the book of awesome...

My friend Julie has this as her gchat status a while back.. it's a blog I certainly love.  Going off the idea of Thanksgiving/ being thankful etc.  I thought I might start my own list of things that are awesome... (which probably means they are things that I am grateful for too).

• The sound of rain from inside a tent.
• this weekend I went camping with 10 Cristo Rey Jesuit Students! It was fantastic and pictures are sure to come (whenever I get my act together) ... but it rained on Friday night and I certainly enjoyed the sound of the pitter patter on my tent.
• MOVEMBER
• kudos to Richie and his whole Movember Crew.. What is more impressive than the fact that these "men" have chosen to grow out their staches... is the hilarious chain of emails they send!
• intergenerational dancing
• this one is taken straight for the Book of Awesome blog but it is something I truly love.  I don't know if there is anything better than busting a move with my mom.  
• Little Flashback: I'm at my cousin Mariah's wedding... this is probably my first experience with "screwdrivers"  
• 
• Anywho... next thing I know my dad is making BOTH my mother and I have a "time out" since we clonked heads on the dance floor. 
• The 5 second rule
• The other day a two waffles fell on the floor from our freezer (sorry tess) my immediate response was to start counting down from 5 and I dove to the floor.  As I did this another waffle fell to the floor.  Emily's response was to dive for it... but her attempt was unsuccessful. But don't worry I was able to pick it up! All thanks to the 5 second rule... tess can still have her waffles.
• "I am human, raised by humans" 
• This is one of my favorite quotes from the CHRISTMAS movie Elf... but it reminds me of some great advice that I got from a mentor of mine..  we are humans... and we can make mistakes!
•  Asking questions you don't want to hear the answers to.... but you secretly do.
• This weekend I was asked our van full of adventure campers "Who is having the most fun"... I was assuming that the students would all compete for it to be then... but I had to laugh at myself when I heard a resounding... "YOU! Miss Niemer!"

Let me keep thinking on this list... more certainly is to come!

Tanksgiving!...

Yes, I know I spelled it wrong... but it brings me back to my high school days where for some reason we never said thank you, we always said "tanky" .... ahhh the minds of high schoolers... the overwhelming dose of nostalgia that I come across on a regular basis is quite intimidating....

but enough about my trips down memory lane...

I was thinking that being thankful is the reason for the season... so some of the format for the month of November ( or Movember if you are my brother/emily participating in the monthly challenge)


I am thankful for....
- a great spirituality night last night lead by Tess! who encouraged us to make prayer blankets for women and children at a shelter in the area. We sat in the comfort of our couch-filled common room and made those fleece tie blankets that are so fun to make.... it was a great time filled with much laughter

- for coworkers.... who stumble upon said blog... and leave me funny voice mails in response... should I be embarrassed or excited... I'll go the latter.

- my pandora mumford and sons station

- DC (diet coke) and/or DDP (diet doctor pepper)

- post it notes.... seriously they save my life on a daily basis. they help me keep my head on!

-finding pictures on your phone that you didnt know were there


- my plant.... steven. ha!

Ok... well I know I have a litany more... but thats all I shall do for now...

that's all she wrote, more latter.

-Kate

Hungry... Why wait....

Eat some of this Peanut Sauce Pasta...

A week or so ago I made a dish for my community and now weeks later I can finally say that I didnt kill anyone with my cooking... we did have some upset stomach issues (including me picking up a vomiting roommate from work) but it was all attributed to other causes.

phew false alarm.

Alas... I thought Id share this gem of a  recipe with my viewing community.. (yes, all three of you who I could have just emailed but some day when there is like big Vesuvius-like volcano that wipes out a majority of the population someone will stumble upon my blog years and have a testimony of what it is like to be me and can make this dish).

And bonus... it is vegetarian! 

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  fat-free, vegetable broth
• 1/4  cup  chunky peanut butter
• 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce
• 3  tablespoons  brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  rice vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2  teaspoons  chile paste with garlic
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 8  ounces  uncooked fettuccine (I used penne pasta but any kind will do!)
• 1  pound  firm tofu, drained and cubed ( I like to cut it into very small cubes... but then you should make extra sauce so that it can be absorbed by all the Tofu surface area!)
• 1  cup  (2-inch) sliced green onions
• 1  cup  shredded carrot

You can also add in other vegetables... my favorite is SNAP PEAS!

Preparation

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until smooth, stirring frequently.  Add in Tofu just before removing from heat.  Stir in so the tofu is coated in the sauce. Remove from heat.
Cook pasta in boiling water as directed.  Add vegetables drain (I add the vegetables later so that they are firm). Place pasta mixture in a large bowl. Add peanut butter mixture; toss gently.



Nom Nom... as Cara, one of my casa mates, would say.