Froyo On A Friday

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It’s been a fabulous Friday!  Any Friday that starts a three-day weekend is bound to be good, but this one was fun all on its own as well.  I went on two dates with the husband, spent the afternoon at the mall with some friends, and ate lots of tasty food.

Lots and lots of tasty food.

We had errands to run this morning and while at Wegman’s we purchased chocolate croissants.  fatty pro tip – the best chocolate croissants in town are at Wegman’s bakery

We walked with the dog to Starbucks for espresso.  A doppio with skim milk and sugar.

Then we breakfasted on croissants and espresso in the sunlight.  It was just as wonderful as it sounds.  We finished our grocery shopping on foot, with the dog, with a sweet espresso buzz, and felt very European.

I spent my afternoon with two friends at the mall.  We also went to The Christmas Tree Store (which sells discounted products and actually no Christmas trees) which was ironic because when Janessa and I went to the mall originally we got so lost that we ended up at The Christmas Tree Store, i.e. about as far away from the mall as you could possibly get.  It was beyond pathetic.  We were 45 minutes late to meet Kim and laughing so hard that we cried.

When we finally made it to Galleria we rewarded our superior navigation skills with froyo.  I had coconut and plain tart with tons of strawberry and mango boba.

This was both of my friends’ first times trying self-serve froyo and popping boba and thankfully they were big fans.

I didn’t do much shopping at the mall but I did see many cute items; lots of lace things to covet!  And I purchased a pretty plate from Anthropologie that was 50% reduced.  Buffalo people – Anthro currently has lots of reduced-price stuff on the main floor in addition to the sale room.

At home I ate slice of cheese pizza leftover from yesterday’s lunch.

And a coffee yogurt with roasted peanuts and honey.

This combo has been one of my favorites since I was a young child.

Date number two was a walk down Elmwood.  It wasn’t an aimless amble, we had a very specific destination in mind –

Chow Chocolat for iced hot chocolates!

I got peanut butter and Adam got salted caramel and we switched halfway through.

The drinks were made-to-order with real chocolate and were rich but not too sweet.  They were heavenly.

Dinner was a toss-together.

I boiled six-cheese tortellini with a frozen green bean and carrot mix, then tossed the cooked past and veggies with marinara sauce.  Nothing special but it did the job.

I left behind the last quarter or so of my portion because I’m going to tuck into a biiiiiig bowl of popcorn as soon as this post is up.

Pop… pop… pop!

Zombies Don’t Feel So Fresh

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Hello, hello!  No post yesterday due technical difficulties.  P.S. “technical difficulties” is a fancy way of saying “I’m an idiot and when I plugged in my camera I somehow deleted all of my pictures.”

That wasn’t even the stupidest thing I did all afternoon.  We were eating M&M’s on the couch and I didn’t realize that I had spilled a handful until I saw the dog licking them.  I picked them up immediately (because chocolate and dogs don’t mix) but we have no idea what I did with them next.  We finally determined that I must have eaten them.  That’s right, I basically took food out of the dog’s mouth and ate it.  Yum.

Yesterday was a disaster any way.  We did not run.  We did eat nachos.  Like, ridiculous nachos; they were almost too cheesy.  Oh, and I fell asleep on the couch at 5pm again.  I don’t know what my deal is lately but I’m so tired I feel like a zombie!  I seem to be a little bit allergic to the dog but overall this has been my best summer ever as far as allergies go.  And while summer school is easy I don’t feel like I’m not doing enough and I’m certainly not doing too much.  I don’t know why I feel so tired all of the time.

For breakfast a Roasted Nut Roll Larabar Uber was packed.

The last of my Uber line samples, this flavor is my 2nd favorite after Bananas Foster.  The mix of nuts included almonds, pecans, peanuts and macadamia nuts.  It tasted almost like one of those pecan roll candies with the white stuff in the center!

I should mention that the husband was the one who sweetly did the breakfast packing.  Unfortunately I requested an apple to go with my bar and he provided a rock-hard nectarine instead.  No fruit for me.

Lunch was a very special feast.

One of our classmates owns the famous, local restaurant Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe and she brought us in a spread.

I had veggie pizza,

a stuffed pepper,

and salad.

And then I couldn’t help going back for a 2nd slice of pizza.

The stuff on the side is honey mustard dressing and house-made red pepper flake mayo.  I dipped my crust in the sauces and was in absolute heaven.

She brought in dessert too.

I finally ate my first cannoli!  Loved it!

I bought espresso to drink with my dessert like a real Italian.

A double shot with tons of skim milk and a few shakes of vanilla sugar.

Continuing the excitement, we watched a movie in class this afternoon (it was appropriate, it was a food movie!).  Fresh is a documentary that examines the pros and cons of organic versus factory farming and looks at our country’s food system as a whole.  A lot of cool people took part in it, including Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin.  We all really enjoyed the movie and I highly recommend that you check it out.  None of the information was really new to me but it was a great reminder that I need to do a better job of sticking with my principles when we go out to eat.  Adam and I only purchase humanely raised meat to cook at home and ideally that is the only type of meat I ever want to consume.

Even more exciting, we got the news that we are getting the day off tomorrow.  I am going to go to the mall with some friends and I couldn’t be more jazzed.  <– honestly, I clapped my hands and squealed when someone suggested it and I have no idea why because I’m not even going to be buying anything

I had big plans to make up yesterday’s run this afternoon and it just didn’t happen.  Actually, I got up and dressed in running clothes this morning (shoes, sports bra, everything) and made it as far as the couch.  I thought I would be able to redeem myself after class but I was dreading the run.  Every time I got up to go I just felt sad.  I need to do a better job of pushing through and working out more consistently (more in general!) but I love running so much that I hate to do it when I’m not going to enjoy it.

I did finally make that soup though.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup from Cooking Light.  It was very good but not great.  I was mostly to blame for leaving out important ingredients.

my (mostly stupid) changes to the recipe

  • used 1/2 Tbsp less evoo
  • subbed green bell pepper instead of red (do you have any idea how expensive red pepper are?!)
  • subbed pickled jalapeño
  • skipped the cumin, cilantro, and queso (again, $)
  • skipped the tomato
  • used homemade shredded chicken and stock

I liked the spice level, especially with the pops of sweet corn.

I know this sounds strange, but I think I would have liked it better without the chicken!

Also this happened.

Yuck.

Finally, a product update – Smoke and Ashes from China Glaze’s Capitol Colours line (as seen in this post) has a great slate color but it chips like crazy.

Do not recommend.

Wow, that was a long post!

Have you seen “Fresh” yet?  What did you think?

Confessions XI

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Click here to read Confessions part I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X.

Confession #1 – Have you heard of the “Yo Gabba Gabba!” kids’ show?  A classmate with young children played this video for us as part of her diet education presentation.  I’ve watched it several times on my own since then.

Confession #2 –  I cry at least twice during every episode of “Private Practice.”  Like bawling, sobbing, ugly cry.  I also turn on the waterworks for “Grey’s” and “Once Upon a Time.”

Confession #3 – I try to text the husband a picture of the dog every day.

Confession #4 –  Otherwise I send embarrassing texts.  What’s worse is that this isn’t even true; no one loves anyone like Webster loves Adam.

Confession #5 – Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers, Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta, Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes…… I don’t like chicken wings!

What tv shows make you ugly cry?

Window Shopping Wednesday

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school on Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Here’s what I’m loving this week –

1.  100% Organic Honey Bath and Shower Cream from Perlier.

I realize my weekly honey longings might seem repetitive but they all just sound so dang delicious.  Creamy bath gels make a quick shower feel luxurious.

2.  Essie Nail Polish in Navigate Her.

I’m loving this cucumber/honeydew shade.  I posted a peachy polish from Essie last week and I think this with that would make my nails look fly.  Are people still saying fly?

3.  Black Truffle Salt from The Meadow.

This stuff is pricy but I’m sure it’d be worth it.  Truffle shines wherever you put it.  When I’m a rich doctor’s wife I plan on having a whole cupboard of fancy salts.  After truffle will be lavender and then pink Himalayan.

4.  Abstract Dandelion Letterpress Coasters from Paisly Dog Press.

I love how these are funky and fun but would still work for having your grandma over for a glass of iced tea.

5.  Mummolan Marjat Paper Napkin from Marimekko.

I need these.  The berries have a great pop art look and any plate you set beside them would pop.  Sometimes when I pack my lunch for school I use a paper napkin instead of a paper towel (or my jeans!) and I feel so flipping fancy.

Wet Hot American Breakfast

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Warrant might have sung about cherry pie but my breakfast was as American as apple.

I topped a Plain 0% Siggi’s with cinnamon apple and 1/4 cup of 18 Rabbits Gracious Granola.

The apple I chopped and microwaved with 2 tsp agave syrup, 1 tsp water, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

I want to say that this was like a big bowl of apple pie a la mode, but I hate apple pie and I loved this so I’m not sure what to call it!

We are in the classroom all this week (we were supposed to be in the hospital so this sucks) and it should be an easy day.  I’ll “see” you around noon for WSW and then later with homemade soup for dinner.

What is your favorite kind of fruit pie?

Off Plan

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Adam was on call last night and sleeping by myself did not go as well as planned.  To start, the dog and I stayed up until 1 am painting my nails and watching “Drive Me Crazy.”  And it didn’t seem like I was sleeping poorly but when the alarm went off this morning I wanted to punch it in the face.  I knew by the first snooze that I needed to update my workout and breakfast plans.

Instead of a run, I did 10 minutes of strength and stretch moves.  Not gonna lie though, I don’t think I could have done more than 10 minutes even if I’d had the time!

Instead of a yogurt bowl at home I took breakfast to-go.  A Naked Green Machine that Adam brought me home from the hospital.

And an Apple Turnover Larabar Uber.

The bar was tasty though a bit stickier than I’d like.  The flavor wasn’t really apple, instead it was chock-full of raisins.

Lunch was simple but good.

Roasted broccoli,

topped with Makhani sauce.

With Junior Mints (Canada style!) for dessert.

When I got home from class I snacked on mango slices.

Yuuuuuum!  We almost never buy mango (and Adam has to cut it for me when we do!) but it is the perfect blend of tart and tangy.

Plus bread with olive oil.

And a small slice of pizza.

It was less than a dollar but it wasn’t very good and I shouldn’t have eaten it no matter how hungry I was.

I had homemade soup planned for dinner but then the husband ate a bunch of food and came home stuffed.  I moved the soup to tomorrow and instead I got a $6 fish taco for dinner.

This was more enjoyable than the soup would have been anyhow!

Did you follow your meal plan for dinner this evening?

S’mores Mug Cake

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Are you starting to look for an afternoon snack?  Because this mug cake takes less than three minutes from start to finish.

This dessert isn’t super gooey so it won’t win “Best S’more” any time soon, but it is quick, easy, and sweet – aka a damn fine mug cake.  I use verbs like “cream” and “fold” in the instructions but go ahead and use a spoon as your utensil for all of the steps.

Feel free to play around with mini marshmallows or cinnamon graham crackers to suit your fancy.

S’mores Mug Cake, serves 1

  • 1.5 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 level Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
  • 1.5 Tbsp Jet Puffed Mallow Bits
  • 1 sheet honey graham cracker, crumbled
  1. Place butter in the bottom of a deep coffee mug.  Microwave 10 seconds until soft.
  2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Whisk in the egg white and vanilla extract.
  3. Stir in flour and baking powder. Then fold in 1 Tbsp each chocolate chips and mallow bits.
  4. Top with graham cracker crumbles and remaining chocolate chips and mallow bits.
  5. Microwave 50 – 75 seconds until fully cooked.  The time will depend on the strength of your microwave; cook for 40 seconds and then continue to microwave for 10 second increments, checking for desired doneness.

 

What A Weekend!

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The title exclamation is supposed to be aggregated, not excited.  What a weekend, indeed.  Nothing major went down (I always try to remember that in the big picture we are so, so blessed) but there was lots of stress.  First the dog got sick and then my car battery died.  And worst of all, Adam spilled my entire large fountain diet soda with ice.

Now the dog seems to be feeling better and $120-later my car is feeling better too.  Phew!  Plus I found out that I passed my ServSafe exam with a 98%, i.e. only 1 question missed out of 80.

I didn’t have it together enough this morning for breakfast – instead I took a much-needed shower! – but I did pack snacks that I nibbled throughout the school day.  An Apple Strawberry GoGo Squeez packet.

A mini box of raisins.

2 servings of Cheez-It Bigs.

And a packet of Artisana Raw Pecan Butter.

I ate the pecan butter on the cheez-its but it was sort of watery so the combination was only okay.  The homemade pecan butter I used in my Gluten-free Cowboy Oaties had a lot more flavor.

The day continued to look up when we got out of school early and I came home and ate something delicious.

The recipe will be posted by tomorrow, pinky swear.

I also ate a small piece of bread with honey.

Then I went out for a wog.  (<– I stole that from A Healthy Slice of Life and it is my new favorite slang!) 9 sets of 2 minutes running / 3 minutes walking for 45 minutes and 4 miles.

Next I spent some time in the kitchen.  Here’s dinner.

I put 1 lb of chicken breasts in the crock pot this morning (8 hours on low) and this evening we shredded the cooked chicken and tossed it with a mix of Makhani sauce and Stubbs BBQ Sauce.

The liquid I put in the crock pot with the chicken was the reserved juices from our roasted whole chicken and I like to feel like it added a little somethin’-somethin’.

My meat was served on a pile of warm cole slaw.

I put cole slaw veggies, apple cider vinegar, and a bit of sugar in my wok and cooked until softened.  Then I tossed in some Miracle Whip and raisins.  The end result was a little too tangy from the vinegar but not terrible.

My final kitchen effort was chicken stock.

Homemade Chicken Stock, yields 3 quarts

  • bones from 1 roasted chicken, stripped mostly clean
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 1 cup chopped carrot (or baby carrots)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 quarts cold water
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.  Roast bones 45 minutes.
  2. Place roasted bones, rosemary, carrot, and garlic in a large stock pot and cover with cold water.
  3. Place pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 hours.

A few notes – Roasting the bones really helps to bring out their flavor.  Please be sure to cool your stock safely if not using right away.  You have two hours to bring it down to 70* and an additional 4 hours to get it down to 41* before you put it in the fridge.  Transfer the stock into smaller containers and place the containers in an ice bath, stirring regularly.  ServSafe at work, baby!

Have you ever made your own stock?