Last night, I attempted to create my own cookie recipe. I snagged a big acai protein shake at the gym so I could "have dinner" while I excitedly shopped the grocery store for yummy ingredients. I had grandiose plans to use this spectacularly delicious recipe to kick off a great giveaway on my blog, one that acknowledges a really great cause. I assembled all the ingredients, and enlisted my baker-extraordinaire sister to be my sous-chef. I was excited.
.....and then I attempted to bake.
Um, healthy ingredient substitutions may work well when cooking...but in baking? This is just not always true.
The batter was runny, but pretty tasty. I eagerly sat on the floor in front of the lit oven (for real) to watch my creation unfold. The final cookies didn't totally spread out into one biiiiiig cookie (a normal occurrence for me), and they didn't burn, wahoooo!
Buuuut, hold yo' horses. They felt like sponges, and tasted like a mouthful of whole wheat. Barf.
I got totally down on myself....I don't feel well, I am tired, I had a crappy day, I wasted my night and my money, my baking skillz are non-existent, I don't have any delicious cookies to eat, I wish I had my own kitchen again, I suck at life. You know, stuff like that.
So I needed a reminder.
"Get ahold of yourself, self. Here are some things that make you happy right now:"
Snow dogs.
Don't even ask how many pictures (and treats) this took. It may be considered animal cruelty.
This trailer.
Any other Summer Heights High fans out there? One of the most genius shows, ever. Netflix. Like, now.
My own little Charlie Brown Christmas tree that I hauled out of one of my many storage boxes marked "XMAS." It's hard to have all of my baller Christmas decorations boxed up in my parents garage...hoping by this time next year I will be deckin' the halls of my own place again. For now, this makes me smile. Especially my new sparkly Anthropologie armadillo.
BIC Bands! Oh. Mah gosh. After reading about these babies soooo many times, I finally decided to try them out. Ever want to see what I look like after two sweaty hours of BodyCombat & BodyFlow? Sure. Of course you do.
I was afraid the sparkly ones (which I am obviously obsessed with, given my obsession for all-things-sparkle-and-glitter) may shed, but the shimmer is in fact part of the material the band is made of. Not only did I not trail glittery goodness all over my gym, much to all the meatheads' chagrin, I'm sure, but it also kept my wayward hair out of my face. Didn't budge. For two hours. And they are washable. I will take 72 more, please.
The bottom of my newest Lululemon shopping-bag-turned-lunch-bag.
Maybe I need to take a queue from Buddy here and nix those "healthy" recipe subs for big ol' helpings of tasty, decadent ingredients. Because, you know what? It is Christmastime. And I do love me some sugar.
And....so what if I am not a wonderful baker and recipe creator? That's why other talented bakers out there make recipes....for me to follow! I will try again tonight, and when all else fails, I will say hello to Betty Crocker's Inside-Out Chocolate Chip cookies. Because they. Are. Awesome. Every time. No excessive guesstimates, brain power, or letdowns required.
Keep your fingers crossed for Adventures in Cookie Baking Part II!!!
(This post hereby fills your quota for awkward, goober pictures of Sam for the day.)
Here is a look at my past week in a big 'ol recap post:
Southwestern Quinoa, via Eating Bird Food...I only swapped a few things. I used cilantro instead of parsley, added in some garlic because I am addicted, and a few slices of avocado on top. LOVED this.
Woke up to an awful lot of fog last week. And cold. Blech.
Koda trying out Oscar's backpack. Ready for school!
My new favorite smoothie after lifting. This is so different than my typical strawberry/banana/peanut butter smoothies. Dark Chocolate Almond Milk (amazing), half a frozen banana, big handful of frozen blueberries, vanilla SunWarrior protein, spinach, and cold water to thin it out. Much appreciated after my two hours of BodyCombat and BodyPump Saturday morning.
Artichoke 'za on whole-wheat naan...great to make for a quick lunch. Heavy on the crushed red pepper, as per usual.
I have been a drawing machine. Here's a little preview! Plus, I am one drawing down for my Christmas cards....two to go, and all three to color, preferably before my trip to Boston this weekend. Yeesh.
Kitty Puss (that's what we call my sister's cat, thanks to my family's, and my best friend's fiance's, obsession with Cookie Puss. Thanks a lot, Pat) loves new adventures in the garage due to all my stuff that I finally got out of Tucson.
The Cookie Puss birthday tradition.
The man, the myth, the legend. Cookie Puss.
BIG thank you to my good friends Joe and Kristin and Sarah for keeping all of my crap for so long! And for Dave, Joe, and the girls helping me pack it all up while I had numerous breakdowns. I owe you big time. Joe and his family, who were hoarding the bulk of my stuff for me while I tried to figure out my crazy life, had moved my stuff upstairs (they were keeping it all in a few rooms in their finished basement) and ready to be put into the truck by the time my dad arrived. With an assembly line consisting of my friend, his brother, my dad, and my dad's good friend who flew out just to be able to share drive time back, they loaded up the truck in no time. You guys are seriously the best.
Oh, and I am super pumped to have this guy back.....if only I can find a place where it will fit, since it is five times the size of me.
My LoveSac (TWSS)....best extraneous investment I ever made.
Also got my wine aerator, decanter, and Houdini opener back amongst all my stuff...so after Coop and I went to see Paranormal Activity 3 (our first movie date, somehow, after over 8 months), we were obviously drawn to one of my favorite stores ever. Like two kids in a candy store.
We found his favorite wine, and while we anticipated putting together a make-your-own six pack, I am a terrible decision maker and wanted about 130 gazillion beers. We cut it down to twelve different ones and are working our way through them all, splitting them in half in two frosty mugs. Our own little taste-testing, if you will. Best stay-in date ever.
This is what heaven looks like.
So far, this one is my fave. I do have a bit of a bias toward Flying Dog though...Ralph Steadman is one of my favorite artists. I even use some Flying Dog labels as bookmarks. Malty base, easy to drink, little nutty, little spicy, not too sweet....I'm in love. This one will be a winter regular for me.
I will definitely be posting a little review of each one...we wanted to take notes and see which ones are keepers. I love finding tasty new microbrews! Good thing the boy isn't picky about beer, either. I guess with the last name "Bock," I am destined to be a beer lover.
All in all, it was a crazy busy work week, topped off by a fantastic, relaxing weekend. In addition to our little taste-testing sesh, there was dinner at his fave Chinese buffet (one of the many gems of the state of Delaware. Also UDel and tax-free, what whaaat!), lots of show-watching (American Horror Story! So intriguing!), football-watching (Eagles and Ravens, womp womp. Get'chyo shit together. Thank goodness the Patriots won and the game was exciting at least), a gingerbread latte from Dunkin' (it's baaaack!), spending time with the pup and family, and some healthified mac'n'cheese that I made similarly to my buffalo mac'n'cheese. Just omitted the buffalo sauce and used some shredded chicken breasts that had been marinated in verde sauce.
Breadcrumby goodness.
It was a perfect weekend.
Excuse my phone pictures...I am so in the market for a good, new camera.
Have a great week! xoxoxo
Send prayers out to my dad if you can, he's going through some tough things this week and I wish him the best...he is the most selfless, loving, caring, wonderful person I know, next to my mama, and he deserves the world. Love you, Daddy!
34 degrees and sleety/rainy/snowy? Really? It's not even Halloween yet!!
I am not a morning person and it was so tough to get out of my cuddly bed this morning, but I am so glad I did. As Julie says, "You never regret a workout!"
I took a two hour mash-up of BodyCombat, BodyPump, and conditioning, and it was killer!! Seriously. I am gonna huuurt tomorrow (actually, I'm a little sore already!). I also took my first Zumba class last night since my yoga studio just started offering it on Friday nights. I always thought it would be kind of corny, but oh man! I was dripping sweat, and loved the instructor! We had a lot of fun, and it felt great to be dancing (read: shakin' it) again.
Then I braved the rain and sleet in just my Lulu jacket and stopped at the grocery on the way home to snag some strawberries for a smoothie and luckily they had a huge stash of avocados on sale for $1 each...score! Guacamole will be in my near future.
PS, if you are looking for a super comfy, lightweight, and very flattering jacket (with a hood! And thumb holes!) to wear during warmups, on runs/dogwalks in slightly chilly weather, or to throw on before and after the gym/studio, get this jacket!!! So worth the money, as are all Lululemon products. I'm addicted....Cool Racerbacks and Wunder Unders are my other go-tos. They are worth saving up for! They fit perfectly and last forever.
Get the Dance Studio Jacket here. It looks like they are low on options right now, but they often restock. I also like their Scuba Hoodies and want the Live Simply jacket.
Deepest pockets ever! Love.
Finally got my big bag of SunWarrior Warrior Blend protein yesterday, so I was excited to make a smoothie (...now if only I also had a Vitamix....). Four fresh strawberries, a small banana, a splash of skim milk, scoop of the vanilla SunWarrior, a couple handfuls of spinach (you can't taste it! Promise), and some ice was all I needed. The texture of SunWarrior protein is different than others I've tried, but I really like it.
I am heading up to Philly in a bit, but before I head out, I have to share this with you. What is perfect for a day like today? This super easy Black Bean Soup!!! I made it earlier this week since I haven't been able to find a canned variety that I loved.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 TB oil (I usually use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 small onion, diced, divided in two
2 large cloves of garlic, roughly minced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Adobo with Cumin seasoning
Cayenne Pepper
2 cups of water
1/2 TB chicken stock (I use Minor's)
1 cup of corn (I used corn cut off the cob that was frozen)
2/3 cup of jarred salsa
1 TB lime juice
Shredded cheese (optional)
Plain Greek yogurt (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Warm oil in a pot and add half of the diced onion. Saute until the onions begin to turn transluscent.
In a blender, add one can of the drained black beans and the other half of the onion, as well as the garlic cloves. Pulse a few times.
Put the other can of black beans into the pot and then add the blender-pulsed mixture. Stir in two cups of water and the chicken stock (to make a sort of chicken broth), and season with the Adobo and cayenne to taste.
Add in the corn and salsa and continue to stir.
Stir for a few minutes, and when your soup is hot enough, turn off the heat and add the lime juice.
Pour into bowls and top with shredded cheese, plain yogurt (as a sour cream sub!), and cilantro, if you choose.
Make this soup! Even my picky little sister loved it. Full of fiber, protein, and deliciousness. Koda wanted a taste as well.
I am ready for a bite now.
Oh yes, and I did decide to buy the new Coldplay album....glad I did, it is beautiful and is a nice change of pace for me in regards to the other types of music I listen to. The songs are all so atmospheric and gorgeous and just have so much sound, and each song flows well into the other when listened to in order. Fan!
Off to Philly after having a bowl of soup. Have a wonderful weekend!
I had a really intense and totally necessary conversation this weekend dealing with me being so emo about having had to move back home, on the coast I said I'd never return to, with its crappy weather, to the town I said I would never again live in....and yet came to the realization that...you know what?
......it ain't so bad here!
Jersey/Philly really is my home, where my sports teams are, where my pride is, where there is phenomenal food, where most of my (very close) family is, and even though most of my friends do not live here anymore, a few my closest ones live a heck of a lot closer now than a plane ride away (like they did before). Within just a few driving hours in either direction, we have Delaware, we have New York, we have the beaches, we have DC, we have Baltimore, we have Boston (where I am going for the first time in a few weeks!!).
I'll be going to New Hampshire for the first time ever this Christmas, and after quite a few totally-not-traditional holiday seasons out West, I am definitely going to enjoy the "Christmas-y-ness" of East Coast holidays again (um, and freeze my tuchus off). I am not one to complain about a lack of snow and cold, but during fall and the holidays, I always got a little homesick. Pumpkin picking and white Christmases just feel so right. And who knows, maybe one day I will wrap multi-colored lights around a palm tree again, but until then, I'm going to immerse myself in all of the East Coast "holiday-ness".
Oh yeah....and not to mention, I'm totally falling back in love with Philly.
This weekend was nearly perfect.
Friday night consisted of an awesome dinner date at Kokopelli, a Southwestern/American fusion type restaurant in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia.
Coop and I love the same types of food (we typically accidentally order the same entrees on a menu and he digs my cookin'), so we agreed on sharing a bunch of appetizers, tapas style. We agreed on:
Ahi Tuna Crudo on Crisp Tortilla, Roasted Garlic Avocado Crema
Blue Corn Fried Calamari and Rock Shrimp
Green Chili Stewed Chicken and (what I think was a Jalapeno) Cornbread Muffin
Shrimp Tamale in a Garlic Cream Sauce (because they were out of the crab dip we ordered)
Six house margaritas ;) < They weren't very big! But tastyyy
Forgot I had a camera until we were heading out the door!
I had a Groupon, and it ended up being....get this....free. The waitress got a well-deserved tip, and the manager even stopped by to chat to us about the restaurant and its recent overhaul. After reading a few so-so reviews online, I am glad I didn't let that stop me. Great food, great atmosphere, great service.
We closed out the restaurant, as per usual. We then headed out to Public House, where a friend was bartending....and we ran into some of our Avalon favorites! All in all, an awesome night in the city.
Oh, and ultimate creeper in the back.
Saturday night, we went out to a favorite pub by my parents' house in Jersey. Our dates? My BFFs Christine (lovingly referred to as Biggie), Mary, and Mary's fiance were all in town!
What to do when we are "on our bad sides?" Why, turn the opposite way into a "dancer pose," obviously.
Dinner was interesting this night as well...Bigs' "Calamari" was surprisingly supplemented with fried hot peppers and pickles in the assortment.
Fruit flies were abundant (whyyy are they everywhere right now?), so Mary made sure to thwart them away from her Sam Adams.
People watching was prime Saturday night. We saw lots of other friends while we were out, and my parents even stopped by for an Oktoberfest beer on the way home from the Flyers game before we headed home (responsibly! My Designated Driver Dad piled us all in).
And as for my perfect Sunday?
Homemade Cinnamon Pumpkin Waffles started off the morning. These seriously tasted like French toast! May have to post the recipe.
A husky walk later and I was on my way back to Philly. I brought Black Bean Dip and some chips, and Coop had bought a six-pack of one of my favorite Oktoberfest beers.
The rest of the day consisted of football all day (both of our teams won!! YEAH, Eagles and Pats!) and not leaving the house except to walk to get our weekly veggie pizza in the crisp fall air. We also caught up on The Office.
Speaking of, I think we figured out our costumes for Halloween this year. Oh, hellooo....
And as if my Sunday couldn't get any better, I found myself gravitating toward the ice cream isle in the grocery Sunday morning. I should've known I'd find this there, calling my name. We absolutely broke this out during Dexter.
Also got some drawing done in there. New illustrations posted this week!
When it comes down to it, I still need to get my stuff out of Arizona (sorry, Joe and Kristin!!! Soon!!!), I miss having a place to decorate and call my own, and I totally miss my friends and the weather out West....and the palm trees. But that being said, I've found some pretty great stuff to call my own back here. Looks like I'll be staying for a little while. :)
Normally, Mondays make me want to punch myself in the gut, but not this Monday.
Why? I woke up freezing in Philly and had to drag myself out of bed, but it was easier to do once I remembered this little guy:
Dunkin', I love you.
Free iced coffee for the next five Mondays? Oh yes. I will be there. Every week. Usually I treat myself midweek or on a Friday, but now I can look forward to Mondays, too. You best believe I will be happily freezing to death on the first Monday in November, shivering while clutching on to my free iced cawf. As a co-worker of mine always says, "Free is fo' me!"
Still taking advantage of everything pumpkin for as long as I can; in addition to my pumpkin coffees, iced and hot, The Great Pumpkin Bread, pumpkin yogurt breakfast bowls, and pumpkin pie protein shakes at my gym, Julie's Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Cookie recipe called to me and I knew I had to make them for dinner and dessert at a family friend's house on Saturday (where I also got to try some Pumpkin Liqueur!).
This is suuuper easy. Definitely click on the link to Julie's page, where her pictures are way better, but this is all that it took!
Much sampling ensued. Second row, fourth column cookie, you were delicious.
I also planned on putting some cream cheese icing on the top of some of the cookies, which are super moist and cake-y, using a sandwich bag with the corner cut off...hey, it works, albeit a little messy! But then I found this....talk about retro. This cake decorating kit is straight outta the fifties (check out that box!)...it was my great grandmother's!
It worked great...except for the fact that I am way too impatient and the first set I decorated ended up looking like this:
Oops.
Melty melty. But still delicious! Don't worry, I made some pretty ones, too. Sprinkled with Pumpkin Pie Spice on top. These would be great as cupcakes, too, I think. I definitely want to experiment with these on the next batch I make.
And my little pumpkin-crazed pup would not stop "speaking" for one.
Ever hear a husky talk? It is hilarious, adorable, and so, so strange. Unlike anything I have ever heard before. He is my little dinosaur. We are trying to teach him to do this:
Mishka looks so much like Koda, only Kodes has brown eyes. Such cool dogs.
Ozery Bakery Inc.'s Apple Cinnamon Morning Rounds contributed to a weekend breakfast.
I toasted one, and added some maple syrup and vanilla yogurt. These are seriously doughy, with big chunks of apple. The back of the packaging suggests using the rounds to make french toast, and I think I will definitely have to try that. My mom toasted one and ate it plain, and said it was great by itself.
Big thumbs up! I will be adding these to my list of items to search for when I make a monthly forever-long trek trip to Whole Foods/ TJ's/Wegmans. I also really like their Whole Grain OneBuns; I have been using them for breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Also on that list will be these guys:
While snacking on these spicy Simply 7 Hummus Chips in Spicy Chili Pepper (which I am now obsessed with) and checking out the nutritional facts on the back, I discovered this little recipe for Spicy Black Bean Dip. I had just walked the pup and was about to head over to Philly for our weekly football/veggie pizza/lounge-all-day fest, and thought that sounded like a great football-watching snack.
I made a few changes/additions. Basically, I took a half of a small red onion, chopped coarsely, and two whole garlic cloves chopped in half ( I love garlic) and pulsed them a few times in a blender (I wish I had a good food processor....like a fancy Vita-Mix, swoon!). Then added a can of black beans, rinsed and drained, and pulsed a few more times. I added a dash of cayenne pepper and also a few bits of a dried chili pepper (we like things hot), added some of my favorite Adobo with Cumin seasoning in place of the salt, and also a few spoonfuls of a salsa we picked up at our local farmer's market that reminds me a lot of the salsa I would make when I lived in Arizona (I need to make it more often!). This fresh mashup contains the bare essentials of a good, hot, salsa; tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, peppers. Using this pre-made deliciousness meant less veggies for me to chop and dice, which is always a plus. Pulsed a few more times, put into a container to bring along with me, and topped with some shredded taco cheese.
I use this seasoning on everything!!!
Tastes WAY more appetizing than it looks!
A family friend grows all kinds of amazing hot peppers, and knowing my lust for them, they give me hoards of them on a regular basis. I have some fresh ones, plenty frozen ones, and have attempted to dry some of them. Look how cool they look now!
Twisty!
This dip totally got the seal of approval, and I plan on making it more often. Definitely a better option than gorging on uber-cheesy queso and other high-fat, caloric, nutritionally devoid snacks. With some super-hoppy IPA with hints of tropical punch, a billion refills of my Camelback (still trying to ward off this cough with tons of water), and these chips, it was a perfect spread for football-watchin'.
The RW Garcia Dippers were great for the black bean dip. Seasoned with just Himalayan Pink Salt & Tellicherry Cracked Pepper (fancy!), these were all-natural, gluten-free, and matched perfectly. They were a little bland on their own, but perfect with a flavorful dip like this as to not overpower the taste of the dip itself. Another to add to my list of thumbs-up products.
(As a disclaimer, these opinions are solely my own and I have not been compensated to review any of these products. I acquired them on my own and just enjoy sharing products that I love to people who also may be interested!)
On the art front, my freelance time this week will be dedicated to working on a logo for a friend who is starting a non-profit benefit, as well as doing a drawing as a gift for some friends...it will be unveiled here after it is finished and given to them! I will say that it deals with jungle animals, which are some of my favorite animals to draw.
With the exception of pup walks on Friday and Saturday, I haven't hit the gym since Friday, and I'm excited for BodyPump and some cardio today. I am totally missing yoga, but with this nagging cough I have, I know I won't be able to give it my all and will just annoy everyone around me! But I know yoges (and glorious savasana) will be there waiting for me when my cough finally leaves!
