I'd say it's a good step forward when after exercising, you have the will to do something other than eat a very cold dinner and sit on the couch for 4 hours afterwards.
A while back, I began an on again/off again thing with Cardio Barre.
During the first class I nearly passed out because I wasn't breathing right, I felt like Jell-O afterward, the music was awful, and the instructor kept using the word "booty" and talking about bikini season. If you had asked me at 8:30 that night, while I was eating sushi on my couch, watching Glee, I would have told you that there was no way in HELL I was going back.
But then the crappy feeling subsided and I realized that a) not going back would be defeatist and quitter-esque since b) I had paid for 10 classes. (On LivingSocial, but whatever, I still had 9 more.)
The next class went better, only I had eaten a garlicky turkey burger 3 hours before class and ended up with CRAZY garlic burps after class. I had a smoothie afterward and sat on the couch, watching the Glee finale.
The next class was even better, except I had eaten a hard-boiled egg 2 hours before class and ended up with psycho burps afterwards and, thanks to the burping and excess water in my stomach that I slugged back mid-workout, had a near-vurp situation in my car. I had a smoothie, went home, and thought about how much I was gonna miss Glee. (Not that much.)
Tonight, after a couple weeks off for various reasons (I don't have to explain them to you!), I went back. I was scared that I'd regress to my fainting, vurping ways, so I didn't snack for 3 hours before class and breathed like my life depended on it (which, you know, it did). I was fine. And to my surprise, I didn't feel like I was going to die if I didn't get food in me ASAP, so I went home and made myself a lovely dinner of pasta, fresh peas, and arugula in a yogurt-blue cheese sauce with anchovy bits.
"Where was I?"
"You were growing."
BTW, I haven't heard that instructor use the words "booty" or "bikini season" since. And tonight's music was a lovely Michael & Janet Jackson mix.
I guess those kids in elementary school were right: First really IS the worst.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Subjective adulthood
A real adult would probably not attempt to drink a whole bottle of wine with a sore throat.
But I never said I was a real adult.
:D
But I never said I was a real adult.
:D
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Quiche me, you fool!
I decided that I wanted to make a quiche. Why? Not sure. I wanted something that I could eat all week long without getting sick of it, I wanted something vaguely substantial when paired with some additional veggies, and I wanted something that required a pie crust because MAN, was I dying to make me some crust!
Quiche was a natural fit. I also had some veggies from the farmer's market I had picked up on Saturday morning and leftover goat cheese from my pizza escapades last week.
After re-watching "Easy A" on Sunday afternoon, I was fully inspired...
Spell-It-With-Your-Peas Quiche
I tried to spell "twat" on this quiche but it didn't work. Stupid peas...
Ingredients:
For the crust...
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 pinch additional salt
1 stick cold salted butter, cut into chunks
1 egg
Mix up the flours and salt; I do all my crusts in my beloved KitchenAid mixer. (It's my fanciest kitchen appliance, and so I use it as often as possible.) Add in your cold chunks of butter (how appealing is THAT?) and let that mix up until the flour just looks kind of chunky and crumbly. Crack an egg into a glass or bowl, add in 2 tbsp. cold water, beat 'em up, and pour into the mixer bowl while the mixer is running. Once it comes together like dough, form it into a flat-thick disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Hey! 30 minutes have gone by! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Once it's nice and chilly, roll it into a large circle big enough to fit a 9" pie pan (I go glass). Lay the dough in the pan (transporting the dough loosely rolled onto your rolling pin is a nice way to make sure it doesn't tear or crumple on you) and press to form your shell. Let it cool (in the fridge if necessary; I put mine on a windowsill like a cartoon character) while you make the filling.
For the rest...
1 cup fresh peas (or thawed from frozen peas)
2 cloves garlic (or 1 monster clove if you have mutant garlic like I had), finely chopped
1 medium-sized summer squash, sliced into thin semi-circles
2 cups arugula, roughly chopped
olive oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
salt and pepper at will
crumbled goat cheese (herbed, if you like)
If you have fresh peas, boil them until tender. (Mine took a long time, but I hear most take more like 4 minutes.) Drain, rinse, and set aside. (Make sure they get nice and dry; I didn't. Mistake.)
Add bit of olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the garlic and cook until it starts to soften. Add squash and cook until THAT starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula to pan, and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl or large measuring cup. beat eggs, milk, yogurt, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to the bowl of vegetables, and mix until it's as evenly mixed as it's going to get. Pour into the cooled crust.
Crumble however much goat cheese strikes your fancy on top. (My boyfriend isn't nuts about cheese, so I only used a bit; I've seen other recipes that call for a whole log. Whatever.) Lay peas in an even layer on top of everything.
Bake 40 minutes, until egg filling is set. Allow to cool slightly, about 5 - 10 minutes, then slice it up! Good hot, cold, at room temperature...
And I tell you now, a slice of this for lunch during the week will REALLY improve your at-work morale.
Quiche was a natural fit. I also had some veggies from the farmer's market I had picked up on Saturday morning and leftover goat cheese from my pizza escapades last week.
After re-watching "Easy A" on Sunday afternoon, I was fully inspired...
Spell-It-With-Your-Peas Quiche
I tried to spell "twat" on this quiche but it didn't work. Stupid peas...
Ingredients:
For the crust...
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 pinch additional salt
1 stick cold salted butter, cut into chunks
1 egg
Mix up the flours and salt; I do all my crusts in my beloved KitchenAid mixer. (It's my fanciest kitchen appliance, and so I use it as often as possible.) Add in your cold chunks of butter (how appealing is THAT?) and let that mix up until the flour just looks kind of chunky and crumbly. Crack an egg into a glass or bowl, add in 2 tbsp. cold water, beat 'em up, and pour into the mixer bowl while the mixer is running. Once it comes together like dough, form it into a flat-thick disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Hey! 30 minutes have gone by! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Once it's nice and chilly, roll it into a large circle big enough to fit a 9" pie pan (I go glass). Lay the dough in the pan (transporting the dough loosely rolled onto your rolling pin is a nice way to make sure it doesn't tear or crumple on you) and press to form your shell. Let it cool (in the fridge if necessary; I put mine on a windowsill like a cartoon character) while you make the filling.
For the rest...
1 cup fresh peas (or thawed from frozen peas)
2 cloves garlic (or 1 monster clove if you have mutant garlic like I had), finely chopped
1 medium-sized summer squash, sliced into thin semi-circles
2 cups arugula, roughly chopped
olive oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
salt and pepper at will
crumbled goat cheese (herbed, if you like)
If you have fresh peas, boil them until tender. (Mine took a long time, but I hear most take more like 4 minutes.) Drain, rinse, and set aside. (Make sure they get nice and dry; I didn't. Mistake.)
Add bit of olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the garlic and cook until it starts to soften. Add squash and cook until THAT starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula to pan, and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl or large measuring cup. beat eggs, milk, yogurt, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to the bowl of vegetables, and mix until it's as evenly mixed as it's going to get. Pour into the cooled crust.
Crumble however much goat cheese strikes your fancy on top. (My boyfriend isn't nuts about cheese, so I only used a bit; I've seen other recipes that call for a whole log. Whatever.) Lay peas in an even layer on top of everything.
Bake 40 minutes, until egg filling is set. Allow to cool slightly, about 5 - 10 minutes, then slice it up! Good hot, cold, at room temperature...
And I tell you now, a slice of this for lunch during the week will REALLY improve your at-work morale.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Hello Giggles = My New Obsession. Also, I am a nail artist.
I'm kind of hooked on Hello Giggles. If you haven't heard of it yet, it's the new cute girl-collective site launched by Zooey Deschanel and her homies, now being contributed to by many rad girls. (Note to self: I need to write for that website.)
Anyhow, I stumbled across this page, which had a tutorial on how to make your nails look all cool and cheetah-print-y but without the indignity of buying decals for your nails or paying some chick to meticulously detail your tips.
So I had to do it. And so I did.
"Dana, show us your tips!" OK, I will.
Do you see that?! It looks exactly like the tutorial. I am a goddamn nail artist and I never knew it.
I wonder if Hello Giggles could use a segment focusing a little too intensely on pizza...
Anyhow, I stumbled across this page, which had a tutorial on how to make your nails look all cool and cheetah-print-y but without the indignity of buying decals for your nails or paying some chick to meticulously detail your tips.
So I had to do it. And so I did.
"Dana, show us your tips!" OK, I will.
Do you see that?! It looks exactly like the tutorial. I am a goddamn nail artist and I never knew it.
I wonder if Hello Giggles could use a segment focusing a little too intensely on pizza...
Friday, June 3, 2011
I may have a problem...
This is the third pizza I've made this week.
I've discovered how easy making pizza crust is and I'm never going back. I'm sure as hell never buying Trader Joe's pre-made dough again. I'm keeping packets of regular yeast and quickie pizza crust yeast around all time. Because while the regular yeast makes vastly superior dough than the 30-minute pizza yeast, if it's between cooking up a frozen pizza and whipping up a fresh but speedy pizza, I'll take the second every time. And it makes one heck of a way to use up random scrap leftovers.
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