Do You Measure Up?

We thought we had measured the inside of our closet well before I headed to Ikea to buy some new storage pieces for our T.V. and a 2nd closet in the guest room.

before and afters 001

The T.V. stand is working perfectly and just how we planned. The storage units for the closet were another matter. I picked up this large square piece and another section that was narrower and taller to put on one end.

more after 015

Seems our measurements were 3/4 of an inch off. I knew my handy dandy Dear would figure something out or we’d just stick the tall unit in the basement. The figuring someway to squeeze it in was the more favorable option because I wanted to maximize the storage in this closet. The solution was to take the support for the upper shelf completely out. See that white upper board at the end of the closet with the hole in it that was a hanger bar?  Of course that also meant we had to take the entire upper shelf out during the process, too. We still had to partially disassemble the tall unit to get it in and then to lift the unit while it was in it’s place to tighten the screws. Are you confused yet? Too bad I didn’t YouTube the process.

Ikea storage 002It’s quite the feeling of accomplishment when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and know you conquered assemble yourself furniture! That is one snug fit let me tell you. Oh my aching back…

I’m also quite pleased that I have some empty cubbies to add things to in the future. Have you had fun projects go south on you?

My mom and pop are doing well being left alone at night. My mom has had some tough days with her heart feeling very heavy. When I talked to my pop this past week one day he told me my brother had made homilets for them for breakfast. On Tuesday he said my sister Kathy had made something Mexican for them with beans… saucekitos or something. My family loves to document what we call “Moisiisms”.

mom pei wei

My mother and father have never had lobster, scallops or shrimp so my brother Steve made lobster and scallops for them last week and my sister Lana made a shrimp dish for them to try on another evening. My mother really enjoyed the lobster and left the scallops for my brother to enjoy.  I forgot to ask how she liked the shrimp. I really can’t remember having much fish growing up. Maybe once when my pop went deep sea fishing and caught Yellowtail. I do remember camping at San Clemente Beach in California when the Grunion were running and catching some and running up to the campsite to cook them fresh. The Grunion running experience was a great one for me. “The grunion are running, the grunion are running, was chanted down the beach after waiting in the dark for them to appear. You could see little silvery fish emerge from the waves onto the beach and they would start digging into the sand to lay eggs. Wow this post has really gotten away from me.

Here’s a short explanation from Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, “Spend a night sitting on Southern California’s sandy shore waiting for the “grunion run.” Grunion are small sardine-size fish of the silversides family, which are among the few species of fish that actually come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches. They are found from Southern California south to Baja California and arrive at night after the high tide around the new moon and full moon. Cabrillo Beach is one of the better places to observe the fish.”

So you see if you don’t measure properly you will find your mind being random and scattered and full of fond memories of carefree days…

Here’s that Yellowtail I mentioned earlier. This was taken in our backyard in Montebello Gardens (Pico Rivera). That’s me and my brother Tim watching my pop clean the fish.

028_28-001Hope you have a perfectly random day!

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia ~

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia– I got this recipe off the package of High Liner Mild Tasting Tilapia Loins (frozen individually wrapped and purchased at Costco)

4 Tilapia Loins
1 large or 2 medium Vidalia onions (if unavailable use yellow onions)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick (I’ve also used canned tomatoes)
4 Tblsps. Fresh Chopped Basil
8 cloves of chopped garlic
4 Tblsps. olive oil
12 Calamata olives chopped

If you don’t have fresh tomatoes you can used canned variety. I have and it turns out very nice, too.

 

Defrost tilapia loins. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Peel and slice onions 1/4″ thick. Saute in olive oil in oven proof pan over medium heat, 2-3 minutes each side or until onions are translucent.
Place loins over onion slices. Sprinkle olives, garlic and basil over fish. Place tomato slices on top. Salt and pepper to taste.
Place pan with fish in center of oven, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until fish is opaque.

You’ll notice that I only made 2 tilapia loins so I cut the recipe in half. There are only two of us and fish isn’t  great as a leftover in my opinion…

Serve tilapia with rice pilaf and spinach salad (their recommendation) Serve it with any starch you’d like and any salad or green vegetables.

Tonight we’re going to have it with pasta and a spinach salad and some fresh bread.

Yummy light and fresh tasting…