The HIT List: March

Waking
up with The Skimm in my Inbox every single morning (except weekends). All the important news condensed into a nice one page format. And in case you were completely living under a rock, they even give you a refresh course on continuing stories. Now I'm ready to for that water cooler talk before my espresso is finished.
Coolest part? The Skimm is published by women.

Waiting
 for Melody Gardot's new album. To tide me over, periodically watching a video of the new single "Same to You."

(Armchair) Traveling
To Paris. Thanks to My Little Paris, every Friday I lead a mental Parisian life.

Enjoying
The redesigned Maxim (yes I know it's a men's magazine). GQ move over! Maxim has a new female editor who's shaking things up with new content and graphic design.

Planning
to add more potted plants to my office. Research shows that greenery in
the work space boots productivity and happiness. But I think you need to have more
than one plant because I don't feel more productive yet. I am happy though.

DMD Kitchen: Colcannon Recipe

Irish Colcannon

The traditional Irish Colcannon is mashed potatoes with cabbage mixed in. I first heard of it over a decade ago, watching an Irish program on PBS. On the show, a stout redhead in a flowery apron served the host with a steaming bowl of Colcannon on a chilly foggy evening. Hers had ham, in addition to mashed potatoes and cabbage. And a liberal dollop of butter on top.
This is my St. Patrick's Day version. This is actually a perfect leftover dish because a typical Irish American family will already have all the ingredients left from a St. Patrick's Day feast.

Mashed potatoes (prepared from scratch of course), hot
Boiled cabbage, at least a quarter head, roughly diced (The amount of cabbage can be a personal preference)
Corned beef, cut into chunks (I eyeball the amount so I have a nice distribution of beef to potato in every bite)
Salt*/pepper to taste
Green onions, diced – optional (only if you already have them. They add a nice springy kick to the dish).
*Note on salt: if you prepared the corned beef properly (as in not boiling it to death), it will provide all the salt flavor you need since it retained it during its cooking process.

Mix all the ingredients. If the mashed potatoes gone a little dry and lumpy, a bit of cream or even hot water will fluff them back up. Serve colcannon in a bowl. Right before serving, make a little well on the top and drop in a dollop of butter. The heat of colcannon will melt the butter. Stir the butter in right before eating. I suggest using a spoon for this one.
Don't forget a pint of Guinness!

Slainte!


Vegas, baby! Vegas!

We finally made it West of Iowa! With a lot of milestones in the first 6 months of this year, one of them being our wedding Anniversary, we decided a little adult getaway was in order. So off to Vegas we went. It was in the upper 50s, bright and sunny. We stayed in the breathtaking Bellagio, and were wowed by Cirque Du Soleil's Zumanity. It was so gorgeous outside that we spent a lot of time walking the Strip and people-watching. Here's a little glimpse: