Away We Go

love love love love love love love.

I've seen this twice, now. Still get the same feeling. In an interview on the movie, John Krasinski says on he and Maya Rudolph's characters:

"I saw the relationship of Burt and Verona a lot like bowling. When she bowls, she can bowl regular and when I come and step up, she puts up the bumpers - so, my ball will never go in the gutter because of her."

Pretty exactly right.  I keep grasping my chest so my heart doesn't burst. Ever feel completely out of place when everyone else seems so at home in their own life? [Everyday]  

Happiness is...? What? How? Where? WHEN?

My aunt had sent this over a few days ago. It ties in nicely with the message of the film:

"Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meandering, but leads none of us by the same route." - Charles Caleb Colton

Go. 

Now. 

Macaroni & Cheese (with Butternut Squash or Cauliflower)

Another amazing recipe that my friend Myrra and I experimented with yesterday afternoon and completely approve. We went with Butternut Squash and short-cutted it by buying BS Soup and excluding milk. If you're short on time, give it a try - this seriously only took about 20 minutes. Give it a shot...

6oz elbow macaroni

1tbsp olivve oil

1tbsp plain flour

4fl oz skimmed milk

4oz butternut squash or cauliflower puree

8oz grated reduced-fat cheddar

4oz reduced-fat cream cheese

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the macaroni and cook according to the packet directions until al dente.  Drain in a colander.  

While the macaroni is cooking, heat a large saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the oil then the flour and cook stirring constantly until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned - one to two minutes.

Add the milk and cook stirring every now and then until the mixture begins to thicken - three to four minutes.  Add the vegetable puree, cheddar, cream cheese and seasonings and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.  Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

Metric - Gimme Sympathy

Saw Metric tonight. Finally!

Big crush on Emily Haines. And James Shaw, Josh Winstead and Joules Scott-Key (I wonder if he's related to Francis?). 

They didn't play Combat Baby, but damn, they brought it somethin' fierce. If you haven't already, you should probably buy Fantasies.

Gimme Sympathy (great lyrics)

Get hot. Get too close to the flame

Wild open space. Talk like an open book
Sign me up. Got no time to take a picture 
I'll remember someday. All the chances we took

We're so close to something better left unknown
We're so close to something better left unknown

I can feel it in my bones. Gimme sympathy
After all this is gone. Who would you rather be
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

Oh seriously. You're gonna make mistakes you're young
Come on baby play me something, Like here comes the sun

Don't go. Stay with the all unknown
Stay away from the hooks. All the chances we took

We're so close to something better left unknown
We're so close to something better left unknown

I can feel it in my bones. Gimme sympathy
After all this is gone. Who would you rather be
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
Oh seriously . You're gonna make mistakes you're young
Come on baby play me something, . Like here comes the sun 

Strange, but Delicious

In London, I found an entire section of a magazine devoted to stuffing in veggies in foods you wouldn't normally expect. I sneakily ripped out the pages and stashed them in my purse.  Tonight, I tried out one of the recipes: Brownies made with spinach and carrot puree.

Having an achilles heel for chocolate, I figured I'd give it a shot, hoping for a little support on eating a little better.  The concoction is beyond strange, but the end product tastes beyond delicious. I wanted to share - give it a shot and let me know what you think:

Ingredients:

3oz. semi-sweet chocolate

4oz carrots, pureed (steam for eight minutes, then run through a food processor or blender) 

4oz spinach, pureed (steam for 30 seconds, then run through a food processor or blender)

4oz brown sugar

1oz cocoa powder

2 tbsp margarine (fat free if you can swing it)

2 tsp vanilla

2 egg whites

3.5 oz flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler over low flame.

3. In a large bowl, combine melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

4. Mix in egg whites.  Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt with a wooden spoon.

5. Pour the batter into a pan and bake 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely in the pan before cutting the bars.*

*Make sure to eat cool... the spinach taste is less potent :)

Makes 12 Brownies

Nutrition:

80 calories

2.4g fat

13.5 carbs

1.1g fiber

7.6g sugar

1.7 protein

awesome!