A fine chicken salad for dinner, with some toasted ciabatta bread lightly drizzled with olive oil. The dressing is Newman’s Own Light Honey Mustard. The chicken is marinated in Yoshida’s Teriyaki sauce. Surprisingly light, yet filling. Just what I needed for a cold and wet Monday evening.
Cadbury Mini-Eggs are now in season. This is the best Easter candy out there (other than the upper-end See’s and such). I’ve been eating these since I was a tween. I believe it was Sis who introduced them to me. Back then we went to the Walgreen’s at Bishop’s Corner in West Hartford. Now it’s Bartells at the University Village. When I was young and stupid I would buy the tiny one-serving bags several times throughout the season. Last year I finally got smart. Buy the larger bag once, and just make sure you ration them out. I take out a few, wrap the bag back up, put it in tupperware and hide ’em. Gotta stash them away so that the husband can’t track them down. One larger bag now lasts through Easter. Woo hoo.
Mini-eggs are rich milk chocolate coated with a sweet candy shell. They’re shaped like little robin’s eggs, speckled and all. I’m not a huge chocolate fan. I usually would choose Swedish Fish, Cinnamon Bears, or Jelly Belly’s over a chocolate bar. However this is a great chocolate treat that I can never turn down.
Oddly enough, Hershey’s does not have a page devoted to Mini-Eggs. Just this fun Easter basket filler. Good thing I’m not the only one who loves these treasures:
As I was making noodles for lunch today I stood in the kitchen and watched the husband go into the freezer and take some Thin Mints from an already opened box. The only box of Thin Mints I have. Then, he closed the box and put them back in the freezer.
What the frak?
They’re in the FREEZER so we can save them for LATER. That’s what everyone says. Buy a lot of cookies. Support the Girl Scouts. They freeze really well. You can enjoy them a month from now.
Noticing my shock, the husband replied that he would have had some All Abouts but since I hid them he went for the Thin Mints. Nevermind that he also said the night before, “Out of sight, out of mind” and that having the All Abouts hidden would assist in getting his cycling training plan back in motion. He told me to hide them, then punished me by digging into the reserves.
So, I unhid the All Abouts (simply in the pantry/cupboard, on a lower shelf) so that he would stop eating my Thin Mints. Too little too late, though. I tell ya. You just can’t win.
One of the last All Abouts:
MM is doing a special this month (or maybe last), offering the “el cubano” sandwich from the deli. Their take on a cuban sandwich conjured up the idea for our “el cubano”: sliced pork loin, melted swiss cheese, barbecue sauce on a toasted panini roll. Rather than use a foil-covered brick to smash the sandwich down, I just smashed it with my hands. A little more fun. The work the husband puts into brining the pork for hours makes all the difference. Half of my sandwich sits in the fridge waiting for tomorrow. Unless the husband gets to it first. Grrr…
On the side, some onion rings (baked), with a tasty tartar sauce.
Kate mentioned to me that she hadn’t seen any workouts posted lately. Eh. My workout notebook is a bit empty as I recently had been using my workout cards that Trainer Dan had given me. More recently I’ve been reverting to what works best when you are working towards a goal, such as making a San Diego boat or climbing 69 flights of the Columbia Tower. Makes for an awkward workout, though, when you see your old trainer in the weight room with one of his other clients, and he sees you’re obviously not doing what he’s instructed you to do. Not entirely true. I was already doing Yates and Push ups before we met. But, it’s like bumping into an ex-boyfriend. Avoid eye contact and pretend you don’t see him. Plug in the iPod so it’s harder to talk.
Yesterday I had about 30 minutes at lunch so I did a quick circuit-training session:
1×15 each exercise no rest in between, 2 minutes rest, then again:
Squat w/dumbbells
Standing Lunge w/dumbbells
Push ups (Bosu)
Bench Press (1-arm, on the ball)
Yates Rows
Shoulder Press
Then ended with super sets of Bicep Curls / Tricep Bench Dips (with legs on the ball)
My cool down was walking back to the office (a 5 to 10 minute walk). Not ideal. I prefer having more time, but work has been hectic since starting the new job, so I feel the need to spend as much time in the office as possible.
Kate suggests I try her Kettle Bell sessions, and even offered to change up the time so I can make it. This works well, so then I can lift on Thursday and do a cardio session on Fri instead of lift. Plus, the kettle bells will be something new, different. Change is always good. I’ll be sure to report back on it.
Today at practice:
Joe (cx), JW, RF, JP, AL, KT, TG, 2, JR.
Rowed by 6s, Drills, then attempted to do 5-minute pieces but was constantly interrupted in the crowded Fremont canal.
The first part of practice went well, I thought. Strong rowing by 6s. Focussed on pulling all the way through, especially at that finish. On top of the other things I think about all the time. The pieces later on weren’t as good as I would have liked; we gave some seats up to the other 8. I think we were tired near the end.
Tomorrow:
Howe St Stairs. Probably another set of 10. Am contemplating doing push-ups in between sets, but we’ll see. If it’s raining I may head to the gym instead. I am doing The Big Climb (the aforementioned 69 flights), which is why I’ve gotten so friendly with the HSS lately. The StairClimber at the gym might be a good way to go so I can practice using the upper-body to hoist up the stairs, which isn’t so easy at HS.
So, that’s the recent update.
The husband shook it up a bit tonight. He crushed garlic croutons from MM to create a breading for chicken breasts which he pounded. Pan-fried and combined with sauteed mushrooms. This was on top of a garlic-infused pasta flavored with lemon. A side salad to finish off the meal. I loved having the croutons as part of the chicken dish. A flavorful change of pace.
The niece is a Brownie, and so this is the second year in a row we’ve purchased cookies for her Troop. Last year it was about eight boxes. This year, we reduced, to six.
Missing from this photo: a box of Tagalongs, which I brought to the office. Tomorrow I’ll bring in the Samoas. Must share the sugar and calories with as many people as possible.
Meanwhile, this bit from ICHC made me LOL …
The husband’s beef stir fry.
Well why would I spoil it for you? Truth be told, the only nominated movie we saw this year was “Michael Clayton” and we watched that on PPV about four days ago. But if you were curious to know what classic Hollywood food we ate to commemorate the evening, it was beef stir fry.
And then there’s dessert. I’ve been meaning to test out the new silicone muffin tins I received for Christmas (if they are made from silicone, they aren’t really tins anymore, now are they). I’ve been carrying around a grocery list for the ingredients of “Lemon Cream Cupcakes” for some time now, though each time I mentioned them to the husband he would look like he was going to throw up. So today I recycled that list and started new … Banana Cupcakes with Amaretto Buttercream. It was the amaretto that made the decision for me. Great excuse to pick up a bottle of my favorite liqueur.
Really great and fun to make. I don’t make frosting very often. And, after seeing the ingredients I combined to make the Amaretto Buttercream I remember why. I had a sugar headache for 20 minutes after finishing my cupcake. But my, does it make a difference. What makes a banana cupcake a cupcake, and not a banana muffin? It’s the frosting, stupid. As the “too cool for school” kids at Cupcake Royale are known to say, Legalize Frostitution!
(banana muffins)
(banana cupcakes!)
E. asked me to post some dinner photos tonight but they didn’t come out too well. Turkey Pot Pie from Metropolitan Market (free with our coupon, yeee haw!). So instead I thought I’d show you what Max had for dinner tonight. There’s a bit of a ritual. It starts with Max DYING to get his food. Sitting, paying attention, playing the “good” pet, the “look how well I’m behaving”.
Then he eats. Yum! After the first few feedings, we realized he would eat too fast only to barf it back up a few minutes later. Yay. So now we split it up into two feedings. This was his second. Like the jolly roger floor mat we use as his food mat? Courtesy of Archie McPhee. It matches his pirate collar we put on him when we take him to the park. Dinner: Science Diet Lite Food for Adults (Small Bites).
So, how was dinner? See for yourself: