Liquid Calories

*Quick note: I am currently working on giving my blog a makeover for Spring/Summer, so don't mind me if it gets a little schizophrenic around here while I try out new looks.

Today, I was innocently checking out one of my Favorite blogs, Not Martha, and came across a link to

this article:

Harmful Drinks in America

After reading the whole thing, I feel like my innocence is lost, a part of my soul gone... forever...I have been critical of bottled beverages for a very long time, but I don't think I ever really knew the depths of their wickedness until now.

This article reviews several of our nation's worst beverages, and gives the "sugar equivalent" in junk food. The sugar content is not the only shocking thing about the drinks, MANY of them reach 1000 calories or higher. Here's the thing about liquid calories, they don't really make you feel any more full than before you drank them, but your body processes those calories just the same as the calories from solids. This means you are taking in a crap load of empty, potentially harmful (don't even get me started on the evils of high fructose corn syrup, I will save that for another post) calories on top of your daily food intake. This leads to fat storage, weight gain, and all that goes with it.

Now, I could certainly go off on a tangent about food companies and their questionable ethics in making these beverages (especially the ones marketed to children!), I could go off on the FDA for allowing them to sell us this junk, but I won't. One of the nice things about living in a capitalistic society is that we have the choice to NOT PURCHASE these items, and drink water instead (or at least go for a lower calorie option...c'mon). We are fortunate enough to live in a time where nutritional information is widely available on the Internet, and in most establishments where food and drinks are sold. All you have to do is ask, it's easy, I do it all.the.time. It's not embarrassing, and the person behind the counter doesn't mind, as long as you smile and ask politely.

In this day and age, we finally have the opportunity to empower ourselves, and make to good choices that lead to a happy, healthy diet.

When consumers show whats most important to them by buying the healthier (the real thing, not just something claiming to be healthy on the label) options at restaurants and grocery stores, the people making this crap will listen, and supply us with more of what we want. I am an optimist, and I believe that the movement that some call a "trend" or a "fad" to buy whole (not processed), local, and organic foods is going to change the way our nation relates to what we eat.

OK, I will get off my soap box now. I guess that all there is left to say is "power to the people!"

Source

Goosebumps

I found out last night that two other girls in my YTTP lost their dads in May as well. I used to say that I didn't believe in fate or destiny, but as I slowly move into a more spiritual and emotionally fulfulling part of my life, I might be changing my mind. You know when you first see someone, you can kind of tell you could connect with them. Well, I felt this for both of the girls. I felt sort of drawn to them, like "hm they seem insteresting, I bet we could become good friends."

I was talking with one of them last night before class, and we got on the subject of what we were doing before the program began, and then the subject of loosing our fathers (both in the first week of May) came up, and we both got goosebumps. It was amazing. I think there is a bigger force at work here.

You know what else gives me goosebumps? This song.
 

I know it's old news by now, but I love it. I think I'm a little bit in love with Imogen Heap. I heard an interview with her on NPR about how she makes her music, and it was enthralling to say the least.

Update

I want to thank all of my blogging buddies for the love and support in the last post's comments. My dad passed away last week, and needless to say, I am feeling a lot of complicated emotions, and not really feeling very inspired/motivated to cook, or write about anything. We've been eating a lot of omelets (my go to slacker dinner). We are having a service tomorrow for our Denver friends/family and another in June for people in our home town where my dad (as well as myself and my sister) grew up. Thankfully we have managed to stick together as a family and help each other out through all this. So, thanks friends, even though I've never met some of you, your words of support have meant so much to me.

I started my yoga teacher training program last week as well, and oh, it is everything I imagined and more. I love all of my classmates and teachers, and I have already learned so much, it's hard to believe this is only my second week. When I come home from my classes I feel physically tired and mentally/emotionally invigorated, which is the way it should be, rather than mentally exhausted and physically pent up. My love for yoga is deepening everyday, and I can not wait to share it with the world.

We have also been slowly getting our garden in the ground. So far, we have corn, loose leaf lettuce, rosemary, basil, oregano, cilantro, sugar peas, cucumbers, yellow onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and broccoli. We still need to cultivate the plot behind the house before we can plant the pumpkins, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and watermelon. I can hardly wait until the little sprouts become a rowdy bunch of green leaves and vines, with bursts of color where the fruit and veggies are growing.

I will leave you with one of my favorite songs. The best version I could find on YouTube is from the Watchmen soundtrack, which is ironically one of my favorite movies. It's like rain washing over me, and taking away all the mud and dirt.

New beginngs, and also an ending.

This is a very special time in my life. This Saturday, I will begin my yoga teacher training program (YTTP), I have been dreaming of being a yoga teacher since I was 16, and have been dreaming of attending this particular program since I moved to the city when I was 18. It will last for 15 weeks, the class is two nights a week, as well as a half day on Saturdays. I don't know if I really believe in destiny, but I have truly felt a calling to teach yoga for a long time, and I feel that I now have the patience and maturity to embark on achieving that goal. I really feel like this is a beginning of a new life for me, one where I am living my dream!

This is also a sad time of goodbyes. I mentioned in my last post that my family is going through a tough time, and in the spirit of being honest, I will explain. My father has had type I (insulin dependant) diabetes his whole life. When I was 17, his kidneys failed, and he has been on dialysis ever since. He has had a multitude of health problems due to his disease, and last Friday, they finally took their toll. He is dying, and while this is not a surprise to us, it is, of course very difficult to go through, especially for my mom. If you wouldn't mind keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. All we ask for is that his passing is relatively painless.

So often in my life, big transitions are bittersweet like this, one wonderful thing happening simultaneously with something that is sad. It is a constant reminder that life will never be perfect, but we have to focus on and appreciate the good times, and to support and be supported by our loved ones through the bad times.

Make your granola at home...

...you won't be sorry! It costs about half as much as store bought granola, you get to customize it to your taste/health factor preference, and it tastes better! Not to mention, it makes your house smell amazing all afternoon.
 This weekend, I gardened and made granola. After a very stressful Friday, it was exactly what I needed to feel like myself again. I love making granola because you can start with a base recipe, and just get creative and add whatever your heart desires. I love to go to the bulk section at the local healthy market (Sunflower Market for those of you in CO) and choose my ingredients, it's fun to try different combinations of nuts, seeds and dried fruit to come up with new flavor profiles.

I got my base recipe from none other than Mr. Alton Brown, I just used this as a guide for measurements and cooking time. I had read online that if you mix in an egg white, it will give the granola more clusters, so I decided to give that a try as well.

Toasty Granola with Coconut and Cranberries
3 cups oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup shaved (or shredded) unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey extra if too dry
1 egg white
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, and brown sugar in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, vanilla and salt. It will become thick, with a honey like consistency. Combine both mixtures and stir in the egg white (if the granola seems too dry, mix in 2 tbsp of honey).

  

Pour into 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color. Remove from oven and transfer all the granola into the same vessel, mix in the cranberries, and enjoy!

This turned out to be so yummy, it is perfect in Greek yogurt with a little honey. Zak actually deemed it "the most delicious food ever." Well, I don't know about that, but it is some of the best granola I've had.

It might get a little quiet around here in the next few weeks, because my family is going through a bit of a tough time, and my energy will be used up supporting them in any way that I can. Please bear with me if my posts are few and far between.

Yoga Inspiration

These two videos sum up two of the most important values of yoga. The first is a video about a man who has lost over 300lbs, over three years, by doing yoga and eating healthy. To me, this video represents how yoga can give you the power to make changes in your own life that may seem impossible, but through consistent practice and making little changes over time, you can overcome almost anything, no matter how long it takes.



This second video is of a woman who has been doing yoga her entire life, she is now in her 90s and is still teaching classes! Yoga is not just an exercise, it is a lifestyle. If you choose to live this yoga lifestyle, it will continue to provide you with mental/emotional/physical/spiritual benefits for your entire life. Living the yoga lifestyle also gives you to power to have a positive influence in other people's lives. Whether you are like the woman in the video, and leave a vast legacy of teaching hundreds of people yoga over the decades, or you just smile at others more and perhaps let them merge into your lane in traffic, you are bringing more light and happiness into the world. Like the instructor in my class said last night, "you can't just come to class 1 hour a week, and be an asshole the rest of the week, and be a yogi." lol, so true.



I hope these videos has inspired you to do something positive with your day, whether you practice yoga or not, namaste!

Book List

In addition to my Life List, I have also begun working on a Book List, I got this starter list from Thebest100lists.com. I chose this particular list because it has been voted on by regular people, rather than literary critics (whos' opinions I do not really value that much). I'm just not that into the heady, high brow take on literature. I just love a good story, and high quality writing. I've crossed off the books I've already read, and put stars by my favorites :) I will probably add to this list as time goes on. Please feel free to email me suggestions at jfo_55 at hotmail dot com. Thanks!

1984 by George Orwell

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien *

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck *

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling *

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Ulysses by James Joyce

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

East of Eden by John Steinbeck *

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez *

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain *

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand *

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess *

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand *

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger hated!

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman *

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Life of Pi by Yann Martel *

Middlemarch by George Eliot

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

On the Road by Jack Kerouac *

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The Stand by Stephen King

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden *

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Persuasion by Jane Austen

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Emma by Jane Austen

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Light in August by William Faulkner

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Grilled Artichokes with Lemony Garlic Sauce

Yesterday was the perfect Sunday. Zak and I went out to breakfast (paid for by his poker winnings!) at Snooze, a very popular Denver breakfast joint. With popularity comes a 30-45 minute waiting list, buuut, they provide free coffee to keep you from getting too cranky about that. So we sat on the sunny sidewalk (yay alliteration) and played scrabble on Z's phone. We're both pretty bad a scrabble, but it sure did pass the time.Zak got the breakfast burrito, and I got the blueberry pancakes (I just can't seem to get anything else when we go out!). Man, that burrito is the size of a kitten (best analogy I could come up with sorry) so he definitely saved half for lunch later in the day.

After that we played with Irving, my mother's puppy (who we are currently pet sitting), and Watched Jurassic Park II, and let me just say, dinosaurs taking over San Diego? Totally awesome! Finally, we got our garden ready to plant by digging up the weeds and grass clumps and tilling the soil. Then, I made dinner. On the Menu: Grilled Artichokes with Lemony Garlic Sauce.

Please forgive the low quality of this photo, it was really rainy and dark out!

I build the rest of the meal around the artichokes, we ended up having porkchops (also cooked on the grill), salad and mashed potatos. I had been searching for an interesting artichoke idea for a few weeks, because, to me, artichokes symbolize the beginning of the warm season and all the outdoor fun it entails. I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com, and actually followed it to a T because it is simple, and perfect. You will love it, I promise!

Grilled Garlic Artichokes
(with my notes in parentheses)

2 large artichokes
1 lemon, quartered
3/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Squeeze the juice from one lemon wedge into the water. Trim the tops from the artichokes (this was not easy in any way, I had to sharpen my knife twice, but it was worth it in the end), then cut in half lengthwise (remove the purple fuzzy inside with a paring knife), and place halves into the bowl of lemon water to prevent them from turning brown (I thought it was easier to just squeeze the juice over them, because the juice got inbetween the leaves better this way).


2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat (use charcoal if you can, sooo much better!!).

3. Add artichokes to boiling water, and cook for about 15 minutes. Drain. Squeeze the remaining lemon wedges into a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil and garlic, and season with salt and pepper (This turns out to be very hollandaise-esque, it's cool how the lemon juice and olive oil emulsify so easily, I had no idea they would!).

4. Brush the artichokes with a coating of the garlic dip, and place them on the preheated grill. Grill the artichokes for 5 to 10 minutes, basting with dip and turning frequently, until the tips are a little charred. Serve immediately with the remaining dip.

These turned out to be sooo delicious, I can't even begin to describe how satisfying the smoky, lemony, garlicy heart was when you finally got to it. This recipe is definitely going into my repertoire for the grill. Speaking of artichokes, did you know that if they are left un-picked, they become these insane looking, but beautiful purple flowers? Pretty cool!

San Francisco Road Trip

Last weekend, I flew out to SF with my little sister to help her pack up her apartment and move back here. We drove back in 2 days, staying with friends in Salt Lake City. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we managed to have a really fun time, and I got to finally eat my beloved Parisian Macarons. I sampled them from two different shops, La Boulange, and Miette. At LB I got a raspberry and vanilla, and from Miette I got a lavander rose, and a grapefruit. These cookies are so wonderful, they are crunchy on the outside, and gooey on the inside. My favorite thing about them is how colorful they are, it's absolutely delightful to see them all lined up in a shop window according to color, ranging from chocolate brown, to bright pistachio green, to pink raspberry.

We also drove to the beach, where I got to put my feet in the ocean (not a common occurance, living in a landlocked state). The water was freezing cold, but the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day. After that we went to haight-ashbury and my sister sold some clothes at Buffalo Exchange to make some extra gas money for the trip home. Then a little more driving around the city, and visiting with a friend before we left SF and headed to Sacramento to stay for the night.

The rest of the trip was just driving, driving, and more driving, except for a brief stopover in Provo, UT (near SLC) and some much appreciated hospitality from some friends who live there. Spending so much time in the car allowed for some serious sister bonding, music listening and book reading. Since my sister opted to drive the whole way (lucky me, I don't like driving) I was able to sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Note my sister's shirt...Bob Marley indeed.

We saw some breathtaking sights, and some really boring ones as well (WTH Nevada?) but just getting out of my city and being on the road provided a nice breath of fresh air for me. The break from my regular routine left me feeling emotionally rejuvinated.

Caramel Apple Pastry

My sister in law pointed out that I had promised to post my recipe for Caramel Apple Pastry and never did! How flaky (pun intended) of me lol. Sorry to anyone waiting for this, and Medora, thanks for reminding me!

I love love  LOVE this dessert. There are so many ways you can adjust this concept to be as quick/easy or as complex as you want. There are 2 main componants of this dessert, obviously the APPLES, and the PASTRY.

First... the apples. You can slice them thinly and arrange them in a pretty design, or you can chop them finely in the food processor with almonds to a relish-like consistency. No matter how I disassemble the apples, I always use the following spices: a big amount of cinnamon, a medium amount of ginger, and a small amount of all-spice. I don't measure the exact amounts, but a good guess is, for 2 cups of apples, use 1 1/2 tsp Cin., 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp all spice.

Now, the pastry.  I suggest just buying the frozen puff pastry in the "dessert" section in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store if you don't know how to make your own (I don't... yet). I am not a puff pastry purist.

For the caramel, I like to use easy dolce de leche, you can find the recipe in this post.

Caramel Apple Pastry

1 box frozen puff pastry
2 cups chopped or sliced apples (granny smith are the best)
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp all spice
1/2 cup dolce de leche

Honey spice glaze (optional)*

Pre-heat the oven to 325 F. Take the frozen pastry sheet and cut into smallish, rectangles about the same size of a napolean (or about 4x2 inches) you will need 3 rectangles per pastry. Put on a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and store in the fridge to thaw.

Core, peel, and prepare your apples however you like. I usually put them in a food processer with the spices and pulse until they are small chunks. If you slice them, toss with the spices.

Take out your puff pastry rectangles and arrange them in groups of three for each pastry. Place the apples on two out of the three rectangles, leaving one alone (for the top). Make sure to leave about 1/8 in of pastry along the edges. Spoon about 1 1/2 tsp. of dolce de leche on top of the apples.

Bake the pastries un-assembled for about 15-20 minutes, or until the top layer rectangles are completely puffed, and slightly brown.

After the pastries have cooled enough to handle, stack the two apple covered layers, then top with the plain layer. Drizzle with honey spice glaze, or a little powdered sugar or cinnamon. Enjoy!

* Honey Spice Glaze
Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat, add 3 tbsp. honey. Once the honey is melted and thin, add 2 tbsp. butter and swirl until the butter is melted and incorporated into the honey. Now add a dash of cinnamon, and allspice. Finally stir in a cap full of vanilla extract, swirl until everything is incorporated, and take off the heat immediately. Drizzle over your pastry and enjoy!