Cocoa's place

Dear Coffee, I've missed you so much

2012-01-24T15:23:00.000-08:00

Starbucks...I used to go every day. It was a good time, me and the girls at work would go down every morning for a break and it was really a nice highlight to the day.
Then I changed jobs and it's not as easy when you have to actually drive away from your office to get there. Sometimes the boss wonders...
Then they started putting gluten in their syrups and frapps so I pretty much decided that I didn't want to have to ask to see the ingredients on everything every single time I went there. So now, I go once every couple weeks and I only get teas because I can't handle the soy milk any more :(
And that's my coffee saga.
But there's an upside! I found a non-dairy creamer that has brought coffee back in my life, for good or evil.

It's actually a generic Safeway brand...isn't that they way it goes? You can search all the high end brands of something looking for yours and then you find it in the cheapest generic.

The ingredients are...

I know, I'm not thrilled with them - but it's something!
I also recently discovered coconut milk as a beverage enhancer after trying a recipe for vegan Irish cream over the holidays. The kind that comes in a can with the cream on top is great for whipping and I'd imagine it would make a nice latte...
Has anyone tried that? Let me know!

Review: Thai Kitchen Thai Peanut, Rice Noodle Cart

2012-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

I've had this in my drawer at work for quite a while, in case of emergency. Well, today we have snow tumbling down by the foot so I'm resigned to eating lunch at my desk and trying to get home at the "hottest" time of day, which also coincides with when the snow is supposed to taper off.
So, I have the opportunity to try out this sweet little box of goodness!
The first thing you probably want to know is if it tastes good, right? Well, yes it does. Surprisingly so!
The sauce actually has this tangy flavor that nicely offsets the spicy bits and the peanut topping was nice and fresh - nothing ickier than stale peanuts, am I right? I definitely liked it.
Also, it looked very much like the picture on the front, minus the fresh garnish, of course. That was also a super surprise! Instant meals usually look like a ball of mush and you wonder how they can live with themselves putting a delicious picture on the outside of a box when what is inside looks like a partially digested version.
You know what I mean!
Pros of this meal:
1. You just dump all the packets in a dish and 2 Tablespoons of water, nuke for 2 mins and it's yummy lunch!
2. The ingredients are pretty good. Here's what was on my box:

Cons:
1. My little dish was broken, and I couldn't tell until I opened up the entire package. That would have been a bummer if I wouldn't have had an extra bowl at work.
2. Unlike other bowls, you really need the microwave because the noodles will be rubbery if they don't get a touch of heat. I've been able to just add hot water to other noodle bowls from the coffee maker - not this one!

Bloom restaurant, Broomfield, CO

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

I went to Bloom last week with my coworkers for lunch and the waiter knew immediately, when I told him I needed gluten free, which 2 options and desserts, on the menu(!) were ok for me. I had the Salmon with polenta and arugula. First let me say, my meal was delicious, piping hot and safe. Then let me say, it came a full 10 minutes after everyone else at the table was served...and they waited to eat until I got mine despite me telling them to go ahead without me. The waiter explained that they had overcooked my salmon and made me a new dish, that was the delay.
So, I had no problem with the wait because I'd rather sit for 10 minutes to eat something divine than get something crappy fast. I also had a martini - which was fantastic! They have Hendrick's gin.

And made it just how I like it - neat, 3 olives :)

For dessert I ordered the flourless chocolate cake without the little cookie cup that comes with it, of course! And they delivered my sorbet that accompanies it, in a martini glass on the side. I've had the flourless cake in the past and it's been a little eggy tasting but this time it was perfect.
In the past I've gone, also with work groups - they require a pre-set menu on large groups, we are usually 20 - 30 ppl and get their private dining area. One time, I arranged for a pork option and everyone who chose it complained that it was undercooked, which is unacceptable, especially for pork! So we hadn't been back since.
Every other group meal we've had there though, I had to arrange for something "special" for me and it was always inedible. I usually opt for a plain steak and vegetable for business dinners because restaurants can accommodate that easily and usually safely but Bloom has always delivered mine cold, over cooked and covered in mystery sauce so that I couldn't eat it. I've always felt that was unacceptable because restaurants are set up to cook for individual meals so just because I was with a group shouldn't mean that they make mine and set it under a heat lamp until they've made the other 29 meals.
I'm glad to be able to add them back to my possible dining list though. I still don't enjoy eating out - but it's good to know I can!
Where do you guys eat out? Do you have any sneaky tips to getting a safe meal, especially if you have other food allergies and/or intolerances?

What's your New Year's Day craving?

2012-01-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Good Morning and Happy 2012 to you!
I'll tell you right now, I'm not making resolutions this year. Well, unless it's a resolution to just fix my problems in the moment instead of planning to do them in the future!
Yeah, I may not get anything accomplished with that attitude but how much gets done when we plan to do it in the future anyway?
So, this morning I was thinking about all the people with hangovers. I've never had a hang over, thankfully. It's either genetics or the fact that I tend to wake up 2 hours after I fall asleep, and drink enough water to give my liver a fighting chance over night. Maybe both.

I have friends who wake up after a night, such as many had last night, and crave the greasiest, saltiest, sugariest mess of a ~~breakfast~~ ~~lunch~~ dinner, ever. You know who you are. Well, I'm here to admit that this morning all I wanted for breakfast (can you call it that at 1:30 PM?) was meat and cheese with a side of giant cokes and cookies. ahem. But, you know it's a rule in my house to start with something green and build from there - it's how I survive.
So I made the salad pictured above. Yes, it's got hard salami (Hormel brand...let me sing their praises, gf and nitrite/nitrate free!!!) and sharp cheddar cheese. I even drizzled a little evoo on it in addition to the usual balsamic vinegar. Heavenly.
I'm not braggin here...as soon as I was done with that I had a coke and a handful of salty cashews.
I also popped a couple Viactiv caramel vitamins...

Thank you Dr. for prescribing 1000 mg of D per day!
I feel better. Honestly I'd love another Coke but I only keep 1 emergency soda in the house at any time and due to nasty neighbor issues I'm refusing to go out. Long story short the wind has blown the trash they pile up outside their garage - not bagged!- in front of my garage and I'm refusing to pick it up again today, for the 22nd day in a row. Happy New Year to me.

So, how's your year starting out? What do you crave on the first day of a new year?

There's a shot glass in my salad

2011-12-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

I have a super thrifty lunch packing idea for you today!

So, we all know how if you put your dressing on your salad and pack it for lunch later how soggy your greens will get, right? They make wonderful little containers with special compartments for salad dressing, but I have to admit - it's a little more than I want to spend and often they don't fit well in the dishwasher.

So the other day, I thought - why not use a shot glass to hold the dressing? It was easy peasy and I knew exactly how many ounces of dressing I had. As you can see, I basically just put it in my container then put the salad in around it, slapped on the top and it kept until lunch time. So good! The shot glass is also dishwasher safe so easy clean up to boot!

I also have to share about my darling friend at work who brings in goodies every holiday. Her thing is really baking - she is a mad cake decorator. But, being gluten free of course I can't have cakes.

But, the sweetheart she is, she started bringing me peanut brittle! And it is magical! She also made me fudge a couple years ago, which was even better. I'm hoping for more of that one day :)

She did share something with me though - a friend of hers has kids who are gluten, nut and dairy free yet she feeds them Oreo cookies. Now,I'm not here to judge but I had to say that I hate it when people do that! Dawn thought Oreos are gluten/nut/dairy free - assuming that this woman who grills everyone on what is being fed to her kids wouldn't stray from those restrictions. Obviously, I told her that if she ever brought me Oreos as a treat, I'd promptly freak out and she should be sure to slap some sense into her friend who was either lying to the world or unwittingly poisoning her kids on a regular basis.

*jumping off the soap box*

Back to the point - what kind of lunch box tips do you have?

Don't forget to take a vitamin with your pie for breakfast

2011-11-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

The best thing about Thanksgiving leftovers is having pie for breakfast, just be sure to take a vitamin to alleviate any guilt. Plus, it's sweet potato pie, which is really good for a person.

I got my recipe here and made a couple changes for my tastes, of course: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-fashioned-sweet-potato-pie-recipe/index.html

I figured Paula Deen wouldn't steer a girl wrong when it came to pie, would she? No she didn't!

I skipped meringue, obvs and whipped some coconut cream up instead. Also, instead of regular milk, I used coconut milk so that it would be gluten free and dairy free for me :) Turned out perfect and delicious!

I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free biscuit and baking mix for the crust.

Tastes just like every pie crust I ever remember. I never did like pie crust.

Here's my leftover sampler. Mashed potatoes (made with vegetable broth instead of water for some extra kick, yes, they were instant.), the curried cornbread stuffing I always make, Kentucky Legend brand pre-cooked turkey breast and green beans with shallots and toasted almonds. Of course there were 5 kinds of wine and Irish whiskey for the Irish Coffee.

I'm already planning for next year. I think I'll do a different stuffing and no pie. Any suggestions for desserts other than pie?

BTW, the pre-made turkey isn't out of lazy (although it is super convenient) it's because I don't really care for turkey and suspect I'm allergic to it like chicken so I opt out of the stress trying to cook one. I ask my dad to make one like he used to every year, and he always declines, so the Kentucky Legend must be good enough.

I guess when Celiac took over my life and now everything has to be gluten free, he has passed the torch of cooking holiday dinners to me. Or maybe I ripped it out of his hand and ran with it. We'll never tell ;)

Rather than try to re-create what we loved before with gluten free substitutions, we've just decided to do things differently. Mom loves the change, dad is just happy as long as there is plenty of wine and I've never been one to hold on to tradition.

So there's your little nap time story about a Bean Thanksgiving. I hope you all had nice ones!

This was the official turkey time wine, in addition to the chillable red always on tap at Chez Cocoa, an organic Riesling, a Kosher dessert wine and a bottle of bubbly...I always need a bottle of cheer :)

New floors, Part 4 - the bedroom

2011-11-27T10:58:00.001-08:00

The floor is finally done! I kept the bedroom for last because it was the smallest and what I thought would be easiest area. But it wasn't. Not only was there a long triangular corner in the closet but there were the same angles coming in the door as everywhere else.

Barfycat wanted to give you the tour...

tah daaaah!!
It was a lot of work and I have exactly 1 piece leftover, in case something needs replaced later. I ordered enough so that I had an entire spare box but one of them was so damaged that I purposefully saved it for last and thankfully, I didn't need to try and salvage any of those broken pieces and was able to return it for a refund.
Now, I have a bunch of scraps and I'm trying to decide which to keep, just in case.
Why, you ask? Because something in my head makes me think that I'm going to get up one morning and look down and see a spot I missed. Impossible, I know.
I also think it wouldn't hurt to have a couple scraps around in case something needs replaced.

Phase 4, Bedroom Complete!!

New floors, Part 3 - the master suite

2011-11-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

It took 2 days for me to pull up all the carpet, staples, nails and scrape up the lumpy mess of putty that lived under the carpet. You can see the stain spilled all over too from when this room was first finished!

That little red machine is the "Floor Boar". It is basically a saw designed to use with Pergo flooring that works with a rachet mechanism to both feed and cut the boards by hand. I loved it! I wasn't afraid of the saw getting away without me - it used no power but my (now toned) arms and it did a really nice cut, even on angled pieces.

For $50, I'd definitely recommend it! It didn't create a big mess of saw dust either - you end up with nice little chunks of board that clean up super easy.

Since I was connecting from the already finished hallway, I started this room in a fairly unconventional way. The instructions are to start in a corner and lay the boards out but I had to come in the door and go in 2 directions - one way into the bathroom and the other way into the bedroom!

So, I basically laid a foundation row inside the door and out both directions to build off of horizontally. This required nailing some boards to one side for stability while I connected the other rows out horizontally but once I had a wall on one side it was easy sailing from there!

Did a little mopping to clean up any foot prints and dust...

See what I mean about the angles in my house? Cute but a DIY nightmare!

And my room is done!

Phase 3, Master Suite Complete!

New floors, Part 2 - the hall

2011-11-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

When my pergo arrived, I answered the door and the driver told me he had 900 pounds of flooring on 2 pallets, I have to admit, I panicked. Where was I going to put it?

He couldn't get it up on the sidewalk and to my front porch, nor was he allowed to break it down and help me carry it into my house. So, I pulled a car out of the garage so he could bring the pallets in. They were low and I managed to bring all 25 boxes @ 35 pounds a piece in my house and up the stairs...You're always stronger than you think you can be.

Working in the hall I learned several things about my house. Although the dramatic angles, lines and vaulted ceilings are impressive looking, they can be a pain for a DIY project. I decided to use Pergo flooring to match the downstairs floors (that came with the house) but sadly, the same color is no longer sold so I decided to go with Whitehall Pine since it goes nicely with the cream and white color scheme I already have in the main areas, not to mention looking pretty snazzy on the stair landings where I couldn't just paint white!

Since pergo is a floating floor you have to cut it to accommodate the tongue and groove space needed to interlock the boards and slide them together. In a nice rectangular area, this is no problem at all. If you have any funky angles, like I do - then you have to get creative.

This is how I'm learning to use a jigsaw like a professional!

once the hall was finally finished I also discovered that the walls are slightly wavy, needless to say this made trimming that last row tricky.

Phase 2, Hall Complete!

New floors, Part 1 - the stairs

2011-11-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

You may remember this from before...

When I decided to de-carpet my second floor, it all started with the stairs. I stripped them, scraped them, pulled staples out of them for hours, sanded them and finally...

Painted them!

The second half were about the same. I basically had to dedicate a 3 day weekend to each flight because of staple pulling hours and paint drying time.

A word to the wise, if you paint any floor white, be prepared to clean it regularly! I used Glidden floor and porch paint with no tint and I'm pretty pleased with the overall look and it certainly does resist scuffing and chipping or wear.

If you have a choice, they gray might be a better option if you're looking for low-upkeep cleaning.

Phase 1, Stairs Complete!

2011-11-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

I woke up today and thought, how long has it been since Iblogged? I’ll give you a little TMI…I’ve been absolutely flustered sinceAugust. My grandpa turning 100, mygrandma passing away, crazy men torturing me on a regular basis and working ona floor that was supposed to be easy peasy and turned out to be the mostdifficult project I could imagine…Well, I’ll admit it – something had to giveand it was usually my health, then my blog. So sad because I actually enjoy this blog a lot.

So back to it baby!

This week I ran my bread maker. That and my crock pot make me so happy. Imean, what is nicer than coming home to the smell of hot food?

This kind of bread mix is probably my favorite so far.

One thing I miss from the days of gluten ignorance wasdipping Macaroni Grill’s bread in EVOO and Balsamic. This bread was a really close second to mymemory of that crunchy outside, soft inside loaf.

Do you like my Halloween nails? They are supposed to looklike spattered blood…any way…

I dipped it in marinara sauce with a ~~pinch~~ heap of parmesanin it too which makes me think this would make some nice bread sticks if onewas so ambitious to roll the dough into sticks and bake them without burningthem! This is probably not me…

Barfycat chased me around, asusual, to get some gluten free baked goods. The stuff drives her nutty! I had to stand up to eat or she’d jump rightup on the counter to try and steal it away from me. I gave her my plate withcrumbs and she licked it clean. Goofycat!

She likes gluten free bakedstuff better than meat or fish or anything else in the world. Weird right?

I did some fun juice too withsome stripey beets. They made stripey juice!

I roasted some too - there's nothing like roasted beets and squash on a cold evening. Comfort food :)

I’ll post pictures of myfloor in a couple days. It’s still notdone L There’s onemore room which will have to wait until the weekend of the 19^th –but rest assured I’ll get this baby done!

I learned a little something

2011-10-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Leeks and fava beans...2 foods I've never actually seen in the raw before. Want to know what I learned?
1. Leeks are full of dirt and must be sliced open and washed thoroughly!

2. They are really pretty and when you slice them up they have this wonderful blend of colors:

3. They make a great soup when you mix them with instant potatoes and about 2x the water called for + a little S&P, of course!

Then there are the fava beans. They are ugly on the outside...

but cute on the inside. And they are kind of yummy too.
I only ate them plain, after I blanched them but I imagine they would be good in any kind of bean recipe you'd like to try them in. Except maybe stews, I think if you cooked them a long time they'd just disintegrate.

Did I pique your interest with the soup comment? I'll share a little shortcut I have learned.
You can make any kind of potato soup with instant mashed potatoes. Basically, just use twice the amount of liquid they call for and add whatever else you want!
I've done this with the sliced leeks (above) and it was the most elegant soup you could make.
I've also made baked potato soup by adding cheese, chopped green onions, bacon and some sour cream (I know, dairy bomb but it was so good!).
Try it some time when you come home too pooped to cook...you could use chopped up ham (like lunch meat!) and any kind of cheese you have and have a really nice meal in about 5 minutes if you use hot water from the tap and nuke it.
Let me know how it goes.
Finally, I just had this picture of my freshly washed produce bowl and thought I'd share it. Lovely, yes?
Have a great week!

Show and tell

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

You hear a lot about probiotics, mostly about how to get them in over price, over sugared yogurt. I finally found some that I really love. No dairy! And they have 7 different strains, which makes a lot more sense to me than just taking one type smothered in sugar. Thank you Kroger :)

Ok, and this is my all-time favorite shrimp dipping sauce. It is sweet, tangy and a little bit peppery and thick enough not to run all over the place.

Great stats on the label too, no?

I totally dig the ingredients that are all pronounceable too!

I also got shop manuals for my truck. How cool am I? None of my friends have SHOP MANUALS!!! Bonus points for me, I know how to use them and successfully diagnosed my car trouble a couple weeks ago....

sort of. ;)

Hope you liked my little show and tell today!

Sexy green juice, part 2

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is what you get when you juice a large cucumber, 2 apples, 2 cups of spinach and 4 carrots

That was the first pass, then I shoved all the pulp back through...

And I got all this!

So, I shoved it through again...

And got this...

What was left was a bunch of really dry pulp that Didn't even make my paper towel wet

Then I poured it into cute little jars and drank one every day for a week. Brilliant!

Roasted corn salsa

2011-09-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

I've been getting the best organic sweet corn all summer and pretty much just grilling it all up because it brings out the sweetness and seriously, doesn't need a dab of butter or salt - you can eat it plain! But tonight I was in the mood for something different and had a corn left over so I decided to make the lazy man's roasted corn salsa and it was great!

I just took the corn off the cob and stirred it in some salsa until it seemed about right. Then I topped a grilled steak with it and, I swear it was like eating at a 4 star restaurant ;0)

I also had a little coleslaw leftover. I made it with Napa cabbage and it was really a nice variation. Napa cabbage isn't as strong tasting as others so it lent to a smoother taste. My recipe for it was a dab here and a dash there, as usual.
I guess I used about 1/2 cup of mayo, 3 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, pinches of salt and pepper, 1/2 cup raisins, 4 green onions chopped and 4-6 cups of cabbage - adding it and stirring until it was nicely coated and there was no more sauce puddling in the bottom of the bowl.
I always say cooking is easy - maybe because I make it that way...
I think that strict measurements are for baking everything else is toss and play!
I also think baking is best left to mixes...easy! Pamela and Betty Crocker never fail me.
Have a great weekend!

Taco Tuesday

2011-09-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of psyched to find a taco seasoning so I can make tacos once in a while - I seem to crave them pretty often. So, I tried a packet of Ortega Taco seasoning and it was great! Look at those beauties :)

I actually made them to go with my guac. I had some fresh cilantro to use up and thought I'd try to make it Chipotle style with some onion, garlic, cilantro and a dash of lime juice.

I also found out that Santitas are gluten free - you can find a list of Lay's brand products that are gluten free here: http://www.fritolay.com/your-health/us-products-not-containing-gluten-ingredients.html Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!
So, I think I'm instituting a taco Tuesday in my menu rotation. Probably not every week - but every time I have a little spinach to shred up for them. Yes...that's spinach on those tacos. Try it - you'll like it! :)

Green Juice!

2011-09-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

I bought a juicer! I'm such a hippie now :) Let's just say my personal trainer talked me in to it and I went to the store really thirsty so I picked it up for $30 along with 2 cases of pop, 8 boxes of drink mix, 3 bottles of seltzer, 2 bottles of cranberry juice and...

So, who do you turn to when you need a juice recipe? I turned to Kris Carr (http://crazysexylife.com/) because I figure if you're going to make a green juice it might as well be Crazy Sexy. So, I used a little cucumber, pear and spinach...

So, the spinach didn't produce much juice but the pear and cucumber definitely did. This is what I got out of half a cucumber, a whole pear (including the core!) and about a cup of packed spinach leaves.

The pulp was all over the inside of the machine - which wasn't really that hard to clean out and repack in the chute to re-juice since it was still pretty wet and there were slices of veggies left even.

pushed it through....

and this is what was left:

for reference it was about a heaped up tablespoonful

Of course, some ended up on the floor - but that was my repacking and flinging skills! LOL

Clean up was pretty easy, I just rinsed everything off in the sink after I scooped out the pulp. Now, what do you do with the pulp? I've heard you can bake it in muffins or cake but I'm not really in the mood to bake - shame to throw it all away though. Know anyone fiber-lacking?

So...I know you're wondering, how did it taste? Really good! How did it smell? Like cut grass, actually.
I'd recommend drinking it with a straw :p

The last weekend of summer

2011-09-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

I knew it was coming but somehow I just didn't believe it until this morning when I went out to the patio to drink my Almond Chai in the warm summer morning and it was only about 60 degrees! Chilly!
It was ok though and I thought I'd share the Chai concentrate I found the other day that goes great with Almond milk. I don't know about you but the milk has enough sweetness in it that when I mix it with the full sweet chai it gets to be a little too syrupy for me. But, this is actually just right!

So, as I was sitting there I noticed how I'd neglected my "garden", if you can call it that, all summer. It was really overgrown and I was suddenly inspired to clean it up.

Even the door mat was looking a little hairy...Yes, that's a bite mark, not just a random hole in the mat ;)

So, I fueled up with some Italian scrambled eggs and Udi's gf toast so that I wouldn't pass out doing what looked to be many hours of hard labor.

They were really easy to make. First, I took a non-stick skillet and dropped the bread in (frozen) and put a bowl on top to make sure it would toast evenly. Flipped them to toast the other sides and then go to the eggs.

I basically chopped up some onion and tomato, minced a clove of garlic and threw them in the pan after a light spray of Pam. After they were looking a little cooked I dropped 2 organic, cage free eggs in and scrambled them up with a dash of basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

I'll admit - I get the cage free eggs because it makes me sad to hear about the chickens being abused and cramped in those horrible factory farms but, I get the organic, vegetarian because they don't make me ill. I used to have serious health issues if I ate more than 2 eggs per week but with the organics I can eat eggs everyday and just be fine fine fine.

So...how's the patio look now?

I know it's not perfect and that little dirt patch is pretty pathetic, no? At least I know that when spring comes next year and I get the inspiration to build my raised garden bed, I won't have to hack down a bunch of wandering bushes and weeds or dig through a bunch of muck, leftover from the snow and decomposing plants.

Yes, I'm planning to build myself a nice little garden right there so I can grow some of my own little organic delicacies :) remind me come spring, will ya?

I managed to work around the house well until dinner time and George decided to grill up a nice steak and I sauteed some crazy Italian veggies (I was in the mood for Italian, what can I say?)

You can probably tell what's in it but, it was basically a splash of EVOO in a pan, one thinly sliced zucchini, tomato, leek, and some leftover grilled corn. Oh yeah and a couple sliced up radishes.

Please don't judge me on the BBQ sauce - the bottle dumped out really fast!

You know how that happens, right? Shake...shake...dribble dribble...shake...Woooosh!!

Gluten Free Wraps

2011-09-03T08:42:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried your sandwich salad in Napa cabbage leaves? This was new for me and I loved it! I made canned salmon into salad about the same way you'd do with tuna or chicken and dabbed it into the soft outer leaves of a napa cabbage - no leaks :) Plus, Napa cabbage is very mild tasting - not as musky as green or red cabbage so it makes a lovely wrap.

You know how I'm all about eating gluten free in a really logical, natural way? You don't have to go spend a lot of money on gluten free prepared wraps and breads. Nor do you have to spend your life mixing flours and baking to get the right consistency. Just grab a cheap head of cabbage or leaf lettuce and wrap your sandwich innards up!

I do it with roast beef and mustard in collard greens or red leaf lettuce. You can make little hummus wraps like below, which are super cute and you could stick toothpicks in them and serve them at a party even!
It's totally simple. Just run a sharp knife down the spine of the collard leaf to remove the stem - it will slide along easy! Then drop a dab of hummus on whichever side is the least pretty.
Roll it up and you have a vegan, gluten free treat that anyone would like :)
Cute, right? See why I love collard greens? I get some every time Door to Door has them because they are so versatile and make a nice packable lunch for me too.
Well, darlings I have been up since the crack of dawn thanks to Alarmcat who thinks it is her job to get me out of bed and off to work every morning, Saturdays included. It's just too bad that she doesn't realize that my wake up call was set for 7:00 AM not 6:00 AM :( Every day, I tell ya...every day.

I'm going to go get some stuff done. I'm working on a little more of my remodel and taking down my fairy lights. Then, I'll need to start shopping for new lighting options in my office to replace them. It's amazing how much I get done on weekends now that I'm in a FLYLady cleaning routine.

Tah tah for now!

Embarassingly clean!

2011-08-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

I had a cleaning spree yesterday, totally inspired by FLY Lady that culminated in the sparkling clean shower curtain you see above. Before shot below...Yes, that's a picture of the World - who says you can't learn something in the bathroom?

I almost feel embarrassed to admit that I spent a couple hours cleaning my house yesterday just because of a FLYlady digest full of testimonials and a purple rag. When people come over, I plan to tell them I got a new maid ;)

It all started when checking my email and just skimming the usual email I get from her everyday and it occurred to me that I needed to clean my bathroom mirror and wouldn't it be fun to see if I could do it with the damp purple rag, like other people claim to do, instead of windex and a handful of paper towels?

And I did. But I couldn't stop. I used it to wipe the dust out of the mouldings on my doors. Then I took it to the kitchen and wiped down my cabinet doors (um, now they are shiny!)
Then I took it to my nemesis...the microwave. Many years ago I had a huge boiling oil/deep frying incident that sprayed hot soybean oil all over the kitchen and I still have spots on the ceiling to remember it by! As you may or may not know, once soybean oil dries up it's nearly impossible to clean off of certain surfaces because it bonds to plastic. Did you know that they actually make some plastics out of soy?

Anywhoo, there were splatters on my microwave that lives above the stove that I'd tried to scrub off with everything but steel wool. I had tried vinegar, scratchless scotch pads and many types of caustic cleansers. None got it off so I figured I'd probably just have to live with it.
God bless the inventor of the purple rag! I just started wiping and the surface got shinier and shinier. It's hilarious to see the spots of smooth plastic surrounded by the permanently etched surfaces that I scrubbed to death! I wish I had my purple rag 4 years ago :(

After that, I pretty much carried my rag from room to room and wiped and dusted and rinsed it off and did some more and I'm proud to say things are kinda sparkly around here this morning!

People are going to think all I do with my time is scrub the house, but the truth is it was all done in about 90 minutes.

My sink was so shiny I had to take a picture of these giant collard greens bathing in it even :) They are destined for wraps, for sure! Lunch was already Hormel Roast beef rolled up simply with some mayo and mustard - great lunch!
So, not to be too much like an infomercial but, I heart FLYlady and I'm mad at her a little too because now I know how good things can look and the stuff I didn't clean looks kind of shabby today :(

I'm going to get back to her daily assignments and I'm sure I'll be lying about my maid all the time!

LOL kidding!

Love to you all!

On the road!!

2011-08-19T14:36:00.001-07:00

The last 2 weeks have been a little stressful for me. 2 weeks ago my Grandpa turned 100 years old!

Of course this meant that I had to plan a trip - packing, food and flights. I haven't traveled farther than downtown in about 2 years, so I was a little overwhelmed.

Luckily, there was a Walmart Supercenter right across the street from my hotel so all I had to do was ensure I had a microwave and refrigerator. Easy, right? Not so much.

I booked the hotel on Expedia because their website stated that all rooms had a fridge and there was a micro in the breakfast area in the lobby. I called ahead to try and get rooms together with my family and mentioned the fridge and they corrected me stating that only the suites had fridges. "Can I get a suite?" I asked and she sweetly replied there was nothing she could do until I checked in, at that time I could request an upgrade. Ahhhkkkk! I freaked out a little. Honestly!

So I got on the phone to Expedia for some help...after being on hold for what seemed like forever I decided to email through their website and got an auto response that they would respond properly in 24-48 hours - we were leaving in 2 days!

Well, hello twitter! Guess what, if you tweet - they will come. I had a customer service response in about 2 hours. Brilliant!

Longer story shorter, they upgraded me to a suite for free and all was well. Super customer service from Expedia!! Lessons learned?

1. Call the hotel before you book to make sure of essential equipment.

2. Tweet Expedia to get help faster

The rest of the trip was fantastic! I had so much fun seeing all my relatives and hugged rampantly :) Grandpa is such an amazing man - sharp, strong and such an inspiration to us all.

It was super easy for me to run over to Walmart for groceries. I got a package of Oscar Meyer Ham, a package of Black pepper beef, a veggie tray with ranch dip, an Amy's Frozen enchilada dinner, a package of Organic greens, a bag of plain Lay's potato chips and some Pamela's Chocolate chocolate chip cookies! Coupled with the Larabars and organic bananas I'd packed for the trip, I was easily set for 3 days and I even fed my parents one night!

The evening of the program, I simply packed what was left of my greens topped with meat, dip and veggies and took it along to eat with every one else. It was a casual served dinner so not a problem at all.

The day after we got back, I got a call that Grandma (on the other side of my family) was really sick and it was just a matter of days. I scrambled to look at flights to see if we could get out there ASAP and she said that she probably wouldn't still be alive by the time we got there. And she wasn't - the next day I was searching for flights to the funeral :(

Stress, stress and double stress! Not only was I still wiped out from the weekend, I had to come up with a new traveling plan - last minute and completely on-the-road!

We were going to have to fly in, drive 5 hours, sleep, get up early for the funeral, drive 5 hours and fly home.

I still reserved hotels with fridges and microwaves, but there was not a lot of hope of using them since the schedule was so tight.

I literally fed the 3 of us out of the trunk of our rental car.

It went a little like this:

Land, get car - drive a ways and stop at a Coborn's grocery store. Thank God they had Udi's gluten free bread and Pamela's GF cookies!

So, I picked up a loaf of gf bread, package of hormel natural roast beef, lay's chips, both peanut butter and chocochocochip cookies, a veggie tray w/dip and snagged a few packets of mayo and mustard from their deli section.

Picture me in the parking lot making sandwiches in the trunk of the car. But, oooh honey, they were the best roast beef sandwiches I had ever had! I was starved from the full day of flying and I won't even go into what a foul mood I was in from low blood sugar :(

We got to the hotel and I was able to snack on some of the veggies and store the rest in the fridge for the night. Did I mention that I also packed a Minute Rice ready-to eat bowl and some more organic bananas and Lara bars. They saved me!

Since we were their early enough we drove out to see my Godfamily :) poor me - had to pass up the ice cream, but it was so nice to be able to sit and feel at home for a while. There were tears, of course...and hugs. And then a rough night's sleep.

Dad helped me put ice in bags and pack up the veggies to keep until the luncheon after the funeral and we went. I don't know anyone who would have felt like eating before their grandma's funeral. Nonetheless I knew I had to have something so I didn't pass out and was truly thankful for my little bowl of ready rice and that microwave. I couldn't finish it but it got me through until after the service when I finally relaxed enough and had cried it out enough to eat my banana and a couple cookies.

We got to spend the afternoon with the family and I wouldn't have done anything different. Except drink more water so I wouldn't have almost died of dehydration!

We left that night to drive to a hotel at the airport - still toting along the leftover veggies and dip. Stopped at Walmart for more lunch meat and once again - made sandwiches for all of us out of the trunk of the car! lol

I'm so glad to be home where I can eat off a plate and truly appreciate my counters today. Hot food is at the top of my thankful list too. Tonight's taco salad (hot, fresh and not microwaved :p)

It was my first time with Bok Choy

2011-07-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

This picture is actually my second try, so glad I got 2 bunches of bok choy! The first bunch, I just tossed in the pan with some evoo and it turned out tasty but hard to cut and bite. Brilliantly, I chopped the second bunch and tossed them in oil and sesame seeds. I loved it!

Bok choy is known as the Chinese cabbage but it had such a mild flavor compared to green and red cabbage that it really needed some sesame flavor. Lots of recipes said to use soy sauce - but soy hates me, so I improvised.
It greened up so nice after the sautee and actually paired nicely with my good friend, Hormel Beef and au jus.

I can't wait for the next time bok choy wanders across my plate :)

Closet!

2011-07-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Before...

After...

I had this space in the back of my closet that was almost useless. It was basically a gathering for shirts that I would forget about because there's a big post blocking the way...
So I hung a shelf to put stuff that I don't use much, like spare bedding and extra curtains!

I also put sweaters on these shelves, which I'm sure were originally built to house shoes but I just don't want to put nasty shoes above my dresses so I'd used them to hold a lot of junk.

It finally occurred to me that all those sweaters that are hard to stack and don't have drawers would be perfect there. And they are!

The bottom wasn't much better - again a dumping ground for the lost things...

So, I shoved my file cabinet back there, since I only get in it once a year. Bonus, more room in my den and it's not looking so cluttered :)

I'm pretty happy with the change. I see all my clothes now (yes, I'll be getting rid of some soon. If you want anything you see let me know!) and I found my long lost knitting projects. It's so nice to open those doors now.

Feets!!

2011-07-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

I got this cool little package of pads to put on the feet of furniture, at Home Depot for $5 it has everything you could ever need...
Felt ones, plastic ones, rubber ones and all of them were self adhesive or you could pound them in with a rubber hammer or a chunky heel. ha! So I did every foot on every piece of furniture for my first floor. Why? Because I have hard flooring and get so tired of people scraping chairs across the floor and having to put things back because they have slid around too!
So, I put little felt ones on the scrapey chairs and coffee table and sofa.
Then I put little rubber ones on the chair I want to stay still forever. I even put the little pound em in ones on my dining chairs and now I'm a happy camper. I actually found that I could move my furniture around more with the felt on the bottom so I've rearranged a bit. Very cool! If you have time and $5 I would totally recommend it. Unless you have carpet, of course.

What kind of quickie home improvement projects do you do? (like I need more ideas! ha ha)

Can you find your man @B&N?

2011-07-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

One of the places we like to get together is Starbuck's, right? Even though I get a little bummed out when they don't carry gf cookies and now the frapps are all poison, it's still one of the most comfy/casual places to get together with a friend for a chat, in my opinion.

So, yesterday I met up with my bff there. It just happens to be attached to a Barnes & Noble and since it was a million degrees outside we though it would be a good place to chill.

No seats...we ran through the whole store and finally found one solitary, empty bench in the corner of the magazine aisle. Beautiful!

After a little while I noticed we were sitting directly in front of the section prominetly labled "Men's Interest" (issues of tattooed women and Weight watcher's magazine - go figure), right next to "Transportation" (trains, planes and autos) and "Sports". Brilliant! Every single girl in America is advised to go to a coffee shop or a book store to meet men and it dawned on me we were in the exactly perfect place to find men, if the rumors were true. We met the criteria - a couple cute single girls, coffee in hand, books all around - even in the section most likely to have male traffic on a Saturday afternoon. So who did we see? Mostly men resembling this:

Did we see any resembling this?
Not even close! We were graced with more like this:
We thought maybe...
Nuh Uh...
So, it must depend on the kind of man you're looking for but I'm here to tell you, I won't be trolling B&N man-shopping any time soon. It's best reserved for chats with the girls!

In other news...trying to work up my bi-weekly menu today. I had the best intentions but somehow I get derailed, distracted and discouraged when I get my list on Fridays. Yummy food, but I'm tired of washing greens and I certainly don't want to stand over the stove when it's 101 degrees outside.

But here's this week's list:

Local Green Garlic bunch (1.00 - ea.)

Sweet Corn (1.00 - ea.)

Local Rainbow Chard bunch (1.00 - ea.)

Local Spinach bunch (1.00 - ea.)

Local Butter Leaf Lettuce (1.00 - ea.)

Local Collard Greens bunch (1.00 - ea.)

Local Cilantro bunch - herb (1.00 - ea.)

Local Peas 0.5LB (2.00 - ea.)

Local Beets bunch (1.00 - ea.)

Avocado (1.00 - ea.)

I think the corn will be lovely on the grill - it is my absolute favorite way to do corn now. So easy, so sweet, no heat! But what do you do with green garlic?

I know there will be a beautiful salad every day and a couple instances of tuna salad wrapped in collard greens.

I've also got a tub of hummus and a recipe for spicy hummus wraps that I've been thinking about - I think a couple collards will go that route too!

The cilantro...I'm not a big fan of cilantro but I just saw an episode of "Gen's Guiltless Gourmet" where she made a cilantro pesto...do I dare?

I suppose as long as I don't carry it around and drop it on the carpet, it's worth a try!

Wish me luck!

Projects!

2011-07-14T17:31:00.001-07:00

What a mess, right? I haven't blogged in so long because I've been spending a lot of extra time on new projects. One of them was to hang shelves in my closet, another was to re-do my stairs and the third one is taking up most of my time and I'll share it with you later. For now, enjoy some stair pics!

Beautiful, no?

Basically, I was sick of vacuuming the carpet on them and figured that after 7 years it was time to make my life easier. Painting them white might turn out to be a little bit hard to keep shiny and clean but it matched the rest of the trim, so I figured, why not? They add a certain old-fashioned charm to my house, I think...what do you think?

Undies!!!

2011-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have been on a shopping binge lately. I've been wanting wanting wanting stuff stuff stuff!!!

Partly because I am the perfect consumer. If I see something often enough and are encouraged to buy it, eventually I'll feel like I can't live without it. Luckily, I'm wise enough and frugal enough that I always make myself wait a couple days before I make any significant purchase. and by significant, I mean over $20 - yeah that cheap!

Not only do I not want to squander my cash but I don't want to end up with a cluttered house full of things that don't really make me happy in a significant way.

June was my birthday month so you can imagine how many retailers sent me my "Birthday Present" of anywhere from $5-25 off various order amounts from their stores plus free shipping, of course !

So, I browsed site after site looking for that perfect thing that I could get my fantastic discount on and was really disappointed to not find much that I could "treat" myself with.

I did buy several pairs of undies from Victoria's Secret though. Are they not the cutest things? I know when I wear them that I'll have a little bit more bounce in my step. btw, they were 5 for $25 minus my $10 birthday certificate and free shipping so I'm pretty pleased with my splurge, considering I typically go for the $6 Hanes multi-pack. Hey, they work and don't wedge!

I also bought myself the Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis method. I actually debated over it a while and checked out some of her vids on youtube and kind of love her method! It's fun and dancy and she doesn't give much instruction or encouragement, which is surprisingly comforting to me (some days I still need Denise Austin's peppy voice telling me she's proud of me though!). I really dug the no nonsense, count out your reps attitude so I've splurged the $104 for the 90 days of workouts which, as promised, should give me the body I've always dreamed of *if I do the work*.

I'm still debating a juicer and a dehydrator or a giant crock pot and a mini fridge to keep batches of home made cat food in (another story for another day).

Fundamentally, I cannot bring myself to buy a juicer and a dehydrator. It just seems wrong, don't you think?

Cooking is easy - Parsley Pesto

2011-06-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I heard "Pesto" I always thought it was some magical concoction that only Italian chefs knew how to make. I found out - it's really easy! Especially with some pre-cooked shrimp to make it into a meal.
I started out with a bunch of clean parsley, a couple cloves of garlic and a bloop of evoo in the food processor...

Then I tossed it in a saucepan with the shrimp and viola! Shrimp pesto for dinner.

I proceeded to drop a bowl of it on the carpet as well - what a mess! The green and the oil - I may have to replace the carpet now since I'm not so good at scrubbing floors!

In other news, my crock pot died :( well, just the insert cracked so word to the wise: don't bake potatoes in it for 18 hours- be sure and get them out after the 6 hours!

Weekend Breakfasts

2011-06-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

I love weekends, partly because I get to sleep in and then make yummy eggs for breakfast. My toast might look funny to you, that's because I don't have a toaster so I toast it in the frying pan before I do the eggs. Dry pan - heated on high for a minute or 2, then add dry bread and watch it for the steam to let up, flip it until the steam stops - done!

Since I had a bunch of mushrooms to eat up, I just sauteed them with onions for this spectacular dish. Actually, it was pretty plain - but satisfying!

It seems like weekends always start with a huge list of chores and end with only a slightly shorter list. Where does the time go?

I know...afternoon naps, reading in the sun and all those little distractions that come up.

I'm easily distracted. Just this morning I managed to get lost in flower arranging, recycling and some random infomercial (they make that stuff sound so good! Anyone ever use a "No!No!"? or that "set it and forget it" machine?) Lesson learned - never turn on the TV until it's time for your show. The European Grand Prix is on today - there is something too fun about it! Plus, races are pretty easy to watch while you do other things - on my list today: hang a shelf in the closet and pack another box of donations to send to charity.

How's your weekend been?

I steamed an artichoke!

2011-06-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

And it wasn't as fabulous as I thought it would be. Oh well. At least I gave it a shot, right?

Long story short, I steamed it and the heart was really the only edible part. I also made my own dipping sauce out of mayo and hot sauce, which was pretty yummy.

Yep, you guessed it, there's a hunk of Hormel Roast Au Jus behind the bowl.

In other news, I just had my birthday again...I can't decide if I like birthdays or not. Frankly, they depress me.

I did get a ton of well wishes and I totally appreciate all my loving friends and family that don't remind me how old I really am so I can be eternally 25. Everyone else who won't leave me alone for the real number...well they might have to pump up their tires in the morning... mwaa ha ha.

Since my crock pot cracked (after the baked potatoes on fire episode - yes you can start things on fire in a crock pot) I got a new one from my sweet mommy. Apparently, I'm not mature enough to have a grown up sized pot though since she got me the cutest little child sized one. I love it though - very cute and I'll have many less leftovers.

I also got a hot air popcorn machine, super industrial baking pan and some other fun stuff including a car. Yay!

Like I said, I can't decide if the gifts completely outweigh the depression of knowing my life is whizzing by - but I'm leaning that way!

6/20 Weekly Menu

2011-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my weekly menu plan with my Door to Door box:

1 ea. Avocado
1 ea Local Rhubarb 0.5LB
1 ea. Cucumber
2 ea. Zucchini Squash
1 ea. Local Spinach bunch
1 ea. Local Leaf Lettuce
1 ea. Local Tomatoes 1LB
1 ea. Local Green Kale bunch
1 ea. Local Radishes bunch
1 ea. Local Oyster Mushrooms 0.25LB
2 ea. Local Bok Choy

I'm thinking lots of salads, maybe some kale chips. Got the eggs, shrimp and steaks to couple up. Also picked up a carton of Almond Milk and a box of chex. Sound good?

But what do you make with Rhubarb besides pie? I'm not so crazy about the sugar factor... suggestions?

My favorite black bean chili ala Suzanne

2011-06-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Messy looking, right? But I promise, it is the best and easiest chili in the world.

It is actually just a little different from the recipe I got out of a Suzanne Somers cook book. Maybe the white one...I can't remember.

Anyway, it's super easy:

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes and chilies

1/2 medium onion diced

a clove or 2 of garlic, minced

glug of EVOO

Basically, sautee the onion & garlic in evoo for a minute or so then dump in the cans of beans and tomatoes, get it hot and serve with warm corn tortillas.

This is about enough for 3-4 people, depending on your bean tolerance ;p

It is seriously one of my favorite go-to meals any time of year. It takes about 5 minutes, costs about $1.50 and is super comfort food without the guilt.

6/13 weekly menu

2011-06-12T17:04:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all! I'm trying out a new routine - creating a weekly menu!!

This week's menu for one:

Monday:

Lunch: Hormel Beef au jus, mashed potatoes, simple spinach salad

Dinner: Green salad with tuna salad, carrots, tomato, walnuts, craisins etc.

Tuesday:

Lunch -Leftover beef from Monday

Dinner - Peppered Beef sandwich with pickles and carrot sticks

Wednesday:

Lunch- Leftover Tuna Salad on greens

Dinner- Scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, ham and cheese

Thursday:

Lunch- Peppered beef sandwich with pickles and carrot sticks

Dinner - Curried shrimp and veggies

Friday:

Lunch- Chipotle carnitas burrito bowl, guac

Dinner - snacks as needed after huge bowl from chipotle

Weekend:

Grilled steak, sweet corn and baked beans - snacks as needed :)Egg scrambles if I'm up for breakfast

Almost every morning I have a Larabar and a piece of fruit for breakfast. It's my super portable -take to work breakfast- that saves me time and gives me quick energy from the fruit and long lasting hunger control from the nuts.

Shopping list:

eggs

lunch meat

tuna

steak

corn

Getting my organics delivered really helps with the meal planning, part of the reason I don't do it regularly! I usually just wash everything up and it's pretty easy to match them up with some protein.

Cheers!

Review: Barilla pasta sauce - Mushroom & Garlic

2011-06-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Can you see that entire mushroom just sitting there? There were a ton of big mushroom slices and a couple little buttons even. Loved this sauce!! I give it a big fat 10 out of 10...

I, of course, started my adventure by slicing up a couple nice zucchini and sauteed them until soft-ish. Then I dumped the jar of sauce over them and simmered about as long as it takes to boil some Tinkyada rice pasta shells.

I cheated a little on my no dairy lifestyle with some parmesean cheese. I craved it!

And I'm glad I did, so there! This was a great dinner, and great leftovers 2 days later.

Also, TMI coming...I get to re-taste most prepared sauces like all night...and sometimes the next day. No burpage here so you know it was made with good natural ingredients and nothing possibly scary. I heart it.

That's all.

Possibly the best soup ever - Curried Butternut

2011-06-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

I absolutely have to share this recipe because it is the best thing I've had in ages!

It was a totally simple recipe too - are you surprised?

Here goes:

Splash of EVOO

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1-2 tsp curry powder

2 cups chopped butternut squash

2-3 cups broth or water

S&P to taste

1/2 - 1 cup coconut milk

1 Tbl maple syrup

So you sautee the onion, celery and curry in the EVOO, then you add the broth (I used veg) and squash and simmer about 30 minutes until it's tender.

Then, you take it off the heat and spoon it slowly into the blender so it cools off enough not to explode. Then puree it and serve warm.

I absolutely loved it! And this recipe makes enough for 3-4 people, depending on how much you fill the bowls so no week's worth of leftovers. Yay!

It will be on my fall cooking list for sure.

Stewed Okra - WOW!

2011-06-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Nummy? Check! Vegan? Check! Almost instant? Check!
Ok, Okra is not one of my staples. In fact, I think I had it once - battered and deep fried, smothered with ranch dressing (ala Oklahoma). I didn't like it.

So, don't ask me why but I was at the store looking at the frozen veggies and decided to grab a bag of okra. That was a good 9 months ago and tonight I finally decided to cook it, as recommended by a true okie! The recipe is so simple, so fast and yes - delicious!

1 bag frozen Okra (about 14 ounces)

1-2 cups of pearl onions

1.5 tsp salt

.5 tsp pepper

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 Tbl EVOO

I sauteed the onions in the olive oil a little then added all the rest and simmered it on low for about 15 minutes.

I'm seriously surprised at how good it is and the okra is so plump and juicy and tender - nothing like the last time I had it. I might have liked a little more tomato in this - but I still recommend it with 2 thumbs up ;)

Odd pairings: greens and meat style

2011-06-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Cooking is easy! Dontcha love how I make a salad now days? Tired of ripping up lettuce, I decided to just throw on some tomatoes, sesame seeds, cheese shreds and ham - topped with a little Catalina dressing. Looks weird- tasted great, no mess, no fuss!
Remember those Hormel main dishes I love so much? One night I paired them with...chard chips! It is now officially my favorite meal in the entire world! Luv luv luv.

So, all my food looks weird right? but it was super easy and healthy and that's what I'm all about!

Do you use Probiotics?

2011-06-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I've been miserable and finding very little help to figure it out. I finally got a new diagnosis (I know, how many diseases can one person accumulate?)...and I started doing my research. A friend with a similar disease told me that probiotics saved her and I should try them...

Well, let me say this: I was terrified to try anything new for fear that it would make me worse. Then I realized that the life I was living was the worst. Excruciating stomach pain every single day is the worst. So, I got brave and went to the store.

Side note, I gave up dairy so yogurt - not really an option. I scanned the supplement aisle. There were a million brands to choose from and they all had soy or milk in them. Then I spotted the cheapest one, Kroger Generic Digestion Support. It had 7 kinds of probiotics compared to the others that had 1 or 2 and it listed milk as an allergen, but not an actual ingredient. For $6 I was willing to gamble.

2 days later, I felt much better. 2 weeks later, I feel normal again!
I was able to spend 3 full days of my weekend hanging out with friends and family, working on projects and relaxing without the usual fatigue, pain and other symptoms that I don't want to go in to.

So, what do you think? Did probiotics save me too? Or is it a placebo effect? Either way, I'm happy to have days back and if you're like me and afraid to try them, I'm here to say you have nothing to lose!

I'd also love to hear if you use probiotics and have any advice or favorite brands because I know I'll continue my treatment and need some info!

Have I told you how much I love Chard Chips?

2011-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

They aren't pretty but they are so good!

I left the stems on them - don't do that! Slide the leaf off, toss in EVOO and Salt - then roast them at 350 for 20 minutes on a cookie sheet coated in parchment paper.

You won't be sorry. They are fabulous! Addictive too!

Greek Slaw!

2011-05-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I used to get Greek slaw from King Soopers with my rotisserie chicken. Since I gave up the bird so went the deli prepared salads. I forgot what I was missing until the other day I was scanning the fridge and that half head of cabbage winked at me and nodded toward the leftover feta cheese.

I put "grocery store" on my list and stopped on the way home to grab some black olives. Dinner was the best Greek Slaw ever!

Here's the recipe (sorry the picture is so dark):

Take a bowl and thinly slice enough cabbage to fill it about 1/2 full.

Thinly slice some red onion to taste and toss it in.

Then, chop up some cucumber and tomatoes and throw them in. Is the bowl almost full? Good!

Now dump in some feta - how ever much appeals to you. I go for a couple tablespoons per serving.

Add 8 or less black olives per serving

A splash or two of red wine vinegar and EVOO (just enough to coat the slaw nicely)

A shake and shimmy of salt and pepper

Toss, toss, toss till it's all mixed up.

You'll love it and if you want to make a double batch to have leftovers, it gets better over night, I promise!

See how quick and easy cooking can be? you don't have to make enough for 8 either. I made enough for 1 and all I had to wash was a bowl, fork and knife! No week of leftovers either.

Side note, you can also use apple cider vinegar. Enjoy!

Review: Betty Crocker Cookies

2011-05-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

See my cookies? I finally found Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mix and decided to try it. They were surprisingly good! Let me say, I love Pamela's brand baking mix for making cookies - they come out crispy and candyish. Betty's came out soft and warm and chewy. I love them too.

I will definitely stock this mix - it was simple to make, quick and I got 2 pans of big cookies out of it for $5.00. Cheaper than packaged cookies and I like the ingredient list better (nothing scary).

Then...I was totally craving breakfast tacos but didn't have any soft corn tortillas

so I used hard ones! ;0)
As you can see I also lazied out and didn't shred the cheese either - just cut it into little chunks. It works! No grater holes to scrub! So, you're wondering...did the crunchy shells work? Yes! It was different but still really good. Try it sometime when you have a couple shells leftover, before they get stale.

I was curious about Greek yogurt...

2011-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Since no one wanted free yoplait, I decided I should try some other brands to compare. So I tried "Fage total with honey" this time. I was hopeful that it would be good because the ingredients are awesome! Honey (20%) milk and cream. Here's a picture of the texture...

I wondered...can yogurt go bad? Because it is grainy and watery but says not to stir it. I felt brave and tried a bite...not good. Tried a second bite and then I was seriously concerned that I was going to get food poisoning...I don't know if this is how the yogurt was made to be or if my store might have left it out in the sun for a few too many hours, but I'm not going to gamble another $ to find out. I did eat all the honey though, that was yummy.

I had Oikos brand Greek yogurt a couple times before too. It's smooth and has honey on the bottom and I could eat it every day. But they are $2 for a 6 oz cup at my store, coupled with my general dislike of dairy...let's just say it's not getting stocked often ;0)

Now I've tried 3 kinds and I think I'll probably quit experimenting. I give my vote to Oikos! Then Yoplait because I couldn't eat this:

Review: Yoplait Greek Yogurt and Free Stuff from Yoplait and MyBlogSpark!

2011-04-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday kids!

First, go get a coupon to try the new Yoplait greek yogurt: visit http://bit.ly/greekcoupon to download a printable coupon for $.35 off.

Yoplait and MyBlogSpark have given me a fun opportunity to try the new yogurt for free, do a review and play with a bunch of fun stuff in a free prize pack that they sent to me. They would also like to give one of you a free prize pack - totally fun, right?

So, please leave me a comment on this blog as your entry to win the free prizes which include: a coupon organizer, a magnetic customized meal planner board (I luv this), a mini pocket fold-up tote (perfect to stash in my glove box), an electronics case, retractable ear buds (awesome!), and a magnetic shopping cart note holder and a pen. If you're so inspired, please share healthy snacks that you take along during the day in your comment. I will use the random number generator and that # commentor will get the prize directly from MyBlogSpark. So, have a friend or more leave a comment too - then you can share the prize pack! Don't forget to include an email address, twitter handle, sign up to receive follow up comments or some type of contact information so I can let you know you won!

Ok, for my review!

So, I actually couldn't find this at my usual grocery stores for a long time, finally...I found 2 flavors - Blueberry and Honey Vanilla at the store.

Since I'm all organic produce girl now, I went with the honey vanilla.

Pros:

Clearly labeled "Gluten Free" on the top and side of the package *woo hoo!*

Fat free, if you're into that sort of thing

Fortified with vitamins, I know I'm always a little short on Viti D - nice add :)

Satisfying, creamy mouth feel

No HFCS - I'm a sugar girl all the way, baby!

So here are the ingredients off the label:

I'm concerned that there is no vanilla nor is there honey listed as an ingredient. Perhaps there is some in the "natural flavors", but I'd really expect to see them as ingredients if that is the "flavor".

I'm a purist that way.

Cons:

Kind of pricey IMHO! $1.19 for this 6 oz cup - can you tell me how that compares to other brands?

A little on the sour side for me as well - I could totally taste the lemon

Locust bean gum, gelatin, pectin, and I'm really leery of "natural flavor" in anything - it doesn't tell you anything about what you're eating.

No vanilla or honey listed as ingredients

Would I buy it? Sure, it did curb my hunger long enough for me to write this between work and dinner! lol

I'd also like to try one of the fruit flavors! I avoid fruit on the bottom yogurts for fear of gluten contamination but the blueberry one was also labeled gf, so I'm tempted...

My reservation about it is that I really want to know what I'm eating and I stick to whole, natural foods for the most part. I'm an ingredient list sleuth so when there are fillers, texturizers and mystery ingredients I tend to put it back unless I'm desperate.

Some more stats off the label:

150 calories. % Daily values: 5% sodium, 18 g sugars (7% carb), 27% protein (14g)

My verdict? I give it a 7 out of 10.

I'd recommend trying it! and let me know what you think when you do, ok?

And if you want to have more fun, below are some links to check out for more free stuff and don't forget to leave me a comment to win your own prize pack!!

Visit the Yoplait Greek tab at Facebook.com/Yoplait now through May 31st, 2011 and enter to win a Yoplait Greek snack pack and other cool prizes. Winners will be chosen daily. You can also visit Yoplait.com/Greek for more information and yummy recipes to make it easy, free, and delicious to eat a better snack :).

Yoplait on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/yoplaitonfbook
Yoplait on Twitter: http://bit.ly/yoplaitontwitter
Yoplait Greek on Yoplait.com:http://my.yoplait.com/yoplaitgreek
Yoplait Greek coupon: http://bit.ly/greekcoupon

Product, prize pack, information, and giveaway have all been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

Giveaway entries accepted until Noon MDT, April 29, when a winner will be chosen.

My superpower is planning!

2011-04-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm so psyched to share how super easy my life has gotten now that I've put a few things on "auto-pilot".

So, I've always been a real planner/organizer. It's my top resume and life skill - no doubt! I have all my bills auto-paid so I don't even look at them each month except to check my statements and see nothing went awry. I have my veggies delivered every week (D2D) so I don't have to shop around for decent grub. I have automatic withdrawals for health, savings and 401(k) set up and an automatic "pay down the mortgage faster" plan instituted.

So what was missing? As you know, my home life overwhelmed me. My biggest fear in life is of the vacuum. My eyes are blind to dust. Fixing food was an adventure and a really scary one sometimes! Every morning I do battle with my totally awesome closet and end up wearing one of the same 10 outfits I keep on rotation because all the mix and match/accessory decisions are too much before noon.

Not any more!! I've fully instituted, with the help of my handy dandy timer, a smooth sailing plan at home.

Every weekend I take an inventory of my D2D box (veggie delivery) that's coming and decide what meals I can pair up and what ingredients I'll need to finish off some simple meals. The shopping list and the coupons go in my bag and the list of meals on the fridge. (See, I already have a meal planner on the fridge, some day I'll institute that process better. For now, it's a good sticky note holder...because I don't have to be perfect)

While I do laundry on the weekend, I figure out 5 outfits for the next week and put that list in my planner. Then I know they are clean and ready to wear.

Ahhhmazing!

I have to give a lot of credit to FLY lady for inspiring me to make it a habit and giving me tons of brilliant tools. Now, I have a house maintenance schedule and a workout plan, in simple 15 minute or less increments a day. Emailed reminders every day so I don't forget or get distracted! LUV! Not to mention, permission to only vacuum in the middle of the floor most of the time and only move the furniture once in a while :0)

I feel like I've finally discovered my secret super power now. I don't freak out or procrastinate about routine stuff, I even have time to pumice my feet and read the ever-growing stack of books that I pick out to expand my mind.

I wish I could share this with other people and help them get control of their lives in the same way. Could you imagine a world where no one pays their bills late or feels embarrassed to let people in their home? I bet there would be less road rage too!

I'm going to make it one of my purposes in life to help others find some sanity, like I have. Any volunteers?

Review: Hormel Refridgerated Entrees

2011-04-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

I've been eating one of these pretty much every week this month. I'm giving them about a 9 out of 10 for being a great food.

Pros:

cooks in 4 minutes in the microwave

don't have to open the package before cooking

totally tender and tasty without a bunch of (questionable) ingredients

goes with lots of side dishes

makes my life infinitely easier

Cons:

$7-8 for a pretty small hunk(s) of meat

pretty fatty sometimes

even after I tried to incinerate the leftovers, the package melted but the meat was still tender - this seems kind of wrong, but I ate it anyway!

So there you go, I'll continue to buy it because it is really awesome to pull out some veggies while the 4 minutes beef is in the nuker and have dinner and leftovers. I'm not afraid of the ingredients, the beef roast has 3 extra (water, salt corn starch and some preservative I can't spell).

Next, I'm going to try cooking it and then just stirring in some powdered potatoes to the au jus and see what happens :)

P.S. you can go here to see all the GF things Hormel offers. Makes my life easy! http://www.hormel.com/products/GlutenFreeProducts/default.aspx

Bon Appetit!

New favorite life tool - Kitchen timer!

2011-04-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

I know the blog is sporadic...I've kind of run out of exciting food news lately since I'm moving into another improvement project. I have made a few discoveries and will share them soon though!

But, today I want to talk about a kitchen timer. My new improvement project is this: http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons.asp.

See, I've been feeling like I'm living a really unfocused life and it started to frustrate me. A long time ago, a girl friend that I admire a lot, told me about FLY lady. I kind of checked it out and decided it wasn't really for me. See, I don't have a husband and kids so keeping my house in order should be pretty straight forward and easy, right?

Then, a couple weeks ago I was looking around my house and realized that I had 2 piles of papers to shred, piles of papers to be filed, hadn't vacuumed in way too long and had a growing stash of dishes that needed to be hand washed (I won't even tell you for how long!). FLY lady memories drove me to her website and I signed up for everything, copied down all the baby steps and signed up for her cozi calendar and started in on it.

Hard for me right now because I want to do everything all at once - it's my nature to go fast and furious then quit. But, she's all about pacing yourself - so I'm pacing myself.

Back to the subject...I bought a kitchen timer. She has activities that are times, 5 - 10 - 15- 60 minutes even.

At first I used my eye on the clock - well let me tell you, that gets old fast. First it's, "what time did I start again?" Then it's checking the clock every couple minutes, which is totally distracting. So I tried the microwave timer, but that only works for the kitchen tasks and it just keeps beeping until you turn it off...so annoying!!

Alas, I went and dropped $4 on a kitchen timer and it has changed my life! It's totally the one in the picture above - it's cheap, light, and just counts down to a short ring, which I love.

I set it for 15 minutes of shredding every day this week and when it dinged - I quit. Brilliant! No clock watching, no running to the kitchen to turn it off... yay!

Last night, I tried it during meditation. I like to med before bed but I'm always checking the clock for some reason and it's not terribly effective and I've been pretty random about how long I sit - 5 minutes some times, maybe 15 before I'm so distracted I give up.

I get all warm and happy just thinking about this... last night I set it for 20 minutes and sat meditating. I was able to totally relax and concentrate because I could hear it ticking down and knew it wasn't going to let me go over and I knew that when it dinged I could still take a couple minutes if I needed them without having to jump up and turn it off. It was AWESOME!!

I'm thinking of all sorts of uses for it now... the natural planner in me can think of dozens of timing opportunities! LOL

Does anyone else use a timer like this?

Bonus, it's also let me figure out how to work a 15 minute workout in every night. It's all about mindset - I used to think I had to do 30 minutes and that seems like a long time, but when I gave myself permission for a 15 minute jaunt (ala FLY lady's recommendation to go for a 7 minute walk then turn around and come home to have a glass of water) it made all the difference!

My life is a series of dings now :)

Also, even though my house is only for 2, FLY lady has definitely been useful - I'd totally recommend it to anyone.

Roasting

2011-04-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

One thing I like about winter is being able to use the oven, guilt free. See, in the summer I hate to heat it up, knowing I'm compensating with the A/C - what an energy waster! But, in the winter I know the oven is doing double duty. Warming the house while nourishing my body. Plus, it makes it bearable to be in the kitchen doing other chores (like washing dishes) while it's on. I'm toasty and I know something so yummy is going to come out of there by the time I'm done cleaning!

So, almost every week night when I get home and it's dark and cold, I hit "pre-heat" and prepare to be warmed.

Those little fingerling potatoes totally rock! I give them a little scrub in the sink and roast them. Once in a while, when I'm feeling sassy, I'll roll them around in a bowl of evoo and herbs like thyme or rosemary.
Yams are my favorite roasted, baked is ok too, but I'll never fix them smashed up or covered in marshmallows again. This way is just too perfect. They can be savory with some butter and salt or sweet with a little maple syrup to dunk them in...many other options, I'm sure.
Squash! You know I love squash...I eat them plain with no toppings or with evoo, or butter and salt or maple syrup or brown sugar caramelized on top. You don't have to do anything fancy to a squash, they speak for themselves ;)
I had a special guest at my house courtesy of D2D last week. Celery Root! I scoured recipe books and websites trying to figure out what to do with this baby. There were salads and soups and roasting recipes. I roasted mine, first. That didn't really make me love it so I put it in soup...and we had a winner! It added the perfect subtle taste to my veggie broth.

Will I get another one? Maybe some day...in the far off future. It was kind of a pain to peel and cut up, but if I ever get a hankering for celery root soup you know I'll dig one up.

So, what kind of things have you been roasting? Spring is here, but I'm sure next winter will bring many roasting opportunities!

What makes you happy?

2011-03-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post for posterity today about things that are making me pretty happy right now...
Mini sweet peppers. These cuties are so yummy, colorful and don't hate me like full grown bell peppers do!
Amy's gf pizzas have been a favorite all winter. When I get home at night, it's dark and cold and about the only way I'm going to cook dinner is if it involves starting the oven, heading upstairs to get in some comfy sweats and slippers and then baking something while I hang out in the oh so toasty kitchen. I can only get the plain cheese around here so I usually throw something chopped from the fridge on top. This one happened to be onion. I've been known to dice up peppers & onions, slice mushrooms and even add a little meat of some sort. Good stuff.
Boxed wine - Franzia Chillable Red, to be specific. It reminds me of some really good times. My coolest friend ever used to stock her fridge with this and we had many a fun evening at her house drinking wine while our boyfriends played manly stuff before heading out for open mic nights or just general down town frivolity. I miss those days, nice that I can relive them once in a while just by putting a straw in my big ol' juice box.
Last, but not least, almond milk lattes. I make 'em decaf. No guilt - all pleasure. It's creamy, sweet and so good for me! Almond milk actually has as much calcium as cow's milk, more protein than skim and a richness that makes it feel really decadent. If I could get Starby's to carry almond milk, I'd probably spend half my paycheck there. Luckily, the best they'll do for me is put a couple shots in my own cup 'o milk. Forget that! If I have to go to all the trouble to find a cup and put some milk in it, I can find the other 2 minutes to warm it in the microwave and put my own shots in it. Much easier than the usual 15 minute wait at Starby's. Yeah, I like things simple. And cheap!

My happy theme seems to be cheap things. 5 liters of wine $15, Amy's Pizza $8, Almond latte $.50.

What are your pleasures?

Sushi

2011-03-26T15:45:00.001-07:00

Yes kids, I decided to finally try my hand at sushi making since buying the basic ingredients sooo long ago. Why did I wait so long, you ask? Long story short - sushi at famous restaurant = food poisoning = never wanted to be that sick ever ever again= aversion to even the mention of sushi.

But, nothing in mine is raw and of course my kitchen is contamination free so, bravely I went today!

I started with sushi rice and instantly I knew why most people don't make sushi at home. First, you rinse the rice till the water runs clear. Second, let it soak in the cooking water for 30 minutes. Third bring it to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes, all the while praying it doesn't boil over...then let it cool and add the sushi vinegar.

I do dig the rice though, such cute little roundish grains and they are very sticky!
To stuff it, I sliced long strips of cucumber and avocado, thawed out some pre-cooked flash frozen shrimp and prepared to sushi...ahem.
If I ever attempt this again, I think it would be wise to invest in the little bamboo stick roller upper thingy. It was kind of hard without it. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, and tasted good. Bonus points for no food poisoning too!

Sadly, I just don't like the taste of the seaweed wrap. It's funky to me, maybe that's why people burn their nose hairs with wasbi on sushi? I'll try that next time because I have a bunch of leftover wrappers and rice...and sushi vinegar. Maybe I'll make a bunch and take it to work to feed the folks. How sweet would that be? :)

Here's a super zoom picture. Cute, no? I served it with pickled ginger and sweet red pepper slices. Refreshing.

Like I said - pretty proud of myself today! ;)

More Foodie Call review - Osso Buco

2011-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot about this...from weeks ago (sorry)...

In case you're wondering this is the cute little box that food comes in

This is what it looks like after you heat it up :) Osso buco, mashed potatoes and gremolata.
It even comes with super cute instruction sheets! In reusable containers that really hold up well in the microwave!

I tell you true - this osso was probably really good but really greasy for me. Coming off my vegan/raw kick, animal fat pretty much turns me off. A friend of mine said it was good - so there is your review. The potatoes were definitely yum worthy and the gremolata was probably my favorite part - I'd never had that before it it was really refreshing and flavorful...loved it!

Ani Phyo's Donut holes

2011-03-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here's another raw recipe I experimented with..."donut holes"! I got the recipe from Ani Phyo's blog - check her out for a lot of other brilliant raw recipes. I dig it.

In case you can't find it though, here's the recipe - you have got to try them because they are the best thing I've had in a looooong time. Of course, they aren't like a cake - so don't expect that! Think chewy/sweet fruity snacks that are totally satisfying without the sugar rush/crash. I love them!

1 3/4 cups almonds (I used regular ones from a bag)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped

2 cups dried pineapple, chopped

2 cups pitted dates

1/3 cup + 1/4 cup shredded coconut

In the food processor place almonds salt and vanilla and process to a fine powder

slowly add pineapple and dates then coconut.

Use a scoop to make round "holes" and roll in shredded coconut.

Viola!! It takes like 10 minutes - tops.

You can tell I didn't roll all of mine in coconut and I used wet fingers to form the balls. Mostly because I don't really dig coconut and I hate washing dishes - fingers are lick-able!

So everyone I was willing to share these with loved them and ate 2-3 more, so if you make them be sure and stick a couple away just for you!

I have to say these are better than Larabars...and I love Larabars!

Mushroom gravy

2011-03-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

I planned to make this mushroom gravy for weeks and weeks - finally did it last night! It was super fast, easy, vegan, gluten free, raw...NUMMY!!

It even looks like gravy, tastes a little better than the goopy, greasy stuff I remember though. Here's the recipe (I can't remember where I got it from! I wrote it down on a scrap of paper.):

1/3 cup olive oil

3/4 cup mushrooms

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

Put everything in the blender until smooth.

Love it!! Wish I'd have made it in time to eat all my baked potatoes...as it is though I put it on instant mashed ;0) That's a little sauteed broccolini next to it, something new to me!

I cannot express how thrilled I am to have this little recipe. Even if you're not trying out vegan or raw recipes - this would be great with any regular old meal. And there are general health benefits if you're watching fat, salt or flour intake. I'm definitely going to use it for holidays...it was that good.

Potatoes galore!

2011-03-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

So weeks ago I was at the store and they had organic potatoes on sale BOGO in bags, of course I got 2! Then, last week I was cleaning things up and found the bag of them that I had shoved aside to put away later and opened it up and holy mole!! They had all sprouted - huge lots of intertwining sprouts!

I don't know what it is about me that makes potatoes so motivated, but this was ahhhmazing!

Anywhoo...I ripped all the sprouts off, scrubbed and foiled them for baking - some in the oven, some in the crockpot and then I wished I'd have thought ahead...

One little me and 10 pounds of baked potatoes. Online, the verdict was that you cannot freeze them if you wish to eat them later...so I ate a potato with every meal.

I had eggs with potatoes, and potatoes alone, with sandwiches and even with salads. It took over a week, but they are done!

Now, do you wonder will I ever eat another potato again?

The Foodie Call review

2011-03-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

So one of my dearest friends forwarded me an email from her mommie's group about this food delivery/catering company called The Foodie Call. You can find them here:

http://www.thefoodiecall.com/

Every month they offer several different meals that are delivered cold and you can reheat/freeze them and have a heat and eat dinner ready any old time!

Most of the offerings (so far) are gluten free and they are super nice about questions and accommodating food allergies! So I would totally give them 2 happy gf thumbs up. If you're in the Denver area, give 'em a try!

The picture above is the Creole Seafood Stew from last month. It was to die for! Just a little spicy, with more spices on the side in case you want it hotter. I did - my eyeballs sweat and my tastebuds danced. Delicious. There were good chunks of fish and little shrimp stuck in with a lot of peppers and onions. We dug it.

I also heated up the Vegetable Beef soup so we could have a sampling of everything. It was really more stew-like than soupy. Lots of big chunks of meat and veggies - total Comfort Food!!

This month I'm sad to say I'm not ordering because I'm planning a Mardi Gras feast but, if you order let me know what you think! I can't wait to see what's coming in April.

Besides being really tasty, I think it's a pretty good value too. Quite a bit cheaper than going out to eat, lots fresher than frozen dinners & faster than picking something up. Of course, I'm a homebody so it's like a dream come true for me :)

Breakfast sandwich! Yum!

2011-02-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's still really cold here...they said it's warming up but I don't feel it. I haven't felt my toes in weeks.

Anyway, one of the best things to do on a cold day is stand over a hot stove so this morning I decided to make a hot breakfast and kind of got carried away. Scrambled eggs turned into eggs and ham...and toast...I just kept cooking because it felt so good to be standing over those hot burners!

Also, I have these gorgeous ripe tomatoes from my delivery this week and happened to wash an extra pear so slicey, slicey and breakfast is ... gone! It was pretty good. The simple things...

In other news, I'm having a lot of thoughts lately about what's next in life. I guess you could call it a phase? It's all about, "what do I do next?"

Any suggestions?

I'm just having this gut instinct that things are really going to change in the near future. Also, looking back, I can see that I'm preparing for something. A couple days ago I checked all my finances and realized that I'm totally flush. My assets are higher than my liabilities. It made me feel pretty good to know that I could sell my house and be free and clear of every obligation and just start fresh.

Yeah, that's what I mean. I don't think think things like, "I can really settle in and build a life." or "I could remodel, go shopping, donate more to charity or get more involved in my community." I think, "Wow, I could just up and change everything about my life - I could start over from scratch. I could run away." That's what I keep doing too - every few years I just start over from scratch. Different career, different house, different states even. I'm just built this way and I've been fighting it for some time now, trying to be normal. I'm telling ya, I've really dug in here and tried to be the most boring, stable version of myself.

Who knows, maybe tomorrow things will feel different, sometimes stable isn't so bad ;0)

Spring Rolls

2011-02-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Before

After!

Look at these babies ;)

I got inspired to make spring rolls, finally and it was super easy! You should try it...

Basically I got some rice sticks, green onions, cucumber, carrots and pre-cooked shrimp. Put a little pickled ginger and Thai Kitchen sweet pepper dipping sauce on the side and tah dah!

So, what do you do with all the leftover rice sticks? You can put them in a salad like this...

It's also a good way to use up the leftover veggies too :)

Now, if only spring will finally get here!! It's been a long cold winter at Cocoa's place. I was so desperate for some sun I went and sat in my car so the sun could beat on me but I wouldn't be out in the cold wind! It was nice and I'm sure if anyone saw me they thought I was nuts. Don't care. I got warm ;p

Wow, I'm actually cooking again!

2011-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

I think it was the cold weather and the only recipes I could find for my leeks were for soup, so I sliced those babies up and put 'em in the crock with some vegetable broth, 3 red potatoes and some S&P. 4 hours on high later and I was floored! It was really delicious. I expected it to be bland or watery, but it wasn't :0) Looks bland though, doesn't it?

I also rolled up some collard green wraps:
It might sound weird, but trust me - this is a fabulous little dish! I've made it a few times before and ate them so fast I forgot to take a picture. This time I happened to have the camera in the kitchen and snapped it quick!

These are so easy too.

First, you wash your collard greens - I soak them in water for a few minutes then rinse them under running water. Mostly I just want to make sure I get all the dirt off.

Then, you lie one on your cutting board and with a sharp paring knife start at the stem and cut up the leaf. Your knife will automatically cut the boniest part of the stem as long as you're sliding it along the stem toward the top of the leaf. You'll have to repeat on the other side. Did that make sense?

If not, come over and I'll give you a live demo.

Next, pick your filling. I love doing some tuna salad with tomato slices.

Put a dab (spoonful) on the end of a leaf and roll it up. Voila!

Now, promise me you'll try it some time and let me know what you think!

A little help from Barilla

2011-02-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

This was possibly the best pasta I've ever had...ever. I had a little help from Barilla though, so I can't take all the credit ;0)

I started by slicing up some mushrooms, onion and zucchini and threw in a few grape tomatoes and sauteed until they were tender. Then I dumped in a jar of Barilla and simmered it for the 15 minutes it took to boil the pasta (Tinkyada shells, btw)
Isn't it pretty?

So, here's the sauce I used and I chose it because it had the best ingredients...and it was on sale!
Doesn't it sound good? Like sauce my Italian grandma would make, if I had one. Can I borrow yours?
This was about a 25 minute meal - 10 mins to sautee the veggies and get some water boiling and 15 to simmer and boil the pasta. I managed to mix a pomegranatetini and load the dishes in there too. Multitasking, I am - I am!

Outback Steakhouse - you are so funny!

2011-01-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was seriously craving a steak all week long. I mean, every day I thought how great it would be to gnaw on a huge chunk of beef. Gross, I know. After months of being a vegetarian I was shocked at myself. I felt like Phoebe when she was pregnant - the baby wants meat!!

So, I gave in and ordered Outback take-out. The sirloin with a salad and garlic mashed potatoes. I added plenty of notes for them to mix my salad in a clean bowl, no croutons, gluten allergy, etc. So, I get my bag and inside is this cute little packet...of BREAD! Ahem, really Outback? All my gluten free warnings and you shove a piece of bread in the bag? Get a clue.

I guess it wasn't terrible, silly though. And into the trash it went. Everything was in it's own little container so I wasn't too worried about contamination. Was a shame to throw away that bread though. I remember how warm and soft and slightly sweet it was *drool*.

11 ounce steak in a giant styrofoam box (I hate those leaky monsters)

2 cups of mashed potatoes in a styrofoam bowl

1 cup of salad in a styrofoam container and about 1 Tbs of dressing.

Gotta tell you, I felt really off kilter with this. I'm used to a plate filled with salad and veggies and maybe a single serving of potato - which means 1, about 1/2-1 cup at the most. Here I was with this pathetic little salad and I craved more. I was stuffed full of potatoes before I even got to the steak.

I admit it, I ate the whole thing. It was delicious. Smelled terrible, but tasted so good...and I was hungry again in 2 hours. What's up with that? Feed me a zucchini and I can go for hours. Stuff me with potatoes and meat and I'm starving again in 2. Weird. I thought protein was supposed to keep you full longer.

My only explanation is that my body was so desperate for protein that it immediately incorporated it with my tissues and I could go for more.

I'm a little sad today. I was loving being vegetarian but after eating that steak I feel so good today. None of the usual fatigue, no dark circles under my eyes that I thought were normal. I guess I need meat for my health. I'm sure there are some arguments that I don't. That I can take supplements to replace what I'm not getting from being vegan (where do they get the stuff in those supplements?) and maybe I just wasn't getting the right mix of nutrients.

I'm tired of the fight. It shouldn't be so hard to figure out how to live. I shouldn't be constantly questioning my diet. Is it making me sick? Am I getting proper nutrition? Am I killing innocent animals? Am I killing myself slowly? Am I going to get glutened? How about food poisoning? It's exhausting.

So, dear Outback, thank you for not glutening me, despite your best efforts. Thank you for the vibrancy I feel today. I'll be back. Keep a steak on the barbie for me cuz Lord knows I still can't stomach the thought of raw meat in my house.

P.S. thank you for the gluten free menu: http://www.outback.com/menu/pdf/glutenfree.pdf

Shopping!!!

2011-01-29T10:44:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things to do is go shopping somewhere great and today I found a new place! See, the grocery store I usually go to is under construction - still open, but the last couple times I went everything was covered in this sticky gray dust. Today I headed out to go and as I was approaching I just couldn't bear the thought of coming home with a bunch of dirty stuff again (I seriously had to wash some of it last time!) So, I took a left and went to the store on the next street. La La La! It was great! I'm going back for sure - it was a gluten free palooza there. I got a bunch of stuff, as you can see.
My regular store stocks a handful of Amy's gf meals and on a good day I can find gf pretzels on the bottom shelf way in the back behind other stuff. My new store...wow! They had at least 7 different kinds of gf cookies, 2 kinds of gf pretzels, a ton of rice noodles, bowls and sushi makers! Not to mention the usual gf pastas and Betty's cake mixes you can find almost anywhere.

I was in awe as I stood in the frozen foods and they had 5 different kinds of gf bread, pizza crusts, muffins, cupcakes, regular cakes, BAGELS!!! and sandwich buns. They even had Amy's gf burritos and lasagna. I teared up a little.

If you're ever in the NW suburbs, let me know and I'll take you over to KingSoopers with the gf palooza.

Today's to-do list:

Find sushi recipes to do with my Nori that don't require soy sauce (did you see - I got sushi vinegar?)

Have Chipotle with the 'rents

Watch Letters to Juliet

And a bunch of house chores :(

Crock Pot Bakers?

2011-01-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

I think this is my new favorite Crock Pot function! You can bake potatoes in it! And yams!
I hate starting up the oven to do just a couple potatoes and when I microwave them I always end up with some kind of hockey puckish thing. This was FABULOUS!! All you have to do is wrap them in foil and cook on high 4-6 hours or low for about 8 hours and they come out perfect. The skins literally fell off the yam, which was sweet and soft. The potato peels fell off too. MMMMM.

So, I'm thinking that there will be many crock pot bakers in the future. The best part? since they are wrapped in foil there's no clean up!

Have you ever cooked anything non-stew in a crock pot? Do tell! I'm always psyched to find new meals I can do in the Crock and save me cook time. Not to mention how divine it is to come home to the smell of dinner ready.

Oatmeal is my nemesis

2011-01-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

It explodes in the microwave, it boils over on the stove. So far overnight oats are the only kind that don't leave a ginormous mess in my kitchen!

But zucchini noodles always treat me right ;0)

So, have you missed me? It's been absolutely weeks and weeks since I had a moment to sit and think, much less blog! This is blissful!

Tonight I'm actually sitting in my recliner with Purry Mccuddleson watching reruns of "How I Met Your Mother" while I write this. Afterwards, I'm going to crack open "The Smart Girl's Guide To Sports" and learn about hockey while I try to ignore my wicked vertigo that has been killing me slowly all week.

How about you - what are you up to lately?

Christmas Cakes

2011-01-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

So, some of the cakes turned out:
These did not:
The massacre:
And that was Christmas!

Maybe I was on vacation

2011-01-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

Food's been not so exciting for me over the holidays...weird right? I did manage to bake some cakes, they were supposed to be like little Gingerbread men but there was a massacre and all the arms, legs and heads flew around and eventually ended up in a pile. You didn't want to see that, did you?!?!

For Christmas dinner we had a roast and mashed potatoes - tres exciting. New Year's brought tacos (I actually craved them so bad that's what I requested. Seriously.)

Otherwise, much roasted taters, squash and kale chips. I throw in the random salads and sandwiches...you don't want to see all that too, do you?!?!

But, I'll be back to cooking soon, like when it warms up a bit and I can stand to be in the kitchen again ;)

My current project is to find a curly hairstyle that won't make me look like an elf or a crazy homeless person. I want to do some fun color too but my hair stylist never lets me go crazy. Well, I showed her! I can go crazy all on my own...black to red to blonde to dark brown and leaopard print. Uh, now I need her to fix it and give me something pretty. Shall I hack it off or leave it long?

I'm thinking something normal like this. Your thoughts?

My Favorite salad - Starkist Tuna in Olive Oil

2010-12-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is by far my favorite way to have a salad (for now at least). Ever since I discovered tuna fillet in olive oil, anyway.

It's ingredients are: tuna, olive oil, salt. I get them for about $1.58 - but it is so worth it to avoid soy and mystery ingredients! So, I cut up whatever is in the fridge and dump the can of tuna on top, shake some balsamic on it and tah daaaah! You have a salad complete with dressing.

Nothing to drain, barfycat doesn't want a taste and I'm happy!

Golden Sweet potatoes

2010-12-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

D2D sent me yams and golden sweet potatoes and I just couldn't wait to roast them. I've decided that roasting and grilling are about the only ways to really cook veggies. Everything comes out so flavorful and good - without a bunch of seasoning or prep work (you know how I hate prep work).

So, I peeled these babies, sliced em 1/2 inch thick and put them in the oven at about 385 for 30 minutes. Voila! I admit, I ate them straight off the pan and the picture above is leftovers, the next day. I swear they got better overnight!
Also, I used my new plate - pretty huh?

What do you roast? I've heard that you can roast brussels sprouts but never had any that way. Do you think it stinks up the house?

I luv Chard Chips this.......much!

2010-12-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

I'm always entranced by how gorgeous red chard leaves are. I love them! I especially love them chip style:
This time I finally did it right. I cut out the stem and ripped them into bite size pieces. Then dried them, put in a bowl with a drizzle of Evoo and salt and tossed till coated. Pretty, yes?
Baked them for about 15 mins at 350, until they were crisp and ate almost all of them right out of the oven. Heavenly! Best thing ever!! Not to mention the perfect color combo for Christmas ;)

See you later!

Review: Bob's Red Mill GF Bread mix

2010-12-13T18:46:00.000-08:00

I was totally in the mood to bake bread this weekend and lucky me, I had a Bob's mix in the cupboard that I'd put off using because it requires more egg whites than yolks. But I decided to give it a try and find out how many extra yolks I'd really have and it was only 3.

So, not to waste those cute pillowy yolks (have I told you how I truly love separating eggs? it's like dicing onions - I could do it all day!) I decided to scramble up an extra one with a whole egg and some veggies for breakfast while the bread was baking. Good no? i also cooked one up for barfycat - she loved it ;)

It's sliced up zucchini innards (after I made zucc noods) & onion sauteed in evoo, S&P. Also, cut up some cute little tomatoes and scrambled them with the eggs. Num :)

Here's the bread:

The bread turned out as good as I can expect! When it was fresh out of the oven it was warm and soft - I could have eaten the whole loaf at once! But, the next day it was really crumbly, even after warmed in the micro :(

I don't blame Bob. See, I messed up, a lot! First, I melted the butter in the micro but added cold milk to it! which of course solidified that butter right up...so I put the bowl on the warmer while I separated the eggs and kept whisking until it was finally incorporated and warm (heed the instruction that all ingredients must be at room temp).

Then, after I dumped the ingredients into my cuisi bread maker in proper order, forgot that I didn't add the vinegar...so I dumped it in on the edge and hoped it would get mixed in good enough. I pushed "Start" and went to do some other chores...an hour later I came back to see how it was doing and found out it had done the entire cycle without the mixing paddle!! Luckily, it hadn't baked yet so I cleared it, dug under the pasty goo that was forming and stuck the paddle in. Closed the top - went to finish my chores...an hour later came back to see how it was doing and had forgotten to start it! Ugh! Slapping my forehead and stomping feet ensued. Then, I pushed Start, crossed my fingers and waited...10 minutes till it started stirring. Then checked back every 30 minutes until it was baking.

So, I'm sure all my messing around is directly related to the crumbly bread. but, it tastes good and that's what matters, right? RIGHT?

Here's a pic to compare it to Udi's, which I might add is kinda crumbly itself!

I won't be the girl with the can of frosting

2010-12-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

ok, I made this tonight because I will not be the girl with a solitary can of frosting in the checkout at the store on a weekend night.

I'm craving frosting like something else tonight! I do have all the fixins to make some...but it takes so long...and I had a bit of peanut butter so I squished this together real fast.

What's in it?

A couple spoons of sugar, a couple spoons of cocoa powder, about 2 Tbs of peanut butter, a dash of vanilla and a dash of salt. In the micro for about a minute, stir and smash on a rice cake or eat it with a spoon.

I think I'm going to finish up with about about a bottle of wine!

BTW, a couple spoons each of sugar and cocoa powder is Hot Cocoa mix - Swiss Miss has nothing over that! Don't forget a dash of salt ;)

Cocoa is outtie! Night night kids.

Book: A Course In Weight Loss, 21 lessons

2010-12-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

As you know, I'm a big fan of "Add More ~ing to your life" and it's probably saved my life, almost literally. I have a feeling that if I wouldn't have been Divinely guided to Gabby, I probably would have been guided to something similar - but I also believe that everything is part of a plan, so there you go.

Anyway, Gabby recommended this book by her mentor, Marianne Williamson, so I checked it out and I'm so glad I did! It has changed my life profoundly in the 21 days I dedicated to do the lessons. Now, I'm recommending it to you. No matter if you're overweight or not, everyone needs to learn the lessons in this book - about your relationship with God.

If you want to know more, message me somehow and I'll link you up to my other blog - where I wrote about each day's lesson and what it brought up for me.

I was curious about it initially because since being diagnosed with Celiac and going on the gluten free diet, among other things, I've actually gained quite a bit of weight. I chalked it up to my long-time starving body holding on to every calorie and medication notorious for making women hold an extra 15 pounds or so. But, I believe in miracles and Marianne says in this book - ask for a miracle! But, you have to believe it too - you don't want to reject your miracle, so there's a lot of work to do too.

So, the premise of this book is that being overweight is a manifestation of your mind. It is the emotional baggage that you have not worked through appropriately, being housed in your body until you do deal with it. That baggage can range from abuse to trying to please others to just needing to be closer to God. I found I was closer to the needing a stronger relationship with God mixed in with a little of the hiding my greatness to be accepted by others.

My baggage started with: I'm so afraid that I will be somewhere without safe food that I'm constantly preparing for that. Also, that I don't put enough trust in God and I'm rejecting love from my life.

It was an amazing process to go through and like I said, profound changes! For instance, every morning I get up and ask God to guide me where he wants me to be and promise to show up for my assignments. In a way, I've always known this was my job, as a Christian. I've been taught this all my life yet somehow I also picked up that what I want is what God wants. Now I know that might be true, or he might want something better and by grasping and fighting for things I may be limiting my life's greatness.

Another great ritual I've developed is praying before meals. I've never really done that before, we pray before holiday meals and I have a dear, beautiful friend who prays before meals and I appreciate it so much. Personally, I've felt awkward about it. Now, I just do it. It's a nice reminder that God has provided for me and to remember those who aren't as fortunate. It brings me back to consciously appreciating food instead of always fearing that it will make me sick, fat, tired or not satisfy me at all.

These might sound like simple things, but they are really huge, for me. Giving up my (false) control over my day and asking God to take control, every day, is alien to me. I've always thought I was supposed to do all the work, now I know that some of that work isn't mine to do. I can't control other people and I can't hold the stars in the sky.

So, if you notice a change in me - like I'm not so controlling or bossy or even if it seems like I'm careless, you know why now. I'm letting God hold those stars and I'm listening intently to his directions. I'm working really hard every day to act from a place of love and to think like I'm God's hands and feet, eyes and ears. One of the lessons says to think about your body this way, because God lives in us. So, once in a while I stop and I think WWJD? For real!

Spaghetti or not spaghetti?

2010-12-04T17:51:00.001-08:00

Don't let anyone tell you that spaghetti squash is a fair sub for real spaghetti...but it is really good!! So, you should definitely try it. I do put marinara on it, and the leftovers will no doubt get some butter, S&P instead though, cuz that's good too ;0)

So, if you want to make this squash all you need is a baking dish and a microwave! Cut the squash in half, scoop the seeds out and put it cut sides down on the dish and put a little water in in it. Don't worry if it gets the squash wet. Then cook it for as long as it takes to get soft, mine takes about 10 minutes.

Then, use a fork to scrape out the insides, it will be stringy like spaghetti, but not stringy to eat, kind of crisp actually. Top it with whatever makes you happy, like cheese or sauce or just some salt and pepper.
This week, after not having to work for a whole week, was busy! I really didn't have a lot of time to cook ;0( and to tell the truth, yesterday I got the last of the Thanksgiving dishes done...I'm usually pretty good about getting the dishes done.

Anywhoo...sandwiches have been big - as in having one every day. I've alternated between Buddig Beef (it's gluten free!!!) and fried egg. The one above is corned beef with spinach and some grape tomatoes that my parents had growing - it's been really warm here still!

I was also really blessed to have T-day leftovers well into Tuesday, at which time I tossed the last of it for fear of food poisoning (how long do leftovers really last?!?)

Post T-day hangovers anyone?

2010-11-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

No, I don't have a hangover but if I did I think some greens would help, don't you?

Maybe I have a bit of a stuffing hangover though so I threw together this spinach fritatta for breakfast. So easy, chopped up some spinach, half an onion, a clove of garlic and some tomatoes- S&P of course! - in a bowl with a couple eggs (I used 4 cuz that was all I had). Grease a pie pan dump it in and bake for about 30 minutes at 350. *heart*

Still craving some greens I did this huge salad for lunch today. Red leaf lettuce, spinach, green onions, pear, tomato, and a can of tuna in olive oil with balsamic vinegar to dress it. The perfect antidote to the stuffing I keep snacking on!

The one thing we didn't have was dessert. I totally forgot until today when I was putting together my leftovers for dinner and thought how great a piece of pumpkin pie would be. I'm going to have to make sure that one shows up at Christmas!

What do you do after Thanksgiving to balance out again? or do you eat sensibly and don't need to?

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

Here's my beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. I made cranberry sauce from scratch!! And wild rice with onions and celery, mashed potatoes and stuffed squash from the glutenfreegoddess blog:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/11/maple-roasted-acorn-squash-and.html

The wild rice took forever to wash! I was being ultra careful so I put it through a dozen bowls of water to make sure there was no sand left. How embarrassing would it be to have a dinner guest break a tooth? This picture was after bowl 8 ish, I actually lost count.

This was one of the nicest thanksgivings I've ever had. Of course that was after the screwdrivers, 2 kinds of wine, martinis and nog. We all get along great after a little hooch ;0)

So, what did you do for Thanksgiving?

P.S. nobody missed the turkey and I only have a couple meals worth of leftovers. Woo hoo!

Chocolate chip pancake hangover

2010-11-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

This morning I got inspired to make pancakes so I got out the Bob's and tossed some chocolate chips in it and got cooking.

They didn't need syrup at all! They were so sweet and fluffy. Pure happiness.

Stay tuned for my Thanksgiving recap. Lots of yummy food ;0)

Thanksgiving and pomegranates

2010-11-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

I found that pomegranates are not easy to eat. In fact, it takes for.ev.er to get the seeds out and then eating them is still no fun. Tastes great - lots of work.

I also got a persimmon. How do you eat a persimmon?!? Cute isn't it ;)
In other news, I have this whole week off. Forced PTO - not fair - blahdy blah - whiney whine whine. On the upside, I have a whole week off, including Thanksgiving. So I'll be cooking.

What are you cooking for t-day?

Since I can't have poultry anymore I plan to make stuffed acorn squash using Bob's Redmill cornbread ala Karina's: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/11/maple-roasted-acorn-squash-and.html

We had this last Thanksgiving too, but with turkey. This year we will have wild rice instead. Mmm...wild rice is my favorite and my great uncle sent me some all the way from Minnesota which is way better than any you can get in Colorado!!

I'm really looking forward to it and over the next couple days all I need to do to prepare is get a couple acorn squash thanks to D2D bringing me all the other ingredients I need. :0)

Turban Squash!!

2010-11-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

It totally looks like a turban...not! But it is really pretty. So, I didn't know how to cook it...exactly. I read that I could cut it open, scoop the seeds and bake it like any other squash, so I tried that.
Those seeds are soft and huge! That is a big soup spoon that I'm scooping them with.
What I learned:

1. Cut it in half, not just the top like a pumpkin. Why? Because the seeds are in every nook and cranny - it was impossible to get them all out through the top.

2. Plan a flavorful recipe. Although it is still yummy yummy squash, it is kind of bland and watery, like pumpkin.

3. Have plenty of people to eat it. I've been having some every day all week and there's still about half left!

In other news...

Dreamy coconut milk

2010-11-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

Picture me at the store, picking up my usual Almond Milk and I see this coconut milk next to it and think "OOOOH! Something new!" and had to pick it up. What a goofball!! It isn't any different than the coconut milk you can get in a can, that they've sold for.ev.er. I'm such a sucker for marketing, apparently ;)

The bonus though is that it makes the BEST Hot cocoa and chai lattes in the world. Better than cow milk, way better than soy and not as strong as almond.

So here's what I got to make chai lattes - totally recommend trying it!

For hot chocolate, I mix a tablespoon (rounded!) each of cocoa powder & sugar in a mug then fill it with coconut milk and microwave it for 1 minute, stir, nuke 1 more minute, done! MMMM perfect for a cold winter night like tonight.

I other news, I was too tired to deal with dinner tonight so I came home and fried up an egg and toasted some Udi's sandwich bread in the same pan on the stove. I haven't had an egg sandwich in YEARS! Seriously, 6+ years, I can't even remember. So I wanted to document it for posterity here:
It didn't have cheese or butter and I kind of missed the cheese but Oh Boy! it was perfect for me tonight.

Now, I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving. I'm cooking of course, which is easy since it'll just be me and the 'rents. Only kids get it easy I guess. Luckily, I'll have all next week off (universally forced PTO - when will I ever get to take a vacation day when I want to?) so I can find all my ingredients and prepare (like cleaning the house...).

What are you making for T-day?

Are you going to be watching a game on TV?

What would you do?

2010-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Oh No!! I left my lunch at home today. My beautiful salad with craisins, arugula, green onions and balsamic. So, I'm a little stupid this afternoon and decided to blog.

What do you do when you leave your lunch at home and can't get out to find anything?

In my office, there is a snack machine.

It has absolutely nothing gluten free though.

Lately, my desk drawer stash has shrunk down and with our upcoming 10 day shut-down, I'm putting off restocking it. No need to feed the rats or bugs or whatever takes over the office while we aren't here.

I want my salad. and it's 3:30 so I'm challenging myself to go the hour and a half until I can run home to my food.

So what happens when I don't eat for hours and hours? First, I get grouchy. Then I get stupid. Like I can't talk or recall information that was once at the tip of my tongue.

Once that passes, I get a headache - which I have learned to soothe with lots of water. Finally, I'm just a little light headed but the pain has passed. Much like now, I'm not hungry per se, but I know I need to eat soon or I'm in serious danger of falling off my chair.

Add to that the 6:00 HOA meeting that I'm compelled to go to and I'm seriously considering trolling for change to buy a Coke!

Trolling, you ask? Yes. I don't carry cash just exactly so I'm not drawn in my the Coke machine.

The HFCS is so bad for me, besides being fattening it's been proven to cause so many health issues.

The other option is aspartame and that has been proven to cause brain problems.
And I have enough of those!!

Yet, every day I crave a Coke. Once in a very long while I know I have change from some random purchase and I'll give in and buy a pop. Then there's guilt. and the burping. So I stay away.

Purple Potatoes?!?!

2010-11-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

How cool looking are these purple potatoes?

They were purple all the way through, not like red potatoes that are white inside, which totally surprised me!

I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes with a dash of EVOO S&P and I was in potato heaven.

Have you ever had purple potatoes? Have you ever seen purple potatoes? I didn't know they existed until this week, so this was a totally fun Friday dinner to try.

This morning I woke up with a hankering for something spicy so I made breakfast tacos. Totally easy - you toast some tortillas, rip up some lettuce, scramble a couple eggs with salsa and viola!!

This was literally a 7 minute breakfast.

So, I have absolutely no plans this weekend, which is AWESOME! I mean, there aren't chores to do even. It seems like a perfect weekend for some shopping and girl's night out, no?

Simple Pumpkin for a Simple Girl

2010-11-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

I had such high hopes for this pie pumpkin D2D brought me - seriously! I was going to bake a pumpkin pie. I have a gf crust mix and all I really needed was a good filling recipe. But, I never found it and pretty soon the endeavor was forgotten.

I found myself baking a carnival squash - so cute, so yummy - and out of the corner of my eye this petite pumpkin waved at me and said "eat me!". Ahem. So I cut off his top, dug out his guts and put him in the oven with the squash.

About an hour later, they were both done but I still didn't know what to do with the pumpkin. I tasted it, and it was bland and kind of watery. So, I wrapped it up and shoved it in the fridge until I could come up with something. 2 days later he waved at me again when I was peeking around for a snack and said..."umm...eat me?"

Ok, fine. So I put a chunk in a bowl with a teeny pat of butter and some maple syrup - it was good! I paired it with a simple salad for lunch and there you go. How simple is that? I think there is more pumpkin in my future, no longer sequestered to Thanksgiving pies and random muffins, the pumpkin is going to make a come back as a veggie side dish I tell you!

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

2010-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

Roasting roasting roasting!! Carrots and Cauliflowers. yummy
So, I got this huge head of cauliflower from D2D and didn't really know what to do with it, as I don't really dig Cauli. But, I found a recipe for curried roasted cauliflower in a cook book, I believe the new Skinny Bitch cookbook actually, and since I have this thing of curry powder that I don't really know how to use either I figured - why not?

It was a pretty simple recipe:

2 tsp curry powder

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup oil

S&P
You stir it all up in a bowl, coat the cauli well and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Can you stand it?!?

Gotta say, I like it! I ate a bunch right away and put the leftovers away.

My ENTIRE house smelled fantastic the first night but the second day of stale curry was not fantastic :(

So glad we had a warm-ish day so I could open the windows and air it out a bit. And don't forget the box of baking soda in the fridge, unless you like curry flavored everything!

Review: Gluten Free Pantry Bread

2010-11-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

What do you think? Is it beautiful?

I made this in the bread maker and I'm going to give it a gold star!

It was super easy and came out soft and smelled so good while it was baking. Me and Fluffy were just drooling and running down stairs every 10 minutes to see if it was done yet (despite the timer which kept telling us exactly how many minutes were left!).

Once it was done and still really too hot, I sliced it open and as you can see it was divine!

I smeared it with peanut butter and honey and I gotta say - it's some heavy bread! I was STUFFED!

See, I've been planning to make Bob's bread mix for a few weeks now. I put it on the counter by the machine so that the next time I found myself in the kitchen with a few minutes to spare I could just drop in the ingredients and set it. One day, I was standing there and decided to start - but it calls for more egg whites than egg yolks, so I have to figure out what to do that will need extra yolks before I can try Bob's. See - at $4 a dozen for my organic cage free happy chicken eggs, I'm not wasting a yolk!!

BTW, the price is worth it - they taste better and I'm truly a believer in organics because my health has improved significantly since I went organic.

Back to the bread...so I was at the store and saw this Gluten Free Pantry brand on sale and looked at the directions - 2 eggs, 1.5 cups water, 4 Tbl butter. Ummm Yeah!! I can do that. And I did!

It was $5 and is about twice as much bread as Udi's (same cost) plus instead of a white bread taste, it has this moist warm buttery taste. I think it would make great dinner rolls too. Just a thought for Thanksgiving sweethearts!

Review: Thai Kitchen stir fry noodles and sauce

2010-11-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning and happy Daylight savings time kids! I love getting that extra hour once a year, but would definitely give it up if I didn't have to spring forward in a few months!

I'm taking advantage of it today by baking bread though - tune in tomorrow for the results. It smells incredible!

Until then, let's talk stir fry. Of course, this was one of my magical finds at Walmart!!
Thai Kitchen Original Pad Thai Rice Noodles and Sauce. It's Gluten Free!! And I give it a gold star!

It was so easy to make, I have to say - it's going to be a staple at Chez Cocoa. You can pretty much add whatever you want: meat, tofu, shrimp...I did it veggie style of course! So, here's the steps and you can decide for your self if a meal that could serve 4 for just a few measly $ and 10 minutes of your time is worth it. You know I did!

1. Boil 4 cups of water

2. Put the noodles in and remove from heat - set timer for 8 minutes

3. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet or wok, scramble an egg in it and add a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies (I always grab a bunch when they are $.88 - 1.00 on sale). Cook until hot.

4. By then the noodles should be done, drain them an rinse with cold water so they quit cooking.

5. Dump noodles and sauce in with veggies and mix well.

Viola!

The sauce has a nice mild sweet taste to it. Having the noodles on a timer kept me from cooking the veggies too long so they were still fresh/crisp and the oil kept the egg from getting crispy too.

I added some red pepper flakes as garnish of sorts because I've been craving spicy all week and they did the trick - definitely recommend!!

So, what do you think? is 10 minutes in front of the stove too long? or would you just order in?

Total for this meal ~$4.50

Wild Rice and Chocolate Chex?

2010-11-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

First I have to tell you about Fry Sauce! I have spent some time in Salt Lake City during my lifetime and the one thing they have there that nobody else has is fry sauce. It's in every restaurant and I can't believe it hasn't spread to other places yet. I love it.

So, I had to make my own the other night when I made some fries (Ore Ida brand is gf). It's really simple - take equal parts of mayo and ketchup and stir them together. I used this cute little mug because...you can guess it - no clean dishes!

I haven't only been eating junk food, I also made this wild rice dish:
Also simple:

First, get a teeny tiny box of wild rice at the store and pay an arm and half your leg for it. Then, try to follow the directions, which aren't right and keep adding water as it boils off/gets absorbed until you can't stand it any more. Or you can do what my mom does and dump a ton of water in it and boil it a very long time until the grains pop open and are chewy and soft and almost fluffy. I like it better the latter way, but I actually tried it the former.

Second, sautee 1 onion, 3 ribs of celery and 6 or so mushrooms in EVOO

Then, stir it all together and eat it!

This attempt was still pretty good the wild rice is not actually rice (as in grain). Did you know that? It's a seed and it's full of great nutrients and protein.

I like mine with lots of veggies, so if you don't, scale back on them a bit. Also, lots of people do a mix with brown rice - it makes it more affordable, but I'm a bit of a purist and don't feel the need to mix something in that will take away from the deliciousness that is wild rice.

Finally:
No big secret here, just a recommendation. Pour chocolate Silk Almond milk on your Rice Chex, you won't regret it!

Review: DeBoles Angel Hair Pasta

2010-11-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Looks good, no? I gave DeBoles Pasta a try with my usual Newman's Own Marinara (by far my favorite ever!).

It was pretty good. The pasta has a whole grain feel to it and reminds me of some whole wheat pasta I ate in a previous life. Definitely liked this!

The next day's leftovers were ok. The pasta seemed to lose its structural integrity and broke up into smaller pieces as I stirred it into the sauce. But still tasted great and you know what? It kept me from splattering sauce all over my chin at work! So, I think that's a bonus, don't you?

I'd definitely buy this to serve to anyone and I'll for sure buy it for me again soon!

Verdict? Try it! you'll probably like it if you like a nice hearty tasting pasta. If not, go the Tinkyada route, it's milder.

Review: Van's gf French Toast Sticks

2010-11-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here's what they look like in real life:
I won't be buying these again for a couple reasons:

1. They are not fully cooked - this freaks me out

2. They come out of the oven after the required 10 minutes @400 degrees, hard - so hard I had to dunk them in hot coffee to soften them enough to chew and still they were quite tough.

Their actual taste would be good for kids or someone with a severe sweet tooth, they are very sugary. I'm trying very hard to think of positives here...but I didn't like them.

In a pinch, with hot coffee I might be convinced to eat them again. But I will never pay upwards of $5 for a box of these (comes with 8 of these teeny little biscuits).

Also, in the 25 minutes it took to make these (including oven pre-heat time), I could have dunked some pre-made bread, like Udi's, in eggs and had fresh French toast, and it would have been divine! Live and learn

You know, the more I start trying these gluten free products the more disappointed I am! Obvs when I started out gluten free I stuck with whole foods for the most part because I didn't want to blow my budget on all these truly expensive goodies. Then I got a raise and I thought, "I can dedicate this to savings or to trying new foods." I decided to do a little of both.

I'm glad I'm trying these packaged goods, so that I can be confident in my original choice to avoid them.

I have to admit, I've been getting a $5 loaf of Udi's bread every other week so I can pack sandwiches for lunch. And I buy Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake mixes, Pamela's mixes and a few Amy's frozen dinners - that's about all I have really found value in purchasing, out of all these various mixes and products in the market.

So, if you're thinking about trying these, I'd say, don't waste your money. Spend that $5 on a bread mix or Udi's and some eggs and make your own. Your taste buds will thank you.

Weird concoctions of mine

2010-10-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I know, this looks weird. It's because I thought I could mix up my spinach quiche in the Magic Bullet. I got the sweet potato crust idea from the Spunky Coconut - you should check her out, cool gal. Basically, you cut your sweet potatoes up in nice rounds, I did about 1/8 inch think and you overlap them slightly as you line a greased pie pan with them. Then, you dump your quiche mixture on top and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (high altitude) or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

It came out looking about the same as it went in, maybe a little toasty on the "crust" edges. nummy!!

So my recipe was: a couple eggs, some chopped spinach, onion, garlic in the MB and zipped it up until it looked like a smoothie. Ahem. I'm going to revert back to the day of chopping the veggies with a knife and stirring them up in a bowl with the eggs, it's much nicer looking.
Then there was my scramble. I had leftover quartered artichoke hearts, chopped tomato, chopped spinach and onion so I sauteed it up and tossed in a couple eggs and scrambled! Drizzled in just a touch of Balsamic vinegar and it was so good!! I call it my mediterrenean scramble.

Looks weird, tastes good...guess my new goal in life is to make it look like it tastes?

What do you guys cook that looks funny but tastes great?

Oh how I love squash, let me count the ways!

2010-10-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

You've seen these in the store, right? So have I! And I always wondered if people bought them for anything but fall decorating. So, when D2D brought me a couple in my box I knew they were for eating! Had to get the Betty Crocker cookbook out to see that you can cook them just the same as acorn squash. Whee!

So, I cut em, scooped em and plopped em face down on a baking sheet and into the oven for about 45 minutes.

It was a long time to wait but so worth it! I swear, I did not put anything on them, I just ate them straight. See, I always taste things plain so I know if I like it or if it's all the flavoring I put on it. When I took a bite of the long skinny one it was so sweet and creamy, I just kept eating! The little round one wasn't as sweet but definitely sweeter than an acorn squash. No wonder they are called delicata. They are delectable! Beauty and taste all in one package. I'm such a fan of squash!!!

Oh yeah, since I had the oven going I threw in some russets to bake (one hour)
and some beets, yams and carrots to roast (30 mins). I figure once the oven is hot, that's most of the energy so you might as well take advantage of it. Now I have roasted veggies and bakers for the rest of the week. Can you say No-cook Thursday night?
In other news, the email and voice mail systems are down at work, so I get to blog for you guilt free!!

What do you do when email is down at work?

And the Winner is....

2010-10-22T08:34:00.001-07:00

Thank you all for participating in my first ever giveaway! And all your great comments! It was lots of fun for me to do my taste test, sorry I couldn't have given you more opinions, but that was part of the rules! I'll do follow up posts in detail reviewing other mixes in the near future so come back and check them out :)

Now - the winner is: Lindsay!!! I hope you enjoy your prize pack, I know I'm having a lot of fun with my pancake pen still!

How did I choose the winner? I went to http://www.random.org/ and used their random # generator, which gave me the result of 5 and picked my 5th comment below. Simple system for a simple cook.

If you didn't win, please be sure to print the $1 coupon so if you see Gluten Free Bisquick in the store at a good price you can pick some up. Here's the link again:http://www.myblogspark.com/uc/main/8b49/

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bisquick review and GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-10-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

So, the cool people at MyBlogSpark.com sent me this awesome pancake party set!! I've already done one review of Bisquick: http://cocoasglutenfreeplace.blogspot.com/2010/09/everybodys-doin-it-gf-bisquick-review.html

BUT since I was given a second chance to try it for free, I figured - why not?

So, to make it interesting and fun, I invited the fam over for a pancake tasting party! The rules were simple, eat a strawberry, eat a pancake, repeat and tell me what you think.

*please note, these are our personal preferences, the results may have been skewed by burning or non-burning of the pancakes/amount of butter & syrup applied and residual pancake flavor from the previous contender and that I used Almond Milk, which definitely varies the taste*

Alright, disclaimers out of the way - hang in there until the end when I tell you how to get your own FREE pancake party pack!!!

The Contenders:

I gave them each a number, which corresponded to a # on each plate, to make it a blind taste test.

#1. Bob's Red Mill Pancake mix

#2. GF Bisquick

#3. Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix

The Mixes:

You can see that Pamela's mix is a little lumpier and has dark flecks of almond meal in it. Bisquick is the white, silky smooth mix and Bob's is a smooth beige color. Each type has different ingredients that make it taste and feel unique.

The Pancakes:

It's hard to tell by the pic, but each brand looked different too! Bob's were flat and didn't puff up too much, Pamelas and Bisquick looked pretty similar though.

The Results:

Bisquick, the star of today's post, were the sweetest tasting. Since this was the first time any of us had tried Bisquick pancakes, we didn't know what to expect. When cooking them, the batter was thicker and didn't bubble on the top to indicate preferred flipping time, something to get used to, for me! These pancakes were described as sweet and reminding one taster of Kix cereal.

Overall we really enjoyed them and I must note that the required ingredients and prep time were the same among all pancake recipes.

Bob's has been a favorite of ours for 3+ years now, described as having a buckwheat flavor. This morning we all had our sweet tooth on though, so it came in as least preferred.

Finally, Pamela's Mix was also a winner. We have always enjoyed the nutty flavor of her mix in everything from pancakes to muffins. These pancakes were light and fluffy and we really enjoyed them as well.

So, compared to my last review, in which I was disappointed in the performance of Bisquick as a pizza crust, but pleased in it for flat bread, I have to say I'd definitely add this to my pancake mix rotation! They were tasty and light. The price per box is comparable to the other pancake mixes at my store and once I got the hang of cook time they went quick. 3 positive stars on this review.

Now for the funnest part!

1 lucky winner will get a FREE pancake prize pack from MyBlogSpark!

Enter to win by either:

1. Leaving a comment on this post, including your email address or twitter handle so I can contact you and what you'd like to try with Bisquick mix or what you though of this review

2. Tweeting about this post adding @cocoauno to your tweet

Also, you can go here for a $1 coupon off Bisquick: http://www.myblogspark.com/uc/main/8b49/

and try it now.

For recipe ideas go here: www.bisquick.com/glutenfree.

Week 1 of my 30-day service project

2010-10-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Since my inspiration came on so quickly and I didn't want to wait to figure out where to start, I spent the whole 1st week helping people around me. I did little chores for friends who needed help and when I was shopping, I tried to buy things that would benefit other people too. For instance, I bought Dawn dish liquid and donated $1 to wildlife and when I was looking for a new lanyard, I bought pink to support breast cancer research (50-70 % of profits went to Susan G Komen).

The most exciting part this week was that I became more aware and took action on little things I could do to help other people.

This week, I will be knitting baby blanket(s) for Project Linus (projectlinus.org). After reading about these sick kids and how much the textures and colors of handmade blankets help their recovery I decided I could do that! And I know that all the loving energy I put into these blankets is going to carry over to them and they will feel that love.

I'm not a very creative knitter - I'll admit it. But, I can do the standard knit and pearl so I'm going to use colorful soft yarns and lots of love to help these kids.

I've rediscovered a part of my life that has been neglected for a while now. In school, I was in the Jr. Optimist club for 3 years, even serving as President. But, since college I've been striving to find a career, a husband, friendships, moving every year or so and fighting my autoimmune disease. My life got small. Last week I had to fight off so many negative thoughts that have snuck into my internal dialog. I really had to shift my thinking away from "I can't do that because..." to "But, I can do that!"

So, long story short: I'm so glad to be able to serve again, it's a part of my life I've missed. Not only am I benefiting other people but it's forcing me to change my inner monologue from "I can't do that because ___" to: "What can I do? What is possible today?". It's such a good thing!!

I like Chard chips better than kale chips

2010-10-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

I tried making kale chips the other day and although they were quite tasty, and really cute...the texture wasn't as nice as chard chips.

Quick description: they were crunchy at first but then they were really chewy. I didn't dig the chewy.

Today I had this great spinach salad. Craisins, pecans, avocado and tomato. Mmm.

Should we talk $$?

2010-10-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

People talk about how expensive it is to go gluten free and I can show you why today! I've always kept my costs down by eating whole, natural foods and very few packaged goods but when I went wild and bought a bunch of gluten free packages I could see how it really adds up.

So here we go!

Bob's Redmill gluten free oats $5.99

Bob's gf bread mix $4.39

Udi's sandwich bread $5.49

Lundberg Rice Chips $1.86

Glutino Pretzels, 8 oz $5.59

Perky's Rice cereal, 12 oz $4.79

Perky's Flax Cereal, 12 oz $4.79

Amy's mac & Cheese $3.29

Amy's Tortilla Casserole $4.49

Amy's gf pizza $8.19

So to counteract all that cost...not really...I just needed to use up a pound of potatoes and a bunch of carrots so I made a crock pot stew. I threw in a bunch of rosemary and thyme with about 2 onions and a couple cloves of garlic too. It was so yummy and lasted all week!

Van's Waffles & my 1st green smoothie

2010-10-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

So, these seem to be really popular around town. King Soopers and Safeway stock them, I expect to see them show up in Walmart any day now. So, why didn't I luv them?

1. They are not fully cooked. If I'd have read the package better I would have known this, but I thought I was picking up something quick. That could go in the toaster for a walking breakfast. These MUST be baked for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven to be fully cooked.

2. They are so crunchy! I like a softer waffle, but these are so light that they crunched right up in those 10 minutes so that there was nothing chewy about them. I nuked them with a wet papertowel in hopes of a little squashiness. No good - they kept the crunch.

So, if you like crunchy waffles and don't get the wiggins from partially cooked and have time to bake in the morning - I'd give you the thumbs up because the taste was good.

As for me, I could have mixed up pancakes in the 20 minutes it takes for the preheat and baking of these, and I'd have had my chewy soft goodness from a Bob's Redmill mix.
Oh boy. I decided to try to make a green smoothie because I have a fridge full of spinach and kale. I'm not so sure I did it right...
I believed the hype that you could just toss some fruit together with some greens and go so I started with an apple, and an orange and the juice of a second orange so the Bullet would work.

Kinda blended that up liquid-like and added a couple kale leaves and blended twice as long as I thought I should.
It was the thickest, chewiest, stringy mess I've ever tried to eat. I added a good running over tablespoon of honey to try and disguise that strong kale flavor. I was semi-successful. It tasted like a cup full of cow food. I ate half and the other half is waiting patiently for my sugar/chocolate craving before bed. I have to admit- after downing half of that I was no longer in the mood for goodies, or anything else for that matter.

I may have found a secret diet shake and I'll make a $million off this idea. Don't steal it!!

Next time I'm going to make it with banana and almond milk ala IGE. She may know the secret ;0)