Menu Plan Monday: I have no idea what to cook

March 30, 2015

No really, I am drawing a blank. I'm craving carbs like nobody's business, but you know, inflammation. And if I was just cooking for myself, it would be easier than cooking for the both of us.

Last night we had steak salad, IP ate two whole steaks. I think there is a growth spurt on the horizon.
Based on what I have in the freezer and minimal shopping, I think I will go with ... a trip around the world. I have severe wanderlust kicking in.

Monday:  America - Tilapia (for me) Salmon (for her) with green beans and cherry tomatoes.
Tilapia
Tilapia

Tuesday:  Mexico - Lettuce Wrapped Tacos (hey, it's Tuesday)
Tacos
Taco fixings

Wednesday: India - Chicken Curry (yes, I add peas and carrots to my curry).
Chicken Curry
Chicken Curry

Thursday: Caribbean - Jerk Chicken - sweet potato for me, mixed veggies for her. And maybe some plantains. Nom.
Jerk Chicken on Sweet potato
Jerk chicken on sweet potato

Friday: England - Roasted Cornish Game Hens with roast veggies.
Cornish hen with veggies
Cornish hens with squash and sweet potato

Saturday: Leftovers, if there are any. When she likes something, she really likes it. Unless a miracle happens and we go to WonderCon.

Sisterlocks Update

March 26, 2015
March 2014 - Wow, a year ago they were nowhere near collar bone length!
Back then, I don't remember complaining about the thickness or being too hot every day either.
Hey, look! It's late March. I can't believe it's been a year since my last update. Time sure does fly when I am not obsessing about my hair. Well, only occasionally obsessing about it. I can only see real change in the length of it on wash and henna days, otherwise, it's still shrinking 50-75%.
I've played with different styles and tried curling with both Flexi-Rods and Bantu knots. I finally resorted to just using a curling iron to save time and some of my sanity. The curls still fall by the end of the day. My loctitian suggested Lottabody, and the next time I am able to have a Saturday or Sunday as wash day, I will be curling my hair. I also need to purchase a bonnet style hair dryer to make that particular experiment work. I now know from experience that it takes my hair two days to dry when I use Flexi-Rods or Bantu knots. It just looks better at this stage styled in some way.

Because I have multiple textures, some of my ends are raggedy. I'm almost fully locked in the back and middle, but my front, which is more like Amer-Indian hair, is taking forever (as in still in the coil phase and not budding).

Hunting down the photos took some time, so these are all unedited. Hope I don't break your screen!

April 2014 - Just a little fun at Clockwork Couture. I opted not to post the one of me trying on a waist-cincher.


This counts as collar length, right?

Middle of April and it was cold enough for my peacoat. 

May 2014 -  Definitely collar length now. Still thin enough that I could use the hair jewelry that I mentioned in last year's post.

Volume is not an issue for me.

 #FridayFace Crown - I was trying out a new style because HOT!
Gotta get these locks off of my neck.

And I even survived Detroit over the Memorial Day Weekend.

June 2014 -  I think I see some length now.
Amazingly, he doesn't want to play with my hair.

Good enough for LinkedIn

July 2014 -  The awesome thing about Sisterlocks is that I don't have to carry a ton of products when I travel.

Sun's out guns out. This was taken at Fort Warren in MA.

This is just one of my favorite photos from last year.

August 2014 - LOCAVERSARY!
 I decided to celebrate by buying Flexi-rods and seeing what would happen. You can read all about it during one of my first Blogs of August posts.
Big, fat juicy curls. Not exactly what I was aiming for.

'Nuff said.

More experimentation. I was trying for a braided crown,
but it got super chunky halfway through.

September 2014

Still doing great with water sports.

October 2014 -  There are these, and then there is the Octopus Bun.
I think I have discovered the perfect recipe for my henna.

There's a con a'coming and I need to stretch the hat,
otherwise, I will have a monster headache.


Past my chin, awesome.

A little wild after a long day at work.
At least it's not standing up on end.

November 2014 -  Nerdvember really stretched my creativity, not only with clothing choices, but with what I could do with my hair.
Tiana/Naveen
Hello, Sweetie.

Browncoats unite!

Aimed for 1940's look for Veteran's Day.

Mrs. Doubtfire

December 2014 - This is the only one I could find that I liked.

January 2015 -  This was the month I discovered some ridiculously long locks. Some of them are almost 20" long! I just wish it was more uniform. And I haven't fully locked, so I can't even get a decent trim.

Fresh henna

I still need to write my review of this stuff
I twist a lot to keep it off my face.
Ponytail holders just don't work anymore.

February 2015
I clean up well.

Big hair...


March 2015 - Finally long enough to use one of those donut bun makers, but it took longer to tuck and get it to look right than to take my shower and dress! Not worth it, though I was complimented enough that I will probably pull it out for special occasions. You can also see the results of curling my bangs with a curling iron.
Fresh re-ti and my hair loves to fly in the wind.





This was using  a large bun maker.
I couldn't fit all of my hair into it
and had to leave about 1/4 out.

The Improv Kitchen: Gluten Free Asian Orange Chicken Tenders

March 24, 2015

Gluten Free Orange Chicken Tenders


By
Published:
My daughter loves orange chicken. However, traditional orange chicken is breaded in wheat flour and the sauce contains soy. I modified my old recipe and came up with gluten and soy free orange chicken tenders. They were quite delicious despite not having coconut aminos as a soy sauce replacement.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Yield: 2-3 servings
Serving size: 1-2 chicken tenders


Ingredients
  • chicken tenders
  • 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
Cooking Directions
  1. Brown chicken in coconut or olive oil over medium heat.
  2. While chicken is browning, combine spices, honey, 1 cup water, and orange juice. Mix until honey is dissolved.
  3. Pour over chicken, bring to boil, then simmer for 15 miutes.
  4. Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water (more if needed), pour into sauce and stir until thickened.
  5. Serve with steamed rice or paleo alternative and steamed veggies.

Menu Plan Monday: Add a Little Spice

March 22, 2015
I planned this menu last week and never got around to the grocery shopping. We ended up eating whatever I could throw together from the fridge and eating out at least twice. Not good for my budget.

Lately, I've had to make even more adjustments to our diet (read that as "lifestyle") and how I cook. In addition to dairy intolerance, tolerable if she takes a Lactaid, my daughter's soy intolerance is a borderline allergy. She can't have anything that contains soy oil (looking at you Trader Joe's snacks), or that has soy lecithin. Did you know that stuff is in practically everything? I couldn't even buy tapioca for the pie I made (recipe and link coming soon).
It tasted so much better than it looks.


Book Review: The Engines of God

March 19, 2015
The Engines of God (The Academy, #1)The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was my first exposure to Jack McDevitt -- I'm glad I got this as a library book instead of purchasing. I was disappointed after all of the hype I had read and heard about this series. It caused no excitement and took me over three weeks to read. It's not that long of a book, and I'm not that slow of a reader.


Menu Plan Monday: Baby it's cold outside!

March 2, 2015
My daughter came home Sunday afternoon and started asking about dinner right away. Grilled eggplant didn't go over so well (she let it get cold), but the grilled cajun salmon was a hit. Then the requests for meals started coming fast and furious. Every single request was a type of chili.

Monday: Beef and Bean Chile Verde
Tuesday: Three-bean Chili (from scratch)

Wednesday: Chicken Chili
Chicken chili

Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Turkey chili

At least she's getting lots of lycopene this week. I'll probably have to make a few batches of gluten-free cornbread to go along with all of this chili.



Still feeling a little silly.
Back to Top