hummus recipe

Our vacuum came and it's great. I'm very happy with all the time and research that went into it. After the vacuum came I didn't have a project to work on so I had to find something to do. The answer came one night when Megan and I tried to make hummus. We tried our darnedest without a recipe but it just didn't turn out. We think the problem was that one of (I won't say who, but it wasn't me) spilled the garlic powder in the hummus while we were mixing it. Needless to say it was just a bit too much garlicky for us and we threw most of it away.

I wasn't about to accept defeat and deiced that I was going to make some amazing hummus and not only was I going to do it I was going to do it without a recipe, I think I get that from my dad (KFC gravy soup). I will say that although I didn't use a recipe I did do a lot of hummus recipe research and it turns out that all hummus recipes are 95% identical. The biggest differences were the portions of ingredients used. So I made a list of all the ingredients I needed and went to the store where people buy food.

We had most the ingredients already but I needed more Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), pita bread and Tahini, which is actually just sesame butter and is not located next to the butter or in the asian food section like that punk Rufio kid at the grocery store suggested I look. It is in fact next to the peanut butter. Anyway I went home and made some garlic red pepper hummus. I liked it so I saved it for Megan to try when she got home from work, seeing as how is it the hummus tasting expert. And she loved it! That's right. But I don't think I'm done yet. Although it was great I think I could do better. I'll make sure to let you know if any progress is made.

Here's the recipe I made up if you're interested. It is really easy to make and only takes about 15 min. probably less if you have a food processor instead of just a blender.

1 can Chickpeas (drained)

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup Tahini (found next to the PB)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 lemon (squeezed to death)

1/4 cup water

Cumin

Crushed Red Pepper

Salt

Add Garlic (I crushed and peeled the garlic and put it in the bottom of the blender so it would be sure to blend really well.), Chickpeas, Tahini, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice then mixed it. Add water slowly to get desired consistency. Add the Cumin, Red Peppers and salt last to taste. (I probably did about a tsp each of the Cumin and Peppers and not very much salt at all.) You could also use the juice from the Chickpeas instead of the water if you want. Serve with Pita bread (I like my pita warm) or whatever you like.

Like I said super easy super great.

the married life

So it finally happened I'm married as of Dec. 26. Megan is amazing and I'm so blessed to be with her forever. The wedding was great the and weather was mostly great, some people thought it may have been a bit chilly but I thought it was fine. But what do you expect from Vegas during Christmas.

Now we're married, but this isn't about all that mushy stuff. This is about the way things are after being married for only 2 weeks. We both spent the first week with coughs and congestion. That's all gone now thankfully. Last Saturday we moved into our own place. It's a 2 bed 2 bath condo in Summerland (sp) (i think we're in west Vegas). It's a pretty sweet hookup, gated community, bordered by a nature park with walking/running path, swimming pool/hot tumb (which is great), small gym (new years Res. #1 bulk up by 20 lbs), and most of our neighbors are old...saweeeeeet! Not a bad gig if you ask me.

Thanks to the generosity of Megan's parents our entire possessions include the clothes we own, a box of essential kitchen items, a double bed, a couch, and a cabinet where we keep our clothes. That's really all we have. All of our meals are eaten picnic style in the living room on a blanket that was "borrowed" from the back of our friend Jessica's car a few months ago. She probably doesn't know Megan still has it. We might go hit up some yard sales for some awesome furniture if we get desperate enough, but we'll have to see.

This is the part of the story where I would usually stray from the boring details and get the juicy/exciting/climaxtic part of the story. So her it is... Megan still works full time at the temp agency. I've applied there and told them I'm available for work whenever. So far I haven't worked yet. ( I would prefer an internship in marketing or PR if anybody has any hookups [winky face]) My days consist of taking Megan to work and aften going back to sleep til noon, which has really only happened twice, stop worrying mom. Then I make the bed as nice as I can and find something to clean in the apt. I've also been doing odds and ends errands. The highlight of my days come when I go to the public library. That's when the party starts. I "update my social medias" ie: check my facebook and twitter. But that's not all, all week I've been researching vacuum cleaners online. I've read dozens of reviews for multiple brands and models. The sad part is, I've actually gotten really into it. Everybody really wants one of 2 vacs: 1 either the vac their mom bought when they were a kid and still uses to this day, or 2 a Dyson. Well unfortunatley we can't afford a Dyson and I don't think moms old vac is up for grabs, although I think it's still in the basement hall next to my old room. Today I finally decided on what I want Megan's complete trust and faith in my research and decision making made my purchse on Target.com (not available in stores). So to those of you who gave us Target gift cards as a gift thank you, you contributed to our vacuum fund.

I've also had a lot of time to research disc golf courses in Vegas and to my surprise there are not ver many there are only two 18 hole courses one 24 hole course and a couple 9 hole courses. Non of which are close to where we live. Bummer. Oh well I'll still find time to go don't worry.

But now I have to run because I need to buy a can opener before I go pick up Megan from work.

I also saw a midget on a bicycle today. All I said to myself was "huh?"

it's not what you think

First off I'll start by clearing the confusion. This in not Santa. Santa has black gloves. This is Dale. He looks great in red and everybody loves him, mostly the ladies. Those are both statements of fact and not opinion. There is also a certain etiquette that accompanies Dale. He prefers to be saluted, it's the least you could for someone who always salutes you. The proper Dale salute also includes a belt grab (see image 1).

Dale and I first met in Orlando at a junk swap. Instantly my standard of living was improved. We hung out, went to pool parties, had animal pancakes and other such great fun. The sad part came in April when I returned home to Idaho and Dale stayed in Orlando to live it up and have adventures of his own. Finally, 7 months later and thanks to a pleasant visit from our friend Jared Soloman, Dale and I are once again kickin it. Yo.

The only problem is, it's December. Which means a lot of people have been disrespecting Dale a lot lately. It took a while but my roommates no longer call him Santa, at least not in front of me. But anytime someone comes to the door or comes over to visit we get asked, "whose Santa is that?" "Pshhhh!!! Not Santa. Dale. And he's his own." That's what I say. Anyway, if you do happen to stop by this Christmas season, or ever for that matter, please don't offend my friend as I will try not to offend you and yours.

Become a fan of Dale on Facebook.

the giving of thanks

So this Thanksgiving I am in Vegas visiting my Fiance (say it with a thick french accent, trust me it's more fun that way). The Barker family really knows how to party. After the traditional eating of food until there's none left or until you want to die, whichever comes first, I was ready for the just as traditional sit down on the couch and pass out while your body does its job with the digestion. However, I was not given the privilege of that tradition this year. Immediately after we ate it was time for the talent show.

I love talent shows. But for some reason no matter what my talent is it ends up being defined as a comedy act. The last 3 talent shows I can remember being in went like this: FHE talent show; I played my didgeridoo and screamed then my roommate Brandt and I sang a song about our Caribbean roommate Walsworth while Walsworth danced and it ended with me cutting my finger on the guitar and Brandt howling like a monkey. Next, Birthday Talent Show (2nd Bday in the mission); we went to a park in the mission and everyone did obscure talents amongst the tree. I ended up freestyling a song on the guitar. It ended with me scatting and explaining to people that that was the sound a ship makes. Lastly, we had a mission talent show my 3rd week in the mission. I did magic tricks with using only my fingers, displayed my coveted one handed clapping and finally convinced my companion that he could lasso bananas out of the air. He couldn't do it. All ended with everybody laughing at me.

Thanksgiving Talent Show: Barker House 2009 went about the same way. There were great music talents; a piano duet by Hannah (9) and Riley (11), another piano duet by Megan and Paul (18), mama Barker signed (ASL) a song, Katie (14ish) played a Taylor Swift song on guitar, and then Brody (16) solved a Rubik's cube in about 2 minutes (not very musical but still very impressive). All great talents. I started my talent by pulling a crumpled peice of paper out of my pocket and smoothing it out. After that it was like giving candy to baby (intentional misuse of expression) they ate it up. I then explained that although I would be playing guitar they could probably consider my talent to be comedy. I then improved a song about things that I'm thankful for which included jokes about dinner and everybody in the family. It was good.

And that's how it goes in the Barker house. We had a blast and the Thanksgiving Talent Show: Barker House 2009 was a big hit. I think there might be a recording of it floating around, I'll try to find it and post it.

what happens in Vegas...

so I'm in Vegas for the week of Thanksgiving and I'm visiting Megan and her family and it's great. Everyday I spend the entire day doing homework and playing games with Riley and Hannah (11 and 5) consequently I'm not doing as much homework as I should be.

My first day here we went to the park with Megan's younger siblings. Most people played tennis, Hannah played on the playground and I took a disc, of course. I was only there for a couple minutes when some guy asked me if I played Ultimate. He must be an Ultimate angel because He answered all my Ultimate prayers. He asked if I was from the area and I told him that I was only here for the week but that I'd be moving down the first of January. He invited me to play with a group of guys that play in the area. He didn't know exactly when they were playing so he called another guy and gave him my number. That guy called me later and I gave him my email so he could send me directions to the field. He also mentioned in the email that they are looking at putting a team together for Trouble In Vegas. It's the biggest Ultimate tourney in the world and it's held right here in Vegas in early February. It going to be a blast!

I'm am actually way excited to live in Vegas for the winter because the weather is always good. I just came from playing in below freezing temps, snow and wind. Vegas only has good weather, never below freezing not a lot of wind if any and it only snows once every 12 years or less. So I can play year round now. If you can't tell I like Ultimate.

Aside from Ultimate it has been great being here. After I do homework all day Megan comes home from work and we get to spend all evening together. That really has been the best part of the break. This whole semester I've only seen her 2 other times. But now I'm here and it's great. And Thanksgiving is going to be amazing. So pretty much that's what happens in Vegas.

Ya I don't even know

Sooooo... all I've been doing for the past couple months is going to school, doing homework, talking to Megan on the phone until one of us falls asleep and playing Frisbee.

I've been coaching an Ultimate team up here on campus at BYU-Idaho. I've never coached before but I am having a blast. It really is a new look at the sport. I'm not gonna brag about how well my team is doing. However, I will say that we are not in last. Actually we have the same win record as the last placed team the only difference is that we have more points in the season than they do. Tonight is game one of our league tournament. That is actually why I have time now to blog. I don't want to do any of my homework for this weekend yet and I'm trying to lay low and get ready for the game. Although my team have a bad record I really think that we have a good chance of winning the t-shirt (see former post titled Campion). I'm optimistic because there are a lot of young new players on my team and the whole season we've been working on learning the game and how to work as a team. The past couple weeks we have been looking really good and playing together beautifully. We'll see if we can put it together tonight.

On an awesome note, BYU-I just held their first ever disc golf tourney. Justin Cutler (Captain) and I jumped all over that. It was a doubles tournament. We played 5 rounds at the near by 9 hole course at the nature park. The park is new and it's pretty ghetto. The baskets are cheap and the chains are light weight. If you know what I'm talking about then you know it's not good. If you don't know, just assume they're not good. Anyway we played and the results are in. Captain and I won the tournament. Our final score was 5 under in 5 rounds. So we didn't play super well but we did well enough. No other team even scored under par. In fact we beat the next team my 8 strokes. So once again I am a Disc Champion. I should be receiving my t-shirt soon.

Anyway, wish us luck tonight and I'll do my best to keep ya'll posted not only on Ultimate but on what I do.

3-D tetris

This post will be begin with a few disclaimers and finish with something that should make you laugh. So stay tuned.

You can all stop worrying, I am not deathly ill.
My nasal passages are clear and breezy.
The mucus has subsided.
My tonsils have deflated.
And my ears are less and less plugged everyday. They do however, I think, change with the tides. I say this because the pressure and fluid in my ears fluctuates. There are consistent times of day when they are more plugged and times when they are almost clear and unnoticeable. This is what leads me to believe that the pressure in my ears is directly correlated to the position of the moon, like the tide in our oceans. My ears are like nature, how poetic.
Anyway I'm not way sick so you can stop worrying...mom.
and I don't have mono...Jared.

I don't remember what else I was going clarify. Uhhhhh....

Anyway, today at work was a great day, and for this reason.
After pulling around a BMW 325i (small car) I stood back and, with all the strength I could muster so as not to laugh, watched as a woman and 3 teenage girls tried to load their luggage into the truck of this undersized vehicle. -Just to help with the visual aspect of this story I feel it is necessary to mention that all four of these ladies was, to say not so politely, large. I mention this only because had they not been of such a stature I would not have laughed nearly as hard to myself.- They had way to much luggage then could fit comfortably in their car. 4 large duffel bags (packed so tight the zippers were bursting), 2 small duffel bags, 1 standard suitcase, and a mess/array of plastic grocery bags for of unused or half eaten groceries and related items. They tried with all their might just to load all the large duffel bags and the suit case into the trunk. They heaved and hoed and pushed and smashed those bags until at last all were in the trunk (the smaller duffel bags were forfeit to the back seat, no attempt to trunk them was made). Now with all the large item securely crammed into the car there was only the question of where to put all the smaller stuff. Few items (half a bag of potato chips) were even surrendered to the trash and never made it into the luggage mosh pit. Bags full of unopened TP and dryer sheets were weaved into whatever crevasse could be found. Half eaten boxes of cereal were smashed into whatever space could, or couldn't, be found without a thought of what must be happening to the contents of their breakfast to dear to them to part with. And finally Poptarts were removed from their box and were inserted like credit cards into the last remaining pocket of air. I half expect them to retrieve the bag of chips and dump it on top just to be sure every space was sufficiently used and nothing was left behind. The 4 girls then climbed into the car and dragged away. Not laughing out loud was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time. It's moments like that that make my job worth enduring.

P.S. my job isn't really excruciatingly bad. It's just funnier if I make it more dramatic.