It's tough being furry in the summer.

Last week, I took a hysterical picture of Linus and Olive in the midst of their torment from the heat.  Before anyone calls ASPCA, I feel I must explain Linus and Olive's strong aversion to air conditioning.  All summer long, I have made sure to keep at least one room in the house sufficiently cool, and I crack the door ajar just enough to let them paw their way in, if need be.  Typically, the room I keep air conditioned is the living room, but I noticed they both avoided this room like the plague whenever the AC was on.  I worried they were too hot in our second floor apartment, and I even tried tricking them by switching the "cool room" to our bedroom, where they love to hang out.  This did not work either.  Whether the loud noise bothers their sensitive ears, or the frigid breeze from the large window box feels unnatural (I tend to side with them on this) I cannot entice them into the room when the AC is going.  This has made for a really hot summer for Linus and Olive.  They love sitting by the fans, in the bathroom tub, and on REALLY hot days, they give in to the AC room, but last week they gave me a photo op that epitomized my thoughts about the recent heat waves.

Linus also loves to go out on the roof (especially at night) and bask in the cool breeze.

When our neighbors have guests over to swim in their pool, Linus and I enjoy embarrassing them by sticking him on the roof.  Sure, a cat spying on you from the roof might take away from the glamour of your backyard barbecue, but would it hurt to let your friendly neighbor Caitlin take a dip from time to time?

A lesson in parenting from Toddlers in Tiaras

Earlier this week, I saw a TV documentary with a little boy that was incredibly heartwarming. I have to confess, I have a pretty substantial relationship (bordering on addiction) with reality TV.  Recently, I have made more of an attempt to read and get outside, but from time to time, I unwind with an especially dramatic episode of housewives or Teen Mom.  "Toddlers and Tiaras" is normally a train wreck I have trouble looking away from.  Each episode tends to be pretty standard:  an overweight mom and an especially evil little girl, both testing each others limits. The daughter resents the mother- bordering on disdain- and there are always lots of tears, spray tans and money wasted that clearly the family cannot afford to spend on "high glitz" apparel.  Last week, I was pleasantly surprised by one of the families that TLC profiled.  The child's name is Brock, and he is a seven year old boy who loves dance, pageants and dreams of being on Broadway.  

I was most impressed by the way both parents react to their sons atypical interests.  I expected his father to chime in at some point during the pageant and say it was time for him to try football or karate, except that never happened.  His parents only relayed how proud they were of Brock for being an individual and following his passions.  He was a loving, caring and truly charismatic little boy, and I would be so happy to have a child with his individualistic personality someday. I actually learned a lesson in parenting from Toddlers and Tiaras.  Surprising, I know.

In other heartwarming news, New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage, and slowly but surely, equality is being recognized.  I read a touching story in The New York Times, and I'll include a link below:

NY Times article

Special weeknight visits!

On Monday night, I was out running errands, when Chase called me.  It was a tad early, so I assumed he was still at work.  He told me to let him know when I got home, because he had something sent for our Anniversary.  My mind jumped to flowers, and this of course was thrilling for me.  Fast forward an hour when I walked in the door, and I confirmed that indeed there were flowers on the counter waiting for me AND cupcakes from Bredenbecks AND (just wait for it)  Chase was standing around the corner in the bedroom.  Feel free to groan and eye roll at the cuteness of my husband, but he made my night, and I had to share :)

A picture of all three surprises.

On Tuesday, my best friend Dee came to Philly for work, and luckily she decided to stay with me in Mt. Airy instead of a hotel!  We made a delicious dinner together, and laughed and conversed like old times. It's the second visit I have had with Dee (and shared a bed) in July!  It's great, because we always tend to fall right back into our friendship as if no time has passed at all.

Dee mixing the batter for the dessert.

I worked on the dinner while Dee prepared dessert.  Asparagus was placed on a cookie sheet, with the salmon resting on top and I drizzled olive oil, salt and pepper on both.  The potatoes accompanied the salmon in the oven, also covered in olive oil, salt and pepper, with a dash of rosemary.  25 minutes in the oven, out and DONE!  As an option to add flavor to the simple salmon, I made a topping with diced red onion, lemon juice and zest, chopped capers and olive oil.  I recommend it if you are in the mood for a little zest with your fish.

Because I am still using up the giant bottle of tequila I bought on a whim, I decided to try yet another tequila influenced cocktail.  This particular "tequila mojito" had lime juice, club soda, tequila, mint leaves, sugar and ice.  Extremely refreshing.

Some pictures from our dinner.  Candles were necessary.

Dee's dessert was so savory and rich.  The individual cakes were baked in ramekins and we topped them with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  We may have overdone it calorie wise, but if I can speak for Dee, it was worth it.

No, we did not eat two each.  Dee made some to save for later in the week :)

They may not be the most beautiful presentation dessert, but they made up for it in taste.

Battling the heat and celebrating year two

I want to quickly share about a recipe I found that will hands down result in one of the best sandwiches you have ever had. I love trying the top rates recipes on Epicurious, and this particular recipe jumped out at me.  Key ingredients:  french bread(I used ciabatta), sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, red-onions and chicken--you can't really go wrong.  

The recipe called for marinating the chicken for an entire day, but I of course forget and settled on an hour.  It did not make much of a difference, as the flavors are intense enough to permeate the chicken in under an hour.  Marinade:  olive oil, red wine vinegar, rosemary, garlic.

The onions are grilled with the chicken and the bottom half of the bread (the sand of the wich, if you will) and everything is piled on top of each other with the addition of oil-packed sun dried tomatoes.  The chicken goes on the very top, with the goat cheese spread thick upon the untoasted ciabatta.  I also grilled some potatoes as a side, first boiled for 10 minutes and then dipped in a marinade similar to the chicken:  rosemary, thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper, and lemon juice.  We devoured our sandwiches and enjoyed every bite.

To cool off, I blended mangos with a simple syrup (sugar, water and tequila boiled for 5 minutes) and froze them overnight in a pie plate.  Just before dinner, I re-blended the frozen chunks with a little club soda for liquidity and topped each glass with raspberries.  Refreshing!

We celebrated our two year wedding Anniversary on Saturday.  During the day we found refuge at the Upper Dublin Community pool, which was expectedly crowded in the heat wave.  Tequilas, our favorite restaurant in Philly, was an obvious choice for dinner.  The decor is extremely sultry and romantic. We have eaten at Tequilas half a dozen times since we moved here, and I have never been disappointed.  

The separate, smaller dining room has an amazing chandelier that casts light on all four walls and the ceiling in radiant fashion.

Finally,  I am including a picture from our honeymoon in Maine 2 years ago.

When I think back to my honeymoon, I was in the midst of a huge move to a city I had only visited once, I was unemployed, and we had little to no money saved, yet I was blissfully happy.  I am incredibly indecisive, and agonizing about life's little choices is an everyday occurrence for me.  When it comes to Chase, everything has always been simple and obvious.  I knew we were meant for each other early on. Everything felt right.  Marrying him, moving across the country and giving up my ability to control our future was not a tough decision.  He is meant for me, and at this point in my life, it is perhaps the one thing I have confidence in.  ❤

Carnations and Sweatiness.

I bought these flowers at a grocery store for $3!  Carnations.  Simple white vase.  Beautiful.  

In other news, it is a billion degrees in Philadelphia.  When I walk to the train after work around 4 PM, I seriously feel like I am walking at the pace of a turtle, and the whole world swooshes by me like water going down a drain. People are even out running! This morning I saw an entire football team (assumably Penn) walking out to the field to train, and I thought, "Are they nuts?!"  Then, of course, I recalled my days as an athlete. It seems so long ago, and I have realized that I detached myself from that identity soon after graduating. I used to love the feeling I got from running sprints in the summer humidity.  I guess I have to accept the turtle that I have become and focus on simply not passing out before I reach the air conditioned train. I'll take a turtle over a fool out running in temperatures hot enough to cook an egg.

Continued Weekend Happenings

The posts from this past weekend have consisted substantially of what we ate, but that is an accurate depiction.  It was hot, we were tired, and we wanted to spend time together without having to venture out to a restaurant.  You know the feeling when it is so humid and oppressive that you go almost the entire day without eating because you just have no appetite?  That was our Saturday.  Around 9 PM, we sat down to watch a movie, and I realized neither of us had eaten dinner, OR lunch for that matter.  I quickly threw together bits and pieces of things from the fridge, poured some white wine, and then had to take a picture because it all came together so nicely.

Salami, bread and cheddar with olive oil, grapes, summer zucchini and squash grilled with parmesan and tomatoes and basil.  (New plant!)

Sunday morning, we woke up early (I blame Linus and the heat) and I had the urge to make something good for breakfast.  Chase always uses the French Press with our "special weekend coffee" that we save for the weekends.  I would not call myself a coffee snob, because if it has caffeine in it, I will drink it down no matter the brand, but for some reason, I find myself more eager to get out of bed on Saturdays and Sundays for my weekend cup of Joe. Anyways, I had some blueberries left from the Farmer's Market on Tuesday, and I decided I could use them up in Muffins. Again, I turned to Martha because she is the Baking Queen (yes, I capitalized her title) and they were soooo good. The simple ingredients consisted of sugar, vanilla, butter, flour, blueberries, milk and baking soda.  Easy and delicious.

My last attempt at cooking that day was an easy slow cooker meal I made for Chase to take back with him to St. Lukes.  I found a recipe for a variation on chile verde that uses 3 poblano peppers.  Chase LOVES spicy meals, and I thought it would be nice for him to have something to heat up for dinner one or two nights after work. The chile called for carrots, small red potatoes, garlic, onions, THREE POBLANO PEPPERS, pork (sauteed for 3 minutes on each side and cubed), chicken stock and cumin.  The active prep time took me about 15 minutes, and after 6 hours in the crock pot, I think it was a success.  I did not particularly enjoy the spiciness, and after cutting up the peppers my hands were tainted for the entire day.  I probably rubbed my eye mistakenly about 5 times on Sunday, but I would definitely make it again.  Chase thought it was great when I fixed him a bowl before he headed back, and it's substantial enough for a dinner after a long day in the hospital.  Serving it with sour cream and tortillas adds to the fun :)

Yum, produce.

Out of the pot, into the bowl.

Friday Means Chase!

These days, Fridays are something to celebrate. I decided to cook steaks for C's homecoming, after his first full week away. Although I'm by no means an expert with red meat, we both agreed it was one of the better meals we have had in awhile. 

C helped with the timing of the steaks on the grill:

I picked up some fresh corn from a farm stand in my neighborhood, and tomatoes and avocado's at a neighborhood coop in Mount Airy. The local produce I have bought this summer is just so full of flavor and easy to cook with. I made a simple marinade for the steaks-salt, pepper, lemon juice, soy sauce, and olive oil. The two sides-- tomato, avocado, and red onion salad, and corn on the cob with homemade cheddar butter, were the perfect companions. 

  

Chase enjoys making margaritas in the blender and definitely keeps them simple and icy. I searched for a new recipe on Epicurious and found it to also be delightful-sans blender. Equal parts tequilla and triple sec with a dash of sugar and lime juice over ice. Classic and refreshing.  

Lastly, I made some strawberry cookies when Chasen's family visited a couple months ago, and they were a big hit. I prefer my sweets to be a little, well, sweeter, but Chase likes the simplicity of the fresh strawberries and the crumbly consistency of the shortbread, as opposed to the chewier consistency in typical cookie dough. I made them for dessert; this time doubling the size. The recipe, from Martha's site, can be found here.  

It was a wonderful evening with my man, complemented by good food and even better conversation.

Hot and sweaty Tuesday

So it's close to 100 degrees here in Philly.  Walking home from the train today, I realized I was starving, but really did not have much food in the house, and I was too hot to think. One thing that is difficult about having C gone on the weeknights is cooking for one. Often, I am temped to have cereal or a smoothie for dinner. There is a nice little Farmer's market on Tuesday nights at the end of my street, so I stopped by, and luckily there were some great buys.

I made a simple dinner of chicken with a red-wine vinegar and olive oil marinade, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with sea salt, and orzo rice sauteed with paprika, sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil.  For dessert, the farm stand blueberries were so sweet and juicy on top of vanilla ice cream.  Definitely the perfect, disgustingly-hot weeknight summer dinner.

Last night, I lay in bed fighting the urge to turn on the air conditioner, even though the heat in my room was so oppressive, when the fan swept through, the air that stirred around me felt like steam from a hot shower.  I kid you not, it was a struggle to breathe.  Despite the high temps and humidity, I continue to love summer. Tonight we are expecting a storm, and I'm hoping that I finally won't need AC and that the rain will pelt the roof outside my window; because isn't that the best sound on a summer night?

I thought I would also include a picture of Olive's favorite summer spot.  The funny thing is, she sits in the sink Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring, but somehow it is more appropriate during heat waves.

A nice end to a weekend and exciting baby news

It was really hot in Philly this weekend, and we thought a trip to the shore might be ambitious, so after watching the US Women win their quarterfinal game against Brazil in brilliant fashion, we packed a lunch and headed out to Fairmount Park for a little hike.  It ended up being a little bit too hot for excessive exercise, so immediately after we parked the car, we found the first spot by the river we could and hung out for a couple hours.  We are so lucky we have nature at our fingertips, with the added benefit of being so close to the city.  The shade and water were a great escape from the humidity.

C leaves tomorrow for Bethlehem where he begins an 8 week rotation in surgery, which means week days away from Philly.  We went out to Bethlehem on Saturday night to celebrate the birthday of one of C's friends, and the drive was just long enough that I wouldn't want him doing it every night-especially fatigued!  The party was a good chance for me to meet lots of C's friends from St. Lukes, and we made some pretty delicious daiquiri's.

In other news, I returned from a great trip to Maine with my parents and best friends Dee and Jill last week, and I also found out my oldest sister Meg is pregnant with her fourth! Both my sisters will be having babies within a month of each other, and I am so excited to be an Aunt to 2 more!  Yay :)

I really, seriously need to get a Philadelphia library card.  I've only been here for a full 2 years and have yet to get one!  For a while I would buy any interesting books I saw coming off the train at a little used bookstore on the corner.  The owners conveniently place a bookshelf out on the sidewalk to lure me in. (They are like $2!) I also bought a couple nookbooks for my iPad, but when it comes down to it, there is nothing better than taking out a bestseller for free and being able to actually touch and smell the pages, then return it when it's done. Yes, I think I'll get a library card tomorrow.  Maybe, just maybe, I will return to Fairmount this week, this time with a book, and continue to enjoy the little rock C and I claimed as our own :)