COD, are you there? Its me Margaret....

Hello Darling Skittle Kitties -

Its been quite a long fort night since I blogged. Okay like twelve fortnights! Why did we stop using that term? Its essentially a fourteen day span so it would be much more exciting and colorful to use than "two weeks" or "biweekly" - let's bring this back into the vernacular if not just in the name of accuracy.

Anyway to answer your question: why did I stop?

1. Blog Inferiority Complex Type 1.
Its like Herpes Simplex Type 2 only worse. Let's face it! There are a LOT of blogs out there that are better, ones I read everyday, ones that win prizes and make money and I am just not that interesting. Competing was futile. However the writing itch is back! I'm no more interesting than the other blogbums but the creepy crawly writing bug is in my veins and it must get out! Out damn spot! So here I am, hunched over my laptop that wont even get wireless these days - writing.

2. The Oh-So Cliche But Necessary Wedding Diet.
...............and therefore my cooking has been hella boring and there's nothing fatass about my lifestyle right now. I'm talking NO booze, NO snacking, NO fun! Working out everyday and drooling at the thought of a boozy sultry glass of Malbec is the status quo. People kept saying "Just blog about healthy food!" but I am not a nutritional expert and don't feel comfortable putting out "healthy" food where I cant vouch for the nutritional value. Until I reach my goal of losing 30 pounds (1o down suckas!) -I'll be hating all my skinny friends to their faces instead of behind their backs and forcing Shawn to eat sugar free egg whites with lean fish oil cold cut shots.

So I took advantage of a solo night at home while Shawn was at the baseball game and cooked something I've been formulating in ma brain for a while! This recipe is for one so double it to make for you and your friend/hubby/enemy you decided to re-friend/shut in recluse neighbor/has been celeb you know through a friend of a friend.

Are you one of those people who hates seafood? Get over yourself. Or leave more for me, I guess.

Gingered Cod over Garlicky Edamame & Sauteed Chard
1 Cod Fillet
2 tablespoons pureed ginger
Salt & Pepper
Tiny dash of Olive Oil.
Half a lemon, juiced.

3 Mushrooms
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 head of chard
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of soy sauce (Gluten Free for you Meag!)
1/2 cup edamame

Green Onions to garnish.

Step One: Chop your shrooms, onion and garlic and then over medium heat with a little olive oil sautee until soft/browned. Once cooked add your soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Add in the edamame. Then when youre around 5 minutes away from eating toss in the chard and cover to cook for 3-5 minutes. It should get wilted then you're ready to nosh.

Step Two: Salt the cod (sexy), then spread the ginger all over! salt it and then sear over medium heat so 1 side gets browned, then flip and squeeze the lemon over it once turned. Cook for less than 10 minutes. Cod is a flake FLIRT! If its starting to flake its done.

And thats that.

Pop Pop Pop

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The Journey

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. It was a lovely splendid day filled with many messages of celebration and delicious food and balloons. Shawn was a darling and surprised me at my book club with champagne and flowers ! I loved the gesture but I even more loved having a partner who would do little things like this for me. I am so lucky I could puke.

What does being 29 mean? And how do we measure age in relation to time? Because sometimes they seem to be 2 different things. 29 is equivalent to:

*Attending a 4 year college back-to-back 7 times in a row.

*If you could get pregnant at 1 and then had a baby every 9 months you would have 38 babies.

*29 years is a standard sentence in prison for murder - to life. So my entire life I have been alive could be your prison sentence. Depresso.

*The Berlin wall was up for longer than 29 years.

*The 29th season of SNL was 2006.

*Ive been with Shawn 3.5 years which is only 12% of my life. (dont check this math).

Anyway , I am just ready to be 30 and be done with it but will resolve to enjoy the rest of my twenties.

The recipe I made was for book club last night where we discussed the memoir The Glass Castle. It was a great book that follows a family through poverty and mental illness. There's a part in the book where they say they have nothing to eat but popcorn for a week so I thought I would take something simple and turn it into something spectacular. I think this is a great base for different kinds of combinations for the future.

Toasted Coconut Curry Cashew & Popcorn Balls
2 bags of popped popcorn (I used already buttered microwave popcorn).
1 cup cashews
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup light karo corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
Ground Pepper & Salt

Step 1: Pop ya popcorn and set aside. MAKE SURE TO TAKE OUT ALL THE KERNELS of unpopped popcorn. Salt and pepper it to taste.

Step 2: Toast the coconut in a small pan over medium until brown. Combine with the popcorn.

Step 3: Bring a saucepan of the karo, curry and sugar to boil for 4-5 minutes stirring consistently.

Step 3: Toss the somewhat cooled mixture with a spatula until all the popcorn is covered. Using greased hands (I used olive oil) form into balls and let sit for 20 minutes. Then serve!

KK

The Tan Punjabi

Spicy.
Sweet.
Refreshing.
Boozy.
Caloric.
Naughty.
The (indian) Dude


This is based on a cocktail I had at DOSA on Fillmore a while ago. Our friends made a great Indian meal in Mammoth so I decided to pregame (do people still say pregame if they are over 21?) and I would try and recreate the Chai Spiced White Russian. It was a success! And at the risk of being racist - I call this the the Tan Punjabi. Okay, only call it that to close friends who hold NO judgment. My only change would be to add a shot of espresso, alas we did not have such luxury in a rental condo in Mammoth.

Chai Spiced White Russian
1 part chai latte mix
2 parts milk
1 part vodka
1 part kahlua
shaken and over ice

Enjoy.

Gellin with January

My journey to the perfect chili has been akin to your typical road trip buddy comedy movie. We (me and chili) started with a dream in our hearts and a full tank of gasoline headed towards the promised land. On the way we met some crazy characters! I cant describe them because "you had to be there", but suffice it to say hominy was my copilot and black beans reprised the role of Neil Patrick Harris (gay) playing Neil Patrick Harris (straight). The sun set and deals were made to secure a sequel.

It's been a crazy month - as you can see below in the movie montage of my life - I went dog sledding, the Packers are NFC champions and going to the superbowl (not pictured), I took a cooking class with my team at Ubisoft and spent the perfect day at the beach with friends. Oh! And my jimmy jam Evie moved to town. Sick! Even though I have been tearing my hair out working like crazy its these times with friends that make this time in my life so memorable.








Smoky Chipotle Chicken Chili + Black Beans & Hominy
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
3 cubes of tomato bouillon*
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of diced green chilis
1 can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (only use 3 minced + 2 tblspoons of the sauce!)
1 large can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 can of hominy, drained
olive oil, splash
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Step One: Bring a quart of water to a rolling boil then add the chicken and the tomato bouillon. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Set aside til semi cool. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven over medium heat add olive oil, onions and garlic until soft.

Step Two: Once onions are soft add in the chilis (both adobo and green) and simmer. Once mixed
add in the black beans, hominy and tomatoes. If you can take 1 cup of the tomato water from the chicken into the chili.

Step Three: Shred the chicken and add in to the chili thats cooking. Let cook for another hour so the water reduce. Serve with crema fresca!

*Here's the thing - I have NEVER seen tomato bouillon. It was in the Mexican aisle and I absolutely had to try it! I cant tell you if its vegetarian but I wouldn't bet on it. I def say it was my secret ingredient.

Simple Sweet & Salty Salad

The minute I made you, I knew you wouldnt be enough to satisfy. I wanted you so badly all to myself but I had to share with the likes of my Book Club! I had a toddler like wave of selfishness as soon as you came out of the oven. Please maamaaa dont make-a-me share! But instead of cancelling my plans and sitting in bed shoveling you into my mouth in blissful fatty solitude- I went to book club and politely watched people eat you up. It was hard at first, but if you love something set it free. In people's mouths.

------

I give you: Garlic Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Leeks, Chickpeas, Dates and Pecans.
Preheat your oven to 400. Toss Cauliflower, leeks, chickpeas, pecans and chopped dates with olive oil, minced garlic and salt and pepper. I sprinkled a little Parmesan on before I roasted, too. You dont have to though! Bake for 20m, then toss, bake for 15 more minutes until caramelizing starts - serve and enjoy!

Le sigh.

Year To Year

Greetings 2011 *curtsy*. Have you met 2010? *gesture to the air* Oh just in passing? Well, I think if you two had met before 2010 moved to Yemen you'd probably have been best friends. You both really like baby corn and the color burnt sienna. Although, Ive never seen you two in a room together - whats to say 2010 and 2011 arent the same? 2009 could totally have passed for 2010 on a fake ID - but you 2011 - you look even more like 2010 than you did last year.

New beginnings are dichotomous, both rare and evergreen. While we are able to determine when and where we want to implement personal and professional change, sometimes we need a helping hand on the timing. I could wake up and decide - tomorrow at 1:30 I will start remembering people's birthdays and taking better care of my skin. And with discipline, I would. So - why do we wait until the 1st of every year to get on the bandwagon? There could be a scientific moon/mood explanation but the biggest factor I suppose is: measurement. Well, laziness in measurement. We like to see results based in real time. Its easier to say Ive been doing something a year, two years than since last Tuesday at 1:30.

I spent my NYE in Los Angeles on a trip where we were preparing to attend the Rose Bowl. I requested my good friend Jenny and Aaron cook with me since Jenny and I spend roughly 3 hours a week talking about new recipes and new table settings. We're so interesting! I know its hard to contain your impressed selves. We made a 5 course meal consisting of A Curried Pumpkin Soup Shot, Peppered Mango & Burrata Salad, Oysters on the 1/2 shell, Fillet Mignon over Lobster Mashed Potatoes and finishing with a homemade Chocolate Souffle. It was divine and Jenny gave me a crafting DIY boner.

For me 2011 will be for the most part predictable. I already know what it will hold, which in a way I feel more pressure to make something of it. It will most notably be the year I get married, but I want it to be so much more. Granted, it will only set myself up for disappointment when I fall back into old habits and am a mush of failure - but for now my outlook is positive. While not a hard line of "must be"s small and large-- this is my Top Ten list:

1. Return to Pre-San Francisco weight.

2. Wash my face on the regular.

3. Do not lose things anymore. Or break them.

4. Do more copy writing at work.

5. Get my hair professionally dyed.

6. Play video games a little so I understand my job more.

7. See a play.

8. Learn to knit/craft.

9. Listen to voice mails.

10. Shave my legs more often.

I would also like to set some New Years Resolutions for other people. Can you do that? Or is it presumptuous? Please sub the appropriate authority for all the "YOU ". If you think I am talking to you, chance are I am.

1. I think you should pull up Mad Men and Breaking Bad so they are not summer shows.

2. I think you should blog more.

3. I definitely think you shouldn't move away from San Francisco.

4. You should stop the construction across from my apt.

5. I think you should buy me more diamonds.