Daring Bakers Challenge -- cheesecake!
Delicious, despite the overly-browned crust. I think I need a new springform pan . . . drat. Perhaps I'll buy one of those watertight Kaisers, and try the bain marie next time?
I did manage to squeak out a little cooking yesterday, in-between a trip to the Farmer's Market, some yoga, getting Dan's hair cut, picking up Dan's new glasses, etc. When you only have one weekend day off a week, you have to make it count, right?
Sweetened with locally-harvested maple syrup, and chock-full of almonds, sunflower seeds, dried apples, dried blueberries, and dried cranberries, I think this might be one of my tastiest batches yet!
I ignored recipes this time, and made a simple saute of onion, garlic, chard, mushrooms, and chickpeas, seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil, za'atar, and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. A delicious puddle of polenta hiding underneath, and a sprinkle of feta on top. Yum.
You know, polenta is another one of those foods, like couscous, that I have a tendency to forget about. Love them, but hardly ever make them. Hm. Curious.
I made spinach and tomato dal, matter paneer, a basmati rice pilaf with golden raisins, almonds, and spices, a simple raita made from plain yogurt, cucumber, onion, and salt, jarred mango chutney, whole-wheat naan (from the store,) and frozen samosas.
I'm still WAY full, and we finished eating an hour ago, at least!
Have I written about oatmeal lately?
I must confess -- like everything else, I'm an oatmeal snob.
Recently, I've discovered a way to make oatmeal that I actually look forward to in the morning!
I think I am the busiest laid-off person I know. :) All of this busy-ness (job applications and interviews, working at the store, bussing all over town, etc.) has lead to some blog neglection on my part . . . sorry 'bout that! I will now make up for lost time.
A couple of nights ago, I made Jennifer's "Everything" Granola Bars, which are FAN-TAS-TIC! (No photo . . . sorry!) I added a few more rolled oats and a few less nuts/seeds than she called for, (since I always feel like I could use a bit more whole grain in my life,) and would probably add even more dried fruit next time, but these bars are a tasty, healthy, quick burst of mid-afternoon energy or early-morning get out the door breakfast. I've been needing food like this this week -- thanks, Jennifer!
I walked into the co-op with a very short list and $27 cash, and left the co-op with most of what was on my list, and $2 still in my wallet.
REDUCE: I plan to reduce my consumption of non-local foods. I hope to buy larger quantities of some in-season fruits and veggies this year, and even though I have zero canning experience, I can make use of my freezer, right? I also plan to investigate tofu-making, so I can use local soybeans and my Soyabella to make my own tofu.
REUSE: I have tons of spring cleaning/purging I need to do, and hope to make several large donations to places like the Goodwill. I have a twin-sized mattress and boxspring set, and one or two other things, that I will post on Twin Cities Freecycle, in the hopes that someone else can make use of these things that I no longer need!
RECYCLE: I'm kind of a militant recycler, so my goal this year is to install that behavior in my soon-to-be housemate and partner in crime/life. :) He does well, but I still find recyclable things in the trash from time to time . . . I pull them out, of course!
So, what are your green goals? And don't forget to leave the car at home today -- walk, bike, or take public transportation if you can!
So, I gave myself the weekend to process my layoff and everything, be angry and the works, and started job searching today. I updated my resume and references, and hit the web. I found four jobs to apply for!
Here's the strangeness -- I was already contacted about one of the positions, and have an interview on Wednesday morning!
Now, I'm not getting ahead of myself here -- I'm just REALLY surprised. That's all.
With the warmer weather we've been enjoying these past couple of weeks, I've really been wanting salads. Greek-inspired salad of romaine, chickpeas, cucumber, artichokes, red onion, tomatoes, olives, and feta. Yum! We had Dr. Kracker flatbreads with hummus on the side.
Once I get sick of green salads, you can bet I'll move on to pasta salads!
I had this super-fun post planned out for you all, about how to survive 14-hour days while eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner away from home, but since I'm not going to have to DO that any more, it seems sort of pointles.
Why? Because I was laid off yesterday from my full-time job.
I was offered some severance pay, which I took, and immediately found myself with 40 hours at my "part-time" job beginning next week, (thank you, Mike!), but I'm still in shock, my feelings are hurt, and I'm a little angry, too. (The way this whole thing went down was just . . . lousy, to say the least.) I didn't get much sleep last night, (I may allow myself an unusual second cup of coffee this morning, to get through my 4-hour shift at the store this morning,) and am not looking forward to going in on Monday to pick up all of my stuff (mostly books) and explain why I'm not going to be their teacher any more to the kids. That's going to be the hardest part.
My budget is going to take an even bigger hit than anticipated originally, so we'll see how creative I can get. Thank goodness it's nearly Farmer's Market season, where the produce is fresh, local, and most importantly, CHEAP.
Wish me luck. Off to apply for health insurance now.
I'm realizing I forgot to post our weekend's meal plan when I posted the grocery shop last night! Whoops.
I also have some baking to do this weekend -- granola of course, probably muffins or scones, and my Daring Baker's project! I'm excited for the cooking frenzy to begin!
I was hoping something awesome would come around for my 800th post -- grocery shopping is pretty awesome, eh? I'm sure glad I took the time to take a picture tonight!
This was, indeed, a BIG SHOP. And feel free to call me the cheese monster.
I have three favorite salads of all time. All three salads begin with romaine and/or mixed baby greens, and then add either beets and goat cheese, a host of Greek-type veggies and feta, or . . .
sliced apples, sliced fennel, walnuts, and bleu cheese. Heaven in a bowl, in my opinion.
I have very few pictures from this weekend, partly because I was lazy, and partly because I loaned my camera to Courtney for the day on Saturday. (She's selling some stuff on Craigslist.) I promise we ate, though!
Who says you can't have falafel sandwiches for Easter Dinner? Homemade pita, cucumber, onion, tomato, and romaine lettuce rounded out the deliciousness, all covered in a sauce made from plain soy yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and some grated fresh garlic.
Since I completed the 31-Day Yoga Challenge, I rewarded myself with not two, but THREE new yoga DVDs! (Well, I guess techinically FIVE new DVDs, but three of them are a set, so . . . it counts as one, right?) I chose to skip a new pair of yoga pants in favor of some new challenges. I've been enjoying the sun salutes from Yoga Journal's "Step by Step Session 1," and will progress to Session 2 once I'm feeling stronger and more flexible -- maybe another month? "Yoga for Every Body" seemed very intriguing to me -- it's a highly-customizeable DVD, allowing you to choose your level (beginning, intermediate, advanced,) length of practice, and specific target areas, such as back or neck pain, improving balance, etc. "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" is an old favorite I had on VHS, that REALLY needed updating.
Between all of my new DVDs and the practices I downloaded at the end of last month, I'm going to feel challenged (at least in the yoga department) for a LONG time! Woo!
Last, I'm pleased to report that I will officially mail away all of my paperwork to renew my teaching license TOMORROW! (I would mail it tonight, except that I don't have enough stamps -- that sucker is heavy!) Now that I've finished that project, I can move on to bigger and better (and more fun) things, like cleaning out my apartment to prepare for Dan moving in this summer. Woo!
I had several odds and ends type leftovers lingering in my fridge, including a cup of cheese from last week's pizza, which I thought would translate very well into a pizza repeat this weekend! We weren't disappointed: half-wholewheat crust again, (based on Artisan Bread's "Light Whole Wheat" dough,) the last of the artichoke marinara, leftover mozzarella, parmesan, sliced mushrooms, kalamata olives, leftover red onion, leftover spinach, and leftover goat cheese!
Ashley did come over and made a fantastic batch of granola all by herself, and I was so wrapped up in chatting, I forgot to take pictures! Well, you know what granola looks like, right?
Add these black and pinto beans to the nine cups of chickpeas I cooked yesterday, and I think I'd call my freezer well-stocked, at least in the bean department!
Hope you all had wonderful weekends!
I woke up ridiculously early this morning, (like, before 7 AM) and couldn't get back to sleep, so I finally gave up on sleeping in around 8:00, got up, and got busy in my kitchen!
I started the morning by doing all of the dishes from last night, (WHY do I think it's a good idea to leave the dishes until the morning???), cooking up a big batch of chickpeas for the freezer, (9 cups total!), and baking off a quick double-batch of granola -- I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds this time to switch things up a bit. Yum!
Rootbeer floats, made with Virgil's root beer and Cedar Summit Farms vanilla ice cream (local!) This was a fantastic treat, even though it was gloomy, cold, and grey outside all day long!
Jerk Tofu, (from the PPK), "Caribbean Coconut Rice," and "Japanese Asparagus Dengaku" (both from the most recent issue of Vegetarian Times.) This dinner was a winner in both speed of preparation and taste, but I must admit the coconut rice was the home run! The rice was so rich and delicious, and made a perfect pair to the spicy, seasoned tofu. I can't wait for leftovers in my lunch this week!
My friend Ashley is coming over tomorrow afternoon for her granola-making lesson, so hopefully she'll be a great sport and let you all see what she comes up with!
Both pizzas were made on a half-wholegrain crust (based on an Artisan Bread recipe,) topped with an artichoke marinara, fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and a chiffonade of fresh basil on top.
Dan is convinced I make the best pizza he's ever had -- that's pretty high praise, if you ask me!
I went grocery shopping with my friend Ashley tonight, (thanks for the ride, hon!), and although I was WAY too tired to set up everything for a photo, I thought I'd type up the ginormous haul anyway!
Before beginning, I'm proud to report that, although I spent a FORTUNE, I saved $7.50 using my quarterly member discounts, and had $12.76 in coupons and specials! WOO!
Also, just under 20% of my purchase was local. Not bad!
I have LOADS of cooking planned this weekend, including pizza, more frittata, jerk tofu, spanikopita, a new (to me) soup recipe, granola, more scones, and pounds of dried beans to soak and cook! Ashley's also going to come over on Sunday for a granola-making lesson -- she already has all of her ingredients, from tonight's shop!