the mice, they are a-playin’

At least this one has been… Playing, and school-working, and running and cooking… I have been a BUSY girl these last few days, filling my extra free time to the max! So busy, I haven’t even had time to BLOG-gasp!

Let’s see…where did I leave off?

Well, Andrew’s long gone, but I can’t not post about the fantastic dinner we had Wednesday. Foreign!

I pulled this recipe for Banh Mi sandwiches out of a Food Network magazine back in 2008 or 2009. It has, literally, been sitting in my “to try” recipe binder (in the fish section), waiting for such a time as this. Well, the stars aligned last week and I finally made them…

You can see the fish peeking out from under the watercress and carrot. The seasoning for the fish was super easy and really good–I just sauteed coconut oil (which is solid at room temperature) for a minute or two, added some Thai red curry paste and cooked it a little longer, then slathered it all over the fish before broiling. It smelled SO GOOD. I’m keeping the recipe because I think it’s such a unique flavoring, and the asian sauce you make to go with it was a winner, too.

Andrew left Thursday, which was the night I made my hawaiian pizza. Check out my solo dinner set-up:

Disclaimer: About a minute after I took the photo, I traded the magazines for the laptop and perused my usual: Kath’s blog, Facebook and People.com. I call them my guilty pleasures.

Check out that perfectly browned cheese! With a good red sauce, hawaiian pizza cannot be beat. Although I don’t know that I’ll be using fresh mozzarella next time for pizza; it’s best reserved for caprese salad.

Thursday night was also the night I chose to clean the WHOLE house…kind of like a mini-spring cleaning. I always clean when Andrew leaves… The way I see it: the earlier I get the place cleaned up, I longer I get to experience a clean house without having to pick up after anyone else! It’s been glorious…

The next morning, at 6:30 a.m. no less(!), Emily and I did one of our Made to Crave discussion dates over the phone.

Is it bad that I was eating at the same time I was discussing a Bible study about CONTROLLING eating??? I suppose I should fess up and admit I printed out TWO cookie recipes from King Arthur Flour’s ‘best cookie line-up’ just moments before this shot was taken…

Also, note the “cookie-like” object on my plate… They’re called “Anytime Cookies” and they’re from an online site called Nourished Kitchen. I made them a day or so before Andrew left and WOW. Loved them! Super easy, SUPER healthy (no added sweeteners–just sweet from dried fruit) and the texture was great. They’re kind of like a mini-muffin more than a cookie. But at only 127 calories, they’re easier to have as a snack with some fruit or yogurt (or both) than something bigger or heavier. I’ve shared them with some local loved ones (and Susy in her pre-half-marathon care package–tell me what you think!) and they raved.

Recipe is linked. They use coconut flour and unsweetened, shredded coconut. Coconut flour is higher in protein and fiber than regular flour. Most grocery stores with a ‘natural/organic’ section should have coconut flour there, or in their gluten-free section. That’s also where you’ll find the unsweetened, shredded coconut–the kind in the baking aisle is (heavily) sweetened. If you absolutely can’t find the unsweetened kind, use the regular and perhaps decrease some of the fruit. Or you’ll just have sweeter cookies, which if you’re not used to things like plain yogurt and unsweetened applesauce, might be a good transition for you, anyway.

OK, now that I’ve COMPLETELY digressed from my weekend re-cap…

I made this recipe for sweet potato and coconut soup, the recipe for which has been hanging on the fridge forever… I knew I’d have leftover fish from the Banh Mi, and I thought a coconut-flavored soup would be perfect. PCC Natural Markets is a ‘chain’ of co-ops in Washington State and a friend from the co-op here sent me a link to the soup awhile ago. Thanks Mary!

I roasted the sweet potatoes instead of steaming like the recipe called for–check out these babies! Like dessert, I tell you.

Friday was filled with school-working, since I cleaned all night Thursday… Chem lab to finish, two Micro labs to finish, Chem practice quizzes to prep for the actual quiz, Stats homework… Not to mention paying bills, random emailing and phone-calling, co-op blogging…

Friday night I enjoyed my soup topped with a dollop (I love that word, don’t you?) of plain lowfat yogurt (to sub for sour cream, of course!), cilantro and chopped peanuts, paired with leftover fish, edamame and white wine. As my friend Regina said when she saw the photo (I sent her a photo of my food–I AM that weird)…”Def not an Andrew meal!” Nope, not an Andrew meal, although he does eat all of these things (points for him), he does LOVE any of them.

Saturday morning, I read the paper! What a relaxing pastime… Now I know why people sit and read the paper on Saturday mornings… I’m usually up and going early on Saturdays, either the gym or early-morning shopping at Wegmans to beat the crowds (I like shopping so much I’d rather get up EARLY and go to enjoy myself than be rushed and crowded–grocery shopping, to me, is an EVENT).

If you look close enough, you can see yours’ truly’s byline on the front page, ABOVE the fold…(!)

I did hit the gym later that morning and tried a “punk rope” class. It’s basically a circuit-training class with jump ropes, and while it wasn’t as high-intensity as it could have been, it was a nice change and a great time slot (8:30 to 9:15) for a Saturday morning workout.

I spent the afternoon with Carolyn bridesmaid-dress shopping…

…and we found a winner! She’s liked this one from the beginning, and was finally ready to declare that this was it. Ours will be black with a black ribbon, and Abigail’s will be black with a hot pink ribbon. If you’re reading this and you know Abigail, you know that that is SO her.

I’d made plans with Regina for later that night (when was I supposed to get any of my Chemistry done, you ask? I was asking myself the same thing…), but we didn’t know if we were going to stay in, or go out, so I decided to have something ready just in case. Enter Triple Ginger Biscotti.

Yet another recipe that’s been hanging around for awhile… Not even sure who sent it to me…? Susy, was that you? They turned out well, but the recipe made A TON. Should have halved it.

Regina and I stayed in and enjoyed out biscotti and tea after walking Hadrian. So glad she was up for a walk despite the chilly temps; I’ve been thinking a lot lately (because of Made to Crave) about how EVERYTHING we do (socially, at least) is centered around food–meeting for drinks, dessert, coffee, lunch–the list goes on. Now that the weather is getting nicer, it will be easier to meet up for more active activities like walks or runs. Just something I’m trying to start doing to decrease foods’ ever-present status in my life…

(STILL chastising myself for not getting a photo of dear Regina…I’m such a terrible blogger!)

Sunday mornings are normally my run mornings, since it’s easier to run outside around the house than get to and from the gym before church. Despite my late bedtime Saturday night–Regina and I were talking until at least 10:30–Hadrian got me up at 5:45 and I decided to go with it. After polishing off some coffee, biscotti, the last Anytime Cookie and a banana, I headed out with Hadrian for our 3.4 mile loop. I’d decided to do a long run (a.k.a. something in the 9+mile range for me), so after dropping him back off at home, I set out for my 7.4 mile loop around Orchard Park. The stop at home was perfect; I was able to shed a pair of gloves (I wear two!) and add my sunglasses. And since no one wants to run 10.8 miles, I added a 3-minute loop near the house, which upped it to more than 11.1. Not an even number, but at least 11. I was tired, but satisfied. I hadn’t run more than 7 miles in a LONG time, so busting this out was good for me.

All that running done by 8:45 a.m.! Still plenty of time to refuel and meet Andrew’s family for church. I read my friend, Emily’s blog (a fellow RD-in-training here in Buffalo, not to be confused with the oft-mentioned Emily with whom I’m doing M2C) a couple days ago and she had a ‘toasted marshmallow cheesecake‘ oatmeal that I HAD TO TRY. I knew it would be perfect post-run.

Yes, that is Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter melting on the top. Deliciousness, and pure indulgence. At least with peanut butter one gets a little protein; cookie butter is just dessert, people. Also, I had to leave out the ‘mallows, I was fresh out! But, since I’m not a huge marshmallow fan, anyway, (love ‘smores!), it wasn’t a big deal. SO GOOD, I could have liked the bowl. In fact, I might have.

After church and lunch at Panera with everyone, Carolyn and Ben and I headed to Target for some errand-running. So fun to see what they registered for! I treated myself to some new gym towels–mine were getting pretty ‘tired,’ for lack of a gross-er word–and some other things I needed.

LOOK! The pineapple in action!

I packaged up every last piece of that biscotti! Had to get it out of the house for my waistline’s own protection. Note: this photo was taken at about 4 p.m. Sunday, at which time I had YET to start any Chemistry… I had completely one practice quiz the night before, but still had two to go. My procrastination drugs of choice: 1.) baking 2.) cleaning 3.) anything else that needs to be done around the house. That way, I still feel productive while ‘wasting time.’

Oh, and I also changed out my purses for spring! Goodbye my lovely green leather (but ridiculously heavy!) bag, hello Paris purse! The blue striped bag was a Target purchase to corral all my giftcards and coupons, since the red bag is a bottomless pit. Not a single pocket to be found inside…

Biscotti packed up…now on to Chemistry! I did a practice quiz, followed by leftover sweet potato soup and veggies and hummus for dinner, then another practice quiz.

After taking the dog for a brief, and chilly, walk, I sat down for the real thing. Deep breaths abounded…

And I was handsomely, and shockingly, rewarded with a 100%! Holy smokes!! Seriously, I know I whine and complain about Chemistry, and while I have an A in the class, it’s still super hard and I never quite know what’s really going on with all those electrons and ions and things swimming around in solution… Anyway, I’ve NEVER gotten a 100% on a quiz in either semester of Chem so far, so this was huge.

Except that it wasn’t. The quiz took all of 15 minutes since EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM WAS ONE THAT HAD BEEN ON THE PRACTICE QUIZZES. I repeat: I had the answers in front of me. Seriously. I mean, on all the past quizzes there have been a handful (maybe 5 or 6) problems that matched up with practice quizzes, but never ALL of them. My theory? Dr. Barton rewards those who do the practice quizzes, because that’s the kind of guy he is. Let’s just say I was in total shock and had to keep checking to make sure I’d taken an ACTUAL quiz and not another practice quiz. And for fear that you think I exaggerate about how bad Chemistry is, this 100% will allow me to drop the 72% I got on the last quiz…

And it was a HUGE blessing, too! The extra time I gained by finished the quiz so early allowed me to prep my breakfast:

Pioneer Woman’s Breakfast Bread Pudding. It’s essentially a ‘breakfast casserole’ but less egg and assembled like a bread pudding.

I order to lighten it up a bit (and it is just me by my lonesome), I halved the amount of sausage.

I am, as I type this, enjoying a bowl of this and a pear for breakfast. YUM.

Signing off now–whew, this was a long one!

mrs. nye’s pies

A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon with one of Andrew’s best friend’s mom, Mrs. Nye. Her son, Alex, and Andrew went to school here in East Aurora together and played on the basketball team. They’re a bit of an unlikely pair (Alex is a bit more fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants and works in the broadcast news business; he’s creative and perhaps a little rough around the edges) but they totally work and both have a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Anyway, his mom, Ann, is famous around here for her pies–she even had a small home business going for awhile–and pie is one thing that makes me nervous (I’m always afraid I’m going to mess up the crust), so I enlisted her help.

She was prepped and ready to go before I even arrived; she even has a handy pie-rolling station/cutting board built right into her countertop.

My mistake #1: I never use enough flour for the board. Don’t be stingy, Holly!

We started with flour, salt and shortening in the mixer until it resembled a pea-like consistency, then started adding water. Mrs. Nye doesn’t bother with the ‘it must be ice-cold’ business!

Then, just when it was starting to hold together, we formed it into balls/discs by hand. Again, lots of flour!

Rolling them out…

Now, here’s the tricky part: getting the crust INTO the pan… It’s always the part that makes me sweat. I’ve always relied on the ‘drape it over the rolling pin and hope for the best’ method. Mrs. Nye doesn’t sweat it at all; she just rolls it out and before you know it, it’s on the pie plate and she doesn’t care how it looks–it’s on the bottom, anyway. (I knew there would be some nuggets of wisdom in here…)

Crimp the edges however you like–this one was for a one-shell pie–and then grab a fork.

For pre-baking a pie shell, make little punctures ALL OVER THE PIE with a fork. Another thing Mrs. Nye doesn’t mess with is pie weights (she’s a bit of a minimalist).

There’s my pie! This one was a maple syrup pie–Andrew and I are huge fans of the one we had at Aux Anciens Canadiens in Quebec City a couple years ago–and I found a recipe in the pie “bible” at Susy’s house. More on the recipe later.

Mrs. Nye was preparing apples for the rest of our pies, which we would assemble and freeze. Who knew you could do that?

More dough rolling…

…pie-filling…

(My tried-and-true apple pie recipe is from a friend of mine’s mom, which is really just a basic recipe, and then I add LOTS of cinnamon–a tablespoon–and orange juice and orange zest. I saw the citrus addition on a Barefoot Contessa episode and took it to be God’s truth, and it is. The cinnamon is all me.)

…and now, the second crust! Here is where I start to get REALLY nervous. I mean, this is the one that people actually SEE, and it has to fit over the top.

Use water to ‘glue’ the edges before draping with the second crust. (Again, who knew?? No one ever told me this.)

Finish by tearing any extra crust off the long parts and use them to patch other areas, if necessary. For Mrs. Nye, who can actually roll her crust into a relative circle, this is probably an UNnecessary step. For me, it’s the only way my crust actually stretches from side to side…

Life goal #1: master yeast bread

Life goal #2: master pie

Life goal #3: master homemade ice cream

Life goal #4: not get fat in the process

(Hey, a girl can dream…)

Anyway, about the recipe. So Andrew and I just DIED over this maple syrup pie we had on a trip to Quebec City awhile back (the fact that it cost an arm and a leg and we WENT BACK A SECOND TIME should tell you something), and I’ve tried a couple times to make one at home. Imagine, if you will, a pecan pie without the pecans, but still a crunchy ‘crust-like’ top layer. That, my friends, is a maple syrup pie.

Sadly, the recipe we used from the pie “bible” (below) wasn’t quite it.

This recipe is a little closer–I made it for our Bible study shortly after returning home from our trip–but wasn’t exactly right, either. Guess we’ll just have to go back and try it again!! Actually, we’ve been trying to arrange a trip with Emily and Dan up there during the winter, so maybe next year??

Below is me with the baked maple syrup pie. Man, did it smell good! I had to scoot out after it finished, we I took it home to surprise Andrew, and then we showed up at the Nye’s with the rest of the pie to share with them.

The reason this post has taken me SO LONG is that I wanted to wait until I actually baked the apple pie from my freezer (that, and life just has a way of side-tracking me lately…) Well, with only two of us, it’s not all that practical to just throw a pie in the over with no one to help us eat it!

Last night was the perfect excuse–Andrew’s grandma came for a visit for Easter–so I packed it up and brought it over to the Layer’s to have after pizza and wings.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of the baked pie…by the time I remembered, it was almost gone! The crust looked pretty nice–one of my best, perhaps–I can tell you that.

And since I can’t have pie without ice cream or whipped cream (the maple syrup pie is best with freshly whipped, slightly sweetened whipped cream to cut the sweetness), I asked Andrew’s mom to make sure some was in the freezer. I also brought the salted caramel sauce (Did you know it’s most definitely pronounced “car-A-mel,” not “car-mel?” I heard that on the radio the other day.) Susy sent home with me and it was fantastic.

It’s kind of a mess in my bowl, but, as my mom would say (and I bet Mrs. Nye, too), ‘it’s all going the same place.’

National Spinach Day

Today is National Spinach Day! Who knew??? And of course, today is one of the RARE days I don’t have a giant tub of it sitting in my fridge. (Last time I was at Wegmans they were out of the all-baby spinach, so I settled for an arugula, radicchio and spinach blend, and I’m almost all out!)

Otherwise, I’d be eating green ALL DAY.

Check out WHY spinach is such a powerhouse food!

I use it almost every day in salads, on sandwiches or just IN things, like soups or smoothies.

In the interest of time (I have things I need to do today!), here are some links to some basic spinach recipes and some of my favorites!

Basic Sauteed Spinach

My favorite Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Berry Spinach Smoothie (it’s not green!)

Baked Spinach

Creamed Spinach–Andrew’s favorite! Serve with steak 🙂

Gotta go…must get the dog on a walk before I head off to school! Bring on the green 🙂 (At least when I started this post I was wearing a green t-shirt…)