Good eating

5 cans bought and 3 cans left. I was so excited FINALLY to have pumpkin in the house that I decided to make some pumpkin bread. Now, I've never made this before so I did what I always do when I need a trustworthy recipe- I googled it! I always type in best _____________________  recipe and this method has rarely failed me.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-bread-iv/detail.aspx

combine dry ingredients first

I pretty much followed the recipe to a T. The only change I made was cutting down the recipe to feed 24 instead of 36.

mix wet ingredients thoroughly

combine wet ingredients to dry and mix until well blended

into the oven at 175 degrees C for 35-40 minutes

Oops! I burned the top off the first loaf because I wasn't paying attention to the oven. Hate it when I do that!

I added dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans to the second batter

The recipe called for the bread to be baked for 50 minutes but our oven gets way too hot so the bread baked faster. It turned out really delicious with all the spices that the recipe called for. Initially, I thought it was a bit too spice heavy but the flavor mellowed out really nicely the next day. Yummy! There was no way we could eat 2 loaves of bread to ourselves so I spread the wealth and had T bring some in to work.

I'm a bit behind blogging on my food, but here's dinner from two night's ago. I had some tilapia filets so I seasoned them with my usual spices of evoo, sea salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and soy sauce.

side of bok choy sauteed in evoo, sea salt, black pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and siracha.

I oven baked the filets for 12 minutes and they turned out great!

I enjoyed my dinner on the couch since T was at work.

breakfast was cinnamon and all spiced eggs with toast and hummus

Sigh.. I miss drippy egg yolks!!

in my quest for crispy onion bits for my green bean casserole, I found the next best substitute at Sainsbury's. This should do...

Yuumm! the onion bits were exactly what this was missing. Tastes almost like my momma's Thanksgiving casserole.... almost. And now I'm hooked!

good thing we have substitute cans of mushroom soup coming next week!

why mess with a good lunch? I had the exact same thing two days in a row. Oh, and the casserole? I polished off the entire pan on both days!! Here's the simple Campbell's recipe I used:
http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeId=24099

T surprised me with some hanguk umshik last night for dinner.

He made some beef jap chae and chicken marinated in korean spices. It was a delicious meal.

I'm trying not to use my flash these days for a more natural picture, but I can't seem to keep the pictures from getting blurry!

T's egg in a hole covered with a circular piece of bread. I know it had a better name than that. ha! It was quite buttery, but really tasty!

I'm sure the baby was gloriously swimming around in all that butter I digested :-)

leftover fish and noodles for lunch

Good news, I think I did really well on my Chemistry test today! Cha Ching!

Now excuse me while this mango and I get into it. 

Shelves stocked for Thanksgiving

smoothie in a martini glass

In the vitamix:

• Cup of soy milk
• cup of mixed frozen mixed berries 
• frozen banana
• tablespoon chocolate protein powder
• agave nectar for sweetness
• Toppings: muesli and dark chocolate chips

Smoothies are perfect for when I feel like I've been eating like crap and want to get some extra vitamins and nutrients into my body. 

T made us a delicious whole wheat spaghetti dinner on Sunday night. If there's been a significant craving during my pregnancy besides chips and pretzels, it would probably be anything tomato based. I've eaten tomato based things numerous times during these last three months. After dinner, we stayed up watching the Bears game. By the end of the third quarter, at 37-6, we decided to hit the hay. Thank heavens for NFL game pass!

eggs, toast, and grapes for breakfast yesterday. Yum, I love the combination of hummus and eggs together!

We also got some of our Thanksgiving groceries delivered yesterday. Our shelf is now stocked with pumpkin until next week next year. Unfortunately, Ocado didn't deliver some crucial items that I ordered like french onion topping for our baked green bean casserole, and tried to replace frozen roll out pastry crust for an actual keebler pre made crust. Oh, and they tried to give me some crap marshmallow replacement, which I immediately sent back!

sigh.. at least they didn't forget these! Ocado had a special section online for Thanksgiving goodies, and I was excited to see American things like Aunt Jemima, Kraft, Campbell's soup (which they ALSO gave me a substitute for!), and actual graham crackers (they don't sell graham crackers here in the UK).  Hopefully things will come back in stock in time for next week's festivities!

I made a weak imitation version of green bean casserole without the french onions mixed in. It was pathetic but surprisingly tasty! All I did was mix cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup milk, black pepper, soy sauce, and pre boiled/cooked trimmed green beans and put it into the oven to heat up and bake a bit more together for about 20 minutes.

I also seasoned this turkey breast with following seasonings and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.

• sea salt
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• soy sauce
• cayenne pepper

Mmmm.. what a delicious lunch!

the turkey was very flavorful, moist, and spicy just how I like it! :-)

I spent most of the afternoon preparing my Biology in class essay and late in the afternoon, made some pumpkin bread. 2 cans down, 3 to go! I better make sure to save some for next week's pumpkin pie. Or...just order some more cans. Pictures to come later..

Busaba Ethai

I had a huge hankering for Thai food for lunch today, specifically this dish.

I've only found these combination of flavors at Busabi Ethai, and the dish is called Pad Kwetio. The dish contains a generous portion of chicken, shrimp, veggies, and thick noodles in a delicious **spicy sauce with fragrance of basil. YUM! I could eat this everyday for a week! :-)

Started my meal with a glass of freshly made juice called koh samui, made with coconut, carrot, and orange. I don't usually order juices with my meals but the waiter recommended this one, and it was really tasty!

Even though I had a gigantic plate of noodles in front of me, T and I split the chili prawn fried rice with shitaki mushrooms.

The portion looks small but once you spread it out on a plate, it can definitely be a meal in and of itself.

T ordered the jungle curry with smoked chicken and vegetables. I didn't really like the smokiness of this dish.

I've been trying to get my butt in gear for the upcoming school week (I have a Chemistry quiz on Wednesday, Biology test on Thursday, and a math test on Friday) but I'm finding it so hard to concentrate on doing anything for longer than an hour. Where has my brain gone?

The first three months

Surprisingly, pregnancy so been a mixture of ups and downs, and definitely more downs than UPS! Here are some of them
Ups:

• I actually feel morning sickness this time, instead of wondering omg, is there still a baby in there?! Uhm yes, my symptoms tell me so!
• My face has cleared up a little as in I don't have nearly as much acne as I did pre baby/
• I'm grateful that my symptoms aren't as bad as some of those I've read about.
• Eating makes my nausea go away so at least I have a remedy for it! 
• My body image hasn't changed and I'm not sure if it will. I really want to take the unselfish approach and look at my changing body as doing something amazing and good for the benefit of someone else (babes!). I hope my tune doesn't change and I'm not crying that I'm FAT and look at this belly!! 
• We're PREGNANT!

Downs

• I haven't made it the gym in months! I think I've been a total of 4 times in the past 3 months? My energy levels have dipped so low that I can only manage to wake up for class, go to class, eat lunch, nap for 2 hours, and then study. 
• Constant waves of nausea. thankfully, it's not to the point of hugging the toilet bowl, but I'm not sure what's worse-feeling like you have to puke or actually doing so! Morning sickness is such a deception- it's all day and night sickness! 
• Tiredness ALL.THE.FREAKING.TIME. During the first two months, I could barely make it past 9 p.m. AND that was including my afternoon naps. Seriously baby, could you make me less tired!? :-)
• Constant eating. Okay, this isn't really a down because it helps keep the nausea at bay, but I often feel I eat TOO much because my mind has associated eating with feeling good so I find myself constantly nibbling throughout the day. I haven't gained TOO much weight, so I guess it isn't a worry spot yet.
• Speaking of eating, I think I need a separate section for this one.
• I crave unhealthy food all the time. Thankfully I have enough willpower but I seriously would be a mcdonald's junkie if I didn't care about feeding my baby the proper nutrients.
• My emotions haven't been TOO out of control, but most recently, I've had a few crying fits. It makes me sad that we're seemingly alone here and I don't have any pregnant buddies :(

Eating and lifestyle habits
-Certain smells bug me now more than EVER like the smell of my fridge that is loaded with kimchi and korean spices- YUCK. I literally have to hold my breath whenever I open the fridge.

-I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. Everytime I walk by someone smoking a cigarette, I politely try to hold my nose and steer clear of the stream of smoke blowing my way. It's very difficult now whereas before I had no problems. I was a past smoker for gosh sakes! But now, I'm so much more protective over what smells I'm taking it.

-This doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes, I get extremely turned off by the smell and sight of fried foods. I tried eating a fried polenta stick last weekend, but I found my body almost rejected it. Eeeww.

-Heavy foods such as Indian curries and sauces do not sit well with me. The last and only time I ate Indian food, it felt as if I was putting sludge into my body. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't reject good food, but afterwards, I felt as if I had drank too much and then put food into my body so that the food was sitting on top of a whole lot of liquid. Yuck!

-I don't crave sweets anymore. I mean I'll eat a candy bar here or there but it doesn't taste as good or as sweet to me. Sad. haha!

-Eating chips and pretzels out the wazhoo. I was craving salt and vinegar chips and diet coke in the beginning of my pregnancy a TON! I don't drink diet much anymore and I've cut out coffee. Only sometimes will I have a sip here or there.

-Obviously, I don't drink anymore. I thought this one would be a lot harder to quit but I've found it almost too easy. I like my glass of wine ya'll! T has stopped drinking in front of me because he feels bad, but I honestly don't mind when I see my friends drinking. No one has to quit celebrating on my account!

-I've read that if you eat ginger things it'll make your nausea go away so T bought me these ginger chews, but I don't really find that it helps that much. Except for the fact that they're pretty tasty! hehe :)

All in all, it's been a hectic 3 months, but I can't wait for the next few months to follow. I'm so grateful that we've made it safely this far as I know all too well the other devastating roads this can go. I will try whenever I have "freak out" moments to remember those ladies that suffer from infertility and multiple miscarriages and be thankful.

We find out the gender on January 19! I've been calling the baby a she so far because it feels somewhat unnatural to say he right now, but I'll be grateful for whichever sex.  I can't wait to see that ultrasound screen again. I could watch that baby move on the screen for hours!

Life

For a future mother, nothing is worse than losing your baby. No matter how short, or how long that baby was growing inside you, it still hits like a ton of bricks. You wonder if you can recover from such news. Lord knows, things will never be the same. A mixture of emotions flood you and the tears don’t ever seem to end. You feel robbed and angry of what could and should have been. While others around you have glowing first time pregnancies, you’re left with so many unanswered questions, but mainly WHY. Why me? Why us? You know your next pregnancy will never be the same.

So, when I found out the news we were expecting again, I did what I did the last time. I prayed. My prayers went something like this: Dear lord, I know things haven’t really been the same since I last talked to you, but I hope you can forgive me that we haven’t been as close. Now with me being pregnant again, I know you know how scared and worried we’ve been. Please, I pray, if you’re listening, please protect this baby. Please keep it healthy and safe, and let it grow.

and boy, did it grow! Weeks turned into months, and by month three, I was able to breath a certain sigh of relief. 2 arms, 2 feet, all organs, and a loud beating heart. Is there a better sound in this world?

Dear Baby, you aren't here yet but I love you more than words can say. This must be what unconditional love feels like

Stomach buggers

Food poisoning or stomach bug can kiss my fat bootay! T and I had something awful this past weekend, and mine hit right before we were about to see Contagion. I honestly didn't see the irony in that until my friend pointed it out. Yes, I can laugh now, but I wasn't laughing when I had to run to the toilet AFTER buying our tickets to the movie. TMI.. I had the worst stomach pains and was doubled over for what seemed like eternity and then had to take a cab home. I'm not sure what's more upsetting, missing the movie, or having to lie in bed for the afternoon. Thankfully, it was only a 24-hour bug. At least, I hope that's just what it was. T had a similar experience, although he describes his stomach pain as not being as bad as mine. (I was wishing for my life to end, NO JOKE!!)

We can't seem to catch a break these days. :( On the flip side, I'm hoping we receive great news later this week, and for that, all this is worth it!

T made us a chicken and veggie omelete for breakfast on that fateful Saturday morning.

the day started out just like any other..

but I was on the couch all night afterwards.. I'm not sure why having the stomach bug makes me want to eat more, but I asked T to make me a plate full of pasta after I had seemingly recovered.

 

and then he made me some chicken noodle soup with mushrooms and onions later that night.

Sunday wasn't as eventful since T was sick and I was still recovering on the couch. We had made plans for T's birthday dinner on Saturday night and also to meet T's mom on Sunday night, but needless to say, we didn't make any of those scheduled plans!

Yesterday's eats:

I started baking a sweet potato in the oven yesterday, but in the middle of the process, got impatient and ended up cooking the rest in the microwave.

sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar- t'was delicious!

Lunch was an oven baked pork chop rubbed in evoo, sea salt, pepper, and bbq sauce.

the pork was complemented with brown rice, seaweed, steamed kale, and kimchi.

T made us a delicious SHRIMP. FRIED. RICE! for dinner

and some salmon that was marinated in Korean spices.

Exciting news: T enlisted the help of his friend to help me organize and spice up this blog. I can't wait! I'm so tired of not having any sort of organization to this blog- my posts are seriously everywhere!

revisit to Modern Pantry

T's actual birthday was yesterday, so we celebrated by opening presents in bed with the Nom's. She lovada presents!! I sure as hell hope that T and I aren’t the only ones who have developed a weird language with their dog. Ours is a mixture of baby talk, high-pitched voices, and funny singsongs (uhm, T has created a mixtape of songs for our dog, YES!)

Opening a package from Uncle Omar

Gee, she was having a good ole' time!

I'm not sure who really worked harder to get this package open, T or Sonoma

 

the loot!

festive huh?

Afterwards came birthday blueberry oats:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• handful of frozen blueberries
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• swirl of maple syrup
• Toppings: dark choco chips for me and sprinkles for T and I 

Lunch after class yesterday was some green thai chicken curry, brown rice, kim chi, seaweed, and sesame leaves. 

The Asian girl in me was gleefully eating every bite!

seasoned with EVOO and sea salt flakes

and some kale chips on the side. I might of overbaked them slightly (they taste more bitter this way), but I really wanted every leaf to be crispy!

Last night, we made an impromtu decision to go out to eat. Our birthday dinner celebration really wasn't supposed to be until today (Saturday night) since T had a birthday drinks thing last night for a friend. We went to Modern Pantry where we've been for brunch (which was really delicious!) but never for dinner. I didn't have the best eating experience, even though the food looked great in front of me, I just wasn't feeling "eating" at all!

I did munch on most of the bread platter though. I love when restaurants give you an assortment of house breads. The flat thin one reminded me of eating a cheez-it, which they don't sell here in the UK BTW!!

chorizo scotched quail egg with a green pepper relish. Sigh... this had so much potential to be good, and I'm sure it was but I just. couldn't. stomach. it!! Oh man, T thought it was great.. and I thought scotched eggs were the greatest British invention ever, but to add chorizo AND use a quail egg? Amazing! For those who don't know what a scotch egg is, it is a hard boiled egg (shell removed of course) covered in a sausage mixture, coated in bread crumbs, and DEEP FRIED! Oh boy..

cornish crab pancake with corn, red onions, avocados

beef laksa

side of buttery steamed green beams

I had the seabass with wilted spinach, a carrot mixture (not so good), and something reminiscent of potato gratin. The fish was cooked perfectly with a crispy skin on top and flaky inside. Yum! I left most of the carrot mash though. It had some weird spice to it that I couldn't identify.

T had the grilled miso onglet steak with polenta sticks and rocket. After dinner, I rushed home to lay on the couch while T went out to the birthday bash. I watched this movie, which was pretty good: