Consequences

I have mentioned how nice it would be to live life as a dog-carefree, in the moment, going for whatever you want, when you want it...

but it's important to remember that for every action, there is a consequence (even for dogs).

Yes, Harley had a grand old time shredding this ball, as well as pulling out and tossing aside it's cottony guts...

Notice the cotton piece dangling from his mouth as he pauses to contemplate what he had just done....

And then realization sets in and Harley must come to terms with the consequence of his action.

Does that mean we should always play it safe in an effort to not destroy our favorite ball (think metaphor people...)? Absolutely not. Most worthy things in life involve a little bit of risk to obtain them. Go for it full force, but remember, there's a fragility of life, and if you push too hard, you may end up gazing around forlornly with nothing but a cotton puff hanging from your lip.

P Is For:

P90X
I'm stepping into high gear a little bit. I feel like since getting Harley, I've slacked off a little on my exercise. That's not entirely true...I actually stepped it up in ways, taking 2 walks a day with the bugger, including an afternoon walk/hike that in the summer could be anywhere between 1 and 2 hrs. But with the walking and hiking came a decrease in the yoga, kickboxing, and weight-lifting. I can be a sucker for infomercials and ordered p90x last year. It's an awesome program and you end up getting like 10 different hour long workout dvds. Anyways, I've decided to try and incorporate some more activity in with my walking. The timing seems good since it's getting colder and colder out, and I feel like I'm walking less to stay in the warmth of my apartment. So today I woke up at 5, walked the dog for about 20 minutes, and then did about 30 minutes of Core Synergistics from p90x. It's a pretty intense core/cardio program and works your whole body with emphasis on the core. After school I took Harley on about a 40 minute walk and then came home and continued with the remaining 30 minutes of Core Synergistics. It's weird how you almost get MORE energy from doing the activity. You'd think I'd be exhausted.

PLANTAINS

I decided on a dinner that would replenish my body and what better way but to go...

CUBAN!!!

Plantains were also part of the bargain farmstand purchase and I've been dying to cook them up. There is an amazing Cuban stand at the farmer's market and they make the simplest chicken, rice/beans, and fried plantains taste like pure gold. The last time I tried to make my own plantains, I made the mistake of buying the green ones and they were not sweet and got kind of crunchy. Not what I was looking for. The plantains I bought this time were reddish yellow with black spots and they cooked in no time. They were perfectly sweet and everything I had hoped for. The Cuban stand uses some kind of tomato broth that they cook the chicken in, so I tried to recreate my own which I ended up pouring on top. I also was too lazy to cook new rice, so I dug out some from my risotto, picking out the squash. I mixed the rice with black beans to serve as the bed to place my chicken on.

The chicken was seasoned with seasoned salt, chili powder, and lime juice. The "broth" was a mixture of chicken stock, tomato paste, chili, seasoned salt, cilantro, and lime juice. The whole plate together was amazing.

Mmm..Slop

The lousy pictures continue... My aim was to showcase the delightful butternut squash risotto I made but instead it looks like a pile of putrid colored slop... Take my word for it though, it was delicious. The use of fall staples continues. This dish utilizes one of those beautiful hubbard squash that I bought in my bargain deal from the farm stand down the road. The recipe is from eatingwell.com and can be found if you click here. I varied the recipe a little. I used mini portabella mushrooms, red onions instead of shallots, added garlic in with the onions, no saffron, and no parmesan to keep it dairy free, and added a little bit of nutmeg. It still tasted amazing.

Flashback

For some reason, lately I've noticed that my photo taking has been rather sub par. They just aren't coming out that clear or focused. I don't have the best natural lighting in my apartment. To add to my hermit-esque behaviors I live in a basement apartment, or what fancy people may refer to as a "garden" apartment. I'm always reminded of that green guy that lived in the basement on Pinwheel.
After writing the above sentence, I decided I needed to find this guy's name. I thought it was Ebeneezer but I wanted to be sure. It is in fact Ebeneezer T. Squint and I found this cool site that gives a summary of all the old Nickelodeon shows.

Today's Special anyone?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cxLfIs051c
I used to love when I stayed home sick from school because I'd get to watch Today's Special at 2:oo! Oh the 80's....
Funny how I went from associating myself with this character:

To relating with an old crotchety green man that collects weeds...

P-nutty Noodles!

Backtracking a little..last night I made one of my signature dishes:
P-nutty Noodles
I make this often and almost as often am asked for the recipe. I never measure anything out but I'll try to figure it out for recipe purposes.



P-nutty Noodles with Tofu
(1 serving)
*8oz firm tofu-drained, drizzled with olive oil and covered with seasoning salt and chili powder, cooked your preferred method. I of course used the Foreman grill.
*Spaghetti pasta of choice (I use barilla plus)
*1 tbs olive oil
*1tbs diced garlic
*1/4 cup natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
*2-3 tbs low sodium Soy Sauce
*Splash lime juice
*Squirt of honey (if you aren't using natural pb, you can skip this)
*Red Hot-depends on taste-I use a couple drops because I'm not a big spicy heat girl
*1/4-1/2 cup Lite Coconut Milk (this is optional, if I have it on hand I use it, if not then I don't)
*Chicken stock (or veg. stock)
*2 tbs chopped Cilantro-fresh is best
*Scallions-sliced and sprinkled on top
*Vegetable of choice-I think broccoli is the best, although I used the green beans that I had and it was good

Begin cooking tofu, veggies and spaghetti before starting sauce
1) heat pan on stove about medium heat and add olive oil
2) saute garlic for about 1 min
3) add pb and stir until begins to melt
4) add soy sauce, hot sauce, lime juice, and honey-stir to combine
5) Whisk in coconut milk until all combined
6) Whisk in stock slowly a little at a time-this is all about consistency-as the sauce cooks it gets thicker, you want it thin enough so it will easily coat everything you stir into it, but not so thin that it is runny
7) Turn the heat to low and stir in cilantro
8) Place tofu pieces, spaghetti, and vegetables in the sauce pot and toss until all is coated with the p-nutty sauce
9) Sprinkle scallions on top and serve

I'm sure chicken would taste just as good as tofu if you aren't into it. The above recipe is the ultimate best outcome (fresh cilantro, coconut milk, scallions) but often I don't have those items. I use cilantro out of the tube, adjust the stock amount to make up for the liquid missing from the coconut milk, and just skip the scallions altogether. It still comes out tasty either way. In the past, I used chunky pb when I did this, which was really good, but I'm too nervous about nut pieces getting stuck in my narrow intestines... Those of you without those worries, feel free to go chunky. :) One more thing-you have to eat this with chopsticks. Have fun!

Classy OJ

I don't know about you, but I have found that in the past (and present) I feel like I'm always waiting for a "special occasion". Some people wear their favorite shirt over and over. I, on the other hand, seem to save my favorites for a special time. The problem is, there have been some things that I end up never wearing, despite the fact that I love them, because I don't come across that "special" event to wear it to. I have actually gotten better with this though, and now wear the things I love because normally, when you love something, you feel great in it, and therefore the greatness shines outwards to other people. Now, along those same lines, I have this super cool martini glass given to me as a gift (this picture does not do it justice AT ALL). It has been sitting up in my cupboard waiting for a special martini glass event that doesn't seem to come. This morning I decided to make an everyday Sunday breakfast feel special. I poured my OJ into it and felt quite dignified for the entirety of the meal. If you're wondering what else is in the picture, I had a sun dried tomato bagel with scrambled eggs, goat cheese, and Dijon mustard on it, along with some leftover garlicky green beans from last night. Some of you may think, ew, green beans for breakfast? I say whenever the mood for veggies strikes you, go for it. It's not different than having vegetables in an omelet or say, eating thai for breakfast (not naming any names here...). It all goes back to living life, rather than waiting for a life to begin. Break out the fancy china for pizza, wear your best outfit to the grocery store. It's all about living the life that makes us feel happy and special everyday.

Free Time=Food

I love days off. I also love food. It makes sense then, that whenever I seem to have a day off, I use my time to buy, prepare, and eat food. I might have a slight sickness. Some people are addicted to buying clothes or shoes, or maybe dvds or electronics... I think I'm addicted to buying food. I probably spend way more than an average single person should pay to feed themselves in a week. It's also not always easy to eat cheap healthfully. Luckily, there's a little produce place down the road from me and I always feel like such a bargain shopper when I leave there. Not only to they provide whatever local produce they can, but everything is reasonably priced.
I purchased:
3 hubbard squash
1 head of cauliflower
3 yams
8 salt potatoes
3 plantains
for a grand total of $8.48!!

As you can see, Harley was very curious about my purchases as well! He got to eat one of the cauliflower leaves which apparently was a great treat. When you think about how many meals you can get out of 1 hubbard squash along with the fact that I double checked at the grocery store (which I had to go to for other staple items) and all items were more expensive there (especially the plantains which I've paid .99 for 1!) I think I did quite well for myself.

I've been craving oats more and more, especially because I keep getting amazing ideas of how to spruce up this once seemingly dull breakfast staple from katheats.com.
In my bowl:
3/4 cups oats
1/2 cup light vanilla silk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tbs maple syrup
cinnamon and allspice
Almonds and blueberry conserve sprinkled on top

It tasted like fall if you could put a season into breakfast form. Man was I stuffed though. I always overestimate the bulk oatmeal has. 3/4 cup oats is the heart healthy amount to get the servings of soluble fiber, but with the pumpkin addition I think it could have almost served 2 by the time I was done.


Moving on to lunch...
Since I was grained out still from breakfast, I wanted a fresh veggie based lunch. I have a box falafel mix in the cupboard which produces awesome falafels. I just follow the directions on the box but then bake them at 350 instead of frying. They still get crispy on the outside so it's all good. I put them on a pile of organic red leaf lettuce and then had a bowl of Imagine Cream of Broccoli soup. The amazingly wonderful thing about this soup brand is that they use soy milk so you still get a nice creamy soup but without the dairy!



After lunch I had the urge in me to bake something. Since I had a bag of apples sitting on the table I decided to try out the Apple Bar recipe I had been saving for a nice cool fall day. It was simple to make and with ingredients almost anyone has anyways. It turned out to be more of an apple crumble but was delicious just the same (of course I had to sample some as soon as it came out of the oven...with a scoop of Soy Delicious Vanilla "ice cream"). Check out the recipe here. After I ate this, along with a little more straight from the baking dish, I realized that I had just oated myself out again. No wonder I'm so full right now. Well, at least my cholesterol should be in tip top shape.

Poor Harley is giving me that look...like he wishes I'd spend less time with food and more time with him. It's about that time for his afternoon walk, although I'm not really looking forward to venturing forth into the cold, gloomy, darkening abyss that is outside right now. The things we do for our loved ones... :)