Fun with my French family

I love coming home to the Bay Area to see my family! We arrived yesterday and hit up Downtown Pleasanton to pick up our race packets at Fleet Feet, but also let little Woodstock wander around the streets for a little bit.

(Source)

When we finally made it to Alamo, my mom was just opening all of her cabinets and the fridge to assemble all the ingredients of a home-made salade niçoise!!! I know that I lived in the Nice academic region when I lived in France a few years back, but salade niçoise has been close to my heart nearly my whole life (see: my obsession with crêpes).

I love that my mom shares the same passion for French cuisine as I do.

Authentic French mustard for the vinaigrette:

Escargot for the appetizer... I really didn't mind the taste and enjoyed the pesto sauce, but I couldn't manage to get over the fact I was eating a snail. Then I started getting grossed out again. But at least I tried, right? I'm a terrible Frenchie ;)

There's nothing better than a glass of rosé on a hot summer spring night! The candlelight doesn't do much justice to the pink hue of our wine. And shhhhh, don't tell anyone that it's a bottle of SPANISH wine!

I would make a good sommelière, right?? No? Ok, I'll just stick to drinking it then.

My plate of salad topped with freshly-seared ahi tuna. Soooooo goooooooooood.

Finally for dessert, we each had tiny slices of chocolate lover's cake with blackberries. I went a little overboard with the plate decorations haha, awesome.

Then this morning we were all treated to very French breakfasts. Unfortunately, I can't handle a typical French breakfast. I think my cholesterol would skyrocket. So I cut my apple pastry in half, made a cup of blueberry Greek yogurt with granola, craisins and blackberries leftover from dessert, then washed it all down with a lowfat soy mocha latte.

J.D., my mom and I all went shopping earlier this morning to find fun things for our respective House Parties. J.D. and I scored a bunch of goodies -- can't wait for our game night -- and then my mom hit up Trader Joe's for her final groceries for tonight's Williams-Sonoma dinner party. While she was off, we stopped at Baja Fresh next door and shared a mini taco plate for a little lunch.

And now preparations for the party begin! I'm limiting myself to a half a glass of wine or less, since we'll be running 12 hours after the party kicks off. I hope to get to sleep early tonight and then away we'll go to Livermore for the 5K race!! When we get back, I'll post pictures of the party and the race if I ever bother to take any. Just don't hold your breath on that one.....

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekends! xx

Busting out the camera again

I'm fairly certain the last time I used my camera was for our Halloween party. Well over six months ago.

So let's just say I'm inspired by all you food bloggers out there! I wanted to try it for a day, just to see how it feels. I'm pretty lazy about loading my photos, so this might just be a once-in-a-blue-moon type of update ;) Or not, I haven't decided yet.

Last night J.D. came back from work early and while I wanted to run with today off, he hadn't consumed lunch and was STARVING. I got on board with that, so I started cooking up a storm in my neeeeew apron while he made the 45-minute drive back from Sacramento. Sidenote, it's a good thing I took yesterday as my rest day because June 2 is: NATIONAL RUNNING DAY! I'm thinking about celebrating by doing a timed 5K as my last aggressive run before Sunday's 5K race.

So back to the dinner. Knowing that we both work in athletics and are VERY short on time some days, I like to throw things in the freezer, or buy frozen "healthy" foods. Luckily, everything I wanted to make last night all required the same cooking temp and time in the oven.

On the menu was artichoke pesto tilapia, sweet potato frites from Trader Joe's and asparagus spears I marinated in olive oil and a little bit of garlic sea salt for taste.

I was given a GIGANTIC bundle of asparagus at one of the baseball games last month and ate half, froze the other half. Last night was a good time to bust it out because both the tilapia and frites called for a cooking temp of 425º at 20-22 minutes. Just enough time to cook my asparagus!

It was pretty much all ready by the time J.D. arrived and we enjoyed our dinner while watching House Hunters on HGTV. I can't wait until I'm at a point where a.) I know where my permanent career will be and b.) I'm financially stable enough to purchase a house :) But that's a long time from now. Until then, I'll keep watching all the ups and downs with H.H. or My First Place!

I was on my own for breakfast this morning because..........

............J.D. flew out at 7 a.m. to Burbank for his interview at Pepperdine!! So maybe big news coming in the next few weeks? Or maybe things will stay the same as they've been for a while now. I'll keep y'all updated. Wish him luck for me!

My baby's still sick, so I opted for a quick breakfast this a.m. I mixed together half a bowl of Crispix and half Smart Start (because I get waaaay too bored with just one cereal in my bowl, I love to mix up textures). Then I tossed in some dried cherries/cranberries, cut up a banana and drizzled some almond butter over the top before dousing it all with light soymilk. Voilà, quick and easy breakfast.

Now that I'm back to work, I'll leave you with one final picture. I love him! Doesn't Woody look like a muppet or something??? haha :)

What a pair we make

Yesterday a nasty combination of cramps, backaches and a gnarly headache sent me home from work around noon. This morning, they kept me from having any desire to get out of bed, so today I am home for what I hope to be the last time this week. However, it's not so bad since I'm at least able to get some work done from home.

Being home isn't too bad when you have good company:

Roll over, Woodstock!

He's a good listener.

However, Mr. Stinky (what a loving mommy I am for calling him that on a regular basis) woke up feeling in a funk as well. He hasn't been eating a whole lot over the past week and I arose this morning to find him with crusty puss all over his *ahem* male part. So I made an appointment to get him to the vet this evening and get him back to puppy shape! The two of us have been cuddling up on my bed and the couch all afternoon. It's nice have a puppy with whom I can commiserate.

So in the meantime, taking a break from getting my work done I gathered up a bit of an appetite. Who's hungry after hearing about puppy male parts now?!?! After living in France a few years back, I grew accustomed to quinoa meals. Remembering that, I went and purchased some at Trader Joe's the last time I was there. Today seemed like the perfect chance to dig up a recipe and use my quinoa.

Warm Quinoa + Spinach Salad Recipe with Grape Tomatoes
(taken from Gluten-Free Goddess Recipes, which has also provided the following photo)

It was a fairly simple and tasty recipe!

Basically follow the directions on the quinoa box (two cups water + 1 cup quinoa, boil, cover then simmer 10-15 minutes until all the water is gone)

When that's finished, heat up a pan of olive oil and essentially toss in whatever you'd like to go with your quinoa!

I chose to chop up asparagus stalks, heirloom grape tomatoes, walnuts/almonds and tossed in a little fig balsamic vinegar. Then dress it however your little heart desires: standard is a pinch of salt and pepper. Her recipe calls for fresh herbs, I think basil would be to die for in this. But, being the South of French girl at heart that I am, I went with my go-to seasoning: dried herbes de Provence!

For the final touches, with the burner still on, toss in 1/4 of your quinoa, mix it all together and voilà - lunch is served!

You could really take this in any direction, add meat, cheese, fruits, etc. It was so light and delicious! The perfect warm salad for a cool, spring afternoon (that feels like autumn, what's with this weather?!?!?) Desperately hoping for summer, I paired mine with Minute Maid light pomegranate tea. Mmmmmm, and I'm still pretty satisfied/full nearly an hour later.

And hey, if you haven't checked it out yet, see what I was holding out on you with my "teaser" post earlier this month! Back to work now, I suppose.

Get thee to a grocery

This morning I read about the You Are What You Eat project by Mark Menjivar from The Bobby Pin blog. I personally find it super interesting!

....Except for the lady with the snake in her fridge. That's just f-ing creepy!!!

Short Order Cook | Marathon,TX | 2-Person Household | She can bench press over 300lbs. | 2007

Well, anyways I suggest you take a look over there and maybe play along with me :) So without further ado, here is my fridge/freezer:


Sports Writers/Media Relations | Stockton, CA | 2-Person Household | Seriously in need of a trip to the grocery store, even though 60% of our meals are eaten out | 2010

So that's my fridge! Hope you aren't judging us, our eating habits, and lack of free time to go shopping.... hehe. I'd be interested to see some of yours!

On a side note, I made a really yummy dessert with some leftover ingredients the other day. Wanna see what I threw together??

Apologies for the picture, I was just about to eat it in the napkin on my way back from lunch when I realized I should take a pic with my phone :)

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet morsels
1/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. peanut butter
2 to 3 tbsp. milk

***Note before baking, I would add a LOT more PB next time to hold it all together. It was very, very crumbly at first, which is why they say to cool for several hours. I actually found that by day two or three in the fridge was when they were more compact and at their best!

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Combine flour, oats, soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter for 20 seconds, add sugars (NOT the powdered, that's for later) and beat until fluffy. Add egg, the 1/3 cup peanut butter, the 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla, beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating until smooth. Spread mixture in pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately sprinkle chocolate pieces over top. Let stand until softened, then spread evenly. Cool. Combine powdered sugar and the 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Gradually add enough milk to make of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over top. Cool several hours before cutting.

***Instead of making a fancy drizzled topping (because I read "add sugars" as all the sugar, not realizing the powdered would be for the end), I just spread the chocolate chips on the top and melted them until they hardened. I think drizzling peanut butter over the top would not only be pretty, but would also incorporate more of the PB taste (which wasn't as strong as I'd have liked!). I also decided to go healthy and used skim milk and whole wheat flour, which was nice. Definitely a starting point, but I for sure think I could improve this dish in one more try :)

Gotta case of the Mondays? Tuesdays?

Every morning, I wake up at 7:30 a.m. when my alarm goes off. And every morning I struggle to stay awake, hitting snooze until 8, sometimes even 9 a.m. Don't worry, I'm off to work before 10 a.m. usually (hey, when you stay until 10 p.m. three nights a week AND work weekends, you can complain about me showing up at 10 a.m.).

But those days, it's suuuuuch a struggle to get out of bed so I don't have time to make anything to eat all day. Usually, I'll grab a yogurt out of the fridge and off I go.

Which is why over the past several months, I've been going leftover crazy. I loooove making enough dinner for 4-6 people. When J.D. and I are done, I portion out several different Tupperware containers for various lunches and/or dinners! Leftovers might just be my favorite lunch :)


Today it was a mix of Zatarian's jambalaya with spicy andouille sausage and cilantro lime rice. So yummy! As a follow-up meal a little later in the day, I grabbed a bag of trail mix from Trader Joe's!

Some mornings when I'm feeling ambitious enough, I'll make a French press latte or a fruit smoothie. Or in the case of yesterday: I ran 3.25 miles and made a post-run smoothie. I know J.D. doesn't really care much for the smoothies, so I had an entire pitcher to myself! Instead of going crazy and not having room for dinner, I plopped it in the fridge and voilà, had enough for breakfast (and an after-work snack) today.

Leftovers really are the lazy man's meal :) And I wouldn't have it any other way.

What do you do for lunch/snacks at work? Do you go out? Do you make something in the morning? Or are you too tired in the a.m. like me and bring last night's dinner??

Happy Early Birthday!!

As an early birthday celebration while all of our families were together for Easter yesterday, J.D.'s mom gave me Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking. She knew I loved Julie & Julia and had read Child's My Life in France last summer. Also knowing I like cookbooks, she purchased me the first bible of French cuisine.
So tonight, we chose to make something from the book! I selected the recipe for Suprêmes de Volaille à l'Écossaise (Chicken breast with diced aromatic vegetables and cream). I promised I wouldn't blog about it like the Julie/Julia project, but I just wanted to make a minor comment. It really is as rich as everyone says in the movies and book! It was chicken cooked in butter with onions and then later a sauce of dessert wine, chicken broth, and our tweak - light (not full fat!!) - whipping cream. I only ate about half but it was soooo delicious!! Alongside it I made roasted Rosemary potatoes and a leftover croissant from Easter dinner.

What'd we have to drink with such a heavy meal?!? Imported apple Belgian beer in special pint glasses, an Easter gift from my parents!! Yummy :)
Hey, if I can cook from this (with J.D.'s help) anyone can! Oh yeah, he also got me that sweet pink zebra iPhone cover and guess what - a gift card to AT&T so I can upgrade to the 3GS in two weeks :)

Hopefully tomorrow's not a letdown with all the early celebrating already :) oh yeah, we're also going to the A's/Mariners game on Wednesday night because I have to work broadcasting baseball at Santa Clara tomorrow night.

Happy 25th to me :) no quarter-life crisis fears yet!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Final post of 2009

The countdown begins....

Wow. It's almost 2010. That sounds insane. Like super futuristic and crap. Like way older than the Jetsons. Like.... I'm going to turn 25 this upcoming year...... (pause several months for quarter-life crisis, kids. I'm getting that two year itch again, like usual, telling me to up and leave out of the country again. Will it happen? Stay tuned to find out)

Anyways, 2010. It's been TEN YEARS since the whole Y2K debacle. Yeah, seriously. I get a French channel here in Stockton, TV5 Monde Etats-Unis, and I was watching the journal télévisé (again, snooty way of me saying French newscast) and they were looking at the past decade in review. BTW, happy new year for those of you on the other side of the planet! Anyways, they were showing a side-by-side video comparison of cell phones from now and 2000, computers, Internet user stats (users have increased 6x since 2000 - I blame it on all the 10 year olds who were born in 2000 and came out of the womb texting and myspacing.) Even the picture quality from the video of last decade is unbelievable.

So with that, here's what I've been thinking about lately. I've never been one for resolutions, so let's just call these my goals for 2010, shall we?

a.) write more often ... not blogging, per se, but creative writing. Short stories, long stories, poems, crap, it doesn't matter. I want to write more. I always have.

b.) exercise more ... if not daily, then every other day. I used to be super good about this over the summer, but the lack of sunlight when I get home really puts a damper on my willingness to run. So that's where Wii Fit and my new EA Sports Active Wii video games come into play. I hate to sound lame, but those games really give you a frickin workout. And hey, whatever gets you moving, right?

c.) read more ... starting up that book club means I have to finish at least one book a month. That's usually never been a problem for me, but I'll get back into it.

d.) travel ... It's been over two years since I left the country. I want out again! I'm currently planning a D.C. (I realize that's still in the U.S., just bear with my random tangents) trip to visit my college roommate in June. Free Delta miles and a place to crash? What the heck would be stopping me???

And those are four things I'd love to see myself accomplish over the next 365 days. Wish me luck.

For now, I have a lot of shit to do before the year's even over. I've been slaving away at my basketball notes because we leave for our first conference road trip tomorrow. Flying down to Los Angeles so we can play Cal State Northridge on Saturday and Cal State Fullerton Monday.

That means Monique has a lot of laundry/cleaning/Christmas deconstructing/book shelf assembling/NYE dinner cooking to do. (I'm making a shrimp, bacon and spinach quiche for dinner tonight and splitting a bottle of champagne with J.D. for the end of the year meal. He works tonight and I have to leave at 10 a.m. for work tomorrow. What a pair we are).

Which reminds me.... another goal I've set for myself is NOT TO DRINK TOO MUCH (hmmm, can you imagine what over the past few days has brought this on?)!!! Unless I'm going wine tasting, which doesn't happen too often these days, I'm trying to stick to about a drink a month or less. I don't need alcohol. It messes me up all the time :)

Happy New Year, everone. If you're going out, please drive safe. If not, have a little extra for me ;)

Fun with sweet potatoes & tequila lime chicken

Here are two of my FAVORITE home-made dinners in the last two weeks. We also sort of made these from whatever we had in the fridge and in our thoughts.... no recipe following in the creation of these dishes!

Basic Tequila Lime Chicken
-Season chicken breast with chili lime seasoning (pre-made from grocery store)
-But you could make it out of chili powder, cumin, lime zest and onion/garlic powder
-Salt both sides
-Lightly oil pan and turn up heat to high
-Sear both sides in hot pan for brown crust, then turn down the heat to medium
-Deglaze pan with the juice of two limes and 4 oz. (about 4 shots) of tequila
-Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender

Sage Butter
-Rip off a handful of sage leaves (2 T)
-Melt stick of butter in sauce pan over low heat
-Toss in leaves and cook on medium heat until butter starts to brown
-Remove from heat and take out leaves

Baked Sweet Potato/Yam
-Poke several fork holes in whole potato
-Cook in microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on power
-Poke more holes and cook for another 30 seconds
-Remove potato from microwave and wrap in foil to cook from within

Those combined for a plate of chicken with sides of baked sweet potatoes in sage butter and an heirloom tomato-mozzarella salad.

And for tonight's plate, inspired by double-decker tacos at Taco Bell when I was younger:

Double-Decker Santa Fe Chicken And Sweet Potato Quesadilla
-Prepare the basic tequila lime chicken
-Once chicken is cooked, remove from pan
-In the leftover juice, cook frozen white corn and bell peppers until blackened and flavored in juice

-Bake sweet potatoes in the oven until they're dry:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees
-Lightly grease bottom of a casserole dish (don't cover potatoes in oil at all)
-Cover bottom of pan with potatoes and bake for 10-15 minutes (until dry outside and soft inside)

-Grease another, larger casserole dish
-Layer one whole wheat tortilla on the bottom
-Then place a layer of cooked chicken on top of the tortilla
-Cover chicken in two small handfuls of shredded Mexican cheese
-Top with blackened vegetables and roasted sweet potatoes
-Add another handful of shredded cheese
-Slice olives and celery and place on top
-Cover with another whole wheat tortilla
-Slather fat-free refried beans on top of second tortilla
-Completely cover beans with tortilla chips
-Top with more cheese!

-Bake at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes
-Top with diced tomatoes, lettuce, guac and/or fresh salsa!

....Enjoy!! (We sure did)

Hum.

The posts have become rather infrequent lately. I'm super bogged down with five-day-a-week class that requires homework semi-reminiscent of high school. I don't really have the energy for that a second time around. But only two weeks left and then I have a year off.

I'm also getting really busy at work, trying to finish my media guide before our first soccer game at home, which happens to be in two weeks! So quick! Then I'm trying to balance cooking at home with exercising while desperately needing evening naps to keep me going.

It's been a busy two weeks!

Which brings me to the topic of today's post. Has anyone been watching the Next Food Network Star this season? I watched religiously! Well this season's winner, Melissa d'Arabian just aired her first show today. The more I kept watching, I grew to love that she was ALL about French food. The Food Network didn't have too many French cooks on the air.

But the more I learn about her, the more I get a little skeptical. She goes on and on about living in France and her French husband and his French family. Usually that kind of stuff is so exciting for me to hear and read about, but she's almost snooty in how she carries her French-ness.

Anyways, I was still really really really excited to see she made a Tartiflette! It took me back to my days living in France, especially my frequent visits to my dad who was living in Annecy! During my first trip up there, he informed me that the Tartiflette was the official food of the Savoie region (along with fondue, of course). I continually tasted different variants on this yummy potato torte (as Melissa calls it) wherever our French travels would take us (restaurants in Annecy, ski resorts in La Clusaz, even in the South of France near my region of Nice).

So here's the recipe for Melissa d'Arabian's Potato-Bacon Torte (aka Tartiflette):

Ingredients

* 4 strips bacon
* 3 sprigs fresh thyme
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
* 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
* 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

* 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

More food stories!

Since they've had us over for dinner at least four times now and have bought us tons of appliances and needed items in our new home (in addition to acting as handy-men whenever things break), J.D. and I decided to have his parents over for dinner last night.

It was the first time really, that I got to play hostess at a dinner party. Kinda weird feeling, but I guess I'll be getting used to it!

Unfortunately I did not snap any photos, so you'll have to let your imagination guide you.

We started off with breads, various cheeses and rosemary roasted garlic for the first course. I sliced chunks of melting brie, sharp cheddar crusted with almond slivers and a mozzarella-prosciutto-basil roll.

Then the wine started flowing. A French Bordeaux blend purchased from Trader Joe's and a Coppola Pinot Noir for an extra bottle. Of course, we only ended up drinking half of each, but there are still plenty left over.

Next up was the vegetable course, with a large mixed green salad, bowl of edamame and a tomato-basil caprese salad for the side.

After the plates were cleared we brought out the main dish: pork chops seared with home-stewed applesauce. We made the applesauce with fresh apples, apple passionfruit juice, chopped walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Plate that with a side of brown rice and then we were good to go.

Out came the cheese plate again paired with a little wine and Pellegrino and then we were ready for dessert.

Again, thank you Trader Joe's for doing all the work, I served a fresh lemon tart for dessert that J.D. spruced up with raspberries.

After the dinner finished, I began reading my newest book: My Life in France by Julia Child and then went for a 20-minute run into the gated golf course community past the lakes.

Before the night ended, we whipped up some chocolate-dipped strawberries for after dinner tonight and then it was time to sleep! I had such a great evening cooking and eating :)

You can still eat without sugar and starches

...It's just very hard. And testing my willpower.

In any event, here's a look at the menus I've been creating lately without bread, pasta, potatoes, fruit and sugar (though Splenda and sugar substitutes are allowed, or else how would I survive?!). See, they're not all just salads! And I have cheated once or twice, but for the most part I'm going strong.

Egg frittata with eggplant, squash, turkey lunch meat, broccoli and cheese

Tilapia in balsamic sauce with olives/onions, served with lentils and artichoke

Lowfat-crustless artichoke, asparagus and shrimp quiche (the difference is this is baked in the oven while the frittata is fried on the stove)

Chicken salad (minus the sandwich) “spread” with vegetable chips

Peanut butter/vanilla soy powder protein balls

Baked eggplant shells stuffed with mixed vegetables and ground turkey, topped with parmesan cheese

High-protein chili served with home-made baked “cheese crisps”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So I'm trying. And if you want any of the recipes, don't be shy!

Feelin' good

I think that the best way to blog is two glasses of red wine into the night. I think that's it for me tonight, but other than the wine party I went to with my parents on Sunday, I really haven't drank in a long time. It's so weird to be in the United States, not sipping wine in October as one year ago I was stressfully teaching and planning course lessons.

Anyways, for my first autumn back in the States, I'm getting overly excited about the array of seasonal foods. A few days ago I purchased a decent-sized butternut squash and finally got down to cooking it today.

I looked up nice fall recipes and found something for a marshmallow pecan acorn squash dish. Well, I have butternut which probably would have tasted as similar (like it matters because the whole thing was drenched in brown sugar, butter and marshmallows anyways!). I also substituted slivered almonds for pecans because that's the only nut I have in my cupboard currently. Essentially I made a rip-off Thanksgiving dinner with roasted garlic chicken, green beans and my 'mallow squash!

I have my days in the kitchen :)

And speaking of holidays.... I'm starting to get super jazzed for Christmas. Target already is loading up on Christmas decorations. So Mom and Dad if you're reading, here's what I want this year:

The Sony Reader Digital Book:

It's pretty sweet and comes with a subscription for a bunch of free titles. Though it is slightly pricey.

Which is why my only other request is a new pair of Rainbow Sandals. Size 7-8 please :) I'm kind of a fan of the chocolate brown with the thick (not skinny) straps!

Promise I'll be good this year!

<3,

Monique

Qui a faim?

This is kind of fitting, seeing how I just taught my younger students all kinds of emotions including "I am hungry/thirsty." (Sidenote, I hope I am not getting sick just before the weekend hits, as coughing, a runny nose and sore throat have led to this conclusion...)

But last night I had no idea what to make for dinner, I just knew I had to use up some veggies left in the fridge before I headed out for the weekend, along with the half pack of tofu I've had open for about three days now.

After browsing through an old (AMERICAN!!) magazine my mom left here over Christmas break, I came across the Eat Better America website. Oh my goodness, if you click on the "recipes" section there are over a billion things to choose from, organized by labels such as drinks, desserts, snacks, lunch, breakfast, dinner.

I kind of wasted the better part of my night two days ago drooling over every single recipe listed there. So much that I didn't really have enough time to cook that night, so I whipped up something quick (hello, large salad).

Last night I decided to go to the search bar and typed in "tofu" because I really don't know how to cook tofu since I've only ever thrown it in with lentils and chestnuts or something. Desperate for new ideas here, people.

Anyways, the second or third tofu recipe on the site was just too perfect! It's called a Niçoise Tofu Skillet Supper!


I improvised a little bit, cutting the portion almost in fourths. And while I didn't have any green beans, I did have some asparagus chillin' in the freezer (ha, get it?) and I threw in some of my roommate's cherry tomatoes (shh, don't tell!) and duh, Herbes de Provence took the place of the Italian seasoning and garlic salt called for in the recipe. Dang it was good. And like I said, too perfect for someone who's actually living in the greater Nice area!

Best website, EVER.

Decisions, decisions

So what do you do with leftover kidney beans, corn and tortilla chips from Mexican dinner night?!

...MAKE CHILI!

And then eat cereal for dinner. Alright, so my chili's sitting in the fridge waiting until tomorrow afternoon (yeah mid-week day off!) when I reheat it with cheese and consume with tortilla chips. If only margaritas existed here.

Oh yeah, and the girls who live in my building approached me in class today and asked if they could come see my apartment some day. I'm totally going to be all Martha Stewart and make them cupcakes or something! Love it.

28 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)

- and -

21 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE!!

This is just to say...

That I am extremely, dead tired.

After one of the most intense days at work -- first test of the year, I even pulled two and am only giving the boys half credit for talking in the middle of the exam -- I felt like I owed it to myself to do SOMETHING other than go straight home and eat a lot, slash watch mindless French t.v. shows.

Lucky for me, my gym is halfway between my school and the bus stop. So planning ahead this morning, I dressed for the gym and attended all my classes in workout attire. That makes me no different than the P.E. teachers and all the male teachers here. Plus, I'm still on my "I've paid too much for a gym membership AND bus pass this month" kick. So I'm really trying to get my money's worth. Anyways I just got home after nearly 2 hours at the gym and I'm fairly exhausted.

So I'm thinking about hopping in the shower, because I told my roommate I'd wait for her to get home (after 8:30 PM!!) to have dinner. We're making MEXICAN tonight... oh how I miss Mexican food. Anyways, this is my usual dinner hour here, so I don't know what to do with myself.

That's why I'm blogging. If I can't eat, let me at least think about food for a minute or two...

29 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)

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22 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE!!!

I bridged the gap!!!

I'm coming out of my shell in a big, big way here. And, as my roommate said, it's incredible what I've already done in less than two months.

For example, I have:

• figured out the trains and buses without (much) help
• opened a bank account
• started making friends
• expressed myself very well in French, as I supposedly continue to do every day
• cooked up one heck of a storm two times and pleased many bellies

But I'll get back to all of that. I just need to reaffirm all the things that are going right in my world, to remind myself that I'm doing something incredible. And I'm doing it well!

That being said, I had no idea this weekend was going to turn out the way it did. At first I was a little nervous about what my roommate had planned for her friends who came to visit this weekend -- one of which being her former roommate who only left two months before I moved in. It started out like that past week, rainy, cold and dreary. So that pretty much put a halt to any major plans.

Kathy, Nina (her friend from the Netherlands) and I were supposed to all go out to Monte-Carlo and Ventimiglia in Italy to check out the large open-air market they have. But alas, they drank too much the night before and the strikes still hadn't lifted 100 percent. So long story short, I woke up very early in the morning and had nothing to do most of the day.

Karina, my roommate, invited me to have lunch with her and her friends. At first I was hesitant and thought I'd have to leave, but then I decided, "What the heck?" I can go to Monte-Carlo anytime, it's ok if I meet up with them a little later. So I rolled up my sleeves and helped cook some pasta and on the spot created our very own, homemade sauce. I had a very good lunch because I got to see a side of my roommate that's been hidden from me. Maybe we were both just too shy and too new with each other to let those parts of our personalities out, but seeing her with her friends made me realize that she's probably not all that bad. And might I add, I've never ever relented my kindness around her, so perhaps that's finally starting to pay off.

As soon as we finished cleaning, Kathy, Nina and I all met up at the Antibes train station and headed off towards Monte-Carlo. I was only going to be there for an hour, because Karina's old roommate, Thomas, invited me out to dinner with all of them. So instead we improvised and decided to get off the train at Nice, halfway to Monte-Carlo -- especially since I was just there the weekend before with my dad. And what a fabulous idea it was! The entire city is already decked-out beyond imagination for Christmas and the light-rail tram they've been working on over the past four years -- terrible traffic when I last studied here because of all the road closures -- had its grand opening this weekend. So there were free concerts, with festive holiday-themed songs to be had. And even though I could only stay an hour and a half, it was time well-spent!

Then I rushed back home and got ready to go out to dinner. Karina told me I'd want to dress up a little bit, because she was going to present me to some "guy friends," and some of Thomas's former co-workers. And they did.

We went out to this excellent French restaurant where everyone ordered of all thing, individual pizzas à feu bois. Delicious! Karina felt inclined to watch after me all night long, which was very nice of her considering I knew practically no one. But, the "California curiosity" eventually came out and I was the talk of the table for a short period of time. So that helps open up my shell and force me to talk more in French! And I kind of made a little dinner-time friendship with the two guys sitting near me which held up later in the evening.

After dessert and coffee, the younger ones of us decided to go off to a club. Imagine my shock when my roommate conjured up the whole thing! All the guys were really excited to go out and dance, and Karina and I were kind of apathetic to it all.

But then if you know me, you obviously know that's not true.

We got into this club -- which didn't have a cover charge for WOMEN OVER 25 AND MEN OVER 30 -- that's right Aimee, I crashed the old person's dance party so we don't need to do it in Geneva next month. And since there were so many of us and very young to boot -- maybe only two of our group of eight actually fit that age category -- we got in without a problem and went straight to a reserved table. However, that was the last I saw of the table, as Karina grabbed my hand and whisked me off to the dance floor.

At first I was kind of shy and nervous, but whenever American songs come on here, especially oldies and disco, something inside me just snaps and I go crazy dancing like no one else is around! And they loved it. They kept cheering, "OUAIS, ELLE EST AMERICAINE!" which made me laugh and only made me want to do it more. The two guys who befriended me earlier and Karina kept egging me on all night and at one point this guy and I kind of choreographed a dance to M.J.'s "Billy Jean." Very, very fun. And her friends thought I was a riot -- which I equally thought of them.

It might have been the sangria and wine I had with dinner speaking -- promise I didn't drink a drop of alcohol at the club, which makes it all that much MORE fun -- but I started talking about how much I miss American Sunday brunches. Tout d'un coup, Karina and our house guests were signing me up to cook it on Sunday and they started pitching in money, suggestions and food.

Basically, we finally got home at 4:30 a.m. reeking of cigarettes and sweat, looked up a bunch of recipes online and by 5 a.m. I was fast asleep. Six hours later I woke up with THE SUN!! (no rain today!) and accompanied Karina to the grocery store where we bought all the necessary items for our brunch.

This morning I made apple-cinnamon and walnut muffins, French toast (ah the irony), pancakes, fruit salad and scrambled eggs for everyone to try. It was quite a hit!

Mom, I've been getting so many compliments on my cooking here! It's kind of like in a previous October post I had. I feel like I'm testing out someone else here in France. I wake up early, I cook, and I don't remember what else, but this person doesn't seem to be the Monique I used to know. And I kind of like this one. Needless to say, I'm pretty full now.

So not only did I have an excellent weekend, but my roommate and I are kind of starting to open up and be friends! I've been waiting for a moment like that for nearly a month and a half now! And even better, we're going to start cooking like this every Sunday. Yay brunch and baked treats!

...36 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)

Thank GOD I'm missing "Black Friday"

Alright, I'm sitting at my desk, listening to LIVE 105 on iTunes, eating an ENGLISH MUFFIN and drinking French chai tea -- so not the same, don't bother with it -- thinking about how I've made it to this point. Here I am, in France, with a group of friends established enough to celebrate a traditional American Thanksgiving!

Needless to say, last night was a trip. And now after looking at pictures, I've fully decided that the SECOND my leftovers are gone, I'm going crazy into a diet and not cheating any of the days. I also should get back into running when I'm no longer sick. Seriously, I've gained so much weight here :( This always happens to me.

But back to Thanksgiving. It was amazing! Everyone brought something typical to what we're used to in the States. The only thing missing was the pumpkin pie because it's a bit difficult to find here :( So instead we got our fill with pumpkin soup and had to make do with an apple and a pecan pie. Fine, I guess.... hehe.

I got to play hostess, which I guess is totally in my genes after watching my mom every year on Christmas and for all the other dinner parties she hosts. So, my first Thanksgiving and I didn't mess anything up!! Actually, the nice part about cooking and playing playing hostess serving drinks is that I didn't have to sit at the table and eat mindlessly in the middle of conversations awaiting the actual meal. So, I guess that's a good thing. Um, and I think I accidentally invited everyone to California next year, haha. Kidding :)

During the dinner, we went around the table and said what we're thankful for -- in French and English! Mine was probably the shortest and most to the point, because I was the last one to go.

"I'm thankful for my family for supporting me to come here, the close friends I've made here, and all the wonderful food and drink we have tonight!"

Now that I think of it, I'm also REALLY thankful I'm not in the U.S. near any single mall today.

My roommate showed up and actually made an effort, which made me happy, but towards the end of the night she started doing the whole passive-aggressive thing again. As she went off to her room to sleep, she mentioned in passing, "Oh you guys don't have to be quiet, but Monique, I'm having three friends stay over for the weekend. They're leaving on Sunday. Good night."

Oh Christ, what does that mean? Since we were up since 1 a.m. I have a feeling I'm going to be getting it back in the next two days...

Whatever, it was worth it! Thanksgiving is such an important holiday. If I can't spend it with my family, I'm going to at least do something else worthwhile.

It was just kind of hard to get up this morning ;) Thank God I don't have class until 1:30 p.m. today, because I'm hurting bad right now.

Oh and P.S. now there's NOTHING standing in my way of getting ready for Christmas!!!!

...38 More Days Until France BANS Indoor Smoking! :)