Category Archives: hike

by | December 9, 2010 · 7:45 am

Avocado, Heirloom Tomato and Walnut Salad

     I had a ripe avocado that was begging to be used before I leave for Tucson, Arizona tomorrow. I wanted something light and summery to match the beautiful weather we’ve been having here in Southern California. Enter my inspiration: Lemonade!

I first visited Lemonade during my first blogger meet-up back in August, and fell in love with their avocado, cherry tomato and pine nut salad tossed in a lime vinaigrette. I’ve been dreaming about it for months!
Avocado, Heirloom Tomato and Walnut Salad
(inspired by Lemonade)
1 ripe avocado
2/3 cup baby heirloom tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/2 lime
1 tsp olive oil
1 tablespoon cherry balsamic vinegar
     1. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit.
     2. With the tip of a sharp knife, trace a checkerboard design into the flesh of the avocado and gently scoop the diced flesh into a mixing bowl.
     3. Add the heirloom tomatoes and walnuts to the avocado.
     4. In a small mixing bowl, combine the juice of the lime, olive oil and cherry balsamic vinegar and whisk until emulsified.
     5. Pour the dressing over the avocado, tomatoes and walnuts and gently toss to cover. 
Makes two servings.
If you don’t have cherry balsamic, any balsamic vinegar will do. The balsamic MADE the salad! Don’t skip that ingredient!
     This salad is buttery, tangy and refreshing, with a nice crunch from the added walnuts. I have a feeling I’ll be making this a LOT over the holidays for my brother and his wife who are both vegans, and visiting from snowy Colorado. One of the perks of living in California is having avocados year round! I have to share the wealth!
Another perk is hiking in 68 degree weather while the rest of the country is spiraling into a deep, cold winter.
I’m off to Arizona again tomorrey!

6 Comments

Filed under avocado, blogger meet-up, cherry balsamic vinegar, heirloom tomatoes, hike, Lemonade, lime vinaigrette, Southern California

by | November 3, 2010 · 8:30 am

Pancakes and German Presents!

     I stocked up on canned pumpkin today! I’ve tried Trader Joe’s brand and I’ve tried Libby’s, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Libby’s trumps all! It smells and tastes the most fresh, and made my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes incredible!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes
Dry Ingredients
1/3 cup whole rolled oats
1/3 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin spice
Pinch of salt
Handful of chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
     1. In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
     2. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well.
     3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
     4. Pour a heaping tablespoon of batter onto a greased skillet and cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, or until the edges look dry and bubbles on top have popped.
     5. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side for another two minutes.
     6. Plate the pancakes and top with honey and extra chocolate chips. There’s no such thing as too much chocolate!
Adoration. Yum!
     I had to head to the airport on Halloween around 6pm to pick up the roommates and visited the creepiest haunt of them all: LAX! I’ve never seen so much traffic! It took about an hour to find and pick up the roommates from the international terminal. Luckily, I got lots of presents when they returned, so the trip was worth it ;-)!
Wasabi chocolate, kashmir-chilli chocolate, indische chocolate, lavender chocolate, wild garlic and a candle from Munchen (aka Munich, Germany)!
     Yesterday we celebrated with a trip to the local Indian buffet:
Chicken tikka masala, ridiculously spicy vegetables, daal and chana masala. I had a few pieces of chicken and massively regretted it later. After two weeks of no meat, I had a stomachache for the rest of the day!
     Back to hiking!
Ahhh, I love the trails! I’m itching to go camping again!
     Today the roommates were finally starting to feel a little more conscious after recovering from jet lag, so we went out to rediscover the town.
I had a lunch special of pad thai. I didn’t eat any of the chicken after yesterday’s pain! Thai tea helped as well!
I went to the grocery store to pick up my latest freebie: I got a coupon for a free Cottonelle sample in the mail yesterday and picked it up today. I love free stuff!!!
     I went over to the local plaza and read a little of “The Girl Who Played with Fire” before discovering that there was a new bakery!
OH MY GEEZ, CUPCAKES!
This was my first time visiting Crumbs, and definitely not my last!
I’ve tried Sprinkles which tastes exactly like Bisquik with frosting,vand these trump those by far! I had the Boston Cream Pie cupcake that tasted like heaven in a wrapper. No regrets!
Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE where I live?
Red wine at sunset…
…and cumin-scented German chocolate.
It’s a rough life.

I’ll be going to Carefree, Arizona for the Carefree Fine Art and Wine Festival on Thursday! If there are any Arizon-ites who would like to meet up, meet me on the corner of Easy Street and Ho Hum Street (no joke, those are the actual names of the streets) from Friday, November 5th through Sunday, November 7th!

3 Comments

Filed under chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes, Cottonelle, Crumbs, cupcakes, free sample, Germany, hike, hiking, Indian Food, Munich, pad thai, presents, red wine, thai food

by | September 22, 2010 · 9:46 am

One Hundred Posts!!!

     This is my 100th post! That happened really fast! I was hoping to do something epic, but I’ll just be going back to my roots: hiking and EATING!

It was beautiful and overcast the entire day!
We had a nice chilly hour-long hike.
The Monstas are back! This one had 6 cups of spinach, 1/4 of a cup of soymilk, 1/2 of a frozen banana, 2 stalks of asparagus and 1/4 of a cup of frozen blueberries.
For lunch today, I went to a local cafe with the roommate and we split a tuna sandwich on toasted rye with a side of potato salad and a piece of dry watermelon that I didn’t touch.
Our lovely lunch needed to be rounded out with chocolate. I had the most ridiculously thick, chocolatel-y brownie I’ve ever had in my entire life, and my roommate got a hot cafe mocha.
ART.
     I went over to my parental unit’s to meet up with my mom for our Tuesday pottery class :)!
Tonight was glazing! I glazed five pieces and spent the rest of the time trimming one for MY ONLY CONTEST WINNER so far!
There you go, Amanda and Andy! It should be glazed and fired in about 2 or 3 weeks 🙂
My mom hand painted/glazed this! She’s so talented!
I’m not quite as talented. I think they put that sign up after I joined class…
     After class, we started heading home but I was distracted by the beautiful bright lights of this place!

BURGERS!!!! This magical land is called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The lights have a gravitational pull. I tried to avoid it, but I have no control over scientific facts! GRAVITATIONAL PULL!
Hello baby cheeseburger and fries! These fries are awesome! They’re made from actual potatoes with the skins on – magic!
     Here’s something new: I tried to make one of those chocolate-cakes-in-a-mug two nights ago. How did it turn out, you ask? Here’s a little photo essay for you.
Looks good so far!
Puffing up, just like it’s supposed to!
And it turned into a baseball. Just like it’s… supposed to?
Yeah, this was a big fail. I microwaved it way too long and it was very dry and tasted like cocoa-scented dirt. I do not recommend.

    Post-class, it was pilot night! We watched a new pilot that I was in for – “Raising Hope” – I was up for the role that went to Bijou Phillips. Hilarious show! I hope it gets the viewers and ratings it deserves!
For you guys who haven’t entered to win the last two pieces of pottery, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog about why you need a piece of pottery, then put a link to my blog on your Twitter!

10 Comments

Filed under brownie, cake in a cup, Five Guys Burgers, green monster, hike, local cafe, mocha, potato salad, Pottery, Two Boos Who Eat

by | September 12, 2010 · 11:51 am

My Pet Hanger, Stan, and How I Lost My Brain!

     Today was ridiculous. Not ridiculous in a, “duuuuude, this wave is totally ridiculously rad!”, but more in a “why is this ridiculous spike sticking into my head while I run around in circles with only socks on?” Exactly. My post will make as much sense as the preceding sentence.

     The day started off innocently enough. I woke up early and hit the trail for my first hike in what feels like forever!

We had a beautiful, 70 degree hike down the hill.
On the way, we saw a DEER!
I was understandably excited.
     The hike was quite intense, and I felt that the best way to refuel would be to hit up an Indian buffet and get a ridiculous amount of food. This ridiculous is the good type.
Spicy chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, veggie-punch-in-the-face-it’s-so-spicy dish, and fried green somethings. It was all amazing, as were the two pieces of garlic naan I used to scoop up all the sauce. AND the gajar halwa (carrot-butter pudding) I had after.
     Then came work. I was scheduled for a full shift, and had to work until 11pm. ELEVEN PEE EM! It all began to go downhill around 5pm. Vicky and I headed out to Paciugo to get hopped up on sugar, and discovered that Paciugo is now offering even MORE opportunities to get free gelato!
PACIUGO PASSAPORTO!!! I got a small with amaretto chocolate chip, rocky road, and peanut butter cookies ‘n milk. Tomorrey, we’ll explore the innards of the passport. It’s extremely amazing!
     About two hours later, I was really starting to lose it. There were no customers in the store, and even fewer employees (“But that’s impossible!” you say!) and I decided it was time for me to adopt a lonely hanger that had ended up at my counter, abandoned by the evil consumer who ripped it from its shirt-brother and discarded it like an empty plastic hanger.
Everyone, meet Stan. Stan, everyone.
And yes, I realize that by now I had completely lost it.
No, I think HERE was where I’d completely lost it.
Vicky was frightened, but she learned to accept Stan for what he is. This is why I love her.
     Vicky, Stan and I headed upstairs for the employee potluck lunch. This lunch consisted of fried chicken, barbeque chips and Coke®. It hurt. So good. After we’d parted ways (Vicky and me, not Stan and me), I received a text message from Malachi. Our insane brain-candy conversation follows:
Malachi: Boo i’m feeling antsy and all my friends are unavailable and it’s saturday night and dan took the car so now i’m just going to sit here doing nothing which i already did all day SON OF A BALLS thanks for letting me vent.
Me: I’m at work till 11pm and i made friends with a hanger and named him stan and took pictures of him for my blog which i will post at 1am.
Malachi: Sounds like you’ve already reached madness. Save me a seat, i’ll be there soon as well.
Malachi again: I’m drowning my sorrows in pepsi and the economist.
Me: I have coke. Not the good coke either. Soda form, not powder. (Disclaimer: I do not use/condone drug use. They will drain the blood from your body and replace it with swamp water and you will die slowly and painfully. So don’t do them!)
Malachi: Ugh. You could always dehydrate the coke, distill it to powder form, and shoot that up your nose.
Me: I need a quick fix idea, not scientific conundrums that take weeks to execute.
Malachi: You can’t rush good science. And every druggie has the rigors of the scientific method to thank.
Me: My problem must be that my addiction isn’t so intense that i appreciate the rigoroditty of the process.
Malachi: As Newton said, and Einstein agreed, ‘rigoraditty is the keystone of scientoriousness’. (Malachi, you misspelled rigoroditty. LAME!)
Me: What is easier to make fun of… A comatose ninja, a comatose pirate, or a small child with ADHD whom you fuel with soda, then tie to a chair and throw popcorn at? (Before you hate me for being an evil child abuser, please remember that I have at this point befriended a hanger and might not be all there…)
Malachi: You are past madness. You are traversing space, time, universe.
Me: There is nothing wrong with desiring to throw puffy food stuffs at children. (See guys, I didn’t recommend we throw anvils at them or anything!)
Malachi: …textual silence…
     This correspondence occupied a good half hour of my time, in which I sauntered around the dark, empty mall and got a makeover a la Vicky. I then proceeded to sprint around the dark, empty mall, pretending to be chased my extremely short zombies, and ended my spazz-out with a cup of lemon pudding cake.
CAKE IN A CUP! And some patriotic mints!
     I apologize if this post has traumatized you in any way. These spazz-outs may occur once in awhile, especially if I’m forced to work insane hours with only a hanger to talk to.
     On a semi-normal note:
I FOUND ME THE PUMPKIN ALE!!!
I shall imbibe tomorrey evening after…work. Le sigh.

8 Comments

Filed under buffet, cake in a cup, DEER, gelato, hanger, hike, Indian Food, Paciugo, potluck, Stan

by | August 13, 2010 · 9:39 am

Kale Chips and Dance Battles!

     Exercise of the day: An hour-long hike through the woods!

It was a beautiful day! The hike consisted of LOTS of steep inclines, and halfway through, I was limping on account of my screwed-up knee. I finished, but hopefully I’ll be fully healed soon enough so I can pick up the pace!
     The day started with a big Monsta, of course.
5+1/3 cups of spinach, 3/4 of a cup of soymilk, 2/3 of a banana, 1/4 of a cup of frozen strawberries, 1/4 of a cup of frozen blueberries and the juice of half a lemon.
     After we got back from the hike, I threw together a KSS for lunch.
1/2 of a bag of chopped lettuce, 2/3 of a chopped and sauteed zucchini, 1/2 of a cup of warmed lentils and 1/2 of a container of egg white salad.
     It was an itty-bitty salad. Something else was needed to satiate my stomach.
YEP! That ought to do it! A small Tutti Frutti with a scoop of peanut butter cups on top.
     I picked up a bunch of kale from the grocery store so I could finally try some of those Kale Chips that everyone’s been talking about in the blogosphere. I started with 8 gigantic kale leaves which I rinsed, tore into small pieces, then sprayed with a little olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper and baked at 350F for about 18 minutes.
Before…
 And after. They shrunk to 1/3 of their size! These are very interesting: wafer thin and they melt in your mouth, but have a very spicy bite to them! Also, they smelled like broccoli while they were cooking – kind of disconcerting. Not sure if I’ll make these again.
     Next up: happy-hour at JJ Brewsky’s in Camarillo and Step Up 3D!!! Win-win-win!
Too much to choose from! And this is just the appetizer list…
Beer for him (that’s not a shot next to the Guinness, that’s a sample of their other beers that he was deciding between).
Vino for me! You didn’t think I’d stick to my no-beer-for-August rule, did you? This was a fruity, smooth Merlot. De-lish!
For fooding we split the ahi tuna appetizer…
and a California avocado-bacon burger with sweet potato fries.
I finished my half. I’m not sorry.
     We had to stock up on candy before we hit the theaters to avoid the overpriced stuffs, so we hit up the local RocketFizz – a retro-vintage candy shop.
This place has tons of old-fashioned and new candy, as well as over 700 different types of soda!
They also have some amazing gifts. I almost forwent the candy for these. Almost.
     MOVIE TIME!!!!! We got to the theatre a little early to avoid crowds, and were welcomed by this sight:
It was PACKED!
3D glasses on! Woohoo!
     Overall thoughts on the movie: Meh. The dances are amazing, but the movie was completely geared towards the 3D aspect. There was a lot of dancers thrown towards the camera, water being kicked towards the audience and Slurpees sailing towards the camera in the sky. There was nothing memorable to me, even though the effects were awesome. They should have gotten rid of the whole “story-line” they were trying to make, and just added more dancing! I guess movies in theatres just aren’t my thing.
Anyone want to go find a dance battle with me? Or make kale chips. Whichever…

4 Comments

Filed under green monster, Guinness, hike, JJ Brewsky's, kale chips, Merlot, Step Up 3D

by | July 13, 2010 · 8:24 am

Lovin’ the Carbs!

     Good evening! I am completely wiped out from a busy day, so let’s get through this before I pass out! The morning monster was huuuuuuge!

Okay, so it doesn’t look any bigger than normal, but this GM had the most spinach ever included! There was probably about 3.5-4 cups in this. Lovely!
     My roommate and I jumped on the trails around 9:30am and headed down our recently discovered trail. We got to the bridge where we usually turn around, but decided to keep walking and see where we ended up. I don’t know where we were. It was awesome.
We were so busy chatting and enjoying the views, that by the time we turned around, we’d added an extra half hour to the hike. 90 minutes of hiking? Sweet!
     When we got back, I refueled with another mug of coffee, and an indian-spiced KSS.
This had 1/3 a bag of chopped baby greens, 1/2 a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 a cup of warmed lentils, and some of last night’s indian-spiced chicken and vegetables reheated and thrown on top. This was so good! The chicken was still incredibly salty, but when it was combined with a plethora of veggies, it fit right in!
     I ran out to the library to pick up a couple of books that had finally come in: Up in the Air by Walter Kirn, and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Finally I have something easy to read! I love all the beer brewing books and mountain biking books, but sometimes it’s nice just to get drawn into a story and get lost in the book. I’ll be reading The Help first, because that one is a two week loan.
     The Great Harvest Bread Company was next! I stopped in for a free slice of pumpkin-seed bread and bought another loaf of the 9 Grain bread. I’ll be throwing most of it in the freezer since I didn’t get through the last loaf. I made another batch of Chimichurri sauce to spread on top of my new bread :).
I used actual oregano, instead of marjoram like last time (The vendor at the farmers’ market gave me the wrong bunch last time, but the marjoram still worked!).
I love food processors!
I re-used the bottle from the farmers’ market that I based my recipe off of. It fit perfectly and is now chilling in the fridge.
     I pored through the Veganomicon cookbook for awhile trying to find something to make for dinner, but instead opted to go out to The Natural Cafe with my roommate, who was treating.
I got the Local Favorite – my usual. I told myself I would try something new. I knew I was lying…
My roommate got the albacore sandwich and was done with the entire thing before I’d finished my first half. He had to sit patiently while I scraped up every last crumb.
     Since he treated to dinner, I offered up dessert.
Of course we went to Paciugo! Where else would we go? I got a small with peanut butter caramel, chocolate turtle cheesecake and amaretto chocolate chip. The roommate got chocolate. Just chocolate. At a place that has 20 different flavor options. Seriously.
     There happened to be a Vitamix blender on display at Williams-Sonoma, so we dropped by and got a demonstration of the terrifying sound it makes when turned onto high speed. I’ve been obsessing over these for months now and researching everything about them. I WANT ONE!
     It’s now 9pm and we’re still uncomfortably stuffed. Since I can’t fit anymore food into my stomach, I’m going to head over to the Vitamix website and mentally drool a little. 
Are there any amazing books that you’ve read recently?

4 Comments

Filed under gelato, green monster, hike, kitchen sink salad, Natural Cafe, Paciugo, Vitamix

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 | June 10, 2010 · 7:40 am

Three Day Weekend!

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore days off? I’m guessing I haven’t, since I’ve been blogging for less than two weeks, but I LOVE days off! I try to cram as much activity as I can into my free days, because when I work my day job, I basically stand around and pace. And yes, this Wednesday is the middle of my three day weekend – all the better to avoid the crowds.
I started the morning with a GM (Are you sick of these pics yet? Too bad!). At least I switched up the glass it’s in:

This one had 2 cups of spinach, banana, soy milk, blueberries and ice. I used the remains of the spinach which tasted about half a day past its prime, and forgot the lemon. This drink definitely needs the lemon juice to cut any spinach flavor! Remember that!
After that Monsta came a long hike. The June Gloom has taken over! I loves me the June Gloom! Any morning I wake up to an overcast sky, I do a little happy dance inside. I’m weird: get used to it.
Half an hour into the hike my stomach started rumbling, so it was time to start planning my next meal. I had a coupon to “buy one, get one free” at The Counter, a build-your-own-burger bar. I was psyched for this and then did something incredibly stupid: I looked at the nutritional facts online. A warning to anyone who wants to enjoy this place guilt-free, DON’T LOOK! Instead of a big, juicy burger topped with fresh guacamole, goat cheese and mixed greens, I had two slices of my dense homemade oatmeal-walnut bread with a tablespoon of flaxseed peanut butter.

These were chilling in the freezer, just waiting to be devoured.
The bread kept me satisfied during a trip to Barnes and Noble, and I got hungry just in time to go to my favorite Thai restaurant. We got there with ten minutes to spare before the lunch special deals ended. Phew! Nine bucks nabbed a starter salad with citrus dressing, chicken pad thai and panang beef.

Have you ever gotten so hungry you just devoured without thinking?
I did. That’s why I had to borrow someone else’s pictures. Oops!
The lovely chef sent out complimentary sweet rice and mango! We used to frequent this restaurant every other week and know the owner quite well. I find that when you become a regular at any restaurant, a relationship develops that is profitable for both the owners and the customers :).
I was zoning out from hunger before lunch, then ended up eating so much that I went into a food coma. The only thing that could bring me out is the elixir of life.

I spent a good year looking for a big, ugly rooster mug! I really wanted one where the rooster head protruded in 3D, but I’m pretty happy with this giant.

Next stop was my all-time favorite place: THE LIBRARY!!! I went a little crazy…

Any guesses as to what my current interests are?
I saw the trailer for the new movie, Charlie St. Cloud, last night and found out that it’s based off of a book. I’m obsessed with reading books before they come out on the big, or small, screen. I’ve most recently read Dear John (haven’t seen the movie yet), The Last Song (also haven’t seen the movie), and Julie and Julia (loved the movie, the book is getting better). I read a book a week when I get the time, more if possible! My name is Bexter and I’m addicted to reading.
Dinner was reheated Thai food and a cup of Trader Joe’s kettle corn. Now I’m sitting back watching The Next Food Network Star and craving some of the salmon that Brad Sorenson made. Ummm, I might have a bit of a crush… No, I definitely do. So cute! And now I want to do some funky pushups. Is anyone else watching this or do I just sound like a crazy person?
Happy midweek weekend!

5 Comments

Filed under Barnes and Noble, Charlie St. Cloud, FOOD, green monster, hike, kettle corn, lemons, oatmeal bread, pad thai, panang curry, thai food

by | June 4, 2010 · 2:11 am

Costco & Fro-Yo

Well, it turns out that bell pepper slices with hummus aren’t enough for dinner for a normal person – silly me. As soon as I got to work, my stomach turned on me with a vengeance.

I belong to the Godiva Rewards club, which means I get one free piece of chocolate per month. Godiva ain’t cheap, so this is the only time I’ll ever enter the store – my wallet learned from my addiction a few years ago. To try and calm the wild beast that was screaming from inside my abdomen, I selected the Spring Rasberry Truffle. It has a thick, velvety rasberry center and is draped in white chocolate. So freakin’ amazing! It didn’t comfort my stomach for more than half an hour though, so I headed over to our trusty new Subway and got a 6-inch roast beef and turkey on whole wheat with spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers and mustard. I picked away all the excess bread that I didn’t want to eat and made the local birds very happy.

This morning began with Emergen-C, coffee and a breakfast scramble. I promise there will be something new for tomorrow! Just wait! We also went on another lovely hike that was again overcrowded with people. Good for all of them getting their fitness in – I guess I’ll just have to head out earlier to enjoy the peace and quiet!

Looking up towards the halfway point.

After a quick shower to attempt and rinse all the bug spray I’ve been accumulating during every hike, we headed off to Costco to stock up on some much-needed veggies.

But FIRST! We just had to stop for some frozen yogurt from Menchies! After my last fro-yo stomach pain, I stuck to the dairy-free Mango Sorbet, and topped it with fresh strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and a touch of Mochi – a yummy rice candy that’s full of sugar and carbs :)! It was a perfect way to fend off the lunch-hunger that needed to be filled with free Costco samples.

At Costco we picked up a MONSTER bag of spinach which I’ll show you tomorrow, and a big box of coffee pods. Can’t live without my coffee! Samples were very low, and I skipped the baby brie on crackers and just had some stir-fried chicken on a toothpick. Not quite enough for lunch…

At home I caught up on my current favorite blog – http://eatliverun.com, and made myself a big Kitchen Sink Salad.
This one has an entire bag of Trader Joe’s baby greens, half of a bell pepper, an entire container of Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad, and half a cup of warmed lentils and was drizzled with a balsamic-whole grain mustard dressing. This baby is gonna have to tide me over until tomorrow – I head back to work for another 3 hour shift tonight :-/.

Tomorrow will mark my first attempt at a GREEN MONSTER!!! A green monster is a massive blend of spinach, soy milk, bananas, ice and blueberries. I’m going to get in 4 servings of veggies before 8am! Wish me luck 🙂

KSS MAKES ME HAPPY!!!!!

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by | June 3, 2010 · 1:54 am

Magic Doorstops!

Today was a day for something new and exciting – something I’ve never done before. I MADE BREAD!!!
Now, I’ve made the typical banana bread, popped open some crescent roll tubes and slammed them on a baking sheet, but I’ve never made bread that requires you to activate the yeast, assemble your own selection of different types of oatmeals and grains, and actually baked a loaf of bread.
Lately I’ve been craving some whole grains and carbs and, rather than run out to the store and grab a processed, plastic-wrapped, frozen and then thawed loaf, I hit up our new local Sprouts store. They have an amazing bulk foods section where you can get as much, or as little of any type of dry food that you want. The cost for this shopping trip came out to be pretty cheap for the whole wheat flour, flax meal, wheat germ, walnuts and yeast. Everything else I found in the cupboards.

Assembled ingredients: Daunting!!!
All the ingredients getting mixed together
My feeble attempts at kneading… I look scared!
Pre-rise
Post-rise! Does it look any different?
Baked!
And sliced!!!
I must say, when I first pulled the bread out of the oven, I was really disappointed. The thing weighed about 10lbs, and was completely raw and doughy on the inside. I cut myself a piece from the middle and then stuck the rest back in the oven. The first bite changed my whole attitude. Delicious!!! It has a really chewy texture – I credit the steel cut oats I soaked, drained and threw in, and it’s chock full of chopped walnuts and sprinkled with wheat germ. It’s very heavy, but the flavor is really good! The recipe is from Cooks.com (I cut this in half to make one loaf). My personal add-a-grains were pre-soaked steel cut oatmeal, rolled oats, flax meal and wheat germ. I also used honey instead of molasses, unsweetened soy milk instead of regular milk, and olive oil. Definitely a recipe I’d recommend if you can get over the fact that it feel like a doorstop!
Of course, I didn’t start the day by cooking bread. I started it with a breakfast scramble, and then headed here!
This is halfway up the trail we hike almost every single morning. It was a little hazy today, but where you’re looking is where the ocean is!
I’m a blessed, blessed girl 🙂 We had a warm 56 minute hike that had a nice cool breeze, and unfortunately, a lot of people. I guess everyone is starting their summer vacations, which doesn’t make me happy. I like MY park to be empty! I may get a little territorial – has anyone noticed that?
After the bread-making debacle-turned-success, I heated up a simple lunch: Lemony quinoa with some shredded leftover chicken that we had in the fridge from Memorial Day.
Blackberries and a slice of my freshly made bread smothered in a tablespoon of peanut butter with flax seed made up dessert.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I haven’t been sticking to my no-beer goal. Here’s my outlook: one drink a day, if you’re of legal age, has been found to be good for your heart. I’m definitely not perfect when it comes to my diet, and I’m okay with that. Plus, Fat Tire kicks ass and you only live once, so why not enjoy it?
I also found out that the film I was supposed to start on Saturday has been pushed until August. Now I’m left with 10 days off from work (unless I can get some hours back – fingers crossed, I need the money!) and nothing to do – except perhaps have another go at a different type of homemade bread?
For now I have to go and get ready for a 4 hour shift at work. Dinner will be some sliced up bell peppers with my homemade tomato-basil hummus and probably another serving of lunch. I wish I had time to hop on my bike, but my scheduling with work, plus having a sick-day yesterday hasn’t allowed for it. I’ll be sure to get back to it before this weekend rolls around, especially now that I may have an entire week to myself! Maybe I’ll work on my mileage since I have the time and train for that century ride that I’m hoping to do before the end of the year… Hey, you gotta aim high, otherwise where’s the fun?

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