Green Day

Woo wee - I am so pooped. It is so hot here in NC I can't even stand it. Not sure how I've made it through 5 summers without dying. I like to eat light in the summer - so I did just that today.

Before my workout today I needed a little snack. I sliced up some zucchini (I LOVE raw zucchini) and plopped on some hummus. Once you start making your own hummus you can never go store bought again. It's just so simple and so CHEAP. I've made THIS recipe from Oh She Glows one or two times before. The only difference is that I used canned chickpeas. I have bad luck making beans on my own. they always come out tough! This time I added a handful of spinach and it came out green and tasty.



A glimpse into my life: snacks, my laptop, reviewer comments, advisor comments, my dissertation minimized while I watch Twilight trailors :-)

For dinner I made an old favorite. I seriously love this recipe. And I have sauce left over that I will likely put over a green bowl!

I made it a little differently tonight, but still, check out the old link to see pictures of cute little Dylan. :-)



Green Pasta
1 red onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive oil
Na++ and Pepper
1 container Nayasoya silken tofu
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup basil
Na++ and Pepper

Same as before - boil water. Heat over to 450- Rub onion and garlic with oil and salt and pepper. Wrap onion and garlic in tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. This is perfect timing to boil you water and make your pasta.

When the 20 minutes are up- put the tofu, spices and salt and pepper into a food processor and blend away. So good - even the carnivorous husband loved it (though he didn't remember the past 15 times I've made it for him). To top my day off I had some vanilla avocado and banana ice cream a la Averie from Love Veggies Yoga. No picture since mine is ugly- but it is so so so so so so good! Make some!

Now time to rest - I am beat!

Desserts and MUSSELS

Since I have been eating seafood - I've been having non-veg meals about 2-3 times a week. These mussels were super easy to throw together and the broth can be tweaked considerable to meet your needs/likes/wants/desires. When my friend came to visit recently she threw these together with heavy cream and red curry paste. I wanted a non-cream version and came up with these.

MUSSELS
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup white wine
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup flat parsley
1 tsp lemon zest
1 pound mussels

Heat a nice large dutch-over type contraption on your stove.

You know the drill- heat the oil - add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for a minute of two longer. Add the wine, try not to cry at the non drinkable portion you just put into food. Pour yourself a a glass to minimize sadness. Add lemon juice, and half of parsley and zest.

Dump the mussels in and cover. They will open in 6-8 minutes. DON'T EAT THE ONES THAT DIDN'T OPEN. Just throw them out. They lived a full bivalve life- it's okay. Portion into 4 bowls and top with remaining parsley and zest, Yum.



I used a full cup of wine... I know, I know... that's a lot. But they taste great - so just pour it in and look the other way. Or just put your face over the smoke the wine creates and get really drunk. Just kidding. Don't do that. You also shouldn't pour vodka over the stones in a sauna for a buzz. That is bad also.

On the side is a couscous salad based on one of Angela's recipes. Just israeli couscous, red pepper, cucumber, and garbanzo beans in a dressing of cilantro, olive oil and lime juice (and a splash of balsamic).

You may also spy some chilled cucumber soup in a tiny little bowl. If you've never made this you should really give it a try. All you need is a food processor, a large cuke (half peeled, half not), and about a cup of plain greek yogurt. I usually use dill- but I used cilantro and parsley since I already had some on hand. Add some salt and pepper at the end and use whatever spices you like. Add more yogurt to thin out if you wish - but I like it thicker. You just put all the ingredients together and blend. So easy and also low in calories. I love cucumber.


I made another batch of healthy cookie bites. I love these things so much. So healthy and 59 calories! YAY! These are the only baked good I make - I put two in my lunch every day and they are such a nice sugar-free treat :-)



Speaking of healthy - I just made myself some cherry banana soft serve. SO GOOD. And it's basically just a banana. But so decadent!!!



Off to bum around- I need to get some sleep. My aunt drove through last night and wanted to head to see some blues music. She got in at 11 - so I was up WAY late - we ate pizza and watched scary shows and talked until 3:23 on the dot. Then she woke up at 8:00! Oh boy- I'm exhausted!

Gazpacho and Bean Burritos

Today has been totally lame in the science way. Around noon I got an e-mail from my advisor telling me a recently submitted paper had been rejected. The e-mail contained reviewer comments - which he asked me to go ahead and handle for the next draft of my dissertation that is DUE WEDNESDAY. That's almost now. So I was cruising along, trying to finish up all of my corrections for him, and got this curveball thrown at me. In addition, he asked that I address the comments for a resubmission before I defend, which is July 20th. SO my diss. is due July 6th, I defend the 20th, and somewhere in between there I have to rewrite a paper, prepare my public defense, start packing up my house.. I don't even want to go on.

I just had to get up right that second and go for a walk downtown for a few minutes to clear my head and calm down. It will all get done... it's just a stretch. A big one.

Anyway- food today was good. I was hungry almost every second of the day- so I will have to add some snacks tomorrow so that I don't feel like I am about to die at 4:30 like today.

Breakfast - egg whites with salsa verde. Green smoothie - banana, strawberry, greek yogurt, lots of spinach and some almond milk.




Lunch - some tuna salad boats with this tuna salad.




Dinner- Gazpacho and Burritos.

I wanted to make these today since I had leftover guacamole from yesterday. However, when my husband got home from the gym he fixed that issue - so we were Guac-less.

The Gazpacho is Angela's recipe. So, so, so good and simple. Great flavors. This will be added to my tuna boat lunches!



And because of the debacle this morning/afternoon/whenever it was - I made true emergency bean burritos.

Bean Burritos - the fastest and easiest ever
1/2 sliced onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chile powder
Na++ and pepper
4 large whole wheat tortillas
1 can fat free refried beans
1 cup shredded low-fat cheese
Salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a pan with some cooking spray and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes and add frozen veggies. Add cilantro once the veggies are thawed. Add spices. Done.

Put 1/4 can refried beans on the middle of each tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup cheese. Top with veggies. Roll up. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Garnish with salsa. So fast, so easy, so good.



Now I really need to get to work!

Angela's vegan enchiladas with cilantro avocado cream sauce

I waited WEEKS to make these. WEEKS. Seriously. I first saw THIS RECIPE on oh she glows on May 4th. I finally bought everything to make these LAST SUNDAY. No, not this past Sunday - the Sunday before that! But last Wednesday I traveled to an interview, and didn't get back until last Friday. On Friday my husband wanted to go out to dinner, but I can't even remember if I did since I was so exhausted.

Oh nevermind, I did. I made Kath's scallops. They were fab but I took no picture. Really fab. Oh and ou must try the risotto this way - so easy and so delicious. My husband killed what were going to be leftovers.

Anyway... this weekend and this week my husband kept coming up with reasons why we couldn't eat at home - or why he couldn't more specifically. Finally, last night I made these enchiladas and they were worth the wait. I had some stomach issues yesterday and came home early from the office - but nothing was going to stop me from using all of the ingredients before they rotted away. Luckily things seemed safe. Since I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast I had no guilt eating 1/2 an avocado on my enchilada. So good.

My picture wasn't great since my husband already dug into these before I could snap a pic. But head over to the original recipe for the directions and the pics. Enjoy!

Pasta and an Oats Parfait for good meausure

Hey there. I am currently at home blogging. I got a LOT done yesterday in the writing department, so I'm cutting myself some slack (I will write at night and am generally more productive all together when I take my mornings to myself. Just me and my french press Fresh Market espresso. No sharing). I just have to write up a discussion for my third study - and there I go, all three chapters written and done!

My knee has been flaring up again, and I have an appointment with a Sports MD at 2-ish. However, whenever I go get my knee checked out it's like taking in my car. You know what I mean... your car will be making some noise for a week, and when you finally take it in, the noise will NOT present itself and the mechanics can't find anything wrong and everyone thinks you're crazy. Well, I am taking matters into my own hands today by heading to a lunchtime spinning class before my appointment. Spinning REALLY flares my knee up - though it should be zero impact - and my knee ends up swelling up to the size of a grapefruit. A grapefruit that lives on my leg. Well, the doctor today will get a nice swollen knee to look at and I won't waste his time or mine.

When my friend was in town, she pulled out some old magazines to keep herself busy while my husband and I snoozed. I had forgotten all about the February 2010 issue, which is plastered with a beautiful picture of Roasted vegetable linguini. It looked so good, and I had purchased basil for the Strawberry Mango Basil Salsa I saw on How Sweet it Is - so I figured this pasta would be a great way to use it up. The re3cipe was simple and delicious, and made enough for an army. A small portion found its way into mine and my husband lunches both yesterday and today, and there's still more left!



Roasted Vegetable Linguini with Torn Fresh Basil
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 pound asparagus, sliced into 1.5 inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped (I used a red)
2 Tbsp/ olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 13.5 oz. package linguine (I used Cavatappi)

Preheat over to 450 - toss all of the veggies with the olive oil, minced garlic and pepper flakes. Roast 20 minutes (use a roasting pan, it will be a lot of bulk). Add the cherry tomatoesand roast 10 minutes more. Dump veggies in a bowl while you make the sauce.

Start making the pasta - be sure to save 1/2 cup cooking water for the sauce

Add wine to roating pan, scarping off any browned goodness on the bottom. Let wine reduce by half. Stir 1/2 cup cooking water into wine. Add pasta and veggies to roating pan and let everything co-mingle and get delicious.

I also wanted to talk about my breakfast lately. I have been looking at the pretty picture of Vegan Overnight Oats Parfaits on Oh She Glows for awhile now. I've never made them because I just didn't feel like getting out my food processor in the morning, and I used to eat overnight oats every day and I got sick of them.

Well, I finally made the plunge yesterday with the Cherry Bomb parfait. Wow - I am so glad I did. Seriously - just putting a banana and some frozen cherries into a food processor is like magic. It really does taste like soft serve ice cream. I made Strawberry Banana softserve today- though the picture came out super crappy. This breakfast is a lot to get down, I reduced the serving of oats to 1/4 cup - I don't need to eat lunch until 1. Crazy. Do yourself a favor and try one of these recipes.

Creamy Tomato Risotto

Again with the theme of wintry dinners... I'd like to mention again that it is in the 80's here in NC. Last week it was a little chillier- maybe 60's. So we are eating a little heavily this week - and we'll switch to lighter, springier meals next week. Whatever, food is food.

Anyway, I had bookmarked THIS recipe, adapted from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, on Oh She Glows way back in December (I know, about a million years ago). But my cooking hadn't been going very well back then and I am just catching up on old recipes now.

Angela updated the recipe just recently, adding some of the cheese sauce from the Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze for added creaminess and awesomeness. Well, since I planned on making the mac and cheese I figured I may as well go all of the way and make the risotto also! I didn't have any barley, as the original recipe calls for, but I had everything else. I also added in about 2 cups of baby spinach for green-ness. It turned out great- so creamy and delicious!


Check out the ultra creamy recipe HERE.

Now I have to pretend I have been working all morning and get some stuff done!

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze

When I arrived home from China Sunday night, I was obviously wide awake. It was 11:30 PM in North Carolina, but 10:30 am in China. When I arrived in Beijing, I was easily able to adopt the new schedule, and had no problems sleeping whatsoever. However, it was a different case back in the U.S. This first night I was up until 3 or 4 in the morning, thinking I could sleep until noon and head into work.

I was very ambitious Sunday night. I made my workout schedule for the week, and a schedule of healthy meals breakfast-dinner for all the days of the week. Well, little did I know the sleep deprivation ahead of me. I had no control over my body or my brain. I slept 4 hours a night, waking up at 3am. I would force myself to stay awake as late as possible, so that I may sleep in.. but alas... the latest I slept in was 5am. I went to the gym Monday morning at 5:30 and worked out, because what else do you do that early? The rest of the week I could barely move. My head felt such an intense pressure, it was if I were deep-sea diving. I couldn't function, let alone concentrate at work, work out and get home to make dinner. Instead I was a zombie all week.

I finally felt all right on Saturday morning, after a nice dinner with my husband and half of a bottle of wine. I was able to sleep ten whole hours!

Well, now it's a new week, and last week's recipes have become this week's recipes. I started this dish Sunday I think, which seemed a little cold-weather appropriate juxtaposed with our glorious 80 degree weather here. I've always wanted to try a vegan macaroni and cheeze recipe, but never did anything about it. When I saw THIS recipe I knew it was time to give vegan mac and cheeze a try once and for all. And let me tell you what --- I'm glad I did! The dish turned out great! Even my husband loved it, and even took most of it to work for lunch the next day (hence my tiny portion in the photo) he's helping me diet I think.


Check out the original recipe HERE on Oh She Glows. I made the straight outta the pot version. My husband won't wait on baking things. He often makes me abort dinners because he has gotten so hungry he needs to go out to eat right then (which basically takes the same amount of time as just waiting for me to finish).

Time is fleeting

I cannot believe that I am finally finishing up school. I started my Master's degree in Summer of 2005, and my PhD in the Summer of 2006. It's 2011 and it's felt as if the end would never come. The first four years of my doctorate felt as if I were wading through molasses. Everything seemed to be difficult... there was one roadblock after another... and there were many times in earnest I never even wanted to finish. I just wanted to pack all of my stuff and move somewhere to work on a vineyard, or behind the counter at a coffee shop, or just spend the rest of my life drinking whiskey. But when it came down to it, I literally had no plan B. So I stuck it out and lo and behold, the end is coming near. Everything is in fast-forward right now, it feels as if I'm swimming in the fast lane and there's no time to come up for air... which is good, but stressful.

Believe it or not, I am slated to finish in August. I have been working a lot, but also traveling a bit now before I lose the opportunity. My committee meeting is tomorrow, and I am currently preparing these CAKE BALLS for them. Since I'm dipping things I've decided to dip some strawberries in chocolate also. Some may call is kiss-ass, I call it being resourceful.

I haven't been able to do much cooking lately - but I have made THIS CREAMY AVOCADO PASTA from Oh She Glows, and also this SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN SALAD.

Dinner tonight was a repeat of Brie, apple and arugula quesadillas, a beet and pecan salad, and a 2 BELOW beer.

Hope tomorrow goes fine! Maybe just one more beer.

Coconut-Hoisin Stir Fry

I was sitting at lab today, thinking of all the wonderful dinners I could make when I got home. I saw THIS POST on Vegan Dad after searching for a bok choy recipe. I had my heart set on tofu - and I didn't have any garbanzo beans, so I decided to meld these two recipes into an amalgamation of goodness. I threw in everything I could think of - and it was FANTASTIC.

Coconut-Hoisin Stir Fry
Tofu:
1 package extra-firm tofu
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Stir-Fry
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 clove elephant garlic (or two regular garlic cloves)
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 zucchini - sliced
3 bunches baby bok choy
1 package cremini mushrooms
1 bunch scallions, sliced on diagonal
1 can full fat coconut milk (with cream removed from top of can to make one of these smoothies)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
Na++ and pepper
Sriracha if you are AWESOME like me

Tofu: cover a baking sheet with tin foil. Press tofu by wrapping in a clean cloth and squeezing it against a cutting board. Slice tofu into cute little squares and toss in soy sauce. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350.

Stir fry: Heat oils in wok, add ginger and garlic, and stir until they actually smell like ginger and garlic. Add the vegetables in descending order - asparagus, zucchini, bok choy... not the scallions yet- hold on! Give each a little time to soften before you add the next. Now add your coconut milk, curry, soy sauce, hoisin, and Na++ and pepper if you desire.

Add the tofu when it is nice and firm from the oven. Stir, plate.... now add the scallions! Heap on some sriracha if you dare.

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!

Lazy and Productive Sunday = Snacks, Lunch and Breakfast

Today the husband and I woke up late (9:30 is the equivalent of 11:00 to my husband) and we headed out for a lazy breakfast before hitting up the the grocery store. While at breakfast, I checked my schedule to find it ridiculously light. Mind you, I do have FINAL edits of a manuscript I have been working on for months as long as the task of finishing up a lecture on opiates (yay!). For the past few weeks I have been SWAMPED- doing all of these things amongst running a study for 10-15 hours/day. For whatever reason I am never prepared for the busy weeks, so as a consolation, I decided to be overly prepared for the coming week by preparing breakfast, lunch and snacks! HOLY CRAP!

Too bad I won't be busy - but perhaps I can spend a ton of time at the gym to create the illusion of business. I am in a weight gain/loss competition with my husband to see who can gain/lose the most amount of weight before Xmas. He is trying to gain (tough life) and I am trying to lose. The most amount of poundage gain/lost entitles the winner to a free dinner. I am all over this.

Breakfast:
Chocolate-Covered Katie has been whipping up some mini baked oatmeals ("boatmeals") this week - and I figured I had to be able to make these minis into a full pan (I also wanted to use my new cute little Le Cruset pan.) This will be 6 servings for me because of our friendly competition (I may resort to using Ex-Lax in his meals as we get down to the wire).

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal:
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 Tbsp splenda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup coconut milk creamer

Mix it all together and bake 15 minutes at 375. I dusted the top with cinnamon to be fancy. I tasted a spoonful already and it was GREAT. I am excited about breakfast this week. Add a light smoothie and I am good to go (and not gain).



Lunch:
My mom calls this "garbage soup" because you are essentially cleaning out all the veggies in your fridge.

Garbage soup: There is nothing to this: chop up all of your veggies, add it to some veggie stock (I had just made some) or broth, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 Tbsp chiles in adobo (is you like spicy things like me) and some seasonings. Simmer and that's it. Divide into little lunch-sized containers.

This batch contained: broccoli, summer squash, beet greens ( I was roasting beets for salads), onion, bell pepper, garlic, thai chile peppers, basil, herbs de provence, salt, pepper.... and I guess that's it. I will be eating this with salad all this week (I want to WIN)!!!




Snacks:

I recently happened upon Oh She Glows which is a cute little blog with gorgeous food/great pictures/a story of abandoning academia and opening a bakery (sigh). I was reading some past posts and saw these cookie bites - which were described as not sugary at all- PERFECT for me and my weight loss glory title. They came together in 5 minutes flat, baked for 14 and tasted great right out of the oven. A few of these after lunch will help my sweet tooth a TON.



I also bought a ton of summer squash for hummus dipping, some apples to slather with peanut butter for my 5PM pre-yoga/spinning/swimmming/pilates/metabolic effect sustenance, and those cheater bags of 94% fat free popcorn that we all learned in weight watchers is only 1 point for the entire 3 cups! Sign me up.