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!

Hit the jackpot!

I'm alive, just a little tired and a lot busy!

I'd set my alarm for 7, and I got up and ate half of this Clif Builder's Peanut Butter bar. It is soooo much better than the Vanilla Almond! It has a delicious crunchy middle layer and I would buy it again.


Sadly, I decided I needed to sleep more and would go to the gym later, so I slept until 9:20 and had the rest of the bar.

I got a small skim latte with honey during Poetry:


Cafeteria lunch! I was starving.

Salad: spinach, cabbage, carrots, black olives, broc, cucumbers, chick peas, beets, etc. I got a chickpea/tempeh dish on the side. I didn't end up eating all of the salad, or any of the celery.



Muligatawny soup! I added peanuts, parsley, coconut and raisins.


With coffee. One of the guys who works there asked if I "always eat this healthy"... we all know the answer to that! Ha.


1/2 a cookie bar for dessert.


Pre-workout banana:


Bike:
35:00 minutes
6.06 miles
292 calories burned

ab series


Cheese sample at Whole Foods:



Groceries:





Total: $60.53. I saved $5.00 by using coupons!


This lovely package arrived in the AM, and brightened up my day!


My vitamins also finally came! Good day for mail.


I'm going to be late to my film screening, but I had to shower after my sweaty bike ride! I made dinner to bring, so I'll post those pics later. Happy Monday!

Veggie Day

My grandparents and I had a really nice time at the club for lunch. It was a gorgeous day; you can tell from how well my Sunday pictures always turn out how much light there is in the dining room!

Round one: broccoli, cauliflower, poached salmon w/ capers, gazpacho aspic, red and yellow peppers, artichoke hearts, bets, baby carrots (seriously baby! So small!), cukes.


Cappuccino with skim & cinnamon. Don't you love my grandmother's suit?


Round 2: 1 slice of WW toast with strawberry jam, pineapple, canteloupe, grapes, strawberries, honeydew, magic bar. I grabbed another magic bar on the way out, the chef insisted!


My granny is giving a dinner party this week, so I went to the grocery store to shop with her. Ever since I was little I have loved going grocery shopping with her. I think that's part of the reason why I like to cook so much! Not to mention that there are always tons of samples at the store she shops at.

Cracker w/ lobster spread (too fishy!):


Cheesy broccoli potatoes and a baking soda dinner roll. The dinner roll was so good!


For some reason lunch and all those samples didn't hold me over very well, so I had a banana a couple hours later.



Although I'm probably going to regret it tomorrow, I deemed today a much- needed veg-out day. There is work I should be doing, but I've been feeling pretty stressed recently and I just needed to watch a couple back-to-back episodes of Greek. Again, no shame here!

I'm going to see my absolute FAVORITE band tonight, The Hold Steady. They're playing at First Avenue with The Drive-By Truckers, who I liked a lot in high school. I heard one of their new songs on the radio today and it was pretty good! I am beyond excited! This will be my fourth time seeing The Hold Steady; they're the only band I've ever gone to see by myself and I saw them two days in a row once! I'd do that for Radiohead and probably Liz Phair, but not too many others. Woohoo!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

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!

It's not Greek to me

The Larabar fairy came to my mailbox today! I'm really excited to try them; in concept, they're like Larabar's version of Clif Z-Bars. It's like two of my favorite things had a baby and made the JamFrakas (say it out loud: jam-fra-kass).




I had a snack plate that would make my mother proud: a fiber rye cracker, manchego, pepper jack, carrots, and an apple. And my good friend Mr. Coffee.



A while back I made Caitlin's sweet potato/ black bean burgers, and was craving them again. This time I added mushrooms (which I noticed were on the tail end of freshness) and chopped walnuts, a pinch of cumin , coriander seeds and salt and pepper.



I started to cook them on the burner, but then figured broiling the burgers would cook them more evenly. I added a dollop of yogurt to each patty (it's not Greek, but it did its job) and a sprinkle of curry powder.



A LOT of broccoli, squirted with lemon juice:




I love these burgers. What I did not love, however, was my tummy's fullness after the meal... too much fiber, Katie!


I found these guys in the bottom of my purse. They weren't fuzzy, so...


I heated some frozen strawberries to make a warm syrup, and stirred it into my sugar-free rice pudding. Yum!


The massive to-do list that probably does more harm than good:


Have a lovely evening!