Ten minute rule.

I have a no oven rule when the temperatures hit 90. Today, I decided that I’m going to start enforcing a new rule: when it is 95 degrees or hotter, dinner has to require less than ten minutes of stovetop cooking.

When it is 105 or hotter (this will happen), I will either suck it up and pay for dinner, or we will sit around lamenting the painful state of things and not eat. Either way, really.

Anyway, no kickboxing tonight, as the AC in the Rec Center is broken and they finally decided it was hot enough to fix it. Probably someone passed out or went into a coma or something and they thought, “Oh, it is rather hot in here, isn’t it? Let’s fix the AC so his family won’t sue.” I can’t complain, because it was good timing. I was in a bad mood, and who wants to work out when it’s 100 degrees? Not me. I’m tough, but I’m not that tough.

So, I came home and made dinner, following my new ten minute rule. I started with a salad:

Spinach, grape tomatoes, feta, roasted red pepper vinaigrette.

And for the main dish, we had shrimp scampi with artichoke hearts, served with cute little farafellini:

I used the same bowl. The less time we have to spend slaving over a hot sink washing dishes, the better. And by “we,” I mean Matt.

Sunday. Again.

I was more or less productive today, so I only have 21 things left on my list. Not bad!

In other good news, it was a lovely day, with temperatures ranging from ten to twenty zillion degrees. Approximately.

Okay, not really, but when I drove back from the gym at 7:00pm, I passed one bank sign that said it was 100, and one that said it was 106. Mmm. Steamy. I thought I was hallucinating when I passed the first one, as I had just spent 90 minutes in a big gym with an air conditioner malfunction, doing yoga with four other clearly deranged women. I just kept telling myself that people pay big money to do yoga in 108 degree rooms, so really, I was getting a great deal. This powered me through the eight times I almost passed out.

So, I came home and made a tasty dinner to lift my spirits and get my energy back. I got a huge bunch of chard at the farmers market yesterday, and I was planning to make this recipe again, but I decided to get fancy and do my own variation.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients (measures are approximate):

• humongous bunch of swiss chard
• garlic
• 10 ounces whole wheat pasta (I used linguine)
• 2 cups (or 1 can) of cannellini beans (rinsed well if canned)
• 1 can of stewed Italian style tomatoes
• 1 cup of tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, but you could use whatever), roasted
• 1/4 cup of white wine (dry works best)
• 1/8 cup of chicken or veggie broth
• 1/8 cup of water
• Tsp olive oil

How to cook them:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-low. Add chard, white wine, garlic and cover. Let chard wilt, about three or four minutes. Stir a few times.
3. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, water, and more garlic to taste. Cook through, about six minutes.
4. Stir into pasta, heating over low heat for a few minutes until sauce thickens.

It makes about six servings. Plenty for dinner and leftovers for Matt’s lunches.

I added some parmesan to mine. And I had a salad, too. Baby spinach, roasted red pepper vinaigrette, and parmesan. Hey, it was out.

While cooking, I enjoyed my new favorite beer, Old Cherry from New Belgium Brewing Company. Brewed with the juice of real cherries. Cherries and beer? How could it go wrong?

Okay, an hour before bed. Let’s see if I can knock anything else off my list.

Oh! I almost forgot. In the midst of my productivity, I took a break and actually wrote things about me on my About Me page. It’s like See Food: The E! True Hollywood Story.

What day is it?

I made it to the gym this morning. Score. But obviously, my body wasn’t prepared for the change, because I am now dying of exhaustion and I don’t know what day it is.

I also blame my body on the fact that I ate a bunch of leftover cake right before dinner. Oops. I think that’s why this is a smallish portion of baked pasta:

That’s whole wheat rotini and penne baked with a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of diced tomatoes, some cottage cheese, yellow squash, zucchini, and a little mozzarella and parmesan. Also, side salad with spinach and carrots and Annie’s Goddess dressing. I bought it for the first time this weekend. Why didn’t anyone tell me? It’s so good.

I’m pretty sure there are ten or more things I need to get done before I go to sleep, but now I’m just concentrating on figuring out what tomorrow is, and whether or not I need to pack my gym bag for yoga.

I survived Anaheim.

But just barely.

No, not really, it’s nothing that dramatic. I’m just recovering from four and a half packed days of librarianliness. And a month or so of very little sleep.

Southern California is just like on TV. Palm trees everywhere, really terrible traffic, sunshine all the time. I took my running shoes and workout clothes like I do to every single conference I attend, but this time I actually used them, which was novel. It was so nice outside that it was hard not to go running (not my usual problem). That, coupled with the fact that I pretty much lived on energy bars, trail mix, Kashi crackers, and instant oatmeal, meant that I came home feeling normal instead of bloated and gross. Though, I was ready to kill someone for a vegetable. Or some peanut butter. I didn’t have to, but I was ready.

I am now 25, by the way, and that means that I am more insightful and responsible. That came in handy when I almost had to rent a car since I booked my return flight from San Diego. Which, in case you’re as unfamiliar with Southern California geography as I was, is not that close to Anaheim. I was too worried about the honking drivers and the carpool lanes and the no space between cars, though, so I signed my soul away to take a shuttle. And when I finally got home, after that shuttle, a flight, and a two hour drive back from the airport here, I was exhausted. Luckily, I was greeted by this when I opened the front door:

Presents! Matt got me three of my favorite cookbooks to own (Eat, Drink, and be Vegan; The Food You Crave; and Veganomicon). And his mom got me many things, several of which were food-related, including dried cherries and fancy granola. Thanks, Matt and Debbie! I also opened cards from my family. Thanks, family!

Matt took me out to dinner last night, so no pictures of that. We are leaving again on Friday morning, so I didn’t want to buy food. I had a Greek salad with no olives (because they’re gross) and a few of Matt’s french fries. And maybe a beer? I can’t remember. Like I said, exhausted.

Today I had a surprise birthday cake at work. Here’s an artistic representation of it, captured with my MacBook.

It turned my mouth blue. Also, my nose, but that was unintended.

Tonight I made a quick dinner before Matt left with a few random things I knew we had in the house.

Whole wheat pasta with roasted red peppers, spinach, feta, and a light lemon vinaigrette. Delicious. Looks just like what we ate last Wednesday, but tasted different.

When Matt left for work, I immediately fell asleep and I just woke up a few minutes ago. I was planning to go to the gym, because I’ve broken my no cardio = no dessert rule two days in a row, but I think I have too many things to do around here. Read: I am going to attempt to unpack my suitcase and then fall asleep again soon. Also, I’m planning to milk this birthday thing for all it’s worth.

I may have some more cake first. Yoga was pretty tough today.

I am losing my mind.

In the five hours between now and bedtime, I need to: go to the gym and do cardio AND weights, hit the ATM, go to the drugstore to get a travel bottle of contact solution, sort through the piles of clothing I’ve been avoiding for weeks, decide which ones I’m wearing for my conference, iron them, try them on to make sure they look okay, iron them again because they’ll be wrinkled, decide whether or not I’ll feel comfortable taking a bathing suit, pack everything, run around frantically to gather handouts for my presentation, and also eat some cake.

And did I mention that I woke up at 2 this morning? This is why I hate to travel.

I’m blogging to keep from crying.

On the bright side, Matt made a delicious dinner for me so that I would have one less thing to worry about. It’s pasta with white beans and chard, from a book called Vegan Express. I added my signature vegan ingredient - cheese:

That’s one of our marriage bowls. And a plastic fork because the real ones are all dirty. Oops.

This was a really good dinner. Thanks, Matt!

I’m not taking the camera to Anaheim because 1) I’d probably lose it and 2) it’s not actually mine. Also, I don’t know that I’ll be eating anything interesting because I understand that food is so expensive there that you really can’t. So I’m packing a lot of Larabars, basically. And some Kashi bars thrown in for good measure. And instant oatmeal. So, I may actually come back part grain.

Sadly, I will have to celebrate my 25th birthday at the conference. Oh well, at least I’ll get to spend it with friends I don’t usually see. I’m sure they’ll be ready to throw down. You know how librarians are.

Or maybe you don’t. But rest assured, they really do like to throw down.

Guess what? We had pasta and veggies again.

After last night’s state of events, I woke up to a really shockingly beautiful day. I mean seriously, when my alarm rang at 6:15 there were birds chirping. It was ridiculous. So, anyway, that meant that I didn’t have to cancel my rheumatologist appointment in Topeka, so I checked my oil and went on my merry way.

My rheumatologist didn’t have a clue about all of my recent health issues, which was a surprise to me, as my pulmonologist was all “Oh, we must keep your other physicians apprised of this situation” (no lie, that’s how he talks). So anyway, today my doctor said “Let’s find out what’s going on,” which was really comforting until the lab assistant came at me with the big needle and took half of my blood. I ate a snack but I still felt woozy. LUCKILY, there is a Kohl’s nearby where I could wait it out. And buy some shoes.

Then I drove back and went to work, after which I forced myself to go to the gym because I felt guilty that I didn’t really get any exercise yesterday.

Wait, does RUNNING FOR MY LIFE count? Man, I really could have used that earlier.

Then we played mini-golf and came home for an exceptionally late dinner of pasta and tuna and feta and a ton of veggies that were on their respective ways out. I bet you wish I had skipped that whole first part and just gotten to the point.

I think we really nailed the whole colors of the rainbow thing.

Now I’m watching The Tudors. So far, it’s pretty dirty.

Storm blogging

Last night was kind of busy, so I didn’t post. Tonight was kind of TOTALLY RIDICULOUSLY NUTS. But I’m posting. Because I know you care.

Last night I made another barley risotto, this one with summer vegetables and goat cheese. I also baked a pasta dish for a co-worker who just had a little girl, so by the time they were both finished I was so hot that I actually had to check and make sure that my person wasn’t on fire. So, I wasn’t that hungry. I made a smaller serving of the pasta dish for Matt to taste-test, so I picked at that and then ate some risotto and a salad:

The return of the monkey plate.

Here are some things you should know about me:

1. If I have my hair pulled back and I’m not at the gym, that means that I Officially Mean Business and am probably doing some kind of web design and will likely have a migraine when I get done.
2. If I am wearing shorts and I’m not at the gym, then I am… actually, no. That doesn’t happen.
3. If I am using the monkey plate, I am in a bad mood.

I’ll try to think of a few more to really illuminate these dark corners of my Self.

Here’s the pasta I baked for my co-worker:

I hope she likes it.

Today was ridiculous. We had a tornado watch and then a fire alarm at work, and I had to herd people out of the building and then guard the door so that they wouldn’t go back in. Seriously, you have no idea how much people love a library until you tell them they can’t go in.

Then the tornado watch was supplemented by a severe thunderstorm warning and I booked it home, and managed to be here for about five minutes before the tornado sirens went off. Now, we don’t have a basement. Or, there’s one in our building but we don’t have access to it, and I obviously wasn’t about to go to critterville next door. So, anyway, I ran two blocks to this old hotel that is now a restaurant and apartments and hung out in the basement with a nice chick who had a weather radio and a few other people, including Ellen from work. All of the idiot people eating in the fancy restaurant were just standing by the windows. TORNADO WARNING, PEOPLE. One touched down pretty close to here, but we were spared. For now. If you’ve been watching the weather, you know that there’s a huge swath of storms from the Dakotas down to Texas, and, lucky us! We’re in it.

So I had some risotto and some bread and now I’m going to obsessively hit refresh on the six weather websites I have open.

If you never hear from me again, well, just know I took a Clif bar with me as I sought shelter.

I also ate dinner

I got so involved in sharing interesting things about myself that I almost forgot to post dinner:

Whole wheat fettucine topped with diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, spinach, mushrooms, and shrimp. With some roasted tomato and basil bread from the farmers’ market on the side:

Then I decided that I wanted cookies. So I made some of these.

They look huge here! I wish they were that big. Anyway, I had to cut way down on the chocolate chips because I was almost out. So I added a little unsweetened coconut to make up for it. Mmm. Cookies.

We’ve all seen this before

This has been a long week, and it’s not quite over yet. To comfort myself in my time of need, I made a big bowl of whole wheat pasta with roasted tomatoes and zucchini, sauteed spinach, chicken breast, and goat cheese (which is creamier and melts better than the feta I usually use).

I don’t like to brag, but it was awesome. I’m sure Matt will agree when he gets home tonight.

Last night, I made some chicken, veggie, and rice noodle lettuce wraps. It was my first stab at peanut sauce, and it worked out surprisingly well. Here’s a really crappy picture of round one.

There were two or three rounds. I wanted to use up the lettuce I bought at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, because it looked a little dodgy. I meant to save some of it for Matt, but it was too good. To make up for it, I took him to buy the second issue of Secret Invasion (in case you didn’t know - it’s the crossover event of the year) when he got home from work.

We’re going out of town tomorrow, and I’m really hopeful that the magical cleaning fairies will visit our apartment (specifically the refrigerator) while we’re gone. For now, I’m just enjoying Top Chef and really wanting to eat some wedding cake. At some point in the next hour or so, I guess I’ll start on the endless pile of dishes that lives in the sink.* See you in a few days.

*or, obsessively check my bank account to see if my stimulus check is there yet.

Eating local

We’re lucky to live in a state that is so heavy on the agriculture, because we can buy local produce, dairy products, baked goods, etc. And by baked goods, I mean cookies.

So, at the first farmer’s market of the season, I picked up some spinach. I buy those plastic containers of baby spinach all the time, but I’ve never cooked regular fresh spinach. It was much easier than I expected. Also, even more awesome. I made “Garlicky Spinach” from Joy of Cooking.

Now, I’ll admit it. It could have been the cheese that made it so good. But Matt had his sans cheese and he liked it, too. It’s always exciting to find a vegetable that I can effectively cook, especially when I only paid a dollar for a basket of it.

We had it with some pasta topped with a sauce I made to use the rest of the zucchini balls.

I was really hungry so I just snapped this picture before inhaling my dinner, but maybe you can appreciate it for its representation of the gritty realities of my life. Yes, those are our recyclables. And, yes, that is a pink heart-shaped tablespoon (it was ON SALE). Also featured is the top of a juicer. I don’t know where the bottom is so I just… leave it on the counter. Next to the tofu.

I’m going to continue working on the assumption that we all live this way. Please don’t ruin it for me.

I’m going to go clean up now. Something smells funny in here. I can’t help but think it could be related to an incident that occurred on Saturday night in which our upstairs neighbors broke the tank of their toilet and water suddenly rushed into our shower and light fixture and shot out of our electrical sockets. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to create a makeshift indoor umbrella to use in your own bathroom, just in case someone else’s refuse happens to rain down on you.

Actually, just writing about that makes me tired. Maybe I’ll go to sleep instead. I’m experimenting with my work schedule and I worked an extra hour today. Once you factor in cooking time, a few episodes of The Wire, and a good chunk of time spent thinking about what I should be doing (dishes, ironing, investigating the stink), you’ve got bedtime.