I LOVE THIS BUSINESS

Okay, I know I'm a newly licensed agent and I've only just begun... but I have to say that so far, I love this business. A few close friends have allowed me to "practice" my presentation skills on them and present policies I truly felt might be of help to them and their personal situations. Sadly, not every policy was allowed to issue due to circumstances beyond our control; but all in all in this short week it has been so very gratifying to offer friends an affordable "safety net" for the most trying of times. I think I'm going to like this very much.

Thanks for all of your support, prayers and positive thoughts!

My very best,

Aunt Melissa

Save the Bees. Please.

Good morning.

I will be on business appointments most of the day (read: no yummy new recipes in the kitchen this morning), but wanted to give a quick update on the latest news about the bees. Those of you who are Toastmaster's friends might remember the speech "No Buzz?!?" . Today I found updated news about the bees.

Happy Honey and Toast,

Aunt Melissa

Interview, Interview, One more Interview

1) With Recruiter
2) With Executive VP Finance of mega-insurance co.

Send positive thoughts and prayers. From an original pool of 6 candidates the choice is between me and one internal candidate. Thanks for sending positive blips my way!

Aunt Melissa

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day one and all.

Perhaps you enjoyed breakfast in bed, a few extra minutes without an alarm and maybe even someone gave you a flower or has promised to take you out to lunch after church. Or maybe you are lounging in your comfy jammies without an alarm for the first time since last year.



However you spend your special day, I hope you enjoy it. Your day is well-earned.

Poised between new career beginnings and the first payout, it has been an interesting exercise in frugal living. Surprisingly, I've learned that 2 people can eat very well without spending very much cash, especially if someone enjoys cooking as much as I. When there were 2 incomes in the house I often overbought and the refrigerator was so full of food that often things were forgotten in the far recesses and unpleasant surprises were found during the quarterly refrigerator clean-out.

A couple of weeks ago I did the Spring Refrigerator purge and vowed to keep it clean and organized. Instead of ambling into the kitchen and cooking something because I just felt like it, I would first look in the refrigerator, quickly spy ingredients that might be aging a bit, and come up with something creative. It has been really fun and surprisingly, I haven't thrown out any vegetables in the last two weeks.

Saturdays are my favorite day for ambling into the kitchen and cooking a breakfast that might take a little longer than a weekday warrants. Yesterday, I remembered a 10 pound bag of potatoes (99cents at Valley Produce) which had never been opened, so I began washing potatoes to bake in advance. I like keeping a bowl full in the refrigerator and at the ready to make Aunt Melissa's breakfast potatoes. Or sometimes the husband is hungry when I don't want to cook, so a stuffed baked potato is at the ready. Hmm.... but I make those all the time. Kartoshka (Latkes) came to mind.

Aunt Melissa's version of Natalie's Kartoshka

2 Medium-size Russet Potatoes
1 egg
milk
flour
oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Honestly, I grate potatoes until I'm just sick of grating potatoes. (Yesterday that meant 2.) Add the oil to the skillet and heat. Add the egg and stir to combine and coat potatoes. Add a splash of milk (maybe 1/4 cup?) and throw a little flour on top (again about 1/4 cup), stirring to combine. The potatoes should hold together and there shouldn't be a lot of liquid standing in the bowl. You just want to coat the potatoes so that they stick together well.



Drop large spoonfuls into the heated oil and fry until crispy brown on both sides. Here's the thing about Kartoshka... the same problem arises from making Vareniki... no matter how many you cook, there are never enough. Believe me! Perhaps they are not all consumed at the original meal, but at my house if left unattended I often find later in the day that every last one has disappeared. Quite the mystery! =)

Aunt Melissa's Amazing Fruit Turnovers

1 Package frozen puff pastry squares
1 Cup frozen Trader Joe's frozen Very Cherry Berry Blend
1 Large Heaping Tablespoon full of Trader Joe's Organic Cranberry Sauce
1 Heaping Teaspoon of Trader Joe's Ginger Spread (the secret ingredient)
3 Large Heaping Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons Canola Harvest butter spread (butter or margarine)

Place the puff pastry in a safe place on top of the over to thaw from the warmth, turning occasionally so that the top and bottom pieces will both be warm enough to work with quickly. The pastry is easiest to work with when the center pieces are still frozen and work from the top and bottom of stack, turning as you go so that the outside piece is slightly warmed and malleable.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the frozen fruit and stir a few times to begin thaw. Add cranberry sauce, ginger spread and combine well. Add sugar, cornstarch and margarine and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

Dust flour onto your work surface and begin filling turnovers. Take first thawed pastry and with a flowered rolling pin, roll to flatten slightly. Place 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon of fruit mixture in the center, fold over and crimp the edges. I enjoy using a variety of crimping wheels, but the tines of a fork work just fine. Transfer filled turnovers to ungreased baking sheets as filled and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve Warm and drizzle with remaining fruit sauce. These were great paired with the Kartoshka and applesauce. (Kartoshka are great served with sour cream or ketchup).











For Dinner:


Aunt Melissa's Easy Black Beans

1/2 pound dried black beans
2 cubes Beef Bouillon
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
salt to taste

Cover beans below 2-3 inches of water in a large saucepan and allow to soak overnight.

Change water with fresh, covering 2 -3 inches above beans. Place over medium-high heat. Add crushed garlic and bouillon. Once pot comes to a rolling boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Very important to set timer and check periodically (oops, I didn't and they boiled dry and almost burned. Luckily I caught them just in time, added more water and they were perfect!) The garlic/bouillon combination was just perfect. After eating these over rice, I've vowed to never use canned black beans again unless it is an absolute emergency! The flavor was SO much better than those purchased in a can. Also, 1.87 pounds of dried black beans at the local Mexican market were only $1.66. Cooking less than half the bag is enough to feed 2 people 3 to four meals shown in the photo below.


Black Beans, Fried Eggplant and Seedless Watermelon.


Yummy, healthy, nutritious and probably less than $1 per meal??





Oops! I'm late for church!!! Love you all and Happy Mother's Day!

Back into the Swing of Things

Okay, maybe it's only training, but the days are full again and the activity is welcome. Did I finish every project at home? Nope. Do I sincerely look forward to knitting again? Yes.

Just stopping in to say hello. Must get on stairmaster, drink that healthy strawberry and peach smoothie and be in class by 8:30AM. Today we're studying products and as soon as my writing number is assigned, I'll be setting appointments and holding enrollments.

Drop me a line sometime. Comments are always open.

Be great today!

Aunt Melissa

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

Good Morning!

I was literally walking out the door to go to an interview that has been scheduled for 2 weeks, and stopped to shut down my computer and take one last look at sigalert.com for a traffic check. I had earlier sent an email to confirm an address which I felt was incorrect (it was) and received an email that the interview is postponed. The interviewer will not be in the office today. Whew! I'm SO HAPPY I checked before hopping in the car to burn $3.99/gal gasoline in rush hour traffic for an hour and a half! =) In this process I learned there are 3 scheduled to interview (good to know). The interview is rescheduled for Thursday at 9AM. Keep those prayers coming for Thursday.

Tomorrow, by the way, is my first day of orientation and training with insurance company that will remain nameless and I'm quite excited about the process of becoming a life health and accident agent. Saturday my license arrived in the mail and it's so pretty. =) The golden seal of the State of California looks quite nice on parchment. Or perhaps it's because the wait for approval seemed so excruciating, but I have to tell you I like the looks of this little piece of paper signed by the Commissioner of Insurance. Thank you Mr. Poizner!

Speaking of high gasoline prices, a couple of weeks ago we tagged along with a friend exploring the "Water4Gas" phenomena. (Google it, I'm not offering endorsements here.) Someone local has devised a way to capture unused energy to convert water to hydrogen, mix with fuel and supposedly get better gas mileage. There is quite a large turnout every Saturday checking out modifications and speaking to owners about their luck. I don't know anything about it, but it was interesting to check it out and note the local interest. It seems there are quite a few people interested in coming up with alternatives since govt. and industry seems to be lagging behind demand. I know I've plugged it before, but I still think everyone should rent "Who Killed the Electric Car". Now Wikipedia has a write up about it here.


Hollow Oak Nest Eggs from The Nancy Drew Cookbook









Sometimes I go a little overboard with lunch. Hey, who says Tuna salad has to be boring???





....and who is that cute couple, anyway?











Well, I'm off to print and sign and fax away.... setting up a new business takes a little organization.



Have a happy Monday everyone!

Aunt Melissa