Mine wasn’t quite that good… but I did it, and I had never done it before. (image source: yogajournal.com) I think trying something new or achieving any kind of fitness “milestone,” however small, is really important for motivation. Now I can’t wait to go to another class so I can do it again!

Chop vegetables and sprinkle with herbs and seasonings. I went for parsnips, onions, and asparagus and added parsley, sage, thyme, and sea salt for flavor. Any vegetables work, and if you’re uncertain about which herbs to use, plain salt and pepper never fails.

Arrange vegetables on a pan and drizzle with oil. When I’m feeling particularly lazy (always), I lay down a sheet of foil to avoid having to scrub down the pan later.

Bake somewhere between 350 and 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It’s a good idea to look at them a couple times during baking and make sure they aren’t turning completely black.

When they’re done they will look something like this:

A little brown in places and smelling amazing. Dare I say perfect for Thanksgiving?? Aside from the veggies, I’m most looking forward to the wine tomorrow! Be sure to take a minute or several to be grateful for all the good things in life.

It knows just how long to stay on until the rice is cooked, then it clicks off and goes from “cook” mode to “warm” mode. Whether I’m making rice, quinoa, millet, or oats (all of which it can in fact cook- told you it was awesome) I always use a 3:1 ratio of water to grain.

Tonight, I poured in a cup of dry brown rice and 3 cups water to make 4 servings that I can put in the fridge and eat all week long.

Thanks to that grey basket on top of the rice cooker, it’s possible to steam vegetables while the rice cooks. If I’m making rice, I always put something up top because since the rice cooker is already fired up for rice, I might as well. It’s always nice to have things ready to go when hunger or laziness hit.

Tonight, potatoes, sliced so they would cook faster, went in first.

Then, I took this squash that I really wanted to just eat like an apple (but didn’t, because that would be disgusting),

Sliced it open,

Took out the seeds and stringy pieces,

and sliced it along with some beets

to form steamer basket #2. After about 20 minutes (the rice takes about 40 to cook), I switched out the potatoes.

Now,  after all of the rice cooker’s hard work, I have rice, potatoes, squash, and beets– the makings of a few different meals– after just one foray into the kitchen. Let’s all take a moment and say thanks to the rice cooker.

So, I was appreciative of the reminder that I can just use the internet void as my audience! As a thank you to this friend, here’s a picture of her in her underwear. Hi Mackenzie!

That’s me, Lindsey, Rebecca, and Mackenzie before we ran the Nearly Naked Mile, a race the school (yes, the school) puts on every year. Usually it’s freezing cold, but we got lucky and had really nice weather. It was at the very end of October, and some people wear Halloween costumes, but we opted for regular workout clothes and jungle-themed underwear.

There’s a blurry (good for anonymity) shot of the crowd. We ran through campus in front of lots of cops who were planted along the course to ensure things didn’t get too out of control, which they really didn’t. It basically felt like any other time I’ve ran a mile in my life, just wearing a slightly different outfit.

See you soon, with lots of goodies that (I promise) won’t involve my “goodies.”

For the creation above, I cooked kale, mushrooms, onions, and beets in coconut oil until they were tender. I added the kale at the very end so that it wouldn’t get too wilted, and I sliced the beets very thin to speed up their cooking time. For protein, I chose chickpeas and goat cheese– two all-time favorites. I also added a tiny drizzle of maple syrup, which tasted especially good with the beets. The flavors were sweet and earthy all at once. Dwight Schrute would have loved it.

Cold vegetable salads can be refreshing and delicious, but sometimes they just don’t have the depth of flavor that you get with warm, roasted vegetables. I would rather season a pan of vegetables with oil, salt, pepper, herbs, garlic, or other spices and make the veggies themselves become flavorful instead of pouring tons of salad dressing over raw vegetables and getting flavor that way.

Last week Rebecca came home from work holding this:

I love cooking vegetables, but Squashy is still sitting on our kitchen counter because both of us are too intimidated to touch it. We might need a bigger oven and a sharper knife.

Ahhh.. CU. Always full of surprises.

There’s always going to be that guy from that party who also happens to be taking Animals, Philosophy, and Identity in a Multicultural Context from 1900-1950, or whatever other awkwardly titled class I’m in. That’s understandable, I believe, but it gets under my skin a little bit if the count is more than one.

So I haven’t taken a math class since high school. Doesn’t mean I can’t count.

Today was the first time this has happened in a classroom setting (parties and bars are a slightly different story). It’s not that I wish I had gone the chastity belt route, but I’m taking it as a confirmation that I am a college senior, I have “experienced” my college town, and it’s probably time to move to greener pastures come May.

(source)

Although I don’t need much additional support for my (tentative) California decision, this article offers some. West coast, west coast!

Yoga was hard, but I managed. I fully knew I would be sweaty and tired afterward.

I knew I needed to move my broken bike while I was still dirty. If I did it later after I cleaned myself up, I would run the risk of needing to shower twice in one day. What a waste of time.

I pushed, pulled, grunted, shoved, hoisted, and moved seats around unsuccessfully, then successfully. I cursed both the Colorado heat and my leaky bike tire, and then I just cursed. I think I actually overexerted myself, because once the bike was finally in the car, these guys really didn’t want to be in my stomach anymore:

They stayed there, but it was not a good situation.

And now I can’t imagine ever eating tofu again, because even that picture is triggering a gag reflex.

At least I’ll be able to ride my bike again?

I strive to live among the other lost 20-somethings post graduation.  Surviving off farmers markets and fresh fish right out of the ocean.  Nothing sounds more perfect to me.

Hopefully, I will live on top of this street:

**Note:  My ass was sore for approximately 3 days after walking up the steepest streets I’ve ever seen in order to capture this photo.

But, alas, I will probably live in a small shack with Hayley and our kitty.

The trip consisted of meeting the man’s family (who are the best!) and spending time with my family (who are the best too!!).

Even though I was raised almost entirely in the rousing city of Littleton, Colorado, in a way moving to San Francisco will be a homecoming in itself.

Since I’ve gotten back I’ve been eating lots and lots of fresh garden vegetables.  This is thanks to my boss who grows his own garden and allows me to pick whatever I like.  This is almost like being a kid in a candy store, only I’m an adult in a vegetable, herb, and fruit garden.

Hense, I have made lots of salads and wraps like this one:

This wrap had mixed greens, grilled chicken, cucumbers, and pepper jack cheese.  I put on oil and vinegar for dressing.

Since coming back to Boulder, I’ve been very busy.

But it is all more then worth it, because, Monday marks my favorite day in the world.

It is finally time to go…

I’m already practically peeing my pants with joy.

]]> http://breathoffireblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/rebecca-dear-san-francisco-i-love-you/feed/ 3 peacelovesex San Francisco Veggies To Do Back to School http://breathoffireblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/hayley-colorado-pride/ http://breathoffireblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/hayley-colorado-pride/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:22:52 +0000 Hayley http://breathoffireblog.wordpress.com/?p=485 ]]> There’s something about having relatives in town that makes me really proud of the state I live in. Last week, showing my aunt and cousins everything I love to do here made me extra appreciative of my day-to-day life.

We hiked.

It is perfectly okay to lay down during a hike, as my aunt and I are demonstrating above. I felt like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, sans ocean and forks for brushing hair. Although at that point, I’m sure my hair could have used a fork or two. No one said being in nature was glamorous.

Despite our frequent breaks for photography, the hike was pretty challenging. It definitely got steep, but the views were worth it.

That’s my aunt and cousin on a fun and rocky part of the trail. The uneven surface is what makes hiking a good crosstraining workout for runners or bikers. All sorts of little muscles are engaging–ones people don’t even realize they have! It’s just like the women and their babies on I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.

Another highlight from our explorations of the outdoors is this, which we found near Boulder Creek:

See the rock towers? I love. I want to meditate in this every day for forever. I’m pretty sure I would be unbelievably zen.

To please my other cousin, who went unpictured in the photos above, we had to find an activity that didn’t involve getting down and dirty with a hiking trail or a creek path. Some people aren’t into it, which is so fine. Luckily, my hobbies have variety and cross genres and bridge gaps.

Cheers!

Grilled onions.

Avocado.

Corn OFF the cob. Not grilled.

(Try it raw. It’s sweet and crunchy and not too squishy and doesn’t leave corn “shells” in your teeth.)

LIME JUICE. Freshly squeezed.

–A poem*

*Shrimp and kale not included because they were not important enough.