Honey-Basil Chicken

You may have noticed that I've been missing recently.  I'm three weeks into my first job and things are a little crazy.  I'm working on balancing my work, life, blogging schedule.  I've actually been cooking a lot, since I need to feed boyfriend and myself, I just haven't had the time to get the deliciousness from the camera to you! 

It's been a little tricky to feed both boyfriend and I.  We both eat very different types of food.  He's a HUGE fan of all things pasta, creamy and cheesey.  I like chicken in light sauces.  He doesn't eat seafood, I don't eat beef.  I like to pile my plates high with vegetables and he orders his sandwiches without lettuce or tomatoes. 

Luckily, we can agree on a number of things.  Chicken is a staple in our house, leaving me to find more and more delicious chicken recipes.  That is, until I can convince boyfriend to eat food my way.  I think I need Jessica Seinfelds cookbook...

Pizza Foccacia

Among all of the big changes that have been happening in the Wilde household, the change in living situations is probably one of the biggest.  For the past eight years, boyfriend and I have been a long distance couple.  It did help that we've known each other for the past fifteen years and also that we were both so very busy while we were apart.  Boyfriend was busy building his career and getting a great job, while I spent my time holed up in labs finishing my education.

Now that we are living in one household it's totally different.  Good different!  Not only are the living expenses cut in half (a great bonus), but sometimes I arrive home to discover the laundry I put in the dryer that morning has folded itself up and put itself away!  The dishwasher empties itself and even dinner arrives without me having to lift a finger!

Now, I realize that boyfriend might have a bit to do with the amazing feats of housework and food prep (ordering) because these things never happened when I was living alone!  Food covered dishes would just sit in the sink until I faced the music and put them in the dishwasher.  Laundry would remain in the dryer until I tried to run another load, so that's where those pants were all week...  Dinner would often be a bowl of lettuce that I would call a salad. 

Living with boyfriend definitely has is benefits, most of all being, I get to see him every day.

Peanut butter and Chocolate Chip Ice cream

The summer of 2008 is fondly remembered as the lost summer, at least in my mind. 2008 was my last year of grad school and the summer of 2008 was the summer of my thesis. I defended my thesis in late august which meant that I spent the many weeks and months before writing.

My thesis is a collection of over 500 pages worth of text, images and data. Lots and lots of data. I'd say it's over half full of NMR spectra, experimental protocols and mass spec readouts. This massive collection of my brilliance was no easy feat to pull together. I would spend all day working tirelessly in the lab, trying to finish my project before my D-day. I would then head home and take up residence at the kitchen table. I would write introduction chapters, edit Chemdraw slides and resize NMR files. Images would suddenly jump to the next page and I would try to keep data next to the relevant text. The sun would rise and set and I would be there at my computer.

The summer of 2008 was lost in a blur of thesis writing and chemistry doing.  Of course it was all worth it, in the end.  I'm now Dr. Wilde in the Kitchen and my PhD has allowed me to become gainfully employed.  So, while the summer of 2008 may have passed me by, the summer of 2011 is going to be mine.  Here I come weekends, get the beaches ready, release the summer blockbusters, fill my calendar with festivals.  I'm so ready!