Happy Holidays Blog Readers!  I dragged my whole family to school so I’ll keep this quick.  I don’t have many food pictures today, so I’ll take a moment to show off all the red and green I’ve been rocking this week -

After my last blog post I spent the day setting up for our Christmas Eve bash.  I had some random snacks for lunch; carrots,

a Hello Dolly,

a few nuts,

and half of a tuna salad sandwich.

I did lots of nibbling during the party but I ended up not taking any pictures.  My parents had the lights low and there were a TON of people in our little house so I ended up skipping it.  A fabulous time was had by all though.

Christmas morning with my parents and husband was wonderful.  Just 3 years ago today, Adam was proposing to me under the Christmas tree!!!

My mom and I made a great, festive breakfast.

I had an eggnog scone that was super tasty, I plan on buying more packs from this company.

And we made scrambled eggs with red and green bell pepper and white cheddar.

Plus I had a small glass of nog, I think I actually like Silk Soy Nog the very best!

My dad’s sister’s family is flying in in a few hours and then we are all going over to my mom’s sister’s family’s house for dinner.  Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Every year we celebrate Christmas and New Years in Los Cabos, Baja California.  My uncle and aunt moved here when they were recently married, and we have all been coming out to visit them for so long, that now it is like a second home to me.  I really love being here.  Even though there is a lot to do, the best moments are when the whole family is together and we just do nothing.

Tuna and marlin are big here in Cabo, and many people visit the peninsula just for the sport fishing that is available. There are also amazing bass, clams, scallops, and abalone.  As you can tell, it is all about fish here.  While we are here, we usually just stick to fish tacos from Tacos Rossi, homemade ceviche, and sushi.  The sushi here is the best that I have ever had.  The Mexican ingredients (cilantro, chile, avocado, mango), combined with the freshness of the fish, compliment the Japanese technique perfectly.

Tuna Melt a lo Mexicano

On a recent fishing trip this past Fall, my uncle caught 23 tuna with a friend who was visiting.  They ate the fresh tuna for a week straight and froze the rest for the Winter.  So yesterday for lunch my aunt made a fresh tuna salad in which she boiled the tuna in water and then mixed it with onion, celery, salt, pepper, and little bit of mayonnaise.  The result was delicious- no canned tuna can compare to the real deal.  We had a big tub of this tuna salad in our fridge, and there was no way I was going to leave the house for lunch today.  I forgot to mention along the way that I am a tuna freak.  I decided to make a Mexican-style tuna melt.  I don’t usually eat tuna melts in the States, because I am very picky about how my tuna salad is prepared, and I dislike greasy sandwiches.  But today I obviously found myself in a very unique situation.  We had freshly made flour tortillas in the fridge (Mexico rocks) and cheese galore, and I knew that nothing could go wrong.   So I heated up a tortilla in a pan and put a few pieces of thinly sliced Manchego cheese on top.  Mexican manchego is different than the manchego from Spain, as it is much milder and easier to melt.  I kept the heat low, so that the tortilla would not become hard, but that the cheese would melt.   Then I spooned on the tuna salad, and finally added thinly sliced tomatoes and a little bit of avocado to top it off.

My parents and sister were not going to eat lunch at home, they were going to get fish tacos from Rossi.  But right as I was putting everything away they arrived at the house hungry.  I made the tuna quesadillas for everyone, and they all had 2.  My dad said it was better than a fish taco, and even said that I should sell them!  He is my biggest fan.  I wanted to post this, because you can all poach your own fresh tuna at home and make this same thing, or you can use canned tuna and make your own tuna salad.  The point is that it is a fun Mexican riff on an American classic.  I would be curious to know what types of cheeses people use for these, and what other things they think go well in them.

!Buen Provecho!

Hey hey!

Just got back from my best run of the holiday (in terms of route not performance). I ran through Potts Point, down to Woolloomooloo, up to the Botanical Gardens and all the way round the harbour to the Circular Quay, around the Opera House and back. It was glorious!!! All up just over 1 hour. So many joggers and walkers out so that was great to see . I set my alarm for 6am this morning but snoozed until 6.30, oops. I was trying to beat the heat but really that was pretty futile as it was already humid, hot and sunny by 6.45am when I headed out. Oh well, that is why I cream up before every run . In terms of performance, well, I think I am running slowly at the moment. My Polar is dead so I don’t have my heart rate to hand and therefore don’t have much of a gauge of how hard I am pushing it. I know I’m not pushing it that hard, probably because there are so many hills in Sydney and I am pretty much catching my breath before the next one hits and also because I don’t know the routes I’m running. Anyway, no big deal, it is nice to run and enjoy the scenery. I will get into some more racing once life settles after the holiday.

Once back at the hotel, I had some water and went up to the gym to do some legs, arms and abs:

• 50 squats
• 100 plies
• 20 lunges each leg

(no weights)

• Tracey Anderson Self arm workout with 1kg weights
• 10 minutes of abs
• few yoga poses to stretch
• more stretching

Done and done!

But anyway, I need to recap on yesterday so I better get to it. We met up with my family up at Clontarf, a gorgeous little harbour bay in northern suburbs of Sydney.

While at Clontarf, for lunch I had 2 multigrain corn thins with Hummos, 1/2 a can of John West Light Tuna and cherry toms. Plus an unpictured apricot.

I also had a few crackers with hummos afterwards and a little later I snacked on one of these new breakfast bars I picked up at Woolies.

The stats are pretty good and compared to the Be Natural Cranberry or the Crunchola they are way way better (texture, taste, firmness, fat and fibre content). They are also 40g which is a bit bigger than your standard muesli bar so a bit more filling. They clock in at approximately 145 cals so are higher than say a Freedom Bar but they are much better value (9 pack) and since nobody on this earth seems to stock Freedom Bars anymore this may be my new substitute.

Not to shabby.

Morning and afternoon nibbles were cottage cheese and cherries (not together). I ate a lot of cherries yesterday. They are just to tasty!

Last night we went to our friends Saul and Cath’s place for dinner. They made us the yummiest seafood feast! Thanks guys!!

To start they had set out wasabi peas and marinated feta with olive tapenade. The wasabi peas were awesome, I’ve loved those things ever since Adam and I tried them in Hong Kong years ago. These were super wasabi and I had a good handful. I also had 2 crackers with feta. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Saul BBQ’d teriyaki salmon, octopus and prawns. So tasty!

We also had a green salad and corn!

Love the bamboo bowl too .

My plate. Plus 2 small glasses of white wine.

See those little orange corn cob holders, aren’t they cute!

We were in charge of dessert so we picked up these interesting looking icecream sandwiches from the deli opposite Edgecliff Harris Farm market.

The lady in the store said that once people buy these they keep coming back to buy more. I understand why. They were completely DELICIOUS!!! Try and get your hands on these babies if you see them anywhere.

The iceream was a super rich vanilla and the cookie lace… sticky, gooey and sweet. So good! We spent a lot of the night trawling through the Good Food and Wine Guide 2010 as, like us, Saul and Cath are big foodies and were giving us tips on Sydney eating .

Obviously we rolled out of their apartment.

Breakfast = Vogels. I love you. Welcome back.

Not sure of our plans for today. My parents are arriving this morning and my gran, aunt and uncle and cousin and her family all arrived from Perth yesterday, so everybody is now here for Christmas tomorrow.

I have to do some present wrapping too and we are musing over whether to try to get a booking at The Boathouse in Glebe for lunch as we are running out of days to fit in all the restaurants we had planned to go to .

Dear University of Maryland Food Preparation Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings!

The reason for this letter is twofold. First, I write simply to thank you. I have heard of your revolutionary exploits, and I must say, your actions put the feeble thrusts of the New York cells to shame. While we have all been inspired by Comrade Obama to finally burst our cocoons of marketing-induced semi-consciousness and engage in a program of vigorous yet surreptitious civil disobedience, some of us are clearly more effective than others.

My own modest contribution has simply been to masturbate into the non-local peanut butter at my local organic food co-op (ignore “carbon emissions” at your own risk, my friends) and incorrectly reshelf books in the business section of the library. Small gestures, true, but is it not joyous to finally feel alive!?

You, on the other hand, sit in the very nexus of the Academic-Food Prep-Military-Industrial Complex. How I envy your ability to strike a blow for justice on a massive scale by tampering with the wraps and smoothies of thousands of young, over privileged self-tanners and consumption criminals. Truly, you are the tip of the spear!

My sources tell me that you pulled off a spectacularly brazen effort with the tuna wraps at South Campus dining hall late last week.  Rather than chipping away at the foundations of the school’s fetid faux-intellectual edifice by tainting the chipotle mayo, or leaving out the radicchio, you decided to topple the entire rotten structure from within by simply omitting the key ingredient – tuna – from the oppressors’ tuna wraps. Bravissima!

While one can obviously do nothing but applaud the breathtaking level of derring-do in Operation Missing Tuna, I do feel compelled to point out one small miscue. As with many righteous crusades, sometimes the innocent get swept up with the guilty. And unfortunately, the collateral damage of your noble struggle in this case happened to be my sister, Raizy.

Believe me when I tell you that I long argued against her being sucked in to the Ponzi scheme masquerading as Academia. Clearly, I said, a few years picking garbage in the dumps of Mumbai or being tasered at the next G-8 would give her all the “education” she could need. But the young, they are foolish and headstrong, are they not?

As it is, she seems to have been “jonesing” for a tuna sandwich after a long day of ingesting nothing but Western cultural imperialism. To her eternal credit, she passed by the Devil’s Sandwiche Shoppe (i.e. Subway) and walked well out of her way to the South Campus dining hall to purchase her delayed lunch. No doubt unwilling to publicly be seen enjoying her mercury-infused fruits of unsustainable ocean-rape, she trekked all the way back to her apartment before biting into her wrap and finding it to be completely denuded of tuna.

Admittedly, as Chairman Mao said, one may tell much of the otter from his consorting with weasels. So perhaps doctrinally, Raizy is a criminal deserving of punishment. Yet, do we not remember our own youthful indiscretions? Shall we not, as beings of a higher and enlightened order, forgive the thoughtless transgressions of the young?

Of course we shall. Regardless of the noble intent, a young girl has been forced to eat a tuna wrap that consisted only of lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, banana peppers, hot peppers, mayo, vinegar and oil. No tuna.  As such, I’m sure you will pass the proverbial hat and refund my sister the $5.77 she spent on her distinctly marine life-free wrap. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, and viva la revolucion!

The Aggrieved

PS – we have a family PayPal account, if that would speed things up.

Niçoise on Choux Pastry

I met Wendy during my third job after University.  I was what they called a “dealer” which basically entailed buying and selling stocks on behalf of the firm’s institutional clients.  One day, I found out that she was hired to be my assistant.  She wasn’t reporting to me directly, but she was junior to me and she would help me execute the orders on the busy days.  Being only a few years apart, we became great friends.  She was cheerful (even on a Monday), totally outspoken (even if she was junior to everyone in the office she was not afraid to speak her mind to the most senior of bosses), and her attitude was infectious.

On most days we would have lunch at the office cafeteria.  I eventually dubbed her “Miss Tuna” as she would always order the tuna sandwich.  Everyday she would carefully scrutinize the cafeteria board as if she was planning to order something else.  Sometimes, she would ask the lady behind the counter “whats today’s special?”  but inevitably, she would order the tuna sandwich.

Not only were we close at work, we also hung out after work as well.  She knew I had a crush on one of the dealers from another firm and she would set up after work drinks so we could all hang out together.  I knew that her mother disapproved of her boyfriend so she would tell her mom that we were going out when in fact she was out with her boyfriend.  If you ask me if we were best friends, no we weren’t… but we were good friends, more like partners in crime.

One day my boss gave me a large order to execute for a first time client.  This was the “test” order and the pressure was on the make sure that nothing went wrong.  Things were hectic and the market was moving so I called Wendy (she was stationed in the trading floor while I was in the office) to take care of some of the orders.  When the stockmarket closed I called her up to the office to sort our trades.

“Where’s the fifth trade?” I asked her.

“What fifth trade?  You only gave me four.” She replied.

“No! That’s can’t be – it was five trades.  See?  I have it written down.”  I told her.

Of course she insisted she only heard me say four.  It was really a game of she said, she said.  Maybe I was wrong, and only gave her four trades.  Or maybe she was wrong and she just forgot to execute the last trade… all I remember is that things were strained that afternoon.  I had to explain to my boss what happened and of course my boss lashed out on me.  I, in turn, gave Wendy the silent treatment the whole afternoon.

Niçoise on Choux Pastry

The next day we didn’t have lunch together.  Neither did we have lunch the day after, or the day after that.  We still chatted at work but things were never the same.  No longer did she help me set up the after work drinks and I never found out who she used as an excuse to go out with her boyfriend anymore.

When I left the job a few months later she didn’t even say goodbye.

I suppose, if we both really wanted to, we could have made it work.  I could have said sorry, I could have clarified why I was so angry that day.

Or even, I could have invited her to lunch the day after for a tuna sandwich…

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Recipe

Choux Pastry Here

Niçoise Salad – no recipe here  – It was just some lettuce, tuna (dressed with some olive oil, anchovies, and red wine vinegar), hard boiled eggs and tomatoes.  Feel free to add black olives and capers if you have them on hand.

bento

I made this simple veggie dish from a recipe in The Enlightened Kitchen, our shojin ryori cookbook. The book uses carrots and asparagus, but I used green beans instead of the latter. The vegetables are simply boiled and served with a dressing, made by blending together the following:

2 tbsp lime juice (the recipe calls for lemon)
Powdered almonds (the recipe uses walnuts: 60 g, crushed)
2 tsp white miso
2 tsp mirin
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil (the recipe calls for 2)
2 tbsp white wine
2 tbsp rice vinegar

This was a perfect bento, pictured in the adorable box that my mother-in-law gave me.

There was a lot of leftover dressing, so Yusuke used it the next night as a sauce for this mélange of asparagus, carrots, beautiful enoki mushrooms, white onions, and a bit of canned tuna.

Enoki mushrooms make me very happy. We also had them in our miso soup, along with abura-age.

Yes, the big produce code test was today. You’ll have to read on to find out how that went down

Again, I planned on getting out of bed somewhat early this morning, but you know how that goes. But I still made it up in time to have breakfast at a normal breakfast hour, so I figure it’s a start.

I took the time to make a hearty bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• ~ 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• splash of vanilla
• dash of cinnamon
• craisins
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• pecans
• brown sugar

With a glass of Oasis Strawberry Kiwi juice. My dad picked this one up – I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

If only I had the time for a leisurely breakfast every morning!

I studied my codes some more, had my mom test me, and we both came to the conclusion that the whole idea of trying to memorize these codes from a sheet of paper was useless. Not only do you have no context, you don’t know which ones are used the most often. Plus, there is no rhyme nor reason to the codes. And…the kicker? This particular chain of markets doesn’t use the standard 4 digit codes that everyone else does, so it’s completely weird. Needless to say, I was not filled with confidence heading into the test.

Since I was getting nowhere with my “studying”, I took a walk around the neighbourhood. It was good to get outside in the brisk winter air, and wander the ‘hood I grew up in. It’s funny, I used to know people who lived in all the houses, but they’ve all moved away. Sigh.

I came home and made a quick lunch.

Nothing fancy – just a tuna sandwich with a couple of slices of cheese. I gotta have my cheese with my tuna.

Then it was time…dun dun dun.  TEST TIME!

I went down to the market, and found out it was simply an oral test. They took me around the store, and randomly picked out produce and asked me the code. I swear, I probably got less than half right, but apparently that wasn’t a problem, because I’m going in for training on Monday. What?! I’m not really even sure the purpose of the test. But hey – I guess it means I’m hired (pending the usual probationary period, of course).

Since that took all of what, 5 minutes, I wandered across the street to the mall. Obviously, I hadn’t had enough of crazy Christmas shopping mall crowds or something. Actually, I wanted to check out the new coffee shop that is opening, to see if there was any contact information so I could apply there. Yes, even though I have a job, I’m still looking – you never know if something better will come along, right? I also stopped into Sephora, and checked out products I couldn’t buy. Le sigh.

Once home, I had a wee chocolate craving, so I grabbed some chocolate chips.

There may or may not have been a few more consumed. You know how it goes.

Early in the evening my family was off to our first Christmas celebration, with my dad’s side of the family. Every year we take dinner into my grandma’s care home, and exchange presents. And what do we always eat? Chinese food of course. It’s true, my family is obsessed. Plus grandma doesn’t get to eat it any other time, so it’s nice for her. We had our usual fun, received the mandatory Christmas money, and played with my cousin’s 9 month old son – turns out, he likes me better than my aunt (his grandma). LOL.

Finally we found our way back home, where my sister and I brewed up some boozy hot chocolates – Bailey’s for her, Kahlua for me

It went smashingly with the end of the hockey game.

Alas, I do actually have to get up tomorrow morning – I’m off to BC Children’s Hospital to do some volunteering with the dietitian tomorrow. Should be fun! Night!

Eeee!!!! I am officially on vacation!!! Just finished working the world’s loooongest closing shift. Now I don’t work again till next Tuesday!!! I’m leaving for my hometown tomorrow afternoon. It’s only a 90 minute drive, but I’m praying the snow lets up so the roads are clear by then!

Anyways, despite my excitement, I am seriously sleep deprived. I was up way too early this morning to fill my empty tummy.

Pecan protein pancakes!

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice
• 2-3 tbsp roasted pecan pieces

All blended up and cooked to deliciousness. Seriously, this was an awesome batch.

I was feeling kinda “meh” about the gym today, but it was just pure laziness. I dragged my butt over there and got my weight workout in. Trying to beef up the weight lifting – gotta look the part of a personal trainer too!

Warm-up:
10 minutes on the stairmill
10 minutes on the rowing machine

A1 – Squat w/ heels raised on plates:
3 sets @ 30 lbs x 10

A2 – Dumbbell shoulder press:
3 sets @ 15 lbs ea x 10

B1 – Step-up:
3 sets @ 40 lbs x 10

B2 – Underhand grip lat pulldown:
3 sets @ 50 lbs x 12

C1 – Horizontal woodchop:
3 sets @ 35 lbs x 10

C2 – Back extension:
3 sets @ 4kg x 10

C3 – Hanging leg raises:
3 sets @ bw x 10

HIIT:
15 minutes on elliptical, 1 minute sprints, 2 minutes recovery

I went down in weights a little so I could focus on my form today. I like doing this from time to time, keeps me in check

Was a hungry hungry hippo, and running late for work by the time I made it home. Whipped up a quick lunch.

Two scrambled eggs, onion, red pepper, spinach, laughing cow and Franks hot sauce on a Lavash wrap. Couple small tangerines on the side. Clementines are better.

Then it was off to work, which was surprisingly not that busy tonight!! Even though I was running late, I still threw together a packed supper before leaving. No five-buck sub for me tonight.

Obviously, as simple as it gets. Hummus + tuna sandwich and a pear. There were obviously snacks in there too. Including a short nonfat sugar-free hazelnut steamed milk and an unsweetened black iced tea lemonade.

Ever since returning to work at Starbucks, I’ve been fielding a few questions about what kind of drinks I would suggest. Both Lara and Averie suggested I do a “Starbucks Tutorial” of sorts to clear things up!

First, I published a list of Starbucks How-To’s a while back with tips to order smart. But today I’ll get a little more detailed so you reeeeally know what you’re doing

First, lets start with the basics – espresso.

Sources for images can be accessed by clicking on the picture.

Espresso is essentially condensed coffee. A little bit of water run through densely-packed coffee grinds. It actually doesn’t contain as much caffeine as most people think. One shot, or 1 oz, has about the same caffeine as 6 oz regular brewed coffee. However, drinking it straight can mean you’re consuming your caffeine more quickly – so you may get a bit of a head rush!

Next up is the latte. The latte is the heart of every Starbucks drink. They may sound fancy and complicated, but they are really just different flavoured lattes.

A latte is just espresso + steamed milk and a lovely dollop of milk foam on top. That’s it!

Starbucks uses flavoured syrups in all their drinks. Anything like a pepermint mocha, gingerbread latte or caramel macchiato are just lattes with said syrups added for flavouring.

Every store is different, but here are the syrups my store is currently offering:

• Vanilla, Sugar-Free Vanilla
• Caramel, Sugar-Free Caramel
• Hazelnut, Sugar-Free Hazelnut
• Cinnamon Dolce, Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dolce
• Toffee Nut
• Raspberry
• Classic (an unflavoured simple sugar syrup)
• Peppermint
• Caramel Brule
• Pumpkin
• Mocha (a rich chocolate sauce)
• White mocha (another “sauce”)
• Chai

Now, one thing that confuses people the most about Starbucks are our weird cup sizes. There are four, although the smallest isn’t usually advertised.

How much syrup, coffee and milk goes into these cups depends on size. I’ve made a handy-dandy chart for you to understand it. It must be known that 1 pump of syrup = 0.25 oz and 1 shot of espresso = 1 oz.

So if it’s the caffeine you’re after, you can get away with a short instead of a tall, or a grande instead of a venti.

The iced sizes are almost the same, but the iced venti cups are 24 oz, 6 pumps and 3 shots.  It’s a beast of a size.

There are three more drinks worth mentioning. A cappuccino.

Ha, not all of them are pink!!! I chose this picture because you can clearly see the distinction between the milk and foam. While a latte is espresso and milk with just a dollop of foam, a cappuccino is espresso + half milk + half foam. Usually, you just “free pour” the milk into the cup (i.e. don’t hold foam back with spoon) and the milk and foam will naturally separate like this. They’re a little stronger tasting because there’s less milk to dilute the espresso.

There’s also an Americano.

This is just espresso + hot water. Almost like a stronger tasting coffee (except so much better!)

Finally, the Misto.

This is half brewed coffee + half steamed milk. Sort of like a weaker version of the latte, but also lower cal because it has less milk.

Okay, so how can you take all this info to order yourself a drink? You can…

• Ask for different milk – skim, soy, lactaid or eggnog
• Ask for a sugar-free syrup
• Ask for less or more pumps of syrup
• Add a syrup flavour to a plain drink, or try combining flavours
• Ask for one less or one extra shot of espresso
• Turn your coffee or tea into a misto
• Ask for more foam or extra foam (extra foam will cut the cals a little too)
• Ask for no whipped cream (or extra!)
• Ask for it in decaf, or just get it without the espresso

So hopefully that helps!! I know there is a lot of “lingo” involved at Starbucks, but that’s really designed to help the baristas, not scare away customers. With this information, I can decide I want a latte with a mix of SF Vanilla and Caramel syrup, skim milk, an extra shot of espresso and extra foam (yes, that’s one of my fave drinks!). It doesn’t matter if I can call that out as a “double-tall-sugar-free-vanilla-caramel-nonfat-extra-foam-latte.” All you need to do is double check with your cashier and barista to make sure they got all your requests!

Question of the Day: What is/would be your Starbucks drink?

P.S. I will be maintaining a somewhat regular posting schedule while home for the holidays. I’m bringing my laptop and my mom has wireless internet. It might not be at the usual time, but short updates will be going up! It will give me an excuse to take a small break from the family craziness everyday

This Tuna Penne Casserole from Harvest Kitchen is fan.damn.tastic. Seriously, it’s so good the messed up punctuation is totally worth it. Dear Husband is completely in love with this and was very enthusiastic in the eating of this meal

I’ll be the first to admit, this is probably not the most healthy of all meals. The sour cream and mayonnaise are mostly to blame for this. However it would be so simple to lighten this up with low fat substitutions.

The original recipe was only for 2 people. Seeing as I’m usually making not only dinner but next day’s lunch, that just wasn’t going to do so I upped it to feed 4. I also omitted the mushrooms called for in the original. We’re not to big on mushrooms in this household. Parsley is another thing that managed to escape this dish simply because we were out.

I prepped everything ahead, cooked the pasta, mixed everything together, and then set it in the fridge so all I had to do was put it in the oven in the evening, and it worked perfectly. I ended up taking this out of the oven a few minutes before time was up because the cheese was starting to overcook.

Like I said, this is delicious. It’s such a yummy blending of tangy flavors, and the tuna combined with the pasta make it very filling!

Tuna Penne Casserole – adapted from Harvest Kitchen

2 1/4 c. penne pasta, cooked
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 green onions, minced
12oz. tuna, drained
1 c. sour cream
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
dash of pepper

• Spray a skillet with nonstick vegetable spray. Add tuna and green onions and simmer until heated through. Stir tuna mixture into drained pasta. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, and a dash of pepper. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Caution: One seriously tasty meal!

- Morgan K.

If you are going to eat a bagel it better be good.

I have been consuming way to much good chocolate thanks to Paloma.

With the holidays coming I am in a giving mood…

the secret to my mushroom risotto is truffle oil.

Accreditation? Check!

Clothing? Also check! And if you ask nicely, perhaps I’ll play out a fashion show throughout the week

It’s true – I’m almost completely ready to welcome the world for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Can you believe they are only 52 days away? Whee!

So other than my free clothing bonanza this evening, let’s see what else went down in the world of Marianne today.

I attempted to wake up early, but I half failed (early enough, but not as early as I’d have liked). At least I didn’t waste the entire day away like I’ve been doing so often these past couple of weeks.

I started my morning with a frothy, creamy, delicious smoothie.

Into the Magic Bullet cup went:

• 1 banana
• scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• peanut butter
• cocoa powder
• oats
• milk

It was all sorts of tasty. But really, you can’t go wrong with the whole peanut butter/banana/cocoa combo, now can you?

After some interwebbing and digesting, I made my way to the gym. It’s been far too long since I had last set foot in there, so one of my goals is to get reacquainted. Besides – I’m paying good money for that gym membership, I should be using it! I had some fun on the stair climber & bike, ran an errand at the mall, then came home to speed shower.

All that was followed by a speedy lunch.

Tuna sandwich – tuna mixed with mayo, dill pickles, toasted Silver Hills Squirrelly bread.

Fresh veggies – cucumber and carrot – plus a little cheddar. It makes everything better, dontcha know?

With the even popular hummus for dipping, and a vat glass of water.

I had to shovel that plate of food down to get out the door on time for my volunteer shift at the hospital. That was thrilling as always. I found my way home, watched most of Forrest Gump with my mom, then made my way into the big city for my accreditation and clothing. My drive home was fun – some asshat thought driving 70 km/h on the freeway was acceptable. Strangely, those of us travelling behind them disagreed. Seriously – if you can’t even drive the speed limit, get the hell off the freeway. I hate stupid drivers!!!

Once home, I had to set out making dinner – I wasn’t in the mood for the leftover steak the rest of the fam had. Good thing I’d thought up something tasty on the way home (probably because I had so much time do to the slow driver).

While I was waiting for dinner to cook, someone *cough* Sienna *cough* thought I was cooking for her, and stole my seat!

Miss princess eh?

So what was for dinner? Sweet potato fries…

…kale chips…

…and yogurt topped with frozen blueberries, granola, and creamed honey.

Needless to say, Sienna was highly disappointed in the dinner offerings.

Good thing too – more for me!

I then proceeded to waste the rest of the evening when I should have been studying stupid produce codes. I have a test tomorrow at the produce market I *might* have a job at, where they are testing me on all the codes. I appreciate their reasoning, but I feel like the only good way to learn codes like that is to actually use them. Honestly, I have a nagging feeling about this job, and wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t actually pan out. Good thing I’ve spied a few new places opening up in the next month or so around here, so I’ll be putting out some more resumes.

That being said – I should go study. And here I thought I was done studying for the year! Night.

Hey everyone! Well, I am getting ready for bed, so I will make this quick. I had a very busy day and I am pooped. Well before heading out of work, around 5pm, I snacked on a Kashi bar as pre-workout fuel.

I really like these dark chocolate coconut bars, they really taste like dessert. I got to the gym a whole lot earlier than expected so I stopped in the Starbucks next book and spent a few minutes sipped a short non-fat, no whip, ginger bread latte and reading some of my book. By the way, I am really liking this book so far! It’s really grabbing my attention.

I ended up only reading about a page then I spent the rest of the time checking up on the situation with my bridesmaids dresses. I write so much about food, fitness and fashion on here I bet you all forgot I was planning a wedding too, huh? Well I am happy to say that ALL 8 of my bridesmaids have ordered their dresses!!!! Rumor has it they will be in in 10 weeks!!! I am excited to see them!

At 6:30 I went to Body Pump! It was awesome, per usual!!! I really love this class, the lunge track totally killed me! It is a hard one! After Body Pump, I stopped at my part-time job and did a little work and then headed home. I had high hopes for a trip to the grocery store. But by the time I got around to it, it was 8:30 and I was hungry as heck. I make it a strict rule not to enter the grocery store hungry, we simply cannot afford what will happen if I go in there hungry. I will literally buy the whole store! I have a meeting at my part-time job tomorrow after work, so I will stop at the grocery store quickly after that.

When I got home, I knew I would have to get creative for dinner. I opened the pantry and saw this and knew exactly what to make!

I cooked this box of whole wheat mac and cheese according to the directions and then added a can of tuna and some peas (heated up some frozen ones). I really love this mix. It makes two servings, so I have something for lunch tomorrow too! YAY! Looks like I could make it stretch another day, huh?

For dessert, I had two chocolates. A faculty member that I work closely with brought me in some chocolates today as a Holiday “Thank You”. How sweet, right? I had a chocolate truffle and a pecan and walnut cluster. Adam ate both caramels in about 30 seconds. Guess I won’t be getting any of those Just kidding, I don’t really care, I knew it was going to happen ,they are his favorite.

I have high hopes of getting up to run at the gym in the morning before work. I have a meeting, then a trip to the grocery store planned for after work tomorrow. Followed by a wine and gift wrapping date with my friend Melissa (I love fun/productive girl dates !!!!!). So, I need to squeeze my workout in in the morning!

See you guys in the am, sleep tight!

ACTION ITEMS (Courtesy of the Lewis and Clark SALDF Chapter)

-Help Animals Have a Voice in the White House:
http://action.humanesociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HSUS_HSLF_AnimalProtectionLiaison_Petition&autologin=true

Hello y’all! I wasn’t on early this morning, because being the crazy person I am, I went to class for 8:15am this morning! Wanted to get a good start going to my day Then I did some stretching for my hip (it’s been quite painful recently) and came home. Now I’m doing the 100 loads of laundry that accumulated since Tuesday, and the banking (not fun).

So getting down to it, yesterday’s breakfast was not anything special, except my Peanuts cup was involved and had lots of coffee in it:

Wheatena, peaches, COFFEE!

That’s a lot of peaches, sometimes you just need a LOT

For a snack I ate Ezekial bread with cashew butter, maca and raisins (This is a good snack. LOVES it!) It really fills me up and the Maca goes good with nut butters.

I’m pretty sure I ate other things too…I think I had a Fage yogurt with honey for lunch which I love. I didn’t realize it had so many calories in it (it’s not a bad thing, I was just surprised). It has 250. It’s filling, though, so it’s all good.

I actually ate that in the car waiting to pick up my daughter from pre-k. I was starving again! I also had a Starbucks Latte, but didn’t take a pic of that, since it’s just a cup

Dinner I made tuna with a balsamic reduction with sides of broccoli and sweet potato. Not bad, not great. I’ve said this in the past, I’m not a fantastic cook, but this time it wasn’t me. The tuna tasted “fishy”, so I didn’t like it that much. I got it at Publix, so never again. I guess I’ll stick to Whole Foods, my favorite expensive place to shop I did manage a picture of it though. Even the picture looks strange, because of the reduction:

Really, I don’t recommend that meal. VERY plain, and very boring. With the exception of the balsamic reduction, which was very good

I then proceeded to eat a handful of raisins, cashew butter out of the jar (not much left there) and made Averie’s  Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Snowballs and licked the spoon These were the highlight of my day yesterday! SO divine!

Averie's Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Snowballs

My workout this morning bright and early was a BodyAttack express class. I burned 364 calories at 24% fat in 43:20. Just in case you were wondering. See you tomorrow morning!

Have those words ever been uttered at a good time? Doubtful. What was I thinking joining Twitter? This is not helping my productivity(EvanFMFF… I’m such a PR harlot).

What was I thinking when I was mindlessly snacking on carby carbs yesterday afternoon?

Oatmeal With Smart Balance Peanut Butter

Note to self: Fat and protein are just as amazing; never forget that. Unfortunately, the Today Show has told me that the omega-3’s in smart balance peanut butter aren’t the ones we need. Then again, any omega-3’s are good omega-3’s and this peanut butter is quite tasty(and melts oh so beautifully). Therefore, I will eat my peanut butter, and have my fish too!

Chickpeas And Tuna, Green Beans With Cream Cheese

I was actually thinking of canning dinner and going straight to dessert when I wasn’t hungry for “real” food at 7. Then again, that’s not really like me, so I decided to just have dinner from a can(get the pun). I mixed a can of tuna and a can of chickpeas and had green beans from the dining hall(95% sure these were also from a can at some point) with a little cream cheese for flavor and fat. I don’t know how they can say there’s 2 servings of tuna and about 3 servings of chickpeas in those cans because they hardly made 1 dinner. Anyway, dessert was obvious.

Divine White Chocolate With Strawberries

Divine Advent Calender Milk Chocolate

What was I thinking buying myself all this Divine chocolate? It is clearly dangerous to keep around because it tastes amaaaaaaazing. I think it’s because they use butterfat and dried cream. It may add a little trans fat but it’s natural and life’s worth living. After that, I was clearly thinking I’m not done with white chocolate and berries.

Oatmeal With White Chocolate Peanut Butter And Raspberry Frosting

Maybe one of my New Year’s Resolutions will be to show restraint fro white chocolate. Until then, let the good times roll. I finished up studying for my exam and winded the night down with Leno and this bowl. I realized why it was so quiet and there wasn’t a loud frat party: They’ve all gone home already. Seriously, I’ll be the last kid on campus. Amazingly, after this bowl I still felt like I could eat more.

Cinnamon Raisin Gnu Bar

What was I thinking? I need to learn “I could eat a little more” does not mean “reach for the most fiberous thing on the planet”. This filled me up, and then some.

When I woke up, I was not thinking. Then again, that’s excusable at 6:30am, methinks. It took waaaaaay too long to occur to me that the person in the shower had not just woken up himself but rather was winding down his night. Everybody is done with finals I was not thinking about how cold it was, so the walk to the gym, albeit short, was quite hellish(0 degrees with wind chill).

KIND Almond And Cashew Bar

What was I thinking thinking that I wouldn’t need a bar to get me through my run? Luckily I had this in my pocket and clearly enjoyed it. My run itself was one GIANT what was I thinking. it was sabotaged from the start when I ate tofu, soy yogurt, and chickpeas(all of which don’t agree with me but I love) yesterday making major GI issues. Even though I wasn’t feeling up to par because of that, I wanted to get a good last run in, so I thought I’d go 16 miles. And I did. But I knew that was not the right choice when I was finishing up at 9:30 and everyone else had came and gone long before. The whole thing felt “off”. I was just happy to get back and eat breakfast.

French Toast Oatmeal

Greek Yogurt With Peanut Flour And Nuttzo, Advent Chocolate

What was I thinking? I was thinking a) I want to use up that last egg so I don’t have to worry about bringing it home and b) I’ll eat that advent chocolate now so I don’t have to “fit it in” to dessert later. At least those are practical thoughts.

Now I’m thinking more coffee will make me a happy studier. At 2pm I’ll be walking in to my final Final(slightly unprepared, mind you) and be burning through some pencils to get out of there and get home! Have a good day

Water temp = 53 degrees, Wind out of the northeast

Piers closed for the season. 

Surf:  Puppy drum, flounder

Offshore:  Yellowfin tuna, wahoo

Sound:  Striped bass

Let’s just hope this woman doesn’t actually reproduce.

[via Yahoo! Answer Fail]

~Katie Allyn

Omygaaahhhh!!!! The weekend is almost here!! Hell has frozen over, pigs are taking over the skies, because I have a weekend off. I predict it will be amazing

But enough about the future, let’s live in the past for a little bit. I couldn’t decide between waffles, pancakes or french toast for breakfast – so I combined two of them.

 
French toast waffles. I defrosted a couple Nature’s Path pomegranate plus waffles in the microwave and dredged them in egg whites. Dipped in a maple syrup/almond butter mix. Did you know Thursday was National Maple Syrup Day? I didn’t! But I’m Canadian, I have it every day anyways

Long after breakfast was digested, I braved the –28 C (-18 F) windchill to run at the gym. I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I wanted to run outside this winter. I want my runs to be fun, not spent getting frostbite or falling on the ice.

Skipped my usual 5-mile speed run for a 5-mile tempo run. Basically, I slowly increased my speed as time went on, then brought it down slightly. I find running fast on a treadmill is easier than trying to jog on it!

I waited too long after breakfast to go to the gym though, I was staaaarving before I even finished stretching! Came home and whipped up a fast one.

Turkey and hummus pita. Surprisingly, the best part of this pita were the pickles on it. I swear I’m not pregnant, but I’ve been loving the pickles lately.

Worked 2-10pm again today. Hit up Subway again for a veggie sub.

Doctored up with my own mini-can of tomato & onion tuna. The people at Subway thought I was a weirdo for sure after ordering a dry veggie sub. They asked me if I wanted cheese three times.

Noooow it’s time for the fourth and final round of Q&As!

Hallie, Said:

Oh another question, do you ever feel pressure to blog on a certain schedule or about certain things? What do the people in your “real life” think about your blog, given that you talk about some pretty personal stuff on it.

First, I never feel pressure to blog about certain things. One of the reasons why I love blogging so much is that I make it what I want it to be. Some days I have tons of food photos I want to share, but not much content. Other days I have boring food, but some words I just need to get off my chest!! Although, there are days when I have absolutely nothing. That’s usually when I’ll provide links to more interesting articles or posts

As for my posting schedule, I do sometimes feel a slight pressure to post every evening. What I’ve started doing is writing up posts when I get the chance during the day (like right now!), then just publishing before I go to bed at night. Some days I just can’t get anything out, and I won’t publish at all. I like having regularity to my blog though, and I miss it when I skip a post!

So far the feedback from my family and friends has been positive about the blog. I think it’s allowed them to learn a lot more about me, and perhaps even strengthened our relationships because of it. I try not to publish anything personal relating to other people. So while my life may be an open book, if it involves someone else, it’s a no-go zone.

holly Said:

besides journalism and fitness, what career path would you like to pursue?

I still want to open my own cafe someday! But that’s a long way down the road. You need money to open a store, and that’s not something I’m going to have for a very loooong time Nor am I stable at the moment, I’ll likely be moving at least a couple times over the next several years. The cafe will have to be something I do when I’m finally settled a few decades from now

Nowadays though, I’m trying not to think too much about the future. Mostly because the idea of choosing a career path scares the crap out of me. I’m just trying to do what makes sense and makes me happy in the moment (and, ahem, pays the bills).

Bekah Said:

My question- from a fellow embarrassed muncher to another: When you munch, what are your munch foods?

Anything small and in a box Cereal, chocolate chips, raisins, dates, crackers, nuts. I actually munched my way through a whole box of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest! I do most of my munching when I go out the door to work out. Usually because I go into a workout with a semi-empty tummy and my mouth doesn’t want to wait till after a workout to have a meal! Or when I first come in the door hungry. I’m pretty bad for munching while I prepare dinner. At the same time though, having a few chocolate chips here and there keep me from having crazy chocolate cravings. So while munching isn’t always the greatest, there are worse things

fightingwithfood Said:

Here’s my question for you – If you could, with no consequences, throw the “Great Balancing Act” out of the window for 24 hours, what would you eat and do?

I believe this is called “New Year’s Eve” Seriously, that is one of the few days a year where I throw it all out the window. Fortunately, the blog was created just days after New Years last year, so there is no blog evidence of the damage that was done There was a lot of whiskey consumed (the only liquor I really drink). Multiple chicken wings, chips, cookies, mozza sticks, etc. And there may have been some drunken dancing to old Rancid songs in a stranger’s living room.

So to answer your question, I would drink and eat with abandon and have a blast

ellie Said:

How are you liking your coworkers? Overall…the job? Good/bad? Ugly?

I hate to say this, but being back at Starbucks has made me realize just how much my old job was slowly killing me on the inside. Everything just feels so easy at the cafe. People will sometimes complain about having to do the smallest tasks, while all I can think about was the time I had to be the first to report three teenagers drowned in the river. That, was hard. Having to wipe out the milk fridge is a cake walk compared to that.

The only thing that I’m kinda “meh” about is the drama that always comes with service based jobs. I am a no-drama zone. And already my coworkers are trying to pull me in! I’m just not taking any of it seriously, and I’m not sweating the small stuff

That was fun!!! I’ll have to remember to do these more often. As always, you know you can ask me anything at any time. Be it a comment or e-mail. I always try to be active and prompt in responding to comments and e-mails. One of the best things about blogging is that I get to communicate with so many wonderful people out there

And with that, I’m hitting the hay! Just closed the cafe, only to open it in 8.5 hours time. I’m thinkin’ an extra shot of espresso may be needed in the morn’. Night night!!

Question of the day: If you could, what career path besides your current one would you want to pursue?

Serves 4-6

Experiment by adding different cheeses – intensely flavored ones such as old cheddar, Gruyère or blue cheese are best. It’s a great way to get rid of leftover cheese bits you might have lurking in the fridge.  You can also add a can of tuna if your tastebuds desire!!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. (250 g) dry macaroni
Salt
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) flour
1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) dry mustard (optional)
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) milk
2 cups (500 mL) grated old cheddar cheese, or half cheddar and half Monterey Jack
Bread Crumb Topping (optional)
2-3 slices bread, torn into pieces
1-2 Tbsp. (15-30 mL) butter or margarine
1/4 cup (60 mL) grated Parmesan (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it’s tender but not mushy. Drain well in a colander and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

In the empty pot (no need to wash it out), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mustard and stir well with a whisk, cooking for a minute or so until the mixture starts to turn golden. Stir in the milk and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce must reach a full boil in order for the flour to reach its full thickening potential. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the mixture is nice and thick.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts. Add salt to taste, then stir in the drained pasta. If you want a bread crumb topping, pulse the bread, butter and Parmesan in a food processor until the bread turns to crumbs and the mixture is well blended. Pour the macaroni and cheese into an appropriately sized baking dish and top with the bread crumbs or additional cheese. (It can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in the baking dish; sprinkle with the crumb mixture or cheese right before you bake it.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the topping is golden and it’s bubbly around the edges.

Lynn

Not everybody has the talents of a chef, but there are ways to even bring canned food to life, just by adding ingredients at the right time. Case in point is this EXTREMELY simple recipe:

Tomato Soup with Tuna

Ingredients:

1 can Wolfgang Puck’s Tomato Soup with Basil

1 small can of tuna fish.

1 Lemon

grated cheese (optional)

From the Spice Rack:

one or two pinches Grated Toast Garlic

Dried Parsley, Basil, and Oregano to taste

Heat the soup on medium heat, stirring in the garlic first, then the parsley Oregano and basil.

Drain the tuna fork the tuna, with twisting motions to break it up into fine pieces.

stir in cheese, if you like.

After soup is heated add lemon juice to taste.

Pour soup into a bowl and float the tuna, like an island, on top.

The key to this is to add the herbs and spices as you’re heating the soup. DON’T add the lemon juice or the tuna until the very end.

It’s surprisingly good.

I’ve been cooking, but not posting about it. Here are some reviews of recent meals. Last week I made Bok Choy and Rice Noodle Soup with Turkey Meatballs. Sounds good right? And the picture in the cookbook was pretty convincing too. The ingredients smelled wonderful and I was convinced it would be one of the best meals I’ve made at home. Ehhh, not so much.

It didn’t taste bad. It just didn’t really taste like anything. I liked the idea of making the turkey meatballs with some tofu as well, but those just feel completely apart. They definitely needed some type of binder. It was definitely a disappointment. I can’t really recommend it. They can’t all be the best meal ever, I guess.

Earlier this week I made a Tuna Casserole from Rachael Ray. I rarely make tuna casserole and this one sounded like it could be a winner – lots of spinach and no cream of whatever soup. The only change I made to the recipe was to use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.

The recipe made a ton, but I decided I might as well make the whole thing and hope the leftovers would be good. It came out pretty well. While I was making it, I told Brent it looked more like spinach casserole. I loved the combo of the tuna, creamy cannellini beans and tuna. And anytime I can throw this much veg into a single dish, I’m pretty happy.

Brent commented that he could do without the beans, but I really liked them. We’ve eaten the leftovers, which were pretty good as well. I think I would definitely make this recipe again.

Today was my last day of clinical for the semester, so afterwards my clinical group had a potluck (so much food!!) and finally got a group photo after putting in a full day.

Only two more days of school! I’m already making lists of things to clean and things to cook over break! Can’t wait!

Dunkin Donuts came out with a foul-looking tuna sandwich in early November and, at least around Hoboken, the company has been promoting the hell out of it. It seems like two-thirds of the billboards on roads around Hoboken are advertisements for this vulgar creation. And I don’t understand it for the life of me.

A disclaimer: I hate tuna. I like tuna steaks and sushi tuna, but canned tuna never did it for me. Yum yum Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee Tuna? My ass. And even though Jessica Simpson may be one of the biggest dimwits on the planet, and she thought Chicken of the Sea was actually chicken, and not tuna, she and I are in agreement about not having any desire to eat it.

So why is Dunkin Donuts running ads everywhere with a picture that makes its tuna look just as bad as canned tuna, if not worse? News flash: The food is supposed to look better in the ad, not worse. If someone ever served me a Big Mac or a Whopper that looked like the ones in the respective ads from McDonald’s and Burger King, I might pass out from happiness. Yet Dunkin Donuts is using this picture that doesn’t look the least bit appetizing, and I don’t understand it.

I’m guessing that Dunkin Donuts is trying to make inroads into lunch and not being knows only for breakfast, but tuna? And foul-looking tuna, at that?

I keep waiting for this monstrosity to disappear, but it’s still around. Let me get this straight: Dunkin Donuts offers delicious, fantastic pumpkin iced coffee for a limited time only (it was pulled on Thanksgiving Day), but cat food on a bagel will be around forever? Why?

Lime Restaurant & Rum Bar (thelimerestaurant.com) is a newer restaurant to the dining scene in Daytona Beach, located on the beachside strip of Seabreeze Blvd.  Upon entering the restaurant, we quickly got a good vibe.  There were huge palm-type plants lining the bar and restaurant and cool art all over the walls, highlighted by a huge mural on the wall near the bar.  We were greeted quickly and sat at one of the nice booths.  The waiter told us to try the mojitos, as they were a house specialty and were all made fresh with each order.  The menu had a number of tapas that I wanted to try, so I was lucky that there were four of us.  We started with the chicken skewers, tuna and ceviche.  It’s hard to pick a clear favorite, but the fresh snapper ceviche in, what else, lime juice and seasonings was excellent.  We all decided to go ahead and order another round of mojitos to enjoy the last of the tapas and get ready for dinner.  There were a number of entrees that caught my eye, but after talking to the waiter, I settled on the fresh snapper filet.  I’m glad I did.  I haven’t had a piece of fish that good in a long time.  It had an interesting bronzed pan-fried crust to it that tasted out-of-this-world.  The snapper was also dressed with mango chutney that complemented the fish well.  I give them an added bonus for what happened next and feel it is worth mentioning.  The executive chef came out to our table and asked how everything was prepared and any comments on the dish.  This was above and beyond what I expected and really added to the experience.  Nice job! This is a must visit restaurant when in Daytona Beach.