Preschool bootcamp

So, here I am. On the Orange line T (Boston's version of a "subway" system), because there aren't enough hours in the day anymore. I swear I'm in preschool teacher bootcamp. I'm lucky enough to work in a brand new school so the hours are crazy and the amount of shit that needs to get done leaves me little time for things like... Breathing. Sleeping. Now eating, is never an issue. My kids got taught to "share" their lunches and snacks with me on day one. Yea I take food from 3 and 4 year olds. A girl's gotta eat.

So yea, I haven't quite figured out how to navigate my new hectic schedule. The house is a disaster area. Cooking has turned into a survival technique as opposed to the enjoyable experience it once was. But, this week is definitely going more smoothly so there's hope. I'm trying my best to find time to keep this blog afloat despite my shitty attempts thus far. So for any of you still out there, don't abondon me!

I'll be back.

Namaste bitches.

-D

Still love me?...

I know, I know. Completely unacceptable. Almost a whole month of no posts. Well, this blog adventure is going rather poorly isn't it. Sigh. I'll apologize again. I didn't do it on purpose. I promised myself that I would not use this blog to complain, mope, and pollute this space with negativity.

So like mama always said, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all."

I was going through a bit of a funk. I can't really explain it, but it was there... following me around everywhere. I couldn't sleep. I was irritable and over-emotional (yes, more than usual). I had tons to write about.. our trip to Philly and back to NY, our yard sale, new restaurants, etc..

I just didn't feel like talking (or writing, rather) about any of it.

Then when I did finally snap out of it and was all exited about writing again, POOF! it was August 31st and I was starting my brand new job. Let me tell you that I do not know how I am gonna make it through the year at this rate. I feel like I'm on fast forward.. no pause button. I hope it's only because it's my first year in my own classroom. Because if every September is like this, I won't make it past 35.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew. I was given a HUGE beautiful plain classroom to do as I wish with. It's like someone gave me a blank canvas and all the paint I could ever want. I'm beside myself. Every 2 minutes, I think of a new "idea".  Parents and kids come in on Thursday for a meet and greet, and my classroom looks nothing like I want it to look. Not to mention, I'm close to a panic attack about the first day anyway.

So, posts are still going to be a bit sporadic for the next week or so, but I'm making a promise to myself that I will make an effort to blog more regularly. Lord knows I'm gonna need it. Namaste bitches...

Oh.. I almost forgot! I bought a bicycle! and a helmet!

More adventures, less food. OK, that's a lie...

I'm still alive people. I hope you all haven't abandoned me due to my shameless lack of attendance in my new blog world. I've had some weird mental block going on and my brain seriously turned to mush last week. I swear. I had to write a bio about myself for my new job, and stared at a blank page for about 3 days. I've just been in a funk lately. My apologies.

N. and I are also having a yard sale this weekend, so I've been drowning in boxes of junk wonderful treasures for the past week and a half. It's the first yard sale for both of us, so I'm not expecting anything to go smoothly. We have quite a bit of cool stuff (not to mention her mom and sister are both setting up tables in our yard as well) so hopefully we'll get a decent crowd and lots of money!

My other excuse for being MIA all week is that N. and I also stayed true to our promise and went walking around JP Pond almost everyday last week. We are both so out of shape that when we get home, all we do is eat dinner, watch an episode or two of True Blood (our new series.. RIP Lost) and pass out. I know none of these are valid excuses, but at least give me brownie points for trying.

MMmmm...brownies.

Speaking of brownies... why is it that eating healthy is so ridiculously expensive. I mean seriously! We completely overhauled our refrigerator and pantry, throwing out all the yummy sugary fatty goodness bad artery clogging diabetes causing stuff. We went to Market Basket armed with a grocery list chock full of veggies and fruits, lean protein and low sugar options. Granted we might have gone a little overboard..

 Disregard the ice cream in the lower left corner.
We came to our senses and put that back.

...but we had no idea the astronomical number that would be displayed on the checkout screen:

If we would have had a cart full of processed, fatty,sugary CRAP (like we usually do) our total would have been HALF that. Then people have the nerve to judge struggling families for eating junk food and allowing their children to eat things like McDonald's (of course, lack of exercise is also a contributing factor... but still!). I mean why wouldn't a struggling mom buy each of her kids an entire meal at Taco Bell for $4, if those same $4 can barely buy TWO avocados in the grocery store?! 

I am so growing avocados in my garden next season because $4 for two avocados is just insanity.

Well, now that we have an entire farm and grocery store in our kitchen, we have no excuse not to be cooking delicious meals every night. Of course, when I say "we" I totally mean "I," since N.'s contribution entails just eating. I've been satisfying our take-out cravings by attempting to recreate them at home. Last night we had Chicken Tikka Masala over curry rice and griddle bread...

And the night before that I made Thai Red Curry Salmon with Pineapple Mango Fried Rice. Amazing, I tell you. N. said it was better than our usual takeout place! Two more brownie points for me. MMmmm brownies. Sorry. I didn't follow a recipe with the salmon, but the recipe for the fried rice is below. It's by By Darlene Schmidt, on About.com.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Ingredients:

• SERVES 2-4
• 1 small can pineapple chunks, drained, OR 1 whole pineapple (see instructions below) <---I also added mango because I had a yummy Thai yellow mango sitting in my fridge :-)
• 3 cups cooked rice, preferably several days old (Tip: if fresh, leave for an hour or more in the refrigerator uncovered)
• 3-4 Tbsp. vegetable or faux chicken stock for stir-frying (or regular chicken stock if non-vegetarian)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 1 red or green chili, thinly sliced (reduce or leave out if you prefer very mild fried rice)
• 1 egg (vegans can omit)*
• ½ cup frozen peas
• optional: 1 small carrot, grated (about 1/4 cup)
• ¼ cup raisins or currants
• ½ cup raw unsalted whole cashews     <--I left these out because I didn't want to die
• 3 spring onions finely sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 2 Tbsp vegetarian fish sauce, OR 3 Tbsp. soy sauce (use regular fish sauce if non-vegetarian)
• 2 tsp. curry powder

Preparation:

For a non-vegetarian version of this recipe, see: How to Make Thai Heavenly Pineapple Fried Rice, step by step.

1. Mix 1 Tbsp. oil with the rice, using your fingers to separate any chunks into grains. Set aside.
2. In a cup, stir the soy sauce/fish sauce together with the curry powder.
3. Drizzle 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a wok/large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying until fragrant (1 minute). Whenever the wok/pan becomes dry, add a little stock (1/2 to 1 Tbsp. at a time to keep the pan sizzling).
4. Crack egg (if using) into wok and stir quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs).
5. Add the carrot (if using), peas, cashews. Stir-fry 1 minute in the same way, adding more stock if needed.
6. Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, and currents. Drizzle the fish/soy sauce mixed with curry powder over and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat until the rice "dances" (begins to make popping sounds) - about 3 minutes.Tip: Avoid adding any more stock from here on, or your rice will turn out soggy. The wok/pan should be hot and dry.
8. To serve, scoop rice onto a serving platter (or in a carved-out pineapple, if serving at a party - see link at beginning of recipe). Top with spring onions and coriander, and ENJOY!

*Note: Vegans may omit the egg without losing the flavor or nutrients of this great dish (cashews provide the main protein source). 

Let me just tell you, this is absolutely delicious and you need to try making it, if you're into that sort of thing that is. So far, the eating habit change is going well. We're working on making our portions smaller and not be such... hefers. The weekend came along though, and with it, brought Boston's First Annual Food Truck Festival. If you know anything about how N. and I feel about food trucks (and my dismay at the Boston laws practically forbidding them!) then you know we were in there like swim wear!

We weren't that bad though. I swear! We shared a Chicago Dog and munched on a few handfuls of caramel popcorn. Oh and a free sample of some yummy Jamaican chicken. It was actually kind of disappointing. The festival, not the chicken. Food trucks are a New York City staple and one of my favorite things about the city. Boston needs to get with the program! 

The festival was at the SOWA Open market, so we spent most of the time in there perusing the aisles. I found some great Nina Simone records in the vintage market.

We also bought some awesome art pieces and got some cheap-o, but super cute frames at Boomerang's  (check them out! Their proceeds  support the programs and services of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts!) on centre Street in JP. 

I guess our disappointment at the food trucks got the better of us, because somehow we ended up at JP Licks and sinned. We sinned big time. JP Licks now has Belgian Waffles before 2pm, and of course it was 1PM and we were just in time!

Ha! Caught in the act!

**EDIT**  These faces have been changed to cows based on N.'s hissy fit about posting unflattering photos. That is all. You may resume reading.

Oh well. We were good for most of the week. Look, life is short. What if my number was up that day? I would have totally regretted not eating that waffle. And the brownie batter ice cream I topped it with was just as important. 

Namaste bitches!

-D.

No more pancakes? :- (

I'm supposed to be writing a bio about myself for my new teaching job, but obviously that's not what I'm doing. I'm having a mental block. I usually have no problem talking about myself so I don't know what my problem is. I'll try again later, right now I'm going to post, while I sip on this nice glass of Riesling.

So, in my last post I was ranting about my stupid wisdom teeth. I dragged myself to Tufts Dental School, preparing myself for a horrible ordeal, but they were actually pretty awesome. It was the best experience at a dentist I've ever had to be honest.  The student dentist assigned to me was super nice. He explained every little thing he was doing and made me laugh a few times. Even the supervising dentist was a sweetheart. My pleasant visit sure as heck didn't have a pleasant outcome though. Apparently, I have to have all 4 wisdom  teeth pulled out, two of which are partially impacted (which means they basically have to operate to remove them). Lucky me! The two top teeth are $100 per tooth and the bottom two (the impacted ones) are $348 per frikin' tooth! Get your calculators out ladies and gentlemen. Then they have to tack on anesthesia. The "student" dentist said I would be fine with IV sedation, which basically gets you all loopy (but still conscious) and you don't remember a thing.. so he claimed. I believed him. He told me that they wouldn't do it today. they would give me antibiotics for the infection, Advil for the pain, and an appointment to come back and have the 4 teeth pulled. I took my little printout to the front desk and the receptionist starts punching numbers, and then looks at me and says "Wait, you're not getting knocked out for this? Oh, honey, you need to be put out for this procedure." So, she tacks on another $214 for anesthesia.

The total comes to $1,164.

Yep, that's what I said.

And the worst part is, that they have no appointments until October 8th (since the operation is done by an actual surgical dentist, not a student... thank baby Jesus!). So I'm supposed to pray my tooth doesn't start hurting again before then, and that I wont get fired for taking a week off of work one month after I start.

Sigh.

In happier news, our garden is thriving! OK, thriving is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's doing really well for our first attempt at gardening.

we have cherry tomatoes!

jalapeños...

cauliflower (not sure if it's supposed to look like that.. it might be dead.)

ONE cute little eggplant..

and a crap load of kale. Note to self: no kale next year.

Well, with the month of August upon us, N. and I have stayed true to our vow to stop being such major hefers. We both got on the scale this weekend, and that sealed the deal. But of course, it wasn't August yet.. and it was the weekend. We decided to have our last brunch at Sorella's on Saturday morning. 

There's N., looking all consumed by the awareness that this will be the last time 

she eats here for a very long time.

Not even a $3.95 mimosa can make her smile.. so sad.

The mimosa really isn't that small. I just have unnaturally large Sasquatch hands.

And there it is... chocolate chip banana raspberry pancakes. Aren't they beautiful? 

How I will miss these pancakes...

No more bacon.. no more dreamy desserts dripping in chocolate.. no more Sorella's brunches. Well, at least until we get this "roundness" under control. I tell you, N. is lucky I'm a wannabe chef, because this diet could be so much worse for her. This is just an excuse for me to get even more adventurous in my culinary endeavors.

Yesterday N. agreed to go walking around JP pond. I tried to get her to do some light jogging, but she shot me a look of a thousand fiery suns and told me not to push it. So, I shut up and kept walking. Today we have an appointment with Billy Blanks in our living room for some Tae Bo! Yes, we're taking it back. The entire box set was $8 at a yard sale and just because he's not popular anymore doesn't mean we won't still break a sweat, so Tae Bo it is.

Namaste bitches!

-D.

Ode to useless teeth...

I want to know what the purpose of wisdom teeth is. I mean, really! I barely know anyone that has had their wisdom teeth grow in normally and not have to have them removed.

They come in during your early twenties, don't do a damn thing but grow all sorts of sideways and press against your other teeth, and if you're lucky.. you get to wake up to excruciating pain in your jaw one morning. Oh, and if you're really lucky, this will occur at a point in your life when you have no dental insurance and have just moved to a new state. You now have the pleasure of navigating public transportation, with a swollen jaw, at 6 in the flippin' morning.. and go stand on a ridiculously long line (so long that although the place opens at 9, you have to be there by 7) just to allow a dental student.. a STUDENT! to "practice" (you know, so he/she knows how to do it correctly on people who can actually PAY for a real dentist) pulling your teeth out of your mouth. I am that lucky.

I hate the dentist.

I had the pleasure of having braces from the time I was 8 years old until I graduated 8th grade at age 14. Six years. Six years of weekly visits to the orthodontist. Six years of Novocain, teeth pulling, wire tightening, rubber bands, saliva suctions, spitting nasty gunk into that mini toilet bowl. Six years of this ridiculous contraption they used to hold your lips away from your teeth and gums and just leave you like that for hours (and being that I am so lucky, I always got placed in the front room .. so that everyone walking by to the other rooms could look in at me and stare).

Apparently, it's called a "cheek retractor," according to Google. 

She looks absolutely lovely, doesn't she? o_O

Six years of riding the bus home looking like a deformed chipmunk, cotton falling out of my mouth with every pothole. Six years of walking past this sign every week:

Damn liars.

The day I had my braces removed, I cried from the sheer joy of knowing I'd never have to see the inside of that office again. Never have to see that pencil of a man, goggle-wearing, comb-over having, stupid mustache sportin', heavy breathing orthodontist again!!!!

Then he told me I had to wear retainers. And come back once a month.

Hell. To. The. No.

 See? Even my baby daddy is appalled.

I didn't wear my retainer (yes, my teeth moved, but it's not even noticeable..kinda), and I never went back.

Since then, I forced myself to go have my teeth cleaned, and have two cavities (only ones I've ever had in my life) filled. But that's it. As a matter of fact, that butt-faced orthodontist sneakily put in a permanent retainer on the back of my lower teeth, which I was supposed to have him remove after 3 years. I never went back, so guess what? Yep. I'm 30.. and its still bonded to the back of my teeth. Needless to say, I'm sure they're going to have a field day tomorrow.

So, here I am. Anxious and unable to sleep. Just to make myself more stressed out, I'm weighing the pros and cons of local anesthesia versus asking then to knock me the #&% out. I don't even know if I have the option, since it's a low cost clinic. But, if I do.. that opens up a whole other can of worms. Do I want to be awake for this? Or would I rather be asleep and completely oblivious to the dental student possibly muttering the word "Ooops!"? What if I do go under and have a bad reaction and never...gulp..wake up?

Oh, who am i kidding? Like I said, it's a low cost clinic with the work performed by dental students. I'll be lucky if they tie my tooth to a string and slam a door.

Maybe I'll get a lollipop.

Pray for me.

Namaste bitches!
-D.

Gluttony at its finest...

Well Happy Tuesday people. I have lots to post so I'll get on with it. I'll start with the weekend food reviews and make them as short and sweet as possible... you know I'm so lying.

Thursday night we went to Dedham (don't remember for what specifically at the moment) and passed by an IHOP and got a craving for Brinner. Now, I normally wouldn't consider IHOP to be blog-worthy, but they have these new pancakes flavors and well, one of them is New York Style Cheesecake. Yes, pancakes. served with strawberries and whipped cream. Yum. They melted in my mouth and had little chunks of graham cracker in them. Now in NYC, the only time I really go to IHOP is at 4 or 5 am after a night of clubbing and lots of drinking. But I would totally go at a reasonable hour, sober, for these pancakes. N. had some bacon-ator chees-a-fied omelet. It was..meh. We had leftovers, so we got a doggie bag. Literally. Since, Maya was happily waiting in the car.

She's a beast. She didn't even breathe, or chew for that matter.

K, on to Friday. Picked up my mom from the bus station and went to have dinner at Masa. We've gone here for brunch a few times, but never for dinner. We shared a few appetizers and a main course (still on a budget here.. Obama is still my baby daddy but he hadn't actually paid his child support bill yet). We got the ceviche which was awesome flavor-wise but a pain in the butt to eat, since you basically had to chop it up yourself. They served a whole piece of fish, and huge slices of avocado and jalapeño. I mean jeez, isn't this the reason I'm paying for food at a restaurant. If I wanted to make ceviche myself, I would have done that crap in my own kitchen. We also had the Mofongo, which wasn't traditional by any means. It was made with yucca instead of platanos and had coconut milk and braised beef short ribs in it. Orgasmic. Even my mom liked it, surprisingly since she was already judging it from the menu description. She turned up her nose and said "Tha iiis no MOFONGO!" She took one bite and then didn't say another word. Just kept shoveling forkfuls into her mouth. We also had chili dusted frites with cotija cheese. Also pretty good. 

We shared the Carne Asada for the entree. This didn't go over very well with my mom. My mom has to have her steak well done and this was barely medium. The flavors were good but she couldn't bring herself to eat it, even if she turned over and looked away. I'll admit, it was even too rare for N. and I. Oh well, you can't win them all. Dessert was less than stellar also. We had some lime-peach brulee thing. It was as small as a thimble and too tart. The drinks were pretty good at least. N. and I had hibiscus caipirinhas. It's the only thing I got a picture of since they practically make you eat in the dark.

On Saturday morning, we took my mom to Sorella's for brunch. This is the most amazing place to have brunch in Boston in my opinion. It's nothing fancy. The place is in a converted house with basic decor (most of the menu is handwritten on pieces of paper and taped to the walls).

 They don't have a website, and they only accept cash, but the food is to die for. They have everything you could imagine eating for breakfast. The menu might actually make you dizzy with all the choices. Everything tastes fresh and like it was cooked with love, just for you. Trust me, you have to eat here if you're even in Boston. I would even suggest a pilgrimage to Boston just for the experience. They have a ridiculous variety of omelets, french toast (made from any bread you can imagine), pancakes, etc. I had... wait I have to take a second and pause in loving memory of these pancakes....              ..OK. I had pumpkin pancakes. With cream cheese on top. And strawberries. Words cannot even describe. I made the mistake of taking one bite before I pulled out my camera. It was over after that. So, yea... no pictures. My mom had plain french toast with eggs and home fries. I kid you not when I tell you that these were hands down the BEST French toast I've ever had. And I've eaten a LOT of French Toast. N. had some Acapulco Polenta thing, dripping with cheese and avocados. Then as if we weren't in heaven already as it is, they served us giant CUPS of mimosas..for $3.95.

We needed stretchers to take us back to the car. We had a whole day of "things to do" planned, but after that smorgasbord, we were done. DONE. Spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies.

Sometime later in the evening, when we finally were able to think about eating again... we turned on the grill and made some teriyaki pork chops with acorn squash, and drank some tequila. Then, we all fell into a food and tequila induced coma.

Because we are, apparently, gluttons for punishment, I got up early Sunday and made breakfast on the grill. By the time my mom and N. got up, breakfast was served! Mesquite steak (yes, I grilled steak at 9am..so?), grilled polenta and greens with tomatoes and plums in a balsamic vinaigrette (with fresh thyme and basil from our garden). I also made a pitcher of plum Bellini. o_O

hmm, I seemed to have left out the egg in that description.. and the garlic toast too.

My mom... enjoying her brunch in our yard.

Listen, N. and I decided at the start of the weekend that enough is enough. We need to get serious about watching what we eat and exercising. We do NOT want to be that couple, rolling each other down the sidewalk. We've each put on around 10-15 pounds in the past few months and this is where we draw the line.

So, I guess we went a little overboard this weekend with our final meals of gluttony and what not. But, so far so good. Yesterday we had homemade fruit and yogurt smoothies for breakfast and lean cuisines for lunch. For dinner, we had leftover teriyaki pork-chops with pesto garlic mashed FAKEtatoes (mashed cauliflower) and broccoli. For dessert, I took one scoop of Skinny Cow Dulce de Leche ice cream, rolled it around some crushed Special K and topped it with a tablespoon of sugar free maple syrup. Totaling less than 100 calories per serving! See? We can be healthy food addicts!

I'm trying to get N. to get up earlier and do yoga with me. She's not fond of that idea. She's agreed to go walking around JP pond with me after work though...and possibly increase to light jogging (hey, this is great progress for her so I'm taking what I can get). I had to threaten her yesterday when she tried to buy a chocolate bar at lunch (she got a nutrigrain bar instead), and today I put an apple in her lunch bag (I'm sure it will still be there when she gets home tonight).

Gosh, this post was all about food, huh? Not talking about food might prove to be difficult, especially since I will now be depriving myself of it. But, I shall try.

So, in other news (which is not really exciting, but it is when you are unemployed and have nothing better to do), we decided to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks. I've been sorting through all our crap in the basement and deciding what we will sell and what we will keep. We have acquired quite a bit of junk for two people that only moved in less than 6 months ago. After the basement is all cleaned up, I'll finally get to set up my art space! See, now that is exciting.

OK, OK...no bacon.

Namaste bitches!

-D.

Obama is my Baby Daddy!

Happy Friday everyone! I am off the wall today. I am having an absolutely wonderful day! Why, you ask? (Well, since none of you seem to talk back to me, I'm just going to go ahead and speak for you). Well, for starters, I am still reeling over the fact that I finally got a J-O-B! ::does a cartwheel::  Also, I've been painting our front and back porches the past few days, and it's looking mighty nifty. We also found this faux brick paneling that looks so real that no one will guess we don't actually have an exposed brick wall in our living room. Oh, and yesterday we found a portable air conditioner for sale on craigslist (it was a steal!), so I no longer have to sit in front of the fan with a cold glass of ice (sometimes with liquor in it!) pressed against my face. Can you since the happiness building?

But, it gets better. So, I did get a job, but.. said job doesn't begin until August 30th. This means I still have another month and change to survive with practically no money and N. paying most of the bills. Damn Republicans played their little filibuster game and stalled my unemployment extension! So, I was forced to start selling my life away. I don't have a first born child to sell, so I put some of my textbooks from last semester on sale on Half.com. Today a whopping (hey, money is money) $119 was deposited in my account! Then, just for shits and giggles.. I decided to check the unemployment website (although it's said the same "You're not getting crap!" message for the past month and a half) and wouldn't you know... I am now getting unemployment again. AND... it's RETROACTIVE! So, I will be getting all the checks I didn't get in the past month and a half all at once (and just in time, since the mortgage is due next week)! I feel like I just won the lottery. This is the best Friday ever!!!

Due to his immense contribution to my (and N.'s by default) happiness, I would like to dedicate this post to Barack Obama. I heart Obama.

Just for today, I've decided that I love him so much that he is my "Baby Daddy." Michelle is just going to have to back up for 24 hours (although I know she could totally whoop my butt..have you seen those biceps?). Yes, I know my sexual orientation makes this pretty strange (and the fact that I'm practically married.. sorry babe!), but I don't care. He deserves "Baby daddy" status today. And, just to make this official... according to Morphthing.com, this is what our love child would look like:

Not bad, huh?

She totally got her daddy's big ears though. Now she'll be made fun of all through elementary school. Poor thing.

Well, now that I'm done thanking Obama for my good fortune, I must go thank the spirits. My mom said I have to go light a bunch of candles and stuff, so off I go. Oh, and the icing on my happiness cake is that my mom is on her way here to spend the weekend with me! Yay!

Namaste bitches!

-D.