Passionfruit Jalapeño Margaritas

I find that when it's cold and wet out, for some reason, my cravings turn hot.

I long for spice, tangy juices and for something that makes me think "am I on tropical getaway in the middle of February?" But since we're not jetting off to a warm locale until later this month, I like to chase this vibe with food. 

In our house, a house-special meal comes with a house-special cocktail. My go-to spirit these days is tequila, and when combined with passionfruit and a little jalapeño heat,  well, this drink is definitely warming.

My suggestion? Kick off your shoes, whip up the below recipe, combine with a meal that evokes south-of-the-border sensations and turn on some easy tunes (this or this will do). One sip, and you'll be feeling that dreamy summer breeze in no time.

Passionfruit Jalapeño Margarita

1.5 ounces Reposado tequila

1 passionfruit, pulp scooped out

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/8 cup lime juice

1/2 jalapeño, seeds in or scraped (depending on your preference for heat)

Combine passionfruit pulp, lemon juice and lime juice in blender, and mix until combined. Pour through a strainer to catch any seeds. Pour back into blender and add in jalapeño and pulse several times. Fill a glass with ice, pour in passionfruit jalapeño mixture, pour over a shot of tequila, stir and top with a wedge of lime.

Weekly Words: Live the Questions

"Asking the proper question is the central action of transformation- in fairy tales, in analysis, and in individuation. The key question causes germination of consciousness. The properly shaped question always emanates from an essential curiosity about what stands behind. Questions are the keys that cause the secret doors of the psyche to swing open...

...Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. In our lives, even though one episode amounts to a crash and burn, there is always another episode awaiting us and then another. There are always more opportunities to get it right, to fashion our lives in the ways we deserve to have them. Don't waste your time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success."

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Lavender and Tea Tree Oil Spot Treatment

I've dealt with hormonal skin issues for most of my life. As a teenager, I spent a fair amount of time in a dermatologist's chair, being poked, prodded and prescribed both topical and internal magic pills. In turn, I also grew up with a mother who loved to pamper herself, and I learned how important it was to treat your skin gently and well.

These two aspects always seemed at odds with me. On one hand, my skin felt like it was being burned off by chemical treatments that never seemed to work, and on the other, I learned the luscious wonder of facial massage and how to generate a very good glow.

As I've aged, my skin woes have improved slightly, but I still battle unpredictable spots, breakouts and other cystic acne troubles that have led me to spend a fair amount of time experimenting to find the right balancing treatment. While I've found that many forms of hormonal and cystic acne must be evaluated on an internal basis, how you take care of your skin still really does matter.

I've moved to a very simple and holistic skincare routine overall, but when dealing with a particularly bothersome blemish, it's time to bring in nature's big guns: Tea Tree and Lavender.

Tea Tree oil is one of the most effective antibacterial and antiviral oils. It can be used to treat many external ailments and I'm constantly amazed by it's purifying capabilities. Lavender has wonderful adaptogenic and similar antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and is a terrific cleansing and soothing essential oil.  Below is a recipe for a spot treatment that combines the two with an aloe vera and jojoba oil carrier combination to help heal and protect your skin. 

Lavender and Tea Tree Oil Spot Treatment

1 oz. jojoba oil

1 teaspoon aloe vera gel

7 drops tea tree essential oil

5 drops lavender essential oil

1 sterile glass dropper or roller-ball vial

Combine jojoba oil, aloe vera gel and essential oils in a sterile vial. Shake well to combine, and before each use. To use, apply directly on blemish on freshly washed skin, twice a day.

Note: Before using any essential oils on your skin, it's best to perform a patch test for sensitivity and potential allergic reactions. To do so, dab 1-2 small drops of the essential oil on your inner elbow when dry. If no reaction occurs within 24 hours, the oil is safe for skin use. 

Happy weekend...

Happy Friday! We're headed south for a long weekend with family. I can't wait to snuggle up my nephews, snowshoe and relax by the fire. Here are a few links that gave me good vibes this week:

• Snagged tickets to see Damien Jurado next week at Brighton Music Hall, and spent the better part of the week grooving through his albums, new and old.
• Spent all week giving myself nightly facial massages, which has helped keep my skin taut and moisturized during a week of wild elements.
• Re-watched several South American episodes of my beloved Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Parts Unknown as we plan our honeymoon. All episodes are available via either Amazon Prime or Netflix.
• And finally, a quote on love to close out the week from the unbelievably beautiful and important "Letters to a Young Poet":

“To love is good, too: love being difficult. For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks… the work for which all other work is but preparation.”

— Rainer Maria Rilke

Friluftsliv

It's only January.

This is what people keep saying, gently reminding me that there are at least three more winter months to go in New England. I'm not a stranger to cold winters. In fact, growing up in Connecticut gave me good wintry skin against the January days that we're seeing in Boston today. But what varies now is how I interact with the cold.

As a kid, we'd play outside for hours - rain, snow or shine. In high school, if it was above fifteen degrees, we'd go for a run, bearing elements and ice. Now, when the sun rises late, and sets before five, there are days when my interaction with fresh air and daylight can be minimal. While heading to the gym can help generate an internal warmth, there's something else that can help even more - getting outside.

You've likely read stories or even experienced the concept of Friluftsliv, a Norwegian term that translates to "free air life." It's about finding a natural rhythm in natural life, and in many Scandinavian countries, it's simply part of the lifestyle that values connection to the outdoors - regardless of season or temperature.  Visit Norway explains that Friluftsliv "offers the possibility of recreation, rejuvenation and restoring balance among living things."

Spending time outdoors gives you a good overall health boost as well. It helps you take a break from the airborne germs and viruses that ramp up indoors in the winter, and can elevate your mood, self-esteem and sense of well-being. It can also benefit our long-term functional health as we age, so it shouldn't be a surprise that on the days that we walk the two miles home from work, I feel healthier, more centered and energized.

So here's a challenge: get outside for an extra twenty minutes every day next week.

Go for a winter hike. Trudge through the snow to a park and take ten good full-belly breaths of brisk air. Or, practice Frilufstliv in it's simplest form and go for a walk - at  lunchtime to get some natural light, or in the evening to walk home from work. This may be easier said than done, but it's a simple way to ensure that you get a good dose of fresh air on the days that you might otherwise not. 

See how this extra time outside in the winter improves how you feel on the inside and out, and, if you're interested, check out Charlotte Workman's documentary on Friluftsliv.

Smoky Chicken Tacos with Black Truffle Guacamole

I'm quick to remind myself that, no matter how liberating and terrifying it is at once, I have absolutely no idea what is to come. But being in this soon-to-be-married phase of life, I can't help but wonder what everything we've done until now, alone and together, will equate to in a few dozen years down the road. 

Every day, I find myself consciously trying to be present to the idea that we're building the lifestyle of our family - the traditions, the culture, the history of us - even if it's just for two. The recipes we create might become a go-to, a celebratory tradition or even just an epic mess to look back on someday.

And so, before the big snowstorm, we found ourselves with a kitchen stocked with everything two thirty-year olds living in a well-prepared city might ever need to survive - water, a steady amount of bulk grains and nuts and a generous hunk of Truffle Tremor. 

Should the apocalypse come, at least we've got cheese.

It's cold out there, and sometimes you just need to spice up an otherwise average night. And for two people who are creating a repertoire, we had big plans: ancho chile pepper and coffee-rubbed chicken and sweet vegetable tacos with black truffle goat cheese guacamole on top.

This recipe is easy. A little too easy, if you know what I mean. It's full of big flavors that pair well together, and has just the right amount of juiciness to keep the chicken moist while not threatening the soft tortilla's life. It's a little smoky, a tiny bit spicy, surprisingly sweet and deliciously tangy.

If you ask anyone you know what their family's greatest food hits are, I promise that you'll get answers. Recipes delivered with a chuckle, a dead pan and an air of reminiscence: a green bean casserole, a juicy filet mignon, summer fruit tarts. And when I think of this, I keep coming back to this article I read a few years ago on how "the single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative."

Maybe our narrative is smoky chicken tacos and crazy guacamole. Or maybe it's just doing crazy science experiments in the kitchen. But if it keeps churning out meals like this, it's safe to say that this is a story that I can't wait to write.

Smoky Chicken Tacos with Black Truffle Guacamole

(Inspired by Momocho's Brisket Tacos)

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup Fair Trade ground coffee (I prefer a Central American bean to keep on theme)

1-2 dried ancho chiles  (or 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile powder)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons sallt (I love Himalayan pink salt for its therapeutic properties)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup dry red wine

1 onion, quartered

2-3 bay leaves

Black Pepper

Corn Tortillas

Bring a cast iron skillet to medium heat.

In a food processor, combine coffee, ancho chiles, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons salt. Pulse until blended and combined.

Prepare a clean surface, and rub chicken breasts with the coffee-ancho rub. Place chicken breasts on cast iron skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.

In a heavy pot or braising pan, place the chicken, red wine, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, quartered onion, tomato paste, a tablespoon of salt, black pepper and bay leaves.

Add water to cover the chicken, and then cover the pot.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, simmering covered for another 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the meat and shred, and pour 1/4 of the liquid from the pot over to keep moist.

To serve, place about 1/4 cup of shredded chicken on a warmed tortilla. We topped ours with onion, red pepper, tomatillo and sweet potatoes that were sauteed in chile powder and smoked paprika, as well as the black truffle cheese guacamole, chopped radish and fresh cilantro.

Black Truffle Goat Cheese Guacamole

2-3 ripe avocados, mashed

1 small tomatillo, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 small jalapeno, diced (keep seeds for a spicy kick or remove for a more mild experience)

1/4 cup black truffle goat cheese, chopped

Mix together the first eight ingredients in a small bowl, until well combined. Gently fold in cheese.

Weekly Words: "Get a Life"

There are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

People don’t talk about the soul very much anymore. It’s so much easier to write a résumé than to craft a spirit. But a résumé is cold comfort on a winter night, or when you’re sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you’ve gotten back the chest X ray and it doesn’t look so good, or when the doctor writes “prognosis, poor.”

You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are.

So I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you developed an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast while in the shower?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over a pond and a stand of pines. Get a life in which you pay attention to the baby as she scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

Turn off your cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work.

Get a life in which you are generous. Look around at the azaleas making fuchsia star bursts in spring; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is glorious, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take the money you would have spent on beers in a bar and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Tutor a seventh-grader.

All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough.

- Anna Quindlen

Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner

When I lived in Italy, I had an extremely strange fascination with the smell of a particular dishwashing solution. I secretly relished in the smell every day and always offered to do the cleaning up after dinner, if only to be able to openly whiff the scent.

In this light, it's no surprise that I love a clean house, and one that smells good.

Since moving into our apartment, we've made it our mission to take good care of the butcher block and countertops, making our home as much of a calming space as possible. What this translates to is constant surface wipedowns, making our big weekly clean the opposite of a big deal. It also means that if I'm touching cleaning products more frequently, I'd rather it be something that I feel comfortable being around my body as on it.

Many mainstream all-purpose cleaners wade into dangerous territory with the addition of antibacterial agents that have even the FDA up in arms. Whether you're as much of a clean freak or not, it's likely that you spend some time with a towel in one hand and some type of all-purpose cleaner in the other. 

Below is my recipe for a  fresh-scented all natural all-purpose cleaner that you can whip up in five minutes flat, and use to keep your bathroom, kitchen and tables clean. White vinegar is an unbelievably effective and non-toxic all-purpose solution, and when combined with essential oils, lemon and distilled water, won't make your home smell like a salad. Use freely on wood, porcelain and glass surfaces, but steer clear when treating marble or granite as they're more porous in nature.

Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner

3 parts distilled water

1 part organic distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

7-10 drops lemon essential oil

3-5 drops sweet orange essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass bottle with a spray top. Shake before use as ingredients may separate, spray surface and wipe down with a warm cloth.