friday tops wenesday this week

We eat a lot of Mexican food here because it is easy, cheap and delicious. I start with cooking beans and rice, and we eat it a bunch of ways. Yesterday I cooked white beans (navy I think) with fire roasted tomatoes, sliced garlic, and various spices (salt, pepper, hot pepper, more garlic) and mashed it up a bit. Mexican rice was next, though honestly I made it with the same stuff as the beans, and it tasted like it. Should have only put tomato in one of them. But when it was in a tortilla covered in cheese and sour cream, it didn't matter. As we are classy sorts, we ate with our plates in our laps while watching season 1 of Star Trek DS9. Which isn't very good, let me tell you.

So today was leftover tacos, for lunch at 4pm and dinner at 11pm. It was one of those days. The ones I just made a bit ago were eight kinds of awesome I must say. I fried a tortilla and then topped it with melty cheddar cheese on half, and put spinach on the bottom topped with beans a rice. It was so good!

Wenesday is always the worst day of the week I find.

I wasn't up to cooking last night because I would have had to clean the kitchen first, and that was not happening. Lucky for me, there was food because I had bought spinach and eggs to make a quiche for our anniversary this last weekend, but still haven't made yet. Anyway, the point is I made spinach salad and it was really good. I had made some the other day, and tried to poach an egg for it, but I din't really like it enough for the amount of work. This version was much better.

Spinach salad:

I first boiled 4 eggs just right for the first time ever (yolk was firm but not dry). I think that may be the only thing an electric stove is good for, as the leftover heat is enough to cook them after you turn it off when it boils. I cut them in half so it would be pretty.

Then I made the dressing; whisking together some red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, salt and fresh ground white pepper. I think there was about a 1/4 cup in the end.

Salad was just green onions and about 4 oz of baby spinach. I had mixed about half of it with the dressing, and then due to chris not feeling well, left it out for about an hour, where upon the spinach had wilted enough I could mix in a lot more spinach with out it falling out the bowl. It was much better after sitting than it had been before. I tried to make enough to have some leftover, but I live with a man- so none was left.

Sunday Night

Veggie Chile:

I was making this for friends coming to dinner and also wanted it to last as leftovers, so this makes a lot of food. It worked really well for our awesome evening.

So I don't measure, drank a lot that night and I am remembering a few days later, but its chile, it's flexible.

1 yellow onion diced

5 stalks of celery (good way to get more veggies in) diced

6 cloves of garlic sliced

1 poblano pepper (it needed more though)

Canola oil to cover bottom of big soup pot

cook until onion is getting translucent

add

2 24 oz cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 24 oz can black beans

2 28 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

then add spices (I spice by grabbing everything in the drawer)

2-3 tbls chile powder

paprika

salt

pepper

garlic powder

then stir in some peanut butter (optional, Chris insists that we have to follow his mother's way... I thought it was a bit weird, but tasted fine) and 1 smallish can of corn.

secret ingredient is just a few teaspoons of roasted sesame oil. it has a wonderfully warm dark flavor that just finishes soups so nicely.

Serve with cheese and rice. Then drink lots of beer and wine, go to an awesome concert and hang out with good friends and beautiful women to have an unforgettable evening.

How to have the best breakfast ever

First, coffee brewed with dash of pumkin pie spice.

Second, fried eggs with green onions and Parmesan cheese in a toasted tortilla.

So good! I have no idea how I haven't had that one before, I eat eggs about everyday.

six months sure go by in a hurry when you are not working hard.

I have interesting philosophical commentary on any number of things, but for now I will spare the Internets in the interest of discussing the best food in the world: anything that is in season in late july/august.

I was visiting my parents in chicago most of the summer where eating was not bad. I was a slug in general, and enjoyed stuffing myself with my mother's good food and sitting on my butt reading novels. It was great, for I am good at relaxing. There were a few days I admit I only ate bagels, ok so like a week, but there were special circumstances mandating such absurd behavior, namely there was family in town and bagels are delicious (rye bagels with veggie cream cheese, tomatoes and onions... oh goodness.) Anyway. Most days my mom made me scrambled eggs and morningstar farms breakfast patties. Those are practically their own food group in that house, but I am in general too cheap to buy them myself. I must say it was nice to eat on someone else's budget for a while. I also am not sure about that as a healthy meal, but its the way it is. One thing I did well with healthy eating (albeit less well on the local organic thing, but I wasn't shopping) was to eat a lot of fruit. There was always fruit around and cut up, so it was so easy, and so good. Watermelon, berries, and my favorite fruit pineapple. I swear I would do just about anything for ripe pineapple.

Vast amount of iced tea were consumed this summer, although by the end I cut down on caffeine a huge amount. It has snuck up again since being home, but still under control.

There was nothing from the garden while I was there, it was cool and rainy most of the time so the tomatoes are only ripening now after they had a spot of heat. sad face. (I might have a garden next year!!! TBD)

So Mr. "go play in europe all summer" and I got safely back a couple of weeks ago (well except when the airline lost my wheelchair, but that is another story altogether...), and it has been nice.
We have tried really hard to limit eating out and because of that have got ourselves in the habit of cooking and eating well. Now mind you this had less to do with health and more to do with no income until september, but it was a really good thing for us to get the habit down right off the bat. We have been going to the awesome farmer's market here and eating good seasonal produce. So good! Sandwiches have played a role, and Boca soy chicken fills up hungry boyfriends better than salad does, but there has been salad of all sorts.

And that is where we are now. I am going to put up recipes for some of the stuff after this. I had been writing on facebook some of the cool meals, but duh, i have a food blog...

New Year, New Guilt

I want to be a writer. Mostly so I can sit around and drink tea and read blogs without chastisement from my partner and mother about not doing anything with my life. Even so, at least a bit of is I think I have something to say that is worthwhile for the attention of the universe. I am not sure if that something is fiction or nonfiction. I am sure I could manage one of those schmaltzy books about how I overcame disability and you can too books (possibly by fudging the somewhat mundane details of my current situation) only really, we don't need anymore of those. And I am neither cheerful enough about my future nor frankly have I done anything to remark about yet.

The only way I am going to become a writer is if I write. This seems obvious. I have been telling people (when asked what I am doing with my life) that I am going to start blogging and do all this stuff with food politics. And I haven't. I end up feeling guilty about the blog when it barely exists in the first place. I get in such and ugly state of mind about "needing" to write that I don't out of shear spite (I am incredibly obstinate, but almost never in a useful manner). I am a good writer when it gets down to it. I grew up reading a lot and so know what sounds good and I am articulate enough in general that I rather enjoy speaking publicly. at the same time, I struggle with writing a lot, partially because I spell really badly (to the point where i reduce my vocabulary significantly from what I would use speaking) which sticks up my thought flow, but mostly it comes from not being confident in my thoughts and ideas. My difficulty then, is how do I express myself while fighting this fear of exposure? I have been able to write poetry before, and enjoyed it, and I believe that has to due with the very free flowing spoken word style I like. When it comes to research, while I was in school I never felt that i knew what I was supposed to do, and so ended up fighting papers and concepts until I ran out of time. I probably should have failed a wonderful class for that reason, and in general I am disappointed in my academic achievement. Really, the grades weren't the thing (I didn't do that bad gradewise, though I am sure I could have made all A's if I had cared to, which frankly wasn't my top priority)I guess I want to redeem myself from the critics in my head. (Do you think there could be more I statements in this?)

(you know, I'd have an easier time explaining myself if I didn't need to chase the dog every ten seconds when he steals things. but he is leaving soon and I will miss him.)

The point of all this is, I need to start writing regularly to get into the habit. And I am never going to get there, if writing is contingent on healthy eating or whatever. So for a while, I will try to write. Everyday. Nearly everyday? It just wont be strictly about food. (probably healthier anyway, I am making myself sick thinking about food all the time. more on that later.) And that's OK, because I want to understand myself and to be able to work with my ability to talk about my self infinitely (without boring my friends to tears) instead of in spite of my terminal laziness.
we shall see.

on the subject though, i need to eat less cheese because my stomach hurts. just like it always does. but tea makes me happy, particularly jasmine tea. but there really isn't anything like cheese and crackers. the dog likes it too. i couldn't stand the idea of cooking, even though i got really nice eggs yesterday. after vacation it has been nothing but take out. and even i am tiring of Cesar salads.

i was going to comment about new year's resolutions, but i am tire after all of those words exploding out of me. maybe more later.

The best laid schemes and all that...

So the state of the experiment? Well not quite total disaster. I have eaten a lot, too much, good food here, and have even cooked some very good organic meals. I spent scads of money at the amazing farmer's market, and then spoiled it when I bought too much... I I also have no money from eating out too often and feel dreadful these days, though some of that is just life and unavoidable stress. Dude, being an adult sucks and is too expensive. I am done now thanks.

I need a job. But i am too tired to imagine it. Maybe this week I will clean the fridge.

And so I am supposed to get married in the fall. which is really great, but now I really have to get on this healthy eating thing. Because I am incredibly vain. Thanks Cultural conditioning. An dby that I surely I mean I want to start a new chapter of life fresh, right? Umhmm!

More Sleep. Don't let myself get so hungry that naughty boyfriend can tempt me into going out. Chill out. Stay warm. Buy less food. I am all about ambitious goals here.

Really In This Thing Now.