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.
I decided last night that the first thing on my to-do list today would be to use my new-found abundance of free, fresh basil. We had some tomatoes in the fridge, as well as some fresh garlic cloves. The first thing that came to mind: bruschetta.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 beefsteak tomatoes
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
This recipe can easily be doubled, and placed atop toasted and lightly oiled slices of bread.
I opted to put it over salad.
Instructions:
1. Dice tomatoes and place into medium sized bowl.
2. In a food processor, mince garlic. Add basil to processor after garlic is mostly minced, and process until basil is coarsely chopped. Add basil and garlic to tomatoes.
5. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to tomato/basil/garlic, and combine thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use/serve.
The second thing that came to mind, when I noticed the two other leftover kaiser rolls sitting on the counter: croutons.
Ingredients:
2 semi-stale kaiser rolls
3 tbs. butter
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut your bread -not your thumb- into equal-sized cubes. Place into a large bowl.
3. In a food processor, mince garlic. Add basil to processor after garlic is mostly minced, and process until basil is coarsely chopped. (Does this sound familiar?)
4. In a small saucepan, add butter and olive oil, stirring to create a smooth mixture. Add minced garlic and basil, and cook for one minute. Stir until herbs are evenly distributed throughout butter/oil mix.
5. Pour butter/oil/garlic/basil mixture over chopped bread, and distribute as evenly as possible. I used my hands to toss the bread in the oil mixture, just because it was easier.
6. Place cubed bread onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake for fifteen minutes, turning over bread once with a spatula. Cool for ten minutes on paper towels, and enjoy!
I also advise you save the little crunchies! Perfect bag-to-mouth munchage.
My family loves croutons. My little sister Kara told everyone to stop eating croutons so we could save them for her dinner.
I used both the bruschetta and croutons to create my:
Fresh Bruschetta Salad with Garlic Basil Croutons.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. lettuce
2 oz. chopped green pepper
5 chopped baby carrots
5 slices balsamic-marinated cucumber
1/2 c. fresh bruschetta
1/2 c. garlic-basil croutons
dressing of choice
Top lettuce with pepper, carrots, cucumber, bruschetta, croutons, dressing, and serve! I didn't think this salad would need dressing, but after a few bites I topped mine with some of Newman's Own Creamy Caesar. It was quite a filling/delicious/basli-filled lunch!
*Disclaimer: I usually don't eat this many salads, but Kelly bought two heads of lettuce last weekend, in addition to fresh veggies, and I just couldn't let them go to waste!
Happy Belated WIAW. I was so busy yesterday that despite being able to take pictures of all my eats, I didn't have time to post about them!
I was busy in the morning babysitting. My siblings started off the day with Eggo Waffles, and I started off with this:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch, topped with cinnamon, and coffee. You can see the reflection of the trees surrounding my deck in my coffee cup!
Usually this cereal really fills me up, but by the time lunch rolled around I was starving! I made a salad consisting of iceberg, cucumber, green pepper, corn, carrots, tomato and goat cheese. I loved all the colors in it! I also paired my salad with a slice of Great Harvest Dakota Bread! After reading so much about CVille on Kath's blog, (not that I know her personally, I'm just a big fan!) I decided to look up my local Great Harvest and found one less than five miles away! There's another Great Harvest location near my work, which you will hear quite a lot about very soon.... :)
Can you eat with all the colors of the wind? I can.
After lunch, I took the kids to the pool for a bit. I brought an (unpictured) apple to hold me over, but it hardly did the job! I was, again, quite ravenous when I returned home, so I microwaved some bread pudding and topped it with peanut butter. To die for? I think so.
My sister and I read the book One Day by David Nicholls just last month, so when we heard the movie was coming out we decided we'd have to go and compare. We planned to go to the 7:30 showing, but before that, dinner was in order. I thought Bonefish would be a good option, because they have $5 Bang Bang Shrimp on Wednesdays, but when we got there, we learned of the 40 minute wait, and promptly walked out. We instead chose to go to Fresca Grill, and had an extremely quick dinner of paninis. Unlike my last venture to Fresca, everything was cooked well, and not burnt. Fresca has been redeemed in my eyes.
I ordered the Aztec Chicken panini, made with grilled chicken breast, monterey-jack cheese, caramelized onions and chipotle-mayo.
My sister ordered her staple, the Chicken Parm panini. Both were yummy (but mine was better! Megan agreed).
The movie was, well, awful. It strayed from several important story lines that deeply impacted the characters in the novel, and Jim Sturgess's character was gross and obnoxious. I guess seeing the character live really enhanced his negative qualities. The parts I did enjoy were the ones that reminded me of Bubbaloo. The main characters' love for one another was incredibly passionate and deep; this is what made the novel, and their love was the sole positive aspect of the movie.
Megan was craving dessert after the movie, so I suggested gelato from Ariano. They were out of pistachio, so I instead settled on coffee. It was delicious, as always, so delicious that I finished it in the car before we even got home, before I could take a picture of it.
So I took a pictures of Megan's vanilla, and passed out, asleep, shortly thereafter. I had a big day ahead of me...
This post is not about money, or jealousy. Today's highlights just happened to include green.
For lunch, I made a salad comprised of almost of entirely green vegetables; iceberg lettuce, cucumber, green bell pepper, and asparagus. I threw some cherry tomatoes in for good measure, and then threw them out upon tasting -- they were awful! They did not taste juicy and sweet like they should. They were bland and had a strange flavor that reminded me of chemicals, or manure. Or both. Their detriment was easily remedied, however, by the addition of some shredded Colby and Monetery-Jack Cheese, topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette!
Major yum! Especially when paired with two anytime cookies, drizzled in peanut butter...
For the remainder of the afternoon, I organized my room and urged the kids to do their summer reading, and also to play outside. Both efforts lasted about 15 minutes. I read, however, and also fussed with the appearance of my blog for countless hours.
It's just never going to be perfect, is it?
Around 4:30, just as I was supposed to be preparing dinner, I dove into the project of updating my Dad's picture bulletin for his office. I scoured our house for up-to-date pictures, but instead discovered countless documented memories. So many smiling faces. Such adorableness. Remembering my siblings as they were is both wonderful and distressing. How did they grow up so fast? How did I miss that moment, that face, that butt?! Why didn't I squeeze it a few more times before he/she grew too old?
I saw a picture of myself in a bathing suit, at a time when I wasn't plagued by my eating disorder. I still looked shy, self-conscious. And as I peered at my 13 year old self, all I could think was how fat. My grandfather is smiling, gathered with me and other family members in the ocean only a few years before his death, and all I can focus on is my stomach. My arms. Oh my god, my cheeks. I cannot remember a time when I had cheeks.
I see myself then, and I know myself now. Which would I truly prefer? Were my years of turmoil really worth the less than 10 pound difference? Do I really look that different? Am I still that fat? Of course, I have over the years learned to dress myself better, and I've learned how to apply make up. But underneath those layers remain my face, my body, and very vividly, my thoughts about each aspect of my outward appearance. Was I really happy then? I can't remember. Those memories have been stripped by the negative thoughts and their all-consuming consequences. And I can't remember, I can't remember... Where was my mind during those hazy years? I can't get it back, that time. That time in my life was crucial, and it shaped me into who I am today. And I don't know if I'd want it back. I really don't. For better or for worse.
---
Tangents and questions. Questions and tangents. Suffice it to say that I'm still working on the bulletin, and that I still really need to find some up-to-date pictures. I'm thinking of doing a mix between then and now, as I couldn't just set aside the pictures that made me smile so much, that will no doubt provoke warm and fuzzy recollections for my Dad as well.
I served dinner for me and the kids around 5:00, and by 8:00 I was craving something sweet. Something hot. Jay drove us to Burlap and Bean, my favorite local coffee shop, but they were unfortunately closed. So I had to settle on Starbucks -- not a problem! Except for the steep price that the switch from whole to soy milk provided. I ordered a soy caramel macchiato, and was delighted by both the taste and the fact that my nails matched my cup! I got my nails and eyebrows (strictly necessity) done yesterday, and chose Essie's Pretty Edgy. It was different. It was green. And it matched my coffee cup perfectly.
I was a pretty happy gem.
Salad Mix:
4 cups mixed baby greens
1/2 lb. halved organic strawberries
3 oz. fresh goat cheese
4 tbs. walnuts (in the future I would caramelize the walnuts, as they did at Beach Creek.)
salt and pepper, to taste
Dressing:
1/2 c. halved organic strawberries
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tbs. olive or canola oil
2 tbs. honey
salt and pepper, to taste
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Directions:
1. Rinse the greens and chop into smaller pieces on cutting board. Place in large bowl.
2. Cut the strawberries in half, and add to greens.
3. Crumble goat cheese.
4. Add walnuts to salad mix (caramelize them first if you'd prefer them that way.)
5. Add dressing and toss salad; let sit. This will allow the greens to really absorb the flavor.
6. Place salad mixture into serving bowls or plates, and top with goat cheese. Enjoy!
Serves two.
Depending on your preference, you could add or subtract the amount of honey you use.
Today, I am 27 days symptom free from my eating disorder. This is a new record for me, and it falls just below the two symptom free months I enjoyed straight out of my third hospitalization. Since February, I allowed myself to be slightly drawn back into bulimia's clutches. I've been slowly regaining my footing. Three days, nine days, fourteen days...and now twenty-seven. My success is in no small part due to the unwavering support of my boyfriend, Jay. He has been there for me through the worst, from the fifty minute bathroom breaks to the potassium drip. He has endured my relentless self-deprecation, the constant chatter of my eating disorder that surfaces whenever I pass a mirror. He has held me through the fullness and the frustration, he has stayed with me despite the selfish wall my eating disorder has built around me. He has loved me so fully, without hesitation, and because of this, I am learning to love my self.
If you're reading this, I love you, bubbaloo.
Jay has taught me more than unconditional love; he's also helped me grow stronger, and he's allowed me to view food as something enjoyable. Several weeks ago, we went to Wildwood, where his parents own a beach house. We went to a restaurant called Beach Creek, and both ordered my favorite item on their menu -- the house salad.
Comprised of "tender mixed greens, goat cheese & cracked walnuts with a strawberry vinaigrette," it had both of our mouths watering for weeks to come, whenever the salad was mentioned. Today, we tried to recreate the salad for a picnic at the park, which we were unfortunately rained out of. However, it was cooler, and still very enjoyable to eat inside.
Though the salad from the restaurant definitely topped the one we made, our salad was very enjoyable, and I would definitely make it again. My pictures are rushed and don't do the salad justice, as we were ravenous after a run at the park.
Summertime Strawberry Salad Recipe.
It really is a delicious summer salad, and it's very easy to make. Jay and I both finished our bowls and sighed in contentment/fullness. It was a lovely, yummy day.
