BBQ Goodness

Today has been kind of like the first day of a three day weekend.  I spent the majority of the time in my pajamas.  Homework is always better in PJs.  I woke up to an alarm at 7:30 mostly because it was still a weekday and I figured I should really get some things done.  I admit I spent a half hour in bed doing a crossword before actually getting out of bed.  When I finally rose, I did the dishes and then headed to the gym.  I spent a little over 30 minutes doing stage four of NROLFW followed by ten minutes of HIIT on the elliptical.  Then I took advantage of my warm muscles and did split stretches.  I must say I am fairly impressed and really surprised at how close I am to the splits already.  Aerial silks, here I come, though I’m sure an intro class doesn’t get to this kind of move for a while.

Love it.  May not be the most comfortable position in the world but it is doable.  I’m going to keep working on it.  When I got back from the gym (speaking of, it is sooo weird to be going to and from the gym with light in the sky)…

…I made myself a refueling breakfast.  I topped two whole wheat waffles with a good slathering of peanut butter, some 2% cottage cheese, and strawberry jelly.

Very yummy meal.  Managed to keep me full for a bit over four hours in which I did a bunch of work.  I prepped the five patients I intend to see Monday-Wednesday of next week.  I edited template letters.  I read my thesis paper a few times over.  I also organized my visual aids binder and color coded it so I can easily find everything I need, the moment I need it.

By two in the afternoon I was getting hungry.  I made myself a plate with brown rice on the bottom, black bean soup on top, and baby carrots on the side.

It was a delicious lunch and, honestly, I can’t get enough of the light sour cream on top.  And the soup, geeze, yum.  I may need to make this every month.  Or, even better, I should make a bread bowl and truly get my Panera on.  =D  I continued my work throughout the early afternoon and then broke to run to the grocery store.  Snacked on an apple during my walk, thanks to the gorgeous 55* weather.

In the spice aisle I found the neatest spice mix: Moroccan.  I seriously love this kind of food so maybe some day soon I’ll suck up the $5 and buy it.

It would probably be cheaper actually than trying to make it at home, especially considering that coriander is some $11 a bottle…  When I left the mart, I ended up being proud of myself.  I have a hard time sticking to my grocery list when I go to the store and typically come out with things that I have little control around, like chocolate, cookies, chips, you get the picture.  This time, I didn’t stick perfectly to my list but the extra buys were a bag of frozen brussel sprouts and three sweet potatoes.  I’d say those are acceptable additions.

I whipped up dinner 45 minutes after I got home (and changed back into my pajamas!).  I made some vegged-out quinoa which ended up really, really good.  The honey and the salt, yum.  I served myself one portion and threw the other five into the fridge.  Yay, leftovers!!  The tempeh I made was drenched in a stellar, spicy, zesty BBQ marinade for a couple of hours and then pan fried.  One awesome thing about pre-cooked tempeh is that you can reuse marinade on your dish because nothing is raw.  I poured some remaining marinade straight onto my “steaks”.

Verdict: perfection.  The BBQ sauce is incredibly delicious and soaked into the tempeh extremely well.  I mean, really, what doesn’t tempeh just soak up?  It’s one of its best qualities.  Anyways, this BBQ is so great that I wanted to share it with you.

Zesty BBQ Sauce and Marinade
Inspired by this recipe.

A lovely recipe for a spicy and flavorful sauce/marinade.  Be careful though, it really does have a building heat the more you eat!  This makes about 2/3 cup of sauce.

Ingredients:
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp BBQ sauce (I used one with a bourbon base)
½ tbsp each ketchup, spicy brown mustard, white vinegar, and soy sauce
3 tbsp beer, any kind
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tbsp each salt, black pepper, crushed garlic, and onion powder
1 tsp each dried basil, dried oregano, and curry powder
¼ tsp each red pepper flakes and paprika

How to:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a small jar.  It’s super easy to layer things in and then shake the whole thing up.  (Beware when adding the salt, it causes the beer to foam up so make sure you have some room in the jar.)
2. Use to slather any protein, or veg, of your choice.

You should try some, really.  And let me know if you do!  I finished up dinner and stared at the dishes long enough to know that I didn’t want to do them.  I made my way back to the couch and my crossword.  I also enjoyed the rest of the beer that I used in the marinade.

Yes, that’s Vampire Diaries in the background.  I may or may not have watched a crazy number of episodes today while doing my work.  Call it my own mini-marathon.  =D  One thing I have to say, however, is a lot of people die in this show.  All from the same small town too.  Geeze, if I lived there I would get the HECK OUT!  Doesn’t stop me from watching it though.

Questions: Have you seen The Vampire Diaries? Thoughts?
What is your favorite protein/veg to marinate?