Monday Musings
We were all moving pretty slow today at work - surprisingly, though in a Tai Chi dream sequence of sorts, we got a lot accomplished! Tonight I am puttering - payed bills online and I am now doing laundry that I thought I had finished on the weekend (where does this stuff come from?).
What's your vibe?
If I had to assign a colour to my experience today it would be dove grey. I wore red shoes, a red enamel bracelet and a red sweater with a rhinestone encrusted zipper to offset the mellow vibe, but even sitting in full sun on a patio at lunch hour I felt the ole brain fuzz trying to set my mood on STUN!
Ode to the garden tomato!
We are enjoying lemon yellow tomatoes from our garden and splendid basil these days - I can't seem to get enough of a simple salad I once ate in a local eatery called Pelegrino. The owner's girlfriend was an art model for me in my university days and I had given her some quick ink and charcoal studies as gifts. Years later, these were lovingly framed and hung in their small restaurant.
As I write this I am sipping a late night coffee with cream as a last ditch antidote... before I doze off, here is the simple recipe for the former Pelegrino's Tomato Salad with Basil - I urge you to get your hands on some late summer tomatoes and try this! Simple and so addicting...
TOMATO SALAD WITH BASIL
Four medium tomatoes, picked at the peak of ripeness and sliced 1/4" thick
3 ounces thinly shaved mozzarella cheese
Eight leaves of basil, chopped
Sea salt and coarse grind pepper to taste
Olive oil to taste
On a medium size plate arrange the tomato slices, tuck in the slivers of cheese between the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss the chopped basil over all and drizzle with olive oil. Wonderful as an antipasto, with fresh bread - if your diet allows - sadly mine does not.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
Transitions
Although I hate to see summer on the wane, I always get a renewed boost of energy in late August when the air gets cool and faintly smoky in at dusk. Taking advantage of this state, I baked up a storm this weekend: banana bread, sugar-free peanut butter cookies, healthy bran muffins and (my son's favorite) ginger snaps. Mmmm...
There is something so satisfying about filling your home with good things you have made with love and your own hands. Maybe this urge to create is due in part to the back to school push. I have always enjoyed the excitement of new beginnings that the fall brings - it's knowing that new opportunities and challenges are right around the corner.
Like many others, I am so weary of hearing about the "economic slowdown". At some point we all need to look in the rear view mirror and realize that those issues are so far behind us that we can no longer see them clearly. What are you missing that is right in front of you, and what have you overlooked because you were focused too dearly on past events that you are powerless to change?
Tonight as I prepare for the busy work week ahead, I am thinking of what I can do to move beyond the speed bumps around me with positive energy and joy-filled purpose. What can I do to ensure that I put the same love and care into my interactions with others as I do with my family's favourite foods? I have seen first hand how small things can have a huge impact; how sometimes they make or break/tip the balance, but it is easy to get discouraged when there is so much negative speak out there!
What are your goals for this transitional time? How do you stay positive and focused on what matters? Want to bake something quick, easy and healthy while you ponder? Here is my recipe for sugar-free peanut butter cookies - hope you will enjoy!
SUGAR-FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup Splenda
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
tiny pinch of sea salt
Optional: a few salted peanuts or chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure out all ingredients into a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly. Take rounded teaspoonfuls of the batter, roll into balls and place two inches apart on insulated aluminum cookie trays (no need to grease sheets). Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand and make a small dimple in the top of each cookie. Place a peanut or chocolate chip on top of each cookie. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, until firm and slightly golden - watch carefully so as not to scorch as these over bake very quickly.
Yield: 16- 18 cookies, 4-5 grams of carbohydrate per
Although I hate to see summer on the wane, I always get a renewed boost of energy in late August when the air gets cool and faintly smoky in at dusk. Taking advantage of this state, I baked up a storm this weekend: banana bread, sugar-free peanut butter cookies, healthy bran muffins and (my son's favorite) ginger snaps. Mmmm...
There is something so satisfying about filling your home with good things you have made with love and your own hands. Maybe this urge to create is due in part to the back to school push. I have always enjoyed the excitement of new beginnings that the fall brings - it's knowing that new opportunities and challenges are right around the corner.
Like many others, I am so weary of hearing about the "economic slowdown". At some point we all need to look in the rear view mirror and realize that those issues are so far behind us that we can no longer see them clearly. What are you missing that is right in front of you, and what have you overlooked because you were focused too dearly on past events that you are powerless to change?
Tonight as I prepare for the busy work week ahead, I am thinking of what I can do to move beyond the speed bumps around me with positive energy and joy-filled purpose. What can I do to ensure that I put the same love and care into my interactions with others as I do with my family's favourite foods? I have seen first hand how small things can have a huge impact; how sometimes they make or break/tip the balance, but it is easy to get discouraged when there is so much negative speak out there!
What are your goals for this transitional time? How do you stay positive and focused on what matters? Want to bake something quick, easy and healthy while you ponder? Here is my recipe for sugar-free peanut butter cookies - hope you will enjoy!
SUGAR-FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup Splenda
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
tiny pinch of sea salt
Optional: a few salted peanuts or chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure out all ingredients into a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly. Take rounded teaspoonfuls of the batter, roll into balls and place two inches apart on insulated aluminum cookie trays (no need to grease sheets). Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand and make a small dimple in the top of each cookie. Place a peanut or chocolate chip on top of each cookie. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, until firm and slightly golden - watch carefully so as not to scorch as these over bake very quickly.
Yield: 16- 18 cookies, 4-5 grams of carbohydrate per
Saturday, August 29, 2009
August 29, 2009
The Why
Like many I have been inspired recently by the wonderful film, Julie & Julia! A working mother with three children, my "free hours" are very limited, and yet I find myself seeking an elusive something, and intrigued with bloggerific possibilities!
Maybe it will be immensely worthwhile and enriching - only time will tell! Maybe one day I will touch your heart in some small way or make you think about things a bit differently, and maybe you will do the same for me. That may seem like a humble goal, but sometimes the biggest things in life are initiated, defined or refined by minutia.
True Blue
My typical work day (I work for a small marketing and advertising firm) is hectic and varied - occasionally it is inspirational, but mostly it is "perspirational", with limited rewards! When I speak about these feelings, I want to be very clear that am NOT referring to my pay scale or my employer - I am fortunate to work for an exceptional woman who pays me fairly, trusts me implicitly and appreciates my contribution.
In a more general sense, however, I find that many people today have abandoned basic manners and interpersonal skills: they don't say "thank you", for example (and in my view that is a standard offering we should all carry at all times)! I am also noticing that a lot of the goodness, talent and energy we pour out into each working day is taken for granted.
Many people in the working world talk about being "team players" but typically they are just thinking of themselves. Further along the opportunistic path, they do not care to build lasting connections with others and they do not appreciate the differences between true quality and all the run-of-the-mill stuff out there.
Loyalty and class have gone out of vogue -- replaced by a demanding, fickle population where everyone thinks they are an expert on everything, and many will step on their dear Mother's head if need be to gain a perceived leverage.
My Question for you today
Today, if you could distill all that you are and all that you aspire to be; all that delights you and all that frustrates you, and then you had to choose one colour to encompass that feeling - what colour would it be? Today mine is prussian blue - complex, dark, a bit moody; but as with fine food and wines all hope is raised by the prospects of the perfect pairing - for I do believe in the interconnectedness of all humankind and delight in the moments where we compliment, enrich, collaborate and grow.
Like many I have been inspired recently by the wonderful film, Julie & Julia! A working mother with three children, my "free hours" are very limited, and yet I find myself seeking an elusive something, and intrigued with bloggerific possibilities!
Maybe it will be immensely worthwhile and enriching - only time will tell! Maybe one day I will touch your heart in some small way or make you think about things a bit differently, and maybe you will do the same for me. That may seem like a humble goal, but sometimes the biggest things in life are initiated, defined or refined by minutia.
True Blue
My typical work day (I work for a small marketing and advertising firm) is hectic and varied - occasionally it is inspirational, but mostly it is "perspirational", with limited rewards! When I speak about these feelings, I want to be very clear that am NOT referring to my pay scale or my employer - I am fortunate to work for an exceptional woman who pays me fairly, trusts me implicitly and appreciates my contribution.
In a more general sense, however, I find that many people today have abandoned basic manners and interpersonal skills: they don't say "thank you", for example (and in my view that is a standard offering we should all carry at all times)! I am also noticing that a lot of the goodness, talent and energy we pour out into each working day is taken for granted.
Many people in the working world talk about being "team players" but typically they are just thinking of themselves. Further along the opportunistic path, they do not care to build lasting connections with others and they do not appreciate the differences between true quality and all the run-of-the-mill stuff out there.
Loyalty and class have gone out of vogue -- replaced by a demanding, fickle population where everyone thinks they are an expert on everything, and many will step on their dear Mother's head if need be to gain a perceived leverage.
My Question for you today
Today, if you could distill all that you are and all that you aspire to be; all that delights you and all that frustrates you, and then you had to choose one colour to encompass that feeling - what colour would it be? Today mine is prussian blue - complex, dark, a bit moody; but as with fine food and wines all hope is raised by the prospects of the perfect pairing - for I do believe in the interconnectedness of all humankind and delight in the moments where we compliment, enrich, collaborate and grow.
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