Tag Archives: cabbage

Yay, Buffet!

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It was a good weekend end.  It’s been great having my brother-in-law in town for a quick visit.  I managed to have a good balance of work/schoolwork/and fun today too.

We started our morning with smoothies.

1.5 cups of mango puree, 1.5 Tbsp honey, 1.5 cups frozen peaches, and 1 container of Stonyfield Mango and Honey Low-fat Yogurt; split three ways.

This was the last of the mango puree but I definitely plan on purchasing more soon.

My smoothie made me shiver, so I made a cup of tea to warm up with.

2 bags of red velvet tea steeped in skim milk.  It was tasty, but the dog snuck his snout in halfway through so I had to abandon it.  I moved on to pizza leftovers instead.

Atop notecard making.  Holy crap do I ever still have a lot to do before Wednesday’s exam!

I did take a mid-day study break to go to Brawler’s Deli with the boys for lunch.  Their portion sizes are ridiculous; check out this half of Adam’s sandwich!?!

My meal was healthier, but equally big.

A side salad with a bit of balsamic and spicy mustard on top,

a cup of gouda beer soup,

and Adam’s side of cole slaw.

I ate all of the cole slaw, 3/4 of the salad, and 2/3 of the soup, when the game reached halftime and the Pearl Street Staff set out a huge (free!) buffet.  Score!

I took some fruit, carrots, and spinach and buffalo chicken dips with chips.  All tasty.

After my brother-in-law left, Adam and I spent the afternoon hanging out until I had to go to work.  Dinner had to be simple since my shift started at 6, mac and cheese leftover from last week.

Plus some amazing cookies (recipe’s coming tomorrow) when I got home.

Also plus 2 servings (?!) of Lindt truffles that were eaten on the couch and out of reach of the camera.  Whoops.

It’s going to be a busy week, I’ve got to get to bed!

Fall Back Into An Hour

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Did everyone remember to reset the clocks for today?  I’m thrilled with DLS this year, it’s been entirely too dark the past few mornings.  Though it does stink to be out-of-sync with my parents again; we don’t change the clocks back home so they’ll be an hour ahead of me all winter.

I needed that extra hour today too.  I had a 10:30 group meeting and I’m not sure I would have made it on time at “real” 10:30.  My friends Janessa, Kim, and I worked on our cultural food project at the Elmwood SPoT from 10:30 to 2.  I bought breakfast to eat while we worked.

A giant fruit cup.

There was honeydew, watermelon, and pineapple in there and I gladly paid $3 for it.

An everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.

This was ok but I’m not sure why they used so much cream cheese.  I scrapped some off after the photo and I ended up losing a lot of the veggies.

And an iced coffee with lots of skim milk.

Iced because we sat at a table in front of a big window and were fricking boiling.

At least the warmer weather meant we could take the dog on a longer walk this afternoon.  We even took him off his leash on the block near our house so he could practice being a “free-range” puppy.

I ate this Stonyfield 0% Chocolate Underground when I got home.

Served in my ice-cream cone bowl because it was eaten as a dessert.  I topped the yogurt with a Tbsp each butterscotch chips and shredded coconut.

Butterscotch chips are way better in yogurt than chocolate because they don’t harden as much in the cold.

Since I’m working from 6-9 tonight we ate an early afternoon dinner.

It was the early bird special, stir-fry style!

Into our wok went:

  • chopped broccoli
  • cole slaw mix cabbage and carrots
  • canned straw mushrooms (<– love!)
  • canned water chestnuts
  • smidge of hoisin sauce
  • 5 Tbsp stir fry sauce

Underneath my serving of veggies was 3oz of cooked whole wheat spaghetti that I reheated in a pan with 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil and a large egg.

It was a very tasty and satisfying dinner.

It feels a little strange to blog before work, but since 9 o’clock will feel like 10pm I doubt I’ll want to eat anything when I get home.  If I decide to snack I’ll update.

Finish this sentence – “With my extra hour today I …..”

On Both Hands

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On one hand, I want to try to keep posting speedy tonight because I’m interrupting tv time with Adam.  On the other, I ate some mind-blowingly amazing things today and I want to talk about them.  What to do, what to do?

I started my morning with a Sweet Tango apple.

I ate it during my walk to school and the crunching, munching, strolling, sun-rising combo was just perfect.

Though not as perfect as the 2nd half of my breakfast.  I bring you, my new all-time favorite sandwich.

The 2nd half of yesterday’s cheddar jalapeno bialey, with 2 slices of Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, and a schmear of Crofter’s Organic Grape Spread.

Spicy plus savory plus sweet rocks my world.

Not food but also pretty exciting, I packed this Herban Essentials Lavender Towlette to wipe my hands with after my sandwich.

The smell rocked my face off and I felt uber-classy.  Confession  – my mom bought me this bag years ago and I’ve been hoarding them because I think they’re so special.

We did an interesting case study in class today but I’ll save time by not talking about it.  I just say this – you can only help someone who wants to help themself.

We went down to the lab after class to deal with the chili sale leftovers and I snagged a m&m brownie cookie.

Lunch was free too; I went to a club meeting that provided sub sandwiches.

I got half a turkey (with lettuce, tomato, and a slice of swiss) which I topped with lots of yellow mustard and a few chips.

When I got home I made myself something exciting for dessert.

That is “rice” pudding made with chia seeds.  I topped my bowl with a splash of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

It was amazing I pinky swear to share the recipe with y’all tomorrow but I’m going to save time by skipping that now.

Adam and I actually got next week’s grocery shopping done this afternoon.  It’s going to be a busy weekend and we want to get as much done ahead of time as we can.

Dinner was easy and quick, vegetarian tacos.

We mashed 2/3 of a can of pinto beans, spread them on small tortillas, topped with a bit of sharp cheddar, a handful of sautéed cabbage, and some sliced avocado.

This meal needed a dose of crunch and/or spice, but other than that it was perfect.

I also polished off a lot of this rosemary with olive oil and sea salt loaf.

Like a LOT, a lot.  4 big slices dipped in evoo and shoved into my face.  ‘Twas amazing.  I’m not quite sure what I think I’m carbo-loading for but I will say that I really wanted french fries too and at least had the good sense not to go get them!

Spicy plus sweet; gimme or gag me?

Cruciferous Cooked In Cider

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This afternoon I decided to forget the fancy coffee for the sake of my wallet and find something to snack on at home instead.  Hello, cookie box!  I went with a buttercream frosted cinnamon pumpkin cookie.

Yum!  The cookie was cakey with great aftertastes of pumpkin and the frosting was thick!  We are loving Cheryl’s especially because they include a nutrition panel on each cookie and don’t contain trans fat.

Thank you for the Halloween gift, in-laws!

I also ate a red plum on our way to store.

We only needed to pick up a few things but I’m glad we went because we ended up finding lots of Monday afternoon deals, including 50% off Justin’s almond butter.

Dinner included hot dogs, baked beans, and apple cider stewed cabbage – the fall fantasy meal!

The baked beans were a vegetarian Wegman’s brand, I had a half cup with 2 chopped Applegate Farms Uncured Turkey Hot Dogs.

The beans were only ok but I think the hot dogs were good, it’s been so long since I’ve had one I can’t really remember them!

Since I was eating my dog via beans I nibbled on a bun with Smart Balance Light while I cooked dinner.

I’m glad I kept these components separate because I had a bite of Adam’s bunned dog and was underwhelmed.

The apple cider stewed cabbage was overwhelmingly fantastic though.  I cooked 1 lb of coleslaw mix (chopped cabbage and carrots) in 2 cups of fresh apple cider until tender.  Then strained off the liquid and sautéed with salt and 4 Tbsp of butter until crispy and almost burnt.

Ah-mazing!  I ate my entire huge pile.  I wasn’t planning on using that much butter but I let what I had out get too hot and it ended up being such a tasty mistake.

It was quite the good dinner.

What’s not good is how much I have to do before my tests.  The plan is to stay up another hour or so, then get up early(ish) to continue to work.  I have a bunch of errands to run tomorrow afternoon and I’d like to be on the review/paper-writing portion of my to-do’s at that point.  Wish me luck!

Fun fact – cruciferous veggies include (among others) horseradish, kale, collard greens, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy, and mustard seeds!

Red Fish, Blue Fish, Green Dog?

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If I start this post by saying I haven’t been very productive today, will that be too predictable?!  I’m in a cold-weather/program-frustration/lack-of-exercise induced rut!  But I’m making a commitment to going to bed early and pushing my way out of it tomorrow.

At least all of my eats today were tasty.  Like my in-class breakfast trio.

Wegman’s Plain 0% Greek Yogurt (which is quite good and can hold its own against the big brands; though it is more similar to Chobani than Fage as it is less thick),

Fiber One Honey Squares Cereal sample (this had a gross fake-sweetener aftertaste – Sucralose was on the ingredient list – but was very filling for 80 calories),

and a honey stick.

Since my trio only had about 200 calories or so, I supplemented breakfast with a Banana Nut Bar that Odwalla generously sent me to try out.

Love!  I actually tried this in college (the first time!) and loved it then too.  220 calories, .5 grams of saturated fat, 5 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.  Plus it packs good amounts of many vitamins, including 25% daily value each of calcium and folate and 50% vitamin e.  The bar is chewy and a bit crumbly, just like banana bread!  I shared bites with two classmates who agreed that this was the best fake (<– aka not literally just a banana) banana flavor ever.

My breakfasts held me over nicely too; I had to run several errands after class and I didn’t get to eat lunch until close to 2:30.  Actually, my breakfasts held me over well until around 1, and then I was cranky.  I went frozen meal quick for lunch.

Another Lean Cuisine win, Chicken Enchilada Suiza.

I supplemented this meal with popcorn.

There’s always room for Jell-O popcorn.

I took the doggy on a long walk this afternoon (that’s productive!) and before I knew it the husband was home and it was time for dinner.

No matter what little tweaks you make to the ingredients, turkey Reubens are always good!

This guy was GH sourdough bread, 1000 island dressing, sauerkraut 2 slices of Applegate Farms Honey and Maple Turkey, and 2 slices of 2% Swiss.  I ate at least another slice worth’s of bread in nibbles, Great Harvest is seriously the best.

With roasted green beans on the side.

A winner of a dinner.

Blue Fish, Red Fish, Green Dog?

Calling all pet owners, we could use some advice.  How do you clean up after your dog while staying green? 

Adam and I pride ourselves on being pretty environmentally friendly but Webster seems to have doubled our plastic and paper consumption.  Since he is home by himself for long stretches of time (and since he is a small dog with a small bladder in a third floor apartment) he has to do about 50% of his “business” inside the apartment.  When he’s not out on a walk, he “goes” on pee pads.

I don’t feel bad about using these because they are basically unavoidable and we have him reuse each one two or three times.  However, being the asshole that he is, only about 2/3 of his going takes place on the pee pads.  The rest of his business goes on the floor.  Number 2 requires a baggie and Clorox wipe (don’t worry, we use a different brand without harsh chemicals, I’m just too lazy to look up the name of them) and number 1 requires several paper towels and wipe.  I’ve thought about using paper towels for pick-up at home (wasting more paper but conserving plastic), but on walks we have to use a baggie.

For the past few months we’ve been leaving our reusable bags at home and reusing the plastic bags we take home from the grocery.  This is the cheapest solution but Adam and I both felt badly about how wasteful it was.  When we ran out of baggies and were forced into purchasing some I think we both were a little relieved (and we’ll go back to reusable bags for groceries).  In fact, one of my errands today was purchasing these –

These Green Bone bags are biodegradable and made from cornstarch.

So that’s an improvement but I’m still hoping to find a better solution.

Pet owners, how do you take good care of your furry friends while still taking care of the planet?

The Pumking and I

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Has October become synonymous with winter in your neck of the woods too?  It’s so freaking cold here I’m actually blogging in bed!  We aren’t planning on switching our summer for winter wardrobes until next weekend and I’m not quite sure how we’ll get through to then.  I’m keeping this post quick before my laptop dies.

I did not get near enough schoolwork done this afternoon.  I did drink some milky tea,

and get in a session at the gym.  30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6.  I started to read The Help while I ellipticized.  I’m only 5 pages in but I’m already loving it.  I’m not loving that it’s 500+ pages long; normally that would thrill me but I have to finish it by next Friday for book club!

For weekend fun, we met up with two other couples at The King and I for dinner.  People have praised The King and I as the best Thai in Buffalo for years; I’m so glad we finally got a chance to go.  And the food was pretty dang delicious.

I stole several bites of Adam’s Tom Yum soup.  The famous Thai soup, slightly sour and spicy with fresh mushrooms, tomato, chili, lemongrass, galangal, and lemon juice with cilantro, scallions, and chicken.

I loved how tangy this was, totally umami.

My tactic to trying out a new Thai spot is to order either the Pad See Eiw (my favorite meal on Earth) or an extra spicy dish (to gauge what they deem “spicy”).  Tonight I went the spicy route.  I ordered the vegetarian Pud Met Ma Muang.  Steamed tofu sautéed with cashew nuts, mushroom, bamboo shoot, bell pepper, onion, broccoli, baby carrots, and Thai basil leaves in a hot chili sauce.  I ordered 5-star spicy and extra veggies so they added chili, Napa cabbage, and zucchini.

Loved it!

I would only call this 3-star spicy but I’m rating the dish 5-stars for satisfaction since the veggies were so good.  Other Thai places in Buffalo load up their dishes with onions, it was great to have an actual plate of vegetables!  Plus everything, tofu included, was cooked perfectly.

I basically licked my plate clean, plus several scoops from the communal rice bowl.

We will definitely be coming back soon.

None of the couples were ready for the night to be over so we all headed to Dolci for gelato.

The worker graciously let me taste several flavors (including Sriracha-coconut!!) until I came upon two that made my heart sing.

Burnt caramel and Pumking Ale.  The burnt caramel was obviously the best because you just can’t top that flavor but the Pumking Ale was amazing as well, and the combo was divine.  The Pumking had just hints of booze and pumpkin and it was almost fizzy!  I totally confirmed my suspicion that I can’t make it through this October without some Southern Tier.

What’s the strangest flavor of ice cream you’ve ever tasted?

Serendipitous Stop

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Hello from Ohio!  I’m so glad we had this long weekend so I had the chance to get over to visit my grandparents.  My grandpa is in the hospital at the moment unfortunately, but we’ll get to visit a bit and we’re hanging out with my grandma until Monday.

I went to bed at 3am last night this morning and my alarm went off at 7am so you know I turned to coffee.

Adam and I shared this cup, with a small splash of English Toffee syrup and a big splash of skim milk.

Webster had an appointment to get his booster shots so we headed to the vet’s office on the way out of town.  Adam took him alone for the first visit while I was at HLS and I was so impressed today with how brave he was.

He was a total champ on the car road too.  Most of the trip was spent like this,

or like this.

And he drank water out of a glass in the cup holder like a little traveler!

When we weren’t fawning over how cute the dog is, we were eating.  I didn’t get a chance to pack lunch for myself and I got very lucky with a serendipitous stop.  I was hungry and thirsty when I spotted a Chipotle so I asked Adam to pull over,

and then we realized that we were only 2 miles from froyo!

Booyah!  You’ve seen my froyo face, but here is my “froyo and Chipotle?!?” face –

self taken in the bathroom mirror because even I have a little shame.

We actually ate our froyo first.

I stuck with a theme and got a small cup of low-fat mint froyo topped with snowcaps, crumbled Andes, Oreos, and fudge sauce.

Swoon.

Then I ate my Chipotle rice bowl in the car.

They let me do a small scoop of rice topped with black beans, fajita veggies, corn salsa, mild salsa, and a tiny sprinkle of cheese.

I topped the whole thing off myself with TONS of green Tabasco.  Double swoon.

Other snacks included part of this apple which got warm and gross,

and this baggie of snacks (yogurt pretzels!) from my grandparents’ house.

We made it to Ohio in pretty good time and got to spend an hour visiting with my grandpa before coming home to a gourmet dinner.

I swear eating with my grandma makes you feel like you’re at a hotel!

Homemade cole slaw,

a slice of foccacia,

roasted asparagus,

and enchilada casserole.

I only left a bite or two on my plate but I definitely made room for dessert.

Homemade chocolate pie.  I scraped my crust off for Adam (crust is to filling like cake is to icing) but practically licked the rest of my plate clean.

The filling of this was like chewable pudding, so good!

I am stuffed, exhausted, and ready for bed.

Thai in a Tizzy

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I did take the dog (who was batshit crazy all afternoon) on that walk as planned. I also super productively knocked out some preemptive to dos. But then, in a moment of extreme efficiency, I was knocked out by a sudden migraine. Thankfully I took medicine quickly enough that I was fine in an hour, but my dinner motivation was squelched.

Good thing we had lots to celebrate – some personal good news, a new school year for me, and the start of a new rotation for Adam – it was the perfect night for Thai food.

My friend Kate said that Orchid Thai was her favorite Thai in Buffalo so I put it on the top of my list. Way to go Katie, this was one of my best meals in Buffalo.

We shared an order of the vegetarian spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce to start.

For my dinner I order the tofu Pad Kee Mao, extra veggies and Thai spicy.

O.M.G! Lots of good veggies; plump, chewy broad rice noodles; and I finally (finally!) found a spot in Buffalo that understands the meaning of”4-star spicy.”

I ate half of my meal and was basically quivering with delight. I can’t wait to dig into my leftovers for lunch this week!

Since it was a celebration and all, we ordered dessert. Coconut and taro custard.

This was good, but I guess we don’t love the egginess to custard, this was a little too savory for desert to me. Nonetheless we ate 2/3 of it.

Please excuse the blurry pictures because the lighting was low, but I promise that our plates looked as appetizing as they tasted. Buffalo foodies, Orchid Thai gets two thumbs up from me!