Yumm!
Nouns:
1.5 cups Arborio or other short-grain rice
3-4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 small butternut squash, seeded, peeled and roasted
4 slices turkey bacon, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
3-4 oz fresh grated parmesan
olive oil
Verbs:
Heat the broth, wine and herbs in a saucepan over medium heat. In a separate pan, lightly saute the rice in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until rice is coated and smells lightly toasty. Add a cup of the hot liquid to the rice and stir. Once the liquid is absorbed, add more, a ladle-full at a time, waiting until the liquid is mostly absorbed before adding more, until the rice is cooked through. Stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. In the meantime, saute the onion, garlic and bacon and add to the cooked rice mixture. Remove from the heat and combine with the squash, which should mashed into small pieces with a fork. Then add the cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste.
Running in the cold
Today was sunny, so instead of going to the gym I got ready to go outside for my run, thinking "yay! What a lovely fall day! I am so glad that I can run outside! Tra la la la!"
I layered up, grabbed some gloves, and took about three steps into the outside world before my self-congratulatory internal monologue turned into "OH MY GOD. I shall freeze to death and be a sad blue corpse only steps from my front door because it is so cold I cannot possibly make it back inside. Why is the wind biting me? Wind, why so cruel?"
Somehow, I persevered, convincing myself that once I got going, I'd warm up and all would be well. At the end of the first mile I could no longer feel every gust of wind through all the layers on my torso or the mesh of my shoes. My hands, gloved, were warm-ish. Yay. But the rest of me persisted in sending signals to my brain to continually update the cold situation. Yep, still cold. Whoo! Cold gust there! And, this particular shady patch of ground, extra cold! COLD.
I am really not cut out for winter running. I am waaaay too much of wuss.
In other news, here's the meal plan for this week:
Corn and Bean Soup in the crockpot
Butternut Squash Risotto with Radicchio
Chicken and Barley Country Soup
Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes
Irish Mac and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
I am having guests over on Wednesday (I think) and one is a vegetarian, so I'll make the Irish Mac and Cheese for that. (It is Irish because you add beer, and also perhaps bacon if you like that sort of thing)
I layered up, grabbed some gloves, and took about three steps into the outside world before my self-congratulatory internal monologue turned into "OH MY GOD. I shall freeze to death and be a sad blue corpse only steps from my front door because it is so cold I cannot possibly make it back inside. Why is the wind biting me? Wind, why so cruel?"
Somehow, I persevered, convincing myself that once I got going, I'd warm up and all would be well. At the end of the first mile I could no longer feel every gust of wind through all the layers on my torso or the mesh of my shoes. My hands, gloved, were warm-ish. Yay. But the rest of me persisted in sending signals to my brain to continually update the cold situation. Yep, still cold. Whoo! Cold gust there! And, this particular shady patch of ground, extra cold! COLD.
I am really not cut out for winter running. I am waaaay too much of wuss.
In other news, here's the meal plan for this week:
Corn and Bean Soup in the crockpot
Butternut Squash Risotto with Radicchio
Chicken and Barley Country Soup
Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes
Irish Mac and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
I am having guests over on Wednesday (I think) and one is a vegetarian, so I'll make the Irish Mac and Cheese for that. (It is Irish because you add beer, and also perhaps bacon if you like that sort of thing)
Running
It's been a slow couple of weeks for me and running. I have been unmotivated and the weather has been terrible, which means that weekend running has just not been happening. Boo.
I have decided to cut myself a little slack and just go with the flow for the rest of December. A friend at work has asked me to run a half marathon with her the first week of April, so I am going to start training for the race in January. I"m really looking forward to the training, but I'm also really enjoying taking it easy right now. I run a few nights a week at the gym on the treadmill, watching Rachel Maddow and listening to Lady Gaga, and that's fine for now.
However, a good friend of mine has been doing lunchtime runs, and they are sorely tempting me. I am not sure if I"m up for feeling sweaty and gross the second half of my workdays, but still, I get so antsy in the office that many days I just feel like I"m ready to burst out of there by midday, like I need to get all cold and snotty and tingly and tired on a good long run. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
I have decided to cut myself a little slack and just go with the flow for the rest of December. A friend at work has asked me to run a half marathon with her the first week of April, so I am going to start training for the race in January. I"m really looking forward to the training, but I'm also really enjoying taking it easy right now. I run a few nights a week at the gym on the treadmill, watching Rachel Maddow and listening to Lady Gaga, and that's fine for now.
However, a good friend of mine has been doing lunchtime runs, and they are sorely tempting me. I am not sure if I"m up for feeling sweaty and gross the second half of my workdays, but still, I get so antsy in the office that many days I just feel like I"m ready to burst out of there by midday, like I need to get all cold and snotty and tingly and tired on a good long run. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
Meal Plan
This week, we are having--
Vegetable Wild Rice Soup
Stroganoff and Salad
Fish and Asparagus
Sausage and Glazed Red Cabbage
Chickpea Curry
Vegetable Wild Rice Soup
Stroganoff and Salad
Fish and Asparagus
Sausage and Glazed Red Cabbage
Chickpea Curry
Glazed Red Cabbage
Okay, folks, I know that cooked cabbage is probably not on your list of top ten most awesome foods ever. However, I promise that this recipe is actually really really good and you will look at red cabbage in a whole new way. "Yum," you'll think, "cabbage! I love cabbage!"
Glazed Red Cabbage
Nouns-
1 head red cabbage (duh), cored and sliced into thin ribbons
1 half yellow onion, sliced
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp orange marmalade
1 pinch cardamom
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch clove
1 dab of olive oil
Verbs-
Drip a few drops of olive oil into a large frying or saute pan. Turn heat to medium. Add the onions and stir until onions start to become translucent. Add the cabbage. Cook until wilted. Add the spices, raisins, balsamic and orange marmalade, turning heat to medium high and tossing to coat. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve. Amaze your friends! Yum, cabbage!
Glazed Red Cabbage
Nouns-
1 head red cabbage (duh), cored and sliced into thin ribbons
1 half yellow onion, sliced
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp orange marmalade
1 pinch cardamom
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch clove
1 dab of olive oil
Verbs-
Drip a few drops of olive oil into a large frying or saute pan. Turn heat to medium. Add the onions and stir until onions start to become translucent. Add the cabbage. Cook until wilted. Add the spices, raisins, balsamic and orange marmalade, turning heat to medium high and tossing to coat. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve. Amaze your friends! Yum, cabbage!
Meal Plan
This week, we are having some fall-inspired dishes, including some yummy pear things. Every year my grandma sends us a huge box of Harry and David pears, and though we haven't gotten ours yet, just thinking about it has me in the mood for pears. Yummm.
Here's the plan:
1. Turkey Chili
2. Salad with pears, candied walnuts and bleu cheese, paired with this fantastic salmon with balsamic pear sauce recipe, and probably some rice.
3. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
4. Chicken Sausage with glazed red cabbage and roasted herbed potatoes
5. Quinoa Burritos
Here's the plan:
1. Turkey Chili
2. Salad with pears, candied walnuts and bleu cheese, paired with this fantastic salmon with balsamic pear sauce recipe, and probably some rice.
3. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
4. Chicken Sausage with glazed red cabbage and roasted herbed potatoes
5. Quinoa Burritos
Meal Plan
Here's what's for dinner this week:
Cauliflower Bacon Soup
Salad with Glazed Chicken and Feta
Tilapia with Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash Bacon Casserole
Vegetarian Crockpot Chili
Cauliflower Bacon Soup
Salad with Glazed Chicken and Feta
Tilapia with Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash Bacon Casserole
Vegetarian Crockpot Chili
Meal Plan and Vegetable Curry Recipe
This week, we are having--
Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Tilapia
Chicken Parmesan
Cauliflower Soup
Spinach Salad with Chickpeas, feta and oranges
Many things are leftover from last week's plan, because we ended up eating the bean and corn soup for a couple of days. It were yummy.
The curry recipe turned out delicious, and is my new favorite cold-weather comfort dish. Here it is:
Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Nouns:
2-3 cups cooked chickpeas (I cook mine in the crockpot from dry, you can use canned if you want)
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 green peppers, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 potato, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into one-inch lengths
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red chili pepper, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can lite coconut milk
1 cup fresh spinach
Verbs-
Put everything in the crockpot except the coconut milk and spinach. Cook on low for 6 hours, until veggies are tender. Turn to high and add coconut milk. Stir to combine and simmer 20 minutes. Add spinach and stir until spinach is wilted. Serve over rice or quinoa. Yumm!
Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Tilapia
Chicken Parmesan
Cauliflower Soup
Spinach Salad with Chickpeas, feta and oranges
Many things are leftover from last week's plan, because we ended up eating the bean and corn soup for a couple of days. It were yummy.
The curry recipe turned out delicious, and is my new favorite cold-weather comfort dish. Here it is:
Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Nouns:
2-3 cups cooked chickpeas (I cook mine in the crockpot from dry, you can use canned if you want)
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 green peppers, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 potato, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into one-inch lengths
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red chili pepper, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can lite coconut milk
1 cup fresh spinach
Verbs-
Put everything in the crockpot except the coconut milk and spinach. Cook on low for 6 hours, until veggies are tender. Turn to high and add coconut milk. Stir to combine and simmer 20 minutes. Add spinach and stir until spinach is wilted. Serve over rice or quinoa. Yumm!
Meal Plan
Sorry it's late!
This week, we are having/have had
Shrimp Linguine
Spinach Salad with Oranges, Feta and Chickpeas
Bean and Corn Soup
Vegetable Curry
Tilapia with Sweet Potatoes and Peppers
The linguine was kind of blah, so I won't bother you all with the recipe, but I'm getting the corn soup stuff ready tonight to go in the crockpot in the morning, so if that turns out I'll have a new recipe up soon.
This week, we are having/have had
Shrimp Linguine
Spinach Salad with Oranges, Feta and Chickpeas
Bean and Corn Soup
Vegetable Curry
Tilapia with Sweet Potatoes and Peppers
The linguine was kind of blah, so I won't bother you all with the recipe, but I'm getting the corn soup stuff ready tonight to go in the crockpot in the morning, so if that turns out I'll have a new recipe up soon.
Ow.
This morning, I got up at 6am and ran thirteen miles in the rain. At the end, I looked like this:
Sara and Sarah came to cheer me on, thus the sign; they are awesome. I'm standing with Erica, who suggested I run the half marathon in the first place.
The race started off really well; it was only sprinkling a little bit and I felt good with the pace we set. After a few miles, though, the skies opened up and poured down rain on us like an Ark was going to go floating by any second. It rained like that for about a half hour, long enough to thoroughly saturate every piece of clothing I had on, from my socks to my hat. When the rain let up, the wind picked up, and so we ran cold and wet, ran and ran and ran.
Running cold and wet wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was uncomfortable, but not so much that I ever considered stopping. We were lucky that it didn't really pour down rain until we were nice and warmed up, so aside from some blistered toes (wet socks chafe like ... something that chafes a lot) the rain didn't really make the race worse than it would have been otherwise.
I felt pretty good, even on the hills, of which there were many. I felt good, that is, until Mile 10. Ten miles is as far as I ever ran in training, and the training program assured me that I'd be able to do the last three miles no problem on race day with all the adrenaline and excitement of the other people on the course. Unfortunately, nobody told my legs that. At Mile 10, my legs sent a very clear message to my brain that went something like this: "Okay, awesome! Good race! Time for stopping!" And then "Stop now?" And then "Um, seriously, this is far enough. We've been doing this for two hours, and that's really all we signed up for. Stop or be stopped, crazy lady!" It hurt, and I could feel every stride all down each leg like an electric shock.
It was around that point that I began to struggle to keep up with Erica, and where the sum total of my conscious thoughts became "left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right" as though I could keep running without using my muscles at all, but by exerting sheer will over my feet. Finally, finally after 5-6 hours of that, or maybe only 20 minutes or so, we saw mile marker 12. And the world was full of joy and light. Erica turned and looked at me and said "Come on, we can do anything for one mile! One more mile!" And she was right. We cranked it. I could move again, and the pain mellowed, and I kept right on her heels until we could see the big archway, and then we ran like we were fresh and new and hadn't just powered through thirteen miles. I crossed the finish line, and saw my friends waiting for me with a sign, and very nearly burst into tears.
I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends; people who support me no matter what crazy adventures I embark on. People who stand in the rain with signs or call me with messages of love or generally just keep showing up... they keep showing up. I could wrap myself in the warmth of my friends and the glow of accomplishing a goal I wasn't sure I could really do, wrap myself up in that feeling for days and days. Thanks, guys!
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Today I was blithering endlessly about food, as I often do, and I happened to mention this lasagna to a coworker who has a newfound love of butternut squash. As per her request, here's the recipe:
Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage Bechamel Sauce
Nouns-
1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled and chopped
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 pint ricotta cheese
3 onions
1-2 tbsp sage
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded gouda or mozzarella cheese
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Verbs-
Preheat oven to 400. Thinly slice the onions, then caramelize in olive oil or butter until sweet and warm brown. Set aside. In a saucepot, melt the butter over medium low heat and add the garlic, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and stir into a roux. Cook the roux until golden, then add the milk, nutmeg and sage, stirring to thicken. When bechamel sauce has formed a creamy consistency, remove from heat. Layer a greased baking dish with lasagna noodles, then ricotta, then onions. Top with sauce. Add another layer of noodles, then butternut squash, more ricotta and the shredded cheese. Top with sauce. Repeat until all the noodles are used up. Pour any remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining cheese over that. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot through. Yummmm.
Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage Bechamel Sauce
Nouns-
1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled and chopped
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 pint ricotta cheese
3 onions
1-2 tbsp sage
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded gouda or mozzarella cheese
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Verbs-
Preheat oven to 400. Thinly slice the onions, then caramelize in olive oil or butter until sweet and warm brown. Set aside. In a saucepot, melt the butter over medium low heat and add the garlic, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and stir into a roux. Cook the roux until golden, then add the milk, nutmeg and sage, stirring to thicken. When bechamel sauce has formed a creamy consistency, remove from heat. Layer a greased baking dish with lasagna noodles, then ricotta, then onions. Top with sauce. Add another layer of noodles, then butternut squash, more ricotta and the shredded cheese. Top with sauce. Repeat until all the noodles are used up. Pour any remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining cheese over that. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot through. Yummmm.
Meal Plan
This week's plan- we didn't get to the chicken parmesan or the huevos last week, so here they are this week. We are having folks over for dinner on Tuesday, so that will be Thai Fried Rice Day.
Orange Glazed Tilapia
Shepherd's Pie
Chicken Parmesan
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice and Asian Cabbage Slaw
Huevos Rancheros
Apple Butter
This weekend we went out to Hood River and picked apples. It was a lot of fun and we ended up with dozens of apples for only $11. I decided we should make apple butter, which is one of the tastiest substances on earth. Here are the two apple butter recipes I made this weekend, though I started with just one big batch of 4 or five pounds of apples for the applesauce base for both recipes. I canned my apple butter, and the whole process is shown on my Flickr page, here. (Hint- click the Show Info button at the top right of the screen for step by step instructions.)
Homemade Apple Sauce
Noun-
Apples
Verbs-
Caramel Apple Butter-
Nouns-
4 cups apple sauce
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups caramels
1 tsp cinnamon
Verbs-
Pour the applesauce into your crockpot, add the sugar and cinnamon and cook on low for 8 hours. Then, if desired, puree with immersion blender to make it smoother. Unwrap the caramels and microwave them until bubbly. Stir them into the apple butter. Yummm!
Spiced Apple Butter
Nouns-
4 cups applesauce
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 inch fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup apple juice
Verbs-
Add the spices, half the sugar and the apple juice to a heavy-bottomed pot and cook on high for five minutes. Pour the mixture into the crockpot and add the applesauce and remaining sugar. Cook on low 8 hours. Add more sugar to taste. Yumm!
Homemade Apple Sauce
Noun-
Apples
Verbs-
Core the apples and cut the into slices. (*Note- if you do not have a food mill, you have to peel them, too.) Put all the apple slices in a pot with just enough water to cover the bottom and cook on meduim low until the apples are soft, about 30 minutes. Run the apples through a food mill if you have one, a food processor if you don't. If you have neither, then hand mash with potato masher. At this stage, if all you want is delicious sugar-free homemade applesauce, you can stop. Or, you can add some sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest or whatever you like.
Caramel Apple Butter-
Nouns-
4 cups apple sauce
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups caramels
1 tsp cinnamon
Verbs-
Pour the applesauce into your crockpot, add the sugar and cinnamon and cook on low for 8 hours. Then, if desired, puree with immersion blender to make it smoother. Unwrap the caramels and microwave them until bubbly. Stir them into the apple butter. Yummm!
Spiced Apple Butter
Nouns-
4 cups applesauce
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 inch fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup apple juice
Verbs-
Add the spices, half the sugar and the apple juice to a heavy-bottomed pot and cook on high for five minutes. Pour the mixture into the crockpot and add the applesauce and remaining sugar. Cook on low 8 hours. Add more sugar to taste. Yumm!
Aunt Esther's Lemon Cake
Today while out apple picking I learned that I had totally forgotten my friend Jared's birthday, which is tomorrow. Whoops! Happy Birthday, Jared! I have a history of forgetting birthdays, including a very memorable time I thought my friend Miriam's birthday was actually three days later than it is and called her on that day to wish her all the happiness in the world, only to discover that I'd talked to her on her actual birthday earlier in the week and of course failed to say anything about it then, like the doofus that I am. I try very hard to make it up to people when I inevitably forget their birthdays, which means that for tomorrow, I'm bringing out the big guns:
Aunt Esther's Lemon Cake-
Because nothing says "I"m sorry for forgetting your birthday" like the most delicious lemony-tart confection ever created by humankind.
The cake:
Nouns-
3 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
Finely grated lemon rind- 2 lemons worth
Verbs-
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a bundt pan (I mean GREASE IT). Sift together the dry ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat for 2-3 minutes. Beat the eggs in to the butter/sugar mixture one by one. Add the dry ingredients and milk in stages to the butter mixture. Stir in the lemon rind. Pour into a well-greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes, then invert onto a plate.
The Glaze:
Nouns-
1/3 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
Stir juice and sugar together over low heat until sugar is dissolved. The poke holes all over the cake with a skewer and brush the glaze over the cake. Let stand several hours before eating. (No really; normally that would be a joke, but in this case, the cake really is better after it sits and I"m not just mocking you with delicious untouchable cake)
Aunt Esther's Lemon Cake-
Because nothing says "I"m sorry for forgetting your birthday" like the most delicious lemony-tart confection ever created by humankind.
The cake:
Nouns-
3 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
Finely grated lemon rind- 2 lemons worth
Verbs-
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a bundt pan (I mean GREASE IT). Sift together the dry ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat for 2-3 minutes. Beat the eggs in to the butter/sugar mixture one by one. Add the dry ingredients and milk in stages to the butter mixture. Stir in the lemon rind. Pour into a well-greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes, then invert onto a plate.
The Glaze:
Nouns-
1/3 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
Stir juice and sugar together over low heat until sugar is dissolved. The poke holes all over the cake with a skewer and brush the glaze over the cake. Let stand several hours before eating. (No really; normally that would be a joke, but in this case, the cake really is better after it sits and I"m not just mocking you with delicious untouchable cake)
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad
This is SO GOOD, but really rich and complex, so it's best as a side or an appetizer.
Roasted Root Veggie Salad-
Nouns-
3 beets
1 sweet potato
3 carrots
1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
5 fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts
2 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
Verbs-
Peel the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces. Arrange them on a greased cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool the vegetables in the freezer or fridge. Zest and juice the lemon, and whisk the zest and juice together with the honey, olive oil and vinegar. Pour over the veggies. Add the nuts, goat cheese and basil leaves and toss lightly. Enjoy!
Roasted Root Veggie Salad-
Nouns-
3 beets
1 sweet potato
3 carrots
1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
5 fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts
2 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
Verbs-
Peel the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces. Arrange them on a greased cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool the vegetables in the freezer or fridge. Zest and juice the lemon, and whisk the zest and juice together with the honey, olive oil and vinegar. Pour over the veggies. Add the nuts, goat cheese and basil leaves and toss lightly. Enjoy!
Meal Plan
This week we are having --
Fake Stroganoff
Tangy Tilapia
Zesty Veggie Barley Soup
Chicken Parmigiana with Homemade Marinara
Huevos Rancheros
Fake Stroganoff
Tangy Tilapia
Zesty Veggie Barley Soup
Chicken Parmigiana with Homemade Marinara
Huevos Rancheros
Hot Toddy... yummm
The Husband had a long day today and came home with sore feet and an empty belly. It's also cold and rainy today, the kind of day that leaves no room for denial that winter is coming, and October has settled in to stay.
As a result, I made the Husband a hot toddy from some chamomile
liqueur we bought on a recent local distillery tour. We have christened it The Sleepy Spencer.
Nouns-
1 oz J. Witty Organic Chamomile
6 oz chamomile tea
1 oz apple juice or apple cider
twist of lemon
Verbs-
Heat the tea and pour into a mug. Add the apple cider and the J. Witty, Garnish with a twist of lemon. Enjoy.
As a variation, you could also make this:
The Very Sleepy Spencer
Nouns-
1 oz J Witty
1 oz Apple Brandy
6 oz chamomile tea
cinnamon stick
Verbs-
Brew the tea, add the brandy and J Witty, stir with the cinnamon stick.
Ten Miles is Far
I have come to appreciate how far ten miles is. Ten miles is far. Really far. Really Really far.
Do you know how long it takes to run ten miles? It take 2 and half hours. That is a long time to run, guys. You can watch Avatar in that time. Not, I grant you, while running. But Avatar is long; I specifically remember complaining about how long it was, and I just ran for that long.
I really cannot emphasize enough how far it is.
FAR.
Do you know how long it takes to run ten miles? It take 2 and half hours. That is a long time to run, guys. You can watch Avatar in that time. Not, I grant you, while running. But Avatar is long; I specifically remember complaining about how long it was, and I just ran for that long.
I really cannot emphasize enough how far it is.
FAR.
Meal Plan
Because we ended up rescheduling last week's lasagna party, the lasagna reappears this week. Most of the rest of the meal plan was requested by The Husband, so it's his favorite things.
Husband Soup
Chicken Stir Fry
Orange Glazed Tilapia with Asparagus
Lasagna and Caesar Salad
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with honey lemon vinaigrette and goat cheese
The salad is something I've been wanting to try since I've had a few really good beet salads recently, but The Husband is not as fond of beets as I am, so I'm rounding it out with carrots and sweet potatoes. I am planning on making two lasagnas for lasagna night, and I'll post those recipes once I've done them and am sure they turned out well. The plan is to do one big lasagna with red sauce and put meat on one half and eggplant on the other. The smaller lasagna will be white sauce with caramelized onions, sage, butternut squash and zucchini.
Husband Soup
Chicken Stir Fry
Orange Glazed Tilapia with Asparagus
Lasagna and Caesar Salad
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with honey lemon vinaigrette and goat cheese
The salad is something I've been wanting to try since I've had a few really good beet salads recently, but The Husband is not as fond of beets as I am, so I'm rounding it out with carrots and sweet potatoes. I am planning on making two lasagnas for lasagna night, and I'll post those recipes once I've done them and am sure they turned out well. The plan is to do one big lasagna with red sauce and put meat on one half and eggplant on the other. The smaller lasagna will be white sauce with caramelized onions, sage, butternut squash and zucchini.
Running
Though I'd been running several times a week for a few months and I'd run in two races, I still didn't consider myself a "runner." I looked on the whole thing as a bizarre accident, some strange happenstance that had resulted in me actually running places without being chased. I'm not very athletic, and all my other hobbies have to do with making and eating food, so I felt like an impostor. I didn't even like running... I was just doing it because... well, to tell you truth, I wasn't really sure why.
But after my 10K, I felt really good. Really good. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but I did it, and I wasn't even that sore the next day. So I walked into work feeling great and a co-worker, a real runner, not an impostor like me, asked if I'd run a half marathon with her. In October.
I said I would.
And though I'm still not 100% sure I like running, I am forced to admit that I like something about this whole thing, or I would have stopped by now. But I haven't. Maybe that's because I want to prove to myself that I can do this; I can run a half marathon. I've been running 15 miles a week to get ready for the half, and this morning, I ran 8.5 miles. By myself. I think maybe I can do this, and that's awesome.
It is awesome because it is making me feel strong and sure and mighty, and like I really could take on anything. I can keep going and keep going and keep going, and all I need is myself and my ipod. And it is awesome because today, on the trail around mile 2, I crossed paths with real runners: tall, leggy girls wearing Tshirts from their past races who were working along the trail in a ground-eating lope, looking like they could keep it up forever. I thought to myself, "I will never be like that." But I kept going,determined, two more miles in and then two miles back on my loop, when I ran by the same girls on their return trip. And one of them nodded to me and pumped her fist in the air, like "Yeah! We are awesome! Only two more miles to go!" And I saluted right back, thinking "Yes, we are." I finished my last two miles, and I know that I am a runner.
Anniversary
This last weekend, the husband and I went to the coast for an anniversary getaway, and relearned to appreciate the value of doing nothing. We sat in the lovely B and B and read by the fireplace, soaked in the jacuzzi, or, in the husband's case, watched some football. It was divine. Almost two years ago, we stayed in that same B and B and the husband proposed in front of the fireplace in our room there. It feels like an awfully long time ago now, but in a weird way it's also hard to believe that we got engaged, planned a wedding, married and made it to our first anniversary since that proposal weekend.
I won't fill up this whole post with mushy sappy love, but I did want to say that this weekend reminded me that I'd rather sit in a splendid stillness with my husband than go on the wildest adventure with anyone else. He brings to everyday moments the possibility of profound peace and unsullied joy, and I am grateful for him. I hope that as we go on we continue to find that the more we give each other, the more we have, for years and years to come.
I won't fill up this whole post with mushy sappy love, but I did want to say that this weekend reminded me that I'd rather sit in a splendid stillness with my husband than go on the wildest adventure with anyone else. He brings to everyday moments the possibility of profound peace and unsullied joy, and I am grateful for him. I hope that as we go on we continue to find that the more we give each other, the more we have, for years and years to come.
Party Food!
Nouns-
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can lite coconut milk
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp peanut butter
skewers
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 lime
Verbs-
Pound the chicken between two sheets of waxed paper until half inch thick. Cut into one inch wide strips. Mix the next 7 ingredients together in a shallow dish. Add the chicken and marinate overnight. Thread each piece of chicken onto a skewer and place on a greased broiler pan. Broil for 7-10 minutes. Reserve the marinade. Boil the marinade in a small saucepan for 15 minutes or until reduced by half--- that is your dipping sauce. Serve the skewers with the sauce, garnished with cilantro, lime zest, and a few lime wedges. Yummm.
Meal Plan
This week, we are doing some entertaining. On Tuesday, we are hosting a birthday party for my friend Sara, and so I am making a cake and a bunch of snacks. On Thursday, we are hosting a lasagna night for some of my coworkers.
So here's the plan:
Crockpot Chana Masala w/brown rice
BIrthday Party finger foods-- veggies and dip, hummus, chicken skewers with peanut sauce, rum cake, brownies, bread, cheese and fruit
Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
Butternut squash lasagna/ zucchini and pepper lasagna
Leftovers
So here's the plan:
Crockpot Chana Masala w/brown rice
BIrthday Party finger foods-- veggies and dip, hummus, chicken skewers with peanut sauce, rum cake, brownies, bread, cheese and fruit
Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
Butternut squash lasagna/ zucchini and pepper lasagna
Leftovers
Defending the Public
This post has been a long time coming, and I'm sorry that I can't seem to get my act together to write much recently. The new job takes a lot of brain space, even when I'm home and ostensibly doing something else... like cooking or reading or laundry. I think about it a lot, and so far, I think that's a good thing.
So, that new job.
A little over a month ago, I became a public defender. This job is definitely what I want to be doing. I didn't end up as a public defender as some people seem to. I set out to be one, and I'm thrilled. And in the short time I've been one, I've already become more sure that I'm doing something necessary and vital for our society, adding some weight to the high side of the scales of justice to bring them back into balance again.
Of course, not everyone sees it that way. I've already gotten the question -- from the waffle cart guy, from my dentist, from my law school buddy the assistant district attorney -- the question that every PD comes to expect: How you defend those people?
Those people.
Who are those people? Them, over there, not like us.
So, while I'm happy to explain why I do what I do, I'm already really freaking tired of the assumption people make that they are somehow better than my clients.
So, while I'm happy to explain why I do what I do, I'm already really freaking tired of the assumption people make that they are somehow better than my clients.
My clients are poor, yes. Many of them have committed crimes, yes. Many of them actually committed the very crimes they were convicted of. Bu they are human beings, and I help them. Even if it weren't my job, it would be the right thing to do.
I am appalled by the way many people seem able to totally dismiss other human beings, to behave as though their poverty, their bad choices, their mental illnesses or their drug addictions have somehow rendered them beyond compassion and beyond help. It frightens me how easily my clients are dismissed, how hard it is to convince others that the system cannot be fair and right for us if it is not also fair and right for everyone.
I am appalled by the way many people seem able to totally dismiss other human beings, to behave as though their poverty, their bad choices, their mental illnesses or their drug addictions have somehow rendered them beyond compassion and beyond help. It frightens me how easily my clients are dismissed, how hard it is to convince others that the system cannot be fair and right for us if it is not also fair and right for everyone.
I'll probably be writing a lot more about my work, at least to the extent that I am able to without disclosing confidential information or compromising my ability to do my very best and professional advocacy for them, but I just wanted to open with this because it's the most fundamental and basic thing about what I do, and even if I lose sight of it in the technicalities and specifics later on, it's here as a foundation: I help people. Yes. Those People.
Meal Plan
This Week:
Hamburger Chowder
Lentil Salad
Stuffed Chicken Florentine
Chicken and Dumplins
Broccoli Salad
Meal Plan
This week, we are having --
Spaghetti with Meat (turkey) Sauce
Orange Glazed Tilapia
Broccoli Salad
Veggie Burritos (carryover from last week- these will have butternut squash, black beans, quinoa and peach salsa... yum!)
Homemade Pizza
Spaghetti with Meat (turkey) Sauce
Orange Glazed Tilapia
Broccoli Salad
Veggie Burritos (carryover from last week- these will have butternut squash, black beans, quinoa and peach salsa... yum!)
Homemade Pizza
SW Pasta Salad
Southwest Pasta Salad
This recipe is based on a recent Cooking Light salad, with a few changes.
Nouns-
1 box penne pasta, prepared and drained
1.5 cups shredded cooked white meat chicken
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup corn kernels
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 lime
2 tbsp cilantro, minced
1/2 can chipotles in adobo
Verbs-
Combine the pasta, chicken, corn, scallions, and pepper in a large bowl. Strain the juice from the chipotles and mix it with the orange juice. Add a few chipotles, finely diced, if you want it very very spicy. Pour the chipotle/orange juice mixture over the salad and toss to coat. Finish by sprinkling the cilantro over the top and garnishing with lime wedges.
Hint- for the chicken, I used leftover shredded chicken from last week's mexican casserole. To make yummy shredded chicken, I simply put a few chicken breasts in the crockpot with about a half cup OJ, a few table spoons of chili powder and a glug or two of beer. Cook on low for 8 hours and then shred with forks. Yum!
Meal Plan, and sorry my posts have been lame recently, but I just started a new job so I'm pretty tired and stuff
Meal Plan!
This week, we are having---
Stroganoff
Meatballs, Mashed potatoes and gravy with green beans
Zesty Southwest Pasta Salad
Veggie Burritos
Cabbage Salad
Also, as aforementioned, I started a new job. I have been mentally drafting a nice big post about it, but I've been too lazy/tired to actually write it yet. So, in the meantime, as a tidbit, a few things I've learned in my first two weeks:
Boating under the Influence of Intoxicants is a crime, even if your "boat" is a raft, and even if all you do is fall out of it and you don't actually go anywhere.
You should pay for things before you leave Sears.
Having a messy house is not child abuse.
Winning is overrated.
This week, we are having---
Stroganoff
Meatballs, Mashed potatoes and gravy with green beans
Zesty Southwest Pasta Salad
Veggie Burritos
Cabbage Salad
Also, as aforementioned, I started a new job. I have been mentally drafting a nice big post about it, but I've been too lazy/tired to actually write it yet. So, in the meantime, as a tidbit, a few things I've learned in my first two weeks:
Boating under the Influence of Intoxicants is a crime, even if your "boat" is a raft, and even if all you do is fall out of it and you don't actually go anywhere.
You should pay for things before you leave Sears.
Having a messy house is not child abuse.
Winning is overrated.
Meal Plan--- sorry it's late!
This week:
Citrus glazed tilapia
Quinoa Pilaf with Asparagus
Mexican casserole
Spinach salad
Fruity nutty Chicken salad
Citrus glazed tilapia
Quinoa Pilaf with Asparagus
Mexican casserole
Spinach salad
Fruity nutty Chicken salad
Another use for Orange Marmalade!
Seriously, I love Orange Marmalade. I use it to make all kinds of things. Sauces, stir fries, salad dressing... it is great stuff. Anyway, so the meal plan called for Citrus Glazed Tilapia, and I was planning on doing a recipe from Cooking Light, but then I got home super late and was just banging things around trying to get food to mouth as quickly as possible, and didn't have patience for an actual recipe.
So....
Enter Orange Marmalade. And my other favorite recipe condiment, Chili Garlic Sauce.
Spicy Orange Glazed Tilapia... as made up by me, just now
Nouns:
Frozen Tilapia, as many fillets as you think you will eat, thawed, rinsed and patted dry
3 tbsp orange marmalade
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or lemon juice, or water, or whatever... )
Verbs:
Fire up the ol' toaster oven to 450. Mix together all the ingredients except the tilapia in a bowl. Line the toaster oven pan with tin foil and grease it a little to prevent sticking if you worry about that kind of thing. Stick your fillets on the pan and schmear them with your marmalade mixture. Bake at 450 for 5-8 minutes or until cooked through. Do not overbake your tilapia! Dry tilapia is ucky. Seriously, it takes mere minutes to cook it all the way through.
I served this with a simple salad of spring greens with a homemade lemon vinaigrette and some brown rice. It were delicious. And fast.
So....
Enter Orange Marmalade. And my other favorite recipe condiment, Chili Garlic Sauce.
Spicy Orange Glazed Tilapia... as made up by me, just now
Nouns:
Frozen Tilapia, as many fillets as you think you will eat, thawed, rinsed and patted dry
3 tbsp orange marmalade
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or lemon juice, or water, or whatever... )
Verbs:
Fire up the ol' toaster oven to 450. Mix together all the ingredients except the tilapia in a bowl. Line the toaster oven pan with tin foil and grease it a little to prevent sticking if you worry about that kind of thing. Stick your fillets on the pan and schmear them with your marmalade mixture. Bake at 450 for 5-8 minutes or until cooked through. Do not overbake your tilapia! Dry tilapia is ucky. Seriously, it takes mere minutes to cook it all the way through.
I served this with a simple salad of spring greens with a homemade lemon vinaigrette and some brown rice. It were delicious. And fast.
Meal Plan
This week is a bit rushed since I started my new job today (remember this? Yep, it's that job!), but I did manage to make two loaves of the no-knead artisan bread yesterday, which did well even though I added about 3/4 cup of wheat bran to the dough. The flavor and texture are still light and chewy and excellent. yummm!
Tonight's dinner was just strawberry spinach salad, bread and cheese. Very basic, very easy, very delicious.
The rest of the week will be:
Citrus glazed tilapia with spring greens and lemon vinaigrette
"Swimming Angel"- Thai Peanut Sauce over ginger chicken, steamed broccoli and spinach and jasmine rice
Mexican Casserole
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Homemade pizza
Tonight's dinner was just strawberry spinach salad, bread and cheese. Very basic, very easy, very delicious.
The rest of the week will be:
Citrus glazed tilapia with spring greens and lemon vinaigrette
"Swimming Angel"- Thai Peanut Sauce over ginger chicken, steamed broccoli and spinach and jasmine rice
Mexican Casserole
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Homemade pizza
Baking!
Yesterday was baking day, and I tried a new recipe and a new technique, which I got from This Book. The recipe is for "artisan" bread, and I have no idea what that means, but it was darn good. It was better than good, actually. It was heavenly. The bread came out chewy with a delicious chewy/crunchy crust that was divine. Swoon. I used the basic whole grain dough recipe from the book, and I made a few mistakes that will endeavor to correct next time, but overall it was very easy.
Essentially, it takes 4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, two cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons rapidrise yeast, and three cups of lukewarm water. I subbed in a gluten flour for my mixture at about 1 tbsp per cup of regular flour.
I made the dough in my mixer, and let it rise in my mixer bowl after I took the hook attachment out. I don't think I let it rise quite long enough, or maybe I let it rise too long. The recipe called for 2 hours of rising, but it doubled in size and took on a spongy appearance after only 45 minutes or so, so I waited another 20 minutes and then started shaping it. Shaping was very difficult because this dough was quite wet and sticky. (Another thing to think about for next time... a little less water?) But, I got half the dough shaped into a sort of boule, admittedly a flattish one, and let it rise for another 40 minutes while the oven was heating up. I think I didn't have enough rise because I couldn't get the dough to shape right. Here is where I made one of my mistakes. I kept fiddling with the boule to try to get it more round, which involved tucking ends under to try to tighten it into a half dome shape. But, since I had set the boule on sprinkled cornmeal to rise, every time I fiddled with it, I created pockets of cornmeal on the bottom of the loaf. Whooops!
The key thing with this bread, though, seems to be the cooking method. I don't have a baking stone, so I used my cast iron griddle. I put it in the oven 40 minutes before baking while the oven was preheating, so it was hot when the shaped bread was ready to go in. I also didn't have a "broiler pan" as described in the book, so a casserole dish full of water went on the bottom rack of the oven to create the steam effect. Then, I had to slide the boule from the cornmeal-covered cookie sheet it was rising on onto the hot griddle without mishap, which was hard, but I managed. It baked for about 30 minutes and came out... delicious! Sooo good!
I highly recommend this.
Next time, I will fiddle with the liquid proportions, the rising time, and the shaping to see if I can't make it even better.
College Food! Cabbage Salad
Last week's meal plan featured a recipe I made all the time in college, and it got me thinking about the other things I made then. I did a lot more home cooking than most college students; in fact I cooked for 2-8 people a couple of times a week. I didn't really know what I was doing, but that didn't stop me from making huge amounts of food for my friends all the time. I made all kinds of crazy things, like huge batches of fry bread that I'd serve with honey and have people over to eat. I am trying to find where I put all the recipes I loved in college, and I'll post them as I remember or find them. In the mean times, here is one my favorite things that I made then:
College Cabbage Salad:
Nouns-
1 medium green cabbage or half green half red
1 bunch scallions
1 package of ramen noodles, either oriental or chicken flavor
3 tbsp white vinegar (use rice vinegar if you are fancy)
2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
1 tbsp honey or sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced
a few shakes of sesame seeds
Verbs-
Slaw the cabbage and put in a big bowl. (Is slaw a verb? I don't know. Slice your cabbage into long skinny strips like you would for a good slaw) Chop the scallions and add them to the cabbage. Remove the seasoning packet from the ramen and set aside. Crush the dry noodles into small pieces and sprinkle over the cabbage. In a separate dish, whisk the oil, vinegar, seasoning mix from the ramen, and honey together, with the zest and juice of the orange. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss to thoroughly coat. Top with sesame seeds. This whole dish costs about $3 to make. Yumm!
College Cabbage Salad:
Nouns-
1 medium green cabbage or half green half red
1 bunch scallions
1 package of ramen noodles, either oriental or chicken flavor
3 tbsp white vinegar (use rice vinegar if you are fancy)
2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
1 tbsp honey or sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced
a few shakes of sesame seeds
Verbs-
Slaw the cabbage and put in a big bowl. (Is slaw a verb? I don't know. Slice your cabbage into long skinny strips like you would for a good slaw) Chop the scallions and add them to the cabbage. Remove the seasoning packet from the ramen and set aside. Crush the dry noodles into small pieces and sprinkle over the cabbage. In a separate dish, whisk the oil, vinegar, seasoning mix from the ramen, and honey together, with the zest and juice of the orange. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss to thoroughly coat. Top with sesame seeds. This whole dish costs about $3 to make. Yumm!
Meal Plan, the Sequel
Well, folks, last week we ended up not going through much of our meal plan, because the Chana Masala recipe made a LOT of food, and so we ate that for three days! The Cabbage Salad recipe also made a lot. Combine that with a dinner out last night, and we have three things left from last week that I still haven't made. So, this week's plan will be pretty familiar!
The Plan-
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Spicy Corn Pudding and side salad
Cumin Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Rice
Pasta Primavera
Homemade Pizza
The Plan-
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Spicy Corn Pudding and side salad
Cumin Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Rice
Pasta Primavera
Homemade Pizza
Chana Masala in the Crockpot
Chickpea Masala
This is easy, lowfat, vegetarian and delicious. I was worried that the chickpeas would be mushy, but they came out tender and firm. So good!
Nouns:
3 cups dried chickpeas, picked over
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp curry powder
1-3 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 medium onion, diced
1 veggie boullion cube
1 tbsp honey
1 cup water
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups rice, prepared
Verbs:
Soak the chickpeas overnight in in enough cold water to completely cover them. Drain and add them to the crockpot. Pour the tomatoes, spices, onion, water, honey, boullion and chili garlic sauce over them and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in the yogurt, if using. Serve over rice.
Next Week's Meal Plan-- apologies
Sooooo.... I have been a bit lax about the meal pla posting, in part because we've been gone on the weekends and that messes things up, and in part because we have been going out and therefore saving meals from week to week, so there's nothing new to post.
Anywho, next week's plan is a bit heavy on the veggie side, in part because we are trying to save some cash, and in part because it is HOT and can't think about standing over a stove to cook things right now, so all this is either stuff that doesn't need cooking, like salad, or stuff I can put in the crockpot to cook while I am not there. (The crockpot may actually be living on the back porch for a while, because it still heats up the house to run it, even if I am not there. So... back porch crockpot cooking! Fun!
Here's the plan:
Beans and Rice (A reprise of last week's delicious cilantro lime rice and black beans. They sooo good.)
Spicy Corn Pudding (recipe stolen from the crockpot lady)/ Side Salad
Chana Masala (in the crockpot)
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad
I will also be making yogurt again this weekend and also making some bread if it cools down. Or I could make crockpot bread on the back porch, because I am a crazy porch crockpot lady.
Banana Whackers
It's Summer! And, finally, it's so hot that I'm asking The Husband every day if we can go to get some ice cream after wherever we happen to be going. Hmmm, ice cream. It is also the official season of fruity alcoholic beverages made in a blender. And this is my favorite ever.
Banana Whackers
Nouns:
1 Banana
6 ice cubes
4-6 ounces Cream of Coconut (NOT coconut milk!)
2 shots vodka
1 shot coffee liquor
1 shot irish cream
1 dash nutmeg (don't skip the nutmeg!
Verbs:
Put all the ingredients except nutmeg in the blender and blend 1-2 minutes or until ice is completely crushed. Pour in to two glasses and top with nutmeg. Drink.
***warning*** after drinking a banana whacker, you will be whacked.
Nouns:
1 Banana
6 ice cubes
4-6 ounces Cream of Coconut (NOT coconut milk!)
2 shots vodka
1 shot coffee liquor
1 shot irish cream
1 dash nutmeg (don't skip the nutmeg!
Verbs:
Put all the ingredients except nutmeg in the blender and blend 1-2 minutes or until ice is completely crushed. Pour in to two glasses and top with nutmeg. Drink.
***warning*** after drinking a banana whacker, you will be whacked.
Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
I did these in the crockpot, but you could certainly bake them in the oven instead.
Stuffed Peppers
Nouns:
4-6 bell peppers
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 half zucchini, chopped
1 half yellow onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
rosemary, thyme and marjoram, to taste
4 slices cheese (I used cheddar)
Verbs:
Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the core and seeds. In a bowl, mix the quinoa, tomatoes, spices, onions, and zucchini. Spoon that mixture into the peppers, and level off the top with the back of your spoon. Arrange the stuffed peppers in the crockpot so that they all stand up. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, adding a slice of cheese over the top of each pepper in the last hour of cooking.
Homemade Air Conditioner
Today, the Husband and I built a homemade air conditioner. It is kind of awesome.
Here's what we used:
1 Pond pump
1 coil of plastic tubing
1 coil of copper tubing
1 package of zip ties
2 ring clamps
1 box fan
1 styrofoam cooler
(we ended up not needing the tube cutter, so we returned it.)
We connected the pond pump to the plastic tubing with the included connector. Easy!
Then, we secured the copper tubing to the front of the box fan with zip ties.
Once we had used up the whole coil, we trimmed the zip ties so they wouldn't stick out, like they are in this picture. This step isn't strictly necessary, but Moby kept chewing on them.
Then, we cut the plastic tubing in two pieces, one connected to the pump and one not connected to anything. We used a ring clamp to connect the top end of the copper tubing on the box fan to the plastic tube that was connected to the pond pump. Then, we connected the other piece of plastic tubing to the bottom end of the copper tubing.
Finally, we put the pond pump and the free end of the plastic tubing in the cooler, filled the cooler with water and ice, and turned on the pump. The pump pumped cold water through the tubing on the front of the fan and back into the cooler, creating a circuit. Then, we turned on the fan. Voila! DIY air conditioner.
Here's what we used:
1 coil of plastic tubing
1 coil of copper tubing
1 package of zip ties
2 ring clamps
1 box fan
1 styrofoam cooler
(we ended up not needing the tube cutter, so we returned it.)
We connected the pond pump to the plastic tubing with the included connector. Easy!
Then, we secured the copper tubing to the front of the box fan with zip ties.
Once we had used up the whole coil, we trimmed the zip ties so they wouldn't stick out, like they are in this picture. This step isn't strictly necessary, but Moby kept chewing on them.
Then, we cut the plastic tubing in two pieces, one connected to the pump and one not connected to anything. We used a ring clamp to connect the top end of the copper tubing on the box fan to the plastic tube that was connected to the pond pump. Then, we connected the other piece of plastic tubing to the bottom end of the copper tubing.
Finally, we put the pond pump and the free end of the plastic tubing in the cooler, filled the cooler with water and ice, and turned on the pump. The pump pumped cold water through the tubing on the front of the fan and back into the cooler, creating a circuit. Then, we turned on the fan. Voila! DIY air conditioner.
This week's Meal Plan
Since I made a bunch of tasty yogurt last week, I am going to incorporate some of it into our meal plan. Also, as usual, I'll be trying to use lots of things that we already have on hand. We have rice, black beans, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, onions and a few other odds and ends.
Salmon Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Sauce, cucumber salad on the side
Black Beans and Green Rice
Honey Lemon Roasted Chicken over herbed Quinoa, with yogurt citrus salad
Lentil Salad with peppers and feta
"Mexican" Casserole (The Husband specially requested this)
Yummm.
Salmon Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Sauce, cucumber salad on the side
Black Beans and Green Rice
Honey Lemon Roasted Chicken over herbed Quinoa, with yogurt citrus salad
Lentil Salad with peppers and feta
"Mexican" Casserole (The Husband specially requested this)
Yummm.
Yogurt making!
Last week, I made yogurt.
It was pretty awesome, and now I'm totally hooked.
The Husband and I have been trying to buy organic dairy products, and while we've completely made the switch with milk, we are often frustrated by the cost of organic yogurt and cheese. But, I made a quart of organic yogurt for about a $1.50 worth of organic milk, so that was very cool.
For the project, I borrowed a Donvier Yogurt maker from some friends, but the yogurt maker is really just for the incubation part... it is machine with individual yogurt cups that keeps the cups at a constant temperature for 10-14 hours so the cultures can do their thing. The interwebs are all full of DIY yogurt incubator ideas, so if you don't have access to a yogurt maker machine, don't sweat it.
Here's what I did:
I gently heated a quart of milk over medium heat on the stovetop, checking with a candy thermometer to be sure the milk didn't get over 185 degrees (F). Once it reached that hot, I turned the burner off and monitored the milk until it got back to about 115 degrees. Then, I added a few tablespoons of store bought plain yogurt with live active cultures to a bowl, and poured over it a ladle full of the hot milk. Once the milk and yogurt were stirred together, I added that mixture back to the full pot of 115 degree milk on the stove top and stirred thoroughly.
Then, I poured all the milk into the yogurt cups that came with the machine and kept them warm for 12 hours overnight. In the morning, I had yogurt, which I popped in the fridge. This yogurt is delicious with a drizzle of honey, a dollop of sugar-free strawberry preserves, or in smoothies. I am making a couple recipes this week that will feature the yogurt as well. Yummm!
It was pretty awesome, and now I'm totally hooked.
The Husband and I have been trying to buy organic dairy products, and while we've completely made the switch with milk, we are often frustrated by the cost of organic yogurt and cheese. But, I made a quart of organic yogurt for about a $1.50 worth of organic milk, so that was very cool.
For the project, I borrowed a Donvier Yogurt maker from some friends, but the yogurt maker is really just for the incubation part... it is machine with individual yogurt cups that keeps the cups at a constant temperature for 10-14 hours so the cultures can do their thing. The interwebs are all full of DIY yogurt incubator ideas, so if you don't have access to a yogurt maker machine, don't sweat it.
Here's what I did:
I gently heated a quart of milk over medium heat on the stovetop, checking with a candy thermometer to be sure the milk didn't get over 185 degrees (F). Once it reached that hot, I turned the burner off and monitored the milk until it got back to about 115 degrees. Then, I added a few tablespoons of store bought plain yogurt with live active cultures to a bowl, and poured over it a ladle full of the hot milk. Once the milk and yogurt were stirred together, I added that mixture back to the full pot of 115 degree milk on the stove top and stirred thoroughly.
Then, I poured all the milk into the yogurt cups that came with the machine and kept them warm for 12 hours overnight. In the morning, I had yogurt, which I popped in the fridge. This yogurt is delicious with a drizzle of honey, a dollop of sugar-free strawberry preserves, or in smoothies. I am making a couple recipes this week that will feature the yogurt as well. Yummm!
Review of last week's recipes/ baking day
Well, last week went well! The Thai fried rice turned out very well, and the quinoa was scrumptious. I had to fuss with the veggie burgers a bit to get them right, but they turned out quite good in the end.
I learned that the veggie burgers need less time in the food processor, but more egg and bread crumb binder, than I originally thought. So, the best ones were a mix of a cup or two of mushed black beans, a half block of frozen, pressed and crumbled tofu, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, a dash or two of worchestershire sauce, minced onions and spices. I fried them on a griddle, because I was afraid they'd fall apart on a grill pan, and they were very tasty with cheese and ketchup on homemade honeywheat bread for buns.
Today is also baking day, but I didn't feel like going to the store for more yeast and flour, so I am trying a new, single loaf sandwich bread recipe, modified from this one: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe. The only change I made was to use half honey and half sugar for the sweet, and we'll see if that works! It's still rising. I also decided to mix and knead the dough entirely in my mixer instead of by hand... we'll see how that worked. It was so much easier, but also less tactile and fun.
I will post this week's meal plan in bit here.
I learned that the veggie burgers need less time in the food processor, but more egg and bread crumb binder, than I originally thought. So, the best ones were a mix of a cup or two of mushed black beans, a half block of frozen, pressed and crumbled tofu, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, a dash or two of worchestershire sauce, minced onions and spices. I fried them on a griddle, because I was afraid they'd fall apart on a grill pan, and they were very tasty with cheese and ketchup on homemade honeywheat bread for buns.
Today is also baking day, but I didn't feel like going to the store for more yeast and flour, so I am trying a new, single loaf sandwich bread recipe, modified from this one: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe. The only change I made was to use half honey and half sugar for the sweet, and we'll see if that works! It's still rising. I also decided to mix and knead the dough entirely in my mixer instead of by hand... we'll see how that worked. It was so much easier, but also less tactile and fun.
I will post this week's meal plan in bit here.
Triumph!
If you are still in the population of people who pay for cable TV, and I know that many more people are considering switching to gettign content from the internet, netflix or other non-cable sources, then you need to call your cable company and ask for a lower rate. I did, today, and got one. Step 1- call your provider. Step 2- select the options in the seemingly endless robot customer service system for "cancel or reduce service" Step 3- when the real live perosn you eventually talk to asks if there's anything they can do to keep you as a customer, explain that you just can't afford to keep it anymore, and wait for them to make you an offer. If they do... you're in business! Bargain them down to whatever rate new customers are getting theses days, which you can find on their website. If they don't make you an offer off the bat, ask them if there's any way to get a lower rate, by cancelling some channels, getting a "bundle" or something, then mention the competitive rates of your local satelite or alternative company or the rates being gotten by your company's new customers.
I have used this method each of the three or four times our "introductory" discounted rate expired with Comcast and have gotten reinstatement of the "discount" or an even lower rate each time.
Good Luck!
This week's recipes
This week, one of the meals on the plan is quinoa risotto, though I think now it will actually be a variation on this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/359410 with quinoa instead of the israeli couscous. I got some wonderful asparagus and sugar snap peas at the farmer's market this week, and so it should be delicious.
Also, I plan to make veggie burgers, something I've never done before, from my own kind of recipe. We have home-cooked black beans and a half block of firm tofu that I have frozen so I can defrost and crunble it. I plan to mash up the cooked beans and crumbled tofu with breadcrumbs, eggs, worchestershire sauce and finely minced onions. Then, I'll cook them on the grillpan and serve them with cheese, butter lettuce, and either ketchup or chutney on whole wheat buns. I will post about how it turns out!
Ooops, I did it again...
I have a problem.
I have written about it before, but to reiterate: I read too much. And I read in a devouring, time-sucking, kind of crazy way that the Husband finds both amusing and disturbing. There are certain books I should know to stay away from unless I have them all at my disposal and lots of free time. Like Harry Potter, for example, which I can't read without immediately reading all 7 to the exclusion of everything else in the world. Yes, even though I have read them before.
One series that I have this problem with is the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois MacMaster Bujold. I just shouldn't read these books, because every time I do, I have to read all of them, and there are a lot. A LOT.
Anyways, I stupidly picked up one of them that I happen to own while I was waiting for the next trio of Robin Hobb books I requested from the library to arrive, and now I'm in a position I have been in before and seem powerless to prevent: the Robin Hobbs have now arrived, but alas, I do not want to read them, I want to read the Bujolds, which are, of course, not at my library, on my shelf, or otherwise within my grasp. Drat. And, if I were a normal person, it would end there. "Drat," I'd say, and then pick up the Robin Hobbs and read those and be happy. Instead, I am rereading the ONE Bujold book that I have, and waiting for all the rest of them to come in to the library on special order.
I'm a crazy person.
Also, these books are awesome.
Meal Plan
We will have a houseguest for part of this week, but we also went a little overboard on groceries spending last week, so I am trying to balance the desire to buy very little against wanting to make tasty (local organic) and welcoming things for our guest. So, here's the plan:
Ham and Noodles (with ham and homemade noodles from the freezer and parmesan we already have, so all we'll have to buy is peas and cream)
Thai Fried Rice (with shrimp from the freezer and rice from the pantry, so we'll be buying chilis, pineapple and soy sauce)
Veggie burgers (with tofu from the freezer, beans from the pantry and buns from the fridge, we'll be buying only lettuce and tomato)
Quinoa Rissotto- buying quinoa with whatever veggies look fresh and delicious at the farmers market
Stir Fry- With chicken from the freezer and whatever veggies look good at the farmers market, probably carrots, baby bok choi and a few other things.
Hopefully, we'll be buying only about $20 worth of stuff for the week, and still having some tasty meals!
Also, from last week, the burritos were delicious! I cooked the beans in the slow cooker with chili powder and bay leaves, and I cooked the barley on the stove top with a bullion cube and five spice powder, and we ate them all week. Yummm!
Ham and Noodles (with ham and homemade noodles from the freezer and parmesan we already have, so all we'll have to buy is peas and cream)
Thai Fried Rice (with shrimp from the freezer and rice from the pantry, so we'll be buying chilis, pineapple and soy sauce)
Veggie burgers (with tofu from the freezer, beans from the pantry and buns from the fridge, we'll be buying only lettuce and tomato)
Quinoa Rissotto- buying quinoa with whatever veggies look fresh and delicious at the farmers market
Stir Fry- With chicken from the freezer and whatever veggies look good at the farmers market, probably carrots, baby bok choi and a few other things.
Hopefully, we'll be buying only about $20 worth of stuff for the week, and still having some tasty meals!
Also, from last week, the burritos were delicious! I cooked the beans in the slow cooker with chili powder and bay leaves, and I cooked the barley on the stove top with a bullion cube and five spice powder, and we ate them all week. Yummm!
Thank you!
I am so grateful to all the people who have sponsored me for the charity run I am doing this month! It's early yet, but I am one of the top 30 or so pledge-raisers! Yay! Thanks for your support, everyone!
Meal Plan for the Week of June 7
Tonight's Barbecue Party:
Shrimp Kabobs with pineapple
Crusty baguette
Grilled Balsamic Chicken over Summer Salad
This week's Dinners:
Curried Chicken Salad Sammiches
Coconut Curry Soup
Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
Arugula Salad with berries, feta and toasted pine nuts
Veggie Burritos- spiced barley, black beans, curried sweet potatoes, onions, peppers, goat cheese and peach salsa
On Why I will be Going to See Sex and the City 2
I know. I know. This movie is going to be terrible. It is probably going to include some troubling stereotypes, some really troubling fashion, and have little artistic value aside from shoes. But I will go see it, and I will pay $12 to see it at the fancy theater very soon after it comes out, and I am not even considering skipping it, not for a moment. I am willing to forgive what I assume will be fluffy, anti-feminist shopaholic nonsense, I am willing to forgive just about anything.
Allow me, if you will, a rather lengthy metaphor. If this movie were a person, I would tell the story like this: Sex and City is a girl I knew in college, a gorgeous, insightful, flawed, messy, ridiculous girl who I fell in love with instantly and permanently. This girl was not my best friend, but she is someone who somehow features in my favorite and wildest memories from my early twenties, who was the source of many of my "Aha!" moments, and who I turned to to confess my darkest secrets and live out my best adventures. Most of those adventures were her idea. I borrowed her shoes and her lipstick, and she borrowed my car. She was SO FUN. I'm older now, and wiser, and yet I still think of her almost every day, and tell stories about her when I have had too much wine at parties. She lives across the country now, and we don't talk on the phone or write... you know, too busy with work, and what would we say, really? But every so often she comes to town, and when she does, I drop everything to see her.
I drop everything to see her because even though she's embarrassingly inappropriate, and we don't really have anything in common anymore, and my husband finds her totally obnoxious, she is important to me for the sake of those memories, all the secrets we'e shared and all the things I never would have done... if not for her. I love to see her every few years, and it's like I get to pull a secret sequined dress from freshman year out of the back of my closet and discover that it still fits, if only for one night.
Yakisoba
Okay, so I tried to make yakisoba tonight, and it was... okay. Just okay. I learned a few important things.
1. You have to have actual soba noodles, not somen noodles, which are vermicelli-sized and really too small for the right texture.
2. You need to cook the noodles less than you normally would, because they'll soak up soba sauce while frying and get mushy.
3. You need more sauce than you think... and I need to do more research on what to put in the sauce, because mine was kind of blah.
1. You have to have actual soba noodles, not somen noodles, which are vermicelli-sized and really too small for the right texture.
2. You need to cook the noodles less than you normally would, because they'll soak up soba sauce while frying and get mushy.
3. You need more sauce than you think... and I need to do more research on what to put in the sauce, because mine was kind of blah.
Baking Day!
Farmer's Market!
I actually hauled my lazy butt out of bed before noon on a Saturday, and it was totally worth it. The Husband and I went to the Farmers' Market in Lake Oswego, and though its early in the season, we were able to get all kinds of tasty things. We got a bunch of basil that is so fragrant and lovely that I just want to bury my face in it, and we got some beautiful sweet onions, some bok choi and other yumms.
In order to shop smart at the market, I did our meal plan early, though I was prepared to make some changes to it depending on what the farmers had at good prices.
Later today I'll go to the grocery store for the other ingredients we need.
Homemade Tomato Soup/ Grilled Cheese Sammiches
Cold Soba Noodle Salad
Fish Tacos
Yaki Soba Stir Fry
Pasta Primavera with Pesto
We're using leftover Tilapia from the pack that we bought for last week's Tilapia dinner, and so we'll only have to buy protein for the stir fry. Our grocery list, now that we've stocked up on produce at the market, should be pretty short, but there will be a few specialty items on it... like a mango or peach salsa for the fish tacos, the soba noodles, and pine nuts for the pesto. Still, those things are items I can either use in many more recipes (peach salsa marinated chicken is delicious on the grill!) or buy in small quantities from the bulk bins (pine nuts). I'll also be spending a bit on flour, since I plan to bake bread and make pasta tomorrow. But then we'll have fresh bread for lunch and for the grilled cheese that's in the dinner plan, and we'll have fresh pasta for the Primavera. Yummmm. I think we'll come in a little over budget this week, since we went with all organic produce at the market, but we'll still be pretty close to $40.
In order to shop smart at the market, I did our meal plan early, though I was prepared to make some changes to it depending on what the farmers had at good prices.
Later today I'll go to the grocery store for the other ingredients we need.
Homemade Tomato Soup/ Grilled Cheese Sammiches
Cold Soba Noodle Salad
Fish Tacos
Yaki Soba Stir Fry
Pasta Primavera with Pesto
We're using leftover Tilapia from the pack that we bought for last week's Tilapia dinner, and so we'll only have to buy protein for the stir fry. Our grocery list, now that we've stocked up on produce at the market, should be pretty short, but there will be a few specialty items on it... like a mango or peach salsa for the fish tacos, the soba noodles, and pine nuts for the pesto. Still, those things are items I can either use in many more recipes (peach salsa marinated chicken is delicious on the grill!) or buy in small quantities from the bulk bins (pine nuts). I'll also be spending a bit on flour, since I plan to bake bread and make pasta tomorrow. But then we'll have fresh bread for lunch and for the grilled cheese that's in the dinner plan, and we'll have fresh pasta for the Primavera. Yummmm. I think we'll come in a little over budget this week, since we went with all organic produce at the market, but we'll still be pretty close to $40.
Meal Plan
This week:
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
Spaghetti
Crockpot Chicken over Rice
Lentil Salad with Feta
Broiled Tilapia with Asparagus
The only protein we'll have to buy this week is the tilapia... we had the beans and chicken on hand. Yum!
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
Spaghetti
Crockpot Chicken over Rice
Lentil Salad with Feta
Broiled Tilapia with Asparagus
The only protein we'll have to buy this week is the tilapia... we had the beans and chicken on hand. Yum!
Rocky Mountain High
No Meal Plan this week, folks, in case you hadn't noticed! I'm off to Colorado today for my sister's graduation and so The Husband is on his own. I believe he's making Chicken Casserole and Pizza for himself all week. I'll have a mealplan to post for next week when I get back.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Homemade Bread
Yesterday, my totally awesome friend Sarah and I baked bread. Lots of bread! It was totally fun, and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. We used This Recipe for some delicious honey wheat bread. We also made a loaf of french bread and turned it into garlic bread for a lasagna party with this recipe. Even though we had no idea what we were doing, and there was much giggling, I think it was a resounding success. The French loaf looked gorgeous and tasted lovely, despite the fact that we didn't do an egg wash on the crust like the recipe called for. It could have had a more robust crust; I'll be experimenting with artisanal recipes soon to try to get a nice crusty loaf. But, generally I'm happy with our baking extravaganza. I really want to do more from-scratch baking in the future, now that I know there's nothing really to be afraid of!
Helpful Meal Planning Tool
If you're not sure what to make for dinner, try this website! (might not be sfw)
Fine China
The Husband and I decided not to register for fancy dishes when we got married last year, but if we had, we totally would have gotten these.
Teeth
I just chipped my tooth. AGAIN.
This is so annoying.
The backstory: I fell on my face once in college and broke off half of my right front tooth. I couldn't find a dentist would treat me for like three days... I think this happened on a Thursday night or early Friday morning (1am-ish) and apparently dentists don't work on Fridays. Or weekends. So I finally found a dentist who would fix my tooth and I went in for a "temporary cap" that was supposed to hold me over until I could go home to Colorado and have my usual dentist put on a better-looking, more permanent cap.
I had that cap for five years.
Whoops!
So, finally, a few months before the wedding, I decided to get a better one. The "temporary" fix didn't really match my other teeth and I wanted to have pretty teeth for my wedding photos. (Important lesson here: photoshop is cheaper than dental work, and apparently much longer lasting)
I got a fancy new color-matched cap in a procedure that took over an hour and involved grinding off the old cap with what looked like a Dremel tool and then building up a new one. It was not the most fun I've ever had. But still, I was excited to have a new tooth.
"Yay," I thought. "I have finally stopped procrastinating and going around with a crappy "temporary" tooth and now I am a responsible adult whose teeth are all the same color! I am awesome."
I had my new tooth for only about three months when I chipped it... by biting my lip. Yes. Apparently I have the hardest lips known to man. Iron Lips. The chip was relatively small, but I was pissed... that tooth cost a lot and took forever, and I'd had my "temp" tooth for FIVE YEARS with no problems. Ugh.
I asked the dentist how much it would cost to fix, but apparently they can't just patch the chip, they'd have to... you guessed it... grind off the whole tooth and start over again. Maybe I wasn't clear before, but I really really didn't like the grinding. Also, The Husband needs $3000 in dental work, so our co-pays for all that have pretty much tapped out the dental budget. Oh well. It's a tiny chip. I'll live with it.
But today, I chipped it again! Biting my... cuticle. Yes. My cuticles are also rock hard. You wish you had cuticles like these... they are ripped. And my tooth was no match for them.
Perhaps the moral of this story is that I need to stop biting myself, or perhaps the moral of this story is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
This is so annoying.
The backstory: I fell on my face once in college and broke off half of my right front tooth. I couldn't find a dentist would treat me for like three days... I think this happened on a Thursday night or early Friday morning (1am-ish) and apparently dentists don't work on Fridays. Or weekends. So I finally found a dentist who would fix my tooth and I went in for a "temporary cap" that was supposed to hold me over until I could go home to Colorado and have my usual dentist put on a better-looking, more permanent cap.
I had that cap for five years.
Whoops!
So, finally, a few months before the wedding, I decided to get a better one. The "temporary" fix didn't really match my other teeth and I wanted to have pretty teeth for my wedding photos. (Important lesson here: photoshop is cheaper than dental work, and apparently much longer lasting)
I got a fancy new color-matched cap in a procedure that took over an hour and involved grinding off the old cap with what looked like a Dremel tool and then building up a new one. It was not the most fun I've ever had. But still, I was excited to have a new tooth.
"Yay," I thought. "I have finally stopped procrastinating and going around with a crappy "temporary" tooth and now I am a responsible adult whose teeth are all the same color! I am awesome."
I had my new tooth for only about three months when I chipped it... by biting my lip. Yes. Apparently I have the hardest lips known to man. Iron Lips. The chip was relatively small, but I was pissed... that tooth cost a lot and took forever, and I'd had my "temp" tooth for FIVE YEARS with no problems. Ugh.
I asked the dentist how much it would cost to fix, but apparently they can't just patch the chip, they'd have to... you guessed it... grind off the whole tooth and start over again. Maybe I wasn't clear before, but I really really didn't like the grinding. Also, The Husband needs $3000 in dental work, so our co-pays for all that have pretty much tapped out the dental budget. Oh well. It's a tiny chip. I'll live with it.
But today, I chipped it again! Biting my... cuticle. Yes. My cuticles are also rock hard. You wish you had cuticles like these... they are ripped. And my tooth was no match for them.
Perhaps the moral of this story is that I need to stop biting myself, or perhaps the moral of this story is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Summer Spinach Salad
This is the world's easiest salad, and I love it in all its simplicity. I have tried sprucing it up and adding all kinds of things to it, but its really best with just three ingredients.
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Nouns:
1 bag fresh Spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
1/2 lb strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
Poppyseed Dressing- as much as you want!
Verbs:
Really? Do you not know what to do at this point?
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Nouns:
1 bag fresh Spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
1/2 lb strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
Poppyseed Dressing- as much as you want!
Verbs:
Really? Do you not know what to do at this point?
In the Kitchen
I got home late this evening, so we ate leftovers while I'm broiling chicken for use in salad and candying some pecans for us to munch on during Glee! We'll have the pecan/gouda crudites that Spencer loves so much, and perhaps some popcorn, and hopefully I'll be able to get the kitchen cleaned up and the salads made so we have lunch and tomorrow's dinner already taken care of.
In other exciting news, (on a very low scale of "exciting") I'm going to try baking some bread this weekend with my friend Sarah (not to be confused with my friend Sara). I am thinking that I will do traditional knead bread this weekend, and then perhaps join the fad of 5-minutes-a-day bread. We don't spend too much on bread, really, but it would be great to have fresh, whole wheat deliciousness in the house all the time for samiches and snacks. If I could make sourdough, the The Husband would love me forever! I mean, love me MORE forever.
I've never been much of a baker, because that requires one to follow the rules and color inside the lines and not randomly add stuff that sounds good. So, I will have to really apply myself to this whole recipe thing.
I've never been much of a baker, because that requires one to follow the rules and color inside the lines and not randomly add stuff that sounds good. So, I will have to really apply myself to this whole recipe thing.
Meal Plan update
Tonight we ate the fettuccine, but I'm not posting a recipe because I'm not thrilled with my cream sauce. I need to do some research and mess with it a bit. Still, homemade noodles + cream + cheese is pretty much a solid win even if the sauce isn't 100% perfect.
So, I am going to grab 4 chicken breasts out of the freezer tonight and pop them in the fridge to defrost/marinate all day tomorrow. Then, when I get home tomorrow night, I'll broil those up and use two on the spinach salad and two in the chicken salad. Except for chopping things for the chicken salad, we'll then be set until Thursday. Whew!
Meal Plan for this week
Well, this week it is going to be a challenge to come in on budget, because we'll have to buy a lot of protein, but the Husband had several special requests, and since all we ate last week was chicken broth, I thought he deserved some good food.
What we already have that we're making good use of: potatoes, lentils, fresh spinach, frozen chicken thighs, carrots, onions, celery, homemade noodles, cream, tomato paste, tomatoes, spices. This meal plan has six meals, because it includes tonight's dinner.
1. Lentil and Potato soup
2. Chicken Makhni in the Crockpot, cumin carrots on the side
3. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
4. Spinach and Strawberry salad with balsamic glazed chicken
5. Thai Coconut Curry Soup
6. Fettuccine Alfredo, side salad
The big expensive things we'll have to buy will be chicken breasts and ground chicken, the curry paste for the curry soup, and the strawberries. I'll serve the fettuccine vegetarian for our veggie meal, and the spinach salad will be our main course salad (I don't count the chicken salad sandwiches).
We wasted some food last week, which I HATE, but what with being sick it was sort of unavoidable. I am trying to use as much as humanly possible from last week so nothing else spoils. Thanks, all!
What we already have that we're making good use of: potatoes, lentils, fresh spinach, frozen chicken thighs, carrots, onions, celery, homemade noodles, cream, tomato paste, tomatoes, spices. This meal plan has six meals, because it includes tonight's dinner.
1. Lentil and Potato soup
2. Chicken Makhni in the Crockpot, cumin carrots on the side
3. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
4. Spinach and Strawberry salad with balsamic glazed chicken
5. Thai Coconut Curry Soup
6. Fettuccine Alfredo, side salad
The big expensive things we'll have to buy will be chicken breasts and ground chicken, the curry paste for the curry soup, and the strawberries. I'll serve the fettuccine vegetarian for our veggie meal, and the spinach salad will be our main course salad (I don't count the chicken salad sandwiches).
We wasted some food last week, which I HATE, but what with being sick it was sort of unavoidable. I am trying to use as much as humanly possible from last week so nothing else spoils. Thanks, all!
Chicken Tajine in the Crockpot
I have made a "Moroccan" Chicken recipe in the crockpot for ages, but it's pretty hit and miss... sometimes awesome, sometimes less so, and too finicky in terms of timing. So, I tried a different recipe today, but since it's a weekend day and I'm home, I did a quick version of it taking only four hours, so I don't know how it would hold up all day. But, it's delicious! SO GOOD.
Crockpot Chicken Tajine
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1.5-2 onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups couscous, prepared
1/4 cup slivered almonds, for garnish
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
Verbs-
If you have the time, brown the chicken thighs in a pan. But if not, don't worry. Throw the thighs, onions, apricots, cranberries and carrots in the crock. Mix all the remaining ingredients except the couscous and almonds together in a bowl. Pour over the ingredients in the crock. Cook on high 4 hours. Serve over the couscous garnished with almonds. YUM.
Parameters
I have had a revelation. Or something. I decided to give myself a better framework for my meal planning and for this blog, to give some shape to what I'm doing here. Knowing me, the framework won't restrict me much; I'm a coloring outside the lines kind of girl.
So, what will this framework look like? Well, as I've explained on here before, our meal planning already has some basic rules, and so essentially I'm just adding a little to them and deciding to live by them and write by them for a few months. I am not necessarily recommending them to others... there are hopefully going to be some good recipes, some tips and tricks, and some funny bits that might help you, but we are planning meals for our preferences, our budget and our time constraints, so our plans might not make much sense for others.
In any case, here are the rules:
1. The meal plan must include 5 dinners
2. One vegetarian meal per week
3. One main course salad per week
4. No mammals (just because I don't eat them, no other reason)
5. Only crockpot meals can take longer than 45 minutes to prepare (since I commute and get home late in the evenings)
6. The whole meal plan should cost less than $40, except special occasions
7. I will post the meal plan on Sunday and try to give recipes reviews and updates throughout the week.
Generally, we try to spend about $200-$250/month on groceries. The $40/week for dinners gives us $10/week to play with for breakfasts and lunches and beverages... not much, but doable if dinner leftovers can double as lunches and if you don't buy much soda or alcohol. Wish me luck!
So, what will this framework look like? Well, as I've explained on here before, our meal planning already has some basic rules, and so essentially I'm just adding a little to them and deciding to live by them and write by them for a few months. I am not necessarily recommending them to others... there are hopefully going to be some good recipes, some tips and tricks, and some funny bits that might help you, but we are planning meals for our preferences, our budget and our time constraints, so our plans might not make much sense for others.
In any case, here are the rules:
1. The meal plan must include 5 dinners
2. One vegetarian meal per week
3. One main course salad per week
4. No mammals (just because I don't eat them, no other reason)
5. Only crockpot meals can take longer than 45 minutes to prepare (since I commute and get home late in the evenings)
6. The whole meal plan should cost less than $40, except special occasions
7. I will post the meal plan on Sunday and try to give recipes reviews and updates throughout the week.
Generally, we try to spend about $200-$250/month on groceries. The $40/week for dinners gives us $10/week to play with for breakfasts and lunches and beverages... not much, but doable if dinner leftovers can double as lunches and if you don't buy much soda or alcohol. Wish me luck!
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