Strikes my fancy

One of the places I've come to love here in Atlanta is this place . I'm looking for a better actual farmer's market for the season, but for the "non-growing" months, this will be my place! They have a HUGE meat/seafood section and great variety of "weird" pasta stuffs (like quinoa!) I had tried their mild turkey sausage awhile back (in a recipe similar to this one). This time I went whole turkey ;-) and got the spicy! In fear, I eliminated the red pepper flakes (but will add next time) Broccoli Rabe always make me think of the pizza join on 5th Ave between 7th & 8th Sts in Park Slope - thanks guys for introducing me to this veggie! Penne with Rapini (Broccoli Rabe) and Sausage 1 pound whole wheat penne (or any other short cut pasta) 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1.25 pounds hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed 4 cloves garlic, minced Pinch red pepper flakes 1 bunch rappini (brocoli rabe), thick stems removed and chopped 1 cup lowfat...

My 1st niece is here! This picture is from when she and Hannah were still in the hospital. I have to say that this baby has inherited Hannah's love of the camera - they have lots of great pictures of her looking right at it. Hannah (and the rest of my KY family, including my bro-by-choice Ryan) had a rough couple of days that ended with this beautiful baby. While the above picture is the one that's on my desk this one is probably my favorite so far: Welcome to our crazy world Abigail Rian Hunt - you have captured our hearts in less than a week!

I think this town has 2 seasons - wear a coat and wear as little clothing as possible because it's hot! I'm missing having my windows open and enjoying the spring air :-( My commute to work is super easy - if the Braves aren't playing :-) They delay me at least 20-30 minutes. I think the commute was what I was worried about (hello - I had a THREE BLOCK commute for the last year!) My bosses were in today (yep - I went from zero to all three in one day). The Big Boss showed me some stuff on the comp and left me with a challenge. When we were talking he said, "Some people say that I am rude, and I admit that I could be nicer at times, but I'm here to do my job". I never thought I'd say I think I'm gonna like this dude from NJ. This maybe hit me because I was re-reading an e-mail from a friend last night she was talking about how her mom said that NY has made her kinda hard/harsh. I think that about me too. Like when people are overly friendly (o...

My stint at demo girl is done for the time and I learned some things. 1. Whenever you are a service provider strangers feel like they can share anything with you. Usually this includes info that belongs in the TMI section. 2. As a parent you can greatly influence what your kids eat. I would have kids come up and be all excited and the simple tone of their parent's voice when telling them what it was would cause them to not even try it! Food samples are a great way for your kids to discover what they like (as long as they aren't allergic!) 3. Those demo people work hard! It's hard to stand there for 7 hours and serve & say the same thing over and over! Some of that stuff is also hard to cook in a microwave, electric skillet or convection oven (if those aren't the directions and you have to come up with it on the fly). So next time you're in a store with demo folk: take the sample, chat a bit (about the product: what you like, cause we have to tell our bo...

It's official, I'm moving to the ATL. My new job starts on Wednesday - and it's gonna be ALL new. New city, New industry, New and exciting things!

That's pretty much what my grandma kept repeating over the weekend. She's VERY excited about all the additions to the family. This weekend was the two weddings part of the statement. Friday saw the marriage of my Uncle Robb to Sharon. I don't know Sharon very well, but she has been very hospitable (she let my entire family come over for breakfast on Christmas...we're a big family!) and easy to talk to. I am very excited about them being a part of our big ole family gatherings! Saturday was my cousin Brandon's wedding. Again, because of the distance, I haven't spent a lot of time with his bride. But I do know this: Julie is pretty laid back and LOVES to laugh. She also loves my grandparents and isn't too easily embarrassed (she'll fit right in!) It was a lovely ceremony and a nice reception. Their wedding was truly a village effort as all the food was made or brought in by friends and family. That's one way to measure the love of those arou...

I was VERY excited about this book when I read about it (in a magazine? on a plane?). The idea that this family decided to sell their house and live with less in order to make a difference in others' lives intrigued me..... I also should have known it was too good to be true. What I liked about the book: I like that the daughter (who is currently a jr. in high school) writes a little something within each chapter. They tend to be more action points (how to figure out what to do/encourage each other, etc). I like that the book shows how they grew together as a family unit (at the beginning the parents were driving the kids to activites: the car and the dinner table were their family time). And I like that they picked one project and are sticking with it (in this case a 5 year commitment) as opposed to giving a lump some to an organization they like and walking away. I like that they were already involved in some organizations in ATL beyond just cutting them a check. What I did...