Turny and Rotating Thingo

Hello Beautiful Creatures.

Big news. I HAVE INTERNET and oh, what a glorious feeling it is!

Funny how you don’t realize how much you depend on something until it is taken away from you.

Now that I’m settling into the new house, the new job, and the new quarter of school.

Well actually, life is not slowing down at any point and I am just going to have to try my best to keep it up with it.

Good thing I love being busy :).

What have I been up to in the meantime?

Orientation week leading and the first week of classes, so lots of grab-n-go (or buy-from-whole-foods-n-go)

Salad: Rocket and Spinach mix, peppers, onion, mushrooms,Hatch-a-mole

Hatch-a-mole is guacamole with hatch chiles mixed in. I saw Whole Foods roasting their hatch chiles (local from CO) in the morning in some giant contraption.

You don’t want me to describe this contraption because I will use words like “turny”and “rotating thingo”.

The hatch-a-mole was so good I promptly returned and bought a container of hatch chiles.

 Also spotted:

I noticed a bunch of chia-filled drinks on the shelf (Synergy included)

I love chia, so I figured this could be a cool concept.

It was really interesting and different.

Then the novelty wore off and I realized this tasted to slimy, like I was swallowing a drink filled with bugs.

Not for me.

I’ll be back soon with all sorts of eats.

Casey

Go Flax Yourself

As I was perusing my local Wholf website for coupons and sales this week something popped out at me:

Free Romantic Cooking Class

I let the romantic part slide by and focused on the free cooking class at Whole Foods aspect!

Um, yes…. sign me up!

Who needs a romantic partner for a cooking class?

I brought my wing woman instead.

So Tash and I are super excited, cause we think were gonna get our hands dirty in this cooking class.

Well they might have emphasized the ‘cooking’ part more than we should have.

It was more of a demonstration…

It started off with a cheese tasting which was Awe-some.

On the plate:

• La Tur – cow goat and sheep’s milk Italy – (the small square)
• Campo de Montalban – cow, goat, and sheep’s milk – Spain – (long triangular cheese)
• Robiola di Bosina – cow and sheep’s milk – Italy – (the round edged one)
• Cherry Blossom Honey
• Marcona Almonds
• Pear Paste
• Crackers

We were encouraged to try different pairing and find our favorite flavor combinations.

The La Tur was very creamy with less flavor and paired well with the pear paste.

The Camp de Montalban tasted like a manchego. I ate it with the almonds.

The Robiola di Bosina was my favorite. It tasted like the lovechild of Chevre and Camenbert. Creamy and just a tad tangy.

I paired it with the Cherry Blossom Honey which was DEE-vine.

On the menu for the rest of the evening:

• Lobster Mac n Cheese
• Panfried Ribeye with Chausseur Sauce
• Banana’s Foster

We started to get a little burnt out after the cheese. It was kind of tiring just watching someone cook and not being able to do anything.

The ‘class’ was getting superlate so…

We retreated before dessert.

and…..I have ADD

No pictures were snapped after the cheese. It wasn’t that exciting and I was kind of ready to bolt when the mains were being served.

I’m not really a fan of pasta. I don’t really know how this came about, but the only time I ever really eat pasta is in small quantities and I only really like gnocchi (what are potato dumpling anyways) and sometimes cannelloni.

So I wasn’t really loving the Mac n Cheese.

The ribeye? Well… I couldn’t eat that but Tash said it was delicious.

Oh, Whole Foods: I still love you. But I’ll leave the cooking classes to my own kitchen.

I figured since I was already at the Wholf, I may as well get my grocery shopping done now.

Convenience will always win out.

Before the ‘class’ I noshed on this:

Tofurkey, Rocket, Swiss and Vegemite melted on Sourdough Wasa

I’m normally not a calorie counter, but I was shocked this usual snack only clocked in at 100 calories.

What’s in store for the weekend? Oh lots, my friends, lots. I am doing kitchen damage this weekend.

Preview:

Valentines Day Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake

Sticky Date Pudding Two Ways (Vegan and Non)

Those are the main events, but I have a few other things in store if time permits.

I have a bunch of exciting things in store for this weekend: I’m seeing Kevin Nealon perform standup and I’m also running in a 5k at Wash Park.

I haven’t run a race since I PR-ed in the Melbourne 10k, but I also kind of hurt myself that race.

I’ve noticed myself getting more winded when I run up en las montanas, so my goal is just to have fun with it and not worry about my time!

Silly me: I forgot to give you a flax fact yesterday

Flax Fact of the Day: Rapid moisture loss is the first sign of fatty acid deficiency. This includes dry skin, brittle hair and nails.

Flax has one of the highest concentrations of DPA and EHA (ya know, the one in salmon and swordfish?)

If it can be used in pet food to make your Golden Retriever have more lustrous hair. I think it may on yours too 😉

So what are you waiting for? Go Flax Yourself!

 

What are your weekend plans?

 

Casey

Taste the Earth

Happy Thursday!

I’m looking forward to some nice weather for a change. Double-digit negative temps get old after….about five seconds.

I was in such a savory and green filled mood today.

I developed a brief love affair with Rocket in Australia. Only to discover they call it Arugula back here in the U S of A

Not as exotic as I thought, huh?

Well it was still hard to track down at any grocery store!

Rocket Salad with Sunflower Market Chipotle Salsa, Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, and a spritz or two of Balsamic Vinegar
I also had a nosh on this:Rye Wasa Cracker topped with Tofurkey, spinach, and stone ground mustard

x 2

I was feeling creative bored, so I decided to whip up a bunch of variations of the Vegan Frosting Recipe.

(read: I had two containers of tofu that were about to go bad if I did not use them.)Three variations in total. I kept the recipe the same. The only part I altered was subbing out any added sweetener and the cinnamon for other variations.
Carob Version: made with carob & chocolate amazing grass .

*My Favorite*

It has a hint of coffee flavor to it even though I didn’t add any coffee!Maple Nutmeg Cinnamon Version: Added pure maple syrup, nutmeg, and cinnamon.Green Monster Version: Added Spinach, Agave and Vanilla Chai Amazing Meal (which gave it a berryish flavor)

Taste the Rainbow? Ummm…

How about Taste the Earth?

I could paint a very zen room with my earth tone collection of vegan frosting 😉

Once I figure out a way to consume all of this frosting (Don’t worry I am enlisting in the help of willing friends)

I have ambitions of creating a peanut butter variation. mmmmm

 

Okay soo no flax was consumed today…but lucky you!

You get a Flax Fact of the Day just for shits and gigs

 

Flax Fact of the Day: Ya know omega 3 enriched eggs?

Well basically that just chickens who were fed a diet with a lot of flax in it

So, why don’t you just skip a step and eat the flax yourself?

 

Casey