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Suspect Eyes, A Droopy Head, and A Cashew Comeback

Day 17 of 28 Day Refocus

Happy hump day! Is that still a thing? If I had to choose a hump day on the road, it would be Friday. We’re typically settled in the city by that point and hitting the groove before a weekend of shows. They’ll be plenty of time for that madness soon enough, but around here, it’s still summer vacation. Codee’s path to fitness is not quite as quick as one might like, but he is showing significant improvements in his overall energy as we continue to drop the daily dose of prednisone. He’ll always be my food dude, though.

“So…this is not a food thing, then?”, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

I was reminded that I have to work on his manners when people come and go from the condo in a big way this morning. I had a contractor come to give me an estimate for some renovations and he gets worked up now when people come to the door. He calms down fairly quickly, but the whole process starts again if they leave and then re-enter his line of sight. He wasn’t protective before and he’s not in the least bit aggressive, but he is loud and it stresses him out a bit. On the other hand, it stresses me out a lot, but I remind myself that adding to his nervous energy is the exact opposite of helpful and take a deep breath. It’s a delicate line because, as I am sure you can imagine, I do, kind of, like that he responds, but we’re going to work on fine tuning it.

In The Garden:

Heavy Headed Mammoth Sunflowers, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

From ginormous flowers to tiny trees to naturally hideous kale plants, it’s a weird in between time in northeast Florida. I think the tallest of these guys has given it everything he has, though! I wonder if the massive amounts of rain that we have had recently just soaked the whole thing. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, but when they get droopy, I feel like it’s sad for everyone to keep them around. Like, I should let the poor plant keep some dignity and go out with no one watching… Also, I am afraid that it’s going to come down during a thunderstorm unexpectedly. I don’t want any complaints from the neighbors about a 9’ sunflower blocking the driveway. I wonder if I’ll need my tiny hacksaw. Tune in tomorrow to see how I fold it into the Rogue.

Tiny Plants, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

I think if I can keep these guys alive through the heat, they might make it through the fall. The big pepper plants still have peppers on them, but the kale is in pretty rough condition, however, it is still growing new leaves and in my garden, that means hope. I think it’s growing back from the last big harvest in a really unique way. None of the other plants in the garden have side offshoots. I hope she makes it.

Lacinato Kale and Gatherer’s Gold Sweet Peppers
Dig Local Communtity, Dutton Island Road
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

Sweating It Out:

Feeling hot, hot, hot… I am grateful for the luxury of my treadmill for so many reasons. It’s a much better practice to spend some evening time on the treadmill than on the couch. The silver lining to living alone is that I can watch whatever I want while I trot along. To boost the calorie burn a bit, I held my 3lb dumb bells for four of the five miles.

Okay, I swear that I am not completely obsessed with Jason Bateman, but since they mentioned this movie on Smartless, I wanted to check it out. It’s entertaining, but I’d watch Ozarks again before re-watching this one, for sure. I definitely know people that have that seriously competitive spirit, though!!

On The Plates:

If it ain’t broke…the green drink brunch continues, but in some shocking news…today, I mixed it up and added some bonus cucumber. A co-worker of mine called it “crunchy water” one time and I think that it’s a much better name for them. I like to be fancy and buy the English cucumbers when they aren’t too soft. It often feels like I am the only one who eats veggies as a snack…I mean, I also love a pickle, but maybe it’s that the fresh cucumbers always seem so refreshing. Maybe, I don’t drink enough water. Does anyone else love to eat salted slices of cucumber?
At the end of the day, I thawed some plums from a farmers market a few weeks ago that I had tucked in the freezer and I added cashews back into my life for the first time in four weeks. I missed them so much. Nuts are definitely my binge weakness though, especially since it’s really easy to lose count of how many I have had. I’m going to keep measuring, tracking, and for sure posting because that accountability really helps me make better choices. Thanks for that. 🙂

On to dinner. I had a Hot Chicken Arugula Salad with Chickpea Leek Squash Fritters. It sounds super complicated, but it’s not. I mean, it could be but it wasn’t. I added some Seite hot sauce to a cooked, shredded chicken breast that I had in the fridge. Then, I used what was left of my over cooked spaghetti squash and mixed it up really well with some chickpea flour, sautéed leeks, garlic, sea salt, and black pepper and tucked that back in the fridge alongside the mason jar of marinating chicken…is it still marinating if it’s already cooked?… hmmm… Anyway, they both joined the already roasted cauliflower that I cut into bite sized pieces. When it was time for dinner, I cooked the fritters in some avocado oil on the stovetop, chopped some celery, put the arugula on the plate, and piled on the chicken. I cheated and filled in a fake sauce because I thought it would look better and because most people have a ranch or blue cheese dressing that they like. I wasn’t in the mood for a dressing, but you should use one of those if you are.

Cronometer:

Garmin Says:

I am enjoying my time off, to say the very least.

Stay safe and moving, y’all!

Quinoa Kale Veggie Bowl

Ingredients: Quinoa, Dinosaur Kale, Cremini Mushrooms, Tomato, Roasted Purple Onion, Kerrygold Butter

Quinoa is such a protein packed grain that I love to keep it stocked in a few places. In the pantry, obviously, but also in the fridge and freezer. Plus, it’s one of those ingredients that is almost better when made in bulk. Then I portion it into single serving containers and stash some in the fridge and some in the freezer. You can cook it in water, but I usually use stock for a little extra in the flavor department. I tend to buy the organic, sprouted variety so I don’t have to “worry” (read:plan for) rinsing and soaking the quinoa. Make sure to check the package cooking directions to see if yours have been rinsed. Mother Nature has given quinoa a bitter protective coating, saponins, so better safe than sorry. The first time I made it, I didn’t know about that part…trust, it’s much tastier when you prep it correctly. 🙂 If I can’t buy it sprouted, soaking quinoa takes no effort, just a bit of planning. I think it tastes better when you soak it. Really getting rid of the saponins that coat it and allowing the grain to breaking down a bit in a little salted, acidic water makes it taste nuttier and seem fluffier, in my opinion. So, I cover quinoa that I have rinsed under tap water in a very fine sieve with about 2 inches of filtered water, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and some sea salt. I let it sit, covered, on the counter overnight. I rinse it thoroughly the next day…until the water runs clear thoroughly…and then I cook it. Soaking it decreases the cooking time and the amount of liquid needed significantly so it was a bit of an adjustment for me when I started doing it. Like most things, there are pros and cons to soaking grains and a big Google hole to fall into if you are interested. There is a ton of conversation kicking around out there about the effect it has on digestion and nutrient absorption, but what I really enjoy about the process is the product.

For this one, I sautéed some sliced cremini mushrooms in a little butter for a few minutes before I added some leftover roasted purple onion and a Roma tomato. I let everything get warmed through before I added the dinosaur kale into the party. As a bonus, most people absorb a little more of the lycopene from tomatoes if you put a little heat to them. Once the kale was wilty, I added in my pre-cooked quinoa and let everything become a team over medium low heat for a few minutes. If you are pulling from a meal prepped fridge, quinoa bowls come together super fast and the combinations are eternal.