My face hurts from reading…

I feel like I don’t have control of my life. It sounds worse than it is, but I am so busy and rarely have free time anymore. When I get busy my body shuts down. My body says: “Hey you, I’m done. You will do something nonproductive.” I know I need this once in awhile, but my body shuts down when I need it the most. This morning was a long one. I couldn’t function. Ugh.

Emo time is over. I need an Emo theme song.

Breakfast was pretty awesome. I stopped at Starbucks for a Pike Place coffee and a low fast raspberry muffin. The muffin made my morning and went well with my fresh strawberries from home. I sat in my office at 7am with this meal and graded. Wah, wah. Grading is not fun. I like reading student work, but I hate stamping a grade on it. I rather give them muffins.

After breakfast I had class, then I taught, then I observed a colleague’s class, then I went to class again. THEN, I went to Zumba. Lunch was slipped in there somewhere. It isn’t important. Turkey on rye: blah, blah, blah.

After Zumba Lars and I grabbed dinner at a Korean restaurant, Green Sprout. Lars ordered the sushi salad, which was not only beautiful, but delicious.

I ordered the omelet filled with fried rice and spiced pork. Lars always has the best meal of his life, and I don’t. The problem with this dish was the fried rice. I’ll go to the place again (because it is spoken so highly of), but maybe I’ll order something else. We had fun removing the egg coating to reveal the solid rice cylinder below, though.

I have been reading all night, so I deserved ice cream. I have had the Breyers Smooth and Dreamy Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream sandwich before, and loved it. This time I bought the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough instead. It was good, but not as “cookie dough” as I would have liked. It was good, but I prefer the brownie.

Ugh, back to reading/writing/planning.

I am having a karaoke party Friday. Any suggestions for party foods would be appreciated.

I had a boring, but relaxing day. Don’t you just need boring sometimes?

Today was a breather between two stressful groupings of days. I slept in until 9 AM, and rewarded my awesomeness with blueberry pancakes and apple slices. I didn’t finish it all, but it was a nice to “cook” again.

I spent the morning dealing with some boring tasks and watching daytime television. My mother bought me some Risotto chips, so I finally cracked open the bag for lunch. I like them a lot. They would make the perfect hummus chip. I also ate some strawberries and roasted green beans.

I was stressed about getting my immunizations done before Purdue, but the doctor said they had an opening today. Lucky me. Before heading to the doctor’s office, I stopped by Starbucks for some academic reading. I was preparing myself for the crap load of reading coming up in my near future. I made sure to drink a lot of liquids so I could pee in the cup at the doctors. Once I spilled the pee cup on myself. Hmm. I also ate some fruit bark and a granola bar.

The doctor’s went well. The shot was painless, although I felt pressured to start a family while sitting in the waiting room. The waiting room only had Parenting and Fit Pregnancy for reading, and they kept playing songs about love making. I think it is a good strategy for getting more patients, but I’m not falling for it.

Immediately after the doctor’s appointment, my sister and I ate at Scotty’s Brewhouse. My family eats here often. So much so that my father has a pile of gift cards. My sister and I helped take a few off his hands, because we care. I ordered the house merlot, Latin Chicken with a side of steamed broccoli. The chicken was a spicy piece of grilled chicken atop a bed of Mexican rice, and salsa. I ordered it from their new gluten-free menu. I loved it. I have been sick of Scotty’s since we eat there so often, but it was nice to see some changes.

To continue the gluten-free theme, I ordered their gluten-free chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Although the color was blah, the cookie had a nice toasty pine nut taste. I ate one, and saved the rest for later.

I plan on spending the rest of the evening riding my bike and watching television (including Jersey Shore). I also wanted to plan Lars and my first week of eating. After cleaning out the last apartment, I realized how much food I buy on impulse or just throw out. I think meal planning will save some money. Do you meal plan? Any tips?

Hope the week is wrapping up nicely. I look forward to catching up on your blogs!

Voodoo Needed, Please!

I fell in love with New Orleans during The Real World: New Orleans, which I argue is part of the golden age of The Real World. Wasn’t Melissa a riot?

I had a chance to actually go to New Orleans in the spring of 2009 for a pop culture conference. While the other conference goers hung out in the lobby with their Macs and hipster glasses, my friends and I were living it up on Bourbon Street. What energy! What excitement! What freedom! What food! New Orleans is where I first fell in love with Eggs Benedict and where I tasted my first beignet. So when Foodbuzz asked if I could create and document a Gulf-inspired dinner for the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fun, I immediately saw it as an opportunity to cook one of my favorite meals and contribute to a great cause. Thanks Foodbuzz for donating on behalf of this meal!

My mother was in charge of the beignets. She finally cracked open the box I got her in New Orleans. You can buy this mix outside New Orleans and I recommend doing so. Can’t beat the real thing! Beignets basically taste like puffed up funnel cakes.

My mother also cut up some fresh strawberries. Check out my new serving tray from Pier 1! Wait, is that a voodoo doll?

Why yes it is! I bought it for my brother in New Orleans, but I borrowed it for presentation purposes.

What I really needed was the Voodoo God of Successful Cooking! What started out as Eggs Hussarde (from Cooking Light), ended up as basic Eggs Benedict. My first beautiful taste of Eggs Benedict was at New Orleans’  Brennan’s restaurant, and still remains the best I’ve ever had. They serve a Marchands de Vin sauce along with the dish, which adds a savory and meaty bite to the Eggs Benedict. I thought this would be a great! Cooking Light‘s version included Merlot, beef broth, butter, and cornstarch. So, what began as this…

Before

…ended up as this. That is right. I royally screwed up the Marchands de Vin sauce. All I was left with was half a bottle of wine. Since I don’t waste, I drank what was left of the sauce. Further, I needed a few glasses of wine after “the incident.” My mom was cleaning while I was poaching. She mopped the floor, I did not hear hsd warning, and I did the splits on the wet floor mid-run. My right foot slid into the refrigerator. It is still sore.

After

The Eggs Benedict still turned out. Now, this hollandaise was super easy to make. Yet, it needed more butter. Although, this would not make it “light.” I guess some things are meant to be calorie-rich. I will never cut calories from Eggs Benedict again! Not when I’m this deep into the obsession!

My family had fun revisiting New Orleans with me. Hope you did too!

What is your favorite New Orleans’ dish?

Wine and Berries in a Gnome’s Home

Okay, I promised a tipsy post. I am rather sober, surprisingly so. Am I building up a tolerance? Possibly. Could it be because I ate too many blueberry crumb bars, thus absorbing all my alcohol? Yes. I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen for Blueberry Crumb Bars. This recipe has a nice lemony kick, which I like. It is very “Pow! I’m a summery dessert, bitches” bar. It was easy to make in a very scary way. I kept questioning if I did something wrong, because I didn’t screw up once. Not once! The only changes I made was that I used whole wheat white flour and I took the pan out 8 minutes early.  Some mentioned in the comments that their bars were too crumbly to cut. Although I did not have this problem, I think it would still make a good cobbler-like dish (with ice cream of course). If Fox Mulder came in fruit bar form, this would be it: it was spooky, sexy, and addicting.

I brought these bars over to my friend’s tiny house.

No really , it is tiny. It is in an alley too.

He is looking into building an even smaller house on his own. He was inspired by the guy in this video that lives in a 89-square-foot home. It is pretty awesome.

Once I entered the keebler elf tree, I was offered fresh berries and homemade granola. It was made in his small oven in his small house. Along with my blueberry crumb bars, it was a berry extravaganza.

We talked about school, our summer, and attractive people while we sipped on the oh-so-classy three-buck chuck.

I took this picture of his home. I have a theory he staged this apple art, but I only appreciate him more for it.

A good summer night. I’m going to catch up on K. Griffin and head to bed.

Sleeping would be great.

I slept in again, but I was tossing and turning the entire night. I feel pretty awake and alert now, but it was impossible to wake up for my 7 AM workout. I suppose I’ll workout after all my errands/to-dos today. My hot apartment may have something to do with it; we have horrible circulation. For breakfast I decided to use my new breakfast bowl/cup from Crate and Barrel. I filled my cup with strawberries and apples, and also snuck a toasted whole wheat muffin with triple berry jam onto its saucer. It was good after a night of not sleeping. The iced coffee may help me wake-up even more.

I have so much to do today: bills, paperwork, mailing Hannah chocolate (sorry it took so long), and some thesis formatting. It will get done. It must get done! I’m off to take a nice cold shower to cool off, then off to work!

What are methods you use for a good night sleep? Tea? Pills? Exercise? Wine?

Sweet Dumplings, Miss!

Whew, I am sweating. After I “worked” at the coffee shop, I came home and watched television while I did some free weights. It may have been the heat and/or the tiredness, but I felt dizzy. After the workout, I treated myself to a TJ’s apple cereal bar. I then took a nice cold shower. Then, I felt much better.

For some reason I keep eating like it is December. I wanted chicken and dumplings for dinner. My mom’s interpretation is baller, so I feared I wouldn’t be too thrilled about this version. I started at 6 PM and finished at 8, right in time for The Bachelorette. It was already hot enough in my crappy apartment, so cooking over a hot stove was a horrible idea. At some point it got really smoky and I had to open a widow and wave around my towel in the air. My blinds were open, so I’m sure my neighbors found it entertaining. The fire alarm did not go off, thankfully.

I used a recipe from Cooking Light for Herbed Chicken and Dumplings. I was excited about this because it only made two servings. Well, the wait was worth it! It was so flavorful and the dumplings were  moist! I used whole wheat flour and it tasted just fine! I was saying “Mmmm” really loud in my apartment, which is sad because I was alone. I wish I had someone around to compliment me on my cooking, but for now I will have to do. It is probably best because when Lars is around  this is our conversations at dinner.

Me: Wow, I like this dish.

Lars: Yeah, me too.

Me: I did a good job.

Lars: You totally did.

Me: What was your favorite part?

Lars: The {inert something}

Me: I made it.

Lars: Yep.

Me: Tell me how much you liked it…in detail.

I’m very direct when fishing for compliments. He is my boyfriend.

Then, I wanted an alcoholic beverage with my dish, but what goes with chicken and dumplings? Wine? No. Beer? Maybe. Something I have brewing out back? Um, most likely. I have no moonshine, though. Anyway, I am so excited about leftovers tomorrow.

Hello, Dumpling!

I was still hungry after my bowl, so I made a snack bowl with fresh strawberries and a 100-calorie dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s.

The Bachelorette is okay thus far. I’m on team Roberto. I love when men dance with you in the middle of a busy street. That has only happened to me once, and he was drunk…and then he passed out on the sidewalk. I want them to get to the Jake and Vienna interview. I have a feeling Jake is a tool.

A Midnight Poaching

So, it is Saturday night. I am finally watching the series finale of Nip/Tuck (that show that ended 2 seasons too late), and I decided to find directions for poaching eggs. Jenna @ Eat, Live, Run had fantastic and easy-to-follow directions. I’m sipping on a glass of wine and bored, so I thought, “I’ll just poach an egg now.” So it is midnight at this point. I have no plan on eating this egg, I just wanted to see if I could do it.

I poached an egg successfully on the first try. After Julie and Julia, I surely thought it would take all night. Maybe Julia hated Julie because she was so dramatic about everything…and because of her haircut. Anyway, I set the egg on the plate, cut it, and it passed the ooze test. Bed time!

Today was pretty relaxing/lazy because I wasn’t feeling too well. My meals are nothing worth exploring in detail, because they were repeats.

Strawberries in Kashi’s Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Cereal (with milk).

Leftover soup and break sticks alongside a sliced Trader Joe’s chicken sausage.

Afternoon snacks include apple slices, and oatmeal cookie, and an apple cereal bar.

For weeks I have been craving spinach and artichoke dip, so of course I bought it when I spotted it in Trader Joe’s frozen aisle. I had it with dinner alongside pita chips. I also had strawberries, but don’t worry I didn’t dip them in the dip. Ha.

This was supposed to be a special treat, and…it wasn’t that great. To give Trader Joe’s a fair chance, I did built up expectations for this particular moment.

My evening involves a glass of wine, two oatmeal cookies, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I’m heading to bed relatively early, because this week is “Get Your Shit Together” Week. Also, who else is excited about Real Housewives: New Jersey or The Bachelorette? Ahhh!

Muffins on Muffins

Muffins on Muffins is general “Prep” slang for Arguing over the same general principle, agreeing, and not realizing your both on the same side of the argument. It was created in early 2005, and spread wildly through the east coast of the United States. It was mostly used by people tripping on acid at Techno gigs, who were arguing over pseudo-politics. People who were also on “A” would call the two participating, “Arguing about Muffins on Muffins” -urbandictionary.com

What up, what up!

This morning I slept in again, but I did spend the weekend sleeping on an uncomfortable leather couch. It was like being in the frats all over again. I think I am just catching up on a lot of lost sleep. Listen to your body, folks!

For breakfast I got one of those Starbucks’ Vivanno Smoothies in Orange Mango. I think this is my favorite flavor there.

I went to another farmers market in town. It was a row of 5 tents. What? What? So, I left. I think I need to go on Saturday.

I went home and ate a mini bite of my ooey gooey brownies. Still ooey gooey, still awesome.

The brownie reminded me of my mad baking skillz (note the z) and I decided to bake again. It was a mix, but it was delicious. I decided to make muffins. These are not flavorful enough to eat on their own, but these pair well with jam and honey. I might add ham and cheese next time to make these savory! I think this mix would be great for some corn muffin experimentation. I also made sure to spray the muffin cups so that the muffins just rolled out.

For lunch I ate one corn muffin with Amish triple-berry jam and another with honey. I also cut up some fresh strawberries.

Lars and I are finishing up a documentary titled Inside Deep Throat. Yes, it is about a porn, but it is actually very interesting and funny. I always think it’s hilarious when the elderly talk about their days of sexual exploration. Then Lars and I plan on kicking the soccer ball around. I insist on playing 1 v 1, but he thinks it is unfair. I reminded him that I play his video games. So, I win. Then this evening, Lars and I have a double date with one of my new colleagues!

What if your favorite type of muffin? I love any muffins with cinnamon and fruit!

An Uneventful, but Relaxing Friday

I finally made it home without turning around again to see if I turned off the oven. Lars met me in Indy, and we decided to hit up the local Irish pub.

I ordered my favorite meal: a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of roasted tomato soup.

Lars enjoyed some fish and veggies. Did you know I hate seafood? Ashley FACT!

Afterwards, Lars and I grabbed refreshing Iced Passion Tea.

I was glad we ate before my brother’s going away party, because I would have eaten worse foods. The party was fun, but we left my brother to his friends. Lars and I decided to get frozen yogurt, which is self-served. I had marshmallow and strawberry frozen yogurt, topped with strawberries and raspberries.

While I type this, I eat a bowl of Cinnamon Life. I was so hungry. Oh well, listen to to your stomach.

I must go to bed, I have a packed morning: a workout and the farmer’s market! Oh, news flash: my family loves the cupcake-shaped cookies.

If Top Chef was purely a breakfast pizza challenge…

I would win!

Today is Lars’s birthday and I wanted to make something special. So, I made him the best breakfast pizza ever. Go me!

I got the recipe from Cooking Light. I recommend this dish for special weekend breakfasts and brunches. I followed the recipe, but I describe my changes below and a vegetarian alternative.

Breakfast Pizza from Cooking Light

• 1 can of reduced-fat refrigerated crescent dinner roll dough
• 12 ounces turkey breakfast sausage
• Cooking Spray
• 1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (I used some from the refrigerated aisle to cut down on prep time)
• 1 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (8-0unce) egg substitute carton
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I didn’t measure; just shredded right onto the pizza)

I preheated the oven to 375. I popped open the crescent can and separated it into the triangles, which I then situated to form a round crust. Make sure to connect the pieces. Then I rolled up the edges to make a crust (this will also help hold the liquid part in).

I topped it with the potatoes, cheese, and turkey. And then I topped with a mixture (which I whisked) of the egg, salt, and pepper. Then I topped it with the Parmesan cheese. I cooked it for 25 minutes. The crust was nice and brown.

Notes

• The crust had issues holding the liquid in and we had some spillage. It tasted great though, and we were able to cut off those egg blobs after it came out of the oven. I might next time let the crust brown a little on its own to make it stronger, but it didn’t seem to be much of an issue.
• Vegetarian changes: Comments on this recipe tell us that replacing the turkey with veggies is so delicious. Choose any veggies you want, yum! I think broccoli would work well.

The triangles are not big enough to create a whole circle.

The pizza was hands-down…fantastic! I think the crust tasted more like a buttery biscuit, which I don’t think is an issue at all. I was worried it wasn’t going to have enough flavor, but the cheddar, salt, and pepper were quite enough. We also had it with fresh strawberries. Best breakfast ever.