Boo!

Since T had a boys night out Saturday night, we decided to take a chill day on Sunday. Lunch was Charlie Bigham's cottage pie (steak, mash potatoes, and veggies) and I made some sauteed zucchini on the side.

I don't mind lounging around since it gives me time to catch up on episodes of Jersey Shore study hard!

I've had a recent hankering for spicy food so we ordered takeway from Merkato for dinner.

We ordered the deluxe platter that came with chicken, lamb, and an assortment of veggies. Everything was really delicious as always :-)

I have no idea what this mystery sauce is made of but it contains a chicken leg and a whole egg inside. You dip your injera bread into it and boy is it delicious!

Blergh.. Note to self: stop once comfortably full! I was beyond stuffed at the end of the meal that I just felt the food sort of sitting on top of one another. :( Not a good feeling!

I love the different colors on top of the Injera bread. Ethiopian food has definitely crept up on my list of favorite foods.

Breakfast Monday morn:

Study study study.. .then Lunch!

I made myself a salad and pizza. I'm not on the healthiest diet lately but I'm eating what I feel like and making sure I get enough veggies and fruit throughout the day.

after lunch, I studied some more and SHOCKER: I made it to the gym for my Punch class!!

Dinner last night was super tasty and ready in a cinch.

I sauteed some bok choy and mushrooms in some minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and siracha.

the protein portion on our plate came from a ready made duck confit seasoned with orange zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. It came out of the oven with a nice, crispy skin on top and was juicy and tender on the inside. YUM!

 

After dinner, we did some Halloween decorating. We bought some of our decorations from John Lewis when we were out shopping a few weekends back. We've put it off for so long but with only 3 weeks til Halloween, we decided it's finally time! We don't have too much stuff but I figured something is better than nothing. We plan on adding more to our collection in the years to come.

how cute is this halloween turkey!!

Breakfast was more scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

The Salt Yard

This weekend was pretty uneventful for me but I kinda liked it. It gave me a chance to study the materials I covered last week in school so I won't feel overwhelmed starting this week. We started our Saturday morning with a delicious veggie omelet and smoked salmon on the side.

I, of course, did not make this gigantor omelet. I haven't mastered the omelet yet so I just sat back and relaxed while T made me breakfast.

Morning/afternoon was spent lounging around and figuring out some math problems.

Before I knew it, it was time for lunch! While T was at work, I popped in a premade lasagna into the oven and threw a bagged salad in a bowl and I was ready to eat!

+ garlic ciabatta bread. The lasagna was delicious and really cheesy.

We met T's friend who is in town from New York on work related matters for dinner. He's a foodie as well so we thought tapas would be perfect. There's a reason why we always come back to the Salt Yard; everything is usually delicious. Unfortunately, this time around, a lot of things disappointed rather than wowed us.

While waiting for our friend to arrive, we ordered some green olives and country style bread with olive oil to start.

 

grill marks= mmm mmm!!

jamon iberico- the ham was salty and delicious!

Arancini Nero with Devon Crab, Squid Ink and Saffron Alioli  

These little balls were probably my least favorite. We all agreed that it was too rice heavy, the breading too thick, and a bit too dry overall.

courgette flowers with goat cheese and honey

the courgette flowers  drizzled in sweet honey never disappoint, although mine didn't seem to have enough goat cheese on top.

Sauté of Baby Squid with Chorizo, Broad Beans and Friggitelli Peppers 

the squid was muy delicioso; it was combined with chorizo, which provided some saltiness and the broad beans and peppers gave the dish some different textures. Yum!!

Venison Carpaccio, Lardo, Dandelion, Marcona Almonds and Quince Vinaigrette 

The venison carpaccio was reaaaaaally good. It was topped with a wonderful tasting vinaigrette and it sort of was like silky in your mouth.

patatas bravas

x2 because one little bowl isn't enough for 3 people :-)

truffled mac and cheese

Need I say more? Yes! nom.. nom.. nom.. nom...

Chargrilled Chorizo with Pepperonata and Basil

the chorizo was probably my second favorite dish. It was a perfect combination of salty and sweet from the pepperonata.

Slow Roasted Lamb with Confit Potatoes, Baby Tomatoes, Mojo Verde

the lamb was very tender but the dish tasted bland to me. And I wasn't a huge fan of the green sauce, which I'm assuming is the mojo verde (whatever that is!!).

Roasted Porcini with Jerusalem Artichokes Purèe, Poached Free-Range Egg, Pine Nuts and Parsley

Poached Cornish Cod Cheeks, Ceps, Pancetta and Butterbeans

Although this sounded really delicious, the cod cheeks were too tough in texture and nothing really wowed in this dish.

We ordered two desserts; the first was fresh strawberries with meringue and basil shortbread cookies, and the other was a molten lava cake with hazelnut ice cream. Both were delicious but the strawberry one was my favorite!

Zumba bat tat tat ta ta da Zumba

Yay! I finished my first week of school, AND I managed to arrive to most of my classes on time. That was quite a challenge but I'm feeling slightly better about being able to navigate around. I just have to make sure I actually catch the bus on time or take the tube instead. My commute is only 30 minutes door to door so I feel pretty lucky.

Today was my Numeracy for Biological Sciences where we covered simple math topics like Order of Operations, and Directed Numbers. Does everyone remember the acronym Bodmas for Brackets, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction? lol.. Needless to say, I breezed through this week's Math lab and left an hour early to go home and make lunch!

leftover soup and salad

yummy! it's even better the second time around :-)

beetroot salad with light ranch dressing

open faced mayo, siracha, havarti cheese, turkey sandwich

Today was  my last day teaching Zumba on Friday's since the venue was cancelled due to increase in venue hire. In honor of the end: Enjoy!
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success/video/alex-worrall-taste-of-sweet-success-zumba-video
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success

Woo hoo years

PB and apples before my second day of school.....................................is it over yet?!? he he he.. J/K.. it's really not that bad, I'm just over exaggerating. Looking back, I’m so grateful to have gone to Mizzou and had the awesome experiences that I did because don't get me wrong, this university is fine for getting done what it needs to get done but it lacks 3 major things in my book 1.) beautiful campus 2.) sports team 3.) coherent room placement. Call me vain, but these things are/were important to me! I feel okay about it though since I’m not going to school to relive my “woo hoo” years. :-) My biggest gripe for sure about London Met is that when I'm not in class, I'm usually seen running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to find each room. I hope as time goes by, I’ll know the school like the back of my hand. On the plus side, I was able to walk by Arsenal stadium today and I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty cool!!!

GF corn flakes and GF puff cereal

I combined two gluten free cereals with skim milk to accompany by PB n apples. 

After a 2 hour Biology lecture and 1 hour tutorial, I stopped by Pret on the way home to pick up a sandwich and chips for lunch. I was also pleasantly surprised to have found our cleaning lady had already come in the morning and our place was sparkling clean. T has hired help for us every week since going to school, studying, gym time, and taking Nomi out leaves not much time to clean. I'm very grateful for the help, and she's pretty reasonable!

pork meatball sandwich (odd I know, but it was pretty tasty!) and a side of mature cheddar and onion chips

Gym time : I went to a 20 minute TRX class using suspension cables and combining exercises using our own bodyweight like squats, lunges, star jumps, ab work. I also hopped on the treadmill for a light jog for 20 minutes.

It felt good to be back in the gym after a 3 day hiatus. I hate taking more than one day off but I've been super tired lately and can't seem to muster up the energy to leave the house after coming back from class. If only there was an easier way to get to class, gym, THEN come home, but I'm typically hungry and tired by the end of class so I feel pressured to come home, eat, nap, then study. Blergh... After feeling a second burst of energy tonight, I might end up changing my workout routine to going in the late afternoons/evenings. We'll see....

I stopped at Waitrose to pick up a few random things for dinner since T's busy working tonight..

I've been on a tomato-eey kick today..

I decided to add in a can of beans for a more fibrous dinner

+ gluten free pasta for even more bulk

+ a generous pinch of chili flakes

Yum!! This was my first time trying gluten free pasta, and I couldn't tell the difference! The texture was the same, and the taste didn't seem any different but it could also be that the soup masked the true flavor. It was delicious all the same.

teeny bit of potato salad with siracha (don't judge), and I ate 1/2 this roll with havarti cheese on it. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach tonight!!

 

I swear this is the last thing I ate, LOL.. beetroot salad with multigrain croutons and a light vinaigrette.

Time to get my sleep study on!

Makes you love your daddy even more: 

http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/50-rules-for-dads-of-daughters

First day of class

leftovers for lunch

teach Zumba then pizza for dinner

 

the veggie pizza from Basilico pizza was delicious- it was topped with red onions, zuchinni, and aubergine. YUMM-O!

banana oats before my first day of Chemistry class and Bio/Chem lab!!

• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• dash of cinnamon
• whole banana smooshed
• spoonful of creamy, all natural peanut butter

I had my first Chemistry lecture this morning from 9-11, went back home to eat this Pret a Manger lunch, got in a quick 40 minute nap, then headed back for lab.

sweet chili and coriander chicken sandwich with sea salt and apple cider vinegar chips

nom, nom, nom, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......................

Dinner was some hanguk umshik, and now its time to study and go to bed. Horray for busy days, but no bueno for not getting a workout in today!! I'm hoping tomorrow's short day allows me to go to the gym afterwards. Finger's crossed!

Song of the day: "Ahora Quien"- Marc Anthony