What are you doing on New Year's Eve?

This makes me happy.

Streams in the Desert

There is a peace that springs soon after sorrow,
     Of hope surrendered, not of hope fulfilled;
A peace that does not look upon tomorrow,
     But calmly on the storm that it has stilled. 

A peace that lives not now in joy's excesses,
     Nor in the happy life of love secure;
But in the unerring strength the heart possesses,
     Of conflicts won while learning to endure. 

A peace there is, in sacrifice secluded,
     A life subdued, from will and passion free;
It's not the peace that over Eden brooded,
     But that which triumphed in Gethsemane.

~Streams in the Desert, December 9

Curried Couscous with Chicken and Zucchini

Picture originally found on http://batter-splattered.typepad.com

First off, I apologize for not following up with Part 2 on my previous post yet. My dissertation proposal is due to my committee this coming Monday, so I've been a little wrapped up with that. It is coming, but in the meantime, I want to share with you a recipe I tried and loved this week!

I downloaded the Epicurious app on my iPhone and found this amazing dish. Without further ado, here it is:


Curried Couscous with Chicken and Zucchini

Curried Chicken and Zucchini

I sliced up about 4-5 chicken thighs (the recipe calls for chicken breast but I tend to buy natural, vegetarian-fed chicken which can get expensive), rubbed in some salt and pepper, and sauteed the chicken until the pieces were golden brown. I removed the chicken from pan into a separate plate. I cut up 2 small zucchini into matchsticks and cooked them in the same pan as the chicken, seasoning the zucchini with salt and pepper. I then transferred the zucchini to the plate with the chicken.

I crushed two cloves of garlic, and cooked it with about half an onion in butter until the onion was softened. I then stirred in 1 tsp of curry powder before adding in 1 cup of chicken broth. I brought the mixture to a boil until it was reduced by half. I added in 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and brought the mixture to a boil again until it was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. I then turned the heat off and let the sauce sit.

I stirred the chicken and zucchini into the curry sauce and heated the mixture over moderate heat. I seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper, and stirred in some coursely chopped cilantro. 

Couscous

I sauteed another half an onion in butter until softened, and then stirred in 1 tsp of curry power. I then added some butter and 1 1/4 cup of chicken broth, bringing the mixture to a boil. I stirred in about 1 1/4 cup of couscous, and seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper. I then turned off the heat, and let the mixture stand. I cut up about 2 tbsp of butter and stirred it into the couscous. I then let the couscous stand for another minute. I chopped up some cilantro and stirred it into the couscous. I then added in a little more salt and pepper. 

YUM! I squeezed some lime into the dish before indulging. Some thoughts - next time I try this recipe, I may use a red onion instead of white onion. I may also add some dried cranberries into the couscous.

The Dark Side of Categorization (Part 1)

Picture originally found on www.createourworld.net

I always joke that as a Social Psychologist, my job is finding out what is wrong with people.

Take categorization, for example.

As humans, we need to notice patterns and categories to make sense of the world. Being able to categorize the things we encounter is crucial to survival. This could be something as simple as categorizing red as a different color from green while encountering a traffic light, or distinguishing between foods that are poisonous to eat and foods that are safe to eat.

Not only do we categorize objects, but we also categorize people. As infants, we demonstrate the ability to distinguish between people of different races by responding more to those of the same race as our primary caretaker. We categorize people as tall or short, female or male, happy or sad, old or young. More importantly, we categorize people as "similar to me" and "not similar to me" or to put it more simply "us" verses "them."

Categorizing people is not necessarily a bad thing. For one, categorizing people can facilitate social interactions. It gives us shortcuts to know how to properly engage with others. We interact with countless others during our lifetime. Because it is impossible to "learn" a different social script each time we encounter someone new, we rely on categories as default for a starting point in how to interact with a new acquaintance. For example, let's say I meet a woman named Sally for the first time. I have never interacted with Sally before, but I do know that she is a nun. I rely on my knowledge of the category "nun" and assume that Sally is religious, conservative, and celibate. Because of that, I will take care not to use profanity or make jokes about drinking and sex when I meet Sally. While it is true that Sally may prove to be quite different from my understanding of a nun, relying on my categorization of "nun" gives me a starting point from which to interact with her. As I get to know Sally better, I can correct my perceptions accordingly.

The problem is when our categories are wrongly associated with certain attributes, or when we box people into the category they fall under. This, social psychologists argue, is one of the ways prejudices may form. Let's say, for example, that I may not have many personal interactions with homeless people. The little I do know is from the news or movies where they are more often than not portrayed incredibly negatively. Thus, when I do encounter homeless people, I assume from the start that they are lazy and unintelligent. Furthermore, I attend more to their behaviors that confirm of that stereotype, in essence preventing them from proving the stereotype wrong. And the less I know about a certain category, the more likely this is to happen.

I believe that it is fundamental need for humans to categorize one another. I also believe this fundamental human need to categorize contributes directly to prejudice as well as social inequalities. The connection to social inequalities, however, will be explained in Part 2 (coming soon).

The Discipline of Silence

"One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. we are so accustomed to relying upon words to manage and control others. If we are silent, who will take control? God will take control, but we will never let him take control until we trust him. Silence is intimately related to trust.

"The tongue is our most powerful weapon of manipulation. A frantic stream of words flows from us because we are in a constant process of adjusting our public image. We fear so deeply what we think other people see in us that we talk in order to straighten out their understanding. If I have done some wrong thing (or even some right thing that I think you may misunderstand) and discover that you know about it, I will be very tempted to help you understand my action! Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification. 

"One of the fruits of silence is the freedom to let God be our justifier."

~Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline 

The Hunger Next Door

Note: The views expressed here are my personal views, not those of the Capital Area Food Bank of Central Texas.

I recently began a research internship at the Capital Area Food Bank of Central Texas. As part of my orientation, I was sent to help stock shelves at one of their food pantries located in the poorest parts of Austin.

Now, I will preface by saying I knew VERY LITTLE about poverty in Central Texas. As a graduate student, I am very insulated from class disparities. In the working environment, everyone around me is extremely well-educated and have a world of job prospects open to them. Even when my dad supported my mother and me on just his graduate stipend while I was growing up (and yes, that actually economically counts as living in poverty level), he knew financial relief was coming in a few years and worst case scenario, a small loan from my grandparents was only a phone call away. In my current social environment, even those who are not as highly educated are well off - whether it is due to their affluent background, or if it is because they have decent-paying jobs in a service industry. Even the friends I have who meticulously cut coupons can afford an occasional glass of wine or beer out. All that is to say, I have NO CLUE what it means to not have enough for food, and to not know if I'll ever have enough to provide for my basic biological needs.

Even when I started learning about poverty in Central Texas, it was in the form of numbers and statistics. For example, 48,000 people in Central Texas alone rely on food pantries to eat. Almost half of that number consists of children. These people regularly experience the physical pain of hunger and have to choose - on a weekly basis - between filling that hunger with food, or paying for utilities and shelter. That is heart-wrenching enough, but still it seems less real when the problem is so abstract. (More facts can be found here).

I arrived at the pantry this morning, prepared to help stock dozens of shelves with food they will distribute tomorrow. I was dismayed by how little food there was to stock. Apparently, the economy is hit hard right now, and people are giving the little resources they have to the victims of the Bastrop Fires. Which is great, since those victims have a real, immediate need. But what I didn't realize is there is a steady contingency of hungry people in Austin who are overlooked as a consequence.

This specific food pantry feeds about 140-180 people each week. We finished stocking, and I was shocked when the director looked at the few shelves lined with food and concluded with sadness "well at least we have enough to feed 130 people this week." How much food was she referring to? Let's just say my mother stocked more in our garage during the Y2K scare. Furthermore, the filled shelves could actually physically fit into my tiny Austin studio. The choices were canned corn, canned peas, cans of mixed fruit, canned peaches, applesauce, some potatoes and meat. That's it. This is what 130 people will survive on this week.

I drove home to a nice lunch of salmon and asparagus, and felt sick to my stomach knowing that tomorrow, 10-50 people less than a mile from me will find out they have nothing to eat this week. Yet here I am spending my money on pretty clothes, wine, fancy makeup, expensive haircuts...in short, things that are not crucial for survival. Now I'm not necessarily advocating denying yourself of any niceties and pleasures and giving all your money away; I realize that our economy is a much more complicated system than that. But it definitely gives me pause about the way I think about my money and how I spend it.

I'm not sure what to conclude about all this as this is an issue I'm still processing through. I will say I am glad I got involved with CAFB. And that although I do feel called to international ministry of some sort, I am beginning to see that the same brokenness and the same disparities exist next door to me, even in such an affluent city as Austin.

Streams in the Desert

Come with me by yourselves and rest awhile,
I know you're weary of the stress and throng,
Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong. 

Come now aside from all the world holds dear,
For fellowship the world has never known,
Alone with Me, and with My Father here,
With Me and with My Father, not alone.

Come, tell Me all that you have said and done,
Your victories and failures, hopes and fears.
I know how hardened hearts are wooed and won;
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.

Come now and rest; the journey is too great,
And you will faint beside the way and sink;
The bread of life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the wine of love to drink.

Then from fellowship with your Lord return,
And work till daylight softens into even:
Those brief hours are not lost in which you learn
More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.

~ Streams in the Desert, October 2 

Candied Cacao Nibs

One of the benefits of doing my grocery shopping on Saturdays is that the local Farmer's Market is held Saturday mornings downtown. I figured buying from the Farmer's Market is a good way to keep in check where my food is coming from (see previous post), and also eat locally and organically.

I was drawn to a stand that was selling fresh roasted cocoa beans! They had chocolate covered whole cocoa beans as well as sugared cacao nibs. Since I have not had refined sugar in over a month (I'll blog some time about my month-long experiment with low carbohydrate diet and my recent decision to NOT do it anymore), I decided for the sake of my health and blood sugar levels, I should stick to the plain cocao nibs. The lady looked at me a little strangely when I asked if these cocao nibs were for munching on. No wonder, because it turns out that plain cocao nibs are just BITTER! Still, I did not want to waste these nibs, so I decided to try to candy them with honey.

 I spooned some pure honey into a small saucepan, squeezed a small orange into it, and added a splash of water. I heated the mixture until it was thick, and threw in the cocao nibs, coating the nibs evenly. I then poured the mixture into a baking pan and used a spatula to spread the nibs out.

I sprinkled the nibs with cinnamon, then baked them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 8 minutes. When they came out, I sprinkled the nibs again with cinnamon and also some Stevia (in lieu of powdered sugar). I let the mixture harden and now have delicious homemade candied cocao nibs!


*edit* I realize this is a novice mistake, but aluminum foil is a TERRIBLE idea when it comes to candying items. Never using it again!

How many slaves work for you?

I FINALLY saw a screening of Call and Response yesterday. The "rock-u-mentary" led me through a rollercoaster of emotions. It was horrifying, heart-wrenching, hopeful, and even funny at times. One thing for sure, I can no longer stay ignorant or complacent.

I wrote a post a few months ago on human trafficking, but this documentary actually showed some of the victims sharing their stories. First of all, human trafficking occurs within a wide variety of trades: child soldiers, agriculture workers, factory workers, and prostitution to name a few. I think now over 80% of human slaves are sex slaves. Girls (and boys) are kidnapped sometimes as young as one year old! The documentary showed some heart-wrenching footage of 6-7 year-olds offering their services to an undercover reporter.

Most sex slaves are either kidnapped or tricked into their positions, seeking better opportunities but then being blackmailed into their situations. They are broken, mentally and physically, and oftentimes are forced into meth addiction to ensure their dependency on their pimps. Because customers pay more for virgins, some girls are forced to undergo painful surgeries to appear as one, then pimped out to the highest bidder, and undergo the surgery again forming an endless cycle. They are locked up in little chambers (that make my tiny Austin studio look like a palace) where they are called out only to perform services. They are used to make money over and over again until they wear out or contract a disease. They are then disposed of and left to die.

Trafficking doesn't just happen abroad - it is common in the US. In fact, it is even common in Austin. The documentary talks about how some pimps scour the malls for young girls who are alone. They target the insecure ones, woo them with kind words and compliments, then "take them for a drive" where they are never heard from again.

Sex slaves aside, there are people in this world forced into backbreaking labor, sometimes working over 20 hours a day for a sustained period of time. And they are not paid for their work. In fact, there are more slaves today then during the time Africans were enslaved by the colonies. The products the slaves today make are sold more cheaply because the companies save on labor costs. The scary thing is, it is difficult to trace products back to how they were made. I look around my apartment - most of the things I own I bought for a bargain. As a graduate student, I have gotten adept at buying the cheapest products without sacrificing quality. Now I suspect the products I buy can be so cheap only because the labor with which they were made cost nothing.

A new website recently launched (be patient while they work out bugs) estimates how many slaves it might have taken to make the products you currently own. The website is: http://slaveryfootprint.org. As soon as it comes back up I'll make sure to take it and report back to you.

***Edit I just took the quiz today (10/4/11). I have 29 slaves working for me...yikes! End edit***

For now, I'll be super careful what I buy - paying special attention to whether items are free trade or not. After all, as much as I want to be frugal and a good steward of my money, if something is cheap, it may be because someone else paid for it with their freedom. And that is something I cannot stand behind!

Homemade Raspberry Mousse

I've been reading both Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and the Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living and have become convinced that we are harming our bodies by eating chemically processed foods, especially refined sugar. To that end I've made a decision to try a low-carbohydrate diet and to give up any refined or processed foods.

I am now three weeks into that journey. Since desserts tend to involve a LOT of sugar and are mostly processed, it has been an adventure learning how to make delicious desserts without refined flour or sugars. I'm sure it helps that I've been really getting into watching the Food Network. Today's adventure involved learning to make Raspberry mousse. Here is how I did it (I didn't measure out any ingredients so don't have quantities listed):

To make the fruit juice, I reduced frozen organic raspberries with some Chianti (next I'm I'll try a fruitier wine or fresh-squeezed lemon juice, but I just happened to have an opened bottle ready). I added a little stevia (which is this natural sweetener that doesn't raise blood glucose levels)  to the reduction, but honey works fine too.

The reduction was a little strong, so I diluted it a bit with water (next time, I might try almond milk instead). I then mixed two ounces of gelatin (okay, so I guess there are SOME processed ingredients...next time I'll leave this out and add marscapone cheese instead) into the reduction as well as a little organic heavy whipping cream. After the mixture cooled, I poured it into some wine glasses, covered the wine glasses with seran wrap, and stored them in the fridge.

I then made homemade marscapone mousse by whipping up marscapone cheese with heavy whipping cream and some more stevia. I placed a dollop on each wine glass. Finally, I ground some hazelnuts and coffee grounds as a garnish. As Rachael Ray says, "Delish!!"

I think next week I'll try making a raspberry cream mousse using the marscapone cheese. Note: I do not a natural talent for cooking, so would appreciate any advice and feedback from those who do!

Streams in the Desert

"Waiting upon God is vital in order to see Him and receive a vision from Him. And the amount of time spent before Him is also critical, for our hearts are like a photographer's film -- the longer exposed, the deeper impression. For God's vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time. Remember, the troubled surface of a lake will not reflect an image."

Revamped Blog

Finally got around to revamping my blog. Let's see how this goes...

Hope

"When we see no hint of success yet refuse to despair, when we see nothing but the darkness of night through our window yet keep the shutters open because stars may appear in the sky, and when we have an empty place in our heart yet will not allow it to be filled with anything less than God's best -- that is the greatest kind of patience in the universe. It is the story of Job in the midst of the storm, Abraham on the road to Moriah, Moses in the desert of Midian, and the Son of Man in the Garden of Gethsemane. And there is no patience as strong as that which endures because we see 'him who is invisible' (Heb. 11:27). It is the kind of patience that waits for hope."    ~ L. B. Cowman

Faithful to the End

I have been listening to Cory Asbury's song "Faithful to the End" over and over again today. The following lyrics have just been blowing me away:

And he will come riding on the clouds 
With Justice in his heart 
And a sword upon his side 

And all will see the glory of this man 
With fire in his eyes 
He's jealous for his bride 

He's faithful to the end 
He's faithful to my heart

Enjoying life

May has just been a whirl. It has been such a relief not having classes, but I have never been so busy with research before. My brother (a senior in high school) recently posted as his Facebook status that he is "so done with school." I laughed when I read it because I shared the same sentiment my last year of high school and again my last year of college. Nine years later I am still in school.

Life never turns out the way you expect. If you asked me 10 years ago where I'd be today, I would have told you I would be working a cutting edge job with a husband and maybe a child or two, living in a small house in New York. Instead, I am a single grad student with a part time job, living in a studio in Texas.

Yet I don't think the path you take is ever an accident. I have this propensity to always worry about where I am going that I miss where I am at. The past few weeks have been full of catching up with good friends and reminding myself that life is not always about getting to the next place. The next place will arrive soon enough; in fact, a year from now I don't even know if I'll still be living in Texas!

So since I've last blog I've spent an afternoon listening to the local symphony band play in the park, salsa danced multiple times, spent a day out on Lake Travis, and finally tried this sticky mango rice dessert from a restaurant I've been dying to visit for a few months now. I've been very alone and isolated all semester, and May has been a refreshing time to realize that even though I'm not where I thought I would be (thank goodness), I am living well and loving well!

George Matheson

I found this excerpt from his hymn and just fell in love with the words:

"Oh Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be."

Blogging Tips

I'm not a great blogger. Heck, I'm not really a good blogger. But I have a blog and I don't really want to delete this blog. I think my main problem is that I blog about whatever I feel like blogging about. There is no theme (travel? yoga? food? photography? Christianity? Psychology?), no audience in mind. Apparently that is a problem.

Here are 10 blogging tips I found online:

Blogging in 2009: Going Back to Basics

Blogging Tip #1: Post Regularly. Readers will be more likely to follow your blog if you have a regular posting schedule. Post weekly, post bi-monthly, post monthly — it doesn’t matter what it is (although it should be at least once a week in my opinion) — but stick to a schedule.

Blogging Tip #2: Use Plugins. Plugins like “relevant posts”, “most popular posts” and “recent posts” make your blog more sticky because they encourage readers to hang around longer. The longer a visitor is on your blog, the better chance you have of converting them into a customer. And that, remember, is the goal when you’re in business.

Blogging Tip #3: Post from Experience. I like first-hand information. In fact, many web surfers are looking for this type of info. It’s no coincidence that “how to” information is the number one selling product on the web. Most of it comes from first-hand information.

So use case studies, write in the first person (eg, use “I”), tell your readers how you solved a particular problem, etc. I sell a lot of ebooks by doing just this. It lets readers know that you know what you’re talking about; hence, you become an authority voice in your niche.

Blogging Tip #4: Niche It. Speaking of niche – clearly define who your audience is and speak to them – and only them – directly. You will get ancillary customers/clients/readers as a matter of course. BUT, you should always blog with your core audience in mind.

Blogging Tip #5: Comment on Other Popular Blogs in Your Niche. Make relevant posts on other authority blogs in your niche. The key word here is r-e-l-e-v-a-n-t.

Blogging Tip #6: Write Well. Make your post long, make it short, make it mid-length, but by all means, write well. This cannot be taken for granted. I don’t care how salient your post is, if it’s poorly written, you will not be taken seriously. In fact, you can even damage your online reputation.

It’s probably no coincidence that the alphabet and sentence construction are among the first things we learn in school. It’s the foundation of communication — so don’t waste it; use it.

Blogging Tip #7: Market Your Blog. Don’t post it and forget it. This is your chance to use sexy marketing like social networking. Market your posts on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Remember, once you start with social networking though, you have to engage with those communities. So when you start to incorporate social networking into your blog marketing, do it with this in mind.

Blogging Tip #8: Use a Clean Design. A blog doesn’t have to have all the latest gadgets to be effective. A simple, clean design – with good content – will compete with the flashiest design every time. Simplicity rocks!

Blogging Tip #9: Personalize Your Blog. Inject some personality. Let YOU come through!

Blogging Tip #10: Don’t Give Up. Blogging is tedious, boring, monotonous and downright draining at times. Once you’ve blogged for a while, there will be days when you just want to chuck it in favor of something more exciting.

But keep this in mind: in many cases success is not gained by the most talented, the most brilliant, or the most beautiful. All of these things help. But, success comes to those who simply “stick with it!”

Keep these blogging tips in mind as you head into the New Year and happy blogging in 2009.

Can you fix a Broken Heart with Painkillers?

Original picture found here: http://an9ie.blogspot.com

When we describe our responses to rejection, whether we refer to being dumped, being insulted, or just being left out, our language tends to mirror that of our responses to physical pain. We speak of experiencing a "broken heart," or that we are "emotionally scarred," "slapped in the face," "deeply hurt," or "cut to the core."

Social Psychologists argue there is a reason the language we use to describe social and physical pain is so similar.

There is a growing number of researchers who argue that the need for belonging is such a fundamental need that we have developed a mechanism that signals to us any threat of exclusion. Much like how our body has learned to recognize and avoid physical dangers, our body has learned to recognize and avoid social rejection. The researchers (e.g., MacDonald & Leary, 2005, Psy Bull) go on to argue that in fact, social threats and physical threats activate the same signaling mechanism which is physical pain. Pain is an effective signal of impending threat as it involves a quick response and it is motivating enough to influence behavior away from the threat. What this means, then, is that when we talk about broken hearts, we are not just speaking in metaphor; our hearts literally feel like they are physically breaking.

I was surprised by the evidence that supports this. Researchers have found that priming social rejection activates similar brain patterns as priming physical pain. In fact, a very provocative study (DeWall et al., 2010, Psy Sci) found that taking Acetaminophen, a pain killer, actually reduces social pain! The painkiller reduced brain activity associated with social rejection, and participants also reported feeling less pain. In other words, you CAN heal broken hearts and bad moods with pain killers.

I'm curious to know - and I'm asking the non-scientists, general population here: what do you all think of this? What do you think of the idea that social rejection activates the same physiological responses as physical injuries?

Photography Class

I love photography. And I have been working hard. So I decided for my Sabbath this week I'm going to take a photography class for fun.

The class was held in East Austin (which is a part of town I simply adore). It was quite comical. We all gathered together with our ginormous SLRs and listened intently as the instructor taught us very basic things like ISO, aperture, shutter speeds, etc.

He then set us free to play. Here are some of the things I learned:

1. Depth of field

2. Leading Lines

...and combining the two:

3. Capturing motion

Finally, here are some shots I just took for fun around East Austin since it was such a beautiful day!

Spinach Lentil Soup

Picture originally found on Allrecipes.com

This is probably the favorite dish I've cooked so far this year. Here it is:

• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cups water
• 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
• 1 1/4 cups dried lentils, rinsed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn
• 
  
• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute carrots and onion in oil until tender. Add the water, salsa, lentils and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach; simmer 5-10 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

Bon Appetit!

Mashed Turnips

I keep getting turnips in my CSA box and I keep throwing them out because I don't know what to do with them and then they go bad. As I hate wasting food, that has been weighing heavily on my conscience. Well I read somewhere that you can cook and mash them like mashed potatoes. So I peeled, quartered, and boiled the turnips until soft. I then mashed them with milk, butter, and salt. It turned out quite tasty. Who would have thought? 

This is why Psychology is fun

Perk #523: I get to post pictures of celebrities while conducting serious scientific research!

Takin' care of business!

Today, I changed a cabin filter all by my lonesome. For those of you car-literate, this may not seem like a big deal, but for me, it was humongous accomplishment.

I've been meaning to change the cabin filter for awhile, but my carshop quoted me $49.99 for the filter and $29.21 for the labor. Not to mention the fuel system service and radiator flush/fill I still need to schedule. To save money, I figured I should be intelligent to change something as simple as a cabin filter myself!

I ordered a filter online for about $20. I found the filter behind the glove box and simply switched the two filters myself:

 Check out how dirty the old filter (left) is compared to the new (right)!

 Cash saved = $59.21!

 Next month's project: The Radiator Flush and Fill.

Holy Brocamole?!

I LOVE guacamole. It is my comfort food. In fact, whenever I sound a little down or tired on the phone, my dear friend Heather always knows to have homemade guacamole waiting for me when I visit, or she chooses our happy hour locales based on the quality of their guacamole.

Anyway, today I picked up another box of vegetables from the Farmer's Market and planned out some recipes for the week. I wanted to do something a little different with the broccoli this time so went to Allrecipes.com and entered in some of the ingredients I had. Believe it or not, I found a recipe for BROCAMOLE!

Here is the recipe:

• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1 large head fresh broccoli
• 2 tablespoons red onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

1. Boil or steam broccoli until very soft.
2. In a large bowl, mash broccoli with avocado. Mix in onions, garlic, lime juice, hot pepper sauce, and cilantro until mixture resembles the consistency of mashed potatoes. 
3. Season to taste with salt.

I ended up boiling the broccoli because it was quicker to cook that way. I made sure to rinse the broccoli with cold water and drain completely before mixing it in with the avocado. I bought Hass Avocado which are very small right now so I ended up using about 4.5 Avocados. I left out the hot pepper sauce since I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods. For the lime juice, I squeezed in an entire lime. Next time I might actually squeeze in an orange.

The results, as Rachael Ray says, YUMMO!

Storms

Rembrandt. Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee. 1633.

"The beauties of nature come after the storm. The rugged beauty of the mountain is born in a storm, and the heroes of life are the storm-swept and battle-scarred." - unknown

Goal Pose of 2011

After some thought, I have chosen my goal pose of 2011: Dwi Pada Sirsasana.

Photo courtesy of Kino MacGregor

I will keep you all posted on my progress!

Hearty Winter Soup

I made this soup to use up more vegetables before they began to wilt. This recipe was meant for a crockpot, but since mine broke right before I left for Christmas, I tried to adapt it into a regular stovetop recipe. Here is the original recipe:

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 pound turkey bratwurst, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 
  
• 1. Place the sweet potatoes, cabbage, and carrots into a slow cooker, then place the bratwurst slices on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with the salt, thyme, rosemary, and pepper. Pour the wine and chicken broth over the vegetables.
  2. Cook on Low until the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.
• 
  
• Instead of Turkey Bratwurst, I thawed and used the ground beef I had brought back from our trip. I then simmered the soup in the chicken broth, and then when the broth all but evaporated, poured more in and simmered it again. Altogether, I used about 8 cups of chicken broth until the soup was ready.
• 
  
• I think that either my friend Steph had pre-treated the ground beef, OR the white wine I used was not dry enough because Holy Batman the soup was SWEET. Don't get me wrong - it was tasty, but I ended up having to eat some salty vegetable chips along with it to balance out the sweet flavor. Note to self: next time buy drier wine.