slow starts

juggling school and three jobs hasn't left much room for those slow mornings that i love- reading the free Sun that comes (confession: i always skim through the coupon booklets knowing it's not worth it but wanting to buy those 3 cans of whatever to save 45 cents just because i can), sitting down and eating real food, and enjoying a hot cup of tea. but occasionally, a morning comes around where it all comes together.

 it's amazing how my diet and running suffers when my schedule is such chaos but hopefully i'll get into the swing of things and be able to have more of these kinds of mornings, at least for the weekends. even on 4 hours of sleep i had enough energy to go on a nice long run this morning and then put together a breakfast (it helps to have a late starting work day). Two slices of whole wheat toast, 1 egg (runny! i love dipping toasted bread into runny egg yolk), and a nice handful of arugula salad with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. the apple will most likely be a snack later in the morning maybe before work or on the way home from work.

i'm bundled up in my house in multiple layers and drinking some black tea with a splash of skim milk. it feels good to be healthy after days of interesting and late night food choices (i.e. my love affiar with peanut butter and spinach and artichoke dip at 11 at night on thursday come to mind).

i even packed a colorful lunch (persimmon, sweet potato and a banana). i think i'm missing something so i will probably throw in some almonds and walnuts or a Kashi bar, but it's challenging thinking of foods that are easy to eat in a couple bites while i'm working behind the desk and tourists come in.

and for everyone out there, it's 12 days until my favorite holiday! i've got to start researching foods for this year early and i'll try to post the links as i find them. here's some delicious looking pie recipes. anyone ever tried an olallieberry pie?

wct- savory monkey bread and pumpkin soup

food today was a hit and a miss. kind of like my week. but at least the week is almost over. been living out of my car and crashing at my friend's place (thank you thank you thank you!) i think i would have gone crazy with the commuting. so feeling tired and burnt out which usually means i want something toasty and greasy. after my friend mentioned garlic parmesan monkey bread and we watched a marathon of "chopped" (i love that show!) i was definitely set to make it. and just like the usual sweet monkey bread, the savory version does not disappoint.

 toasty, flakey, garlicky, cheesey goodness. and super quick and easy. recipe at the bottom!

i figured i should balance it out with something healthier and more nutritious (since that is my future work, hopefully) so it's with a baby arugula salad and pumpkin soup...now this pumpkin soup, i don't know if it's because i tried to combine two recipes or if it's because i used an uber healthy mayo-clinic recipe as the basis of the soup so i got something very brothy with absolutely no butter...then again, it might just be that b/c i've never had pumpkin soup i have no idea what it should taste like.

it's so darn good it needed an up close and personal. look at all that parsley! drool...

Garlic Parmesean Monkey Bread (serves 5)
adapted from all-recipes
1 Tblsp and 1.5 tsp dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
dash of salt
1 Tblsp, 1/4 tsp butter melted (the 1/4 is to coat the pan...not that it seemed to help)
1 egg
1 can Jumbo Safeway buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup Parmesean Cheese

Grease a large loaf pan (I greased a bundt pan and when putting the pieces in realized the pan was too large and didn't get a good layering action, so use something smaller). Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, mix parsley, garlic, salt, melted 1 Tblsp butter and egg until blended. Cut each biscuit into 4 and dip into the mixture. Make a layer in your dish, sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layer and cheese sprinkling. Cover loosely and bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

* I think I want to try the pillsbury biscuits next time, these had bits of butter in the dough already to begin with and I think it made my bread a little too buttery (although really can that crispy buttery taste go wrong?). Also, everything stuck completely to my pan, it may to do with the fact that I couldn't get a full layer of biscuit before sprinkling with cheese. 

Pumpkin soup
I combined Mayo Clinic with Simply Recipes
I don't even want to write the recipe that I ended up with b/c I wasn't pleased with the end result, but I ended up with the soup from Mayo and the spice from Simply Recipes. It definitely needed/wanted the cream and/or butter that the spicy soup had.

what's cooking thursday- tuna casserole

happy thursday! tried out a new recipe today, a nice combination of sorts of two recipes-

 this recipe is not only nice and warm and filling but also pretty healthy!

these recipes come from a mix of a tuna casserole and a mac & cheese.

here's my final take:
Tuna Stuffed Casserole
3 cups whole wheat rotini, cooked al dente
1-2 Tblsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 packages button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp salt
12 Tblsp whole wheat flour (about 1/4 cup)
3 1/2 cups fat free milk
2 tsp ground pepper
14 oz canned tuna, drained
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted and crumbled through food processor

* I prep cooked everything last night and then cooked the pasta today.
Oil a 9 x 13 pan. In a large pot heat oil over medium-high heat, add onion, mushrooms, and salt and cook, stirring until onion is softened. Add spinach until it wilts down and then sprinkle flour over the vegetables to coat. Add milk and pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Stir in tuna, peas and 1 cup cheese until it is all incorporated. Stir in the pasta and remove from the heat.

If you want to cook it the same day, sprinkle the casserole with breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, broil until bubbly and lightly brown, 3 to 4 minutes. If you want to cook it later, cover the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to cook, sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs and bake, covered, 350 F for 40-50 minutes until bubbly. Uncover and cook until browned and bubbly, about 15 more minutes. 
Scoop the pasta into the pan, cover with aluminum foil and place in the fridge over night.

what's cooking, thursday- chili with cornbread

2nd thursday i've managed to cook a meal. this one wasn't quite as labor intensive as last week as i have an exam tomorrow (although cooking is still a great way to procrastinate...) but still lovely delicious!

as a pescatarian i'm ashamed to admit these were probably my first vegetables for the week. but at least i made it as colorful as possible! this is actually M's plate (mine was about half the size). even though it's cold and dreary outside colorful veggies (and fruits!) are a great way to stay healthy, especially with the changing temperatures. i'm thinking baked sweet potato fries next week?

this chili is as easy as pie (speaking of pie, has anyone baked chili under cornbread mix?). i sauteed half an onion, a red pepper in olive oil with garlic. i then threw in a big can (i think a 28 oz) of peeled whole tomatoes, a McCormick 30% less sodium chili mix and presoaked kidney and black beans. then boil, simmer for 30 minutes (the kidney beans were still a little undercooked, but the black beans were fully cooked). i think i have to go back to making my own chili spice mix. even though the packet was 30% less sodium it still seemed a little on the salty side. but i did like it's level of heat.

the cornbread recipe i pretty much snagged from the bag and then did the lazy cook's measuring (pour and eyeball amounts)

Cornbread
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
sprinkling of brown sugar (maybe 1/8 of a cup?)
1 cup milk
1 egg
about 1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease up a 9x9 pan (i just spread some olive oil around). Mix together cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a separate bowl mix the milk, egg and olive oil. Lightly mix the wet ingredients into the dry and scoop into the pan (spread it out flat). Bake for about 25 minutes (or until all the outside is a nice golden brown).

enjoy! and happy almost halloween (have i mentioned how much i love fall?)

birthday baking

happy birthday to s3! here's some food porn for your pleasure...

there was cake...which in the bottom left corner looks either like a ginormous whoopie pie or a really soft oreo. do they make special oreos during the fall with pumpkin cream on the inside?

and there was hot apple cider...of course there was loads of other food, but really, the cake and apple cider was were it was at:D

the cake is picky palate's double chocolate pumpkin cake with pumpkin buttercream frosting. we used a dark chocolate cake mix and made our own buttermilk. we also didn't have any oil so put in the rest of our sour cream container we bought (8 oz total). the frosting and cake are delicious and once the cake all sits together the flavor really turns wonderful. rich and moist and the frosting is yum-o.

the hot apple cider was 8 cups of apple cider, 1/2 tblsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp ground cloves. also added were two large slices of orange and 3 cinnamon sticks. this was all boiled then simmered for 30 minutes. if you like it tart, this way is perfect, if not go ahead and add some sugar.

the first meal

wha-lah! first thursday meal of the season. veggie lasagna, a-la pioneer woman and pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie from how sweet it is.

have i told you how much i've been craving lasagna. i think that lasagna is just meant to be cooked in a huge pan to serve a huge entire italian family and when i'm usually the only one who is going to eat what i cook i can't really convince myself to make it. but here it is, finally. and i'm glad to say, leftovers are a good enough reason to make a family-size dish. i wish i had crushed the whole tomatoes in the can more because i felt like i didn't get as much sauce. i didn't use any wine but this still tasted tasty. however, in the end, sometimes it's just easier (and this economy- cheaper) to buy a tasty jar of sauce from the grocery store.

this recipe is loosely based off of jessica's gorgeous looking pie (i was going for a healthier pumpkin pie with chocolate chips than a cookie in a pie). this is very creamy and i would even take out more sugar next time.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pie
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
3/4 + 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 Tblsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips
1 unbaked pie shell

Preheat the oven to 325 F. In a bowl beat eggs until they are foamy then add the flour and sugars. Add the vanilla, pumpkin and spices and then blend in the butter. Gently mix in the chocolate chips (I forgot to toss the chips in flour but they didn't sink) and scoop into the pie crust. Bake for about 45-50 minutes until the center is cooked (it may look a bit strange but once out of the oven the texture looks much more normal).

food pics to tide you over until the real meal

i love fall. fall means the leaves are changing, hot apple cider, corn mazes, and baking. tons and tons of baking. pumpkin desserts, muffins, cakes, you name it, and i'll want to make it. having the time to actually get around to all of it is an entirely different topic. but i've decided since thursdays are my one day off i'm going to make them my cooking day. a full out meal and dessert. and guess what, today's thursday:) while the food cooks here's some pics i've taken this fall.

a friend of M's brought over fresh beans still on their vine (is that what it's called?) so i got to spend an afternoon shucking beans. which was really fun. when the lady first brought them over i got really excited because they looked like edamame, but once you popped them out they were this kidney bean-esque color. we steamed them, cooked them into rice cakes, i think i even tried to roast them (still working on that one...)

first time i ever saw a chestnut in it's plant shell. it's seriously spikey and then you have to wonder about the first person who thought to wait for it to open (that also makes me think of lobster and crab and their tough exoskeletons, plus creep legs).

the spikes are really sharp and stiff, but luckily, if you wait long enough they crack open and inside are two beautiful chestnuts. makes me want to try making chestnut bread or some sort of chestnut pastry. any good recipes?