Summertime and the Living is Easy

Yup, it's official. I'm on summer vacation!

Which means it's time for the flip side of my personality to kick into gear. Time for Writer Cate to take over.

It also means it's time for Healthy Writer Cate to take over.

Sadly, this followed me home.

OOPS!


It was not alone.

Delicious food just jumps into the basket - and then onto the hips.

This is the peril of being Writer Cate.

Teacher Cate spends the entire day on her feet, running up and down flights of stairs, walking around the classroom, fast walking to the subway - 15 minutes to and from, twice a day.

So you see, donuts and cookies just won't cut it in the summer.

To be fair, they weren't quit cutting it before school ended. The scale was inching upwards and waistlines were tightening.

So, Summertime, and it's time to be ruthless.

Expect to see recipes with more of this

and this

and this

and this

and this

and these

I keep a bowl of blueberries in the refrigerator
and grab them when I'm craving a snack.

There are still some treats.

They were strategically placed in my basket today.
The freezer is stocked with salmon and haddock and shrimp. And frozen blueberries for smoothies.

However, I'm over on Seekerville today blogging about procrastination, so I may have to have a donut first. Who will join me?

Are you inclined towards healthier eating in the summer? I feel like we always used to be because of the heat, but now with AC, there's not the waning appetite to help.

I'm off to a good start. This was dinner tonight.

Kale, oranges, blueberries, sunflower seeds, avocado slices, salmon, and some croutons.
It was really good.

On a Cold Winter's Night

The oven is still broken - no time to get a workman here since he only comes during the day when I'm at work - so I improvise. This was dinner last night.

But I love it, so eating a variation each night really isn't a hardship.

But these cold winter nights have me hankering for some comfort food. To me, that says pot pies. Since I can't cook one at the moment, I figured I'd share one of my favorites that I've done before. I'll just pretend I get to eat it!

Salmon Potato Cheddar Pie

I really should call it Cheddar Salmon Cheddar Potato Cheddar Pie.

I'm guessing you figured out the key ingredient. :)

The recipe is one of my creations and it's really simple.

First I boiled potatoes and baked the salmon filets.  (The amount of each would vary according to your preferences. I definitely err on the side of potatoes.)

Sacrilege here - but I used deep dish pre-made pie crusts. This is easy, remember.  Those of you who are pie crust whizzes, feel free to whip up your own. I pre-bake the crust for about ten minutes, just long enough to make sure it won't be soggy.


Now comes the fun part.

A layer of shredded cheddar, a layer of potatoes.

I added in some sweet onion to this layer. It gives it a nice bite.

More cheddar.

I crumbled the salmon on top.

More cheese and potatoes.

I used the Kraft Triple Cheddar shredded cheese.

Place the crust on top. Then, you guessed it - sprinkle more cheese over the crust.  The first time I did this it was because I only had some broken pieces of crust left over and I was trying to fill it up. It was so delicious that it became an official step in the recipe.

Heat for about half an hour or until everything is heated through and the cheese is nice and melty. I took Fenway for a walk during this part and it was the exact right amount of time.

Enjoy!


Last week (I think), Ruthy shared a spectacular sunrise photo. I snared the matching sunset photo today from my classroom window.  So pretty.

A New Year's Toast

Okay, admit it, you were probably thinking something like this -

But I had something different in mind.

Start with some blanched, frozen kale (or spinach) and coconut water (or tap water).

Add some blueberries, beets, and maybe some pomegranate arils, maybe some flax or hemp.

Pulse.

Enjoy!

I can hear some of you moaning now, but I honestly love this.

I'll tell you a funny story.

In the past few months, I've had numerous people tell me how great I look.

*not bragging here* Bear with me.

One thing you all know is that the last year was not an easy one. Haggard is how I'd describe my look most days! But after hearing this compliment a few times, I looked in the mirror - and tried to see beyond the hag staring back.

Truth was, my skin was kind of glowing. I attribute that to the kale. Seriously.

Honestly, my default meal always used to be cookies or cake, but this old body can't handle that anymore. I've learned that I actually really like these smoothies.


So, how about it, are you willing to give it a try?
The blueberries are great for your memory!

November is Yellow

For the past few weeks I've been noticing that my neighborhood is yellow.
If October was mostly red and orange, lately yellow leaves dominate and give a gentle yellow glow to the air.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, I've got a mouthful.

And one hold out yellow rose.

Add in one sad dog in a yellow raincoat that is way too big for him, but it was raining THAT hard.

Please ignore the condition of the carpet. There has been construction going on for a week and the dust is embedded.

So this week, to continue the monochromatic theme, I have a white-ish/yellowish meal.

It was a dark and stormy night - after a cold and rainy day - and I wanted comfort food, so I cooked some orzo, diced some leftover chicken, and loaded on the cheddar cheese.  So delicious and filling.

I melted the cheese briefly, just enough to meld everything together.

And finally, some more yellow.

Even at night...

What does November look like in your neck of the woods???

Stir Fry Pineapple Shrimp with Rice Noodles

Confession Time:

This healthy writer has been neither healthy nor writing much.

The reason?

School started.

I've been teaching for two decades or more, and during that time there have been many, many changes.

One thing never changes. The first two weeks of school are mind-numbingly exhausting. The night owl has fallen asleep by 9:00 more nights than my tired brain can count.  When I stumble in the door at the end of the day, cooking something healthy is just more than I can manage.

So there has been a lot of pizza, quick-cooking things like chicken tenders and fish fillets (the breaded kind you buy in the freezer section).

But my body is rebelling. It's craving something healthy.

So I'm hereby vowing to make at least something healthy each week so I can post about it.

Today's meal was relatively easy.

I didn't want pasta so I picked up some Thai rice noodles. I had never cooked with them before, but it was easy and they were perfect for the meal.

All I had to do was soak them in hot water and then add them to the stir fry. (On a night that making rice seems too laborious, this was a WIN!)

But I get ahead of myself.

Step one was to thaw some pre-cooked shrimp.

Step two was to stir fry the shrimp with a spoonful of coconut oil and some freeze-dried garlic.

Step three - add in some frozen pineapple. Simmer until the pineapple warms up.

Step four - add in the noodles and stir around until warm (about 3 - 5 minutes)

Serve and enjoy.

I did enjoy it. The rice noodles were light enough that they picked up a light flavor from the  pineapple juice and coconut.

Definitely a success!



And tonight I get a real meal out because I'll be celebrating my baby's 31st birthday!