Not a creature was stirring...

Yep, everyone at home is in bed but I seem to find myself wide awake. I hate when that happens!

After my Chinese food fiasco, I took a little nap and woke up famished. Quick fix: clementines!


And a box of blackberries. So sweet and juicy!


We made a shrimp curry for dinner with snow peas, corn, red pepper and coconut milk. Pretty yum.


We also whipped up some chapatis. Here, you can see the Chapati King is hard at work:



Triscuit+ cheese+ blackberry= surprisingly tasty combo.


I had one tuna/eggplant chapati...


A glass of wine...


Emergen-C and vitamins...



I ate the curry with a little basmati and two chapatis.


Mystery dessert... what could be in the box?


A Bûche du Noël! Also known as a chocolate yule log cake.





I've been criticized a lot recently for the quality of my photos. So, sorry about that folks.

Hope you have a wonderfully happy holiday. Night night!

The morning after

So sorry for my lack of breakfast post! I had a hard time falling asleep because I was so excited, so it felt a little too early when my alarm went off! So I was about an hour late picking up Sarah, but we got to Brewberry's around 8:30 all the same.

I had an apple and an Erin Baker Breakfast "cookie":


I really liked this bar! It was just the right size, and great for an on-the-go snack. I was going to pair it with yogurt, but I knew I would get some kind of milky coffee drink so I held off. Oddly enough, I found the bars next to the sweet potatoes at Target! I didn't see them last time I was there, but if I can find them again, I'd love to try out the other flavors.


At Brewberry's, Sarah and I each got cafe au lait's with skim milk and a shot of espresso, with a sugar in the raw packet stirred in. This is my new favorite drink.


I had a grapefruit during poetry...



... and Linda brought treats to class again! Katie held my dum-dum so I could take a photo.


Meal #2 since September in the cafeteria! Woohoo! The spread was pretty good today. I got some cornmeal-crusted seitan (recipe idea!) with pickapeppa sauce, smokey Tobasco, and ketchup; steamed cauliflower with a little lemon juice and pepper; corn salad in a lime-cilantro dressing.



A small bowl of vegetable tortellini soup (which I'm pretty sure was the minestrone from yesterday + tortellini)...



... and red ants on a log!

Carrots 'n' Cake reminded me how much I love ants on a log when she posted her snack a few weeks ago. My mom used to make these for me all the time (with "traditional" ants, aka raisins). She tried to give me "ants on a snowy log" once, using cream cheese, but that didn't go over so well!


I was trying to resist the magic bars all through lunch, but I caved and grabbed one on the way out. However, I through out half (the bigger half!) right away so at least it wouldn't be quite as bad. But it made such a loud sound when it hit the bottom of the trash... those are dense little puppies!



I got so sleepy this afternoon! I already told my mom so she won't be horrified when she reads this, but I took a little nap in my car in the parking lot before class. There's a lot to be said for the power nap!

I'm going to get in bed and watch Monday's episode of Gossip Girl, maybe doze a little... then, back to the grind. But doesn't "the grind" seem so much brighter and happier now? One last hooray! for Obama!

A rare moment of harmony...

I could not believe it when I saw it: the cats were sharing the windowsill! I tried to make as little noise as possible when taking the photo- I wanted to capture the image in case it never happens again! They started hissing at each other as soon as I got in bed to read, but I know their secret: they love each other and it's all a front! HA.

I had an apple while I did some reading... but I was right; I fell asleep for almost three hours. I really think it's because I'm missing both the routine and the physical benefits of working out. My fingers are crossed that in a week from Tuesday I'll be able to forgo the crutches...


I decided to make this dish Caitlin made a couple days ago: Santa Fe Casserole.




1 shallot

1/3 can black beans

1/3 can corn

½ red bell pepper

¼ red onion

¾ cup cooked brown rice

½ cup skim milk

1 egg, beaten

½ cup grated swiss cheese

1 small jalepeño or ½ large

½ tbsp olive oil

pinch salt

pinch chili flakes

sprinkle salt

cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350. In a skillet, combine olive oil, shallot, onion, salt and chili flakes; cook 1 minute. In mixing bowl, combine corn, beans, pepper, rice, milk, cheese, jalepeño, and egg; mix well. Pour onion mixture into bowl and combine. Coat glass loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour mixture in and spread evenly. Sprinkle pepper on top. Bake until the middle is firm, 25-40 minutes.



Casseroles are kind of a new terrain for me; I don't think I've ever made one! This turned out well, and the idea of a more or less one-pot meal is very appealing. I want to experiment with other kinds of baked dishes!

I had 1/4 and a half a sweet potato with a little Brummel and Brown.



Jalene gave me two of my favorite truffles from the store she used to work at (and where Carlye does now): pumpkin and Mexican hot chocolate! Yumyumyum. I split a pumpkin with her and had some of the hibiscus sorbet I picked up from Whole Foods a little while ago. This was SO GOOD.