Author Archives: Cristina

Dec21

Guess I’ll stick to Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons. . .

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Me: Huge news.
Paco: What?
Me: Extreme Couponing is largely a scam. I’ll tell you about on the way to dinner.
Paco: Uh. . .can’t wait.

Although I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised that people are gaming the system and that it’s being televised on TLC (home of  super legit shows such as Toddlers & Tiarras, Say Yes to the Dress, and so on), I was shocked to read this. I assumed that  the people on that show were treading the line between legal and illegal, but apparently some of them are committing straight-up fraud!

After watching that show a couple of times, I was tempted to try couponing, which Paco was adamantly against.  I guess I won’t be getting any free Kool-Aid packets or Tic Tacs anytime soon!

Dec20

How do you teach an older dog to sit?

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When we adopted Rascal, he was already about 9 years old. He had been attacked by a larger dog and possibly hit by car, for which he had two separate surgeries. He also had some old pelvic fractures, possibly from being abused by a previous owner.

As a result of this, he is a somewhat nervous, skittish dog.

Dog experts say that one of the best things that you can do to build confidence is teach a dog some basic commands, so that they know what type of behavior is expected of them. Whoever owned him before did not teach him any commands, not even “sit.” I have been unsuccessfully attempting to teach him to sit, but the most common method (holding a treat above his nose and moving it backwards) just leaves him standing there, confused, on all fours, while his adopted brother gets all the treats! It’s heartbreaking, really.

Any tips on how to teach a 9-year-old dog to sit?

Dec20

Whole wheat pasta with pesto, shrimp, and peas

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For a quick lunch yesterday, I made pesto out of basil, pecorino romano/parmesan blend cheese, walnuts, and one clove of garlic.  Put it in a food processor and pulse while streaming olive oil into the mixture.

Boil some whole wheat pasta. While the pasta is cooking, brown a few shrimp in a pan. Remove the shrimp once pink, then add some frozen peas to the pan.  When the peas are defrosted, add a bit of butter and a bit of half-and-half to the pan.

Toss the pasta with the shrimp, the cream and peas mixture, and the pesto.  Serve with tons of black pepper and some cheese.

You can make the pesto in advance or use store-bought pesto to make this even quicker to prepare.

Dec19

Holiday party was a success!

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We had a Christmas party at our apartment on Saturday, and we had so much fun. For once, I didn’t have to cook or prepare anything while guests were here, so it was a lot more relaxing for me. What we served (for I about 19 people):

It was wonderful to see old friends and make some new ones!  Here’s to an exciting 2012!

Dec16

Caramelized onions and dried figs in phyllo cups

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I wanted to try something new for our holiday party tomorrow, so I tested these out last night for book club.

Make the phyllo cups:
Layer the phyllo dough, brushing olive oil between each layer. I made five layers. Cut the layered phyllo into squares; this will depend on the size of your phyllo sheets, but I cut mine into six smaller squares, about 3 inches across. Make little cups in greased muffin tins, then bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. For mini-muffin tins, make smaller cups, and bake for 5 minutes.

Caramelize the onions:
Slice 2-3 sweet onions, depending on the size. Sautee in butter and olive oil for about 15 minutes or until caramelized. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and herbs de provence. Deglaze the pan with a little bit of red wine, then allow the red wine to cook off.

Prepare the figs:
I wanted to use fig preserves, but couldn’t find any, so I settled for dried figs. Here you can either put a 1/2 tsp of preserves at the bottom of each phyllo cup, or add a slice or two of dried fig. I rehydrated mine in water for 15 minutes beforehand. Fresh figs would be even better.

Stuff the phyllo cups with the caramelized onion, then bake for 3 more minutes. Baking them again is entirely option, I think I’ll skip this step next time and just brown the cups a little bit more initially.

Enjoy!