Reward!

I have had a day of running around doing stuff for vehicles. First I had to take the 4Runner in this morning to get a new windshield. A rock hit the windshield when we were on our way home from the Outer Banks last weekend and by the time we got home, there was a crack halfway across the windshield. It probably would not have passed inspection like that, so I went ahead and had it fixed now since I probably won’t have as much time to deal with it once school starts.

Then I went to Lowes to find something to put under my center stand for my scooter. Now that it’s hot, the stand is sinking into the asphalt of my apartment parking lot. I don’t care about the holes I’m putting in the parking lot, but I am worried that my scoot will end up falling over (since it doesn’t seem to sink symmetrically) and once it does sink in, I have a hard time getting it to roll off the stand when I want to go ride. So I found a 2×2 piece of plywood to slide under the scoot. Hopefully that will work and distribute the weight over the asphalt enough to prevent sinking.

Finally, I took the 4Runner in for an oil change. After all that, I decided to reward myself and go to Whole Foods for a cupcake. I have been eyeing their cupcakes and since I wasn’t far from the new store, I decided to get one. It was chocolate raspberry and it was delicious.

Another thing I have discovered I love is almond butter. It’s a nice change from peanut butter and at Whole Foods, I can get it from the bulk section for quite a bit cheaper than the branded versions.

I wish the cheaper grocery store in town had a bulk food section. Whole Foods is super nice, but it is expensive, so I have to be selective about what I get there.

I also got a watermelon. I love summer because of watermelon. So refreshing when it is super hot outside!

The squirrel-free path

During yesterday’s run, I was just not feeling it. I wonder what makes the difference when somedays I feel like I could run for a long time and then other days, like yesterday, I am ready to go home after five minutes. I didn’t go home though and we went about 5.5 miles, a little further than I had planned.

The reason we went further is that I found a new detour to stay away from this one spot where there are always a lot of squirrels. If someone tracked all of my paths around the city, I’m sure someone would wonder why I go the way I go and it all boils down to the fact that I am trying to avoid squirrels. It was so much easier during finals when Steve and Kat were at David’s because I could run any path I wanted! A further complication for tomorrow is that I saw a dead snake in the street yesterday, so I’ll have to avoid that area for a few days until I am sure it is gone because I might die if Steve or Kat picked up a snake. Like literally. I. Might. Die.

(A side note about snakes: when I took Wilbur to the vet a couple weeks ago, I asked the vet how fast I needed to get Steve or Kat to the vet if they got bit by a venomous snake. I felt much better when she said that as long as I got them to the vet as soon as I could, they would likely still be okay even if we were out hiking and had to get back to the car and then drive back to a vet. She said she had only seen one dog die from a snake bite and it was a tiny dog. But then she said that three dogs were bit one night last summer by copperheads on one trail in town! I will not be going down there now. I took Steve and Kat walking on that trail during the winter. Now that I know there are copperheads over there, I might only go there in the winter!)

In my quest over the last few months to lose the 15-20 pounds I gained during the failed Seattle Experiment, I have basically stopped eating meat, which means I am eating a lot more vegetables. I am also clumsy, so I often drop things in the kitchen. Usually Steve helps me clean up dropped items, but I discovered that he is not a fan of cucumber. The funny thing was that every time I picked up the cucumber slice, he took it back from my hand to the living room. Eventually I traded him a cookie for the cucumber so I could throw it away.

I made this recipe last night. It needed something else, more spice, but it would be great for the summer if I had a garden.

Georgia Peanut Soup

I haven’t posted on this blog in forever.  School has kept me very busy.  However, I received some new cookbooks for Christmas, so I thought this blog would be a good spot to write about what I have made and share the recipes.

This recipe comes from The Baking Sheet from King Arthur Flour.  I made it for supper tonight and I thought it was very tasty.  The original recipe includes 1.5 cups of diced onion and 1 cup of diced celery, but I don’t like either of those things so I left them out and it was still good.  It was also very easy.  I thought it turned out to be a very colorful soup as well.  I made some Honey Bread to go along with it, but I didn’t time it right and the bread is still in the bread machine.  Oops!

Georgia Peanut Soup (as I made it)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the reduced fat kind and it worked okay)

1 quart chicken stock

2 cups corn kernels (I used a 12 ounce package of frozen sweet corn)

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the peppers; cook for 5 minutes, until tender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the bay leaf and peanut butter, stirring to coat the peppers.  Add the stock, a little at a time, stirring frequently.  Add the corn kernels and bring the soup to a simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Hobo Plate

My mom gave me a subscription to Rachael Ray’s magazine.  Last month the magazine featured some diner food that was made over to be healthier.  Last week I made two of the made-over foods.  One was Hobo Plate.  One thing about me, when I look at a new recipe, I don’t actually read the words of the recipe, I just look at the picture and decide if it looks like something I would eat.  In the picture, the Hobo Plate looked kind of like corned beef hash, one of my favorite things to eat when camping with Grandpa Barker.  When I actually started making the Hobo Plate, I realized that it had scrambled eggs in it, which I normally don’t like, but I was already half-way done making the meal so I completed it and ate the eggs anyway.

If you want to make your own Hobo Plate, here’s how you do it.

First take six ounces of turkey sausage and chop it up.

Once the sausage is chopped, brown it in a nonstick skillet, about five minutes, then remove it from the heat and set aside.

While the sausage is browning, chop up 2 small tomatoes and set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add three cups of frozen southern-style hash browns and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Let those cook until browned, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. (The original magazine recipe says to add two scallions, thinly sliced, but I didn’t do this part because I don’t like them. If you use the scallions, cook them until softened, about 2 minutes.) Stir in 1.5 tablespoons flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in 1 cup of milk and cook, stirring, until boiling and thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet with the sausage and melt over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, 4 eggs (beaten), and 4 egg whites (beaten) with a couple pinches of salt and pepper and cook, scrambling, until just set, 2-3 minutes.

Divide the egg/sausage mixture among four plates; top with the hash browns, white sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Now for the verdict. First, there were so many different pans going, I found it difficult to manage everything, especially since I only have about 8 square feet of counter space and one of the burners on my stove doesn’t work. Second, I don’t know if I really know how to scramble eggs, because I thought the egg/sausage mixture looked like a mess and completely unappetizing (as you probably noticed in the picture). The taste was okay. Other Half liked it. I would not make it again for myself, but I didn’t throw away the recipe in case he wants it again. I let him eat all of the leftovers.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to share recipes I didn’t like, but maybe it looks good to someone. Oh, and the magazine says it’s 402 calories per serving (if you use 2% milk).

Yard Update

The landscapers came to start work on the backyard today. Hubby and I got a huge dumpster for the weekend and we filled it to the brim (literally, a bit over) with wood, mulch, etc. We’re waiting to hear how much it weighed so we know how much we hauled over the weekend. We were dead.

Last night I took a “before” video.

Tonight, here’s the update.

Recommendation

I need to get to posting more, but for now, here’s a recommendation.  If you have a Costco membership, they have the most tasty spring rolls.  Try them out!