It's On Like Donkey Kong

Winter months are pretty boring around YJDKIY with the lack of pretty food and fun outings. So I decided it was time for a challenge of a different sort for February. Clicky though to read the rules and play along if you choose. You know I hate instagram, and I don't really care to share them as tweets, so I'll be (attempting) to post them here!

http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/01/february-photo-day-challenge.html

What happened to January?

1. Tofu-Spinach Calzones that never happened last week
2. Toasted Sesame Noodles
3. BB SP Quesadillas
4. Turkey Cucumber Wraps
5. Shrimp & Grits with Garlic Bok Choy
6. Oven Roasted Tofu with Sauted Apples, Green Salad with Beets

Stewed

Hard to believe, but YJDKIY actually followed this recipe pretty close. I just didn't make the Harissa - added plenty of my own spices though.

*

Oh, and at the last minute, the other eater suggested crumbling up some soy-sage links we had in the freezer for a little more protein. Good suggestion! I think this would also be good served with broiled shrimp on top, or cubed tofu mixed in.

Go check it out and make for yourself. Next time I'll try it in the crock pot as I would have like the carrots to be a little more tender.

*I REALLY need to charge my DSLR battery!

Pineapple-Avocado Salsa

A quick dinner with a tropical topping (aside from the 50-minute-to-cook-fancy wild rice) that only took minor preparation!

Baked tilapia (seasoned with Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime - salt free) topped with pineapple-avocado salsa. Sweet and tangy, one of my favorite combinations.

Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
1/2 c crushed pineapple (drained)
1/2 c chopped tomato (vine ripened preferred)
1 medium ripe avocado, chopped
1-2 finely diced garlic cloves
1 t garlic salt
1 T dried cilantro (or fresh!)
1 T lime juice

Mix all ingredients well to combine. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Empire Cups

These were going to be white chocolate-cranberry muffins. Then I saw the oats, and the almond slivers, and remembered we just had a fresh delivery of Empire apples from the Empire State (thank you!).

I knew they would be the star ingredient, but they ended up taking over the whole thing! Luckily apples + cinnamon + doughy goodness is always delicious.

I had three of these to use, which didn't seem like a lot since they were tiny. But really, it was a lot.

I could have even just eaten the flour-oat-cinnamon-nutmeg mix. It smelled divine. Apple cinnamon is my most favorite flavor or scent of all time I think.

At the last minute I realized the only pan-greaser I had was non-stick olive oil spray and that sure didn't sound tasty. So I used the paper cups...big fail.

They stuck something awful because I didn't put much oil like in cupcakes. No matter, just eat it like spoon bread. In retrospect, this would have been most excellent in a square pan as more like coffee cake, but the extra apple-y flavor and texture was still a big yum. I loved how there was more apple than bread, too.

Why yes those ARE iPhone photos. Thanks for noticing. 

Empire Cups
1 c whole wheat flour
1/4-1/3 c brown sugar
1 c old fashioned oats
1 t nutmeg
1-2 T cinnamon
1/3-1/2 c slivered almonds

1/4 c oil
2 eggs (or equivalent)
1/4 c soy milk
1 t vanilla

1/2 c dried cranberries
2-3 c small-diced Empire apples

Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine next 4 ingredients. Gradually add liquid to flour mix. Stir until just combined and fold in cranberries and apple. Spoon into 12 (greased) muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until center is springy.

And we're back

To that schedule where YJDKIY does all the chores on Saturday!

SATURDAY: leftovers
SUNDAY: Kale, BEPs, Gardein, Mac & Cheese (aka YJDKIY Cafeteria Plate)
MONDAY: Polenta Lasagna
TUESDAY: Fish with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa over lettuce bed, wild rice
WEDNESDAY: Chick Pea & Butternut Squash Stew
THURSDAY: Leek & Asparagus Frittata, Fruit Salad
FRIDAY: Calzone Redux & Salad

Asian Tuna Salad

Keeper keeper keeper! Even better because it was on a bed of local lettuce leaves and took all of 8 minutes to prep. Ready, get set, combine: 2 cans chunk light (low sodium) tuna, 3/4 c matchstick carrots, 1 c chopped steamed but still crunchy snap pea pods, 1-2 T sweet & sour sauce, 1-2 T low sodium soy sauce, 1 t toasted sesame oil (optional). Mix well and top with crunched up sesame sticks over lettuce.

Done!

Guess what it's time for!

It has been quite a while since YJDKIY did one of these (February 2011!). But last night was the start of award season and today is a holiday, so voila!

Is there a Poehler in there? I can't tell because of the weird gold blob. This wouldn't be half as bad without the sleeves but as it is, total fail. F

This gets an A from head to waist, and feet, but the middle part, well that's a D.

She's so pretty and this is so...weird. It looks like a superhero formal. D 

Love the top hate the bottom. C

Good in theory, bad in execution. With a different, daintier belt, this might be a B. But that thing makes it a C. Actually, D. 

This is the best Ms. Wood has looked in a while, I think. The hair is a little stuffy and some bling would be nice, but solid B+

I have no idea who this is but I like the color and simplicity.  B

Ms. Klum is looking very Malibu Barbi, or maybe Florida Barbie. C

Not one of my favorite choices on her, but her taste is usually impeccable, so we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and go with B.

This is how you wear pink on the red carpet. Lovely complement to her skin and very flattering (didn't she just have a kid?) A

Is she trying out options for her wedding dress? Nothing about this works. D 

An unusual choice, but she pulls it off amazingly. So vintage Hollywood-esque. A

Huh? She looks like Sally Draper at a ballet recital. D

Ms. Kate looks ok, but should keep those shoes hidden. Not bad,  yawn. C

Totally undecided. She usually looks amazing, but I'm just not loving this, too much going on and weird posing, I think. C (again...what's with all these average people?)

I find it funny she's on a fashion show. I can't find anything nice to say about this from head to fish tail. D 

Just no. Another miss for Nic. D

This was even worse from the front - hello Winter Olympics? We have a new figure skating competitor. What happened Lea? D

The older ladies seem to love these ruffley bottoms. I like the color of this with her hair, but something is amis. B

This is ALSO how you do pink. Love every bit of it, as usual. A

Huh. Solid Gold Fever! C

The sweet heart neckline is apparently making the rounds, and this is cute on her. And, the messy fabric bunches at the bottom of the dress match her hair - if that's what she was going for, A. If you ask me, C, but only because you can do better Reese. 

Love everything about these two. Daring color choice but so rocking it, especially the lips. A

Maybe the elder Ms. Osborne could help out her daughter. I actually love this, and love her in it, very appropriate. A

A new one for the red carpet. Bark Plus!

Apparently, having both spent time on the SNL set,  Ms. Fey suffers from the same disease as Ms. Poehler. There are so many reason why this is the wrong choice for her. The dress itself isn't that bad but try again, ok? D

And last but not least, dear Ms. Deschanel. I can't decide on this one. I really want to like it, and I don't think anyone else could have worn it so well, but it's just weird. However, purely on the hair, makeup, jewelry, the neckline, the nails, and the hair (yes again), she gets an A.

4/5

That's what the work week looks like for YJDKIY. Since it's going to be a little off, this week I just picked seven recipes and we'll pull them out of the hat as needed!

Tofu Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli (that never happened)
Quinoa Corn Chowder 
Asian Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Brussels
Butternut Lasagna
Crock Pot Sante Fe Chicken
Veggie Plate: Kale, Roasted Potatoes, and whatever looks fresh when I go to the store!

Sweet Potato Pie

When's the last time you had sweet potato on your pie? Pizza pie that is!

Friday night proved to be another alternative pizza night at casa YJDKIY. This idea came from Pinterest, and while I didn't love it as much as last week's weird, I didn't hate it either.

I made the crust with all whole wheat flour instead of half and half, which made it filling, but also a little tough. A layer of jarred marinara and garlic, sweet potatoes, fresh baby spinach leaves, and topped with cheddar.

The potatoes, local from a Winter Harvest basket a while back, were thinly sliced and microwaved with some garlic olive oil and rosemary for 4 minutes, one minute at a time, just to make sure they were tender. I think steaming them would have been a better option since the micro is so uneven.

Compared to my overloaded veggie pizzas, this could have used more. Of what I'm not sure. Perhaps some goat cheese/feta, I could even see black beans.

Thankfully, melty cheese always makes things delicious, and otherwise it was pretty nutritious.

See I told you!

Long week! Blog posts would happen on a much more timely basis if my DSLR had wireless or if my iPhone took better pictures. :P

Last week, YJDKIY fired up the slow cooker for some cabbage & lentil stew.

I love cooking dinner while I do other chores and go about the day, or snooze my face off, but it's rare that I plan enough ahead to do this.

I let the lentils soak for about 30-45 minutes before adding them in.

Other stuff, just chop it up and dump! (onion in the bag) I also added 4 bay leaves, basil, rosemary, pepper, and celery seed for seasoning since I didn't have broth.

All ready to go, on high heat for about 4 hours and low heat for 1 hour.

This was pretty tasty.

Although the other eater thought it needed the addition of Texas Pete! Who really is not from Texas, but just a few miles away in Winston-Salem.

Long One

With FIVE entire days of work this week, the first time since 12/5/11 (zoiks, that's more than a month), it's going to be an EXTREMELY long one.

SUNDAY: Tilapia Soft Tacos
MONDAY: Tofu Spaghetti Squash, broccoli
TUESDAY: Grilled Cheese with Kale
WEDNESDAY: Tangy Tempeh Kitchen Sink Salad
THURSDAY: leftovers
FRIDAY: Sweet potato and spinach pizza

Sew What?

My Green Kitchen faces southish, so it gets lots of natural light. It is usually about 5 degrees warmer in there than any other room in the house. While I love this, it is quite the problem when I'm trying to cook and the sun is directly in my eyes. Plus, there's an alleyway back there and it creeps me out to not have the window closed at night.

A week or so ago, I started pinning kitchen curtains, but didn't really love any of them. And then I started pinning fabric, and ordered these three options from fabric.com.

 It would be prudent to note I hate sewing, I strongly dislike having to be precise, and I get frustrated pretty easily with home repair. :P That's when I saw this INGENIOUS idea.

Source: cottageandvine.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

She hotgluded, but I was thinking spray glue. After a minor domestic dispute hanging the hardware, I was on my way. I went with the chevron (surprise), which proved ingenious has it has built-in 1" guide marks for cutting a straight line. Not one measure, straight pin, or stitch...and about 15 minutes...later, I had this (just iPhone pics here...sorry).

Mostly it will be short, which is good for blocking the blinding sun. But it can be pulled long, too.

Only minor problem was failing to allow room for a thicker roll. See that oddly placed light fixture in the middle of the window casing there that prevents any other type of window treatment? Yeah, it gets caught on that.

Since I had a little fabric left, I took apart the existing curtain, and cut it to fit the size of cloth leftover. I used superduper hem tape to finish the ends, left the tabs in place and poof! 15 minutes and done.

So glad I went with the bold graphic!

$7.49 one yard of fabric
$7.99 roller shade
$3.49 hem tape
$.75 hardware
spray adhesive, rod & curtain - reused