favorites...

I am, once again, inspired by Laurin to write a favorites post. It's getting a little chilly. There are so many great perks associated with this time of year, but there are also some other exciting things I wanted to tell you about.

1. My bamboo yarn and knitting needles. What's not to love about bamboo? It can be made into anything... including super soft olive green yarn. It has been a joy to knit with. I'll give you a full report on my little scarf when I complete it. I'm such a fair-weather knitter. I only get interested when it's chilly. Here's a funny story for those of you who know my buddy James. On Saturday night I babysat him and I was knitting, he looked at me and asked what I was doing and said "my Grandmommy does that too," (as many of you know his grandmother Corrine is a very accomplished knitter) so I responded by saying "yes she does, but she does a better job than I do." James looked at me very matter-of-factly and said, "yes, she is better." I just love children, you can't find honestly like that in adults!
2. My microplane. It has been such a great tool to use. I thought it was limited to zest and nutmeg capabilities, but it makes Parmesan fall like snow! It's a beautiful thing.



3. My Russian tea mix. I tried to make my own version after our first visit to Alektor Cafe, but they sell their own version, so Brandon got me some when we were there with Chase and Gigi. It tastes like Christmas, citrus-y, spicy, yummy!
4. Salted caramel hot chocolate. Yes this is shameless advertising for my previous employer, Starbucks. It is the most amazing hot chocolate in the world. It tastes like a chocolate covered pretzel. It is so so so good, and very cozy!
5. My pashmina. OK, it's not a real pashmina, it was from Target. But it's such great little comfort to have when I get cold (really cold) at work.
6. Instant sweet potatoes. I just found these. They're just like the instant mashed white potatoes, but much better. They're almost a little too sweet so add some salt. I can't believe I've just listed two pre-packaged products. They're both THAT GOOD!



7. My sweet little watercolors. I haven't had much time to paint since we came home, but it was just the thing I needed to flex my creative muscle. Next project, Christmas cards.
8. My heating pad. I love the thing. It's my cure all. No matter what hurts, I swear it can fix it!
9. "Ella's Story, The Duchess who Became a Saint" by: Maria Tobias. It's a children's book about St. Elizabeth the New Martyr. She is one of my favorite Saints. She is extra special to me because she was a convert to Orthodoxy, and she lived in the past 100 years. I think I'll write some more about her in the near future.


10. OCF. We have been having such a great time at Orthodox Christian Fellowship recently. This past Thursday Fr. Mark Sutton from St. Seraphim OCA church came to speak to us about monasticism. Fr. Mark's daughter is a nun, and he showed us some beautiful photos of St. Paisius Serbian Monastery in Arizona where she lives. I love that there are monastics all over the world, a topic I hope to write more about in the future.

Well, I'm home sick (again) right now, so I've used a couple of these creature comforts/ favorite things today. Now I'm back to bed. Goodnight.

well, we're back...

We're home now and back to normal. This is a fact I would prefer to forget.

The rest of our trip was very nice. We just spent some time relaxing and having fun. We watched Bee Movie and The Namesake. It's always so nice to have absolutely NO PLANS!

We went to St. Elizabeth the New Martyr Church in Murfreesboro on Sunday morning. Chase and Gigi were able to come as well. It was such a nice parish, everyone was so kind!

Would you like a recipe?

On Saturday night I made my Enchilada Lasagna. It's a recipe that was born out of some exploding enchiladas one night. I scrapped the neat little rolled enchiladas and layered everything lasagna style. It's very casserole-ish, but always a crowd pleaser. My 9 year old sister even liked it! I wanted to take a picture but the three of us gobbled it up before I got a chance.

Please forgive but you know this is a Caitlyn recipe, and my mother taught me how to cook. As a result, I don't have exact measurements. Learn to cook like this and I promise it'll always taste better. You learn how to use your chef instincts much better this way and you won't be as stressed out when you sit down to eat, I promise!

Ingredients: Sour cream, milk, salsa, cilantro to taste, small corn tortillas, whole kernel canned corn (drained,) canned black beans (rinsed and drained,) onions (diced and sauteed,) and shredded cheese. Lots of cheese!

• First I make a sauce, usually with sour cream thinned with a tiny bit of milk and mixed with some salsa. Sometimes I add cilantro, but it isn't necessary. This weekend we didn't have sour cream so I used white cheese dip warmed up in the microwave with the salsa and cilantro.
• Then I cut strips of corn tortillas with a pizza cutter they're usually about 1 inch in width. These will serve as my lasagna noodles.
• Then I layer however I want! Usually this consists of tortilla, sauce, corn, black beans, sauteed onions, and cheese.... Repeat. I think usually the lasagna ends up with about 3 layers. Just be sure to end with cheese, after all this is a lasagna.
• Also, be sure to use the sauce liberally, otherwise it becomes too dry.
• Then I bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. This all depends on how many layers you make. I just watch for the cheese and take it out when it starts browning.
• This weekend we squeezed limes onto the our portions and it made the lasagna come alive! Doesn't lime make everything better?

Happy Monday!

travelogue...

I think I've figured out why I blog. It's because I have a really bad memory, and I'm not terribly organized... The CaitlynCosm is basically my filing system.

On that note, on to part two of my travelogue:

Yesterday we made the trip to Nashville. We went just in time for a late lunch at San Antonio Taco Company. Meribeth recommended it to me a while back, and even though we pass it almost every time we go to Nashville, this was our first visit.

The ordering process is sort of intimidating. You have to fill out an order sheet, much like at sushi bars. It seems like one of those places where you should just get out of the way and let the regulars order. I had to ask too many questions before I could commit to my order sheet! Maybe I'm just paranoid about these places because I've seen the "Soup Nazi" Seinfeld episode one too many times.

Anyway, it was a very good taco. The tortillas were so good. They're soft and chewy, they reminded us of a thin version of a gyro sandwich. Brandon and I had guacamole tacos, and Clare just had a regular ground beef version. I think she liked it.

After lunch we took Clare to the Frist. After viewing the latest photography exhibit we went to Artquest, it's the Frist's children's area. I have to say it was pretty cool. It was a lot of fun for Clare, I'm convinced she's going to be a famous artist someday.

She made a rubbing with crayons. Then she made her own design and put it into the printing press and got a really cool print.

There was a clay section and we made clay creations. I made a tray of cinnamon rolls. (Honestly I didn't have any other inspiration other than food.)

Clare made a replica of the Lincoln Monument.
There was a watercolor section and we all painted. Clare doesn't like her creation so no picture. I made a picture of our lovely day at Sewanee...

Today we repeated our last Saturday. We had lunch at Alektor cafe again, but this time our friends Chase and Gigi were heading through Nashville. We're also planning on meeting them for church tomorrow. Our lunch was as delicious as last weekend, and I got some Christmas shopping done!Afterwards we went back to Gigi's cupcakes and I got a chocolate malt, lemon, Texas milk chocolate, and Scarlet's velvet cupcakes. I only actually ate the chocoalte malt this afternoon. It was very good. It was a chocolate cake with a malted chocolate icing. Then there were malt ball bits on the sides of the icing. The cutest detail was the tiny little straw peeking out from the top. It looked like a little milkshake masterpiece!
On our way back we stopped at Michael's craft store and I got some watercolors. I had so much fun painting yesterday and couldn't wait to do it again!

We've had a very fun past two days. Tomorrow's out last day. I'll let you know all about it!

My little brother is doing great. He's already standing (a day earlier than expected) and his back looks AWESOME!!! Here he is post-op. He's not the happiest camper at this point. He won't be eating for another few days, but soon he'll be the normal 17 year he used to be, but WITHOUT the not so awesome hump in his back.

One of the nurses asked him why he had surgery. He answered, "because I had a mountain on my back." Not anymore buddy. It's gone! Woohooo! Thanks for the prayers, please continue to remember him in your prayers.

Today.

Today was my brother's surgery... and it went very very well! Thank you so much for all the prayers. The toughest part is yet to come. The eight hour surgery is nothing compared to the recovery. Please continue to pray for him.

I am with my sister at my aunt's home. Clare is staying here with her until my parents come home, but this weekend my aunt and uncle had to go out of town. As a result I got to come up to hang out with Clare, and Brandon was able to join!


We drove here last night and have been hanging out. This morning we made whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and played chess. Then we decided to make the trip to Sewanee. We thought a picnic would be a wonderful idea since The University of the South is eye candy... it's like a really big dark chocolate bar of beauty.

Our picnic menu:

• Salmon paninis with a mustard spread, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, and sauteed red onions.
• Clare ate a turkey and cheese panini with onions.
• I made a red kidney bean salad: It consisted of a can of red kidney beans drained and washed, 1/4 of an onion finely chopped, 5-10 minced green olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and crumbled blue cheese. I just mixed it all together and refrigerated it. Very nice!
• Honeydew melon.

We ate our picnic on the campus and then went to explore the town. We went to a very sweet cafe called The Blue Chair Bakery and Coffee Shop. I got a 7 layer bar and their very yummy house blend coffee. Clare got a chair shaped sugar cookie made in the likeness of the famous blue chair with lemonade and Brandon got hot cocoa.

They also have a market/ restaurant adjacent to the cafe. It was a charming place, and today was a bit misty and it was a perfect place to spend some time up on the mountain. After we ate we spent some time exploring the town even more. They have plenty of cute shops and cafes, it's absolutely charming.

Then we headed to the campus to peruse. It is the most beautiful campus I know of. Their crowning beauty is the All Saints Chapel. (It's an Episcopalian church.) I'll let the photos do the talking.

We walked around for about an hour then we headed to a lookout to take in the very pretty views from the mountain. (Thanks Clare for the awesome photography!)

On our way home we stopped in another small town town, Cowan. It was also very quaint.

Now we're back, and a little tired! We just online ordered Papa John's Pizza... Isn't that the epitome of laziness?! I didn't even pick up the phone or stop my blogging, I just typed the numbers into the computer. Whatever, I don't care, I LOVE PJP! (And that garlic butter sauce... YUM!) I will make up for the laziness by making some banana bread per Laurin's recipe. I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!

My Brother...

I have e-mailed several of you today, but my parents have now officially set up a blog for my brother's surgery. I would rather not publish the address on here, because it contains some personal info, but if you would like the link please drop me a line or post your e-mail address as a comment. Then I can e-mail you a link. (I'll delete your address from the comments as soon as I send you the link.)

Regardless of whether or not you read the blog, please remember Caleb in your prayers. He is 17 and this is a very very very serious surgery. Below is an excerpt from the "My Story" section on the blog. The blog is on Caringbridge.org, it's a neat website that enables families to keep in contact when going through illness and surgery such as Caleb's. This post was written by my dad from October 10th:

Our son, Caleb has a disease called Scheuermann's Kyphosis. We have
created this site to keep our friends and family updated on his progress.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated. We will be making journal entries during Caleb's surgery and his recovery, so check back often for updates.

In layman's terms, Scheuermann's Disease is a condition where the
patient has an abnormal forward curve in the spinal column. As the disease
progresses, the patient will begin to have a "hunchback" appearance. Eventually
the internal organs and spinal cord may be compromised and as in Caleb's case,
chronic pain may be experienced.

After trying various forms of treatment including bracing, we were told that Caleb needed surgery but that the amount of correction would be minimal. In other words, they could "help" to relieve the pain but basically he would need to learn to live with the condition. Caleb was scheduled to have the surgery in Memphis in August of this year.

As the time for the surgery approached, Trish and I continued our research, reading
everything we could find about Scheuermann's Disease on the Internet.
Eventually we came across a blog written by the mother of a young lady from
Michigan with Scheuermann's disease by the name of Molly. Molly's parents had
located a surgeon in North Carolina, Dr. Lloyd Hey, who believed he could
correct Molly's condition. In July of this year, Molly and her family traveled
to North Carolina for the surgery which was a total success!

Encouraged by Molly's success, we contacted Dr. Hey who reviewed Caleb's X-rays. He believed that significant correction could be made and that he could eliminate Caleb's pain. He also suggested that we might want to contact Dr. Lawrence Lenke at
Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Lenke is one of the world’s foremost leaders in spinal deformity surgery. He is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in complex reconstructive spine surgery for children and adults. You can read more about Dr. Lenke at http://www.spinal-deformity-surgeon.com/

We immediately contacted Dr. Lenke and in late August he saw Caleb in his
office in St. Louis. Dr. Lenke advised us that he believed he could make a very
significant correction to Caleb's condition through the use of a relatively new
technique called Vertebral Column Resection . Dr. Lenke explained to Caleb the
risks associated with this surgery including the possibility of paralysis. Caleb
is 17 years old and we believed it was important that he make the final decision
about surgery. His initial reaction, was "no way" but after some consideration,
he said "yes". This is not Caleb's first major surgery, so he understands that
this is not a walk in the park!

Since Dr. Lenke sees patients from around the world and because Caleb's surgery would require 8 to 10 hours, scheduling would be a challenge. His first available date was March 12, 2009. His assistant said there was a slight possibility of October 16, 2008 being available, but that date was contingent on the progress of another patient who was requiring multiple surgeries.....in other words, October 16 was a long shot!

Today, we received a call from Kathy in Dr. Lenke's office. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for the October date, Caleb is scheduled for surgery on October 16, 2008! Our first series of prayers have been answered. Because Caleb's pain has
increased, it was growing more and more evident that he needs this surgery as
soon as possible.

let's go on a trip!

Grab your water bottle, put on your comfy clothes, pack up a few gingerbread molasses cookies ... We're going on a trip!

It's a beautiful time of year to go for a lovely 6 hour drive. Especially if your destination is the foothills of the very attractive Smoky Mountains. This past weekend Brandon and I went to Maryville, TN. The purpose of our trip? For Caitlyn to meet the Grandparents!

Of course you know us, we had to make some food related detours...

Stop #1: Gigi's Cup Cakes 1816 Broadway Suite A Nashville. We tried to visit this place back when we visited Nashville on Memorial day, but they were closed. As soon as we walked in I saw a good friend... LEAH!
Leah's currently in school in Nashville and bakes at Gigi's. How adorable is her flour covered apron? Not only does she work there, but she gets to stay in the back baking all day... sigh, I wish I could bake all day! I'll tell you all about the cupcakes in a minute. We actually stopped there before lunch. (Our lunch place opened at noon, but we arrived in town at 11:30 so we bought our cupcakes first.)

For lunch we went to Alektor Cafe 1807 Grand Ave. Alektor Cafe is connected to Door to Paradise Books. It's a very special place. It's a bookstore and cafe operated by an Orthodox Priest. In the town that is home to Lifeway Bookstore's home offices a Christian bookstore is nothing to get excited about... but an Orthodox Christian bookstore, now that's special!

They had some really great treasures, tons of great books, Icons, music, and jewelry. We heard about this place a while back and were so glad we made the detour.

At the cafe we both ate tuna melts with smoked mozzarella and drank Russian spice tea. The menu was full of Greek, Russian, and Middle Eastern food, there was no question that the restaurant was owned by Orthodox people!

It's so nice to eat in a place with Icons on the walls and liturgical chant playing in the background. Now for the cupcakes. They were delicious, and believe me, I know, I'm a cupcake connoisseur. Brandon got the Bailey's Irish Cream and I got the Texas Milk Chocolate, complete with a gum paste star on top! The cake's texture was moist and light but not too light, it had to hold up to that icing... oh baby that icing!

Check out that icing to cake ratio. It was perfect. I LOVE icing. This icing was perfect, not too sweet or heavy it was light, almost like a mousse. Yum! You've got to try this place next time you're stopping in Nashville. It's only a few minutes away from I-40, and well worth your time!

On Sunday we attended St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge. Brandon is a fan of Fr. Stephen's blog. It was a very nice parish.

I feel awful, I have no photos of Brandon's grandparents. They were perfectly delightful people and so much fun to hang out with. I'm so glad I got to meet them.
On our way home we stopped at Jackson's in Nashville's Hillsborough Village. My cousin recommended it when we were there together this summer. They just have really good food in a non-pretentious atmosphere. We were just watching a food show and they described a new trend called "fooding." It means high quality gourmet food for affordable prices in a casual atmosphere. Here one of my friends, Clotilde from the Chocolate and Zucchini Blog (I say friend, but we haven't met) describes French "fooding," but I digress...

Jackson's is just really good food. I had the sesame seared wasabi Caesar salad. It was very good. They have great sandwiches too, my cousin liked their croque monsieur. Brandon also really liked the french fries (he feels about as strongly about gourmet french fries as I do about cupcakes.) They also have this wonderful invention, the cookie dough egg roll. We didn't get it this time but it's rich decadent and amazing!

That's the trip in a nutshell... or a blogpost. As usual it appears as though it revolved around food, I promise it didn't.

We'll be doing it all again soon, I'm heading to my aunt and uncle's home near East TN. The reason why is a long story but it's all because my brother is having back surgery.

He has a condition that causes him to lean forward, and it causes lots of pain. This surgery, though terribly serious, should remove his pain. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. My parents are probably going to publish a blog to keep friends and family posted. I'll let you know. Please remember Caleb in your prayers, he's 17 years old and will undergo surgery this Thursday and will be in the hospital for quite a while.

Goodbye friends, I'll talk to you soon.

... in pictures

Hello friends, I hope your week is going well. I think it's time for a little photojournalism...
This is a bit late, it's from the Cooper-Young Fest. One of my favorite CY restaurants (Soul Fish) had a booth selling "Soul Fish on a Stick." It was a catfish fillet on a stick with a hush puppy on the end and then brushed (ProntoPup style) with tartar sauce. It's my favorite new food discovery!




This past Thursday OCF (and some other friends) went to the Levitt Shell for the free concert. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun. Here are all the girls with baby Zoe. (L to R Beauvais, Claire, Marjo, Zoe, and Me.)

Zoe Anne (Claire's baby left) and Lillian Elisabeth (Beauvais' baby right) are going to be best friends! Just look at how well they get along already.
The newly renovated Shell looks great. There are no more benches so it's the perfect place to spread out a blanket. John Jorgenson played and it was a great soundtrack. We also lucked out and got some free tickets to see The Glass Menagerie at Playhouse on the Square this past weekend. It was wonderful, it's playing through October, I highly recommend it!
On Sunday my good friend Maria was enrolled as a Catechumen. I don't know if I've told you what that is, but it's the period of time before Chrismation. (Chrismation is how one is received into the Orthodox Church.) The Catechumen is enrolled for aproximately a year (usually) before Chrismation. Maria (she is wearing red, I'm wearing yellow) asked me to be her sponsor, and I am very happy to oblige. I'm so excited for her!!! These pictures are from the service this Sunday. It's very short, the Priest prays a prayer for her, and her enrollment is formally announced. Fr. John pointed out on Sunday that the enrollment prayers are the same for an adult Catechumen as for a baby who is being Churched. (Churching is when the mother and child return to church for the first time after a period of 40 days.)
On to more food... I promise I think about other subjects. Here's my new Silpat in action. The only problem? Our baking sheets are too small for the Silpat. Now I need to buy new baking sheets. For now I realized that turning the pan over works pretty well so that I don't have to scrunch up the Silpat. The cookies baked so evenly and didn't even dare to stick.
Here are the finished beauties. I used the old standby Toll House cookie recipe. But this time I replaced all the white flour with whole wheat. Yes I said ALL, I know most people recommend replacing only half but I think they tasted just fine! I mean, have a look... do you think you could resist? Also, I read an article in the NY Times about the perfect chocolate chip cookie and they suggested sprinkling finely ground sea salt on the cookies when they come out of the oven. It was a wonderful suggestion, it really brings out the flavors. Have I shown you my bowl? It's a vintage batter bowl. I found it at Bojo's on Summer. I'm very proud of it.

Here's the French Yogurt Cake I mentioned a few posts ago from the Orangette blog. I made a Nutella sauce by thinning Nutella with a bit of warm milk and melted butter and drizzled it over the cake. It was very good. (Oh by the way if you look at the recipe she uses lemon, I made it a vanilla cake instead.)
On Saturday I made homemade pasta for the first time. It was pretty good. Well Brandon said it was good. I wasn't blown away by it. I'm a very critical cook (critical of myself that is, I always like other people's food!) It's time consuming, but worth it.

Also I made Monkey Bread with my little sister tonight. We made the cheater version, with cut up canned biscuits rolled in cinnamon sugar and butter. I had a craving for it today. While we waited for the bread to bake we played chess. It was a very nice rainy evening.

the best way to spend one's lunch break!

Well, I got some really nice presents for my birthday. My nicest present was a cooking class at the Viking School (funny you should mention the Viking School Corinne!) I'm sure the people who run the place are very nice, but they kept cancelling my classes! I think I had an affinity for signing up for the most obscure of classes. I guess I'm a weird chef, because no one else signed up for the classes I enrolled in. So after almost two months of wrestling Brandon finally told them to refund the enrollment fee to a gift card. This was good for me because his parents also gave me a very nice gift card to spend there as well.



So today I went on my lunch break. I am now in chef-geek heaven! I bought some of the things I would never allow myself to buy in the past but always wanted. Here's what I bought:

• A Silpat. If you aren't familiar it's a silicone baking sheet that sticks to NOTHING! I have wanted one for years.
• A french rolling pin.
• A Microplane. It's a long thin grater that works really well with whole spices (like nutmeg) and citrus zest. I can't wait to make those nutmeg doughnut-muffins with my freshly grated nutmeg. I also bought some whole nutmeg, you know well-to-do women (I think this was in the Elizabethan era) used to keep their own nutmeg with them at all times, just in case the food they were served was a tad bland.
• A citrus reamer. (I know it isn't too exciting, I just really needed one.)
• Annnnnnnnd my crowning purchase... A PASTA MACHINE! Please come over I'd love to feed you. I shall make linguine, ravioli, lasagna, fettuccine....

Today, I am a very happy cook indeed! (Thanks Brandon and Mr. Joe and Mrs. Debbie.)

A little treat just for you...

Hi friends,

Do you like salmon? You have to like salmon...

I love the stuff and all the fabulous omega3s! I told you about this recipe in my previous post and here it is. I made it for the first meeting of our new dinner group. We had a lovely time (thanks Dn. James and Corinne) and everyone really seemed to like my salmon. (It's a definite crowd pleaser, as long as your crowd likes salmon.)

I did make a few changes. I substituted plain nonfat yogurt for the mayonnaise. I liked the idea of the tangy yogurt instead of the mayo. I just thought the mayo might be too fatty along with the fish. I also pureed the sauce and it made it very pretty. The green avocado sauce looks so pretty alongside the pink salmon. (If you've known me for any length of time you know I LOVE pink and green!)

Spicy Salmon Fillets with Avocado Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon brown
sugar
2 teaspoons paprika
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground
cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
6 (6 to
8-ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small very ripe avocado,
peeled and cubed (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons
mayonnaise

Preheat broiler. Combine first 6 ingredients in a
small bowl, and set aside.
Rinse fillets, and dry well. Place, skin
side sown, in broiler pan; brush each top with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle
evenly with brown sugar mixture.
Broil 5 inches from heat 1 ½ to 2 minutes
or until brown sugar mixture begins to caramelize. Reduce oven temperature
to 425 degrees and bake 8 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.
Mash avocado until smooth; stir in lemon juice. Whisk in mayonnaise
until very smooth. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve with
fillets.

In other news, this past weekend on into Monday and Tuesday I was terribly sick! I've coughed my head off for 4 days straight. I finally went to the doctor on Tuesday and was given a lovely shot of a "sinus-cocktail." I recovered within a few hours. AMAZING!

On Friday we had a liturgy for St. John the Evangelist. He's the patron Saint of our Parrish. I actually took a half day so that I could be there, it was so nice. That evening, since we had a katalysis for fish, we went to Soul Fish with our friend Claire and baby Zoe. We had such a great time!

Other than that excitement I was in bed from Sunday until Tuesday. I was able to go to young adults on Sunday night but I probably shouldn't have. I was so tired of being in bed! I have a serious back-ache as a result of all my lazy time. But I'm better, so no more complaining, I promise!

Wow two posts in one day... lucky you! ;~)