AUTUMN JOY

My autumn joy is...........................

leaves from my family tree!

No time to blog............I got a dog!

Meet "MAGGIE", the nine year old bichon who has TOTALLY captured my heart. These "dog days of summer" 2009 have turned out to be the best I can ever remember................

JAVA JUNKIES JULY 4TH JOLT

Coffee Rubbed Cheeseburgers

Coffee rub:
1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee
2 teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Burgers:
8 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1 pound ground chuck (preferably grass-fed)
1 pound ground sirloin (preferably grass-fed)
8 slices smoked provolone, smoked caciocavallo, or smoked Gouda cheese (about 8 ounces)

Buns:
8 potato-bread hamburger buns
8 slices red onion
8 slices tomato

Texas BBQ Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 chipotle chile from canned chipotle chiles in adobo,* minced with seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

Preparation

For coffee rub:
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

For burgers: Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Break in half. Gently mix chuck and sirloin in large bowl. Form meat into 8 patties, each 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter and 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Using thumb, make slight indentation in center of each burger. DO AHEAD: Burgers and bacon can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover separately and chill.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coffee rub on top side of each burger. Place burgers, rub side down, on grill rack. Grill until slightly charred, about 4 minutes; turn.
Place 2 bacon slice halves atop each burger. Cook 3 minutes.
Top each with 1 cheese slice. Cover and cook until cheese melts, about 1 minute longer. Place burgers atop bottom halves of buns. Top with onion slices and tomato slices. Spoon dollop of Texas Barbecue Sauce over. Cover with bun tops and serve, passing additional sauce alongside.

For Texas BBQ sauce:
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup and all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until reduced to 1 1/3 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill.

WHAT'S BUGGING YOU?

Here are a few facts that might astound you about your own creepy crawly cuisine............courtesy of the FDA's website.

INSECTS WE EAT (averages....per serving size of 100 grams)

CHOCOLATE - 80 insect fragments
CANNED CITRUS FRUIT JUICE - 5 fly eggs or 1 maggot
CANNED CORN - 2 insect larvae
FROZEN BROCCOLI - 60 aphids, thripes, or mites
FROZEN BRUSSELS SPROUTS - 60 aphids, thripes, or mites
GROUND CINNAMON - 800 insect fragments
GROUND PEPPER - 950 insect fragments
MACARONI AND OTHER NOODLE PRODUCTS - 100 insect fragments
MUSHROOMS - 20 maggots
PEANUT BUTTER - 60 insect fragments
TOMATO SAUCE AND PIZZA SAUCE - 30 fly ggs or 2 maggots
WHEAT FLOUR - 150 insect fragments

This is meant to educate, not alarm. Just know that YOU GET WHAT YOU INSPECT, NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT.

Check those expiration dates, be mindful of storage conditions (even with shelf stable products), and maintain heightened awareness of food safety at all times.

WORD OF THE DAY: ENTOMOPHAGY
The practice of eating insects as food

Bon Appetit!

MAGIC GIRL

Still asleep, my magic girl……….
I watch you as you rest
And wonder why God gave to me this work that is HIS best?
Did I, dare I, do I ………………now deserve so much delight
To have this precious time before my magic girl takes flight

Your innocence so genuine
I hold on tenderly…………..
And cradle you with aging hands , eternity to see………….
Oh magic girl, sweet, gentle child………………
God’s gift to me divine…………….
I love you little magic girl, as if you had been mine.

You are the smallest dance of life, I try to hold on tight………………….
For far too soon my magic girl……… you’ll waltz into the night.
I cannot go to be with you; you’ll travel your own way
But magic girl………………………I watched you sleep,
And loved you much, today.

A Light Bulb Moment

Top of the morning to you, fellow bloggers!

Pour another cup of your favorite brew, revitalize those sleepy brain cells, and let's chat about about "greening" the planet and the pension.

While contemplating the declining value of my retirement investments this morning (now THAT will wake you up, won't it!), I decided to bring a "bit of the Irish" to my blog this month (timely, huh?) with the most succinct and valuable information that I have encountered lately concerning living frugally and sustainably (AKA: green-ly).

I read. I read a lot. I read obsessively. I am an information junkie. (Whew......I feel better now that I have outed myself!) Where am I going with this? It's too much..................it's simply too much. I end up with analysis paralysis. I end up without a road map because I cannot program my GPS. I end up without a picture because I didn't finish reading (or didn't understand) the camera manual. Are you here? Do you understand?

If so, I am sure you can see why I am sooooooooo excited when I find some information that is a no-brain, concise action strategy that helps me live the way I want to live. Spells it out for me. One, two, three..........get on with my day type of easy. Good, eco-friendly, frugal advice. A dumbed down "_____________ for Dummies" page; a succinct summary......................... A PLAN!

THEN, I really get excited! I HAVE A LIGHT BULB MOMENT!!!!!!!!!
Let me share...................

For those of you who just cannot abide not having the research, consult my source at http://www.thesimpledollar.com/ (Archived post from 10Feb2009). (You won't be sorry)

For the rest of us:
RIGHT NOW, USE CFL bulbs for general lighting purposes, INCANDESCENT bulbs for focused reading (where immediate light is important), and LED bulbs in a few very hard-to-reach sockets, since they have a very, very long life span.

AS THE PRICE ON LED BULBS GOES DOWN (which it inevitably will over the next few years), REPLACE THE INCANDESCENT BULBS FIRST AND THEN THE CFL'S. When Will LED Bulbs Be Ready for Prime Time? Sound advice is to keep a close tab on the prices of LED bulbs. Ignoring light quality entirely, LED bulbs are already cheaper than incandescent bulbs over a long period, but as they are manufactured by more and more companies, the prices on such bulbs will drop over time - and a rapid drop will probably occur OVER THE NEXT ONE TO TWO YEARS.

IF YOU ARE SWITCHING DIRECTLY FROM INCANDESCENT BULBS, WAIT UNTIL THE PRICES ON LED BULBS DROP TO HALF OF THEIR CURRENT PRICE, SAY $60 A BULB - then begin replacing incandescent lights. Why not just replace all incandescent bulbs with these bulbs now, since they’re cheaper over the bulb’s lifetime? In the short term, the prices on LED bulbs will actually drop faster than the energy cost savings in buying them now, so hold off for a year or so before replacing all of your incandescent bulbs.

IF YOU ARE JUST LOOKING FOR THE CHEAPEST LIGHTING POSSIBLE, YOUR MAGIC NUMBER FOR LED BULBS IS IN THE $15 PER BULB RANGE. One could estimate that THIS PRICE POINT WILL BE REACHED WITHIN THREE TO FIVE YEARS.

INCIDENTALLY, CFLs CAN NOW BE RECYCLED. Home Depot, Ace Hardware, True Value and Ikea will accept used CFLs. Further, you can contact your public works department or go to ww.epa.gov/bulbrecycling to find a recycling program.

THERE YOU HAVE IT.

Cut and paste it. Delicious it. Digg it or JUST DO IT. (That was a great campaign now wasn't it?) Then, PASS IT ON......................as I have.

Injoy,

The Other Martha at home