Sorry friends. I'm back.

I have let this go for so long, but a certain someone has helped me see that I should keep it, really and truly. I don’t think I’m very good at giving an accurate depiction of my life because there are limited number of things that I enjoy writing about, but I’ll continue nonetheless.

It’s that season within the summer when thunderstorms frequently, but the forecast predicts it will storm even more than it does so I extend that to believe that it’s never going to storm when they say it will.

Today I got caught in a thunderstorm while I was out running. I can’t say the storm came out of nowhere; the skies were very apparently bringing on a storm, but I didn’t believe it would come. I held firm that it may just blow over - the strong winds and the dark clouds rolling in quickly, they were meaningless, though very telling signs. Naturally, I was wrong and I got soaked head to toe. But I kept up my pace as I passed many people huddling under overhangs, deciding that if I’m going to stop the only place I want to be is home and if I’m going to get soaked, what better to be wearing than my shorts and sneaks.

My younger sister is coming to visit this weekend - I get to introduce her to the magic of New York City. It’s funny to think of myself as the connoisseur in this scenario, but that seems to be the way it is and I’m preparing to show her Manhattan’s best side. On the schedule so far is a cruise out to Lady Liberty, wandering around central park, perhaps the Natural History Museum, 2 shows - Billy Elliot and Wicked. I’m used to just the social aspects of the city, but that’s not for my 17-year-old seester. I need to work on my plan here...

Today Marks the Arrival of Spring

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since I’ve written. So many wonderful things have been going on in my world the past couple of months and sitting down to say hi feel to the wayside. I got to celebrate one of my best friends from Cornell marriage, I visited Fort Worth, TX and Albuquerque, NM and worked super hard throughout. But today is one of those days when I’m so grateful to be alive and I want to tell everyone about the joy of it all, in its utter simplicity.

It reached mid-50s and was more sunny than it’s been in a long time. I opened the run roof on my mini and drove out to my favorite path for a good run and got all that I was hoping for. Honestly I’m not as strong as I was last time I was there, but I enjoyed it just the same. I stopped at the beach to take in the view of the sound – breathtaking after months of winter. The trees are still bear, but the sky is beautiful and the water looks and smells just the same. Our world is SO beautiful and the people in it are lovely. How can one see it all and not believe in such an intentionally beautiful creation?

I got to do some spring cleaning, open up the windows and air this place out. My roommate and I are making great plans for the newly born warm weather and counting down to day light savings next weekend. Finishing the day with the Academy Awards. Sadly, I’ve seen none of the films nominated for best picture, but this makes for a great to-see list. Rachel McAdams, your dress is gorgeous!

Film: It's Complicated - a good laugh

I saw this movie with some girlfriends on Friday night and was so pleasantly surprised. I admire Meryl Streep and always laugh when Alec Baldwin is involved, but it was even better than I expected. Streep’s character is beautiful to the core. Leaving I found myself wishing I were more like her – maybe that is because as a little girl I always wanted to open my own bakery, so I’m a little jealous, BUT I assure you it was much deeper than that. I love a woman who is beautiful and is found very attractive by the men in her life even though she's not the typical Hollywood perfect. Steve Martin in endearing like his Father of the Bride character and Alec Baldwin is your classic high-powered man who let himself go, but still has his charm. It’s light-hearted and will provide you a good laugh if you are looking for one, so I want to send my recommendation out into the world.

Watch the trailer

Recipe: White Wine Sage Chicken and Parmesan Cous Cous

This came out REALLY well and smelled fantastic while cooking. I came up with this trying to use up the extra fresh sage I had some my last big dish. I should have used drier wine, but I didn’t want to go out for it.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts thawed, trimmed, and halved

3 T. Butter

20 Sage leaves fresh, whole

1 cup dry white wine

S & P

½ cup cous cous

2 T. Parmesan grated

Recipe:

1. While making chicken, cook cous cous according to recipe on box. When cous cous is done, mix in parmesan

2. In medium saucepan, melt Butter, then add Sage leaves and Chicken

3. Brown chicken on both sides

4. Add half the wine

5. Once wine reduces, add other half

6. Chicken should cook in about 8 minutes

When done, serve chicken over a bed of the cous cous and top with jus from the pan.

Recipe: Farfalle with Roasted Butternut Squash, Sage & Brown Butter

A friend gave me a recipe for dish similar to this (thank you, Kendra :) ); I tinkered with it a bit and it turned out fantastically. It's super easy and fast. Serves 4 – 5.

Ingredients:

1 lb. butternut squash, ½ inch cubes

12 oz. Farfalle pasta

4 T. butter

15 leaves fresh sage

1 T. olive oil

salt

Parmesan to top, optional

Pine nuts to top, optional

Recipe:

1. Toss the cubed squash in olive oil and salt. Put spread out in a pan in the oven to roast for 20 minutes on 400 F, until golden brown.

2. While the squash is the oven, boil the pasta as directed on the box with 1 t. salt.

3. In a small sauce pan over low heat, warm the butter and the sage leaves with minimal stirring. Warm until butter browns slightly and sage becomes brown and brittle, kind of like well-cooked bacon.

4. When everything is ready, toss it together. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve topped with parmesan. You can also top it with pine nuts lightly roasted – it’s just not a preference of mine, but others love it.

Recipe: Black Bean Soup

I told you I’d start cooking and today I made a pretty killer black bean soup. It’s simple, quick, vegetarian and GREAT for you.

Ingredients:

2 cans black bean, undrained

½ can vegetable broth

½ can corn

1 carrot, chopped

½ red onion, chopped

1 T. Chili Powder

½ cup salsa

Recipe:

1. Mash one can of black beans with a potato masher.

2. Put both cans of black beans, the chili powder, ¼ of the can of corn and ¼ can of the vegetable broth in a medium pot and put on low heat uncovered.

3. While that’s starting to heat up, put the salsa, the chopped carrot, ¼ cup of the chopped red onion, ¼ can of corn, and ¼ can of vegetable broth in a food processor or blender. Puree.

4. Add the blend and the rest of the chopped onion to the pot and bring to a rolling boil. Lower to a simmer and cover at that temperature for 10 minutes.

Let cool before serving. I didn’t put anything on it (it doesn’t need anything!), but it would be great topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped onion and or cilantro.

New Year’s Resolutions

2010 - a new year. A whole different kind of year that I've ever encountered before. I know I'll say things that may never come to pass, but intentionality is important and I want to held accountable for these ideals I'm aiming for. So here's what I've got:

1. Contentment – I want to work on being happy with me and with my life as it is. Of course ambition is good and I think I was born with more than a healthy dose, so I want to be happy in my current state with myself, with others, with my work, with where I am and what I’m doing.

2. Cooking – I watched Julie & Julia just the other day and it reminded me of a time I saw cooking as more of a hobby than a chore. As of late, I’ve been eating a lot of cereal and hummus and carrots. I used to LOVE cooking and I want to get back in touch with that. Step one – develop a good black bean soup recipe. When that’s settled, I’ll be sure to let you know.

3. Running – For Christmas, I got a new pair of sneaks and a new ipod. My running habits have been a bit on and off for the past couple of months; I want to buckle down and form good habits that I stick to week to week. These new shoes need to see some miles and my body needs some consistency.

4. Selflessness – As my resolutions thus far show, my world looks like it revolves around me, but I firmly believe that it ought not. I want to work on seeing others more important than myself and using my time to give with no benefit to myself.

This is what I have so far and already pretty lofty. These will probably be things I’m working on for the rest of my life, but hey, let’s start making strides today.