Oh the cranky.

Today was hard. I’m pretty sure that today was hard because I went H.A.M. yesterday.  You’d think it would have the opposite effect? Anyway, today I just couldn’t feel full, I ate so much but nothing could satisfy me.  Statements like nothing satisfies me, only Jesus.. seem out of reach and cliché … Blah blah blah….

Today, I was getting real real cranky.  The sky opened the holy slurpee machine and just poured this snowy feathery junk everywhere.  This is the worst kind of snow.. it sticks but annoyingly…

Anyway, the temperature dropped a bit and on the way home.  And the snow started freezing and in more defined shapes.  It seemed magical, it was a strangely quiet evening with slow dusty snow flakes gently catching the streetlights.  It reminded me of gold dust.  In the signs and wonder movement, I’ve heard of churches seeing gold dust – out of nowhere people would see flecks of gold in their hair, hands, and falling from the sky.  I used to pray that God would show me gold dust. I know I’m a brat, I have so much and I still want to see tricks but I mean he’s my father and I can ask… I mean, he can still say no. With that said, while I was going home cranky.. Holy Spirit nudged me, isn’t it cool? Isn’t it cool that water can fall so gently from the sky and fall with such beauty? I honestly think that this phenomenon is as cool as gold dust… And it’s so accessible for people to experience if we’d just look.

Anyway… this cranky day ends in romance. God you are so cool.  AND I got an awesome parking spot.  Revelation AND my favorite parking spot was still open, that is truly a provision from God alone! I’m not sure, but I’m really thankful that He’s so good to me.

Day 2 and I went to CostCo and went crazy!!

I was surprised that I could purchase a lot of things that I could eat straight away. I bought some Annie’s soups, lots of nuts, dates, celery, carrots, colorful peppers and toothbrush heads.  WHY ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE!

Oh – you want to know what tasty meal I’m having today?!? well ladies and gents it’s leftovers.  I ate a bunch of KBBQ with friends this past weekend and I am having the remaining scallion salad and what I would like to call “rice”.

Why do I feel like every night will be lazy? Tomorrow I’m going out.  Eating at a vegan restaurant.  Oh yea buddy~

Today I leave you with the recipe for “rice”.  I will provide the recipe in parts so you can decrease or increase the volume as you choose.

“Rice”
1 part yellow millet
1 part pearl barley
1 part steal cut Irish style oats
1 part quinoa
2 part beans

Soak overnight in cold water
Then place in fancy rice cooker on mixed rice function.
TADA I’m sorry for those who don’t have a rice cooker. Alternatively you can put it in a pressure cooker like a fancy Instapot. Honestly I don’t know how to function in my kitchen without my rice cooker, vitamix and coffee maker.  Main reason being my favorite way to prepare my sweet potatoes is in the rice cooker and I love green smoothies and then there is coffee…

What I like about this rice is that it’s a little sticky like rice, has protein to keep me full and it’s pretty.  I like pretty food. I bought the rainbow carrots instead of the baby ones because they were marginally cheaper but really it’s because I’ll get to eat pretty things.  Now I’ll have to wash, peel, and cut them.  Oh vanity, why do you haunt me!

What did you eat today?
3 persimmons
3 clementines
mixed greens with dressing + hummus
this mixed rice thing with scallions

I have so many ideas for things to make and things I want to try… but this slight over achiever is a firm believer in preparation.  Preparation is KEY.  So 2 weeks ago I made some vegan kimchi and that junk has been fermenting and is all nice and flavorful.. ohhh yea… buddy the recipe is coming.  I had to add a lot of fruit so it would ferment.  Thank you Jesus for sweet fruits like pears and red bell peppers.. thats right that nightshade is a fruit (I think all night shades would be fruits….)

I’m becoming one of “those” people.

I brew my own kombucha, enjoy thinking I can afford whole foods, buy grassfed beef online from indie farmers (yay, crowdcow), eat local/seasonal veg…

This will be my last insult to this Whole30 thing, I still don’t get it…  I don’t think it’s logical… Asian societies eat soy, countries in Latin America/Africa pretty much sustain themselves on beans/rice… rice in Asia is a staple…

Anyway, I’m always up for a challenge.

I don’t like wasting food so I force fit a lot of veggies into a few items… this week it’s all Whole30 + soy friendly and it’s SUPER ugly because well… I had nothing to stop it from turning grey and mushy.  I will not take pictures of my mush…  but it was tasty.

I made a quick green curry – green curry paste, a can of coconut milk, some lime leaves, fish sauce, random veggies broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers (assorted colors), onion, garlic, and I serve them over meat balls and potatoes.

For the meatballs I was using 1/2 tofu 1/2 beef, with all the extra meat I’ve been eating I have to be careful with red meat take in… I want my liver to happy.

Next week will be more planned – less mush.

Today, I’m thankful for dried fruit/nut ball things I got from Costco, Figgy Pops

Also, my eyebrow lady, she fixed my face good.  sisters not clones.

Speaking of – good night!

It takes three small glasses of Kombucha to get me buzzed in the morning.
Eek, I was kidding previously, but now I need to shake this off… Whoops.

The question I have been asking myself… why now? why have I returned to blogging now? I have a kitchen I can call my own.  That’s probably the main reason.  Also, there were a  lot of sad times these past few years and I wasn’t really in the mood to blog.  Well, I’m not going to write you a sad song if you ask for one.. .how does it go again? sad song over.  New Season is here.

CUT OFF, you are cut off lady no more fermented tea… today.

My science brain doesn’t get why this restrictive diet works…   It may be because that exclusion diets, ones that exclude basic sugar and simple carbs make taking in excessive amounts of calories hard. You get tired of chewing before you can blow your calories away.

Reasons to get on the train..

Taking out sugar, fried foods, basic carbs, and cooking more at home is only good for me.

Staying away from dairy helps my skin and I’m a lactard…

My sister is doing it and it’ll be fun….

I am vain and would like to stay looking cute, ya feel me.

And so I shall take a ride on the Whole 30 train… toot toot!

Guidelines

My friends have told me it can get really expensive to eat Whole 30, which make me sad because my food budget is low this month.  Life is expensive people…  well if the food gets to expensive I guess I’ll just stop eating, that’s cheap… no food = $0 hahaha oh for the sake of vanity…. I kid I kid.

Here is the challenge stay within the Whole 30 guidelines (Except I’m going to eat tofu because my liver isn’t the best and I’m not a huge fan of chicken, and if tofu stays all soy stays.. but I will only eat non-GMO soy… if possible.  I don’t like all the pesticides they spray on those beans…  the geek in me acknowledges that the technology is super cool, but plants should die in the presence of poison.  Cool technology but that should not have been implemented on our Earth).

Sorry, back to the main program.

Stick to the Whole 30 guidelines (with a soy exception) and try to do it as frugally as possible. post pictures and recipes!!

And yes, also.. hello again.. it’s been a minute. yay.

The problem with the holidays is that there are these huge meals and events that are wonderful and grand…  and then there are nights like tonight, an extra uneventful night. It’s cold and I’m jonesing for a big bowl of instant noodles, alas, my wonderful sister ate the last one on her visit here.

So I iron-chefed my fridge, today’s secret ingredient, slightly freezer burned mandoo.  Fukusan, what will we do? If you were too Iron-Chef your fridge what would you make?

I made a quick anchovy broth, tossed in some rice cakes (also slightly freezer burned), the mandoos, some cabbage for some roughage and tada, dinner!

The wonderful thing about Korean food is that most things go well with kimchi.  Thankfully, kimchi covers many a sin… kind of like Jesus but not so life changing.. see the Christmas tie in?  Thank you Jesus for being my everything, for all other things food salvation related, thanks kimchi.

To the Recipe:

The Broth
4 cups water
4 large dried anchovies de-gutted
4 pieces of dashima
2 teaspoon naturally brewed soy sauce
6 slightly freezer burned mandoo (dumplings)
A handful slightly freezer burned rice cakes
1/2 cup roughly choppped cabbage

First place the frozen rice cakes in a bowl with water to thaw and rehydrate (my cabbage was a little limp so I had it in with the rice cakes) (hey, this isn’t my most prized dish, it’s just Monday dinner) .

Steep the broth for around 10 minutes, then add the soy

Remove all the things of the sea, you should have a clear broth.

When the broth is back to a rolling boil add in the frozen mandoo and rice cakes.

Bring it back to a boil (the frozen stuff will make the temperature drop so wait to add the cabbage).

Bring it back to a boil and add in an beaten egg.

TADA dinner.

Notes:

There is an old Korean wives tale that if you make ugly mandoos you will make ugly babies.. sorry future babies, but I mean you’re 50% of your dad too… I’m just saying..

Degutting anchovies is best done on a humid day so that the fishes are a little flexible or you can just man handle it like I did…

Merry Christmas everyone!