Archive for the 'Nicole Peeler' Category

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Belly Dancing is BACK!

So, I’m back to belly dancing, and it’s awesome. I’m having  a great time in the classes, and I’m so happy to be dancing again. That said, the place I’m taking lessons here in Pittsburgh is very different from the place I studied in Louisiana.

The studio in Louisiana, Lotus Studios, is awesome, and it’s definitely got a distinct vibe. It’s all tribal dance, and yoga, and drum circles. You walk in and you want to paint yourself in mud and dedicate yourself to the Earth Mother.

When you walk into my new studio in Pittsburgh?  You’re greeted by stripper poles.

This studio specializes in pole dancing and “floor dancing,” something I conjectured was “sexy rolling,” but has been suggested to me is lap dancing. The walls are covered in boas and corsets, and there’s a massive display of perspex stripper heels when you walk in the door. It’s hilarious.

The teacher is great, and she has nothing to do with the stripper poles. We ignore them for our classes.

And yet they call to me.

I keep grabbing hold of the poles, and swinging around . . . I imagine myself, swinging again and again, before I suddenly bust out in a full on stripper routine. In my mind, it goes something like this…………

In reality, however, my dancing probably looks a little more like this . . .

But who cares, because I’m having more fun than should be allowed. I’m also doing a great job sticking to my 2011 goals. On Wednesdays, I’ve started doing Zumba with a colleague, and I love it! I’m also bringing my gym clothes to work and walking every Tuesday and Thursday, plus at my gym on Saturday. In a few weeks I hope to amp that walk up and redo the Couch to 5K. Finally, on Fridays I’m doing yoga at a studio here in Greensburg. Which means that Saturday and Sunday I complain bitterly and to all who will listen about how I fucking hate yoga, I’m now a walking sack of lactic acid, and I want to die.

I’ll know I’ve gotten fitter when I don’t think longingly of a bullet to the brain 45 minutes into yoga. For whatever reason, it kills me more than anything else.

But it’s good for me! And to cap off my current “good for me” thrust, I’ve also joined Lose It, which is a great web site (with iPhone app) that tracks calories, etc. You can find me under my name, Nicole Peeler, if you want to add me as a friend.

So February is off to an awesomely healthy start, especially if we ignore the lashings of foie gras that ushered in January.

When I do get back to fighting trim, who knows . . . I might just give one of those poles a real shot.

Probably breaking my neck. :-)

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Published on February 11, 2011 in Nicole Peeler. 21 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Eurovision 2011!

Why hello there! I’m trapped in JFK, having “missed” my flight to Pittsburgh due to a series of clusterfuck conditions at Heathrow and at JFK. I say “missed” as I was actually at my original flight’s gate before it even began boarding, but I’d already been helpfully checked onto the 9 pm flight. And by “helpfully,” I mean I’ve seen better service on Cops, when they run down men wearing their underpants.

Anyway, I’m trying to kill some time by blogging, but realistically that means shite will pour forth from my exhausted brain, onto my laptop, and directly to you! Awesome!

But I really need to pull up my big girl pants and not complain. Up until the horror which has been Delta’s customer service, I’ve had an absolutely amazing trip.

For those of you who haven’t seen my travels with Dr. Ruth, she’s the photographer. Meaning that the night we were in Paris, we have over 200 beautiful photos. For the rest of my trip, when I was on my own? I think I have one fuzzy iPhone photo of an off-center cooked breakfast. Pathetic!

So I hope you enjoy the Paris photos, but I can’t take any credit. They were all Dr. Ruth’s!

Here we are at the EuroStar, waiting for the train. Everyone looks very glamorous! You’ll be seeing this “cafe configuration,” as I like to call it, quite a bit in these photos.

And here we are! On the banks of the Seine. The train ride is ridiculously short, and does not go through Wales. Also, if you ask your Europeans friends (with their much firmer grasp on geography) whether you’ll be going through Wales, they will mock you. From left to right, we have Mrs. Whisky, representing Norway; me, representing either oompah loompahs or the USA, depending on whom I’m standing next to in a photo; Dr. Ruth, representing England and Wales (which you do not go through on the Eurostar), Judith, or Yoooo-deeeee, representing the Netherlands; and Linda, representing both Ireland, and Salim in that one reading my friends did for me. Such pretty ladies!

Here we have another cafe configuration, this one con blankets. I’m practicing my French, which I’m ashamed to say was absolute pants. Apparently, two years of high school french over a decade ago gets you bupkes in the field.

Here we have the ubiquitous “upward photo” shot:

And the  ubiquitous Louvre, “Look, that’s where Mary Magdalene is buried!” shot:

With another at night, just to keep it real:

Keeping in mind that between the five us girls there are about 97 degrees ranging from physics to sexual health, you might wonder what cultural things we got up to. Well, we made Linda act like an Egyptian:

But she wasn’t Egyptian enough for Ruth, who had to intervene:

There may have been some molesting of statuary:

Someone (Dr. Ruth) might have pointed at a fountain and said, “Who wants to pretend she’s peeing!” And someone (Dr. Peeler) might have said, “Me! Me!”:

Obviously, none of these things can be blamed on the drinking of many kir royales and pastises:

Or the two helpings of abused goose I managed to cram into my gob on the first day we were there. Here’s round two. And yes, Mrs. Whisky’s starter featured a shot of vodka. How very Scandinavian!

The steak frites was amazing, and enjoyed by all:

And, admittedly, quite a few croissants were abused in the photographing of this trip:

We did have a few moments of serious contemplation of Paris’s incredible beauty:

And there were a few monuments too large for us to mess with:

But the best part of this trip was being with my beautiful friends, who make me so very, very happy.

Ruth says it all with this lovely smile in front of the Eiffel Tower:

There was much catching up, and gossiping, and sharing. I dont’ know what we were talking about here, but it must have been intense:

I think this looks like a still from a soap opera. Cracks me up! Finally, the whole whirlwind trip can be summed up by these two photos. Now you see it; now you don’t:

Mmmm. Fondant.

Anyway, the trip was gorgeous. We got back to London late evening, and the next morning Ruth and I went for a full English breakfast. Then I went to grab a train up to visit another friend, leaving Ruth to her work week. I had a brilliant time in the frozen North: totally relaxed and louche. We did nothing, which is exactly what I needed. A few wee wanders, much watching of movies in our skivvies, and a few nice meals with lovely conversation. Brilliant!

Then I returned to London, where I had one last meal with Dr. Ruth. This morning, very early, I was up to get to Heathrow. Where Delta commenced screwing me silly. So right now I may smell like a goat, and I’m absolutely dreading the 11:30 pm drive back to Greensburg, but the trip was lovely. I’m so privileged to have such amazing people in my life, and to be able to visit such beautiful cultures. And to eat their food in copious quantities.

And despite sitting in the Sartrean hell which is JFK, I was also very, very thrilled to see some of my favorite book bloggers have made themselves into Peeler’s Cheerleaders. They’re adorable:

Jessica, aka the SPINECRACKER (rawr!) has a contest to win Tempest Rising attached to the post, as they’ve made it their mission to wrangle me more fans. Which I appreciate very, very much. You girls are lovely, and I’m so glad I get to meet some of you at AAD, and hopefully more of you at RT! I’d give you big sloppy goat kisses but I’m thinking I should just say, “thanks,” and maybe buy you a bevvie.

All right, I am about to melt into some sort of primordial goo, so I’d better sort myself a coffee and a walkabout. Maybe throw a temper tantrum. Or write a strongly worded letter to Delta, using copious amounts of metaphor and simile.

It’s been a long day. See you in a few, after mucho zzzzzzzzzs. Don’t forget you still have time to enter to win the contests on this page. Just scroll down a few entries!

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Published on January 21, 2011 in Contests, Food!, My Travels and Nicole Peeler. 11 Comments

London Calling…

Hello my pretties! This is just a brief update post before I leave tonight for London. I’m so excited to see my friends, it’s a little ridiculous.

First of all, here are a couple of great reviews of Jane. Abigail at All Things Urban Fantasy enjoyed Jane, as did Amanda at Floor to Ceiling Books.

Paul Goat Allen, the paranormal reviewer/blogger for Barnes and Noble, also wrote an absolutely gorgeous review of Tempest’s Legacy, in which he says, “Jane is such a great character – she is definitely paranormal fantasy’s “It Girl” – she’s spunky, naïve, idealistic, courageous, funny, and incredibly sexy in her own way.” I think that about sums up Jane, and it was so lovely to read. Thank you, Paul!

You can also join the Barnes and Noble discussion about Tempest’s Legacy, here.

Orbit’s also put up this adorable advertisement over at Smart Bitches:

It links over to a sample chapter of Legacy… one of my favorites in the book!

I think that’s it for Jane! If I’ve missed something, give me a shout. As for me, it’s been a very hectic and very rewarding week at our MFA residency. Here’s a pic of all the students at the first evening’s reception:

And here’s a pic of all our graduates on SHU’s lovely grand staircase:

It was my first “real” residency–I’d attended the last one, but more as an observer. And it was so much fun, this time. I loved the teaching, and the students are wonderful. I’m so happy for the graduates, and any sadness about their leaving is mitigated by the fact they always come back for a summer retreat that runs parallel to our summer residency. In other words, people, if you come to SHU for our MFA, know this: you apparently never, ever leave. Which I think says a lot for the program.

And if you’re curious about my other hat, the academic one, here’s an article I did for Beatrice.com on the recent Huckleberry Finn censoring debacle. I forget how much I love writing more academic things, until I’m doing it and it feels so good.

Finally, I am officially off the fence when it comes to my hair. I’ve always had long hair, and recently cut it short. It took me a while to feel like I wasn’t wearing a wig. As a friend commented, “You’re a ‘long hair’ person,” and it took me a while to become a “short hair person.” Anyway, I am now completely sold. Here’s the latest incarnation, and I’m very pleased:

So yay to short hair! It’s so much easier, and it always looks okay. The problem with my long hair was it looked nice about twice a month. Other than that, it was in a ponytail. So this haircut always looks like I’m definitively not homeless, whereas it was sometimes hard to tell with the long hair.

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Published on January 13, 2011 in My Travels, Nicole Peeler, Over at Orbit Books . . ., Tempest's Legacy and Tracking the Tempest. 9 Comments Tags: , , .

Happy Pre-New Years!

Well, hello there! I hope you’re having as great a vacation as I am! It’s been non-stop parties this week . . . parties here, parties there, parties EVERYWHERE. Also, loads of catching up with friends from all over.

The good news is, I’ve had a blast and I feel myself again. The bad news is, I’m a few days behind in my revisions. I’ve been working pretty steadily, but not quite steadily enough.

So I think I’m going to take one for the team and not do anything super crazy on New Years. While I’d love to take up all mah friend’s offers to get into Chicago and show it how to swing, I think I have to finish book 4.

The thing is, I’m going back to G’Burg the 2nd, and then I have Three Days of Frantic Preparation for our January residency for our MFA program, then I have the residency, and the day after the residency I fly to London.

So, yeah, it’s going to be nutso. And it will be so much LESS nutso if I have my revisions all done and shipped off BEFORE January 2nd, don’t you think?

What’s your opinion on what I should do? Book 4 or par-tay?

As for book 3, it’s all over the wild. As I said, once I get home I’ll do some Contests, Contests, Contests! And at least one vlog for you. With something cheekeh!

But for right now, here’s some Legacy stuff to wet your whistle:

A great review from Book Series Reviews.

An interview with an international giveaway!

Review from Nocturne Romance Reads

Melissa from My World interviews both Anyan  and Ryu with a contest!(these are all separate links.)

And a recent review of Book 1, Tempest Rising, in case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about. ;-)

If you’ve reviewed or interviewed me, and I haven’t pimped you out, remember you can always bother me on twitter, facebook, or email me at iheartselkies(at)gmail(dot)com.

This’ll probably be my last post till I get back to G’Burg and start the Release Madness for Tempest’s Legacy. Have a FABULOUS New Years, drink something bubbly for me, remember not to make any stupid resolutions but instead make GOALS that you can achieve, and remember to buy Tempest’s Legacy! ;-) I heart you guys, and I can’t wait to see what y’all get up to in the New Year!

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Published on December 30, 2010 in Coming Soon!, Contests, Eye of the Tempest, My Travels, Nicole Peeler, Pimpage!, Reviews and Tempest's Legacy. 16 Comments

OMG (or Oh, Monday, Gark)

So, I’m tired. But NYC was gorgeous and my friend and I had a lovely time together. We ate TONS; did some shopping in SoHo; and I got to see my editor, agent, and some very good friends.

But Monday is kicking my ass, not least because I had to be here at 8:00 AM for a meeting. That is cruelty to academics! But I was excited to see that Orbit has blogged a fun post on the cover shoot for Jaye Well’s upcoming book, Silver-Tongued Demon. Then I was even more excited to see that I’m up for “most accessible author,” over at this contest site. Very fun!

So go vote for me, and then feel free to harass me on the internet just to prove how accessible I truly am. ;-)

Then you can join me in listening to the two songs getting me through this morning. The second one is very naughty. But first is Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies)”:

After which we have the naughty–The Bravery’s “Hatefuck”:

The Bravery – “Hatefuck” from the hassle on Vimeo.

Happy Monday! I’ll blog you some Peeler Thanksgiving Goodness later in the week.

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Published on November 22, 2010 in Music, My Travels and Nicole Peeler. 4 Comments

Updates: Legacy’s a Top Pick!

Hi folks! I’m very excited to announce that Tempest’s Legacy received its first big review. Romantic Times not only gave it four and half stars, but also made Jane one of their Top Picks for December! YAY JANE!

Here’s a bit of the review:

Half-selkie Jane True returns in the third chapter of her evolving magical saga as the stakes keep getting higher. Great pacing and layered character development meld to provide a story that is exciting and heart-stopping. Peeler is on the rise!

I’m so excited! Like all authors, I always have pre-release jitters, and nothing soothes those like a great review from a source like Romantic Times!

In other news, Jane’s just about out on AUDIOTAPE! I’m so excited, I could spit. You can pre-order Tempest Rising, read by Kate Reinders, here! It’s fun listening to her swear so much.

Finally, I’m off to NYC this weekend with my friend Eric. We’ll be attending the launch of Saul Bellow’s collected letters with Janis, his widow; their daughter; and her family. I had the honor of having both Janis and Saul as my professors, and Janis is one of my all-time-great-professor-mentors. I also was lucky enough to live with them for a year, before I started grad school. Janis influenced me greatly, as did her husband, and I’m very excited to see her and their daughter. I’ve been so crazy that it’s been nearly two years since I’ve seen them, and I miss them very much.

I’m also getting together with my lovely editor and agent, and we will undoubtedly plot at least one world-takeover, and much shenanigannery. I just made that word up. I can do that, as I’m a top pick. ;-)

See y’all later, hopefully with some great pics from New York City!

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Published on November 18, 2010 in My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Tempest's Legacy. 18 Comments Tags: .

Yay San Francisco!

Today’s my last day in San Francisco. In a few hours the shuttle will come retrieve me, and then it’s back to Greensburg.

I’ve had such a great time here! First off, it’s always such a delight to see my friend Jana. We’ve been friends ever since we were wee girls, so it’s so satisfying to see her life here develop. She just bought a beautiful place with her brother, and they’ve got themselves a lovely life on the Bay.

The day I arrived, I puttered around the Marina area till Jana got home, and then we were off to the San Francisco Whiskyfest. We tasted tons of great stuff, although I don’t think Jana is a convert. After Whiskyfest, Jana took me to the most amazing Italian restaurant, the name of which I’m entirely incapable of remembering as it’s just a number. But it was delicious: really fresh ingredients served beautifully and simply.

The next day, we went to Jana’s friends to watch the Blue Angels. Good news? It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast. Bad news? I got ridiculously sunburned on my neck. Like stupidly sunburned. So when I did LitCrawl that night, I seriously nearly fainted. I think to the audience I just appeared a bit breathless, but inside I was like, “Dude, I’m totally going to faint. How rockstar is that?”

But I didn’t faint, and LitCrawl was very fun. The people at Borderlands were really kind and very good hosts, and it was great meeting the other authors. I also got to spend time with Gail Carriger, and she was nice enough to invite Jana and me out with her friends for dinner. We had Senegalese food, and it was delicious.

The day after that, we went to meet Alice Gray, a writer friend of mine, for brunch. Again, it was super fun and the food was delish. That night, Jana and I rallied for another big meal, this time at the House of Prime Rib with Sophie Littlefield, Juliet Blackwell, and Rachael Herron. All I can say is that we needed a cordoned off area around us, or some sort of zoning, as the smutty talk was flying thick and fast. Jana and I laughed so hard our ribs hurt the next day, and I know the ladies adored Jana as much as I do. The food was also amazing, and I highly recommend that place. Not least because the zeppelins of meat are REAL, people:

Yesterday was another fun day. Alice’s hubs works in the wine industry, and invited us out to a vineyard in Napa. Who can resist an invite like that? After a long day in the sun, wine tasting, we spent our evening watching movies and relaxing.

So it’s been a great vacation. I feel recharged and ready to tackle the second half of our semester, and to finish writing Eye of the Tempest. It’s nearly there!

In other fun news, the audiobook for Tempest Rising has it’s sample up! I think it sounds great, and I’m very pleased with the actress choice. There are a few f-bombs littering this piece, so careful listening:

Tempest Rising Sample

So yay! Thanks to everyone in SF for showing me a good time, especially Jana. She’s the best friend a gal could have.

I’ll see you back here in a few days. But until then, do something fun to celebrate October.

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Published on October 12, 2010 in Appearances, Eye of the Tempest, My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Tempest Rising. 5 Comments Tags: .

San Fran, Here I Come! With a Treat for While I’m Gone.

Howdy folks! Tomorrow morning I fly out to San Francisco, bright and early (I have to be up at the taint of dawn). I’m so excited to see Jana and all of my other friends in SF. I’ll either blog while I’m there or when I get back…depends on how busy I am.

For those of you in SF, I’d love for you to come see me Saturday, during Lit Crawl. You can find out more info at the official site, here, and on my Upcoming Appearances page, here.

I’ll miss everyone else, but I thought I’d leave you with something to remember me by while I’m gone. Someone had brought up Neko Case in comments to one of my “Things I Like,” and it reminded me to showcase her. I’m always going to add her to Things I Like, and then I always forget. But not this time!

Here’s my all time favorite Neko Case song, “People Got a Lotta Nerve.” It cracks me up, every time I hear it:

And another of my faves, “This Tornado Loves You”:

If you’ve never heard her and you’re interested, I think iTunes offers a good “best of” iMix. She does have a lot of albums, so it can be intimidating to dive in.

Y’all be good while I’m gone, and I’ll see you here in the Emporium when I get back. Hopefully with a lot more Jane written and some good stories I may or may not share in their entirety. ;-)

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Published on October 7, 2010 in Appearances, My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Things I Like. 9 Comments Tags: , , .

Cooking With Nicole: Turkey Tacos, or “Put a Bunch of Shit in a Pot”

For those who have followed me here or on Twitter, you know I love tacos of all kinds. I’ve tweeted a lot of pictures of tacos in my day: chorizo tacos, tongue tacos, goat tacos, tacos in fancy restaurants, tacos from trucks, tacos for Taco Tuesday, the list is endless. But when I make tacos for myself and my friends, I usually make my Turkey Tacos.

Why? Because I like to put a lot of really unhealthy shit in my tacos. I want to slather on the sour cream, pile on the cheese, and add a healthy dollop of guac. And I want to eat two, till I’m bursting at the seams with taco goodness. And yet, I don’t want to feel too guilty, or feel like I can only make tacos once or twice a month, because they’re just piles of fatty goodness.

So I’ve learned to make a healthier filling, which mitigates my guilt about eating tacos as often as I can. It’s also a great way to use up leftover veg (something I’m terrible about).

Basically, my tacos are filled with ground turkey (obviously), and then Any Veg I Find In My Fridge. Hence the “bunch of shit in a pot,” part. For this outing, I had a of couple droopy carrots, a zucchini, a ginormo red pepper, an onion (you always want an onion), garlic, and what I thought were shelled edamame, but were actually pods of edamame, so they didn’t end up in the tacos.

Your first step is to cut up your veg, adding it to a pot over medium flame, into which you’ve added a generous few tablespoons of olive oil.

You can see that I’ve done quite a chunky dice on my veg. I’m an adult; I’m doing the cooking; I don’t need to be fooled. If you are cooking for kids who don’t necessarily want to know they’re eating veg, don’t forget you can always grate a carrot or grate a zucchini into a sauce, and they’re usually none the wiser. Chop the red pepper up fine, and it pretty much melts into the salsa-like texture of the final product, so they think it’s tomato. As they get older, you can stop grating and start slicing, so this is a great way to “thin edge of the wedge” some vegetables into their lives.

While I’m softening my veg (not browning, just softening), I usually cook the turkey meat (and this time I am going for a little browning) in a separate skillet to save time, while not overcrowding my pan. Rule number 4 of cooking meat is never overcrowd you pan! As liquid’s released in the cooking process, if you’ve got too full a pan you end up releasing too much liquid and steaming, rather than browning, your meat.

When both the turkey and the veg are done, combine and add a shit ton of taco spice. I buy the little jars of spice, rather than the individual packets. But if you buy the packets, to figure out how much you need, think in terms of pounds of meat and pounds of veg. And then add some extra, to make it even tastier.

After adding the spice, remember to add a cup or two of water that you’ll simmer off. This is especially important with the vegetables: if you don’t do this you have what’s more like fajitas than tacos. Which is delicious, but when you want taco meat, you want taco meat, and no fajita will do the trick.

While your filling is simmering away, you can pull out yer good stuff. Mmmm. Creamy.

And here’s the final filling. It’s actually about half vegetables, but you’d never know by the taste or the texture. Granted, some of that’s probably from all the MSG in the taco spice, but let’s not get persnickety! ;-)

Other good news: It freezes like a dream. So this is a good trick for making guilt-free tacos that are really, really tasty. And remember the grating vegetables trick: it works especially well in spaghetti sauce. So you can be feeding your kids the marinara they like, but spiking it with grated carrot and/or zucchini.

For those of you who are entirely vegetarian, or want a vegetarian option, do everything I did up until the turkey part. Instead of browning meat and adding it to the mix, open up and rinse three or four cans of beans. I like a combo of chickpea and kidney, OR cannellini and black beans. But obviously you can go nuts. Just add the beans, add the spice, and add the water (probably a bit more than with the meat) and boil the fuck out of it, till it’s the right consistency. I used to make this a lot in Edinburgh, as my former partner loved it and we didn’t have to worry about it being halal. You can eat it like a stew or as a taco filling.

This isn’t a fancy recipe, and it’s not even a recipe, really. But it’s a good way to think about cooking–use what’s in your fridge, try to sneak in vegetables wherever you can, and try either different meats than beef, or no meat, whenever possible. I’ve got nothing against the moo-cow, however Bessie isn’t very good for us on a daily basis.

Coming up next on Cooking With Nicole, I’ll teach you how to make a tomato rose garnish. How is THAT for seventies chic?

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Published on September 20, 2010 in Cooking with Nicole!, Food! and Nicole Peeler. 13 Comments Tags: .

Cooking With Nicole! Cooking Tip: Bell Peppers

This semester, I’m teaching a class that involves, amongst other things, creating author platforms. In other words, how to market your self as a “brand.” Which is hilarious, on a number of levels, but especially because everything I’ve learned has been the hard way. I had no idea what to expect when I sold Tempest Rising. I’d not planned on being an author, and hadn’t spent years talking to people at cons, or befriending other writers, or reading books on the Craft or the Business. What I did was randomly write a book from my little corner of the Ivory Tower, and when it sold, I was dropped right into the soup.

So I am learning as much from this class and from my students as, hopefully, my students are learning from my (mis)adventures as a newbie author. And one of the things we’re talking about in the class is sustainability, or how you can actually do what you say you’re going to do. My bug bear is, and always has been, blogging. Unless I’m traveling, going to a con, or randomly hit by inspiration, I have no idea what to blog about. In other words, it’s hard for me to sustain my blogging. One of the things we’ve talked about in the class is having thematic subjects regularly to blog about, or blogging about your interests, or challenging yourself to a new hobby that you can then blog about, in terms of your engagement, success, etcetera.

And that was my a-ha! moment. I decided to do a combination of the above, with cooking. I’m a good cook (my parents were caterers on the side when I was growing up), and I love cooking, but I never do it anymore. I’m always “too busy,” “in a rush,” whatever. So one of the things I wanted to do this year was get back into cooking. And then I realized that was a great opportunity for blogging: It’s a passion of mine, it’s something I want to do for me and I like to share, so why not blog about what I love?

So I’m going to start a new blog series, here, called Cooking With Nicole. It’s not going to be a regularly scheduled thing, but I’ll do it as I have time and inspiration.

What do you think?

To give you a taste, I thought I’d start the series with a cooking tip on how to make perfect bell pepper strips, for either fancy dipping or chopping, like you might want for a mango salsa recipe or any other recipes where the pepper will clearly be seen.

Start by cutting the top and bottom off the bell pepper. You can either eat these, throw them away, or chop them up on their own depending on what you’re serving and why.

Next, make an incision vertically down the red pepper. Then, run your knife along the inside of the pepper, like so:

This cleanly removes the guts of the pepper and any of the bitter, white connective tissues holding them in place. After which, you should be left with a clean pepper smile:

…that you can easily slice into perfect, aesthetically pleasing, admittedly a little OCD strips of bell pepper:

These are also very easy to chop, and they make a nice, clean, even and proportional diced pepper for raw salsas, dips, and other recipes where your bell pepper won’t get stewed and mushy. That said, this is also a really easy method for chopping that actually saves you a lot of time, once you get used to it.

And I always eat the ends . . . so it doubles as snack time. :-)

Next time on Cooking With Nicole, I’ll be sharing my favorite Cuban black beans recipe . . . Sofrito here we come!

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Published on September 6, 2010 in Cooking with Nicole! and Nicole Peeler. 27 Comments Tags: , .