HMO

This morning I slept in the latest I have in recent history. I felt a little guilty about it since I have so much to do.
For breakfast I had another Hot Mess of Oatmeal (HMO). Contents: steel cut oatmeal topped with shredded coconut, raisins, a few salted cashews, and peanut butter chocolate chips. A tad rich, but I ate it all. You better believe it! I can't wait for cold weather when oatmeal is really appreciated.
After breakfast, and hanging out with my babies, I ran errands. I was on a quest to find Pumpkin brews for tomorrow. I had no luck whatsover. Ugh. I went to a local store (Calandro's), a major grocery store (Target), and Whole Foods. Not one of them had Pumking or Punkin' Ale.
I also swung by the fruit stand. By the time I got home I was worried about the temperature of all of the groceries, so I just put everything up instead of taking pictures.
I had a date, so I quickly scanned the cupboards for food. My coworker had given me a piece of boudin yesterday, so I decided to heat it up. Boudin is usually a spicy pork and rice dressing inside a thin sausage casing, of cajun origin. This link was from Lafayette - known for their boudin!It's usually eaten by squishing it out of it's casing. I know that it looks disgusting, but that's part of the charm.Haha!

I also ate most of a Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar, and then hopped on my bike to meet up with my friend Anne.
Anne and I usually meet on Saturdays at Highland for coffee. During the football season we have to be a little creative, since Highland is in the North Gates of LSU. And NO WAY are we going there on a game day. We've decided to try out a couple of other local and maybe not so local cafes. Tonight we went to PJ's. They're a chain based in New Orleans. I got a plain soy latte.PJ's is on the left in the above picture. I just really wanted to get those live oaks in the shot!

We sat outside, and our view was of the old Hilton hotel which is still in service. I watched some bellhops hackysack. It looked like fun.And down the street was the Mississippi River. (I couldn't really get a good picture because of the levee). And the Old State Capitol was to the left, which looks like an old russian castle.We had fun. Anne just bought a motorcycle. I'm jealous!After a couple of hours, we parted ways. I got on my bike and rode around a little while. It actually felt good outside. The temperature has dropped a little bit.
I had a tuna burger with sprouts and avocado when I got home. On the side I had a few grape tomatoes, a slice of cantaloupe, and a few Olive chips.
I've got to go do laundry. Ick!



*Interesting Link (no pun intended?) - Boudin Ratings Site

Feeling the Octoberfest

Today I took my coffee to go, with a slice of zucchini bread on the side.

I did my usual grocery shopping, and guess what? I stayed under budget this week! I was talking with my mother about this. I've noticed that even if I don't need groceries, I still spend the same amount of money every week, on just random stuff or on "stocking up". I've stocked up so much that we don't have room for much more.
We have room for dairy, bread, and produce though!
Veggies:
White and yellow corn
Grape tomatoesCarrotsAn onionand Celery, Broccoli, and 2 artichokesFruit:
Bananas CantaloupeGrapefruit pearsand freshly picked, non-waxed, local Gala applesPrettyThere were also 3 limes.
Other:
Swiss cheeselentils
And from Albertson's I only bought 4 things, one of which was alcohol. I'm excited to try both of these:I also bought my boyfriend a surprise. He loves Boddington.
My eyes are feeling less dry today. I drank a ton of water yesterday and used drops. This has happened to me before, but I don't know what it means. I let myself wear mascara today :).

In Which I Burn Some Brussels

Yesterday I forgot my camera at home so I didn't get a picture of most of my eats! When I got home last night I made zucchini bread.
A friend gave me a Make Your Own Vanilla Extract kit last Christmas, which I used for the first time on this recipe. In the kit you get a bottle, and several nice vanilla beans. Split the beans lengthwise, place them in the bottle and fill with vodka, bourbon, or rum. It has to sit for a few months before use. You can refill several times using the same liquor. I used Vodka.
Moving on to today.
It has been one of those days. I woke up late, dreaming about work. Someone forgot to set the alarm (me)! Usually my cat comes in and screams at me to wake up and feed her. She was nowhere to be found this morning. I was planning a bigger breakfast, and more of a lunch, but that didn't happen. Also, my eyes are bloodshot and really dry today.
So breakfast was Oikos yogurt and honey, and no I didn't use that much honey! I recently bought a little jug of local honey, and it poured out quite quickly.Work coffee (I buy cheaper stuff for work than home - does anyone else do this?) and Zucchini Bread!
Around 10:30 I had a granny smith apple and an ounce of cheddar
This cheese is not very good. It is supposed to be a sharp cheddar, and instead it tastes like butter. Ugh. Of course I'm eating it anyway.
Lunch was a disaster. When I was running out the door this morning I grabbed a box of soup thinking I had enough at work to feed me. Well, turns out it was expired! After emailing a few loved ones on whether I should eat it or not, I decided not to.
I do have a really strong stomach, but the fact that it was Friday and the chance that food poisoning could ruin my weekend made me not eat it.
So instead I had a Campbell's Soup to Go - Chicken Noodleand half a pita.
Talk about disappointing. I bought these Campbell's soups on sale a while ago, but they are just not tasty when you're used to homemade or more premium soups. Plus their ingredient list was very long.
Oh well, bottom's upLater in the day I had some Peanut Butter Puffins to appease my hungry stomach.
And no, I did not just have 4 squares. These are the ones that escaped my mouth.
Dinner:
When I got home from a long hard day of work, I opened one of these:Meh. It was either their Brown Ale or the Pale Ale that I like better. [Word to the wise, if you visit their website, don't have your volume all the way up like me.] I only drank half, and moved on to water and kettle chips.For dinner, I decided on roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts, and a Morning Star Mushroom Lovers Burger.
The potato was just cut in pieces, tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper. Brussels are done a particular way. Cut them in half after washing.Dry or spin them.
Toss in olive oil (or spray) and one clove of minced garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Garnish with a tablespoon of pine nuts (or less)Sometimes I add the pine nuts in the middle of cooking so that they're less burnt. About 20-40 minutes later they're done.
The potatoesAnd Mushroom Burger with a square of feta to the left.
I had an Octoberfest with dinner. Yum!