I am Addicted to Feta.

Posted by random olio

Thanks to my mother-in-law I have a feta addiction. I am addicted in a big way. Last summer, she made a salad for me with feta on top, and well I got hooked and have not been able to stop making it since last July. I know I am boring that I make the same salad everyday. But when the craving is there, feed it right? I wish I could say that I have a fabulous recipe to share with you, but the fact is I do not. I like feta in its purest form. Basically I put a massive amount of lettuce on a plate, add carrots and sweet peppers (in my current iteration) and then add crumbled feta on top. Then for the dressing part, I add olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. I learned the hard way that the brand/flavor of the olive oil matters, as does the feta. At least to my taste it does. After going through so many bottles of olive oil so quickly, I decided to purchase a large bottle of olive oil at Costco. NOTE: it does not taste the same! I also once ran out of feta in the middle of my work day and by the time I was able to get to Costco, it was closed. Safeway was the closest solution, so I got what they had, and the results did not make me a happy camper. So you can guess I made a visit to Costco the next day. Here are the brands that I found work best together:

Olive oil: Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar: Colavita Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Feta: President – Crumbled Feta

mmm feta...

What are you addicted to that you cannot live without?

Are you awake today?

Posted by random olio

Thank you David Kanigan. I love this quote you posted from Anais Nin. I needed it today!

“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken.”
― Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934

So this is my song today. I have not been able to get this song out of my head. It is called: “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye. Do you ever get that way? For days, and sometimes weeks you cannot get a song out of your head? It is the chorus that gets me jumping around. One night last week I was dancing around our office (yes you should have seen me, you would have laughed for a while). I am using it to awaken me today.

sleeping in Seattle

STOP HIBERNATING. As Ellen would tell us, get up and dance!

Granny Smith

Posted by random olio

My mom’s mom, she was Grandma Smith to us growing up. Later during and after college, I started calling her Granny Smith. She had her own language which maybe was a bit of her and a bit of the time she came of age. While reading “Stuffed” last week Patricia Volk, the author, mentions a list of things said by her Aunt Ruthie. A few she lists are ones my grandma would say: “Honest to God.’ “As I live and breathe.” “She’s not my cup of tea.” (Her list is on page 133). I add a few more to the list: “If she only knew.” “Fibber McGee and Molly.” “Six of one, half dozen of the other.”

Patricia also mentions what she calls a ‘zinger’ of things that her Aunt Ruthie would say that would sting. I can remember some of those myself. My grandma would buy multiple doughnuts and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, pop-tarts, make cookies, etc. We rarely had these at my house, and so they were such treats to us when we were at her house. After she filled us up, she would tell me that I was getting heavier and I could probably lose a few pounds. Thanks, Grandma! A perfect example is when she saw a picture from my wedding day where my new husband is holding me in his arms and she says to my husband: “Wow, that is a big load you’ve got there.” Nice one, grandma. I have a huge smile on my face as I write this, because while her words might have bothered some, but they just made me laugh. Granny Smith was a sassy one, and as she got older, I continued to be shocked at some of the things that came out of her mouth. It also means I laughed even more.

Granny Smith and me in 2002

Maybe someone should write a book: “Grandma’s say the darndest things.”

Have you been watching Homeland?

Posted by random olio

Okay, so I am a serial multi-tasker. Sometimes at night or on the weekends, when we are catching up on our DVR shows, if it something that does not grab my attention 100%, I might catch up on emails while watching a show, or write, read, play scrabble on my iPhone, you name it. I have now found a show where I am not a serial multi-tasker. It is Homeland, and it is my new favorite show. (I know the season is over, we are a bit behind on our DVR).

Usually I am not into this type of show, but after giving in and agreeing to watch it with my husband I am totally hooked. It feels like watching a movie in 50 minutes. Except that at the end of the episode you want more and luckily get it with the next episode. I find myself reviewing during the day what happened in the last episode, going over scenarios in my mind of what will happen next. We are just a few episodes into the season, and I cannot figure out how they are going to spread this out over multiple seasons. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis both do an amazing job. The story line is current, the dialogue and suspense keeps you sucked into each episode.

Watch Homeland, you will not be sorry.

Post a comment and let me know what you think – I am curious what other Homeland addicts think of the show!

Why didn’t you just leave?

Posted by random olio

This is my second blog post about “Girls Like Us.” For part one, click here. I’ve now finished this eye opening book. I know the question that many people ask and think about in relation to someone who has experienced sexual exploitation is: “Why didn’t you just leave?”

What an important question! The answer – how can they when they often have no where to go, are beaten, abused, threatened, tied up, and if they have no financial way to care for themselves (most are between the ages of eleven and eighteen). A quote from “Girls Life Us” states: “For commercially sexually exploited and trafficked girls, the perception of threats is almost always based on the reality of violence. Girls believe that their pimps will act on their threats to hurt, to maim, to kill, and with good reason. So many of these girls have experienced rape, had guns held to their head, heard their trafficker talk about other girls he’s killed — enough violence, in other words, to ensure that girls are hesitant about running away.” (p. 158)

I am writing this second post just to let you know that after finishing the book, I can assure you that you really need to read this book in 2012. This is one current version of slavery, and it has to stop. You can go to this link to find out more information on how you can support GEMS: Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (located in New York City). My sister (and the end of the book also mentions it) alerted me to the documentary that was also created called: “Very Young Girls.” You can find more information about this video online or you might be able to watch through Netflix.

Please support this very important cause!