Nothing says fun like...

...SCORCHED EARTH!!!

What is "Scorched Earth" you ask?

Scorched Earth is our name for the Fiscal Responsibility dinners Homer and I created a year ago.

The term comes from an episode of the Dave Ramsey Show where a woman (FAR over her head in debt and not sure what to do about it) called in and Dave had a little, humorous melt down. He started with a few of his standard Dave-isms. "Live like no one else so that later on in life, you can live like no one else." and "You shouldn't see the inside of a restaurant unless you're working there." and out of nowhere started yelling, "SCORCHED EARTH!!! SCORCHED EARTH!!!" It made Homer and I laugh like complete fools...and then became the title of our dinners.

The idea is essentially a potluck, but with parameters. The guidelines are as such: -Each couple/individual (whatever you want to do) brings ONE food item that costs less than $10 to make and that can be shared among the group. We've even done Scorched Earths that were under $5. It is a total blast. Everyone comes up with their inexpensive dish to share with the group. All the fun of a potluck and eating out with friends for a fraction of the cost. The rules are simple.

-Recipe and cost breakdown MUST be included.
-Items will be judged by the group Iron Chef style, based on a range of criteria by the group including cost, taste and presentation.
-Items grown or otherwise produced by the cook do not incur a cost in the recipe. (veggies, fruit, herbs...etc)
-Tie goes to the individual with the cheaper dish.

Now, we've had some GREAT meals this way. It is a cheap, fun and healthy way to spend time with friends. I'm so excited to have our new house...because we'll have even more room for Scorched Earth. Perhaps we should have a small one to bid adieu to the trailer?

My favorite was our first "Healthy Scorched Earth". Here is my review of the night(including dishes):


All of our dishes actually came in the $3-$4 range. That's right. $3-$4. How many people ate last night? Eight. Four meals, eight people fed, less than $16 total cost. Are you doing the math, kids? That means a SUPER healthy meal, fun and entertainment for EIGHT GROWN ADULTS for less than $2 a person. New Years Resolutions and failing economy...you won't get us!

On the table last night was: (and I'll try to get recipes from everyone and food totals soon)

Firstly, Kara brought Governor's rolls. ;) And for that, we were ALL very grateful.

Tomato Spanish Soup - A mild, sweet and slightly heated tomato base soup with layers of mild onions and peppers. A LOVELY starter. Brought by Kaitlyn.

Goulash over Noodles - A traditional beef goulash (lean ground beef purchased in bulk to drive down the cost) that was more heavy on the peppers (which was a delight), sweet tomatoes and a brilliant consistency, drizzled over egg noodles. Brought by Jamie and Jerry.

Quinoa with Truffle Oil and Mushrooms - DELICIOUS! If you haven't tried Quinoa yet, get on it. It is like a hearty couscous with some serious staying power. Saturated with mushrooms and having just a TOUCH of truffle oil made the flavor of the Quinoa jump out. Cooked in chicken broth only added depth. Brought by Amy and Brett

Tuscan Garlic Pork with Veggies - Lean pieces of pork cut into about two inch strips, marinaded in light garlic dressing and breaded, baked on top of a bed celery, carrots, onions and sweet potatoes (also marinaded) and topped with the slightest amount of Romano cheese. I was extremely please with how this turned out. The potatoes helped give it more staying power and at $1.89 for a pound of pork (yes, it was on sale. THAT is why I created this dish), there was plenty to go around. The combo of the sweet potatoes with the garlic and onions was terrific. And it was a very no-fuss meal. I chopped the veggies the night before and used a plastic bag to marinade them. Then I marinaded the pork and left the two bags in the fridge. Finally, I created the breadcrumbs and placed THEM in a bag. The next morning, I took my Pampered Chef large bar pan, spread the veggies over the pan and placed it in my oven on a timer. When I came home, the veggies were perfect and the house smelled divine. I walked over to the fridge, took out the pork, threw the pork into the pre-assembled breadcrumb back, shook and then placed the pork over the already gorgeous veggies. Baked for another 15 minutes. Removed from the bar pan, put in serving dish and topped with cheese. Just wonderful. And at a grand total of $3.63 for the ENTIRE MEAL and about 200 calories per serving (including a full serving of veggies!)...it will be a regular at our house and should be at yours, too. (obviously, this was Homer and my contribution. ;))

Opportunity doesn't give a heads up...

...it just shows up.

Last week, a gentleman from the Bangor Daily News called the School of Pharmacy asking for me. I had missed his original call, but his voicemail stated that he was gathering facts for an editorial piece he was doing regarding the creation of two new pharmacy schools in Maine. I first looked for my boss, the Dean. He wasn't around. I then called Julie, the PR person at Husson. She didn't answer. I tried her cellphone. STILL no answer. Nervously, I jotted down some important facts about our school and called back the reporter. He said not to worry, he was just looking for an angle for his piece and wanted more information about the school. My apprehension faded at that point and we just talked. Talking about The School of Pharmacy is easy for me, as I'm very passionate about the subject. We talked for about fifteen minutes and by the end, it felt like I was having a good chat with a person I'd known for a long time. He thanked me for the information and we said goodbye. Upon seeing the Dean, I informed him of the phonecall and showed him my notes I'd taken. He had no problems with it and I went about my day...never giving the phonecall another thought.

I didn't think about the phonecall again until yesterday morning. The phone rang and I saw it was Julie's extension.

"I want to know how much extra I get paid for being Audrey Brissette's publicist."

I paused. "Ummmm...what?"

Then Julie started to read the article. And then she said my name. The reporter had quoted me in the article. I immediately froze. I didn't expect to be in the article. I just thought I was giving information about the program. Any other time I'd been in the paper, I was asked if I gave permission to be in the paper. I started thinking back to what I'd said...trying to think if I'd said anything wrong.

"I just want to commend you. You did a great job. A hell of a job. This is fantastic and I couldn't have done it better myself. We're all thrilled and I imagine your bosses are, too."

Sigh of relief.

"Aside from them calling you Mr. Brissette in the end, it was a fantastic piece. And it was the lead editorial. Not bad."

We chatted for a bit longer and by the end, I'd found the article online. They did, indeed, call me Mr. Brissette at the end...but other than that, I was pleased to see that he took much of what I said to heart and the enthusiasm I have for the program read very well through the piece. Word spread and I continued to get compliments from the Husson community.

This morning I received a phonecall with President Beardsley on the other end of the line. I assumed he wanted to talk to the Dean and had been unable to reach him. "Audrey, I just wanted to tell you how please I am with the article in the paper yesterday. It is very rare for us to get the lead editorial piece - so rare that I think this is only the second time in my presidency that it has happened. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job." He went on to tell me just how much he loved the article and how he was very pleased at my quick thinking and using my intuition to call back the press as opposed to waiting for someone to approve it. (I'm sure if I'd said something wrong, that wouldn't be the case. ;)) But for five minutes, he sang my praises and said he'd be sending out a letter to the Husson community and have the article be the closing news item. He said repeatedly that I must have said something very compelling to the reporter, because it is very rare to be mentioned so often in an opinion piece.

I'm thrilled that I had the opportunity to talk to the press on behalf of Husson. If I hadn't of answered the call in the time that I did, the reporter was going to contact University of New England and we would have lost this great opportunity of free press. I came to work expecting to fill out travel forms, process reimbursements and schedule meetings...not being a temporary mouthpiece for the school. But I'm so glad that it did work out this way. It isn't often that you get the chance to impress the higher ups and promote something for which you have a passion in one fail swoop. ;)
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/114135.html

One year...

...can make all the difference in the world.

Alyssa has been an avid hiker since she was three. Her love of climbing and her ability to do so has been one of her earliest attributes. She has always been incredibly adept at climbing and has never had any fear of doing so. Alyssa's biggest deterrent when it comes to hiking and climbing has always been her size. When Alyssa started hiking at the age of three, she was in the 0th percentile for her height and weight. Alyssa was still in 18 month clothing at the age of three. She's never let it stop her, but there were some obvious obstacles that just couldn't be overcome. Bolders that couldn't be topped. Iron rungs that couldn't be reached.

The first time Alyssa did Borestone Mountain, the people heading up the mountain thought we were crazy for taking her up there. No one believed that she was climbing this mountain. (mind you, they probably thought she was a young toddler...but still.) When we got to the iron rungs and vertical scrambling, our friend Chris propped Alyssa up on his shoulders and carried her up the steep part of the mountain.

The second time showed a marked improvement for Alyssa over the previous year. She still needed to be carried over some of the tough scrambling parts, but that was not because of her strength, but simply her height.

We used to have a term that summed up our hiking trips with the little miss: "Alyssa pace". This was the slightly more relaxed pace that our hiking trips would need to take, simply because for every one step that we took, Alyssa would have to take four. Her legs just weren't long enough to go very fast. She practically would have to run up the mountain just to keep up with a very leisurely pace for us.

Those days, my friends, are gone. "Alyssa pace" will now be a goal for others of us to keep up with. With the addition of about seven pounds and five inches, Alyssa is still petite for her age - but what a difference those inches and a year have made. Alyssa required NO help this time at all, and often needed to be yelled at by us to slow down. At one point, I actually had to tell her to stop so I could catch my breath...something I NEVER have to do while hiking. I'm usually very good at pressing on...but at one point this weekend, I simply had to holler "UNCLE!" and stop. And the scrambling required no assistance what-so-ever. Alyssa honestly could have just left us all at the bottom and gone up to the top alone. And when I had the audacity to ask her if she needed help, she would become very grouchy and inform me that my help was NOT necessary.

It was a lovely trip with my lovely ladies...but the highlight of the trip was absolutely watching Alyssa. And it was bittersweet...because I was so proud of how far she'd come...but once again was faced with how quickly she's growing up. Such a strange feeling...welcoming not being needed.