Day 4

This'll be a short entry, mostly because it's, like, 10 at night and I had 2 beers with dinner.

Sooooooooo...it's almost bedtime.

Today's tacos:

Mushroom Black Bean Breakfast Tacos,
roasted rosemary potatoes on the side

This is another Pinterest recipe, found here.  I changed the recipe a little by using cremini mushrooms and doubling most of it.  Basically, sautee mushrooms, add butter, add black beans, add garlic, put in bowl.  Then scramble eggs.  Shred cheese and chop cilantro.  Put all of these things in a shell.  BOOM.  Tasty-ass taco. 

Seriously, though?  There is something very wonderfully simple and delicious about mushrooms sauteed with garlic.  I loved the hell out of them.  I think the dudes I fed them to also approved. 

The rosemary roasted potatoes recipe came from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.  They've become a staple at our house.  Easy to make, super flavorful.  Acutally, Harry Potter love aside, it's a pretty darn good cookbook.  Lots of British recipes, not as much boiled meat as you'd think (although a surprising number of steamed casseroles). 

Wait, can you guys even believe that I put Harry Potter love aside for anything, even just to compliment some HP themed stuff? 

Personal growth. 

Not really.   I just said I was putting aside HP love, but I didn't acutally.  I can tell because I'm still wearing my Slytherin Quidditch Team Captain t-shirt. 

It's not the first HP shirt I've worn this week.

Am I rambling?  I'd better go.  See you tomorrow.  The calendar says "turkey."  I should probably spend a little time figuring out what I mean by that before it gets too late.  Probably in means I'm going to have to stop at the store tomorrow night.  

Damn.

Day 3

Um, hi.

So I'm going to talk tacos, but then I want to tell you about my trip to the gym today (it's probably a good idea to exercise if you're going to do something like eat tacos every single day).  The gym thing is on the front of my mind, so I'm maybe going to breeze through the taco thing.

Ready?  Ok.

Today was Avocado Chicken Salad Tacos for lunch day.  I used flour tortillas, spinach, and salsa with my chicken salad.  On the side, leftover apple/asian pear salad and a piece of birthday cake.

Side note about birthday cake: I love it when coworkers have birthdays.  Turns out, I also kinda love it when the sticker on the outside of a cake box says something like, "white cake filled with 2 lbs of vanilla creme."  2 POUNDS OF VANILLA CREME.

Here's the tacos:

That orange in the picture is still in the fridge at work. Instead, I had cake.  Obviously.

The avocado chicken salad was pretty darn good.  The idea is to use mashed avocado instead of mayo.  I'm no food scientist, but seems like a pretty safe bet that 1 avocado is better for you than an equal amount of mayo.  I made ours with 2 poached chicken breasts (I am thankful that chicken breast poaching is a part of my life now.), 1 ripe avocado, 1 handful chopped cilantro, 2 sliced green onions, salt, pepper, and the juice of 1 lime.  The blog from whence the recipe originally came is here.  You know what?  If you don't have a Pinterest account, get with the program, sign up, and start following me...or at least my 30 Days Of Tacos board.  Pinterest will change your life (or at least fill it with pretty pictures).

Now, for my much anticipated 

Story About The Gym,

or

Why I Don't Like Zumba.   

I went to my first hour-long kickboxing class 2 weeks ago.  I felt tired, and sweaty, and amazing afterwards, and was looking forward to making this class a weekly thing.  Last week, circumstances kept me from kickboxing, but I'd been excited to get back to it this week.  After work, I did a little grocery shopping (for tomorrows tacos), tried to take a nap (I love naps, but usually suck at actually sleeping during them), and changed into some ass-kicking gear.  When I arrived at the gym, I checked in, filled my waterbottle, and headed into Studio A to await class.  A few minutes before class started, a stranger informed us that she would be substitute teaching for the normal instructor, but that she would be teaching Zumba instead of Kickboxing. 

I was not impressed. 

I tried very hard, however, to keep an open mind.  I'd heard that Zumba is an excellent workout, and the muscular looking people in the Zumba infomercials sure seem to like it. 

It wasn't the workout that kickboxing seems to be.  Please don't misunderstand me.  I did sweat.  Just not with the intensity with which I expected.  Also, Zumba seems to be almost exactly the opposite of kickboxing on the cardio-class spectrum.  I like kickboxing because there are punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and jumps.  Everyone is doing the same thing.  I get to pretend to punch the back of the head of the girl in front of me, and then pretend to kick the knee of the girl next to me.  It's refreshingly violent.  Also, there are a finite number of Tuesdays for me to practice kickboxing before the inevitable zombie apolcalypse, and I'd really like to be as skilled at ass-kicking as possible when that happens.

Zumba, on the other hand, is much more about feeling awkward and clumsy and self concious.  It's all loose hips, flaily arms, and the only thing you get to strike is a pose at the end of the song.  It will help in the zombie apocalypse only if it's the kind of zombies from Thriller.

So, that was my gym experience.  I was thinking during class that finding a Zumba class and continuing to go to it would probably make me a better person (the kind who can have fun doing Zumba, dance in public, dance in the privacy of my own home, sing in the shower, etc...), but I'd rather not feel uncomfortable so I probably won't do that.  Ew.

THE END

Ok, see you guys tomorrow!

Days 1 and 2

Howdy, folks!  I hope everyone's had a good couple of days of tacos!  We certainly have.  I've even stuck to my cooking plan for 2 (and tomorrow's already taken care of, so 3) days in a row!  It doesn't seem like much, but I assure you I've usually deviated far from my cooking plan by Monday.

Ok, so pictures.  Here's day 1:

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Tacos

This Barbacoa Recipe was super duper delish.  I cut the recipe on that blog in half, since 30 tacos sounded like a few too many for just the two of us.  I also used skirt steak instead of brisket because they didn't have any brisket at Kowalskis and the butcher told me skirt steak would work well, too.  (I'm only 80% sure about the whole "skirt steak" thing, it could have been something else like that).  The lesson here is to buy meat from a store with a butcher, 'cause those guys know how to make good meat.
Next time I'd probably use more chipotles in adobo, but DAMNIT it was good.  Derek made the soft shells (he sure is good at that) and we topped them with cilantro, shredded cheese, and green onions.  On the side was a spinach salad with green apple/asian pear slaw and goat cheese crumbles.  I figured out a quick recipe, but it was all Derek's idea (other than the goat cheese crumbles...goat cheese is always my idea).  I suppose I'll share it with you, since this is sort of a food blog, and I went to all the trouble of taking a picture of it.

Green Apple and Asian Pear Slaw

1 green apple, julienned
1 asian pear, julienned
1 small handful cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash of salt and pepper
Several handfuls of baby spinach
Goat cheese crumbles

1. Be very careful while julienning the apple and pear.  Round fruit is awkward to cut, and sharp knives WILL remove finger...and finger nail...and then you'll have to look like this, and you'll have to answer a lot of questions:

ok, so this happened a month ago, not while
I was julienning apples yesterday, but I sure was nervous
about doing this to myself again.

2. In a large bowl, toss together apple, pear, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
3. Add a few handfuls of the spinach and toss them all together to incorporate.
4. Sprinkle goat cheese on when serving.


Aaaaaand, here's Day 2:

Cilantro Lime Pesto Chicken Tacos

That recipe is here.  I loved how bright-green the pesto turned out, and there's plenty left over for use at a later date.  We topped these with shredded cheese, diced tomato, and a little extra drizzle of the pesto.  In the background, my sweet potato and carrot fries lay, quietly waiting to be so much spicier than I thought.  I've made these things a few times before, but I made 'em without the recipe this time, and it turns out that dumping cayenne, chili powder, and cumin onto them with wreckless abandon is a questionable decision. 

Questionable indeed.

But the chicken was really good, and Derek killed it with the tortillas again.



Can I just tell you guys that here, on day 2, we've almost made it through 2 bunches of cilantro already?  That's a lot of cilantro.  Plus, like, 3 limes.  In 2 days!  Also, there seems to be a lot of cheese-shredding involved. 

But I knew that would happen. 

I'd like to keep talking to you guys, but this blog entry is getting a little long and I don't want to set a precedent (no, I didn't have to look up how to spell precedent...shut up).

OK, so you guys keep on tacoin', and I'll be back with some more pictures and words soon!

Happy 30 Days Of Tacos!

So glad you all could join us for another round of 30 Days of Tacos!  I've been working on a little calendar to provide some ideas for the month.  I almost certainly won't follow it exactly (come on, there's only, like, 4 restaurant days in the whole month which is, erm...not likely) but I'll do my best. 

For each day, there is a recipe, or a link to the blog or website or whatever where the recipe came from, or a note about how you should go out and buy the cookbook that the recipe came out of. 

Actually, just go out and buy The Feed Zone Cookbook right now, and then you won't have to worry about it.

Anyways, here's the calendar (it's also available in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, aptly titled "Taco Calendar")

So today is Barbacoa Beef tacos, which you guys can't make since it's a crockpot meal and I started mine already like 2 hours ago.  You could probably do it another day, though.  It already smells good, but I will, as always, fill you in on how tasty (or not) it was later on. 

I also thought we should talk today a little about 30DOT preparedness.  So, a few tips:

• Have a Plan
• Use the calendar, or make your own.  You certainly don't need the whole month planned out, but it helps to at least know where you're going to get the days taco when you leave the house in the morning.
• Have Tortillas
• Hard to make tacos without shells.  Even if you plan on making most of your shells from scratch, it never hurts to have a few store bought tortillas (or hard shells, if that's how you roll) at home, just in case you get home from work and are way too lazy tired to go to the trouble.  30DOT is about enjoying tacos, not about being super duper inconvenienced.
• Have a Shopping List
• Put cilantro on it.  It's amazing how many taco recipes (and not just Mexican ones) use cilantro.  Just make sure you wash it well.  I think I read part of an article (or maybe just the headline) about it being dirty or having pesticides on it or something....I dont really remember....but washing stuff is probably a good idea anyways.
• Be Creative
• If it's diced, shredded, long and thin, saucy, ground, or contains cilantro, it will probably fit beautifully into a taco shell.  If it's one of your favorite recipes, there's probably a way to change it so that it fits into a taco shell.  Get nuts!

A few of you (erm, all 4 of my readers) probably participated in the First Annual 30 Days Of Tacos, so I bet you have some tips, too.  Do tell!

I made it just for you

Hey there, everybody!  Taco season is closing in fast, and I know that we're all busy with our hectic taco-related schedules, so I took some time to do something just for you.  I wanted us all to be able to take a moment to pause and remember what this glorious Season of Tacos is all about.

So I drew you a picture. 

Feel free to post it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, your desktop background, the lock screen on your phone, printed on photo-quality paper and framed in your home.

Wherever it will bring you the most joy.

You're welcome.

Reasons Why I'm Not Running Today

Hey, party people!  Today, in lieu of pictures of everything I've eaten this week, I thought I'd mix things up and supply a list of reasons that I'm not outside running right now.

1. This little piggy is sore.
1. Last Friday, I tripped, in the dark, over a suitcase wheel.  The result was sustaining (in very quick succession) an ouchie left 'ate roast beef' piggy, a small rug burn on my right knee, and a minor head injury.  I kicked the suitcase, which sent me flying, head first, into a door jam.  Ouchie.  I've decided the toe probably isn't broken (it seems like it'd still hurt worse than it currently does), but it's still sore. 
1. Maybe it totally was broken, but my Mutant Power is quick bone healing.  That would be a good Mutant Power for any of the X-Men (see: Wolverine), but kind of a lame one for someone such as myself who is not often in peril.
2. Last night's workout: 
1.  I did weightlifting class at the gym last night.  I mean, I always do that on Wednesday night, and it doesn't usually stop me from exercise on Thursday morning, but last night was the kind of workout where it was hard to go up a flight of stairs afterwards.  My muscles aren't even stiff yet, they're still tired.  I'm not looking very forward to later this afternoon when most of the moving parts of my legs start to seize up.  I am, however, looking very forward to the massage I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. (thanks for that gift certificate, Farrigs!)
1. Ok, so I know what you're saying.  You're saying, "But Becky, the best way to keep muscles from getting all stiff is to exercise again!" To which I must reply, "What's that?  I'm sorry, I can't hear you. You're breaking up.  Must be a bad connection. Ok, bye!"
3. I miss you guys:
1. I feel like we hardly ever hang out and talk anymore.  You're busy, I'm busy, we're busy.  So I thought, if I have to be the one to sacrifice one of my top 5 most favorite activities* so that I can talk to you guys, so be it. 
1. No, please, don't cry.  It's ok.  We still get to talk sometimes.  And look, we're together right now, see?  So everything will be alright.  Don't worry about me.  Like i said, I'm totally willing to not run, even thought I love it dearly**, because I love you more. 
4. Sidewalk Construction:
1. The city of Minneapolis seems to have decided to tear up every sidewalk in out part of town.  They did our block last week, and there are orange cones and "Road Work" signs all over the place.  On Thursdays I usually run around the neighborhood because I don't want to go quite as far as all the way around a lake before a full work day.  Since I'm not completely sure which blocks are currently torn up, it would be perilous for me to run around.  I'd have to run in the street, probably.  I'd get hit by a car. 
1. Why are you so keen on my getting hit by a car?
5. The weather is terrible outside.  I mean truely.  Blech. 
1. Ok, this isn't even close to being true.  It's 65 and sunny.  We have the windows open.  It's glorious.  If it was a little later in the day and I didn't have to go to work later, I'd totally want to be outside with a beer. 

Really, last night I looked at the forecast and was like, "Aww, man, it's supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow!  Damnit!  I'd really rather it was raining all morning.  Lame." sadface. 

So while all of those reasons are true, none of them are the actual reason I'm not running.  If I'm honest with myself, I think I'll find that I'm not running because I'd rather be in my pj's writing blogs and watching Gilmore Girls reruns.  And really, who wouldn't?

I feel bad not giving you guys any pictures to look at, so here's a dog face:

Ok, blog over.  I have to go watch Gilmore Girls reruns or some more Eclipse special features or something.  (You guys?  I'd like us to climb into the Trust Tree for a second here: I know how lame this is, but I'm already getting kind of excited about the next Twilight Saga installment.  I know it's not out until November, and I understand that this movie will be just as bad as the last 3, but I can't help it, I just love it.  Not as much as Harry Potter, obviously.  And I'm also so excited that I'm totally peeing right now that HP 7.2 comes out in theaters in LESS THAN A MONTH!!! and all that.   Hey, do you guys think we should have, like, a Harry Potter party just before the next movie?  Maybe we should.  What do you think?)

kthnxbai


*not true

**very much not true.

Wanna see some pictures of some stuff?

You guys?  I was just going through my phone, and I have, like, a billion-ty pictures to show you since last time.  Mostly of food.

You like food, right?

So ok, a lot of time has passed since last time, and I've eaten a lot of meals, but nothing all that actually exciting has happened.  There was a birthday party, and this other party, and then this other event, too. 

Ok, so some stuff has happened.

The parties were fun.  Dan and Jacqie had a thing at their house.  We met some new peeps (maybe just I met some new peeps.  I think Derek had met most of them before) and there was this guy who was extra good at singing and guitaring.  Live music at a last-minute house party?  Word.

There was also a fundraising event at Sigh Yoga for their MS 150 team.  There was beer and wine and a food truck (I'd totally link them if I could remember the name of the thing.)  The food truck had tacos.  I took a picture of them.....habit.

They were spicy and flavorful and delicious; and served in a paper boat, which makes everything tastier.

The fundraiser also had a dunk tank and hula hoops.  Jacqie forced me to try the hoops.  I did better than I thought I would, but I certainly can't stand around hulaing forever like Jacqie and Becky (the other one, not me) can.  Them ladies has mad hula skillz.


OMG I was just looking at the other pictures that I've taken since last time I blogged, and I totally have to tell you guys about my most recent British Culinary Adventure.

So there's a recipe in the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for Pease Pudding (or Pease Porridge).  Like the nursery rhyme.  It's basically cooking the everloving shit out of split peas in chicken stock with onions and garlic.  It was pretty good, although I kind of hoped it would be amazing.  I didn't know what to make it with, so it ended up being on the side of mesquite pork tenderloin with spicy schezuan green beans.  I think I called it an 'international meal' or something.  It looked like this:

That's the pudding there in the back.  I'm guessing it's terribly healthy.  That guess is based on the assumption that ugly food is better for you.  Cake=Pretty.  Cake=bad for you.  Therefore, Pretty=bad for you. 

Boom.

Last night I got to make one of my favorite meals.  It's a great big salad with zucchini, chicken, red onion, spinach, parmesean, pecans, and mint.  The dressing is just olive oil and lemon juice.  I just went to see if I could link it for you, but the link on the Martha Stewart page is broken. 

But anyways it's a Martha Stewart recipe. 

It makes a whole lot.  I look very forward to eating some for lunch today. 

I just looked at the picture I took of it.  It's awful.  So you guys can't see it.  That's maybe ok, because how many pictures of my food do you really need?

Last week, True Blood Season 3 came out on DVD.  I love that Target puts new releases on sale the first week they're out.  I also love True Blood.  I finished rewatching the season a couple of days ago.  What a great show.  You guys should really watch it.  It's all violence and swearing and nudity.  HBO is so good at making shows.  *sigh* *swoon*


There's a bunch of construction outside.  I don't know what they're doing do the street, but I hope they finish today.  There's "No Parking 7-4:30 Monday Through Friday" signs on both sides of the street, which makes parking a problem.  I'm parked around the corner.  It's not like I look out the window at my car very often, but it sure makes me uncomfortable when I can't see it.  I hope it's ok.  worriedface.

It'd be cool if they were making the street wider.  Then, maybe next winter would be a little easier to navigate.  Probably, though, they're refilling the cracks in the sidewalks or something.  Maybe it's good to do street construction when it's a zillion degrees out.  Maybe that keeps away the "pavement failures" that happened yesterday when a bunch of streets buckled. 

Oh, so I went for a run the other day, and there was a Caterpillar Mass Migration happening around Lake of the Isles.  It was very weird, and VERY gross.  Tons of little black caterpillars all effing over the place, being all wiggly.  I get the creepy-crawlies just thinking about it.  Blech. 

So Caterpillar Plague + Pavement Failure Plague = .....End Times???

Back to eating for a second:

I tried a new breakfast this morning.  I warmed up half a cup of cooked quinoa and some milk in the microwave.  Then I added fresh mango (SIDE NOTE: how do you break down a mango without making an enormous mess?  Anybody?), Crasins, and sliced almonds.  It was very tasty, and I think it'll stick with me for a while.  Hopefully.  I'll take a granola bar to work, just in case it doesn't, but it felt pretty hearty. 

Yummy!!  And seriously, guys?  If you haven't jumped on the Quinoa Bandwagon, it's time.  Just do it.  It's tasty, filling, contains all of the essential amino acids (or something) which makes it a Super Food, and plus all the cool kids are doing it. 

I made a whole bunch of it on Sunday, and I think I'll make some sort of salady thing with some of it tonight.  It keeps in the fridge and reheats WAY better than rice.  WAY.

I just realized that I showed all ya'll, like, half of the pictures I had for you, but I have to go get ready for work now.  And you need to go eat some quinoa.  I get to go get chiropracted today, which I'm pretty stoked about.  I'll tell him you guys said "hi."