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All of Our Life Is Nothing but a Mass of Habits

“All of Our Life Is Nothing but a Mass of Habits” ~ William James

by Adam Dachis

We have good habits and bad ones. Some make us more productive and affect our ability to perform well, while some make it difficult to do anything else. Regardless of their nature, our habits make up our life—as psychologist and philosopher William James says so eloquently in this quote. If habits are the ingredients, you may want to consider how many bad ones you allow yourself to keep.

Hey self-help philosopher

William James never said that: He didn't say that habits are good and bad.... he didn't say we have a God's eye view to see which habbits are good or bad.... he didn't say we have some magical foundational morality to suggest whaht habbits are good or bad

I think you are mistaking William James for Anthony Robbins.

Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage

Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage TOTAL TIME About 1 hour Ingredients 1 pound medium shrimp in the shell Salt and pepper 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme 6 garlic cloves, minced 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups diced onion 1 cup diced red or green bell pepper 1/2 cup diced celery 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1 cup diced ripe tomato, fresh or canned 6 ounces smoked andouille sausage, in 1-inch-thick slices 6 cups shrimp broth (recipe follows) or chicken broth 2 cups chopped okra 1 tablespoon filé powder 1/2 cup chopped scallions for garnish Preparation 1. Peel and devein shrimp. Reserve shrimp shells for broth. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon garlic. Cover and refrigerate. Make the shrimp broth. 2. Make the gumbo base: In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and cook briskly, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir to combine. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring, until flour-vegetable mixture is well browned. Add tomato paste, paprika, cayenne and remaining garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring well, then add diced tomato and andouille sausage and cook for about 2 minutes. Season mixture generously with salt and pepper. 3. Stir in shrimp broth and reduce heat to medium. With a wooden spoon, scrape bottom of pot to dissolve any browned bits. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until gumbo base thickens somewhat. Taste and adjust salt. (You may prepare gumbo base up to this point several hours ahead; bring it back to a brisk simmer before continuing.) 4. Add okra and let cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn off heat. Stir in filé powder. Serve immediately, sprinkled with scallions, along with steamed rice or cornbread if desired. YIELD 4 to 6 servings

A human being....

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, f ight efficiently, die gallantly.”

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings ~

Classic Ratatouille - Black Olives too!

Ratatouille is the epitome of Provençal vegetable stews. The vegetables are sautéed individually in oil before being stewed so they keep their shape and texture. If you prefer, though, you can put all the cubed vegetables into a casserole and top with the seasonings and water; cooked this way, the dish is much less time-consuming to prepare. Ratatouille is excellent reheated, and it is superb cold as an hors d’oeuvre topped with small black olives and olive oil.

About 1/2 cup olive oil
1 eggplant (1 1/4 pounds), trimmed but not peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 medium zucchini (about 1 1/4 pounds), trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
12 ounces onions (2–3) cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound green bell peppers (2–3), cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch squares (about 3 cups)
4–5 ripe tomatoes, peeled, halved, seeded, and coarsely cubed (about 4 cups)
5–6 garlic cloves, crushed and very finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in one or, better, two large skillets. First sauté the eggplant cubes until browned, about 8 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large heavy casserole. (The eggplant will absorb more oil while cooking than the other vegetables.) Then sauté the zucchini cubes until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the casserole. Add about 1/4 cup more oil to the pan and sauté the onions and peppers together for about 6 minutes. Add them to the casserole.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, water, salt, and pepper to the casserole and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 hour.

Remove the cover, increase the heat to medium, and cook for another 20 minutes to reduce some of the liquid; stir once in a while to prevent scorching. Let the ratatouille rest for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Running the Easy Way

Multimedia Graphic How to Run, One Stride at a Time . If everything comes together just right, you’ll be exactly where Larson was one Sunday morning in September: peeking out from behind a tree on Governors Island in New York Harbor, his digital video camera nearly invisible on an ankle-high tripod, as the Second Annual New York City Barefoot Run got under way about a quarter-mile up the road. Hundreds of runners — men and women, young and old, athletic and not so much so, natives from 11 different countries — came pattering down the asphalt straight toward his viewfinder. About half of them were actually barefoot. The rest wore Vibram FiveFingers — a rubber foot glove with no heel cushion or arch support — or Spartacus-style sandals, or other superlight “minimalist” running shoes. Larson surreptitiously recorded them all, wondering how many (if any) had what he was looking for: the lost secret of perfect running. It’s what Alberto Salazar, for a while the world’s dominant marathoner and now the coach of some of America’s top distance runners, describes in mythical-questing terms as the “one best way” — not the fastest, necessarily, but the best: an injury-proof, evolution-tested way to place one foot on the ground and pick it up before the other comes down. Left, right, repeat; that’s all running really is, a movement so natural that babies learn it the first time they rise to their feet. Yet sometime between childhood and adulthood — and between the dawn of our species and today — most of us lose the knack. We were once the greatest endurance runners on earth. We didn’t have fangs, claws, strength or speed, but the springiness of our legs and our unrivaled ability to cool our bodies by sweating rather than panting enabled humans to chase prey until it dropped from heat exhaustion. Some speculate that collaboration on such hunts led to language, then shared technology. Running arguably made us the masters of the world. So how did one of our greatest strengths become such a liability? “The data suggests up to 79 percent of all runners are injured every year,” says Stephen Messier, the director of the J. B. Snow Biomechanics Laboratory at Wake Forest University. “What’s more, those figures have been consistent since the 1970s.” Messier is currently 11 months into a study for the U.S. Army and estimates that 40 percent of his 200 subjects will be hurt within a year. “It’s become a serious public health crisis.” Nothing seems able to check it: not cross-training, not stretching, not $400 custom-molded orthotics, not even softer surfaces. And those special running shoes everyone thinks he needs? In 40 years, no study has ever shown that they do anything to reduce injuries. On the contrary, the U.S. Army’s Public Health Command concluded in a report in 2010, drawing on three large-scale studies of thousands of military personnel, that using shoes tailored to individual foot shapes had “little influence on injuries.” Two years ago, in my book, “Born to Run,” I suggested we don’t need smarter shoes; we need smarter feet. I’d gone into Mexico’s Copper Canyon to learn from the Tarahumara Indians, who tackle 100-mile races well into their geriatric years. I was a broken-down, middle-aged, ex-runner when I arrived. Nine months later, I was transformed. After getting rid of my cushioned shoes and adopting the Tarahumaras’ whisper-soft stride, I was able to join them for a 50-mile race through the canyons. I haven’t lost a day of running to injury since. “Barefoot-style” shoes are now a $1.7 billion industry. But simply putting something different on your feet doesn’t make you a gliding Tarahumara. The “one best way” isn’t about footwear. It’s about form. Learn to run gently, and you can wear anything. Fail to do so, and no shoe — or lack of shoe — will make a difference. That’s what Peter Larson discovered when he reviewed his footage after the New York City Barefoot Run. “It amazed me how many people in FiveFingers were still landing on their heels,” he says. They wanted to land lightly on their forefeet, or they wouldn’t be in FiveFingers, but there was a disconnect between their intentions and their actual movements. “Once we develop motor patterns, they’re very difficult to unlearn,” Larson explains. “Especially if you’re not sure what it’s supposed to feel like.” The only way to halt the running-injury epidemic, it seems, is to find a simple, foolproof method to relearn what the Tarahumara never forgot. A one best way to the one best way. Earlier this year, I may have found it. I was leafing through the back of an out-of-print book, a collection of runners’ biographies called “The Five Kings of Distance,” when I came across a three-page essay from 1908 titled “W. G. George’s Own Account From the 100-Up Exercise.” According to legend, this single drill turned a 16-year-old with almost no running experience into the foremost racer of his day. I read George’s words: “By its constant practice and regular use alone, I have myself established many records on the running path and won more amateur track-championships than any other individual.” And it was safe, George said: the 100-Up is “incapable of harm when practiced discreetly.” Could it be that simple? That day, I began experimenting on myself. When I called Mark Cucuzzella to tell him about my find, he cut me off midsentence. “When can you get down here?” he demanded. “Here” is Two Rivers Treads, a “natural” shoe store sandwiched between Maria’s Taqueria and German Street Coffee & Candlery in Shepherdstown, W.Va., which, against all odds, Cucuzzella has turned into possibly the country’s top learning center for the reinvention of running. “What if people found out running can be totally fun no matter what kind of injuries they’ve had?” Cucuzzella said when I visited him last summer. “What if they could see — ” he jerked a thumb back toward his chest — “Exhibit A?” Cucuzzella is a physician, a professor at West Virginia University’s Department of Family Medicine and an Air Force Reserve flight surgeon. Despite the demands of family life and multiple jobs, he still managed enough early-morning miles in his early 30s to routinely run marathons at a 5:30-per-mile pace. But he constantly battled injuries; at age 34, severe degenerative arthritis led to foot surgery. If he continued to run, his surgeon warned, the arthritis and pain would return. Cucuzzella was despondent, until he began to wonder if there was some kind of furtive, Ninja way to run, as if you were sneaking up on someone. Cucuzzella threw himself into research and came across the work of, among others, Nicholas Romanov, a sports scientist in the former Soviet Union who developed a running technique he called the Pose Method. Romanov essentially had three rules: no cushioned shoes, no pushing off from the toes and, most of all, no landing on the heel. Once Cucuzzella got used to this new style, it felt suspiciously easy, more like playful bouncing than serious running. As a test, he entered the Marine Corps Marathon. Six months after being told he should never run again, he finished in 2:28, just four minutes off his personal best. “It was the beginning of a new life,” Cucuzzella told me. “I couldn’t believe that after a medical education and 20 years of running, so much of what I’d been taught about the body was being turned on its head.” Two weeks before turning 40, he won the Air Force Marathon and has since completed five other marathons under 2:35. Shortly before his 45th birthday this past September, he beat men half his age to win the Air Force Marathon again. He was running more on less training than 10 years before, but “felt fantastic.” When he tried to spread the word, however, he encountered resistance. At a Runner’s World forum I attended before the Boston Marathon in April 2010, he told the story of how he bounced back from a lifetime of injuries by learning to run barefoot and relying on his legs’ natural shock absorption. Martyn Shorten, the former director of the Nike Sports Research Lab who now conducts tests on shoes up for review in Runner’s World, followed him to the microphone. “A physician talking about biomechanics — I guess I should talk about how to perform an appendectomy,” Shorten said. He then challenged Cucuzzella’s belief that cushioned shoes do more harm than good. No matter. Cucuzzella went home and began hosting his own conferences. Peter Larson traveled from New Hampshire for Cucuzzella’s first gathering on a snowy weekend this past January. “I was a bit curious about how many people might show up to such an event in rural West Virginia,” Larson says. “Were the panelists going to outnumber the audience?” In fact, more than 150 attendees crowded right up to the dais. Since then, West Virginia has become a destination for a growing number of those who are serious about the grass-roots reinvention of running. Galahad Clark, a seventh-generation shoemaker who created the Vivobarefoot line, flew in from London with the British running coach Lee Saxby for a one-day meeting with Cucuzzella. International researchers like Craig Richards, from Australia, and Hiro Tanaka, chairman of Exercise Physiology at the University of Fukuoka, have also visited, as well as scientists from a dozen different American states. “He has turned a small town in an obese state into a running-crazed bastion of health,” Larson says. “Mark’s effort in transforming Shepherdstown is a testament to what a single person can accomplish.” Not that he has everything figured out. I was at one of Cucuzzella’s free barefoot running clinics in May when he confronted his big problem: how do you actually teach this stuff? He had about 60 of us practicing drills on a grassy playground. “Now to run,” he said, “just bend forward from the ankles.” We all looked down at our ankles. “No, no,” Cucuzzella said. “Posture, remember? Keep your heads up.” We lifted our heads, and most of us then forgot to lean from the ankles. At that moment, a young girl flashed past us on her way to the monkey bars. Her back was straight, her head was high and her bare feet skittered along right under her hips. “You mean like — ” someone said, pointing after the girl. “Right,” Cucuzzella said. “Just watch her.” So what ruined running for the rest of us who aren’t Tarahumara or 10 years old? Back in the ’60s, Americans “ran way more and way faster in the thinnest little shoes, and we never got hurt,” Amby Burfoot, a longtime Runner’s World editor and former Boston Marathon champion, said during a talk before the Lehigh Valley Half-Marathon I attended last year. “I never even remember talking about injuries back then,” Burfoot said. “So you’ve got to wonder what’s changed.” Bob Anderson knows at least one thing changed, because he watched it happen. As a high-school senior in 1966, he started Distance Running News, a twice-yearly magazine whose growth was so great that Anderson dropped out of college four years later to publish it full time as Runner’s World. Around then, another fledgling operation called Blue Ribbon Sports was pioneering cushioned running shoes; it became Nike. Together, the magazine and its biggest advertiser rode the running boom — until Anderson decided to see whether the shoes really worked. “Some consumer advocate needed to test this stuff,” Anderson told me. He hired Peter Cavanagh, of the Penn State University biomechanics lab, to stress-test new products mechanically. “We tore the shoes apart,” Anderson says. He then graded shoes on a scale from zero to five stars and listed them from worst to first. When a few of Nike’s shoes didn’t fare so well in the 1981 reviews, the company pulled its $1 million advertising contract with Runner’s World. Nike already had started its own magazine, Running, which would publish shoe reviews and commission star writers like Ken Kesey and Hunter S. Thompson. “Nike would never advertise with me again,” Anderson says. “That hurt us bad.” In 1985, Anderson sold Runner’s World to Rodale, which, he says, promptly abolished his grading system. Today, every shoe in Runner’s World is effectively “recommended” for one kind of runner or another. David Willey, the magazine’s current editor, says that it only tests shoes that “are worth our while.” After Nike closed its magazine, it took its advertising back to Runner’s World. (Megan Saalfeld, a Nike spokeswoman, says she was unable to find someone to comment about this episode.) “It’s a grading system where you can only get an A,” says Anderson, who went on to become the founder and chief executive of Ujena Swimwear. Just as the shoe reviews were changing, so were the shoes: fear, the greatest of marketing tools, entered the game. Instead of being sold as performance accessories, running shoes were rebranded as safety items, like bike helmets and smoke alarms. Consumers were told they’d get hurt, perhaps for life, if they didn’t buy the “right” shoes. It was an audacious move that flew in the face of several biological truths: humans had thrived as running animals for two million years without corrective shoes, and asphalt was no harder than the traditional hunting terrains of the African savanna. In 1985, Benno Nigg, founder and currently co-director of the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Lab, floated the notion that impact and rear-foot motion (called pronation) were dangerous. His work helped spur an arms race of experimental technology to counter those risks with plush heels and wedged shoes. Running magazines spread the new gospel. To this day, Runner’s World tells beginners that their first workout should be opening their wallets: “Go to a specialty running store . . . you’ll leave with a comfortable pair of shoes that will have you running pain- and injury-free.” Nigg now believes mistakes were made. “Initial results were often overinterpreted and were partly responsible for a few ‘blunders’ in sport-shoe construction,” he said in a speech to the International Society of Biomechanics in 2005. The belief in the need for cushioning and pronation control, he told me, was, in retrospect, “completely wrong thinking.” His stance was seconded in June 2010, when The British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that a study of 105 women enrolled in a 13-week half-marathon training program found that every single runner who was given motion-control shoes to control excess foot pronation was injured. “You don’t need any protection at all except for cold and, like, gravel,” Nigg now says. Of course, the only way to know what shoes have done to runners would be to travel back to a time when no one ever wore them. So that’s what one anthropologist has effectively done. In 2009, Daniel Lieberman, chairman of Harvard’s human evolutionary biology department, located a school in Kenya where no one wore shoes. Lieberman noticed something unusual: while most runners in shoes come down hard on their heels, these barefoot Kenyans tended to land softly on the balls of their feet. Back at the lab, Lieberman found that barefoot runners land with almost zero initial impact shock. Heel-strikers, by comparison, collide with the ground with a force equal to as much as three times their body weight. “Most people today think barefoot running is dangerous and hurts, but actually you can run barefoot on the world’s hardest surfaces without the slightest discomfort and pain.” Lieberman, who is 47 and a six-time marathoner, was so impressed by the results of his research that he began running barefoot himself. So has Irene Davis, director of Harvard Medical School’s Spaulding National Running Center. “I didn’t run myself for 30 years because of injuries,” Davis says. “I used to prescribe orthotics. Now, honest to God, I run 20 miles a week, and I haven’t had an injury since I started going barefoot.” Last fall, at the end of a local 10-mile trail race, I surprised myself by finishing five minutes faster than I had four years ago, when I was in much better shape. I figured the result was a fluke — until it happened again. No special prep, awful travel schedule and yet a personal best in a six-mile race. “I don’t get it,” I told Cucuzzella this past June when we went for a run together through the Shepherd University campus in Shepherdstown. “I’m four years older. I’m pretty sure I’m heavier. I’m not doing real workouts, just whatever I feel like each day. The only difference is I’ve been 100-Upping.” It was five months since I discovered W.S. George’s “100-Up,” and I’d been doing the exercise regularly. In George’s essay, he says he invented the 100-Up in 1874, when he was an 16-year-old chemist’s apprentice in England and could train only during his lunch hour. By Year 2 of his experiment, the overworked lab assistant was the fastest amateur miler in England. By Year 5, he held world records in everything from the half-mile to 10 miles. So is it possible that a 19th-century teenager succeeded where 21st-century technology has failed? “Absolutely, yes,” says Steve Magness, a sports scientist who works with top Olympic prospects at Nike’s elite “Oregon Project.” He was hired by Alberto Salazar to create, essentially, a squad of anti-Salazars. Despite his domination of the marathon in the ’80s, Salazar was plagued with knee and hamstring problems. He was also a heel-striker, which he has described as “having a tire with a nail in it.” Magness’s brief is to find ways to teach Nike runners to run barefoot-style and puncture-proof their legs. “From what you’re telling me, it sounds promising,” Magness told me. “I’d love to see it in action.” Mark Cucuzzella was just as eager. “All right,” he said in the middle of our run. “Let’s get a look at this.” I snapped a twig and dropped the halves on the ground about eight inches apart to form targets for my landings. The 100-Up consists of two parts. For the “Minor,” you stand with both feet on the targets and your arms cocked in running position. “Now raise one knee to the height of the hip,” George writes, “bring the foot back and down again to its original position, touching the line lightly with the ball of the foot, and repeat with the other leg.” That’s all there is to it. But it’s not so easy to hit your marks 100 times in a row while maintaining balance and proper knee height. Once you can, it’s on to the Major: “The body must be balanced on the ball of the foot, the heels being clear of the ground and the head and body being tilted very slightly forward. . . . Now, spring from the toe, bringing the knee to the level of the hip. . . . Repeat with the other leg and continue raising and lowering the legs alternately. This action is exactly that of running.” Cucuzzella didn’t like it as a teaching method — he loved it. “It makes so much physiological and anatomical sense,” he said. “The key to injury-free running is balance, elasticity, stability in midstance and cadence. You’ve got all four right there.” Cucuzzella began trying it himself. As I watched, I recalled another lone inventor, a Czechoslovakian soldier who dreamed up a similar drill: he’d throw dirty clothes in the bathtub with soap and water, then jog on top. You can’t heel strike or overstride on slippery laundry. There’s only one way to run in a tub: the one best way. At the 1952 Olympics, Emil Zatopek became the only runner ever to win gold medals in all three distance events: 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon, the first he ever ran. Granted, “the Human Locomotive” wasn’t a pretty sight. During his final push to the finish line, his head would loll and his arms would grab at the air “as if he’d just been stabbed through the heart,” as one sportswriter put it.

Chicken and Rice - Simple One-Pot Dish

The simple combination of chicken and rice is a one-pot dish that's made all over the world. Despite the countless variations on the theme, this version is stripped down to the bare essentials: chicken, rice and onion (with peas added at the very end). Short-grain white rice is what the classic recipe calls for, but since I already had brown jasmine rice on hand, I went with long-grain (less sticky, more fragrant).

The ingredients initially take turns in the pan (the chicken browns, then the onion sautés, then the rice gets a glossy coat), until finally all three come together to simmer, covered and undisturbed. The rice will slowly absorb the cooking liquid (water, or stock, if you want a more intense flavor), and become tender at about the same time that the chicken is cooked through. With saffron laced throughout, peas adding little bursts of sweetness, and fresh lime juice to brighten the entire plate, this one-pot wonder deserves a spot on your roster of go-to recipes. Recipe from How to Cook Everything: The Basics.


Chicken and Rice
Time: About 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole cut-up chicken or about 3 pounds parts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups short-grain white rice
Pinch saffron threads, optional
3 1/2 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock, or more as needed
1 cup peas (frozen are fine; no need to thaw them)
2 limes, quartered, for serving

1. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the chicken, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, undisturbed but adjusting the heat so the chicken sizzles but doesn't burn, until the pieces release easily from the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn and rotate them every few minutes to brown them evenly. As the chicken pieces brown, after another 5 to 10 minutes, remove them from the pan.

2. Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and pour or spoon off most of the oil so that only 2 tablespoons remain. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and rice; cook, stirring, until the rice is glossy and coated with oil. Crumble in the saffron threads if you're using them.

3. Return the chicken to the pan, add the water, and stir gently to combine everything. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat so it bubbles gently but steadily. Cover the skillet and cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes, then check the rice and chicken. The goal is to have the liquid absorbed, the rice tender, and the chicken cooked through. If the rice is dry but nothing is ready, add another 1/4 cup water and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. The meat is done when a quick-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155-165°F.

4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Taste the rice and adjust the seasoning. Add the peas, then cover the pan again and let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Fish the chicken out of the pan and transfer it to a serving platter. Fluff the rice with a fork, spoon it around the chicken, add the lime wedges, and serve.

Tips:
-Saffron (as you probably know if you're using it) is not cheap. Fortunately a little goes a long way.
-Don't be intimidated by cooking chicken and rice in the same pan. It's no harder than cooking either ingredient on its own. You may need to monitor the moisture in the pan toward the end of cooking, but as long as you resist the urge to uncover the skillet and stir, it will come out great.
-Short-grain rice is classic here, but if you like rice less sticky and more fluffy, use long-grain rice. You'll probably need to add the extra liquid in Step 3.

Garlic Dijon Salad Dressing - Different and Yummy

Tips
To mellow the garlic flavor, roast it before adding to the dressing.

How can you tell if the dressing is good? I always say that if you get a one-eye wink out of me due to the tang, it's perfect.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced, about 1/4 cup
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil



Directions

Place all ingredients except the oil in a small food processor or bowl. With the processor running or while whisking, slowly stream in the oil.
Refrigerate up to a week.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Raisins - Superhero Yummy!

A little bit of bacon and a handful of raisins add a smoky sweetness that balances the slightly bitter flavor of the little cabbages.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 thick slices bacon
4 cups Brussels sprouts (about 1 pound), trimmed, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

PREPARATION
Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Let cool. Coarsely crumble. (Make sure crumbled bacon is unreachable by children, or it will disappear before you need it again.)

While bacon cools, add brussels sprouts to drippings in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until well browned in spots and beginning to soften, 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add raisins, shallot, and butter; cook, stirring often, until shallot is soft, about 3 minutes. Add broth to skillet; increase heat and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until broth has evaporated, 1-2 minutes. Stir in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bruce Springsteen at SxSW - Truer Words Never Spoken

These words stand by themselves - well said Bruce

"So rumble, young musicians, rumble. Open your ears and open your hearts. Don't take yourself too seriously and take yourself as seriously as death itself. Don't worry. Worry your ass off. Have ironclad confidence, but doubt. It keeps you awake and alert. ... And when you walk on stage tonight to bring the noise, treat it like it's all we have. And then remember it's only rock 'n' roll."

Corned Beef and Vegetables To Die For - NOT like mom used to make! YAY FOR PI DAY!!

For the Corned Beef and Vegetables:
One 6-pound corned-beef brisket
2 onions, peeled and halved lengthwise
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1/2 bunch thyme
2 chiles de arbol
6 small, trimmed and peeled carrots
9 golf ball-sized turnips, trimmed and cut in half
1 1/4 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
1 medium green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cut into 6 wedges

For the Parsley-Mustard Sauce:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, for juicing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the corned beef in a large deep pot and cover with cold water by 6 inches. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Poke one clove into each onion half. When the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the onions, bay leaves, thyme, and chiles. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and a tight-fitting lid. Cook the corned beef in the oven 4 to 4 1/2 hours, until it's fork-tender.
3. When it's done, remove the meat from the oven, let it cool a few minutes, and transfer it to a baking sheet. Turn the oven up to 375 degrees F. Return the meat to the oven for about 15 minutes, until it browns and crisps on top. Let the corned beef rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing it.
4. Add water to the broth in the large corned-beef cooking pot until you have enough liquid to poach the vegetables. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to medium heat and add the potatoes to the pot. Simmer 5 minutes and then add the cabbage, turnips, and carrots. Simmer over low heat 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove them with a slotted spoon.
5. Make the parsley-mustard sauce: Place the shallots, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, and let sit 5 minutes. Pound the parsley with a mortar and pestle or a meat pounder and add it to the shallots. Whisk in the mustard and olive oil, and season with a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of pepper and a pinch more salt.
6. Slice the corned beef against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the meat and vegetables on a warm platter. Pour over a good quantity of the broth, and drizzle with the parsley-mustard sauce. Pass the extra broth and sauce at the table.

PITA Chips - Yay

PITA Chips - Yay
Ingredients
12 pita bread pockets
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried chervil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, basil and chervil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully, as they tend to burn easily!

Rosemary Thyme Pita Chips

Serves 8 (depending on the size of your pita)
2 pitas
unsalted butter
honey (preferably one that spreads easily and is not too runny)
sea salt
dried thyme
dried rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Cut your pita rounds into eighths or quarters. Pull those pieces in half so that each piece consists of only one layer of pita. Place each pita piece on the cookie tray, rough side up.
3. Spread each piece of pita with a thin layer of butter. Do the same thing with the honey.
4. Sprinkle each piece with a pinch each of sea salt, thyme and rosemary (adjust according to taste).
5. Bake in the oven for 6 minutes. Rotate your pan and bake another 6 minutes, or until the chips are browned and crispy. Keep a close eye on the chips towards the end of their baking time as they can quickly go from brown to burned. Let the chips cool and then enjoy!

Raptor Vertical

Chicken Cacciatore With Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Wine

This classic Italian dish must have hundreds of versions, all resulting in a rustic braise of chicken, aromatic vegetables and tomatoes. My version includes lots of mushrooms, both dried and fresh. You can add kale to the dish if you want to work in some leafy greens (see variation below).

1/2 ounce dried mushrooms, like porcini (1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

6 to 8 skinless chicken legs and/or thighs (thighs can be boneless)

1 small onion, minced

1 small carrot, minced

1 rib celery, minced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh minced Italian parsley

1 heaped teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1/2 cup red wine

1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice, pulsed in a food processor

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or heat-proof glass measuring cup and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let sit 15 to 30 minutes, until mushrooms are softened. Drain through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel and set over a bowl. Rinse the mushrooms in several changes of water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely. Set aside. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown, in batches, for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl as they are done. Pour the fat off from the pan and discard.

3. Turn the heat down to medium, add the remaining oil and the onion, carrot and celery, as well as a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Cover, turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the mixture is soft and aromatic. Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms, turn the heat back up to medium, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down a little and smell fragrant. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid that you set aside.

4. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and stir so that they are well submerged in the tomato mixture. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve with pasta or rice.

Russell contra Solipsism?

Russell-Example 1: If [a] cat exists whether I see it or not, we can understand from our own experience how it gets hungry between one meal and the next; but if it does not exist when I am not seeing it, it seems odd that appetite should grow during non-existence as fast as during existence.

Russell-Example 2: When human beings speak -- that is, when we hear certain noises which we associate with ideas, and simultaneously see certain motions of lips and expressions of face -- it is very difficult to suppose that what we hear is not the expression of thought, as we know it would be if we emitted the same sounds.

Thus, he concludes, "every principle of simplicity urges us to adopt the natural view, that there really are objects other than ourselves"

Seriously! This is the best we can do with all of the mental horsepower of Philosophy at our fingertips

Possible replies from the Solipists:
First, why can't it simply be a law of my experience that such-and-such tactile and proprioceptive experiences will tend to co-occur with such-and-such visual experiences? Surely there's a theoretically discoverable structure to such co-occurrences -- a structure not so different, perhaps, and probably simpler, than that employed in the realist's account of tactile and visual perception and motor control and its relation to external objects. After all, realists' psychological theories, if they're really going to explain the relation among the experiences, require complicated overlapping and competing brain mechanisms for determining, among other things, visual shape and orientation from optical input.

And second, if simplicity really favors the theory with fewer unexplained coincidences, won't solipsism win hands down, even if it leaves a few things unexplained that the realist can explain? The small world of the solipsist will have vastly fewer such coincidences in total, and vastly fewer free parameters, than the enormously large, fine-textured, and richly populated world of the realist.

Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche - Section 193 - Quidquid luce fuit, tenebris agit

Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche - Section 193

The content of our waking life influences our dreams and the opposite is true: what we dream about influences how we live our lives. For instance, a man who could experience the freedom and exhilaration of flying in dreams would carry some of that attitude into his real life.

Nietzsche’s point here is connected to his comments in the previous section, and it concerns the importance of the way in which the irrational aspects of ourpersonalities infl uence our outlook on life.

Luke 12:3 - What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

Quidquid luce fuit, tenebris agit {“What happened in the light goes on in the dark.”}: but vice versa too. What we experience in dreams, as long as we experience it often enough, ends up belonging to the total economy of our soul just as much as anything we have “really” experienced.

Such experiences make us richer or poorer, we have one need more or less, and finally, in the bright light of day and even in the clearest moments when minds are wide awake, we are coddled a little by the habits of our dreams. Suppose someone frequently dreams that he is flying, and as soon as he starts dreaming he becomes aware of the art and ability of flight as his privilege as well as his most particular, most enviable happiness – someone like this, who thinks he can negotiate every type of curve and corner with the slightest impulse, who knows the feeling of an assured, divine ease, an “upwards” without tension or force, a “downwards” without condescension or abasement – without heaviness! – how could someone with dream experiences and dream habits like these not see that the word “happiness” is colored and determined differently in his waking day too! how could his demands for happiness not be different?

Compared to this “flying,” the “soaring upwards” that the poets describe will have to be too terrestrial, muscular, violent, even too “heavy” for him.

Girl Walk - Dance You Fool!

Official Trailer: Girl Walk // All Day from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo.

Simply Brilliant
B Girl Ballet Dancers & Girl Talk
What could be better - Watch in Awe

You might like The Lost Fingers covers of 80's tunes

Seriously - How could you not love these guys??

Oh Yeah... Jennifer Love Hewitt

Pork Medallions with Balsamic-Honey Glaze

Ingredients

For the balsamic-honey glaze:
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus rosemary branches for garnish
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pork:
1 3/4 to 2 pounds pork tenderloin
Canola oil, for searing

Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the glaze: Put garlic and rosemary in a small bowl. Add the vinegar, honey, olive oil, mustard, and salt and pepper, to taste, and stir to combine.

For the pork: Slice the tenderloin into 1-inch thick medallions (rounds). Cover the bottom of a medium skillet with a light film of canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the pork slices in 1 layer, season with salt and pepper, and sear for 1 minute. Turn and sear for 1 more minute, until lightly browned. Transfer the slices in 1 layer to a shallow baking dish.

Pour the glaze over the slices and turn them to coat.

Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until a thermometer inserted reaches 140 degrees F for medium. Remove from the oven and keep warm, loosely covered until ready to serve.

To serve place pork medallions on a platter and spoon the balsamic-honey glaze over them. Garnish the platter with the rosemary sprigs.

Here is one of my Shelley favs

It is an interesting exercise to read over a 1,000 poems by one author. I would not recommend it to anyone, but it does reveal as much about you as it does the Poet!

I needed a break - a refreshing brace - so I turned to Shelley. Loved his Mary's work - Frankenstein - definitely worth a read through if you have never read it.

I saw the simulcast of the British Theatre presentation of Frankenstein last year. Simply amazing - the actors playing Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster changed roles every performance to keep it fresh - Amazing.

Here is one of my Shelley favs - read it aloud in your quiet room for maximum effect... it is verrrrry soothing:

I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Has led me -who knows how?
To thy chamber-window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream -
The champak odours fail
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale's complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must die on thine,
O beloved as thou art!

Oh lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast;
Oh press it close to thine again,
Where it will break at last!

The trancelike, enchanting rhythm of this lovely lyric results from the poet’s use of a loose pattern of regular dimeters that employ variously trochaic, anapestic, and iambic stresses. And you thought it was just relaxing by accident!
The rhyme scheme is tighter than the poem’s rhythm, forming a consistent ABCBADCD pattern in each of the three stanzas.
So much thought in such a sublime confection!

White Wine Coq au Vin

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided $
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
4 slices bacon (1/4 lb.), chopped $
1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken thighs $
2 tablespoons olive oil $
1 1/2 cups peeled baby carrots $
3 stalks celery $
1 medium onion $
1 1/3 cups Chardonnay $
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth $
1/2 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh tarragon sprigs

Preparation
1. In a plastic bag, shake flour with 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, and the herbes de Provence; set aside.
2. In a 5- to 6-qt. pan over medium-high heat, brown bacon, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, cut chicken into 1-in. chunks, then shake half at a time in flour to coat.
3. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon from pan to paper towels. Brown half the chicken in bacon fat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding oil to pan. Meanwhile, cut carrots in half lengthwise and cut celery into diagonal slices. Chop onion.
4. Add vegetables to pan with remaining salt and pepper and sauté until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave wine and broth until steaming, about 3 minutes.
5. Add broth mixture, chicken, and bacon to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop parsley and tarragon. Stir them into stew.

Salsa Chicken The Slow Cooked Way

Birdie, one of our most successful members to date, is a doctor and mother of five. Having lost 143 pounds on SparkPeople, she is always on the lookout for healthy recipe ideas, but they have to be quick and easy. "I'm not a good cook," she confesses, but this is one dish she serves regularly without worry. She's not the only member who's making this for dinner: the recipe has been rated more than 2,700 times!

Salsa Chicken is easy to make; just put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and let the machine do the work. There are infinite variations, and your family is guaranteed to like each one.
6-8 hours to prepare; 15 minutes of active cooking time

Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 480
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 pounds (32 ounces) chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 cup salsa, homemade or purchased
1 cup petite diced canned tomatoes (choose low-sodium)
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1 cup onions, diced fine
1/2 cup celery diced fine
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
3 tablespoons sour cream, reduced fat

Directions


Place the chicken in a slow cooker. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the meat then layer the vegetables and salsa on top. Pour a half cup water over the mixture, set on low and cook for 6-8 hours. The meat is cooked when it shreds or reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. When ready to serve, break up the chicken with two forks then stir in the sour cream.

At the still point of the turning world… Eliot

Zero Point Field

the Still Point of the Turning World

“At the still point of the turning world…
there the dance is…
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
(T.S. Eliot)