Murphy’s Oil helps get to the right brain

Posted by random olio

My desk is organized, I even wiped it down with Murphy’s Oil soap. My to-do list has been updated and organized. All paperwork has been filed. The laundry is folded and put away. The house is clean, and the bed has fresh, clean, and crisp sheets. Ah. A great way to start the week.

Is this the state of my world today? No. This is my ideal state whenever I want to do something creative. If I want to sit down for a long stint of writing, pull out my easel and paint, whatever the creative endeavor, I usually focus the best when I have cleared the clutter in the house, and in my thought. A clean slate that opens my mind, so I can dig in, create a mess, and focus solely on my project without distraction.

Why is it that a messy house, or a mind that feels full to the brim means my creative juices have a harder time flowing? Does the left side of my brain need to be filed away and put in order, so that I can use the right side of my brain? Maybe in the end I am exercising both the left and right side of my brain, so a win-win situation, right?

What tactics do you follow to allow the right side of your brain to be free and ready to go? Do you run, go out into the woods, or clean? I would love to hear from you.

Proof that you are loved.

Posted by random olio

I recently finished reading a book called: “Proof of Heaven” by Eben Alexander. It is an interesting book. I wanted to share one of the quotes from Alexander’s book that most resonated with me:

“You are loved. Those words are what I needed to hear as an orphan, as a child who’d been given away. But it’s also what every one of us in this materialistic age needs to hear as well, because in terms of who we really are, where we come from, and where we’re really going, we all feel (wrongly) like orphans.” Page 170

The author was adopted and at one point in his life had tried to find his birth parents, only to be told they were not interested in meeting him. He felt like an orphan all over again. Yet, in many ways whether we have lost our parents or not, if we do not feel loved, the result feels orphan-like. I had a professor in college that used to tell me: “You are loved, loving, lovable, needed, wanted, and useful. Right now.” She somehow always knew when I needed to hear those words. There were times in my life (college being one of them) when I did not hear the words “I love you” too often. Yet, those were the words I craved the most. We crave them when we need them the most. When you know you are loved, when you feel it, you do not question it. When you do not feel loved, you feel alone, on your own, and sometimes out in the wilderness.

It would be easy to say that you should know who you are, love yourself, and only then can you love others. That might be true, but before we can truly hold the comfort and confidence of who we are, we have to know, understand, and feel what love truly is, and what it feels like. Each individual understands what being loved feels like, some of us might have had the experience span our entire lifetime, and it might have been more intermittent for others, but we could not have continued living without understanding and knowing how being loved feels.

I often wonder if those committing evil acts today truly understood love? If they did, would they take a different road? If anger, misunderstanding, and revenge were replaced with love, the world would be a very different place.

What do you think?

Ship my baby. Huh?

Posted by random olio

Two viral videos that made me laugh. I could not help but be sure to share them with you. The first reminds me of sixth grade. The video itself does not remind me of school, but the word “ship” does. Ship, huh? A strange word to recollect from my past. It was sixth grade Social Studies, we were studying the 1600’s or some time in that range a few hundred years ago. We were each given a topic to do a report on and then we had to present our findings in front of the class the following week. I was given the topic of: ship building. Boring right? Well I did my research and my report and then it was my turn to present to the class. All I remember is that during my entire presentation every time I said ship building it always sounded to me like shit building. I cannot remember what it sounded like to my classmates, but I was mortified, and I thought it was a little funny.

Which is why Kmart’s recent video: “Ship my pants” made me laugh and remember sixth grade Social Studies. For more background on their video, read this Fast Company article.

It plays to our childhood humor, but it is clever. As is Evian’s “Baby & Me” video. It just launched over the weekend, so you might see it on television (that is if you ever watch commercials). Over 400 babies were cast for this video, and in May they release an app “Baby & Me” where facial recognition will show the user’s baby face.

Happy Monday!

Ahh…the Midwest.

Posted by random olio

I grew up in the Midwest, and sorry friends that still live there, but I do not miss it. Portland has my heart, yet when I recently found this great article about the Midwest called: “29 Things Only People from the Midwest Understand.” I could not resist sharing. I have to highlight a few key areas, and maybe some of you who have not lived or spent much time in the Midwest can still relate. If not, you can have a few laughs:

2. Why Steak ‘n’ Shake is the greatest restaurant in the world. Um, yes. I used to believe that, until I grew up and left the Midwest. Fries, chili at any hour of the night. It was often a place to hang out. For those of you that have not been, think of it as an amalgamation of a Village Inn, Denny’s, and if I am being very good to them maybe In-N-Out Burger. If you are interested, here is a Chowhound board discussing the merits of Steak ‘n’ Shake.

4. That driving in this is a piece of cake. (See photo in article). Yes, Portlanders could learn a thing or two about how people in the Midwest drive. Specifically, that they know how to drive when it rains, and when it snows and they do not freak out the minute those white flurries hit the ground. They have to as it snows a lot for many months out of the year. The easy part about driving in the Midwest? It is easy to park, and navigation is a synch. If you do not agree with me, move to Boston, then we can talk.

10. The difference between pretty farmland and boring farmland. Where I lived, there was not pretty farmland, it was boring. Maybe I should have moved to Kansas for the pretty farmland?

11. …and the good malls and the bad malls. Is there such a thing as a good mall?

12. That hotdish doesn’t just mean a “warmed-up plate.” Um, yes. Casseroles are the staple in the Midwest. I am not slamming them, it just reminds me of my childhood. Maybe I will understand when I have kids of my own.

16. That the state fair is the BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE. You will have to see the picture in the article to understand this list item. I do remember this to be true as a kid. I craved the county and state fair so that I could ride the rides and foolishly spend my money on skee ball and other games for a neon stuffed animal. But…is that really a product of the Midwest, or life of a kid in any state?

23. That fireflies are what make summer, summer. Yes, yes, yes. We do not have fireflies in Oregon. I miss them.

24. Oh, and bug zappers. I do not miss these. They are not seen too often here.

26. That puppy chow is actually quite delicious. You will have to look at the picture in the article. My mom used to make this at Christmas time. It is easy, quick, and yummy. Chex Mix + butter + peanut butter + chocolate chips + powdered sugar = Human dog food.

29. That this T-shirt speaks the irrefutable, God-ordained truth. (See photo in article, it says: “It’s called Pop, not Soda.”) I still do not know if I have been weened of the habit of calling it pop. When I was young if you wanted a Dr. Pepper, Coke, or Pepsi you asked for a Pop. When I move to the East coast folks thought I was a bit odd as most called it Soda. So which is it Pop or Soda?

What do you think?

My new weakness: Sourdough English Muffins

Posted by random olio

yum!

English Muffins. Who does not love them? My sister-in-law brought me her sourdough starter when she visited over Easter weekend. I shared my first week with a friend, was pooped the second weekend after my 1/2 marathon so threw some starter out, but this weekend, I baked!

She left me with a recipe to make English Muffins. The photo to the left is what they looked like after done. Who knew that making English Muffins were so easy? Especially if you have a sourdough starter growing in your refrigerator.

We do not eat a ton of bread. We would love to, but it is not what keeps our energy going. We stick more to fruit, vegetables, and proteins, but sometimes you just want fresh-baked goods. Over the weekend, I made these yummy English Muffins. Essentially you prep the starter to raise over night. It takes only a few minutes to prepare it. Let it rise. You can let it rise up to 24 hours. Many of the bread recipes that I follow you have to let it rise for a specific number of hours, so it is great that this recipe has flexibility. An opened ended recipe means you have more flexibility to live your life, and still have bread. Once you are ready to finish the English Muffins, it will only take a little less than 30 minutes to finish. Add a few ingredients, form into the muffins and cook on the stove. Finished. Use, or freeze for the future!

I am also exploring using the starter for other bread recipes. Next week I might make pizza dough!

Erin’s Sourdough English Muffins (recipe from my sister-in-law)

1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin)
1 cup liquid (water*, milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…)
2 cups flour (your choice)
add-ins like seeds, dried fruit, or chopped nuts… (optional)

Next day:

1 tablespoon raw honey (or any other sweetener)
3/4 to 1 teaspoon sea salt of choice
1 teaspoon baking soda

*Note: The English muffins will turn out if you use water instead of full fat or fermented dairy and if you add more flour initially for easier kneading. However, the results will not be as soft on the outside or as tender on the inside once you’ve finished the cooking.

Place 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) into a medium size bowl. Pour onto that the 1 cup of liquid. This is the first place where the recipe is very flexible. Your liquid could be water, milk, any fermented dairy, coconut milk. Stir to combine starter and liquid. If your sourdough starter is very stiff, you might need an extra 1/4 cup of liquid.

Once combined, add 2 cups of flour to the mixture. Use any combination of flours, white wheat, whole wheat, and rye. Stir well to combine. Cover and let your dough sit overnight, even up to 24 hours. In the morning, you will be able to tell that your sourdough has been at work.

On top of your soaked dough, sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt), 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon honey. Use a wooden spoon to push/cut/stir in your newly added ingredients. Don’t worry about incorporating it perfectly; you will be kneading it in just a moment.

Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto your counter and spread it around with your hand and then rub your hands together. Dump out your dough onto the oiled spot and knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this kneading is to incorporate the honey, baking soda, and salt. After this, take a pizza cutter and separate dough into 8 equal portions. Dust your hands with flour before you shape each muffin.

With dusted hands, pick up a portion and gently shape it into your muffin, usually about 1 finger thick and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide. Place your muffins on a lightly floured or cornmealed (greased might work if you want to stay away from newly added flour) sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover with a dish towel and let rest while preheating griddle or skillet.

About 5 minutes before you want to griddle/skillet your muffins, set the heat to mediumish. You do not want the muffins to brown too quickly because the insides need a chance to cook. Carefully transfer the muffins onto your heat source. Cook the muffins for about five minutes on each side. You can take a little peek every now and again to make sure the bottoms are not getting too brown. When it is time to flip, do this carefully. Your muffins will plump up beautifully, and you do not want to deflate them by being too rough. Cook for the second five minutes. Now, if you find that the outside edge of your muffin is not as done as you like, feel free to pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!