A mexican bake and more...

I started the morning off with a home strength workout, with a quick warm up on the spin bike. I couldn't get to Wendy's class this morning, so I compiled a nice home workout filled with tons of lunges, dips and crunches.

Then, I headed to the hospital.

I picked up these Go Raw Ginger Snaps in the cafeteria. I think they're pretty good, but definitely an acquired taste! They have a very strong ginger taste, and mixed with sesame seeds, coconut, and dates they taste almost 'islandy.'



Then, I met my wonderful thesis partner Elise for our meeting with our advisors. We got a lot done, and I'm excited to get the ball rolling.

I wasn't feeling like making a long drawn out dinner tonight and decided to make 'whatever I have in the cabinets' for dinner.


I found : Black beans, brown rice, diced tomatoes, corn, red peppers, red onions, and
50% light Cabot cheddar... so I made a MEXICAN BAKE!!


Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked brown rice
1 28oz can of organic diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of diced red onion
1/2 red peppers, diced
3/4 cup of frozen corn
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp of chili powder
1/2 tbsp of cumin
1/4 cup of 50% light cheddar
1/2 tbsp of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the red onion, corn and red peppers for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat with the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, black beans and spices- simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked brown rice. Toss everything together. Then, add the mixture into a 9x9 pan. Cover the mixture in cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Non- cheese topped Mexican Bake



Just out of the oven ...my mouth was watering...


My plate ;)





Luna pretending she's bored while I've been blogging... I mean really puppy girl...

Whirl by Wednesday

I started this morning with a banana and a cup of coffee pre spin class!

My post breakfast meal: potato crusted quiche. A perfect mixture of protein, carbs, and fat!


Then, I got some major homework done before lunch and taking Luna to the park for a romp.

For lunch I made three corn tortillas with 50% light Cabot cheddar into quesdillas. On the side: a homemade corn and black bean salsa.

In my homemade salsa:
1/4 cup of red onion, diced
3 small plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 of a red pepper, diced
Juice from one lime
1/2 cup of black beans
1/2 cup of corn sauteed in olive oil(1 tsp) and chili powder(1/2 tsp.)



Then I met my friend Nyssa, who has her mom's dog for a couple weeks for a walk. We took the pups to Fresh Pond and then to LaundroMutt to check out bathing our dirty pups. We decided against it for time's sake, but both want to go back. It's such a cute place! Plus, the couple that own's the shop went to our college alumna mater!

The pups in the car on the way to LaundroMutt


I then made oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies for book group that was tonight. I actually read the book, The Hunger Games. :)


I had been cooking pho chicken broth ALL day.

I found these brown rice noodles at Pemberton Farms in Cambridge. This is the first time, I had found brown rice rice noodles, and couldn't wait to add them to my pho broth.



Delicious!


I can't wait to have leftovers tomorrow!

Potato Crusted Quiche

Dave was out for dinner tonight, so I had a veggie dinner, a potato crusted vegetable quiche to be exact.


First, I shredded 2 small sweet potatoes and 6 teeny tiny potatoes = 2 cups of shredded potatoes into a pie dish. I then pushed the potatoes into the pan(sprayed with olive oil), and cooked them at 350F for 12 minutes.


Then I placed three plum tomatoes cut thinly and 2 tablespoons of basil on the potato crust.




Then, I diced 1/2 cup of red onion, 1/2 cup of red pepper, and one tablespoon of grated garlic and sauteed the mixture for 4 minutes on medium heat. Then, I added this mixture on top of the tomato slices.



I then whipped together 4 eggs, 4 egg whites, and 1/4 cup of 1% milk for one minute, and placed this on top of the veggies in the pie dish.

I then cooked the egg dish for 34 minutes.

How good does this look?



After a home 'spin' and ab workout, it was perfect dinner with some Mary's Gone crackers!

Now, on to watch Glee for a homework break!

What a Weekend

After the farmer's market on Saturday, I picked my sister up and we headed to our cousin's wedding shower.

It was a beautiful affair...

We started with wonderful punch and tea sandwiches



& ended with treats, coffee and fruit- with some presents for Biz in between ;)



Dave and I then headed over to JP to Nyssa & Ben's house. One of my college friends, Joanna, was in town for the weekend so we were all going out to celebrate!

I brought a little wedding 'trial' to have before dinner ;) Nyssa had very sweetly put of some gluten free appetizers: carrots and Mary's Gone crackers with edamame hummus from Trader Joe's. Delicious!



Nyssa and I then tried for good picture together...I still think we need to keep working at it ...


We had a fantastic dinner at Bella Luna. I had forgotten to do my research about this one though, and didn't check online to see if they had a gluten free menu. So I quietly asked the waitress, guessing I was out of luck other than salads! Boy was I wrong! She said, 'didn't you KNOW that JP has a LARGE amount of people who are gluten free.' No, I did NOT... Anyway, they make their own gluten free crust for their amazing pizzas! So, of course, I had to try one!

I started with some greens since I hadn't had much to eat in the way of green for the day!


Then, I ordered their Latin Quarter: avocado, chicken, bacon, jalapenos and cheese. Their crust was delicious and a much sweeter flakier pizza crust than I am use to. I liked it though, and had tons of leftovers :) A small is a perfect size for two people for sure! ;)




Today, has been a blur. There was homework, an incident with Luna, and my first time making red sauce from scratch! Phew!

The day started with me placing about 20 tomatoes(from Drumlin Farms) in hot water and then quickly into cool water to peel the skin off.



From there, there was de-seeding and de-pulping, chopping, and pureeing, cooking and stirring, waiting and tasting, and more ;)

I decided to use the sauce to make 'eggplant' parm of sorts and regular meat sauce with Yankee buffalo meat.

My first layer of eggplant...



This one ALMOST tasted like Aunt Jane's. I had sauteed the eggplant in olive oil first, and then sprinkled the breadcrumbs(pulsed gf toast, parsley, and romano cheese) on top and added a small amount of red sauce( like one tablespoon) on top of each eggplant slice. Then, baked the two layers of eggplant for 30 minutes.

Oh... it was so good.




We also tried a new pasta tonight: Orgran Buckwheat spirals


It was good, but I think too hearty for a simple pasta dish. I would use it again for a peanut pasta dish or hearty winter soup.

My dinner plate: buffalo 'red' sauce with buckwheat noodles and broccili, and eggplant parm.



After finishing some homework, I got on the spin bike for 40 minutes this evening and then did some weights. A great end to a busy weekend ;)

Flatbread and veggies

After a full day of being at home sick, I am definitely feeling better! Though my voice is coming in and out! Bummer!

It didn't matter though, because my sweetie came home! Woo hoo! Dave had been gone all week in Indiana and came home late Thursday night.

So we decided to celebrate by having a 'date night' with our BuywithMe coupons to Flatbread in Davis Square. I know, we are so wild and crazy! Ha!

I think he's happy to be home...what do you think?


We both got their wonderful green salads. They are huge and perfectly dressed with a sweet savory dressing.


Then, we both got our own pizzas. I had the Mopsy, made gluten free, and Dave had the garlic and herb! As always, their pizzas have great flavor and are covered with fresh local ingredients!



Then this morning we took Luna to the Union Square Farmer's market to pick up some produce for the week. My produce this week came from: Parker Farm, Drumlin Farm, and Nicewicz Farm.

I purchased:

2x eggplants
1x brunch of basil
1x acorn squash
2x red bell peppers
2x ears of corn
1 quart of plum tomatoes
3.5 lbs of canning tomatoes
= $19

A bug

All week, I have been feeling a little low on the mo-jo, and this morning it officially hit me 'I'm sick!' What a big bums! I mean come on, I eat healthy, I have slept 7 and half hours every night, and worked out. It doesn't matter, the little buggers have taken over my body!

So, I'm home drinking tea, and making myself some Feel Better soup. I'm giving myself one full day at home to get better.


You know, perhaps it was last night that did me in, all that laughing. Sarah and I went to Dedham to see our grandmother who was staying with our aunt and uncle pre-trip to Scotland. Yes, my almost 88 year grandmother is going on another grand adventure! It's pretty amazing.

We had a wonderful time with the 'fam' and as per usual a wonderful meal.

Drinks....


My dear grandmother carried these on the plane to Boston. They were wilted when she arrived, and perked right upon arrival.





Gran's famous coleslaw with red cabbage and tomatoes with red onions and greens


My plate... another sideways pictures(LOVE my camera-argh!)



I brought peanut butter cookies for dessert.

My cousin Stew before knowing that the cookies with gluten free...


AFTER hearing that they were gluten free...


As you can see, they make fun of the gluten free 'thing' regularly ;)

Off to drink tea...

Another one...

Today, I had my yearly physical. What I haven't been writing about, is that I haven't been feeling very well. So, after dicussion with my PCP, she thinks I might need lactose to my list of 'no-foods!' Bummer! Boy, is this going to take down my list of foods I can consume.

I'm going to go in to have a lactose breath test, but for now I'm going to try an exclusion diet. I love cheese, so this is going to be hard.

Post physical I make a quick stop at Whole Foods for some 'non-lactose containing' foods.


First stop, something for my cup of morning coffee. I picked Vermont Soy, chocolate flavor to be exact! I can not stomach regular soy milk! Yuck!



The nice Dr. also mentioned I should take a calcium supplement, especially since I will be taking milk products! These were on sale for $7.99 and dark chocolate flavored!




I also picked up someMesa flakes
to make a treat;)



Crispy Cereal Bars.

6 cups of Mesa flakes
10 ounces(bag) of marshmallows(note: watch for modified corn starch in these, which can have gluten)
2 tbsp. of butter
1 cup of chocolate chips

- Spray a 9x13 Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Then melt butter in a large pot over medium heat, and stir in the marshmallows. Cook until completely melted. Stir in cereal, and chocolate chips, until well-coated and combined. Press mixture evenly into pan. Cool and cut into squares. Pack in an air-tight container.




Mid-afternoon in between doing loads of homework, I did 45 minutes on my spin bike. It was fantastic, I watched a new 'fall' tv show and got my sweat on!


After a dark park run, I made quinoa hash for dinner.

First, I diced one large yellow onion, two small sweet potatoes, one Macintosh apple, and 1/2 of a red pepper. Then, covered them in one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. I then roasted them for 35-40 minutes at 400F.


I then cooked one cup of quinoa...


in low sodium vegetable stock and one teaspoon of cumin for 18 minutes.



I then mixed the roasted veggies, quinoa, and 1/2 cup of parsley together. For a little extra protein, I added a poached egg on top!




I can't wait to have this post-spin class tomorrow morning! It was perfect on a cool fall evening!

A Weekend with Kristen & Peter

Our Canadian buddies, Kristen and Peter, came down for a long weekend from Toronto. This is their fourth annual trip down to see us. We always eat WAY to much, laugh a ton, shop even more, and plan for the following year for more New England travels.


We started on Friday with a trip to the Cambridgeside Galleria for a quick trip to jcrew(they don't have one in Canada), then met Dave for lunch at the Cambridge Brewing Company.

I had their butternut squash soup, and shared the “local” Jambalaya
(Butter Brook Farms Organic Chicken, Maine Shrimp, House Chorizo, Peas, Rice and Shrimp-Tomato Broth) with Kristen.


The delicious jambalaya. It really hit the spot!



We then hungout and got ready to head over to Kenmore Square: Red Sox vs. Blue Jays.

As per our tradition, we went to Boston Beerworks for dinner.

I had El Paso chicken salad. It had grapes, toasted pecans, avocado, corn, and mixed greens.
I ate about half, and was too full to finish!




Kristen and Peter at Fenway Park. It was the first game we had all gone to together, that the Sox didn't win! Argh!



Saturday was shopping day! We headed up to Maine to the Kittery Outlets. We all did very well. Note: the multiple bags!!



We stopped at Bob's Clam hut for a late lunch. I definitely couldn't find much that was gluten free. I got their clam chowder, which was delicious and was a better choice than others ;)

Can you tell this weekend is FULL of eating... We have decided for next year, to only go out once for a really nice dinner, and cook at home and travel around the rest of time.

But, on to the rest of the weekend...

On Saturday, we came home and hung around the house, and went over our packages(I did very well) before going out to a late dinner at Garden at the Cellar.

We ordered the tater tots(not gluten free), chickpea fries(gluten free- woo hoo), and bacon wrapped dates for appetizers. They were all so delicious and beautifully presented!




I had their tomato soup for dinner, which came with a grilled cheese that I had to have a bite off. I was slightly concerned that the soup wasn't gluten free, but I really wanted it! It was totally worth it, and I didn't have a bad reaction later.


This morning, I had my bridesmaids all over for brunch. I made a strata(gf brioche bread, eggs, milk, red pepper, onion, garlic, goat cheese, and parsley) AND


a gluten free cinnamon coffeecake.



I also had cut up peaches, strawberries and watermelon, yogurt and granola, and mimosa's for the ladies.


My plate



Kristen and Peter are off this evening back to Toronto. We will miss them, but know another trip is around the corner ;)