Lent already?

Whoa. When did Lent sneak up on me?

Clearly I’ve been out of it for a while because I suddenly looked at my calendar today and saw that it is Ash Wednesday. Did it sneak up on anyone else too? Perhaps this explains all the weird Facebook status updates about not using Facebook for the next 40 days?

So last year I attempted to give up alcohol for Lent. Not because I have a drinking problem (which is nothing to joke about) but because I thought it would help me save money and concentrate on finding ways to spend time with friends outside of happy hour. Well it was an epic failure because I forgot and only realized it halfway through a happy hour at Fado’s in downtown Austin a week into Lent. But, I figure it is fate that I forgot about it because that is the happy hour where I met Rahul!

This year, after quickly debating (read: today) what I am going to give up for Lent I decided that I’m not going to give up anything. I won’t get deep into religious doctrine, because everyone has their own beliefs and why would you care about mine… but basically, I don’t feel like giving up something like dessert, beer, or meat will bring me closer to God.

Instead, I am going to continue to live my life as usual, but save all my receipts from coffee shops and bakeries — purchases that I consider total luxuries and certainly not a necessity. At the end of Lent, I will total up how much I’ve spent on all of that and donate it to a charity. I’ve yet to choose a charity (suggestions?) but I am thinking something to do with the military since my big brother is in Afghanistan. It won’t be much money, I’m guessing maybe $30-40, but maybe I’ll divide it into a few small donations to a few charities.

I also saw this, the 40 Days of Water mission that looks amazing. If I hadn’t failed so miserably to give up alcohol last year I might consider it. But I think this sounds incredible! Let me know should you feel so inclined to participate — I’d love to hear your experience! (And it doesn’t have to be for religious reasons, either!)

So are you giving up anything for Lent? Do you have a suggestion for a charity? Do you think we church goers are crazy?

obsessed

Hello my name is Meredith and I’m obsessed with my juicer.

For approximately 2 years I have been lusting after juicers. I’ve seen them all over the blog world and always treated myself to a healthy juice on my trips to Whole Foods (which are rare, considering I am a grad student). For Christmas 2010 I was all set to get one and had told my mom all about it, but then reality set in and I realized there were things I needed more in my life and an extra appliance in my kitchen wasn’t it. But since then, I’ve kept my eyes out for a deal, promising myself I’d jump on a deal if I found one.

And I did! This juicer was randomly being offered as a Groupon Goods deal and I happened to have a gift certificate to Groupon (thanks, Mom!) so I ended up paying 1/4 of the retail value plus $10 in shipping. Not too shabby! I got the Juiceman JM400 Jr., which for a newbie juicer like me works perfectly fine — here’s the link on Amazon if you want to see.

The reviews led me to believe that this would be a great juicer for someone who isn’t planning on making huge batches of juice every day, more for the casual juicer than the religious detoxer. Since I’ve gotten it, I’ve made a juice about every other day and it has held up just fine.

If you are thinking of investing in a juicer, here are my basic recommendations:

• Start small, you can always upgrade your model if you want something bigger and better, but you’ll always regret spending $200 on something you found out you never used.
• To keep a juicing habit affordable, buy produce that is on sale and in season. With the 3 for $1 small apples, $1 bunches of kale, 3 for $1 lemons, and a knob of ginger root, my favorite juice costs me less than $1!
• Only buy produce you would eat otherwise. You may get sick of your beet juice and regret having a surplus of beets in your produce drawer.
• Get bang for your buck: produce like cucumbers, apples, and citrus produce a high volume of juice.
• Clean the parts as soon as you finish juicing! It takes about 5 minutes, but I let my juice sit after I make it and force myself to rinse everything off. This way, the sticky fruit juice and pulp doesn’t get crusted on everything.
• If you have a dog or other small mammal, consider feeding it the juice pulp. I feel a little wasteful throwing mine down the garbage disposal. For my all-vegetable juices, I save the pulp and throw it in pasta sauce.

I love my juicer and I love making fresh juice. My skin is looking great and I feel good knowing I’m getting in my vitamins when I sometimes might not meet my daily fruit and vegetable goals. I even love my juicer so much that I keep it near me at all times and somehow spilled acetone nail polish remover on it and it damaged the plastic coating. Go me! 

do you believe in ghosts?

Okay this is totally random and off-topic… but since when do I have a topic?

Do you believe in ghosts? I’ve always been a firm believer in ghosts. I grew up in a very historic and haunted area of Virginia, where supposedly many ghosts from Colonial times up to the present reside. I’ve taken a ghost tour of Colonial Williamsburg, driven on Elbow Road in Virginia Beach, and been too chicken to hang out on the old battlefields late at night.

I don’t normally give my belief in ghosts that much thought, but on New Year’s Eve I was in Richmond, where I went to college, and a friend and I decided to visit the Edgar Allen Poe House Museum (which, by the way, is totally worth $5).

Before going, there was some general discussion among my friends about how ghosts supposedly appear in the windows of the courtyard at the museum. I started asking everyone about their belief in ghosts and then I busted out some knowledge: ghosts appear as orbs in photographs. You can Google it.

Well, I have proof of this. You see, my mom’s wedding was held the day after my dad’s funeral. (Yes, you read that right. They were divorced and his death was, obviously, unexpected).  So anyways, there is a picture of me from the wedding with a floating orb which appears in no other photo from my camera or from that room. I 100% believe it was my dad’s spirit.

You can’t miss it! (Nor can you miss how fat I was. Wow.)

Okay so there’s part 1 of your proof. Ready for the second? At the Edgar Allen Poe House, I snapped tons of pictures of windows hoping to see the elusive ghosts. On first glance, I didn’t see them on my camera. But after putting the photos in iPhoto, I can totally see them! There are TWO orbs in this picture, can you see them, too??

It isn’t quite a clear as the one from my mom’s wedding, but there they are! (On the right side, for those playing along at home).

So after all that, do you believe in ghosts? Or do you think I’m crazy and have decided to never read this blog again?

gettin’ ripped

To change subjects entirely, I would like to redirect your attention to my muscles.

In addition to training for a half marathon (read my story here and consider donating here!), I am currently enrolled in a good old fashioned PE class through the institution where I am studying for my Master’s degree. This has been an amazing class and I can feel my body changing every day. I have definitely gained muscle in my arms, back, and legs, and my abs are getting stronger each day.

We start every day with a brief overview of the workout and then we are led in an intense warm up, followed by our workout. If you are interested in doing a more structured weight training program, here’s what I do twice a week in class and once a week on my own:

Warm up:
15 crunches
30 penguins
15 leg lifts
10 zulus <— my own personal hell
25 flutter kicks
15 reverse crunches
30 bicycles
10 bird dogs (per side)
10 standard fire hydrants (per side)
5 forward loop fire hydrants (per side)
5 reverse loop fire hydrants (per side)
10 Superman pushups <— I can’t actually do the pushup component
10 push up plus
20 mountain climbers
10 donkey kicks
10 sky divers
10 back divers
30 second side plank (per side)
die in a pool of sweat

Weight training (sets x reps):
1 x 10 bench press warm up, 45 lbs (just the bar)
3 x 5 bench press target, 60 lbs
1 x 10 bench press warm down, 45 lbs

1 x 10 squats warm up, 45 lbs (just the bar)
3 x 5 squats target, 70 lbs
1 x 10 squats warm down, 45 lbs

3 x 10 bicep curl with dumbbell,  12.5 lbs
2 x 10 (per side) dumbbell row, 15 lbs
3 x 10 French press, 15 lbs <— do this for fierce arms
3 x 10 tricep pull down, 15 lbs
3 x 10 overhead press (with bar or dumbbells), 35 lbs

3 x 10 leg press, 150 lbs
3 x 10 calf raises (toes pointing in, toes pointing out, neutral stance)

**If you don’t know what some of these are, a quick Google search will get you images of them all!

Before starting any weight training, remember that I am not a professional, I am not your doctor (so talk to your own!), and that you shouldn’t try for the weights I am lifting if you are not capable of lifting them! For bench press and squats, you will need a spotter to help you (so modify and do traditional squats with hand weights if you don’t have a rack or lie on a bench and use dumbbells for bench press).

Do you have a weight training program? Or do you just do a few standard exercises after finishing up your cardio?

something smells fishy

I love fish. I grew up in an area known as “Tidewater” in Virginia, so as you can probably guess there was a lot of seafood. My mother is not particularly fond of the stuff, but I can’t get enough fish! The only problem is the smell. I never cook fish in my apartment simply because of the smell!

But I braved the scent when I was inspired to make a Thai fish dish. I believe this dish is traditionally made with salmon, but I’m a graduate student and it saved me serious money to swap tilapia for salmon! But I think the tilapia was perfect since it flakes so nicely. It made a great texture and really absorbed the flavors.

This dish requires very few ingredients, which I am very into these days. If you haven’t noticed, lately I’ve been making dishes with very minimal ingredients and I’m loving the simplicity of flavors!

If you don’t normally cook with these ingredients, coconut milk and sriracha sauce can easily be found in the Asian section of your grocery store. I bought a small bottle of sriracha since I don’t use it at home a lot!

Red Curry Fish (serves 2-3)
2-3 filets of tilapia or other white fish, depending on size
1 cup light coconut milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch salt & pepper
1-2 T sriracha sauce (spicy — add to taste!)
1 cup frozen sugar snap peas
In a mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, garlic, and sriracha sauce. Marinate the fish (defrost it if it was frozen!) for 10-15 minutes in the coconut milk mixture. Heat up a large skillet (cast iron if you have it!) to medium-high heat. Pour in the coconut milk mixture and the sugar snap peas. Watch carefully and turn the heat down to medium when the liquid starts to bubble. Stir gently; the fish will start to turn white and flake off as you stir but you don’t want to break it too much (6-7 minutes). Once all of the fish has gone from translucent to white and the sauce has thickened a little, cut the heat off and let it sit for another minute to thicken. Serve hot with some rice and enjoy!

refrigerator facial

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a representative from Avocados from Mexico (hi, Ginny!) sent me some avocados to use in a breakfast recipe, which I did when I made a Pineapple Avocado Smoothie! I’ve also used the delicious avocados to top salmon burgers, to top my eggs, and in salad.

But one way I never thought to use avocado? A face mask!

Since a current beauty trend is using natural ingredients and getting rid of all the unnatural yucky chemicals, I figured that avocado had to have more benefits than one can get by simply eating it.

My skin is chronically dry (thanks, thyroid) so I decided to go for the avocado moisturizing mask. While mine didn’t look as pretty as this…

(in fact it looked more like this…)

… my mask did make my skin feel great! The ingredients were totally normal and something you’ll easily find in your refrigerator and pantry: avocado, plain yogurt, and honey!

My skin has continued to feel softer and more moisturized a few days after the facial and I can see this becoming a bi-weekly beauty ritual. Plus, it smells great

Try it, your skin will thank you!

not just for guacamole

Recently, a representative from Avocados from Mexico asked me if I’d like her to send me some avocados so I could try out a breakfast recipe or two.

Come again?

Yes, please. Please send me one of my most favorite fruits that I, sadly, almost never buy. Rahul is allergic to them so I got out of the habit of eating them.

I browsed the breakfast recipes and decided to try the Avocado Pineapple Smoothie since I’ve always wanted to try an avocado smoothie and never have. Most of the time, I think of avocado as solely a condiment, but you can do a lot more with it than guacamole if you think outside the box.

I decided to throw in a couple almost-too-ripe strawberries in with the mix, so the color looks a little icky, but trust me: the smoothie was great. It was incredibly creamy and nice to discover a dairy-free smoothie alternative that makes it as creamy as yogurt. A little healthy fat never hurt anyone!

Be sure to browse the website and learn more about avocados. I enjoyed educating myself on the vitamins and other health benefits of avocados and looking for some recipe inspiration. I’m also going to try an avocado face mask tonight! I’ll report back.

idiot sauce

I promise you “idiot sauce” is not some cool new word all the kids are using, like “awesomesauce”. Idiot sauce is exactly what it sounds like, as you’ll soon find out.

In my recent quest to make leftover-worthy dishes to pack for lunch, I have been eyeing a basic recipe for vegan (read: dairy-free) stuffed shells that has been floating around food blogs for quite some time. I love pasta but making a big dish of stuffed shells is probably not the smartest idea if I’m the only one eating them. So I glanced over the basics, restocked my nutritional yeast in the bulk bins, and hastily grabbed a package of tofu, still unsure of tofu in my pasta.

Enter: the idiot.

Stupid me was too busy texting Rahul and didn’t even pay attention. I bought the soft kind rather than the extra firm type that the recipe actually calls for. Soft tofu, for those of you who don’t know, is just one hair short of being pure liquid (silken tofu). I realized this after I boiled the manicotti for the baked pasta. I realized this after blending everything together and winding up with a liquid rather than a ricotta-like texture. This is not stuff-worthy. This is a liquid.

I trudged on.

I was a little skeptical, but I dipped my finger into my basil-laden sauce and was floored. This stuff was good. No, great. I could not stop tasting it. In order to not waste the pasta I had already made, I ended up layering the sauce, noodles, sauce, and marinara and baking that baby in the oven for 20 minutes. It was delicious, but the real star was the sauce. This was the best accidental grocery store purchase in history.

I used about 2/3 of it in the baked pasta (which provided me 3 meals!) and saved the rest in a jar in my fridge. I’ve since dipped into it as a spread on a veggie sandwich and I’m planning on tossing it with some fettuccini pretty soon. This is like a basil heavy alfreddo sauce in taste and texture — but you’d never know it was vegan! 

For the tofu-wary readers out there, I challenge you to make this! Tofu is not as scary as you think and nutritional yeast is more and more common in grocery stores these days. I didn’t do this on purpose, but you definitely should.

Vegan Basil Cream Sauce (aka, Idiot Sauce)
1 package (16 oz) soft tofu, drained
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1 T nutritional yeast
1 T olive oil
pinch salt & pepper
Open and drain tofu. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients, blending until creamy and uniform (about 1 minute). Keep in the refrigerator until ready for use, or toss it immediately with hot pasta! Use alone or mix with marinara for a creamy pink sauce!

a barbecue staple

Now, where I’m from a “barbecue” doesn’t necessarily mean the meat. A barbecue, as I was raised to call it, is what some of y’all folks call a “cookout“.

Whatever you call it, there are some staple foods that appear at the typical barbecue, including my grandma’s deviled eggs and some form of potato salad. Potato salad happens to be one of my very favorite foods to eat at a barbecue or in any other circumstance. And I especially like the kinds that aren’t totally doused in a creamy mayonnaise sauce. A little mayo goes a long way.

One of the best potato salads I’ve ever eaten was made by my Aunt Josette and I remember it well because it was the very first time I ever ate fennel. Because of all the summer barbecues being talked about in the universe, I started to reminisce about this delicious fennel and potato salad and I ventured to create my own version.

If you are a fennel virgin, let me enlighten you about this delicious plant vegetable thing. (What exactly is fennel?)

Fennel tastes like licorice in a crunchy, fresh way. Still following me? You’re going to have to trust me. To some, it tastes really strong on its own so putting it in something like potato salad is a great way to experience the flavor but not overwhelm your palate (big word for “taste buds”). When you cut the fronds off the bulb, cut the bulb in half and remove the “core”, then chop/dice roughly like you would an onion. Do your best. Also, save the fronds because you can cut up the herby part and use it for seasoning.

The crunch of the fennel is so perfect with the softness of the potato and since the dressing is light you can taste everything without feeling overwhelmed by mayonnaise. Make this for your next barbecue. Or with my Black Olive & Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers as we did!

Potato and Fennel Salad (serves 4)
2 lbs small red potatoes, washed
1 bulb fennel, fronds removed
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 T dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
juice of 1 small lemon (or 1/2 medium lemon)
rosemary, chopped
fennel greens, chopped
salt & pepper
Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place a dish towel over them, allowing them to steam for another 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cool, slice each potato into fourths and set aside. Remove the fronds from the fennel bulb but don’t discard. Slice the fennel bulb in half and remove the core. Continue to slice the bulb into small pieces and set them aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Chop fresh rosemary and the greens from the fennel fronds. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel, herbs, and the mayonnaise mixture, folding gently so as not to mash up the potato pieces. Allow to chill for at least an hour and serve cold.

restaurant review: Red’s Porch in Austin, TX

Recently I met one of the owners of Red’s Porch here in Austin, a venue I had heard a lot about. As soon as I checked the menu online, I couldn’t believe that I had never visited! The menu boasts a cool mix of cajun dishes and Tex-Mex specialties. Well, I was given an offer I couldn’t refuse (free food!) and took my camera along to snap some pictures.

So my friend Emilie and I headed to Red’s, along with two of her out-of-town guests, Caroline and Diana. Nothing starts off dinner like a cocktail: the spicy Voodoo Queen. Best Bloody Mary I’ve had in Austin, hands down. And the waiter even made sure mine had a smiley face for the picture!

Glancing at the appetizer menu, we decided on the Boudain Balls and the Cheese Biscuits with Bacon Gravy. Any time I see biscuits and gravy on a menu, I simply must eat it. At one point the waiter tried to clear our plate when there was just crumbs and gravy left and we slapped his hand out of the way. I believe I actually said, “You never take gravy away from a Southerner.” I’m sure he loved me.

Then came the main event and no one could decide. Caroline and Diana ended up ordering a burger and a sandwich and splitting, so Emilie and I did the same. We split the Oyster BLT and the Smokey Goat burger. As a Virginia girl, the combination of fried oysters and bacon took me right back to the marshes of my youth. And we know that I am a sucker for anything with goat cheese on it. They were both delicious in their own way, but I think the burger was my favorite.

I think Emilie liked the BLT.

I threw caution aside and dove right into my burger, covering myself in ketchup along the way.

As we digested another round of cocktails and our burgers, we sat back and took in the scenery. I love the fact that I can eat outdoors at the restaurants of Austin almost every day of the year. And Red’s has an incredible view, especially from the top floor of the porch!

Eventually dessert arrived and we enjoyed the Fruit Cobbler and the Fried Snickers Bar. We all agreed that, while delicious, the cobbler was not a traditional cobbler. It was more like a cake than a cobbler, but still good with melty ice cream on top! However, the Fried Snickers Bar was the best. I’ve had deep-fried Snickers at the Virginia State Fair but this was way better! It was as if it has been fried in crepe batter and not just heavy breading. Delicious!

My arteries made the sacrifice to taste that for you. This is just my cross to bear.

All in all it was a delicious evening at Red’s Porch with good service, tasty cocktails, and amazing food. If you’re in Austin, head to Red’s Porch on S Lamar (across the street from Broken Spoke) and relax on the porch!