Body Snatchers

This morning Lars and I woke up early enough to make breakfast: broken yolk sandwiches. We had thick-cut peppered bacon on Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Sourdough with Trader Joe’s Cheddar/Gruyère cheese and a fried egg. I highly recommend this sourdough bread. I thought the whole wheat would take away from sourdough’s bite (that bitterness, I am without words), but it did not.

I also had a small glass of my favorite juice: Trader Joe’s Mango Nector. It just needed champagne.

So, I am officially done with school for now. I head to Scotland early June to take classes and I am super nervous. Since my plane is arriving a day early, I am on my own for an entire day. I plan on making the most of it by staying in some quaint bread and breakfast, but I have to figure out how I’ll get from Edinburgh to Dundee (1 1/2 hour drive). Figuring out transportation is a bitch. But, I found out that Dundee is like the marmalade fucking capital of the world (they actually sell Dundee Marmalade at Trader Joe’s). So, I’ll make sure to bring some back (along with other things) for my first giveaway.

Well, the rest of the day will be spent figuring out this whole Scotland thing, so I don’t fall into the hands of body snatchers or something.

I think I need Scotland, though. I am having a mid-academic crisis. So, I’m in Indiana for the next 4 years, because this PhD thing takes 5 years total (I grew up a hour from here). Two couples in my life are moving to new places, because they want to live in those places. Their moves are not based on school, business, or family. They just want to be someplace new. Someplace fun. More than ever, I have been wanting to just pick up and leave. I would move to San Fransisco or Seattle. I would work as a barista. I would have little money, but I don’t really have money now either. But, just get a job there when you get your degree? Well, I want to be a professor and its so competitive that I won’t have many options. I would be lucky to have 1 option, really. Okay, okay. This whole thing is so stupid. I do not hate my life, I’m just so bored. I’ve been in the Midwest for my entire life. I’ve always thought, “I would totally be fine living in the Midwest for the rest of my life.” But now…NOOOO. I cannot. Wah, wah.

Well, the rest of the day will be Scotland planning, rolling around on the floor complaining, and soccer later. Catch y’all later!

Where is the coolest place you’ve traveled to internationally AND do you have any tips for me? 

When Life Gives You Lemons

I have been missing from the blog world lately, but I’ve been missing from the real world too. Life has been rough, boring, and stressful. So, I’ve been keeping to myself. To make matters worse, Lars is on the job market. He and I will be living states apart for four years. Then when I finish my PhD, we have to figure out how we can work at the same university. Or one of us has to drop everything and follow the other. It is complicated and annoying. He has been traveling a lot for campus visits, so I have gotten the taste of being alone and I hate it.

Complicated.

Lemons are not complicated, though. That is why I like them. I love how many things you can make with one lemon. For example, I made two Cooking Light dishes recently. They both rocked.

First, I made Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca. It is more beautiful on the Cooking Light site, but only because I couldn’t find fresh whole sage leaves. I had to use the dry sage stuff, but found it was still delicious. The chicken was wrapped in prosciutto, which Lars is a fan of. I was a big fan of the lemony sauce. I recommend serving it with a whole wheat long pasta; it soaks up the juices.

The same lemon I used for dinner made some delicious Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies. I loved these cookies. LOVED.

What is your favorite thing to do with a lemon?

Well, I have to read more articles. Have a great Monday!

Elliot Stabler Came in a Box Today

For the past few nights I have been suffering from a major case of insomnia. Despite that, I have been more cheery than usual. Or I could be delusional. Whatever. zzzz….

For breakfast I had Archer Farm’s Strawberry Granola with Flax and organic low fat vanilla yogurt. I also had two tangerines. I have been trying to eat larger breakfasts, because I have been so hungry by dinner time. Plus, I needed energy after only a few hours of sleep.

After some apartment cleaning, I decided to make some chocolate chips cookies for Lars’s road trip. Honestly, I just wanted to wear the vintage apron I got for Christmas.

I don’t know who Bev is, but she can make a freaking good cookie. I decided to make a healthful batch of chocolate chip cookies from Eating Well: Bev’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies call for only whole wheat flour. These cookies ask you to grind up rolled oats.  These cookies were delicious. This was a better version of those good Kashi cookies. I used Hersey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips, which rock obviously. These were so good. Lars ate a lot of them. I hope I have some left. Thanks Bev, whoever you are.

I was famished after baking, so I made breakfast for lunch. I toasted reduced-fat cheddar cheese in a wheat pita, then filled it with turkey bacon and scrambled egg (one egg with yolk, one without). I cut up some carrots for my veggie fix. Of course, I needed coffee.

Lars leaves this evening and he knew I was afraid to sleep in our spooky apartment alone. I got a box in the mail today, opened it, and found a cute teddy bear with a sweet message from Lars (sorry for the mush). I guess this little guy will protect me. I’ll name him Elliot Stabler.

Come back tomorrow to hear about my first night. I’m sure wine will be involved.

Cooking for the Busy Scholar

Hey everyone!

The computer is still acting up, but things have slowed down. I have never had so much difficulty settling down somewhere in my life. It has been extremely busy, but fun. I am so excited to just do homework and clean my house, which is odd. I’ll be posting everyday again, because things have slowed down enough for me to manage my own time.

Lars and I have had time to break in the kitchen even more. I don’t know when we made dishes, but they were eaten.

Dish # 1: Orange Chicken

Guess where this recipe is from? Cooking Light? Where else? That website is like crack. Anyway, Lars and I loved the Orange Chicken. It had breading, which isa  health foodie’s guilty pleasure. But it is from Cooking Light. Holler, bitches! Also, this dish called for white wine. This means you have to drink the rest of it, because you don’t want to waste. Lars and I paired this orange chicken with Near East rice pilaf.

Dish #2: Pan-Seared Chicken with Artichokes and Pasta

To use more of the white wine, I searched Cooking Light again for a recipe. Luckily, I found this pasta dish and it was so simple to make. I left out the olives and used whole grain penne pasta instead. Also, I cut the chicken up so it would cook faster, and because I prefer it that way. I’m on this artichoke kick lately, so it hit the spot. This is such a great dish to have on a weeknight because it is easy, but very weekend-quality. Does that make sense? No? Well, it is good.

Dish #3: Italian Sausage and Feta Pizza

Lars and I bought a Boboli whole wheat crust and piled on the homemade tomato sauce, whole wheat sausage, the hot italian turkey sausage, fat-free feta cheese, and basil. Yum and easy. Have you had ww Boboli crust? Did you like it?

I’m going to go start this 3-day weekend? What are you all up to this weekend?

Homeless Robot

I was supposed to drive back to Ohio today, but I never really left. I wasn’t in the mood to drive. I was in the mood for tomato roasting and reading. I miss staying in place. Two more weeks until I officially “settle.” I head to Ohio tomorrow for packing/socializing. Then, I have to go stay at my parents’ house while my roommate takes her master’s exam. I need a home.

Starbucks is my home for now. I went there to take a break from oven babysitting (I was roasting tomatoes for 6 hours; keep reading). I brought along an apple and Hannah’s dark chocolate. I read my book about virginity outside (today’s topic: The Virgin Mary) and sipped on an iced coffee. I mostly eavesdropped on the conversation next to me. It was two women police officers complaining about male officers. I hope they get the respect they deserve soon; they seemed like some cool ladies.

Also, the barista gave me a compliment on my Flava Flav Robot chain. Thank you. Its limbs move. It’s a dancing robot.

Let’s travel back in time, Flava Flav Robot. Around 10 AM I started roasting tomatoes. I used a recipe from Cooking Light for Aromatic Slow-Roasted Tomatoes. I used roma tomatoes instead of plum, but it worked out just fine. We took them out of the oven a little earlier than planned, but we thought they were roasted enough. When we roast…we roast!

We mixed this into our recently-purchased sweet basil whole wheat pasta from Decatur, IL (home of that guy that tried to kiss me during the Fishers Freedom Festival when I was in 6th grade). We also mixed in toasted garlic, fresh basil, and shredded Parmesan. The roasted tomatoes had a nice sweetness to them that helped balance out the rustic pasta.

After dinner, I took Lars out for gelato. Lars ordered swiss chocolate and I ordered creme brulee. Mine tasted fantastic, of course.

Good until the last drop.

Well, I’m off to load my iPod with podcasts for my three hour drive tomorrow morning. Two more weeks…two more weeks…two more weeks.

What is the best gelato you’ve ever had?

No one can stop me! Muhahahaha.

Today, I was Martha Stewart on crack. I guess that would make me Rachel Ray, but I dislike her voice. So, no.

Natalie over at The Sweets Life has an excellent blog full of so many delicious recipes. I have been looking at it for awhile, and now I’ve finally baked from it. Twice!

I have a lot of baking goods that expire conveniently in August (before my move), so I’ve been baking. Plus, there are a lot of people I love in my life. Treats for everyone!

The first cookies I made were Coconut Lime Snowballs. These flavors went great together, and the shredded coconut added a great texture. I brought some over to my friend’s apartment and she loved them! A perfect summer cookie.

I didn’t stop there; Natalie created a monster! RRRRrrr. Next, I baked Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Anything chocolate and surrounded with powdered sugar is a win for me.

They kind of look alike, right? Like cookie cousins?

For dinner, I experimented with pizza. I decided to recreate a recipe from Food Network Magazine: Bacon-Egg Pizza. Now, a warning. It doesn’t look attractive because I accidentally broke the yolk, but it tasted just as well. Further, I don’t know if I would recommend TJ’s whole wheat crust for this particular recipe, but it was still good. I basically sprinkled diced raw bacon onto a small, 6-inch circle of TJ’s Whole Wheat pizza dough. I baked that on 500 for about 10 minutes, until the bacon was crispy. Then I broke an egg onto the pizza, then topped it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I baked it another 5 minutes. So there is the picture: it wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty tasty. It would be good with some greens on top, too!

"Please don't judge me"-Pizza

It went well with my very classy mini-bottle of wine.

My evening is full of cleaning, folks. I am hosting a pretty elaborate double-date tomorrow with all new recipes! Wish me luck!

Jammin’ Pancakes

I finally got my butt out of bed at 7. Holler! Word.

I went to the gym and did some elliptical work. I was dripping in sweat. I was intimidated by this girl next to me. She looked like the Tomb Raider and continuously punched the air while on the elliptical, all while going extremely fast. I found myself speeding up. One day I will be the Tomb Raider of the gym. Now, I’m just Carrie Bradshaw. I’m also that girl that randomly laughs, because she’s listening to goofy podcasts.

After a nice shower, I made pancakes! I used a recipe from Whole Grain Gourmet for Light and Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes. These turned out fantastic. They have a nice sweetness to them, even when I left out the orange zest. I cut the recipe in half. I also substituted eggs with Egg Beaters because I was out of eggs. (Note: go to grocery store)

Enough with the pretty presentation…I attacked my pancakes with triple-berry jam. RRRRRrrr!

This was a delicious treat, because jam pretty much rocks, especially when the Amish make it.

What is your favorite jelly/jam flavor?

Stay tuned for the flavors of lime, coconut, and chocolate!

Eye of the Tiger

Check out my first blog post on frugal eating at thriftshoppin.com!

So, I’ve been putting off my thesis revisions. I wake up today ready to take it on.  I do the boxer’s dance and throw air punches. I am so ready! I eat a healthy and filling lunch. I poached two eggs and put them on buttered halves of whole wheat English muffins. I also have a side spinach salad mixed with sliced almonds and Annie’s Gingerly Vinaigrette.

I headed to the local coffee shop equipped with apples slices and two oatmeal cookies. I am expecting maybe 3 hours worth of work, if I am lucky. I order an iced green tea, set up shop, and open the document with my professor’s revisions. She basically says, “looks good.” Further, she deleted some things (I ramble), but she didn’t think I had to really do anything else. So, it took me 15 painless minutes. So I am sitting here at the coffee shop, done. I guess I will blog. I still have to do some formatting things with the Graduate School, but school is closed today. So, I blog. I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on! That is one task I love doing.

Not a great picture.

Cleaning-Inspired Cooking

I was so out of it today, again. Then I realized I have been out of it this entire summer, because I haven’t been drinking my morning coffee. Hm, good to know.

For lunch I kept it simple. I sautéed one sliced chicken sausage link in olive oil. It was a delicious Spinach, Fontina, and Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe’s. I ate it alongside the Mediterranean CousCous from the Schwann’s man. It was a light, yet filling lunch.

After being all emo for half the day, I finally had coffee. I made half a package of the Starbucks Via Iced. I got a new cup! Well, Carrie from TV and Dinners bought it first, but I loved it too much. I spotted it at Target! Carrie has great cup-taste!

I am moving in early August and I have the daunting task of using all the food in my fridge and cabinets before then. I have a lot of flour and oats, so I made some delicious oatmeal cookies!

I used a great recipe from Whole Grain Gourmet for Healthy Oatmeal Cookies. The recipe uses honey instead of sugar, and molasses. If you like molasses, you will love these. They are darker than the average oatmeal cookie because of the molasses. She also recommended (and I didn’t notice until later) adding more oats. It is your call. I added 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. They are not overpoweringly sweet. I like them!

Oh, and she had a great tip. Spray the measuring cup before you pour the honey, so that the honey pours out of it more easily.

For dinner, I climbed around the cupboards again.

I found a huge 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. Among the many things Andy Warhol and I have in common, the biggest thing is our love for tomato soup. I’ve always bought canned soup, but never again. After researching recipes online and seeing how easy it was, I decided to just make-up my own recipe. I was mostly inspired by Cooking Light. The soup was very good for the first time. I will play around with it more to perfect it.

Tomato and Basil Soup

• 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup of organic free range chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh copped basil
• a sprinkling of dry basil (I was worried I wouldn’t have enough basil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp olive oil

I opened the can and stabbed the crap out of the tomatoes and put it aside. I sautéed the minced garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds on medium heat. I then added the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, and dried basil and brought it to a boil. I reduced the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes. Then I mixed in the fresh basil. I put the mixture into the blinder and pureed it until smooth. Then it was ready.

I served it with an adaptation of my mother’s easy bread stick recipe.

Whole Wheat Breads Sticks

• 1/2 package of Trader Joe’s Refrigerated Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
• butter
• garlic powder or salt
• grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 425. I rolled out the dough into a circle (as if I was about to make pizza) after I let it do it’s rising/whatever thing (while I worked on the soup).  I baked it for 10 minutes. I immediately but the baked dough on a baking rack. I microwaved some butter for about 30 seconds, and then stirred in some garlic powder. I brushed it onto the dough (while it was still hot). I then immediately sprinkled the grated Parmesan on to the bread. After it cooled, I sliced it into strips.

Yum, yum. What a day of kitchen adventures. I’m actually having fun cleaning out my kitchen before the move. It is surprisingly inpsiring!

I have a date with the Lifetime movie My Stepson, My Lover starring Rachel Ward. You don’t know who Rachel Ward is? Um, The Thorn Birds: only the best mini-series ever!

Do you have any entertainment-related (music, movies, tv, etc.) guilty pleasures?

Has anyone been watching Top Chef?

1. I hate that one girl that tried to get school children drunk. She has a face I’d like to punch.

2. Stop complaining Top Chef contestants! My Top Chef would know how to make a damn pie! The punch-face girl (see #1) was like “I hope it is okay for not being a pastry chef” and the guest judge said “So what? My grandma isn’t a pastry chef and she knows how to make a pie.” Snap!

Sicky Birthday

So, I woke up sicker than ever. Great, it is my birthday. I was only able to sleep 6 hours because of my throat. Luckily, Lars brought me tea in bed this morning. It made me feel better for awhile. I’m posting later, because I couldn’t decide what I wanted for breakfast. Everything sounded horrible; food sounded horrible. Then to make matters worse, my parents had to cancel my birthday dinner, because everyone else is sick. It is a sicky birthday, for sure.

Further, I was having a horrible hair day. Nothing could be done with my “bangs.” Thus, as of now, I have only a hair appointment planned for my birthday. I am excited about this, though. I’ll post pictures post haircut (unless it is butchered). Anyway, this is a food blog. Lars convinced me that I had to eat. For some reason I wanted a scone and tea. That was it. So we drove to a local coffee shop (well 2) and got me a plain whole grain scone.

This was perfect for my sicky self. This scone was slightly sweet, but it wasn’t overpowering in flavor. This is great, because I was sick and the thought of food made my stomach turn. It also paired well with the “Get Well” Tea I bought at the local coffee shop.

The tea (along with drugs) is really working. Hopefully I can salvage what is left of my birthday! Sorry, I am so emotional! I think I’m still trying to recover from last semester. And, being sick on your birthday is not fun! Thanks for the birthday wishes.