Seven Years Later...

.... and I finally got my tattoo.

Its a stylized version of an Ovation Custom Legend C2079AX. I swear this was my dad's most prized material possession. Possibly Ever. A week from now marks seven years since the last time I saw my dad.  

The actual guitar is now on indefinite loan to my Bonus Dad (non-religious Godparent-Type-Person). It sounds too good to sit in a case and he's in the same band that Dad was in. Dad makes his presence felt with a broken string, feedback, or a battery for the internal electronics dying during the closing song of Behind Blue Eyes. Its quite hilarious and all us "groupies" know exactly what is going on.

The tattoo is not quite done yet. It will be shaded with various blues in a starburst pattern. Jonah at Monkey Wrench in Stevens Point does awesome work. More pictures to come. 

Caprese My Way

This warm summery day started with a walk to the local farmers market on the newly re-vamped downtown square in my hometown.  The Mennonite stand had some heirloom tomatoes. *POP* My craving for the classic caprese salad of mozzarella, basil and of course, tomatoes started.

When I got home I took stock of the fridge and had everything but the mozzarella.  Go to the store and come back with Red Bell Peppers too, since they were on sale. I started making it and got a little carried away...  A classic Summer Lunch. For all you bacon or chicken lovers, you can easily add that to make it even better. The recipe is below photo.

Caprese My Way

1-2 T of Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar  (or less if high quality)

2 Large garlic cloves, minced or crushed

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3 tomatoes chopped into 1 inch chunks and seaded
1 cup of Red Bell, 1/2 inch chop
1 handfull of fresh basil, ripped
1/4 of an onion, sliced thin
1 cup spinach, ripped
1/2 Fresh Mozzarella Ball, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
1 stale ciabatta role (hamburger bun size), ripped or cubed into 1/2 inch pieces

Combine Olive Oil, Garlic, Balsamic, Salt and Peper in a large bowl. Add everything but the bread. Let sit for 1/2 hour. Add Bread. Let sit 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Father's Day Ice Cream - In honor of my Daddy.

Today is Father's Day. Most people will be spending it with the man that gave them life.  I am one of those who will not be spending it with my daddy.  He passed away in a car accident 7 years ago this August.
** Side note:  People please wear your seat belts. If my dad had, he would still be with us.**
We were very close so every Father's Day I try to do something that we would have done together.  This could be go fishing, watch the Brewer game on TV or the like. This year I decided to make Ice Cream.

Growing up we would always make ice cream from scratch. Sometimes it would be fresh strawberry using the strawberries we got my mom for Mother's day. Other times it would plain jane vanilla or chocolate. Today I decided on combining his favorite cake with ice cream and came up with a modified Black Forrest Cake Ice Cream.

The base is a coconut vanilla ice cream using coconut milk, skim milk and evaporated milk. Add ins are coconut fakes, chocolate shavings and tart cherries. It's churning away now and should be ready any minute.

I miss my dad on a daily basis, but this little tradition makes Father's Day a little better.  Someday, if I ever have kids, I would hope that it can continue with them.  Love ya Dad!

Mosquitoes Suck, Shooting Doesn't

Well it finally happened. The boy was able to put together a very, very impromptu range trip. I would have been more exited about it if I had time for the excitement to grow.

All the kitchen training with the Walther P22 paid off. The target went ping on the third shot.  That was a satisfying "ping".  Or I should say a POP PING. Yes POP, not BANG... for all who don't know, .22 is small caliber so it doesn't make much noise.  The Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 also made cute POP PING. I was a little apprehensive about shooting a rifle but think it won out a little bit over the pistol.  Having a patient, supportive coach didn't hurt either. The good job kisses raised the confidence a bit.

You know that empowering feeling of "holy crap, I just fired a real gun"?  Yeah, it's still sinking in. Even more, the whole "It actually hit the target... more than 20 times" is still sinking in as well.  The pain from the 27 mosquito bites is slowly fading away and will most likely be replaced by the realization that the "mythical" range is no longer a myth but a very real, very addictive place. Oh, and the smell of burnt gunpowder is good.

More about this later.... now it's time to cool off with a tall glass of the delicious RobinAde to celebrate a Brewers sweep of some Florida team.

Walter P22

Smith & Wesson M&P15-22

Pad Thai? Yes please!

On Friday I had dinner at a local Chinese and Asian restaurant called Green Tea. On the menu that night was Pad Thai. I hadn't had Pad Thai in a a few months. This one was tasty, but it was missing a little pop.  


When shopping for sushi stuff I came across some rice noodles and decided to try my hand at my own Pad Thai. I will admit I cheated a little and bought a pre-made Pad Thai sauce from the local Asian food mart.


Below is everything one needs to make Shrimp Pad Thai at home.  I used dried shrimp, but a person could use fresh shrimp or any other protein. If you use a pre-made sauce make sure to check the label for any allergies. This recipe has peanuts but they are optional. 

Shrimp Pad Thai 


Rice Noodles, 1/5 package
Dried Shrimp, 2 tablespoons
Pad Thai Sauce, 1/4 cup (Or a combo of Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce and Brown Sugar to taste)
Lime wedges, 2-3
Cilantro, 2 tablespoons
Chive or Green Onion, 2 tablespoons
Peanuts, crushed, 1 tablespoon
Red Pepper Flakes, 1/2 teaspoon
Egg, one per serving
Water
All the amounts are based on number or servings. This dish can be easily made for one person or a whole crew. The amounts below are for dinner size serving. Approx. 1.5 - 2 cups when all is said and done.


Boil rice noodles and dried shrimp together until noodles are tender. About 5 minutes. 

Drain and place in pot. Mix in lime, cilantro, chive, peanuts, pepper flake. Crack egg directly in pot and let cook. Add water to loosen up if necessary. 

Plate up. Garnish with cilantro, chive and a lime wedge. Serve with green tea and enjoy!

Lovely Friday off of work

As a treat to myself and to use up vacation days I decided to take today off of work.

 The past 3 days of work were spent at the Waterpark Capitol of the World, Wisconsin Dells. No, there were no water slides, mini golf or even walking the main drag window shopping. It was spend in the high school library teaching elementary, middle, and high school secretaries how to use my company's software.We did have a great group of ladies and the district's fearless IT director Larry, all of whom helped to make the days go by fast.

I do want to give props to Gilliy's Island right downtown. When the owner (who was also manning the bar and made our spectacular lunch of hot Italian beef sammiches) found out that we were not tourists, but here on business at the school district, he gave us a deal on our lunch.  Its great to see the one of the main reasons I moved back to Wisconsin from DC in action. I love this state, it's people, and its outdoor activities.

Speaking of outdoor activities, I am writing this on the blanket in my front yard basking in a warm late spring sun in a cloudless sky. As soon as the boy wakes up (he had the 11pm - 7am shift at work) we are heading to the lake for a little kayaking.  Insanity is sure to ensue.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!

Summery Healthy Dinner - Sundried Tomato Chicken and Roasted Veggies

Tonight's dinner was easy peasy and really healthy.


 I took a little help from the grocery store on this one and bought pre-marinated sun dried tomato chicken breasts from the meat counter. Doing it this way is a good way to get just what you need. Since the boy likes bacon (and what boy doesn't?) I also picked up a couple slices of bacon from the meat counter and wrapped his chicken in it. 


If your grocery store doesn't have pre-marinated chicken or you want to cut back on the sodium level, you can use your favorite vinaigrette style salad dressing. 


Could also be adapted for the grill to turn tailgate or car camping classy.


Grocery List:

- Zucchini, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans (or whatever looks good at the store)

- Salt & Pepper

- 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced

- Spices (I used Italian Seasonings, Dill and Rosemary) 

- Olive Oil

- 2 pre-marinated Chicken Breasts
- 4 slices Bacon
- Balsamic Vinegar 


Veggie Method:
Preheat oven to 400. Place a cast iron pan on the stove and spray lightly with cooking spray. Cut up the veggies into 1/2 chunks. Cut the potatoes a little smaller to ensure they cook through. Place on a cookie sheet with edges or sheet pan.  Sprinkle the veggies with salt, pepper, garlic and spices. Toss together to ensure every piece gets a little seasoning love. Add enough oil to coat the veggies but not enough to go swimming in.  Place in oven and set timer for 30 minutes. When they come out of the oven toss with a little balsamic.

Chicken Dance:
Wrap one chicken breast with the bacon. Place in cast iron pan and cook on each side for 4 minutes. Place on plate. Cook other chicken breast in the bacon grease for 4 minutes each side. Return the bacon wrapped chicken breast to the pan and place it all in the oven for the remaining time on the clock. 

Remove everything from the over, plate it up, and enjoy with your favorite beverage. Tonight's beverage of choice was RobinAde mixed with a little club soda. A perfect drink to cheer the Brewers on with.