Rachel Ray, Jr. is back!

I love to cook and try new recipes, and this one turned out so well that I thought I would share it with you. Last week I ate at The Traffic Jam & Snug, and had this wonderful meal called: Calling the Dr. Bombay Salmon. It was fabulous, and during dinner I thought I could try my best to replicate it. Today was the day, and it was delicious! I really enjoy cooking, and since I've been living with my parents for the past 7 months, I didn't really have to cook because they always cooked. Come on now...who is going to pass up home cooked meals by parents? Back to the kitchen for me. I really enjoyed my experience of cooking this, and I hope you will too. My recipe is slightly different, but it is based on the same concept. Here is what you'll need:

2 serving size pieces of salmon
1/4 Red Pepper
1/4 Yellow Pepper
1/4 Orange Pepper
1 hot pepper
1/2 Red Onion
Olive Oil
3/4 cup Apricot Jelly
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper

I'm such a nerd that I took pictures while preparing it! :)

Slice your peppers and onions thin, because you are going to sauté them in olive oil. I put the peppers in first, since they are thicker and are going to take a little longer than the onions.

While that was in the skillet, I began to prepare the salmon for stuffing. Just slice it in the middle and make a little pocket. Be careful since the fish is flimsy.

When your veggies are finished, place them in a bowl to cool a bit, so you can handle them. As you wait for them to cool, mix together apricot jelly, (I just eyeballed the rest of these and didn't measure, so add at your liking), paprika, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Drizzle olive oil slowly into the mix. It'll help thin out your glaze.

After mixing together the ingredients for the glaze, drizzle your skillet with olive oil and turn on high heat.
The veggies should be cool enough to handle. Stuff salmon pockets with veggies.

When your pan is hot, place each piece in gently. Cook for just about 1 minute on each side. Now, pour your glaze on and smell the goodness! I put, 1/4 of the glaze on each piece, flipped the fish, and then used the rest. It won't take long to cook. Somewhere around 5-8 minutes.

Here are some pics of the finale!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Randy Pausch: Last Lecture

Months ago I had two friends, Jim and Joey, email me information on viewing Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. Randy Pausch was a professor in the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon, and a pioneer in the field of virtual reality. I kept putting off watching the video because it's an hour and fifteen minutes long, and I was just 'way TOO busy' (smirk, smirk). Randy lost his life at the age of 47 to cancer, but has left us with a last lecture that will impact millions. I've been catching up this month on things I want to read, do, and watch, and I finally watched his "Last Lecture." The previous link will take you to an article that appeared in the April 6, 2008 issue of Parade Magazine, and the page also contains a link to the full video of his 'last lecture.' You may have some of the same thoughts I did, "I don't have time to watch it; I'll get to it later; how good can it really be, etc." Here's a tip for combating those thoughts: WATCH THE VIDEO IN INCREMENTS. It is WORTH your time! I opened the video and watch it in 10, or 20, or 5 minute increments, but every moment was worth it. Get over your "brick wall," and watch it.

Fixing Washington D.C.'s School System

While applying for a subscription to Fast Company today, I came across the following article: Fixing Washington D.C.'s School System. It is a must read if you have any interest in educational leadership. Michelle Rhee, 38-year-old chancellor of DC's public schools, is in charge of the district's 10,000 employees and a $1Billion budget. She is a very determined, stern, and inspirational leader. The article is very inspiring, so be sure to read it. It's 8 pages, so be sure to click next at the bottom of each page. Hooray for Michelle!

Driving in Michigan

One main advantage to living in the city is that you don't have to drive anywhere. Ok, I had to drive to Costco and Walmart, and Janelle takes me to softball. Back in January, when I came to visit WSU, I remember everyone talking about the suburbs, and it seemed that they all said "everything was 20 minutes away." I'm pretty sure they were right. I'm going into my 3rd week here in Detroit, and I haven't filled my tank since the gas station, across from the Bob Evans, along Rt. 46 somewhere in Ohio. Driving in Michigan has some odd, yet after researching and experiencing them first hand, understandable tricks to their driving system. First and foremost, the Michigan Left. Developed in the 60's the Michigan Left was designed to prevent inter-locking left hand turns on divided highways. I really can't give a complete description, so the only way of understanding (unless you've been, or live in Michigan) is by viewing this photo and checking out the Michigan Left link.

Image designed by Christopher Bessert and found on
http://www.michiganhighways.org/indepth/michigan_left.html

Basically, for those of you who don't want to read the website, you're unable to make a left hand turn at an intersection, so you drive ahead some feet where you make a legal U-Turn in the middle of the road. Make sense? :)

Sights Around Detroit this Week

This week I had many opportunities to explore Detroit, and it was great! I went for a bunch of walks, ate at some good restaurants, and experienced some activities along the Detroit River, and Mid and Downtown. I also learned a few interesting facts about Detroit and Michigan. Reading this post will give you some insight of some restaurants, little trivia facts, and the many places to visit in Detroit. I'm amazed that I have experienced so many places and cultural facets of Detroit in just a few short weeks. I look forward to the many more, and for my classes to begin.

Tuesday I was able to get out and about for a little walk around Midtown. A few of Midtown's attractions include gorgeous architecture and museums. Here are a few pics I took along my walk.



The Detroit Historical Museum is definitely on my list of places to check out.






The DIA, Detroit Institute of Arts, is probably one of my most favorite buildings to look at. It is surrounded by beautiful sculptures and water structures. Containing more than 100 galleries, and holding over 600,000 pieces, it is the 5th largest fine arts museum in the US. I'm going to try my hardest to hold off visiting the museum until one such said "bomb" friend of mine comes for a visit! When he does arrive I'll be sure to take him to the Traffic Jam and Snug, located on the corner of Canfield and 2nd Streets. I'm very picky about eating salmon, so I usually only eat my own recipe, but this recipe sounded so good that I had to try it. The
"Calling Dr. Bombay Salmon" is amazingly delicious! You have to go there just to try it!




The Museum of African American History has been serving students and teachers for over 35 years by providing speakers, exhibitions, and workshops. This weekend also brought the 2008 African World Festival to Detroit's Hart Plaza along the Detroit River. I attended it last evening, and it runs through Sunday. There are over 150 vendors, musical performances, and food. Last night's presentation, in my view it was a fashion show of some sorts, but the clothes were phenomenal and the music delightful. I was dancing! Here is a picture welcoming you to Hart Plaza. I had to take a pic especially after stumbling upon a website that is actually selling clothing about Detroit's Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. Not sure if you've heard, but he's recently run into some legal issues. I haven't been here long enough to fully understand the citizen's view of Kilpatrick, but I'm pretty sure I can guess the opinions and feelings of the clothing line designers. I remember watching an Ozzy Osbourne documentary that stated, 'there is no such thing as bad publicity.'


Also along the riverfront last night, I had the chance to experience beautiful scenery while listening to some free live classic rock. One of the local classic rock stations, 94.7 WCSX and GM present Rockin on the Riverfront, it's a FREE concert that is held every Friday throughout the summer. Last night's performers were Blue Oyster Cult. Next week, I'll definitely be there; the performer is Foreigner. Besides the cool, crowded, and loud atmosphere, I also witnessed one of the most beautiful scenes in my life. Boats filled the river during sunset as the band began to play around 8pm. It was gorgeous. I believe last night was a full moon which made it a breathtaking view.

Another day this week I took a stroll down Woodward Ave. to downtown. I LOVE downtown! The Riverwalk is obviously my favorite part, but downtown has a lot of cute little restaurants, HUGE buildings, and many different arenas and theaters. As I mentioned in my first blog, Detroit is a huge sports city, and the Tigers were at home this entire week, playing at Comerica Park, but I don't believe they witnessed too much success. Downtown though was packed every night!

A few of the downtown restaurants that I was able to dine at this week included: The Detroit Beer Pub, located on Broadway St. I had the Vegetarian Pizza which was excellent, but my friend, Matt had the Cajun Catfish, and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS! I'll definitely go back for it! I also ate thee best wings I've ever eaten! They were served at the Sweet Water Tavern, on Congress and were FABULOUS; not messy at all, and seasoned perfectly. I'm not a rib eater, but they looked great, too.

Also in Downtown Detroit, you'll find a cute little section called Greektown. It has many restaurants, but it's largest attraction is the casino. Currently they are adding on to the casino (see the big blue glass building). When I was here in January to visit WSU, I ate at two different places in Greektown: The Olympia, and Pizza Papilis. I found both to be tasty.


Campus Martius Park is also located downtown, and I find it to be gorgeous! The park area use to be very low and marshy, and was considered to be undesirable for building. 1999, former Detroit Mayor Dennis W. Archer set out to make it one of the most beautiful places on earth. The park came to fruition and was completed in 2004. There are tons of events that are held there and the view is great. Here is the pic I took from across the street. I then made my way over for a rest in one of the many seats provided. The water fountain structure brings a sense of peace.

Demolition and Adaptive Re-use in Detroit

I'm a big fan of the magazine, Next American City, and was looking around their site today. (By the way, the magazine is published in Philly and has been in existence since 2003) Just so happens a picture of Detroit's Museum of Contemporary Art shows up. The museum is only a 10 minute walk from my apartment. I passed it yesterday when I was out exploring the city and getting some exercise. The museum's building is super cool and I was dying to take a picture of it, but it's not in an area that I felt completely comfortable to pull out my camera and start snapping. After having my butt touched by a stranger, 2 guys following me commenting on my legs, and 3 people asking me for money, you may understand my feelings. I found this article to be right in line with a conversation I had with Matt, a friend of mine from PA who is here in Detroit on business this week, last evening. I mentioned to him that I wish I, or knew someone, who had the funds and an interest in the rehabilitation of buildings because this city is packed with a ton of opportunity. I've only been here for 2 weeks, but I'm in love with downtown! It's about a 30 minute walk from Midtown, the culture and arts district, where I live. This area is gorgeous too, containing beautiful architecture. Anyway, downtown becomes a zombie zone after 6pm during the week, unless there is a sports event occurring. (Comerica Park, Ford Field, and Joe Louis Arena are all located in Downtown Detroit) My parents were here the weekend I moved and we tried to go for breakfast on a Sunday morning, and nothing was open! I mean nothing! Not even a Starbucks or a bagel shop. McDonald's sure was though! Yuck! Matt mentioned how eerie it is walking through the city with these tall buildings and yet they are empty. I found the article to be quite timely with our conversation last evening, so I thought I would share.

Enjoy and please share!

http://americancity.org/magazine/article/everything-is-going-to-be-alright-demolition-and-adaptive-reuse-in-detroit/