Hey all! I can’t believe June is almost past us and summer is on! We already have had the weather hit near 108 F and it’s been a hot one. You’d think I would get used to this since I’ve lived here all my life. yea… no. Even waking up at 4am for a bike ride does not help escape the heat unfortunately. I guess I may have to revisit swimming again 🙂 One thing I love to cool down with is a refreshing smoothie, popsicle, or anything topped with frozen fruit. We need to make a Costco run and get one of those giant bags of frozen fruit because I think we’ve been going through at least 3 bags of raspberries, blueberries, and cherries every week! For me, I’m all about contrasting flavors as well, so I have to top it with some kind of crunch. (more…)
June 26, 2011
January 31, 2011
September 19, 2010
Pedal to the Medal
Hey guys! The weekend has flown by as usual and I admit most of it has been trying to get those miles in again. I’m about 3 weeks out from Viva Bike Vegas, and pretty much next Sunday will be my last full day to ride *gulp* I will be going out of town for some exciting events (details to follow)! If you want to check out my rides, read on (more…)
September 13, 2010
getting in those miles
Anyone else out there think Monday came waaaay too fast? Especially after that holiday weekend! Not too much ensued for me this weekend, but I did get to visit with my grandparents in town on Friday evening and spent a good portion of Saturday finishing up wash and house chores. I am definitely enjoying the slight cool down we are having here because that means that race/ride/endurance event season is approaching!!! Granted it is still 100 F here today and I’m wondering if fall is ever going to come? (more…)
August 8, 2010
margarita party + seeing macro
Hello there! I can’t believe that it is just about mid-August. Where does the time go? Seriously. Where is my ‘stop time so I can think’ machine? I hope you all had a nice weekend and are soaking up the last few moments of summer. I experimented with a curry recipe this weekend which didn’t turn out the best, tried to get organized with the randomness of my desk, had some contemplative moments about life, went for a bike ride, and attended a friend’s margarita party. But first . . . . and foremost . . . (more…)
April 18, 2010
girls day out + flax-date waffles
It’s been such a lovely day today that I don’t want this weekend to end!! Well, don’t I say that every weekend? 🙂 The weather is certainly warming up here in good ol’ Vegas and it’s actually quite HOT! I hate to say it but we had to turn on the AC last night since it was 82F inside. I can’t sleep unless it’s at least 79F, because I’m like a radiating furnace once I go to bed.
Last night I couldn’t really decide what to have for dinner because when I went grocery shopping for the week on Saturday, I somehow forgot about Saturday night! (more…)
January 23, 2010
just a quick hello
Hello! I hope you all had a nice week! I think Vegas has gotten more rain in these past 4 days than we have in all last year! Crazy. I can’t believe how much rain California is getting too. Overall this week has been nice, work wasn’t too crazy, I got my committee together for my thesis (finally) and I may be doing a couple cooking classes for Whole Foods! The site is sooo close, but there are a few things that I need help with still, so I just won’t say a date anymore 🙂 ugh. (more…)
January 12, 2010
just a few new finds
I don’t have too much time to blab on today, as I’m trying my darndest to focus on my proposal, but I did want to just stop by and share a few good finds I discovered and some eats I made this weekend.
Can I just say that it is absolutely glorious sleeping in till 7am and eating when the sun is actually up!! Because we went out to dinner a bit late with our friends Friday evening (terrible pictures by the way), I decided to sleep in just a little bit. I love having the sunshine to be able to take food pictures!! Yay! Most of the time I leave when there’s not enough sunlight and get home when the sun is just going down. Dang you time change.
I could even take a nice picture of breakfast! This is just a mixture of Wallaby yogurt mixed with a scoop of LF cottage cheese, topped with frozen blueberries, cereal, banana, and flax. I also had 1/2 a date bran muffin I found in the freezer. Those muffins are definitely our favorite!
Saturday we spent most of the day running errands and grocery shopping. I found some items I can’t wait to try . . .
For lunch I made a munchie plate with crackers, hummus, string cheese, apple, and salmon salad with pistachios and persimmons.
I tried a Fuyu persimmon for the first time this season and I really enjoy them. It tastes like a subtle creamsicle to me? I like to put them in chicken lettuce wraps too.
I also found the Laughing Cow cheese finally and am looking forward to adding it to various recipes like so many of you do!
Persimmon Pistachio Salmon Salad
- one small can wild salmon with bones (for added calcium!)
- 1/3-1/2 cup low fat greek yogurt
- 1 Fuyu persimmon, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
- various seasonings (all-purpose, garlic powder, s & p, splash of vinegar)
Mix it all together!
I found this quick cooking barley at Walmart. This will be great to add to soups, oats or make a salad with because normally barley takes quite awhile to cook.
I have to say I am impressed with Walmart’s selection of healthier items and brands at a reasonable price. For some families, it’s just being able to find these and make the choice to buy them over what they usually do, and that can be tough.
That afternoon we went to a bike demo for a local bike shop that we like to go to and it was also a charity event for our local Shade Tree Shelter. Lots of bikes!
We signed a waiver and then tried out a few of them. Most of the people there were mountain bikers, which is a completely different crowd than road bikers. Kind of like the laid back surfer dude type.
First we tried a couple road bikes. Boy, it’s amazing how much better those felt compared to my baseline model. I was really looking forward to trying a tri bike, but they didn’t have any there to sample. We also got to ride around Red Rock on a mountain bike. It was so much different than a road bike but a lot of fun!
Hey, even this dog was enjoying a little road biking! I thought this was too funny. How does that little guy stay on there?
After a C25K run/walk this morning, I made one of my favorite festive bowl of oats this holiday season. I call them festive oats! (gee that’s inventive)
I just love Egg Nog and usually find the low fat version or the soy version around this time of year. I also saw some kind of pumpkin spice nog at Walmart that I’ll have to try. Both low fat nog versions taste equally yummy. I could imagine these would be awesome in your morning coffee too.
Here’s my version this morning:
- 1/2 cup soy nog or low fat egg nog
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, fresh nutmeg
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 banana (1/2 mashed to add with oats, 1/2 for topping)
- 1 tsp flax mixed in
- splash of vanilla extract
- 2 dates
- Handful of Kashi cinnamon cereal and shredded wheat
- sprinkling of pistachios and pomegranate seeds for the festive touch!
It’s not even Thanksgiving quite yet, but I thought this would be fun 🙂
How do you add a festive touch to your dishes? Any favorite items only available during the holiday season?
If I don’t post again till Thanksgiving I sure hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend no matter what holidays you celebrate! We are going to visit Chris’ dad and step mom who just moved into a new cabin for their retirement. It’s going to be freezing, but I’m looking forward to spending time with family and enjoying a great meal. I am definitely most thankful for my family without a doubt. It just wouldn’t be the same without their never ending love and support. Hope you all enjoy your time too 🙂
January 1, 2010
don’t want it to end
HAPPY NEW YEAR! mmm breakfast was lovely . . . After stumbling from our slumber after a late night at 10:30am(!!) Chris made us all some omelets. We still had some leftover spaghetti squash, roasted veggies and meatloaf from the other night, so he threw some of that in there along with some dried oregano which complements eggs very well.
It was a protein-packed breakfast, perfect after a late night and a few drinks 🙂 I also heard them talking on the Today Show this morning about having coconut water for hangovers . . . love that stuff! I actually didn’t have any kind of headache this morning thanks to sleep and lots of water in between drinks 🙂
I’m loving that spaghetti squash and have been thinking of different ways to use it. Here it’s pretty good in the omelet and on top as a garnish 🙂 Alongside I also had 1/2 a pear, 1/4 sliced naner, 1/2 a kiwi and a slice of whole wheat toast.
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Now for a little recap of yesterday and New Year’s celebrations! Did you have a nice New Year’s? I can’t believe it’s already 2010, where did it go? I’m hoping 2010 will be a year of new beginnings and aspirations, but that will have to be a different post 🙂
I hope you’ve enjoyed my extra food postage lately because I certainly have! It’s been so much fun and I really enjoy it. I just wish I had this kind of time all the time.
New Year’s Eve morning breakfast included a bowl of TJ’s honey Greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin pie spice. I topped the yogurt with a variety of cereals, 1/2 a pear, frozen blueberries, and about 2 tsp of TJ’s organic peanut butter.
After doing a little window shopping with my mom, we came home for a late lunch. Utilizing the leftovers yet again (can you tell we always use leftovers in this household? lol) I made a meatloaf sammie with roasted veggies and spaghetti squash on the side.
I also decided to have a nice cup of Candy Cane Lane tea to warm up. I couldn’t seem to get warm yesterday since it was rainy and chilly outside. I really like this flavor! It’s nice and minty and warmed me right up!
I also had a TJ’s peppermint Joe Joe cookie. mmm these are awesome with little chunks of real candy cane in the middle.
They are a seasonal product, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
After getting ready for our night out, we headed to a local wine bar/lounge to celebrate the New Year Mardi Gras style. We usually go to a friend’s annual party, but she decided not to have one this year 🙁 The Wine Loft just recently opened and we saw an ad that they were going to have a New Year’s party with live entertainment, so we decided to give it a shot!
It was gorgeous inside and I would enjoy coming here with friends for a relaxing glass of wine and small plate. The menu looked really good.
It was a lot of fun! Tickets included a glass of house cab, red beans and rice, muffaletta sandwiches, various munchies and a glass of champagne at midnight.
The Grand Cru cab that was included was actually pretty nice. It was fruit forward and medium-bodied. While lacking in fullness and finish, I still enjoyed it. And it was only $6 a glass!
I munched on some veggies, about 5 cheese cubes and 5 or so crackers, all while chatting the night away.
I’m not a fan of green olives, and just picked them off the muffaletta. It was yummy! I didn’t have any red beans and rice since it was pretty spicy and kidney beans can sometimes be trouble for me lol Throughout the night I had 2 glasses of the cab. I made sure to have a glass of water during and after each glass of wine. This makes such a difference in the morning 🙂
We also ordered and shared some baked brie en croute mmm gooey cheese is glorious! I had a bit too much cheese!
Poor Chris wasn’t feeling too well, but he was a trooper and tried to have a good time with his water and sudafed.
With the countdown of the New Year, we toasted with some champagne and stayed around a little longer while the band played a few more songs. I had about 2 sips of champagne (I’m not a fan of the dry stuff) and a brownie they provided for dessert.
I had such a wonderfully relaxing time here and I’m not looking forward to leaving early tomorrow morning 🙁 It went too darn fast! I started thinking about it last night and I got all teary eyed. Heck, I’m thinking about it again right now and getting teary eyed! Being away from family is really really tough for me and I’m hoping the shock of getting back won’t be too overwhelming . . . next time we meet I’ll be back in Vegas and back to the grind . . . hope you all enjoyed your holidays! I sure had a nice time and am so thankful for it all.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you all the best in 2010!
June 25, 2009
leftovers galore
Man, this week seems to be draaaging! Maybe because last weekend just got away from me with all the party planning and I’m really looking forward to the next one?? But, heck weekends always usually seem to just fly. Anyone else agree? I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who liked my photos. It’s still a work in progress, and I will certainly be eating A LOT of cold dinners in the future!
Speaking of cold dinners . . . it’s been so dang hot here that all I’ve been craving is cold things . . . smoothies, fruit, or a nice big bowl of yogurt, cereal and frozen fruit like this . . .
I love it when the fruit gets all melty and flavors the yogurt and the cereal gets slightly soggy, but still has a slight crunch! Yummy stuff. Plus Chris has been getting home at 10 during the week with summer school, so preparing this is really a cinch. I get so excited for Fridays now when we actually can cook and be together. I think it’s going to be calzones or pizza and some good ol’ vino this Friday.
Because we had a ton of leftovers from the housewarming party, I tried to plan this weeks meals around them (aside from the bowls of yogurt!), and decided to make a simple caprese mac and cheese. We also had lots of liquor left, including a giant thing of vodka, coconut rum, sweet tea vodka, cranberry and pineapple juice. I think we need to have another party just to use it all! Good thing that stuff never goes bad 🙂
This is a lightened up version of mac and cheese, so that the noodles aren’t drowning in it, but are nicely coated. I actually didn’t mind eating it cold either.
Caprese Mac and Cheese
Yield: 4
- 1/2 box of your favorite pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cups of milk (I used non-fat)
- about 2 cups of your favorite cheeses (I think I added goat cheese, herbed brie, sharp cheddar, aged gouda, and parmesan
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- salt, pepper, all-purpose seasoning to taste
- anything else you can find in your fridge to throw in!
- I also topped it with some breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 375. Start boiling the pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, heat up the oil, add the shallot and sauté until golden.
Add the flour and cook a few minutes. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Slowly simmer and whisk until the mixture thickens. Turn the heat to low or off and add all your cheeses, basil, tomato, seasonings and other stuff you can find. When everything is melty and yummy, place in a pan, top with crumbs and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!
Closer . . .
Closest! . . .
What do you like to eat in the summer time when it’s so dang hot?
