Recipes! Food! I might be becoming a grownup! (What?)

I like to cook and for the past year I have not really had the time to actually cook, except for maybe once in a blue moon. No longer! Now I can actually take the time to find good recipes and try them out on all those who are willing to be my guinea pigs.

I didn't take this...It's a photo by Irving Penn (thanks google!)

Friday night was the night, I decided. I was going to try a new recipe and hope for the best. Miranda kindly allowed me to use her as my guinea pig, seeing as she would be getting a free meal out of the situation. So I went over to her apartment and cooked up a little storm while we chatted and drank some good beer. And I must say it ended up turning out to be quite delicious!

Here is the recipe:
Lemon-Thyme Chicken with Sauteed Vegetables
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped garlic, divided 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, divided 
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 pound chicken breast tenders, lightly pounded
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
2 medium zucchini
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1.) In a ziplock bag, combine 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, and 2 teaspoons thyme; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chicken, seal bag, and turn over a few times to coat chicken evenly. Set aside
2.) Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot, remaining garlic, edamame, and tomatoes. Saute for 4 minutes.
3.) Use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into long ribbons. Add zucchini, remaining lemon juice and thyme to the other vegetables in the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, stir in feta cheese, and add salt and pepper to taste.
4.) Add remaining oil to skillet and remove chicken from marinade. Saute for 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked through. Serve with vegetables and enjoy!

The meal turned out to be really refreshing and yummy, as well as pretty healthy. Miranda didn't have a peeler, so I just sliced the zucchini super thin and that worked totally fine.

For desert, we had Häagen-Dazs Five Ice Cream in the lemon flavor. The. Best. Ice. Cream. Ever.

Trust me, go get this ice cream. NOW.

In further adventures in cooking, I cooked breakfast for myself, the roommate, and a friend this morning. We had yummy buttermilk pancakes and some bacon. I haven't made pancakes in a very, very long time, but they turned out sooooo good. Super light and fluffy. I want to try some variation, adding blueberries pancakes or apple cinnamon...oooh or chocolate chip! Who doesn't love a good chocolate chip pancake?

And it was kind of an awesome day!

Remember when I said that today was shaping up to be a pretty good day? Turned out it kinda was.

First, I got the new Britney Spears CD, and it's kinda awesome, especially for car dancing on the way to Sacramento. I am obsessed with this song:

I think I've listened to it like 20 times and each time I have to do some silly dancing, because that is what you do when you listen to Britney Spears songs, am I right?

But it's a pretty good album, as long as you know what to expect...it's for dancing and rocking out to, not some form of deep artistic expression.

Then I bought the shoes of my dreams. Well, not really, because these are actually the shoes of my dreams. Oh and these. But I am really excited about the shoes I got today. This is them:

Aren't they lovely? I got them at the Target and I think they are the perfect wedges for summer because they aren't too tall and they'll go with everything. So, while they aren't the true shoes of my dreams, they are the shoes of my current dreams and I am very excited to wear them.

Oh and today was almost 90 degrees! It's like we skipped spring and went right to summer. But I love it. And tomorrow is supposed to be hotter, so I will be sunbathing. I'm seriously so excited that I just want it to be tomorrow.

My days have been so good lately, and I think part of it has to do with not being in school. There is just so much less stress right now and I am truly savoring being able to do what I want to do everyday...like watch lots of procedural crime dramas and painting my toenails. Because those things are very important and I need to make sure they get done!

So life is good.

Adventures in grocery shopping and some other stuff for a Wednesday

Today I finally went grocery shopping. I'm pretty sure I had absolutely nothing to eat. No milk, no bread, no eggs, no fruits, no veggies, no meat. Nothing but condiments and crumbled feta cheese (whis is kind of like a condiment?). It was kind of depressing. 

But this morning I finally had the money (thanks Dad!) to go to the grocery store, so I went to one of my favorite places: Trader Joe's. Should I talk about how much a love Trader Joe's? Because it truly is like heaven to me. I really love grocery shopping anyway, but getting to go to Trader Joe's makes it so much better. Something about the way the whole store is laid out, the cute packaging of everything, the friendly staff...oh I just love it. Few things excite me the way a trip to Trader Joe's does. Not to mention is is cheap. I got tons of groceries for only $75! And I'm totally stocked up for a while now.

Look at all that deliciousness!

I also got to work out today! Finally! And it was amazing...all my muscles are all twitchy and I'm pretty sure I'll be mighty sore tomorrow. I did weights and I haven't done those since before finals, but it felt so good. I'm really excited to be getting back into my fitness regime because it just makes me feel really good to start everyday with a good workout, like it makes me better prepared for what's ahead or something. Probably something to do with all those endorphins.

So far, today is shaping up to be a great day. How is your day so far? Now, I'm off to have lunch with Miranda in Sacramento and then to work!

P.S. Spring has finally, really, truly, come to Davis! It's warm, sunny, a little breezy and basically amazing. I am so excited to get outside and just savor this beautiful weather before the crazy heat sets in...

The Weekend Report

This weekend, I packed up my kitten, grabbed the laundry, and got into my sadly dented little Corolla and made the two and a half hour drive down to Watsonville to spend some quality time with my mama.

My mama is quite an awesome lady and I do believe she takes very good care of me every time I make the trek down here for a visit.

For example, my brakes have been acting all wonky and that just isn't very safe. But being a poor (former!) college student, I definitely do not have the funds to even have them looked at. I was just going to kind of avoid the situation, cause it wasn't really that bad, you know, you've been there right? But what does my mama do instead? She takes Rolly (my Corolla) to to the fancy dealership and then makes sure they whip my breaks into perfect condition. Now I won't die on the drive home! Yay!

We (me, mama, and stepdad) also did some eating at Caruso's in Capitola and some cocktailing  at the Seascape Resort bar in Aptos and the Green Valley Grill in Watsonville. And of course they always know the bartenders and half the customers, especially at the Green Valley Grill, because that's how they roll.

Cheers! (Irish coffees and a cosmopolitan)

Since my mother passed along her shopping problem to me (I swear this is a genetic disease!), we of course did a little shopping. And I got some cute dresses (!) and this sweet purse:

 

Apparently this is a nearly $300 purse...my mom paid about $60. DEAL!

Also, I discovered this new shopping (!) website, Gilt Groupe. I am obsessed. I think this will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Thank you, Bleubird Vintage for introducing us.

Now it's back to Davis tomorrow morning and back to work! But no school! YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

"Second star to the right, and straight on til morning!"

I watched Hook yesterday at work. And how awesome is that movie?

Every time I watch it I just want to go to Neverland and become a lost boy, well girl, if you're going to be politically correct about it. Can girls become lost boys? Are they then called lost girls? Cause that sounds kind of depressing. I'd rather just be called a lost boy.

Anyway.

Neverland just seems like so much fun, minus the whole Captain Hook thing, but he is defeated at the end of Hook, so if I went now I wouldn't have to worry about him. But just getting to play and be a kid forever sounds, like, way awesome. I really think we should figure out a way to get there...maybe if get my hands on some fairy dust I could make it happen. I'm open to ideas here, people!

Also, Hook has one awesome insult scene:

And two of the greatest phrases ever:

RUFIOOOOOOOOO!!!

BANGARANG!!!

I think the reason I love the story of Peter Pan so much, and all of its various spinoffs and reincarnations,  is because it encourages everyone, not just children but adults too, to have imaginations. I have always had a vivid imagination and my favorite game as a kid was to play pretend, either with friends or by myself. And I would totally still play if it wasn't an indicator of insanity in someone my age. I just think I am constantly craving adventure, and have been my whole life, whether it's real or imaginary. Plus, I think I have to agree with the story of Peter Pan in that keeping your imagination alive and thriving is the key to staying young and happy. Appreciating everything in life that is magical and adventurous everyday. 

If you're interested in another reincarnation of the story of Peter Pan, check out this YA series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson called Peter and the Starcatchers. I read it a few years ago and completely loved, loved, loved it. I highly recommend it to everyone because it was just one of those books that I felt better about life after I read it, I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it just made me happy!

So this will probably happen a lot.....some randomness for Thursday

I was sitting on my couch today, trying to think of something interesting to blog about, watching a not very uninteresting episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. And I was coming up with nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

What's the point of having a blog when I can't think of anything to write?

Maybe I shouldn't try to force it, because then maybe it won't be so natural and then it won't be me...am I making any sense here people?

Right now things are kind of mellow, I'm in Davis working for the week, then going to visit my mom for the weekend. So there's not even really anything to report, other than that it is really rainy and I don't like it one bit. I'm ready for SPRING! Like now would be great. 

So, with that I leave you with some random thoughts on this rainy Thursday morning:

Why does my cat feel the need to sit on my computer keyboard? Is it warm or something? I mean I've had to kick her off like three times while writing this. What's up with that?

When will people stop giving a crap about Charlie Sheen? I don't think I ever cared.

Will I ever find the motivation to go to the gym again?Cause this weather is really not helping.

Does someone want to get me some coffee? I could really use some.

Will I ever find something interesting to write about?

With that, I leave you with this video of my retarded, but cute, kitten, for your viewing pleasure.

The new Monday

Today was a good, nay a great day. Maybe even a little fabulous.

Hot hot hot pink, just in time for spring!

Today I woke up at the leisurely hour of 10am. There was no alarm, no getting up early to do homework before school, no responsibility. Nice. After a relaxing morning spent watching What Not to Wear and drinking hazelnut flavored coffee (the best kind, by the way), I put on some makeup and a cute outfit (skinny jeans, flats, and a green graphic tee) and hopped in my car to go wander the aisles of Target. Should I talk about how enjoyable it was to get ready this morning? Because it truly was. I pretty much never wear make up because usually I'm going to school and I have to walk or ride my bike, so by the time I get there I am all hot and all the hard work is ruined. Or I just don't have time. Not today. Today I made sure I felt pretty, and I do believe it worked, because I felt pretty pretty all day.

Anyway, I wandered around the Target, looking at everything (really I just looked at the shoes and dresses) and then I bought some moisturizer and that awesome hot pink nail polish you see up above, to get me in the mood for spring. After that, off to Sasha's for some hangout time!

We had lunch at Cafe del Soul in Mill Valley, which was so incredibly delicious. I totally forgot about it and how delicious it is...really you should go. Also super healthy. And they have Synergy Kombucha there, in the Guava Goddess flavor, which is my absolute favorite.

Once lunch was completed we went to Northgate, shopped at little at H&M (I got a pink skirt there. I think today should be considered a pink themed day), and saw Rango, which was so good! It was such a great day and I'm really happy I got to hang out with Sasha, cause she's kinda awesome.

So yes, I do believe today was fabulous because it was so simple. I'm starting to really appreciate days like today, where nothing out of the ordinary happens, and that is exactly what makes it so wonderful. Although, I'm still up for adventure, just not all the time.

There you have it. Was your day fabulous as well?

P.S. I started a new book, Babel Tower by A.S. Byatt, so hopefully I'll have a book review soon!
 

A little spring in my step

 Hi spring. It's so nice to see you again. I really missed you.

 Yesterday was very gloomy and rainy, and last night was incredibly stormy. Today there are still some clouds, but the sun has poked through and stayed for a few hours. I like to think he stayed for me, to congratulate me. It made me smile and made my day that much better.