Poppy Seed Pear Salad with Roasted Almonds

20 Apr 2007 In: Cooking, Food, Recipes

This is a refreshing spring salad that is easy to make and has a fun “do it yourself” feel. Set out bowls of diced pear, chopped roasted almonds and lettuce. Mix individually in bowls and drizzle with poppy seed dressing.

Diet Dressing is high in fat, but no saturated or transfats. To reduce fat content, use a half-serving or make your own with low-fat yogurt and poppy seeds or olive oil, lemon juice and poppy seeds.

Vegan Yes!

Ingredient List: Bartlett or Bosc pear, lettuce (your choice), roasted chopped almonds, Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing.

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Pear Custard Pie

19 Apr 2007 In: Cooking, Food, Recipes

Pear Custard PieThis is a really easy, crustless recipe. Making pie crusts is one of my biggest cooking dislikes, so I love this recipe! The leftovers are great for breakfast because it’s low in sugar and really quick to reheat.

Diet This recipe is already pretty healthy!

Vegan Leave out the eggs, add another pear or two and make it more of a crisp with an oats/brown sugar topping.

Ingredient List: Bartlett pears, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs (I use cage free), milk (I used vanilla soy milk), salt, powdered sugar.

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

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Asparagus Gruyère Tart

18 Apr 2007 In: Cooking, Food, Recipes

Asparagus Gruyère TartI’d been eyeing this recipe since I got my new cookbook, but they were out of frozen puff pastry at Safeway. I finally found some this week, so I decided to make it. This is definitely not a low fat, healthy recipe! The main offender is the frozen puff pastry, but it’s what makes this recipe simple. Gruyère is a super expensive Swiss cheese. I didn’t feel like spending $15 for a small brick of Gruyère cheese, so I substituted it for sliced aged Swiss (found in the cheese aisle with sliced deli cheeses) that was only $2.50. Since the cheese will be melted anyway, this actually made it quicker since you just have to lay the slices out over the pastry. I love asparagus, and after my last asparagus disaster, I was really happy to have found a good recipe this time.

Cookbook: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart

Diet Consider this a splurge or pass on the whole recipe! :(

Vegan I’m not sure how great vegan cheese would melt with this recipe, but it’s worth a try, because the asparagus is so good. Instead of using puff pastry, make a vegan pastry pie crust recipe.

Ingredient List: asparagus, frozen puff pastry, Gruyère cheese (substitute with sliced aged Swiss), olive oil, salt.

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Black Bean Tacos with Radish & Avocado Salsa

17 Apr 2007 In: Cooking, Food, Recipes

Black Bean Tacos with Radish & Avocado SalsaI usually make black bean burritos or tacos at least several times a month. It’s one of my staple recipes, so finding a new twist on this recipe was really cool. Here’s my original recipe:

Black Bean Burritos (or Tacos)
Serves: 2
1 garlic clove, minced
olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 can of black beans, drained
1 tablespoon cumin

Serve with: avocado (best mixed with cilantro & lime) and whatever else sounds good to you: olives, sour cream, tomatoe. I usually just stick with the avocado mix.

1. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on med-heat. Add minced garlic (this is easiest with a garlic press). The garlic should take about 2 minutes. It burns quickly, so keep an eye on it.
2. Pour in water and immediately add the drained black beans and cumin. Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated and the beans are soft, but not completely mushy.
3. Warm tortillas (6 inch corn tortillas for tacos, or larger flour tortillas for burritos) and prepare toppings.
4. For avocado / guacamole: Chop 1 avocado, mix in 1/8 cup of chopped cilantro, several teaspoons of fresh lime juice, salt to taste.

Now the Everyday Food recipe was for Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado Salsa. So I adapted it by just using the Radish and Avocado Salsa recipe with my black bean tacos recipe. Thinly sliced radishes are a really interesting twist to this recipe, and they look amazing with the avocado.

Diet Use corn tortillas instead of flour. Don’t skip on the avocado, this is the GOOD fat that you need.

Vegan No changes needed.

Ingredient List: black beans, olive oil, garlic, cumin, corn tortillas, avocado, lime, salt, cilantro, red radishes, jalapeño chili (optional).

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast for the radishes idea, & my own recipe for the black bean tacos.

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Hot and Sour Soup

15 Apr 2007 In: Cooking, Food, Recipes

It’s been a while since I’ve made a soup that requires this many ingredients! Hot and Sour Soup is usually served at Chinese restaurants as an appetisers, a little definitely goes a long way for me. This soup is best with a bread to dip in or another main dish like noodles. To make it vegetarian I just used chik-style seasoning (found in bulk in the health food section or with seasonings & spices) mixed with water, instead of chicken broth. I also substituted the soy sauce with Bragg Liquid Aminos, and used portobello mushrooms instead of shiitake mushrooms.

Diet No changes necessary, this soup is already pretty healthy, so it’s “diet” friendly.

Vegan Leave out the egg.

Ingredient List: chik-style seasoning with water, soy sauce (substitute with Bragg Liquid Aminos), red pepper flakes, shiitake mushrooms (crimini or portabello work too), rice vinegar, cornstarch, egg, tofu, fresh ginger, scallions (green onions), toasted sesame oil.

Cook book: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart

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About

Adventures of a twenty-something Pacific Northwesterner who ditched her marketing job and MBA for a year-long round the world trip. Call it a quarter-life crisis or just the travel bug; either way, this blog documents the adventure. One year later, take a look at my rehabilitation back into daily life.

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101 Things in 1001 Days Project:
1 Quarterlife Crisis + 101 Things + 1001 Days = The Ultimate TO DO List.
67% Complete
1 Start a new blog for this project
2 Take pictures of all of my 101 in 1001

CAREER/FINANCIAL
3 Max out my 401k contribution every year
4 Increase my income to $XXk/yr.
5 Finish my MBA
6 Update my personal .com site
7 Start a business
8 Make a conscious effort on what I wear to work: heels/flats for 2 weeks
9 Join a marketing networking group
10 Write in a work journal for 1 month

THINGS TO LEARN
11 Relearn Flash (learn post 2002 flash)
12 Learn to play poker
13 Relearn Spanish
14 Learn to kayak
15 Start playing the piano again
16 Take a dance class
17 Do yoga for a month
18 Learn the capitals and locations of all countries
19 Go boogie boarding
20 Take a rock climbing class
21 Get golf lessons
22 Learn to sail

ACTIVITIES/LOCAL
23 Run a marathon
24 Go wine tasting in Oregon
25 Start Geocaching again
26 Be a Portland tourist
27 Do Cycle Oregon or Hwy 101
28 Go white water rafting
29 Play real golf (not a pitch/putt)
30 Walk to the grocery store
31 Ride bike to work for 1 week
32 Use public transportation for 1 week

SHOPPING
33 Research and buy a new digital camera
34 Buy all new underwear
35 Get a dog or cat
36 Get a new bed
37 Recycling Organizer system

TRAVEL
38 Travel South America
39 Go to NYC
40 Go to Mexico
41 Visit Europe again
42 San Juan Islands
43 See New England in the fall
44 Ride Amtrak to Seattle
45 Weekend Trip to Nye Beach
46 Go on a backpacking trip
47 Do a bike ride in another country
48 Stay out of the US for 1 month (moving counts)
49 Go to Vegas
50 Go to Bumbershoot or ACL (again)
51 Visit Canada again

READ/WATCH
52 See the all time Top 100 Grossing Films
53 See Ebert's '102 Movies You Must See'
54 Re-read David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' start weekly review of GTD again
55 For one week, go to bed at 9 and read books
56 Do 52 Books in 52 Weeks, no cheating
57 Read Seth Godin books that I haven’t read
58 Read 10 classics that I’ve never read
59 Watch all five Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars
60 Sign up for Netflix again
61 Subscribe to the Economist

FOOD
62 Find my signature cupcake recipe
63 Make crème brulee
64 Don’t go to the same restaurant more than once for 1 month
65 Bring a packed lunch or go home for lunch for 1 month
66 Quit drinking coffee for 1 month (or the summer)
67 Go vegan for 1 month
68 Try doing a wine journal
69 Eat at every restaurant in my neighborhood
70 Go to restaurants on the Willamette Week Cheap Eats List

HOME
71 Hang pictures up in the living room
72 Finish Apartment Therapy
73 Buy a house
74 Redecorate 1 room to perfection
75 Plant a balcony garden

FRIENDS/RELATIONSHIPS
76 Date a guy who makes me swoon
77 Commit to someone, maybe… but not just anyone
78 Organize a Monthly Game Night
79 Host a dinner party
80 Make a new friend

PERSONAL
81 Other
82 Other
83 Start wearing the vintage ring that Grandma gave me
84 Take care of my nails for 1 month, see if it turns into a habit
85 Get a massage every month
86 Get a wax
87 Consciously Stop saying 'yeah' and 'like' for 1 week
88 For one week, get up two hours before work
89 Take a sick day to go play

PROJECTS/DESIGN/TASKS
90 Design a calendar for family for 2008 or 2009 for Christmas presents
91 Clean up my old computer, backup, and get rid of
92 Load the rest of my CDs on to iTunes
93 Set up at least 10 useful playlists for my iPod
94 Make iTunes season mixes
95 Journal every day for 1 month

GOOD WILL
96 Volunteer with SMART
97 Donate hair to Locks of Love (again)

MISC
98 Start going to church again
99 Go to my 10-year reunion
100 Start a new list of 101 Things on Sunday, March 28, 2010
101 Save $1 for every completed item. Donate $2 for every incomplete item.

Alternates:
Go to a concert outside of PDX area
Travel to another continent
Watch 100 classics movie list
Learn French
Learn German
Go SCUBA Diving
Apply for The Amazing Race
Finish visiting the 50 states
Convince someone else to start a 101 List
Completed In Progress
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