Tuna Guac?

Ten days.

That's how long I have to wait until I get to step back on Mexican soil. It's also the day I'll receive my LSAT score (provided the release date is kept). So to say that I'm anxious/excited/thrilled/nervous is an understatement. I'm trying my hardest not to think too much about the LSAT--I already spent four months obsessing over it--but it's proving to be difficult.

Here's the problem. I want those ten days to go by as fast as possible since I want to go home, see my friends and attend my cousin's wedding (which is the main reason why I'm making the trip). But on the other hand, I can't predict my score, so I might want this LSAT limbo to last longer. If I don't know my score, I can't get upset about it right? I'll take the middle ground then: average-speed ten days + score-unknown bliss.

Ten days. Of limbo. That I vow to enjoy to the fullest.

Here's a delicious recipe for a modified guar/avocado salad. I paired it with some Wasa crackers for a light lunch, but I'm sure it tastes great atop a bed of greens or wrapped in a whole wheat lavash. Enjoy!

Chunky Tuna Avocado Salad (adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 20 minutes.
Makes 2-3 servings.

• 1 5oz. can Albacore tuna in water, drained 
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 cucumber, sliced into rounds and diced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• Juice of half a lime
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1 avocado

1. Place tuna in a medium sized bowl and mash with a fork. Add tomato, cucumber, cilantro and green onions and mix well. Add lime juice, vinegar and oil and stir to combine; season with salt and pepper.
2. Carefully fold in avocado pieces and mix well, but making sure you don't crush them--unless you like your salad less chunky. Chill for 10 minutes in refrigerator and serve.

Tonight's Dinner. Tomorrow's Lunch.

Here's a curious thought. You know how interval training is supposed to make your fitness level go up? Well consider this, the included iPhone charger in my car seems to plug and unplug every few minutes, in intervals--very annoying if I don't have the phone on silence since each "interval" makes a sound. Does that mean that my iPhone is getting fitter?

I can say this much: if I plug it in when I leave the office, midway through my commute it's almost always close to fully charged. Make of it what you may, but I think intervals work!

OK, enough nonsense.

Now that I live alone (I moved in August) I really need to think strategically about dinners. Breakfast is usually a smoothie or pastry, and lunch is either a quick salad or something from the cafeteria at work. But come dinner I need a yummy meal for one. Although, if it's one that can provide leftovers for lunch, fine by me.

Here's a recipe for brussels sprouts that can be the base for many meals, including lunch and dinner. Simple, healthy and delicious: the three things that make me happy! Oh, and did I mention that there's various variations to this recipe? Thanks to Mark Bittman and his amazing How to Cook Everything book, I've found another favorite way to cook brussels sprouts. Enjoy this one!

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts Quinoa Salad (adapted from How to Cook Everything)
Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 45 minutes.
Makes about 4 servings

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1  pound brussels sprouts
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 4 cups baby spinach leaves

1. Cook quinoa according to instructions and let cool for about 15 minutes. 
2. In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion strips and cook until browned, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, remove rough ends from brussels sprouts and slice thinly, or in quarters. Set aside until onions are browned. Add brussels sprouts and water to skillet and lower heat to medium; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until brussels sprouts are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove cover, bring heat back up to medium-high and cook until remaining water is evaporated, about 5 minutes. 
4. Remove skillet from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar and thyme. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes. 
5. Divide spinach among four plates (or containers); top with quinoa and brussels sprouts. Add desired dressing and serve.

Apple apples and more apples

Here's a fact: my family has an apple orchard at home.

I'm serious! But the things is, I'd never actively been apple picking until this weekend. My cousin and I drove up to Honey Pot Hill in Stow--as if I don't do that enough during the week (for those of you wondering, my office is located in Stow)--for a day in the orchards and joked around about how our mom's would react had we called them to ask how to pick a good apple. You'd think having an orchard in the back yard would keep us away from the orchards in NE, but no, there we were, miles away from home, picking McIntosh apples with big smiles on our faces.

Turns out it was a very fun, and as my cousin put it, "fall-appropriate" adventure. And since it provided us with a bunch pounds of juicy apples, who am I to complain!

Here's one of the many goodies that resulted from our apple-picking Saturday. These muffins are easy to make and actually taste delicious; they're relatively healthy (given that they're still muffins) and have the potential to act as breakfast, dessert or snacks. So, grab a cup of tea, coffee or apple cider--if you really want the fall experience--and chow down on one some of these. Enjoy!

Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins (adapted from Averie Cooks)
Active time: 15 minutes. Total time: 35 minutes plus cooling.
Makes 12 small muffins or 6 large ones.

For apples:

• 1 1/2 + 1/4 cups diced small apple (about 2 small apples--I used McIntosh)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For batter:

• 1 large ripe banana
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk at room temperature
• 1/3 coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray non-stick muffin pan with baking spray and dust well with flour; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups diced apples, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Toss to coat and set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, using a fork, mash the banana. Add sugar, milk, coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon; whisk until well combined. Add all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt and stir until just combined, don't over mix. 
4. Carefully fold in 1 1/2 cup prepared apples and remaining loose flour and cinnamon mix. 
5. Divide batter equally among muffin tin--if making 12 small ones, cavities will be about 2/3 full. Distribute reserved 1/4 cup diced apples among muffins and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, if desired. 
6. Bake muffins for about 18 minutes, or until tops are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before serving.

Soy-Glazed Tofu

Guess who's sick and tired and plans on crawling in bed and staying there forever and ever (or until tomorrow morning)?

Me!

Yes, now that all the stress is gone, and I've had time to relax, it seems my antibodies have also decided to relax. But hey, it's almost the weekend and, most importantly, this didn't happen last week. Now that would've been a drag.

Unfortunately there isn't much left in my fridge these days since I haven't yet gotten a hang of this whole buy groceries for one person only thing--during my LSAT nerd period I lived off steamed veggies, fruit, cereal and lots and lots of takeout. Anyways, here's something I had for dinner on Tuesday and lunch on Wednesday. Hooray for leftovers! It's an easy prep dish that taste delicious and can probably be adapted to include any and all of your favorite veggies. The original recipe called for carrots only, but I added some mushrooms, because I just couldn't stop myself. I'd love to try this with broccoli or cauliflower, since I'm sure they would soak up the marinade very well.

Soy Glazed Tofu & Veggies (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 40-45 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

For marinade

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 8-9 medium carrots, sliced into 2-inch thick pieces; cut thick pieces in half lengthwise)
• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained and squeezed dry
• 4 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

**If adding more vegetables just make more marinade as necessary.

1. Heat broiler and set rack about 4 inches from heat--unless you're using a broiler pan, then set rack so that the top of the pan is 4 inches from heat. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, soy sauce and salt. Add carrots and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer carrots onto baking sheet, reserving marinade, and push them to one side. Make sure carrots fit arranged in a single layer.
3. Slic tofu into 16 equal blocks and add a few pieces at a time to reserved marinade; toss gently to coat and transfer to sheet. Arrange tofu on a single layer. Reserve remaining marinade.
4. Broil until carrots are tender and tops are browned and tofu is golden, turning tofu half way and tossing carrots 3-4 times; about 30-35 minutes total.
5. Transfer tofu and carrots to bowl with marinade; add scallions and vinegar and toss gently. Serve tofu and carrots topped with sesame seeds.

Keep That Smile on your Face

I'm still in a good great mood; I still have a big smile on my face; and I'm still amazed at how a five-hour event flipped my mood completely. Although to be fair, those five hours were the culmination of more than three months of rigorous studying--lack of social life and heartburn-creating stress included. So yes, even though I'm entertained by my awesome mood, I'll take it regardless of how it came to be.

Let me warn you though, come October 30th (when scores are supposed to be released), I'll either be in an even better mood (higher-than-expected score) or I'll be in a terrible one (lower-than-expected score). For now, I'll wait, cook--or in this case bake--and blog.

Here's a simple recipe involving homemade quinoa flour. How it came to be? I just decided to experiment with a regular muffin recipe and replace all-purpose flour with blended quinoa. You can buy quinoa flour in specialty stores (maybe even regular supermarkets nowadays), but otherwise just blend quinoa until it turns into flour! Enjoy!

Quinoa Applesauce Muffins (inspired from As Simple as That)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes + cooling
Makes 6 muffins.

• 1/4 cup butter at room temperature (or coconut oil, but it definitely gives it a very distinct flavor)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Egg whites from two large eggs
• 4 oz. applesauce
• 3/4 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (I'm sure it would be great with blueberries as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a small bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Whisk in egg whites, one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
3. Add applesauce, quinoa flour, baking powder and salt to wet ingredients and mix well, making sure to get rid of any clumps. Gently fold in raspberries until combined with the batter. 
4. Divide batter among a 6-muffin pan sprayed with baking oil. Cook muffins for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the sides and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let muffins cool before serving.

The calm after the storm

Picture this: I'm run-walking down the Commons juggling a DSW bag and my umbrella in one hand and my favorite silver bag (yes I have to mention it's color because then I'm allowed to have multiple favorites in the different colors) in the other. I'm rushing to make my 1:00 p.m. appointment on Newbury Street; it's 12:59 and I'm not even past the Boylston T-Stop. Oh and did I mention it's drizzling and cold? ... Then all of a sudden my pants are soaked near my hip. I look down and my handbag is soaking wet. I look inside and notice my water bottle cap is loose and everything inside my bag is casually floating around. Yes, my handbag is a pool and I'm still running late.

Despite all that, I still have a large smile on my face. Nothing can ruin my good mood. Not the weather, not the water whirling around in my handbag, not the frizz plaguing my hair. I'm done with LSAT studying and that trumps any and all annoying things happening this weekend. It's the calm after the storm and I'm enjoying it until October 30th (scores release date).

Now let's backtrack to the end of my last post published almost three months ago--insert frown-face here. As you may have noticed from above, I was studying for the Law School Admission Test. Add work and exercise to that and you get long days with limited, if any, free time. Consequently I had no time for cooking, baking or blogging (I still ate, but nothing worthy of a post).

But now here I am, post anti-social-LSAT-studying-hermit-crab phase and I'm ready for a new batch of recipes.

So here's a little something I cooked to break the take out/frozen dinner rut. I found the rice and spinach salad in a Martha Stewart book--insert smiley face here--and I decided to pair it with grilled fish. Try adding chopped scallions to one tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce; then add two tablespoons olive oil and mix well. Drizzle on top of your grilled fish and enjoy! Easy and quick, but still delicious.

Wild-Rice Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes (adapted from Everyday Food Light)
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup wild rice (or brown)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar (or honey)
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

1. In a medium saucepan, boil the water and stir in rice. Season generously with salt. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until fluffy and tender. Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/4-inch wide half-moons. Halve cherry tomatoes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, dill and sweetener; season with salt and pepper. Add cucumbers, tomatoes and spinach and mix well. Add rice and toss until well mixed.