Of Energy, Food and the Muppets - a placeholder

So, my version of the Happiness Project. Suddenly had real homework. Not just writing. And while I knew in my heart of hearts that was coming, I wasn't ready. But it's OK because

• It's all about getting more energy
• I'm starting another huge personal improvement project, uh, lifestyle change, that should tie in quite nicely

But I still don't have time to write about it right now.

Tonight's Sunday supper (thanks Martha) - last one before I start my new diet, uh, lifestyle change (more on that another time, too):

• Pork Tenderloin & Mustard-Wine Sauce
• Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta & Lemon Zest
• Baby Spinach with Warm Olive Oil & Walnuts
• Pear Crumbles (diced pear sauteed in butter & liquer, fiinished in the oven with a ground pecan, rolled oats & maple syrup/butter topping)

And finally, speaking of synergy (NOT!), I was so intrigued by the snippet of the Muppets doing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody that Disney XD has been using as a bumper, that I made G-man go out to YouTube to see if the full version is out there. And it is! And it looks great full screen in HD. AND there were several other fun little recent MuppetsStudio clips to watch as well: MuppetsStudio.

Sunday dinner...and not-so-Sunday dinner past

This Sunday, made up out of my head (except the spinach salad; thanks Martha!) and yummy!

• Spinach salad: walnuts slowly "toasted" (fried!) in olive oil while also caramelizing some sliced shallots in the other half of the pan, then tossed baby spinach with the walnuts, and most of the oil along with some white balsamic and salt & pepper
• Bulgar: simply simmered in water (1:2) with salt, then tossed with the frizzled shallots and some cinnamon, cumin, S&P
• Turkey patties: ground turkey thighs mixed with crumbled feta, an egg, plain cooked bulgar (before tossing with the shallots / spices), ground cumin, garam masala, crumbled saltines, S&P - fried in the pan / some of the oil that I toasted the walnuts and shallots in
• Baked apples: halved Red Delicious, cut side browned in butter; flipped over into a baking dish and "stuffed" (piled high) with ground pecans, dried fruit bits, rolled oats, brown sugar, the melted butter from browning, vanilla & almond extracts; pan deglazed with hard cider & maple syrup then poured over the baking dish; baked at 375 until very soft and the topping is over-browned

Last Sunday, we went to the Rodeo & Stock Show for Mexican Heritage Night (pretty fun and I got a really cute pair of cowboy boots, but the 9-year-old mariachi singer making his professional debut was allowed to sing perhaps 3x too overlong). But Monday night, Unca Ron joined us for:

• Southwest Pulled Brisket
• Coleslaw with vinaigrette
• Fresh tortillas
• Pan de dulce from the same corner market as the tortillas (best ones ever; like boston cream donuts)

Good but not as good as the Slow Cooker Carnitas.

Happiness Project: Why?

Following >MVM's lead on this Happiness Project thing. Still haven't read the book, but it's kind of fun to just go with the flow. Here's the next "assignment" -- have I mentioned that I love having someone else decide what I should write about, other than dinner?

So, the assignment for you this week is to write about some or all of the following: why are you doing this project? What is your history in trying to be more happy? What does happiness look like for you?

Why? 
I mentioned this in my first HP post, but I'll expand here. While I can be kind of selfish / self-centered (like going to bed early and letting my DH clean the cat boxes way more often than I do), generally I have a hard time really putting myself first on the truly important things (uh, exercise? meditation? GNO?). And blogging is actually one of those important things.  I like the discipline of doing the writing, and I find it calming. (And it's all about me, at least for now!) Plus I don't really have any other creative outlets except cooking, and since I want to scale back on my eating -- we'll have a post about middle-aged spread and hyperlipidemia another time -- I'm probably also going to scale back on cooking. So the time is right to ramp up the writing, eh? (Either that or take up scrapbooking...not!

Happiness history
As someone who knows a bit more about anxiety and depression than I'd really like, happiness can be a little more elusive than I'd prefer. If anxiety is spending too much time worrying about the future, and depression can be equally fixated on the past, that doesn't leave much time for joie de vivre in the present.
So it's been a fairly constant struggle for me, and I'd say I'm one of those who thinks it's all about the next milestone as yet unachieved: I'll be happy when I...

• graduate from high school; 
• start a career; 
• get a full-time tenure-track teaching position (changed careers to get away from that one!); 
• get married; 
• have a child; 
• lose 5 (or 60) pounds; 
• make more money;  
• remodel my kitchen/bathroom/house/yard; 
• get out of debt; 
• find god; 
• whatever. 

I also tried some typical escapist routes in my younger days, but for the past couple of decades, my focus has been on conventional therapies -- medical, psychological, meditation, exercise, yoga, vacations -- the usual round-up.

Vision of happiness
Living in the moment!

(Umm, and because I like writing but have a hard time carving out the time for it, you will probably see the occasional posts appear with less than full truthful dates, including this one. It's just that I like to keep things in order, and I want to catch up on happiness project, and Sunday supper club, and anything else that comes to mind, and it's more satisfying graphically if posts are on separate days. So there.)

(Oh, and no offense to dedicated any scrapbookers reading this post. I love the results but it's SO not for me.)

blah-blah-blahgging

I plan to continue following >MVM's lead on this Happiness Project thing. Still haven't read the book, but it's kind of fun to just go with the flow. Before I get into this week's "assignment" -- which I'm planning on thoughtfully writing and editing over a couple of days -- I have to celebrate some serendipity.

We had an easy & delicious Sunday supper delivered courtesy of the blogosphere.

I went to check out a new blog. Most of my regular blog reading is related to people I'm friends with or have at least met face-to-face, although there are a couple of blogs I follow with some regularity that are written by folks I haven't met but that I feel kinship with for various reasons. Anyway Lollyblogger (who I don't know and hadn't read before) is going to host some IRL friends, and I was intrigued, y'know as a former Los Angeleno and all (yes, I realize she's OC and I was really N. Hollywood, which is *gasp* actually the Valley, but it was a lifetime ago anyway, so why quibble on ancient history, plus it really has nothing to do with tonight's dinner).

The first post I read quoted a recipe from another site that looked great, and although I do plan to make the original slow-cooker Southwest Pulled Brisket some time soon, there was a somewhat related recipe in one of the comments on the second site that really caught my interest. (And then I just got lost in Smitten Kitchen; I must NOT start reading that one on regular basis!)

So, tonight, we had:

• Slow Cooker Carnitas (I took the liberty of searing the meat and then the onions in the same pan which I deglazed with a few tablespoons of hot water before putting it all in the crockpot, and also added 2 bay leaves & a dozen crushed juniper berries -- I know the 'convenience' of the slow-cooker is the dump-n-run thing, but the Maillard reaction just makes meat better)
• Fresh corn tortillas from the carniceria around the corner
• Assorted garnishes: the almost jammy onions from the slow-cooker, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced cabbage & red bell pepper, little-bitty Mexican limes
• My own 'drunken beans' (pintos from scratch with bacon, beer, jalepeno, shallot, cumin seed & powder and a few whole coriander seeds, too)
• Tomatillo salsa from Whole Foods (against all that rich, sweet pork) and Cholula hot sauce (for those who like it a bit spicier - which was apparently all of us, including the Juj!)
• Baked pears with butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, and anise seeds, garnished with a flourish of whipped cream

Happiness Project: Ten Things I Like About You...Dallas

I have the "opportunity" to lead often, so sometimes it's nice to follow. And I have decided to tag along as >MVM blazes a trail to learn more about Gretchen Rubin's -- and our own -- Happiness Projects. 

Disclaimer: Neither I nor MVM have read Ms. Rubin's book yet, and I have only a few moments' acquaintance with her web site. (Crap...panic already...neither I nor MVM have read... or has read...?)

But when the one who is More Than a Minivan Mom brought up the idea of doing something that involved exploring happiness and writing, I decided I wanted in. They are both areas I'm interested in improving for myself (narcissistic much?), and since MVM is willing to be the tour guide (at least to start), and to try to have some weekly discipline about it, and I've been reading her blog long enough to know that she probably has enough discipline for both of us...

So the first post is why I like where I'm at:

1. My son was born here. In a lovely old house.
2. I was married here. In a fancy hotel. With dinner and jazz and a most delicious Mexican chocolate groom's cake and 50 of our closest family and friends in attendance. After hanging with my then-not-yet husband for the better part of 11 years. (Oh, and not that it matters, but the wedding was a few years before the birth.)
3. My husband's extended family is close by (in San Antonio, and even some here in the DFW metroplex at times). They are a GREAT family, with less drama than my own (I love you all, but you know it's true!), and I really enjoy spending time with them, cooking for them, learning to cook from them, and having them take care of our most precious boy.
4. We're also close to OKC, where we have not visited as much since the precious boy was born, but which is the home of our very close friends, the K's. We used to drive up there quite often, and in fact, I think it was on one of those drives that we decided we might go ahead and try our luck at conceiving that precious boy (the decision, not an actual attempt was made!)
5. We're not the type to have a lot of friends (or at least, I'm not), but the ones we have are very important to us. And we've certainly added a few special ones to the circle since we've been here.
6. And with all those special friends and family, we implemented our own Sunday suppers, in the tradition that Gil and I both grew up with, and that has been really wonderful, albeit fattening at times.
7. I started my second career here, and have had great success with it. After a Master of Fine Arts degree, and years being self-insured and self-employed (teaching community college and touring with dance companies), I 'temped' myself into a new career after our first year here, and haven't looked back.  Insurance? Check! Weekends and evenings free (unless I have to talk to teammates in Asia)? Check! No longer a starving artist? Check, check, check (with timely direct deposit except the Friday after Nortel filed for Chapter 11 - and even that was eventually made good)!
8. The Dallas Arboretum. Don't go so often anymore, but definitely a lovely part of the landscape (sorry; couldn't resist). And on the other end of the spectrum - The State Fair of Texas (even if we don't make it every year).
9. Oh, and one that we've moved away from but was VERY key for us B.P.B. (before precious boy) - TITAS.
10. Discovered Universal Unitarianism and Horizon here, as well as the Cathedral of Hope, and now there is a possibility that I might embark on a semi-formal journey of spiritual growth at some point rather than just closing my eyes and thrashing around.  (I have a feeling that one may be a Happiness Project topic unto itself one day.)

OK, not bad. After --whoosh!-- fourteen years, I guess I have come to appreciate "the Metroplex."

Ah, la bonne cuisine Francaise!

(Hey, if I got that French spelling or grammar wrong, don't bother to correct me; it's been MANY years since college French, and I've had more occasion to use the Spanish I didn't take than the French I did, living my life in California and Texas.)

My experiments with Julia Child have continued. I made some shrimp in a white wine and fennel sauce (with butter, of course) and little French green beans with shallot and mushrooms for dinner on Thursday, and then re-purposed the leftover shrimp and sauce as a lovely chowder for lunch on Saturday. (Bags of frozen corn and diced potatoes o'brien, that's heart of your system when it comes to fast chowder!) Then I made Pasta Norma for dinner.

I also made the Jacques Torres' French kiss cookies but from a mix I received with the previously mentioned hot chocolate for Christmas (ooh, and looking at that link makes me want to try the Wicked Hot Chocolate!)

Then for Sunday supper (our last one with Tia Elsa, who has decided to move back to San Antonio after several years in Irving):

• Puree of Green Pea Soup (requested by Julian, who ate his and most of mine and his Dad's)
• Duck with Cherries (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
• Warm Lentils with Spinach and Vinaigrette (adapted from Bistro Cooking)
• Salad of Butter Lettuce & Shaved Fennel with lemon juice, dijon, and olive oil
• French Kiss Cookies & Ice Cream
• A lovely Robert Craig Affinity 2003 (which must've made it into our cellar courtesy of Mr. Weintribe; thank you sir, you're a gentleman and a scholar!)