Noah, Colorado and Beers All Around

Well friends, it's possible that blogging is not my calling. I write so infrequently, it's embarrassing! But go ahead and take what you can get.

This May, I visited my dear friend Emily, her husband and their baby Otis in Fort Collins, Colorado. First I have to say that uninterrupted quality time with one of my favorite ladies was balm for my soul. Emily has such a unique way of looking at the world that I just don't possess. I have to rephrase that though. She doesn't look at the world. She observes and processes it. I wish I could do that. Though I think it's a matter of just making yourself do it. Of stopping in the moment and reminding yourself to be present; to appreciate the people you're with and what they're saying; to appreciate where you are - both geographically and in your life; and to think before you react. ANYWAY.

Fort Collins has at least one thing I can appreciate greatly, and that is beer, my friends. The four breweries in town are New Belgium, Fort Collins, O'Dell's and Coopersmiths. We got to all but Fort Collins - why would a brewery close on Memorial Day? People aren't working, they're drinking!

These are great, fun, inexpensive places to pass some time. Fort Collins also had great access to the great outdoors, in the form of parks, trails and easy bike routes to everywhere you could hope to go.

In all honesty, FC is just a bit too sleepy for me. The little downtown is cute, but needs some economic development. The town is fantastic for my friends because it's extremely laid back and family friendly, but for the childless city girl, it's a little slow. The day we drove through the mountains to Boulder was by far my favorite. I'd pack my bags and move to Boulder tomorrow if a tiny tiny home weren't $700,000!

Ok. On to another fun thing that happened to me this spring.

I swear to you, I have not become a cat person. I'm just Noah's mom. Noah is a 9 month old tuxedo cat who came from the Potter League in Middletown. He was given as a gift when he was a kitten to a woman who already had a cat. The existing cat was not a fan of his competition and beat the shit out of Noah. So the woman gave him up. Lucky me! He loves his new apartment on the East Side and he luuuuuuurrrrvvees his mama.

So. That's a quick update for now. More soon, I swear!

Shitake "Omlette" & Salad

Let's be clear on why I use quotes. In theory, I know how to make an omlette. But quite frankly, I've never sucked at anything more. Ok, maybe sports.

Regardless. I had the right combination of ingredients and a fantastic salad and boom, even though my "omlette" was more a pile of eggs and ingredients, it still tasted fantastic. If you're a better omlette maker than I, you'll have an even better experience with this. Hey, I'm just telling you what I made, people!

The Omlette:

2 eggs (beaten with a little bit of milk)

shitake mushroom caps

asparagus

garlic

goat cheese

Chop up the asparagus, shitakes and garlic and saute them in olive oil for a few minutes. You want them tender, but not mushy. Transfer them to a plate.

Go ahead and make your omlette. Believe me, you do it better than I do.

Add your pile of sauted veggies and some goat cheese. Top your "omlette," or in my case, pile of eggs and ingredients with a dollop of pesto. (I know, I use pesto on everything.)

The Salad:

baby spring mix

chopped turkish figs

blueberries

walnuts

fresh grated parm

For dressing, all you need is a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

Yummy!

Roasted Chicken With Fennel & Garlic

I want to make love to the dinner I just made. It was so beautiful. What was this marvelous concoction you might ask? Well, it was adapted from a recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food, which I then "Lowthered:" Roasted chicken with fennel and garlic; roastes asparagus and mashed potatoes. Here's the scoop:

1. Prepare your mashed potatoes quite earlier than dinner in the usual way: Boil, mash, add cream, butter and salt. It's ok if you're done with this well in advance. Just cover and reheat.

2. Cut the stalks and "fingers" off 2 bulbs of fennel. Cut into 16ths, cutting off the hard inner core.

3. Peel the skin off of 8 to 12 garlic cloves. If they're really big guys, cut them in half.

4. Spread the cut fennel and garlic on a cookie sheet and drizzle with about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Put the cookie sheet in the oven and roast just these things at 475 degrees for about 25 minutes.

6. Take the sheet out of the oven and push the fennel and garlic over to the sides. Put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the center of the pan. I used 2: one for dinner, one for lunch at work tomorrow. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and some chopped, fresh poultry herbs.

7. Put the sheet back in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, turning the chicken in the middle of cooking time.

8. In the meantime, prepare your asparagus. Cut off the ends, arrange on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. The asparagus needs about 7 minutes in an over that hot, so plan to throw them in appropriately.

Note: Make sure to give the fennel and garlic enough time. If it's time to put the chicken in, but the fennel and garlic aren't nicely browned already, by all means, give them more time. When the whole thing comes out of the oven, you want the chicken to be juicy and the fennel and garlic to be WELL ROASTED.

This is so delicious. Tomorrow, I'll report on how it reheats! Enjoy!

"Summer" Salad

Yesterday it was about 42 degrees out, which, comparatively speaking, felt like a burst of summertime. (Incidentally, it's hovering around 19 degrees today, so that sunshiny feeling didn't last.)

Anyway, I made a great little salad to go with my pasta that I thought might interest those looking for a little sign of warmer days to come...

Mesculin greens (or whatever kind you like)
Avocado
Blueberries
Almonds
Fresh grated parmesean
For dressing, I mixed olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt and pepper.

Yummy fresh, the good kind of fat... mmm...

One Better

Yesterday, I wrote about my Mediterranean Chicken Pocket. Last night I did it one better. Still not having gone to the grocery store, I used pretty much those same ingredients to make another great dish: Mediterranean Chicken Tortellini.

1. Just as with the pocket, cook the chicken tenders according to package directions, or according to how you like them - I like mine a little crispier.

2. Meanwhile, I made up a batch of store bought cheese tortellini. It was just the Stop & Shop kind that you find over by the specialty foods.

3. I still put together the whole mess with the sundried tomatoes, olives, scallions, lemon juice, oil from the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper.

4. When the tortellini was done, I drained it, threw the cut-up tenders and tomato / olive mixture in, then added a jar of store bought pesto. I mixed the whole mess together and grated some parmagianno reggiano into it.

I had half last night for dinner and I'm SO looking forward to the lunch leftovers!

The Delicious Results of Rummaging

Some of my favorite meals have been created when I was rummaging through the fridge - too busy / tired / broke to replenish at the grocery store. You'd be amazed at what you can put together with a little creativity and some odds and ends from the fridge. Like last night's Mediterranean Chicken Pocket: Your basic pita pocket stuffed with breaded chicken tenders and a bold, tangy tomato and olive salad. Here are the details.

1. Bake some chicken tenders according to package instructions. My favorite are Bell & Evans. Incidently, if you prefer grilled chicken, that would be just as tasty!

2. Meanwhile, mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

- 5 or 6 oil packed sundried tomato halves, cut into small pieces

- a handful of pitted calamata olives, cut in half

- a few leaves of parsley, chopped

- one scallion, chopped

- a good squirt of lemon juice

- a pinch of salt and pepper

Set the mix aside until your tenders are cooked.

3. This part I've done 2 ways, and I like them both. It depends on your feelings on pesto. You could shmear just plain old mayo on your pita and that's yummy. But if you're feeling especially bold, mix a little jarred pesto into your mayo. Pesto mayo is proof of God.

4. Cut your pita in half and open it up. Spread your mayo inside the pita halves, spoon your tomato and olive mix inside and throw in your chicken tenders.

This is so easy, but it's really yummy! Serve with a green salad and you're good to go. Enjoy!

A Hijacked ipod is a Happy ipod

It's no secret that John is a tech-savant. And because of this, he thinks anything electronic belongs to him. So he helps himself to my computer (used to be his) and my ipod all the time. At first this annoyed me to no end. But then I figured out that every time he hijacked my ipod, I came away with some really great tunes. He has a knack for finding really interesting stuff that I wouldn't have found myself. Now I know when I see him with my ipod, I can expect to get my next new favorite song.

I love this about him. He knows what I'll like and I know he's thinking of me. Just a little love letter to my man.