1. My dad + running. . . . . Apparently my dad has turned into a runner. Say what?!?! I don’t know what has happened to him, but I was talking to my mom on the phone and apparently he has been running for 20 minutes these past few days—and likes it! Woohoo, go dad. I’m so proud of you!!

2. 73* + Smokin’ Hot . . . . . .Really, Anchorage? Really?? 73* = “Smokin’ Hot?” Alright, I’ll give Alaskans the benefit of the doubt on this one, for Alaska (Anchorage) this is very warm! I know in the past 5 years I have been up here, this is the warmest weather I’ve ever experienced!! And all of you from “the Lower 48″ are probably laughing at us right now. Ha!

3. Fried potatoes + hummus + salad greens . . . . .This salad that I made last night was actually pretty decent. (I have a bad history of making disgusting salads at home.) Who knew fried potatoes on a salad would taste pretty decent. Also, I’ve seen people use hummus on their salads as a dressing and surprisingly I thought it tasted alright too.

4. Non-dairy frozen dessert (does not) = ice cream. . . . . . Sorry soybeans, you just can’t make a good ice cream. I tried to trick my sweet tooth into giving it “healthy” “ice cream,” but it knew better. This was not good! I’ve had decent soy ice creams in the past, but I was not impressed with this one.

And one may think this is a healthy version of ice cream, but I wasn’t that impressed with the stats. (But then again it does depend upon which brand/type of ice cream you are comparing it to.)

One combination that does go well together. . . . .me + running! And this is a hard one to break apart. . . . .I’m an addict, what can I say?

Today’s run:

Distance: 8 miles

Time: 1:05

Average pace: 8:11 minutes/mile

Finally, an easy run, and I stayed above 8:00 miles—as in I didn’t run faster than 8 minute miles! It was a wonderful run: effortless, the perfect temperature, and I got lost in my thoughts. So good!

Like or Dislike?

By now you might have already noticed that my family and I are intrigued by odd combinations and un-ordinary recipes.   Why should this one be any different?

I saw this pie made on one of the featured spots on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and I wished to high heaven that I could fly all four of us to Indiana to try this in person.  I live to conversate with people who are this creative in the kitchen, since I am not all that creative.  Daring yes, creative not really.  At least I don’t think so.

Allow me to spoil you with a little-known fact about me:  my favorite show on the Food Network is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  I know, I know many talented home chefs talk down about the Food Network saying it’s too mainstream and very “fake” but I enjoy it!  I find inspiration from it.  I look at the foods that are used, how they are paired and techniques that are introduced.

Taylor has grown up watching the Food Network instead of the Cartoon Channel.  She used to be absolutely BONKERS for Paula Deen, now she enjoys watching Chopped, Cake Wars (Did I get that name right?  The show where they all have themed cakes to make.) and Michael Simon on Iron Chef.

She doesn’t just sit and mindlessly watch either.  She literally grabs me by the shoulders and with excitement tells me things that she finds super cool.

“Mom!  Did you know that they are making a buttercream with champagne in it??”  (She cannot wait to try some for herself…champagne not buttercream haha!)

“Mom, I can’t believe they just made all that food out of Halloween candy!”  Only in her dreams would I allow candy to be the main ingredient of her entire meal.

“Mom, I want to make my own tier cake with fondant frosting.”  We are working on this one.  She made up her own killer cake recipe…

She recently created a Caramel Apple Pie and melted the caramel using the double boiler method just as she saw on Iron Chef. [sniff, sniff] I’m so proud!

I tried to tell her it wouldn’t work out as she hoped, but I’m glad I let her make the call because she was right.  It made an incredible pie!

Think what you want, this family gains useful knowledge from the Food Network and it sure beats sitcoms!

Coming back to the pie, the flavor combo was a pleasant surprise!  The tartness of the blueberries really connected with the goat cheese and the sweetness was a nice contrast.  The basil played the part of harmony in this choir and the icing on the cake so to speak was the sliced almonds!

Taylor thought the goat cheese was a little too prominent, but she’s not usually a fan of it.

We both agreed that the perfect addition to a slice of this pie was fresh whipped cream!  The cool, sweet whipped cream really toned down the tartness of the goat cheese and made this pie really smooth and even more enjoyable!

If you do chose to make this pie, I must give a very enthusiastic suggestion that you try this pie crust recipe shared by Kim of LivLife.  It resembles shortbread and I cannot think of using any other pie crust recipe other than this one.  Not ever.  And FYI I did not use margarine, I used butter through this entire recipe.

A big huge thank you to 3 Sisters Cafe for sharing this pie and the recipe!  The link to the pie recipe can be found by clicking here.

What inspires you to try new adventures?  Both culinary and otherwise?

Now what is the oddest combination you can think of that actually works?

This is my rendition of chicken & waffles.

Is this how it is “supposed” to be done?  Regardless, this is how we ate it at my house and it was very well received.

I’d like to think of it as a parallel to pancakes and bacon.

The waffles were crisp on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside.  The crispy chicken was quite a positive addition and the sweet and savory combination was quite a treat for my palate!  I’m a fan of the sweet-savory duet.

The chicken by itself was crispy, pleasant and flavorful and the leftovers are going to make an incredible po-boy sandwich tomorrow!

Just place fluffy waffles on a plate, layer with crispy chicken and drizzle with syrup.  Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

You might have your own recipe for waffles, but if not you can find the recipe I used here.  You definitely want this chicken recipe…this method was inspired by a recent episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives when Guy visited a place called Jamaicaway.  (I want to eat there some day.  Badly!)

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

De-boned and de-skinned chicken, I use thighs or breasts

2 cups of flour

Salt & pepper +

2 tsp. paprika +

2 tsp. garlic powder +

2 tsp. onion powder +

1/2 cup bread crumbs, I used a mixture of panko and unsweetened coconut flakes!

Water

Cut your chicken into strips, anywhere from 1-2″ wide depending on how wide you want the chicken on your waffles.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder on the chicken and mix.  This is in addition to the measurements listed above.  Let chicken sit while you mix your batter and your dry mix.

In two medium sized bowls, add 1 cup of flour to each bowl.  Then add remaining ingredients dividing measurements in half.  One teaspoon paprika in each bowl, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder in each bowl and 1/4 cup bread crumbs in each as well.  Don’t forget to add salt and pepper.

In one bowl of dry ingredients, add just enough water to make a thick batter.  I added just over 1 cup.  Mix thoroughly and place next to your dry mix.

Heat oil in a pan, dip your chicken strips in wet batter and then the dry before placing in hot oil.  Repeat until all your chicken strips are nice and crispy!

As you may know, I had a couple presents to give away last week…

The winner is: Suzi from Cooking is Good!

The winner of one variety box of K Cups or one bag of Tully’s Coffee is: Dennis Littely of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis!

Don’t thank me, thank my little blonde sidekick for drawing the winning names!

Winners, please email me with your info.

Thank you so much for all of your support last week during the Hunger Strike!  We really appreciate your help to raise awareness as well so we really can make a difference one family at a time.

Just in case you missed it, here are links to previous posts:

• Hunger Strike Day 1 – Turkey Burger Sliders & Giveaway

• Hunger Strike Day 2 – Dear Diary

• Hunger Strike Day 3 – Garbanzo Bean Meatless Meatballs by Suzi from Cooking is Good

• Hunger Strike Day 4 – Raising Awareness [Video]

• Hunger Strike Day 5 – Vegan Brownies by Lora of Cake Duchess

How do you take your chicken and waffles?

I’m not even sure if what I made it can be called chili. I almost didn’t even write this post. But then I decided I had to share the love.

Really, it’s just to emphasize the point that you can make something out of an almost empty refrigerator.

It all started on Wednesday afternoon when I was thinking about what I was going to have for dinner. Alright, actually if I’m being honest it probably started on Tuesday night, after I just had dinner, and got to thinking about what I would have for dinner the next night. Come on, I know I’m not the only one who dreams of food. Just the fact that there is a whole blog world (not to mention a festival, devoted to food blogging) proves this fact. Let’s just be friends already and accept it. It’s like that Facebook friend request you have consistently pending. Accept it and rejoice.

I digress.

Aside: Speaking of the Foodbuzz conference, anyone going? I so wish I could go. Maybe next year? Ultimate dream come true? I think so…

Wait, what was I even talking about? Wednesday night’s dinner. Right.

The contents of my fridge resembled something like a bit of leftover corn, a handful or two of baby carrots, and a hamburger. Sigh. Go to the cabinets. I find a can of stewed tomatoes. Sigh. What the heck am I going to do with all this?

Bring on the world’s most awkward chili. I should probably be embarrassed to say that I mixed all these things together in a small pot and let them stew away for about an hour with some added water, salt, and pepper. I should probably be embarrassed that when I was sitting in class from 6-7:30pm it was basically all I could think about.

But I’m not.

It smelled delicious like chili should smell. It looked like chili should look. The only thing I’m embarrassed about is that I was like a hungry wolf upon my return from class and I basically devoured the entire pot, no bowl required. So that’s my excuse for no picture. For appearances sake, and I’ll admit, to save face, here’s a picture of what it “could” have looked like.  

And while it may not have “really” been chili, it was soothing to my soul and warming to my heart. I think that’s pretty much chili’s standards, right?

Just goes to show you how a little can go a long way.

What’s a recent meal you’ve had to scrape together out of just a few seemingly awkward ingredients? Did it turn out good/bad?

Better known as quinoa, is a powerhouse protein that I’ve only just discovered.

Sure I’ve known about it through reading blogs and magazines and browsing grocery store aisles (wait, you don’t do that?) but for some unknown reason I just never went ahead and purchased it or made any.

[Duly noted as one of the mistakes of my life. I will now remedy this mistake by consuming large amounts of quinoa at will.]

Keen-wa (do you mind if I type it like that? I want you to really emphasize it when you say it in your head. Why? Because it’s just that good.) is delicious. It has a hearty, nutty flavor all its own. It’s a power house grain that is perfect for those living a gluten-free lifestyle.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to do with it. But if I can whip something up that makes me crave it when I’m trying to fall asleep, you sure can too!

While this probably sounds like an odd combination, I’m telling you to go for it. I don’t blame you for being skeptical but it tastes delicious and it is so easy.

Here’s what you need:

Quinoa, Corn, Tuna Fish

(Please don’t leave. This blend will melt in your mouth it’s so good.)

Balsamic Vinegar, Parmesan Cheese, Mustard, Plain Yogurt

(It’s all about trust.)

Now what I did was mix together one serving of corn (1/2 cup), one serving of quinoa (1/4 cup dry, cooked), and 1/2 can of tuna fish, but you can really add the ingredients to your desired liking, depending on what you want more of, how many servings you’re making, what your appetite is…

Next I added one tablespoon of yellow mustard, one tablespoon of plain yogurt, and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

Mix it up and sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top.

 Really, you can’t go wrong. It tastes great cold and hot so depending on what you’re in the mood for, just go with it!

I’m fully aware that I eat odd food combinations. My family tells me, my friends tell me, and the fact that Heather and I have bonded over this just reaffirms that “one of these is not like the others” (aka: me).

I don’t mind. I embrace it. It tastes good to me!

What’s the oddest food combination you’ve ever eaten?

Well, you can’t believe it, since then every now and then they email me offering 75 free downloads if only I’d “return”. I did never reply to their mail, I did never “return”, I wouldn’t know what to download, but they keep emailing. It’s not that bad, it’s like an old friend with whom you don’t know what to talk about anymore who pops in.

05/05/2010, originally uploaded by nevealondra.

I think this is my second post on Gummi bears! I think it’s because they keep presenting me surprises, unexpected from such a long-running traditional confectionary.

I think they are trying to go large – it was the giant gummi bears first and then I find Haribo being branded on a whole plane! Yes, this was taken at an airport in Germany.

This brand marketing strategy has impact and makes you smile because when you’re at an airport, you don’t expect a giant Haribo bear to be waving at you.

Not sure if it leads to making you crave for gummi bears, but this pleasant surprise surely imprints the name of the brand in your mind that could easily become dull as it has been in the market since the 1920s!

case studies, originally uploaded by lunchbreath.

Clearly just combining two different things aren’t going to work…

But it makes you think why not?

By Popular Mechanics website

The other day, I dropped my Nokia N97 in the sink, under running water.  I quickly picked up my phone but it was too late -it didn’t respond, it was officially dead.

I searched on the internet to see if there were any remedies to this situation and found this great site Popular Mechanics which told me  I should put the phone in a dry bowl of rice to soak the moisture out.

So I did it.  24 hours later, the touch screen was still dead.  48 hours later, the touch screen revived and everything was back to normal! I think my microphone is a bit damaged as the caller on the other end doesn’t seem to hear me well, but I can use my headset, so back to normal and still going strong after a few weeks.

Resuscitation can happen through the most unconventional method.

I wonder if this works in business – apply the most unconventional method to revive your lagging performance.