How Green Is My Monster?

Since March I have been hooked on Green Monsters! I drink one for breakfast almost every day. I know it's hard to believe because it's so bright green, but the banana overwhelms the spinach taste. It's really a banana smoothie with greens. The frozen bananas give it the right consistency.

Green Monster Smothie

Green Monster
1+ cup plain, light soymilk
1.5 measuring cup stuffed with spinach
1 frozen banana, cut in quarters

Blend soymilk and spinach together. Add in the frozen banana. Drink while it's cold.

Another option is to sub out some of the plain, light soymilk with light chocolate soymilk. I did this once when I was out of plain, light soymilk and the results were delicious.

UPDATE: I now use plain, unsweetened almond milk.  Yum!

Knocked Up

I'm embarrassed to admit I read Knocked Up by Rebecca Eckler's beyond fluffy book but I did. Shallow doesn't even begin to cover it. I bought it for a few quarters at the library used book sale and read this book in two hours when I couldn't sleep. I won't get the quarters or the two hours back.

40/100

Greek Frittata

Since I made my first frittata last week, I've been on kind of a kick. Last night I made a broccoli/asparagus/sun-dried tomato/parmesan frittata. I liked it so much that after dinner, I made a Greek frittata to take to work today. And it was really good!

Greek Frittata
1 tsp butter (am out of olive oil)
½+ cup frozen chopped onion
1 tomato, roughly chopped
2 handfuls spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 spoonful of Kalamata olives (chopped if you like)
2 eggs
¼ cup reduced-fat Feta chunks

1. Heat oil, then add the onions until it smells really good. Then add the tomatoes. After a few minutes toss in the spinach. Cook until the veggies are mostly done. Then add the olives.
2. Turn the heat down to low. Beat the eggs and mix in the Feta in a separate bowl. Pour the egg mix over the vegetables. Then leave it alone for at least 10 mins, or longer, until the eggs aren’t runny anymore.

With some soup it was a great lunch!

The Professor and the Madman

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is a nonfiction story about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.

This intriguing book features the lives of two word lovers, a British professor obsessed with the idea of fixing the English language in the first comprehensive dictionary, and an American, a former Army Captain and surgeon, who, while committed in a British prison for murder, ends up being one of the most important contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary.

While this book twines together several plot threads and stories, it does so like a novel, making it a very enjoyable read. I wished I had known this story when I studied Shakespeare as an undergrad and had to look up 10 different words in the OED every week.
39/100

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

I listened to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, and it had several elements of a good story: plucky grad student woman protagonist (complete with a found dog), whip-smart roommate, summer love with an over-educated steeplejack, and a personal connection to the Salem witch trials.

More than once I found myself wishing that Alice Hoffman wrote this book so that it would have been good. 38/100

Today I slept in, had peanut butter toast, went for my longest run (and by that I mean walk/jog) ever, but lost my pedometer sometime during the first 20 minutes so have only a rough idea of the distance, came home and My Heart's Desire grilled me a veggieburger with blue cheese, cleaned up a bit, got a splitting headache (maybe from the run? or the cleaning?), took a brief rest, made coffee and punch, frosted cupcakes, saw that my hydrangea plant is blooming, celebrated a friend's graduation from grad school, showed My Heart's Desire the area where the pedometer was lost, he biked it (in the rain) and couldn't find it, came home, read magazines on the couch, had Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner, and read more.

Spring Frittata

Yesterday I was in the mood for a frittata, and made one based on Mark Bittman’s recipe. I had never made a frittata before and was impressed with how good it was. And how easy it was to make! My Heart’s Desire enjoyed it too. This is sure to be a spring and summer standard.

Spring Frittata
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp diced garlic
½+ cup frozen chopped onion
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 can artichoke bottoms, rinsed and roughly chopped
½ bag dried chanterelle mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
4 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan

1. Heat oil, then add garlic and onions until it smells really good. Then add the asparagus, artichoke, and mushrooms. Cook until the asparagus is mostly done. Then toss in the tarragon.
2. Turn the heat down to low. Beat the eggs and mix in the Parmesan. Pour the egg mix over the vegetables. Then leave it alone for at least 10 mins, or longer, until the eggs aren’t runny anymore.
3. Put the pan (check first to make sure it’s oven safe) in a 350* oven for 4 mins.

My Heart’s Desire had some frittata with a grilled cheese sandwich. I heated up some soup but the frittata was so good I didn’t want it. I just had the frittata with an orange.

Serve two hungry people with a side salad.

Today I slept until I woke up, read magazines in my comfy chaise, went to the farmer's market for strawberries and asparagus, came home, put my recipes into a binder (formerly taped to kitchen cabinets and fridge), did some chores, met a friend for coffee, caught up over a nice chat, went to dinner with My Heart's Desire and some friends (there's something about restaurants with a tiny menu that only take cash), we all went for a walk on a perfect late spring evening, had ice cream outside, returned a book, bought a new insulated cup for my Green Monsters (had a Starbucks gift card), came home and prepared for my 5K tomorrow am, and am going to read then go to bed early.

The Wife's Tale

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens reads like a long short story. It's a novel and takes a while to get to the heart of the story. Clever in parts, drags in others. It has some beautiful writing but not enough to make this book more than okay.
37/100

The Opposite of Me

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen is a good book about who we are, how family shapes our roles, and what happens when the rug is pulled out from under us. The story has a life of its own and I kept reading to find out what would happen next. A satisfying summer book. I read this book in 24 hours!
36/100

Today I am greateful for: early asparagus from the farmer's market, sunshine, watching the cat take a sun bath, being able to laugh at myself, a new toaster (replaced previous toaster which was a fire hazard), being teachable, that working out feels good, lazy weekend days to recharge my batteries, looking on the bright side, and How I Met Your Mother.

Ms. Hempel Chronicles

Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum is a novel in connected stories that seemed discordant and just not that interesting. 35/100

Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked by Nick Horby did not dissapoint. I'm a fan of his books (most of them, anyway) and this was a perfect summer book. It also illustrates drift very well (almost scarily so). 34/100

Girls on the run

I liked my last race so much I signed up for another one! This race is a 5K that supports Girls on the Run, another worthy cause! The nice thing about being such a slow run/walker is that I have nowhere to go but up. Let's see if I can break my PR of 4th to last!

VegWeek 2010

April 24 through April 30, 2010 was Maryland VegWeek. Where did I find out about this? Takoma Park, of course, where the mayor signed an official proclamation declaring it Takoma Park VegWeek.

I haven't eaten any meat for a few weeks and just kept going veggie. Although I do enjoy many Morningstar Farms vegetarian products, including their maple sausage and veggie burgers (and I wish they'd bring back the corn dogs!), their bacon was a serious fail. Imagine if Fruit Stripe made vegetarian bacon strips out of Play-Doh. That's what it was like.

2010 Goals: April Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my April progress.

1. I read 5 books this month, raising my yearly total to 33. As usual, I did not finish a lot of books I started. I'm also almost done listen to a book on CD.

2. I met with my writing group for dinner and a reading by a former professor. The dinner was good, the reading was great. I bought the book (I just remembered) and started it. Goal: Achieved.

3. Submit... This I still have not done yet. May, I've got my eye on you for submissions!

4. Blog regularly — I am on it. This is my 75th post of the year, so I am on track for 200 blog posts this year.

5. Participate in two races. I had a lot of fun at the Earth Day 5K. Another part of my goal was to raise money for a worthy cause. I put together Furiously Walking, a walking team to participate in the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® in the 5K walk on June 5, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

6. I ate vegetarian meals 90% of the time - meeting my goal. Yay! In March I did not feel good after eating all that meat. So I made sure to have vegetarian meals and snacks on hand. Though pad thai and chicken panang have long been my go-to takeout (and out to lunch) staples, I am now hooked on the spicy eggplant (I had it for the first time in February). I don't know how they prepare it, but it is good every time and I find myself craving it.

7. This month I tried a new restaurant and ordered some hippie stuff from Etsy. I also bought new running shoes at a running store I had never been to before (recommended by an acquaintance). It was ladies' night (unbeknownst to me until I showed up) so there were snacks, extra staff, giveaways (bags, pens, headbands) and 10-min massages. My feet and I left happy.

8. Seeing friends. This month I saw friends a lot! I exceeded my goal of seeing friends at least once a week. In April I met friends for brunch and lunch a few times, enjoyed an anniversary dinner, went for a walk/jog, and for a mani-pedi. It was great to catch up with old friends and get to know new ones.

9. My Heart's Desire and I had fun this month. April Fool's Day is our wedding anniversary and we went out for a fancy dinner that night. Later in the month we had heavenly relaxing massages, which were very relaxing. We also went to the movies and saw Hot Tub Time Machine (exactly what you'd expect) and City Island (a dramedy of the best kind). You can figure out who picked each movie.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? Nope.