Three Days Grace

Greetings from the Great White!  Well… not quite.  Normally, around this time of year, Minnesota is bitter cold and the entire state is blanketed in snow.  Expecting that to be the case, I piled on the layers and packed enough sweaters to get me to middle age, only to step off the plane and into 60 degree weather.  I’m not complaining! Just call it practice for Russia.

The past few days have been filled with hearty breakfasts, like this bowl of pumpkin-banana oatmeal.  I usually plop the pumpkin on top of the already cooked oatmeal, but this time I mixed it right into the oats before I nuked it.  The result? A creamier, fluffier consistency.  This was a particularly decadent bowl, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 banana
• 1 scoop PB
• 1 T granola
• brown sugar
• cinnamon

The cereal bug came a-bitin’, and I filled my bowl with Smart Start, Life, Kashi GoLean, granola & a banana. Good morning, carbohydrates!

I’ve had great salads, like the “Bacon” Salad at Jivamuktea made with crispy tempeh bacon, spring mix, cucumber cherry, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and homemade hummus…

…a Hugh Jass kitchen sink salad…

In the mix:

• spinach
• romaine
• 1/3 block tofu baked with olive oil and Emeril’s Original Essence
• 1/2 papaya
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 tomato
• 2.5 carrots
• pumpkin-miso vinaigrette with cilantro & cayenne

The second after I put down my fork, I had to lie myself down as well.  Talk about belly bursting! This was a little too big for me.  The funniest part about it is the papaya…

I recently told Holly how much I dislike this fruit, but the day later I spotted it in the grocery store and had the strangest craving! I’ve never liked papaya, and even while I was chopping it up for my salad, Christine and I talked about how much it smelled like feet.  I’m a strange girl.

Over the past few days I’ve snacked a lot…

… and read a lot (is anyone familiar with Chi Running?)…

… and snacked and read…

… a lot.

I’ve kept good company…

… gone to an art opening…

… found organic dairy on sale for $2.99/ half gallon…

… improvised lunch en route to MSP from JFK (let me know if you want a review of this Pro Bar)…

…got my hair cut almost immediately after touching down and hugging my grandparents (this is my tired face, in case you’ve wondered)…

… eaten my first clementine(s) of the season…

… gone out for a nice meal at Eatery, where I had a glass of Bertrand Viognier, a white from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France…

… sampled fresh-made, salty baguette…

… had my first cup of hot borscht soup…

… came nowhere near finishing my plate of seared scallops atop Moroccan couscous (almost 1 lb came back home with me!)…

…was treated by Chef Paul to a medley of desserts…

… crême brulée, pumpkin-cherry cheesecake, pecan dandy, poached pear and almond tart…

… and thought about what it would be like to live hear again.  I do miss this light.

It’s about time my weary bones were put to rest.  Have a wonderful weekend.