Grilled Tuna and Avocado Dip

I am going on 166 days on crutches.  I feel like it's been 1666 days.  Or maybe even 11,666 days.  Being on crutches just feels normal.  I forget what it's like to not be carting them around with me.  I've got one strategically placed permanently in the Jeep, one by the front door, and one by the back door.  They are always at the ready.  

I forget what it's like to not get dropped off at the front door of a store so I don't have to walk from the parking lot.  I forget what it's like to pass up the handicapped parking spot.  I can't remember a time where I walked to Starbucks without having pain in my leg.  Or a time when I offered to actually walk down Michigan Ave. just for the fun of it.  

BUT, with all that being said, I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  I walked to Starbucks and back today without crutches.  The man I see everyday selling Street Wise outside of the Southport Starbucks commented to me that I was making progress not carrying a crutch with me today.  I kidded with him that I'd made it TO Starbucks, but hoped I had enough energy to make it back to the apartment.  Success.   The girl taking my Starbucks order today offered me a free drink because I came in without my crutches.  I guess a crutch is good for something then?  

I'm thrilled to be seeing true progress.  A sign that regular workouts, spin classes at the gym, and pool dates, are not so far off, and instead of dreaming about them, I can actually get out and go to them.  My fingers are crossed that this feeling lasts, and the crutches stay tucked away in Mom and Dad's basement for many years to come.  

Did anyone buy lottery tickets?  I was all caught up in the hype of the mega millions, but didn't actually but a ticket for myself.  

Andy: There are about 15 people ahead of me at the grocery store buying lottery tickets

Me: You should get us a ticket.

Andy:  Us?  I got my ticket.  What are you bringing to the table?

Me: Aren't we an "us"?  Like peas and carrots?

2 hours later after the drawing...

Andy: We still aren't rich.

Me: Glad we are back to being a "we" when "we" don't win.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading my friend Caroline's Blog, and came across the post "A Tuna to Remember".  Since I have a love for all things tuna, I was immediately intrigued as to what she was going to be posting about.  I couldn't have asked for a better recipe. I can eat tuna raw, overcooked, seared, out of a can packed in water, or out of a can packed in oil, and it will all taste good to me. I read Caroline's blog on a Thursday, and by Saturday night, Andy and I had invited another couple over to join us for dinner.  There wasn't a question in my mind that this dip would be served as our appetizer along with Rick Bayless' Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos as our main dish.  

Fresh tuna isn't the cheapest thing in the world to purchase.  Don't get me wrong, it is totally worth it, but when entertaining, it tends to get a bit expensive.  My go-to tuna purchase is usually from Whole Foods, at a whopping $24.99/pound.  We do most of our grocery shopping at Jewel, and I eyed the tuna there, and it didn't look half bad.  It was a bright reddish/pink color and looked above average.  I went ahead and bought 2 pieces.  And it ended up working great.  The combination of the raw tuna with the creamy avocado, is just perfect.  The bite of lime juice gives it the final touch.  I served this with....like you couldn't guess...green bag tortilla chips.

Grilled Tuna and Avocado Dip

adapted from "Barefoot Contessa at Home"

print this recipe

Zest of 2 limes

Juice of 2 small limes

2 teaspoons soy sauce

10-15 dashes Tabasco sauce

2 teaspoons of honey

1/2 red onion very small dice

1/2 teaspoon prepared wasabi

4 ripe avocados, medium dice

1 pound fresh ahi tuna

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Green bag tortilla chips

In a bowl whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, soy sauce, Tabasco sauce, honey, red onion, 

with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare the tuna by brushing the olive oil on both sides as well as salt and pepper. Sear the fish (just slightly) on the grill.  About 2 minutes on ea. side. Let rest for 5 minutes, then roughly chop. You want the 

center to be raw.

In a medium bowl add the avocado (salted), the tuna, and then slowly add in the marinade (to taste). I used all of the marinade. 

Corn Cookies Delivered

There are many perks of working from home.  Granted, this is only day 28 on the job, so I'm sure will come up with more along the way, but I've got got the top two solidified already.

1.  My daily work attire.  You probably remember my blog post declaring that I will no longer wear yoga pants as "regular clothes" unless I am actually going to the gym or doing yoga, where yoga pants would be the obvious attire.  I don't like to pat myself on that back that often....oh wait, I do love to do that....but I have done very well with that rule.  Each day, I've either put on jeans or non workout shorts.  Andy can attest to this.  Two weeks ago I was paroozing through my closet, standing at the door opening as I usually do, waiting for something to just jump out at me to wear.  My closet is organized and arranged by color, so I already know where everything is, and there are usually no surprises.

I stood there and declared "I don't have any good work from home clothes".  I mean...really.  I can think up any good excuse to go shopping for new clothes.  Work form home clothes?  What kind of category is that.  In my mind, I envisioned a comfortable but casual, elegant, well put together, summer look.  I was on a mission and JCrew.com did a wonderful job of getting me started.  Helllooo new work from home outfits.

2.  Great homemade lunch options.  Andy and I are "bring our own lunchers".  We pack a lunch each day, Andy throws in plenty of healthy snacks to his bag, and we are set to go.  We are very good about making enough food for leftovers, and taking those for lunch.  I love not having to pack a lunch at night, and love the options I have right in my own kitchen for lunch each day.

A few weeks ago, I had made a BIG batch of quinoa for the week.  The good thing about making a big batch of quinoa, is that you are never left without a homemade lunch for the week.  The bad thing about this said batch of quinoa, is that you have to eat A LOT of quinoa all week.  We were getting to the last two quinoa meals, and Andy and I decided to just plow through it and finish it off.

Me:  What did you bring for lunch today?
Andy: The chicken stir fry.
Me: The what?
Andy: Chicken stir fry.
Me: I thought that we agreed to finish off the quinoa.
Andy: What did you have for lunch today?
Me: Well, I haven't eaten yet, but I am going to have the quinoa.  I thought that's what we agreed to do.  And because you took stir fry today, I'm going to eat all of the big chunks of broccoli out of the quinoa, so that there are none left for you tomorrow.
Andy: Are you revenge eating the leftovers?

Yea.....I'm kind of competitive by nature.  Ben can be the one to confirm that it has always been a trait of mind since childhood.

Speaking of Benny, he stopped by for a visit the other day.  He was baking a batch of Corn Cookies, said the batch made quite a few, and wondered if he could drop by to say hi, and deliver some cookies. I can't say I have been baking all that much....actually I've hardly been baking at all.  Andy and I don't seem to have too many sweets around the house, so the homemade cookies were a welcomed treat.

I thought about the cookies all morning, until Ben showed up to drop them off.  I dove right in.  And boy...these are good cookies.  Definitely give these a try.

Corn Cookies

adapted from Momofuku's Milk Bar

print this recipe

225g (2 sticks) room temperature butter 

300g (1 1/2 C) sugar

1 egg

225g (1 1/3 C) all-purpose flour

65g (2/3 C) freeze dried corn powder (freeze dried corn whisked into powder using food processor)

45g (1/4 C) corn flour

3g (3/4 t) baking powder

1.5g (1/4 t) baking soda

6g (1 1/2 t) kosher salt

Combine butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream them on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 min - scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula. With the mixer at a lower speed, add the egg - increase the mixer speed to medium-high and start a timer for 8 minutes.

After 10 minutes, take the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients - mix just until the dough comes together, and for no longer than 60 seconds (don't over mix).

Using 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop, portion out cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan about 3 inches apart - wrap the sheet pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour (do not bake from room temperature)

Heat oven to 350 and bake each batch for 18 min (cookies should be very faintly browned on the edges but still bright yellow in the center.

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Meet the newest addition to our front porch.  It might not look like much, and to those of you with backyards, and actual patio furniture sets, you are probably smirking at how small this front porch area actually is, but I am over the top excited about it.

Once the weather turned for the better here in Chicago, I immediately got the "sitting outside" bug.  We moved in August last year, so didn't get a ton of time to enjoy the outdoor space here at the new apartment.  So earlier in the week, I started looking online at reasonable tables and chairs for the front porch.  And once I get excited about something, I can't seem to get it off my mind and I also tend to talk about it with other people.  And lo and behold, talk about it with a few friends, and a couple of hours later on a Friday afternoon, we had patio furniture.  Apparently, Lindsay and Alex had furniture they were no longer using and were willing to sell it to me for a good price.  Bam.  Got it.

I picked up Andy from work on Friday, as we were going to get the grocery shopping done.....

Andy: What are you so excited about?
Me: I have a surprise for you when you get home.
Andy: What is it?
Me: I'm not telling.
Andy: Did you get patio furniture.
Me: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

One of my favorite things to do when the weather is beautiful and sunny, is to sit outside in the sun.  I don't need to be at the beach, or in a lounge chair next to the pool, but put me in a chair, and face me towards the sun, and I am a happy camper.   What is front porch sitting good for?  I'm so glad you asked.

1.  Drinking coffee.  Drinking coffee is perfect at any time of day, let's be honest, but you can't beat sipping an iced drink while sitting outside in the sun.

2.  Watching the world go by.  We live on a cul-de-sac, so we don't get a lot of through traffic, whether it be on foot or in cars.  People heading this way usually live on the block.  However, there are quite a few cars that ignore the "No Outlet" signs on either side of the street entering our block, which forces them to realize half way down the street that there is a dead end, and they must turn around.  I'm going to start keeping track of how many people I see do this on a daily basis for entertainment.  Wow....I just said that out loud.  That makes me sound 80.

3.  Blogging.  I seem to blog better when I'm sitting outside.  I don't know the reasoning behind it, but if I can get myself outside, I seem to blog more often.

4.  Getting sun.  I know being in the sun all the time isn't the best thing for us, but a little Vitamin D each day never hurt anyone.  I think the sun puts me in a better mood, and because of that, I'm willing to get a few rays of sun each day.

5.  There is the perfect amount of shade and sun.

Andy and I were coming back from coffee yesterday....

Me:  Do you want to sit on the porch and drink our coffee?
Andy: Sure...which side do you want?
Me: The one that gets the most sun.
Andy:  Take the far one then.  We have a good setup here.  I can have my chair in the shade and you can have yours in the sun.

So there you have it.  As I type this from the front porch, I am excited about the time I'll be spending outside with my new chairs.

You know what's perfect to have on a sunny afternoon while sitting outside?  Rocky road ice cream.  Andy loves chocolate ice cream, and also adores anything marshmallow related, so this recipe was for him.  And you just can't seem to go wrong with anything Dave Lebovitz and ice cream related.  

Rocky Road Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz "The Perfect Scoop"

print this recipe

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

5 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (and reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) Once the ice cream has finished churning, fold in the marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

I can't say I have the best track record when it comes to getting Andy amazing gifts for Valentine's Day.  In my defense, I think the boys have it easier when it comes to this holiday.  Andy seems to get it right every year.  Roses, roses, and more roses.  How can he go wrong? And this year, he even topped it off with a set of champagne glasses.  

Let's recap my Valentine's Day history just a little bit here.  In 2010, there was the burnt chocolate cake fiasco; a story that I will never live down, and one that Andy continuously loves to tell.  In 2011, I really aimed to do better.  At that time, we had a strong routine of having bacon and eggs every Saturday morning for breakfast.  I would cook the meal, and Andy would go on and on about how much he loved bacon. Going on that lead, I gave Andy a year's subscription to the bacon of the month club.  What I didn't take into account was the timing of that gift as we were just embarking on our 9 month vegetarian streak.  I gifted the bacon, and then immediately requested a refund, which then eventually voided my gift.  I didn't follow up with anything else that year.

So that brings us to 2012.  The 14th arrived much sooner than I would have liked.  We celebrated by going to the theatre to watch The Vow, definitely my choice and not Andy's.  The movie was followed up with dinner at Rose Angelis.  We had dinner at Rose Angelis in 2011 for Valentine's Day and intend to make it a yearly tradition.  When it came time for the gift portion of the evening, I had to confess that my gift wasn't ready just quite yet.  Like I said, the day arrived sooner than I had anticipated.  I did my best to promise Andy that it was something homemade, and that took time, but not to worry, he was going to love it.  I have a tendency to build up the "awesomeness" of any gift I give, and usually end up getting more excited to give mine to receive one.  Everyone in the Phillips family can attest to this little quirk of mine.

So here we are.  It's March 10th, and I'm happy to say that my Valentine's Day present to Andy is officially complete.  As I'm sure you all know, Andy completed his first Ironman triathlon race in 2011.  It was kind of a big deal.   I wanted to do something to commemorate the day, in addition to my awesome video of course, and thought this might be the best way to go.  I had seen many online stores and options for getting a professionally framed race bib, picture, and medal package.  Those professionally framed pieces also cost about $300, and as much as I love Andy, $300 was a little more money that I wanted to spend on something like this.

So I enlisted Dad's help.  We toured Hobby Lobby, and decided on a rather large shadowbox ($20).  They also had custom matting there that could be custom cut, to fit the items that you wanted to place in the shadow box ($18).  And the word "custom" is key here.  Not something that can be done immediately.  Something that took time to process and order.  So while I waited, I started to lay the framework down for the finished product.   

Here is the finished product.  When I finally laid everything out, I did decide to have a small plate engraved with Andy's name, race name, and finish time.  I was originally going to make my own, but in my test run, it didn't look as sharp as the finished product seen below.  But for all of my racing friends that are considering paying the money to have something professionally done, I would highly recommend trying to do it yourself.  

So I guess a .333 batting average for Valentine's Day presents isn't all bad. 

Me: Happy Valentine's Day. (handing gift over)  Do you think you can guess what it is?

Andy: Oh wow.  So.....you took my medal?

Me: Huh????

Andy: Just kidding honey.  I love it.

New Beginnings

I'm on Day 3 of the new job at the Children's Tumor Foundation.  I am officially the NF Endurance Logistics and Marketing Manager.  What does that mean?  The Children's Tumor Foundation has an endurance team, so people run races across the US and raise money for us in the process.  I help to create the marketing materials for the team, and also help organize race weekends, race contracts, expo spaces, pasta dinners, and many other things.  I knew I needed a job that required me to be on my feet less and this job gives me the opportunity to do something I love, while being less physically demanding.  At the pace I was going, my leg was finally telling me....enough already....take a break.  3 big surgeries in 17months.  That was a sign to slow down.  

I loved working at the American Cancer Society and I met some of the most amazing people during my 5 years there.  I grew up over those 5 years.  This job changed my life.

When I first started working at the American Cancer Society, I was living at home with Mom and Dad, never had a real job before, was just coming off 2 years of treatments/surgeries for bone cancer, and really didn't have a social network (both online or offline) of people in my life, except Mom, Dad and Ben!  Throughout those 2 years of treatments and the 2 years after treatment when I spent my time getting back to a "normal life", I really lost a connection with the rest of the world.  Getting healthy was my top priority, and it was easier to be around those people that just really got it, and those people that made it effortless to just be how I needed to be.  When I finished treatment, I really felt like I was at a point where I had to start my life all over again.  All of my friends had been to college, had college experiences, met their lifelong friends at school, and had moved onto full time careers and relationships.     I wasn't quite there.

So along comes this job at the American Cancer Society, in the heart of downtown Chicago.  I knew that I wanted to work at the American Cancer Society, no matter what.  I had been applying there for 5 months and finally accepted an income development representative job at their Chicago office in 2007.  I started making the commute, 2 hours door to door each way, into the city.  I thought I could handle the commute longer than I did.  3 months later, I decided it would be easier to move to the city.  I balked at signing the first lease to my own apartment.  It was such a big step.  But once I signed that lease, everything started to fall into place.  I moved downtown, I started meeting people, and I got comfortable and more involved with my job.  

I have 4 ridiculously awesome people in my life, and I met them all through my work at the American Cancer Society.  

1.  Andrew "My Mandrew" Crabtree.  I met Andy while hosting an information session at Fleet Feet Sports.  Andy claimed I was "disheveled" and rushing in from the rain to get everything setup for the info session.  This was not the case.  As usual, I had arrived an hour early for the info session and was setup in plenty of time before his arrival.  He remembers his version, I remember mine.  Andy joined the team and then showed up to our mid-season party, then showed up to my committee information meeting (where he was the only one that attended), attended our first committee meeting, and then proceeded to ask me over for dinner that next weekend.  The rest is history.  

2.  Kristin McQueen.  My first dose of Kristin McQueen was more or less considering her a celebrity of sorts.  I had heard her name thrown around the office a lot, and she seemed to be on every piece of collateral that we had for our program, yet I really didn't meet her right away.  It was at the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago 1/2 Marathon in 2010 where we first hit it off.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off on event day, but I tried to make as much "Kristin time" at the event as possible.  Kristin is now one of my best friends.  Not a day goes by that we don't share text messages, and my life is better because she is a part of it.  Stop reading here Mom.  I also completed my first 3 mile swim in Lake Michigan with Kristin.  It was a day I will never forget.  Kristin and I are both cancer survivors, and based on that alone, we have a connection that not many others can have together.  Let's keep kicking cancer to the curb.

3.  Sarah Coulam.  Or should I call you "boss"?  Sarah was the "me" of New York in DetermiNation world.  Sarah ran the NYC DetermiNation program while I ran the program in Chicago.  She is now my boss and the Director of the Children's Tumor Foundation NF Endurance Team.  I am grateful to Sarah for giving me the opportunity to join her at CTF, and to give me the opportunity to use my brain and not my legs in the working world!  I first met Sarah at our American Cancer Society Chicago office.  She had on a black dress, black heels, and was walking around our office with a presence.  I thought...wow.....who is that?!  Even though Sarah and I do not see each other that often, we are best friends.  We seem to have a similar passion for the endurance world together and just click when it comes to working together.  She is always one to check-up on my leg, talk to me about the Bachelor, or she listens to me complain about not being able to workout.  The first 2 cards to arrive in the mail post surgery are always from Sarah and Kristin.

4.  Emily "Hammy" Hamilton.  I met Emily Hamilton while working at the American Cancer Society office.  In her first week of work there, she had to attend the Daffodil Days breakfast that I was organizing, and while in the car driving to the breakfast, I decided that one of us needed a nickname since we were both named Emily.  I came up with the nickname Hammy, and for some reason, it stuck immediately.  We just clicked at work, and the office was so much better because she was there.  She shared with me that she was pregnant before she even knew she was pregnant, and we had fun hiding her baby bump at work before she was ready to tell everyone. She even sat on my couch just 12 hours before giving birth!  We have similar opinions and outlooks on just about everything.  I swear we are practically the same person, separated at birth.  Even though neither of us work at ACS anymore, I know we will be lifelong friends.

See.  ACS changed my life.  This job put me in a position to meet so many different people, who were not only passionate about cancer, but also passionate about health and fitness.  This organization attracts so many unique and compassionate individuals, and put everyone in a room together, and you can never walk way uninspired.  I went from living at home, without a core group of friends, to moving downtown, meeting so many amazing people, meeting Andy, moving in with Andy, learning a lot about the non-profit endurance event world, and now transitioning into a new role at the Children's Tumor Foundation.  A lot can happen in 5 years and I will be forever grateful when looking back at my time with ACS.

Jeans are the new yoga pants

Today is February 18th, 2012.  And today, I have a New Year's resolution.  Is it too late for that?  Maybe I should call it something different.  I'm not big on resolutions, and instead, I came up with a list of goals for the 2012 calendar year, and unfortunately, most of them involve my leg.

Emily's 2012 Goals:

1.  Walk up and down the stairs one foot in front of the other, instead of taking the steps one step at a time.  It is a task that I'm sure most people take for granted, but I long for the ability to walk up the stairs like a normal person.  Instead, I'm still stuck on the routine of up, up......up, up.  It's a goal I continue to work on.  I avoid taking the L because the thought of going up and down those stairs on a regular basis is overwhelmingly intimidating.  When at the gym, there is a flight of stairs to go up, and I avoid that, by taking the elevator in the back to the 2nd floor.  At some point this year, these small hurdles will be no longer.  I can't wait for that day to arrive.

2. Visit the gym at least 5 times a week.  Over the past year and a half, with my various leg issues, I miss going to the gym on a regular basis.  Working out is just a habit of mine that makes a day feel complete.  I started working out on a regular basis at a young age, joining HealthBridge Fitness Center when I was in 7th grade, and have routinely worked out from that point on.  It feels routine.  I like being able to sweat out the day, and have that time for myself throughout the week.  Recently, I have now been able to get to the gym about 5 times a week, even with one crutch in tow.  My goal is to swim 3 times a week and bike twice a week.  So far, so good.  I spend my days studying the gym schedule, and picking which classes I would like to attend.  Now granted, right now, I'm really not attending classes, but somehow, looking at the schedule makes me happy.

So what is this new resolution of mine?  Well there is a little back story to the fact.  Here are 2 random conversations that will shed some light as to how this resolution came about......

Conversation 1:

Andy:  You look nice.  I like that sweater, have you worn that one before?
Me: Yea...I've had this one for awhile.  I have a lot of sweaters that you haven't seen before.  You just see me in yoga pants most of the time.

Conversation 2:

Mom: You look nice in jeans.  Dad is going to think so as well.   He'll like that you have jeans on.  He thinks that I have yoga pants on all the time and doesn't like that.  He says they are too tight.

So there you have it.  The idea of the resolution was made.  I wear yoga pants TOOOOO much.  If I'm not in work clothes, I'm usually in yoga pants.  I thought that having "cute" yoga pants from Lululemon  would help with the fact that I had yoga pants on, but I don't think that is the case.  I've fallen into a trap of always putting on these pants, when I am not in my normal work attire.  Now granted, yoga pants are SOOO comfortable.  And they are so easy to slip on, and they are just plain comfortable.  But it didn't really occur to me that I was carrying off a certain style with my choice of yoga pants.  I mean, I have plenty of casual sweaters to wear with jeans, and why do I never wear those?  I have sweaters in my chest of drawers that I have gone years without wearing.  And why?  Because I have chosen yoga pants instead.  But after today, that will no longer be the case.

I've heard so many people talk about how girls just throw on yoga pants and think that constitutes as a cute outfit, but that really isn't the case.  So I'll go along with that theory, and attempt to put on normal clothes as often as possible .  My resolution today, is to wear yoga pants, only when going to the gym, or actually doing yoga.  In all other cases, I will put jeans on.  Going to the store?  Jeans.  Walking down to Starbucks on a Saturday morning?  Jeans.  Running errands?  Jeans.

I'll report back on how this new initiative goes.

No Recipe Here

Hello blog of mine.  My name is Emily.  I used to come around here often. Long time no see.  

I come to my blog site at least once a week.  I parooze what is going on with the other food blogs that I follow, get some inspiration for recipes, and I find myself in awe of how often I used to be able to blog.  At first, every other day or so, then a solid 2-3 times a week, and now...well....we know how my posting productivity has been lately.  I miss it.  I often get the question "are you going to blog anymore" or "when is the last time you posted".  My response is usually "I've been busy" but I think we are all busy in life, so I don't know if that is a valid excuse.  I also follow that up with "I've been cooking, just not taking pictures throughout the whole process".

I like the documentation that blogging allows for.  Not only does it let me show-off what I've been cooking, and give my readers some ideas for things to make in the kitchen, but it is also a diary of sorts that documents what is going on in my life and it makes for a great keepsake.  I don't know which direction I want to take the blog from here, but I want to keep those 2 things prevalent - food and highlights of what's going on these days.

Who knew that all it would take would be for Andy to turn on "Meet the Press"on this fine Sunday morning, and here I steer straight for the blog.  I'll have you know it is 11:00 am on Sunday morning and Heidi Swanson's Cabbage and Bean Soup has already been made and Rick Bayless' Pork and Tomatillos Stew with Pickled Jalapenos is already going in the crock pot.  See?  I cook.  I promise.

Andy and I are on a new routine when it comes to food and grocery shopping.  When I lived on my own, I often ran into the grocery store about 3-4 times a week and that store was almost always Whole Foods.  I'll admit that I spent WAY too much money there because absolutely everything always looked good.   I could not walk out of there without a container of the Yellowfin Tuna salad and some really nice block of cheese.  I would workout at the gym, swing by the store, and whip up something quick for dinner.  I would pick a slightly time-intesive meal to make on the weekend and would call it a week.  I could get by on apple/peanut butter for lunch or even some oatmeal with banana and peanut butter.  Buying lunch at work was never an option, and that still holds true.

It is not possible for Andy to get by on apple and peanut butter for lunch, so I've learned to cook while making enough to have leftovers.  GASP.  Eat the same thing twice?  Never used to happen.  But that isn't very practical these days.  These days, I spend the week paging through cookbooks, browsing the food blogs, and making a list of everything that will be on the menu for the week (lunches included).  

I make a big list: groceries on one side and meals to make, what day to make them, and what page to find them in what cookbook on the other side.  My 2 go-to cookbooks these days are Heidi Swanson's "Super Natural Every Day" and "Giada's Kitchen".  I like them both because they 1. don't have a mile long list of ingredients for the dishes and 2. they are all relatively easy and quick to make.

And get this.....we grocery shop on Friday night....at Jewel.  I mean is that exciting or what?  And this is the only time we go to store during the week.  And I'll have you know that Jewel is very busy on a Friday night in the city.  I'm not the only one with this plan.  My weekend is much more relaxing knowing the grocery shopping is already done - Andy can confirm this to be true.

In other news....you might have missed the fact that I had a little surgery.  Things are on the up and up and I'm making progress each day.  Haven't quite ditched the crutches yet, but I'm hoping to do that soon.  This new "compression" style implant in my leg, should be longer lasting than the one I previously had, which is awesome news.  Thank you Dr. Gitelis for fixing me.

I had a lot of time at home while being laid up after surgery and spent time making my own gift tags for presents this year....

And to top it off, we got a really great family photo in the Fall of 2011.

Oh....and Andy finished Ironman Wisconsin in September.  I made a video about the day here.

So there you have it.  We shall see where we go from here.