Month: April 2020

State of Mind For This Thursday

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I stayed in bed this morning, and went back to sleep. I guess my body was telling me I needed to slow down or take a few moments to simply relax. I it seemed the universe was sensing my need, because all of a sudden, out of nowhere I heard classical music. So I finally opened my eyes to see where the beautiful rendition was coming from.  Naturally discovering from my phone – in case you must know , it was Symphony no 3 in F, Op. 90:2 Andante performed by Berliner Philharmoniker & Claudio Abaddo – making me feel as if I’d woken up in a field of Spring flowers, and a dozen or more butterflies fluttering all around. It actually was a nice change to my usual quiet crawl out of bed at 4 in the morning to relieve my dog and feed him, and jump on the computer for work – since I’m part of a global software company – we tend to redefine normal work hours. The idea of waking up …

Food: Dinner Tonight – From Taco to Chicken Skewers

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I spent the entire morning in line, plus grocery shopping with not much luck in finding everything in one store. What I dislike the most about this sort of shopping experience, is that it is difficult to stick to a menu for the week, like I used to when I trekked over to my favorite Trader Joe’s and picked up the same proteins, plus the ingredients for my weekly, taco, pasta, chicken, seafood, salad and soup dish.  Not complaining hopefully, just painting the picture. Anyway, while stuffing my freezer with all the things I bought  on “I think I might need,” since we can’t just run to the store anymore on a whim to pick up missing ingredients, I had trouble settling on what’s for dinner tonight.  So, I’ve included my first and second choices just in case one stands out over the other 😉 Option One – If you are craving chicken Option two – Taco for any day of the week and then some     {recipe and photo source} {featured image source}

Randomness – But Good Topics For Happy Vibes

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Some good things to know about on occasion,  or perhaps now much more than ever, to help us emotionally cope with our current environment.  Although I have adapted to this lifestyle, now going on nearly two months, some days I find myself very on edge. And then I turn to the positive, to help me through the most difficult of times. What feel good article do you want to share? Oh and by the way – Prince Philip {featured image full credit}

Food: Pickles and Chocolate Chip Cookies

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No, I am not pregnant. But on Sunday, I did down a package of cookies – five pieces to be exact, still wanting more. But I forced myself to stop. They were store bought, and since we have no more at home, and I just can’t see myself standing in line at grocers for the packaged version, I searched for a chocolate chip cookie recipe. But then one thing led to another, and pickles was the only thing missing from our burgers last night – so this recipe for making pickles at home, was another thing I felt the need to share, in case you are in the same dilemma on this Monday.   On another note, have you considered coloring books or coloring apps online? The book versions make great gift ideas for Mums and Grandmas for Mother’s Day. At least, this artist thinks so. {featured image full credit}

What Has Placed A Smile On My Face This Week

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I went for a long walk across the city, through neighborhoods I assumed would be less crowded. But I think I’ve seen more humans walking about the city during the social distancing then I used to in the past years, doing the walk. It was the most invigorating feeling to see families walking together, talking, and while wearing masks, keeping their distance. I prepared lunch for myself, thinking I might eat while I walked, since the park I normally go to with these walks might be closed. Instead, there were signs at every entrance to the park, simply asking that we keep six-feet apart, but take our time to enjoy the park. So I sat on a bench, ate my sandwich and grapes, and stared out to the views of the ocean. The most interesting gatherings in the park were families, or friends, who met up, and sat six feet apart on blankets, and enjoyed catching up in person. I suppose this was a good idea or one that’s been happening for the duration? I …

Food: How To Dice and Slice And Clean

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My mother marvels at my style of cooking, cutting and even baking. To put it bluntly, she doesn’t understand why I do the things I do. So we talk about it of course, while I nearly slice my finger off, from all the stress of her scrutinizing my technique. But you know what? At least I’ll have many fond-ish memories of this time together in the kitchen. I need to stop and explain here for  second.  Cooking in our culture is a ritual, and each recipe is managed in the most artistic of ways to create a meal – where my mother, her mother and I’m sure her mother before – would remind the impatient generations afterwards that  ‘a woman must cook with her meal’ – which I never agreed with as a young child or a teenager. But now I get it. Although, I still prefer quick methods and easy recipes to follow.  BUT! since we are on lock down and I’ve chosen to revisit or refresh all of our cultural recipes during this …

Home Schooling – Adult Style

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Since some of us have been forced to home-school our children, I think we may find ourselves sometimes cringing at some of the assignments tasked to them.  For example, me with math. You might feel the same about science, or history, or even language-whatever it may be in your part of the world. So it dawned on me, to start this series, where I share some refresher facts from around the world to seem just maybe smarter than usual to our kids. What do you think? I mean, no insult to anyone, I’m just trying to have fun here. So if you want to play along, then by all means do so, otherwise feel free to swipe left. 🙂 Here’s today’s topics of learning Hey was this fun or it’s a hard pass? {featured image full credit}

Topics of Conversation From Around The World

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In my efforts to remain positive and a little distracted from what’s become the norm these past few months, I want to share some interesting articles I found online which might be fun for trivia with the household, or zoom-chats across the globe. Call me a nerd – I don’t care 🙂 And if the above is a pass – then consider this 10 positive habits to adopt right now   {featured image source}

Dinner Plans and Discussions About Small Spaces

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What’s for dinner is the topic of discussion every morning when I run upstairs to my mother’s house and help with breakfast. She says good morning, I say hello, and she says, so what’s for dinner tonight? I mean I know you are working from home and I don’t want to bother you, but what are the plans for dinner? and I look at my watch. 🙂 Then I go downstairs to my home-office space and search frantically for a creative meal that she would enjoy also. Because the last thing I want to hear when I ask her how dinner was, is  – oh its fine – meanwhile I’m having seconds. So, for dinner tonight – we are having  this recipe for eggplant Parmesan – did you know male eggplants are better tasting then the female since they have less seeds? I didn’t know, but learned it now.   Also technically, my eggplant Parmesan will be more of an eggplant lasagna – since I will be adding pasta-lasagna in between the eggplant and cheese layers. …

Food: Chicken and Garlic Noodles

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Some ingredients are hard to find at the grocery store, so I’ve been improvising – to create meals I’be been craving from evenings out with friends at a local Asian fusion restaurant.  Mind you, these are not my recipes, but ones I find online with the ingredients and ease of prepping ideal.  Because for me – time is valuable – and spending too much time over a hot stove takes away that much time from the eating ritual in my home – with spirits and loaded conversations – fun ones of course – since who wants to be brimmed with anxiety over a meal? For dinner tonight – I will make this chicken and garlic noodle dinner with a few minor adjustments – due to shortage of ingredients or some I don’t care for. INGREDIENTS 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons corn starch or flour 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper 3 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce   – I will use Worcestershire  Sauce, since allergic to …