The Amazing Health Benefits of Complete and Utter Nonsense

Things I have recently listened to people proclaim the health benefits of in person or on facebook.

Raisins soaked in Gin for arthritis
A combination of Cinnamon and Honey
Strawberries for teeth whitening
A combination of lemon, ginger, garlic, honey, pineapple, and cayenne in lieu of a flu shot
Bananas
WD-40 also for arthritis

Obviously some of these are less bunk than others, and most won't hurt you as long as you don't take them in lieu of treatments you've been prescribed (with the notable exception of spraying yourself with WD-40).

However, I'd really just like to see someone I know post a long missive or an infographic about the amazing health benefits of broccoli.

A Real Maine Winter

It was seven degrees when I woke up this morning. And I walked my dogs anyway! (I think I've got the doggie-mom of the year award pretty much in the bank. :P)
I've been saying that after last winter's mildness, I've been ready to tackle a "real Maine winter" and so far, it looks like I might get my wish. After two blizzards over the course of a week and this current stretch of bright, sunny, freeeeeeeezing days, I have a few thoughts.
1) Rice bags are essential. The one I made last winter has become my security blanket- I nuke it for a few minutes, then take it to bed every night. So toasty! (Benjy complains that it smells like cream of wheat, but that's a small price to pay.)
2) Winter isn't so bad until I have to move my car. I've had two instances where it's taken about 20 minutes and the help of either friendly neighbors or Benjy to shovel and rock my way out of on-street parking. It's waaaay easier to not go anywhere.
3) I've worn the same sweatpants and sweat shirt combo for several days in a row and I'm not ashamed.
4) Ski socks aren't just for skiing. After carefully stalking Smartwool sales, I now have a pair for every day of the week. Their socks are expensive, even when they're on sale, but my cost per use is infinitesimal at this point.
5) Fuzzy Slippers for Life! I splurged on a pair of L.L. Bean Wicked Good Slippers this year so I can wear my aging fleece lined Minnetonka Mocs as airport shoes.
6) Just like last year, my urge to cook hearty food and not exercise is back in full force. It doesn't help that my gym membership expired. I definitely need to work up the motivation to move around more- if only so I can justify all the stew I've been devouring.

Anyone have any good cold weather tips?

The Artful Dodger

I painted something today! I met up with some girlfriends at Paintnite and made this beautiful work of art. :)

It was a lot of fun and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really like the painting I made. I've gone to paint your own pottery classes in the past (we won't even speak of the disaster that was my pottery elective in college) and ended up very dissatisfied with my creations (I'm so much more verbal than I am visual) so it was a pleasant surprise for me to actually like something I've painted.

On other creative fronts, I've decided to do NANOWRIMO this year. I finished a (terrible) novel in 2008 that I'm very proud of (although no one can read it, ever) but this year I'm much more excited about my plot. Hopefully I'll end up with something that I'll let see the light of day. So far I'm 2795 words in. 47205 words to go! Wish me luck!

We Can Rebuild Him

I thought I'd write a quick follow up to my chair post. I ended up spray painting my chair a very shiny black and I couldn't be more happy with the results! It reminds me of the surface of a grand piano and looks lovely with my kitchen. The biggest problem with it is that I've managed to lose my shiny black cell phone by leaving it on the shiny black chair. (First world problems, again!)

There are a ton of spray painting tutorials online, so I won't bother adding another. But briefly, I bought a $1 plastic table cloth at Dollar General to protect my backyard- then proceeded to sand (w/ 100 grit sand paper), prime (2 coats of Valspar primer) and paint (3 coats of Rustoleum spray paint) the chair. After about 24 hours of drying, it was done.

Well, it should have been done, anyway. I learned an important lesson about trying to do touch-ups with a nearly empty can of paint. It splatters and then you have to let it dry, sand the messed up part, go buy a new can of paint since you emptied the last one, and respray a couple coats onto the part that you messed up. And once it finally dries and you put it in the kitchen, you realize that shiny black paint is incredibly forgiving and you shouldn't have been OCD about doing touchups anyway. Because a) you will always find a spot that doesn't look 100% perfect to you and b) no one else will ever be able to see it!

My other important learning from this adventure is that the can of primer was much harder to spray than the can of spray paint. I think it's a brand thing and may not use Valspar if I ever need to do this again. My wrist and hand hurt for several days after I primed my chair.

Anyway, I thought I'd end with a couple of photos of how the chair looks in the kitchen (guest starring Pancake, one of my cats!). I took them with my cell phone so I apologize in advance for the low quality!

Kitchen Chair

A lifelong dream of mine has always been to have a big, comfy chair in my kitchen. (Dream big, people.) I (obviously) spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I've always thought that it would be really wonderful to have an easy chair in the kitchen.
My current kitchen is pretty big and I've been lobbying hard to put an arm chair against the wall by the door, but Benjy has always thought that a chair that big would disrupt the flow. I've been keeping an eye out for a comfortable chair that isn't too big- and today, I finally found one.
And I got it for $10!!!
I've been wanting to check out the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Portland, and I finally got around to it this afternoon. There wasn't a ton of furniture (lots of cabinets, light fixtures, and doors, though) but there were a few wooden chairs and some nice dressers. I really liked the captain's chair that I ended up buying because it wasn't too big, but was nice and wide and had good arm rests. It's no easy chair but it has good bones and is a good size for the space I have in the kitchen.

I have to admit that the pictures I've taken are very forgiving and it really needs to be varnished or painted. But for $10, I really don't mind spending a little time to make it look shiny and new.
The icing on the cake to this whole story is that when I looked up this kind of chair on the internet, it looks like they run about $145 new. I am the bargain queen!

So what color should I paint my chair?

Tempeh is Amazing

I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, (Obviously- ask me about the two chickens I smoked this weekend- haha) but I really enjoy making meatless dishes and typically eat a meatless dinner a couple of times a week. My breakfasts and lunches are generally meatless, which is easy since I'm not a big fan of bacon or sandwiches.

I'm a huge fan of eggs and beans as protein sources, and I love tofu when I have it in restaurants- but I've never done a good job of preparing it at home. I've basically given up trying to cook it myself.

I've known about Tempeh for a couple of years now, but I've never been called to try it or to try to cook it (because I'm so bad at tofu- I assumed I'd ruin tempeh too) until my friend Chelsea told me that she loves to make sauteed Brussels sprouts and tempeh and drizzle it with sesame oil. I love browning Brussels sprouts in a skillet and I love sesame oil, so I thought I'd give her technique a try! Of course, I put my own spin on it so I thought I'd write out the recipe. This dinner was honestly a million times more delicious than I thought it would be (and a million times more delicious than it looks in the lousy picture I've posted), and incredibly easy. So next time you're looking for some meatless Monday inspiration, give this a try!

Marinate the Tempeh:

Tempeh, cut into 1/4" thick slices
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C rice wine vinegar
1 t Sesame oil

Combine Soy Sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Marinate the sliced tempeh from 20 minutes to several hours


Cook the sprouts:

1 dozen Brussels Sprouts, halved
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Cook the Brussels sprouts in a skillet in olive oil until they are easily pierced with a fork and the flat sides are a little browned. 101 Cookbooks has a great explanation of how to do this- just don't add any cheese to this particular batch.

Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Cook the Tempeh:

1 shallot sliced (or half an onion)
Tempeh in Marinade
olive oil

Fry the shallot in olive oil until it is soft and a little brown. Add to the sprouts, reserving the oil. Fry the tempeh for about 3 minutes a side, until the marinade is reduced and the tempeh is golden brown and heated through. Add to the bowl with the sprouts and onions. Drizzle with additional sesame oil and squeeze a quarter of a lime over everything. Stir to combine and serve with mashed butternut squash (recipe below).

Mashed butternut squash:

1 butternut squash (peeled and cut into large chunks- I bought mine this way because I am lazy)

1 T coconut oil (or butter, if don't care that it's not vegan- I wanted to stick with the theme)

salt and pepper to taste

Microwave the squash in a covered bowl with a splash of water for 10 minutes. Mash the squash and add the oil, salt and pepper.

Winter is Coming

September has arrived and some cooler weather has rolled right in with it! I'm loving it- and loving the fact that my friends visiting from the south this past weekend got to enjoy some refreshingly cool temperatures!

Of course, my enjoyment of the weather is tempered by the knowledge that it's going to get a lot colder before I know it! My issue tends not to be with the weather outside, but with the brisk 62 degrees inside the house. I maintain my office at a higher temperature (since it has a separate electric heater that is much cheaper than our ancient oil heating system) and the house warms up once I use the oven to make dinner- but the couple of hours before I start making dinner (we like to eat around 8pm) tend to be dark and cold. So, a reminder to myself: The gym is always warmer than my house!