Special Delivery

May 14, 2013 by 6 Comments

IMG_1039

I really am flabbergasted by how amazing ya’ll are.  I’m overwhelmed—in a good way.

While this blog has always been a running diary of my daily adventures in eating and exercising, it is also about having a healthy perspective.  That’s the part I’ve lost, and in order to find my way back to that magical medium in my mind I’ve decided to cut back on the food photos and exercise diary.  I’m not sure what that means, but my promise to you is to try and keep it interesting around here, and my promise to me is to be nice…to myself.

I’m not giving up on photographing food completely, just photographing all of my food.  Like today, today’s food needed photographing, because it was an experiment in mail-order chefdom!

At a party last month I met the founder of Plated, Nick Taranto–he was recently written up in the New York Times Business, Dining & Wine, and Dining & Wine (again) sections.  We were chatting about food blogging,and when I checked my inbox the next day he’d sent me a voucher for two free meals!

I actually bought four meals, so I did pay a bit for this little experiment, but not much, each plate came out to $15.

Since The Fella is out and about tonight, I figured I had the perfect opportunity to experiment in the kitchen—reason being, I ordered fish and chicken entrees and Roy is a vegetarian.  We try to keep the house meat free, but when I do need a meat-based meal I eat it when he’s not around to watch.

So, what was on the menu tonight?

Roasted Salmon with Spring Pea Salad and Potatoes

My box o’food arrived while I was at work, luckily it was well iced and insulated, and still cold when I got home.  A major concern when you’re ordering fresh fish!

Inside where all sorts of baggies labeled by dish with their ingredients.  I took out all of my “Salmon” ingredients and got started.

img001

Armed with a  list of ingredients, equipment, and instructions on how to make each dish (with awesometacular photo guides) I rolled up my sleeves and started cooking.  Basically this experience was like reading a cookbook, only all of the ingredients are perfectly portioned in front of you and there’s little to no prep work.

The recipe itself was really simple and the whole meal was finished in 30 minutes.  The instructions even tell you when to start cooking things, as in “While the salmon cooks, start assembling the salad), ensuring that everything comes out at the same time.

I’m not sure I would want to fork over $15 for a regular at-home dinner on a regular basis, but I could definitely see myself using Plated again when I’m having people over for dinner, wanting to impress them, but not spend all my time in the kitchen.  Also, I really liked the fact that I didn’t have to waste time measuring, all the ingredients were perfectly proportioned inside.

img002

demo

versus

Kim

IMG_1043

The best part is that I have left overs.

The other best part is that I can keep the recipe card, and now have a new easy dish for fish-eating friends!

Later this week I’ll be testing out a chicken and pasta dish, I’ll keep you posted.

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional, Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

You Say You Want a Resolution…

January 1, 2011 by 4 Comments

See what I did there, with the title, it’s like that song by the Beatles.  Right, I hate the Beatles (yes, I’m the one), hmm…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I take my New Year’s resolutions very seriously, and this year I thought long and hard about the resounding feeling I wanted to bring with me into 2011.

Usually I take this opportunity to prepare for achievement, I’m kind of a sucker for accomplishment, but this year I’m focusing my efforts on enjoyment.  I am dubbing 2011 The Year of Living Simply, and my resolutions are meant to reflect that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about personal improvement, but I think I have finally learned the lesson that some of the best things in life are the things you don’t need to work for.  Instead, just the opposite, sometimes it’s just as important to put off for tomorrow what can be done today.

Now, with out further adieu, The Kim Challenge  2011 Resolutions:

  1. Quit the Gym. Yes, you read that correctly.  Do you want a paper bag to breathe into?  Let me clarify, I am not giving up exercise.  I love exercise and it is a very important part of my life.  But, since I started running outside and taking yoga classes at a studio I have learned that some of the best workouts are the ones you can’t find in the confines of a YMCA.  This year will be an experiment of sorts—I’m not sure I’m ready to give up the gym for the rest of my life, but a year of runs in the park, downward dogging at the studio, and taking full advantage of the hundreds of DVDs in my possession may be refreshing.  Added bonus: Almost $800 a year in my pocket.
  2. Ban the Bookstore. This year I purged my home of hundreds of books.  I love books.  I read at least a book a week, but I hate clutter.  Not only is this a waste of space, it’s also a waste of trees and money.  I recently learned the wonders of the New York Public Library, and let me tell you I AM IN LOVE!  This system is made of magic.  If you want a book all you have to do is order it online and it will be delivered to your closest branch.  Books for free, what will they think of next?
  3. Cut back on Convenience Foods. I noticed this year that there are lots of foods that I buy that are super easy to make.  Crackers. Yogurt.  Apple sauce.  Veggie burgers.  The possibilities know no bounds. I even have a pet resolution to make my own soft pretzels in 2011.  I don’t like the idea of eating processed foods, and even when most of the options I buy in these forms are organic, they’re still often times processed-organic.  I’m taking back my pantry!
  4. Prioritize my Personal Life. This is probably the most important of my resolutions for 2011.  It means work less, more sleep, and a focus on creating a more fulfilling life, not just career.  So, in 2011, I’m cutting out the gigs that don’t fulfill me and instead filling that void with hobbies, friends, family, vacations, and building up a steady stream of fulfilling freelance work.  I have worked very hard at building up my professional life, now I want to put some of that same elbow grease toward building my life-life.

And as a special twist resolution, this year I want to return to my roots in webshows.  I think this gets filed under “hobbies.”  This time I’ll be without the full production crew and magical editors at my disposal during The Daily Special/Pretty Imperfect, now it’s  just me and a camera and some scattershot attempts at editing.  This one may take a bit of time to negotiate, but keep your eyes out for The Kim Challenge show.

I’m pretty psyched for all things 2011.  What are you resolving for this year?

Kim

Filed Under: Resolutions Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

All Snowed in and Nowhere to Go

December 27, 2010 by 4 Comments

The good news: I feel healthy as a horse.  A healthy horse, even.

The bad news: I’m still on lockdown!

We had a blizzard!  A real one.  In general I’m skeptical of the sensationalist titles that newscasters dub any weather outside New York’s relatively non-dramatic norm, but I actually looked up the definition:

A blizzard is a severe storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and can include heavy snow. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph).

Considering we have over two feet of snow and wind gusts of up to 70 mph, we made the cut.  Congratulations New York City, a tornado and a blizzard in the same year!

I had 30″ in my backyard!

That’s not a snowball, it’s my patio table.

Work was cancelled which is always a welcome reality.  Truth be told, I was kind of looking forward to human interaction again.  While I was sick last week the most I could muster was the 10 foot trek from my bed to my couch.  Now that I have energy again being banished to the confines of my apartment felt more like punishment than refuge.

I’m sure I’ll regret saying that when I venture outside tomorrow!

For now though my cabin fever has pushed me a wee bit over the edge.  Since the only thing on TV was 24-hour coverage of snow, I had to find other ways to keep myself busy, like:

Making soup at 6am:

Winter White Bean Soup
serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 24 ounces of cooked Cannellini (White) beans
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 Medium onion, diced
  • 4 Carrots, diced
  • 4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Salt & pepper to taste

In a heated pot, soften onions and carrots in olive oil.  Do not allow to brown.  Add strained beans and thyme.  Combine for approximately two-minutes on medium heat, then add chicken (or vegetable broth, if you choose), and bring to a boil.

Once soup has been brought to a boil remove 1.5 cups of mixture, minus broth.  Puree the rest of the soup using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender.

Once soup has a faux-creamy consistency add beans, carrots, and onion back to mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and return to low heat for an additional five minutes.

and,

Organizing my tax information!
It’s never too early to prepare your deductibles list… categorized in a three ring binder.

Cleaning out my pantry.
Why was I saving that box of Matzah again?  An emergency craving for cardboard?

Making homemade yogurt.
This didn’t keep me busy for very long, silly yogurt maker does most of the work.

Getting ‘old school’ in my home workouts.  I have a soft spot for those Southern Belles/Drill Sergeants of the The Firm series.

I miss people!

Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll see people.  Tomorrow I’ll be allowed in the real world, where people walk, and talk, and exist outside their tiny New York City apartments.  Yes, tomorrow will be a good day.

Breakfast

Oatmeal with lite sour cream
Apple

Lunch

White bean soup (see recipe above)
Raisin and walnut roll

Snack

I’m not sure I was actually hungry, but popcorn takes a while to eat and I needed something to do.

Dinner

Baked tofu and roasted mushrooms and tomatoes over brown rice

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

A night of discovery

September 30, 2010 by 4 Comments

There are some foods that just baffle my mind.  Not the foods themselves, but the fact that someone, somewhere figured out how to eat them.

Things like beans.  Beans in their natural form pretty much resemble pretty, multi-colored rocks.  Beans take soaking, and then boiling before they become the little delicious nutritional powerhouses that we’ve all come to know and love.  Who thought of that?

And chocolate, chocolate comes from the cocoa bean.  Who figured that out?

What about milk?  Who passed by a cow and thought, “I think I’d like to suckle that animal”?  It’s really a little perverted.

Another food that baffles me is squash.  I didn’t really eat much squash growing up because  it takes a wee bit of effort to prepare.  While my mom is an excellent cook, she worked full-time and was pretty into quick and easy meal preparation.  So basically I’m in my squash preparing (and eating) infancy, but man, if you want to build up some bicep muscles, cutting up an un-cooked squash is the way to go.

Seriously now, who looked at this for the first time and said, “Gee, I bet that’s delicious.”

Tonight I prepared, for the very first time in the history of my life, a Kabocha squash.  I see them all over the blogosphere, and not wanting to be an uncool food blogger I figured it was time to get the chefs knife out and start chopping.

Verdict:  This stuff is good!  I don’t think I need to eat any other type of food ever again, it’s that good.

I also discovered tonight that quinoa can be prepared in a rice cooker!  Now that I know this expect to see way more quinoa ’round here.

What’s your favorite variety of squash?
Are there any foods you’re a newbie at?

Breakfast

I know they say you “shouldn’t drink your calories,” but I really like juice.  So there.

Egg white omelet with spinach, portobello mushroom, and goat cheese
Whole grain toast with apricot preserves

Lunch

Man, this soup is lasting FOREVER.
Chicken noodle soup with brown rice noodles

Snack

Multi-grain tortilla chips and salsa

Dinner

A quasi-weird amalgam of foods, but surprisingly delicious together
Roasted Kabocha squash
Quinoa, veggie burger, tomato, egg, hot sauce

I also did the most fun exercise DVD every today!  I’ll post a review of it on Saturday.

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , ,

A Fall Feast

September 26, 2010 by 3 Comments

The inner workings of my mind generally run in themes.

The theme for this very first dinner party of the Fall was…

ORANGE

Step 1: Set the mood…

Step 2: Cocktail Hour

Pomegranate Margaritas

… by the pitcher

Step 3: Feast

Mesclun salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette, topped with roasted beets,
mandarin orange slices, and blue cheese

Roasted Orange Chicken Breast with Wild Rice Pancakes

Low Fat Pear Spice Cake
with Orange Rum Sauce

Step 4: Spend the night laughing with friends. . .

Who’s coming over for my next party?

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , , ,

Soups on!

September 20, 2010 by 7 Comments

I have been fantasizing about soup non stop lately.

Not that kind of fantasizing, what kind of pervert do you think I am?!

Soup is my favorite food group.  Okay, technically not a food group, but by golly it should be!  It should be deemed “the comforting yet nutritious food group.”  And, we would all eat it and be merry and warm inside.

There are so many reasons soup is the best thing since bread (period, sliced or not bread rocks):

  • It can be an entire meal, or just a starter
  • Cheap!
  • Very little time or culinary prowess necessary to make tasty sustenance
  • Healthy (well, unless you’re pouring in the cream, but I generally stick to broth based soups)
  • Soup freezes well
  • It’s like a big bowl of love in your tummy.

Okay, maybe a the last one is a bit dramatic, but I’m a soup fan.

Now that there’s a little crispness in the air I can finally break out the soup pot and start simmering.

First thing I did when I got home today was softened some carrots and onions, added dried split peas and vegetable broth.  While that simmered I got ready for my evening spin class.

Upon my arrival home was a nice piping hot bowl (or six) of split pea awaiting me.  For approximately $4 I have lunch for the entire week–I am a money saving genius!

I can’t wait to make lentil soup, kale and white bean soup, spicy squash soup, chickpea and escarole soup, and the list continues…

What soups are you looking forward to making this Fall?

Admittedly not the best picture, but here’s what goes into my split pea soup

  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups dried split peas
  • liberal amounts of salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder

Heat heavy bottomed stock pot, add tablespoon olive oil, carrots, and onions.  Allow carrots and onions to soften, approximately three minutes.  Add broth and peas.  Bring broth to a boil, then back down to simmer.  Add salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, and stir.  Cover and allow to cook until peas are soft (approximately 30-minutes), stirring occasionally.  When peas are almost done I use an immersion blender to make the soup creamy–not completely, I leave some chunks.

This may be completely in my head, but I find that my soup is spicier when I use the immersion blender.  I tend to think it has something to do with grinding and distributing the pepper.

Okay, now onto the rest of the food:

Oatmeal with low fat sour cream
egg
coffee

Lunch

Chicken noodle soup

Whole grain bread, turkey, lettuce
apple

Dinner

Split pea soup

Whole grain flat bread with hummus

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional, Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

Adventures in the Suburbs!

August 25, 2010 by 1 Comment

Today is my dad’s birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY-O.  Thank you for being born!

Can you tell we're related?

Since I couldn’t be home today to celebrate with the family (silly being a grown-up with jobs and stuff), I visited the folks over the weekend.  Every year for my dad’s birthday, because he’s really hard to shop for, I take him and my mom out to a baseball game.  The Long Island Ducks are our team of choice.  There’s just something hokey and wholesome about minor league baseball that makes me happy.  While there I treat my dad to concessions and a new baseball hat.  Fun times are had by all.

Handsome guy, right?

Quacker Jack calling a play

While on “the Island” this weekend I went to a grocery store.  Suburban grocery stores never cease to amaze me.  Perhaps it’s the prices (so much lower than New York City), or the sheer size (how many aisles?), or perhaps it’s just the blatantly bizzaro food choices available to the masses in the suburbs.

I will admit that I live in a quasi-Yuppy neighborhood in Brooklyn.  If you were imagining me living a thugtastic inner-city life, I am sorry to disappoint you.  My ‘hood is basically Brownstones and baby-carriages. Our local grocery stores cater to that population.  Which is great for someone who is all sorts of health-centric, but I didn’t realize how sheltered I was when it came to the freezer aisle (blue french fries?).

I was strangely excited to see that Pepsi is now making “throw back” soda with real sugar.  My mom, who is a fan of soda, bought 4-cases.  I feel way better, for some reason, about her drinking soda made with sugar-sugar, as opposed to High Fructose Corn Syrup-sugar.  I did see another soda that caught my eye:

Now, I’m not a parent, but if I were that would be exactly the wrong marketing tactic to take with me.  “Chubby Kids Soda” does not denote the kind of lifestyle I would wish upon my offspring.  Also, since when did kids need their own soda?  Isn’t most soda marketed to kids?  Methinks there’s an advertising exec scratching their head somewhere wondering where things went wrong.

It’s not all cynicism, for the most part when I go grocery shopping in the burbs I’m in a food wonderland. One drawback of city living is limited options, and there are so many options to be had in the great big food-buying world.  Also, wow, there are a lot more flavors of jello than I’d originally thought.

At least my grocery store has Udon noodles, take that megastore! Where are your udon noodles?  Mmm, Udon noodle soup…haven’t had that in a while.

On another note: Luna Bars=AMAZING.  Why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?  I don’ think I ever need to date again, because these bad boys totally fulfill me.

Breakfast

Scrambled egg whites, whole wheat English Muffin,
apple sauce

Lunch

I’m a little sick of salad.  No more salad for a while.

Snack

Luna bar

Dinner

I haven’t made this in a while, but it’s a total favorite of mine:
Lentils & peas (cooked in vegetable broth, cumin, coriander, and turmeric)
Brown rice
Spiced yogurt

Tonight is a late night gym night.  I slept late and screwed up my fitness schedule, and since I hate working out during rush hour, I’ll head over there for some time on the elliptical and in the weight room post prime-time.

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sunny with a chance of Meatballs

April 8, 2010 by 7 Comments

Sigh, back to the daily grind for me.  My marvelous 10-day vacation from the rat race ended on Wednesday.  It only strengthened my resolve to save oodles of cash and get out of Dodge!  Of course, I need to shake a tail feather on whipping up some more freelance jobs in the meantime.  That’s the hard part, it’s hard to solicit more work at a point when I’m already juggling long hours and lots of responsibility.  Ahh, but I’m making excuses. . . that’s not productive.  I’ve decided that what I need is a plan.  I have a goal, but I need a solid plan to get there.  I think this weekend I’m going to sit down with a pad and paper, or more likely an excel spreadsheet and put together a plan of action for the next few months so that I can be all grown up and mature about this transition I’m planning on making.

I have a confession…I’ve been craving spaghetti and meatballs like it’s my job.  In the two years that I’ve done this blog, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten/prepared spaghetti and meatballs.  It’s generally not a food that registers  in my psyche as something I eat.  Seriously, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve eaten this dish in my lifetime. However, and possibly it was the Passover carb fast talking, I saw a commercial (I think it was for Walmart) where a family sits down for dinner to a heaping bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and I swear I haven’t been able to think of anything but that since.  In my epic shop at Trader Joe’s earlier this week I picked up some lean ground turkey, and when I got home from work last night I got down and dirty making turkey meatballs.  They were good, now I probably won’t have a hankering for this dish for another, oh twenty years.

Do you ever crave food that you never eat?  Do you indulge or just ignore it and hope it goes away?

Breakfast

Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with strawberries and almond milk
Coffee with almond milk and truvia

Snack

Trail mix

Lunch

Salad with cucumber, tomato, kalamata olives, grilled chicken and lemon vinaigrette

Carrot sticks and hummus

Dinner

Note to self: do not gorge on Brussel sprouts before dinner, they will fill you up and dampen your spaghetti and meatball excitement.

Whole wheat spaghetti, baked turkey meatballs, organic marinara sauce
Grated asiago cheese

Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , , ,

Leftovers to the rescue

February 9, 2010 by 1 Comment

Yesterday was the day of old food…and thank goodness for that.

I had a plan.  You know what they say about plans, right?  Well, my plan was originally to come home from my weekend trip to visit the family and make a big pot of vegetable chili for the week.

The superbowl was a kink in my plans, although cerebrally I knew that I would be watching the superbowl, I didn’t quite take into account end time/2-hour train ride back to NYC.  I ended up getting home a little before 1am and let’s just say cooking was not a priority.  Leaving me with no lunch for Monday.

Leftover spaghetti squash to the rescue!

I had the same sort of dilemma when it came to dinner.  I love my new Monday night yoga class (new to me, not so much to existence in the universe) but I don’t get home from it till 10:30pm; again very little interest in cooking.  This time it was the left over drunkenly cooked meal from Friday that got me through.

It’s a good thing I cook in bulk.  I’m like the Costco of cookery.

Remember to enter to win free DVDs in the Anniversary Giveaway!

Breakfast

Smoothe made with 1 cup low fat kefir, 1 kiwi, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Snack

My apple had that “I’ve been in the produce bin too long” taste, but I ate it anyway.

Lunch

Leftover spaghetti squash with asparagus and sauce

Snack

Activia Peach Yogurt

Dinner

Leftover chicken, zucchini and mashed cauliflower


Kim

Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , ,

Friday is nice

February 6, 2010 by 1 Comment
Friday was perfect, just one of those really nice easy days.

It started of with work, because sadly I am a working adult, but I finished everything on my list for the week and left early (I have half day Fridays) to hit Whole Foods to prepare for my lunch with a friend.  We’ve had these little at-home wine and cheese parties before, and realized we were on to something kind of awesome.  Cheese, crusty French bread, cured meats and wine by the bottleful–what could be wrong?

I was in charge of cheese, and had some wine sitting around the house; she was in charge of bread and meet (and brought some unfinished bottles of wine from her house).  The conversation flowed from gitty to serious to sex, as it usually does.  While I certainly wouldn’t suggest having this sort of lunch everyday, a couple of times  a year it’s just plain good for the soul.

Now that my soul was successfully healed, I had to make dinner.  I didn’t quite calculate my drunkenness into the equation when I told Achilles I would make him a healthy lo-carb (his personal trainer is all about the protein) meal.  I decided to make comfort food healthier by roasting a chicken, mashing some cauliflower (I love that stuff), and steaming some zucchini in chopped thyme.

It was lovely, but the chicken was a little underdone.  The “juices” ran clear, but the bone was still bloody, and I was a bit too drunk to handle that appropriately so I just cut the meat off the bone and microwaved it for a minute.  The sides were the best part.  I have to admit that I was still so full from lunch that I basically just moved my food around and packed it up for another day.  The goal of the meal was really to feed Achilles something that wasn’t pre-frozen.

Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.  Happy weekend everyone.

Friday Breakfast
Whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese
Strawberries

Lunch
At Home Wine and Cheese Lunch: Brie, Blue Cheese, French Muenster, pate, sausage, baguette, wine

Dinner
Roast chicken, mashed cauliflower, zucchini
Filed Under: Daily Confessional Tagged With: , , , ,
«Older Posts