Strawberry Bellinis

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed your night, whether you were out partying or at home keeping it low key as I did. I spent most of the day yesterday making pizza dough and sauce to stock my freezer and then relaxed during the evening.

Last night I made some Simple Strawberry Sauce (recipe below) to keep in my refrigerator to use as a topping for ice cream, a thin jam for toast, or my favorite – drizzled on plain yogurt and granola. As we got closer to midnight, though, I thought it would be fun to add some to our New Years champagne and make a non-traditional bellini.

I am not a huge fan of peaches, so I don’t order traditional bellinis that often, but I did have a fabulous raspberry one once in a restaurant and was willing to experiment with the strawberries. I used approximately 2 t. of strawberry sauce and then filled the glass with champagne and stirred. If you try this, be sure to stir it over a sink as the champagne will bubble over rather quickly.

I did not strain the strawberry mixture since making bellinis was not its primary purpose, but if I made it again specifically for drinks I would be sure to remove the seeds because they sank to the bottom of the champagne flute.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

- 1 16 oz. bag frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
- 1/3 c. white sugar
- 1 T. lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree. Pour into a skillet and heat over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until bubbly and thick. Cool completely, transfer to a container with lid, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups.

More highlights from the weekend.

The boyfriend's sister and I went to the farmers' market on Saturday. I am so lucky to have one close that is open all of the time - every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. I intended to just browse during this trip, but of course I came back with several purchases.

When I got back, I had some goat cheese on a mini whole wheat bagel and an Americano:



This goat cheese is fabulous. They actually had 7-8 different flavors of spreadable goat cheese, as well as come marinated in oil and herbs and several hard cheeses. I'm a sucker for a free sample and bought a whole container:

I also got some veggies. I mentioned a few posts ago that I am trying to incorporate at least one new fruit or veggie per week, whether it is something completely new or just a new variety/color of something I already like.

Clockwise from top left: yellow tomatoes, carnival squash (isn't it festive?), baby eggplants, and Cherokee purple tomatoes

My dad bought some of the Cherokee purple last time we went and gave one to me - it is seriously the best tomato I have ever had.

I also got two Honeycrisp apples, which was amazing because I usually dislike any apple other than Granny Smith. These were very tasty, however, and I will buy more. They are kind of sweet, a little tart, and very crisp (I HATE grainy apples!!).

Also a big chrysanthemum plant. Definitely not a necessity, but pretty. I ♥ orange flowers!

Finally, some pink roses from my sweet boyfriend. Not to take away from the farmers' market theme, but they are too beautiful not to include. I think I'll keep him.

Breaking up is hard to do...

I'm on a mission to end my relationship with Splenda. As of right now, I only use it in oatmeal (when it's not cooked with banana) and hot tea. I have stopped using it in iced tea, iced coffees, and on top of frozen berries.

Today, I had my first cup of plain, non-fat yogurt. I had planned on mixing in thawed cherries, but I tasted it by itself first so I could get a "feel" for it. I immediately wanted to add a packet of Splenda to ease myself into eating it plain, but I resisted and only added the cherries. I have to admit, it's going to be an acquired taste, but I think I can do it!

Three weeks later...

I'm back! The whole full time job + full time graduate school schedule took a little longer to adjust to that I expected. Anyway, I'm settled in at the job, and I turned in my first major assignment. I decided to celebrate tonight by doing a little blogging and NO homework!

Since it has been awhile, I'll just hit some highlights from the past couple weeks.

In "Eat a different fruit or vegetable each week" news, I bought a personal seedless watermelon:


Let me start by saying that I have never liked watermelon, but I was willing to give it a another try since I am trying to eat a diet with a lot more water-rich foods. Since watermelon is 92% water, it was the logical choice. Also, it has loads of lycopene! The verdict: I still don't like it.

Question: Has anyone eaten other colors of watermelon? Yellow or orange? Also, has anyone tried watermelon rind in any form (stir-fried or pickled)?



In "Rachel, get off your lazy butt" news, I bought a pedometer:

I was talking to my boyfriend's mother, who wears a pedometer daily and aims for 10,000 steps. She walks her dog twice a day and also tried to get in some extra steps at work. This picture was from my first day, but my numbers have ranged anywhere from 13,000 to 2,000 (bad, but in my defense, I was sick that day). By the way, with my stride length, 11,795 steps = 5.63 miles.

In "comfort food is good for stress" news, I made a childhood favorite for dinner one night:

Spanish Rice

(named this even though I'm fairly sure there is nothing Spanish about it)

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey

1 large onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

1 1/2 c. hot water

1 cup raw brown rice (the 10 minute kind)

1 T. yellow mustard (bottled, not the spice)

salt and pepper

Brown the meat, onion, and pepper, then drain. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer on medium-low heat until the rice absorbs all of the liquid (approx. 25 minutes).

This makes a huge batch, so I freeze half for another meal. I also serve this with garlic toast and corn, just like my mom did when I was little.

And finally, in "I can't resist a sale" news, I bought some cute square shaped bowls at Target:

And I filled them up with stir-fry. I stir-fried onion, mushroom, broccoli, water chestnuts, and shrimp and put some of that fantastic Garlic sauce and served it with some brown rice. Also, notice my new placemats, which were a gift from my boyfriend's mother. She made them - aren't they pretty?

Anyway, I'll be back again soon!

I started my new job!

I woke up bright and early Wednesday morning, way before I had to be at work, so...I made a big breakfast! I wasn't sure when my lunch break would be scheduled or if I would have time for a snack, so I wanted to be nice and full for my first morning. I made the Whole Wheat Oat pancakes I posted earlier, but I added the last of my fresh blueberries. You can't see them in the picture, but they were there and really added a lot to the pancakes.

With one scrambled egg and one link of turkey sausage:



I also packed my first lunch, not knowing that the school was providing lunch the first day. Luckily we have a big refrigerator and a microwave in the library workroom, so I saved my lunch for Thursday. I made a wrap with a La Tortilla Factory Olive Oil Softwrap tortilla (I like these because they have 13 grams of fiber yet don't taste like cardboard), Jarlsberg light, cracked black pepper turkey, dijon mustard, spinach, and tomato.




I also took some sliced kiwi:




And a seltzer:


I'll close this post with a warning for new teachers:

Teachers, especially in large groups, really like to eat. If you start a job at a school, be prepared to take your willpower to work with you. So far, I have worked three days and have been provided with two breakfast buffets and two lunches and it has been very hard to make good choices. So far I've loaded up my plate with fresh fruit and tried to avoid the bagels and casseroles, but a piece or two of bacon may have found their way onto my plate.

Also, I may have had two or three (or four) cups of coffee over the past two days. At least it was decaf.

Tuesday

I still have lots of berries left, so I started out my day with them again. Here's a bowl of Quaker corn bran, milk, and blueberries:

I ate the leftover steak salad for lunch, so no picture. I was hungry again around an hour later, though, so I ate a handful of Triscuit thin crisps. They were salty and crunchy and really hit the spot!

I think I'm going to make something new for dinner, and I'm using that as an excuse to make a trip to Fresh Market. I'm off to shop!

Monday

I have some catching up to do since I didn't post yesterday. I have been busy getting ready for my new job, and I start on Wednesday!

I wanted oatmeal for breakfast on Monday but didn't feel like standing over the stove, so I pulled out the instant steel cut oats. Monday's cast of characters:



All together:

I need to get another box of that oatmeal to make quick breakfasts. It was fast, easy, and filling. I don't know yet what time I will have a lunch break at work or if I will have an opportunity to eat a morning snack, so I need some breakfasts that are going to keep me full for awhile.

For lunch I had leftover veggie calzone and an orange. Look at all of that spinach stuffed in the calzone!

I was out doing some errands in the afternoon and got very hungry. Luckily I packed a snack and stuck my lunch bag in the car. I had some blackberries and a Fiber One bar.

I tried a new potato recipe for dinner, so look for it in the next post!

Parents' Visit Day 2

We started off our day with another mini quiche recipe: Mini Mushroom & Sausage Quiches. I found the recipe on the Food Network website, but it is from EatingWell magazine. They were better than the broccoli cheese ones I made a few days ago, probably because the seasoning in this recipe was better than my thrown together version.



My parents, boyfriend, and I ended up eating out for lunch while we were out shopping on Sunday. We went to a pizza place, and I had a cup of lentil soup and around 1/4 of a vegetarian calzone. I didn't take pictures at the restaurant, but the calzone will make an appearance as a leftover lunch.

My mom and I have a common love of kitchen gadgets, so she brought me a few things from a recent Pampered Chef party she attended:

She brought me a new chopper, a measuring cup (the kind Alton Brown uses, yay!), and a strange looking whisk. She also went by the local mill and got a bag of buckwheat flour, so I'll be looking for recipes that use that soon.

We also went to the Farmers' Market, since my parents have never been to one before. I got some blueberries, blackberries, peaches, a jar of blackberry butter, a jar of cranberry honey mustard, and one Cherokee purple tomato.

I'll be having lots of berries and leftovers this week.

Breakfast

I'm going to try to keep today light. I'm going to a Bunco party tonight where there will be lots of tasty party snacks, and I am a sucker for appetizers. I'm planning on skipping dinner because the party starts at 7:00 and that's when I usually eat anyway.

For breakfast today, I had pineapple chunks (I finally finished them!), a sliced kiwi, and 1/2 c. 2% cottage cheese. I also ate a handful (around 1/4 c.? I didn't measure today) of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal for a little crunch.

My breakfast, along with a cup of hot black tea:





Kashi Heart to Heart is one of two packaged cereals I will actually buy because I'm very picky about cereal. The other cereal is Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran, which will make an appearance soon. Both of these cereals have low calories and fat and high fiber for a generous serving size. Neither have high fructose corn syrup or added sugar, either. I was never allowed to eat sugary cereal when I was young, and that has definitely influenced my choices as an adult.

I still need to decide what to make for the party, but I'll post the recipe later after a trip to the grocery store. I also need to pick up some more Cara Cara oranges before they disappear!