Eek!

This is what we woke up to this morning…

Yesterday it was raining and the grass was still green; today it was a winter wonderland.

We are not amused.

But Frank did go out.

He came in wearing snowballs.

That was the best picture I could get – he wouldn’t stay still.

So. I don’t have the usual food blogging for you today, but I do have some reviews. First up…

Pancakes in a Can

I’ve noticed the Batter Blaster in the organic section a few times. My reaction? Pancakes in a can just can’t be good. But then Angie tried them and survived the experience, so I decided to give them a try.

They are certainly easy. Squirt some batter in the pan…

and the next thing you know you have pancakes.

It is fast, and if you don’t want to make a whole batch of pancakes (like yesterday when I got home from grocery shopping) it’s quite convenient. They are light and airy.

I did think they had a slightly odd flavor – a little bit of a sour taste. But it’s not a strong taste and aside from that they were not bad.

Husband said: “Your pancakes are way better”

Why thank you very much!

He also felt that they didn’t have much substance – it was like eating air.

We’ll finish off the can, but I don’t think I would buy it again. It was kind of a fun experiment though.

Next up…

Cookies!

I decided to try the Super Charge Me cookies from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

They call for Flax Meal, which I don’t have, but I do have Flax Seeds. So I toasted them up and then ground them up in my little mini processor.

I have had this little chopper for probably 10 years and it still works great. Handy little gadget.

I also used dried cranberries instead of raisins, and crunchy almond butter instead of smooth because that’s what I had. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, but I figured I’d give it a shot.

Ready to go in the oven…

And all done – these were pretty quick to make and none of the ingredients were extremely far out.

I tried one while they were still warm, since that’s usually when I like cookies the best. I have to say, I thought it was kind of blah. But, I had another one after supper and I liked it a lot more the second time around; I guess these are better when they’ve had a bit of time to sit.

I don’t see this replacing my favourite [way less healthy] chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finishing these off either. I probably will make them again.

And finally…

Indian Spiced Haddock

I keep trying to find ways to cook fish so that Husband and I will enjoy eating it at home. So far my attempts have not been met with a lot of enthusiasm.

My sister sent me this recipe quite a while back, and I finally got around to making it today.

I made a spice mix…

Which went on the Haddock, and then the fish went back in the fridge to marinate…

While I puttered around doing some other things. Laundry, vacuuming, you know – fun weekend stuff.

I was vacuuming the stairs, and managed to knock a set of tea light holders off the little table that I have in the entry way and broke two of them. I’m hoping I can fix them with glue, but for for now I replaced them with a little festive decoration.

I was intending to do my intervals on the treadmill – I had my workout clothes and sneakers on while I was cleaning even – but my foot was bothering me, so I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Then my Mom called and we gabbed for a while, and by the time I got off the phone it was time to make supper anyway.

At this point, things started flying in the kitchen and I didn’t stop to take pictures. First, I made a spiced Basmati Rice recipe that is a favourite of ours (the recipe is just called Basmati Rice which I think makes it kind of confusing, but it tastes really good).

Once the rice was going, I finished making the Indian Spiced Haddock. Husband came out and did a bit of chopping to help me out. I could tell he was not exactly excited by the prospect of me feeding him fish again.

Here is my plate, with some broccoli slaw for some extra veggies:

The verdict? We both really liked this and we would make it again. It did take a bit of time, because the fish had to marinate, and there was a bit of chopping involved with all the veggies. But it was really nicely flavoured and I enjoyed it a lot. If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I will post it.

So that was my day – more or less – almost time for Monday again.

That’ll Put Marzipan in Your Pie Plate Bingo!

Today was not a stellar food-bloggy day. Part of my reason for going the food blog route (besides the fact that I like talking about food and garden season is over) was to help me get an accurate picture of my eating habits. I like to think that most of the time I do not too bad. Then there are days like today.

I had an appointment for a hair cut at 11 am. I dragged myself out of bed at 9 am – really wanted to stay there and sleep more – and stumbled around getting coffee and an English muffin for breakfast. Just made it to the hair dresser for 11:00.

Finished there by around 11:40. Normally I would enjoy looking around some of the stores uptown when I’m there on a Saturday, but I just didn’t feel like it today (not want to shop? obviously I was not myself).

I did have to go out to Sears to pick up a parcel, so I did that. I walked through the furniture department because I have been wanting a new rug for the living room for over a year now but can’t seem to find one I like – I did see one today though so that was a little bit exciting.

Made a stop at Canadian Tire, then the Superstore for groceries, then home.

I had eaten breakfast around 9:30-ish. It was now after 2:00 so I figured I should eat something. I had just come from grocery shopping, I had a kitchen full of food, but I could not think of anything I wanted to eat.

The idea of listening to your body about when to eat and what to eat is a very popular one these days, but it really seems like mine has no idea what it wants a lot of the time. I ended up having about 8 oz of Bolthouse protein drink and some pancakes from a can (review to come). I also reheated and finished off the coffee from breakfast. My tummy felt satisfied with that.

 

I really had no energy or ambition to do anything, but I feel like I can’t keep up with things as it is, and the idea of goofing off for the afternoon and getting even farther behind was not appealing either. So  I did some laundry and some tidying up.

Then I set about making Bean Balls for supper. Husband was going out computer gaming for the evening, I had been feeling sad to see my supply of Bean Ball lunches disappearing from the freezer (well, happy that I was eating them for lunches – sad that soon they would be gone), so when Husband said he would be out, I immediately decided on what I would be making for supper. At least I had Marinara Sauce in the freezer, so all I had to do was make the Bean Balls and heat up sauce.

Husband wanted to know what I was making.

“Spaghetti and Bean Balls.”

“That’s not meat balls.”

“No, it’s not. But they’re good!”

“But that’s not meat balls.”

“No, it’s not. I’m not making them for you.”

Aren’t I a nice wife?

Once the Bean Balls were all made, I went to get in a short workout. Very short – I tried out Circuit B for December and only repeated it twice, which took me about 15 minutes. That felt like enough.

I was up and down the stairs a few times after my workout and my legs were feeling shaky. After a 15 minute workout. I though perhaps I haven’t eaten enough. I had also realized during my workout that I hadn’t had any water all day – just coffee and protein drink. So, I pounded back a bottle of water and ate some Triscuits with Hummus before going to have a shower.

Then I cooked some noodles and had my supper. Broccoli slaw, Bean Balls & whole wheat spaghetti, topped with (sorry vegans, avert your eyes) real cheese. Normally I would go for mozzarella or parmesan on top of pasta, but we bought this Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar and I thought it might go well – it is very smoky and cheddar-y at the same time.

Along with my comfort food and comfort drink, I had some comfort TV (and if you are a Buffy fan, my post title should now make sense and tell you what I was watching).

I only ate about half the spaghetti because that felt like enough. And then a short while later I ate some cookies. And some baked kettle chips. Not because I was hungry. I really don’t know why.

Anyway, I got to thinking about my weekend eating because this is a pretty normal pattern – not necessarily eating all the extras after dinner, but not having a real lunch. I usually blame it on being too busy doing stuff and not wanting to take the time. But today I honestly just couldn’t think of anything I wanted. So I drank the protein drink because it was easy and ate pancakes because I’ll pretty much never say no to pancakes.

Sometimes I blame it on lack of a structured routine. I was thinking that I don’t have this problem during the week – my lunch and dinner is usually all planned out and when lunch time rolls around, I’m ready to eat. In the afternoon, I am ready for a small snack.

Except of course that breakfast is still a problem for me. Which is why I’ve been drinking those protein drinks so often lately – I’m tired of trying to think of something I want to eat for breakfast.

A friend once said they thought that eating was a chore for me. It seemed like a funny idea. I like food. I like eating.

Except when I feel like I can’t be bothered was the thought that occurred to me today.

I don’t really have an conclusion or great revelation here. I don’t know whether there needs to be one? If it’s only the weekends, does it matter that much? Except it isn’t just the weekends, it’s breakfasts during the week. I don’t know. Just sorta thinking and trying to work this out.

Reeee-laaaax

It’s Friday. Workout and dinner is done. I’m sitting on the couch in my pajamas. Ah! Let the weekend begin.

The lack of post yesterday was due to extreme lateness getting home – as in 7:30. I was tired. I was cranky. I had passed hungry and got to I don’t care if I eat, I just want to curl up in a ball on the couch.

Probably doesn’t help that it rained most of the day yesterday. I didn’t get out of the office for a break at all because by the time I thought it looked like the rain was clearing off I got sidetracked by a critical issue at work, and by the end of the day I was a little stressed.

So I was too lazy to download all my photos and write a post last night. It was all stuff you’ve seen before anyway. In fact, dinner last night was the exact same dinner we had Wednesday night, except I skipped the sausages and let Husband have them all. I took lots of pictures Wednesday. Please go look at those now…

…Okay…today. Did I mention? Friday!

I had a teeny, tiny bit of Bolthouse Mocha protein drink left.

Tasty, but not exactly enough to fill my tummy. So, I was easily convinced to go for a breakfast sandwich this morning – which turned out to be a breakfast wrap because they were out of Ciabatta buns.

Bacon, egg & cheddar on a wrap. Totally filled me up.

I had lunch around 1, though I still wasn’t terribly hungry. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Mole with Quinoa.

I know it kinda looks like mud (polite comparison) but it really does taste good.

I ate the apple around 3 pm – it was a particularly sweet and juicy Honeycrisp. So good!

We were on the way home by 4:30 which was nice after being stuck at the office so late last night. It was nice to be driving home before dark for a change!

For supper we made Kickin’ Chicken. A very complicated dish.

You mix these:

Then you add some fresh basil. Which I didn’t have. This will do:

All the while being overseen by the peanut gallery:

Phew! This cooking thing is hard work. Now you have the sauce:

And you just have to wait for your Husband to get up from his computer game and handle the chicken. Because JavaChick does not handle raw meat.

Finally, the chicken and the sauce go in the oven, and JavaChick hits the treadmill! Half an hour of intervals and dinner is almost ready.

With steamed broccoli and a slice of Focaccia bread.

Frank is a big fan of Kickin’ Chicken so he was waiting expectantly for his share. Which he got. Mommy is a pushover.

Dessert:

A pretty tasty little cookie. I like that they are individually wrapped – good for portion control.

I went and had a shower and when I came out Husband had opened the tin of shortbread.

So I had to sample a little piece. Or three if you must know.

I’ve been looking forward to popcorn since earlier today though, so I think I’m going to make myself some to enjoy while watching Dollhouse.

Just about a perfect Friday.

Only Wednesday?

Don’t know what it is, but this week is seeming really long already.

Nothing too exciting today – woke up this morning feeling really tired and like I was just dragging myself around. I was a little concerned it might be a reaction to the flu shot – you can experience flu-like symptoms apparently. I did end up taking some Advil this morning, but by the end of the day I was feeling better.

Started my day with the usual…

…and…

Mid-morning I was really hungry. I raided my desk drawer and came out with a Key Lime LaraBar.

For lunch, I had Sweet Potato & Black Bean Mole with Quinoa.

I think I actually made these portions too big – I had a hard time finishing it. Tasted good, just very filling.

I did slightly wimp out in the exercise department today. I did do the first new Circuit workout for December, but I only did 2 times through. That felt like enough to wipe me out today, and my arm is still sore. Short workout is better than no workout.

Then I came upstairs to make supper. Had a little snack while I got things going:

I should stop buying this stuff – when it’s there, I can’t leave it alone.

For dinner I made a sort of Frittata type thing. I chopped a small red onion and red bell pepper…

Which went in a medium skillet with a little coconut oil. Meanwhile, I started cooking some of these in the grill pan…

Then I chopped some flat leaf parsley.

I whisked some eggs with Tobasco, salt, pepper and a little oregano, and added the parsley; this mixture went in the pan with the onions and peppers. I stirred things around until it started to set.

Then I topped with some tomatoes and another little sprinkle of salt, pepper & oregano…

And some cheese.

Then the skillet went into the oven at 300 degrees. While I waited for the sausages and frittata to finish cooking, I sliced some Rosemary Focaccia.

The frittata came out of the oven looking like this…

And that was dinner.

I wish that I’d had better lighting for the frittata photos, because the contrasting colors were so pretty. The whole thing looked very fresh. It was also pretty tasty.

I ate all of my frittata portion and focaccia bread, but I only ate one of the sausages. The cats got the other one. I’m just not a sausage fan. Husband likes sausages though, and he thought these ones were pretty good.

Pound Cake for dessert.

A Shot in the Arm

Yeah, I went and got an H1N1 vaccination today. I text messaged Husband from the waiting area after to tell him and his response was ‘?? why did you?’ Not a surprising response I guess, since I’d said I didn’t think I would be getting one.

H1N1 vaccinations were a hot topic a month ago, along with the fact that the vaccination clinics were a disaster. Friends who had been to the clinics for High Priority Groups said they were completely disorganized, the wait time was hours, and the clinics kept running out of vaccine. It seemed like a lot of hassle to avoid getting the flu.

But I started hearing more about the H1N1 flu, and the danger of respiratory complications. I have asthma, and while it doesn’t trouble me most of the time, I have had some scary attacks. Technically, having asthma puts me in the High Priority Group. This little voice in the back of my head started telling me that maybe I should rethink this; it’s one thing to be stoic about getting the flu…Ignoring a possibly serious health risk is a different thing altogether. A thing you might call stupid.

Then yesterday a co-worker sent out information about a vaccination clinic today, within walking distance of the office. So I figured I could at least go down and check it out, right? So I left my desk a few minutes before 11 am and walked down. Then I pretty much just walked right through – no waiting time at all except for the 15 minutes after my shot to make sure I wasn’t going to have a reaction.

I would have tried to talk Husband into going down, except that I figured he wouldn’t go for it and he most likely did not have his Medicare card with him anyway.

I’m glad that I went though – feels like one less thing to worry about.

My arm did start to get sore in the afternoon though. Today was supposed to be a Circuit Training day, and a new routine to boot. I watched the video demos of the new workouts yesterday while eating lunch, and was looking forward to trying out the first one today (yes, I was; I’m not making that up; honest). So I thought: I’ll skip the push ups that are part of the warm up – that will make it a little easier. Then time passed, and my arm felt even more sore.

Yeah, so I sorta feel like a wimp, but I decided to take the day off from working out. Would have liked to start of the month with a bang, but hopefully it will feel better tomorrow.

On to the rest of my day…

It was cold today! I heard on the radio that the high was going to be –1 degrees Celsius…Quite a difference from yesterdays 9 degrees above 0. I dug out my knee length suede coat with the [fake]furry collar. I don’t know that it’s actually warmer than the jacket I have been wearing, but I feel like it is with the fuzzy collar around my neck, and because it’s longer.

We had some bread left, so breakfast was toast with PB & J, along with a small glass of Bolthouse Perfectly Protein Mocha.

Frank kept me company.

He looked extremely interested in my toast, so I gave him a little piece which he proceeded to play with. I think it makes him feel like he’s hunting for his food.

Coffee at work.

For lunch today, I selected my last container of Rockin’ Moroccan Stew.

And I had an afternoon snack of a Coconut Cream Pie LaraBar.

I was really hungry today for some reason. When I got home, the soup, which had been defrosting in the fridge, still had a frozen chunk in the middle. So I had a snack while I puttered around the kitchen and waited for the soup to thaw.

Supper was a repeat of Saturday night.

I think the soup was even better tonight!

I was a little iffy on the shrimp wontons when we saw them at the store, but Husband loves shrimp so we decided to try them. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. They smell awesome coming out of the oven, like sesame oil – one of my favourite smells! And they tasted really good. The wrappers were nice and flaky, and the shrimp inside was perfect – not tough or fishy tasting. I would buy these again.

And dessert.

So this was my second stab at baking Pound Cake. Last time I thought the outside/crust tasted a little overdone. This time I decreased the baking time by 5 minutes and tested it. My cake tester came out clean, so I took it out of the oven.

When I trimmed the top off to frost it, I was afraid I might have undercooked it. But I actually think it came out better this time – I think it might be staying a bit moister.

Anyway, 2 Pound Cakes in 2 weeks is enough, so I promise to take a break this weekend.  I think I found out what I wanted to know – I found a recipe and I can turn out a decent Pound Cake.