Thursday 5 August 2010

Schmorgasboard

Dinner tonight:
So I'm trying to stay away from microwaveable dinners but I was feeling super hungry tonight so out from my freezer came a shrimp curry and lamb rogan meal. Also in the mix, some fried up tofu with a splash of soy sauce. I added some salt and pepper along with some spinach towards the end. More randomness on the plate: the last of my Uncle Ben's 2 minute rice packs. This one was mexican style rice.

Earlier tonight I met up with my brother's friend who just recently moved to London. I find that the longer I live here, the more people I meet who have transferred to the UK for work. Either way, I'm not complaining. I heart making new friends! We met up for a drink at Cadogen Arms, a gastropub that has the most amazing pint-o-prawns with a dipping sauce that compliments the shrimp perfectly. Sadly, I didn't order it and ended up just getting a pint of Tiger on draft. I'll have to go back there one last time before we leave Chelsea just so I can eat and take a picture of this dish.

 Book I'm trying to get through:
I've had this book for about a month and can't seem to get through the first few chapters. It's an international bestseller as it even says so in the front and I'm struggling! I googled the reviews and it appears the book does start out slow but it should get more interesting towards the middle. Here's to hoping..

Last days of summer?

Sonoma had some fun in the park today as you can tell:

Me.. I just read my magazine in the grass. It's getting colder outside. I hope we still have more warmer days to come. I opted not to go to Snog, which is a fro-yo place similar to Pinkberry (although I've never been but have heard comparisions) and have this instead:

No one said it was going to be pretty! That's my homemade banana walnut muffin with some shmear of chocolatey goodness. Yumm-O. I split the apple slices with my princess.

The fiancé is sick and I dunno if its a case of hypochondria but I feel like I might be coming down with something now. UGH! Better go fill up on some Vit C.




Hidden Valley is where its at!

Hello friend we meet again... So many unnatural obsession with Ranch is back. I love it. It's very versatile- good on chicken, pizza, salad, and even mac and cheese! My lunch consisted of a salad that included lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and pre-cooked chicken pieces. I find that eating healthier is so much easier when the protein in question comes pre cooked and sliced. Even the laziest person can choose to eat healthy! Wait.. did I just call myself lazy? Check out my awesome slicing skills below. These peppers were from our local Sainsbury store. I sorta wish they were organic but oh well, still very delicious and crunchy!
Here's the end product: Which peppers taste the best? I think the red ones do.

I was also craving something I gave up about two months ago: SODA!

I prefer Diet Coke over Pepsi products but beggars can't be choosers!
I only had a sample of the soda and threw the rest away. Talk about willpower! naw..it didn't even taste that good

Now I'm already planning my next meal (yes, I do have a lot of time on my hands-I'm unemployed for the time being!) What to do with this:
Time to take Arfie for a walk.. I feel a snog attack coming on for later this afternoon. Goody!!

Today's secret ingredient is....


SPINACH!! Popeye would be so proud of me :). You can barely taste it in there! I eat spinach on a regular basis, whether it be sauteing it or blending it in with my smoothie but the only problem I have with doing it the latter way is that it distorts the color of my drink and it also makes me wonder if I am eliminating the vitamin and nutrient content of the spinach. I was contemplating this thought as I enjoyed my breakfast:
Do I look happy or what!
I digress.. my run this morning was pretty tough. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was up late salsa dancing (a post for another time since I forgot to take pictures last night!) or that I drank my coffee too fast this morning but I had side pains for almost my entire run. I managed to run past the pain though with a few breaks here and there.

Now I've only recently become a runner in the past month or so. If you would have asked my former 16 year old self whether or not I would ever enjoy running more than 5 minutes straight, I would have laughed in your face and called you ridiculous (liz lemon!). Well.. it's not so ridiculous anymore as I can happily say I run about 5 miles every other day. Surprise surprise.. The runners high actually does exist!

Off to get my day started.

Song of the day: Paramore "The only exception"
So many happy thoughts of the day to share: football season!! and I don't mean european "football." The prospect of fall and the start of NFL season makes me giddy!  Also, AMAZING below! Big changes I hope to come...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/08/05/california.same.sex.ruling/index.html?hpt=T2#fbid=2DyH4_NXTKo&wom=false