I feel bad.
Like– really bad.
I have not posted anything about my food adventures in quite some time. I would love to say I just haven't been keeping up with my blogging, but that's not the entire truth.
The entire truth is, I got a little concerned with working out and watering the garden and... well, then came the heat.
Heat is dangerous.
It can make a girl abandon all hopes of losing those last few pounds and take up a habit of stripping down upon arrival to the house and laying in front of the air conditioning while watching whatever Housewives are on at 5 o'clock. And if you give a girl some air conditioning, it isn't likely she'll get up and clean the house or be excited about cooking dinner.
May was really the month of tacos and over-priced pasta dishes. We were here, there and everywhere last month and turned to grabbing a quick dinner in the interest of getting everywhere on time. I think there were even a few evenings where dinner consisted of nothing more than nachos, popcorn and movie theater beef franks. (And the pounds are coming back.)Now– I haven't completely abandoned my mission for better food and a tasty lifestyle. My little garden is picking up. We've harvested black eyed peas (enough for a mouthful- note to self: next year plant more plants.), one little roma finally turned to a beautiful shade of red after weeks of waiting (and although it wasn't enough to make a sauce with, I did chop it up and garnish our tomato soup with it one evening) and the herbs are just taking off. I'm really learning that pinching back is the key to a good herb garden.
A few weeks ago I was cleaning out under the kitchen sink and came across my apron. I put it on for old times' sake and began heating up whatever was left in a carry-out box in the fridge. I was home for lunch and had turned on the television for some background noise. A familiar face was on the screen. *Jamie* I almost ran to the kitchen in an attempt to toss the leftovers out of sight. I felt so guilty.
It was a new show. 'Meals in Minutes' I believe. He was making a rustic salad and some duck breasts. Now, I was fresh out of duck breasts, but I did have a bit of lettuce and some ingredients for a dressing... and come to think of it, I could make a bit of pasta with some fresh basil and garlic... and I had a nice piece of tilapia in the fridge.
Within 15 minutes I had a beautiful lunch in front of me and another episode of Jamie was coming on. I sat down with my little meal and a glass of sun-tea and watched Jamie prepare a wild mushroom risotto.My spark is back, much like before.
To make matters worse, Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef have just premiered and I don't want to stay out of the kitchen. I prepared a meal list and we went shopping the next evening.
One of my new favorites is the Pioneer Woman. We tried three of her dishes last week and were thrilled. One was grilled pineapple fried rice with Shiracha Style Pork chops and had Cubano pork chops a bit later that week.I also made my first attempt at homemade Scalloped Potatoes.. which was a no brainer and so delicious I can not believe I've been making them from a box all these years (note: that, and the occasional Lipton mexican rice are the only things I really make from a box).
We even drug out the deep fryer and fried up some squash, shrimp and even a few pickles! A coworker brought me 3 HUGE zucchinis this week and I am already making plans for zucchini bread and some zucchini cakes (almost like hash browns)- can't wait to use the food processor for this one!
Needless to say, I am back on the wagon and I am working towards working out again. I get almost no movement at work during the day, so I need to start walking or *gulp* P90xing again. Still no sodas though and I have been trying to avoid processed foods, so still making an effort!
Hopefully my zucchini bread will turn out moist and delicious and I will have something more to write about.
But for now– think happy thoughts and join me in getting the motivation to try making risotto. (Gordan Ramsey mentions it about 50 times on Monday and Tuesday nights, so it's like Jamie has passed the word along and wants to give me a guilt trip about difficult challenges that need to be faced in my kitchen.)
Happy Eating.
