A night of better burgers

So a couple of weeks ago, Brian and I watched a contest on Food Network called Build a Better Burger. It's an annual competition sponsored by Sutter Home Winery where thousands of Average Joes from all over the country submit their best original burger recipes. Sutter Home selects the top 5 beef recipes and the top 5 alternative (non-beef) recipes, and the finalists then compete in an exciting 4 hour grill-off! The beef winner takes home $50 grand and the non-beef winner gets $10 grand. Not bad for a little ol' burger recipe!

By the time the show was over, we were pretty much drooling for a burger. So we looked at the calendar and picked the first available date where we had time to fire up the grill and spend several hours in the kitchen.

Saturday was the much-anticipated day. After much deliberation, we decided to go with...

"Southern Burgers with Carmelized Vidalia Onions, Fried Green Tomatoes and Georgia Pecan Chevre"

What a mouthful! A yummy mouthful!

Also included with this burger is a bed of spinach, sauteed with bacon. And it's served on a biscuit, not a bun. Oh wow.

Three hours and a mess of a kitchen later, ta da!

If you're willing to brave the recipe, here it is. Brian and I would say that its definitely worth the effort. We did decide to nix the fried green tomatoes, though - neither of us are big fans, although I'm sure they're really good if you like green tomatoes. Plus, I could hardly get my mouth around the burger as it was - I truly don't know how we could have opened wide enough if there were tomatoes on them!

I paired the gourmet sandwich with our favorite "fries." They're super easy and we both love them, although they should probably be termed chips since I don't fry them. All you have to do is a scrub a potato (don't peel it) and slice it lengthwise in thin strips, probably about a quarter of an inch thick. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray (I like to use the sprayable olive oil), and lay the strips in a single layer on the sheet. Lightly spray over potatoes once more with the spray and then season with whatever you want (we like Lawry's seasoning salt and garlic salt). Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove from oven and flip each fry over, and then put them back in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how crispy you want them.

And to complete the Southern theme of the evening, I made a super easy, incredibly delicious Key Lime Pie. I LOVE Houston's (the restaurant) version of this tangy delight, and this recipe is the closest I've found to duplicating it. It's sooooo good (excuse the whipped cream dripping down the side - it was a bit warm in our kitchen). If you try this pie, definitely use key lime juice if at all possible. I've tried plain lime juice and it's really not as good. Also, I use low-fat condensed milk and can't even tell the difference from the real thing.

Role models of faith

I am one of those people who usually learns best by other people's examples. When I read the Bible, or a Christian book, it's typically the personal stories of compassion, self-sacrifice or courage that most naturally stick with me. When I see Love in action in humankind, I'm inspired. I get it. I catch a glimpse of what Jesus's life on earth might have looked like, and I'm motivated to work on that character quality in my own life.

Last fall, Brian and I were privileged to meet a family who we will respect and look to as role models for the rest of our lives. They would be embarrassed to be given such attention - but the Lord has already significantly used their example in our lives, and I want to share just a bit of their story with you.

We met Moody and Emily Alexander at an orthodontic meeting in Dallas last November. Moody practices with his dad, Wick, who is a world-renowned orthodontist. Every fall, they sponsor a meeting attended by orthodontists all over the country. It's one of Brian's dad's favorite ortho get-togethers, so he couldn't wait for us to come and meet the Alexander clan.

Moody graduated from Texas Tech, and Emily went to Baylor, so right off the bat, I liked her. :) They have five absolutely beautiful children - Emily homeschools four of them. They are some of the most courteous, well-behaved, engaging kids we have EVER been around.

Over dinner one evening, they shared with us the story of how the Lord brought their fifth child to them, and some of the challenges they were currently facing.

A couple of years ago, after James 1:27 hit home to them ("Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from becoming polluted by the world."), they recognized that the Lord was calling them to adopt. They asked for a baby boy from Ethiopia.

After all of the heaps of paperwork, months of waiting, hours on their knees, they were finally cleared for adoption. Then came the day when they received the first picture of their little boy. First, you must know one important thing: the Alexanders are HUGE Texas Tech fans. Although Emily went to Baylor and will always respect the Bears, she married into a Tech-crazy family, and she, along with all of their children, have quickly grown to love the Raiders.

When they received the picture from the adoption agency, they couldn't believe their eyes. Their little boy was wearing an infant-sized Texas Tech t-shirt. Of course, no one at the agency knew of their affinity for Tech. This was providentially arranged - a small (yet huge!) sign to assure them that this little boy was meant to be theirs.

The whole family travelled to Ethiopia to pick Abe up. They took a photographer along to capture their first meeting, and you've got to watch this amazing slideshow of that special time (which was a year ago today). Make sure your volume is on and have your kleenex ready! BUT FIRST, keep reading.

A few months after bringing him home, they began to notice that things weren't quite right with Abe. To make a painful story very short: they discovered that Abe has severe brain abnormalities and neurological problems. Doctors gave them little to no hope for any positive developments.

Yet, they have persevered this last year through prayer, faith, and a lot of physical therapy, and Abe is steadily progressing. He's already accomplished things that the doctors didn't believe possible. They continue to trust in the Great Physician daily, and they have great hope for their son's future.

The Alexanders are head over heels for their newest family member and they are on track to adopt again, very soon, from Ethiopia. We admire so many things about they way they do life, and we're sure we'll be looking to them as role models for a very long time. Hope you are blessed by their story today. (Explore their blog for more details on the past year - I boiled their story down to the very bare minimum!) Happy Abe day!

How does my garden grow?

Not as well yet as Mary, Mary Quite Contrary's, I'm afraid. But I'm getting there!

I have dreamed, for a very long time, of growing a huge garden in my backyard. I like to envision myself heading outside before dinner, gathering all of the herbs and fresh vegetables I will need to prepare a healthy, delicious, organic dinner for our family.

But the first two summers Brian and I were married, we lived in a house with a backyard that was almost completely shaded. Grass would hardly grow, much less the huge tomato plant I dreamed of. So I did my best at growing things, from seed, in little pots inside my house. To my dismay, I killed every single thing I planted!

Then last summer, we were living in Lancaster, PA in an apartment, with nowhere to plant anything. I made up for my fresh produce cravings by visiting the local farmers market at least once a week. The market was amazing, but I still had to pay for the things I walked away with. I continued to imagine the day when vegetables and herbs could be mine, for FREE.

This year, we have great sun in our backyard, and although I entered late into the season due to our late-June move, I decided to give gardening another try. Last night, I am quite proud to say, part of our dinner came from our very own garden. I made fajitas, so I got to pick 3 green peppers to grill with the chicken, and a handful of cilantro to add to rice. Happy sigh. A small dream fulfilled. :)

So many of my friends have amazing gardens, and I still have soooo many questions. I would appreciate any advice you could offer this novice!!!

I found these hanging bags that have openings in the side where the plants grow from. The hanging peppers have done really well, although the leaves always tend to be a little yellow. Any ideas what could be causing that?

My strawberries have also done well, except that originally I had the bag hanging too close to the ground. Evil rabbits came and ate all of the berries, except for this one. Does anyone have advice for warding off the bunnies?

For my other plants, I decided to plant everything in pots because I didn't have time to prepare a patch of ground for planting. (Maybe next year!) I chose a tomato variety called Goliath - apparently they are supposed to have very sturdy stems that do well in pots. But so far, I've only seen this one tomato, and it refuses to turn red! Plus it looks like an insect or something got to it on the underside - it's starting to look bruised and rotty. So I guess we won't be eating it anyway.

I have read that basil is supposed to be very easy to grow, but mine isn't doing so hot. The leaves keep turning yellow. I have tried watering them a lot, and then watering them a little, but it doesn't seem to make a difference either way. They are getting full sun. Could it be that I am leaving the leaves on the stems too long - should I be picking the leaves sooner? Also, does anyone have good tips on storing basil in the refrigerator or freezing it?

Unfortunately, I killed my zucchini plant this year, and I'm bummed because I really like zucchinis and was looking forward to them. Oh well. Can't win them all! My last outdoor plant is cilantro. I have no idea what it is supposed to do; recently its been flowering, and I don't know if that is normal. At least it looks pretty!

Lastly, a few weeks ago, I made a huge commitment. I bought a tiny little lemon tree seedling for $2 at the farmers market in Wichita. I am basically obsessed with fruit trees - during our Girls Weekend a few months ago at my friend Ann's house in Phoenix, I was pretty much drooling over the grapefruit and orange trees she has in her backyard. I probably won't see fruit from this tree for another 15 years or so, but I don't care. The lady I bought it from said it should do great indoors during the winter, and would thrive outside when temperatures are warmer. Some day I just KNOW I will be making gallons of fresh lemonade thanks to this little plant!

So, if anyone has any recommendations on good soils, good fertilizers (I have been using a 20-20-20 mixture) or any other expertise they could offer me, I would LOVE to hear from you!

How much is that puppy in the window...

My sister, Lesley, and I learned an important lesson learned this week.

If you're not ready to take a puppy home, don't even THINK about going to play with one.

Les came and visited us for the past week before she had to head back to Baylor. We had such a blast together, exploring Indianapolis and just hanging out. On her last day here, we had the bright idea to go visit a store here where you can buy puppies. Let me immediately silence any suspicions that these puppies come from puppy mills - they absolutely do not - we did our research and know this for a fact.

I posted a few months ago that we had found a female to breed Stryder with. We were planning to get one of their puppies this December, and so was Lesley. Unfortunately, we discovered in June that this female has hip dysplasia. Obviously, this disqualifies her from breeding.

Besides just giving Stryder a companion, Brian and I feel very strongly that we need to raise a puppy together before we begin adding human babies to our family. And we both really want to continue Stryder's line with another male (Stryder is the son of Mannley, the dog we had while growing up - they are just the sweetest, handsomest, most faithful dogs). So, we have a few options:

1. Forget about breeding Stryder and just buy another male.

OR

2. Continue trying to find a female to breed Stryder with (this could take months or years).

OR

3. Add a female to our family now and breed her with Stryder a few years down the road.

We have decided to go with the latter, since we are running out of time before we will begin trying to start a family. We've been researching breeders all over the country and have settled on one in northern Indiana who will have puppies ready for new homes in mid-November.

Lesley, however, still had puppy fever. We truly weren't thinking that she would buy one when we decided to go to the store - we just wanted to go play with a puppy to get it out of her system for a while. Well, the second we walked in the door and saw her, Les was head over heels.

Meet sweet Stella. Isn't she precious?

Stryder even shared his toys with her! Welcome to the family, sweet girl!

Braces and the Beach Boys in Boston

So, this post is REALLY late. So late that I wasn't even planning to write it.

But a couple of days ago, I watched a Full House rerun. (Side note: don't you just love how the resolution, and the resolution music, ALWAYS comes 4 minutes to the end of the show?!?! Classic!) While watching, I realized I had to post. You'll see why if you read until the end. :)

Brian and I got to attend his first AAO (American Association of Orthodontics) meeting with his parents back in May. This was during the midst of our season of insanity, which is why this post is now coming to you in August. Anyways, the conference was in Boston and we had a such a great time!

Eating fresh-from-the-ocean King Crab legs at The Barking Crab restaurant. Blow your mind delicious!

Enjoying a lazy afternoon at the oldest drinking establishment in America.

After dinner one evening, we happened upon this amazing little shop in the Italian district. Come to find out later, Mike's Pastry Shop is one of the most popular spots, both for local and tourists, in the entire city. Because of all the customers, we had to wait in line at least 30 minutes to place our order, but the yummies we came away with were entirely worth it (my mouth is watering as I type this)!

Visiting the largest Apple store in the world. This was a huge treat for my husband, a self-proclaimed fan boy. :)

And now... the motivation behind my post. The last night of our trip, we had tickets to see the Beach Boys, who were putting on a special show for anyone attending the meeting. We were super excited - I honestly didn't even know they were still around, much less still playing together. The tickets were randomly assigned, and when we arrived, we were given seats 12 rows back from the stage, right in the center of the theater. Amazing!

Before the show.

When the lights went down and they came on the stage, the place went absolutely nuts.

After a couple of songs, the drummer (who you couldn't really see while he was at the drums) picked up a guitar and came to a microphone at the front of the stage. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I squinted, and then I heard the screams. Women all around me began running down the aisles to the front. And then I knew. John Stamos (Uncle Jesse from Full House) was standing there, 12 rows in front of us on stage! I grabbed Brian's mom and we also quickly pushed our way to the front.

Oh, you know, just hanging out with Roxie and John Stamos and the Beach Boys.

We later learned that the Beach Boys often invite Mr. Stamos to join them for their gigs. WHO KNEW?!?! Most likely, he chose to come play at our show because he is currently on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie, so he didn't have to travel very far. It was definitely an evening we won't soon forget!

California Girls

Sloop John B

Kokomo