Miscellaneous Monday: Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have been nicely welcomed in 2012!

In an attempt to keep this blog from becoming all about my cat, I'm going to work on bringing you more helpful tips and recipes in 2012...


This week I'll  start with a newsworthy item.  This morning, Zappos announced that hackers compromised the security of the website and the personal information of millions of its customers.  Luckily, there was no breach of the part of the website that stores credit card and financial information.

Photo by: Andres Rueda Used pursuant to creative commons license. 

Mulitple news articles are reminding you savvy online shoppers to take the time to make multiple, complex passwords on all sites where you input credit card information.  The danger with a hack at Zappos, is that your password information, if the same across multiple sites, could lead a hacker to easily determine your passwords and financial information at other sites.

Lock up your personal information with a high quality password

You can protect yourself by making a more complicated password.  One easy way to get a random password is to use a "pass phrase."  The pass phrase is a sentence you make up, and then you take the first letter of each word in that sentence to use as your password.  For example:  I was a law student and i drank too much coffee, becomes "iwalsaidtmc."  To the outside observer, its a completely nonsensical group of letters, but to you, an easy to remember phrase and a tough to guess password.

If you want to find out how tough a password is to guess, head to "How Secure is My Password" and give a password a test.  The phrase I just entered above would take 169 days to hack.  Add in a few numbers and symbols and you are in a good position to protect yourself online.  Just to complete the conspiracy theory, don't enter your real passwords on the site (who knows where it goes after all).



For all those times you aren't shopping online, or making up new passwords, you might be trying to come up with new recipes.  I did some traveling over New Years, and although it's not very thrifty, I always pick up a few magazines in the airport.  The latest issue of Cooking Light has 25 chicken recipes, something that is welcome in our house, where we eat a lot of bird.

One recipe I tried last week was the Mustard and Maple Glazed chicken.  It's a quick and easy recipe and although I don't have pictures, I can say it is delicious:

Who doesn't love syrup?  Photo by rasdourian under creative commons license.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

freshly ground black pepper

salt

1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Heat a large oven ready skillet and add the oil to coat the pan.  Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place them in the hot pan.  Cook the chicken until browned, about 2 minutes each side.

3.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Add the chicken broth, syrup, thyme and garlic to the pan, and bring to a boil.  Scrape the pan to loosen any of the browned bits from the chicken.  Cook the syrup mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently (syrup can burn!).  Add the vinegar and mustard and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly.

4.  Put the chicken back in the pan and spoon the mustard mixture over the chicken.  Place the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes or until the chciekn is done.  Remove the chicken from the pan and let stand 5 minutes.

5.  Be careful when grabbing the hot pan, but put the pan with the juices back on the stove.  Cook the mustard syrup mixture for 2 minutes or until it is syrupy.  Serve the sauce over the chicken.


What recipes are you adding to your rotation?  Have you changed your password so it's not your pet's name?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Post Thanksgiving Turkey Nap

Aaaannndddd, we're back! Please forgive me for the prolonged hiatus, but Thanksgiving absolutely wiped me out.  I looked a little something like this:

I like to eat Turkey and take a Nap!

My apologies to any family this photo may embarrass.

But not to fear, I've been baking and cooking and shopping and prepping for the holidays and I have plenty of things to share.

One: Gifting and Shopping

We are well into the holiday gift buying season.  However, with the economy in its current state, it can be overwhelming to balance your need/want to buy gifts for Christmas or Hanukah with your budget.

My favorite tip for buying holiday gifts is simple:  Buy less, and think more, i.e. concentrate on buying one meaningful gift.  For so many years the holiday shopping season has seemed to be more about quality than quantity.  However, if you focus on buying one gift that is extremely meaningful, price and quantity won't be something the gift receiver is thinking about!

Presents. for me?

At this point, there are still deals everywhere even though Black Friday and Sand Cyber Monday have come and gone.  However, just because Small Business Saturday is over doesn't mean you have to restrict your shopping to the local mall.

Do a little research, head out to your local downtown/uptown shopping area and give your local merchants a try! Not only will you help stimulate your local economy, but you're also likely to find more unique, one of kind, and hopefully more meaningful gifts.  If you live in Cleveland, check out this guide for a way to find out about all the great local business here in Northeast Ohio.

Two: Soup Soup Soup

The holidays are a busy time and often the last thing you are planning is what you are going to make for dinner.  In order to keep from blowing all of my money (instead of using my budget for gifts) I try to make foods that are plentiful in leftovers.  Below are recipes for two soups, both tried and tested by Tim and me, which make for a few good meals and help answer that age old questions, what are we going to have for dinner!

Lentil Soup (Recipe courtesy of Food Network and Giada De Laurentiis)

Quick Note: Tim made this soup and it turned out wonderful!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 pound lentils

11 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs

Parmesan for Garnish

Delicious Lentils, Packed with Protein!

• Start by chopping up the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.  Make sure you vegetables are chopped in roughly the same size to ensure they cook evenly.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium head.  Add the onion carrots and celery and stir.  Wait one minute and add the garlic, salt, pepper and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and the liquid from the can.
• Bring the veggies and tomatoes to a simmer until the juice evaporate and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.
• Add the lentils to the vegetable mixture incorporating them with the vegetable juices.  Add the broth (make sure you have a large pot, 11 cups of a chicken broth is a lot!)
• Next, add the time and bring everything to a boil over high heat.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are tender, roughly 30 minutes.
• Ladle into bowls, add salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (Courtesy of Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa)

3 to 4 pounds butternut squash peeled and seeded
2 medium yellow onions
3 Macintosh apples, peeled and cored
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 coups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon good curry powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Cut up the butternut squash, onions and apples into small, but not tiny, equal size chunks.  Place them in a bowl and toss them with the two tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

There will be a lot of squash and veggies.  You may be able to get away with using one sheet pan, if you have a large sheet pan, but you might need two depending on the size of your squash.  They key is not to overcrowd the sheet pan and make sure all the veggies are in a single layer.  Roast the vegetables for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring/tossing occasionally until the vegetables are very tender.

So much squash!

NEar the end of the cooking time, heat 2 cups of the chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot.  Once the vegetables are done, you can either 1) put the veggies through a food mill or 2) use a food processor.  I selected the food processor method because I don't have a food mill.  Use some of the chicken stock when pureeing the veggies in the food processor.  Add the vegetables that are mushed into the pot with the chicken stock, and add the curry powder.  You can adjust the consistency of the soup with the chicken stock.

If you want to add some garnish, try green onions, toasted coconut or crushed roasted peanuts.

Three:  Christmas Tree Safety!

This week Tim and I put up the Christmas tree!  It's so nice to have it on in our little apartment, but it's important to keep in mind a few safety tips

What a lovely little tree.

• Use indoor lights indoors, and leave the outdoor lights outside.  It seems obvious, but  there are nearly 250 fires each year related to Christmas trees, so someone is certainly not using their noggins.
• Make sure your tree is at least one foot away from any radiator/furnace/heat source.
• Don't forget to unplug the tree lights when you leave home for the day.
• Make sure your artificial tree is labeled as fire-retardant.

How are your holiday preparations coming along?  Looking forward to a wonderful Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday!

Hi friends, I'm back after a bit of time away.  I hope you all transitioned nicely in November and are ready for some delightful Miscellaneous Monday tidbits...


First, let's just take a moment to reminisce about the extra hour of sleep that we had yesterday......

OK, back to reality.  I must admit, I really enjoyed that extra hour yesterday, but some people aren't so lucky.  Case in point, Arizona.  This desert state doesn't need an extra hour of sunlight, and therefore, Arizona never "springs forward," and never gets to "fall back."


I don't know if the extra hour actually helped me, or if it's just a mental trick, but I definitely felt more productive today.  I had the forethought to remember I had some vegetables in my fridge that weren't going to make it to the end of the week.  I went to my favorite website for coming up with quick recipes, epicurious.com and searched for the ingredient I happened to have a lot of, yellow squash.  This recipe got the thumbs up from Tim, and is deceptively simple but has an interesting flavor.  Give it a try next time you're looking for a new side dish.

Photo from IFood.tv

Yellow Squash with Basil (courtesy of epicurious.com)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 yellow squash cut lengthwise and then sliced into thin slices

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup water

salt

black pepper 

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet that has a lid.  Get the oil hot, but not smoking.  Add the cut up squash and saute for about 5 minutes.  You want the squash to get brown in the skillet.  After the squash is browned, add the garlic and stir for one minute, until the garlic is fragrant and wafting in the air.  Add the salt and pepper and pour in the water.  Cover the skillet tightly with the lid and simmer "briskly" until the water is evaporated, this process should take 6-8 minutes.  Be careful and don't let your squash burn!  Once the water is evaporated, and your squash is cooked, put the squash in a bowl and mix in your chopped basil.  Serve hot and enjoy. 

Courtesy of Bobbey Peachey

Don't forget tomorrow is election day!  Get started by finding your polling place here and then, if you're voting in Cuyahoga County, do a little research here about the judicial candidates up for election.  If you're anywhere else check out Project Vote Smart to find out facts and stats for your candidates.  

Happy Monday Friends!!! 

Miscellaneous Monday: Quick Dinner and Dirty Cell Phones

Hello friends and Happy Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to enjoy the delightful warm weather, sunshine and changing leaves.

In true Miscellaneous Monday form, I present two completely unrelated topics: a vegetarian recipe and methods for cleaning your cell phone.


With the weather being so pleasant, I decided to fire up the grill on Sunday, and cook some vegetarian cuisine.  Don't all you meat-eaters navigate away from this page.  This healthy and hearty dish is satisfying even to a regular carnivore ( i.e. Timmy even liked it).

Polenta Stack with Navy Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 can navy beans (sometimes called great northern beans) rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup basil, chopped

5 ounces crumbled feta

1 medium sized zucchini or yellow squash

1 fresh red pepper

1 tube prepared polenta

olive oil

salt

pepper

Start by heating up your grill.  If you want to make this inside, no problem, just preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Grab four 18 inch pieces of foil and coat the middle with cooking spray.  Set them aside until you are ready to make the foil packets.

Rinse and drain the can of beans.  In a large bowl mix the beans, tomatoes, chopped basil, feta and some salt and pepper to taste.

Beans and Tomatoes.  Feel free to add seasonings you see fit!

Grab another bowl, and cut you your zucchini into thin round slices, and cut the red pepper into similar size slices.  Toss the veggies in 1 tsp of olive oil and add salt and pepper for flavoring.

Next, get a cutting board and slice your pre-cooked polenta into 16 equal sized rounds.

The polenta really helps this meal feel filling

Take the foils and place 1/4 of the bean/tomato mixture in the center of each piece of foil.  Place 4 slice of polenta in each packet on top of each bean mixture.  Then add the veggies.

Wrap up each foil packet and crimp edges to seal the little packets.  Place on the grill over the hot hot heat for 10-15 minutes.  Do the same if you are cooking in the oven and enjoy!

Cleaning your Dirty Cellphone

I am not a germ freak, trust me.  I personally abide by the five second rule for food on the floor (only for me, not for people I cook for) and I have no problem walking around outside without shoes on.  However, when I read that your cellphone likely contains 18 times more bacteria than a toilet handle, I start to get a little nervous. 

If you have a cell phone without a touch screen, use a mixture of 40/60 alcohol to water to clean your keypad and the solid parts of your phone.  Use a cotton swab, dry cloth or even a q-tip to get into the hard to reach cracks between the keypad.

If you have a phone with a touch screen, you will want to avoid using a harsh cleaning agent on the screen like alcohol.  Head to your nearest electronics store and buy a wipe specially formulated to clean the screen and kill bacteria.  Some brands to try include iKlear/KlearScreen, Dust-Off, and ViewGuard.  These brands all have germ killing properties. 

Some keys for cleaning all types of cell phones:

• turn your phone off before doing any kind of cleaning/maintenance
• keep any liquids out of areas that have access to the internal part of the phone like a USB port, or anywhere you would plug something into, and use an air duster instead
• allow your device to completely dry before turning it back on.

Happy Cooking and Cleaning!

Looking forward an excellent Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Fall is Upon Us!

Last week Friday marked the beginning of Autumn.  I can't say that the weather has completely been in tune with the calendar, but it's nearly October and I'm ready to indulge in some of my favorite fall activities.




Tonight, for Miscellaneous Monday, I will share with you a recipe for Hot "Spirited" Cider.  The recipe, adapted from Epicurious.com is the perfect complement to a crisp fall evening, and easy enough for the novice cook/home entertainer to throw together.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 cups Apple Cider
• 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 orange
• 8 Whole Cloves*
• 1 tsp. Allspice* 
• 1/4 cup Applejack Brandy
• 1/4 cup Dark Rum
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks*

*I know buying spices can be expensive, but think that if you buy these sweet/savory spices, you won't have to purchase them during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday rush.

Here's what you will need to do:

Grab a sauce pan and place it on the stove on a low temperature.  Melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter.  When the butter starts to melt, add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  While the butter is melting, use a vegetable peeler and peel the rind of the orange into several large strips.  Add the orange peel, along with 8 whole cloves and 1 tsp of allspice into the butter/sugar mixture.  Add four cups of apple cider and bring to a simmer.  Don't forget to put in a few cinnamon sticks!  Once you get everything simmering, reduce the heat and let the cider simmer for about 7-9 minutes.

Now comes the discretionary part of the recipe.  You can stop and drink the cider as is---which is delicious---or you can throw in some alcohol and make this an adult beverage.

If you add alcohol, remember the golden rule of cooking.  You can always add more, but it is very difficult to take things away once they are in the pot.  Start with about 1/4 cup of the apple jack brandy and 1/4 of the dark rum.  Adjust the amount of alcohol to suit your taste and the occasion. 

One small note regarding the list of ingredients, apple jack is not the same as apple pucker.  Applejack is not straight apple brandy, but about 35% of the alcohol is made from fermenting fruit.  This method of using fruit for fermentation is different from most other alcohols which are made from fermenting grains. You can likely find apple jack at a decent sized liquor store (Cleveland folks, I got mine at Simones).  

Photo courtesy of the Laird and Company website

In the coming weeks, I'll be passing along a few more of my favorite fall recipes.  What do you get excited to cook and bake once the weather turns cool?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday

Hello friends, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I was fortunate to spend some time with my boyfriend in Nashville at his alma mater, Vanderbilt.  Not only was the weather beautiful (see below)

but Vandy won the football game and we got to see the victory flag raised.

Go 'Dores!

How did you spend your weekend?

In the spirit of bringing the blog back to life, tonight I present a few unrelated topics for Miscellaneous Monday.  Enjoy!

• Don't throw away those Pantyhose!

Even though I am technically an adult, I have yet to master the art of wearing pantyhose.  Despite my best efforts, I usually manage to get a large run in my hose the first time I put on a new pair.  I just bought a new pair today, so I'll be trying a technique I suggested earlier whereby you soak the pantyhose in salt water to strengthen them before wearing.  I'll let you know how that goes :)

Regardless of whether the salt actually strengthens, it is pretty much guaranteed that I will develop a huge run in the front of my pantyhose.  It is also inevitable that I will not notice said run until I am meeting with someone important in my office, or am out in public...

Wow, I am still really far off topic.  The point of this bullet point is that you can still use those ripped pantyhose for at least one thing... shining your shoes.  Start by wiping the dirt and gunk off your shoes with a dry cloth.  Apply a shoe polish as normal.  Once the polish has begun to set in, use the pantyhose to buffer up and get a great shine on your shoes.

• Cleaning your stinky washing machine

Do you ever wonder what happens to all that stink and yuck that comes off of your clothes in the washing machine?  Sometimes the stench may build up over time and it can rub off on your clothes.  One way to clean the stench in your washing machine is with a product called "Affresh."  They are tablets, like the kinds you use in your dishwasher, and you run them through a regular wash cycle (with no laundry in the washer).  I just bought a pack of the tablets today and will be testing them this week.  I'll follow up, but wanted to let you know where to turn if you have some funky smells coming from your washer.

Photo courtesy of this blog 

• Password Managers for your Electronic Devise

These days we have passwords for everything, and I mean everything!  I do my best not to use the same password over and over for the sake of security, but often run into the problem of trying to remember which password phrase/combination of numbers and letters I used this time?  If you have an Iphone/Ipad or other type of smart phone device, there are a number of different programs available to help you safely and securely remember your passwords.  Check out this article for some reviews of the different password apps available and their ratings for security and ease of use.

Looking forward to a wonderful Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Sandwiches for Dinner

Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  As I'm sure you can tell from my terrible lack of posting, I've had a busy spring.  Between work and lots of traveling to see family and friends, I have hardly had time to put all my laundry away, or even make much more than scrambled eggs for dinner.

But alas, tonight I wanted to share with you a few quick sandwich recipes that can serve as nice easy dinners when you are on the run.  Pair these sandwiches with a vegetable, salad and grain and you've got a full meal.

These recipes don't have to be followed to a "t", so feel free to experiment with the recipes to fit whatever is in your pantry/refrigerator/freezer.

#1----Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Photo courtesy of Quarry Girl

• tortilla, pita or other wrap (I like whole wheat for some extra nutrients)
• boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ranch or blue cheese dressing
• blue cheese crumbles
• celery
• lettuce
• tomato
• Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
• butter (optional)

1.  Cook your chicken.  You can do this day of by grilling it on a pan.  You can also save time by cooking a few chicken breasts over the weekend and refrigerating them for the week. 

2.  Cut the cooked chicken up into strips after it cools.  Place the strips in a sauce pan and add the Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce with enough to coat the chicken.  You can also add about a tablespoon of butter to help make the sauce a little richer.  Heat the sauce until the chicken is well coated and warm.

3. Prep your vegetables.  Cut up some celery, lettuce and tomatoes.

4.  While your chicken is heating up, toast your tortilla to get it warm, but not crispy. 

5.  Now you are ready to assemble your wrap.  Put some of your dressing on the center of the tortilla.  Add the chicken, veggies, blue cheese and roll up your wrap, and stick with a toothpick to keep it all together.

#2------Salmon BLT (Recipe Courtesy of Ashley N.)

salmon + ciabatta + bacon +lettuce + tomato

• bread, or ciabatta roll
• salmon (you can also use frozen salmon, which you can get at your grocery, or stores like Target)
• mayonnaise
• lime/lemon juice
• cayenne pepper
• lettuce
• bacon or turkey bacon
• tomato slices

1.  Cook your salmon, with just salt and pepper, either in a pan or in your oven.  You can cook it with a little bit of butter, or olive oil, or if looking to save some calories, use Pam.

2. Toast your bread or ciabatta roll while your salmon cooks.  Also, get the bacon/turkey bacon cooking. 

3.  Make the mayonnaise spread.  Combine a few tablespoons of mayonnaise (use more or less depending on how many sandwiches you are making, or how much you like mayo) with about half the amount of lemon or lime juice, and 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  Put this spread on the bread (both sides!) before you add the salmon and other ingredients. 

4.  Time to assemble your sandwich!  I like to put a piece of lettuce on the bottom of the sandwich, add the salmon, tomato slice, and turkey bacon, then put on another piece of lettuce and the top of the bread.

#3--------Greek Chicken Wrap (surprisingly similar in preparation to the Buffalo Chicken Wrap)

Delicious Greek Foods courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

• tortilla, pita or wrap
• boneless skinless chicken breast
• balsamic vinegarette or Greek dressing
• feta cheese
• olives (I love kalamata olives)
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• lettuce

1.  Cook your chicken.  You can do this day of by grilling it on a pan.  You can also save time by cooking a few chicken breasts during the weekend and refrigerating them for the week. 

2.  Cut the cooked, and cooled chicken into strips.  Place the strips in a bowl and coat with your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or Greek dressing.

3. Prep your vegetables.  Cut up some lettuce, cucumbers, olives and tomatoes.

4.  Toast your tortilla or pita to get it warm, but not too crispy. 

5.  Now you are ready to assemble your wrap.  Add the chicken, veggies, feta and roll up your wrap, and stick with a toothpick to keep it all together!  You can also add more dressing should you desire.

I love sandwiches and I hope these recipes give you something quick and easy to make for dinner.  What's your specialty quick sandwich?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Spring Cleaning-Start Slow its a Marathon not a Sprint

Hello all!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and if you were in the Midwest, I hope you had a chance to get outside on Sunday and enjoy the sunshine.  The warm weather definitely boosts my spirits but it also signals a time to start the annual spring clean out!  I have too little attention and time to tackle more than one room/project at once, so I like to start with something easy that has instant results:  cleaning your bed!

• Now is a good time to clean your bed linens, and not just your sheets!  Wash everything, including your comforter, and all duvet covers (for those of you who have one) and bed skirts.  If your washer is a normal size, don't try to jam your comforter in.  Head on up to your local laundry mat where they have oversized washers just for the purpose of cleaning large items.  If you don't have the time to sit at the laundry mat, some laundry mats have drop off service and may charge you by the pound for your items.

• Another easy way to freshen your bed is to flip your mattress.  Make sure all the sheets and mattress covers are removed and then flip your mattress, so the top is on the bottom.  Its suggested you flip your mattress every six months in order to provide even wear and keep your back feeling better as your mattress ages.  A quick note, don't use the handles on the sides of the mattress to lift it.  The side handles aren't that strong and were designed for positioning the mattress once it is in place on the box spring.

Image Courtesy of Photostock

• Before you flip your mattress and it is free of sheets and covers, give the mattress a quick vacuum. There is a lot of dust you may never notice, and the last place you want dust is in your bed.

• Are your pillows getting stinky?  If you spent more than the average price on your pillows and don't want to part with them, read the care labels on the pillows before washing.  Depending on what the fabric is will dictate how to wash them, and how to dry them.  If you have pillows stuffed with polyester or down, you can throw them in the washing machine.  Just make sure you balance the load by putting in two pillows and run them on the gentle cycle.  You can place the pillows in the dryer and use a few tennis balls to keep them poofed up.

• Once you have washed your sheets and your extra sheet set you have to fold everything.  One of the most annoying tasks is figuring out how to fold a fitted sheet (the sheet with the elastic corners).  I could attempt to explain how to accomplish a square fold on a fitted sheet, but suggest you follow the advice of Martha Stewart, complete with photos.

Photo Courtesy of Suat Eman

Have you started cleaning your apartment/house yet?  What task do you do to make your place feel spring clean?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Birthday Fun Time!

Today I officially pass the quarter century mark!  I am 26 as of now (well actually as of 11:30 tonight) and I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by.  I had the luxury of having a Monday birthday, which while it sounds less fun than a weekend birthday, actually allowed me to have fun and party for the entire weekend.  I did a lot of celebrating, which I will now share with you...


On Friday Tim got a cake for me...

Delicious cake from Presti's.  Had a few bites before this pic was taken.

On Saturday my Mom came to visit and brought a cake...

Again, had some cake before I got the picture taken

On Sunday, Pumpkin decided she was ready to celebrate with me...

Pumpkin loves to wear her party hat!

And today, I opened up all my birthday cards.  I got four cards with Cats on them...

Pumpkin look alike

Inappropriate Cat

Cat and String

Is this a gentle hint I am a cat lady?

Of course I am not the only one who celebrates their birthday today, so here are a few famous others who celebrate on March 28th...

Julia Stiles

Reba McEntire

Vince Vaughn, AND

Lady Gaga!

Also, this weekend, my sister, who is in college, shared some of her knowledge of the most hilarious videos on youtube.  She showed me this awesome parody of Lady Gaga's music video Bad Romance and I felt that on Lady Gaga's birthday it is only appropriate that I share it with you all. 

I want to thank everyone who celebrated with me/sent me a note/message/phone call!

What is the most fun birthday you have celebrated?

-Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

And We're Back...Miscellaneous Monday Time!

It feels like an eternity since my last post, and even longer since I have been able to share the joy of Pumpkin Wednesday with you all!  Even though my desk is still a wreck, my closet is clean enough that I can now put all of my clothes away.  Hey, I'm not perfect but it's a start...

In case you forgot, on Monday I like to spread some internet fun and post a few random facts I have run across during my free time on the weekends...

• I didn't catch all of the Oscars last night, but apparently I need to go and see The King's Speech.  If you saw it, did you think it was best picture worthy?  I also love trivia, so check out these five fun facts about the Oscars, including the fact that Oscar winners must sign an agreement saying they will not sell their winning statue to a collector without offering to sell it back to the Academy for $1.

• If you're looking for a great and easy dinner recipe check out Kelly in the Kitch's recipe for Lemon Rosemary CrockPot Chicken.  The ingredients are simple and the meal is best with some added vegetables and perhaps noodles or rice.

• Speaking of crock pots, don't cook anything in the crock pot again without buying some crock pot liners.  They are essentially plastic bags that you put inside the pot so that when you remove the bags, so goes the mess and other crud that normally gets stuck to the crockpot.  The food doesn't taste funny either.  Trust me, as someone who does not like to clean gross pots, these liners are a lifesaver.

Courtesy of the Jansson Family Blog

• As a quick note to everyone who is living in a home/duplex/basement apartment.  It's beginning to become just warm enough to melt all the snow that has accumulated over the winter.  In fact, there was a huge amount of flooding in the Northeast Ohio area today which caused quite a bit of damage to all kinds of property.  If you're a homeowner, it may be worthwhile to evaluate whether you need flood insurance, and for those of you renting, take a quick minute to check with your landlord about the condition of the basement and gutters.  It's always better to be a bothersome tenant than one with soggy belongings.

How did you spend your weekend?

Looking forward to a productive Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Super Bowl Recap

Hello friends!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and if you are a football fan, I hope you had fun watching the Super Bowl last night.

It turns out that most of you reading this tuned in to watch the Packers and the Steelers play, as the Nielsen Company (who posts the famous Nielsen ratings) claimed nearly 162.9 million people watched Super Bowl XLV.  That's a crazy large number and gives me hopes that the NFL and the player's union will be able to strike a deal to keep next season on track.

So last night, like many other people, we went to a Super Bowl party.  Our host was a Packers fan, and we had one lone Steelers fan in the group.  I wanted to bring something that would represent both teams, so here are my recipes for my party food.

Steelers Salsa---Black Bean and Corn Salsa 

(adapted from this recipe at Allrecipes.com))

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained

2 (10 ounce) cans white corn, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 bunch finely chopped cilantro

5 green onions, finely sliced

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1/3 cup lime juice

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and let everything sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to let the flavors meld.  There are no hard and fast rules, so feel free to make some substitutions or additions.  

"Green" Bay Dip---Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

 (made with a one change to Ellie Krieger's recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1 (9-ounce) package artichoke hearts, defrosted, rinsed and dried

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out.

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 cup (4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese)

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Pita wedges or crudites, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, until softened.  Add garlic and cook 3 to 4 more minutes, or until onions are light golden but not browned. Remove from heat and cool.

In the bowl of a food processor combine, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, mozzarella and salt and pepper. Process until smooth.  Add the artichokes and combine on pulse.  You don't want to lose the structural integrity of the artichokes. Add cooled onion-garlic mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Transfer mixture into 9-inch glass pie plate which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

Finally, I always like to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.  I didn't have a lot of favorites, but one struck me as downright hilarious...

I feel no need to comment on the whole Star Spangled Debacle, the Seat Debacle or the Weird Halftime Show, but I would really love to know what you think!

So how did you celebrate the Super Bowl and what was your favorite commercial?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

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!

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

The Long Holiday Hangover/Miscellaneous Monday

Hello All!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and got to spend time with all their friends and family.  I know it's January 10th, and I am embarrassed to admit how long after the holidays it has taken me to get back into the swing of things, including blogging.  But not to fear, I'm back and ready to write.

I have been procrastinating, a lot (obviously).  Today on Miscellaneous Monday I'm sharing how I procrastinate, as well as some tips to avoid procrastination and get things done!

• Besides reading the news and a few fun blogs, I procrastinate by visiting Sporcle.com: mentally stimulating diversions.  I'm sure most of you have heard of this addicting quick, quiz game website that tests users knowledge on a plethora of subjects.  But if you haven't taken one of their addicting quizzes, check it out.  Regardless of which subject you have the most trivia knowledge, sporcle has designed a timed quiz for you to take.  My personal favorite is naming Forbes top 100 most powerful celebrities, or the top 100 girls baby names for the 1990s.  

• My time procrastinating would probably be better spent sending e-mails to my friends.  In her list of ways to procrastinate, this blogger suggests using your time to reconnect with friends who you haven't kept up with as much as you would have liked.  Make a list in your e-mail program (I love the task feature on Gmail) and use any extra time to drop a quick e-mail to a friend.  

• I also like to take a look at the New York Times bestseller list.  I usually google the books, read some reviews and travel from book to author to another author until I find something I might be interested in checking out at my public library.

• Lastly, If I am at home and really desperate to avoid a bad chore, I will always do laundry.  It is one chore I don't mind doing and can be somewhat theraputic.  What is the one household chore you don't mind?

If you are interested in learning how to control your urge to put things off, follow these tips emphasized in multiple blogs/articles/books and compiled here.  

• Don't add tasks to your to-do list that don't have to be done immediately.  I like this advice because when my to-do list is too long I get overwhelmed and tend to shy away from the tasks.  If I have a five item list, I am much more likely to complete all of those things.
• Check your e-mail only when you have time to answer them.  It seems in this age of technology we want to be available all the time, but what good is reading an e-mail if you aren't able to respond? 
• Probably the most obvious, but most important is to just get started on the task.  Once you get started you get a little momentum and an intolerable task doesn't seem so terrible anymore.  So I bet you should hop off the internet and finish whatever you have to be doing!

How do you procrastinate, and better yet, what are your tips for getting things done?

-Best wishes for keeping your new year's resolutions on track!

Miscellaneous Monday

It's official....welcome to winter....  Today the greater Cleveland area got quite a bit of snow, so I have now had to drag out all my winter gear.  In today's Miscellaneous Monday, here are a few fun snow facts and some tips for keeping your winter gear in good condition!

• Lake Effect Snow.  This term gets thrown around a lot in the midwest and upstate New York, but most people don't know the science behind the weather.  The major snow that gets dumped inland occurs when a cold front of air moves across a warmer lake.  The lake/bay/ocean never completely freezes over, so even when it is cold, the massive body of water will be warmer than the outside air.  When the cold air passes over warm lake, the warm air from the lake hits the cold arctic air and precipitation forms.

• Boots.  I love winter boots, but the salt can really wreak havoc on any leather, suede or cloth product.  My strategy for keeping my boots from getting demolished is a can of Scotchguard or sneaker protector.  I'm sure you have been talked into buying shoe/leather protector spray at some point, but if not, buy yourself a can of Scotchguard.  Make sure your boots are totally clean by using a leather cleaning brush, or if they are fabric, make sure they are dirt free.  Follow the directions on the can, but make sure you don't spray too closely to the leather/fabric.  If you are nervous about the impact on your fabric, test a small patch.  After spraying two coats on in a well ventilated area and letting them dry, you should have somewhat water repellent boots.

• Driving.  Once it starts snowing, people seem to forget important rules of driving.  There is no sense bashing all motorists, so here are a few things you can do to help keep yourself and fellow travelers accident free!  Start by slowing down and leaving enough room between you and the car traveling ahead of you.  Get used to feeling out how your car reacts when you break on snow while you are driving at slow speeds on side streets.  Also remember when you are traveling on the highway, bridges and overpasses tend to ice over more quickly than the regular stretches of road, so use caution!

•  Car Kit.  Make sure to throw a few essentials in the trunk of your car in case you do get stranded on the highway.  A few people got stuck near buffalo last week on I-90 for over 12 hours! Bah!  Your emergency kit should contain a blanket, a shovel, kitty litter or sand for traction, a few granola bars and bottles of water.  You should also invest in a small first aid kit, they aren't too expensive and something that is worthwhile to have in your car for all seasons.  

• Salt Stains.  Despite the huge pain in the butt that rock salt is for clothes, it shouldn't cause stains to the back of your pants/skirts.  Just wash regularly or dry clean and you should avoid too many problems.  If you wear your nice leather shoes out, instead of your boots that you Scotchguarded, you can clean those salt stains with a tablespoon of vinegar mixed in a cup of water (or so says GQ style guy).  

Are you ready for the winter and all the snow?!?!

-Looking forward to a great Tuesday!

Miscellaneous Monday

Everyone wishes Mondays were more fun.  The weekend is behind us and the only thing you have to look forward to is.... Tuesday.  Not all that exciting.

But starting today, I present Miscellaneous Monday.  A collection of random tidbits from books, the web, happenings in town, and stories/facts I have been told.  Lets get started...

• For all the Harry Potter fans out there, it appears J.K. Rowling is NOT going to write any more Harry Potter books.  I thought this was obvious, but maybe some people think J.K. Rowling is like Brett Favre....
• In the book Manners, by Kate Spade, she addresses the topic of gift giving.  As a reminder for this holiday season, chat with your friends you hope/want to exchange gifts with.  No one likes to be surprised when they are presented with a present but haven't purchased a gift.  Take the time to figure out who you will be exchanging with so you can purchase/make something thoughtful.
• Get ready to make your Thanksgiving meals early, but not too early.  According to the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), if you buy a fresh turkey, make sure you don't get it more than 1-2 days before you plan to cook it.  Check with your local butcher about ordering a turkey to have it on hand for Thanksgiving Day. 
• Apparently Jessica Simpson is now engaged.  While her nuptials are unimportant to me, I know many of us are at the time of our lives when our friends are getting engaged.  Instead of just commenting on Facebook, go the extra step and send a handwritten note.  Never underestimate the joy a person has when finding a handwritten note in the mailbox.
• For an easy dinner try this recipe for turkey burgers.
• For many great recipes, take a look at the Lean Green Bean, written by a friend from college.  She has detailed recipes and lots of pictures!

If you have something that should be posted on Miscellaneous Monday, let me know.

-Looking forward to Tuesday!