Goodbye July!

Somehow, it is the last day of June. So it is time for my month wrap up!

Person of the month: David Salinas. I met him at a conference I went to in Orlando last October. He is running in the Rock N Roll half marathon in Chicago tomorrow! Good luck! Hopefully I will see him while I'm in Chicago next month for the Healthy Living Conference.

Moment of the month: Going out with the girls one Friday night and feeling so good about myself all dressed up for a night out. Sometimes it is amazing to wear cute clothes, have a few drinks, and just let go and enjoy a few drinks. Plus, the people watching is pretty hilarious at college bars!

Outing of the month: Seeing Michael McDonald live in Addison. It was our first live stand up comedy and definitely not our last! I actually loved the opening comic more than Michael McDonald. That usually happens when I have no expectations about something. I end up super impressed and end up liking that act more.

Book of the month: Charlie St. Cloud. It is the only book I actually completed this month. It was a light breezy read, but threw me for a complete surprise about half way through. Seriously, I didn't see it coming and it had me reading non stop until I finished. I hope the movie is good, but I somehow doubt it will live up to how beautiful and simple the book was.

Movie of the month: The Sorcerer's Apprentice! I loved this movie so much. I really do not understand why it got bad ratings. It was very fun to watch and I loved the scenes from Fantasia. I reccommend it to anyone, especially if you love Nicholas Cage (which I do).

Accompishment of the month: Being able to hold headstand without a wall for a good 1-2 minutes consistently! I have never been able to do this, but since January I have been working on my core strength and it has paid off!!

Restaurant meal of the month: My favorite meal at a restaurant was actually lunch at the Cafe Modern. I thoroughly enjoyed my goat cheese and avocado sandwich. This month had several decent restaurant meals, but this sandwich tops it all. What can I say? Sometimes I like simple things, like sandwiches better than gourmet meals and fancy fish.

Beer of the month: Fuller's Porter. This is a great beer! My favorite las tmonth was Fuller's ESB. I am just a big fan of this brewery! I also just bought a 6-pack of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA. It is pretty excellent as well. Beer makes me a very happy girl.

Cooked meal/dessert of the month: For a meal, I really enjoyed the plantains 2 ways that I made. And of course, all of the pizzas! For dessert, it is a tie between my cookie dough brownies and my coconut cake! Of course, I am so proud that I am making my own ice cream now. But I am going to wait until I create a pretty amazing flavor before declaring it a favorite dessert of the month. Dessert-wise, it was a good month!

I did make a great dessert for today. I really wanted to make pie crust for some reason. So I made homemade pop tarts! These had Crofter's jam in them.

A pastry before baking.

Pastries after baking.

Poptart with ice cream. Yum. Looks like a great idea, right?

Here is a peack of the insides. Very very delicious. I love this ice cream so much. And the poptarts just made me happy. It was nice to know that I made everything in the dessert from scratch. That somehow vanished any dessert guilt that can exist. If I make it, it is automatically nurturing, because I know the love and effort that went into the amazing treat.

Dinner was a Buitoni meal for 2! I had a free coupon, so I thought, why not grab a box and try it out. I chose the grilled chicken and spinach canneloni.

I had some left over pizza dough, so I made bread sticks. I made twists with some garlic and parm. I also made stuffed bread sticks with a mixture of tomato, parm, garlic, and olive oil inside.

The pasta dinner before going into the oven.

I had two, with a breadstick and some brussel sprouts. We both actually loved the canelloni. Hoestly, they are as good as anything you can get at an Italian chain restaurant. Very tasty and satisfying. Of course, I prefer homemade pasta and sauces, but sometimes frozen does the trick! Plus, you cannot go wrong with a free meal.

Time to report on how I did on my July goals. The moment of truth!

Goal: Keep exercising with Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones, doing yoga, and some cardio.

Challenge: Start a seated meditation practice.

I did NMTZ every other day. I really love that it is a challenge that I can accomplish. At the end of each workout, I feel worn out in a great way. I have noticed a little more definition in my arms and legs. I also did yoga on the days I didn't work out with Jillian.  actually like this workout schedule. Less cardio than I had been used to, but I don't think I need an excessive amount of cardio to be in good shape. This month, I meditated at the end of every workout. Not seated, but in corpse pose. I have never done this regularly before, so I would say I accomplished my challenge!

Goal: Paint with themes and ideas in mind.

Challenge: Sell at least one painting.

Hmmm...I have not been doing this. This is a goal that needs to move into August. I did sell one painting! My mom bought one and now it is hanging in my old room! Just so you know, I will be having a painting giveaway for my 300th post! Be very very excited!

Goal: Keep cooking and creating new recipes.

Challenge: Invite someone over for dinner and cook for them.

I have been cooking and creating new recipes, but there have been no dinner guests. I need to work on that.

Goal: Make some money

Challenge: Get a job prospect for the future

Fail on both. I have been applying for jobs and opportunities, though. So hopeuflly something will pan out soon. Very soon.

Goal: Make progress on my research.

Challenge: Go to campus and work on my research and meet with my advisor a few times a week.

Yes, and yes! I have been working consistently the past week. A little late on the goal. But better than nothing! I actually have a bit of hope that  will finish and defend my thesis by the time I leave for yoga teacher training!

Not too shabby! How was your July? Did this month fly by for you, too?

Dark chocolate stuffed Brownies with a Peanutbutter Swirl

How is your Friday going? Mine has been fine. I am going to share a dessert recipe I made yesterday and some fun nachos.

Dessert: Dark chocolate stuffed brownies with a peanutbutter swirl

This brownie, which really is more like a chocolate cake, is made with the following recipe:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a loaf pan.

1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into pieces

3 ounces dark chocolate (chips or chopped)

Melt in a saucepan and remove from heat.

Add in:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (one at a time)

1 tsp kahlua

Stir in:

scant 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

Pour into loaf pan and then spoon some peanut butter on top. Swirl it into the brownie.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the middle with a few crumbs.

Allow to cool and then remove from pan.

Meanwhile, made the ganache:

1/6 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 ounces dark chocolate

Bring the heavy cream to a boil and then pour over the dark chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and then allow to cool.

Cut the brownie in half, spread the ganache on the bottom half and top with the other half.

Place in the fridge, covered, until ready to devour!

Not a bad dessert.

Definitely more of a cake than a brownie, which is not necessarily a bad thing!!

My lunch today:

A homemade tortilla with scrambled egg, tomato, and cheddar. Some parsnips and brocolli. Honey mango bb sauce on the side. This bbq sauce is incredible.

Dinner today was fun to make and pretty delicious.

I made tortilla chips out of homemade tortillas. I also made my own refried beans from dried pinto beans.

One of the tortillas before being turned into chips!

The nachos with lots of melted cheese on top. I didn't take a picture of the nachos with the salsa on top. These were served on a pizza pan and thoroughly enjoyed!

For dessert I made more ice cream!!

This time I made a Vanilla-Cinnamon ice cream. Again, with a custard base. I think I love ice cream this way. I love my ice cream maker!

How is your Friday?

Pizza with corn

Today is Beatrix Potter's birthday! She wrote and illustrated The Tale Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggle-Winkle, etc. I had a collected of her books when I was little. Here are two quotes from her and some thoughts.

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality."

School does emhasize perfection and great grades over learning how to think. We learn how to memorize everything in a night, spill it out onto a paper the next day, and then forget all of it. Where is the fun in that? What does it get you besides a sleepless night and the desire to drink a six pack of crappy beer? Some school is pretty amazing, though, and really teaches you how to be creative. My theater classes as Bowdoin really taught me that I am creative and can use that creativity to write plays, direct, and act. I do not think I lost any creativity by going to school. If anything, being in school has made me dive into my orginality and creativity! Which brings on the next quote!

"I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me it is a stronger desire than ever."

For me, creativity is my refuge. Whether it is creating a meal or dessert, painting, or creating a yoga routine. Creating makes me feel amazing and allows me to use my negative energies in a positive way.

What do you think about these quotes?

Did you read Beatrix Potter?

Today I finished a painting that has been sitting on my easel for a few days.

One part

Another part

The whole thing! It has a very familiar feel to it for me. Most of my pieces have some organization of flowers and geometry. In this piece it seems as if I am trying to flower and grow into who I am meant to be and I am finally breaking through the bars and obstacles that are holding me back!

Today Stephen's granny and grandmother came into town to deliver our newly covered recliner!

It is a beautiful Ice Blue and so comfy. It's like a brand new recliner and allows me to sit right next to Stephen in his couch. You see, Stephen does not sit on his couch. Ever. He lays across the entire thing and wallows. He is very comfortable like that, so it is rare that we will sit on the couch together. Very rare. Now I can sit very close to him without invading his couch space.

I found something at Super Walmart: Oikos caramel! I was pretty excited, so I bought a pack.

I had it with some cereal that I received in the mail (I will review later) and an apple.

Such a yummy snack! I think my expectations were a bit too high for the yogurt. Yes, it was great. But I think I was expecting more caramel. It was missing something...muchness? Maybe.

I made pizza tonight. Awesome, delicious pizza.

This pizza was a wheat crust with:

Honey mango bbq sauce

Extra sharp cheddar cheese

Chicken

Ground turkey

Corn

Tomato

I added a bit of mozzarella that was in the fridge. Cheese is awesome. You can never have too much.

My slices with brussel sprouts on palm leaf plates (an other review to come in the future).

So hungry.

Time to eat the pizza!

It came out delicious. I really feel like I have become very comfortable with making my own pizza. I can whip together a crust without a recipe and I can make different variations to it each time. I love experimenting with toppings and flavors. I would love to go to a little restaurant or cafe that only served pizza. It would have a different type of pizza each day and would be made with fresh ingredients and freshly made crusts. Dessert pizzas would also be a feature. Pizza really is a favorite food of mine. And I really do believe that it is healthy for me when I make it myself!

Another note: Today is Jim Davis' (the creator of Garfield) birthday!

And a note from the Awe-Manac:

If everyone likes me or what I'm doing, I haven't gone far enough.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich

Fun fact: 70 years ago, today, Bugs Bunny made his debut!!

Me and Ginger. Terrible picture, I know, but I like it!

I am exhausted. But I am so proud of myself. I have gone up to school two mornings in a row to meet with my advisor and work on hammering out my proposal. You see, she is super thorough and wants to make sure every word, sentence, reference is concise and clear and says exactly what I want it to say. It takes a while, but it is making so much more sense to me. I am starting to not be as frustrated. At least I can say I am working on it now. I gotta put something in to get something out of it, right? Right!

Dinner was an experiment today. I love portobello mushrooms. Stephen does not. I made portobello mushroom sandwiches today to see if he would eat them.

The sandwiches have marinated portobellos, caramelized onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and mozzarella.

They were toasted up in the oven on some fresh baked focaccia.

I also put some sour cream and extra cheese on Stephen's to make it more tolerable for him.

I served them with roasted potato wedges and extra onions and mushrooms on the side. I love these sandwiches! Stephen ate his. That is all I can say. Not his favorite meal in the world, but he ate it. That has to say something, right? He is a good boyfriend. He is brave for trying it and eating it. And I am brave for risking him not eating it. You see, I always take it personally if someone doesn't like me cooking. Even if I know it is good and it is merely a taste preference. I always feel bad. Thankfully this has only happened with beets. I haven't cooked beets since!

Is there anyting you love to cook for yourself but the other people you cook for don't like?

Cuisipro Donvier Ice Cream Maker review

Today I will be reviewing an amazing product I received from CSN Stores. They contacted me and offered me to review another product. If you recall, I reviewed a yoga mat last month. I was so excited to select another product. This time, I went with something I have been wanting for a long time now. An ice cream maker! I decided on the Cuisipro Donvier Ice Cream Maker.

After doing some research and reading the reviews, I decided not to use one of the recipes it came with. I decided to use a recipe from the Joy of Baking, because it has served as an amazing resource for me for everything to do with baking. Basic recipes that are super adaptable and user friendly!

Here is my ice cream maker.

I put the canister in the freezer and made my ice cream mixture yesterday. I decided on a chocolate ice cream. I used this recipe from the Joy of Baking. The only changes I made was to use Hershey's Special Dark for both the cocoa powder and the chocolate chips and to put 1 tbsp of rum instead of using vanilla.

This ice cream maker appealed to me, because I liked the idea of churning the ice cream myself!! To make the ice cream, you take the cold ice cream mixture and pour it into the frozen canister. Churn 3-4 times. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Churn 2-3 times. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Churn 2-3 times. You repeat this for 20 minutes.

The resulting ice cream is pretty soft but absolutely decadent. I took a spoonful at this point to test it. Wow. That is all I have to say!! I prefer harder ice cream, so I went ahead and scooped the ice cream into a bowl, covered it and placed it in the freezer.

We each had a scoop of ice cream with some birthday cookie for dessert.

The verdict? For my first time using an ice cream maker, I feel like the ultimate success!! This chocolate ice cream was a complete home run for me. I even used a custard base, which is something I have never done before. I cannot wait until we finish this batch and I get to make another.

The pros:

Very easy assembly and cleaning. The canister is easy removed and inserted.

Quick process to make the ice cream, as long as the mixture is very well chilled.

Silent. There are no motors, batteries, or anything! Just a handle to turn.

The cons:

Not the most attractive ice cream model. Looks are not everything, though!

I reccommend this product to anyone looking for an easy to use ice cream maker. This is something I have been wanting to get into for a while now. Now I don't think I will buy many more pints of ice cream again. Making my own is so much fun!! And now I get to make up my own flavors. Thank you CSN stores for allowing me to cross another task from my Life to-do list and for a great experience making ice cream!

Last night on Iron Chef, it was battle banana! This inspired me to create a dinner using plantains in two ways. Two ways that I have never tried before!

Way number 1: plantain encrusted chicken tenders.

I dredged the chicken in flour, dipped the pieces in egg whites, and then coated them in shredded green plantains. I toasted them up in a skillet to get the plantain crispy. Then I baked them in the oven.

Way number 2: Mashed plantains with onions

I took the second plantain, peeled it and boiled it until soft enough to mash.  mashed it up with garlic, butter, and a bit of almond milk. The onions were cooked in butter, lots of lemon juice, and some of the plantain boiling water. This is my version of a popular dish called Mangu with escabeche.

The meal was served with my special "Puerto Rican sauce", a mango bbq sauce that we bought yesterday, and avocado slices. This meal was absolutely delicious. It was wicked fun trying new ways to cook plantains. I will definitely be cookng up boiled plantains again. I think I like them better than mashed potatoes! And it is a healthier way to eat them than tostones, aranitas, or any other fried version. Then again, some days you just want fried plantains (at least I do!).

I hope you enjoyed my ice cream maker review and my iron chef inspired dinner!

Dallas Birthday Weekend!

Happy birthday to Stephen! He is 25 today and just spent an awesome weeked in Dallas with his amazing girlfriend. It was a very fun mini vacation. We stayed at a hotel called Hotel Nylo. I read about it in Travel and Leisure magazine. They had an incredible deal where you stay Friday night and get Saturday night half off. So it was very affordable. Plus, it is a boutique hotel and very trendy, so I thought it would be a fun experience. I was right!

The lobby had pretty cool seats.

They even had hanging seats. Stephen is too tall for it.

I fit in it pretty well!

The inside of our room was so fun. This is the little couch with a cool lamp and art work.

The bed was super comfy! The pillows were a bit too fluffy for my liking. I don't like my head sitting too high up. But the bed felt like heaven.

A very classy sink.

And the coolest shower ever. Seriously, this was awesome!! My favorite part of the room, by far.

On Friday night, we went to the Blue Mesa Grill for dinner.

They serve tortilla chips and sweet potato chips. I loved the sweet potato chips.

I ordered the spa chicken and spinach enchilladas. They came with sweet potatoes, a little salsa, and asparagus. It was very fresh and simple. My favorite type of enchiladas. I don't like greasy enchilladas. They tend to give me a bad tummy ache. These were amazing.

Stephen ordered a trio of street tacos. He loved his meal, too!

For dessert, we went to Paciugo for some gelato.

For once, I actually adored each of my three flavors. I got Itlaian wedding cake, black raspberry, and Violet. The violet was so good, because it tasted the way violets smell. The light purple color is so pretty, too.

That night, we went to see Michael McDonald's stand up at Addison Improv. It was so funny. It was our first time at a comedy club, but definitely not our last time.

On Saturday, we went to see a lego creation of the Dallas skyline. Pictures were not allowed, but we did sit at the lego table and made our own lego creations. I took pictures of those. Can you guess which one I made?

Lego A

Lego B

Go ahead and guess! If you get it right, you might get a prize!

For lunch, we went to the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. They have a little restaurant called Cafe Modern. It is an amazing restaurant. I was really impressed.

First off, the bread basket had crackers!! I love it when bread baskets have either crackers or breadsticks (or both). I love crunchy things, so this makes me very happy.

My sandwich had goat cheese, avocado, watercress, pumpkin seed pesto, and celery. It was on a fresh multigrain bread. Amazing. The flavors went so well together. I have no idea why I hadn't thought up this sandwich on my own. It is in my top 3 sandwiches EVER. Maybe it is my favorite.

After lunch, we decided to go to the Fort Worth Zoo!

We saw cheetahs rolling on the grass.

Sad looking rhinos.

Shy meerkats.

Very pretty giraffes. I love giraffes!!

Flamingos!! Did you know that plastic pink flamingos were created in Leominster, MA, my home town?

I love this quote.

And I love this chameleon. Can I get one as a pet?

For Stephen's special dinner, I took him to Tillman's Roadhouse. We've been to the one in Dallas, so we decided to try the one in Fort Worth. The atmosphere was actually a lot different. I am not sure I liked it as much as the one in Dallas.

Each table has their own bottle of water. A nice touch.

I got the lavender infused salmon with mushrooms and asparagus rice. The salmon was perfectly cooked with a very crispy exterior. The mushrooms were excellent. The rice was mediocre, but it takes a lot to impress me with rice.

The fire alarm went off half way through our meal!! It didn't stop. I was really disappointed, because I couldn't finish my dinner in a comfortable atmosphere, and we couldn't order dessert. I am sorry, but I didn't want to keep listening to the blaring fire alarm.

The waitress was amazing and brought us free cookies to take with us. We went to a park and enjoyed our dessert.

These cookies are the best I have ever had. Seriously. They were amazing. Slightly crisy on the outside and gooey, dooey, amazing in the inside.

We each had two small cookies. I would have stopped at one, but no. Too delicious. Far too delicious!!

So overall, it was an okay dinner experience. It wasn't as spectacular as I would have liked. My ears are still ringing. But the salmon was excellent and the cookies were dangerous. You cannot go wrong with great food.

Tonight, I made a nice dinner. I made mac and cheese and ground turkey.

I made a cheese sauce out of 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup almond milk, and 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese. The cottage cheese and almond milk came together in my vitamix to look like a light cream or half and half. With the cheese, it made for an awesome sauce. Not too rich, but very decadent anyways.

I baked the mac and cheese in rammekins with a little bit or bread crumbs and some extra cheese on Stephen's.

Lots of steamed brocolli with lemon zest on the side. A great dinner at home. I always miss cooking when I am on vacation.

It was a fun weekend. I even slept in for a bit on both mornings! Amazing, I know!
That is all for now. Hope you had a great weekend!