I LOVE October!

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 30 seconds. Read it Later?

I love October. I am not entirely sure why but my suspicion is that I have visions of beautiful fall colors, orange pumpkins, apple cider and warm fuzzy scarves. In western Washington though, you are lucky if you get a few fleeting days before the leaves are blown and rained into oblivion, only to clog gutters and get stuck to your shoes. I refuse to admit that it's entirely possible that my affinity for October lies in the fact that it is also my birth month. I'd sooner admit to enjoying dressing up for Halloween. No, I am certain my longing for the autumn is based on the promise of those temporary jewels that disappear as quickly as they arrive.


This year has been totally different. We had a rough start, with a weak showing this summer, but just as I had been dreaming and hoping (for a couple years actually), the month of October has been simply wonderful. Just yesterday, I was staring out the window while forcing myself to jog on the treadmill, (not a happy point in my day), when I noticed something. Outside it was the beginning of sunset but across the parking lot of the gym was a street lined with maples that had turned yellow. At this time of night, they looked almost luminescent. It was a total trick of the eye but it was like the trees were glowing and I was captivated. It’s moments like that where a picture could hardly do it justice but the memory will stick with me.

There is nothing I love more than crisp, sunny mornings where the leaves are starting to turn yellow and you can see your breath!  Defrosting the ice on your windows only takes a few moments because the air really isn’t as cold as it first seems. And I don’t even mind because I know that bright blue cloudless sky will be worth the extra few minutes of warming the car.

There is another reason I love this time of year and it helps me get over the very short window of color October provides me. I must confess, I am a bit of a scarf wh*re, (my family reads this) and I have probably 20-25 different colored scarves, although I haven’t counted in a year or so. And yes, I try to wear them all at least once. Blues, oranges, pinks and greens, you name it. And all these colors cheer me. They give me joy on the grayer days of winter and I’m pretty sure I’m a little addicted to buying them.

So for this October, I’d like to thank Mother Nature, Steve Poole, and my mom, because without her, I might have been born at some other time of the year. I hear the rains are about to start at the end of this week so enjoy these short days.

Now let’s all get ready for one heck of a La Nina this winter. Get ‘cher umbrellas and boats ready!
Thanks!

Semi-Homemade Spicy Orange Chicken Recipe

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 49 seconds. Read it Later?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Sauce: (this recipe has been halved since I only serve two people)
1 ½ cups water
4 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
½ teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

Tyson Buffalo Style Popcorn Chicken Bites® (try regular if you don't like it spicy)

Added Fun-ness:
Frozen Peppers (I chop mine a little, but that is entirely preference)
Baby Carrots (julienned & boiled with the rice. Julienne cut carrots cook faster.)

Oh yeah, you'll want RICE with this dish since the sauce is awesome. I use the Uncle Dan’s® Boil-in-a-Bag® brand but I have used regular Minute Rice and boiling the carrots with it, didn't seem to affect how the rice turned out.  Of course, I likely over cook my rice anyhow. Gourmet, I ain’t!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the popcorn chicken on a cookie sheet and follow the cooking directions on the bag. So, in my case, I would put half a bag of the popcorn chicken on the sheet and cook them for 10 - 12 minutes. That should be enough for three people.

2. Grab a pot and boil your rice and julienned carrots, this works for me because the Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a-Bag takes like 10-12 minutes. Depending on the rice you choose, you may have to cook your carrots some other way or leave them out. (You can steam them in the Micro.)

3. NOW, while you have a second, start making the sauce. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water separately then stir water/cornstarch mixture into the sauce.

4. Reduce heat to medium low, fish out your carrots and add them and the peppers and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I go until the peppers look done.) The sauce thickens as it cools but you can add more cornstarch... not that I would recommend this, especially if you want to eat leftovers that don't look like jell-o.

5. Now while you were making the sauce, the Chicken and the Rice should have finished cooking. Perhaps the Chicken may have even cooled. You can add the piping hot sauce to the chicken and everything should warm back up.

I tweak my recipes nearly every time I make them. This recipe is a foundation to build on and make changes to so feel free to make them and leave them below as comments. I would love to hear how you have improved upon this.

Thanks!

2 Minute Book Review: For One More Day

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 17 seconds. Read it Later?

Book: For One More Day
Author: Mitch Albom
Audio book read by: Mitch Albom

I usually try to steer clear from those melodramatic, tear-jerker best sellers because they are usually so predictable. You know the ones, they are written by authors with names like Sparks, Picoult, Hosseini, and Niffenegger. Somehow these books always end up on my checkout list from the local library. The public has a love affair with sad stories that may or may not even be realistic. These authors have the magic equation of 1 parts believable or relatable characters, 2 parts absorbing story, and 3 parts sentimentality.

That said, I just finished one of these stories, having been sucked in by a Mitch Albom book. He is just about the king of sentimentality, and I am not certain he has written a story yet that wasn’t a about the sad yet life affirming event of death, or at least one that was popular.

(I do get tired of seeing all of his books say, on the cover no less, “Author of Tuesdays with Morrie.” If he hasn’t made buckets and buckets full of money on his other books yet, they he’ll never be considered a Best Selling Author.)

Anyway, this book was called ‘For One More Day,” and I would have to say that the title says it all. You know things are going to get sad when you only have one more day. Needless to say, I knew what I was getting into with this one.

I was surprised only once in the entire story and it was at the very end. I won’t give it away, but it’s safe to say the story was about a man, spending one more day with his mother. Sort of a “do-over” the main character gets to be with his deceased mother for a single day, learning valuable truths and lessons about life and his mother’s biggest secrets.

The story held my attention, but I am a sucker for stories about families that have been split by divorce, coming from one myself. It was a short listen (Audiobook) and I was only left with one question when the book was complete. I’d say that is pretty good, all things considered. The story turned a little preachy, like most of his books usually do, and there were the standard quotable inspirational lines.I can't say that I gained any insight into my own mother but there were a few moments where I could relate, but I have a sneaking suspicion this is all part of his formula.

My final analysis of this book is that was not terrible, and I appreciated a little change-up in the ending. Would I recommend it? Probably. Would I go out of my way to tell people to read it? Probably not. For me, it was just OK. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for a mushy, meandering inspirational. My only defense is that I have a long commute and books on tape are better than the advertisements on the radio.

Feel free to leave me a comment. Maybe you actually LOVED this book and can't stand hearing anyone say something negative. Let me know.