Carolina in My Mind

This morning, I officially decided that I'm ready and excited to move to Chapel Hill.  I was getting ready for work, a little groggy from a night of going away festivities with my neighbors, and James Taylor's "Carolina in my Mind" came on the radio.  I found myself standing amongst a ton of boxes with tears filling my eyes.  I quickly was brought back to my college graduation day when the same song came on the radio as I was packing to leave UNC.  I really do get to be a Carolina student again!

Being that I am a lover of ritual, I deeply appreciated the neighborhood party that was thrown together last night.  It started out with yoga in the courtyard with Katie, the yoga instructor.  With our hands rested over our hearts, she asked my friends to send good thoughts my way for my new journey.  I could feel a warm feeling of deepest gratitude run through my body. 

After yoga, we celebrated the evening with lots of wine, beer, and delicious summer food.  I made a pasta salad that matched the hot and humid weather perfectly!

Bernard Street Pasta Salad
1 pound farfalle pasta
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch thick discs
1 zucchini squash, sliced into 1/4-inch thick discs
1 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh packed parsley leaves

Dressing:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade, and quartered
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente and drain well. Toss with ground black pepper and olive oil.  Cook zucchini and squash in a small amount of olive oil for 5 minutes over medium heat.

For the dressing, add the vinegar to a blender and replace the lid. Turn on the blender add, 1 at a time through the feed opening, garlic, mustard, oregano, basil, salt, and black pepper. Leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.

Toss together the pasta, yellow squash, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and parsley with enough of the dressing to coat. Serve any additional dressing on the side.

Transitions and Worries

Friends, I am so sorry that I've abandoned my blog recently.  I've been trying to tie up lots of loose ends before I move to Chapel Hill this weekend.  More packing and errands, less cooking and blogging. 

I just can't believe that I will be an Orange County resident in less than a week.  I will go from working in the real world to living in a student bubble in Chapel Hill.  I'm so excited about it too, but I'm also terrified.  I get anxious with transitions... I get this feeling in my chest that let's me know that I'm stepping into new territory.  My heart says, "This is what you've been waiting and working for."  My mind says, "Whoa, slow down little lady.  Who do you think you are for changing your life?"

One thing really comforted me today though.  It's a letter that a 22-year-old complete stranger wrote to her 40-year-old self.  I found it on Cassie Boorn, a blog I check out every now and then.  The writer of the letter worries a lot just like I do.  I love the wisdom that she decides to pass along to her older self.  Enjoy!

Dear 40 year old Cassie,

I think about you often. I wonder where you are in your life, who you are with, and what you are doing.

And as it is our nature I worry. I worry that you aren’t happy. I worry that you aren’t where I imagine you to be. And often, I worry that you are. I worry that you are lonely. I worry that you don’t take care of yourself. I worry that you settled.

I know that we tend to hold on to the past but I ask you please don’t play the “should have” “would have” games. Trust me, you did everything you thought was right. You did your best. I can assure you, because right now? I am doing the best that I can.

Please, don’t think back to the “good old times,” and reminisce of life in your 20’s. You know things now. You are sure about things now. The only thing I am sure about? Well, I am not even sure that I am sure about anything. It is scary. Your 20’s are scary. I am a little bit scared.

Now that we got all of that out of the way. Let’s talk about your 40’s. You better be traveling. I know, you probably are working really hard. You probably don’t have the time. You may even have a family. But seriously? We promised our self we would travel to Bali, and Greece. We talked about Italy and France and even fantasized about Australia. Get. Moving.

Don’t give up your passions. Don’t write me off as young and naïve. I know I am a little crazy. My ideas are big. But that is ok, so is the world. So just keep slaving away. Talk to everyone you meet. Share your ideas and your passions. Don’t let them gather dust. And for the love of God don’t become trapped in everyday routine

I hope that you are happy. I hope that you achieved your dreams. I hope that Aiden is doing well as a 24 year old man. (holy cow!) I hope that everything came around full circle and that you notice the small things in life.

I also hope the government didn’t l censor technology and take this letter away from you. (Again, I worry)

P.S. I apologize for killing your chance of having a metabolism. Yo-Yo dieting was the thing to do. And the tanning beds? Sorry about that too. And the tattoo we sport? Just roll with it…

I hope you are well.

Love Always,

The 22 year-old you.

The really great moments...

One thing that I have certainly learned over the past year is that life tends to be really hard for a lot of people (especially during these tough economic times.)  People can certainly be inundated with daily worries and anxiety about whether they are going to get a job, raise good kids, be able to pay the bills, etc...

Ten months ago, I would respond to my customers with a "stay positive and keep on trucking" kind of attitude.  I've learned though that this response is not the best one.  In fact, I've found that people just want me to listen and to lend any guidance that I can.  Too much positivity can be downright condescending sometimes.  Barbara Ehrenreich's new book talks a lot about this... I highly recommend reading it.

On the other hand, sometimes in life something really great and fun happens.  A sweet girl is proposed to on Wake Forest's campus by her one great love or a girl who has been single for quite awhile falls for a fisherman during a women's fly fishing weekend.  These are the moments that make everything else seem so trivial.

The past few days, I've been in the mountains yet again.  Jumping off more waterfalls, hiking to beautiful places, and fishing a lot (with that fisherman)... AND I caught an awesome rainbow trout.  These are the fun times that I look forward to amongst all of life's hassles!

Basil Pesto

2 c. packed fresh basil leaves, minced

2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. pine nuts or walnuts
2/3 c. olive oil
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Transfer to jar and cover with film of olive oil (air is basil pesto's enemy). Seal with tight fitting lid. Use right away, refrigerate up to 3 months, or freeze. Stir oil into pesto before using.

A Sunday in the Kitchen

This weekend brought a variety of activities that kept me running around town.  On Friday night, I taught an interviewing workshop at Wake Correctional for 30+ inmates.  Because my coworker wasn't allowed in by the correctional officer at the gate, I was left alone to teach the class.  The workshop went very well though.  Considering the students had nowhere else that they needed to be, they asked great questions and really paid attention. 

On Saturday, I started my day with a morning run.  Because I've relied so heavily on my YMCA membership over the past few months (and neglected my regular runs), it was quite a challenge to re-introduce my legs to running.  Annie definitely appreciated the outing though!  The rest of Saturday was taken up with seeing my best friend in a wedding dress for the first time (gasp, we really are of the marrying age!), volunteering in Cary, and babysitting until the wee hours of Sunday morning.

By the time I rolled out of bed on Sunday to go to church, I had all kinds of recipes dancing in my head for a relaxing afternoon in the kitchen.  Cookies? Mexican food? Lasagna?  I finally decided to try a recipe from Moosewood Cafe, one of my favorite cookbooks.  Enjoy!

3 things about this recipe:

1. You don't have to pre-cook the noodles, nor do you have to buy the no-cook noodles.  The extra sauce of the recipe cooks the noodles to perfection!
2. With less cheese in this lasagna, this recipe is low fat...347 calories per serving and 8.6g Fat.  Not too shabby!
3. Buy canned whole tomatoes (all the time) instead of crushed or diced tomatoes.  Tomato canning companies use the highest quality tomatoes for canned whole tomatoes and scrape the scraps into the crushed and diced tomato pile.  Plus, it's so fun to crush the tomatoes by hand!

Vegetable Lasagna Bechamel
1 T. canola or other Veg. oil
2 T. unbleached white flour
2 1/2 cups 1% Milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped leeks, white and tender green parts

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups peeled and diced carrots
1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup peeled and diced broccoli stalks

2 1/2 cups broccoli florets

3 cups canned whole tomatoes, 28-oz. can

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

3/4 pound uncooked lasagna noodles

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated low fat mozzarella

Warm oil in a small sauce pan and then stir in flour. Slowly whisk in milk, 1/2 cup at a time. Continue to cook, stirring often, until sauce thickens a bit.  Bechamel will not be very thick at the end. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a heavy non-stick skillet, on medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add garlic, leeks, and thyme and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add wine, carrots, and broccoli stalks, cover, and simmer for about 5 min. Add broccoli florets and zucchini, cover and cook for 3-4 min, until all veggies are tender but still firm. Add salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

Pour canned tomatoes and juice into a bowl and crush tomatoes by hand.  Add fresh basil and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare an 8x12 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Assemble the lasagna. Layer half of tomato-basil mixture on the bottom of the dish, then add a single layer of noodles, half of veggies, a cup of bechamel, 1/4 cup of Parmesan and 2 T. of mozzarella cheese. Top with a second layer of noodles, the rest of the veggies, and bechamel sauce.  Add a third layer of noodles, the rest of tomato-basil mixture of remaining cheeses.

Cover and cook for 50 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

My First Great Love

Exactly two years ago, I headed out to Saving Grace Animal Shelter in hopes of falling in love with a sweet dog.  Upon arriving, the owner opened the gates and I was flooded with lots of rescue dogs of all ages and sizes.  Of course, my attention was drawn to the muddy hound who greeted me with a kiss (a habit we've spent the last 2 years trying to break.)

Annie has been such a fun first dog.  Being that I like to be in control of all parts of my life, my wild little beagle has certainly taught me to relax a little bit... and we've, of course, had our bumps in the road.  I'll never forget how close I was to making beagle stew when Annie chewed up my roommate's beloved Blackberry.  She also had a terrible habit of turning my food guru's beautiful yard on Bickett St. into a graveyard in a matter of minutes.

At the end of the day though, I love how Annie snuggles up to me.  I also love how happy she is in the woods or on afternoon runs.  She is a joy to my life and has transformed my lonely single gal days into adventures.  For that, I am incredibly grateful! 

Thinking of adopting a dog?  Check out Saving Grace!  As for a recipe, my days have been incredibly busy with turning in paperwork for school, finishing up my month with AmeriCorps, and  trying to get moving arrangements squared away for Chapel Hill.  My dinners have included simple but delicious summer vegetables that don't really require a fancy recipe.  I did have a yummy egg and sundried tomato english muffin today though.

Egg and Tomato Muffin

2 eggs

1 english muffin

goat cheese

sundried tomatoes, sliced

butter/vegetable oil

Beat egg and fry it in a pan with butter or vegetable oil.  Heat the english muffin with goat cheese under the broiler for about 3 minutes.  Add egg and sundried tomatoes to the sandwich for a quick and filling breakfast!

Family Memories and Figs

My grandmother's 87th birthday was this past weekend, and I spent my Wrightsville Beach time celebrating her wonderful life.  Especially at 87, my grandmother is an amazing woman with tons of energy.  I wanted to capture some of her life stories on tape so that I could continue to share them with future generations in the decades to come. 

During my interview, I focused more on the personal stories and less on the family history.  My grandmother has experienced a lot: a loving 50+ year marriage, motherhood, the passing of loved ones, the Great Depression, WWII, Vietnam, Integration.  I loved hearing about how all of these life events affected her personally.

As I interviewed my grandmother, I began to realize just how large of an impact one's 20's have on an individual... even many decades later.  I asked her, what was the most exciting time in her life?  She said that she loved it when she and my grandfather were dating, and he would fly his plane over her house (he was in the military.)  In regards to my grandfather, she described him as "a man of principle who [she] admired greatly."  As for the secret to a happy marriage? Patience, and a willingness to do the things that your spouse likes to do.  "Mac loved to fish and hunt.  I had never done any of those things before, but I hunted and fished and ran and jumped over fences because that's what he liked to do."

I so enjoyed listening to my grandmother's memories.  We can all learn from our elders' experiences, and I encourage you to take some time to document stories from your grandparents.  For instance, my grandmother said that she barely felt the weight of the Depression, because her family had an extensive garden...they never were short on food.  If only we all continued to grow our own food; we could have certainly save a lot of money during these tough economic times.

For the following recipe, I used home grown figs from my friend Jordan's garden!

Fig and Prosciutto Pizza
Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
1 lb. package purchased pizza dough
2 cups (generous) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 8 ounces)
6 small fresh figs, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices (Jordan's figs, if you're lucky enough!)
2 Tbsp. fig balsamic vinegar, divided
8 thin slices prosciutto (from two 3-ounce packages)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups arugula

Preheat oven to 450°F. Sprinkle large rimless baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured work surface to 12x10-inch rectangle; transfer to prepared sheet. Sprinkle Gorgonzola over dough. Sprinkle with pepper. Place figs in medium bowl; drizzle 1 tablespoon vinegar over. Set aside.

Bake pizza until crust is golden brown on bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately drape prosciutto slices over, covering pizza completely. Arrange fig slices atop prosciutto. Bake until figs are just heated through, about 1 minute. Transfer pizza to cutting board. Whisk remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and oil in large bowl; add arugula. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Mound salad atop pizza. Cut into pieces and serve.