Heather Bakes

That’s What She Said…

Astird October 17, 2008

Filed under: October 2008 — heatherwlu @ 3:32 am
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So I did a great thing today. And by great, I mean STUPID. I didn’t take any meal photos. Not a one. So let’s work on our visualization instead, mkay?

  • Breakfast: Cinnamon Roll Larabar and Coffee
  • Lunch: Big Salad and Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Snack: Krispy Kreme Doughnut Holes (chocolate, glazed and PUMPKIN SPICE!!!!) with the kiddos
  • Dinner: 2 slices of pizza with chicken and eggplant, side salad

I went with the 7 mile tempo run instead of the 18 mile long run. I just had too much going on today to dedicate 3 hours to a run. So 18 miles on Monday, I promise.

Tomorrow we’re headed to Brian’s hometown, Knoxville, for his friend Rhett’s wedding. Our flight is at 6:30 in the MORNING. Brian is a very brave man to travel with me on that little sleep. Or maybe brave isn’t the right word…

Right now we’re trying to fold laundry and pack. Chloe was not helping, so Brian had to contain her:

How sad is this?

Don’t worry. We let her out.

I’m super Type A about packing. I have my whole, long, handwritten list of stuff to bring, checking off as I go. Brian just throws random crap in a suitcase, which is why we’ve had to buy men’s belts in approximately 18 U.S. cities. That wouldn’t happen if he made a list.

Travel snacks:

  • Cinnamon Roll Larabar- these are SO good!
  • Thai Peanut Primal Strip
  • Figamajigs
  • Fizzit (vitamin C powder for plane germs)

New library books! Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl and Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello. The latter is written by this guy who made a living procuring the elusive Hermes Birkin bag for rich laaaadies.

And speaking of bags, has anyone checked out the new Anya Hindmarch line for Target? I ordered one online a couple weeks ago and finally got it in the mail today!

I like the brown/black combo and the shape, but it’s kind of huge. I’m debating whether or not to keep it. What do y’all think?

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I’ll post wedding pics on Sunday night. Oh, and we’re visiting the Knoxville Zoo with our (almost) 2-year-old niece, Abby, so we should have some cute pics of her, too!

Survey Time!

When flying, what do you always pack in your carry-on?

Me- 800 magazines, book, iPod, chapstick, snacks and makeup (so it doesn’t explode in my suitcase).

 

Patch-EWW-li September 3, 2008

Filed under: September 2008 — heatherwlu @ 2:31 am
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So this afternoon I headed to Whole Foods for a couple of dinner ingredients and to see if they had the sacred PB Larabars (NO). Here’s what I walked out with:

  • Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas
  • Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate Granola
  • PB Puffins
  • Squash
  • Zucchini
  • Cedar’s Garlic & Artichoke Salsa
  • Raspberries
  • Black Beans
  • Z Bars (Brownie) & Larabars (Cashew and Jocolat)
  • Chobani
  • Annie’s Dressings- Goddess & Woodstock
  • Smoked Salmon

On the way home I had this for a snack:

The Chocolate Cherry Jocolat Larabar. This was really good! I was surprised by how tart it was- you can definitely taste the dried cherries. My only complaint was that I ate it too fast. Next time I want to try the Chocolate Orange flavor.

After I got home from WF and started unloading groceries, I couldn’t stop smelling patchouli. It was bizarre.
I do not own anything even remotely patchouli scented, but I realized my hands smelled really strongly of the stuff. I didn’t go near the health and beauty section, so all I can figure out is that maybe whoever used the handbasket before me was doused in essential oils. It was so strong that when Brian came in from work, the first thing he said was, “YOU STINK, HIPPIE!” And then he asked if I had been hanging out with gypsies.

OH- I also happened to run into Joy at WF (’cause that’s where all the cool kids hang out) and she’s letting me borrow the final vampire book, Breaking Dawn! I just finished the 3rd book this morning and am really excited that I don’t have to sneak out to Target tonight to score the 4th.

For dinner I made up a casserole that turned out amazingly, if I do say so myself. Here’s a shot of the sauteed veggies:

And the final product:

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

  • 4 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 Tbs lime juice
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs minced garlic
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, diced
  • 1 can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Tabasco (optional; I used the Chipotle flavor)
  • Reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese- maybe 1 cup?

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic, red pepper, zucchini and squash to pan. Add salt and cumin and sautee until vegetables are soft (approx 10 min). Add drained diced tomatoes and heat through. Add a few shakes of tabasco, if using.

Add lime juice to quinoa and stir.

Spray a 2.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Add quinoa to bottom of dish and press flat with back of spoon. Layer drained black beans on top of quinoa. Spoon veggie mixture on top of beans, and sprinkle cheddar over the veggies to cover. Place lid on casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Straight out of the oven:

We ended up topping this with salsa, plain yogurt, cilantro and guacamole… I ate it with baked tortilla chips, but it would be great in a burrito, too (lunch tomorrow?).

Oh, almost forgot: Target had these cute little hundred calorie packs of guacamole!

They come three to a box, and each packet has 100 cal, 8 g fat and 4 g fiber. They’re pretty substantial, so Brian and I split one for our casserole topping.

Training Update: This morning I ran 5 miles at the lake, alternating 2 minutes of sprinting with 2 minutes of running/jogging. It was SOOO windy… and I saw a squirrel eating half of a full size Hershey bar. Too bad I don’t run with a camera.

Off to try to scrub off the patchouli stink and then read about teenaged vampires. Don’t be jealous.

 

10K, Baby. July 16, 2008

Filed under: July 2008 — heatherwlu @ 5:32 am
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Big day: Heather Bakes finally exceeded 10,000 views! I began this blog on a whim at the end of March and started with like 3 hits per day (thanks Mallory, Katherine and Brian!), so this is pretty amazing.  I really appreciate all of you who tolerate my ramblings- it’s very rewarding to know that people might actually be reading this thing, even if if half my hits are from my mom refreshing her screen every 5 minutes.  I hope you’ll let me know if you have any suggestions, like if you want to see more Chloe pics or hear less of my whining (HA- you can just take your place in line behind Brian).  And thanks for the comments, too :)

So today was one of those days where I didn’t really have a ton to do, but it still seemed really hectic. I didn’t really feel like heading to the gym, so I opted for swimming instead.  I LOVE the water and swimming was one of the main ways I got in shape before my wedding a few years ago- I should get back into that, especially since running isn’t really an option right now (too dang hot).  Anyway, I tried something new for lunch today! Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lovers Burger… because yes, MSF, I am a mushroom lover.  Here’s a shot:

Not too bad! They don’t lie; it is quite mushroomy, and weirdly enough, it seemed to cook a lot faster than their garden veggie patties.  It’s filling and seemed to have more of a “meat” texture than some of the other veggie burgers. 

Class was really good tonight! We took a quiz (eh, we’ll see) and got our midterms back (111- hells yeah) and then set about making puff pastry galore.  After looking at the syllabus I figured that tonight would be frantic and overwhelming, but it was really pretty chill… and everything we made turned out well!

First up: Blueberry Turnovers.  I hope these are good- haven’t tried them yet. 

My group member, Bryan, made these amazing  Cheese Straws with parmesan, paprika and cayenne.  They definitely had a little kick to them.  We pretty much ate half the batch during class:

And Eclairs.  Pate a choux = meh. It just tastes like egg and air. 

We made a batch of blitz puff pastry for these giant Sinterklaas Cookies.  Apparently this is a traditional Dutch recipe made during Christmas, the “S” being for Sinterklaas (Santa Claus).  I’m Dutch and I’ve never heard of these. For shame, because they are reallyreallyreally good.  Kind of a pain to make- we filled them with this marzipan-type filling that was delicious and then sprinkled the tops with sanding sugar.  Mmmm. Here’s my group modeling our S’s… but first let me just add the disclaimer that mascara is a no-no in the bakeshop (I know- that was almost a dealbreaker).  Okay, now you can see it. Don’t judge.

Let’s see, what else (now are you understanding why I thought we might be stressed??)- Palmiers:

Aaand finally, Napoleons! This is actually one huge brick- the pastry cream needed time to set so we decided to refrigerate and slice them at home later:

Tomorrow I have NOTHING going on! No babysitting, no dog walking, nada.  I’m super excited about this, especially since I just started a great book that I read about in my Eating Well magazine: The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner.  It’s authored by a British food writer who is searching all over the world for the “perfect meal.” I just finished the first chapter on Las Vegas and now I want to take a trip there and visit every restaurant he mentioned (not that I could afford them!).  I would definitely recommend it to you foodies out there.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

Heather Bakes Book Club June 5, 2008

Filed under: June 2008 — heatherwlu @ 5:53 pm
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Sorry- I’m late on the post today! I usually do these at home at night, but we went out with friends and by the time we got home I was exhausted.

No photos, since I haven’t cooked anything but PB&J since the bulgur (which really is better the 2nd and 3rd day, BTW)… but I just started a new book that might be of interest. The kids I’m sitting for don’t get up until 9ish, and I have to be there at 6 or 7am so I’ve had tons of time to read. Nice perk! I tore through Bitter is the New Black in a couple of days (VERY funny) and was really excited to see that a book I had my eye on was now available in paperback- and on sale!- at Target.  It’s called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. I’ve never read any of her fiction, but I think The Poisonwood Bible was an Oprah book a couple of years ago. 

Anyway, this book is non-fiction and details Kingsolver and her family’s decision to only eat, for one year, food that they had grown themselves or that was grown locally (like “in their neighborhood” locally).  The decision follows their cross-country move from urban Tucson to a farm in rural Virginia.  I’m only about a chapter in, but so far it’s interesting.  It reads more like fiction but has bits and pieces of data from recent studies. The description of where they settle in VA is really beautiful- it makes me more than a little homesick for my little rural VA college town.

Although I’m really not planning on laying down a cornfield in our backyard (though that would be a definite improvement over our pug poop minefield), my grandparents used to grow their own veggies and I remember how much better their cucumbers and tomatoes used to taste in comparison to our city-kids Albertson’s produce.  My brother and I would tear through a huge bag in 2 days.

I also think that this local growing trend is only going to get more popular as gas prices continue to climb- I’m already noticing an increase in produce prices at the store :(

Okay, off to Barnes and Noble with the kiddos.  PLEASE will me not to buy any more books…

(Photos tomorrow! Or you have my permission to never read my boring, pictureless blog ever again!)

 

Let’s Talk Books May 9, 2008

Filed under: May 2008 — heatherwlu @ 3:26 pm
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A constant in our house is my ever-growing stack of books that I just HAD to have after reading a review, hearing a good recommendation from a friend, seeing a pretty picture on the cover, etc.  It’s ridiculous.  So I’m making it my mission this summer to make some kind of dent on that pile.  And here goes:

1. Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

This book came highly recommended by pretty much every female in my office.  It’s supposedly hilarious (I’ve read the first few chapters and thus far it’s lived up to the hype), and the author is coming to Dallas for a book signing next week.  So my goal is to finish it this weekend! It’s a memoir- she reminds me a little of Laurie Notaro, who I LOOOVE (whom I love?).

2. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain

I read Kitchen Confidential a couple months ago and then immediately ran out and bought this.  To be honest, I started reading it… the first chapter detailed the consumption of a raw baby seal carcass. When they got to the part about eating the eyeball, I put it down.  But because Anthony Bourdain is my not-so-secret celebrity crush and just all around badass, I will push through.

3. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

This one was an impulse buy.  It just sounded interesting- this NPR correspondent has traveled all over the world examining the “happiness levels” in various countries, trying pinpoint what variables affect contentment.  Sounds like a more scientific Eat, Pray, Love…

4. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

Augusten Burroughs could scribble a grocery list on a napkin and I would stand in line to read it.  He has a gift for making very serious situations (mental illness, alcoholism, divorce) very, VERY funny- if you don’t believe me, go read Running with Scissors or Dry. I’ve glanced over a few reviews and this book is supposedly a sharp deviation from that… but in a good way.

5. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Okay, I started The Omnivores Dilemma.  I pushed through the corn section and into beef.  It was interesting, but I found my eyes glazing over at times.  I really do need to go back and finish that. And then after I do, I’ll read this one too. I will, I will, I will. This is one of those books that almost every blog I read touts as “life-changing” and “a must read“. So of course I must read it.

Okay, that’s enough of my book nerdery for a while.  But first- remember how I was reading that Jhumpa Lahiri book, Unaccustomed Earth? It was good, but not as good as The Interpreter of Maladies.  So if you’re new to her stuff, read that one first.

Off to work.  We’re headed to the lake tonight to celebrate an early Mother’s Day, so I’ll try to snap some frolicking-Chloe pics!

 

<—- nerd April 4, 2008

Filed under: April 2008 — heatherwlu @ 6:53 pm
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I’m usually not big on short stories– usually once you finally get interested in the plot, it’s over. No resolution. However, a very exciting email from Barnes & Noble popped into my inbox the other day (I got suckered into buying their membership card, which fortunately has served me better than the Things Remembered membership I bought last year. Monogrammed tire gauge, anyone?).

lahiri.jpg

Jhumpa Lahiri, one of my absolute favorite authors, just released a new book, Unaccustomed Earth. And as a valued B&N member (gee, thanks!), I got a sweet discount. Hooray!Yes, it’s short stories. I’ve only made it through half of the first story– but so far it’s awesome. Her most well-known book is The Namesake, which was made into a great movie a while back with Kal Penn– better known as Kumar or that Indian guy from Van Wilder). My favorite is The Interpreter of Maladies, though. It’s also a collection of short stories, but she does an amazing job with character development and is gifted with the ability to tie up a story nicely so that you don’t feel like you’ve been left hanging.

I had another Anthony Bourdain book lined up, but I think this is going to take precedence. For once we’re looking at a pretty low-key weekend (yea!) so hopefully I’ll get through a good chunk and can give a rec on Monday.

Happy Friday, peeps!