Happy 2011!

Happy New Year! Yeah, yeah I am five days a little too late but better late than never!

 

2010 was quite an eventful year for me. I lived in 3 different cities (Milwaukee, Chicago, Aspen) and made a few personal changes (for the better).

 

For 2011, I want to stay as optimistic as possible -- always able to see the bright side of things. I also want to switch up my diet habits, really upping the ante on the veggie and fruit and trying to stay as far as possible from starch/other carbs.

 
So here it is, my first 2011 blog post meal: a ginormous salad!

It’s pretty much everything but the kitchen sink: spinach, raisins, pomegranate, apples, red onion and wheatberry & roasted corn salad from my grocery store’s Mediterranean bar!

It was uber fillin’. Then the next day I switched it up for lunch with the similar stuff plus half of a giant red grapefruit and taste + pumpkin butter and toasted almonds!

So awfully tired, but I must go on! Again, Happy New Year everyone! :)

Hello November!

On the very last day of October 2010, I finally broke the "dry spell" and finally got dirty in my lil' kitchenette! Unlike other times I cook when I'm inspired by simply something I crave or something on sale, I had zero inspiration... UGH. I was definitely dreading the little space and lack of my beloved kitchen supplies. Then I suddenly had a craving for goat cheese and squash. Mmmmm that was inspirational enough!

Prepping the acorn squash was a pain and a half. I'm such a squash newbie! Was I suppose to use a peeler that I don't have? Or did I do it the right way? Seemed like I wasted a ton by not peeling it close to the skin.

Then the cubed acorn squash sat on my sauté pan with a sprinkle each of brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. It sat on there long enough for me to take my little Yoshi guy on a walk!

Then while the walnut halves were toasting, I tossed some baby spinach, roma tomato, and red onion slivers with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar... Not to mention my "bloody" Halloween-y kitchen thanks to the can of shoestring beets, haha!

Lastly I crumbled bits of goat cheese on top...

This was a perrrfect meal to end the month of October! With organic sparkling apple cider that was on sale, wee!

For such a carnivore like me it's hard to have a salad with no meat or fish, but this salad definitely had me STUFFED. So cooking in the kitchenette wasn't all that bad. A bit inconvenient at times, but definitely doable!

Back to "cooking"

First week in CO, I made a simple salad made with red and yellow bell peppers, roma tomato, baby spinach, red onion, and avocado. I went a little veggie crazy at the grocery store and got SIX bell peppers. Oh what to do, what to do…

So this salad easily turned itself into a tomato/pepper chicken stew without the avocado…

Then when I had more bell peppers left, I made a veggie pasta dish simply with diced up bell peppers and yellow onion, the leftover baby spinach and a dab of butter! Talk about multi-tasking ingredients!

To celebrate my last couple of days before work, my friend Christine and I also went over to White House Pizza in Carbondale. We shared the spinart (can you guess what’s in it? ;) ) dip, 

 and I had the arugula and clam pizza!

 Both so delicious!

Tomorrow, I’m moving into a tiny little place that I can call my own. Considering that I left pretty much ALL of my kitchen supplies back in WI (sad!), I don’t know what cooking in the studio might turn into. Moreover, it’s got a kitchenette with two little burners, tiny convention toaster oven, and a mini fridge! This is definitely going to be a challenge/adventure!

As for exploring the beautiful hiking trails, I have been kept busy nursing a sick puppy (healthy now!) so hopefully by the next post I can really put up exciting photos! Since it’s the off-season out here in the Aspen area, things are definitely quiet…and it makes me miss home so much more! 

In the meantime, check out this awesome view outside the patio at my work (the peak of Mt. Daly in the far center!):