The Boss of You

My sister recently gave me two awesome belated birthday gifts. The first one was plaid chucks, and the second was a gift card to barnes and noble. Thanks sister!

I couldn't wait to go to go to the barnes and noble in union square. Its funny, when I go to the book store with little money I quickly find hundreds of books I want to take home, but when its a gift card I feel like the pressure is on to find the perfect book, or two.

The first one I got is called The Boss of You- Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run and Maintain Her own Business, written by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears. I've only made it through the first few chapters, and while some of the questions are really hard to answers, the advice is priceless.

Right now, my favorite section is about defining success. I took a few marketing/business classes in college, and the definitions for personal success were pretty rigid and narrow. So many times the advice is written towards huge business people with profit in mind. What is success? The answer is different for everyone and I think that is an important point to realize.

The book is focused primarily towards those who create small businesses from home. Even more so with the internet, so many people are creating cottage industries on their own. The range is everywhere, internet marketers to crafters to photographers to illustrators.

Josh is a good example and inspiration for me, as to someone who was tired of doing meaningless tasks at his job. I love that instead of saying "this sucks, I'm stuck" he went home and basically figured out a way to make a living from his tiny run-down studio apartment. The internet is still so new to a lot of people, and the marketing rules are the same, but vary greatly to real-world advertising.

The thing about being an entrepreneur is that, it is a lot of hard work. The cool thing is, you're working hard towards your own growth and success. Every job I've ever had, I was working hard for someone else's goal and profit. It didn't matter how much or little work I put in, I always got the same amount back, while someone else was profiting. I get that, that is apart of the game and being self-employed isn't always stable or easy.

Right now, I can't afford health care (its $860 a month, by the way. Who can afford that?!) but my goal is to be able to afford it in the coming months. I hate the idea that a "real job" is stable. At my last job, I didn't even have insurance for six months because they didn't pay the bill. They were stealing my 403b money, and I don't think I'm alone in the world in dealing with employer corruption.

This entry is very scattered, but I feel like I'm new to all of this and still finding my own niche's and grooves with working for myself. I'm not a very disciplined person by nature, so that is a huge hurdle for me. Also, creating and sticking to schedules around here, is simple unheard of. Which makes the line of work time vs. other time very blurry. I don't know what the coming months hold for me really. Maybe I'll be in a place financially to do an apprenticeship, or volunteer, or have a part time job doing something I really like, or take classes to learn something new. Maybe I'll get really into having an etsy shop. Maybe I'll do some freelance design or photography work. We'll see, I'm still asking questions and finding new answers.

Using it up

Its day three of using the food we already have and its becoming an obsession! Is it sad that I really get excited about this? I've been looking at food/recipe blogs for ideas and just googling ingredients to find recipes.

Once I get my software up and running again today I'll post pictures and recipes. So far we've had:
red wine tomato bisque
blackened chicken salad
broccoli and alfredo on whole wheat fettuccine
and curried egg salad

Taking Inventory

I've mentioned too many times that we're moving, and will probably fill up a good deal more of my virtual space with moving talk. Yesterday, was the day of realization that its actually happening the 20th of august and in one month from yesterday we will be taking the 9+ hour drive down to VA with our two cats and some other random belongings.

I've been thinking more and more lately about the economy and being more resourceful and self-reliant. I don't pride myself on being overly academic, well read, or athletic, because I'm not most of those things, but when it comes to being resourceful and creative I can take the cake. It swells my heart and I take great pride in the ability to make something out of nothing. And I love seeing the same traits in other people. I think this is why I love creative bloggers and historical shows such as the house series.

I want to work more on myself and my abilities. I'm figuring out, for me, that creativity comes out of a place of frugality rather than abundance. To me, a true measure of a great cook is not just someone who can create masterpieces out of the finest ingredients, but someone who can create meals with very little. There is so much information and inspiration for art on the internet. I can't even begin to think of all of the design blogs who gather information. While I love that, there comes a time when our minds become cluttered with too much information. And our own creativity can get lost in the masses of inspiration we consume. I say we loosely, mostly, I mean me, but I know other people can relate. Creativity is about seeing an object in a new way and giving it a new life or purpose.

An empty soup can, can take on many different roles if you see the potential. I'm finding that there is greatness in the balance of too much and too little.

I was looking through the pantry, refrigerator and freezer yesterday and realized that while I felt like we didn't "have anything to eat". You know, when it feels like all of the usual quick things are gone and everything else requires time and thought to make? I realized that we actually have a lot to eat, and a lot of food that I do not want to take with us. I took a closer look and noticed that with a little creativity and planning, we could realistically eat nicely for the next month without buying a lot more food. I can't even begin to say how much food we've wasted, forgotten vegetables in the white drawer or bags of rice that get lost in the back of the pantry.

Its not about money, we have money to buy more food and go out to dinner, but why? This seems more fun anyway, figuring out ways to make what we have work, while buying the occasional fresh foods. I will update my inventory list once a week, and post about the food I make with recipes.

The List:

1 block (about 8oz) Monterey jack cheese
1 ounce pepper jack cheese
1 head romaine lettuce
1 container of baby spinach (or arugula, I can't remember)
3 zucchinis
2 tomatoes
2 large yellow onions
2 cartons of eggs
1/2 loaf whole wheat bread
2.5 packages of whole wheat buns
one whole wheat par baked bread round
1 frozen pot pie
2 frozen onion bagels
1/2 container fresh parmesan cheese
2 packets instant sugar free pudding
3 cans (2.7 oz each) tuna in water
2 cans pinto beans
3 cans tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sweet cream corn
1 can chick peas
8 cans kidney beans
1 can clam chowder
5 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth
1 jar clam juice
1 box whole wheat fusilli
2 boxes organic whole wheat spaghetti
1 box tricolor pasta bows
1.2 boxes rice noodles
1 box penne rigate
1 box whole wheat couscous
1 box steel cut oats
1 bag instant brown rice
1 box low carb angel hair
1 box whole wheat fettuccine
1 box uncle bens chicken and broccoli
1 box lasagna noodles
1/2 bag carolina rice
1/8 box vermicelli
1 bottle white wine vinegar
1/8 aunt jemima lite syrup
one sugar free maple syrup
annie's whole wheat alfredo bunnies
one box smart balance instant oatmeal
1 box success brown rice
one bag clam chowder soup mix
one bag hot and sour soup mix
1 bag whole grain rice pilaf
1 box simple harvest oatmeal
1/2 bag mixed noodles
small bag of white rice
1 bag whole wheat egg noodles
garlic herb mix
mandarin orange dip mix
maple dip mix
1 dry bean soup mix
1 large container oatmeal (not instant)
1 jar dried beans with spices
22 packets of instant oatmeal
4 containers slim fast
5 packets of ramen
light corn syrup
2 containers of salt
1.5 bags of all purpose flour
3/4 bag whole wheat flour
1/4 bag sugar + 1.5 C vanilla sugar
1 jar vanilla extract
1/2 bag brown sugar
4 packets of instant yeast
1 box baking soda
1 can baking powder
1/2 container cocoa powder
1 box swiss miss hot cocoa mix
1/4 box super fine sugar
1 box cornstarch
2 bags frozen vegetable stir fry
3 teriyaki burgers
3 dr. pragers meatless tex mex burgers
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 lb. ground chicken
7 packets of frozen chicken breast
5 packages frozen broccoli
1 bag flax seeds
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 package turkey bacon
1 quart whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 container vanilla fat free yogurt
1 package muenster cheese
8 whole wheat low carb wraps
cucumber ranch dressing
tomato ranch dressing
1/2 bottle red wine
lemon and lime juice
olive oil
2 sticks unsalted butter
6 green tea bags
5 iced tea bags

Brian Wilson and the weekend so far

Thursday evening we headed out to Coney Island for the free Brian Wilson concert. It was really amazing for me to get to see him play live. A few weeks ago at the gym I watched his tribute concert from 2004 (I think) here in new york, right before he released Smile. I know more about his genius because of Josh. While I watched the tribute concert I had to really hold myself back from crying on the stationary bike (that would have been a sight.) And during moments at the Coney Island concert.

We didn't bring the camera, but thanks to the power of the internet, I found some pictures from the night.



Click here for more pictures.

Yesterday morning I woke up super early before the heat set in, to finish baking birthday dessert which I will post about later on in the week. Later on in the afternoon we went to union square for a walk around the green market before seeing The Dark Knight. I'm really going to miss the farmers market when we leave, I've never experienced anything quite like it before.

Our dark knight showing was at 3:46. We wanted to get into the imax theater, but it was sold out until tuesday at 10am. When we got there, there was already a line of people sitting waiting for the doors to open for seating. I've never been into the batman series, and never really watched the movies as a kid. But I will say while I'm not a super hero/action fan person, I liked the complexity of the story and the characters. I was genuinely surprised by a lot of the choices that were made, which for me, if it had been another way could have been more predictable, but wasn't.

We had Mexican for dinner, walked around, got ice cream, came home, watched half of melinda and melinda. And that was the birthday weekend :)

Also, I found this blog today: crazy like whoa. Its written by a guy named Paul stepped out of his life and into a life on the road as he documents his findings and new perspective across the country. A pretty interesting read, and now I even more want to go on a road trip.

A pre-birthday ode

Not much exciting has been going on, at least not much worth writing about. I could do a play by play about how there is very little packing going on around here and a lot of me sort of staring at boxes and staring at stuff, but little of me putting stuff in said boxes. However, this is a special week as Josh turns 31 on Saturday. 31, unlike 30 lacks any type of specialness or milestone.

But, because it's him, to me, makes it a day worth celebrating. Or any day for that matter. I don't talk about our relationship a lot on blogs, because its kind of weird to write "oh! by the way, I love Josh" or if I go any further I would get soft and warm and would possibly melt. It's been almost seven years since we met and I have to say its been a very interesting ride. Not one without bumps or with total perfection with songbirds fluttering consistently in the background. But, I have to say that because he is in my life I consider myself in the category of those that get really lucky.

There is a specialness and tenderness about him that I've never seen in another human being. He's always rooting for the underdog and even though I give him a hard time about it, will always push you to think again, take a second look and really see whats happening to change your perspective. Josh really cares for people, genuinely, there is no falsehood behind his intentions. You know that quote, the one about the real measure of a person is how they treat those who can benefit them in no way? Thats Josh.

I've seen him dispose a lot money to countless beggars and performers here in NY, without any regard at all to how it makes him look. He doesn't even consider those things. He doesn't care what their story is, but its likely, the more sad the story, the more money he gives. He even sponsors a little girl in India, but never tells people about it in a proud or boasting way, or at all. Me, I would tell everyone, and then question them for not considering doing the same. I'm working on that!

With him the old saying is true: when you know, you know. Its just right. Thank you Josh for bringing out the best parts of me, and for constantly believing in my abilities and seeing my potential when my eyes are closed. Thank you for your constant support and admiration. And thank you for being you, unlike anyone else.

Happy Birthday, I love you very much.

Lemon sugar cookies

Inspired by Martha's giant sugar cookies, I made these: lemon sugar cookies. Basically the same recipe except I added the zest and juice from one lemon. They turned out really well! Chewy, fluffy, sugary and lemony. I used an ice cream scoop that resulted in equally round cookies. I think next time I will use less flour, the recipe calls for 2 cups, I would use 1 1/2 cups instead for a more dense/chewy/buttery cookie. Josh really liked them too, he even closed his eyes while eating them which means they are really good.




You can find more pictures on my flickr page.

take me to tahiti

Back in April/May I was experimenting with washing my hair with baking soda, which lasted for exactly four weeks. I had visitors and places to go and I felt like my experiment wouldn't carry me through without a lot of "did you forget to wash your hair today" comments? What can I say, I'm one weak girl. I did however start washing less and using far less shampoo.

And then I found a chemical-free vegan shampoo and conditioner from a very nice lady named Tina at Gudonya Too. Who sent me more shampoo and conditioner when mine got lost in the mail. Thanks Tina!
I really love the products and I use the shampoo almost daily. It suds up, and cleans my hair without stripping it. I couldn't resist the Tahitian vanilla or strawberry scents. They come out in a thick paste, good for massaging. And they smell so good! If you're looking for some natural/affordable/good smelling shampoos and conditioners take a look over at Gudonya Too on etsy. I've also got my eye on the sugar lips, sugar scrub.

PS: how excited was I to get on tastespotting yesterday? very!

I love it when I find a simple recipe and even more when I happen to have all of the ingredients for it on hand. Not 15 minutes after the July issue of Bon Appetit arrived in the mail was I in the kitchen chopping vegetables and heating up the oven for Balsamic Roasted Vegetables. To be honest, I've never roasted vegetables and I'm pretty sure I've never had them. Which makes me wonder if I've been living in a cave full of skillet, steamed and even microwaved vegetables. A serious mis service to vegetables. I'm sorry vegetables for treating you so poorly in the past.



I felt very smug serving and eating them: no wasted vegetables, simple ingredients, and delicious results.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

6 servings

Recipe by Kelsey Nixon and Shane Lyons

July 2008

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 large red onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 1-pound eggplant, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/2 pound yellow squash (about 2 medium), cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in garlic, thyme, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss onions and next 6 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add dressing; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around edges, about 35 minutes.

double chocolate cookies

We went to a friends birthday party on Saturday, which in turn was a good excuse to bake cookies. Buying gifts can be tricky at any age, so why not cookies? I gathered a bunch of recipes over the week and finally settled on martha's double chocolate cookies.

They didn't disappoint, and were really good a few hours after baking. Chocolaty, chewy and slightly salty. I finally used the homemade vanilla extract thats been patiently brewing for a couple months in the back of the cabinet.





You can see more photos on my flickr page.

The Daring Braid of Goodness

I finally decided about a month ago that I really wanted to join The Daring Bakers group. I've been following them since conception and really looked forward to see what new challenges each month would bring. Since moving to Brooklyn almost two years ago I've become more and more interested and slightly obsessed with cooking/baking delicious foods. Before I came here I thought Apple bees/outback/olive garden had really good food, little did I know how nyc would open my eyes to all of the possibilities that come with the thoughtful creation and combination of quality ingredients. This pursuit has refined my taste and desire for real food made with love.

So, as I take a leap to the country in just over a month, I know I need to improve my culinary skills and that is where the Daring Bakers comes in.

I have to say, when I first found out that June's challenge was a danish braid I was very nervous and excited and curious. Could I possibly make a Danish? I love cream cheese danish, words cannot describe how many danish's I've consumed. Again, I seriously doubt I would have ever attempted to make one myself, ever. It never would have crossed my mind, that I could actually make one with my own two hands.

With all that, let me begin...

The ingredients:
I didn't have any difficult finding ground cardamon, it was $5.99 through fresh direct and I already had the vanilla beans from a recent ebay purchase.

My kitchen is seriously lacking, I don't have a standing mixer, and the mixer I do have is from the 1970's. I don't have a rolling pin (used a wine bottle.) I have about 16 inches of counter space. I have a one sided sink. My kitchen is tiny. And I don't have air conditioning. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I feel like I should win some sort of culinary award for achieving pastry goodness in my seriously lacking kitchen.

My Kitchen Counter:
I did a lot of research before I started putting the dough together. There were words used in the recipe that I had never heard of such as: Laminated dough – is layered dough created by sandwiching butter between layers of dough. Detrempe – ball of dough. Beurrage – butter block. And turn – each “fold & roll” of the dough produces a single turn in a 3-step process where the dough is folded exactly like a business letter in 3 columns. Each single turn creates 3 layers with this method.

I watched the method for laminated dough about ten times, I read the recipe thoroughly, and shakily made my way through the each step slowly and carefully. I started putting things together on a Monday. One of the requirements was to make the fillings from scratch so I decided that my braid would be cream cheese, with black cherry filling, streusal topping and vanilla bean icing. Pretty standard fillings for a danish.

I've never made a pie filling before, so I was amazed at how easy it was. Seriously easy and so good. I made it with frozen black cherries, sugar, water, corn starch, vanilla and a little lemon.
The next day I started making the dough, which seemed like an all day adventure. I can't tell you how nervous I was putting the butter block on the dough. Shaking would be a more accurate description. I started to gather all of my ingredients and realized that my orange was not grating at all. So, I popped it in the freezer and then grated the peel. Much easier!
Following the instructions I created a "fountain" which was really a flour well/wall to hold the wet ingredients. I really wish I would have created the well in a very big bowl. My untrained hands were so not ready for the liquid to start running everywhere. Literally escaping the flour mixture. I was also not prepared for how sticky everything was going to be. But, I just kept going, mentally coaching myself "its okay...don't give up...we'll get through this...COME ON!" And I did.
I finally got my dough together. Let it sit. Spread the butter block on it and followed the turns as instructed. I did have the same issue that some other people had with butter squirting out and getting everywhere. But by my second turn the dough was much better and easier to work with. After every turn it got easier and easier. The dough was a little elastic-y, but I just let it rest a little and it got easier. My raw dough did not have the layered appearance, which I'm still not sure how that was created or if I did something wrong. I'm was a bit confused about the rolling our process after each turn.


On my fourth turn, I divided the dough into two parts, rolled out thin and folded in half and wrapped for the freezer. I froze until Thursday and let the dough thaw in the refrigerator until Saturday morning.

On Saturday I took the dough out, and began assembling. I used a ruler to make the cuts for braiding. My measurements were slightly off, but I made sure the dough was 1/4 of an inch thick. I then made my cream cheese filling. I didn't follow any particular recipe, just cream cheese, one egg, vanilla and sugar. I just sort of guesstimated with that. And then put my cherries on top.


And then I added a streusal topping of brown sugar and butter. I'm still not sure if I should have added this before or after baking.

I baked it, for ten minutes at 400 degrees and about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. When it was done, I drizzled the vanilla bean icing and let cool for as long as I could stand not eating it!






With the leftover frozen dough, I made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.

Overall, it was a success. I've never had a better danish in my entire life. Seriously, this is up there with most desserts. Josh and I ate an entire braid (not a good idea) throughout one day. It was too good. The dough was savory and flaky. I kept saying "this is like a real danish, it tastes like a real danish, only better". I would definantly make this again, my mom already made requests for Christmas. I've been very braggy about my braid, I'm so proud of it. The cinnamon buns were equally delicious, while not too pretty, they were so good I had to throw them away. I knew it would turn into eating all of them, I have no self control and neither does Josh!

Thank you Kelly and Ben for a delicious challenge. You can find the recipe on Kelly's blog. And you can follow other bloggers on The Daring Bakers Blog Roll.