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Tag Archives: winter

Light

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by fivenineteen in Uncategorized

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hibernate, light, seasonal blues, solstice, sunshine, tired, transformation, winter

Can’t think of a simpler yet more profound title to this last blog post of 2014.  WOW what a year it’s been!  Transforming is the best way to describe it.  Everything except where I live and the car I drive has pretty much changed in my life…and all for the better.  New job.  New, improved body (at last count I’m down nearly 54 lbs – 24 kg – since July 2013).  A healthier outlook on life both how I take care of myself mentally and how I fuel my body with nutritious food.  Incredible new relationships…lots of friendships and a wonderful romantic one too.  I simply couldn’t be happier right now and am ready to embrace 2015 full on!

So how fitting is it to wrap up the year with a post about LIGHT.  What we crave this time of year so hungrily…yeah, we’re past the Winter Solstice and it’s been gloriously sunny (and cold!) the last few days.  Slowly we’re pulling away from that dreaded “get up and go to work in the dark / go home in the dark” rhythm that can drive us crazy.

I recently got intrigued with light therapy.  I’m not officially SAD diagnosed, but I do notice the blahs and blues sometimes when the weather is crappy and it’s rainy and dark like it is so often in the Seattle area this time of year. It’s like living in a soggy black and white TV!  So when it’s nice out and not raining torrentially it’s time to bundle up and get out there (where are my rubber boots??).  No excuses.

And I’m getting up for work about an hour and a half earlier than I used to.  Keep in mind, getting up later was a well-ingrained habit of nearly a dozen years.  So snapping into a 5:45am wake up time – a time probably more normal than not for many of us out there – has been a challenge for me to get used to.  Combine that with shorter, darker days and it’s been, well, challenging.  And for those of you who follow along in here, you know I’m not a morning person by nature.  I’m just not wired that way.  Shhh don’t tell my new co-workers.  Faking it (and a little extra coffee in the a.m.) works wonders.

So, I recently picked up a couple of light therapy devices thanks to the nice people at Amazon.com.  Take a look!

Philips blueThis is a blue light sunshine simulator from Philips (check out the link in the paragraph above).  This beauty mimics the sunshine we crave on those bright, sunny, cloudless days.  What I like about it is you can adjust how long the light sessions last as well as how bright the light is.  You don’t (and shouldn’t) look directly into it.  Rather, I just keep it at an angle (like the pic; there’s a kickstand included) and about 18 – 20″ away from me on my bathroom countertop while I dry my hair, get dressed and put on my makeup.  My session runs 45 minutes and it shuts itself off automatically (but you can set it to run between 1 and 60 minutes as you need).  It also comes with a protective cover, and it’s small enough for travel.

Philips alarmNext up is the Philips wake up alarm with sunrise simulation.  It kind of looks like a headlight yanked out of a car, but it has a nice flat surface so it won’t roll around.  I ditched my c. 2003 clock radio/CD player and started using this instead.  It’s fantastic!  The light simulates an actual sunrise, starting a deep, rich orange and slowly shifting to yellows and whites.  And you can add a soothing wake up sound too (or just wake up to the sunrise).  It’s fully customizable which is wonderful.  You can choose how long the sunrise takes and how loud the music plays (or find the FM radio station you love).  Learning the controls is a little tricky at first, but once you do it a few times it’s pretty straight forward.  Want to snooze?  Just tap anywhere on the light surface and 9 more minutes is yours.

I also like how a lot of the menu buttons don’t light up until you get your fingers near them.  Anyone else out there get annoyed with those glaring numbers and letters when you’re trying to sleep?  And amazingly, the orange clock readout in the pic above is proven to be the least glaring in the dark…and the intensity will adjust depending on how much natural light is around it.  So when you’re trying to sleep, the clock readout is a nice, soft peachy glow.

Sweet dreams…glorious mornings…and Happy New Year, everyone!

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Weekend double shot bonus (and encore) recipe: Do or die with the ground beef…

06 Friday Apr 2012

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cold, cooking, ground beef, polenta, recipe, sauce, spring, winter

So to debunk my typical Sunday posting routine, I’m rebelling and re-surfacing (re-bumping, is that a word?) one of my favorite slow cooker recipes I posted last fall.  When you’ve got ground beef thawing in the fridge for the second time around after refreezing it, it’s got to move forward or risk losing its flavor… or maybe that’s just me. Thankfully it’s still sealed up like it was in the grocery store.

Polenta with Bolognese Sauce isn’t the traditional way to welcome Spring, but Spring has yet to officially boing and spring around here.  Cold, biting winds, a few snow flurries even into early April, rain (well, that’s typical) and some nasty flu bugs going around are making it tough to break free from the grips of Winter here in the Seattle area. 

So here’s a hearty meal to fight that off – a Bolognese sauce prepared in a slow cooker and later baked with sliced polenta and some parmesan.  This is glorious and well worth the time – trust me on this one.

Bolognese Sauce
Makes about 12 cups (3 quarts)

2 T olive oil
2 oz pancetta, chopped
2 small, finely chopped yellow onions
2 finely chopped carrots
1 stalk finely chopped celery
3 lbs ground beef
2 C beef broth
1 1/2 C dry red wine
1 can (28 oz) crushed or diced plum tomatoes
1/2 C milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh Italian leaf parsley, minced for garnish (optional)   

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil.  Add the pancetta and saute until it begins to render its fat, about 1 minute.  Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer red, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to the slow cooker.  Add the broth and wine to the pan and raise the heat to high.  Bring to a boil and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom.  Pour the liquid into the slow cooker along with the tomatoes and stir to combine.

Cover and cook the sauce on the high heat setting for 4 hours, or the low heat setting for 8 hours.  Add the milk, stirring to combine.  Cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes longer.  Season with salt and pepper.

…now, how do you use this sauce?  Toss it with some fettucine and sprinkle in fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. 

Or try it with Polenta:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Butter a gratin baking dish (I actually just use a 9 x 13 glass casserole).  Take a tube of prepared Polenta (18 oz) and slice it crosswise into slices about 1/4″ thick.  Arrange the slices in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping them.  Spoon the Bolognese sauce around the slices generously and sprinkle a 1/2 cup of fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake until the sauce is hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.  Served with minced fresh Italian parsley for garnish.

Fivenineteen’s notes:  I added a small ‘blob’ of minced garlic for a little extra punch when sauteeing the onions, carrots and celery.  Guessing about 2 or 3 teaspoons.  I just spontaneously grabbed a small caviar-type spoon, scooped up some garlic and threw it into the pan. Love that aroma! Most of you who tune in regularly know I prefer minced garlic in a jar as it’s so much more convenient than peeling/pressing fresh garlic.  AND you won’t notice a difference – promise.

I also recommend adding the crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker BEFORE pouring in the broth and red wine mixture.  It will save you a lot of potential stains and splashes on your countertops and on yourself.  You can also reduce the amount of red wine and broth slightly – maybe a quarter cup total.  I boiled the mixture for quite a few minutes to reduce it down before adding to the slow cooker but there still is a fair amount of liquid remaining even after the slow cooking is finished. 

The flavors are incredible…enjoy!

From the Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Slow Cooker Recipes book.

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