C'mon.....be a pal

I am reaching out to the blogosphere and beyond to request help for a great organization.

I ate chili for them on Sunday.

So this is how you can virtually take part in supporting something I support.

Don't you feel at one with the universe now?

Click HERE....and donate!

Thanks for being a pal and a buddy.

To read more about Best Buddies.....click here.

A New Recipe - Cilantro Lime Shrimp Risotto

I tried my own creation tonight -

A Cilantro Lime Shrimp Risotto

I used a basic risotto recipe with a few twists.

It truly had the flavor I was looking for.

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

chopped shallot

1 1/2 cup risotto

4 c. chicken stock

juice of 3 limes

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

instead of wine - i used the lime juice - then began with the ladels of chicken stock.

I finished it with another tbsp of butter, sea salt, black pepper and the cilantro.

i also roasted the shrimp with olive oil, salt and pepper and added it at the end - i wanted the shrimp to have that yummy roasted flavor.

A true dinner success - and a nice Lenten non-meat kick off!

On a side note - I have given up Bravo TV and sweets for Lent.

Oh the humanity.

I am already looking forward to a Marshmallow Peep Binge on Easter Sunday along with some sort of Bravo Marathon!

40 days of no Housewives!!!!!!

Chili Cook Off! Culinary Excellence for the Judging...

I love Top Chef.

Usually each season - I don't feel like committing to a season - but I watch; and after one episode and I am hooked.

I have basically decided that I am a foodie - and that I can judge good food with authority.

After all - I was able to distinguish the distinct flavor of Chinese 5 spice in chocolate pudding.

(and that was after many, many glasses of wine)

So anyway - this past Sunday I attended a chili cook off to benefit Best Buddies. It was my first chili cook off - or as it was really touted as - a "one pot" cook off. The event was held at The Ginger Man pub. It was a fun little event and offered me my first opportunity to pretend I was Padma.

I did enjoy a tasty Hard Cider - Ace Pear. It was really yummy as I am not a beer drinker as a general rule and it gave me an appropriate buzz.

There were 10 pots to taste from - and I wish I had taken note.....but at the end of the day here is what is still sticking with me. The second to last one I tasted was VERY disappointing. Drain the fat off your meat!!!! Ugh...the greasy factor ruined your effort.

My two favorites were not even really chili - there was an Irish Stew and a Middle Eastern harissa thingy that were really yummy. I did get to taste 2 exceptional chilies - the first one was smoky with the perfect amount of heat - and the second one was on the sweeter side with just the right amount of heat. And as we have learned on Top Chef Texas this season - contained NO BEANS! Real Texas chili doesn't have beans!

I have decided that given the opportunity to taste multiple foods at once and stand in judgement is really a fun way to spend a Sunday. Throw in some tasty beverages and some music - what could be more perfect?

Snap out of it!

Ok, enough is enough. I am removing myself from the funk of 2012 that I began. It's time to listen to Cher and snap out of it.

So its been a tough year so far, big deal. Other people have it much worse than me.

But let's sum up the year so far. I like to summarize for the new people that stumble across the blog.

• Back problems that now require surgery - apparently I am strangling a nerve and may have permanent nerve damage. But really, who needs to feel all parts of their left leg?
• Low hemoglobin - it is so low, apparently I should be almost dead, unable to speak or stand upright. On the upside, I am clearly a science miracle.
• I turned 40. Which means I should change the name of this blog now - but I don't know what to change it to. I feel I deserve to look perpetually in my 30's. Feel it - believe it - become it.
• My beloved grandfather died.
• I was fired. Technically they say my job was "eliminated" - and they did offer me another job - but that would require me to move - AGAIN - and I am not going to do it. So I am 40 and fired.
• Ending my marriage. I am choosing not to comment broadly on this - because some things are best kept personal.

Ironically - I think I have ac

hieved most of the life events that qualify as traumatic and life changing in a short amount of time.

As you can see from the below chart - I have had a great deal to work through.

And that is why it is

time to snap out of it and count my blessings.

• Personally - I am happy and content.
• I look really good for 40 - those ladies at the Hairport where my Nana gets her hair done thought I was in my 20's - granted, they are not exactly style or beauty editors for Vogue - but a compliment is a compliment.
• I am not a Philistine
• I am a medical miracle - who else do you know with 4.6 hemoglobin not permanently hooked up to a blood transfusion?
• I can sleep almost through the whole night again - if you have chronic pain - you know what a blessing this is.
• All of my health problems can be fixed. The doctor said so.
• I am only 10lbs away from my ideal body weight - never in my life have I only needed to lose 10lbs! I am super excited about this.
• Even though I am losing my great job, working for a company I love and with the best people - the ones that have reached out to me have made me feel better than I ever did before. I know I made an impact on lives. That is pretty cool and profound.

So that is that. I am snapping out of it as we speak.

2012 so far? not so much

Ugh.

I am trying to be really hopeful for 2012.

I wanted 2012 to be a "jazz hands kind of year"

It has turned out that 2012 is hard so far.

I turned 40 - my grandfather died - I do need to have back surgery to rescue my strangled nerve that is possibly permanently damaged - I have low blood hemoglobin.

Because of the low hemoglobin - my surgery is on hold until they can determine why I have low hemoglobin.

I have tendencies toward hysteria.

And of course, have spent far too much time looking up what low hemoglobin means.

Vitamin deficiancy

Anemia

CANCER

Heavy menstural flow

CANCER

I am freaking out. The worst part is, I am dying for relief from the back pain - and now I have to wait until we figure out the other catostrophic health issue.

I need some optimism and happy vibes - and a few prayers wouldn't hurt either.