Thoughts: 8.27.08

Getting on the scale this morning I was mildly disappointed to see it go up almost a pound from yesterday. But, luckily, I also found it interesting, which distracted me from the minor disappointment. Interesting because yesterday I didn’t eat much AND I didn’t exercise. I took a day off. Today I’ll get more food in me and workout this morning before I head to work – and when I’m at my desk I tend to drink more water than when I’m home [I work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays because the office is 75 miles away...]. I think establishing a routine at work is much easier. I haven’t been working from home that long, and only just started to do 2 days a week. I had been doing 1 day a week for several months and it was sort of an ‘Aussie Rules’ day for eating and exercise. I’d let myself sleep in since I didn’t have to worry about the 60-90 minute drive [depending on traffic]. But now that I work from home 2 days a week, I can’t let it happen both days. In fact, I need to establish a routine for those days as well. 

One way would be to clean out the den and actually use my desk for work vs. floating between the dining room table and the living room couch. Being more aware of time would help, too, so that I snack and eat meals at the same time I would if I were at the office. It’s easier when there’s a group of people who all tend to get hungry around the same time for lunch and initiate the reminders of ‘time to heat up’… 

Anyway… I’m looking forward to my workout. Today is a circuit day. Fast and furious – I love it. I’m also considering starting to go for a half hour walk after work, now that it’s not so hot out anymore… We’re relatively new to this neighborhood, so I don’t have a normal route yet. I’ll have to get on Map My Run and plot out a 2 mile loop and just do it. I’ve been procrastinating, mildly afraid of not liking the route or getting lost, which I sort of did the first time I attempted it last year. A lot of the side streets here are windy with no sidewalks and are narrow, so if it’s after dark… it’s dangerous. But, there are also plenty of sidewalks on the main roads, and I live on one of them, so I really can’t use that as an excuse. I just happen to prefer quiet side streets over main streets. But I could get over that.  ;)

Recipe: Micro Fast Veggies

My mother was probably the first person in our town to get a microwave. She saw it as the ‘wave of the future’ [pun intended...], a way to cut cooking time drastically since both she and my dad worked full time when I was a kid. She made EVERYTHING in it – not all the time, but she could if she had to. So I do use my microwave for a lot of things – like cooking anything that I would normally steam on the stove. It takes a fraction of the time, and sometimes, saving that little bit of time can be the difference between eating a healthy meal or going to the drive thru. So, today, for the Spicy Coconut Soup I made for lunch [recipe below], I used the microwave to get a head start on the sugar snap peas. That way as soon as everything was heated through I could just add them to my bowl, vs. simmering them in the soup. And I packed them up separately for use later – either on their own as a side, or added to the soup for another meal – instead of leaving them in it and turning that icky color of brown/green that is SOOOO unappetizing. 

Method:
- Take your veggie of choice: green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, asperagus… whatever… and put them in a microwave safe container with a lid
- You can add any liquid you want – keep it simple and just add some water [maybe 1cm or 1/4" from the bottom], or you can add more flavor by using chicken stock, white wine, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce – whatever you like
- Season with salt and any other flavors – many times I’ll add a smashed garlic clove that I can take out later, that just gives that essence of garlic flavor
- Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then check for doneness, depending on the power of your microwave and how much vegge you’re steaming [I do artichokes all the time and they take between 4-5 minutes - I'll post that recipe separately]
- That’s it. Add some slivered roasted almonds or pine nuts or leave it plain and just season to taste – it’s good to go.

Recipe: Spicy Coconut Soup

I was inspired in the ‘international aisle’ at the grocery store the other day and bought a few new ingredients for my pantry. I tried a couple of them today in this soup I made for lunch. These measurements are approximate, as always… adjust to your liking.

Ingredients:
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Lemongrass, sliced [fresh or jarred]
2 Tsp Coriander, toasted and ground
2 Tbsp Thai Hot Chili Sauce
1 Tbsp Ginger, minced or grated
2-3 Tbsp Scallions, white ends, sliced thinly
2 Chicken Thighs, pre-cooked, cut into chunks or shredded
1 Can Water Chestuts, cut into chunks
2 Cups Chicken Stock, low sodium
1/2 Can Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Scallions, Green ends sliced
2 Cups Sugar Snap Peas, steams or blanched ahead of time 

Method:
- Heat a medium sized pot and add olive oil
- Add lemon grass, chili sauce, ginger, coriander, sliced white ends of scallions and chicken, stir to coat and warm through, season with a little salt at this point
- When chili paste thickens and starts to turn darker, add the chicken stock to deglaze, bring to a simmer
- Add coconut milk and most of the green sliced scallions [reserve some for garnish] and bring back to a simmer, taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary
- Plate and serve – drop in handful of sugar snap peas per serving, garnish with dots of chili sauce and more green sliced scallions. Enjoy!

Notes:
- When I was making this, I was tasting along the way and I could have stopped before adding any liquid because the chicken tasted so good with the chili sauce, coriander, scallions and ginger – this could be used as part of a stir fry as-is…
- You can substitute shrimp, scallops, mussells or all of the above for the chicken, or leave it out for a vegetarian option
- If you don’t like spicy food, you can leave out the hot sauce or replace it with red pepper paste made from sweet bell peppers for the added color and sweetness, without all the bite
- I tried the jarred lemon grass for the first time today and have to say it was just okay – if you can get fresh, it’s worth it for the extra fresh flavor, but the jarred is great if you want to whip something up in a pinch…