Category Archives: quesadilla

MY TOWN IS ON FIRE!

     I realize it is neither National Pancake Day, or Pancake Sunday, but since we were out of spinach this morning, I decided to make some whole grain cakes.

This first batch was experimental…
… an experimental FAIL. I used egg in this recipe just to try something new. Apparently, new + Becki = hockey pucks masquerading as pancakes. Oh well, lesson learned!
The second batch appeared to be faring a little better…
Oooooh yeah!

Vegan Banana-Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup soymilk
1 banana, 1/2 of it diced, 1/2 in thick slices
A handful of chopped pecans
     1. Toast the handful of chopped pecans in a pan over medium heat. Pecans are done when their warm, nutty aroma fills the air (about 3 minutes, stirring constantly). Be careful not to burn them!
     2. Put the thick slices of banana into a greased pan over medium-low heat.
     3. Carefully flip the banana slices after 4-5 minutes.
     4. While the second side of the banana is cooking, mix together the oatmeal, flour, baking soda, salt and toasted pecans in a medium sized bowl.
     5. Add the soymilk and diced banana, and stir until well combined.
     6. Pour a heaping tablespoon of batter onto a large greased pan or skillet.
     7. When the tops of the pancakes start to bubble and appear to dry out, flip em!
     8. Cook them for another minute on the other side, then plate with the caramelized banana slices on top and drizzle with syrup or honey.
Incredibleness on a plate.
As always, a great breakfast is best enjoyed with an amazing view on a beautiful morning!
     You’d think that such an rich breakfast would fill me up until the end of time, but before I knew it, it was lunch time!
Mexican food on the brain! I got a grilled chicken quesadilla with guacamole. I haven’t been making the healthiest choices lately – I can blame it on my schedule or on the insane heat, but really it comes down to my own lack of self-control and planning. 
Problem acknowledged, and being worked on!
     The drive back home held a surprise! While we were in the restaurant, about thirty fire trucks, cop cars and paramedics went screaming by, and I forced the roommates to investigate!
THE TOWN IS ON FIRE!!!! It actually looked like a bomb went off, or a plane crashed, but it turns out it was just four businesses that were lovingly built from the ground up, burning right back to the ground thanks to some chemical fire. Sadness :(
     When we got back, I split and headed to the library to pick up some books I had on hold – I’m now reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. My cousin recommended the series to me, and while I’m loving the story so far, I’ve been really slow, which is bad considering it’s due back in a few days! I distracted myself from reading a bit longer by replenishing my aromatherapy spray.
I used to be a massage therapist and always wanted to specialize in aromatherapy. Even though I don’t work as a therapist anymore, I brought aromatherapy along with me for daily life.

Bexter’s Spaaaaah Mix
  1. In an 8oz. atomizer bottle, add 7 drops of lavender oil, 7 drops of lemon oil, 2 drops of tea tree oil and 1 drop of eucalyptus oil.
  2. Fill the atomizer bottle with filtered water, cap and shake well.
  3. Spritz the mixture into the air to remove toxins, and over face while inhaling to be in total, utter bliss.
Bexter’s Spaaaaaah Mix! This bottle makes me so happy!
     The rest of my day was spent lounging around, doing massive amounts of research and note-taking for a novel I’m writing and swinging by Great Harvest for a loaf of their High 5 Fiber bread to go with dinner.
The roommate made an indian-inspired veggie soup. I don’t have the recipe on hand right now, but it has fresh green beans, eggplant, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, garam masala and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes a heavenly, healthy stew. 
My soup was served in my most successful bowl made in pottery to date!
     I’ll be hitting up the farmers’ market tomorrey to pick up some ingredients for a Foodbuzz competition I’ll be joining in! Food contests aren’t normally my thing (I’m a VERY competitive person, and it stresses me out and erases a little of the enjoyment for me), but I decided, why not! Stay tuned for a new recipe… or a lot of competitive anger! :-D

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Filed under aromatherapy, banana pecan pancakes, contest, fire, mexican food, Pottery, quesadilla, The Hunger Games, vegetable soup

Quesadillas and Serenades!

     Busy, busy day today! I woke up at 7am and hit the gym for an hour and fifteen minutes. I spent 35 minutes on the stair-climber: 35 minutes, 2.92 miles, and 140 floors. The stair climber is no longer my favorite cardio at the gym. Ouch. I did three sets of ten leg presses at 120lbs, then spent the rest of the time attempting to do arm weights (couldn’t because my arms were crying), and crunches (couldn’t because my abs were crying), and stretched out.

     I got back home and blended up an icy Monsta!

This had 5 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a banana, 1 carrot, 2 sprigs of asparagus, 1/2 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries, the juice of a lemon, and a handful of ice.
     Next up: Audition time! I fought the LA traffic, had an amazing audition, then headed over to my friends’ Dan and Malachi’s for some lunchy goodness.
Malachi got all gourmet – frozen chicken, defrosted in the microwave, then sauteed…
While Malachi chef-ed, Dan serenaded us with some lovely acoustic guitar.
That chicken turned into a magical quesadilla with green chilies and cheddar cheese!
Malachi was not pleased with my picture of his quesadilla. It was delicious, though!
Dessert was the same theme: Green Chile Peanut Brittle. I am in love! This stuff is amazing! I’m thinking of taking a road trip just to get some. Or maybe making my own…
I brought the boys some delicious, ridiculously cheap wine (Monte Ducay, $5.99 at Trader Joe’s) in exchange for all of the fooding and serenading.
     After the deLUSCIOUS lunch, I headed over to my parental units’ house for pottery class. FIRST…
Tutti Frutti is always a necessity. I was craving sweets and got red velvet with cookie dough, peanut butter cups, a shortbread cookie stick. Oh, yeah! My eyes were too big for my stomach, and I had about 1/4 of this leftover that got trashed :( .
I also had enough time to make a miniature Kitchen Sink Salad. This had 2 cups of chopped lettuce, 1/2 of a cup of warmed lentils, 1/4 of a cup of egg white salad, and some leftover sauteed zucchini and summer squash.
      When we got to pottery class, we found out that our glazing was finished! Yay!
Here are mine. Meh, not bad for a first try, but EW!
My HikeBikeEat bowl failed. BIG crack down the middle. Oh well…
I made FIVE pieces tonight! My favorite is the one on the far right – my new mug!
These are my mom’s! They turned out AMAZING! I’m only slightly jealous – and by slightly, I mean COMPLETELY!
     We headed back home, stopped by Trader Joe’s and picked up some Panang Curry Sticks and we’re now relaxing, sipping some wine and watching Glee. My life is a fairy tale! I am so content :) .
Do you have any artwork you’re proud of? I’ll be posting pics of my favorite craft pieces tomorrey!

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Filed under audition, glazing, green monster, gym, kitchen sink salad, Mom, peanut brittle, Pottery class, quesadilla

Retail Therapy and Pizza!

     It was an amazing Monday! I started off with a beautiful Monsta!

Gigantic! This had 5 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a banana, 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a lemon, 1/2 of a lime and a handful of ice. No idea why it turned out this color…
     I also had my first day AT THE GYM!!!! I got there early, spent 20 minutes on the stair-climber, climbed 79 floors, then hit up the weights. I basically sampled a little bit of everything. My all-time favorite weight set is the lat pulldown, so I revisited that a few times throughout the hour and a half. It’s strange being back in a gym after over 2 years without. I remember when I’d sit down at the lat pulldown and do three sets of 20 reps at 75lbs, and today I struggled with three sets of 10 reps at 45lbs. Sniff. I’m so ready to get stronger again!
     I did a crapload of crunches after all the weights, then attempted to stretch out. Afterwards, my arms were COMPLETELY dead. I had trouble lifting them to type and check my e-mail. I LOVE that kind of pain! Totally looking forward to doing a repeat tomorrow, then complaining to you all again about how much I hurt.
     After I showered and changed, I headed over to the Topanga Mall to meet up with my wonderful, amazing friend/cousin Allie! We did a little retail therapy, then headed out for some lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.
They now have a calorie guide! I started to open this, and Allie grabbed it from my hands and threw it across the restaurant. Thank you, Allie :) .
We ordered our drinks – she got the Prosecco split (I LOVE PROSECCO!) and I settled for the Mirassou Pinot Noir to abide by my red wine rules for August.
YUM! Me gusta Mirassou! I could actually taste and distinguish the tastes of cherries, strawberries and lusciousness. YUM again!
We split a Spicy Chicken Tanga Quesadilla from the Small Cravings menu. I could’ve eaten six more of these!
We also split the whole-wheat thin-crust chicken pesto pizza. Full of pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil and onions and deLUSCIOUS cheese! I may have had half. I don’t regret it – I’m lucky my arms could lift the food to my mouth after that workout :) .
     We shopped around a little more, then went out separate ways, full and happy. I headed home, changed for work, and headed off to my easy shift at work. Nothing special happened – I emptied stock boxes, got some gelato and ran through my sides for my audition tomorrey.
     Tomorrey = early gym, then off to my audish, then hanging with some wonderful friends in LA before coming back for pottery class. It’ll be a busy, wonderful Tuesday!
Do you look forward to your weeks like I do? I tend to dread weekends because weekends = retail. Let’s get real life STARTED already!

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Filed under California Pizza Kitchen, green monster, gym, Merlot, Mirassou, pizza, quesadilla