Life Lite

Same Bat Blogger, Different Bat Channel

2011-07-07T14:15:00.001-07:00

Please join me at my all new (and way more awesome) blog.

The Barn

Cold and Sunny

2010-05-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

It was COLD in Asheville this weekend...and this girl was not prepared. Having not even considered checking the weather I packed nothing but sundresses and a pair of jeggings for the weekend only to get there and suffer through 60 degree and windy weather all weekend. It was gorgeous and sunny, but freaking cold! I caught a chill that I haven't been able to shake. After a long hot shower after getting home and packing bed buddies (rice filled sacks you heat in the microwave) around me in the bed I finally warmed up enough to sleep. Only to wake up to overcast skies this morning and a cool high of 60 degree weather day. Not cool for May. Not cool!

So rewind to Friday. After work I headed out solo to Asheville. Husband had a weekend filled with studying ahead of him and I had Mother's Day, a graduation party, and my birthday to celebrate.

A little fast food for the drive :)

When I got into town I met Mom and Dad at Papa's & Beer for dinner. This veggie burrito was the size of my head and I ate every last bite, as well as most of the rice. Driving over to the in laws to say hello and open a few pre-birthday gifts I seriously thought I had reached a record point in my life. I was so full I literally thought my stomach sack (is there even such a thing?) was going to explode I was so full. Healthy eating or not, eating 3 times your weight in food is never good for you! Word to the wise!

The in-laws greeted me with a celebratory Shock Top and some wonderful gifts including...GLASS STRAWS and a SPIRALIZER!!! Those birthday wish lists work after all! I am so blessed to have gained such a wonderful family!

The next morning in spite of wanting to sleep in, I woke up at 7:45. The sun was shining and I had planned a morning run with my best friend Lu at 10 so I decided to go with it. I wasn't convinced Lucy would show up after a late night text message declaring her exhaustion so I went ahead and fixed a breakfast of two scrambled eggs and some chocolate milk (hey it's my birthday!) and let it digest, sent her a text asking once more if she was in, and after no response for 30 minutes I went on over to the track to get my run in. I'm training for my first half marathon, which doesn't take place until November, but the idea of 13.1 miles seems insane to me so I think I need A LOT of training! Saturday's long run was supposed to be 4.5 miles.

I got two miles in and stopped for a second to check my phone to see if Lu had responded and sure enough she was on her way. A few minutes later she came in with her Mom and her sis. I love a group Saturday morning workout! Lu and I ran, her mom walked, her sis ran the trail and did stairs. With a total of 4.5 miles under my belt I sprinted across my finish line.

A quick shower was had and the Lu and I met our third amigo at the Laughing Seed downtown, a vegetarian restaurant with so much variety you couldn't ask for more! I was so excited to eat there. I ate there a LONG time ago, well before I could really appreciate everything they had to offer.

Two loves of my life!

Bloody Marys just cause...

Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Hummus...

Add another to this plate :) I was a hungry girl this weekend!

The Fireside Open Face: Oven roasted root vegetables tossed with garlic and herbs piled on grilled focaccia bread with sunflower spinach pesto and warm cashew bearnaise sauce. Served with a side salad and choice of dressing.

Unbelievable.

The three amigos...

Lu surprised me with a beautiful pearl necklace and a book for my birthday. She is one of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Once again I totally failed to take pictures from that point on. Lu and I ran a few errands and then I made my way to the graduation party for my Brother-from-another-mother. I struggled a bit in the eating arena here. On the menu was catered BBQ with all the fixings, so baked beans (with bacon), potato salad, cole slaw and bread. I think I had a pound of potato salad. Luckily Aunt Jill came to the rescue with some baked squash sent by my Mamaw (she was trying to make her typical fried squash a little healthier). I scarfed it down in 2.5 nano seconds.

When the party finally ended we went back to my parents house and ended up talking, over waters (no lie!), until 3:00 in the morning! There isn't much that can replace deep conversation with your family in the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was church and then a birthday and mother's day celebration dinner on my Grandparent's patio. I don't ever remember receiving so many gifts! Earth Fare coupons, camping shorts and Life Is Good Tees, a table cooler, new Performance Tevas (there is a story here, but I will have to tell it another time), greenery (cash) for a dehydrator (Excaliber here I come!). Absolutely amazing.

Belly full, sunny nap taken while rocking in a chair with the cool breeze blowing on my face, water packed in my Tervis I hit the road to go home to my Prince. The days are getting few :(

Will snapped some photos of the sun coming through the front door. We painted our front door red a little while ago and it puts off the prettiest amber light in our living room.

And he picked flowers for me...

Snuggled up in his arms I fell asleep immediately.

And apparently snored because he kept elbowing me telling me to stop.

Birthday recap coming soon!

Latest ChickSpeak Article: My new BC

2010-05-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest article discussing my experience with IUDs.

And as an update, it's been just over a week since having it inserted and I am pain free and feel totally normal. At this point I'm definitely thinking it was SO worth it!

I'm Back in Middle School

2010-05-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Good Friday AM to you! If you have been wondering where I've been, I've been doing a lot of nothing. Husband's exam pressure is finally letting up and I've been trying to cherish every spare moment I have with him as we count down the days till he leaves :(

So as I was driving to work this morning I was jamming to some 90's on 9 (sirius/xm). You know when a song comes on and you are instantly transported back in time? Tootsie Roll came on and suddenly I was back in my best friend Ree's parent's basement, at one of our awesome middle school parties, dancing my booty off. We thought we were so cool. And Tootsie Roll was MY song.

We always had the best parties. Eating lots of pizza, dancing a little too inappropriately for our age :-o and watching old horror movies in the dark. Our little group had grown up together playing in the same softball and baseball little leagues. Our parents had all been friends since waaayy back and it wasn't uncommon for our sleepevers to be coed. Mutli-level water fights ensued, parents included, running through the house sliding in our socks on the wood floors (I broke my tailbone doing this), tent camping in the backyard...man those were the days!

Do any of you have precious memories you will treasure forever?? Tell me about them!

And to plug a friendly reminder: DON'T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR MOM A BIG HUG AND A KISS THIS MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I'm going to Asheville today, alone :(, to celebrate Mother's Day, a graduation party and my birthday. I'm a little sad to be celebrating my b-day alone for the second time in a row, gosh darn those exams! But I do love getting to spend the time with my wonderful family...and receiving prezzies of course :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Meal Planning 101: An Introduction

2010-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

In our society where fast food and prepackaged frozen meals reign supreme, meal planning has become a lost art. For some reason it has always come naturally to me. I mean you take inventory of your pantry and fridge, think about what you want to eat for the week, and go buy what you still need. Easy as pie right?

Not so much I'm finding. I've listened to countless conversations at work, both with other employees as well as self dialogue about lunch options or dinner plans. So many people have no idea what their next meal is going to be. Not meaning that they can't afford to buy something, but that they literally haven't taken the time to think about it! I don't know if it's because I plan every little aspect of my life or what but that would drive me crazy! Not to mention that I know that my stomach is going to be growling a couple hours after lunch and I need to make sure I've got something decent around to quiet it so that my coworkers don't give me the stink eye (not really).

Beyond the general living meal to meal I've also talked to many people who tell me how much money they spend buying groceries and food each month. I could seriously eat nothing but ribeye steaks, truffled delicacies, and exotic taste pleasers for every meal with what they spend. After I pick my jaw up off the table, my next question is always, "Do you plan your meals??" to which they almost always answer, "I try but not really."

I strongly believe one of the first steps towards healthy eating is getting a strong hold on your pantry and fridge. And this starts with meal planning. Will and I may live on a shoe string budget, but don't think for a second that we don't eat like kings and it is because we make the most effective use of what we have.

So many people offer the excuse that they don't eat healthy or are overweight because they just "love food too much" but I have a hard time believing they truly love food if they aren't willing to spending some time working with it and cooking it. Or at least eating REAL food. What they love are the chemicals and additives that keep them addicted to McDonald's hamburgers and Honey Buns.

This is going to be a multi part guide to meal planning. After discussing how I plan our meals weekly, providing you with meal planning tools and customizable shopping lists, and identifying pantry and fridge staples I hope to show you that meal planning can become second nature, making you, your waistline and your wallet happy.

Fashion for the REAL World: Yard Sale Spends

2010-05-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

Having once considered myself a shopping guru I came to a very odd realization a couple of days ago. Living on a single income and getting Will through school has all but halted any frivolous spending including but not limited to: impulse purchases, weekly top or dress updates, special occassion-must-have-the-perfect-outfit buys, and even my-basics-have-holes-in-them-necessary-replacements. Over the past year and a half I have been "editing" my wardrobe tossing anything that its worn looking, I'm tired of, or just doesn't fit right anymore into the yard sale pile.

The good news: this provided me with a massive heap of stuff to sell at the yard sale
The bad news: my closet is a sea of black and white solid shirts and is a black hole for inspiration

I could seriously toss every single thing in it and not think twice.

Lucky for me I sold my heart out Saturday and made the declaration that anything I made would be put to good use to restock my closet.

Fifteen senteces later...my realization was that I have forgotten how to shop! With money in my hand (literally, tons of cash, mostly ones making me look like a stripper who had a good night) I hopped online to peruse some sites to get a good idea of what I wanted to buy. The first signs of losing my shopping skills began to appear...

1. I had no more fav sites (I mean Anthro obvi but I was trying to buy a lot of stuff on a limited budget so it was not so much in the equation)

2. Due to my job's nature I see the trends in formal presentations literally a year or more before they hit the stores for the general public. Because of this I am generally tired of the trends by the time they become available to buy in stores close to me and within a reasonable price range. The result - I only want to purchase things I know will not fall out of trend quickly and that I won't grow tired of after wearing twice...basically narrowing it down to almost nothing :( Do you understand now why my closet is laden with solid black and white shirts???

3. Also due to my job I am super critical of every garment I look at. I like the print but don't like the body, I like the body but hate the print, the pink is too pepto, the khaki is too green, the material feels/look cheap, I don't like where the hem hits...you get the picture.

The more I searched the less I found and the more my frustration increased. I need clothes but I can't decide on anything!

When in this predicament I do something that I really hope isn't all that strange. I pull up a word doc and throw pictures of everything I'm considering into it. At this point I edit out things that can't be mixed and matched. I make sure outfits can be made and that I have accessories either at home or in my cart to go with it all. I determine key pieces that I know I want and layer around them. And when I am finally satisfied I place my order.

This was really my first time rebuilding my wardrobe. Until now I usually just picked up random pieces if I liked them or bought things as I needed them. I've never really took a step back and thought about what I need, what I want and prioritized accordingly. Needing to stretch my dollars I'm a little sad to say that the majority of my purchases came from Forever 21. I wish I could say that I've grown out of that store, but you really just can't beat cheap fashion. And since I realize even through careful selection much of what I bought is going to be out of style by next summer, I couldn't bring myself to spend my hard earned money on the more expensive (and better quality) things.

You are probably wondering what made it to the final order? I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat by now right?...hello?...Are you still reading? Oh I'm sure you're still there :)

Spring/Summer Wardrobe Additions: (I won't show them all, I know I've bored you enough)

Pick a shirt! Any shirt!

Veggie Starvation

2010-05-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

I can't decide if I'm happy or sad that it's already Sunday night. It has been a busy and productive weekend! After cleaning out our shed last week and taking three carloads of stuff to my Aunt's for the yard sale I drove straight to her house after work Friday and started setting up. It never ceases to amaze me the incredible pile of junk that I can accumulate. We generally do these yard sales twice a year and I STILL fill table after table after tarp full of stuff!

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning to get in a quick breakfast (homemade quiche) before opening the garage door. People literally start hovering like vultures anywhere from 6:30-7:30 in the morning! I generally have an obscene amount of clothes to sell and have been lucky enough to earn some repeat customers over the years so I make pretty good money on the resale :)

We haggled and sold for a solid 5 hours before we finally collected what was left and donated it to the Kidney Foundation. Tax write off plus a little cash in my pocket is always a good thing! I was selling like a champ so I don't have any pictures of my own, but hopefully I can convince the Sis and my Aunt to email pics to post later.

My parents came down that afternoon because we were all going to the Quail Hollow Championship today. (Un)Lucky us the high today was 91 degrees!!! It was H.O.T.! But we did get to see Phil Mickelson and the eventual winner Rory McIlroy. I'm not generally a big golf fan but I do love walking around a beautiful course in the sunshine, people watching and seeing the players up close. Makes the game a little less boring :-o Again no pics, they didn't allow cameras or phones in.

We ended the afternoon watching the end of the tournament at Bonefish Grill over some much needed water and Bang Bang Shrimp. I swear these little spicy fried shrimp delectables are uh-mazing!

I have now showered, cleaned the house, packed my lunch and finally sat down to catch up on blogging. Husband has studied all weekend so I haven't seen him more than 30 minutes total. We still haven't turned on our air and it is literally 85 degrees in our house. I'm so not cool with sweating while I sleep so there may have to be a discussion once Husband gets home.

I do have a question for your guys. This weekend although trying my best maintain a semi-healthy diet I have totally failed. We had pizza Friday night and again as leftovers for lunch Saturday. Quiche for breakfast Saturday which wasn't so bad, and then smoked pork barbecue, homemade slaw, baked beans and bacon wrapped corn on the cob for dinner Saturday night. By today I was craving anything green so I made a huge green monster for breakfast, only to get to the tournament and find that they didn't have a single vegetarian menu option and none of the other options even had so much as a tomato or lettuce on it. I feel like I'm on veggie starvation.

So my question after my ridiculously long recap...when you are out with friends or at a big event where there are no healthy options available what do you do??? I wasn't allowed to bring food or drink in and we were there for 5 hours so I needed food but was almost distraught with the choices.

Stay tuned for:

Meal Planning 101

Guys turn your head...I'm talking about birth control

Garden Update

Rainbows and Bunnies

2010-04-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while driving home I was surprised by a rainbow. In spite of the dreary weather it was a colorful little bright spot in my day :)

I also saw a bunny while running last week. Have you ever seen any wildlife while on a run? Makes your heart smile a little :)

I had planned go home and run to the tanning bed and back, the rain had other plans. It had sprinkled a drop or two on my way home and then as soon as I stepped out of the car at the house it started pouring. I paused for about 2 seconds and considered just running in the rain. It wouldn't be the first time, although I can't say that I've ran when it was raining THAT hard. Standing there in my heels, freezing because I forgot a sweater and looking at the crap weather, I decided to just stay inside. That killed me having not ran since Saturday. I get so antsy if I go more than a day or two.

Will was/is entrenched in studying for his exams and wasn't going to be home for supper so I Facebooked for a while, checked email, should have blogged but didn't, then finally got so bored I decided to cook.

This week in the Chez Jamison Test Kitchen...

Black Bean Couscous Burgers

(yes I realize everyone and their brother has made black bean burgers, but this was my first time)

Ingredients

1 can Black Beans Drained (I actually soaked and cooked dry beans)

1/2 med Onion Chopped or Wedged

1/2 Green Pepper

3/4 c Couscous Cooked

1 T Garlic Minced

2 T Chili Powder

1 T Paprika

1 T Oregano

1 T Basil

S & P

1/2 c Breadcrumbs (I used dry oats because we didn't have bread)

1. Mash beans or process in food processor

2. Add rest of ingredients and pulse until mixed evenly

3. Form into patties and pan fry until crust is formed. (I also sprinkled them with Montreal Steak Seasoning at this point, love that stuff!)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until heated through

I didn't have buns so I ate my patty with ketchup and paired it with carrot fries and kale chips.

Carrot Fries

Ingredients

4 Large Carrots

Olive Oil

S & P

1. Julienne the carrots into fry-like pieces

2. Toss in oil, salt and pepper

3. Spread out on a cookie sheet

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes

CJ Thoughts: The carrot fries were delish as were the kale chips as usual. The burger was kind of bland. Definitely edible, and definitely looked pretty, but overall I think the veggie factor needs to be amped up and I need to be a little more creative with the spices. I am taking any suggestions!

This was about number 500,234,184 of my fails this week. It's like nothing will turn out right in the kitchen. I attempted a Vegan Asparagus Mascarpone and it bombed. Which was especially frustrating since buying all the ingredients I thought would make the perfect vegan mascarpone FAR out costed a simple $5 tub of the delectable cream. I won't be posting that recipe or the second attempt that was at least edible.

I have also failed at making fish tacos, totally didn't cook the fish all the way but luckily Husband and I seem to be surviving. I tried making a healthier chocolate no bake cookie (you know the cow patty ones?) and it turned out pretty terrible. I know I can get that one right just need some time.

I made up my run to the tanning bed today knocking out about 4 miles in 40 mins (split into two runs due to a 10 min tanning break). It felt so good to be back out in the sunshine. I think anyone could learn to love running if they could just run in a breezy 70 degree sunny day. The sun on your shoulders is like a warm blanket of happiness!

Then I had another semi-fail. Although I know by correctly one small mistake it would have been amazing.

Simple Blue Cheese Sauce & Pasta

Ingredients

1/4 c Blue Cheese Crumbles

1/2 c UNSWEETENED Almond Milk (I didn't realize I had bought the sweetened vanilla version until Husband pointed it out)

1 tsp Cornstarch

1 T Garlic Minced

2 c Whole Wheat Pasta Cooked (I used penne)

Veggies of Choice (I used sauteed mushrooms and blanched asparagus)

1. Heat milk over medium heat

2. Add blue cheese and garlic and heat until cheese is melted, making sure to whisk constantly to avoid scorching

3. Add cornstarch and whisk constantly to avoid clumping and heat until thickened.

4. Toss with cooked pasta and veggies and serve

The semi-fail was using the sweetened milk. Blue cheese goes great with sweet flavors like honey but tonight I really wanted savory so the slight hint of sweet was a total turn off. It was still really tasty so I know making that small correction would have resulted in something fantastic.

Side Note: You can make this sauce with any cheese really. We have made it with gorgonzola, gouda, gruyere, etc...

Sipped on a gingerade kombucha. Not my fav but still better than sugary sodas!

Husband is home and has his lunch packed, I've got a long day tomorrow so we are hitting the sack.

Before I go here is a little question for you my loyal readers (feel free to laugh, I know that is a pushing it a little haha)...

Do any of you have suggestions or requests for recipes you would like for me to try? I usually peruse the blogosphere and various cooking websites and build a small collection of recipes which I refer back to when I plan out our meals for the week. If you haven't had the time or will to try something let me know and I will do my best to give it a shot and let you know the outcome :)

Arborsculpting

2010-04-27T09:44:00.001-07:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with food, fitness or my so called life :) (90s flashback anyone?)

I saw this on Apartment Therapy and it has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time!

Axel Erlandson started experimenting in the 1920s and learned to design patterns in the trees by pruning and grafting.

I think these are simply amazing. Apparently you can still see them in the Gilroy Gardens in CA. I may need to take a trip!

Can I Get A Redo?

2010-04-26T19:12:00.001-07:00

After making a million trips up and down Jill's stairs to unload all the yard sale stuff I finally got some down time to relax. The sis came over and while Jill cooked we caught up on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Husband and I don't have cable, and we definitely don't miss having it thanks to Netflix instant play and Hulu.com but it is nice to spend some quality time with DVR now and then ;)

Dinner was a new take on an old family recipe. I'm not sure where this all originated but there have been numerous family events and dinners where this has been the prized dish. The original recipe is a combination of cabbage, onion, sausage, bacon, montreal steak seasoning and I think occasionally some potatoes all sauteed down with some butter and oil in a wok on the grill. Jill kept it pretty close to the same minus the bacon. The bottom was a layer of chopped potatoes (since they needed more time to cook she kept them closer to the flame), then a mess of chopped cabbage, red onion, italian and smoked sausage, butter, montreal steak seasoning (can you tell my family likes this stuff?) and a light spray of EVOO. Grill till tender, usually about 30 minutes.

Jim could have cared less about the goings on of the kitchen, he just wanted to be outside...

Jeannie just wanted me out of her face...

Look over here Jeannie!

Close enough!

I love this meal so much. It's the perfect simple comfort food. I had about 3 slices of sausage but I loaded up on the veggie goodness. Basically this times 2 :)

And I tried out the 13 Rebels from the French Broad Brewery in Asheville, a little present from my MIL.

YUM!

We ended the night taking in some fresh air in the front driveway. Unlike my crappy neighborhood, Jill's neighbors actually socialize with each other!

Today was busy. In a good way. I can't stand to be bored. Work went by pretty quickly and I had a cooking to do list a mile long for tonight. Because Will has begun exam studying he will be M.I.A. for the next three weeks. As I mentioned before we have our big yard sale this weekend and we are still loads away from having it all transported to Jill's, I have a small procedure going on Thursday, and could possibly be worthless Friday. So everything including lunch and dinner for the rest of the weekend pretty much needed to happen tonight.

On the menu this week:

Dinner

Black Bean & Couscous Burgers

Vegan Asparagus Mascarpone (attempted this tonight and it took two tries to get a semi-decent success)

Lunch

Fish Tacos

Buffalo Tofu & Blue Cheese Wraps

I only tried a little section of these babies but let's just suffice it to say that I am EXCITED about lunch tomorrow!

Buffalo Tofu & Blue Cheese Wraps

Ingredients

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu Drained & Pressed

Frank's Hot Sauce

Blue Cheese Crumbles (or dressing)

Lettuce

Tortilla

1. Cut tofu into cutlets and marinate in hot sauce

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes each side, basting with hot sauce when turning

3. Wrap in tortilla with lettuce and blue cheese crumbles.

Feast on the goodness!!

You could also bread these and make them just like hot wings...

I got everything cooked minus the burgers. I will tackle those after a good long run tomorrow night. Between grocery store runs and cooking fails I lost all time tonight and am WAY past my bed time AND I still need a shower!

Goodbye Monday! Hello Tuesday!

Sunnyless Sunday

2010-04-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

I should give myself the Bad Blogger award because I took all of ZERO pictures at the law review party. I partially blame Husband. As we were walking up to the ginormous mansion belonging to his professor I asked him if it was tacky to take pictures for the blog. He said yes, so I refrained. Fortunately my blog friend and now real life friend Carol captured a few moments during the afternoon. She had an excuse being that she is on the law review and needed to document the event ;)

Like the boring old people that we are we left the party, drove straight home, Will cooked a tortilla pizza for us to share, put on a movie in the bedroom, and we crawled into bed to eat and watch the movie before falling asleep at 9:30. Sad I know. But poor Husband is exhausted from preparing for the impending exam week(s) and I was just happy to get to spend some time with him!

This morning I skipped church because he had to leave early to get to the school to study before his 9 hour law review meeting tonight (no exaggeration kiddos). After he left I got bit by the cleaning bug and cleaned our entire house. Even the laundry room has nice white shining base boards now :) I literally broke a sweat so much that my shirt was wet. Gross. Sorry for the TMI!

One of the biggest tasks was finding room for all of this...

Will's mom has a slight "problem" with finding treasures at Goodwill. Really one could say it's more of a gift. She is pretty knowledgeable about antiques and regularly scouts out the GW selection. She has even found Tiffany candelabras and paid 25 cents a piece for them only to resell them for $300!

This loot was inspired by Will and I telling her that we loved handmade pottery and would like to start a collection of them one day. We are now proud owners of baking dishes, mugs, apple bakers, pie plate, pitchers, bowls, ifitcanbemadeoutofclaywehaveit! And we love it all...just have NO room!

Needless to say I cleared some things out to make room :) Can't wait to use this pie dish!

With the house clean and one menacing basket of clothes glaring at me I scarfed down the last tempeh taco piled high with tomatoes and spinach, and sipped on a pomegranate juice and soda water mocktail to get my strength up to tackle it.

After a shower I'm heading up to the Aunt's to hang out for the afternoon and take a load of yard sale stuff. Twice a year Husband and I sell our wares at my Aunt's neighborhood yard sale. Between cooking, selling and drinking we end up exhausted by 12:00 noon but it is always a great time!

The sun is playing games with my heart peaking out for a few seconds only to jump back behind a cloud. Hoping that it will show its pretty face when I make it up to Aunt Jill's deck to relax!

Friday Night with Larry Brown

2010-04-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am a bad Charlottean.

Last night after completing my top secret mission (with flying colors I might add) we scooted over to The Counter Burger to try out their custom built burgers.

I was really impressed with the freshness and quality of their food. Not to mention appreciative of their overall healthier options. I think most vegetarians will agree that typically going to a burger joint means a sad looking house salad and bread. Well hold onto your cape Batman because their menu will blow you away! They offer everything from beef, to turkey and veggie burgers and 4 toppings AND a cheese are included in the price!

The food was really phenomenal. Husband had the beef burger with grilled onions, roasted red peppers, mixed baby greens, tomatoe and herbed goat cheese on a honey wheat bun.

I had the veggie burger (I was excited to try because I've only tried black bean veggie burgers so far) with tomato, hard boiled eggs, grilled onion, mixed baby greens, gruyere and basil pesto on a honey wheat bun.

Unbelievably good! We also split a big bowl of their fries. Perfect little tiny crunchy deliciousness! I really want to go back and try the sweet potato fries next. You know my weakness for SPFs!

While we were eating everyone at my table suddenly took on the appearance of a wide eyed bushbaby and got really quiet. As I looked around frantically try to figure out what had happened, they brought it to my attention that Larry Brown had just walked outside to sit down. I then asked, "Who is Larry Brown?"

Bad Charlottean :(

I honestly had no idea that the coach of the Charlotte Bobcats was sitting not 3 feet from our table.

I believed them when I saw the size of the rock that his gorgeous wife was sporting as she rubbed his back. Nothing like Friday night celeb sighting in Ol' Charlotty ;)

Husband had to get up this morning to complete a few school required community service hours. While him and his study group partner labored away building houses I slept late, got up, got a coat of paint on a light fixture, and made Will's famous waffles...by myself. Law school has officially taken the last weekend that we had to make waffles together before he leaves.

But, even without Husband's expertise I think they turned out pretty well!

I've posted this recipe before but for some reason it's being a little funky and not showing up on the post. So for anyone interested here is a fool proof recipe for

Hearty Whole Wheat Waffles

1 1/2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, white whole wheat or traditional

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined.

*Husband says for the best crispy waffles to whisk the egg white and sugar separately and then carefully fold in at the end

It's now 11:30, Husband should be home in an hour. I had planned to run but not so sure I will have time now. I might go for a short run and a quick shower. Better to do something than nothing right?

A weekend wasted isn't a wasted weekend. ~ Author Unknown

What's Your Mantra

2010-04-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through a few blogs talking about what goes through their head when they are running, what keeps them going and where they find their motivation.

Some say they space out and think about a million other things and as a result their run flies by.

Others say they think strictly about running. No distractions.

Myself? It totally depends on the day. I like when I have something going on that I need to think about because being distracted from the constant beating of my feet on the pavement and the sweat dripping down my face as I power through like a winded hippo is quite ALRIGHT with me!

The problem is, since running is a challenge for me regardless of the fact that I have been doing it for a while now, the majority of the time I spend pounding the pavement is not in deep thought about what's going on in my life. I have to focus on the task at hand. Making it up the next hill. Lengthening my stride. Testing out a quick interval here and there. As much as I would like to I can't think about other things.

I would say that my thought breakdown looks something like this...

So I wonder, what do you think about when you run? Do you have a personal mantra that helps you push through?

We have a semi-exciting weekend ahead. I have a top secret mission today, then we're trying out a new healthy burger joint, working around the house in the morning, then spending the afternoon at Lake Wylie for Husband's Law Review year end party, finishing the weekend with church and hopefully Sunday night date night.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite mantras :)

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels..." - Oprah

Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body. ~Cher

"The way i look today is where my mind put me"- Billy Blanks

"Motivation is a skill. It can be learned and practiced"

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." - Steve Prefontaine

"It is NEVER too late to become what you might have been!" - George Eliot

“The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!” – Marvin Phillips

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Obstacles are those things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” -Hannah Moore

Have a GLORIOUS weekend!

Hills and Valleys

2010-04-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Guess who conquered two behemoth hills this week???

THIS GIRL!!!!

I suck at hills. I mean I am terrible. I see them and my body just quits. But not this time! I have been trying to conquer some baby hills over the past month to simply prove to myself that I can, in fact, run up a hill. Run up it and not stop. Now I can at least approach the behemoths knowing that I can physically run a hill. Tuesday I hit my arch nemesis hill at mile 4 in my run. I have NEVER made it all the way up this hill without having to stop either half way through or just near the top. This time I pushed through (pep talking myself the whole way) and kept going! Then ran for 2 more miles!

Today I ran a new route through our neighborhood and decided to tackle a hill I had scoped out yesterday while walking the dogs. I may have been wheezing and sounded like an asthmatic who just ran a marathon but I made it and kept going for another mile and a half. My dogs are barking (I'm talking about my feet) but I am feeling gooooood!

Speaking of good. I'm slightly addicted to these...

At first taste I thought, Wow this tastes just like vinegar. But after being told by a kombucha connoisseur to check the expire by dates carefully and choose the ones that are close to their expiration date because they are the most fizzy, my eyes have been opened to the deliciousness that is KOMBUCHA! I can practically chug them like soda now. Actually, as a prior soda lover I was surprised to find that I actually crave kombucha OVER soda! Huge!

The only downfall is I've heard that overconsumption of it (like one or more a day) is NOT good for you because they are so acidic. So I've kept it to two for the week. But man I could kill one right now!

On the menu this week I gave tempeh tacos a try since the blog world seems to enjoy them.

I am now a big fan!

Tempeh Tacos

Ingredients

1 Package Tempeh

1 Package Taco Seasoning of choice

1/2 med Onion

Lettuce (I used spinach)

Tomatoes

Salsa

Shredded Cheese (I used 1 T grated mozz.)

Tortillas (I used Ezekiel torts)

1. Saute onions in some oil until slightly tender

2. Cube or grate tempeh into pot, add a few tablespoons of water and steam together with onions for 3-5 minutes

3. Add taco seasoning and 3/4 c water and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

4. Serve with the rest of the ingredients

I don't think even a meat eater could complain. This was heavenly!

I did wish I had had some avocados...next time!

As a make ahead dinner and lunch I whipped up a quinoa bowl creation inspired by one that I saw on another blog. Unfortunately I forgot to bookmark the link :( If you recognize this please let me know and I will give credit where credits due!

Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients

1 Bunch Kale Chopped

1/2 med Onion Chopped

2 c. Cherry Tomatoes Halved

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu Drained

Pesto

Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Wedges

1 c Quinoa (dry)

1. Cook quinoa

2. Spray tomatoes and onions with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until tender

3. Saute tofu with a little oil until golden brown and set aside

4. Saute chopped kale with a little oil or water until tender

5. Toss all ingredients together including pesto and LC until mixed evenly

I also added some pepitas for some extra crunch and protein :)

Uh-mazing! I've now eaten this for two meals today and have packed it again for lunch tomorrow.

I'm finding when I run the hills that my motivation is knowing that the downhill is just ahead. It's kind of funny that I actually look forward to valleys in my runs because they are a breather, a break from the strenuous uphill that seems to make up the majority of my miles. On the other hand real life valleys suck. I would rather be fighting my way to the top knowing that victory is ahead instead of rotting away in the pit.

Husband is moving in three weeks for his internship and I am struggling with it a little. I guess I could consider this a valley, but I'm trying to look ahead and see that victory is just at the top of the hill. We have a summer to get through and one more year of school and then, with a little help from above, we will get to start LIVING! Like a normal married couple. Having actual afternoons together and hopefully some money to go do things like eat out and shop with. Oh the joy of the little things that I can't wait to have again!

What hills and valleys are you going through right now? Do you see victory ahead or do you have another mode of motivation?

Energy Star Another Shade of Green?

2010-04-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Wow I hopped on here this morning and was felt like I was late to the party! Everyone had beautiful Earth Day posts published and I honestly hadn't thought another thing about it. Truth be told Earth Day is kind of like Valentine's Day to me. I think we should love each other and love our Earth everyday not just once a year. Although I do appreciate that we can all take a day to step back and change our ways and love what we have.

I won't bore you with another post on how to live green. Unless you have been living in a box for the past few years I'm sure you are privy to the lifestyle and eating changes you need to make to shrink your carbon foot print a few sizes.

Instead, this was brought to my attention by my Best Friend Lu. Apparently Energy Star appliances may not be as green as they would like us to think they are. This made me think about how much we challenge all of the statistics that are shoved in our face everyday. How often to we take a second look at our food labels when the box says that is it fiber rich and a great source of calcium? Is it really? Do we even know what constitutes a great source of calcium?

In this article featured on NPR the author discusses the fact that contrary to Energy Star's claims many of their products deliver only a fraction of the energy savings that they claim. Even worse the certification of the products is done through the companies that produce them instead of a third party. We all know what checks and balances are right? Without a non-biased party to hold these companies accountable for their claims they are profiting on the Green Revolution (hey hey like my name? It's probably not original but I didn't steal it!) and even receiving support from the government in the form of tax breaks and credits!

In a test by the Government Accountability Office, 20 bogus products were submitted for Energy Star certification. 15 were approved in no time at all, one being a gasoline powered alarm clock!!!!!

Unfortunately I don't really know what to recommend as a way to combat this. We all know that there are studies out there that can prove anything is good for you and another one that proves that same thing is bad for you. The best thing we can do is to take media claims with a grain of salt and be educated shoppers. Take action in our day-to-day to make positive changes and know that profit hungry companies and the government aren't going to be the change we need in the world. We are!

Happy Earth Day to you all! I hope this day inspires you to make life changes that are better for you and for this beautiful rock we call home!

Appalachian Naturals

2010-04-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

This post has been coming for a while and it's definitely not because it's not important enough to focus on. I just wanted to be able to have the time to do it justice!

Appalachian Naturals is an all natural soap and skincare store founded by a close family friend in Asheville. Inspired by his Grandmother Nova's soap made by her own hand in a large kettle, the owner has kept her legacy alive. Today they offer over 25 varieties of soaps, each with their own blend of aromatic herbs and skin enriching oils. In the past few years they have expanded their product offering to include pure shea butter and coconut oil, a revitalizing sea salt scrub, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and some of the thickest dreamiest chapstick you have ever laid on your lips!

You may be wondering why I am so passionate about this business. No I wasn't paid to promote them. Not only are the owners and their children some of my family's great friends, but they so graciously offered me a job in high school and were willing to work with my insane hours that totally revolved around school and sports. I had the opportunity to take on a great deal of responsibility at a young age as well as gain extensive knowledge on essential oils and natural skin care and the wonders it can do for your body. There was a point in time where I could remedy any skin problem with a few oils and some sea salt :)

If I ever felt sluggish all it took was to walk into the store and more or less "get high" on the overwhelming scent of every essential oil in the book.

This is one of their latest creations...Lemon Cello Body Wash. The scent is absolutely intoxicating.

The owners' daughter and her Mom (co-owner) decided to open a salon inside the store and as an appropriate addition they developed their own shampoo and conditioner. I have tried some all natural shampoos and conditioners and I have not had a lot of success. All of them leave my hair dirty feeling or greasy. This was a Godsend!

The shampoo cleans your hair so well it's not recommended if you have color and the conditioner leaves your hair with the silkiest touch. This is the stuff I was talking about when I said I would walk around sniffing my hair and going on and on to Will about how good I smelled.

Patchouli is one of my personal favs, but I know most people (unless you are a hippy), have a love hate relationship with the scent.

Rest assured the variety of soap scents is a wide as it is long. To name a few: Jasmine, Almond & Honey Oatmeal, Clove, Cinnamon, Lavender Mint (we had smaller bars of this made up as favors at our wedding!), Mountain Apple, Spearmint, Peppermint, Green Tea & Chamomile, Baby Oatmeal (completely safe for extremely sensitive skin), and the original lye (great for wrinkles and acne!). Some times around Christmas they make special "flavors" like Mint Chocolate and Vanilla Bean.

While working there I got to hear testimony after testimony from people who had had every skin ailment you can think of and after using these soaps were cured. Most were using your typical Dial or gel body washes and their skin was begging for some nourishment. You seen the commercials talking about soap scum left on your skin, but what most fail to address is the mile long list of chemicals and additives that they put into every bar. We focus so much on what we put into our body, why would we not take the time to analyze what goes on it??

The soap balls are new to me...

The store now ships to over 400 stores including the Biltmore Estate gift shops and is available online. In the past three years they added a General Store featuring products from local artists and handmade fudge and treats. Walking through the front door is almost like walking back into Grandma Nova's time, when life was simple, and your food and soap were real ;)

Running in the Rain

2010-04-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was kind of dreary in Charlotte. Overcast skies all day and as soon as I stepped outside to go home it started raining. I hadn't done a very good job packing my lunch because it was more of an afterthought after I had made food for a birthday breakfast at work. Fruit and vegetable deplete, cold and tired, the aboslute LAST thing I wanted to do was go on a run. And it was raining.

In addition to the less than ideal circumstances, my Aunt had asked me to pick up a pair of shoes on hold at a store near our house. A store that unfortunately lies right in the middle of one of the highest traffic areas in Charlotte (it's so bad I normally drive quite a few miles out of the way just to avoid it). Not that I minded doing something for her, I practically owe her for my life for all the things she has done for me over the years. However, I sat in traffic for an hour before making a quick stop at the tanning bed (don't judge, I've got a leftover package to use up) and the grocery store. Finally getting home at 6:45. An hour and a half later than usual.

There wasn't a fiber in my body that thought going back out in the cold rain sounded like a good idea. But something in my kept saying just go, you haven't ran since last week, it will feel good once you are out there. So I strapped on my shoes and hit the road.

I ran for an hour. Approx. 6 miles. And it felt great!

I am so inconsistent with my running time and distance. There are days like yesterday where I feel like I could go on forever, then there are days where 2 miles seems like an eternity. I have no idea how to bring about a more consistent running schedule.

So I'm asking any of you experienced runners, do you run the distance that your body feels ok with or do you set a running schedule and force yourself to complete the mileage??? I'm feeling a little lost.

Chez Jamison Test Kitchen: Chickpea Pot Pie

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

I am southern, and I like southern home cooking. Often times though southern cooking does not translate well into vegetarian and part time vegan diet. Alas, there are still times when you just want comfort food. When you've been feeling a little under the weather, tired and just want to fill your belly full of something hot, filling and delicious a salad just won't do.

Thus...

Chickpea Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used Amy's Organic semi-condensed)

1 Can Chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans)

1 Can Veg-All

1 T Garlic

1 T Italian Seasoning

S & P to taste

2 Pie Crusts (I used whole wheat from EF)

1. Allow pie crusts to thaw, and remove one from tray to use as top crust

2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl (if you are using regular cream of mushroom you may need to add some water)

3. Pour mixture into bottom crust

4. Brush crust edge with water or egg and place remaining crust on top, pinching or using a fork to seal the crusts together.

5. Cut small slits in top crust to allow steam to release

6. Bake until crust browns (this was about an hour due to the whole wheat crust taking a little longer to bake)

This was not as thick as I had hoped, but the flavor was incredible and totally satisfying. Next time to thicken it I would probably add a little cornstarch or arrowroot.

Or maybe I wouldn't change a thing ;)

Inaugural Lake Trip

2010-04-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

We went here this weekend...

Lake James, NC

For our inaugural lake trip of the season

Unfortunately the weather was 85 degrees and sunny on Friday, the day we wouldn't actually get there till after 7 that night and then chilled down to a cool 70 degrees with overcast skies by Saturday. Luckily none of us were opposed to spending a little time lounging on the couch and watching movies :)

Friday when we arrived the Sis was hanging out on the deck, book in hand...starving!

Mom and Dad brought some rotisseri chickens and broccoli, Will and I provided some potatoes to roast and I had made a pit stop by the local grocery store to hit up the salad bar.

Will's plate...

My plate (plus a few potatoes)...

Then the night was ended with a rigorous game of Fast Track. The point of the game? Get your four little trains around the track and back in your depot before anyone else. Sounds simple right? It's not so simple once you start getting sent back to the starting point by other players, or having to back track, or not even being able to draw one of the three cards that will allow your train to leave the depot to begin with. Poor Mom spent half the game waiting on the right cards before she even got to play!

Saturday on the couch...this is how Jim relaxes...

Lunch was panko breaded tofu and kale chips. So delicious!

And when the clouds finally cleared and the boat was in the water, we went out for a sunset cruise.

My best friend Lu, Jeannie, and my very pale skinned self...

Husband and the crew...

Captain Stubing!

Sophie (my parent's dog)...

Multitasking as we make the trek up the hill to the house...

Dinner was a smoked boston butt, baked potatoes, roasted asparagus and salad.

And a glass or four of wine...

Sunday started out pretty cold but of course by the time we left it was gorgeously sunny and warm. Needless to say Jim was a little reluctant to leave...

Everyone was on the boat about to go out on a short ride before they left. It was hard to get in the car and head home :(

Jim was pretty much refusing to leave at this point...

We had to promise to come back soon...

Latest ChickSpeak Article: Splitting Up Chores

2010-04-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we actually discussed our assigned chores in marriage counseling???

My latest article addresses things that come up for "discussion" once you move in together.

My Dream Birthday Wish List

2010-04-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

Just in case you wanted to know, my birthday is in a few short weeks. Tops on my wish list? Why clothes, shoes and kitchen gadgets of course!

Victoria's Secret Black Leggings (I'm in dire need!)

Glass Dharma Glass Straws (for my thick green smoothies)

Yoga Pants (I'm officially down to one pair without holes or stains)

Oh and her abs ;)

Running Tanks and Shorts, or a bazillion $$ to Lululemon :)

My very own Tory Burch Classic Black Revas

Spiralizer

Anything from Modcloth

An Exaclibur 5 Tray Dehydrator

Hey a girl can DREAM right?

What would be on your wish list?

Breaking Ground

2010-04-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

The plant babies are out of control! Will lives by his rule of not putting plants in the ground until tax day but since it's been so warm, and since we are going to the lake for our inaugural trip this weekend we had to make an exception. And of course it was cold today, but as of right now (fingers crossed!) there is no frost warning.

Gourd!

Husband decided to grow gourds this year so he can craft some birdhouses and ladles. Apparently while the gourds are growing and soft you can shape them however you choose.

Pretty gourds all in a row :)

Our snap peas are shooting up. Before we know it these sweet crisp lovelies will be gracing all of our salads!

The big wire thing is going to act as a trellis, snaps peas can grow along the ground but best practice is to trellis them.

You say tomato, tomahto...

Kaaallllleeeee!!!

Tomatoes are all caged up!

See the little guy way down there in the center? Last year we only had one tomato plant and it grew so big it killed off everything else in our garden! It was a monster! Reminded me of that old movie Little Shop of Horrors...

Jim was a huge help ;)

Husband wanted me to snap this photo to show how dark and gorgeous our soil is. For the past year we have been throwing all of our veggie scraps and eggs shells in here as a sort of compost. There are now worms all through it (very good sign) and it is a rich dark brown color (also a good sign!) and full of nutrients for our plant babies.

Tucking them in. Make sure to lightly pack the soil around them for a good base...

Snug as a bug in a rug!

He really likes gardening...

You talkin' to me?!

Finite!

Some plant babies are not quite ready to plant. Mostly the herbs, basil and oregano. We will probably give these another week or so before planting.

For anyone wondering how our fig tree is doing (we planted it during our wedding)...it is thriving!

Latest ChickSpeak Article: Finding Home

2010-04-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

Check out this week's article: Finding A Home for Your Heart

A Massage & a Roll

2010-04-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I'm not talking about a real massage and there wasn't a roll to speak of. However, I did entertain my friend Sarah with a massaged kale salad and my attempt at eggplant rolls. I didn't think I could love kale more...I was wrong!

I got home from work and poured a big mug of liquid gold to unwind with while I got to work on dinner.

Shock Top anyone?

I have really come to love yellow bell peppers. As a life long hater of peppers I never thought the day would come that I would willingly put raw peppers on my salad. Never! What can I say, my taste buds have been awakened to the beauty and taste that is peppers. Especially the beautiful yellow beauties.

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients

Large Bag of Kale De-stemmed and ripped into bite-sized pieces

1-2 T Lemon Juice

1-2 T Salt

1 tsp Pepper

Toppings of Choice: Ours were chickpeas, yellow bell pepper, tomatoes and sunflower seeds

1. Wash kale and place in bowl.

2. Pour lemon juice, salt and pepper on kale and massage until leaves start to wilt and look cooked (approx 5 minutes)

3. Toss in toppings

4. Serve or add dressing of choice and serve (I used the mustard marinade from our tempeh kebabs )

Our main entree was a wonderful mix of baked eggplant, couscous, feta and Earth Fare spaghetti sauce. The recipe was called Eggplant Couscous Rolls found here. I would love to say that mine turned out as beautiful and perfect as these little rolls...but that would be a lie. My tender little eggplant slices split apart spilling out couscous all over the baking dish. So I resorted to making it more like a lasagna. A couscous lasagna.

Eggplant Couscous Rolls (Minus the rolls)

Ingredients

2 1-lb eggplants, each cut lengthwise into 6 or more 1/4-inch slices (I used 3)
About 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup couscous (I made 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (I used fresh from our herb garden)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese (adjust to need)
1 cup your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Earth Fare Pasta Sauce)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil two baking sheets. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes (I also sprinkled them with a little S & P). Turn them over and bake for another 10-15 more minutes, until tender.

2. While the eggplant slices are baking in the oven, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Stir in the couscous, thyme, salt, and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Set the mixture aside and let the couscous absorb the liquid and cool down.

3. Just before you remove the eggplant slices from the oven, add 3/4 cup of the feta cheese to the couscous, along with pepper. Fluff the couscous with a fork.

4. Place a spoonful of the couscous mixture in the center of each eggplant slice, attempt to roll your eggplant slice, as the fall apart hurriedly place them in your baking dish. Cover "rolls" with remaining couscous, top with sauce, sprinkle extra feta overtop. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

This.was.incredible.

We talked each other's ears off the entire night. The wine may have helped bring the conversation out :)

This picture is actually from lunch the next day but the lighting was so much better.

Breakfast Saturday was a huge scramble of onions, mushrooms and spinach. I attempted to make omelets but it didn't so much happen. That's strike two for the weekend!

After cleaning the house from top to bottom and working in the yard for a while we loaded up the pups and made the trip across town to Aunt Jill's house. On the menu: Tuna Steaks, Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagas and Jasmin Rice

And pretty tulips all in a row...err vase :)

Prosciutto makes me drool. Salty, chewy deliciousness!

When we were on our honeymoon I ate copious amounts of seared tuna for breakfast every single morning. Yet another food that is like crack for me.

I was so grateful for this meal. If you haven't figured it out by now or don't know me, I was raised in a completely Southern home and family. No veggie went unbuttered or ungreased with fat back. Steak was it's own food group. And why would we eat rice when we could have macaroni?!?!

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade those meals or my family for anything in the world. But now that my hips and health don't seem to want to cooperate with my desire for food I just can't handle it. Now almost 3 months without migraines, no more upset stomachs, a pure need and want to workout, I feel too good to go back. My family is trying to understand and accommodate as they can. All I can say is A+++++++ for this meal! It was so delicious and so perfect. I can't say enough how much I appreciate Jill and Missy for considering me and making such a wonderful dinner!

Sunday I failed once again. We were out of eggs so we tried making vegan pancakes. The batter was runny and they were possibly the ugliest pancakes ever. They tasted okay, but we've definitely got to work on this recipe. Their saving grace was that they were chocked full of organic blueberries :)

We went to church, Will ran to the gym while I picked up a few things from Trader Joe's (and drove around the really expensive neighborhoods to oogle at all the mansions) before picking him back up and make our weekly Sam's trip.

After a sunny nap, Will left for a Law Review meeting at the school for the REST OF THE AFTERNOON. Which meant an afternoon of cleaning and chick flicks for me :) Actually that's more of a :( I hate being alone, especially on Sunday night date night.

The good news is we've only got a year left, I finally got to watch Julia & Julia (which was AWESOME!) and finished folding clothes, took a shower and got ready for the week.

Now it's already Tuesday! Time has GOT to slow down!

Long Time No See...

2010-04-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

err type :) The problem when the weather gets so beautiful is that sitting down to my computer seems much less important than soaking up some rays with Husband and the dogs. Coupled with the fact that we are now down to about a month before Husband leaves for his internship in Delaware = :( x 100,000,000,000 I have a hard time tearing myself away from cherishing every second I get to spend with him.

This isn't the first time he has had to move away, and I'm sure it won't be the last. It seems our relationship has been filled with wonderful opportunities that have taken Will far away and left me at home alone. Have I ever mentioned that I don't sleep when he isn't here? I lay in the bed tossing and turning, having to have the TV on for some noise and light because I get totally creeped out in our house. I hate it.

But I'm trying not to dwell on the negative. Will got a job in a TERRIBLE economic downtime in the law field, he is actually going to be making some money (hooray!) and it could possibly lead to a full time job after law school. All good things, and all it's costing me is my sanity for a couple of months :)

So to catch up on some food and fitness lets talk about tabata and a few recipes I've been testing out.

Remember the pudge that I seemed to be collecting? Well when I finally weighed it turned out that it wasn't just a little pudge, I had collected almost 3 (possibly more, I don't weigh often enough to know exactly) pounds of pudge. I was totally perplexed. My diet has literally consisted of enough greens to choke a cow, an occasional pasta dish (once a week) and a treat of dark chocolate bites here and there. I had also been running and burning lots of calories at least 4 if not 5 or 6 times a week. I simply could not understand how it was possible that I was gaining weight. So Husband and I talked about it and with our powers combined we narrowed it down to a couple of things. One, I think I reached my weight loss peak with running at least as far as long steady runs are concerned. It's time for sprint and interval training (hellooo tabata). Two, I have not been eating enough calories and more specifically protein. Burning so many calories and eating rabbit food has caused my body to go into a panic and I believe it has started storing every calorie that enters it out of fear that it may be its last.

From what I can tell we were correct. Over the past week I have cut my runs a little shorter and focused on going hard in my tabata rounds. I have also still filled my tummy with a boat load of greens, but I have been adding in more protein rich foods and more grains. I have lost 2 pounds since last weekend. So hip hip HOORAY!

Filling my tum tum with salads like this...

Cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, nooch, chopped almonds, italian seasoning, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

And I am LOVING tabata. It doesn't matter how tired I am or how little time I have, I just tell myself it is 4 (times 3-4 rounds) minutes. If I can't do 4 measly minutes of exercise then I am worthless! And I can tell that it is working. My stomach is getting flatter and my legs and arms are starting to tone back up.

I have been craving greens over the past week or so. I guess it's because we totally skipped Spring here and nothing sounds better on 90 degree days then a bed of chilled greens with fresh veggies.

In other foods, Husband is not quite sold on tempeh. I think we both appreciate the texture and the concept, but I think we agree that the flavor is somewhat lacking. So last week I skewed us up some tempeh kebabs using this marinade recipe. I'm now pretty sure I'm going to keep this stuff bottled to use as a dressing (which I did for our salad Friday night) and a go to marinade for everything under the sun. It was the perfect combo of tart and sweet.

Green & Yellow Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Tempeh...

Tempeh Kebabs

Ingredients
2 Tbs prepared mustard
3 Tbs cider vinegar
1 Tbs tamari/soy sauce
4 Tbs honey
1 Package Tempeh (recipe called for steamed, I just used it raw)
8 medium mushrooms
1 green pepper, cut in 3 cm squares
1 medium zucchini, cut in 2 cm slices
1 onion, in 8 wedges (I didn't use onion)
8 cherry tomatoes

1. Mix first 4 ingredients together to make marinade. Cut steamed tempeh into 2 cm cubes. Add all the vegetables except the cherry tomatoes to the dish and pour the marinade over them. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (* I only had time to let it marinate for about 2 hours). Carefully stir over a few times while marinating.

2. Divide the marinated ingredients evenly, along with the cherry tomatoes, and thread on four skewers. Place under a broiler or on the grill. Cook, turning and brushing with marinade a few times, until vegetables are tender crisp (7-10 min).
* Remember to spray your grill with oil, the tempeh sticks!

3. Remove, devour!

I used the one that was all peppers on a salad the next day. No dressing needed the peppers were so flavorful!

Served along side bread smothered in truffle butter :) Ummm mmmm!

Upcoming Posts:

Friday Night Dinner Guest - Eggplant Rolls & Massaged Kale Salad

My Birthday Wish List

& a Garden Update

Happy Beautiful Spring Monday!

Mary how does your garden grown?

2010-04-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

Look at these babies!!

We came home from Asheville to find the lid on the Jiffy greenhouse pushed off by our little plants because they had grown so tall!

So now the next steps in getting your plants from seed to ground to table...

1. Because you placed multiple seeds in each pod you will need to identify the strongest plant and trim the rest away.

(Demo a la Husband)

2. The next step is called hardening. While your plants have been growing along happily in their mini greenhouse, they have not been exposed to direct sunlight and the elements, particularly wind. Place them in an area outside where they will be in indirect sunlight. Start with an hour or so and work up to leaving them outside full time. Their stems with harden to a point where they can withstand the weather and the sun.

Plants are kind of like superman too ;)

Stay tuned, next step will be putting them in the ground!

Chez Jamison Test Kitchen: Hot off the grill! Grilled Eggplant, Cabbage & Onions with Cauliflower Mac~n~Cheeze

2010-04-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

Hello loves! I've been a little MIA this week and sadly I really have no excuse haha! So, let's talk food!

Gonna apologize ahead of time, most of these pics suck but the food was good!

Grilled Eggplant, Cabbage & Onions

Ingredients:

1 Eggplant

1/2 Head Cabbage

1 Onion

1. Turn grill on high heat.

2. Slice eggplant in 1/2" slices and brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Cut onion and cabbage into small wedges, place in aluminum foil along with a pat of butter (I used Earth Balance) and top with Montreal Steak Seasoning (or seasoning of choice), twist top of aluminum to close.

4. Reduce grill heat to medium-high heat.

5. Grill for 20 minutes (depending how big your wedges are), turning eggplant once (remove if browned and tender)

Cauliflower Mac~n~Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Head Cauliflower

1 c Almond Milk

2-3 T Nutritional Yeast

Nutmeg

1-2T Minced Garlic

1-2 T Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. Cornstarch

S & P to taste

1. Cut cauliflower into florets and steam in 1 inch of water till tender but slightly crunchy

2. In food processor combine the rest of the ingredients, adjusting to taste.

3. Drain cauliflower and add back to pot along with cheeze.

4. Cook over medium heat until cheeze thickens.

Nosh!

The Burning Bush

2010-04-06T16:44:00.001-07:00

The sis and I had a list full of errands to run on Saturday. Both our Mom and Dad's birthdays were being celebrated the next day and the only gift already purchased was a purse I had nabbed at a sample sale at work. Luckily my brain was working that day and I had a few gifts in mind to cover Hannah and I and fortunately they all came from Belk :) (I work at the Belk corporate offices in case you didn't know) which means...DISCOUNT!

So she picked me up from the in laws and we hit the town.

Our first stop was her her bestie's new salon which she and her mom opened inside their all natural soap store. I'm going to do a whole separate post on the store so check back. I worked there during high school and I am a HUGE advocate. They make everything from all natural soaps to delicious fudge right there in the store. They literally sell everything you could possibly need for your skin or hair and it is all 100% natural and infused with wonderfully aromatic essential oils. They recently came out with a new shampoo, conditioner and body wash. I immediately scooped up all three and my shower time has been absolutely joyous. I think I have weirded Husband out by constantly smelling my hair and my skin and raving about how wonderful it all feels haha!

Next stop was the farmer's market. I haven't found one that's convenient to our house in Charlotte :( I would give anything to be able to buy local vegetables and flowers every weekend. If you know of any great ones in South Charlotte PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

I picked up an eggplant, 1 green and 2 yellow bell peppers, a tomato, a head of cabbage, 1 zucchini and 3 squash all for $10.94!

I do love me a pickle! Husband thinks they are rotten cucumbers and won't touch them haha!

This sign was posted every few feet around a kiosk full of snacks that were home made by the guy selling them. We picked up a little somethin' somethin' for ourselves ;)

It's like a rainbow...of beans!

Homemade veggie chips for two!

After the farmer's market we ran to the mall and completed our shopping within an hour. I think that is a record for us.

I'm sure you are all wondering why I titled this post The Burning Bush, it's because we had our very own burning bush on Easter weekend (yes I'm aware it's not all the same story).

When Sis and I got home we were chatting with my Dad when I noticed smoke outside on the porch. I assumed Dad was smoking meat and inquired. He said he wasn't smoking anything but that some people had been burning the banks down at the ballfields near our house. By this time the smoke was boiling across the porch so I peaked outside and saw FIRE! I said, no Dad there is something burning outside!

We all rushed outside to find a bush at the end of the porch blazing! For no apparent reason.

Hannah I ran back inside to try to find buckets for water. Note to self, Mom and Dad have NO buckets. So I grabbed a cooler and filled it while Sis grabbed the biggest pot she could find. By the time we got outside to come to the rescue Dad had already quenched the fire with the hose. So much help we were!

Here is the poor bush...

The only thing we could conclude was that the mulch had been smoldering all day from where Dad was killing weeds with the propane torch (that morning at 10:00 am, this was 4:30 pm btw) and finally caught fire. Super scary! Dad is currently looking into other methods of killing weeds! A few more minutes and we may not have had a house to celebrate Easter or birthdays in!

Luckily it didn't touch the rest of the beauty around my childhood home...

Beautiful, green rolling hills :)

Home!

Later, Dad actually did smoke some meat. A juicy roast.

Mom had picked up a pineapple corer at the store and decided to try it out. She successfully cut an off-center cylinder out of the middle and left an inch of flesh still attached to the skin. Thus the odd shaped pieces...

Pineapple kabobs..

Colorful table...

Mom brought home some asparagus for my sake so I tried to pile my plate at least half full with green goodness, a few cheesy potatoes on the side and a taste of roast. It was amazing. I think this is the first meal I've eaten at home where I didn't partake in the flaky, buttery, warm, soft crescent rolls sitting right beside my face. Surprisingly I still survived :)

For anyone who isn't familiar with Asheville, you may not know that it is home to more microbreweries per capita than the majority of other cities in the country. What can we say? We like to drink beer!

One of the largest (which has almost gotten so big it isn't considered a microbrewery anymore) is the Highland Brewing Company. Last Fall some of our friends took us on a Brews Cruise as an engagement gift and Highland was one of the stops. I can now say that I have tried all their beers and not experienced a single bad one yet!

Asheville is also bursting with culture. (Do I sound like a tour guide yet?) The city is filled with one of a kind shops and restaurants, local bars (some with their own microbreweries), and some of the most eclectic people. Including lots of new bands. Who include many of our friends from high school. So there usually isn't a weekend that we go home that there isn't a show going on. This time Rat Jackson (four guys from our high school) was playing at the Boiler Room.

Sorry for the blurry photos but it was dark and they were rocking out!

Had to whip out the flash a few times...

Hot Husband booty...man I love that long curly hair!

This ended up being a very long night, which was mostly my fault :-0 But we had a blast!

Because I felt like poo the next day (I am way too old for nights like that!) and because we rushed to church, then welcomed family into the house right before stuffing our faces...I have no actual pictures of Easter :( At least not on my camera. I snapped quite a few on my Mom's so maybe she will send me a few.

I did however snap a photo of this little guy right before we left. We don't know if he was hurt or just resting but we found him right behind my cousin's tire and he let my uncle pick him up and put him in the tree. He was so pretty! I just hope he wasn't hurt!

Upcoming Posts:

Garden Update - Transitioning your plants from inside to outside

Appalachian Naturals Soap - 100% Natural, handmade, and local (if you live in NC that is!)

Can you believe tomorrow is Hump Day already!

Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

2010-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Easter!!!

I'm sure you've guessed by now that we hit the dusty trail back to Asheville for a beautiful Easter weekend. Where else would we be for a holiday right?

I got lucky and was able to leave work early Friday afternoon so we made it to Will's parent's house before the sun set. Mama J had dinner under way and surprised us with an Easter egg hunt. Yes we are all over the age of 24. Yes she hid them. And yes we all raced around like a bunch of bafoons to try to find the most. Will's sis ended up finding the most AND finding the "Golden Egg" which held the biggest cash prize. If only hunting eggs with money stashed inside was a full time job right?

Sunset over the porch...

This tree opened its blooms on Easter Day and it was stunning.

Papa J carving the tenderloin...

Twice baked potatoes...

Dinner!

A certain little bunny made an appearance...

I'm kind of in love...

But how could I not be with a face like that???

I think we spent the majority of dinner oohing and ahhing over baby Noah. Nothing like celebrating new life and new beginnings on the weekend of the ultimate celebration of life.

The next morning Will and I took charge of making the Dakota bread french toast with blueberries. Will had picked up a loaf for his parents to try since we are slightly obsessed with this bread.

Yummy seeds...

Mouthwatering!

The next few hours were spent passing Noah around, taking turns in the shower and gabbing. Will left for an appointment and I called the sis to come pick me up so we could get to the mall to pick up gifts for our parents' birthdays (we always celebrate them with Easter, quarterly b-day parties!). Before we left I munched on a salad of fresh greens, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, blue cheese and Mama J's homemade vinaigrette.

The sis and I had a very successful day complete with a visit to the farmer's market, a drop in to her bestie's new salon in her parents' all natural soap store (check back for a post on the store!), b-day shopping like pros, and getting home in time for a quick afternoon cat nap before my Snowbird grandparents came over for dinner.

To be continued...

Tabata

2010-04-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

I don't know if I'm slow to the game but I just discovered Tabata today. Have you guys heard of this? Have I been in a box??

If you are like me and started scratching your head just now let me present to you...

Tabata

Concept: "The Tabata protocol is a high-intensity training regimen that produces remarkable results. A Tabata workout (also called a Tabata sequence) is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of four minutes." Source

Layman's Terms: Pick a move, such as squats, and squat your booty off for 20 seconds straight, rest for 10 seconds. Rinse and repeat 7 more times for a complete 4 minute cycle. Do as many cycles as you would like, seems that most do 4 cycles for a total of 16 minutes.

Why it works: It's High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that will raise your metabolic rate for a while after your actual exercise has finished. Thus helping you burn fat throughout the day. Many studies (as well as my personal experience) have shown that short bursts of intense exercise prove far better at burning fat than long drawn out cardio sessions (helllooo, hours of running!) Did you know that running for long periods of time can actually cause your body to retain fat in order to supply itself with energy to sustain through the workout? Additionally when you complete the same cardio routines day after day you gradually burn fewer calories as your body adjusts. You can literally turn into a fat storing machine...from running!

Now, you all know I'm a fan of running. It makes me feel great and it burns the calories, but I'm sure we have all heard by now the need to add strength training to our workout schedule. I'm all about balance and if that means working in 16 minutes of HIIT here and there then surely I can make that happen!

Anyone want to give it a try with me???

The Blame Game @ ChickSpeak

2010-04-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

You guys have heard the story on the blog, but if you just loved it enough to read again check out my latest article on ChickSpeak!

Chez Jamison Test Kitchen: Mushroom Burgers, Almond Crusted Herby Fries and a Garden Update

2010-04-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

Oh and I forgot to mention lazy Jims :)

The Mother-in-law sent us home with a bike basket full of goodies to cook for dinner this week some of which included a cookbook all about burgers (found on one of her various trips to Goodwill) and the ingredients to cook up the featured mushroom burger. So we put it to the test! With our own adaptation of course :)

Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients:

3 c Mushrooms

1 T Fresh Thyme Chopped

3 c Breadcrumbs

1/2 Large Onion (recipe called for shallots which would have been great, but we were fresh out)

1 Egg (not in the recipe, but we used to help hold everything together)

S & P to taste

Hamburger Buns (We used Ezekiel buns)

Fixin's (We used romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado and pesto)

1. Chop mushrooms in food processor (ours were very juicy, try to drain them as much as possible before step two)

2. Sauté mushrooms and onions in olive oil until tender (drain again), put back on heat for a few minutes if needed to cook excess juices off.

3. Stir in breadcrumbs and seasonings, mix well and form into patties.

4. Cook patties over medium heat until browned on both sides (we drizzled a little balsamic over them during this step).

5. Serve

CJ Thoughts: These were delicious! And very filling. The mushrooms were very juicy which made it hard to cook to a desired consistency and to keep together on the bun. We had the leftovers the next night and I left the patties in the oven with some veggies I was roasting as well as the fries below and that seemed to help firm them up a little more. We would definitely make these again! This was also the first time we had tried the Ezekiel buns. I was a little disappointed. It was very hard to bite through and I was really hoping for a consistency closer to their english muffins. Overall they tasted fine and I was happy knowing we were making a healthier choice.

With our leftovers I tried to use up some of the free potatoes we scored from Earth Fare. Organic definitely does not last as long as the alternative. Those babies had roots sprouting all over them! Since we didn't have much protein included in our dinner I was hoping to sneak some in by adding nuts to our potatoes. I present:

Almond Crusted Herby Fries

Ingredients:

3-4 Small Russet Potatoes (or 1-2 large ones)

1/4-1/2 c Almonds Ground

Basil

Oregano

Parsley

S & P to taste

Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Grind almonds into meal (I used our trusty fake Magic Bullet).

3. Add season and pulse for a few seconds to combine.

4. Slice potatoes into small wedges or strips.

5. Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper.

6. Add herby meal and and toss till covered.

7. Bake until desired crispness (20-40 minutes, yes I'm aware this is a wide range, but it depends how thin they are sliced)

CJ Thoughts: Uh-mazing!

And a garden update...

Kale sprouts!!!

Oregano

Zucchini

Tomato

Oh and lazy Jeannies :)

Bulk Eating at Its Best

2010-04-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Since starting this new lifestyle (still haven't come up with a good name for it) the onslaught of questions, statements and misunderstandings have spewed from the mouths of almost everyone I've talked to. Which is totally understandable. Prior to the change I ate meat 2-3 times a day, counted calories like a champ, placed strict eating rules on myself, resisted treats and then went on sweet binges, worked in veggies because I knew I needed to, and dealt with a lot of guilt about what I ate. I maintained what most would call a healthy lifestyle. Low calories, got my exercise in, kept the sweets and drinks to a minimum. That is what was so scary. Healthy shouldn't mean deprivation and guilt. Healthy should make you feel nothing but good and happy. All I felt was tired. Tired of thinking about the numbers involved with food. Tired because I had no energy. Tired from sleepless nights due to crippling migraines. Tired of having an upset stomach because my body just couldn't process what I was eating. I wanted so badly to feel alive instead of just going through the motions.

I had an "ah ha" moment that started all of this for me. And it all began with a blog, two blogs actually. But it wasn't necessarily the blogs or the writers that caused my 180, it was realizing that there were SO MANY foods that I had never heard of. As a person who really loves food this was disturbing. On top of that, I realized that because these foods were so nutrient dense and healthy, not to mention no brainers, you could eat as much as you want (within reason obvi).

I immediately began researching. Overnight the thought of processed food and meats started to become repulsive and no longer held my desire. I read Michael Pollen's Food Rules, I watched Food Inc., I began to try some of the foods I had discovered, I learned how much I had literally been hurting myself by eating what I was eating.

I knew that fattening foods upset my stomach but I never really knew why. And I had attributed my migraines to hormones, but who ever knew that a clean diet helps balance your hormones? Getting 8+ hours of sleep a night, it made no sense to me why I had no energy. All because of the "food" I had been eating.

I have officially gone two months without a migraine, my stomach troubles have all but disappeared, and I don't even think about energy much anymore until I find myself dancing and singing while I cook or smiling and alive driving to work, effortlessly realizing that I am full of energy. I FEEL amazing.

So what exactly is this lifestyle?

Back to some of the questions, statements and misunderstandings. Here are a few of the tops ones...

Are you a vegetarian?

No. I just try to make vegetables the overwhelming majority of my diet. Since having done this I have started to crave vegetables for the first time in my life. I have also started to appreciate each vegetable's taste more and how they add something to the dishes we cook.

Are you a vegan?

No. I have explored many vegan recipes and substitutes mainly out of curiousity. I have learned that my body doesn't process dairy very well so it has really appreciated the break. I still eat cheese here and there on pizza, salad, etc...However I have pretty much given up milk. And I LOVE milk. I don't really miss it though. I used to drink a protein shake for breakfast every morning and more often than not I would end up totally nauseous a few hours later. I thought it was the protein but now that I have cut milk out and still drink the protein and haven't experienced any nausea, I think I figured out the culprit. Just not worth it. Plus, almond milk is so delish! If you are wanting to test some out and are a big milk drinker, I suggest the new Silk Almond Milk or the Almond Breeze Rich & Creamy. They are slightly thicker and sweeter than the regular unsweetened almond milk.

I could never give up meat!

You don't have to! I haven't. The difference is, where meat used to be the base that we built our meals off of, it has become something that we enjoy on special occassions or as more of a side as opposed to the main entree. The thing about meat is, besides the harsh effects that it can have on your body, what most of us know as meat is so far removed from actual meat from animals. By the time we get it, it has gone through so much processing it's almost unrecognizable. Even pure cuts of meat like steak are most often pumped full of chemicals to keep it fresher longer, on top of the fact that the cows were pumped full of hormones their whole lives (which were lived in tiny muddy feeding plants) so they would grow bigger, fatter, faster.

Don't get me wrong. My family lives to grill. I've made whole meals out of nothing but meat and loved every juicy bite. So to suddenly drastically reduce my intake was a gigantic step. I planned as well as I could to create meals that would satisfy that meat craving, and not just with meat replacements like tofu and seitan. I still made chilis and pizza and spaghetti, I just filled the void with filling vegetables and beans. I can honestly say that I have not craved meat since practically giving it up.

I could never give up sugar!

Who said anything about giving up sugar?? Ok correction, I have given up A sugar. Refined sugar. Sugar is sugar and that's the end story, but I have found that by replacing the refined sugar with things like agave nectar and honey I don't experience the energy spikes, cravings and sugar headaches that I used to. I still eat dessert with EVERY meal (ok except breakfast). Cookies, chocolate, ice cream and cupcakes have been regulars at our house.

So what DO you eat?

I focus my diet on whole, unprocessed food. Ever heard the saying, "There isn't an ingredient label on a carrot"? My goal is to get back to REAL food. The way it was meant to be grown and eaten. Most people today have NO idea where their food came from or what is even in it! I'll spare you some of the gross details I have discovered about how our food is made, but I really doubt that anyone would truly WANT to eat it if they knew. That's the problem, so many people DON'T know and don't take the time or care to learn about it. Instead we complain about getting fat, that our children are obese, that we feel like crap, that we have no energy...I could go on.

Why guzzle down 5 Hour Energy drinks and a handful of 100 calorie packs when you could eat fresh fruit and greens for the same effect and not feel like poo or still be hungry?

Are you really ok with feeding yourself, or your kids with food that has not a single recognizable ingredient?

Why be constantly hungry because you are eating "foods" with useless calories and a complete lack of nutrients, when you could eat to your heart's content just by eating REAL food?

Think about the possibilities. No more calorie counting. No more guilt. No more deprivation and hunger. Full bellies, energetic lives, happy you!

Let's get back to the basics people!!!

Ok I'll chill with the lecture, but please check out this wonderful post about bulk eating at it's best and Kath's blog all about eating real food. It will be life changing!

Husband in the Kitchen

2010-03-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Taking inspiration from OSG, Husband has been making his own cereal, and I have been sneaking bites whenever possible. This stuff is SO good!

Crispy yet Chewy Quinoa Cereal (a la Husband)

This recipe will usually make around a weeks worth of cereal (if you eat approximately 1/2 cup of cereal everyday):

1 cup of white quinoa (I just buy a 1/2 pound at earth fare; this ends up being barely over 1 cup. I buy white, rather than red as the white is a bit sweeter.)

1/8-1/4 cup of ground flax seeds

1/2 cup of chopped almonds

1+ teaspoon of cinnamon

2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

I cook the quinoa in a rice cooker with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Then I mix the cooked quinoa with the remaining ingredients and spread evenly over a slightly oiled baking sheet (if you have wax paper you don't have to oil, and you might get better results). Then I use a pizza cutter to cut lines long-ways across the pan. I only cut long-ways as I once tried to cut both ways before baking and the pieces just busted up when I tried to take them out of the pan--again, you could probably cut both ways if you use wax paper). Then I powder the top of the pieces with cinnamon and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. You can bake longer if you want them to be crisper, but I like mine kind of chewy. However, the thinner you spread them on the pan, the crisper they get at this temperature and time setting. So you will have to closely monitor the cereal as you bake it to get the consistency you like.

One of the last dishes during his week in the kitchen was another take on stuffed portobello caps and a delectable bread salad.

Stuffed Portobello Caps

1. Bake caps at 350 for 20 minutes or until tender

2. Sautee artichoke hearts, garlic and spinach

3. Add ricotta, nutmeg, salt and pepper and heat through

4. Scoop ricotta mixture into cap and top with grated white cheddar and parm, broil until melted.

Two Step Bread Salad

1. Cube stale bread (if you don't have any stale, just let some fresh sit out for an afternoon)

2. Toss bread with fresh or canned tomatoes (he used my Granny's home canned peeled tomatoes), sliced cheese (he used our free Dubliner cheese from Earth Fare), basil, balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil.

Can we give Husband a hand???

Leftover Redo

2010-03-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Monday night we had a huge bowl of leftover spaghetti courtesy of my Granny and some onion sets to plant in our garden. While I "beefed" up the spaghetti Husband got the onions in the ground.

We broke into our growler...

And the spaghetti was re-done with a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, green peppers, mushrooms, garlic, onions, italian seasonings, a dollop of ricotta and some grated white cheddar and parm.

Yummy!

Purple Mountain Majesty - Part 2

2010-03-30T15:56:00.001-07:00

Off to the Jamison's!

We had some happy pups!

Breath taking. Can't wait till everything really blooms! I woke up from my nap with a cool breeze blowing over my face and I opened my eyes to this. I just laid there and watched it for a while, letting the sweet breeze kiss my cheeks. Sometimes heaven is here on Earth I think.

When I finally drug myself out of the bed I relaxed with Will outside enjoying a Shock Top, one of my personal favs...

Such a lazy afternoon. Will's Dad had the game on (don't ask me which one, I am SO not into basketball haha!) and we snacked on fresh bread and truffle butter. I should confess my love of truffles now. Will says I am like a truffle pig because I can smell their intoxicating scent from a mile away. When we were in Paris last I would decide where we were going to eat by walking the streets and determining which restaurants had truffles on the menu by sniffing them out (literally). I can't get enough of them!

A few hours later we finally decided we were ready for dinner so Will's Dad grilled some filets to go with the baked potatoes and a fresh salad. I say that I don't see myself ever giving up meat totally, it's because of my undying love for steak. I'm sorry to who this may offend, but growing up my family had steak as many as three times a week. And during that time I was probably the healthiest and in the best shape I've ever been. Granted logging multiple hours in the gym at volleyball practice everyday probably helped. I've since then wised up to exactly where (or rather not where...) those steaks came from. It's disturbing. Coupled with our thin wallets, steak has drastically reduced its appearance on my plate for sure! But I can't say that I still don't enjoy a juicy filet from time to time in the company of loves ones!

Mouthwatering...

And then Will's favorite part of dinner...flour less chocolate torte with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. Ummm mmm!

We ended up staying in that night and solving the world's problems until we were spent.

Sunday morning I woke up and had a cup of coffee and ate a banana with almond butter and a drizzle (or three) of honey before meeting my parents at church. Will introduced his Dad to his first experience with AB. Let's just say it was a hit :)

Lunch was a massive spaghetti dinner at my Granny's. I don't think I've eaten that many noodles in the past year haha! I have no pictures because it was pretty crowded, but it was delicious.. I love Sunday dinners with the fam. When I lived at home we had dinner at Granny's every single Sunday. Except for the Sundays when we were celebrating birthdays on my Dad's side of the family. On those days we would eat big dinners with them. We like to eat!

We packed up the car and said our goodbyes and sadly made our way back to Charlotte. Will's Mom sent us home with a few treats...a new basket for my bike (big enough to hold Jeannie she said) filled with lots of goodies including two containers of truffle butter :) fresh pasta, cherry tomatoes, wine, pesto sauce, mushrooms, and two kinds of bread. Plenty for a romantic dinner at home.

Jim's favorite cat watching spot (we have 5 cats in our cul-de-sac!!!). We've had to replace this screen multiple times because Jim throws himself against it going after them!

Sorry for the blurry pic, Jeannie needed to help...

Can you believe it's practically Wednesday already??? I swear time is on warp speed! Speaking of, the next few post will be going back in time to follow up with the end of Husband's week in the kitchen and some freshly planted additions to our little garden.

If you haven't already, take a few moments this week to stop and enjoy life a little bit. I feel like it's going by so fast I can barely even keep up. Here's to lazy days napping under trees, floating in the lake, playing pretend in frilly dresses, eating homemade ice cream till you feel sick, building sand castles, and holding your Daddy's hand and thinking he is the only man you will ever need in your life and that time is just a word people say.

Purple Mountain Majesty - Part 1

2010-03-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

On the road again! I would venture to say that Will and I spend 80+% of our weekends away from home. And at least 60% of those are in Asheville. We couldn't wait to get out of there and now we can't wait to get back. Who wouldn't love to be somewhere where time seems to slow down, the beauty of untouched nature surrounds you and your family is within a few minutes drive??? Even Jimmy was happy, look at that smile!

We made a pit stop at Pisgah Brewery on the way in to pick up a growler. We decided on the Equinox Ale. Will's professional tasting description was that it was malty with notes of chocolate. I just say it was delicious!

The cool thing about this brewery is that if you didn't know where it was, it's highly likely you would never find it. It is located in what looks like an old warehouse complex and you have to know that Unit 150 (actually 130) will lead you in the front door. Inside there is usually a live band playing and some locals testing out the latest brews.

Mom and Dad were stuck handing out race packets until 7:00 so we met them right on time and went straight to dinner at Nona Mia's, a new hole in the wall Italian eatery on the infamous Patton Ave. Although it was decorated beautifully and we were greeted by one of the most hard working and kindest grandma-type waitresses there is, you could count the number of tables in the whole place on your two hands. So we had to wait. Will and I enjoyed a Highland Kashmir and the waitress brought around delectable fried ravioli. I think we could have made a meal out of them if we hadn't contained ourselves!

Fueling up for the race (or rather just using it as a good excuse to eat ginormous amounts of pasta) Will and I feasted on the Alfredo Mia. Creamy garlic sauce, peas, prsoscuitto and mushrooms all tossed with fettucini. So yum!

We should have shared. We couldn't even think about eating our entire bowls!

Exhausted we hit the sack as soon as we got to my parents house.

Mom and Dad had to be back at her office to help with registration at 6:30. Will and I "slept in" till about 6:45 then scarfed down some breakfast. I had a green monster of course ;)

We made it to the race by about 7:20 and walked into a room packed full of people scrambling to get their numbers and chips. With over 400 participants and only 50 having picked up their packets the night before it's needless to say that the race started just a few minutes late.

We're ready!

M & D holding down the shirt table...

When I asked my Mom whether the course had hills she assured me that it was mostly flat with just a slight hill towards the end, but that it was NOTHING compared to the terrible hill I had faced in my last 10K (I hate hills for the record!).

She lied.

The first half of the course was uphill. Granted it was a gradual uphill, but uphill none the less! Then we went downhill. Then we faced THE hill. You know, the "slight hill" Mom had mentioned. This baby was over a 1/4 mile and straight uphill. Even some of the better runners ended up walking. Will said that he was barely trotting. I've never wanted to quit something so bad in my life! Come to find out, Mom almost didn't make it up it walking! No hills! Give me a break!

M & D coming in for the finish...

I was yelling for them to sprint through the finish line but they didn't hear me...

Official times: Will - 22:36, Me - 29:46, M & D - 50:and some seconds

Will ended up winning his age group! His prize was a hand carved wooden vase from a local artist.

After the race Mom and I ran a few errands then I ran through the shower in time for Will's parents to pick us up to go to lunch. The thai place we had chose was closed :( so we ended up at Earth Fare. No complaints from me. I was STARVING! And the Asheville Earth Fare kicks Charlotte's booty. This plate literally held over a pound of food and I ate every last bite.

Whole wheat mac & cheese, salad greens with mushrooms, chickpeas, artichoke hearts and organic ranch, sesame kale, strawberries, red quinoa and a lemon herb salmon steak. Go ahead and drool. It was amazing.

After lunch we made a quick stop by Sam's Club to pick up the ingredients for green monsters (Will's Dad wanted to give them a try), then we picked up the dogs and it was off to the Jamison household for a glorious nap and a big steak dinner!

To be continued...

We're Going Home!

2010-03-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well just back to Asheville, but who are we kidding we still call it home. We have been living in Charlotte for almost 7 years and we STILL refer to Asheville as home. Sometimes you just can't get away from your roots!

We also call it God's Country (a lil nickname given by my Aunt)

My header is also a picture from a hike in Asheville.

As soon as I get off work Husband and the dogs are whisking me away to the mountains. Tomorrow morning is Will and I's first 5K that we will have ran together. My Mom's work is putting on their first annual race to promote colon cancer awareness and we have made it a family event. My parents will be walking the race and Will and I will be running our booties off. Will has set his goal around 23 minutes (and he is upset by this, kills me!), I am shooting for 28 minutes. I've done this on the treadmill but running outside is a whole different story for me.

I think our Saturday plans include some shopping, maybe a little tax doing (FINALLY!), and a big steak dinner at Will's parent's house. Can't wait to post pictures of their land. Talk about picturesque views. You wake up in the morning and the first thing that hits you is fresh mountain air. Then after grabbing a cup of coffee (in the cutest little ceremic cups) you walk out onto the front porch, breathe in the morning air and sit in silence on the porch swing (possibly with a large black dog by your side and a small brown one in your lap) admiring the beauty that is God's creation. This is my absolute FAVORITE way to start my day. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

Sunday means church and a big family dinner at my Granny's...and then unfortunately back here :(

If you have never visited Asheville you must promise me you will! And I promise that you will not regret it!

Hope you have a wonderful Spring weekend loves!

Backyard Gardening a la Husband

2010-03-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

Backyard gardening is easier than you think, and no matter how small your yard you can claim big returns. Gardening can seem like an ominous task, and I think this results in many people claiming to be “black thumbs.” What I mean by this is that most growers who claim to kill anything they touch, kill because they touch too often. A garden, like a good cheese or aged wine, grows best when you leave it alone. Thus, one should not view a garden as a burden, but rather a creation that results in backyard beauty, pride, and fresh vegetables. If you follow my instructions you can join me in enjoying fresh, homegrown vegetables all summer long.

Location

The first step to a successful garden is a proper location. Remember, plants need sunlight to grow. Decide what you are going to grow, and choose a location that best suits your needs. Some plants (like basil), love full, hot sun for as long as it can get it, others (like squash) will burn up if given hot sun for too long. So try to plant accordingly. Also, remember that where the sun shines in your backyard tomorrow, will not necessarily be the same place it shines mid-June. The sun will gradually move to a more vertical approach as the spring and summer progress, so areas previously clothed in darkness may experience more sunlight.

Equally important is water. Many professed plant killers destroy their plants because they water too little or too often. If you know of an area of your backyard that is consistently wet (e.g. the low spot) this will probably not be the best space to start your garden.

Raised Beds

The another step to a successful garden are raised beds. Now, raised beds are not necessary, in fact I grow many vegetables in the spaces between flowers or against our privacy fence, but they are beneficial for a plethora of reasons. First, raised beds allow you to inject new, nutrient rice soil into your growing space. Second, they “raise” the soil above the ground level, allowing for increased water drainage--a necessary element for many plants. Third, they are easily fenced off to keep rabbits or nosey dogs out of your garden. Fourth, they look nice if well done and add something to your backyard landscape.

Our raised beds measure 4’x8’, but any measurement that fits your needs will do. Simply buy a few boards at the local hardware store and nail them together. It is important to avoid treated wood, as the chemicals used to treat the wood can leach into your garden. Also, some people use multiple large timbers (e.g. 4’x4’) stacked together to create a very deep raised bed, but I personally only used 2‘x4’ lumber (reducing my overall cost). Next, some people do multiple layers in their beds--gravel, covered in sand, covered in dirt, covered in gardening soil). If your looking for the best possible situation then use google to figure it out, but for most purpose throwing some 2‘x4’s on the ground will do the trick.

Soil

Soil is possibly the most important aspect of a garden that you can control. Other than sunlight and water, the soil is what enables your plants to grow, to grow large, and to produce rich food. Just like humans, plants need vitamins and minerals. No healthy person grew-up on just Doritos, or for that matter, just celery. A nutrient rich soil ensures healthy growth and nutrient rich produce. This doesn’t mean you have to get the uber-expensive Miracle Grow Soil, but it does mean buying some kind of soil will ensure healthy growth. I buy the cheapest bag of potting soil they sell at Home Depot--I actually think it literally only says “Potting Soil” on the bag. Again, this isn’t necessary, as I do grow some plants in the dirt around our privacy fence, but it really helps.

If you so chose you can also have your soil tested. You can buy the really ex

pensive kits at any hardware store, but for most people a trip the public library will actually yield better and cheaper results. In Mecklenburg County a soil testing kit is only $12 at select public library branches (all of which will stay open despite prior plans to close). You take the kit home, take samples from around your garden (meaning different locations), and then send it off to NC State. There they will test your soil and report back to you on the soil make-up. This will enable you to determine if your garden needs more of something, or less of something to ensure optimal growth.

Starting Your Plants

Many people chose to go to the hardware store and buy the pre-packaged plants that are already a few weeks or months old. This is a great idea for the time pressed, but will in the long run cost more money (and for me result in less satisfaction than growing the plans from seed.)

I usually buy the Jiffy 72 Cell Greenhouse Kit that comes with 72 soil pods to start your seeds, and a mini-”greenhouse” to ensure seed growth. All one needs to do is follow the instructions to expand the soil pods (as the soil comes dry), plant your seeds, then cover and leave alone until you see the green shoots growing.

After you decide on what plants you want to grow, and buy the seeds, you plant them in the expanded soil pods. Each seed packet should give you suggested seed planting depths, from barely covered to 1” deep. As a general rule of thumb the larger the seed the deeper it should be planted, with most seeds falling in the 1/4” depth.

Take any utensil, I prefer a butter knife, and create a hole to the desired depth.

Now, drop-in a few seeds (I usually do three). Although most seed packets bolster they are “guaranteed to grow”, more than one seed will ensure that every pod results in a viable plant.

This will almost always result in more than one sprout in every pod, a good thing, but something that must be fixed. A week or so after the seeds have sprouted just chose the strongest sprout and pinch off the others; failure to do so will result in overcrowding and death.

Now place the mini-greenhouse in a semi-sunny spot (our's is the bathtub) and leave it alone! All you have to do now is wait for the seeds to sprout! More to come on what happens then!

Planting Directly to Soil

A few types of plants need to be planted directly in the soil. For backyard gardening purposes this is mostly limited to leafy greens (e.g. lettuce, spinach, kale, etc.), but always refer to the seed packet for this type of information. When in doubt--plant inside.

Generally, one should not allow plants to begin growing outdoors above ground before all danger of frost has passed. This is because frost kills vegetable plants. In Charlotte, my general rule is that no plant goes in the ground before April 16, the day after tax day.

The most important exception to this rule is Kale. Kale, due to its unique chemistry (i.e. the waxy skin on the leaves), is actually immune to frost. Also, according to an old wise tale kale tastes best if it has had a chance to endure a frost or two. Furthermore, kale is best grown during the early spring and fall, as the hot summers in the South will actually kill kale. For Charlotte dwellers this means kale seeds need to be in the ground already, or as soon as possible. If you wait too long it will be too hot for the kale to grow and you won’t reap any harvest.

When your gardening spot is chosen, lightly till the soil with a shovel or spade. Next, gently rake back the soil to a create a row in which to place your seeds. Now, take a handful of seeds and gently let them fall into the row, trying to space the seeds out by a few inches. Do not be afraid to let a few seeds group together, as you can pull up the weaker sprouts later. Next lightly rake back some of the soil over the seeds, covering them only by about 1/4’ to 1/2’ of soil. If you bury them too deep they won’t be able to grow. THATS IT! Just ensure that you don’t step on the seeds, and wait for them to grow. Also, unless we experience a severe drought over the next few weeks you shouldn’t even need to water them. Fresh kale will be on your plate sooner than you think!

Remember, to be a successful gardener you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty!

Happy Gardening!

Fashion for the REAL World: Flower Brooches

2010-03-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the flower appliques on all the pretty little pastel tees out there right now. But if you're like me, shelling out $40 or more for a single JCrew beauty is just not feasible when you're on a budget.

So what's a girl to do???

Luckily there is Etsy! After discussing the silk options and deciding what would be the most versatile colors I have ordered the following two handmade flower brooches from Pins and Needles Too.

Hand rolled dupioni silk (my FAVORITE) rose in a beautiful blushing pink...

Hand rolled triple flower brooch, in dupioni of course ;)

All for the pretty price tag of $38. Now I can have "appliqued" tees, jackets, dresses, headbands (use your imagination here)...for less than the cost of one JCrew tee. Gotta love a bargain!

Excitement Continued...

2010-03-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

I know you were all expecting a big post on gardening but two things have occurred since then. One being that Husband has so graciously offered to do the post on gardening, it's kind of his forte. I have a solid brown thumb while his is a beautiful shade of emerald green :) Second last night I got home and checked my email one last time for the night and was TOTALLY surprised to have an email from Kath inviting me to a girl's night/blogger meet-up. To say that I wasn't shell-shocked, nervous, honored and VERY excited would be a bold faced lie!

So after work I followed my GPS to Cafe Central.

I sadly don't have any pictures. If I'm being honest here I was a little too embarrassed to pull out my cracked old digital camera (our nicer one was at home) in front of all of their SLR's. But check out Kath's or Diana's blogs, I know they will be posting soon if they already haven't!

I feel like I've been invited to have a glimpse of the blog world behind the blogsphere. This was my first time eating with bloggers. Within literal minutes of sitting down cameras were out and convos about blogging were had. I had planned not to talk much about blogging thinking that they probably would like a break from it while eating. I was totally wrong and I totally appreciated it. I think I learned more in 10 minutes than I could have in 2 years of doing this on my own. Not to mention it incredibly interesting to put people to blogs and see the real person. Surprisingly they were all exactly like what I had expected.

Ordering was almost funny. We joked about being the pickiest table a server could have. I thought it was wonderfully inspiring to be around people who are so passionate about their health and food. And because you are all probably wondering what on earth I ordered to eat. I had a SweetWater brew and a cheese quesadilla with grilled onions and avocado. And it was delightful.

Look for Husband's post on gardening in the QC tomorrow!

Latest ChickSpeak Article

2010-03-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

The beauty of couple friends @ ChickSpeak.

Exciting Day!

2010-03-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

As if the beautiful sunshine and 65+ degree weather wasn't good enough, my day has been filled with all kinds of exciting things.

1. I have perfected the Green Monster...at least as far as my taste buds are concerned :)

2. Work went by pretty quickly and productively.

3. Earth Fare actually commented on my little blog. To me that is BIG news and uber flattering!

4. I'm loving Will being on spring break. This afternoon I was able to meet him at the gym and got through 4 miles in under 40:00!

5. He also had dinner waiting at home, homemade baked fries, lime & ginger seitan and apricot marinated broccoli. So YUM!

I need to also give him a thumbs up for last nights dinner. Sweet potato and black bean stew...with a side of Dakota bread of course!

...aaannnnddd he soaked his own beans.

Will's directions for bean soaking:

Rinse beans (Will found yarn and rocks in ours!)

Soak beans over night in enough water to cover the top of them by two inches.

* Some articles claim that draining the soaking water and cooking the beans with fresh water will reduce the not so appreciated side effects of beans (i.e. the toots). Will decided to just use the soaking water because it retains a lot of nutrients.

The stew included 1/2 bag of beans, 1 large sweet potato, 2 small russet potatoes (freebies from Earth Fare!), 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice, 1 large onion sauteed with garlic until soft, 3-6 c vegetable broth (depends on how soupy you want it), 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp ground mustard, salt and pepper. All thrown into the crock pot and cooked low for 8 hours.

6. Will cooking deserves two points, I am SO thankful for this little break from planning and living in the kitchen!

7. Picked Jeannie up from the groomer and she looks oh so pretty with her summer haircut.

8. We are just over a week away from my Grandparents coming home from their winter stay in Florida AND Easter which is possibly my favorite holiday (outside of Christmas!)

9. Remember my broken measuring cup from Anthropologie? They offered to send me a new one free of charge right to my house! Talk about customer service!

10. Saturday is supposed to be sunny and 58 degrees for the race. A little chilly but I take it over rain any day!

11. Will got our garden started...look for that post tomorrow!

Who's ready for hump day?!

Celebrating Spring...and Free Food!

2010-03-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was glorious! I was talking to my best friend Lu the other day about how this weather makes me feel like superman. I was running last Thursday and it was warm and the sun was shining and I cleared a corner and it just hit me head on. The sun was shining so bright I could barely see and I just turned my nose to the air, closed my eyes, and soaked it in. Recharging! I can't get enough.

Of course it's cold today. So let's talk about the weekend instead :)

After our waffles and run we came back and tried our best to to get some things done before hitting the town. Including washing our white sheets and duvet. A certain little four legged brown dog likes to go out in the morning then come straight back in and jump on the bed and snuggle back into her nook. Meaning that dirty little paw prints are a regular occurrence in our house. Also meaning that even beyond sanitary reasons we HAVE to wash our bedding every weekend.

As we were leaving I couldn't help but snap a quick picture. These trees, although smelling like a certain something I won't name on the blog, are beautiful! And they line the streets of our neighborhood.

We spent the day shopping and running errands then decided to use our Restaurant.com coupon to eat at Boneheads. If you guys haven't heard of that website you have to check it out. I happened upon it when they were having a 90% off sale going on and bought a $25 gift certificate to Boneheads for a $1.00 and the only requirement was that you spend at least $35 overall. So basically we got the massive amount of food and drinks below for just $15. Pretty sweet for thin wallets!

Can you see the ginormous bird they brought out to Will? No?

Here's a close-up!

I had the salmon with sauteed Piri Piri mushrooms, grilled zucchini strips and sweet potato fries. So yum!

I was happy to see that the sauces weren't fill with all kinds of hard to pronounce nastiness.

This was key lime pie. It disappeared before we had the thought to take a picture of it.

Husband admiring the hefeweizen...

Not such a great photo but whatever...

And then it was time for the show! Don't be jealous of how hot we are in our 3-D sunnies :)

I was actually a little disappointed in the movie. I'm starting to sound like a broken record right? Anyway, the imagery was breathtaking and the acting was of course amazing (hellooo can't go wrong with the Depp!) but I was very sad to see that they veered so far from the actual story. I so wanted to see the actually Alice in Wonderland story through Tim Burton's eyes. Denied!

So moving on to Sunday. Saturday before the movie we had killed some time at Trader Joe's which just happens to be right next to a Great Harvest shop so we picked up a load of the Dakota bread. I seriously LOVE this bread. Sunday morning was Dakota bread french toast topped with organic blueberries. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again!

After breakfast we went to church and the gym where Husband set the goal of running a 5K in 24 minutes. This is where I get frustrated. I will not claim that I am good at running. In fact running is INCREDIBLY difficult for me. Having ran a 10K even once in my life was a huge accomplishment. But one would think that since I run at least on a semi-frequent basis that I would not only be able to run a measly 3.1 miles in 24 minutes if I really pushed myself, but that I would most definitely be able to do this before my Husband who has only donned his sneaks once a week to throw some weights around for the past year! SO NOT THE CASE! Will is like a machine. A well oiled, totally built for running machine. I have referred to myself has a heavy footed hippo before, I'm telling you it's pretty much the truth. He powered through like a cheetah and finished in under 24 minutes. I however pushed as hard as I could and barely squeaked in under 28 minutes. Oh well, next time right?

Lunch was had at Earth Fare. Free with the purchase of a vitamin water with our coupon. Thank you Earth Fare for all the freebies! I had a grilled veggie pesto panini with chips and a salad (which I saved for lunch today because I was so full).

A few hours later with trips to Home Depot and Sam's Club under our belt we finally made it home in time to cook some dinner and veg on the couch to watch a movie. Will is on spring break this week so he is taking over in the kitchen. It's an odd feeling to just let go. I'm so used to planning every morsel that graces our lips that it was slightly nerve wrecking hoping that he had thought through breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the entire week for both of us. But alas, I'm loving the break from the kitchen for few days!

Dinner was whole wheat noodles with a Dubliner Irish cheese (you guys must check out the Earth Fare coupons! We scored two of these this week!) sauce, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and sundried tomato. The pic is a little blurry but don't let it fool you, this made your taste buds sing!

Here's to the end of another Monday!

1st Signs of Spring on the 1st Day of Spring

2010-03-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

It is gorgeously sunny and almost HOT here today. We've eaten our waffles outside, messed around in the yard and planned out our garden already. I decided that I wanted french toast for breakfast, but Will wanted waffles. So we made two blueberry waffles and one plain that I ended up dipping in egg and frying in a pan before we drizzled everything in maple syrup and Earth Balance. DELISH! It wasn't much to see so sorry for the lack of pictures.

While we were piddling around in the yard we noticed some of our annuals have already bloomed. So exciting to see signs of Spring at your home!

We're off on a run and then out shopping and a late lunch before FINALLY seeing Alice In Wonderland!!! I can't wait!

Chez Jamison Test Kitchen: Eggplant Lasagna, Tortilla Pizza, Thai Peanut Noodles & Almond Joy Soft Serve

2010-03-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Whew! T.G.I.F! I don't know about you guys by this week has both trickled and flown by. Do ya know what I mean?

Today was killer with it being absolutely gorgeous outside and a warm 75 degrees, while I sat in my little gray cube wishing I was a stay a home mom to the dogs :)

I tested out quite a few things this week. Sunday I baked a rustic eggplant lasagna, tried polenta for the first time for lunch on Monday, attempted tempeh sausage for tortilla pizzas, perfected thai peanut noodles on the first try for dinner Wednesday and threw together some almond joy soft serve as a sweet treat for me and the Mr. Needless to say we have TONS of leftovers to eat on over the weekend (and possibly next week haha!). I plan out our meals each week but we either always end up not eating one of the meals I planned for some reason or I way underestimate how much food I'm making. Going to have to work on those recipe portions!

So on with the SHOW!

Rustic Eggplant Lasagna: adapted from this recipe featured on Vegan Yum Yum

Serves 9-12

Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (I used my Granny's home canned YUM!)

Olive Oil, for drizzling

2-3 Medium Eggplants, peeled

8-10 Large Slices of Sourdough Bread (I used a Trader Joe's loaf)

1 Cup Breadcrumbs (or 2 more pieces of bread for toasting and food processing)

1-2 Large, Ripe Tomatoes, fresh, for garnish (I used some leftover roasted tomatoes from Friday night)

Basil, for garnish

1/2-1 c Ricotta

6-8 Button Mushrooms chopped

1/2-1 Onion chopped

2-3 c Spinach Chopped

Minced garlic

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Peel and slice eggplant into 1/2 slices, place on baking sheet and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees until soft and brown in some areas.

4. Sautee mushrooms, onion and garlic until mushrooms release juices and onions become tender.

5. Add spinach and heat until wilted.

6. Mix in ricotta and heat through.

7. Grill or brown bread slices

8. In baking dish starting with tomato sauce (to avoid sticking) layer bread, eggplant, ricotta mixture and sauce ending with a layer of sauce. Top with tomato slices and breadcrumbs.

9. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.

CJ's Thoughts: Will says this is the best thing that I have ever made. Its very hearty and filling and I think the longer it sits the better the flavor gets. I added the ricotta mixture so it's not vegan, but I felt that it added some substance to it. My picture of my plate wasn't very pretty so I'm not posting it, but it sure was delicious!

Tortilla Pizza with Tempeh Sausage:

Tortilla (I used Ezekiel Torts)

Pizza Sauce or Tomato Paste (I made these twice this week, once with each, pics are of the tomato paste)

Veggies (I used green peppers, onions and mushrooms)

Cheese or Cheeze (I used feta and shredded white sharp cheddar)

Tempeh Sausage (Recipe below)

1. Sautee veggies until tender

2. Make sausage:

8 oz package tempeh

1 1/2 c vegetable broth

1 tsp each Basil, marjoram, sage, savory, whatever seasonings you want :)

1 clove garlic

2 T soy sauce

Splash of lemon juice

1. Cook tempeh in 1/2-3/4 c broth

2. Let cool then grate

3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients

4. Crumble into hot oiled pan and brown

It was St. Patrick's Day when I made this so I had to take a pic of the green :)

2. Spread tomato sauce over tortilla

3. Add toppings

4. Broil for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

5. DEVOUR!

CJ's Thoughts: Tasting the faux sausage separately Will and I didn't really care for it but on the pizza it satisfied that spicy craving. Next time I would add some cayenne to make it spicier.

Thai Peanut Noodles: adapted from this recipe (I halved it)

Whole Wheat Noodles Cooked
2 Medium Zucchini Chunked
1 Medium Onion Wedged
1/2-1 Green Bell Pepper Sliced or Chunked
2 Large Carrots Julienned
Soy Sauce
Water

1. Sautee veggies until tender in soy sauce and water.
2. Toss with noodles and sauce

Sauce:
1 cup very hot water
1 cup peanut butter
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos =or= soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I used honey)
2 teaspoons red curry paste (I used curry powder)
1 inch chunk ginger, grated (I double this)
good squirt sriracha sauce (and this)

1. Mix together, add water to thin to desire consistency.

CJ's Thoughts: UH-mazingly delicious and simple. I think I could have eaten the sauce with a spoon. If you don't have all the ingredients simply thinning the peanut butter would be just fine!

Since I haven't been posting my eats everyday I thought I would give a glimpse. I have become obsessed with roasted vegetables so I usually chop a bunch of and roast a huge pan every couple of days to pack in my lunch bag. I almost can't make myself wait till my snack time to eat them!

This batch was 2-3 large carrots, 3 small organic russet potatoes (thank you Earth Fare), 1-2 c broccoli, 1 c brussel sprouts. Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt and baked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Almond Joy Soft Serve: I've seen this all around the 'sphere so I'm not sure who to credit it to!

2 frozen bananas

3-4 T Unsweetened Cocoa

1/2-1 c Shredded Coconut

1/4 c Almonds Chopped

1. Put first three ingredients in food processor and let 'er rip

2. Top with almonds

3. Thanks the sweet Lord for guilt free chocolate ice cream!

God works in funny ways...a story about a banana

2010-03-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

This is yet another food UN-related post (well sort of). I'm sure you guys are probably wondering where the food is. Just be patient, Rustic Eggplant Lasagana, Tortilla Pizza with Tempeh Sausage and Almond Joy Soft Serve are on their way!

This post is all about a semi-funny, semi-ridiculous, and semi-awe-inspiring thing that happened to me today.

Well it actually started last night, but I digress. And I'm going to preface by saying that I'm not going to use the correct quotation marks for the following...

Last night became and off night for me. I couldn't find one of our handmade pottery bowls given to us as a wedding gift. It was like it just disappeared from our kitchen. It's a pretty good sized bowl and our kitchen is packed to capacity so it's not like it could just be stuck some random place. So I asked Will if he had seen it. He said no. I said, are you sure it always sits right here. To which he responded that he had no idea what bowl I was talking about. So I asked him if he was sure he hadn't broken it or something and just wasn't telling me about it. He said no. So I gave up and went back to cooking, totally perplexed by our disappearing bowl.

A little bit later Will decided he would have a beer. It was St. Patrick's Day afterall. He went to open it on our magnetic bottle opener on the fridge and as soon as the cap popped off, the bottle flew back and beer drowned me from the face down. All we could do was laugh.

Then I was cutting an apple for my lunch today and the knife slipped and I sliced my thumb right open. Will helped me bandage it right away after forcing me to clean it with alcohol. Ouch!

Not 30 minutes later Will picked Jim (our big dog) up like a baby. This is very common in our household. As he brought him over for some loving Jim kicked and knocked my hand painted measuring cup from Anthropologie right off the counter and it promptly shattered. I almost cried.

So we went to bed and said goodbye to our crappy night.

This morning I got up late (I haven't been sleeping very well the last few nights). I rushed into the kitchen to make my Green Monster, which I had forgotten to preassemble the night before. I couldn't find my "magic bullet" cup with the lid that I had sat on the counter the night before. So I asked Will if he had seen it. He was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and couldn't hear me so by the time he finally came in the kitchen my question had turned into "where is my cup?!" Turns out it had fallen off the counter and was laying on the other side in the floor.

Then I went to get my banana and found the single banana I had saved specifically so that I would have half for today's monster and half for tomorrow's (the rest went into the soft serve) was half gone. So I asked Will if he had taken the other half. He said he didn't know. I said did you take the only banana that was left sitting here and he said yes, angrily.

Do you see where this is going?

Then everything erupted. Will felt like I was accusing him of everything, I felt like I was simply asking, seeing as he is the only other person in the household that could possibly know. Voices were raised and then I was left standing alone in the kitchen with no goodbye.

Stupid arguement huh?

So far today I think we have moved on. Our friend Roger called and said he had our bowl from when we transported our spaghetti squash to his house to dog sit. At least I'm not crazy right!?

When I sat down to lunch today my boss was leaving to go to Atlanta. Cleaning off her desk before she left she asked if anyone wanted a banana. I got goosebumps. And then I got mad at myself for getting so miffed over something so insignificant.

It reminded me of this Bible verse:

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

He works in mysterious ways, best to let him do his thang right?

Fashion for the REAL World: Got Alice Fever?

2010-03-18T06:28:00.001-07:00

Check out these beautiful Etsy finds...

Click on the image for the link

Red Queen Print 10.00

Paint my roses red rings 10.00

Smoking Catapillar Locket 9.99

Mad Hatter Hat 45.00

Fingerless Gloves

Alice Inspired Blue Halter Dress 74.00

Alice Bow 10.00

Talk about sad...

2010-03-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

We all know school lunches these days are somewhat questionable, but this teacher's attempt to shed some light on the matter makes you realize how truly pitiful the state of our children's nutrition really is. Especially when compared to those in other countries.

Check out Fed Up With Lunch and follow Mrs. Q as she spends an entire year eating school lunches.

ChickSpeak

2010-03-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to mention this on the blog but keep forgetting. I write a column over at ChickSpeak chronicaling Will and I's first year of marriage. There is some repeat from what I talk about on the blog, but if you are interested we would love for you to check the series out. It's called Beyond the Honeymoon. Enjoy! (P.S. the past articles can be found in the archive)

In the Theme of Green

2010-03-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

Top o' the morning to ya! And HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

In the spirit of going green today I thought I would feature some resourceful green websites.

First up, Sustainable Table:

Sustainable Table celebrates local sustainable food, educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food. They have tons of sustainable recipes, a search engine to keep you informed on what is fresh locally to you organized by month, and links to a varitable cornucopia of information about sustainable living.

Next, Eat Well Guide:

Eat Well’s thousands of listings include family farms, restaurants, farmers' markets, grocery stores, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, U-pick orchards and more. Users can search by location, keyword, category or product to find good food, download customized guides, or plan a trip with the innovative mapping tool, Eat Well Everywhere. Eat Well is also home to The Green Fork blog and the free educational booklet Cultivating the Web: High Tech Tools for the Sustainable Food Movement.

H2O Conserve:

Calculate your water footprint and learn ways to reduce your water use and conserve the little amount of useable water we have left!

A Host of Friends That Never Ends...Part 2

2010-03-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Man I am LOVING this daylight in the evenings! I feel like I can keep going and going. After a pretty quick day at work I hit the gym, ran a quick mile and muscled through an hour long sculpt class. I was pretty exhausted afterwards but decided that I

needed to work on my endurance for my upcoming 5K so I got back on the treadmill and banged out another 2.1 miles! I love the runners high of pushing yourself and finishing strong. I've learned to find the passion and joy in exercise and not just focus on burning calories, but there is just something awesome about looking down and seeing this...

Back to the weekend! We woke up bright and early Saturday morning because George and Jim decided the day was too pretty to waste sleeping (at 7:00 in the morning UGH!). Will whipped up his signature waffles and I worked my magic on the waffle maker. We made classic whole wheat, whole wheat with organic blueberries, and whole wheat with homemade carob chocolate chips. Until I coin my own term can I just put it into Gina's words? It was face rocking! (sorry Gina I'm brian-storming!)

Liz and I decided to take a short run so we wouldn't feel so bad about ourselves later. She is

training for her first half marathon taking place next week (GO LIZ!!!) and my lack of running definitely showed as she pranced along gazelle-like beside me while I resembled something slightly closer to a winded hippo. Regardless, we got a good 20 minutes in and felt great.

Showers were had and us girls made a trip to Target and Old Navy in search of a green shirt for myself to wear...only to get home and realize the seams were skewed. So I threw on an old green tee and went with it.

Our friend Evan decided to stop by our house before meeting some other friends downtown and surprised us with bringing William (one of Will's best high school buddies) along!

Ready to go we hopped on the train to downtown, or rather uptown, and were surprised to find a whole group of our friends who we haven't seen in forever waiting on us. I love when things come together unexpectedly!

Although all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities were going on, the real purpose for our rare trip into town was for a belated birthday party for my Aunt. So after dancing a little to some classic 80's music we made our way through the pouring rain to Strike City to get our bowl on. Just want to say that I beat Husband :)

We ran from building to building downtown to escape the rain...

A few more stops at random bars and we were kaput! Last stop was the Steak~N~Shake at our train station. Not much on the menu for a semi vegetarian/vegan. I went for a burger and told myself that it would be ok considering it was about the only meat I had eaten in two-ish weeks. It was delish...and regrettable the next morning :(

William was a little too tired to enjoy his meal...

Sleep was good. I woke up to Will making biscuits. I love waking up to him making breakfast. Especially when he brings it to me in bed! I forgot to take any pictures of the finished product but these pics were too good not to post.

Thus the end to our wonderful weekend. I always get so sad when everyone leaves and its back to the grind. I hate living so far away from all of our friends and loved ones. The idea of building a compound has come up MORE than once!

Do you have any great traditions that you celebrate with your friends?

In Case You Were Wondering...

2010-03-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

what to get me for my birthday (yes I realize it is still almost 2 months away) THIS IS IT!

I spotted this on Design Sponge and it looks like my idea of heaven.

"Culinary celebrations at the source. Set between the soil and the sky, Outstanding in the Field's long, linen-draped table beckons adventurous diners to celebrate food at the source. Bringing together local farmers and food artisans, chefs and winemakers, we explore the connection between the earth and the food on your plate. Join us as we feast on the gifts of the land."

We won!!

2010-03-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Husband won a new cookbook from I'll Bite (the Charlotte Observer's food blog). We now have no excuse for unsuccessful potluck contributions!!