Taking the Plunge

Aside from the fact that I left my camera at my friend Amy's apartment last weekend, I was also too busy making major life decisions this week to post anything. I met with the director of the Masters in Language and Communication program, Anna, and decided to apply for Fall 2012. It sounds far away, but all my application materials need to be submitted by January 1st, and I need to have a pretty bangin' application. Anna and I talked about my official statement of purpose, which needs to outline what I want to research and show that I know what I'm talking about. Ah! I haven't taken a linguistics class since 2008! But, before I dive into that, first you should know a little bit about the program.

The MLC is designed to train Discourse Analysts, who can be employed by various organizations or corporations to do consulting work in a specific field, generally health care or government. Because the whole "finding a job" concept is one of the main reasons I didn't consider going into a PhD or MA program in linguistics right after college, this program is pretty much perfect for me-- it's designed to get linguists out of academia and into the real workforce. It's also relatively short; it will take me around two and a half years to complete the program (part-time), including my Masters thesis. And, of course, it's completely free because I'm a full-time employee at Georgetown!

Okay, back to my statement of purpose and  one of the main reasons I'm interested in the program. What I'd like to do is be involved in health care consulting, particularly with facilities or hospitals that deal with eating disorders. I'd like to examine how the way we talk about food, or "frame" it (sorry, had to throw in some linguistic jargon), impacts weight loss and weight gain, as well as our concept of body image. I'm actually not sure how possible it is for me to find a job where I would only work in this facet of health care, but either way, this is what my Master's thesis will focus on (I think!)

Enough about the MLC... Here's what I ate this week:

-stuffed acorn squash with tex-mex white beans and rice (jalepeno, tomato, garlic, cayenne)
-baked salmon topped with mushrooms sauteed in red wine and soy sauce
-roasted brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper
-baked chicken breasts with fresh tomato, kalamata olives, and mushrooms, served with roasted red potatoes
-zucchini pancakes with scallions and lemon zest, served with lemon-caper-dill yogurt sauce.

And, because next week I'll be at home with my dog and I CAN'T WAIT:

Sunrise Daal

I saw the sun rise while I was running yesterday. I was going down MacArthur Boulevard towards the city and I watched the windows turn metallic orange on the high rises in Rosslyn; it reminded me of the 4th of July, when we sat on the grass in Georgetown next to the Potomac. Huge fireworks were exploding over the Washington Monument and reflecting off the buildings behind us, and it seemed like we were surrounded by glowing embers. I doubt I'll be seeing the sun much on my runs from now on, which I think means summer is officially leaving: I'm ready to eat soups and other hearty dishes every day! Lentil Daal is one of my favorites, and a recipe that I thought should probably be posted and immortalized since I make it every other week. It serves as a protein for me, which is something I'm always looking for. I've adjusted my recipe over the last couple months and have recently started replacing red lentils with yellow- I find the texture to be meatier, and the color brighter (hence, the title of this post!)

Ingredients

1 cup yellow lentils
4 cups water (use 3 cups water with red lentils)
1 tomato, cut in wedges
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped (I use red, because I like the color)
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. butter

Bring lentils, water, and tomato to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes (yellow lentils will take longer than red). When lentils are almost done (the consistency should be fairly thick at this point, and it should be sputtering and popping a little), heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds stop sputtering add the onion and garlic- cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the spices and cook for a couple minutes longer, then pour the mixture into the cooked lentils. Stir in the salt and butter- let the daal finish up over low heat for just a minute or two more (it's fine to take it off the heat at this point if you're worried about overcooking it). This recipe, along with brown rice, Indian Cabbage, and raita (lemon, yogurt, salt, cucumber, cilantro), is enough for three meals.

The most difficult thing about this dish is that there's not a lot of down time while you wait for the daal to cook. I'm usually furiously chopping onion or cabbage, making raita, and measuring spices. I leave the pot of lentils uncovered unless it looks like they aren't cooking fast enough, but especially at the beginning they have a tendency to get foamy and boil over, which is a huge mess, so leaving them uncovered allows me to check on them and prevent that from happening. Towards the middle/end of their cooking period you need to start stirring them frequently, as they tend to stick to the bottom. It's helpful to measure out all your spices beforehand, particularly if you're making this in combination with Indian Cabbage, which incorporates a lot of spices, too. Of course, if you're Rachael Ray or Rhonda Mapes you can just eye-ball it! I don't have a fantastic picture of my daal because I was too hungry to eat it after making it last night, but take a look instead at my mason jars filled with goodies (including yellow lentils):

I plan on posting more pictures of my little apartment soon, but I'm waiting to make a couple other changes before I broadcast my space to the world!

The Woes of Frozen Kale

Okay, so I don't have to tell you that I'm a huge fan of freezing things....I also love roasted kale, which I buy every other week. After the hurricane Trader Joe's shelves were devoid of tons of essentials, so I was forced to go to Safeway, the most expensive, poorly arranged store in the WORLD. I purchased the only remaining bag of kale left on the shelves- it was large enough to feed a family of 10. So, in an attempt to be extra thrifty last week, I froze my leftover kale in sandwich bags, as well as a portion of kale-coconut milk-kidney bean soup (which was delicious). Anyway, guess what doesn't freeze well? Kale. Earlier this week I eagerly emptied a sandwich bag onto a baking sheet, tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and cumin, and roasted it in the oven. It ended up tasting like spicy, soggy lettuce. Then yesterday I tore into my leftover soup and I almost couldn't make it all the way through. If I wasn't poor I would have thrown it out, but luckily I believe in eating absolutely every single thing I purchase. How should I use up the rest? I was thinking of adding small portions of it to supplement my smoothies... but a disgusting smoothie would be almost too much to bear, so I'm not sure I can risk it.  Anyway, here's a picture of a sure mood-booster: Beef and mushroom stew, dill-yogurt smashed potatoes, and salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Plus, a lovely view of my desk!

And, although leaving work over 10 hours after arriving kind of sucks, I got to witness a beautiful sunset as I rode away on my bike:

                             

                                            I guess Georgetown isn't that bad after all.
          

Sweet Relief

Last week was the first time in 3 months that I was able to wear a tee shirt during my morning run. I've even experienced that cold-hands feeling a couple times, where I have to keep clenching my fists to get the blood circulating. I'm always soaked through with sweat by the end, of course (Deborah says I sweat so much because of my high metabolism?), but it feels like the seasons are changing, and I am ready. I think I could really love fall here: cool mornings and nights with warm, sunny days...it will make the heat of the summer worth it, I hope.

Okay, on to the food- before my trip home I made an incredible meal that I haven't had time to share until now. I adapted this recipe from Rachael Ray's Stretch a Buck Turkey and Bean Burrito Burgers:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked brown rice
a little over 1/2 a pound ground turkey (sorry, I know that's vague)
1/2 can pinto beans
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste (unfortunately I don't remember these measurements, but knowing me, I probably put a lot in)

Method:

Combine the ingredients and form into patties (this recipe made three big ones!). Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry each patty, about 5-7 minutes per side. I served mine with homemade apricot lime salsa, roasted potatoes, and kale chips. Seriously, amazing. Andddd unfortunately I have no picture because it won't upload. It's a beautiful photo, though! Check out my awesome breakfast instead:

Oat bran, Hershey's special dark cocoa powder, coconut oil, TJ's Sunbutter, brown sugar, and raspberries. So glorious!

A Freezer Full of Goodness!

There's nothing I love more than a well-stocked freezer! That might not be true. But really, I have so many options right now that dinner has been a cinch each night this week. Not only do I have tons of delicious proteins tucked away, but I also have a variety of miscellaneous treats (which is what I'm most excited about!) Take a look at what I've got:

Two tilapia fillets, one andouille sausage, a fillet of

arctic char, half a pound of ground turkey, one portion of turkey and kidney bean chili, four black bean mushroom burgers, edamame (so delicious mixed with pasta, or as a simple side dish with salt or soy sauce), wild blueberries, banana, plums, raspberries, mangoes (all are wonderful additions to smoothies and morning oats), homemade m&m cookies (ready for baking to send to Nate!), french cut green beans, TJ's chicken dumplings, and last (BUT SO NOT LEAST) TJ's tart, non-fat frozen yogurt. I die.

Another great thing about freezers full of goodies? My grocery bill is relatively low this week, even though I shopped at Whole Foods (a rare treat). It's expensive there, but I'm single, which means I can buy whatever the hell I want (direct quote by whom, Mom?). Check out these gorgeous, local peaches that I got on sale!  And, to make this good day official, look what I get to have for lunch: cobb salad with avacado, bacon, egg, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and cucumber with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

The Reservoir

As I pedaled furiously to work this morning I passed the Georgetown reservoir, which I ride/drive by constantly. It must have been the looming storm that caused the smell of lake and earth to surround me, and I could remember myself being at Linwood across the years, perched on my bike, smelling that same scent. I found myself staring across the front half of the reservoir, a recently-emptied pit of cement, and forced my eyes to focus on the mass of blue water behind it, rolling hills and blue sky along its border. Oh, to be floating in one of my lakes today!

I wish this ache to go home would leave me. The only time I don't feel a longing to be far away from where I am is when I'm surrounded by my friends. During the week those moments are rare- everyone is busy with their lives, which is true for me as well. There's something peaceful about living by myself, but lately I would trade my clean, decorated studio for a sink full of someone else's dishes just for the company. I need Schuyler!

Tonight's dinner: Baked tilapia in a curry-yogurt-lemon sauce with Indian Cabbage (I could eat this all day) and quinoa.

Ch-ch-changes...

I've been insprired recently by The Broccoli Hut, a blog about healthy eating and cooking. Caroline has so many creative breakfast recipes that I decided I needed to expand my oatmeal-flaxseed-brown sugar-blueberries staple to include other whole grain variations. So, at Trader Joe's I bought a huge bag of oat bran for only $2.99! The recommended serving size was 1/3 cup, so I increased it to 1/2 cup, of course. I put it in my glass tupperware with 2 cups of water and microwaved it for 4 minutes- the result was a soupy-thick cereal that looked like cream of wheat. I mixed in my standard ground flaxseed, a tab of salted butter, 2 scoops of brown sugar, and a handful of frozen wild blueberries (another change!). I didn't eat it until about 30 minutes later, after riding to work with the tupperware bungied to the back of my bike. Final review: I love oat bran! It tasted like oaty grits. I know, I know-  this meal wasn't revolutionary, but I promise it's the beginning of a beautiful era of amazing breakfast cereal combinations! Kiwi and coconut butter, perhaps? Peanut flour and raspberries? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!


This picture doesn't necessarily capture the true glory of my breakfast...