Dec 31, 2014

New Years Eve

If you do the fuss and muss over the click hitting midnight tonight. .


If you are like me. . .




Dec 26, 2014

Things I Eat: Wonder Pot

I went to this little training at work as while back called "Strive for Five: How to Creatively Consume your Fruits and Veggies" - well, I’m going to stick to the normal way, through my mouth. I did go to this little session and found they also stick to you putting food in your mouth.

Creative, my foot!

I find what always happens during these things is the presenter takes something healthy (beans) and then turns them into something else (Black Bean Brownies) and claims it's like God's gift to a six-pack of abs and eternal beauty.

Now, I’m not knocking the practice of using healthy stuff in generally "unhealthy" stuff  - but let's make delicious nutritional dense foods rather than catering to the media-death engine that stays if there is a cup of beans in something it’s awesome for you.

How about a wonder-pot! Everyone should have one. Why? Easy, healthy, delicious and original. And fast. And one pot. Who has time for dishes? I mean, I spend a lot of time staring at the wall so I probably do. . .but. . .America is about choice.

The super-awesome thing about it is you can use almost whatever you have laying around and really make it your way. You can pack it with veggies and even fruit and it's a power-house for your tummy!

What’s a Wonder-Pot? 
Wonder-Pots are one pot dishes normally like a stew or soup. You can throw in almost anything and have a dinner done in no time. To me, it’s a take on a gypsy stew but less complicated – but that’s ‘cause I make a super-mean gypsy stew.

I totally stole the name from one of my fav food blogs, Budget Bytes - in fact, she does an Italian version which is a little more stocked with stuff than mine.

You can check out my ramblings on stews and my gypsy strew here – Cook For Others – it’s got a couple more steps than a wonder-pot.

I do like to jack my stews up with all sorts of good stuff!

What You Need
Anything? Veggies? Lots of great veggies! Ok – whatever you have around. Here is what I put together on night.

  • Red peppers
  • Orange peppers
  • Yellow peppers
  • Green beans
  • Tomatoes (I had fresh – but canned works!)
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Rice noodles (fettuccini style, cause I like flat things) 

My spice palette is Italian based, so, I used:

  • Basil 
  • Oregano
  • Thyme
  • Paprika
Cooking Pot
I am in unnatural love with my French oven – or Dutch Oven – from Le Creuset. I use it all the time. Nothing sticks to it and you can cook things super fast. Even when frying something, I use it because of the high sides that really cut down or prevent splatter.

It lives on my stove 100% of the time and tells me things. I might even use it in a weight lifting routine – you don’t know me.

This is the best thing ever for a wonder-pot or gypsy stew or life.

You don't need to have this type of pot. They can be expensive but if you get a weird color (mine is yellow) it is a ton cheaper. You can use any large stewing pot you have.

What You Do
Anyhow, in my pot-of-pots, and as with all great Magyar recipes, I started with some onion strips and olive oil. Because I’m sticking to an Italian spice palette of tomato and basil, I used olive oil.

You could totally use coconut or avocado oil if you wanted to do a South Pacific or South American spice palette. I’d really been doing a lot of ginger lately and decided to change it up. How do you pick what you want? Snort some spices. Open your heart to love. Whatever – live life! Think about the actual flavors of food you like. Sometimes this can be hard because we are use to consuming food rather than tasting food.

As the onions got a little transparent, I threw in the yellow, red and orange peppers to get them nice and sauteed. Peppers are so delicious.

My peppers were actually leftover from something else I made at some point. Sometimes you find things in your fridge and you’re like “SCORE!” Peppers are sort of expensive so I use every little bit of them – and yellow and orange peppers are nice and sweet. About 20% of my peppers go directly into my mouth so finding some is always dance-worthy. I like them a little crunchy – al dente as the professionals say.

So, all of that is getting happy and saute-e. Then for the kicker – green beans (mine were actually frozen). What? Yes, green beans and tomato are fantastic together.

I love green beans in pasta and my stews. Shove that in your black bean brownie hole! Green beans are crunchy, sweet and I sometime pretend I’m a saber-toothed tiger with green bean teeth and chase my cat around. Is that not normal?

Then I added about 2 cups water with a bouillon cube. You could use a veggie broth or even a chicken broth, depending on how you roll. I like my cubes because I . I also threw in my noodles – a couple handfuls, not even a whole pack. Why? Because I like to squirrel away food. Besides, the green beans make up a lot of the “noodle” content.

Anyhow, listen people, I was raised where noodles were boiled in plain water then rinsed and only added at the end to any type of sauce. I can officially say this is wrong. I was raised wrong. I lived this lie for many years. Don't live this lie!

When you cook noodles in a wonder-pot, you keep them with their friends - the noodles infuse with the flavors and you don't lose the starch on the noodles which will help thicken up your pot and give those delicious flavors something to hold on to. And. .who has time for another pot? Not me. There’s a wall to stare at.

I added in basil, garlic, thyme and paprika, too. You can use fresh or dried - I used fresh basil that I chopped up and then dried everything else. You know, go crazy! I mean, I don't know why spices have those sprinkle things on them. Seriously, they prevent me from living life fully. I totally dump seasoning into my food like a mad scientist. If you love basil, use a lot of basil. If you love garlic - go freakin' nuts.

Then you just cover that pot up. While it was all bubbling and cooking away - I chopped up the last of my spinach and a couple tomatoes from my lover’s garden. . . and a couple stray scallions I found. I don’t like to overcook spinach and tomatoes and adding them last gives an extra layer of texture and excitement. I also don’t like to waste food. I have a lot of demands.

When I was done staring at the wall (legit) and/or the noodles were soft, I threw in the stuff I chopped and stirred that pot up a bit to warm up everything, seasoned a little more to taste – it thickened up a little more. . . and. . .boom. Dinner is served.

How @#$%ing beautiful is that? I just wish I had some parsley. . .



Your Pot
Ok, the secret to a wonder-pot is basically looking at what you have in your kitchen and making it. You could have used rice or even a couple types of beans instead of noodles. You could add a meat of your choice – even something leftover from another dinner. Maybe you add some taco type seasoning – cumin, coriander and garlic. Add some ginger, garlic and coconut oil for a different flare. Touch of truffle oil or sesame oil? Holla! Throw in some broccoli at the end for crunch. What about sundried tomatoes? Some grated carrot? Sweet potato. . pumpkin?!

And, let's be honest. You could even add some almonds for a worldly crunch or flaxseed and buckwheat groats. Ooo - asparagus or some Brussels sprouts would rock, too. Just add the sprouts at the end. Asparagus will stand up to some boiling.

Be a hero.

Also. . .
I like to put stuff into this Recipe Calculator to see, in general, how good it is for you. The black bean brownies from my work session earned a nutritional value of C-. It basically has no good points.



My Wonder-Pot is a grade A – Grade A for AWESOME. Your cells will sing hallelujah!


One pot meals, people. One pot meals so deliciously packed with flavor and all this stuff your body craves. Boom. Done. How long did it take me? As long as it takes to chop some veggies and boil some water.

Come on! Make it a meatless Monday and make yourself a pot of wonder.

Live. Large!


Dec 22, 2014

Taking Pictures & Being Mysterious

I’m not particularly mysterious. But with a couple tricks on my phone, I have figured out how to be mysterious online. And to totally give people the impression I am super-attractive (in the eye of the beholder) fashionable and maybe even have my life together!

Let’s start!

This is li'l' ol' me! 

Nothing to fancy here. Just me with a ton of hair in my face, simple spaghetti strap top and no makeup or anything. Typical weekend, as far as I am concerned.


Here is my mug shot!I mean, basically, right? This was from a post I wrote called No Makeup!



So, I put on some makeup and I went with a very bold lip because - that's really easy. I made sure the light is hitting my face. You always want to keep the light in front of you to highlight.


I didn't actually wash my hair this day - I need to wash it every day or else it looks like I haven't showered in months. I'm oily! I don't have the best skin, although I keep it under pretty good control. Improvement starts with identification! But, seriously, I was too lazy to shower but I was ok with putting on makeup to hide that.

So, this is the picture I took. I find not looking at the camera makes your mysterious. And, you know, looking like you shower also makes you. .mm. . .well, you should shower. A couple things I know about my self and I work with include - well, I have slight Bell's Palsy so I have to think when I smile that I am properly engaging all the muscles I have. In this way, I use a sideways smile as my "normal" smile.

Also, because I am lazy, I have no idea what that thing in front of me is - probably my hand - but imperfections are sexy and give this more of a "voyeuristic" look. It gives this picture the look as if someone caught me.



As far as composition, I keep some extra space to the one side of me. Because in proper photo composition, like the "Rule of Thirds" the best! I took a class on this in college. I failed the class, I think. I'm not, you know, a photographer. 

Anyhow, as any teenager knows, using filters that come with any smartphone these days makes for a mysterious picture.  decided to go with a “vintage” filter to add warmth and some over-saturation of color. All in all, I don't look that bad for someone who doesn't shower, has facial deformities but can slather on some makeup and follow some rules of compilation and can use a filter.


Another More-Mysterious Photos
What? Crop out your face in a headshot? Sure. It’s more mysterious. It’s a fact, the less you show, the most mysterious you are. This works in most areas of life. Not all. Be careful with that. 

Here, I get a nice contrast with my black and green straps and my red lip really pops. But, still seems a little creepy. I can fix this!

I, again, used the "vintage" filter for the warmth. It also adds some depth to my collarbone because bones showing are mysterious. It sounds like an oxymoron but it is not. The more innards you see, the better! That’s artistic. The background, however, is not.


I cropped the hell of the picture. Why? Well, the background wasn't really working for me. No one wants to see a blanket, window and a/c unit. This way, the background is less which makes the itty part of my face MORE. 

Speaking of more, I pumped up the highlights and brightness and cut off more of my body. Not having the straps makes this more mysterious! Am I naked? Who knows. 

Maybe I’m a naked, hot lady with big, hot, red lips naked. . .somewhere. Pouting. 

Smiles aren't mysterious. 


So, if you want to make yourself mysterious in pictures, this is a pretty good way to go it. Key points:
  • Keep the light where you want things highlighted.
  • Spruce up the best features with paint (makeup).
  • Crop the hell out of stuff to make people invent their own reality about you.
  • Add warmth.
  • Don't make eye contact. 
  • Use poplar phone filters to make people think you are artistic. 


Dec 19, 2014

Things I Eat: Salad Remix

This thing is seriously one of my staples. You might remember my post Things I Eat: That’s a Salad where I did a different version of this dish.

What You Need
A lot of this can be what you have around your place. I'm a fan of the sweet potato because it really sucks up whatever flavor I put on it which means I don't have to drowned everything in sauce. For this dinner – I used a lot more spinach and used carrot instead of broccoli.
  • 1 package spinach (9 oz or so bag)
  • 4 ounces fettuccine rice noodles - I use Tinkyada (Measure by placing a bunch of spaghetti between your thumb and forefinger. 2 ounces of pasta is about the diameter of a United States quarter. From How to Measure Dry Pasta)
  • 3 whole large carrots peeled in long lines
  • 2 cups sweet potato peeled in long lines
  • Sun-dried tomatoes - A lot. I use the kinds packed in olive oil, you could use the dry kind
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Dried basil flakes
  • Basil oil to taste
  • Oregano
  • Toasted sesame seeds (I had a little left)


What I Did
First, I boiled up my noodles. One day, I will have leftover noodles. Not today. Make them however you like them – al dente, smooshie. You can use whatever type of noodle, I happen to be a fan of the flat ones. I also enjoy a good spiral. 

While the noodles where cooking, I shaved my carrots and sweet potato. It’s really a feeling thing how much you want. I had a huge sweet potato and I seemed as if I hardly made a dent in it. I used about three large carrots. Feel free to shred the carrots or do whatever you want. I don’t like raw carrots sliced like coins – so, I stick with long strips or shredded so I can get them into my mouth better.

In my salad mix, I added a drizzle of basil oil, olive oil and then some dried basil and dried oregano to taste. I had a couple shakes of toasted sesame seeds left, so, I dumped that in. Putting the oils and seasoning on the sweet potato and carrot allow it to absorb the flavor more. Flavor doesn’t tend to stick to spinach right off the bat. Then add in your spinach and mix that up all nice and good.

Once the noodles are done, drain the water (don’t rinse the pasta) and put the pot and pasta back on the stove. Turn off the heat but use the heat you have! I added in the rest of the salad and carefully mix everything together. You can add the sun-dried tomatoes now – if you really like them, you can add a lot! I like to add them when I plate because they always end up on the bottom of my salads.

Plate up your salad and garish if you are into that sort of thing. Or just eat!

As you can see, this one turned out a little different that the last one I made and the different flavors made it taste entirely different.


Dec 17, 2014

The Daily Smooth: Virgin Post & Dates

I send out an email called the Daily Smooth at. . .work. .which is an email that lists the type of smoothie I am drinking. I started it with some friends who were getting into using smoothies and sharing some ideas to keep them interested and somewhat healthy.

(Meanwhile, a friend of mine is trying to convince me to enter into her pyramid scheme and sell Shakology. OMG, Amanda, it has 70 super-nutritious ingredients. @#$% you and your dried, over processed propriety superfood. Seriously, your life is wack)

So, I thought I would add some of these things to my blog here and link them in the Things I Eat page. Sweet business!

Today’s Blend
  • Banana.
  • Berry blend.
  • Cinnamon.
  • Dates.
  • Orange.
  • Spinach.
  • Whole flaxseed.

It’s beginning to look a lot like. . .whatever holiday you are thinking about! 

You know how blenders and whatnot have a max fill line? You might be able to taut it for a while, eventually, it will projectile-smoothie all over your kitchen. And then probably not blend too well.  Whatever. It’s still good stuff.

Some Facts
What do you mean you don’t eat dates? Date are fan-date-tastic. 

Let’s just review – dates are not prunes or figs or whatever. They are their own creature – normally found in their dried state, they can be eaten fresh and there are many varieties. 

They come from the date palm which is a plant that is while they are dioecious – that means it has a male plant and a female plant. So. .of course they produce dates. The date palm is on the coat of arms for Saudi Arabia – No word on if it is a male or female palm. 

(That paragraph was hilarious, you probably want to read it again)

These little powerhouses are the sweetest fruits in the world (this hasn't been confirmed or proven by anyone but myself). I happen to enjoy the medjool date (which I pronounce manjula, which is wrong but fun).

 Anyhow, if you are feeling a little. . .mm. . .tied up on the inside in a non-emotional way. . .eat some dates, you’ll be feeling good and fancy-free! They are considered a laxative food because they have a high amount of soluble fiber (drink water with them, just saying). Listen, we all could use a little more fiber. Dates also contain organic sulfur – what? Yep. Sulfur. Why is this important? It’s not common to find in foods and it actually can help reduce seasonal allergies. I got 99 problems, but seasonal allergies ain’t one.

Drink up my finely fueled friends!


Image Credit:
Saudi Arabia phone thing Amazon.com

Dec 12, 2014

Things I Eat: Chicken Teriyaki

My man-tiger loves the Chinese buffet but it's a no go for me. Saddly. I love a good buffet.

Anyhow, since I'm going to have to make him happy, I figured I better make a teriyaki sauce. And one that I can eat, too...because...whoa.

And something simple because he's going to learn how to make it so I can have a delicious dinner made for me. Yays marriage.

Making teriyaki this is far easier than people think. It's just the flavors of soy and sugar - basically. Maybe some rice vinegar. I like to use ginger - and nothing fermented because I can't have yeast. You don't need to go out or buy strange bottles of stuff, you CAN make it yourself!

I also found these sprinkle-able onions, and while they contain wheat and possibly soy - ONIONS!!

And yes, I would eat an onion raw.

My face is bad
Seriously - sorry about the face. I was using some modeling tips - this is how to be sexy around onions. Oh, and I forget how I look to polite society sometimes.

What You Need
  • Onions: ONIONS
  • Soy sauce: I use Braggs Liquid Aminos, it's free of wheat, yeast, mm. . .yeah. It's a little saltier than normal soy sauce,  but still good. It is made from soybeans, but, I can deal. I cannot deal with yeast.
  • Brown sugar: Sugar, sugar. Heeeeey, sugar, sugar.
  • Ginger: I use the only Gourmet Gardens produce I can, the ginger which is dairy-free.
  • Garlic: I got some minced garlic in a jar. It's my eye of newt! 
  • Coconut oil: Oil of the Gods!
  • Cornstarch: For thickening. It's a texture thing.
  • Chicken: Vegan? Don't use this. I don't know how you live. Maybe some tofu? I don't eat tofu.
  • Broccoli: The frozen is fine. You can roast it, if you are a go-getter. Or just nuke it in the 'wave.
  • Rice: I made it in my rice cooker with a healthy swig of sesame oil for flavor. 

What You Do
To make the sauce, chop up about a cup of onions. Or less. Saute that for a bit so they start getting a little transparent. They will cook longer, so, don't get all bent out of shape about it. The picture below is of onions and red peppers because I didn't actually take a picture. Or. . .you know. .any pictures.You could totally put red peppers in it. I didn't. I just feel like pictures make it seem like I know what I'm doing.


Add 1/4 cup of your soy sauce, brown sugar and water. Yep - 1/4 of each. Simmer this for a while. Let it get all melty and simmery together. Maybe while your chicken is cooking? 

I used chicken breasts so I roasted them for 20-30 minutes. Cook up your chicken and broc and rice during this time. Normally, the rice takes the longest and the broc the shortest.

At the end, I added in an inch squeeze of ginger to my sauce and a sprinkle of cornstarch to thicken it up. The secret with cornstarch is to take a little bowl of super hot sauce and dissolve it in there first before adding it. That will help you avoid lumps.

Add your topping of crunchy onions or combine as you see fit - all together, on the side, layered.  

Live!!!!


NOM

Dec 10, 2014

A Cut Above (The Ponytail)

As you read about last week in my Time To Say Goodbye post the mop has been chopped, the locks have been leveled, the mane has been tamed, the hair has been. . mm. . .cut.

I was probably going to do this one way or another but my Movember team also raised $1,000 so I had to do it. Although, I cut it before we got the last donation in. Whatever. All for charity.

I thought I was all special when I sat down until my hairdresser told me I was her second lop of the day. Whatever, generous people. Harshing my mellow.

First, my hair was sort of long.


I had my husband take some pictures to document this donation. My Mom always called my hair "tendrils" or "tentacles" because of the twist in it. She also hates when I have long hair. Unless you ask her, then she says something like, "I love all my children equally." We all know what that means. . .

Here is the main - I did straighten it, by the way. And it was also snowing a lot. These things matter when you have long hair.


Gotta measure that stuff – I ended up getting about 10.5 inches for donation. Look at that super-professionalism from Kiersten - she has been doing pretty things to my hair for like 9 years!


I think a total of 12 inches were removed because you need to leave a little hair for the style cutting part. At this point, I believe my guy was getting a little worried as to what I would look like.



And. ..vola. Hair.


And what I now look like -


Sassy and now I use less shampoo! Although - I assure you my hair is styled nicely by a professional in this photo. It is currently out of control.


I donated my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths - the charity collects hair and gives out wigs for free. I normally donate to Locks of Love but in reading some of their financials and whatnot and learning they charge for wigs on a sliding scale - I thought I would branch out. Beautiful Lengths does not charge anyone for wigs - it also requires less hair.

If you would like to donate hair, check around, there are many programs they accept hair. Or you can donate money. Or food. Or time. You'd be surprise what a difference you can make with who and what you are right now.


Dec 5, 2014

Things I Eat: Homemade Lo Mein

Chinese food take-out, I miss thee. But, not really.

One of the things my husband thought when he learned I was really weird was that he would never again enjoy take-out Chinese food.

I decided to ensure he, too, would never again enjoy take-out Chinese food.

Because I can make it!

People often say Chinese food is unhealthy but it really isn't. You can’t say that a whole culture that produces people who can live well beyond 100 years eats poorly.

Us in ‘Murica. Yeah.

Just for some information, lo mein and chow mein are two different things. I don’t know if this is the case for us in ‘Murica when ordering from our favorite Chinese take-out place.

Anyhow, lo mein just means tossed noodles where chow mein (or chao mein) means fried noodles. Chow mein tends to be crunchy and fried where lo mein is soft like unicorn farts. Delicious unicorn farts.

Obviously noodles are key here.

Don’t mess with the noodle, ya noodle.

If you can, use Chinese egg noodles which are made from egg and wheat. I can’t, so, I use rice noodles – the spaghetti style. That’s how I always had them. I also like to use tons of veggies.

What You Need

  • Attitude: You need it.
  • Bragg’s Liquid Aminos: Or a good soy sauce. 
  • Broth: Veggie or chicken, depends on what you want to do with your life. You could use bouillon cubes or you could actually use water. If you are actually a hater of all things beautiful.
  • Coconut oil: You can use olive oil (though Asian chefs frown mighty) or wok oil for sauteing up everything. I used coconut oil because I don’t have to justify my oil choices to anyone. And it’s delicious. Wok oil tends to be a mix of high-smoke-point oils – and, well, I can’t mess with that since. . .God hates me.
  • Garlic: I used pre-chopped garlic. And a lot of it. 
  • Ginger: I used my Gourmet Gardens ginger but you could get a foot (technical term) of ginger and use a grater to get it all in there.
  • Mushrooms: I got one package of sliced mushrooms – baby portabello, I think. Botanically, portabello and crimini mushrooms are the same. Hate to break that too you #sorrynotsorry.
  • Parsnips: I used two large parsnips and educated the check-out girl as to what this white carrot thing was.
  • Peas: I had about ½ a package left that was frozen so I used it up.
  • Red peppers: I used two thin red peppers. You can use more.
  • Rice noodles: You know how I roll, Tinkyada.
  • Scallions: For topping and for cooking. I think my lover threw out the parts I didn’t use. I hope not, though. I got three bunches.
  • Sesame oil: I had a little left in my bottle, just enough for awesomeness. Don’t worry about the peas falling to the bottom of the bowl, if you follow my instructions and don’t rinse your noodles.
  • Snap peas: I was unsure if I got sweet peas or snow peas or snap peas. Doesn’t matter that much – just a flavor thing. 
  • Sweet onion: I used one.

Look at my haul!



What You Do
Start by chopping up the onions and peppers. You can chop while making the noodles or make the noodles after you chop. Depends on your chopping speed and what you want chopped.

This is what I chopped - in total:
  • Mushrooms – I cut them up a little more so they were in strips. I don’t know. I like strips. Mushrooms cook down a LOT.
  • Parsnips – I used my veggie peeler to create long ribbons. I did add some into my sauté but they absorb and dissolve quickly, so I also had some to just add at the end. 
  • My finger - OUCH! Motherf***er!
  • Scallions (bottom, white stuff) – You can toss this into your veggie sauté and use for topping. 
  • Scallions (top, green part)– Same, you can toss into the sauté with the onions and/or garlic or use them for topping if you REALLY like scallions.

Saute the onions and peppers up in the coconut oil. I like my red peppers really cooked for this dish – other times, I like them a little crunchy. Just saying.

Use the broth as the liquid to cook the noodles. You could also use cubed bullion or whatever. I used straight chicken broth because the chicken was on sale and there wasn't any veggie broth. You could also use half broth and half water. But, really, don’t use water. You want the noodles to have some flavor to absorb.

Once the onions are looking tender and the peppers are enjoying their new life state, add your garlic, snap peas, mushrooms, a handful of the parsnip ribbons, peas (mine were frozen which added a little water) a dose of liquid aminos, a couple inches of ginger and a little water.

You want to have some liquid in there for the mushrooms to absorb. I might have used about ¼ cup of water and a ¼ cup of aminos – it depends on how much you are making. I also covered the mixture – things happen under the covers that are magical.

Once the noodles are done, drain them. DO NOT RINSE THEM FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY! WATER BETTER NOT TOUCH THOSE NOODLES.

Turn off your burner. Put the noodles back in the pot and add your sauteed goodness. Slice up more parsnip ribbons and add them into the mixture - I like to play around with texture. The ribbons will absorbed the flavors and soften in the heat. Add in a healthy dose of sesame oil and fold everything together. Since you didn't rinse your noodles, the starch from the noodles will help thicken up everything. You can add some more liquid aminos, too.

I like to set up my lo mein like tacos – everyone (as in me and my husband) can add in extra veggies or a touch more seasoning. You can add a couple more snap peas if you want some crunch or even some mushrooms if you like them raw. Top your bowl with some scallions and eat!

If you are super awesome – you will remember you had toasted sesame seeds. I am not a hero. I forgot this.

Some Options
Lo mein is great because you can really add in a lot of veggies, for example:

  • Bok choy: Remove the white part, make it a party.
  • Broccoli: YES! It goes well, chop up the florets.
  • Celery: A super flavor sucker-upper.
  • Chow Mein Noodles: The ones you get to dip in duk sauce.
  • Edamema: I used peas. You can use edamame. Or both.
  • Jicama: If you want some sweet crunch, I would add at the end. 
  • Meat: If you had leftover chicken or even leftover beef or some shrimp, add it.
  • Shredded carrots: I just did the parsnips instead because I like parsnips. 
  • Spinach: Cook in some spinach for an added boost!
  • Tofu: If you like tofu, add this in.
  • Water chestnuts: I never understood them, but, why not?

I would have taken more pictures, but, when I was making the parsnip ribbons, I veggie peeled my finger. Took off a chunk of nail and everything. Then I was all about the business. I @#$%ing ate that parsnip.

Here is the finished product - my husband took the photo because I was still pouting about my lost nail.


I did pull it together and took this photo.


How freaking comforting is this dish? It made me forget about my bleeding finger and chopped off nail.

It's actually just boiling noodles and sauteing some veggies, though it seems a lot harder. You can even get a lot of these veggies pre-cut in the produce section these days. A lot have soup veggie mixes and stuff with fresh stuff. Grab what you need to make this as easy as take-out!

It's also really healthy. Rice noodles, veggies - WHAT UP?! You'll never go back. Trust me. I mean, other than for seconds. 

You can also make a HUGE amount of this. It stores really well. 


Dec 3, 2014

Texts With Melissa: How Pure Is Your Love?

Another installment if the ever popular - Texts With Melissa! Today, we explore how deep our love for each other is - what extent will we go for each other?


Let's take a closer look!



Nov 28, 2014

Things I Eat: Roasted Cauliflower with Rice

On most days, I eat vegan. It's just how my life is. It's either vegan or there is an animal involved - there's sort of no middle ground of dairy or egg or other animal by-product.

One thing this has taught me - and something that someone stated to me once before and I didn't fully absorb - is how much we look to meat to be the centerpiece of our main meal. This concept puts me onto one side of a polarized argument with Nick Offerman and.  .I don't know. . .PETA? That doesn't seem right. Ok, this paragraph is not going the way I planned.

Anyhow - the point is, we so often see dinner as a meat, one vegetable and one starch. That's the meal. Some type of roast beast and hopefully something like corn and mashed potatoes.

Man, that sounds good.

I got odd looks from a friend when I told her my dinner one night was potatoes and rice.

T: That's two starches!
A: . . .
T: I guess that's ok for you.
What's wrong with two starches? What's wrong with having a vegetable as the main centerpiece of a meal? Like cauliflower.

Nothing.

What You Need

  • 1 head of cauliflower: It was enough to feed me and my husband. And I overate.
  • Garlic: I used the jarred minced kind for quickness.
  • Olive oil: Always good for oven-roasting!

As a bonus, I made some brown short-grain rice. I am trying to learn how to make rice.

  • 2 cups brown short grain rice: I got this from the bulk food aisle at Whole Foods.
  • 2 small onions: You can use one LARGE onion. I sauteed this up.
  • 5 cups water: I think. I started with four and added more.
  • 3 bullion cubes: You can use chicken or vegetable. I like the flavor.
  • Rosemary, thyme, garlic: To taste. I did use a LOT of rosemary and my place smelled great!
  • 1 pound frozen green beans: This was a game-day decision - just added it at the end.

What You Do
According to the Internet, brown short grain rice takes 50 minutes to cook. I forgot how long cauliflower takes. It's ok, you can just eyeball the roasting process. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

I sliced up my onion and put it into my super-awesome French (dutch) oven to saute with the rosemary, thyme and garlic. You can also add salt and pepper - whatever. I cooked the onions until they were sweating and a little transparent. 


Then I put in my brown short grain rice and water. Once everything came to a simmer, I covered it and timed it for 50 minutes. 

The key is to NEVER LOOK AT THE RICE! Like the cooking process of rice is some dirty, dirty secret that you cannot know about. Or, scientifically, you want to keep all the heat and steam in the pot so everything cooks right. 

Dirty.

Then I got to the malicious chopping of the head. Of cauliflower.


As far as chopping veggies goes, cauliflower is a medium wrangle level. You want to get rid of all the green stuff and then chop the florets into. .mm ..  floret sizes. 


Yeah - that's good stuff! Then you can drizzle with olive oil, molest it into the veggie a bit and add any bits of garlic you would like and maybe some garlic powder. Pop that into the oven. The Internet says it will take 20 minutes to roast. You can eyeball it - you want to see some browning and the florets should be soft. And delicious.

At this point, I started drinking. 

When the rice had about 5 more minutes, I broke the code and added in a package of green beans. It was a whole frozen package. Maybe a pound of green beans. I thought the meal would look sort of white and it needed some color. Besides, rice and green beans is a good thing.

Then everything was done! This is an amazing shot of everything on my stove. The black stuff on the baking sheet - minus the cauliflower is garlic bits that were soooo good. 


Because I am a bowl person, I put everything into a bowl and even topped it with a little bit of this Onion Crunch. It does have wheat in it, but, it's a nice little flare to the meal.



The cauliflower was very tender and flavorful - so much more than raw cauliflower. It is also so good warm. I eat a lot of food cold - this needs to be warm. So good! The rice with the rosemary and green beans added a deliciously fresh kick, the cauliflower was tender and almost smokey with chunks of garlic to enhance.

Nope - my photography will not be getting any better. However, my belly is full and this was such a fantastic meal I overate.


Nov 26, 2014

Time To Say Goodbye!

That's right! Time to say goodbye to my hairz.

I did Movember fundraising saying that if my team raised a total of $1,000, I would donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. We currently are about $300 shy of this - but, no worries. I will still chop my hair for people needing some hairz.


Let's take some time to review awesome hair moments. . .I could do arty things with it.


It never got in the way. . .


It was always sassy at events


It held up tiaras well. . .



It really was good to get it up and off my. . .body (from my post, Do Something With My Hair).


Or how I now need to spend about $50 on monthly shampoo needs because someone told me to use Pureology (Check out my post on My Hair - Hypercritical Discovery) after a trip to the hair salon.


And. .like all good things, it must come to an end. A split end. Off to help those who can't grow their own hair right now (this also from Do Something With My Hair).




I will post an update late.