Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Hello and Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!  This morning Pumpkin was in no mood to be social....she spent most of the morning under the bed.

No need to hide Kitty!

But starting this week, Pumpkin is showing off her social side and letting her friends stop in and guest post for Pumpkin Wednesday!

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This week Lauren and Montana are stopping by and discussing how to "try" to work while your cat is around :)

In true Pumpkin Wednesday fashion I’ve got pics for you and some fun tidbits.

So although I’m the odd man out in our group of girls and don’t have a cat at home, I once had a cat in my office. Lucky me. His name is Montana and even though he’s insanely cute, he’s very distracting.

When trying to file important papers Montana likes to make sure I’m putting them in the right folders…..

Such a helpful kitty

I asked him to help me respond to some emails but mainly he just wants to sleep…

Oh wait, not that helpful

When I’m on the phone attempting to process an order, he wants to know who I’m talking to…

Oh, hello. Can I put your call through to Lauren's voicemail?

Lesson learned, cats are good to cuddle with, but they don’t make great work colleagues. J

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Thanks Lauren!  Hope you had a great Wednesday!

-Looking forward to a lovely Thursday

Quick and Easy Recipe

I really love cooking.  I know some people find it to be a lot to after a day of work/school/childcare, but I think it's relaxing.  Call me crazy, but that's just how I am....

Today's quick and easy recipe is for homemade salsa/pico de gallo.  My friend Michael makes delicious salsa and is the inspiration for today's post.  And I know tomatoes are typically best in the summer, but vine ripened tomatoes were on sale at the grocery store this week, so hence my need to buy and use them.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1 onion, I used a white onion
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 jalapeno
• some cilantro
• Juice of a half of a lime
• Salt and Pepper

Get out your knife and cutting board, chop chop chop away all the ingredients, combine in a bowl and it's great if the ingredients have time to meld together in the refrigerator.  Also, feel free to change the amount of ingredients, i.e. if you prefer less onion, there are no hard and fast rules.  Oh, again, be careful with the jalapeno if you are sensitive to heat.  You can always add more, but it's hard to take away if you put in too much.  Likewise, don't add the seeds if you don't love spicy.

Your salsa will keep for a few days and can be added to salads, meats or anything else your heart desires.

What are you creative ways for using salsa?

-Looking forward to Pumpkin Wednesday!

Miscellaneous Monday

Hello Everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are staying warm as you head back to work.  Speaking of work, I wanted to let you know I am now officially employed. Yay!  Today was my first day at work and I'm excited to get my legal career started.  Please bear with me as I adjust to a new schedule, and I certainly will work to keep the blog updated as often as I can.  Hopefully Pumpkin will pitch in and start writing a few more posts

• Issues with Facebook:  As some of you know I like to "share" my blog on Facebook so everyone can easily see when I post.  However, last week I was told I was sharing too often and my content was "abusive" or "spammy."  I was provided the opportunity to appeal this distinction to the gods of Facebook and was promised a response within 48 hours.  As of today I have no response and my blog is still "spammy."  One friend did show me an "app" which will allow me to share via Facebook.  Another friend (thanks Meghan!) alerted me that my problem with Facebook and sharing is not an isolated incident.  Even poor Roger Ebert was told that his blog (which is far more professional and awesome than mine) is too spammy.  What's your take on Facebook's policy of censoring content?  

• Last week I caught a quick glimpse of a show on TLC about strange addictions.  This woman below is addicted to eating her couch cushions.  I am not trying to make light of her situation, but I find it so crazy that our minds are capable of making us crave something that is not food. 

• This weekend as part of my Christmas gift, Tim took me to a partner's cooking class at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking.  The theme of the night was Thai cooking and Tim and I were in the group responsible for making the Mango, Coconut, Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.  So delicious and I don't even like sweet foods!  If you live in the greater Cleveland area and you like cooking and learning new recipes/techniques check out the list of available classes.

So, tell me, how was your weekend? 

-Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Pumpkin Doesn't Need Caffeine, But I Sure Do

I cannot stress how tired the gray, cold and snowy days make me.  I mean not only am I freezing ALL the time, including when I'm indoors, but the more clothing I put on the more it makes me want to take a nap.

However, coffee and occasionally things like Red Bull, Five Hour Energy, and Caffeinated Soda help me make it through the day.  I'm jealous that Pumpkin is active enough to never need any synthetic energy...

Oh hello!

On the move (with laser eyes)

Being a Menace

Tim makes coffee every morning in our wonderful drip coffee maker, and around this time of year you want your coffee to taste fresh and be deliciously potent.  So, if you're looking for better coffee, it's time to show a little love to your coffee maker.

If you haven't done so a while, you should clean out your coffee maker.  This process includes washing out the actual coffee pot, washing a mesh filter with soap and water, and cleaning out the inside of the machine.

To clean the inside of the machine, you should make  a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water and fill up the reservoir with the mixture.  Run this water/vinegar mixture through the coffee maker, let it get through completely, and then turn off the coffee maker and cool for 15 or so minutes.

To make sure all the vinegar is out, fill the water reservoir with clean warm water.  Run the water through the coffee maker, let it get through the drip process completely, turn off the coffee maker and cool for 15 minutes or so.  You should run clean water through the coffee maker one more time to be sure all the vinegar is out.

Ideally, you should be cleaning out the coffee maker every 2 or 3 months.  So, if you can't remember the last time you cleaned your drip coffee-maker, get to it this weekend for fresher more delicious coffee!

How much coffee do you drink in the morning, and how do you take it?

-Wishing you a wonderful Thursday!

Pumpkin Wednesday!

Good Morning!  Don't fight with the alarm clock and just turn on the light!

Grab some coffee, put on your work clothes and head out the door!

See you when you get back tonight!

-Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Spicing Up Your Go-To Protein

I don't think I have ever explained why I have a somewhat limited array of recipes on this blog.  If you read often, or if you know me pretty well, you would notice I only eat chicken, turkey, fish and shellfish.

It's sort of a long story, but when I was growing up my family had cows we raised on our farm and sent to the butcher.  It may seem cruel but after I got yelled at by the butcher's wife, I only started eating the meat from the cows we raised.  The butcher's wife told me that if I was going to eat beef, I was foolish not to eat the all natural and humanely raised cows from our farm.  So during high school I decided I would only eat beef if it came from our cows.  And consequentially I stopped eating beef when I went away to college, because after not eating beef for so long, my body would reject it in a very painful way.

So, for nearly 8 years, I have been mostly beef free.  I'm not against eating beef, but at this point it would be tough to try to bring it back into my diet.

The point of this story is that I eat a lot of chicken (and by default so does Tim).

Pic courtesy of Freefoto.com

The positive factors about chicken is that it is relatively inexpensive, works into recipes well, and is one of the healthier proteins.  The downside of chicken is that eating it can become repetitive and it can easily become overcooked.

Chicken settles well into many recipes, but I struggle if I am trying to quickly make a boneless skinless chicken breast taste delicious on its own.  I like to marinate them overnight, but when I forget I turn to spices.  A spice rub is a great way to infuse flavor into your chicken (or meats of any kind) when you don't have the time to marinate.

Here's my recreation of a spice rub from Allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic power
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (****this makes the rub spicy!, if you are adverse to heat try starting with a half a teaspoon and work your way up, remember you can always add more, but you can't take away****)
2 teaspoons black pepper

Makes enough for 2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Mix the spices together.  Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry and apply to the chicken.  Cook the chicken in a pan with cooking spray/oil/butter, or toss on your stove top griddle or George Foreman.  You can also bake them in the oven.  Once the weather is nice, or if you grill despite cold weather conditions, head out and and cook your spice rubbed chicken on the grill.

What's your secret for making a boneless skinless chicken breast tasty?

-Tomorrow is Pumpkin Wednesday!

Miscellaneous Monday

The weather is about to get ugly again.  Yet another snow/freezing rain/sleet storm is headed through the midwest to the east coast, so slow down and be careful when you are commuting this week!

• In case you didn't know, it's cold and apparently very icy in Cleveland.  Check out WEWS Channel 5's website to see pictures of the amazing ice sculptures Lake Erie created.

• With all the cold weather, I need more caffeine/coffee to make it through the gray days.  If you're like many people who are trying to keep a New Year's resolution to stay fit, some of the drinks at the coffeehouse can really derail your diet.  Meg at Life of Meg breaks down the calories and fat in several Starbucks drinks, and makes clear there are many low-fat, low-cal options to choose from.

Courtesy of Freefoto

• Tomorrow is trash day, and I need to make sure I check my freezer before the garbage goes out.  Why should I look in the freezer you ask?  Well, when I find something objectionable and smelly in the refrigerator during the week, I simply place the entire container in the freezer.  Freezing the nasty food keeps the stink from penetrating your trash can or room and makes it easy to get any gooey substance out of your reusable container.  It also allows you not to have to take the garbage out every time you throw away something smelly, which is especially nice during the winter.

• I hope you had some time today to read or hear something you didn't know about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  During Meet the Press this weekend they aired a clip from Dr. King's last appearance on Meet the Press in 1967.  I found his words inspiring and they reminded me how he was able to reach out to audiences in all settings.

-Wishing everyone a wonderful Tuesday