Tag Archives: hot tip

Friday’s Hot Tip: What’s Cookin? Penne with Spinach & Chickpeas

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The hardest part about giving up a lot of wheat and gluten is giving up pasta. Fortunately there are several companies who have come up with rice pasta. Tinkyada makes excellent gluten-free pasta but at $3.99 or more a bag, it can be quite expensive. I buy Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Pasta and find it to be just as good. By using rice pasta I don’t have to stop making my favorite pasta dishes, such as this incredibly delicious penne with spinach, chickpeas and tomatoes tossed in an olive oil-based sauce.

This recipe is a very slight variation on one I got from Kirsten over at NilsenLife. I love chickpeas and especially love them in this dish, which is so full of garlicky tomato-y chickpea goodness that I often eat more than I should in one sitting. I use baby spinach leaves instead of frozen – while I’m loving spinach more now as an adult, I still have issues with frozen spinach. It’s just not aesthetically pleasing.

Earlier this week I visited Kirsten at her home and we briefly discussed our love of this dish. We were in agreement about the addictive qualities of this dish, but couldn’t quite define what makes it so…craveable. The olive oil? The garlic? The combination of flavors? Whatever it is, this pasta dish is well worth turning on the stove for, even during these hot summer days. Pro tip: if you have leftovers, try them cold or at room temperature – still tastes fabulous.

Penne with Spinach and Chickpeas in Garlic Sauce

5-6 oz. loose fresh spinach OR 1 small pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 oz. penne pasta
1/3 C olive oil
3-6 garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like your food, or if you are trying to ward off vampires)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained but not rinsed
Kosher salt & ground pepper
1/4 C grated Parmesan (optional)

Clean spinach, discard stems. (Chop leaves if they are on the large side.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes. (Don’t let the garlic burn!) Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and cook 2 minutes more. Add freshly ground pepper for added zing. Throw in the chopped spinach, add kosher salt and stir well. Turn off the burner and allow the spinach to cook on its own – it will be much fresher & bright green in color.

When the pasta is done, drain it thoroughly. Add pasta to saucepan or mix pasta with sauce in a separate bowl. Sprinkle on the Parmesan, and toss again. You can have this pasta without the Parmesan if you have issues with dairy products, but the cheese adds another lovely flavor to the dish.

Serves 3-4 (Pro tip: use entire bag of penne and spinach if you’re feeding a larger group.)

Friday’s Hot Tip: What’s Cookin’? Vinaigrette Dressing

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I’ve written before about my cooking phases, but I’m also very conscious of going through phases in salad dressing. When I was growing up, Momcat and I would notice new dressings in the condiments aisle of the grocery store and we would try them out. I remember when ranch dressing made its way onto the scene, usurping many a bottle of Thousand Island not only in our house, but across the land as well. We also tried a tomato dressing that featured sun-dried tomatoes in a vinaigrette-style based – I’d love to find it again, or recreate it, the flavor was so good. When Paul Newman started making his own dressing, we were on it and many a meal at the Moxie kitchen table included that blue-eyed devil staring at us from a bottle of his finest vinaigrette.

About five or six years ago, I was inspired by a former friend to start making my own salad dressings. She would make these incredible salads full of fresh veggies, beans, and other delectables, but instead of serving them with a store-bought dressing, she would mix up olive oil with vinegar, different herbs and spices, and add some ingredients I wouldn’t have thought to add to a homemade dressing.

Over the years I’ve adapted this recipe for my own purposes, and every batch turns out differently, but the following recipe is a good place to start if you are new to DIY salad dressing. Add or remove ingredients as you see fit.

Moxie’s DIY Vinaigrette Dressing

6 T olive oil
4 T rice wine vinegar (balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar is also good)
1/2 T honey
1/2 T spicy brown mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 T fresh thyme
1 T water

145 calories per 2 T serving

Mix all ingredients together using a whisk or hand-held electric beater. Store in a jar with a tight lid or a cruet.

Friday’s Hot Tip: 5 Ways to Help Your Unemployed Buddies

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I decided to follow up on Sunday’s post about dealing with the unemployed with some good tips on helping out friends and family members who find themselves without work. These tips are based on what I’ve experienced being unemployed/underemployed, and what I wanted from my friends and loved ones during that time.

1. Start with asking, “How can I support you?”

These five little words should become a mantra for you, as this phrase works beautifully in many situations when someone is experiencing difficulty in their life. In an unemployment scenario, it gives the other person the power to decide what they want or need as they process the loss of their job. Pro tip: don’t ask this question just once, either. Whenever they need to vent about their job search, interviews that went nowhere, or their struggles to stay afloat, it’s your opportunity to ask what, if anything, they need from you.

2. Don’t assume you know their master plan post-layoff.

As I briefly mentioned in Sunday’s post, unemployment can give someone the opportunity to pursue life-long dreams. It opens the door to write, start a business, make a career change, travel, or volunteer. And believe it or not, they might not want a full-time job again. Everyone’s situation is different – give them space to figure out what’s next, and if you remember Tip #1, then they might just let you in on what they are dreaming up.

3. Keep your comments about money to yourself.

Trust me when I say someone who is unemployed (or even underemployed) does not want to hear you complain about the state of your bank account. Nor do they want to hear your comments about what they are doing or not doing with their money. Like politics, sex, and religion, discussions about money can kill a conversation, and in some instances it can kill a relationship. Do yourself and your friend a favor and hold your tongue.

4. Don’t radically alter your communication style or forget about them altogether.

Just because someone loses their job doesn’t mean they are a social pariah and you need to leave them alone. By the same token, if you were having phone conversations with them every couple of weeks, don’t suddenly start calling every other day. Be sensitive to their situation and let them guide the conversation when it comes to work or career topics, but feel free to talk about current movies, TV shows, books, music, local news or happenings. Or you could even talk about your pet’s antics or the latest celebrity scandal. The key is to keep things normal.

5. Let them mourn the loss of their job.

Momcat always told me, “When a relationship ends, it’s a death and it needs to be mourned.” She was talking about romantic relationships, but this also holds true for the relationships we have with our jobs, which are just as complex and layered as any love relationship. Give them space and time to grieve, and allow them to dictate when they are ready to move on in their career.

Have your own tips to add to this list? Leave them in the comments section.


Friday’s Hot Tip: What’s Cookin’? Chicken with Quinoa & Veggies

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When it comes to cooking for myself, I go through phases:

  • Phase 1: buying items that allow me to assemble quick, easy meals
  • Phase 2: having zero interest in making anything that involves a pot, pan or a spatula
  • Phase 3: getting bored with everything I have been making during Phase 1 so seeking out new recipes and experimenting

I’m currently in Phase 3, which can lend itself to some pretty tasty dishes…or some culinary horror stories. Fortunately last week’s experiment turned out very well, and I’m posting the recipe here so you can try it for yourself. I’m a big fan of one-pot cooking, and I eat a lot of chicken at home, so this is my variation on a one-pot chicken recipe I found on Real Simple‘s website.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is an itty-bitty grain first harvested by Native Americans. It’s got loads of protein and can be served for breakfast (the texture is similar to oatmeal and you can make it sweet or savoury) or as a side dish with vegetables for lunch or dinner. It can be cooked like rice, so it’s very easy to substitute quinoa in entrees calling for rice. Plus you get the fun of saying quinoa.

Chicken with Quinoa, Mushrooms, Peppers & Spinach

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 C mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 C mixed bell peppers, chopped (I use frozen mixed but fresh red bell pepper would be great here)
  • 1/4 t basil, dried
  • 2 C vegetable broth
  • 1 C uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 C baby spinach, washed, stems removed
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and saute until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate.

Add mushrooms to skillet and saute until browned, about 3-4 minutes (Note: you may want to add more oil or a little water to keep the mushrooms from burning; I added water). Add peppers, garlic and basil. Cook until peppers have softened, about 3 minutes.

Add broth and quinoa, stirring gently to mix with vegetables. Increase heat to medium-high and allow broth to come to a slow boil. Return chicken to pan, spacing pieces evenly. Lower heat and cover pan. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until quinoa has cooked through and broth has been absorbed. Season with pepper.

Remove lid, turn off heat and add spinach, tearing up larger leaves. Season with salt, then stir spinach into quinoa and chicken mixture, allowing heat from the dish to wilt the spinach.

Serves 2-4.

Got any quinoa recipes to share? Tell me in the comments!

Friday’s Hot Tip: What’s Cookin’? Pasta!

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Years ago I found this recipe in InStyle Magazine – I think it was Janet Jackson’s favorite dish at a restaurant, but I don’t have any information on which restaurant. Nevertheless, Ms. Jackson has excellent taste because this pasta is addictive. It’s really delicious served hot but I also like it cold or room temperature. It takes time and attention to make the olive-oil-based sauce, so plan on setting aside about 45 minutes to babysit the saucepan.

Last week I served this pasta along with London broil and a spinach salad made with pomegranate seeds, candied pecans and Parmesan cheese tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was a big hit and paired beautifully with the beef.

Since this recipe makes a lot of pasta, I recommend making it for a party. You’ll glow with pride as your guests rhapsodize about your mad skills with penne.

Penne al Pomodoro e Peperoncino

  • 1 1/4 cups olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrot
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 lbs penne pasta
  • 10 fresh basil leaves
  • Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

In medium saucepan heat oil. Add onion, celery carrot, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 15-17 minutes. Add tomatoes and red pepper flakes; reduce heat to medium low, cook for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in large pot bring 6 quarts salted water to boil. Add pasta, stir. Return water to boil. Boil pasta 11-13 minutes, until al dente. Drain well. Return pasta to pot. Add basil leaves to sauce. Spoon sauce into bowl of food processor; process in batches until texture is smooth. [Moxie adds: I use my blender because my food processor is too small and I would rather get the whole thing done in one fell swoop. If you've got a big honkin' food processor, though, by all means use it.]. Pour sauce over pasta; toss well. To serve, place pasta on warmed serving platter. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6.

Friday’s Hot Tip: What’s Cookin’?

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Last May I read Signora da Vinci, a fascinating and fun historical novel about Leonardo daVinci’s mother. Several times in the book, the narrator referred to a special dish she would make from grapes and olives. The fictional characters who enjoyed the dish raved about it and made me want to try some myself. I’m not a foodie but I love good flavor combinations and this one sounded very intriguing.

Fortunately the author, Robin Maxwell, had the foresight to add a recipe at the end of the book. I have made it twice for parties and it’s been a big hit. While it may feel too hot to run the oven right now, I think you owe it to yourself to make this compote for your next happy hour or gathering. It’s very tasty with pita chips.

Grape & Olive Compote

1 bunch seedless red grapes
1 jar Kalamata olives, pits removed (use a little bit of the liquid)
3 T balsamic vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T fresh chopped thyme

Mix in ovenproof dish – I use a deep Pyrex bowl.

Bake uncovered for one hour at 350 degrees, turning every 20 minutes to recoat with oil & vinegar.

Serve warm or cold.

Got any good recipes to share? Send ‘em over!

Drink This, You’ll Feel Better: Natural Remedies for Cold/Flu

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I personally hate taking medicine and will avoid taking it unless I am in major pain. It’s probably because I suffered from bad allergies as a child, growing up on the allergen-loving East Coast, and seemed to be constantly taking medication. To this day I hate anything that’s artificial cherry flavor (aside from the occasional Cherry Coke) or artificial fruit flavor. I see a bottle of Robitussin and I shudder with the memory.

Since I’ve been in California, I’ve looked for natural cures and home remedies for all sorts of ailments. For the most part they work very well for me. My two personal favorites are hot drinks I have concocted when I have a bad cold or the flu. These mixes do a great job of soothing what ails me and there’s no side effects.

Lemonade Remedy
1/2 – 3/4 cup lemonade
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (Tapatio is my preference; tabasco or Cholula also work)
1/2 teaspoon or more apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon or more honey

Put all of the ingredients into a mug. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and drink while hot. Yes, it sounds gross, but you mostly taste the sweetness of the lemonade and the honey – the hot stuff just helps clear the sinuses.

Tomato “Tea”
1/2 – 3/4 cup tomato juice (mixed vegetable juice also works)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (see a trend here?)
2 minced garlic cloves (about 1/2 teaspoon if you get the stuff in the jar)
fresh lemon juice
Dash celery salt or Mrs. Dash (optional)

Put all of the ingredients into a mug. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and drink/sip while hot. It’s like a Virgin Bloody Mary with the heat turned on. I sometimes will eat this “tea” like soup, getting some good pita chips or tortilla chips to dip in my mug.

Got a home remedy that works wonders?
Please share it in the comments.

Friday’s Hot Tip: Humor

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I tend to randomly break out into song about various things, such as feeding Mossimo, getting my Bluetooth headset enabled (this is usually a duet with T-Wizzle), or my newfound love of coffee. So when those crazy kids at Improv Everywhere did a musical in a food court, I was enthralled. Like any good musical, there’s comedy, drama, suspense…and the end leaves you reeling with pleasure. Here performing “Can I Get a Napkin Please?” are 16 agents from Improv Everywhere. Take it away, kids!

Oh, and the hot tip, you ask? Laugh more, and when life gets challenging, sing through it.

Friday’s Hot Tip(s): Relationships

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It’s actually Sunday when I’m writing this – the first week on the job was pretty intense. I suppose I could schedule the post for this coming Friday, but what fun would that be?

Lately I’ve been talking to a lot of people about romantic relationships. It seems we’ve all been struggling with love on some level, and trying to connect with someone while still maintaining our own identity can be really difficult at times. I’ve thought about it a great deal, had many discussions with T-Wizzle on the topic, and I’ve decided to do something a little different with this week’s Hot Tip. It’s actually five tips on how to make relationships work, as conceived by me. Feel free to expand on these or offer revisions in the comments.

1. Determine whether you’re a provider or nurturer. Regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, people tend to fall into one of two groups: provider (the one who works and provides the financial structure for the family unit) and nurturer (the person who nurtures family members and offers emotional support). It’s been my experience that we get into trouble when we try to force ourselves to be a nurturer when we’re really much more comfortable as a provider, or vice versa. In relationships, this can also show up as insisting that the other person take on a provider role because we believe that we are a nurturer, for example. Figure out what you are, and be okay with it.

2. Honor your flow as well as your partner’s flow. Whenever I say “honor your flow” to people, they look at me as if I’m insane. What I mean by this is “do what feels right for you.” Part of honoring your flow, though, requires that you take responsibility for your actions and be prepared to handle the consequences. Sounds a bit heavy, I know, but if you’re coming at a relationship with an open, loving heart and mind, this isn’t that difficult.

3. Don’t make yourself wrong, and don’t make your partner wrong either. As I recently wrote here, we’re not here to get things perfect. I try to come at life from the perspective that we’re all doing the best that we can in any moment, even if that seems hard to believe sometimes. No one ever wants to feel wrong for things they have done or not done, said or not said. In a relationship, you owe it to yourself and your partner to understand that their behavior is not an indication of your worth as a person. Sounds easy to understand intellectually, but emotionally, it can be tough.

4. Accept the present. In relationships it’s so easy to get caught up in the future. “How serious is he? Does he want to move in with me? Will she be the mother of my children? When will we get married?” and so on. If you’re constantly thinking about the future, it is damn hard to be in the moment while you’re sipping Frappuccinos on your third date with Cindy Lou.

5. Enjoy yourself. This is closely tied with #4. If you’re really in the present moment, all the pressure is off. You can just be yourself and have a good time. Maybe Cindy Lou isn’t the right woman for you…but the barista with the cute smile might be.

Friday’s Hot Tip: Technology

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I haven’t had a working cell phone since the beginning of January, which initially caused me a great deal of stress. Now just looking at what I owe AT&T causes stress…but that’s not the point here. Since I’d given up my home phone and gone mobile-only, I was outta luck for arranging job interviews, coordinating outings with friends, and checking in with Momcat and Pops. I think it was T-Wizzle who suggested I look into Internet phones – it would be logical that she would make this suggestion, as she is the most techno-savvy friend I have. Everyone should have their own T-Wizzle, and I’m sure she would agree. She’s just that kind of girl. Be sure to lock up your good whiskey before she comes over, though. But I digress.

I am a big user of Yahoo Messenger, so I looked into Yahoo Voice for making Internet phone calls. There are two components to Yahoo Voice: Phone Out and Phone In. With Phone Out, you can make calls from your computer to any phone number worldwide for incredibly low rates. Within the United States, it’s one cent a minute. Yes, I said one cent. For my Canadian readers, it’s one cent per minute for you as well. Got friends in Swaziland? Giving ‘em a ring will cost you 12 cents a minute. What about a call to Down Under? One minute will set you back about 0.018 cents. The beauty of the Phone Out setup is that there are no setup fees; if you have a PC, an Internet connection, and Yahoo Messenger (which is free to download and use), you’re ready to make calls. At the end of January I bought $10 worth of minutes…and as of March 7, I have $7.67 left. Anyone that knows me in the real world knows that I can talk and chatter for days, so for me to have such a high credit balance is pretty amazing. Either that or I’ve been pretty closemouthed…nah, not possible.

Being able to call out is all fine and good, but in my situation I needed a phone number where I could be reached as well. That’s where Yahoo Voice’s Phone In becomes very handy. For a fee of $2.99 per month (or $2.49 per month if you pay for 12 months in advance), you can get a phone number that rings at your computer. For U.S. users, you get to choose from a wide selection of area codes and phone numbers. Through Yahoo’s Phone In, I finally got a number in one of the most desirable area codes in L.A., so I feel like one of the cool kids. Again, the Phone In service works with Yahoo Messenger, so anywhere you’re on the Internet and you’re on Yahoo Messenger, you can receive calls. Don’t feel like answering? Let the call go to voicemail. And if by some crazy chance you’re not online, any incoming calls will go to voicemail.

Which leads me to the one drawback with this service: you can’t customize your voicemail greeting. That is, I couldn’t find anything on Yahoo Voice’s website to tell me how to do this. My guess is that this capability will come in the next version or so, because as everyone knows, you can’t stop progress. You can’t stop the beat, either, but again, I digress.

“But what about the sound quality, Moxie?” I hear you ask. Well, my friends, the sound quality is excellent. I live on a busy street and sometimes I have to jack up the volume in order to hear everything, but everyone I have talked to via Yahoo Voice has said the sound was crystal clear and distortion free. The only time I had issues with distortion was when I talked to Deena, my friend who lives in the sticks on the East Coast and has some cell phone issues to begin with.

So if you’re looking to set up a business line on the cheap, or you want to make some long distance phone calls without spending a ton of money, put your miked headset to work and buy some time on Yahoo Voice. In fact, the first 4 people that e-mail me (see address on the sidebar) will get hooked up with free minutes on Yahoo Voice, so you can try it for yourself. Check it!