Rum Chocolate Muffins

Over the past month, I think, my partner and I have been searching for the just right replacement car for his old Subaru WRX (obviously, trying not to dwell too much on the hours wasted/arguing over this...).  A bit sporty, automatic transmission, roomy enough to fit his mountain bike, and new(er) model were the main concerns.

After much hemming and hawing (and perhaps some semi-ultimatums and threats to speed the process along), we decided on a new Volkswagen GTI.  Which, btw, is no easy feat as we are both varying levels of indecisiveness and worriers and overthinkers and just a bit Type A.  (Lovely combination when it comes to large, expensive purchases.)

Though we're both excited and relieved that this process is over, he enlisted the help of some of his friends/coworkers to view cars (including one that was 3 hours away!!), provide opinions on cars, and general moral support.  Quite commendable of them - and so glad I didn't have to participate in some of that process!

Thus...I spent today baking rum chocolate muffins as a token of appreciation and general peace offering for their time and efforts.  [THANK YOU for putting up with the crazy!]

Besides rum and cocoa powder - to make these extra special, I added spices (cayenne pepper included!), orange juice, coffee to bring out the chocolate, and a small pile of chocolate chips in the center (and a few dots on top) so that it oozes yum as you bite into them.

  ...But mostly, I just taste the chocolate and the spicy tingle of that rum in the back of my throat.  (And yes, I save a few for myself!)

Back to Cooking for 2...Tapas-style!

Fridays are my grocery days.  I do my research on the sales for the week, make my meal list, grab my coupons if applicable, and off I go.

I'm not sure how long grocery shopping takes you, but I tend to meander, compare prices, study the nutritional labels, go back and forth between the aisles for that forgotten item a few aisles back...so it takes me a few hours to get all my groceries.  By the time I get home, it's nearing dinner time - and I gotta start cooking.

Some days are more food productive than others.  Recently, I got this brilliant idea of throwing together several side items and calling it a meal - tapas-style, a.k.a. lazy dinners when it's too difficult to think about a coherent meal!  (For some reason, this feels like less effort on my part...hmmm, arguable!)

Here is one example, which is more Italian-based than Spanish:
- Steamed artichoke with lemon (lemon-butter sauce for dipping)
- Pan-fried calamari and brussel sprouts (lemon and marinara for spritzing/dipping)
- Crab rangoons (sweet and sour chili sauce with green onions)
[Looking back, this meal was a little fry-heavy!]

I think the tapas-style meal that happened after this one included the artichoke again, chorizo, whole grain pita chips and hummus, some nice crusty bread, and 1 or 2 more things.

Btw, does anyone else smell a bit of crisp Fall air lately?  Time to use the last bit of charcoal sitting mournfully in the garage...Maybe I'll grill this weekend!

Cooking for One

So what does it mean to cook for one?  For me, it ironically means a lot more food hanging about!  It feels difficult, and at times wasteful, to cook a meal just for one dinner for one person.  I feel like I need to make the most of this cooking time and extend the meal for at least another day or two (I like energy conservation).

Thus, I made two meals that lasted the ~5 days my partner traveled for a workshop in Michigan.  Albeit a little lonely at the dinner table, this also meant I could add in ingredients that I enjoyed (and he not so much), such as white beans (I can't remember if they were Great Northern or cannellini).  I also tend toward eating less meat/vegetarian-style meals, which was a nice cost-saver that week.  The meals also needed to be somewhat hearty, keep well in the fridge (e.g., anything crunchy or crispy was out), and just generally easy to make as it's so much less motivating to cook for one than for multiple folks!

So I made vegetarian fried rice and a sausage & white bean pasta salad (what's the difference between pasta and pasta salad?  Temperature, ingredients??).

(And I may or may not have reused the same bowl for both meals...don't judge.)

2012 Walk a Mile to Save Our Babies (Sept. 18)

For those near Forsyth County, please consider registering for this event!

Here is the Forsyth County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition website:

http://www.helpourbabies.org/default.aspx

Homemade Pizza

I'm surprised that I haven't posted this yet, but I'm a big advocate of making your own pizzas as time permits and your imagination allows.  (Unfortunately, perhaps, we tend to get a little topping-happy...including pineapples, ham, olives, spinach, artichokes, tomatoes, mozzarella and parm, pesto base = expensive and somewhat confusing-tasting pizza!)

I remember back in the days of undergrad when I first met my partner, we bonded over our love of a good margherita pizza for its simple deliciousness - a first for him!

Currently, time and laziness harken back to the frozen pizzas for now, but here are pictures of our last homemade pizza experience (look at that oblong whole wheat crust!):

What are your suggestions for pizza toppings or combinations of such?

Dining - Single, Paired, Group

The past few weeks have been met with different dining circumstances.  Usually, I eat with my partner (and sometimes our dog...) on most nights, but lately I've had to eat by myself and also with a guest (my little brother who visited for a week).  All three scenarios have been surprisingly different with varied challenges and advantages - hopefully, I'll be able to soon share some of our meals from these different times, especially when I was eating for just one (easy, yet so difficult!).

Here's a picture that reminds me of family dining (I think this was taken last Thanksgiving, when my family does a Chinese-American food fusion...This was the Chinese hot pot part - and I think my partner's first!):

I think we had imitation crabmeat, fish balls, seafood balls, pork balls, broccoli, napa cabbage, mushrooms?, corn on the cob?, and other ingredients I can't recall...Oh, and of course the sa cha sauce (not pictured).  Always a comforting meal/experience on a cold day!

Women's Health and Contraception

On August 1, 2012, many women with insurance that were non-grandfathered plans were able to utilize preventive health services that included contraceptives without cost-sharing/copays.  I was one of those women who scheduled a women's health appointment on that day, and I stared in awe at that line that said "You pay $0.00" (though I did have to pay for the actual appointment with the provider).

Although not a perfect system/legislation, this is a great step forward for women's health under the Affordable Care Act.

Per U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this lists coverage guidelines:
Required Health Plan Coverage Guidelines

I also wanted to share this video, created by the Guttmacher Institute that I came across on my blog feed:
Benefits of Contraceptive Use in the United States

I'm a big proponent of reproductive rights and sexual/reproductive health (and hope for more men joining in the conversations!), and I'm interested in hearing others' experiences with this -
Did you encounter issues, did things go smoothly, or did you experience no change at all?