Petunia Bloom

Lanna Thai September 29, 2008

Every once in a while I get a hankering for Thai food.  Why?  Who knows…considering I am a farm girl from Kansas.  Anyway, when this rare craving gets the best of me, I make my husband take me to Lanna Thai on Memorial and 71st.  It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the inside is large and nice.  It is cleaner than most Asia eateries and boasts live music on weekends.  We have never been for the music, but I have heard that it is good.  Usually I order fried rice but this time I ordered Pad Thai.  It was wonderful.  The portions are huge, the food is great, the service is good, and the bathrooms are always clean (at least when I have been there).  What more could one want??

Juan Canary Melon August 7, 2008

Last night at Walmart I was picking up a few items including cantaloupe and honeydew when I spotted something I had never seen before.  It was beside the cantaloupe and honeydew melons and was labeled as a Juan Canary Melon.  It was a bright yellow melon that was larger than both the honeydew melons and the cantaloupe that surrounded it.

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Always ready to try something new, I plopped it in my cart.  At home I cut the melon open exactly like a honeydew.  To my delight the melon smelled amazing.  It smelled very sweet like a ripe cantaloupe but the coloring looked more like a honeydew.  I cut it up and tasted it…I must have gotten one that was the perfect ripeness because it smelled delicious and was very very tasty.

What have you tried recently that you have never tried before??

My Espresso Machine – The Via Venezia August 6, 2008

After going through our finances two too many times and finding our “Snack” category in excess of $200/month on Quicken, I set out to do something about it.  Any type of coffee drink, soda type drink, or food snacks are categorized as “Snacks” in our budget.  The majority of our “snacks” were non-fat mochas and Frappuccinos at Starbucks.  I am not proud of this at all!!  Anyway, I talked to my husband about it and he agreed that this was not an acceptable way to spend our money so we needed to make some adjustments.  I said I could do without Starbucks, but the hubby said he didn’t want to give it up completely.  SO ~ I started researching espresso machines.  After my research we decided to buy at Starbucks Sirena Espresso Machine.

As you can see this is a very nice looking machine.  That is probably due to the fact that it was designed by BMW.  A whole website is devoted to the consumer use of the machine.  After getting the machine home, taking it out of the package, and setting it up, I realized that the dang thing didn’t work.  So, I had to take it back to Starbucks.  By this time, I didn’t know if I even wanted another espresso machine.  But then I thought about my husband and decided I better go ahead and get another one.  So, I traded the Sirena for a Via Venezia (below) both made by Saeco.  After using my new Via Venezia with ease for the past couple of months, I can honestly say that it has already paid for itself.  Our “Snack” category is almost a ghost category now and the lattes we are making at home are better than those from Starbucks.  AND best of all, we don’t have to drive anywhere to get one.

Here is how I make a shot of espresso:

1. Plug in machine and make sure the water tank is full
2. Turn the espresso machine on and wait until the shot button is illuminated
3. When the button is illuminated, press the shot button and let a small amount of hot water flow out to prime the portafilter.  Press the shot button again to stop the flow of water.
4. Remove the portafilter.  Insert 7 grams of finely ground coffee for each shot of espresso you would like to make.  So, for two shots use 14 grams of finely ground coffee.  Coffee pods can be used instead of ground coffee.
5. Tap the espresso to compact it in the portafilter and place portafilter back on the machine.
6. Press the shot button until the shot glasses are 3/4 full and press the shot button again.
7. Voila – fresh espresso made at home

To Make a Latte simply follow the instructions above, steam your milk with the steam wand, and add the syrups you like to sweeten.  We like to dink plain lattes with no sweetener.

Cleaning the Via Venezia is a snap once you have done it 5-10 times! 

**I wrote this blog before we had some friends over for supper the other night.  My husband decided to make some espresso and asked our guests if they would like to taste it.  They said sure.  Everything that could possible go wrong went wrong for us as we tried to make espresso that night.  Our friends probably think we are crazy espresso makers!  hahaha….By the time we were down the trash was FULL of paper towels used to wipe of coffee and milk, there was mocha powder all over the floor and counter top, we had dirtied 4+ glasses, and I had espresso spilled on my shirt….on my chest if you know what I mean.  Still, don’t be alarmed.  If you drink a lot of espresso drinks and find yourself driving to Starbucks 3-4 times per week defintely consider buying an espresso machine for your home.

Firehouse Subs – New in Tulsa August 5, 2008

I don?t typically write reviews on large franchise eateries, BUT I have to share Firehouse Subs with you. It is my second favorite place to eat in Tulsa. The Tulsa location is at 66^th and Memorial Drive in the same building as the new Gold?s Gym. I have heard that the franchise owner of this location plans on opening 3-4 more stores in the Tulsa area. Some friends of ours wanted to take us to Firehouse during their grand opening. Before that, I had never eaten at or even heard of Firehouse Subs.

First off, the sandwiches are amazing. The Engine Company Sub is my favorite. On the rare occasions that I am watching my calories, I order it without mayo or cheese. Usually, I just order it without mayo, but it is great with the mayo as well. Firehousesubs.com is easy to navigate and find nutritional information if you are curious. My husband always orders the steak sub.

We have been in the store 6-7 times and the place is always very clean. I have been in the bathroom several times and it has always been very clean and well stocked. When we have been there, the employees looked clean and well groomed. Also, the employees are always super friendly and efficient.

If you are a condiment fanatic then listen up. Firehouse Subs has a ton of different hot sauces to put on your sandwich. There are probably 20 different sauces to try. They have everything from super super hot to their own signature sauce which is not hot just tangy.

The next time you are headed to your dirty, unfriendly, neighborhood Subway, turn your vehicle around and head to 71^st and Memorial for a truly tasty sub in a clean and friendly environment.

Spelt Bread July 21, 2008

If you will remember I made spelt bread not very long ago.  Well I found out that Great Harvest sells spelt bread so I went in with my mom this week to try it.  The verdict:  mine is way better.  Mine is probably not as good for you as I use sugar and they don’t, but mine is way better.

Spelt Flour July 5, 2008

Today I got hungry for some fresh bread – more specifically Great Harvest bread.  If you have not been to Great Harvest Bread Company in Tulsa and you like fresh bread, you are missing out.  They mill their flour every morning and use all whole wheat flour.  Anyway, I had a buy one get one free coupon and was so excited to get some fresh bread.  Before I went I made sure that they would be open since it is a holiday weekend.  The website said the store would be open on Saturday.  Well, when I got there they were closed.  I was so bummed, so I went home and decided to make my own homemade bread.  My mom gave me some organic whole spelt flour a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to make organic whole spelt bread.  I didn’t have a recipe for spelt bread so I used my recipe for white bread.  So, it was all kind of an experiment.  After making the dough, I decided to taste it  .  Yes, I always taste my bread dough which is probably weird and not healthy but what the heck.  Anyway, it was soooo good.  It had a great flavor and a very similar texture to my regular white bread.  It baked very nice and it tasted wonderful.  I made two loaves and one pan of cinnamon rolls.

Spelt flour is supposed to be better for you.  It is typically organic because it has a short growing cycle and doesn’t usually need to be sprayed for bugs or weeds.  It is supposed to contain more vitamins, fiber, and protein than regular white flour and also whole-wheat flour.  I used whole spelt flour, but my mom said she usually uses white spelt flour.  Yesterday she made bread out of white spelt flour and my brother thought it was Sara Lee.  lol

I would have taken pictures, but my poor camera is in Kansas.  Last summer I left my camera in San Antonio -Ryan was NOT happy (It was actually his expensive camera he had before we were married).  This summer I left our new expensive camera at my mom’s house -Ryan was not happy.  Luckily, we will get it back this summer.  Then when I was making the bread today I tried to move our espresso machine with the shot glasses on it to another counter….not good.  One of the espresso shot glasses fell and broke into a million pieces.  Sophie was on the situation ASAP unfortunately.  No she didn’t eat any, but she did want to help pick up.  After I swept the floor twice she went right over to two pieces I missed and looked at me, so I swept again and once again -Ryan was not happy.  Feeling like a failure of a wife, I finished with the bread.  When I pulled the beautiful loaves of organic spelt flour bread out of the oven and my kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread -Ryan was very happy.

Going Organic June 28, 2008

So, if you all would like to know why I have this recent interest in going organic here it is:

I must warn you — it is very hard to watch.

I don’t even know how I found this video. One night I was just surfing around on different blogs and found this. After watching it, I told Ryan he needed to watch it. He dragged his feet (very busy- as always ), but I got him to watch it. He was repulsed as well. After watching the video clip, I began thinking about the foods that Ryan and I eat the most of. Chicken was among our top five food choices. Even though this video was made about Kentucky Fried Chicken farms, all other large chicken farms are most likely very similar.

The Clean Fifteen

In the book To Buy or Not to Buy Organic, Burke provides a list of 15 foods that “are the least likely to contain pesticide residue even if they are not organically grown.” Here they are:

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Blueberries
5. Broccoli
6. Cabbage
7. Garlic
8. Kiwi
9. Mango
10. Onions
11. Papaya
12. Pineapple
13. Shelling peas
14. Sweet corn
15. Watermelon (domestically grown)

View the Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen June 27, 2008

I am reading To Buy or Not to Buy Organic by Cindy Burke right now.  It is an excellent book.  Burke lists 12 items to eat only if they are organic.  Here they are:

1. Strawberries  (This one is the most important)
2. Red and Green Bell Peppers
3. Spinach
4. Cherries (hard to find and $$$)
5. Peaches
6. Nectarines
7. Celery (usually about the same price as non-organic)
8. Apples
9. Pears
10. Grapes
11. Raspberries
12. Potatoes (I don’t think I have seen organic potatoes, but I don’t really eat them any way so I guess it does not matter!)

I bought organic strawberries for the first time yesterday and they were WONDERFUL.  They tasted so sweet and full of flavor.  Ryan and I sat down and ate the whole carten so they are on my list again.  AND….they were the same price as the regular strawberries at Target.

The book also lists 15 foods you don’t need to buy organic.  Look for that information tomorrow.  They are called The Clean Fifteen in the book.

Target Deal June 22, 2008

My friend Sarah told me about a deal going on at Target today.  It was buy 5 boxes of Kellogs cereal (which some were already on sale) and get a $5 gift card.  Also, I had a coupon for $1 off 3 boxes of General Mills cereal.  Note-all of this sugary cereal is for my husband.  I eat healthy Kashi and Fiber One Cereal.

On the Kellogs Cereal, each box averaged out to be $1.32.  The General Mills cereal averaged $2.81 per box.  With both of my deals (Kellogs and GMs), I averaged $1.88 per box for 8 boxes of cereal.  Sarah is a much better couponer and she averaged $.40 per box on her Kellog cereal.  Go Sarah!  Check her blog out to look at her deals.