taking it to the next level

Oh, snow! There's quite a bit on the ground this morning -- and right now, I can't tell you how glad I am that I don't have a car, (don't have to worry about driving/parking in it,) don't own a house, (don't have to shovel,) and don't have to go to work today! Woo!

Since Dan didn't get home until 10:00 last night, (sigh,) we had dinner extremely late. But it was still awesome!

"Chickpea Cutlets" and "Mustard Sauce," both from VCON, with garlic-mashed potatoes and Kale Slaw! Oh kale slaw, how I love you so! I think I could eat an entire plate of this stuff as a meal, it's so good! (I also think I've realized that I prefer kale raw -- if I'm wanting cooked greens, I like chard or spinach or beet greens better. Who knew?) I also chose to bake the chickpea cutlets this time 'round, instead of glopping up my stovetop pan-frying them, and I think I prefer them this way! They get firmer and crispier in the oven, and there's no chance of having a gummy, glutinous center with the oven-baked method. Yummmmmmm!

I had to take an already awesome dinner to the next level, with an extra-awesome dessert:

Blueberry crumble with vanilla ice cream . . . easy and delicious! Even though this used up nearly all of the blueberries left in my freezer, it was totally worth it. Mmmmmmmmmmm!!

Off to enjoy my snow day! Wahoo!

SNOW DAY AGAIN!

I can't believe it . . . it's been snowing since noon, and we're expecting 15 to 20 inches before it stops snowing tomorrow! Holy macaroni! I'm extremely thankful my boss called me earlier this evening to let me know we will NOT be open tomorrow -- whew! I was a little concerned about how I was going to get to work if MetroTransit stops busses again, like they did during the last blizzard!

Anyhow . . . best thing to do when it's pouring snow outside? BAKE!

Delicious, comforting oatmeal cookies, loaded with walnuts and dried cranberries. Yum yum yum! I sent Dan off to the recording studio today with a supply of these . . . I hope they were well received! (And I hope he can get home from St. Paul in one piece!)

UPDATE: I forgot to post the cookie recipe -- sorry! Here it is!

This is a pretty basic recipe, but just goes to show how a few high-quality ingredients can combine to create something other-worldly!

Cream together:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar

Beat in until smooth:
2 eggs

Combine, then stir in to butter mixture:
2 cups regular rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool on wire racks, and enjoy!

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I have a wonderful dinner planned for later, whenever Dan's able to roll in, and something else baking away in the oven! Later!

what I've learned from studio yoga

I don't know whether I've really blogged much about my first experiences with studio yoga this year, but I just wrapped up a six-week series today that was titled "Yoga for Back Health."

In case you didn't know, I've had chronic back pain most of my adult life, and started seeing a chiropractor in 2007 to help. After a lengthy "healing" process with the chiro, some flare-ups here and there, and a smattering of yoga done at home to try and keep things loose and aligned, I'm feeling like I'm at a point where I'm pretty much pain-free most days. Weather changes, stress, and doing silly things like carrying three loads of laundry up and down the back stairs at once will cause stiffness and soreness, but overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

SO . . . after that lengthy ramble . . . now you know why I was ready to try a yoga class that focused entirely on keeping my back healthy, strong, and flexible. This also happened to be my first ever studio yoga experience, and it was SUCH a positive one! Let me first wax poetic about the studio I chose . . .

I have been attending One Yoga, a nonprofit yoga studio on 26th and Lyndale. (They used to be located across the street from the Wedge, for you locals that might have seen the studio signs before.) What do I love about this organization?
~ Both studios are gorgeous, calming, and cheerful. I'm partial to the "sky studio," but I think that's just because it gets better light. And I like the color blue.
~ They have complimentary tea available at all times.
~ They are incredibly environmentally-responsible, including having low-flush toilets! (Seriously, they have two buttons on the top, and less water is used for just pee.)
~ The organization offers a sliding fee scale to its students, based on income.
~ Teachers do outreach into the community, including providing free yoga classes for staff and clients of other local nonprofits, and offering free yoga classes for prisoners.
~ Students can sign up to volunteer in exchange for free yoga classes!
~ Mats and props are available to borrow during class, so students don't have to lug around their own equipment (unless they want to.)

After wrapping up this first session, and being several classes into the philosophy class I also signed up for, (we're reading the Bhagavad Gita -- in English, thankfully!), I've learned quite a bit about myself already!
~ If I sign up and pay for yoga in advance, I go! I'm not so good about doing yoga at home, (I always seem to be too tired and/or have excuses in other things I could be doing,) but somehow, having to leave the house to go do yoga is easier! Who knew?
~ I have EXTREMELY tight hamstrings. Like, freakishly tight. This is common in people with back problems, I guess.
~ My torso is slightly longer than my legs. This is really odd to me, since I always thought it was the other way around!
~ I have super-weak arms. Like, floppy-wet-spaghetti-weak. Bianca, my back health teacher, taught me dolphin pose today, which will help me strengthen my arms. I am also supposed to do lots of downward facing dog.
~ My core is stronger than I thought.
~ My general walking/standing posture isn't as bad as I thought, although it could still use some work. :)
~ I am surprised in my level of openness when it comes to meditation. I had an exciting experience in yoga nidra a couple of weeks ago -- I felt like energy was pulsing out from a circle in the middle of my forehead! Neat.
~ Despite being very open to meditation, silly things pop into my head sometimes; for example, "wouldn't it be funny if the fire alarm went off right now?" Good gracious!

So, to put a long story short, let's just say . . . I'll be BACK! I'm considering purchasing a monthly pass and frequenting a couple drop-in classes starting in March, to see how that goes.

Have you done any studio yoga? What have your opininons/experiences been?

belated Valentine's dinner

Due to band practice, Dan and I ended up celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday night instead, with brie fondue!

We had homemade baguette, apple slices, steamed broccoli, cremini mushrooms, and steamed potatoes for dipping, and let's just say this meal was a hit . . . Dan ate so much cheese he had to take a little pepto before bed! :)

Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, whether or not yours included fondue!

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of the holiday, I made some cutesie cookies yesterday:

I am taking a few to work today for the kidlets as part of our Valentine's Day celebration, (we're also having pajama day!), and the rest will go to church choir practice on Wednesday . . . it's my turn to take treats for our break. I'm thinking about throwing together a pan of brownies too, since I didn't get quite as many cookies as I think 50 or so hungry singers need. :)

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Although I didn't get quite as much cooking done this weekend as I would have liked, I did manage a couple of wonderful, veggie-full meals!

"Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

Seriously, this is one of my favorite cookbooks EVER -- the recipes are all so simple, but so dang flavorful! This is a nice change of pace from the usual bean soups, a tasty way to use up half a head of leftover cabbage, and tastes like it's simmered all day, even though it's ready in a half-hour! Mmmmmmm.

And here's a Vegetarian Taco Salad:

I'm certain that adding sour cream (well, sour "lean,") guacamole, and traditional tortilla chips to this otherwise healthy recipe destroys the nutritional profile a bit, but I don't care! This salad is SOOOOOOOOOOOO good -- truly, there's something "magic" in this recipe that just hits the spot every time. I'm so excited to have leftovers for lunch today. :) (And probably tomorrow, too!)

Hope you will have a fun and chocolate-filled Valentine's Day! Dan and I aren't doing anything today since he has band practice, but we will probably have a special dinner tomorrow night (fondue!! Woo!)

Saturday morning project

Stress, at least for me, means that I don't sleep much. I know that I will eventually get back to a place where I'm sleeping 8+ hours a night, but for now, I just don't think that's going to happen. I choose to look on the positive -- waking up early in the morning just means I have more time to work on projects, like making homemade instant oatmeal packets, right? :)



Inspired by this post from Crystal at Cafe Cyan, I picked up a few key ingredients earlier this week, (instant oats, maple sugar, and snack-sized ziploc baggies,) and had plenty of fun being an "oatmeal chef" this morning. :) I ended up with nine packets total, using about 3 1/4 cups instant oats. It was kind of fun, digging through my container full of different bags of dried fruits, assembling the packets and choosing different ingredients that I thought would "go" together. I thought briefly about labelling the packets, but then decided having a "surprise" might just be more fun. (And also qualify as the "lazy person's" approach.)

I did make a few subtle adjustments to her recipe, including omitting the protein powder (since I didn't have any on hand,) and I also reduced the sugar in each packet to two teaspoons. I know I'd LOVE to have a full tablespoon of sugar in my oatmeal, (and I'm sure there's WAY more than that in pre-packaged stuff from the grocery store,) but I also know I don't need it. :) Two teaspoons seemed like a decent compromise!

Weirdly, I discovered that I had purchased dried cherries WITH PITS! What the hell? I didn't know such a thing existed? I ended up using cherries in just one packet, meaning I only had to pit 2 tablespoons of cherries. I ended up just sort of peeling the fruit off the pit with my fingernail . . . messy, but it worked. WHAT should I do with the rest of the cherries? I can't see myself wanting to pit these, for some reason -- usually I'm fine with fussy kitchen projects, but this is a bit over the top. I might try and just snack on them out of hand, but that seems like a lot of work, too. Waa! Suggestions?

cupcakes, stress, and FLOGging

Whoa -- I promised cupcake photos a million years ago, eh? Here are the tasty treats I made last weekend:

Dark chocolate cupcake, topped with a simple coconut buttercream. Nothing too fancy, but sweet, moist, and delicious! Yum!

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I think I have hinted at the level of stress I've been under this year, and I'm starting to see my stress reflected in my diet -- I have been eating way too much processed food, (even though it's mostly been decent processed food,) "junk" food at work, and have also fallen prey to eating out far too many times. I haven't cooked a single thing this week, and have been eating mostly salads, sandwiches, cold cereal, and quesadillas. The horror!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Why? We don't have much going on, and I will actually have time to COOK! I'm looking forward to making a few nice meals for Dan and I, (including a celebratory pre-Valentine's Day meal,) some cookies to take to work for the kids (for our Valentine's Day celebration,) and homemade instant oatmeal packets. (More on that in a future post!) I'm excited to get my hands (and teeth!) on some gorgeous veggies, healthy whole grains, and quality proteins.

I'm considering starting to FLOG (i.e., "food log") on a daily basis, just to get back on track a bit -- but I'd love input. Have you ever FLOGged? Do you read others' blogs who do? Do you find it interesting, or monotonous?

It's nearly Friday . . . wahoo!

sandwiches and a salad

Normally, I'm not much of a sandwich girl, but I must have been craving 'em today, because I've had two!

I made myself a fried egg sandwich for breakfast . . .

(I also added some pepper jack and local microgreens)

And a hard-boiled egg, "Garden of Vegan" tapenade, cucumber, and microgreens sandwich for dinner:

(The tapenade recipe is from the Tassajara cookbook Lunches, Picnics, and Appetizers.)

All of the sandwich action was interrupted by a salad at lunchtime:

More caesar, but topped with marinated, cast-iron browned tempeh. MMMMMMM!

I made cupcakes tonight, too, but haven't gotten a decent picture. I'll try again in the morning when the light is better!

30 Healthiest Foods

I have been seeing and hearing quite a bit about a recent article from Real Simple -- The 30 Healthiest Foods. Have you read this article? What do you think?

There are some foods suggested in the article that I probably won't be including in my diet any time soon (chicken breasts, sardines, salmon, skim milk,) others that I already eat a lot of (almonds, black beans, broccoli, olive oil, mushrooms, oranges, whole-grain pasta,) and still others that I know I don't pay enough attention to (barley, chard, eggs, kale, lentils, pumpkin, etc.)

How do you feel your diet stacks up to these recommendations? What might you consider changing?

(Personally, I think anyone who tells me to eat more avocadoes makes a lot of sense! :) Yum yum yum avocadoes!)

a very satisfying dinner

I managed to slip out of work a few minutes early tonight, which means I caught a slightly earlier bus and got home about fifteen minutes earlier than usual -- wahoo! Dan had band practice tonight, so I used my extra time to get a few things done in the kitchen, and fix us a delicious Friday night meal!

The first course . . .

Whole-wheat spaghetti topped with homemade marinara and "Nate's Meatless Meatballs." I'm not big on processed foods in general, but we REALLY like these. They are kind of expensive, so I don't really buy them, unless there's a coupon in the co-op circular. (Which reminds me . . . I never got my circular in the mail from the Wedge! I grabbed one at Mississippi Market during my break, though, so I guess I didn't miss out!)

And, the second course . . .

Caesar salad! With homemade dressing! I used the recipe from Veganomicon, (which is AMAZING, by the way,) and then promptly un-veganized it by adding some shaved parmesan and croutons. This was SOOOOOOOOO good, and definitely a big treat for us! Yum yum yum.

I also marinaded some tempeh tonight, to fry up and go on more caesar salad to turn it into work lunches for me this week. Mmmm! Have you ever tried the "Seasoned Tempeh" from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home? It is seriously my favorite tempeh marinade ever, so flavorful yet basic, it seems to go with just about everything. Every cook who likes tempeh should have this recipe in his/her repertoire! Go find the cookbook at a bookstore and jot down the ingredients on the back of a reciept or something . . . be sneaky and enjoy tempeh!

HAPPY WEEKEND! WAHOO!

odds-n-ends stir fry

Last night's dinner was truly an exercise in using up odds-n-ends -- 3/4 of a package of leftover tofu, some broccoli and green onions, and just about every other leftover veggie I had lingering in the fridge, including red onion, ginger, garlic, cabbage, white button and shiitake mushrooms, celery, carrots, and red bell pepper!



Between stir-fry and beans and rice, it has been a week of brown rice for me.

I made my sauce from scratch, too -- here's the recipe:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

I just combined everything, and then added it to the wok at the last second, folding everything together until the sauce thickened and coated the veggies nicely. It didn't seem spicy at first, but it "caught up" with me halfway through the meal. I don't really like commercial stir-fry sauces, since they always seem too sweet and/or too salty for my tastebuds, so I have been playing around with making my own. This one was a super-success! I think I will keep the sticky note I jotted the ingredients on next to the scrap of paper I have written my homemade pasta sauce variations. :) More stir-fry in the future!

Sunday food

After a LATE night last night, (Dan had a gig,) I woke up pleasantly late this morning, with an urge to bake! I hemmed and hawwed over exactly what to bake for quite a while, and finally settled on whole-wheat blueberry muffins:

I doubled my usual recipe, which yielded 18 standard muffins for breakfasts and snacks for Dan and I, and 24 mini-muffins for the kidlets at work. :) They'll be so happy with a Monday snack surprise! Plus, they'll never know that they are healthfully sweetened with agave nectar, and full of fiber and whole grains!

***** UPDATE: Here's the recipe, since a couple of folks asked for it! *****

Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins
(Based on "Blueberry Streusel Muffins" from The Betty Crocker Cookbook)
Yield: 24 standard muffins, or 18 standard and 24 mini-muffins

Whisk together wet ingredients:
2 cups milk (or a combination of milk and plain yogurt)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs (I've also used egg replacer and flax whip -- both work)
1/2 cup agave nectar

Combine dry ingredients:
4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Fold into dry ingredients:
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until combined. I would recommend using liners, since these muffins qualify as a little lower in fat than usual. Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes for standard muffins, 10 to 12 minutes for mini muffins.

While the muffins were in the oven, I whipped up a giant batch of beans and rice:

This dish will serve for lunches for both Dan and I nearly all week -- and beans and rice is one of the few things I can eat over and over without getting tired of it.

Next things next . . . lunch!

I had every intention of making breakfast burritos this morning, and chugged right along, prepping all of the individual components . . . until I opened blue, fuzzy tortillas and plans changed! (WAH! I hate wasting food.) So, we had "deconstructed breakfast burritos," with a side of homemade tortilla chips (made last weekend) to scoop up the cheesy beans. Although I really would have preferred chomping my way through an overstuffed tortilla, my plate full of goodies was an acceptable alternative. :)

After a leisurely afternoon enjoying modern art at the Walker and chai at the coffee shop with my "favorite Dan," (yes, one of the kids once described him as such,) I came home and started getting a few things done around the house, including fitting in twenty minutes of yoga. Tonight's yoga made me think I'd probably like to fit in some yoga on Tuesday night, too, so I decided to nearly completely prepare the evening's dinner, so I can come home, press some tofu, and hit my mat!

Bags of pre-chopped stir-fry veggies and pre-mixed sauce will make dinner ready in a snap! Let's hope I remember to start the rice as soon as I get home, too!!

Finally, while I had the knife and cutting board out, I made myself a gigantic salad for dinner:

Mixed baby greens topped with chopped apple, sliced fennel, walnuts, bleu cheese, fig balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. I love salty-sweet salads -- I find them incredibly satisfying.

Still have a few things to check off the list before starting the work week . . . hope you had a nice weekend!

yesterday in food

Dan and I went out for Chinese food on Friday night, so I decided to cook at home yesterday -- and made some fabulous meals!

Lunch:

Cleaning out the freezer at work, I discovered two Boca burgers from . . . um, summer? I think the last time I had one was at National Night Out! Anyhow, even though they were a little freezer burnt, they fried up beautifully in the cast iron, topped with a little monterey jack and served on whole-wheat toast with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and mayo. Mmmmmm! Pickles, Spud Puppies, and coleslaw on the side! (I tossed thinly shaved green and red cabbage, sliced green onion, and julienned jicama and red bell pepper with Liz's dressing recipe -- it's the BEST, and I always have the ingredients on hand for it!)

Quick pause for a "kids say the darndest" -- my students have become quite culinarily curious lately, and have been excited to try new fruits and veggies that either my coteacher or I bring in. Lately, they've loved fresh fennel, grapefruit, and pomegranates! I cut up some of the jicama for them to try on Thursday; as they were munching away, one of the boys said, "what's this called again?" I replied; he continued, "OH -- I thought you said 'hiccups!'" We all thought that was awesome!

OK, back to food. Dinner was per Dan's request -- sushi and miso soup!

Dan picked up a teensie piece of fish for himself from Coastal Seafoods, and I made myself a couple of veggie rolls with cucumber, red bell pepper, and avocado. Even though I didn't add quite enough miso to the soup, the meal was awesome! I left the table stuffed and satisfied, full of veggies, tofu, edamame, and rice. :)

I don't yet know what we're up to today, but I'm sure I'll be back later with more food! I feel like baking, but don't know what I'm going to make. Suggestions? Ideas? I'm thinking either bars or muffins, but don't really have a plan as of yet. Decisions, decisions!!

back in the saddle again!

It's been sooooooo long since I've really cooked much of anything, and getting back into the kitchen yesterday was AWESOME! I made a couple of wonderful meals for Dan and I, and also cooked up a TON of chickpeas in the Crock Pot, deciding at the last minute to turn half of them into hummus. Yum! Hot beans really do blend up creamier, don't they?

Anyhow, here's the rest of the food I made!

First, while cleaning out the fridge, I discovered a half package of corn tortillas . . . from before Christmas! I figured I better do something with them ASAP, before they dried out too much and/or got moldy. Homemade baked tortilla chips it was!

What better to serve them with, than a little homemade guacamole?

Even though lunch yesterday didn't require much actual "cooking" on my part, it was absolutely delicious!

Having a stash of homemade tamales in the freezer for low-effort meals is awesome! Even though they take an hour plus in the steamer, it frees me up to get other stuff done around the house. Woo!

I had been talking with my friend Christine on Saturday, and somehow, we both got on to the subject of how much we both love olive bread. I had to take care of that craving ASAP!

I used the "Olive Oil Dough" from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and made a deeeeeelicious loaf of olive bread:

Yes, I did add butter at the table, too! :)

To go with the bread? Some wild rice soup!

I follow this recipe from Eating Well, with a few modifications -- I use veggie broth and omit the turkey, increase the celery and carrots to 1 full cup, increase the mushrooms to 3 cups, and cook up 3/4 cup regular dry wild rice to add to the soup. It's sooooooooo good!

Dessert was something special, too!


I. Love. Pie. (Blueberries were from the summer, still in my freezer!) YUM.

it IS a good day for cocoa!

I had to run a couple of errands BEFORE my yoga class yesterday morning, one of which was stopping at Penzeys -- now, I love the spices in the bulk bin at the co-op just as much as the next person, but I really prefer to do big stock-up trips at the spice store. Why? Their ingredients are just so effing high-quality, I can't say no!

Now, as I was cruising through the store yesterday morning, checking items off my list, I overheard one of the salespeople say to a customer, "it's a good day for cocoa, isn't it?" WHY YES, IT IS A GOOD DAY FOR COCOA! I had a moment of "good consumerism," (i.e., impulse buying,) and picked up a 1-pound bag of their hot cocoa mix. Containing only four ingredients, (cocoa, sugar, ceylon cinnamon, and ground vanilla beans,) I knew it would be a good thing . . . and it was!

I mixed two rounded tablespoons of the mix with two cups of unsweetened coconut milk beverage, warmed the lot in a saucepan, tasted, added a squirt of agave, (I think because the milk was unsweetened,) and voila! Simple, delicious cocoa for a bitter cold night. Both Dan and I LOVED this! Good chocolate flavor, not overly sweet, with gentle hints of cinnamon and vanilla. You can see real vanilla bean seeds swimming at the bottom of your cup . . . that was fun, too. :)

Have you had a moment of "good consumerism" lately? Most of my impulse buys tend to be food-related . . . my previous one was a 5-pound bag of organic grapefruit!

salad, salad, salad

I seem to be on a salad kick lately -- it does make a quick and easy work lunch, after all! Last week it was Greek-style salads, this week, I decided to make "Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango," from Veganomicon:

Although this has made for a somewhat light lunch given our sub-zero temperatures, it has been nice having something "already ready," and not having to think much about what to pack in the morning.

Other than grilled cheese sandwiches and breakfast burritos, I haven't done much cooking this week . . . but I've eaten out a couple of times, so that explains it all! :) I'm looking forward to doing a little cooking this weekend, and maybe snitching out of the stash of tamales in my freezer, too! Happy Friday night, all!

cabin culture

It seems as though everyone in Minnesota either has a "cabin," or knows someone who does. (I grew up in Wisconsin . . . while in WI we do go "upnorth," people rarely own cabins -- renting is much more common.) I learned, my first few years living in Minnesota, that "cabin" didn't necessarily mean what I thought it did, (rustic, wood-paneled house in the middle of the woods, totally isolated, possibly on a lake,) but rather, "cabin" could mean a house north of the cities in a small town, a house on a lake, anything! Imagine my disappointment, the first time I went to a friend's "cabin" in college!

Anyhow, Dan and I rented a cabin at Wild River State Park this weekend, and had what I would call a "true" cabin experience! Check it out:


VERY rustic, eh? We had heat and electricity, bunk beds with mattresses, and a small table with two benches . . . and that was it! No showers, short walk to the outdoor latrine, and the kitchen?

What kitchen? This just means we had to be resourceful. We had to bring in all of our water, (including water for washing dishes,) and there was no cooking allowed in cabins, except for Crock Pots and "coffee pots," whatever that meant. I figured "coffee pot" included "electric teakettle," right? :) So we had plenty of hot tea and coffee, snacks like fruit, Chile-Lime Peanuts, and brownies:

(Impulsively, I discovered that brownies made with coconut oil instead of butter are FANTASTIC!!!)
And had simple meals, like Smoky Split Pea Soup with Cheese Muffins:

And instant oatmeal with sliced banana:


More importantly, this trip really wasn't about the food. Even though I can rarely pass up the opportunity to prepare a healthy, filling meal for us while on the road, our focus was definitely on doing STUFF, instead of cooking and eating! We read the paper, attempted the crossword puzzle, had a late-night campfire in the bitter cold, played Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, lost ourselves in our books, and rented cross-country skis for both fantastic exercise and beautiful scenery:

We had so much fun this weekend, we're talking seriously about repeating this trip sometime next month!

If you live in/near MN, I HIGHLY recommend the cabins available for rent at MN State Parks! They are rustic, and do require a (short) cold walk to go potty, but the cabins themselves are gorgeous, well-maintained, affordable, and just what you need for a simple night/weekend away from "real life." :)

I'm so glad we've discovered a way to "camp" in the winter! Wahoo!

it's pho time!

Really, when isn't it pho time? (I know Emily would agree with me!) :) Dan and I had a laugh when I asked him earlier this week what he was hungry for; his reply was, "ummmmm . . . something Asian . . . with tofu." OK! Only thousands of meals to choose from, and I settled on pho.

I always loosely follow this recipe from Cooking Light, with several modifications to make the soup vegetarian, as well as slightly simpler to prepare. I don't know whether I've posted my modifications before; I apologize if I have and am boring everyone. :) Here are the changes I make:

1. Substitute vegetable stock for turkey stock, low-sodium soy sauce for fish sauce, and 1 package tofu, pressed and cubed, for the turkey. (Sometimes I sub agave for the brown sugar, just because I don't feel like digging out the brown sugar.) :)
2. I prepare all of the fresh herbs, green onions, lime wedges, and jalapenos and pile them up on a big plate (or in a tupperware container,) to be added at the table.
3. I don't bother broiling the onion -- I just slice it thinly, brown it in a little peanut oil, add the tofu, bean sprouts, and broth, and bring everything to a boil. At this point, soup's on! Simpler, and probably just as good.

And one final tip -- unless you want dinner to take you hours and hours, have an "herb assistant." Dan has become very good at this job, and says he actually enjoys it!

So, what would you have made with the suggestion I was given? "Something Asian . . . with tofu!" The possibilities may be endless!

adjusting

It's hard to adjust to changes in your routine, isn't it? I've shifted from cooking for both Dan and I practically every single night, and packing leftovers from dinners for lunches every day, to cooking/food planning for just myself, except on Tuesdays and weekends. It's a little strange, but I'm starting to remember how to do this! I planned on making huge Greek salads for most lunches this week, which worked really well -- plus, it's really good for me to eat a huge salad every single day! I did a wee bit of cooking this week, too:

First, a delightful minestrone I made for Dan and I on Tuesday night:

I stumbled upon this recipe from Ellie Krieger in an issue of Food Network Magazine that I was flipping through during my flu-induced stupor over the holidays. (Is it strange that one of the only activities I can tolerate while sick is reading magazines? I swear, I must have gone through 8 or so! After I read through the favorites, hit up Target for a second round, and then went to Walgreens on CHRISTMAS DAY for a supply of the third-stringers, I knew it was going to be a BAD illness. Can you tell I'm still recovering, at least mentally?) :) Anyhow, this recipe sounded simple, quick, and delicious, and it was indeed all three of those things! I made a few small modifications, including adding more beans and more pasta, since I wanted the soup to serve more as a meal, instead of a veggie side/app. This soup was an excellent, nutritious weeknight meal, (accompanied by some sliced baguette and brie . . . hey, we can't be all healthy, all the time, right?), and has served both of us well for several lunches in leftover form, too. Note: if you attempt this recipe, make sure you use at least a 6-quart pot . . . I had to transfer from my 4-quart mid recipe! (I HATE it when that happens!)

I also threw together a few odds and ends and made myself a delicious stir-fry for dinner tonight!

I tossed a 1/4 package of tofu, some garlic, ginger, and onion, and a few miscellaneous veggies into my cast-iron fry pan, and added a simple "sauce" at the very end -- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp garlic-chile sauce, and 1/2 tsp agave nectar. Served the lot over some leftover Basmati rice, (well, it was already made, ok?!) and called it dinner. Yum!

And appropriately, this treat was probably the most favorite thing I made this week!

I found so many attractive things about this recipe for Lemon Pudding Cakes from Eating Well that I knew I was going to have to make them SOON! I know they don't look like much, but they are light, fluffy, sweet, intensely lemony, and all around fabulous! Dan loves anything citrus, so he was all over these, and I loved how easy they were to throw together. Plus, I'd almost always rather a fruit or lemon dessert. I like chocolate, but just not all that often! :)

I'm so ready for the weekend! Cabin time, here we come!

go win some avocado oil!

Hey . . . if you're interested in trying some avocado oil, go see Ricki, click through, and enter to win some!

I'll be back with more food tonight . . . !

it's tamale time . . . finally!

Remember way back in December when I talked about making tamales? And then we never ate them? (Being sick over the holidays has its disadvantages!) Well, I finally decided to bust a couple out of the double freezer bag, steam 'em up, and smother 'em with mole for my dinner tonight!

These are Eating Well's Squash, Black Bean, and Goat Cheese Tamales, smothered with Three Sisters Black Mole. Yum yum yum! It's kind of fun, having a special Monday night dinner. :) A few things I discovered about these recipes:

1. The mole keeps much longer in the refrigerator than suggested. (Well, at least mine is still fine!) It also freezes well, since the recipe makes practically a GALLON!
2. The tamales froze beautifully. I added an extra ten minutes to the steaming time, and that seemed to work just fine.
3. The tamales swell considerably with steaming. Keep in mind when you are deciding portions! I made myself two tonight, but probably would have been fine just with one.
4. The tamales will come out of the steamer still a little gummy, but will firm up nicely as they start to cool a little bit. Have no fear!

While this wasn't exactly an EASY recipe to make, they sure are fun to eat! It would totally be worth making them ahead again, to have on hand for special occasions . . . like snowy Monday nights! :)

I have been a busy little bee tonight, and still have a few things to check off my list before heading for bed. G'night!

maybe? maybe not.

Before I forget again, I better talk about the quick stop we made at InfiniTea Tea House yesterday! Stopping at InfiniTea wasn't part of my original plan for "28 Hours of Fun," but while we were running errands, we were on our way by, and Dan doesn't need much convincing to stop for a cup of tea! :) I stumbled upon InfiniTea back in December, and was shocked, amazed, and pleased by their array of teas, made-to-order chai lattes, simple but gorgeous decor, and selection of tea accessories for brewing at home. Dan had a cup of Chinese black tea, (I forget what kind -- sorry -- but it was excellent!) and I had a coconut truffle chai latte . . . hell yes! They make all of their chai lattes to order with almond milk and honey, but I did see a bottle of agave nectar on the counter, too, so it's definitely vegan-friendly. You can purchase loose tea to take home, as well as have a cup of ANYTHING ON THE WALL brewed for you on the spot! They have several Zojirushi tea kettles set at a variety of temperatures along the tea prep area, and I noticed our tea guy using a timer for both Dan's black tea and my latte. Man, do they know their stuff! I was really impressed, and we will definitely be back. They offer a selection of "tea flights" as well, which is something we will certainly have to try on a return visit. :) If you live in the Cities and like tea even a little bit, you definitely have to check out InfiniTea!

On to meals from today . . .

I feel like it's been a while since we've had breakfast burritos, so we were due!

Same as usual -- whole-wheat tortilla stuffed with refried black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, hashbrowns, scrambled egg, salsa, sour cream, and hot sauce. Mmmmmmmmm! A glass of orange juice is the PERFECT accompaniment to this meal -- salty balances sweet, and rich balances acidic. YUM! Plus, all of the protein really holds me over well. Happy brunch!

Dinner was, again, miso soup:

Am I growing tired of miso soup yet? Maybe. Maybe not! Things have changed a bit around here lately, which means I'm on my own for a lot more meals, and miso soup is one of those things that is a cinch to make for one . . . though it's been so long since I've been focusing on cooking for one, I've forgotten many of my old standbys! Miso soup is one that I remember, though, and a delicious meal in a bowl!

What are some of your favorite meals for one?

"Fun Time is Over . . ."

. . . for now, at least. :)

Back to life, back to reality!

OK, enough cheesy song lyrics. Dan and I had a GREAT "28 hours of fun!" Friday night, Dan picked me up from work and we went to Saigon on University avenue for excellent, CHEAP banh mi. I ordered vegetarian spring rolls and a fried tofu banh mi (complete with spicy mayo!) and Dan ordered a small chicken pho, a pork banh mi, and an iced tea, and our entire bill came to around $16. CHEAP! It's an amazing thing, being able to go out to eat and gorge yourself silly with your partner for under twenty bucks, including tip!

After dinner, we stopped in at the Wedge and picked up dessert -- Dan had a piece of blood orange mousse cake, and I had a slice of chocolate cake layered with mocha buttercream. (Shout out to my mom, who always had "mocha torte" for her birthday cake. This slice was very similar, but sadly, not topped with chocolate-covered espresso beans.)

After dessert, we bundled up and walked over to First Avenue, where we were luckily on the list to see a friend's band play. They were great! While their music wasn't really my thing, all of the guys looked like they were having a blast, which for me, always trumps the music anyway. Tired people that we were, we left right after their set and were back home (and warm!) by 10 pm.

Yesterday, "fun time" was briefly interrupted by a couple of errands, (picking up meds for the cat at the vet, ordering a book at Magers and Quinn, getting Dan a flu shot,) before we hit the Uptown Diner for brunch. I had a half-order of the "Veggie Tex Mex," which was covered with way too much salsa, but still awesome.

After brunch, we saw the Shaw Collection of Native American Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which was neat! They had the pieces organized in different rooms by region, and had huge, floor-to-ceiling photos of the landscape in each room, which really helped put the art in context. One of my favorite displays was a pair of hand rattles used in dance by the Inuit.

After the art museum, we chilled at home and had leftover black bean burgers for dinner, before heading over to the Theatre in the Round to see "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean." We had a two-for-one coupon, (I LOVE being on their mailing list!), and the play was excellent. From the description it sounded like it would be sort of goofy and quirky, but it was much more serious and intense than I was expecting. A great play and well-acted, too!

So yes, fun time is over. All sorts of errands and laundry and cleaning and whatnot to get done today . . . blah. But it will be worth it! We had a great time relaxing and doing fun stuff during the last day and a half, and thankfully, this tradition will continue, at least into next weekend!

What are we up to? Well . . . since it's a 3-day weekend, we reserved a camper-cabin at a state park for some skiing, snowshoeing, and relaxation! Wahoo! We're going to take books and board games and maybe even the laptop with speakers, so we can watch a movie. :) The only drawback is that there is no cooking allowed inside the cabins, except for Crock Pots and coffee makers. (I'm thinking an electric teakettle is OK? We can't NOT have hot water!) So, I'm going to be taking instant oatmeal for breakfast and some kind of soup in the Crock Pot for us to eat off over the couple of days that we are there, plus probably Pioneer Woman's Cheese Muffins, since cold weather calls for extra calories, right? :) I don't really feel like making chili again, since I kind of burned myself out on chili over the holidays, and the only other soup that is coming to mind is lentil, for some reason. Anyone have any awesome suggestions for an amazing soup we could take with us that would serve us several meals? (I'm making minestrone this week, so that's out, too, unfortunately.)

Off to flip through Love Soup in hopes of finding some amazing recipe I'm just not thinking of!

can't get enough

I don't know whether this seems to be a strange thing to crave, but lately, I can't get enough miso soup!

I don't know whether it's the salt, simplicity, or shiitake mushrooms that I crave . . . maybe all three? Anyhow, I feel as though I have been eating gallons of miso soup lately, and have yet to get sick of it! Awesome.

What are some of the foods you can eat again and again without getting sick of them? For me, it's definitely miso soup, breakfast burritos, pretty much anything involving cheese, smoothies, and usually, chili. (Although I totally burned myself out on chili since Christmas . . . I swear, I made the batch of chili that never ends! I FINALLY finished the last serving yesterday! Whew.)

In other news, I signed up for a couple of yoga classes starting over the next couple of weeks! One class is an 8-week series on the philosophy of yoga, and the other is a 6-week series on yoga for back health. I've never taken a yoga class before, and I'm so excited to start! Truthfully, I pretty much can't afford to do this, but sometimes you just gotta spend a little money on yourself for something fun, right? :)

ALSO, Dan and I are starting what I hope to be a new "routine" this weekend -- 28 hours of fun! We are going to take turns planning (and paying for) an evening and a day's worth of activities, starting on Friday night and continuing into Saturday night, since we have been extremely lazy about "dating" lately. This weekend is my turn, and I can't wait! We're going to go out to eat and watch a movie on Friday night, then head to an art museum AND see a play on Saturday! Hooray for fun!

Only one more day until the weekend -- wahoo! Hope you have some fun and/or relaxing plans!

fusion

We had a funny little dinner last night, joining southwestern and Asian flavors . . . while not really "fusion" cooking, it was still strange -- and good!

I made the "Black Bean Burgers" from Veganomicon, and served them on whole-wheat buns with Vegenaise, lettuce, tomato, and sliced avocado. Sides of sweet potato fries, pickle, and coleslaw -- made with green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and a creamy dressing using some of the honey-ginger white balsamic vinegar we bought over Thanksgiving weekend. The entire meal was amazing, but I think the coleslaw stole the show! :)

What kinds of odd combinations have been hits at your house?

two favorites

I'd had pizza on the meal plan for so long I ended up shredding the cheese the other day and sticking it in the freezer, for fear my beautiful mozzarella was going to get moldy on me! The cheese thawed beautifully tonight, and contributed to one glorious pizza:

I topped a half whole-wheat Artisan Bread crust with organic pizza sauce, (Muir Glen tends to be my brand of choice these days, since it is thick, rich, and perfectly spiced, in my opinion,) plenty of mozzarella, red onion, green bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, cremini mushrooms, sliced black olives, and a sprinkle of oregano. Cheesy, cheesy goodness! I had a little extra cheese after my usual sprinkling, and rather than save it for some other use, I decided to throw caution to the wind and make an extra-cheesy pizza. Good decision!

And hello, WHY have I never served steamed artichokes with pizza before? Heaven on a plate! Two of my most favorite foods in one meal! (Yes, we do dip our artichoke leaves and then dunk the heart in plenty of peppery lemon-butter. Mmmmmmmmm!) I love artichokes so, so much, and am always a little bit sad at the last bite. Fortunately, it will be spring in warmer parts of the country soon, so I can start indulging my artichoke cravings more often!

I think artichokes are tied with asparagus for title of "my favorite vegetable." What's at the top of your list?

wah!

I made spinach and artichoke dip for dinner last night:


It was a delightful, celebratory dinner, and truthfully, not all that horrible for us since I follow a recipe from Cooking Light, and serve it with wholegrain pita and crudites for dipping. Nom nom nom nom!

The best part? Leftovers! Um . . . EXCEPT WHEN YOU FORGET TO PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE, GO TO BED, AND WAKE UP TO STINKY CHEESE DIP STILL SITTING ON YOUR STOVE "COOLING!"

Wah!

At least the cat got to enjoy some . . . hum. He managed to eat most of the cheese off the top over the course of the night, so at least ALL of the leftovers didn't go to waste?

eleven is my favorite number

Happy New Year! Eleven is indeed my favorite number, and I'm hoping 2011 is going to bring some much-needed change to my life. I can't go into great detail here, but things will be revealed as they transpire. I'm thinking I should do something fun on the blog for 11/11/11 -- maybe 11 days of giveaways? Thankfully, that's almost a whole year away, so I have plenty of time to plan. :)

Anyhow, focusing on New Year's festivities. Dan and I were invited to join friends for a small get-together, but because we're both introverts, tired-out from various stressors, and I'm still sick, (but definitely on the mend!), we decided to keep to ourselves last night. We went to the cheap theatre in Hopkins and saw "Fair Game," which we both enjoyed, before coming home to a LATE dinner. We made a couple of mocktails, set on a pot of Basmati rice, warmed the naan and samosas from the freezer, and heated the food I made earlier in the day. Ta-da! Indian feast for two!

I follow the dal recipe from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, adding more spices and chiles, tons of fresh spinach, and a can of diced tomatoes (drained,) which is our usual Indian fare; yesterday, I also made Matter Paneer Made Simple, a reader submission from an old issue of Vegetarian Times. The combination of simple stews, prepared earlier in the day, fragrant rice, and a few high-quality convenience items made for a super-fast, easy, and extremely delicious celebration!

Hope your celebration was happy!