Sunday Bike Ride

 Today I wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful Pacific NW. I really felt like taking a hike in the woods, but due to some blisters I got breaking in new shoes this week, I knew that probably wasn't a good idea. I decided to take a bike ride instead, and as I was riding along I remembered that there is a portion of the Chehalis-Western trail near my house that is wooded and quiet, and I thought that would be a great substitute for a hike in the woods. I've written about the Chehalis-Western trail before in relation to walking, but I have to say, it is even better on a bike! The trail is flat and paved, and it winds through some really beautiful areas. The portion of the trail I was on today is kind of funny, because it is bordered in some areas by cow and horse pasture, so you do get an occasional whiff of barnyard smell, especially on warm days like today. In a few more weeks the blackberries will be ripe, though, and when that happens, the only thing you will smell on the trail is their heavenly, musky berriness. As I was riding on the trail, I looked up at the trees. With the dappled sunlight hitting their array of green leaves and needles,  they were breathtaking. I thought about how amazing it must be for people who come to the Pacific NW for the first time. I feel so fortunate to live in a place of such incredible beauty, and I hope I never take this place for granted.

Lose Yourself To Dance

 Last weekend some friends and I were watching videos from Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories. A couple of the videos (Lose Yourself To Dance and Give Life Back to Music) featured people dancing on the show Soul Train in the 1970s, as well some fantastic shots of people dancing from movies and music videos. We danced along with the videos, and I had so much fun and got in some great exercise too. I've posted before about how much I love to dance, but when I was watching the Soul Train dancers, I felt totally in awe of their incredible moves. There is also this memorable dance scene from the movie Boogie Nights which I've always loved. I want to learn to dance like that, and believe me, if anyone ever offers a disco fitness class, I'm totally in! Since that doesn't exist yet, I decided to check out the library's catalogue to see if there were any instructional disco dvds I could check out. There were two available, and I checked them both out a few days ago. Tonight, I watched portions of both of them and danced along with them for about an hour. It was so super cheesy, and I felt like a total weirdo dancing along to these in my living room by myself. It was definitely a funny and fun experiment though, and I'm going to try to find a better quality disco dvd and keep practicing my moves. Hopefully, someone will invent a time machine eventually, and I'll get to go back and show off my moves. Ha!

Easy Baked Tempeh

 Tonight I made a dinner that was a little weird but good, and it was inspired by some really fresh looking produce that I saw at the Co-op today- green beans and corn. I took the easy route with those (just steamed the green beans and boiled the corn) since they were so fresh and didn't need any help. When I was trying to decide what to serve with them I remembered that we had some tempeh in the refrigerator and I decided to cook that up. For those of you who are unfamiliar with tempeh, it is a food made from fermented soybeans. The fermentation process used for turning soybeans into tempeh (it's magic!) makes the nutrients in soybeans more available to us and also reduces the gas that is sometimes associated with eating beans. Truth be told, I mostly eat tempeh because I think it tastes delicious, but I also have a few friends who find it totally unpalatable, so I will admit that it's not for everyone. Besides the taste, what I like about tempeh is that it is very quick and easy to season and cook, it's relatively inexpensive, and it's nutritious and filling.

Erin's Easy 
Baked Tempeh
1 8oz package tempeh
1 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbs tamari
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil

Heat oven to 400F. Slice the tempeh into long 1/2 inch thick strips. Mix all other ingredients in a shallow, oven-safe dish large enough to accommodate the tempeh in a single layer. After marinade is mixed, lay the tempeh in the dish. Cook in the heated oven for 10 minutes. Turn tempeh over. Cook on the other side for 10 minutes. Remove tempeh from oven. Serve topped with the garlic and ginger left in your baking dish, along with a sprinkling of fresh basil.

"Nature's Perfect Food"

I know I have been going a bit quinoa crazy on this blog as of late, and I'm starting to feel a little  like one of those people who is always trying to convince you that you should try a food they like because IT REALLY IS NATURE'S PERFECT FOOD. Ha. So since I'm no proselytizer, I'll just say YUMMM, THIS SALAD IS SO GOOD!
It's also quick and easy to make, and I threw it together using stuff I had on hand:

Lemony Quinoa Salad with Kale and Parsley
1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 3/4 cups water
2 lemons
fresh pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup olive oil
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 bunch Italian kale, chopped
1/2 cup toasted nuts, chopped
feta for sprinkling on top (optional)

Add quinoa and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook quinoa for 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. As I've said before, always better to undercook quinoa rather than overcook.
While quinoa is cooking, get the dressing ready:
Zest one lemon into a large bowl. Next add juice of both lemons (should be about 6 Tbs of juice). Add pepper, salt and garlic powder, and stir well with a fork. Slowly add olive oil in a stream and continue to stir until well blended.
When quinoa has finished cooking, pour it into the bowl with the dressing and stir well. Add all other ingredients and stir. Serve with a sprinkling of feta if desired. Makes a nice size serving, so you will have plenty of leftovers. This would probably be really good with some smoked salmon or cannelini beans for extra protein.

Happy Anniversary!

Today Zach and I celebrated 17 years together! It's pretty weird to think that we were both in our early 20s when we got together (so long ago!), and it definitely doesn't feel like 17 years have gone by already. About 10 years ago, my mom told me to appreciate every day because as you age, time will start going by really fast, and boy, she wasn't kidding! For our anniversary, we had a  fun day hanging out and enjoying time together. The best part of the day was sitting in a park in the shade, watching bunnies hopping around, listening to the rustle of the leaves in the trees, and eating ripe blackberries from the Fremont Sunday Market.  It's awesome to be with someone who I can still have so much fun with after all this time, and I feel incredibly lucky to have such a great partner.

Shakshouka

Last night I made an easy and interesting dish that is popular in Tunisia, Israel, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. Traditionally it is served for breakfast or brunch, but Shakshouka is also hearty enough to serve as a main dish for dinner. It is pretty rich and spicy, so it is nice to serve it with something light like a fresh green salad and some whole-wheat bread (or pitas) for mopping up the sauce.  This recipe comes from epicurious and includes some garbanzo beans for extra protein. Some Shaksouka recipes also include sauteed bell peppers. This recipe doesn't use any, but I'm sure they'd be a nice addition if you have them available.

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas and Feta (aka Shakshouka)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 jalapeños, seeded, finely chopped

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained

2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup coarsely crumbled feta

8 large eggs

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas, paprika, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add crushed tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta evenly over sauce. Crack eggs one at a time and place over sauce, spacing evenly apart. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 8-10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cilantro. 

Breakfast Of Champions

This morning I made a quinoa porridge for breakfast that was really, really good. The secret is to boil the quinoa in 1/2 milk and 1/2 water- it gives the cereal a nice creamy body while still maintaining its light, fluffy, quintessential quinoaness. I enjoyed mine with a plate of steamed kale and a cup of coffee- yum! In honor of my delicious breakfast this morning, I'm adding a new goal (#27), which is to eat quinoa at least twice a week. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, quinoa is  highly nutritious and versatile, and I'm excited to incorporate more of it into my diet. The recipe below makes 3 good-sized servings, so you can either scale it back if you are just cooking for yourself, or portion it out for eating cold on subsequent mornings like I did. I found the recipe on 101cookbooks.com, and it is pretty much perfect as written. I've just made a couple of modifications to allow for substitutions and to provide slightly larger serving sizes:

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa 

1 cup milk
 (I used almond milk, but any kind of milk should work just fine)

1 cup water


1 cup quinoa


2 cups fresh berries


1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted*


3 teaspoons agave or honey

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in berries and cinnamon; transfer to three bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 3.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.