For My Brain

I'm doing an insta.rgm-a-day. :) 

1/365  2012.01.Jan

2/365  2012.02.Jan

2.5/365  2012.02.Jan
(sometimes I take more than one photo)

3/365  2012.03.Jan

4/365  2012.04.Jan 

5/365  2012.05.Jan

Okay, guys

As we get to the New Year I'm all about thinking about refocusing my life, or my habits I guess. I need to exercise more, I need to eat more veggies, I need to be more frugal, I need to maintain my follow through on things I say I am going to do and I need to be more and more creative....create the pace of life I wish to live as one of my girlfriends put it so well the other day.  These are things I hope.


In the meantime, check out this Bon Appetit "lucky foods" list.  I love it!  Found it here.


If you'd like to get yourself some good juju for 2012, here are ten ways to eat for luck on New Year's Day. 

1. Eat twelve grapes at midnight. The Spanish and Portuguese eat twelve grapes as the clock chimes twelve times for midnight, to symbolize the twelve months of the new year. Incidentally, eating grapes this quickly is not as easy as it may sound.

2. Seek out ring-shaped food for breakfast. Consider bagels or doughnuts for breakfast (don't you always?), which represent not only carby deliciousness, but also the year coming full circle.

3. Down some pig. Lots of people consider pork to be the luckiest of all foods to eat on New Year's Day. Why? Pigs are rotund, which represents prosperity (not, as it turns out, weight gain). They also "root forward" with their noses, which is supposed to symbolize progress. You can choose to eat your lucky pig any which way, including ham, sausage, whole roasted suckling pig, ham hocks, bacon, pancetta...sorry, where was I?

4. Smash a pomegranate on the floor. (And waste a perfectly good piece of fruit?) In Greece, when the new year turns, a pomegranate is smashed on the floor in front of the door to break it open and reveal seeds symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. The more seeds, the more luck. 

5. Roast whole fish for lunch.  Fish are lucky in three ways: their scales resemble coins, they travel in schools, which represents prosperity, and they swim forward, symbolizing progress. This option has the added benefit of complying with whatever New Year's dietary resolutions you've likely made.

6. Slurp soba noodles without breaking them. In Japan, long buckwheat noodles symbolize long life, and are therefore lucky--but only if you eat them without chewing or breaking them. So get your slurping technique down.

7. Nosh on greens. They resemble paper money, and who doesn't want more money next year? Everything from cabbage to kale to your Mesclun salad mix applies here.

8. Whip up a batch of Hoppin' John. This dish of black-eyed peas and rice is customary for New Year's Day in the American south, where black-eyed peas are considered auspicious based on their resemblance to coins.

9. Cook some lentils. Can you guess what lentils resemble? Money! Yes, these coin-shaped legumes are lucky in Brazil and Italy, and are said to have been eaten for luck since the Roman times.

10. Bake a coin into a cake. The second Greek tradition on our list, this involves a special lemon-flavored cake called a vasilopita baked with a coin inside (again with the money!). Whoever finds the coin gets a year of good luck. That, or a chipped tooth.

DEEE cember

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Do you like to try to guess your gifts ahead of time?

I do. :( I feel bad about it. I try to put it out of my head but I do try to guess...even if I don't tell you I think I know what I am getting...I try guess what it is the person is giving me. I'll admit it, along a similar line, I have fantasies about my fiance coming home and surprising me just to hang out. He's on the road a lot so I think that this is a way that I express my missing him. I create these elaborate things in my brain and hope they happen...even though I know that they won't it still makes me really excited. 


Monday, December 5, 2011
What was the first gift you ever made another person?


The first gift I made had to have been born of my father genius to do what all children should do on Mother's Day - make brunch! I'm sure that was the first "gift" I made. I also have a tendency to make my family cards. One year I even made a work of art for my family. They each had a similar drawing of a building from from France, then I found quote approprite to each member of the family and painted it on the canvas. Not terribly creative but I think everyone liked them.


Tuesday, December 2, 2011
What was the most disappointing gift you received as a child?


I don't remember every having a gift disappoint me. Especially as a child, they were presents. And no - this was not a cop out.


Monday, December 1, 2011
What was the first tangible gift you remember receiving?

The first tangible gift I remember getting, hmm. Wow, my brain initially told me to tell you about my little yellow chair I received on like my 4th  birthday but I can’t remember actually “receiving” it, you know? I don’t remember opening the box.  I know I said “just what I’ve always wanted” because I’ve been told, at that birthday party, that was my response to everything. We had just moved to Scottsdale, AZ, I had no friends my parents knew a handful of adults so they invited them over to our house so that I could have a birthday party.  Everyone played along and brought gifts and I was ecstatic, hence the “just what I’ve always wanted” response to everything…I mean, I was four and had a houseful of adults looking at me as I opened ever gift there was. And, I’m sure after the first time, someone laughed and I loved the response so I kept doing it.  Attention hog much, NO WAY.

That was my gut reaction but when I thought about it, the first gift I remember holding in my hands and feeling that overwhelming feeling a child gets when they open a gift they never knew they wanted but it was the best thing ever.  I think it was like 1987 and I was 6 or something and my dad’s parents had come up to CT to celebrate Christmas.  My family had a tradition of opening one gift of our choice on Christmas eve, I think we’ve since dispelled that tradition as this 30yr old didn’t do it last year, or the year before for that matter. Anyway, it was the night before Christmas and all through the house, everyone was waiting for me to pick a gift...because it takes FOREVER it has to be the right gift. Finally I settled on the gift from my grandparents, it wasn't too light and it wasn't too heavy, you could hear something moving around in tissue paper. Not LITERALLY moving around, I was shaking it a little. I opened the box, there was no wrapping paper, just a dark green box with a white ribbon. I opened the box and slowly pulled back the white tissue paper to reveal a beautiful china doll. She was gorgeous, she had pale skin, lightly pinked cheeks and lips and a plain dress. I loved her and hugged her. I was so happy. She was so delicate. That't it.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I just decided to make whisky vanilla extract.  I used two big Madagascar vanilla pods split in two then a cup of Irish whisky and popped it all in a jar.  Shook it once or twice and stored it under my sink, I'll be back in a week to check on it but it's supposed to take a month or so...so, we'll see.

Ever made home vanilla extract?Better luck with vodka or bourbon?


xo

Comfort Food

Before we get to the deliciousness that is below, know that if you decide to make this pot pie - it takes some time, and having that time is really really nice because you don’t feel like you’re in a rush.  Albeit, we made it fast and it was still amazing.  But slow and steady really wins the race...I may have felt rushed b.c I was also making chocolate chip cookies for out dessert. That’s my own fault for reaching for more...I could have bought cookies.

Also, totally random side note, when I cook for myself I don’t go fancy nor do I always go awesome...like I just make a quesadilla with really just cheese and that’s it.  If I have greens, it’s greens and an egg. And, even if its gross, I’ll still eat it because I took the time to cook it! Terrible, right?

This recipe calls for shredded chicken.  I assume they don’t sell shredded chicken so you have to cook and shred your chicken.  I poached chicken breasts in milk and water until they were done, barely let them cool then pulled them apart.  I then just started chopping it up because my hands were burning and like I mentioned, I was in a hurry.  These biscuits are also awesome and really easy.  I’d make them on Saturday morning for a homemade brunch.

Enjoy this! And thanks to Joy, she really does know how to make amazing food...can’t wait for her cookbook, which I pre-ordered!

Chicken Pot Pie with Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits
Makes one 9×13-inch dish with 12 biscuits

For the Biscuits:

• 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1 t granulated sugar
• 1/2 to 1 t coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 C chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 C (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 4 oz (half of a brick) cream cheese, cold
• 3/4 C buttermilk, cold (if you don’t have buttermilk, take a T of of white vinegar and then enough milk to make a C and let sit for 10 minutes, then get 3/4 C from it.  So easy! You can even use lemon juice)

For the Filling:

• 4 T unsalted butter
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 1/2 C whole milk
• 4 oz (half of a brick) cream cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 t fresh ground nutmeg
• 3 C shredded chicken meat (I used 3 decent sized chicken breast - might have been too much)
• 2 T butter or olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 C thinly diced carrots
• 1 C diced zucchini (optional)
• 1 1/2 C frozen peas, thawed

Make your biscuits first, really simple, really quick.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, black pepper, and chives.

Add butter and cream cheese to the dry ingredients.  Use your fingers to quickly incorporate the butter into the flour.  This is one of those, use your hands add the love type recipes, it’s really the best way to get the best results.  Break up the butter and cream cheese with your fingers until there’s some the size of oat flakes and some the size of small pebbles.

Make a small well in the center of the fat and flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk.  Using a fork, combine the wet and dry ingredients, make sure you get everything moistened.  Dump the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured work surface - at this point you may think the dough’s a little weird it’s okay, just go with it.  Knead together until dough forms a disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Use a round, 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut biscuits.  Gather the dough scraps, knead a few times, and cut out more biscuits until no dough remains.  Place biscuits on a small cookie sheet and place in the fridge until ready to bake.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dice onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, and thaw the frozen peas.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Whisk in the flour, this will be really thick, heat for 1 minute.  Turn heat to low and add the chicken stock.  Whisk until no flour chunks remain now, whisk in the milk and add the cream cheese.  Turn your heat back to a medium/low temp, stir often until cream cheese has melted and the mixture is the consistency of warm, thick pudding.  Add chicken, lemon, and nutmeg, stir then add salt and pepper to taste.   Remove mixture from heat and set aside.

In a medium pan over medium heat, melt butter.  (I added all of the veggies at once, you could do it like Joy and go layer by layer I think this is better but remember I was on a time crunch.) Add onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add minced garlic and saute for one minute more. (At this point, if you wanted to kick up the heat, you could add a few shakes of red pepper flakes.)  Add carrots, zucchini, and peas.  Cook for  about 3 minutes.  The vegetables will not be entirely cooked through do not worry!  Remove from heat and add vegetable mixture to the creamy chicken mixture, stir to combine.

Spoon filling into a 9×13-inch pan.  Remove the biscuits from the fridge and place them on top of the filling.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with heavy cream, buttermilk, or egg wash.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until biscuits are puffed and golden, and the sides of the pot pie are bubbling.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days...if you can make it that long, we for sure didn’t.

Enjoy this so much … treat yourselves to it! xo

on a whim

I decided to make granola.  I looked at a few different recipes from sites I love (shutterbean & big girls small kitchen) and made an easy bastardized version of their granolas.  It smells great.  I hope it tastes good and that I can wait until tomorrow morning to eat it.  I really think this is the kind of thing you can put anything crunchy in. Walnuts? Pumpkin seeds? Other fun crunchy grains? Whatever.


Fall is the time for baking, so get on it.  I recommend some explosions in the sky blasting in the background and, this might sound dumb, but as you mix an bake have an intention.  Are you making this to help you be smarter about what you eat?  Is it because you love your partner and want to make the something yummy?  Is it for that friend of yours that is going through a rough patch?  Whatever it is (it could even just to celebrate you - we don't do it often enough) just think it while you work.  You'll end up putting so much love into something so simple you will be able to taste it. Enjoy!

Tuesday Granola
bastardized from here and here


Ingredients
3 C rolled oats
1/2 C slivered almonds
1/2 C raw sunflower seeds
1/2 C (+ more) mix of raisins, dried blueberries, cranberries, and cherries (what, what trader joes!)
1/2 C raw millet
1/2 C honey
1/2 T cinnamon
1/2 C canola oil (you can probably use olive oil to give it a more savory quality)
salt to taste


Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all of your dry ingredients in a big bowl. Once mixed add the honey and the oil to coat.  Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet, set your timer for 10 minutes and bake.  Take out and stir around, then do this 2 more times.  Once your granola is a nice even toasted brown color, you're done.  Let cool completely before putting into air tight containers. While its cooling - continue to stir it around to keep it all broken up. (The other recipes said they made about 6 cups...I think thats what I got?!)


xo

Incroyable

I don’t know how to convey how wonderful this past weekend was.  I know I’ve talked about family dinners and my roommates from college and how very special and important everyone is but how exactly does one put into words that feeling.  That comfort one finds in friendships that will last forever?

We were in Athens, GA this past weekend to celebrate one of my best friends, Josh and his new bride, Erin.  Josh is one of those guys who, I’m sure, everyone feels comfortable with.  He’s sincere, he’s genuine, he’s real, he’s raw, he’s emotional, he’s hilarious, he can get serious, he gets mad, he’s passionate about everything that is important to him.  I love him dearly and value his friendship so very much. I rely on Josh probably more than he realizes and maybe even more than I do.  We’re both busy adults, I mean Josh is in Grad School and working a full time job and fixing his house and making pots and playing soccer and always finding time to spend with Erin. We all know I work too much.  But when the two of us actually have 10 minutes to reconnect – it’s instant.  We weave back and forth between life questions and jokes about the fact that we’re “adults” like it’s nobody’s business.  This past weekend was for him and I am honored I was able to participate.

Josh and Erin have so many important people in their lives, so many people who value them and cherish them – this led to a wedding full of incredible company.  Myself, two of my best girlfriends and former roommate (Sliz & Scare) and two of Erin college girlfriends (Ellen & Neha) were asked to be their usher-etts, it was great. We were able to say hello to every single person who came through the school house doors.  Ellen, the night before had struck up a conversation with her husband Ben and Rory and I by telling me that we were being too Wittenberg centric, which I totally appreciated and really enjoyed their company.  Josh asked me to do a reading for the ceremony, from Kahlil Gibran’s the Prophet, on Marriage.  It was so beautiful.  As I was reading, something compelled me to turn towards Erin and Josh and deliver the passage to them – to connect to them because this day and this reading was about and for them.  Not that I didn’t want to include everyone else, but this was important for me to say to them.  I want to share the passage because I think it's so true for relationships.

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 




Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. 




Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

The reception was awesome.  I can’t wait to send you to their photographer’s website so you can see the venue.  BEAUTIFUL.  More than once Rory and I were like – this is our reception.  This is what we’ve already talked about.  It was rustic and classy. There was a Bluegrass Band playing.  There was mac ‘n cheese, there was BBQ, there was pie.  PIE, guys.  I want pie instead of cake.  It was the rustic simplicity.  I also, want to make strawberry jam for everyone, Josh made fig preserves.  It was great.

All is all it was worlds colliding in the most beautiful way possible.  College friends, camp friends and Rory.  I was so happy to be able to introduce him to so many incredible people.  And, it was kinda nice to see a wedding similar to how we want ours to go – funny that one of my best friends would give us a test run. :)

How was your Halloween?  Anything exciting? Also - the best chicken pot pie I've ever made is coming soon. !