We've got 200,000

MILES on the RAV! Now if only that were dollars and not miles... But at least we can be thankful that our little '97 red roller skate has saved us lots of dollars the past 5 years. For those of you who don't know, it was my (Laura) high school car. And thanks to my dad's passion for fixing his kids cars, he's practically a toyota expert, the RAV is still revved up to go. It will be a very sad post when the RAV kicks it. Got my eyes on the 7 seater Mazda 5 for the next Grant car or maybe a Toyota Matrix (both used of coarse), but that's going to be one big check I'd like to put off writing for at least another year... or more?

One pot, one week

I need to publish a retraction to my previous entry on morning coffee. If you are able to brew fresh coffee every day, which then having a Kurig or french press would be ideal, then a cup and saucer is a perfect thing. However, I've been extending the life of my 8 cup coffee pot by keeping it refrigerated in a carafe for up to a week. Microwaving little cups of coffee is not so fun. Going back to the big mug... and microwaving it 5x between now and dinner. Sad, but this monkey coffee picture I found was so great, it makes up for having to post a retraction.

Mediterranean Pizza

Made a whole slew of hummus recently, and since hummus + carrots only taste good for about a week before you never want to see a carrot again, applied it to pizza. Got this recipe from a dear designer friend years ago and if you've 15 extra minutes, it's great with DIY dough. If not, pillsbury makes a great pizza crust. I think the pillsbury crust may even taste better, flakyer, but hey. It was a big hit with bible buddy friends Katheryn and Audrey, so enjoy!

Easy Herb Pizza Crust
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1tsp white sugar
1 c. warm water
2.5 c. flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Herbs/Seasonings (I just grab whatever I already have):
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder (or dried onion)
.25 c. flour or corn meal for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 deg. In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve yeast into sugar + water. Let stand 10 min. till it gets frothy.

In large mixing bowl, mix flour, salt, oil and seasonings. Add yeast water and stir until doughy. Let stand about 5 min. (Or however the heck long you want).

Now's a good time to prep toppings:

Toppings
2 c. hummus (or more)
1 red pepper
1 egg plant sliced about 1/4 in thick
.5 red onion
Olive oil
Salt + pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Slice up red pepper and egg plant. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Layout on baking sheet to roast for 15 min. Flip them over halfway if your ambitious.

Spray oil on a cookie sheet and dust with flour or corn meal. Dust dough with flour or cornmeal too and spread dough out on cookie sheet. I cover the whole sheet with dough and just keep adding cornmeal so it doesn't stick to my fingers. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes. Take out and top with hummus, egg plant, red pepper and red onion and bake another 20 minutes. Whalla!

Re-reading this sounds trickier than it is. Try it once and you'll be a homemade pizza master.

Morning coffee

is so much more enjoyable in a cup and saucer. Which if your a kitchen dish connoisseur like me, you have ample cups and saucers. Our Seattle friend, John and his wife Kara, recently came to visit and introduced me to the idea. During morning coffee, John grabbed four white coffee cups and saucers of my kitchen shelf and filled them with incredible steaming Seattle coffee. Tripp said, 'You really like those cups, huh?' To which John replied that he preferred the smaller cup which he could refill often with warm coffee. Brilliant. I'm converted.

I must also add, that I had a similar discussion with my fellow mom friend, Katheryn. When sipping room-temp coffee at 4pm, I commented that I had already microwaved that cup at least 2 times since the morning. These days with growing distractions, David, it can take a whole day to finish coffee! She laughed and totally agreed with me. Maybe all the more reason to enjoy coffee in a small cup and saucer.