So, I think it's safe to say I missed it. The WIAW party train, that is. I even took pictures on Wednesday, promise, I just didn't have the time/energy to post. This seems to be a recurring theme, and I'm guessing it will be, since I started both school and work in the past week.
Wednesday was my first day of school, and I woke up slightly nervous. I showered and dressed, and made it to the first break of the morning, which was also pretty fast:
Maranatha Cashew Butter + Crofter's Superfruit Spread on Great Harvest Dakota Bread. Name-drop much? You can tell how early it was because of the terrible lighting, (which is also regretfully in part due to my lackluster camera).
My first class, Astronomy, was interesting, to say the least. To put it this way: I found my post-class snack much more interesting than syllabus details:
Lifeway Vanilla Biokefir + Kashi Honey Almond Flax + Blueberries.
My second class was cancelled, so I drove around looking for a dance shop to supply me with a leotard and pink tights (ballet class, a requirement!), but I only found one that catered to ages ten and below. I decided to drive to Whole Foods early and have lunch before work:
Some chipotle squash + teriyaki tofu. I also had some asparagus salad, steamed kale and cabbage on my plate, but I saved it for dinner, by which time I was moaning and sweaty from pushing carts in long pants. I don't have the right shoes yet, so my feet ached, literally ached after being on them for four hours.
Dinner consisted of:
A field greens salad with feta, cabbage, steamed kale, and asparagus salad. I also had a nectarine and two thawed, homemade chocolate banana cookies:
Probably the most moist (can I say that?) cookie you will ever eat.
Check with Mama Pea for the recipe.
I pushed some more carts, sobbed a bit, and then went back to pushing carts. I'll spare you the details, but be forewarned: during my second break, I bought ice cream, or something very similar.
After my break, I pushed carts. Did I mention that I push a lot of carts? And that they're more than half my height? And that I have a very short arm span?
I know that pushing carts won't be my job forever, and I know that, as a cashier-in-training, I am at the bottom of the chain, etc. But those eight hours were quite painful. Quite painful -- it bears repeating.
When I finally arrived home around 10 p.m., I took a long, scalding hot bath to relieve the tension in my feet. And then I grabbed my beautiful second-break discovery, pistachio gelato, and spooned myself a big bowl. Or mug. Whatever.
Unlike my last store-bought gelato experience, this brand, Ciao Bella, was delicious. It was creamy, savory, indulgent, perfect. The perfect end to a stress-filled day.
We had some leftover rice from yesterday. For as long as I can remember, left over rice has always meant my Dad reminiscing about his college/bachelor days, when he and his housemates would make copious amounts of fried rice from leftover Chinese food. These days, the suggestion is always there, but the execution is left up to someone else, and usually that means sticky old rice in the trash. Instead of letting it go to waste, I decided to take up my Dad's recommendation, and whip up some fried rice.
To create this recipe, I borrowed ideas from two blogs that I love very much: Peas and Thank You and Smitten Kitchen. There go my creativity chops. Anyhoo, I searched "stirfry" on both of their sites, and came up with Mama Pea's Thai Beefless Stirfry and Deb's Ginger Fried Rice. From Mama Pea, I borrowed the Thai-infused sauce recipe, and from Deb, I followed instructions and added additional ingredients.
Eggy-Fried Rice:
2 large cage-free eggs
1 c. cooked rice (leftovers are perfect!)
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 large carrot, julienned
3 tbs. chopped yellow onion
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. natural peanut butter (use less or omit entirely, depending on preference)
1 tbs. lime juice
1 tbs. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
pinch of ginger
salt + pepper
Instructions:
1. Combine peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, and honey in a small bowl. The peanut butter doesn't mix well, so don't worry if it looks kind of icky; it'll taste great.
2. Prepare your vegetables! And garlic. I just used what we had in the fridge, but some great additions would be red pepper, water chestnuts, snap peas, and mushrooms. I swear, that peeler has become my new best friend ever since I bought whole carrots! I don't hate it.
Because it was my first time doing it, here's a lesson on julienning: in words, or in video.
I don't have any pictures of the onion, garlic, or peas, as Kelly interrogated me at this point.
Kelly, "Why are you taking pictures?"
Me, "Because I have a blog."
Kelly, "What kind of blog?
Me, "A FOOD BLOG!"
It's hard enough when your parents think anything you do with food relates to your eating disorder. Making food, enjoying it, and celebrating it with other people/bloggers truly brings me a sense of fulfillment. I understand her concern, but I am not doing this because I want to hurt my body. I'm doing this because I'm hungry. And I like pretty pictures.
3. Heat a medium-large skillet to medium heat, and add a drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic to the pan. Let the garlic brown, but only lightly.
4. Add remaining olive oil, and add carrots, onion, and peas. Add desired salt and pepper. Cook for about 6-8 minutes on medium, stirring every few minutes.
5. Add rice and sauce mixture. Stir until the rice and sauce are evenly distributed throughout the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional five minutes, or until heated through.
6. While the rice and vegetables are cooking, crack eggs onto a separate oiled skillet, on medium heat. Be sure that the pan is large enough for both eggs to fit. Fry the eggs until the whites are mostly solid. To ensure that the eggs cook quick enough, you can place a saucepan lid over top the skillet. I used a kettle!
7. Once the eggs and rice are done, spoon the rice into bowls and top each bowl with one fried egg.
Enjoy!
Serves 2.
Today, I relied heavily on reci"peas" by Mama Pea. Her fabulous blog is made not only of snark, but also of delicious food and meal ideas. After sitting around for most of the day, contemplating when ----- -----, (the grocer that hired me three weeks ago!), would call me back, I decided that cooking would be the most productive use of my time. Besides, you know, browsing other blogs and craning my neck into precarious positions as I read.
Breakfast and lunch already covered, I decided that a dinner high in protein was necessary. I wanted to use the quinoa thats been sitting in the pantry since February, but since my last effort was disastrous, I was slightly afraid to use it. However, I plucked up some courage and found Mama Pea's simple Spanish Quinoa, and decided all things go; this wasn't the mess of plain quinoa and straight balsamic vinegar I concoted before. Using her recipe as a reference, I made several changes based on what we had in our kitchen (my family is not very vegan-friendly!)
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Mama Pea's Spanish Quinoa:
Ingredients:
1/2 c. dry quinoa
2 T. chopped onion
1 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 t. chili powder
Instructions:
Toast quinoa in bottom of a saucepan over medium heat.
Add chopped onion and saute for a few minutes. Add broth, sauce and spices and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve
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Deliciousness!
Instead of tomato sauce, I used Bertolli Tomato & Basil pasta sauce. I also added about 2 oz. baked chicken to the mix, and a sprinkle of shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese. Like Mama Pea, I circled the mix with broccoli florets, heavily doused in garlic powder, salt and pepper.
The quinoa mixture was wonderful, and I'm glad I'll have another serving tomorrow. One thing I'd change: I'd sautee the onions first in a bit of the broth, and forego toasting the quinoa. It was just a tad too crunchy for me. Other than that, the recipe reminded me of chili, and essentially would be with some beans and extra veggies. The heat of the chili powder was lovely; this is something I'll be making often throughout the winter months!
Of course, my Spanish Quinoa wouldn't be complete without dessert. We had a few bananas going bad, so I settled on Mama Pea's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies.
The recipe was extremely simple and easy to follow, though due to my below-par pantry, I had to make more than just a few substitutions.
I used:
1 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. 1% milk (in place of almond milk)
1/4 c. natural peanut butter
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 bananas, mashed
3 tbs. ground flax (in place of protein powder)
2 tbs. brown sugar (in place of sweetener)
2 tbs. honey (in place of sweetener)
1 tsp. baking powder
Directions (quoted straight from Peas and Thank You):
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined.
3. Scoop batter by heaping tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet, and bake for 9-12 minutes, until cookies are firm.
Could it be: a. fertilizer, b. my sister's diarrhea, or c. a mud-based face mask?
The answer is d., none of the above.
They came out...okay, looking more like elephant poo than cookies. HOWEVER, they tasted just fine. Lovely, in fact. I may or may not have eaten four in the span of three hours.
I prefer them straight out of the oven or microwaved, with a drizzle of peanut butter on top. My recipe yielded about 20 small cookies, so I froze about ten so they would keep. My sisters tried them, and I'd suffice it to say they would much prefer eating that mud-based face mask, so its just me and my cookies.
In the future, I'd probably add an additional scoop of flax and nix about 1/2 the amount of cocoa powder. I do like chocolate, but I much prefer peanut butter, as you should well know by now.
I also calculated the nutrition info! (For those of us who need a little reassurance. These ARE nutritious. Peanut butter is full of healthy fats, cocoa is rich in antioxidants, flax, well, is flax...need I say more?) My dad named them "Survival Cookies," after I read off the"very healthy" ingredient list. He even said, "They're so good for you -- they taste like breakfast!" Now if only I could keep my siblings from eating Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch....
