The New York Times had an interesting article this week about people who photograph their food. Being pretty much brand spanking new to the food photographing world, I'm just barely starting to come out of my food blogging closet. By now, most of my close friends and family know what I've been up to, but there's still a lot of people I have yet to tell. I'm sure my coworkers have seriously began to question my sanity when I'm taking pictures of yogurt each morning, but so far this has been a fun little hobby.
The truth is I've always been a bit obsessed with food. I love food! It's one of the great pleasures in life and can be linked to many happy times and memories. Looking back over the years I've realized that I've always been a foodie. Not only am I a foodie, but most of my friends and family are foodies too! (Some might also consider us winos). We love to cook, we love to go out to eat, we talk about our favorite meals, we discuss that awesome dinner we had 2 years ago like the flavors are still lingering on our tongue, we like to take food adventures, and we love unique food combination.
Not everything I eat is 100% healthy and nutritious, and I will never say it is. I love diving into a huge plate of nachos with friends and margaritas, but I also thoroughly enjoy lots and lots of fresh veggies! This blog serves as my outlet to share my great meals with my friends and family and anyone else who cares to read. And hopefully gives you some ideas on how to find balance in your life as well.
Now for my eats!
Breakfast yesterday I had 6 (six!) deviled eggs and a side of pineapple. To keep the calorie load under control, but maximize the amount of intake, I used only 2 egg yolks mixed with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and a dab of Dijon mustard and used that mixture to fill my 6 egg halves.
Back at the office I was hungry mid-morning. I'm usually a 3 square meals with slight possibility of an afternoon snack kind of gal, but this week I've just been hungry! I snacked on this Just a Handful snack of cashews, almonds and dried cranberries from Trader Joe's.
For lunch I went home and mixed up this salad. An everything but the kitchen sink salad. It had romaine lettuce, baby spinach, roasted veggies - sweet potatoes, eggplant, and asparagus, corn, black beans, a diced up tic-tac-toe potato, and some 6 bean medley. For the dressing I mixed up some Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, rice vinegar and little evoo. Quite tasty!!
and then I had one of these vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
After work I hit up the grocery store which I found was entirely too much exercise for my little boo-boo! For a 1" incision, this bugger really hurts, or I should say annoying! It feels like a lobster has clamped down on my side and won't let go. I've been self medicating with wine. :-) Grocery trip today included: chicken broth, organic milk, frozen spinach, frozen artichoke hearts, a big artichoke (only $1.99 at Trader Joe's vs. $3.99 at Albertson's yesterday!), Super Green Drink Mix (which I'm hoping is comparable to Green Superfood), 3 Larabars, Morning Star Buffalo nuggets - been dying to try these!, English muffins, kalamata olives, 2 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, 2 cans crushed tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and cherry tomatoes. Whopping total of $70! Whoowie!
This Sauvignon Blanc is fabulous by the way and only $5.99. I suggest you hurry your butt over to Trader Joe's and stock up because last year once they sold out, it never came back!
I also had this small grocery trip yesterday. Big artichoke (cooking), 2 cans garbanzo beans, 2 cans beets, goat cheese, nail files and tongs. $22.79. My grocery bill so far this month is right around $93. Let's see if I can keep it under $150 this month. I am traveling next week so that should be pretty easy. :-)
The lady at the grocery store thought I was super cute and loved that I was "green" and brought my own bag. Doesn't everyone do this??
First before I started dinner, I just had to try these Morning Star Buffalo nuggets. Pretty good!!
Dinner was use up all the veggies in the fridge night so I made some primavera pasta. In the mix were yellow squash, zucchini, onions, red pepper, and mushrooms cooked in chicken stock with basil and oregano. Also sliced some grape tomatoes and some "shaved" squash and zucchini for aesthetics.
For the sauce I used about a cup of chicken stock, cup of milk and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and whisked it together.
Then I added the sauce and the pasta to veggies and mixed it all up and let it sit for a few minutes allowing the sauce to thicken. Final result looked something like this! Yummy and filling! I was going to add shrimp but I forgot!
Do you ever wonder what to do with leftover chicken stock? Try freezing it! Pour the extra into ice cube trays. Once frozen transfer to a zip-lock bag, then you'll always have some chicken stock on hand!
I hate wasting food! Anyone else hate wasting food? What kind of tricks of the trade do you have for preserving food?
