a good gem

...before I post the rest of our Thailand pictures I wanted to share something that I hold dear to my heart. One of the best purchases in the Clifford kitchen. 

I sometimes am not the best purchaser. I admit it. I am a great taker-backer and a great exchanger, but purchasing real, good, solid items THE FIRST TIME around is where I sometimes struggle. The only time I succeed is when I go to the classic LC (aka Last Chance for all of you who have not had the privilege of giving them your money. It is a little gem in AZ that could be called the DI of Nordstroms. You have to have good walking shoes, a mom to go with you to talk you out of the XL shirt that is way too large but only $1.97 and a credit card. Maybe I'm so successful there because I can't take any of my purchases back. Its a final sale. All or nothing. Or maybe its because I am just real good at buying lots of little things at lots of cheap prices. Anyway, so maybe I take it back. I do succeed at shopping at LC.

(just don't ask Brady, he might beg to differ)

However, recently I made a good purchase outside of Last Chance.  It truly has changed the way brady and I eat. It is the purchase of a BLENDTEC Blender. Go ahead, Youtube "will it blend" and it will change you too. This piece of equipment can make anything! It blends, cooks soup, purees, finely grinds...you put it in, it will chop it. 

                                                   {Blender} Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

                                   

                                {Blender} Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
                                   -adapted from Kitchen Corners

      

                            3 cups Fresh blackberries

                            3 cups Greek Yogurt  {..I used what I had, 1 plain yogurt, 1 lemon greek, & 1 vanilla)         

                            1 can Fat free sweetened condensed milk

            *Add ingredients to your blender, puree. Pour purple mixture into glass container and freeze                 until frozen! 

            Enjoy with a Standard Shortbread Gem topped with fresh blackberries. 

here are other blender Blender recipes that i love...

....Ko Phi Phi continues

   

One of the main islands off of Ko Phi Phi was called "Monkey Island". For good reason as you can see.

 

      

Geez louise, people and their pictures....right after we arrived on our cute little longtail boat, the "remote" monkey island was flooded by a cruise ship full of asians, tourists and their cokes...poor little monkeys. They take what they can and if its coke, they probably flock to these camera'ed tourists to get their fix.

 

brady on a rope swing. notice the height. notice the range of movement.

sammi on the rope swing. notice the height. bummer. notice the range of movement. bummer. those pointed toesies? you bet.

i could go on and on because i have loads of pictures. and yes it is as pretty as they are! a beautiful place!!! i highly recommend traveling to the island of ko phi phi.

(we're not done yet thought young readers...i have only yet to show you part 1 of the thailand trip. part 2 is the jungle and elephants...stay tuned!)

travels in thailand.

Thailand is a country that us, Cliffords, have dreamed of visiting since we realized we enjoy trips:) So...once again, we were able to tag it onto a trip already being travelled by the mr. Brady needed to take a trip to China so I decided that I would go along!

It was a long trip and I was really camera happy so I'll try and keep the narrative to a small dose.

Because we were from America, (unlike 90% of the other thailand travelers) we were only able to stay for 2 weeks. If any of you have ever travelled outside of the US, you can attest that the ONLY bad thing about being an American is our minuscule amount of vacation time. (except if you are a nurse...its a pretty easy 'vacation' job) most of our friends we met were europeans or aussies where vacation time is 4 or 5 weeks!! lucky! anyway, since we only had 2 weeks, we had to see the whole country pretty quick. I am going to highlight the BEST photos of the 2 areas we enjoyed....KO PHI PHI and CHANG MAI.

KO PHI PHI. south thailand. island. beautiful. blue water. secluded....kinda of. mosquitos. monkeys.

    

      

Sweaty kids after a long boat ride to Long Beach on Ko Phi Phi "aka THE family side". 4 hour long boat right in a overly crowded "shuttle" boat. Capacity of 300--carrying probably a good 700 people. I think we were modern day pioneers coming to a new country, any longer and we would have seen rats and contracted scurvy. There was NO food and the toilets were overflowing. gross!!

      

People from different lands, kids crying, people with pale skin about to loose their breakfast, loud unknown launguages, no AC, all trying to gather around the 4 small openings to get some air. Me and my weak sauce American stomach included.

     

             

Yeah beautiful. ps. I have done NONONO editing to these landscape pictures...it is really that pretty...i know i still can't believe it!


A longtail boat can be rented for a mere $30.00 for 6 hours!! AND your own tour guide. one would just walk on the beach and find a barefooted thai boy. (I say boy because they were about 1 foot shorter and 50 lbs lighter than me....shuck...so to them I was probably a women) all of their names are conveniently Tuk. they speak very little english, but have great longtail boat driving skills.

Speaking of 'women'. On Ko Phi Phi we learned one of the things that thai people hold near and dear....they proudly claim their reigning title as THE BEST LADY BOYS in the WORLD. And boy are they proud...or girl ha ha (get it, its a joke)
our friend told us...
    "if you see a pretty girl, it is not a REAL girl. Thai girls are not naturally pretty, It a lady boy! He gets surgery to be pretty. yeah yeah you like."

We stayed in a little place called the Phi Phi Erewan Palms Resort.  It was so cute...upon arrival. We arrived to this! And then our own hotel lady boy to wash our feet and give us real juice drinks. Who can complain right?? well...I do have one complaint (or token of warning) concerning our little palms resort. Actually, it would be a complaint against all thai plumbing. or maybe it is a complaint against large and in charge americans?? Our American bowels just over power the sweet little thai bowels i guess. The toilets just don't quite have the same gush, swoosh that our american toilets have. and that could be a problem if you are two american plate-cleaners with rather weak stomachs. (AKA b and s clifford).

 

...going along with poor plumbing, i would like to add what great customer service thai people exhibit. The little elderly cleaning lady who cleaned every day refused to let us plunge our own toilet. every. time. I'll stop there. Take away of the last paragraph---if going to thailand, take your own plunger and eat like a small house mouse.

            

                  

                

           

   

               

          

About 5 min after arriving on our cute little island we saw the other visitors who had enjoyed the sun and disregarded the screen (you know those bright red vacationers who are burnt to a tomato chip crisp, yet continue to roast themselves under the sun.) We turned up our noses and said to each other, "oh look at those silly people....i can't believe they got burned! Haven't they ever heard of sunscreen?? maybe this is the first time they have seen the sun ha ha"

well, slap our hands and burn our backs because that next day, we became those lobsters. yep, forgot our sunscreen like we didn't know it existed. So the next couple of days we wore our shirts. Those americans, they never learn.

to be continued.....

at the races...

there are some genes embedded in humans that allow people to eat what they want, sleep in when they want, enjoy their free time on the couch watching ESPN when they want, and NOT exercise if they want. (I call those people BRADY's) and yet somehow those people maintain their figure nicely. i happen to know many 'BRADY's actually. 

then there is the type that can't eat what they want, do mindless silly arm movements or leg movements in place on a stationary something in front of a wall while trying to watch tv on a itsy bitsy screen trying not to fall off, eat sparingly when they are super hungry, (or say they are going too), and go phsyco when they don't exercise for 1 day. (I call those people SAMMI's) those that if they wake up on the wrong side of the bed, they might gain a pound. well genes, i have coped and accepted my label and now happen to enjoy exercising! so take that!! and I happen to like it! (or so i keep telling myself)

anyway, over the past year I have done some silly races--- paid for them too. Someone recently said to me, "you mean you PAID $100 so you could run 26.2 miles??" yeah, thats what i think. they should be paying me right?! i also participated in a  ragnar relay that was super fun! i always tell myself as i am training...'wait, why am i doing this?? this is kinda silly and i look goofy'  but they always tend to get me and somehow i end up liking it. go figure.

Prior to all of these races i ask my other half to participate with me. His answer is always, "I would rather do something fun, like play basketball or surf". don't blame him. makes sense. 

In june, my friend Mandy told me she was going to do a triathlon and asked if i wanted in. And just like before any other race, i casually asked brady if he wanted to participate? i asked him nonchallantly, making him think, "she doesn't really care one way or the other---so maybe i'll do it" he totally blew my socks off with his answer! SURE says brady!!!

yippee! that next day, the responsible person that he is, started to scope the web for 'Training for Your First Triathalon' schedules when he said, "well shoot, looks like we can't do it! we only have 8 weeks and this one is for 10 weeks".

not so easy buster. i wasn't going to let him get away. (deep down i knew he really was super excited to do something exercisey with me...) he kept looking and eventually found an 8 week training schedule. And we were off.    

i think we had a pretty good time! It was fun and maybe the best race out there! I would highly suggest it to anyone who may be {slightly} addicted to exercisey things.  we did a sprint triathlon @ Camp Pendleton in San Diego last weekend. 

ocean swim: 500 meters * bike 30 km * run 5K

       

gosh and i'm hooked! there i did it again, paid for something that I had to work for. in the end i would do it again...there is something about it that will have you hooked too!

blender pizza!

we are back! back from thailand and back to life! we had a great grand time and I will post some pictures--oh will I post some pictures. More pictures than will fit in your small time frame at the computer. Until I muster up the time to post them and scan through them all, I have 2 new recipes that  are real winners. I call them Blender Pizza. Creative huh. i came up with the name. And really though, that is just what it is! easy pizza made in the blender!! this recipe is super healthy and a great fast dinner!

Blender Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 Tablespoon dry active yeast

1 Tbsp honey (or agave)

½ cup all purpose flour

1 ½ cup Whole wheat flour (I used part whole wheat pastry flour)

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp coarse salt (could use reg table salt)

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 tsp oregano

¼ tsp garlic powder

Add water, yeast, honey to jar and pulse until combined. Let yeast proof for 5-10 min. Add oil, salt, spices and half of flour to blender and pulse for a couple of seconds. Add the remaining flour a little at a time, pulsing in between. Pulse until all flour is incorporated and dough ball forms.

Leave dough in blender jar and allow to rise until dough is doubled. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put baking stone in oven as it heats up. Sprinkle baking stone with cornmeal and flatten dough. Bake dough for 3-5 min, then place toppings on dough and bake for another 3-5. Enjoy!..sorry don't have a picture of the blender dough:)

Blender Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 lbs tomatoes, quartered

1 med. Onion, roughly chopped

8 garlic cloves (I used minced garlic)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon fresh oregano (miced with rosemary and basil)

1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss all ingredients and spread them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for about 1 hour. Cool slightly and blend well…or just place on pizza. No extra sauce needed! Enjoy.

sometimes on my days off i think...geez how fun would it be to be a foodie. or a yogie. or a dancie. or a flight attendee. OR hoda & kathie lee, getting their hair and make-up done just to sit and discuss gossip and things that don't really matter on national tv--sounds dreamy? ha ha in another life sammi. in this life you are a nurse. (also one of my dreams ps.) its just too bad days aren't 50 hours long so we can do all our dreams! so i will just have to pretend to be all of those other things!

and this post is for the 'foodie' part of me. i love love to cook and this sunday i let brady decide what to eat! (well, i would let him decide more often if he would...i MADE him decide. and i think it ended up being easier than he thought!) he quickly said, "what about chicken pot pie?!" chicken pot pie?? I hadn't had chicken pot pie since my parents went out for the weekend once a year and a babysitter came over. that is the only time we had chicken pot pie--with a babysitter. remember the frozen ones that you put in the oven and then only your mom could turn it over and pop it out without the crust breaking? even the babysitter could never do it...hence i maybe only had one chicken pot pie when the crust never broke. that was part of the fun of chicken pot pie, to see if you could get it out of that little tin without the sauce and peas spilling all over.

i decided to give it a try! i also remembered that since I was probably 8 years old when i ate my last chicken pot pie, calories and fat didn't matter. that flaky crust and rich middle just tasted really good, then off to the next best thing! Probably gummy bears on the big tv. however, now since i am 8 +17 years old, fat and calories mean a tad bit more than they used too....plus, my mom would have to come 2 states away to pop the pot pie out of the crust for me.

so i set out to re-create the 'chicken pot pie' for a grown up where the crust doesn't break and add little drop in calories and fat. i've never made chicken pot pie before but as long as it doesn't involve a whole chicken i think i can maybe hack it.  i looked up a recipe and tweaked it a bit and it turned out better than i expected! i, of course, made it more difficult than you would have too....for some weird reason i find joy in adding unique things to my recipes sometimes and it can end up taking a long time in the kitchen. it was a rainy day yesterday, and i had just had a great nap on the couch so i was ready freddy to start cooking!!!

(ps, it you like this idea and recipe you wouldn't have to use all the silly ingredients i did....just substitute where you have to! it really is a pretty easy recipe, plus it goes great in the freezer! i think...i'll let you know next month when i use it.)

Childhood Chicken Pot Pie

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

         1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed

         1 cup sliced carrots

         1 cup frozen green peas

         1/2 cup sliced celery

         1/3 cup chopped onion

         1/2 cup all-purpose flour

         1/2 teaspoon salt

         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

         1/4 teaspoon celery seed

         1/4 tsp thyme

         sprinkle of sage

         handful of brown sugar

         1 tsp butter (or other kind of fat to sauté onions)

         1/4 tsp garlic/herb seasoning

         2 cups chicken broth

         1 1/2 cups milk (I used 1 cup coconut milk + ½ cup skim milk)

         1/2 can apricot nectar (or other juice in your fridge..optional)

         2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts **(recipe to follow)

Obtain 3 cooking pans….1 saute and 2 sauce pans. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 #1: SAUTE PAN=  Saute chicken in about 1 tsp sunflower oil (or other appropriate oil low in saturated fat). Season with salt, pepper and sage. 

 #2: SAUCEPAN= in a small saucepan,  sauté onion with brown sugar and butter until onion is clear. (I also added unsweetened apple sauce in place of some of the butter…for a ‘free’ sweetness). Once sauted to your liking add flour, salt, pepper and thyme to onions. Mix and then slowly add chicken broth, milk(s) and juice. Stirring continually until mixture is as thick as gravy. (Adding more flour if needed).

#3: SAUCEPAN= in another small saucepan, cover frozen veggies with chicken broth (I used water and chicken boullion cube). Boil until veggies soft…approx 8 min?? I like mine a little al dente compared to mushy.

    

Once done cooking ingredients in all 3 pans, drain liquid from saucepan #3. Then add all ingredients into one pan and mix.   

Place one pie crust in a pie tin. (Or if you are lucky enough you have cute little ramekins to make individual ones...i didn't) Bake the pie crust in oven for about 6 min. to golden the crust. (if you were to bake it in little ramekins i'm CERTAIN even I could pop it out without the shell breaking...baking it for 6 min makes the bottom crust not soggy.) Pour combined ingredients into crust and top with 2^nd crust. Bake for 25 min. Ah! So pretty! 

                                         
                                         

PIE CRUST RECIPE  (healthier…)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup white flour

¼ tsp salt

3 Tbs sugar (brown, white or mixture)

¼ cup oil (sunflower or olive)

¼ cup cold milk

¼ cup water

Combine and chill for about 10 min. Then roll out like normal and enjoy like a pie crust!  It tastes pretty darn good for having no saturated fats! But of course, if you don’t want to make this just use frozen pre-made pie crusts.

We matched on sunday...and didn't even plan it!! crazy how you begin to look alike...and dress alike when you live with someone:) and that ugly table you ask?? Restoration Hardware gone bad. they tricked us into buying a poke dot orange TIN coffee table! so we sent it back. And yes that is a harp on the tv. maybe i'll learn the harp someday too...options are endless.

 

(brady's secret life would involve modeling...i caught him)

the latest eats...

i may have the best living partner in the world. he is one who loves ALL food---especially the non-fat "at least its good for you" food. bless his little heart, and really! it will be blessed from all the low fat things i let it consume:) lucky for me, my dear husband is not picky in the slightest....in fact he would probably eat cardboard if i put a fork next to it. however i knew this was a REAL keeper when he said, "even normal people would like this!" ha ha

my healthy dishes i love sometimes don't always go well with the general public. On behalf of health, i like to experiment with special diets and brady is the recipient:)  brady says he has developed a specific healthy tastebud for healthy things ha ha-and i like anything that is claimed 'healthy'. anyway, so this lasagna is not only healthy but its GOOD!! it might even pass with the public.

my latest greatest find------SQUASH LASAGNA

(these are our new plates...anthropologie thanksgiving deal of the year! the best part is the cute giraffe on the back...too bad its not the front.)

SQUASH LASAGNA


1 butternut squash 
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 32 oz container Fat free ricotta cheese
3/4 bundle of fresh spinach leaves (washed well)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
handful of brown sugar
1 box rice lasagna noodles (may not use the whole box)
2 cups mozzarella cheese


1. preheat oven to 350. cut squash in half, place cut side down on baking sheet and cook for 40 min or until really soft. Scrape into a bowl and mix with nutmeg and brown sugar.
2. in a new bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach and salt and pepper.
3. in a baking dish of your choosing (i used one smaller than 9 x 13...you could use a 9 x 13, your lasagna would just not be very layered)...ok so once you have chosen the perfect dish, layer squash, noodles, spinach, repeat. End with spinach.
4. bake for 35 min or until it is bubbly and the noodles are soft.


yum yum. 
 

whole wheat zucchini banana bread

1. this is maybe the best banana bread....it is packed with flavor and healthy things. AND it turns out!
2. that is the only picture i could take because once i thought about it....that was the only piece left! 
3. in california our poor bananas go yellow with spots SO quickly that this bread is their saving grace!!!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana

2 eggs (1 egg, 2 egg whites)
1/4 cup honey 
1 cup mashed banana (I really measured this time)
1/2 cup brown sugar (used a little less...like 1 tbls less)
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (used 1/2 cup whole wheat + 1/4 white)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, nuts, or a mixture of any of these (used half pecans + cranberries)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a standard-sized loaf pan.

2. Beat together the eggs, honey, banana, brown sugar, and vanilla until well-combined.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Mix into the egg/banana mixture just until combined.

4. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips, just until combined.

5. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let rest for 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

(adapted from Marcus Samuellson)