Peanut Butter & Thai

Hello bloginas and bloginos (I know there's at least one of you...)! I hope you have all had fabulous Tuesdays. I love being able to blog more than once a day; I feel much less overwhelmed when I don't have to upload 38 pictures at once!

I lazed around the house for awhile today (I loved reading what you all do to get comfy when you come home... I thought the jewelry/jeans thing was just me!) and finally decided around 2 to head out to the gym. Before I left I had a banana, which I nestled in a sweater so that he could be cozy, too.


Today was my first day using my beautiful new heart rate monitor. I'm still learning about how to use it, so bear with me while I figure it out... my stats are kind of incomplete today but I'll do my best.

Stairmaster- 20:00 minutes
Elliptical (I think that's what it was... it was kind of this free-form flying contraption)- 7:00 minutes (the machine turned off when I went to get water)
Bike- 15:00 minutes

Calories burned: 449

I also did my usual arm series (4 machines, 3 sets of 10). My abs are in so much pain because of my new yoga habit, so I decided to give them a rest and only did 60 crunches. I spent the rest of the time using the roller... I could roll around on that thing forever! Nothing feels better than stretching out sore muscles.

I decided to have breakfast for lunch (if that's what you can call it at 4:30) and had a delicious (if not aesthetically pleasing) bowl of peanut butter and jelly super protein oats.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 big scoops nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp blackberry jam
dried currents

This was a great combination (sadly I cannot take the credit for pairing peanut butter and jelly). I wonder what it would taste like hot... and cooked, for that matter!

I went shopping for dinner in Chinatown tonight. Let me tell you, if it wasn't so out of the way I would go there every day! They have great produce, and everything is so cheap! I got all of this for under $20. (Those long purple things are Chinese eggplants.)


Dinner tonight was from Moosewood Cookbook: New Classics. You've probably already figured out how much my family and I love Moosewood recipes. They never fail to disappoint! I would love to go to their restaurant, but I'm not sure when I'll find myself in Ithaca.


Stage 1: some tofu, red bell pepper, and snow peas.



Stage 2: Add some rice noodles, a little egg, some hot chili paste, rice vinegar and soy sauce...


Lime garnish, bean sprouts, a little lime, fresh peanuts and TA DA! Pad Thai.


This was one of the only times we've all gotten to sit down and eat together, and it was pretty nice.

Look at that crazy eye!


Finished my meal off with a Grolsch and a golden delicious apple. Interesting combination.


And then, because the night couldn't end without a little chocolate (trend of the week!) I had a vanilla Skinny Dipper. Yum. I'm also reading one of the best books I've read this year... well, the only book I've read this year, but of 2008 as well! I'm only halfway through, but I hope to get another nice big chunk read before Ari finishes working for the night.


Have a great night!

(I just banged my knee into the corner of the bed... the other one is already bruised AND bloody, since, after 10+ years of shaving, I still always nick my legs with a razor! Maybe in 10 more I'll grow out of that...)

Old lady in the house

"Slow" and "old seem the be the themes of the day. I'm importing pictures on my old desktop and it is taking so long! The computer itself still works perfectly, it just needs a little extra love.

A new Japanese restaurant just opened up in our neighborhood, called Linn. It was soooo yummy: we all know how much I love sushi, and this was so fresh and delicious.

We each got a bottle of Sapporo. This made Ari a little sad...


We split some edamame:


We also split this hot and sweet sesame tofu. I've never had it before; it tastes a little like sweet custard.


For my main, I ordered an appetizer size of tuna or some sort of white porridge type thing. Sorry for the blurry picture; it did not want to be photographed!

Here's what it looks like on its own, out of the "porridge":


I also got a California roll.

They brought out two little liquor chocolates for dessert, Drambuie and Galliano flavored. We split both, but couldn't tell which one was better.


We got home from dinner around 9:30, put on Final Destination, and turned it off about 15 minutes later to go to sleep. Yes, you read correctly: we are officially an old couple. Ari ended up getting up at 2 again to work (he has the perfect schedule to be a scratch baker) but I slept until 8 and feel sooo refreshed. Schoolwork is done, and this girl is ON VACATION! WAHOO!

Leisurely breakfasts are kind of a luxury for us (expense and time-wise), but this was a lucky morning and it worked out.

Coffee with skim milk:


New York Breakfast! Toasted sesame bagel with lox, tomato, and onions (I didn't have the lettuce or olives):


Capers and cream cheese on the side:


Isn't it beautiful? Ahh, I missed this :-)


I came home to get some baking done and type up the soup recipe (read on!). When I got out of the subway, a guy was handing out samples of Cascadian Farms chocolate chip granola bars. Yum! Can't wait to try 'em.


Blurry nutrition facts:


Cowboy Charley, with one very suspicious robo eye.



As promised, here is the recipe for the Armenian Lentil Soup.

Armenian Lentil Soup, from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

Serves 6

1/2 cups dried lentils
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (4 oz)
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
2-3 cups cubed eggplant
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (or another 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, if preferred)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Rinse the lentils, and then bring them to a boil in the stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add the chopped apricots and simmer covered for another 20 minute.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, then add the eggplant and 4 or 5 tablespoons of water. Cook covered on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is almost tender. Add the remaining vegetables, dried spices, and salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes

Stir the sautéed vegetables into the cooked lentil-apricot mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the parsley and mint and serve.

I'm going to the store to get some Secret Santa stuff ready. Have a fantastic Tuesday!

Warning: Bad Lighting!

Hello hello! My eyes are droopy with sleepiness so, again, this'll be a quickie. I had a little pour of this Zinfandel before dinner:



At Karahi, Caitlin and I split a Kingfisher.


I LOVE INDIAN FOOD. I haven't had any (unless you count Ethnic Gourmet frozen dinner, which I really don't) for months.

Vegetable samosa (YUM), curried chickpeas, cauliflower fried thing, sauces.


One piece each of potato and onion naan. Sorry about the lighting!


Caitlin and I split orders of vegetable korma and palaak paneer. I had two smallish helpings of each (with a little rice), but by the second I was soooo stuffed.




I visited the restaurant I worked at last summer and the summer before that to say hi to my friends there. When I came home I hacked into this monster...


I had a thin slice (and more crumbs) with a glass of skim milk. My dad apparently could barely finish a bite, but I had no problem with this guy! But boy, is it rich. I'm glad I'll be leaving it behind when I go back tomorrow, I don't trust myself around it!


My flight leaves for St. Paul at 5; we're going to have a nice brunch from my favorite bakery in the morning. Off I go to get my beauty sleep... Have a wonderful Sunday!

Just a couple of itless "ITS"!

This heat problem is getting out of control. My nose is so cold and red, and I'm indoors!!! We called our landlord, so hopefully that'll get taken care of ASAP....

Here's my evening "snack":


Dinner today was simple but satisfying. I made some Gliding Calm tempeh (toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, chili pepper, ginger powder baked at 400 for 30 minutes), steamed broccoli and delicata squash. This is the same squash Jalene's mom made for us in Grand Rapids; we picked some up at the Farmers Market before we came back to the Twin Cities.


So far this is the best way I've enjoyed tempeh so far. The sweetness of the honey cancels out the bitterness, and it's left with the chewy texture I love!


I had a bowl of Edy's pumpkin/ chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup and PB while I watched a movie my friend Levi recommended: IT with Clara Bow. Genius! I'm going to Netflix some more of her films; she's so expressive (it's silent) and reminds me a lot of my grandmother.


Tomorrow's going to be filled with a LOT of baking, so get ready!

Oof day

Today was just... one of those days. It was raining and there were a lot of wet leaves on the ground, and while I've been getting to be pretty fast on the crutches it was pretty stressful to try to navigate around without falling on my face or getting drenched. Then Jalene and I went grocery shopping for our dessert party on Friday, and ended up having to go to multiple stores which took a long time and we were both cranky. AND my "wheelchair" (AKA desk chair) keeps pitching me forward onto the floor. BLAH. Sooo a certain Meredith Brooks song may be blasting through my apartment right now.... Mood improvement coming up!


I had a sub from the cafeteria today. They were out of avocados so I had a tuna sandwich instead of my usual "California".


Tuna on wheat with cheddar, peppers, banana peppers, olives, jalepeños, spinach, tomatoes, dijon mustard, onions, etc.


With an apple and a cookie I got free for taking a picture with a sustainable energy caption:


I was supposed to go to Coffee News with one of my friends to do work but that fell through, so I'm going to take a half our or so to just relax with my new Women's Health. And breathe....

Home again, home again

Ozzie! He likes his hands to be held.








We had lunch and treats at Brewed Awakenings yesterday. I ordered the Zesty Vegan, a panini on basil focaccia with guacamole, tomato, refried beans, banana peppers, sweet onions, and spring greens. It came with three cute little carrot shavings from the farmers' market.



I got a piece of chocolate zucchini bread, which was, oh my sweet lordy, so good. It had a brown sugar walnut topping, and I'd planned on saving half of it for later - I even wrapped it back up!- but I couldn't resist it. You can see how big it is based on that fork (a little trick I learned from Angelina in The Bone Collector)!


Jalene's grandmother, Emmy, made us a yummy spaghetti dinner last night. She even made me a special sauce that was meat free. With some garlic bread:



Broccoli:



A wee bit of Merlot:


And, of course, French vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.



We packed up and left around noon, but not before having a yummy egg scramble with veggies and cheese.

Rye bread with homemade apple and grape jelly, coffee and orange pineapple juice:


Seconds:


We stopped at Brewed Awakenings to get some caffeine for the road, although unfortunately for Jalene I slept almost the whole way back! It's a little strange even for me, because I had 2.5 cups of coffee with breakfast and a huge tea latte!

Honey spice tea latte with skim milk and a shot of almond syrup:


Road stop lunch: half vegetarian sandwich (hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, peppers, pepperjack cheese) on pumpernickel:


Apple:



We went to the farmers' market on our way out of town and got tons of fresh produce, like some of the sweet carrots from lunch and the squash Tyanne made us for dinner.




When we got back, I had a carrot with almond butter and a pumpkin beer that I have been searching FAR AND WIDE to find. I can taste the "spices" they boast of, but I'm not so sure about the pumpkin...



We've pretty much been cleaning and unpacking and reorganizing since we got back. We'll probably have dinner soon, and Carrie just came from Netflix! Smells like October...