THANKFUL

It's been two days since Thanksgiving but I don't need an specific spot in the calendar every year to be thankful for all things. This year for reasons I don't need to discuss it's been a tough one, is my first Thanksgiving all by myself and when I say all by myself I mean without any relatives or people who have been part of my life for more than 5 years. I'm gonna admit it, the blues hit me at times, but I gotta say that I'm thankful for this experience, because it's building my character, is helping me getting the tools I need to be the man I want to be regardless of the outcome of my current situation. I'm thankful for all the people who have shown solidarity and love to me during this past few months. I'm thankful for those who didn't take sides and have shown love and support to both me and the other person. I'm thankful for those who have disappeared during this because they served their purpose to make me understand that this World is composed of truthful people and people who only are with you when things are good. I'm thankful because for some reason everywhere I go I find good conversations, laughter, smiles, hugs, handshakes, all those good interactions that makes the human experience more enjoyable. I'm thankful because my parents taught me kindness, forgiveness, honesty (my brutal honesty was my decision they just showed me the regular one ;-P)and righteousness. I'm thankful for the new friends I've made recently. I'm thankful for my roommates because even when they're kind of nonchalant about certain things that they should be they're good, kind people. I'm thankful that you took the time to read this and maybe get to know better the real me. There's no season to be thankful, thankfulness should be a daily exercise, we should give thanks to God ad all those who participate in our lives every single day, I don't think is corny, I don't think is much of an effort, be thankful, be merry, be wise...

Peace and Light...

Penne with bacon, chick peas and tomatoes

Another recipe, I made this one yesterday for a monumental event my boss celebrates annually called Baconfest, where all the entries, desserts, appetizers, even drinks have to include the infamous meat candy, bacon. As usual I eyeball all the measurements, I'm not a professional cook, just a normal guy with an uncanny passion for cooking.

Ingredients:

1 box of penne rigate pasta
2.5 lbs of smoked thick cut bacon
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
29 oz can of Goya chick peas
Olive Oil
Half bar of butter
White cooking wine
Heavy whipping cream
Corn starch

Procedure:

1. Cook the bacon, don't crisp it, just cook until is golden and the smell is overwhelming, at the same time boil water with the Kosher salt and olive oil for the pasta, when the water is boiling throw the pasta for 10 minutes and drain.

2. Once the bacon is ready, mix it with the diced tomatoes and the chick peas and cook for about 10 minutes in medium temperature

3. Don't throw way the bacon drippings, in a sauce pan, mix the drippings, with the half bar of butter, a teaspoon of Kosher salt, some olive oil, white cooking wine and cornstarch stir at medium temperature until the sauce gets thick and creamy

4. Back to the diced tomatoes, bacon and chick peas, once you cooked the mixture for 10 mins. add the penne rigate and mix everything well, once you have everything well mixed, add the sauce and mix everything until you see the creamy goodness all over.

5. I don't think this dish needs any sides, maybe a nice salad a glass of wine.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with ground turkey

Those who know me well know I have an amateurish passion for cooking and explore everything food, from the conventional to the not so conventional. Last Saturday my wife and I had visitors and I when I was about to call for pizza, my wife asked me to cook something instead, she knows it doesn't require much for me to obey that command since I'm really passionate about cooking and is like therapy for me. So I checked my pantry and fridge to see what I got and came up with the following...

1 box of whole wheat spaghetti
2 small trays of ground turkey
1 can of light beer
Olive oil
1 envelope of Sazón Goya
Adobo Goya
Sofrito Goya
5 or 6 slices of Velveeta cheese
Ketchup (eyeballing of course)

Procedure

I put olive oil on the pot and start browning the ground turkey, once it has some color, I add the can of beer (I use beer instead of stock, believe me is awesome), add the envelope of Sazón, the Adobo and sofrito and let it simmer for about 30 to 45 mins. in medium heat until most of the liquid is gone. For the pasta, I put water to a boil with salt and olive oil, once the water is boiling I put the pasta for 11 minutes (11 mins. is perfect for whole wheat to get an al dente texture). Once both the ground turkey and the pasta are ready, I mixed them until they're well integrated, then add the slices of cheese and the ketchup mix again until all the cheese is melted and the ketchup is well integrated to the mix. You can serve with a garlic/oregano butter on toast.

A Bucket List?

Wasn't familiar with this term before the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman movie, I was more familiar with the sentence "Things To Do Before I Die", but I think Bucket List is more fun and whimsical. So after giving some thought here's my bucket list.

1. Lose at least 60 lbs

2. Travel across Europe

3. Take advanced cooking classes

4. Finish my degree in journalism or maybe in something else

5. Get to see at least for one more time together all the members of my family who are still alive

6. Father a baby

7. Write a book

8. Reconnect with some people who at some point were important in my life and lost contact with them

9. Go on a mission trip

10. Learn a third language

I guess this list might grow or might shrink, I don't know, this is the now, let's see how it develops, I'll keep you posted...

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship, kind of a sketchy word nowadays, Wikipedia defines friendship as a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. For me is a relationship that builds up, develops, evolve, takes multiple twists and turns but at the end of the day is an everlasting bond that nothing or no one should be able to break. I’ve been doing an inventory on my Facebook account and I see that I have a lot of new friendships I’ve developed in the last 5 years, the degrees of intimacy varies but it amazes me how many new people I’ve have admitted into my life and I feel good about it. On the other hand I also see lots of people who have been my friends for 10, 20, even 30 years or more and also with different degrees of intimacy. I can’t believe there’s people who don’t believe in friendship, for me friendships are essential, you can have family, but your family is not with you all the time, you have co-workers, acquaintances, clients, neighbors, the guy who mows your lawn, the guy who change your car’s oil, but no one will be with you when you’re down, when you need a shoulder to cry on, a smile when you feel pessimistic like a real friend. This is my short reflection on friendship and what it means to me, I want to dedicate this blog first and foremost to my wife Alisha, who have been my best friend for 13 years, and then to what I currently consider my closest friends, if you’re not mentioned don’t feel bad, we all have closer friends and I love my closest ones, my new ones and my not so close ones, but I want to specially acknowledge…Ken, Krissie, Cristy, Matt Wills, Barb, Jason, Justin, Lori, Leti, Tony, Karl, Josh, Faykus, the homeless guy at East 12 and Chuck Norris. Thank you all for your friendship I value it and will treasure it until my last breath of life.

What matters

I went to Journalism School because in my idealism I thought I could make a difference in the World with my writing. I wanted to inform, educate and entertain in a classy yet fun way. While I was in school I grew disillusioned with the industry as I saw people who were in it just for the glamour and just wanted to work a frivolous, casual and shallow style of journalism, instead of going for what really matters. What really matters? For me, stories of human interest, unsung heroes who make the difference daily in our World, innovative people creating new, different, exciting things. I think blogging is a second chance for me to talk about what really matters, the things that appeal to me and others, the things that speak to the mind but also to the heart. Nowadays blogging have earned relevance in the social media and information circles, and I’m really resolved in being part of that revolution. Stay posted I think I’m gonna give a second chance to my career of choice, I’m gonna take an oath of inform, educate and entertain and bring to the front what matters, not what’s popular or trendy. Revolution starts today…

Relationships in the digital era

This is a topic that is always conflicting for me, I've been living for 5 years now in Ohio, I moved from my beloved Puerto Rico in search of better opportunities for myself and to be with the woman I love. I left behind family and friends for a better way of life and so far things are looking good. I got to admit that I'm a technology junkie, I own a laptop, a Blackberry, 2 iPods, I have accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Linkedin, I constantly buy stuff from Amazon, eBay and other websites, I'm totally connected and hooked. But none of that replaces the human experience for me, the ability to connect face to face with a person, to embrace, to hug, to kiss, to share a drink or a dinner, that will always comes first to me. The human experience should never be replaced, but it seems that with time more people feel more comfortable with virtual interactions than real ones, I guess technology has been a blessing for socially awkward people, for me is both a blessing and a curse, being a people person, it bothers me that amount of people who settles for only virtual relationships and are incapable of connect on a direct, face to face level. I love to go out feel the breeze, hug my friends, have a nice chat in a patio, a restaurant, heck! even in a mall parking lot at 10pm (do they allow that here?). It seems to me that nowadays most people spend more time complaining on Facebook or Twitter about their "friends" imperfections than really trying to connect with them and makes me wonder how "perfect" are them. Those who expect perfect "friends" and "perfect" relationships and people who agree with them 100% are a little out of touch with reality. I've been soul searching a lot lately about closing my Facebook account, I don't know, I miss the real interactions, send letters in and envelope with a stamp to my friends, sit in the hood of the car in a mall parking lot at midnight and just shoot the breeze. I don't know I just wanna close with (please play Survivor's Eye of The Tiger in your mind while reading this) a glorious "Get your butt out of that chair, and get out!!!" I'll be waiting outside :-)