The food so nice they named it twice!

I watched the movie Pineapple Express last night, and it took me down a whole thought process around cooking and ideas for this next posting. I think my husband would tease me that a movie which is supposed to be a hilarity around a drug war could get me thinking about cooking, but I think that just proves where my mind really is. :)

Seth Rogen has a line in the movie where he says, “the food so nice they named it twice!” and what was he referencing? Couscous! Delicious couscous. Simple to make, great plain or with additions, and healthy!

And there are some very simple things you can do with couscous to make it even more delicious. Here I share just a couple quick tips, and then show you a dinner I literally threw together this week - - in 5 minutes!

Couscous tips:

• For starters, you can use chicken broth instead of water to make the couscous more flavorful. This is the simplest way to make this granular pasta a little bit more robust. (and yes, couscous is a pasta and is a great replacement for rice in most dishes). Chicken broth is one of those “must have ingredients” for your fridge, as you can use it in so many dishes.

• Also, I add olive oil instead of butter to the saucepan when making couscous. Flavored olive oil in particular, like from Old Town Oil or Olive & Well in Oak Park, provides a terrific flavoring. Flavored olive oil is another great ingredient to have in the kitchen – it’s one of those “special ingredients” and makes food taste special.

• Finally, no matter what meal I’m making, I always make the entire box of couscous, even though there are just 2 of us at home. Couscous makes terrific leftovers. It reheats evenly in a microwave so you can have dinner on the table in minutes!

Which brings me to the dinner that I made in under 5 minutes this week – no joke!

Looks more gourmet then a 5 min meal, does it not!

I used Trader Joe’s frozen crab cakes as the protein of this dish. All you have to do to thaw these is take them out of their packaging and set on your counter (in a dish of course!) for about an hour. And they cook in 4 minutes. Can’t beat that.

Heat up some oil (not your flavored oil, as it’s more expensive and you’re just going to discard this oil at the end - you can use olive oil, grapeseed oil, or vegetable oil for this step) in a pan and when hot, add the crab cakes. Tip: Patience is key when heating a pan, you never want to add food to a pan that isn’t properly heated yet. Hold your hand about 2-3 inches from the pan and if you have to take your hand from the heat in 5 seconds or under, your pan is ready. Cook the crab cakes per instructions, about 2 minutes per side.

While the crab cakes are cooking, I reheated some couscous from the night before in the microwave for about 1 minute.

I then needed to figure out some kind of sauce for my crab cakes. I pulled out some chipotle mustard and light mayonnaise and mixed the two in a bowl (about a 2:1 ratio), just enough for the 2 of us.

I placed a bed of lettuce at the bottom of the dish, added the couscous and placed the crab cakes on top. Then topped it all with the chipotle sauce.

Delicious!

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A Review of Redmoon Theater’s Hunchback at Rockefeller Chapel

The truly unique Redmoon Theater is dedicated to bringing the highest quality of artistic performance to unexpected places. This Saturday I went to the Redmoon rendition of the classic story the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and let’s just say I suspected it would be anything but classic. Sophisticated? Yes. Imaginative? Of course. Complex? Probably. Classic? It was not.

Set in the beautifully gothic Rockefeller Chapel on the University of Chicago’s campus, the setting was the distinct feature that made the production feel grounded in the classic story’s roots. Amazing architecture – incredible wood carvings and stone work, the most enormous stain glass windows you’ve ever seen. Despite the production being over I still recommend you check out Rockefeller Chapel, for it’s amazing in and of itself.

And what’s even better, Redmoon used this stage brilliantly. Running upstairs to the balcony, down the aisles, up to the pulpit. Characters of puppetry and whimsy climbing on what I can only describe as an apparatus of pendulum-like ladders with acrobatic talent. Characters who changed, whose puppets were either enormous or puny, depending on their power at the time in the story. Words just don’t do justice.

A view of the stage from above

the apparatus of pendulum-like ladders

Gothic Rockefeller Chapel

I’m very excited to see what Redmoon puts on for Halloween. This is the holiday for Redmoon!

For the latest update on Redmoon events, follow their blog or tweets.

Thank you to Venus Zarris for the great photos on Chicago Stage Review

Squash squash squash!

Shades of orange, yellow, green, even purple. Beautiful autumn colors, and no I’m not talking about the leaves. Fall is the season for squash!

I love the buttery vegetable – roasted, mashed, stuffed, breaded. You name it I’ve tried it. I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite squash dinners for this time of year. Swing by your local farmer’s market or grocer's and pick yourself up a beautiful squash, and test one of these recipes out!

Roasted Sweet Squash (pictured with roasted pork shoulder and purple carrots)
This recipe is staggeringly simple. I’m a believer that often times the best recipes are ones that contain minimal ingredients, and are really all about bringing out the richest flavors of the main ingredient. That’s what this is – simple sweet squash:

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato squash per person (or test out another squash of the sweet variety, such as butternut)
Butter or margarine
Brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds
3. Put a pat of butter or margarine and teaspoon of brown sugar into the middle of each piece
4. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until soft to a fork

The butter and sugar will caramelize and bring out the sweetness of the squash. Delicious!

Stuffed Squash (pictured with quinoa, feta, basil & tomatoes, courtesy of Eat.Drink.Smile)

Ingredients:
1 yellow squash per person (this recipe serves 2)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp chopped basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup mozzarella
salt & pepper to taste (about ¼ tsp)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/8 cup whole wheat panko crumbs

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish (or other .
3. Slice squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
4. Heat oil and cook onion until soft adding garlic last 30-60 seconds. Cool.
5. Stir in mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs, 1/8 cup Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper.
6. Spoon mixture into squash shells.
7. Sprinkle tops with remaining Parmesan, breadcrumbs, and more salt & pepper to taste.
8. Bake 25 minutes, and then broil until tops brown.

Which Restaurant? Place your vote!

I have a hot date for Friday night.  Help me decide which restaurant to go to and I'll give my review of it afterwards!  Place your vote on the poll at right -->

Ahh... Sundays.

I admit I’m a creature of habit, and I’ve come to really enjoy my Sunday rituals. I love using my Sunday to prepare for the week ahead – start the week out on the right foot and get in the right mindset. A good workout, a therapeutic grocery store trip (yes, grocery shopping can be therapeutic for me!), cooking a great dinner, and Sunday evening television (of which there’s too many good shows to choose from right now – Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad Men, Bored to Death). And now, I’ve added another therapeutic activity to my Sunday routine, blogging.

This week I had a go at 3 goals that proved to be more challenging than I anticipated – to only eat when hungry, read for 30 min a day, and putting fitness first. I have my excuses, but I’ll spare you. Ok, maybe I’ll just explain my reasoning for why I slipped. In 140 characters or less (twitter style!):

Stressful week at work, no time to read every day/too tired, stress-eating, or just wanting a glass of wine instead of going to the gym.

So there you have it. I admit, not a good week for the goals, BUT, I think even being mindful of some small goals is better than not having any… right? Can anyone validate me?

The good news? It’s Sunday – the day of fresh starts. This week is the last week of the official W^3 challenge. So I thought, why not take the goals that I’d like to “stick” and employ them together this last week? It’s the start of something new. So here we go… These are the goals I chose, but I encourage anyone who’s trying this with me to choose whatever goals they’d like to stick and give them a try together this week.

o Ensure 1/3 of your dinner plate is veggies – I love this goal. It makes you really think about what you put on your plate, but doesn’t deny you anything or feel like a diet mechanism. It’s not. It’s just thinking about being healthy.

o Eliminate cola beverages* (though I’m going to change this to allow one exception day a week, so I can choose when to indulge)

o Read for 30 min a day – I fell short on this last week, but for me reading is a way to decompress, and it’s important for me to try and make it part of my daily routine.

So there you have it. And looking at these goals, I realize they are perfectly align with the Wallet – Waist – Wisdom challenge as well. Saving $5 a week on cola, keeping the dinner plate healthy for the waistline, and stretching my worldview by keeping up with my reading. I feel good about this week.

Ahh… Sundays.  :-)

Chicago street art vs. London's Banksy - you decide

Ever notice Chicago street art?

Take a look next time you’re out and about and you’ll be surprised what you start to notice. Small creatures graffitied on sidewalks, cool slogans across water towers, imaginative freehand or amazing stencils.

Check out Blago and Burris which I snapped a pic of when they were on the walls of the ever amazing Violet Hour:

It doesn’t quite match up to London’s prolific street artist Banksy, but then again, what does?

Random Compliments are the Best!

It happened again today.

I was on the bus on the way to work and saw a girl looking rather closely at my folded hands on my work bag, or so I thought. Then I realized she was staring at my bag. I caught her eye which gave her the courage to say, “I love your bag! Can you tell me where you got it?”

Now, I have had my work bag for going on 3 years now and it still looks as good as new. I carry my laptop, battery, wireless mouse, 2 notebooks, whatever book I’m reading, pens, cell phone, headphones, and more all in this very compact bag which you would never imagine fits all these goodies! And I’ve never had an item receive more compliments then my work bag.

That is a quality bag. And the secret? The company Cross, more infamous for their beautiful pens. They also have beautiful bags for the working woman, inspired by London fashion. When I started my search for a new laptop bag 3 years ago, I didn’t want to break the bank, but I was particular that it be stylish, functional, and something I could carry through all seasons. Check check and check. I actually purchased a couple other bags before stumbling upon Cross’s website, returning the others and promptly placing my order.

Their current selection runs $195 and up, which may come across as pricey, especially in these economic times. However I’m a huge proponent of spending money wisely. I would much rather splurge and purchase a $250 bag for work that I will use every week day for 5 years (or more!), then find a cheap substitute for $50 and have it fall apart after 6 months of use. Not to mention that work is a place to promote your professionalism, and let’s face it, a cheaply-made bag does not scream professional. There are things worth splurging on, and a quality bag for work is one of them.

A city girl’s review of Where the Wild Things Are

I saw the movie Where the Wild Things Are this weekend and am glad I did. It's not your typical children’s movie – in fact, I don’t think it’s appropriate for small children, unless you want them having nightmares. It’s unusual, kind of dark, and imaginative. It’s great.

I’ve heard critics proclaim there isn’t enough computer animation to keep them interested. I say shame on them. The filming portrays a child’s imagination beautifully. Imagination is pure – dreams don’t occur with computer animation. Dreams occur with your interpretation of reality and weave in pieces of imagination. And we can only try to remember what it was like to interpret the world as children.

To say the movie depicts 6-year-old Max as a raucous young boy is an understatement. He is “out of control” as his mother yells, but still manages to be lovable. He balances the tightrope of wildness and innocence brilliantly. He faces issues many young kids do – of feeling ignored by his divorced mom and sister. And he allows his imagination to run WILD, to where the wild things are – where he is crowned king and tends to reigning his new land.

The Wild things themselves also mirror Max’s ability to balance violence, vivaciousness and appeal.

They eat their kings sure, but they also sleep in a "real pile” when happy, which is basically their way of having a cuddlefest, though no coddling is involved. They might handle their anger by knocking down trees and destroying everything in path, but they create the coolest fort a kid could imagine.

I was inspired. Children and adults alike should take cues from this movie (and the book which preceded it), step out from behind their computers and video games and let their imaginations run wild.

The W^3 Week 3 – Rounding the corner!

I apologize I’m a day late with this posting – this weekend was a busy and tiring one! But writing the title of this excited me because I'm in Week 3 of my W^3 challenge!

To recap, last week I made the following goals: 

• To eliminate caffeinated cola beverages
• To keep 1/3 of my dinner plate vegetables
• And to keep a food journal of it all

I am happy to report that I made it through an entire week without cola! For some who don’t crave the sweet treat this may not seem like much of an accomplishment – but I’m used to having a 12 oz can of Diet Coke at lunch time and it was certainly an adjustment not to. I learned that eliminating this beverage didn’t impact my productivity at work (my excuse for indulging) and I substituted my lunch time drink with water instead. I know I won’t employ this every day from here on out, but I will limit my soda intake so that it’s not every day.

For my food journal, I did record my daily intake and some days it was harder to be honest than others. I won’t bore you with the full week, but a brutally honest Tuesday was:

Serving of Multi Grain Cheerios with ½ banana
1 cup of coffee

¾ Jimmy John’s turkey sub (lettuce, tomato, sprouts, turkey)
1 bag of 150 calorie chips

Handful of gummy bears at work
An apple

Grilled salmon, salad and couscous
A couple spoonfuls of my husband’s sherbet

I learned that sometimes I reach for something sweet in the afternoon just to have something to munch on, and I could snack on more fruits and veggies instead.  I’ll try to put it to action but admit I still like a sweet treat every once in a while! Also, I could bring my lunch to work more often than I do... which would contribute to saving some money and the "wallet" component of this challenge.
 
And for veggies with dinner, this wasn’t challenging but did make me much more aware of balancing my meals. I will continue to employ this “rule” for all my home-cooked meals!
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This week, my goals sound simple but I know will be hard. It’s time to kick it into high gear now that we’re into the 3rd leg. So, here we go!

Only eat when hungry – this sounds so simple, but I’m one who nibbles even when I’m not hungry. Keeping this goal in mind this week will help keep the waistline trim.

Read for 30 minutes a day – I’m putting this into place this week because there is a book I've been meaning to start but have been delaying because the subject matter is a bit heavy (or so I hear). But I really do want to read this book – so this is the week I start!  And besides, reading is knowledge. 

Put fitness first – this goal applies to whatever fitness routine you follow. Keep it a priority this week. Don’t let other things intrude or override your time for exercise. I like this goal because I know it’s completely doable and will keep my mind focused – at least this week. :-)

Keep that waist trim, wallet full, and learning (wisdom) in the forefront of your mind.
 
More to come soon! I have at least a couple more postings I want to get out this week!

Beware of the seemingly awesome sale tag

With the Chicago winter approaching, many of us have turned our attention to ensuring we have the right winter garb to make it through these dismal months. Before you do though, I wanted to let you know about my coat shopping experience last year, in hopes that you can outsmart the bad marketing gimmicks as well!

Beware of the seemingly awesome sale tag. I bet you’re thinking, “but who doesn’t love a good bargain?” Well, as I discovered last winter when purchasing my winter coat, a sale tag doesn’t always mean the item is actually marked down from what it _should_ be.
I discovered my beautiful wool military style coat on the pristine racks of Nordstrom, and debated about it when I saw the price tag and wasn’t sure if I should splurge. It was (and is) a beautiful coat, with detailing and pretty buttons and best of all, real warmth without being bulky! I had to have it.

I decided to see if I could find it in another store that was having a winter “sale”, in hopes that my coat would be marked down with the promotion going on. Enter Macy’s. I was delighted when I saw my coat on the not-so-pristine racks (as they love to cram as much merchandise as possible onto one sad looking rack that looks like it’s about to fall over), with a heavy red line through the original price. Only when I got close enough, I realized that the original price marked was about $100 HIGHER than the tag at Nordstrom, and the “sale” price was indeed the Nordstrom original price.

This really got to me. Perhaps being a marketing major I was even more disgusted than most at this ploy – but how dare they take advantage of shopper’s psyches like that?!? People love to purchase things when they feel they’re getting a deal on it, but chances are stores that constantly have things on “mark down” are often just enticing the target market that shops for deals and steals. It’s sad and unethical and shouldn’t be bought into. Bottom line, do your research and be a well-informed shopper, and you’re sure to not fall to the trap of the “sale” tag.

Obviously I immediately ran out of Macy’s and purchased my beautiful coat from Nordstrom, and now, couldn’t be happier.

super simple, scrumptious healthy dinner

Need some inspiration for healthy dinners this week?

I made this salmon dinner in about 20 min this week and my hubby was thrilled at how tasty, quick, and easy clean up it was! Not to mention salmon is famous these days for it's healthly omega 3-fatty acids and high lean protein content. Serve with cous cous and salad for a perfectly balanced meal.
Enjoy!

In a large ziplock bag, mix:

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons pinneapple juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Add 2 salmon fillets to the bag and marinate in the fridge for about 15 min.
Discard the marinade, and grill the salmon (on grill pan, rack, or even a frying pan works) for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Voila!

On Trend aRT

As Chicago chills over and the winter embarks, it’s time to find activities that lend themselves to keeping warm. One of my favorite places for a rainy or snowy day is the Art Institute.

Recently I had the chance to check out the new Modern Wing, featuring a large exhibit by artist Cy Twombly, one of the greatest artists of our time.

I managed to snap this pic in the showroom before I was told to put my camera away:

I was immediately drawn to Twombly's art. And then I realized, how familiar is it to my brother’s drip-style he has been working on now for a few years (below)??

What can I say? My bro is on trend.

My W^3 Weekly Challenge Update and New Weekly Goals:

Ok, so that was a little bit harder than I anticipated, but I’m happy to report that I was true to my goals for this past week - - with only a couple of caveats.

The Coffee Goal: I did manage to make my own coffee for the week, though perhaps this was not a fair week to have this truly be a challenge, since I ended up working from home most of the week due to being sick. I did have one particularly difficult time with this goal last Sunday, when I mistakenly showed up 30 minutes early for mass (I was trying to have a productive day and go to early morning mass!) There was nothing to do for half an hour and with the only businesses open being 2 coffee shops ½ a block away from church, I did find myself in one to kill time. But I held firm to my goals and did not order a drink of any kind – though did find myself noshing on the delicious pumpkin loaf. Perhaps this was not a good decision for the waistline or wallet, but at the time it felt like a good compromise.

The Fruit Goal: I had similar outcome with the increase in fruit intake – while I generally was successful, I did allow a caramel apple to count as my additional piece of fruit one day, and one night I realized I hadn’t added an extra serving of fruit to the day so I cut a half of banana on top of a scoop of ice cream… both of which are not quite in line with the original goal. In this case, trying to add something to my food intake resulted in treats and sweets that I would have otherwise avoided. I’m not ashamed to admit, this goal is going into the trash for me!

The Old Friend Goal: And for the last goal, I really don’t see any disadvantage that can come from it. My snail mail letter to an old college friend is in the mail (and yes, because I’m a procrastinator it is only now just in the mail) – and I hope it brings a smile to her face when received, and a chance for us to catch up!

Trying these goals had a collective advantage, even if not all of them worked out quite the way they were anticipated to. They made me more aware of my daily choices, and gave me a chance to change my routine with the flexibility to be honest and assess what worked and didn’t work.
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So for this week, after taking these lessons learned into account, I’ve come up with 3 new goals to take into the new week. The “wisdom” piece of each of these goals is based on the idea that sharing facts and knowledge around each will result in smarter decisions. So here we go:

Eliminate caffeinated cola beverages this week – While I’m a firm believer that people should be able to enjoy just about anything in moderation, it’s important to understand the impacts your choices have on your body so you’re making educated decisions. It’s been proven that caffeinated beverages such as soda (diet or regular) increase the excretion of calcium to the kidneys, leaving less to be incorporated into the bones. There’s also the theory that the sodium in cola can cause bloating as your body retains salt. So restrict any cola consumption this week and see what this does to your health and waistline! Hopefully you’ll replace any cola drink with water or an equally healthy choice!

Ensure 1/3 of your dinner plate is veggies – Ok, this one I actually stole from the Chicago Tribune this morning. While I think we all know the goal is get about 5 servings of vegetables a day (9 being ideal!), it’s good to think about how much we are actually eating in terms of the percentage of the plate they fill up. This week, shoot for 1/3 of your dinner being vegetables, every day. Another tidbit I’ll throw in while you’re portioning your plate out, is that the protein of your meal should only be about the size of your fist. A big steak and potatoes meal is probably about 3 times the amount of meat you should be eating!

Keep a food diary for the week – jotting down your daily intake of food and beverage will give you a realistic picture of your consumption. Don’t cheat. Write down everything, and don’t be ashamed. Chances are that just by being honest you will find things you would like to change – that’s the idea. I will be so bold as to take this goal seriously for the week and post my food journal at the end of the week – and this is absolutely terrifying for me!

So get ready to kick-off the new week with a new set of small goals that are completely feasible, and should make you feel great come week’s end! Please let me know what you think if you try any of them out, or if you have ideas on weekly goals that should be shared.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

Reinvorgorated & the WALLET-WAIST-WISDOM Weekly challenge!

For some reason, fall still gives me a feeling of renewal, dating back to grade school days when autumn was the season of new classmates, new teachers and subjects, and of course new school clothes.

So perhaps this is the reason I have this urge to reinvorgorate my blogging this fall, with a new promise to myself to blog more often, and a mission to bring some relevant information to the forefront of this blogging space.

I've been thinking a lot about new goals or self-improvements I'd like to embark on. My mom says I'm obsessed with goals. And with the wedding over and settled into my new life, I've turned my attention again to goals and self-improvements!

And I thought, why not make my next goals things that are achievable in small segments, things that can possibly have multiple benefits, and things that others could choose to try out as well. So my idea was created to a set some WALLET-WAIST-WISDOM goals each week for a month and see what happens.

Here's how it will work:

• Each week I'll post 3 *small* goals for the week that each have the potential to save pennies in your wallet, trim your waistline and/ or increase your wisdom in some way, shape or form.


• Commit to 1 or all 3 for the week. Perhaps you already do one of them (don't brag), so all 3 may not apply to you - but I'll commit to all 3, and share any findings 7 days later.


• And at the end of the week, evaluate if you want to keep it, trash it, or adjust it - and then look into the next week for the next 3 small goals.


• At the end of the month, hopefully we'll all have some new good habits that stick!

So here it goes - my challenge to you this week... (drumroll please...)

1. Eat one more serving of fruit a day than usual this week - if you don't eat fruit everyday, this is the week to start. If you are a fruit-eater, amp it up.


2. Make your own coffee this week (no Starbuck's runs allowed!) - This is often a common goal you see plastered on money-saving tip lists, however how many of us actually listen or try it? Commit to one week of no latte runs.


3. Reconnect with an old friend (or two!) - Need I really expand?

The WALLET-WAIST-WISDOM potential:

The fruit goal - We all know fruit is healthy. But chances are you won't even realize if you amp up your fruit intake, you'll decrease your intake of something less advantageous to your well-being. This has the potential to help your waistline. Also, fruit is a very affordable alternative to other snacks you might reach for, and thus has the potential to help pad your wallet!

The coffee goal - If you're like me, you enjoy the occasional run to your local coffee barista. It is often a break in my day, or the only way to start the day. Try making your own coffee this week, and watch the pennies add up. This also has the potential to trim the waist, as oftentimes we don't realize how much sugar or fat are in those delicious coffee delights. Try it and see for yourself!

The friend goal - Reconnecting with an old friend can be as easy or time-consuming as you want it to be, however sending a one-line facebook message doesn't count this time people. Pick up the phone, send an email and ask for an update, or better yet, send some snail mail. How often do you get a surprise letter through the postal mail these days? I bet your recipient smiles from ear to ear. And you get the priveledge of gaining some much needed "wisdom" on what's going on in someone else's life other than your own.

So test it out and see what you think! Share your experiences, and follow up with me in a week to hear mine!