45 things

In a few short weeks I celebrate my old lady birthday....45!!!!!!! My better half is taking me to Viva Las Vegas!  We went for our 20th, 2 years ago, OMG I am excited!  The sights, the smells, the food, the se...wait is my blog PG?!?!?!

I'm also excited for my birthday because for about 9 months now I have been planning, scheming really to do a bunch of stuff for others this year on the anniversary of me making an appearance here on the world. I have been bothering my family, co-workers, and friend (sorry Dawn) with my plans.  God has hesitated let me hit the huge Powerball for this very reason I'm convinced!!!! 
Well last night at Coldstone, I was able to handout my very first 45 acts of randomness and of course in true Tina fashion it was f'd up! hahahaha.  I bought a $5 Happy Birthday gift card, handed it to the girl behind me.  Out of my mouth came this babbling brook of "my birthday is coming up and I'd like to share it so here you go." blah blah blah..... She thought I was nuts!!!!! but thanked me :) and then in my excitement I hadn't even finished my transaction at the register!  Yep, I walked out without my debit.  The boy at the counter was like "um don't you want your card back?"  So I had to walk of shame back and get my card and sign the slip.  (sigh)  It seemed like it would go perfectly in my mind.
Oh well, 1 down 44 to go!

TTYS  T~

I have a Pinterest page....

I mean come on don't we all haha!!!!! I heard someone describe it as "you know when you cut things out of a magazine and pin it on a bulletin board it's that only better" I like that description. God how I wish my sister would do it instead of posting 2348942 meme, thought, quip, idea, link, joke, etc on facebook. "sigh" oh well. I know, I know, just block her OMG if only I could!!!!!!!

Ok back to what I was saying.  I am needing to post a picture and recipe to pinterest so I am going to share it here.  SEE BELOW........ and THERE Tina's Pinterest Awesome huh. 


Sabih         ~~~slightly adapted from Jerusalem

serves 2
1 large eggplant
olive oil 
2 eggs, boiled and cut in quarters
tahini sauce (recipe below)
zhoug (recipe below)
chopped salad (recipe below)
2 pitas (look for fresh authentic pitas)

• Cut the eggplant into 1 inch slices.  Salt them on both sides and set on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes to allow some of the water to sweat out of them.  Wipe the salt off and dry them with a paper towel.
• Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with oil and heat until hot.  Fry the eggplant slices until dark brown and soft, about 5 or 6 minutes on each side.  They should be soft throughout.  Add more oil when you flip them if the pan is dry.  Do this in batches if necessary, don’t crowd them.
• Spread a little tahini sauce on each pita, then arrange the eggplant on top, overlapping the slices.
• Drizzle more tahini sauce over the slices, and add the eggs and a few blobs of the zhoug (it is hot!)
• Add a final drizzle of tahini, and finish with a generous helping of the chopped salad and enjoy!

Tahini Sauce
2/3 cups tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 – 1 cup water
juice of 1/2 large lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt

• I made my sauce in a small food processor, I like the the consistency of the sauce when it’s made this way.  You can easily do it with a spoon, as well.  If using the processor, put the clove of garlic into the bowl and process until finely minced.  Add the tahini, 1/2 cup of water, lemon juice and salt.  Process until smooth.  Add more water as needed to make a thick but runny sauce, with about the consistency of honey.  I needed about a cup of water.
• Keep refrigerated.

Zhoug
2 cups cilantro leaves 
1/2 cup parsley leaves
2 hot green chiles, sliced, seeds and all (I used Serrano)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (you can also use ground cumin)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
juice of 1/2 lemon

• Put everything into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Scrape down the sides and pulse further until the sauce is evenly chopped, but still has a coarse texture.  
• Store in a clean jar.  It will keep refrigerated for a couple of weeks.

Chopped Salad
1 medium tomato, cut in small dice
1 small cucumber, cut in small dice
several green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper 

• Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep cold until ready to use.

Happy eating and Pinning!!!!


TTYS T~