Top or Bottoms First?

When getting dressed this morning, it occurred to me that I always follow the same routine:  Underwear, socks, pants, bra, top = bottom to top.  Then I started thinking…”I wonder if the order in which clothes are put on says anything about ones personality?”   Online research had to be done.  I didn’t find anything about the order in which you dress reflecting a particular personality type, but at least I am not the only person wondering about it.  Apparently, a survey was conducted about 2 years ago addressing this very question. Click here for specific results if interested, but I have summarized below.

The majority of us put our bottoms on first. The ones putting their tops on first were mainly women.  Then there were more specific people, for example, when the weather is cold, the shirt is put on first.  If someone wears glasses, the glasses go first so they can see what piece of clothing is going where.  We also have the people who are all over the place putting on panties, then bra, back to pants, up to shirts, down to socks and finally shoes.   I don’t know… would you say this is interesting?…or do I need to get a life?!

On a more professional note….

Bragging a bit about C-Flex, the manufacturing company which I own 50%, our product is heading into deep European outer space. It has been installed in the Herschel Space Telescope (specifically the reflector mirrors) to capture information about the universe and the earliest stars.  See EuroPhotonics if you are scientifically inclined.

Food, food and more food….

We had left overs tonight because there was SO much left over from last night. But of course we needed a fresh side dish.  Tonight we had Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas. 

Oven roasted Lemon-Mustard Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas. Serves 2-4

Preheat oven to 425 F.

• 16 Asparagus stalks
• 8 oz Sugar Snap Peas
• 1 TBS olive oil
• The juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
• 1 tsp honey mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare asparagus by taking both ends between fingers and bending, letting them snap at the tender point. Either use the thick end to make asparagus soup or throw away. 

Put the oil, lemon, and mustard in a small bowl and whisk together. Place the rinsed and dried asparagus and peas into a baking dish and toss with the mixture of oil, lemon and mustard.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Roast for 20 minutes.

Exercise…

Today’s Exercise… was completed this morning. A 4 mile run. A 3 mile walk and 35 minutes of lower body training.

DVD…

Tonight we are watching the last third of the DVD Ted picked up yesterday.  “The Reader”.  So far so good.

Have a great night all!

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CEimB: Lamb Stew with Orange

This week at CEimBwe are cooking up a Lamb Stew found on page 189 of “The Food You Crave” by Ellie Krieger. 

Showing the chickpeas, orange sections, carrots, parsnips and lamb

The recipe was a good choice by Farah of Confessions of  A Novice Baker.  Check out her site for full details.  There are quite a few ingredients but don’t be scared off by that. It is an easy recipe, just a little timely for a weekday meal, at least in this house.   Major cooking adjustments had to be made.

The Grocery List:

Everything was stocked in the Apple Crumbles pantry except the parsnips and lamb.  There was a bit of skepticism when it came to the lamb:

1. It’s very expensive around here.
2. Were we going to find it available “cubed”?
3. Ted is not a big fan of the meat.  This is very odd. He is Lebanese for peat’s sake. Wasn’t lamb meat what he was brought up on?!!!

We approached the meat counter at the local Price Chopper. We didn’t even waste time looking in the meat case for cubed lamb and when asking the butcher he said “You’re going to have to buy the whole leg“.  My thought “HOLY COW!  I don’t want all THAT in my freezer!”  I must have been thinking size wise of cows, buffalo or moose because when I asked, in a very weak, shaky, little voice …”well, how much will that weigh?...I only need a pound?”.  Mr. Butcher Man said “oh about 4 lbs boneless“.  Ok. Not as scary as I thought.  Agreed.   Turned to Ted and said “Hope I do this right for you or you’re gonna have a whole lotta lamb to choke down“.  

By the way, the scary part turned out to be the price:  $17.42 for 3.49 lbs.  WOW!

Cooking the Meal:

As previously mentioned, the weekdays are not congenial for making recipes that require an hour and a half AFTER prep time to cook.  So, we did this in three parts.  Lamb stew scheduled for Wednesday evening. 

• Tuesday evening:  Prepare all vegetables.  Dice, mince, cut, chop.  Put into a bag in the fridge. 
• Wednesday morning: Brown lamb on all sides. Saute onions.  Hmmm… hair smells like onions and lamb. Better wash it AGAIN this morning.  Put the lamb, onions, garlic, chopped veg., etc. in Crock Pot.  HELLO!!!! We don’t have any red wine open.  Thinking…… TRIPLE SEC*!  It’s orange flavored. Let’s go for it…….Set the crock on low setting. Ted will turn on at 9 AM. *If the wine was added for the acidity to break down the meat proteins, then we missed that but the crock usually makes everything tender… so we continue with crossed fingers.
• Wednesday evening:  Add chickpeas and continue cooking Ted’s meal 30 more minutes.  Joanne’s Meatless Version:  I used a 15 oz can Dark Kidney Beans.  I used 2 fresh chopped tomatoes, and veggie stock. Cooking time was about 45 minutes.

Vegetarian Version of Lamb Stew with Orange

Our respective stews were served with Butternut Squash Patties (last nights post) and petite peas on the side for color.

We both really enjoyed the flavors in this dish. The cumin and orange were detectable in the vegetables yet not in the meat but they were not overbearing.  Ted said the meat was so tender but didn’t take on the flavors of the aromatics.

Good job Farah…we both enjoyed our meals and the best part…no cooking tomorrow because we have TONS of yummy left overs.

Lamb stew finished with mint, with peas and a butternut squash pattie on the side

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