simple sunday #1

a productive Sunday fueled by an early afternoon snack: ciabatta, oliveoil, tomatoes, havarti, baby spinach & raspberry hibiscus tea.

I'm aiming to cut out excess in my life to make room for richer experiences in the areas that it matters most. That means enriching my body, mind and spirit by being mindful of the beautiful simple moments each day has.

avocado + caprese egg toast

This morning I woke in a funk. I got a crummy voicemail, I had a denied loan deferment lingering over my head and my toes were cold.

Instead of listening to the grumbling in my head about these issues with my reality, I decided to do something about the hunger in my stomach.

Enter caprese egg toast. Don't have a toaster? Not even a toaster oven? No problem. Place your toast in the oven on broil, making sure to flip it half way through. After you've made fried your eggs with butter and cheese of your choice (I chose a mozza/parm blend), smear some ripe avocado on the toasty bread. Who needs more butter when you've got an open avocado in your fridge? Slice some tomato nice and thin, and then after you've placed the cheesy eggs on your bountiful toast, sprinkle some basil on there.

Go ahead, make yourself some delicious toast when you're down. Put on a pot of french roast and enjoy your morning. It'll not only make your stomach happy, but it'll remind you that even the smallest things in life can make you smile. 

savoring the journey

I went through a period of readinglessness.

Readinglessness, adj. Characterizing listlessness and indifference of literature majors towards the written word post-graduation. 

But, now... Oh now, I'm getting back into text in a big way. I've made a few resolutions for our move to Boston. And two of them deal specifically with this turning away from the aforementioned lethargy. Goodbye, reading/writing sabbatical!

1) write more. There was once a time in my life where I wrote all the time. Where the need to produce some sort of text that reflected my muddled thoughts was a tangible urge... if I didn't I felt incomplete. Lost. I'm trying to get back into it. And that means wading through choppy fragments and run-ons in order to get my stuff down. This blog will become more of an outlet for that.

2) read. I recently finished a fantastic compilation of advice column letters by Cheryl Strayed called Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Life and Love by Sugar. What a seriously incredible book. There were so many entries that spoke to me. If you have a chance, pleasepleaseplease pick it up. You won't regret it.

I'm also juggling a couple of collections of short stories.

Love/Imperfect by Christopher T. Leland

i am no one you know by Joyce Carol Oates

With the commute on the T in town everyday, I thought I'd get re-acclimated to reading by getting my feet wet in deliciously bite-sized stories. Mmmm...

Well, that's my little nugget for the day. I figure, why jump into these things when I can go about them languorously, savoring the journey?

tricolor thyme and garlic quinoa + cod filets

It's official: we've moved to Boston. 

And after all that roadtrip food and all those questionable ingredients, 

I thought quinoa, green beans, tomato, avocado and breaded cod would be lovely.

And it was. 

More to come from this new kitchen in MA.

It's huge. 

three salads and a soup

It's hot. What does one crave in steamy weather? Well this one craves salad. In its many forms.  

Pasta salad // crostini

The trick with pasta salads is that you have to let them marinate - the longer the better. Topping al dente pasta salad with crunchy and rich crostini makes a carby but delicious meal.

Ingredients
1/2 lb penne and 1/b rotini

1/2 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves 

1/2 cup chopped zuchinni

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper

2/3 pint of cherry tomatoes

1 small bunch of asparagus

Dressing

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves crushed garlic
dried oregano, basil
1 and 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard

Crostini
a good hard bread (like ciabatta) slice cut into half-inch slices
extra virgin olive oil drizzled over bread
toppings (fresh mozarella and basil, tomatoes, smoked salmon and dill)

toast bread in a preheated 350-degree oven for 3 minutes on both sides. 

Chicken salad
I just made this salad for the second time. Like the pasta salad, this simple chicken salad is even better on days two and three. Try on some of that ciabatta or straight up.

Ingredients
1 lb poached chicken breast*
1 pint halved grapes
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 heaping tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
cumin, salt and paper to taste
1 tsp paprika 


*I used dried basil, oregano, parsley, bay, garlic powder and thyme. I also used 2 and 1/2 cups of water. 

Mixed greens and strawberries // vegetable soup
When I found this recipe for a mixed green and strawberries, I knew I had to try it. Balsamic is perhaps a surprising coupling for a berry, but they compliment each other quite nicely indeed.  Homemade pepper-bacon bits sprinkled over the top added the perfect smokiness to the balance the tangy vinegar.

The soup I made was based with the broth leftover from the poached chicken from above. Waste not, want not, right?

Ingredients
3 cups of homemade chicken broth
1/2 shallot
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
dried oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper
1 and 1/2 cups of farfalline pasta
assorted frozen veggies: peas, green beans, corn

Up next: potato salad, and more with greens, nuts and fruits. I'm thinking something with peaches, pecans and kale. mmm.
It's a gonna be a good summer.