The Wonderful World of...

I am an ENORMOUS Harry Potter fan. I grew up with the books from the age of eleven and have plenty to say on the movies. And I am thoroughly entertained with the recent opening of the Wonderful World of Harry Potter amusement park that just opened in Orlando. It sounds fantastic. There are three or four rollercoasters, a recreation of the village of Hogsmeade, complete with actual shops, and pubs where you can taste a cold mug of the ever-so-enticing Butterbeer. (Which the author of this article explains it as: "It foams like a Guiness, goes down like a Cream Soda.") Sounds good to me! Someday I will pay my Harry Potter fan homage to Orlando and see the ultimate fan's dream of a park. For now it is just a dream, a vacation in planning. :)

So, we've been wrapped up in the usual affairs of school and work, but found some time to go down to Daniel's parents house in Idaho Falls. Daniel has had a hankering for some authenic Mexican food, which I do not know how to make. Our first attempt was for Tacos Al Pastor. I checked out a couple fancy recipes and thought we could actually do this. Winco in Idaho Falls is notorious for its large amount of Mexican food, so I thought for certain we could find everything we needed. Not so much. We were on the hunt for achiote paste--no where to be found. If we had had more time we would have gone done to the Mexican grocery store, but we settled with a long conversation with a Mexican worker at Winco. He explained what else he thought we could use. (Daniel spoke to him the whole time in Spanish, and I was SO proud of myself for asking a full question in Spanish "Donde esta la tienda?") Sunday came and we kinda sorta winged the recipe a little, but everything was looking good.

Daniel's dad grilled strips of pork, pineapple (FAVORITE) and red onions.

Daniel chopped everything up to go inside our tacos.

And voila! Our sweet and spicy tacos were complete with homemade guacomole and pico de gallo(salsa). Delicious!! Still not as good as the street vendors in Mexico, but I think we did pretty well for a first attempt! This week I'm trying out Posole, a soup/stew like thing with pork. Sure sounds like I know what I'm talking about, right?

This weekend was Daniel's BIRTHDAY! Happy 23 spouse! He was very happy to receive a Paul Millsap throw-back jersey and a video game from me, and lots of shopping money from his parents and mine. So we had previously arranged for a little trip down to Salt Lake for shopping, food, and relaxation.

Unfortunately the weather was icky, but we still had tons of fun. We stayed at the Hyatt, which always is great for us. Friday night we went out to eat at Rodizio Grill, which is an authenic Brazilian restaurant. So much fun! You just sit at your table while they bring you all-you-can-eat food! They have various types of meats they bring around on giant spits that they just shave off to your dining pleasure. Accompanied by a yummy salad bar, needless to say we left there EXTREMELY full. But we did stop at the chocolate shop for a treat afterwards.

Our personal favorites......Italian Sodas.

My personal favorite: GRILLED PINEAPPLE! Delicious.

Saturday we went to a session at the Salt Lake Temple, which was amazing. Then we ate MORE, if you can believe it. We went to the Red Iguana for some authenic Mexican food. And their food was also delicious. We ate a ridiculous amount of enchiladas, chimis, taquitos, chips and salsa, etc. etc. Holy cow. And then they gave us free sopapillas for Daniel's birthday, but we took those home. No way either of us could eat another bite.

Saturday night we made it home for Daniel's parents to take us to Texas Rhodehouse (keep in mind Daniel and I have done nothing but eat excessively and drive...still super full). So we ate...again. Then we went to see Robin Hood. I fell asleep due to my overeating. Good show.

Sunday we had another large meal and of course ice cream birthday cake! (I'm still full as I write this very moment)

The end. We had an excellent weekend full (and I mean full) of good food, shopping, and family. It was a much needed break from our usual routines. Come Monday we will be back on schedule.