Not Another Blog About New Years

I am mortified to see that I have not so much as touched this blog in well over a year.  What the hell, myself?  I have ideas all the time and apparently did not share any of them in 2013.  How selfish of me.  I should probably make a resolution to blog regularly or something, but we all know how that works out.  I resolve, I do okay on it for a bit, then time slips away, I beat myself up inside for failing in my quest to be creative, and we all know that is counter productive.  So I am going to set the mortification aside and forgive myself for being such a slacker in my personal endeavors in 2013 as I share my thoughts on the past year that apparently passed by even faster than I realized. 

In no particular order, here are some of the things that I already knew to be truths, but 2013 gave me the kick in the memory I needed so that I could articulate the life lessons learned and move forward into 2014.

• It's okay to be lazy.  You don't have to constantly be doing something.  The house doesn't have to be spotless.  You don't always have to be productive.  Sometimes you need to spend an entire day in your pajamas in front of the television watching a whole season of a show you didn't know existed till now or in bed binge reading a book.  That is acceptable behavior.  No one is going to fault you for taking some time out for yourself.  So, Erica, calm the f#$% down and relax already!
• I live with the most generous and patient person I have ever met in my life and tell him so on a regular basis so that he will know that I do not take his patience and generosity for granted.  This person also happens to be my life partner and best friend whom I love and it's okay to tell him that.  Yes, this person could someday hurt my feelings or tap out on the patience, but here and now in this moment, it's okay to make myself vulnerable and tell him how I feel.  I do things I don't enjoy not to delude him into sticking around (wow, she must really enjoy doing laundry!) but to demonstrate that my words are sincere along with my appreciation.  Relationships are hard!  That doesn't mean they aren't worth it.  So thank you, domestic partner, for showing me what I shut out of my life for so long and for laughing with me late at night while listening to Lonely Island songs in bed (This is the tale. . .).
• I am never going to be perfect.  I spill coffee on myself.  I will never be everything to everybody.  I cannot fix every one's problems no matter how hard I try. Sometimes they don't want me to anyway.  I will likely always see the flaws when I look in the mirror and feel like I should be doing more, whatever that means or is.  However, I am always improving and that has to be good enough at this stage.  I can't go back in time and change things around to yield a different result.  I have good intentions and embrace the flaws.  That's the glory of being in my 30's.  I don't need to impress anyone.  I just need to be.  Forgive yourself for the shortcomings, continue on the path to improvement, and live the best life you can right now in this moment right here.  Erica, quit looking back to the what ifs and revel in the now, because the now is pretty effing outstanding (and so are you in your own way that is not to be compared to anyone else's version of outstanding).
• Everyone, and I do mean everyone, also has something outstanding and fantastic and amazing about them.  Yeah, you!  You are great!  Embrace your greatness and use it to make a contribution to those around you.  EVERYONE has at least one positive quality and something to offer this world.  What is your offering?  Go out and make it happen!  
• Forgive others and cultivate relationships that add positivity to your life.  If someone is bringing you down all the time, maybe they don't need to be part of your inner circle anymore.  That person who was mean to you as a kid. . . Forgive them and reconnect.  We are all adults now and that sh!t is counterproductive.  Family members done you wrong?  Move on.  And remember, not all families are blood relatives.  Sometimes the toxic people you need to shed share your bloodline, and sometimes the people you need to invite into your family are the friends you meet along the way.  This life is precious.  Forgive.  Move on.  But always always always cultivate the good relationships along the way.  If anything, that was my main takeaway from 2013 was the importance of the relatives I consider my family and the friends I have made into my family.  I recall a billboard for a church when I lived in Boise that touted "It's all about relationships" and even though they were referring to the relationship with Jesus, it holds true regardless of faith preference.  It really is all about relationships in life.  You can lose everything material in life, but as long as you have good relationships surrounding you, then you can rest assured you will always be fine.  Those people who love you?  They may see you fail, but they will be there to lift you back up if you let them.  Open your doors and your hearts to those around you and see the difference in how you approach life as a result. 
• Just because your peers/family members/friends/"everyone" wants something at certain stages in their life, doesn't mean you have to.  Don't let other people dictate what milestones you should be reaching at certain stages in life.  Seriously, get off my back about marriage and a family.  Just because that is the path someone else chooses doesn't mean it has to be the path everyone pursues.  I get that I am not getting any younger and that it gets harder to have kids as you get older and that people don't view my partnership as being as legit since there wasn't an overpriced ceremony involved.  But I am okay with it, so I wish others in my life would just be happy for me and quit worrying that I am missing out on something.  I assure you I am not missing out on anything.  I am happy for you and your spouse with your 10 kids and a house and all that comes with it.  Be happy for me that I hang out with my best friend and 2 cats in our rental here in Seattle.  Seattle is awesome.  I like my life as is at this stage and don't feel a strong desire to change it.  It's okay for people to want different things.  If having babies makes you happy and buying property adds to that, then good for you!  But I am not going to drag the partner down to city hall and start trying to breed just because that is what society tells me I should want or have at age 34.  This was a tough thing to accept this year, but I came to terms with it.  I felt bad about myself actually because of where I grew up and the pressure to want certain things for myself as a grown up.  But not all of us can follow the same path and not everyone finds that special someone in this life or can produce spawn and we shouldn't fault anyone for that.  If we opt to change that further down the road, it's because we wanted it, not because society or family members and friends told us we should.  Less judging, more loving is the moral of that story.  Now go hug your single friends with no kids because they probably get crap all the time about this stuff too.  
• Rekindle your connection with something you love that you set aside for far too long.  For me this was getting back into a choir.  So.  Much.  Fun.  I forgot how much I loved music and singing until I started doing it again.  Best decision of 2013 was to quit procrastinating my desire to pursue this and go with it.  Can't wait for choir to start up again for this semester!  
• Yes, we all have lists upon lists of things we want to accomplish.  For me it was upping my game with my photography, blogging regularly, producing artwork, and doing regular yoga this year.  How much of that did I follow through on?  None of it, sadly.  I could approach this the way I initially did by being upset that I have nothing to show for my year of goals.  Or I could be grateful to be alive and look at everything I did instead, like fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting London and seeing the Eiffel Tower in person, trying exotic foods and beverages, and having an amazing time along the way with awesome people.  Yeah, let's focus on that instead.  I still have time to do all that other stuff.  Today I am grateful for what I DID do, not what I didn't get around to while I was out grabbing life by the balls and trying to enjoy the world around me.
• Seattle is the best place I have lived in and therefore gets it's own bullet point because it took me a 3rd time of living here to discover why I have always been drawn to be here outside of my love for Nirvana and flannel.  Look around at my city!  It's gorgeous!  It's a city!  So much to do on any given day.  But even better, it's still small enough to run into people you know in random places and make connections to each other within a couple degrees of association. I am in awe of all that I witness here both good and bad.  This is my home.
• There is always tomorrow.  Unless you die today, which in that case you sure as hell better make the most of today because this may be all you have.  Now go tell someone you love them and say "hi" to a stranger.  
• Understand your limitations and be okay with them.  This was my hardest part of learning this year.  I don't want to be limited, but I am.  And that's okay.
• Don't let your paycheck dictate who you are inside.  I can't divulge much here without making it sound like I work with horrible people, it's just that I have noticed those around me who make substantial income but let money and making money and who keep up the perception of how much money they make are some of the most fortunate yet unhappy bastards I have ever met.  They are a special breed of human with dollar signs for pupils in their eyes and no soul or heart in how they deal with people during their 40 hours a week at a desk.  I learned that this is not for me.  Would it be nice to be wealthy?  Absolutely!  But I never want to approach the people I am trying to help as a commodity or product or toss people aside because they don't contribute to my bottom line of making a stack of cash.  Every person deserves to be treated with kindness, even if you don't intend to proceed with them any further.  Don't be a douche just to make an extra dollar.  You may not be rich in your bank account, Erica, but you can rest assured that your approach makes people feel valued in a way that money can't and you can know that this is what yields the true reward in life.  This is the year I decided to quit chasing the dollar and focus on being as helpful as possible with those whose paths I cross in my professional life even if the result that approach yields isn't immediately evident in my paycheck.  My job title is not who I am, it's what I do, and I want people who work with me to know what type of person I am through my actions outside of my job title.  This may mean more changes ahead for me coming up, but I say "Bring it on, life.  I'm ready!"
• If I could only give one bit of advice, I think it would be: if you don't like something about your life then change it.  I know, easier said than done.  But seriously, why stay in a rut if that rut no longer serves your higher purpose.  Don't like your location?  Change it!  Don't like your job?  Change it!  Don't like who you spend your time with?  Change it!  Don't like the way you look?  Change it!  Don't like life right now in general?  Then you need to make changes.  Don't fear the change.  Take the leap!  Get off your a$$ and just go for it.  Yes, it's scary as hell to make big changes, but you can do it.  Remember all those relationships you cultivated?  Those people will help catch you if you completely fall, but I suspect you'll come out of it all okay regardless.  Go for it!  You never know unless you try, blah blah blah insert some meaningful cliche here.  Now quit your b!tching and go make yourself happy.  
• Happiness is indeed a choice.  That being said, make choices which make you happy while choosing to be happy.  And if you have a down day along the way, it's okay to express that.  Everyone has them.  It's the moving onward that counts.  I have health challenges that make it really easy to become bitter and "all woe is me".  I remind myself though that I am alive and while the challenges are still there, I am going to choose to be happy.  I AM HAPPY d@mmit and wish the same for anyone bothering to read this.  
• Love in all aspects is fantastic!  I am not talking romantic love here.  I am speaking of love in general.  Showing love, expressing love, feeling love. . .  It makes life wonderful and beautiful and makes me wonder who I am right now and how I have come a long way through many journeys of trying to shut people out to draw this conclusion.  My heart is a freaking welcome mat at this stage in my life, which is kind of scary but also really cool.  So welcome to my heart and to my life.  
• This list is too long.  I am long winded.  I really should resolve to be more concise in the coming year, but since I suck at consistently blogging (and subsequently forgive myself for sucking at consistency) I choose to embrace the long windedness and appreciate that I have a platform to express myself with. 

I think that covers most of what I learned/was reminded of/wanted to share.  What a year!  This was mostly for me, but also a little for you whoever YOU are.  I hope I/You got something out of it.  I look forward to the challenges ahead, the life lessons I shall inevitably learn, the people I don't know yet but will, the people I do know now who I will continue my life's journey with, and posting even more pictures of my cats on Instagram and Facebook.  Cheers to the door which closed at 11:59 pm on December 31st, 2013 and the one that just opened at 12 am on January 1st, 2014.  Kirk out.  

Amazon: Helping Me Grow Continuously More Lazy. . .

I recently had a great need to replenish the groceries in the homestead, but time/exhaustion/lack of desire prevented me from going to the store.  Instead, I recalled those bright green trucks from Amazon Fresh driving around the city and wondered how that worked.  And yes, there's an app for that. 

 

If you live in the Seattle Metro, I highly recommend giving this service a whirl just once for the sake of exploring how awesome it is.  The first time I ordered, I came home from work and my groceries were magically at my doorstep.  The second time I ordered was this week and it was equally delightful.  I woke up and the groceries were magically on my doorstep, just like before.  This service seriously rocks if you are tight on time and the pricing is competitive on many products.

 

My only complaint is something to be expected.  Because the food is being delivered, it has to be packaged in containers that will keep it cool, which is fantastic.  However, the way they are packaged allows for plenty of room for items to shift around during delivery.  As a result, my peaches were bruised.  For the record, they still tasted great.  On my most recent delivery, one of the cleaning supplies leaked a little, but the packers had been proactive by double bagging it so it had not leaked on anything else.  In spite of this, I fully intend on utilizing the service again.  I haven't had to pay delivery on either order because of the dollar amount and the nominal tip is worth it to me to not have to spend time wandering the grocery store and label reading since I have food allergies/picky preferences.  The best part, the items you've previously ordered are saved for even more efficient online ordering.  AND you can add to the order if you forgot something, even after they have started processing it. 

 

Seriously, this is a life-changing and awesome service.  I know other grocery chains have tried similar services, but I feel that Amazon really knocks out the competition with this one because there's more to it than just groceries.  I am excited to see what the future holds for this company.  I remember when I went to them just for books.  Now I order cat supplies, instant video streaming, holiday gifts, etc.  High five, Amazon, on making my life so much easier!

Top 10 Things I Have An Irrational Fear Of

This post is inspired by my hesitation to get into the shower last night since the drain strainer thingie is broken. That will make more sense in a moment I hope. In the meantime, here is my list of the top 10 things I have an irrational fear of in no particular order.

10- Blatantly open drains with no drain strainer thingie on them (I don't even like to reach down into the garbage disposal area if something gets stuck): This may seem silly, unless you have seen the movie Stephen King's It and then it should be understandable. Which leads me to my next one. . .

9- Clowns: Seriously, what the hell is up with these guys? Ugh!

8- Dolls: They remind me of clowns in a way and there is nothing worse than a doll dressed as a clown with the creepy make-up and the blank stare. If you wonder about how someone develops pediophobia (which sounds more like "fear of pedophiles" than "fear of dolls") then I would encourage you to watch the first Child's Play movie.

7- Heights: I get woozy and feel like vomiting just standing on a ladder so that was great when I played Emily in "Our Town" my senior year of high school and had to stay on a 12 foot ladder that was intended to mime my upstairs bedroom for a significant period of time.

6- Being trapped: Which easily ties in with my dislike for elevators and bathroom stalls with tricky latches. I was watching the "Buried Alive" segment on the show Mythbusters the other night and thought I was going to have to turn it off because I couldn't stand seeing the guy getting buried in the coffin while still alive. Which also ties in to my issue with. . .

5- The Dark: This one is pretty typical of small children but embarrassingly enough and much to my mother's chagrin, I had a nightlight until I was 12 and used to fall asleep with a light on all the time back when I lived by myself. Go ahead and laugh. I still do until that shadow starts to take on the shape of the latest escapee from prison.

4- People Sneaking Up On Me From Behind: Don't do it. Not even as a joke. Just trust me and the boys who have shin scars from my kicking them.

3- Social Events: I am a seemingly very extroverted person with extensive public speaking and performance experience and even I still dread the mingling with strangers and mindless small talk. I want to become a hermit just thinking about it and thanks to the current weather situation in Seattle, I may actually achieve that status (I haven't left my house since Tuesday and it is now Friday just to give you an idea).

2- Childbirth: The thought of birthing another human that will inevitably look like an old man or an alien or both from my loins not only petrifies me but disgusts me. Hopefully adoption laws lighten up in the near future because I don't think I can mentally handle feeling something moving inside of me and kicking my bladder for an extended period of time. Plus there's the whole ickiness of water breaking, and blood, and stitches, and something called afterbirth (whatever that is) to contend with. Surely some nice 17 year old out there wants to be adopted into a "good" home?

1- Creatures with more than 4 legs or less than 2: I especially take issue with spiders, bees/wasps/anything that stings, the family of pedes, and those ugly bastards that can survive a nuclear holocaust, cockroaches. Snakes would fall into this category but I am less bothered by them than those listed in the previous sentence. I am cringing and shaking my head just thinking about it. I am grateful to have cats that point out when something invades our sanctuary so that I can get rid of it prior to it defiling our living space. Apparently they are also good for keeping scorpions away, which was an added bonus during our stint in Arizona. Amputees are exempt from this category as they cannot help their situation and pose less of a threat than that hobo in the corner (meaning spider, not homeless train-hopping person).

The Particular Sadness of This Book

I will just cut to the chase here: I did not enjoy Aimee Bender's The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. What began as something I perceived to be a touching story of family trials and triumphs ended in a "what the hell?" moment that resulted in my questioning the decision to finish this book. That being said, I will give the author props for a unique concept and style. The book was definitely interesting, but tedious.

What probably contributed to the tediousness factor is the fact that dialogue throughout the novel is not separated by traditional quotation marks that we as readers are accustomed to seeing in order to process conversation within a story. Also, I kept waiting for a climatic moment and what could possibly be considered that intended moment ended up being too inconceivable to appreciate. I should have known better considering that the story is based on a young girl's ability to taste the feelings of the people who cook the food she eats. I am likely too much of a realist to appreciate the potentially haunting beauty behind this story. Unfortunately for me, I didn't take this into account and now that ends up being several hours of my life I can never reclaim invested in a piece of literature I did not care for with characters I could not connect to for whatever reason.

I Heart You, Laurie Notaro!

Let me preface this post by saying that I have read every Laurie Notaro book published up to this point and have found each one able to be related to and delightful. The publishers who initially turned her down thus forcing her to publish her first book herself should be ashamed as she is a fantastic writer who puts the awkwardness of being a woman out there for all to enjoy. Her latest book, It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy was probably my favorite out of all of them. I found myself laughing out loud to the point of scaring my cats (and probably my boyfriend, come to think of it).

For those of you not familiar with this glorious gem of a writer, Notaro is mostly known for her collections of humorous essays on the everyday events of her life that tend to take not so everyday twists, typically ending in some sort of self-deprecation or embarrassment. She does have a couple of fiction novels that are also funny, but it is her autobiographical collections that keep me coming back for more. Perhaps I take sick pleasure in the misery of others and their misfortune. Most likely though, it is because I believe we all have a bit of Laurie lurking inside us. All those insecurities, moments of realizing clothing doesn't fit the way we planned, interactions with crazy neighbors, being the crazy neighbor. . . The only difference is so many of us women try to hide our idiosyncrasies and eccentricities while Notaro shares hers repeatedly and reminds us that we needn't take life so seriously.

I not only applaud you for your awesomeness, Laurie, but I look forward to continuing to read your creations for years to come.

Barbara O'Neal's "The Lost Recipe for Happiness" Equates the Lost Recipe for a Good One Day Read

Recently I stumbled upon The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal by randomly roaming the shelves at the library looking for something with an interesting cover/title to read. I didn't realize at the time that I had already read one of the author's other books, How to Bake a Perfect Life, which I would also recommend. The title alone drew me in and someone who loves to cook and who perpetually searches for happiness. I enjoyed this book enough to read the entire thing in one sitting, and while I don't recommend doing that necessarily, I do recommend adding this to your womanly reading repertoire.

The story revolves around chef Elena Alvarez, who got fired from her sous chef position at a restaurant by her former mate and executive chef after she was the primary focus of an article that was supposed to be about the restaurant. As she is leaving, she is approached by the owner of the restaurant who also happens to be a Hollywood director. He remembers her from when she started out at one of his other restaurants and wants her to come be the executive chef at a new place he is opening in Aspen. This is her dream of course, so Elena packs up her dog and heads off to embark on the challenges of moving to a new place, starting a restaurant, and fighting the ghosts of her past so that she can open her mind, heart, and soul to what lies ahead.

The story is engaging with its mysterious references to the main character's teenage tragedy, allusions to possible romance, and realistic depiction of the process of opening a restaurant. Since I am a foodie whose family has worked in that industry, I can appreciate how demanding the career is depicted because I have witnessed it first hand. Between trying to prove she can be a success in the kitchen and ensuring she remains physically able to do so as she contends with pain from the life-changing accident, the reader is left to wonder if Elena will in fact be able to find the happiness she seeks. Something I also thought cool about the story was the incorporation of how growing up half-Mexican in New Mexico impacted the main character. There is an emergence of Latino presence in modern literature, but sometimes the emphasis on what sets the characters apart culturally ends up detracting from the story line. In this case, the cultural influences are balanced and tied into the plot very well.

I look forward to reading this author's other two books soon!

Shocker: I Still Suck at Blogging

New year, new opportunity to suck less perhaps? We shall see. For now though, I am going to give this another start and share what I've been up to lately. After only a year and a half in the blazes of hell level heat in Arizona, I managed to rererelocate back to the Pacific Northwest. Before you think I write out how I stutter or didn't notice my spelling error, the 3 "re"s are intentional as this is my THIRD time moving back to the Seattle area. Um, third time is a charm I guess? At any rate, I am super fantastically happy to be back to my beloved grunge originating area and am thoroughly enjoying the experience with my domestic partner, Jacob. So far, I have enjoyed numerous walks, lots of great restaurants, and some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States. I have also been getting well acquainted with the library down the street, which you will be seeing the fruits of that labor shortly as I embark on reviewing my 2012 reads thus far in an attempt to get back into the blogging swing of things. On a crazy note, I have also taken up hot yoga since moving here which is ridiculous since I hate heat (I thought I was going to perish this past summer in Phoenix but somehow survived by the grace of God and the invention of coconut water with electrolytes). All in all, life is damn good right now and I just want to share that with whoever may be reading this. Namaste!

Oopsie in the Kitchen Turns Into Yummy!

Earlier this past week I tackled a dish similar to a veal piccata I once partook of in a restaurant here (I swear I will eventually get caught up on my restaurant reviews) only it's made with chicken and sadly involves no wine. I made the unfortunate mistake of misreading the recipe since it talked about the fresh lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of zest up front. Apparently that was supposed to be set aside to use later for the sauce but blonde me misunderstood and cooked the chicken in it instead. That being said, the chicken was moist and action-packed with flavor. Also the "sauce" with capers turned out tasty. It even maintained its flavor the next day when reheated as leftovers. Phew, because that would have been sad if I had completely messed up a fairly simple dish like that just because of something silly. My kitchen Tourette's definitely kicked in when i discovered the mistake.

Later in the week though I found an actual mistake in the recipe I was using and was able to thankfully adjust accordingly in time since it was Blondies I was trying to bake to take as dessert to dinner at a friend's homestead across the valley. What sold me on this particular recipe is the integration of butterscotch chips. So delicious! Needless to say they didn't last long.

This coming week I have a couple of things pending, one simple and one more complex, neither of which are desserts surprisingly. Knowing me though, I may just throw in a dessert for good measure.

Italian Theme Night. . .

In this week's culinary adventure, I decided to go back to my trusty Williams-Sonoma international cookbook to give the Italian section a whirl. The whole idea is to challenge myself during this quest to become a stellar cook so I made a rule for myself that I wouldn't try anything typical or with red/marinara sauce. I needed to step it up a bit for this section because I have already altered my mom's spaghetti sauce "recipe" to the point that it's going to be hard to duplicate and/or top since it's progressively gotten better each time I make it and try something a little different to add flavor. I knew I definitely wanted a dessert, but I couldn't just do dessert and not a main dish because really anything with sugar is good. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I have a sweet tooth so doing just a dessert seemed like kind of a cop out.

I found a dish to try that was similar to something my boyfriend had ordered at a well-renowned restaurant in the area a few weeks back. The dish of choice: Orecchiette with Sausage. Didn't look too hard at first, but then again i have never cooked using sweet Italian sausage or broccoli rabe. I actually had to ask the produce guy which vegetable the broccoli rabe was because I forgot to look up a picture of it online prior to going and making an ass of myself by asking such a question at a store known specifically for their produce. Luckily produce guy was very helpful and even offered tips for sautéing that perhaps I can try another time. The dish involved a lot of multitasking, but realistically you cannot go wrong with something that has melted cheese and olive oil toasted bread crumbs so it was well worth it. So well worth it in fact that the significant other declared it better than the similar dish he had at renowned restaurant, which is why I intentionally left out the name of the place because it has an actual chef on staff that puts a lot of thought into designing seasonal menus using local produce when possible. I liked it okay. It grew on me throughout the meal because it had my favorite spice, red pepper in flake form. I definitely plan to make this dish again, or at least incorporate more dishes with the not-so-mysterious-as-I-initially-thought broccoli rabe.

Even better in my book was my first attempt at making Panna Cotta, garnished with blackberries. This dessert is so easy I wonder why more people don't opt for this over making cheesecake or pies. Seriously, the hardest part was scraping out the vanilla bean pod (resulting in suspicious cut on finger tip that not only did I not feel, but also did not notice until well after the fact). Heavy cream, sugar, milk, vanilla. . . So tasty I opted not to share the extra with the neighbor, giving him some cookies to top off the orecchiette leftovers instead. If i could sustain life off of the panna cotta (and coffee!) I totally would. Deliciousness!

Yeah, so this week I was not as humble about the level of goodness my kitchen experimentations resulted in but sometimes you've got to know when to own your awesomeness and this is one of those times. Alrighty, it's late and I am borderline cocky now, so till next week. . .

On Today's Menu. . .

In an effort to be more healthy overall, I have decided that I am going to attempt making my own bread because then I at least know the ingredients in the carbs I consume. Today I tackled (quite literally, story to follow) Honey Oat Bread and Blueberry Muffins.

Okay, I know muffins aren't hard to make. Go ahead and roll your eyes at that one and then tune back in because I didn't cheat and use a mix (sticking tongue out at the naysayers right now). Instead I made them from scratch using whole wheat flour and fresh blueberries. Oh, and this fantastic oil I found at the Queen Creek Olive Mill (http://queencreekolivemill.com/). It's a Vanilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil and it is fabulous for baking. The fresh blueberries and vanilla combination made the fact that the muffins were whole wheat less obvious. Definitely one of the easier things I have baked and now I cannot foresee myself going back to using a mix.

It's a shame the same could not be said for the Honey Oat Bread. The dough was perfect. It rose just as it should. It looked lovely. Unfortunately the loaf pans were the problem as they were not large enough once the dough rose even more while baking. The cookbook should have noted that the dough would double its size at least three times in the process from start to finish, but it tastes good even if it isn't all that pretty to look at. And if anything, it was good practice since I am still determined to master bread.

Now the story of the literal tackling and how I put my blood, sweat, and tears into my baking efforts today. The sweat part is obvious. Anyone living in a small apartment with an oven in the middle of a desert even in winter understands this one. The tears came in while checking my email between projects. There was a very touching forward in there about some awesome historical post-Holocaust love story blah blah blah (tears) that turned out to be fake (astonishment at the nerve of some people to make stuff like this up). The blood part comes in because by the time I got around to "punching the dough" I was quite frustrated about the fan I had tried to take apart to clean and the fact it made a mess in the process. I punched the dough rather hard back into the bowl it was rising in (one could classify it as possibly showing that dough who's boss) when lo and behold my thumb nicked the edge of the bowl on the way down and the skin of the knuckle split. Ew, I know. The good news is blood, like alcohol, cooks out of the food when you bake it. Totally kidding. I made it to the sink prior to ruining the bread. The ruining the appearance came later when I tried to remove the finished product from the loaf pans. Based on my experience today, I am considering adopting the phrase "loaf top" as opposed to "muffin top" when referencing the fold of skin hanging over the waistline of pants that are too tight on the wearer. Seems more appropriate.

Anyway, that sums of this week's culinary adventures. Hopefully my next round is met with less mishaps. Then again, this is me in the kitchen we're talking about. . .

Not Quite "Julie and Julia", But It Will Have to Suffice

I am not a huge fan of the "New Year's Resolution" per se because of the chain reaction of events it creates. Set resolution, party it up like a rock star, suffer for it New Year's Day, get back on the wagon in time to participate in the activities contributing to aforementioned resolution (i.e. exercising), stick to it for at least a week or two, lapse, beat self up mentally for said lapse, try again to be "good", decide it's too much effort anyway and there's always next year. . . In lieu of resolutions, I prefer goals or slogans or both. I recall my 2009 slogan fondly as being "#$%* that @$#%". Profane yes, but effective. It helped me speak my mind more and not let things bother me quite so much. This year, my slogan is "Calm the #$%* Down" as it pertains to my inability to relax. I apparently only prefer slogans with swear words, so evidently I am not as educated as I like to think I am considering my inability to use more creative words than #$%*.

At any rate, this year's slogan caused me to evaluate just what I could do in my life to in fact calm the #$%* down and I came up with the following: get back into a regular yoga practice, further develop a skill, write to the point of which I could actually classify myself as a "writer", figure out which areas of my life are leading to such a slogan being necessary and either change or eliminate it, etc. So you are now reading this as a direct result of needing to fulfill further developing a skill and writing to the point of being a legit writer. Which reminds me. . . I still need to catch up on my "New in Town" reviews before I hit my year mark in Arizona and can no longer classify myself as new (nor can I claim ignorance on directions at that point considering the city is fairly easy to maneuver). My skill I want to further develop is my cooking. I currently work for a culinary school and am surrounded by food and people inspired by food to the point that my competitive nature kicks in and I want to be classified as an equally good cook when compared to the students. I lack desire to compete with the chefs and don't really care about doing a side by side comparison of myself on the skill level. I just want to create food that tastes good. And then I want to write about my experience doing so. My goal is to try doing one new recipe per week. This allows me to feed my creativity so to speak on multiple levels, pun intended.

My first week's attempt was Mexican Sweet Potatoes and a Mexican Coconut Custard Tart. I have never cooked sweet potatoes nor have I ever made a tart, so this was an undertaking in and of itself. Luckily the international cookbook I was using includes easily accessible ingredients. I had already made a dinner/dessert combo from the French section back in December so I figured what I had chosen couldn't be all that hard in comparison. Not hard, but definitely time consuming.

The sweet potato dish made me skeptical at first. The recipe calls for sweet potatoes, brown sugar, fresh cilantro, chipotle peppers, and some other stuff. The potatoes get roasted in the oven, another technique I typically don't do. It smelled delicious while cooking so that helped ease my anxiety a bit. The reaction of my boyfriend when he tasted the dish though is what made it worth the effort. I am not going to even pretend to be humble here, the dish was fantastic. So, thank you, Williams-Sonoma, for making an international cookbook I can actually use. The recommendation for sour cream as an optional topping was right on par as well. I will definitely make that dish again, although I won't be able to write about it next time since I am supposed to be writing about the new recipes I try.

Next up was the coconut tart. The custard itself was delicious but what really made it outstanding was roasting the coconut in the oven for the topping. So yummy! My tart edge stuck to the sides though because I tried to remove it from the tart pan before it had fully cooled. Lesson learned. Also, the recipe recommended trying fresh papaya or pineapple with whipped topping on it. Tried the papaya. No bueno. Did not try the whipped topping as the tart is already plenty sweet enough without it. Would definitely also make this again.

The moral of the story: Mexican Night at Casa de Erica was a success. Now on to the next challenge. . .

New in Town: Oregano's

Okay, I'll admit I'm cheating a bit right now. I had actually tried Oregano's prior to moving here, but I love it so much I can't help but include it in my "New in Town" series. The atmosphere is fun, the food is delicious, and the iced tea is refreshing. My only complaint is there is never enough parking and always seems to be a wait if you try to go there on an evening, or at least that is how it is for the Scottsdale location. That being said, it is worth almost getting your car towed because you parked in the wrong spot and the 30 minute wait for a table. If you go, even in the blazes of hell heat, sit outside. Doing so definitely creates an "I live somewhere cool" ambience that cannot be replicated in the confines of indoors. The menu item I cannot recommend enough is the appetizer called "Uncle Ray's Stuffed Artichokes". It's absolutely unbeatable as far as pizzeria appetizers go. I also recommend sharing because the portion size is generous when it comes to the food. That being said, the leftover pizza still tastes good cold for breakfast the next morning, which is really the ultimate test of any pizza in my opinion.

New in Town: Salty Senorita

If you are looking for non authentic yet okay Mexican food and the most fabulous margarita selection ever, then I highly recommend trying out the Salty Senorita. They have more than one location, but I am a fan of the one in Scottsdale (of course) because of its outdoor seating area that allows you ample people watching opportunities. Plus, you can't go wrong with a place that offers over 50 different margaritas. After one of those, you won't care what the food is like although I must say I am a fan of the chips and salsa. They also have a happy hour so this place makes a good stop on the way home from a long work day.

New in Town: Flirt Salon in Tempe

As any gal knows, the task of finding a new salon can be daunting even without taking into account relocation. I loved my hair stylist in Boise. She became a good friend so when I moved here and it came time to have the hair done again I started to have separation anxiety topped with the normal switching stylists anxiety because what I had in mind was a little scary to let just anyone do. When I moved here, my hair was quite dark (like my soul) but thanks to all the time I was spending out in the lovely sunshine, since this is after all the valley of the sun, my hair was lightening in a non attractive way (brassy orangish highlights are so NOT in this season). I needed to find someone that could take me from the dark reddish brown back to a blonde that not only can withstand the sunlight but that also looks good on fair skin.

I did what every mildly computer savvy person does: I googled salons in the Scottsdale area. Not being overly impressed by the prices or reviews of the salons in my city (apparently my zip code would indicate that people can get by with charging more for the same service based on location alone), I broadened my search to the neighboring communities which is how I stumbled upon a gem of a place in Tempe known as Flirt Salon. I thought the name was charming, the online reviews were fantastic, and they have awesome deals for new clients. I was impressed that there were reviews specifically regarding the salon's ability to successfully execute extreme color changes since that was what I was looking to do. I contacted the salon via email in order to get a couple of questions answered and had a response from the owner, Yani, within 24 hours so I opted to book an appointment with her. I arrived for my appointment and was immediately impressed. Not only in the salon beautifully set up and tidy, but the friendly receptionist offered me something to drink and a brownie right away. Water and chocolate? Woohoo for Flirt Salon! Now let's see what they can do about my hair, right?

Yani took the time to talk to me about what I wanted to do and to feel the texture of my hair. She gave a price quote up front so there were no surprises at the cash register. The new client special I chose was the free haircut with color (duh), but there were others to choose from as well. I let her know up front that I was nervous because while I have done extreme change like this before, but I have had my color totally messed up before as well. Despite my skittishness, Yani was fabulous. Not to mention that her salon features a product line that does not trash your hair in the color lifting process. Anyone who has done what I am talking about here knows that your hair has a tendency to feel like straw when it has been bleached. Not in this case. My hair felt softer than it had prior to the color processing. I was amazed because Yani is not only a miracle worker, but she is also a color genius. I walked out of the salon feeling like a rock star. I also walked out of there with a bag of product samples and a discount for my next appointment just for booking the appointment in advance.

After my next appointment, I knew I wanted to write about this place. I wanted my hair lighter than before and more blonde, less red (my hair will pick up red tones like it's going out of style). Once again, Yani worked her magic and managed to achieve a color I could enjoy without the hair feeling dried out. Our chemical experiment had turned into gloriousness on my strands. As a result, I would recommend this salon to anyone in the area looking for a stylist who has great attention to detail, patience for "difficult" hair (such as mine since it is fine but there's a lot of it to contend with), and who is truly passionate about what she does. The pricing is reasonable for the level of service as well. Flirt Salon can be found online at http://www.flirthairsalon.com/.

New in Town: The Paisley Violin

I knew when I saw the name of this place in a Phoenix guidebook that I needed to go here, if anything because it sounded cool.  The Paisley Violin is located in an up-and-coming artsy district of what I think is considered part of downtown Phoenix.  The cafe/bar features primarily Mediterranean food and live music.  The Friday I happened to venture down there was the First Friday Art Walk night so it was a little crazy since there are art studios behind the Paisley and there was music both indoors and out.  When I got there, I was going to just give up since there were no available tables, but I opted to take a look at the studios and see what some of the locals put out for art.  Glad I did because there is some interesting stuff to be seen in the local market.  I want to go back down to that area now I know where it is because the road this place sits on is action packed with studios and I only went through the ones behind the cafe.

When I finally was able to find a table inside, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the featured musician is someone I was familiar with from an impromptu open mic performance while he passed through Boise.  The musician that night was Sharif from LA and he is fabulous.  He went well with my coffee and appetizer.  He is also easy on the eyes for you ladies in town who want to catch his performance next time he is here (he passes through every couple months).  The atmosphere at the Paisley Violin is very chillaxed and of course, they have local artwork hanging on the walls.  This place was very reminiscent of Seattle for me.  Because it was so crazy busy, the service was a bit slow, but the waiter was so nice (recurring theme in the Valley of the Sun) that I didn't mind.  This was the perfect place for someone to go on their own, enjoy music, and catch up on a book.  I am sure it is also the perfect place to take someone else, but beggar's can't be choosers sometimes.  

At any rate, highly recommending The Paisley Violin on a Friday for live music and interesting conversation.  Will definitely be going here again (especially when Sharif is playing).

New in Town: Tea Infusion in Tempe

Tea Infusion in Tempe is the sort of place that rocks my little tea drinking world to its very core.  Nestled in Tempe Marketplace among shops and an outdoor seating area complete with a fountain is a doorway to tea drinker's heaven.  The tea menu is beyond extensive with excellent variety within the different categories of black, green, white, red, and herbal.  You can personalize any tea with ice, boba, milk, or sweetener.  I did try the boba because the online reviews raved about it, but this former Seattlite will pass on what they consider boba tea here.  Sidenote: surely there is a place here that knows what "real" novelty bubble tea is supposed to be like and if there is I vow to find it.  The baked goods are tasty as is the red curry chicken soup.  

So far, I have been to this place three times in the span of 2 weeks.  I have tried the vanilla creme, strawberry, and something I don't recall (probably because of my buyer's remorse at the boba).  The cool thing about Tea Infusion is if you find a tea you really like, you can also purchase it in bulk and take a bag of it home with you.  They offer free wi-fi, chilled out employees with good recommendations of what to try, and plenty of people watching opportunities.  I am in love with this place even with the odd location.  This is definitely a place I will be frequenting so long as I live here.  

New in Town: Pearl Sushi in Scottsdale

I have been relying on the the Phoenix New Times publication to aid me in my quest for new experiences here and boy, am I glad I did on this one.  Pearl Sushi had a very lovely ad featuring an extensive happy hour including cheap yet creative drinks.  I took the liberty of pulling up their website to check out the menu and discovered this is not a run-of-the-mill sushi place.  The drinks and sushi dishes are action packed with creative names such as "Pearl Necklace" (sushi) and "Porn Star" (martini).  Any place naming their dishes with sexual references has got to be the place for me considering my super tacky sense of humor revolving around innuendoes and inappropriateness.  

Sure enough, the Pearl did not disappoint.  The atmosphere was very Scottsdalian in nature.  The menu offered laughter and many options.  I opted for a roll called "rice crispy", a salmon, avocado, cucumber, crab, and cream cheese creation wrapped in tempura awesomeness.  Also tried a southwestern spin on yellowtail that was surprisingly delish.  My martini didn't even taste like alcohol, which is what I prefer.  It pretty much tasted like adult kool-aid.  The staff was also fantastic and very attentive.  Sitting outside, eating good food and drinking good drinks. . . it doesn't get much better than this.  I would highly recommend any sushi lovers out there in the Phoenix metro head on over to trendy Old Town to the Pearl for a rawfully delightful experience.  

A word of caution though: parking is tricky since it's downtown Scottsdale so don't be in a hurry.

New in Town: Coffee Plantation

 This past Sunday I was in need of some caffeine and free wi-fi that didn't belong to my neighbor so I decided to venture on over to the Coffee Plantation I had seen in passing.  Apparently this is some sort of chain, but it is not one that we had in Boise or any other place I have previously lived for that matter since it is apparently an Arizona exclusive chain, so it met the criteria established in my prior blog.  

The coffee drink was okay, definitely not anything that would have set this particular place apart from anywhere else that sells pretentious coffee drinks, but it did suffice for the craving.  The dessert I got was yummy, but again pretty typical coffee house fare.  They do offer food items that did in fact look tasty so had I been hungry, that might have been the thing that gave this place more points above another.  What was charming was the decor, as the place lives up to its name.  I felt like I was in Louisiana sitting in someone's house that happens to have a full scale coffee bar in it, which would seem strange if that were really the case because why would someone have a coffee shop in their living room anyway. That's just showing off at that point. 

At any rate, I will likely return to this place solely for the convenience factor, but will keep looking for my own personal "Cheers" of the caffeinated world.  

New in Town: Phoenix Metro

Just did two things I pretty much swore I would never do.  The first thing being factoring a guy into my location decisions.  I was the last person who ever thought they would uproot and relocate for a relationship, yet here I am sitting in my awesome apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona. . . alone because things didn't work out and that is fine because Scottsdale, Arizona could just as easily be Scottsdale, California and I LOVE me some Cali. Which leads me to the next thing I swore I would never do and that is live in the blazing heat of Arizona.  For years my friend in northern Arizona has been trying to talk me into moving here and I told here absolutely insert expletive here not.  No expletive here way are you ever going to see my expletive here living in expletive here Arizona.  It's too expletive here hot!  That being said, so far I effing love it here.

Lesson learned: never say never.  Every time I have I end up doing whatever it is I said I would never do (for example: get drunk).  Whereas, the things I set out to do (for example: try marijuana at least once) I have never done.  So there you go.  Oy.

As a result, I thought it would be fun/entertaining/informative/whatever for me to write about some of the things I try out here as someone new to town. Something I have discovered upon moving here is that 95% of the people living in the Phoenix metro area aren't actually from this here, which could explain the odd midwestern accent that seems to be prominent.  That could also explain why that same 95% of the population is freakishly polite, which I appreciate going back to the whole being new to this area thing.  

My goal is to try out non-chain places that are not readily available everywhere else and review them so as to keep a record of places I like, love, or would never go back to along the way.  I don't believe people are really considered a local somewhere until they've been in that area at least a year and can navigate the street system without relying on a map (I have two in my car just in case).  Part of my quest in all this is to find a non-Starbucks coffee shop to become a regular at. Nothing against Starbucks, I heart them as much as the next java junkie, but I like to support local businesses whenever possible in order to make a small difference in the world, especially since the economy bottomed out and I saw first hand in the city I moved here from how quickly a small business owner's dreams can shatter (literally overnight, in case anyone was wondering).  Other things I am looking to discover: local musicians to become a groupie to, artsy stuff, outdoorsy naturey type stuff that I normally wouldn't consider due to weather restrictions but here that's only an issue like 2 months out of the year, shopping, dining, etc.  

We'll see how this goes considering my last post was forever ago so I can say that I am consistently inconsistent in my blogging efforts.   

John and Kate Plus Who the Hell Cares

Seriously, Gosselins, get over yourselves and stop exploiting your children. I am beyond tired of hearing about these people every time I try to view "news". Is the Jon and Kate divorce the most important thing we have going on in this country? No! So why is the media devoting so much time to it? I just don't get it. I hope their divorced gets settled and finalized soon so that everyone can just move on to more relevant things. . . like the Khloe Kardashian wedding. Wtf? Surely there has to be a news source somewhere that doesn't consider pseudo celebrities newsworthy.