On Recipes: Oatmeal Smoothie

Here I will review a recipe by my good friend, Martha.

Stewart, that is.

Now regardless of the fact that she did a brief stint in jail, I think we can all agree that Martha Stewart still has something to share. Granted, we may not trust her with our investments portfolio... but when it comes to whipping up a table spread or pumpkin pie, Martha is still golden.

You know what else is golden? This recipe. I'll tell you why: because there's literally NO technique needed to make a smoothie. You just dump it in the blender and let the magic happen. This recipe also rocks because the oatmeal really adds that extra UMPH that I need in the morning and the extra fiber keeps my stomach from growling by 9AM.

My recipe (which of course differs a bit from Martha's because I can't follow directions) is as follows:

1 handful of ice
1 handful of frozen blueberries
1 scoop of Greek Yogurt
1 small banana
1/2 c. (ish) of old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tbsp honey
a splash (or two) of milk

"Handful" is a measurement that I made up. The way you measure a handful of ice, for instance, is to stick your hand in the ice maker and grab a bunch of ice cubes. A handful of ice is a lot easier for me to understand than 1 cup of ice. As I said before, smoothies are not an exact science.

I also used Greek yogurt, just because I like Greek yogurt. It has a lot of protein and I try to substitute it wherever I can for the regular stuff. It's also thicker than regular yogurt so adjust the milk (or other liquid) accordingly if you decide to go Greek.

Finally, I decided to use blueberries instead of raspberries. I love blueberries. They're full of antioxidants. Enough said.

The only other thing I need to say is MAKE THIS. It was delicious, quick and satisfying.

Thanks, Martha.

Martha's Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

On Parenting

You may ask: Dear 20-something girl, how do you plan to write a post on parenting when you yourself have no children?"

Have no fear readers! I do not pretend to be a parenting expert. In fact, children frighten me to some extent and I'm not sure if I have a very strong maternal instinct. In any case, The Lieutenant and I are planning to wait for at least several decades before starting a family.

However even having no children of my own, I have had numerous encounters with other people's children. On a daily basis, even. As I've mentioned before, I work in university housing where (perhaps surprisingly to you) I regularly deal with parents. Specifically the helicopter parents. These well-meaning mothers and fathers are always swooping in to rescue their adult-child from one thing or another. Parents call our office to deal with their child's delinquent payments. They call to inform us that their child is being "bullied" and insist that they be placed with different roommates. They call to complain about the size of their child's room... You get my drift.

Not too long ago, I came across this article from The Atlantic Magazine and thought it was extremely interesting that it addressed almost this exact issue.

"...college deans have reported receiving growing numbers of incoming freshmen they’ve dubbed “teacups” because they’re so fragile that they break down anytime things don’t go their way. “Well-intentioned parents have been metabolizing their anxiety for them their entire childhoods,” Mogel said of these kids, “so they don’t know how to deal with it when they grow up” (Gottlieb)

The articles goes on to explain how in an attempt to make children feel safe and secure, many parents rob their children of the ability to mediate conflict and deal with common disappointment. By attempting to protect them from everything, they ultimately leave them unable to protect themselves.

It's a good read.
For the entire article, click here

On Recipes: Jalapeno Popper Dip

Today I am reviewing a recipe from my fellow blogger, Kevin of Closet Cooking. I chose this recipe because:

1. I enjoy reading Kevin's blog and can appreciate the challenge of cooking in a small space as I myself have lived in a few shoe-box sized apartments.
2. It is football season, which leads me to search out new recipes for what I call "kick-off food" (a not-so-nutritious but nevertheless tasty genre of cuisine)
3. The Lieutenant is inexplicably drawn to any dish that includes jalapenos, so I surmised that this recipe could not fail.

And now, on to the food:

This dip was everything that I thought it would be. It was spicy, creamy and just the right amount of h-o-t. I halved the recipe since I was not cooking for a crowd, however I could see this being a big hit at a party so if you're feeding more than two I would suggest sticking with the original recipe (you may even want to double it if your friends are really hungry). 

I made some slight adjustments to the recipe, some out of necessity and some because I am a terrible listener and do not know how to 100% follow directions

• I used only half of the fresh jalapeno that was called for (since I halved the recipe, that would be 1/2 of a pepper). I also removed the seeds and ribs, which is where most of the INTENSE heat is located. It is not noted in the original recipe whether Kevin of Closet Cooking did this... so I am not sure if he is a super-spicy maniac or if he left this step out.
• I left out the Parmesan Cheese. This gave the dish a creamier texture and it was still plenty cheesy.
• I used Extra Sharp Cheddar instead of regular Cheddar. Sharp Cheddar has an awesome flavor and I prefer it over regular Cheddar cheeses. I think it should be noted here that there is really no need to buy Cheddar cheese that is orange. Orange cheeses are colored by food dye. Go for the naturally white stuff- it's better for you. 
• I used Neufchâtel cheese in place of Cream Cheese. This is a learned behavior. Growing up, my mother always used this substitution to cut down on fat in dishes. I admit, it's not always a straight swap. In some dishes the flavor is compromised by not using the full fat Cream Cheese. In this dip, however, I think the Neufchâtel was a good substitute. The cheese and the mayonase lent a lot of flavor and the Cream Cheese was not missed. 
• I omitted the Panko bread crumb topping. This was a swap made from necessity. I was planning to do a substitution with regular bread-crumbs since that's what I generally have in my pantry. Alas, when I checked my stores, there were no bread-crumbs of any kind to be found so I settled for a cheese topping which I added during the last 5 minutes of cooking and popped under the broiler. I can see where the bread-crumb topping would add a little extra something though, so if you have the bread crumbs (Panko or otherwise) I would do it!

All in all, this recipe was a WIN. I plan to make it for The Lieutenant soon. Doubtless it will have him eating out of the palm of my hand in no time... at which point I will promptly ask if we can get a puppy. 

For the entire recipe click here!

Pictures borrowed from www.closetcooking.com

On The Crispies

Were you fooled into thinking this post would be about the lovely fall weather we've been having?

Nope, sorry.

I plan to dig into a subject that I find extremely interesting. First, some background: I work at an apartment complex that provides housing for 900 university students. Of these, 70% are female. Of these, about 70% are crispy.

What I mean is that about half of our students oil themselves and lay beneath florescent bulbs to tan their skin to an unnatural glow all year long. Fake-and-bake. Crispy.

Luckily for them, one of our competitive moves recently was to purchase a tanning bed and provide tanning services for free to our residents. This business decision resulted in much rejoicing from The Crispies (who would no longer have to pay for said services) and even converted some new Crispies to the already rather large flock. The tanning bed is booked solid for weeks in advance.

In an attempt to remain socially responsible,  we require Crispies to make appointments and sign in and out so that we know who is using the tanning bed. The Crispies are warned about the dangers of indoor tanning, although the freckled masses still come and tan. They are allowed to make up to 3 appointments a week. If they take advantage or if appointments are missed without notice, The Crispies can be put on the "Tan-Ban" (aka have their tanning privileges revoked for the semester).

The creation of the "Tan-Ban" has had rather startling results. I have seen girls cry, throw temper tantrums and/or loudly spout profanity after learning that they have made the list. This behavior has led me to contemplate this strange desire to be bronzed.

What's with the striving for tanned skin? I can admit that while in my teens I also chased the bronze for a while, though I still can't put my finger on exactly why I thought it was so important. It makes me wonder, what is it about being browned that makes us feel more beautiful?

The fashion of skin interests me because bronze is not always synonymous with beautiful. In ancient Greece and Rome, women used to lighten their faces with chalk or lead to appear paler (clearly with disastrous consequences in the latter case). In some Asian cultures flawlessly milky skin is still the goal. In China, women have been known to use "whitening correctors" and bleaching agents to try and lighten their completion. In fact, pale skin was fashionable almost everywhere until the 1920's (see the two articles at the bottom of this post if you're interested in more).

So maybe it's not just The Crispies. Throughout history women have been changing their appearance based on what society considers beautiful. I propose a new movement. Let's get natural. Whether you're olive, milky or freckled, it's all beautiful. And let's face it, there's nothing worse than a obvious orange-y glow in the dead of winter.

I'll let you in on what changed my mind. Since entering my 20's I've stopped worshiping the sun god, indoor or out. For me, it was not the sudden realization that sun-tanning can cause me cancer as much as a desire to not look like this when I am 40:

I enjoy a dose of vitamin D just as much as the next girl, but as far as bleaching creams or fake-and-bake sessions go, I'll stay natural. Thank you very much.


LA Times Article
Sunday Times Article

On Hollywood

Is it who you know or what you know that matters?

Intelligence, ambition, and talent make a difference. Without these it is difficult to achieve much, if anything.
But being well connected never hurt either.

In Hollywood, famous families pass popularity down through their line, although the silver spoon in their mouths may well be replaced with a Golden Globe in hand. Am I being dramatic?

Angelina Jolie's father is actor Jon Voigt, Kate Hudson was born to actress Goldie Hawn, Ben Stiller's dad is actor and comedian Jerry Stiller, Colin Hanks belongs to Tom Hanks, Charlie Sheen's dad Martin Sheen probably now wishes neither of them had become famous, Jaiden Smith has Will Smith as a dad...

The list goes on.

This is not to say that these people are not talented, because some of them are. They simply were born into a position where they were set up to be noticed for those talents. As most of the rest of us were not.

There are obviously many cases where this does not hold. Actors like Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, and Renee Zellweger who have risen to the top solely based on their own talents. These actors I can admire most, knowing that they have had to forge their own way.

As a solution to this dilemma, I have decided that in my next life, I will simply be re-born as the daughter of Justin Beiber.

On Books: The Help

Whenever a movie based on a novel comes out, I cringe a little bit. Maybe it's a personal bias, but fiction never translates absolutely from the page to the screen. Nevertheless, having recently finished this book, I am REALLY excited to see the movie.

This book was particularly interesting to me because of my family background. My mother is from an Italian immigrant family and was raised in Philadelphia's Little Italy. She attended Catholic school K-12 and can still remember the two girls in her graduating class who did NOT have Italian last names. My father was born and raised in rural New Hampshire. He had 5 brothers and sisters. There wasn't much money. Needless to say, nobody in my family tree ever employed any servants and the Civil Rights movement was news from afar that had little impact on their personal lives.

I guess because of this, I think of it as ancient history. Because it didn't directly affect my family I think of it as something that happened a long time ago. I've even wondered at times why black/white racism is still such a big issue.

This book shed new light on the subject.

I realized while reading that had my mother been born into a different social class and in a different location, she too may have been practically raised by a black maid, like so many of the characters in the book were. Had my father been the son of a Mississippi businessman, he could have been nursed when he was sick and fed breakfast each morning by a servant who was more invested in his well-being than his own mother. And had this been the case, they both would have been taught somewhere along the way that the same person who cared for them as children was less human, less important and less worthy of respect than they, simply because of their skin color.

Which made me realize... this is not ancient history. This is current. This is my parent's generation and so my generation is certainly directly affected.

Call this an obvious realization if you will, but it changed my perspective.
Read the book. It's good.