Day 124

The one who does not move forward, will be without money.

 Feng Shui

The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.

Meister Eckhart

Fundamentally the marksman aims at himself.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are,

where else do you expect to find it?

We dance around in a ring and suppose,

But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.

Robert Frost

Rose is a rose is a rose is a roe.

Gertrude Stein

Things are entirely what they appear to be and behind them

....there in nothing.

Sartre

The fundamental delusion of humanity

is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

Day 123

This is the only salmon my meat loving husband will eat.

SUGAR CRUSTED SALMON

Make a dry rub:

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cayenne

lots of freshly ground Pepper

1/2 tablespoon Cumin

1/2 tablespoon Paprika

big pinch of kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon dry Mustard

big dash of Cinnamon

Blend together and generously coat one side of

4 skinless Salmon fillets (about 5 ounces each)

Heat Oil in large pan over medium high

Place fillets in spiced side down

Cook about 2 minutes

Flip and cook over medium until fish is just opaque.

Fantastic!

Day 122

Every time you meet a person, think of something encouraging to say -

a kind word, a helpful suggestion, an expression of admiration.

There is no problem in any situation that faith will not solve.

Absolutely adore every minute in this day.

I am confident that the Infinite will take care of it.

I am so fortunate.

Guru Singh

Only think great thoughts.

Impersonate The Highest Being at all times.

Don't you are try to limit yourself!

Day 121

This will become your favorite summer salad.

ASPARAGUS PANZANELLA

Cook 1 pound of Asparagus until bright green and tender.

Place in ice bath.

Drain and cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine in large bowl:

Asparagus

1 Cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

8-10 cherry Tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup Calamari Olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup Capers

2 cups cubed thick Bread (Rosemary Olive is good)

(if it is stale, you may place it in a bowl of water,

then squeeze the water out of the bread and crumbled it into the bowl)

Add your favorite vinaigrette

I use Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and Salt and Pepper.

Devour!

A little chopped red onion may be added.

Use a really good bread - it makes a huge difference.

Day 120

In the beginner's mind they are many possibilities,

but in the expert's mind there are few.

I am not young enough to know everything.

If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know.

Louis Armstrong

The nature of God is a circle

of which the center is everywhere

and the circumference is nowhere.

Every day people

are straying away from the church

and going back to God.

Lenny Bruce

Love and do what you will.

If the doors of perception were cleansed

everything would appear to man as it is,

infinite.

William Blake

Day 119

My new boyfriend cook host is David Rocco from Florence, Italy.
I love how uncomplicated his recipes are.
I modified this to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand.
My husband loved it!

SPEZZATINO DI MANZO AL CIOCCOLATO:
BEEF STEW WITH CHOCOLATE
Brown till crispy 4 ounces of chopped pancetta in oil in a pan
Put about 1/2 cup flour in a bag and add
Salt and pepper
Perhaps some cumin
5 spice mix
Cayenne
Just about anything you desire
Place 2 pounds of stewing beef cut into 1 inch cubes into bag
Dredge
Shake off excess flour and add to hot oil and pancetta in pan
Sear on all sides
Add some fresh herbs:
Sage, thyme, oregano,or marjoram
Deglaze the pan by adding almost a cup of
Sherry, brandy, or red wine
Have a pan with 4 cups of broth handy
(I actually used water!)
After alcohol has reduced to half
add a few ladles of liquid to the pan
Now add the secret ingredient:
1 bar of dark chocolate chopped (Hershey's Special Dark)
Stir in until melted.
Add a few more ladles of broth.
Allow to simmer gently over medium heat 1 hour until tender.
adding more liquid if necessary.

This is an incredible rich sauce with fork tender beef.
Sprinkle chopped parsley over for a touch of color before serving.

Day 118

EIGHT PRICELESS GIFTS

Listening:

No interrupting, no day dreaming,

no planning your response.

Just listening.

Affection:

Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses,

pats on the back and hand holds.

Laughter:

Share articles and funny stories.

A Written Note:

A brief hand written note

may be remembered a lifetime,

and may even change a life.

Compliment:

Simple and sincere,

can make someone’s day.

Favor:

Every day,

go out of your way to do something kind.

Solitude:

There are times when we want nothing better

than to be left alone.

Cheerful Disposition:

The easiest way to feel good

is to extend a kind word to someone.

Day 117

We were invited to a "circus"symphony and brought this mix along.

TEQUILA FRESCA

Fill a glass with ice

Add one ounce of tequila

Dash of Campari

Add orange juice half way

Big squeeze of lemon juice

Maybe a splash of cranberry or pomegranate juice

Fill to the top with Ginger ale.

Add a sprig of mint and a slice of orange

Play with different fruit juices - pineapple is nice, too

Grapes and melons may be skewered and placed in the glass

Or one of those little paper umbrellas

Day 116

From: Be An Angel by Dana Reynolds & Karen Blessen
Part 3

A gentle voice can heal.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath:

it is twice bless'd;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes...

William Shakespeare

There is no unhappiness

like the misery of sighting land again

after a cheerful, careless voyage.

Mark Twain

Life is a great surprise.

I do not see why death should be an even greater one.

Vladimir Nabokov

Death is simple a shedding of the physical body,

like the butterfly coming out of a cocoon...

It's like putting away you winter coast when spring comes.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.

Isaiah 22:13

Treat each meal as a celebration.

Give thanks for the bounty.

The holiest of all holidays

are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart;

the secret anniversaries of the heart.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Day 115

LEMON SIZZLED EGGS

4 eggs
1/4 cup Olive Oil
 Sea Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Heat pan to high and add oil and swirl
Add eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper
Cook 1 minute until whites are set, reduce heat so they don't burn.
The edges should turn brown.
Pour over lemon juice and cover.
Cook 1 more minute until desired doneness.
Sprinkle with your favorite fresh chopped herb.

This platter is an artists' palette
I purchased at the Palm Springs Desert Museum
(also bought a necklace made from black rubber bands!)

Day 114

From: Be An Angel by Dana Reynolds & Karen Blessen
Part 2

Work banishes those three great evils,

boredom, vice and poverty.

Voltaire

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love

but only with distaste,

it is better that you should leave your work

and sit at the gate of the temple

and take alms of those who work with joy.

Kahlil Gibran

It is said that the indentation between the nose and upper lip

is the space where at the moment of birth,

a child's guardian angel presses her finger,

so the little one won't tell the secrets of heaven.

Love, you know, seeks to make happy rather than to be happy.

Ralph Connor

The evening star, Love's harbinger.

John Milton

Love consists in this,

that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Let brotherly love continue.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:

For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13:1-2

Loving kindness will heal our planet and spread peace.

There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends.

That magnet is unselfishness,

thinking of others first...

when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.

Paramahansa Yogananda

A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.

Samuel Johnson

Freely we serve,

because we freely love,

as in our will to love or not;

in this we stand or fall.

John Milton

There are so many hungry people

that God cannot appear to them

 except in the form of bread.

Corita Kent

Illness is the night-side of life,

a more onerous citizenship.

Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship,

in the kingdom of the well and the kingdom of the sick.

Susan Sontag

Day 113

STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

2 skin-on bone-in organic Chicken Breasts

2 slices crispy cooked Bacon

2 slices Swiss Cheese

Butter, soft, unsalted of course

 Sage, fresh or dried

Salt and Pepper

Carefully loosen skin from chicken breasts

Stuff a slice of bacon and a slice of cheese under the skin

Mix 2 tablespoons of Butter with Salt and Pepper and Sage

Distribute dollops under the skin

Rub any remaining on top of the chicken breasts

Olive oil may be drizzled on top with extra Salt and Pepper

Bake 400 for 35 -40 minutes

Or until instant read thermometer registers 165

Let stand 10 minutes before serving

You may use blue or goat cheese mixed with chopped cooked bacon

And chives or thyme or any delicious herb

Always use unsalted butter - then you can control the amount of salt added

Inspired thru Claire Robinson

Day 112

Concentrate on the good of people.
Help them to be their best.

Very wise is he that can know himself.

Chaucer

Don't be frustrated by your inexperience,

all green things inevitably grow.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget the perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen

Karma means you don't get away with anything.

Pray for a tough hide and a tender heart.

Life begets life.

Energy creates energy.

It is by spending oneself

that one becomes rich.

Sarah Bernhardt

The Universe embraces  everyone.

Day 111

This sauce introduced me to the wonderful world of poaching.

I serve it on cold chicken breasts,

but use it on fish and vegetables,
or dilute and use over salad.

From an ancient issue of Gourmet.

TUNA BASIL SAUCE

Place in blender or food processor:

1 - 6 1/2 ounce can Tuna in oil, drained

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain Yogurt

3 Anchovy fillets (optional)

1 tablespoon of drained Capers

2-3 tablespoons fresh Lemon juice

Salt and Pepper

Blend till smooth
and chill for a few hours or overnight

Just before serving

stir in a handful of fresh chopped Basil

To Poach Chicken:

place 2-3 breasts in pot, with bones in and skin on

Add water to cover by 1 inch

Remove chicken

Bring to boil

Return chicken and simmer gently 18 minutes

Let chicken cool in pot 30 minutes

Remove skin and bones

Wrap in plastic and chill overnight

Slice on diagonal, place on platter,
pour on sauce and garnish with basil

To Poach Fish:

Put 1/2 inch water in skillet

Add bay leaf

Salt and Pepper

Fish herbs (crab boil or dish marinade mixtures)

Bring to a boil

Add fish and gently simmer covered
until fish flakes easily or is opaque

Carefully remove with slotted spatula

Place or serving platter

Pour over sauce

and garnish with capers, basil, lemon slices and flower petals

Day 110

From: Be An Angel by Dana Reynolds & Karen Blessen
Part 1

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle

Contemplate the miracles of nature:

the rainbow, the snowflake, the sunrise.

Around our pillows golden ladders rise,

And up and down the skies,

With winged sandals shod,

The angels come and go, the Messengers of God!

Richard Henry Stoddard

Come forth into the light,

Let Nature be your teacher.

William Wordsworth

Appreciate the wonder of all the Universe's creatures.

Outside the open window

the morning airis all awash with Angels.

Richard Purdy Wilbur

Seas roll to waft me, suns to light  me rise;

My footstool Earth, my canopy the skies.

Alexander Pope

Strongly it bears us along in swelling and limitless billows,

nothing before and nothing behind but the sky and the ocean.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth unseen,

both when we wake, and when we sleep.

John Milton

Expand your mind by learning something new.

Expand someone else's mind by sharing your knowledge.

Listen to the elderly.

They are teachers with a lifetime of experience.

Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate

from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education;

they grow there, firm as weeds among the stones.

Charlotte Bronte

 

Day 109

This is one of the first items my then new boyfriend prepared for me.

 It's true what they say - they way to a girl's heart is thru her stomach!

We've been married 9 years.

RANDY'S PASTA

1 pound of ground Beef

I can Tomato Paste

I large spoonful of Brown Sugar

I package of Lawry's Spaghetti Sauce Mix

Follow directions on package.

It's super simple and delicious.

Of course, I add ground Turkey and maybe Pork.

Little Meatballs are a nice touch.

Saute some Onions, Garlic, Ginger plus Green Beans, Beets and Spinach.

Put all the veggies in a blender before adding to the sauce

A splash of any leftover ( if that's possible) red Wine is nice.

Basically this is a wonderful simple sauce that you can put your stamp on.

I always make a huge pot and freeze the rest.

Perfect for sloppy joes.

Day 108

Buddha bits……

Love in the past is only a memory.

Love in the future is a fantasy.

Only here and now can we truly love.

Most of the sorrows of the earth

humans cause for themselves

Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening.

Words have the power to destroy or heal.

When words are both true and kind,

they can change our world.

Where ever you go, there you are.

Our own worst enemy cannot harm us

as much as our unwise thoughts.

To open our heart like a Buddha,

we must embrace the ten thousand joys

and the ten thousand sorrows.

The Heart is like a garden.

It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love.

What seeds will you plant there?

Day 107

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Place 12 ounces of rinsed, quartered Citrus Peel into a pan

Don’t worry about white pith

Add Water to cover and bring to boil for 1 minute

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes

Drain and repeat process twice

When cool, scrape away white pith

Cut into strips ¼ inch wide.

Combine:

1 ½ cups Sugar

¼ cup lite Corn Syrup

1 ½ cups Water

Cook over medium until sugar is dissolved

Add peels, reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour

Stirring occasionally until almost translucent

Transfer to wire rack over waxed paper

Let stand until barely moist - about 2 hours

Roll in superfine Sugar

Set on clean wire rack until completely dried - 8 hours or overnight

Store airtight

Yummy snack

Enhances baked goods

Dip in chocolate and serve with coffee



Day 106

Take no notice of what you hear said on the pillow.

Chinese Proverb

Love is the most fun you can have without laughing.

He who is not impatient is not in love.

Italian Proverb

All mankind loves a lover.

R. W. Emerson

Courtship is a man pursuing a woman until she catches him.

Love keeps the cold out better than a cloak.

Love, an episode in the life of man, is the entire story of the life of woman.

Marriage makes two one – but which one?

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.

Oscar Wilde

The only victory over love is flight.

Napoleon

Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.

Alfred Tennyson

The heart that loves is always young.

Faults are thick when love is thin.

At the touch of love everyone become a poet.

When one is wise, two are happy.

Love cures the wound it makes.

Day 105

This is a wonderful orange cake

made the Tuscan way by Gabriele Corcos of Extra Virgin.

We turned them into cupcakes to celebrate Veronica's 23rd birthday.

SCHIACCIATA ALLA FLORENTINA

Mix together in bowl until well blended:

1 1/2 cups Flour

1 cup Sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Baking Powder

Zest and juice of one Orange

3 Eggs

1/2 cup warm Milk

4 tablespoons Oil

Butter 9 x 13 inch pan (or use muffin papers)

Bake 350 for 25 minutes (15 for muffins)

or till toothpick is clean.

Let cool.

Flip cake out and cover with powdered sugar.

Day 104

SIDDHARTHA by HERMANN HESSE

Part 2

The future is already completely here today.

One has to worship within themselves and in everyone else

the Buddha which is coming into being,

the possible, the hidden Buddha.

The world is perfect every moment.

All sin already carries divine forgiveness within itself.

Words are not sufficient.

Everything always comes out

a little differently as it is put into words.

One’s man’s treasure and wisdom

always sounds like foolishness to someone else.

The future Buddha is within the sinner now.

Love is the most important thing of all.

Look upon the world and one self and all beings

with love, admiration, and great respect.

Day 103

BEEF AND SAUSAGE MEAT LOAF WITH MOZZARELLA

2 pounds of ground Beef (or combine with ground turkey and pork)

1 pound grated Mozzarella cheese

1 pound sweet Italian Sausages (casings removed, crumbled)

2 cups Basil, chopped (may use 1/2 Spinach)

2 cups fresh Breadcrumbs

1 Onion chopped, medium

3/4 cup Pine nuts

5 Garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 tablespoons dried Oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh plus sage or marjoram)

2 teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 cup Tomato Sauce, divided

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Red Wine

Combine first 11 ingredients in bowl. 

Gently mix in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, eggs and wine.

Place onto large rimmed baking sheet and form into loaf 16" x 4"

Pour remaining tomato sauce over loaf

Bake 375 for 1 hour 15 minutes

or thermometer registers 160

Fabulous in sandwiches!

Day 102

The best way to get something done is to begin.

Life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved.

Human beings can achieve amazing results when they are totally committed.

Philip Humbert

Show up every moment of your life.

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.

Henry Ford

When you understand generosity, you will laugh at sacrifice.

Sing every day.

Be overwhelmed with enthusiasm.

I enjoy who I am. I have a positive vision.

Dalai Lama

Love always wins.

Day 101

Battuto means "chop up" in Italian. From my Vassar graduate friend, Catherine.

ORANGE ROUGHIE BATTUTO

3 lovely fillets of Orange Roughie, rinse and pat dry

Make the Battuto:

5 sprigs of fresh chopped Rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley

1 Garlic clove finely minced

1 teaspoon Salt

Ground Pepper

1/3 cup Olive Oil

2 Lemons juiced

Dip the fish into the oil and lemon

Coat both sides with the Battuto

Grill or broil till fish flakes easily

Sprinkle with any left over Battuto and serve with lemon wedges.

It will melt in your mouth.

Day 100

SIDDHARTHA by HERMANN HESSE

Part 1

Never be afraid of failure, never upset by a loss.

Be full of joyous love for everything you see.

Water is stronger than the rocks.

Possess the ability and method of thinking

the thought of unity every moment of life.

Wisdom cannot be passed on.

Wisdom that a wise man attempts to pass on

to someone always sounds like foolishness.

Knowledge can be transferred, but wisdom not.

Miracles can be performed with it,

but it can’t be expressed and taught with words.

Everything that can be thought and said

is just the half of it, lacking completeness.

Time is not real.

And therefore the divide

which seems to separate the world from eternity,

suffering from bliss, and evil from good,

is also a deception.

Day 99

These are delicious little "presents" of turkey stuffed with turkey.

The concept was introduced thru

Laura Calder, my wonderful French Cooking connection.

TURKEY PAUPIETTES

6 Turkey fillets

1 tablespoon Butter

1/2 finely chopped Onion

5 ounces finely ground Turkey (or use half ground Pork)

3 huge tablespoons fresh Bread Crumbs

Handful fresh chopped Parsley

6 large fresh Sage leaves, shredded

4 Bacon slices, cut into matchsticks (use scissors)

1/4 cup Cognac (or Sherry)

1 cup Chicken stock

Pound the turkey fillets between plastic wrap until very thin.

Season with salt and pepper.

Melt butter in pan and gentle saute onion.

In a bowl, mix the ground meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, sage and onion.

Divide the mixture among the turkey fillets.

Wrap them into bundles,

using three pieces of kitchen twine to form round little pillows.

Fry the bacon, removing when crispy and leaving fat behind in pan.

Brown the little bundles on all sides in the bacon grease.

Deglaze the pan with the Cognac and reduce to about 1 tablespoon.

Add the stock and bacon.

Cover and simmer about 15 minutes.

Turn the bundles over, cook 5 - 7 minutes more.

To test for doneness: insert a metal skewer

and then touch it to your lip: the skewer should be very hot.

Laura added  1 pound blanched Brussels Sprouts when adding the stock.

She also added 8 ounces of cooked chestnuts during the last 5 minutes.

Either way, these are beautiful festive little gifts everyone will enjoy.

Day 98

Meditate alone - watch breath and let thoughts go.

I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

Don’t judge people by their relatives.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

There is no substitute for genuine lack of preparation.

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

Sometimes too much drink is not enough.

Day 97

Very rich and can be enhanced in dozens of ways.

Perfect for the cocktail crowd.

Adapted from Claire Robinson

BAKED FRESH RICOTTA

1 1/2 cups fresh whole milk Ricotta

2 Eggs

Salt and Pepper

1 Orange, zested

Place the ricotta is a fine mesh sieve

and let the excess moisture drip out for 10 minutes.

Transfer the cheese into a bowl
and add the eggs, salt and pepper, and zest.

Mix well.

Put into a 8 ounce shallow baking dish.

Bake on baking sheet 375 for 35 minutes

until just turning brown and puffy.

Remove from oven.

Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with olives, crackers or sliced baguette.

Any herb can be added. Maybe some garlic or ginger. Go crazy!

Day 96

Well-behaved women rarely make history.

Good business is the best art.

Andy Warhol

Life is a balance between organization and chaos.

If your dog doesn’t like someone, you probably shouldn’t either.

God is in the details.

Mies van der Rohe

Soft is stronger than hard.

Love is stronger than compulsion.

The opposite of any truth is just as true!

Creative minds are rarely tidy.