Back in School….Back to Blogging

Another new adventure I am having, is going back to school.  I am signed up for the Web Design program at MATC.  My first class is Social Media Marketing.  One of the first assignments is to create a blog and blog about something that interests us.  That is when I looked and realized I hadn’t posted anything here since the beginning of May.  To be completely honest, I don’t think I have tried any thing new since then.  Life has gotten in the way, mostly work and a week long road trip to Texas.

But, now I am back!  Back in School, and Back to Blogging!

So, here is a post about my new back yard garden.

 

As someone who never ate vegetables before, I never imagined I would be excited about becoming an urban farmer.  OK….so maybe I am not an urban farmer yet, but I have started a small back yard garden.  Today I got Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas and Peppers planted.

If I am able to get any of these to grow, it should give me some great stuff to blog about.

In the mean time, thanks to my new class, I am off to find some new recipes that are both gluten free and also going to give me the opportunity to try some new foods I would normally turn my nose up at.

 

 

A Tomatillo is Not a Tomato

One of the foods I have always stayed away from, and continue to struggle with are Tomatoes in anything other than sauce form.  Now with El Rey 2 blocks away, I see Tomatillos every time I walk through the door.  I have always assumed they were tomatoes, so I just stayed far way.

While watching television recently a show was explaining that tomatillos aren’t a tomato, but rather a fruit related to the gooseberry.  I became intrigued with the little green ball covered in a paper husk.

Last night I started with the easiest of tomatillo recipe’s, Salsa verde.  I simply had to boil them, and mix them in the food processor with a jalapeno, onion, cilantro and lime juice.  It was Delicious.  I had it on chicken last night, and on tacos tonight.

Another food to add to my list of likes!!

 

A First Date – Me and Salad

In my last post I questioned if salad and I could coexist, or even been in a committed relationship.  Well, most relationships have to start with a first date.  And, that is exactly what I did last night.

I went to The Green Kitchen in the Milwaukee Public Market and got their pear, garbanzo bean, walnut and craisin salad topped with a house made vinaigrette.  With a pear, apple, cinnamon and honey juice on the side.  It was as far away from a burger without the bun as I could get.

I finished the entire salad, and felt pleasantly full.  I can only hope that the salads continue to impress and not start getting lazy on me.  Or would that be me getting lazy on the salads?

Here is to a successful first date and a promising future.

Can Salad and I Coexist?

The last few days I have been going out to eat.  I have ended up at places that serve mostly burgers, sandwiches and fried food.  They also had several salads to choose from.  I am finding that I am defaulting to a burger with no bun and fries.  After last night, I thought to myself, with all of the changes I have made eating gluten free in the last month.  And, all of chances I am taking with trying new foods.  Is it possible for salad and I to coexist……or even be in a committed relationship?

Instead of taking leftover chicken wings to work for lunch, is it possible for me to make a fresh, healthy salad the night before?  In the past,  I would have answered, Absolutely Not!  But, in the last few months I have tried and liked so many new vegetables, that I really think it is possible.

Why am I trying to cut gluten out of my diet, if I am just going to replace it with hamburgers and chicken wings?  Seems a bit ridiculous when I actually think about.

So, here is my declaration to the world.  Beginning now, I am going to give salads a chance.  I know that the options are unlimited, so there is no way I am going to fail!

If you are out to eat with me, do me a favor when I say I am going to order a burger sans bun.  Give me tap and ask me if that is really my best option!  Thanx in advance!!

First Brussel Sprouts….Now This!!!

Well…..If I had to pick between brussel sprouts and asparagus, I think asparagus would win!  If I had to pick between asparagus and juicy cheeseburger with bacon and avocado…..asparagus would not be winning anything.

I took the opportunity of the holiday to cook the asparagus I had sitting on my counter waiting for me to get the nerve to try it.

Much like brussel sprouts, I was worried that if I didn’t cook the the asparagus properly they weren’t going to get a fair shake.  I would hate asparagus forever, and it would only be due to my lack of knowledge on how to cook them.

A few Google searches and I came up with pretty easy instructions.  Cut them in pieces, boil them for a few minutes, coat them in oil, parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

They were actually fairly yummy!  A nice fresh flavor that I didn’t expect.  I could definitely see adding asparagus into my regular meal rotation.  I look forward to throwing them on the grill or roasting them up in the oven.

A sentence I never though I would say, “Yes, I like asparagus”.

 

I Actually Ate a Brussel Sprout!!

This may have been as big a deal as the oyster adventure was.  Mostly because I haven’t found too many people who actually have something good to say about brussel sprouts.  When I mentioned that I was going to be trying them I got comments from “They taste like feet” all the way to “You are going to have some wicked gas”!  So, Why would I try them?  Well, I figured that after I sucked down a raw, freshly shucked oyster, whole, out of the shell……how can I not eat a little green vegetable?

I did my research on how to cook them and ended up taking the advice of a co-worker.  I cut them in half, boiled them for about 8 mins, then cooked them in a cast iron pan with butter, onions and garlic until I started to see some color on them.  Used them as a side dish for baked fish, and I had a meal that I wasn’t super excited about….to be honest.

If I am going to continue to be honest, I can say that they weren’t all that bad.  I ate what was on my plate (minus the one big one that ended up there).  I would definitely be up for trying them again, with a bit more seasoning the next time.

While I was at the store buying the brussel sprouts, the asparagus was also whispering to me.  So, I have some sitting on my counter waiting for me to try.  If I can eat a brussel sprout, I can definitely eat asparagus…..and I may even like it!!

 

 

My 1st Official St. Patrick’s Day

For most people St. Patrick’s Day means enjoying a plate of corned beef and cabbage.  Being a picky eater I never considered trying either.  For some reason I assumed that corned beef wasn’t cooked, and I just plain wasn’t going to eat cabbage.  The thought of eating it made me gag.

This St. Patrick’s Day I have the fact that I am on an adventure to try new foods as well as it falls on Day Four of my attempt to eat gluten free.  I really had no reason not to try it, and every reason to give it a go.

I stopped in at Derry Hegarty’s pub to have a few drinks with friends before heading downtown to see Gaelic Storm.  I got the corned beef and cabbage dinner, which came with potatoes and carrots.  I figured I could at least eat the potatoes and carrots if nothing else.

I was told that the corned beef was a bit overdone, and the cabbage wasn’t as fresh as it could be, but surprisingly I liked both of them.  The corned beef had a nice flavor to it, and the cabbage wasn’t nearly as gross as I imagined it would be.

I will definitely adding both to my list of foods to try again.  I would love some suggestions on where I can get quality corned beef and cabbage.

Where’s the Beef?

A recent meat free breakfast at Blue's Egg

More and more often I am making it to the end of the day and realizing that I ate several meals, was completely satisfied and yet didn’t eat a bite of meat all day.  Prior to my recent decision to start trying new things my meals were often meat heavy and fruit and veggie light.  Well…..in all honesty, there were no vegetables any where near my plate.

This past Sunday I had the same experience.  I had a great brunch at Rustico.  My “normal” pizza toppings would be pepperoni, sausage and black olives.  But, at Rustico I have found that my favorite pizza on the menu is the Caprino (goat cheese, mozzarella, roasted red peppers and black olives).  Although delicious, the argument could be made that this fancy pizza could never curb a craving I have for a traditional meaty, red sauce pizza.

Later in the day I tried a vegetarian chili from Beans & Barley topped with cheese, sour cream and avocado.  Again, I found it delicious, and would not have been able to tell you it was vegetarian without knowing ahead of time.

I will never take on becoming a vegetarian!!  But, it is good to know that I have come far enough in this adventure that I can step out of my comfort zone enough to enjoy a wide variety of food.

Dislike turned Craving

My lunch and afternoon snack the last few days got me thinking.  At what point did I begin eating an entire orange bell pepper  for lunch and an entire avocado for a snack.  I haven’t been eating them with dip or mixed with seasoning to make guacamole or mixed in a salad.  Nope……just plain!

I can remember very clearly in the past looking at guacamole as though it were completely inedible.  And, refusing to eat fajitas because they were filled with peppers.

My dislike for bell peppers and avocados has taken such a turn that on my way home from work today I had to stop at El Rey to pick up both because I knew I had eaten the last pepper for lunch today and the last avocado yesterday.

A lunch and snack that at one point in my life would have been a bag of chips and cookies, has somehow turned into a healthy choice without me even knowing!

 

Just Because it’s Sweet, Doesn’t Mean it’s Yummy!

Pickles have been one of the foods I have never cared to eat.   I pick them off of my burgers and take them off of any plate they come on so that pickle juice doesn’t get on anything else.  I can’t say that I have every eaten an entire pickle, just the small bites I have had when I forget to take them off of my burger.  So, I figured it was about time I gave them a chance.

Since I am definitely a fan of sweeter foods, I figured it would be  best to start with a sweeter pickle.  I was walking through Piggly Wiggly the other day, killing time before I had to be somewhere, and I saw a jar of Sweet Midgets.  I thought….Perfect!  Not only are they sweet, but they are also small.  A perfect Starter Pickle.

I started with a couple of licks.  Not so bad….but then I bit it!  Yuck!!  Not good at all!  I couldn’t help the crazy faces I was making.  (Glad there are no pictures of those)  I’m glad to know that I am ok with the texture, but there was just something wrong with the combination of sweet and vinegar.

I have added Sweet Midgets (actually any sweet pickles) into the “No Thank You column”.  I haven’t given up hope on all pickles yet though.  They always look so good…I am determined to find a pickle I like!!