Molly Crowe

I tried my first recipe from the 500 cupcakes book that I bought when my mom and I went to Chicago. Now that I think about it I don’t remember writing about either of those things on here, so you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. My mom and I went to Chicago a few weeks ago for my uncle Gary’s 60th birthday party. We only went for one night, but it was nice getting to see her family. On the way there we stopped at Borders to get some books about tea, and I bought a cookbook with 500 cupcake recipes in it. The recipes look amazing, and I am really excited about trying some of them out.

So, last weekend (I think) I was at my parent’s house and decided to try out one of the recipes. We chose “whole wheat peach muffins”. These aren’t cupcakes at all, but I was in the mood for something more muffiny, so we went with that. They turned out to be a big disappointment, but I can’t really blame the recipe because we only used half of the amount of peaches that it said to use because we didn’t have enough. Lesson #1 in baking: you can’t just change the recipe like you can when you are doing other types of cooking. This is a concept that is a little hard for me. I like to be able to change ingredients or measurements a little according to what I like, but in baking that just isn’t a good idea. It never really turns out right. Next time I’ll run to the store and get more peaches.

I got my hair cut, and if I had a camera I would post a picture of it, but my camera is still broken. I like my hair though, and I have seemed to get lots of compliments on it so it probably looks alright. My hair stylist told me that she is pregnant with twins and she will stop working in January, which is great for her but horrible for me! I don’t know how I am going to find someone as wonderful as her, but I guess the search will have to start. If anyone refers me to someone who I end up loving they win 3 trillion points.

Tomorrow Brian and I are going to the circus, and I’m really excited about it. I’m probably more excited than I should be. I have never been to the circus, and it just seems like one of those things that everyone does in life so I should experience it. Brian is great about taking me to experience new things. So far we’ve gone to the fair, camping (I’ve done that before, but not in a long time), a crazy scary night at Oktoberfest when the tent fell down, a 3-D movie, and soon we will go to the circus, Branson, and Shreveport Louisiana where we will go to the Independence Bowl. I’m excited.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

This post took some time to get published because my pictures weren’t showing up, and I realized that it was because I had used all my space on photobucket. I created a new account, and now I space for another 1500 pictures to post. I hope you all appreciate the time and energy that went into finally getting these pictures up. I also bought a new camera, and I believe these are the first pictures I’m posting that have come from it. I am very pleased to be able to bring pictures back to mollycrowe.com.

I recently … or I guess not so recently.. decided that this website is starting to be boring, and it really needs some revamping. I am going to start a few new series, including book and movie reviews and my latest cooking adventures while still throwing in some daily stories and fun things about what’s going on in my life. Last night I decided to make something that I make quite often for dinner, and to share it with all of you.

This recipe doesn’t have a name, but basically it’s stir fried mushrooms, broccoli, and garlic. It is really amazing and I hope someone tries it.

It includes 6 ingredients. This recipe is enough for two people if it’s your entire meal, but if it’s just a side dish you could probably share with three.

About 4 TBS olive oil
10 big mushrooms
A lot of frozen broccoli
2 cloves of garlic
About 5 TBS soy sauce
About 4 TBS House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce

Here’s how you start:

Cut the Mushrooms in big chunks. You’ll probably cut each mushroom into three pieces.

Next chop the garlic in big pieces, not all finely chopped. You can chop it fine if you want, but I like it when I can taste a piece of garlic in with the other things and know it is there.

After everything is all chopped, turn the stove on high. Once Your wok is starting to get hot, add about 4 TBS olive oil. Once that is hot, you can add your garlic.

Let the garlic cook until it just barely starts to turn brown. Once this happens, you can add your broccoli and mushrooms.

Don’t be deceived and think that this is too much food. It is going to shrink as you cook it. Stir this around pretty frequently until the broccoli isn’t frozen anymore. Once you can’t see any more ice on the broccoli, you can add your soy sauce and Stir Fry sauce.

You’ll see a bunch of liquid at the bottom of the wok, and you’re going to want to stir and cook everything until that liquid is almost gone.

Don’t let all the steam intimidate you.

Once the liquid is absorbed and the vegetables seem like the consistency you want them, turn off the heat and move the wok to a cool burner. Let everything sit for a few minutes, and then you’re ready to eat it.

Presentation is key.

Next you’re ready to sit and eat it in your messy apartment.

Viola. I hope you all add this super tasty, healthy, dish to your repertoire.

This week has been absolutely awful. I have been sick every day except Monday, and I missed work yesterday. Here is a list of the things that I have eaten and kept down since tuesday:

5 crackers
3 magic muffins
one chicken taco

In addition to that, I have drank about 5 cups of hot tea, a few sips of apple juice, and a few sips of water. I feel so incredibly weak, and I think I’ve reached the point that I’ve decided I should probably go to the doctor. It’s Friday though, and the doctor won’t be open until Monday. I guess that means I get to see how the weekend goes.

On Wednesday night my dad and Eddie picked me up and took me to my parent’s house so my mom could take care of me. The air conditioner at my house isn’t working, and Wednesday it was in the 90’s, so I had to get out of here. My mom made me magic muffins and tea, and she got up when she heard me roaming around in the middle of the night to get me juice and medicine. She’s a great mom. I don’t know what I would have done if I had been alone.

I really hope I get better soon. Being sick is really, really annoying.