Foodie

Hi everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I got slammed at school this week.  I learned a few very valuable lessons though, including the fact that I need to work harder.  That is okay though, live and learn.  I have been eating a lot of good food lately that I thought I would share with you!

First, I made "spaghetti" and meatballs last week.  It was fantastic!  I added 9 frozen turkey meatballs to a pot with tomato sauce, and heated for 20 minutes.  I then made 1/2 a box of pasta.  I used elbows because I had half a box leftover, but you can use your favorite kind!  Dish the food out into three portions.  I then mixed in a big pinch of mozzarella, mild cheddar, and Parmesan cheese.  It was fantastic!  I also suggest a small side of bread to mop up any extra tomato sauce :)

Next are dumplings from Marco and Luca.  They are supposed to be the best dumplings around, however I was very disappointed to learn that they had a very small menu, only ~6 choices.  The noodles were all pre-made and the dumplings were store-bought and frozen.  However, I am glad I tried them and they were pretty yummy.  The sauce was, unfortunately, spicy and so my mouth was on fire by the end of lunch.

Next, are the Afghan kebabs that I got with my friend Beth for completing a question-set we had due Friday at midnight.  We had this terribly difficult paper to read for school this week; it took ~1 to read, ~5 hours to understand, and ~5 hours to complete the questions.  Anyways, we celebrated with chicken, a veggie filled-turnover, bread, and vino.

That's all for now! Another post on food to come shortly :)

Addicted to Coffee

The time has finally come where I join the millions of Americans who are addicted to coffee.  It only took me until my third year of college to drink coffee, and my first year of grad school to become addicted.  I will not leave my apartment weekday morning without my cup of coffee.  Some days all I need is half a cup before I feel jittery, other days I need the whole cup.  It is amazing how only a little amount of coffee can affect me...
I never thought I would see this day-- I can't believe I am a coffee addict now.  Lets hope I can keep it at one cup a day!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made the most wonderful muffins today!  In fact, I made a healthy version of Handle the Heats Ultimate Muffins.  I strongly suggest making these.  If you do not like peanut butter, than you can take the peanut butter out of the recipe.  Additionally, if you do not want to add the protein powder, use 2 cups of flour.

1 1/3 cup flour

1 scoop (1/3 cup) protein powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 cup (low-fat) buttermilk

1/4 cup applesauce

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup chocolate chips and ~1/4 cup for the top

1/2 cup creamy, natural peanut butter

Mix together the buttermilk, applesauce, egg, and vanilla.  In a bowl, add the sugars, flour, protein powder, and baking powder.  I added the peanut butter to the dry ingredients (however it is probably better to add it to the wet ones).  Mix the wet ingredients and add it to the dry ones.  Stir until combined.  Add in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter into 12 muffin tin cups.  Add 5-6 chocolate chips to the top each of muffin.  Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 400.  Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

These muffins are absolutely amazing, and are a definite make again.

Nutrition per cupcake:

223 calories

6.4 g protein

8.5 g fat

20 g sugar

32 g carbohydrates

1.1 g fiber

(I have the full macromolecule break-down..let me know if you want it!)

Bakeries!

I have finally decided that it is time to explore Charlottesville.  On the top of the list, bakeries and ice cream shops!  I am starting with bakeries.  First, I visited Sweethaus.  Here, I tried three different cupcakes.  This place seems most similar to My Delight Cupcakery in Claremont, CA because of their wide variety of cupcake flavors.  It was pretty good, very sweet (which is fine by me); however their cakes were just a bit dry.  I would definitely go back, just not every week.

Top: double chocolate

lower left: salted caramel

lower right: cookie dough

Next, I heard about a place called MarieBette Cafe & Bakery where I tried une pain au chocolate.  Their croissants are supposed to as good as Europe's.  Now, it has been a lot of years since I've tried a chocolate croissant but it was really good.  In fact, there was a warmish, gooey chocolate center.  Definitely worth going back to.  In fact, I think I want to bring my college friends here when they come to visit!

Whelp, that's all for now! Until next time...

The River James

Hi everyone,

I went tubing on The River James yesterday with other people from my program.  We spent about 3.5 hours on the river.  It was a good bonding experience.  From tubing down the river with two women I have been hanging out with, paddling out of the seaweed, up stream and to the other side of the river to laze with the rest of the group, to connecting almost all of our 36 tubes together, to scraping against and trying to go around all the rocks.  I could not have asked for a better bonding experience!

Smiles

Hi!

A blog post to update you on my weekend.

I went to the DMV.  I got there at 7:45 am and left an hour later.  I was amazed at how fast I got out.  I did not have to take the written test as I had a valid California license (yeah!).  Since I was done early, I was second in line to get my car wash at the dealer and was in and out in 15 minutes.  Next, I went to Costco.  Costco just opened on Thursday; I am happy it is here but wish it was here a month ago.  I bought 2 large cheese pizzas, salad, chicken breasts, chicken broth, etc.

Last night, a group of people came over from my program.  We had so much fun!  We spent a lot of time laughing and talking.  It was different hanging out with a group of people who are all research scientists; it was great because we laughed at each others jokes and noticed little things about the Prince & Me (the movie we watched) that nobody else would have noticed.  I hope that we all get to hang out again soon.

By the way, these are the cupcakes I served.  You can see the process of frosting them, moving clockwise from 11 to 10 o'clock.

Today, I tried my crockpot for the first time.  The lentils came out perfectly, but the chicken breasts were a bit dry.  It will take some time learn how to use it properly.

Additionally, I went to a Pure Barre class today.  It worked all of my muscles.  I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow (and no, that is not sarcastic).  I liked it enough that I bought a 10 pack.  As I am not sure what my spending looks like, I am going to try and go once a week until I get on my feet.

This week is going to be very busy, I am attending a Cardiovascular conference!  My first one as a graduate student.

That's all for now! More to come soon.