Sangha Chick

OK, Moving to Wordpress.

It’s not you Tumblr, it’s me. But thanks. I’ll always remember you, just as you are right now. MWAH! (Visit me on Wordpress.)

Bisque, And Same as it Ever Was.

Today was weird. And good. And weird. I had an online class this morning, so I got up to run. (Run/walk. Whatever.) The power had crashed in my neighborhood while I was out, and my DSL modem was jammed. I finally figured it out, but I lost a lot of time. Then, I lost more time while I printed stuff for the afternoon class and ran out of paper.

But I made a deal with myself this year: I will take care of myself. One thing that I will do is be healthy, and that includes running and eating right. Another big deal is that I will not get upset. Oh sure, sometimes getting upset is warranted. But printers crash and assignments are turned in late, and life goes on. I can get the job done with drama, or I can just get the job done. I choose option 2. So I fixed stuff and dug up resume paper when I ran out of laser white, and that’s that. I like this. I feel better. I could do without the stress and drama. I’m sure that I’ll have a massive meltdown some day over something trivial that happens in class. Not today, though.

I still have an 8-page paper to write, but my undergrad training taught me a lot about writing under pressure. I’ll be fine. And I stopped for early dinner with a really good friend, and that was worth all the trouble of the day. I had a decent but tiny breakfast, and had to stop to eat just a large order of fries for lunch, due to delays. So it was nice to sit down for dinner and have Italian Tomato Bisque and a salad.

Gonna crash for a bit, then write. Yay Friday, with or without a paper and a presentation looming. It’s all ok.

One-Line Posts?

I’m tempted, but I’m not that pithy. “Ran-trained, ate, Evil Baby Kitty Puked, off to work.” Oh, actually that worked pretty well.

I have to put my money where my mouth is. I complained about the Facebook memes where people paste crap in their status(es? ii?) instead of atucally taking action for a cause. So I have to at least try to live up to my entry in the half marathon I signed up to do in November. So I surprised myself and hit the treadmill this morning. I freak if I’m too tired to study, but I have to nut up (snicker!) and put some effort into this. Then I ate steel cut oats with applesauce and fig bars. I might survive today.

Evil Baby Kitty isn’t feeling well. I have to take her back to the vet. I hope we can solve this, and that she isn’t *really* sick. Thank you pet insurance! (I think. I haven’t really used it yet.)

Last night? Skillet cornbread, okra, tomatoes, corn, and redownloaded all of the research that I lost for Friday’s paper/presentation. W00t.

No SanghaChick, No Cry?

(These are this morning’s breakfast potatoes. They were supposed to be crispy, but I flubbed it. And they look not a bit like saurkraut. But they were tasty. Oh. Yeah.)

I’ve been having a great summer. I really did. I played a lot, saw a lot of live music, read a lot of books, and generally had a good time.

But food has been weird. I went through a phase where my digestion was much worse, and I had a hard time trying to figure it out. Saw a new gastroenterologist, had myself tested for celiac (it was negative,) and I still think I have a wheat sensitivity. So I sort of threw in the towel and went back to eating meat for a bit. I was in the cafeteria one day, they had pork chops, and I lost my mind. And trust me, these were damned good pork chops, smothered with onions and gravy, and accompanied by mashed potatoes.

That sent me on a meat binge that lasted for at least a month. It was kind of fun. However, I have really developed a conscience about eating meat. Before, animal cruelty was in the back of my mind; but my vegetarianism was mostly dictated by my problems with IBS. Now, I can’t eat anything without thinking about sad little beakless chickens and brutalized cows.

So I’ve made a deal with myself. I can be a flexatarian (someone who occasionally eats meat) as long as it’s cruelty free. I think that’s a fair deal. My body is still really not crazy about meat anyway, so I don’t feel it’s a great loss.

I started grad school, as well. It’s been a weird six weeks trying to adjust to the new schedule and get a plan down that includes decent meals. I think I’ve finally gotten into a groove. We have two decent eateries in my department, and both have really good, really fresh vegetarian choices. Since I’m a broke-assed student now, I generally try to pack healthy appealing lunches. So today, I’m leaving you with a medley of recent SanghaChick meals.

LOTS of stuff. Proper update soon. Just trying to figure out where to start. But here’s a hint… Can you say “flexatarian”?

Recipe: Fennel and Four Cheese Lasagna

Oh, but I have been missing! I was running a lot, then not running so much. Then, there was Crazy Week, and all bets were off. But when I show up, I usually have something good right? (Yes? Maybe?)

When I was in Ireland, I had a Fennel and Goat Cheese Lasagna at a vegetarian restaurant called Cafe Fresh, and I’ve been wanting to try something like it since then. I wouldn’t be surprised if the very kind owner would send me the recipe if I asked for it. But half the fun is puttering around and trying to figure it all out!

This turned out to be quite different from her recipe, but I really rather like it. I’m gonna give her version another shot, but this is gonna make me happy all week.

Fennel and Four Cheese Lasagna

Half a box of lasagna noodles

1/2 cup of fennel bottoms

Half of a red bell pepper

Nice-sized shallot (baby fist)

5-6 baby portobellos

1 cup of skim ricotta (as fresh as you can get)

1 package of feta cheese (7 ozs.)

1 package of parmesan (about 16 ozs.)

1/4 cup of asiago cheese

2 eggs

Three cloves of garlic

1/2 cup or marinara sauce

A little salt and pepper

Slice the tops off your fennel (save them for later.) Slice the bottoms up pretty fine (finer than I did, even,) and then boil them until they are REALLY tender. Slice the portobellos, the shallot and the red bell pepper and put them aside. Crumble the feta with a fork, and mix it with the ricotta in another bowl. Add half of the parmesan.

Put on your noodles to boil.

When the fennel is tender, drain it and mix it with the cheese. Stir in the other vegetables. Crush your garlic into the bowl and mix well. Add your two eggs and make sure those are also stirred in well.

Grate your Asiago; put that side for now.

I slathered the bottom of my lasagna pan with extra virgin olive oil, then started a layer of noodles. (Word to the wise? Run them under cold water first so you don’t singe your fingers. If that wasn’t obvious, then you might be me.) Add a layer of the ricotta mixture, then another layer of noodles and another layer of the ricotta mixture, followed by a last layer of noodles. I didn’t want this to be really “red,” but I realized that the marinara would help to keep my noodles from drying out. So I carefully spread a layer of the sauce.

Put your pan in the oven and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, to start. While you’re baking, mix the rest of the Parmesan in with the grated Asiago. (And do your dishes and clean up!) After 30 or so minutes, take the pan out, sprinkle the last of the Asiago/Parmesan mixture evenly over the top of your pan, and bake for about another 10 minutes. I had mine with organic lettuce from the co-op, and I am a happy, happy woman.

I always know that I’ve done well when Evil Baby Kitty yowls at the smell like she hasn’t eaten since Christmas. So this must have been pretty good.

And I did hop out to the organic co-op on Sunday to see what I could see. My veggie “dividends” don’t start until September. But I still bought a ton of stuff for a lot less than I would have gotten it at one of the chains. SO happy that greens were in season! I got one bunch of greens, washed them., tore them up, then froze them in four individual bags. That’s good eatin’.

(For my friends with IBS, this is probably way too much cheese. You could try a cheese substitute, but I’d go with one of the rice derivatives.)

So I’m kind of freaked out by the Hexane thing. Just a little. But hey, I was just accepted at the organic co-op. Life goes on.

Saturdazed, and Shambhala Sun hits Edward Espe Brown again

It’s early on Saturday, and I’m a little dazed. But also not-so-oddly perky. I am, by nature a morning person. I usually pop awake first thing on a Saturday, then I have to go back to bed to make myself feel better. I’m trying to stay on track with my training, though, so I had to go out and at least walk. For some very complicated reasons, I couldn’t go out to my usual route, so I walked around my neighborhood, which I never do. It wasn’t so bad. I did two loops and another half, and that was just shy of 2 miles. But it is all poured concrete. Boo. I’ll save it for emergency measures.

Not bad.

Later, I actually have a recipe for you. I has made cookies. I want to make more, but I’m out of eggs. Maybe I should walk myself over to the store, next.

In the meantime, Shambhala Sun did a print piece on my favorite, Edward Espe Brown, in the March issue. This is the accompanying audio piece. Hope you dig it!

And I’m thinking steel cut oats and peaches for breakkie…

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