Cristine's 1st Recipe - My Tacos!

A couple weeks ago, my friend Cristine asked that once a week, if I didn't mind, could I supply her with a recipe for dinner. She had grown tired of the same old, and wanted some inspiration in the kitchen. Like me, she cooks for two (her husband and herself), but recently, she found out there is a third on his or her way. Right now, the doctor said the third is the size of an onion, so I figured, what better time to start developing a recipe box for Cristine. This way I'll be doing my part to help the onion grow into a healthy, happy honeydew.

So ... on this page, once a week, I will publish one of my recipes for Cristine (and my other readers of course.) They are generally adaptations from other sources, but with a portfolio of making family dinners since the seventh grade, prepping alongside Chef Derek and his crew at the restaurant I used to manage, and signing up for the sport of cooking with my boyfriend, I believe these recipes are tried and true. Happy cooking and feasting!

Taco Night for Two

When deciding what to make for dinner during the week nights, I turn to several sources for inspiration including Food and Wine, Saveur, Smitten Kitchen, Pioneer Woman, and my recipe binder (no link available ... yet). However, once every couple of weeks, I defer to the oracle of my boyfriend and ask, "What should I make?" This inevitably ends up with the answer, "Taco night!" I have to agree though, this is the go to solution for a spiced up, satisfying and sensational meal.

We both grew up eating tacos and fajitas with our families on a regular basis, so it's one of those innate cravings that we get. But after trying tacos, tostados, burritos and fajitas from East to West; dive to fine dining restaurant, my palate for the traditional Ortega taco kit has evolved. So, I have taken my best memories from Fiestas past and stacked them into a double wide hard shell.

This is my latest and greatest recipe for tacos. A forewarning though - you will need to be ready to go when the first flame hits the first pan. Everything should be chopped, in order, and thought through. Its a fierce, 30 minute game of sizzling and stirring, but I'm telling you, the sweat and tears (from the onions of course) is well worth it. You'll also be surprised to find out that your hubby (or significant other) can easily house FIVE of them in one sitting.

Shake up a margarita (or virgin one, Cristine) and have fun been being a little senorita for the evening.

Ingredients

Meat

3/4 lb Ground chuck (I have also used slow roasted and pulled pot roast, pork shoulder, and chicken thighs, which are GREAT options, but the memory of childhood lies in the ground chuck!)

1/4 cup minced sweet yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon butter 

3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce chopped up

2 Tablespoons of the Adobe Sauce (take this from the same can of peppers)

1/2 cup Beef Stock

1 (or 2) teaspoons Cumin (I use one because the boyfriend thinks Cumin smells like a Yeti)

1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder 

1 teaspoon Salt (or more based on preference)

1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon corn starch (for thickening sauce)

Caramelized onions

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion thinly sliced

1 clove garlic minced

1 teaspoon jalapeno, poblano, or serrano pepper minced (optional)

Salt 

Pinto Beans

1 can Frijoles Pintos

4 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

Salsa Fresca

1 ripe tomato diced evenly

1 ear of sweet corn, kernels removed (click here for instructions)

1/4 cup red onion minced

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper (optional)

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon cilantro

Squeeze of lime juice

Salt

Pepper

Guacamole

1 ripe Avocado (save the pit)

1 clove garlic minced

Juice of one lime

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle of olive oil

Shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese

Taco shells (I prefer the double thick crunchy ones)

Procedure

Okay, like I said this is a timely process, so here is the order in which you need to do things:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set the taco shells on a baking sheet to the side of the oven.

2. Salsa and Guacamole (They are super easy, so get them out the way and on the table)

Salsa

In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients, stir, and let sit.

Guacamole

Peal and pit the avocado (but save the pit) - mush it up, and mix in the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Put the pit in the center and let sit. (Somehow the pit has magic powers that makes the guacamole not turn brown)

3. Pinto Beans

Beans

In a small pot on the back burner, melt butter over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Drain the can of pinto beans and add to the pot along with the chicken stock and cilantro. Let this mixture steam over low to medium heat until everything below is done.

4. Meat and Onions (these generally take the same amount of time, so you basically want to do these simultaneously)

Meat 

In a large saute pan on the front burner, melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the meat, onions and garlic and cook till meat is browned (probably 7 minutes). Add the beef stock, peppers, adobe sauce, cumin, ancho chile, and salt. Let it simmer for three minutes so the flavors blend together. Thicken the sauce with corn starch. Add a teaspoon at a time and stir in until you reach the right consistency.

Onions

In a large saute pan on the other front burner, melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the onions, garlic and pepper (if you are using.) Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown and caramelized.

5. Heat the Taco shells: Put the Taco shells in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.

6. Mash the Beans: Open the pot of beans, and with a potato masher or spoon, mash up the beans so they are roughly pureed.

7. Assemble the serving station with all the ingredients and invite your significant other to 'dish up!' My favorite way to stack them is meat on the bottom, then beans, cheese, onions, salsa, guacamole, and a little hot sauce on the top.

OLE!

Lo

7 Days, 4 Cities, 33 Miles, 1 Take-Away

As you may or may not know, I am training for the Chicago Marathon. I'm following Hal Higdon's novice II plan, which is an 18-week regimen complete with training tips and Marathon best practices (and is available for free online.) One of the tips Hal frequently references is to vary your workouts and courses. His theory is that running long distances for 18 weeks can get monotonous, so seeking out diverse terrains can keep you motivated and able to make the most of your training experience.

I took Hal Hidgon's advice very seriously this week and trained in four different places in seven days: New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Cap Cod. (Granted, my training coincided with work and personal travel, but I still thought it was a cool feat.) This week I’ve run through scorching heat, soaking humidity, dense fog, balmy breezes, torrential downpours, crowds of people, commuter traffic and parades. Each run and climate presented new challenges and different applications to Hal's theory of varied workouts, but after putting his principle to practice, I concluded that more than the diverse settings, it was the people around me on each course that kept me motivated and going strong.   

So let me take you down 20 of the 33 miles that I ran this week. 

10 miles through Central Park, New York City

Last weekend I was in New York City for an engagement party. On Sunday morning I set off to run the very dense and congested Central Park course. With a loop around the reservoir added, it was 10 miles of running alongside, around, and through crowds. People were out by the masses pushing strollers, riding bikes, jogging, power walking, racing, and rollerblading in a giant loop around the Park. And I was playing dodgem through this semi-controlled chaos. Everyone had their own method of making it around the loop, but all of us were determined to go the distance. 

The crowds were a little stressful at first, especially during the segment where I had to combat Puerto Rican Day and Girls on the Run traffic, but after I figured out my pacing and the culture of the movement, I was able to hold my own, and ultimately excel. All the people, and the pulses and rhythms that radiated from them, inspired me to keep going, push harder, and do better. By the time I hit the 7 mile mark, I was pretty sure I could have run a whole marathon that day. I realized that all the other people in the park were indirectly supporting my efforts and making me better. Somehow, we were all better together. 

After making it the full 10 miles, I was greeted at an ad hoc finish line by my boyfriend, which was the best support system possible. I didn't know whether or not we would be able to meet up - but there he was at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, rooting for me as I clocked in for the day.

Later that day, my biggest fan and I met up with friends in Battery Park to board a ferry bound for an evening of celebration at the Bayonne Golf Club.

5 miles in Naperville, Illinois 

I live about thirty miles outside of Chicago, in the burgeoning suburb of Naperville. And it seems like the entire adult population of Naperville finds a means of rapid transportation to get out of this suburb and into Chicago every morning. Just as they are trying to do this, I put on my running shoes and attempt to compete with their speed and ferocity.

My weekday runs in Naperville are generally more like sprints, because I have a limited amount of time before I have to shower, change and make it to work. I tend to rush out my door and onto the streets to do battle with the traffic. The sidewalks are unpredictable, so I tend to stick to the side of the road, driven by the need to beat the cars. I'm sure about 80% of the morning commuters are now familiar with the girl in the yellow or white hat running through Naperville every morning. I sense their respect and encouragement as they have learned to defer to me a bit. Just like the masses in Central Park, they contribute to making me a better runner. 

Oh ... and one more thing helps too. Everyday I pass by my biggest fan's house and there is the continuous potential that he will pop outside to surprise me and cheer me on from the sidelines. He has done this on numerous occasions, and like I said earlier, this is the best support system of all.

And from there ... off to work I go (it just so happens that this work day included a Chicago White Sox game!) 

6 miles in Houston, Texas  

This run presented several big challenges which included scorching heat, overwhelming humidity, and developing cold symptoms. When I stepped out of my hotel at 8:00 AM, it registered 98 degrees with a heat index of 104. No one else was running. It was just me. I had mapped out a run on Gmap-pedometer that took me to the river (which I actually learned was a Bayou or a man-made ditch later in the day) and then back along more major roads. Since I was in Houston alone, running alone, I thought this was the safest bet. 

However, after I made it to the Bayou, I couldn't imagine making it back. I was drenched already and there was no one next to me or around me to motivate me to keep going. I stopped and watched all the Texans in their air conditioned cars drive past me, giving me incredulous stares, not encouraging me like my commuter rivals in Naperville. I knew I had to be on the job soon, so I sucked it up, turned around and started back. Instead of taking the same route though, I felt out another way ... and ended up running into the others - The other people out exercising that morning. These were the natives who had found the best place to do it, which was along a promenade, under huge trees shading us from the sun, in the most beautiful community. As I passed the power walkers, they gave me smiles, approving nods, and even a cheer or two. As it got even hotter and as I went from drenched to whatever is more sweaty than that, I picked up my pace and made it through, because I had all these wonderful Southern supporters around me. 

When I got back, I called my boyfriend to tell him about the hottest run ever. As always he played the part of my biggest fan, impressed, encouraging, and invested in my performance. 

And I got some kudos from new friends made in Houston as we celebrating that night after a long work day.

9 miles in Woods Hole – Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Really challenging runs are inherent when you are training for a Marathon. One of those came today as I ran the shore trail from Woods Hole to Falmouth and back again. It was a 9 mile jaunt that on any other day should have been a piece of cake, but for some reason today, it was just painful. I was mid-cold and pretty congested. I also felt heavier than usual – I felt that my legs were dragging the way they did during that Rutgers game senior year, when I just couldn’t lift them up to get to a ground ball. (And we ended up losing)

I made it though – I did the whole distance and still clocked in at my normal pace. But unlike the other runs this week, I made this one because of the people that I am running for. They weren't on the trail with me that day. It was a pretty quiet trail in fact. Rather, they were there with me in spirit - They are the children and families that have been served by the programs of Ronald McDonald House Charities. I am driven because I want to run for them - because they may never get to run through the country like I can. I am running for Josh, who has cerebral palsy; CJ, who is still recovering from a traumatic accident; Elsie who has been through 25 surgeries and is stronger than I will ever be; and Joshi who drew me a picture to tell me about his courageous journey ahead. I know each of these fighters would have run a marathon as well, and if they could have done it, I can do it. That's what pushed me through this tough run and what keeps pushing me to make it to the finish line on October 10. 


The thing that I have learned through training this week is that I need other people around me to make me better. Being alone on the trail is nice sometimes, but in order for me to go this grand Marathon distance, I need lots of support, even if its from strangers. It's all the other people out there that make me better on and off the trail.

... And after the long runs and the big one on October 10, it really helps when there are celebrations and glasses of wine to look forward to. 

... especially when they're on a skiff in Woods Hole!

Lo 

If you want to support my fundraising efforts for Ronald McDonald House Charities and the over four million children and families we serve each year through programs like the Ronald McDonald House, please visit www.active.com/donate/RMHC2010/LaurenLo 

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday I celebrated my paper anniversary … with my company. I'm proud of this milestone and believe that the relationships I have established with my teammates and company at large are stronger than ever. As I was congratulated, toasted and pinned (yes, I got the official company pin), I started to think about the deliberations and realizations that went into reaching the goal of a job that compliments and enhances me. Ironically enough, I went through a similar process of reflection during my grand search for a special significant other.  

Much of the soul-searching process through my twenties has happened over fruitful dialogues touching on personal case studies, best practices, and next steps with friends and family. In particular, I have a good friend who is the master of finding lessons and 'realizations' in our lives. About once a week I talk with Rebecca on the phone. For about a half an hour, usually during our commutes home, we deliberate over trials and triumphs of our work and personal lives. Rebecca generally comes to the conversation confident in the education she has acquired in the past week, and ready to share it. Without fail, there is always a moment in the call where she soundly states, "This week I came to the realization that...." and these realizations can range from "I need to date someone older than me" to "I need to date someone younger than me." From "I just love living in the city of Pittsburgh” to "I just need to get out of here!!"

After years of thoughtful reflection, my takeaway from these calls is that we need different things, both complementary and contradictory at different times in our lives to render us satisfied, successful and … (sigh) complete. Our personalities and characters are rich and complicated and there is not one size fits all solution to the age-old mystery of what will make us happy. 

However, many target their job or a committed relationship as the bedrock of happiness - They hope to be confidently employed doing something they are passionate about; and committed to a person who shares their passions. After finding what I believe to be healthy, happy, and committed personal and work relationships, and after hours on the phone with Rebecca, I believe there are ways to cut to the chase in your search for contentment on the job or in a relationship. AND … you should start with these four questions:

1. What makes you sustainably satisfied and if you don't know you should stay on question 1 till you know. This may be the most time consuming and difficult of the questions, but taking leaps and bounds into jobs and relationships without knowing what really makes you tick, can be devastating in the end.

2. Do you want to play for a team or are you better off alone? 

3. Are you a good team player? 

4. Do you believe you can play on, significantly contribute to, and grow within this specific team?  

If you answer no to question 2 you should be self employed and single for the rest of your life. 

If you answer no to question 3, it’s okay to a certain degree. If you are a really bad team player, again you should be self employed and single for the rest of your life.) If you are not a perfect team player at first, this is a skill more or less that you can improve throughout the years. This is part of your learning curve and development on the job or in a relationship. 

And for question 4 - once you have done your due diligence in terms of researching the pros and cons of the team you are thinking about playing for - do you really think this is the one you want to be committed to.

Here's how this process went for me:

In college, and in particular when studying abroad in Rome, I learned what really made me happy in life. That was a balance – a balance between the world of arts and athletics; family and friends; faith and exploration. I had the opportunity to do everything and I was busy with, invested in, and excited by all the different undertakings. After I graduated from college though, I signed up for a job that didn't allow this rich balance. This made me unhappy and I knew I had to redirect and research a career move that was going to open the doors to what had previously made me happy. I wanted to play for a team that would nurture and challenge me; enable my growth and maturity, and celebrate milestones with me. 

With due diligence, hard work, and a little bit of luck, I believe I have found a company that I want to work for throughout the majority of my life.

Similarly, I knew I ultimately wanted to play on a team in my personal life as well. When seeking Mr. Right, I looked toward my other relationships and team members that made me happiest and most successful: Those people that accepted me for who I was, built up my confidence, made me feel more empowered, echoed my enthusiasm for life, challenged me to think in different ways, and helped me score the winning goal. I wanted the same kind of teammate in my significant other. I tried on chiropractors and architects; bankers and producers; short ones and tall ones; good ones and bad ones; but only one stuck. Granted, I think I was in the right place at the right time when stumbling upon the boyfriend, but I believe it took a lot of finding what I didn't want, to know exactly when I found what I did want.

After saying this though, after I believe I have landed in the right job and alongside Mr. Right. I couldn't help but think about the news we heard a couple weeks ago - when we learned about the separation of esteemed marital partners, Tipper and Al Gore. After celebrating their forty-year anniversary, they retired from each other. Without rumors of cheating, children out of wedlock, or abuse many analysts said that this marriage was successful. It fulfilled a role in both Al's and Tipper's lives, and now they were simply ready for the next stage of their lives. 

In corporate America, even in my company, where the majority of employees are lifers – you inevitably end up in retirement. When you want to get the most out of the remaining years of your life and have saved enough money to do it, you say toodle-loo and hit the links, travel the world, become a docent, go fishing, or do whatever it is you find relaxing. It's a great period of time for further exploration into the ways of the world.

However, I don't want to think that the same form of retirement holds true in a marital relationship - That after you have raised children, developed the talent, and sent them off to conquer the world, you should want to retire from your partner. I want to believe that in each phase of life, if you have been lucky enough to find the right teammate, you will want to play on that team till the game is over. 

My coach used to always say, overtime is the toughest, but most important part of the game - we had to play the hardest, not let up, and concentrate more than ever. I guess Al and Tipper were okay with draws and stalemates. Or, they came to the realization that they never really answered question 1, and now they wanted to find that for themselves. 

Rebecca and I have been on and off the phone for almost twenty years – basically from the third grade on - talking about crushes and crashes. These vignettes have ultimately always led to discussions about what makes us happy. This is the most important question you can ask yourself. Before signing up and signing on to a team in corporate America or with a significant other, make sure you take the time to get to know yourself first. I truly believe that if you do this, you will make stronger, smarter decisions in your relationships - you will make more positive contributions and celebrate many more anniversaries.

Lo