We all know that the holidays are fast approaching! Every store we go into is blasting festive, cheery music, lights are twinkling, and for some, everything is blanketed in that white stuff that’s wonderful to look at but not so fun to drive in. While we’re scrambling to get every last task accomplished, all the gifts wrapped, the house cleaned, cookies baked for the cookie exchange, and still find the energy to make it to the gym or train, the last thing on our minds is our own sanity and health! (more…)
December 10, 2010
May 10, 2010
a taste of summer
I had a packet of farro in the pantry that I bought a little while ago because I loved it in the cheesy baked farro I made so much, I wanted to find something else to use it with. I also bought a bunch of veggies at TJ’s the other day and needed to use those as well. The weather is warming right up around here along with most of the country, so I thought I’d whipped up some kind of summery salad.
I had some lemons in the fridge that were on their last leg, so I decided to make a lemony farro salad with roasted heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, haricot verts and fresh mozzarella. It turned out really well and refreshing! Because I still have a few big bags of pistachios left when I won a year supply from The Green Nut on Twitter, I decided to also make coconut-pistachio crusted chicken tenders again to go alongside. (more…)
April 18, 2010
girls day out + flax-date waffles
It’s been such a lovely day today that I don’t want this weekend to end!! Well, don’t I say that every weekend? 🙂 The weather is certainly warming up here in good ol’ Vegas and it’s actually quite HOT! I hate to say it but we had to turn on the AC last night since it was 82F inside. I can’t sleep unless it’s at least 79F, because I’m like a radiating furnace once I go to bed.
Last night I couldn’t really decide what to have for dinner because when I went grocery shopping for the week on Saturday, I somehow forgot about Saturday night! (more…)
April 12, 2010
cheesy goodness
I don’t eat a lot of butter and full-fat cheese all too often, but when I do, it sure is glorious! There’s nothing like the rich and succulent ooey gooey goodness that comes with cheesy baked casseroles. Even just a nice little piece is more than satisfying. One of the top recipes I wanted to try in Giada’s new cookbook since getting to meet her, was cheesy baked farro. Of course, who wouldn’t love anything enveloped in cheesy goodness? I also wanted to try my hand at farro for the first time. (more…)
February 8, 2010
Sunday Funday
Boy, Sunday just flew by and was packed with a lot of food!! Hope you had a nice Super Bowl and/or Sunday. I wasn’t really rooting for anyone in particular and only watched maybe the last part of the game (the most thrilling part!), but it was kind of nice to see the underdog win. Sorry Colts fans!
The day started out really nice with a casual and easy breakfast of (more…)
September 27, 2009
granola bars & a happy anniversary
Thank you all so very much on your encouraging comments on my funk this past week. I think just being so tired with work and school really wiped me out, and I have to be more cognoscente of this happening. I can’t run myself ragged without sleep. I also have to make it a priority to get some kind of activity in because it always gets my energy levels up and makes me feel good. I was stuck in the cycle of tiredness, no activity and no sleep which fed the cycle of more tiredness. I always like to think that this too shall pass and I just have to pick myself up for the next week 🙂
Friday night wasn’t too exciting and we had good ol’ sloppy joe leftovers for dinner. I love how tomato-based dishes taste even better the next day. Boy, these were good! The cinnamon really added that extra sumthin’ sumthin’. The highlight of my night was 
a new energy bar experiment! Getting in the kitchen always makes me feel better and I really wanted to try these when Emily had a guest post of Dan’s Pumpkin Spice Bars.
Oh my goodness, these are the BOMB! They are similar to Clif bars, but not as sweet with lots of spice, just the way I like them. The texture was superb, slightly cookie-like, but not as gooey and sticky as Clif bars.
I had a few alterations: (FYI the Kashi Warm Cinnamon Cereal is out of this world, in a bar or not). I couldn’t find red flame raisins, so I just used regular ones. I used mixed nuts instead of walnuts. I only had peanut butter, not almond butter. Had canned sweet potato instead of pumpkin. I also whirled my dates & H20 in the food processor after whirling the cereal.
The bars turned out really wonderful and I put them in baggies for us to take on our rides and have during the week as a yummy snack. Look at those nutritionals . . .
This bar has a great nutritional profile, thanks to the help of the kashi cereal and all the wholesome ingredients. I got 17 bars out of this batch, well not counting the little bit I scraped from the bowl (shhh!)
Other good stuff:
18% Vitamin E, 31% Vitamin B6, 30% folate, 24% Vitamin B12, 54% Manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium . . . awesome!
Also for the bar about 72% CHO, 23% fat, and 14% pro, nice balance for some good energy. Yes, 12% DV of CHO! I don’t know why I was thinking of the entire bar, not the %DV that is on the label, hello 🙂 (just having a retard moment)
Thanks Dan and Em for a great bar recipe! Chris told me that he really likes them and wants to eat them all! I will have to make a double batch next time. I’m just wondering when the next installment will be or if we can go into business together?! hehe
Speaking of rides . . . what a better way to banish the funk than going on a nice ride?! aahhh so invigorating, tiring and I loved it. We went on a club ride for about 36 miles and it was great to get back in some activity. I just really miss it when I can’t get it in. I also had a pumpkin spice bar on the ride 🙂 I love how it isn’t too sweet and sits well on my tummy.
That night we decided to have a nice little anniversary celebration at that pizza place we went to last weekend called Settebello. We signed up for their newsletter and they have special pizzas each week. This week was zucchini blossom pizza!!!!!! Oh my gosh, I really wanted to try this, especially since they specified it as a limited appearance!
We started out with a little appetizer called the misto. It had various Italian meats, olives (they weren’t too bitter like regular kalamatas), mushrooms, artichokes, and flatbread.
It was really good, Chris was ravenous from his 62 mile ride that day so he ate most of it. It’s nice to have the bottomless pit around to eat for you 🙂
But on the other hand, have you seen this study? It’s surprisingly true, darn you Chris! hehe
Along with the appetizer I had a small glass of the Danzante Pinot Grigio. This is my favorite type of white wine. Very fruity, dry, not too grassy and nicely balanced. I just wish their pour was a little bit taller 🙂
The pizza was really interesting and yummy! It was a white sauce pizza (I traditionally like the tomato-based sauces), with sweet corn, ricotta, mozzarella and topped with zucchini flowers and olive oil. It did need a little something extra so I put some black pepper and chili flakes on mine for just a little heat 🙂
Zucchini flowers are so neat and taste very delicate and sweet! They matched perfectly with the sweet corn.
Overall it was a great night. We were thinking of going to see The Informant after dinner, but poor Chris was so tired from his ride that we just rented a movie to take home in case we fell asleep. We try to watch movies, but usually both of us are so tired, we just fall asleep to them! We rented Yes Man, and it was actually pretty funny. I myself am a huge Jim Carrey fan, especially Dumb and Dumber!
Today I even got a jump rope and weights class in, yay! Now about that studying . . .
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
What’s your favorite granola/energy bar?
September 19, 2009
study hard, play harder
whew, this week just flew by! This is great but it’s been a little too fast. I feel like the weeks are just getting away from me. While I never really was a party animal, I’m employing the motto of ‘study hard, play harder’ this weekend since I’m going to try to fit in both! While tonight is Friday, I’m going to try to get somewhat caught up so that I can enjoy the Greek Food Festival Saturday evening and the Pink Martini Concert Sunday night. Boy do I have lots to do, as I’m sure you guys are no stranger to this, right?
Thursday I rushed to the farmer’s market after work and before class and found some yummies. I think I cut the cantaloupe too soon because it wasn’t very good, but the dates are AMAZING!! I think this is my new love. I have to be careful because when I brought them home I had 5! hello fiber and carbs! I want to try to make granola bars with them or some kind of quick bread. Do you have any good date recipes to share??? Yum!
The bag had a bunch of different varieties, I liked the tiny brown one in the back the best.
They also had date bread and cookies and I about bought them all! Next time I want to try the bread. Oh my gosh, this cookie was just wonderful, you’ll see . . .
I’m meeting with my chair tomorrow at a coffee shop, since it’s so hard to meet during the week with work. I need to look over some more research, but I think I’ve decided on a thesis topic focusing on coconut water! eek! I’m excited yet very nervous about the whole thing. It will be something like ‘The effect of coconut water on rehydration after exercising in the heat’ What do you think?
Everyone I’ve told or asked about it doesn’t seem too excited and many people don’t even know what coconut water is. But, no one in the department is giving me any other ideas!!! I’ve been very frustrated and discouraged trying to find something, but I hope this will work. I’d like to compare it to traditional electrolyte replacements to see if it is better (that would be neat), does the same, or is not a good sports drink. I’m just having a discrepancy between how much sodium is in the product. The USDA database says 252 mg/cup, but most of the brands available say 60 mg or less. That isn’t really ideal for a ‘sports drink’. I contacted ZICO brand and they said the USDA must be in error. Anyone have any ideas? I haven’t heard back from the USDA as of yet.
Yesterday for dinner I made peanutty noodles. Peanut butter is one of my favorite things and I can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert pretty much or just straight from the jar. I love this recipe because it’s pretty darn versatile. I didn’t have any bokchoy so I just left it out and added more carrots. Yum! I like to use soba noodles, but anything you can find works.
Here is the Peanutty Noodle recipe.
And the yumminess I promised! I topped 1/4 of the date chocolate chip cookie with a bit of vanilla 1/2 fat ice cream. Wow, it was the perfect combo!
So that’s what my weekend is going to look like, I need to get to studying and brainstorming asap! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend 🙂
What’s your motto lately?
June 30, 2009
refreshing twist and some experiments
I cannot wait for my car to get done at the auto shop; it seems like it’s been forever! I returned the rental car on Friday because I didn’t want to keep paying for it, but now I feel bad bumming rides from people. It’s tough not having a car here. I would take public transportation, but that is pretty much non-existent here in Vegas. When we went to Portland, their public transportation system was amazing and we could get pretty much anywhere in the city really quick. It normally only takes me about 20 minutes to get to work, but if I took the bus system here it would take 2 1/2 hours! No thank you!
I made some granola bars this weekend with the recipe from Angela at Oh She Glows. I just love her blog, and she has some great, healthy baking recipes. She also just opened up her own bakery (how cool!) in Canada, and is working on getting her products distributed here in the US. While I can’t reveal the recipe, all I can tell you is that I can’t wait to order some of her goodies! I didn’t have some of the ingredients, so I substituted and added some other things. I also baked them for a bit to help harden ‘em up. Wow, they are sooo good! Really just like granola bars you would get at the store, chewy and yummy. I foresee I’m going to be tweaking my own recipe again 🙂 Thanks Angela!
I also made another batch of Gina’s Granola. I just can’t get enough of this stuff! I tweaked it a little bit too just for fun to experiment. Here’s what I put in this time . . .
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 cups oats
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ t. baking soda
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cinnamon and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp brown rice syrup (you can also use honey)
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped mixed, roasted nuts
- if you want to add dried fruit, add it after baking
Simply combine the first 6 ingredients, through the spices in a large bowl. Combine the last 5 ingredients (except the nuts) in a microwave safe bowl or small pot, and heat slowly until melted. Combine the dry with the wet; mix well and stir in the nuts. Place on a flat cookie sheet and press down. Bake at 325 for approximately 20-25 minutes (I like mine crunchy!). Let cool and break apart to enjoy on pretty much anything! Yum!
During the summer there is nothing like a refreshing dinner to make you feel satisfied, yet not overly stuffed. Gazpacho is just the thing! It’s surprisingly filling because it is mostly fluid and packed full of nutrients. Not to mention it is so easy to make and only about 100 kcals per serving!
Watermelon Gazpacho
(adapted from CookingLight)
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed seeded watermelon, save 1 cup for the end
- 1 cup chopped peeled English cucumber
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 small shakes of cayenne (careful, this can be hot!)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup cranberry juice
- 1/4 cup sweet Riesling, optional (we had a glass with dinner too!)
- greek yogurt or goat cheese for topping
Preparation
Combine first 10 ingredients. Place half of watermelon mixture in a food processor or blender, and pulse 3 or 4 times or until finely chopped. Or you can use an immersion blender to blend to desired consistency directly in the bowl (such a good tool!). Add the blended soup back to the rest of the soup. Stir in cranberry juice, Riesling and last 1 cup of diced watermelon. Chill well. Top with yogurt or goat cheese when ready to serve.
Oh man, this was really good and refreshing! There was a nice kick from the cayenne and all the contrasting flavors blended very well. It filled me up pretty good surprisingly. I also decided to have some sautéed chicken potstickers on the side with the help of good ol’ TJ’s. I definitely want to make this again because I don’t think our weather is going to be cooling down anytime soon ha! I think it’s already gotten to 106.
I like my soups chunky. I was wishing I had some avocado too, because I think that would work very well 🙂
On top of the potstickers I drizzled some peanut satay sauce. It was about a tsp of peanut butter, tbsp of hoisin, tbsp soy sauce, glug of rice wine vinegar and a tinzy bit of toasted sesame oil, yum!
Is public transportation accessible where you live, and if so, do you use it?
June 28, 2009
low lighting to set the mood
The main reason I wanted to get a new and better camera was because my other one just really stunk when it came to low-light settings, and low-light settings are the story of my life! Our little condo didn’t have good light at all, and our new house has ok lighting if you can take pictures during the day. I usually have to take my pictures around dusk time, which has proven to be a frustrating challenge. I need to experiment with lighting boxes in the future.
For dinner I decided on using up our never ending leftovers again and made calzones! Home made dough is so easy and cheap! I encourage anyone to give it a try. All you need is a little time to let the dough rise. Even if you don’t have a stand mixer you can use the best tool in the kitchen . . . your hands! It may take a little elbow grease, but it is well worth it.
Whole Wheat Pizza & Calzone Dough
Yield: Approximately 10 calzones or 5 medium pizzas
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1.5 cups lukewarm water (about 110 degrees)
- 3 cups AP flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- good sprinkling of garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Italian seasonings
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Dissolve the honey into the lukewarm water (make sure you get the water no hotter than about 115 degrees because this will kill the little yeasties). Add the packet of yeast and stir gently. Watch the bubbles begin! This should take about 5 minutes.
While the yeast are getting happy, place the rest of the ingredients into a stand mixing bowl with a paddle attachment; mix. Add the bubbly yeast to the flour mixture. Mix with the paddle attachment 
until everything is incorporated. Switch to a dough hook attachment. Mix for approximately 20 minutes on speed 2. Watch the dough and make sure it forms a nice ball; add additional flour if needed. I had to add about 1/4 cup, but it depends on your climate.
Once it’s done mixing, remove the dough hook and place a damp towel over the bowl. Place in a warm, draft free place and let the dough rise for about 1 hour (you can also let the dough rise in the fridge overnight and take out about an hour before to let it warm up). Punch dough down and let rise again for about 1/2 hour. This step is optional, but gives a really tender dough.
Once you make the calzones, make sure to cut a few slits on top and spray lightly with olive oil (I use a misto). I like to bake them at at least 450 degrees on a pizza stone because it gives an optimal texture.
I stuffed them with roasted veggies, chicken sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, part-skim ricotta, mozzarella, herbed brie and some fresh basil. Oh my goodness, this dough is sooo good and tender.
Nothing like some candlelight to set the mood . . .
I’d say it’s not too bad for low lighting? I had it in Tv mode with the iso at 1600 (let’s in a lot of light) and 1/5 shutter speed, which seemed to work well. I’m still trying to master all these terms and settings.
A little marinara on the side for dipping . . .
We had TJ’s Petite Verdot along with it. It was pretty good and only about 9 bucks which was an added plus. It is very fruit forward, but does need to breathe a bit to open up.
As the candles continued to burn, the wax overflowed onto the table . . . whoops! I just let it dry and harden and it came up pretty well later. For dessert we had some strawberry-rhubarb pie we got at a neat little bakery called Layers, along with some frozen yogurt . . . yum! I just love pie with something cold and melty. It reminds me of Thanksgiving.
I am making granola and granola bars at the moment, and will post about them soon! Yum! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, of course it is flying by too fast. I just want to cook, bake and blog all day 🙂
April 17, 2009
few delays
We found out that we won’t be able to close until next week sometime because there are 25 people ahead of us waiting to close at our title company and they are slammed. And I thought people weren’t buying houses right now? Even though we will be pushed back a bit, we still can spend time doing lots of packing this weekend. Ugh!
I also made a quick and easy dinner since C has class tonight. Basically it’s a couscous pre-mix doctored up with some sautéed tofu, mushrooms and broccoli. So easy!
But for starters I had some home-made Italian-style hummus with a can of drained chickpeas, 2 garlic cloves, 1 roasted red pepper, handful of basil, 1/4 cup parmesan and 2 tbsp pine nuts along side some whole-wheat naan from Trader Joe’s for dipping! I saw this naan in the store when I was shopping today and thought . . . I want to make some hummus!
I can’t wait to try all their naan flavors, and they even have some in the frozen section, which would be conducive to less spoilage and a better texture believe it or not. I usually freeze all my fresh breads and cakes before frosting because they don’t dry out that way. I loved this stuff! It
has a wonderfully moist texture and is the perfect accompaniment to hummus.
The whole wheat also has 8g of fiber per serving! I want to try this for a quick pizza base too. Yum!
On to the main course . . .
- 1 box of pre-mix whole-wheat couscous with pumpkin and red pepper (Sofella brand from Costco) cooked according to the package, with just water
- 3 stalks broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 carton crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 blocks TJ’s Teriyaki flavored tofu, cubed
- splash of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Cook the couscous according to the package directions (I used the pumpkin with red pepper flavor not the one to the left), omitting the oil. Gently steam the broccoli until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water to preserve the green color. Sauté the mushrooms and tofu in a large pan with a little olive oil until golden. Add the broccoli and continue to cook to char it up a bit. Turn off the heat. Splash a couple glugs of vinegar, with the hoisin and sesame oil and mix everything up. Serve along side the couscous or mix it all together. Yum!
I made this bowl at one of those pottery places awhile ago and it has a sunflower in the middle at the bottom. I Love cute eating-ware because it makes eating such an even better experience!
Any fun weekend plans?
