Word of the Day: Continue

An antonym of the work continue is to lay off. Well that's what happened to me, after 19 years at the same job I was abruptly laid off. No warning just laid off on a Thursday morning. I got in my car and went home in tears. What do I do? I have always worked, ever since I was in high school I have had a job.

As the days pass by I realize that this is a little more difficult than I would have expected. don't get me wrong, it is wonderful to be able to sleep late, and catch up on all of the things that need to be done in the house. The difficulty came to me when I realized that I have defined so much of myself by the job I had. When we meet someone for the first time the first question we usually ask is , "What do you do?" Well, what do I do?? that is what I am trying to figure out.

Corn & Barley Salad

2 C cooked barley
3 ears cooked fresh corn cut from the cob or 2+ C frozen, thawed, drained.
1/2 C scallions, thinly sliced and chopped
1 large tomatoe chopped
1-2, 4 in. fresh hot chilies, seeded and minced

Cook barley and cool, add the corn, scallions, tomatoe and chili pepper and toss well.

Drizzle the salad with the following dressing:

1/3 C olive oil
3 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 squirt of mustard
salt and papper to taste
whisk all of the ingredients together

Biscotti

Delicious biscotti we enjoy with coffee in the morning or a treat in the evening.

1 1/2 C All purpose flour
1 tsp. aniseed
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 C sugar
2 T butter, softened
2 large eggs
cooking spray
3 oz. premium dark chocolate, coparsley chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine flour, aniseed, baking soda, and salt stirring well with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, beat at a medium speed with a mixer until blended (about 2 minutes).
Add eggs, 1 at a time.
Add flour mixture tio sugar mixture bleating until blended.
Turn dough lightly onto alightly floured surface and knead lightly 7 times.
Shape dough into a 12 in. long roll.
Place roll on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat to 1 in thickness.
Bake at 350 for 30 min
Remove roll from baking sheet, cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. (Stop baking here for a softer cookie.)

3. Reduce oven temperature to 300

4. Cut roll crosswise into about 22 slices. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet. Bake at 300 for 5-7 minutes. turn cookies over and cook other side for 5-7 minutes. cook completely on a iwre rack.

5. Heat chocolate in microwave or in a heavy saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes. Dip cookies, top sides down in chocolate. Place cookie on a baking sheet, chocolate side up to cook. As an alternative drizzle chocolate over cookies.
Let stand 1 hour or until set.

Calories 83
Fat 2.2g
Protein 1.6g
Carbs. 14.6

Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008 Cookbook

Sesame Peanut Noodles

Delicious, low fat easy recipe from Cook Yourself Thin on Lifetime TV. One important note: The noodles are great fresh, however they are not very good as leftovers.
Serves 6
Calories per serving 308

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

Dressing:
2 T rice vinegar
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
1/4 C peanut butter
2 T grated ginger
1 T dark sesame oil
1 tsp. bnrown sugar
1 lime
1/2 C hot water

For assembling:
1/2 bag store bought cole slawmix
1/2 C rep pepper
1/2 C cilantro
1/2 lime squeezed
1/2 C apple
1/2 C jicama
1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 scallions julienne
1/2 C dry roasted peanuts, fro garnish
cilantro chopped for garnish
lime wedges for garnish

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.

2. To make dressing, combine all the ingredients into a small mixing bowl and stri together with a whisk. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss. stir in the coleslaw mix, red pepper and cilantro. Squeeze half of a lime over themixture and toss.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, toss, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Garnish with peanuts, cilanto and lime wedges. Serve.

Lavender Shell

This is an unfinished Lavender Shell. this is a pattern from another Maggie Sefton book called, Needled to Death. It was so easy, knit in the round. You split the stitches and work on the front than the back and join at the top. It will be a kind of a tank top.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe turned out so tasty I had to take a picture of it. The recipe came from the April issue of Country Living. I made a few adjustments and I will post my recipe as soon as I find the magazine.

Mittens in a Heat Wave

Can you believe I was knitting this mitten this weekend and the temperatures were above 90 degrees. Good thing Jason keeps our house so cool or else I would have certaintly melted.

I made this easy mitten in varigated baby alpaca. The pattern came from my latest read, Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton. I just love her books. I can't wait for the newest one to come out in June, it's called Dropped dead Stitch.