Pure, Part Two

It’s been pretty tough getting out of bed these past few days. I need to get back onto my early schedule! We were in bed by 11 last night, but I’d like to make it closer to 10. Obviously this won’t be feasible on work nights, but every night counts!

I grudgingly piled on layers this morning, and got my parka out of the closet again. (I’d briefly retired it for the weekend in favor of a denim jacket and hoodie… too soon, sadly.)

COME ON, SPRING! OATS

In the pot:

• 1/4 cup steel-cut oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 T chia seeds
• stevia
• salt

Mix-ins:

• 1 banana
• goji berries
• cashew butter

Then onto the subway (my total train tally at the end of the day was six rides!) for Math. After class, I headed back home again for a quick 25 minutes on the bike, at a leisurely, book-reading pace. On the way, I had a delicious, organic Gala apple from Whole Foods. I miss our Farmers Market The produce we find at our regular grocery store just doesn’t cut it!

Yesterday I was looking for a dish to make myself for the week; as all of my “bulk” recipes, it had to be versatile in its use (i.e. can be a salad topper, sandwich filler, grain mix-in, etc.) and something Ari might like to eat, too. I revisited Veganomicon, my first all-vegan cookbook. I’ve made so many things from this book but it had been awhile since I’d tried a new recipe!

I settled on Tamarind Lentils, because the flavors (“savory, tangy, and sweet”) and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand.

I only made a couple substitutions, swapping two handfuls of grape tomatoes (sliced lengthwise) for the tomato paste, and four chopped prunes for the agave or honey the recipe called for. I really love this! It’s a bit like the Chickpeas in Star Anise and Date Masala I made a couple months ago, just with lentils.

Today for lunch, I served the warm lentils over a bed of lemon-juice-and-olive-oil-dressed raw kale, with a sliced orange bell pepper on the side.

On the side, crispy toast.

After lunch I took a 20 minute nap before heading back to school; unfortunately I didn’t feel rejuvenated at all, and although I was sitting directly in front of the professor, my head kept snapping up, my eyes struggling to stay open. Not good! I’ve struggled with what I call “inappropriate fatigue” since high school, often finding myself so exhausted- usually in the middle of the day- that the only thing I can think about is sleep. A regular sleep and exercise schedule as well as taking daily iron supplements helps, but some days (like today) it just comes out of nowhere.

So rather than try to stay awake in the school library, I headed home, for the second time, after class. I didn’t nap, but I did relax in bed for an hour or so. Rather than pump myself with more coffee, I drank a bottle of kombucha that Chef gifted to me a couple weeks ago. (I bought him a bottle once in the beginning of the summer; he’s hooked.)

As the sun went down, I hopped back on the subway to meet Diana and Gabriela for dinner at Pure Food and Wine, the follow-up to our meal there nearly four months ago. Diana had a 30% off coupon from Blackboard Eats, so our meal was really affordable!

(My mane is getting out of control, I know. Help! To keep the bangs or nix the bangs? I think I’m going to let the length get pretty long, but it definitely needs a major cut.)

For my meal, I decided to try something new: celeriac ravioli with cremini mushrooms, tarragon mint cream, asparagus and pickled okra.

I was hoping this would be like the Pure ravioli I loved a few months ago, but sadly this was not the case. It was appetizer-portioned and not at all the rich, comforting and flavorful pasta I remembered.

I cleaned my plate and was still a bit hungry for something heartier.

Luckily, the Pumpkin Parfait with vanilla cream, maple brown ale caramel, and candied pecans was on the menu, and I devoured nearly all of it, bringing home the last few bites in a duckie bag.

Despite the disappointing entrée, I still had a great night catching up with the girls. Again, it’s good to remember that not every single thing you eat has to be amazing… food can just be food!

What’s your favorite thing to splurge on? As you probably know by now, it’s dining out for me!