Weird stuff I eat when no one'e around

Today was HOT. Really hot. Really really hot. 103 hot. BLAH. I worked at home messing around with a paper for resubmission. I finally left the comfort of my air-conditioned house at 6:30 to go to the gym and I guess the word OPPRESSIVE was the only way to adequately describe the heat and humidity that accompanied my jaunt outside. It was like walking into a dragon's mouth.

WO today was back to square one on the Fitnessista's summer shape-up. I went through the 4 weeks, loved it, saw great results... and now I'm going for round 2. I move up north after week 3, so it will be a little disjointed this next time (well, I guess taking a week off to turn on my dissertation disjoints things quite a bit as well).

Well anyway - today was Monday, and workout one, and the gym, like the terrible outdoors, was also a million degrees. I was so hot afterwards I came home and laid on my floor. Yes I have air conditioning. Yes I was that warm and uncomfortable. Yes my dogs were confused.

When I finally felt as if I were back to my 98 degree homeostatic set point... I was craving fat. Not like burger and fries fat - I wanted goat cheese and avocado. Mmmm couldn't stop thinking about those two things as I "walked" the dogs (Bella pulls me, and I pull Dylan). So I made this weird food:




I drained a can of black beans and diced an avocado. I whisked together the juice of a lime, a minced clove of garlic, some cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of olive oil, and Na++ and pepper. I then proceeded to add the avocado and black beans to the little liquid concoction and had a pseudo salad. I was thinking of Kath's salads, where she generally throws leftovers on top of lettuce. That sounded like something I could manage, so I dumped the bean/avocado mixture onto arugula and magically had a real green salad. Magic!

On the side are what I like to call little polenta cupcakes. Three 1-inch polenta rounds topped with thin slices of goat cheese. Oh yeah. Nice healthy fats that I was craving. I'm stuffed. Yay cooking for one! Yay not having to wake up at any specific time! And yay True Blood back on the air. That is all.

No Deer in the Kitchen

On Christmas, my husband's uncle gave him a deer shoulder. I don't know what he was going to do with all of that venison, but my husband accepted it anyway. It was super gross, just a stripped deer leg, hoof and all, hanging out in the freezer for a month. I refused to go in the freezer and kept telling him to get rid of it. Well, today was another *SNOW* day (read: 1 inch of snow, all schools closed.... my entire building empty) so I woke up a little late because I didn't see the urgency of rushing into work.

Well, I happened into the kitchen and it looked like GROSS ANATOMY class in there. Husband Dave had been thawing the leg all night in the sink, and was literally slicing the meat off the bone in my kitchen. There was even a pile of fascia on a plate nearest me. I almost barfed. And WTF was I supposed to do about COFFEE???? There was a half a deer sitting right next to my pot!!!!
Needless to say - I had to wait until I got to work to have a stupid cup of black tea.

After he finished his dissection, I NICELY ordered him to sanitize EVERYTHING. I was completely grossed out and am grossed out again now thinking of it. So now he and his buddy are off feasting upon the abomination that is no longer in my freezer (one positive?) while I am at home alone...

Such a monstrosity in the kitchen deserved a completely vegetarian dinner.. so I whipped up some Polenta Stuffed Peppers from the Moosewood Simple Suppers Cookbook. I've made them before, but neglected to post the recipe! You can find the recipe on my sister-in-law's blog by clicking HERE.



Additionally I made my favorite BBQ tofu with the BBQ sauce I had left over from THIS RECIPE.



Of course I had some wine, a lovely Malbec. But wait, what is that hiding behind my goblet? Well, it's not vegan, but it was lovely. A beet and mandarin orange salad- 2 beets, 1/4 cup orange slices, 1 Tbsp goat cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Oh yeah. No blood, no deer, no meat.



Let's hope Bambi stays out of the kitchen next time.

Snow and Hummus

I am happy to have a few hours to relax by myself tonight (read: watch more David Duchovny). I already went to the gym, my husband is at his Monday night hockey league, and the whole state is in a state of emergency because of snow. Growing up in Western New York- snow was either exciting or kind of a bummer (depending on whether or not you ski or if you are in grade school or not). Well, here, it incites sheer, unadulterated panic into the hearts of all citizens. Schools close before a flake even falls, bread and milk fly from the shelves, and EVERYONE must stay in. Well, yes, I can get haughty with my tales of heading to school in four feet of snow... but sometimes you must embrace the feeling... and just hole up with a bottle of wine and a fire and not do anything!

I just finished a serving of Polenta, Black Beans and Greens (that I made with the leftover collards from THIS recipe) a recipe from Vegan Express that I make often.

I also decided that I wanted some hummus and a baked good for the week. I haven't decided on a baked good yet - but I did decide on a hummus. I saw THIS recipe on Oh She Glows. It is absolutely delicious and very, very thick. The tabasco gives it an awesome extra kick. And look how pretty!

Now I may make some muffins... or just lay down for the rest of the night!

Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens

A super quickie post- I was on Nava Atlas' web site yesterday getting inspiration for week-night dinners, and happened upon this recipe featured as the recipe of the week, originally from Vegan Express. I never made this particular dish because it sounded plain- but trust me, it is anything but. I won't repost the recipe- just follow the link. The only difference with my version is that I used a HUGE bunch of swiss chard in place of the bok choy and spinach. It was DELICIOUS - and only 332 calories. WIN!!!!

Fun with advisors and Polenta!

Describing the relationship of an advisor to an advisee sometimes proves to be difficult. It's kind of like a mix between a boss, parent, Drill Sargent, and babysitter. Everything you want to do requires their permission. They guide your career, serve as the rate-limiting factor for your progression through school, make you feel like crap, and serve as your biggest fan. No matter what - they are the ones that will get you to graduate. You need their help to put out publications, okay your dissertation, and ultimately provide a recommendation for you. It's a very complex relationship - and it's different with everyone. Thinking your advisor hates you is a pretty common theme in grad school. Google "my advisor hates me" and you'll get several thousand hits. However, by the end most realize that their advisor does not in fact hate them... after several years of therapy.

My dad went to business school, and told me that my advisor uses a management style known as "everything is an emergency." Everything has to be done RIGHT away, and ASAP emails are abundant. This morning, I decided I would sleep in. It's Friday - and I had finished my work due NEXT week, so I decided to sleep in. At about 9, my phone starts buzzing at me- alerting me to a new email. It was from my advisor -saying to email him AS SOON AS POSSIBLE when I arrive at work. Well, crap. I throw on clothes, rush out the door, arrive at work unshowered and smelly - to email my advisor back. His reply? "Let's meet in 2 hours." UGH.

Anyway- the husband was gone last night, so I got to cook for myself yet again. I make a fun polenta dish when I don't feel like throwing anything too complicated together- so I saute up some veggies, and warm two slices of polenta in the microwave. Add veggies (onion, pepper and broc) to top, smother with tomato sauce and a sprinkling of Daiya and nuke again... and dinner is done. I was CRAVING carbs last night so I bought some sour dough bread. The wine is Skull camp's "anticipation" made by Round Peak vineyards. A young un-oaked chardonnay with less than 4% residual sugar- a nice semi-sweet wine. Perfect to accompany the 50 thank you notes I got through yesterday.
Now I am off for a swim - that will serve as my first "shower" of the day.

And I was run-ning

I am no Forrest Gump. Forrest as you know, was very fast. I however, am very slow for anything over 100 meters. I used to be a sprinter and a long/triple jumper in high school - but now I am old and my knees swell up when I run. Regardless- a friend of mine is a Crossfit trainer and is running a little endurance clinic for myself and some other girls. Let me tell you, what a great workout - even if I probably appeared to be walking. It was 86-90 degrees - and I felt every bit of it. I am not going to pretend I have great temperature regulation - it sucks and I hate when it gets over 90. When I got home I walked the dog and still felt like I was going to burn up. I had been planning for days to make mashed cauliflower and potatoes - but the thought of eating something I had to boil disgusted me, as I tried to convince myself that I was not melting. A made a light (300 calorie) dinner from Vegan Express (I love this cookbook - everything is 30 minutes or less and I am hungry when I start cooking!) I scaled this WAY back to feed just myself - and ate every last bit.

Polenta, Black Beans and Greens

2 tubes polenta (each tube should = about 8 slices)
1-2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (I used one HUGE clove of elephant garlic and was very pleased)
1 can black beans
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes ( I didn't have any left - so I went CRAZY and used salsa!)
As much spinach as you can eat

Saute sliced polenta in one pan, about 8 minutes on each side in a little olive oil. Meanwhile, saute the garlic with remaining oil in another pan until it is fragrant. When garlic smells nice and garlic-y, add teh black beans, cumin, and tomatoes. Cook that up until it looks nice. Add the spinach, put a lid-like contraption on top of your pan and steam until spinach is just wilted. Pile 4 rounds of polenta on each plate and top with black-bean spinach mixture. I've made this before and it was good as usual.

I wanted to make some raw balls but now it is late and I need to get my Teen Mom fix. My TV watching scheudle is very shameful.