Soon after this I got to stop wearing pink ...
 |
| 6th birthday in Tampico, Mexico. L-R: me, my paternal grandmother, my brother |
Menu Plan Monday: Why Cook When You Can Toss?
June 22, 2014
Well, this past week was nice, weather-wise, and I forgot to menu plan, so there was a lot of cleaning out the fridge and using a few recipes from the previous week. The lentil stew and red beans and rice made meals for multiple days. In fact, I'm still eating lentil stew. I think I will freeze the rest for a rainy day.
And then I took a look at the upcoming weather
and decided that it will just be too damn hot in my apartment when I get home to cook. It's a pleasant 70-something outside now, but between 4-7PM my apartment heats up into the high 80s. The downside of living on the top floor.
I seem to have misplaced the lid to my slow cooker. So ....
Monday: Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing - with chicken for protein
Tuesday: Thai Chicken, Mango, and Pineapple Salad
Wednesday: Steak and Arugula Salad - minus the ciabatta and capers
Thursday: Salmon Cucumber Salad with whatever greens are left over from the previous recipes.
Friday: Mexican Chicken Salad
The lovely thing about this menu is that I can cook all of the meat except the salmon ahead of time and re-heat as necessary.
What are some of your favorite hot weather recipes?
And then I took a look at the upcoming weather
and decided that it will just be too damn hot in my apartment when I get home to cook. It's a pleasant 70-something outside now, but between 4-7PM my apartment heats up into the high 80s. The downside of living on the top floor.
I seem to have misplaced the lid to my slow cooker. So ....
Monday: Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing - with chicken for protein
Tuesday: Thai Chicken, Mango, and Pineapple Salad
Wednesday: Steak and Arugula Salad - minus the ciabatta and capers
Thursday: Salmon Cucumber Salad with whatever greens are left over from the previous recipes.
Friday: Mexican Chicken Salad
The lovely thing about this menu is that I can cook all of the meat except the salmon ahead of time and re-heat as necessary.
What are some of your favorite hot weather recipes?
Throwback Thursday: I Rocked a 'Fro
June 19, 2014
There aren't many baby pictures of me left in existence due to various family tragedies, but I found this one while cleaning this past weekend. That's me on (probably) my uncle's car in front of my grandmother's house in West L.A.
 |
| October 1977 |
Book Review: Derelict
June 18, 2014
Derelict by L.J. CohenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Overall I enjoyed most of the characters, the science and tech of the story. There was one plot point/character interaction that just struck cognitive dissonance for me, made my internal creeper alarm go off, and caused me to stop reading for a few days, but, I had to find out if the main characters made it back home safe and sound, or were left adrift in space, ready for a sequel.
Hopefully without giving too much away, you have a crew of misfit teenagers with more angst and abuse (physical, emotional, and mental) in their lives than should be crammed into one story, but it makes sense the more you read, the requisite missing parent for two of the main characters, and under-developed peripheral characters. I'm not sure if this is an accepted trend in YA literature or if it's because the writers have been raised on too many Disney movies. Yes, I am currently dis-enchanted with Disney, but that has nothing to do with _Derelict_, which is about as far from a typical Disney story as you can get.
Part of the dissonance for me was that the main characters were fairly well fleshed out, but the supporting cast were caricatures with barely enough substance to be the catalyst for everything that was wrong with the main characters when it came to their interpersonal relationships. It just didn't gel well and would take me out of the story. Luckily, being shot into space unexpectedly got the "crew" to get mostly over themselves and work cooperatively. Function out of dysfunction. It can happen.
The scenes concerned with only the main characters and the ship flowed extremely well and hit that page-turner pace that I enjoy and kept me engaged. I look forward to seeing Lisa really hit her stride and have everything, especially character development, come together into amazing stories.
View all my reviews
Welcome to the Menagerie
June 16, 2014
So this happened today ...
So I'm walking to the store (mostly in my own world) and this homeless lady asks me if I want a kitten. "Excuse me? Can you say that again?" "Do you want a curtain?" "A curtain? You need a curtain?" (I'm so confused) ... "No, I said, do you want a *kitten*?" pointing into her cart ...
At first I misunderstood her and thought she was a bit off and asking about curtains (probably because I had blackout curtains on the brain). She proceeded to tell me about her situation and how she couldn't care for the kitten, that she found on Friday 13th, thought she wanted a companion, but a 6-7 week kitten definitely wasn't it.
After much hemming, hawing, and purring... Geez I'm a soft touch. Especially after she said she tried a shelter but was turned away because they were full. And the poor thing was almost dehydrated....
So, we're going to the vet tomorrow and I'll decide from there. Zoe is a bit perturbed that she doesn't have free reign of the bedroom right now, and Josh is trying to pick a better name than "Luna" (given to her by the lady). So far he has suggested "Bagheera" and "Kiki". So far Luna has eaten twice, had a little water, and proven that she can use the litterbox and jump or climb at least three feet ...
Maybe I should name her "Sasha Fierce".
Pin It
 |
| Your legs make great scratching posts... |
 |
| ...and pillows |
At first I misunderstood her and thought she was a bit off and asking about curtains (probably because I had blackout curtains on the brain). She proceeded to tell me about her situation and how she couldn't care for the kitten, that she found on Friday 13th, thought she wanted a companion, but a 6-7 week kitten definitely wasn't it.
After much hemming, hawing, and purring... Geez I'm a soft touch. Especially after she said she tried a shelter but was turned away because they were full. And the poor thing was almost dehydrated....
 |
| I think I will nap nao... |
 |
| I know you made me a nice bed in a box, but your hamper full of clothes is more comfortable. |
Pin It
Recipe: B.L.A.S.T.
June 10, 2014
This was so tasty!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 pita sandwiches
Ingredients
Pin It
BLAST - Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Salmon, Tomato
Kicking up the standard BLT with salmon and avocado.
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 pita sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless salmon fillets
- 4 slices (turkey) bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup lettuce
- 2 avocados
- 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced
- to taste Cajun seasoning for dry rub
- pita wraps
- mayonnaise or mustard
- Heat grill to medium high.
- Sprinkle the salmon with the Cajun seasoning on both sides and place on grill.
- Cook about 10 minutes or until the salmon releases on its own. Flip to cook the other side.
- Add bacon around salmon and cook to desired crispness.
- While the salmon is cooking, slice your tomatoes and avocado.
- Let salmon cool and assemble the rest of the ingredients in the pita.
- Shred salmon into pita on top of other ingredients.
- Enjoy!
Pin It
Menu Plan Monday: Balance
June 8, 2014
I'm feeling a little bit under the weather as I plan this week's menu and I'm trying to balance the need for comfort food with sticking to my diet -- pardon me, lifestyle. Paleo is a lifestyle and the only way I have been able to lose and at this point, maintain and not go back up to 180 or higher. Especially since for the longest time my back didn't allow me anything more than walking.
I got on my scale this morning for the first time in about 6 months and was so pleased to see that I have only gained .5lbs, which I know is from emo-eating (work has been extremely stressful and, well, Mrs. Fields is right downstairs at work). For those of you who are following my weight-loss journey, it appears I've been holding steady between 168/169 since November of 2013. In the last few weeks I've started adding in a little yoga and core work.
And now for what you came here for:
Monday: Grilled Pineapple Chicken Burgers
Tuesday: Bacon Apple Cheddar Fritatta (with avocado) - recipe forthcoming
Wednesday: Caribbean Chicken with Black Bean Sauce - Experimental recipe for the week
Thursday: Lentil Stew
Friday: Shortcut Red Beans and Rice - this time with Trader Joe's Chicken Andouille sausage
Saturday: Leftovers, if there are any
Oh, and The Teen is home from college, hungry, and quite possibly on another growth spurt. I thought I was done with those from him ... so I will be making a few batches of banana bread and possibly homemade granola bars as well.
I got on my scale this morning for the first time in about 6 months and was so pleased to see that I have only gained .5lbs, which I know is from emo-eating (work has been extremely stressful and, well, Mrs. Fields is right downstairs at work). For those of you who are following my weight-loss journey, it appears I've been holding steady between 168/169 since November of 2013. In the last few weeks I've started adding in a little yoga and core work.
And now for what you came here for:
Monday: Grilled Pineapple Chicken Burgers
Tuesday: Bacon Apple Cheddar Fritatta (with avocado) - recipe forthcoming
Thursday: Lentil Stew
Friday: Shortcut Red Beans and Rice - this time with Trader Joe's Chicken Andouille sausage
Saturday: Leftovers, if there are any
Oh, and The Teen is home from college, hungry, and quite possibly on another growth spurt. I thought I was done with those from him ... so I will be making a few batches of banana bread and possibly homemade granola bars as well.
Throwback Thursday: High School Reunion
June 5, 2014
There's a reason why I pay other people to do my hair. When you forget what day your senior photo is on and then have to do it yourself...
Pin It
 |
| 1994 |
This is the result.
Pin It
Menu Plan Monday: SUMMER!
June 1, 2014
Summer means grilling! Yes, I know the official start of summer isn't until later this month, but everyone knows that Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend is when we check out mentally.
And for me, that also means as little time in the too small, too hot kitchen as possible. But neither do I want to be standing in the hot sun while my kids bask in air conditioned comfort. I have this stovetop grill that I picked up from LivingSocial last year (on sale again this year) so I don't even have to go down to the pool to grill. And it's really easy to clean up, though I wouldn't recommend trying to cook for more than four people at a time on it.
Monday: Grilled Tuna with summer fruit salad
Tuesday: Grilled Apple Chicken with (turkey) bacon wrapped asparagus and maybe a baked (nuked) potato for the growing Teen and Tween
Wednesday: Grilled Salmon Avocado Pitas
Thursday: Grilled Sirloin with coffee peppercorn crust and Dole Summer salad mix
Friday: Chicken Waldorf Salad
What are some of your favorite summer recipes?
Pin It
And for me, that also means as little time in the too small, too hot kitchen as possible. But neither do I want to be standing in the hot sun while my kids bask in air conditioned comfort. I have this stovetop grill that I picked up from LivingSocial last year (on sale again this year) so I don't even have to go down to the pool to grill. And it's really easy to clean up, though I wouldn't recommend trying to cook for more than four people at a time on it.
Monday: Grilled Tuna with summer fruit salad
Tuesday: Grilled Apple Chicken with (turkey) bacon wrapped asparagus and maybe a baked (nuked) potato for the growing Teen and Tween
Wednesday: Grilled Salmon Avocado Pitas
Thursday: Grilled Sirloin with coffee peppercorn crust and Dole Summer salad mix
Friday: Chicken Waldorf Salad
Pin It
