blaq neon

Pasta Salad with Feta and White Wine Vinaigrette

2010-07-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an idea to make a pasta salad, so I asked James what vegetables he would like and took it from there. Here's what I came up with:

1 box of whole wheat penne

1 head of broccoli

1 small zucchini

1 small yellow squash

8 oz frozen peas

6 oz crumbled feta cheese

.25 cup sliced red onion

1.5 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

.25 tsp dried dill

6 (approx.) tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Wash all vegetables if needed. Cut ends off zucchini and squash then cut them in half and julienne. Cut stems off broccoli and just use the florets. Boil pasta in a large pot for the amount of time indicated on box. During the last two minutes of boiling the pasta, throw in broccoli, zucchini, squash and peas just for a quick blanch. Strain pasta and vegetables.

In a small bowl add mustard, white wine vinegar, dill, salt and pepper and whisk together. Then slowly add olive oil and keep whisking so you emulsify the ingredients.

Add pasta and vegetables to a large bowl and pour vinaigrette over it. Add onions and feta and mix together. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Orzo Salad With Zucchini and Feta

2010-05-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Serves 8
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients
8 ounces orzo (1⁄2 box)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/4 pounds small zucchini (3 to 4), cut into thin half-moons
8 ounces Feta, crumbled (2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Directions
Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, red pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the zucchini and let marinate, tossing occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Add the orzo, Feta, and dill to the zucchini mixture and toss to combine.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving
Calories 230
Fat 12g
Sat Fat 5g
Cholesterol 25mg
Sodium 503mg
Protein 8g
Carbohydrate 24g
Sugar 3g
Fiber 1g
Iron 1mg
Calcium 152mg

Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

2009-07-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

- 2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup wheat germ
- 3/4 cup ground flax seeds
- 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup peanuts, crushed
- 2/3 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.

Put the turbinado sugar, agave nectar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains and the liquid “glue”. Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.

Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish. Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled. Then, open the waxed paper…carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper. Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like. I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap, so that we could just throw one into our bag or lunch box in the morning. If you’d like to save on packaging though, you can store yours in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper (so they don’t stick together).

Enjoy!

current obsessions

2009-03-08T20:38:00.001-07:00

2009-02-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

bravo

2009-02-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

i haven't been on here in a while. that's probably the most famous blog quote ever. well anyway, here are a few things that happened in january:

- quit smoking 4 days ago!
- it sucks to quit smoking
- my aunt mary lou passed away and i drove to michigan alone for the funeral and to pick up my mom
- mike moved back to new york a few weeks ago and i miss him
- i started working out a lot in order to deal with quitting smoking better
- my mom got me a wii and it rules
- i'm only taking one class this semester which is bad for timing but i'll make it up somehow
- i recently realized how genius it would be to open an ebay store in nyc and i'm seriously looking into it
- i'm updating my website right now but i still need more photos for it

that's all i got right now. i need to write a play by play of the day of the funeral.

politics

2008-09-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

i just can't get over people lately because of this election.

HOW ARE YOU ALL DEFENDING SARAH PALIN??!

antiques and things

2008-07-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

wow, i can't believe i haven't updated this in so long. i started it thinking i would keep up with it but when does that ever really happen?

there have been a million changes in the past couple of months. i quit the law firm, went to work at starbucks, mike moved back from new york and in with us, mike went back to new york, i quit starbucks, and now i work for natalie at the eauction cafe. so yeah, bring us your shit and we'll sell it. we have lots of feedback.

our lease was up june 30 and we were planning on staying at our place, but after the fight i had with our douchebag downstairs neighbor - we're moving. we signed a month-to-month lease and plan on leaving september 1. we're hoping to get a place more east. i still don't want to be in boca, or florida for that matter, but my whole reason for leaving the law firm was to go back to school so i'm going to do that and then see where we are as far as leaving or not.

because of my recent changes in the working world, i have found myself a lot happier and therefore i've been doing art and making things more often. i started making shoes (well, making shoes COOLER i guess you can say)(also, pictured above).... hopefully i'll be able to sell them.

natalie and i saw peter murphy at revolution last saturday night. it turned out to be better than expected. he covered "hurt", played a little bauhaus and some solo and newer stuff. all of it was good and he's got an amazing stage presence. needless to say... love him.

oh! i also started an etsy shop which at the moment doesn't really have anything in it, but i'm working on it.

i should start working now since i'm... you know... at work.

good luck keeping up

2008-05-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

the past week has been an exhausting mind fuck.

my life has been a shitstorm of drama, adventure and awakening. i have confirmed that my boss/mother-in-law hates me and thinks i am a horrible person, mike moved back from new york and into our apartment and i started my new (old) starbucks job. i feel like i haven't even been able to sleep.

as for the first one - i can't even say i care anymore. the events that have taken place in the past few days have amazed me, but not surprised me. i'm just glad that may 16 marks my freedom.
MIKE IS BACK!! needless to say i am very excited about this. i can't believe he is living with us. he can't believe it either. i hope we have tons of fun. (it smells like sage in here).
starbucks was crappy the first couple of days seeing as how i had to work at 7:30 am this past saturday and sunday mornings. that doesn't work well for me, especially right now. BUT, i closed tonight and it was fun. now i'm just excited to start school so i don't feel like so much of a loser for going back to starbucks.

in other news, i have been saying the internet should be everywhere for a long time. finally it might be true!!

i should really keep up with this blog stuff more often.

beep beep

2008-04-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

the past week and a half have been a whirlwind - some fun, some obligation.

as a follow up, lion country safari actually turned out to be a nice day. a rhinoceros chased our car and i would have to say that was the highlight of the trip. ostriches were pecking at other cars around us right when we went through the gate, we got yelled at for rolling down our windows to take pictures and the food was pretty nasty. i suggest bringing a lunch.

on friday my stepsister and her husband threw a party for their newly adopted baby, dillon. he's six months old and he looks like stewie from family guy which james and i found very amusing. adorable, but kind of a big head.

saturday the kiddies went to the vet and according to him, murphy is "perfect"! it's nice to know we have a perfect dog. dixie has recovered from her infection, gained weight and is doing very well. lady's peeing situation hasn't been cleared up yet since they couldn't get her to pee while we were there, so we have to follow up on that.

boraxed the apartment, didn't watch there will be blood and missed dennis' birthday party. bleh. too much shit going on.

i got a job at starbucks and i start next saturday. i'm kind of excited and kind of not. i'll have two jobs for a few months and depending on how tolerable starbucks is, i will just work there and start school in the fall. the law firm is killing me for numerous reasons too boring and excruciating to elaborate on here, so hopefully an easy coffee job will make life simpler. all i want is time to myself to do some art and read some books. and maybe start some sort of business eventually.

out of context

2008-04-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

so tomorrow will be a fun filled day of lions, countries and safari. i should remember to bring my real camera since my phone can't zoom. i just hope it's not depressing seeing all of the animals laying around miserable and bored. i just have to keep telling myself it's better than a zoo. they aren't in cages, they can roam around and frolic and whatnot.

i have had way too many shenanigans going on lately. i need me some chill time.

apparently obama is an elitist. who knew? what am i even talking about at this point.

shower v. sleep. okay, sleep wins.

we have a mediation

2008-04-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

here are some drawings just because:

white

girl in magazine

another girl

half of the who

lax charisma

2008-04-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

what do you do when your friends are junkies?

this is a good question to ponder especially on this fourteenth anniversary of the death of kurt cobain. it was so hard to lose him, imagine losing someone you actually know.

i have tried talking to them, tried listening, tough love, whatever you can think of. nothing really matters or helps, though. it’s funny, too, because i kind of don’t care. i have known them both for a good length of time, and i pretty much could care less what happens to them at this point. it sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. that goes for both of them for different reasons. one because she has been a drug addict in one form or another since she was about 17. i have stopped talking to her because of it numerous times and made her aware of that. i’ve tried telling her what she looks like to people, how her life will go nowhere like her disgusting dealer who gave birth to a “crack baby” due to her additions and eventually gave the kid away to a hospital (thank god) because she couldn’t properly care for her anymore. that makes it sound like she ever did to begin with.

the other one is kind of a funny story. he thinks it’s “cool” to be a drug addict and freely admits it. he looks up to artists and musicians and figures that once they have put out that one great masterpiece they should be free to disintegrate into obscurity and recklessness because they have done it. they have put forth their artistic contribution to society and that makes them godlike. it’s pathetic to me. but this is also coming from a kid that is completely self-centered and expects people to basically wait on him hand and foot and be expected to give nothing in return. it’s been hard for me with him. i’ve been fairly close to him for a long time not because of my own choosing but because of various people in my life having chosen that proximity for themselves. i’ve bitten my tongue for so long, there’s not much of a tongue left.

the moral of the story is the girl is a fuck up and probably always will be. the boy is a selfish prick and has made his life shit so i don’t feel bad for him.

wow that was quite a rant. but seriously... grow up.

the duration

2008-04-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

so it's back to law & order weeknights. for the longest time i had no real interest in television with the exception of the occasional state, seinfeld and simpsons episode. in the past few years i have become immersed in television. i think working at an office had something to do with it. the idea of being excited that certain shows were coming on certain nights bothered me for a long time, but now i'm kind of okay with it. now. now that the writers' strike has happened and ruined a bunch of the shows that i was into. that's fine, though. i'm happy with my cable projects runways and rock of loves. also, i hate being tied to the tv.

speaking of office jobs, i won't be at mine much longer! i got a job at starbucks again today. it's crappy money but it will be good for school purposes and the mental health of james and myself. yay for coffee and the constant flow of people.

speaking of law & order... billy jean was just on svu. love her. and love her brother. oh christian slater, we could have had something.

my favorite latin term of the day: res ipsa loquitur ("the thing itself speaks").

i have made the following decision: today is for doing nothing. tomorrow is for productivity.

what a day

2008-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

not really. just a little cleaning, a little TV, some cat medicine and falafel. it was refreshing, though. when mike was down i ran around a lot so it's always weird and calm when he leaves.

i think american dad is such a terrible show. i can't understand how it's still on. it's pretty much just family guy if family guy sucked. i'm disappointed in seth macfarland. oh look, now they're doing a the most dangerous game spoof. hilarious.

crap... it's raining and I think the cat is still on the patio.