The blogging community has banded together to let their voices be heard on the issue of genocide in Darfur. There are rallies & events going on all over the country to raise awareness on Sunday April 30th. Go here to see if there's one in your town. There are plenty of other ways of getting your message across. Send Bush an email, look up 10 actions you can take right now &/or go visit this site for more info. Genocide is not a political issue. It's a human one. Every voice can make a difference.
Today, April 27th, is a very important day. Felix Zito a.k.a. Poppa, was born 85 years ago. Now, I do not mention all of the births, anniversaries, & B-Days of my family members on this site, because there's just so darn many of us. But, this is a milestone indeed. Poppa was the reason, in a round about way, that the family cookbook idea started & eventually ballooned into this. After putting up with the family chaos & drama for so many years, he deserves some kind of a medal. Or at the very least, some praise here.
My family took him out to dinner on Sunday to celebrate. I heard he ate like a champ! His favorite thing to do. I spoke with him today & his spirits were good. I asked how he felt & he replied "I'm 85 today. I feel like an old bastard!" See, after all this time Poppa still has his sense of humor intact. Happy B-Day Poppa! We love you!!
Tom made this recipe for my B-Day dinner a few weeks a go. He found it online. It was so light, tender and flaky. We mentioned to each other that this dish would taste great if it were grilled. We do not have access to a BBQ, a huge drawback of living in the Big Apple, but, tis the seasons for the rest of you. Let us know how it turns out.
Make a tray out of a doubled-length of heavy- duty foil large enough for the salmon filet, by folding a long piece in half & folding up all 4 sides, with dull side up. The shiny side reflects, so you want it down so it doesn't burn the food. Spray the entire inside of the foil tray with cooking spray.
Place salmon filet on foil tray skin side down. Squeeze lime juice over top & sprinkle with white wine. Spread top of salmon with butter.
In small bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients except the paprika. Spread mixture evenly over the top of the salmon. Sprinkle the top with paprika.
If using a grill preheat to high. Place the foil tray on hot grill. Cook in a cover grilled for 10 minutes per inch of thickness of filet. Do not overcook. Salmon is done when it turns light pink throughout & feels firm when pressed gently with back of a fork.
If using an oven, preheat to 475 degrees. Place foil try on baking sheet & cook for 15 minutes or until light pink color is achieved.
Garnish with lime slices. This method works best with thick filets. Yield: 2 servings
The lovely Kathleen tagged me to answer these 5 questions. Please go & check out her site to see where she & hubby start their day. Lucky Duckies!!!
Speaking of lucky - yesterday was tax day (nope, nothing lucky about that). I was at the post office to send mucho deniro to the IRS & NY State & feeling pretty bummed. Well, not for long because 2 packages were waiting there for me. Kathleen & Leslie sent me B-Day treats. It was about 10 days ago & I didn't want to make a fuss about it, but my girls did! Boy, did they spoil me; pretty notecards, chocolate bars & a retro creative journal kit from the Paper Princess herself. Ms. Liquid Sky Arts sent handmade jewelry, stationary, pretty paper flowers & some baby chick-a-dees all wrapped up so gloriously. Thank you my California girls! You truly know how to make a girl feel special. And it could not have come at a better time!!
5 MINUTES TO YOURSELF - I'd grab a cup of green tea & spend it on the computer surfing the net or checking emails.
5 BUCKS TO SPEND RIGHT NOW, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND IT? I'd buy a craft or home improvement/decorating magazine.
5 ITEMS IN YOUR HOUSE YOU COULD PART WITH RIGHT NOW, THAT YOU HADN'T THOUGHT OF ALREADY? Hmmm. This is a tough one, since I'm an organizer, I tend to purge often. I had to walk through my place a few times to find some stuff. All of the wax, wicks, etc that my man bought me one Xmas for candle making. I took a class & it wasn't really for me (sorry hon). Some old videos that I do not watch anymore like - "What About Bob" & "Beauty & the Beast". Funky plastic margarita glasses that I've been saving in case we have another Margarita Sunday Party. The huge sombrero that I'm saving for the same purpose. Old home magazines.
5 ITEMS YOU ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT PART WITH IN YOUR HOUSE. I had a much easier time with this. My computer; cookbook binder that has all of the recipes from my family, notes, stories, etc; Portrait that Tom draw of me. There are several copies out there, but, I have the original; Photo albums; Asian cast iron teapot.
5 Words You Love Amazing Sure - I use it constantly when working in the restaurant, but not ever in my "real" life. Poopy - I know it's bad, but Tom & I say it all the time; "Why are you poopy today? Do not be so poopy." 80's Style - Kyle(Tom's son) taught me this & I love it. Sweetie - My nickname for Tom. It's pretty funny when we are arguing & I'm yelling & calling him sweetie.
The honeymoon did us wonders. Not only did we came back relaxed, recharged & rearing to go. We also had some realizations. We definitely need to get out the city more often, even if just for a weekend. Our lives are so fast paced, stress, anxiety filled, that it all seems normal until we leave. NYC fight or flight mentality is bad for our health & we need to give our bodies & minds a break from it on a regular basis.
I had some major realizations of my own. One is that I do tend to over extend myself & then it takes forever to finish projects that are started. My focus has been resifted to finishing the gosh darn cookbook once & for all. I'm so ready to be done with it. It needs to be completed for all of you, family, friends & for myself, so that I can focus on other dreams.
I also came to the conclusion that although working with the acclaimed interior designer( see February 2nd post) may have been a good opportunity, it really wasn't the direction I wanted to take in my life. I would have to devote most, if not all of my free time to building a client base, learning, working for her, building her business, etc. The cookbook would have taken a permanent back seat. And truth be told, I really am working so hard to develop my own lifestyle company (cookbook, organizing, decorating, etc) so that I can be my own boss. And make my own hours/schedule and all of the perks that go with that. Now I feel much more clear about where I'm going. It's amazing what some free time sitting in front of the ocean will do to your head. Things suddenly become clear. You will probably notice the difference a bit, since this site will begin talking more & more about recipes & family stories again.
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