The holidays are upon us. Time to get fat. Although I’m pretty sure I’ve got a head start. Hurry – you’ve got some catching up to do.

LINGUINE WITH CHICKEN, ARTICHOKES & SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
image & recipe via Confections of a Foodie Bride, adapted from Pioneer Woman

1lb linguine
2 chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
Sea salt & cracked black pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chicken broth, more as needed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
2 Tbsp chopped basil, plus additional for garnish
1 Tbsp chopped parsley, plus additional for garnish

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain (reserving 1/2 cup pasta water) and place in a large bowl.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large sauce pan until hot. Liberally salt and pepper the sides of the chicken and place in the pan to sear. Flip when the chicken gets nice and browned, 3-4 minutes each side. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. Add remaining olive oil and butter to pan. Add onions and red pepper flakes to pan and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Add chicken, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes to the pan. Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through, and then remove from heat.
5. Pour sauce over the top of the pasta. Toss with the Parmesan, basil, and parsley until coated. Add a couple of splashes of pasta water – or if you forget to reserve it, some chicken broth – if you need to thin the sauce a bit.

This is one for all the service industry people. If you have ever worked in a restaurant, retail setting or other service-related industry, you will get a kick out of this. We have all come across that super special customer at one time or another who is simply unforgettable, which could have been for any number of reasons. And you know that old staple of service-related jobs, “The customer is always right.” Yeah, we know that’s not true.

Not Always Right is a collection of quotes from these particularly memorable customers. The folks behind Not Always Right believe that while customers deserve to be treated right, so do the employees and the other folks that serve them. Not Always Right is about leveling the playing field for those of us who toil and sweat every day trying to juggle demanding customers and often unreasonable corporate expectations. At the end of the day, it’s about remembering that whether we’re a customer or an employee, we’re all human, foibles and all.

Check out some of the quotes from the site:

Just for the record – I’m pretty sure I’ve had that last customer. At multiple jobs. God help me that I never have to wait tables again!

The title may sound funny, but I swear – once you try it, you will be instantly hooked. It’s no secret that I’m slightly addicted to pizza. And just when I thought pizza couldn’t get any better, I discover it grilled. It’s the cats meow. No shit. I will save you the details of how I discovered grilled pizza, but let’s just say there were cocktails involved. Perhaps a few too many of them.

I need to try grilling my pizza from scratch as all I’ve done up until now is reheat it – sometimes to a blackened, charred crisp. Which is why I (and you) need the Grill Friends Pizza Crisper from The Pro BBQ Shop. It comes with a silicone pizza mat which is one of the best ways to keep your pizza warm and crazy easy to clean. Just slap a few pieces into the crisper and put it on the grill and in no time, your pizza will be just as good as when it was delivered. Buh-bye to soggy, steaming microwaved crust, there’s a new pizza in town!

Damn. Now I’m hungry.

I live in California, the land of hippieville (sorry, treehuggers) and doing everything green. The place where they practically shun you from the grocery store if you show up without your own bags. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for living a greener life, but it’s just taking me a little longer to get there because it’s not entirely affordable.

Anyhoo… I did my due diligence and got a whole slew of reusable bags (Baggus are the best, in my opinion) but I got to thinking the last time I was at the store – does it really make a difference for me to use all these fabric bags to carry my groceries home if I’m putting all my produce into plastic bags at the store? Seems kind of counterintuitive, no? So I started looking into reusable bags I could use for my produce and here’s what I’ve found.

3B, which stands for Belief Beyond Bags – a women owned company based out of Denver, Colorado. Made of fine mesh, the bags are see-through, machine washable and virtually weightless. They come in a set of 3 bags – two 11 X 14 inche bags and one, larger 14.5 X 18.5 bag. The set sells for $7.50 and currently they are running a free shipping special when you buy four.

Baggu Produce – from the same makers of my favorite reusable shoppers, come 100% nylon mesh bags to hold and store fresh produce. The small size (9” x 12”) holds a bunch of green beans, 4 oranges or 6 lemons. The large (12” x 16”) is just right for a head of lettuce, a dozen apples, or some kale. They are also machine washable and sell for $3 for the small and $4 for the large.

ECOBAGS from Delight. These come in a set of 4 and include 2 large cotton sacks (17” x 13”) and 2 large certified organic cotton netted sacks (12”x15”). They feature a drawstring closure and are also machine washable. Each set sells for $15.50.

Love for Earth on Etsy. Made of dual layered nylon netting, overlocked for the strongest seams. Overlocked seams do not fray or loosen with time like many single stitches do. The closure is an enclosed real satin ribbon (or white or black cotton drawstring). A set is $15.75 and includes 6 bags – 2 XL (11X14), 2 med (12X10), 2 smalls that are great for 3-4 small fruits, a handful of herbs, snacks, or lunches, etc.

What do you think? Have you jumped on the bag wagon? Which ones do you have or better yet – which ones will you choose? Can anyone help me decide?

A tiny street art project by London-based artist, Slinkachu. Part installation, part photography. All great.

Another highlight of our trip to Aruba was the discovery of silkscreen artist, Elisa Lejuez. Born and raised in Holland, Elisa’s work is hot among the art scene in Aruba. Her works are displayed at several island resorts as well other local venues as like restaurants and retail stores. She also produces work on textiles and clothing, which turned into a job where she designed more than 200 different fabrics for clothing manufacturers throughout Europe and Asia. Her style is contemporary – a collage of bold colors and lots of feeling. And her work is big, all oversized with lots of room for expression. We would love, love, love to have a piece of Elisa’s work but it seems she works only on commission, which typically translates into big $$. And since those are not in my current vocabulary, that will have to be a long term goal.

Sigh.

Okay, peeps – I’m back from a fabulously hot and windy week in Aruba! Hopefully you haven’t forgotten about me completely. I won’t bore you to tears with all the nitty gritty details of our beach lounging and beer drinking, but I will give a few need-to-know things about Aruba should you ever want or need to go there. Here they are:

1. It’s hot. ALL. THE. TIME. Like 90 degrees hot. But it ends us being bearable (most of the time) due to number 2.
2. It’s windy. Like freakishly windy. Gale force winds. Forget your hairdryer and don’t even try to rock a style other than a ponytail or a hat. That kinda windy. And if the wind for some odd reason stops, the heat becomes unbearable. If you windsurf – Aruba is for you!
3. Aruba is basically a Dutch island, but everyone we came in contact with spoke Spanish. Some only spoke Spanish. The national language is Papiamento, but for most it seemed that was their third language behind Spanish and English.
4. Maps are useless. There were few street or navigational signs outside the hotel area. We had several maps at our disposal, each one more useless than the next. However, just as there are few signs, there are few roads, so if you head one way and get lost, with just a couple of turns you will be back on the original road. So no worries. The solution is just to roll down your window and ask a local – they are the only people who know where to go.
5. Sadly, it seems most of the reefs close to shore are not healthy, if not dead, making the snorkeling not great. I don’t scuba dive, but I imagine it would be far better than the snorkeling. We found the same kind of situation in Hawaii last year which is pretty sad. My thought is that some kind of non-profit should develop a brochure educating tourists on safe snorkeling and how to enjoy the ocean without disturbing or harming it in any way and hand them out to everyone at the airport. They hand out just about everything else at the airport so why not something educational as well?

That was basically our trip in a nutshell. Although we did go to the local butterfly farm which was really cool and educational. I wasn’t really sure how into the lecture/tour I would be but it was definitely a highlight of the trip. Anything else you want to know – just ask!

Do you see the color of the water in this picture? Do you? Huh? Huh? Well, picture me in it ‘cuz that’s where I’m gonna be for the next week. That is Aruba, my friends and one of those little dots on the beach will be me in a mere 18 hours. Unfortunately, I have not had time to prepare posts while we’re away so don’t forget about me while I’m gone, okay? And don’t hate me for leaving you high and dry – I feel bad enough about it on my own.

Miss me tons and think about me often. I’ll be back Nov. 2. I’ll bring you a tan.

Ever think that new words may be easier to remember when associated with  sex, drugs and swearing? Well they are now with the fucking word of the day. I like swearing like I like cheese so for me, this is like having a dictionary substitute. This site promises to enhance your lexicon one fucking word at a time and chances are you’ll remember the word a lot faster if there’s some shit in the definition that you’re actually interested in.

For example, let’s say you were given the word turbid.

Dictionary.com gives you:

While on the other hand, here’s what you’ll get with the fucking word of the day:

Hey shithead, change the fucking bong water. It’s turbid.

I know which one I’ll remember. You?

via Thrillist

First off, a big thanks to the folks over at Vinturi for sending me this product to try out. It’s no secret that my favorite word is FREE and when the product rocks, it makes it even better. That being said, did you have any idea that white wine should be allowed to breathe similar to red wine? Yeah, neither did I. Oops. It’s a longstanding myth that white wine needs no aeration when the truth is that when properly aerated, you will experience a smoother finish, enhanced flavors and a better bouquet (nose, if you will).

I have experience with the red wine aerator after being introduced to it in Sonoma last year and truly believe in its powers to enhance wine, but I have to admit that I was a little skeptical of the white wine aerator at first. But I am also the first to admit when I am wrong and in this case, that would be my color. Though subtly, the Vinturi white wine aerator did enhance my mere $5 dollar bottle of Chardonnay. And the way I figure it, if it works on two-buck-Chuck, just imagine what it could do to a really good bottle of wine…

Though like all things, there is a good and a bad side. My only issue with Vinturi is the fact that there are two of them. Though cool looking, the aerators are not tiny and having two of them may be cumbersome. What would be ideal is to have one Vinturi, that worked on both red and white wine. By the flick of a switch perhaps… But then again, I’m not designing the product so for now, I’ll take my white, let it breathe, and give Vinturi a hearty 2 thumbs up!