Some Friday Humor!

Oh noooo!

Here’s a very humorous image (in my humble opinion), albeit a bit twisted.  I no longer have to wonder where the pumpkin comes from for my pies and cheesecakes . . .  Happy Friday!

And now that we have the pumpkin, here’s a great recipe for pumpkin cheesecake (with caramel sauce, yum) that I ran across a couple of weeks ago.  Enjoy!

For the Crust

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 4 graham crackers)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 egg yolk

For the filing

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups (1 pound) brown sugar

5 large eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree*

2 tablespoons bourbon or other whiskey

Directions
1. Pulse pecans, flour, sugar, and crumbs in a food processor. Add butter and egg yolk. Pulse until mixture is homogenous. Press into bottom of 9” springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. Remove from oven and let cool.

2. Drain or strain any liquid from pumpkin purée. Take pumpkin purée and place on several layers of paper towels. Cover with several layers of paper towels and use your hands to gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the purée. Not that you will probably go through a lot of paper towels (can use tea towels too). Two 15-ounce cans of puréed pumpkin should yield a little more than 2 cups of purée, with the excess moisture removed. You want exactly 2 cups of the purée.

3. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon (no need for a mixer for this step), mix in the salt, pumpkin purée, vanilla, and bourbon. Beat in the eggs.

4. In a large bowl, (helps to use a mixer for this step) combine the cream cheese and the brown sugar until fully creamed and smooth (no lumps). Gradually add the pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

5. Place crust-baked springform pan in the middle of two layers of large sheets of aluminum foil (to help prevent water-bath moisture from leaking into the pan). Fold the aluminum foil up the sides of the pan and trim. Place the aluminum wrapped pan in a large roasting pan (large enough so that there is room on all sides). Pour the pumpkin cream cheese mixture into the springform pan.

6. Place the roasting pan containing the springform pan in a 325°F oven on the middle rack. Pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the side of the springform pan. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven heat and prop the oven door open. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven, cooling for another hour. Then remove from oven and let come to room temperature. Once it has cooled down, chill for several hours in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

7. When ready to serve, gently remove the cake from the springform pan. To help ensure that the cake doesn’t stick to the springform side as you unlock it, first run a blunt knife around the cake then carefully unlock the springform and lift off the sides.

Serve cheesecake with caramel sauce, candied pecans, and whipped cream.

Training Tips for the Holidays!

Here’s a list of tips from Jeff Galloway.  Since I have actually been sidelined for several weeks (with an inflamed achilles tendon), I will not be taking advantage of these tips right away, but they will definitely come in handy during the next holiday season (or any time throughout the year).  . .

Plan ahead.
Pick quiet times.
Focus on the long ones.
Release stress with a short run or walk.
Minimal training will maintain your adaptations.
Don’t be obsessive about food.
Stage social runs with family and friends.
When the weather is not ideal . . .

Here’s the link to Jeff’s blog for the entire article.  Happy Running!  I’m actually planning on starting up again January 1st (12 weeks should be enough of a layoff to have sufficiently healed this problem) — I’m ready to get going again.

Are You Ready to Read?

“Do Nothing But Read Day” is just around the corner (Sunday, December 20th).  I have several books lined up and ready to go.  And there is still time for you to sign up to participate (yes, there is an official sign up option).  This day is the brainchild of a University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Library and Information Studies student who publicly posted to her blog that she wished she “could take a day off to do nothing but read.”  The next thing you know, voila, the first ever “Do Nothing But Read Day” is born. 

There are rules as well . . . you must read more than one book, dressed in comfy clothes, no shoes, and have beverages and snacks available . . . I’m totally there!

At the top of my “to read” list is the newest book by Dr. Joe Dillsaver (retired Northeastern State University faculty member [from the Criminal Justice department]).  I’ll have to drop by the public library to stock up on a few more books by my favorite authors to get me through the day.

This sounds like the perfect “escape from the holiday hustle and bustle” activity for the weekend before Christmas!

Aloha, Baby!

Courtesy of www.despair.com

Apparently big waves have been crashing on the beaches in Hawaii!   Conditions seem to be right for monster waves (40-50 foot high range) through Wednesday . . . and, not wanting to lose an opportunity for humor, here’s a demotivator from www.despair.com.  IF these waves do materialize in Hawaii, the above scene is probably going to be the norm rather than the exception.  Surf’s up!  Hang ten!

Here’s the story from CNN. 

It seems as though they have had some large waves already, but that they are still waiting for the “monster” waves to arrive.   Here’s the updated story (MSNBC) as of this afternoon.

Not So Happy Holidays?

Some people just “hate the holidays.”  Hmm, could it be that they suffer from SAD (cute, and accurate, acronym)?  Seasonal Affective Disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you’re like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.  Here’s an interesting story  (from New Scientist Magazine) about how differently you view the world when you are depressed.

Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

• Depressed mood
• Irritability
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping (feeling like you want to hibernate)
• Loss of interest in activities you normally enjoy
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates such as pastas, rice, bread and cereal
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating and processing information

On a related note, did you know that “loneliness” is contagious?  Check out this article as well.

A Mere Coincidence?

A week or so ago I ran across a quotation from Bertrand Russell on the topic of envy (see below).  So I decided to check out my cynic’s dictionary for the word envy as well and lo and behold, the definition in the dictionary was also attributed to Bertrand Russell . . . it’s a sign.  A sign of what, I’m not entirely sure, but a sign nonetheless (and more than just a coincidence?).  Enjoy!

Here’s the quotation:
“Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.”     — Bertrand Russell

Here’s the definition (from the Cynic’s Dictionary):
Envy: the basis of democracy.  — Bertrand Russell

Here’s another definition (from dictionary.com)

in⋅vid⋅i⋅ous

[in-vid-ee-uhs], –adjective
1. calculated to create ill will or resentment or give offense; hateful: invidious remarks.
2. offensively or unfairly discriminating; injurious: invidious comparisons.
3. causing or tending to cause animosity, resentment, or envy: an invidious honor.
4. Obsolete. Envious.

Hall of Fame!

Today marked the inaugural induction ceremony to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Museum and Hall of Fame in Chandler, Oklahoma.  The inaugural inductees include:

The Three Guardsmen (Chris Madsen, Bill Tilghman, and Heck Thomas) — the three lawmen (all Deputy U.S. Marshals) who became legendary in their pursuit of outlaws in the old west in the late 1800s.

Robert Lester — a member of the first Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy and the first trooper to rise through the ranks to head the organization as the Commissioner of Public Safety.

W. Roger Webb — also started his career with the Department of Public Safety and rose to be the commissioner before moving on to higher education where he was the President of Northeastern State University prior to his current position as the President at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Robert Macy — from his start as a police officer for the Oklahoma City Police Department, he went on to obtain his Juris Doctorate and embarked upon a very successful career as a District Attorney.

Richard Boyd — during his career with the Oklahoma City Police Department, he was instrumental in the formation of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #123; Boyd went on to become the President of the National Fraternal Order of Police Grand Lodge.  A continual advocatefor labor and legislative issues both locally as well as nationally.

Montmarte and Art!

Moulin Rouge

Montmarte . . . a hill in northern Paris, France (the highest point in the city) and home to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur as well as a thriving night club scene (including the Moulin Rouge, or “Red Windmill”).  It has also been the place where many artists had set up studios such as Salvador Dalí, Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.  I’m not sure if he had a studio here, but Alexander Chen (the master of hyper-realism) has obviously visited the locale to paint his version of the Moulin Rouge.  Again, Chen’s attention to detail and use of vivid color is what keep attracting me to his works.

Time for Christmas Baking!

In addition to all of my other holiday baking . . . I just found another recipe that I’m going to have to add to the repertoire . . . Black Forest Chocolate Cookies . . . yum!

• 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) white chocolate chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) dried cherries

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

In a double boiler, combine the chocolate and the butter.  Simmer. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate and butter have melted and combined, and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes. The mixture should be pale and thick when done.

Add the chocolate to the sugar. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Add the flour to the dough, and mix on low until just combined. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Using a spatula, lighly fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and cherries. The dough will look very loose, but this is expected. Place the dough in the refrigerator to allow to chill for a minimum of six hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment papers.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, one inch apart from one another. Bake in the over for ten to twelve minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time in order to prevent uneven baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Criticism!

Ran across a quotation recently that makes an excellent point and is very similar to a phrase my Dad always used to preach . . . “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Sometimes it is better (and certainly safer) to simply keep one’s mouth shut (aw, come on, that’s no fun).  Unfortunately, not too many people have discovered this wonderful principle  (myself included) and end up making fools of themselves (or worse).  I shall continue to strive toward that end.

“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”  — Aristotle