an ode to corn tortillas

There are many foods that I love. But there are a few foods that transcend the usual love I have for food and are in an entirely new plane of food awareness. And today I am going to discuss one of those foods: the corn tortilla.

Now the corn tortilla is normally an afterthought, used to contain the cheesy goodness of a quesadilla or as a vessel to transport the spiced potato and onion of a breakfast taco. But I would like to bring some more awareness to this often overlooked and purely delicious source of carbohydrates.

Quesadilla nirvana comes from the corn tortilla

The summer I lived in Mexico, my house mom would buy fresh tortillas every day from the market down the street and I was addicted. Since getting back from Mexico (over 2 years ago!) I have been continuously disappointed by the tortillas in the US. Until now.

I should have known that my local grocer here in Austin would not disappoint when it came to tortillas. I mean, they have nopales (cactus), tunas (cactus pears), horchata, agua fresca and other delicious Mexican treats that are just too far from Virginia. But now that I’m only 4 hours from my beloved Mexico, I have access to it all! The sheer size of the tortilla aisle is mind boggling and the smell is absolutely intoxicating. I tried the whole wheat flour variety, which were good, but for $2.68 you got 10 tortillas. I switched to the corn this time and got 30 for $1.50. I’m no genius, but hello money saver!

Corn tortillas taste better and, when warmed a bit, hold up better to food inside them. They are chewier, tastier, and the ones at my store aren’t made with lard. I’m fully aware that corn isn’t a “whole grain” and that the whole wheat flour tortilla variety would be better for me. But there are some foods that I’m not willing to cut corners with. I figure I eat healthy enough most of the time, I can risk a few calories and some starch intake with corn tortillas. They are just worth it!

Is there a food that you absolutely love and refuse to compromise with? What food do you prefer in the real form and not the healthier version?

epic taco win

Happy Wednesday! Today is a good day because I am officially a resident of the state of Texas! I spent an hour and a half at the DMV this morning to emerge victorious…. and with a giant, paper, temporary license. Seriously, in Virginia you get a real license immediately! Here they hand you a paper and mail you the real one. How the heck am I supposed to go to a bar with a license that looks like I printed it out from home?

Well to fuel myself for the DMV, I made myself a delicious dinner last night. I made one of my staples: the perfect baked sweet potato.

Baked sweet potato topped with vegetarian baked beans & goat cheese; cactus pear

To make the perfect baked sweet potato, simply rinse off and dry the potato with water, drizzle/spray a bit of olive oil onto the skin, rub it down with some salt and pepper, and place it on a baking sheet for 45 minutes in a 400* oven. And you have perfection. As for the cactus pear, or tuna as I know them from my summer in Mexico, they are impossible to find in VA but bountiful here in TX! I sprinkle them with lime juice & chili powder, just as I ate them for an entire summer in Guadalajara!

This morning I had a baby green smoothie & toast and headed off to the DMV. I also got very angry with my bank and joined the UT credit union here in Austin shortly after leaving DMV. Yay! After all that excitement, I was hungry again. Thankfully I had lunch plans/a social life!

Yesterday I geniusly thought to use the departmental mailing list to find friends and classmates to hang out with. One student, Sam, said he wanted to check out Resistencia Book Shop which is a shop of Latin American literature (what we’re both studying in grad school). It is in a cool part of town, so we figured we’d find a restaurant near by for lunch.

Resistencia Book Shop

It said it was closed but they had a sign in the window that said they’d be back at noon. So we waited until 12:10pm and then figured they were running late and decided to grab lunch next door at Somnio’s.

Somnio’s serves “South Austin Cuisine” and it is a good thing I live in South Austin because “South Austin Cuisine” is local, organic, and mostly vegetarian. That is a cuisine I can get behind! Also, Somnio’s serves nirvana, known in the food pyramid as a TACO.

Somnio's in South Austin

Nynavae's Tacos (panko crusted mushroom fritters, slaw, amazing sauce, wheat tortillas)

I have a new religion: mushroom fritter tacos

Thank you, Somnio’s Cafe for making the best vegetarian taco I have ever had. Seriously, these were epic. And for offering whole wheat tortillas! Even their daily specials sounded incredible, I had such a hard time picking what to order. I mean spicy watermelon gazpacho?! Don’t be surprised if I go back soon…

We went back to the book shop after lunch and, of course, it was still closed. Sam and I parted ways, but hanging out with him was really great. It was nice to get back in touch with my academic side and it has made me start thinking about grad school and my classes. I got a lot of responses to my email about meeting up, so hopefully I’ll meet more students soon!

Off to hang by the pool for a bit

I’m alive!!!

I’m alive & well and have reentered the land of the living (aka, the Internet). I got my wireless set up last night thanks to my friend Trevor, so I am all set up down here in Austin and already working on my Texas swagger.

Recap of the past week: We drove, and drove, and drove some more. I ran in a hotel room, once, after the 6 hour day. After 13 hours in the car I was barely walking much less running! I also haven’t bee eating well at all since I haven’t had food in my apartment until today and we’ve been eating between errands and building furniture. However, I am ready to unveil to you all my new digs!

To celebrate my new found adulthood/the installation of wireless Internet, my mom and I went to Whole Foods for lunch (and food shopping — thanks for the gift certificate Aunt Linda & Uncle Bob!!!!!!)

Salad with tofu and quinoa salad, Skin Rejuvenator juice (beet, apple, cucumber, spinach, kale, and bell pepper)

And we’re finally, back to the healthy living part of this blog I promise to write more exciting posts soon once I’m all settled in. Possibly joining a gym tomorrow (discounted membership from my apartment complex!)

And I shall leave you with a picture of me and Bevo…

Meant to be!

goodbye, Virginia!

Today was my last full day in the great Commonwealth of Virginia This time tomorrow we’ll hopefully be somewhere near Memphis, TN! So I shall start this quote off with a quote that I adore.

To be a Virginian, either by birth, marriage, or even on one’s mother’s side is an introduction to any state in the union, a passport to a foreign country, and a benediction from above. – Anonymous

Today we spent a long time over at my grandparents’ house, where we had a small “goodbye lunch” for me. I will really, really miss Sunday afternoon lunches at my grandparents’

With my youngest cousins, Lily and Claire (who is shy!)

I picked the menu! Watermelon, my G'ma's coleslaw, cucumber salad, fresh tomato, grilled corn, and a vegan brautwurst on a hot dog thin (so cool, ps!)

Me & my mommy!

My Aunt Linda's dessert pizza (I had a small slice)

My family recipe Butternut Squash Pie (see Recipes tab!)

Me & my grandparents!

It was a great day and I will miss my family dearly — I’m so used to seeing them all the time (my grandparents live 10 minutes from my mom’s house — which is why she moved here when I went to college!). I know I will see them at Christmas, but that sounds so far away!

Of course, I had a plan to go to the gym around 5 (when food would be digested) to get in my run, but the hours online are incorrect and it was closed! UGH! Well, I tried. I’m hoping to get in a little cardio during the road trip to Texas, but we’ll have to see how I feel after spending 8+ hours in a car every day!

Since I started with a quote, I shall leave you with a quote! I’ll update from the road, but I’ll be in Austin by Wednesday afternoon!!!

Up men, to your posts! Don’t forget that, today, you are from Old Virginia! – George Edward Pickett

I hate goodbyes

Well Part 1 of my Goodbye Virginia Tour is over. I had lunch with my bff Tiffany in Richmond, visited my hometown of Poquoson, and headed down to Virginia Beach where I lived January-May of this year. Part 2 comes this weekend when I say goodbye to my family that lives near my mom. I absolutely hate goodbyes so I tend to try and just sneak out with a quick hug and a “see you later” but I didn’t always get out that quickly. However I got to see a lot of people and had a lot of fun visiting people who are very important in my life.

Here are some of the highlights: wine, baby, Panera, soy latte, puppy, caprese with avocado, and froyo.

My cousin's 2 month old son, Luke!

You Pick 2: half Mediterranean Veg sandwich, half Greek salad, and whole wheat baguette

Ashley the Creep and a medium iced soy latte

Reunited with the Monster (aka Sophie)

Traditional Caprese and olives with a twist: avocado!

Tart frozen yogurt with strawberries, snow caps, mochi, and a squeeze of marshmallow fluff!

A little too much dairy, so my stomach is mad at me, but I loved being down there! To my family and friends in Hampton Roads: I will miss you & come visit me in TX!

I didn’t get in any exercise so on my way out of town I made it to the gym for a quick session on the elliptical and some weights. On the drive back I did some difficult math calculations (what math calculations aren’t difficult?) and realized that my half marathon training started yesterday. Whoops! I was supposed to run today and cross train tomorrow, so I’m flip flopping that and I will be on schedule and won’t have missed anything. After a lot of comparison, contemplation, and questioning of other runners I decided to use the Hal Higdon plan (novice level)!

I’ve officially entered training & freak out mode!

fresh summer salad

I’m back at my mom’s house for a bit so I can pack before heading off to TX — packing is so hard! I have almost everything packed except one last suitcase of clothes and some kitchen stuff. I feel so accomplished!

I actually got home yesterday early afternoon and didn’t see my mom until lunch today She’s a nurse at a hospital and was working the 3p-11p shift, so she got home as I was falling asleep. But today we met for lunch between her morning volunteering at the free clinic and going in for another 3p-11p shift! Before Mexican goodness, I headed to the gym for 30 minutes of rolling hills on the elliptical and 30 minutes of stretching and chest & arm weights. Then I successfully avoided the tortilla chips, only eating 4!

Veggie fajitas with rice and beans (plus 1 tortillas on the side)

After lunch, I went to my grandma’s house around the corner to get some hand-me-down kitchen supplies as well as a fun present from my G’ma:

She painted me a picture!

My grandma is a very talented artist (she was actually an education professor, professionally) and wanted to give me something by which to remember Virginia and the fall colors I love! My friend Sarah took this picture of me while we were hiking in the Shenandoah National Park on the Rip Rap Trail in October and my grandmother did an amazing rendition of it! Here is the original:

Her inspiration

I like the painting even more than the photo I cannot wait to hang this in my new apartment!

I ran a few errands and then eventually made my way home to make dinner. Yesterday I came home to find an army of butternut squash, fresh from my mom’s garden.

An army of squash!

So last night I roasted up a small one and refrigerated it to use as part of my amazing, fresh summer salad that I had for dinner tonight!

Romaine lettuce, garden fresh cucumber, roasted butternut squash, grapefruit sections, garden fresh onions, goat cheese, and homemade dressing

To make the dressing, I simply combined equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a tsp of honey and a generous pinch of dried cilantro. Perfection and a great single-serve dressing! I’ll be making this again, and in a big batch. I tend to HATE salad dressing usually, so I find using hummus or making my own is best.

Off to digest the lovely, fresh vegetables I’ve been craving so badly and possibly watch a movie??

What is in your favorite summer salad? Any summery ideas for butternut squash?

an all-American dinner

Well hello!

Yesterday was a really good day, made even better by starting off at the gym with my aunt! She teaches water aerobics so I went and ran 3 miles on the treadmill and did some deep stretching and weight machines. I think my knee might be healed, you guys! I felt fine and I think that, once I get to Texas, I’ll be ready to start my half marathon training plan! Before the gym, I munched on a banana and a Kind Bar which may be my new favorite bar! I forgot to snap a photo, not thinking it would be a life changing event. I picked this one up on a whim at Starbucks — where can I find more?!?!?!

After my workout and a peach, we showered and headed out to a local state park for an eagle-watching expedition. That was a big fat fail because the park didn’t inform us that half of the trails were closed down and we didn’t see ANYTHING. Not even a squirrel! At least we hiked 2 miles and got some more exercise!

Once our appetite was worked up by the hike, my aunt made a black bean, corn, and bell pepper tart that was divine.

Heavenly vegetarian goodness.

My slice served up with some fresh salad, tortilla chips, and guac!

After lunch my aunt raided her kitchen supplies and gave me a ton of extra spices, a muffin pan, some measuring cups, cook books, a Japanese mandolin, and more… I’m moving to TX with virtually no cooking supplies, so I’ll take what I can get I then took an epic 1.5 hour nap and emerged refreshed and ready to head out to dinner.

Jeremy, who you may remember, is basically my brother since I lived with his parents and his twin brother is my bff (Harris). Well he lives 30 minutes from my aunt and uncle and one of our favorite restaurants, Capital Alehouse, was having it’s famous Dollar Burger Night, so we took my French cousins Paul and Jason out for a traditional American meal: BURGERS! Side note: Capital Alehouse is originally from Richmond and I spent many a night in college eating and tasting from the immense beer selection. Now they’ve opened one in Fredericksburg, where we went last night, and I just have so many fond memories associated with it!

My black bean burger and stolen fries from the community plate.

The burgers come out on a big platter and don’t come with fries, so we ordered appetizer orders of fries and everyone shared. I ordered a house salad on the side and only snagged a few fries to keep myself from eating too many fries. I’d rather waste the calories on beer and ice cream.

My drink of choice for the evening: A Black 'n Tan (half Guiness, half lager)

And after our All-American dinner of burgers, fries, and beer (and my salad ) we went to a local ice cream place that is just incredible. Homemade, amazing ice cream. And truly, what is more American than strawberry ice cream dripping down the cone on a hot Virginia night?

Best strawberry ice cream EVER

I slept solidly last night, despite the nap, and now I’m packing up and heading back to my mommy’s house to start packing for the big move to Austin!! 2 weeks from now we’ll be on the road already!

what’s in my fridge?

So including my late night grocery run I did for a few basics, I’ve gone back for more because my stomach is just NOT happy! I ended up buying some Activia yogurt and Fiber One cereal to help… erm… fix things. We’ll see.

So I decided it would be interesting to show you the random food staples I got to supplement the awful offerings of the dining hall here at my summer job. I’ve been sticking to pretty much just salad. The vegetarian/vegan section is tasty, but I can’t help but think that even that is packed with preservatives and other unsavory things. So I am bringing random bits of my meals to the dining hall and supplementing.

In my “pantry” (ie, on top of the mini-fridge in the dorm room I was put in):

Fiber One cereal, Kashi crackers, wheat pitas, dark chocolate, PB, bean dip (AMAZING), and granola bars.

You’d think Frito’s bean dip would have horrible ingredients and nutrition stats, but it isn’t bad at all and is “all natural”.

Next, moving down to the mini-fridge, we have the freezer:

Dairy-free ice cream!

Saving this baby for a special occasion, like my birthday or when I feel like throwing a member of my staff through a window and need to center myself with ice cream

And finally, the fridge:

Unsweetened coconut milk, carrots, coconut water (for electrolytes), apples, kiwi fruit, Fage Greek yogurt (the BEST), and Activia for my tummy

With just a little planning ahead and the willingness to take ingredients to the dining hall, I’ve been successful! For instance, this morning I took the box of cereal, a cup of Activia, and a kiwi fruit to mix with the pineapple already at the dining hall for a big yogurt and cereal bowl to keep me full. I’m considering taking a pita to lunch and filling it with ingredients from the salad bar. They have flour tortillas there, but I much prefer a whole wheat alternative if I have one available.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? What are your fridge staples to get you through the weeks (even at home!)??

walking, cafeteria food, and more walking

Well the good news is that, with the help of my Garmin, I can find out exactly how much mileage we walk every day. I had this job last year and never realized how much we walked!! When the kids get here (tomorrow) and we have more to do, we’re going to be covering like 3 miles a day just walking them between the dorms, cafeteria, classes, and other activities. Also it is a million degrees (high of 101 yesterday, BEFORE humidity) so we’re sweating out all our calories!

The cafeteria here certainly isn’t disgusting, but I’m already tired of it after 3 meals. Awesome. I foresee a lot of salad bar and cereal in my future. My stomach is actually really off today. Even though it is “fresh cafeteria food” it is more processed and fake than I’m used to so I think that is throwing my tummy for a loop. However, the university that hosts this immersion program I work for is pretty hipster and, therefore, has a decent selection of vegan/vegetarian alternatives. For instance, the amazing BBQ tofu I had yesterday:

BBQ tofu at the cafeteria, nice!

I also had some pretty killer vegan chili last night!!

In addition to the walking and food, the rules of the language programs stipulate that we allow the kids time to run/walk every morning to encourage physical activity in our youth. An admirable goal, really, but unfortunately the Spanish program is the 1st of 8 for EVERYTHING. This means that we’re the first to eat breakfast, and also the first to run. Our assigned running time is 5:25am. Yes, 5:25am. Breakfast at 7am sharp. Today I woke up at 6:30am and ran in the park across from the dorm (our assigned spot) and it was already blazing hot at that hour, so maybe 5:25am is a blessing is cooler weather disguise?

Off for the last day of staff prep! The kids arrive tomorrow! ¡Olé!

French food marathon

Wow, yesterday was the Boston Marathon of food (in my life, at least). My cousin Clement had his First Communion and their definition of a “dinner party” starts at noon and goes until last man standing.

I got in a run before, thankfully!!! I feel human again after some exercise! Just 2 miles (knee still bothering me, working up slowly) but my Garmin works in Europe! Coolio!

Church was boring (no offense) because I’m not Catholic (or religious, but I grew up going to church) and it was all in French that I could barely understand! The microphone was faulty and I was sitting behind a pillar, so we mostly whispered to my little cousin Milan (6) who constantly asked “Who is the man bleeding on the cross?” Explaining a higher being to a 6 year old is difficult. Oh and the church was beautiful, it has been in the town for hundreds and hundreds of years, I wish I knew the exact date!

After plenty of photos, we finally made it back to Bruno & Catherine’s house (up the hill from where I’m staying) for Clement’s luncheon. I thought that after the appetizers we’d have an entrée, a salad, and a cheese course/dessert. But boy was I wrong. I took plenty of pictures for you guys, so enjoy. Note. I didn’t photograph the appetizers (veggie platter, gruyere puffs, other delicious things).

The menu... the left is alcohol, the right is food (yeah, that many courses)!

First course (I gave all the meat to my cousins, and they gave me their veg/fruit -- a win-win situation.)

Mango & champagne flavored ice cream!

For the meat course, I partook of the spinach fritters & tomato amazingness

Cheese course! I had a piece of baguette with 3 small tastes of cheese (a goat, a soft cow, and a hard cow)

Dessert (with a bite taken out of it!)

Seriously, there was more dessert??? A traditional Croquembouche (a cake made of many, many cream puffs)

SO. MUCH. FOOD. But so, so good. I ate way too much and then tried to run/dance it off by playing with my cousins and dancing with my uncles. We were seriously at their house for 10 hours. After the 5 hour luncheon, we all sat around (drinking champagne obviously) until eventually MORE food was put out! I had some leftover cheese, some couscous salad, and some random candy the kids found in a treasure hunt. The day was so fun and I loved just hanging out. The food culture is amazing; family time is food time and there was no rushing to finish or desire to hit the road early! Absolutely lovely.

Today, we worked in the vineyard for 2 hours doing manual labor. I love physical movement in the morning! It sets the day off right! After a morning in the vines and a great lunch, we headed 30 minutes over to Reims, the big city in the area. The Cathedral of Reims is famous because almost every French king was coronated there, as well as Joan of Arc ending one of her crusades here.

The cathedral at Reims

It was a drizzly day, but we walked around town, visiting cool shops and doing an olive oil tasting!! I bought the most amazing (and expensive) French olive oil infused with basil! French olive oil is so different from Greek or Californian olive oil, it is incredibly light and flavorful!!! We also munched on some pain au chocolate and macarons (not to be confused with macaroons, which are inferior) to counteract any exercise benefits we may have gotten.

Hitting the sack NOW because we’re leaving at 5:00am tomorrow for a roadtrip to deliver champagne & visit friends in Middelkerke, Belgium!