Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Blizzard of 2010


Since my existence, there has been the Blizzard of 93, 96, 03 (which was more like an ice storm) and now….

The Blizzard of 2010!!! 

Practically, the entire state of Pennsylvania has been declared a state of emergency. All major highways are shut down, business are closed, not a soul is to be seen outside.  

It's a whiteout! 

I got the call this morning at 5:30am that work was closed.  It was almost like being a kid again.  I was thrilled to have a snow day! 

I was not thrilled, however, to not be able to go back to sleep after getting my wake up call.  Oh well, I waited awhile and then eventually got hungry. 

With my extra time this morning, I decided to not only make oats, but document the step-by-step process for you all. 

Step 1- Retrieve the dry ingredients from the pantry.  We have Rolled Oats, Oat bran, Chia Seeds, Flax, and the utensils. 


Step 2- Measure 1/3 Cup (equal parts Rolled Oats and Oat Bran), 1 tsp flax, 1 tsp chia, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt and place in a sauce pan. 


Step 3- Add in the wet, 1/2 ripe banana, 1/3 Cup Almond Milk, 1/3 Cup Water


Step 4- Cook on medium heat until oats are cooked and all liquid is absorbed (about 8 min).  Then add 1/4 Cup Canned Pumpkin.


Step 5- Stir and let this heat for another 2 min until the pumpkin melts. Pour into your favorite oatmeal bowl. Lick the spoon!!! (This is optional but I say the doughy goo that sticks to the bottom of the pan is the BEST!)


Step 6- Make sure all of your toppings are ready.  Here we have shredded organic coconut, Dark Chocolate Dreams PB, Pom Seeds, Cran Apple Butter, Crumbled Pumpkin Muffin pieces. 


Step 7: Add your toppings.  I like to insert the Peanut Butter first, so that it melts into the center of the hot oats. 
 

Step 8- DEVOUR!!! 

Amazing!  There is nothing like warm pumpkin oats on a snowy cold morning.  Nothing! 

After savoring this bowl of a juicy episode of Gossip Girl, I eventually peeled my behind off the couch with the energy of super hero.  I swear oats give me super powers.  Or maybe it's the 1200 mg of steroids I am currently taking for my illness. Who knows?!?!

With all of my energy, I managed to have one killer workout.  Since the gym is under 12 feet of snow, running was out.  I have a feeling running may be out for the next couple of days until they are able to dig out the neighborhood, but it's probably a good thing in my case.  My right foot has been bothering me a bit lately.  Nothing serious, but noticeable, which makes me think I should stay off of it for a few days. 

So the treadmill was out of the question, but thankfully, I do have a faithful alternative in my own home gym…..

Mr. ET.  An old reliable friend. 

Workout was as follows- 

40 Min on ET 
30 min of pure Billy Blanks Tae Bo lovin.  

Oh how I've missed this joyous man.  I love Tae Bo and I use to do it all the time before I started running.  Now, it's so nice to have these workouts on hand on days like today. I even pulled an Emeril and kicked it up a notch by doing the entire workout with 5 lb weights.  Killer, I tell you!  

The day was going wonderfully so far.  A nice breakfast, a great workout….and some of Kelsey's homemade Muesli bars.  

I had all of the ingredients on hand and decided to give them a whirl. 


These were awesome!  They smelled like Ikea's Cinnamon Rolls as they baked.  Enough said. 

As delicious as these are on their own, I pulled yet another Emeril and kicked it up a notch by adding the following….a little applesauce, a little vanilla yogurt and a little almond butter. 

A little bowl of heaven is what this was. 

If you have not met Kelsey, go to her now.  And if you have not made these bars, make them now.  You will be so happy that you did both of these things. Promise! 

Lunch was eventually consumed and rightfully so. 


Leftover BBQ Tofu and Butternut Squash Pizza with salad consisting of grapefruit, avocado, blueberries, flax walnuts, hummus and balsamic. With a few Mary's "crack"ers for measure. 

The next fours of my life were spent lying on the couch watching a movie and napping.  Yeah, have I mentioned how much I love snow days! 

Despite the treacherous conditions, we decided to defy the odds and grill dinner. 


Okay, so not really.  The salmon was "grilled" on the Grill Pan, but this method works just fine. 

My Plate: Grilled Salmon (my secret recipe), Sweet Potato with cinnamon, and roasted asparagus.


Toly's Plate: Salmon, Baked Potato and Peas


While eating this tonight, I realized that we usually don't have these kind of plates too often.  Your standard, "meat" "starch" "vegetable" plate does not often visit our dinner table.  My cooking tends to be a bit more eccentric, more of a collection of unique ingredients, layered and served in a bowl.  I would describe it as abstract eating, so this meal made me feel like I was a kid again.  We even spent the majority of our meal time discussing our childhood dinners.  Funny how our eating/cooking habits change. 
For example Toly said his mom would always make HUGE amounts of one meal that would last them all week and I remembered growing up with the typical "campbell's cookbook" type of dinners.  Lots of casseroles covered in cheese, chicken cooked in some kind of soupy mixture, and always a frozen veggie from a bag. 
In fact, my favorite dish growing up was my mom's Chicken Casserole.  Chicken breast cooked in cream of chicken soup, swiss cheese and stove top.  Mmm Mmm good! ;) I bet I could recreate this with tofu, veggie broth and goat cheese?  Hmmm??? 
What were some of your favorite dishes growing up?  Any classics that will always remind you of home?

Okay, I'm done rambling.  Toly just found out his work is closed again tomorrow.  Perhaps another snow day for me as well?  We shall see! 

Night everyone! 





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7 comments:

  1. Sounds like an amazing snow day! So crazy-I made salmon and sweet potatoes tonight too (with roasted brocc)! I just mashed the sweet pot with skin on and some pecans, a little butter, cinnamon, etc. We don't always do a typical meat, starch, veggie either, but it is easy and comforting sometimes! Hope you get your second snow day!!

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  2. Yay for Snow Days!! Great eats today too! You always have the best oatmeal toppings!! I will definitely be checking out those Muesli bars!!

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  3. Dang... I never thought I would be living in WI and be jealous of all the snow people on the east coast are getting! :-P Looks like you definitely had a rocking snow day though.

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  4. How fun! I'm a little jealous of all the snow days! Since I work mostly with people in DC, everyone has been out of work/working from home and have bad internet connections! I think I deserve a Charleston snow-less day ;). Love the oats- they look sooo creamy. And great job on the din din. A healthier "meat and potatoes" meal. Favorite meals growing up- my moms spaghetti...nothing like it! I used to also love when my mom would make pancakes for dinner (although it was rare)

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  5. Chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes! The gravy was cream of chicken of course. Now I'm wondering if I can make a healtheir version of this too! That would be wonderful. :D

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  6. You're not kidding about the snow! I just got home to PA, and I am AMAZED at the amount on the ground! Those muesli bars look delicious, as does the salmon. Good thing we picked some up at the store today because I'm craving some!

    Enjoy your day off and stay warm!

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  7. I want a snow day, but no snow:) The oats look tasty!

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