Hi friends!

Sorry I haven’t posted until now, it’s been a busy day!

Ok, so I left off right before dinner last night…  I ended up making Spring Couscous — a recipe from the latest issue of Everyday Food.

Here’s my dish:

It was pretty simple to make — all in one pot basically.  The recipe calls for shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken, but seeing as I was fresh out of rotisserie chicken (er… never had one to begin with…), I just cooked a chicken breast in the oven and used that.

To make the rest of the dish, you chop 4 scallions and saute in butter (I think I’ll use olive oil instead of butter next time) over medium heat in a skillet.  Once softened, add 1 1/4 cups of water to the pan, 2 wide strips of lemon zest, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add in 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  Return to a boil and stir in 1 cup couscous (I used whole wheat couscous) and 1/2 cup frozen peas.  Turn heat off and cover pan — leave for 7-10 minutes.  Toss this with some lemon juice and chicken, salt and pepper to taste.  (Makes 4 servings).

This dish is good, but it could have used a little flavor kick.  I think next time I may add in some red pepper flakes with the scallions at the beginning, and/or toss in some chopped basil at the end.

After dinner there was some late-night snacking:

This cow cheese addiction is outta control!

Ok, so now we’re at this morning.  This morning I made a special breakfast for myself — I decided to make Le Pain Quotidien’s Harvest Porridge.  The recipe was in the latest issue of Self magazine, and it sounded good so I figured I’d give it a whirl.

I cut the recipe in half to make 2 servings instead of 4.  Here’s the end result:

So, to make this you put 3 cups unsweetened almond milk in a pot, along with 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tbsp. raw agave sweetener.  Bring to a boil, then stir in 1/2 cup farro and 1/4 cup dried cranberries.  Let this whole mix simmer until the farro is tender and has absorbed all the almond milk (the recipe says this is 35-45 minutes — it took about an hour for me).  Spoon half the mixture into a bowl and top with 1 tbsp. chopped walnuts, 1 tbsp. chopped pecans, and a quartered strawberry.  (I didn’t have any pecans or strawberries, so I just topped it with some chopped walnuts).

I thought this was pretty darn good, and perfect for a rainy morning like today.  It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and has more of a chewy bite than oatmeal (plus it makes the kitchen smell delicious).  Farro, while a little pricey, is a great source of complex carbohydrates and has twice the protein and fiber of regular wheat.  YUM!

After breakfast I had plans of having coffee and wolfing down the couscous leftovers for lunch.  Unfortunately, I lost track of time and my half & half was spoiled (the worst!) so I was forced to head to the city sans lunch and caffeine.

I did manage to make it to Peet’s for a small coffee a little later in the day (I mean, I know where my priorities lie).  After caffeinating, I ran over to Bar Method to take the 3pm class.  I was dying during Hannah’s arabesque sequence!  Danielle’s pretzel sequence Monday + Hannah’s arabesque Tuesday = torture for my backside!  Oh well, I’ll be thanking those girls later when I put on that bikini this summer.

Once I finally made it back to Oakland I was FAMISHED!  I don’t normally go that long without eating, and I certainly don’t recommend it.  It just happened to work out today that I was booked solid with no time (and no money) to eat.

I had a snack when I got home:

The KC and I headed over to Whole Foods to return the spoiled half & half (yes, return, it wasn’t even at its expiration date yet!)  We picked up some new half & half, nonfat milk, and a special after-dinner treat.

For dinner I made tuna salad:

I’m glad I had decided on this earlier in the week — I was definitely in the mood for something quick and easy tonight.

To make this I used a bag of organic mixed greens, added some chopped veggies (bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, red onion), some minced kalamata olives, a handful of chopped walnuts, and some homemade croutons (which you’ve already seen the recipe for).  I tossed all this with a balsamic vinaigrette (I just eyeballed the amounts, but it included balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and pepper), then topped it with some of the leftover tuna from the other night.  Easy right?  Took a whopping 15 minutes to throw together.

I usually add a chopped apple to this recipe; but seeing as it’s not apple season, I didn’t have any on hand.  I’ll use a nectarine or something once those are in season.

After dinner it was time for a special treat:

Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked frozen yogurt!  DROOL.  I pretty much never buy ice cream at the grocery store, so this was definitely a treat for us.

Alright, well it’s time for Glee and The Good Wife.  Catch you later!