Category Archives: Food

Slow Cooker Portuguese Ribs

This slow cooker Portuguese ribs recipe is my favorite ribs recipe. Cooking them in the slow cooker (aka crock pot) makes the meat just fall off the bones. That’s what I love about a good ribs recipe…the ribs just fall off the bone!

Another thing I love about this ribs recipe is that there’s a vinegary and spicy flavor to them. This is the only way I make ribs. No other recipes I’ve encountered can compare to this one. It’s been a tested and true loved recipe in my home. I’ve been making it since 2017.

Slow Cooker Portuguese Ribs

This is my all-time favorite ribs recipe. This spicy and vinegary recipe is a keeper. You'll love how the meat just falls off the bones.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Portuguese

Equipment

  • 1 Slow Cooker (Crock Pot)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 rack ribs (3-4 lbs, depending on the size of your slow cooker)
  • 1/4 cup white wine (you can use cooking wine, or wine vinegar)
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp Piri Piri [substitution: Tabasco sauce]
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce [substitution: soy sauce or coconut aminos]
  • 1 tbsp Piri Piri [substitution: Tabasco sauce]
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar

Instructions
 

  • [Prep ribs]. Place ribs in crock pot. Pour wine over the ribs and rub the chopped garlic over the ribs. Place cover over the crock pot and let the ribs marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  • [Mix the seasonings]. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper and Piri Piri (or Tabasco sauce), until you have a paste. Set aside.
  • After the ribs have marinated for an hour, take the ribs out of the refrigerator, and rub the spices into the spare ribs using your fingers.
  • Cook ribs on the High setting.
  • [Prepare the BBQ Sauce]. Mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, sugar, worcestershire sauce, piri piri and white vinegar. Put aside.
  • At the 1 hour and 15 minute mark, add the BBQ sauce to the ribs.
  • Cook for another 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours (or until the meat is falling off of the bone).
Keyword crockpot, portuguese ribs, ribs, slow cooker

My Favorite Soup: Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite soups is this Vegetarian Tortilla Soup recipe I originally found on Martha Stewart’s website. I’ve been using this recipe off and on for 15 years. Since I have a hard time finding the recipe on the website, I’m posting it here (so I can find it later).  

Martha’s version of the tortilla soup is good…but my version makes everything taste better (which is what you’ll find below). I just like it when my taste buds sing. That’s why I made these little changes to her tortilla soup recipe.

Also, as a bonus, you’ll find my guacamole recipe that my friends (and, in the past, when I worked for the Senate, Senators) loved below this soup recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Michelle Kenneth
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup adapted from Martha Stewart.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
  • 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup water
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 cup crushed Tostitos Hint of Lime tortilla chips
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn, and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
  • Bring soup to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Add tortilla chips; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with lime wedges and, if desired, more chips.

In addition, I like to add a tablespoon of guacamole to garnish.  Here’s the recipe to my guac…

2 ripened avocadoes (peeled & mashed)
1/2 cup of diced onions
2 limes (or lemons)
1 tomato diced
2-4 red Thai Chilis diced (use based on varying degrees of spiciness to your liking)
2-3 pinches of sea salt

1.  After mashing avocadoes with a fork, add onions, tomato and chilis.  Squeeze juice from both limes into mixture.  Add 2-3 pinches of sea salt and mix together.

Remember…the trick to a good recipe is to add in a little at a time until consistency is to your tastebud’s liking.  In this recipe, you should add the limes (or lemons), salt and chilis a little at a time until it’s the consistency you like. 

2.  Add a dollop of guacamole to the tortilla soup with the Hint of Lime chips on top and it kicks the flavors in the soup up a notch…all complimentary flavors.

What to Read When You Want to Learn How to Be French

When you think of French literature, one book that comes to mind is the famous children’s classic, The Little Prince(or Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  What most people do not know is that this classic was written and first published in New York City.

The Morgan Library and Museum in NYC recently had an exhibition showcasing the American side of the story. The story’s origins and how the exhibition came to be…that is a bit of a remarkable story.

As he prepared to leave the city to rejoin the war effort as a reconnaissance pilot, Saint-Exupéry appeared at his friend Silvia Hamilton’s door wearing his military uniform. “I’d like to give you something splendid,” he said, “but this is all I have.” He tossed a rumpled paper bag onto her entryway table. Inside were the manuscript and drawings for The Little Prince, which the Morgan acquired from her in 1968.

I loved this part of their description of the story:

his beloved story that reminds us that what matters most can only be seen with the heart.

Sorbonne (c) 2011 Michelle Kenneth
Sorbonne (c) 2011 Michelle Kenneth

When I was in Paris a few years ago, I spent some time on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) perusing titles in bookstores, especially around Sorbonne.  Beyond picking up a few Moliére and other French classics, my mission was to find Le Petit Prince, which I found in a ‘newer’ bookstore (like Barnes & Noble).

I wanted to read the book the way it was meant to be read: in French.  Luckily, you don’t have to buy the book if you want to read it in French.  It’s available via PDF online.

After I finish Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” I’ll be opening up my copy of Le Petit Prince to enjoy all over again.



Blogs to Read

I have a few favorite bloggers that cover the topic of France and the French lifestyle.

1. Paris in Four Months: This Swedish lady, Carin, spent four months in Paris to learn the language before returning back home to Stockholm.  She began to miss Paris so she moved there in 2013 and started a brand new adventure.  Through her photo blog, I came to fall in love with the way she saw beauty.  She shares that beauty in her photos.  They’re all so beautiful.  One of her subjects (or models) has her own blog: Gary Pepper.  If you want to fall in love with beauty…follow both of these blogs.  It’s a little bit of breathtaking beauty every single day. [Fashion/Lifestyle/Photography]

2. French Country Cottage: The key to a fabulous blog all lies within the pictures.  It’s like looking in a magazine.  That’s what you’ll find here at the French Country Cottage.  I also follow her on Twitter because there are pointers and photos and conversations going on that for those who love home decor and beautiful home decor, will be genuinely pleased with what she offers.  [Home/Entertaining]

3. French Revolution: Born and raised in New York with a French mom (who loves food and to cook) and a father who has a love for great food?  I give you French Revolution.  Highly recommended for those who love a good story to go along with a recipe.  She loves her food, so that means she loves good food.  A must follow. [Food]

4.  Oh So French: What is it about the French lifestyle that makes us feel so glamorous? Whatever that je ne sais quoi is, you, too can live it up like the French with me this month.  Oh So French shows you how. [Lifestyle]

5. Jen Reviews: At Jen Reviews, Jen has come up with 15 classic essential French dishes that everyone should learn how to master.  She takes you through all 15 recipes from Bouillabaisse to ratatouille and the Croque-Monsieur (my favorite).  If you want to challenge yourself in the kitchen and learn how to cook French food, this is an excellent place to start. [Lifestyle, Food, Health, Travel]



French Literature

How many classical French literature books have you read in your lifetime?  As I was perusing the Goodreads.com list, I noticed I not only have read a lot of them, but I own the majority of them.  That’s a lot.  Considering I don’t feel like I’ve read a lot of classical literature books, it ends up the majority of the classical literature I gravitated towards were all French.

Here are some of my favorites I highly recommend:

The Stranger (Albert Camus)
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) [Note: this book is steamy]
Les Misérables (Victor Hugo) [I love this story]
Tartuffe (Moliére) [Everyone needs to read Moliére. This was the first play I ever read from him]
Candide (Voltaire) [I don’t even know why I liked this book, but I remember reading it one summer while I was in college and felt wiser because I had.]

For those wanting a bit of French culture and great literature, I highly recommend The Paris Wife (Random House Reader’s Circle Deluxe Reading Group Edition): A Novel.  This is the story of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife.  I read this book before I went to Paris last time.  I ended up going around Paris trying to see the city through the eyes of Hemingway.  A literary adventure is always the best adventure to take while traveling.  My favorite moment was walking into Shakespeare & Company (the place where Hemingway ordered all of his English/American books) to see photos of Hemingway and his son as soon as you walk in.  To think that Hemingway once stood in this store, perusing titles, talking to the owners…you can’t help but feel more connected to him.  As a writer, it’s chicken soup for our souls.  A definite MUST READ.

What are some of your favorite French reads?



Extra

When I’m in Paris, I always spend time in bookstores looking for French books and classics.  One author I am constantly looking for is Goethe…the man who made Faust what it is today.  Goethe is a German writer, but his works have been transcribed into French. I am always looking for any version of his work in French, but as close to the original date of first publication.  I was fortunate to find a piece from the 1800s the last time I was in Paris.

When I returned to the US, I happened upon an antiques street festival and came across the original Goethe works in German.  The binding had to be replaced, but the inside was pristine.  I snatched up every single book, took it to the register and they said $5.

So I walked away a happy customer, because I had finally found the books I had spent countless hours looking for while I was in Europe.  One woman realized what I had and chased me down the street trying to purchase them off of me.  I looked at her funny and walked away.  When you’ve spent years looking for something and you finally find it, there’s no way you’re going to ever give it up.

xxoo,

Michelle

September Edition: A Note from the Editor

A Special Note from the Editor

Fashion. Books. Home. Food. DIY.  These are all things this site promises to deliver, but it has not really lived up to doing just that.  Or perhaps, it was something I always wanted to deliver, but needed some sort of direction on how I would deliver that to you.

When people ask me about this site, I never really passionately talk about it.  Perfectionist Wannabe  has not been in a place I was proud of yet.  I was honest about that with the people I met.  I did not know how to find that sweet spot where I was content with what I was putting out there.

So I went on a mission to discover what exactly I loved about magazines.  Blogs were no longer the answer to what I was looking for.

The Bold Type

As I flipped through a stack of magazines, Freeform’s The Bold Type, a show about three young women working for a fashion magazine, played in the background.  The show centers around a writer, a secretary turned stylist, and a social media director.  As the girls go from one disaster to another, it is the wisdom of their editor that resonates.

1) Write from your own perspective in life.

2) Print is dying.  The electronic age is making print media obsolete, so it is important to focus only on that.

Taking these two points, I began to see a clearer vision of what I wanted.

Book Reviews

To get a better handle on how book reviews should be done, I went to the best source: O Magazine.  As I read through the book reviews, I saw the importance of writing about experiencing the book.  Describing feelings eloquently is what ultimately gets people to read a book.

I read about one reviewer’s morning before she even sat down to read the book.  She made me experience her morning with her.  There was nothing extraordinary about it.  Her morning was a regular morning, just like anyone else’s morning.  But by the time she sat down to read the book, I  wanted to read whatever she was reading, even though she told me so little about the book.

What made this particular review stand out is that it was written incredibly well.  That is the beauty in writing a good review.  The writer made me see reviews, not just book reviews, in a whole new light.

The Voice

Finally, it began to occur to me what I was unhappy with.  I was dissatisfied with the voice I used on this site.  I was mimicking other bloggers and what they were doing instead of focusing on what I ultimately wanted to do with this site.

In the back of my mind, my friends who are well read, played in the back of my mind.  Their comments on fast literature (i.e. the books saturating our market), started to bring me down.  As much as I shared their opinions on great literature, it made me ask if what I write is great literature.  Would they even think I was good enough?

This is where that sense of wanting to be perfect comes in.  There is that fear of never being good enough for my friends to recommend my work to others.  They are brutally honest (which I respect and need).  What if what I was doing did not live up to their standards?

In our opinion, discovering an author or a book that is well written is difficult to find these days.  If you think about blogs in this context, it is not so often you will come across a lot of well written blogs.

Magazines and newspapers house many of the best writers that live up to these standards.  Yet, these types of publications are failing because of the saturation of mediocre or poorly written content flooding the market.  That means there are a lot of incredible writers out there that go undiscovered by the masses.

Branding

There are a lot of blogs out there I love that are both inspiring and beautiful.  I like their brand.  Even though many of these bloggers are the first of their kind in their niche markets, there are many who try to emulate that same voice, which in turn creates a problem.  That brand’s voice is copied, and then it becomes overdone, watering down the original voice.  I know, because this site started to do the same thing.  I ultimately did not want that.

The direction this site lacked was always something very simple.  It was missing my voice and the way I wanted to write and present my views of the world.  I spent too much time trying to be like the other bloggers.  As a result, I forgot why I created this site to begin with…to share my own adventure into learning how to be a better version of myself.

A Sense of Direction

Most noteworthy of this entire adventure are the opportunities that presented itself to me over these past few years.  From Martha Stewart’s American Made to Tribeca Film Festival to Book Expo America (BEA), the universe gave me every single tool I needed to discover how to create my vision for Perfectionist Wannabe.

As a result of those experiences, I learned that even though I believe I am not doing enough, the industry communicated the exact opposite.  Publishers explained to me at BEA that I was doing the right thing.  I did exactly what they were looking for in order to work with them.  They decided who they were allowing into the BEA this year, and I was among the select few they allowed in.  [Of all the publishers I spoke with, they only counted three bloggers that were allowed to attend, unlike previous years where the expo was saturated with bloggers.]

What all of these incredible experiences tell me is that I was always on the right track.

AHA!

I finally had an AHA! moment somewhere between flipping through the magazines and binge watching The Bold Type.  This site is my resumé.  In the end, this site is about a brand.  These past few years of discovery was about defining that brand.  That is the only thing it’s been about.  In a sense, this site is turning into a better version of itself.

So what can you look forward to?  Better content.  More continuous posts.  A more active social media experience.  Better inspiration.  More importantly, my voice.

xoxo,

Michelle Kenneth

 

Kitchen

A Spiralizer is the most important tool to have in your kitchen arsenal if you want to eat healthier.  Swap out spaghetti with zucchini noodles, make different types of rice, etc.  You can read more about my love for the spiralizer here. [Amazon]

Focusing on the Passion and Making It the Mission

passionOver this past week, I’ve been pondering what I would like to do with this site.  My friends assisted me with the items they would like to see, as well as identifying the items they already liked about the site.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…keeping up appearances for this site is very time consuming.  I plan on changing that.  My personal goal is to start posting on a daily basis.  That means planning what will go up on this site well in advance.

Planning leads to doing.  I started creating the content, cooking up recipes, taking the photographs, writing the posts and then began to feel overwhelmed.


As I was slicing up the pumpkins for the October recipes, I started to feel that pang in my gut.  It was that pain of feeling stressed and overwhelmed as I was trying to do something right for myself.  It’s that irony of the site’s name…wanting to be perfect.

I stopped what I was doing and re-evaluated why I was doing this.  What was my current mindset?  I realized I was stressing myself out and not enjoying the ride.  If I didn’t change my mindset then I was going to end up with a bunch of crap meals.  You see, I am of the belief that how you are feeling as you prepare your food is a direct correlation with how well your food will taste.

People who love to cook tend to make food taste incredible because you can taste their emotion in the food.  I used to watch one chef create meals for me on a whim.  I would watch him as he poured his love for food and cooking right into the meal.  A simple fried egg tastes so different when such care is taken than one created with no emotion or feeling.  It’s about passion and sharing that passion with someone else.

I didn’t want all of the food I was making to taste horrible, so I changed my mindset and focused on why I love to cook.  As a result, everything turned out so well, my friend was surprised at how flavorful everything tasted.

Changing my mindset was all about reminding myself what I am passionate about and why.

I met with filmmaker Edwin Walker today for lunch.  He is in town from LA filming a new movie.  We met last year (see link to our story).  There was something about the timing when we met last year.  He mentioned to me that when we met, it was like a turning point in our lives.  There was something about the direction our lives would take and the people we would become after our first meeting.


We became so inspired by each other to live life fully and passionately.  Since we met, I have been trying to find my passion in life again.  I only find that my passion comes when I write and when I am being myself and not focusing on what other people want from me.

You see, we live in a world filled with mediocrity and false lives.  We struggle every single day to be perfect in our Instagram photos, Twitter, and all forms of social media.  Reality TV makes people believe that these stories we see are real lives, when it’s just an act.  We become depressed when we don’t have over a thousand friends or followers.  We feel like we are failing at life when people are not following us or reading our work or we’re not getting hundreds of thousands of hits on our sites or Youtube videos.

Life for most people has become about the get rich quick schemes, becoming viral, and making a ton of money in the process.  It’s not about creating a passion project and putting your blood, sweat and tears into it.  It’s about the instant gratification, not the eternal happiness.

We have to constantly think of how to falsely entertain people to make you think that our lives are super glamorous, even when, for many people, it is not.  People become superstars for portraying a life on reality TV, even though there is nothing real about their lives on that TV show.

It is like a drug addiction.  It’s about that instant high that makes you feel happy for a moment, instead of working on what will make you happy for life.

People don’t watch real artistic movies or qualitative television programming anymore. They’re flocking to the latest ‘explosive’ blockbuster where it’s very little script, and more action with everything blowing up every other minute.  The shows that make you think are constantly being canceled.

Children don’t go home and watch cartoons for half an hour like I did when I was a kid.  They watch four-minute Youtube videos for entertainment, because they can’t sit through a half hour cartoon anymore.


People complain about the ‘long form’ on blogs.  They don’t want to read a long drawn out story.  They want glamorous photos with very little text…maybe one paragraph of text and that’s it.  They want to see people living these lives that are so far fetched.  It’s like watching a fairy tale or a soap opera.  They assume it’s real, when it is only a glamour.

It’s depressing isn’t it?  It’s like comparing ourselves to the Joneses.  We try to emulate these people on a daily basis, as if that is how we are supposed to act and live, even though what they are doing on that reality TV is an act.  It’s not real.  People assume it is real and follow suit, like this is how they are supposed to act, think, live and dress…no matter how outrageous it is.

We’re supposed to get plastic surgery to be pretty.  If you’re ugly, that means you’re too poor to look perfect.  As one friend said, it’s what separates the rich from the poor.  That is the culture we live in.

People sweat it out and diet, not for themselves, but to look and be thin and accepted.  I mean, Donald Trump talks about how horrible it is for women and girls to be fat or ugly.  If you are overweight or gain weight, you are called nasty names and meant to feel less than what you are.

When you look at street style photos, they never ever photograph fashionable women that are not thin.  I know because I’ve watched thin, beautiful women pulled out of line at fashion shows to be photographed for street style, while the fashionable curvy ladies are overlooked.  I have yet to see a single curvy blogger be selected in the slideshows for street style photos, even if they do have more followers than that thin, pretty girl that was pulled out of line to be photographed.

It is as if to say that X is the only thing acceptable in society, which then creates the unhealthy narrative of what it means to be a human being.  We see what is on the outside, the shell, and never what is on the inside that makes each and every single one of us great individuals.

The narrative in our society today is about the false perceptions of reality.  It’s the quick fix drug that makes you feel something for a moment, to make you forget what is real in your life, instead of focusing on how you can make your life better.


People don’t want the stories that help them self-reflect, connect and learn something.  They don’t go see movies that will inspire them to be better human beings.  They don’t want to see movies that will fix what is wrong with them on the inside.  They only want those things that will help them escape reality, instead of focusing on creating a better reality for themselves and the people around them.

People focus on how they need to be fit, thin, beautiful, well-dressed, rich and famous in order to be accepted in society.  You have to have thousands of followers before anyone takes you seriously.

I know there are publishing houses that have said that they are not interested in talking to you unless they see you have over 1,000 followers on Twitter (and yes, they do check to see if your followers are real or if you bought a bunch of dead accounts).  That puts you into the 5% of people that do.  That’s the 5% they are willing to talk to and work with.

Back in the day, when I was working with bands, each record company said they were only interested in talking to bands that had a following already.  The artist needed that following before they would even listen to their music.  This, of course, was before blogs and social media were in the picture.  It was a lot harder back then to create a following, because they didn’t have social media to help spread the word.

What I’m getting at is this…

I’m glad I started talking about re-branding with my friends.  What they were asking of me was to be raw and real on this site.  Even Edwin today stressed that being real is what made this site unique.  I was sharing the stories of people that needed to be told.  These are the people that are living their lives passionately.  They are living their dreams.

Edwin wanted me to focus on my passions in life.  For me, that is writing, books and movies.  In my universe, all of those things are interconnected.


Last year, I discovered that my main followers and readers of this site were the entertainment and film industry.  I was doing something they needed.  I wasn’t putting out stories or reviews like everyone else.  I was telling the narrative untouched by the big dogs of the entertainment industry.  I was sharing the art and the passion…the reason why people got into acting, directing, filmmaking, writing, art, etc.

No one ever talks about that anymore.

I noticed recently that a film short that is turning into a feature film soon has been publishing their poster with a quote from me from this site.  I didn’t even notice it until I started reading the film’s poster and was like, ‘Wait…that sounds like me…’ and then I saw my site’s name underneath it.

I kind of did a little leap for joy when I saw it, because that directs more people in the film industry to this site.  This site, of course, is not about entertainment news.  It is about living life passionately.  In a way, the site’s name is about me being that perfectionist in the same way all artists strive for perfection in their art.  They are just looking for people to understand that dynamic and passion that went into their art.

Unfortunately, the art is always 80% business, 20% art.  I learned that a long time ago.  I’ll be honest, it is that 80% I hate about writing, because that 80% is what stresses me out all of the time.  It prevents me from being me and writing more.

I believe that is the real reason why I don’t post as often as I would like to do on this site, because it becomes more about business than it does about the art.  I plan on changing that mindset.

The business side is going to need to be something I am passionate about so that I can create.  I need to ask myself if what I am doing is a true reflection of who I am, because truthfully, I am not going to share anything that is not true to who I am.  There is too little time in life to waste it sharing the things that have no meaning.  I am not going to participate in the mediocrity that has consumed the lives of the world around us.  This is about being raw and real about everything.


What I do not share on this site is in actuality the side of me my friends have asked that I start sharing.  They want me to share my journey in life.  It is the narrative I don’t share completely.

You may think, ‘oh, this is going to be a dull and drab journey,’ when in actuality, it is quite surreal.  Like the irony of sharing the Russell Crowe binge on the site is that 15 years ago, would you believe he actually serenaded me in Chicago, Illinois?

Or that when I started the Russell Crowe binge, Paul Haggis (“Crash,” “The Next Three Days”) had stalked my Instagram account and liked a bunch of photos on it?  I hadn’t even gotten to “The Next Three Days” yet, and here the director was on my Instagram liking a bunch of photos on it.  How is that for irony?

Or how about meeting fashion designer Malan Breton and just being so enamored with our conversation that I looked at him like, if I could talk to you for the rest of my life, I would be one happy woman?  He was the first person that ever looked at me and told me right off the bat what my ethnicity was.  No one has ever been so spot on.  I think what was even cooler was that he knew who I was before I even introduced myself.

This is the world my friends want me to talk about.  One friend said that I had always told her these stories about the life I lived.  She said that she never even imagined how real that world really was for me until she saw how famous people would walk right up to me and we would have these long, drawn out conversations that were so intriguing.

It amazed her even more when she realized these people knew who I was, even if we were just meeting for the first time.  This is the world she wants me to share, because it is so surreal.  She wants me to share the gowns I wore.  Others want me to share the fashion I wear on a daily basis.  They want me to talk about the events I go to, because not everyone has that kind of life.  It’s a dream life.

It’s about that VIP status.  It’s a status I’ve had since my days in Washington, DC, where I could hear other society women complaining that I had what they wanted…status.


When I first moved to NYC, my boss told me that he knew when I was hired that I was known in societal circles in DC.  He told me that if I wanted to enter NYC society, he would help me, but he warned me that it was pretty mean.

I remember thanking him for offering to introduce me, but I would rather go at it alone, choosing who I would like to surround myself with, rather than trying to be accepted by a group of people that seeks to destroy the people around them.  In NYC there are different forms of VIP.  The number one thing you need is money and being constantly seen in those VIP circles.  After a while, you stop paying for the VIP treatment, because it comes to you for free.

You get the invites.  You stop running around trying to be accepted by the in crowd or pursuing people for interviews by going through their publisher or agent.  After you’ve established yourself, they come to you.  You don’t have to pursue anything in life anymore because you are ‘in.’

That is the world my friends want me to share, because not everyone is allowed into that VIP world.  It’s not always about parties, getting into clubs, etc.  It’s about being in a room with incredible people like yourself and learning something from them.  It’s about experiencing life in a new way beyond just attending an event.  It’s about learning how the event came into being (like a film), meeting the people involved with creating this art, and letting yourself become inspired by these people and inspiring them by sharing your own journey.

It’s about the human aspect beyond the celebrity.  The celebrity part…that’s not real, you know that, right?  Celebrity is a false illusion.

I remember there was this guy who told me years ago he was famous.  I told him I didn’t believe him.  He spent the next year trying to prove to me that he was.  I still don’t believe that he is, but during that time, it created a friendship.  I never saw the celebrity.  I saw him.  I saw his passion in life and I wanted him to pursue it at all cost, so I helped him wherever I could.

You see, that is the true essence of who I am and what this site is about.  I am drawn to other people like me, the creative types and the people pursuing their dreams and living life passionately.  Why?  Because these are the people that inspire me to be the person I truly am inside.


We are always learning from each other and inspiring each other.  It’s about sharing our journeys together and helping each other in our own ways.  That is the life I’m talking about.  There’s the glamour on the outside, but the true essence at the core is what is more important.  This is the stuff that The PW is all about.  It’s not about just the glitz and glamour of life.  It’s about the things that make us self-reflect in order to be true to our very own being.

This is about finding the true reality that is life.  What’s on the outside is always just the shell of a being.  It is not the true essence of what a human being is.  It’s the glamour.  In other words, it is not real.

It is the drug that makes you feel something for a moment, but never truly changing who you are on the inside.  It’s the drug that gives you temporary happiness, instead of focusing on healing what is inside of you and finding what true happiness is, your eternal contentment in life.

The Goal of This Site 

In trying to develop content on a daily basis for this site, and remaining true to myself as a writer (i.e. to write the novel, as well), I will be incorporating a version of the KonMari practice in minimizing my life.  I am setting out to learn how to make things simpler so that I can post daily.

I am going to attempt to accomplish this goal beginning today.  Along the way, hopefully, I’ll discover new and easier ways to create content without feeling overwhelmed (don’t worry, I’ll share my discoveries, because I’m sure that can help many others out there looking to simplify life).  It’s that overwhelmed feeling that keeps me from being passionate about this site.  I seek to change that, because this is supposed to be my passion project.  I just need to focus on what makes me so passionate about it.

For now, I’ll be testing the water in new ways.  There will be movies, books, home, arts, fashion, This Is 40, and more on this site.  It’s not about what I think people want to read.  This is going to be about the passion in life.


When Life Gives You Lemons: Preserve Them

Lemons

Growing up on a farm, my mother used to can everything she could. She learned to do this when we were living in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia. Our neighbor always made pickled okra and pickled green tomatoes. I would sit in her house, eating jar after jar.  I was obsessed with it.

Eventually, the neighbor reached out to my mom and started to share her recipes.  I will admit there were more misses than there were hits.  The only thing she did get right was the pickled okra.  While there are many friends and family that will say it is her salsa that was the hit, I have to disagree, because I was always adding extra vinegar and salt to her salsa.  My brother, now he makes a mean salsa that he refuses to give me the recipe for.

This summer, I decided to start canning and freezing the summer’s bounty.  I’ve pinned so many canning recipes and ‘how to’s’ because there is a science to canning and preserving food.  The quick way to canning (and to avoid the water bath science) is to put the food into a jar, close the lid and put it into the refrigerator.  That’s how I’ve started out this summer’s preserving.  I’ve put everything into the refrigerator.


Starting Off Easy With Pickled Eggs and Sausages

I started off simple.  I ordered a large jar and made pickled eggs and sausages.  The linked recipe is a cajun version.  I decided to not add the spice, but added garlic and ginger instead.  I put all the ingredients into the jar, closed the lid and put it into the refrigerator.  The result?

The next morning, I pulled one sausage and one egg from the jar, made some toast and sat down to some excellent eats.  It was so filling, I wasn’t hungry again until lunch.

Pickled eggs and sausages is a simple way to start off learning how to preserve and to quick pickle.  You can do a variety of things with pickled eggs.  Eat it with Ramen soup, make egg salad (for an extra kick), and Deviled eggs.  The egg salad has been a huge hit in my home.

Confident that I could do this canning bit, I decided to focus on fruits and vegetables that I love.  I decided that I’m not going to make a bunch of jams (because I stocked up on jams when Food Emporium had a sale on my favorite brand).  I was going to focus on preserving food in a way that will help with my every day kitchen.  In other words, I would only can, freeze and preserve as if I was creating my own pantry from scratch.


Lemon Mania

I had read from Aimée at Simple Bites that she had treated herself to a box of Meyer lemons!  I love lemons.  I thought that would be the best gift to give to myself for my 40th birthday, so I went to the site where she purchased her lemons, only to find out their harvest was done for the year, but they did recommend a few of their farm friends.

I found Birch-Hill Organics through Lemon Ladies Orchard.  I ordered 10 pounds of lemons on Tuesday.  They went out and picked the lemons from the trees.  On Wednesday, I came home to a 12 pound box of lemons (they added a couple of extra pounds as a bonus).  Considering I’m on the other side of the country, talk about service!  Ordered it on a Tuesday, they went out and picked the bushel, I got it the very next day.

So what does one do with 12 pounds of lemons?

Simple Bites offers a few suggestions (including how to’s and recipes).  Here are a few extras I’ve done this past week:

  1. Lemon preserves for Moroccan and French recipes.  Simplest recipe ever to preserve (see Simple Bites link above).
  2. Grate lemon rinds for recipes.  Place in plastic bag and freeze.
  3. Juice the lemons into ice trays, freeze.  Keep lemon juice ice cubes in a freezer bag, use when you need lemon juice.
  4. Take leftover grated rinds, remove pulp (use pulp for recipes, like cobblers, etc.), place rinds in a jar, cover in vinegar.  After two weeks, you can make a simple organic all-purpose cleaner.
  5. Leftover lemons you don’t know what to do with?  Put them in a gallon sized freezer bag and freeze the whole thing.  Take out to defrost when you know you’ll need to use them.

I want you to note one important thing about the above…you’re not wasting any of the lemons.  You are using the entire lemon somehow.  You are making every part of the lemon go the extra mile.   Between food recipes, cleaning solutions and beauty products you can create, that 12 pound box of lemons can go the extra mile…every single part of the lemon. [See my Pinterest Board for additional lemon uses and recipes.]

Like I said above, I wanted to make sure that I used the lemons the exact way I use lemons now.  I didn’t want to make lemon curd or some other strange lemon recipe that I will never use.  I wanted to make sure I only used the lemons for things that I already use lemons for.  That is the art of creating the pantry.  Don’t create recipes that you’ll never use again.  Preserve the produce in a way that you know you’ll use them over the next year.

For those rushing to get your box of Meyer lemons, just FYI, I was lucky to get the box.  Meyer lemon season is in the fall and winter.  The fact they still had some in June…the owner said that these were mature and end of the season fruit.  So you can put off purchasing a box until the fall/winter months, maybe even the spring, to preserve.


I Did What With Mangoes?

Other produce I’ve purchased so far this summer and started preserving include mangoes, tomatoes, herbs, and cucumbers.

People don’t generally think of preserving mangoes.  Mangoes were at the top of my list because I love pickled mangoes, an Asian snack.  I have had a problem finding them in Chinatown, so I decided to make my own.  It’s a simple recipe.  I bought two boxes of mangoes from a street vendor.  He made me buy the box as is.  I couldn’t switch the produce around to just green mangoes.  He made me buy the mix of overly ripe mangoes along with the green mangoes.

When I got the mangoes home, I separated the overly ripe ones from the green ones.  I peeled all of the ripe ones, took all of the meat, placed it in a blender and pureed it.  I froze some of it into ice cubes (for an interesting twist to lemonade), and kept the rest in a jar in the refrigerator to add to smoothies and baking recipes.

For the green mangoes, I made six pint jars of pickled mango, and put the rest into an apple mango cobbler.

What about the peels?  Well, they made my garbage smell so much nicer.  I assume it will do the same with garbage disposals.  You can pickle the peels, put in smoothies, make mango chips, zest it for salads and even make mango extract.  The peels are probably the best part of the mango…as far as nutrients go.  BUT only go the extra mile with the peels if they are organic.  If they are not organic, it is better to be safe than sorry.  Toss the peels if they’re not organic.


How to Preserve Your Herbs

When I buy fresh mint or basil, I always end up having to toss a bunch because they went bad.  These days, if I don’t use all of the herbs within 5 days, I freeze them.

Just put the leaves in an ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze.  Keep them in a freezer bag after they’ve turned into ice cubes.  Toss into recipes, drinks, etc. when you need them.  My favorite is putting mint ice cubes in with my lemonade.  Yum!

Stop Wasting Your Food

This past week, I was watching the HBO Documentary “How to Let Go of the World and Love All Things Climate Can’t Change” and it really made me think of how I could be better about my own carbon footprint.

One thing that I’ve noticed a lot is how much food I waste. When I eat out, there is always more food than I can eat.  I usually get a to go box to give to the first homeless person I see.  But at home…that’s a different story.

Each week, I noticed more and more spoiled food that I had to toss.  I started thinking about what I can do to stop this waste.  So I decided to become more proactive with how I use the food in my kitchen.  It starts with careful planning and learning about all of the different uses for the produce I bring home.

There are certain tools I have found that help me.

ICE TRAY – I use this ice tray.  It’s king sized so you can pack a lot of herbs into it.  It’s also great for when you want to make ice for cocktails.  A lot of the high end restaurants use these trays to create giant sized ice cubes to go with your drink.

JARS – For jars, I like to get the wide mouth jars, because they are easier to use when you are spooning the food into the jars.  I like to keep jars in various sizes in the house so that as you preserve throughout the months, you can grab a jar and put your favorite marinara sauce, pie fillings, lemon rinds, etc. into the jar.  Quart. Pint.  Jelly Jars.

CANNING EQUIPMENT – This set includes everything you need for doing water baths.

FREEZER BAGS – I use whatever is on sale that says “FREEZER BAG” on it.  I generally buy the gallon sized freezer bags in bulk.

If canning for shelf life (and not the refrigerator), I highly recommend using recipes that are focused on using the water baths.  They are a little more complex than just putting it in the refrigerator.  Make sure to do plenty of research on how to do water baths.  Start by finding a canning recipe you want to make and then follow their instructions.  [You can find my Canning Pinterest Board HERE.]


Preserve As You Go

You could spend all day trying to preserve all of the produce you purchased or you can preserve as you go.

Take for instance, marinara sauce.  Make a little extra when you are making the sauce and preserve the rest.  That’s one bottle of marinara sauce down.  Continue to make a little extra with the ingredients you purchase to make sure you have a pantry full of preserved food for the next year.  This will not only save money in the winter months, but it will also help you create your own stockpile of food.  It comes in handy during an emergency.

For Home Cooks That Love to Cook

One thing I have realized in this process of preserving food is that all cooks need to do this.  You know what ingredients you use often and which ingredients you have to look all over for when you want to make a recipe.  I can never find lemon preserves when I want to make a Southern French recipe or a Moroccan tagine.  Ends up, I could just preserve them myself.  It only takes a jar, a bunch of lemons and sea salt (with no iodine).  After five weeks, they’re ready.  Why not prepare for those recipes when the lemons are in season?

Why buy marinara sauce in the winter when you can make batches of it over the summer when tomatoes are still in season?  Why spend a lot of money on herbs in the winter when you can grow them at home or freeze them in ice cubes when they are in season?

You know what you use the most of in your kitchen.  When the produce is in season, buy as much as you’ll need for the year and start preserving them.  Dice tomatoes.  Pickle eggs.  Preserve apple slices.  Preserve all those ingredients you know are hard to find during the year.  You’ll find that they’re a lot easier to make and preserve than running all over God’s green Earth to find it (and then spend an arm and a leg for it).

Stay away from recipes that ‘look good’ that you want to try.  Focus on creating a pantry you can use all year long.  Don’t bother making batches of stuff that you won’t even use.  This is about stopping the waste and focusing on using all the food you bring home throughout the year.

You can freeze, can and dehydrate produce.  Make it a habit of doing this every time you bring food home from the grocery store or farmer’s market.  Make it a habit of preserving the produce right off the bat.  It will save you so much money in the long run because you are not wasting the food.  You’re just saving it for a much later date.




PS Must Have: June 2016

Popsugar Must Have June 2016
Popsugar Must Have June 2016

The June 2016 Popsugar Must Have box is one of my favorites, including items I can definitely use.

What’s in the Box

All of the items are pictured on top of the Hat Attack Neutral Diamonds-Printed Sarong (Retail: $58).  The sarong is definitely my favorite in this box.

The Sriracha Pressels (Retail: $1.29) are so good.  They’re like eating toasted bagel chips.

Pacifica is one of my favorite cosmetic companies.  I’m a big fan of their Brazilian Mango Grapefruit perfume.  I’ve never tried deodorant wipes before, but I think it would be great to keep at the office for those ‘just in case’ days when I forget to put deodorant on in the morning, due to lack of coffee stimulating my brain.  (Retail: $9)

The deodorant wipes come in three scents.  The one pictured above is currently out of stock on their site.

The Sisters of Los Angeles have created a cute “Cheers” Gold Bottle Opener that would be great to add to your bar cart. (Retail: $12)

For your beach needs to freshen up your sunscreen/makeup, the Knock Knock compact is perfect to take to the beach with you.  (Retail: $10)

I can’t wait to play Ridley’s Games Room “Who Am I?” Quiz the next time I have guests staying over.  This is a perfect game for a night in from being tourists in the big city.  I’m going to also order the Movie Buff and Sing it Back card games.  Those games can be a lot of fun around the holidays.  (Retail: $5.50 -$11.00)

This Born on the 4th NCLA Nail Lacquer is my favorite.  I love all of the sparkles and glitter in the polish.  I don’t normally wear polish, but I plan on wearing this.  (Retail: $16)


How You Can Subscribe

Like what you saw in this box?  Well, you can buy each item individually or become a Popsugar Must Have subscriber and get a box of curated items that are new to the market (and will be a conversation piece among bloggers and fashionistas everywhere) valued at over $100 for $39.95/month (+ tax).  The cheaper option is definitely to become a subscriber.

I’ve been a subscriber for a few years now and Popsugar Must Have is definitely my favorite subscription box.  They lead the pack in deciding which products will be the next “IT” thing on the market.    I used to give away 3/4 of the box, but this past year, I found that I keep all of the items now.  They have really upped their game by sending out qualitative products that I can find at a lot of the places I already shop.

Join now.  I think you’ll enjoy the service.


Weekend Reading: Feel Good Stories and More

How is everyone’s summer so far?  We’ve been graced with this absolutely perfect 70+ degrees weather in NYC.  With Father’s Day this weekend, I’m sure there will be a lot of feasting, barbecuing and I Love You’s all across America.

Here is my weekly wrap up of some of my favorite things that caught my eye this week.  Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.  Kids, make sure to spoil your daddy!

Feel Good Stories to Read This Weekend

I always love reading the good stories out there.  It really makes our hearts smile.

    1. Boy With Brain Tumor Gets His Very Own Dragon.  I am so jealous of Brody.
    2. NFL Player Adopts a Pitbull.  You have to see the look on the dog’s face on his way home from the shelter.  It is priceless.
    3. What happened when an Orthodox Jewish Congregation went to a gay bar to mourn Orlando.  This was an amazing read.  This story needs to be shared a gazillion times.




Stories Worth Sharing this Weekend

1. Some Amusing Little Things in the US  You have to read this just for the laughs.  It’s funny to read stories of newcomers to the US and how things are so different here for them.  I always find it funny discovering differences when I travel to new countries.  I remember learning “Take Away” meant “To Go” in Ireland and London.  I remember standing there going, “HUH?” when she asked me about take away.  Then I saw there was a sign up that displayed two different prices for dining in and taking away.  Then it made sense.  Take away meant TO GO!

When you ask for hot sauce in some countries, they give you some weird version of sweet salsa (it’s disgusting) [Prague, Czech Republic].  When you’re in Africa, wee-fee means wifi.  In Ireland, there are XXXX number of ways to use one curse word.  Believe me when I say within the first 5 minutes of arriving in Dublin, I learned about 20 different ways to use one curse word.  I’m sure the woman had more meanings to it, too.  I was just like…welcome to Ireland.

2.  Bucky Fucking Dent.  Need something for your book loving Dad this Father’s Day?  Does he like baseball?  This book came on my radar this week when I attended an event with the author, David Duchovny (you know, Agent Fox Mulder and Hank Moody).  Who knew that this actor has a serious background in literature?  That’s what he went to Princeton and Yale for.

Here’s the Amazon synopsis:

Ted Fullilove, aka Mr. Peanut, is not like other Ivy League grads. He shares an apartment with Goldberg, his beloved battery-operated fish, sleeps on a bed littered with yellow legal pads penned with what he hopes will be the next great American Novel, and spends the waning days of the Carter administration at Yankee Stadium, waxing poetic while slinging peanuts to pay the rent.

When Ted hears the news that his estranged father, Marty, is dying of lung cancer, he immediately moves back into his childhood home, where a whirlwind of revelations ensues. The browbeating absentee father of Ted’s youth tries to make up for lost time, but his health dips drastically whenever his beloved Red Sox lose. And so, with help from Mariana―the Nuyorican grief counselor with whom Ted promptly falls in love―and a crew of neighborhood old-timers, Ted orchestrates the illusion of a Boston winning streak, enabling Marty and the Red Sox to reverse the Curse of the Bambino and cruise their way to World Series victory. Well, sort of.

David Duchovny’s richly drawn Bucky F*cking Dent explores the bonds between fathers and sons and the age-old rivalry between Yankee fans and the Fenway faithful, and grapples with our urgent need to persevere―and risk everything―in the name of love. Culminating in that fateful moment in October of ’78 when the mighty Bucky Dent hit his way into baseball history with the unlikeliest of home runs, this tender, insightful, and hilarious novel demonstrates how life truly belongs to the losers, and that the long shots are the ones worth betting on.

Bucky F*cking Dent is a singular tale that brims with the mirth, poignancy, and profound solitude of modern life.

I purchased a copy of the book after hearing Duchovny talk about writing.  Not acting, just writing. I’ll have more on that talk this weekend.

3. About the Night.  I’ve been reading this book for the past couple of weeks.  It’s the current selection for next month’s PW Book Club.  I had downloaded the Kindle version, but then ordered the book when it was released to the public on 6/1.  This was one of those books that had so many deep, heartfelt words that I had to buy one for my personal library.  I wanted to be able to highlight all of the beautiful words that touched my soul.  This is a story about an Arab man falling in love with a Jewish woman and then a wall divided them in Jerusalem.  It’s such an incredible story.  I’m only 2/3 of the way through it.

If you’ve ever loved someone greatly and then they were ripped away from you…you will understand this suffering.


ENTERTAINMENT

  1.  Mads Mikkelsen Wants Hannibal Back.  I love this man.  He loves Hannibal just as much as any Fannibal.
  2.  Battle of the Bastards.  If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you know the battle between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton is coming.
  3. Orange is the New Black Has Dropped.  Well, apparently all your plans this weekend have been cancelled for Netflix.  OITB was dropped today.  Let the binge-watching commence!

Food To Try This Weekend

  1. Pho, ramen and more slurp-worthy slow cooker Asian noodle soups.  OMG.  Definitely doing this over the summer now that I’ve switched to crockpot mode.
  2. Simple Trick that Makes Cupcakes Look Fancy.  It’s the little things that bring so much joy.
  3. 9 Best Bacon Breakfasts for Father’s Day.  Did someone say bacon?




Fashion Buys for the Weekend

1. Green Ombre Dress from Banana Republic.   I am in love with this dress.

br1
Banana Republic Ombre Dress

2.  Neiman Marcus Sale on Sale.  Neiman Marcus is having a sale on their sale.  Summer whites are on my radar.  Here are a few of my favorites.

nm1
For the Weekend Summer Wedding

Sachin & Babi dress.

nm2
To Beat the Heat During the Weekend

French Connection top.

nm3
For the Weekend Evening Out

Jill Jill Stuart Jumpsuit.

3.  Oscar de la Renta.  If you saw my Instagram post of this beautiful necklace, you’re probably wondering why I’m wearing a necklace valued at $990 to the office.  And then there are some who say, “HOW?”  or “WHY would you pay that much for a necklace?”

odlr
Oscar De La Renta necklace.

One of my earlier posts [How to Rent Your Wardrobe] explains HOW.  This is just an example of the many items available under Rent the Runway Unlimited.  The dress in the photo is also from RTRU.

RTRU is a great way to add couture designers to your daily wardrobe without adding to your clutter.  For those who Kon Mari’d their wardrobe, you don’t really want to add any more items to your closet.  Renting is great for those who have minimized their closets, but still want something new to wear every now and again.  For $139/month, you can rent couture designer items (3 out at a time).

[If you click on the Rent The Runway Unlimited link in this post, you can take $30 off your first month.  You can cancel at any time.]



A Better You to Try Out This Weekend

    1. My Most Simple, Most Effective Productivity Technique.  For those who are looking for ways to focus and get things done, take a look at this article.  I’ve been practicing this technique.  It is a challenge, but it will help you to focus on the task at hand so you can get more things done.
    2. 4 Ways to Improve Your Memory.
    3. 12 Habits of Highly Productive People.




Eat Smarter: The New Way to Pasta

Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini Noodles

I am absolutely addicted to spiralized noodles!  A friend of mine had become obsessed with zucchini noodles and wanted me to try it out, so she ordered a spiralizer for me and she started my latest food addiction.

Who needs all of those carbs from pasta noodles?  Not me.  Who wants to spend over half an hour just trying to cook a pot of noodles?  Not me.

Spiralized noodles are easy to make and very addictive.  They’re also so much healthier for you than regular semolina pasta.  All you need is a spiralizer, your choice vegetable (zucchini and squash are the most popular), and a sauce of your choice.


I love spaghetti with meat sauce, but I don’t like that gut feeling you get afterward.  Substituting the semolina spaghetti with zucchini noodles has become one of my favorite dishes.

The great thing about zucchini noodles is that you don’t have to boil them very long.  Just bring a small pot of water to a boil, add the zucchini noodles (sometimes called ‘zoodles’), cook for 2 minutes (keep your eye on the clock), then remove the noodles from the water.  Add the sauce of your choice on top and you’ve got an incredibly tasty meal.

Zucchini Noodles in Pesto Sauce
Zucchini Noodles in Pesto Sauce

Zucchini Noodles with Meatballs
Zucchini Noodles with Meatballs

After going Zoodles, I’m never going back to regular pasta.  I ended up donating all of my regular pasta to the food bank.

I have been trying out other versions of spiralized noodles and recipes.  I just recently made a Thai peanut sauce version with spiralized Korean squash.  I didn’t even need to boil the noodles.  I just tossed it into the stir fry and in a minute, it was done.

Trust me…you really won’t miss regular noodles.

The great thing about spiralizing vegetables is that you’re not only sneaking in more vegetables into your diet and cutting out the bad carbs, but you’re also consciously changing the way you’re eating.  If you can substitute the bad stuff with the good stuff and the meal tastes amazing, why stick to the bad stuff?

My friend gave me the Pro Cuisine Spiralizer, which comes in a bundle that includes several accessories, as well as a little cookbook with recipes.  It’s an inexpensive tool to add to your kitchen arsenal (currently $12.99 at Amazon.com).  It’s perfect if it’s just you, or two people.  If you have a family, you’re better off going with the bigger spiralizer for a few dollars more.  The crank on the bigger spiralizer makes it easier to spiralize more vegetables.  The smaller one is better if you’re only spiralizing one or two vegetables at a time.

I love my spiralizer.  It’s one of the best gifts I’ve received in a long time,, and one of the best new tools in my kitchen.



Perfectionist Guide to Starting 2016

January 1 2016

Happy New Year, Everybody!  I hope you all had an amazing holiday season.

You’ll find over these next few months a few changes to the site.  For one, I’ll be posting more often (a New Year’s resolution of mine).  Second, I’ll be sharing some of my favorites I come across that have really helped me along in my journey.

Starting off this year, I wanted to share a few of my favorite essential items that I’m using to accomplish my goals this year.  Each item I’ve chosen to share has it’s own unique quality in helping me be the better person I aspire to be.  Here are my picks and why I chose them…

THE PERFECTIONIST’S GUIDE TO STARTING 2016 OFF RIGHT

1. Kate Spade 2016 17-Month Medium Agenda- Gold Dots (153150).  I love Kate Spade planners.  This is my second year using them.  Not only are they pretty, but they are perfect for organization and toting.  This year, I decided to downsize and get the medium sized, which is not as big as the striped planner.  This works perfectly as a Go To when I need to know where I’m going, what I need to do, bills to pay, and errands that need to be run.  I use stickers and washi tape to help keep the organization looking pretty {planner organization post upcoming}.

2. kate spade new york Large 17 Month Covered Spiral Agenda, Black Stripes.  This planner is great for those who need a bigger agenda.  I use this to plan all of my content.  It’s pretty bulky, so I keep this one at home.  It’s great to use because there’s plenty of space to write in.  Also great for those who have  a lot of multi-tasking.

3. Ninja Kitchen System Pulse (BL201).  I’ve had one of these for a couple of years now and it’s been one of the best appliances in my kitchen.  It’s great for making spinach smoothies (my favorite) and superblending the hell out of things.  For those needing to add some juicing into their diet, I highly recommend this for making smoothies.  It’s a powerful blender and really does the job.  Keep in mind that this is not a juicer.  A juicer is something entirely different. Coupled with a juicer, the Ninja is a great tool to help detox your body.

4. Rodney Yee: ABS Yoga for Beginners. I’ve been using this video for years.  I started off using the VHS tape.  When it switched to DVD, it was renamed and I had no idea what it was called.  One of my former bosses is a friend of Rodney Yee and mentioned to him that I was looking for a specific video.  Rodney knew exactly which one I was looking for and gave me a free copy of the DVD.  I have been using this video in the mornings, especially when my back is in a lot of pain.  Going through just one session, you can feel the results immediately.  You can feel the burn in your abs just a few hours later.  More importantly…ZERO back pain immediately following the workout.  That’s how effective this particular video is.  Like it says, this is for beginners.  I still use it 15 years later and the effects are always beneficial.  This is a must have for those wanting to try yoga, to get stronger abs, increase flexibility, relieve back pain, or just get fit.  This has been my all-time favorite workout DVD in this lifetime.

5. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.  This book is what is changing my life right now and something I’ll be talking about over these next few months.  Starting off 2016, I wanted to start decluttering my life and getting down to being more of a minimalist: To Have Fewer, But Better Things.  I downloaded this book through Amazon and devoured it within a couple of days.  I ended up throwing out five large bags of clothes from my closet…and that was only the beginning.  My goal is to go through these next five months and completely declutter the things in my life that no longer bring me joy.  The less things you have, the less things you have to take care of.  I’ve been so overwhelmed with things that I found that the reason why I didn’t have the time to write or do the things I wanted to do was because I was so inundated and drowning in my stuff that I spent more time cleaning up and tidying, without ever finding an end to it.  There’s a whole mental side to this beyond just keeping the things that bring you joy.  You start to realize why you buried yourself in stuff.  It’s not a pretty monster to face, but you have to face it so that you can learn to never go back to being that person again.  As a Perfectionist Wannabe, this book is a great tool to jump start a change in your life.  If you’re a loyal reader, we’ll be talking about this book a lot in the upcoming couple of months, so make sure to devour your copy.

6. Stabilo Point 88 Pen Sets color parade adjustable set of 20.  A friend of mine (who knows how crazy I am about organizing my planners and color coding them) found these Stabilo pens and bought a set as a gift for my birthday.  These are the most wonderful pens out there, especially if you color code your agendas (or color in the adult coloring books).  Another friend, who is a teacher, also swears by them.  She uses them for so many things, including scrapbooking and journaling.

7. FranklinCovey Planner Love Magnet Clips – Gold. I love all things cute and sticky when it comes to organizing my planners.  These are great to use to mark special occasions or clip receipts or tickets to events.  {I’ll share more of my cute and sticky collection in the upcoming weeks.}

8. My Mind’s Eye Trend Style Notebooks, 3 Designs, Peach, Black, and Aqua.  I stock up on paper products at the start of every year. Usually I order Sugar Paper products, but this year, I’m stocking up on My Mind’s Eye.  They don’t just offer journals and note cards.  They also have scrapbooking needs and party paper to help you plan your next shindig.

9. Silhouette Cameo Bundle with Vinyl Starter Kit Bonus Mat & Blade $25 Online Store Card and Guide.  This Cameo is one of my newest investments.  It is amazing what this product can do.  I’ve watched Youtube tutorials on designing glitter shirts, creating vinyl mugs, stickers, quilting patterns and silk screens for pillows, etc.  It’s amazing what this thing can do and so accurately. For those who love to craft or are business owners, this product could really simplify your life.  I bought one to help expand Perfectionist Wannabe into a new direction.  I can’t wait to share with you the products I’ve developed thanks to this Silhouette Cameo.  It’s amazing what this little device has been able to do for so many people.  The precision of the work is absolutely perfect.  Just look up a few Youtube videos on products people have made with the Silhouette Cameo and then come back and tell me you don’t want one for yourself (that is if you’re into the DIY world).

10. Chalkboard Calendar Wall Panel from West Elm.  The second I saw this, I knew I had to have one.  This is perfect for organizing editorial content.  It’s also perfect for just everyday home and family calendars.  It’s a decal so it’s easy to put up.  You can peel it off when you move or don’t need it anymore.

The Martha Stewart Gift Bag & Giveaway

Ever wonder what Martha Stewart would give away in her gift bags?  Well, here’s a look inside what we received during the American Made 2015 Summit.AmericanMade1

This denim tote from Map Tote is the perfect tote bag.  It’s nice, big and sturdy with long straps.  I also love the denim material used to make the bag.  It was strong enough to hold all of the stuff Martha sent us home with.

AmericanMade2

On the way home, I thought I spilled some of the Martha Stewart bottled coffee I had put in my bag.  I kept looking for a wet spot on the bag and couldn’t find anything.  After I got a couple of blocks from Martha’s HQ, I felt like I needed to eat something, because I felt like I may have had five too many cups of coffee.  But wait, I only had two cups of coffee and my last cup was at 11AM.  What gives?

Well, it would be the aroma from Martha Stewart Cafe’s Martha’s Blend coffee.  It was so strong, my body was getting the jitters just by smelling the coffee.  Considering I was loving her delicious coffee at her HQ, you can expect this to be the perfect brew.  You can purchase her coffee and teas at Martha Stewart Cafe.

My favorite item in the bag is something I’ve been wanting for some time now, but didn’t know where to get it.  This little monkey comes from a company called Creature Cups.  I’m going to have to order a few more of these.  I’ve been wanting the octopus one for some time.  They are so cool.  I can’t wait to give them as gifts this year.

The little slab of chocolate (I’m going with a guess here) may be from Dylan’s Candy Bar.  Let me tell you something, that little piece of chocolate had me in heaven.  It was so delicious.
AmericanMade3

Yogi teas, Stew Leonard’s Super Peanuts, Thank You cards from The UPS Store, Triple Sec from The DryBar, Martha Stewart’s Appetizers: 200 Recipes for Dips, Spreads, Snacks, Small Plates, and Other Delicious Hors d’Oeuvres, Plus 30 Cocktails, Seafood Brush from Wild Alaska Seafood, and lipstick from Sonia Kashuk.

AmericanMade4

Bottled coffee from Martha Stewart, quilting material from The City Quilter, Chalkboard US Map from Fathead.  What I like about the Fathead is that you can color in all of the states you’ve visited.  That’s what I did with mine.

AmericanMade5

This beautiful deck of cards comes from Yaniv.

AmericanMade6

Other fun things received is the Coolhaus Ice Cream Book: Custom-Built Sandwiches with Crazy-Good Combos of Cookies, Ice Creams, Gelatos, and Sorbets, a copy of Martha Stewart Living’s Thanksgiving issue, Woats, Pom juice and a box of Triscuits.

GIVEAWAY!!!

So you know sharing all of this would lead to something. As part of the month of November, a time when we should be thinking of the things we are grateful for, Ariana Huffington mentioned that every night before going to bed, her daughter lists three things she is grateful for and shares it with a couple of her friends.

Keeping in line with the things learned at the American Made 2015 Summit, I want to know what THREE THINGS you are grateful for.  Share in the comments below and enter for your chance to win a copy of Martha Stewart’s Appetizers cookbook.  The contest begins on November 11 and ends on November 18.  GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Martha Stewart’s American Made 2015

MS2A few months ago, I received an invitation to attend Martha Stewart’s American Made 2015 Summit.  I was a little shocked I received the invite, so I immediately responded and purchased my ticket.  I spent this last Saturday as one of the many guests at Martha Stewart’s HQ for one of the most talked about summits in America.  Let me tell you how this one adventure changed me.

First, I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived down at the Chelsea HQ.  There was such a long line of people to get inside.  After I got upstairs, grabbed my name tag and a cup of coffee, I headed to the back of the long line that was awaiting breakfast.

MS3Right at this time, someone got the brilliant idea that they should take a tray of pastries to the back of the line, so that they could help move the line along faster.  Guess who was at the back of the line?  ME.  I grabbed a chocolate croissant and headed to the nearest table (all standing room only).

Martha Stewart’s HQ is located inside a huge warehouse building located just a few blocks from Chelsea Piers.  Inside, you walk into a huge “ballroom” that can easily fit over a thousand people in it. Her HQ houses the magazine, the test kitchens, photo studios, offices and everything they need to make Martha Stewart Living (OmniMedia) what it is.

Throughout the day, we listened to numerous speakers on how to grow our businesses, as well as the changes we’re seeing from the economic, agricultural, technological, and socio-economic standpoint.  Huffington Post’s Ariana Huffington was the keynote speaker.  She spoke about the importance of rest and sleep.  Many decisions that end up being disastrous for a company are made by people that are lacking sleep.  Ariana understands this all to well.

She was a victim of pushing herself too hard to make her business succeed that she collapsed in a pool of her own blood.  After that, she learned the importance of resting and getting some sleep.  When she goes on vacation now, she doesn’t answer a single email.  Her out of office message tells people to email her back when she returns to the office.  In the meantime, the message that was sent will be deleted.  That way, when she returns from vacation, she has ZERO messages awaiting her.  This is UNPLUGGING and enjoying life without the need for technology.

One thing successful bloggers talk about all of the time is how they work so hard to run their blog.  They lose sleep over it, just to get the content up.  I learned a few years ago that I can’t write immediately after a game.  I wait until I get some sleep and a cup of coffee before I write anything.  I do this only because I know I’m no good to anyone when I’m tired and sleepy.  Why wreck my product by pushing myself to get it done when I need sleep?

I’m also big about unplugging when I’m at home.  I find that by turning the device on, it takes away from the things I really want or need to do.

MS1Did I mention that we were fed Martha Stewart style all day long?  Oh, we weren’t just fed, but everything down to the presentation was on par.  I fell in love with this butternut squash, quinoa and kale dish.  I hate kale and quinoa, but I was absolutely obsessed with this dish.  It was so good {waiting to see if I can get the recipe to share}.

Over the course of this week, I’ll be sharing the things I learned this week at Martha Stewart’s HQ.  Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing the goodies that were in the gift bag (it weighed a ton), as well as announcing a few giveaways.

I walked into Martha’s HQ not knowing what I was going to take from this.  I walked away with a much clearer understanding of what I wanted to do, especially as far as this site goes.  The speakers she selected gave me the idea on how to fine tune what it was I wanted to do.  It’s not just an ideal anymore.  This is a product.

More importantly, what I saw that day was a group of people that were on course to becoming the next Martha Stewart mogul in their own fields.  Each and every single person there had that potential within them.  This summit was there to help further them along on their journey.  It’s understanding that was what I saw in the people around me, that I also had to humble myself so that I could realize…wait…that means me, too.

Before I end this post, one lesson I took from life was a combination of what Martha Stewart and Stew Leonard were saying.  Remember that no matter what seed you plant in life, remember that in the end, you need to enjoy it.

Plant the roses.

Pick the roses.

Smell the roses.

Enjoy the roses.

The $1.50 Challenge End and Results

Congee (rice porridge)
Congee (rice porridge)

The $1.50/day challenge ends tomorrow.  For me, it ended sooner than I thought it would.  Even though it did, I have to say that this challenge was very humbling.

On Day Two, I continued eating the pre-made meals I made for the week.  Breakfast consisted of the congee soup, free coffee and soy milk, and water.  For lunch, I had fried rice with a few carrot/celery sticks.  For dinner, I tried to be a little more inventive with my food and attempted to create an Indian version of a burrito using the leftover lentil soup and some of the shredded chicken.  I added Naan bread to the dollar count ($0.50).

Dinner was where the problems started to set in.  I ate a few bites from dinner and then stopped.  The cat ended up coming over and eating the rest of it for me.  I just wasn’t interested in it.  By breakfast on Day 3, I tried to eat some of the free cereal and free soy milk, only to find I had no interest in eating at all.  This is where I could sense a problem is arising.  To go two meals in a row and choose to not eat than to eat a poor man’s meal, that says something very strongly to me.  There was a health problem arising.

As I contemplated ending the challenge to eat something healthier and more heartier (i.e. more than $1.50), I looked at my lunch of lentil soup and realized I was not hungry at all.  I was about to go 3 meals straight without eating.

The last time I went through multiple meals of not eating, I was in a poor country…Morocco.  I went 3 days without eating before my driver had to step in and arrange for me to eat something that met my palate (which ended up being Chicken Tagine Citron).  That’s just the way that I am.  I’d rather not eat than to eat something that was mediocre or boring.

This challenge humbled me in realizing just how fortunate I am.  I’m thankful for the bounty that God has given to me over the years.  Then I was humbled in realizing that even though I felt like I was starving by day three on only $1.50/day, there are people out there that don’t even have $1.50/day to eat the bounty I was able to create.  Some may go days without eating, but that’s not by choice or stubbornness because the food doesn’t agree with their palate.  They’d gladly eat a rotten banana peel from the dump if that’s all they could find.

I never really appreciated the life that I’ve been afforded until I took this challenge.  It makes you thankful for the little things you take for granted.  At the same time, it makes you feel compassion for those who only dream of being able to have access to such bounty.  It also makes you wonder what is wrong with this world when there are so many countries that have way more than enough to feed their people that we find ourselves wasting so much food at every meal.  Somehow we can’t find a way to share the wealth with those who have nothing.

Why can’t we help those find means to fight their hunger?  I know in this day and age we are faced with countless issues on why we cannot end hunger, like war and politics.  But when you look at hunger as a human rights issue, war and politics do not matter.  Human beings matter more.  They always will.

After I ended my challenge on Day Three, I noticed that I started getting very ill.  I knew my health may become an issue by changing my diet and not having access to plenty of fruits and vegetables.  That was the main reason I decided to end the challenge.  At the beginning, I did have that ‘what if’ this lowered my immune system and I became ill, but I was willing to forego the scare just to challenge myself to understand what the majority of the world is struggling with.  Well, the ‘what if’ went into a full blown fever, vomiting, inability to keep liquids or solids down, and later a horrible respiratory infection.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the medical services available to me.  Yet, there are people out there that don’t have access to medicine or medicinal food (i.e. the good ole chicken noodle soup, broth, or orange juice).  Some people don’t even have access to clean water.  Some people have to walk miles just to fetch a jar of water.  This is the world we live in.  The difference between the haves and the have nots?  Money and Where You Live on this planet.

I think many of us dream of One World someday where hunger and access to clean water is a thing of the past.

I donated $250 (my fundraising goal) to UNICEF through the Live Below the Line challenge.  If you’d like to donate a few dollars to help children worldwide have access to food, water and medical supplies, please join me in donating.

If you can’t donate a few dollars, think of gathering a few non-perishable food items from your kitchen and dropping them off at a local food pantry or food kitchen.  If you can’t afford to spare food or money, consider donating some of your time to help out at a food kitchen or pantry.  They always need volunteers.  Find ways you can help stamp out hunger in the world.  Sometimes it starts in your very own neighborhood.

Day One: $1.50 A Day Food Challenge

I decided to do this $1.50 A Day Food Challenge a week earlier and post up my results for each day of the 5 day challenge.

First, I just want to make the disclaimer that during this time period, I used free items as part of the challenge.  After all, if you’re lucky enough to get free food anywhere in the world, it counts towards food on the table, including what you’re paying out of pocket.

BREAKFAST

Granola w/ soy milk
Coffee w/ soy milk

Today’s breakfast was a free meal.  One day, I was given a bag of Cascadian Farm Organic Protein Granola.  It’s one of those free merchandising bits that happens around New York City every now and again.  Some marketing group stands outside handing out samples.  In this case, I was given a full bag of granola.

I had a bowl of the granola along with soy milk that I got from my office (free).

I am also a coffee fiend.  I won’t be able to make my own coffee because it fits outside of this week’s budget.  This week, I’m going to use the free coffee and soy milk offered at the office.

LUNCH

Ingredients to Lentil Soup
Ingredients to Lentil Soup

Lentil soup
Carrots/Celery Crudites
Ranch dressing

Throughout the week, I’ll be using the carrots/celery.  A bag of carrots was $0.99, and the celery was $0.89.

For lunch, I had a bowl of Lentil Soup I made from my crock pot.  The ingredients pictured here produced 4 bowls of soup at $0.24/bowl.

Keep in mind, that lentil soup can be drab and boring.  In order to make it more flavorful, it is important to sauté the onions and tomatoes prior to putting them into the crock pot.  It makes a world of difference.

LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients

2 Cups of Lentils
Water
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Madras Curry Powder
Salt
Pepper

Directions

1. In a crockpot, put the lentils in the pot, covering it with water, leaving about an inch of water above the lentils.

This recipe produces 4 bowls of lentil soup. Each bowl is $0.24/bowl.
This recipe produces 4 bowls of lentil soup. Each bowl is $0.24/bowl.

2.  In a saucepan, heat the olive oil.  Add the onions and a pinch of salt, cook until translucent (about 1-2 minutes).  Add the diced tomatoes, cooking until the tomatoes are soft, almost liquid (about 3-4 minutes).

3.  Add the curry powder, salt and pepper to the crockpot along with the tomatoes/onion mixture.  Stir the ingredients.

4.  The lentils are done in 2-3 hours if cooking on high temperature.  At low temperature, it is 4-6 hours.  Check the lentils after 2 hours and stir to make sure the lentils do not clump or burn at the bottom. The lentils are done when the beans are soft.

Makes 4 servings

Cost breakdown:

1  4 lb. bag of lentil soup = $2.00 (only used roughly 1/2 a pound, which equates to $0.25)
2  tomatoes (6 pack of tomatoes = $1.29. 2 tomatoes=$0.43)
1 onion = $0.30 (1/4 of an onion = $0.08)
Spices/oil $0.20
TOTAL: $0.96 for 4.  1 bowl = $0.24.

Lentil Soup.
Lentil Soup.

Lunch Cost breakdown:

Lentil soup: $0.24
Carrots: $0.99/bag (cost will appear this one time to encompass all 5 days)
Celery: $0.89/bag (cost will appear this one time to encompass all 5 days)
Ranch dressing: $0.05 (One bottle was $0.79. I used only a fraction of it and may not use it again)

TOTAL SO FAR: $2.17

NOTE: Challenge is $1.50/day for 5 days.  Because I’ll be using the carrots/celery over the course of 5 days, it’s just easier to calculate the cost now for the entire bags instead of trying to figure out the cost of a single stalk of celery or a single carrot and how much was used in each dish.  Total amount of money that can be used over these 5 days is $7.50.  Money remaining: $5.33.

DINNER

Fried Rice
BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Green Beans
Fried Bananas

Basic Ingredients: Chicken, Carrots, Celery, Garlic and spices.
Basic Ingredients: Chicken, Carrots, Celery, Garlic and spices.

One thing that I always make when I buy chicken is stock.  I boil the chicken with carrots, celery and various spices.  After it’s done, I not only have chicken stock to use in various soups and recipes, but I also have the chicken, carrots & celery to use in other dishes.

Using these ingredients as the base, so far I’ve created chicken fried rice and congee (rice porridge).

When making chicken stock, you can use whole chicken, chicken quarters, or any chicken part you want.  You can also use any spice you’d like.  I generally use Asian spices, especially star anise, to flavor the stock and the chicken, because I like to make a lot of Asian dishes with the chicken and stock.  I recommend not just throwing in a variety of ingredients.  Try to stick to a ‘spice theme.’  For this batch, I used ground cilantro, garlic, ginger, ground ginger, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves.  It allows for a bit of an Asian flare, but not too powerful like it would be if I added star anise to the mix.  Star anise will give you the equivalent of the Pho soup flavor.

Keep in mind that there are a variety of ways to make chicken stock.  This is my way, which I find to be the easiest, hassle free way to make stock.

CHICKEN STOCK

Ingredients

chicken
water
2 sliced carrots
2 sliced celery stalks
spices
salt
pepper

NOTE: To make this process easier, if you have a stock pot with a deep steamer insert [like the one featured from Cuisinart here], use it so that it will make it easier to keep the stock and the ingredients separate.  If you do not use a deep steamer like the one featured in the link, you’ll have to manually separate the ingredients from the stock and then feed the stock through a cheese cloth as seen in these examples.

Directions

Fill a large stock pot with water, place over medium high heat.  Place steamer in the stock pot.

In the steamer, place the chicken, carrots, and celery in it, along with the spices, salt and pepper.  Boil for a little over an hour (i.e. until the chicken is fully cooked).

When the chicken is done, remove the steamer from the pot and put the chicken/vegetables into a large bowl to cool.

All that should be left in the pot is the stock.  Wait for it to cool down to a warm (manageable) temperature before transferring the stock to jars or bottles.

After the chicken/vegetables have cooled, separate the chicken from the vegetables/etc. and shred the meat, put the meat aside into a resealable container.  Use the vegetables immediately after for your next dish.

NOTE: If you are using glass to transfer the stock into, here are some points to remember.  1. When the stock is between warm to hot, transfer it to the glass container.  Make sure to use a towel to hold the glass while you fill up the container.  2.  Quickly put the lid on it and set the jar aside to let the stock cool down.  3.  When you hear a pop, that means that the jar has sealed.  4.  Keep the jar out until it is lukewarm (room temperature) to the touch before putting it into the refrigerator or freezer.  This usually takes a few hours.

Glass is very temperamental to hot/cold.  You do not want to put hot glass into a cold environment or vice versa.  The glass will break.

THE MEALS

Fried rice
Fried rice

Since the meat/stock is being used to create other dishes, I’m going to list the meals as they go, but include the cost to make the base here and add the supplemental costs as we go along.

COST BREAKDOWN:

2 chicken quarters (4 lbs. at $2.16 (it was on sale), each quarter at $0.54/each) = $1.08
Celery/Carrots added to price from lunch.

TOTAL SO FAR TODAY (+Lunch): $3.25

Keep in mind that this is $1.50/day challenge.  The total cost here is going to be combined for the 5 days of the $7.50 total, because each of these recipes are being used for multiple meals.

What I ended up having for dinner was 1/2 serving of fried rice, bbq chicken on a biscuit, and green beans.  For dessert, I had some fried bananas that were given to me for FREE from a Thai restaurant I go to all of the time.

Additional costs:

Rice ($1.49/3 lbs.  1/2 lb. of rice used) = $0.25
1 egg ($1.29/12 eggs.  1 egg used) = $0.11
1 bag of frozen green beans = $1.00
1 biscuit ($1.09/10 biscuits) = $0.11

OVERALL TOTAL TODAY (All meals): $4.72

I made fried rice from the chicken/vegetables mixture.  It netted 2.5 servings.

Congee (rice porridge)
Congee (rice porridge)

I also made congee (rice porridge) from the chicken/vegetables/stock.  This netted 4-5 servings.  [The garnish is spring onions that I grow at home.]

I will be using the green beans over the course of the next few days, so I thought I would add the total cost to today’s total for the entire bag (like the carrots/celery).  Between the fried rice and the congee, I was able to generate 6-7 more meals for the next few days.

There is still rice, chicken, carrots, celery and green beans leftover to create additional meals over the next few days.  There are also 3 more bowls of Lentil Soup to devour.  As we go through each day, I’ll only add any additional costs beyond what was already accounted for today.

A Day in Someone Else’s Shoes

How would you like to spend a few days in someone else’s shoes?

Over the weekend I received two challenges to live on $1.50/day.  At first, I thought that was ridiculous.  There’s no way that I could.  But it stuck in my mind.

This morning, The Today Show spoke of how Gwyneth Paltrow accepted Mario Batali’s challenge and how she did it.  Her challenge though was $29/week.  A family on food stamps generally lives on $4/day.

$1.50/day for 5 days is $7.50.  That was the challenge presented to me.  That was the challenge that One.org is putting out there to the world.  Nearly 1.2 billion people in the world live on $1.50/day for food.

I’ve read a few articles from people that accepted the challenge [like this one who lives on a vegan diet].  The comments I’ve read on these articles are really first world problems.  There was a constant: you can’t eat healthy on that diet.  That was the point of the experiment.  It’s not a matter of ‘You can live on $1.50/day’ challenge.  It’s a challenge for us to understand what it means for 1.2 billion people in the world that live on $1.50/day.

1.2 billion people in the world don’t care about GMOs, pesticides on their food or whether the food they purchase was organic or not.  All they care about is that it’s food on the table.  I’ve watched documentaries on children going through the dump (completely barefoot) looking for anything edible to eat…like a rotten banana peel.  Sometimes all people can afford is the rotten food that’s being thrown out.

I’ve been in markets where all they’re selling is rotten meat, vegetables and fruits.  The smell is so atrocious, but that’s how they live.  Even the indoor supermarkets have flies swarming all over the food.  This is normal to them.

The humbling part of my journey was realizing that even though I was witnessing poverty, I was seeing them through Burberry sunglasses.  I had security with me.  I had my own driver.  Yet, I was witnessing hardships and the life of people in a third world country.  Even though many are starving and are destitute, they look at you with a smile in their soul.  Their kindness is genuine.  They do unto others as they hope God will do unto them.  They live with the philosophy that if they work hard and do things pleasing in God’s eyes today, then tomorrow God will shower kindness upon them.  If the next day they find that God did not find their works good enough to reward them, they work harder the next day.  They give to the widows and the elderly, even when they have very little.  They are always performing acts of charity.

To me, that is a life principle.  It also makes me thankful for each and every day I wake up to the life that I live.  There are times when I feel like I’m not doing enough for my works to be pleasing in God’s eyes.  But then I’m reminded of the people I’ve met in third world countries that live by this principle of doing things to be worthy of God’s favor.  All they want is food, a roof over their head…the basic necessities.  That’s the only favor they are asking from God.  It makes what I ask for completely selfish and foolish.  Just take a look at my purse wardrobe.  One bag could feed someone for 1,000 days…and yet, I think I’m not doing enough to be rewarded properly… (first world problems).

From April 28-May 2, One.org is challenging the first worlders out there to see what it is like to live on $1.50/day.  PerfectionistWannabe.com is accepting that challenge.

Considering that this site leans more towards the good eats, this will be somewhat of a challenge.  Luckily, these past few weeks, I’ve already been putting the challenge to work.

For those who have access to an Aldi, I highly recommend going in and buying your groceries from them.

Just recently, I picked up 4 chicken leg quarters (about 4 lbs worth of chicken) for $2.17.  Wow, right?  I just happened to walk in when they put the $2 off sticker on the packages.  Normally, they’re $4.19 for the 4+ lbs. of chicken.  It’s $0.95 per pound.

With that chicken, I can easily make chicken stock by boiling a couple of the chicken quarters.  I shred up the boiled chicken for other dishes.  That’s roughly $0.54 per chicken quarter.

For the chicken that has fallen off of the bone, I make chicken noodle soup with the leftover celery and carrots (celery and carrots vary in price, but are both under $1 per 1-2 lb. bags).

The chicken stock I reserve for other dishes (including soups).

I picked up a bag of dinner rolls that came out to $0.50.  There were 8 rolls in the bag.  You can generally get a loaf of bread for $0.85.

A can of tuna is $0.59.  A six pack of tomatoes is $1.29.

In other words, Aldi is a great place for the budget minded folks.  After discovering I could buy chicken for $0.95/lb. there, I have a difficult time wanting to spend 3-4 times that at the supermarket for the convenience just because I’m there buying other groceries.

There are a variety of dishes you can make with this sort of budget.  Believe it or not, there are also ways of getting free food on top of it all.  So during April 28-May 2, I’ll be sharing with you just how I was able to live for 5 days under this budget AND still be a foodie.  And yes, I will find ways to get free coffee and almond/soy milk.  There are ways.

Will you accept the $1.50 challenge?

 

 

Mastering Coq Au Vin

JCAs I’ve been spot checking the site to see what needs to be updated, I was going over my About page and remembered that I wanted to learn how to make coq au vin.  What better way to learn but to learn from the master herself, Julia Child.

Before we begin, I’m going to say this…this was the first time, as well as the last time I will ever make coq au vin.  While it was challenging and interesting, it was also very time consuming.

Since it was Easter Sunday when I made this, I also had to make up a few other things before the main course could be served.

Baked Camembert

Baked Camembert
Baked Camembert

I had never made Baked Camembert before.  I have to say that it was extremely simple to make and came out like a piece of artwork.

I used the Thyme and Garlic Baked Camembert recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking.  The only thing I did differently was use truffle oil instead of olive oil.

This easy starter recipe was so good and absolutely hassle free to make, I almost ate the whole thing on my own, forgetting that Easter Sunday was just beginning.

I highly recommend making this.

As an additional side dish, I also made Honey Hen wings.  I adapted it from Laura Calder’s recipe and used wings instead of chicken quarters.  It was so delicious the first time I made it (last week), it was well worth making it for the second time in a row.

Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin

JC3Since this recipe is rather lengthy, as well as the process, Life’s a Feast made this same recipe and posted up the original Julia Child recipe, including what she had for dessert: Charlotte au Chocolat.

The coq au vin recipe isn’t just for the chicken.  Her post also includes the additional two recipes: Champignons Sautés au Beurre (Sautéed Mushrooms) and Oignons Glacés à Brun (Brown-Braised Onions).  In order to make this dish, you have to make the mushrooms and the onions on the side.  Braising the onions alone takes around 45 minutes to do.

For the alcohol content, I used cognac (which was a really cool process…I’d never flambé before) and chianti as the wine.

It took about 3 hours to make this dish from start to finish. Was it worth the wait?  No.  It wasn’t.  The meal was delicious, but by the time everything was complete, I was so exhausted, I couldn’t enjoy the fruits of my labor.

For sides, I made a plate of simple peas and Fingerling Potatoes Braised with Smoked Paprika from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

Dessert: Clafouti aux Poires

Clafouti aux poires
Clafouti aux poires

While the chicken was simmering over the flames, I put together this rather simple pear flan recipe from Julia Child (as found on Bettunya’s blog).

I tried to use up as much cognac as I could on Sunday, so I decided to use cognac to soak the pears in.  You’re only supposed to soak the pears for an hour in the alcohol.  Because I was taking so long with the coq au vin, the pears ended up soaking for 2 hours.  Trust me, this ended up being a good thing.

By the time the main entree was on the plates, the clafouti was ready to come out of the oven to cool. The cognac made the dish smell so good!

After dinner, the clafouti was passed around, topped with some ice cream and when I say this was the treat of the day…oh believe me, it was a treat!  I felt so drunk after eating half a slice.  Like I said, the pears soaked in cognac for 2 hours was a good thing.

I usually do not make French desserts, so I was happy with how easy this was to put together.  Julia’s original recipe called for Bing Cherries, but it can be substituted with apples, pears, etc.

This is a dish you will definitely enjoy.  It is a must try!

 

A “How to” Buying Guide: Caviar and Pâté

Petrossian delicacies
Petrossian delicacies

Ever been mystified by the whole caviar and pâté experience?

I was.  So I decided to go out and educate myself on how to buy caviar and pâté, as well as how to eat the luxury items.  The best way to learn is to go to the professionals.

Petrossian is the answer in both Paris and the United States.  They are not only the experts, but they offer some of the finest goods on the market.

First off, caviar is expensive.  The reason lies in the process of cultivating fish eggs.  It is not as easy as one would think.

Caviar is not cheap, just less expensive — more affordable. The restrictions on wild caviar made the price very high. The actual progress in the production and the number of farms all over the world created more offerings. However, one should also remember that caviar is not raised, sturgeons are, and that this process takes over ten years. This is the reason why caviar will never be an inexpensive product. Plus, the fact that to create good caviar requires a lot of work and enormous specialized knowledge. Now, if the dream becomes affordable, then it will drive caviar lovers back to caviar — those who’ve stopped their consumption because of higher prices.

— Caviar Q&A with Armen Petrossian, The Daily Meal, by Yasmin Fahr

There are a variety of different types of ‘caviar’ out there.  Let’s start from the beginning.

What and Where to Buy

Caviar (black) and Salmon Roe (orange).
Caviar (black) and Salmon Roe (orange).

First, the term ‘Caviar’ is used only from the roe (fish eggs) that come from sturgeon fish.  It only comes from sturgeon fish.  You will find that other variations of roe (like salmon roe) are labeled as salmon roe, not caviar.  Caviar only comes from sturgeon fish.  All other fish eggs that do not come from sturgeon fish is called roe.

Caviar is black, while salmon roe is orange.  Depending on the fish, roe can come in a variety of colors.

If you are starting out and need a less expensive, but highly qualitative brand of caviar, start with the Classic Transmontanus Caviar.  In Petrossian stores, the smallest tin is $51.  Online, a small tin will cost $53.




You can also try the less expensive roe that comes from salmon, trout, or even flying fish.  The reason why the eggs from sturgeon are so expensive is because for many years, the fish were considered an endangered species.  In the quote above from Petrossian, it also takes many years to cultivate sturgeon.  The less expensive roe comes from fish that are more bountiful.

If you’re in a city where there’s a Petrossian store, you’ll find more variety and that the prices are considerably lower in their stores than online.  For instance, online, the Salmon Roe retails at $62, but that’s for a 250g tin.  You can pick up a 50g tin between $12-$14 at the store.

I prefer the salmon roe and caviar.  If the caviar wasn’t $50+ per tiny tin, this would be a staple in my home.

The are so many different grades and prices, with $50 being the cheapest and the price of caviar going upwards into the 4-to-5 digit numbers.  The more expensive numbers depend on the rarity of a special harvest which produces an incredible batch of eggs that are unlike any other.  For instance, one serving of Petrossian Special Reserve Ossetra Caviar costs $394.  For 16-32 servings, the price goes up to $12,500.  That’s one expensive dinner party right there.

Petrossian doesn’t just sell roe and caviar.  They also sell baked goods (in store), chocolates, smoked fish, and other fish delicacies.

One delicacy I highly recommend is the Tarama Au Crabe Royal.  It’s a mixture of créme fraiche, cod roe and crabmeat.

As for pâté, Petrossian offers some of the best pâté  I’ve ever had in my life.  Try the Pheasant, Pork & Duck with Figs, Pistachios and Port from Petrossian.  The nice vinegary taste in each bite creates a sharpness of flavors that awakens your tastebuds.  The Petrossian pâtés are far better than any other one I have ever tasted.  They make all the rest taste like cheap liverwurst.

How do you eat Caviar/Roe?

Deviled Eggs from The Glamorous Housewife
Deviled Eggs from The Glamorous Housewife

There are a variety of ways you can eat caviar/roe.  My favorite is definitely Deviled Eggs with caviar.  You can create little stacks on top of a blini.

The varieties of ways you can eat caviar/roe are endless.

If you ask Armen Petrossian how he likes his caviar…nude.  As in, by the teaspoon.  You can follow it up with a glass of champagne or vodka, or a slice of blini.

You can purchase blinis or you can make them.

It is important to serve up caviar with a Mother of Pearl Sea Shell Caviar Spoon and NEVER use sterling silver.  Using silver only degrades the quality of the caviar, and tarnishes the spoon.  Luckily the caviar spoons range from a couple of dollars and on up.

Just remember that caviar hates metal and will instantly spoil it.

If you’re serving up caviar at a party, here is a HOW TO with pictures.

april2.4
You can create stacks on top of blinis. Here: pate topped with tarama au crabe, with roe/caviar on top.

You’ll find that there are a variety of amazing ways to eat caviar.  Maybe you’ll even find a certain kind of roe that you’ll love.

If you’re looking for recipes, just type in ‘caviar’ in Pinterest and you’ll find everything from appetizers to soups to main courses.

How to Eat Pâté

As you can see, I like my pâté with caviar.  I’ve also eaten it alongside a baguette, some French jam, butter, fruit and cornichons on the side for an afternoon snack.

You can serve it up any which way you want.  Try it on a sandwich, alongside eggs at breakfast, or with cheese and fruit.  Some mousse varieties can be used to add on top of potatoes, as a dip, or even stuffed into vegetables.  There are just so many ways you can eat it.

Fake Caviar?

april2.3There’s something about luxury that someone out there always tries to offer a cheap imitation.  Don’t bother with the cheap imitations.  You won’t enjoy it.  How will you know it’s fake?  Armen Petrossian elaborates in his interview with The Daily Meal.

How can you detect false wild caviar, or poor quality caviar?

 

Would you buy the wedding present of your daughter in the flea market, or on the net? Certainly not. You will go to a reliable source, a reputable company. It is the same with caviar. You go to a well-known specialist and let him or her guide you for your party. False balls called “caviar” are easy to spot. You put an egg on a sheet of paper and press. If there is no juice, only paste, then you know this is not caviar.

 

For expired roe, you can take some grains on your tongue and see if it creates an effect like small needles. If so, then your product is no good. Use your nose and smell the caviar. It should not have a strong smell like herring for example. A light, agreeable smell is what you should have. If you tilt the tin and the caviar is very oily, like a heavy soup, then this is a bad sign. Note that a little oil is normal. And if the grain is hard, with practically no juice, that’s also not good.

In other words, stick to the real stuff.  Only buy from the best in the business.  There is no such thing as shopping around for a better deal on luxury food.  You won’t enjoy the lesser quality.  In other words, it would be a waste of your money.  Buy only the best and don’t throw your money away on cheap imitations.

If you are ever in a city where Petrossian has a shop, I highly recommend stopping in and trying their foods.  They package everything up with ice and special containers so that you can get your purchases home without spoilage.They also ship out their merchandise the same way.

Petrossian also has cafes and restaurants where you can sample a little bit of luxury.  Just come prepared knowing the tab will be considerably high.

If you can’t make it to a shop, but want to try out some of their delicacies, order online.  You will not regret tasting the best of the best in the business.

Diary of a Perfectionist Wannabe




French Food Made Easy: Laura Calder

French Food at Home by Laura Calder includes some of the most amazing French recipes you’ll ever taste. Laura simplifies it for you.

Before moving this site to a new platform, I experimented with a topic last year to see how it would be perceived.  Each month would get its own region and we would take a look at all things from that region.  We’re revisiting FRANCE and all things FRENCH to start off Diary of a Perfectionist Wannabe’s relaunch since it was so popular last year.  We’ll take a look at French food, arts, culture, photography, books, etc. all throughout this month.

Each week we’ll be showcasing a cookbook and divvying up a few of the recipes from the book.  This week’s French recipes are from Laura Calder’s book French Food at Home.

For those just starting out learning how to cook French food, it can seem a little daunting.  As James Peterson writes, you could end up using every single pot and pan in your arsenal just to make one meal.

Calder makes the different processes of making French food a little easier.

For instance, this fabulous Honey Hen recipe with Lemon Pasta was so good, you’re not going to want to share it.

Honey Hen with Lemon Pasta
Honey Hen with Lemon Pasta

Honey Hen

Honey Hen
Honey Hen

Ingredients

1 chicken (3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard*
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence

[*You can use Whole Grain Mustard as a less spicier substitute for Dijon mustard.  It is equally as good.]

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Melt the honey in a saucepan and whisk in the mustard and herbs.  Pour over the chicken pieces in a baking dish, and roll them around to coat well.

Bake, turning occasionally, until the meat is cooked through, well browned, and veiled in its dripping hot sauce, 40 to 45 minutes.*

[*Cooking times may vary.]

Lemon Pasta

This is one of my favorite, easy and simple pasta recipes from Laura Calder.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Grated zest of 4 to 5 lemons*
1 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Salt and Pepper
Lemon juice to taste
1/2 pound fresh egg pasta

[*For extra zing and/or color, use a mix of lemon/lime zests.]

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.  While you wait, melt the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in the lemon zest. Pour over the cream and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring to melt.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice to taste.

Cook the pasta.  Drain, return to the pot, and toss with the sauce.  Divide among four serving plates, garnish as you like, and serve immediately.*

[Note: This dish must be eaten hot.  When it goes cold, it basically turns into cold butter and pasta noodles.]

Toast Soup
Toast Soup

Toast Soup

If you’re like me, it’s a little difficult to get through an entire loaf of French bread.  Instead of tossing the bread out when it starts to go stale, Toast Soup is the answer.

Ingredients

6 slices smoky bacon*
4 cups chicken stock
About 8 cups cubed French bread (roughly 1 loaf)
2 cups milk, more if needed
2 teaspoons sherry or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard**
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

[*Note: When purchasing bacon make sure it says “Smokey” not “Smoke Flavored.”  There is a major difference.]

[**Note: You can use Whole Grain Mustard as a substitute for Dijon mustard.]

Instructions: 

Fry the bacon until cooked but not necessarily crisp.  Pour over the stock, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let infuse about an hour.

Meanwhile, toast the bread on a baking sheet in the oven until quite dark, but not burnt. Transfer to a large saucepan.

Strain the stock over the toast, reserving the bacon.  Add the milk, vinegar, and mustard and purée until very smooth with an immersion blender.*  Taste before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cut the bacon into slivers and refry until crispish.  Reheat the soup, whisking in the cold butter at the last minute to give it gloss.  Serve piping hot with the bacon bits scattered over.

[*Note: For added texture, do not purée all of the bread in the soup.  Leave a few pieces as is, but purée the majority of the soup.]

* * * *

Laura Calder’s book is one of my favorites.  It’s a great beginner’s book into learning how to cook French food.  She makes things simple because creating an elaborate French dinner can seem absolutely terrifying.  The recipes are easy to intermediate and everything tastes absolutely wonderful.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Try The World: Paris Box

(c) 2011 Michelle Kenneth

My latest Try the World box is the Paris Box.  Who doesn’t love French food?

This box included La Mère Poulard sablés (cookies), Maison D’Armorine salted butter caramels, Domaine Des Vignes whole grain mustard, Charles Antona Corsican cherries and thyme jam, Clément Faugier chestnut spread, Flagrants Désirs dark chocolate bar with raspberry and two fruit jellies.

The whole grain mustard uses vinegar produced from grapes (similar to dijon) from the Vineyard at Domaine des Vignes.  The difference between whole grain and dijon depends on the vinegar (or wine) used and the fact that the whole grain mustard is not completely grounded down like dijon.

Whole grain mustard is a bit of a staple in any foodie kitchen, especially if you’re cooking up a lot of French food.  When recipes call for dijon, I prefer to use the whole grain mustard in its stead.

The sablés (cookies) are made with only 5 ingredients.  The salted butter comes from Brittany.  La Mère Poulard is a famous restaurant and bakery located in Mont-Saint Michel.  Notables such as Ernest Hemingway and Yves Saint Laurent have visited this restaurant.

All in all, I really liked this box and the Venice Box.  Both curated boxes are spot on for the essentials one needs in their kitchen from these two regions.  They also pick the best sweets to add to the box.

My little guy, Matthew, can attest to that.  He was a little spoiled with his first subscription box from Kitnip.  He assumed this new subscription box belonged to him as well.  He started sorting through it before I could finish taking everything out of the box.  He was pretty determined there was something in this box for him [no, he wasn’t playing in the red filler, he was pulling the food out of the box].

He even tried to open up the mustard thinking that must be where his treats are [he has thumbs, so he knows how to open up jars…at least ones that were previously opened].  We didn’t discover what he could have until I opened up the caramels this morning and took a bite out of one.  It was so buttery and good, I thought he’d like to try it, so I gave him a little piece.  The way his eyes lit up with pleasure…I think his determination was correct…there was indeed something in this box for him, too.

Here’s a look at all of the goodies in the Paris Box:

If you’d like to order your own Try the World box, you can get $15 off your first box by subscribing HERE.