Category Archives: Vitamix

PUMPKIN OVERDOSE!

     Ever since last year’s pumpkin shortage, I’ve become covetous over canned pumpkin. In the baking aisle at the grocery store, I fight the urge to snarl and hiss at people as they casually grab a can like it grows from an overactive pumpkin-tree. They obviously don’t recall the horrors of 2009.

   
     Even now, in the time of plenty, I get flashbacks. Each time I pass by a can of pumpkin and don’t pick it up, I get a tight, anxious feeling in my chest and fret about that can of pumpkin for the rest of the day, wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake by walking by… wondering if I’ll ever see another can of pumpkin again.
     This year, I’ve taken steps to prevent such a disaster. Canned pumpkin overflows from my cabinets, biding its time until I crack it open and let the pureed gold flow out.
 I give you: last night’s dessert.
Obviously we didn’t use the graham cracker crust. It turned out more like pumpkin souffle! YUM!
     Since we had to open a GIGANTIC can of pumpkin to make the pies last night and had a bunch left over, I decided to add some to the Monsta so it didn’t go to waste.
This is exactly like slurping down liquid pumpkin pie. So good!
Halloween Monsta (Makes 2 servings)
14 cups of spinach, washed
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
1/2 cup of canned pumpkin
2 carrots
1 frozen banana
1 lemon
1 lime
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
     1. Cram all the ingredients into a magical Vitamix.
     2. Turn the Vitamix to high. (If you don’t have a magical blender, put all the ingredients except for the spinach into the blender, then slowly add the spinach as the blender whirls.)
     3. Pour the thickest Monsta you’ve ever seen into a large glass.
     4. Add a straw.
     5. Try not to sprain your jaw while sucking it down.
     I still have about two cups of opened canned pumpkin left and I want to use it up before it goes bad!
Do you have any good pumpkin recipes??

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Filed under canned pumpkin, Crustless Pumpkin Pie, green monster, pumpkin souffle, Vitamix, weight watchers

Monster From Heaven!!!

     Josephine is awesome. She is my bestest friend ever, and I can see a long friendship extending from our short period of time knowing each other. She’s also a magician. She turned this:

1.5 cups of soymilk, 8 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a cup of frozen strawberries, and 2 bananas…
INTO THIS!!! MAGIC!
This was the smoothest, most velvety drink I’ve ever had! I might change the name to Green Velvet. There were no chunks and no chewing! MAGIC!
     After having my amazing, magical, velvety Monsta created by Josephine, our Vitamix (yes, I have named, and laid claim to part of it/her), my roommate cooked up something I haven’t had in a loooong time!
A breakfast scramble with eggs, zucchini, orange bell peppers and LOTS of jalapeño sauce!
     I spent the entire day chopping up an ugly men’s polo shirt (the shirt was ugly, there wasn’t an ugly man) and sewing it into a cute, fitted little v-neck. I had to wear this ridiculous shirt for work, and wouldn’t have been able to show my face in public if I’d worn it as it was. Pictures will come tomorrey!
     I was able to find some time within all my creativity to go get some frozen yogurt with the roommate.
I had a blend of chocolate, birthday cake, and cookies n cream with a small spoonful of peanut butter cups on top from Tutti Frutti.
     Unfortunately I had a random work schedule today, and had to leave the house around 4:30pm. I wasn’t very hungry after my fro-yo but knew that I had to eat something, so I threw together some whole grains and protein.
Multigrain and flaxseed crackers with a little peanut butter, coconut butter (homemade, thank you very much), and banana slices. It did the trick.
     I lasted about two hours at work before my stomach started grumbling, so I made a quick stop to Paciugo for a child size gelato – brown sugar waffle cone and amaretto chocolate chip. After many compliments on my lovely revamped shirt, I headed home to a glass of “red wine” and some Food Network. Tomorrow is yet another day off for me and will involve a brewpub and a viewing of “Step Up 3D“. It’s gonna be an amazing day!
What arts/crafts have you completed that you’re most proud of? Let’s see some pictures!!!

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Filed under breakfast scramble, coconut butter, green monster, Josephine, Paciugo, tutti frutti, Vitamix

Covered in Clay!

      It was a wonderful, WONDERFUL day! I really can never complain on my days off, but today was exceptional. I started off with a Monsta!

5 cups of spinach, 2/3 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/3 of a small banana, 1/8 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1/4 of a cup of frozen strawberries, and the juice of 1/2 of a lemon.
     After finishing off my Monsta and a few cups of coffee, my cousin/friend Allie came over for our day out on the town! The first stop was to visit the love of our life…
INDIAN FOOD!!! IN VENTURA!!! There was a buffet today, so I filled up this plate, and then… stopped. I could have gone back for more, but I didn’t, and that’s saying something!
     Afterwards, we headed to my favorite chocolate shop, Trufflehound’s.
You can watch them make the chocolates as you peruse their gigantic selection.
     Allie and I parted ways after our amazing day of foods and ocean views in Ventura, and I headed over to meet up with my mom and head off to our pottery class! 
I am completely enamored with this yard!
Grapes STRAIGHT FROM THE VINE in their yard!!! These were wonderfully delicate and sweet. I want to grow my own!
     Our teacher’s hubby brought in an array of snacks for the class.
Delicious lemon bundt cake from Costco! I didn’t have ANY!
And by not having any, I mean I only had half of one of those huge hunks. YUM.
     Tonight we trimmed the feet of our bowls and wrote our initials. Well, we were SUPPOSED to write our initials…
WOOHOO!!!! HikeBikeEat 2010, bay-bee!
My mom was bad-ass and went for the red clay that beginner and intermediate potters are scared of. She kicked its ass and made an awesome bowl!
     We headed home, covered in clay, mud and dust (and by we, I mean me. My mom stays entirely spotless somehow, even with the red clay!) and opened up something amazing that my parental unit caved and bought after I’d talked them deaf about it. That sentence was too rambling to understand, but look at this picture and drool your cares away.
OH MY GEEZ, NO WAY, THEY DIDN’T, DID THEY? COULD THEY? THEY DID!!!!!
They bought a Vitamix! I’m so happy/excited/jealous/FREAKING OUT!!!! Tomorrow’s day of food will be Vita-EPIC!
     Pardon me for now: I’m going to sip my “red wine“, flip through the Vitamix cookbook, and then attempt to sleep while tossing and turning like it’s Christmas Eve, waiting to use “Josephine” (we have officially named the Vitamix after a lovely character played by Lena Olin in the movie Chocolat). Side note: Lena Olin is my hero! She is amazing!

Who’s your favorite actor/actress?

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Filed under bundt cake, Chocolate, grapevines, green monster, Indian Food, Mom, Pottery class, red wine, Vitamix

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?

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

An L.A. Kind of Day

     Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

     To me, Tuesdays say:

MONSTERS (of course every day says monster for the past 3 weeks)! For some reason the GMs I’ve been making have been getting really, really thick recently. I think my blender is on its last legs: two of the five motor-prong-thingies have broken off. I may have to empty my entire savings account to get a Vitamix blender!!! IN MY DREAMS!
     Tuesday ALSO means a day off from work! I made a lovely mini-breakfast – an omelette with one egg, a teaspoon of goat cheese, 2 teaspoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a handful of wilted spinach.
 
     Unfortunately, a day off from work doesn’t mean an actual “day off”. It means fighting the freeways so I can make it to my acting class in Los Angeles by noon.

     Holy crap. Here’s the thing – I don’t live IN Los Angeles. I live a short distance away on the outskirts, but add rush hour traffic into that and it equals HELL. LA freeways and I have had a very strained relationship. We were on good terms when I lived in the center of it – WeHo (West Hollywood) area, but now that I’ve cheated with one of its close relatives, it makes me pay dearly.

     Once I finally pass the traffic, I receive a lovely LA welcome.

I love overhead wires!
I love anti-landslide plastic!
Hollywood!
Aaah, the beautiful panorama of white skies, smog and palm trees!
     Honestly, I don’t have any real issues with LA. The thing is, I’m a small-town girl! I love the blue skies, clean air, traffic-free side streets, bike paths, clean rivers and FREE PARKING that small towns have! The crazy part is that to have the career I really want, I need to be in close range to this town. Until I’m working here on a consistent basis, I’ll live in my clean-aired, small-ish town paradise and make the painful commute. Then I will proceed to whine about it to you :).
     I didn’t have time to pack a lunch, so instead I had some super-healthy chocolate tortilla chips in my car.
On Tuesdays, I’ll accept calories from any source because I don’t have enough time between class and work to stop for a real meal! Pitiful :(. What “on-the-go” meals do you make for days when you have no time to stop and eat?
     Class was the usual – we get a scene, go outside with our partner to rehearse for 30 minutes, then head in and perform in front of the class and get critiqued. All the lines are memorized by performance time, but we keep our sides at hand just in case we need them. 
     This class is more of a business class than an acting class – we focus on the networking aspect, and learn how to sell the product that we’re offering (ourselves, in a non-hooker way). In the real world, it’s not about the art anymore: It’s about business – making connections and making producers/directors realize that they would enjoy spending two or three months (or more for TV shows) on set with you.
One scene of the day. 
Faces are blurred out of respect for our famous actors :). (We actually do have a few that have starred in some network shows. The Old Spice commercial guy, the “Swagger Waggon” Toyota girl and one of the leads from “Arli$$” may or may not also be three of them 😉 ).
Today was “easy day” in class. Last week was “casting director workshop” day which makes everyone incredibly nervous and awkward unless they’ve had a lot of experience in the audition room, so this week helps everyone realize that even though they may have bombed last week, acting is still fun!
     I had a scene with the lovely Rosanna which involved lots of ghetto head-bobbing and girl-fighting – FUN! Note on that: there are NEVER good fighting scenes out there for actors unless they are the stars of the show. I got some good screaming scenes in Lonelygirl15 though, so I’m one of the lucky ones!

     After class I worked at the talent manager’s office for a few hours. I called some actors that received auditions for tomorrow, sent some e-mails, submit many, many actors for different roles on the many feature films that are casting right now, and got to eat a banana!!!

(Picture omitted because I was so hungry I inhaled it)
     When I FINALLY got home at 8pm after fighting yet another rush hour, my wonderful roommate had made me a gigantic KSS!
AND a Fat Tire! She is honestly the BEST roommate ever! This KSS had about 4 cups of chopped lettuce, 1/2 a cup of warmed lentils, 1/2 a cup of egg white salad, 1/2 a cup of chopped bell pepper, a teaspoon of goat cheese, and homemade dressing made with 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
     Now I am completely stuffed, completely exhausted, and completely ready to fall into bed and crash – and yes, I realize it’s only 10:30pm Pacific Time, but I’m an old soul and exhausted and not ashamed to admit it. 
I’m off to sleep before yet another full shift at work!

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Filed under Acting, banana, Chocolate, Class, green monster, kitchen sink salad, Los Angeles, SUCKS, Tortilla, traffic, Vitamix