(disclaimer. This is supposed to be a food blog, but I'm about to overload you all with pictures of people. At least they're mostly pretty people.)

Things I've learned this semester:

1) I'm not that good at committing to blogging.

2) I'm much better at reading blogs than writing one.

3) When a bus company says you can pay the Monday after the event, they really don't mean that.

My team friends are all sexpots. We hot.

 4) How to read Renaissance Literature. I swear to God it is in a different language.

5) I used to say that The Great Gatsby was one of my favorite books, but I didn't actually read much of it back in high school when I started claiming this. I had to reread it for American Literature...The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books and I read it in a day. All of it. Even the boring parts and the awkward part when Nick has a sexual encounter with a man.

 6) My roommates have an aversion to loading and unloading the dishwasher.
 

Functional.

7) But that's OK because I have an aversion to bringing half full cups of water out of my room to be washed.

8) I learned how to juggle planning two formals at one time, while taking 4 classes at the fourth most rigorous college in the nation--3 of which count to my major--while also working two jobs, playing a fall sport, and doing the normal things like breathing, and eating.

Dancing. Dancing solves everything.

 9) All I think about all day long is food. While we were discussing Paradise Lost? "How are we going to make Christmas cookies this year..." During the discussion of The Snows of Kilamanjaro? "Should I make a sandwich or a salad for lunch today...or pizza...or quinoa...or soup...or should I skip lunch and write my paper...hell. no."

10)  It snows in October, and rains in December. Normal.

Extra normal. Dips play in the snow.

11) Regardless of how much I like or don't like my professors, they are the smartest people I will ever meet. They just have so much darn knowledge in their heads.

12) A vegan Thanksgiving tastes better than a "normal" one.

13) The world isn't over when you sprain your ankle so bad that you're out for 2 weeks during NCAA championship play.

14) Its over when you sprain the other one the day you come back to play. Kidding...not really though.

Notice the double bags of ice around my ankles.

15) Family is the best support you have. They don't care if, in the last game of the season and the only one they've ever been able to see, that you didn't play a lot because you can't run fast enough with 2 ankles taped so much they're might as well be casted. They do care though, that you're upset with the loss, and they do their best to make it better.

16) Hard work, plus heart, plus the belief in each other is the recipe for team success.

17) I miss these girls so darn much. And I cannot wait until I get to see them again.

18) I learned that people actually read this blog sometimes...so, umm...sorry I forgot about y'all for a little while, but I'm baaaackkk.

19) I swear I learned other things too, Mom and Dad. You're money is going to useful things the difference between divine foreknowledge and predestination, or the definition of modernism, and also the conjugation of various German verbs.

20) I'm OCD and needed a 20th thing.

All my single girls

Apartment living is boring. It seemed so glamourous coming into the summer: living on your own, with your best friends, in a "city" (come on, give Lancaster a break, it is a city, especially compared to farm-town-Harford County). My days are usually organized as follows:

wake up
breakfast
watch a TV show on the internet (I went through phases, June was True Blood, July was How I Met Your Mother, and now that its August I'm breaking into Entourage)
work out
go to work
sleep
repeat

On the off chance that I don't work, which compared to my June schedule is a fair amount of time, it goes like this

wake up
go back to sleep
wake up
sleep some more
wake up
watch TV
throw a workout in at some point
more TV
bedtime

I officially feel like a bum. But all this down time has given me lots of time to think about the blogging that I haven't been doing. It has also made me realize a few things about myself

Reasons I know I'm a hardcore single girl right now
1) When I got my new phone I downloaded a horoscope app...took me about a week to realize it is dumb and should get rid of it.
2) There is a dent in the exact middle of my bed where I sleep. I deliberately take up as much space as possible in said bed, for as much time as possible.
3) I rarely have leftovers.

I threw together quinoa, artichokes, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chickpeas...and I think thats it. Salt and pepperzzz to taste.

4) When I'm bored I ride my bike to the library, alone, and get a library membership to a county system I don't technically belong to, simply so I can borrow books like Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights (I find the romances of stolen looks and touches very refreshing).
5) I make Single Lady Pancakes via Joy the Baker on a morning off.

recipe below

6) That same day I treat myself to a Single Lady cook-out meal. Pasta salad, potato salad, and a veggie burger for one, please?

recipes below alsooo

 7) I get unexpected visitors and they unfortunately find me either dancing in the kitchen while listening to N'Sync or Backstreet Boys while making some sort of quick bread because they're the easiest thing in the world OR I'm listening to the Joy the Baker podcast and laughing a lot. Regardless, embarrassing. 
8) The most texted person in my phone is mah main bitch from home, Big G.
8) I do impulsive things like getting my ear pierced and buying pet rats.

Yes, you read that correctly. I now have 2 pet rats in my possession. In my, and their, defense, rats are very good pets in the category of rodents. I grant that their tails are a bit freaky, BUT once you get past those, they're cute, eat like little munchkins with cute little mouths, and are supposed to be super companionable. Mine still don't like me very much...we're working on our trust issues.

I'm actually currently sitting with them...well I'm sitting on the floor, and I've created this walled in area in my room with lids from plastic bins, and I'm trying to get them to come out of their cage and explore (apparently rats need lots of exercise).

This is Remi. She was the first one I got, then I bought Charlie. They're both girls...don't worry. I'm not trying to have my pet rats get more romance than I do.

 I overestimated their curiosity. They've only made it about a foot out of the cage before they run back inside. It's unfortunate because I was banking on this time to get a cute picture of the little buggers, but they continue to hide underneath the wheel they refuse to use.

I've done cool single girl things, like go home randomly for friend's birthday parties.

Photo cred the handsome fellow in the middle. It wasn't his birthday, I just love him dearly, and Big G on the other side of him. Also this was after a night shift so yes, I notice that it looks like I have no hair because it is pulled back. Its OK.

I got my hair done again, its darkkkk and ILIKEIT. A lot.

I plan to go to a Slightly Stoopid concert on Friday with some besties from school that I havent seen in a while and will not see for a while because we're all going abroad during seperate semesters. This makes me incredibly sad and a little anxious when I think about it, so I try not to. Maybs I'll write a post about them when they leave and I'm wallowing in grief. Lolz jokez, but really I miss these ladies, and "miss" won't be able to encompass how I'll feel when I don't have the prospect of seeing them for at least 6 months, which is a big reason I'm going to the Stoopid show. Also because Stoopid is slightly cooler than sitting at home on a Friday night (see what I did there) and I saw them in high school and they were greatttt.

I'm crying a little.


Recipes

Single Lady Pancake
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1/3 cup Whole Wheat Pastry flour
1 tbsp dried oats
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk substitute (I did this much almond milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar)
some vanilla extract (she says a dash, but I always seem to do vanilla to taste)

Mix dry ingredients, then whisk together wet. Combine in a bowl. The mixture will be thick.

Heat a small frying pan or normal skillet with oil or a bit of butter (vegan). Pour batter into pan and spread out with a spoon, spatula, or whateva you got. Cook over medium heat until the famous pancake bubbles appear and pop.

Flip that sucker. She says it doesn't have to be perfect..well obviously, but I'm going to gloat here. Mine was the most perfect pancake flip I've ever had. Probably because I wasn't under any pressure as I was the only one enjoying it. 

Cook that baby until its golden brown.

I topped mine with chocolate chips, banana slices, and a drizzling of peanut butter. I chowed down to the extreme and it was deeeelish. 

Vegan Macaroni Salad
adapted from The Vegan Stoner

However much pasta you plan on eating
Veganaise (I used grapeseed)
Chopped red pepper
Chopped white onion
Dill pickles (chopped)
Green beans...you guessed it, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


I basically just combined all these as I saw fit. There was no real rhyme or reason to it. Sorry I'm not sorry. 




I took the Potato Salad from Tracy at shutterbean.com and nixed the parsley and used basil instead. Om nom nom.


 

Typage overload

Its been about 2 weeks since I last posted and, to be honest, I don't really feel bad about it. It's not that I didn't have anything interesting to write about...I certainly do have many updates...really it was just because I didn't want to.

So, I apologize for that. But now I'm game to write, write, write and overload you all on my life over the past 2 weeks.


Yippeeee annnnd begin:


The weekend after July 4th, I came home on Friday and met up with mah girl, Gretchen, and we successfully completed a road trip to Ocean City, MD. I say successfully because I have unsuccessfully completed road trips to OC, MD. That doesn't totally make sense, I know. The summer before my freshman year of school I drove down with my friend, Kelly, to stay at her house for a few days. We met Coastal Highway at the same time as a torrential downpour, monsoon style, rolled into town. The flash flooding that it created on the incredibly flat highway caused some belt in my engine to hydroplane, resulting in the loss of power steering and anything else "powered". Imagine this: two 18 year old girls, torrential downpour, can't see where they're going, in a car where the steering wheel requires mass amounts of strength to turn. It was terrifying.

BUT I digress. So 2 weekends ago, Gretch and I made our way down to visit our friends who are living at the beach this summer. We had lots of fun, (I suffered all day Saturday from said "fun") and for some reason decided to be spontaneous and get our ears pierced. Well, she decided to get her ear pierced and then peer-pressured me into getting mine done as well. I'm totally glad she did though because I ended up getting my tragus done. I've been wanting it since sophomore year of high school but was always told it hurt the worst, so I was scared. Making decisions in a mere 5 minutes does not leave one time to worry about pain.

So yea, I came home from OC with one more hole in my body...does that sound gross? Yeah, it probably does. I don't care.

I came home and everything was fine and dandy. My roommate was working late one night so I decided to put off my workout until later in the day. I went to the track with good intentions, worked hard and got the workout done. I could hear thunder in the distance but did not really pay it any attention. Why? I have no idea. It would prove to be a grave mistake. I ended up running a cool-down mile, but on my third lap the end of the world as I knew it began. I was on the straight-away opposite the bleachers and all of a sudden I heard the sound of water pounding metal. And then it hit me. No, a thought or brilliant idea did not hit me as the cliche phrase would suggest; the rain literally hit my body. This was a downpour to rival the previously mentioned storm that saw me and Kelly experience a perilous journey to the beach. In the end, my phone ended up being seriously water damaged as I only had a bike to transport me back home. Verizon laughed in my face and said they would not give me a new phone (they didn't really laugh, the guy was actually really nice).

This was a very big dilemma as I was supposed to drive to OC, NJ that night after work and all my roommates were already there. We don't have a landline. I was very much stranded in my apartment with so way of communicating besides Facebook and email.

So I turned to eBay to solve my problems. Faced a bunch of issues there but, finally, I have a replacement phone. No more Crackberry. I am now a member of the Droid generation.

I'm undecided.

I ended up not going to the beach. Saddd face. But I will see mah frands soon enough.

There is no improvement by way of the camera. I attempt to take pictures with it but they don't show up in the memory. Help?

But, what you all care about most, is I made some stuff. Most importantly a modification of the International Quinoa Salad that I made for the 4th.


Quinoa Junk Salad
2 ears of fresh corn
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (+ 1 cup water to cook it in)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 large tomato
1/4 (roughly) of a medium red onion
1/2 zuchinni
1 can (roughly) chickpeas
1 avocado
1 lemon, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp vegetable broth
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
( I didn't think about this when I was making it, but I would add some garlic to taste as well)

Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

Slice the corn of the cobs and chop all the vegetables. Rinse and drain chickpeas and throw all together in a bowl. Combine to the cooked quinoa.

Squeeze the lemon and add the veg broth and vinegar in a separate, small, bowl. (here is where I would add pressed or minced garlic). Whisk together and pour over salad.

Munch.

That's all for now.


an addendum to this: I forgot to say that I got hit in the face in field hockey. It really is nothing special, no cut or stitches or anything, just a lumpy cheek and a weird looking bruise. Yummy. I <3 summer league. Not.

Flat start.

I decided to give going for a ride another try. My dad fixed up my bike all nice and pretty yesterday and I woke up early to hit the road with him before I head back to school. We made it less than 5 miles and *pssssssss* my tire popped. Daddio did a quick tire change while I watched, frustrated, and we wheeled our bikes out into the road. *PSSSSSS* the tire hissed mockingly at me and popped again. My dad and I just looked at each other and laughed. We tried to change the tube again and it popped in the midst of inflating the tire.

I don't think the Bike Gods want me to ride. Maybe they want me to make a sacrifice of my new running shoes.

Please don't make me, I love them too much.

But on another less fit, more fattening note, I made cookies again. I think I have a problem. A serious baking problem. Please, will someone fund my future so I can own a bakery? I'll be happy forever...no? I have to make it on my own? Alright, but these cookies will certainly help my case.

Chewy, Amaze-balls Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
adapted from my Momma's County Fair Prize Winning Cookies

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 c old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2  tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c vegan margarine (softened, I used Earth Balance)
1 c DARK brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar (to ensure that this is truly vegan, use vegan organic white sugar)
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 4 tbsp water)
1 T vanilla
1 tsp brown rice syrup
1 T apple sauce
2 c raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, cover 2 baking sheets in parchment paper. Combine the water and flax seed and let sit for 10 minutes

In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (oats, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon)

Combine the margarine and sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the flax eggs, vanilla, brown rice syrup, and apple sauce.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet until well combined. Add in the raisins. (I'm estimating the 2 cups, I did 2 very full handfuls).

Use a medium sized melon scoop and place cookies on a baking sheet about 2 inches away from each other. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 8 minutes. When removed, let sit and cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Now go bake them, eat them, and you can thank me later.

Amuurica

Happy 4th everyone!

I'm home for the weekend and that means a few things:

1. I'm not at work. Yessss.
2. I get to sleep in. Double yesss.
3. I get to cook and bake without having to buy any of the ingredients. Awww yeaaa.
4. My dad's Nikon is at my disposal to do with it as I please.
5. I finished the second season of True Blood.

Yesterday, I basically spent the day hanging with the madre. Everytime I come home, the first day always seems to be devoted to grocery shopping and produce-stand-hopping. Not that I'm complaining--usually the shopping is centered around the things I intend to create in the kitchen.

Speaking of buying the ingredients for the things I want to make, I did not even have to think about what I needed to buy for one of my planned creations. I opened the baking cabinet in my mom's kitchen and the container of chocolate chips was COMPLETELY full. It is usually about a quarter to halfway full...I took this as a direct hint from my dad (who last did the grocery shopping) to make chocolate chip cookies. I used my usual recipe but tweaked it a bit. I'll include the changes on my old post about the cookies. 

For dinner last night, I decided to go all out, pre July 4th barbeque style. I pulled together an international quinoa salad and black bean burgers. I added some broccoli sprouts to the burgers to hold them together. The quinoa salad ended up being sans chickpeas because my mom and I didn't realize that we were out until the salad was halfway done. And we were certainly not about to go back to the store. No ma'am.

Here, I would like to bring attention to my thumb muscles. My mom and brother made fun of me, but I have really big thumb muscles. Any other field hockey players can vouch that after a day or two of playing hockey your thumbs hurt like no other. I swear I have amped thumbs from hockey. Try and fight me, I'll destroy you with my them.

I'm mildly obsessed with perfectly ripe avocados. The color is evidence of nature's inherent perfection.

These were just some of the players. You can see all by clicking on the recipe link. I STRONGLY recommend this salad. I can attest that I am not a big mint person. I've never really enjoyed the taste of toothpaste in my food...don't like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, no peppermint patties, and only sometimes am I a fan of Thin Mints. But this salad is delicious. It tricks you--you think its light and refreshing because of the taste and aroma of the fresh mint and parsley, but then the fullness hits you because of the quinoa and corn. I had too heaping servings in addition to the snacking while I made it.

Maddie grilled up the burgers for us.

But then she got distracted so I finished them up.

My mom and I feasted. We had some sides of avocado, sliced tomato, and basil pesto as condiments and steamed corn on the cob as well. We sliced up some whole wheat wraps and used them instead of buns.

I still have not mastered using a camera, so I apologize for the blurriness and strange focus. The food is what counts anyway, am I right? Nom nom nom.

I would like to add that I much prefer the flavor and texture of grilled black bean burgers vs those fried/cooked on the skillet in some oil.

This morning I woke up and planned to go for a bike ride with my mom but fate said, "Nope, uh, no you're not going for a ride." I couldn't seem to get my tires to properly inflate so I ditched the bike shorts and cleats and pulled on mah brand spankin' new sneakers and did an interval run on the track.

I had been running with my mom's old walking shoes. I have a problem with spending money. Needless to say I was SERIOUSLY overdue for some new shoes. So my momma bought me some. Thanks momma.

I also got my new turf shoes in the mail. Hello Beautiful.

My feet and ankles will love me this summer/hockey season. Although my sensitive skin will not--hopefully I can break these suckers in before preseason or else my feet will puff up in blisters.

I made breakfast this morning for my mom and dad. Banana French Toast adapted from the Engine-2 diet and tempeh Fakin-Bakin.

French Toast (tripled recipe)
via Engine-2 Diet

3 very ripe bananas
1 1/2 c almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)
3 tsp cinammon
3 tsp vanilla
slices of bread...about a loaf

Mash the bananas in a bowl, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Cook on a skillet set between high and medium high for about 2 minutes each side. The key is to basically sear the outside of the battered bread so that they are not all gooey when you eat them.

I drizzled maple syrup from Vermont on top of the toast and added a big bowl of blueberries on the side.

Basically I'm having a vacation at home. How pathetic is that...my vacation is to go home for two days. Regardless, I'm enjoying myself, relaxing, cooking, and baking.

True Blood rules my life

This week has been pretty uninteresting so far. When I'm not sitting watching True Blood I'm either working or working out. I'm trying not to spend money right now. Its weird, the more money I make the more I want to save it, even though all of it goes down the drain to gas anyway. I'm so pumped for my work's location in Lancaster to open up. It would literally be a five minute drive from me. GLORIOUS.

On the topic of saving money, I had to budget my expenses for the week until I get paid. I feel old. And poor. Wehhh.

On the topic of spending money, I went a little bit crazy at the UnderArmour Outlet off of Route 30. My roommate just got hired as a floor person and she had to basically go buy her uniform. So jealous, she gets to wear workout clothes to work AND everything is 50 percent off for her. My other roommates and I tagged along and raided the clearance racks. I have been in desperate need of new shorts since freshman year when my friends started making fun of the ones I previously wore. I only really had about 2 pairs of wearable shorts for working out in, and one of the pairs was bright green. Not the cool neon green that's in right now (bought a pair of those at UA, they're pretty fly). I'm talking bright Kelley Green Irish Leperchaun style. They weren't cute. So I bought 3 more pairs of super comfy running shorts. :D

I was also really frustrated by something that happened Tuesday night. My roomiezzz and I were working out on the turf. It was a sprint workout and it was pretty late so it was already dark. We were finishing up and about to start Plyometrics and a patrol officer from our "police" force on campus walked up. He said that we weren't allowed to be on the field because it was locked. Mr. Officer, I understand you were only doing your job but let me complain a wee little bit.

1. I am a varsity athlete at this school. During the fall, I spend 80 percent of my waking time on that field. 
2. Me working out on that field is making me a better athlete, hopefully making our sports better, which will bring in more students. Allowing for you, sir, to have a job.
3. Uhhh...our coach said we could hop the fence to hit around and work out.
4. My athletic director WATCHED me hop the fence and do a sprint workout one day. (its not as creepy as it sounds, she was watching a tennis tournament at the same time)
5. My family and I pay $54,000 a year for me to be a student athlete at F&M. I think I should be able to use the field when I want.

Again, this man was very polite and we left the field after a few questions were asked. He was only doing his job, but I really think it is a stupid rule.

In addition to buying clothes while simultaneously saving money, getting kicked off a field, and being completely obsessed with TB this week, I made some things.

and, you guessed it, I forgot to take pictures.

I re-hydrated some TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) in some vegetable broth and mixed it in with leftover steamed veggies and tomato sauce and ate it over some whole wheat pasta.

I also made Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bites from Love Veggies and Yoga. I threw some raisins into the mix too and added the cinnamon, making them chocolate-chip-oatmeal-raisin-y. They were pretty gooood. My roommates tried them and they placed the flavor well: they taste a bit like those Chewy Oatmeal Bars from Sunbelt. I took them to work for a little dessert flavaaa and they satisfied my craving perfectly.

OK that is all for now...sorry for the word overload. Boring life.

Monday...no wait its Tuesday.

Eeks...I'm the worst blogger ever. But its how I roll.

So in the past week I've done some things. Ate some other things. Ran some distances. Worked some hours.

I would put up pictures of everything, except I didn't take many. And the ones I did take are atrocious. I really think the reason I procrastinate with the posting is because I keep wishing my pictures were better, but that won't happen until I buy an actual camera. Until then you'll just have to deal with my words and shabby pics.

I did do something cool...I got feathers put in my hair. Apparently its the new thing to do, but I did not find this out until AFTER I got them done. My best friend from home convinced me to go with her and get them put in *shout out Gretch* and I mentally prepared myself to get the heat from my roommates at school. I expected a few Pocahontas jokes, a "what the f*** is in your hair". Instead I was met with "Oh yea, I heard people are doing that now. Cool." Was not expecting that!! But I really like them. I got 3: silver, olivey green, and a reddish one. Again, no pictures but they're a bit like this but not as big.

Credit

 

 

 

I really like them and I'll probably keep getting them put in.


One night for dinner I imitated the grilled tofu, tomato, and basil salad my mom made when I went home for the night. I couldn't grill the tofu but I did marinate and bake it. Clipped some fresh basil from my herb garden, threw in some tomatoes, and drizzled it all with the rest of the dressing and some ground cashews. Yummm.

 
Dijon Garlic Marinade (per my mother)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup olive oil
2 T dijon mustard
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

I have a confession...I didn't have any red wine vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar and added a dash of red wine to it...innovation? I think so.

I also roasted sweet potatoes for the first time!


Garlic Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes
adapted from epicurious.com
Dice up 2 sweet potatoes, on the smaller side. Mince up about 3 cloves of garlic...depending on how much you love garlic. Chop up about a tablespoon of fresh thyme (again, from my herb garden) and toss all together with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Throw in the oven at 450 degrees for about 25-30, or longer until soft. I cut back the time a bunch because the amount is about half.

For work lunch and dinner prep throughout the week I threw together some quinoa and roasted up onions, peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini. Last night I had it all together with some raisins for dinner. I don't think I ate enough though and was hungry when I got home so I had toast with peanut butter and apple butter schmeared on top.

I don't have really anything else to say for now. Except I've been watching True Blood religiously. I realized I never saw the first season so I'm watching it now. And I watched the season premiere..undecided...but TB never disappoints.