What I've Been Up To....

I'm following suit of my dear college friend Kimberly over at Faith, Hope & Alotta Love...

Last night I had the dear pleasure of lodging a night at my old house with the best roommate in South Carolina (woot woot K)! As single women in their later 20's, who both feel a strong calling to the married life, we talked about using this time to not only seize the present moment that God has given us, but also to develop skills, master recipes and seize other things that the freedom of our states of life allow us at this current moment.

So this is what I've been up to:

Mastering the Art of Pimento Cheese
This will one day be a post on itself, but pimento cheese is a staple of the South. Nothing north of the Mason Dixon line has ever tasted as good as Pimento cheese in the south tastes. Seriously. I'd like to think I've become a connoisseur of Pimento cheese (since I basically order it everywhere I go), and I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out.

Greek Layer Dip

When I lived in G-Vegas a group of us young adults got together and met for a weekly small-group. We read through Gaudium Et Spes (a great document from Vatican II--it's an easy read) and Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales. Each week we'd bring snacks or dinner and feed the body & the soul. One of the gals in our group made this and by the end of the night, there was literally nothing left. I recently made it for a Young Adult get-together and it was a hit.

(RECIPE HERE)

Julia
She's bold, fearless and accepts nothing less than confident excellence. Since I've moved to SC, I've mastered her Boeuf Bourguignon, Beurre Blanc, and Coq Au Vin.

(Isn't that espresso set the cutest! My Momma gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago & I LOVE it!)

Traveling the Great State of SC

So my whole territory is the great state of South Carolina. Here's a billboard from a Catholic parish in the Upstate.

(It's hard to see, but it's Pope Francis and the Catholic Church.)

Ribbon Wreaths:

These are so much fun to make! I purchased the ribbon at an after Christmas Sale for  90% off. Isn't it FUN?!?!

And there you have it!

Cooking, Creating, Julia Child and Traveling.

As Julia always ends...

Bon Appétit!

If you give a girl a magazine...

If you give a girl a magazine..

Chances are she's going to find a recipe she wants to make...

And if she sets to making that recipe, chances are she's going to realize she doesn't have all the ingredients and equipment needed, so she'll get gifted by a friend, a FREE Kitchen Aid Processor (yeah-my friends are great)...

And then she'll go to Mass, and the lovely family who has a brood of chickens will bring in dozens of free farm-fresh eggs, so she'll take a dozen...

And chances are, if she takes a dozen of farm-fresh eggs, they are going to be dirty, so she'll have to wash them (her grandparents had eggs, so she knows how to do this)...

And once they are clean, she's going to start baking by following the directions in the recipe...

(above photo: my Mom's vintage sifter I 'borrowed')

And chances are if she follows the directions, like she has before with Martha Stewart recipes, the recipe is going to turn out great...

And because they're great, she's going to take a picture of them to share on her Facebook page for all to see...

And that's going to make her happy, and she's going to sit and enjoy her recipe and that's going to remind her to finishing reading her magazine.

The End.

She's on the move again...

Come November...

I'll be on my way, to...

Oy Vey!

He Has Risen Indeed! Easter Throwback:1988

(Sisterhood of the Easter Bonnet Brigade sans Sister #4 who was in utero during this photo)

My dear friends, HE IS RISEN!! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!

It has been awhile, but I just wanted to send you, Southern Eastertide Joy! For LOVE which became flesh has conquered death--the victory of life has been won! Praise be Jesus! Alleluia!

So whip out those Easter bonnets, proclaim Alleluia from the Mountain tops (or cornfields--depending on where you live), savor the goodness of the Lord and know your life has been redeemed by Someone so much greater than we know.

Happy Easter!

He Has RISEN INDEED!

Alleluia!

Chipotle, Bo Derek, Princess Buttercup and me!

Hi Friends,

Thought I had you fooled, didn't ya'?

Well I've been a bit under the weather with that terrible cough going around.

No RSV for me...All Praise & Glory to God! But for those who do have it, be assured of my prayers for an immediate healing. Amen? AMEN!

Okay, so now I can continue catching you up on life.

In December, my dear dear dear friend Rachel got married!

In fact, here's a picture of Rachel, my friend Andrew and myself eating at my favorite chain restaurant of all time...Chipotle.

You can't really see too well, but for those who haven't seen me in awhile, my hair got really long.

Like so long I kept slamming it in the door, windows,and lowering it down towers--don't worry Mom,in case you were wondering, no strange men were allowed to climb up my hair, only the normal ones.

But I digress.

Anyways...

About 3 years ago I set out with the intent to grow my hair so long that one day I could run on the beach and get my 'hairs did' like this....

 (photo from here)

Can't you see the resemblance?

I know, I know,  Bo & I could totally pass for twins--I get that all the time!

But it wasn't just Bo Derek hair I was aspiring my locks towards.

I always wanted Princess Buttercup hair, so I continued to persevere and grow it out to look like this...

(Photo courtesy of HERE)

But then, as all good women do, I changed my mind ...

and
this
is
what
happend...
8 inches later that is...

Happy Monday!

She's back!

Brace yourselves Friends. 

It is true! I am back. 

 (I just can't contain the excitement.)

After a 6+month hiatus, I'm back, alive n' kickin' and ready for the exciting blessings God has in-store this year.

Lots to share. Lots of exciting things on the horizon.

( End of November marked a move further from work, but closer to friends.)

So keep posted and may 2013 bring an abundance of peace, blessings, love and fun!

 

 Ciao for now :)

The Recipe (3 days after I said I would post it)

Hi Friends,

Rachel the Vita Bella here to send you this yummy and delicious recipe for you to enjoy. I think the first time I had this was at a restaurant with my two older sisters during a trip to Chicago. Sister #1 was going to school up in the Windy City and Sister #2 and myself decided to go up and visit her for a weekend of sister fun...including getting hit on by about 4 Chicago Bears Football players...swooonn!

Anyways, following my pastalicious experience, on a trip to Italy when I used to work as a Group Tour escort, I  ordered it again but this time it included a few extra ingredients. And well from there I decided to combine the best of both worlds and make this pasta my own. I hope you enjoy it...

Pasta a la Vita Bella

(feeds 2)

 Featuring:

1 cup of Ham- (you can use bacon, proscuitto, pork sausage, whatever, but for this time I used ham)

1 Cup of thinly sliced Red onion (you whatever color onion you have, although I prefer the red in this recipe)

1 cup of sliced mushrooms (if you used cannned be sure to drain them)

1/2 cup of frozen peas ( you can use more-I actually am not a fan of peas, but love them in this recipe)

4 oz (or half a carton) Heavy Whipping cream (you can use milk and a little bit of flour if you don't have HWC)

1/2 bag of Fettucinne (I use brown rice fet. but any will do)

Parmesan Cheese

Salt 

Pepper

Olive Oil

 1. Boil a pot of water for your pasta-and salt the water

2. Heat up your frying pan to medium/high heat. Once it's hot add 2 TBSP of EVOO

 3. Slice up your pig & onion....pretty

 4. Once the oil is heated, add the pig, onion and mushrooms. Give the pan a toss like your on Iron Chef so the ingredients evenly cover the pan--don't forget to wink at the camera too!

5. In the meantime, because they say a watched pot never boils and a picture would only add ages along to that theory... imagine your water is boiling add the pasta and give it a quick stir, so the goods don't stick to the pot

 Once the pig, onion and mushrooms are cooked

6. Add the Cream and Peas. Give it a stir and let it bubble a little.

 7. As soon as it bubbles, turn off the heat and add a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese.

8. With 30 seconds left, kick your soux chef out of the kitchen and take over! Drain the pasta, put it in pretty bowls, add the sauce and garnish with lovely basil leave.

9. Smile at Alton Brown, claim the title of Iron Chef and enjoy Pasta A La Vita Bella!

the end.