravy. That was where my rift with Alton was discovered. I was looking up his Southern Biscuits recipe, and well, it didn't work out for aforementioned reasons. We relaxed, first watching "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin", and then Kiki's Delivery Service. It was great to just get to lay down with him, and play with him. Jared went back to finishing the walls, and I went back into the kitchen to make some Alfredo sauce. It's super easy, and I've included it here because well, I can.

Easy Alfredo Sauce


1 pkg cream cheese
Milk
Parmesan cheese
Other Italian cheeses of your choice

Pop the cream cheese in a pan, and heat until smooth and creamy. Add enough milk and whisk to combine, then add about 5-6 more cups milk and stir until it begins to thicken and boil. Take it off the heat and whisk the cheese in. I go with about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and then a cup of the Italian cheese. Whisk until melted and smooth, and then set aside. To spice things up a little, Jared and I cooked some frozen spinach, squeezed the moisture out of it, and added it to the sauce. Later tonight I'll cook some pasta, too. It's for lunch tomorrow, and we will be eating well.

We also had burgers for dinner, because I was feeling exceptionally lazy. Oh, we also had that leftover salad that I talked about yesterday, so it wasn't completely unhealthy. There are a couple of tricks to good burgers.

+ Use 90/10 ground chuck. There isn't a lot of fat, so you can taste the meat, not the fat.
+ Salt the burger lightly on both sides.
+ Cook the burgers on med-high heat for 4 minutes each side for the perfect medium-well burger.
+ Create a dimple in the center so the burgers don't puff up and shrink as much.

Today was a cooking day, and plenty of good eats await for me to eat.

Have you ever had something so perfect that you constantly sit and wonder how the hell you got so lucky?

I have someone that is perfect for me. His name is Jared. We're not married, but he's my husband. (We're planning on getting married this fall).

He's the most amazing guy I've EVER met. And I've met and dated a lot of guys. He's kind, and considerate, and treats me so well. When he tells me I'm beautiful, I actually believe it.

The one bonus thing about my job is I get to spend my days talking to him. On the job. It's so wonderful.

Things aren't perfect between us. I get frustrated sometimes, but I let it go (dirty dishes are for dishwashers, not the sink). I know I make him upset sometimes (I like to play at inopportune times). But they're still great (I think it has a lot to do with how our relationship is not like most others, it's everything other couples wish they could be).

Everyone tells me how lucky I am to have him. All his colleagues love him. Both the Ks, Julie, heck, even Charlotte has told me how amazing he is. And they're right. His mom thinks I'm not good enough for him. My mother loves him more than me sometimes. Hell, El Gato loves him more than me.

Tonight he's asleep on the floor next to me after eating a burger, some broccoli, and I think some potatoes. He's probably sick, it happens.

I miss him.

It's probably stupid, but I do. I miss talking with him, and holding his hand and giggling. I plan on being with him forever, but the way we are together, will never get old.