Too Many Teas!

17 Sunday Jun 2012

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…ARGH…so many choices and where in the hell was the one I needed?  For the totally off the wall, random recipe that inspired me to make a special trip to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients?? 

I am not a hot tea drinker.  There, I said it.  Quelle horreur, right?  I hear about all the wonderful health benefits from drinking tea, a few co-workers have quit coffee and now only drink green tea and on and on.  It’s just not my thing.  I do enjoy a cup of (black) coffee in the morning but I’m not obsessive about it and I’m not homicidal when I don’t have it.  Yes, I do live at Starbucks Ground Zero but coffee is not a ritual for me.  Now, when it comes to tea, I can drink gallons of plain, unsweetened iced tea.  Homemade in the sun with a lemon wedge or Diet Snapple lemon flavor, I’m callin’ your name.

I’ve been getting re-intrigued with raw food lately.  And not the vegetarian or vegan style either, although there are incredible recipes out there across the spectrum.  I say re-intrigued (yes, I think I just made that word up) as I’m making an effort to keep trying new varieties of foods.  To keep varying my diet.  I experimented with raw food a few years ago – maybe even prior to starting this blog I think…probably around 2007-2008. 

Recently I picked up Carol Alt’s newest book, Easy Sexy Raw.  I have her two earlier books as well and I love how they’re all written with both a no-nonsense style and a little humor too.  Food should be fun, not serious!  And ugh, who wants to read and learn about a food lifestyle where the author is preachy or condescending?  What a turnoff.  Carol’s books are educational and such a pleasure to read.   For those of you who don’t know who Carol is, she was a model on countless magazine covers in the 1980s.  She’s also an actress and is probably the most familiar “face” of the raw food movement.  And if you see pictures of her today in her early 50s…wow, still a knockout.  She says she had a very unhealthy diet growing up and during her modeling years and once she later went raw, her health problems vanished and her energy skyrocketed.  Sounds pretty inspirational to me!  We’re never too old to make changes in our lifestyle to improve our health!

So what’s the deal with tea?  Well, the recipe I wanted to try (which I’ll share at the end of this post) called for a quarter cup of Lapsang Souchong tea.  No offense to tea experts out there, but what the hell is THAT?  I probably have tea stashed deep in the dark corners of my pantry but had no desire to dig around and I knew it certainly wasn’t that kind.  And for some reason, as much as I love grocery shopping (really and truly – today was a one of those rare times I didn’t) I didn’t feel like making a long drive out to one of our nearby specialty stores which I was certain would probably have it.  We’re so blessed here in the Seattle suburbs to have Whole Foods, a PCC (co-op), Metropolitan Market, Trader Joe’s and on and on.  And I am very fortunate to have a grocery store that’s a 2 minute walk from my townhouse.  The good old Safeway. 

Getting to that Safeway, however, is a nightmare and by the time I’m in the store my blood pressure is skyrocketing.  What’s the problem?  Well, whether arriving on foot or by car, the street nearby and the parking lot are very unsafe.  The parking lot is poorly designed.  Between people coming and going with carts, small kids, combine that with a Dairy Queen drive-thru lane dumping out in the opposite direction, a McDonald’s drive-thru on another part of the entrance and a busy 4-lane street that’s dangerous to cross on foot (drivers do NOT yield in the cross walk there – it’s bizarre and scary) you have a mess.  It’s just a weird vortex where common sense goes out the window.  And no, I don’t think it’s just me! 

For some reason I decided going to said Safeway today would be a good idea.  They do have a pretty good selection of specialty, natural foods and organic produce.  So off I went…in search of frozen corn kernels (that was easy) some gourmet mushrooms (I choose a small handful of Shiitake mushrooms), and the elusive Lapsang Souchong tea.  The tea was going to be part of a marinade for the mushrooms.  Sounds interesting, don’t you think? 

And then there it was.  The tea aisle.  I was beyond overwhelmed and probably had my jaw on the floor.  I could not BELIEVE how many kinds of tea there were!  The gatherer/cave woman within me freaked out!  TOO MANY CHOICES that I knew NOTHING about!  And that damn Lapsang Souchong tea was nowhere to be found! GAH!  And I realized, given my near total ignorance about tea, that I had no idea what would be a decent substitute!  So I grabbed some Stash green & black tea blend and said hell with it.  Now I’m truly curious how much different this marinade turned out having used another kind of tea. 

And now for something completely different…this recipe is for Lapsang Souchong wild mushrooms with a fresh corn polenta.  Yes, you can make a raw version of polenta!  In fact, as Carol writes, just about any food out there has a raw ‘twin’ of sorts.  She also shows ways to incorporate raw partially into our diet without needing to go 100% cold turkey.  Again, this is part of the reason I love her books and writing style.  It’s not in-your-face, shoveitdownyourthroat.  It’s informative…and funny!

Serves 4 – requires some marinating and soaking time

  • 3 cups wild, fresh mushrooms such as chanterelles, porcini, oyster or trumpet
  • 1/4 cup brewed Lapsang Souchong tea
  • 1/4 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce)
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked then dried completely
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 cups fresh corn kernels or thawed frozen kernels
  • Freshly ground black pepper

To make the tea, steep 1 to 2 teaspoons of tea leaves into 1 cup of hot (not boiling water) for about 5 minutes.  Alternatively, steep the tea leaves in room temperature water in the sun for several hours.

Soak the cashews for about 2-3 hours.

To make the mushrooms, use a damp cloth to wipe the caps and stems clean.  If using larger mushrooms, cut them into smaller pieces so they are all uniform in size.  Combine the tea, olive oil and nama shoyu and mushrooms in a large bowl.  Toss and massage with your clean hands to mix well.  Set aside for 15-20 minutes to marinate.  The tea will give the mushrooms a smoky flavor and the oil and nama shoyu will help soften them so they appear to be cooked.

Meanwhile, make the polenta.  Combine the cashews, salt and garlic in a food processor and process into small pieces.  Add the corn kernels and process to mix well.  Season with black pepper.

To serve, scoop the polenta into individual dishes.  Top with the mushrooms and spoon over some of the marinade.

Carol gives a nod to Ani Phyo for creating this recipe.  It’s truly unique!

Now, I admit I blew it somewhat on a few steps, but I’m excited to try again (and not only to see what it tastes like with the rightly intended tea).  The Safeway did not have raw cashews, so I substituted bulk, salted cashews.  I think this was a mistake.  The polenta calls for a little extra sea salt to be added and so that combined with already salty cashews made for too-salty polenta.  Oops. Thankfully I made about 1/4 of the recipe given this was a way off the beaten path experiment for me, so I don’t feel like I wasted a lot of food.   My frozen corn kernels were also not completely thawed, so the polenta texture was not as pudding-like as it was supposed to be.  But boy it tasted GOOD.  And it didn’t take much to fill me up.

I think that’s the idea about eating foods in their natural state…without additional chemicals, fillers or other ways we alter our food, we’re satisfied with less. 

Buon appetito!

Bedroom Grinning

10 Sunday Jun 2012

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I was thinking about calling this post “Grinning in the Bedroom.”  But that might be a little misleading.  Although I AM grinning in this bedroom too but not for the reasons you might think. 

Now, why does a picture like this make me smile?  Let me count the ways!  It’s PROGRESS.  It’s ACTION.  It’s IMPROVEMENT…and it’s a sign of what’s to come.

A few months ago L and I started this messiest of messy home improvement projects call Scraping Off a Very Heavily Painted-Over Popcorn Ceiling.  It was Super Bowl Sunday actually when we kicked off – no pun intended.  I really wanted to do the fun stuff first like repaint a few walls I was getting sick of here in the townhouse and replace the old doors, but L wisely said no, we need to scrape, sand and repaint the ceilings first.  Man, he was right. 

Back in early February, June seemed a long ways off.  We figured sure, we’ll be done with the upstairs by June.  Now, blink the eyes and it’s MID JUNE.  We have made progress though not as much as I’d hoped.  We’ve learned so much about this process…the guinea pig room was my master bedroom and open dual-sink vanity area.  The largest of the 3 bedrooms upstairs and THE most personal, sacred place for me.  So it was painful cutting our teeth in there, it took far longer than we thought and it’s not yet finished – the ceiling is scraped and sanded but not yet primed and repainted.  Living with displaced clutter has grinded (ground?) my nerves but I’m a lot more used to it now.

The 3rd bedroom has been a dormant mess for, sadly, nearly 10 years.  It was going to be a guest bedroom but ended up being a dumping place for things I didn’t know what to do with…and was too lazy to tote down to the garage (which has yet to have some decent shelving added…Le Sigh that’s another thing on the list).  This weekend it was time to clean it out and scrape the ceiling.

L came over Friday evening.  I made quinoa chowder (find the recipe in my post here…I diced up a chicken breast, sautéed it and added it to the soup to make it a little heartier) and we just relaxed and watched TV.  It felt good having him over.  I’m feeling in a much better place these days.  Work is super busy, but I’m relieved my assignment will be extended into the fall.  I’ve got some fun summer plans on tap, I feel happy that L and I are great friends and he wants us to stay friends forever.  The home improvement work is messy and moving slowly but I trust that he will keep helping me until we finish.  I know it’s going to look great when we’re done.  By 10pm we were both tired and crashed.  He took over the living room couch, M’s dog by his side on the floor and I headed upstairs. 

The next morning I fueled us up with a big breakfast…bacon, scrambled eggs with Tabasco and toasted bagels with cream cheese.  And lots of coffee of course.  We finished the last part of the 3rd bedroom clutter…moving the books off the tall bookshelf and lying the bookcase on its side against the wall, ready to wrap in protective drop cloths.  Ideally we would have moved it completely out of the room but there was nowhere convenient to put it.  My upstairs hallway is pretty narrow, and the other room up here – my home office – now has boxes and stacks of books added to the rest of the clutter already in there.  It’s starting to look like it’s auditioning for an episode of Hoarders.  Scary.  Breathe, breathe…it’s temporary.  This is how I continually remind myself it’s going to get finished and all of this mess will be back in order.  I DO NOT live like this. And I giggled when I realized how pristine the carpet in the 3rd bedroom is.  It’s hardly been walked on in years.  The only routine action it gets is when my house cleaners vacuum what they can every month.

Now if you are considering attempting a ceiling scraping project like this, remember that you cannot have too many plastic drop cloths.  It’s essential to not only cover the floor with them, but also to tape drop cloths along the top edges of the walls to catch the ceiling debris as it comes down.  It’s a pain in the ass taping drop cloths along the top edges of the walls but if you do you will avoid a lot of mess with dust clinging to the walls as it comes down.  You can see a strip of leftover painter’s tape in the picture actually.

Compared to the large master bedroom and vanity area, this room was a breeze.  It’s a lot smaller – it’s too small to hold a queen-sized bed if you would also want two decent night stands to give you an idea of the size.  We started at the section where the window is, so we could take down that wall drop cloth first to get some ventilation.  For those of you just tuning in, L and I are doing the old “spray and scrape” method of taking down the popcorn ceiling.  I use a garden sprayer to spray small patches of the ceiling, let it sit for a few minutes, and L scrapes away.  We found a cool-looking tool designed for this purpose that attaches onto an extension pole awhile back.  Sadly, it’s too flimsy to do the job.  My ceilings are heavily painted over with thick, flat, matte white paint so a couple of good putty knives are what L uses while standing on a step stool.  One knife is 6″ wide and the other 3″ wide.  It’s tempting to get something even wider to cover more surface area more quickly, however the risk is if the ceiling is not perfectly flat you run the risk of gouging it with the tool edges.  So far no problems there.

We’re also learning about the fine line between getting the ceiling damp enough so the scraping is relatively easy, versus getting the ceiling too wet and risking mold later.  Another reason why good room ventilation is essential.  Thankfully the weather has been somewhat decent this weekend.  I’ll be keeping the window ajar for the next few days.  I can already see how a lot of the wetter patches have dried.

Now that the ceiling is scraped we’ll need to sand it down like we did in the master bedroom, but I’m already thrilled with how it looks.  This room is going to transform…I’m not 100% sure how yet but it will.  See that small patch of paint?  That’s a Benjamin Moore paint in Sioux Falls.  It’s a glorious bluish green and I can’t WAIT to paint!  I love color and I can’t wait to get rid of that horrible, flat white paint.  The ceiling will be painted off white, however, not colored.  

L thinks I should make that 3rd bedroom my home office and make the (larger) bedroom where I’m sitting here – my current home office – as the guest bedroom.  Interesting idea!  I could definitely put a queen-sized bed in this home office which would be a lot more comfortable for guests.   I know L likes smaller, cozier spaces to work in, while I thrive in more open spaces.  This could be a fun way to change things up.  Technologically it could be a problem now that I think of it…that 3rd bedroom does not have any phone jacks or cable hookup.  Gotta love older (32 year old) homes that are not pre-wired for technology like homes are today.  Hmmm.

So while I tend to get frustrated when I see the long road ahead in getting this townhouse updated and the shell game of having to move crap between rooms to clear them out for the ceiling work, I remember how great a place it is.  The floor plan is kickass.  I remember when I was ready to start looking to buy a place and made a list of my priorities for my realtor.  She found everything I was looking for at the top of my list…3 bedrooms and townhouse style!   And a huge 2-car garage!  They just don’t make them like this anymore.   Sometimes I wish I’d purchased a newer home that didn’t need so much updating.  Carpet, countertops, window treatments, flooring, appliances…but I know that newer places have problems too.  Guess it’s all part of the journey of homeownership.

For now, I grin…progress and wonderful Man Help thanks to my guy BFF!!

Turning the Page

03 Sunday Jun 2012

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It’s late Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here reflecting back upon the amazing bookends of this weekend.  A Goodbye on Friday and a Welcome Back today.  Dear friends of mine going on or returning from odysseys.  So much to think about.

D’s pulling up stakes and moving to Austin, TX this week.  A few friends got together at Grand Cru, a wine bar in Bellevue, WA for happy hour, munchies and celebrating her new career chapter.  Every time I go – which is I think all of 2 or 3 times actually – the ambiance and vibe is very warm and relaxed, not pretentious.  LOVE that.  And Friday it was time to toast D and wish her well on her new job and move.  She’s been pursuing this position for quite some time, and the interview process has been exhaustive.  But every time she’d tell me how it was going I just knew.  I just knew she’d get it.  It just felt like and seemed like the Universe would make it happen.  And SHE would make it happen – both with hard work and with the unique combination of passion and effortlessness that it’s just going to happen as it’s supposed to.  Sometimes you just know.

I’ve only known D a few months now – we got acquainted last October in one of my more random weekend encounters in recent memory.  The story is here.  I know there are no accidents in life.  D’s been such a treasured friend – one of my newest – and it’s the type of friendship that while it’s new there is a deep, intuitive understanding of one another.  Sometimes you just resonate with certain people.  What a gift that is.  D’s been such a joy and inspiration.  Selfishly it’s hard to say goodbye as she gets ready to move halfway across the country.  But I couldn’t be happier for her.  She deserves every happiness.  She and Austin will get along amazingly.

And today I met up with P for a fantastic late lunch.  The kind where “all of a sudden” it’s 3:00 after enjoying great food and company.  We went to Desert Fire, a southwest-style restaurant in Redmond Town Center.  It’s funny how I hardly ever shop there (or eat out there, maybe once or twice a year at most, even though it’s not far from where I live or work).  And then I remember why…oh yeah…an ex-boyfriend worked in one of the stores there.  OK, that relationship’s been kaput for 5 years now, but I guess old habits prevail.   I savored the fish tacos and a few glasses of good old plain iced tea.

P’s just returned from an incredible 3-week journey to Alaska… traveling both by the Alaska Marine Highway (a ferry system) and driving with her two beloved dogs.  This trip was not only to visit family, but to experience the incredible beauty and ruggedness of Alaska for herself.  And take a well-deserved vacation.

Tangent time:  P and I worked together very briefly about 5 years ago.  And “worked together” is probably a bit of a stretch.  We were at the same company, in somewhat similar roles but in very different business units which did not have a lot of overlap.  My entire business unit got downsized within a year of me coming on board; P meanwhile remains a seasoned veteran.  I remember as a newbie there scratching my head and wondering how to connect with others in the company who had a similar job title as I.  I scrubbed the company directory and just started emailing people, introducing myself.  And so that was how I met P.  P is one of those rare types where we’ve stayed in contact far longer than anytime we were at the same company together.  And I’m so glad to have her as a friend. 

So back on track here…P’s blog documents much of this trip in both her stories and her photography.  [It’s a great resource for travel planning and preparation too, by the way and for many travel destinations beyond Alaska].   And the additional stories she shared today at lunch reflecting upon the trip and how she feels reflecting back upon the whole experience, well, I just listened joyously, wide-eyed and soaked it all in.  It’s a privilege to know P, to be her friend and her confidante as she thinks about her own journey ahead and shares her dreams, struggles, hopes and passions.  What’s next, where to live, career, successes, joys and ups and down.  LIFE, really.  It’s such an honor when someone opens up about so much to you, don’t you think?  Really, it’s a gift to be cherished.

So here are two great friends of mine, turning two very big (and different) pages in their lives.  What does it mean?  What’s going to happen?  The answers to these questions are unknown, but I DO know everything will unfold in their favor.

I feel so blessed today…to have the friendship of such incredible women in my life.  The gift of time together with great friends, great food and great conversation…THIS is the trio of joys that strums my strings. 

And I’m so happy to have experienced this TWICE in one weekend.  Cheers!

..but I didn’t WANT to use the blender…

02 Saturday Jun 2012

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…or perhaps we could call this post “Soup Bender weekend #2:  the extended dance remix.”

I broke one of my hardfast rules about cooking – ALWAYS read a recipe through thoroughly – every single word – before you start the prep work.  Even before you start grocery shopping for ingredients.  Somehow in skimming through this latest intriguing soup recipe, I’d missed a casual yet crucial phrase in the final steps while the cooking was already well underway.  “…transfer to a blender…”

Um, OK.  The last two soups I made did not require blending/pureeing at the final step, and I’d made a bad assumption this one wouldn’t either given it’s from the same cookbook.  So I’d planned to just make this recipe un-pureed (is that a word) and keep it chunky-style, which is just as flavorful, though a far different texture.  (And yeah, I felt lazy too).  Good news that the vegetables did NOT get too mushy…my alternative turned out great.

Crema de Cangrejo (Crabmeat soup) – Serves 6

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 C)
  • 1/2 C chopped carrots
  • 1/2 C peeled and diced (1/4″) all-purpose potatoes
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 T minced fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 T minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
  • 4 C hot water
  • 6 oz fresh or canned good-quality crabmeat, undrained but picked over for shells and cartilage
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 C whipping cream (optional)
  • Cayenne pepper or sweet paprika for garnish

Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over low heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, carrots, potatoes, celery, cilantro and parsley and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.  Add the mustard, white pepper, salt, bouillon and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the crabmeat and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Let cool for a few minutes, transfer to a blender, and process until smooth.  Return to the saucepan, bring back to a boil, and taste for salt and white pepper.  Stir in the lemon juice and cream (if using), keeping the soup on the burner just long enough to heat through.

Serve in soup cups, sprinkled with cayenne.

Fivenineteen notes:  dry mustard is like a mustard powder.  You can find it in the spice section of most grocery stores.  Do NOT try to substitute regular, creamy mustard or mustard seeds.  It’s not the same and won’t work.  I also chopped up a whole, small potato and a whole, small yellow onion.  It might have been more than the recipe called for, but it turned out great.

Crabmeat:  another sticker-shock moment, although not surprising.  Fresh Dungeness crabmeat was US$29.99 per pound at the grocery store.  Compare that to whole, fresh Dungeness crabs at $8.99 per pound, plus all the cracking, cleaning and scraping/steaming I’d need to do with them…I splurged on a half pound of the prepped, shredded crabmeat.  Which is delicious, by the way.

I was a bit surprised to see a recipe with crab in a South American cookbook for some reason.  But the author, Maria Baez Kijac, explains everything wonderfully in her preface to this recipe:  “In South America, there are a variety of cream soups that don’t necessarily have cream – they owe their creaminess to being pureed.  This crabmeat soup is perfect without cream, but for cream lovers like me, adding a bit of whipping cream just makes the soup taste better.  Sometimes I serve the cream in a separate bowl, so that guests can take a tablespoon to the soup, if they so desire.  Though expensive, crab is found in abundance along the Pacific coast of South America, including Ecuador, where this recipe comes from.”

Yet another fantastic soup meal, with leftovers to savor!  Enjoy!

From The South American Table,  by Maria Baez Kijac

A (Memorial) Soup Bender Weekend! Learning About Quinoa…

28 Monday May 2012

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After yesterday’s amazing discovery of a Chilean fish soup I woke up today excited.  And motivated.  Grinning.  Sure it was (is) a sleepy, relaxed Memorial Day, but I felt compelled to do more soup cooking…and to uncover more treasures in this marvelous cookbook – The South American Table!

What did I have to lose?  The leftover fish soup was slowly getting devoured…I had two bowls of it last night (grin) and will likely have another tonight as well.  So deliciously satisfying…without that bloated feeling of “oh man, I ate WAY too much.”

I thought it would be fun to try a vegetarian soup from this cookbook.  While I’m not a vegetarian, I don’t eat meat every day – I just don’t think it’s necessary to do so.  I love trying different alternatives, although I tend to lapse into a pasta-and-pesto dinner habit when I’m not eating meat or too lazy to cook some.

I raved about this cookbook in my last post; there are 450 recipes – 26 of which are soups…and 9 of those are meatless (sopas sin carne)!  Wow!  I definitely have the gazpacho on my list for when the weather gets warmer.   Today this one stole my heart (and my taste buds) and was educational as well.  And, in my typical fashion, another driver to try out a new recipe is to use up something in my pantry or fridge that needs using up!  In this case it was eggs, milk and quinoa.

[Side note:  my version was not truly vegetarian as I opted to use chicken stock, but you can also substitute water or vegetable stock if you prefer]

Chupe de Quinua (Quinoa chowder).  Serves 4 

  • 2 T butter or olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped (about 1 Cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 4 C boiling water or chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 C cooked quinoa
  • 1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 C fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • 1/2 C fresh or frozen peas, or shelled fava beans, blanched and peeled
  • 4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • minced fresh mint and cilantro leaves, for garnish
  • 1 ripe but firm Hass avocado (optional), peeled, pitted and diced 1/4″ thick for garnish

In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, without letting it color.  Stir in the garlic paste, cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook for 1 minute.  Add the water (or stock), quinoa and potatoes and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the milk, corn and peas and simmer 5 minutes.  Add the cheese and eggs and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted and the eggs have set.

Serve hot, garnished with the mint and cilantro leaves and avocado, if using.

Fivenineteen notes:  Here’s the author’s delightful introduction to this recipe (she does this for each and every one…love it!)  ” Chowders are everyday items on the tables of the Andean Peoples.  These chowders can be as simple as a combination of squash, wheat or quinoa with potatoes, or they may also include meat or fish.  In Bolivia, beef or lamb is used as well as the dried potatoes called chuno or tunta. The basic seasoning is fairly standard in all the Andean countries, except that in Peru and Bolivia hot ground peppers are added to the sofrito.  (Sofrito is the universal South American seasoning. Its base is always onion, but can include, as it does here, garlic, hot peppers and other flavor elements.)  This is a GREAT soup for vegetarians.”

One of the challenges with this soup was timing.  I noticed that the recipe called for adding stock (or water) already boiling to the ingredients as they cooked, rather than adding it cold and bringing it to a boil.  In the interest of being efficient with time (and the number of pots to wash after cooking) I opted to cook the quinoa first, start the soup cooking in a separate pot and then wash the quinoa pan and boil the stock in it and let the quinoa drain in a colander in the sink.  Voila, only two pots to wash.

The flavors of this chowder were a lot milder than I expected.  Maybe it’s just my preference for spicier soups.  Then I realized I’d made about 50% more quinoa than the recipe called for – too funny!  I’d cooked 1 C dried quinoa, thinking it would make about 2 cups total and neglected to use a measuring cup – yikes.  Turns out 1 C dried quinoa is a little over 3 cups when it’s cooked.

Not to worry, as I’ll definitely add more spices to each serving as I savor the leftovers…it’s a lot easier to add more than try to “water down” a too-spicy meal.

Enjoy!

The World in a Bowl…or the Joy of Soup

27 Sunday May 2012

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I’ve been in deep, gooey love with soup since, well, as long as I can remember.  Back in the day as a kid my Mom served up good ol’ Campbell’s canned soup for lunch quite a bit – chicken noodle, tomato, split pea – and I braved those awful MSG-laden headaches in the aftermath every time.

And I have wonderful memories of digging razor clams with my family at our summer house on the Long Beach peninsula (in Ocean Park, WA).  Mom and Grandma would make clam chowder from scratch…and those clams couldn’t have been any fresher!  I remember putting buckets and buckets of clams down in the beach house basement, covered in cold salt water.  The clams would “clean” themselves (meaning, get rid of a lot of the sand and debris on their own), saving a little time when it came to make the chowder.  I devoured bowls of it I’m sure.  I can still taste it as I write today.  [Side note:  a sign of a great clam chowder is one that’s heavy on the clams, not the ‘filler’ stuff like potatoes.]

Every once in awhile Mom would whip up a huge pot of Cioppino or Bouillabaisse.  I’d come home to those heavenly scents of seafoods and spices simmering joyously in the kitchen…such a luxurious treat! 

Today, cooking soup from scratch is one of my passions.  Save for a few very heavy stew-like soups, I love making hot soup year ’round.  Sure, a nice, cool gazpacho (with a tiny touch of hot sauce) is a perfect, light dinner in warm weather, but hot, spicy soup – interestingly enough – helps me cool down when the temperatures climb.  We don’t have to worry too much about super hot weather in the Seattle area actually.  And I guess what you consider to be “hot weather” is all relative.

It was time to blow the dust off a cookbook I have not used in quite some time, and as I stared at the row of cookbooks on my kitchen counter, this one jumped right out in a ‘pick me, pick me’ fashion:  The South American Table, by Maria Baez Kijac.  This is much, much more than a cookbook.  It’s pretty much a short history of the continent – its mind-blowing diversity of climate and cultures.  And if you’re a geography buff like I am, the introductory chapters of this book will sing to you.

The continent is far larger and more diverse than many of us might imagine.  As Kijac explains, “…it is also farther east than most think – the west coast of South America actually lies almost due south of the U.S. East Coast.  Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth, with some parts going as long as 20 years without rain.  On the other hand, Choco, in western Colombia, has some of the world’s wettest weather.  Patagonia, in southern Argentina, has glaciers and snowy, wind-swept peaks, while the Amazon region is famous for its lush, tropical rain forest.  The Andes, one of the planet’s great mountain ranges, are mostly volcanic.”

From the northern regions on the Caribbean sea, to the far south along the icy waters surrounding Antarctica, the diversity of this continent is astonishing!  And this has tremendous impact upon plants, animals, civilizations and cuisine in every region. 

As you might imagine, it was hard to pick just one new recipe to try.  There are 26 recipes in just the soup section alone!  I hit the jackpot with this one…Caldillo de Congrio a la Neruda (Neruda’s Fish soup).

Serves 6 to 8 (requires some pre-preparation and marinating)

  • 2 pounds Chilean congrio filets (1 1/2 – 2″ thick) or other firm white-fleshed fish such as Chilean sea bass, red snapper or halibut
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 small carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 4 oz jar pimento strips, drained
  • 1 T chicken bouillon granules
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper
  • 1 16 oz can pear-shaped tomatoes, drained and chopped
  • 1 C dry white wine or dry sherry
  • 3 C water
  • 1 C milk
  • 6 medium-sized all-purpose potatoes, peeled, quartered and cooked in water to cover until tender, and drained
  • 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 C whipping cream (optional)
  • 1/4 C minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish
  • 1/4 C finely chopped scallions (white part and 1″ of green) for garnish

Cut the fish filets into 2 to 3″ pieces.  Sprinkle with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. 

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large casserole over low heat.  Add the onions and paprika, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.  Do not let brown.  Stir in the garlic paste, carrots, pimentos, bouillon, bay leaf, sugar, marjoram and hot pepper sauce and cook, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes.  Add the tomatoes, wine and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.  The soup base can be made ahead up to this point.  Let cool, cover and refrigerate until needed.

To finish, bring the soup to a boil over medium heat and add the milk, fish and potatoes.  Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 8 minutes.  Just before serving, add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and begin to uncurl, about 1 minute.  Add cream, if using, and heat through.  Taste for salt, pepper and sugar.

Serve in soup plates, sprinkled with parsley and scallions.

Fivenineteen notes:  There is a fair amount of prep work with chopping and peeling.  Please don’t be discouraged by this; the flavors in this soup are mind-blowing.  I opted to first cut up the fish and put it in a large, glass Pyrex bowl to marinate while I prepped the rest of the ingredients.  I quartered a lemon, squeezed each onto the fish pieces, sprinkled a little salt and pepper on them and covered and placed in the fridge.

Congrio is an indigenous fish from the coast of Chile.  Sadly it is not available in the States, but a Chilean sea bass, red snapper or halibut are good substitutes.  At the grocery store, the halibut was $17/lb…and the cod filets were $9/lb.  Given I needed 2 lbs, I opted for the cod and it turned out great.

As I often post in here about spices, it’s extremely important your dried spices are pungent.  Do the smell test prior to adding to your cooking – actually before you go grocery shopping.  If they’re not pungent, throw them out and get replacements.  I cannot emphasize this enough!  Don’t sabotage the true essence of all of your recipe’s flavors by thwarting it with old, wimpy spices!

Tomatoes:  I used a 14.5 oz can of pre-chopped tomatoes instead of purchasing canned pear tomatoes and chopping them myself.  Given there was a lot of other chopping and peeling with this recipe it was a nice timesaver.  Be sure to drain the tomatoes in a small strainer to remove excess liquid (same with the pimentoes too).  Shake the strainer several times to make sure you squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Potatoes:  the recipe calls for 6; I opted to go with 3 medium to large size.  I cut them into smaller pieces (rather than just quartering) before putting in water to cook slightly.  If you are truly making this to serve 6 to 8 I would probably stick with the full amount of 6 potatoes.

Adding whipping cream:  this is a completely optional step.  I chose to do so to give the broth more of a chowder-y feel, a bit richer than the fish broth on its own.  Either way, the flavors are incredible.

The author always includes a couple of introductory paragraphs describing each recipe – personal memories, or interesting facts about the region each dish comes from.   I am so impressed with this cookbook – you can tell the author has poured her heart and soul into every single page.  Fantastic!

She explains:  “This famous Chilean soup was immortalized by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, well-known for his love of good food and a ‘happy table.’  In his poem ‘Oda al Caldillo de Congrio’ (Ode to Congrio Soup), he sings the praises of this delicious soup.  The just-married flavors of the earth and sea come to the table so that some lucky people can be introduced to heaven…”

Yep, that’s how good it is.  Enjoy!

Club 45

20 Sunday May 2012

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How in hell did I get to be 45?? Before I go into panic mode, let me breathe and remember…what’s that saying about getting older…enjoy it because it’s a privilege denied to many.  Ah, now that feels better.

I really do feel younger and sillier than I did in my 20s and 30s.  I was trying to stake a claim at some sort of career path and figure so much out.  Sure I had fun, but I was pretty serious at the core. 

And the two paths of my life, personal and professional, really started ‘forking’ and developing (or not) in very different ways.  I wouldn’t call myself a whiz or expert in my jobs, but I do good work and I’m proud of it.  I’m proud that I can provide for myself and support myself in a fairly decent lifestyle.  The personal side of me, well, that’s been a slippery path.  I struggled with depression starting in my late 20s and early 30s.  My friends, cousins and my brother were all getting married and having children…really turning into ‘adults’ I guess.  And me?  Nope.  Why wasn’t it happening for me?  Sure, there were dates and a few boyfriends but none of those relationships went anywhere.   Was there something wrong with me?  Did I miss something important about adult life or successful romantic relationships that everyone magically learned and I spaced?   Ugh, I hate feeling like some weirdo leftover freakazoid.   What was it??

Well, a few rounds of counseling and the school that is Life have helped immensely.  I never wanted to try going on antidepressants or anything.  Something about the fact they chemically alter the brain kind of freaks me out.  Maybe that’s not entirely a true statement.  I know many people who have taken them and it’s been extremely beneficial for them.  

I just keep trying to be open and self-aware and continue to grow and improve wherever I can at being the best I can be.  Sure there have been years that were clunkers, growing/rebuilding years and, looking back, a few that were downright shitty.  I’m a firm believer that everything happens exactly as it’s suppose to happen, even if the reason for it is not entirely clear in the moment.  And I never, ever give up.  I know that positivity is one of my strengths.  Yes, I do want to get married eventually. 

So, yesterday was my birthday (and the reason for the name of this blog too).  Given this was a mini-milestone birthday of sorts, I decided I deserved a little extra pampering. 

I got a massage on Thursday.  Hoo doggy, this was such an amazing experience that I am probably going to shuffle around some of my budget so I can get one monthly.  Kind of sad it’s been 5 years since I’ve had one!  And it shows alright!! J had her work cut out for her, as my upper shoulders and back are cement-like and full of knots.  I joked with her ahead of time about this and we had a good laugh.  She also suggested I play around with how I have my work and home laptops positioned.  My arms are pretty short compared to my torso and rest of my body, and she says I likely have the keyboards too far away, so the constant reaching causes stress and strain in my arms, shoulders and pecs.  Ah, makes sense!  Kind of sad how “just” working away at a desk on a computer can cause injuries over time!  Oh, and how did I connect up with J?  She is a client of L’s; he built her website in the link above.  Nice!

So on my actual birthday I had a wonderful lunch with my folks at Milagro in downtown Kirkland.  Such a prime spot right on Lake Street!  And the weather was beautiful, so everyone was out with kids, dogs, biking, roller blading…just glorious.  And crowded too; I joke that when the weather gets nice you simply cannot be in a hurry if you are driving through that part of town. 

This was the first time at Milagro for all 3 of us.  And what do they say about first impressions…the ambiance is very nice and we were seated at a very generous sized booth.  Only when the server brought the menus did we notice a large area of the table had not been wiped clean.  Oops.  Later when our iced teas came my Mom’s glass was dirty.  Ew.  Thankfully they were very apologetic and fixed the problems quickly, but after that I was closely inspecting every piece of silverware and the dishes as we were served the whole rest of the lunch! Too funny.  The food was very good – we had a trio of salsas and chips for appetizers, and I had a wonderful chopped salad with carrots, corn, black beans, avocado and radishes…and a few other things that escape me right now.   Mom had a shrimp salad with apples and jicama and Dad chose the Enchiladas.  Delicious!

So I figured I need to stop denying myself indulgent things (within reason so I don’t break my budget) and just spend time getting more pampering.  Reserving time in my life to relax and recharge without guilt.  The massage was a huge, glaring reminder in neon letters that this is SO important to my well-being and feeling totally connected with my body.

Later in the afternoon I spent a little time shopping at Sur La Table – gosh we are so blessed to have this store in Kirkland!  I picked up some new kitchen hand soap and lotion (limoncello scented, yes!) and some tongs and a flexible trivet both in happy apple green.

And I topped off my pampering with a much-needed, overdue pedicure.  This was a total last-minute decision – I was so happy they had an opening!!  Now I can wear my open-toes shoes and sandals without cringing, well, for the next couple weeks or so.  Love it.

Summer hockey season starts tonight! I can’t WAIT to get back on the ice.  THIS is the best way to fight off good ol’ middle age…skate your ass off with a bunch of late 20-something (mostly) teammates.  Who I love like brothers.

The Good Earthquake…continued

13 Sunday May 2012

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Last week was a happy whirlwind.  I’m astonished at how much of a catapult/slingshot/echo… not sure what I’m going to call it – has boing’d into my life the last two weeks. 

And I remember part of that was blogging last Saturday rather than Sunday.  L and I had planned on doing more of the home renovation projects in here that day, but later in the day he said that would not work out and we’d have to reschedule.  OK, no biggy.  I thought of the blank slate of Sunday ahead of me and wondered what I would do.  So many options.

Sunday morning I was dozing on and off.  It was 9:30am, 10:00am and I kept drifting back off to sleep.  The sunshine was streaming through the blinds and I knew I’d just be wasting the day if I didn’t get up soon.

Then I heard a knock at the front door downstairs.  I sat upright and wondered who it was.  I figured it was my neighbor, as I still owe him the latter half of what I paid him and his brother to power wash and re-stain my back deck.  Ummm, OK I sleep nude most of the time except in the coldest of winter (TMI, sorry) so I quickly grabbed a t-shirt and sweats and went downstairs still in a semi-fog.  Before I could get to the peephole I asked “who is it?”  It was L!!

I opened the door slightly and smiled.  I’m sure I looked a sleepy mess and whatnot.  My mind was spinning…did we agree to do the home project work today after all and I dreamt that we canceled?  His friend M’s dog was poking her nose through the doorway.  I think I mumbled and smiled…”…how are you?” 

And then the question from him that made me giggle.  “…are you alone?”  BAHAHAHA that cracked me up.  Gotta hand it to the guy giving me credit that there might be a possibility that I wouldn’t be.  That’s fodder for another post I suppose.  No, I am not dating anyone right now, Le Sigh.

So he and the dog came bouncing in and I asked if he wanted coffee.  Oh no, he said, he’d already had about 5 shots of espresso and was doing just fine…he sure was wide awake alright. He just thought it would be fun to go for a walk and just hang out and watch hockey playoffs later.  OK! 

I got showered an dressed and we headed down the street to Juanita Beach Park.  This park was purchased by the city of Kirkland from the County and was all torn up in renovations for a good year or so.  Now it’s reopened and better than ever.  I love the semi-circle boardwalk that goes far out onto the lake and back.  I drank in the sunshine, the smells, the voices of everyone around me, the beautiful green trees and the rippling blue water of Lake Washington.  THIS is the great Pacific Northwest at its finest. 

Later we cooked up a pizza and watched a little hockey.  This whole Sunday recap may not seem like a super big deal to many, but for me it sure was.  It’s extremely rare for people to show up on my doorstep spontaneously on a Sunday morning, just wanting to hang out!  Usually it’s planned a day prior or so!  I cherish my weekend sleep more than anything.  L knows this and I’m glad he showed up when he did and not much earlier!

Then another hectic workweek and lots of busy (and fun!) icing on top almost every evening:

Actually, no, wait.  Monday was a bye/breather for me.  I had a Silpada jewelry team meeting that night and just needed to decompress and chill instead.  I love the team and the jewelry we represent – I was just feeling dragged down and sluggish and needed to just have some alone time and chill.

Tuesday:  one of my brothers turned 40!  How did a YOUNGER brother of mine get to be 40??  We met up at our folks’ house for a spectacular meal of (raw) oysters for appetizers and later some glorious barbecued salmon.  Yes, everyone, I adore raw oysters.  Don’t even need cocktail sauce here.  Just a small fork and bottoms up!  YUM.

Wednesday:  And now for something completely different – for the first time in my nearly 45 (gulp) years on earth…I went to the movies by myself!  Come with me on this journey, for it’s likely going to ring odd with a lot of you who do this all the time or are movie buffs.  First of all, going to the movies (in a theatre) is wayyyyy down on my list of things I like to do.  I’m sure I miss out on a lot of great films; when I learn of the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations every year I MIGHT have seen one or two of the films, heh.  It’s just not my thing.  I’m VERY much an eat/drink/conversation type of person when I go out (or stay in!).  Sitting in a dark theatre for two hours makes me restless.  And on a first date?  Well, if the guy suggests going to the movies…ummm…well, that’s not my first choice.  I’d rather go out and socialize with him before sitting next to someone I barely know in a theatre.  Just seems odd to me.   The last time I was in a movie theatre was 2008.  I know, try not to laugh.  I saw Slumdog Millionaire and also Sex and the City.  That’s the first SATC, by the way; I saw the 2nd one on HBO the other day and it was truly an insult to fans of the series everywhere.  Glad I saved my money.

Anyway, fast forward to 2012 and I had my pick:  The Hunger Games!  I’d purchased a ticket online ahead of time and set my sights on Lincoln Square Cinemas in downtown Bellevue. I figured I could do a little shopping or grab a drink and munchies prior.

I got into Bellevue and walked around Lincoln Square.  I was absolutely SHOCKED how empty the buildings were.  True, it was around dinner hour, but still.  This is a densely packed urban-suburban city and Lincoln Square is right in its heart!  Weird.  Usually when I’m here it’s a Friday night or a weekend and it’s a packed scene.  So strange seeing it so empty. 

About a half hour prior to the movie start, I rode the escalators up to the theatre and got a small bag of $6 popcorn. Ooops…make that $6.02 with sales tax.  And silly me, I’d brought a very small black clutch so I wouldn’t have to lug my large purse from work with me into the theatre.  And I left my debit card in the big purse which was down in my car in the parking garage.  All I had was $6 cash.  I smiled at the popcorn girl sheepishly…can you float me two cents?  Sure, no problem.  I felt so silly but grateful.

I purposely got to the theatre a little earlier.  Years ago I remember going with my ex to this theatre and arriving literally 5 minutes before the movie started (punctuality was not a strong point).  And he’d get so pissed that there were no decent seats left.  Well DUH already!

I walked into the theatre (each seats around 200), peeked my head around the corner and there it was. 

Empty, and dark with just a little light classical music playing in the background.  I was the first one there!  I giggled and was a little shocked too.  So I walked in, sat down and had a moment.  Here I was in a large theatre right smack in the middle of downtown Bellevue…alone!  How surreal.  I absent-mindedly munched on my popcorn in the dark and relaxed into my seat.  Had not had that much solitude in weeks.

Turns out there were only about 10 of us in the theatre total – guess the movie has been out a little while and it was midweek. I LOVED the Hunger Games.  (No spoilers in here, don’t worry).  I will say that I’m VERY glad I read the book first, for it has so much more detail that you could not possibly incorporate into a movie.  The casting was amazing and the plot is – thankfully – spot on with the book.  And I also learned (actually CONFIRMED) that, while I’m glad I went out on a limb and tried something different, nope, I don’t like going to the movies by myself.  Aha.

Thursday:  I met my dear friend T for an early birthday dinner celebration at the Flat Iron Grill in Issaquah.  Now THIS is a superb evening out in Gilman Village.  Very warm, great service and fantastic food….with a wonderful friend!  We enjoyed a couple of cocktails…T picked out a beautiful steak and I went with the Paella, complete with clams and some sausage too.  Delicious!  And of course some gourmet French vanilla ice cream and a small creme brulee for dessert. 

Friday:   L came over in the evening so we could get started on the home renovation work again the next morning.  I made shrimp with roasted jalapenos and pancetta over linguine…oops, actually the deli had sliced up prosciutto instead of pancetta and I did not take a moment to double-check.  But it still tasted great.  And it’s a very light and healthy dish – no cream sauces.

By 10pm I was exhausted.  L crashed on the couch and I drifted upstairs to sleep.

Saturday: I woke up around 6:30am hearing the gentle thud of my front door closing.  True confession:  I had a split second “oh no” go through my body as awhile back L had left in the morning instead of doing the work in the townhouse here.  [Long story but it’s all good now].  I got up, walked downstairs and smiled.  His laptop and stuff were all still here.  I smiled more and started making coffee.  He’d just popped out for a bit to grab a coffee and fresh fruit is all.  I later made us scrambled eggs with Tabasco and toasted some bagels and we talked more about our plan of attack for the day.  How was I up so early in the morning, and so refreshed-feeling?  On a Saturday??  I was ready for us to get started but L thought we should wait until at least 9:00am given I share a common wall with my neighbor.  Oh my goodness…it was already (only!) 8:00am!!  So THIS is what it’s like when you get your ass out of bed early!!

We finished scraping and sanding down the master bedroom ceiling and vanity so it’s ready for a few coats of primer and later some paint.  For those of you just tuning in, my townhouse has that horrific popcorn ceiling nearly everywhere save for the bathrooms and kitchen.  L and I had found a tool online that has a scraper attached and you can attach an extension pole onto it like you would for a paint roll.  But UGH, no such luck.  The tool blade is too flimsy and too dull, as my ceiling is unfortunately covered with a thick coat of white paint.  So we resorted back to the 6″ joint knife (looks like a putty knife), which is harder on the back as you can’t attach an extension pole to it. 

So we’ve finished the largest room upstairs.  Next weekend (maybe Sunday) is the attack on one of the guest bedrooms.  While it’s messy, ugly work, I am hopeful the rest of the upstairs will go faster as we’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t with the drop cloth taping/draping and how much/how little to do at a time.  Plus the remaining rooms and hallway are a lot smaller.

Later in the day I went to his house and he made dinner – a wonderful stir fry with green beans, onions and peppers and a spinach salad – delicious!  And watched hockey, of course.  New York Rangers are onto the East Division Finals…starting tomorrow!

I truly appreciate L’s help – it’s not the most fun way to spend a sunny weekend day but the results are going to be great.  My ceiling already seems taller and it’s yet to get primed and painted!!  Yay for Man Help!!

And yay for another Routine Shaken week!!

Routine…shaken

05 Saturday May 2012

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And I’m not saying like in a James Bond-ish “shaken, not stirred” way.  I mean shook hard down to the CORE.  Shifts that are still internally shifting.  I don’t know where, when or how all the pieces are going to land and that’s OK.  I’m just enjoying the process as they float, flutter and spin all around me. 

Here it is Saturday and I’m blogging.  Typically the past nearly 3 years this has been a wonderful Sunday ritual for me (and hopefully also for the handful of you who tune in here regularly or stumble in here accidentally…thanks!!)   I’m sitting here typing and part of me mentally is in an “OK it’s Sunday” mode.  But I’m smiling inside knowing I have one more delicious day of the weekend to savor.  To replenish myself.  Refill my tanks.

I feel like a different person than when I last posted in here.  And hmmm…I might make more of those green onion “pancakes” I posted a couple of weeks ago come to think of it.

Other than a very small handful of mental vacations, I’ve posted in here like clockwork on Sundays.  It’s a wonderful ritual and I look forward to it.  It’s “me” time that I get to share with others, but I don’t write here like anyone will read it if that makes sense.  Just self-expression, musings and lately a few food recipes too.  Last weekend was jam-packed and I knew I would not be home until late Sunday evening.  I figured oh, no biggy, I’ll be home around 8 or 8:30pm and just do a quick blog post and get to sleep.  Obviously that didn’t happen.

Last Sunday I came home feeling on the brink of a transformation.  A shift…a…damn, I don’t even know how to describe it.  So I guess I’ll just explain what I did and what happened…and what has happened since.

I shook up my routine and went to a weekend-long transformational workshop.  I can’t tell you how so out of my element something like that is for me.  Two days, 10am to 7pm.  Two precious weekend days.  I giggled when I learned the time the workshops started.  True confession:  I’m barely even AWAKE at 10am on Saturdays and Sundays.  So to be in these workshops I’d have to be awake, showered, dressed, awake (yes, repeated intentionally) for a 40 minute drive to the workshop location.  I also don’t consider myself very “workshoppy.”  BUT, my dear friend T recommended it so strongly, so I knew it would be great.  And boy was it ever. 

The workshop is for women and is about understanding (and celebrating) men and their behavior.  Yep, ’tis true!  Now, many people have asked me what I learned and what it was like.  Details, please!  Honestly that is not what I’m going to write about in here.  I did take lots of notes and have them safely stashed on the laptop here.  But I don’t want to go on and on about the workshop content.  I truly think it would be a disservice writing about it in here.  First of all, I’ve just been exposed to the material and am just learning and applying it myself.  Also, the workshop experience is led by a seasoned instructor and includes several steps we as women needed to commit to doing before we could even proceed further in the workshop.  If we weren’t willing to, we’d be able to leave early and get a full refund on our tuition.  (No one did, by the way).  But I will share a couple nuggets that are really at the core and foundation of the workshop content:

What if men are responding to women?  And…when we as women get upset, confused or frustrated when men do something we don’t understand or don’t like, we need to ask ourselves…what if there’s a good reason for it?  Seeing things I’ve seen all my life now in a different perspective (an illumination really) is phenomenal. 

The workshop was such an incredible experience that I was emotionally drained (and filled too actually at the same time) when I got home Sunday night.  I celebrated and just went home giddy and tingling…full of so many “aha” moments as things popped and clicked for me over the weekend.  I met amazing women too.  Lots of great bonding and I hope to see them again at future workshops.  But I came home so exhausted too.  And I knew the week ahead would be a busy one.  Lots going on at work.  Was I ready to face the week?  Ready or not, it happened!

Monday: After work I went over to my parents’ house for dinner.  This is definitely not something I normally do on a Monday night.  But, they were heading out of town the next day and my Mom wanted to borrow one of my books to read on their trip.  And she wanted to see some of my new jewelry collection as well.  After dinner, Dad went to go watch TV and Mom and I played with jewelry.  I’d quickly put together a few trays of what I thought she might like the night before.  Keep in mind I represent a wonderful line of sterling silver jewelry.  And my Mom prefers gold.  So, I had to really think through what I would bring to show her.  I picked out pieces that have a lot of warmer-toned semi precious stones, brass and pearl detail.  I also showed her our latest charms and brought my (sterling silver) charm bracelet loaded up with charms and showed her how the bracelet can attach onto a matching charm necklace with a couple of double-lobster clasps.  I thought this would just be a random thing she might think was interesting or amusing and I also wanted to ‘practice’ doing this for my future jewelry parties with friends. 

What happened next blew my mind.  My Mom got so excited, left the room and returned with a small pouch.  Inside was a sterling silver charm bracelet she had not worn in decades.  She explained that she is at an age where she is not comfortable drawing attention to her hands.  She prefers necklaces over bracelets or attention-grabbing rings.  Now thanks to the charm necklace and the double-lobster clasps she can wear her vintage charm bracelet around her neck in a modern way…in a way that makes her happy and comfortable!  And THIS was the giant underscore/exclamation point on one thing we learn in our training as jewelry reps:  don’t ever pre-judge anyone when sharing more about the jewelry or the business opportunity to represent the jewelry.  And yet I had (subconsciously) pre-judged my own Mom!  I assumed that since she prefers gold jewelry she would have zero interest in a sterling silver necklace.  Boy was I mistaken!!

Tuesday:  What a small world!  My youngest brother is now the sales account manager for the company where I am currently consulting!  Meaning, the place where I work is a client of his!  He flew up here to come to the campus to get his access cardkey and laptop set up.  How joyful it was to see him, introduce him to my manager and co-workers and have lunch.  We are quite close despite being nearly 8 years apart and such different lives.  He got married right out of college and he and his wife have 3 kids under age 9…and I am single with no kids.  Boy, I adore my nephews and niece!  So it was wonderful reconnecting with my brother and seeing him discover where I work – his new client – for the first time.  Glorious.

And I came home after work and the damn laptop here was at a crawl pace.  I rebooted it several times and my Start menu was all jacked up.  Arrrghh!!  I figured I probably had a computer virus or some other nightmare.  After about an hour on the phone with the nice people at Dell (yep, I’m a hard-core PC gal…no Macs here) I had a new registry cleaner/virus protection program installed.  And got rid of the old one.  And it’s like I have a new laptop.  Amazing improved performance!!

Wednesday:  After another very hectic day at work I went to my co-worker K’s house for dinner.  We used to share a large office – she’s since moved to a different group at our company and I miss working with her immensely.  Over the past few months working together we became friends and discovered we both have a passion for cooking!  She made a wonderful dinner in her new tagine and I brought the wine!  I got to meet her 3 kids (her husband was out of town on business) and share a seat at their dinner table.  K has girlfriends over for dinner all the time while her husband is away.  It’s really important for her to show her kids that while she loves being a wife and being their Mom, she’s also a friend to many.  After dinner the kids went to do homework and K and I talked.  And “all of a sudden” it was 10:30pm.  I cherish those conversations immensely.

When I got home I realized I had not gone to my mailbox in a few days.  Voila…there was my NEW PASSPORT!!  Oh, the possibilities.  If I had been there when the postman delivered it I would have hugged him.

Thursday:  Yet another hectic day at work (do we detect a pattern here folks?) and afterwards I headed into the city to meet L (my guy BFF) at a sports bar to watch hockey.  Years ago when he and I had decided that we were better off as friends than dating we had gone to this place a couple of times.  What a trip coming back to this place after 6-7 years.  The last time he and I were here it was before the no-smoking regulation went into effect in bars in the state of Washington here.  I remember the smoke hanging 4 feet from the ceiling it was so thick.  A much more pleasant experience this time around with no smoke.  And, the Stanley Cup playoffs go on…and I have no team to cheer for.  When Vancouver and Pittsburgh (my two favorite teams) each got eliminated in the first round, I was stunned.  And with no “plan C” on my radar to cheer for because I didn’t think I’d need one so soon.  And I still don’t have one.  I never get tired of watching the playoffs but it’s weird not having a favorite picked out.  And I’m totally bummed that the Canucks are out.  I’d hoped with my new passport to drive up with L and catch a game at a Vancouver sports bar.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d be out so soon.  New passport…alas, too late for this Canucks season.

Friday:  Ah, fabulous Friday.  My whole work team is head down buried in WORK.  We are a great team and work wonderfully well together – one of the healthiest groups I’ve had the pleasure to consult with ever – but boy we are feeling the burn. We’re tired.  I see it in everyone’s eyes.  Voices.  Mannerisms.  We will get through everything we need to and support one another.

So after this wonderful week I was so ready to just go home and CRASH.  And sleep for days and not give a shit.  I left work probably two hours later than I usually do.  And I figured the commute would not take too long given it was after peak time. 

About halfway home (I commute on mostly two-lane surface streets between two suburbs) I turned a corner and traffic was at a dead stop at a major intersection.  With a long, long line of cars just waiting.  What was going on?  The stoplight was out!  UGH.  I painfully crawled through two major intersections with no functioning stoplight.  I thought I was slowly dying.  I just wanted to get HOME!

I just am confounded at how much LIFE got crammed into this past week.  It was like a slingshot after that weekend workshop…my perspectives are shifting…everything is shifting.  New things happened BAM BAM BAM every evening this week.  THIS is what happens when you shake up your routine.

So what’s next?  I don’t know but whatever it is is going to be extraordinary.  And why am I blogging on Saturday?  Well, L and I had planned on doing more popcorn ceiling scraping here in the townhouse tomorrow.  But it turns out he has a lot of work and a deadline so we have to reschedule.  What will I do tomorrow instead?  Probably sleep…well not all day.

And next Wednesday I’m going to see The Hunger Games.  After work.  By myself.  THIS is another Shake in my routine.  And lots more to follow.

Savory Green Onion “Pancakes”

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

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I couldn’t wait until my usual Sunday blogging day to share this wonderful discovery…a savory pancake!  When I think of pancakes I think of my childhood, making buttermilk pancakes for breakfast from scratch on Saturday mornings with my Dad, using his grandmother’s trusted recipe. I have that recipe firmly planted in my own recipe box.  Great memories.  And yes, those were the years when I was an early riser.

These pancakes are great as a side dish paired with a salad or, as I’ve discovered, a quick and unusual light dinner entrée. 

Four servings…two pancakes:

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 8-inch flour tortillas
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1/3 C finely chopped green onions or scallions, white and green parts
  • 1 T peanut or vegetable oil, plus more as needed

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the sesame oil.  Brush each tortilla with the egg mixture and then sprinkle two of the tortillas with the sesame seeds and green onions.  Place one of the plain tortillas over each of the sprinkled tortillas and sandwich them together, pressing down to seal, forming two whole pancakes.

Heat the peanut or vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  When hot, add a pancake to the pan and cook until lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Repeat with remaining pancakes using more oil if needed.

Cut each pancake into 6 wedges and divide them amongst serving plates.

Fivenineteen notes:  I’ve sautéed these over both olive oil (when I couldn’t find peanut oil) and with peanut oil, and the peanut oil does make a difference with the flavor.  So track it down if you can.