Homemade mac & cheese is really as simple as 1,2,3 (well 4,5,6!).
Mac & Cheese
1. Cook & drain pasta
2. Melt butter in same saucepan over low
3. Add flour to make roux
4. Pour in milk & add cheese (if it is too thick add more milk, too thin more cheese)
5. Stir until melted
6. Add pasta back to saucepan and stir to combine.
For the above picture I had about 2 cups of cooked pasta and used 25 grams of butter, 1 small tablespoon of flour, about 1/4 cup milk, a sprinkling of shredded Cathedral cheese and 2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese. You honestly can't go wrong so don't worry so much about measurements!
My favourite way to make a mac & cheese meal? Toss in some cooked broccoli and chicken breast. Yum!
6 February 2010
Today was the day of our embryo transfer! We went in not knowing how many would still be thriving on day 5. I was so nervous and they make you drink lots of water before transfer to help them see everything on the scan and to get the catheter in. Full bladder + nervousness = not a good combination! The embryologist popped her head through the window and let us know we definitely had one clear winner- a fully expanded blastocyst- and an early blast (or pre-blast?). We, well I, decided to transfer both of them. I had always said if we made it to that stage and didn't do PGD testing we should transfer two. If there could have been a guarantee that the smaller was freezable I would of let it be frozen but I just couldn't chance getting a call tomorrow and hearing it wasn't suitable for freezing. The embryologist did say if they had done a day 3 transfer those two would have been transferred anyway so I didn't doubt my decision. At least not until the husband was like, are you sure?! Then I had a slight doubt but knew I wanted to transfer both anyway. Our clinic is very big on procedure and we must have been asked our names and dates of births about fifteen times. The embryos are stored in an electronic storage system that uses a key card to release them and we must have been shown that key card at least four times as well! The worse part of the whole experience was the fear. It actually wasn't that bad and didn't feel painful at all. In fact, my IUI was more painful. The nurse was like look, you can see the catheter on the screen- um, no thanks! I was trying to keep my mind preoccupied rather than think about what was going on down below!
So here is our first picture of what hopefully will become our baby (or babies):
The larger of the two is the fully expanded blast.
14 February 2010
Our official test day is tomorrow and since we both have to go to work, we decided to test today.
Luckily, it's very obviously positive. In fact, I don't know that I have ever had one quite so positive! Since we didn't go through with PGD we're hopefully going to be monitored quite closely from here on out. I have to call my clinic tomorrow and give the result and then call the genetics department of the other hospital and hopefully be booked in for a scan. So we're excited, but nervous... and praying third time is the charm.
19 February 2010
Today we got news we didn't want. From Wednesday to Friday, my hcg only went from 127 to 152. This is more than likely not a viable pregnancy. I go back Monday for confirmation, but it doesn't look good. Our next step will probably be more testing to make sure we know absolutely everything that is going wrong. I'm just *really* hoping this is not an ectopic pregnancy as I don't want to have to undergo anymore surgery right now. I never really thought about going through all this and it not working.
28 January 2010
Had to be to the clinic early this morning for another scan and blood test. I got in quite quickly for the scan but had a long wait for the nurse and ended up being 30 minutes late for work! It now looks like I have four lead follies which basically means they are growing faster than the others. I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed. The others are still there, they are just smaller. I'm really hoping & praying they start to grow and catch up to the others. If we don't get a good number we probably won't do the PGD portion of the IVF as they need a a good number of embryos for it. The nurse also told me my estrogen level at my last appointment was 885 which is good. My next appointment is scheduled for Saturday (at 8:30am- ouch!) and it looks like egg collection may be on Monday.
30 January 2010
Was at the clinic so early that when I walked to the station it was virtually dark. Luckily, it wasn't that busy so it was a quick visit. My estrogen has risen to over 2200 which is a good sign and my 4 lead follies are still growing strong. Some of the smaller ones have grown a bit, so I am praying some catch up enough to be mature. At this point I am willing to try every old wives tale possible and am regularly resting a hot water bottle on my ovaries. My egg collection will definitely happen on Monday which means that tonight is my last injection of Menopur and I get the lovely added benefit of setting my alarm for 1am to take my special Ovitrelle injection. The last one is supposed to allow your eggs to mature and be ready to taken out. After that no more drugs- Sunday will be my first day in over a month I have not had to take anything!
31 January 2010
The nurse ended up calling yesterday afternoon to push back my trigger shot to 1:30am. I made sure to read the pamphlet that came with the shot before I went to bed so I would know what to do. I felt quite groggy when the alarm went off but made the trek downstairs and got it out of the fridge. It was hard to open (in a sealed tray) and when I took the lid off the needle some large drops fell out! I'm really hoping they put a little extra in there otherwise I lost some valuable medicine. I'm also now terrified I am going to ovulate early. I now get to look forward to the joy of getting a train at 6:30am to make it to the clinic for admission in the morning. Hope I can sleep well tonight, but I seriously doubt it!
1 February 2010
We woke up at 5am to some snow on the ground. We got ready, packed a bag and made our way to the station by flashlight. One of our trains was delayed but luckily we were only about 5 minutes late to the hospital. Once we checked in we were brought up to our room and got settled in. They brought the husband up some breakfast which was really unfair- I made him move away from me because I could smell it. The anesthesiologist was the first one to see me and she asked me some general questions and wanted to know if I would mind her doing acupuncture while I was out to help with the pain. I said no problems and later wished I would of asked of her where she put the needles just so I would have known. The doctor was next in the room and he said even though I wasn't supposed to go down until 1pm, he was fast and I would probably be down around 11am. He was right and about 11:30am they had me go down. They gave me one of the most unique hospital gowns I had ever seen- if you had major surgery or were cold they could hook it up to a machine and it would warm you!
They let me walk to the lift, but then made me get on the bed once inside. That is when I started to get nervous! I kept repeating Joshua 1:9 in my head to try and calm myself. I was quickly wheeled into a room and given my anesthesia. It took forever to find a vein and a minute for the anesthesia to actually start working. All I remember is saying, "okay, I'm finally starting to feel woozy now." Next thing I knew it was just past 12pm and I was waking up in recovery. The one thing that shocked me was I had a tube down my throat! I was not expecting that at all and my throat has been sore ever since. I was brought up to my room to finish recovery and they brought in tea, coffee and biscuits. I actually kept making the husband put sugar in mine which I never do. I guess I was having sugar withdraw! Then all the sudden the fire alarm started sounding. We though it was just a test, but they actually came and made the husband leave! The nurse said to me not to worry because I was behind fire doors and had about 4 hours of safe time. I started to get worried and all I could think was that I was going to need to watch the news to find out what was going on and the remote was way across the room and I couldn't get it since I was still hooked up to machines. Luckily, after another 30 minutes, the husband was allowed back up. Shortly after they brought us both lunch and I was starving so I ended up eating part of the husbands too! Desert was carrot cake which I took as a good sign since that is my father's favourite. I was told if I walked a bit and went to the bathroom they would let me leave shortly. Well, when I stood up there was a minor complication so they made me stay another hour to be monitored. It wasn't serious, they just really wanted to make sure I felt okay before leaving.
2 February 2010
Got the call that out of 5 mature eggs collected, all 5 fertilised! 100% fertilisation is the best news possible (normal is 60-70%), now they just have to grow & divide. Throat is still really sore...
4 February 2010
As the nurse promised, she called right at 8am. At this point we have:
Did you have your pancakes yesterday? I tried out a new recipe that is certainly moving to the top of my pancake recipes. Fluffly, light and pure perfection!
Sour Cream Pancakes
recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used 9)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pour the sour cream into a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir gently until almost combined. In another small bowl whisk eggs and vanilla. Pour eggs into sour cream mixture, gently stirring until just combined.
Melt butter in a skillet and pour the batter in (1/4-1/3 cup at a time). Cook a few minutes on first side, until lots of bubbles appear on the surface. Carefully flip over and cook another minute. Makes 8-12 pancakes. Serve with butter and maple syrup.
Notes: As you can see from my picture, I added blueberries. I like to pour the batter into the pan and once it starts to rise add in blueberries to each one. This batter also appears a bit thin when adding it the skillet however they fluff up beautifully. I ended up adding 2T to the mixture when I cooked the first one because it looked so thin. I then saw I didn't need to do that, but the husband and I both preferred them with the extra flour- without it, they tasted a bit too tangy.
Heart shaped cake for Valentines
This morning in church, we were challenged about whether we really loved or not. Whether you are religious or not, it certainly is something to think about and an eye opener- at least for me!
Take this passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and change every instance of "love" or "it" for your name.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
So, do you truly love?
I bookmarked this recipe when the blog cooking group Tuesday's with Dorie first made it way back in April 2009. I finally got around to making it yesterday and the husband and I have essentially eaten the entire thing straight out of the pan with a spoon! Mine above looks a smidgen burnt, but I assure you it's not- or at least doesn't taste like it is which is all that really matters.
Chocolate Bread Pudding
12 ounces of stale bread (I used half a bloomer and some chocolate chip brioche)
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Gather a baking pan (9x13 inches) plus a roasting pan big enough to hold the baking pan plus water. Line the roasting pan with double thickness paper towels. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and if your bread isn't stale place on a baking sheet and bake on 350F (175C) for 10 minutes. Toss bread cubes and raisins into baking pan. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Fill your teakettle and turn it on, leaving the water to sit while you finish the recipe. Whisk eggs, yolks and sugar in a large bowl. When the milk/cream has almost boiled, pour a small amount into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Continue to add the milk to the eggs while whisking slowly. Add the chocolate to the hot egg and milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Tap the bowl against the counter to remove air bubbles then gently pour over bread. Press the bread gently down into the mixture, leaving to sit for 30 minutes, pressing occasionally.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F (175C). Put the smaller pan inside the larger and place in oven. Carefully pour enough hot water into the larger pan to measure halfway up the smaller pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is puffed, dry and a knife comes out clean. Remove the baking pan and cool on a rack.
I thought I would mix things up this week and actually do one in central London. Of course that means it has the price tag to go with it!
House at a glance:
