Road Trip! Lemonade Porkchops at the Gold 'N Silver Inn Restaurant in Reno

I'm on a road trip right now from Colorado to San Francisco, helping some friends move. At the end of the second day, we decided to go try out some local diner food; we chose the Gold 'N Silver Inn, a 55-year-old 70s-decorated restaurant featured on the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I had the lemonade porkchops, and my husband had the tri-tip sandwich - both were featured on the show. I was more than pleased with my choice. Check out my plate - can't go wrong with a delicious barbeque sauce (made with homemade lemonade no less) and a crazy serving of gravy on some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had ...

Here's the clip from the show on the restaurant - in this clip the chef shows Guy, the host, how they make the dish I ordered:

40 by 40: Nos. 6-10

It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with 40 things to do before I'm 40. But without further ado ... here are the next five.

No. 6: Write (and publish) a book.
Given I work for a business publisher, business will probably the theme. It will definitely be nonfiction.

No. 7: Visit every state in the U.S.
I've got a good start already. I've been to 29 states. I have plans to visit Hawaii in October for work (followed by a lot of play).

Outside of Hawaii, the other states I most want to visit: Alaska, for obvious reasons; Montana because that's where Glacier National Park is; and the New England states.

Colorado is my favorite state. But Florida is definitely in my top 5. We go there every year. Here are some shots from the last time we visited:

No. 8: Go ziplining
I'm terrified of heights. But for some reason ziplining does not scare me like skydiving scares me. And while I'd love to go ziplining in Costa Rica, I also found a place that does it in Colorado, a little closer to home. Soaring Tree Top Adventure in Durango calls itself the "largest, longest and safest zip line course in the world." And you can only get there on a train. Apparently there is a ziplining company in Salida, as well. I would consider this a big step for me on the "overcoming fear" front.

No. 9: Read every book on Time's 100 Best Novels list.
I was going to go with the BBC list, but this list intrigued me more as all the books were published from 1923 on. And I've read very few of them. I reserve the right to revert back to the BBC list, as I've read many more of those and while it feels like I have a lot of time left before I turn 40, the next 7.5 years will probably go by pretty quickly.

No. 10: Compete in a mountain biking time trial competition.
I have absolutely no idea what this entails. But mountain biking is the first fitness activity I've done in my adult life that I truly enjoy, so I figure competing in the sport would also be fun. I'll update my blog when I learn more or find someone that knows more about mountain bike races.

Some views from the trail:

Crested Butte

Fruita

Boulder

Next up: Nos. 11-15.

Diving into Betty Crocker (who incidently was never a real person!)

Betty Crocker is about to become my new best friend in the kitchen, a la Julie and Julia … Although in this case, Betty Crocker never existed. Apparently – at least according to Wikipedia – she was made up. And I quote:

"The name was first developed by the Washburn Crosby Company in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name. It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director."

I'm a little disappointed to read she wasn't a real person. (But I still love her brownies.) However, I needed a guide that is something more than the random Internet searches I have been doing for recipes if I'm going to really learn how to cook. And the Betty Crocker cookbook, at least in my life, is classic. But in my house, it has been very rarely opened. We have the "new edition." My mom has the real classic, one that has been used so much that the pages are discolored and falling out of the book. I love it. So once a week, I'll make a recipe from the book.

Now for the disclaimer: This blog is not endorsed by General Mills, which owns the brand name Betty Crocker. I'll not reprint any recipes that I use from the cookbook in their entirety here, because I'm afraid if someone by absolute random chance happened across this blog they'd sue me for copyright. I'll link to them instead because most of them are indeed online.

Last night I dove right into the fish section of the cookbook, with the second recipe of that section: the pecan-crusted fish fillet. Here's the recipe.

Why start with fish when there are so many great casseroles in that book? Well, I already had the tilapia in the house. Last night was a good example of the low level of my cooking skills. I not only (slightly) burned my tilapia, I also (slightly) burned frozen vegetables. This was coming off my slider victory, so I was a little disappointed.

Anyway, here are a couple shots of the cooking process for this recipe.

The best part was grating this lemon for coating the fish. The citrus smell was amazing.

This is the coating for the fish: chopped pecans (bought that way), bread crumbs and grated lemon peel.

Then I salted and peppered the fillets, dipped them in egg and the coating, and fried them in olive oil in a pan. I probably put too much oil in there or I just cooked them for too long without flipping them, because the coating burned quickly.

Thankfully, it wasn't so burned that it was inedible. I paired the fish with frozen veggies and a microwaved yam, aka sweet potato.

I judge my cooking by my husband's reaction. When he says we should make something again, I know I've found a good recipe. He didn't say that time time around. The fish was the best part (and the only part I actually followed a recipe for) though it wasn't something I'd go out of my way to make again. The sides I chose weren't quite as good. The veggies needed more spice, and the sweet potato with just a little butter was good for me, but would probably be considered bland for others. I foresee experimenting with sweet potatoes to determine the best approach to cooking them. Sounds like another challenge.

Food: My sliders - White Castle eat your heart out

One thing I haven't quite got down in the kitchen is timing. I'll go in, excited to make a recipe, and plan to eat said recipe within an hour of making it. Then I'll actually read the recipe, and find out I have to let something sit for one hour before proceeding. Or that it takes twice as long to cook or bake something as I had expected. Tonight was one of those nights.

I saw premade beef sliders at the grocery store last week, and was inspired to make a fun meal of sliders and fries one night. So I bought a pound of ground beef – Laura's lean beef – and some mini-hamburger buns, and decided to make a California-style slider and a slider topped with carmelized onions (because that's what I've seen on restaurant menus).

I made the sliders tonight after a day of helping some friends paint their house. I was starving.

I started, as always, with wine. Another cheap wine - Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. It's OK, but if you're going to go with a Barefoot red, go with the Merlot. It's $6.99, and it's a great simple wine for weekday nights.

Now into the preparations, it was the carmelized onion that caught me by surprise. Apparently it takes 30 minutes to properly carmelize onions, according to this website. As I had already started baking Alexia Foods' sweet potato fries, which take 20 minutes to bake, I adapted and cooked one sliced onion for as long as I could until the burgers and fries were finished.

I seasoned the burgers with a mixture I found online at allrecipes.com, but I made it sans onion powder and cayenne pepper because I didn't have any. But it was a great and very simple seasoning to throw together at the last minute.

I grilled the burgers on my Calphalon square grill pan, one of my favorite kitchen items.

And then pieced together my sliders with swiss cheese, avocado and tomato on one, and carmelized onions on the other.

I overcooked the burgers a little, and the sweet potato fries had to be reheated.  But even so, the meal was great. And my husband gave his seal of approval. Once I get this timing thing down, they may be even better.

Food: Learning to cook – recipes from the simple to the complicated

I'm starting to get the hang of this cooking thing ... or at least I'm trying to. I've never been a great cook. I can follow recipes, but I usually skip anything that isn't as simple as "throw the ingredients in a bowl, stir, and toss in the oven." At any rate, here are three recipes I've done in the past month or so that I considered a success - for me.

Last night I made baked spaghetti with marinara sauce, chicken and broccoli. The simple dish was inspired by a baked spaghetti dish I made on a whim a few weeks ago; that version was complemented by ground beef and mushrooms. And it was much more flavorful than my chicken version. My husband agreed. Another difference this time around: I used a mix of Italian cheeses, while with the ground beef version I used just plain old mozzarella.

I started with wine. I am a firm believer in drinking wine while cooking. This is one of my favorite value (read: cheap) wines. It's organic, full of body and delicious. I highly recommend it. Just $8.99 for a bottle of Castano at our local wine shop.
 

I used cooked angel hair pasta, mixed it with cooked chicken, marinara and broccoli and smothered them with cheese, baking at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Looking back, I would have skipped the broccoli. I believe chicken and broccoli go best with cream sauces. Unfortunately for me, cream sauces don't go well with healthy eating.

This looks like an ad. But it's not. I've tried many canned non-organic marinara sauces. I am picky, but I love this one - Bertolli Marinara with Burgundy Wine Sauce. So I wanted to share.

And the finished product. Melted cheese is the best, isn't it?

Here are some much more complicated recipes I've tried recently. Both were outside my comfort zone, so I was quite proud when they turned out well.

Recipe: Turkey Lasagna with Butternut Squash, Zucchini and Spinach
This took longer than I expected it to, but the result was wonderful. I would never have guessed butternut squash would taste so great in a lasagna with red sauce. Here is a picture of the lasagna in progress in my somewhat tight and disorganized space for cooking. I anticipate I'll get better at organizing the ingredients one day ...

Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Sounds fancy, right? Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a baker. I can follow a recipe for most things. But when it comes to baking I always mess something up. I put too much salt or baking soda in, or I forget to account for elevation when I'm counting out cups of flour. My chocolate chip cookies generally end up flat. At least chocolate chip cookies taste good flat or otherwise

Inspired by a co-worker who loves the Cupcake Blog  and brought in amazing Chai Spice cupcakes to the office, I embarked a few weeks ago on trying my hand at making cupcakes from scratch - a first for me. I settled on Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting. I recommend the recipe that I followed, but take care not to accidentally double it. The blog actually posted the recipe so that you could make a gluten-free and a gluten-full batch of cupcakes. So for the two of us at home, I ended up with 26 cupcakes. My husband got a kick out of that, and both our co-workers appreciated it. My result did not look as pretty as the picture on the above-noted blog, but they still got good reviews. I guess it's hard to go wrong with chocolate and caramel.

Health: Wishing I could still use school as an excuse not to work out

I'm just going to come right out and say it: Ever since I met my now-husband, my motivation to work out has slowly dwindled to where I find myself right now. That's right – I'm admitting that impressing the opposite sex is a darn good motivator to stay in shape.

Not even a pending event – such as the start of girls mountain bike rides in April – is helping to get me off the couch and to the gym so that I don't make a fool out of myself.

I'm prone to procrastination. After all, the next big thing I am doing is the Warrior Dash, which is in August, so can't I wait another couple months to prepare? The event looks like a lot of fun but a lot of work at the same time: tire hopping, fire jumping, river running, and hill, rope and wall climbing are just a few of the activities in the course. (Those latter two have made me evaluate my strength. I tried going across the monkey bars while at the park with my niece, and let's just say I didn't get very far.)

Apparently only for kids ...

I can no longer use school as an excuse, so I may as well map out a plan to get myself back into the habit of moving. I am going to use this blog as a tool for motivation. So without further ado, here are three things I vow to do in the next three months to get a kickstart on staying healthy. My mood will thank me for it:

1. Work out 5 times a week for a minimum 30 minutes each time.
Right now I am doing the absolute minimum of 2-3 times a week, with 30 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym. It's not like I'm busy on the other days so I don't have an excuse.

2. As part of the above, attend two classes at the Rec Center a week.
Somehow attending fitness classes makes me work twice as hard as when I create my own workout. I like the cardio/sculpt class at the Longmont Rec Center, and should start spinning there as well.

3. Return to MyFitnessPal.com to track my diet.
It's a great tool that keeps track of calories for you. The first time I used it, I was shocked at how many calories I was actually eating. That knowledge alone helped me eat less. It also accounts for exercise, so that when you do get off the couch, it adds to the amount of calories you can eat that day. That's pretty good motivation, if you ask me.

I'll post an update every week on this blog on how well I did meeting the above three goals.

Happy Exercising!

Food: You're missing out if you haven't tried these restaurants in Longmont & Louisville

I have plans to eat at the Waterloo tonight in Louisville before heading to Denver for the Broadway show Spring Awakening. Louisville's Main Street has seen a resurgence in the past few years, and the newer restaurants there are definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. What's more, there's plenty of parking! Longmont also has a few restaurants we frequent.

One of my goals in the next year is to try more of the great restaurants we have in this area.

But based on where I've been so far, here's what I recommend:

In Longmont
Mike O'Shay's
An Irish pub on Main Street. Even though the owners recently expanded, the place is always packed. The atmosphere is fun, if not a little crowded, and the food is great. We always get sweet potato fries for an appetizer. I usually get the chicken cordon bleu. And my husband likes their fish and chips. Their burritos are surprisingly good. If you go, stick with the menu standards. I always enjoy those. The specials are usually hit and miss.

Richard's on Third
This restaurant is in a small pink house on Third Avenue near Old Town Longmont. According to the owner, the food is authentic New Mexican. His family runs the small place, which has a great outdoor area in the summer. Do not come here if you are in a hurry. Service is slow. Sometimes very slow. Come for the food, especially the must-have guacamole (made fresh when you order it). I order the mango chicken enchiladas every time, and without fail, they are always wonderful. Oh, and did I mention the margaritas? Some of the best I've ever had. Richard's is so small, they haven't even bothered with a website last I checked. But you can find the place at 1283 3rd Ave.

Giant margarita. Yum!

Tortugas
New Orleans-style seafood and good drinks in an old house near Old Town. Who knew you could get good seafood in Longmont? It's pricy, but worth a trip every now and then. I also couldn't find a website for Tortugas, but you can find it at 218 Coffman St.

In Louisville
Many people have been to the Melting Pot on Main Street in Louisville – a popular fondue joint. But I would also recommend a few other places:

Waterloo
The bar/restaurant was inspired by Waterloo Records in Austin, TX. Go to the restaurant's website – www.waterloolouisville.com – and you'll be greeted by Johnny Cash. Their tomato basil soup is great, and if you really like spicy stuff, try the atomic poppers. The place is most known for its hamburgers though. My husband gets the Signature Potato Burger every time we visit, which is beef mixed with shredded potato.

Empire Lounge and Restaurant
The food's good, but I love the atmosphere. A little more upscale than the Waterloo. I enjoy their cheese board – which also features local honey. Nice wine list, as well.

Huckleberry
One of my top choices for brunch. Here's the website.

Writing: Life in the Peace Corps

Since graduating in December with my master's degree, I have finally tired of watching TV. Instead I've been sifting through old files on my computer – mostly writing I did while I was in Armenia and shortly after returning.

One passage I wrote back then reminded me of how my experience evolved over the three years I lived there - how after three years everything in Armenia felt "normal," and everything at home didn't.

"It wasn’t about not having running water 24 hours a day. Nor was it about being able to see my breath on winter mornings – inside my apartment. Pothole-filled roads were normal. And so were the buses that were so crowded I always felt I was the Jell-o inside a mold the shape of my body. These were all footnotes to my experience. Of course, the first few weeks, when everything was fresh and new and exciting, they were the experience.

"But after that it was about the people I met, the language I learned, the dog I adopted, and the children I taught. In short, it was about Life."

Lake Sevan, near the town of Sevan, where I lived in Armenia

There is a definite beauty to living in, and not just visiting, another country.

40 by (age) 40: Nos. 1-5

I was inspired recently by another blog where a woman was planning to complete 30 goals by the time she was 30. I'm taking it 10 further, and trying for 40 by age 40. After deciding to do this, of course, I realized that my next milestone age is 40. Even though I always claimed to believe that 40 was not "old," I now have mixed feelings. All the better reason to set some goals and ensure that I will not let my sense of adventure fade as I grow older. I have eight years to complete this list.

My first five items will include a few that I have already completed in my 30s. It's only fair to start with a sense of accomplishment, right?

No. 1: Complete a masters degree: done.

I received my diploma in the mail today making my MBA official. What a feeling.

No. 2: See a Beatle in concert: done.

I have been a Beatles fan since high school. George Harrison was always my favorite. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to see him in concert before he passed in November 2001. When I heard Paul McCartney was coming to Denver last year, I purchased two tickets immediately. I was going to take my mom, who was probably flipping out on the receiving end of my initial email to her. But unfortunately it did not work out for her to see her childhood crush in concert. I took a friend, and we went and got lucky. Our seats were upgraded to about five rows back from the stage. It was by far the best concert I have ever been to. Paul still knows how to rock.

No. 3: Learn to defend myself.

I'm not a big fan of guns, which is unfortunate for my husband, as guns are a big hobby for him. I finally agreed to shoot a gun for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I do believe you should know how to handle one safely – especially if there are going to be guns in your house. But I learned two things from shooting with my husband:

1. Guns are much harder to shoot than I expected. Needless to say, I did not hit the bulls-eye.
2. Guns are also much louder than I expected. I jumped every time someone else at the range fired a gun. I don't see me mellowing on that any time soon.

Therefore, not surprisingly, I choose martial arts as my preferred method of self-defense. I plan to sign up sometime this year.

No. 4: Go to Italy.

This one requires no explanation.

No. 5: Return to Armenia with my husband.

It's been nearly 10 years since I arrived in Armenia for the Peace Corps, and nearly seven since I left. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time has gone. I miss my friends in Armenia terribly. Taking my husband will allow me to share this part of my life with someone from "home."

View Larger Map 

Food: Beer-soaked brats

OK, this is not really a recipe as much as a tasty way to make brats.

Tonight we are cooking up brats with a side of sweet potato fries. We prefer Boulder Sausage-brand Beer Bratwurst. We boil them in a liquid that is half beer/half water. My brother-in-law introduced us to this beer-soaked method while camping one year. It is delicious. Enough said.

School's finished. What's next?

I've always had a plan for what's next. Graduate high school, go to college. Work for the college paper, internships at newspapers in the summers. Graduate college, join the Peace Corps. After three years in Armenia, I moved home and then to New Orleans, where I learned about having fun and eating good food. I lived there just 10 months until Hurricane Katrina forced me out and lost me a job (the magazine where I worked closed).

Moved to Colorado where my sister and her husband live, and found myself a new job in the most unlikely of places: a wholesale distribution newsletter. Yep, I had no idea what "wholesale distribution" entailed either. But I became editor, and much to my surprise, enjoyed covering the industry as a journalist and helping the owner grow the business. A few years in, inspired by the businesses I wrote about on a daily basis, I decided to start my master's degree - an MBA.

And now I'm finished with that degree. The evening program with two classes a semester for 2.5 years, plus a full-time job, consumed my life.

Needless to say, I now have a lot of time on my hands (sometimes it feels like too much), and instead of diving into another big project, I've decided to take the time to get to know myself and take up a few hobbies. With my stress levels greatly reduced and my free time greatly increased, I plan to finally learn how to cook, and to get good at the hobbies I've taken up since moving to Colorado: mountain biking and golf. I love trying new recipes, new trails and my husband and I love to golf wherever we vacation or travel to. Here's a shot of me golfing in Crested Butte, CO, a treat for our first anniversary last year:

Because I am also a writer, I have decided to chronicle all of this for anyone who is interested.

Today's adventure: cleaning out our storage unit. Jason (my husband) and I are planning to finally buy a house this summer - which is an adventure in and of itself. I figure it's time to get a move on and prepare the house for selling. (Anyone want to buy a condo?) Our chihuahua, Reese, helped out, at least until he started barking at all the neighbors:

No surprising finds in the amazing amount of stuff we had in there, except for a few expired freeze-dried food items courtesy my mountain-climbing husband. I got a kick out of the top line: Hearty Freeze Dried Meal in a Compact Zipper Pouch:

Yum. But I'm guessing when you're climbing a mountain, this may actually taste OK. This and a few other packages were a few years past their expiration dates. Yes, apparently freeze-dried foods have expiration dates.

I also cleaned my mountain bike - a Trek Fuel EX8 - my first "real" mountain bike by Colorado standards, and I love it. It was purchased last summer (2010). This picture was taken immediately after purchase, so a few items (the pedals, for one) had not yet been updated. I ride with Shimano clipless pedals:

I can't believe I even cleaned out the storage unit today on a whim, but these are the sorts of crazy things that happen when you don't have homework to worry about on the weekends.