update & some takeout salad

What have I accomplished since I last updated? Stopped cooking. Ate just about every meal out. Drank a lot of vodka. And wine. Forgot what working out felt like. Lost some confidence. Gained some good drinking friends. And most recently? Moved my butt back to the state of Texas.

Faced with a clean slate and the chance to see my family (healthiest people I know) on the weekends, I'm motivated to get back to the kind of lifestyle I know I want and should have.

At Kelly's recommendation, we recently embarked on the Paleo way of eating. Our main source for info has been Everyday Paleo. While the strictest of Paleo plans teach no liquids beyond water and absolutely no processed food, like Everyday Paleo, we're including nitrate-free bacon, black coffee and tea, and the occasional deli meat such as the ones included in this salad:

As a perk of my new gig I get some comped food, so we picked up a few gluten and dairy-free items to try. The Market Chop includes chopped turkey, salami, artichoke, tomato, carrot, radish and pumpkin seeds with balsamic vinaigrette. We asked them to leave out the provolone and forgot about the chickpeas, but those were easy to pick out. This salad easily made two meals when halved and then supplemented with several handfuls of additional greens and some grilled chicken.

I didn't have the patience to roast vegetables when I got home from work (too hungry!), so I made the other half for dinner with (indoor) grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs I left marinating all day in sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary.

Somewhat related...a kitchen find:
Upon moving I was forced to abandon most of my kitchen at a Goodwill in Seattle, but I'm happy to have a reason to start from scratch. A few Targets and a Wal-Mart later, I found this grill on sale for just $39. First impression? Awesome. I was wary of indoor grills after years of dry chicken using George Foreman grills in their heyday, but this seems totally different. And sure, it's not a substitute for an outdoor grill, but given my choices - an indoor grill or none - I am a happy, happy grilling girl.

here goes nothing

So obviously, it has been a long time since either my lovely sister or myself has posted.....um, errr, no good excuses here. I would love to say it is because I have been too busy surfing in Hawaii or backbacking in Europe, but really I have just been in Katy, TX living life. I DID see Bourdain last night and he did, in fact, confirm that there is a valid reason I watch so much food tv- I wouldn't have understood what the heck he was talking about in his lecture if I didn't! No surprise, he was awesome and I loved every minute of his dissertation.

Despite my lack of posting, it regretfully does not translate to saved money at Heb or Whole Foods. Nah, I am still there 1-2 times per day (insert pouty face here).

Today, I stopped because I had read about a super stress reliever in my gym's magazine. Oh yeah, that gym I never go to. Is $60 a month too much to spend just because I like their monthly publication? Geesh! As I am 33 and on blood pressure meds, I thought it might be a good investment to help me get a grip and stop the stressin'!

4 drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy at the earliest moment of stress or anxiety and well......we shall see if it works. Needlesstosay, it will be in my purse at all moments.....especially at work. Not pictured, but I did bring my handy 32 oz tervis tumbler with me to work today. I have received 2 comments on it and little does everyone know, but my water has an extra kick to handle whatever is thrown at me.

Bring it. :-)

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!

I finally did it....

I have realized that I am old. I have noticed that all of my shoes are scratched, worn and in need of replacement. My clothes haven't had any new additions in quite some time. My kitchen, however, well....in just the past 2 months I have purchased a slow cooker, a mandoline and as of yesterday a JUICER! I am finally on board with the 90's health craze! I came across a juicer at Tuesday Morning and thought about it for a week straight. I finally pulled the trigger and then beelined to HEB for a veggie and fruit shopping spree: cabbage, lettuce, spinach, kale, blueberries, grapes, apples and ginger.

So I have given in- I now can pass right through the clothing section of TJ Maxx and head directly to the kitchen accessories. I don't give the shoes a second thought. My priorities have shifted and although my outfits may have seen better days, maybe I will look better in them!

What is your favorite juicing combo? I am new, please school me.

probiotic drinks worthless? and a solution.

I went to a naturopath for the first time yesterday and had braced myself to be told to take probiotics in the form of the popular drinks that crowd the shelves of stores like Whole Foods. When the topic of probiotics came up, I cringed and asked, "You mean drinks like Kombucha?"  I squirmed with my head down, inching towards the edge of the chair.  Nightmares of chugging what's to me, a completely unpalatable flavor with an even more distasteful pricetag raced through my mind.

To my surprise and utter delight, she scoffed and said not to ever bother with those, and not because I don't need to take probiotics, but because the amount in drinks such as kombucha is so incredibly minimal, that they are essentially useless.  As for the cost?  You can get - maybe 8 million?  or something insane - times the amount of probiotics, which also happens to be the amount actually necessary to make a difference in your body, for a fraction of the cost of bottled "vinegar water."

I went home with  Pharmax HLC High Potency capsules. The suggested use is 1-2 per day, but she instructed I only take one, so the bottle will last me about 4 months -- a steal in price and quality. Kombuch-what?

a texsea to-do list

• learn to make yogurt in the crockpot. im tired of spending so much on fage, though i love it so!
• try making water kefir. i feel like i need to focus on getting probiotic foods in my diet.
• eat eggs over a a meaty potato skin. inspired by this restaurant brunch dish.
• make marinated chicken with cucumber mint salad. i love any recipe loaded with cumin.
• start eating savory green oats for breakfast. would trade that for the cranberry oats i just had!
• try sproated quinoa. i have a huge bag of quinoa i need to use.

also, sorry for the lapse in posting.  i've been on vacation and dealing with a family ummm...situation...but i'm back in seattle now and am finally feeling gross enough from a month-long alcohol and restaurant food BENDER to get back on track. 

working lunch

Working lunch- BAD!

Siggi's Skyr- GOOD!

I have been a busy, busy girl, but not too chaotic to discover my new snack (and sometimes lunch). The Orange and Ginger has brought me on board as a certified skyr lover!

At $2.69 for a teensy 6 ounces, it MAY lighten up your wallet a bit, but for only 120 calories and 10 grams of sugar, your tastebuds and pants will thank you for it!

apple radish slaw

To say I love this slaw is a disservice to the universe.  It's so delicious and perfect that I want to eat it every day (and I have been).  It's smart in that it's portable, gets better with age and is comprised of a whopping 5 ingredients–something I can stay on board with.

Ya'll might be tired of hearing about radishes, but this is my life!  Yes, radishes.  (At least until they disappear from the markets.)  At Georgetown's last weekend, I was meandering through the aisles doing my Expedia-esque price comparisons, when I stumbled upon the jackpot: tri-colored bunches of radishes that required practically two hands to hold as the radishes were erring on the size of small apples.  For a dollar.  Each. (I'm talkin' $1 per bunch, not radish.)  Naturally, I bought as many that would fit in my envirosax (three) and smugly smiled all the way back to Queen Anne.

Matchstick'd along with my long-time love, Pink Lady apples, green onion, a squeeze of an oversized lemon and a generous dousing of French oak barrel-aged apple cider vinegar, it's one of the best simple salads I've ever eaten.

It hardly requires a recipe, but for ballparking:
2 Pink Lady apples (You might prefer to peel the apple first, but I like the color so I leave it.)
3-4 XL radishes
3-4 green onions
1/2 large lemon
2-3 T barrel-aged apple cider vinegar

Using a mandoline, cut the apples and radishes into matchsticks. Squeeze the lemon half over to discourage browning. Add chopped green onion and vinegar. Stir to combine and chill before serving. Even better the next day.

alice's spinach and strawberry salad

source

I haven't had the luxury of making this salad at home yet, but considering it hasn't left my mind since having a taster at Alice Currah's (of Savory Sweet Life) demo last Thursday at the Queen Anne Farmers Market, it's a recipe that's beyond worthy of being shared here.

I know the pairing of strawberries and spinach is hardly new, but this dressing.  I die.  Eyeing the pool of leftover dressing at the bottom of the serving cup, I mentally gave thanks to the sample makers for choosing it over a plate before knocking it back and licking my lips clean. 

This would be such a great salad to take to a party.  Do people still have those?  (It's been a while.)

Alice's Spinach and Strawberry Salad
sourced directly from the QAFM blog

Spinach and Strawberry Salad
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 bunches of spinach, washed, dried, and torn in pieces
2 to 3 cups of strawberries, stemmed and sliced
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup slivered almonds, crunchy chow mein noodles, or minced bacon pieces

Whisk together vinegar, oil, sugar, poppy seeds, paprika, and onion until sugar is dissolved. Place dressing in the refrigerator. To toast sesame seeds, place the seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat. Stir every 30 seconds until seeds start browning and popping. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, toss spinach, strawberries, sesame seeds, and dressing. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Alice says: “Make sure you prepare the poppy seed dressing before starting to give it time to settle and come together. And for parents out there whose kids hate salad, this may be the salad that wins them over. Enjoy!”

whole roasted tokyo turnips

Sorry radishes, but the greens on these tokyo turnips were good enough to eat!

whole roasted tokyo turnips @ the kitchn

Note: This made an extremely filling dinner.  Delicious but not conducive to leftovers, a couple of these were casualities of a single girl and diner's kitchen.

yesterday's junk salad

I am becoming borderline obsessed with cleaning out my fridge and composing my lunch for the day. I have quite an assortment of ingredients to choose from as of late after a visit to 99 Ranch Market. Pretty sure my life has changed for the better after FINALLY making the trip to this uber-hip Asian market. My favorite find? Pea Shoots....I will be doing some more experimenting with these!

So Friday's junk salad? Spinach, Petite Artisan Lettuce (seriously am in love with this veggie), roasted green beans (leftovers, of course), jicima (from Katy's farmers market), some onion basil goat cheese (Central Market find), sliced English cucumber, my favorite pea shoots (yum) and some shredded chicken.

I recently bought a slow cooker and have made multiple batches of chicken cooked with a small jar of peperoncini peppers. I recently decided to add a little juice from a jar of pickled garlic (mine is a different, ummmm, brand but you get the idea) that has been hanging out in my fridge since my Thai cooking classes. It was freaking fantastic!!! Couldn't get any easier than throwing frozen chicken breasts in a crock-pot with some peppers! So much flavor and such a breeze to make. Perfect protein to have on hand for salads, quesadillas, nachos, etc.

The ONLY thing that could have made this salad any better would have been some company. I was lucky enough to make two salads on Thursday. One for me and one for my dad....THAT was the perfect lunch!

side dish or dinner? braised radishes

I've never really thought much about radishes, but since I've owned a mandoline this last year, I've enjoyed paper-thin slices as a portable work snack. Almost as good as a peppery Kettle chip. I've always wanted to get trendy and eat radish slices with a good-quality butter finished with a sprinkling of fancy salt, but I typically don't believe in wasting fat on vegetables. I'll take pizza if I'm going to splurge, thanks.

And yes, it's June, but the weather remains depressingly rainy and chilly in Seattle.  While it seems like the rest of the country's feasting on fruit and cool, crunchy salads, I'm craving something hearty and warm.  I'm finally a little bored of the plain chicken I've been eating for what feels like forever (hence lack of content to post), so I stopped by the Queen Anne Farmers Market yesterday for some inspiration.

The pictured French breakfast radishes made it home with me.  A quick online search led me to this recipe for braised radishes at the Kitchn.  A lone shallot was the only other produce I had on hand, thus dinner was born.

I skipped the butter and salt pork in lieu of a scant teaspoon of olive oil, and I subbed my favorite low-sodium chicken broth from Trader Joe's for the water. No doubt the fats would make this a richer dish, but the substitutions fared well because I ate the whole thing for dinner tonight and may or may not have licked the bowl clean.

Must. Have. More. If you see a crazy lady snatching up all the radishes that can be bought at tomorrow's Georgetown Market, please say hi.

protein shake in a bowl

I know we talk a lot about protein shakes around here, but I'll be honest—if it's not wine, I don't love drinking my calories.  Drinking just doesn't say, "Wow, that was a great meal." like something that requires cutlery might.

Lucky for me, I found out that the addition of some gums transforms an ordinary protein shake into one that rivals one of my favorite foods of all time...frozen yogurt.  Frozen yogurt and I go way back; in fact, I'm pretty sure I lived on the stuff my final year of college.  A bowl full of the chunkiest frozen yogurt I could find, topped with Golden Grahams cereal, got me through many exams and morning shifts as a Starbucks barista.

Fast forward a couple years and I'm still a frozen dessert diehard, but I've cleaned up my act.  Dairy has been swapped for almond milk, Golden Grahams for organic, unsweetened shredded coconut and chocolate for unsweetened cocoa and mocha cappucino protein powder.  *Almost* the same?  As someone who had thought it'd be forever before I'd have anything close to fro-yo, the answer's a resounding "YES."

The gums and ice beef up a single-serving shake into a generous and filling bowl of creamy, almost-frozen yogurt. I happily have this for lunch, dinner or both.  Flavor combos are seemingly limitless, and it's a good excuse to buy all other kinds of mix-ins (can you say cacao nibs?!!?!).

Protein Shake in a Bowl
adapted from HEAB

1 cup Almond Breeze, unsweetened vanilla
1 heaping scoop protein (I used mocha cappucino flavor)
1.5 T unsweetened cocoa
10 drops vanilla stevia
1/2 tsp guar gum
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
ice

Blend everything but the ice.  Once mixture is smooth, blend ice in batches until it's thick like ice cream.  Stir or top with mix-ins.  Note: More ice is not necessarily better. If you add too much, you lose the flavor of the protein, so just add enough to get the consistency you want.