Category: Food

Dessert + dessert + dessert = dinner

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Bananas and pb twice today … what could be better??

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Because I had such a late lunch (and because most of my dinner-type food is earmarked for this week’s lunches), I was in the mood for something sweet tonight.

I mixed 1/2 cup yogurt with a drop of vanilla and topped it with cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 chopped strawberries. On the side, I had a warm Banana Fudge VitaTop with a 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter:

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For dessert (because that was my dinner, you see), I had another homemade chocolate from one of the nurses at my office. This one was like a mini-butterfinger … and it certainly gave last night’s coconut cup a run for its money!

intact

intact

cross-section

cross-section

And that about does it for today! See you on the other side …

Pork & beans like a lady

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Teatime!

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Afternoon rolled around, my tum started growling, and I had to begin thinking about lunch for today — and for the rest of the week! After running through a quick inventory of yesterday’s purchases and my already-existing stash of leftovers, I gathered a number of things together.

Clockwise from top left: one cup cooked pork (saved and frozen after a work party six weeks ago!), Dominican rice (from the same party!) + cooked pearled barley (from mom) + sofrito sauce (from coworker Inginia), Jack D BBQ sauce (I would have made some myself, but this was sitting so tantalizingly on the fridge door), two-thirds head of cabbage (yesterday’s groceries), three cups cooked Great Northern beans (from a bag of dried beans I got at the farmers’ market last spring), and one cup chopped grape tomatoes (yesterday’s groceries):

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I thinly chopped the cabbage, steamed it, and mixed half of it with the beans, tomatoes, pork, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, garlic, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and two Tbsp chicken stock. Then, I simmered everything in a loosely-covered pot so the flavors could mingle:

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I mixed the rice and barley combo with the other half of the steamed cabbage and added s&p and a tsp of minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce:

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The quantities worked out perfectly: pork & beans made six 3/4 cup servings, and the sofrito grain blend made six 1/2 cup servings.

Today’s lunch with dramatic mood lighting:

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Between the Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and the teacup and saucer, this meal is practically exploding with class, don’t you think?

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And for dessert, a half cup of cantaloupe (I sprinkled on some nutmeg after the picture — soooo happy to have nutmeg again!):

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In true teatime fashion, I didn’t sit down to this lunch until about 3:30 or 4, so dinner will probably be something snackier and dessertier — can’t wait!

Freshly baked

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Mmmmmm, can you guess what I had for breakfast?

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But first, the gym! Even though we only got about an inch of snow (as opposed to the eight inches predicted), the sidewalks still did not look all that inviting for my planned five miles, and I decided to head to the gym instead. Usually I jog there, but I realized that was not going to happen as soon as I set foot outside. The ground was covered completely with a thin, smooth, and invisible layer of treacherous ice. I pretty much had to sneaker-ski my way there at a snail’s pace. Brrrrrrr … I was dressed to run outside for five minutes — not to tiptoe gingerly for 15! My care paid off, though, since I only fell once. Thank goodness I have some padding; if I didn’t, my tailbone would be shattered right now.

You already know about my trouble with treadmill boredom, but indoor running was my only option today (and I had promised Erin Gunn I would do a harder run this weekend in solidarity for our half marathon training) so I had to work around it. This time, however, I used two excellent tools that helped me out tremendously: the 45-minute treadmill run that Tina posted and my new Polar F6 heart rate monitor. I was skeptical about the workout because, ummm, 45 minutes on the treadmill????? But I am now officially a fan. It was H-A-R-D, but I certainly was not bored. And it was a perfect vehicle for test-driving my HRM. And now I have official stats from the workout!

Exercise time: 47:11

Calories: 472

Heart rate: 167 (average); 191 (highest)

I spent about 10 minutes on stretching and abs and then carefully picked my way back home for my banana bread oatmeal! Half cup banana bread crockpot oats, half cup freshly made yogurt, a sprinkle of sweetened shredded coconut, more nutmeg, and half a Tbsp natural peanut butter:

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Mmmmm, how perfect does that look?

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I’ve had a nice, relaxing morning of reading, and now I have to rush to rinse the dye from my hair! Ahhhh, the pitfalls of not being a completely natural redhead …

A cow moos in Brooklyn

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I’m partial to cows. I don’t quite know when it started, but I’d say it’s been a good five years. After living in the city for so long, cows just seem representative of a much simpler (and much more ideal) style of living. Here’s some photographic evidence:

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making friends in Ireland, circa 2004

bonding with new friends via milking apparatus, circa 2004

bonding with new friends via milking apparatus, circa 2004

four-year reunion with bovine friends in Peru, August 2008

four-year reunion with bovine friends in Peru, August 2008

So it was really no surprise to anyone when I started making my own yogurt (or was it?) last year. I do it once or twice each week, depending on my rate of yogurt consumption, and it’s one of those relaxing rituals I really look forward to. I spent a big chunk of this snowy evening setting my yogurt up for its overnight incubation so that I could have fresh yogurt to enjoy with my oatmeal tomorrow morning, yay!

Speaking of oatmeal, I embarked upon another favorite ritual this evening: crockpot oats! More specifically, I decided to make a batch of banana bread crockpot oats. I added about 6 frozen chopped bananas, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a sprinkle of cardamom, and LOTS of nutmeg.

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

Mmmm, cannot wait until tomorrow moooooorning!

In other news, remember my tea tragedy? Well, after gluing the pieces I had back together and letting it dry for a whole week, I decided to give it a go! But here it is in the sink after the attempted “go” …

good as new?

good as new?

… because as soon as I poured the water in, I heard a river gushing all over everything! I quickly transferred the boiling pot into the sink (ouch, hot, ouch, hot, ouch, hot) and discovered this upon closer inspection:

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Because the handle of the teapot is hollow, the hot water spread into the handle itself, weakened the already not airtight glue, and started spouting like crazy. Grrrrrr. I’m considering retiring my pretty teapot to museum status.

Finally … dinner! I finished my leftovers from the work party. Salad:

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Topped with 1/2 tsp truffle oil, coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, sprinkle of kasha (roasted buckwheat), and homemade grated cheddar:

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There was a little bit of salad left after this, so I topped it with the rest of the food from last night:

salad topped with chicken, okra gumbo with shrimp, and collard greens

salad topped with chicken, okra gumbo with shrimp, and collard greens

When I was putting my cranberries in the freezer earlier today, I made the most amazing dessert discovery! Just before the holiday, one of the nurses at my office brought in loads of homemade chocolates. Always thinking ahead, I had packed a little baggie with one of each kind and hidden it from myself in my freezer. I decided tonight would be the perfect night to experience the coconut cup:

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Bitten:

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Followed by two salt water taffy pieces:

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one

two

two

And bed!

Snowbound

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As predicted, the snow started falling this morning, grrrrrrrr. I did not go for my run and instead rushed out to do some Saturday errands (along with the rest of Brooklyn) before it got too messy. I grabbed a kitchen sink mini muffin as I left:

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The grocery store was out of control with everyone stocking up on milk and water before the big storm (eye roll), but I survived. I had to get a lot of food because I hadn’t shopped in three weeks, and I ended up only spending $30 (my self-imposed weekly food budget is $40). My purchases included: 3 lbs. McIntosh apples, pint strawberries, pint grape tomatoes, dozen eggs, crunchy natural peanut butter, yogurt for yogurt-making tonight, 28 oz. canned pumpkin, 4 navel oranges, cantaloupe, cabbage, carrots, old-fashioned oats, 2 bags fresh cranberries, nutmeg, and ginger:

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I immediately peeled and chopped the carrots into matchsticks for snacking next week, chopped the cantaloupe into chunks, and cut the green heads off the strawberries. Food is less likely to go bad when it is ready to eat at a moment’s notice :-). During all of this, I snacked on some cantaloupe shavings:

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I wanted something hot for lunch, so I arranged a bowl of leftovers from last night and reheated it in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes. Wilted salad greens topped with collard greens, baked chicken, and okra gumbo with shrimp:

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Dessert was half the container of yogurt I just bought (I only need to use half to make a new yogurt batch tonight). Ronnybrook Coconut Creamline yogurt with a chopped strawberry and nutmeg:

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OK, I’m off to start the process and take care of some other weekend things …