Busy Busy

Well, I would much rather have a busy schedule than nothing on the schedule at all. I have been to social service visits with clients, helped move furniture, picked up donations,  and seen some families almost everyday this week.  My exercise has been minimal. I went to a 90-100 minute yoga class on Tuesday with my roommate, which was perfect after a few stressful days. ( I also needed to work on details that I forget when I practice by myself.) I’ve only been on two runs this week, but this will change tomorrow because summer is almost gone here! : (

I’ll post some more adventures after the weekend, but now onto the food!

I’m still lacking food stamps, but feel like I have been pretty creative with what I have. Most of my meals have been vegetarian (which would usually be the case anyway) with the exception of tuna fish occasionally. This has mostly been due to my own laziness and limitations when grocery shopping because I have only bought a few exceptions to my big ($7) shopping sprees at the farmer’s markets on Tuesdays. I have a few exciting meals here that I actually planned, but some nights I just get tired and snack and almond butter and apples (+ grapes, carrots, whatever I can get my hands on to continue enjoying almond butter…). When I am finally rewarded with the gift of  food stamps/ recognition from the DSHS office, I will be able to plan more exciting meals and perhaps not feel so limited in resources. I need to keep the food side of my blog exciting also!

Examples of meals from the past two weeks:

• Tzatziki Sauce made from many cucumbers, dill, lime, and Greek yogurt. (Cucumbers and dill compliments of the cute little Asian lady at the farmer’s market who wants me to take extras at the end!) Great excuse to buy Greek yogurt (expensive at the grocery store near my house-definitely in the process of finding better stores and markets). Also ate this with grilled chicken plus farmer’s market vegetables, sandwiches, tuna, and random raw veggies. My favorite combination was Tzatziki sauce + grilled eggplant!

• My favorite morning breakfast! 1/3 cup whole grain oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk, 1 banana, 1tsp ground flax, frozen/fresh peaches (or strawberries, blackberries, blueberries depending on what’s on sale or available cheap at the farmer’s market) and almond butter!

• ***Even better combination below- fresh strawberries and fresh (handpicked by myself) blackberries! Yum!

• Black Bean Soup- After reminiscing with Tyler about the Black Bean Soup from the restaurant I used to work at,called Casa Mia, I decided that I could do the same thing after asking them so many questions and watching all the time. Mine did not turn out quite as creamy, perfectly strained, and seasoned as the original, but was quite enjoyable (and CHEAP). Ingredients: 1 can black beans, 1/2 poblano pepper (intended on getting a spicier one though), 1/2 tsp chopped garlic, about a 1/2 cup 2% milk (totally supposed to use cream, but I used what I had), cilantro, 1 tsp onion, 1/8 avocado (both in the soup and on top because I can’t get enough of it). Topped with: cheddar cheese, greek yogurt, avocado, and True North Almond Chips (Note: I’m not one to measure ingredients in my thrown together concoctions, so I apologize for any possible mistakes!

• 
• Summer Gazpacho: I love this soup! I was able to use all farmer’s market ingredients! I changed a few from the original that I saw from Tyler’s site, which was originally from Perfect Gazpacho by Gena of Choosing Raw. Their pictures are much better than mine, so you can use those as a better representation! For the tomatooes, I used cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, and tomatillos for a little kick! I also threw in a little left over poblano pepper and some cucumber because I had way too much left over from the farmer’s market lady! The tomatillos and extra cucumber were what made it so green.

• Eggplant Tomato Stew: I do not want any food I buy to go to waste, so eating my food (esp vegetables) at their freshest point is always a priority! I had way too much zucchini, eggplant, swiss chard, and tomatoes to play with, and decided to go a warmer route than earlier in the week. Fresh basil is key! I got the idea from Hangry Pants, and decided to try it my own way with what I had. I rated it delicious!(Note: glass of red wine + Are you ready pamphlet about possible flooding in our area. Oh the joys of poor architecture. For more, see this article. Long story short, my apartment is not at risk for flooding, but the office where I work definitely is. Further rant information will come soon in the future after another city meeting.)

• Frozen yogurt is so the new fad! I like it though! There is a little frozen yogurt place in downtown Renton right near where we live and it’s a treat we have already indulged in.

[Neither of the bowls pictured actually belong to me because I resisted (due to an overdose of almond butter for dinner). However when I did splurge, I got raspberries + chocolate chips. This is the small, but it's about two cups worth!  I keep asking for a kid's size or something smaller to no avail! It's good, but I'm currently enjoying a much cheaper container of Breyers (with more chocolate). : )

• I also had a few farmer’s market pictures to throw in! Next week, I will get there earlier. I really need to work on this balance of discounted veggies/ enjoying the ease of time.

• Last thing, a “Free Stuff” sign on the way home from a run at Lake Washington led me to a garage sale, but also a pleasant pile of free stuff. From this:

I walked away with this:

(This is some pretty exciting reading material if you ask me. Communication arts magazines featuring articles of Che and environmental architecture, some TIME books featuring Italy and France, a John Grisham book, and some other randoms. I love free stuff sales and garage sales!)

Potential Weekend Adventures: Burmese Food Fair at Buddhist Monk Monastery, Downtown Seattle exploring, a hike somewhere and Sunday morning bike ride at Lake Washington!

Ok my loves. Thanks for reading. I’ll have more actual adventures posted soon. Have a great weekend!