Category Archives: beer

by | July 12, 2010 · 8:22 am

Surprise Training!

     Hello all! I hope you had an amazing Sunday! I had to work, but it was actually a really good day, overall! It helped to start with this:

This baby had 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/3 a cup of frozen cherries, 1/2 a banana and lemon juice!
     I missed my Monsta! I had a full shift at work today, so after a lovely Monsta and cup of coffee, I headed out. When I got inside, I was surprised to find that I had four hours of training today. That would’ve been good to know before I’d arrived, but I can deal! The most important change that the training brought around: TWO LUNCHES!!!
     First lunch was…
Subway! I had a 6-inch on wheat with turkey, roast beef, pepperjack cheese, spinach, cucumber, tomato, green peppers, a little mayo and mustard. And a few chapters of my newest bike book!
     Training was not as painful as I was expecting! It was very interactive and basically involved lots of girls chatting and throwing around ideas. The time didn’t drag, and at the end of it, I got to have my second lunch!
GELATO! I got a small with peanut butter cookies, mint chocolate chip and amaretto chocolate chip. I LOVE TRAINING DAYS!!!
     The rest of work was interesting – we got two counterfeit $100 bills that somehow slipped by unnoticed (if I hadn’t been in training, this wouldn’t have happened :P) : people can be really clever/awful nowadays. Acid-washing bills is common now??? 
     I came home to an awesome dinner that the roommates had made – Indian-spiced chicken tenders and grilled vegetables.
This was delicious! The chicken was pre-marinated from Trader Joe’s and very salty, but no salt was involved in the veggies, so it balanced out.
And a Stockyard! This is a cheaper-priced, better quality beer than New Belgium’s 1554. I’ll be repeating this one, for sure!
     Well, that’s all the pictures I’ve got for you, folks! Nice and easy, eh? I’m currently watching ‘New Moon’ (which I own, as well as Twilight – I saw Twilight in theatres and hated it, and as soon as it came out on DVD, I bought it. I told you I was weird!) while sipping the remains of my beer and trying to plan out a productive day tomorrow. I’ll leave you now with the question of the day:
What do you most look forward to in your week?

5 Comments

Filed under beer, green monster, grilled vegetables, Indian-spiced chicken, Paciugo, Stockyard, Subway, work

by | July 11, 2010 · 9:46 am

Street Fairs and Death Traps

     Today was a day full of surprises: some good, some not so good. When I got up this morning, I had a single cup of coffee in preparation for the family breakfast at Coogie’s Beach Cafe! Warning signs appeared as we walked in the door: they’d had a full renovation of the restaurant. Sometimes change is good – in this case, why would they try to fix something that’s not broken to begin with??? The interior was very sterile and blocky, not friendly, light and cozy like it used to be. Now let’s get to the food!

     We sat down at the table and I ordered my soy mocha.

I think they forgot to add the espresso. This tasted like hot chocolate, which isn’t a bad thing unless you only had one cup of coffee in preparation for the caffeine overload.
     When we used to go here every Saturday, I’d order the chocolate chip pancakes. One of the changes they made – no more chocolate chip pancakes :(. I went for the breakfast burrito: eggs, bacon, cheese, sour cream, potatoes, guacamole and pico de gallo!
Try #1. The burrito was barely warm and already congealed. I had to send it back to be reheated (I hate sending things back. I feel like an annoyance, but if I can’t eat it, I don’t want to pay for it).
     
     When it came back, they had made a new burrito from scratch. It was pretty bad. The only things inside were massive amounts of eggs and bacon, a little bit of cheese, and…. oh wait, that’s it. I had a forkful of the eggs inside, then finished up the tortilla chips and guacamole on the outside. Hooray for breakfast…
My parents had better luck: my mom got whole wheat blueberry pancakes, and my dad got filet mignon chili. He actually had to send his back to be reheated too. What’s happened to this place???
     After my last visit EVER to Coogie’s (I’ll miss the good times – I wish they hadn’t screwed it up), we enjoyed a foggy ride up the coast.
I don’t know why I love clouds so much, but they make me happy!
     We got to our second destination, Squashed Grapes in Camarillo. I’ve been reading about this place online and they carry a lot of beer/wine making supplies.

A pretty cute little place, but I was misinformed online and thought they brewed beer on premises as well. Well, it’s a start!
     We walked outside and discovered that there was a BIG street fair going on in Old Town!
This ride was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen: It throws the cars in a revolution while lifting them up, then dropping them Tower of Terror-style. If there’s one bolt loose, Godspeed, everyone!
     Here’s the food section:
Fried foods should not be piled this high. Don’t worry, I didn’t touch the fried donuts with whipped-cream mountains, or the fried potato chips that were glued together with cheese.
     Back to the fun, non-deadly section:
The ferris wheel could be deadly, I guess. Also, the strings on the puppets could strangle children… Hmm….
Okay, hot tubs and bungee jumping on the street: it’s just too much!
     There were no purchases made at the fair, but it was quite entertaining/frightening. After the long drive home, I dropped onto the couch to play with my dad’s new iPad while he and my mom went out for accessories. There was an Amanda Bynes marathon playing (in tribute of her “retirement”?) so I zoned out and played air hockey on the iPad while Sydney White flashed across the screen. I’m a dork – I’m okay with it.
     Dinner was reheated/refurbished Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder – a little more of everything was added in to increase the volume and make for some more leftovers.
Possibly one of the easiest, healthiest comfort foods to make – as long as you like chopping things with big knives :). 
I also had a Stockyard Oatmeal Stout while watching my DVDs of the show Extras – written/directed/acted by Ricky Gervais. Another AMAZING show! Ashley Jensen is one talented lady – LOVE her, and Ricky!
     I apologize again for another picture overdose. Tomorrow will only be pictures of work food and possibly a few friends, so I wanted to buffer you for that boredom. Enjoy your Sundays!!!
What’s your favorite breakfast joint/meal?

6 Comments

Filed under beer, camarillo, Extras, iPad, Ricky Gervais, squashed grapes, Street fair

by | July 8, 2010 · 10:07 am

Blog Name Redeemed!

     I am back on the exercise wagon!!! Today, I completely overdid my workout and loved every second of it! I hiked. I biked. I ate! Boo to the yah!

     First, we’ll start with first things first. Firstly…

I had breakfast before my monster! This was an omelette with 2 eggs, 1/2 a cup of spinach, 2 teaspoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I use the ones that are soaked in oil, then drain them – the flavor is so much better than dry!), and 1 teaspoon of goat cheese.
     My roommate was up late last night, and me, being the wonderful person that I am, decided to wait until both my roommates were awake to share the awesomeness that is the Green Monster!
By the time they were both awake, I’d eaten my omelette and was pretty full, so I had a half of a Monsta. Mine had 1 cup of spinach, 1/3 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/8 a cup of frozen cherries, 1/3 of a banana and lemon juice.
     We got on the trail very, very late. For a change, my roomie and I tried a different trail – this was decided halfway to the national park while we were in the car, and I had no camera to document. It was beautiful! There was a thick marine layer and we walked through mist for the entire hour. This trail was a steep downhill for 1.43 miles, but that meant that it was another 1.43 miles back up that steep hill. It hurt. I loved it!
     After we got back to the house, I decided that since I was all sweaty and gross anyway, I might as well get on my bike! I biked down to the local library to return some books, and pick up some more. It took me about 5 minutes to lock my bike because I wanted to lock my wheel and frame to the bike rack, but alas, it wouldn’t fit. 
I figured that since I’m not at UCSB anymore, no one will be out to steal my tire or bike seat.
It was still there when I came out! Yay!!!
     I biked around with a full backpack – about 6.75 miles of which only the last .2 miles KILLED me! I don’t think I can detail the hill I live on enough to make you understand the pain that is involved in the climb up. I’ll have to post a picture tomorrey.
     I finally removed the 40 pounds of books that I’d had strapped to my back, and collapsed onto the couch.
My interests of the week: Flexitarianism, Veganism and mountain biking!
     I read the flexitarian book and wasn’t very inspired. It’s not as much of a nutritional info book as it is a mixture of random recipes. Meh. Next! The Veganomicon book (included in my favorites –>) is pretty cool! I’ll probably be dabbling in that during the next week – I’m going to do a week of veganism, just to see if I can! If you haven’t noticed, I really enjoy ridiculous challenges that have no real purpose to them except to prove that I can do anything :). The other books I’ll get to tomorrow.
     After showering, I chugged about 48 ounces of water immediately, then had a mini-salad to calm my stomach while I sauteed some zucchini.
1 cup of chopped lettuce and 1/4 a cup of chopped bell pepper with 1 teaspoon of homemade balsamic dressing.
Lots of Herbes de Provence!
Lunch was 1/4 cup of Barilla Plus pasta with tomato-basil marinara, 1/8 a cup of my sauteed zucchini and a teaspoon of goat cheese.
     After fooding, I fell into the barcalounger and flipped through some of my books. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off to remind me that I had to go to work. I threw on some clothes and makeup (blah), grabbed some books and headed out.
     My first stop was to get a little more calories into my system. I worked hard today!
OOOOOH YEAAAAH! I had a small with amaretto chocolate chip, rocky road and Grandma’s Penuche from Paciugo. This totally made my day!
     I actually had work to do at work! I was slammed with unpacking and repacking of boxes, cleaning counters and all that fun stuff, so the time flew by. It’s such a nice change to not be staring at the minutes creeping by on the clock.
     When I got home, I was going to have a nice hot cup of tea, but instead I went for this:
Stockyard Oatmeal Stout! This had a wonderful mocha smell, and tasted like a rich coffee with some toffee/chocolate mixed in. It was very smooth and had a great amount of carbonation – some of you may know that I don’t like flat beers I.E. Guinness and the like. I’ll be back for this one, especially since it’s only a dollar down at my local Trader Joe’s!
     I now feel warm and sleepy – the perfect way to feel after a beer, so I’m off to read some of my mountain biking books and prepare for another day tomorrow full of exercise, FARMERS’ MARKET, cooking and another late shift at work.
Anyone up for a week-long vegan challenge? C’mon, give it a try!

4 Comments

Filed under beer, bike, green monster, hike, library, marine layer, omelette, Paciugo, pasta, salad, vegan, zucchini

by | July 6, 2010 · 8:15 am

Happy Belated 4th of July!

     Ohhhh, dear! I fear I must attack you with another barrage of pictures since I was offline all weekend thanks to the LBM. So, let’s recap:

After Saturday’s KSS, I went back to the LBM house and tried the Mission St. Brown Ale. It had a good full flavor, but a little bitterness at the end, and definitely tasted a bit cheap. Not something I’ll be getting again.
     I woke up early on the 4th of July (Happy belated Independence Day, all you Americans out there!) so I could fit in a good breakfast before work.
I had french toast! Woohoo! I had two slices of Trader Joe’s frozen french toast, sliced up two strawberries (plus one for a pretty garnish) and drizzled it with pure maple syrup. I had a huge mug of green tea with it and lounged around the house until work.
     The green tea didn’t cut it. I got a major caffeine withdrawl headache at work, and went to pick up a small honey-almond latte and a tipperary bon-bon. Caffeine and sugar are made for each other!
Yummmm!
     I met up with Vicky, her boyfriend Oliver, and Ashley for lunch.
 
 
We’re strange, yes. 
I decided that since it was a holiday, I would have a big fatty sandwich from Stone Oven. I got the garlic basil chicken sandwich (Again. I’m boring, I know.) with basil pasta salad, and had half. So worth it.
     After work, I swung by Trader Joe’s and Albertson’s to pick up some celebration supplies.
Ooooh, yeah! I finished the rest of my sandwich, a mini-bag of barbecue chips, two chocolate chip vegan cookies, a scotchmallow and apple pie truffle, and both of those beers. I tried a new one – Kostriker Shwarzbier. It’s a German black lager that was surprisingly light and tasty! There was no bitter taste which surprised me, considering it was a dark beer. I followed it with the Franziskaner – I know that I love Franziskaner, and just in case Kostriker didn’t turn out, I wanted to end on a good note. It ended very well :).
     The only fireworks I heard were in the neighborhood park where I was dog-sitting. To answer your question: no, I didn’t go watch, or even see any fireworks. I enjoyed having a small party with the LBM, watching some really cheesy TV shows and drinking my good beer. I was even more happy with my decision this morning at 7:30am when I woke up to get ready for another full shift at work.
     Today started with another round of french toast. I started with it plain, but it needed some color and health from the strawberries.
Now it’s healthy!
     I had time to pick up a coffee before work, so I had no withdrawl today :). It was actually very busy today, which was nice because it made the day go by so much faster. My wonderful parental unit came to take me to lunch. We went to the Lazy Dog Cafe :).
When at the Dog, you must always start with their spicy edamame!
I got the Hawaiian Ahi Poke… AGAIN!
We split a big order of the nachos. 
I ate too much. It was awesome. My parents rock :).
     The rest of work flew by. I got home and had a big KSS.
This had half a bag of lettuce, 1/2 a chopped and sauteed zucchini, LIBERALLY sprinkled with HdP, 1/4 a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 a cup of warmed lentils, and 1/2 a cup of homemade egg white salad. The egg white salad at TJ’s was getting too expensive, so this was made with 8 hard boiled eggs that had the yolks removed, then the whites were finely chopped and mixed with garlic aoili mustard, finely diced red bell pepper, a touch of soy sour cream and 2 of the removed yolks mashed in to give it a little substance.
This will keep in the fridge for about 3 days before I’m too nervous to eat it again :).
 
Oh yes, and a Magner’s!
Dessert was too many of the vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies split amongst my roommates and me. There is no “off” switch on me when it comes to food lately. Let’s remedy that this week.
     Now that I’ve once again bombarded you with photos, I’ll leave you in peace. I’m off to unpack from the weekend at the LBM house, and to go through some sides for an audition I have tomorrow right after class. Tomorrow’s blog will be very late – I’m having dinner with a friend in LA and I’ll be coming back after 9pm.
Enjoy your Tuesdays! Stay off the highways so I can live vicariously through you :).

1 Comment

Filed under beer, Independence Day, Lazy Dog Cafe, little blurry monster, Trader Joe's, work

by | July 3, 2010 · 9:07 am

The Big Reveal

     I know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats wondering (okay, maybe not, but let’s just pretend), so prepare yourselves for way too many pictures of the day!

     I started the day off with a gigantic GM.

I also made some for the roommates 🙂
     My friends and I hopped in the car and headed up north to Carpinteria for the day! Our first stop was Chamomile Cafe for some organic breakfast.
We got the best seat in the house – seriously, the waitress told us that people wait in line for this booth.
We got there around 11am. The regulars had already left. No waiting here!
I got the pumpkin-pecan pancakes. Holy Heavens, these were amazing! Crunchy granola, sweetened pecans and a light-as-air pancake filled with lush pumpkin flavor: all organic ingredients and those strawberries on the side melted in my mouth!
My friend got the quiche – organic eggs, broccoli, tomatoes and cheese floating on a flaky crust, with an applesauce-covered potato pancake on the side. I may have stolen half of her quiche…
We spent over an hour lounging around enjoying the ambiance, and LOTS of coffee with soy creamer!
     The day was spent perusing through different shops. First was Porch, a whimsical little store with lots of driftwood.
 
An artist was dropping of her driftwood mirrors when we stopped by.
 My favorite: A BP-Free-Tree – I named it myself! I’m such a nerd…

     We wandered down the main road to check out the campground (I told you there’d be tents! I’m wishing we’d gotten a site there now, but it was really packed for the 4th of July weekend).
They ended up having an outdoor movie screen there for all the vacationers. What an awesome way to spend a weekend! Not that I’m jealous: I’m glad to be working Saturday and Sunday :P.
     Have you stopped to visit your local museum lately? We did! Well, it’s not quite local, but we found the Carpinteria History Museum, and stopped in to check it out. 
This is a record player from one of the first houses EVER in Carpinteria. The gentleman who worked there turned the crank and showed us that it actually works! It was absolutely amazing to listen to the music while looking at the school room:
Everything in here was donated from an actual schoolhouse in the 1940’s!
The kitchen was stocked full with old cans and furniture that were taken from that first house which was sadly torn down to make way for new construction.
This is a dollhouse that was made by a high school class as a group project in 1936 (forgive me if the dates are a little off). It was so intricate and beautiful! Of course it was updated with a little electricity so museum-goers could enjoy all the minute details.
This place has no government funding, so we all chipped in a little cash to help keep it alive. I’ve always been a sucker for museums. I find it fascinating to look at things from the past and envision the people that used, cared for, and enjoyed them – like this carriage that probably carried entire families through the town, up on the cliffs that overlook the beautiful Pacific.
     We let the history soak into us a bit, wandered around, and found a really cool little art gallery on a side street: Anderson Art Collective. My favorite pieces there were the Sexy Skulls <– You’ll want to click there :). One of the artists was there in the studio working, and happens to be incredibly gorgeous. Ladies, beware, his smile can melt you, AND the wax. Here’s some of his work. 
     Before we headed to the main attraction, we hit up Siam Thai for some fuel.
Pad Kee Mao with beef (I’m really failing on this Flexitarian thing…).
Pad Thai with chicken.
     Next comes the main event of the day: Something I’ve been wanting to do for a looooong time!
Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria!!!
We all started off with a sampler. Paradise Pale Ale – not a fan: too bland and bitter. Island Pale Ale: much smoother and a little more depth. Jubilee: Love in a glass – sweet and silky and smooth, with a nice caramel aftertaste. Blackbird Porter: smelled a little nail-polishy, but tasted good! And finally, the Holiday Cask Ale: Smelled strongly of molasses and was very rich, and the roommates thought it smelled and tasted a bit like brandy (I wouldn’t know, never having tried brandy), but definitely was an unexpected punch to the face (9% ABV).
We went with the Jubilee and the Weiss (the brewery’s Hefeweisen, in case you didn’t get that 🙂 ).
     After spilling half of the Jubilee (I was a total idiot and spilled the glass all over my friends while telling a story with excessive hand motions – did that after only having the sampler, thank you very much), we finished the dregs of the glass and I apologized to the staff excessively while hiding my face behind my hands. My friend kindly and generously bought me an Islands Brewery sweatshirt to make me feel better :). Okay, all better!
     Dinner was next! We stopped at Giovanni’s and split a mini pizza between the three of us.
This pizza was delicious, and REAL! The sauce had tons of oregano and rosemary sprinkled throughout. I had two slices with ham, pepperoni, mushrooms (which I picked off), olives (which I picked off), green peppers and sausage. I was serious when I said I was failing the Flexitarianism!
     After wandering around the town, we stopped at the beach to watch the waves and the sunset.
 
A beautiful ending to an amazing day!
     Now it’s only 10pm, and I have to go crash because I’ve got a full day of work starting at 8:30am. Woohoo. Can’t wait. Oh! And I get to watch the LBM (Little Blurry Monster for all you new readers) again, so my post tomorrey will be a little late, or it might have to wait until Sunday – my bike has been calling me from its stand in the garage. I can’t ignore it for too much longer!
All you normal people, enjoy your weekends and be blessed!!!
  

6 Comments

Filed under beach, beer, Carpinteria, Chamomile Cafe, Islands Brewing Company, organic, pad kee mow, pad thai, vegan

by | June 28, 2010 · 8:16 am

A Complete 180!

     Isn’t it amazing what a few hours of sleep and one GIANT Monsta can do?

They’re baaaaaaack!
     Sorry for the bummer post last night, but sometimes you’ve got to have a bad day to make you contemplate your life and the future and get real deep into your soul to think things through. Today, I woke up feeling a million times better, AND I had ingredients for GMs again! I made a big one with 3 cups of spinach, 3/4 a cup of unsweetened soymilk, half a banana, 1/4 a cup of frozen cherries and lots of lemon juice. I slurped it down with a big smile on my face :-D. It really helped me start the day off on the right foot.
     I still had a full day at work ahead of me, so I had to fuel up.
My usual: an omelette made with one egg, 2 teaspoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of goat cheese and a handful of wilted spinach.
     The one thing I really hate about working on Sundays is that I can’t attend church. My entire day is sucked away by the schedule, so I tend to feel a little spiritually unfulfilled and bummed out. Today, however, I had a good prayer session beforehand, PLUS my friend Vicky (the one who helped me create a spit to roast the Zsu Zsu pet on) got to come over and work with me! When I’m at work I generally read…. I mean, focus on my work…. but we girls spent the time cracking ridiculous jokes and laughing until our sides hurt, then wandering the store and making up errands to run – one of them being See’s Candies for some chocolate energy. 
     I only had one mug of coffee this morning before I had to run to work, so that had to be remedied as well.
A small (I learned my lesson yesterday) ice blended mocha with soy.
Look at the spirals! I felt like a creative photographic genius at this moment.
     My friend Griffin’s birthday was today, and he was stuck working. The poor guy deserved a break and a celebration, so Vicky and I took him out to lunch. There was one place neither of them had been, and I just happen to be a big fan, so I led our little group to Lazy Dog Cafe. First things first:
I had a 16 oz. Lazy Dog Honey Blonde draft beer. My lunch required a lighter brew so it could complement the dish rather than overwhelm it.
I chose the Hawaiian Ahi Poke.
This was, in one word, HEAVEN! The fresh tuna, creamy avocado and spicy Wasabi on top of the crispy wontons simply melted in my mouth. I may have drooled a bit while I took this picture…

     The birthday boy chose a simple cheeseburger and a glass of Merlot – good mix, right?
Simple and delicious!

     Vicky was craving a BLT, so she went with the classic chicken club sandwich.
BACON!
I think she liked it.

     Griffin made me swear on pain of death that I wouldn’t mention that it was his birthday to anyone at Lazy Dog. Oops, my bad…
Free ice cream!
He pretended to be irritated, but I didn’t hear any complaining while he ate!
Their mints be awesome! Why do I look like I’m going to suck your blood, you ask? I blame my latest vampire book, Insatiable by Meg Cabot, which I finished last night.
     The rest of work took a long time. It was the most fun day I’ve had in a long time, but still seemed to creep by. Vicky and I grabbed some tea samples and sat on the couch to recuperate. I read my latest beer book: Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion. No, not the late pop star: the beer genius. I’ve added it to my favorites to the right –>
     When I got home, the roommate had made a healthy taco salad.
Pardon the guacamole: it was squeezed from a plastic bag. This was a toasted corn shell covered with refried beans, taco-seasoned turkey meat, Tofutti sour cream (dairy-free, baby!), spicy guacamole and a big handful of lettuce.
     I chatted with the roommates about life and their day of freedom, read some wonderful comments from YOU guys, and decided to blog before I got too zoned out. Tomorrow I have the day off until work at 6pm, so I’ll finally be getting back on the trail for a hike, and if I have time, taking a long bike ride to stretch out my legs. It’ll be nice to get my heart racing again – this time from exertion and NOT from too much caffeine.
     This week, look for more cooking, fancy beer tasting, exercise and happiness! I have something amazing on the schedule for Friday! I can’t wait to share it with you!
Happy eating, Happy Sunday, Happy life.

2 Comments

Filed under beer, birthday, friends, Griffin, Hawaiian Ahi Poke, Lazy Dog Cafe, Michael Jackson, Sunday

by | June 20, 2010 · 6:22 am

Friday Recap!

     I’m back!!! I finally got to come home instead of driving to the other sad, empty LBM house after work and relax! Aaaah!

     For this blog, I’ll be recapping my Friday since I wasn’t able to be home and log on to tell you all about it. The morning started off with a BIG breakfast. My work shift was from 7:45am until 4pm, and I needed all the energy I could muster to fend off the crazy customers.

I had a VERY Green Monsta, and an omelette that had one egg, a teaspoon of goat cheese and a huge handful of… SPINACH!
     The day was completely insane with Fathers’ Day coming up – it seems to be crazy during all the holidays. Everyone seriously just spazzes out and goes into psychopath-mode. I needed to escape and take a breather, so for lunch I met with the most special girl in the entire world: my mom!
     We stopped by Lazy Dog for lunch and split the small plate of Togarashi edamame. Deliciously spiced and so hot it’ll make your lips burn!
What? Beer? No way! Okay, maybe I did have a SMALL glass of their Lazy Dog Amber Ale. It’s always nice to try something different!
     I ordered the Mediterranean Pizzetti (also from the small plate list).
     The menu says that this has roasted veggies, carmelized onions, mushrooms, goat cheese, tomatoes, basil and balsamic reduction. They failed to mention that on THIS particular pizza, they had also put parmesan cheese on :(. Boo. I ate it anyway – an hour for lunch is not long enough to reorder. Oh, and that’s half an avocado I stole from my mom’s salad.
     Needless to say, we polished off our plates.
That’s my mum! Ain’t she purdy? 😀
     Then I had to go back to work, but only for another two hours, which sped by. I decided that since I couldn’t go out (I had to work again this morning at 7:45am, plus clean up around the LBM house), I was going to have me a date night with myself! A quick stop at the grocery store and the Redbox and I was set.
I’m not entirely proud of this layout… Spinach, Fraziskaner, cookies (oh noes!) and Zombieland for the movie!
     I opened the bag of spinach first, thank you very much, and made myself a taco salad with spinach, a small corn tortilla shell and fat-free refried pinto beans. Brace yourselves for the picture: I made it small so you wouldn’t have to be totally grossed out, only minimally grossed out.
     This was followed by one or two of those amazingly delectable cookies and the Franziskaner. Apparently I was feeling very weak yesterday…
     Zombieland. Was. Awesome! I’m not a squeamish person at all, but the gore in this movie had me cringing a bit. Overall, it was hilarious and Woody Harrelson was genius! Bill Murray was incredible! Loved his cameo. It’s definitely something I’ll see again with my pops, who appreciates all things gory.
     That sums up my yesterday! Coming up later tonight is today’s blog. I was very, very weak in the food department again. 
Oops.

Comments Off on Friday Recap!

Filed under Amber, beer, Bill Murray, date night, edamame, Emma Stone, Franziskaner, Friday, green monster, Lazy Dog Cafe, little blurry monster, Mom, pizzetti, taco salad, Woody Harrelson, work, Zombieland

by | June 16, 2010 · 8:13 am

False Sundays

     Ahh, the lovely substitute-Sunday. This Tuesday has been a day of delight for me. I get back on the work wagon tomorrow, so today I lived it up!

      First, I’ll start you off with a picture of last night:

That is Mission St. Hefeweizen. It was very cheap at TJ’s, but the checkout lady said it was the best cheap beer around. She wasn’t lying!

     Woke up exceptionally early because the shades at the house where I’m staying do not keep the light out AT ALL! I was up at 6:30am, covered my face with pillows until I got a lovely text from my mum at 7am – Thanks mom :)!

     I ran downstairs and was all prepped to make myself a GM with the frozen berries I found in the freezer, but when I pulled them out, I saw a big “SUGAR ADDED” stamp on the bag! Who buys stuff with SUGAR ADDED??? Crazy stuff, I tell you. Luckily, they had also bought fresh blackberries, so I threw a handful of those into my GM.

I physically can’t measure out a single GM for myself. I had enough for two full glasses! At least it was nice and purple instead of a scary brown!
     My GMs haven’t been filling me up, so I toasted a slice of my new 9 Grain bread from Great Harvest, and smeared about a teaspoon of Nutella on top. The Nutella had less sugar than the JIF that was in the fridge, how ridiculous is that? Why add sugar to your peanut butter when it’s so wonderful by itself?
     After watching a Food Network show to wake me up (Chopped FTW!), I went to hang out with my mom on a trip to Michael’s. I bought two glass jars and some broken sea glass – can you guess what I’m gonna make? I also bought an ocean breeze and lilac scented candle for $.78. I love cheap stuffs!
     For lunch we stopped at Bristol Farms. I was drawn to the panini in the deli section, but they all had cheese -BOO! Next to those panini were a few different selections of flatbread. I saw a chicken pesto flatbread and asked if it was dairy-free, and they said YES! Hardly anyone makes pesto without adding parmesan cheese nowadays. I asked them to heat up half of the pita and box the rest.

     This was AMAZING! Inside of the wrap there was creamy pesto, moist chicken, and garlic-soaked cherry tomatoes that burst in my mouth. I was in heaven!

     We looked around Bristol Farms for a few minutes and found some amazing things – the cheese section, the bakery, and the beer section!

Cool, huh?
I need to try that top one :). Not ONLY because of the name, but because it’s from one of my favorite places in the world: Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

     I headed back to the dogwatching house for some studying. I’ve been working through my homebrewing book and taking notes – LOVE IT! So excited to get started :)! I’m going to check out the homebrewing supply stores in Woodland Hills and Culver City, and take a class or two before I splurge on all the equipment so I feel confident with the process and not completely overwhelmed. I’m positive I’m going to love it though – it’s in the family (my bro and sister-in-law are really talented brewers).

     Dinner was the rest of that flatbread. Sorry – very boring. Delicious, yes, but boring. I had some beer post-dinner. Franziskaner is my current favorite Hefewiezen. Very clove-y and smooth.

It’s from Munich, so it’s REALLY really good!
     Now I’m off to the house of LBM to have an ice cream sandwich (I didn’t have one last night! I pulled it out of the freezer, but put it right back. I must have cured my sugar cravings!) and go sleep before an early morning hike followed by a full shift at work. Back to the grind – sigh.
Happy almost Humpday 🙂

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Filed under beer, Bristol Farms, chicken, flatbread, Franziskaner, green monster, Humpday, ice cream sandwich, Menchie's, Mission Street, pesto, pita, tomatoes

by | June 6, 2010 · 4:41 am

I LOVE INDIAN FOOD!

There is NOTHING better than eating healthy round the clock. I live for eating veggies and tofu, drinking hot lemon water, chomping on fresh fruits, and exercising at least 2 hours a day.
Oh wait… there’s LIFE!
Today started out healthy enough. I made a MONSTER GM to split with the roommates and added the juice of half a lemon this time. Definitely made a difference, as did the additional frozen banana. I’ll try adding the Emergen-C tomorrow morning.
And yes, that is http://eatliverun.com in the background. My mom was kind enough to point out how similar our blog names are. I swear I hadn’t even found her blog before I’d named mine! I was going for a twist on “Eat, Pray Love”. Ah well.
This GM kept me full a full hour and a half, then I was ravenous! Luckily, we were headed straight to The Taj in Ventura for Indian food. I’m OBSESSED with this place and we frequent it at least once a month.
Overhead view
Topographic view
The Taj fortunately (or unfortunately) had a buffet today, so I loaded up with saag, saffron chicken, korma and extra amounts of sauce. There is REALLY nothing better than scooping up the sauces with a hot, freshly baked piece of garlic naan.
Rice is for lame-o’s!
I will always believe that white rice is only a filler. Don’t waste your time on it! Use that searing hot garlic naan to scoop up every single bit of sauce that is left on your plate! If you don’t, I’ll refuse to join you for lunch >:(. Just kidding, I’ll go to lunch with anyone if there’s food involved :). Even more so if it’s free *wink wink*!!!
Since it was buffet style, I just had to go back for dessert…. and maybe a little more saag and saffron sauce.
That’s pineapple at the bottom! I’m healthy!
As my best friend, Michelle, pointed out to me on iChat just now, “Sometimes unhealthy food is healthy for the soul!” I love that girl! I didn’t want to disrespect the chefs, so I cleaned my plate.
But once it was officially gone, I was very, very depressed.
That’s nothing that a little chocolate can’t fix! I settled for my usual: sprinkles-covered marshmallow on a stick:
I got a call yesterday that the bike store FINALLY had my shorts in, so I just had to go try them on!
5’3″ and fierce. I know you’re scared!
News flash: I have chicken legs. Like, annoyingly-crazy skinny legs. Everything about these shorts fit EXCEPT for the legs! They were hanging on me, and while I was willing to overlook this problem, Dave, the cycle guy, told me that I wouldn’t be able to ignore it for long. I placed an order for an extra-small pair. Now I have to wait another week and a half for them to arrive. Ugh.
Back home for a Saturday night, I got to try out my pop’s new pellet rifle 🙂
Elegant and ready to kill! I scared the CRAP out of that mound of dirt below the baked beans can that I was aiming for, that’s for sure!
After feeling like a total bad-ass, I kicked back with a Fat Tire and an amazing view.
OH! And a chocolate-covered sea salt caramel!
Sorry for the blurry picture. I’m still trying to figure out this camera. I drooled over a few very cool digital SLR’s at a camera store today, but the funds aren’t allowing for anything extravagant like that.
Tomorrow I have another full shift at work, so I’m setting my alarm for 7am and I’m going to put the pedal to the asphalt and pump out a few miles! I’m hoping to map out a long loop that’s not on a main road so I can work on adding mileage without getting run over. After that, my Emergen-C GM! See you all tomorrey!

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Filed under beer, Chocolate, Fat Tire, Indian Food, Pearl Izumi, pellet gun, trufflehounds, Ventura

by | June 5, 2010 · 8:24 am

GREEN MONSTER!!!

I promised you that I’d finally have something other than a breakfast scramble for breakfast, so I give you…THE GREEN MONSTER!!!!
I used a recipe I got off of http://greenmonstermovement.com/. I chose the “fool proof” recipe for my first time. I’ll try anything once, but I’ll admit, I was nervous to try this baby. I had to go through with it though, because yesterday’s trip to Costco landed me a 2.5lb bag of fresh spinach! Check out what it looks like next to my gigantic blender!

And yes, that is my blender peeking out behind the gi-normous bag! Can’t believe that bag was only $3.99! YAY COSTCO!!!


Lucky for me, I had leftover flax meal from my homemade bread, and a bunch of fresh bananas, so it started like this:
It met its original end-point at this:
But, after the first sip, it was just too bland, so it went back into the blender with a handful of fresh blueberries, and came out as this:
After being passed around between the roommates, the general consensus was that it was STILL TOO BLAND! Still, for the first attempt, this was completely acceptable and drinkable, as this picture seems to show:
I think tomorrow morning I’ll throw in an Emergen-C or two for some extra tang. It was definitely missing something – maybe lemon or lime zest or something similar. I think I’ll also chuck in another cup or two of spinach. I might as well go big or go home :).

After chugging that gigantic, filling MONSTER, I headed off to work. I had an early shift and didn’t plan enough time to eat breakfast as well as drink the GM, plus I didn’t know if the GM was meant to be a replacement for breakfast or had in addition – it’s meant to be had in addition, as I found out :-/.

About half an hour after clocking in, I felt the insistent groan of my raging stomach, so I ran to Subway to try one of their healthy new breakfast sandwiches. I brought along a coupon – (YAY coupons and saving money!) and lucky me, got the new girl. She ended up making me a sandwich with 3 pieces of spinach, a layer of turkey and ham, and a wheat bun that was toasted. At the end of the line, a very confused me handed over my coupon and they tried to charge me $4 for the piece of crap she’d put together! They finally realized their mistake – a breakfast sandwich includes egg and is on an english muffin – and gave me the sub for a buck. I’m still a bit pissed though… definitely didn’t want a hunk of hot bread with meat and wilted spinach :-/. I was going to take a picture, but it was just TOO pitiful!

Lunch turned around though! I went to the sushi place and got a mini spicy tuna roll with brown rice, sriracha with a little soy sauce and two huge cups of ice water. I’m working on increasing my H2O intake!
I ran into a friend I used to work with, enter Duck-Duck (my friend from high school), and had a “catch-up” lunch. After parting with Duck-Duck, I had just enough time to go to my usual cushy post-lunch couch and read a few chapters of my current book – Julie and Julia. I just want to point out, this book is a total bummer! I saw the movie a few months ago and thought it was very cute, but this book is just depressing! I’ve never read a book whose author had such a bad attitude! Sheesh! I needed a See’s candy to pick me up, so I got me a Tipperary bon-bon, and split an apple pie truffle with my mum who stopped by :).

FINALLY I got home and was treated by my roommates to a wonderful dinner of seared tilapia and steamed green beans tossed with garlic oil:
You must remember though, it is Friday night, so it was followed by this:
That Fat Tire is most definitely mine! As was the following one… :). I also have been looking into the Tour de Fat – October 23rd in Los Angeles! Anyone want to go? Please let me know!

After the sunset, I retreated back inside and finally got to try some So Delicious ice cream. I’ve been wanting to try the coconut milk So Delicious, but didn’t have the desire or ability to drive all the way to Sprouts, so I settled for this:
I gotta say, ice cream really needs a nice piece of cake to compliment it. Pepperidge Farm’s chocolate layer cake was actually SCREAMING at me to eat it! I had to obey!!!
There really is no better way to end a Friday night. I’m a total homebody, and while going out and getting trashed just isn’t my cup-o-tea, I’m all for a few beers, some cake and ice cream and some good conversation. Nothing better 🙂

Happy Friday and g’night all!

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Filed under beer, cake, Fat Tire, flax, green monster, love, New Belgium, Pepperidge Farm, roommates, so delicious, soy, spinach, sushi