SB&J Pancake

Good morning!  I feel like I should be posting more often since it's summer and I technically have more time to cook...but I don't really have more time.  And when I do have time, it's often too hot to contemplate standing in front of a hot stove and/or oven.  I tried cooking with the A/C on one day, but I had so many things running at once it tripped the circuit breaker.  Oops.  Somehow I frequently forget that the circuit just can't handle the A/C and the microwave at the same time.  Plus my computer, and the toaster, and whatever else I happened to be using at the time.

I recently made the decision to run the Charleston Distance Run on Sept. 1.  It's a tough 15 miler, and around here they say you aren't a true distance runner until you've done it. Plus, it's got some pretty sweet cash prizes.  My goal is to finish in the top 5, but that will probably mean running my fastest half-marathon pace...and then continuing it for another 2 miles.  So we'll see.  But I'm in full-on training mode now.  And since it's summer, and its ridiculously hot out, I'm sweating out all the calories my body needs to get me through a run.  So I'm also trying to cram as much carbs and protein as possible into every meal.  Gotta have something for my body to burn during runs...other than the little bit of muscle I have and would like to keep to power me up those hills.

So, breakfast this morning: SB&J Pancake.  It's basically my classic breakfast pancake...on steroids.

The Normal Breakfast Pancake:
1 egg
1/4 c berry juice
2 tbsp milled flax seed
1/4 c quick oats
c. 1/2 c bisquick
1/3 c chocolate chips

Today's Additions:
19g (1/2 scoop) chocolate whey protein powder

The Normal Pancake Topping:
Pumpkin butter or preserves of some sort

Today's Toppings:
Sun-Butter* & Red Raspberry Preserves

*Sun-Butter is a new find...a friend recommended it. It's like Peanut Butter, but made from sunflower seeds. I'm not totally sold on it, it's kind of bland.  But I'll finish up the jar at least.

Yogurt-Avocado Dressing

INGREDIENTS

plain yogurt

sour cream

cider vinegar

avocado

garlic powder

rosemary

 yogurt

sour cream

vinegar

avocado

garlic and rosemary

more yogurt

blend it up

put it in a bottle for the fridge

have some on a salad

this dressing was pretty good

the arugula was a lil spicier than usual, the yogurt in the dressing helped make the salad milder

Photos to Salivate Over...Part 2

Part 1 can be found here

salad w/ pork chop

Pork chop was coated with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, and rosemary,

then cooked on the stovetop.

warm slaw, avocado pasta, purist burger

pasta, fresh arugula, fresh basil, fresh oregano, leftover salmon, tomato, avocado, zucchini

a perfect summery & fresh pasta dish

Sloppy-Joe Pizza with onions and mushrooms (pre-cheese)

Sloppy-Joe Recipe

Sloppy-Joe Pizza (post-bake)

scrambled eggs with salmon, fried sweet potatos & onions, and tomato

Basil-Chocolate Cheesecake

Not a bad idea flavor-wise...but I need to stop trying to take shortcuts when I bake. 

It's not a good idea to try and make a cheesecake in a hurry.  But I tried anyway.  I am fairly certain that this cheesecake would have been perfect if I had taken my time and done it correctly: as in, let the cream cheese get to room temperature before I messed with it.

Starting with cold cream cheese means that even though I used a handheld mixer instead of the fork I usually use for mixing, I still ended up with lumps.  And lumpy cheesecake is...strange. But the flavor was good.

Basil-Chocolate Cheesecake

16 oz cream cheese

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c plain yogurt

2 eggs 
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
small handful of basil leaves, chopped finely


Pour into a graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for 40 minutes

lil messy getting it out of the pan after less than a day in the fridge...

but tonight's slice, a day or two later, came out in one piece

Sloppy Joe

Ah what a day.  Went for an awesome trail run this morning.  Since the trail has not yet been fixed up after the storm, this run involved a lot of climbing over, under, and around large, uprooted trees.  Slightly annoying, but somehow it wasn't that big a deal.  More of an adventure.  Plus, I got to cool off/clean off with a swim in the creek afterwards. Not to mention the view from the top of the mountain mid-run.  Blue Bend trail has one of the most stunning scenic overlooks ever.  Not sure I've ever had a more perfect summer run.  Now I just have to wait and see if I ran through any poison ivy...

I feel like it has been forever since I concocted something completely new in the kitchen.  I'm so glad I found some time to play this evening!  I was pretty happy with these sloppy joes.  I think the only thing I would really change is the sugar.  They weren't too sweet, but they were close, so I might try half the amount of sugar next time.

Look at that big pile of yumminess...

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef 

1/2 small vidalia onion, chopped

4 large mushrooms, chopped

5 oz tomato soup

2 heaping spoonfuls of plain yogurt

1/8 c ketchup

scant 1/2 c brown sugar

garlic powder, chili powder, cocoa powder

PROCEDURE

Brown the chopped onion in a little bit of olive oil, then add the tomato soup.  Add the ground beef and use a spatula or spoon to break the beef up into small chunks.  Add all other wet ingredients.  Allow the mixture to boil, but stir frequently.  When the meat is mostly cooked, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the mushrooms.  Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has boiled off and the mixture is thick enough to put in a sandwich.  Add the mushrooms and cook until they are done, then remove pan from heat.  

Build a sandwich.  Eat the sandwich.  Knife and fork required. 

PICTURES

onion

mushrooms

yummy tomato soup ( I used half of this container)

1st spoonful of yogurt

1st spoonful of sugar

boil, boil, boil

finally thick enough to add the mushrooms

yum

whole wheat bun, provolone cheese, fresh tomato

time to eat!

Don't forget to have some vegetables!

(arugula, avocado, carrot, zucchini, granny smith apple, sunflower seeds, homemade dressing)

Post-Derecho

Until a few days ago...I didn't know that "derecho" was anything other than the Spanish word for "straight," meaning, go "straight ahead."  Turns out a "derecho" is also a very devastating kind of storm.  Which roared through Lewisburg on Friday night, felling trees, power lines, and whatever else it came across.  I just happened to be ordering dinner at a sushi restaurant when the power went out. Lucky me, I got my food anyway, because you don't need power to make sushi.

I missed the flying kiddie-pools while waiting out the storm in the restaurant...but I saw them strewn across the parking lot when the 90+ mph winds had died down enough to make going home possible. I did watch some rather spectacular lightning for the next few hours though.

   The power went out around 8 PM on Friday evening, right as the storm started raging.  On Saturday, still power-less, we learned that the water would be shut off at midnight.  Lucky me, it was back on by the time I woke up Sunday morning.  But now, 5 days later, some people are still without water.  I got my power back early Monday morning.  I happen to live on the same grid as the hospital, lucky lucky me.  People on other grids...not so lucky.  Some people are still waiting.  Did I mention it's been about 90 degrees out every day? I didn't want to use the A/C because it just didn't seem fair to all those power-less people. And since the grocery stores didn't have power, I didn't have access to any real food. At least one grocery store was open, but I really didn't want to live on canned food. Yuck.

  I had to clean out my fridge and freezer on Sunday night.  I did manage to eat the fish that I had in the freezer, thanks to some friends with a grill.  Everything else had to go, other than some condiments. And I kept the unopened orange juice...I'm assuming it's still edible?  And some carrots.  They should be fine. 

A very sad sight:

so empty...it's going to cost a lot of money to restock my fridge and freezer.  ugh.

and I suppose I should stock up on some non-perishables as well, so if this ever happens again I will actually have something to eat

I spent all morning Monday debating whether or not to leave town.  On Sunday, I had decided that if I didn't have power on Monday, I would leave.  Well, I had power on Monday.  I was really excited to be able to COOK my lunch.  But...there wasn't much to cook.  I knew pasta was possible.  So I boiled some pasta, and then scavenged the cupboard for something to eat with the pasta.  I found a can of crab meat that I was saving for crab cakes.  And I found a can of green beans that had been left by my roommate who moved out...a year and a half ago.  Lucky me, it was a whole month until their expiration date.  So I made a meal of pasta, crab, and green beans. 

It would have actually been a tasty meal...if it hadn't tasted so strongly of canned green beans.  I've been spoiled rotten by all the fresh green beans I've been eating lately. 

crab, mustard, alfredo sauce

add some pesto

add some fresh basil and oregano

(love that I have these plants!)

ewwwwww it looks like worms

I just kept telling myself that canned veggie was better than no veggie

lunch?

After eating this edible but not tasty meal, I decided no way was I going to live like this until the grocery stores were back up and running.  So I fled town and headed to Pittsburgh to spend time with family and eat real food. 

I only had to drive about 3 hours before I found a gas station that was A) open, and B) didn't have a 2+ hr wait

So this has been my derecho experience.  May you never have one.

On a happier note...check out the gorgeous sunflowers in the garden at school that survived the storm!

these flowers are over 5 ft tall but somehow did not get flattened by the wind