Wednesday, August 26, 2009

the sneeze attack

sneezes are just not a comfortable thing, lets all just get that straight right now. theres no good time to sneeze really. in the middle of a meeting?? nope. while driving?? nooope...can you say accident?? in the middle of eating?? DEF NOT, ew. sneezes are just plain awkward. but if they have to happen...then sneezing just once should do the trick. i was always so irritated by my dad and his crazy sneeze fits. he would sneeze like 20 times in a row and instead of feeling sympathetic, i would feel irritated! hah! sad, i know, but true. luckily, i have never had one of these sneeze attacks. actually, i dont sneeze all that much on a normal basis. but last night...was a different story. i went to bed around 12 and woke up suddenly at 2am with the biggest urge to sneeze. i was like, what the?? so i laid down and tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. but i think the sneezes were offended that i tried to quiet them and ignore their calls..because let me tell you...they came at me with a vengeance!! it was ridiculous! i think i was up for almost an hour...sneezing. thats it. just sitting in bed sneezing...oh that AND hating my life. i got up, washed my face, laid back down...they started again. got up again, paced, turned on the light, blew my nose, laid back down...they started again. no matter what i did, i just kept sneezing! it was AWFUL! i seriously didnt know what to do! i really wondered at one point if they would ever stop! i also kept wondering if enough time passed that i could just get up for the day because laying down was not working...weirdly, starbucks was also on my mind in my time of sneezes. haha only me! once i reasoned that they would stop eventually (also propped myself up with like 4 pillows to avoid the sleeping position, which seemed to be making the situation worse) and that it was in fact too early for starbucks, i guess i fell asleep...bc the next thing i remember is waking up and it being morning and me weirdly in a sitting up position on top of all these pillows with like kleenex all around me. haha ew, i know. sick dude. fricken sneezing attacks. that better have been my one and only!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

ummm

umm...am i going to die?? yes, i know eventually i will..im not five. but what i mean is..i just drank out of a water bottle that i havent drank out of for maybe two weeks. so today i was like, ew, old water...then promptly poured out the old water that had been sitting for two weeks and refilled out of the water fountain (side note: one time when i was filling it up from the water fountain, the janitor walked by and goes, "ew, thats city water." i was like, "omg am i going to die??" he goes, "not gonna die, but thats just nasty!" ...so now i always try to fill it up from the cafeteria, but sometimes im thirsty and there just isnt time, ok!?) anywayy, so im filling up my water bottle...totally parched from my lunch...and start drinking immediately. i finished about half the bottle and put it aside. later i reached for a drink and the water looked a littttle on the cloudy side. i was like, what the?? so i took a closer look at there were TONS of WHITE things floating in it!! i was like WHAT THE?? so i take an even closer look (yep, hopped inside the bottle) and saw that there was some sort of FILM (eulp) on the bottom of the bottle that was now coming off and floating in my water...the water that i had just chugged moments before...omg ew! now im thinking, what the HECK is that white film that was undoubtedly caused by the "city water" that i let sit for two weeks and more importantly am i going to die?!? omg siiick! thoughts?? ahh wish me luck people!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

BLT PIZZA!!


HELLLOOOO!!! WHOA...soo sorry for my little disappearing act!! hope everyone is well and enjoying summer! here is one delicious dish that i have been meaning to post for-ev-errr (for-everrr--for-ev-errr--sandlot anyone?? haa..sorry) annywayyy...my favorite food of all time is pizza. i could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each and every day...but dont worry, i dont. or do i...sorry, off track again. anyway, as i said im pizza obsessed, so when my friend kate gave me her pizza dough recipe i was beyond excited!! it is the best, easiest, and fastest recipe ever!! you can obvi put anything you want on it and it will be awesome, but if you want to try one amazing homemade dont-feel-too-guilty pizza...try this:

NICOLE'S BLT PIZZA
serves 1-2


-Ingredients-
*Dough
2 1/4 cups of flour (i use half whole wheat and half white)
1 cup warm water
1 (.25 oz) package of dry active yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbls agave nectar (or honey)
*Pizza Toppings
1/4 cup goat cheese (you can use any kind of cheese obvi)
1 thinly sliced roma tomato
2 strips of crumbled tempeh fakin bacon (can use real, but why??)
1/4-1/2 cup of finely chopped lettuce (i used a spinach/green cabbage mixture and it was YUM!)
1-2 tsps mayo
drizzle olive oil
pinch of garlic powder (optional)
sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional)


-Directions-
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. prepare DOUGH (this actually makes 3 servings...i split it into three balls and use one for this recipe and put the other two in the fridge for later use...unless you are making it for more ppl or you want
leftovers...then make it bigger but obvi increase amount of toppings).
3. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. let stand until creamy, about 10 mins.
4. in a large bowl, combine flour and salt. then make a dent in the middle and add in the agave (or honey) and yeast mixture. stir well to combine. cover dough and set aside in a warm place for a few mins so it can rise.
5. while dough is rising, prepare your other ingredients. THINLY slice the roma tomato (as thin as you can...the thinner, the better because they sort of melt together so you dont need sauce!), grate 1/4 cup of cheese, fry 2 pieces of fakin bacon and then roughly chop or crumble with hands, then finely chop lettuce and mix in mayo to make a little salad.
6. roll out 1/3 of the dough on a flour dusted cutting board-or i just used the counter top-(clearly i dont have a rolling pin, so i just use my hands to shape it!). the dough will be pretty sticky, so you will want some extra flour around to control that sucker! if it is really sticky and you are getting frustrated and cursing me out...grab a little olive oil and put that on the dough or your hands while you work and it will make it better!
7. once you have your pizza crust rolled out, drizzle a little olive oil on and rub it all around. then sprinkle the crust with a little garlic powder. top with one even layer of the roma slices, the bacon crumbles, and finally the cheese. if you sprinkle a little parm on top, it will brown a little better.
8. place pizza on cookie sheet (sometimes easier to put it on cookie sheet before you add toppings, fyi...learned that the hard way...) and put in oven for about 10-15 mins (depending on how you like your piz)
9. remove from oven and top with lettuce/mayo mixture and you have yourself one amazing BLT PIZZA!!!


as always, everything is better with a glass of wine...so cut that pizza, pour a glass, and ENJOY!! let me know what you think :)

here's one more pic for you bc it was just that good! YUM!!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Almond-Orange Tofu

so right off the bat i am going to acknowledge that this picture isnt so great! BUT this recipe is!! so try not to judge the picture too harshly, just try the recipe yourself and then send me a better looking pic :)

ok, now back to the topic at hand! this recipe comes from SPAIN (oh and before you are confused..you should know this is not an asian recipe...which is why instead of calling it just orange tofu, i call it almond orange...whenever i tell ppl about it they assume im making a chinese orange chicken type dish..nooope)! anyway, i learned how to make it from my spanish mama (the woman i lived with when i was there last year), except she made it with chicken (and so did i until i stopped eating meat)...so you can substitute the tofu with 2-3 chicken breasts, if you want, but my recipe is with tofu, obvi! anyway, this was a definite favorite of ours in spain...we ate it all the time! its cheap, easy, fast, and freezes well too!! alright here we gooooo:

Almond-Orange Tofu
serves 3-4

-Ingredients-
1 block firm tofu
2 small onions (or one large)
~7-10 unsalted almonds
~5-6 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like it)
juice from 3 oranges
salt
olive oil

-Materials-
med-large pot with lid
knife
cutting board
paper towels (to get moisture out of tofu)

-Directions-
1. cut tofu in 1/2 inch slices the long way and then cut each of those in half so you have squares (shape doesnt really matter--you can also keep them big). then spread out evenly over paper towel and put paper towels on top and press out some of the moisture. i let my tofu sit with a heavy pot on top for about 15 mins to get as much moisture out as i could (changing the paper towels once or twice).
2. while you are waiting for your tofu to be ready, you can prepare the other ingredients. onions-slice the onion in half, then into thin slices (so they arent rings, they are half rings). garlic-finely chop the garlic (or you can use a garlic press). almonds-smash or cut the almonds into small pieces. oranges-slice in half.
3. salt both sides of the tofu and fry it (high heat) with a little olive oil (you can do this right in the pot or in a separate frying pan). if you are using chicken, you just want to brown it, not cook it. with the tofu, its just a fast high heat fry to get the outside a little brown and crispy.
4. remove tofu from pan and set aside.
5. coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil (maybe a couple teaspoons?) and add the onions, garlic, and almonds AND a pinch or two of salt (i am not a huge salt fan, but mine was lacking because i didnt do this!!). slowly cook over medium heat until the onions are soft (not brown).
6. once the onions are nice and soft, squeeze the juice of the three oranges into the pot. turn up the heat and let bubble for about 5 minutes.
7. add the tofu, give it a stir, then turn down the heat and put the lid on the pot. let simmer for about 15-30 mins so that the tofu can really take in the flavors.
8. i just serve it by itself with a veggie on the side, but you can also serve it over rice!

ENJOY!!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

ellen moment

as you all know...i LOVE ellen and think she is seriously the best comic that ever lived...am i going overboard?? i dont thiiiiink so! ANYWAY, i was walking to the metro today and the guy next to me had a TOTAL ellen moment!! everyone is always in a rush in the mornings, clearly, because we are on our way to work. anyway, so we were rushing to the metro and i dont really like to walk right next to ppl though, so i was trying to step it up and pass the guy next to me. as i was doing this, he too sped up and then ever so slightly caught his toe on something and tripped...but then he started running...so i thought to myself...did he trip?? or is he running?? then after a couple of seconds he stopped running and resumed his fast walking and i thought...he tripped. haha TOTAL ELLEN MOMENT! i wanted to point and yell YOU TRIPPED (like ellen does)...but i couldnt! haha i have never actually seen someone do that! so funny! stopped to tie my shoe back there and after that little run..im back on schedule! hahah LOVE ELLEN!! happy wednesday people!

**if you are confused by this post and dont know what ellen moment i am talking about...im going to need you to find here and now--ellen's most amazing stand-up--and watch it now! k, thanks! xox

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

weird lunch

i had lunch today with my friend and we ate outside at some little tables in front of our building. the tables seat four people, but we are obvi only two and she warned me that because we got a good table in the shade, random ppl will inevitably invade. so we are chit chatting and eating away when all of a sudden this random lady comes and sits down and goes "excuse me, you dont mind, do you?" of course we said, no no, no problem...although there were other tables around...she, for some reason, wanted to sit with us. whatevs. so then we went back to chatting and she suddenly starts mumbling (while looking in the opposite direction from either of us...like literally not even in our general direction) about some silverware that she forgot and then some other stuff that we couldnt understand and then finally she slowly moved her weird faraway gaze in our direction, clearly looking for a response. so my friend and i just looked at her sort of confused and she YELLS (all upset bc we didnt understand her): "I ASKED IF YOU WANTED ANY OF MY STEAK!" (she was eating a cheesesteak). we were like...ohhhhh..umm..no thanks? (ew) and shes like, "IM OFFERIN YOU STEAK! dont want to be rude eatin in front of you!" hahah SO WEIRD!! its like, she was sooo annoyed and upset because we didnt understand her mumbling about offering us some of her food while not even looking at us and then thought it was weird that we didnt want any of a strangers cheesesteak off their plate! haha! after we said no again, she slowly looked away from us again and continued eating. hahah can you even imagine if i would have said yes?? what would she have done?? given me a bite? let me pick some steak off the top of her cheesesteak?? haha SO random! after a few mins, a friend of hers came and joined and we were worried he'd start offering bites of his food too...so we left...

weeeird lunchin!

back to school

most of you probably know that im going back to school next month! its sooo weird. i went to a pretty small school for undergrad and now im going to a really BIG school for this post-baccalaureate program and its scaaaaaary! i made my sister go to the campus with me yesterday bc i was too scared to do it alone! then when we couldnt find the bookstore, i made her ask! haha yep, im ridic! anyway, we finally found it and im like, omg..i forgot how to be a student!! how do you look for and buy books?? i dont have a list..which ones are mine?!? so i asked like 5 ppl for help and finally they just got my books for me! haha typical. well theeeen i looked at the side of the book and it didnt look perfect..it was like cracked a little and you know i like things perfect before purchase! anyway, i told my sister about the issue and showed her the crack. she rolled her eyes, ignored me, and kept looking at magazines. then i made her look again until finally she took the book back to the ppl and made them give me a different one! haha typical...again. anyway, we left the book area and i realized i needed school supplies! so weird!! so we headed to target for some back-to-school shopping!! remember how fun this used to be?? well...not anymore...again, i was like...wait...what do i do?? do i need number two pencils?? do i need a trapper keeper?? a rolling backpack?? a box of kleenex for my classroom?? haha yes, im nuts...my sister slapped me and made me focus and we decided i really only needed notebooks and poss folders...but the thing is, every single thing had like miley cyrus or zac efron on it! i was like...oookk, as much as i like mileys song the climb and as cute as zac is in high school musical...this simply wont do. my sister and i finally found some plain looking notebooks that wont get me laughed out of town during my big return to school and we got the heck out of there! anyway, this going back to school thing is going to be harder than i thought! what if i cant find my classes?? what if i have no friends and sit alone in the cafeteria?? haha kidding, theres no caf..but whatever...im still nervous! AHH!! wish me luck!!