Octopuscarwash's Gourmet Adventures

I live to eat. Yes, I am an Asian Jew. My favorite meal is breakfast (oatmeal in particular). I'm only in high school, so I am a complete amateur. Some of my favorite cuisines are Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Japanese and Korean. I eat so much Chinese food that it's hard to say whether I like it or not... all I know is that I don't like what most of America seems to think of as Chinese food, Panda Express. I'm a pescetarian and love coming up with my own healthy fusion food.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

MINUS 2 DEGREES?


Yes, that is how cold it was today. So freezing that the wind was blowing chunks of hail in my face. The outside running is postponed once again. My mom and I went to the workout room, but for some reason it was also FREEZING in there... guess the radiator was off? Also, something is seriously wrong with my knee. Probably shouldn't have pushed myself when I knew it was hurting, because now I feel like I have shin splints. I wonder what's wrong...
I only did 25 minutes on the elliptical, then did a faster mile on the treadmill... I don't understand. it seems like I can run a 7 minute mile outside, but when I do that on a treadmill, it feels like I'm full-out sprinting...
(Before I left I had half of a rotting banana)
Breakfast was a pretty small bowl of oatmeal-- strawberries, the other 1/2 of the banana, 1/2 cup skim, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup cottage cheese (cept then I went back and got more because it didn't really fill me up), vanilla, strawberry jam, and peanut butter.

I TOOK MY MOM TO SEE TWILIGHT TODAY! Before the show, we stopped at the most awesome place to open in Hyde Park yet: Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe.

I knew there was a gourmet foods store opening, but not that it would be so AWESOME! Check out the shelves:
They also have great coffee, sandwiches, soups, salads, and cookbooks.
My mom got a ham sandwich with a bunch of fancy spreads and cheese (She really is eating more meat than usual) and a cappucino.
I ordered a panini on whole wheat with eggplant, red pepper spread, muenster, and greens.
Both sandwiches came with a side sample: my mom got coleslaw and I got veggie slaw, which had chickpeas, raisins, carrots, and all the things i love.
I fell so in love with this place that I APPLIED FOR A SUMMER JOB! I'm not sure what I would do, but that would be amazing if I could work there... put my blog URL on the app...


I rarely eat cheese, but that little bit of cheese in the sandwich kept me full for a good 7 hours! Is this the secret of life?
After Twilight (Which my mom loved, but she kept laughing during all the romantic/suspenseful scenes and I had to keep yelling at her. It would be "hurry! she only has minutes left!" and my mom would start laughing loud enough that everyone could here... I see where I get my cynicism from) we went shopping... I got some amazing Lulemon leggings on sale. It was so unbelievably cold...
While I was cooking, I had an apple.

Happy Hannukah!

For dinner, I made Deborah Madison's lentil-chestnut soup with fennel, which I've made once before. It's perfect for winter, with the chestnuts giving the same starchy sweet flavor that sweet potatoes do (we use Chinese vacuum-packed chestnuts).
We also had brown rice and stir-fried watercress.
It's been ages since I really indulged in some dessert, so tonight I had a big bowl of ice cream: Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana (nondairy) and nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (I may or may not have gotten another scoop of this afterwards)... my sweet tooth is now at peace.





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Sunday, October 5, 2008

Some dinners

Stir-fried string beans, tofu with cabbage and dried shrimp (with red rice). Also a pickle-relish made with radishes, sugar and vinegar

Grilled scallops with tomatoes, stir-fried watercress, baked potatoes, and leftover Chinese corn cakes.

Middle Eastern takeout-- oh yeah.
Me: portabello mushroom burger and sweet potato. Parents: pasta with breakfast sausage. Also stir-fried eggs and cucumber.
Asian gathering at my friend Sherry's house!
Lots of meat things I couldn't eat, but a really delicious broiled salmon with mustard sauce, as well as a kind of squash (maybe kabocha) stir-fry with sichuan peppers!!!!!
PURPLE cauliflower with scallions, tofu and summer squash, pre-cooked brown rice and soybeans.
So-so catered dinner at our house: pan-Asian salad, pineapple coconut scallop skewers, ratatouille, polenta, a beef dish over seaweed salad, and various desserts.

Korean takeout while watching the vice presidential debate

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