Tag: Dinner

Hot in Hurrrrr

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I’m not entirely sure why but despite the fact that it was in the 80s today and I live on the third floor of a building that does not have air conditioning, I turned the oven on twice.  It’s so hot in hurrr my coconut oil is entirely liquid:

I keep it on my dresser and put it on my face before going to bed.  I have some SERIOUS dry skin! Hopefully sweaty summer will make that all better and I can keep this coconut oil for cooking!

But I digress…I cooking was my way of dealing with Sunday?

Or something…

Tomorrow is the last day of the Spanish discussion section I TA.  Naturally, we’re having a party.  Naturally, that also means I made a sweet treat.

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from Mama Pea’s White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup vegan butter (I used EarthBalance)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup soymilk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (omit salt if you used salted almond butter)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and turn on some Beyonce/Shakira.

In a bowl combine  the wet ingredients and the sugars, once those are combined, add the dry ingredients except the cherries and chocolate.  Shake your booty a little bit (especially if Shakira’s Did It Again comes on) then fold in the cherries and chocolate.

Plop golf ball sized lumps of dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.

To counteract the vegan-ness, enjoy with a glass of milk (or if you’re like me… lactaid)!

After cleaning up and attempting to get some reading done for a few hours, I decided I should probably have dinner.  For some reason, I decided to get creative and for some reason that had to involve the oven again, again Beyonce and Shakira kept me company, this time Rihanna joined in on the fun.

Polenta Pizza

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
~1 cup pasta sauce
1-2 huge handfuls of spinach, chopped
4 oz mozzarella cheese
3 artichoke hearts, chopped

Step 1: Make Polenta
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  In a pot combine the cornmeal, water and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Keep cooking, stirring constantly for another 5 minutes at least (at this point your should pretty much just be swinging your hips to the beat).  Then transfer and spread polenta on a greased baking sheet (totally forgot to grease mine). Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Step 2: Prepare toppings
Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions, garlic and red peppers.  Cook on med/low heat for about 10 minutes until tender and tasty! Mini dance party for 10 minutes while it all cooks… or you could wash some dishes… then add spinach, stir around til spinach is wilted (about 2 minutes).

Step 3: Prep Pizza
Spread pasta sauce on polenta, top with veggies, cheese and artichokes, bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Pretty tasty!  I was pleased! My friend, Liz, came over and enjoyed with me.  She liked it too!

I should probably stop dancing around the house and read, or at least go to bed so I can make the most of tomorrow.

Have a great night!

My Neighbor is Awesome!

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The past few days have been filled with work.  While I’ve managed to get a lot done, my fridge is looking pretty bare.  Consequently, I’ve been eating a lot grains and random frozen vegetables left over.

Just in time to save the day, my neighbor (who we lovingly call Slick Rick) invited a few friends over for dinner. He had an amazing spread of vegetables to grill.

Ladies, he’s single (I think…)  🙂

All sorts of amazing!

I contributed a less than exciting salad compared to all the grilled goodies.

Now I’m stuffed and ready for bed.  Next week, I’m making the neighbors dinner!  What should I make?  I feel like it has to be amazing too!  Suggestions?

Have a great night!!

No Go…

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I spent the better part of my day avoiding work.  I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.  Usually on Mondays I’m ready to go, but today was a no go!

I woke up at 6:30am hoping to be at the gym by the time it opened at 7:00am.  Didn’t end up getting there til 7:30am.  Intended to spend 45 minutes on the treadmill doing a variety of intervals.  Ended up doing 22 mins on the treadmill and 23 minutes on the elliptical.  Not feeling the gym today.

After the gym, I got ready for class, lost track of time, missed a few buses and never made it to class… instead I went to the library where I attempted to read only to end up taking a nap! What’s wrong with me?!?

I was definitely feeling a little off today.

When I got home this evening, I decided dinner and cooking would cheer me up.  I enjoyed two bowls of homemade black bean soup with greek yogurt mixed in.

I also made some pasta sauce.

And some vegan pear muffins

Random… I know…

They were an experiment, not sure they were good enough to post the recipe.

Then I took an almost 2 hour nap…

I need Monday to be over.  I’m ready for bed.

My goal for tomorrow is to smile at least 10 times and get work done!  Who’s with me?

I Hate Sunday

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Sunday is my least favorite day of those days that we consider “the weekend.”

Let’s be realistic.  Sunday is a jerk.

Friday is exciting.  It’s the beginning of the weekend, and you’re ready to relax.   He’s like the cute boy you have a crush on and can’t wait to see.

Saturday is great.  You can sleep in, go to the farmer’s market, watch shows you’ve been waiting all week to catch up on, stay up late with friends knowing that it doesn’t really matter what time you wake up the next day. He’s the boy that takes you on fun dates.

Then Sunday… There’s the expectation that you were lazy all weekend and should probably get something done.  The lazy lounging around that makes Saturday so blissful is replaced by the guilt that you should be getting work done while your brain tells you that it’s still the weekend. He’s the boy you’ve been with far too long for your own good and should probably break up with to maintain your sanity.

This specific Sunday, today, was particularly unproductive. I opened readings, read the first paragraph and got distracted.  I went to the computer lab and got little done.  I lost my student ID and didn’t go to the gym.  I ate about 15 oreos… maybe more.

I managed to redeem myself with dinner, featuring pee’s best friend: asparagus.

Open faced cheese, egg and asparagus sandwich.

1 sliced of multigrain bread, toasted with cheddar cheese.

Topped with roasted asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper

and poached egg.

Nothing makes up for Sunday’s jerk like tendencies like a runny yolk.  That and the potential of having strawberries grow in my window.

Now these little guys are sitting on my window sill soaking up the sun chillin’ like it’s Saturday.

I, on the other hand, must get to reading because pretty soon it’ll be Monday, everyone’s favorite day.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

What’s your favorite day of the week?

Switching It Up

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The past few days I’ve been in a little big of a bloggy slump.  I’ve taken pictures of things, but sadly have been unmotivated to write anything.  Perhaps because I wrote a good sized term paper or maybe my current frustrations with health food blogs.  This morning, while watching CNN on the elliptical, I heard a ridiculous news story related to food/dieting.  I started formulating a post in my head and was pretty excited to share it, but then stopped myself.

Will I offend someone?  Might this hurt a reading struggling from an eating disorder?

I don’t want either of those things to be the case.  I want this to be fun, not stressful.

So I’ve decided, at least for now, to post my healthy meals and usual fatty treats that I pawn off to my friends and stop talking about health, weight, fitness, etc.

I like food.  I’m sticking to it.

So without further delay:

Today was rainy, which meant that something warm was in order.

Black Bean “Tamale” Pie

adapted from Eggs on Sunday’s Black Bean Tamale Pie

1-3 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with liquid
A few shakes of cinnamon
A few shakes of Cayenne
few ounces of cheese (I used 1 or 2 oz)
1 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 cups water
salt to taste
1 egg beaten
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar

In a skilled heat the oil and cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes.  Add peppers, cook for a few more minutes.  Add spices, tomatoes, beans and corn.  Bring to a boil, transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, combine water, salt and cornmeal.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, keep stirring until cornmeal is thick (about 5 minutes).  Turn off heat.  Add beaten egg, baking powder and sugar.  Top the bean mixture with the cornmeal mixture and bake for about 40 minutes.

Pretty tasty.  The “tamale” part formed a weird crust that I wasn’t a fan of, but other than that it was delicious!  It sort of reminded me of the Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake that I’m obsessed with.  I bought a plantain that is taking far too long to ripen.  As soon as that puppy is black, I’m trying to conquer the Mayan Harvest Bake!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Splurging at the Grocery Store

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It’s the weekend!!!! Woo!  Too bad I have a ton to do this weekend!  Oh well! It’ll all get done!

Today I was in desperate need of going to the grocery store.  Luckily, I was provided with lunch on campus today (delish veggie pizza and salad!) because I literally had no fresh produce, which is a deal breaker for me.

So I went to the grocery store and spent tons of $$.  I’ve realized I buy expensive things.  I go through about 1 large container of greek yogurt per week which costs about $7.99.  About 2 bags of spinach and 1 bag of romaine hearts and then I usually choose a few “exciting splurges.”  For me, exciting splurges are fruits of vegetables that aren’t cheap (usually over $3/lb).

Last week’s exciting splurge was a cantaloupe.  This week’s exciting splurge is a bag of colorful pepper and some mushrooms!

Do you splurge on expensive produce?  Do you consider it a splurge even since it’s healthy?

So delicious!  I had some dinner!

Broccoli and Yellow Pepper Stir Fry

Along with a can of soup since it was a cold day (we had a high of 45degrees! Yesterday the high was 80 degrees! What’s up with the weather??)

I also baked the most disappointing muffins ever tonight.

Bob’s Red Mill… you let me down.  I made these: Ruthie’s 8 Grain Muffins

Omm… why were they salty?  Not expected.  They would probably taste good with chili but I was expecting something sweet. I’m a little disappointed…

Hitting ‘Publish’ Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution just started! Are you watching?

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing and Other Delicious Eats

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I baked last night! I used Pioneer Woman‘s Recipe for Yellow Cupcakes with Sticky Chocolate Icing.

Oh

My

Goodness

These may be the best things I’ve ever made, solely based on the icing.  I messed it up a little and used too much sweetened condensed milk and not enough chocolate so it ended up a bit saucy.   Which meant it was perfect for drizzling on popcorn…

My roommate enjoyed!

Along with splitting one with me.  Need to make sure they’re safe to eat after all.

This morning after a rockin’ workout, I dug through the fridge looking for breakfast.  I wasn’t in the mood for oatmeal (gasp) since it was 71 degrees this morning!  Instead, I found some quinoa that needed to be consumed and decided to experiment:

Greek Yogurt + Banana + Quinoa + Ground Flax + Cinnamon = Delicious!

It was particularly amazing with sips of coffee, which leads me to believe it would be delicious to try this but cooking the quinoa in coffee to give it that flavor.  I’ll give that a try at some point and let you know how it goes.

Then I went to class and got my study on.  Remember my to do list from yesterday?  Here’s my progress:

  • Finish Reading Good Governance in the Tropics (self imposed deadline: today… hmm might not happen, 90 50 pgs left)
  • Reading for Urban Transformations in the Global South (need to be done tonight, 3 of 5 readings done so far… Africa makes me sad…)
  • Reading response for above mentioned readings (by tonight at midnight)
  • Readings for Urban Spatial Theory (err… might not get to these)
  • Term Paper on Good Governance book mentioned above (due Tuesday Thursday, no idea what to write about… good governance?)
  • Econ problem set due Thursday (luckily almost done)
  • Methods problem set (basically kicking my butt, spent 4 hours on it Sunday only to do 1.5 questions out of 5… meeting with study group tonight, due Monday)

4 out of 7 things done!  Woo!  Also my paper has been extended and is now due Thursday! Super excited!  I’m actually surprised at how much lower my stress level is now as compared to a month ago.  I guess the changes I’ve made in life have been really helpful!   How are you all holding up with stress?

Back to food…

I came home after class and was pretty much starving.  While this morning I had planned to make a peanut stew (a la stew in a jar), all I really wanted was a HUGE salad.  So I started with a layer of spinach and romaine mixed together, added some sliced cucumber, one piece of artichoke heart and some wheatberries and topped it with some dressing.

Then, the exciting part…

I added a poached egg, because let’s be realistic, everything tastes better with a good runny yolk.

My meal ended with another amazing combo: toast + cottage cheese + jam + flax

Aaaamazing!

Now I’m ready to read more, catch up on blogland (don’t think I’ve looked at the internet today!) and watch the episode of Lost that I missed last night!  Hope you all have a fab night!

P.S.  I was sent this NY Times Article about people who take pictures of food by at least 3 people today… I thought it was cute that some friends thought of me when they saw food photography.  Anyone else see this article and smile?

Toad in a Hole + Eggplant Deliciousness

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Sometimes, I want to make something, but don’t want to eat it (this happens pretty often with a lot of sweets).  This morning I made the fella something fun that I like to make but don’t like to eat (namely because of my irrational aversion to crispy egg): Toad in a Hole.

I used Apple Oat Bread from Wegman’s.  Cut a hole in with a cup.  Buttered the bread.

Put it in a pan on medium heat.

Cracked in an egg.

Covered it for 3 minutes (ish)

Flipped and served!

Thank goodness the lovely fella was around to eat it!

Are a fan of toad in a hole?

Later in the day, I tried one of Jenn’s recipes that looked absolutely amazing: Eggplant Lasagna!

This isn’t your average lasagna!  Instead of pasta noodles it has QUINOA!

I followed her recipe almost exactly except I used some pasta sauce Rhoda made and added some chopped spinach to bulk up the sauce with extra veggies.

OMG delicious!  Make it now! Perfect for those who aren’t huge fans of pasta like me 🙂

Jenn, this is flat out wonderful!

Did anyone watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution tonight? In case you missed it, you can watch it online free at abc.com.  Since you all had a lot of great feedback/comments on my previous post on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I’ll dedicate a whole post to the new episode in the days to come.

Ugh spring break is almost over 😦 Say it ain’t so!

Enjoy your night!!

Stew in a Jar

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Food bloggers are weird.

We take pictures of food…

Have an unnatural obsession with strange health foods (I mean who else really eats Chia seeds…)

We get super excited about new jars of nut butter…

and even more excited when the jar is empty so we can have oats in a jar.

Now, you can have another reason to get excited about an empty jar of peanut butter: Stew in a Jar

Stew in a Jar

1 tsp coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced (or a small can of diced tomatoes)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 sweet potato, diced
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 shakes of cinnamon
Cayenne to taste
3 shakes of paprika
1-2 cups water or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 nearly empty jar of natural peanut butter (or just a spoonful of peanut butter)

Heat the oil, add all ingredients onions, garlic, celery and carrots.  Cook til onions are translucent, add tomatoes, sweet potato and spices and stir.  Add water or broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Spoon stew into nearly empty PB jar.  Stir and enjoy!  Serves 2-3.

Pretty delicious!  Definitely making this again!

I feel like I’m so close to the end!  Today I was in the library from 11:00am til 5:00pm with a short break for a 1 hr class (which I ended up cutting short…) and a 20 min nap.  Got a lot done though!

In the next hour, I hope to:
-Wrap up my econ paper: I’m doing an economic analysis of the Proposed NY State Beverage Tax!
-Finish 1/4 of a question and rewrite my econ take home midterm… I can draw a mean indifference curve!
-Do the dishes!

Wish me luck!

Have a good night!!

Chipotle Homefries

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Hellooooo!  Today was another busy day!  My work day plan is working out pretty well.  I got home around 6:00pm and was ready for something quick and easy.

Last week, I baked a few potatoes to eat throughout the week.  Tonight I ended up using them.  The theme was Mexican Breakfast, because I had a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that needed to be used leftover from my Ginormous Chipotle Beans Extravaganza.  Here’s my creation:

Chipotle Homefries

2 potatoes, baked (or cooked in the microwave) and chopped into large chunks
1-2 tsp adobo sauce, from can of peppers
1 chipotle pepper finely chopped, optional or less if you want it less spicy
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix around to coat.  Add some oil (I used about a tsp of coconut oil) to a pan and heat.  Add the potatoes turning every few minutes and cook on medium/high heat til heated and crispy.

Serve with sour cream (or Greek Yogurt like I did) and eggs.

These were picante but delicious and much healthier than any homefries you would get at a restaurant! I bet these would be even better if you let them marinate in the stuff before stir frying.

Perfect meal enjoyed in front of the laptop, catching up on Lost!

I’ve been behind on the blog reading but hopefully I’ll catch up soon!  Hope you’re all having a great week!  It’s half way done!  Have a great night!!