hazelnut... it does a body good

A few years ago, I thought I might be lactose-intolerant. I haven't figured out if I really am or not, but I have never gone back to cow's milk. Instead I went to soy, then lately was on an almond kick, but a week ago, I found hazelnut!!! YUM! I highly recommend it. The best of the milk substitutes that I have tried.

The facts:

It's so good. It's thick and hazelnutty... delicious! Adds a ton of flavor to my morning cereal.

Speaking of cereal, I have overcome my laziness a few times this week and made oatmeal on the stove. I managed to cut out additional sugar between the hazelnut "milk" and the berries or peaches I add in.

Here it is with blackberries:

I ate out a lot this weekend, but I attempted to balance that out with a healthy soup on Saturday night. I steamed asparagus, then threw it in the blender with a tiny bit of light cream, some water, and a bit of chicken broth powder. And voila!

In other news, I tried to make a clementine cake this weekend... I had a bad feeling when the clementines were boiling for 2 hours (yes, 2 hours!!!). I didn't like the smell, but thought maybe it would still turn out okay. But then the recipe called for ground almonds, which I did not find, so I ground them myself in my new 3-cup food processor. Of course, they weren't fine enough, but again, I thought it might do. I should also mention that the recipe called for this batter being prepared in a food processor - well my new little 3-cup one wasn't going to cut it so I used the blender. Definitely not meant for that. But despite all of this, I persevered, ever optimistic! As you may have guessed by now, it didn't work out. The texture was off, the taste wasn't very good, and the middle seemed undercooked. I was so disheartened that I couldn't even take a picture. It went straight into the trash, not even completely cooled yet. I really rarely mess up cakes - strange that I have now had to throw 2 cakes out in less than one month. What was my last post? Oh yes, listen to your gut! Ha! Well now I have that reminder every time I walk into my house: the boiling clementine smell that I didn't like is lingering. Perhaps the other lesson here is, make sure you have the right ingredients and tools before you embark on a recipe journey.

But let's end on a high note. To make up for the clementine cake, I made quatre quarts (or pound cake, or literally four fourths). I figured that the chances were low that something would go wrong with such a classic. Did you know that there is a very easy way to make one? This is how it's done in France: weigh your eggs, however many you want to use. The guideline is 2 eggs for 4 people. Then, use the same weight in sugar, butter, and flour. Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (or both extracts, as I did). I also threw in some quality French chocolate that I had finely chopped with my fantastic Wusthof knife. If you bake it as one cake, it will take about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I made cupcakes and they were in for about 25 minutes.

listen to your gut

That salmon that I've been thinking about since yesterday? Yeah, didn't turn out well.

I put a little bit of oil and lots of herbs on it and was kind of excited about eating it. I put it on the George Foreman grill and it must have cooked in a minute. I checked on it at 2.5 minutes and it was already overdone. What the heck!? I mean, I am all for a speedy dinner, but I was not prepared for this Mach speed. The spinach water was just getting to a boil! Had I listened to my gut when I first put it on the grill, I would have checked on it sooner and at least turned the grill off while the spinach cooked. Cold well-cooked salmon would have been better than overcooked dry but warm salmon. Oh well, lesson learned!

This did save me some Points though, because I could only eat half of my serving! Yeah for staying within my Points limit today! I will add some mayonnaise to the leftover salmon and make salmon salad. Could be gross, could be good. We'll find out.

When I think of it, I had a bunch of other fails today:

~ I tried to get my hair cut, but the place closes at 6 on Wednesdays,

~ I wanted to make clementine cake but had somehow missed the step that you have to simmer the clementines for 1-2 hours - not something I could start at 9 PM,

~ and a few other annoying things that happened today that are not worth mentioning.

But on the bright side, the blender is washed and ready to go. And, I have upgraded to a glass bowl - so grownup, right!? ;-)

think before you throw out

Note to self: Find another way to get rid of chocolate cake. The trash can was a bad idea. Now every time I throw something away, I get a whiff of chocolate cake and the matching craving to go with it. Good thing there is now dirt and other trash on top of the cake or else I would have been fully capable of digging in there for a piece.

Well I did make a smoothie on Saturday morning:

But... I didn't get the chance to blend it all the way before my blender decided to crap out. Also, it had too much liquid. So between the noticeable chunks of clementine fibers and the unpleasant texture, it wasn't very satisfying.

The dead blender:

There was some rubber part that made the blender go, and every time I used it, it would leave me some nice droppings:

Good riddance, I guess.

I complemented this mediocre breakfast with a slice of bread with some peanut butter and honey. I don't get what the big deal is with that combo - didn't think it was anything spectacular.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to some better food throughout the day. I had a delicious salad out with my friend. It included: spinach, chicken, avocado, gorgonzola, bacon (which I did not eat), and a yummy dressing. Dinner was Pad Thai - always a winner!

Food-wise, Sunday is turning out okay. Breakfast wins the best-bang-for-your-buck(/Points) award: oatmeal, milk, brown sugar, and berries. So delicious and really sticks to your belly! Perhaps I should buy a microwave to be able to make some myself. Yes, I know, it is possible to make oatmeal in a saucepan, however, it requires too much effort. Yes, that's right, too much effort. I'm lazy.

Lunch was nothing spectacular: an egg, pasta, and fresh mozzarella. I added lots of paprika for flavor. The trash can smell forced me to have 2... well okay 3... well actually, 4 pieces of chocolate. And I defrosted a blondie brownie that I made a few weeks ago. But come on, how can you possibly expect me to smell chocolate every time I throw something out and not give in to my chocolate craving? Just be thankful I didn't dig through the garbage can, mmmkay?!

I will leave you with this hilarious video. It is completely unrelated to food, but absolutely worth sharing. Enjoy!

where have you been all of my life?

I'm not really sure when I started being more interested in eating healthier and more varied foods. A few years ago, I guess. And in the last few months I've been reading a bunch of foodie blogs (see which ones on the right). But what set off this foodie tendency in me is a kale/banana/mango smoothie eaten at Strawberry Fields in Phoenixville, PA. Why didn't I know about kale before? It's my new favorite vegetable. Think of it like spinach, but with more flavor.

I went home from the smoothie-eating experience and decided that I, too, could make smoothies with kale. The first one was so-so, but the second attempt... YUM! The secret, for anyone who wants to try, is to blanch the kale first.

Without further ado, the smoothie:

Ingredients:
- kale, probably about 1/2 c. after blanched, which is maybe 2 cups raw
- 1/4 c. of juice (I used v8 pomegranate + green tea)
- 1/4 c. of mango sorbet
- 3 clementines, peeled
- 1 banana, peeled
- 1/2 c. frozen papaya chunks
- 3.5 oz Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp. flax seeds (optional)
(or really, whatever you have on hand. I just happen to know that this combination is a winner.)

Directions:
Blanch the kale. (Here is how to blanch it... and what to do with the leftovers)
Add all ingredients to the blender and blend for a loooong time.

Makes 2 normal servings or 1 big, delicious smoothie.