Oh Summer Summer
Posted: April 25, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: black bean burgers, broccoli, dinner, garden, mushrooms 1 Comment »It feels like summer outside! It was 85 today and super humid. At least I got to go barefoot outside and my plants have finally made it out on the balcony!
The need a little love and I am hoping that with a little sun light and fresh air they will be happy in no time! I am also planning my garden and I think I will make things a little more simple this year – tomatoes, peppers, herbs and maybe some lettuce. Pots are just really hard to manage due to watering.
Summer weather also had me craving burgers!
I opted for Daily Garnish’s vegan black bean burgers in the oven – no grills allowed.
These suckers are so good! The cinnamon definitely makes them. Along with my burgers I roasted up some broccoli and sautéed some onions and mushrooms with salsa sauce.
Salsa sauce is just salsa thickened with tomato paste. I felt it would be good with the spices in the burger.
Time to hangout with Sissy and enjoy the cool breezes!
Try Some Cabbage?
Posted: February 23, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: barn, cabbage, egg, homemade bread, mushrooms, stewed tomatoes, wedding 2 Comments »So I have never really been into cabbage. Well actually I don’t really eat it very much. It is just not a vegetable that jumps out at me in the produce aisle saying “eat me!” This past weekend I picked one up to try some bear braised cabbage I saw on KERF. I didn’t feel like looking up the recipe so I just winged it with some Sam Adams.
Cabbage may not photograph well, but it surely tasted good! It was slightly spicy raw and picks up flavor well.
In the braising pot:
- 1 small head of cabbage
- bbq sauce
- garlic powder
- splash of Sam Adams
- S&P
Along with my cabbage I had some sautéed mushrooms, a fried egg, stewed tomatoes and a slice of homemade whole wheat bread, which I found is 100x better with honey than molasses.
Random assortments for dinner seems to be the norm these days!
Nick and I are going to visit some wedding venues this weekend in PA. They seem to have more barns available than Maryland does. If you know of a nice rustic barn for rent in MD, please let me know!
Thundersnow
Posted: January 26, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: green beans, homemade bread, mushrooms, parsnip, quinoa 2 Comments »Ever heard of a Thundersnow? Well we are having one right now!
I know people up north have been having tons of snow this winter but we has out share last year, and now we are getting hit with another storm. They said we could get up to 8in and I think we are almost there. Not sure if I will be making it into work tomorrow seeing as it was not safe on the roads this morning and there were only about 5 people in today.
Dinner
After some gchatting with Ruggs in the land down under I had planned on making an acorn squash and beans for dinner, but I just did not feel like beans again. I basically just started cooking everything I had in the kitchen and knew I could throw the leftover in the fridge for lunches.
This is what I came up with.
Organic parsnip fries in Indian spices, organic green beans (frozen) and organic quinoa with the remainder of my blue cheese dressing from last night.
These were both good but the best part was definitely my organic baby bella mushrooms on homemade bread toast with cheese!
This reminded me of a mushroom melt and I want to make this for nick with some caramelized onions, yum!
I loved all of the flavors and textures in this meal! AND I love that it covers my needs from fats to proteins.
Sissy and I are not cuddling on the couch and I am sipping some mandarin orange tea.
How is the weather around you????
Pile It Up
Posted: January 13, 2011 Filed under: recipe | Tags: dinner, feta, kale, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, recipe, setain 1 Comment »Tonight was a good night for making food.
I am running a little bit low on produce so tonight I had to pull all of my resources together before heading to Mecca aka Whole Foods tomorrow after work.
I gathered the following and sat down to think of a dinner that would be good as lunch leftovers:
- 1/3 bunch of kale
- 3 small baby yellow potatoes
- 1/2 pint of mushrooms
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 3 slices of seitan deli slices (very odd food but I needed a protein) – Use your favorite!
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- pepper
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- fresh parsley from the pots
- feta
I decided on a layered plate of flavors.
First I cooked the potatoes in the microwave on high for 6 min (yes I know this is a big no-no but I was hungry). While these were going I started sautéing the 1/2 chopped onion in some olive oil then added the mushrooms and kale – covered. Once the kale wilted I added the mustard, lemon juice and pepper. At this time the potatoes were done and I chopped the two smallest ones and placed them on a plate. I placed the sliced “meat” on the potatoes and then I topped the taters with the kale mix, a huge sprinkle of parsley and feta cheese!
The perfect bite!
I love when my bottom of the produce drawer meals come out well…sometimes they are pretty boring but sometimes I actually can put together something delicious!
Time to go read more of Eating Animals and drink some tea! I will probably do a review of the book once I am done, but so far it is everything I thought it wouldn’t be and it is beautifully.
Sissy says good night and don’t forget to wear purple tomorrow! Go Ravens! W.I.N.
Spicy Kale and Potato Stoup
Posted: November 12, 2010 Filed under: dinner, recipe | Tags: egg, kale, mushrooms, potatoes Leave a comment »I cannot tell you how amazing my apartment smells right now! Whole Food got me with a bag of cinnamon pine cones and they smell amazing!
I know they don’t look like much but it smells like the holidays around here! I hope my allergic to everything roommate does not mind 
It may look like nothing but there is no smellivison on the computer!
I did all of my baking yesterday so tonight I made something more than my usual grilled cheese for my pre-Nick meal. It is the easiest to recreate when we get home from the bus stop so I like to make it for him.
- 1 tbs EVOO
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bunch kale
- 4 small white potatoes
- 3/4 box white mushrooms sliced
- 1 box low sodium veggie broth
- 1 jalapeno
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- dash turmeric, coriander and paprika
- 1 tsp salt
Satue the oil and onion until clear. Add garlic, kale and 1/2 cup broth. Cook down kale and throw in potatoes, mushrooms, spices and rest of the broth. Add the cilantro right before serving. Season more as needed.
I served and farm egg over the kale for a little protein.
Yummy yoke in every bite! Seasonal and delicious!
Time to pick up Nick!
Sanibel Day One
Posted: March 20, 2010 Filed under: saturday | Tags: gramma dots, mushrooms, salad, Sanibel, shrimp Leave a comment »Hello from Sanibel Florida! I just realized I didn’t get a picture of the beach, but I will surely fix that tomorrow.
Our flight was on time but it was not an easy one. I am STILL congested and the pressure on my ears was crazy out of control. I also had two allergy attacks throughout the flight. If that wasn’t bad enough I also felt like I was going to barf while we were landing due to turbulence.
When we were finally on the ground we got our rental car and it the road for Sanibel and Gramma Dot’s.
This place was recommended, but it left me wanting more. I started with the Key West larger for a little local flavor.
I then ordered the misquette grouper sandwich, which was supposed come with a side of fruit and homemade potato chips.
The flavoring of the sandwich was really nice, but I don’t think one strawberry and a small piece of cantaloupe count as a side of fruit.
After lunch Mom and I went for a nice walk along the beach and checked into our condo.
We watched some basketball which snacking on chips, salsa and wine, and my bracket hopes were dashed with Kansas’ loss.
Ugh I was so close! Those are our few shells we have collected so far! After a little nap we set to making dinner. Due to my illness and chips I wasn’t very hungry. Thankfully we had planned a light dinner of shrimp and salad.
I sautéed some mushrooms and shrimp in out olive oil and vinegar dressing plus half of a lemon (there is no S&P in the condo! (So odd to me).
Mom made a simple salad of Romain, carrots and fennel.
Yummy scrimp!
We have big plans for a farmers market and shelling in the morning. People are really, serious about shells around here. I think I am also going to attempt to do a little barefoot running on the beach tomorrow! The sand is really soft around here. Just something easy like 20min. Bikes ARE the only real form of transportation on this island and there are miles of paths. I am so exited!
Stuffed Like A Turkey on Thanksgiving!
Posted: October 20, 2009 Filed under: Tuesday | Tags: adora, biggest loser, hummus, mushrooms, onion, pita, pork, salad, spinach, sweet potato, tofu Leave a comment »Wow I am pooped! Today wasn’t even that crazy. I think it may have to do with my allergies and how stuffed I feel after dinner! I would climb into bed right now, but Biggest Loser is on and Nick is watching The Wire on the bedroom TV.
So because of my poopy state I am going to make this sort of a quick one.
Morning Snacks. 1/4 giant honeycrisp apple and almonds.
Lunch was a huge delicious salad and pita with hummus for dipping.
In the salad: mixed lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucs, celery, leftover greens and tomatoes, snap peas and balsamic with mustard dressing.
Sweet end! So glad to have these back in my life!
******Phone, type, phone type******
I bet you can’t guess what that is? Clif Mojo PB pretzel maybe???? Oh yeah!
The worst part of snack time…the last bite 
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I had planned on doing another 8 mile run on sidewalks only. Around mile 3 my quad told me otherwise. It wasn’t hurting, but not feel the best. I decided to listen to my body and cut down my run to 6.5. It was not the best run even, but my last 1.5 miles felt really good. I tried to push myself a little extra while I was feeling good. With my extra time I did some core work and pushup before throwing dinner in the oven and hitting the showers.
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Good old loin de pork was on the menu. Marinated in red wine and grill Mrs. Dash grill seasonings. I like using Mrs. Dash because A) it is one of my only memories of my grandfather and b) there is no salt added.
I wasn’t feeling a ton of meat tonight so I made up some tofu he same way as the pork and had one small piece of meat with 3 pieces of tofu. I also had 1/2 of a sweet potato (yes that is 1/2!!!!) and onions, mushrooms and spinach sautéed in veggie broth and herbs. I think my sleepiness is due to my potato…
No need for dessert tonight! Sicily is already dipping out.
I am going to try and get Nick to turn off The Wire and let me watch Biggest Loser in bed…where is Dina’s family??? She has 2 people greet her??? And Shay only has her husband and 2 step sons???? Very odd to me.
Have a great night!!!!!
Monday, not so Fun Day
Posted: September 28, 2009 Filed under: Monday | Tags: almond meal, brussels sprouts, chicken, hummus, kashi, lentils, mushrooms, oat rounds, orange, salad, seltzer, squash, tofu 2 Comments »Monday Done!
Always the best feeling!
How I Met Your Mother was pretty lame tonight, which kind of puts a damper on things. I still need to pack lunches blah. OK positive, positive! I am making Nick go apple picking with me this weekend! So that is something to look forward to. They even have pick your own broccoli! I am super excited, Nick not so much, but he is a trooper!
It was actually quiet around the office due to the holiday so I got work done without too many interruptions. One of them was a delicious packed lunch.
Organic romain, leftover brussels and lentils along with a large dollop of spinach hummus. I also had some kashi crackers and an orange.
Hummus blob!
Tick, tick, tick…slow moving afternoon and I couldn’t wait for my snack around 3:30. My last 2 apricot carob oat rounds. I thought I would never get to the end of them.
I also had a La Croix cranberry raspberry seltzer.
I took it easy at the gym today. I was a bit sore from my run yesterday and my knees were bothering me a bit from the combo of dancing in heels and running 11 miles. (Pause to get ice from freezer and place on knee)
I just did 30min on the ArcTrainer and 15min arm set and 15min core. Just got the blood flowing and my arms really need some more work!
My knees actually felt better after I got it moving.
I got home relatively early due to my shorter workout so I was able to finish up the cleaning I didn’t get to yesterday…moping and bath room cleaning. Oh the joy!
I had seen Meghann use the almond meal from TJs on chicken tenders and I thought it looked mighty good!
I doused mine in egg whites then a mixture of almond meal and garlic herb salt free spice.
It came out really well! Just like healthier chicken tenders! Nick enjoyed them too. I also sautéed some mushrooms and onions in low sodium veggie broth and I baked triple summer squashes along with the chicken for 20min.
I had 1.5 tenders, a ton of veggies and a piece of WW Anadama bread with a bit of butter. Yum, and different! I am trying to make new things…getting kind of sick of the usual.
For dessert I had one of my exploded chocolate tofu bombs.
It was basically like a doughy chocolate pudding cup.
Time to go hang with my lady and man. I hope she doesn’t wake us up at 5am again!
Night all!
Flavors of Fall
Posted: September 22, 2009 Filed under: Tuesday | Tags: chutney, larabars, mushrooms, peach, pork, Sicily, snap peas, wrap Leave a comment »Sicily is great. She has been chilling with Nick and I all night on the couch or running around the apt.
She seems to be settling in well!
Work went by quickly due to my meetings only broken up by some eats.
My breakfast did not hold me very well…I didn’t know if it was mental, but I had to have a few prunes around 11 and by 12 I had to shovel my lunch into make get a project together for another project.
At least it was good!
Only one picture to boot! WW wrap with LC cheese wedge, 1 hard boiled egg and spinach. I also had the other 1/2 of my peach from breakfast and 1/2 cup pumpkin granola from TJs.
I also had a few peanut M&M in my meeting.
Once I got home with Sicily and stalked her I had an apple pie Larabar.
This was actually my favorite flavor to date.
I did some yoga with the kitty and once Nick got home I started making dinner.
Pork tenderloin marinated in red wine, thyme, oregano from the garden and garlic, 1/2 sweet tater and a mix of snap peas, mushrooms and onions.
The star of this show was definitely the apple cranberry chutney I put on the loin and tater!
Tasted so much like fall with the apple, cranberries and spices! So delicious, but can only use a little at a time. All ya need though!
Ok, I am off to make some tea and finish watching Biggest Loser and snuggle with Sicily!!!! There is soooo much crying this episode!
Night and Pur!
Kitty Morning!
Posted: September 19, 2009 Filed under: fr, Friday | Tags: chicken, GoLean, kashi, lentils, mushrooms, onion, orange, salad Leave a comment »Today is kitty day! It is also a sad day in the kitty world. It is the one year anniversary of my Lily cat being put down. She died from two forms of cancer last fall and she was the best cat hands down. I know I am bias, but I have converted dog people with her! I know she will be helping me pick out a kitty today at BARCS.
So a quick post of the rest of yesterday eat and then I have to get to Petco to pick up kitty supplies!
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English muffin toasted with cheese and mustard, simple salad with hummus and tomatoes, orange. Can you tell it is grocery store day?
Melty swiss! I also had a little tootsie roll love.
I had two apricot carob bars for my PM snack to fuel before my 7 mile run!
On the way home this is what I see…mom don’t freak out there are lots of people out there!
Seriously depressing!
So back to my run…I think it was about 7 miles with some killer hills. I can totally feel it this morning, bit I NEED to be running hills to get ready for the big race with 7,500 other people! Huge field!
Nick and I got to sit down to a nice dinner tonight.
To start off I had another glass of our boxed wine from the beach!
Along with my wine I made up lemon herb chicken with fresh parsley from the garden, sautéed mushrooms and onions in butter, TJs harvest grain with lentils added and a few asparagus. 
Can you even tell I added a whole serving of lentils? Nick didn’t, shhhhh.
After dinner we headed to the local watering hole for a few blue moons and then hit the hay!.
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This morning I woke up to enjoy a special delivery!
Kashi free sample I feel like I signed up for months ago!
I actually think I like the original better but it was still tasty! I also had a South African orange along with and a big mug of coffee.
***Side note Ellie Krieger just told me that light tuna had less mercury because it comes from smaller fish that have not had time to accumulate high levels of mercury. Thanks for the tip Ellie!***
I am off to Petco!
I will be back with pics of the new addition!
Later!
