A New Life For Barbie!

My Facebook friends may recall that I posted my finding a naked, discarded "Barbie" doll on the shelf of my building's trash room, several days ago.

Well, I took her in, washed her and shampooed her hair.  She was waiting, patiently inside one of my winter gloves until the outfits that I ordered for her online arrived...

Barbie was warm and snug inside my glove.

Luckily, there are some really cool outfits available nowadays for Barbie!  I really doubt if these outfits existed when I was little and playing with Barbies.

ASTRONAUT BARBIE!

And, when she's not exploring space, Barbie's working on her Black Belt in Taekwondo!

I like the idea that I took something intended for the trash and gave it a new life...or in this case, "lives"...lol. 

Ciao for now,
Gina D. 

What's For Din Din Tonight

Happy Friday Night, All!

I made some Steak Pizzaiola tonight, which is basically thinly-sliced beef sauteed and simmered in peppers and tomato sauce...Yum!  I also made Birds Eye frozen "Asparagus Stir-Fry".

I made the Steak Pizzaiola by first sauteing some chopped garlic in olive oil.  When the garlic was sizzling nicely, but not brown, I added the thinly sliced beef to the pan.  I then seasoned the beef with freshly-ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, and just a dash of salt.  

When the slices of beef were slightly browned on both sides, I added some parsley, 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced and 1/2 Vidalia onion, also sliced, on top.  Then I covered the pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Then I transferred everything to an oven pan, spooned some tomato sauce on top, and let it cook some more in a 400 degree oven, for about another 15 minutes! 

The flavors really meld together beautifully in the "oven" step, and the beef and peppers get soft and yummy!

Steak Pizzaiola and side of Roast Potatoes

As I mentioned, I took some help tonight from Birds Eye brand Asparagus Stir-fry, which has not only asparagus in it, but also string beans, cauliflower, carrots, and even pasta! I prepared as per the package directions, BUT personalized it by adding a dash of Sesame Oil and Teriyaki Sauce!  

Ahhh, the best of both food worlds...Italian, and some Asian flavors going on in the Veggie Stir-Fry!  It doesn't get better than this!

Please feel free to share a recipe with me, or if you try one of mine, let me know how it turned out.  

Ciao,  再见

Gina D.

Why You Should Make Your Bed!

I love this finding, and know from first-hand experience that it works!

Make Your Bed, Change Your Life:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-candy/201208/make-your-bed-change-your-life

Even Shadow Loves a Freshly-Made Bed!

One Today...

Poet, Richard Blanco's beautiful and touching 2013 Inaugural Poem, One Today...

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.

My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper -- 
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives -- 
to teach geometry, or ring up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.

All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the “I have a dream” we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won’t explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.

One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father’s cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.

The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind -- our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day’s gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.

Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across cafe tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me -- in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn’t give what you wanted.

We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always -- home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country -- all of us --
facing the stars
hope -- a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it -- together.

Richard Blanco

Healthy and Easy Black Bean Salad

Today I made this very easy and healthy Black Bean Salad for lunch!

You can add an organic egg on the side, for some extra protein and nutrients if you like...here's how I made the salad by tossing all the following ingredients together...

1 can Goya Black Beans (Low-Sodium), which I rinsed and drained;
1/2 Red Bell Pepper;
2 Scallions;
1 Roma Tomato;
Cilantro, chopped up;
Freshly-ground Black Pepper;
Just a dash of my fav low-fat Italian Dressing.

After everything was mixed together, I let it sit in the fridge for about one hour covered in plastic wrap, so that all the flavors could meld together nicely!  

It came out yummy!

Healthy and Delicious!

  

Sunday Morning Shadow

Shadow, just waking up and going nose to nose with her favorite Stuffy!  How cute.

Shadow and I wish everyone a very Happy Sunday!

I Love Japanese Food

Beautifully created Pandas made with Rice and
Nori (edible seaweed).  Yum!

Gorgeous and Colorful Sushi Rolls!

I highly recommend TJ Asian Bistro in Woodside, Queens!