Reunion

Time absolutely flies. That's the only explanation I can offer for why I haven't blogged in over six months. I have been so engulfed in my day to day routine that I lost focus of life outside my job and my yoga practice. But since moving out of a dreadful living situation in September and into a much better one, I have rekindled my love for cooking that I somewhat lost sight of when I was living in this aforementioned awful living arrangement. Despite my newfound love for cooking, I have stumbled upon other road blocks- namely finances. I won't go into details here, but money has definitely been tighter than ever before. With this new hurdle I see an opportunity find innovative cheaper ways to create equally nutritious, satisfying, and above all else, delicious, meals. I plan on sharing the food adventures of my new frugal lifestyle, but this post is to simply welcome myself back to the world of food blogging. It feels good to be back.

Wonderful Weekend

Saturdays are for...

Early morning bowls of strawberry banana oatmeal, eaten in quiet on a beautiful May day.

Saturdays are for...

90 minutes of sweaty, fun hip hop yoga at my favorite studio.

Saturdays are for...

Spending nights with roommates eating gluten free pizza, bowling, and seeing a late-night movie.

I hope all of your Saturdays were as great as mine.  This whole weekend has been a reminder that I need to take advantage of my free time and spend it doing the things I enjoy with the most important people in my life.  

Where To Go When You Don't Know Where To Go

"Go to" recipes.  Everyone has them.  They're those recipes that you know by heart and rely on them when you're too busy (or too lazy) to think of a creative meal.  Tonight I was feeling both lazy and busy and opted for my favorite "go to" recipe.  This brings me back to my childhood which is comfort considering I've been feeling a bit homesick lately.  It may be due to my recent new job that has been making me feel nostalgia for more carefree days, but eating this meal brought a little bit of home to my Boston kitchen.  


I cooked some brown rice pasta and added in frozen broccoli and fresh spinach in the last few minutes of boil time.  In the meantime, I browned some spicy italian turkey sausages in a pan.  Combine, add olive oil, oregano, basil and you're good "to go"!

I wasn't feeling very hungry when it was actually dinner time so I had a small serving but I'm thinking an apple and some tea will make a perfect snack in a little bit.  Happy May everyone!

Chili Monday and Good News!

I don't think I've previously mentioned here, but my roommates and I have started a tradition of cooking chili for the entire house every Monday.  We take turns and try out different recipes.  Tonight was my night and I chose to make cocoa scented chili, courtesy of this recipe.


My thoughts on the cocoa powder wavered throughout cooking.  I originally feared 1/4 cup would be overpowering.  After adding it in, I could barely smell it and thought the flavors wouldn't come through the chile and adobo sauce.  All my doubts were put to rest about 30 minutes later when I uncovered the pot and the aroma of spicy cocoa wafted from the stove.  My roommates were raving about the smell as I cooked.

And the taste?  Even better.  One roommates commented that the cocoa gave it a thicker consistency, more akin to meaty chili.  I definitely agree.  The liquid almost had a gravy-like texture and just the right amount of chocolate tinge.  

The recipe said it makes 6-8 portions, but with four bowls filled, there was only a small portion leftover for my fifth roommate.  Sorry Catie!  

On the side, we decided to make guacamole with the four very ripe avocados sitting in our kitchen.  I winged a recipe with freshly squeezed lime, onion, tomato and sea salt.  The photo is ugly but the taste was delicious.  

We polished off 3/4 bag of tortilla chips eating the guac.  

What a fantastic Monday meal.  And a great way to celebrate the first day at my new job!  I've been interning at an organization for seven months and was recently offered a full time job.  Although today was my "first day" it didn't feel that way.  I spent most of my day filling out forms and getting introduced to what I'll be doing for my new position, but I can already sense that I'll truly enjoy my work.  In terms of food, I know that on Sundays I need to meal plan for the week ahead.  Because I want to save money by not going out for lunches, I'll have to plan both lunch and dinner and grocery shop accordingly.  It'll be a change but I'm ready for the challenge.  It'll allow me to be more creative with my budget.

Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night due to nightmares that I slept through my alarm so it's early to bed for me.  Goodnight!!

Detox

I'm a firm believer in the concept that sometimes our bodies know best.  We have an instinctual way of knowing when something is wrong or something needs change.  My body was yelling at me on Sunday.  I'll be honest and say that for the past few weeks I haven't been following the diet that works best for my body.  No, I haven't eaten gluten or red meat but I have been eating a few too many chocolates and yogurt with the help of my old friend Lactaid.  On Sunday the effects of my misdemeanors were in full swing.  I had stomach aches equal to the kind I used to get before my gluten-free days.  Needless to say, it was uncomfortable and I knew something needed change.


The inspiration for tonight's dinner came while I sat at the kitchen table this morning eating breakfast.  I saw two sweet potatoes leftover from this wonderful, warming recipe and decided a meal needed to be made with them.  And from that, roasted vegetables and spicy pan fried tofu was created.  

Tofu was fried with olive oil, spicy szechuan sauce and a splash of soy sauce (both gluten free, of course).  I left it in the pan until it was nice and crispy.

Two large sweet potatoes and a large bag of brussel sprouts were roasted with sea salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil at 375 for 45 minutes. 

And dinner was served!  Loved the fact that there was still natural light at 7 PM.  This dinner was delicious, healthy, easy and exactly what my body needed.  An hour after eating my stomach is feeling full and happy.  There's enough for dinner tomorrow night and I can't wait to eat it again! 

It's easy for diets to get sidetracked or put on the back burner when life gets stressful.  I know this has been the case for me after graduating in December.  Since my last post I am no longer working my full time job.  Although time is more abundant, money is not and has been putting a huge burden on my shoulders since leaving that job.  But life is taking a turn for the better and I'm hoping that my old diet patterns will make a comeback as a result.  We'll just have to wait and see.  

Have a great night everyone!

South Meets Italy?

I absolutely love when I have a night off from work such as tonight.  I have been so busy lately that my meals have consisted of easy pre-made Trader Joes purchases or restaurant food.  After working 8 hours on my feet with no break the last thing I want to do is stand some more and cook.  But more on that later.  First things first- I did not work tonight and decided to celebrate by making a delicious dinner for myself.  I adapted this from a recipe my mom used to make for me all the time.  
I used pre-cooked frozen shrimp, TJ's bag of mixed greens (collards, kale, spinach and turnips) and polenta to make this tasty concoction: 

It reminded me of a twist on shrimp and grits but with Italian seasonings instead- garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and a little bit of parmesan sprinkled on top.  Strange, but it worked out well!

With a nice side of wine

I bought this on sale today.  It was highly rated in the Globe and marked down to $9.99 and very good.  It had a nice flavor with a not too sweet hint of blueberry.  


Tonight has been so nice.  Since graduating in December, I have once again overbooked myself with a job three to four days a week, another job on Sundays, and internship two days a week.  Not to mention the fact that my job is far from ideal.  But I learned something today that could turn into really great news in the near future.  I'll keep you posted.  It could be really good- I have my fingers crossed.   


I'm off to knit and re-watch season one of Friday Night Lights.  Texas Forever.  Have a good night!

Mango Curry And Return To Semi-Normalcy

First full day back in Boston!  Vacation was cut short by a surprise new job and training starting tomorrow.  I'm very excited about life post-graduation but it's strange to re-adjust to living on my own.  Every time I go home for an extended period of time, I sometimes feel like I regress back to my teenage habits of sleeping late, watching television all day and not cleaning up after myself.  Not the best habits, I know, but sometimes self indulgence feels right.  I have to say that a fully stocked fridge and pantry isn't so bad either.

Today I had a rude awakening when I realized there was no food to eat in my apartment besides instant oatmeal and tortilla chips.  I did some menu planning this morning and after an awesomely sweaty Core Vinyasa class I did some food shopping.  I decided that my Meal Of The Week would be a mango chicken curry recipe I found online here.  I modified by using half as much chicken and added two heads of broccoli instead.  That brought in some color and it was cheaper.  I'm so glad I stumbled upon this recipe!  Just like the title suggests, it was so easy and absolutely delicious.

With a little cilantro torn on top for extra green

I promise there's quinoa underneath there somewhere.

This will make for great leftovers, especially because I'm training late most days this week and won't have time to cook.  

Part of my return to semi-normalcy is the hope that I will also start updating on a more normal weekly basis.  No homework anymore means more time to myself to knit, read, and hopefully blog.  

Happy Monday!