Healthy dinner

We had a delicious, and fairly quick, Sunday supper of:

• Lime Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (used romaine leaves because I had them on hand - bit more like a taco than a wrap - and I did add cilantro, as some of the comments suggested)
• Asian Slaw (only red cabbage & purple carrots, no green cabbage or bean sprouts, also added cilantro, and next time would use a little less vinegar, a little more peanut butter, and perhaps a pinch of sugar in the dressing)
• Half an Avocado apiece, with Whole Foods Miso Ginger Dressing optional
• Boiled Edamame in the shell with tossed with a little coarse salt & red pepper flakes

Nice low-key day; just girding my loins for the week ahead (busiest work week of the month).

Not much cookin'

It seems like it's been much longer than a week since I last posted. We went out for Father's Day, so I didn't cook last Sunday -- although on Saturday, I whipped up some grilled chicken breasts and black bean & corn salad that we nibbled on in various guises through the week: on salad, on nachos, in quesadillas. Sometimes for lunch, and sometimes for dinner.

Work has been QUITE busy, although it seems like it's been that way for a while...and that other people are feeling it too. The pains of integrating our company into the acquiring company are lasting longer than my peon self expected, but I think it's actually going pretty well. The cultural adjustment continues, along with the consolidation of systems and applications. Now I know how some of my peers felt back when the old company acquired theirs, many years ago. (Of course my hormonal attitude has also affected how I see all this recently, so take my whining with a grain of salt or two.)

Summer has come along with a blast. Not too many triple-digit days yet (and I wouldn't really know, because they keep the air conditioning only a notch above freezing at my office!), but plenty just kissing that.  And then I have to laugh when my mom says it's been hot in southern Oregon: their highs look like our overnight lows at times!

Hmmm... the cats seem to be eyeing me rather intently. It's really a bit early for their breakfast time, but I think that's what they have in mind. And my tummy is a bit rumbly, too. (My poor tummy - I started back into exercising a bit more - Bollywood workout videos at home, and a couple of classes at the YMCA so far - and I have known more soreness in the past week than in years previous. G-man loves to quote the whole "weakness is pain leaving the body" thing, but I just wish it would "leave" a heckuva lot faster!)

Ciao, babies!

Lunch ideas?

I was out perusing web sites this morning, updating my "Cool Links" area (which hadn't been changed since I started this blog, almost three years ago) and thinking about lunch.

I'm struggling with some food dilemmas, mostly lunch related. Now that I work at an office without much of a cafeteria, I take my lunch most days. Which affords me the opportunity to eat more how I should be - heavy on the vegies, with legumes & whole grains, and more of a grazing, mini-meals pattern (as opposed to one big lunch). And the G-man and I have come to the realization that the Juj is not eating enough roughage *ahem*.

So I want some ideas for better lunching. Things that are delicious and balance nutrition with convenience. Currently Juj and I both eat a fair amount of microwave meals, and while mine tend towards some of the yummy Kashi vegetarian and chicken entrees, my preferred selection is kind of limited, and Juj has narrowed his choices down to Whole Foods enchiladas or chicken taquitos.

And for him, there is the added limitation of NO NUT PRODUCTS! I understand about other kids having nut allergies, but the fact that this means I can't ever rely on the standby PB&J in my kid's lunch? Is kind of annoying. Plus I can't pack a few raw almonds (which he likes, and which are a daily component of my at-work eating kit) as a snack for him. Also annoying.

So, I checked out some new web sites this morning, and I hope to get inspired before I go grocery shopping tomorrow. If anyone has any great ideas -- we both have access to a microwave, I have a fridge & freezer at the office but J's food has to get by with an insulated "box" and ice pack, and no nut products for him -- feel free to share.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Back in the Day...

I've really been enjoying the satellite radio in my car.  I know the three months free that came when I purchased the car is just to 'suck you in' - but it might just do it.

You see, before I became an overpaid corporate hack who spends her day doing VLOOKUPs and pivot tables in Excel, I was in the entertainment business on the West Coast. Well, actually in the low paying, part-time teaching, touring with dance companies, sometimes doing industrials, business of lighting design and production & stage management for colleges and summer stock. And over the years, I worked on a fair number of musicals.

So, when I discovered the XM-Sirius Broadway channel, I was hooked. And it seems like they're playing a lot of Sondheim, which I didn't appreciate quite as much in my youth as I do now "in my middle years." Now, when I unload my car after work, gathering up my purse, and laptop, and lunchbox, and J's lunchbox, and whatever other gear has been required for the day, I am likely to be singing Another Hundred People or some such at the top of my lungs. (Hope it bemuses the neighbors; it's not like I have much of a singing voice.) And I have fun explaining the shows to Juj, because he loves to read the scrolling  Info screen on the radio from the back seat.

The real question is: does this mean I miss it enough to get involved in community theatre? Probably not; I've always been kind of a snob about that, even back in the day, and I certainly do NOT miss working evenings and weekends. But I do sigh every now and then, and think that perhaps I should at least go see some live theatre.

P.S.
On re-reading this, I realize that reminiscing for "the good old days" is a sure sign of encroaching middle age. *sigh*


Oh, and I've decided that Glee should do a Sondheim themed show next season - come on, guys, whaddya say?

Tired redux

I know I used the 'Tired' title last week. But it just keeps being the dominant feeling. Perhaps watching all of season 2 of True Blood in less than two weeks was a bit much. Perhaps work is a bit much. Perhaps my weight is a bit much. Perhaps seeing the pain & effort that some of my IRL and mostly virtual friends are going through is a bit much.
But, I made a yummy dinner on Sunday:

• Thai Beef Salad, actually inspired by the recipe in this cookbook, but with way more vegies (romaine, cilantro, mint, cucumber, grated carrot, scallions, sesame seeds, avocado, red cabbage) and freshly cooked flap meat (which is way better than flank steak) that I marinated in Thai red curry paste, toasted sesame oil, lime juice, freshly grated ginger, and a bit of brown sugar and then cooked briefly in the grill pan
• Tequila Refresca Sorbet (2 cans classic Fresca, a big splash of Campari, a small splash of Cointreau, and bit of agave syrup muddle with mint, then frozen in the ice cream maker) with incredible fresh strawberries

Tired

Spent nine of the past ten days off work, mostly hanging with the Juj. Might should've spent a wee bit more time on my own (to recharge), but glad that I have the extra vacation and furlough time available this summer, so that he doesn't have to spend every single week in 'summer camp' at his school. Mostly, I think it's fine that we're a family where both parents work full-time; J's school is great, and we are both blessed with jobs that are flexible enough to afford us to work from home when he's sick or to spell off when the school has more holidays than our offices do. But the summer? That's when I feel a little bit bad about it, because *I* always looked forward to that time off as a kid. Oh, well.

Guess I shouldn't waste time regretting something that I'm not going to change for the foreseeable future, so on to tonight's dinner:

• Grilled (well, actually roasted in our case) Halibut with Fennel, Orange & Onion (well, actually shallots)
• Sauteed Broccoli
• Romaine Salad with Avocado, Radishes, Carrots & Fennel
• Baba Ghanoush & Pita Crisps (eggplant roasted, not grilled - and no pistachios!)
• Gin & Tonic Sorbet (dee-lish! made it with one part St. Germaine liqueur to two parts London Gin)

Besides, once they finally opened, we did have fun hitting some local pools / water parks -- and I have the sunburn, uh "tan" to prove it. ;-)