What Makes A Day Beautiful?

This morning I had a tough time dragging myself out of bed. It was rainy, gloomy and a little chilly. I was hoping to wake up to warm and sunny but it didn't happen. I was prepping myself for a bit of a lazy, unfulfilled morning. I went through the morning routine of making a green smoothie (much needed after our pizza binge at Mellow Mushroom last night) and checking email. This morning Russell had to be at a conference and that's the only thing that got me out the door. I decided that since I would be near downtown that I should stop in at the farmers' market and that's when my day took a turn for the better.

As always, I should've taken more pictures to illustrate the perfection represented in the farmers' market. Upon entering, there is a man playing the violin, and toddlers doing the baby bounce as they listen. Families interacting and meeting new families, lots of smiling faces, and the sound of "good morning" throughout the crowd. I could sit and watch this community of people all day. I took a walk through the market to enjoy the smells and beautiful colors of the vegetables, fruits, fresh meat and cheese, and beautiful flowers. All farmers smiling and ready to tell you anything you need to know about their organic goods.

I could've shopped all day and come home with a load of food for the week but

I practiced a bit of self control and walked away with fresh strawberries and asparagus. The strawberries were picked this morning at 6:45. Embarrassingly, I was 75 cents short but without even a blink, the boy at the strawberry stand said "Don't worry about it! Enjoy your strawberries!".

I love the market. Everybody wins there. The shoppers get fresh food and they know exactly where it came from. The farmers raise awareness of their farms and make profit for their hard work. Durham builds a stronger family.

I took one more perusal through the market-listening, looking, and breathing deeply taking in the experience. When backing out of the small space where I chose to park, a couple stopped to help me and let me know how much space I had left and did it with a smile.

It's not the weather that makes this day beautiful. It's the community. People serving people.

...and that's all!

StrengthsFinder 2.0

I recently read StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. This book analyzes your personal strengths and it's findings can be applied to the workplace, in the home and throughout all relationships with others. The foundation of the book is based on a researched theory that people are more successful when they focus on their natural talents and traits instead of trying to constantly transform their weaknesses.

This is such a quick read and the test takes about 30 minutes to complete. I highly recommend it to anyone no matter your age or stage in your career. The test gives you the results of your top 5 strengths (there are 34 different strengths that have been identified) Here are my results:

Developer: "People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate then potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements"

Individualization: "People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively"

Responsibility: "People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty"

Communication: "People who are especially talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters"

Futuristic: "People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future"

I will have to say, I think that the descriptions of my strengths are a bit idealistic and I only wish that my strengths were actually as strong as the descriptions portray. Overall, though, I think the test was pretty accurate in pinpointing my strong traits. The test results go on to discuss what you should do to express your strengths to your advantage and how others may perceive your strengths in both positive and negative lights.

Taking the test has definitely helped me brainstorm ways to use my strengths to my advantage. I hope that I can capitalize on these traits and embark on a successful new career, whatever it may be!

Chicken Asparagus and Mushroom Crepes

Once again, I have forgotten to take pictures of the food I made before it was devoured...just trust me on this one, it's REALLY good!

Makes enough for 6 crepes (not perfect on portions yet, you'll have some stuff leftover)

Crepes:

3/4 c. flour

2 eggs

1/2c. milk

1/4 c. buttermilk

1/8 t. salt

1-2 t fresh rosemary

a few cranks of the pepper grinder

1/8 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or hard cheese blend)

put all of the stuff above into a blender and blend until smooth, transfer to a bowl and let set for 30min.

Filling:

1 to 1/2 chicken breasts cut into chunks and seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder

6-8 asparagus spears cut up

1/4 onion (purple or yellow) cut up

5 strips of bacon already cooked and crumbled (use half for filling and half for sauce)

some chicken broth

3 T sour cream

2 T flour (maybe)

in a pan, saute onions and asparagus for 3 minutes (maybe with a little bit of butter), add in chicken and cook until chicken is done. Add in bacon, sour cream, and chicken broth. Add the chicken broth about 1/8 c. at a time. Add in flour to thicken and reduce until it tastes good.

Sauce:

1/4 onion

1 carton portabella mushrooms, sliced

1/8 c. flour

chicken broth

1/4 c. shredded cheese, white cheddar or monterey jack

1/4 c. half and half

a pinch of thyme

saute onions, thyme, and mushrooms in a splash of chicken broth, when softened add bacon, more chicken broth, half and half, cheese and flour, reduce and continue adding chicken broth until desired consistency is reached, shouldn't be pasty.

Prepare crepes, I used a crepe maker but if you don't have one you should look up the best way to make them.

Add chicken filling and roll up then drizzle with mushroom sauce. Garnish with chopped green onions. I gave each person 2 crepes.

...and that's all!

New Title?

I've been thinking about updating the blog a little- new background, changing the title to something a little more unique. I can't say that this idea is actually "unique" as I came up with it after looking at a pillow on our couch straight from Pottery Barn. If you've seen the Friends episode about Pottery Barn, you also agree that it is not at all original!

Anyway, what do you think? Be honest! If you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it! I'm open to suggestions.

I'm Number 2! I'm Number 2!

That's right folks...I'm number 2. I won second place in tonight's Section 6 chili cook off. I'm excited about this because I've decided to treat it as winning first place- no offense Trip Neil but that was a total fluke. I don't feel bad about saying that because Whitney Neil entered the party saying- "Don't eat our chili. We didn't know what we were doing and it's not good." I tasted the chili anyway and the barbecue Fritos saved it :)

For all of you waiting in suspense for what I cooked here is a picture and the recipes:

White Bean Chicken Chili

(a conglomeration of several recipes I found online and my imagination)

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 cans chicken broth (I'm sure you could use boxes but I don't know how many that would be, 2 maybe)

2 jalepenos

3 habeneros

3 cans diced tomatoes

2 large onions

2-3 cans roasted green chiles

1 can navy beans

1 can great northern beans

2 cans cannelloni beans

1/4 c. flour

1c. half and half

4T minced garlic

salt

1t ground cumin seed

1 stick of butter

1-2 bay leaves

1/2 c. olive oil

(sorry these aren't in order, I was writing as I remembered)

1- boil chicken breasts in 1 and 1/2 cans chicken broth in a medium saucepan. When done, shred chicken and set aside

2- while chicken is boiling, saute 1 diced large onion and 2T garlic in 2 T butter, 2T olive oil and cover with salt and chili powder I'd say probably 2 T chili powder and 1/2T salt and set aside.

3- in a large soup pot, make a roux using flour and cream, stir constantly for three minutes then add 1 can chicken broth, green chiles, cumin, bay leaves, salt to taste and bring to a boil. Add in sauteed onions, chicken and one can of tomatoes and return to boiling.

4-drain and wash all canned beans and add to boiling mixture

5- as you see fit, continue adding canned tomatoes and chicken broth until chili reaches desired consistency

6- cut peppers in half and roast in oven until black spots appear. Put in blender with 1/2 onion, 1/2 can chicken broth, 1 can tomatoes, 1T minced garlic, and salt to taste then puree. You may want to add a splash of vinegar.

7- depending on the desired heat you want to add to your chili, add in pepper sauce that you prepared above.

8- I really have no idea exactly how much chili powder I added, I just poured it in until it tasted right.

The trick is to make this chili the morning before or even the night before you cook it. The longer it sits, the better the flavors combine together. I cooked mine for at least 4 hours.

Now for the best part- recipe courtesy of Dad...

Mexican Cornbread Waffles- I'm pretty sure this is not actually the way they cook it in Mexico

(I came up with the waffles part myself...I'm pretty sure this is the only reason I actually placed in the competition)

2 c. white corn meal

2c. flour

2 heaping tsp baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2c. grated cheese (I use cheddar and monterey jack)

1 can green chiles

some shakes of garlic powder

some cranks of a pepper mill

1 can yellow and white corn (drained)

4 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled

4 eggs

a bunch of buttermilk

(this makes a double batch...it feeds several people)

waffle iron

1- mix dry ingredients

2 - add in cheese, peppers, bacon, eggs, corn and stir together

3- as you stir, add in buttermilk. you just add buttermilk until the mixture becomes slightly thinner than pancake batter, it should still stick to the spoon but not clump together.

4- once your waffle iron is hot, spray with cooking spray and make waffles just like you would make breakfast waffles.

Tip: I cut each square into triangles because these waffles are more dense than regular breakfast waffles so a whole one might be too much for one serving.

To serve, ladle chili into a bowl, add a sprinkle of cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a dash of left over pepper sauce and place warm waffle on the side of the plate...It's a second place winner every time :)

...and that's all!

Quick Recipe Great for Snacks and Get Togethers

Cinnamon-Chili Pepper Popcorn

I know, this sounds interesting and maybe like these flavors shouldn't go together but this is a major crowd pleaser (and it's cheap and easy to prepare)- trust me!

preheat oven to 200 degrees

2 bags of popcorn pre-popped lightly salted, light to no butter (in microwave or on stove)

1 stick butter

1/4 c. white sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

2 t. cinnamon

2-4 t. red pepper flakes

1 T red chili pepper paste (you buy it at the grocery store near the packaged salad, it's in a tube)

1 jelly roll pan covered in foil and sprayed with cooking spray

1- spread the popcorn on the prepared pan

2- melt all other ingredients together over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes

3- pour the mixture over the popcorn and toss to evenly coat, I use kitchen tongs for this.

4- bake in the 200 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

5- let cool and serve.

This give s a perfect mixture of salty, sweet, and spicy. You can change the recipe up any way you want. Here are some other ideas:

- add pumpkin pie spice to the above recipe

- butter, Parmesan, garlic, black pepper

- butter, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla

...and that's all :)