My bi-annual attempt at cooking

I don't cook very often ... primarily because I don't have a kitchen at the moment, but also because it takes time to prepare everything and I just don't feel like doing that too often. I do enjoy cooking, and hopefully when I do have a kitchen again, I will do so frequently.

I had to throw together a simple meal for two and asked what I should make. "Chicken and vegetables" was the response I got so I decided to go with it and try to make something flavorful out of a bland base.

I wanted to marinate the chicken, but didn't have time to put everything together and decided to go with a rub (not sure if that's what its called but I'm OK with it) and just season the outside. Basically I made a mixture of balsamic and apple cider vinegar, olive oil, a healthy dose of rosemary, basil, finely chopped (minced?) onion and a spice mixture a family friend makes called The Heat (need to find his website, this stuff is great). I coated one side of the chicken and refrigerated it overnight, then flipped the pieces and coated the other side to sit while I was at work.



The mixture of vegetables I decided to go with was from a recipe on the Epicurious app I have on my iPad and I decided to add a couple things too. It consists of yellow squash, zucchini squash, eggplant, red peppers, portabella mushrooms and vidalia onions. The squash, eggplant and mushrooms were all cut lengthwise to make it easier to grill and I tried to cut the peppers in as large and flat pieces as I could. I only used the outer portion of the onions so they would be big enough for grilling. I coated each piece with some olive oil and basil since I didn't have the other ingredients the recipe called for (mint and sun dried tomatoes) and like basil a lot.



I grilled everything on relatively low heat except for when I initially put the chicken on so the spices would sear in a little bit. It took a while but I think it turned out well and kept the chicken juicy and didn't overly crisp the vegetables. I sliced up some fresh mozzarella over the vegetables and then drizzled some balsamic dressing over it.



All things considered, I really liked this and it didn't take very long to put together. The chicken definitely had some kick to it thanks to The Heat.

Chloe, the Bee Killer

Look closely at the below picture.



She was going crazy trying to catch the bee and I wanted to take a video, but didn't change my phone and ended up getting this picture instead. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Picture Catch-up Part 3, Chloe

Who doesn't love pictures of the best dog in the world; Chloe.



The red, white and black huskies



Joey, Chloe and Luke



This is why a white dog at the park is a bad idea



After getting cleaned up at Hair of the Dog grooming in Canton



She likes the firetruck and the snow (at a stoplight)



Chloe talks in her sleep ...



and can keep herself busy pretty easily

Don't know why the video quality is so bad, I guess they got compressed when I e-mailed them.

Picture Catch-up Part 2, Football Games

Other than the several Ravens games I go to each year, I thought I'd like to see another stadium this year and how the crowds treat me. A bunch of friends are Steelers fans so I figured I'd head there.



Justin, Marko and I tailgating



This was a pretty awesome stadium and I can't wait to go back next year



I was really impressed how few Ravens fans were there. The Steelers fans apparently don't sell up their seats for big games like a lot of fans do here in B'more.

Overall, I was treated pretty well, even after we won. It may have had to do with being surrounded by friends that were Steelers fans, or that I didn't really try to start anything, or that I'm 6-4, 260; regardless, it was a pleasant experience.



I've wanted to see Mike Vick play live because it's hard to see the whole field on TV and what affect he actually has on defensive backs. I chose the perfect game to; the 59 - 28 pummelling of the Redskins on a cold and rainy Monday night.



Let's just say that after the TD pass to Desean Jackson on the 1st play of the game, it was easy to see how scared the DBs were that he could pass like that and it allowed him to run all over the field. I was happy with the decision to go to that game, but I wish it was somewhere else; I can't stand FedEx Field and it's a nightmare to get to/leave from.



This is from the Ravens - Steelers game in baltimore last weekend. I went to both games this year and amazingly, both stadiums were pretty silent while I left. BTW, this picture is from an iPhone app called 360 Panorama, it works pretty well during the day, but figured I'd try it at the stadium and like the results (will get one at the Ravens - Saints game next week during the day to see how much better it comes out).

Picture Catch-up Part 1, Culebra Puerto Rico

First, Happy Birthday Aunt Karen.

OK, these picture catch-up posts are going to be incredibly out of order but that's the nice thing about having a blog ... you can do whatever you want.

These are from the second weekend in November in Culebra, Puerto Rico. I went with a great group of people and it was the perfect escape from work and the increasingly colder weather.



The ferry ride from the mainland to Culebra take about 75 minutes and you get to see a bunch of the other islands off the coast of PR




These 2 pictures combine to be the view from our condo's balcony; too bad my phone couldn't capture how truly awesome it was



The ladies of the trip with our bus driver Willy; we had a party bus both nights and he came in with us everywhere we went



Some of the group chilling on our balcony



When there's drinking and available coconuts, the only logical conclusion is a coco-lantern



Our only meal out, at Eden, was excellent (had lobster that was great)



Kirby, Jackson and I after the meal. There's a reason for my face, but I'm not telling here



The group with Willy (my phone's lens had a smudge)



The ferry leaving Culebra



One of the streets in old San Juan; we had time before our flight and decided to take a stroll through

So yeah, still not doing much here

Wow, 55 posts last year and I'm only at 7 (including this non-post) this year.

I guess this just hasn't been something I think about very much anymore or maybe I haven't really felt the urge to share any of the boring things that I've been up to lately.

It could also be because I haven't done a damn thing to my house and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to start this.

Oh well, I guess I'll think about writing something substantial here this week. Maybe talk about the awesome trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to watch the Ravens beat the Steelers or the second job I'm starting this week at a wine bar or the weddings I have this month and next or the upcoming trip to Puerto Rico or maybe ... just maybe, I'll write about how awesome my dog Chloe is. She's pretty f'ing awesome.

Blogging Fail!

So that whole thing about me blogging more often is probably starting to get a little tiresome by now. My last post was in May and a lot of fun stuff has happened since then.

Unfortunately, my knee has been bothersome since May so the whole working out thing has been more of a crawl than a sprint. I am hovering around 253 so I guess 20 lbs. in 2 months without a lot of effort is decent progress. I have over 3 months to go and since I'm no longer playing volleyball 5 nights a week, my knee has been feeling a lot better.

As for what's been keeping me busy, I've been having cookouts or going to cookouts a lot more often this summer than in the past. I really enjoy having an impromptu get together and picking up some kind of meat and just grilling it with a small group of people. Without as much volleyball, my evenings have been free, but somehow I still haven't been able to do much work on the house. I think the 90-100 degree heat might be contributing, or maybe I'm just too content right now, but I'd really like to progress a little faster on that front.

I have a bunch of fun stuff coming up in the next few weeks that I'm excited about. I'm picking up my Ravens season tickets today which makes me happiest of all. I'm going to the Shinedown concert next week that I've been looking forward to for a couple months. 98 Rock is doing the bacon and beer for Ravens training camp next Friday and I'm pretty sure I'm going to that with a bunch of guys from my old job. The Man City - Inter Milan soccer friendly at Ravens stadium is the next day and there will be 12 of us at that. Can't wait to tailgate.

That's all for now, let's see when I post next.