Linguine with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Still quiet with occassional moments of gloominess but those are lessening.

Book: The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher. Still on this book. Hopefully by this week I will have finished it.

iTunes: Korn - Bottled up Inside. The dangers of bottling things up. Something I know all too well.

Pandora: Marc Anthony - Se me sigue Olvidando. Sigh. This song just makes me a little blue.

Quote: It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. - Rene Descartes. I am trying to use it better.

Ingredients:

1. 3 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
2. 1 small onion, thinly sliced
3. 3 cloves garlic, minced
4. 2lb tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 6 tomatoes or 3 cups chopped
5. 12 oz linguine
6. 16 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
7. 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Servings: 4

Per serving: 489 cal, 16g pro, 73g carb, 5g fiber, 15g fat, 3g sat fat, 431mg sodium

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion. cook, stirring occassionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
• Slicing the onion was an interesting tiral. It was a fresh onion and wehn I cut into it a mily liquid quickly came out. As I cut a second time my eyes quickly began burning. It was very painful and my eyes stung horribly. Despite the discomfort I continued. Once it was thinly sliced, as well as I could get it. I went to the sink, washed my hands and then washed my poor eyes.
• Unfortunately my mother did not buy 6 full tomatoes, she bought plum tomatoes, which, in the end, did not make enough sauce. She felt that it would have been too much but it was needed. In addition, I don't know how to peel tomatoes. Do I use a peeler? I should have researched a bit more but I was eager to get started with a new recipe. All I did with the tomatoes I had was chop them and clean out the seeds and then cooked it as I was supposed to. Making the pasta sauce gave off a wonderful smell to the apartment. It was truly great.
2. Cook about 10 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Prepare pasta according to package directions while sauce cooks, undercooking slightly. Drain pasta well and add to simmering sauce. cook about 2 minutes, until sauce has thickened and pasta is done. Add basil and remaining oil and toss to combine. Serve topped with cheese.
• I used the entire linguine in the small box. So much pasta and not enough sauce. Also, we didnt find fresh basil leaves and so I used choppped basil leaves that we have and added a bit to the sauce.
• This tasted truly great, I just wished I had more sauce to add and maybe some Italian bread to go with it. I almost served myself seconds.

Cheese Omelet

It's been a quiet week. There was a moment yesterday where I felt gloomy but by talking about it to my friends I felt better. I guess there are still some things I need to get off my chest but at the same time I'm happy to focus on my job and my two volunteer programs. I just need to find out if I got into the college I applied and I am set. It's also kind of nice to be meeting people who are doing the things I want to do. They have been super supportive of me and have encouraged me to keep going.

Book: The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher. I love how she describes the food she eats, such great and juicy details. I get hungry to eat what she eats when I read some of the passages.

iTunes: Out of the Frying Pan - Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu & Nobuo Uematsu. Taken from the Final Fantasy X Soundtrack. That was a great game and one of my favorite FF. I think they play this when Tidus has been swept into the ruins of the temple of Anima, right before he meets Riku for the first time and gets rescued.

Pandora: Moondance - Michael Bublé. His voice makes me think of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

Quote: Friendship is one mind in two bodies. - Mencius True friendship should feel like that.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Large egg
2. 2 egg whites
3. 1 tsp water
4. pinch of salt
5. pinch of ground black pepper
6. 2 tsp olive oil
7. 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
8. 1/4 cup sliced red onion
9. 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese



The ingredients.



Servings: 1

Perserving: 208 Cal, 18g pro, 6g carb, 1g fiber,

13g fat 4g sat fat, 484mg sodium



Directions:

1. Beat egg, egg whites, water, salt, and pepper in bowl with fork just to blend. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in 8" nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• I think I added too much egg whites the first time I did it. I have a little carton full of egg whites mixture and I am unsure what would be enough for just one egg white. Also, I usually make my eggs with butter instead of using oil. I think that next time I will use butter instead of the oil.

2. Sauté zucchini and onion 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Set aside. 
• No problem there.
3. Heat remaining oil in same skillet and pour in egg mixture. Stir constantly with heatproof rubber spatula until eggs thicken to a custardy consistency, 10 to 20 seconds. Tilt pan to allow any uncooked egg to run to the side. Run spatula all around edge of omelet.
• Now I think I used too much oil the first time I made time, so it seemed a bit too greasy for my tastes. I would recommend 1 ½ tsp of olive oil or to use the oil that remains from step two. The second time I made the omelet it came out less greasy. As for making the omelet, it was a bit difficult. I wanted it to come out smooth and a soft yellow like in the picture but that did not happen. It didn't look pretty but at least it tasted alright. While I was cooking I wondered if it would be a good idea to mix the raw eggs with zucchini and oinions and cook them together. Would it change the taste, would it come out horribly? It could cut down on cooking time. Something to ponder if I decide to remake it.
4. Top half of omelet with zucchini, onion, and cheese. Fold over. Let stand 30 seconds to set around filling.
• For a second I had almost forgotten to add the parmesan. I did not eat with bread. Just ate it alone, but next time I might add Italian bread or some whole wheat or grain bread. The egg tasted good, though I think I would have prefered to have made it with butter. I think a low fat or low sodium butter would work. The zucchini tasted fine and so did the onion. I was surprised to find that I enjoy onions, they added a unique taste and were great when eaten with the zucchini.

Chocolate-Zucchini Snack Cake

To be honest, I didn't wait until my birthday. I went back onto Facebook today. Posted some stuff. Some friends commented. The one I was searching for, of course, is evading me. But unlike before I am not seeking him. Everything is just destroyed between us and is irreparable. It makes me sad, but I hope he is well and that he finds what he is looking for. There is so much potential there that is just being wasted. I will take the memories of our good times and keep them in my heart.

iTunes: Body Crumbles - Dry Cell. This song is from the Queen of the Damned movie. Favorite line in the song is when he says "I don't know if I'll be alright."

Pandora: Regulate - Warren G. At first when I saw the name, it didn't seem familiar but hearing the song and the beat I remember hearing this before. I like the flow of the song. It's laid back and no jarring sound or lyric breaks the flow.

Book: Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton. Its pretty good. Actually I was more excited to find this peace prayer pamphlet I had inside the book. I got in High School and I loved reading it. Especially of taking a couple of minutes to myself to pray for peace and reflect on peace. I am picking this up again.

Ingredients:

1.      1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour

2.      1 ½ tsp baking powder

3.      ½ tsp baking soda

4.      ¼ tsp salt

5.      2 eggs

6.      ½ cup sugar

7.      ½ cup low fat vanilla yogurt

8.      1/3 cup canola oil

9.      1 tsp vanilla extract

10.  1 ½ cups shredded zucchini

11.  3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Servings: 12

Per serving: 361 cal, 5g pro, 47g carb, 4g fiber, 20g fat, 8g sat fat, 175mg sodium

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350̊F. Coat 11” x 7” baking pan with cooking spray.

2.      Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

3.      Whisk eggs, sugar yogurt, oil and vanilla extract in another bowl. Whisk in zucchini and 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chips. Stir into flour mixture until just blended. Spread in pan and bake 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

• 
• I'm not even sure the thing we got was an actual zucchini but I used it anyways.

4.      Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining chips over cake. Spread with small spatula as they melt to form icing, placing back into warm oven, if needed or 1 minute.

5.      Taste: It was light and fluffy. The chocolate was slightly bitter. A weird taste was found due to the zucchini, but it wasn’t a bad weird. You could definitely taste the shredded zucchini and it was great. I went back for a second small piece. My father says he loved it and my mother as well found it good. She also found the taste weird but not unpleasant.

Grilled Tomato & Cheese

My readers, hopefully you are out there, what a trying weekend the last one has been. I have become toxic to myself and others. I have lost control of my emotions and actions. I can only hope that by drastically disengaging myself from the social netweork I can regain control. Which is what I have done. There have been no postings from me on by FB account and I will keep it that day until the day I celebrate my birthday, which will be near the end of this month. Four days have passed since my self imposed exile and I feel calmer. Better. I am trying to write my thoughts down more so as not to feel like I'm imploding.

Onto the meal. It was easy to make and I usually make it when I'm not feeling lazy in the mornings before work and stuff. I have a job, though I think I may have aready mentioned that in a previous post. I also make it when I come home late and I am still hungry.

Book: I just finished "In the Woods" by Tana French. It was a great book and something people should pick up if they have the time. I am going to start "Blue Moon" by Laurell K. Hamilton, it is the next book in the Anita Blake series that I am on.

iTunes: Pearls - Cowboy Bebop Tank! The Best. I believe they are singing in French. I looked up the translation and it just made me so sad. It starts off with "In my fragile arms I hold the emptiness that reminds me of you. I breathe in your words which live on in a melody." Not something I want to hear but it is what it is.

Pandora: Rihanna - Break it off. It has a catchy beat. New song to my ears. It seems like she is telling him to break off  his current relationship so that she may be his shorty. Or it could be that he is teasing her alot and she wants more or something.

Quote: Be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself. - Elbert Hubbard. I think I shall try to practice this and see where it takes me.

Ingredients:

1. 2 slices of whole wheat bread
2. 1 Tbsp canola oil.
3. 1 Slice (1 oz) reduced fat provolone cheese.
4. 1 tsp whole grain mustard (optional)
5. 1/4 cup baby spinach
6. 1 small tomato, thinly sliced

Serving: 1

Per Serving: 358 cal, 14g pro, 32g carb, 5g fiber, 21g fat, 4 g sat fat, 540 mg sodium

Directions:

1. Lay bread on work surface and brush 1 side of both slices with oil until all the oil is absorbed. Place 1 slice oiled side down and top with cheese, mustard (optional), spinach, and tomato. Top with second slice of bread, oiled side up.

• I could not for the life of me find reduced fat provolone cheese, so I just used regular. Provolone cheese is quite good. Also I do not have a brush. To substitute, I used the smallet spoon we own to brush one side of both slices. No mustard was added because mustard is icky.

2. Warm cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until surface is hot. With spatula, transfer sandwich to skillet. Cook 1 minute, pressing lightly with spatula, until browned on bottom. Flip and cook 1 minute, pressing lightly with spatula, until browned on second side. If cheese is not quite melted, remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit 30 seconds. Halve diagonally.
• When the directions state to warm the skillet I always forget and I'm impatient to wait for it to actually get warm. Terrible I know. The rest was just easily done.
3. Taste:
• I was very surprised to find that I would end up loving this recipe. I'm not a huge fan of spinach but now I love making it for this recipe. I have not tried spinach with anything else but just this one. The crunchiness of the toasted bread made me nostalgic for grilled cheese sandwiches. Especially for the kind that is bad for you. The provalone cheese was melted just so and the tomato and spinach added a unique taste. I barely tasted spinach and it was just plain delicious.

I know that I haven't changed the picture, but I have been quite lazy on that. I haven't been on top of many things but I will try to draw something or find an artist.

Chicken Cutlets with Turkey Bacon & Avocado

We have arrived to June. My birthday is in this month. I don't feel exxcited but I hope I have a pleasant time. Two days before my b-day I will celebrate it with my friends and on the actual day with my family.

The Color for this month will be green. June and the color green just seems to go toether in my mind. Must be all the green I keep seeing on trees and stuff. On another note, I've been keeping up with my posts. Let's hope it continues.

Book: In the Woods by Tana French. I have just started it. Its a bit weird but slowly getting interesting.

iTunes: Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor. A relationship that will never be a good one and yet she is still pining after the guy. I feel this song.

Pandora: Alison Krauss - When You Say Nothing at All. I wish I felt this.

Quote: We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. - Anais Nin.

Servings: 4 Per serving: 210cal, 28 g pro, 4g carb, 3g fiber, 9g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 300 mg sodium. With the mashed potatoes the total cal becomes 429.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Hass avocado, mashed
2. 1 small tomato, chopped
3. 1 Tbsp Shredded basil
4. 2 tsp lemon juice
5. 1/4 tsp salt
6. 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
7. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breats halves (8oz each)
8. 1 tsp canola oil
9. 2 slices natural turkey bacon, chopped
10. 2 tbsp fat free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
11. Fat free Greek yogurt
12. 1 peach

Directions:

1. Combine avocado, tomato, basil, lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper in bowl. Stir and set aside.
• I cut the avocado in half. With the combined effort of a spoon, knife and fingers; I removed the outer shell. Using a spoon I took out the giant seed found in the center. I placed half of the avocado in a small yellow bowl. Then I mashed it with a fork, which I found a bit hard. By the end of smashing my hand was hurting a bit. Once the entire avocado was smashed, I placed the other half once the first half was fully mashed, I added tomato, basil, lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. After it was all mixed I placed it in the refrigerator.



Yummy!

2. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally. Pound lightly to an even thickness and season with remaining salt and pepper. Warm oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to place and set aside. Reduce heat to medium. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes, or until crips. Transfer to plate and set aside.
• I ripped open the plastic covering the chicken. There was some pinkish liquid inside. Readers, I tell you, that it was the first time I had ever touched a chicken with my bare hands. It felt strange, soft and slightly wet. It did not feel pleasant. I decided to wash it, not really sure why but it seemed the right thing to do. While washing, a clear/milky skin came off the chicken. It was weird. I pulled it off. It was quite resistant. I only pulled the bits that came off, wasn't too sure if I was meant to pull more. I spread the pepper and salt on both sides. Let it cook until browned and cooked through. Before cooking the bacon, I took the bacon strips, which is what we had and chopped it to tiny pieces. Then I cooked it.



That was after I washed it.



With the salt and pepper added.



Being cooked.



All cooked.





Bacon!


3. Potatoes: While the chicken was cooking. I peeled some red potatoes. Which took time and was just uncomfortable. After they were peeled I boiled them until they seemed to be fully cooked. The directions said to add 1/4 cup of fat free Greek Yogurt and one peach. I did not have the peach. So my meal lacked peachy goodness. Recipe should include what sides to eat the meal with. The next issue of this magazine does not include it. It makes me sad.



Forgot to take a picture of it mashed.

4. Return skillet to medium heat. Add broth and cook until mixture reduces slightly. Serve chicken with avocado mixture, bacon bits, and pan juices.
• Just watched it cook slightly and then added to the meat. It gave the chicken an added flavor that seemed to be needed.

The food all together.

The entire preparation of the food took me one hour and 17 minutes. This was all by myself. I am very proud of myself. I slaved in a hot kitchen on a hot spring day. We have no a/c yet and the fan was being used to cool my mother. It was pretty terrible but at least I cooked. My chicken could have used more salt or at least more chicken broth/pan juices. The mashed potatoes tasted strange with the greek yogurt. This needs to be retried with peach in order to see if one peach adds any flavor to it.