The Chocolate and The Cheese

In an effort to help me be not only motivated, but organized enough to blog everyday, I have decided to add another weekly column, if you will, to the blog. Thursdays, you may have noticed, have become the Cookbook Showdown Days. It's nice to have a schedule I think, for me and for you too! So from here on out Fridays are now going to be know as Five Things Fridays. I'll present you a list of Five Things. They may be things I am thinking about, or dreaming about or thankful for or just random, inane, useless knowledge about myself. Whatever the case maybe I'm fairly certain that it will be entertaining. I think highly of myself, like that. Without further ado, here is the first installation of Five Things Fridays! Five Ways I Combat the Winter Blues: Head to the gym . Nothing like a little sweat to make the day seem a little brighter. Or if I'm feeling particularly lazy I just spend some time in the sauna, then take a shower. I'm flexible like that. Danc...

Welcome to this week's edition of Cookbook Showdown. As we continue with this experiment in my cookbook collection, you'll see a large number of vegetarian cookbooks. This is because when I started out cooking I was a vegetarian. Funny how that works out, huh? We still eat a lot of veggie meals, it's just something we're used to. Feel free to add a chicken breast or some ground beef if you feel so inclined. This week we're cooking Spicy Barley with Mushrooms. It's pretty straight forward, which is exactly what I needed on a Tuesday night. It's hard enough to cook dinner some nights, let alone have an attention span long enough to actually follow a recipe. For this recipe you basically brown some onion and mushrooms until they get nice and golden brown. You want all of that yummy, mushroomy flavor to come out. Then you add the barley and some water (I used some stock) and let them meet and mingle for almost an hour. While you're waiting go ahead an...

One of the most difficult things to teach a toddler is sharing. They think everything in the world is theirs and they ever want to part ways with their "favorite" thing (or the favorite of the moment). In our house we try to talk about how we share with our friends because we want our friends to share with us, we share because we can't play/hold/have everything at once and we share because, indeed, everything is not ours. It's tough for a little kid, but a necessary skill to learn. Sometimes I think it's harder to share for adults than kids. Overall, generally, for the most part; I don't care if you use my stuff , take it, use it, return it or not. I'm not attached to it. Where I start to get ornery is when I have to share my time . I don't mean volunteering or giving my time to help a friend. I'm talking about when I have something planned, or I get a bit of precious "me" time and something or someone comes in the way of it. I wa...

Posting has been rather spotty around here lately. Have you noticed? I try, with the best of intentions, to pop out a blog post durning nap time everyday. However, nap time has been non-existent around these parts lately. I think I've finally figured the nap equation out again, so hopefully we can get back on schedule. The other thing is that I have felt lately that I just don't have enough time. I'm trying to become more organized, prioritize what I really want to get done, be a present mom, get some "me" time in, go to the gym, spend time as a family, go back to school, be a good friend, put the house on the market, plan for a potential move, decide if I want another kid and generally just be happy. Hmmm. No wonder I'm running out of hours in the day! I feel like my house has become more organized; I've been committed to cleaning out closets and purging them and the other areas of junk collection in the house. It's not perfect, but it's ge...

Skillet Pork Chops and Flopped Potatoes Let me just start off saying this. I love Mark Bittman. My friend Amy turned me on to him about a year ago and I haven't looked back. It is one of two cookbooks that I keep on my kitchen counter, because I use it daily. If I can't remember how to cook something, what temp I should cook something at, if I need a different way to cook something; I turn to Mr. Bittman. You really do learn how to cook everything, plus. Plus! He's funny and reading his commentary makes every recipe just a little bit better. So without further ado, let me introduce to you the story of the most awesome pork chops ever and the potatoes that flopped. Yes, that says Eight Ways. That's one of the other reasons I love Mark Bittman. After almost every recipe he tells you how to change it up, make it better, more exciting, not mundane. Tonight I decided to make the Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce. Yum, my belly just did a little dance. The recipe called for ...

All sorts of good will and happiness about your own country and the world in general. During the Opening Ceremony and the Parade of Nations everyone was cheering for everyone else. Nations that don't recognize each other in political life (I'm looking at you China and "Chinese Taipei") can come together in the spirit of competition. I think I just teared up a little. Bob Costas. From the sports coats he pilfered from my grandfather's closet, to his attempts at making jokes; watching the Olympics just wouldn't be the same if Bob Costas wasn't sitting behind that desk. Sports that you will quickly forget about ten seconds after the Closing Ceremonies finish. Curling, Skeleton, Luge, Cross Country Skiing, Bobsledding, Ski Jumping, Speed Skating, anyone? Being an expert in an event after watching two competitors finish and listening to thirty seconds of commentary. "Look Mr.! Look how tight her knees are, how her head doesn't even bobble up...

"One might as well try to ride two horses moving in different directions, as to try to maintain in equal force two opposing or contradictory sets of desires." -Robert Collier

I.am.addicted. I'm sitting here trying to think about what to write about, staring out the window at the lovely sun and sneaking quick peeks to my other open tabs. Would you like to know what those tabs are? Pizza Stromboli with Spinach, Mushrooms and Cheese Cinnamon Rolls Baked Oatmeal Monkey Bread Muffins Tasty Kitchen Smitten Kitchen All Recipes Daily Recipes Gnocchi alla Ro mana Lentil Stew with Sausage Are we seeing a theme here? I am obsessed with food. Making it, looking at it, planning it, eating it, sharing with those I love. Anything that has the slightest, the smallest iota or connection to food, I want to know about it. It's getting a little ridiculous I think. I have cook books I've never used. A whole folder in my bookmarks of saved recipes I've never made. The thing is though, I don't usually cook from a recipe. I browse recipes to get ideas. To think about flavor combinations. To see what others are eating. To learn new techniques or type...

The makings of these bars was really a comedy of errors. I didn't have enough oats. I thought I was making a 13x9 pan of bars, but really it was an 8x8. All of the pictures I took of the process and the finished product came out a little wonky. Most of them were blurry. And then, when I tried to find the recipe so I could post it with the pictures... I couldn't find it. So, I should be telling you to go out and make these bars as soon as you can. That they are the best combination of PB, Oatmeal and Chocolate Chips... ...Ever. Instead I'll tell you that I'm searching and searching for the recipe and I'll post it as soon as I can find it. Hopefully soon, so I can make another pan.

As I promised last Friday , I spent all weekend coming up with ideas that will make the rest of this long, cold (and now, super snowy) Winter go by just a teensy bit faster. As I said, not all are fun; however, they are all ways to either get you out of the house, or make you more productive inside. Take a peek at my list, won't you? Organize Your Closets Make a Fort with Pillows and Blankets Organize Your Photos --remember to back them up ! Make Curtains Make a treat to bring into work or to a friend. Send someone a card in the mail. Make a list of things you'll do this summer . Plan your garden . Finger-paint Rearrange a room in your home Paint Something Make a Budget Volunteer Read the Newspaper Join a New Club Take a Class (Pottery, Language, Cooking, etc) Google your Exes Plan your next week (months) meals Call your Mom--or your Best Friend Find a new blog to read (Read Yes and Yes yet?) Have someone over for dinner . Make Valentines Eat Some Chocolate Take a...

It's the beginning of February and we in the Northern Half of the World have another solid two months of winter left. I've stayed positive up until this point. Days filled with activities. Mornings at the gym. Projects at the house. Lots of good snuggles and movies. Anything to fill the days. But I think the truth has started to sink in. We have cabin fever. Even on the days that we do have a full day planned, we still end up at home. What was once a wonderfully cozy, happy to be, laughter-filled home has become boring, messy, I can't wait to leave house. Eh. I would say overall I still feel pretty good, but... But... I think I'm ready for Spring. So I've decided that I am going to beat this funk. No down.in.the.dumps.February for me this year. I'm going to get organized, motivated and beat this winter at it's own game. On Monday I'm going to have a list of ways that you can beat your own mid-Winter slump. Ways to stave off boredom and cr...

I sleep in late (ie. 8am). As my eyes struggle to stay open I smell the delectable, nay divine, scent of a pot of coffee already made and waiting for me in the pot downstairs. The house is quiet. I stumble down the stairs, already anticipating that first sip of coffee. I open the fridge and my favorite creamer is on the door. I open the cupboard, my favorite mug is clean and waiting for me to pour the hot, brown goodness inside. Nothing like the first sip in the morning. Especially if you didn't have to make it yourself. I walk around the corner where I see the Mac is up and running. My favorite blogs/websites are sitting open. Ready for me to peruse and comment. As I click tab after tab, I revel in the warmth of the coffee, the click-click of the keys as I type and the silence that abounds. As it turns out, all of my favorite pages were updated over night. Those bloggers--they sure are an insightful, funny bunch. I stand up to stretch and notice that my book for book ...

Today is the day when I was born into this fantastic world we live in. Usually for my birthday I want to go out, out, out. Dancing and drinks, fabulous dinners and staying up late. This year I opted to celebrate last Friday with a quiet night at home with good drinks, friends and food. This morning I got my free latte from a local chain and renewed my license at the DMV. It actually felt great to get things done. Tonight I'm staying in with the Mr. and the little lady. For some reason take out and a movie just sound perfect this year. I'm looking forward to a year full of big changes, exciting adventures and relaxing moments. Just the way life should be. Happy Monday everyone! Enjoy the day of my birth.