Dont know why

But its true, I cant help it.

Kates Pad Thai

This is my absolute favorite thing she makes. She found the recipe in a book called "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch". Notice how I stopped filming when she asked me to? She is going to kill me.

6oz rice noodles (cooked and drained accorsing to directions)
1/4 cup agave nectar (ya-I know but its worth it)
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoons sriracha
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
14-16 oz extra-firm tofu
1/2 red onion cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 scallions halved lenthwise and cut into 2 in. pieces
2 cups bean sprouts
1 carrot shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup roasted peanuts-chopped
4-8 lime wedges
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1. In a bowl mix the agave, mirin, ketchup, tamari, lime juice and sriracha and mix and set aside
2. Heat coconut oil in wok- add the tofu and stir fry for 4 minutes
3. Add the red onion and stir fry for 30 seconds
4. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds
5. Add the noodles and mixture to wok and cook until noodles are soft and coated
6. Add rest of ingredients and stir fry for a few more seconds
7. This is good stuff... enjoy!

Bon Voyage My Friend- There Are Greener Pastures

This is an odd one for me but I feel that it is worth writing.

My friend, Tiffany, had a hard year:

A divorce.

Her mother, whom she was very close to, passing away at an age when she should have been in her prime.

A terrible car accident.

A job in an industry where you can't be totally sure whether your next day will be your last.

Another car accident that ocurred while on a date where she had to be cut out of the car with the jaws of life.

I don't blame her for wanting to dive off the cliff that she has (more on that later).

She was always that "it girl". Tall, blond, fun, friendly-you get my point. She and I always had that kind of relationship where we clicked and were friends. Not the kind of friend who checks in every day but the one who is genuienly happy to see the other and chat for a few when we bumped into each other at a happy hour or the office.

But at some point during this year, I kind of backed off.

To be perfectly honest, I was intimidated by her and if you don't know me then you need to know that if I am extremely outgoing. I am not shy. I have few insecurities and the ones that I have I manage to hide.

Not so much with Tiffany after her seperation- I was intimidated. While I will admit that I think she is quite good looking, the reason for my intimidation was the fact that I didn't want to be seen as hitting on her now that she's single. I just didn't want that.

I saw her when the divorce happend and I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell her that everything would be OK for no other reason than to be a good friend. But I am a married man with three kids. I wanted to be a friend to her while she was having a hard time - but I didn't want to give her the wrong impression.

Then her mother had a very unfortunate accident and passed away. I didn't know what to say. I am sure that whatever I said was awkward. I remember telling her sorry while we were in the office lobby one afternoon while we were crossing paths. She to lunch with friends and I was going to the pool for a workout.


Then she disappeared from the office for a bit. I heard through the grapevine that she had been in an accident. I was genuinely happy to see her back in the office. I remember seeing her in a dress that showed her back after this and seeing a few scars. It broke my heart.

Then I started to wonder why her Karma was so bad. What could this nice girl have done to deserve all of this?

She realized that she needed a change. She is taking over a year off and is travelling to Asia. Just getting out. Getting away. Healing. Getting back to herself.

I talked to her about her trip. It just reinforced what I already knew. She is awesome. A really cool person.

I am going to be keeping up with her on her blog that she will be writing about her travels. Check her out. She also promised to guest post for me every once in a while.

http://makinglemonade.tumblr.com

Go say hello to Tiffany for me every once in a while.

And we are off!

Cleveland here we come. We are going to my cousins wedding. It should be fun. Sorry I have been silent-busy boy these days! I'll let you know how the trip goes.

Michelle Obama's Farmers Market

My subway stop for work is McPherson Square/White House. Michelle Obama decided that she wanted to close Vermont Avenue every Thursday for a Farmers Market (note the Secret Service guys on lookout).

My first thought as a dark suited/red power tie kinda guy was, "Dammit-this is going to totally screw up my commute. And there are going to be hippies everywhere". In fact, it did a make it a little bit more difficult but I finally gave in and went to the Market on Thursday on my way home. OK, so my snap stereotype was broken-these vendors knew their stuff.


I took my time shopping and tried a lot of the vendors' products. I talked to them about what would go well with whatever. There was a local bakery and the gentleman seemed genuinely pleased to discuss how he made his semolina bread with me. The array of fresh vegetables made my local Safeway seem like it was bush league. I stumbled upon one stall where the dude working it was selling bison meat.


I have always heard that it was excellent and tasted just like beef but much leaner and probably 100 times healthier. After talking to the guy for a minute I decided to go for it. I told him that I am a bison meat virgin and he simply said, "Try the burgers". So, I picked up some awesome bread, heirloom tomatoes, and some bison burgers. I made them on Friday night and we LOVED them. My wife really liked the fact that bison was so much leaner than beef and that it not only tasted pretty much like beef but tasted better. So, we may be doing bison burgers more often.

Michelle, good call. You are as smart as you are good lookin'. Thanks from just a regular Joe who works down the street from your house.

Nancy Was Right Mac And Cheese & A Party

My friend Kate from the office was having a birthday dinner party the other night for one of her friends and asked me for a few recipes and some help with dinner ideas. The mac&cheese is bottom right in the picture.

One of me and my wife's favorite recipes is called, "Nancy was right mac&cheese". Kate and I were just dating and Nancy was her roommate. They were kind of a package deal. A long time ago Nancy and I were cooking dinner and she wanted to make this recipe. My first reaction was of utter disgust. Who puts cottage cheese in something like this? I was dead wrong and now this recipe is one of my go-to's. Thank you Nancy!


8oz Cheddar (shredded)
1 3/4 cup macaroni
1 cup plain yogurt
1 beaten egg
3/4 tsp salt & a few decent sized pinches of pepper
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
paprika (I actually use cayenne)
Italian Bread Crumbs
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1. cook pasta according to box, drain
2. in a bowl add cheese,yogurt,egg, S&P, cottage cheese and mix
3 Pour past into the bowl and mix
4 add pasta mix to a lightly buttered casserole dish, pan or whatever
5 bake at 350 covered with tin foil for 40 minutes
6. remove and top with bread crumbs and lightly sprinkle paprika
7. bake for about 5-10 more minutes
(use paper towels to blot out grease that will accumulate on the sides occasionally)

The boys first college football game

I took my kids to their first college football game. We only lasted the first half due to the fact it was about to pour down rain and the kids' attention span is actually only 20 minutes. They did so well. George didn't watch the game,he talked to the cheerleaders the whole time. That's my boy! When we left at just about half time Catholic U was tied with Randolph Macon 7-7. I am actually a big fan of Catholic U even though I didn't go there. I almost did. My brother, cousin and my best friend went though. That's good enough for me. I'm not a U Maryland, Georgetown or UVA fan. I went to GWU and we dont have a football team-so the CUA Cardinals are now my team and I will be taking the children to games from here on out.