Leftover Reicpe

So Luke is making me write this.  Normally I wait before writing down a recipe but Luke says no this time.  The "Better Than That Sex We Just Had Twice Earlier This Morning Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" recipe must be written down before I forget all the things I messed up to make it awesome.

I start with EGGLESS CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES and then realized I didn't have enough flour so half the flour is pancake mix.  Also I didn't have quick oats, so I used two packages of Quaker Maple Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal for a half batch.  Everything else I did the same and made a half batch.

WTF, I hate oatmeal raisin cookies and THESE THESE COOKIES WILL MAKE YOU DREAM OF OATMEAL RAISINS!  Also no eggs and no white sugar needed so bonus.  Also very filling.  Give them a try.

Leftover Checkin

Goals:

(format fail in google reader, and I don't feel like fixing it)

 1) Only non-soy chocolate.
 2) Two sodas a week.
 3) Salt and pepper squid once a month.
 4) Out to a restaurant once a week.
 5) Two hard candies a day.
6) Kickie at least once a week.
 7) Be prepared.

Summary:

I did five out of the seven (1,2,5,6,7) yesterday!

Still at too many salt and pepper squids in the last four weeks, but I haven't made it again.  Number 4 is going to take a hit tomorrow as I'm meeting my girlfriend for lunch.  We need time to catch up!

I picked up 7 from yesterday!  So even though dinner got turned over for wonderful reasons.  A good friend I don't see often came to dinner.   Then a found out a good friend of mine from NY was in town and he came over with one of my favorite local peoples.  It was a full house, exhausting but fun.  I had the meal all planned but couldn't cook it.  So I asked one of the other guests who is herself a very good cook to make it.  It was awesome!  She was more than happy to as she loves cooking.  That I let her cook to me is also a huge deal as it's a sign that my OCD is calming down again.  It was real bad with all the changes in the last year.

Side note, with these goals I've already seen a drop in my weight.  I think it's a decrease in bloating from the soy and the sodas.

Oh recipes?  Yep got the link to the one we made yesterday but alas we ate it.

Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Orzo

The only changes that were made were more garlic and some of the diced tomato was reserved in order to have a chunkier sauce.  It was very good though next we will probably use a different pasta.  With 5 breasts it served 6 people.

Leftover Checkin

Goals:

(format fail in google reader, and I don't feel like fixing it)

 1) Only non-soy chocolate.
 2) Two sodas a week.
 3) Salt and pepper squid once a month.
 4) Out to a restaurant once a week.
 5) Two hard candies a day.
6) Kickie at least once a week.
 7) Be prepared.

Summary:

I did four of the seven (1,2,5,6), not bad.  I'm happy with that.  Number 7 got lost form last time and number 4 didn't get picked up like I thought it would.

Number 7 is in the grey area.  I didn't do my best ever at fair but second best.  I found a place that serves gyros without soy.  I don't remember the last time I had one.  So I had one, it wasn't on the plan but I was also out of food.  Honestly, it wasn't that good.  I think I'll skip it next time.  I ran out of food because I couldn't carry everything.  Though that meant for the drive home we were set.  Also I stayed hydrated all day even though I didn't bring more that a smaller water bottle in with me.  I just keep drinking beverages which also helped with the not eating crap.

Number 4, we went out to eat when we got to Houston.  I had a salad and a burger with cheese.  It was soy free and not particularly large but it wasn't good and I ate it without thinking.  So 4 is off the list.  I plan to go out this Friday which would be a week from the burger so everything should be back by this weekend.

Also 2 shouldn't be checked because I have had NO soda in the last week. :)

Flexibility

The best part about these goals is they are flexible.  And allow me the ability to do things like make pumpkin chocolate chip cheesecake.  Though I'm on the look out for a better serving dish.  My pie pan bottom wasn't big enough for my crust

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (No Bake, Soy-Free)

3 (8oz) packages of softened cream cheese (or at least most of them)

1 can Libby's pumpkin pie filling

1.5 cups multi grain cheerios

1 cup sugar

5 Tbsp melted salted butter

pinch of salt

a handful of chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is soy-free)

To make crust:

Use a food processor to grind up the Cheerios.  Mix in about 1/3 cup sugar and salt.  Add powder to melted butter and stir.

Press into the bottom of a 9" spring form pan.  Bake in a 350deg oven for 10-12min until the mixture changes color and begins to bubble.  Remove from oven and let stand until hard.

To make filling:

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add pumpkin a spatula at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding next portion.  Taste between adding portions to make sure favor is as desired.

Finally assembly:

Choose pan to use.  Flip bottom of spring form pan over serving pan and place in the serving dish.  Gently tap the back of the pan for just under a minute.  Slowly lift pan.  If crust is still attached repeat tapping and lifting until crust detaches.

Spooning filling mixture into the crust.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of filling.

Let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before eating.

Leftover CheckIn

How did I do yesterday?  I set up rules, did I follow through?

YES!

I think I need this (btw it's an etsy link so you can totally buy it for me):

Goals:
(format fail in google reader, and I don't feel like fixing it)

1) Only non-soy chocolate.
2) Two sodas a week.
3) Salt and pepper squid once a month.
4) Out to a restaurant once a week.
5) Two hard candies a day.
6) Kickie at least once a week.
7) Be prepared.

1) Yesterday, I had no soy-ed chocolate!
2) In the last week, I've had more that two sodas but NONE were yesterday!
3) So far this month, I've had salt and pepper squid three time, but NOT yesterday!
4) In the last week, I've eaten out twice.  Tomorrow will make a week since the first one.
5) I had NO hard candies yesterday!  Better than my goal.
6) I have kickboxed with Luke once this week.
7) So far I've been able to face every food bridge, this weekend will be the real test.

Leftover Thoughts

So I have been trying to maintain my body weight.
I have been failing.

I went looking for an image and found this one.  Click it, it's a link to the site with an interesting article about failure.

.

Basically, remember you'll fail sometimes.  It's your reaction to failure that is more important.  My father always talked about "learning experiences."  It's a topic that seems to be coming up a lot in my daily life.  My brain seems to be trying to tell me something.

"Hey stupid!  Stop being stupid!"

"I'm not stupid!  I just want to be like everyone else."

"Yeah, stupid!"

I see people who are in good shape eating things like chips, chocolate, pizza and other things and I want to be able to eat it too.  Forgetting that I know nothing about how they normally eat or about how they feel afterwards.

They may have a lifestyle like the one I had in Cali, where they were so active they could eat whatever they wanted.  Well in my life today, that doesn't work.  I don't have time to be anything more than moderately active without giving up time with family and friends.  Time that makes me happy.

They may have a medical condition that makes it extremely difficult to put on weight.  The number of "skinny" people I know who fall into this category is growing as I talk to them more about it.  I'm LUCKY to be able to put on weight when I need it.  How strange it is for me to think that.  To think that I'm lucky to be fat.  That it means there is a whole slue of issues I don't have.

They might be having a treat.  I'm not with these people all the time.  Maybe they only eat this way the few times I see them.  Perhaps the rest of the time they don't eat the pizza or chocolate.  That for them it really is the treat it should be.

So Where To Go From Here???

Do I try to regiment my not healthy things?  Say only on these days or only so many times a week?  Do I start a checklist?  Keep a tally?  Where is the balance?

This is where I start to feel lost and depressed.  I want this to be simple.  My emotions get in the way.  I start to feel like I have no control and no hope of control.  

I need to start saying NO to myself.  No chocolate at work, no chips, no hamburgers (that is a white flag food for me), no!

But sometimes can I?  Is there a balance?  The article talks about trial and error.  Can I let me myself try different types of balance to find the right answer?  I have to let myself risk failing.

Ok then here's what I'm going to try.  I'm going to give it a week starting today and including my out of town trip this weekend (I'm going to the Texas Renaissance Fair (TRF))!

1) Only non-soy chocolate.

   I asked the store walking distance from my work to carry the chocolate I can eat and they got it in stock.  So no more soy-ed chocolate.  If I want chocolate, I walk to the store and get it.

2) Two sodas a week.

  Soda is a bad food yes.  But it's a nice treat.  Twice a week, I'll let myself have stimulant free and naturally sweetened sodas.

3) Salt and pepper squid once a month.

  This is a fried dish.  I've had it three times in the last week and a half.  It needs to be a once a month food.  

4) Out to a restaurant once a week.

  So that is actually my diet normal.  However as I start being actively poly again, I will be eating out more.  Time to reign it in.  Once a week no more.  The housemates can go out without me.  I decide with who and when and where I want to go out.

5) Two hard candies a day.
  This is pretty easy.  Normally I have one or fewer.  However, if I'm pulling back on the chocolate, I'm going to have to watch this one.

6) Kickie at least once a week.
  Luke is teaching me to kick.  It's fun.  I heart it. We were doing it every Friday.  Then I fell off the wagon.  It will be my baseline exercise.  It doesn't have to be Friday, but it needs to be once a week.

7) Be prepared.
  I'm going to TRF.  I need to bring food I can eat.  Food that is soy free.  So I need to pack my lunch.  It worked well at Celtic Fest, so let's do it for TRF.

Ok seven is a good number and a good place to start.  One week is a short time.  I can do this.  IF not, I CAN adjust the seven!

Leftover Recipe

I made that for dinner!  It is amazing.  The recipe is from "Gourmet Today" by Ruth Reichl.  I picked this cookbook up from the Tuesday Morning store about a month ago now.  There have been a few recipes I tried that didn't work.  For instance, the grilled ceasar salad that only I liked.  But this, this was amazing!

Everything is from scratch except the yogurt because I have yet to try making my own dairy products.  The wonton wrappers follow the recipe at about.com.  I made the wrappers the night before and used wax paper to keep them separate.  Apparently the beef sauce, the yogurt sauce and the dumpling filling can all be made the day before so all you have to do is fill the dumplings and boil them.  I made a couple tweaks to the original recipe to fit my kitchen style and allergies.

For Meat Sauce:
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion chopped
0.5lb ground beef
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
0.5 tsp minced fresh ginger
0.5 cup water
2Tbsp tomato paste
0.5 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

For Yogurt Sauce:
2 large garlic cloves
0.5 tsp salt
1 cup cream on top plain yogurt

For Dumpling Filling:
1.25 cups roughly chopped scallions
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic
1.4 tsp canola oil

Make meat sauce:
Heat oil add onions and garlic cook till onions begin to brown.
Add beef, coriander and ginger cook until meat is no longer pink and break into small chunks
Stir in water and tomato paste cook until liquid is reduced to half
Remove from heat add salt and pepper to taste
Cover and keep warm

Make yogurt sauce:
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt
Mix into yogurt

Make the dumplings:
Stir filling ingredients in bowl
Fill wonton wrappers
Bring several quarts of salted water to boil
Add dumplings
Boil for 5minutes

Serving directions:
Spread 0.25cup of yogurt on serving platter
Put dumplings on top
Cover with remaining yogurt
Spoon beef sauce around dumplings
Sprinkle with mint
Serve immediately

Leftover Recipe

So I don't have a picture for you today.  Last night we had my chicken curry which is getting very close to perfected so I'll share it with you now.  The spices are adhoc but I finally have a mixture I like, now to figure out how much of each I'm using.

Chicken Curry
1 Tbsp olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic minced
1/3 of a large onion chopped
2lbs chicken cut into small pieces
1 larger can tomato paste
2-3 cups water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry rice half cooked in water
optional: 1/2 cup crushed peanuts

spices to taste:
garam masla
ground colliander
ground cumin
ground turmeric
chili powder
sriracha
garlic salt
garlic powder
pepper

So yeah my recipes have a lot of prep in the ingredients but after that it's simple.

Add olive oil, fresh garlic, and onion in a large pan and heat.  Add about 1 Tbsp garam masla, a dash of turmeric  about 2 tsp garlic salt and a couple dashes of turmeric.  Mix and let cook for a few minutes on high until your housemates complain about the house smelling of garlic and give up the goat and leave the kitchen.

Now that we are alone, we can do the fun stuff.  Add chicken.  Sear the outside of the chicken pieces.  Add tomato paste and about 1/2 cup water.  Add optional peanuts.  Mix well.  Taste and play with the spices until you like how it tastes. The great thing about cooking is the ability to experiment to a degree not allow say in baking.  As the mixture thickens add more water.  After the first cup and a half of water, add the milk and mix.  

In another pan, start cooking the rice while you continue to spice the chicken mixture.  When the rice is about half way cooked.  That is when there is about 1/2 an inch of water on top of the puffed up rice.  Add the rice and water to the chicken mixture.  Mix.

When you are done spicing, remove mixture from the heat.  Let it stand for a few minutes.  This is a good time to make sure you have some place to eat.  I clean the table and clear the debris from cooking.  Once you have the dishwasher running (some how this always happens when we are eating) call your housemates make in and serve.  It's nice with some sort of bread but you don't need it!

Leftover Ideas

pics on Sodahead

      I have friends you refuse to take risks.  They don't even realize they do this.  From games to life, they don't act unless they know that it will either

1. Meet their goal
2. Not cause them pain
3. Be completely in their control

I'll admit I'm a control freak.  I have mild OCD which is behaviorally controlled.  However, if you can't let go you'll never experience the variety of emotions and events that make life full.

     I've done some things that most people I know or have know would never do.  I've moved to towns where I know no one.  I've meet people from the internet in real life.  I ran a 10k.  I've fallen in love with people I've meet at bus stops and people who are married.  The list goes on.  I walked away from one life to lead another.

    Not all of these, in fact most of these did NOT turn out well.  When I moved to TX the first time, I was so homesick and lonely that I all but stopped eating.  Meeting people off the internet contributed to the loss of a good friendship.  The man from the bus stop turned into a crazy person.  However, all of these things have helped me grow and learn and determine what is important to me and who I am.

    Many of them worked out well.  Dating a man who was married helped me understand and accept a part of who I am that had always caused me shame.  Running the 10k made me see that I can do whatever I want athletically if I actually try.  Moving to Rochester put my life in TX in perspective.  Meeting a man off the internet turned into the love of my life.  

     None of the good things would have come without the bad.  When I see my friends made impotent by the fear of the unknown or the fear of not being right the first time, it both makes me sad and frustrated me.  I know they aren't happy and that in order to be, they will have to take risks.  Change is always risky.  Be it talking to people you don't know or deciding to take a course of action where you don't know what will happen.  Letting go and trying and risky failure but also risking success is the only way to truly live your life and be happy.

     Do my a favor, today take a risk.  It doesn't have to be big.  Baby steps, order something different for lunch.  Call someone you haven't talked to in years.  Complement the stranger's shoes, ask for their phone number. Be honest about yourself in a situation you won't normally.  Live a bit differently today and keep doing something different everyday even if you don't know what will happen.

LeftOver Fun

Hey all, so this is one of those non-food posts!

I adore shinies from strawberries to earrings! I spend way too much time looking at them on etsy and definitely can't buy all the things I <3 on there. I do most of my gift shopping there for connivance reasons and keep a pretty active favorites list.

Feel free to follow me there too and see all the shiny things!
maphysics

Where have i been?

I've been a newlywed. I've been enjoying living with good friends.  I've been cooking.  OMG I've been cooking. And forgetting. To take pictures for y'all.  But by the time I think to take a picture the food is all gone.

Examples roasted Turkey, chicken,  beef, Lamb... this weekend rabbit? Homemade pies, pastas, steak and mushroom sauce, chicken parmesan casserole,  the list goes on.

It's great to have people to cook for again.

I've been using the leftover roast meats for sandwiches for me and my housemate who also brings a lunch.  If I figured out the blogger ap well enough you should see a picture of my lunch.  I also blame the tablet for my English in this post.

Also I have found the a glass of water is the only thing I normally want before ten am.  It's very refreshing.  More on my summer food journeys when I get back to a computer.  

Leftovers

So yesterday was the fourth of July and it finally hit me, it's summer. Apparently several weeks of 100+F in Texas doesn't constitute summer for my brain. But a random Wednesday off does. Go figure!

I don't talk much about it but generally each season I have a theme. Last spring for instance was change. Spring started out with hardcore depression and feelings of helplessness this year. I vowed to change that and I did. This summer is about balance and forgiveness.

I'm trying to balance my life. Friends and family versus time alone or with Luke. Exercise and food with relaxation and low stress. Balanced nutrition with my inner foodie.

I'm trying to forgive the grudges I've been holding for so long. Not just those against others but also grudges against myself.

The point of all of this to grow and maintenance the happiness my spring changes have brought me.

On a food note, for the fourth we decided to have make your own pizzas. I made dough from scratch and it was amazing. If you have never made it yourself you are missing out. It's super easy you just need to start about 1.5hr before you want to eat so the dough can rise.

Homemade pizza fits my food needs as I control what is in it, I know the ingredients and the calorie break down. I'm fitting more and more of these things into my life.

As far as workouts, I've been working on finding a balance that I can maintain and is flexible enough for my life. As exercise isn't my life, it needs to fit into my life. I'm working on forgiving myself for not making every work out. Esp when I find something I want to do more. Balancing my food in take allows me to have more flexibility here.

image sources: anything, not everything, elephant

LeftOver StartOver

So long time no see...Let's go over the basics of the last couple months...I took a deep breath and jumped off a cliff. I quit my job, left my career, liquidated my assets, moved back to TX, got married, bought a new car, and started a new job all since the 19th of April.

This means changes, OMG, changes. I'm soo much happier. As for my fitness and my food life? I'm working out regularly again which is a hard battle and I'm respecting the dietary limitations my body sets and am trying to eat better within them.

What that all means is I'm starting over, again. Dietary limitations are as follows:
1) A soy sensitivity.
2) An allergy to artificial sweeteners
3) An allergy to fish
4) An allergy to onions
5) An allergy to pineapple
6) A dairy sensitivity.

7) Stimulants

The allergies first, some of them are because my body just plain doesn't know what to do with it either ever or anymore (artificial sweeteners and fish are in that category) and some are because they do weird things to the inside of my mouth (that would be onions and pineapple).

The sensitivities? Well dairy just plain makes me not be able to poo, if I eat too much of it. So I try not to eat a lot of it. Soy makes me go crazy. See I have an estrogen sensitivity and soy acts like estrogen in the body. Imagine always having PMS, that is life for me when I'm eating soy then add in that I get depressed and discouraged easier and life is just down right awful for me and the people around me. (I'm doing this for you!) The hard part with the soy is it's everywhere and no one realizes and since it's not the allergy, I can't even eat the processed soy.

I eat soy-free and it's easier than I thought.

I cook for myself and I call ahead to restaurants. I have a growing list of soy free places that I LOVE to go. I'll be posting more about those.

See there is no good website that I've found that lists where one can eat out. It's in the fryers, it's in the bread, it's in the sauce, it's in the marinade, and it's in the chocolate (God help me!)So I'll start profiling them. Now that my camera on my phone is fixed you'll start to see more pictures.

As for stimulants, I have cyst in my breasts (little fluid filled sections of tissue). Stimulants make the cysts grow. If they get too big, they burst and I bleed to DEATH in a matter of minutes. So... no stimulants but I've been doing that for awhile. I starting quitting that in 2004 and it took about 6yrs to get completely off of them. Except for chocolate.

I now have to quite chocolate for two reasons. 1) So I don't kill you and 2) So I don't kill me. So basically, if you see me eatting chocolate run and hide and get ready to call 911 less one of us dies. :)




















Ironically, the soy bean picture above is called soy-beans-fighting-cancer.jpg. Apparently they fight cancer and you kill people so really it's all balanced.

LeftOver WTF?

So.... I don't post for awhile and everything is weird... WTF? It was working why did we have to "fix" it. Silly interwebs... Anyways, it's been a crazy few weeks for me. I've moved again, got married and convocated. I start a new job next week. I've been doing a lot of cooking but forgetting to take pictures, bad me! I'm back on the body bugg and start training tonight. Let's hope to get everything in order!

Leftover Round-Up

I'm finally back after the spring conference season. And it's back on a diet for me. I always up on weight during conference season. It's hard not to with all the travel and the eating out.

What's this? I also had a bday and might have had several different kinds of cake? No that has nothing to do with the weight gain....


Also meet a great new fitness buddy, "Hi Ilana!" I'm gonna go look up 5k's near you now, brb...

Ok I'm back.

so it's back to basics food-wise:

Breakfast: Cheerios, milk, banana about 304 cal, 62g carbs, 3g fat, 13g protein.
AM Snack: Protein bar (see below)
Lunch: Salad with bell pepper, deli ham and cheese 176 cal, 4g carbs, 8g fat, 22g protein
PM Snack: Protein bar (see below)
Dinner: Campbell's Select Harvest soup and lentils nutrition breakdown pending

Normally, you don't see me post about processed foods. It's because I have food issues. Not just emotional ones, but physical ones. I have only one real food allergy and it's fish. Pretty easy to avoid. However, I have a couple conditions that mean I can't have soy, stimulants or artificial sweeteners. Ok the sweeteners are an allergy too. The result almost all processed food is going to wreck me.

So WFT?

The soups are soy free! WOOT! and the protein bars??? Well, I read labels not just for nutrition facts but ingredients. BTW if I have another deli lady tell me that they don't sell products with soy in them, she's gonna get slapped. Yes you do honey, it's a preservative and stabilizer. Anyways...

I found two brands at my local Weggies that are soy free. Probar Simply Real and Go Raw. I've come to the conclusion that raw foods protein bars are the most likely to be soy-free. I bought basically one of each flavor.



So far I've tried the Probar simply real Art's Original Blend. It's like a chewy granola bars. I think it will make a nice morning snack. Nutrition: Cal 370, Fat 18g, Sodium 50mg, Carb 48g, protein 10g. So it's not a meal substitute but would probably be great after my morning workouts.



But the most important part? It tastes really good. Probably because it's high in sugars being made with a lot of fruit and the first ingredient being Organic Brown Rice Syrup aka sugar. 19g of sugar all together.

As I try the others, I'll let me know how they taste and compare.

Leftover Locator

If feel like I've been mia a lot lately. Remember I said I needed to get out of my house more? Well, I've been doing it, hanging out with new people and generally being social. A lot of the being social involves eating out. Eating out doesn't have to be bad, but man I heart burgers. Anyways... I figured I would post a few things before I go on the road for three weeks again.


I was sick for a while so I made some favorites of mine. Bakes french fries. Super easy! Slice a potato, salt, bake until desired doneness.



Chicken broth soup and tortillas. Chicken broth soup is a cup of chicken broth, a bite of onion and a bit of potato. Cooked until potato is soft. Then break up tortilla and add to soup like crackers.



So when I started feeling better I thawed some chicken tenders and cooked them in hot sauce (franks and apple cider) with red lentils and a bit of salad for color.



Last is very healthy. Veggie sticks, mozzarella cheese and humus. I have a stash of this really pretty custard/ice cream dishes that belong at some point to one of my grandparents. After cleaning them off and generally saving them my mother's garage of infinite things, they have been sitting nicely in my cupboard until I can figure out what to do with them. This is one thing.



At least by the time I return to NY, I will have a new shiney post!

Leftover Recap

I'm still alive, I swear. Though February seems to be dying a slow and painful death since Luke went back to TX.

What I've made:

Well I Guess We Can Try To Make Fried Rice
Opps I don't have 7 cups of flour (WTF?) rolls
I wonder what happens if soup...
Croutons

The "Well I Guess We Can try To Make Fried Rice" was made with Luke. We didn't want to leave the apartment (I wonder why...) and this is what I had in my apartment:
1/2 cup Jasmine Rice
Red Lentils
Onion
Garlic
Potato
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ground meats
Eggs
We cooked the rice and lentils together. Sauteed the potato, garlic and onions together in olive oil with salt and pepper. Mixed in the lentils and rice. Combined the hot sauce and vinegar. Added two eggs one at a time to the rice and veggies. Mixed in the hot sauce. And this might now be one of Luke's favorite dishes. Best part? Fried rice that is sauce free!



The "Opps I don't have 7 cups of flour (WTF?) rolls" started with me going I want bread. Now I can't just buy bread because of the soy (not that I've been at all good with that lately...) but I try to keep yeast and flour in my apartment. So I pulled out my old Betty Crocker (the one from lovely Gwen which my mom says is the same one Grandma had) and decided to make some. I got most of the way through it, you know the point where you don't want to leave to go to the store? That's when I released the recipe called for SEVEN AND A HALF FREAKIN CUPS OF FLOUR! I had about 3. So I decided to substitute old fashion oats. I end up with very dense (the yeast didn't rise), tasty oatmeal bread rolls. So dense I couldn't eat them.

The "I wonder what happens if soup..." was me going well I don't want to go grocery shopping and I watching this



I had to cook. I also had two jars from banana peppers with juices I refused to throw out combining with a strong desire for soup. I put all my veggies (a bulb of garlic, and onion and a hand full of greens) in with the juices and equal parts water and set it to boil. After adding some sugar to cover up the vinegar I gave up and put it in jars and in the jars in the fridge. Thinking well it'll make a great marinade.

The next day, I took some to use as broth added some more brown sugar, 2 times the amount of "broth" in water, coriander and spice rum, fresh veggies, lentils and random left over chicken. Yum and really filling could only eat a cup, but have about 1.5 gallons of it.



The croutons? The rolls went stale. I cut them into small pieces coated them with basil, salt, pepper and olive oil and baked in the oven until crispy through. Very tasty.

Sorry I ate them before I could take a picture of the croutons. And yes that is the "Opps I don't have 7 cups of flour (WTF?) rolls" floating in the soup and in the background.

Let's hope March gets here quickly! I could use some warmth and some good ole Texas!

Leftover Link

From 2012-02-13

I just read this article and had to share it with you all. It's exactly how I feel.

the-trick-to-eating-cheap-mdash-thifty-while-being-happy-about-it

The picture? My first attempt at home made bagels. Yep killed the yeast. Any suggestions on a good kitchen thermometer?

Leftover Outings

So today I confirmed I still can't eat apples without a mildly upset stomach. If I were a cow, I would be moo-ing right now. Instead I'm at work watching a program run, listening to Guns'n'Roses on Pandora.

Also went out to eat last night. I promised I would try to get out more. Well it was late and I had already had dinner because while I can go 8hrs without eating, I generally call it sleep. So I ordered a salad. I have planned this before I went. Thank goodness for internet menus.

There was a house salad. On the appetizers list there was chicken wings served with banana peppers... I ordered the house salad and instead of dressing, banana peppers. The waitress was all like ooooh that sounds good. I was like yep that's normally what I have for dinner with a hamburger patty on top. And she all like I have to try it. The people I was with were impressed.

The type of joint? A fried and more fried place. I saw mostly lightly brownish yellow things go by us. You can eat what you want no matter where you are. Read the menu for ingredients not just full items. Best part? My meal was tasty, the perfect size for the appetite and only FIVE BUCKS!

Leftover Recipe

Wow life is busy. I moved apartments this weekend so no time to go grocery shopping. So I've been eating from the back of the fridge plus one uber quick store run Wednesday morning. I've been out to eat for work and with my mom three times this week; also, had a nomie homemade dinner with friends Sunday after the move. So I've luckily been rolling in the leftovers. However, leftovers do not alone make a meal (must doctor them, must alter..).

The Wednesday grocery trip was brought on by a crisis, I ran out of CHEERIOS! I had no choice I had to store it up. So I got cheerios, pickled banana peppers, milk, and ground turkey. I split the ground turkey into four balls put each in a ziplock and flatten to make a patty.

Lunch? Leftovers with salad. This is what do I have left in the frige salad to which my co-workers think my fridge must be nothing like theirs. LoL salads are easy. But I'll show my fridge in another blog to prove your fridge is probably better for this than mine.

Salad:
Mixed greens (1 handful)
Fruit (I used strawberries and oranges at different points anything goes)
Banana Peppers
Young Pickled Onions
Feta of indeterminate age



The pickled onions? Yeah I made those pretty simple. When you finish a jar of banana pickles, slice an onion (I used a large shallot about half the size of my fist) into thin slices, break the slices into the jar of banana pepper juice, close jar and place in fridge. Use when you want, hence the young part.

Dinner has been the salad with the turkey patty cooked placed on top with jam and some stale bread croutons. The croutons are tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar. FYI don't throw stale bread out unless it molds, it's way too useful (think French toast and stuffing).


BTW Fridge is apparently a word, go figure...

Leftover Project

Ok so I've had an idea kicking around in my head for months trying desperately to fully form itself. AND it is just about ready. However, I need ya'lls help!

Calorie management is a bitch and a half. There are lots of sites to help and books to buy. None of them are truly awesome. Many are slow, hard to use and don't get good feed back. I therefore plan to make my own and to eventually make it available to others.

I'm just starting this project now, but part of how I want to make it faster is decreasing the number of food items that need to be sifted through. To do this, I want to have the user select a database that is smaller and targeted to their type of diet. What I would like to hear from you are different diets you've heard of that I can make databases for. For instance:

Vegetarian
Vegan
Atkins/South Beach
Paleo

What others are out there and what good resources do you recommend so I can tailor the system to the diet and have the proper foods. Lastly, who would be in to try when the beta is ready?


Image source

Leftover Thoughts

So I've been bad and not writing. I've had ideas and pictures and just said not right now.

On Friday was the five year anniversary of my father's death. If he was still alive he would have been only 63 at this time. It's been bouncing in my head for awhile and I haven't processed until just a few days ago. So I wanted to share part of that with you all. It's a list of things I like.

Getting up at five am and not being tired
Being exhausted at bedtime
A lazy Friday with a book and a nap
The rush when something finally works
Organizing people
Delegating successfully
Solving problems
Purging things
Shopping
playing multi-player games
Smiling
Fresh air
Walks
Sunshine

the list really can go on for pages. The point is there are still lots of things making my life full and happy. I try to fit as many of these into a day as possible. It makes me happy.

Image source