Jes’ Weblog

So, one night me and mom were trying to think of what to do for dinner. I just wanted fish, and couldn’t think of what else would be better. So we went to the grocery store, and found the salmon crab-meat pin-wheels. They were pretty good. As a side dish, I thought that the Asparagus Filo Roll-ups would be really awesome. I also decided to have corn, and tomato and cucumber salad with sesame dressing.

The salmon pin-wheels were pre-made, so all I had to do was cook them for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. The corn was just to be cooked in the microwave and stirred.

To make the salad, i took one big Ugly Tomato ( that is actually the name of it), and cut it into 12 pieces. Then I peeled a cucumber, and cut it into the same size pieces. I think we usually use ranch dressing for this salad, but I saw the sesame and thought it would taste good. I was right ;D

The real point was the Asparagus Roll-ups though. My uncle made these a while back when we had dinner together, and I thought they were really good.

You need:

1. Bouquet of Asparagus
2. Filo
3. Mozzarella Cheese
4. Butter (Melted)*

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I usually line a cookie sheet with tin-foil to avoid the mess, but that’s optional.

Cut the ends (the non-leafy side) of the asaparagus you will use. To estimate, you need between 3-6 depending on the size of the asparagus. I used small to medium ones, but larger are just as good. You probably don’t want the rolls to be more than the size of a quarter in width.

Take one sheet of Filo (that has been defrosted first, or it will break) and lay it flat. Take some butter (use a brush-baster if you have it) and line the outside of the filo to help it stick. Then take the mozzarella cheese, and spread it out evenly on the Filo. You don’t really need much cheese, just sprinkle it. Then, put the asparagus on one end of the filo. I layed half in the opposite direction of the other so that there are an even taste throughout.

Roll everythin up and put it on the cookie sheet. Then, repeat the process until you’ve made enough or run out of room.

Put them in the oven and back for 15-20 minutes. Mine were completely done in 15. Then, enjoy!

My little brother is finally 19! He seemed to have a pretty good birthday too. He went parasailing with his girlfriend, and had a family dinner with us.

I gave him a slightly sappy card, which he seemed to appreciate. And then I also gave him a microwave. He really really wanted a microwave to take to his dorm. In the picture, he’s proud that he was right and that’s what he got.

Mom, on the other hand, got him a mini-refrigerator, and a button that says “One Great Son.” He wore the button most of the night! It was cute. He also stamped himself with my book stamp that says “This belongs to the Library of Jessica.”

He also really wanted the fridge. He was especially happy that we found one that had a decent sized freezer in it, because they are so hard to get.

He made out pretty well this year, and now he’s prepared to go off to college and live in a dorm.

Happy 19th Birthday Billy~!

Monday (June 8th), I was invited to go to 80’s night at the Castle with some of my friends. This turned out to be a lot of fun, and something I’d like to do again if I get the opportunity.

So, from the left, there is Danniela, Maria, Me, and Juan. In the spirit of the night, we all tried to dance 80’s style for the most part.

My overall feeling toward the Castle is that it’s not my favorite. I generally prefer the pop-y atmosphere in a regular club. But, I will give the Castle 80’s night, because they definitely rocked it. It was $3 to get in, and completely worth the drive! It was a lot of fun to hang out with Juan and Maria outside of class and AMA events. I hope we get lot’s of chances to keep going out together!

Barry and Meredith got married June 7th, 2009! This wedding completely suited them. It was very laid back: attire consisted of jeans and tees. The entire ceremony lasted about 2 minutes.

The location was Arts on the Park in Lakeland. This was a very nice gallary. There were several pieces that I really enjoyed.

The both of them were really cute and nervous. Meredith had to hide from the “paparazzi” (her term, not mine ). And Barry dropped the ring in the beginning. But, it just made things that much sweeter because you could see that, even though the ceremony was short and simple, they both felt it as a big step in their lives. 

Afterword, there were some snacks and Red Velvet cupcakes for us to pick at. And then the party moved down the street to a nice bar. I had a lot of fun getting to talk to some martial arts (Kenjutsu and Akido) people again. It made me really want to start attending class again, and I’m seriously trying to find a way to go to the Largo dojo.

And finally, a picture of the newly-weds:

So, usually for Mother’s day, we make mom breakfast in bed. My brother and I have been doing this since I can remember, and it’s always fun. This year, however, I had to drive in from tampa, so Billy took on breakfast by himself.

When I got back to St. Pete, I said hi to Mom, and started working on my present: a Red Velvet Cake. This is mom’s favorite cake, so I wanted to make it for her. I found this recipe online, and went to work. I did have to modify the recipe a bit, because I couldnt find the right flour, and I didn’t have anything to sift with, but I had fun making it, and it came out pretty good!

I did frost it a little earlier than I should have, so I showed it to mom as soon as it was finished to take a picture.

Afterword, we decided that Mini-golfing would make for a fun day! We hadn’t been in forever, and so we went to Pirates’ Cove. It was a lot of fun to do that – it’s something we’ve all enjoyed together for a long time.

We came home and had a nice dinner together. And of course, we had dessert afterword.