Out of the Box

Morning! How’s your week starting off?

I’m glad you liked the Four Easy Pizzas… I’m already thinking about the New York Sunday Breakfast I’m going to make tomorrow morning because I don’t have early class! Wednesday feels a little like Sunday to me sometimes, anyway .

Mondays are always tough, and I had a pretty hard time getting out of bed yesterday. But, I made myself a delicious- and unusual!- breakfast to make up for it. Don’t knock it ’til you try it: toasted sunflower bread with melted cheddar and Pear-Apple Compote. Brings savory-sweet to a whole new level.

It was warm enough to eat outside after my morning Bio lab, so I sat in a nearby garden and enjoyed being surrounded by trees and flowers.

Salad with baby spinach, roasted tempeh, Brussels sprouts, and apple, oil & vinegar; marinara sauce for dipping

My friend Ryan met me for a walk-and-talk all around Central Park.

We started at Oren’s Daily Roast where I picked up a cup of hot apple cider (’tis the season!), and eventually made our way to Levain Bakery, which I’ve been hounding him to visit since he moved to the city. (He graciously shared his cookie, which I snatched up without having to be asked twice.)

Our final stop took us to a Halloween superstore, where I picked up part of my costume… any guesses?

Went to the gym for a little cardio, then met my mom for dinner at our favorite local Japanese restaurant. We started with sake and edamame, and decided we wanted to stray from our usual order (bento boxes) and try some different items.

Shrimp shumai (yes, okay, that’s one of our usual orders), grilled shiitake mushrooms…

Grilled scallop (so smokey and sweet!) and asparagus skewers…

And finally, a(n enormous) salmon rice ball to split. It was so much fun picking a bunch of different things we’d never tried before! We’ll have to do this more often… and I also need to get my grill pan hot again!

My mom whispered ice cream! several times throughout dinner (like mama, like daughter) so we headed to Ben & Jerry’s.

I got a kid’s cup of half baked froyo which, sadly, was not as good as real ice cream. It was ice-y and there were hardly any chunks of cookie dough in there!

It’s only 7:30, but I’ve still got cookies on the brain…

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Are there really only 9 more weeks left of the year? Time flies…

Goal for 2011 update: Cook One New Recipe A Week

Week 1: Lemony Spaghetti with Bitter Greens & Chickpeas

Week 2: Lentil Chili

Week 3: Chickpeas in Star Anise & Date Masala

Week 4: Thai-Style Black Beans w/ Mango & Cilantro

Week 5: Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus & Brown Rice, Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cheddar and Toasted Almonds, Warm Red Lentil Salad, Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad.

Week 6: Beets, Spiced Quinoa & Yogurt, Sesame-Cooked Eggs Over Rice

Week 7: Curried Parsnip Fries

Week 8: Curried Lentils & Sweet Potatoes

Week 9: Rutabagas with Buckwheat, Black Beans & Kale, Garlicky Mushroom Greens

Week 10: Tamarind Lentils, The Double-Shift Scramble

Week 11: Spicy Chickpea Salad, Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze, Spicy Red Lentil, Peanut & Pumpkin Soup

Week 12: Sunday Night Supper Salad, Peanut Butter Banana-Berry French Toast Sandwich

Week 13: Grilled Cheddar-Mushroom Sandwich

Week 14: Black Bean Soup, Sweet Pumpkin Pudding

Week 15: Green Rice

Week 16: Matzoh Buttercrunch Candy,  Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew

Week 17: Truffled Turnip Soup, Nutty Lemon Brussels Sprouts, Cookie Dough Smoothie

Week 18: Raw Chocolate Fudge Cake, Spring Pasta

Week 19: Chopped Kale w/ Hot Pepper Vinegar

Week 20: Ultimate Veggie Burgers, Mmm Sauce

Week 21: Ribbed Asparagus Salad with Lemon, Spinach & Chickpeas, Chocolate-Chip Blondies, Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Pancakes, Leek Zucchini Pasta Salad

Week 22: Sesame Ginger Kale Salad, Hoisin Ginger Tofu with Smoky Tahini Slaw  

Week 23: Pan-Seared Asparagus Salad with Frisée and Fried Egg, Baked Ziti, Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread, Green Bowl   

Week 24: Quinoa Cookies, Chocolate Mousse

Week 26: Sweet Potato Stuffed with Caramelized Tempeh and Sautéed Kale, Shaved Fennel Salad, Summer Pesto

Week 27: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Week 28: Choco-holic Pancakes

Week 29: Green Israeli Couscous Salad

Week 30: Swiss Chard with Currants and Pine Nuts

Week 31: Babaganoush Soup, Freekeh Risotto, Brown Butter (Plum) Cake or Cobbler

Week 32: (Modified) Tomato Salad on a Roll

Week 33: None

Week 34: None

Week 35: Pappardelle with Spiced Butter

Week 36: Cucumber Peanut Salad, Grilled Peach and Avocado Salad

Week 37: Nut-Butter Crusted Fries

Week 38: Harvest Bread, Red Lentil Soup, Halibut with North African Spices, Warm Shrimp Salad with Red Chili, Kamut and Tarragon

Week 39: Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard, White Bean and Parmesan Baked Orzo, Rustic Plum Crostata with Lemon Thyme

Week 40: Chocolate Cherry Pumpkin Bread

Week 41: Pumpkin Boatmeal for One

Week 42: Hot Apple Pie Pancakes, Lentil Stew with Pumpkin, Tamari Roasted Chickpeas

Week 43: Pear-Apple Compote, Four Easy Pizzas