… to get more bars? Is that how that rhyme went?
Anyway, I was stuck alllllllll day Tuesday and allllllllll day Wednesday in an overly air-conditioned midtown conference room to attend some official training sessions for the early intervention half of my job. As a result, my emergency stash of portable snack bars came into play. I ate this Crunch Awesome Bar (their name — not mine!) from Saturday:
I loved it! It tasted like cashew butter-coconut caramel, and I made it last alllllllll day because I am a miracle-worker.
I also ate this mango-peach Attune bar from another recent event:
It’s supposed to have 5x the probiotic power of yogurt, and it was pretty tasty, though it’s not something I’d ever buy because I just don’t like to spend money on this sort of thing that scarily never goes bad!
Other more natural snacks included coconut from Jessica, tostones from Belkis and Katherine, and maduros from Nydia:
Nuts from Lillian, Beryl’s collard greens, and CSA white cucumber:
I also made some food myself in addition to the salad extravaganza. I tried my hand at some of Gena’s cream of zucchini soup/blended salad, modified based on what I had of course. Judging from this picture, I used most of my CSA bounty: kale, dill, mesclun, zucchini, and yellow squash:
And wasabi peas?
I did not have avocado or a food processor, sadly, so the creaminess had to come from feta cheese, soaked brazil nuts, and my trusty immersion-blender.
The soup made an excellent portable and non-spoiling dinner for my looooong unrefrigerated Tuesday that consisted of 8 hours of training for work, 2 hours of work-to-school commuting, and 3 hours of class. For dipping excitement, I used the piece of seedy bread with dill cream cheese that I saved from Wife and Ted’s lunch on Sunday.
I also got involved in another cooking adventure sometime this week. Remember the kohlrabi from my CSA last week?
I had no idea what to do with this thing aside from steaming it like a hunk of broccoli, but Kate came through and forwarded a recipe for glazed kohlrabi that she received from our CSA people. I modified based on what I had as usual. I melted 3T of butter in a pan and then added the chopped kohlrabi and CSA kale stems:
After a few minutes on high heat, I added 2 cups of water, two cups of chicken broth, and all of the CSA zucchini and squash I had left.
When the broth had reduced to almost nothing, I tossed in some fresh balcony basil and arugula.
The finished dish was delicious! I used it as a salad topper and stretched it across three different salads along these lines:
(With feta, sunflower seeds, and crumbled Morningstar black bean burger)
And finalmente, you know I got involved in some banana soft serve action. Green tea cinnamon-banana soft serve topped with peanut butter:
And on the side, I’ve been working my way through a giant hunk of cake that arrived via Kate because my love of cake has spread far and wide:
Kate attended a bridal shower last weekend. The bride-to-be is a reader and sent Kate back to Brooklyn with a slice of this masterpiece for me!
Thank you, Elisa!! The raspberry filling in between the dark chocolate cake and rich mousse and white chocolate … mmmm, I will be dreaming about this cake for a while 😀
So, I’ll leave you with an item that ties back to the title of this post quite conveniently. Here’s Emily, enthusiastically tearing into her standard class snack, most of which usually makes its way into my stomach:
Yay for Mars! If you could travel to any planet, which would you choose?
ANNNNNNNNND, you must go visit Olivia to enter her Ohlivin! Official Summer Giveaway because she is generously sharing many of her secrets to fabulousness!
Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition 
Women go to Mars, to get more candy bars 🙂
I did a project on Saturn when I was in 4th grade, so I’ve always wanted to travel there, hahaha.
LikeLike
I’ve always wanted to go to Pluto, even though its not REALLY a planet anymore…
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed the cake! Kate told me she would make sure you got it . I bake a ton and this cake is better then what I can do….I still have a least 1/2 of the cake in my freezer.
LikeLike
Yum, another super post full of some amazing eats! As for a planet, I wouldn’t choose mars (remember, men are from mars, WOMEN are from Venus !) I guess I would choose Saturn, I want to check out those rings up close 🙂 Oh, and that Awesome Crunch bar looked great. I’m glad it stayed true to its name.
LikeLike
love the addition of the wasabi peas. those things are like crack!
LikeLike
I think I would go to Mars and hope that I would be able to solve the mystery of men there 😉 Although Venus would be fun, too…like living in a giant sorority house 😉
LikeLike
Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars! (and boys go to Jupiter to get more stupid-er, obviously)
LikeLike
I love that your cake tasting expertise is spreading and you are now receiving bounties from far and wide 😀 Have a great sunday sarah!
LikeLike
oh..wasabi peas!!! those are insanely fun to eat and sweat! 🙂
love all the combos you came with your CSA picks!
LikeLike
Mmm green tea banana sounds like a good combo. And I haven’t had m&m’s in so long, you should try them in oatmeal. I used to hold them in my hand until the insides melted but hot oats do the work for you. Ah, the deliciousness of melted chocolate 🙂
LikeLike
I’d go to Saturn. I love the rings for the moons.
Great use of kohlrabi. I’ve seen it at the farmer’s market and have been curious about it. I’ll have to try it.
LikeLike
Pluto ! But it’s not a planet anymore, is it?? I still need to make that life changing banana ice cream!!!
LikeLike
And always make sure it’s 100% organic (some companies load their superfood up with Niacin and other non-organic components — go for the organic green superfood
and avoid the Niacin hangover). References: Pitchford, Paul, Healing with Wholefoods.
Blueberries Chock filled with anti-oxidants and
also phytoflavinoids, Blueberries are also high
in potassium as well as ascorbic acid.
LikeLike