Saturday, October 15, 2011

Deep Fried Dreams

What a day Friday was!

As you most likely already know I kicked my butt on the treadmill and was on a runner’s high for the majority of the afternoon.  It felt so good to accomplish those four miles and then some.  The rest of the day was nice too.  It started with breakfast on the go in the form of a toast sandwich.  It had a smashed poached egg, ricotta, and mango/papaya jam on it.

IMG_4070

Weird sounding combination but it really worked and was a nice warm thing to tote along on my way to clinic at 7:30am.  Yes, that was BEFORE the sun actually rose.  At school, I read up on Klippel-Feil syndrome.  Main features include restricted upper spine movement, short neck, and low posterior hairline.  Early morning eats included some of this great spread:

IMG_4071

I allowed myself to try what I wanted.  I ended up having three chips with a bit of homemade spicy guacamole (oh wow, awesome) and a small Reese’s brownie.  I savored every, single bite.  I eventually meandered back to the student room, printed some things off, and headed home to go and run.  If you have ever wondered what four plus miles on the treadmill looks like, allow me to let you in on the secret.

IMG_4073IMG_4080

After a shower I needed to refuel so I made some cake because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to eat cake after a workout?  Don’t worry, I made it protein packed for maximum staying power.

IMG_4081

I topped it with homemade sunbutter, some Nutella, chia seeds, and maple syrup.  It was delish.  Like I said, I was on a runner’s high so I was bouncing around all over the apartment.  I finally wrangled myself and started working on homework.  That lasted probably 40 minutes before my best friend Joshua arrived!!  We hung out and made homemade nut butters (5 in total!) and drank wine before heading out to dinner.

IMG_4082

We tried out Uno Pizzeria and of course ordered DEEP DISH!!!  We got the Farmer’s Market pie which had caramelized onions, spinach, sun-dried and plum tomatoes, eggplant, pesto, feta, mozzarella, and grated Romano.  Got to admit that we added parmesan on top too at the table.

IMG_4084IMG_4085

Wow.  It was a great pizza.  The lack of meat and tomato sauce made it remarkably light and the crust was more like a biscuit than a crust. Believe me, I mean that in the BEST way possible.  I loved it!  With dinner we shared a cocktail called the Honey Drop and it was stellar.

Honey DropIMG_4086

For dessert we chose two mini selections: the chocolate peanut butter cup and the cookie sundae.  Both were so great and warm and very rich.

IMG_4088IMG_4089

We left happy and were very surprised to see this neat little nutritional info kiosk by the door.  Perhaps every restaurant should have one of these!

IMG_4083

We drove home (a much easier drive than the way there where we got lost and turned around) and then started working on our second dessert.  We had been throwing around the idea of doing our own fried ice cream so we decided to go whole hog and deep fry a bunch of things.  On the menu: mini/regular size Oreos, candy corn pumpkins, Reese’s cups, frozen banana bites, and two balls of ice cream (one Rocky Road, one Kentucky Delight).

IMG_4100IMG_4104IMG_4107IMG_4108IMG_4110IMG_4111































I have never, ever, ever deep fried anything in house so I was a bit nervous about the oil and fire and smoking and whatnot but it turned out awesome.  Once I saw that first mini Oreo (dipped in my own pancake batter recipe) hit the oil and brown up…

IMG_4093

…I was hooked.

IMG_4095IMG_4096IMG_4097

Joshua was a bit more calm.  He was in charge of flipping the pieces after I threw them in.

IMG_4098

Now you’re probably wondering how it all tasted, right?  Well I’ll let this picture do the talking for me:

IMG_4101

Sooooo, darrrrrnnnn, goooooooood…I melted.

While the whole night was great and we consumed close a bottle and a half of wine and more hot oil than we probably should have, it was just what we needed.  We parted ways around midnight totally refreshed and rejuvenated.  I’m so glad we had the evening together.  I miss him most days.  I miss a lot of my friends most days. It’s hard to be so close (50 some miles) but so far (it’s at least an hour and fifteen minute drive).  Oh well, this will surely hold me over for a while.  =D

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, this morning as a matter of fact, I woke up without much of an appetite and the residual smell of hot oil hanging in the air made me a bit queasy.  I settled for a piece of ricotta and mango/papaya jam toast.

IMG_4114

I did a bit of coupon prepping and went to Meijer to grocery shop nice and early.  I ended up spending too much time, this always seems to happen I swear, but I picked up some goodies.

IMG_4116

I was beyond excited when I saw these were included in the 10 for $10 sale.  Nomnom.  On my way home from Meijer I stopped at Marsh to pick up two things I knew I could get for cheaper there.

IMG_4115

I must have looked liked such an odd bird checking out with wine and peanut butter.  Just give me a glass and a spoon and we’re good. =P  When I got back home and put everything away, always a task after doing the shopping, I snacked on two apricots with sunbutter and Nutella before changing into gym clothes and heading to the fitness room.

IMG_4117

I ended up doing 19 minutes on the elliptical followed by the same time on the reclined stationary bike.  Afterwards I hit the weight room and did the following in circuit fashion:
  • Bicep curls with 10lb dumbbells in each hand
  • Weighted squats with 10lb dumbbells in each hand
  • Tricep dips under own body weight
  • Standing weighted oblique crunches with 10lb dumbbell per side
  • Shoulder press with 10lb dumbbells in each hand
  • Lat pull with 40lbs
  • Inclined push ups
At the apartment after a shower I made some late lunch to refuel.  Now, you have heard of Oats In A Jar (OIAJ) but I decided to make Oats In Three Jars (OITJ)!!!! Basically it comes down to the fact that I had three very empty jars of various homemade peanut butters that were crying for some hot oats to wash down their sides.

IMG_4118

I filled each with some chai latte protein oatmeal/oat bran mix and proceeded to wish there was more nut butter in each jar.  Note to self: quit eating all the dregs, leave some for the oatmeal!  Tonight I am headed off to a birthday part so I am going to go get my bake on right now.  I’ll let you know tomorrow how great it turns out.  Have an awesome Saturday night!!

Accomplishment of the Day: I made a new friend, Mary, who lives in my building.  I am starting to build up my social network close to home here in the big city.  We’re going to do froyo or coffee or dinner/lunch sometime.  Yay!

Thought of the Day: If there was one thing I wish I would have known before I moved into this high rise it would have been how deafening the wind noise can be.  I hope this gustiness ends soon!

Question: Have you ever deep fried anything?

1 comment:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...