apartment hunt finished

We finally ended up at International Village after all that hard search. Our move in date is June 12th. I'm excited and can't hardly wait! I really want to paint this place, but I'm not sure if that will happen. We need to buy new stuff too.

Here's our tentative shopping list:

• shower curtain and rings to hold it up

• couch and/or sofa

• computer desk big enough for two laptops and computer (maybe an L shape desk)

• dish pan to wash dishes because it's a single sink, not double :(

• two-tier dish drying rack

• stand up storage cabinet over toilet because sink is pedestal

• duvet, deep fitted sheets for bed, pillow cover (I'm thinking from http://www.thecompanystore.com/) i like the stripe and solid combination here

• all in one washer and dryer

• twin bed frame and plywood (I was suggesting to just use the one in my old room at parents' house)

• new big screen flat tv?

• stand for tv?

• paint to brighten up nursery?

That's all I can think of now... I may be adding more stuff to this list if I think of anything else.

dental appointment

I went to the Dentist last Friday for a cleaning, but he didn't clean my teeth. He said there was nothing to clean because I have no tartar buildup or plaque. All he did was take some x-rays. Everything is good; I have no cavities.

I was kind of pissed though because I don't believe him. Nothing to clean at all? I think he was just being lazy. Usually there is always something to clean. I feel like I need a second opinion but I'll drop it since I know I'll be getting it cleaned by my classmates when I start school.

Maybe the new electric toothbrush that Cecil and Sherry bought me for Christmas really did the trick. Could that be possible?

salt intake

I told Dave that when I cook now, I'm going to reduce the amount of salt, including salt substitutes such as soy sauce because it's not healthy. I read in Time magazine that it takes about twelve weeks for your body to adjust. From now on, just a pinch is enough.

culinary school

I know I'm going to dental hygiene school, but I really enjoy cooking. I find it to be an adventure everyday. It's just so fun. I think one day, maybe within the next ten years, I'll go to culinary school for fun. By then, maybe I won't need to work as a hygienist anymore and just stay home and cook all day. I look forward to it one day, maybe, if it ever happens.

I don't think I would want to be a chef at a restaurant because I would be limited in what I could cook. I would just love to cook what I want for my family. And when I mean cook, I mean a five course meal starting with appetizers and ending with desserts. And everything would be homemade from scratch.

The only part I don't like about cooking is cleaning up. When I'm done at the end of the day, there is a pile of dishes and utensils. My hubby says that I use a lot of unnecessary tools and dishes to cook. He may be right, but I feel what I do gets the job done the best. Like the pros say, you can't use a screw driver to hammer in a nail, so why compromise the same way when cooking? And if that means using three different cutting boards (one for garlic and ginger, vegetables, and raw meat), then so be it. I only have one cutting board by the way, and I've been bugging my hubby to get some more.

Hmm, well anyway, that was just a thought. I don't know if I'm serious, but it would be nice if I could go to culinary school one day. I was actually thinking about it while I was in college but I don't know why I never looked into it.

Cauliflower with Dijon Sauce

I found this recipe from allrecipes.com. I thought it was really good. I didn't know how else to cook cauliflower, besides the usual oyster sauce method. I think next time though, I'll cook it with yogurt instead, as suggested by one of the comments. Recipe can be found here. And instead of using the microwave, I boiled it for 5 minutes. Then I put it in the oven at 375 degrees for about another 5 minutes or until the cheese was melted. I hate using the microwave to cook food because that's not real cooking.

clipped from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Place cauliflower florets in a large glass bowl or casserole dish, and cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic with a knife. Cook in the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender.
2. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard. Spread over the top of the cauliflower. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top. Return to the microwave, and cook just until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

Steak, fries, and tomato

Yummy! Look what I cooked for my hubby. :)

New York Steak Strip with a side of fries and tomato onion garlic with cilantro. Good stuff.

food review

Critique on pork tenderloin with creamy mustard sauce.

It sucked. I wasn't impressed with the sauce at all. I think I'll stick to my breaded pork or ketchup worcestershire version.

For some reason, it came out all watery and very tasteless.

Downtown

I love this song!

pork tenderloin with creamy mustard sauce

This recipe is taken from verybestbaby.com/recipes. This is a new recipe that I'll be trying tonight and I'm very excited because I was running out of ways to cook pork.

Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup Nestle Carnation Evap. Fat Free Milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 to 3 green onions, sliced

Cut pork into 1-inch-thick slices. Place pork between two pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using meat mallet or rolling pin. Season with salt and ground black pepper, if desired.

Heat oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the pork; cook on each side for 2 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Remove from skillet; set aside and keep warm. Repeat with remaining pork.

Reduce heat to low. Add evaporated milk; stir to loosen brown bits from bottom of skillet. Stir in mustard and green onions. Return pork to skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened, turning pork to coat with sauce.

apartment hunt

We are looking for an apartment near the school I'll be attending next fall. So far, no luck but there are some potential places. I think I will have to leave this up to my hubby because I'm way too picky. For instance, we saw a place that was 1050 sq. ft. The size met our standards, but the quality did not: it was old and dark. I thought maybe I could fix it up myself with some paint, but the guy said we can't paint the trim or door which is a dark wood color. The sink, counter tops, and cabinets are all very old too, and dirty looking. It looks like roaches could take a vacation there. And the bathroom, I'm not excited about at all. The last occupant was there for seven years so you would think the owner would fix this place up a little and do some renovations. I guess not.

The places that are renovated are more expensive and not as big. We will never find what we want because we just don't have that kind of money yet. After all, both of us are students. We really do need more space. I think you will understand if you see our current place. There's stuff everywhere because there's no pantry or cabinets. It basically looks like a sick dorm to me.

I also wanted to find a place with a washer/dryer in the apartment unit, not within the apartment complex. I just don't understand how people can use a coin laundry to do their clothes. The water isn't even hot enough to wash linens and there is no way you can wash cashmere without having your own washer/dryer.

So like I said, I think I will leave this up to my hubby because I'm just way too picky. I'll just have to deal with it.