Tag Archives: squash

December 11, 2010 · 1:54 am

If You Know What’s Good

Today was one of those day where I needed to do exactly what I wanted to and not anything else.  I know, I am very fortunate that my life is such right now that this is possible but honestly, if I did anything else today it would not have gotten my full attention and focus.  Just one of those days.  So I let studying and exams and insurance research and business card designing go out the window.

I went for a 4.7 mile run.

I started doing a yoga dvd and realized that it wasn’t what I needed.  I turned on Om Mani Padme Hum and did my own practice.

I threw my ideas of green vegetables and lean protein out the window and ate what sounded good.

Leftover Matzo Ball Soup

Second course, a Pink Lady apple (the best apples EVER) and some incredible Sharp White Cheddar

And third course, steamed Butternut Squash

I shopped for furniture at the Salvation Army.

I drank homemade Kombucha from a wineglass

I cleaned the kitchen.

I talked to an old friend on the phone for a long time.

I walked in the sunshine for the sake of walking in the sunshine.

I got a massage.  There was a gift certificate that I bought at a silent auction back in September that needed used up.  Considering I got a deep discount on the massage it was fine.  Had I spent the full $100 plus tip I would be seriously complaining.  Enough said.

I went out for tacos and beer (ummm, Hoppyum IPA) with my husband.  We walked around in the cold because it was too early to go home and debated frozen yogurt.  We opted for home and wine instead.

I had a challenging week but something about changing my attitude and not expecting so much from myself today really helped turn around my outlook.  This is a hard time of year, with the cold, the dark, the holidays, the obligations, and so I encourage you to check in with yourself throughout this month.  Make sure that you are doing a few things each day just because it’s exactly what you want to do.

If you know what’s good for you, DO IT!

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December 6, 2010 · 5:08 pm

Corny

Something out-of-the-ordinary happened in my kitchen last night.

I followed a recipe.

Only two three four tiny adjustments were made.

I love cookbooks, especially ones with color pictures of course, but I have a really hard time sticking to the recipes.  Rarely do I go shopping with a recipe in hand so I make adaptations around what I have on hand.  No eggs?  Eh, what do they really do for muffins anyway? 😉

More often than not things turn out delicious and with good consistency.

For a few weeks now I have been wanting to make a corn spoon bread and bake it in a squash.  I could have winged this, sure, but I didn’t.  And this led Tate and I to take turns beating egg whites into “stiff peaks”.  It’s steps like beating egg whites that I would never have come up with on my own.

Here’s the Allrecipes.com recipe I used for Fresh Corn Spoon Bread.

!*^%!  My link button thing isn’t working! The site is

http//allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fresh-Corn-Spoon-Bread/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
  • 3 eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter one 8x8x2 inch glass baking dish. Separate the eggs.
  2. Whisk milk, cornmeal and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly until mixture begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until the mixture is very thick, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.
  3. Transfer cornmeal to a large bowl. Stir in corn, green onions and butter. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, stirring after each one.
  4. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the warm cornmeal mixture in two additions. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
  5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) until light, puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 227 | Total Fat: 10.9g | Cholesterol: 105mg

 

I liked the look of this recipe because of it’s relatively short ingredient list and that it didn’t call for creamed corn like the other spoon breads.

It was a fun recipe and it turned out…pretty good.

The biggest downfall was that the Acorn it was baked in was really bland.  Next time I will bake it in half a bell pepper, I think that would elevate the whole dish.

I left out the butter (by accident) and green onion (didn’t have any) and subbed in a dash of cumin and pickled jalepenos.  Cheese would be pretty amazing but we were already having Feta on our salad.

The original recipe serves 8, I made a half recipe and filled four squash halves and a few mini muffin cups.  I think some cheese and salsa on the leftovers will be perfect.

Time to hit the scantron!

It’s time to renew my Personal Trainer Certification and after much research and soul-searching I decided to go with a new certification all together.  I started studying in October and have been really enjoying the process.  Most of the information is redundant for me but I learn best through repetition so that’s o.k.  And I started the final exam yesterday!  I have until April to finish the course but I am making a big push to get it done “this year”.  As soon as January hits and we are opening the clinic things are going to get very busy so now is the best time to buckle down and get this done.

Happy 6th day of Hanukah!

 

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