120 replies to this topic

[hillvalley]

Torakris tagged me while I was taking a nap so I guess it is me this week. Since it is Monday in Japan I will start now. I just finished my last homemade ginger molassas cookies that my friend's mother made. I have never liked them before but this time they were increadible! Soft and chewy, it was like eating candy.


If I wasn't following an amazing month of blogging (Thank you Ronnie, jackal and torakris) I suppose I would be less intimidated. On the other hand I will be eating a bit better than I normally do (which isn't saying much). I have had a stomache virus since the beginning of December and just started eating normal food New Year's Eve. Since it has been so long since I ate well, I am eating whatever my heart desires.

One disclaimer: I am a terrible speller, so plees bear with mee!

Here goes........

Edited because I think faster than I type.

Edited by hillvalley, 04 January 2004 - 03:42 PM.

[torakris]

looking foward to it!

Don't worry about the spelling anything will be better than what was in my blog....
I too, think faster than I type.

[jackal10]

Welcome!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your environment?
Where are you? What is a typical day?

Edited by jackal10, 04 January 2004 - 03:56 PM.

[hillvalley]

Dinner tonight was rotini with evoo and lots of parmesean. I made enough for lunch tomorrow, but as I was draining the pasta about 1/3 of it fell into the sink. aaagggggg. Lunch is a higher priority than dinner, so I didn't have as much as I wanted. Will have to have a late evening snack.


About me....the basics are that I am single woman in my late 20's. I have spent most of my life in DC and absolutely love my city. I live alone so I don't have to worry about cooking/eating what others want me to, which is nice. I am a total foodie and always have been. Food is my hobby/passion.

My eating habits are much more European than American. It is very rare that I go food shopping for more than a couple of days worth of food. Usually I stop on my way home from work and pick up whatever I am craving at that moment. I also hate the freezer, so I rarely eat anything frozen, or freeze anything for later.

During the day I am a special education teacher and at night I am working on my master's. I go back to work tomorrow (groan) but have another week before my classes start. I teach at a private school, but 60% of my class is considered innercity. Most of my students are adventurous eaters, so I try to bring in different foods for them to try. This week we will probably try Japanese foods, since we are finishing up studying Japan. While I was sick I ate a lot of nori and rice, and they loved the seaweed!!! Keep in mind that for most of these kids Taco Bell is fancy eating. By the way, in case you couldn't tell, my students are my passion. I feel strongly that I should introduce them to as many different cultures as possible, and make trying new things as much fun as possible.

I just looked up and saw what time it is. It's a good thing I don't have class next week, I have a feeling this will take up my studying time!

[hillvalley]

Just finished a bowl of miso soup with hot seasame oil. I eat a fair amount of Japanese food, although this board has inspired me to try more in the past few months.

I won't be able to get to a computer before tomorrow afternoon so I will give you a brief look into what I eat durng the day.

Breakfast is always a nightmare. I have never been very good at eating it. Lately it has been toast with raspberry jam, both organic. I have no food in the house, so I probably won't eat until 11 when my students have snack.

Snack. One of the best parts about my job. How many of you have a snacked programmed into your day every day? And have eight people to remind you in case you forget? It tends to be carb heavy, which makes me happy. I have no idea what is in the classroom since I didn't have anything to do with food in December. (I have two coteachers and an aide in the room with me. I am very lucky.) I'll do inventory tomorrow. Whatever it is the kids will complain because the last week of school all they ate was cookies and now it is back to crackers and pretzels.

Lunch is usually whatever I had for dinner. Tomorrow it will be rotini with parmesean.

I drink a lot of water all day. Usually between 50-64 oz. a day. I have water bottles everywhere, beside my bed, in my car, two or three in the classroom. During the winter I also drink a lot of herbal tea.

No coffee, very little soda. I try to avoid caffine at all costs. When I do have caffine it is usually in either a vanilla latte, green tea, bubble tea or a diet coke.

Tonight I will have a Godiva truffle when I go to sleep. I have a rediculous amount of chocolate in the apartment right now. I tend to get a lot of it as holiday gifts and I haven't been able to eat it yet.

[torakris]

we may see more Japanese food in this thread than in mine!

and no cofffee????
how do you live????

[Ling]

One Godiva truffle? Such restraint!

I could go through a box of those. Which flavor do you like best?

Edited by Ling, 04 January 2004 - 09:51 PM.

[Pan]

Nice to meet you, hillvalley, and I'm glad you're feeling better.

[Cusina]

Very glad to see you pick up the blog hillvalley. I'll look forward to hearing more about your students and your foodie life. Be sure to put in pictures if you can and you are definitely granted spelling forgiveness. Mine is just as bad! I'm glad you are feeling better too. Being sick sucks.


Torakris, I missed a wonderful trip to Japan while I was away. I just read through it and it is a beautiful chronicle. I feel like you are my parallel life in Japan as we have kids similar ages and some similar interests (I even have a daughter Julia!) Loved hearing about your family and their tastes. Thanks for the great read!

Onward....

[hillvalley]

Greetings from the teacher's lounge......

A little known secret about many schools (at least the two I have worked in) is that there is food around all the time. People brought in their leftovers from the holidays. This morning I have had countless cookies, mainly chocolate chip. I also had a handful of chocolate covered carmel corn. Yummm

Snack was animal crackers and cheeze-its.

This morning was a bit crazy so I am behind on my water consumption. Everyone is walking around in a sort of daze. We know why we are here, we just can't remember what we are supposed to be doing.

Lunch was the rest of the pasta from last night. Not enough cheese so it was pretty bland.

Time for recess......

[ronnie_suburban]

Greetings from the teacher's lounge......

Dayum! I wish you had a web cam. I've always wanted to see what goes on in the teachers' lounge

=R=

[Pan]

hillvalley, how old are your students?

[alacarte]

Greetings from the teacher's lounge......

Hey teach, do you ever confiscate food from your students?

[hillvalley]

we may see more Japanese food in this thread than in mine!

and no cofffee????
how do you live????

I am one of those people who is very sensitive to caffeine. One cup of coffee and I am bouncing off the walls. I also take a medication that tends to keep me awake, so that helps on those mornings when I feel like I need coffee.

[hillvalley]

Greetings from the teacher's lounge......

Dayum! I wish you had a web cam. I've always wanted to see what goes on in the teachers' lounge

=R=

My teacher's lounge isn't much, just an empty room they haven't turned into a classroom yet. The real action takes place at the secretary's desk and the kitchen. Everyone knows that secretarys really run the school!

[hillvalley]

hillvalley, how old are your students?

My kids are 9-10 chronologically. They all have some form of retardation or Autism, so their emotional ages are somewhere between 4-10. I have 8 students, 6 boys and 2 girls, which is a fairly typical ratio for special ed. I would love to post pictures of them but due to confidentiallity laws I am not allowed.

The only time I take away food from my kids is when they are eating or chewing gum in class when they are trying to sneak it, or they stole it from us. I am the teacher who sneaks you candy under the table when no one is looking and you just worked really hard.

We use food as a motivator with some of our kids, so there is always someone eating in the room.



This afternoon we had cookies and really bad Girl Scout chocolates. The cookies were butter cookies with sugar sprinkles on top, my favorite. The chocolates had mint in them, but just didn't compare with the Godiva waiting at home. I love sweets, but am usually satisfied after just a few bites, so eating one piece at a time isn't that hard.

[hillvalley]

For Hannukah I got new nonstick pans and tonight I finally got to break one in. I sauteed scallops with a little chopped shallot and then baby spinach with 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Chopping garlic is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. Everything but the scallops were organic.

I tried to post some pics, but am having trouble uploading them into ImageGullet. The files are too big. Is it possible to shrink them?

Edited by hillvalley, 05 January 2004 - 05:46 PM.

[Pan]

Have a look at tommy's remarks in this thread.

[hillvalley]

I am having a mug of organic chamomile tea with tonight's Godiva truffle. I wish the package said what flavor the truffles are. I am not great at figuring out flavors in sweets. I am really good at figuring out savory dishes though.

Tonights truffle is the ultimate truffle assortment let down. The cherry truffle. The only one in the box I won't eat. I hate cherry. Period. Except for marachinos. And cherry stems. Yuck. I give Godiva credit though. It was a nice combination of cherry and chocolate, not too much of one or the other. And it was roled in red sugar.

I am a sucker for sprinkles.

Now I am craving something sweet.

[hillvalley]

Oh yeah, still can't figure out how to resize my photos. I'll try some more tomorrow.

[hillvalley]

By the time I got to the tea it had become cold, but I drank it anyway.

Used the tea to wash down some carmel covered popcorn and almonds, from the same student who gave me the Godiva. It's ironic that this family gave food as gifts because their kids is a terrible eater, and a portion of my day is spent trying to get him to eat.


Tomorrow in cooking we are making sushi. If I remember my mat.

[torakris]

do you ever find it hard to cook for one?

Like the meat and vegetable packs being too big?
or ever find it just not worth the effort to cook for yourself?

I find that a lot of time when I need something just for myself (usually lunch) it always seems like a big bother to even make something....

I have never really cooked for one, went from my parent's house to a college dorm with a cafeteria, to an apartment with my boyfriend when I was 20 and then to an apartment with my now husband (and no there wasn't even one day between those last two places )

[Pan]

Used the tea to wash down some carmel covered popcorn and almonds, from the same student who gave me the Godiva. It's ironic that this family gave food as gifts because their kids is a terrible eater, and a portion of my day is spent trying to get him to eat.

You're positive he wasn't supposed to eat those things?

[Marmish]

Greetings from the teacher's lounge......

A little known secret about many schools (at least the two I have worked in) is that there is food around all the time. People brought in their leftovers from the holidays. This morning I have had countless cookies, mainly chocolate chip. I also had a handful of chocolate covered carmel corn. Yummm

There is definitely always food in a school! The two weeks before Winter Break you couldn't move for all the chocolate, candy and cookies around the place. Even on a regular day in my building there is a snack stash in the library and in the office. Whenever you have a rough day, there are several sources of chocolate to smooth it over. We also are fortunate to have many good cooks and bakers on our staff so that there are often leftovers in the lounge from parties, or things brought in just because someone (usually me) tried a new recipe. The cherry on top is that right across the street is a little grocery stuck in a time warp, Ed's Way. They have horrible produce, but will make you any kind of sandwich you want at the deli for $2.89. All the women who work in the deli must have had teenage sons, because the sandwiches are huge.

[JennyUptown]

do you ever find it hard to cook for one?

Like the meat and vegetable packs being too big?
or ever find it just not worth the effort to cook for yourself?

I find that a lot of time when I need something just for myself (usually lunch) it always seems like a big bother to even make something....

I have struggled with the cooking-for-one thing for any number of reasons.

First and foremost: foods go bad quickly. Doesn't matter if it's bread or rolls (keeping them in the fridge prolongs their life, but diminishes flavor and texture, of course), milk, fruit, etc. It all rots quicker than I can eat it. I have a package of tarragon turning black in my fridge all because I needed some fresh herb for one dish. I hate to waste things like that.

Next is the effort. If it's just me eating dinner, I can have the same damn thing almost every day and not complain. Mostly this is because I get plenty of variety otherwise via meals in restaurants with friends (e.g., half the week).

Lately I have been making more of an effort to cook, spurred partly by a boyfriend who loves to cook and makes fun of my bachelorette pantry (but is seemingly very impressed when I make the slightest effort in the kitchen), partly by a desire to save money, and partly by a sense that I'm missing out by not learning to enjoy the process.

[cheeseandchocolate]

do you ever find it hard to cook for one?

Like the meat and vegetable packs being too big?
or ever find it just not worth the effort to cook for yourself?

I find that a lot of time when I need something just for myself (usually lunch) it always seems like a big bother to even make something....

I loved cooking for one! I lived alone for two+ years in both Paris and Seattle before my boyfriend moved in with me last June, and it was actually hard for me to adjust to cooking for two. I've always frequented local farmers' markets (in season), and I used to cook a couple of big dishes on the weekend to last me through the week, along with a last-minute add-on or two each evening. I'd have ratatouille (with a last-minute fried egg on top or lentil salad on the side, a hunk of fresh bread, and maybe a salad), or a hearty soup with good bread and cheese. I still do roughly the same type of meal planning, but now I wind up doing additional cooking midweek too, since we quickly plow through what I've made on the weekend. I do love cooking for two now that I'm used to it, and the added effort is more than returned by my boyfriend's appreciation for a good meal at home with me.

That said, I did love cooking only for myself and never found it too much effort--but that could be due to the fact that I rarely did new dishes each night and often (especially in Paris) had dinners consisting only of a couple simple (braised, roasted, salad-ed) vegetable preparations along with bread and cheese. And being a big sandwich eater, lunch has never been a bother--plus, I enjoy scheming up creative (vegetarian) sandwiches. I rarely have food go bad because I can't eat it fast enough--but then again, I've generally eaten out rarely, so I always turn the odds and ends of raw materials from various recipes into another something to eat in the following days.

That said, Kristin, I'm not cooking for three kids, so that keeps things simple! And I've now got a Whole Foods Market only three blocks away, so when the farmers' market is off for the season or when I need more of a certain dry good, I just hit the pavement.

[JennyUptown]

One downside to having someone (e.g., a boyfriend) around a lot: he often eats the leftovers before I can get to them!!

[hillvalley]

Snack today was popcorn and cheezits.

I am trying out a new tea at work, Tazo's Calm. I am a little dissappointed, it tastes like chamomile, but it will do for now.


Lunch was the rest of the rotini from Sunday night. I don't have much of an appetite so that was all I could get down.


For the holidays I recieved about $40 worth of gift certificates to Starbucks. I don't know what to spend it on, since I don't drink that much coffee and I can only have so many Vanilla Creme's without getting sick of them. Any suggestions?

[hillvalley]

The cherry on top is that right across the street is a little grocery stuck in a time warp, Ed's Way. They have horrible produce, but will make you any kind of sandwich you want at the deli for $2.89. All the women who work in the deli must have had teenage sons, because the sandwiches are huge.

Do you get to leave for lunch? I eat with my kids four days a week. (groan)

[JennyUptown]

For the holidays I recieved about $40 worth of gift certificates to Starbucks. I don't know what to spend it on, since I don't drink that much coffee and I can only have so many Vanilla Creme's without getting sick of them. Any suggestions?

Suggestions:

* your body weight in bottled water

* four copies of whatever weird seasonal world-music CDs they're pushing at the moment

* some kind of coffee equipment plus mugs and coffee as a gift for a coffee-drinker in your life

These are not unique, I realize. Maybe regift?