Geek post – time for a new home

Mr. J here.  I’m in the process of transferring the blog over to a new domain.  Becca seems to enjoy sharing with you the awesome food that I get to eat and the vegetably…yes that’s now a word…vegetably stuff that I don’t. My failure to support her in whatever way I can might mean an end to the deliciousness…sooo we can’t have that, can we?

Getting all the data moved over’s going to take a little work on my part. I insisted on picking up some hosting to go with her shiny new domain so that we could register a few more in the future.  Aside from that, it’s just been a while since I’ve done much front-end UI work and server administration so I’m long overdue. We should have a new site and design up and running soon. In the mean time, she’ll still be posting new content here for you to enjoy.

I’m mostly sure that I can probably pull this off…uhh…yeah, sure I can! I’m from the internets!

Cereal Bars

Mr. J eats a lot of “breakfast bars.” Sweet and Salty Nut Peanut are his favorite. I decided I wanted to take them on as one of my “Store-bought Remixes” after seeing a recipe on Cool Hunting.

I made two batches: peanuts, peanut butter, and chocolate chips  for Mr. J and “trail mix” almonds, almond butter, and dried fruit for me. They were delish!

Ingredients…yep, that’s a biscuit in the background photo bombing the picture.
1/4 cup nut butter (peanut or almond)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup puffed grain cereal (I used this from Kashi)
1/2 cup nuts,  chopped
1/3 cup sweet treat (Like chocolate chips/M&Ms or dried fruit) *
pinch of sea salt

*Raisins would be great. My dried fruit mix had dried cranberries, blueberries, and cherries.

Make the glue: mix the nut butter and honey and warm over low heat. Once it’s incorporated and thinned out, pour over remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a baking dish or sheet lined in wax paper or parchment. Use the back of a wooden spoon or your hand protected from the sticky by a small piece of parchment to smooth out the top. Like so…

Turn the block out onto a cutting board and cut into desired-size portions. I wrapped each bar in parchment and sealed in a zip-top bag to keep them fresh.

Notes: They’ll stay fresh for about a week, if they last that long. I used less “glue” than the recipe called for. You can experiment with ratios to find what works for you.

Amazing Weekend

• I scheduled dinner for us at Porter’s Steakhouse in Chattanooga on Friday night. He had 12 oz. Pepperloin and Mashers. I don’t eat steak, and I probably would have traded plates with him. I had salmon, rice, and asparagus for my entree and crab cakes with fresh corn remoulade for appetizer. VERY good meal!
• We had a terrible night at the Hampton Inn. The air was blowing but didn’t cool, and it was 90 outside. Boo!
• After a quick breakfast, we struck out for Atlanta. We had lunch at Lenox Square Grill and shopped a little at Lenox Square Mall. Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters were my main stops. Cornbread at the Grill was to die for! I’ll be trying to replicate that soon. My Chef Salad left much to be desired.

Image from http://dfwhappenings.com

• Cirque du Soleil – Dralion was wonderful. Loved the silks, juggler, acrobats, trampolines, flippers, and and and. It was a beautiful and amazing show! The comedians were quite good, too.
• After the show, we checked into our relaxing B&B, Stonehurst Place. It’s very green and very comfy. It was a great surprise to be staying somewhere so nice and cozy!
• The house has been impeccably renovated. It’s a 19th century Southern mansion, and the decor is neutral and modern and traditional and lovely. There were orchids everywhere, and a beautiful art collection graced the walls. It was an attraction in itself.

For you, Mom Ary

• We had a newly updated bathroom with beautiful tile work and a neat shower. The bathroom might have been my favorite part. There were cozy bath robes, and the all-natural shampoos and soaps smelled wonderful. The bed was out of this world – 1200 thread count sheets and a custom mattress. We were very pampered.

This is a photo from our room's twin. I wanted to show how beautiful the neutral but glam bedding was.

• Dinner at Pasta da Pulcinella…I had scallops and risotto with tomatoes, capers, and fresh mozzarella with caprese for appetizer. Mr. J had chicken gnocchi with garlic cream sauce. We both loved our meals, and I would highly recommend this restaurant!
• We enjoyed wine and chocolate cake from the restaurant on the front porch of the B&B. How divine!
• Breakfast was delicious…to drink – water with lemon, juice of choice, coffee…to start – blueberry scone and grapes sprinkled with sugar…the main attraction – lightly sweetened souffle with fresh berries and whipped cream. I wish I could make this at home. Rebecca (our innkeeper), can I have the recipe please?
• After checkout, we went to the World of Coke. It was very fun and happy. It was a great experience. We received complimentary bottles of Coke at the museum.

Image from http://www.disneymike.com

• We had lunch at The Varsity. We’ve seen it on Food Network. They’re celebrating their 80th anniversary this year. I had a chili dog with mustard and onion rings, and Mr. J had a chili burger and fries. He didn’t like it as much as me. I LOVED it!
• On the way home, we hit the Smoke House in Monteagle. We had fried pies with homemade vanilla ice cream on top. Mr. J had chocolate, and I had peach. I don’t think I need to tell you how delicious that was. We both had a bottle of Dr. Pepper. They had a fun little General Store to look around in, too!
• It was a wonderful weekend! We made tons of great memories!