Sunday, September 19, 2010

Big 100!

This is my 100th post! I had hoped that I would have something really fun planned for the big 100, but basically all you are going to get is a recap of my weekend so far. Sorry! To make it more celebratory, I'll just put in more exclamation points than usual. :)

CSA Photo Shoot!
As I mentioned before, we got our CSA box on Friday. You can tell it's fall - the box seemed more full than usual! Check out the haul:


Cantaloupe, romaine lettuce, beets, swiss chard, fingerling potatoes, one giant heirloom tomato, red peppers, apples, and pears. I can't believe we get all of this for only $25!

And in case you can't tell how gigantic that tomato is:

B thought it was a grapefruit when we opened the box!

And yes, I am wearing a Silly Band on my wrist. If you don't know what Silly Bandz are, you probably don't work with kids! They are a BIG DEAL!

[Source]

My particular Silly Band was a gift from a student who gave it to me because it is in the shape of a penguin and I have penguin things all over my classroom. If I've learned anything in three years of teaching, it's that when a student gives you a gift, you need to use it! Otherwise, they get their feelings hurt. :(

Cookies!
Yesterday afternoon, while B was at a Physics teacher training, I whipped up a batch of Apricot Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are exquisite.


I made just a few modifications:
  • 1 cup all purpose flour + 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 3/4 cups oats instead of 2
  • reduced butter to 1 1/2 cups
  • accidentally used baking powder instead of soda (no ill effects though)


I  had a few after dinner yesterday, then one with my coffee this morning, and maybe another one today after lunch. B originally turned his nose up at the dried apricot, but has definitely changed his tune. I really recommend waiting until they are cool to taste-test though. The dried apricot doesn't have the best flavor when it is hot out of the oven.

The recipe makes a lot of cookies (but I like to make them small-ish), so after baking up two dozen, I still had quite a bit of dough left. So, I made balls of dough, put them on parchment, and froze them...


...then tossed the frozen dough into a ziplock bag and put it back in the freezer. Now it's super easy to have cookies during the week without making a huge batch!


One of my favorite kitchen shortcuts!

Running!
B and I did what felt like a super slow four mile run this morning. In truth, I kept a 8:40min/mi pace throughout, but my legs felt like lead. My knee is still giving me some grief and it is incredibly frustrating. Right around the time my breathing settles down and my body feels ready to really tackle the miles, my knee gives up. I'm currently dealing with some health insurance issues (I signed up for insurance with my school district, but then realized that I would have better coverage if I used B's insurance, so now we are trying to make the swap but of course there is a ton of paperwork involved), but as soon as we get it figured out, I'm heading to the doctor.

Leftovers!
After our run this morning, I parked myself on the couch with leftovers for lunch:


Mexican Veggie Soup (no longer very soupy though!), and Veggie Chickpea Curry (and maybe a cookie or two). Now I'm icing my knee, watching Buffy reruns, and grading papers.


It looks like it might rain today!!