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Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (10/5/12)

Posted in About me, Community, Health, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

OctoberOctober brings magnificent fall colors, birthday cheer for Libras and Scorpios, sausage and beer, pink ribbons, scary-looking pumpkins and sweet-tasting treats. L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, once said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Don’t you agree?

#1 – Thank a Teacher
World Teacher's Day Every October 5th UNESCO celebrates World Teacher’s Day. There are very few of us who cannot give credit to a teacher for helping to shape our lives in some way. I had many wonderful teachers who I didn’t appreciate until I was older. When I thought to thank them, they were gone. So don’t wait, today’s a good day to thank a teacher who’s made a difference in your life!

#2 – Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who’s Got the Pumpkin?
50+-Pumpkin-RecipesOctober means it’s pumpkin time! Thanks to Lil’ Luna, who’s scoured the internet for us, we have a source for many delicious pumpkin recipes. If Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, Glazed Pumpkin Buttermilk Donuts, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, or Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream sound good to you, you’d better go check out her list of links to 50+ Pumpkin Recipes.

#3 – Cyber Security
October is also National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Watch this 5 minute video from SANS on “how to spot and protect yourself from one of the most common attacks, email and phishing.” It could be 5 minutes that saves you from days, weeks, or months of future headaches.

#4 – Squish Your Pink
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancerAlthough the color orange, as in jack-o-lanterns, comes to mind when we think about October, there is another color that dominates the month – the color pink. Pink ribbons are everywhere in support of breast cancer awareness. But this month just don’t wear pink or buy pink, please “squish your pink!” It’s a good month to remember to have a mammogram done and to encourage other women to have theirs done, too.

If cost is an issue for you or someone you know, many facilities have breast-screening specials this month. Here are links to sites with more information for free or low cost mammograms:

Planned Parenthood

YWCA

CDC National Breast and Cancer Early Detection Program

How to Find Where to Get a Free Mammogram During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

LIV

Find Free or Low-Cost Mammograms

And here are sites to check out if you want to help fund mammograms for women in need:

The Breast Cancer Site
“In just a few seconds each day, visitors can click on the pink “Click Here to Give – it’s FREE” button on the home page and, at no cost to them, help fund a free mammogram for a woman in need. The mammograms are paid for by The Breast Cancer Site’s sponsors and distributed by the National Breast Cancer Foundation.”

National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

Susan G Komen

#5 – Think About This
“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” Dale Carnegie

Enjoy the treats of October!

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Spinach-Shiitake Bread Pudding

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2012| 7 Comments »

Spinach-Shiitake Bread Pudding

The only thing keeping me from eating a whole delicious serving of this savory bread pudding is that tomorrow morning I get weighed and measured by my trainer, as I creep towards my fitness goal. Nothing too indulgent can pass through my lips today and this bread pudding, with sourdough bread soaked in a rich egg custard, interspersed with a sautéed leek-spinach-mushroom mixture, and tossed with two different kinds of cheese, definitely qualifies as indulgent. The few bites I tasted today had me wanting more and tempted me to not care about my training progress, until I remembered that breakfast is after weigh-in. Guess what I’m having for breakfast? As Scarlett O’Hara once said, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Spinach-Shiitake Bread Pudding
Recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
2 medium shallots, minced
1 leek, white and tender green, cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One 5-ounce bag baby spinach
One 1-pound round loaf of sourdough bread, crusts removed, bread cut into-1-inch cubes
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1½ cups milk
1½ cups heavy cream

Directions:
1. In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the shallots and leek and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 7 minutes; transfer to a large bowl.

2. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until wilted, about 1 minute. Add the spinach to the mushrooms with the bread, Swiss cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and toss.

3. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. In a saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a boil, then gradually whisk into the eggs. Stir the custard into the bread and let stand, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, about 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and butter eight 3/4-cup ramekins and set them on a baking sheet. Spoon the pudding into the ramekins and bake for 20 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for 15 minutes.

5. Preheat the broiler. Turn the bread puddings out onto an ovenproof platter. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan and broil for about 30 seconds, or until golden brown. Serve hot. Spinach-Shiitake Bread Pudding

Serves 8

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Note that both the Parmesan cheese and butter have divided use.

2. It’s always easier to cut bread with a serrated knife. I cut the bread into 1-inch slices first and then removed the crust from each slice. Don’t throw away the bread crusts – throw them in the food processor and make bread crumbs!

3. Be sure to whisk in a tiny amount of the hot milk-cream mixture into the eggs to temper the eggs. If you don’t add small amounts of the hot liquid at a time, you run the chance of cooking the eggs – too much heat all at once. As the eggs gradually adjust to the temperature, you can add larger amounts of the hot liquid.

4. Although this is meant to be a side dish, for those who want to make it heartier and serve it as a brunch item, a little diced ham could be added.

ENJOY!

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Instant Black Bean Soup

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2012| 4 Comments »

Mud puddles, computer tantrums, and an irritating left eye – because of these things, my day did not turn out as planned. My gardener found, not one, but five broken irrigation lines in my front yard. As soon as we repaired one and the water pressure returned, another bubbling puddle would form somewhere else. Little did my gardener know that under the soil in this particular flower bed lay a complicated network of irrigation tubing that only my husband, the “Mad Scientist” of irrigation, could create. While I was outside with the gardener, my left eye started to ache. “Aargh,” I moaned. Having an unusual eye condition, I went inside the house to put eye drops in to soothe my cranky eye. Leaving the gardener outside to play in the mud and with one eye shut, I decided to work on a computer project. Alerts and message windows popped up constantly – my computer did not want to cooperate with the printer. “What now?” I asked it. “Can’t we all just get along?”

To make a long story short, my day fell apart and by dinnertime I was in no mood to cook. I remembered this quick and easy recipe for black bean soup and whipped it up in about 15 minutes. Toppings of cilantro, green onions, cheese, and sour cream added fresh flavors to the soup. And a chunk of fresh artisan bread and a hearty green salad rounded out the meal. Although my day fell apart, the evening began with a great dinner.

Instant Black Bean Soup
Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt added black beans, undrained
1/2 cup bottled salsa
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup (2-ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
5 tablespoons minced green onion
2½ tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Place beans and liquid in a medium saucepan; partially mash beans with a potato masher.
2. Place over high heat; stir in salsa, chili powder, and broth. Bring to a boil.
3. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese, sour cream, onions, and cilantro.

Yields 5 servings

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I didn’t have any cans of no-salt-added black beans, so I used regular cans of black beans. Because of this, no added salt was needed.

2. The toppings really add to the flavor of the soup, so don’t omit them. I only had shredded Monterey Jack cheese at home, but it worked out well.

Enjoy!

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Garlic Chicken Puffs

Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2012| 2 Comments »

Whatever the occasion – raucous football parties, kids just hanging out, fancy dinner parties, brunches and lunches  – you can’t go wrong with these tasty puffs! Flaky crescent rolls wrapped around bits of warm, creamy, garlicky chicken make easy and sophisticated appetizers or filling snacks. These were good, but after tasting just one, I immediately went into my “what about this?” mode. Just about anything can be wrapped in crescent roll dough. Ideas for fillings flooded my head. What about using crab meat or shrimp? And what about curry chicken, barbecued beef, Chinese barbecued pork, taco meat, sautéed mushrooms . . . you see what I mean? With this recipe you are only limited by your imagination!

Garlic Chicken Puffs
Recipe found on Tidy Mom

Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cooked chicken, shredded
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

Instructions:
1. Mix cream cheese, garlic and chicken until well-blended.
2. Unroll crescent rolls and cut each triangle into two triangles (when you unroll the crescent rolls, 2 triangles are attached making a big square. I just cut from there following the perforation for one cut and made another cut from the other corners – giving you 4 little triangles).
3. Place 1 teaspoon of chicken mixture on the center of each triangle and fold the corners in over the mixture.
4. Place on cookie sheet, lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with no stick spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. For more evenly-sized triangles, I made a minor adjustment in the way I cut the dough. After unrolling the crescent rolls, notice that two triangles make up a rectangle. You will have four rectangles. I cut each rectangle apart from the other rectangles. I gently patted the diagonal perforations together before cutting each rectangle in half width-wise to create 2 squares. Each square was then cut diagonally – from corner to corner. You should end up with 16 triangles.


2. Using kitchen shears, I snipped about ten chive stems from my garden and stirred them into the chicken mixture. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
3. To prevent any of the filling from leaking out, I sealed each puff by pressing the edges of the dough together.
4. I covered a cookie sheet with parchment paper instead of using foil and cooking spray. Mine were done in about 12 minutes, but all ovens vary in temperature accuracy. You’ll want to check them at least 10 minutes into the baking process.
5. I transferred the puffs to a wire rack to cool – just so the bottoms wouldn’t have a chance to get soggy.
6. This recipe could be made even easier by using a rotisserie chicken or canned chicken instead of cooking chicken yourself.

Enjoy!

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Helen’s Buttermilk Skyscrapers

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2012| 2 Comments »

Light, fluffy, buttermilk biscuits, hot out of the oven, sit on the kitchen counter waiting to be slathered with butter and honey. When gently pried apart, the crisp exteriors yield to delectable oh-so-tender interiors. Having eaten my share of convenient, store-bought, “canned” biscuits in the past, there’s still nothing better or as welcoming in the morning to me as a basket of warm homemade biscuits. This is breakfast, very simply, at it’s best!

Helen’s Buttermilk Skyscrapers
As featured in the As American as Apple Pie cookbook by Phillip Stephen Schulz

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup (1-1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, plus 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a knife. Blend with a pastry blender until the texture of coarse crumbs.

3. Stir in the buttermilk with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. Knead briefly on a lightly floured board. Roll dough out 1¼ inches thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds and arrange with sides touching in a buttered 9-inch square cake pan. Brush the tops with the melted butter. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Makes 8 or 9 large biscuits

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Keep the butter in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it. The butter needs to be well-chilled, so that it forms small pockets of fat in the biscuit dough. The fat must melt during the baking process and not the dough-making process. As the butter pockets melt, CO2 from the leavening agents takes their place and makes the biscuits rise and become fluffy.

2. The less you handle the dough, the more tender your biscuits will be. Overworking the dough develops gluten and breaks down the butter pockets.

3. Biscuits are baked quickly, hence the super hot oven. Because of this and the butter coating on top, watch these biscuits carefully after about 15 minutes in the oven. The tops can turn very dark or burn if you’re not paying attention to them.

4. For best results, make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh and not close to their expiring date.

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/31/12)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Kids, Photography, Recipes, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

One penny, one lottery ticket, and one ounce of luck . . . that’s all it takes. Who doesn’t like the thrill of potentially winning something? That’s what I thought when I made these fish-lottery favors. Wanting to combine a fun activity with a fish-themed party favor, I created these “Lucky in Love” fish for all the guests at my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Since I never throw anything “useful” away, I was elated to find a use for a stack of paper fish frames that remained after cutting out 300 paper fish for the wedding. After carefully cutting the fish silhouettes apart, I glued colored paper behind them. Then with repositionable adhesive, I attached a lottery ticket to the paper and added a “fish eye” or penny for scratching. One fun idea, one way to repurpose, and more than one winner!

#1 – One Body, One Site
Thanks to the wedding, for the first time in my life, I’ve been exercising seriously on a regular basis. I’ve learned that I can get a thorough workout with very little equipment – so basically there is no excuse for not exercising! Whatever exercise equipment you have at your disposal, you’ll want to check out excercise.com for its list of exercises and videos. Whether you have no equipment at home or only a set of dumbbells or only an elliptical trainer, this site has exercises for you to do!

#2 – One Day

Photograph by Lee Jeffries

One day a man with a camera sees a homeless woman and takes her photo. The result of that experience is a collection of black and white images taken by photographer Lee Jeffries. He has journeyed across the world and into his heart to capture faces of the homeless. Through his powerful portraits, Mr. Jeffries emotionally affirms the saying that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.”

#3 – Cooking for One or Two
The kids are all gone. No more cooking for my army of hungry children. It’s been a difficult adjustment for me to scale back on the amount of food I buy and prepare, but I’m slowly adapting. If, like me, you find you are now cooking for one or two, you may want to check out these recipes that are formulated to serve only one or two people.

#4 – Create One Meaningful Life
You’ve got only one life, so make it meaningful. From GPS for the Soul comes this article Tools for Creating a Meaningful Life. Ira Israel, the author gives us 10 things to be mindful of as we go about our lives.

#5 – One Thing

This weekend – do one thing that you’ve always wanted to do, but never have!

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Georgia Coke Barbecue Sauce

Posted in About me, Husbands, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Despite an effort to cut back on our consumption of meat, my husband surprised me this weekend by buying two whole tri-tip roasts. The bargain package of meat he grilled will certainly last us a while. More simply put, with only two of us at home, we each have one roast to eat up! The plus side of having so much cooked meat is I get a temporary reprieve from cooking dinner. The negative side of it is you can bet the dog is going to find beef mixed in with his low cholesterol kibble and I’m going to need to prevent sliced-tri-tip-boredom by being creative. Off the top of my head, I’m planning French Dip sandwiches and sliced beef salads. I’m also thinking of a few sauces that pair nicely with grilled beef. One obvious example is barbecue sauce. Here’s an easy recipe that uses ingredients that most of us have at home. You’ll notice that there is no sugar listed – don’t need any, thanks to the ketchup and the Coca-Cola!

Georgia Coke Barbecue Sauce
Recipe from Nathalie Dupree’s New Southern Cooking cookbook

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 cups ketchup
6 ounces Coca-Cola
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion; cook 5 minutes. Do not brown. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce the heat. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

Makes 1½ cups

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Do not use diet cola! The recipe needs the original Coca-Cola for it’s flavor and sugar.
2. This barbecue sauce is good and simple to make, but if you’re wanting one with a great depth of flavor, this may not be the one for you.
3. My hubby thinks this would be great on chicken, too!

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/24/12)

Posted in About me, Aging, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Organization, Photography, Recipes, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The outside temperature says it’s another hot summer day, but the heat doesn’t stop me from going outside with my camera. I know I will never get this day back again, so I seek to capture bits and pieces of it to enjoy and to record in my memory. Looking through my camera lens, I see things differently. Something mundane or ordinary becomes extraordinary when focused on intently. If you always look at things from the same distance and in the same way, they will never change. However, if you zoom in on them, you might see them in new and exciting ways.

#1 – Creativity in the Kitchen
Creativity reigns in the kitchen if you think outside the box. Here’s a series of ideas from Easy Food that are so interestingly-good, they need to be shared!

#2 – Reuse It!
While cleaning out my craft closet this week, I came up with a way to keep my many spools of ribbon from becoming a tangled mess in their tray. After cutting tubular accordian-foam sleeves, that protect fruit packed in boxes, into narrow bands, I placed a band around each spool of ribbon. Each band gently prevents the ribbon from unrolling. These bands work so much better than rubber bands, which can crush the ribbon, or tape, which can leave a sticky residue on ribbon. I’ve also used these foam sleeves to keep my rolls of wrapping paper from unrolling and for protecting fragile Christmas ornaments while they are in storage. Three ways to reuse something that’s normally tossed away!

#3 – Dimensions in Art

Sculptural Painting by Shintaro Ohata

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, artist Shintaro Ohata creates work of art that depict the “little things in everyday life.” His charactersistic style tells his stories by combining 2-D and 3-D elements – by placing sculptures in front of paintings. Additional dramatic effect is created in his artwork by his extraordinary ability to paint light and by his use of a young girl as his subject and representation of youth.

#4 – Cases for Cheer
Here’s an example of someone who looks at and thinks about pillowcases differently. When her Great Aunt Willie passed away from ovarian cancer a few years ago, 10-year-old Madison Zenker, founded Cases for Cheer, a nonprofit that makes and donates colorful pillowcases to cancer patients. Now thirteen-years-old, Madison continues to bring cheer to those going through cancer treatment and is a wonderful example of how someone so young, with a simple idea and the desire to help others, gives hope for the future of our world. If interested in donating funds, fabric, or time to Madison’s cause, check out Cases for Cheer.

#5 – Fountain of Youth
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
Sophia Loren

Tap into your “fountain of youth” this weekend by doing something you love!

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

He steps warily over boxes and scraps of paper as he navigates around the room. His eyes track from the sink full of dirty dishes to the pot on the stove filled with some kind of white crystalline concoction and then over to the oven door covered with red sticky stuff. Paint brushes, bottles of paint, and scraps of bunched-up dirty paper towels litter the dark granite countertop. He hears a sound and immediately turns towards it. Suspiciously, he eyes a bedraggled stranger sitting on the family room sofa. “What have you done with my wife?” he demands of the stranger. With hair jutting out at awkward angles and a face covered with smudges, the stranger casts a stern look at him and shouts back, “What?!! Bloggers have bad days, too!”

Needless to say, some of my projects did not go very smoothly today. I won’t bore you with the whole story, but let me just say that my completed craft project looked like a kindergarten student made it and I made more than one mistake when making the coffee cake! After getting back on track with the recipe, all was well again until the coffee cake rose over the top of the pan and heaved big globs of sticky fruit sauce imbedded with streusel chunks all over my oven racks. But despite all that happened today, this Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake AKA Bad Day Coffee Cake turned out perfectly delicious!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Recipe developed by Emily Donahue for Rosey’s Coffee and Tea in Hanover, New Hampshire, and featured in Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine.

Ingredients:
1¼ cups chilled unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/3 cup cornstarch
2¾ cups sugar
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
1½ pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-by-12-by-3-inch baking pan with butter, and set aside. Make fruit sauce: Combine lemon juice, cornstarch, and 1 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Add strawberries and rhubarb; cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until rhubarb is soft and liquid has thickened, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; let cool.

2. Make the crumb topping: Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour in a medium bowl. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Drizzle butter over flour mixture; using your hands, mix until crumbly. Set aside.

3. Make cake batter: Whisk together remaining 3 cups flour and 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife or two forks, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture; stir to combine.

4. Spread half the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top with half the fruit sauce. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the fruit, and top with the remaining fruit sauce. Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

5. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched in the center, about one hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares.

Serves 15

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Please note that there is divided use of the sugar, flour, and butter!
2. The fruit sauce thickens quickly. Keep stirring, but continue to cook it long enough to allow the strawberries and rhubarb to soften and release juices.
3. I melted the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.
4. The next time I make this, I will place a parchment paper-lined pan under the baking dish to catch the globs of fruit and streusel that spill over!

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/17/12)

Posted in About me, Health, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recipes, Style and fashion, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2012| 4 Comments »

Hand-carried from Paris, France, by my son and new daughter-in-law, these brightly-colored macarons deserve to be eaten while at their peak of perfection. The smooth meringue domes break ever so delicately to reveal a soft and chewy layer hidden beneath the surface. The fillings of cream or jam excite the palate with their complementary, yet surprising flavors. Ah, such is my dilemma . . . should I eat them all in one day? Should I risk their loss of perfection and savor them over the next couple of days? More importantly, should I share them with my husband? Bien sûr, mon cheri!

#1 – Deskercise

Illustration by Tanya Burr

After eating all those macarons, I’m going to need some exercise! With a deadline looming ahead, there’s no time for me to go to the gym right now, so I’m “deskercising” instead. Read Deskercise! 33 Ways to Exercise at Work and come to the realization that you can exercise anywhere and any place!

#2 – Makers
What do journalist Christiane Amanpour, non-profit healthcare advocate Jane Chen, groundbreaker Marian Wright Edelman, architect Maya Lin, and boxer Marlen Esparza have in common? They are among the hundreds of Makers. Makers.com is an initiative by PBS and AOL that “celebrates women who make America.” Watch interviews of these incredible women and their inspiring achievements.

#3 – Dish of the Month
While going through a stack of old Nutrition Action Health Letters, I came across a recipe that sounds quick, tasty and healthy:

60 Second Salad Dressing
Whisk 2 Tbs. regular mayonnaise with 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbs. orange juice, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Toss with 8 cups of salad greens and top with 2 cups of chopped vegetables – try bell pepper, carrot, celery, cucumber, tomato, and avocado.

#4 – What To Wear?
With a high school reunion coming up quickly, a fluttering of emails arrived on my computer. “What are you wearing to the reunion?” was the most frequently asked question. Even though I already knew what I was going to wear, it was ironic that I stumbled across a site which provided a helpful video on reunion attire. So if you need help deciding What to Wear, Where, watch one of these videos!

#5 – Perspective

Work for a cause, not for applause.
Live life to express, not to impress.
Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.
Unknown

Have a fabulous weekend!

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