facing fears

i’ve had a lifelong phobia of needles.  no kid likes shots, but as i've gotten older, i think the fear has gotten a lot worse.  i get completely nauseous at the sight of needles... in person, on tv, even just thinking about them.  i avoid getting vaccinations at all costs (i’m probably at least 5 years overdue for a tetanus shot).  getting my blood drawn when i was tested for mono was the worst part of having mono (that’s another story.  i’m still not convinced that i actually had mono, despite the positive test result).  i ended up with huge bruises on both of my elbow pits after getting my wisdom teeth out because they couldn’t find a good vein.  GROSS.

i’ve always wanted to donate blood, in theory, but could never bring myself to do it because of this weakness.  i even tried once, about 5 years ago, but i sat down in the chair and immediately started freaking out.  the staff at the blood bank still gave me a (pity) cookie and juice box and i left feeling defeated.  

fast forward to yesterday, upon dropping off some books at the northeast library branch (so lucky to have this 5 blocks away!) i saw a puget sound blood center truck outside of the library and something clicked.  a spontaneous urge to face my fear came over me and i went inside to ask how late they would be there.  i said would be back, and fully committed myself to doing it.  seth and ashley were happy to accompany me, so a few hours later the three of us are filling out the sex/travel/health questionaire.

how was it?  i made sure i didn't lay an eye on the needle, which i think is really the biggest part of my fear.  seeing it.  and seeing it go... ok yeah just thinking about it is making me queasy.  a lot of deep breaths and chatting with seth and ashley made the whole experience surprisingly calm.  i probably won’t be doing it again any time soon, but maybe doing it once a year would be a good goal.  the feeling of selflessness and personal growth/fear facing is incredibly satisfying AND, in a couple of days, i’ll finally get to know my blood type.

what’s been going on in the kitchen lately?

arugula pesto (eaten first with TJ’s whole wheat gnocchi, sundried tomatoes, and extra parm, and the rest with a quinoa salad with red/orange bell peppers, carrots, avocado, lemon juice, and more arugula)

curried lentils and sweet potatoes (deb never leads me astray)

oh, sweet potatoes, how i love them.  so much nutritional punch packed into a delicious tuber.  current favorite way of consuming them is baked with butter, cinnamon, and freshly grated ginger.  perfect go-to meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

one breakfast meal i’ve seen pop up all over the food blogs is “overnight oats” which is basically oats mixed into yogurt and fruit, set overnight in the fridge.  i always thought it sounded kind of gross, texture-wise, but i gave it a try and it works!  it’s kind of like cold yogurty porridge?  yeah i’m not really selling it am i? :) my favorite part about it is i can throw it in the fridge the night before and all i have to do is take it out and slice a banana and throw it in.  and getting out of the door in a timely manner in the morning is not something that comes easily to me, so every little bit helps!

happy presidents’ day!

maggie

snow + ethiopian food

SNOW!!!!!!!!

not quite the snowpocalypse that was predicted, but in my little corner of seattle we got a good 3-4 inches.  enough to make me take one look outside at 6am and say NO THANK YOU to driving in it.  since nothing was horrendously pressing, i decided not to fool with the buses and call it a snow day.  i even prepared for the mess by setting up my VPN so i could work from home.  but it failed.

SO, determined to make the most of my day, i put on my layers, threw some laundry in, and set out on a short and slow run (2 miles).  it was nice to be out in the peaceful morning light and create footprints in the fresh snow. 

i also used the day to make a recipe i bookmarked a long time ago.  i'm going to be honest, it's not my most triumphant creation.  but the level of success will not get in the way of me presenting to you (complete with ghetto photos... don't judge):

 

mesir w'et (ethiopian red lentils)

adapted from this recipe, which i found a while ago looking for more lentil recipes

1 cup dried red lentils, soaked 1 hour (not totally necessary)
couple glugs olive oil  

1 onion, chopped

handful baby carrots, just cause i needed to use them

1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 in piece fresh ginger, grated   

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1 tablespoon berbere*

3 cups vegetable broth

salt to taste

jasmine rice (as much as i love my whole grains, white rice is a huge weakness of mine in recipes like this, but use what you like!)

cilantro

crushed peanuts

*berbere was a new one on me!  i found a couple of recipes for this spice blend and instead of following it exactly... i... well i basically just dumped a few dashes of each spice in approximately similar ratios to the ones listed (except the crazy proportion of cayenne!  i mean, i love the stuff, but...)  it ended up being about a tablespoon, so i went with it.

saute small-diced onion in olive oil until soft.  add carrot, garlic, cook a few more minutes.  

add tomato paste, ginger, and spices and incorporate, stirring for a minute or so.  then add the broth and bring to a boil and add the lentils. 

cook for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.  meanwhile, start your rice on a different burner or in your trusty rice cooker. 

serve over rice and garnish with crushed peanuts and cilantro. 

it was just ever so slightly lacking a robustness that i was hoping for.  maybe my taste buds are weakening?  i added a few more dashes of each of the spices i used.  this was a good starting point for future recipes.

other highlights of the day include taking care of some post-horsfall details, lots of words with friends, a yoga class in which i was one of two students present, and playing two-person settlers with seth.  it works!

until next time,

maggie

hor(snow)fall

this was my second year as the seattle flute society's horsfall competition coordinator, and it sure has kept me busy the past couple of months!  it's a ton of work to process all of the applications (upwards of 60 this year), coordinate preliminary judges, mail the CDs, get them back, tally the scores, inform the kids, make the schedule, send a bajillion e-mails, change the schedule about 12 times, and then show up on the competition day and hope that everything actually works out.  barring a few hiccups this year, it was successful!  43 students competed throughout the day on saturday, and what i could hear through the door sounded good.  crazy good.  i don’t envy the tough decisions our judges had to make!

SNOW made the weekend a little bit challenging.  saturday was fine, really - we had some wintery downfall in the morning, but nothing stuck.  i woke up to some accumulation on sunday morning... and... these hills in seattle, i tell you.  this city is not made for snow and ice.  i had a slightly nerve-wracking trip downtown to pick up nicole molumby, our lower division adjudicator (who is an absolute doll.  love her!).  all was well until i got closer to downtown and the snowflakes got bigger/more abundant and the traffic was at a stand still.  i made it to pike place market, picked her up, and STRUG-GLED to get back up the hills to i5.  we made it, after a few skids and “holy $#%#!”s,  and were on our way to greenlake united methodist church for linda chesis' recital.  she played a lovely program and then i announced the winners - a rather nervous position to be in because these kids are SO competitive.  they work so hard and are so talented and the level of these flute players is so far and beyond where i was at their age!  it's pretty inspiring.  

masochistic as it is, i'll probably sign on to do it for another two-year term.  massages that muscle that needs to organize and be in control of details.

inspired by this on my blog feed earlier this week, i created the following for a quick, simple, and extremely satisfying dinner as soon as i got home from the recital, ravenous, probably from burning so many extra calories due to stress (at least that's my theory):

bird food? and veggies

(title inspired by seth, who once saw my bag of TJ harvest grain blend and asked if it was bird food) 

(i intended to take a picture.  however, i was so hungry that i ate it and forgot...)

1 3/4 cup vegetable broth

1 1/4 cup TJ harvest grain blend (1/2 bag)

couple glugs olive oil

1 med onion, small dice

1 container sliced crimini mushrooms

1 bag baby spinach

salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper to taste

zest of one lemon + a couple squeezes lemon juice

bring veg broth to boil, add grains, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  stir in lemon zest and juice.

meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add onion and cook until soft.  add mushrooms, cook until they release their moisture and get soft.  add entire bag of spinach, put a lid on it, and let the spinach wilt, about 3 minutes.  add herbs and spices to taste.  serve a big scoop of the veggies on top of a mound of the grain blend and you've got yourself a meal.

seeing allen stone at the neptune was an amazing way to cap off this busy, exhausting weekend.  his energy, enthusiasm, and positive spirit are absolutely infectious.  i just want to give this guy a big hug.  i think he'd probably be okay with that.  huge props to the seattle rock orchestra, who backed him up on many songs and sounded fantastic!

the weather forecast for the next few days is stressin’ me out a little bit, but today is for relaxing and happy times.  

stay warm, seattle!  

maggie

oh and ps

favorite links of the week:

the 27 rules of going to the gym (favorite: “A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it's good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it's not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.”) 

how to be interesting  

dubstep breakdown/explanation

mental for lentils

you know, lentils are a pretty amazing food.  with about 18 grams of protein per cup of cooked lentils (and people wonder where vegetarians get their protein) and loads of fiber, iron, folate, and potassium, they're a veritable nutritional powerhouse.  i didn't grow up eating lentils so they've only recently become a rotation in my diet, but they're more than welcome to stay.  they're delicious!  i love the variety of textures they can take on - al dente for salads*, well-done and mushed for vegetarian tacos, and quite reminiscent of beans in chili (stay tuned below!)

*not only is it the best lentil salad ever, it might be -the- best salad ever.

the bulk bins at whole foods (and most large grocery stores, these days!) are one of the best places to shop for lentils.  they usually have at least 3 different varieties and are generally a better value than buying pre-packaged.  plus, you can buy only as many as you want for a single recipe if you’re unsure about these pebble-esque legumes, thus saving money on a tight budget.

holy mother of grains and legumes chili

(adapted from pierce street vegetarian chili)

vegetarian, vegan if you don’t add cheese on top like i did!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

8 small/med garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated

3 tablespoons chili powder

1.5 teaspoon ground cumin

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (use fewer if you don’t like it super hot)

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

10 cups vegetable broth

1 can chickpeas (365 brand is my favorite, they have a very smooth texture)

2 1/4 cups green lentils rinsed and picked over

2/3 cup pearled barley

2/3 cup bulgur wheat

optional toppings: cheese (i used cheddar, but goat was originally recommended and would be delicious) and braised kale (because in my opinion kale goes with everything)

in a large (biggest you have!) stockpot pot over medium heat add the olive oil and onion. when the onions soften, add the garlic, ginger, chili powder and cumin. stir well and cook for a minute of so, then stir in the chipotle peppers, tomatoes, and 8 cups of the broth. Add the chickpeas, lentils, barley/farro, and bulgur. bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until all the grains are cooked through.  taste and adjust seasonings - i added a little salt, few more dashes cumin, a few dashes ground chipotle pepper, and a few dashes ground ginger (only because i was out of fresh ginger to add).  next time, i would add mushrooms and maybe some carrots and other veggies for color and texture.  

serves... a LOT.  i ate a bowl and portioned out 13 more servings for lunches/freezer.

some other musings:

-beets!  i can officially say, that at least in certain capacities, i like beets.  i didn’t used to.  i’ve wanted to for a long time because they're so pretty and full of nutrients.  the trick?  peel, large dice, coat in olive oil, S, & P, and roast at 400 for at least 45 minutes until they get soft, caramelized, and super sweet.  nature’s candy at its best.  delicious hot or cold, by themselves, in a salad (with spinach, walnuts, goat cheese, and balsamic.  get outta town), and surely many other undiscovered pathways.

-i’ve heard about this tweet what you eat weight loss strategy with the philosophy that you might not eat that extra serving of mac-and-cheese if you’re going to share the news with the world.  while i’m definitely not looking to lose any weight, i’ve been keeping a food journal to track what i eat and how i feel each day.  it’s mostly a quest to find correlations between what i eat and how i feel, since i’ve had some on and off stomach ailments for the past year and a half.. going on 2, really.  i’ve certainly identified cow’s milk as a culprit, though other dairy (plain greek yogurt) is totally fine and others (cheese, butter, cream, ice cream) seem to do okay in small quantities.  i’m keeping a pen and paper notebook for this, because no one but me really cares about every.thing.i.eat.  good news is, lately i've been feeling great!  i'm also recording my daily exercise accomplishments which i think i WILL post in here.  because on a good week, it will be something i’m proud of!

in the past week:

wed, jan 4: walk up to TJ’s on top of queen anne (40 min round-trip) and yoga at my gym

thu, jan 5: 20 minute walk around wallingford before teaching flute lessons

fri, jan 6: 25 minute elliptical

sat, jan 7: yoga w/ maria @ yogalife

sun, jan 8: 2 mile run around wedgwood, walk around greenlake inner path (2.8 miles)

mon, jan 9: 30 minute elliptical

tue, jan 10: 5k on treadmill

if i can be at least 75% this active on average throughout the year, i’ll be a happy camper!  when my iphone arrives (tomorrow, i hope!), i'm going to get on board with this clever scheme.

thankful for a relaxing evening at home in the midst of pre-horsfall week,

maggie

you had me at ginger-garlic broth

it's been a tasty first week of 2012.  here's a rundown of the highlights:

my variation on PGEW's udon noodles with edamame, peppers, and mushrooms in ginger-garlic broth

poor girl eats well is a blog with good recipes and great tips for folks shopping on an extremely tight budget.  this recipe caught my eye because of the delicious flavors and it seemed like a great, easy antidote to the excess drinking of new year's weekend.  my additions or modifications are noted with a *

2 c vegetable stock or broth
4 c water
*1 package of soba noodles, cooked and rinsed with cold water
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T veg oil
1-2 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 c frozen shelled edamame, cooked
*few handfuls chopped carrots

*8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
*1 small head of cabbage, rough chopped
1 c cubed extra firm tofu

*plenty of sriracha
 

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic & ginger, and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and the garlic just begins to brown.  Next, add the vegetable stock and water, and bring to a boil.  Toss in the noodles and cook until the begin to soften but still have some of their crunch, about 5 minutes.  Add the carrots, cabbage, and mushrooms and cook for 6-8 minutes.  Add tofu and edamame.  Allow the soup to simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then add the soy sauce and stir until combined.  Ladle into bowls and add a small handful of soba noodles.  Serve with a bottle of sriracha and add as desired.  Scallions would have made a great topping for this, too!

other culinary highlights:

smitten kitchen's chocolate crack(ers) for NYE and they (unfortunately for my self control) stayed around all week for me to snack on.  sweet, salty, crunchy... it doesn't get much better, in my book!  i used saltines, dark brown sugar (it's what i had), and rough-chopped, toasted almonds.  so pretty and these couldn't be any easier to make.

annie's homemade chocolate syrup, in attempt to be more DIY.  it turned out well, but SUPER thick and difficult to squeeze out of my fun squeeze bottles i picked up at the seattle restaurant store.  chocolate almond milk = delicious.

PIZZA EGGS!  inspired by weeds and by the leftover pizza from turnpike pizza (meh is what i'd say about the pizza.  but i had a groupon.  this city just doesn't cut it when it comes to good pizza, unfortunately.  this place is an exception).  simply remove crust, reheat in the oven, chop into bite-sized pizza, and mix into scrambled eggs.  genius.  ashley's method included the toppings only, which is a nice low-carb or paleo alternative, if that's how you roll.

other notable events from the week:

-i decided to get an iphone.  it will arrive next week and i expect to use it to add pictures of some food creations, but i'm not going to be someone who takes a picture of EVERY THING I EAT.

-yoga at my gym was pretty successful.  it was a vinyasa flow class, and one of the more intense ones i've been to, but it was prefaced by the teacher disclaiming, "my classes aren't usually this crazy, but it IS the first week of the year."  i'll be back this wednesday!

-i saw david robertson conduct SSO.  what a guy!  he also came into KING FM earlier this week to record our SSO spotlight show.  all around high praises from KING FM staff that worked with him, and i certainly enjoyed the concert.  weber's overture to der freischütz opened the program, which has a soft spot in my heart from CYS days.  robertson's wife, orli shaham, joined him and the symphony for stravinsky's capriccio and mozart's piano concerto no.2, and they closed with john adams' dr. atomic symphony, which was co-commissioned by robertson in 2007.  the number of people that left before the adams (last on the program) was really disheartening, but i was encouraged by the noticeably high percentage of younger folks in the hall.

this week is going to be a busy one of juggling rehearsals, preparations for horsfall, work, teaching, gym visits, and quality time in the kitchen.

happy eats, everyone!

maggie

chatu-what?

that’s what my body is saying to me after maria’s amazing class yesterday morning.

thanks to living social, i’ve been doing yoga again over the past few weeks.  i took advantage of $48 for 10 classes (HUGE DEAL!!) at the yoga studio that jessie introduced me to a couple of years ago.  yoga is something that i’ve done on and off for the past 5 or 6 years and find to be so satisfying, mentally and physically.  the only thing that’s been keeping me from it lately is the expense, but i’m going to give the classes at my gym a try starting tomorrow.  i’ve been reluctant because i’m not super impressed with my gym, overall; it’s small, has no showers, and is always packed, but it gets the job done and the proximity to my office is unbeatable and serves as my perfect strategy to avoid the 5pm traffic rush.  i learned that one of the yoga teachers i really like at greenlake yogalife teaches at my gym (sunday mornings only) which gives me hope that the other yoga teachers are also great!  

i left my (hot pink) yoga mat in NYC about 2.5 years ago when i had to leave a few things behind (after 2 months at bay view, straight to NYC for 1 month and only 2 suitcases to get everything back home!) so i finally got around to purchasing a new one yesterday.  i was at u-village and had my first lululemon experience.  holy hell.  can i just say - i don’t get it.  100 bucks for a pair of yoga pants?  ……… that’s more than i would ever pay for any single article of clothing.  after fighting through masses of girly girls and trophy wives, i emerged victorious with a somewhat reasonably priced (?) yoga mat to call my own.

despite the difficulty of getting back into the work flow after a long weekend (and a 4-day week last week, too!), the prospect of going to this yoga class tomorrow is keeping me in good spirits.

namaste, y’all.

hello world, this is me

happy 2012, one and all!  i’ve decided to get with the 21st century and start a blog with the following purposes:

1) keep a journal.  i’ve been doing a bad job of this in the past few years and i’m feeling bad karma from the posterity deities.  the pen and paper thing for documenting my life and musings, sad as it may seem, is just not a realistic goal.

2) track my 2012 goals (these are the current ones, but i want to check in and reset new ones quarterly) 

  a) maintain good exercise habits from 2011 and focus more on strength training.  take advantage of yoga classes offered at my gym, and be on the lookout for good deals on group exercise classes at other gyms (mine has slim pickins)

  b) make at least one new recipe a week.  this is not terribly difficult, as i cook a lot anyway, but i want to track my cooking better. 

  c) stop using my computer 1 hour before sleep and read print materials instead.  at least a few days a week.

  d) go into work at 8:30 instead of 9 in order to get out of the office every day for 30 minutes to walk around the neighborhood.  i'm lucky that i work in a vibrant area of seattle with really cool places in walking distance. 

  e) use my reusable grocery bags.  it's really not that hard but somehow i always forget them.

  f)  travel!!  san francisco is a must, and i'd love to also go to chicago.

3) simply, to write.  i never have considered myself a “great writer” or done it for “fun” but i never really dreaded writing papers when i was in school and managed to do pretty well on them.  it’s dawned on me that since finishing my masters degree in 2010, i haven’t really written much of anything besides e-mails, facebook musings, miscellaneous documents and things for work... this is not okay, right?  

i’m not really writing this with the purpose of anyone actually reading it, though i’d be happy for anyone who feels so behooved to do so.  i hope to update at least once a week throughout the year to report on my recipes and cooking, but at other times as desired.

back to the grind after a glorious long weekend,

maggie