Can i just say, I am super proud of myself for this recipe because I have never cooked with swiss chard, fennel, leeks or poblano peppers... I didn't even know what they were!
Enjoy!
|
This is my least favorite time of the year. The time when either Mother Nature cannot make up her mind or she just gets a kick out of screwing with our emotions. Either way, spring wants to come, but something just wont let it in. Besides the fact that I have no idea if I should be wearing a rain coat or my down jacket and mittens, I also don't know what to eat! In the winter it is hot hearty meals that stick to your ribs and in the spring it is light cool meals full of fresh vegetables. What do we do during the in-between? That's where this meal comes in. Springtime Minestrone-A hearty soup that is full of healthy vegetables and will leave you feeling full and satisfied. I found this recipe on Eat, Live, Run (she always had the best stuff) and I immediately saved it as a future vegetarian meal. It just screamed healthy and delicious, and look at those alphabet noodles! I didn't think I would find them in my everyday grocery store, but there they were! The players: Swiss Chard, Fennel, Snap Peas, Frozen Peas, Leek, Cannellini Beans, Mint, Poblano Pepper, Vegetable Stock, Alphabets Pasta (or Orzo), EVOO. Its so green.... Can i just say, I am super proud of myself for this recipe because I have never cooked with swiss chard, fennel, leeks or poblano peppers... I didn't even know what they were! Once everything is chopped you want to do this to your poblano.... it may seem cruel, but it is oh so right... While the pepper is cooling after being charred, start cooking your leeks in some EVOO. Once they are nice and soft, add the vegetable stock and alphabet pasta. This is where what I did, and what I will do in the future deviate. In Jenna's recipe she cooks the pasta and leeks to a simmer, and then an additional 5 minutes. For me, my pasta was so small they were way done by the time that 5 minutes ended, and I still hadn't cooked the rest of the veggies! So next time, I may cook the pasta for 2-3 min and then just start adding veggies as shown: I was also a little naughty.... I added some red pepper flakes after the veggies went in, even the poblano. I like things spicy! Sorry I'm not sorry... And here it is. One delicious, healthy and actually vegan dish! My cousin Jason will be so proud! You must eat this with crusty bread, which may or may not be vegan... but I aim low on here :o) It also is recommended to add parmesan cheese before serving... sooooo I guess I will stick with vegetarian :o)
Enjoy!
1 Comment
All I can say is, thank you for the creation of Groupon and LivingSocial in order for me to complete this goal. They almost always have some kind of workout class discount on their sites, and I took advantage of a few of them in order to do this challenge. (Remember... I am saving for a trip to Europe I can't be spending willy nilly.) So I proudly present my first new workout experience.... Yes, that's right. Pole Dancing workout class. This is definitely a different kind of workout class for me. Yes there was in bar in college that had poles (I think they were actually load bearing supports) that we used to dance on. But I have never ever done anything like this before. The Set Up: When we (no way I was doing this class alone so of course my friend Liana came with me) entered the location we were greeted at the front desk and asked to sign a waiver (they are not responsible for stripper heel related injuries). We were then directed to one of the dance studios. There were 12 poles all strategically placed around the room so that you would not bump into anyone while you did your "fireman spin" (yea it happened). The instructor walked in and was very nice and bubbly and away we went... Fireman- http://www.poleexercise.co.uk The Class: We started off by doing some stretching using the pole for balance. Trust me this stretching is a must. After we were taught a basic routine broken down into 5 easy steps that we eventually put all together at the end. Starting with a very basic leg lift while turning around the pole, to a fireman spin, to some crazy sideways spinning move that I cannot remember the name to that our instuctor called, "our grande finale". There was floor crawling, body rolling, hair flipping and body feeling going on everywhere too (hands were kept to ourselves...perv). Once we had learned the routine in pieces, it was time to put it all together. Our instructor then proceeded to turn off the lights and the disco ball that was hanging above the middle of the floor turned on and we were transported to a strip club stage in an instant. What I Liked About it: The class was a ton of fun. This may or may not also be because Liana and I had a margarita before hand, but I think that it only added to it. The women who were in there were of all ages, shapes and sizes wearing skimpy little shorts, tops and high heels. They all fought for spots right in front so they could see themselves do the moves. You could tell that it was super empowering for them, and you know what, more power to them! I was probably the smallest person in the class and came in looking like a nun compared to these women in long spandex pants (which were rolled up to help with grip of the pole), a long sleeve shirt, and socks. I also stood directly behind the instructor where I could barely see myself. But there were no judgements. They all knew that I was new to the class and cheered me on when I did things right and helped me when I had issues. The class was an hour long which was the perfect length, and I really did get a great sweat in! I came home and my arms had already started to feel the pain from class. It hurt to put on my pajama bottoms! I am definitely feeling it today too, and in places that I don't normally target. (I have to add I just sneezed and realized my chest and upper abdominals hurt too) I honestly have an appreciation for what pole dancers do now, not really what they do while they dance, but the athleticism they have to have and strength. Those large dark circles? Yea, lumps What I Didn't Like About It: The aftermath. I think this comes with being a newbie, but I literally look like I was thrown down some stairs, at least when it comes to my left shin. I have about 4 bruises/lumps as you can see that I had to immediately ice when I came home. The back of my right leg is bruised from all the pole wrapping and my wrists have rug burns on them. Let me just say, that this should not deter you from trying out this kind of class. I did most of the damage to my left leg doing one of the spins wrong and once I did it right, ta da! No bumping into the pole. As for my wrists, same thing I was gripping the pole wrong. It all will get better with practice. When I texted my mom this picture it went something like this: Mom: What the H@## did you do? Me: Umm tried to pole dance. Mom: OMG!! lol Don't quit your day job :) Me: I will never be able to be a stripper, so you can rest easy Mom: I will be able to sleep tonight with that new found knowledge. Thanks sweetie! Keep icing... Xpose Fitness has multiple locations in MD, but I used the one in Annapolis (obviously) and they provide multiple kinds of classes. There is the pole dance class (which I did), a floor/chair class, and a sexy stretch. The also do hip hop and zumba classes for a little extra! There are plenty of other places that teach these kinds of classes, so just google one for your area!
Overall, I definitely recommend you try this out, especially with some good girl friends! Thanks for coming with me Liana! This weeks vegetarian dish I did not choose to make because it was vegetarian. I found this delicious meal while I was Stumbling (I'm telling you, get on it if you haven't already). It comes from the website Budget Bytes which is a blog filled with cheap delicious meals. It even shows you how much your meal cost total and per person. Since I am now on a tight budget saving up for my Euro Vacay, this was a perfect meal! Only later did I realize that it was vegetarian! Anyways, here are the players: Ricotta (I used part skim), 1 egg, pasta sauce, lasagne noodles, frozen spinach, mozzarella (used part skim) and parmesan cheese. Get that pasta cooking.. but don't cook too long. Want them to be soft but not mushy. While it cooks... Grate your cheese, then mix all three with the thawed and drained spinach along with your egg. Spread the cheese mixture evenly on the inside of the cooked noodles and gently roll them up! Oh man do these babies look amazing or what?!? Cover them with sauce and bake at 400 for 30 min Dinner is served!!! Here is a link to the recipe! Enjoy!
I haven't done this in a while, and maybe I will start doing a weekly post of some of the articles I find, but I have been keeping up with my news! I also now have a twitter (God only knows why I need more social media in my life, but you can follow me at kuf1221) which allows me to follow many news organizations and get up-to-date info! So here are a few things that caught my eye this week! (and thankfully none include Charlie Sheen...)
Ok, ok. the guesses are all in! Italy was a favorite of most people and my cousin picked Lichtenstein.... So with our further ado.... I am traveling to... (click read more)
Finished reading The Help last weekend. This book did take me a bit longer than the usual 48 hours because I actually made myself have a life outside of reading this book, and forced myself to stop reading at 11:30 pm.
Like I mentioned before, this book is a about a girl named Skeeter who after returning from college to her small town in Mississippi in 1964, she comes up with an idea to write a book about something that concerns her. For Skeeter, it is the racial tension between housewives and the African American maids that do everything in a home from raising the children to making dinner 5 times a week. While the rest of the world seems to be moving past racial tension and repairing damage created only two generations prior, this small town seems to be digging in its heals. Skeeter enlists the help of local maids who bravely share their often traumatic stories of working in white households. This book really was all I had heard and hoped it would be. A very easy red as well. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to think of a birthday gift for their mother, aunt or even grandmother (mine has read it and it is one of her favorite books of all time). Mother's Day is coming up and this would be a perfect gift! It is also coming out in movie form, since no one can seem to write an original screenplay anymore, in August of 2011. Emma Stone will play Skeeter. What is with stan? Who is he? What did he do to get all of these people to name their countries after him? Seriously, there are 7 countries that end with -stan. I realized all of this as I was playing my geography learning game on www.freerice.com. I was cruising along getting all the answers right until I hit one of the -stans. Kyrgyzstan.... Where in the world was that? I mean I know the general vicinity, but I had no idea which -stan country was which, except for Pakistan (which my neighbors growing up were from and for some reason I made a point from a young age to know where that was) and Afghanistan (because we went to war with them). So Uzbek, Turk, Tajik, Kyrgy, and Kazakh... yea you mean nothing to me and I group you as one entity in my mind. So I basically went into a huge rant about this -stan word and how all of these countries were very unoriginal and if I cared enough I would google which country was founded first so I could know exactly who was the copy cat! My roommate then pointed out that she thought "stan" meant "land of", which meant all of these countries were saying "Land of insert first half of the countries name". Which makes them even more unoriginal. I mean all you have going on is that a certain group of people live in that country? (Pakistan actually means "Land of the Pure" so I give them props) This website was actually really helpful in trying to learn where they all are, you know, if you care.
But hold on, the United States got its name because it is made up of states..... that are united... that's kinda lame too! America on the other hand... amazing story behind that name. Basically some Italian merchant named Amerigo Vespucci who was jealous of all of Columbus's success decided to go on his own expedition to the "New World". He wrote letters back to Europe that were eventually published. Then, two German geographers got hold of the letters, and decided the new lands should be named after the man who "had discovered this new quarter of the world", completely ignorant that Columbus had discovered the "Americas" 15 years earlier. Womp womp for Columbus. At least there is a city in Ohio named after him right?? Or not.. So anyways, from this post you should have learned:
So yea, this has definitely taken a backseat to everything else going on in my life. I can't blame my burn forever, but it definitely threw me off track. But not to worry!!!! I am now back on track and ready to finish my applications! So, as mentioned before, I am applying to two schools, American University and Johns Hopkins. Both are in DC and both have online classes I can take, which is great! So my self-imposed deadline for getting them finished and in will be: April 14th!!! No particular reason why I picked this date.. I will have my recommendation forms out to be filled by the end of the week. All I need is to finalize my essay, and then compile everything into one package to send off!
Wheels are in motion.... That's right... it is time... to announce... where I will be going this year to fulfill #13 on my check list. I am very excited! Very very excited!!!! Literally can't believe it is actually happening!!! AHHHHH!!!
Many people already know where I am heading off to, because unlike Carmen Sandiego, I can't keep my big mouth shut! For those of you who don't know, I wanted to see if you could try and guess! And if you already know... DON'T SPOIL THE FUN!!!!! Because I probably know where you live... and I will find you... So go ahead... take a guess!! Couple clues:
Another great vegetarian meal from me to you! Well, it is actually from Jenna at Eat, Live, Run (again) and it was delicious (again). Very simple, very fresh and prep and cooking took a total of 50 min. Not bad! The players: EVOO, whole grain penne, 2 lemons, garlic, sun dried tomato, cannellini beans, cayenne pepper and feta! (the recipe calls for parmesan but as most of you know feta and I have a love affair going on, and I couldn't bring myself to cheat!) Also spinach which is not pictured because I tend to forget about leafy greens... While you cook the pasta (al dente) chop the sundried tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic and zest one lemon! If you don't have a zester, do yourself a favor, buy one! NOW! Also while the pasta is cooking, drain these babies and rinse em good! After the pasta is done cooking, use the same pot to lightly toast the garlic. Do yourself a favor, use fresh :) If the dish seems a little dry, use some of the pasta water to soften it up. Or, if you are really bold, add some more EVOO or butter... yum. Enjoy! and thanks again Eat, Live, Run!
|