Thank you Bon Appetit!!

Bon Appetit has delivered some delicious recipes to my door this fall.  My roomie and I made two of them last night!

Swordfish with a pine nut, parsley, green olive relish with a side of pan roasted endive, grapes, and apples.

First, let's go over the side dish.  This blew my mind.  It's tart, sweet, savory, and herbal all at the same time.  It's also really easy! Please make this and get back to me.

Ingredients

• 2 large unpeeled tart-sweet apples (such as Fuji or Gala)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 large heads of Belgian endive (12 to 16 ounces total), halved lengthwise
• 4 small clusters green grapes
• 5 small fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1 cup Fleur de sel or other sea salt
• 2-3 tablespoons water

Preparation

• Quarter and core apples. Using vegetable peeler, shave off thin strip of peel down center of each apple quarter, leaving remaining peel intact. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add endive, cut side down, to skillet. Add apple wedges, 1 cut side down, to skillet. Add grape clusters and scatter rosemary sprigs over; cook, uncovered, without turning or stirring, until endive is caramelized on bottom and apples are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully turn endive, apples, and grapes over; baste with liquid in skillet and cook until apples are very tender, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Season with fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper.
• Transfer endive mixture to platter. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water to skillet, scraping up any caramelized bits, forming small amount of sauce. Spoon sauce over endive mixture and serve.

ARG it was so good.  Now, onto the Swordfish which was ALSO amazing:

Ingredients

• 4 5- to 6-ounce swordfish steaks
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/4 cups thinly sliced shallots
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup pitted brine-cured green olives, quartered lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/3 cup dry white wine

Preparation

• Sprinkle fish with 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; cook until opaque in center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to platter; cover. Add 1 tablespoon oil and shallots to skillet; sauté over medium heat until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/8 teaspoon red pepper, garlic, and olives; sauté 1 minute. Add pine nuts, parsley, and wine; boil until most of liquid is gone, 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over fish.

Both dishes look intimidating but both were amazing and actually paired quite well together.  Enjoy

Snow

So since it's before Thanksgiving, it is still a little bit early for snow, but i still want it.  I may see some this week since I will be spending about two hours on lovely I-89 to get up north to spend a couple of nights in Vermont.  The seasons in Vermont are so extreme its almost scary.  In the summer it is so luscious, green, and beautiful people remember why they live there in the first place.  It's called the Green Mountain State, even though the mountains are only green for about 3 months between the snow covered mountain tops and when the chlorophyll leaves the state leaving a beautiful fall foliage for natives and tourists.  Look at these pictures to see the extreme seasons I used to face living up in Vermont.

Yeah, that's real. An untouched photo taken in Northern VT

Fast forward 2 months and you get this Winter Wonderland.  Photo taken in Mad River Valley near Sugarbush

Mud Season (known to the rest of the country as "Spring") Where even the official state car with 4 wheel drive can get stuck in the mud.

And last but not least, the summer.  View of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack mountains.

Gimme some snow!

Daibutsu

Stranger, whosoever thou art and whatesoever be thy creed, when thou enterest this sanctuary remember thou treadest upon ground hallowed by the worship of ages.  This is the Temple of Buddha and the gate of eternal, and should therefore be entered with reverence.

Out of all the scenes, art, architecture, and statues I have seen, the Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan was the most mystical and beautiful thing.  I have just recently thought of this as of yesterday when I saw in the news that Obama visited Daibutsu.

Oh and at the end of the video when Obama is munching on a Popsicle, I could bet my life savings it's a green tea Popsicle. He is chewing rather loudly though.

FACTS:

• Statue of the Amida Buddha made out of bronze
• 13.35 meters
• Created in the year 1252
• Buildings that the Giant Buddha was inside of were destroyed multiple times by a typhoon and tidal wave in the 14th and 15th century, so the Buddha has sat under the open sky since 1495
• Kamakura Daibutsu is hollow on the inside and on the entrance it reads the quote italicized above

The "X" over my face is to keep anonymity over the internet? That's me in front of Daibutsu in 2008 doing Bikram's Tree Pose (not the traditional tree yoga pose).  We took a very long hike/trail through the woods and mud of Kamakura.  I fell down in the mud multiple times, there were ropes for guidance, and the sticks of metal sticking out of boulders to hold on to for safety throughout the hike and it made it all worthwhile once we reached the mecca. What a beaut!

Run around Boston

Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be one of those smart college kids or young professionals that takes jogs by the Charles River on a sunny Saturday or Sunday.  Today, I finally took a jog by the Charles!  It only took me five and half months of living in Boston  (during the summer even!) to do this.  Either way, it was nice to take a break from the regular hustle and bustle of working a lot on the weekends and have a relaxing run all around Boston with my roommate.
Happy Weekend!

Drink this.

So....lately I have been in pursue of an epic, full bodied, long-legged, crimson colored, lick-your-lips wine.  The seasons have just turned, which means I am in full throttle red wine mode.  In the summer as I am drinking a stemless glass (or even a pint!) of chilled Savignon Blanc in a dive bar, or a Chardonnay perfectly chilled to 60 degrees while sitting on a patio in the summer.  During these times I literally think there is no other way to drinking wine.  The thought of drinking red wine almost disturbs me on these hot summer days.  I have officially done the switch now.  Now, as I drink a Tuscan blend of Cabernet Savignon and Sangievese, I wonder how I could drink something so cold and sweet.

What this whole entry comes down to is....
TRY THIS WINE:

2006 DeLille Cellars "D2" Columbia Valley Red Blend

I don't know too much about it, where it came from, or whatever.  (To be honest, I don't know too much shit about wine, I just know what I like, why, and am always eager to learn more about it then).  This bottle is about $40 bucks, and from what I tried worth every penny.  They don't sell it on this site, but it has a nice explanation. In fact, I don't know where they sell it, but I must get some just for that first sip!

nice description

good reviews

Enjoy.

Back to life

So, it's been 1/2 a year since I wrote/blogged/said hello.  I moved cities, worked 60-70 hours a week all summer, and now things are finally dying down. (for the time being...changes ahead again!)  I have dusted off the defibrillator and will try to get this guy back to life.  The concept of this blog is changing because I don't have the time to cook like I used to.  Wish I did, and I still might because it's turning into winter again.  So, this blog/rant/whatever will be turning into a collection of concepts, ideas, thoughts, and tid bits that are important to me, and that I feel are important enough to share with other people.  Cooking is not off the list, but it is also not the main part.  Music, food, exercise, outdoors, city-ness, people, wine, kickbox, love, art, nature, blah blah blah.  It will work itself out and grow from there.  UNTIL then, please enjoy this tune.  You can listen to it on repeat with this link until you decide you need it on your iPod, then it is available on iTunes, or your favorite illegal downloading/uploading website :)

Let's start this off with a GREAT song everyone will probably enjoy.

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Holy Ghost! Loves Paris Remixomania

Put in my 2 Weeks Notice

Where can you a find:

-People who cannot fit into booth tables
- Bottles of wine E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E
- 90 minute wait for a table every Friday and Saturday
- Toxic levels of sodium in almost every dish
- Meals that have more calories than what I am supposed to eat in a day
- Unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks.

You can find them in Tuscany! Oh wait...I mean the Olive Garden.  As someone who prides myself on loving real food that is authentic, gourmet, hand crafted...I am sorry to say I spent the last little while of my life working as an Olive Garden slave/server/bartender.  (HEY! I also had my "real" job as a residential counselor in a psych home so dont make fun yet...)

The OG is far from Italian food (in my onion ladies and gents), but some of their dishes are based on some real stuff found in Italia.  One of the favorite soups that customers love to eat multiple bowls of just because they're unlimited is the Zuppa Toscana.  When they eat 2 or 3 bowls before their meal, they have already eaten about 500- 600 calories not including all the bread sticks that get dunked in the soup amongst the process.  I have always been intrigued by this soup, but since I refuse to eat most of the food that comes out of the restaurant, I made a "copy cat" recipe of this soup with a much healthier mindset.

Claire's Zuppe Toscana

1 pound Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage
1 Qt. water
4 Cups chicken broth (Reduced Sodium!!)
1 - 2 large russet potatoes, sliced in thin circles
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 large white onion
2 C chopped Kale
3/4 C half and half
bacon bits

1.Brown the sausage in the skillet, and set aside.
2. Simmer the water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion until all tender
3. Add sausage to pot and simmer on low for 10 minutes
4. Add Kale and half and half
5. Top with bacon bits and serve.  Top with crushed red pepper if you like.

YUM. The more Kale the better!  Look what I chose to have with my soup instead of bread sticks and 1500 calories of creamy pasta fried chicken dish:

So here is a healthier version of a dish at the Olive Garden.  I will be working there for 10 more days. I cannot wait.

Louisiana Creole-Sicilian Shrimp

More blog posts coming soon.  sorry for not writing. if i even have any followers ;-)
Just going to post some pictures from tonight's dinner, with the recipe.


This dish is a "barbeque shrimp" recipe without actually BBQing the shrimp or using BBQ sauce.  It came out quite delicious, but next time I would eat it as an appetizer since eating JUST shrimp seems a little off for some reason.

Instead of having the French Bread that the recipe calls for, I made some garlic broccoli for a side to make it a little healthier.  Please notice the steam coming off the shrimp.  Right off the stove!

1/2 C fat free Ceaser Dressing (I'm a sucker for Ceaser Dressing, so I used Brianna's - yes it's full fat)

1/3 C Worcestershire sauce

2 TBL butter (I used Smart Balance Light)

1 TBL dried Oregano

1 TBL Paprika

1 TBL dried rosemary

1 TBL dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot sauce (I used Sriracha, of course)
5 bay leaves
3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced NOT crushed.  Its nice to have some chunkers of garlic mixed in with the shrimp.
2 pounds large shrimp (I actuality used 31-40 count, shelled, deveined, keep the tails on)
1/3 C dry white wine
10 chunky slices of crusty baguette (I didn't use this - watching my carb intake a little)
10 lemon wedges


Combine first 11 ingredients in a large non-stick skillet, bring to a boil.  Add shrimp, cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add wine, and cook 1 minute until shrimp are done.
Serve with baguette and lemon slices.


Enjoy!

Crap.

I already did it.  Haven't posted anything in a while.  I think I'll use the busy excuse, which is true.  I have been very busy. Working a lot saving up for my new move.

So, throughout High School and College I excelled more in the classes that gave you a little more creativity to your answers.  For example, I took Honors Calculus in High School, and did "okay".  Granted, most of my friends never even made it to Calculus, I have a little bit of a math-brain, but I did not enjoy it.  Psychology and Economics, and "uncertainty" of results have always interested me.  Physics? No fucking way. It was over my head, and I'd rather just know that when I drop a feather and a lead brick, that they will hit the ground. I don't need to know how fast they get there.
With this background story, I lead you to my definition of baking and cooking. Technically, baking is a type of cooking, as well as grilling, frying, sauteing, steaming...etc.  But the definition that  I am looking for is more along the lines of:
Baking:  Using science, precalculated measurements, and dry heat.
Cooking: Whatever you want.

So with that said, I have not really entered the baking field until this year, at my Human Services Job.  We even have a designated day where I bake with the clients (severely mentally ill), and they say things like, "Claire, you're so good at baking!" And that's when I really know their mentally ill. (joke). We have baked everything from those old fashioned Jiffy Corn Muffins to Whole Wheat Honey Bran Fiber Muffins (my own recipe that I tweaked!) to Ghiredelli Chocolate Brownie Mix in a Box.

Today, I baked with some Clients, and we made a Double Layer Lemon Cream Cake.

Fluffy white frosting, lemon cake, lemon zest and sprinkles on top of the icing with sugared lemon slices.
Deeeelicious.

Easter Sunday

Resurrection Weekend held a lot of fun.  First of all, it was about 75 degrees. J’s family came up to Stowe for the weekend.  He went snowboarding on the mountain, then swimming in the pool.  It was one of those bizarre-O end-of-winter-in-Vermont kind of days.  Although I had to trek it back to Burlington twice to go to work, I had a wonderful and relaxing weekend full of family, great food, good wine, in a tranquil Vermont vacation home setting.  This Easter I experienced a couple new things...all welcomed with open arms.  I enjoyed every single one of them.

New Things I Never Did:

Made pierogies without my Family

Ate spiraled ham

Went to Church on Sunday. (okay, I just haven’t done this on Easter in over a decade.)
Dyed and painted eggs with severely mentally ill (primarily schizophrenic) clients.

Woke up in Stowe

I want to do all of these things again.  Except, I think I still need a few pointers from my Polish ancestors on how to master the art of the ‘rogi.
Painting the eggs was a wonderful experience.  I haven't painted Easter Eggs since probably the last time I went to Church on Easter, but it was great.  We dedicated eggs to Jesus, pet cats, and other residents where I work, then made a bunch of egg salad sandwiches. Good times.

The UN-appetizing side of food.

Have you ever been to www.thisiswhyyourefat.com? If not, going there and looking at the monstrous food people have cooked and created may work as a diet plan due to loss of appetite.  Depending on your mood of course.  If you're having one of those shitty days where a big greasy triple 5 pound cheeseburger sounds good, then this website may backfire.  I thought of this website because today on a small news site, I saw that someone has cooked the largest meatball.

32 hours of cooking
327 pounds of beef
Weighing in at a finished total of 400 pounds.
This said weigh in was overseen by the Guinness Book of World Records staff.  The first 250 pounds were donated to Meals on Wheels, and the rest was donated to the 400 something people watching this whole ordeal go down.
Yuck.

Food Inc.

So I finally watched Food Inc.  It took me a while because I am overly sensitive to factory farming footage. Ever since I read about it right when Fast Food Nation came out, I quit eating meat and that was only reading descriptive words.  I was veggie for just under 10 years, and now I eat chicken and turkey again.  I have not yet started to eat Red Meat, and this documentary didn't really help.  Overall, I thought it was informative, well filmed, and they brought up GREAT points, but I will say I fast forward through some parts (yeah, I know I'm a wuss).  Here is the trailer of the movie, don't be scared to watch this documentary!

Organic v. Conventional

Eating organic is pretty damn easy where I currently live.  In fact, in the downtown grocery store/co-op it's hard to find conventional vegetables which is bothersome on my penny pinching days.  My personal view is that eating locally is more important than eating organic.  Support the local community.  I always do all my big food shopping at a giant grocery store chain then run to the downtown co-op to buy a gallon of local milk, because in this state, the cows are plentiful and the dairy is good. 

So, local vs. organic eating aside, I found this "Shopper's Guide" on foodnews.com, and it helps you understand which fruits and vegetables absorb the most pesticides.  

Take a peek:

I asked a couple of my own questions, and researched for answers, all which are found from the Environmental Working Group

Why Should I even care about pesticides?

Scientific evidence shows that even small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during crucial times of fetal development and childhood - where the effects are long lasting.  It is wise to minimize exposure to these chemicals because the outcomes can be quite worrisome.

Okay, well what about washing or peeling them?

While washing and peeling your fruits and veggies will reduce the chemicals and toxins found in food, it will not entirely eliminate them. The best option is to eat a varied diet, thoroughly wash fresh produce, and buy organic when able. $$ :(

Does Organic taste better?

No scientific data, but taste is a varied individual preference.  Many chefs across the world are choosing to cook with organic veggies not only because it is hip and trendy, but because they feel they have superior taste and quality.

Is organic healthier?

No significant studies have been done other than the fact that your not getting a bunch of chemicals in your body.  The only thing people have found is that organic tomatoes have higher levels of Vitamin C and phytochemicals. 

Should I eat only Organic?

Personally, I can't. ABSO-freaking-LUTLY cant.  It's waaaay too expensive, but with this little guide posted above, you can pick and choose your pesticide battles.  I would much prefer to spend money on an organic peach then buy some stupid organic granola bar.  (No offense)

So, take all the organic mumbo-jumbo with a grain of salt, and think about the fragile and toxin absorbing produce when you're deciding between the two at the store.

Song of the Day

beautiful.

The Bay State

Driving down to good ol' Massachusetts tonight after a long day at both jobs. It's a terribly long work day followed by a terribly boring night drive, but it’s all to see my sister at University of Massachusetts, then seeing my parents out in the hometown. I may be bringing down a pint of ice-cream I just bought that was insanely good.

Hannah Teter brought home the silver metal in Women’s half pipe up in Canada a couple of weeks ago. She is from Vermont which is why Ben and Jerry’s got her to make a flavor. She’s the first athlete to create an ice cream flavor, and they did a wonderful job. It’s maple ice-cream blended with bits of blond brownies and maple caramel swirls. The maple connection is due to being a Vermont native, but Teter also started a charity called Hannah’s Gold. Hannah’s Gold sells delicious maple syrup and she donates all profits to the children of Kenya. This ice-cream should be on store shelves nation wide, so pick up a pint soon!

Rolling Eggs

Egg rolls are a common appetizer in Eastern Asia, especially within the Cantonese/Southern portion of China. They are also delicious. Since I don't eat too much pork (if any at all), I tend to get Spring Rolls when I'm at a Chinese place, and I miss the added protein. On Super Bowl Sunday a couple weeks ago, we went to a friend's place where he  made 2 types of delicious egg rolls. There was also a $75 delivery purchase of wings, a plethora of pizza, 4 types of homemade dip, bread, crackers, cheese, icecream...the list goes on. I think everyone drank about fifteen Keystone Lights, and still no one got a buzz on due the absurd amounts of food.

The said friend that hosted this smorgasbord football party created two types of egg rolls; he made traditional egg rolls without meat and banana cream cheese egg rolls.  Both were great.

I made egg rolls the other night with J but we attempted at making them "healthy".  It's pretty hard to make something that's deep friend into something healthy, so we hardly used any oil when frying them at the end.

I chopped up half a head of cabbage, a carrot, 3 green onions, 3 mushrooms, and a handful of snow peas and bean sprouts.   I sauteed them on a low heat until everything was soft with some rice vinegar, soy sauce, and cheriyaki sauce.  In a seperate pan I chopped up 2 whole chicken breasts into very small/fine peices of cooked them on low heat with some rice vinegar.  When the vegetables were done cooking, I added the chicken, and now we were ready to roll.

By this point in the process, I was starving so every other fork full of the chicken vegetable stuffing either went into an egg roll or directly into my mouth.  We continued to roll and got ready to fry them up! Yeah, they weren't the most beautiful little pieces of artwork but I knew they were going to taste damn good.

We used Nasoya brand egg roll wrappers, which is a premium tofu company.  They have other great products I have tested out like the wonton wrappers, silken, organic tofu, Asian noodles, and nayonaise.  Forgive me for the photo below, they sure tasted good but this isn't a great photo of the egg rolls we made.  Although we didn't use a lot of oil (usually calls for being deep fried or submerged in an inch of oil), they still tasted good and were crunchy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside.

You can add whatever you want to egg rolls for the inside. A common ingredient for the protien is meat, but you can also use ground turkey, beef, tofu, or just all veggies.  You can also try new things like the banana cream cheese egg rolls that we put caramel sauce on.  My only qualm was that we didn't put any ginger in ours, and I think that may be an important ingredient to tie all the flavors together.  Have fun making creative egg rolls....Ni Hao!!

Judgment Free Zone

I pay a ridiculously low monthly fee to work out at Planet Fitness. It took me a while to get used to not having all the amenities that Orchard Hills had, which also broke the bank at the undiscounted price of $75 per month. I had a corporate discount making it $50 per month and at this point I was living at my parents’ house, had no car payments, or much of any financial responsibilities due to living at home, so it wasn’t too much to offer up. Orchard Hills had classes going from before dawn and after dark, indoor pool, outdoor pool with water slide, indoor and outdoor tennis, indoor and outdoor basketball, indoor track, insane amount of weights and machines, not to mention the thousands of variations of cardio machines. Just simply walking into this facility made me feel happy and motivated. I guess the fifty bucks automatically coming out of my bank account motivated me just as well.

Well, so now I go to planet fitness which has no classes, courts, pools, or anything CLOSE to what I’m used to (yeah yeah, I’m a snob…). But with the help of someone (thanks J!), I have learned how to motivated myself without all the fancy services and classes, although I do miss the free yoga. Planet Fitness’s “thing” is that it’s the judgment free zone. Yeah…right… I’m all for not judging at the gym, because it can be pretty intimidating at times when you feel new and out of place, but at the same time I feel planet fitness goes against what they’re going for by having the “Lunk Alarm”.  As one can see, the link alarm is a planet fitness made up slang for one who grunts, drops weights, or judges.  I have seen this go off twice, and its horribly awkward. They are judging people who actually want to lift weights. Want to see the lunk alarm go bad? Watch this video:



yeah, when it went off at my planet fitness, that didn't happen...thank goodness.

The Bear's Personal List of...Foods to start eating NOW

 am going to compile a list of everyday foods (nothin’ fancy here) that I like to eat as much as possible, and I think everyone should include in their diet. I’m not a doctor or a nurse so please take everything with a grain of salt. Which reminds me, I have been eating SO much less salt and hardly adding any to my foods, and it feels good.


Okay here it goes:

1. Spinach. I have loved this since I was little and I always ate it like my Dad, sautéed with some vinegar on it, which led him to showing me what happens when you put baking soda and malt vinegar together. You can sneak sautéed spinach into any meal for example; sauces, toping, as a side, in soups, salads, Kraft Mac and cheese, chicken dishes, shrimp stir fries…literally anything. When it is sautéed it melts down to such a small amount when the water is cooked out of it. I think I ate spinach sautéed with fresh garlic and oil everyday my sophomore year. Spinach has high amounts of iron, more than your Daily Value of Vitamin K, and A. Vitamin K works on protein inside your bones, and helps build you a stronger skeleton. It is high in antioxidants and anti cancer agents. And it tastes GREAT.

2. Protein Shakes. Hmm, so I just got into these. Whey Protein to be exact and the occasional Casein Protein at night time. A lot of my friends and co-workers make fun of me as I shake my blender bottle  in public. I get even more shit when friends come over and they see the collection of protein Mr. and I have collected. Hey you never know when you’re in the mood for a chocolate shake or something that tastes like an Orange Julius. Strawberry Protein smoothies? No problem. I am not a body builder, I do lift weights and drink protein, but there is no way I am going to bulk up. It’s a common myth,my friends. A girl my size and height should be having about 115 grams of protein a day. Don’t get me wrong, I love chicken but I would have to be eating it all day to get that much protein in, so therefore I drink the shakes. End of Story.

3. Eggs. I love eating scrambled eggs with 1 whole egg and 2 or 3 egg whites. The whites are the healthiest part – low in calories (17) high in protein (7). They are also the part of the egg with low cholesterol because I know a lot of people have a stigma about the high cholesterol in eggs. Eggs are also good in many things, even fried on top of a burger!

4. Bananas. I eat them everyday. I love the way they taste and when they’re usually 50 cents a pound, it’s a deal I can’t pass up. They’re a little bit higher in calories than I usually go for in a fruit snack, but bananas are also great with peanut butter, chocolate chips, frozen, or just plain.

5. Greek Yogurt. Amazing. I started eating Fage yogurts my sophomore year of High School until about 2004, they disappeared off the shelves. I could only buy them at Trader Joe’s (I think in High School all I ate were Luna Bars and Greek Yogurt, both ONLY found at Trader Joe’s at this point in time). I went in with one of my dear friends and fellow TJ’s lover, to find that they were GONE! Apparently, Fage had lost their license to sell this yogurt in the United States and all stores were told to destroy any remaining product. Other than that the whole thing was a mystery, and it suddenly appeared on the shelves a couple long months later. When I taught English in Greece we ate Greek yogurt with fresh honey every morning and it was like being in heaven. Greek yogurt is double strained through cheese cloth so its texture is VERY thick and creamy. Its low in calories (if you get the 2% or non fat) and very high in protein. I am now obsessed with this brand called Chobani. Mr. and I ALWAYS have them in the fridge all flavors, plain, big, small. Try it. (Look how thick and delicious it looks in that picture!)

 

Hmm that’s all I can come up with right now that isn’t all the generic stuff about fish and Omega 3s, berries having antioxidants, and lentils and beans being high in protein. You already know that probably so I hope you enjoy my personal list and enjoy eating them all. Please let me know if you actually dislike something on this list (GASP)

57 Varities

Fast food and I do not mix well unless I am traveling or hung over, and even then they do not mix well. I have not yet ventured out into the world of meat eating at fast food joints, I am used to begging to go to Burger King on road trips to get their MorningStar Farms veggie burger or a pack of mozzarella sticks. If no BK is around, I literally order a deluxe burger without the burger. I want the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles, just no ground beef. My friends all laugh at me, and I do laugh at myself when I order this, but I just can’t help it. This all started at the Wendy’s that was located a town over from my town growing up, and it was open until 1am and I wasn’t going to let myself be punished from the late night munchies after a night of partying just because I was a vegetarian. In High School, ordering this through the drive thru window fascinated my peers more than the laws of a free falling apple fascinated Newton. And still, around a decade later, as a chicken and turkey eater, I STILL find myself ordering this…Now I know you’re not supposed to judge a fast food joint, but I do. When eating on the premises the first thing I must inquire about is whether the establishment has ketchup packets or pump ketchup. Like most folks, I like a good amount of ketchup on my fries, so the ketchup packets create a problem. I usually have to rip open 10 of these little guys to satisfy my disgusting fast food meal. Until Now….

Heinz just revealed their new ketchup packet design which allows the consumer to CHOOSE between a drizzle or a dip, and it also holds 3 times the amount of a regular ketchup packet. These awesome new
containers to hold our corn syrup sugary “tomato” pastes will be
released to the public at select fast food restaurants this fall.

Bird Burgers

My parents are coming up this weekend, which is great news. I lived at home for a year after I graduated from college and made the transition with my relationship with my parents from very parental to friends. It has been a nice transition and we enjoy each other’s company very much (well, I do at least, not 100% sure if it’s reciprocated both ways-maybe they want some alone time after twenty three years of nurturing). Well Mom and Dad (if you ever stumble upon this) thanks for everything!
I’ve decided to post a recipe that wasn’t created by my parents, but one that both my parents love. They have been making these for a while – when I was still a vegetarian. I remember they told me I should just try it anyways because it is so good and it sjust turkey. Let me tell you, I wish I had tried them when I did because Dad would fry up the grill and cook these burgers as they should be cooked (as opposed to my oven baked or skillet fried burgers). These Turkey Burgers are absolutely delicious. They were passed along from one of their friends who found out about them on (gasp!) Oprah! Oprah brought out the recipe and it is from one of Donald Trump’s private clubs in Palm Beach.
Well my friends, here is the recipe:
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
½ cup finely chopped celery
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced (I personally did not peel them).
1/8 cup canola oil
4 pounds ground turkey breast (as always, leaner the better!)
2 TBS salt
1 TBS black pepper
2 tsp Tabasco Chiptole Pepper Sauce (I only had Frank’s Red Hot around, and used that).
1 lemon, juiced and grated zest
½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup Major Ghrey’s Chutney

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Here is a picture of mine. I made my burgers kind of small (so I could get more joy from eating more of them. I put a little bit of light mayo and some spinach on  the Light Wheat Burger Buns.

S'ghetti-less S'ghetti

Spaghetti Squasah.
This winter squash is 42 calories per cup, where whole wheat and white pasta contain about 3 times the amount. Spaghetti squash contains high counts of dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, Potasium, and Magnesium. It still contains carbohydrates but not nearly as much as regular pasta does.

To cook spaghetti squash, I cut it in half lengthwise and put it in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Once you take it out, I let it cool for about 10 minutes and then use a big fork to scrape out the spaghetti-looking strands of the squash. Add sauce, butter, or spices, and eat and enjoy!!

I ate mine with a homemade turkey meat sauce:

1 28oz can diced tomatoes
6 finely chopped sun dried tomatoes (I use the dry kind, if using the oil packed, don’t add oil to this recipe)
2 large onions (only because I am an onion fanatic…1 would do the trick just as well)
1 pound of the leanest ground turkey (I like 97/3)
5 garlic cloves chopped into fine slivers
Dashes of extra virgin olive oil
1 small can of tomato paste


1. Add a little dash (1 TB?) of EVOO with the turkey in a large pot.
2.Cook the turkey until almost all is not pink and add the diced onions and sliced garlic.
3.Saute in the pot for about 5-8 minutes then add the all types of tomatoes – the diced can, paste can, and sundried. Mix together thoroughly and add another splash of EVOO if you wish.
4.Simmer on low and stir occassionally for 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on how much time you have.

And here's the final product! Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meat Sauce and some Pecorino Romano Cheese

FJL’s Watery Soup

When you work at a chain restaurant, you feel like a tool. No ifs ands or buts about it, you just do. You are burdened with responsibilies that you wouldn’t dream of doing in your worst nightmare. Example: singing a variation of Happy Birthday to guests/strangers on their birthday with a cake and candle in hand, wearing a name tag, offering mediocre wine samples, and other atrocities of the sort. After working at a chain for many months, these types of phrases and requirements that come with the job and once horrified you, fade away and just becomes part of everyday life.

The restaurant I work at has some “funny” rules. If you get a guest complaint, you’re demoted to working in the back of the house. And let me tell you, the type of people that come to my restaurant are quite the complainers. I was at work last week, doing my normal serving thing working a double with a 30 minute break. It was kind of slow because it was right after the holidays, which is why I offered to stay on all day (Makin’ Chedda). It was right before we switched to dinner menus around 3:30 when some monster comes in with her two sons. She was wearing a fur hat and jacket and was from out of state saying I had to rush her meal because “she had a plane to catch”. I went over and greeted the table, did my normal shpeel when I got interrupted with a finger in my face. Her sons translated this rude gesture and said to come back in a minute. So, I cooled off in the kitchen, told some other servers about the Fur Jacket Lady, and went back out in the dining room. She ordered, and I was still polite to her although I didn’t want to be. I brought out their tap waters with lemon, their lunch specials and then checked back up on FJL and received a horrible look and a very rude comment (that I cant remember word for word) I was confused because I made sure their meals arrived really fast (due to the flight they had to catch) and that I was polite.
I like to adhere by the kill them with kindness routine. It almost always works and usually makes the rude person dumb and sorry. The reason they are being rude is usually because they feel bad about something, and making other people feel bad will make them feel better. The only way I can pull this off is maybe throwing a breadstick across the kitchen and venting to some other servers in the kitchen (kitchen made for cooking food? Ha I don’t think so; it’s a therapeutic place for servers to vent about lousy customers).

So, the FJL and her family have finished up eating and I went around the corner to drop their check and gave them best wishes on their flight. I went back to the table minutes later as the Wolf ran past me as she bumped into my shoulder softly body checking me into the wall. I asked her if she needed change and she threw her hand and nose up in the air and replied,
“No, I am going to the FRONT!!”
Oh yeah, the front, where the hosts are. They really know what’s going on. I saw her walk up to the host stand, grimacing, as a host walked back over to me.
“Whoa, is she from your table?”
“Yes”, I replied, “what’s going on?”
“What a bitch, huh? I have to get a manager for her…sorry,” as she walked into the back of the kitchen to the office. One of our managers walked out and we made eye contact and I looked down. It was then that I realized I actually like my stupid-corporate-chain-restaurant-tie wearing tool-faced job. I saw her squawking away to him and I think she may have caught me spying. I waited in the kitchen, as they were my only table at 3:45 there are not many people coming into the restaurant. My manager came back with a very stern look on his face.
"So, you got a customer complaint,” he says as he hands me the exact change for their bill without a tip.
“Okay…”
“Bwahahha did you see her Princess Jacket? You’re not getting in trouble for this one, Claire. Do you know what she said?”
“phew! Oh man, I don’t even know she was so rude to me!”
“She said,” as my manager mimicked her, “’My waitress watered down all of our soups!! And she didn’t put any dressing on our salads!! She had absolutely no personality!’ Haha, let’s go check her salad and soup that she left on the table,” he said as he walked towards table 51.
“Take a look at this…this salad is SOGGY with dressing,” I said as I lifted a heavy forkful of wilted waterlogged iceberg.


We laughed and checked out the “watered down” soups I severed her, had laugh and then went back into the kitchen where I had to relay the story to other servers who wanted to know what FJL was doing bitching at the host stand. We all had a good laugh and then continued to serve semi-normal people for the rest of the evening.


So, I got to keep my job, and for those of you reading…try to be nice to people you don’t know. Don’t treat them like scum because you may or may not have more money than them. We’re all innocent until proven guilty, and if you’re rude to a server they will remember it, and tell all the staff about it, sometimes laughing at your expense.* So save yourself the embarrassment and wasted energy and be kind. Or don’t be kind. Just don’t be rude and mean.


*Also remember that servers are bringing you your overpriced food. They handle YOUR food. If you piss them off, you never know what they may do. (In all honesty I’ve never done anything like that, but its crossed my mind.)

A New Year.

My friend calls them “Resolutionaries”. My gym is packed with them right now. I have to wait in line for the treadmill. And the weights. And the ab rockers. And the lateral pull down. And the toilet. To define these people, I have found a very credible source called Urban Dictionary ;-) defining them as, “People who join a gym after the New Year, only to quit going within 3 months. i.e. I couldn't find a free treadmill, the place was crawling with resolutionaries.”
Hopefully it will die down soon, but until then, there’s a line.
I do have a couple of ways I would interpersonally like to change within myself for the “new year”, although I start assessing this internally in December.
1. Think more positive.
2. Run a 5k for a cause.
3. Eat to live, not live to eat.
4. Be better at staying in touch with old friends.
5. Save money/pay off loans/get new job.

Okay, I know these are pretty generic as well, but let me go over them with you.

1. Positive: also includes: not being quick to judge, looking for the good in people, developing a small altruistic view on life. I suppose this also stems from having a low self esteem, but mine is rising again (Thanks to Planet Fitness, the original judgment free zone)HA.

2. I could have said a ½ marathon, which would be nice, but I would like to run for a cause and raise some money. I have done no research on this topic so that is all. I know this may be the most standard and nonspecific resolution, but hey, it looks good on paper.

3. Eat to Live: WOW okay, this is definitely the hardest one for me. Food is amazing. I love cooking it, eating it, playing with it, taking pictures of it, presenting it, force-feeding others to try new foods (sorry Mom and Es), and so on. I heard this phrase from my mother when I was in High school and going through some young teenage diet fad, and she told me not to think about food and diet so much, just ‘eat to live…not live to eat.’ Apparently my enlightened mother was quoting the one and only Buddha. He also said that hunger is the worst illness because we are born with it and can never cure it until our lives are over. There are a couple more eating principles that Buddha has such as respecting the labor that people have put into creating the meal, to commit good deeds worthy of sharing the meal, arrive at the table without negative feelings towards anyone, eat in order to achieve spiritual and physical well being, and be dedicated in pursuit of enlightenment. My only qualm is that Buddha is usually portrayed as fa….er…having a big belly?

4. Staying in touch. It’s not too hard, and now that I have upgraded from

THIS:

TO THIS: (env3)
texting is a lot easier now, therefore, so is staying in touch.

5. Save money/pay off loans/get new job has been a goal of mine since I was 12. So just out of habit, I must include this. (and the fact my loans are a LOT bigger than ‘pay Kelly that $1.50 I owe her').

All this said and done, we’ll see how I do this year. Good luck to all of you with your new year’s resolutions, but please stay away from my treadmill time. :)