Well... Food is on track at least...

Hiya Rosebuds!

It's been a little while possums, and I don't even have too much to say for myself other than after taking a hiatus to facilitate the DTs from the fags, I am ACTUALLY glad to be eating well again!

This is not the first time I've tried Champix (the smoking cessation aid), but it is, by far, the LEAST effective trial. The doctor assured me the drug DOES NOT lose it's efficacy with repeated use, but ALAS... tears were shed and things were thrown. I was pretty sure I might hurt someone... even Schmeicel stayed out of the way. I can only imagine he felt like Christina Crawford... without the budget.

Anyway- today is my official 21 day mark (you know that habit forming/breaking benchmark everyone talks about)- so no more excuses... before I go making sloth and gluttony two UNWANTED habits; let's hold on to the good changes and slough the transitional allowances made!

To back track a wee bit... a thank you to send out.

This was my lovely Valentine's Day gift! Woke up to these lovelies, with a thoughtful card on my kitchen table!

MWAH! Thank you!

A few days after that I had Kiki and Puddin' over for their anniversary dinner after meeting with my Auntie Rachel for lunch (finally got to gift the Tal Ronnen book, can't wait for some recipe tips!)... Inspired by my new FAVE show Come Dine With Me, I made: Tartiflette of caramelized onion, goat cheese and pear topped with a balsamic glaze AND Asparagus/ Summer Pea Risotto. This was accompanied by a steak for my Da and some Ice Cream with Goldshlager that was never to be. I had a great time! I loved cooking for them (I know they'll eat anything with a smile) and finally had a chance to use some of my new dishes (thanks Loulou) and glassware.

So that's pretty much the highlight reel of things that happened between sulking and sleeping. I finally realize why people sleep so much on Celebrity Rehab... it's easier than being a grumpy mare!

There's more to fill in I'm sure... will get to it as it comes up.

On to today! After such shyte for a couple of weeks... it was time for a FIBRE FIX!

Tried to make a Cabbage Strata.

Oven preheated to 350 degrees- square Pyrex or baking dish greased up for some love!

First, blanch 10-12 savoy cabbage leaves for 5-7 mins then drain and dry.

Toast 3 tbsp of pine nuts- reserve until assembly

You will need approx 1 1/4 c of drained ricotta. Cheesecloth (most aptly named) is great for straining or draining ricotta, yogurt or cottage cheese- as is a clean J-Cloth. Because I like to keep my strata a little ghetto... I just put the cheese into a coffee filter with a can of corn on top and let it sit in a colander while preparing the rest of the recipe!

Next, saute 3 small leeks with some garlic and olive oil and add about 3/4 cup of veggie stock- let that simmer for approx 25 mins

When that's done, reserve the leeks and add 3/4 can of crushed or diced tomatoes to the same pan. I added more garlic at this point, but it wasn't called for. The tomatoes will need to reduce for about 15 mins, so this is a good time to get the ricotta out of it's draining medium and ready to assemble.


Just like a lasagna- layer your baking vessel's bottom with 2 or 3 leaves of cabbage (whatever completely covers the area), then about 1/3 of the tomato reduction- then some leeks (about 1/3 of the reserved amount). Next dollop about a third of the pressed out ricotta and top with approx 1 tbsp of pine nuts.

Bingo Bango Bongo- three repeats of this (or whatever- I ran out of filling, but had leftover cabbage- so cut it up and topped the casserole) and you should be out of ingredients and oven rarin' to go. You'll want to make sure you save some saucy bits showing (oh no she didn't) so they can crisp up and the liquids will evaporate a bit.

Uncovered, this goes in on the middle rack for about 25 mins (I ended up leaving mine in for 40 mins- because I only have one kitchen timer and I set it for spaghetti squash... oops)

The time bandit...

Here's one last close up before it went in...

And the finished Cabbage Strata!

All in all... it was pretty good. It's not knocking my socks off... but was relatively filling and other than the ricotta- pretty clean. You COULD use a cashew cheese in here, but I think you'd need to heavily salt this if that was your dairy replacement.

So after tonight's shift (and pretty icky weather), I have vowed that I will go home- get 7 hours of sleep (shouldn't be a problem at all), get up and GO TO THE GYM! It's been a bit... and I know that the horse and I never have any problems, I just assume he's mad when I fling myself from him! (Makes sense in my head...)

I'm also going to give no-knead bread a try if I can find a recipe for which I have all ingredients!

Til tomorrow...

Slainte!

Amanda

A Camel Just Passed Through the Eye of a Needle

Hiya Birdkids...

Just wanted to share a quickie with you before I hit the sack... (that's what she said).

My Auntie Rachel (smile) often sends me motivational and inspiring messages and little pearls of wisdom she gets along the way. One will be discussed at greater length in another post, but here's a quickie for the start of what promises to be an awesome month!

Steve Jobs' Three Rules of Life ...

1. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

2. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.

3. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition - they somehow already know what you truly want to become.

It might seem a wee bit hokey... but I was thinking about how silly I felt about taking pics of the treadmill at the gym- and this totally validated what I forced myself to think! It's all about me (or you- to you). But really- I think if we do what comes naturally to us, without worrying about judgement, we might all be a little happier.

That is, unless you are Lex Luther. Lex, please disregard this post.

G'night dolls... Thanks Loulou.

Slainte!

Amanda

Lacklustre week...

Hiya Doves!

This has been a stupid week. Not too much going on, and no good reason not to blog... but I haven't really had anything exciting (unlike previous posts... I'm sure) to say!

So here's a quick recap- At the gym Tues, Wed and Thursday... all pointless workouts. Ran/ walked/ cycled... all half hearted. So that's enough of the gym talk.


I think it's because I was missing my energy addiction... the MONSTER.


Working midnights can sometimes mess with you a little bit, and while I was making these faithfully, I was feeling pretty good! But a failure to plan, cook ahead and pack up lunches and snacks turns me into a slave to the take- out... I do not make wise decisions under these circumstances!

So that's enough of that talk too!


Onto healthy things... sorta.

Because I ate out so much of the week, I had some seriously abandoned vegetables in the crisper come Thursday. These veggies showed their dissent by wilting, drying up and all around spoiling. Much like what's been happening in other parts of the world this week, I pulled a few survivors from under the detritus and found myself with a mix mosh of things and no inclination to be very creative. Result: Soup. While not my favourite food, by a long shot, it IS an easy and nutritious way to use a motley crew of vegetables, which is what I had.


So.. green, red, yellow and orange peppers went in with a mirepoix (carrots, onions, celery- Thank you Julia Child for "la nom posh" ), a head of Swiss chard, a can of low sodium tomatoes and some vegetable broth.

Cooked for a few hours, then throw it in the blender- and a soup is born! It's pretty tasty- and AS USUAL, I have way more than I need... so it goes in the freezer, right beside the frozen rats. Yum.


Went out for dins with Maman on Thursday - to what was purported to be "Dinner and a Makeover". Held in a trattoria in Brampton, one which Kiki and Puddin' patronize often, it turned out to be a Mary Kay presentation before dinner. So, not thrilled about that, but happy to be out with my Mumsy and her good friend Ellen and daughter Holly, we stuck it out. Dinner options were decidedly unvegetarian, so like any decent person- I decided to have the least ethical choice of them all... Veal Parmigiana


The veal WAS pretty good... and I didn't suffer any pangs of guilt until later on that evening, when I realized I had declined to buy any Mary Kay because they weren't approved by PETA. Um... should thought that one out a little more.


One of the perks (read bribes) of attending this demo were door prizes! I love pressies!

I won this hot mama just for asking a question! ( I think it may have even been the self incriminating PETA one too... groan.)

I almost gave it away when I won it because it it came in a chocolate box... not into choccies.

Tomorrow after a midnight shift, I'll be doing some cooking for the week. I'll be on afternoons... so that'll help life for a week.


Just wanted to let you guys know about something my Auntie Rachel pointed out to me. If you have or are planning to but some bee pollen for your green monsters.. or other concoctions: bee sure it's pollen gathered from bees that have fed from non-gm crops. According to her information from a beekeeper, those little black and yellow munchkins are killing their bee kids (smile) when they bring back pollen from gm crops... this is one of the reasons for the disappearing bee population. Thanks to Auntie Rachel for that info!



Do you guys ever have trouble getting motivated? Even when you've had some successes... AND you know how much better you feel when you're on the healthy train? VERY FRUSTRATING.


Better week ahead..


Slainte!
Amanda