Tag: dinner

a list

1.  I start school tomorrow.  I’m uncharacteristically nonchalant about this.  I’m prepared and ready to go back, but not nervous in the slightest.  Have I, dare I say it, grown up?

2.  I made a friend today!  Actually, one of Andrew’s friends.  Is that weird?  One of Andrew’s friends from high school found me on Facebook, started reading my blog (yay!), then emailed me.  We really hit it off and met for coffee today, then the BOGO shoe sale at the local running store.  She and I are very similar (which makes sense, I suppose, since Andrew and she were good friends) and are looking forward to a dinner date with our respective spouses.

3.  Speaking of running shoes… I bought two pairs for what I paid last summer in Carmel for one.  Sheesh.  Good running shoes, for me, are akin to air, water and peanut butter, so at the end of the day, I’ll pay a pretty penny if I have to.  But, scoring a good deal for your pair of choice online isn’t always easy, so I was jazzed that the shoe sale today yielded another pair of my current style and a trail runner with support for me to wear in the snow.  SWEET!

4.  All I wanted to do this winter break was cook and bake, but with three trips in as many weeks, I didn’t exactly have the free time I’d anticipated.  However, I’ve been making up for lost time these last couple days! I’ve made two loaves of sourdough, a giant batch of sourdough waffles to freeze, pumpkin granola, ham stock with the leftover Thanksgiving ham bone (destined for ham bone soup tomorrow), pumpkin-cranberry rolls and a menu for the week chock full of new recipes, to include cod and mung beans (not together).  I. CANNOT. WAIT.

5.  I made the best kale ever tonight–Andrew said it was a ‘Top 10,’ which is saying something since he’s so picky.  It’s a recipe I replicated from something I got at Earth Fare this past week in Ohio.  I’m blogging about kale this week for the co-op, so be sure to check it out there for my recipe!

6.  I also made some great cauliflower (Andrew said “he’d eat it again”) tonight using a recipe a gal we met while in Canandaigua sent me.  It’s a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.  In terms of cauliflower, it was fantastic.

7.  I was reading the Jan/Feb issue of Cooking Light on the elliptical this morning.  Mistake.  EVERYTHING in there is awesome.  (Except that I can’t make half of it due to Andrew’s dislike of cheese.)  Sad.

8.  This month’s Cuisine at Home is also a winner.  Between the two of them, I found recipes for Pad Thai and Tom Kha Gai soup–my two favorite things to order when we go out for Thai food.

9.  I’m trying to figure out a new gym schedule for next semester that includes a yoga class…  All the good ones are at times I’m unavailable!  It’s either going at night (not my first choice) or cutting it close between the gym and class.  Decisions, decisions.

10.  There is a pair of boots I’ve been drooling over since before Christmas, and I’ve been itching to order them ever since.  Theoretically, I have the fun money to do it, but after all Hadrian’s trips to the vet, our traveling (gas, food, Starbucks…), random impulse buys (ahem, the shoe sale and those $20 LOFT pants that fit like a glove), I feel like I need to keep waiting.  Again, I ask, does this mean I’ve grown up?  (No, probably not, since I’m also daydreaming about this awesome J.Crew dress I found to wear to not one, but TWO occasions this year…)

tiny sweet potato

This is what happens when I’m on my own for dinner:

 

Or leftovers.

Heaving dinner together this semester has been tough.  I’m a firm believer in sitting down together regularly to meals, making that time quality time together.  However, between Andrew’s twice weekly post-work engineering classes, his new workout schedule (hard to complain about, but still) and basketball, as well as my bi-monthly Bible study and Thursday evening class, we basically only sit down together on Fridays and Mondays, if we’re lucky.  (I leave Sat and Sun out of the equation since our schedule is always up in the air but we’re generally together.)  It’s been so frustrating for me to plan recipes and then have Andrew change things up at the last minute–I feel like I can’t win!  I either plan and buy ingredients and then something comes up, or I don’t get anything and we’re stuck ordering pizza (JUST what I need) or going out to eat (which gets expensive).

You don’t know how much I’m looking forward to basketball, his professional classes and my night class to end!

Anyway, I made a brussels sprout salad the other night when the Layers were over for dinner.  Basically, it was brussels sprout leaves, dried cranberries and blueberries, smoked almonds and manchego cheese.  It was awesome, but separating the b.s. leaves was time-consuming–for leftovers, I steamed them like regular, then mixed them with the salad ingredients–yum!

I love sweet potatoes and am planning to make sweet potato fries with cranberry ketchup later this week, and when I found a bag of small organic ones at Wegmans, I knew I had to get it!  Sweet potatoes are the best!  It took 5 minutes to cook this one in the microwave and I sprinkled it with a mix of cumin, paprika and red pepper. It was just warm enough to wake up my taste buds.  I did use about half a tablespoon of butter, too.  Although olive oil would have worked in this flavor pairing, too.

These little orange babies are awesome; they’re perfect for lunches at home or at school.  Of course, I’ll have to resist using too much sugar on the ones I sprinkle with cinnamon…

And lastly, half a pear and one serving of Cabot’s sharp cheddar for protein.  Pears are fantastic right now!  Although, this is the second time I’ve gotten a bag and they all ripen at the same time!  We go from not eating them to eating them with every meal!