Last Day of Vacation

I am not remotely ready to go back to work, but back I go tomorrow morning. I had things I wanted to get done while I was on vacation and most of them didn’t happen. Trying to let it all go, since there’s nothing I can do about it now. However, I did manage to squeak one thing in today.

I love pancakes, but they are usually a holiday/long weekend breakfast. Early in December I picked up a cool griddle pan at Costco and I was looking forward to trying it out when my vacation started. When vacation finally did roll around, I was so tired and I kept thinking I would feel better the next day…Which I didn’t, since all that was leading up to the flu.

Finally, today was the day.

Is that not a cool looking pan?

While I was at it, I decided to try out a new recipe. For years now, I’ve been using a Nigella Lawson pancake recipe that I’ve been quite happy with. But, I have a new cookbook to start experimenting with.

 

It actually is very similar to the recipe I had been using; I guess pancakes are pretty basic.

It took a bit of practice to get the right amount of batter in the little molds and to flip the pancakes without messing them up, but it made such fun little pancakes!

 

 

I thought they came out looking really nice, and they had a nice light and fluffy texture. I did think they tasted a bit salty, but Husband did not notice that. I will definitely  make them again, but cut back on the salt a little bit maybe.

All in all, a successful kitchen experiment and an appropriate breakfast for the snowy day we woke up to.

Rain & Impromptu Thai Feast

It has been raining since Friday. I’m ready for it to stop, but the forecast is saying more rain for the next couple of days.

I was sitting in my chair after work, with my fuzzy blanket, thinking I should really get up and do some exercise. But I couldn’t seem to make myself do it. I thought maybe after supper.

However, by the time supper was ready to eat, it was 8 PM. It was one of those nights when Husband was in the mood to play in the kitchen. He’s been slightly obsessed with a new cookbook.

We ended up with a Thai feast…

Green Curry Chicken, Tofu & Mushrooms, Broccoli with Oyster sauce. I didn’t eat the mushrooms because mushrooms are yucky (oh yes they are) but the rest of it was excellent.

And I have lunch for tomorrow.

But that’s it. Two days in a row of wallowing is enough. Tomorrow there will be a workout of some sort.

Really.

I mean it.

Seven Days of Yoga

I wish wish wish that I had spent my weekend relaxing with these guys out in the garden.

But it was another weekend of crazy. Just when you think your ducks are lining themselves nicely into a row…Well, let’s just say the ducks got ornery and changed their minds. I’ve been crazy busy and the house is a disaster yet again.

I’m a little stressed…again.

So, this is really good timing for Lynn's Yoga Challenge (and I totally titled my post without realizing that Lynn used the exact same title). I kicked things off today with a new one from Yoga Downloads - Moon Salutations Flow #1. It was definitely a great way to wind things down for the day.

I plan to have a new post up on the garden blog soon – hopefully tomorrow, but in the mean time here are a few things that have been showing up in my kitchen!

Aren’t those colors gorgeous? Lettuce, green onions and purple basil from the garden, along with some red bell peppers and tomatoes.

Sugar snap peas and a few strawberries.

A nice addition to Saturday’s lunch of leftover tofu pad thai.

And my cilantro was desperately in need of being chopped back. It was a good excuse to make guacamole last night for dinner! And yes, I am still using my Star Trek popcorn bucket from last summer to carry my garden harvests. :)

And now I need to be tucked into my bed. See you all tomorrow for day two of the yoga challenge.

Adventures in Jam Making

I've used more sugar in the past 2 days than I would normally use in two years...But we got jam!

My Mom has been heard to say that we [her children] are spoiled. My response to this: it is her own fault for feeding us too well. We grew up on everything home made and home grown and my Mom is a good cook to boot. So yeah, we can be fussy about things.

One thing that I have not been able to get used to is store bought jam. It's just not the same. My Mom still makes jam, so every time I visit I score a jar or two to bring home. However, my favorite is strawberry, and judging from the fact that Mom always runs out, it's everyone else's favorite too.

This year I got the itch to try making my own. I've been keeping my eye out for some decent looking strawberries when I had the time to spend in the kitchen, and this weekend was it. I didn't really have a clue what I was doing, but what the heck.

Yesterday morning while grocery shopping, I bought a bunch of strawberries, some Certo, and some sugar. Then after lunch I got to it. I pulled out the recipe page from the Certo package and settled on freezer jam. I prefer freezer jam and it's easier to make. And it was easy. In no time at all I had jam!



Yes, that is an empty Kraft Peanut Butter jar full of jam in the back. My Mom is forever saving small containers for just this purpose. I've never had any reason to, but I did happen to have this one jar that had been washed and not yet recycled. I was scrounging for containers, so it came in handy.

I had bought too many strawberries and remarked to Husband that I had enough to make more jam. He was all for it, though he suggested I make the cooked kind since freezer space is an issue. I knew it would be more work, but couldn't argue with his reasoning.

So this morning I made a big pot of pasta sauce to freeze. Then, once the stores were open at noon, I went back to the store for more Certo and sugar. I didn't see the single packet box of Certo that I had bought the day before, but I saw a 2 packet box, so grabbed that.

Once I got home, I referred to the Certo recipe sheet from the day before and set about mashing strawberries. I actually managed to mash almost a cup too much. I wondered how big a deal this would be. I picked up the new box of Certo I had bough and realized it was liquid, instead of the powdered type I'd used yesterday. I pulled out the recipe insert and discovered that this type called for even less strawberries. The instructions say not to double it. So, I measured out the correct amount into the pot, put saran wrap over the rest, and got on with things.

You bring the berries and sugar to a boil, let it boil for a minute, then remove from heat and stir in the pectin. Then the instructions say to stir and skim for 5 minutes "to prevent floating fruit". I was a little confused as it didn't say what to skim. But once I got stirring I saw the layer of pink foam on top and had a vague memory of watching my Mom skim pink foam from the top of jam she was making. I decided the pink foam was coming off.

Next question - how exactly does one stir and skim? I had been stirring while deciding what needed to be skimmed, so after a minute or two I started skimming. I had the timer set for 5 minutes and when it went off there was still foam. Keep skimming? Stir more? Put the jam in the jars?

I gave it a few more stirs and decided it was going into the jars. As soon as I filled the first jar the "floating fruit" reference made sense as the jam seemed to separate a bit. But the rest of the jars were fine - probably because I was stirring as I was filling the jars.



While this was a lot more work, it was strangely satisfying to hear the pops as the jars sealed themselves while I was cleaning up in the kitchen.

I still had some mashed strawberries sitting on the counter though. And another envelope of the liquid Certo. I checked the instructions and I had almost enough mashed strawberries for another batch of freezer jam. It was supper time, so I took a break to eat, but then I was back at it. Again, the freezer jam went really fast. I had to break down and use glass jars for this batch though.



Aren't they pretty?



So now we have way more jam that we can eat in a year. And I'm tired. But it was kinda fun.

Strawberries!

Finally! Local[ish] strawberries!

We had a week of rain and fog and grey skies. On Thursday afternoon the sun did peep out for a brief period...Then went away again. We got the sun for a little longer on Friday. And a bit more today. But it seems reluctant to stay.

It's really humid, which is not much fun. I just want to nap on the couch.

However, we did get out today to buy groceries and found strawberries from Nova Scotia. Which is pretty local when all you've been getting is strawberries shipped from the States that barely taste like strawberries. And where Husband and I both grew up in Nova Scotia, we kind of enjoy getting Nova Scotian goods. It's like presents from home...





Strawberries made their way into our salad...





And then, despite the humidity that makes it ridiculously hot in the house, I found myself cranking up the oven and rolling out biscuits...



Because if you've got fresh strawberries, you've got to have Strawberry Shortcake. With real whipped cream, of course; we don't do the fake stuff in my house.



Worth. Every. Calorie.

President's Choice Shrimp & Penne

A couple weeks ago Husband picked up this frozen Shrimp & Penne meal at the Superstore. Probably not something I would have bought, but "shrimp" and "ready in 10 minutes" would be enough to convince Husband. And I figured, what the hey? Can't hurt to try, right?

So this was tonight's dinner.



This is what it looked like going in to the pan:



I decided to steam some extra broccoli while I was at it, since we had some in the freezer.



This is what it looked like when it was ready:



There were only eight shrimp in the entire thing, which is supposed to be two servings (yes I counted). I gave most of the shrimp to Husband and topped mine with cheese.



I admit, I was amused to see the "Chef's Tip" on the side of the package recommending what wine to serve with the meal. Not that I have anything against a nice Riesling, I happen to quite like it. To me, wine is something you have with a nicely cooked meal that you intend to savor; somehow frozen dinner out of a plastic bag does not quite fall into that category. Is that just me?



In any case, the verdict is: not bad. Not worthy of a nice glass of wine, but certainly edible. As frozen meals go, I'd say this one is a little above average (not that I've eaten a lot of frozen meals, mind you, so perhaps I have no clue what I'm talking about). I'm not saying that I will rush out to buy it again, but in a pinch, it would certainly do as a quick & easy meal.

I was comfortably full after my portion, but Husband was not - he was in the kitchen looking for cheese and crackers right after supper. So we would probably need something extra to go with it, were we to have it again.

A little while later though, I decided I wanted something else. We still have pineapple in the fridge, and I remembered buying a jar of President's Choice Dark Chocolate sauce that ended up not getting used...Fruit and chocolate - can't go wrong there!

Using up the leftovers

After Saturday's recipes, I still had pineapple and bean sprouts to use up. Whenever we buy bean sprouts for a recipe, I know I will have some left, so I planned on my favorite Ma Po stir-fry for supper, with Spicy Pineapple Salad again.



Our stir-fry had ground pork, tofu, bell peppers, celery, bean sprouts, green onions, garlic and ginger. It's made with the spicy black bean sauce that I love. I used to order this at our favorite little Chinese restaurant; sadly it closed a couple of years ago so I'm very happy we figured out how to make it ourselves!



It made a lovely big wok full which gave us leftovers for tonight. I do enjoy cooking, but on a week night I also enjoy being able to just reheat.

Couch Potato

Does anyone else get mesmerized by The Food Network? I should know better than to turn it on, because once I do it can suck up hours of my time. I seem unable to tear myself away.

Yesterday I caught an episode of Chef At Home. Michael Smith is one of my favourite Food Network chefs; I find him to be very down to earth and pleasant to listen to, and it's nice to actually watch a show that is filmed in the Maritimes (Prince Edward Island). While watching yesterday, I saw a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. They looked pretty simple, so I decided they would be tonight's supper.



We had Spicy Pineapple Salad and Orange Ginger Broth with Soba Noodles.

The Spicy Pineapple Salad was awesome - the perfect balance of hot/sour/salty/sweet that I love. The soup had a more delicate flavour, especially after the tang of the pineapple salad, but it was really good and was easy to do.

I did change up the soup a bit - added chicken, and used a red bell pepper (mainly because I had one that needed to be used) instead of bok choy. Also, I garnished with a bit of sesame oil and cilantro rather than sesame seeds.

I can definitely see making both of these recipes again.

Recipes here

Speaking of Salsa...

I also made a small batch of tomato salsa on Sunday, the first of many for this fall I am sure...



Today after work I went out to the garden with my little basket and I found some Cinnamon Basil needing to be trimmed. Love the smell of this stuff!



I also picked some sugar snap peas, green beans and tomatoes. Unfortunately, the peas and beans are on the bottom, so you can't see them...



But here is a shot after I washed everything and put the peas and beans on top.



And the tomato & mozzarella salad we had with our supper tonight, with the Cinnamon Basil sprinkled on top of course. This was Husband's idea, though the execution was mine (he would have thrown it all on paper plates, I like to make it look pretty).

Black Bean Salsa

This is a favourite recipe of ours, we make it often and it is always a hit. The batch we made yesterday was extra special, having been made with tomatoes and cilantro from my garden. So I thought I would take the opportunity to share the recipe.

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Drain and rinse black beans. Combine black beans and remaining ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.

Serve with your favourite tortilla chip. We like it with the Tostitos Hint of Lime chips. It's also quite good just eaten with a fork. :)

The Tomato

I went out to my little garden today and spent some time contemplating The Tomato. This is the tomato that I have been watching. The very first little green tomato to appear, the first tomato to show signs of ripening. I have been keeping a close eye on The Tomato, wondering when it would be ready.



I have to admit, I spent some time debating it, but in the end I decided that today was the day. When I showed Husband he said "That's one big tomato." So far it is the largest to show up on the Scotia Tomato plants, the rest of them are all smaller, but starting to get ripe. I can only speculate that it is so large because it was the earliest to start forming. Off topic: notice the row of dwarf sunflowers in the background...What did I tell you?



I also snipped some Lime Basil, as one of my plants was starting to flower. When I had the sprig of basil in my hand, I noticed the the flowers were actually quite pretty.



Following the precedent I set with my first green beans, I couldn't bring myself to just slice this tomato up and throw it on the burgers we were barbecuing for supper. So I made us a little appetizer, using the basil along with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I have to say, it's quite fun to bring things in from the garden and think about how best to showcase them; really makes me appreciate what I am eating.





That being said, I have to say that this particular tomato was somewhat disappointing. It was good, but not as good as I know tomatoes can be. It remains to be seen, as the rest of them get ripe, whether it was just this tomato or perhaps this is a variety that is not as flavourful. I'll have to wait and see.

I went out after supper to water my Tomatillo and Cupid tomatoes; it was a hot sunny day and I noticed they were looking wilt-y. While I was out there I spotted this little guy:



As I stood there, inside my enclosure, camera lens pointed through a hole in the mesh, it occurred to me that it was a little like being at a zoo, except that I was the one on the inside of the fence.



Beck Diet
Day 20 - Get Back on Track.
Dealing with those occasions where you do go off your plan and eat something you ought not. This could lead to the defeatist attitude where one decides they've gone and blown their diet, so they might as well just going ahead and eat more.

The thing is, eating one thing off your plan is not going to do much damage. But if you go all out of control with your eating for the rest of the day, that could do quite a bit of damage. Not to mention making you feel awful.

Exercise of the day - create a response card for this situation, to remind myself that if I do go off track with one unplanned food item, I can immediately get back on track for the rest of the day.

Also, going to take a bit of time here to Give Myself Credit. My eating has been perfect so far this week. We will be away for the weekend, leaving on Friday morning so I have been hoping to get in 4 workouts (Mon - Thur), since I very likely won't have time for exercise on the weekend. Monday & Tuesday went great. Tonight I was on my way to talking myself out of it...I've been trying to get things done to get ready for the weekend, and was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed...So I've decided on some yoga before bedtime. I'm giving myself credit for switching to a different workout than what I had planned, rather than just skipping it altogether.

Green

Another meal made with ingredients from my garden, this one inspired by the colour green.



I harvested my first green beans on the weekend. It wasn't a large amount, but somehow just steaming this handful of Kentucky Blue Beans didn't seem to be a fitting tribute for these fruits of my labour.



I decided, that along with some cilantro from my garden, the green beans would go into a Thai Green Curry.



The dish was rounded out with shrimp, red bell pepper and a jalapeno I had in the fridge (mainly because it was green and I was really enjoying my theme).



And speaking of green, I served it up in these green pottery bowls, over Jasmine rice.



Lovely bowls aren't they? An anniversary gift from Husband's parents. If you ever find yourself in Middleton, Nova Scotia, you should stop by Apple Pie Pottery (I looked for a link, but apparently they don't have a website).

Beck Diet
Day 19 - Stop fooling yourself.
This was an excellent section for me. I always do well for the first week or two or three of trying to lose weight. But eventually it starts to feel extremely unfair, restricting myself all the time. Then, I will be confronted with something that I want to eat, that I know I should not eat, but I manage to make an excuse...I'll just allow myself this one treat...This won't make that much of a difference...I'll make up for it tomorrow...It doesn't matter anyway...

But of course it does matter. Which is not to say that treats are never, ever allowed. But if I want to lose the excess weight, I'm going to have to say no more often than yes. Those extra calories matter. They make a difference - maybe they wouldn't if I was maintaining...but I'm not there yet, I need to lose first.

So the exercise of the day is to make myself another little index card to remind me of all these things. To remind me that it's not okay to give in, just this one time.

Also, going back to Day 17's exercise which was deliberately serving myself too much food so that I could learn to stop eating when I am full. MizFit asked in the comments whether this was a stressful exercise.

The section in the book includes a transcript from a patient session discussing this exercise. The patient found it to be extremely stressful, which surprised me. If you know there is extra food that you are not going to eat, why should it be stressful? On Friday night at the restaurant, I ordered my meal knowing that it would be too much, that I would only eat half of it and I was not bothered at all.

Last night, we had our curry & rice. I had one serving, Husband had two. After eating, I went to pack up the leftovers. I thought there wasn't that much there at first, so I started putting it in a container for my lunch the next day. As I was filling the container, I realized there was way more there than I would normally eat for lunch. And at this point I did get stressed out. It was as if, by planning to take the leftovers for lunch, I was obligated to eat all of it, even though I knew I couldn't.

Since I did have it packed in one container, I took it to work for lunch anyway. When lunch time rolled around, I ate all of the shrimp & vegetables and part of the rice. Then I realized I was full and didn't want any more. So I stopped eating. Which is not an unusual thing for me, so obviously there was no need to get stressed about it. But I find it interesting that my reaction was so different in the two different cases. I guess I get stressed when the reality I am presented with is not in line with my expectation. I need to realize that I can adapt to unexpected situations, that I can handle it, and there is no need for stress.