The Home Office

I'll be honest, I was a little unsure of how I would work day in and day out from my home. But as you can see, I have a pretty nice set up for my home office. I have a great view into my building's courtyard, natural light coming in every day, and my own kitchen and bathroom.

It's not that I don't like having co-workers around, but I am definitely more productive in my own home office. It's an option that works for me!

Recipe: Grilled Pork and Fontina Sandwiches

This recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and is quite simple and simply yummy!

2 (8oz) 1-inch thick, boneless pork loin chops
olive oil, for drizzling
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp herbes de Provence (or your favorite pork seasoning)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon joice
1 (1 pound) loaf ciabatta bread, ends trimmed, cut in half horizontally
4 romaine lettuce leaves, halved lengthwise
4 oz fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

Drizzle the pork chops on both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle both sides with the herbes de Provence. Grill for approx 10 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F. Transfer the chops to a cutting board and let them rest for 10 minutes. Slice each chop into 6 (1/4 inch thick) slices.

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, basil, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the sandwiches: Lay the bottom half of the bread on a work surface and spread with 1/2 of the mayo mixture. Add the lettuce leaves, arrange the cheese slices on the lettuce and top with the pork slices. Spread the top half of the bread with the remaining mayo mixture and cover the sandwiches. Slice the loaf into 4 pieces and serve.

Book Review: February 2010

I only made it through 1 book in February, but I would recommend it, as Luis is a very good storyteller. The book was The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. It's a tale of a young Mexican woman who becomes a hybrid of her native Mexican healing techniques and the power of the Christian God. She becomes a saint to her people, not only with her healing miracles, but also with her true voice that powers a revolution. I could see this novel as a movie, for sure.

Happy Reading!

Stick Your Tongue Out

Over my lunch hour today I stepped out to do a little grocery shopping. Yes, that is one of the perks of working from home. But there was about 5 minutes of my walk where the sky opened up and snowed enormous flakes. And all I could think of is that some people in this world rarely, if never, see snow like this. It was the type of snow fall where you just want to walk around outside with your tongue sticking out catching those big snowflakes.

I'm now going to finish my day with some homemade tacos and a new episode of LOST. A good day! Here's hoping you had a good day too!

Recipe: Grilled Tuna with Pineapple Chipotle Salsa

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen, and something I tried last week and recommend!

CHIPOTLE SALSA
1 cup diced pineapple, preferably fresh
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seeded and minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce (or any hot, small pepper that you would like)

Mix all the salsa ingredients together. Cover and let stand at room temperature until ready to serve.

GRILLED TUNA
4 (8 oz) tuna steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
sesame seeds

Coat the tuna steaks with the oil and sesame seeds. Throw the steaks on a grill and cook until desired doneness (usually rare), about 3 minutes per side.

Put tuna steaks on platter and top with salsa.

A Night in St. Paul

I was fortunate enough to find myself back in MN this weekend. It was a quick trip to visit with my college girlfriends. We had not seen each other in over a year, so it was definitely time for a visit.

We all met at Cora's home in south Minneapolis and it was like a family gathering with everyone arriving at different times with loud hellos and story telling. After getting out our initial excitement from seeing each other, we piled into the cars and went to St. Kate's. We went to go see an art exhibit, "Breaking the Veils: Women Artists from the Islamic World". It was a very good show - I definitely had a few favorite pieces. More importantly, it was very powerful to see their works, their imagination and creativity, and their brave spirits.

From the depths of this powerful show, we lightened the mood by heading off to Snuffie's for hamburgers and malts. Mmmmmm. I particularly enjoyed my fudge-butterscotch malt. From there we made our way to the Embassy Suites where we checked in for the night. We enjoyed their free happy hour and retired to our room where the girls discussed the book they had read. Apparently there were rather mixed reviews of the book, but it was an intriguing enough discussion that I'm going to read it later this month. I'll let you know my thoughts.

The evening kept on rocking with many board and card games, more storytelling, and belly aching laughter. That is exactly what an evening with good friends should be. So Cora, Erin, Leah, Michelle and Nora - it was so wonderful to see you! Miss you much!

3.8 Earthquake

Yep, I experienced another earthquake in Chicago this morning. About 4am, I awoke from my slumber to feel my bed shaking. It felt just like last time - like someone was underneath my bed and just shaking it. Not a fun way to be woken up. But at least the scale of this earthquake is not as traumatic as many others around the world have experienced.
I just never thought I'd be experiencing earthquakes in Chicago - it still blows my mind.

Three Sheets

It is with mixed emotions that I write this post. I'll start with the good news first. I recently found out that my favorite TV Show, "Three Sheets" is now back on the air. Woo-hoo! And I'm still trying to figure out if Zane needs a female co-host.
The bad news is that the show is now on Fine Living Network....a cable channel that I don't have on my plan. The horror. When will the day come that I can choose only the cable channels that I want to have on my bill? One day, one day.

So for those of you that are fans of the show...and have FLN in your line up...godspeed.