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by Kris Mulkey Last Saturday I thought I would write a post about new year's resolutions. I wrote and re-wrote the post three times. I was having trouble getting focused. Should it be about me, about work, about our family, a combination of those things? It wasn't coming together so I decided to give it a rest and come back to it later in the day. Or the next day. I put on my workout clothes to go for a walk. It wasn't raining. The air was cold, but not uncomfortably so. The crisp air would feel great on a brisk walk down the hill, and back up again. I took Sam, our chocolate lab, with me so he'd get a little exercise. I usually take Bentley our King Charles Cavalier because he's easier to manage. But he completely annoyed me the day before by pooping four times on our walk! I have no idea where all this poop comes from. But it really sucks carrying stinky poop bags so I decided to take Sam. I had my headphones on with a little Katy Perry pumping in my ears ...

This recipe is exactly what creme brulee is supposed to taste like. The custard is creamy with great vanilla flavor and the top is crisp, crunchy and sweet. You know it's perfect when you tap the sugar top with your spoon and it sounds like you're tapping on glass. Anything else is no good. All you need is a little torch to crystallize the sugar so it turns into sugar glass. A double boiler will work in a pinch. I used Alton Brown's recipe with one alteration. I didn't use a vanilla bean. I have some great vanilla paste that has the brown vanilla flecks in it so I used this instead. It works perfect. You can pick up a jar at Williams-Sonoma . It's way cheaper than buying vanilla beans and tastes great. I use it in the place of vanilla in practically every recipe that calls for vanilla. Alton Brown's Creme Brulee Click here for the recipe.

I eat two eggs for breakfast every day so I'm always looking for a new way to make them. This egg scramble is quick, tasty and healthy! A handful of spinach and a dab of cream cheese make for one tasty plate of eggs. Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Spinach 2 eggs 1T water Handful of baby spinach 1t butter 1T cream cheese (Philadelphia Cream Cheese has the best taste) Sea Salt Fresh Ground Pepper Scramble the eggs with the water in a small dish. The eggs will get a little frothy. Add the butter to a small saute pan. Heat over medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Let the eggs start to cook for about a minute. Gently fold the eggs. Add the spinach. Stir until the eggs are almost done. (Don't over stir. You want large bits of egg.) Take the pan off the burner. Add the cream cheese. Gently stir in. The heat from the pan will finish cooking the eggs and the spinach. Serves 1 Ready in less than 5 minutes. The pan: I lik...

A funny thing happened at lunch yesterday. There was hardly anyone in the office so I decided to take a leisurely lunch to kill a little time instead of eating at my desk like I usually do. I walked over to Fog City Diner which is just a few blocks away. It has a nice bar area for us singles to eat at, and lots of people watching out the window. They had a special lunch menu called the "Neighborhood Lunch" where you could choose a cup of potato soup or small Caesar salad and then either a albacore cheddar melt, sesame chicken salad or Southern fried chicken sandwich. It seemed like a lot of food for lunch. But then I knew we'd be eating dinner late on New Year's Eve. And that potato soup sounded so good. So I ordered it. What the heck. I was going with the soup and the chicken sandwich. I'm by myself. Who would know except me and my ever growing waistline? And then I thought, "Oh, I'll just eat half the sandwich. It will make good leftovers."...