Little Speck on Big Planet

Book Review - When She Woke

2012-02-09T20:42:00.003-05:00

I had been devoid of a book to read and was checking my list of books I earmarked. This one happened to be available at my branch of the library so I picked it up. Two days later, the book was finished.

Hannah Payne wakes up and finds that she is red. In the not too distant future, criminals are no longer jailed. They are injected with a virus that turns their skin a color that corresponds to the level of crime that they committed. They are then released back into society where are abused and discriminated against. Hannah is turned red because she is convicted of murder for having an abortion. Her sentence is extended as she refuses to give up the name of the father, a very public and conservative religious figure, or the name of the person who performs the abortion.

In this futuristic time there is no longer any separation between church and state. Hannah has been raised in a very conservative family. Now that she is thrust on her own to survive as a Chrome, she has come to doubt a significant portion of her upbringing.

The story starts out really fascinating, a modern day Scarlet Letter. As the story continues there seems to be a bit of an unraveling that occurs. The story is still enjoyable, but there are some tangents that are not wrapped up and some other ones that are finalized abruptly at the end of the story.

For me the most interesting part is thinking about the "what ifs?". What would our country be like if there was not some separation between church and state? What would it be like to have criminals branded and walking on the street? Would we as humans discriminate against them for their skin color?

Obviously if I finished the book in 2 days it is not a difficult read. It was not the best book I've read but also not the worst.

I give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5.

Pumpkin Coconut Curry

2012-01-23T12:08:00.004-05:00

1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped, discard the thick stems

1/2 onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

15 ounce can of pumpkin

14 ounce can of coconut milk, NOT light

juice of 1 clementine

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and press extra water out.

In a large skillet heat a neutral high heat oil, like grapeseed, over medium high heat. Saute the onion and carrots until they begin to soften and slightly brown. Add the garlic and cinnamon and saute for 1 minute more. Add the pumpkin puree and coconut milk and stir to combine. Reduce heat and allow simmer for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the broccoli rabe, clementine juice and some kosher salt.

I served this over some brown rice and with some pan fried tofu squares. The tofu squares were pressed of extraneous water and then dredged in a turmeric, cumin, ginger, nutmeg mixture that was mixed with a little bit of flour for binder. I then pan-fried them in some grapeseed oil. They were so bland and tasteless. I really thought they would be good but alas no. You can see them in the picture and they sure look pretty but very tasteless.

When and if I get around to making this again, I would add some of those spices I used on the tofu and a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas for the protein. Or if you want to do meat, you can use that spice combo on cut up chicken breast and panfry that.

Book Review - The Book Thief

2012-01-04T20:50:00.002-05:00

Taking place in Nazi Germany during WWII, this book was right up my ally of fiction that I like to read. And this one did not disappoint.

Liesel and her brother Werner are being taken by their mother to live with a foster family, the Hubermanns. On their way there, Werner dies. Two things happen for the first time that stem from this event, Liesel will steal her first book that she finds near her brother's gravesite, and the narrator of the book meets Liesel. And yes, that means the narrator of the book is Death.

With the help of her foster father, Liesel learns to read and finds she is able to escape the unpleasant world around her through words. Growing up in a time when everything from food to money is scarce, having the luxury of books is not in the cards for Liesel. She begins to steal books from various dangerous situations, like Nazi book burnings and the mayor's private library. When the Hubermanns hide a young Jewish man in their basement named Max, life becomes even more dangerous for Liesel. Max and Liesel share the same feelings of loss knowing they are the only living person in their respective families. Through words, the two of them both share their fears and anger and hopes.

The author, Markus Zusak, hit the nail on the head with this one by having it narrated by Death. The story of Liesel is not something out of the ordinary for a book based during this time period. Fear, persecution, loneliness, starvation, etc... are all common themes. But to hear the story from Death, changes it to something unique. Death as a character is not morose, he is just doing his job. Though he feels extraordinarily overworked during this time in history. He is not out to get you, he is there to simply collect you when the times come. He narrates in a descriptive way, often using colors, that involves you emotionally but you don't feel sad for those he comes to collect, you feel that they are taken care of.

You won't get any spoilers on the details of the story from me, you will just have to read it for yourself.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

2011 - Year in Review

2011-12-26T20:35:00.006-05:00

So I am stealing this from my friend Courtney. I saw this on her blog and I thought it sounded like an interesting way to look back over the past year.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I ran 10 miles.

2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I am not a New Years' resolution kind of person. My goal is always to live a healthy life and I think I do a good job of that. I guess my motto is moderation is key and exercise is essential.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I am in that age range where lots of people are having babies. Two that stick out in my mind are my friends Emily and Monique. Hopefully I am not forgetting someone important and offending them by omitting them here.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Chris, a mutual friend of my husband and I who we knew from the VT marching band. Trish, a wonderful friend of mine who I saw 2 to 3 times a year. But whenever we met, we could talk for hours. I miss her dearly.

5. What countries did you visit?

We took a cruise with some friends at the beginning of the year and stopped in St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Grenada.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Hmmm.....I'm not sure I feel comfortable answering this in a public forum. I'm going to say that I would like acceptance; I know what it means and I'm OK with being the only one.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 8th. I went to see INXS at Wolftrap. What makes it memorable is that I had asked my friend Trish if she wanted to go and see this show with me. She was unable as her health had taken a turn for the worse and she died the day before the show. I went by myself and with her in spirit.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I started taking piano lessons again after a 20 year hiatus. This time around I'm learning how to play without music. I also relaunched this blog again after having turned my back on it to try a different platform.

9. What was your biggest failure of the year?

Honestly I can't think of anything. Either I didn't fail at anything or it didn't bother me enough to remember. I think changing failure to disappointment makes more sense. In that case I would say my parents selling their house on OBX. I understand why they did and I am happy for them. But I would be lying if I didn't say it saddened me. There were a lot of fun memories created at that house and it will be disappointing not to be able to go back there.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Well, my IT band was pretty mad at me for awhile.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I got a new fancy pants camera and I love it!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I can not think of an answer to this question.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

As none of this has gone to trial yet, I'm just going to say the whole situation at Penn State.

14. Where did most of your money go?

I'm going to change this question also to "What did you spend money on?". Otherwise the answer will always be the mortgage; boring. We had the cruise we went on with our friends. Both hubby and I ran a lot of races this year. Running clothes (yes, one of my addictions). A ski trip to Wisp Resort.

15. What did you get really, really, really, excited about?

A trip to NYC with a girlfriend who was running the marathon.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Not a 2011 release but Plain White T's "Rhythm of Love" would be the song that makes me think of this past year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder, thinner or fatter, richer or poorer?

Well, I am definitely much happier. I am neither thinner or fatter, exactly the same weight I have been for awhile. As far as richer or poorer, I have no idea. That is why I have a financial planner so she can figure all that stuff out.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Hiking. Started doing this over the summer and I love it, wish I had made time to do it more often, but there is always next year!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Talking to people about vibrams.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Since Christmas is over, we spent it with my husband's family at my sister in law's house about an hour north of Pittsburgh. On the way there we spent a couple of days at Wisp resort skiing, ice skating, tubing, and hiking.

21. How will you be spending New Years Eve?

I work until 5 that day. We have plans to hang out with friends, but I'm so exhausted from the Christmas trip I might just go to bed early.

22. Did you discover any great new websites in 2011?

I do a lot of research on the internet, I don't surf it very much for pleasure. Several friends of mine have blogs that I like to read.

23. How many weddings did you attend?

Should have been two but ended up only being one. Had to miss one for a funeral.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Modern Family, and I still love watching Family Guy.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is such a strong word and I'm not sure I would want to give anyone that description. But if I have to pick I will say the Occupy Wall Streeters. I saw those idiots when I was up in NY, I can't figure out what they think they are accomplishing. They were just plain annoying and in the way of keeping people from using a park.

26. What was the best book you read?

Well, I use this blog to document that. A couple that stick out were the Hunger Games, Consequences, and The Education of Little Tree.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

How about a re-discovery? I have really been enjoying the Talking Heads lately. This was a group that I totally forgot about.

28. What did you want and get?

Work/life balance.

29. What was your favorite film this year?

Muppets. Loved it. I cried through most of it as it made me miss being a kid and watching the Muppets on TV every week.

30. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

I turned 35 this year, a milestone birthday. I slept in to 7:30, ate breakfast and read a book, worked 10-5, did a 6 mile run, and had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Tuskies.

31. What one thing would have made you year immeasurably more satisfying?

If I could have figured out a way to keep running the MS yoga class I was teaching. I tried for several months but from a time and financial standpoint, I had to quit banging my head against a wall.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Fashion, what is fashion? If it isn't yoga clothes or running clothes, there isn't much else that I wear on a regular basis.

33. What kept you sane?

I found my way back to yoga as a student this year. That was something I didn't realize how much I missed. I still need to make more time to get there though.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy most?

The new trainer on the Biggest Loser, Dolvett, was not hard to look at.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Our HOA taking a stance on an issue and representing the community as a whole without asking the community how we personally want to be represented.

36. Who did you miss?

My cousin Audrey. Texting just isn't the same as seeing someone in person.

37. Who were the best new people you met?

Libby, Courtney, Jenny (though we technically met in 2010 we didn't become close friends until this year).

38. Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011?

It is never too late to fix a problem.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

I'm going to quote something I heard in a commercial. "People don't make a list of the websites they want to see before they die".

Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Cheese Frittata

2011-12-15T16:38:00.004-05:00

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

5-6 ounces (filled my salad spinner) arugula, chopped

8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped

6 eggs

1/4 cup of half and half (or milk)

1 Tablespoon Penzeys Parisian Bonnes Herbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, when it is almost brown add the arugula and cook until wilted. Turn off heat and stir in the tomatoes.

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, half and half, and spices.

Spray a 9x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in the egg mixture. Add the arugula mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the feta cheese evenly over the top.

I started typing this blog post up so long ago that I don't remember what temperature and for how long I baked this for. So I'm going to go with a guess based on the size of the dish and the fact that we are baking eggs. I'm going to say 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I've Been Gooooed!

2011-12-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

Up to this point in my running life I have avoided the gooey nutritionals. The concept of squirting some goo in my mouth really just disgusted me. But I began to realize that there is no way that I can do long distance running without taking in calories. I know from my experience from the Cherry Blossom 10 miler that I fall apart and become incredible fatigued around the 70-80 minute mark of activity.

When we exercise, our bodies burn our stores of glycogen for energy. The body has a set amount of glycogen that it will store. If we consume more calories then we need that does not increase our glycogen amount, that extra amount is converted into fat. Once we burn through our stored glycogen the body starts breaking down fat for energy. But here is the problem, our bodies do not efficiently burn fat for energy. So if you are trying to do activity for an extended period of time, you will need to take in calories that the body can easily burn before you run out of glycogen. The general rule of thumb is to take in calories for every 45 minutes of extended activity. When you are running, the easiest way to do this is to use a goo type packet. It is basically a maltodextrin sugar blend, something simple the body can break apart that is not harsh on the stomach.

Well, today was my first foray in attempting to use a goo. I did an 8.25 mile run today and I took with me a Grape Pomegranate Carb Boom. Somewhere around the 40-45 minute mark I ripped it open and gave it a whirl. It wasn't as gross as I thought it would be. I knew I would need to take it with water but I was surprised at the amount of water I needed to consume in order to get it down. It tasted fine and did not bother my stomach. And the best part about it was that it actually worked. I did not get that tired feeling of the heavy legs and loss of energy. I was able to keep running strong, well until my IT band got mad at me. If it isn't one thing, it's something else when it comes to distance running.

Only 5 months and 2 days to the half marathon.

Pumpkin Cake with Cheesecake Swirl Topping

2011-11-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

It is well documented here that baking is not my forte. Every once in awhile I have this desire to bake something though. This last time was for Thanksgiving. I really wanted something with pumpkin but also something like a cheesecake. My google searching led me to www.instructables.com where I found a recipe for muffins. I wanted something more cake like so I took their recipe but made it into a cake instead of muffins. I only had 6 ounces of cream cheese so I had to adjust the recipe a little because of that. If I make this again I would definitely make it like it is supposed to be done as I thought it needed just a little bit more cheesecake topping.

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1/4 cup of grapeseed oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 ounces light cream cheese (room temperature)
1 egg yolk
5 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla

In a mixer, blend together the pumpkin, oil, and sugar. Add the eggs in one at a time and then the vanilla. Keep blending together until everything is combined.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. (Flour through salt) Turn the mixer on add slowly add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until combined.

Grease a 9 inch cake pan. I did this by rubbing about a 1/2 Tablespoon of butter all over the surface. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the cake pan, smoothing out the top.

In a mixer, blend together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla.

Add dollops of the cream cheese mixture all over the top of the pumpkin cake. Take a toothpick and swirl the cheesecake mixture into the top of the pumpkin cake.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

Book Review - Firefly Lane

2011-11-24T07:52:00.000-05:00

I have not done a good job lately with this blog. Often times I have thought to come here and write, and then more times then not, I find something else to do. Then I have to remind myself that I do these book reviews not just for the readers out there but for myself so I can remember what I read.

Today's review is on Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. This story follows two main characters, who become best friends, over a 30 plus year span of time. Kate grows up in a loving family in a rural community in Washington State. Kate, like most adolescent girls, is plagued by feelings of insecurity. Without a true friend she spends a significant amount of time alone and miserable. Tully is raised predominately by her grandmother as her own mother often abandons her. Outwardly she displays a lot of confidence and always manages to become the center of attention. But internally she is broken and wishes to be loved and acknowledged by her mother.

The two girls meet and become fast friends. As they grow older, their lives take separate paths. Kate wishes to find love, marry and have kids while Tully, always desperate for attention, is career driven and aspires to be loved and recognized by everyone. Over the years, though their lives are very different, they remain close friends until one day when Tully stabs Kate in the back. Their 30 year friendship disintegrates in a blink of an eye. The girls do end up reconciling and becoming friends again when tragedy strikes.

I loved this book. It was so enjoyable to read and it was written really well especially considering the time span it covered. The author did an excellent job of incorporating real life events into the fictional lives of the characters, it made it very easy to relate and connect to both Kate and Tully. This book is very sad though. I think I cried non stop for about the last 75 pages. Even with all the crying, it was a fantastic book to read and highly recommend it.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

6 Months and 4 Days to Go

2011-11-02T22:13:00.000-04:00

That's how much time is left between now and the Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon I am signed up for.

So after my initial panic I decided not to think about it and just run. At this point I just need to maintain a good base mileage and throw in some longer runs here and there. And that is exactly what I have been doing. Over the past month I have been running between 15-20 miles a week. That definitely has been a jump in my mileage, though nothing I couldn't easily handle. Running has been fun and I'm loving the colder weather we have been having. This is totally the time of year for me to be running, I am so NOT a summer runner.

I ran 7 last night and felt awesome both from a cardiovascular standpoint and a muscle standpoint. Though both my knees have been sore today, they almost feel bruised. I have been debating over the past month when I should retire my current running shoes. They are definitely getting up there in mileage but I still had felt good in them. One thing that has never ever hurt when I run is my knees. So I'm not going to chance it anymore, I will retire my current pair of Wave Riders. They have been a good shoe for me over the past 8 months. I know they are just shoes but I feel mildly attached to them as we have spent a lot of time together. I'm sure I will get over them once I get the new ones on and realize just how beat up the cushioning in my old shoes is. Hopefully the knees will feel good enough to get in 3-4 miles tomorrow.

This weekend I am off to NYC to support my friend as she runs the New York marathon. It will be cool to be surrounded by so much running greatness.

Book Review - Mockingjay

2011-10-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

Mockingjay is the third and final book in the Hunger Game series. (You can read my reviews of the Hunger Games and Catching Fire also on this blog.) When I randomly picked up the Hunger Games earlier this year I had no idea that it was part of a series or that they were going to make it into a movie. These are things that usually make me shy away from reading a book. I don't know why but I just like the story to be finished when the book ends. I feel that characters can get diluted and story lines can get old if you keep dragging it out. And that was what I felt while reading this book.

Don't get me wrong, the book is still enjoyable. All your questions will be answered, there are no "what happened to" at the end of the book. But for me it was my least favorite of the 3 books. The first book sucked me in to the main character Katniss. As I read that book I felt like I had become Katniss I was so invested into her character. A lot more time was invested into getting to know the other characters that are part of Katniss's life and also District 12 where she lives. In this last book, time wise we are not a part of the story from day to day. There is a lot of jumping forward by weeks and months throughout the book which diluted Katniss to me. Also, there are a lot more characters who come and go rather quickly in this book and I never felt like I really knew them or understood their purpose to the story. Unless their sole purpose was to be able to kill them off so the author could keep her main character alive.

Here is the story line for the Mockingjay. After being rescued from the arena of the Quarter Quell, Katniss finds herself in District 13. The citizens of District 13 are behind the rebellion to overthrow the capitol. The leaders of 13 want Katniss to become the face of the rebellion, to become the Mockingjay. Being too valuable to the rebels to risk losing, Katniss feels that she is back in the Hunger Games arena as she is filmed and used as propaganda for their war effort. Eventually after getting tired of being a chess piece to be played with, Katniss gets her chance to lead an evasion attack on the capitol.

In a nut shell, if you liked the first two books you will like this one. I still kind of wish that I had stopped after the first one.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

2011-10-25T20:36:00.000-04:00

Quiches are a great way to use random ingredients you have in the house. I knew I had a crust in my freezer and I had some broccoli that needed to be used sooner rather then later. This quiche was nothing overly different but what made me excited as I finely got a good ratio of eggs and milk for the filling. I steamed some broccoli, whisked together 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of 2% milk, and used some shredded havarti with dill. I put it all together in the crust and baked for 30 minutes at 400. I served on the side an arugula salad with chopped pears, dried cranberries, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Yeah for yummy dinner.

Book Review - The Bad Girl

2011-10-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

Yep, so that was the title of the last book I read. That is pretty much all I have to say about it. To be fair, the book is written very well. The author is very detailed and liked to really paint a picture in your mind what was going on. But I hated the characters in this book. More then once did I think about just returning it to the library, but I stuck it out.

In a nut shell, the book follows the life of Ricardo. Starting as a young boy in Peru he meets a mysterious Chilean girl and becomes infatuated with her. Though at the age of the characters when they meet, that is not the most appropriate word but that is essentially what it becomes. Lily, the bad girl, refuses to be the girlfriend that Ricardo wants her to be. The story follows Ricardo over the next 50+ years through several continents and many different countries. The one constant is that Lily finds a way to come back into his life over and over again. Lily only cares about money and has lied her entire life to get men to marry her. When her relationships go awry, she finds Ricardo, re-enters his life, and then torments him by up and leaving when she gets bored and finds something better.

Can you see why the characters annoyed me? This is definitely not a horrible book and I have read far worse, but I just wanted to scream while reading this one. I'm sure there is someone else out there who can appreciate it more then me.

I give it 1 out of 5 stars.

Book Review - Catching Fire

2011-10-10T09:55:00.000-04:00

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Game series. You can find my review for the first book on this site if you search for "Hunger Games". If you read my last review then you know that I wasn't sure if I would read anymore of the books in this series. Not because I didn't like it, but because I did like it and I often find series books get worse as they go along. But I caved as I was craving more of Katniss, the main character in the book.

After her victory in the arena Katniss returns home to District 12. As a victor she is given a house to live in and enough money that her family can buy whatever it is they need or want. Katniss has a hard time adjusting to this life as she previously had to sneak beyond the fence surrounding the district to illegally hunt for food.

In addition, the Capitol is unhappy with her. During her time in the games, Katniss did several things that appeared to the country that she was trying to rebel against the Capitol. This has trigged unrest throughout the districts and there are whispers of uprisings. The Capitol does not take being made the fool very well and Katniss fears for the retaliation that will come against herself and the ones she loves.

Through a cruel twist, Katniss ends up back in the Hunger Games arena. Only this time she now has to fight against other previous victors to keep herself alive.

Like the first book, it is very easy to read and you can plow through it in no time. I think the reason I like these books is how the author write the main character Katniss. There is something about the way that she is portrayed that you instantly are pulling for her to succeed. Unlike the first book where I could have finished and been happy with the story, this one leaves a lot of unanswered questions. So now I have to read the third book to see what happens.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Playing with my New Toy

2011-10-08T18:06:00.000-04:00

I got a new camera the other day. YEAH! I upgraded to an SLR as I have always had an interest in photography and having more control over the pictures I take. I am just learning the basics now and so far love it. A good friend of mine gave me some lessons today and now that I understand a few more things I decided to get creative and take some pictures. This one was my favorite of the day. I'm pretty happy with it. I'm sure real photographers would have something to critique but I will take it as the amateur that I am.

Book Review - Half Life

2011-09-29T09:04:00.000-04:00

I have really not been staying on top of my book reviews. I actually debated not writing one for this book simply because I wasn't feeling motivated to. But then I remembered why I started doing this. The point isn't actually to review the books, but so that I have a list of things I've read. That way when I start talking about a book, I can come back here to reference it and refresh my memory.

Half Life is by Roopa Farooki and the most recent book I have finished. This book is written in a kind of Pulp Fiction movie style where the story jumps not only from character to character, but also between time periods. But it is not done in a way that is confusing. It makes it difficult for me to summarize the book though as there are things I know that you as a new reader of the book will not know until later on. I will give it a shot anyway.

The story follows Aruna who wakes up one morning and walks out on her life and husband in London. Taking with her only the clothes she is currently wearing she heads for the airport and buys a ticket to take her back to her home and previous life in Singapore. But going home is not as easy as leaving. There she finds the ghosts of her past, including her ex-lover and best friend that she abandoned without ever saying good-by to.

Half Life is truly a story about finding out who you are, dealing with the complicated bonds that tie family members together, and finding peace with all of that. Without divulging anything else that takes place in the book, I will leave it at that.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Apparently Google is having a pissing contest with Amazon so I no longer have the option of adding the nice little picture and link to the book. I attempted to use my limited HTML knowledge to create my own but after 20 minutes of screwing with it I decided it wasn't worth it. Hopefully they will work this out because I personally like having the picture of the book present in the review.

Taking the Plunge

2011-09-28T08:19:00.000-04:00

Last night my hubby signed us up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this. If you have been reading my blog then you know all about my experience at my last distance race, which was the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. At the end of that race, there was no way that I could have possibly run another 3.1 miles. Granted, I did not have a lot of time to train properly for it so there is that to consider. On the flip side, I now have 7 months to obsess about this race that I am now committed to. Since I seem to have a love and then hate relationship with running, I now have to somehow foster that love for the next 7 months to train for this race. This will bring me to the longest distance I have ever run. It just sounds so daunting. It will also require me to start playing with the various forms of calories to consume while running as I know that I cannot run 13.1 miles on my glycogen stores. This is something that I was gladly avoiding as I just am grossed out by the concept of squeezing some kind of goo into my mouth.

Right now I am at a great place in my running. I feel good while doing it, I'm having fun, I don't want to jinx it by throwing in this ever nagging presence that now I have to start paying attention to the distances that I run. It hasn't even been 24 hours since I was signed up for this and I have already started to create a "what if" list in my head. Doing things that I have never done before always creates anxiety for me, why would this be any different.

Book Review - House of Sand and Fog

2011-09-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

Pardon the use of a boring phrase, but this book literally was a page turner for me. I was little more then half way through when the plot thickened and all the characters were on a collision course for something drastic to happen. I stayed up for an additional 3.5 hours to finish the book as I just had to know what the ending would bring.

Now that I have your attention, I'm sure you want to know what this book is about. I will gladly give you a summary but no secrets will be shared by me, you have to read it yourself. The book focuses on three main characters; Colonel Behrani, Kathy Nicolo, and Lester Burdon. Taking place in California in the San Francisco area, these three characters find themselves thrown into an explosive situation involving a small house near the coast because of an error that occurred in the county tax department.

Colonel Behrani was once a powerful and rich man in his home country of Iran. After having to flee with his family to America to avoid execution he has been unable to find work. An educated man who is used to giving orders and being respected, he has struggled taking low paying, demeaning jobs to support his family and their way of life. He sees the house as an opportunity to restore dignity and honor to himself and his family.

Kathy Nicolo is a troubled woman who has struggled with addictions in the past. Her husband having recently left her, she finds herself in a depressed and unsure state. When the county comes to evict her from her house erroneously, she begins to spiral downwards into old bad habits. The house was left to her and her brother when their Dad passed away and Kathy sees the house as the one thing she cannot afford to screw up in her life.

Lester Burdon is a local sheriff and he meets Kathy when he comes to evict her from her house. Lester is in a rut and is no longer in love with his wife. He becomes infatuated with Kathy and involves himself with her personally. He starts down a path in which he stands to lose everything, but feels that he is alive for the first time in his life. Lester sees the house as an opportunity to start over.

All three of these characters believe they are correct and all three of them are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to see they get their way. The table is set for a collision course that takes all three of these characters emotionally and physically to places they had not imagined.

That's all the story you will get out of me, go read this one for yourself.

I give it 6 out of 5 stars.

Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers

2011-09-06T19:47:00.000-04:00

Or, I changed my mind on what I was making and needed to use some leftover ingredients.

Yes, I had at one point planned on making some stuffed peppers, but then I ended up using a lot of the peppers I had for some burritos. So I only had one left, what to do, what to do.

In comes a deconstructed stuffed pepper. So I ended up using just about everything I would put in a stuffed pepper normally, but in a different format, plus this allowed me to use a whole bunch of random stuff in the fridge. Obviously, since I was using up ingredients, the amounts below are free for playing with.

1.5 cups cooked brown rice, cooled to room temperature (about 3/4 cup uncooked)
black beans (rinse and drain if from can)
1 red pepper, diced
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
5-6 ounces of baby spinach
1 tomato, diced
juice of 1 lime
mexican oregano and salt to taste
2-3 ounces of cheddar cheese, diced in small pieces

In a large skillet heat a neutral tasting high heat oil. Saute the pepper and corn until they start to brown. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts. I added a splash of a coconut rum at the end to deglaze the pan. Add all the veggies to the rice and beans in a bowl. Allow it to cool to room temperature before adding everything else. Once it is all cool, add the rest of the ingredients in and toss to combine. Eat and enjoy!

I will not have pictures of food for a little while because my camera broke. I am interested in getting an SLR when I go to replace it so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave in the comment section.

Book Review - Born to Run

2011-09-02T10:02:00.001-04:00

Let me start out saying that the whole reason I read this book is because I work at a running store. We get so many people who come in and say, "I read Born to Run and I want to start running in Vibrams because I hear it is the best thing for me". I really could not believe that this book was making that above statement. Thankfully after reading the book, I can say it is not.

I find it interesting that running barefoot is even the thing people seem to latch on to in this book. Born to Run is a non-fiction tale of the author's travels to Mexico to meet the reclusive Tarahumara Indians whose community and culture is centered around running. It is also an interesting tale of the evolution of ultra marathons and profiles some of the greatest ultra athletes the planet has seen. But what I found most interesting, and what really is the point of this book, is how us humans are genetically put together to makes us born to run, and not just down the street, for great distances.

In the animal kingdom we humans rank up there as one of the slower animals so you wouldn't naturally think of us as born runners. But when you start looking at our genetics and our body composition, you see how we all have the ability to run, you just need to tap into it. I don't want to give all the interesting science away but I will share one tidbit with you. One thing that helps regulate and keep the internal temperature of the body down is breathing. As humans we are free to breathe as often as we like when we are running, other animals are not. Their breathing cycle is related to their stride and they can only take one in and out breath per stride. This is why animals, like the big cats, may be very fast but they eventually have to stop running to cool down while we could keep going.

The book was a little disjointed to me and seemed to jump around to a couple of different stories. Also, the author had a habit of taking off on some rambling tangents. But I did really enjoy this book. I personally have no interest in running an ultra marathon so I really enjoyed learning more about the sport and how it works and what people do throughout the race.

The take home message for me, and I did need to hear this, was that running should be fun. I do enjoy running but I do get to places where it feels like I have to run, not that I want to run. This book for me made me see that I have to stop thinking about running as pounding out miles, it is just about going out to run for enjoyment. So now when I run I have no agenda for how many miles I will do, I just see how what I feel like as I'm in motion. And while I'm running I focus on how I feel and run in a way that I can keep good form; head up, shoulders down and relaxed, chest lifted, core engaged, hips moving forward, and a faster cadence (or turnover) so I can keep my feet right underneath me.

I have to say that I wish that everyone would latch onto another reoccurring theme in the book, good nutrition. Many of the players in this book talk about the importance of eating whole, unprocessed foods, limiting or eliminating animal products, and including more leafy greens. I nearly jumped for joy when I read Scott Jurek say in the book that he prefers to eat hummus on pita while running to keep calories going into his body as opposed to processed nutrition bars.

I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thai Red Curry Coconut Sauce

2011-08-25T12:01:00.000-04:00

So this sauce was something I made a lot when I had the personal chef service. You can take and add whatever you want to it. Depending on the client I would use different veggies that they like. And it is vegetarian as it is, but you could add meat to it if you wanted to. Here is the basic formula.

1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 Tablespoon red curry paste
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari (use low sodium)
14 ounce can of coconut milk (do NOT use light)
juice from half a lime

If you happen to be able to get some Thai basil, cut it up and sprinkle on top when you go to serve. YUM!

In a large saute pan, heat a neutral tasting oil (like grapeseed) over high heat. Add the onion. Depending on what other veggies you are using you may add some of them now. Base the addition of veggies on the amount of time it takes them to cook. Add the garlic and ginger and saute 30 seconds. Add the curry paste, brown sugar, and soy sauce and saute 30 seconds until the sugar starts to caramelize. Reduce heat and slowly add the coconut milk. Stir until everything is combined, the flavors have melded and the coconut milk has reduced slightly in volume. Let it cool slightly and add the lime juice.

So in the last version of this I made I used eggplant and swiss chard as my veggies. The eggplant went in the pan as the same time as the onion cause it needs more time to cook. The swiss chard went in the pan after the addition of the coconut milk as it does not take long for it to cook and wilt.

Also, if you are going to add meat to this dish, cut it up in small pieces and saute it in a separate pan, that way it won't get overcooked. Add the meat to the finished curry dish.

Helpless

2011-08-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

My children are not of the human variety, they have fins. My fishies live in a 30 gallon tank that I've had for 4.5 years. I love the fish, and I feel as though they love me back. At least they recognize my shape as the one that gives them food as they are always so happy when I walk over to the tank.

What I don't love is having to watch one of the fish die. I feel helpless and sad, I don't like to watch any creature suffer. Not too long ago I lost my oldest fish, I called her Little White. (I don't actually know if she was a girl but she looked very feminine so I am just assuming.) Little White really wasn't little she was just smaller then the other white tetra I had at the time that I called Big White. Little White was the last remaining fish that I brought home from that initial batch of fish, she had been with me for 4.5 years. It was very heart breaking watching her die and I miss her presence in the tank dearly. You don't think of fish as having personalities but they do and you come to notice their habits and they way they interact with you and the other fish.

Why do you ask am I rambling about my fish? Well, I wanted to write about this as I have another fishy who is on death's door step. This one is just lying on the rocks barely breathing, but it just won't go to fishy heaven. It has been doing this all day. Considering the life span of a fish, a day is a pretty long time. In the past I have euthanized some of my sick fish by putting them to sleep with a clove oil emulsion. But the past couple of times I've tried it, it has not worked and the fish has freaked out. Then I end up feeling worse as the last thing I want to do is cause the animal more pain. So I have resigned to just watching and waiting until the fish dies, hopefully with some peace, in the home it has known for most of its life.

Unplugged

2011-08-12T15:06:00.000-04:00

The other day I left the house to go to work, nothing unusual about that, except that I had left my cell phone sitting on the desk at home. Now this was a full day of work for me, a 7 hour shift at the running store followed by the 2 yoga classes I teach. So I was going to be unreachable for about 11 hours that day. And do you know what happened?

Nothing, and it was WONDERFUL!

I felt so free not having my phone, I didn't feel like I had to check it, I didn't feel like I had to entertain myself by sending a text. Oh, and my cell phone is very low tech, only phone calls and texts, no internet, e-mail or pictures.

I know this I am fighting a losing battle as I don't see the population as a whole getting un-addicted to playing with a device in their hand, but have you ever paid attention to the amount of times you play with your phone?

This past week I had the opportunity to see two different shows at Wolftrap. During the first one, the performer came out into the audience to sing. Everyone swarmed toward the performer with their cell phone to record the moment. Really? Why don't you want to enjoy the moment now with your eyes? Why is it more important for you to record it to post on some social networking platform? Does this make you feel more important and that your social status has been elevated? The second show was a musical. At the intermission as I stood there stretching my legs, most of the people in front of me were all seated, cell phone in hand, playing with their device. Really? A 15 minute intermission is too long a period of time to go without checking your phone?

It really wasn't that long ago, about 10-12 years, when we all did not have cell phones, or if we did, they were emergency use only as they were expensive as heck to use. I challenge you to go a whole day without your phone. Turn it off, leave it home, see what happens. Notice the behavior patterns you have created and are totally unaware of. Then come back here and let me know how it went.

Book Review - City of Thieves

2011-08-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

Every end of July and beginning of August I seem to get apathetic about everything. I don't know if it is the heat or what but I just don't feel like doing anything. I become sluggish and lazy. About a week ago I finished reading City of Thieves by David Benioff but I could not talk myself into writing a review about it. Then yesterday, a friend of mine mentioned they liked all the different books and reviews I post so I convinced myself to sit down and type it out.

City of Thieves was recommended to me by my friend Libby. She is an awesome aspiring writer and you can read her own written word and also the book reviews she does on her blog.

City of Thieves takes place in Lenigrad during WWII. With the city under siege, the residents do what they can to survive not only the bitter cold but also the lack of food. Young Lev Beniov is caught looting a German corpse. In war torn Russia, the government does not have the means to keep people in prison so the punishment for all crimes is execution. While awaiting his death, Lev meets Kolya, a deserter of the Russian army. On the morning of their executions, the Colonel decides to spare their lives and will pardon both of them if they return in one week with a dozen eggs so that a wedding cake can be made for the Colonel's daughter.

Lev and Kolya are an unlikely pair that eventually evolve into friendship as the two encounter danger not only in their own city of Lenigrad but also out in the Russian countryside as they cross into enemy territory.

For some reason I really enjoy reading fiction that takes place in the WWII era. This book is different from other ones that I have read as it takes place in Russia. The author writes about the hardship of the Russian people through the eyes of Lev and Koyla. The story is immediately gripping and I had a hard time putting the book down. The author finds a way to talk about not only the human suffering but also the human perseverance and determination to survive. Written with a lot of humor as the two main characters play off each other, you feel that even though they are starving and struggling to survive, their spirit and patriotism never falter.

When a book is really good, I have a hard time giving away details of what happens in the book. I feel the story would be spoiled if you knew some of the twists and turns. So just trust me on this and read the book.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Cooking from my Own Blog

2011-07-28T17:31:00.000-04:00

Everyone gets into a cooking rut now and then, and I am no different. Though I love to make food, sometimes I just plumb run out of ideas. Often I will flip through my many cookbooks looking for inspiration. But if I can sit and stare at recipes for more then 20 minutes and not come up with something inspiring to make, then I know I have hit a rut.

This week I was very uninspired when going to make a grocery list. I wanted to make things that were easy, and preferably cool since it has been so incredibly hot here lately. While looking over the list of produce I got from the farmers market I remember some kind of bean salad I had made before and posted it on this blog.

I knew it contained barley so that is what I searched for, and I found it!

Two Bean Barley Salad with Tahini Dressing

I made it a little differently this time, no mint double the parsley, less garlic, chopped heirloom tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, and a little less salt. It was as wonderful as I remembered, easy to make, and as the added bonus did not heat up my kitchen.

It made me realize that I should use my blog as a recipe source for myself.

Ooey Gooey Macaroni and Cheese

2011-07-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

While on vacation at the beach the other week, I made a macaroni and cheese from scratch. Once you've had real mac and cheese, you will never want to eat the boxed stuff again.

The group I was on vacation with is definitely a bunch of foodies, we all like to eat and cook. As we sat on the deck and devoured this dish, I was asked how I prepared it. So below is what I did to make this over the top dish, definitely not on the light side. No picture was taken as we ate it too fast, but it was very pretty.

Tomato Macaroni and Cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium vidalia onion chopped
6 Tablespoons flour
1.5 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups of whole milk (though I would use 2% if I made this again)
4 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound of elbow noodles
1-2 tomatoes, sliced

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it is softened but do not let it brown. Stir in the flour, dry mustard and paprika. Reduce heat and slowly whisk in the milk. Over medium low heat, gently whisk continuously until the sauce thickens to the point you can coat the back of the spoon. (Congratulations, you just made a béchamel sauce!) Whisk in 3 cups of the cheese and allow it to melt.

In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain completely and then toss pasta and cheese sauce together.

Coat a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Pour the cheesy noodles into the dish. Top with the slices of tomato and then the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 375 oven until bubbly and the edges begin to brown. Allow the mac and cheese to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

The tomato is key in this recipe, the little bit of acidity that it adds is perfect.

Book Review - Trauma

2011-07-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

Finally getting around to reviewing the last book I read on vacation. This one was by Patrick McGrath and was entitled Trauma.

The main character in this book is Charlie Weir, a psychiatrist in New York City who counsels traumatized war veterans returning home from Vietnam. One of the men in his group, Danny, returns as a very broken individual. Having a hard time letting go of the horrors he saw and committed himself Danny is unable to reintegrate his life back into society. Concerned for her brother, Agnes reaches out to Charlie for help. The two eventually end up getting married.

One fateful evening Charlie gets in over his head attempting to help Danny come to terms with his experiences in Vietnam. It goes awry and Danny ends up committing suicide. Agnes blames Charlie for her brother's death which brings an end to their marriage.

This traumatic event haunts Charlie as he moves through his life alone. Trying to come to terms with Danny's death we learn about other traumatic events in Charlie's life; father abandoning him, mother who favors Charlie's older brother Walt, and her ongoing depressive illness that also leads to her death.

This book is written in a kind of Pulp Fiction way as the timeline bounces around between what is currently happening and what has happened in the past. But it is written in a way that is not confusing or hard to follow. Throughout the book, the layers are peeled back on Charlie and we learn at the end that he is repressing a much worse traumatic event in his life.

A very dark book, but not too dark to be creepy. I enjoyed reading it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Marinated and Grilled Veggies

2011-07-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

I love having so much fresh produce to work with. With the warmer weather, our bodies naturally just crave more produce. Produce doesn't weigh the body down and all that extra water it contains is an added bonus. Plus, when you have such an abundance to work with, it is easy to throw simple and healthy dinners together.

This simple marinade I threw together in the morning, then I let the veggies marinate all day while at work. When I got home hubby (he wanted credit for this) grilled them up. After they were done grilling I chopped them into smaller pieces, tossed them with the leftover marinade and then served it over some quinoa with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I served some sliced tomato on the side. If you aren't familiar with quinoa, it is a grain. It is the only plant source of a complete protein so it is nice and hearty and filling. Just make sure you rinse the grains before you cook them or it can be bitter.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
Several grinds of fresh black pepper

The veggies I used this time around were yellow squash, red and green pepper.

Book Review - The Gin Closet

2011-07-14T09:57:00.000-04:00

While on vacation this past week I was asked how I hear about all these books that I read. I have several sources. One is a website that lists books, another is facebook, and a third is just taking recommendations from people. I am open to any and all suggestions.

The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison came from a website list of books to read. This story is told from the perspective of two main characters, Stella and Tilly. The story begins with Stella taking care of her elderly grandmother Lucy. As Lucy's health and mental well being begin to deteriorate, she tells Stella about Tilly, her estranged other daughter who ran away from home as a teenager and who the family has had no contact with since that time. After Lucy's death, the family needs to inform Tilly of her mother's passing. Feeling that it would be inappropriate for them to have a lawyer send a letter, Stella sets out from New York to find her long lost Aunt she has never met, in the Nevada desert.

Tilly has had a rough life full of abusive men, alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. When Stella finds Tilly, she is near death as her body is struggling to survive the way she abuses herself daily with alcohol. An unlikely bond forms between the two women. Both hoping for a fresh start they move to San Francisco to live with Tilly's grown son Abe.

The story bounces back and forth between the two women. In this way you get to see each of their separate perspectives. I enjoyed reading this book. You could feel Tilly's ongoing struggle with addiction, I could relate to Stella's sense of loss of purpose to her life, and through both women you could empathize about their strained familial relationships.

Definitely a dark book and it doesn't end wrapped up with a pretty bow. But definitely one I enjoyed reading and would recommend to others.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review - The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

2011-07-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

I am on vacation this week and just plowing through books. I figured I should start writing reviews or I would have a lot to do once I got home from this trip.

The first vacation book I finished was The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. This story is told from the perspective of Rose, a young girl growing up in California with her parents and older brother. One day, right before her 9th birthday, Rose discovers that she can taste the feelings of her mom in the cake that she baked for her. For Rose, this unique ability makes every meal unenjoyable as she is bombarded with the feelings of the preparer. In addition to the feelings of the preparer, she can also taste the source of the ingredients. This draws Rose to a life full of junk food that is so overly processed that she cannot be bothered as much as fresher food.

At first I thought this book was very intriguing. I personally am very interested in how our food is sourced to us and the distance it has to travel to reach our table. I liked when Rose would describe a meal and the location that each particular ingredient came from. I felt bad for Rose who is constantly aware of her mother's feelings through the food she prepares. But this book went from interesting to down right weird very fast. There is this whole other side story about her recluse brother who likes to disappear. And I don't mean disappearing like he is going to hang out with friends, as in he literally can vanish into thin air for extended periods of time. Near the end of the book the author attempts to tie this all together by suggesting that Rose's family members all seem to be blessed with some sort of unique trait or skill. I don't know if I missed something in the book but I couldn't wrap my brain around the parallel story and what importance it had to this book.

This was definitely not the worst book I've read but also not one of my favorites. I will rate it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2011-07-05T10:52:00.000-04:00

Or this post could be more aptly titled, "The Baker I am Not".

The other day was blueberry picking day. Every year I pick a ton of fruit and freeze it, that way when there is no local fruit to be had over the winter, we can still enjoy fruit. I have a huge problem with buying fruit from South America, produce should not travel from other continents to reach my stomach. Anyway, I picked 12 pounds of blueberries. I may have eaten 1/2 pound in the process also.

So on my way home, I get this urge to bake something with some of the blueberries. If you don't know me, this is a very odd occurrence. I hate baking. It is annoying and tedious. My first thought was to make some kind of blueberry bread. Now, since I bake something probably once a year, I don't have a lot of flour, sugar, butter, etc... all the typical baking ingredients in the house. So I have to find a recipe that works within my ingredient restrictions.

I find a blueberry bread recipe that works and get all excited to start. Then I realize that I don't have any bread baking pans because I gave them all away because I don't bake.

Back to the drawing board.

So next I shoot for a blueberry bundt cake. I have only 6.5 Tablespoons of butter and I cannot find a recipe that does not call for less then 8.

Ugh, back to the drawing board again.

I find, buried, at the back of my pantry some muffin liners. A-HA! I can make some blueberry muffins. I found a recipe on RecipeGirl.com for Blueberry - Maple Muffins. I still didn't have all the ingredients but I knew I could fake it and adjust with what I had.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I only had plain Greek yogurt, would use a regular yogurt next time since it has more moisture)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 375 and put muffin liners in your muffin pan.

Mix first 3 ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt through the lemon extract. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Do not over-mix, batter will be lumpy.

Toss the blueberries with the remaining flour and sugar, fold them into the batter.

Scoop the batter into the liners in the muffin pan. Sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of each muffin.

I baked mine for 18 minutes, though the recipe says 20-25. Remove and allow to cool completely on a rack.

Book Review - The Education of Little Tree

2011-06-28T10:34:00.000-04:00

I definitely read a lot of books. I'm not sure how many in a year but I would conservatively guess around 50. Reading books are my form of entertainment as I could care less about watching TV. Some books are good, some books are not so good, and then every once in awhile you read something that just blows you away. That is what I would say about the last book I read by Forrest Carter called The Education of Little Tree.

Published originally in 1976, it is the autobiographical tale of the authors life growing up with his Cherokee grandparents during the depression era. It was a beautiful story of life, of nature, of family, and of youthful innocence. It made me wish we could all return to a time of simpler living. Less things, less technology, using only what we need, working with instead of against nature. It is also a tear jerker, I cried continually through the last two chapters of the book.

The book is not overly long, just over 200 pages. A very enjoyable read and would be a nice book to take on vacation, as long as you don't mind crying a little.

I highly recommend this one and give 6 out of 5 stars.

Our Favorite Bean Loaf

2011-06-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

This bean loaf is a big favorite in our house. I don't often repeat things that I make but this is definitely one of them. Hubby and I will actually fight over who gets the leftovers....I won this time. I adapted this recipe from a some kind of bean burger recipe from a Vegetarian Times magazine many years ago.

Bean Loaves

4 slices of whole wheat bread (this may vary depending on the size of your bread slices)
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
2.5 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons arrowroot (can use cornstarch)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 ounces of manchego cheese, shredded (or a sharp cheddar)
15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup salsa, preferably a peach mango one (I like Desert Pepper Trading Company)
1 egg

In a food processor, turn the bread slices into bread crumbs. Transfer the bread crumbs to a large bowl and add the green onions through the manchego cheese. In the same food processor, add the beans, salsa and the egg. Pulse for 10-12 times until blended but still chunky. Pour the bean mixture into the breadcrumb mixture. Mix together with your hands.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and give it a light spray with a cooking oil so the loafs don't stick. Form 4 oval shaped loaves and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

I like to serve these with mashed potatoes and a green veggie.

Book Review - The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

2011-06-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

This book was one of the shorter books I have read recently and I just breezed through it. I wouldn't call it light reading as the book was sad, but definitely easy to read. The book is by Heidi Durrow.

The story follows Rachel, the daughter of a mixed racial couple who is the sole survivor of her family after a tragic incidence ends the rest of their lives. Growing up, she never defined herself by the color of her skin, more as the daughter of her parents. After the death of her family, she is sent to live with her African American grandmother and for the first time in her life, the color of her skin, and her startling blue eyes attract attention that she does not want. At an already awkward time in every young girl's life, Rachel also has to learn to cope with the grief of losing her family while at the same time, figuring out who she is.

This book is not overly happy and it also doesn't have an ending with a pretty pink bow on it. But the author writes in a way that you really feel like you know Rachel. You also learn through other characters in the book a lot of her personal and family history.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Spinach, Artichoke, and Cherry Tomato Pizza

2011-06-14T11:01:00.000-04:00

The other day for lunch I decided to make a pizza from scratch. It sounds more impressive then what it really is. The bread machine does all the work making the dough, I just have to be competent enough to measure the ingredients. But I used a different flour this time to make dough. Last time I was in Pittsburgh PA I got some Pizza Flour from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. Boy did that make a really fantastic crust, it was really thick and just the perfect texture.

On top of the pizza I put a little sauce, some sauteed spinach and garlic, some chopped artichoke hearts, and some quartered yellow cherry tomatoes. For the cheese, I used a goat gouda that I got from Caprikorn Farms. They are a relatively new vendor at my local farmers market and I like their cheese a lot. In general, I think cheeses made from goat's milk tend to me more flavorful and also don't seem as heavy and fattening as cow's milk cheeses. I don't know if they differ nutritionally or not, that is just my assumption from consuming them. I have a goat cheddar in my fridge from them that I will be using on burritos later in the week.

Book Review - Lowboy

2011-06-09T15:59:00.000-04:00

The latest book I read was called Lowboy by John Wray. This is the story of a teenage boy, Will, who is a paranoid schizophrenic in New York City. He runs away from the facility that he residing in and escapes to the NY subway system. He is obsessed with global warming and believes the temperature of his body is directly related to the temperature of the planet. He also believes that he is the only person that can stop global warming and to do so, he needs to engage in carnal activity, and he has a particular girl in mind he is looking for. Afraid that his condition will cause him to turn violent, Ali, the detective assigned to the case and Violet, Will's mother, set out to find him before harm can come to Will or anyone else he encounters.

This story was initially a page turner for me, I was curious about where it was going and what would happen. As the main character, Will, processes whatever medication remains in his body and then eventually is not replenished, his condition becomes more prevalent. Towards the end of the book, when the author writes from Will's perspective, it is often hard to stay focused and know exactly what is going on. But that is the whole point of the character so it didn't bother me, I just found myself re-reading things to fully comprehend the story.

Overall, I enjoyed it and give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Book Review - The Frozen Rabbi

2011-05-31T22:12:00.001-04:00

I have no recollection how this book ended up on my list of books to read. Based on the synopsis I read, I thought this would be a fun, light-hearted easy book to read. Plus, it was shelved in the Young Adult section of my local library so I assumed fun and entertaining.

Well, this book was anything but fun, light-hearted and easy to read. I almost quit reading it more then once. I'm still not even sure what it was that I read. The synopsis describes the story of a young kid named Bernie who discovers an old rabbi frozen in a block of ice in the freezer in his basement. After an electrical storm in which the power is lost, the rabbi unfreezes and reanimates after being incased in ice for over 100 years.

To me I was expecting a funny book about the young kid learning about old Jewish traditions and the old rabbi learning about living in our fast paced world. Not exactly. This book was very dark and encompassed subjects such as commercial greed, persecution, murder, organized crime, rape, child neglect, and so on and so forth.

I guess it is not the author's fault that the book wasn't what I was expecting. But the author did have habit of providing a ridiculous amount of backstory that made me want to bang my head against the wall. I often found myself wanting to scream at the book, "GET TO THE POINT".

O well, you can't love every book you read. I give this one 1/2 of a star out of 5.

Springtime Risotto

2011-05-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

Risotto is such a great meal to make. It really doesn't even require a recipe, once you know the basic formula, you can just add in whatever else you want to change the flavor. I have found a great formula to be 1.5 cups arborio rice and 5 cups liquid (one of which is white wine, the other four are broth).

The inspiration for this meal stemmed from the fact that I don't throw food away in this house, I will find a way to use everything. Last Saturday at the farmer's market I got a bunch of radishes and turnips, both of which came with their greens still attached. No reason to throw away some perfectly good green veggies. Greens go great in risotto, plus I had also picked up some English shelling peas, and this became the framework of my meal. I realize not everyone will have a bunch of radish and turnip greens lying around so good substitutions would be spinach, swiss chard, arugula, or a combination of such.

Springtime Risotto

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 cups arborio rice
1 cup wine
4 cups broth, chicken or veggie
3/4 cup peas, shelled (preferably fresh if using frozen make sure to thaw)
1 bunch of radish and turnip greens, somewhere around 5-6 ounces
2 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered

Cut and clean the greens. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the greens and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain the greens and remove extra moisture. I prefer to do this in a salad spinner as opposed to squeezing. This step is very important, especially if you are using bitter greens like I was, it tempers the bitterness.

Heat the broth in a saucepan so that it is warm, you do not want it boiling.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until starting to brown. Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan and allow the liquid to reduce stirring constantly.

Then add somewhere between a 1/3 and a 1/2 cup of broth at a time. The key to make risotto creamy is stir constantly. So yep, you are now stuck by the pan for next 20-30 minutes. Think of it as a good bicep workout. Every time you add broth, stir until the liquid is almost completely gone. You will repeat this pattern until you run out of liquid.

About 1/2 way through the liquid I added the peas so that they could start to cook. After the last addition of broth is absorbed, remove the risotto from the heat source. Stir in the goat cheese, herbes de provence, and salt. Lastly add the cherry tomatoes and enjoy!

Honey Rum Baked Beans

2011-05-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

One word.....YUM! I made these to go with some home-made macaroni and cheese and some sauteed swiss chard.

I found this recipe in a recent addition of an Eating Well magazine. Their recipe called for using chorizo sausage, which just does not sound appetizing to me. I like my beans just the way they are. I did use dried Midnight Black Beans from Rancho Gordo but if you are crunched for time you can use a 15 ounce can of beans. Just make sure to rinse and drain them before using.

Honey Rum Baked Beans
1/2 pound dry black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dark rum
1 cup chicken or veggie broth
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
1.5 Tablespoons molasses
1.5 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Penzeys Arizona Dreaming seasoning (see note below)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Soak the beans for at least 8 hours in water. Drain and rinse. Place in a pot and cover with water and simmer until done. The time will vary depending on the age of your beans, mine took about an hour. Drain and rinse.

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large skillet heat some coconut oil (or canola/grape-seed), saute the onion and carrot until it starts to brown. Throw in the garlic and saute about 30 seconds. Pour in the rum and allow it to cook down by at least half the volume.

Add the rest of the ingredients and the beans. (If using canned, add them here.) Pour the mixture, it will be very liquidy, into a pyrex dish (I used a 9x9 one). Place the dish in the oven uncovered and bake until the liquid reduces and gets a syrupy.

I didn't really pay attention to the total time in the oven. I'm going to guess it was somewhere around an hour, though maybe a little bit longer. Every 20 minutes I would take the beans out and stir them and check the liquid status.

Note: Yes, I have become a Penzy's whore, but their spices are so darn good. If you don't have a Penzey's near you, you can always order online. Their Arizona Dreaming is a salt free seasoning and it is pretty complex both in flavor and in ingredient list, it's not really one you can make on your own. It is also not necessary for the beans, but I thought it would be a nice addition.

Book Review - Consequences

2011-05-13T13:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday it was gorgeous here and I spent a good hour on the deck enjoying the sun and finishing reading my latest book called Consequences by Penelope Lively. Out of all the books that I have read lately, this one was definitely my favorite.

The book starts with Lorna and Matt, meeting by chance on a park bench in pre WWII London. Up to that point, their individual and family lives have varied greatly. But it was the random choices they made throughout their lives that brought them together at that moment in time on the park bench. Lorna and Matt marry and have a daughter named Molly. Matt is called off to fight in the war and he does not return, bringing and abrupt end to his blossoming art career. The book then follows Molly into young adulthood. Having had an unconventional childhood, Molly doesn't fit into the mold that society suggests that she should. She finds herself making her own way, adapting, shifting, and never staying attached to something for an extended period of time. Eventually the book then shifts to follow Molly's daughter Ruth. By now the timeline of the book has evolved up to about the mid 90s. Ruth and Peter marry, they both have careers, they buy property, etc... And it is this accumulation of stuff and technology that is supposed to make life easier that Ruth finds makes it more complicated. She yearns for more simplicity and heads off on a journey to learn about her grandparents. Lorna and Matt, whom she did not have the opportunity to meet.

This book for me started out as one to highlight the choices we make in life that bring us to situations, and if we hadn't made that choice, what would have been different? But about 1/2 way into the book, it became more about relationships to me. Looking at Lorna and Matt's relationship, where they had nothing but each other, they lived each day to the fullest and took nothing for granted as they did not know what the future would hold for them. And then comparing it to Ruth and Peter's relationship in which they have their careers, their interests, their social obligations, all of which keep them from being truly close to each other. Eventually it brings them to a point where they are simply separate entities that exist near each other but are not connected.

I highly doubt there is one person out there who has not let this same thing happen to them. And it doesn't have to be with a spouse, it could be with a friend or family member. How many times have you let work, TV show or anything else, get in between you and someone you cared about? Technology is great but it does not allow for meaningful relationships. And you know, even as I write this, I know it will be near impossible to change this behavior. But my challenge to you is this, pick one relationship in your life and live like Lorna and Matt did. Unconditionally, and full of life and passion, like you never know what tomorrow will bring.

I give this book 6 out of 5 stars.

Asian Pork Burgers

2011-05-12T08:39:00.000-04:00

This is a very different twist on what you would consider the typical burger. But there is nothing wrong with thinking outside the bun. They tasted like the filling in a pork dumpling you would get at a restaurant. No picture of this one (I was hungry and wanted to eat), plus I think you all know what a burger typically looks like.

Asian Pork Burgers

1 pound ground pork
2 scallions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/4 cup dry, unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg

Mix everything together in a bowl. Form into 4 patties. Grill until done. How's that for simple.

I served this with Pineapple Rice (quite simply jasmine rice cooked with pineapple juice instead of water) and stir-fried carrots and sugar snap peas.

I'm #1!

2011-05-03T21:45:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I travelled to Kentucky to visit some friends from college. We all had a wonderful time together and kept ourselves very busy. One of our group activities was to run a 5k. I had found a race that was to benefit a local children's hospital and was being organized by the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at Georgetown College.

Working at a running store, I know there is a lot that goes into organizing a race so I give these college kids a lot of credit to undertake something like this. They did a fantastic job and I was really impressed with how organized they were.

I did have a feeling it would not be one of the largest races I had participated in, and that turned out to be correct. If I had to guess, I would say it had around 50 participants of varying ages. We started promptly at 9 and took off running. The weather was gorgeous and the course was mostly flat, though it did have a good long climb in mile 2. I ran really well and posted a fantastic time for me. The GPS watch said the course was only 2.98 miles, a little short of a 5k, but I did that in 24:10. (Just because I am anal and like to be able to compare things, I took my average pace for this race and multiplied it by 3.1 so I could get my 5k time. If the course was a full 3.1 miles I would have done it in 25:06.) Regardless, this was a new PR for me and by a lot, probably close to 1.5 minutes faster then my previous PR.

But the exciting part came when they announced the winners. I was the first female to cross the finish line! What a cool feeling. Normally I am the one standing there being in awe of the kick butt time the person ran to win, and here, that person was me. I have never even placed in my age group before in any race I have done, let alone be the overall winner. So now that I am #1, I am going to retire and go out on a high note, just kidding, I will keep running. Now I know that I just need to run in very tiny races so I can continue to be awesome.

Cilantro Hummus

2011-04-28T10:12:00.001-04:00

I had originally posted this on the other blog, but it is so yummy that I wanted to make sure it got transferred over here. I always make this hummus whenever I have extra cilantro lying around so it doesn't go to waste.

2 15 ounce cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups cilantro leaves, loosely packed
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 Tablespoons lime juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons water

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a blender and process. Stop to scrape down the sides as necessary. Add the water 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have reached the correct consistency. You mat not need all 4 or you may need more, it will vary from time to time.

Book Review - The Glimmer Palace

2011-04-26T09:18:00.002-04:00

Last night when I couldn't sleep, I finished reading The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin. This book was very enjoyable for me to read. I really like the rhythm that the author wrote with and the way she told a story.

This book is about Lilly, the illegitimate child of a cabaret performer, who is born at the turn of the 20th century in Berlin Germany during World War I and leading up to the start of World War II. Lilly is orphaned at a very young age and this sets the tone for a string of relationships that end in sadness throughout her life. One friend in particular, Hanne, who Lilly meets at the orphanage, is feisty and a fighter. Through that relationship, a string of events unfold that keep their paths crossing throughout the book. Lilly eventually rises from an orphaned infant to one of Germany's leading film stars.

I'm purposefully being very vague in this description, as I don't want to give away the plot or any of the other relationships that take place for Lilly. I don't believe this book would be as good if you know what was going to happen.

I throughly enjoyed this book. But it did make me realize that my last several books have all been about impoverished females who are fighting the odds stacked against them. I need to pick something else for my next book.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Green Bean and Potato Salad

2011-04-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

This recipe was adapted from one I found in the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers Cookbook. Very simple and easy to prepare. And if you are ever looking for fantastic cookbooks, the Moosewood ones are really awesome. Normally I don't like cookbooks from restaurants as I find the recipes to be too involved for everyday cooking, but the Moosewood ones are different. Below is what I did...

Green Bean and Potato Salad

1.5 pound small red creamer potatoes, quartered
0.5 pound green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1 inch pieces
1/3 of a red onion, diced
1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tablespoon Penzeys Parisian Bonnes Herbs (includes chives, dill weed, basil, tarragon, and chervil; use your own combination if you don't have this Penzey's blend)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (don't skimp on the quality here)
***Note, I would use less oil next time, thought it was a little too much and I even cut back from the original recipe.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Steam the potatoes until they are just softened, transfer to a bowl. Steam the green beans until they are tender, transfer to the same bowl as potatoes. Allow the green beans and the potatoes to cool a little before adding the rest of the ingredients. Once they have cooled, add the rest of the ingredients and toss to combine. I let my salad marinate in the fridge for a couple hours before eating.

Served this with some grilled chicken that was marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and rosemary. The chicken was topped with a little combo of sliced fresh basil, chopped cherry tomatoes, minced garlic, and a splash each of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza

2011-04-19T18:55:00.000-04:00

So my week without wheat went by uneventfully. I didn't notice any differences in my body with it gone, nor did I notice any differences when I added it back in again. I was planning to do a little longer then a week but ended up getting dessert with some friends on Saturday night and that was the end of that. So, it had been awhile since I made a pizza. Sounded like a good Sunday night dinner to me! Here is what I came up with:

Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza
(all measurements given are approximate, be creative and play with it)

1 dough ball for pizza (went Wegmans this time as work didn't allow me to make my own)
2 zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
dried oregano
crushed red pepper
salt
tomato sauce
fontina cheese (this cheese is awesome! but use mozzarella if you can't find it)
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out dough and pre-cook according to package directions.

Saute zucchini in olive oil until it just starts to brown. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add some oregano, crushed red pepper and salt. Stir in the tomatoes.

Ladle tomato sauce out on crust, top with the zucchini and tomato mixture. Sprinkle with fontina. Bake for about 10 minutes, allow pizza to sit before slicing. Right before slicing, top with the fresh basil.

Note: I was originally going to add a red pepper with the zucchini and saute it, but I forgot, so feel free not to forget yourself.

Gone with the Wheat

2011-04-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

On Monday I embarked on a wheat free journey. Why you ask.... And my answer is, why not?

I always think it is interesting to see what happens in our bodies when we eliminate something. I do not believe that I have any sensitivities to wheat, but I just wanted to see what happens if I tried it. Also, when you eliminate something, you have to actually think before you mindlessly put food in your mouth. For me, that was more along the lines of what I was looking to do.

When I get that feeling to eat something, I now have to analyze it. Am I truly hungry or am I just bored and want to put something in my mouth to entertain myself.

I know from when I had the cooking biz and from people asking me questions, more and more people are eliminating wheat, or more specifically gluten, from their diet. This sounds so daunting to someone who has never had to remove something from their diet before. They focus on what they can't have, not on everything else they can eat. So I also wanted to demonstrate that just because you aren't having wheat anymore, doesn't mean you can't have yummy, satisfying food.

Here is a list of everything I have made so far this week:

Sherried Onions and Mushrooms tossed with White Beans, Thyme and Parsley served with Johnny Cakes drizzled with honey and Roasted Asparagus

Chipotle and Lime Grilled London Broil with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Carrot, Cauliflower, and Bok Choy Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce over Jasmine Rice

And yet to come this week....

Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin with Collards

Greek Meatballs with Cucumber Tzatziki Sauce and Spinach, Tomato and Feta Cheese Rice Salad

I definitely don't feel deprived...would you?

Book Review - Empress Orchid

2011-04-12T08:17:00.000-04:00

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min is the latest book that I have read. This one takes place in China during the mid 1800's around the time of decline of the Imperial family.

It is about a young girl named Orchid who ends up becoming one of the Emperors' many concubines. As you can probably guess, women are not treated very well or even regarded very much as human beings at this time in history. Orchid learns fast that she has to play the political games that take place inside the walls of Forbidden City not only to protect herself, but also the child she gives birth to.

Being that I really don't know anything about the Imperial family in China or the Ch'ing Dynasty, this book required me to do a little research just to understand the history of the time period. It was difficult to read about the human cruelty that took place during this era, for both men and women. It is not surprising that the governing royal family eventually collapses in real history. In this book you see how they were so focused on tradition and doing everything the way it was done before that China had not evolved the same way other countries had done so at this point in history.

From the little back research I did, I believe this novel falls into the category of historical fiction. It seems to be based on real events and people, but is obviously not a biography.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Baked Ziti

2011-04-07T21:31:00.000-04:00

I threw this together the other night for dinner. I'm not sure you can ever go wrong with baked pasta dishes but I thought this was pretty yummy. By the time I got around to taking a picture there wasn't much left. I got my sausage from one of my favorite local producers, Haskins Farm in Virginia. This recipe is a great blueprint to use up extra cheese you may have in the fridge.

Baked Ziti

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pound of mild Italian pork sausage

28 ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

14 ounce can petit diced tomatoes

10 ounce bag of frozen spinach

1 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano

1 pound ziti

1/2 pound of 4 cheese blend (got from Wegmans, had provolone, parmesan, and 2 other cheeses in it)

1/4 pound of feta cheese

Cook the onion in olive oil. Add the garlic and sausage, breaking it up and cooking until just done. Drain the sausage/onion mixture to remove extraneous fat.

While draining, turn pan to low and add both the tomato products and spinach. Heat until the spinach thaws and the sauce warms up. Return the sausage/onion mixture and stir in the dried seasonings.

Cook 1 pound of ziti in boiling water. Drain and stir in to the tomato/sausage mixture. Spray a 9x13 Pyrex dish with cooking spray, layer half of the tomato/sausage mixture in the dish. Top with half of the 4 cheese blend. Place the rest of the tomato/sausage mixture in the dish, top with the rest of the 4 cheese blend and all the feta.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Review

2011-04-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

Well... I made it.

After all the anxiety and worry, I did manage to cross the finish line this past Sunday at the race.

Surprisingly, I woke up at 4AM on Sunday morning and was the calmest I had been for at least the three previous days. I had breakfast, did a little bit foam rolling, grabbed my gear and met my friend at her house. Her husband was kind enough to get up super early to drive us to DC.

There was no traffic on the road, and we easily found a parking spot close by. The temperature was a little chilly just standing around, upper 30s to low 40s, but perfect for running in. There was a really picturesque moment during the National Anthem, looking at the Washington Monument with a plane taking of from National airport. At the appropriate time we made our way to our assigned start wave. I was just amazed that a race that had 20,000 some people in it was executed as efficiently as this was.

At precisely 7:49 I began my run. I have never done a race this large before I could not believe the amount of people running. It was really easy to get swept up in the atmosphere, plus the course was incredibly flat. I ended up going out too fast, definitely not a pace I could maintain for 10 miles. My goal was to do the race in 1 hour and 40 minutes, which equals a 10 minute per mile pace.

Mile 1 was perfect, a nice 10:09 pace.

Mile 2 had us running across Arlington Memorial Bridge towards the cemetery, very scenic but my pace dropped to 9:40. For those of you who aren't runners, a 30 second drop in your mileage pace is a big drop.

Mile 3 had us running down by the river in front of the Kennedy Center, again I dropped my pace to 9:29. Ugh...

Mile 4 had us still running along the water front. At this point I was getting mad at myself and knew I would be in trouble if I didn't slow down. A little better at 9:38 but no where near the slower pace I wanted.

Mile 5 brought us up along the tidal basin, great viewing of the trees and a slower pace of 9:52.

Mile 6 I started to get tired. Not a good feeling when you have 4 more miles to go. At this point the course headed out to Haynes Point. This mile was done again at a 9:52 pace.

Mile 7 my calves started to scream at me. This was when I wished I had some calf compression sleeves will sell at the store. This is also the point in the race when I don't remember things so well. My brain at this point went into survival mode and could only focus on lungs breathing, heart beating, and legs moving. This mile was done at 10:04, I finally made it back to the pace I wanted to be running all along, unfortunately it was too late.

Mile 8.... not sure exactly where this was on the course. It might have been around the guy who was offering the free beer and Oreos. I did not take him up on the offer, though the sugar from the cookies probably would have helped. 10:18 pace.

Mile 9.... knowing the race ends at the Washington Monument I become frustrated that I can see it and it is not nearly as close to me as I want it to be. I do remember a couple dressed up as mustard and ketchup bottles who were making corny jokes around this time. I seriously needed to laugh, and though I wasn't capable of laughing, I gave them a big thumbs up as that silliness gave me a little boost. Again, 10:18 pace.

Mile 10, the last mile. I had nothing left. Normally I will pick up my pace to finish strong. That was not possible for me in this race. The last 1/2 mile was uphill, and not much of a hill, in fact normally the grade wouldn't have even affected me, but alas, it felt like a mountain. I crossed this finish line doing the last mile at a 10:33 pace, my slowest of the race, 1 hour and 41 minutes exactly after I started.

Walking to the table to get water was so hard, my legs didn't want to function. But I made it, sat down, ate my Lara Bar and drank my water. Surprisingly, I recovered OK and faster then I thought; it might have been the 1.5 hour yoga class I went to that evening.

Today was the first day I've run since the race, just a short 2.5 miles and I didn't hate it. It still will take me awhile to want to think about distance running again, but I proved to myself that I could do it. When I think about the fact that I ran for 10 miles without stopping, I am slightly impressed with myself, that is not an easy feat to accomplish, especially since last year at this time, I had not run more then 3 miles.

So there it is, my Cherry Blossom experience, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Book Review - The Hunger Games

2011-04-02T20:00:00.001-04:00

A couple of days ago I finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This was a quick, easy book to read and I had a hard time putting it down because of that fact. I actually read this book in just two days. So what is it about, I will tell you...

Taking place some time in the future, what we know now as the continent of North America, lies the nation of Panem. Panem consists of a capitol city surrounded by 12 districts. People in the capitol live rather luxurious lives while those in the outlying districts often struggle to obtain basic human needs. The capitol city rules rather harshly over the districts. Every year they force each district to choose, through a lottery, to send one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games pit all the contestants against each other and they literally have to fight and outwit each other to the death in order to be the last remaining contestant. The main character in this story, Katniss Everdeen, ends up being a contestant when she volunteers to take her sister's place when she is selected for the Games. Katniss is a no nonsense gal who has had to take her own survival and that of her sister and mother into her own hands at and early age. She enters the Games with great trepidation but also with a keen instinct and vast knowledge on how to endure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Apparently it is the first book in a series of three. I haven't decided if I will read the other two yet or just be happy with the pleasant taste this one left in my mouth. I highly recommend checking this one out. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Anxiety Lives Here

2011-03-31T22:21:00.000-04:00

Counting down the days until this race, I become more nervous and anxious. My friends tell me it's just a race and I will do fine, but that doesn't stop anxiety from rearing its ugly head. What is there to be anxious about you ask?

I don't do well in large crowds of people, I feel trapped and claustrophobic.

My ongoing issues with my IT band. Will I be able to make it through the race pain free? Will running this race aggravate an already present overuse injury?

I don't like traveling inside the beltway. I'm not scared of the city but I just don't like having to coordinate all the transportation required to get downtown.

Which leads to the 5am departure time I will have to have in order to get there. This will mess with my usual eating schedule which can lead to unpleasant outcomes as my body does not like change when it involves its normal feeding schedule.

Every day this week has been filled with stress. I can feel it in all parts of my body. I don't wake feeling rested, I am not focused in just about anything I attempt to do, and I have been obsessively checking the weather.

I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end, but I will be very happy when I can be done with this event and go back to a more normal life.

Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

2011-03-26T21:08:00.001-04:00

This is a tough time of year for produce for me. Nothing is available locally as we transition from fall/winter stuff to spring/summer. I knew that butternut squash is really on the tail end of still being remotely in season so I thought I would make this sauce one more time until fall rolls around again.

This recipe is more of a guideline as the quantity of ingredients will always vary.

2 heads of garlic
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded cut into 1.5 inch chunks (about 2.5 pounds)
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Roast the heads of garlic. This is done by cutting of the top quarter of the head, drizzling with olive oil and wrapping in aluminum foil. It takes about 40-45 minutes on 400. Also roast the squash. That takes about 20 minutes at the same temperature.

After roasting, squeeze the garlic out into a pan with the squash. Add the sage and liquid and puree with an immersion blender. Heat over medium low heat until desired temperature is reached. Season with salt and pepper. This past time I needed more another 1/2 cup of water, and in times past I have used half and half instead of heavy cream, but that was what I had in the fridge this time.

I like to pair this sauce with some sort of pasta, preferably a stuffed one like ravioli.

Book Review - Appassionata

2011-03-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading Appassionata by Eva Hoffman. I added this one to my reading list as the synopsis told me that the main character in this novel, Isabel, is a classical concert pianist. I took classical piano lessons for many years when I was younger and recently started taking lessons again to learn how to play without being so dependent on reading music. I thought it would be very interesting as the piano is becoming a part of my life again.

To be honest, I struggled a lot with this book. I found there were often times that I read a page or two and then realized that I wasn't paying attention to the words and was thinking about something else. I would then have to go back and re-read and force myself to pay attention. This book also challenged my vocabulary as I found several words in it required me to use a dictionary.

The main character, Isabel, is a concert pianist on a European tour. The story focuses on her disjointed life as she travels from one place to the next. In between performing for her audiences, she is expected to be present at social events where she often encounters many different people, rarely having an opportunity to develop a meaningful relationship with them. At one of these such events, she is introduced to Anzor, a political exile from Chechnya. They are both passionate people, but passionate about different things, but the synergy between them keeps their paths crossing. Later in the book there is an incident that makes Isabel question fundamentally who she is, and from a larger perspective, the human race in general.

I always finish a book, even if I'm not enamored with it. And I was not enamored with this book until Isabel went internal to figure things out. I found the last quarter of the book very fascinating and easy to relate to. I think we all have moments when we question our lives and can relate to that feeling of helplessness. One of my favorite lines from the book is; "She seems to have no need to eat these days, her body has stopped giving her those signals; but she consumes food out of some obligation to herself, some remnant hope, or rather inference, that some day she may actually want to eat again, that she might feel hunger, or appetite, or desire."

I give the book 3 out of 5 stars. Not my most favorite but it definitely ended better then it started.

The Countdown Begins....

2011-03-20T18:01:00.000-04:00

Two weeks from now I will hopefully have completed my first 10 mile race and will still be in one piece. Yes, I am running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC. I had not planned to run this race. My husband was signed up for it, but after a basketball injury prevented him from running, he decided to give up his entrance to the race. All my running friends told me I was crazy if I didn't take it, I actually had access to a coveted entrance to this race. So after a lot of hemming and hawing I decided to make a go at it.

At the time, my longest run had been a 10k (6.2 miles) so I had a ways to go to get there. With the help of many running buddies, I have stepped up my mileage and am feeling that I might just make it through this race. I fine that during my longer runs, I feel great from a cardiovascular standpoint, but that my legs get tired around mile 8ish. The only way to combat this is to run more miles. Over the past 6 weeks I have run 70 miles.

70 MILES!!!! That is an insane amount of miles for me.

Well, I am still upright even though my IT band is super angry at me. I've come this far, hopefully I can complete this journey. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Two weeks to go......

Not even close to Irish

2011-03-17T22:28:00.001-04:00

I have no Irish in my family background at all, nothing that is even remotely close to it. But I like to wear green on the 17th of March and pretend to be Irish like everyone else. I donned my green shirt for work today, green socks, and the one pair of running shoes that I have that have a little green on them.

There is one thing I despise about St. Patty's Day; all the dyed food. I won't even go down the path of why we shouldn't be ingesting chemicals used to change the color of our food. Simply, there is nothing appetizing about a green bagel or a green muffin, or even a green beer.

So since I will not be partaking of any of those above delicacies, and I don't have any corned beef or cabbage in the house, I will celebrate St. Patty's Day with potatoes. I made one of my favorite soups, Potato and Beer, and had a nice green salad to go with it.

Potato Beer Soup

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

1 12 ounce room temperature beer (I use an IPA)

2.5 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 cups of liquid (like veggie or chicken broth)

1 cup heavy cream

4-5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (Use one that has been aged for 2 years)

In a soup pot heat 1 Tablespoon of a neutral tasting oil (like canola or grape seed). Add onion and saute until the onion starts to brown and caramelize. Pour the beer in and let it boil for about 5 minutes or so. You want the volume of beer to be reduced by half, though it does not have to be exact.

Add the potatoes and your liquid and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. While stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Add the shredded cheese and stir until it melts.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. You will definitely need to add some salt.

Little Speck is coming back!

2011-03-14T16:11:00.000-04:00

Yes, Little Speck will be returning to her original home. Let's call the past year and a half a failed experiment. I had moved this blog to another platform with delusions of grandeur of all the exciting things I would do with it. Well, exciting turned into annoying and the fun was sucked out of blogging as I was constantly bombarded with spam.

What is different this time? Well, I no longer care if anyone in the outside world is reading or enjoying the blog. This blog is for me first, and then family and friends second. It will be as erratic and inconsistent as my life truly is. I will not agonize over finding and staying with one theme. I will share food that I cook but not worry about measuring everything or taking pictures of my creations. I will share my fitness endeavors, it is a huge part of my life and I want to document it. I also read a ton of books and will start reviewing them so I can remember what it was that I read. I will change my mind about what I put on this blog and not worry about it. But most of all, I will embrace my life as it is, a Little Speck on a Big Planet.

Little Speck has moved!

2009-10-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

That's right folks, this Little Speck has moved to a new location. Please join us over at LittleSpeckOnBigPlanet.com.

Day 6 and 7 and Summary

2009-08-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

The last two days of the elimination diet passed uneventfully. Mostly we were eating leftovers from food prepared earlier in the week. I did make one new thing for dinner on Day 6 though.

Sauteed Eggplant with Roasted Red Peppers and Mint

Basmati Rice

I roasted 2 red peppers and then chopped them. I used a pint of baby roma tomatoes from the farmers market to make a sauce. I wish I had gotten the quart though as I think this finished dish could have used a little more sauce. Anyway, I peeled and seeded the tomatoes and pureed them in the food processor. I sauteed some diced eggplant in olive oil over medium heat until it started to brown then added some minced garlic and cumin seeds. I added the chopped roasted red peppers, a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, and the tomato sauce to the eggplant and stirred it all together. Then I added about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint.

Summary:

Overall this was a great experience. I had a ton of energy this week and just felt great. I think this was largely due to the fact that everything I put in my mouth was nutritionally sound. No junky food. I definitely did learn some things, though not what I thought I would find out. One of the things I struggle with is eczema, which is severely dry skin. I get patches on my hands and arms. Dairy is usually one of the big culprits in triggering eczema and I thought by eliminating it I would see a difference there. I saw absolutely no difference and in fact, my eczema seemed to get worse throughout the week. I also was hoping by eliminating all the foods that cause inflammation in the body that I would see a difference in my wrists where I have ganglion cysts, absolutely no change there either.

But I what I did learn is that I have let certain activities or parts of my schedule dictate that I want to eat or drink. My personality leads me to be very active and always doing something. So when I actually have a down moment, or not much going on, I feel I need to fill in that space with something. And I noticed this past week that I often fill in those times with food or beverage, and not because I am hungry, just because it is something to do. I have often rationalized that I can get away with behavior like that since I work out a lot. But that is a dangerous slope to be traversing. This week of elimination brought to light just how many times in a week I head towards that slope. Doing this diet was not about losing weight but I did lose 2 pounds and hubby lost 8.

I hope you enjoyed coming along on this journey with us. Maybe this experience by osmosis has brought to light some of your own food habits and challenges. I know doing an elimination diet sounds daunting, but I hope you see that it can be done and you will by no means starve to death.

Day 4 and 5

2009-08-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

Friday and Saturday consisted mostly of leftovers and clearing older prepared food out of the fridge so I haven't had much to blog about. I did make one new thing for lunch yesterday and it was very yummy. It was so yummy that I slipped into a really old and bad habit of eating more then I needed to just because it tasted good. I got the idea for the potato patties from a recipe I saw in the Whole Foods cookbook. I didn't measure anything so you'll have to experiment yourself if you would like to recreate it.

Spicy Potato Patties

Cucumber, Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Fresh sliced tomatoes

I peeled and diced about 2 pounds of potatoes and cooked them in boiling water until they were just tender. I drained them and smashed them. While the potatoes were cooking I sauteed in some grape-seed oil some fresh minced garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and red onion. Once the aromatics started to brown, I sauteed in a spice mixture containing cumin, turmeric, curry and garam

masala for about 30 seconds. I deglazed the pan with juice from one lime. I mixed this aromatic spice mixture, plus some salt, into the smashed potatoes and formed 12 patties out of them. I then seared the patties in saute pan with some grape-seed oil. The potato patties stay soft so you have to be careful when flipping and removing from the pan.

The salsa consisted of a peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber, corn removed from 2 ears, 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained, juice from 1 lime, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Day 3

2009-08-13T20:05:00.000-04:00

Being on this elimination diet makes you really pay attention to what you put in your mouth. Earlier today I was hungry and normally would have just grabbed some crackers from the pantry. But since crackers are a no-no this week, I stopped and asked myself, am I actually hungry? Once I thought about it, I realized that I wasn't hungry, I was just bored at that moment and was looking to fill in the time with some activity. Shoveling crackers in my face is definitely an activity but not one that is necessary. Do you ever mindlessly eat when you aren't hungry? Think about all the extra calories we consume when we aren't even hungry. Here was todays menu.

Breakfast:

Sweet Brown Rice with Raisins

Peach and Blackberries

Lunch:

Vaquero Beans with Sauteed Onions, Peppers, Corn, and Collards

Brown Rice

1/2 of sliced yellow tomato

(See Day 1 for a description of above meal)

Snack:

Carrot and Celery sticks

Dinner:

Black Bean, Red Rice, and Corn Salad with Red Leaf Lettuce

1/2 an avocado sliced

I cooked 3/4 cup of red rice and let it cool to room temperature. To that I added a can of rinsed and drained black beans, corn that was cut from 3 ears, 2 chopped jalapenos from my garden, a bunch of chopped grape tomatoes from my garden, a chopped green pepper I roasted right on the gas cooktop, some chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, juice from 2 limes, and a splash of olive oil. I put this on top of a bed of red leaf lettuce and avocado slices on the side. YUM!

Day 2

2009-08-12T21:17:00.000-04:00

I have made it through two days and have not had a craving for cheese yet. I am totally shocked by this as I do like my cheese and often times I will cut slices off whatever block of cheese I have in the fridge at that moment. Maybe this means that I am not as addicted to cheese as I thought I was. Here was todays menu.

Breakfast:

Sweet brown rice with raisins sprinkled on top

Lunch:

Roasted Carrots, Beets and Onions with French Lentils

Garlic Sauteed Beet Greens

Basmati Rice

Steamed Green Beans

(See Day 1 for a description of the above meal.)

Dinner:

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Raisins, Chickpeas, and Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Orange Cinnamon Quinoa

Half of yellow tomato sliced

Another easy meal that came together fast. I sauteed a chopped onion in grape-seed oil until it started to brown. Then I added the garlic and raisins and sauteed another 30 seconds. I stirred in big handfuls at a time of the swiss chard and cooked until it just started to wilt. Lastly I added 1 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas and 1/4 of sunflower seeds that I toasted. Season with salt and pepper.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa (make sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking) with zest from 1 orange, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, juice from 1.5 oranges and enough water to equal 2 cups of liquid total.

Snack:

Apple

Day 1

2009-08-11T21:15:00.000-04:00

Day 1 of the elimination diet has come to a close. So far so good, nothing Earth shattering to report. Though I did notice as soon as I got home from teaching yoga that I was thinking about wine. I had never really thought about Tuesday night being a regular wine night for me. Interesting. Here was today's menu.

Breakfast:

Sweet brown rice with raisins sprinkled on top

Peach

Sweet brown rice is a different kind of rice, it is on the sticky side so it resembles an oatmeal texture as opposed to just regular rice. Doing a diet like this enforces to always read labels. Raisins are often treated with preservatives so you have to read the ingredients to make sure the ones you have don't.

Lunch:

Roasted Carrots, Beets, and Onions with French Lentils

Garlic Sauteed Beet Greens

Basmati Rice

Steamed Green Beans

Cantaloupe

Super simple. Peeled and diced a bunch of carrots and a bunch of beets. Sliced an onion. Combine all of those on a roasting pan, toss with

olive oil and salt and pepper. Roasted for 30 minutes at 400. Cooked the lentils in water with a bay leaf. Sauteed some garlic and the beet greens in some olive oil. Combined the roasted veggies, lentils, and garlicky greens together, poured in juice from half an orange and added a little salt and pepper.

Snack:

Apple

Dinner:

Vaquero Beans with Sauteed Onions, Peppers, Corn and Collards

Brown Rice

Now you can use canned beans that have been rinsed and drained but you have to read labels. Often canned beans have had preservatives added to them. But I had these beautiful Vaquero Beans from Rancho Gordo that I wanted to use. I cooked 1/2 a pound of the beans with a bay leaf and a little salt. Once done, I drained them and put them to the side. I diced an onion, green pepper, and removed the corn from 3 ears. That was all sauteed in some grape-seed oil. Once the veggies started to turn brown I added some garlic, paprika, thyme, dry mustard, salt and pepper and stirred that all in. Then I deglazed the pan with about 1/4 cup of cider vinegar. I added the collards in big handfuls and cooked until they wilted. The vaquero beans were added as was some diced grape tomatoes from my garden for a little bit of color.

Food Experiment

2009-08-10T21:20:00.000-04:00

Starting tomorrow and for the next week, hubby and I will be doing a detox/cleanse. We will be eliminating from our diet; gluten, sugar, dairy, eggs, meat, fish and shellfish, soy, alcohol, peanuts, food additives and preservatives. I will also be eliminating tree nuts but hubby will still consume those.

Did I hear you gasp because you think that sounds overly restrictive and impossible to do? Yes, it is restrictive, but there is a whole world of food out there you can eat on an elimination diet. Over the next 7 days I will be journaling our food here in this blog to show that this can be done.

Why are we doing this? For the main reason you learn a lot about yourself and how your body reacts to food when you eliminate it from your body. My main objective with this was to remove the 8 major food allergens, plus alcohol, sugar, and food additives and preservatives, things our bodies really don't need or want in them. This is the ultimate in whole foods cooking. I hope you enjoy coming along on this journey with us.

Moroccan Roasted Veggies

2009-08-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

Since summer squash is so plentiful at the farmers market right now, I have been playing with different things to do with this. I served the veggies on top of brown rice and cucumber salad on the side. This is a variation of a recipe that I found in one of my Moosewood cookbooks.

1 pound zucchini

1 pound yellow squash

1 pound eggplant

1 large onion

1 Tablespoon cumin

1.5 teaspoons turmeric

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1.5 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1.5 teaspoons kosher salt

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Cut the squashes, eggplant, and onion in half on their vertical axis, then slice into 1/4 inch pieces on the horizontal axis. Put the vegetables in a large, dark roasting pan. Combine the cumin through the salt in a small bowl. Add the olive oil and whisk until the spices are throughly mixed into the oil. Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and use your hands to toss them until everything is covered. Roast for 20 minutes is a 400 degree oven. Stir the veggies and roast for 20 minutes more. Stir the veggies and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Pour the lemon juice over the hot veggie mixture. Allow the veggies to cool slightly and then add the chickpeas.

Granola

2009-07-31T11:30:00.000-04:00

Having a tree nut allergy has always made finding a granola I could eat next to impossible. There is really no commercial one out there that I can safely consume. But that's OK, it just means I get to make my own! If you have a nut allergy like me, you know that some recipes are easy to adapt without the nuts, and some are down right impossible. Trying to find a good base granola recipe that I could adapt was like finding a needle in a haystack. Most of them contained such a high quantity of nuts that I struggled trying to figure out how I would replace that bulk when I took it out. Then one day, I came across a recipe in one of my cookbooks; Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. She has a granola recipe in there that wasn't so laden with nuts. Yippee, I finally found my base recipe! This is my adaptation of Deena's granola.

2 cups barley flakes

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup hemp seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp Mexican vanilla

2/3 brown rice syrup

1 Tablespoon molasses

1/4 cup grape seed oil

Combine barley flakes through kosher salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Combine the Mexican vanilla through the grape seed oil in a seperate bowl and whisk all the wet ingredients. Pour the brown rice syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix it together until everything is wet and sticky. Spread the granola evenly on a large baking sheet with a rim. Bake for 10 minutes at 300. Remove from oven and stir the granola. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the granola. Bake for another 10 minutes (last time). Remove from oven and stir the granola. Allow the granola to cool to room temperature. Then break it up and store in a ziplock bag. I keep mine in the fridge as it takes me a couple of weeks to get through a batch of this.

For breakfast, I mix the granola into some skim Greek yogurt I get from the farmers market and top it with fresh fruit.

Ingredient Notes: Barley flakes and hemp seeds you will most likely need to buy at a health food store or online. I cannot get either of those in the grocery store. You can use all rolled oats for a total of 3 cups if you can't find the barley flakes. If you don't have grape seed oil, replace it with canola oil. Hemp seeds are nutrition powerhouses so I highly suggest you find them and don't leave them out. And lastly, regular vanilla can be used, I just like the Mexican one so much more.

Summer Peach Salsa

2009-07-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

So one evening as I am in the kitchen and getting ready to make dinner, I was craving a peach salsa. I hadn't planned on making a peach salsa that night, let alone that week, but I wanted one so I took stock of the produce I had to see if I could make this happen. This was the result. And since I completely made this up on the fly, all quantities are guesstimated.

3 peaches, peeled and chopped

2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped

4 cherry tomatoes, chopped (that was all my garden had to offer)

2 T lime juice

Combine everything together in a bowl and toss together.

Two Bean Barley Salad with Tahini Dressing

2009-06-30T14:56:00.000-04:00

One word, YUM!

3/4 cup pearled barley, rinsed

3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

3 Tablespoons tahini

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 Tablespoons olive oil

Place barley and 1.5 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Transfer to a bowl and let barley cool to room temperature.

Steam the green beans until they are just crisp tender. Run them under cold water to stop the green beans from cooking further. Drain completely and add to barley.

Add the chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs to the barley and green beans. Toss everything to combine.

For the dressing, place the garlic, salt, cumin, and coriander in a small bowl. Whisk in the tahini and the red wine vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. This dressing will not be 100% smooth and combined because of the tahini. Pour the dressing over everything else in the bowl and toss to combine. Enjoy at room temperature or refrigerate for later consumption.

Kale with Lemon Basil Dressing

2009-06-22T21:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome to battle ground Kale. I am a fan, my hubby is not. Though he is a good sport and always eats the kale, it is usually accompanied by a comment like "bleh, it's kale". So I try to come up with simple ways to dress up the kale to make it not so "bleh" for him. The other night I tossed the steamed kale in this Lemon Basil Dressing and it was fantastic. To my surprise, when I ate the leftovers the next day, it was even better!

1 bunch of kale, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped (discard stems)

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Steam the kale until just bright green. Remove kale from the heat source and transfer to a bowl. Try to remove as much of the extra moisture as possible so it does not water down the dressing.

Combine the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and basil in a bowl and whisk together. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until combined. Pour the dressing over the warm cooked kale and toss everything together. Enjoy!

Swiss Chard Salad

2009-06-17T14:07:00.000-04:00

This recipe was adapted from a similar one found in a Vegetarian Times magazine. I like my version more because it has less oil and no granulated sugar. I paired this with some lovely bean loaves.

1 large bunch of swiss chard, leaves removed from stems and cut into 1/4 inch slices (stems discarded)

3 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 red pepper, cut into small dice

1/2 of red onion, chopped

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons agave nectar

2 Tablespoons grape-seed oil

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine all the swiss chard through the onion together in a large bowl.

Combine the vinegar through the black pepper in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Whisk constantly. Just before the vinegar mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat source. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the produce in the bowl. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Zucchini Lasagna

2009-06-11T17:13:00.000-04:00

I admit that I have been neglecting my blog. This is due to a combination of being very busy and also having the batteries die in my camera. I vow to not let a month go between blog postings again. This lasagna was inspired after a my weekly visit to the farmer's market. Both the fresh ricotta and mozzarella used in this recipe came from a local farm called Blue Ridge Dairy. I am a big fan of their cheeses.

1 Tablespoon olive oil

4 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

28 ounce can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes, 1 cup reserved and set aside

15 ounces of fresh ricotta

1 egg

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

2 ounces fontina, shredded (not necessary but was a nice touch since I had some leftover in the fridge)

9 oven ready lasagna noodles (the ones you don't have to precook)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with straight sides over medium high heat. Add the zucchini and onion and saute until they start to become tender. Add the garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Stir in all the fire roasted crushed tomatoes except that 1 cup that is reserve. Reduce heat and simmer 5-7 minutes.

Whisk the egg into the ricotta cheese. Add the chopped basil to the ricotta mixture and stir to combine.

In a greased 9x13 glass baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of the reserved fire roasted crushed tomatoes. Then layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the zucchini mixture, and 1/2 of the mozzarella. Repeat the last sentence. Place the last 3 lasagna noodles on top, spread the remaining 1/2 cup of fire roasted crushed tomatoes over the noodles, and sprinkle the fontina over the entire lasagna.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes so the top can start to brown.

Garlicky Greens and Balsamic Portobello Pizza

2009-05-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

This creation was dinner the other night and boy was it yummy. I love to make homemade pizza as you can control the amount of cheese, have as many veggies as you like, and use ingredients you just wouldn't get ordering out. I used two ingredients on this pizza that you may find out of the ordinary, radish greens and trugole cheese. Those little greens on top of your radishes are edible and yummy. They have a slight bitter taste to them, kind of like watercress or arugula. It is good to taste the radish greens first before you decide to use them. The older they get the more bitter they become. The trugole cheese is an artisan cheese from Italy. It had a very creamy flavor and melted beautifully. If you can't find trugole, try fontina, and if you can't find fontina, use mozzarella.

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch of swiss chard, coarsely chopped

1 bunch of radish greens, coarsely chopped

2 portobello mushrooms, sliced

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 pizza crust (I used a whole wheat dough ball from Wegmans)

Tomato Sauce

5 ounces Trugole cheese, shredded

Heat half of the olive oil in a large skillet with straight sides to it. When hot, add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds. Add the swiss chard and radish greens and saute until they just wilt. Remove from skillet and set aside. Heat the rest of the olive oil in the same skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute until they have released their moisture and cooked down. Turn the heat off and add the balsamic vinegar to the hot mushrooms, allow it to sizzle and coat them.

Partially bake your pizza crust for 15 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and spread sauce on the crust. Top with the garlicky greens, balsamic portobellos, and trugole cheese. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let the pizza sit for about 7 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over the pizza right before serving.

Peachy Red Rice and Black Bean Salad

2009-04-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

This week, from a food standpoint, has been all over the place. My well laid out plans were thrown to the side when I couldn't buy some of the produce I was looking for. This salad was born out of the fact that I had some green onions and a jalapeno I wanted to use. Everything else was pantry or freezer item.

1 cup of red rice, rinsed

1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed

1 11 ounce bag of frozen peaches, thawed and chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Zest from 1 lime

Juice from 2 limes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Place the rice in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the rice is done. Transfer to a large bowl and allow it to cool to about room temperature.

Once the rice has cooled, add the rest of the ingredients and toss to combine.

Fresh peaches can be used when in season and this is a great accompaniment to a grilled entree.

Puff Pastry Pockets

2009-04-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

Every week I sit down and plan out what our meals will be for the coming week. This plan is usually dictated by what I get at the farmer's market on Saturday morning. Though right now I am in limbo as we are between the winter and summer markets. (Hurry up May!) But we have to eat so I made a plan based on ingredients that I thought I would have no trouble getting this time of year at the grocery store. After not being able to get cilantro or mint, the asparagus looking horrible, and the zucchini being mushy, my plan was completely thrown out the window. So all this week I have been figuring out ways to use the ingredients I was able to purchase and combine them with random items in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. That was how this dinner came about. Now I know that puff pastry is not the healthiest of ingredients, but every once in awhile it won't hurt you.1 leftover sheet from a box of puff pastry (it comes with 2 sheets)

1 small red onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 ounces of fresh baby spinach

1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

6 ounces fresh mozzarella

Tomato Sauce

Preheat the oven to 425.

Roll out the puff pastry on a baking sheet so it is a larger, flatter rectangle. Use a knife to cut the pastry into 4 smaller rectangles.

In a large pan, heat some olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic. Once the onion and garlic start to brown stir in the spinach and saute until it wilts. Stir the artichokes into the spinach mixture.

Place 1/4 of the spinach filling on one side of each rectangle of puff pastry. Top with about 1.25 ounces of fresh mozzarella. Fold over the opposite side of each rectangle and crimp the edges together to from a pocket.

Bake for 20 minutes and serve with some warmed tomato sauce.

A thought for today and everyday

2009-04-22T09:22:00.000-04:00

If the Earth were only a few feet in diameter, floating a few feet above a field somewhere, people would come from everywhere to marvel at it. People would walk around it, marveling at its big pools of water, its little pools and the water flowing between the pools. People would marvel at the bumps on it, and the holes in it, and they would marvel at the very thin layer of gas surrounding it and the water suspended in the gas. The people would marvel at all the creatures walking around the surface of the ball, and at the creatures in the water. The people would declare it precious because it was the only one, and they would protect it so that it would not be hurt. The ball would be the greatest wonder known, and people would come to behold it, to be healed, to gain knowledge, to know beauty and to wonder how it could be. People would love it, and defend it with their lives, because they would somehow know that their lives, their own roundness, could be nothing without it. If the Earth were only a few feet in diameter.

Author Unknown

Asparagus Risotto

2009-04-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

A beautiful sunny day inspired this risotto using asparagus, a lovely spring veggie.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, warmed
1 medium bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (my asparagus was on the thicker side so I also cut each piece in half)
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Zest from 1 lemon
2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet with straight sides over medium high heat. Add the onion and mushroom and saute until the onion starts to brown and the mushrooms soften. Add the garlic and arborio rice and saute until the rice starts to glisten. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce the pan heat to medium. Stirring constantly add about a 1/2 cup of warmed stock to the risotto. Once almost all the liquid has been absorbed add another 1/2 cup of warmed stock. Keep repeating this process until you get to the last 1/2 cup, this will take about 20 minutes. When you add the last 1/2 cup also add the asparagus pieces. Once the last addition of liquid is absorbed, remove pan from the heat source. Add the feta cheese, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.

Earth Day

2009-04-08T21:48:00.001-04:00

I remember the first time that I was made aware of Earth Day. I was in 6th grade and we had a big school assembly. Now I don't remember what was said at this assembly but I do know that it had a profound effect on me. I am very passionate about protecting the Earth. This is our home, and as the human species, we have nowhere else to go. So today I want to share some tidbits about how you can help reduce, reuse, and recycle.

#1 Do you receive in the mail magazines and catalogs that you don't read, order from, or even want? Unfortunately our name and addresses get sold on lists of potential buyers to catalog producers. When you receive something that you did not request and don't want, call the 800 number provided in the catalog and ask to be removed from the mailing list. But remember, until the extraneous catalogs and magazines stop, make sure to recycle them, they can be placed with your regular paper recycling.

#2 Cardboard is used to package many things in our lives. Once the box is broken down, this too can be included in your regular paper recycling. And don't forget the cardboard that isn't obvious to you like the center of paper towels and toilet paper, cereal boxes, and shoe boxes.

#3 I'm sure most of us have a printer, which means that we all have printer cartridges. Instead of throwing them away once they run out of ink, recycle them. If you are a member of the Staples Reward Program, for every ink cartridge you take to them, they will send you a $3 gift certificate to use in the store. Not too shabby for something you have no use for anymore.

Spring Bulgur Salad

2009-04-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

As the weather warms up, the body yearns for lighter foods. After an absolutely bright, sunny and mid 60's day yesterday, this just seemed like the perfect dinner. This is my version of a tabbouleh. I made a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus to go with it.

1 cup of bulgur wheat

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cucumber; peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Zest and juice from one lemon

2 Tablespoons of a really nice olive oil

Cook bulgur, following package directions. Cool completely. Add rest of the ingredients to the cooled bulgur and toss to combine.

Roasted Corn and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

2009-03-28T20:44:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe in a recent edition of Cooking Light. Though I did not follow the recipe as they presented it, I definitely did get my idea for dinner from their recipe and don't want to claim it as my own creation. 1.5 cups frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's, thawed
7 ounces of goat cheese
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 fresh cilantro, chopped
3 multigrain tortillas with flax
Salsa for topping

Combine the thawed corn, goat cheese, chipotle chile and cilantro in a bowl. Using a spatula, combine together. Spread the mixture evenly on 1/2 of each of the 3 tortillas. Fold each tortilla in half to cover the filling. Bake for 12 minutes at 400. Cut each quesadilla in half and top with some salsa. I served this with some black refried beans. YUM!

Spinach Cream Sauce

2009-03-16T14:02:00.000-04:00

The other night my cooking group came over for dinner and our theme was pasta sauces. One of my original plans was to make a Vodka Blush Sauce, but as I was looking in the fridge, I noticed I had some baby spinach I needed to use soon. So the wheels in my brain started turning and I wondered if I could make a Spinach Cream Sauce, and voila, it worked. This was just beautiful and I have to say very timely for St Patrick's Day.

Here is the recipe:

6 ounces baby spinach
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whipping cream

Cook the spinach in a dry skillet until wilted. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they begin to get translucent. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute another 30 seconds. Add the vodka and let it come to a boil. Keep boiling until the vodka reduces by half. Then add the vegetable broth, salt and cooked spinach and heat through. Transfer the spinach mixture to a blender and puree. (Make sure you do this carefully and vent the blender as hot liquids have a habit of exploding the top of.) Return the pureed spinach mixture to the saucepan, stir in the whipping cream and heat until it reaches the desired temperature to toss with your pasta.

Kristen's Yummy Oatmeal

2009-03-10T22:03:00.000-04:00

4 cups rolled oats
6 cups water
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1.5 tsp cinnamon

Combine everything in a large sauce pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring pretty much constantly, for about 15-20 minutes.

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. The recipe makes about 7-8 bowls of oatmeal. I make a big batch at once and then heat up single servings in the morning. I like to top it with some ground flax seeds and blueberries.

Cheese Addict with a Fridge Full of Cheese

2009-03-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

I love cheese, there I said it. We had a wine and cheese party over the weekend and have a whole bunch of leftover cheese now residing in our fridge. And since I know I have a weakness here, I don't ever buy cheese just for eating, only to be used in cooking. Alas, it is so hard to ignore the Havarti with Dill, the Fontina, the Muenster, etc... Anyone want to eat cheese with me?

Rest In Peace Fat Fish

2009-02-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight, after a long battle with whatever it was that was ailing him, Fat Fish finally passed. Fat Fish had been a well loved member of the tank. He became dubbed Fat Fish as he was a tad piggy when it came to food. I have shrimp pellets which are supposed to be food just for the catfish. But whenever I would put them in the tank, Fat Fish would always pick one up, put the whole thing in his mouth and swim around like that. It was highly entertaining. I know he was really sick when I put some pellets in the tank and he made no motion to go to them. I'm glad he is finally at peace, it is very sad and hard on me to watch any of my fish suffer and die slowly. He will be missed and I will have to cut back on the amount of food I put in the tank.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Avocado Salad

2009-02-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

Potatoes, any kind or type, are not the first vegetable I think to use when planning food for us. I have nothing against potatoes and I love them all, but for some reason it is just not an ingredient that jumps out at me. I had purchased some sweet potatoes at the farmers market the other week and this is what I did with them. I brought this salad to my book club gathering today and it was most definitely a hit.

1.5 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup corn, thaw if using frozen

1 large shallot, diced

1 apple, diced (do not peel)

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Toss the sweet potatoes on a roasting pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes at 425. Let sweet potatoes cool to room temperature in a large bowl.

Add the black beans, corn, shallot, apple, avocado, cilantro, cumin, coriander, lime juice, and olive oil to the sweet potato in the bowl. Stir everything to combine but do so gently so the avocado doesn't get mashed.

Taste and season with salt and pepper if you'd like.

Failure as a Mom

2009-02-21T23:19:00.001-05:00

So my sick fishy that I blogged about back in January did not get better after his antibiotic treatment. He has rapid breathing, tremendous weight loss, and he is not eating. I tried to make this fish better and I was just not successful. It pains me greatly to watch them suffer. This is the second black skirt fin tetra that I have watched die, and this one, like the last one, is a fighter and refusing to just give in. It has been breathing rapidly for so long now that its gill covers are starting to shred. I am reaching the point where I am seriously considering euthanizing the poor fish. There is a humane and non painful way to do it with clove oil, but I have a hard time purposely ending my fish's life. Maybe I will wake up tomorrow to find he has finally passed into fish heaven and is no longer suffering.

Fun in Florida

2009-02-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

Wow, so it has been awhile since I last blogged. The past couple of weeks have just been super busy with work, events, and a trip to Pensacola Florida to visit Mike's parents. We spent a very nice weekend getting to see the area, having some really fresh fish to eat, and enjoying the local drink called a Bushwacker. We spent an afternoon touring the battleship Alabama and we all collectively decided that none of us were meant to be in the Navy. It was the 450th anniversary of Pensacola being discovered while we were there that coincided with their annual Double Bridge Run, which is a 15k and 5k race. We all participated in the 5k race Mike, Mike's Dad and me running and Mike's mom walking. This was Mike's parents first race experience so it was cool to be able to do that with them. Mike won the Day family medal with a time of 31:23, I set a new personal best at the 5K distance with 33:52, finally dropping below the 11 minute per mile pace. Mike's Dad came in at 36:18 and his Mom at 52:38, and since this was their first race, those times count as a personal best too! Here we are enjoying our post race beer.

Happy Birthday to my Fish Tank

2009-01-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

Two years ago I got my first round of children for the fish tank. Of those original 8 I purchased, 3 of them are still alive and well in the tank; little white and the two red minors. I can't believe it has been two years, it feels much longer then that. It has been a wild ride with all sorts of ups and downs. The tank, up until last week, has been operating without any sort of issues. Right now I am in the midst of treating my black skirt fin tetra. Last week he seemed to have some sort of growth around his head and eyes. It is tough to diagnose what is wrong with the fish since they can't communicate with you. I had thought it was parasitic based on the research I did so I treated for that. He seemed to get better but I noticed yesterday that now he has this cloudy growth on his eyes and his right eye is popping out of his head. So I started an antibacterial treatment today. If that doesn't work, then there isn't much else I can do. Sometimes when the fish get sick, you just can't make them better and it is their time to go. All I can do now is wait and see.

Fridge Finds = Yummy Dinner

2009-01-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

So one of my useful talents is making a meal out of random, leftover items in the fridge. I'm very meticulous when it comes to planning our meals, so to not be wasteful. But when I experiment in the kitchen, I end up with odds and ends of ingredients that weren't all needed in the original plan. Tonight was one of those nights where I needed to clean out the random stuff before these items went bad. So I made these!

In a whole wheat tortilla, I combined some leftover cooked lentils and brown rice, two roasted red peppers diced, and a 5 ounce container of baby spinach that I sauteed with garlic and crushed red pepper in olive oil. I drizzled some tahini over the mixture and rolled it up burrito style. I do not have a name for this creation so feel free to offer a suggestion. This is why I always encourage people to play in the kitchen, you never know what you might create!

White Bean Burgers and Roasted Winter Veggies

2009-01-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

I get asked a lot what is my favorite thing to cook, and I just don't have an answer to that question. I like to experiment with food and I'm always trying something new. It is easier for me to comment on my favorite way to prepare food, and that would be from a whole foods standpoint. And no, I don't mean the grocery store, I mean taking unprocessed, whole ingredients and combining them in a way that makes yummy food. For me this is a very simple and easy way to cook. I don't follow a recipe, I just see what I have and make a meal out of it. So this creation was last night's dinner. The burgers had a nice garlic flavor to them and were not dry at all. I outlined the basic ingredients I used but obviously feel free to add and subtract whatever you want to make it your own. The Roasted Winter Veggies were cut up butternut squash, turnips, and halved brussels sprouts tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. They were roasted at 425 for about 40 minutes. (I am so addicted to roasted brussels sprouts right now.)

White Bean Burgers
1 head of garlic, roasted and pulp extracted
3 cups of cooked cannellini beans, partially mashed (if using canned make sure to rinse and drain)
some minced fresh rosemary
a little salt and pepper
2-3 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour for a little binder

Form into patties and cook in some olive oil until nicely browned on the outside.

My New Toy

2008-12-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

As some of you know, one month ago today I got a new car. Since I had my first car for 6 years and my second one for 8 years, this is not something that I do on a regular basis. And it is probably a good thing since I become very emotionally attached to my vehicles. Though I loved the Integra, it was getting close to the time when she needed to be replaced. There was the mysterious exhaust leak that no one could find. She was just like me in her hatred of cold weather and her performance would always go downhill once it started to get chilly, and this winter was no exception. She had 165,656 miles on it when we parted ways.

So my new car is now a Volkswagen Eos. It is a hard top convertible and I must say, a pretty snazzy car. And yes, I got the 6 speed manual transmission, I don't know why anyone would get a convertible and not want to drive it. We are still getting acquainted, but I am addicted to the heated seats. What a great way to warm you up fast, plus it's like having a portable heating pad for your back. I finally just finished reading the user manual, so I am slowly learning how to work the thing. It was nice enough on our trip around Charlottesville that I was able to take the top down and drive around. FUN! So if you are ever in the area, I'd be happy to take you for a spin.

Charlottesville, from a Foodie Standpoint

2008-12-28T18:37:00.000-05:00

We made a little side trip the other day down to Charlottesville VA to visit with some old college friends who were in town. Though I am not the biggest fan of this area because of the UVA factor, I must admit that it is a wonderful area for great local food and drink.

Our first night in town we went out to dinner at the Blue Mountain Brewery, which is was about 20 minutes away from the city. This was a neat establishment with wood tables that encouraged socialization. Their menu proudly claims that they get bread from a local bakery and are serving predominately organic foods. Though I do enjoy a good beer, I'm not one to drink more in one sitting. I did thoroughly enjoy my Kolsch, but the best part of the evening was the never ending laughs and frivolity.

The next day we ventured out for some wine sampling. We found ourselves at a quaint winery called Sugarleaf Vineyards, which was definitely off the beaten path. No one else was there so we got to do a private tasting and did purchase several bottles of wine. A surprising find was their Petit Manseng, which sounded like it would be way too sweet for our tastes, but surprisingly was not and very good.

On our way to visit Monticello (yes a non food stop) we did find this very small sandwich place called Simeon Market. It is almost across the street from the Jefferson Vineyards. What a neat little place to have lunch. I had their Grilled Feta Cheese Sandwich with Tomatoes, Spinach, and Avocado on Focaccia Bread. YUM!

After our visit to Monticello (which is a neat tour and Thomas Jefferson was way ahead of his time) we did circle back to the Jefferson Vineyards for another wine tasting. We found some wine here that we also liked, specifically their Meritage.

We rounded out the day with dinner at Zocalo in downtown Charlottesville. This was a Spanish style restaurant and the food was spectacular. My favorite part of the meal was the Roasted Poblano Creamed Corn.

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend all the above places. I know I like to search other blogs for things to see and do when travelling.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos

2008-12-10T22:52:00.001-05:00

I love Mexican food, but I'm not the biggest fan of going out for Mexican food as I feel most places use poor quality ingredients and then cover it with a pound of cheese. Not that I have anything against cheese, I just don't need to eat that much in one sitting. So I love to make my own Mexican as I can control the ingredients. Below you will find the recipe, please keep in mind that the amounts are approximated as I really don't measure anything anymore.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos

1 head garlic

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

8 ounces shredded cheese (I used a jalapeno derby from a local farm so sub what you like and have available)

5 whole wheat tortillas

1 16 ounce jar tomatillo salsa (I used Frontera brand)

Preheat oven to 425. Remove outer papery skin from garlic but don't seperate cloves. Drizzle with some olive oil and wrap tightly in olive oil. Place on roasting pan with butternut squash dice. Toss the squash with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes.

Lower oven to 375. Place black beans, corn and cheese in a bowl. Let garlic and squash cool slightly so you can handle it and it won't melt the cheese. Squeeze yummy garlic pulp out of the cloves and add to the bowl along with the squash. Stir everything together. Spoon filling down the center of the tortillas, roll up and place in a 9x13 glass pan. Pour salsa over burritos and bake for 20 minutes at 375. Enjoy!

Notes: Next time I make them I will probably add some cumin and/or chili powder to the mix.

LOL!

2008-12-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of days I have viewed two things that have just made me laugh out loud. Maybe they will make you laugh also, or maybe they will make you scratch your head about me.

The first I found on You Tube. (Yes, this was a slower week for me.) I found these political ad parodies that were pitting the the Pittsburgh hockey team mascot (Iceburgh) against the Pittsburgh baseball team mascot (some sort or parrot). Now, this may not be as funny to you if (1) you are unaware of just how bad the Pittsburgh baseball team is, (2) you are also unaware that I grew up a Phillies fan and loved going to the games to watch the Phanatic, and (3) are also unaware of my mild obsession with Iceburgh. Needless to say, I almost spit liquid out when I watched this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnW1xjkamL4&NR=1.

And the other funny thing I saw tonight, which was the movie "Get Smart". Everyone who I heard from who saw this movie in the theater said it was OK, so I was unprepared to laugh as much as I did. Very silly, plus some great lines, and Steve Carell make for a great movie, I highly recommend renting this one if you haven't already seen it.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

2008-11-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

I think the nicest thing about Thanksgiving is having a shortened work week. I have been going non stop for so long now that a 3 day work week is the best present ever. It was nice to just be able to spend time with each other and not have to be running off to the next thing. Speaking of running, the weather was just gorgeous here today so we did go out for a 2.5 mile run. It felt awesome to pound some pavement.

Our T-Day dinner was yummy but probably very different then the average dinner. Mike put in a request for a Butternut Squash Pizza so that is what I used as my inspiration for the meal. I made my own crust from spelt flour, which is a whole grain and much healthier and tastier then your basic white flour. Then I roasted 2 heads of garlic and a cubed butternut squash. I squeezed all that yummy garlic out onto the crust as the base, then topped with the roasted squash, then some shredded asiago cheese, goat cheese, fresh rosemary and salt and pepper. It was beautiful, here is a picture of it. In addition I made a Cranberry Applesauce, and a green salad. The butternut squash, apples and salad greens all came from the farmers market, it makes me happy to support the local farms as much as possible. Then for dessert, we had pumpkin pudding shots!

I gave the fish some extra shrimp pellets for their T-Day dinner. They are actually supposed to be food just for the catfish, but the rest of the fish go absolutely nuts when I put them in the tank. I call it fish crack as they go after it like a drug they are addicted to.

A very nice holiday and a much needed break from the daily grind of life.

Apple Cider Woes

2008-11-16T16:51:00.000-05:00

I miss apple cider. The kind you used to be able to get when I was a kid, the unpasteurized stuff. When I made my trip to the farmers market yesterday, I was excited to see one of the vendors selling apple cider. I got excited since you can only find the pasteurized stuff in the grocery store. But alas, this one too had been cooked. They informed me that it is actually illegal to sell the real stuff. WHAT?!?!? This goes into my category of things the government should keep its hands out of. I can think of many other more important ways the government can create regulation. Um, how about the mortgage industry. Not that the apple cider I purchased from the farmers market is bad, it's just different. It doesn't have all that sediment or the tangyness, it tastes like a slightly more complex apple juice. And I don't have to worry about consuming it before it turns into alcohol. Though I guess that wouldn't be a bad thing anymore now that I'm an adult.

Blog Version #2

2008-11-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new blog!

I enjoyed my first attempt at blogging enough to give it a second shot. AOL has discontinued their blog service so the old one no longer exists. I am excited to start fresh and be more vocal with this blog. Though the last blog was supposed to be for both Mike and I, it became obvious very quickly that I was the only one going to participate in it. So this blog will be solely for me, though I'm sure I will mention my other half every now and then.

I hope you enjoy my random musings. I plan to comment on things going on in my life, things that peak my interest, food I'm cooking, and of course, updates on the fish tank. If you feel inspired to comment, I would love to hear what you have to say. Happy reading!