Wednesday, June 23, 2010

If *I* Can Cook, *You* can &%$#ing Cook



Isn't it lovely? This is the egg & spinach quinoa back I mentioned in my comments last post. I made this last week to some great success. I wasn't aware I had ever eaten quinoa (KEEN-wah, I think....) before, but, now that I've seen what it looks like cooked, I may have been served some as a side dish at some hoity-toity restaurants before. Basically it's considered a grain.... but somehow related to a radish... I'm not entirely sure. If you want to learn some actual facts about it, not just remnants floating about in my addled memory, check out the "whole grains" product page on the Whole Foods site here. I just bought some millet-based gluten-free bread today, and will let you know how that experiment turns out later. It's actually frozen, which is interesting. I guess harder to keep fresh than wheat bread? Has less preservatives? I don't know.

Anyway. So, last week I was trying out a few recipes. The quinoa bake turned out pretty well - I think it was sort of fool-proof. But it raised my cooking confidence. As a rule, I don't cook. In fact, the pilot light was apparently out in our oven for the first few months Jason and I lived in our new apartment, and I had no idea. I substituted some pre-cut green, yellow, and red peppers for 1/2 the spinach and some egg whites instead of using 8 eggs. I didn't have the right sized pan so mine turned out thinner than in the photo, but it was a nice easy thing to cut a slice of and eat either as lunch or a snack at work. Sadly, I have to take milk and eggs out of the mix for the next week+ so I won't be making it again soon, but will be able to again once the restrictive part of my nutrition plan is over.

The next experiment did not go so well. It was the Turkey Meatloaf, also from Whole Foods. It was actually more labor intensive and satisfying to make than the quinoa as there was all sorts of chopping and mixing and finally, after very carefully washing my hands, mushing the whole mixture together with my hands. That was really satisfying. I think I mixed it very well. Perhaps too well. So I put it in the dish (again, not the right size; didn't really read past the ingredient list when I went shopping.... ) and this is what it looked like:



Yes, it looks oddly pink... I realized later that was partly from the tomato paste. But then I put it in the oven, for LESS time than the recipe called for, I might add, and it came out looking like this:




Hmmm. Still, oddly pink. But now, also, oddly black on the edges... hmmm....

So, we ate it. And, well, it was gross. Kinda dry, and we had no ketchup to mask the dryness. Oh well. At least I got to squish meat with my hands. Jason has a great chili recipe he thinks he can put it in. :)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

It's the new Jan Brady!

Hi, friends! Welcome to the new, nipped-and-tucked Blog 'O Shannon. Not only have I usurped the latest and greatest blogger background, but I'm making some changes and will be cataloguing some new adventures.

First of all, though the blog is titled "But I Digress," I am not going to focus my posts so much on the ADHD stuff. At the time I started the blog, I had just recently been diagnosed with the, uh, "Set of personality traits" and was dealing with how that affected me and integrating this new information into my identity. Don't worry - if I put my car keys in the freezer or the dog in the washing machine, you'll be the first to know. But it won't be all "Forsooth! What is-eth this thing that they call ADHD? Is it animal, mineral, or vegetable? Whyeth must I know no focus and when shall I finally be.... shit, what was the rest of that sentence?"

Cuz that's lame. I'll also try to update more and write shorter stuff cuz, hey, if a magazine article is supposed to be as long as the average human bathroom visit, then I think the average time it takes to read a blog should be "quick enough I can be sure the boss doesn't catch me at work." Or I guess, average bathroom visit, if you have an iPhone (now go wash your hands, you filthy bastard).

Finally, my new adventure. Perhaps there will be other adventures soon, but, right now, my focus is on eating well and getting into shape. I am lucky enough to say that most of the things in my life are going pretty great right now; I have a job I like, I'm writing most weeks, my dog doesn't bark as much as he used to, I have a parking spot, and I'm in love with a super hunky, dorky, smarty-pants man who loves me lots and lots. But this one thing, knowing that I'm overweight and knowing that I'm not so healthy, has plagued me for a while. So, I have embarked on a 6 month long, hopefully lifestyle-changing nutrition adventure. It's a lot of baby steps so I'm not even thinking about the exercise part right now or counting calories. For the last few weeks I've been trying to eat good stuff -- lots of berries, some leafy greens (as much as I can handle), organic meats and cheeses, almond milk, greek yogurt, almond butter and apples, and my daily, super-awesome smoothie.

So come along, children, and join me on my antioxidant-filled jaunt down the path that leads to cardiac health and hot and sexy jeans. If nothing else, I promise it'll be funny.