Stuffed Squash

Squash had not been a food commonly consumed in my house in NYC.  The only time I really ate pumpkins was in pie at Thanksgiving and that was about it.  Through the C.S.A. weekly box of vegetables, though, we received an acorn squash.  I had never seen one before and Andrew and Andrea were fans of roasting them and/or putting stuff in them.  So, I decided to use the "and" function.

Finished product!  Acorn squash stuffed with rice, scallions, carrots, colored bell peppers, and topped with Parmesan cheese

I wasn't expecting it to be so sweet on the inside, I was pretty proud of myself for preemptively adding spices like curry powder and turmeric to the rice to add some kick to the meal.  I admittedly added red pepper flakes which are quickly becoming my favorite flavoring.

With this meal, I would try to pair it with like colors.  I usually dislike yellow, but I have this one tank top from Free People that is to die for. I have a similar skirt that's corduroy with buttons from Forever21 and a BDG olive-green cardigan to match the colors of the squash skin and the scallions. I usually wear my Minnetonka moccasins as comfort-shoes, but sadly, I will have to retire them soon.  I'll probably just replace them with a similar pair from the same brand.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Home-Made Pierogi: Working Food

Unfortunately, this idea was so spontaneous that I did not have the chance to use my camera, but I will use charming little illustrations from Pixlr to describe my meal and my clothes for this entry.

My friends and I got our weekly Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) box of vegetables and included were more onions and beets.  We have hard time getting through those, so we decided, "hey wouldn't it be a great idea to use them to make pierogi?"  And thus the idea was born.

Andrew, me and Steve all having an idea together.

Then we got down to business using a recipe from Celiac Teen.  There was so much work involved!  We had to saute some onions, mash some potatoes, soften some beets, and roll out some dough.  Now, with me, the thing about rolling out dough: I am horrible at it.  Every time, the dough would break, or it'd be too wet, so the rolling pin would get all soggy and sticky.  But after messing around with the tapioca starch, I got the perfect mix.  And after some boiling and pan-frying, the pierogi were born.

Potato, beet, and onion awaits inside!

So why do I entitle this entry working food?  Because it is the perfect food to eat after a work out, but a food that takes quite a bit of effort to make.  Thus, this outfit was born.

I like to work out in socks.  It helps me balance.  Tank top (Esprit), shorts (lululemon), gloves (Gold's Gym), and socks (unknown)

So the pierogi are delicious, I played with my kettlebell and then gave myself the nastiest bruise ever that night.  So, now I am attempting to not eat like a moron so that the house doesn't have a beluga whale living in it.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Unironic Love of the Grilled Cheese

I not-so-secretly and secretly love the grilled cheese sandwich.  It is quite perfect and very versatile.  I was greatly disheartened yesterday when I thought my sprout, red pepper hummus, and turkey sandwich fell a little flat.  So today, I wanted to do something on the warmer side.  I made myself a grilled cheese beanwich.

Grilled Cheese Bean-wich
1 slice of Kraft American cheese singles
2 spoonfuls (I used about two tablespoons) of refried black beans
1 teaspoon of butter
1 spritz of cooking spray
2 slices of gluten-free multigrain (my favorite is Udi's)

First, toast the bread if you pulled it out of the freezer at 8 AM like I did.  Then smear the butter on the "outside" of the bread.  On both side on the "inside," smear the refried beans, a tablespoon on each side.  Then heat up a pan and spritz with cooking spray.  Smash the two pieces together with the Kraft single in between and put it in the pan butter-side down.  I like to wait until my cheese "wilts" a little before flipping it. Then put in lunch box and promptly go to work so you're not late, but still have deliciousness.

I guess you can cut it in half and dip it in salsa or sour cream, which is definitely something I will try when I have a little more time to myself.