Bake-a-holic! Secret Santa begins...

Good afternoon! I have had a lovely, quiet day so far filled with baking and munching. After I picked out the recipes I wanted to use for the Secret Santa exchange Sarah's hosting, I went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients and some eats for me.


I wanted to get some stuff in the oven before I had lunch, so I had a little clemmie to tide me over.

After all the rave reviews the blogworld has been giving Amy's California Veggie Burgers recently, I had to pick some up for myself. They did not disappoint! They had a nice and grainy texture. I understand now why Megan mushes them up, though... they're so soft! I think I might like my Morningstar Farms burgers just a wee bit more; I need a little firmness in my chomp!


I packed a whole wheat pita with a Laughing Cow light cheese, dijon mustard and ketchup. I also had a sweet potato with B&B and brown sugar... my favorite! There was no lettuce or any kind of green veggie to be had (except for some broccoli, but I'm not sure if my parents are saving that for something). I'll have to catch up on that tonight!


I caught up on my vitamins and Emergen-C. I'm so bad, I haven't taken them in about a week!


There was too much pita for the burger so I ripped off about 1/4. I totally decimated the sweet potato, though!


Now, on to the baking!

I don't want to give anything away, but I'll leave you with a few teasers:



Both things come from here:


I'm going out with my friends Lisa and Lizzie tonight. I've been eating out a lot recently (a lot for me, that is) so I'll have to be a little more conservative in the future. It's a great way to see people, though, and a person's gotta eat!

What low-budget things do you do with your friends, especially when it's cold outside?

Deep Sleep 9

Lunch was a hummus (garlic & herbs), Lightlife "bologna", mustard and green pepper sandwich on double fiber bread.


Grapefruit and a Rachel's yogurt (which I didn't end up eating):




A couple bites in I decided my meal was missing something. It was a little dry, and although I admit I was tempted to load on some ketchup (I know, I know!) I opted for some black bean and corn salsa (Archer Farms brand). It made all the difference!


As I said, I traded the yogurt for an hour and a half of naptime, and I was out. Deep afternoon sleeps always make me so disoriented when I wake up. But, up I got to go to get my X-ray. I snacked on a Luna in the car... this is by far my favorite flavor.


I got GREAT NEWS at the doctor's! My leg is healing "beautifully," and I can resume some low-impact exercise, AKA biking, yoga, pilates, etc. Around Christmas I can step it up a little (elliptical), and in February or so I can start running again, assuming there are no problems up until then. I am so happy! I'm most looking forward to the energy boost it'll give me... if you couldn't already tell, I've been so lethargic recently. Which leads me to...

Life w/o C₈H₁₀N₄O_2... that's caffeine, for everyone (including myself!) not inclined to chemistry. I've been pretty groggy all day, and I have a teensy headache right now, although that could be unrelated. We'll see after one more day, when it'll probably mostly be out of my system from Sunday.

My friend Morgan is coming over to cook dinner; I went to Whole Foods and got some supplies:



Canned pumpkin, extra-firm tofu, Clif Mojo bar, red kale, demi-baguette, Ezekiel tortillas, spinach: $16.21. Could be worse!

Have a lovely evening!

Safety in numbers

Somehow I made it in and out of Whole Foods in under five minutes, and only spent $5.88! That has to be some kind of record. The secret? Buy in bulk! I saw a shaker of garlic salt for $3.75, and got the same amount for $.17. Can't beat that! I also got over a pound of steel-cut oats for $1.42. Woohoo! And I had to get some 'mallows so I can make a real cup of hot chocolate. This is made with fish gelatin, so it fits in with my pescaterian diet.





Like all the other bloggers, I too went in search of the pear streusel Clif bar, but to no avail. They did have a nice sample of brie with some kind of fruit jelly, served on little melba toasts.


So, last night my friend Ben and I started talking about tofu, and ended up exchanging recipes. I gave him Gliding Calm's lovely rub, and he told me about a delicate BBQ tofu.


Ben's "delicate" BBQ tofu


soy sauce (I used low sodium)
garlic salt
BBQ sauce (Ben likes Annie's sweet and spicy, I used Annie's low fat original)
cooking spray

Cut pressed, extra-firm tofu into slices, at least 1/4-inch thick but not paper thin. Lay flat on a plate and marinate in soy sauce. Sprinkle garlic salt evenly over each piece (don't want random spots of extra flavor) and let stand at least 20 minutes (I refrigerated it so the cats wouldn't get at it... Betty Ford really likes tofu!). Flip and repeat.


Lightly spray a skillet and cook tofu over medium-low heat, until golden brown. Make sure it's cooked enough because it will break if not, depending on the thickness of your slices. Flip, and cook the other side until it is also golden brown.

Place a dollop of BBQ sauce on each slice, and spread evenly. Cook for a few minutes longer; as soon as you flip so the sauce is face down, it accelerates the cooking process. Flip, and dollop and spread the other sides with BBQ sauce.


Cook for a few minutes, then flip a final time so the newly sauced sides will be cooked. Tofu should be firm, but not burnt. Remove from heat and set aside.

NB: Best served if you wait at least an hour, if not more, and eat like deli slices.


It turned out pretty well! I had it along with steamed broccoli and a sweet potato with B&B and brown sugar, just like my mama makes it.


I added three prunes (or "dried plums," as the packages says to make it sound more appealing) to my plate.



Katey and I have been hard at work for a few hours, and needed a late-night study snack. We made bowls of yogurt with pumpkin, Heart2Heart, chocolate chips and honey. De-lish.


I'm working on a secret vegan soup. Check back for the recipe tomorrow! Hope everyone has fun (or just relaxing) weekend plans. Bonne nuit!

Playtime's over

This is going to be one long post to make up for the last 24 hours. I have a ton to do, so I'm going to try to be quick and a little less descriptive than usual.


Z Bar after school yesterday:


Half a piece of Turtle cake and black coffee at the German House. This cake was a.ma.zing.

Cheese, crackers, shrimp with cheese, grape with cheese, banana slice, bun filled with potato and mushrooms. I went to the Russian House to watch the "election" celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution. The contestants included Lenin, Stalin, and three other upstanding (maybe...) Soviets. "Lenin" won... the guy playing him got reeeeally into it, and even shaved part of his head!



Sorry for the horrible picture, it was pretty dark. This is what the inside of the bun looks like:



I went to see Jeremy Messersmith at the Turf Club with Katey and two of her friends from high school. The Turf Club is a really great space: it's cozy and intimate, and everyone just sort of talks to each other. We talked to Jeremy and the band before him; Chris Koza, a Twin Cities singer/songwriter, was there playing with Jeff Hanson, and we're sort of friendly so we talked a little on the way out of the venue. Anyway, Jeremy did not disappoint. Check him out! You can hear a lot of his songs here.

Unfortunately, I came home with the late-night munchies. It started off innocent enough, with a bowl of special K/ Wheetabix with skim milk...


Then came the Halloween candy.

Plus five more pieces that I ATE IN BED while watching Eagle VS Shark. Not okay! I usually eat healthily enough throughout the day, but my "slips" happen after I've eaten dinner and it's late. Any suggestions on how to fight that urge?


I woke up this morning and made some "instant detox", AKA Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added (chocolate flavor) with a frozen banana and skim milk.


And a slice of protein bread with B&B, apple jelly and blueberry jam.



I had a fun, family-filled lunch at The Marsh in Minnetonka. I had a great salad made with arugula (my love), purple and golden beets (hidden under all the greens), cornmeal-crusted goat cheese and grilled tofu (not as good as Gliding Calm's!). I poured a little honey-lavender dressing over it.


The ladies who lunch, L-R: Granny, cousin-in-law Ellen, Great-aunt Linda, her daughter Laura, Laura's daughter Katie, me (not the most flattering photo of myself!).



On the way home, I FINALLY went grocery shopping. Here are the goods:






I had a gift card at Target and I couldn't resist these handwarmers. So cute! Yes, I could have made them... but I don't have the time! I also got a little camel-colored knit hat.


Tonight is going to be awful. I have soooo much work to do! I haven't had ANY coffee today (although I had a lot of green tea at lunch) and my body is aching with fatigue. Sleep is not an option, so I'm going to make a big ole pot 'o jo!