What's the closest thing you have to a time machine?
Submitted by Verisimilitude.
Picture yourself on the other side of whatever bad thing you have to do...
ahhhhhh....ooooooohh....
These spa visits keeps me going....
How do you travel to and from work - personal vehicle, bus, subway/train, pedal power? What does it cost you per week in gas or fares?
Submitted by Jan.
I used to catch the train. I could leave home at 8:10 to walk to the station and arrive around 8:25. The train took ten mins and then a five min walk to work, which meant I got there at 8:50. The train costs $3.40 for a single trip or $6.80 for a return. If I bought a weekly it was $28
Then D bought a new car and I inherited his. And I love it. Because it has been school holidays (and therefore no evil 40kmp/h school zones) I've been leaving at 8:15 and getting to work at 8:45. During school time it takes a bit longer than that.. Driving is much better, except for parking around work, which can be a nightmare and add an extra 15 mins to my trip... I don't drive much other than going to work and back, and it freakishly costs me $33 every week to fill up, no matter which fuel company or petrol price it is....
Like making my husband a beautiful breakfast for his birthday!
Raspberry-filled papaya
Blueberry Pancakes
And then throwing him a party!
Ina's Lemon Fusilli (I made mine with sundried tomatoes and spinach!)
Other menu items: pepperoni bread, broccoli and cheese stromboli, sunflower cupcakes and lots o' beer. :)
Happy Birthday, Anthony!!! I love you more than I could ever say! Cheers!
YAY! I made these sunflower cupcakes because I saw it on Katie's blog. Ugh. I wish I could take the credit for these cutie cuppy cakes, but my guilt complex prevents me from doing so!
Haha, this one looks like a freaky Van Gogh sunflower. Eh well...it was my first try!
I made these for my last day at work! Woo-hoo! They were devil's food cake topped with cocoa puffs and a M&M ladybug! The cocoa puffs adhere to double fudgey frosting! Mmmm!
I almost murdered my hubs for almost knocking them down when I tried to bring them out to my car. Word of warning: after watching your wife design cupcakes until 1 a.m. the previous morning, be ever-so-gentle when helping her transport them! :)
The one person who will miss me most, Professor Laura Zucconi. She was always a hungry and eager recipient of my many treats I would bring to the office. Here she has a "tearful" goodbye munch.
For every fabulous dinner, there should be an equally fabulous side dish. But some sides were not meant to sing back up. Some sides need their own spotlight, their own mic and their own blog entry. And between you and me, this side was one wicked diva. Seriously, if this dish had hands, it would've smacked the glasses off of Elton John's face. Just sayin'....
Moroccan Couscous
Ingredients
2 Tblsp olive oil
½ red onion, finely diced
¼ c. chopped almonds
¼ c. dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 c. couscous
1.5 c. chicken broth
1 scallion, chopped
A handful each of cilantro and mint, chopped
Directions
Sauté red onion in olive oil. Add almonds and apricots. Add couscous and chicken brother. Mix with a fork. Top with lid and remove from heat. After about five minutes, stir with a fork and add scallions and herbs. Mix well and enjoy!
And of course no dinner would be completely without a cool and sweet treat to end the night. A scoop each of coconut, mango and raspberry sorbet was the most perfect fit!
Not too shabby for a Thursday night dinner...
My sweet mom...in all her glory! We went with her to get her head sheared today. She's about to get her second treatment of chemo this coming week. Her hair was already coming out in big patches, so she decided that it was time to shave it. More pics...including a mohawk...in my Flickr Photos.
When the hot haze of a summer heat wave hits, it’s easy to fall into a dinner rut. The last thing anyone wants to do when they come home from work or play is to make dinner over a hot stove. I’ve personally given into the notion of making plenty of cold dinner salads over the past few weeks. But sometimes, the only way to get yourself out of a rut is to force yourself out. The best trick, I find, is to use my imagination to transport me from the thick humidity of a typical Jersey summer to a world more exotic. With the lift of a window, I allowed the balmy breezes push through the tree leaves and into my kitchen where I came up with the inspiration to cook up a delicious Moroccan feast in only one hour.
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. Yes, you read right…that’s 40 cloves of garlic in that title and yes, I still kissed my husband after dinner. The 40 cloves of garlic (or three bulbs) in this dish are not as scary as they may sound. During the cooking process, the cloves turn into a lovely mush and mostly disappear into the sauce and transform into a sweet and luscious concoction. A touch of good cognac and a little bit of cream and you will be in garlic heaven…minus the bad breathe!
As if this dinner didn’t have enough zing, the added Cognac brings to the dish a whole other level of “wow”! If you don’t have cognac on hand, don’t run out to the liquor store and buy a big bottle. Instead, purchase a top quality brand in a miniature size. I always love purchasing those little liquors and brandies for recipes; they’re the perfect quantity for cooking and you don’t have to spend a fortune on something you’ll only use sparingly.
A couple of tips for making this dish: 1) use a good quality cognac and white wine. Never cook with any alcohol you wouldn’t be proud to serve. 2) Drench the fresh garlic cloves in boiling water before peeling. This allows the paper to slip right off. 3) Feel free to use 3 lbs of various chicken parts. A good mixture of white and dark meats will only add to the dish’s complexity and wondrous flavor.
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Ingredients
About 3 lbs chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
3 bulbs of fresh garlic, peeled
Salt and pepper
1 Tblsp unsalted butter
2 Tblsp olive oil
3 Tblsp good-quality Cognac, divided
1.5 c. white wine
1 Tblsp fresh thyme
2 Tblsp flour
2 Tblsp heavy cream
Directions
Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, sauté the chicken in the fat until nicely browned on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to sauté all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.
Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.
