winner winner pinterest dinner

Okay. I mentioned yesterday that I made five successful Pinterest recipes between Saturday and Monday. Chalk up another success with last night's, and I am on a dang ROLL!! Then my friend Sloan inspired me today by posting a recap of some of her recent Pinterest successes, so I figured I'd copy her!!


Saturday morning, breakfast:

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Erika on Pinterest

Hootenanny!!! Or, if you'd like to be boring about it, I've also heard it referred to as a German pancake or oven pancake. But who would choose those names when you could call it a HOOTENANNY? Exactly. Anyway, to be honest, we've been making these since the weekend I joined Pinterest (like...last September, maybe?)...so this wasn't a new one by any means, but definitely a favorite.


Saturday- to take to a cookout with friends:

Source: clairebidwellsmith.com via Erika on Pinterest

Crescent rolls with spinach, feta, and mozzerella. So easy. So good.


Saturday-- to take to Sunday's Bacon Fest

Source: thekitchn.com via Erika on Pinterest

Goat Cheese Pops with Herbs, Pecans, & Bacon. We've already discussed how awesome these were.


Sunday- for Bacon Fest

Source: unsophisticook.com via Erika on Pinterest

Maple Pecan-Crusted Bacon. Again, I think I've already informed you that this was INSANELY DELICIOUS. And easy. But fair warning: your oven will smoke so much (while baking), you will worry your house is about to burn down. But it probably won't, so...cook away!


Monday night- for this week's breakfasts

Source: sugarfreemom.com via Erika on Pinterest

Baked oatmeal to-go. This totally had the potential to flop, but I must say-- it's pretty darn good. I did have to buy things I normally do not use (unsweetened applesauce, flax seed meal), but overall it was pretty easy to make these, it made a lot (22ish, and we've been eating 1 each for breakfast, so...that'll last awhile!), and they're quite good!


Wednesday night-- dinner

Source: mattandkaraadopt.blogspot.com via Erika on Pinterest

Summer Corn Fettuccine. Technically I didn't get this one "from Pinterest"-- I pinned it myself from a blog I read (Matt & Kara Adopt), but...whatever, I'm counting it. Made this one last night and it was SO GOOD and VERY easy. Seriously, the hardest part was cutting the corn off the cob. And that's not very hard. And it turned out fantastically. I subbed in whole wheat spaghetti for the fettuccine (because I had it on hand) and I will DEFINITELY be making this again in the future...especially in the summer, when fresh corn is dirt cheap and I grow practically all the rest of the veggies/herbs in my own garden. MAJOR WIN!


So there's a week of solid successes. I just can't believe it because I feel like half the time Pinterest recipes do NOT go according to plan...so I think I'm not going to make any more for awhile so that I can bask in my string of successes for a little longer. Although honestly, it might be more FUN if a few of these had crashed-and-burned, because then I could have a WAY MORE HILARIOUS blog like Pintester and...yeah. Love. Her. Slash am jealous I am not nearly that funny. Oh well. (Warning: Pintester contains lots of not-G-rated language. If that offends you, I'd recommend not checking her out.)


So...go cook (or read) now!! Let me know how it goes!

midweek confessions

It's been awhile since I've done some quality confessing, yall. Not counting my TV confessions of last week, of course. But since I can't think of anything more comprehensive or intelligent to blog about today (yesterday's scientific dissertation really wore me out), I figgered it'd be a good time to get a few things off my chest.

--I am actually really excited about surgery. This is probably super strange, but it's true. Maybe it's really just that I'm excited about the post-surgery bedrest/recovery time. Mainly because a) I will be missing the first weeks of school, and b) the Olympics will be on. Therefore I am looking ahead to a marvelous few weeks of rest, relaxation, and live Olympic-watching. I am choosing not to think about the pain, actual surgery, etc.

--Our air conditioning has broken had issues TWICE in the last week (completely separate, non-related issues). The AC fixer guy has been here TWICE in seven days. That is not okay with me. Luckily, neither problem was super complicated/expensive (not to mention, Matt's parents paid for the first visit...), but still. Not. Cool. (Literally.)

--Between Saturday and Monday of this week, I made FIVE recipes from Pinterest. And every single one of them was good. I'm a little worried that I'm due for a bomb somewhere in the near future here...and it better not be what I'm planning to cook Thursday.

--I want to be at the airport 2.5 hours early for our flight to Mexico. That is approximately 1 more hour than what the airport recommends. But I'm of the "better safe than sorry" mentality and I can't see myself only getting there 90 minutes before the flight. Am I a total worrywart?

--Yesterday at work, one of my co-workers mentioned that during lunch, she and another co-worker had been talking about me. They were admiring that I had my life/myself "so together." I had to laugh in her face and tell her that obviously they had never met me. She said they based their opinion on the fact that I always show up to work on time, looking cute, and I bring really wonderful and elaborate lunches. I said that they might need to get some more stringent criteria for their "got your life together" rating system, and also I have nothing to do with my awesome lunches-- that's all Matt. But I do take full responsibility for my timeliness. It is next to godliness, after all. Secretly, though, I'm a little bit happy that I don't appear to be quite as hot a mess as I really know I am. Tricking people left and right!  

--I have been cleaning house like a madwoman in anticipation of my friend house-sitting for us while we're on vacation. To be honest, some of these thing probably haven't been cleaned since...oh, the last time she house-sat for us. Last July. :)

--I hate having two posts in a row with no pictures, so I'm throwing in a completely random and unrelated (is anything 'related' in this post, anyway?) photo just for the heck of it here:

Me, about to go snorkeling in Mexico on our honeymoon. In not too many more moons, I just may be taking another picture jussssst like this!! YIPPPPEEEEE!!!! Hopefully this time I will not be attempting any ridiculous kissy-faces, though. Not cool, Erika. Not cool.

the scientist speaks!

A few years ago, two of my co-workers (all of us being educators, of course) were discussing something as they stood a few feet away from me. I wasn't part of the conversation, so I can't rightly say what they were talking about, but I was brought into the conversation when one of the girls spoke up more loudly, and in my direction, to say "let's ask Erika, maybe she'll know. She is a scientist, you know." This was said in complete seriousness.

"Who, me?" I asked, as though there might be several other Erikas hanging out in the room. I'm a lot of things, but I don't really count 'scientist' among them.

"Yeah!" the same girl replied. "Didn't you get your degree in science?...or something?"

"Um...well, I got a Bachelor's of science..." I replied.

"Yeah, exactly. So you're a scientist..." she broke in.

"...in psychology." I finished.

We all three busted out laughing. Because if you've ever obtained a Bachelor's in psychology, then you're probably well aware of how that definitely fully qualifies you to be referred to as a scientist, what with all those rigorous science classes I was taking. It qualifies me call myself a scientist in the same way that my Bachelor's of Arts degree (in Criminal Justice, in case you were wondering) lets me call myself an artist. Scientist, artist...who can really say what qualifies one to call himself by that title? So for today's post, please keep in mind that you can trust me: I am a scientist.

 Because so many of you (and by "so many" I mean, of course, I think...4?) begged for more information, I thought today I would share some of my new-found endo knowledge with you. This is all stuff Dr. S explained to me at my appointment last Friday, and it is his personal 'philosophy' (I guess you could call it that?) regarding treatment of endometriomas in order to preserve maximum fertility. For your viewing pleasure, I am even going to include some sketches and notes from Dr. S himself that he made to illustrate his points. I know. Get excited. Never mind-- that was my plan, but despite saving and re-saving the pictures right-side-up about 15 different times, Blogger will only upload them upside down. Instead of slitting my throat or throwing my computer through the window (both tempting options after 20 minutes of trying to figure this out), I am just going to paint a picture for you with my words.


If you have no idea what endometriosis even is, then you should probably read up on that first, because I don't feel like explaining everything. Google can lead you to lots of different sources of information, but here's one decent explanation I found when I looked.


Alright. Let's start with a discussion about ovarian reserves, first. Basically, females are born with as many eggs as they are EVER going to have, each one hiding inside a little follicle. Your body will never, ever make MORE eggs. Once a female hits puberty, eggs start releasing, one-ish at a time (although multiple follicles/'future eggs' die off each month)...that's your 'cycle.' So from the time you start your period, you're depleting your egg supply with each cycle (unless you suppress the release of eggs with hormones, birth control, or pregnancy...or probably some other things). As the years go by, your eggs are aging just like you are. Younger eggs are more likely to result in healthy pregnancies. Older eggs...well, they're older. That's why older women tend to have more trouble getting/maintaining healthy pregnancies, even if they're still ovulating regularly. Okay. So. 'Ovarian reserve' is basically a measure of how many good eggs you've got left-- eggs that are likely to become fertilized. They 'measure' (and by that, I mean 'guess at') ovarian reserve by assessing the levels of various hormones in your body (FSH and AMH, primarily).

So what does ovarian reserves have to do with endo? "Not much" would have been my answer prior to last Friday. But "much!" would be my answer now. Well, "much" in terms of how you're going to treat endometriomas on an ovary, that is. 

Dr. S drew a picture of the endometrioma (cyst) on a piece of paper. Picture the cyst as a balloon inside a balloon, with the inner balloon being just a tad smaller than the outside balloon. That's the endometrioma sitting on my ovary--THE PLACE WHERE EGGS ARE STORED. Apparently a long time ago, this cyst started life as a follicle(s) that contained egg(s). Over the years it has grown and filled with fluid and endometrial tissue, but trapped between the two layers of the 'balloons' are a bunch of microscopic eggs. The eggs are STUCK there-- they cannot be released (to be fertilized), but chances are-- they're good eggs. After all, they are ones that got "called up" however long ago by their follicle(s)...but then got hijacked (and trapped) by the cyst.

So now let's think about ovarian reserves again. If I have a GOOD ovarian reserve, then that means I probably have lots of good eggs hanging out in my ovaries...making these guys trapped in the cyst not quite as important. But if I have a BAD ovarian reserve, then these guys are suddenly of extreme importance. It's like...when you have a head full of thick, glorious hair, you don't care about the strands pulling out in your brush every day. But if you're a male in your early 40s, starting to notice a little thinness up top...you are very concerned about 10 hairs vacating the premises during your shower. You really can't afford to waste any of them.

The most effective way to halt the spread of endometriosis is to remove the ENTIRE endometrioma during surgery. Leaving any endometrial cells behind will mean that most likely they will just start growing a new endometrioma in the near future...so typically you want to cut out as MUCH affected tissue as possible. If your primary goal for treating endometrioma is pain management, this is the best method. This was what I thought (up until Friday) to be the only philosophy behind endo surgery: get it ALL OUT. In severe cases (and depending on where the tissue is growing, of course), women have various organs removed-- appendix, sections of intestines/bowels, ovaries and Fallopian tubes (or complete hysterectomies). Leaving a speck of endo behind is leaving a seed for future endo to grow from. And if you have severe endo with debilitating pain...you'll do whatever it takes to prolong the pain-free time (and put off your next surgery) for as long as possible.

BUT. Dr. S explained that if preserving/maximizing your fertility is your primary goal for endo surgery, then this might not be the best way to do it. Because if you have low ovarian reserves and you then cut out the whole endometrioma (if it's growing on your ovary), then you lose the (possibly many and good) eggs trapped between the walls of the cyst. And that could seriously hinder your chances of having a good egg available to be fertilized in the future. So in that case, Dr. S prefers to basically drain the inside of the cyst as much as he can-- getting rid of as much endometrial tissue and fluid as possible, without destroying the eggs that are trapped between the walls or banging up the rest of the ovary too much. He said it's a really difficult thing to do, because you can't SEE the eggs, so you're just doing a guessing game about how much more you can keep removing before you're infringing on their territory...but he'll do whatever he can to make sure those eggs are left intact, with a fighting chance to do something important. Now naturally, this method will probably leave more endometrial tissue behind, which means you will probably experience a re-growth of the endo more quickly...but if it gives you a shot to get pregnant first, then it just might be worth the gamble.

So he was saying...it all kind of depends on the ovarian reserve (AMH levels). If you are young (which he graciously still considers me to be) and you have a great AMH level (greater than 3), he'll probably go more aggressively with removing the entire cyst-- after all, you have plenty of good eggs left, so it's worth it to lose a few if it will buy you more time without endo. But if you have very LOW AMH levels (1-1.5), then he would proceed much more cautiously, choosing to drain the cyst rather than remove it entirely. As he said, "we can always treat the endo again (and more completely) later...but you don't have the same luxury of time with trying to get pregnant."

So that was the 'new learning' that blew my mind pretty good. Obviously, he said, it's a woman's choice how she'd rather her endometriomas be treated: if you're not WANTING to preserve/maximize your fertility (because you don't want kids or are done having them, or, I suppose, if your endo pain is SO AWFUL that it is more important to you to slow the growth than to maintain fertility), then there's no reason to bother with any of this at all--just cut those suckers out. But if you DO...then this could be really important. And I'm just a little floored that with as much endo research as I've done, I've never heard anything like this before!    

So like I said at the beginning of today's dissertation: I am a scientist, so you can definitely trust me on this one. In fact, if you have endo yourself, I suggest you name-drop my name a little as you propose your own endo treatment plan based on this new information. I'm sure your doctor will immediately recognize me as a leading authority on the topic and fall in line accordingly. Or...not...which is to say, I'm not a doctor and please don't get mad if all of this information is wrong or mixed up. I did the best I could to catch what he was saying, but ya know...I have a couple of useless liberal arts degrees and I teach four-year-olds, so take all of my science lectures with a large grain of salt. I'm just passing on something I thought was was interesting.

Bacon Fest 2012

 Warning: If you are vegetarian, or don’t eat pork for any reason, you may as well move on to the next blog on your list. There’s just not going to be anything here for you today. As for the rest of you, you may need to grab a napkin. To sop up the drool that’s about to be dripping down the corner of your face.

Bacon Fest 2012: The Re-cap.

Bacon Fest started about four years ago, unbeknownst to me. Our friends Catherine and Spencer started it in Gainesville (because they lived there at the time) with friends of theirs. When they moved to Athens, though, so did Bacon Fest. Last year was the first time Matt and I got to participate. And ever since then, I’ve been waiting and scheming and dreaming of the next Fest. Because if there’s anything in life I love, it’s bacon. With more bacon. And a side of bacon. And in the company of friends? Even better. Especially if they bring bacon.

The basic premise of Bacon Fest is this: bring food/drinks that have bacon in them. I know, brilliant, right? I can’t figure out why there aren’t more Bacon Fests going on all over the planet every day. Because every person I mention Bacon Fest to is like “OHMYGOD I AM SO JEALOUS I WANT TO COME” (for evidence, see the comments on this blog!) and it’s like…dude. Bacon brings people together! Today I decided that if Matt and I ever decide to do an adoption fundraiser, it’s going to be Bacon Fest-esque…because I think lots of people would have paid good money to be there today. I think we could have charged a cover and made a pretty penny. Let’s move on to the pictures and you can decide for yourselves.

First up, we have Goat Cheese Pops with Herbs, Pecans, and Bacon. I made these. They were awesome. You should make them, too, and then invite me over.

I also made Maple-Pecan Crusted Bacon. It was insanely easy and delicious. Again—make it, invite me over. Go ahead and picture me saying that after each of these pictures, okay?

Catherine repeated a recipe from last year due to popular demand: Salted Caramel-Bacon Brownies. The chocolate-bacon combination was HOT this year...and for good reason. BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME.

Ian brought his version of my favorite dish from last year: Onion Pie (with a bacon lattice top, natch.) If I could eat one dish for the rest of my life, it would be this. Jot it down. Remember it on my birthday (or any time you want to make me happy).

I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but here's an action shot of Timmy combining two Really Good Things to make One FRIGGIN AMAZING THING. That would be: Bacon topped with Nutella and sprinkled in cayenne pepper. Holy. Crap.

Nicole made these and they were CRAZY good (and healthy, if you can believe it!): Watermelon topped with goat cheese, a tiny bite of bacon, basil, and a drop of balsamic. AMAZING flavor combo...very unexpected and fresh!

Chloe made Maple Bacon Cupcakes. Oh yes she did.

Kristin made this ridiculousness. She called them "mallowmars," which is apparently some Yankee thing. We refer to them as "kind of like smores." She made a HOMEMADE graham crackers (seriously, who knew you could do that? I actually spent some time trying to figure out what a graham cracker is made out of, and all I could come up with is "graham cracker crumbs," which then got me started on a chicken-or-the-egg type train of thought...) and then HOMEMADE marshmallows (with bacon in them), and then stacked them up and dipped them in chocolate. To say they were amazing falls shamefully short of describing them. Oh. My. Gosh.

See how the light of heaven is shining down on Kristin as she arranges food on the bar? That's because God heartily approves of Bacon Fest. In fact, it's the primary reason he created pigs. Or so I am led to believe.

  
Let's see...you can see here a few more dishes I didn't get a chance to take individual pictures of: Bacon-Beer Dip (for the pretzels), Bacon-Blue-Cheese Ravioli, a loaded salad (with bacon, feta, eggs, tomatoes, spinach, etc.), homemade cheese biscuits with Bacon Jam...

...and then we ate. And ate and ate. And people kept showing up and bringing more bacon-y goodness: Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies! Bacon and Cheese-stuffed Jalapenos! And somehow we kept finding room in our bellies to take it all in. Because we are committed like that.

And when all of the bacon is gone, we feel sad, but also happy...since it is in our tummies. And because we're still in the company of friends, all experiencing that blissful fullness that comes from eating WAY too much good stuff. And while we're STILL SITTING THERE ON THE PORCH, we're making plans for the NEXT Bacon Fest, and we are all in agreement that we can't wait another year. Therefore the next one is already planned (and Facebook event created) for our January 2013 'Fest. Because we thought having it in the winter would open up a whole new realm of bacon-y goodness (Chilis! Warm things!! Bonfires for Bacon Smores!!) And here's the thing-- Bacon Fest is open to ALL!! So if you feel a hankerin' in your heart...COME! We're trying to find a bigger venue, because we can no longer fit in a house, so great is the love of bacon. So put it on your calendar and start pinning recipes, because Bacon Fest '13 is not so very far away. And go ahead and plan to start your New Years Diet a few weeks late, okay? Because you're going to wreck it if you come. And then you'd just feel bad...so let's avoid that unpleasantness. 

Well, we're done here. Go ahead and mop up your puddle of drool and go about your Monday. Your pitiful, sad, bacon-deprived Monday. :( Oh Bacon Fest '13, come quickly!!