Mar 24
Breakfast: blackberries, slice of flaxseed toast with butter and jam, banana, pear, one fried egg.
I had a late-morning decaf americano at the Starbucks near the Wheaton Mall, after buying a new pair of jeans and too much (as always) Easter candy. It was beautiful weather and I could drink my coffee outside the shop while writing and trying not to eavesdrop on the very sweet pair of young men talking earnestly near me about important things.
Lunch (after leaving the mall and picking up my kid from their theater rehearsal-- it's the first day of spring break, so the rehearsal was in the middle of the day): fish and chips at the Woodside Deli (kid's choice), which also came with coleslaw and a side salad. Plus I ate a couple of pickles from the pickle bar. The fish and chips were only okay, but I was craving them for some reason. Coffee.
After I came home, it was so beautiful that I went for a walk outside and took pictures of flowers.
Dinner: It was one of those nights where I tried to bring my creativity to bear on a small number of available ingredients, with only moderate success. We had: roasted cauliflower (good) with a dipping sauce of curried yogurt (not so good, nor necessary). Brown rice cooked in vegetable broth with za'atar sprinkled on top (eh. Why is za'atar so good on bread, but not really so good on rice? I ended up mixing some of my yogurt in with my rice). Cabbage slaw with raisins, in an apple cider vinegar dressing that was dressed up a bit with cumin and cayenne pepper (but you couldn't really tell). Little side bowl of sliced bananas dressed in sour cream and honey. Weird dinner. Probably nutritious, though.
Breakfast: blackberries, slice of flaxseed toast with butter and jam, banana, pear, one fried egg.
I had a late-morning decaf americano at the Starbucks near the Wheaton Mall, after buying a new pair of jeans and too much (as always) Easter candy. It was beautiful weather and I could drink my coffee outside the shop while writing and trying not to eavesdrop on the very sweet pair of young men talking earnestly near me about important things.
Lunch (after leaving the mall and picking up my kid from their theater rehearsal-- it's the first day of spring break, so the rehearsal was in the middle of the day): fish and chips at the Woodside Deli (kid's choice), which also came with coleslaw and a side salad. Plus I ate a couple of pickles from the pickle bar. The fish and chips were only okay, but I was craving them for some reason. Coffee.
After I came home, it was so beautiful that I went for a walk outside and took pictures of flowers.
Dinner: It was one of those nights where I tried to bring my creativity to bear on a small number of available ingredients, with only moderate success. We had: roasted cauliflower (good) with a dipping sauce of curried yogurt (not so good, nor necessary). Brown rice cooked in vegetable broth with za'atar sprinkled on top (eh. Why is za'atar so good on bread, but not really so good on rice? I ended up mixing some of my yogurt in with my rice). Cabbage slaw with raisins, in an apple cider vinegar dressing that was dressed up a bit with cumin and cayenne pepper (but you couldn't really tell). Little side bowl of sliced bananas dressed in sour cream and honey. Weird dinner. Probably nutritious, though.
 Before  Before |  After  After |
Snacks: 2 other cups of coffee, 1 regular, 1 decaf, with half and half. A few pieces of roasted cauliflower while waiting for my husband to get home for dinner.
Mar 25
Breakfast: leftover cauliflower, leftover brown rice, leftover cabbage slaw, one fried egg.
I haven't done any significant, not-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cooking in about two weeks. I miss it. Why exactly does it seem like I'm so busy? I'm not really that busy compared to normal people. And I can't find the time to make a menu plan and go properly grocery shopping?
The plan today was to go hiking on the C&O Canal Trail with my kid, as we sometimes do. But when I "awakened" them at 10:45 (really they were watching something on their iPod Touch), it turned out they were not in the mood to tackle this adventure. So, after some initial difficulty, we ended up spending our day on some other wholesome, mood-boosting activities: having lunch out (during which I ended up somehow relating unwholesome old family stories that kid had been Too Young to Hear before now); purchasing a new sketchpad and markers and drawing together; and impulse-purchasing a set of Magic the Gathering cards (a game I used to play long ago with my teenaged foster son, back when this kid was a wee baby) and re-figuring out how to play it. It was a good day.
Mar 25
Breakfast: leftover cauliflower, leftover brown rice, leftover cabbage slaw, one fried egg.
I haven't done any significant, not-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cooking in about two weeks. I miss it. Why exactly does it seem like I'm so busy? I'm not really that busy compared to normal people. And I can't find the time to make a menu plan and go properly grocery shopping?
The plan today was to go hiking on the C&O Canal Trail with my kid, as we sometimes do. But when I "awakened" them at 10:45 (really they were watching something on their iPod Touch), it turned out they were not in the mood to tackle this adventure. So, after some initial difficulty, we ended up spending our day on some other wholesome, mood-boosting activities: having lunch out (during which I ended up somehow relating unwholesome old family stories that kid had been Too Young to Hear before now); purchasing a new sketchpad and markers and drawing together; and impulse-purchasing a set of Magic the Gathering cards (a game I used to play long ago with my teenaged foster son, back when this kid was a wee baby) and re-figuring out how to play it. It was a good day.
 My drawing |  Kid's drawing. They are different. |
Lunch (at Capital City Cheesecake, in figurative company of my paternal extended family): chicken caesar flatbread (again, so good! Not too much dressing this time) and chips, redeye coffee.
Dinner: I met husband at Kin Da, our neighborhood Thai restaurant. I had a pineapple-mint-ade sort of drink, vegetable tempura, a yellowtail-and-scallion roll, and futo maki. Plus half a dozen or so edamame pods, and one taste of my husband's cashew chicken (deep-fried). On any given visit, some of their items will be terrific and others only okay (and it's not entirely consistent which ones are terrific), but overall this restaurant is such a nice addition to our neighborhood. It provides a cuisine we don't otherwise have within walking distance, it is overall good quality, the staff is very nice, and the atmosphere is dignified though not expensive. I like it.
Snacks: 3 other cups of coffee, 1 regular, 2 decaf, with half and half. Cup of green tea in late morning with kid, as we hashed through the best way to deal with a precarious beginning.
Dinner: I met husband at Kin Da, our neighborhood Thai restaurant. I had a pineapple-mint-ade sort of drink, vegetable tempura, a yellowtail-and-scallion roll, and futo maki. Plus half a dozen or so edamame pods, and one taste of my husband's cashew chicken (deep-fried). On any given visit, some of their items will be terrific and others only okay (and it's not entirely consistent which ones are terrific), but overall this restaurant is such a nice addition to our neighborhood. It provides a cuisine we don't otherwise have within walking distance, it is overall good quality, the staff is very nice, and the atmosphere is dignified though not expensive. I like it.
Snacks: 3 other cups of coffee, 1 regular, 2 decaf, with half and half. Cup of green tea in late morning with kid, as we hashed through the best way to deal with a precarious beginning.