Back to the kitchen...

So I haven't been inspired in a while and I feel like I have turned my back on an old and faithful friend. I take comfort in food. I love to eat it, but I also enjoy making it. I find there is something magical in the process. A jumble of raw ingredients soon transforms before our eyes into a delicious meal, at least in theory. Here is evidence of my most recent endeavor, hope you enjoy!

Right to Left=Blue cheese bread crumbs(Melt 3 tbsp butter w/ 2 cloves minced garlic and 2 oz. blue cheese crumbles in a saucepan, Mix in 1/2 c. breadcrumbs and set aside)+ 1 bunch washed, chopped Kale, 2 organic NY Strips, room temp, trimmed, and blotted dry+Dijon Mustard, salt, pepper, chicken stock, red wine. Let's do this!

Oven to 500F, skillet in the oven until hottt! Using an oven mitt(important, trust me) place skillet onto a burner on high and in with thy steaks(which you just coated w/ olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper!) SIZZZZZZLE!!!! 2 minutes on the first side and flip it with the tongs. 2 minutes on second side. While it's cooking on the second side, top the steaks with the breadcrumb mixture and get your broiler on at 500F. Put the skillet back into the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes until breadcrumbs are browned.

Scrape any leftover breadcrumbs out of the skillet and toss in your kale over medium heat. Wilt that bad boy! After it gets bright green, add 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup red wine.

Heat on a high simmer until it is reduced by half, then stir in 4 tsp Dijon mustard.

Serve with mashed potatoes and some good company. Mangia!

Enough...

...with the promises and excuses. Here's a new post!

I haven't felt like blogging in quite some time and it's been just fine with me, until now. Maybe it's because I can't sleep at 4AM, maybe I'm inspired because Wifey has a fantastic blog which you should definitely check out, or maybe, just maybe, I finally have something enlightening to share with you.....NOT!

The time I spent away has been nice. Lots of stuff has happened and most of it has been fun. Some has been challenging and some has been distasteful, but I have started to realize that I am happier when I take a few minutes for myself to reflect on my journey. I don't think I will attempt to catch you up on the happenings, rather, just pick up where I am.

Right now I am sick. This doesn't happen much but when it does, look out! I have been feeling yucky with some sinus funk that I am trying desperately to shake off. Come on Mucinex!

Work has settled down a bit after an intensely challenging period of flux. It has made me a stronger employee and sparked my desire for progress, but it has also made me dislike my job a bit. My oldest daughter always asks me if I am going to work, and when I say yes, her response is "I wish you could stay here with me". I try to explain that I have to work to make money to buy things. A big part of me wishes I didn't have to spend so much time away from family and the recent past only served to exacerbate that feeling. I like my job, don't get me wrong....but if I was offered a job travelling the world with my family and sharing my experiences with others, I would jump at the chance. My passion has always been food, but the fire is in need of some fuel. The longer I feel stagnant, the more I want to change paths. I am starting to get a bit jaded, you might say. What to do? I honestly don't know. I appreciate the stability. I don't think I am ready to trade that quite yet. Bills must be paid, things must be purchased, etc. and it is nice to know that paycheck is coming. There is a light on the horizon, however, that is calling me to do something different, something amazing, for myself and my family. One thing that I am afraid of is the time and energy that chasing the light requires. It would most certainly be more demanding on my time and energy and I don't know if I would trade any amount of monetary reward or personal fulfillment for those precious resources. I have to weigh the opportunity cost carefully and strengthen my resolve before attempting such a change and it's going to take some time to get there from where I am currently. Ideally, I would like a job that allows me to spend the days and nights together with my loved ones while sharing my passion for food with others. Wouldn't that be nice?! Now who's hiring?

Journey, realized

I have sat down to write this post more times than I care to remember. Every time I do, I find myself instantly censoring all of my thoughts. It's as if some internal editor with a ragin' case of hemorrhoids and a espresso addiction has supplanted my gray matter. Well, not this time Mr. Editor! This one's got to come out.

Yesterday I was cruising down the highway on the way to play outdoor soccer. Radio up, windows down, straight-up Cruise-Inn! I was enjoying it so much, I almost didn't notice when a peculiar thought snuck into my head. At that exact moment 25 or so people were in various stages of converging on a soccer field. In this game there were sure to be lots of tackles, challenges, and shot opportunities. The success of these are largely determined by the ability to get to the right place at the right time and do the right thing. I started envisioning the road trip as something more than a noisy interlude juxtaposed between being at home and playing soccer. I started envisioning it as part of the soccer game itself. Each turn, lane change, stop sign became part of the multitude of things that must go exactly to plan if I was to arrive to make the play on the field at the moment of truth. Instead of my usual rocking out, I found myself getting mentally into "game mode". I thought about each footstep that I would take, the speed of the passes, how to strike the ball impeccably, the angles of pursuit. In the middle of this my inner editor said "What, do you think any of this will actually help?". "Nothing ventured...", I cliched back. So I continued. After I had gone through most of the iterations for defending(my main duty as a younger player) I dared to imagine myself finishing a great run with a stupendous strike, garnering the adulation of my adversaries and teammates alike. If you know me and my playing, you understand how far I had strayed from reality. Quite far, indeed. Nevertheless, I looked up into the rear view mirror to find a stalwart and purposeful soccer player staring right back at me. He looked ready.

At kickoff there was no rush of anxiety. My moves were deliberate. "Take your time, play to your strengths". The hypothetical advice echoed internally. "Patience, patience, choose your angles wisely" It was like I was coaching myself and playing at the same time. Near halftime our captain had given instructions to play "possession" soccer, which is to say that we had plenty of goals and should take it easy on them. I distinctly remember that NOW, but during the heat of the match his voice was outmatched by my inner coach. It was this coach that said "Put a move on that striker and carry the ball up the field." So I did. Not the most conservative play for an overweight central fullback whose team is up 3-0. "But so what, I will most likely end up passing it off anyway", I rationalized. The midfielder was on me quite a bit later than he could have been and I found myself at midfield facing his challenge. The anxious me would have tried to force it through him and end up behind the ball AND the man, racing back guiltily to defend his goal. This was not the anxious me. This was the patient me who waited for the man to commit to the tackle and maintained balance throughout, coming away with possession of the ball and an inordinate amount of space to play. The dogs were now coming full tilt. By now all the alarms were going off in my head. "What ARE you doing?", I thought. "You have crossed midfield, now PASS that ball!". Still, I nervously declined to heed.

Now two defenders were on me. "That happened fast!" was my first thought. "...because you are so slow! Now PASS", my editor intoned. Negative. I stopped the ball mid-run, just before both defenders could close me down and I cut hard to the middle of the field. They blew by me in an instant. When I got my head up, I noticed that I was running parallel to the top line of the 18-yard box with room to spare. I was bracing for the stiff challenge that usually comes when you try to dribble around the top of the box. To my amazement, it never materialized! What I did notice at this moment was my entire team screaming "SHOOT IT!". I tapped the ball out in front of me and wound up my leg muscles with a vision so intensely focused on the ball I could have etched my name, address, and number into it. I didn't bother to look for the goal frame, I FELT it in every fiber of my being. When I struck the ball, I knew it was good. I caught it perfectly with my laces and sent it cracking with a wicked spin that was not unlike something you see in professional bowling. It bent from high above and beyond the line of the right post, across the face of goal, and ducked into the left corner of the net, just clearing the crossbar at the last possible moment. Unstoppable. Completely, utterly unstoppable. I heard someone gleefully exclaim "Van der Saar couldn't have stopped that one!" A bent rope to the top corner from 20 yards out. Simply a brilliant strike. My team went crazy. The other team rushed over to congratulate me. I had the strange sensation of deja-vu and told my inner grouch "...nothing gained!"

I marvel about how much time we spend travelling from point A to point B mindlessly and how much better served we would all be to make that time more productive. I have a feeling my next soccer match will start even before I turn the ignition, and I am getting excited already.

Just don't ask me to play "possession"!

Testing, testing, is this thing on?

Hi all. Back online for a minute to welcome my lovely Wifey to the blog community. Find her stuff right here! She's my FAVORITE!
Love ya,
The Wizard

New Year, New Post

In an attempt to start the new year off properly, I decided to post again. We enjoyed a fabulous Christmas vacation in Florida and had tons of fun and sun in the process. The highlight was Annabelle's first trip to DisneyWorld, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I have always loved the Magic Kingdom, but this time my affinity was rekindled for a different reason. Seeing it through the eyes of a child is truly a magical experience, as always. As an adult, however, I took a different meaning than I ever had before. When I looked around, I realized that I was surrounded by people from every country, race, religion, and social status. I know this phenomenon, albeit rare, happens in other locations. The difference at Disney is that they are all smiling and having fun together. Truly magical; a Small World indeed. If only we could harness that peaceful coexistence and grow it on a larger scale.

Sabrina has blossomed into a wonderful little baby, complete with smiles and laughter( a welcome change from the throes of colic we have been enduring for the better part of six months). Wifey and I celebrated our six year anniversary yesterday with a dinner at Carrabba's(Thanks Papi!). I am amazed at how many changes we have experienced together and look forward to the next one with joyful anticipation. Life is GREAT! Knoxville is treating us well and things are better than ever with the Shroom. I hope this year has started well for all and I will try to keep this new leaf turned over for as long as possible. Until next time...See You Real Soon!

My Cinderella

Hmmm, what's the best way to remove chocolate cake from a nose?

hee hee

Not too cold this Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Hello ladies!

All I want are smiles for Christmas!

small World

World of laughter,

World of tears.

World of hopes,

World of fears.

There's so much we share

it's time we're aware

It's a small world after all.

just one moon

one golden sun.

a smile means Friendship to every one.

mountains divide

oceans are wide

It's a small world after all.

small

small world.

By Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman

Merry Christmas to you!
Love,
Annabelle

Ni Hao Chopsticks!