PB Oatmeal Cookies

Pulled this recipe off the Rumsford jar:

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Blend/whip together:
1/2 c (1 stick) salted butter
1/2 c peanut butter (I used crunchy, mmm...)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 c milk

Sift/whisk together:
1 c oatmeal
1-3/4 c all purpose flour
2-1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Stir butter mixture into flour mixture. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment, use fork dipped in warm water to make criss-cross pattern.  Bake at 375F for 7-8 minutes.  Makes about 3 dozen.

two.sentenc.es

New e-mail policy.


I like this concept.  Treat e-mail more like SMS, assume a character limit.  Instead of trying to track characters, just limit sentences- maximum 5 sentence response.

I love the power of e-mail.  When I started in my current position, I quickly realized that my boss responded to e-mail from his blackberry +90% of the time. I started posing my questions to him in multiple choice; A, B, C. I got responses from him faster than any of my peers, even on complex issues.

p.s. Each of the choices I posed to my boss were answers I was happy living with.  He had control and I always won.

Sailboats (part 1)

So, there's been an utter lack of real posts here lately.  A recipe, a link, a musing... but nothing with substance that's truly my voice. 

Well, in the process of cleaning out my inbox I ran across this conversation with my dear BFF and thought, surely, other people will laugh/cringe with me.  I can't possibly be the only one with this fear.  So, here you go, another piece of me.  (I'll have you know that when it comes to the ocean I am, afterall, that small.)

BFF: Sail boats are very peaceful by the way. I don’t know why they scare you either. Have you really escalated to that kind of control chica that you can’t let go enough to let a boat buoy you up? Lol! What would Dad say? Or is “The Other Woman” different from a Sailboat?

ME: And yes, I am totally, completely, freaked out by sailboats. For that matter, I'm totally, completely freaked out by 3 meter diving boards. A sail boat, a real one that is, asks you to not only conquer that fear, but to grasp it going 30 miles an hour on the open, and unpredictable, sea. Without a seat belt, roll cage, or helmet. I trust mechanical things more than I trust the ocean. If I want to feel the wind in my hair, I'll ride a rollercoaster.


See... I've hit water the wrong way from three feet and it's painful. Pain you don't easily forget, painful. Add speed, and many other variables, and my brain says "run away". So sailing... thanks, but no thanks. The boats are very pretty, and I've even step foot on a lovely catamaran while docked at the long beach boat show and found myself wondering for real if I could give up everything else and live on it. But no. I would want to idle in the harbor. Stan would want to see how fast it could go (and that means I'd be hanging out in the dinghy until he got back to the harbor).

My Dad's boat sorta freaks me out, except that I know that the walls of it are filled with foam so that even if it completely filled with water, it would still float enough for all the passengers to stand waist-high in water - inside of it. Which, funny story... we changed our course on the way back from Catalina once, to check out a whale we saw in the distance. My Dad wasn't paying attention to the waves... he was steering into them (ish) and I was standing in the open front taking pictures (not looking where we were going, he was driving, or so I thought). And a wave came over the bow. Completely. A 4" wall of water, right over the front edge. I was drenched. Shocked and drenched. None worse for the wear, thankfully.

But you must respect the water. The water is NOT your friend. It has no compassion, nor do the critters contained therein. Bah.

If that makes me a control freak, so be it. I prefer my water chlorinated, with high visibility and minimal unknowns.

Now. I'm going to go heat up my lunch and let my blood pressure reduce. Just talking about it freaks me out a little. I'm able to not think about this stupid fear any other day of the week. Seeing a sailboat doesn't freak me out, but having to dissect the fear, that's a little different. I'll just look at the pretty picture. Thanks.

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There's a Hummus Among Us

My favorite hummus recipes... You'll want a food processor for these - borrow one if you have to (or do like I did; piece-meal the individual parts on eBay and pay less than half retail price).

Cilantro-Lime Hummus

Unlike traditional hummus, this is a low-fat alternative, since it does not contain any tahini. Critics of hummus and cilantro have both devoured this recipe. Great with a Mexican menu.  Often found with the label "I'm not Guac." when I share it with friends.

2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (peeled if you have time)
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 bunch fresh cilantro (washed, tearing the bunch off the stems in one big twist, discard stems)
1 small garlic clove, chopped - or 1 heaping spoon jarred garlic
3-5 T fresh lime juice (2 medium-large limes)
3/4 teaspoon salt

Purée chickpeas with sour cream, garlic, lime juice, and salt in a food processor, add cilantro and blend until smooth. (peeling the chickpeas will give a smoother end product; grab them with thumb and 2 fingers, point of pea pointing toward the palm of your hand and squeeze, toss the skin into a bowl nearby and trash).

Serve with pita or tortilla chips and carrots. Red bell peppers are also yummy!

Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Most people seem to enjoy this best cold.

(Modified from Chickpea Cilantro Dip with Grilled Pita and Carrot Sticks)



Low-Fat Lemon Hummus
This is so fresh and light with all the lovely flavors of a traditional hummus.

2 heaping teaspoons jarred garlic (or 2 large garlic cloves, chopped)
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2 T plain nonfat yogurt
2 T tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Mince garlic in processor. Add remaining ingredients; blend until coarse puree forms, occasionally scraping down sides of work bowl. Season hummus to taste with salt and pepper (I like white pepper). Transfer to a small bowl and serve with pitas/ pita chips and veggies.

Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

(Recipe from Hummus with Yogurt and Lemon)

Pretty Snow

20 worst passwords - and my new favorite toy

A new article showing the 20 worst passwords, and my new favorite toy, Wordle!:

Go... Somewhere!

Picture of the sign for our Go! message series at church.  Very cool.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs

I love this recipe!  Serve over baked potatoes with your veggie of choice and it makes enough for 2 meals + some leftovers! I've made some modifications from the original recipe, here's my (better) version.  Lovely spooned over baked or mashed potatoes.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs
400 degrees - 16 minutes

2lbs lean ground beef (or turkey, or a combination)
1 pkg stove top stuffing mix (I like the whole wheat)
1 cup water
2 large eggs

1 bottle (16 oz) barbecue sauce
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce

In a large bowl, combine meat, stuffing mix, eggs and water.  Roll into 1-1/2" balls and place on foil-lined, greased (spray olive oil) cookie sheet.  You should have about 60 meatballs.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 16 minutes.

While meatballs are baking:
Combine in large pot or saucepan the cranberry sauce and bbq sauce over medium heat, stirring well to melt the cranberry jelly.  When meatballs are cooked, remove from oven and stir into sauce in pot.  Serve hot.

Saving a batch for later: (possibly my favorite part of this recipe)
Reserve half of the sauce and half of the meatballs before combining in sauce.  Put sauce in a quart freezer bag, lay flat.  Place cooled meatballs in gallon freezer bag with sauce bag on top.  To serve: Thaw sauce and meatballs then combine in pot.  Cook over low-medium heat until warm.  Serve.

A Return To Slavery...

One Progressive Step at a Time

Interesting blog post you might check out. 

-Strip away the rheteric, boil it all down; forcing one person to do something for the benefit of another = slavery.  Makes you cringe, right?

-Punishing the young.  Not typical; watch out young people.  Oh, yeah, and you rich capitalist buggars too- but then, you're accustomed to being in the government's sights.

Contact your Senator or Congressional Representative now.  Tell them you don't want their idea of health care reform.  (personally, I'm for tort reform and allowing insurers/policies to travel across state lines instead of this comprehensive hooey - if after 5 years of reform we still don't see improvement, then consider a complete government run overhaul)  See, I'm in that 70% that works for a company that provides really great insurance - and I wouldn't have accepted their offer unless it did.  It's call choice.  Use it or lose it...
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Free eBook - What Matters Now

Thought you might enjoy reading this eBook.  What Matters Now

It's a bunch of 1 page musings on what matters now (Vision, Generosity, Ease, Meaning, Dignity, Fear, Enrichment, 1%, Excellence, etc.) by people like Seth Godin, Jessica Hagy, Hugh MacLeod, Elizabeth Gilbert, Chris Meyer, and a whole host of other big thinkers.  And well, if you don't enjoy it, no loss - it was afterall free! 

Cranberry Apple Compote

This is AMAZING over french toast (egg-nog or other) and has become a staple for Christmas brunch.

Cran-Apple Compote
2 c apple cider
6 t light corn syrup (you could also use maple syrup)
2 T dark brown sugar
6-8 T unsalted butter

3 apples, diced
2 c cranberries, washed and picked over
1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 t vanilla

Whisk apple cider, syrup and brown sugar in heavy saucepan over high head until reduced to about 1 cup (about 15 minutes).  Add half of butter and whisk until melted.  Remove from heat.

Melt remaining half of butter in large skillet over medium heat, add apples, sauté 2 minutes.  Stir in cider mixture, boil until syrup consistency (about 6 minutes).  Stir in vanilla.  Serve warm.

Executive Presence

Forget Executive Presence, we're talking presence, period.  These are good things for everyone to be mindful of and try to improve on.  Pretty straightforward too:

http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=3193&tag=content;col1

FABULOUS topper

I know it's just an infatuation, but look at this amazing jacket by Ann Taylor!! 

I love Ann Taylor clothes, classic, streamlined, but not too simple... mmm... now, just how to afford them!  At least window shopping is free.

Funny Bones

Found this in one of Epicurious' recipe collections for Halloween, thought it was an adorably light-hearted take on traditional Halloween goodies! It was a big hit at Alex's school party and was rather quite easy to make.

I used 50/50 white chocolate chips and almond bark to reduce the cost (and because I had leftover almond bark to be used up). I also made my own double boiler by using a pot half-full of water on low with a SS bowl over. Make sure you don't exceed 120 degrees F or you'll wreck your chocolate!! Use a digital or candy thermometer if you're not sure. I used a plain ol' dinner fork and was able to turn out 200+ of these in about 2 hours. Hubby helped putting on mallows after I finished the trial run batch worth. I stored them in airtight containers with parchment paper between the layers for 1 week before packaging (as seen above).

I'm reminded, once again, never to play with chocolate unless you're using a double boiler!! Makes the whole process so much better.

Next: White chocolate covered fresh cranberries!!

You know you're old when...

completing an online form you have to scroll to find the year you were born. *sigh*

What I want out of work...

This!  This is what I want to say to prospective employers.  Please read and excuse me while I re-write my resume:

“You can hire any number of people who will go through the motions and do a perfectly adequate job for you. But I will do an outstanding job if you give me the right tools to do my work. That means I’d like access to the latest technology so that I can leverage it on your behalf (I probably know how to use it better than anyone on your staff). I’ll work until midnight if you need me to, but let me come in later the next morning, or maybe even work from home. If I’m slacking off, it’ll be obvious and then I’ll happily let you chain me to my desk.
I’m eager to learn, so give me training and a mentor and make me accountable for my performance. And if I do perform well, please don’t tell me I need to ‘put in more time’ before I get promoted because nothing is more sure to put a damper on my enthusiasm. I have a lot of good ideas and if you think they’re good, too, let’s implement them and not spend weeks just talking about them.”

Footnote: this stuff is good for everyone, not just Gen Y!



Above from BNet Insight Blog "Upstarts! Donna Fenn: The Lessons of GenY Entrepreneurs"


Depending on who's talking, I'm either a Gen X or Gen Y, based on my 1980 birthday.  I'm not sure that I'd latch on to one or another, though I think the title "baby boom echo" sounds good. My parents being of the Baby Boom and me being strongly influenced by them, and displaying baby-boomer-tendancies combined with all the influences of modern technology and recent global events.  (It's always interesting when you try to evade all labels, and then stumble into fitting one quite well!)

Another Trader Joe's Rally

Hi All,

Please join me in telling Trader Joe's that we need a branch in the Kansas City metro area. Please take just a few seconds to fill out their location request form online. You can use zip code 66061 (Olathe).

Whole Foods has the market cornered for health and gourmet foods and it's just not cool. Not that I have anything against Whole Foods, just that they should have some healthy (ha, ha... get it, healthy) competition.

Thanks again!
Tracy

...

Yes... That is the moon.

Not a street light, the moon.  Captured with my cell, so you can just imagine how amazing it was in person!

43 Things

Amazingly accurate, considering the lack of depth in the questioning!

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Romantic Self-Knowing Believer

Thouroughly Refreshed

Clean out the deep freeze,
Start a load of laundry,
Spa pedicure with best friend,
Lunch at 5 Guys with best friend,
Movie comped by BF's long-time friend (who we didn't know was practically a neighbor...)

A day to unwind, slow down, and enjoy some 'me' time...
Priceless!