Ray of Sunshine.

I may not be a religious, or even spiritual person, but I find solace and inspiration in one of the most universal expressions of self, music. As you know by now, I am a huge fan of Jason Mraz, who chooses to "Be Love" every single day - and we're lucky enough to get to share that with him through the gift of his music.

Therefore, I had to post this snippet of his beautiful opening song on his Gratitude Cafe tour - which stopped here in Chicago last month and is sadly coming to and end in a few weeks. "Ray of Sunshine" captures a lot for me - encouraging me to stay positive no matter what my situation may be. Sometimes it takes songs like this to remind you jsut how lucky you are. Thank you Jason, for sharing this one with us - that is what I am grateful for today.




"Sometimes the sun shines on other people's houses and not mine
and the clouds paint the sky in a way
that takes away my summer time

somehow the sun shines upon you while i struggle to get mine
well there's a light in everybody so send out a ray of sunshine

i wanna walk the same roads as everybody else
through the trees and past the gates
i getting high on heavenly breezes
making new friends on the way

and i wont ask much of nobody
I'm just here to sing along
and make my mistakes look gracious
and learn some lessons from my wrongs

Sometimes the sun shines on other people's houses and not mine
and the sky can paint the sky in a way
that takes away my summer time

and somehow the sun shines upon you while i struggle to get by
there's a light in everybody so send your ray of sunshine

well you sure look as good as your outlook
would you mind if i took some time
to soak up your light, your beautiful light
you got some paradise inside

I get hungry for love and thirsty for life
but much to full on the pain
and if i turn to the sky to help me
it most often looks like rain

cause sometimes the sun shines on other people's houses and not mine
sometimes the clouds paint the sky in a way
that takes away my summer time

while the sun keeps shining upon you while i'm kindly standing by
a little light never hurt nobody send out a ray of sunshine

oh if this little light of mine combined with yours today
how many villages could we save
how many watts could illuminate

well my umbrella's tired of the weather wearing me down
well look at me now

you're undeniably warm, cerulean
you're perfect in design
i hope you hang around

so the sun can shine on me
and the clouds can all roll away
and the sky can become our possibility
cause there's a light in everybody, send out your ray of sunshine" - Jason Mraz

Breakfast to Go.

Earlier this week I learned that my beloved Archer Farms Breakfast Calzone had been discontinued by Target. (Apparently I was the only one buying them or something, ugh.) Let's just put it this way, the calzone was the perfect savory starter to my day. Under 300 calories and packed with protein, it contained roasted vegetables and egg with smoky Gouda cheese, all wrapped in yummy chewy pizza dough. Shamefully enough I was willing to pay $4 for a box of two, but I felt much better about eating these as an alternative to oatmeal/breakfast bar versus stopping at the corner Dunkin' Donuts.

So, as you might imagine, I was pretty upset when I found out that they had been pulled from the shelves (yes, I called and asked since I couldn't find them). But, then, it struck me - I wasn't without the calzone just because I couldn't buy it - I could flex my culinary muscle and make them instead!

Here's the step-by-step low-down on how to make them. I will probably tweak the recipe a little since this was my first attempt but feel free to fill them with anything you like!

Roasted Vegetable and Smoked Gouda Breakfast Calzones (Yields 9)

Make the Filling:

1 red pepper julienned

1 green pepper julienned

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley

1 large green chili pepper, julienned ( I added this for heat but if you want you can just sub a regular green pepper)

1/2 round smoked Gouda cheese, cut into 1-inch square slices

half dozen eggs

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP butter

Directions:

When oil is hot, add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes until tender. Add in peppers and saute for another 5 minutes until tender as well. Add the basil and parsley and keep on heat for another 2 minutes to incorporate herbs. Add S&P to taste. Set Aside.

Using the same pan over medium-high heat, drop the butter in and move around to coat the bottom of the pan. Crack eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork adding a little milk if you like, along with S&P. Then pour eggs into pan and scramble until done - about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Make the Dough:

3 Cups all-purpose flour

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 packet dry, ready yeast

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients using a mixer on low speed. It will only take a minute for the ingredients to come together - then scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again on low speed until dough forms a ball. Turn out on floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes. Form into ball again and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
After dough has rested, turn out on floured surface again and knead for another 3-5 minutes to remove any air bubbles. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough until it's about a 1/4 inch thick. You should end up with a pretty big oblong piece, and at this point, use a knife to cut dough into rough 5x5 inch pieces. Roll each piece on it's own to make it more even.

Then, place pepper and onion mixture on half of 5x5 piece. Top with scrambled egg and two 1-inch slices of Gouda cheese. Fold dough over and crimp at edges to make sure the mini-calzone is closed. Place on (oiled or PAM'ed) baking sheet. Assemble the rest of the calzones and place on baking sheet as well. Then, break one egg and lightly scramble it in a small bowl. Use this as an egg-wash to brush on the tops of the calzones (it will help to give the crust that golden brown color). Lastly, poke the tops of each calzone with a fork to allow air to escape during baking. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are a medium golden brown color.

Freeze:

Once the calzones come out of the oven, let them cool to room temp on the baking sheet for 1-2 hours. Then put each in it's own freezer bag and throw in the freezer. They should last 2-3 months - like they'll be around that long!

Then....Eat!*

Throw one in your bag for work, or take one out for breakfast at home. Put on plate in microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes on high. When you hear the beep, you have a yummy, savory and nutritious breakfast treat!

*I actually started writing this on Sunday when I made the calzones. I hadn't tried them yet, but I took one to work on Monday, and let me tell you, they were better than the ones I had been buying for so long. As my best friend Emily said, necessity breeds creativity - and boy was she right! It's not the fastest process, but they are so worth it - I hope you try them out too!

Impromptu Peanut Sesame Noodles.

Tonight, after returning after a long days work and a few errands, I was faced with the fact that I needed to use or lose the green beans sitting in my fridge. I had been craving peanut noodles this week as well, so with a glance in the cupboard, I found that I had all I needed to create a tasty twist on the traditional peanut noodle.

The noodles took place in two steps:

Dressing:

1/4 C peanut butter (I used low fat creamy, so as long as it's smooth use what you like), softened for 15 seconds in microwave

3 TBSP Soy Sauce

3 TBSP Sesame Oil

2 TBSP EVOO

3 squirts of the Sriracha bottle (this is a chili paste/sauce I keep on hand at all times - you can find it in the Asian aisle at all grocery stores)

1 TBSP minced garlic

1/4 C lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2 TBSP sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Green beans and Noodles:

Then, cut the ends off of the green beans and cut into 1 inch pieces. Blanch in boiling water for 1-2 minutes until crisp tender, rinsing in cold water t stop cooking process.

Keep water and return to boil, adding 12 oz of whole wheat pasta (spaghetti or linguine is fine) and cooking until al dente. While pasta is cooking, chop 1 cup parsley.

Drain and rinse pasta with cold water until cool. Combine pasta, parsley and green beans in bowl and add dressing. Stir to coat and place in fridge until chilled, a minimum of a half hour.