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
Cool and refreshing – what more could you want from a recipe using ripe summer melons? How about something unexpected? The first few bites of this sweet melon mélange reveal subtle hints of orange and ginger, but the next few bites pique your interest. A splash of Cointreau elevates the flavors from sophisticated to sublime. Should you serve this dish as a salad or as a dessert? Your choice – it’s great for both!
Melon With Orange-Ginger Syrup Recipe from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 cup freshly squeezed and strained orange juice (about 4 oranges), plus zest of 2 oranges
1 cup sugar
1/2 ounce ginger, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Cointreau
1 small honeydew melon, cut in half, seeded
1 small canary melon, cut in half, seeded
1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch wedges
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Directions:
1. Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside. Place the orange juice, sugar, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and syrup has thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; strain syrup into a clean bowl; add the Cointreau; stir to combine. Set bowl in ice bath, or chill in refrigerator, until syrup is cold.
2. Using different sizes of melon ballers, cut balls from the honeydew and canary melons. Place balls in a medium bowl; add 1/2 cup cold syrup and orange zest. Toss to combine.
3. To serve, arrange cantaloupe on a platter. Spoon melon balls on top. Serve extra melon balls on the side. Drizzle melons with syrup; garnish with mint. Serve with remaining syrup on the side.
Serves 8.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. With all the wonderful melons available, don’t feel restricted to only using the types of melons called for in the recipe. Do, however, try to select a variety of melons that will give you a colorful array of melon flesh.
2. The recipe suggests creating different size melon balls. I’m sure the presentation would have been more attractive if the melon balls were different sizes, but I only have one melon baller. That’s life!
Walking down the “white” carpet with a smile on my face and a handsome young man on my arm, I spied a dozen cameras pointed at me. For a fleeting moment, in my pretty dress and sparkling shoes, I felt like a celebrity. I wasn’t a celebrity, but I was something better – a very happy mother-of-the-groom being escorted down the aisle by the best man, my charming oldest son!
#1 – Taking Better Videos on your Smartphone
If someone was taking a video of the wedding processional using their smartphone, I hope they read “How Can I Shoot Better Video On My Smartphone?” first. Whether you’re a paparazzi or a parent or a grandparent trying to record special moments, you’ll benefit from these helpful tips provided in this Lifehacker article.
#2 – Those Deceiving Snacks!
It’s easy to be confused about which snacks are healthy and which ones are not. Most snacks start out with a healthy ingredient, but become unhealthy as other ingredients are added and processing takes over. Here’s a list of 50 Seemingly Healthy Foods That Are Bad for You from Shape Magazine. To whet your interest, I offer you the first dozen offenders on the list:
#3 – Creative Billboards
Creativity knows no bounds, as is illustrated in these billboards from around the world.
#4 – Food to Go or Go to Food?
Every month, somewhere in this world, there’s a food show, food competition, or food festival being held. If you like to travel and if you like to eat good food, you may want to arrange your travels around food festivals. Here are just a few on my food “bucket” list:
For a more comprehensive list of food festivals all year long, go to foodreference.com
#5 – I Believe
“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” ― Audrey Hepburn
Feeling guilty over devouring a two-pound lobster last night in celebration of my 35th wedding anniversary, tonight I’m eating a healthy quinoa and black bean salad that’s tossed with a lime-cumin dressing and served on a bed of fresh pea shoots. I’ve posted other quinoa recipes before, so you already know that these grains are amazingly-nutritious. Adding the delicate pea shoots provides a rich source of Vitamins K, C, and A. What a delicious way to offset the gluttony of the evening before!
Quinoa and Black Bean Salad Recipe from Epicurious
Ingredients for Salad:
1½ cups quinoa
1½ cups cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
1½ cups cooked corn (cut from about two ears)
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 pickled jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
Ingredients for Dressing:
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Directions:
1. In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve.
2. In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in saucepan occasionally, adding water if necessary).
3. While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, and coriander. Toss well.
5. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.
6. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.
Serves 4 to 6 as an entrée or 8 as a side dish.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. Fresh jalapeño can be used instead of pickled jalapeño.
2. Coriander is also called cilantro. According to Wikipedia, “Cilantro (sih-LAHN-troh) is the Spanish word for coriander leaves.”
3. Because I had fresh lemons and didn’t have fresh limes, I substituted 5 tablespoons of lemon juice for the lime juice. With that substitution, I decided to use Meyer lemon-infused olive oil in lieu of regular olive oil.
4. Another successful substitution was Italian parsley for the coriander leaves. I’m sure the recipe would have had a more southwestern flavor, if I had used lime juice and coriander leaves. My version had a bit more of an Italian flare.
5. I used less salt than the recipe called for. I did not add any salt to the bean and vinegar mixture and I only put in a pinch of salt into the dressing mixture.
My BFF (Best Friend Forever) and I have known each other for forty years now. Next week we will celebrate our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. How time flies when your life is filled with love.
#1 – Rescuing Dogs
I don’t know anything about the organization Hope For Paws, but if you love animals, particularly dogs, as much as I do, you will cry while watching the rescue videos on its site. If you would like to adopt/foster the puppies in the video below, please contact the Bill Foundation.
#2 – Don’t Throw These Away!
My neighbor and I were commiserating the other day about how we can never throw anything away, because we know we can ALWAYS find another use for it. In Don’t Throw That Old Pallet Away, you’ll see some pretty amazing ways to repurpose old wooden pallets. Don’t you just love creative people!
#3 – It’s Okay to Be Negative
Art By Tang Yau Hoong
The space around and in between subjects in an image or a piece of artwork is called negative space. According to Wikipedia, “Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape . . . .” Check out these 22 Artworks With Clever Use of Negative Space and see how Malaysian artist Tang Yau Hoong manipulates negative space in his work.
#4 – Pictures of the Day
Photograph by Don McLeish
Who doesn’t love a great photograph that tells a story or transports you to another place? You won’t be disappointed by these Top 50 ‘Pictures of the Day’ for 2012. They’re almost as good as the 2011 series.
#5 – The Paradox of Love
I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. Mother Teresa
Last weekend my son married the girl of his dreams. The venue was the beautiful Palace Hotel in San Francisco where my grandfather worked in the 1940s. While touring the historic hotel, a hotel staffer told me that the doorknobs on the tall mahogany room doors were the originals from 1909. As I walked down a long hallway, I touched several of the doorknobs, letting my fingers linger a moment on each of them. Goosebumps ran down my arms as I considered that my dear grandfather might have touched these same doorknobs.
The Palace Hotel is famous for many things, one of which is its Green Goddess Dressing. According to the Palace website, “The Green Goddess Dressing was created at the Palace Hotel in 1923 by Executive Chef Phillip Roemer. Chef Roemer created the dressing for a banquet held at the Palace. The event was honoring actor George Arliss who was the lead in William Archer’s hit play “The Green Goddess.” The creamy dressing is bright with fresh herbal flavors and goes well with mixed baby greens, fresh vegetables, or a seafood salad.
Green Goddess Dressing Original Recipe from the Palace Hotel in San Francisco
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or minced scallions
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl until well-blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate.
Linnell’s Notes:
The mixture will be white with green herb flecks in it. To make the dressing the classic green color, pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and give it a couple of whirls until it is the desired color.
After this weekend, a new title and role will be added to my life’s résumé – that of mother-in-law. I welcome my new daughter-in-law into our family with open arms, as she becomes another “She” in my life. Please enjoy reading one of my favorite posts from the past.
She, with her copper-colored hair who has survived two breast surgeries and now faces a diagnosis of stomach cancer, hugs me and thanks me for the emotional uplift. I did not know her before she walked into the store looking for clothes to wear for the summer. She is buying clothes for a season she may not see, but is positively projecting her future. I tell her the story of my grandmother who had lung cancer, who denied she had anything but rheumatism, and who managed to live years beyond her original grim diagnosis. She is misty-eyed, yet smiling while listening to my story. We hug again and she leaves the store. I silently thank her for her courageous presence on this earth.
She sits in her wheel chair and waves goodbye from the window. I watch her as she blows kisses to my daughter and me as we drive away from the senior care center. Our hearts are sad that we can’t take her with us, but she does not belong to us and is destined to live in that place for the rest of her life. She has just told us that she “loves us so much.” Her words warm my heart and I silently thank her for allowing us into her life.
She wanders through the store refusing help from others. She approaches me and asks me about the unique sizing. In a matter-of-fact manner I relay the information to her. She looks me in the eye and softly says, “My husband is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.” She tells me of the difficulties of being his caretaker and how she cannot leave him. I tell her she must take time to care for herself. We discuss this matter a bit more. How can I speak of things I do not know? The words seem to flow from my mouth. Then with a look of resignation, she weaves her way back through the racks of clothes and is gone. I silently thank her for her lesson on devotion.
She steps off the plane and my family says, “Is that her?” She is the wife and mother who has not been seen for over two decades. She is the grandmother who only knows of her grandchildren by the photos she’s kept safe in a basket back at home. She comes towards me with opened arms and utters my Chinese name “Lai Jyuh.” Her arms bear the strength of a woman who once hid in the mountains from the Communists, yet, as they wrap around me, I feel the soft tenderness of unconditional love. I silently thank her for sharing her love with me.
These are mere samplings of encounters with women, some complete strangers and some dear to me, that have enlightened my soul. Each encounter is like a shimmery thread that I have taken and gently woven into a beautiful fabric that wraps around my heart. I give humble thanks to each and every “She” who has passed my way.
Wedding bells will chime this week for my son and his fiancé. As I happily wade through lists and list of wedding details, I offer you a repost of one of my favorite summer salads. Enjoy!
How fortunate it is that tomatoes and basil both thrive in summer heat. When it’s too hot to cook, salads make frequent appearances on the dinner menu in my house and with the bounty of tomatoes and basil outside in the garden, who could resist not finding as many ways as possible to use these two summer favorites? It only gets better – here’s a recipe that combines tomatoes and basil with the healthy goodness of quinoa. In an earlier post Quinoa and Shrimp Salad, I explained why quinoa is a nutritional gem; these tiny seeds contain a balanced set of essential amino acids, making them complete proteins, and are a great gluten-free source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and iron.
Quinoa Salad With Tomatoes and Basil Adapted from a recipe by Rachel Venokur-Clark
Salad Ingredients:
1 C quinoa
1/2 red onion, diced
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), diced
1/2 C fresh basil, chopped
1/4 C pine nuts, toasted
Dressing Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 T white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. Measure quinoa into a sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add quinoa. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside and let cool.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil. Pour oil in a small stream into the the bowl of dressing ingredients, whisking the whole time to form an emulsion. Set aside.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a pan until lightly browned and fragrant. While toasting, keep an eye on them and stir them occasionally so that they don’t burn. Let cool.
4. To the cooked and cooled quinoa, add diced onion, diced tomatoes, diced sun-dried tomatoes, and diced basil. Toss gently.
5. Whisk salad dressing again and pour over salad ingredients. Toss again.
6. Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish with toasted pine nuts.
As the doctor looked at my eye through a scope and leaned in with a pair of tweezers to remove one of the filaments that had grown on my cornea, I chastised myself for taking my eyesight for granted. I try to lead a grateful life and consider myself fortunate that I have so many things for which I am grateful, but sometimes it is easy to become aloof towards the most fundamental. My eye is fine now, but that does not mean more filaments won’t form in the future. This past week “opened my eyes” on how my world might change if I could not see.
#1 – Bottled Water
Many of us who live in the United States take clean water for granted. We should be grateful that potable water comes to us with a flick of the wrist. Even though we have safe drinking water, many people prefer to drink bottled water. But what are the realities behind bottled water? Here are some facts about bottled water presented by Online Education:
#2 – Workout Food
I show respect and gratitude towards my body by eating healthy foods and exercising it. Because I tend to ignore my alarm clock and wake up late, I usually grab a banana before I workout at the gym. But after reading this article, Foods for Workouts: Cardio from Food Network’s Healthy Eats, I realized that if I woke up earlier I could justify eating a lot more food!
#3 – Forty Photos
The world we live in is amazing and these forty photos prove it. They are among the thousands of photos entered into the 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012. Spectacular images were submitted from around the world and the lucky winners will be announced in August. Want to see all of the contest entries? Click here.
#5 – Just Be Grateful
You cannot be grateful and bitter.
You cannot be grateful and unhappy.
You cannot be grateful and without hope.
You cannot be grateful and unloving.
So just be grateful.
Author Unknown
Fill your weekend with gratitude. On Saturday, think about all the people in your life that you are grateful for and then on Sunday tell them how you feel!
Wait! You should think twice before you say, “Ewww . . . kale!” and snub this recipe. Try to withhold judgement until after you taste this easy-to-make and nutrient-packed salad. The earthy flavor and color of dark green kale leaves are wonderfully offset by the tropical fruit flavor and bright color of mango. And what makes this salad different from other kale salads is the massaged kale. Yes, that’s right, MASSAGED. Most of us know that a little oil and a gentle massage go a long way to relax tense muscles. Kale undergoes a similar transformation after a short and gentle massage. The tough and fibrous strips of kale become relaxed and tender. What’s not to like about eight simple ingredients that when combined together create a beautiful salad and a healthier you?
Massaged Kale Salad Recipe courtesy of Aarti Sequeira
Ingredients:
1 large bunch of kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons
Directions:
1. In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.
2. In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.
3. Pour the dressing over the kale and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.
Serves 4.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. The easiest way to remove stalks from kale leaves is to hold the stem end in one hand and, in one motion, pull the leaf away and down the stem with the other hand. Repeat until all stems are removed. Wash and dry leaves.
2. To cut the leaves, stack several leaves and then roll them into a cigar. Slice your kale “cigar” crosswise to form thin ribbons.
3. The lemon I used was large, so I added a little bit more honey to take away some of the tartness in the salad dressing.
4. Other fruit, such as peaches or strawberries, could easily be substituted for the mango.
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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.
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!
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