Today is a Great Day!

Aren't weekends wonderful? I got up this morning at 4:45 to volunteer at the Kids Fitness Challenge, a free 5K fun run for elementary, middle school and high school students. It's been a little while since I had some time to volunteer but after this I remember why I love it so much. Luckily, the projects I have recently volunteered for have been loads of fun. Maybe it's the amazing people I have met or perhaps it is the event itself, whatever it is it seems I always walk away excited about the next possibility for volunteering.

 

Then this afternoon I finally got in contact with a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator that I have been playing email tag with for a week. She and I chatted for a half hour about possible career choices and ways in which to get my foot in the door when it comes to diabetes and nutrition. She also offered to send my resume around and see if she could find anyone who knows anyone who could help me out. I've heard it before, mainly from my friend's mom, but informational interviews and networking are the keys to career success. Tested and true!

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon updating my resume, something that has been on my to-do list since the beginning of my Christmas break. By the end of the week I'll be ale to check that one off! My roommate just got home with chocolate cake, tonight I am meeting up with my coworkers for fondue and then hanging out with another one of my buddies. Can it get any better?!

 

 

Green Bean and Garlic Quiche

This is another easy throw together dinner. All the ingredients are bought prepared, so you simply take them out, combine them and then throw your dish in the oven to cook while you lay the table, change out of your work clothes and get the family together, or in my case get myself together. No prep, minimal cleanup and a delicious result . . . what more could you ask for at the end of a long week?

• frozen prepared pie crust


• minced garlic


• frozen cut green beans, thawed


• 5 eggs


• unsweetened soy milk


• shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. In a small bowl mix together the eggs, milk and cheddar cheese. (I use two full eggs and four egg whites for a lower cholesterol result, but feel free to substitute egg beaters or whatever combination of full eggs/egg whites you prefer). Spread a generous teaspoon of minced garlic on the frozen pie crust. Pour green beans into the pie crust, enough to cover the base or as much as you prefer. Pour egg mixture over green beans and bake for 35 minutes or until egg is set completely. Slice and serve.

Have You Ever . . .

• Measured/weighed out the ingredients for three different soups to feed 300 people each?
• Diced 50 onions without crying?
• Made 20 pizzas; 10 pepperoni, 5 vegetarian, and 5 today's special?
• Stirred corn chowder for 100 people with a whisk as tall as you are while waiting for it to thicken?
• Diced 6 pounds of bell peppers?

Why?

Why is it that when I find a super cheap airfare to the other side of the country it is only for the one weekend of the upcoming month I can't go? I know things happen for a reason but this better be a darn good reason, because right now I can't possibly think of a reason good enough. Hmph.

Banana Pancakes

Today is the first Saturday I have had to myself, at home, since October. With Deb's thoughts about enjoying "inordinately good homemade fare" during the weekend fresh in my mind, I took to making banana pancakes for my roommate and I.

Coincidentally, or maybe not, this is one of her favorite breakfast foods besides eggs. I meant to make her breakfast on her birthday morning this past Thursday, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out. I had to be at work at 5am and she was going snowboarding for the day. So today, over a mug of hot chocolate we enjoyed our pancakes and caught up on roommate hang out time.


The recipe I use for pancakes comes straight from Betty Crocker's cookbook. Easy to throw together when you are all out of pancake mix and quite tasty. Plus it makes just the right amount of pancakes for two people.

• 1 large egg


• 1 cup all-purpose flour


• 3/4 cup milk


• 1 tbsp packed brown sugar


• 2 tbsp vegetable oil


• 3 tsp baking powder


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 2 medium bananas, sliced


• cooking spray

In a medium bowl, beat egg until fluffy. Combine egg with flour, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined; do not over mix. Heat griddle or medium frying pan over medium heat. Pour batter onto pan, add bananas and cook until golden, flipping once. Keep warm in oven until ready to serve. Makes 6-5in pancakes, enough for two very happy people.

Chinese Corn Soup

During the week I am always pressed for time. That's why I love simple recipes. This soup requires opening three cans and combining their contents with a couple of always on-hand ingredients. It's that simple and believe you me, it's delicious! This Chinese corn soup is one of my favorites.

• 1 can creamed corn


• 1/2 can corn


• 1 can vegetable stock


• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water


• 1 egg plus 1 egg white, beaten

Combine creamed corn, corn, and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. When soup is warm, add cornstarch/water mixture; stirring continuously. When soup has thickened slightly, add beaten egg and egg white; stirring continuously. Serve in bowls and enjoy!


**For those carnivores out there you can use chicken stock and throw in some shredded chicken. **

Highlights of Working in Hospital Foodservice

Today marked the end of week three in my administrative rotation. This quarter I am working with the food services department at a local hospital. Everyday is something new. The theory behind this rotation is that you should experience everything first hand so you know how to be an effective manager later on. This week was spent working on the production side in the kitchen hospital. Here are the highlights:

1. The workday starts early at the hospital. My instructions: report to the chef at 5am (that was the late shift, the other chefs arrive between 4 and 4:30).
2. When making soup for 370 people you measure your ingredients by the carton, cook in a steam pot big enough to climb into, and you serve using a saucepan. It's like living in a giant's world.
3. Working with the stock room manager means at least three hours in the walk-in freezer and refrigerators. At least.
4. Production means washing dishes, making pizzas, unloading stock, lining trays, and a million other tasks.

Mammoth Weekend

Last weekend I took my second trip to visit one of my favorite married couples and just like last time it was one of the best weekends! Saturday I had the pleasure of actually hitting the slopes. Luckily for me, my slope buddy for the day was perfectly matched to my skiing abilities. We started out on a blue square to get warmed up and to enjoy the non-existent lines for the chair lifts. Then we branched out and explored the whole mountain. When we arrived at the mountain the temperature read a chilly - 4 degrees . . . Fahrenheit!!! We tried our best to keep moving and when it got completely unbearable we headed into the lodge for a cup of hot chocolate and to defrost our toes.

 

At one point my buddy suggested we head to the top of the mountain. After gazing at the crest, I commented, "It looks a little windy up there." Little did I know this would be the understatement of the day. Regardless, we decided that we wouldn't know for sure unless we went and tried it, so off we went! I guess the first bad sign was the fact that there was no one coming down the mountain. The second bad sign was that the end of the ski lift was located in a hanger, to block you from the wind. When we made it out of the hanger it was so windy that I didn't even have to use my poles to move to the top of the slope, the wind just pushed me! I think it was at this point that I began to wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?" While my slope buddy buckled into his snowboard, I headed to the top of the slope, where I encountered a slight problem. The wind was blowing up the slope so hard, I didn't know if gravity acting upon my weight was going to be strong enough to get me over the crest of the mountain! As I pondered this fact, and briefly thought about waiting for my slope buddy, I was being whipped in the face with snow and slowly turning into a human snowman. So after a half second more I decided it was now or never and actually made it over the edge and all the way down the slope. Needless to say, we didn't go down that run again.

 

The rest of the day was spent challenging eachother to double black diamonds and trying to find the best powdery runs we could. The best part of the whole adventure was being challenged by my slope buddy. It's rare that I have the chance to spend time on the slopes with someone who matches my abilities. It creates such a different day of skiing. At think that at some point during the day we each admitted that the runs we did that day we wouldn't have done if we had been skiing solo. But since we were together, I guess we egged eachother on to do the best we could. Awesome!

 

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with friends, both old and new. We experienced the nightlife of Mammoth and also relaxed to watch some football. I predicted the final score of the game 24-21, but I had hoped that the Chargers would beat the Patriots. I guess there's always next year. All in all I have to say this was a wicked weekend away from LA. Definitely worth repeating, as long as my friends will have me.

Las Vegas

The weekend began and ended with four twenty-somethings and a rental car. What happened in between? Well you know what they say . . . what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

 

But trust me, if you knew, you'd wish you were there with us.

Nike+

So I have this really cool friend who got me the coolest christmas/birthday present in the world . . . the Nike+ running system. If I wasn't a running nerd before this definitely has the potential of making me one. Alright, who am I kidding? This already has made me a running nerd. Now while listening to music from my ipod I can track my distance, my time, my pace, and my calories burned. How cool is that?!

Not to mention that there are about a billion and one nifty features. If I click on run for distance, my trainer (the electronic male voice) will count up the half miles to the halfway point, then count down the distance remaining to the finish line. My trainer will also provide the same inspiration in increments of time or calories. At the touch of a button I can rock out to my power song at any point during my workout. I can upload all my run data to nike.com and track my progress as I reach my goals. If I go to Itunes I can buy pre-recorded mixes that include a real trainer and music to help you increase your speed.

I hope this hasn't come across as a sales pitch for Nike, but I just got back from my first run with my new gadget and was so excited about it. Especially since I ran 2 miles at an average pace of 7'39". Just imagine what I could achieve with a little bit of training!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Super simple to throw together, these cupcakes are a perfect excuse to use your silicone baking cups to impress a weekend visitor. Especially if that weekend visitor is known for her obsession with peanut butter.

• 6 oz very soft butter


• 3/4 cup sugar


• 3 eggs


• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 325F. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with electric beaters until smooth. Place 12 silicone baking cups on a baking sheet. Spoon the very thick batter into cups, top with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and swirl together. Bake for 20 minutes or until beginning to turn golden.

**Recipe from Modern Classics Book 2 by Dorothy Hay**