Category Archives: mocha

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!

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

by | June 9, 2010 · 6:55 am

Gourmet Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday, all! I hope you all started off your morning as well as I did 🙂 GREEN MONSTAAAAA!!!

This baby has spinach, bananas, blueberries, lemon juice, soymilk and ice!
Cleaning the blender seems like a big ordeal, but it’s really easy! Just pour a little dish soap and hot water into the blender:

Press LIQUIFY:

Give it a few minutes to whirl, rinse, and you’re done!
After having my massive green fuel-machine (hey, that rhymes! I should get into poetry), I jumped on the trail for another hike up the hill. Today was completely empty and quiet and lovely, and there was marine layer hanging over so the bugs weren’t biting: the PERFECT day for a hike!

I got back and got spoiled by my roomie cooking up a semi-scramble.

We were running low on spinach, so this was made with a little spinach, yellow bell peppers, asparagus and zucchini roasted in herbes de provence. Have I mentioned how much I love herbes de provence? If I ever roast ANY vegetable, I love to cover it in HDP. It just makes everything taste more complex and warmer.
Next came a bunch of thrilling errands that had to be run – Home Depot for chicken wire to keep the rabbits from devouring the new vines, Petsmart to pick up chewies for the spoiled Buddha (nickname for the puppy), the library to pick up a book I requested a few weeks ago, and finally to Trader Joe’s!
I loooove me the TJ’s! For dinner I decided to make Jenna’s (http://eatliverun.com) channa masala recipe. I picked up chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), canned diced tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onions, tomato paste and ginger. Every other ingredient I already had at home.

After setting it all up, I chopped, peeled, minced and measured all my ingredients and got them in order. I’m a big fan of mise en place – a French term that means “putting things into place.” It also helps you clean as you go, so there’s not a huge mess in the kitchen waiting to be scrubbed when all you want to do is relax and enjoy your meal.

I caramelized the onions for 15 minutes, then went to the next bowl which contained my chopped garlic, jalapeno and ginger. After stirring that together, the next dish (the tomato paste) went in. I was supposed to pince (cook down) the tomato paste until it had formed a nice crust on the pan, but it somehow came out a little blackened. Next I threw in the seasonings which smoked up the kitchen a bit, then the chickpeas and tomatoes and garam masala.

After letting everything stew for a while to warm through, I squeezed lemon on top (and all over the floor), and plated.

Today I got Trader Joe’s garlic naan! It made the meal complete!
Even though I burned the tomato paste a little, it still tasted A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I only finished about half my plate before I was comfortably full. I’m working on eating until I’m satisfied and not gorging until I’m bursting at the seams: it takes practice! I sipped on a (durr) Fat Tire and enjoyed the evening.
After an hour I got a little sweet craving, so I whipped out the So Delicious mocha ice cream. I’m not a fan of coffee ice cream, so this is perfect to keep me from overdoing it. I scooped about a quarter cup into a mug and ate that, and after was totally content. Just the right amount of sugar in my system, dairy-free, and I didn’t want to go back for more.

Now it’s time for the season finale of “Glee”, so I must leave you all! Happy hiking, biking, and most of all: EATING!

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Filed under Channa Masala, cooking, Garlic naan, green monster, Home Depot, ice cream, Jenna Weber, mocha, Petsmart, puppies, recipe, Trader Joe's