It's Never Quite The Same...

Man, it's been a while.  This semester has kept me the busiest that I have ever been.  I'm constantly rushing from classes, to my internship, to see friends.  Basically, I haven't slowed down since September 1st.  With all this rushing, my cooking has definitely suffered.  Lately all I've wanted are fast, but satisfying AND healthy meals.  It can be difficult, I know.  I called my mom the other day and asked for meal suggestions.  Despite working 10-5 most days of the week, she almost always finds a way to still cook up delicious meals.  She suggested this chicken recipe from one of the many cookbooks she collects.  The recipe was:
-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
-1/3 cup grainy french mustard
-1 teaspoon garlic (I added more due to my love of all things garlic)
-3 tablespoons maple syrup
-3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

The prep just required mixing all the sauce ingredients together, and pouring it over the chicken thighs in a pyrex dish.  Cook for 50 minutes and you're left with this (please pardon the not so professional photos):

The chicken was good but somehow it's better when my mom makes it, despite the fact that we followed the exact same recipe.

To accompany the chicken I found this recipe for whole roasted carrots from The Front Burner, another one of my favorite blogs.

They were so so so good.  Almost tasted like sweet potato fries- soft on the inside but still firm enough on the outside and just the right amount of salt.  I'm definitely going to make these again.  

And no good meal would be complete without quinoa.

Seasoned with a dash of soy sauce, sesame oil, and red wine vinegar.


And the final product:

And enough for leftovers tomorrow night when I have my 12 hour day!


With how hectic things have been lately, I've been finding refuge in my yoga practice.  I've loved yoga for a while, but now that my life is so insane I'm beginning to treasure those 90 minutes of inner-quiet.  For an hour and a half, I can stop rushing and just focus on being.  There are no expectations- just gratitude for the moment.  It's a concept that I hope to apply to all aspects of life, especially during hectic times like these.

Simple Bowls for a Hectic Day

Today was the first day of classes and also my last first day of college ever.  It's so strange to think that I'll be graduating in December!  The past three years have absolutely flown by.  But I'll save my nostalgia for another time when I'm not so exhausted and there isn't the latest episode of The Big C to catch up on.

I woke up and wanted to start my day with something energizing and filling, knowing that I would be out of the house until late afternoon.  Last night I told one of my roommates I almost always begin my day with a big bowl of oats.  Her response?  "Sounds pretty lame to me".  I defended my oats, and with good reason!  With a recipe like this, it's far from a lame breakfast:
Inspired by Whipped Banana Oatmeal from Kath Eats Real Food (one of my all-time favorite food blogs)
1/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/3 cup original low fat almond milk
1/3 cup water
half a banana cut into pieces (the other half eaten while waiting for the oats to cook)
Handful of strawberries
Handful of Puffins cereal crumbled on top

From now on, I'm referring to this as "not-so-lame" oatmeal.  It was so tasty and kept me full until after my 10 AM class, appropriately called "What's Cooking?"  I am so excited about this class.  Throughout the semester we'll be talking about the evolution of the human diet and how food is related to our identity.  My friends and family sometimes get fed up with me talking about food ALL the time.  Finally I have an outlet to discuss all my culinary interests.

After my 10 AM I headed over to my noon class, Intro to Health Communication.  Again, I'm so pumped about this one as well.  After graduating I want to get my masters in Nutrition Communication, but I'm also considering a masters in Health Communication which would have a broader focus.  From what I can tell from the first day, this class is going to be a great first glance into a field I could potentially continue on with post-graduation.

While we went through the syllabus, I ate a little tupperware filled with quinoa and parsley drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  No photos of that because 1. It was not very pretty and 2. When I prepared it this morning I was rushing out the door with my four roommates who all coincidentally have 10 AM classes.

I returned back to the house after food shopping and helping out at the yoga studio I volunteer at, and by that point I was famished.  I needed something easy and simple because my energy was draining fast.  I used a recipe I found in the springtime that I absolutely adore.  It's filling, flavorful, and way better than the salt-laden versions of egg drop soup found at Chinese restaurants.

Big bowl of simple deliciousness

Yes, I'm that person that has egg drop soup on a day where temperatures hit 86.

I'm getting to bed early tonight.  My first day at my internship is tomorrow and I want to make a good, well-rested first impression.  Goodnight everyone!

Firsts

I actually created this blog a few weeks ago and kept telling myself I should post something.  Days turned into weeks (clearly), but here I am.  Finally.  Maybe a little explanation will clarify why this first blog post has been postponed for so long because I am not usually the procrastinating type.

On August 31st I moved from the Fenway area out to Somerville, a quieter suburb outside of Boston.  Move out/in day was insane and the kitchen hasn't really been usable until a few days ago.

Tonight I cooked my first solo dinner.  After a much needed relaxation day complete with yoga, manicure and tea drinking on the porch, I was in the mood for something light and healthy for dinner.  I'm slowly building up food supplies, so I only had a few basics on hand.

The result?

A combination of:

A big pot o' quinoa

Dressing consisting of olive oil, golden balsamic vinegar, honey mustard and a pinch of salt

Put on top of spinach, strawberries, and almonds.  

Mmm.  The strawberries were surprisingly ripe and fresh, considering how late it is in the summer.  The slight sweetness of the dressing complemented the salad perfectly.  And the warm quinoa warmed the spinach up but not to the point that it wilted.

Exactly what I was in the mood for.

After not eating lunch today, I was still a little hungry after the salad.  Carrots and hummus ensued, accompanied by an episode of Master Chef.  This show is SO overdramatic.  The long pauses and "suspenseful" commercial breaks completely overshadow the cooking on the show.  But it is Fox, so it's to be expected.

All of this was enjoyed at the breakfast nook in the living room.  We haven't gotten around to decorating yet, so the place is currently a large expanse of peach tinted wall.

Later on I remembered I had baked brownies with Andrew, Shayne and J Friday night and had waay too many leftover.

Heated one of these up with two scoops of blueberry sorbet.  Perfect end to a great day.

Seeing as this is my first attempt at blogging, I'm going to ask anyone that's reading this to be patient with me.  Over time I'm going to be re-formating entries and hopefully getting a more professional and updated camera.  Mine is from high school and I'm honestly surprised it still works.  The lighting in the house isn't the best, so I'll also be playing with different light and place settings to make photos more aesthetically pleasing.  Please hang in there, I promise it'll only get better from here.