Just Because

Because I stayed up until 1:30 am talking with the rommates.

Because when I couldn't press snooze any longer but it was still only 7:15 am.  Which meant it was way too late to take a shower...or make a decent breakfast.

Because then two Oreos somehow became part of my breakfast.

Because I missed the first bus and had to wait in the chilly wind for another.

Because it's Friday and my students started celebrating early...by tickling me and not listening.

Because I had an install at the gallery today.

Because the last artist showed up over an hour late.  With large pieces of art...that I hadn't anticipated.

Because I am a perfectionist, and re-did the entire show to accommodate said large pieces.

Because even after all that work I'm still not completely happy with how the show looks.

Because I had to learn far too much about how a drill works today.

Because said artist didn't finish her work properly.  I now have blood blisters and splinters covering my hands as proof.

Because I got home too late to take good pictures anyways...

I made the same dinner as last night...with a spicy twist.

Because I still attempted to get a good picture by holding everything very close to the last remaining light, but still failed.

Honey Cumin Yogurt Dressing
Serves One


Ingredients:
1 TBSP plain yogurt
1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp honey
1/4-1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, taste test to make sure it tastes good.

Because I forgot to add raisins...

Winter Apple Salad
Serves One, can be easily multiplied to serve more.

Ingredients:
-Handful Spinach
-Handful Romaine
-1/2 apple (or whole if your me and snacked on the other half instead of saving it for a snack...)
-1/4 cup chickpeas
-1/4 yellow pepper
-Ricotta Cheese

Directions:
Toss all ingredients together in bowl and top with Honey Cumin Yogurt Dressing.

Because I felt the need to show you something today.

Because leftovers for the third day seemed depressing.

Because this salad really tasted so good it was definitely worthy to blog about again...

Because it's Friday but it feels like Monday with all the studio work I have to do this weekend.

Because I want a night on the town but feel like a night in bed is more appropriate.

Because I can't wait for Winter Break.

Because I am tired.

But mostly...


Just because.





P.S. TGIF!

Lessons from Popeye

"Among the World's Healthiest vegetables, spinach comes out at the top of our ranking list for nutrient richness."  - World's Healthiest Foods

Even before reading this quote I have recently been seeing articles about Spinach and it's copious health benefits all over the place.  Then I saw that picture of Popeye- I think he is speaking to my heart with that toned rockin' bod, reppin' dark leafy greens, and saying some of my favorite words.

If we all lived like Popeye we might be a little bit healthier.

So I decided it was time to make a more dedicated effort to include Spinach in my diet on a regular basis. Easily said and, surprisingly, easily done as well.

Check it out...

My breakfast consisted of my usual veg heavy scrambles I just added spinach to the mix.  Can I just say wilted spinach is soo delicious.  No idea why but I definitely think spinach tastes better wilted.  Some Costa Rican coffee on the side :)

Next up, early dinner.  I was having a mega salad of course.  But for once I decided to think about this one and make a really delicious one.  Not just my usual refrigerator dump.

 I went for COLOR.  Red, orange and yellow...

Then I came up with the brilliant idea to make a dressing.  Ohh yes I said brilliant.

Lemon Yogurt Dressing
Serves one

Ingredients:
1 TBSP Plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 TBSP Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients.  Taste test, it will be very lemon heavy- but believe me it balances out in the salad and tastes amaaazing.

Citrus Spinach Salad

Serves One

Ingredients:
-Handful Spinach Leaves
-1 leaf Romaine Lettuce, chopped
-1/4 cup craisins
-1/2 orange
-1/4 yellow bell pepper
-Ricotta Cheese (would have used feta or blue cheese if I had it)
-Walnuts (I used peanuts...I have no walnuts)

Directions:
Mix together in bowl and top with Lemon Yogurt Dressing.

Sooo amazing.  These pictures are missing the peanuts and the ricotta cheese.  I thought of adding those after these pictures.  By then the sun had already set :( so the pictures aren't as pretty.

The dressing makes the whole salad.  This salad would be perfect to make in a massive quantity and take to summer BBQ!

Ahh there's a picture with some of the additions.  This salad was gourmet in my book.

I definitely succeeded in learning from Popeye's example today.  Now look at all these glorious health benefits I reaped...

Health Benefits of Spinach:
-Antioxidant and flavanoid benefits
-Anti-Inflammatory
-Anti-Cancer
-Promotes Bone health
-Excellent source of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Manganese, Folate, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin B6, Typtophan and Vitamin E.
-Very Good source of Dietary Fiber, Copper, Vitamin B1, Protein, phosphorus and Zinc.
-Good source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin B3 (niacin) and Selenium.
-Per calorie spinach provides more nutrients than any other food.

Despite having a brain overload from schoolwork I still managed to learn a little bit more about nutrition.  I'm amazed there's any room left in my brain haha.  Alright I'm off to catch up on my shows...you know...Glee, Parenthood and Modern Family.  Looks like I've got a busy night ahead of me, and our apartment just might be hosting girls night as well!

Do you eat spinach? And just for fun what are your favorite shows?

Maple Apple Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Umm can you say that recipe title ten times fast? Haha my brain is so fried from end of semester stress I couldn't think of a more concise title. So you are stuck with Maple Apple Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash.

You're welcome for this recipe though :)

Before you can get to that amazing stuffed piece of wonderful you have to do a little bit of work.

Start by making yourself a cup of Cinnamon Tea- I am OBSESSED.

It's like Christmas and warm happy feelings in a cup, really now what more could you want?

The cinnamon will get your metabolism moving and help pump up your muscles so you can chop open some acorn squash.

And then gut those squashs' and sprinkle them with some spices.

Done with the hard part! On to the snacking.

My favorite part about making recipes with apples is that I can snack on them while I'm cooking. Speaking of cooking let's get to that recipe.

Maple Apple Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2-3 Acorn Squash
½-1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 cup dry Quinoa
2 cups water
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger and ground cloves
2 medium sweet apples, cubed
1 cup cooked Chickpeas
½ cup Craisins
¾ -1 cup Ricotta
2 tbsp maple syrup
~1 tsp Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half and rub with coconut oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake for 30 minutes.

2. While the squash bakes rinse the quinoa and add to a medium pot with the water, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Cook until water is all gone or the quinoa is done

2. Add the cubed apples, chickpeas, craisins, and maple syrup to the mixture. Next add Ricotta cheese until desired creaminess/cheesiness. Stir well.

3. Stuff the quinoa mixture into the baked acorn squash. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes. (until apples are slightly mushy).

4. Optional: Top with roasted acorn squash seeds! I tossed mine in coconut oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg and baked them for about 15 minutes alongside the baking acorn squash.

5. Enjoy!

This is what my stuffing looked like.  I only used 2 acorn squash's so I had some extra filling left.  It'll be a lunch sometime this week and it was already snacked on majorly while I waited for the stuffed squash to bake.

Other things to do while you wait for the final product...clean up the massive mess you made.  (For some reason I was super scatterbrained today and there was cinnamon EVERYWHERE in my kitchen...oops!)

The mess is well worth it...

The chickpeas are perfect in this recipe, they really balance out the sweetness of the apple, craisins and maple syrup.  And do I even need to talk about the squash?  I could probably eat squash plain for the rest of my life and be happy.

For some reason I struggled with taking good pictures of this squash.  Oh well you win some you lose some I guess.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this recipe! The flavors are complex and interesting and it's also super filling. (Wow judging by that sentence my level of food nerdiness is steadily rising...)  I only made it a couple days late though, it would have been perfect as a main dish for Thanksgiving.  That's what next year is for though.

Alright well I really need to get back to school work now.  I'm giving a presentation on Zero Tolerance Laws in schools tonight, exciting huh? Not so much.  But I am happy to say that my Spanish test today went soo smooth I was the first one done and actually thought it was easy!  Fingers crossed that I actually did well!

There was a slight downfall in my day so far though...while my ceramics professor was glazing my stacked pot for me (yes he did part of it for me- great success!) I got splashed in the mouth and eye with glaze!! Sick.  I don't know if I'm just a worrier but I swear my eye hurts...my hypochondriac self might be making a trip to the quick clinic today...

What are you stressing about this week?  Or are you having a carefree and stress free week?

Lasagna-Less Lasagna

As you probably know I have been sick lately. (I have made a full recovery! I was up bright and early to workout this morning.) As you also probably know I crave comfort foods on a daily basis. So being sick makes my craving of comfort foods sky rocket. And what is more comforting than a nice casserole?

Well a healthier version of it of course ;)

Yesterday I decided to make a lasagna-like dish- but without the noodles. Scroll to the bottom if you just want the recipe otherwise enjoy some of the "in the process" photos!


I have been cooking lots of vegan recipes, but I miss the look and feel of eggs! They really are beautiful...


Crust ingredients.


Mushrooms are such interesting little fungi's...


Sauteed onions, mushrooms, broccoli and spices layer.


Tomato layer.


Cottage cheese + spinach + spices layer.



Inspired by The Front Burner's Easy as (Tomato) Pie and my love of lasagna and casseroles.

Lasagna-Less Lasagna

Ingedients:
Quinoa Crust
-3 cups cooked Quinoa
-3 Eggs
-3 TBSP Parmesan Cheese
-1 tsp Thyme
-1 tsp Garlic Powder (or 1-2 cloves garlic)
-1/2 tsp Greek Oregano
-1/2 tsp Paprika

Veggie Layers
-3-4 TBSP Olive Oil
-2 cups sliced mushrooms
-1 large onion
-Thyme, Garlic Powder, Greek Oregano, and Paprika to taste (enough to cover a skillet pan of veggies with a thin layer of each spice)
-1/2 cup broccoli
-6-8 sliced Roma Tomatoes (or about 2-3 large tomatoes)

Cheese Layers
-1 package spinach, thawed and drained
-2 cups cottage cheese
-Thyme, garlic powder, Greek oregano, and paprika to taste (about 1/2 to 1 tsp each)
-1-1.5 cups shredded mozzarella (I used Swiss cheese because it was all I had but I think mozzarella would work better.

Directions:
1. Mix all the Quinoa crust ingredients together in medium sized bowl. Then press the Quinoa mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
2. While the crust is baking saute the mushrooms, onions, and spices in about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet.
3. When mushrooms and onions are done cooking remove them from the large skillet and set aside in a bowl. Add some more olive oil to the skillet and saute broccoli until it is just beginning to get soft.
4. Layer half of the onion/mushroom mixture and all of the broccoli on top of the finished baked Quinoa crust.
5. Layer one layer of sliced tomatoes.
6. Mix together Cottage Cheese, drained spinach, and spices. Taste test the mixture to decided how much or how little spice to add. I added lots! Layer this cottage cheese mixture on top of the sliced tomatoes.
7. Layer the rest of the sauteed mushroom/onions. Make another layer of sliced tomatoes.
8. Sprinkle the top of the lasagna evenly with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover the pan with aluminum foil about halfway through baking to prevent the cheese topping from burning.


It worked! I am now fully recovered.

Fun-Fact about me and Campbell's Canned Soups:
I also crave veggie soups from the can when I'm sick/want comfort. But the last time I looked at a Campbell's Vegetable Soup nutrition label(this weekend when I was about to consume one) I discovered that one serving (the can has 2.5) has 790mg of salt. I always eat the whole can. That amount of sodium is not going to heal any sickness, rather it will cause plenty! I decided it wouldn't be that much more work to whip up a hearty casserole with lots of fresh, nutrient rich ingredients, that would both help me on my way to recovery and comfort me.

What comfort foods do you crave when you're sick?

The Fullness Factor

Do you ever eat a scrumptious dinner, that is large and in charge, full of nutrition and even has some fat to keep you full...but somehow it doesn't manage to satisfy your hunger?

Happens to me all the time. In fact it happens to me so much...I've started planning for it!


Tonight I enjoyed a lovely massive mega salad at work. (Sorry for the weird picture...I have no idea why all the colors looks so weird...I even tried to fix it in photoshop but I think I just made it worse...)

In the Mix:
-Romaine Lettuce
-Roasted Veggies (zucchini, squash, summer squash)
-Avocado
-Tomato
-Salsa + Sour Cream for dressing
-Some broccoli and carrots on the side for munchin'

But I knew it just wouldn't do the trick...so I planned ahead and made the ultimate after dinner satisfying snack.


Ohh yes I did make plain old canned pumpkin into a lovely, easy, to-go desert. I always crave something sweet after I eat dinner. Eating just one piece of chocolate doesn't work for me...usually because I start with one piece and then before I know it the whole bar/bag of chocolate is donezo. I try to stick with lower calorie post-dinner treats these days. Grapes are my ultimate favorite! Frozen of plain they always fill me up.

But lately this pumpkin pudding has really been satisfying my fall flavor sweet tooth.



Pumpkin' Pudding

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-1-2 tbsp Almond Milk
-2 tsp chia seeds
-1 tbsp Maple Syrup (optional)
-Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger to taste
-Whatever toppings you want (I used walnuts, craisins and shredded coconut)

Directions:
Mix pumpkin, almond milk, chia seeds and syrup and let sit for a few minutes until the chia seeds start to gel. Add spices and toppings and enjoy!

Because I love pumpkin oh so much I didn't add any maple syrup...because I think pumpkin tastes delicious straight outta the can. But I know other people don't have quite the pumpkin obsession that I do!


Ahh pumpkin you never cease to inspire me :)

Do your dinners/lunches sometimes leave your fullness factor unsatisfied? Whats your favorite after dinner hunger satisfying treat?

Pumpkin Apple Swirl Muffins

In order to get some of those you have to make your kitchen look like this...


And suffer some poorly lit pictures of the muffin making process!

Pumpkin Apple Swirl Muffins

Ingredients:

Wet
• 2 T ground flax + 6 T water, whisked (or 2 T chia seeds)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (1 small)
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup almond milk (I just realized I forgot to add the milk!)
• ½ cup finely chopped chunks of Apple

Dry
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• ½ t nutmeg
• ½ t ginger
• pinch of sea salt

Creamy Filling
• 2-3 Tbsp Chevre Cheese (or any kind of creamy cheese)
• ½ cup Pumpkin
• 2-3 TBSP grated apple

Crispy Fall Toppings (optional)
• Apple Chunks
• Walnuts
• Brown Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F. Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, stir the flax + water to create the ‘eggs’. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Add flax mixture and whisk. Next mix the dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to overstir! Grease muffin tin. Fill each individual muffin cup about ¼ of the way full. Stir together ingredients for creamy filling. Add a blob of filling to each muffin cup. Then top each muffin cup with the remaining batter. Each muffin cup should be about ½-3/4 full. Sprinkle each cup with mini apple chunks, chopped walnuts and brown sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes.


Don't worry the wet ingredients will look like a soupy mess.


How full my muffin tins were with the a dab of creamy filling on top.


And my creamy filling tasted a little bitter and was a neon orange but it cooked in perfectly and made these muffins so moist.

But I still got some beauties!


These suckers are MOIST and DENSE. I am in love. Seriously.

Can you see the swirls? It's hard they blend in but I promise that they're there! In some of the muffins the swirls of filling just cooked into the muffin in the middle, but no worries you can still taste it and it makes this great doughy, dense, texture.


But of course I have a few improvements in mind...I wish I would have remembered to top mine with apple chunks AND I wish I would have added about a 1/4 cup of walnuts to the dough. I just love the crunch of walnuts in muffins.


But overall these are the perfect muffin to make after a day of pumpkin carving and apple picking.

As always, Happy Fall! (and Monday...)