Sweet Tea and a Sweet Tooth

I cannot stop eating Lindt Sea Salt dark chocolate. Yeah, it's a little on the pricey side but Rite Aid has them on sale right now for 1.99/bar. Mmmm-mm! If you like chocolate covered pretzels you'll love this. My grandma sent me a sweet care package and almost instantly my friend Hailey and went out and bought more.

Also on a sweet tooth note, I'm still in my sweet tea phase. What's your favorite tea concoction? Mines 1/4 a squeeze of lemon, 1 black tea bag, and about a tablespoon of agave nectar.

Guess What? I've been a little hesitant to tell everyone what's been going on in my professional life. Because, who knows who's actually reading this?

I am the new accounting assistant for the Department of Biology here at CSU! How exciting is that?! It's my first step into the field that I want to work in. <3

Since everything else is starting to fall into place, I better pick up my room. It looks like I was robbed, but really my room is just messy every other day (hey now, I can't clean every day)!

Literary Leech

I can't stop reading.


In the past week I've read/finished:
-Left Neglect by Lisa Genova
-Rancine's Phaedra
-Monkey by Wu Cheng-en
-The Hunger Games by the well known Suzanne Collins
-Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
-Sor Juana's Reply to Sor Filotea 


Left Neglect, as I have said, is such a touching story. Lisa Genova spends years preparing for her novels. Her next one is going to be about a family connected by an autistic child. I can't wait to read that heartwarming tale.

I can't believe it took me a year on my kindle to start reading The Hunger Games! Did anybody else feel like they were watching a movie? I certainly did. In fact, that will be the first book we read at the book club I just started.

That's right! I've taken my love of reading to a whole knew level. I was sick of not having anyone here in Colorado to discuss my latest findings with. I think there are about ten girls that will be attending, and hopefully I will help us 11 girls find a wonderful new group of friends.

When I picture our meeting, I imagine us knitting quilts and sipping tea. I feel so old fashioned.

Commencement was rather interesting. Pinterest sparked my interest for this book, as it was on many of my peer's boards. But let me tell you...

I was certainly out of my comfort zone on this book due to a few sex scenes and strange references, but never the less you get to love the characters like they are your own friends. Despite the uncomfortable-ness, I finished the book in two nights' reading.

The others I had to read for my literature class. Monkey was an excerpt from Wu Cheng-en's The Journey to the West. It's a tale of a buddhist monk that has a "stone" monkey lead him on his journey to the buddha to gain scriptures. It has characters that stick close to your heart and make you feel like you're reading a grown up rendition of a childhood fable. Phaedra and I on the other hand, didn't get along very well. I'm not a huge fan of Greek Mythology.

Oh shoot! This is a food blog isn't it? Sorry for the lack of food. I'll post my enchiladas recipe up tomorrow eventually :)

S-S-So Yummy!

Currently, my three food obsessions all happen to begin with the letter S. 


#1: Salmon. While this fish and I didn't get along when I was younger, I fell in love with it over the summer in California. Not only was it usually the cheapest entree at the many restaurants that my boyfriend's family took me to, it was impossible not to get the amazingly fresh fish every single time. During that time I also fell in love with béarnaise sauce over asparagus. Mmm-mm!

From that amazing Summer of 2011 California Trip

I apologize for my digression. I'm so landlocked and pale that I'm dying to get myself to a sunny, warm place. All I can think about is laying in a raft on the Salt River in AZ or reading a book on the beach.

Anyhoo...

Every sunday my dining hall ships salmon in from a "fresh" source (I pray not a farm though it probably is) and last night, it was the best I've had yet! They had originally grilled it with lemon-pepper seasoning. In turn, I added a local cayenne pepper hot sauce on top and extra seasoning.

#2: Sweet tea. While I've always been in-touch with my southern self (i.e. my beloved cowboy boots, die-hard football fan, southern comfort food, country music, an obsession with Chevy Silverados and cowgirl hats), I have never really been that big of a fan of sweet tea.

Until I discovered that sweet tea was just that....sweet tea. Suddenly I realized I didn't have to stand for the insane amounts of sugar that Cane's or McDonalds put in their sweet tea. So I started my age old favorite: A palm of sugar and a dab of lemon juice. Me and my sweet tea have a friend....his name is Arnold Palmer. :)

#3: Siracha! This fiery goodness and I have been long lost lovers my whole life! I used to stare at this in my fridge when I was younger, bewildered by its presentation. Why in god's name does hot sauce have a rooster on it? Convinced that it contained remnants of a rooster's gobbly-gook, I wrote Siracha off like a girl spewing snide comments.

But we all know that first impressions are generally wrong. After hearing everyone rave about Siracha, I attempted to put it in my soup. Boy, did I fall in love. Soup. Salad. Salmon. Stir-frys. Today I went Siracha-crazy and added it to my mongolian stir fry.

I had broccoli, baby corn, tofu, water chestnuts,  and miracle "zero-calorie" noodles for lunch today. 

 Well, off to figure out the best recipe for a Black & White cake! Have a great day y'all!