Thursday, May 31, 2007

Excuses, Excuses

My latest only semi-lame excuse for not posting:

The A/C has broken in the library. Therefore, I want to curl up and take a nap because I am quite warm. And sleepy. And sweaty. And thinking only of swimming pools, penguins and ice cream. Mmmm...ice cream

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Pasta Tastiness

Today's lunch:
  • spaghetti
  • chicken
  • spinach
  • garlic
  • crushed tomatoes

No sauce necessary.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Cheap Thrills

The Sherbs and I went to Dave & Buster's last night; for those not familiar with the chain, and too lazy to click the link (an aside: links are like footnotes. If you don't click on them, you miss the context, and sometimes the subtle jokes I make with linkage), it's a combination of TGI Friday's-style bar/restaurant and a Chuck E. Cheese's-style video arcade.

In short, it's a place where the Sherbs can play skee-ball, watch me "pwn" yakuza in Police 911 2 (note: the Sherbs does not love the run n' gun games), and then we can both go to a bar and get mixed drinks. In one Dave & Buster's (not the one we went to), there are switches next to some video game machines so you can have a drink delivered to your game. Because LA Machineguns (sadly, the link does not show the version at Dave & Buster's which has the rumbling floor pads beneath your feet so you shake with every explosion) is thirsty work.

So, the Sherbs had a "mocha espresso" martini with Starbuck's Espresso Liqueur and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur (I prefer Vermeer for chocolate liqueurs, personally) and I had a frozen beverage made of two kinds of flavored Malibu rum and piña colada mix and something that made it robin's-egg blue. Tasty.

And cheaper than expected.

Friday, May 25, 2007

(Fa)[B]acon!

Yes, yes, I am bad at posting of late. But, to follow a weekly theme, I thought I would tell you, oh interested one, about my lunch salad. I have a fun day off from work today and I have spent it food shopping and enjoying TV. Hooray!

It was not terrible exciting except for one part: fake bacon. That gave the iceberg lettuce and beans the correct kick. Yay for microwaves and fun food such as fake bacon.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Salad!

There has been much talk of late of salads. I should also pipe in: I adore salads. I often make big salads (re: Seinfeld episode) for meals. I like when there is a mix of proteins, veggies and unhealthy components (nuts, dressing, noodles, etc.). Mmm... I think one of the best salads I've had recently contained roasted veggies and tofu with a balsamic vinaigrette. Mmm.

Salads have become so "fashionable" in the last decade because of their healthy components, and I am happy. I recently went out to dinner with a friend where I had a "burger salad" (yet I substituted the meat for a veggie burger) and the concept was kinda cool. Nope. Really cool.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Meat and Salad

I just had a salad with meat on it for lunch. No, it wasn't that Hillshire Farms prepackaged stuff; it was from a deli across the way.

But, thinking about it, I do love my salad with protein. Meat's good, cheese is good, certain types of tofu are acceptable. Nuts, seeds, and some beans are also okay.

I also like my salad with dressing. Doesn't have to be fatty, but I don't like to feel like I'm just eating leaves.

Yesterday's Salad

Someone else made it, but it was a good salad yesterday:

all mixed together so the chèvre was sort of a film on the veggie fixins.

It was tasty.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Fancy Dinners = Fun Dinners

I am receiving a useless higher degree this afternoon. Now, that is not the point of this post, rather, I want to discuss the commencement dinner I attended last night at said institution. This blog is empirically (ooo...fancy word...me talk pretty!) about food, after all.

The dinner was a formal dinner. I am used to eating in the cafeteria (where the food was prepared) and often have pizza (with relatively good kosher cheese), soups of varying quality, the all powerful salad bar, and the always delicious cookies. Yet last night, they pulled out all the stops (and the meal was vegetarian! Hoorah!) and let me tell you, no stops = worth it!

During the cocktail forty-five minutes, there were these little mandarin orange-cheese-sweet-mushroom-etc. quiches, sushi (which is difficult to partake in when I'm not standing and holding a glass of red wine and a white shirt), these amazing egg-roll type things and an odd fish tar-tar which had fish but I heard good things.

Then there was a salad with a grilled apple and cool strawberry dressing. The non-fish entree (I love people that recognize fish is not always vegetarian!) was a risotto with lots of veggies that was pretty tasty. Then there was a mini cheesecake for desert. Mmmm...

However, the excitement was dulled this afternoon when I noticed they were serving the mini quiche for lunch today.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Beans!!!

I have said it before, and I will say it again: I like beans. My love is further solidified by a bean salad I made earlier this week and am enjoying. It is a Lemon-Basil Three Bean Salad (where I substituted kidney beans for black beans mostly because I couldn't reach the black beans in the super market and then omitted a pepper because I dislike peppers) and it is delicious. I made it with edamame because that's what the recipe calls for and I like edamame. It is a tasty addition to any lunch or snack and is just delish!

I think the secret is in the odd combination of beans: since edamame is "Japanese" and the other beans are "American/Italian/Spanish/etc." this allows for an interesting taste and color! And we know, presentation is supremely important. Also, the lemon-y flavor adds to the tartness of the dish, because lemon makes everything taste great.

All in all, a great dish. I think even Jeffery Steingarten would approve.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Ha HA!

But, in fact, I will provide more detail as to how the Sherbs and I roasted those vegetables! Point to the Pedant!

The mushrooms, onion, and eggplant were sliced lengthwise, the pepper into strips. Olive oil, salt, pepper, and liberal amounts of paprika were added. We then cooked the whole thing in the oven for about twenty-five minutes.

Very tasty.

Dinner was sushi, and as such was always fabulous.

Monday, May 14, 2007

I Win!

Ha! Once again, I beat The Pedant at posting about something he intended to post about: Saturday's lunch. The Pedant and I took a nice walk on a lovely afternoon (well, minus the horrible pollen count), and had some tasty roasted vegetables for lunch. We sliced an orange bell pepper, portobello mushrooms, an onion, and for the adventure of the day: a Dominican eggplant. It tasted like a regular eggplant but had a cool purple color to the outside. We enjoyed the veggies with some soy chicken strips and "sweet potato" chips.

Next time: grill some Tofu for more protein. 2 hours later, The Pedant and I were ready for dinner. But the dinner was Japanese food and really very tasty.

Friday, May 11, 2007

A Love Letter

Dear Avocado,

I didn't know that you existed until later in life, but I am so glad we found one another. You are my other half, NAY!, my better half. Your smooth and creamy texture, you amazing one-of-a-kind taste, your funky colors all make my palate jump for joy! The fact that you're a vegetable-fruit-nut makes me excited as well, as does the fact that you're a fatty/healthy food. You are so beyond labels, it's amazing.

Today on my veggie club sandwich you surprised me - I didn't except to see you there! - but it was worth it. Mmmm...I love you!

Love,

Sherbs

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Ka-Brussels!

Yesterday, I put brussels sprouts in the microwave.

Suddenly, from the microwave, there came a popping noise. I thought it was from the sauce or the protein, but I was wrong.

A brussels sprout had burst with such force that it jumped off the plate and landed in segments inside the microwave.

I am in awe.

So Smooth

So work is especially boring today and I had promised a post on my Smoothie Making Adventure.

Smel often makes smoothies. She comes home on Tuesday with free fruit from work, buys a large container of yogurt and sticks it in a blender with the statement: "AH! SO GOOD! YES!" I am jealous. So, last week, I bought yogurt and frozen strawberries and peaches and had an adventure with the blender.

It turned out to be lovely. Since on my "eating plan" (I am instructed not to call it a diet!), I can eat as much fat-free plain yogurt as I want (but who wants to eat more than a serving of that crap), so I sweetened it with Sweet-n-low and added the fruit. However, I realized, frozen fruit makes for a cheap substitution, but is hard to blend. Also, the proportions from a recipe I read were off cause I forgot how much fruit was in there. And then it was super cold at first.

But then it was delicious. I love smoothies!!

Mario Batali Would Be Jealous of My Italian Food Skills

Enough about other silly things like growing up. Let's talk about what we really want to hear about: food.

Last night I had an adventure in cooking. I have been having boring lunches that leave me hungry and unsatisfied. Since I work a lot, dinner is often pushed to the wayside since I get home late and don't want to eat too much before bed. So, lunch is a big meal for me, also because I often don't eat until 7ish. The last few weeks I had been taking boring salads with boring proteins. But yesterday I got real and made a Polenta Lasagna.

And I tasted some last night, and it was good.

The Pedant sent me a recipe from a newspaper a few months ago for a polenta-sausage lasagna. So I made something similar, and added more veggies, less cheese, and less polenta. But, the outcome: a lasagna-esque (it's too saucy and not layered enough to be a real lasagna cheese, added mushrooms in a bit of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Then I cut up a round of ) deliciousness. I started by roasting a thinly sliced eggplant (we all know I like those) . Then I made a tomato sauce with veggie crumbles. Then I cracked some egg whites in the ricotta, garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano. Then I sauteed briefly some protebellopolenta into slices. Then I got to layer, which is always fun.

The result: deliciousness. Granted, there wasn't enough to bind it together as a lasagna outside of the dish, but it tastes good. Next time: more polenta, more veggie crumbles. Oooo...maybe I'll make a layer of crumbles.

Later: Adventures in smoothie making!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Growing Up

Yesterday I did something I never expected to do before 30: I bought an analogue watch.

You see, since, oh, about 6th grade, I have been wearing exclusively digital Timex watches. You know "the sporty" kind. They had all the necessaries: digital time (easier to read), indiglo (for making jokes: Look! I'm an indiglo girl!), the date and day (key for the summer), a strap with Velcro, a stop watch (great for laundry and cooking), and the fun dinging alarm for hourly reminders.

However on Sunday morning, around 11, I looked at my lovely Timex and the battery stopped. Since the next day I would officially be venturing into an undeniably mid-twenties age, I decided it was time for a grown up watch. So I bought a $15 Casio analogue watch. And, look! I can read time mom.

Man, growing up sucks...

Next week: Grey hairs! Or my fear of going grey...

Saturday, May 5, 2007

My Mind Is A Scary Place

This post is about two things that are not related: organic baby food and the term "wuv." I shall tackle them in reverse order.

WUV

Urban Dictionary pretty much explains any conceivable use of the term "wuv," including as a euphemism for gay sex. The term has been adopted by floral cultivators with a boxed cat in their logo as well as websites whose purpose is impossible to determine. Starwood Hotels has a "feel the wuv" package for their "W" line of upscale hotels (the concept of a romance concierge called a "passioneer," which the hotels offered around Valentine's Day, is kinda disturbing).

I, personally, like the term for when I wish to be saccharine. Also, I like to imagine Timbaland's "Luv 2 Luv U" with "luv" replaced with "wuv" for full Elmer Fudd effect.

ORGANIC BABY FOOD

I heard an ad on the radio recently for organic baby food. I'm skeptical about the concept.

When I lived in Hong Kong, all the vegetables we got from over the border in China were organic, as the farmers were too poor even to have real tractors. They had these weird-looking converted lawnmower things. At any rate, this "organic" food you had to wash with bleach before eating because you didn't know where it had been.

Now, I'm sure that they wash and cook the veggies before giving them to babies, but I'm not sure that exposing the plants to manure and bugs makes them healthier than using some synthetic chemicals.

Regardless, for the next two days, you can bid on two dozen empty and cleaned baby food jars on Ebay. You can Buy It Now™ for half the price of the shipping.

Sadly, it looks like this offer is meeting the same fate as my attempts to sell my household crap on Ebay - no one is buying.

Friday, May 4, 2007

Want Some Cheese with Your Whine?

Last night, I had dinner with 1/2 of Jewbiquitous and it was amazing. And by dinner, I mean wine, cheese, and an eggplant "tapas." It was a great evening all around, and lots of great conversation and a good reminder to hang out with Harley more.

The second best part about the dinner with Harley (the first being Harley's company) was having a dinner constituting of wine and cheese. (The eggplant was secondary, while Harley went on for a beer, I realized I was getting kinda tipsy and opted for more food lest I fall of my stool!) The place we went had an exceptional cheese list, and not just plain old cheese but goat cheese! sheep's milk cheese! Swiss cheese! and all the smelly French and American cheeses one (not me) might want. Easting a meal based around cheese and red wine was a-okay with me.

elitism, but soon we will both be living I have a not so secret desire to become a wine snob with The Pedant. We've already agreed to become opera snobs and have no qualms about our food snobbery, as well as our intellectualwithin very close range of an up-and-coming vineyards. We visited once and have hoped to go back again, mostly for the "getaway" aspect, but also because I reallllly want to know what I'm doing. I was horribly jealous last night when Harley looked at the menu, I told her what I liked, and picked out a perfect choice. Over the summer, a woman (who said she worked diligently at becoming a wine snob) I worked with looked at a long wine list and picked out a perfect choice for an evening out.

So, this is my official plea for The Pedant to feel the guilt and become a wine snob with me...

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Babies "R"n't Us

Last night I woke up from a bad dream. I dreamt that I was pregnant and going to be having a baby (duh). But soon! Like, I was due yesterday and had forgotten.

Here's the issue. 1) I don't want children for a looooooong time. 2) I don't like babies. 3) The Pedant and I both don't want children. 4) I want to have more than I do in my savings account for random trips to the toy store, and bookstore, and oh yeah, clothes store, dentist store, doctor store, drug store. Cause babies ain't cheap.

I don't DISLIKE children that much, but in light of recent events and questions, I know shortly after this period of joy will come more questions: When are you having children?! How many? Can I hold the baby? Can I rub your belly? When's the next one coming? You're not really naming him St. Thomas Aquinas [Redacted]?!

The other thing I hate about children: PERMANENT. It's not like babysitting or having a goldfish that lasts 2 months. They are always there. And always in need of attention.

I do want children, but I kinda want to know what I'm doing with my life first.

Hopefully, no more nightmares....

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Lists!!

A List:

1) Sorry for the lack of postings. Jobs take precedent, sometimes...

2) Yesterday I expected to blog about the ohmygodsoamazing Korean food and the ohmygodsoamazing chocolate The Pedant and I had Saturday, but my hard drive at work crashed and I was working from a different computer scanning books

3) The food was so good at the Korean restaurant. And totally vegetarian!

4) The chocolate was so good it, similar to Stoner's chocolate cake, may spawn marriage proposals

5) My grandfather wants me to pick my nose more...

6) Stay tuned - later I will post about the delicious food I had this weekend, excluding the Korean dinner and chocolate, because words can't express that.

7) And, Stoner is amazing! She got me the COOKIE PRESS!!! Stay tuned for pressed cookie updates...