social networking soup

Thanks to good old social networking, I came across a posting of one of my friends mentioning Dr. Bastyr's Vegetable Soup. As a misplaced Texan in Seattle, Lara is definitely a TexSea Girl so I had to ask her for the recipe. The simplicity of the "recipe" can't be beat and I couldn't believe it, but I actually had everything to make it. Despite record heat indexes in Houston, soup was the meal for the weekend and it was delish! I threw in a pot a carton of Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Broth (any broth would do), some cabbage, carrots, a potato, some ginger, celery, a couple of japs, garlic, grape tomatoes and let it simmer for about 35 minutes. I added some salt, pepper and curry powder and finished off with some fresh spinach. Of course, I topped my bowls with some Parmesan! Lara also suggested adding some chicken to add to the heartiness of the soup, but it was great without as well.

Thanks to her posting, I also checked out the other recipes listed on Bastyr University's site and I can't wait to try them out. She also shared her favorite cooking method for Swiss Chard and that was last night's dinner. I had never cooked Swiss Chard (or tasted to be honest), but it has been on my "to-do" list for quite some time. Time to scratch that off! :-) Saute some garlic, ginger in olive oil, add the greens with some basalmic and let cook down. Fast, easy, healthy and tasty!!!

savory oatmeal

When I was browsing through 99 Ranch, I was expecting to try out some new soups, veggies, exotic fruit. I was completely surprised to become obsessed with...get ready.....savory oatmeal. WHAT??? Yep, Tangy Lemon Chick'n oatmeal! Oh and get this....it isn't even "chick'n"...lol! Completely vegetarian and I love it! Great for breakfast, lunch, or a snack and for a mere 95 calories, I don't even feel guilty eating 2 servings. I actually ran out of this stuff pretty quickly and upon reading a blog stating that 99 Ranch was going to stop carrying the product, I ran yesterday and picked up 4 more boxes! Oh, lest I forget I also picked up a giant bottle of Sriacha for the office as I douse my oats with it! If you can find it, give it a try....I promise you will like it!

homemade yogurt tastes like...

yogurt.  Win! 

After many a glass of wine last night, I made tzaziki with my crockpot yogurt. Let me just virtually pat myself on the back right now for taking pictures.  If not for my dedication to chronicling the mundane, I might not remember what I had.  I drank... a lot.

Here's a picture of my messy mixing bowl of a whopping FOUR cups of tzaziki:

I don't know what I was thinking using all of the yogurt for this, but ya know, I just wasn't thinking at all. I also don't know how I'm going to use up even half of this.  Guess what I'm eating for every lunch and dinner from now until Saturday?

An unfortunate photo (I blame the wine) but delicious toasted flatbread overstuffed with cumin-rubbed chicken, sauteed sweet onion, tomato slices and tzaziki.  I had tagged this meal via lifeflix a while ago (it was on my list) because it's one of those take-out fake-outs (ugh, I sound like Rachael Ray) and doesn't really require a recipe.  Making this reminded me to add grilled onions to everything I eat. Yum-O.

working lunch

Begging for some cottage cheese or prosciutto, but restaurant email marketing must go on!

doin' it - my list

For whatever reason, given a full weekend of time, I tend to spin my wheels and think more than do.  However, unintentionally waking up at 4am?  Crazy productivity.

Remember this list?  Last week I took care of the probiotics issue, yesterday/this morning crockpot yogurt (to be made into the cucumber mint salad served with marinated chicken for dinner tonight) and today's breakfast? Savory green oats.

I've only used oat bran for "pancakes" and never alone as a hot cereal, so I really had no idea what to expect. (Do know that you can add an over-easy egg to just about anything, and I'll try it.) 

I cooked 1/3c oat bran in 1c of boiling water for 2 minutes, then blended with a huge handful of fresh spinach. I found it needed tons of salt to give it some flavor (you really can't taste the spinach), so I couldn't help but wish I had some sharp cheddar to melt in.  Petty complaints aside, this was a mega-filling, nutrient-rich bowl and if it didn't use so many dishes - or if I had a dishwasher - I'd be happy to eat this several mornings a week.

in progress: crockpot yogurt

Sometimes I appreciate that I live alone, so that I can get away with random experiments like this:

That would be crockpot yogurt draining in a towel hung from my sewing supplies shelf.  Yup.  I did that.

Details to follow.

pork tenderloin with homemade apricot -red pepper jelly

Several months ago, my coworker and friend, Mary, and I whipped up a double batch of apricot red pepper jelly.  It was around the holidays, so we ate it indulgently - over cream cheese with crackers.  I don't trust myself around such a treat on a daily basis, so the leftover jars have been sitting idly under a shelf since.

I subscribe to the daily Chow recipe email, and this one for pork tenderloin with spicy apricot glaze caught my eye. A quick trip to Costco for the tenderloins and a sleepless morning rendered this:

My homemade jelly was a no-brainer substitute for the apricot preserves, and in fact, I think without all the heat from the peppers, this pork roast would be too sweet.  I sliced the tenderloins thinly on an angle and doused them with the glaze.  Absolutely awesome and such a low-hassle protein to cook.  I sneaked a few slices in at breakfast, but I plan on eating this later with some simple sauteed spinach with garlic. Big flavors but so easy and healthy!

first attempt

Good morning! Kale, lettuce, carrot, ginger and blueberry- YUM!