Hello, Summer.

June 1, 2013June 1, 2013 BessLeave a comment

I can’t believe it’s already June 1st! I feel like May went by way too fast. Let’s see…to sum up the month: I got to see my love, went to Niagara Falls, and I turned 27.

Ah, 27. I don’t feel any different, but at the same time I don’t feel that old either. Maybe I’ll never feel as old as I actually am. Before you pounce – I’m not saying I’m old, just that however old I imagined 27 to feel like…I don’t feel it. If that makes sense. No? Moving on.
The picture you see to the left is the most delicious thing on this entire planet. Not the healthiest but who cares about health when your taste buds are singing songs about Euphoria and delight. Something about Salty Sweet foods calls to me. I crave them and develop an immediate fondness and addiction to them that I should probably seek further knowledge on what my body is lacking that I crave these foods so badly.

Niagara Falls, this is the fourth time I’ve been and it’s always magical to me. Something about completely natural water with that much power is awe-inspiring. Someday I’ll manage to cross the Rainbow Bridge to Canada and see what I’ve heard is the much better view of the Falls. Or at least a most entertaining one.

Jarred and I went to a concert on my birthday. It was a concert I’d been really looking forward to; Volbeat, Big Wreck, 10 Years, Eye Empire, Wayland and Surrender the Fall. The crowd killed this concert though. It was dead, drunk and less enthused than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. The Bands were great, I just didn’t enjoy myself when they were not playing.

I’m currently sitting in my kitchen typing on my laptop because the house in unbearably hot and my room turns into a heat pod, where heat comes in and never leaves. It’s like a haunted house of heat.

I have never craved an Iced Chai more than I do at this exact moment. I’m going to have to remedy this situation pronto.

So, as I sit, typing…sipping lemon water and smelling deliciousness from the oven (vegetable Lunas!) my little cat, Jack and my behemoth puppy, Sydney are both on opposite sides of the room collapsed on the floor. These two are enemies you see. More on Jack’s side than Sydney who probably doesn’t care about the irate kitten at all.

Upcoming recipes!

I made my own recipe for the first time for a yummy Corn Chowder that is super healthy and only about 160 calories per serving! I also made a creamy chicken and wild rice soup, that is less healthy. I’ve made some Muffins from a recipe I found over at Ambitious Kitchen – Link is in the Blogroll. They are delicious! and Guilt Free! I’ve been watching some food shows on Netflix and Hulu lately and I’ve been dying to try making Thai foods, maybe a Pad Thai, or a curry. Tikka Masala sounds divine. I’m always disappointed in the tofu though. I can’t find the type of tofu in the grocery stores that I get when I order from a thai restaurant. I wish I knew what the difference was or where to get it. The texture is completely different – even from extra firm. WHHHHHHHY can’t I find it? If you have any light to shed on this subject, I will pay you in diamonds and rubies. Just kidding, I don’t have those types of riches. But I would love you forever and promise to post pictures of the results of such advise! That’s enough for now, until my room cools down enough for me to go through the pictures I took for those Muffins.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful June so far and look forward to the rest of the month.

Long Distance · Self-reflection

Finally a day off and time to write…

March 21, 2013April 26, 2013 BessLeave a comment

I was hoping to make a post last week, unfortunately on the day when I normally would have time to cook and time to write, I was called in to work the night before and ended up sleeping all day with no time to do either cooking or writing.

Currently, I’m sitting in bed on my laptop watching Bones and contemplating the Noodle dish I plan on making for dinner tomorrow. I bought whole grain linguine, fresh produce like Bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, scallions, and it will all be combined with chicken breast strips and cajun seasoning for what I hope is a plate of dreamy deliciousness.

Today is or at this point, was the first day of Spring. Here in my area of New York, we welcomed it with a 36 hour Lake Effect Snow watch. Wonderful. I still remain hopeful however that this is the last snow I’ll be seeing this season – after all, April is only about a week away!

Next week I’ll be traveling down to Massachusetts to spend Easter with Jarred and meet most of his family for the first time. In preparation for that I will be making two batches of Oreo Truffles, one with peanut butter oreos, one with regular. I’ll also be making a recipe from the Pioneer Woman that I’ve altered slightly to take out the pecans or nuts, called Knock You Naked Brownies. Hoping to get recipes posted for all of these dishes.

Thursday morning I will be going to the dentist to have a Not-quite-a-cavity-yet tooth filling done. My house has well water and a lack of fluoride, so apparently my molar needs a little extra protection and I have a new fluoride routine.

And lastly! A few questions that I hope some people will have the answer to and leave them for me! I’ve lost a bit of weight probably too fast, my skin in my thighs, breasts and stomach is a little bit loose- not horribly so but enough that it bugs me. I’ve been using Palmer’s Firming Butter to help tighten it up as well as drinking lots of water, any other suggestions? I’m also going to give p90x a try starting this week – anybody have some excellent stretches to do before and after?

I’m also looking for some healthy lunches that don’t involve the bread part of a sandwich or if it does have bread – no cold cuts. Any ideas or tips?

Cooking · Long Distance · Work

Minestrone Soup and “I-need-a-vacation-itis”

March 9, 2013June 1, 2013 BessLeave a comment

I woke up from a late night nap, looked out my window and was confronted with a vision of white. Actually getting out of my bed for closer inspection, I was delightfully surprised to see it was Fog. I’m not particularly a fan of fog, but I love it compared to snow. Bring on all the fog possible if it means the snow season is over this year.

That’s probably not the case.

But tomorrow it’s supposed to be a warm, no-jacket-needed fifty degrees, and that’s good enough news to make me wiggle my toes and do a little happy dance that has never been witnessed by another soul.

Requesting time off at my work is a not-so-complicated process, however actually getting the days is harder than you’d think. This coming from a person who gets most of the days she requests – it’s still not easy. I put my requests in six months ahead of time and usually schedule them around my days off so that I’m actually only requesting two days every other month instead of four or five. It’s all put in through the computer at work, and then my Overnight Manager looks at it, and takes anywhere between a day or three weeks to Approve or Reject it. I’m currently praying that I can manage to find somebody to fill my Easter shift that I requested in December and was denied for. I’m hoping to meet Jarred’s family for the first time (sosososososososo incredibly nervous) and I’d like to not have to come home the day before Easter while everybody is on the highway doing the exact same thing. I also just put in requests for July (Mayhem Fest 2013) and three days in August for a wedding. I’m bracing myself for a long few weeks of “Bess, all these vacations, what am I going to do with you” followed by denying half of them. All of this would easily be solved if they would give me Full Time (I work full time hours most weeks anyway) and allow me to move out on my own.

Sigh.

On a brighter note, I broke out my trusty slow cooker yesterday and made soup! Vegetarian-Wheat Free- Minestrone to be exact. I wasn’t able to completely follow the directions of the recipe as my Slow Cooker must be a different size than the one originally used. A fact that I didn’t discover until after I’d already started the process of combining ingredients. It is delicious nonetheless though! Chock full of vegetables and that warm-you-all-the-way-to-your-bones comfort food flavor.
Minestrone Soup in the Slow Cooker!