For the kitchen Part 2

Part 1 of this list can be found here.

Since I am trying to cook more and surprisingly the food has been really good, I am thinking of other things I want for the kitchen and my cooking escapades. I have been loving Amy's Organics. I love their pizza. It's organic, all natural, and has no GMOs. Oh yeah, and it is soooo yummy. But I have been thinking, I can make my own pizzas. Lots of people have been talking about pizza dough that you can get a Trader Joe's for like a dollar. Of course, there is not one near me. But I know one of my health stores I have been going to has to see something similar. I am not yet to the point of making my own dough from scratch, but I would like to get there. So, to make my own pizza i need a pizza stone. I like this one from Crate and Barrel.

Going to various sites would lead me to believe that if I have a pizza stone, I need a pizza peel board. Something to but the pizza on after it is done. Right now I have been using a plate, but I guess that is not the correct chef thing to do. So I guess I need something like this which can also be found at Crate and Barrel.

And on top of that I need a pizza cutter. But I guess I can get that anywhere.

So now to make pizza I need three new kitchen tools. This better be worth it. And by that, I mean the taste.

This list is getting longer and longer and I have not purchased anything. Guess it is time to go shopping.

What I want to buy...

for the kitchen. This is going to be my ever growing list. Hopefully I will cross things off and add things on as I start working in the kitchen more.

I am trying to cook more. I have found recipes that I want to try, but then I realize I do not have the appropriate tools in the kitchen. So I have been developing a list of things to buy. I am kinda excited about this.

On the top of my list are these Bamboo Utensils from Crate&Barrel.

These utensils are certified organic and bamboo is a sustainable resource, which is a huge plus for me. But because they are wood they also will not damage the nonstick surface on the pots I currently have (which are also on my list to replace).

I also want to buy a food processor. Damn, these things can be expensive. We ain't the Neely's over here. I mean the Hubs will probably never use the thing. I just want to be able to make some purees, chop some things without my eyes watering, and it will be quick. So I will keep searching. I do like these Kitchen Aid food processors from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. And they come in three colors to match your decor or spice it up.

A hand blender (or immersion blender for the fancy). This is great for soups and purees. Honestly, when i saw immersion blender in a recipe I had to Google it, so definitely I am not one of the fancy. But I see how this could be extremely useful in the kitchen. I like this one from Cuisinart and the price isn't too bad.

We also need some new knives. We received some when we first moved here, but I will admit we did not take very good care of them. They had wood handles and we threw them in the dishwasher, so now the ones we regularly use feel like we went outside and chopped down a tree for the handles. I think you could actually get a splinter if you are not careful. They are getting very dull too. To be cost effective, I just might get a knife sharpener because DAMN knives are expensive too. Can you believe they can cost over 1K? Really? For a non-chef? I wanna know what these people are cooking in their homes, because I definitely do not need that. I thought these were fairly reasonable. I know Henckels is a good brand and these aren't too crazy. And now that I look at this set I guess the set we have probably has a sharpener in it. Yeah that shows how much I am in the kitchen. I will make the ones we currently have work until I have some extra money laying around for something like this.

Getting back in the game

I have been slacking out working out for....well, since the beginning of the year. Yeah, I know, I know. I don't know what it is. I just cannot get motivated. I have been doing better since the weather has been nicer. And my plan is to actually go to the gym today. I have learned (well for me anyway) that it is a lot harder to re-start an exercise program than start from the beginning. I think this is because my expectations of myself are higher now. I know where I was and it is frustrating that I cannot just easily return to running and be where I was when i stopped. It is utterly frustrating. So I have to formulate a plan.

The planner portion of my brain (the whole thing because I am never spontaneous) needs a plan to get back into a routine. I am going to start the Couch to 5K (C25K) program again. So today when I go to the gym I am going to attempt week 4. I don't see the point of starting at the beginning because it is walking and I know I can do that for an extended period of time.

Last time I did the program I did it based on distance, this time I am going to to the time. By doing this I can easily run/jog/walk outside. It is harder to know your distance when you are outside. There are also programs for your ipod that chime over your music so you know when the the walk/run interval is up. I just think that is so cool.

So the plan is for 3x this week to:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

My run time is slower than the distance:time conversion, but my walk is faster. So, I should be able to accomplish this. Today, I am doing the treadmill though.

I also NEED to go buy a swimsuit. I am supposed to swim 300 hours in my 101 in 1001 and I have not done 1 second let alone an hour. So that is my next step.

#27: Read 50 non-crime books

I just finished reading The Help. It was recommended by my nesties. It is seriously one of the best books I have ever read. I woke up early and stayed up late to read it. It is based in 1960's Mississippi and is about a white woman writing a book on the delicate balance between white women and their maids. It is told from the point of view of the maids and the woman writing the book. I have to put this up there with To Kill a Mockingbird. Seriously, everyone should read this book.

#22: Make 10 New Recipes

I am on a roll right now with cooking, well for me anyway. Two weeks in a row, that is a roll for me. Ha ha. So tonight I turned to my Food Network recipe box once again. This time a Giada DeLaurentis creation.

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb. fusilli pasta

1/4 c. olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (9-oz) bag of fresh spinach, roughly chopped

8 oz (1/2 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved

1 c. Asiago cheese, grated

1/2 Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but slightly firm to the bite (8-10 minutes). Drain pasta reserving 1/2 c. of cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (2 minutes). Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts (2 more minutes). Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper, and the pasta cooking liquid and stir to combine.

Notes: I used mini fusilli because it was all I could find and it was not wheat. I have not had regular pasta in a while. I used organic spinach (one of the dirty dozen). I used Romano cheese instead of Parmesan because that is what I had. I also added a little more salt for taste at the end. Just a pinch.

Verdict: Yummy. I had to reheat it because the Hubs got home about an hour after he said he was. But I will definitely be making this again. Also next time I will add more tomatoes. I was thinking about it when I was cutting them, but decided to follow the recipe. Next time I will use the entire pint.

The Battle with my Skin

Back in February about a week or two into the Blizzard of 2010 my forehead started breaking out. I have never really had issues with acne so this was new to me. I mean, I have gotten the occasional bump here and there, treated it, and it was gone. But this was different. My entire forehead was breaking out and no matter what I did it would not go away.

I knew it had something to do with my anxiety over all the snow. I don't know what my issue was, but I just felt like it (meaning the snow) was never going to go away. I started thinking maybe I had SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) or whatever that commercial is about how the cold and winter affect your mood. I don't know, maybe I do. But anyway, my forehead was breaking out and it was not going away.

So I had to think of something. Several of my nesties use the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) and they say it is great for acne so I thought I would give it a try. The method involves mixing oils to clean your skin. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it does work. Anyway the method calls for using sunflower oil and of course I am allergic to that so I had to try something else. Several nesties said that they used jojoba oil instead. Bet, I had that in the house anyway. So I used the jojoba oil a couple of days to clean my skin. OMG, what a mistake for MY skin. The rest of my face looked great, but my forehead got even worse. It was not the substitute oil for my skin. Huge no no for me. I was about to give up this method, but I thought I would give it another try. So i mixed EVOO and castor oil and added a couple of drops of tea tree oil. OMG, wonders for my skin. The acne started drying out and clearing up.

I also to some micro-retin-A from the Hubs that he got from the dermatologist and started putting that on the affected area.

I also was coming to the end of my conventional moisturizer for my face, so I went ahead a bought the number 1 rated moisturizer by the EWG from Keys. While there I also bought their Healing Foaming Face Wash. I have started using both every day and my skin is 95% back to its old self.

So now I am a person with a face regimen. So every day I clean my face with the face wash and moisturize. Then once a week I do the OCM. It works for my skin. I will go into more detail about my version of the OCM soon. I am so happy to have my skin back. It has been a little over a month, but it has finally happened. So that has been my battle. I have made some mistakes but now I have products in my life that will be there for a long time.

The Sunset

This is for the Hubs. He is so frustrated with where we live and most of the time I don't blame him. We moved to this condo thinking it would be a great investment opportunity and a nice starter home. It is a revitalization area and because of the nationwide economic turndown, it has taken a little longer to become a nice area that either of us anticipated. They are still building in the area, which is a good sign, but some of the bad parts have not turned around as quickly. I still believe that this home was a good investment. It is close to the Metro and close to DC. Those things are always a plus. But the Hubs is not impressed. And he is getting frustrated. But sometimes when I look out the window I do not see all of the negatives. I see this.

Yes, I know if the nasty building outside my window was gone the view would be 1000 times better. But it was still a beautiful site. Watching the sun disappear behind the trees, ah, you just know that something so beautiful did not happen by accident. And yes if I were a better photographer the true beauty of the scene could have been captured. But this reminds me that sometimes life isn't as bad as we think. Because I did not "plan" to view this sunset. It was just a beautiful night and I happened to look out the window and there it was. It was just what I needed right at that time. I will have to remind the Hubs to take a look up sometimes and not always look down.

And it just happens to check off another item on my list.