Ma and Pa: My role models

I finished rereading Little House in the Big Woods, because this time of year (and summer time) all I want to do is read the Little House books. This is a photo of Ma and Pa Ingalls, at 21 and 24 respectively, when they married.

I know that the Little House books are fairly fictionalized, but something that has always struck me was the wonderful relationship that Ma and Pa have. They love each other and always have the other person's best interest in mind. Pa looks after Ma with an affection bordering reverence, and Ma always lets Charles take the lead and supports him to the best of her ability. I love them. I want to be them. I read these books and it's all I can do to not pine after a relationship like theirs. Luckily, I have Matthew and he's so wonderful to me. I'm not as wonderful as Ma, and I definitely have a lot of things I can work on to be a better (future) wife to Matthew.

Maybe someday Matt will let our children call us Ma and Pa. :)

Happy Halloween!

Matt and I entered the BYU newspaper costume contest yesterday. Early this morning when Matt was on campus he opened to paper to find that we WON (!) for most creative! How exciting. We won a $25 gift card to Target, I think. But really, HOW Exciting! We're the BP oil spill and Louisiana. Halloween is my favorite holiday. And tomorrow my lovely friend Becky is throwing me a bridal shower! I can't wait!

What a wonderful weekend.

Autumn = Apple, Pear, Cranberry Pie

 I made an Apple Pear Cranberry Pie with an almond biscuit crust. This magical pie fed 9 people, 7 of whom were watching my FAVORITE Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus.

 I got the recipe for the crust from the latest Martha Stewart Magazine. For some reason she sent the November issue to me at the beginning of October -honestly 2 weeks after receiving the October one. Whoa, slow down there, let me enjoy both of my favorite months? Anyway, I was skeptical about the biscuit topping, but it was actually really good. I also loved the combination of pears and apples with the cranberries. And no, mom, I did not reduce the sugar. Who wants to eat low-sugar pie? If I eat pie, I want to enjoy it. I'll just have a smaller piece.

 A week or so ago Matt and I went for a little walk in Rock Canyon. We took a few photos. Mostly I had to beg him to smile in a photo. He hates the first one because he looks like he was trying to show off his chest by having his shirt unbuttoned so low. (He was.)

And this is a photo of one of the creatures infesting our yard and eating my dying plants. My pumpkins are pretty much dead. All the leaves have withered. I can't imagine why! I water them and love them and pray for them. But they are dying. I have three pumpkins that will not turn orange! One of them looks like a cat has been attacking it in the night. There are lesions all over the surface -poor thing. I doubt we'll even be able to get seeds from the other two. They're too green.  I'm so sad.

Wouldn't it be awful if your last name was Whitehead?

It's a real name. gross.

Speaking of gross, why is everything at the mall so gross? People cannot honestly buy/wear 80% of what they're selling. No more mall for me. I'm sticking with JCrew (sales of course).

I had my first midterm today. Poly Sci. I think it went alright.

I guess this is a wrap up post.

10 days ago Matt and I drove to San Bernadino for our marriage license. We spent the night in St George with two London-y married people Josh and Misty Everett. Lovely to see them, but in the morning at 245a Matt and I were on the road to CA. We were in California for a total of 1.25 hours before we were back on the road. Matt drove 15 hours that day (he wouldn't let me drive his car :p).

It's kind of autumny. The leaves are changing colors. I love autumn so freaking much. No other season is even .05% as good as fall. I could live all year long in perpetual fall. I really really could.

I've had very little work lately so not a lot of money which equals not a lot of food. But today I spent $12 and bought things to make a really delicious dinner:

Sage-Rosemary Chicken stuffed with...

Apple, Cranberry, Hazelnut stuffing. (bread courtesy of old cheesy biscuits) This is honestly the best stuffing. I had too much for the chicken, so while that is cooking I'm just munching on the stuffing. Love love love!


I hate school this semester. But I am determined to do just as well, because being engaged is not an excuse. And right now I'm blogging instead of studying. Boo.

'The whole wood is full of her spies. Even some of the trees are on her side.'

Remember earlier this month when I made a gingersnap crust pumpkin pie?

Remember how it was a stroke of genius and extremely delicious? (I don't mind saying something I've made is delicious when I eat it and cannot get enough, sorry humility.)



WELL! In the November 2010 issue of the Martha Stewart Magazine, in the "Save Room For..." section she featured a, ahem, pumpkin pie with a gingersnap crust!

I'm proud to say I did it before Martha (not that I really imagine I was the first). Also featured in the issue was cranberry tarts, which I made last year and Nicole and I have been dying for since.

Oh Martha, you're so Lana.

Photo Uploads

I haven't uploaded photos from my camera since before I went to Texas...in August. Tomorrow is October. Here's what you've missed out on:

 The only two photos I took in Texas: getting frozen yogurt (mine was way too big. I made Matthew finish it for me.) and on our way to Hurricane Harbor.

 One of the bigger carrots that I grew in my very own garden.

 This tomato clam vegetable soup. It was really really good on rice or with french bread.

 Nicole and I on the first day of school. So classy, so JCrew.

 Homemade candy bars: semi-sweet chocolate, almonds and pecans. Matt's invention, my creation. They were gone so fast I didn't have time to take a proper photo of them.

Pumpkin Advent Calendar. I got the idea from the latest Martha Stewart magazine, and jazzed it up a bit. In the magazine, it's just a children's game and some of the balloons are filled with glitter or other things. In my version there are 31 balloons, counting down to Halloween, and in each balloon is a piece of candy (or several in the case of candy corn). Each night a roommate will be able to pop a balloon and reap their candy. Very fun, and I want to do this EVERY year, because I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

I also love Matt a lot. And even though he doesn't read my blog, I didn't post a photo of my wedding dress, just in case he ever actually reads it.

Indian September

Last September we went to India Fest on our first date -but you know this.

This September during India Fest time I had a breakdown about all my homework so we did not go. No big deal, we stayed in and I calmed down.

On Monday Fiance asked me if I could get all my homework done on Monday for Tuesday so he could take me out on a special date. Well I did.

Last night we rode bikes, in a roundabout way to downtown Provo. It was lovely to ride our bikes fast down the streets in the late-summer evening with the warm wind whipping us. We arrived at India Palace. I LOVE India Palace and I haven't been there in ages! We got Lamb Tikka Masala and Chicken Coconut Korma with garlic Naan bread and Onion Bahjis. So delicious, except the Lamb. I always try to like lamb, because I don't really dislike any foods, but I guess I do not like lamb -or pickles for that matter.

After dinner we rode our bikes back up to BYU campus. Fiance had purchased tickets to see a performance by the foremost sitar player in the world Nishat Khan.

It was awesome. He played, uninterrupted, for a solid hour. No breaks. By the end of it I was in this meditative stupor, but it was also getting late, so we didn't stay for the second hour.

It was a really great date. I love Indian September. Maybe someday we'll get to spend Indian September in INDIA!

12 September

10 September 2009 I decided that I couldn't handle going back to BYU, that I needed to return to London and finish Le Cordon Bleu.

When I was leaving my Intro to Folklore class later that day, some boy walked up to me (and hit me on the arm) and said, "You going to India Fest?" I replied "Maybe, if I don't have to work." He said, "Want to go with me?" Again, "If I don't have to work."

10 minutes later (still talking and me getting annoyed that he hadn't introduced himself yet) I said, "I'm Lana, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Matthew Cole. Nice to meet you."


It was not love.

12 September 2009 we went to India Fest together. 

Thus began the awkward three months of, are we dating? hm, I'm not really interested? Why are we holding hands? Why are we kissing? What's going on? We can't be friends anymore, I'm not going to keep taking you out for nothing. You're my best friend. We're a couple now.

12 September 2010, we're engaged and happy and trying to figure out how to get everything done for the wedding while going to school.


12 September 2010, it's definitely love.

Pumpkin Season has begun!

We, as an apartment family, officially began our autumn celebrations with our first pumpkin! This pumpkin has been growing in my garden for a few months. I made a pie with a gingersnap cookie crust for Nicole's birthday. It was delicious.

Plus it's starting to get cooler in the mornings, and there are Halloween decorations in all the stores. I'm starting to freak out. I LOVE FALL!


When I was baking the pie, I was singing "It's beginning to smell a lot like Autumn, everywhere you turn..."

Two Posts in One Day? It's a real treat. A Real treat.

I've literally been living off of pumpkin. I don't know how much more I can stomach. And we've still got 5 more. I can't throw them away, I haven't money for food, and I would feel so wasteful. I intend to make another pie and more pumpkin bread, but in the mean time, I have all this savory pumpkin puree. It's all I have to eat. And I just found a butternut squash. I've eaten entirely too much squash this season. And yams, oh great...

What culinary concoctions have I made this past week? Well let me tell you.

First, Lasagna. Delicious, wonderful, amazing lasagna. And this isn't your mother's lasagna -unless she's from Tuscany... Apparently only the Sicilians put ricotta cheese in their lasagna. Everyone else uses Bechemel sauce. Imagine that! And it is so good. WAY better than the "traditional" kind. My mom made it as well, and she and John say it's THE Best lasagna they've ever had. All this time, we could have been eating this type of lasagna. Oh those Sicilians. I'm starting to pick up the prejudice my great-great-grandfather had for them. He was on to something.



Then I started making things with pumpkin. We had so many pumpkins that I felt we had to use.
I made pumpkin juice for our Harry Potter Party. Eh, ok.

I made toasted pumpkin seeds. Delicious.

I made pumpkin pasties. Also good. Like mini pumpkin pies.

I made pumpkin yam mashed potatoes. They were good with a side of Old Bay grilled Chicken.



I made a rustic pumpkin tart. I didn't use a pie pan. I rolled out the dough and in the middle I packed the thick pumpkin puree (with one egg, a handful of brown sugar, and respective pumpkin pie spices) and folded the edge of the dough up onto the pumpkin all the way around. I left most of the middle showing and baked until it was cooked through. Topped with whipped cream it was wonderful.



On Sunday I made Pumpkin bread. It was the best bread I've ever had. When I took it out of the oven I topped it with honey and it formed a wonderful honey crust. I sliced it and put some butter between each slice and we had a feast. It was the best.



Then I made baked stuffed pumpkin. I browned some ground beef with onion, ginger, and garlic, added some vegetables and cooked rice. I stuffed this into a pumpkin and baked it until it was soft. It was marvelous.



Today I had left over baked pumpkin. I'm getting real sick of pumpkin now. But I feel like I should eat the food I had. So I took some of my pumpkin puree and added some sharp white cheddar and milk and made cheesy pumpkin soup. It was pretty good. But i am done with pumpkin. I can't take it.... no more. No more.



Oh Halloween?

Olive Oyl, Kiki, and Coraline

For work I was Olive Oyl, because everyone is convinced that I look just like her...
When I got home I changed into my Pokemon Trainer Ash Ketchum costume. Ash never looked so good. I hit up a couple parties with some friends and then my roommates and I watched "Let the Right One in." It was a very creepy Swedish Vampire film.



Yeah that's a ferret. I wanted to pretend it was my Pokemon, but it smelled like pee, so I didn't want it near me.



3 more weeks until I leave for Tennessee for Thanksgiving! Hilary tells me to stretch out my stomach, and I will as long as it's nothing with pumpkin.

The Magic of Fall

I am not eager to start my homework, so I decided to blog. Not too much has been happening. This week was a lot less stressful than last week, but I'm still extremely busy, and kind of lonely.

However, I finally paid off my credit card and had some extra money so I went grocery shopping, and I bought a lot of stuff. So I've been having a wonderful time cooking for the past week.

Last Saturday I made Potato Leek Soup. Super easy! Just sautee some butter and sliced leeks and chopped onions until limp and slightly transparent. Then add super thinly sliced potatoes and enough chicken broth to just cover the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are soft and then mash up in the pan. Add about a half cup of milk, not a lot, you want the broth to still be brothy with a little milky colour. Then add salt and pepper to taste. SO good. Paige loved it and she doesnt even like soup.

Then on Sunday night I made chili. My first ever. Just brown the chopped up chuck in a pan with butter and onions. (Honestly butter, I love it. I've never really used it before in cooking. We always used Olive Oil. And I love Olive Oil, but man Butter. Butter you are the best.) Once that was browned sufficiently I added chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste and then a tin of tomatoes. I added some salt and pepper to get the seasonings right and then I added a cup or so of already cooked navy beans. I simmered until thoroughly heated, and viola! Delicious.

I lived off the chili for a few days and then made crab clam chowder. It was also good, but not as good as the others. Yesterday my roommates were sick (and I'm feeling it today, ugh) and I stayed home with them. I made the Potato Leek soup again but added ripped up chicken breast. It was, if possible, even better.

I bought a Martha Stewart Magazine the other day. I know that she's apparently a mean person, Sophie's mom has a first hand account. However, I love her magazines. I love it so much. I'm with Becky on this Martha is great. And even if she's not entirely original, she presents things in a way that is so lovely and so accessible. I was telling Lauren that all I want to do is move to the North East, make Martha Stewart crafts all day and be a mom. That's all I want. Again, I'm with Becky, Forget school. Just give me babies and my own house. All I need is a husband...

So, from the Martha Stewart Magazine, I made some Vanilla Apple Cider. It was so autumnal and warming and delicious. Too bad Paige thinks she's too good for Apple Cider. She missed out. Anyway, it was just some apple cider that I put in a saucepan with a bit of brown sugar, a vanilla bean, halved and seeded, and some nutmeg (I wish I had had a cinnamon stick as well). I simmered this for a bit and then added a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream. Perfect.

So now this week is over. Work wasn't as bad this week. I didn't get hired at In-N-Out, but I could've forseen that. I don't want to do my homework, though I only have a little. I'm just tired of working so hard for school. But I'm not nearly finished yet. 2 more years.

What's on the menu for next week? Tuscan Lasagna, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes, Meat Loaf? :) Bon Apetit!

Now something to laugh about:

Lana as Mr. Napkin Head.

Welcome Autumn

It's blustery outside. And as I sit here and read Lord of the Rings I am drawn to this lovely verse spouted off by Bilbo Baggins:

When winter first begins to bite

and stones crack in the frosty night,

when pools are black and trees are bare,

'tis evil in the Wild to fare.

A New Holiday Tradition

I think I must currently be inspired by my recent acceptance to my dream cooking school, because yesterday I created something truly inspired. Pardon my immodesty. 

It began with the leftover pumpkin. 

I initially thought to make pumpkin puree to make my favorite pumpkin muffins. Then I thought to make pumpkin banana bread. And that is just what I did. With that I candied the pumpkin seeds in a sauce pan and made a brown cinnamon syrup to pour over the top. The result was fantastic. I had quite a bit of pumpkin puree so the bread was more of a bread pudding consistency, but with the syrup and pumpkin seeds it was a sight to behold. The whole apartment smelled like Christmas, and it made me so happy. Plus, it was delicious. 

I've thought to include the recipe if any of my very limited blog followers feel so inclined as to make it themselves. The recipe will require a bit of eyeballing since I invented it without proper measuring. 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

perhaps about 4 c or more of pumpkin puree, maybe around 2 cans

1 c sugar (more if you would like it sweeter, I used the syrup as the sweetener)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

approximately 2 cups of flour. Eye ball for the consistency you desire. Mine was of a muffin batter-type consistency.

2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice

1-2 Tbs molasses

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 400 for 35 - 40 minutes. The knife will come out mostly clean. It will be a little gooey on the inside, but the whole cake should retain its shape and integrity when touched.

Brown Cinnamon Syrup

1 c Brown Sugar

3/4 c Water

1 Tbs molasses

2 - 3 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and slowly reduce to syrup consistency of choice.

Candied Pumpkin Seeds

Butter a sauce pan and add desired amount of pumpkin seeds. For two or three good handfuls add 1 c brown sugar

  2 tsp cinnamon

  1 tsp molasses

Stir and reduce the sugars until the pumpkin seeds are very sticky. Lower heat and continue to stir until seeds pull away from the pan and are no longer sticky. Let cool. Delicious. 

Bon Apetit! 

Pumpkin Pie

I took this beautiful pumpkin...

 And chopped it up like this...

And turned it in to this...

Yeah, I made a pumpkin pie, from a REAL pumpkin. A REAL pumpkin. And it was the most delicious pumpkin pie any one of us had ever eaten!

 Cooking is my calling. It's in my blood. I don't know where it came from but it flows through my veins. 

This is Halloween

Last night was Halloween. Probably my favorite Holiday just because I love the way the world looks during October and on Halloween you can dress as whatever you want, and everyone does. The Post Man was Tigger today. 

A few nights ago we went to the French Club Halloween fete and we received pumpkins. That night we watched Halloweentown and The Sixth Sense as we carved them up. It was so wonderfully Halloween.

It was the most beautiful Halloween day. It was marred only by the bureaucrats at the Post Office who make getting my Passport renewed a pain in the butt. Once that was all done though, Halloween night began. 

Our apartment was abuzz with people getting all ready for the night. I was a geisha, Lauren was a hobbit -more specifically, Frodo, Becky was Peter Pan, Hilary was Jackie O, 

 Paige was a cowgirl. We all looked fabulous, and I FINALLY had a reason to wear my Kimono.  Our dates were: Patrick as an RM (he carried around a wedding ring, he wore church shoes with regular clothes, and a tie from his "mission") It was brilliant really. Michael Hoops was John Stockton, Macord was a pirate, and Johnny was a Post Man or something -he really didn't even have a costume. 

Once everyone had all congregated, we all went to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D. It's one of my favorite Halloween movies and seeing it on Halloween night has special significance for me.

After the movie we had to wait around more for other people to show up and then we went to Lauren's Aunt and Uncle's house for homemade

 donuts and good company. There was danci

ng and such, but none of us were really that interested at the time.  

Lauren's little cousin Cyrus was dressed as Samwise Gamgee. 

Lauren's brother Ryan was Jeff Goldblum.

We were there for a bit and then everyone wanted to go to a dance party with Ryan. Patrick and I decided against it and I took him back to his car and said a final goodbye. He leaves for Romania on Wednesday. So sad. 

I washed all the black spray out of my hair and it turned the bath water quite dark. 

Then I enjoyed a few hours in silence before eagerly climbing into bed. I heard people come in around 2 or 230. I dreamt well. It was a very good Halloween, except one thing. I didn't get any candy... How odd.