Learning Meditation

Recently I have been getting into the idea of meditating, and getting in touch with my breathing. It has really helped my psyche.

Contrary to what most people thing, it is beyond challenging to clear your mind and be at peace with your thoughts. I have learned to control these things with some help from different YouTube, and an app called Headspace. The app walks you through a 10 minute breathing exercise and as simple as it sounds, it proves to be rather difficult. (10/10 would recommend if you're new to meditation).

Another route you could take to learning to meditate is simply crashing and burning. Some people find it hard to sit still and try to clear their mind without any background noise, if that is the case you can always listen to some calming sounds such as rainfall or jungle sounds. YouTube is a good source to find these sounds.

I also have tried yoga in attempts to clear my ever buzzing mind. I don't do crazy stand on my head and count to a fifty, I like to do wind-down-yoga like or bed time yoga to help clear the mind. This is one video I LOVE to follow when I am needed a good mind-clearing

My favorite time to meditate or do yoga is when I get home (around 4 or 5). The reason I do this is because this is when my brain is the most cluttered and needs calming. This is just what works best for me, but it works whenever you can fit it into your schedule. remember if anything else you should do it the same-ish time every day and in the same area. The consistency will help you establish a routine.

Happy meditating,
Olivia

Some Recipes

If you have ever read my personal bio (on the side somewhere,) you would know that I very much enjoy cooking.

Ever since I was little I have enjoyed being able to create something out of nothing, to me, even now its still just such an amazement to know something that I made will be consumed by others (and hopefully enjoyed.)

Without further adieu, here are some of my favorite recipes I have made:

Classic Cranberry Sauce (source: Food Network Magazine)   

 1 pound cranberries  (about 4 cups)
2 medium oranges
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
kosher salt

 1. Put all but 1 cup of the cranberries in a saucepan. Remove wide strips of zest from 1 orange with a peeler; ass to the saucepan with the juice of both oranges (about 1/2 cup). add the sugar, coriander, and a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup water. bring to simmer over medium heat; cook, siring occasionally, until the berries burst and the sauce thickens (15-20 minutes).

 2. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cranberries; cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. remove from heat and let cook to room temperature, remove orange zest, transfer to serving dish and refrigerate for at lest 3 hours.

Side-note: when I made this I refrigerated this over night, and I would highly recommend that, because it gives the sauce enough time in the cold to congeal, making it more gelatinous.

Basic Dinner-Roll Dough (source: Food Network Magazine)
1/2 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 ounce packet of active dry yeast
4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 large lightly beaten eggs

1. Warm the milk and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan or in the microwave until very warm (110 F.) transfer into the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the dough hook; mix in the sugar,yeast, and 1 cup of flour until combined but still lumpy. Let stand until the mixture is very bubble, about 30 minutes.

2.add the butter, salt and 2 cups of flower; mix on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 2-3 minutes. mix in the eggs until combined, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl as needed. add 1 1/4 cups flour, mix until the dough is smooth and starts to gather into a loose ball, about 4 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky; if too wet add the remaining 1/4 cup flour.

3. lightly oil a large bowl; scrape the dough into the bowl and turn to coast with the oil. cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Side-note: this is the base dough I used for the next recipe.

Sea Salt Dinner Rolls (source: Food Network Magazine)
Basic Dinner-Roll Dough
Cooking Spray
All-purpose flour, for dusting
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Make the Basic Dinner-Roll Dough. Let rise as directed. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and pat it into a rectangle. Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces with a bench scraper or a chefs knife

2. gently roll each piece of dough into a ball; arrange on the prepared baking sheets. loosely cover with plastic wrap and let stand until puffy, about 45 minutes.

3.position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 370 F. . Bush the rolls with some of the melted butter and cut an "X" into the center of each roll with kitchen shears or a small knife. sprinkle tops with sea salt. Bake switching and rotating the baking sheets half way though, until the rolls are golden brown, about 25 minutes. let cool 5 minutes, then brush with the remaining melted butter. transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Yeah so those are 2/3 of my best recipes I have come across, I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much as I do!

Happy cooking,
Olivia
xoxo