Thursday, February 16, 2012

And Off We Go!!

Salaam.

Two thousand and twelve.  And it's already February!  Crazy, right?  I have these faded memories of October 1990.  A baby brother being born, my mom staying in the hospital overnight.  And now it's just over twenty one years later and that tiny little baby with the giant head is graduating college in four months, inshaAllah.  And he's kickin' ass and takin' names.  He doesn't know exactly how proud of him I am, but I hope he knows in his heart that I am.

I have a LONG overdue shout out to this amazing lady for her delicious peanut butter blossoms earlier this year (although I'm not she knows she gave me some!).  I have added them to my growing list of things I want to bake.  Here are some of the treats I've made (and not posted):

Slice of TURTLE CHEESECAKE (recipe below)

NY style cheesecake decorated with kiwi, strawberries, and mango!

OREO-STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, from my girl at Savory Edibles.

After all that delicious food-stuffs, let me say that the gym is.....well, it's going.  I'm still going, and I even got myself a trainer.  My biggest problem, as it is with lazy people, is self-motivation.  So Rich is kicking my (soon-to-be-muscular-and-toned!) behind with the weight machines, and it's on me to do cardio regularly.  Today, my legs refuse to cooperate with me.  I'm pretty sure my jeans are a tiny bit loose, but I don't want to jinx anything.  

I never thought I'd say this, even though everyone I know said it.  I want to go back to school.  I've enrolled in an Immunology course at the graduate level, partly because it's interesting and partly because for fun.  So far, I haven't been disappointed.  Class actually energizes me, even though it ends at 7:30pm!  I've found that learning about the complement pathways and how they play their parts in an innate immune response fascinates me.  Damn, right.  I am a nerd.

To end on a sappy note: I had an amazing Valentine's Day.  Last year, the date marked eight wonderful months together.  This year, one year stronger, we celebrated.  An early dinner at Legal Sea Foods and then time spent in each others' arms.  আমি ওকে অনেক ভালবাসি. 

The promised recipe:
- 2 cups crumbled chocolate graham crackers
- 6 tbsp melted margarine
- 14oz caramels
- 50z can evap. milk
- 1 cup chopped pecans (can be toasted)
- 16oz cream cheese, softened (2 pkg)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1tsp vanilla (I always add extra!)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup special dark chocolate chips

1. Combine crumbs and margarine well, and press into the bottom of a 9-in spring-form pan.  Bake at 350 for 10min.
2. In a saucepan, melt caramels with milk over low heat until smooth.  Pour over crust.
3. Top with chopped pecans.  Refrigerate for 20min.
4. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well-blended.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
6. Pour mixture over pecans.  Bake at 350 for 40min.
7. Loosen spring-form.  Allow to cool for 15min before removing.
8. Top as you please!  I drizzled (heavily) caramel and chocolate, and added more pecans!

xoxo