This year will be, legen...wait for it, wait for it...dary!!

Well cats and kittens, it's officially 2013.  Last year's goal to blog more didn't quite pan out, as it's been 2 months since we last posted.  Fear not, the goal is back with a vengeance in 2013!!  This year is an important one for us, we're getting married, combining our finances and living the whole year by ourselves (well... and our cats).  The biggest change for 2013 is our budget, since we're getting married we've decided to start saving for a down payment on a loveshack of our own.  As you may know, in the SF Bay Area even a shack runs you $400-900k, so saving a 20% down payment given sky high rental costs is quite a challenge.  We're selling a well maintained 2008 BMW and trading down to a scooter for our second "car".  Trying to pare down our stash of stuff.  All while living a fun and exciting life with cats, family and friends.

The scooter and our motorcycle safety course endorsement :)

Since, we like a good challenge and as good little beavers, we set out a strict budget beginning on Jan 1 of this year.  Our biggest variable expense of course is food. According to the USDA, feeding a family of 2, aged 19-50 should cost between $350 and $696 per month, which is more like our weekly spending... OUCH!! So we've set a goal, $300 per week or $1200 per month, I know this sounds like a lot, but we've cut down substantially from before and maybe if we can master this we'll lower it again.

In the red and still 3 days to go!

As I write this it is January 28th at 5pm and mint.com says we're over our budget by $8... whoops!  So today we get creative, using only things we already have on hand and try to squeeze enough for two dinners, two lunches and dessert out of our pantry, fridge and countertops, let the adventure begin!!!

But first a break for this important cat yoga session!!

a bad case of the mondays- Jamie Oliver Spinach & Feta Filo Pie

Well everyone, it was a cold (because our apartment is a cold, dark dungeon) Monday night (two weeks ago when I began this post...) and there was nary an excuse not to cook.  So, we did what all reasonable people would do, watched a TV chef and then went to Whole Foods and got ingredients to make the episode's signature dish.  And without further ado, Jamie Oliver's Spinach and Feta Filo Pie appeared before us.

Photo credit: Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals

the one in which i express my undying love for Jamie Oliver

Hey Kids & Kittens,

I know, it's been a LONG time since we've blogged.  Well you know life just got in the way.  Here's a quick rundown of life since our last post.... on 4/23/2012 (I don't count the message about writing more posts and then not doing it as a post):

• we adopted another amazing little man, Bender Bending Rodriguez, the adorable hell raising kitten found in the gate area of our last apartment.

photo credit: Benders Aunt Linda :)

• we moved out on our own, into an apartment that is shaded on all sides at all times and perpetually 40 degrees colder than outside.

• we got the mac-daddy of VitaMix blenders, and use it almost everyday!!

• oh yeah, we got engaged too :)
  

  

  Photo credit: Eric Nguyen's Creeper Photography

• and we went to Cancun!!

oh yeah, work it out, sexy beast :-P

And finally, our good friend Emily started an awesome (and much more frequently updated) food/lifestyle blog over at the http://thepigandquill.com/.  You should absolutely check it out.... now.... then come back here and read on!!

And now on to the food!

busy life = no posts

so, life has been crazy the past few months.
-we adopted a new kitten
-we're moving both home and work
-we got engaged

but, I few recipes I came up with that I plan to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned :)

-Jesse

there are ants in our kitchen!!! - S14E22

So, we've been a bit lax on blogging lately, but I wanted to bring you this delicious dish from Good Eats, called "Ants in Trees".  Sounds appetizing, right?  Despite the quirky name, this recipe turned out a fantastic meal.  The name comes from the way the ground meat sticks to the noodles, looking like Ants climbing tree branches.

Since we chose to halve the recipe for our first go round, there were no leftovers at all, which means we'll have to make it again soon!! This recipe uses ingredients available either at the local Asian market (hello Ranch 99) or at larger specialty grocers (Whole Foods and the like).  It was a bit more labor intensive than simple baking or roasting dishes, but no more so than a Pad Thai.  Without further a do, let's get cooking!

i swoon for macaroons!!!

Well kids, it's that time of year.  The birds are out, the sun is shining through the rain, the damned flowers everywhere are making me sneeze and Easter is just around the corner.  Now, my family doesn't do the whole Easter dinner shebang, but I love this time of year because the blogs are abuzz with yummy spring dessert recipes!!  One such recipe I spied recently was on FitSugar.com for Almond & Coconut Macaroons, yum!  I tested out this recipe last week and loved the results, so I made it again last night and had Mr. Photographer snap some shots to share.  The best things about this recipe: you probably already have half of the ingredients in your pantry and it takes 30 minutes from start to finish (15-20 of that in the oven).

Oh My, Meat Pie - S12E6

Anddddddd we're back!  Sorry for the absense, but we were both too busy (too lazy?) to post anything.  But never fear, we are still cooking up a storm.  For our welcome back meal, Jesse decided to keep it going with the lamb, so we will be making Shephard's Pie.  Also known as "cottage pie", shephard's pie is basically a poor man's pie with a lamb/mutton stew as its base and mashed potatoes as its crust.  Looks and sounds pretty simple, so let's dive in.