I made this last night, and while it’s a pretty different flavor combination, I thought it was a nice change. And it’s healthy!

Poached Eggs Over Asparagus Recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss a pound of asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Lay the asparagus out in a somewhat-single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Bake the asparagus for 15 minutes or until slightly browned and tender.
5. Meanwhile, bring a pan with 2 inches of water to a simmer.
6. Break an egg into a cup, and then tip the cup into the water.
7. Cook the egg for about 3 or 4 minutes until the white is firm and yolk is still soft. The egg will probably look like a jellyfish at first, with thin wisps of egg white everywhere. When the egg is done, remove the main solid portion of the egg (minus the wisps) using a slotted spoon or spatula.
8. Repeat with as many eggs as you want (probably two).
9. Place poached eggs on top of a pile of asparagus and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and balsamic basil vinaigrette. (The original recipe called for some balsamic vinegar and oil concoction, but since I didn’t have that, I used the salad dressing instead, and it was still good.)

President Obama’s first State of the Union address was this past week. Overall, I think it was great. He was honest about the difficulties his administration and our country has had, and he laid out some of the things he’d like to accomplish in the coming year. Obviously, there will always be cries for more substance, but given that it’s only an hour-long speech, I’m willing to give him a pass on that and just expect to get more details on these plans soon.

It’s been a year since Obama took office, and it’s been even longer since the campaign came to a close. Since November 4th, 2008, I have not been involved in campaigning or volunteering at all. That saddens me. I know there are big issues out there to fight for, and I know that there are candidates that could use all the help they can get. But somehow I’ve been content with just reading the news, debating with friends, and hoping for the best. I really need to stop that.

I’ve looked around for organizations to join. The local Young Democrats chapter only meets twice a year. There are supposedly MoveOn meetings every now and then, but I’m sort of turned off to them. Unless I’m missing something (and I really hope I am), there just doesn’t seem to be a group here that brings together like-minded young adults for a common purpose of political action.

I think I’m going to change that by starting my own group, but I’ll need to do some research first. Starting groups in college was easy. You have 20,000 students isolated on a single campus, so there’s potential for every organization. Out in the real world, people have jobs, families, and other responsibilities. We’ll see where this goes, but I’m tired of being complacent. I’ll keep you updated.

And so here we are again, where we think about what we did and didn’t accomplish last year, and what we’d like to accomplish this year…

I think my resolutions were a bit ambitious last year. I feel like I have a lot more control over what I can get done now. I’m living on my own. I’m comfortable in my job. I have a routine. This year, I’d just like to do more. Read more, cook more, go out more, learn more, volunteer more, watch what I eat more, exercise more, travel more. Of course, I suppose resolutions always encompass concepts like these. But look, I know there are interruptions. I know there are surprises. So overall, I just want to get more accomplished. I get home from work and think that I’m done for the day, but I have to get out of that mindset.

Speaking of watching what I eat more, I started The Hacker’s Diet (please excuse the 1996-style website) today. I read the book a few weeks ago, but decided to hold off until after the holidays. There’s no point in changing your eating habits in the midst of delicious food. Anyway, the book isn’t some lame cure-all for getting rid of a few extra pounds. It’s geared toward people who are more mathematically-inclined, and it restates what any medical professional could tell you: burn more calories than you eat. If you want to lose a pound a week, eat 3500 fewer calories (or 500 calories less a day). Not too complicated, and nothing I haven’t heard before. But seeing it with graphs helped put it all in a better light. Counting calories isn’t too bad, so we’ll see how it goes.

And with that, I hope everyone has an awesome 2010! 2009 was pretty great and full of milestones, but I think 2010 will be even better!

I made some spinach and artichoke dip yesterday for a party, as it tends to be a fan favorite. It’s pretty easy, and the only weird ingredient it requires is a can of artichoke hearts.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese (usually sold in a jar)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained (I usually buy the quartered variety)
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (sold in a square block)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. Lightly grease a small baking dish.
3. Chop up the artichoke hearts very finely. Come on, this is a dip, not some chunky artichoke salsa.
   
4. In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Stir in chopped artichoke hearts and spinach.
5. Put the mixture in the baking dish.
   
6. Top the mixture with mozzarella cheese. Don’t put on too much, because that will just form a thick layer of cheese that you have to break through in order to get to the dip!
7. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

This dip tastes great with crackers or tortilla chips. Enjoy!

There’s a good article at The Huffington Post about the crazy individuals who believe that a “Death Panel” will determine whether the elderly will live or die. Just like the “Truthers”, these people have been told time and time again that their understanding of reality is warped and not true, but they continue to believe that the government would somehow kill of our elders.

Like the article says, I just want to ask these people:

“How angry at losing political power or how frightened about liberals or how scared at any change or how terrified at having a black president or how stupid do you have to be to truly believe the United States is creating a public health bill to kill senior citizens?”

Of course, there are people with genuine concerns about expanding the role our government plays in healthcare. That is why town halls are being held across the country in order to help those who want more information and would like to provide their own input. These same town hall meetings are being interrupted by people who are afraid of this “Death Panel” and who never took the time to actually learn what they are talking about. And now there’s a good chance that this push to help our senior citizens lay out their end-of-life plans so that they can be more comfortable will no longer make it into the bill… because people actually believe this “kill our senior citizens” bit!

I can’t believe we’re hitting a wall on this issue of all issues. Maybe calling these people insane is a little much. But I don’t know how else to describe them.

The article continues:

Mind you, I’m not talking about people against health care reform. That’s another matter entirely. The topic at hand here is one thing only — believing that the U.S. government wants to kill its senior citizens and weakest members.

That’s the issue. And that’s what is incomprehensibly insane.

And if right now you are reading this and sputtering, “No, it’s not insane because…” then you are among those who, while likely a level-headed and good-hearted person at most times, are being too stupid or angry or frightened or entrenched or racist.

Pick one.

(Just to be clear, you don’t have to be all the above. Any one will do. But of course, feel free not to limit yourself to just one, if you are so inclined. That’s totally your choice.)

The only thing not your choice is thinking that the U.S. government wants to kill its weakest citizens. Try to justify that, and you lose all sanity defenses.

“Yes, but…” doesn’t cut it. Crying socialist, communist, fascist, racist, Hitler, Stalin doesn’t cut it.

(Geez, folks, where were you the last eight years? We could have used you. Yet as draconian as the Bush Administration was, even with George Bush scorning the Constitution as “just a goddammed piece of paper,” I still know they weren’t trying to kill your puppy.)

Can we please discuss the real issues here? Many will agree that healthcare reform needs to happen. We just disagree on what needs to change. Let’s discuss these changes instead of talking about some insane issue that makes no sense.

Two months ago, I hated mushrooms. Then one day at a family get-together, there was a platter of veggies and dip, and I decided “Hey, I like mushrooms now.” I didn’t decide to try mushrooms with the hope that I might like them. I just told myself that I would now like them. And then I ate a mushroom. And I liked it.

Mushrooms

I’m not a picky eater by any means. I’ll try anything once, and odds are, I’ll probably like it. Mushrooms were just one of a few foods on my “foods that I try my best to avoid” list.

Still on that list? Olives.

Olives

Sitting in front of a computer all day has some benefits. For instance, you are less likely to break a leg or get stabbed in the eye during a typical work day. Despite these obvious and innumerable advantages, sitting in a seat for such an extended period of time begins to take a toll on your health.

The past few weeks I’ve been jogging at least 3 or 4 times a week. Especially after returning from a week spent in Michigan, where we’re outside all of the time, you start to get an appreciation for being outside. Otherwise, I wake up in my air conditioned condo, walk to my air conditioned car, get out of my car and walk to my air conditioned cubicle, and– well, you get the point. It’s just a whole lot of processed air.

Just this past weekend, I finally decided to start jogging in my local MetroParks. Why did I not start doing this months ago? It’s five to ten minutes away, and I get to run on nice trails through forests and fields. Plus, there are a bunch of other people jogging and biking and walking and rollerblading, so it encourages me to keep running. A 90 year old man about to pass you is the best form of motivation.

I don’t mind that the MetroParks are never super busy. And I know that a lot of people consistently use them each week. But I’m sure there are also a ton of people who simply don’t know these parks are right down the street! I’m glad I finally started going, and I’m glad that it’s one of our region’s priorities to maintain these parks.

Paul Krugman just wrote a great column for The New York Times about how people are judging the new healthcare reform proposals without having a clear understanding of how the government is currently involved with healthcare.

At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”

It’s a funny story — but it illustrates the extent to which health reform must climb a wall of misinformation. It’s not just that many Americans don’t understand what President Obama is proposing; many people don’t understand the way American health care works right now. They don’t understand, in particular, that getting the government involved in health care wouldn’t be a radical step: the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance.

I think that misinformation is the reason for a lot of peoples’ discomfort with the involvement of the government. They don’t understand that the government is already making a lot of things run more smoothly, and they have this unexplainable fear that any sort of government involvement will mean doom for whatever program is currently on the table.

Some people are easily convinced that there is this vast, left-wing conspiracy to have the government control everything, with healthcare reform being the starting point for it all. I suppose this makes it easier to ignore facts, since any fault in your logic can be explained by saying it’s all just one big conspiracy. But it’s frustrating to see progress on healthcare reform slow down with this unnecessary fear of change, when these fearful people never took the time to look at facts, and understand the existing system.

Right-wing opponents of reform would have you believe that President Obama is a wild-eyed socialist, attacking the free market. But unregulated markets don’t work for health care — never have, never will. To the extent we have a working health care system at all right now it’s only because the government covers the elderly, while a combination of regulation and tax subsidies makes it possible for many, but not all, nonelderly Americans to get decent private coverage.

Now Mr. Obama basically proposes using additional regulation and subsidies to make decent insurance available to all of us. That’s not radical; it’s as American as, well, Medicare.

Tonight I made some burgers and decided to try making grilled sweet potatoes in a pouch. It’s a really simple recipe, so I figured I’d share.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet potato (chopped up)
• 1 Small onion (chopped up)
• 1 Garlic clove (minced)
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Put the sweet potato chunks in a bowl and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. This cuts down on the amount of time you have to grill them, since they’re already essentially cooked.
2. In a bowl, mix together the sweet potato chunks, onion chunks, garlic, and enough olive oil to cover those chunks. Probably just 2 tablespoons or something. Add some salt and pepper as well.
3. Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and put the mixture in the center in a sort of narrow line. Fold up the two longer edges and crimp them in the middle, and then fold up and crumple the other two edges. This should form a sealed pouch.
4. Put on the grill for about 10-15 minutes along with whatever else you might be cooking! I think it’s pretty hard to under or over cook this, since the sweet potatoes are already soft from microwaving them.

I’ve made a similar dish using regular potatoes instead, so feel free to try that too! I’ll probably post more recipes as I come across them, and hopefully I can include pictures as well!

A few weeks ago, I bought my first digital SLR camera. For those of you out there that don’t know what that is, it’s a fancier (and more expensive) digital camera that lets you have more control than the usual point-and-shoot cameras. You’re able to change lenses, manually focus, attach different flashes, change aperture, etc. I ended up getting the Nikon D60 because it had good reviews and was relatively cheap. I was looking for an entry-level digital SLR, not a camera that would last me for the next 20 years.

Nikon D60

I’ve always been interested in photography, and I think I’ve taken some pretty good shots with the various point-and-shoots that I’ve owned over the years. But I figured, hey, I have a full-time job now and I could use a new hobby, so why not take my photography skills to the next level?

When I was on vacation last week, I really got a chance to use my camera a lot. Overall, I’m fairly disappointed with the results. It turns out that I know almost nothing about photography. I don’t really know what the various manual jargon means, nor do I really have a good idea of what subject would make for a good photograph. Some of my photos ended up being blurry once I viewed them on my computer, and others need a lot of work in Photoshop because they came out too dark. My previous good point-and-shoot shots were always of forests or sunsets or something else that would look good even if the picture was taken by a toddler.

In the end, I’m hoping this is just a rude awakening to all of the things I need to learn. Point-and-shoots are so easy to use (hence the name), and I’m more accustomed to that “click the button and get a decent picture” concept. I can’t expect my new camera to be just point-and-shoot, and hopefully I’ll enjoy having more control once I understand what those controls are.

If anyone has any good resources, links, books, or tips to get me headed in the right direction, please let me know!