Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Please enter room quietly!!

Today in class, I was shocked to learn a little something about my Chemistry professor. Boy is he an S-T-I-C-K-L-E-R for the rules. He made it clear last week that we must be in our lecture room by ten minutes past 9:30 or else we would have to wait outside until we were "summoned" by the teacher. This morning, several people came in later than 9:40 but most were polite about entering. Btw- Do not get me started on the one or two students that peered into the room and proceeded to interrupt class by knocking on the door. Uhhmm.. I'm sorry but do you need to announce your presence like that? GEEZ!! Who does that? Just come the F in the room quietly!!! Anyways, at about 9:50, a student quietly walks in while Prof is talking and he immediately stops, turns to the student and loudly states "EXCUSE me! Did you not see the sign on the door that says to please wait outside until you are called in? Please leave" The student then sheepishly leaves the room, despite already being halfway in and almost to his seat. I'm sorry but I had to write about this because I thought what was happening was stupid and unnecessary. I understand that teachers find it distracting when students come in late, but due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e.: train, bus running late, doctors appointment, whatever it may be) I don't think students should be punished by waiting outside in the hallway and missing pretty much the entire lecture. That being said, why even bother coming to class if you’re running late on accident? You’re going to have to wait outside til the end!!
I thought professors were supposed to foster a safe, helpful learning environment, not a hostile and stern one. Sigh.. Rant over.. Eeeks.. Remind me never to be late.

Last night's dinner was CHOP CHOP noodle bar since Chinese was sounded really good last night after teaching Zumba.
T picked up two soups to try; the first was a mild broth with veggies, and shrimp, the other was our usual thai seafood laksa.
duck fried rice.
yuuum.. this soup hits the spot every. single. time. :-)
Duck. Fried. RICE!! with siracha of course.

Breakfast this morning prior to attending lecture: scrambled eggs w. peanut buttered toast
Lunch after class was a pop in the oven ham, mushroom, and olive pizza from Pizza Express. I'm on a pizza kick for lunch lately. It's quite a delicious kick to be on! I also had an unpictured salad with ranch dressing. Yummy!

afternoon soup snack then its time to get my study on for my Biology lecture tomorrow.

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

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.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

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!

Friday, 7 October 2011

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