Lilveggiepatch » coffee

Out of My Comfort Zone

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:47:33 +0000

Afternoon and happy New Year’s EVE! Last year I was working at a restaurant when the ball dropped… not ideal, but it could have been worse. This year’s going to be a lot more fun!

Yesterday I woke up feeling a little adventurous and decided to try out Heather’s Asian Fusion oats using tahini, miso and honey.

It was good, but I guess in my heart of hearts I was still half-expecting a sweet, nutty breakfast and I just couldn’t get past that. So, although I hate to waste food, I tossed that batch and made a new bowl of oatmeal with banana, almond butter, and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter. I was a happy girl.

There was no time to waste. After running some errands in the neighborhood with Ari, Josh and I went to a local deli to build-our-own-salads. I got a small bowl of mesclun with chick peas, red beans, artichoke hearts, corn, carrots, cucumbers and sesame ginger dressing on the side.

Then I met up with my friend Will, who I haven’t seen in almost 2.5 years! Luckily we were able to meet up during his short visit to the city. We went to Starbucks (and lamented the lack of independent coffee shops on the UWS); I got a grande skim mocha. ‘Tis the season!

After coffee, I met up with Ari to do some last minute sale shopping (you can always find the best deals between Christmas and New Year’s), then found my little redheaded friend in the same neighborhood for dinner.

We happened upon a cute little Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side; we were so excited for dinner that we didn’t even take note of the name!

As soon as we sat down, we were given plates with soft, warm focaccia and olive oil.

We shared a bottle of Estrella Cabernet Sauvignon to warm our cores…

For my entrée, I ordered the Tre Colore Gnocchi with portobello and shiitake mushrooms, goat cheese and marinara. A warm bowl of past was just what I wanted, and this was perfect. Don’t you love gnocchi?! I did a pretty good job on the dish, and just about finished it.

After spending a couple hours catching up and eating, we made our way to Magnolia Bakery for dessert. I got the cupcake of the day: German Chocolate!

I wolfed it down in about two bites Then I made my way downtown to meet Ari and the rest of the family and we piled in the car and drove to their parents’ house for the holiday. Not everyone had eaten, so we made a pit stop at Roy Roger’s (more on that later!)…

Good times.

Have you sent me your questions entered my giveaway? Git ‘er done!

Have a safe, healthy and AWESOME New Year’s!!! What are you doing to ring in the New Year?

Early Bird Special

lilveggiepatch — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:32:38 +0000

Are you an “all or nothing” type of person? My body seems to be. My internal clock is so out of whack right now! For the past week, I’ve alternated between going to bed early and getting more than a full night’s sleep (10+ hours) and getting less than 6 and feeling completely wiped. This morning was the latter. Last night, even though I was exhausted, I could not get myself to drift off. I knew I had to get up early to get ready for an interview, and the pressure of knowing I needed to sleep only made it worse. I dragged myself out of bed, bleary and blurry eyed (I’m blind as a bat), not even stopping to put on my glasses. I had one mission, and one mission only.

Our house guest left this as a parting gift when he left. I’m sure it’s delicious, but I really didn’t pause to smell or taste it before throwing it back. I’ll let you know about that tomorrow

I replenished my supply of POMx to dissolve my Ester-C into. I’m still so proud of myself for discovering this works! (For new readers: I drink a little bit every day with breakfast to dissolve Ester-C, which aids the absorption of an iron supplement I take for low energy, but don’t photograph it every morning.)

I was excited to try out a new product with breakfast: Stonewall Kitchen’s Lemon Curd. I’ve been curious about this for years, and my mom was nice enough to buy it for me this weekend.

Breakfast was a double portion of Sarah‘s pumpkin “cakes”, topped with a heaping cloud of 0% Fage, cinnamon, walnuts, and a scoop of lemon curd. Lemon Meringue Pumpkin Pie before 7 AM? Yes, please!

I had two back-to-back interviews starting at 9 (which I think went well); afterward I needed to unwind a little with some teasing retail therapy (AKA touch everything, buy nothing) at J.Crew and Anthropologie. How is it that a store (or two) can be filled with only perfect things? But my bank balance remained stable, and I left satisfied with the clothes on my back.

The tree is going up in Rockefeller Center…

I sat in the plaza and ate my Criterion apple. Sometimes it’s okay to be a tourist in your own city.

After making sure there were no more stores I needed to browse through, I came home to get some done and eat lunch. I heated up a bowl of Spinach & Rice soup and added lots of fresh parsley, and served it alongside a small sweet potato with brown sugar and cinnamon. Perfect mid-Monday comfort food, if you ask me.

I thought I deserved a treat, so I had some 55% Dark Chocolate Peppermint Chococolove.

The rest of the afternoon was spent writing. Welcome to my “office”! You may recognize it as the kitchen table, but during the day I spread out and use it for reading, writing, researching, and tea-drinking. I tried the Sugar Plum Spice holiday tea… so good. I think this might have been the first flavor they came up with, because I remember having it a long, long time ago before they changed their packaging.

After successfully moving to decaffeinated tea, I didn’t want to go back to drinking coffee so late in the day. Instead, I moved on to a cup of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride. I don’t know how they do it, but this smells so much like a cookie! It’s very vanilla-y, but it has a very soft taste without a hint of bitterness.

I finished up my work, then went into the city to meet my friend Ilena at 5:30 for an early dinner at FreeFoods NYC.

Tonight was another example of how many secrets this city has to offer, both food-wise and other. I never would have suspected that a restaurant like this could exist (and thrive!) in Midtown Manhattan, in the heart of corporate offices and tourist attractions. Was I wrong! It goes to show that people do want to eat locally and sustainably, the options just have to be made available.

FreeFoods serves fresh soups, sandwiches and salads; they have raw, vegan and gluten-free options.

I built my own salad with arugula, avocado, spiced mango, shittake mushrooms, spicy shrimp and Manchego cheese with Thai basil dressing.

One of the staff members had made an extra Vitality Berry smoothie (sweet cherry, açai, blueberry- pomegranate juice, ginger-agave), so Ilena and I split it with our dinners. It was really good, and helped ease the heat in my mouth leftover from my spicy salad dressing!

Ilena and I sat for a while catching up…

…and were treated to another smoothie sample! This time we tried the “orange creamsicle” (it’s new, and the ingredients aren’t listed). As Ilena said, it really did taste like a creamsicle, “but not in the bad way”!

Since we dined early, I was back home by 7:30 to get some things done before Gossip Girl. Sadly, it seems like most TV shows have already had their holiday finales, so I did some more work instead. I did, however, make a fabulous dessert to fill my Chuck Bass-sized void…

My dad found a great deal on takeout containers of Tasti D-Lite, so he picked me up some peanut butter frozen yogurt. I added frozen berries and Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.

Another sweet end to a good day.

What was the best part of your Monday? What are you looking forward to about Tuesday?

P.S. Please vote for Lyle! She is a talented, beautiful actress who deserves to realize her dreams. Register, vote, and help here get there!

LVP Takes On The Deli Sandwich!

lilveggiepatch — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:02 +0000

Hey hey-yo! How are you? How was your Wednesday? I can’t believe that one week from tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I usually try to wake up early enough to catch some of the parade, then my mom and I make our famous sticky buns. Do you have traditions you keep up every year?

I seem to have unleashed the oatmeal beast within me yesterday, because that was just what I wanted this morning.

In the bowl:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pumpkin
frozen berries
frozen pineapple
flaxy peanut butter
cinnamon
agave

The rest of the morning was spent preparing for an interview. I went into the city an hour and a half early so, subway problems or not, there’d be no chance of being late. I had so much spare time that I went into a deli to go over my notes and read some Canadian snail mail. To secure a seat, I bought some fruit salad.

The interview went well, I think; I was given an assignment to complete for Friday, so I went straight home to get started. I needed some brain fuel, so I made a quick salad:

Our house guest came into the kitchen while I was assembling it, took one look at the bowl, and said, “Are you really going to eat all of that salad?! You must have a really fast metabolism!” It was a salad of great girth, I’ll give him that. But of course I ate every scrap

In the mix:

spinach
grape tomatoes
1 grapefruit
1/2 avocado
leftover salmon
dressing made with rice vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds & chili flakes

The Lindt store on 5th was handing out holiday truffles on the street today, so I snatched one up and had it for dessert.

My body must have needed sleep because I nodded right off after lunch! Today is the fourth consecutive day I’ve gotten up significantly earlier than I’m used to, and the rest of the week will be no different. Hopefully in the next few weeks there will be more early mornings and regular hours, if you catch my drift! When I woke up, I made some coffee and snacked on these Jalepeño Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks from Kay’s Naturals.

These are my favorite of the Kay’s products I’ve tried; they’re satisfying, and didn’t leave me with horrible garlic breath the way the protein chips did.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent working. When it was getting close to dinner time, I simmered and marinated some tempeh using the recipe for Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon.

After about an hour, I plopped the tempeh onto the George Foreman, the apartment-dweller’s best friend. Aren’t grill marks satisfying?

I proceded to make one of the best sandwiches on earth: The LVP Reuben.

A reuben sandwich is traditionally made with corned beef, Swiss cheese, saurkraut, and creamy salad dressing. I don’t remember eating one even when I did eat meat, but my version is much more appealing to me. It’s based on one of my all-time favorite sandwiches: grilled cheddar with Granny Smith apple slices on Peppridge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bread. Tonight, I went a step further…

Grilled cheddar with Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh, Gala apple slices and baby spinach on Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread. My tum is grumbling at the memory. I also had a bowl of Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Leek Soup, garnished with cinnamon, nutmeg, shredded coconut and parsley.

Dinner for 1, at home, does not have to be boring.

Luckily I had the foresight to plan my dessert early in the day; I had two bananas sitting in the freezer and waiting to be processed into Chocolate Banana Soft Serve. Three words: Move over, Stögo! I topped mine with roasted almonds and walnuts.

It was rich, creamy, and far better than anything packaged I’ve bought recently. You better believe I licked up every last trace of “batter.”

I can’t wait to play around with this! There are so many options based on what’s in the pantry alone.

After dinner I finished my reading, and just as I was about to e-mail my notes to myself (I type everything out on my Blackberry… it’s an odd habit), the memo deleted itself. I searched IT message boards, asked people I knew with Blackberries if there was any way to retrieve data that wasn’t backed up on a computer… nothing. Seven hours of work has been LOST. So… tomorrow will be another early morning. It’s not the end of the world.

Bonne nuit

A Wedding In Connecticut

lilveggiepatch — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:22:37 +0000

Good evening and happy Sunday! How was your weekend? I just got back from Westbrook, Connecticut, where The Upwelling’s former tour manager got married. The boys were part of the wedding party so they came back from tour and we all went together.

While this is going to be more of a “greatest hits” post, I want to share a new dressing with you: coconut mint.

Coconut Mint Dressing

1/2 tsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 small handful fresh mint, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

“Muddle” the mint, coconut and lemon together before adding the rest of the juices. This releases the flavors and lets them really pop! I drizzled the dressing over a tempeh/sweet potato/apple/feta salad…

… but it would make a great marinade for fish, shrimp, or tofu as well. I’m getting so much mileage out of this bunch of mint!

In the car, I had the healthiest and most delicious “candy bar” imaginable: dried fruit stuffed with roasted almonds and bittersweet chocolate chips. These are so good.

Ari bought me a slightly more processed version, but still a favorite nonetheless. There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.

When we got to the hotel, I took advantage of the time the groomsmen spent rehearsing to go to the gym. I ran 3.1 miles (5K), walked another .4, and stretched. As the Gina always says, no one wants to miss out on the fun, so I try to plan timely activities (like workouts and… ahem… the time I spend getting ready to go out) while everyone else is either sleeping or doing something else.

The bride and groom are both Jewish, and because the rehearsal dinner fell on Friday, we had a traditional Shabbat dinner. The challah abounded! Somehow I ended up with three pieces of bread on my plate, but Josh and Ari picked at most of it.

The entrée choices were Vegetable Risotto with Arugula Pesto or Cappelini Rustica; I wasn’t sure which (if any) option was vegetarian, but figured the risotto was a safer bet. They both turned out to be meat free, and I loved the risotto! It was very rich, though, so I only ate about half of it. And the flower. Which I’m pretty sure wasn’t of the edible variety. Whoops!

Strawberry sorbet for dessert…

… and a fun-size Cookies ‘n Cream Hershey’s bar. This is one of those weird LVP-isms; I really don’t like white chocolate, but a couple times a year I get cravings that can only be quenched by this particular bar. The bride and groom must have known this when they stuffed it in our goodie bag!

Also in the bag were these personalized M&Ms; they had the wedding date, photo, names and words printed on them. Very creative!

We may or may not have gone to a casino late that night (this girl’s first time) to further my blackjack education and lose $5 on the slots. It was a strange, strange place, I tell ya! It was HUGE, and the lights are pretty dim and there aren’t any windows so there’s really no way to tell if it’s 4PM or 4AM. Drinks are free, and you can walk everywhere with them! People also smoked inside; it’s strange that a few years ago that was the norm everywhere. The stores were opened past midnight, so Ari and I split a Godiva pumpkin truffle.

We got to the hotel really late, and with the exception of Stew, all slept in past noon. We woke up famished, so we set out in search of brunch. Where did our journey take us, you ask? To the Grand Slam at Denny’s. Yes, you read that correctly.

The Grand Slam is a magical deal that lets you pick four breakfast items for only $5.99. For an extra $.49 per item, you can choose from three “premium selections” like yogurt, granola or fruit. We were all very excited.

We placed our orders, then set to work. When was the last time you colored at an eatery?

Ari ordered a festive pot of peppermint tea (which came with an unsolicited squirt of peppermint syrup):

I drank my coffee black.

The food arrived: I ordered (dry) whole wheat pancakes, egg whites, oatmeal and a cup of fruit.

I ate all the fruit and eggs (which were buttery but delicious), half of the pancakes and left all of the oatmeal. Even had I not been an oatmeal snob, I don’t think anything else would have fit in my stomach.

Brunch understandably held me right up through the wedding, and left me with more than enough time to shower, dress (Hollywood Tape did not come through for me as I’d hoped)…

… and watch three hours worth of Married With Children episodes.

The ceremony was beautiful, and while it was traditional in some respects, there were some nice personal touches: the groomsmen walked down the aisle to Semi-Charmed Life, the bridesmaids to Bittersweet Symphony, the bride to Do You Realize?, all performed by a string quartet. There may have been some tears in my corner.

At the dinner reception, the guest seated to my right taught me a helpful trick to remembering where your bread and drinks go in relation to your place setting.

Make the “OK” signal with both of your hands. Your left forms a lower-case “B” (for bread), and the right forms a “D” (for drink). How handy!

Speaking of bread, this roll was particularly tasty…

… and where drinks are concerned, I stuck to vodka- sodas.

While we were eating our smoked mozzarella and pesto ravioli appetizer, Josh and Ari played an acoustic version of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” for the bride and groom’s first dance. This was really good, but I let it get cold and only had a few bites.

I didn’t leave a scrap of arugula salad with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, and mandarin oranges, however. The couple next to me thought it was too big, but I would have gladly alleviated them of their portion! This was my favorite part of the meal.

The entree was grilled salmon with mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots. It was good, but I was pretty full by the time this came around and only ate about half of the fish (but all of the veggies!) and gave my taters to Ari.

We danced around on the floor for a bit, but really just enjoyed being with friends and each other. The band is booked through February with a short break in December, so it was nice to be able to spend the weekend together.

The cake was sliced and brought around: chocolate with strawberry and vanilla buttercream. I ate about half, then went back out to tear up the rug.

Our eyelids started drooping around midnight, and we were asleep by 1. We had to hustle in the morning to get back to the city, but we had enough time to have a nice brunch with the wedding party. I had half of a sesame bagel with cream cheese, eggs, fruit (plus some unpictured grapes), and half a slice of French toast. Coffee abounded, as usual.

It was such a nice weekend. I really cannot express how grateful I am to have been able to spend a weekend- more like a mini-vacation, actually- with people I love. The next few days will be pretty busy… The Upwelling goes back on tour tomorrow, and I have a couple interviews for potential jobs. My healthy habits have been slacking a bit, but one month from this morning (Sunday, December 13) is my 15K race. I’ve updated my training plan, and will stick to it… I went on a 4.5 mile run late this afternoon.

Regular posting will resume tomorrow. I hope you had a fabulous weekend, and congratulations to the newlyweds!

Sweet Coconut Nights

lilveggiepatch — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:22:30 +0000

So sorry to have disappeared last night! I was so enraptured with Betty White in The Proposal that before I knew it, it was time for bed. I don’t usually like doing massive, two-day catch-up posts, but if I don’t, I’ll be living in the past for a while and we can’t have that.

My new peanut butter was calling my name from the pantry.

How could I incorporate it into my breakfast?

I decided to make eggs-in-a-basket (or “toad-in-the-hole”, as my grandmother calls it) which I’ve seen all over the blogs recently. I used Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread and cut a hole in the middle with my water bottle. The “hole” was the perfect size to to test the peanut butter out on.

I melted a slice of Jarlsberg cheese on another piece of bread, and put a little pumpkin butter on top of the flax hole.

I love getting as many tastes as possible out of a meal!

After waiting a couple hours to digest, I laced up my sneakers, stretched, loaded my ipod with a new playlist (thanks to Maya for turning me on to this site) and hit the pavement. This was my third run in a month, and I wanted to make it count. I ran slowly but easily, and before I knew it I was bake at home with 4.5 miles under my belt. I wasn’t even out of breath! To be honest, I was worried I would have lost my stamina and wouldn’t even be able to make it half that far. This is a good sign

I went into the city to meet my mom at Macy’s to go coat shopping. It was exhausting. Although I’d brought kale chips and an apple, we didn’t end up eating until 3:30.

If there’s one thing I know about my mother’s side of the family, it’s that we get c-r-a-n-k-y when we get hungry. Au Bon Pain was the only option for us at Macy’s (the rest of the fast food joints didn’t have any vegetarian options), and I quickly made a salad with spinach, artichoke hearts, green beans, roasted red peppers, tuna and Thai peanut dressing.

The only memorable aspect of this salad was how quickly I ate it. My mom got us a bag of mini chocolate chip cookies, and I had one somewhere in the lingerie department while searching for Hollywood Tape.

Three stores and one successful purchase later, we fond ourselves sitting at the old wood bar in DiFiore Marquet. This was only my second time coming here, but it’s one of my favorite spots in the city. It’s charming and quirky, quiet, inexpensive, and the staff is so knowledgeable about their wine list.

Last time we went, I tried my first glass of Vouvray. This time, I went for the Alsatian Pinot Gris (I get this whenever I see it on a menu), and my mom got the Torrontes, which is a fruity white similar to a Pinot Grigio.

The Pinot Gris is on the left, the Torrontes on the right.

On our way home, we made a pit stop at The Donut Pub.

My mom and George both think these are the best donuts in the city.

My mom and I did a taste-test with a glazed and a sugar ring (I had tiny bites of each); glazed won. I got a marble cake donut hole for myself.

I don’t even remember the last time I had a donut! Oh wait… it was almost exactly a year ago!

We finally did get home, where we met my dad for a takeout pasta dinner from La Parmigiana in Southampton. We started with salad… I thought all “Italian” dressings would taste like this when I was younger, and was sadly disappointed when I learned this was not the case.

Their pasta is hard to beat. I had a plate with half linguine with clams, half linguine with broccoli rabe and sundried tomatoes. I gobbled up all of the former, but had had my fill and didn’t quite finish the broccoli rabe pasta.

My mom and I split a Criterion apple that my parents picked last weekend…

… and, later, I had three chocolate snowballs. They were even better the second day!

I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping recently… rather I normally have a hard time falling asleep, but have been enjoying a nice respite from that and have been nodding off quite easily. No sleep aids required! The last few nights, however, it’s been hard for me to fall and stay asleep, so that by the time morning comes around it just seems like a mean joke. Needless to say, my breakfasts have had to be pretty darn good to make up for it.

These Berry Mango bran muffins from Trader Joe’s came recommended by both Lauryn and Caroline, and I knew I had to try them. I’m not a huge muffin lover, but bran is a whole ‘nother story. Love it!

I popped half a muffin in the oven to warm it up, and while it was toasting got out the container of almond butter my parents had picked up for me at the Co-Op.

Beat that, Maranatha!

I slathered some on my muffin, and used the nut-buttery-spoon to scoop my banana/cinnamon/honey-filled Oikos. How’s that for a complete breakfast?

My physical therapy appointment was scheduled for 11, and although I left with plenty of time to spare, my subway line is all messed up and is skipping my stop due to track work. So I had to ride all the way to the end of the line and back down again, and by the time I got off at the appropriate stop only had five minutes to spare. I ran all the way there with a shoddy umbrella, dodging raindrops and praying my waterlogged Chucks wouldn’t trip me up. I didn’t fall, but was still five minutes late. Not a problem… I still got quite the workout in.

My left thigh was been really sore for the past few days… I don’t know if it’s because of the exercises I’ve been doing or just freak tightness, but my therapist worked it out for a good ten minutes. I also did some calf, core and quad work on the Proform (which I am really feeling today!), then got iced down and strapped with electrodes. Who knew therapy could be so fun?

I packed my lunch to take with me to eat in transit:

In the mix:

mixed greens
grape tomatoes
frozen pineapple
broccoli slaw
Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger (like other Dr. P. burgers, this is very mushy and doesn’t have a real “burger” texture. I really like the taste and chunks of veggies, though)
kale chip “dressing”/hummus

Because it was cold and rainy out, there wasn’t really anywhere to sit and enjoy a leisurely lunch. So I ate LVP-style: standing up and shoveling food into my mouth in the middle of the sidewalk.

Also had a Pink Lady apple… wonder if there is a T-Bird variety apple as well?

After I finished my dignified lunch, I walked across town and went up to meet Greg at Starbucks. I got the coupon in the mail for my free birthday drink (if you have a Starbucks card, register it!), which I used for a Grande Skim Dirty Hippie (Chai with two shots of espresso).

Two sample trays came by while we were chatting: Peppermint Mocha and Crème Brulée.

I remember when I used to get so excited for Peppermint Mocha-season… now I found this – and the crème brulée- way too sweet. The only sweet coffee drinks I like are Chai lattes and the occasional Mocha or Frappuccino; I tend to stick to lightly sweetened cappuccinos and black coffee.

The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands (found the perfect pair of jeans on sale). I was in four different areas of the city in under four hours, and let me tell you: it gives you an appetite! It was the kind of day where I felt hungry all the time. I dug into my bag and found this Tropical Fruit Grain-Ola bar that Bear Naked sent me as a sample and ate it on the subway.

Review: This was way too sweet for me, and the ingredients list (and 18g of sugars) explains it. Why does the fruit need to be dried with sugar on top of the additional tapioca syrup, honey and maple syrup that gets thrown into the mix? It was also very, very greasy.

Would I buy this? Thanks, but no thanks.

When I got home, I started making this recipe for Coconut Barley Pilaf.

My dad had made it a few weeks ago and recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a go. I substituted shrimp for chicken, light coconut milk for regular, and chili flakes for jalepeño.

I didn’t know how many people would be around for dinner so I made the full recipe… we’ll just have a lot of leftovers!

I really liked this. The sweet barley, salty cashews, chewy shrimp and fresh mint were in such harmony! I would definitely make this again (although I think I can get another 3 meals out of this batch). Ari didn’t like it as much… he prefers chickpeas and mushrooms.

We also had some Sauvignon Blanc…

… and I finished off the snowballs. Nom.

We’re off to Connecticut for a wedding this weekend. What are your plans?

Back to the Microwave

lilveggiepatch — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:05:29 +0000

Evening, chickadees! How was the rest of your weekend? I can’t believe it’s over already… the days are just flying by, and I can’t seem to do a thing about it!

Yesterday, my last day in Minnesota, was quite relaxing. I slept in a little, then woke up, had some fruit…

I did quite a number on those grapes! Produces isn’t safe when I’m around.

We had a 12:30 reservation for brunch at the club, so I didn’t want to fill up too much… but I did caffeinate.

I loaded my plate to the brim on round one at the buffet…

In the mix:

mixed greens
artichokes
hearts of palm
peppers
cottage cheese
cherry tomatoes
pumpkin seeds
cauliflower
balsamic vinaigrette
seafood salad
citrus- marinated mushroom
strawberries, cantaloupe & pineapple

The halibut cake (about the size of an orange slice) called to me on round 2.

I took a little bit of everything for dessert: mini magic & fudge bars, the bottom of a piece of pumpkin cake, and fresh berries.

I sipped on a cup of Darjeeling tea throughout the meal…

Don’t silk tea sachets feel so fancy? I love it!

With good reason, brunch held me over for hours. We went straight to the airport from the club, with just enough time to check in and board. I snacked on Pink Lady apple on the plane, more out of boredom than hunger. (Hopefully I’ll finish this book before the year is out… it’s been long enough!)

When I got home, I made something quick and easy (although perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as one might hope): Annie’s Mac & Cheese with a Morningstar Farms Pizza Burger, one small sweet potato, chili flakes and a scoop of nutritional yeast. The entire thing was made in the microwave! Unfortunately, not all of my meals can be like the ones I ate over the weekend. If only!

As per Sunday tradition, I ate my dinner while catching up on Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

I wanted something sweet (because I hadn’t quite had my fill already ) so I microwaved a banana for 90 seconds and topped it with Pure Dark cardamom chocolate, cinnamon, and agave nectar.

The first thing I ever cooked by myself on the stove was a version of this… I used to eat it while watching Wishbone after school. Pretty cool.

Well, I’m off to get dinner started. Please excuse my foreseeable absent-mindedness over the next few days… I have a lot to do to organize myself, and a wedding to go to at the end of the week. I’ll do my best!

Have a great night

Wynken, Blynken & Nod return

lilveggiepatch — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:21:59 +0000

Honesty is the best policy, and I’ve got to admit that there’s about a 70% chance that my eyes will close and this post will go up tomorrow morning instead. Daylight Savings + changing time zones must be catching up with me!

Today was an absolutely lovely day. I woke up earlyish and met my grandparents downstairs in the breakfast nook.

I had an English muffin with peanut butter, cinnamon and 1/2 banana and a bowl of plain yogurt with fresh raspberries and blueberries.

As I was assembling my breakfast, my grandfather remarked that there were no redeeming qualities to peanut butter. Of course, I loved having the opportunity to launch into my spiel about protein, healthy fats, folic, and plain ole great taste!

After breakfast, I gave myself a little time to digest before hopping on the treadmill and pounding out 2 miles. Luckily, Saved By The Bell was on and I didn’t get bored…

Source

Nothing like a little Zach Morris to keep your heart rate up! (Although, he’s clearly underage in this photo, and that makes me feel a little weird. A little.)

On our way out the door to run some errands, my Granny fed me a carrot and told me about her new method for fast-cooking veggies: steam them in the microwave! Make a pouch out of waxed paper, moisten with a few drops of water, fill with veggies, and nuke for 3 minutes or until cooked.

Is this the end of rebel carrots? Maybe, as long as the wax doesn’t break down and seep into the vegetables.

Everyone seemed to still be full from last night’s dinner, so lunch was kind of informal. I grabbed a Pink Lady apple on the way out the door…

… and got a Grande Skim Mocha at Starbucks. Mocha?! Who am I and what have I done with LVP?

I must have been really thrown off my my choice, because I immediately spilled it all over my purse. I’m a bit of a klutz!

An hour or so later, I had my first Nature’s Path product. I’ve seen these Optimum bars all over the blogs, so I grabbed this when I spotted it on sale.

It was good… the taste and texture reminded me a little of a Luna Cookie.

This is my second lunch in a row that’s been supplemented by energy bars. I’m not proud of this, but it happens when you travel.

Granny and I took a special trip to the grocery store to look for Celestial Seasonings’ Sugar Cookie Sleighride tea that y’all seem to love… we searched in vein, but I did find this Sweet Coconut Thai Chai tea that will hopefully taste like the coconut chai tea I love.

I also convinced my grandmother that she needs some POM in her life.

We had an early dinner at Spoonriver, one of my favorite restaurants in Minneapolis. I was really happy when our waitress asked for my ID when I ordered a Moroccan Mojito (mint, lime, rum, cardamom and rose water). I haven’t been carded in a few months, but this must mean my wrinkle is getting smaller! It’s funny… two years ago I would not have enjoyed being IDed at all.

I had a slice of whole wheat potato bread…

… and my grandmother and I both ordered the Broiled Salmon Okisuki in a savory Japanese Ginger Broth with Fresh Udon Noodles. I think Grandpa was jealous… I am definitely going to recreate this at home.

For dessert, we all split a slice of butternut squash-carrot cake with pumpkin-cream cheese frosting. Oh, mama!

After dinner, we went next door to the Guthrie theater to see an evening showing of Faith Healer. It was a really, really powerful play told entirely in monologues. I loved it.

When we got home, I took a deep breath of fresh air for Averie on the way up to bed.

If it weren’t so late, I’d ask Granny to tuck me into bed. I used to visit them every summer when I was younger, and until I was 11 or 12 or so, my grandmother would put me to bed with this nursery rhyme. I have such nice memories of sleeping in this room (when I first started visiting on my own, the floor was covered in a thick pink shag carpet) and being here. Although I went to college in Minnesota as well and visited a lot, my memories from that time are sort of separated from the time I spent here as a kid. Do you have any memories of nighttime rituals? If you‘re a parent, how do you put your kids to bed?

Around the blogs: Starting Monday, I am going to do my best to follow Angharad and Holly‘s lead and practice yoga thrice a week. I am also going to take meal-prepping more seriously, so I don’t stand in front of the fridge with the door open for minutes on end, willing the empty produce drawer to magically refill itself.

Wish Jungwha a happy blogiversary and win big!

Have a great night!

Fifteen Minutes

lilveggiepatch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:57:09 +0000

Hey there! How was your Tuesday? Mine began in a hurry and ended with ice cream, and now I’m in bed watching Michael Clayton. Ari’s leaving tomorrow to go Vigilante and we’ve all got things to do, so this is going to be a quickie!

Yesterday started off on a good note with a generous portion of Oats In A Jar.

In the mix:

PB jar w/ about 1 T PB
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup skim milk
2 dried apricots
1 dried fig
dried cherries

Mighty fine, I tell ya. I should finish jars of nut butter every day!

After breakfast, I hustled over to Starbucsk to get some work done. I sipped on a Grande Skim Misto with a shot of espresso for a few hours…

… and spaced my lunch out over about four hours to maximize my efficiency. Every 100 pages, for example, I could eat another part of my meal. It’s a pretty good trick! I had honeydew…

… samples of marble cake and hazelnut-espresso truffle drink (too sweet for me)…

…mixed greens with fake chicken nuggets…

TJ’s plain nonfat Greek yogurt with YouBars‘ Chocolate Peanut trail mix…

… rebel carrots…

… and a grapefruit. When I was really young I used to snack throughout the day rather than have square meals, and there’s something to be said for this! It works nicely when I’m trying to be productive, but I think I prefer eating three times a day, plus snacks. Do you eat three meals or snack throughout the day?

Dinner was a really, really big salad. I love these! I eat almost an entire head of romaine or bag of spinach at a time.

In the mix:

1 handful spinach
4 romaine leaves
1 sweet potato
1 Gala apple
1 TJ’s frozen salmon patty
dulse flakes
cilantro-chili vinaigrette

I overdid it on dessert a little bit… I just kept going back for more Edgies! My tum was a little unhappy with me when I went to bed, but I’m pretty sure the brownies were worth it

I thought I was going to wait until tomorrow to share this with you, but today my physical therapist gave me the okay to run. With the exception of the two minutes I ran on the treadmill during my first therapy session, I haven’t really run since I hurt my knee during my 10K race. My therapist only let me run for 15 minutes, but it felt great! I didn’t feel any pain in my knee, and felt proud that I had followed the doctor’s and therapist’s orders to stay off my legs until the time was right. But baby, I’m back!

What made you proud today?

Pumpkin Salads & Ice Cream In Bed

lilveggiepatch — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:06:50 +0000

Bonne samedi, mes amis! How are you all? Is your weekend off to a nice start? I know I make it a terrible habit of disappearing on the first day Ari’s back, but I’m here now.

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top of a big mound of pumpkin and an even bigger mound of steel-cut oats, and covered it all with cinnamon and agave nectar.

It felt quite festive.

This was the morning that I had my bone density test (the results of which were called in to my orthopedist… who did not return my call and share the findings with me before the weekend but that’s okay). I had an apple when I got out of the hospital…

… came home, read InStyle took care of some chores, and went back to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up, so did a hungry beast. I was inspired by the previous day’s salad dressing adventures, so I played around in the kitchen a little bit.

Behold: Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette!

Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette

Serves 1

2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
sprinkle of cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg
squirt of fresh lemon juice

This was delicious. I vow to never have a boring salad again!

Into the salad itself went:

1/3 block tempeh
1 apple
red onion
carrots
red chard
pumpkin-miso dressing

I followed it up with a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt.

After a few hours of job searching, I snacked on a piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Other than walking and cleaning, I have done almost nothing physical in almost two weeks. It’s slowly driving me crazy. Emily alerted me to these workout videos you can watch instantly on Netflix (if you have an account), which is great. Unfortunately, my will power is not. I did about 10 minutes of this yoga class, then made dinner and went to the airport to pick Ari up. Blegh.

I’m going to wager that my dinner is not going to ignite any food jealousy. I had no idea what I wanted for dinner except that I had to have an Ezekiel English muffin. On one half I had a TJ’s Masala Burger with mustard, on the other egg whites with salt, pepper & ketchup. Boring, but got the job done.

We found the band at the airport, piled all the gear in the car and squeezed in like sardines. Everyone was a little jet-lagged, so we just watched a short movie and In Treatment. While doing so, I had another piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with almond butter and jam and a small glass of Merlot.

We slept in a bit yesterday, although I woke up a good hour before the boy. This is usually the case even when he hasn’t just come back from a tour in Europe. No matter! I made myself a bowl of brown oatmeal: steel-cut oats with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, brown sugar and peanut butter.

By the time Ari woke up and decided he wanted chicken parm for breakfast, I was ready for lunch. I made a salad that was almost a repeat of the day before’s, but why mess with a good thing?

In the mix:

red chard
carrots
1/2 avocado
1/3 brick tempeh
1 pear
red onions
pumpkin-miso dressing

I also had a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Honey Greek Yogurt.

We went into the city and took care of a bunch of errands, including chopping what Erin refers to as Ari’s “alterna-hair.” We stopped by my old restaurant for a glass of wine before going to dinner at Friend House, one of Ari’s favorite sushi restaurants. Something happened to my camera and it would only take really blurry (and incredibly frustrating) photos.

I ordered the sashimi entrée… I promise that’s what’s in the picture!

It came with miso soup.

We went down to the Lower East Side for some Upwelling work, got caught in the rain, and practically ran all the way home. After showering away the acid rain, we settled in for the night with our cartons of Ben & Jerry.

I went for Light Phish Food (but demanded asked nicely for the peanut butter cups in Ari’s Everything But The…), and did my best to put it down after I plowed through 1/4 of the carton. I guess I have a little bit of will-power.

What are your plans for the weekend?

A Chocolove Letter

lilveggiepatch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:11:13 +0000

In my rush to get home and relieve Charley’s straining bladder last night, I left my camera in Brooklyn at my little red-headed friend’s apartment! Horrible, I know. It will be returned tomorrow, so to mix things up a little bit I’ll be posting about today instead of yesterday. We don’t have to live in the past tonight! Crazy.

The alarm went off at the usual time this morning. I’d smartly left my alarm clock (i.e. cell phone) across the room so I’d have to get up and turn it off. Genius, no? Not if it means I’m just going to get back into bed again. Two hours later I woke up, completely disoriented, and with only forty minutes until a coffee date. Oops. Luckily, my date was understanding and we pushed the time back a bit, but I hate rearranging plans at the last minute! It’s my own fault. I’ll just have to find a better system for waking up… or go to bed before 2 AM.

Breakfast was quick and easy: whole wheat toast with peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and 1/2 banana and a strawberry Chobani (eaten using the “plunge” method) with the rest of the banana. I used my laptop to take the next few photos… the quality is pretty good for what it is, I think, with the exception of the mirror effect.

Took the pooch out for a quick (yet efficient) romp, then headed out to coffee and got my standard skim au lait with a shot of espresso. Boy, did I need that! My parents are running very low on coffee, and the problem needs to be remedied as soon as possible. When I got home, I made a huge salad and thought about how much I need to trim my bangs.

This was another salad winner. I think I burned out on the beet/sprouts/hummus mixture (never thought that would happen!) and this was a welcome change. I tossed in:

spinach
red chard
6 oz (dolphin safe) canned tuna in water
1 heirloom tomato (last one )
pomegranate seeds
baby carrots
1 kiwi
dressing: olive oil, vinegar, Emeril’s Kicked-Up Horseradish mustard

The rest of the afternoon was spent scouring job boards and sending out cover letters and resumés. It’s exhausting, let me tell you! I broke for my second Chobani of the day… the pineapple is definitely my favorite, although after learning the right way to eat the fruit-flavored ones (from the bottom, up) I really love them all. Too bad this was my last one See that little wrinkle under my left eye? It keeps getting bigger and bigger! I don’t really care that much, but if anyone has a tip to slow it on down, I’d appreciate it!

My parents got home from the airport (they’ve been in France since Tuesday) around 6 and were starving for dinner. We went to our regular Japanese spot. The place was packed and they were understaffed, so the meal was a little slow coming out. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted sashimi or a bento box, and ended up going with the bento. It came with green salad, mixed tempura (I peeled off a lot of the batter), salmon teriyaki, one California roll, and rice. They forgot our miso soups, so we got them to go instead. I didn’t eat any of the rice, so I packed that up too. (My mom has the same camera, so I borrowed hers for the evening.)

When we got home from the restaurant, we had a chocolate tasting.

Chocolove- one of my favorite chocolate companies- was kind enough to send two bars of chocolate to review for the blog. I’d tried their 77%, 70%, and 55% dark chocolate varieties before, and their Crystallized Ginger in 65% dark chocolate is one of my favorite chocolate bars ever. (Really. Try it.) I first stumbled upon Chocolove at Whole Foods when I was in college; I’m a sucker for packaging and loved their wrappers. They make really interesting flavors such as Chilies & Cherries, Cherries & Almonds, etc., that come in dark varieties. I love flavored chocolates, but I’m not a huge fan of milk chocolate and that’s often the only option for exotic flavors. And best of all? Each bar comes complete with a love poem! It’s the perfect special date/baby-I-done-you-wrong/you’re-my-best-friend chocolate.

Here’s a little page the Chocolove story from their website:

Timothy Moley is the founder, owner and chocolatier at Chocolove. A tall and slightly eccentric man, he reminds you a little of Willy Wonka. His laid-back attitude, wry grin, and lanky physique would never lead you to believe he is a man who lives and breathes chocolate, and has been consuming two chocolate bars, every day, for the past ten years. Seriously.

It all began in a cocoa field in Indonesia… Timothy was chewing on some cocoa beans doing volunteer work for USAID, a government program that promotes agricultural and technical education in developing countries. He had been living abroad on and off for two years, visiting over 28 countries, developing his palate with spices, teas and wines. And, like most of us, he had always dreamed of being his own boss, dedicated to something he loved. The idea of a career in chocolate inspired him and an idea began to form - to create a premium chocolate bar, paired with the romance of love.

When he returned to the States, he began his chocolate education and quickly discovered a few key facts about the U.S. chocolate market: the average consumer could tell the difference between cheap chocolate and premium chocolate and they preferred premium chocolate; the available premium chocolate bar choices were limited, expensive and intimidating; no U.S. company was indicating the cocoa content on their wrappers; and flavors were boring.

I was excited to try two new flavors: Peppermint in 55% Dark Chocolate and Coffee Crunch in 55% Dark Chocolate.

Peppermint:

This bar came with a poem by Robert Browning called “Meeting At Night.”

The Panel

Mama LVP: There’s something odd about the mint flavor. The chocolate has a good texture, but I would like it more without the mint. I don’t like the aftertaste.

Papa LVP: I don’t think the mint is odd! Just “minty.” It’s refreshing, even though I don’t normally eat peppermint-flavored things.

LVP: Tastes like a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie! I love Thin Mints. The mint flavor is pretty strong, but it’s blended nicely and, as Papa LVP noted, very refreshing.

Bottom line: Would I buy this? If the mood for mint struck me, most definitely. I don’t often find myself hankering for mint, but the next time it happens, this is my fix!

Coffee Crunch in 55% Dark Chocolate

This bar came with an excerpt from “The Dream” by Theodore Roethke.

The Panel

Mama LVP: I like the texture. It has a nice crunch to it.

Papa LVP: The chocolate has a smooth, deep, and dark flavor. I like the crunchiness of the grains. I’m not normally a fan of filled chocolates, but I like this.

LVP: It tastes the way a good coffee shop smells: a rich aroma you can get lost in. It’s crunchy, but the coffee grounds don’t distract from the good quality of the chocolate itself.

Bottom line: Would I buy this? Yes! This is like a better version of a chocolate-covered espresso bean: it satisfies both my desire for chocolate and my need for coffee. What’s better than a treat with a buzz?

Thanks again, Chocolove! And don’t forget to check out that Crystallized Ginger in 65% Dark Chocolate Bar. If I had any money to bet, I’d reimburse each person who claims dissatisfaction with that flavor. It’s that good.

Our tasting also included Côte d’Or with dark chocolate and hazelnuts that my parents brought back from France (and apparently can be bought at Dean & Deluca!) and dark chocolate “twigs” infused with orange. So pretty! Wouldn’t it be fun to make a chocolate forest out of these?

I’m in a bit of a chocolate coma, so I’m going straight to bed. I need to get up early (for real, this time!) and do some work for my internship. How was your weekend? What was the best part?

Bonne nuit