My Adventures in Cooking: Trying New Stuff

Dr. Lipo hasn't gotten back to me with his comments yet, so I've been pretty on edge recently.  I decided it was time to cheer myself up, so when I went grocery shopping today not only did I only buy healthy stuff (with the exception of my ice cream, but that's my sanity tax!!!), but I bought only stuff that I like.

One thing I got was 1.8 pounds of pork baby back ribs for $5.  Once I got home I snooped around the internet and decided to make a honey-garlic teryaki ribs, and they're now marinating overnight.  Tomorrow I will bake them at 250F for 8 hours and they will come out utterly and perfectly delicious.

I'm making some more homemade chicken stock, so that I can make couscous for lunch tomorrow.  I have a chicken thigh and a potato in the oven and they'll be ready in half an hour.

I'm utterly starving so I made myself some juice to last me until dinner is ready...I couldn't find any chia seeds in the stores, so I'll have to go to Trader Joe's or Bristol Farms or somewhere to find them.

I'll try to post pictures of the ribs tomorrow.  Now, I'm just watching some Miss Marple and waiting for dinner to be ready.

Progress for progess' sake...

Well I turned a new thesis proposal in to Dr. Lipo, so I'm feeling a combination of terrified and relieved.  I also have to stop by the library tomorrow and return some books.  Hopefully I can take them out again soon - surely since I'm still working on my thesis and will be in that GS700 class I'll still get to use the library, even if I have no access to the campus health clinic.

Now I'm up for at least a couple more hours, so I think it's time to put some work in on my novel.  I mean, I can hardly work on my thesis until Dr. Lipo has gotten back to me, now can I?

Linguine Bolognese

I made bolognese for the first time yesterday, and now have a week of meals!  Yum!

 Linguine Bolognese

Ingredients:

- Whole wheat linguine

- Freshly grated cheddar cheese

- 1 lb ground beef

- 23 oz tomato sauce (18 oz can, 5 oz can)

- 5 cloves garlic

- 1 whole onion

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- two handfuls baby carrots

- half bell pepper

- oregano to taste

- thyme to taste

- black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mince garlic and dice onion.  Heat oil in pan, and sautee garlic and onion until onion is translucent.

2. Shred carrots in food processor.  Dice the bell pepper, and add them both to pan, cook for five minutes.

3. Empty pan into bowl, and put ground beef into pan.  Cook until meat is browned and in small crumbly fragments.

4. Put vegetables back in pan, add tomato sauce and oregano, thyme and pepper.

5. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes while covered.  Stir occasionally.

6. Boil linguine

7. Drain linguine and put on plate.  Spoon Bolognese over the pasta, and top with the freshly grated cheddar cheese.

Note: If you use 2 oz of linguine, 1 cup of Bolognese, and ¼ cup of cheddar cheese, the meal will be approximately 470 calories.  Enjoy!

Missing home

I was feeling nostalgic and started going through the videos I took in South Africa.  Found these really cute videos of penguins at the Boulders Beach penguin colony, and thought I'd share.

Sunny California

It's gorgeous and sunny outside, with blue skies and white clouds, and little breezes ruffling the treetops.  I did go swimming for an hour, and I'm feeling a little burned despite the layers of sunscreen I sprayed on.  I'm glad I'm getting into the habit of doing laps, exercise is good for you, and I like getting away from my goddamn desk every now and then. 
Although, a TERRIBLE calamity has happened - I now have LEG FRECKLES!!!  Can you imagine a worse fate to befall a girl?  (Yes, of course I can think of plenty.  But leg freckles are here and now, and grating on my soul!)

Anyway, I've done a little more sightseeing.  Went to the Orange County Museum of Art on Sunday, and it was interesting, although only a few of the paintings (all of the stuff was done by Jack Goldstein) really interested me.  I'm incredibly fascinated how he got his layers of color so precisely edged - I'd SWEAR he used tape, but the edges are all so organic, unless he cut the tape and then put it down, I don't see how he could do it!

I've spent more time chained to my desk, trying to sort out my thesis proposal.  Today I started going through one of my old textbooks - Evolutionary Archaeology: Theory and Application - which is edited by Michael J. O'Brien, although the collected essays are by several people, including Robert C. Dunnell.  I think I've almost got what Dr. Lipo wants now.  I hope so.  I really want to gather my data, analyze it (see wonderful numbers again!! haha) and go home to my family to write it up in peace and quiet.

Of course, I'll need a job so I can buy some essentials, including my own copy of Dr. Lipo's dissertation, which I simply can't afford right now, but hopefully whatever job I end up getting won't interfere with my thesis or helping my parents fix up the house.

I'm horribly sleepy right now.  I was up until 4 am, alternately reading and writing, and although I got 7 hours of sleep, I immediately went swimming when I got up, so I'm kinda tired out.  Still, it'll cool down in an hour or so and I can make dinner and hopefully I'll be able to concentrate better once it's cool and I'm full.  I wish I'd gone through Evolutionary Archaeology before, I've kind of pushed it aside for the Prudence Rice textbook, but whatever.  I'll get this done someway, somehow, even if not in the timeframe I so desperately want.  I've come WAY too far to flop on my back and give up.

Although, I have to admit...if Christian Louboutin offered me a full-time job photographing their merchandise and blogging for them, as well as providing a little flat in Milan or London or New York for me to live in...I'd be all kinds of tempted!  Ha!