Pride tauntings

Brace Yourself

This is my lovely new brace.





Decorated and in action!



With my 3 legged horse friend

Master at work

I felt like cooking the other night, but seeing that I live in someone's basement, and given how the house above is owned by a chef, who happened to be honing his craft, I had to resort to ulterior means.

I haven't cooked in so long, I felt I had to jump on it as soon as the idea struck me. Otherwise, knowing myself, if I had waited for the kitchen to be freed, the moment would long have passed.

Thus, I came up with this:



I just pretended I lived in NYC and cooked a delicious meal of verde chicken.



Verde Salsa Recipe:

1 yellow heirloom tomato
3 red vine-ripened tomatoes
2 medium sized avocados
3 jalepenos
1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
half a lime
half cup of water
Salt if you prefer (I don't)

Chop the vegetables.
Combine the water and yellow tomato in the blender.
Then slowly add other ingredients in small increments, and blending each one in (I suggest starting with softer veggies so they blend better and don't grind the motor. Hence why I started with the big tomato).
Squeeze in the lime.
Add salt, if you wish, to taste.

I have a feeling I'll be doing some more cooking very soon...possibly even in a real kitchen.

I can't eat that: East Coast Edition

No ice cream cake. No Ninja Turtle pop with bubble gum eyes. No Philly cheesesteak and cheesefries. No Polish meatballs or lasagna. No pretzels, hot dogs, sno-cones, pizza, or funnel cakes from street vendors. No birthday cake...

Buuuut, I did make my own version of a hoagie from the veggie tray


and a chicken breast



Improvision at it's finest, Folks!

I also made Buddha Bowls with my friend Katie (This is her blog: Wellness Uncorked)


This is her recipe:
"One Pot Buddha Bowls
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, cous cous or brown rice
Veggies of your choice, chopped into bite size pieces (I like to use onions, broccoli, yellow or red peppers, tomatoes, and alfalfa or mung bean sprouts)
1/2 avocado, sliced into cubes
Salt and pepper to taste (or you can get fancy, and add a touch of salad dressing for a more interesting taste)

Directions:
1. Boil 2 cups of water. Add grain and reduce to warm. For quinoa, cook for 15 minutes. Cous cous only needs 5. Brown rice needs about 50 minutes.
2. When time is up (but not before), remove lid and fluff grain with fork.
2b. If you cooked a double serving of grains, remove half and let cool before packing up in Tupperware for a future meal.
3. Add chopped veggies to pot, stir, and re-cover. Let steam for 5 minutes.
4. Serve with avocado and salt and pepper or a balsamic dressing (for my favorite balsamic dressing, check out the recipe section of my website!)"

When I first met Katie a few years ago, she was a vegetarian and ate a lot of raw food. (I thought she was nuts) Now I'm reading her blog and going to her for information on healthy eating. Funny how things come full circle...

I ate pretty well on this trip considering last summer's food debacle when I went to Vegas with my Dad and ended up eating raw, dry oatmeal and ordering 500 dollar room service salads.