Cooking With the Stars.

Yesterday, I came home early to complete Day 1 of the Yoga Journal 21 Day Challenge. I decided it would be good to twist, stretch and relax before taking on dinner, most of which was inspired by Jamie Oliver and Bobby Flay:



Diced pork with Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy BBQ sauce, Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Potatoes (I did the olive oil/rosemary option) and Bobby Flay's Sauteéd Kale.

As usual, I used less oil than the recipes called for, but I wouldn't skimp too much on the potatoes because it really boosts the flavor and increases the crunchy edges. I didn't peel the potatoes or cut them into same-size pieces like Jamie instructed, but will be sure to do so next time. Well, I'll cut them into equal sizes anyway; it's really hard for me to take the skin off of potatoes because I love the texture so much. Despite my lack of peeling and uniform chopping, these were still pretty much the best-tasting roasted potatoes I've ever made. Rich flavor, excellent crunch factor, soft interior. Love, love, love. And although they take a while to prepare, I think I prefer them over my usual baked fries now.

Since I already went a bit overboard with garlic cloves in the potatoes, I used only 1 clove for the kale and used the last bit of red onion we had. Still a really great flavor. And adding the splash of red wine vinegar at the end really seemed to cut through any remaining bitterness of the kale, while also adding some brightness.

I haven't bothered to buy kale since my failed attempt at kale chips, but I'm glad I decided to give it another shot. I definitely dig it sauteéd and look forward to adding it to soups as well.

Doug approved, which made me happy. He's kind of my at-home version of an Iron Chef America judge, heh.

It burns! It buuurns!

Tonight's dinner brought on the tears and the sniffles. I love my spice!

I wanted to start off with a salad, so I took some fresh spinach, heated it up in the micorwave for just 30 seconds and topped it with some fat-free feta:



But of course that wasn't enough... So, on went some oven-roasted veggies!



I sliced up half of a small onion (hello tears! My eyes are still recovering, over half an hour later...), some small tomatoes and a small zucchini. Sprinkled on some kosher salt, pepper and some garlic powder. I made enough for two servings, so hooray for a second roasted veggie salad for lunch tomorrow! This combo reminded me of how awesome spinach and onions are.

Next came the heat. Yeah, this guy knows what I'm talkin' about:



This stuff makes my nose run and my upper lip sweat, but who said love is delicate?

I took a veggie burger (Morning Star, I believe?), chopped it up, threw it in a pan and added a couple tablespoons of the BBQ sauce. And when using spice these days, I gotta add in some sweetness too, so I threw in some pineapple tidbits for good measure.



Served with some baked semi-curried sweet potato fries on the side. I sliced up the potato and tossed it with:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of red curry powder
• dried parsley flakes

I gotta take a moment to pat my own back here; these were the best sweet potato fries I've ever made. The only *tiny* downside was I think this particular mix of spices kinda clashed with the spices in the BBQ sauce. Oh well. Overall, damn good random meal, thanks to my crazy freestylin' skills. And the potato was big enough to yield 2 servings of fries, so my lunch is going to kick so much ass tomorrow, I can't even talk about it right now.

G'night!

Too much excitement (and soreness) for one day.

Well, I did Day 2 (a.k.a. 'Slimmer Sunday') of that Fitness Magazine workout.

This routine was sneaky. Day 2 looked a little easier than the previous day's routine, but the soreness quickly progressed and I'm more sore than I've been in weeks! Like the it-hurts-to-sit-down-on-the-toilet kind of sore, but also the wow-my-ass-is-perking-up-as-we-speak! kind of sore. Bittersweet, I suppose.

The fact that my body has clearly been challenged though has left me feeling strong (and simultaneously wussy). I'm good with that.

I was planning on swimming tomorrow morning, but honestly? I think I might just go to sit in the hot tub before work. Although, some medium-paced laps will probably help stretch out my muscles without adding any impact and making things worse. I dunno. We'll see. I've made up my mind to go to the 24SET class on Saturday morning, so I definitely want to be rested and refreshed, not all sore and busted. My excitement to try new [fitness] things is starting to catch up with me!

Also, some new food excitement to share... I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of my life-changing sandwich that I had for lunch, but since I totally ripped off the idea from KERF, you can view a much more appetizing version on her site.

We have a Great Harvest store nearby, so I was able to snag the Flax Oatbran (which I ended up loving more than I thought I would, btw), but I used slightly different cheese and jam than she did. I bought a small block of Cabot's reduced-fat cheddar and some store-brand (King Soopers) Triple-Berry fruit spread.

HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE! Loved this sandwich! I had previously tried jam on a turkey sandwich before, but with sub-par bread, sugar-free Smucker's and only-ok cheese. This new combo was just fantastic. I put one ounce of cheese on one half of the bread slice and microwaved it for 15 seconds; I wanted the cheese just partially melted so I could experience some different textures. Heaven.

I definitely savored each bite, but I also pretty much inhaled the whole thing between my hunger and the foodgasm-inducing flavor. I'll be having several more of these in the future (tomorrow for lunch again, perhaps?), so I'll set aside my laziness for some pics.

And as if my lunch wasn't enough to get me all giddy about food (and life, for that matter), I also came across more flavors of my favorite Famous Dave's BBQ sauce at the grocery store! At first I could only find the Rich & Sassy and the Sweet & Zesty flavors for a while, but today I squealed when I saw the Devil's Spit and Apricot Bourbon varieties. Granted, I can go to the actual restaurant and buy whatever flavor I want, but it's considerably cheaper to buy them at regular grocery stores (Wal-Mart & King Soopers, specifically).

That said, I think some sort of BBQ veggie burger is in my future for dinner tonight. Might break down and take some pics of that too... Stay tuned!