Labor Day Extravaganza

I have had a very productive week and thus a very productive three-day weekend. Three-day holidays are so very rare with my work, so when I finally got one, I celebrated like crazy in my kitchen. My co-worker just enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu Baking School. I'm trying very hard to not be jealous, but she did give me some leftover Sourdough Bread starter.

I hadn't fed the starter in about a week, so I had to do that. It took me three days! Three days! But it was so worth it. My boyfriend had made dinner, but I had to babysit the bread. Knead it for 15 minutes. So my dinner was cold, but again, the bread was worth it. One more obstacle was the final proofing before putting it in the oven. It needed to proof on the counter for two hours. Well, it was already 10p on Sunday, and we were both exhausted. I set a timer to wake myself at midnight. Of course, I did not hear this timer, but my body and mind woke me up at 4a. The bread had proofed for a little longer than specified, but I bolted up and quickly finished the recipe. I caught an episode of The Twilight Zone that I hadn't seen yet.

An hour later, I got two beautiful, bouncing baby loaves.

I also made another version of Red Velvet Cupcakes. I was using Paula Deen's recipe, and it called for too much oil making a very dense cupcake. I really didn't care for it, but I found another recipe that I like much more. I wanted to put a strawberry syrup into them. So I made this strawberry syrup. Of course, I stepped away for just a second and it spilled all over my stovetop. So that was fun cleaning up strawberry goo. And the irony? I forgot to put the syrup in the cupcakes. The next batch.

I made a peppermint ice cream. I have told myself before to not use a particular recipe site before, and sure enough, I did and didn't like the ice cream. It called for eight egg yolks. The ice cream tasted very eggy. I didn't care for it. The girls at the office liked it, so that's what matters. I will try another one this weekend.

I also made a Toasted Almond Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream. Now that one, I knocked it out of the park. It was incredible. I was almost sad to take it into the office, but glad because I would have eaten all of it. It's I'm sure gone at the office.

Well, because of these ice creams, I had a ton of left over egg whites. So I made three dozen meringue cookies. My boyfriend took a dozen, and I took a dozen to the office. I'm hoping the other dozen makes it through the week so I can take them to my boyfriend's family next weekend.

The last venture I did last weekend was a large quantity of applesauce. I peeled apples for hours! At least Mr. Don Draper kept my company, but I made a very nice sugar-free applesauce and canned them.

Well, rule #3 of canning is to make sure you have no air bubbles. I ran my knife through the applesauce, and somehow I still got a ton of little champagne air bubbles. They are all in my fridge waiting for my consumption. I will not give it away. It sure is yummy though. :) I do love me some applesauce. I wish I had taken more pictures.

But on a healthier note, I took some fitness tests at my gym. The first was to test my AT or Anaerobic Threshold. I get on a bike or treadmill and work out for 20 minutes. Then the personal trainer records where I switch over from burning fat to burning carbs. Well, honestly, I'm pretty normal. I definitely could be better, but I'm about normal for my age. So, he told me how to improve it to make my workout work better for me in the long term.

What you need to do is to find that AT number (mine is 156) and make sure to stay below it while you do a cardio workout. If you can sustain that heart rate, your number will get higher.

I also had my RMR test (resting metabolic rate). When I sit and do absolutely nothing all day, I burn 2000 calories. I guess this is about normal since the government thinks you need to eat 2000 calories a day. Since I work out everyday (sometimes twice a day), I burn on average 2600 calories a day. Therefore, I need to eat 1800-2000 calories a day. I've been eating 1200-1500 so I'm not eating enough. Sadly I know this. All day yesterday, all I did was eat. I felt like a cow just shoveling food in my mouth. Always something in my mouth. But the scale went down half a pound. It may be connected.

These tests did mean I had to skip two weeks of Mr. Prom King, but you know what? I'm going to make up for it tomorrow. He (and his wife) is hosting a two hour spin class. I'm so excited. I'll keep you posted on that one.

I will also let you know how the ice creams, chocolate-coconut macaroons, and pie work out. :)

Happy Saturday.

Cookies, Cookies, and Cookies

My little sister just moved back to college. I have decided I will make her a ton of cookies.

My first adventure actually came from an experiment from earlier this week. Well, two experiments. Last weekend, I found myself obsessed with wanting to make Olive Oil Ice Cream. I happened to have Lime Olive Oil from The Olive Oil Shops in Fredericksburg (which I know I keep raving about). So I made the ice cream. Honestly, I didn't care for it. As a matter of fact, I believe I spit it out.

But I took it to my work anyway to see what the girls thought. They all loved it. So, now I'm confused. I wasn't sure if they were lying to me to make me feel better or if they were being honest.

It turned out they were honest. It's gone. They wouldn't go back for seconds if they hated it. My assistant said her first bite is the one that is off, but the more you eat it, the more you love it. Okay -- I can work with that. My other assistant said I had a marketing problem. I shouldn't call it Olive Oil Ice Cream. I should call it Key Lime Pie Ice Cream.

Light bulb.

I hate Key Lime Pie. That must be why I didn't like it. As soon as she said that, everyone vehemently agreed. Okay, problem solved. So this then spurred me to another outrageous thought. Chocolate and chipotle. These two flavors compliment beautifully, and I wanted to see if their affair would make it through an ice cream marriage.

Oh my goodness, they did. The Chocolate Chile Ice Cream is incredible. I'll take it to the girls on Monday, but I did have my co-worker try it Friday night. *bing!

So it was because of the Chocolate and Chile marriage, I wanted to see what a baby would look like. I made a chocolate jalapeno cookie. I first made a compound butter of jalapeno and used that instead of regular butter.

Insert image of me spitting out the cookie. I'm sorry to say that it was a very ugly baby. My mom had a good suggestion though so I didn't just waste 30 cookies. I will freeze and crush the cookies and press it into a pie shell for a Chocolate Mousse Pie.

Next cookie: Coconut-Lime Ginger Butter cookies. I did the same thing of making a compound butter with ginger and using that as my butter for a regular butter and did a basic sugar cookie recipe adding lime zest instead of orange or lemon, and i put lightly toasted coconut in.

It's a hit! The Lime in the Coconut song comes to mind.

The next cookie to go into the oven will be a regular sugar cookie with chocolate and peanut butter chips for a Reece's effect (my sister's favorite). And the last cookie that will be made tomorrow will be a Chocolate Nutella Cookie. If you have not been blessed to meet Mr. Nutella, you must run out and find him. He is well worth his acquaintance.

On a healthier note, I've been going to the gym twice a day. Okay, most days. I've been going to the gym every evening. Yes, there were two days last week where I just went to bed too late and couldn't get up the next morning (most likely because I was at the gym late), but I've been going twice a day. I feel fabulous. The scale hasn't changed too much as of yet, but I'm still optimistic.

One more batch of cookies, and I'm heading back to the gym after a grueling spinning class this morning. Or maybe I'll just do Jillian Michael's yoga. The thought of going out in the Texas heat is making me sweat in my chair.

I know it has been a couple of weeks. But I do have some things to talk about.

Last night I had an epiphany. I realized that when I come home from work, all I do is watch Seinfeld before I get so tired I either collapse on the couch or just go to bed. Well, no more.

I do all my best thinking when I'm driving, and as I was driving back to Austin from Blanco, TX, I decided that the much needed hour of decompression cannot be ignored. I must go home to feed my cat and to chill after the eight hour day. My other complaint about going to the gym after work was the heat. It's so hot in Texas. Today's forecast is 103 as a high today. That does not count the heat index, by the way.

If I wait until about 830p, then the sun is setting and it's not as bad. Also, my office has shoddy A/C. My apartment has amazing A/C. Therefore, I am cooled down and ready to sweat again.

Last night was my first experiment. I went to the gym at 815p. I was on the elliptical for thirty minutes and then got on a spinner for another thirty minutes. Amazing. I now have time to read, and I burn an extra 6-700 calories.

Granted, it took me a while to go sleep because I was awake, but I still made it to the gym this morning, so it can't be bad.

My new complaint (since that's all I seem to have) is that now school is back in session, there are a lot more people in the gym. I had trouble with parking this morning. At 520am! I was dodging people running in the parking lot. I mean, wow.

But to update you on a couple of culinary things, I made Irish Soda Bread for my mom this weekend. She was my cat-sitter when I went out of town. I was actually quite proud of my bread. It's a very quick recipe. I'll post it soon. But it was simple, easy, and made the apartment smell amazing.

I haven't had too much time to embark on other experiments. I was about to make an Olive Oil Ice Cream, but then I noticed my boyfriend has stolen all my milk. So, once I get to the store, the ice cream will come.

Oh, here's the kicker before I sign off. My co-worker has quit to go to baking school. Apparently I have inspired her to go because she saw my passion for baking. I'm trying very hard to not be jealous of those who are embarking on adventures I want to do. Ah well. Here's to another day for another couple dollars.

A Nice Surprise and a Bittersweet Twist

I had a very nice surprise this morning. I made it to the gym first thing this morning fully expecting to see the new, lanky instructor who is okay, but it shows that he was a former high school teacher, but instead I saw Mr. Prom King. I was thrilled. It was a great way to start the day, a grueling workout. However, the twist is that he has shaved his head. He looks menacing with a big smile. I have to say he looks rather strange. Not like that. :)

But it's okay. He gave me a fist bump and a big smile. Then later he gave me a tap on my back. *gush!

Anyway, I started the day with the amazing workout. And yesterday, I signed up for the 90 Day Work Out Challenge offered at the gym. I'm so excited about it.

That started my day, and then I made it to work. I was noticing that my pants were a little loose. So, I went into the bathroom to give it the old shimmy test. That's right, I wiggled out of my pants with the button and zipper up. I did it! I can shimmy!

So I went right home and did a double hitter. I made Brown Butter Ice Cream. I saw this on Iron Chef America and wanted to try it. I got the recipe off of the website of one of the judges. It actually tasted really good. It's very nutty and salty, but also sweet and creamy. I'm actually quite thrilled with the result. However, it has to be the fattiest thing I've ever made. It's two sticks of butter and sugar with half and half and skim milk. (You gotta skinny it down somewhere).

But, after I made this, I grabbed my trusty measuring tape. And you know what? I've lost a little all over since a month ago. No, it's not as drastic as my Eat to Live class, but in the last month I have lost:





1/2 inch off my chest
1/2 inch off my hips
1/2 inch off my thigh
1/4 off my calf
and
1 1/4 inch off my waist!

More off the waist! I'm at 33 1/4. That's really amazing to me. I have technically lost 3 pounds, but that's another inch and a quarter. Hopefully at the end of August, I'll need to buy new jeans. I'm more than thrilled with my progress. I definitely plan on continuing.

Pie in the Sky

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've posted. But what do you care? No one is reading this blog (ha).

To go ahead and describe my amazing discoveries, I will have to start on what I bought several months ago. I was walking around the store a few months ago and saw something amazing. I saw a Solo Foods product of Almond Pie Filling. I love almond, so I overbought and got two cans. I know that canned anything is a sugar bomb, but it was too intriguing to pass up. Well, they've been sitting in my pantry since then.

Currently, I'm on a mission to clean out my pantry and refrigerator before I go back and buy new things. I'm trying to save money and also see how well I can improvise. So far this week has been pretty good. My freezer is almost empty and there is a dent in my pantry.

I had a random fish filet, hashbrowns, and soy beans. Made a wonderful dinner. For tonight's dinner, I had one left over pizza dough in the freezer, a couple of tomatoes, goat cheese and almost expired spinach. So I made this fabulous pizza. It was very good. I have the other half for tomorrow's dinner.

But back to the almond paste...I had two pie crusts in my freezer and a bag of frozen peaches that I couldn't do anything with. So, ta da, I made a pie. It was actually very good. The almond paste was very moist and sweet. I usually don't like frozen peaches, and honestly I still don't, but it made for a decent pie. The plate was almost licked clean by the end of the work day.

So then today, with the remaining pie crust and can of almond paste, I made a complete guess for the pie. I had dried cranberries, slivered almonds, coconut, crystalized ginger, and white chocolate chips. I put the pie crust down in the pie plate and coated it with shredded coconut. Then I put the filling in. Then I topped it with more coconut, cranberries, and the rest of the list. I put a dash of cinnamon on top and popped it in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

This pie didn't go as quickly as the Peach Almond Pie, but I think my co-workers were pie-ed out. I left it in the refrigerator because if I brought it home, the other half would be missing. (Did you notice half of the pizza was missing?)

I had a wonderful workout as well. I found out Mr. Prom King is going to continue to teach on Friday mornings. *Phew. His class was amazing this morning. I had a great time. I even got a fist bump. *Sigh.

I noticed that Mrs. Prom Queen was going super fast during the "race" song, so I made it a point to go faster. I sure did. If we were on the road, I would have gotten in front of her. That being said, I have never moved that quickly on the bike. I was holding my breath for a while before I realized. It was an amazing work out. Unfortunately, I haven't lost the next pound. The pizza might be the culprit, but I am proud to say I had half slices of the pie. Not even the peach one to be honest. Just a half slice of the Trail Mix Pie.

I'm very excited for tomorrow. I'll be heading to Fredericksburg for the 3rd Annual Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival. I'll be going with my co-worker, and I'm thrilled to go and buy a ton of salsa and peppers. I'll also get peaches and go back to that farm stand for the Peach Pepper Jam I've been dreaming about since I last went. I'll report.

A Strong Wind

I would like to say something for the members of my gym, on their behalf and for their information. I understand that sweat isn't the best smelling odor and that body odor is a common side effect of a hard workout. I know I suffer from it. But, I must say there are a couple of things someone can do in order to stifle some of the offensive smells coming off of one's body.

a) please brush your teeth before you come to the gym first thing in the morning. I know it's first thing in the morning, and you want to eat breakfast before you come to the gym, but for the love of God, please brush your teeth. I just walk by people huffing and puffing and I get a huge whiff of bad breath. And not just one.

b) please do not pass gas when you know you are surrounded by dozens of people. I was on a bike the other day in class, and someone in front of me passed some serious gas. Of course, I can't get off the bike to run around, so I have to suffer through it. I mean, please. We're working hard--again with the huffing and puffing--and I have to inhale the stench, several times over.

It's just a common courtesy to keep some of your smells to yourself. Even if the B.O. is unavoidable.

A Love Story

I made the first stage of the Chai Ice Cream last night. I didn't have time for the bread because I finally got the spring cleaning bug and proceeded to clean my whole kitchen top to bottom. I'll do the bread this evening, as well as step two of the ice cream, and then report.

Today, I saw two different love stories at the gym. The first revolves around Mr. and Mrs. Prom King and Queen. Mrs. Prom Queen was my nutrition coach for the twelve weeks that led to my 10 lb deficit. Mr. Prom King is the super hot spin instructor whose class I take on Fridays and Sundays.

So, as I was walking to the kickboxing class, I heard a couple behind me flirting and giggling. Trying not to be nosy, I just kept walking, but hearing how close he was to the women's locker room, I did turn around to see Mr. Prom King walking away realizing he was in fact flirting with his wife. Cute, right?

I had forgotten Mr. Prom King also teaches every other Wednesday. Well, I guess today was the other Wednesday because lo and behold, he was in my kickboxing class, and so was the Mrs.

Luckily, they were on the other side of the room, so I could spy without being obvious. He had no rhythm, which made me feel better, but she kicked ass. That just made me want to kick more ass in case she saw me.

Well, I totally rocked the class. Which brings me to the other love story.

Me and kickboxing. I had been taking Jerald's** class every Wednesday for quite some time. I love his class, believe me. But all we do is leg work. It gets rather cumbersome and predictable. Well, he had a sub today, Jessica**. I hadn't taken Jessica's class in months because she typically teaches on Saturday at Everyone-Come-to-the-Gym A.M. It made it quite difficult to kick and punch when you're swimming with salmon.

Well, her class is kicks and punches. Don't get me wrong, some people deserve a good kick, but sometimes punching really gets the shoulders that nice definition. We punched like crazy, and I hadn't sweat that much in kickboxing in quite some time. It was refreshing and it made me realize what I had fallen in love with.

It was a great work out, and I wish I could do it again. Alas, Jerald comes back next week. So my fling has flung.

Now, back to Mr. and Mrs. Prom. Being my nutrition coach, she of course knows who I am. I don't like this in the confines of the locker room. So, I changed quickly and showered quietly. I was fully prepared to use a dressing room to get dressed because who knows when she'll pop out from a corner.

Well, I got back to my row with my towels around my head and body. One dressing room is occupied, and the other open to Mrs. Prom Queen's breasts. I didn't see her face, so hopefully she didn't see mine, but the tattoo said it all. I have never changed that quickly in my life. My hands were shaking in case I got the, "Oh, how are you?" question.

Not a great way to start the day: anxiety. Hopefully she didn't see my pasty, flabby body as I struggled to get my wet suit in the heavy jeans. Luckily I made it out of there without her seeing me. Mr. Prom King, however, gave me a big smile as I left the gym. He's so dreamy.




(Names have been changed**)

Upped the Ante...6 or 9?

It's Tuesday. Day two of driving in my rented yellow Beetle. I feel like I'm driving a giant five cylinder bubble. I hate it. But my car is in the shop as a result of another woman's faulty flip flop. Don't drive in shoes that slip off your feet. Baby's First Car.

Anyway, today was the Bra Complimenting Instructor's class. Last week she urged us to up the ante and add more resistance or weights to our normal routine in the class. I'll usually grab a middle to easy resistance band and get 8 and 5 lb dumb bells. Is that how it's spelled? If not, they are dumb.

So, in order to up my ante, I grabbed 10 and 6 lb weights. I had been using 12 lbs for various exercises when I work out by myself on Thursdays, but classes are harder since you do more reps than you voluntarily do in the solace of a dark studio.

I was so proud. Until I couldn't take the 10 lbs anymore on a move that has my shoulders falling off. Start with a dead lift, bring the weights to your shoulder as a bicep curl, and then bench press it over your head. Do that 20+ times with weights you're not used to. So, I thought it was a good time as any to switch to my 6 lbs.

Well, guess what? If you turn a 6 lb weight upside down it's 9. Yup. So much for a break.

The other thing was I got there late since I was playing with my poor neglected cat this morning and I had to station myself in the front of the class. Thus, was unable with my dignity intact to go and get 5 or the real 6 lb weights.

So, yes, I pushed through and made it through the crazy class with 9 lbs weights. Now knowing I can do it, you'd think I'd want to do this for every class. Well, you'd be wrong. My arms can barely stay up on my desk to write this. No, I will drop to 10 lb and 8 lb for next week. Sound good?

Chocolate Makes The World Better

I'm sorry my non-existent readers. I have been out of touch for a little while. But my little sister was in town, and we have some culinary stories to share.

First off, Wednesday where we left off, we made some peanut butter cupcakes. This sounds great, especially when they are supposed to look like apples. Red icing and stems. The works. Well, I'm sure they would have tasted better if she used the correct flour. I know when you stand in a kitchen with seven different flours, you go for the one that looks like it would work. She went for the cake flour, unbeknownst to me.

So what happened? She made little hockey pucks. I probably could have broken a window if I threw it. Of course, I thought she could handle cupcakes, and I didn't notice this until it was too late. She learned her lesson. Always ask.

Aside from that, I worked on the Watermelon Cherry Sorbet. I was so thrilled when my mother gave me her Cuisinart circa 1980-God knows when as a wonderful addition to my kitchen. So, I bust it out for the sorbet, and what happens? It leaks everywhere. The bowl has a crack from ear to ear.

I remember Mom saying they used that material for the space shuttle. Hmm...

Anyway, I had my backup, little red waiting to be used. I bought little red for my Christmas present. It's a 3 cup food processor. Too cute. It did the job, 3 cups at a time, just fine.

The sorbet turned out great. No added sugar. I brought it to the girls at the office. They liked it and equated it with Sour Patch and Jolly Ranchers. I'll take that.

But I titled today's post for chocolate. Father's Day was now two weekends ago. I got my dad a book I thought he would enjoy, but I had wanted to make him some Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries -- his favorite. Well, the 20th came and went in a flash. So I vowed to make them with my little sister. What better way to make something for Dad than together as sisters. Well, she didn't do it. I did it while she continued on her peanut butter hockey pucks.

They turned out pretty well. By that, I mean, they tasted great. They just looked a little strange. The chocolate started to take on a strange texture. I tried adding cream and amaretto, but to no avail. I will come back with an answer.


Well, I got the best validation today. Dad was apparently feeling a little low over the weekend. But today he texted me thanking me for the "dang good chocolate covered cherries." That's all I needed to know that he felt better by my effort. Even if they look a little gross. ;)

Anyway, no workout/culinary blog would be complete without the work out section.

Sunday, it was on. I brought a friend with me to the super-hot spin class with the super-hot instructor. I knew my friend (we'll call her Heather for anonymity and I don't know any Heathers) would pass out, but I wanted her to see him. Well, see him she did. That class was killer. He does this wonderful move where he'll pump the bike with one leg. I swear it's such a turn on.

But *cough, he also does this move with the whole class where we spin and do push ups on the bike. It's amazing. You want t sure fire way to up your heart rate, do that with minimal resistance. You'll get there in a flash.

Well, I didn't want Heather to miss out on that since I can bring guests only every 60 days. But as I watched my watch, he was cutting close on time. Well, I took it upon myself to start the push ups to give him the clue. He got it. He stared right at me and laughed that I wanted push ups. Well, he gave us push ups. It was awesome.

Two songs later, the usual push up song came on. Last one. Couldn't believe it. He started jumping up and down. He pointed right at me and said, "You wanted push ups. I'll give you push ups." I nodded my head. He couldn't hear me scream if I tried the music was blaring.

At the end of the class, he said, "Anyone who wants to stay for the next class in 15 minutes, just stay on your bike." I looked at Heather whose hair was plastered to her face, and her shirt was nearly see-through with the sweat and white cotton. Her face was priceless as she shook her head almost in disgust. I could have gone a second round, but I got my second round today in spin. Today was also a great class.

Off to tomorrow and the mission of Chai Ice Cream

Punctuality

My number one pet peeve is when people are tardy. I make an effort to be on time. Actually, I make it an effort to be early. So, when people are late, or make me late, I'm furious.

My beef with the woman who teaches the Tuesday class goes back a ways. The woman who taught before is the head of the trainers at the gym. I loved her. She was always spunky and fun to watch, even though you wanted to treat her to a typical Barbie meltdown.

One day, I was changing in the dressing room. I have finally gotten to the point where I don't care, so I'll change at my locker instead of the little closet they have. Wastes time--again time. Well, this woman was changing next to me, and as she pulled on her thong, she turned to me and said, "That's a pretty bra." I was wearing my lace Victoria's Secret bra. That's an odd thing to say when you're pulling on your own secret, ya know?

I politely thanked her and continued to change. Then, in my routine, I put on hairspray. I used this wonderful Flaxseed Aloe hairspray from Aveda. She chimes in, "I love that smell. I have that hairspray."

Uh--thanks?

Again, I politely thanked her and continued to change. It was a very bizarre experience. So imagine my surprise when the next week, she was the new teacher of the class, replacing Spunky Barbie.

Great.

Well, I have let bygones be bygones and continued to go to the class because it's the only strength training class I can get to.

A few weeks ago now, Ms. Bra Complimenter was a no-show to her own class. My anger for her rose. The kickboxing instructor luckily came in to sub. That was nice. I wish it was like that for every week.

That was just another tidbit. Well, since then, she has started the class late and thus ended the class late. I take a 5:30am class for a reason. It allows me ample time to get ready. Yes, I understand that I have extra time, but when you say the class ends at 6:30am, I need it to end at 6:30am. Not once since her absentee class has she ended on time.

Today was the first time I had to actually leave before she finished her routine. Amazing. Just finish on time. That's your job.

Okay, that's over. Now I get to rush off to work.