Tag Archives: mushroom

A Friday Saturday Secret

by

I don’t always like to blog about things right away, but it seems like it’s time to share that…. I got a job!  I will be working part-time at a local toy store from now until my internship schedule makes it impossible.  And I’ve actually been working since Tuesday!

It is freaking fabulous to be employed again but I’m not gonna lie, being on my feet all day is rough.  I haven’t worked out all week and today was the first day I was able to cook dinner after a shift.  I’ve done retail before, and been a waitress and a teacher, but I guess that three years of full-time schooling (sitting) has left me weak.  It doesn’t help that I am ridiculously out of shape.  My aching back is going to give me some major motivation to work on my ab muscles.

Friday morning began with a dermatologist appointment and I ate a to-go breakfast in the car.

An Apple Cinnamon GoGo Squeez.

A White Chocolate Macadamia LUNA Bar.

And a pack of Skinny Cow Milk Chocolate Dreamy Clusters.

Those products were all linked because I’m recommending that you try them all.  Good reviews all around.

I got a good review at the doctor’s office too – the husband’s and my skin checks were in the clear, figuratively speaking.  I’m going to have to see a surgeon about the (benign but painful and ugly) bump on my hand but the dermatologist did say it’ll probably be fully covered by insurance.

I had a mug of hot chocolate before heading to work.

Seven hours later I was ravenous and ready to head home.  I got hot bar from the co-op and finished the entire box on my walk!

Chicken salads,

cucumber and kale salads.

It’s a good thing I ate in-transit because I passed out the minute I got home.  Actually, I got in a giant fight with the husband and then passed out, but it’s not polite to blog about that.  My tired back may be making me a bit cranky.

I had an earlier shift this morning so Adam made a date of walking me to work.  We stopped at the farmers’ market for breakfast along the way.

That toasted pecan caramel scone from Chow Chocolat‘s booth was goo-ood.  With a Lori’s Lemon Honest Tea.

I also ate this baggie of grapes right when I got to work.

I slept without my retainers last night (I passed out before I could get them in!) so I skipped lunch today to keep them in for a longer period.  By the time my 8-hour shift was over I was ready to eat.

We had to run some errands when Adam picked me up and I ended up buying the cheapest – most embarrassing – snack I could find at Target.

They actually weren’t bad.  And I’d like to think they helped give me the energy to cook dinner today.

On the menu was Tom Kah Gai Soup.

I followed the recipe (mostly) from Quick and Easy Thai and found success.

I actually didn’t love-love it because this chicken coconut soup isn’t my favorite, but Adam said several times that this was the best thing I’ve ever made!

I gave part of my portion to the husband (he finished almost the entire batch!) and ended up grabbing a turkey sandwich as well.

Applegate Farm’s Roasted Turkey with Laughing Cow Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese and pepperjack cheese on a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin.

My dessert was a treat that Adam made me this afternoon.  I bought a ton of berries on sale last week so he dipped me three chocolate-covered strawberries.

Thanks, husband.

Two questions for two days’ worth of posts –

  1. How often (if ever) do you get a skin cancer check?
  2. What is your favorite kind of soup?

 

I Swallowed (A Wine Tasting Recap)

by

What a fun day!  It included booze, friends, and cookies, so you know it was a winner.  I didn’t do the best job photographing but today was one of those days when it is more important to live it than blog it.  I guess that’s true for all days really!

I have no excuse for the past two days because I think blogging a recap would have been my most exciting event, sadly.  I was lazy not busy.  But I do have two new recipes to share this week.  Two recipes for two days seems fair.

We had to do a major cleaning job on the apartment this morning but we did find time for a dog walk.  Breakfast on the go.

Adam and I split this Mango Noosa Yoghurt (there are two servings per package) and we were both big fans.  So thick and creamy!

I read up on the company and I really like their policies.  I just wish the ‘gurt was available in low-fat.

Today my friends and I cashed in a big group Living Social deal and hopped in two town-cars for a winery tour.  We got picked up at my place so every one came up for some sweet treats first.

We had (unphotographed) “virgin mimosas” of oj and vanilla club soda and I baked two treats.  How Sweet Eats’ Chocolate Drenched Coconut Oatmeal Squares.

And cookie dough truffles (recipes is one of the two promised for this week).

Both were big hits!  HSE is basically a genius; I subbed in unsweetened coconut but otherwise I left her recipe alone.  Adam complained about helping me bake on Saturday night but after he tasted the goods he shot me death-eyes when I tried to send friends home with leftovers!  I ate two of each all total for the day.

Then we were off for three hours of wine tasting.

We hit up three wineries, all of which had a great selection.  Between the seven of us there was a large range of preferences.  Rachel likes super dry and I like super sweet so the two of us ended up swapping glasses a couple of times.  I don’t really drink wine so it was nice to have little tastes to see what I like; I even tried a couple of reds!  The craziest ones were Schulze Wines’ crackling sweets.

I especially liked Niagara Landing’s Rosebud line and even came home with a bottle.

And I paid $2.50 extra at one spot for this mini glass of ice wine.

All total I had 13 tastes and I didn’t spit once!  I probably should have though, it wasn’t an insane amount of alcohol but all 13 were sweet and I felt pretty sick by the time I got home.

I ate a mac and cheese muffin (the 2nd recipe),

and then crashed hard on the couch.

When I forced myself up two hours later I knew there was no way I would be cooking the soup on my meal plan.  Instead we went to Moe’s.

My vegetarian burrito had rice, black beans, sautéed mushrooms/peppers/onions, cheese, corn salsa, and guacamole.  It was just what I needed.

I’m feeling loads better now.  But I am hoping to turn in early because I’ve got a busy to-do list for tomorrow.

Have you ever been to a wine tasting?  Did you spit?

Cukoo For Coconut

by

I know I said this morning that I’d be a grump, but today wasn’t so bad.  Coffee helped.

I got dressed quickly enough that I had time to take Webster on a morning walk and when I met the husband to do a backpack/dog swap he ended up driving me to school.  We got iced coffee with skim milk along the away.

Sidenote – my bladder probably wished I’d skipped the coffee; I also had a breakfast drink, a soda, and a huge bottle of water.  At one point all four were sitting on my desk, which made everyone crack up.

Breakfast was a celebration of coconut.

A Liberte Coconut Yogurt,

and a Zico Chocolate Coconut Water.

I tried the chocolate Zico in Ohio last spring and loved it, it’s like a lighter Chocolate Nesquick!  When I finally spotted some at Wegmans last week I freaked out.

My lunch looked an awful lot like last night’s dinner.

Tempeh and veggie brown rice casserole topped with white cheddar.  I microwaved it at school.

I have one final casserole serving stashed in the freezer and I’m looking forward to remembering it in a few months.

After class I spent time on some job applying things.  <– please cross your fingers for me!  Then I took the world’s hardest nap.  When you wake up from a nap remembering dreams you know you needed sleep.

Dinner was simple but oh-so-good.

  1. Chop the top off of a bulb of garlic, drizzle with evoo, stick in an oven at 400* for 30ish minutes.
  2. Boil ~1.75 cups of bow tie pasta.  Add ~.25 cup frozen edamame and 1 pint frozen mushrooms during the last three minutes of cooking.  Drain and return to pan.
  3. Squeeze roasted garlic into pasta.  Add ~3 Tbsp creamy mushroom soup, ~2 Tbsp evoo, and a liberal sprinkling of salt.  Stir vigorously.
  4. Portion onto two plates.  Dig in.

Adam gave me a bunch a bunch of crap when I told him the dinner plan but we both swooned our way through the finished dish.  Roasted garlic is so flipping creamy.

I’m up late because I was typing up the posts with the pie and dog treat recipes from last weekend.  It was worth it even if no one else tries them out because I will definitely make both recipes again.  In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow at noon for some window shopping!

So. Much. Coffee.

by

The week’s almost over!  Last night we did indeed walk the dog straight to snacks.

A diet pop and a York Peppermint Patty for me.

The three of us sat on the couch and watched “Solitary.”  I discovered the show and watched the first season on my own and now that we’re on season 2 I’m sad to say that my opinion is going downhill.  For such a big committment and such a tiny prize ($50,000 for the winner) I feel like the challenges should focus on resilience and conviction.  Now that they are becoming fitness competitions I’m losing interest.

I’m not sure why Adam found it necessary to take an hour-long shower after we stayed up late watching tv, but when the alarm went off at 6:00 this morning I wanted to punch him in the face.  I basically guzzled caffeine all day and then he brought me home pizza so we’re okay now!

Coffee count – #1: A medium iced coffee with french vanilla creamer for funsies.

#2/3: A small coffee with chocolate milk, x2.

#4: A Medium coffee with skim milk and three sugars.

I spent most of my day peeing and I’m still twitching.  Worth it.  Apparently I like my drinks sweet in the summer; I’m going to have to watch that habit.

Pre-coffee I did get in a workout. 30 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6.  Plus arm strength moves on the machines.

For breakfast I had the last bit of spicy chicken and rice.

Lunch was from the dining hall again.  Spicy tofu with sautéed peppers and onions plus broccoli cooked with cherry tomatoes.

I thought the food was good and most of the students I surveyed agreed with me.  Part of my summer school assignment was supposed to be analyzing patient surveys about hospital tray service.  I had to tweak the survey form a little bit to make it fit, but the same general ideas about food temperature and serving size applied.

When I got home in the afternoon I ate my slice of husband-delivered cheese pizza.

He only has a few more shifts at the hospital with the great cafeteria so I’ll take advantage while I can.

Our dinner casserole was assembled yesterday and all we had to do today was bake, easy peasy.

In the dish (the casserole dish!) was –

  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 8 cups raw baby spinach
  • 2 cups roasted broccoli
  • 1 poblano pepper, diced
  • 1 lb tempeh, roughly chopped
  • 3 cups Imagine Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup
  • (1 cup crushed Monterey Jack Cheez-Its)

Mix.  Put in a 13×9 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with crushed Cheez-Its.  Bake 25 minutes at 400*.  Serves 6.

On my new plate.

It was closer to healthy than tasty, but it worked.

With a handful of candy-coated sunflower seeds for dessert.

Have you watched/heard of “Solitary” yet?

Zombies Don’t Feel So Fresh

by

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?

BBQ ‘Bellas

by

The stormy weather threatened my workout tonight but I persevered.  When I walked outside into heavy rain I knew I had to rethink my run.  Then the husband offered to drive me to the gym like a knight in shining armor a dry car.  I’ve hated running on the treadmill recently but it’s better than nothing at all.  I ran 2 miles (18:44) and then walked a 5 minute cool down.  2.3 miles and 24 minutes.  Followed by a few minutes of strength/stretching.

Dinner was a beauty.

It’s been years since I’ve eaten a portabella burger but a Wegman’s worker was cooking them for a display at the store last weekend and Adam and I both caught the craving.

These babies were especially good when paired with bbq sauce, aged gouda, and jalapeño cream cheese.

I put the ‘shrooms and a bit of canola oil over medium-high heat and then covered the pan and let them cook for 6 minutes.  Meanwhile, I toasted up some sandwich thins.  I schmeared 1 oz of jalapeño cream cheese on a thin, topped it with the cooked portabella, and then topped that with a healthy drizzle of Stubbs bbq sauce and 1 oz of aged gouda.

The sandwiches were a mess to eat but oh-so satisfying.

Roasted asparagus rounded out dinner.

This meal tasted like summer.

Pick your favorite – bean burger, beef burger, turkey burger, or ‘bella burger?

Late Lunch

by

I was raring to go after my last post but e-mail sending and list writing kept me home a bit longer.

Since I had the time, I ate a 2% Pineapple Siggi’s for a late breakfast.

I may not have had time for any strength moves this morning but I certainly got in an arm workout carrying bags this afternoon.  Look at all the stuff we took to Goodwill –

I also hit up the Co-op (bulk bins), Target (ask me how thrilled I was to spend $7 on batteries for the smoke alarm), and Wegmans (groceries for the next week are purchased).

It was a long trip but now 80% of our weekend errands are finished.

I ate a pear when I got home.

But later I realized that I never actually ate lunch.  I was on a walk with the dog and husband so I made a pit stop at the co-op hot bar.

Excuse the bad pictures, I ate while I walked.  I got some mushroom “meatloaf,” curried kale and cauliflower, and a bit of cole slaw.

And for dessert a brown sugar walnut tart from Starbucks.

Mmmmn!

Adam took a girl friend out for dinner so I was by my lonesome.  I made a roasted veggie feast for my meal.

Sliced potato (6oz),

and green beans.

Yumtastic.  I’ve always liked vegetables but now that I roast them I lurve them!

I had a mini bag of kettle corn for dessert.

I also melted 2 Tbsp of caramel bites and ate them with a fork but the camera ate the photo.  I’m sure you can picture it though.

Have a great evening!

P.S. Adam just got home from his date and he came bearing half of his truffled mushroom panini.  I’m not going to eat it because it’s his favorite but I think he’s just the sweetest boy!

Sugar Saturday

by

Today’s been sweet, literally.  And it’s not over yet; I’m having a bowl of ice cream the minute I publish this post!

Breakfast was another fabulous yogurt-cottage cheese mix.  A Liberte Coconut Yogurt served over the 1+ serving of 1% large curd cottage cheese.  Plus a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

I don’t really enjoy cottage cheese by its lonesome, but mixed into yogurt or oatmeal it’s the bee’s knees.

We ran errands for what felt like forever today (3 stores for groceries?!!) and for lunch I introduced Adam to Manhattan Bagel.

I had a toasted jalopeño cheddar bagel with lox cream cheese.  The bagels were great, nice and chewy, but the service was so bad I doubt we’d ever go back to that location [the Delaware location for any reading locals].

A frozen iced coffee was split at Wegmans.

Plus 4 pieces of salt water taffy from the bulk bins for dessert.

Watermelon was a favorite but I also enjoyed cherry cola and cookie dough.

For dinner we cashed in a Living Social deal for Thai House.  We tried a lot and overall it was good but not great.  Our appetizer was little fried cups with crab meat.

Meh.  I only ate two but Adam did finish the rest.

Our meals came with soup so we both ordered Tom Yum.

Yum indeed; (jeez that was corny!) the soup was perfectly sour.

Another plus was the 2-1 deal on “thai-iced” beverages.

The husband did coffee and I did tea.

Delicious.

And for my meal I ordered the House Noodles, extra spicy.

Broad rice noodles with brocoli, boy choy, peppers, and egg.  The extra spicy was actually spicy, a major plus over other local Thai places.  But the noodles didn’t have the amazing “marshmallow” quality that I look for in good broad rice noodles.

Now we are home enjoying Cokes with lime.

And ice cream soon!  Tomorrow brings lots of studying for Monday’s exam and a visit to the theatre for The Hunger Games!!!