Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit...

Today I want to talk about food. I had fun cooking and tasting a few new foods today and thankfully it all turned out delish!
First of all,my new fascination is cooking with wine. Most all alcohols make me ill so I had never learned much about wine. The lemon artichoke chicken recipe I tried last week called for a dry white wine so for the first time ever,I bought a bottle. It added a savory rich flavor to the chicken and spiked my curiosity to use it more often. I used this recommended brand,Buckley's Cove and I got it CHEAP at Grocery Outlet.

I finally found quinoa (keen-wa) earlier this month and have patiently waited for an opportunity to try it...

I also went on a bean buying spree last week-black,black eye,pinto,split pea,soup blend...to name a few. I have a theory that beans are one of the keys to healthy frugal living. At 69 cents per bag,I am feeling a bit validated so far...
 Then I saw a cook on TV make turkey and Brie turnovers-it looked too easy! I headed on a quest to find pastry sheets. I returned with 3 boxes of them and a box of phyllo dough just in case.The cook on TV made an orange glaze to drizzle over her turnovers,it looked good but my mind turned immediately to  cranberries. Could I make a cranberry sauce out of jellied cranberries? I needed to know. These turnovers suddenly sounded too good to be true!

 So this all leads me to tonight's dinner..

Mixed bean soup with quinoa and veggies-I had been told that beans were a pain because of the soaking and cooking. Not true! Yes they do require an hour of soaking and a few hours of cooking but they are so worth it! Easy and cheap. Then I added sauteed garlic,onion and green pepper,homemade chicken broth frozen from last chicken,a little crookneck squash,1/2 cup of quinoa, a crazy mix of everything from canned mushrooms to dried veggie mix and some turkey. It was a thick hearty soup,perfect for this rainy day and cost me less than $5 to make! Quinoa is fun but strange. It's tiny little clear balls,similar to but smaller than tapioca, that kinda taste like rice and barley.

Quinoa is supposed to be a low fat and healthy "superfood"...but I think I will stick to rice and barley.

Turkey & Brie Turnovers- These look and taste impressive but are shamelessly easy to make! Defrost puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 triangle pieces. In the middle of each triangle put diced turkey and a slice of Brie. Egg wash (another first for me-egg and a tsp of water) the edges and fold the pastry triangle in half.Press edges with a fork to seal and finish with a light egg wash on top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Best eaten with hands and dipped in cranberry reduction...

Cranberry reduction ( a Cara original)-Empty one can of jellied cranberry sauce into a sauce pan. Add 1/4 of water and heat on medium while whisking the jellied cranberries into a liquid.Add a splash of white wine (this stuff is sooo much more fun to cook with than drink!),a big pinch of brown sugar and a pinch of salt to taste. Whisk and reduce for 5-10 minutes. Del was licking it off his empty plate..it was that good :)

I also made cupcakes and cookies but I have made those many times before..
I love to play with food.
Back to work tomorrow....

I Am Hairdresser,Hear Me Roar

 After 14 years in the hair business,it's days like today when I am reminded that being a hairdresser isn't WHAT I am..it's WHO I am. Although it doesn't pay much and at times can be more stressful than my medications can overcome...I love it. Sometimes I dream about a fancy job where I get paid big bucks to do little work....but that's just not the real me. I am a Hairdresser and darn proud of it. Let me share with you why..

9am- "Sara" arrives. She is a client I have known for 10 years with the most beautiful,healthy, long red hair you have ever seen. She is ready to donate 12" of it to Locks Of  Love but is understandably a little nervous. I reassured her that some little girl will be delighted to have a wig of her amazing hair,she agreed. Two large braids to donate and a new shoulder length haircut later..she danced out the door smiling and repeatedly thanking me. I laugh and remember that they also pay me to do this..

10 am- "Betty" is waiting with her usual smile. She's a hip 70ish year old and she makes me laugh the whole time we are together. She usually doesn't have me style her hair after her haircuts but last time I insisted that she let me "treat" her to a dry and curl.Before Betty was even seated in my chair today,she had started to tell me that her husband had noticed her new "do" last time. She explained her husband is not the mushy type but he had gone gaga over her hair. It was the first time in a very LONG time that he had told her how beautiful she was! She thanked me over and over for making her feel and look beautiful.Yes I could tell you that every woman should be reminded regularly of how beautiful they are,despite a hair do or a new outfit but not all women are.That doesn't mean they don't feel loved and happy..it just means that when a rare compliment IS made..they savor it for a very long time. I'm just thankful I could help as I thanked her in return..for reminding me once again,why I love what I do.

11am-"Cindy" is a favorite client of mine. 50ish years old and she works 2 jobs as a Nurse and Ordained Minister. She has great stories and funny jokes. We complained to each other about the poor gardening season. I shared my disappointment that I had promised her Basil but this year it just didn't grow. She sympathized as she is mourning the loss of a huge Rosemary plant she relied on for so many of her recipes.It's so nice to have gardening friends that share my woes! ;P

12pm-I spent the next 3 hours with "Debbie". I colored and highlighted every strand of her thick,curly hair. Bye bye gray! That almost 60 year old left looking somewhere in her 40's. And they say there is no "Fountain Of Youth"? HA! Yes there is!It's in my backroom!

3pm- The last appointment of the day and I am happily surprised to see "Sheila" returning for a 2nd time. Sheila is one of my hair mentors and I admit that I get a little star struck and dorky nervous when I see her. She is a local Beautician who wrote a book of short stories about her 20 years in the business. I love her book and I had spent most of my evenings reading it while we were camping last week. Today she is ready for a new short style. She explains her requests and concerns and then tells me to have at it ..and have fun with it. I cut, textured and shaped her hair with no fear. It was only our 2nd meeting but the conversations are so great I'm pretty sure we could chat for hours without pause. A few good laughs and about 30 minutes of creative freedom later she loved it! It was "Exactly what I wanted..like you read my mind!" and I was relieved. Sheila gave me a gift today and I'm not too sure she knows it. We were chatting about the "magnetic qualities" you should have to be successful in this business. She said that my "magnetic qualities" were that I am confident,happy and non judgmental. I am known to have a soft heart for most all living things..even people (haha) but it was the first time someone had ever said that I was non judgmental. It meant a lot coming from someone with as many years of experience as her. I hope her perception of me is a popular opinion :)

4pm-Day over. Off to share a relaxing evening with my cute boyfriend.

I like days like this,it's chicken soup for my soul.
It's about so much more than hair...and yet it's all about the hair.
I don't want this to ever feel like "another day at the office",no matter how stressful it can be.
I want to be sure to appreciate all the awesome little parts of my days and the wonderful people that I get to meet.
I am a Hairdresser and darn proud of it.