Gemelli in my belly!

As much as I love to cook, I have to admit, it becomes a stressful chore at times. We all have busy lives, and trying to prepare hot, healthy meals can become a challenge. I too, fall into temptation when passing by a fast food place or the pizza take out at Costco. Oh, and forget about the kids, they would forgo the most delicious home cooked meal for pizza. That said, one of the things that never fails to please a crowd is a nice warm plate of pasta....gluten phobes you've been warned!

Please look away if my pasta offends your sensibilities. One can whip this dish up in 20 minutes. Give or take a few.
Ingredients;
2 ribs of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1/2 small white onion chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic minced
2 large boneless chicken breasts sliced into bite sized pieces
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
1 16oz  box of Gemelli pasta cooked in salted water until al dente
grapeseed oil to sautee vegetables and chicken in, and a good quality olive oil to finish pasta
Parmigiano Reggiano slivers or grated Parmesan out of the green plastic cylinder if you live at my house.

Directions;
Sautee vegetables in oil until soft and translucent, add chicken and slightly brown.
Deglaze pan with water, white wine, or chicken broth...choice is yours.
add cooked pasta and toss with a generous amount of a fruity olive oil.
Finish with Parmigiano, red pepper flakes, and a little chopped parsley to taste.
This is marvelous served with a salad and garlic bread.

Ajua...That's Yahoo in Spanish.

The secret to great salsa is to dry roast everything in a skillet. The dry heat blisters and chars the skins on the tomato and hot peppers. The sugars in the fruits caramelize, creating a mellow, rich, and slightly smoky flavor profile. Try it out, it's well worth the extra time and effort. I do my tomatoes, and chilies in batches, at the end I also sear my onion and garlic. I place them in a glass bowl to cool, and when I am able, I remove as much of the blackened skin as reasonably possible. Please use the ripest and highest quality tomatoes you can find...nothing worse than anemic tomatoes. When you are ready to process your salsa, you can either use a molcajete, which is Mexican mortar and pestle or a food processor set to pulse. Add sea salt to taste and chopped cilantro for brightness if you wish.

 

 Please feel free to experiment with different peppers and tomatoes, my recipe is a classic template you can elaborate on, as you wish. Salsa Roja Mexicana is delicious on everything from eggs, to chips, to grilled fish....Ajua!

Drugstore Standouts

I will be doing a review of this gorgeous new L'Oreal palette, along with a couple of eye looks to go along with it. This palette is one of many that have been brought out in light of the amazing success that Urban Decay has had with it's series of nude palettes. How does this compare? We shall soon see.

The next item that caught my eye with it's vintage good looks was the Jergen's All-Purpose Face Cream. Look at the rather zaftig tub with its pretty painted ladies on the label....if this product has survived this many decades, I suspect it's worth trying. I have used Pond's Cold Cream in the past and found it soothing and effective, especially in Chicago style winter weather. I will put this to the test at removing a full face of makeup including waterproof mascara.

 

Please check in soon for my discussion of these products. See you soon, beauties!

Are they truly infallible?

Infallibility is a bold claim. Let's refer to the definition of infallible shall we?

in·fal·li·ble

inˈfaləb(ə)l/

adjective

adjective: infallible

1. incapable of making mistakes or being wrong.

   "doctors are not infallible"

   synonyms:

   unerring, unfailing, faultless, flawless, impeccable, perfect, precise, accurate, meticulous, scrupulous "an infallible sense of timing"

   • never failing; always effective.

     "infallible cures"

      

     unfailing, unerring, guaranteed, dependable, trustworthy, reliable, sure, certain, safe, foolproof, effective;   These are the new longwearing lipcolors from L'Oreal. They come in an array of beautifully classic, but safe shades. No crazy purples or neon pinks here. I really wanted to love these, however, the two colors I chose performed inconsistently. I will say I really enjoyed the bottom shade called Passionate Petal. The other shade called Timeless Rose, while a very elegant soft pink with silver microglitter was much harder to work with. You see, for such tall claims of infallibility, these require a bit of skill to apply. A learning curve, if you will, as the formula is fluid like a paint. It rather reminds me of the texture of a slightly thickened nail varnish. One needs to apply with its doe foot applicator and wait for it to dry without touching the lips for about 30 seconds. It's dry when it starts to feel tacky. The second step is to apply the clear balm on the other end of the product.   Unfortunately, there are no instructions that I saw on the product to explain this process. I suspect the thin coat of lip balm I applied prior to applying Timeless Rose may have affected the overall results. In sum, this is a nice option for those of us who want a lipcolor to last and remain fresh looking for several hours. I believe one could easily get 8 hours of wear from these. The colors are gorgeous, the packaging is classy, and the price is reasonable at about 10 US Dollars. The downside is that one needs to reapply the balmy product every   couple of hours in order to keep the finish moist looking....otherwise watch out mummy lips. The other drawback is that this is not the most user friendly formula. It can apply a bit patchily as you can see in the picture above with Timeless Rose. You need to have a steady and swift hand with these. As for infallibility...mmmm, not so much. Below pictured is 111 Passionate Petal.  Overall, I would rate this product an 8/10.

Oatmeal, Plain and Tall

Poor oatmeal, she gets such a bad reputation for being mushy, boring, and bland. Nowadays, there are so many choices on the market; quinoa, kamut, farro, etc., but oatmeal is noble. She should not be forgotten and consumed only in a pinch after being poured out of a little paper envelope and hastily microwaved. Oats are unique among grains, oats almost never have their bran and germ removed in processing. So if you see oats or oat flour on the label, relax: you're virtually guaranteed to be getting whole grain.

In the U.S., most oats are steamed and flattened to produce "old-fashioned" or regular oats, quick oats, and instant oats. The more oats are flattened and steamed, the quicker they cook – and the softer they become. If you prefer a chewier, nuttier texture, consider steel-cut oats, also sometimes called Irish or Scottish oats. Steel-cut oats consist of the entire oat kernel (similar in look to a grain of rice), sliced once or twice into smaller pieces to help water penetrate and cook the grain. My most important tip for a delicious breakfast porridge is to always add a dash of salt and follow the proportions on the bag. I personally much prefer the steel cut variety for its toothsome nutty texture. Give it

a try and I bet you won't regret it; My children actually get excited when they hear oatmeal is what's for breakfast. I also provide add ins like cream or milk, Demerrara sugar, honey, raisins, or nuts. It's like a breakfast sundae for them.
How to be sure you're getting whole oats: When you see oats or oatmeal or oat groats on an ingredient list, they are almost invariably whole oats.
Oats are the Grain of the Month in January. Click here for more information on oats.
Health bonus: Scientific studies have concluded that like barley, oats contain a special kind of fiber called beta-glucan found to be especially effective in lowering cholesterol. Recent research reports indicate that oats also have a unique antioxidant, avenanthramides, that helps protect blood vessels from the damaging effects of LDL cholesterol