April 24, 2012

Scissorphobe

Guess what! I have this huge issue with scissors (thought it was going to be something interesting, right? LOL).  I absolutely hate getting my hair trimmed or cut. I hate it! The only person I don't get nervous about trimming my hair is my mom, and that's because she knows my issue. LOL.  But a few weeks ago, in a Kurl Talk session, I came to the realization that I needed to get my hair trimmed.

Now, let me be real, I have heard time and time again on the YT that you should get your hair trimmed about very 3-4 months to make sure your hair and ends remain in good health (if you don't understand what that means, please search it on YouTube) but when you're watching it on the internet, its removed from you.  You can hear it, but not hear it.  There is something to be said about hearing it face to face from someone that makes it real and helps you come to terms w/what you need to do.

I haven't had a scissor in the mane of mine since my BC on Sept 16, 2011.  Do the math...I needed to get my ends clipped. I could have had split ends halfway up my strands by now (I didn't thanks to caring for my hair properly) and so I bit the bullet and made an appointment w/Karen Wilson to get my ends trimmed.  I must admit that for about a week before my appointment I was having nightmares about going into the shop with all this hair on my head and coming out w/a TWA. I mean, in my dreams my hair would be near bra-strap length and I'd walk out with it barely touching my ears (I tell you I have had some bad scissor happy heffa experiences).  Thankfully, of course, the appointment was nothing like that. I walked in with a head full of hair, and walked out missing only 1/4".  And it was a good experience and I loved having someone else wash my hair!

Now I have 3-4 months to mentally prepare for the next one....

TTFN

April 20, 2012

Lookin'....lookin'.....EUREKA!

So, as most folks know, any time you walk into something new you look for others who are on the same path as you. Whether it be food, fitness, job, lifestyle or hair related.  I have previously mentioned a few of the channels that I follow on the YT and, while the channels are great and the ladies have a wealth of information to give out and much of is is beneficial in one way or another, their hair textures were nothing like mine.  Even some of my most recent finds (although, I don't know what texture AfricanExport has..she is the wig DIVA) have beautiful natural hair and have been in the game for a while, but they aren't like me.  And no matter what we say...we are always looking for someone who is like us.

Anywho, I had mentioned to stylist Karen Wilson (karenwilsonbeauty.com) a few days ago that the wash and go was not for me. My hair is so tightly coiled, especially in the back, that allowing it "do its own thang" or trying to make it "do my thang" and letting it dry without being twisted or braided is a disaster waiting to happen.  And I don't think I have the chutzpa to put as much product in my hair that would be needed for a good look on any "wash and..." style. It is what it is and its better to face it and move on to the next thing than try over and over again to only be frustrated, right. Plus, my shrinkage is so ridiculous that by the time it finished drying it would look like I had a TWA. lol.

BTW, I really don't mind the shrinkage! I don't know if I've said this before but I have always been the chick with short hair by design, not by choice, and I want my hair to grow longer and healthier. That's one of the reasons I went natural. Who woulda thunk that someone with that desire and that goal would come to not mind (and actually enjoy) shrinkage?! I mean, its the most deceiving thing! Its just great! I can be in a hair funk and think that my hair is so short & it hasn't grown any, then, I stretch it out and like...POW! Then I can say "so that's how long it is!" Its just great.

So, back to YT channels and someone like me (I'm all over the place today), I happened upon Dawnyele's channel. Guess what! She's like me! Super tightly coiled hair that she nurtures and does good stuff for. I just found her so I'll be able to spend the next few weeks perusing her vids from past to present, but I am so exciting to have found someone who seems to be like me on the YT.

In other news, I ordered some hair and body moisture lotion from Reve' Essentials today after seeing so many positive reviews on YT about it (denimpixie loved it...it made her sing a lil bit, lol). I plan to hold on to it for the winter months because it doesn't have any glycerin in it and I am super low on glycerin-free hair products...like, I hardly have any, so after debating for a couple of hours, I went ahead and bought it. Like I said...the YT customer reviews were great.

Oh, I also got my hair trimmed! That's why I went to see Karen Wilson...but you know what, I'll save that for another post.

TTFN!

April 10, 2012

Easter Hair & Makeup

I hope your Resurrection Sunday was wonderful! Mine sure was. Spent the day at church and the evening at dinner with my mom and brother.

Quickly, this is how I wore my hair Sunday:

I had mini twists in my hair all week and took them out Saturday night, separating them as I went. I added a little Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and did larger twists. I did 2 on the right side and 7 in the back and 2 larger flat twists on the left side of the part from the top of my head to the side. Spritzed with water, covered with satin bonnet and went nite-nite.  Sunday morning, I took out the twists and fluffed. Pinned the right side back with 2 bobby pins and headed out the door.

Then, there was the makeup. I love makeup! Always have. Used to get in trouble for trying to sneak and wear it when I was a kid. My mom bought me this dress months ago that I hadn't touched. Turns out, it was pretty doggone big-girl figure friendly. So I wore that with some oh-so-wonderful 5-inch white platform sling-back peep-toe shoes and I accessorized my face like this:
Mind you, this was taken at the end of the day...After 2 services, walking the dog and dinner. I just didn't have time to capture the day in photos before heading out of the door that morning.  But I think is still looks pretty darn fresh!


That's all for now! 

Sop Me Up with a Brisket!

I bought a brisket. I had it in the freezer awaiting a time when I wouldn't chicken out in cooking it. I think I bought in at the beginning of February. Anyway, I finally decided to cook it and it turned out AWESOME! I can't wait for my mom to get over here so she can get herself some and I can't wait to make me a brisket sandwich in a couple of days.

So, here's what I did after I defrosted the meat in the fridge:

I made a rub with:
Kosher salt
Cracked black peppercorns
McKormick sweet & savory spice rub
Dash of cayenne pepper
And I massaged the rub into the brisket until I felt it was evenly coated.

Sorry folks, but I don't measure, I just dump until l think it looks right. I can guesstimate that I used about 2 1/2 TBSP of salt, about 15 peppercorns and maybe 1 TBSP of the spice rub. I mixed it all together and had some left over after rubbing it into the meat.
Then I made a little bit of marinade combining some Bourbon glaze that I bought a few years ago from Tastefully Simple & never opened, and some creamy vidalia onion salad dressing. I combined the two and added some balsamic vinegar to up the acidity and counter the sweetness of the glaze & dressing. It may have been a 1/2-3/4 cup of marinade total and I added the balsamic vinegar in dashes until the marinade had the balance of flavor that was appealing to me (oh taste & see).

I put the brisket in a gallon-size freezer bag and poured the marinade over it, then pressed a good amount of air out of the bag and massaged the meat & marinade together until it was evenly coated. Then I put the meat in the fridge to marinate for about 3 hours, fat-side down. I did trim off a bit of the fat but left a little layer to help w/moisture and you can certainly marinate it overnight if you need to for the sake of time.

After marinating, I took the meat out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter top, in the marinade for 2hrs to come up to room temperature (per Food Network, this equals succulent meat).

The following steps took all of 30 minutes:

Preheat oven to 325
In dutch oven over med heat, add EVOO (enough to coat bottom of pan) & 1 TBSP of butter. Sear brisket on each side for color & flavor. Dice 1 white onion & 2 stalks of celery. Cut 2-3 carrots into 1-inch pieces. Once brisket is seared on all sides, remove from pan and pour off the remaining oil. Add 1 TBSP EVOO to pan. Add veggies. Add salt & pepper. Cook down veggies for a few minutes then add red or white wine to pan to deglaze (I used both b/c I had a little of Merlot & a lot of chardonnay). You can also just use chicken or beef broth. Scrape bits from bottom of pan to incorporate into mixture. After allowing veggies to soften a bit, nestle brisket into pan (not touching the bottom), pop a lid on it & put in the oven for 1.5-2hrs.

The results?







Shear beauty! And it is so tender!
After taking it out if the oven, I decided to make a gravy from the pan liquid. A little truth about me: I do not like cooked carrots...AT ALL. So I took some of the liquid & veggies and pureed them in my food processor...looked like baby food right.
Again, I didn't measure the amount I took out, but I did not add any flour or additional seasonings to the mix. Then, I poured it back into the pot w/the brisket.
When I say this was sooo good, I'm not exaggerating! I had some w/rice and the sauce poured over them both...YUM!

April 3, 2012

Cooking Student

For those who don't know, I am a proud student of the Food Network Culinary Institute. What does that mean? I spend an enormous amount of time watching FN & experimenting with recipes to see what happens or see if I like them. Sometimes I hit. Sometimes I miss. But watching FN & working with a good friend of mine for a couple of years has taught me how seasonings pair up with each other, how to cook a piece of meat without killing it again, and to be more confident when I cook.  And I find that I actually enjoy cooking now, whereas, years ago I cooked because I had to eat something, but I didn't like doing it for long.

What's the result of this knowledge and enjoying cooking? Folks have found out that I cook. And I will admit, I do a pretty good job and the few misses I have are never sampled by someone else.

What's the problem with folks knowing I can cook, you ask? Well, unless I am using someone else's recipe I  DON'T WRITE ANYTHING DOWN. And, unless I'm using someone else's recipe...I DON'T MEASURE INGREDIENTS! I just put in a little here and a little there until it looks, smells or tastes like I want it to.

So what's a girl to do when I have people asking me for recipes?  Well, I guess I can start with at least writing down the ingredients used, huh? And I guess I'll put them here because...it's just easier to share that way. So here's number one:

Guiltless Guacamole
This is a recipe I originally heard on Good Housekeeping's show Drop 5 on the Cooking Channel.  But when I went to make it, I couldn't find my written down recipe and I didn't feel like running upstairs to search for it online and couldn't find the show OnDemand, so this is what I used. The original recipe is available on the Good Housekeeping website.

1 can White Kidney (Cannelini) Beans, drained & rinsed
Cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped
1/2 white onion, diced
salt & pepper to taste
Lime juice (squirted enough into the mix so everything would puree)
-Puree beans and lime juice in food processor until smooth. Put in bowl
1 avocado, diced into squares
-can either puree avocado in food processor (my choice) or mash it up w/a fork to soften. Add to bowl with beans, stir/fold to combine.

This was pretty good. the idea is to add fiber w/the use of beans, still get the good fat of the avocado without the crazy caloric intake that results from using 2-3 avocados for the same amount of guac dip you get from the recipe.

So, that's one. More to come.