Happy 2nd Birthday random olio

Posted by random olio

Last year I forgot all about random olio’s 1st birthday, and yet here we are on random olio’s 2nd birthday. Life flew by before I could catch my breath and celebrate. This year I have been giving my blog a little love, and I have to say it has not been the terrible twos for me. I am still enjoying the challenge of writing and sharing each weekday. It keeps me on my toes.

If you have been reading random olio for the past two years, I applaud you for staying with me. I hope you have found comfort, laughter, and inspiration in each post. I am sure there might have been some that bored you, others that made you laugh or cry, and yet other posts that you thought wow, TMI. Just as I shared in “Unapologetically herself” my coworker brilliantly said my nickname should be TMI. They were right. I hope my words without filters inspire you to be bold, share what you think, and not worry about what other people think.

I write what inspires me, what comes pouring out of my fingers sometimes so fast I have no idea where I am going. Some posts could definitely be more polished than others, but that is all part of the process. What I find interesting is that on the days when I post a blog and head off to work thinking “no one is going to be interested in this topic” is usually a topic that spurs many comments, likes, and shares. We never truly know what is going to interest another person, tug at their heart-strings, and make them want to share with another.

I have learned so much these past two years: strategizing what I want to write about, connecting with others online, friends, family, and maybe not as important to you, but so important to me, I have learned so much about myself and others in the process of writing random olio. Guess what? I am not going anywhere. Hopefully I will keep inspiring you, making you laugh, and cry. Hey, pee your pants if you want to… I am not watching.

Thank you to each of you that have read one post, a few posts, or the 500+ posts that have happened over the last two years. Without your kind words, comments, and support, I would be writing online with no community.

Happy 2nd Birthday random olio!

A little baby goodness and some damn good strata

Posted by random olio

This past weekend my sister came to visit for her last trip before she has a sweet baby girl. We had a baby shower with my sister’s friends that live in my local area. It was a fun time. I always enjoy a group of women who get together and bond, even if 75% of the conversation is about babies. Even so women can be very sassy!

My sister is gluten-free. When the mom-to-be does not eat gluten, you make sure you have food just for her. For each item I had a gluten-free option. Cupcakes, scones, macaroons, and Eggs Benedict strata. What I want to tell you about is the Eggs Benedict strata. We took this recipe from the Taste and Tell blog, and made one pan that was exact to this recipe + red peppers. We then went to a local market and purchased gluten-free English muffins and substituted them for the regular english muffins to make a gluten-free option. Um. It. was. damn. good.

My apologies as I was caught up in the moment and never took a photo of the strata so you will have to go to the Taste and Tell blog to see their version (it looks exactly like it turns out). This is the perfect dish that you can prep and make the night before, and then bake just before your guests arrive. I am actually a bit excited for the next time we make it. I could not have enough. I even liked the gluten-free version!

For those of you that hate to make poached eggs, this might be the perfect brunch option to make at home. The hollandaise sauce is superb, and just the right added touch to this dish (it better be with all the butter it contains). I definitely suggest adding the red peppers. It gave it just the extra bite that was needed. Enjoy this quick and amazing recipe:

EGGS BENEDICT STRATA

6 whole English muffins
6 oz Canadian-style bacon, chopped
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash of hot sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted and very hot

INSTRUCTIONS

Spray an 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the English muffins into 1-inch cubes. Place half of the cubes in the prepared baking dish, then sprinkle with half of the Canadian bacon. Top with the remaining English muffin cubes and then the remaining Canadian bacon.
Whisk together the eggs and the milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top of the bread. Use your hands to press down the bread to make sure that it has all been soaked with the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the strata from the oven and let it sit on the counter while the oven comes up to temperature. Bake, uncovered, until puffed and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
When the strata is almost finished baking, prepare the hollandaise sauce. Place the egg yolks, Dijon, lemon juice and hot sauce in a blender. Blend for several seconds. Very slowly, stream the hot butter into the sauce, keeping the blender on the entire time. Blend until the sauce is thick.
Serve the strata warm with the hollandaise poured over the top.

Moments of bliss

Posted by random olio

Most of you have either headed back to work, or will be starting back at the office today after a holiday break. That might be a bittersweet moment. Maybe you love your job, but you also love time with your family and friends, and maybe also a bit of time with your butt on the couch catching up on movies, football, and a little HGTV. As we start into this new year, where you think, “I am going to live my life just a bit differently this time,” think about the precious time you might have had over the holidays. Maybe you had a day off, or a week, or two weeks. Whatever amount of time you had to do whatever you wanted, cherish it. As you get pulled into your fast paced life where sometimes you feel like the wheels will spin-off, try to take a moment, slow down and remember this quieter time.

I recently found this quote from author Jonathan Carroll. I did not read one of his books, but found it online a few weeks ago. I have always loved the word bliss. That perfect moment when you go ah, this is the life. It does not always have to be when you are on vacation, or have down time. Maybe it is that moment of quiet when you put your feet up after getting your kids to bed, or maybe it is after giving a presentation that you know you nailed, or maybe it is as you slide into a hot bubble bath.

“One of the saddest realities is most people never know when their lives have reached the summit. Only after it is over and we have some kind of perspective do we realize how good we had it a day, a month, five years ago. The walk together in the December snow, the phone call that changed everything, that lovely evening in the bar by the Aegean. Back then you thought “this is so nice”. Only later did you realize it was the rarest bliss.”

If only we could bottle those moments, and on our toughest days open the bottle for seconds to be reminded of the smell, sound, and taste of that moment. Just to tell us life is good, that it does have moments of bliss. While we cannot bottle them, we can hold on to those rare moments. It is a new year, month, day. Just like we did for 2013, Chris and I are going to keep our jar out for “Good things that happened in 2014.”

Want to join us, so you can look back at your moments of bliss?

A dozen bananas and a marathon a day

Posted by random olio

Here it is the third day of January, and most people are thinking about what they are going to do in 2014, but I want to talk about accomplishments for 2013. Not my accomplishments, though. Two individuals much more admirable. Janette Murray-Wakelin (age 64), a breast cancer survivor who was told she had six months to live and Alan Murray (age 68) fall into this category. They just completed their 366th consecutive marathon on New Year’s Day, their first for 2014, and their 365th for 2013 (365 marathons in 365 days). Both completed a marathon a day, and ran entirely around Australia for charity while also sticking to a raw and vegan diet.

While I have no plans to emulate their current life, I can be inspired and push myself from their example. While the internet mentions them as an elderly couple at 64 and 68, I would have to disagree. I would say they are still young in life. This article states that they also eat a dozen bananas a day, along with their green smoothie. My kind of people! I am always impressed with what individuals are capable of and what inspires and drives them.

So it makes me think, what are you not doing that you want to be doing? What are you afraid of doing because you think you are not capable? Or are you not doing it because you think you do not have time? I always think that is an interesting excuse. We find time to watch hours of our DVR, surf the Internet, and yet some of the things that are the best for us (exercise and eating healthy) are low on the list. It used to be low on my list too, and something shifted in my life and now I look at eating + exercise in an entirely new way.

Take a few minutes to explore their website, they have an amazing story. Hopefully their life has inspired you to know that whatever you set out to do tomorrow, this month, and this year, a lot is possible. You are capable of way more than you realize.

New, new, and new

Posted by random olio

I love new beginnings. Maybe we are not all this way, but I think somewhere deep inside we at some point like when something is new. I love starting a new pen, a new journal, wearing a new item of clothing. There is something special about it. It is a first chance. It has not been effected by other people’s opinions or negativity. It is just new. How about a new job, the new house, or car? It is like you get to start over. Those of course are the bigger ticket items, which is why maybe a new pen or journal brings a smile to my face.

There is always the intent to have better handwriting in that journal, or to never lose that pen. Often our best intentions do not go as we plan, but I think those best intentions lead us in a direction to care more, be more present, and appreciate the little things in life. Oh, about new beginnings…do you know when a word or idea comes to you in different threads all in a short period of time? I am sure it is because of the New Year, but the idea of “new beginnings” has continued to find its way to me these past few weeks. I saved a few of the ideas. One is from Rainer Marie Rilke, who really needs no introduction:

“And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been.”

The other was a memoir I finished a few days ago called: “The Yarn Whisperer” by Clara Parkes:

“Beginnings are beautiful things. They’re the tank full of gas and the open road, a brand new notebook and a freshly filled pen. Reality hasn’t had time to intrude. All you see is the vast and exciting opportunity that lies ahead.” Page 81

I love that Parkes has the same thoughts on pens and journals. I had not thought about a tank full of gas and the open road but I can visualize it. Here is to new beginnings. A new year. A fresh look on life. Hopefully each of you have had at least a bit of down time to recharge and look freshly at your life as you start the New Year.

I decided to start out 2014 with a new look for random olio. It is something I have wanted to do for a while, and somehow yesterday it all came together. A new beginning just before random olio turns 2.