No seriously. I am. It’s midnight and I suddenly had the urge to make… nut bars? haha… No seriously, I made scones. My sister introduced me to this recipe by Nom Nom Paleo. Do you know her? She’s cool, her kids are cute, and her recipes are pretty spot on.
Anyway – her recipe uses almond flour. I decided to try hazelnut. I’m still waiting for everything to cool to get the full effect of the little tweaks I made.
Okay. I’ll post more.
Your homework? Read NomNomPaleo.
SSANNNKS.
Originally, I only wrote “I’ve been SHOT!” as the title, but I didn’t want to alarm anyone. I remember, when I was a kid my pediatrician (Dr. Gysman… sorry dude, I don’t know how to spell your name because you only took care of me when I still didn’t know how to spell….) used to give us stickers after our visits. Sometimes we would get the little ducky one that had a band-aid on his butt and it said, “I’ve been shot!!” I thought it was great.
I saved those stickers by plastering them on the back of my door with my older sister. She would neatly stick them in rows… mine? I would stand on my tippy toes and slap them to the highest point my little fingers could reach.
Anyway – in my 26 years of life, this is the first time I’ve gotten the flu shot because I never thought it was a big deal. However, the CDC, and my older sister tell me that this year is going to be a rough year for the “influenza.” Plus… I’m procrastinating studying, and what better way than to do something medically related?
xoxo – H
Sorry about the delay… I’ve been feeling under the weather and behind on studying so I was a bit sidetracked today!
My Sunday Seven!
Yesterday, while I was chatting with a friend about running and getting “in shape” he made a teensy faux paus and stated rather seriously, “I am in better shape than you.” Just to tease him, today I texted him a picture of me running with the caption “Out running, since you think I’m fat.”
Poor guy… The apologies haven’t stopped all day. I’m going to let him simmer in a little bit more suffering before I tell him I was just teasing.
Anyway!!! I walked on the treadmill yesterday while I watched some really terribly cheesy TV. I do have the stinking treadmill after all… may as well use it. Today, I woke up to a beautiful day. 40 degrees!! Once I saw that it was actually FOUR-ZERO, I raced to throw my room into a semblance of respectable before racing out to the lake to run. I did a respectable 3 miles in 27 something minutes. I have to make a conscious effort these days not to over-do the running since I do need some energy to sit and plow through legalese in preparation for the upcoming bar exam… so instead of hopping through another 3 miles, I stretched a little extra and walked out any kinks in my legs before heading back to study.
On that note… my semi-less-in-shape-butt will be getting back to studying…. HAHAHAAAA
Somehow I started my day off breaking a glass while washing it…hulk strength apparently!
So I googled this “Things to do on the treadmill”
There are some truly awful suggestions out there… like AWFUL. And I found a picture of someone eating a bagel while running on a treadmill… like WHAT?!!?!?!
I’m a bit of a running purist when it comes to distraction… keep in mind I also began running before the advent of the portable music MP3 thing. Think: cassette tape player. So, when I did start running with music I found it horribly distracting. The cord flying everywhere, my hand getting sweaty and accidentally chucking my iPod into puddles, looking down at the music list and accidentally falling into things… it was a disaster to say the least. Then my then boyfriend bought be a cordless headset… and I started taking my music with me. Even then, I don’t listen all the time. It’s just part of my routine. I put it on my head and run… with or without the music.
I’m also a better outdoor runner. If I am outside, I can run much longer and much stronger than if I’m on my treadmill. On the treadmill I stare at the numbers, I do math, I get distracted, I miss a step, and then I fly off the treadmill and into the bookcase, that I swear I’m going to get rid of at some point. I also had a really bad 1st time on the treadmill experience… think gym full of sexy men and falling off the treadmill and bleeding everywhere and everyone staring.
This is really just a long-winded way of me saying… I get bored on the treadmill. So what do I do? I do little things to keep distracted. I watch TV, which I think is okay. I do agilities. I do lunges. Sometimes I walk backwards. Sometimes I take little weights and do little arm exercises.
The point is, I think it is okay to realize you are distracted and I think it is okay to go about continuing your workout with small exercises to help you blast through the ennui. Music and TV are pretty benign once you get the hang out it. Slowing the treadmill down and doing agilities is good too.
What I don’t think is okay? Eating a bagel on the treadmill. Think about this for a second. What if you choke? A treadmill is heavy machinery people.
Anyway – these are two good posts about doing “other” things on the treadmill to get through a treadmill workout for people that find it tedious. Just remember to workout “smart.” Don’t do something that won’t work for you, and don’t do something where you “might” fall off. We are running to be healthy and happy, not bruised and banged up.
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/5-unique-ways-make-most-your-treadmill
http://carrotsncake.com/2011/10/how-to-run-on-a-treadmill-without-dying-of-boredom.html
Since cheese has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks (along with decorated sugar cookies, bar exams, and lacy dresses), I thought I would also point out of few things about slicing cheese.
Until I spent the summer in France (almost 10 years ago now), I was like most American kids born in the 80’s. My cheese came in flat, plasticky squares, and melted over hot macaroni in a cheesy mess. Anything else came in rubbery cubes on a tray filled with dusty grapes. Then, I went to France. I was 16. And from the moment I landed, I was told by my host lady that “Parson’s nosing” cheese was very “American” of me and then she launched into a lecture on cheese in rapid French. I caught… 1%.
Anyway, the concept of cutting cheese was so ingrained in me by my host AND my French language teacher (who gave an entire 2 hour lecture on the proper way to purchase, present, slice, and eat cheese). So here I am, ten years later, thinking about how I should explain this to other people too, since I did just post about cheese.
We can get all crazy and discuss types of knives, types of cheese boards, presentation skills, the order cheeses should be presented, and other details that I was very firmly told to do. But, I think that food should be enjoyed, and fretting over small details that make very little difference in taste is not always best.
However, the French DO know cheese, and typically French etiquette on slicing cheese properly also preserves flavor, integrity and enjoyment of cheese. Which is why I find it important to know proper slicing.
Typically, you should keep 4 things in mind.
*While slicing cheese in a specific manner is etiquette, it does preserve the integrity of the cheese and the flavors. By slicing in the specified manner, cheese is consumed in even quantities of rind and cheese… textures and flavors in cheese are different from rind to center, hence the reason to slice in specific ways so that each consumer gets to sample the center and outer portions of cheese in a serving.
Cutting Cheeses for Dummies had a good explanation… I’ve posted it below with the chart.
More information and specifics on cheeses can be found at this blog: A French Education. Clickity click!!
The thing about crackers… is that you need tons of good cheese.
A week or so ago, my friend came over (and gave me her stupid cold) and we had some cheese and wine. She’s big on fancy cheese… fancy and stinky cheese. Me? I like cheese, but not the same way she does. I like my brie, camembert, cheddar, gouda, and other basically non-offensive cheeses. I have a bit of a sensitive nose and I’m constantly plagued with the question “What is THAT smell?!”
Part of my Sunday Seven this week included a picture of cheeses. I realize the picture isn’t clear enough (iphone pictures, you know…) so I thought I’d clarify and give my opinions on the cheeses on the platter, plus my two favorites (not pictured).
From left to right: 3 year Aged Cheddar, Port Salut, Premoo, St. Andre, Humboldt Fog
My two favorites (not pictured): Boucheron and Midnight Moon
First of all… my favorite of all is the Boucheron. It’s a soft goat cheese. It’s got a gooey outside and a slightly firmer inner core. It is SO good. A guy I dated a while back introduced me to this cheese (and a particularly pungent bleu that made me gag) and this one stuck with me. In fact, even though I was furious at him I got back in touch with him because I NEEDED to know the name of the cheese again. Yup. I’m motivated by my stomach.
Second favorite? The Midnight Moon. Also goat cheese, but hard. It can be grated like a parmesan, but the flavor is rounder and more mild. It’s delicious with slices of pear and other mild fruit.
After that? The Port Salut and Premoo (which is The Fresh Market speciality) were high on my list.
The others were unremarkable. However, I will make a note about the St. Andre. I found it to be a little bitter and sour tasting. I can’t describe the exact smell I got from it, but I was displeased and ate very little of this one.
🙂 I’ll keep you posted on the other cheeses I try!
xoxo ~ h
I’m not really sure why I decided to make iced sugar cookies, but a couple weeks ago it suddenly occurred to me that I “HAD” to make iced sugar cookies.
I did some research and then settled on a recipe and icing instructions from Bake at 350. Do you know her? Her website is pretty awesome and her cookies are just stunning. So pretty!!!
I made these cookies several times and there are two notes that are important. 1.) Use COLD butter, and 2.) These cookies are better with White Lily flour. They tend to be harder when you use all-purpose. Which is fine, but I like the more delicate crumb that this flour provides.
Anyway ~ I’m going to direct you to Bake at 350 for the recipe and instruction on royal frosting… mostly because they are so detailed and well written. Here. That way I can just show you all the pictures of my snowflakes!!!
This week was a bit challenging for me, but I am counting the blessings I have.
Delicious cheese ~
Snowflake Sugar Cookies that I made
Satsuma Oranges
My dog, playing in the snow
My neighbors down the street with the intense holiday decorations, still up!
Impromptu bowling session! I’m terrible, but it’s so much fun!
My-Chew… my favorite Korean candy that my cousin brought me all the way from Korea!
Kaprise! 