Oh man, its so great to be in California. I feel rejuvenated. I'm sleeping enough. I can actually get out of bed and not dread the day ahead of me. I'm in beloved state, and in the area I've dreamed of living for more than a year for. I'm happy. I've got a steady pay check. I can actually remember my dreams now again. This is all very important to me. I'm not as depressed as I was. In sales, I just had too much time to myself to reflect on my life. Too much time to dwell. I know the saying is, "Idle hands are the devils tools" and its totally true, in a scattered sorta way. I was a devil to myself. It's good to have a job where I feel I finally have purpose, and that I'm doing something for somebody else. That's only how I ever feel motivated for anything I guess.

With all this positive energy that I am pushing forward, I am committed to eating healthier, and experiencing food like I used to when I was younger. I used to always cook when I was younger. I used to bake chocolate chip cookies that were famous. Ask Paloma Printy Dunlap. She'll tell ya. I used to cook Asian food like nobody's business. Now it's time a for a new chapter.

Now its time for dips. Well, at least for this week. I made home-made salsa Monday, and its gone now. It was great. Even without cilantro (I accidentally got parsley in my rush to leave). Right now in the oven I have a new dip. I made artichoke-jalapeno dip. Which I'm sure will be really really good. Someone last night made an artichoke dip, and it was actually pretty lame, and I thought to myself, You know what? I can make this better. So I did. And my new thing now is I'm gonna list my new recipe's I've found and list them here. I dunno who will actually follow my recipe's but who cares. I'll give my opinions about them.

I dunno if I would consider this a new chapter in my life, that's a tad extreme, but it's time for me to rediscover my love for cooking. It's been too long. I'm really good at it. Time to get back into the game, and time to eat healthy. No more eating out :)

My jalapeno dip :)


* 1 (14-ounces) can artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained
* 2 cloves minced garlic
* 2 Jalapeño pepper, diced fine (may use pickled Jalapeños)
* 2 tablespoons jalapeno juice
* ½ cup sour cream
* 8 ounces cream cheese
* ½ cup mayonnaise
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325º. Cut up artichoke hearts. Mix all ingredients and artichokes together with mixer. Pour mixture into baking dish. Bake uncovered until lightly browned on top (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips



(update!!!!!)
Success! It wass soooo good, and suprisingly enough, could have used more jalapenos. I didn't want to burn my roommates mouths. So it was perfect for them!!!! YAY! Yep, I'll be savin this one fo sho.

(update!!!!! number 2!)
I was gone all day Sunday. I was in Sacramento. My roommates ate all of my dip, it was so good. Grrrrr...