My Big Announcement

I know some of my readers have been chomping at the bit to hear my latest news. As many of you know, I was unceremoniously laid off from my job recently as a geeky software business analyst of almost 16 years with the company in one fashion or other.

One of my friends asked me, “So now what are you going to do with your life?” My knee-jerk reaction was to say, “Well I guess get another business analyst job.”

But then I woke up that night with an epiphany. Do I REALLY have to go back into the same profession? My future is a blank slate! I have many skills besides being an analyst and writer. I like to cook, I like like to make great food and serve it to others (and I’ve been blogging about it for over 6 freakin’ years). WHY NOT OPEN MY OWN FOOD TRUCK???

And so I did.

My Food Cart

Well, technically it’s a Class IV food cart, but to me it’s my own food truck and my future. The permitting process has been tedious at best, but we are getting so close to the final stretch.

I’ll be selling Texas-style street tacos on a busy riverfront plaza downtown where I live, and have the option to work events and festivals (with more permits, of course). I’ll serve breakfast tacos for the morning downtown workers, then regular street tacos for lunch and weekend nights (beef, pork and chicken). And my creamy spicy pinto beans will be served up all day!

Creamy Spicy Pinto Beans

The logo and website designs are still in process, as well as the final street vendor permit. I don’t want to say much more about that part lest I jinx any outcomes. Of course I’ll be using the standard social media platforms to also promote my new business.

I’ve been cooking up a storm with my recipe development, and my poor family is about taco-ed out, ha!

Carne Asada Street Tacos

I’ve also landed my first gig catering a breakfast taco brunch, which will be a good test for cooking larger quantities. I have a commissary/commercial kitchen at my disposal for my food prep, but all food will be dished up fresh and hot on the cart, complete with cast-iron warmed corn and flour tortillas. I also have three signature salsas for patrons (my Texas Green Sauce has been getting raves) to choose from, as well as the other standard street taco garnishes.

Egg, Potato and Cheese Breakfast Taco with Texas Green Sauce

So that’s it! Oh, you want to know the name of my business too? Well I’m sorry you’ll have to wait longer on that one until everything is finalized. I know, I am such a tease. Many of my close friends and family know, but I’d really like to kick off with my new logo. Stay tuned! XOXO

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Thank You!

Happy 5th Anniversary

My blogiversary nearly slipped by me, but the WordPress monkeys were kind enough to remind me that yesterday I published my first post in 2011. So I am now starting out on my sixth year of blogging and sharing recipes. I can’t say 2016 was the best of years for me physically, but in the cooking department I expanded my horizons and bought a sous vide circulator and have had good success with this new method of cooking. I hope to begin sharing some of those recipes this new year after I’m satisfied they are up to standard for public consumption.

With that, a huge Thank You to all my friends and followers for your support, and Happy Cooking/Blogging in the New Year!

Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup ~ Food52 Community Pick!

Turkey Lentil and Mixed Brown Rice Soup

I’m happy to announce my recipe for Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup was selected by the editors of Food52 cooking website as a Community Pick in their “Your Best Recipe with Thanksgiving Leftovers” contest!

Now I just have to make it to the finals and people can vote, but you have a chance to test it now and send in your testing notes! Unfortunately I omitted an ingredient from the ingredients list but it is in the instructions. I’ve asked the editors if they can fix that for me, as I can’t edit a recipe during an active contest. (It was 1/2 cup chopped onion in case you’re interested.)

Here’s a link to the selections:—> Food52 Community picks

And here’s a link to my original recipe that has a handy-dandy printable PDF! (Although you can also print my recipe from Food52.) —> Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup

I plan on having a new recipe up this weekend too. Crazy weather here too for November today, sunny and mid-60s! Unheard of!

Spam Again???

Lasagna Soup

After a few blissful days of being able to comment on my friend’s blogs, the spam-blocker has reared its ugly head again. I noticed it when I answered a couple of questions on a friend’s post and she never responded. That would be you MOLLIE, aka FrugalHausfrau! Please check your spam. Well, if anything y’all are getting more than one post a week from me. Sneak preview: Lasagna Soup next weekend!

 

I AM NOT SPAM

I am not spam. Really. Spam filter Akismet has taken it upon itself to mark all my comments on your lovely WordPress blogs as spam, as some algorithm in their – while intelligent and useful – spam filter has a flaw obviously. I do not send out mass-produced comments telling you that I can increase your SEO ratings or that I have secured a large sum of money that is yours for the taking if you just wire me a sum of money immediately. No. I have read your recent posts and merely want to leave you an individual comment on it.

That being said, I have emailed them asking to not block my comments (I had to sum up 14+7 to prove I was not a robot) and asked them to fix it. In the meantime, could you please mark my comments as “not spam” so that you can see my comments? Hopefully this gets cleared up quickly. Thank you!

500 WordPress Followers ~ THANK YOU!

Well it only took me 5 1/2 years to get here, but a special thanks goes to each and every one of my followers who take the time to read my recipes and various fishing adventures. This blog started out as a way to document recipes for my daughter when she went off to college (which will be next year, yikes!!!) but it has evolved into a fun hobby I enjoy. I have met so many wonderful people in this cyberworld of ours, so THANK YOU for being a part of it. xoxo

p.s. Another shout-out to my over 300 Facebook followers too!

Do Foodie Bloggers Have Depression? I Am Sure Many Do…

Ra and Depression Accepted

Here’s a sideways post on my usual recipes. I follow this awesome lady Ra Avis on her blog. Her life has been an unusual yet inspiring journey told through the magic that flows through her fingers into the interwebz. Please read if you are any way connected to depression, yourself or otherwise. ❤

How To Love | Ra Avis #DCfC

Pure Barre Review, a New Book, and Happy Mother’s Day!

Pure Barre

I really hesitated to post this on Mother’s Day, but why not? My next new recipe is not a great one for Mother’s Day so didn’t want to post it this weekend, but I was glad to get all my Tex-Mex/Mexican recipes compiled for you earlier this week for Cinco de Mayo.

So. Many of you know I injured my back about a month ago. After many physical therapy and chiropractic appointments, I was finally cleared by the doctors to start exercising.

I learned about the Pure Barre exercise class from a fellow blogger The Food and Wine Hedonist, who shares their playlists of sorts with us, such as this one: Workout Music Recycled: Pure Barre. He also got me hooked on the TV reality show Top Chef. Thanks dude.

Then I also received a new Indie book this week from fellow blogger djmatticus aka the blog The Matticus Kingdom aka in real life as Matthew Blashill. He gifted me a signed copy of his book The Erratic Sun, co-authored with Micheal Hanson. I am looking forward to plopping into bed soon to start reading this novel and to leave a glowing review for them both on Amazon. I wanted to read it earlier today, but I could not drag myself out of bed until I had to get ready for Mother’s Day brunch, which turned into many wine glasses later and here I am now.

Now on to Pure Barre. This is an exercise class, and you are fully clothed. It is not Pure Bare, lol, as one friend missed the double R and thought it was a pure naked exercise class. How funny it that?

This is an intense 55-minute-packed class that goes by quickly, but it’s all low impact, concentrating on small isometric movements. The crux of the class is “The Tuck.” Tuck actually has two different meanings in this class. The first is the actual “tuck” position, which is tucking in your pelvis for a spine “neutral” position. The next meaning is “tucking” in your abdomen so that any movement from your body is achieved from tucking in your abdomen/spine from the “core” of your body. So if you are against the wall, and they say lift your legs an inch using the “tuck,” you are actually lifting your leg using your abdomen muscles to contract your legs so much, they move up an inch or so, without using your leg muscles. Crazy, right??? But it works!

And then you get the “burn” and then the uncontrollable “shaking.” There I was, with a round nerf-ball-like ball, on my back with my legs straight in the air above me, clinching the ball between my shins. “Just squeeze the ball with your legs, and hold, then tuck and hold, then tuck, and hold.” 90 seconds of that. OMG. My legs starting shaking so bad I thought I had the tremors. Thankfully the instructor told me if you start shaking like that, then you are doing it right, as that means you are using your “core.” I thought I just was too out of shape.

Anyways, after the class ended, we all clapped, and then I got out and signed up for 5 more weeks of unlimited classes. I felt so good after the class I was enthusiastic to continue the course to getting fit and healthy. I wonder if they have a buyer’s remorse 3-day policy? I could hardly get out of bed today. HOWEVER, I am still committed to this, as the pain I’m having is not the severe back injury pain, but that lovely “no pain no gain” muscle pain that I know will achieve only wonderful results to get this 53-something year old body back into shape. If you got this far in the post, thanks for hanging in there! Happy late Mother’s Day to all! 🙂

 

 

New Kid on the Block…

Penny’s First Day

Hello! Meet Penny, aka Ms. Moneypenny aka Penelope, our new family member and rescue dog. I have been way behind with reading my WordPress friend’s – foodie or otherwise – blogs due to this new adorable furkid.

She’s an unconfirmed Australian Shephard/Border Collie mix rescue dog, and full of energy as the day is long! She’s quite a hand-full and we are having to spend quite a bit of time acclimating her to her new environment and getting to know our beloved Hannah Banana rescue dog, who we’ve had since she was a year old. Hannah is almost 13 years old now, but it’s nice that the new kid on the block has a “mentor” so to speak to teach her manners and household rules. This new little ball of energy is a year and a half old, but has lots of training (and running) in her future.

Here is Penny on Day 2 after some exercise ~ Finally calmed down a tad.

I hope to get a new recipe up this weekend, but if I don’t, you’ll know why! 😀

I’m a Klutz and My Middle Name is Grace

My blog title is entirely true.Who knew I could survive skydiving almost 1000 jumps without killing myself? Nonetheless.

This is my first blog quote challenge and have never done one before, as I am challenged enough just to get at least one original recipe with photos once a week. But I made an exception this time because: 1. I do enjoy the blogs I follow that challenged me and 2. I got laid up last night after injuring my foot in a stupid tripping accident so had time to peruse the interwebz for quotes instead of cooking. I made hubby cook dinner last night while I yelled instructions to him across the room with my foot up on ice. NO, that doesn’t make these challenges any less than what they are, they are a wonderful way of linking up with new people. They are just a way to “share the love” so to speak.

Thank you Jean from White House Red Door and Natascha from Natascha’s Palace for the nominations! Please do check out their recipes if you have the chance.

I’m breaking the chain somewhat as I’m not doing three days in a row and instead posting them all at once, nor nominating anyone else (I’m a rebel that way), but I am linking to these lovely blogs, though. Enjoy! ❤

Quote 1:

Quote 2:

Quote 3:

This last one really hit home with me, because really? I cannot imagine. Onions rule!