Culinary Arts Part Deux

    Well I'm a little late but since this past week was my first week of school I have been extremely busy. I was so excited to make my first Weight Watchers recipes especially because they were Indian cuisine. I took photos and documented my experiements.

Tandoori Chicken: 4pts per serving

2 TBSP tandoori spice mix

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt

1 TBSP fresh lime juice

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast 

 

I gathered all of my ingredients for the 2 recipes

 




I couldn't find Tandoori Spice mixed so I improvised

 

The improvised spice mix recipe is:
1 TBSP Ginger
2 TSP cumin
1 TSP paprika
1 TSP salt
1/2 TSP pumpkin pie spice

The final ingredients before combining for a 24 hour marinade

 

Ready to nap overnight

 

When I was ready to cook the chicken the next night I turned on the broiler. I covered a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and placed the coated chicken on the pan. I cooked the chicken for 20 minutes.

 

 

The final results:

 

I served the chicken with South Indian Slow Cooker Lentil Stew (too awful to recommend the recipe) and steamed white rice. The lesson I learned? The Tandoori chicken was delicious but I shouldn't have prepared a whole crock pot full of the lentil stew :(.

 

I suppose everyone has to learn good and bad recipes and on Thursday night i found one of each. I'm excited to continue working to become a better cook and overall I'm happy with how this went. 

 

 





Culinary Arts part 1

        In an effort to further myself as a future domestic goddess I've decided to start blogging about a variety of domestics topics and this includes cooking. Since I am trying to better my eating habits I decided to find a way to indulge in my favorite foods without guilt. This two part blog revolves around one of the newest cuisines I've started to enjoy, Indian food. I found two recipes that I am eager to eat for dinner tomorrow. The first is a classic: tandoori chicken. The second is something I've never tried: southern Indian lentil stew. I'm so excited!
          I've prepped everything and will update with photos tomorrow. :)

Maybe I'm a different breed

        I always love visiting Colorado. It's my second home and I'm completely enamored.  Seeing my family and friends brings joy to my heart and light into my soul. While traveling on the airplane yesterday I overheard some interesting conversation between the passengers seated next to me and it really got me thinking.
         I was seated next to a woman who works for Fed-Ex. She was discussing her job and family life with the male passenger seated next to her. It was your average story, she travels a lot, blah, blah, blah. The part that caught me off guard was the subject of her husband. The male passenger mentioned that the fact that she was returning early would please her husband. She then revealed that while she lives in Colorado Springs, CO her job is a two hour commute. She only sees her husband on weekends and during the week rents an apartment closer to her job. I was baffled.
        Hearing this news was a little shocking. At first I thought man this lady is living the dream: personal time throughout the work week and time with her family/lover on the weekends. Where do I sign up? I'm a big fan of space. I not only desire time alone, for me it is a necessity. Yes I want a lover and a family but balance is key to everything.  However heartless and strange it may seem, to me this woman lives perfection.
         As my evening progressed my thoughts returned to this woman. I realized that I have never been in love with anyone. I believe in true love and I've seen it amongst my friends but it just hasn't happened for me. I know in my heart of hearts, no matter what others may tell me, I will NEVER feel the need to spend 24/7 with my love. It is not how I am programmed. After pondering this woman's life for far longer than I should focus on a stranger I came to the conclusion that it would be painful to only share my life with someone on the weekends.
         Life is about balance. Love is the most important thing in the world. A well balanced life requires a well balanced love. When it comes I will embrace it and it will embrace me and that will be my perfection.

New Beginnings and Old Expectations

        In a not so bold move I'm deciding to revamp my class blog into and actual blog about my life. This makes me a total fan girl and I'm proud to admit it but, my inspiration came from John Watson of BBC Sherlock. This blog is about what makes me tick, what makes me happy, what makes me giggle, cry and explode with rage. The way I see it everyone plays a central role in the universe and this is about discovering where I fit in.
         Obviously writing this blog takes much courage and strength because I'll admit that I can judge others all day long, (something I try my best to avoid) but when looking inward I struggle. I have a couple of goals to achieve through the keeping of this blog. They are as follows (only a start):

*Self love
*Discover new skills and talents
*Maintain stronger relationships with others
*De-stress
*Sharpen my mind, body and soul
*Let go of the negative energy in the universe

          Now I suppose it's time to get to the real stuff. It's been a trying 2 weeks or so. My friends and family have all dedicated ourselves to living healthier lifestyles. It's actually been pretty marvelous to start a strict fitness routine. The first few days were awful but I'm in the third week of training for a 5K and I couldn't be any more excited. I can feel myself returning to a place I once knew very well. It's been a struggle to eat better but I know that I'm not alone. I realize that my goals are important enough to accomplish and that skipping a workout or eating something that my body can't use as fuel will only hold me back and keep me stagnant.
           I'm the first to admit that I struggle with change. Change came very rapidly for me and although I thought I was prepared it turns out I tricked myself. I've worked in the same facility for almost six years (technically five if you include a one year gap). We've had A LOT of staff changes but none as rapid as the most recent. Within a week four people have left. Two went to school and will return eventually. The other two have no plans to return. Another is preparing to leave after she gives birth. I'm an emotional person but I tend to keep it in check. I was surprised when my shift ended yesterday and I got a little teary eyed. It's not like we were all best friends, which used to be the case in previous summers in the aquatics department, but they were all pretty great at their jobs and being forced to let new people into my life is never something I look forward to.
           I am super excited for the next few days. I will be leaving for Colorado tomorrow afternoon and I'm looking forward to visiting with family and friends. It will be great to have a chance to run and swim in the altitude once again. My last year of undergraduate study starts on Tuesday and I couldn't be happier. Change is coming and it's time for me to start embracing it.