Thursday, June 21, 2012

Delicious Experiments

This week has been full of cooking and experimenting. I started by making a dish my mom makes quite a bit, it doesn't have an official name but it is made with soba noodles, edamame, tofu, apples, bean sprouts and usually red onion. Unfortunately, I had to make many modifications when preparing this dish. I couldn't find the typical soba noodles at San Marcos HEB so I had to use thai rice noodles, I also didn't use a red onion because they didn't look to great in the store (which they haven't for awhile). I added peanuts to my dish and played with the sauce to make the recipe my own. It really turned out delicious. After the ingredients were combined and marinated for a bit I separated everything into individual portion sizes. Literally, I could eat the entire bowl if I didn't portion it!
 The next little experiment was homemade nutella, and let me just say... this stuff is pretty darn phenomenal. At first I was concerned because I roasted the hazelnuts and the first bite or two of the prepared nutella kind of tasted burnt. After it sat in the fridge for awhile the flavors blended into a wonderful cocoa-hazelnut flavor. Yesterday I ate it with a half an apple I had left... I also decided to add it to a blender with some frozen strawberries and blueberries I had left over from a couple weeks ago. I need to remember to freeze fruits, they last so much longer this way. I'll have to go back to the store here in a few days to find some other ingredients to dip in my nutella. :)

Another great recipe from this week is the green muffin tin smoothie recipes I ran across on pinterest. The recipe comes from muffintinmania.com, a site devoted to cooking food in muffin tins. This smoothie is loaded with ingredients:
  • Celery
  • coconut water (which I am a huge fan of these days)
  • Spinach
  • almonds
  • orange
  • frozen mangos
  • honey 
  • mint 

The smoothie is so light and fresh, and is super healthy. The best part about it is that you combine all the ingredients in a blender and then pour them in muffin tins to freeze them. The recipe fills 12 average sized muffin tins. You throw two of the frozen muffin greenies into a smoothie the next day and add some water or coconut water and you are set. I've had this delicious drink two days in a row and I fell like I could drink it all day long. So refreshing. 
 Another foodie experiment of this week was my usual, what do I have leftover to create something delicious... celery, spinach, cilantro and some baked brown rice topped with a little siracha for some spicy flavor. I paired this with some green tea with fresh mint and some target six grain chips. What a light refreshing lunch. 

Man i'm good. 

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A fancy mix up

Last night was eventful. We all went out to Japan Latino for Jake's Birthday. It was delicious, and as usual I spent too much money, but you only live once right?  After a couple sake bombs and chit chat we decided to get fancy... well at least Ashley, Katie and I did. We popped open a bottle of champagne and put Ashley's family farm blueberries in it. Those blueberries are amazing, I don't know if I will be able to eat grocery store bought blueberries again.
                                

I meant to save some food from last night for lunch today, but I decided to eat it all instead. Considering there is absolutely nothing in my fridge I decided to venture out and get a bowl. A bowl full of delicious ingredients all mixed together. Some people like to have everything separate but I love to have a forkful of all sorts of flavors. This delectable bowl came from Which Wich. Usually I get a sandwhich (or  Sammich as people are calling them now) but I wasn't really feeling like bread today. I am so glad I went for the bowl because this thing is amazing! With the addition of some jalepeno chips to add a crunch I can guarantee you I am one happy woman. The addition of a alcoholic beverage would make it complete. 

                                               
Tonight I am taking Dad to Bin 555 for a early Father's Day Dinner. Updates tomorrow on the food and booze. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Dates & Quinoa

So apparently I am no good at keeping my blog updated. Oops.
Actually I have been very busy the past couple days helping my parents move into a beautiful new house, and helping my cousin move into a new apartment.
I also had two dates over the weekend.
Two totally different guys (and I mean totally).

I have also had the idea that when I meet the person I am supposed to be with I will just know. Simple as that. Not the case, it all went out the window after I dated, and stayed with my ex for way too long. I fell into the curse and I really do not want to do that again. I am being extra cautious, and I don't want to jump into anything.

I said in my first post, that I wasn't going to go all personal - so I will leave the information about my dates to that.

Instead I will discuss my newest obsession: Quinoa

Quinoa is a grain that is the perfect protein, and go figure, its tasty, easy to cook and pretty much goes with anything.

Most commonly I have seen it with black beans and red bell peppers. I came across this recipe today http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/appetizerssnacks/quinoa-and-black-bean-lettuce-wraps/

Thought it looked delicious. The problem I tend to have is that I live alone and I have to shop for groceries and make food that I will be able to finish and not waste. So although the lettuce wraps idea is very appealing, it is not logical for me, because I most likely won't be able to use the lettuce in time.  Maybe I just need to be more creative... not maybe I DO need to be more creative, with food, decorations,  things to do.

So here are some creative ideas for quinoa that I will make in the near future


  • Patties or cakes 
  • warm with fruit and nuts
  • bars
  • side dish
  • salad with any mixing left in the fridge
There are a ton of recipes out there, just takes time to find the right one for the moment, or you can always pull a (what's in the fridge - let's mix it together) which I do frequently. 


While reviewing this list here is one of the best songs of the moment:

"Old Pine" by Ben Howard
(and yes he will be at ACL 2012!!)


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Cheers

I have avoided this for so long... so cheers (coffee, not alcohol) to the creation of my first ever personal blog - not created as a class requirement or project.  I have always thought that putting your personal thoughts on the internet probably wasn't the best idea - I understand people write to get things off their chest. In fact, that's what I used to do quite frequently. There are some bloggers that bitch and moan about their life, and personally I don't feel like anyone and everyone needs or even wants to read that. 


There are of course plenty of blogs that have a focus on things the blogger loves i.e. food, fashion, politics and the like. This is the direction I would like to take. 
Here are some examples of blogs I enjoy:




I am a vegan, yes it's crazy. I know, I get it all the time. Even though my food choice is limited, I make some pretty interesting and tasty things. I'd like to keep a record of these creations, and write descriptions about them. These food related posts along with music posts and other randoms, will be the start of my blogging venture. I am not sure how long I will keep this up, or how long I will post. Since I work from home, it really shouldn't be too much of a hassle. 


Now that my first official post is written - back to my Kahlua FLAVORED (not shot) coffee.