It’s Adam’s birthday so I’m going to keep this post quick and cursory. Well, it’s sort of his birthday. But not really. I’ll explain in a minute.
This morning was about as lazy as it gets. I stayed in bed until past noon and it was glorious. Then Adam and I headed out for a late lunch at Mangoz, a new Jamaican place in our neighborhood.
We split a plate of stewed chicken with plantains and beans and rice.
It was amazing. The best Caribbean food either of us has had since leaving home.
And they had pink Ting.
We’ll be back.
My one accomplishment today was a quick trip to the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6. And I did some studying while I worked out. Followed by a super quick stretch/strength session.
But that was sort of where the productivity ended. We decided to spend the day doing fun stuff (in celebration of Adam turning 26 tomorrow). Adam opened all of his presents a day early.
And I even made an effort to fix my hair.
We went to the mall so Adam could use a gift certificate at Dicks, and cashed in a coupon for Aunt Annie’s as well.
We split this pretzel, slathered in mustard.
The husband’s choice for birthday dinner was Indian food. I got a fig lassi.
And we split a paneer pakora (fried cheese) for an appetizer.
I got the vegetable Korma, with extra okra, for dinner.
I demolished it. I made three plates, and ate every last drop (literally!).
I made myself a little bit ill, but that didn’t stop me from drinking 90% of this coffee milkshake I “shared” with Adam.
Whoops. And now we’re gleefully watching tv.
It’s been a good day, even if it’s not my birthday (or the husband’s!).
Did everyone have a good Friday night? Mine was fun but late-ish (hence the morning post).
I spent yesterday afternoon hanging out; pretending to work but mostly laughing my head off over the latest “South Park” and “New Girl” episodes. Have you seen “The New Girl” yet? Have you seen it more than once? I saw the pilot and vowed never to return but when a recent episode touted Justin Long I made an exception. And then I went back and watched all of the episodes I missed. Awkward first episode, hysterical first season.
Afternoon snacks included popcorn,
a Biscoff spread spoon,
and a piece of this Theo Gingerbread Spice Bar.
I didn’t care for the raw ginger taste of this that much, but the husband (whose taste is a bit stunted due to his missing sense of smell) was a fan.
My late lunch and Adam’s early dinner was easy, peasy, cheesy, and a bit disappointing.
We gussied up boxed mac ‘n cheese with roasted zucchini, tons of peas, a little bit of butter, and a dollop of reduced-fat cream cheese.
But the peas – which we usually love – totally consumed all of the other flavors. Every bite tasted like pea! And the cheese factor was completely lacking.
My evening adventures included a stop at the planetarium.
Adam and I went early this year to a Broadway light show that wasn’t really our speed, though we could tell that most of the other patrons were loving it. The director happened to come across my unenthusiastic post online and asked if I’d like a few free tickets so I could see another show that I might enjoy more.
So last night Anna, Janessa, and I slapped on our 3-D glasses and went to see the Laser Holiday Show.
This time I knew most of the songs and could sing along (in my head!) and I had a great time. We all agreed that it was a great way to kick off the holiday season.
Note – I was given the tickets as an unsatisfied customer working with a passionate program director, NOT as a blogger expected to give a review.
Our next stop was the holiday party one of our professors hosted to celebrate the end of the semester.
I was designated driving so I stuck with two glasses of the amazing punch.
Our teacher is a great cook and she made us dinner. I started with two cheesy-artichoke phyllo dough things.
And here’s my dinner plate –
Some green beans, an eggplant dish, and a chicken dish my professor told me is similar to Chicken Makhani.
Plus cheesecake for dessert.
Mmmmmmmmn!
Then I drove my friends home, made a snowy trek down Elmwood to the bar I thought Adam and his friends were at, came home to find him sound asleep with his phone turned off, and dove into my warm bed around 12:30.
I was really hoping we’d have a bit longer before this happened –
But the snow did hold off until December 9th, so I guess we’re pretty lucky.
I parked my (snow-covered) car on the wrong side of the street last night in the hopes that having to get up to move it would get me to the gym. And it did! I hopped on the treadmill and did 10 minutes walking – 10 running – 5 walking – 5 running – 5 walking. 2.7 miles and 35 minutes total. Followed by a short strength and stretch session on the mats.
After the gym I had to make an emergency trip to the store (we are out of soda and I’ve got 5 exams to study for!) and I came home to one of the biggest messes the dog’s ever created. It’s possible I sat on the floor and cried. But then I picked myself up (cleaned up) and ate two oatmeal cookies while I waited for my oatmeal to cook.
I should have just waited though, because this was one of the best bowls of oatmeal I’ve ever made.
Cooked: 1 cup water, 1 medium banana, 1 pinch salt, 1/3 cup oats
Stirred in: 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
Topped: 1 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, 1 tsp light brown sugar
There was more dairy than oats in this oatmeal! And it was perfect. Like a slice of banana cheesecake, except not sickingly sweet and rich (just sweet and rich enough!).
It’s been a back-and-forth sort of day. My travels included –
home to school
school to the WNY Food bank (in a friend’s car)
WNYFB to the Broadway Market (carpool)
Broadway Market back to school (carpool)
school to the post office
post office to Wegmans
Wegmans to Batavia!
Batavia back home
home back to school
and finally school back to home
Whew! Way too many miles for my poor little gas tank.
For our last class of the semester, my coordinated program group took a field trip. We donated the money we earned from the Chili Sale to the Food Bank of Western New York, so we went there today to take a tour and give them our check in person. The tour was fascinating; a staggering amount of food (1.5 – 2 million pounds) is moved through the food bank each month.
I ate this Stonyfield yogurt drink on my first drive to school,
and these grapes during the drive to the food bank.
One of my classmates bought a fig cookie from one of the stands a shared a bite with me.
Shockingly for me, I actually found this to be too sweet. But the sprinkles were fun.
When we got back to school I had time to print of the last of my notes for final exams before I was off on errands. I stopped at Wegman’s at 12:30 for a 15-minute lunch.
Food, that wasn’t very good.
I had two different types of brussels sprouts and both were basically raw. Plus the German Potato Salad (on the right) ended up being more cheese than potatoes. I’m not saying it wasn’t tasty, but I am saying it wasn’t healthy.
And a coffee with skim milk and two sugars that I dumped down the front of my shirt while driving on the highway.
I’ve had better lunches.
I was driving out to Batavia – 50 minutes each way – for a job interview. They won’t know for a few weeks and a lot of other (more qualified) people have applied, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
My long drive was made exponentially more pleasant thanks the new-to-me Ingrid Michaelson CD my friend Kim burned for me.
I loved it! The sound reminded me a lot of Regina Spektor’s 2nd album, Far. And there were several songs that I had previously enjoyed but not recognized as Michaelson’s. Her song “Snowfall” has been my favorite Christmas (or anytime!) song since I heard it on Bones last year.
How gorgeous is that?
I had enough time before my final event to run home to take a quick shower and make Adam and I the world’s fluffiest smoothie.
For two – combine 1 cup skim milk, 3/4 cup h2o, 3 Tbsp malted milk powder, and 1 scoop chocolate whey protein. Blend for far too long and you get chocolate malted air.
That big glass literally felt like nothing was in it, but at least it tasted good! And my 150 calorie serving was surprisingly filling. Oh the power of protein.
I was back on campus because my friend Janessa and I volunteered to run a nutrition table at the relaxation fair our college was putting on.
We were there two hours and were very pleased to see many students take an interest in our table.
I snagged a popcorn bag from a neighboring snack table,
which sparked the craving for this snack when I got home.
I’ve actually been munching my way through the bag while I typed this post! Plus two unphotographed cookies that snuck in after I hooked up the camera.
Are you an Ingrid Michaelson fan? How about Regina Spektor?
Looking for a recipe to add to your holiday rotation?
This recipe is coming a few days late, but I couldn’t skip it because these cookies are just too good! Adam has declared them the best oatmeal cookies he’s ever had and I ate at least 7 of them as they came out of the oven.
The mix of flavors is perfect, the texture is spot on, and the dried cranberries just feel fancier than raisins. Brag much, Emily? Yes, but I promise that these cookies are worth tooting my own horn.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Prepare ungreased baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place cranberry pecans in a small bowl and use the bottom of a sturdy, plastic cup to crush them into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Working in small batches but taking care not to overmix, beat dry mixture into wet.
Stir oats, pecans, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips into the dough.
Drop Tbsp sized balls in even rows on baking sheets. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes. Cookies will not really brown, but you are looking for there to no longer be any areas that appear raw.
Cool on trays for 2-3 minutes then remove to cool completely.
*Full disclosure – the cranberry pecans were provided by Oh! Nuts as a free sample.
Yesterday I got productive and created two fabulous, must-share recipes … and then I feel asleep (fully dressed, on top of the covers) at 8:45pm. I’m not going to recap blog but I will share those two important recipes; better late than never!
I was well-rested this morning, but it didn’t keep me from packing food for school that was sort of strange. Like cooked zucchini.
I ate it, cold, at 8am and loved it.
I also packed a baggie of red grapes,
and two Oatmeal Cranberry Pecan Cookies.
Those were fabulous dish#1, but I’m actually not going to share the recipe until tomorrow (it’s been a busy day). Adam says they are the best oatmeal cookies he’s ever had and I promise they are worth check back for tomorrow.
My packed food proved inadequate for getting me through 8:00 – 2:00, and I ended up eating these Cheez-Its.
I also ate two more cookies when I got home,
plus these candies from a birthday package Adam opened (he turns 26 on Sunday!).
He also opened some birthday $ and decided that we are going to dinner at Moe’s! I’m not going to blog dinner because I’ve got to get some school work done, but I will share yesterday’s dinner, aka fabulous dish #2.
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, divided into 4 even pieces
20 oz can pineapple rings canned in pineapple juice, juice drained and reserved
4 slices 2% provolone cheese
4 maraschino cherries
2 tsp light brown sugar
2 pinches salt
1 tsp tamari soy sauce
2-3 dashes hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
Place chicken in a large, flat container and cover with pineapple juice. Cover and place in the fridge for 2-3 hours to marinate.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Prepare a casserole dish with baking spray.
Remove chicken from juice (return the juice to the fridge) and place into the casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and top each piece with one slice of cheese and one pineapple ring. Place a cherry in the center of each ring. Sprinkle rings evenly with brown sugar and salt. Return to oven and continue to bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour juice into a small skillet over high-heat. Add tamari sauce and hot sauce.
Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half. ***Because the juice was in contact with raw poultry it is essential that you keep it at a boil for at least 5 minutes!
Pour sauce evenly over cooked chicken.
I’ve never actually had pineapple upside-down cake (I know!) but the flavor profile has always sounded appealing to me. So why not apply it to dinner? We learned in food chemistry that pineapple contains Bromelain, a protease that is used commercially to tenderize meat. As soon as I heard that I spent the rest of the class brainstorming ways to cook chicken with pineapple. I’m glad I did too, because Adam and I both loved this recipe! The chicken was very tender and there was a good balance of flavors. The sauce was scrumptious, but be sure to remember to boil it for at least 5 minutes.
My teeth may hurt, but not eating dinner just wasn’t going to fly. I drove my friend home just after 8 and realized that not only was I hungry, I was probably going to cry if I didn’t get food immediately. So to Wegman’s hot bar I went.
At least I stuck with soft things. Cooked sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash, plus green beans almondine.
One of the veggies (potatoes, I think) had a thick, sweet sauce that leaked over everything and tied the whole plate together. Yum.
Sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin, or carrots; what’s your favorite orange veggie?
I had an important test today (it didn’t go well, but that’s another story) so I got up early to do some studying at Starbucks. Just as I was about to head out, Adam called. He’d left his pager at home and needed me to wait for him. At first I was annoyed; I needed every minute of studying I could get. But then I realized that he had a pager because he’s going to be a doctor, and that’s amazing. So I got over it.
When I finally did get to Starbucks at 6am I got myself a gingerbread latte.
Actually, I ordered a plain non-fat latte and added 1 Tbsp of gingerbread syrup from home.
Shhh.
When I left at 7:30 I did buy an actual fancy drink though, a short, non-fat, salted caramel hot chocolate.
The flavors in this feel very complex and gourmet for a coffee joint, but it’s pretty rich so the short size is perfect.
I also ate some leftover fruit salad.
Then I failed took my test, got myself in a tizzy applying for several jobs and internships, and did my group presentation on cultural food patterns. Our country was Ireland so we all dressed in green.
We also brought in Irish soda bread for the class to try.
In addition to my slice I ate a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar.
This flavor was good, but not great like I was hoping it would be.
After class I had so much nervous energy I needed to burn off that I actually went to the gym! 30 minutes on the elliptical, level 6 random.
I got home at 3:30 and had to unpack, shower, change, and eat dinner before my 4:15 orthodontist appointment, so this meal was quick but good.
My amazing turkey sandwich was 2 slices of toasted rye with cranberry relish, 2 slices of Applegate Farms roasted turkey, and 1 oz of reduced fat cream cheese.
Cream cheese on a sandwich is where it’s at.
I also had a pile of roasted green beans on the side.
I had less than 8 minutes to shovel my food in and this still tasted good! And I’m glad I did an earliest bird dinner because my teeth don’t feel like chomping with my new retainer set.
Webster and I are going to take a walk down Elmwood to pick up a friend and then she’s coming back here so we can work on yet another presentation. Exam week won’t be fun, but I still going to be so relieved when we have our last class of the semester on Thursday!
Which “fancy drink” are you going to Starbucks for this winter?
