Sunday, May 31, 2009

9.2.10

SUN 31 MON 1 * TUE 2 * WED 3 * THU 4 * FRI 5 SAT 6
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

 
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

CLEAN FORGOT
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
  Man-Kzin IV ... Man-Kzin IV Man-Kzin IV ...  
Hollywood Grill
HOBBY/WORK
book LA trip
Laundry
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Muesli n Yog
HOBBY/WORK
Review & Plan Laundry
OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
Vaguely Beans
Wine Gums

WORK
Office
Vaguely Beans
WORK
Office
Gr Sal w Chicken
WORK
Office
Gr Sal w Chicken
Pita

WORK
Office
Gr Sal w Chicken
WORK
Office
PB SW n OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
 
HOBBY/WORK
Review & Plan
Grocery
Apple
WORK
Office
Chex Mix :/
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK
Office
Handlebar
PASTIME
Big Time
  walking walking walking Man-Kzin IV talking  
Choppers
PASTIME
Starship Troopers 3
Green Salad & OJ20
PLAY
MOD Skate
Pit Crew Pasta
PLAY/WORK
take bath
color hair
hang baking pans
tidy front room
Vaguely Chickpeas
PASTIME
take bath
Man-Kzin IV
PB Sw n OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
Skrine Chops
Baskin-Robbins

PASTIME
The Tick
True Blood
 
PASTIME
Big Time
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Popcorn n Choc
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Dessert
EVENING
 

Friday, May 29, 2009

Muesli and Yogurt, Banana, and Blueberries

This is also good, but sliced almonds won over muesli because they're easier & because they're what I want in the muesli, more efficient to cut out the middleman! Though the little date pieces are very good in the muesli, and it's fancy-tasting... this could be my weekend breakfast.

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style muesli
1/2 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt
1 banana
1/4 cup Trader Joe's frozen organic wild blueberries, thawed

Spoon muesli into a bowl and top with yogurt. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, slice the banana over the yogurt and top with blueberries.

Nevermind about making this to go. It's too much of a pain, because you have to set up a container every night—

[NOTE FROM POPPYLABS 6/13/09: Nevermind setting this up overnight, I just fix a bowl on a Saturday morning and mix it all up together & it's really good.]

[NOTE FROM POPPYLABS 6/27/09: Nevermind thawing the blueberries, the frozen blueberries turn everything cold & it's like breakfast ice cream. I actually like this better now than the yogurt with blueberries, bananas, and almonds. Maybe I will start keeping frozen blueberries at work...]

Per serving, 295 calories

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Yogurt and Blueberries, Banana, and Sliced Almonds

1/2 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup Trader Joe's frozen organic wild blueberries, thawed
1 banana
2 Tbsp sliced almonds

Spoon yogurt into a bowl, and top with blueberries, banana, and almonds. SO GOOD.

To go:
Spoon yogurt and blueberries into takealong containers, and also almonds into containers. In the morning grab a container of yogurt and blueberries, a container of almonds, and a banana for your lunch bag. At work, slice the banana over the yogurt and blueberries and top with almonds.

Per serving, 270 calories

Trader Joe's Frozen Organic Wild Blueberries

That said, I still am a princess about:

20090525_blueberries

These are smaller and sweeter than regular blueberries, with thinner skins. Which means they don't —eegghhh— burst in your mouth.

If you're keeping a list:
1. No blooping.
2. No bursting.

And blueberries are a superfood, another favorite topic that I haven't even gotten started on. And seriously, a cup of these has 80 calories. Though if you eat them by the cup, they do turn your teeth blue.

While you're at Trader Joe's, pick up a bag of sliced raw almonds too...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Dept. of Weights and Measures: YES WE CAN

Look here, it's driving me crazy trying to keep track of which cans are 14 ounces or 14.5 ounces or 15 ounces. Aren't cans the same size, mostly? And by size I mean volume? Except when they're not? So unless I say otherwise:

200900525_can 20090525_lgcan
this is a can this is a large can

Which brings to mind, I mostly use the Jewel brands of everything. I don't, you know, love Jewel products. I mean, I think they're fine & I'm not the princess I was about brand names. So also unless I say otherwise, I'm probably using Jewel brand products and you can use whatever brand you want, and if I do say otherwise, it's a product I'm still a princess about and you can still use whatever brand you want.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Vaguely Cowboy Kidney Beans

1/2 lb ground chuck
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 can Jewel diced tomatoes
1 cup coffee plus 1 cup water
   or 1 can Swanson's beef broth
1 can Jewel kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Gently render ground chuck over low heat as you finely dice the onion, pepper, and garlic; you can add vegetables to the pan as they are diced. Add chili powder and stir until fragrant. Add tomatoes and broth, and bring to a strong simmer. Add beans and simmer until slightly thickened, about twenty minutes.

Per 1/4 recipe, 300 calories

Sunday, May 24, 2009

9.2.9

SUN 24 MON 25 TUE 26 WED 27 THU 28 FRI 29 SAT 30
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
    Man-Kzin III Man-Kzin III ... ...  
Muesli n Yog
WORK
Grocery
Yog n Fru
WORK/HOBBY
Cleaning
Alla Poppy
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Yog n Fru
Coffee

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Muesli n Yog
HOBBY
Review & Plan
PB Sw n OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
Gr Sal w Chicken
WORK
Cleaning & Cooking
Gr Sal w Potato
WORK
Office
Gr Sal w Potato
WORK
Office
Gr Sal w Potato
WORK
Office
Posole
Blu Bagel :/

WORK
Office
PB Sw n OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
Apple
WORK/HOBBY
wash pads poppydoodles
Mate & Toast
HOBBY
Review & Plan
Apple
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK
Office
Chex Mix :/
WORK
Office
 
WORK
Office
 
...
    walking walking ... walking  
Choppers
PASTIME
The Tick
My Name Is Bruce
Vaguely Beans
PASTIME
Iron Man
Posole
Choc

HOBBY
schedule baseball
schedule LA trip
prep derby lite
Gr Sal w Chicken
Choc

HOBBY
prep derby lite
sew zipper
sew patches
PB Sw & OJ2O
PLAY
lead Derby Lite
Apple
PASTIME
get walking shoes
UIC
PASTIME
WCR Bout
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Popcorn
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
bite of posole
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Sultan's Market
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Bottom Lounge
EVENING
GLASSES ON

Thursday, May 21, 2009

B Organizes The League Photo

b_cats

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

T-Shirt Surgery: A Simple A-Line Dress

20090517_skatingsaves I'm the world's biggest fan of skating in a dress. It's comfortable, it's cool, and it's cute to wear! And I need more of them, because I have worn out these three black dresses I bought two years ago. I've been figuring out a formula for surgering them out of t-shirts and knocking out a bunch of them & it'll be cheap, too. This is my formula for a simple A-line dress. It wore very well skating ten miles on the lakefront!

I don't know if measuring and mass producing goes against some punk principle of t-shirt surgery. But know thyself, that's the kind of punk I am.

First, measure yourself:

1. Measure yourself across from armpit to armpit. Your dress can be narrower than this up top, but not wider because this is where it will hit your shoulder. If it goes past your shoulder, it won't look like a good fit.

2. Measure yourself down from your shoulder to your underarm or bust. Your armhole is going to hit between these two points. If it's higher, your arm won't go through too well! If it's lower, your boob will show (though that's a choice, too.)

3. Measure yourself around the bust. Your dress can be wider than this here, but not narrower because your boobs will be squished.

A note on boobs: I am flat as a board, so the following pattern works fine for me. You know how Eskimos have like eighty words for snow? I have, like, no words for darts.

Next, measure and mark the shirt. This is an XL t-shirt, by the way. I'm totally recutting the top to fit, and leaving it long and roomy at the bottom. Oh and, I'm using my 6" x 24" Omnigrid quilter's ruler to measure and this white watercolor pencil to mark with. The roadside of my life is littered with failed hobbies, and the tools I bought for them. But did you know that Doris Day of the Dead's mom is a pretty famous quilter? I have her book, but anyway—

First, turn the shirt inside-out and smooth it out as flat as you can:

20090519_aline 1. Find the center of the shirt. I measure from edge to edge on the neckband, locate the halfway point on my ruler, and mark with a little vertical line on the neckband.

2. Measure and mark your desired width across the shoulders. I measured six inches out from center on both sides, or twelve inches across for this dress.

3. Measure and mark your desired drop from shoulder to underarm. Mine is eight inches.

4. Measure and mark your desired width across the bust. My bust measurement is 30 inches, I divided that in half & measured out 7-1/2 inches from center and then added about a half-inch seam allowance on both sides.

5. Draw a curve between the two widths. You can eyeball this, or you can use a curved ruler. I've had this ruler similar to this Fairgate Fashion Ruler all along, almost never used for fifteen years. It works great, who knew?

6. Draw a diagonal line from the armhole to the shirt hem. I go all the way to the edge of the shirt, because I need room for my butt.

Now, cut around the armholes and down the sides of the shirt. I cut the front and back together, so they're the same for this dress.

Finally, sew the sides up to the armholes. Leave the rest of the shirt unfinished. Actually I liked how the neckband looked, so I left it on & I left the hem, too.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Green Salad with Turkey and Black Bean Tomatillo Salsa

a heart of romaine lettuce
a third of a 6 oz bag baby spinach
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
three turkey cutlets
   or 3 oz Swanson or Perdue roasted turkey
6 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 head of garlic, separated and roughly peeled
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
a 15 oz can Jewel black beans, rinsed and drained

Quarter the romaine lengthwise and slice the quartered lettuce crosswise into bite-size pieces. Put romaine pieces and baby spinach into a salad spinner, wash and spin. Divide greens into two or three bowls or takealong containers.

Melt butter and oil together over medium heat. Saute turkey until cooked through, about two minutes per side; remove from heat, let cool and slice into strips.

Turn on broiler. Arrange tomatillos, garlic, and onion slices on a foil-covered baking sheet so that tomatillos will be closest to the broiler flame & garlic and onions farther away. Broil vegetables until well softened and browned, turning over halfway through, about ten minutes. When done, peel the garlic cloves and puree everything together. Scrape into the pan with the butter and oil, just for fun, and stir in salt and sugar. Stir in beans.

Toss greens with about a third of the turkey and black beans per serving.

Per 1/3 recipe, 375 calories

Sunday, May 17, 2009

9.2.8

SUN 17 MON 18 TUE 19 WED 20 THU 21 FRI 22 SAT 23
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

forgot
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

forgot again
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

forgot ack
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
  counting Man-Kzin III counting How To Meditate Man-Kzin III  
Oat Cinn n Rais
Coffee n Donut

PLAY
Walk & Roll
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Muesli n Yog
Coffee n Silk
Blu Bagel

WORK
Office
Muesli n Yog
WORK
Office
Muesli n Yog
WORK/HOBBY
Laundry
Review & Plan
start salsa
Picnic
...
Turkey n BB Salsa
WORK
Office
Pasta Salad
WORK
Office
Pit Crew Pasta
WORK
Office
Gr Sal W Chicken
WORK
Office
Gr Sal W Chicken
WORK
Office
$5 Pizza n OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
 
WORK
Grocery & Cooking
Apple n PB
WORK
Office
Mixed Fruit
WORK
Office
Apple n PB
WORK
Office
Nibbs n Nuts
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK
Office
Apple
WORK/HOBBY
downsize storage finish salsa
  Man-Kzin III Man-Kzin III talking How To Meditate Man-Kzin III  
Choppers
PASTIME
Ashes To Ashes
poppydoodles
Spagh Bolognese
OJ20

PLAY
MOD Skate
Pasta Pit Crew
HOBBY
Review & Plan
poppydoodles
Gr Sal w Chicken
2 Choc n PB

HOBBY
untitled short
poppydoodle
PB Sw n OJ2O
PLAY
lead Derby Lite
$5 Pizza
PASTIME
VFW
Chips n Dips
PASTIME
Vegas In Chi-town
EVENING
GLASSES ON
GAH
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES OFF
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Coco Cake
EVENING
GLASSES ON

Friday, May 15, 2009

Fancy Monkey Pizza
 a.k.a. man pizza?

We ended up eating this with knife and fork, because homemade biscuits don't hold up that well for dipping; so it was very fancy monkey pizza, after all.

You could ditch the cheesy tomato sauce, and just serve this as fancy monkey bread. Or ditch the monkey business, and just make biscuits.

3/4 c butter
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
3/4 c grated parmesan cheese

2 c flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp shortening
1/4 c milk

one jar marinara sauce
grated mozzerella cheese

Melt the butter in a small bowl, and mix the garlic powder, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese in another small bowl.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into flour with a pastry cutter. Stir in milk, and transfer dough to a well-floured work surface. Pat dough into a quarter-inch thick rectangle, fold crosswise and then lengthwise; then pat out dough again. Cut the dough into squares, then triangles. Dip the biscuit pieces in the butter and then the cheese, and arrange in a baking pan.

Pour about half the jar of marinara sauce into another baking pan, and top with a good amount of mozzerella cheese.

Put both pans in the oven and bake for twenty minutes. Unmold the bread onto a plate. Tear off pieces of the bread with your hands, spoon cheesy tomato sauce over bread and eat with knife and fork.

Per 1/4 pizza, 990 calories

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Spaghetti Bolognese alla Poppy

Whee, carbo load for Walk & Roll! I try to eat carbs for three days before an event. And by event, I basically mean Walk & Roll; this is ten miles on the lakefront and trying a little for speed, probably the hardest work I do all year. Normal practice doesn't require a giant meal & it's not really an excuse for giant amounts of pasta, more's the pity...

1/4 c butter
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1 small onion


Also I have this half red pepper left over from the frittata, so in it goes.

4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp sugar
1 lb ground chuck
2 c milk
1 large can crushed tomatoes


And here's a whole bowl of chopped fresh tomatoes, I will use these up too.

1/2 lb spaghetti
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a saute pan over low heat as you finely mince the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic, adding them to the pan as they are minced. I use the bowl attachment that the Cuisinart SmartStick comes with & it's pretty fast. Turn up the heat to medium high and saute vegetables until softened, about ten minutes. Stir in garlic and sugar. Add meat, breaking it up in the pan into little crumbles. As soon as the meat looks not raw, add the milk and bring to a strong simmer. Simmer until milk is evaporated, about twenty minutes or more. Add tomatoes and bring back to strong simmer. Simmer until sauce is thickened, another twenty minutes or more.

Bring water to a boil for spaghetti. Dump in the spaghetti and cook for ten minutes. Drain the spaghetti and divide between two bowls. Pour over a half cup of sauce and top with a couple tablespoons of parmesan cheese per bowl.

Per serving, 673 calories

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Vaguely Mexican Pinto Beans and Hominy

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 poblano peppers
4 cloves garlic
2 chipotle peppers
1 tsp oregano
one 14 oz can Jewel diced tomatoes
one 14 oz can Swanson's chicken broth
   or 2 cups homemade chicken broth
one 15 oz can Jewel pinto beans, rinsed and drained
one 15 oz can hominy, rinsed and drained

Opaa whole wheat pita bread

Gently heat oil over low heat as you finely dice the onion, poblano, garlic, and chipotle; you can add aromatics to the pan as they are diced. Add oregano, and stir until fragrant. Add tomatoes and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Add beans and hominy; simmer until slightly thickened, about twenty minutes.

Per 1/4 recipe plus one pita bread, 393 calories

Monday, May 4, 2009

Green Salad with Tuna and Chickpeas

a heart of romaine lettuce
a third of a 6 oz bag baby spinach

I get that package of three romaine hearts and the 6 oz bag of baby spinach & use them a third at a time, until they're used up.

1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp ReaLemon lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
a can of Tonno Genova tuna, drained
a can of Jewel chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Quarter the romaine lengthwise and slice the quartered lettuce crosswise into bite-size pieces. Put romaine pieces and baby spinach into a salad spinner, wash and spin. Divide greens into two or three bowls or, indeed, takealong containers.

Combine the garlic with the lemon juice, then whisk together with olive oil to make a vinaigrette; if you're using the Genova tuna, you can use the oil from that. Add the tuna and chickpeas, and toss.

Toss greens with about a third of the tuna and chickpeas per serving.

Per 1/3 recipe, 287 calories

Sunday, May 3, 2009

9.2.6

SUN 3 MON 4 TUE 5 * WED 6 * THU 7 * FRI 8 * SAT 9
MORNING
GLASSES OFF
MORNING
GLASSES ON
MORNING
GLASSES ON

>OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

OJ2O n Vitamins
MORNING
GLASSES OFF

grr forgot...
MORNING
GLASSES ON

OJ2O n Vitamins
  The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers counting  
Hollywood Grill
WORK
Grocery
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk
Nibbs n Nuts

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk
Do-Si-Dos

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Oat n Fru
Coffee n Silk

WORK
Office
Oat Nuts n Rais
HOBBY
Review & Plan
Nibbs n Nuts & OJ2O
PLAY
Derby Lite
Cur Veg Stew
WORK
Office
Gr Salad w Tuna
WORK
Office
Gr Salad w HB Egg
WORK
Office
HB Egg n Pita
WORK
Office
HB Egg n Pita
WORK
Office
Pita n Cheese
Apple n PB

PLAY
t-shirt surgery
Mango
PASTIME
Running Away
Humboldt Park
Apple n Nuts
WORK
Office
 
WORK
Office
 
WORK
Office
Apple n PB
WORK
Office
Apple n Nuts
WORK
Office
Nuts Rais n Nibbs
WORK
Laundry & Cleaning
  The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers The Ringworld Engineers counting  
Choppers
PASTIME
Dollhouse
The Tick
Gr Salad w HB Egg
Choc n PB

HOBBY
Alla Poppy
 
 
haircut
Burg n Sw Pot Fr
PASTIME
Lost
PB Sw & OJ20
PLAY
Derby Lite
Fancy Monkey Pizza
Choc & Tea

PASTIME
VFW
Vague Mex Beans
PASTIME
Dollhouse Dangerous Angels
 
EVENING
GLASSES ON
 
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Oodles of Noodles
EVENING
GLASSES OFF
Choc Cake
EVENING
GLASSES ON
 
EVENING
GLASSES ON
 
EVENING
GLASSES ON
Popcorn
EVENING
GLASSES OFF

Friday, May 1, 2009

MONKEY PIZZA a.k.a. Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread with Mozzarella Baked In Tomato Sauce

3/4 c butter
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
one can Jewel jumbo biscuits

one jar marinara sauce
grated mozzerella cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a bowl, and mix the garlic powder, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese in another bowl. Pop open the can of biscuits and cut the biscuits into quarters. Dip the biscuit pieces in the butter and then the cheese, and arrange in a baking pan. Normally this would be a tube pan; but all I have are eight-inch round cake pans, so I use one of those with a ball of aluminum foil wadded up in the center.

Pour about half the jar of marinara sauce into another baking pan, and top with a good amount of mozzerella cheese.

Put both pans in the oven and bake for thirty minutes. Unmold the bread onto a plate. Tear off pieces of the bread with your hands and dip the pieces in the cheesy tomato sauce.

Per 1/4 pizza, 928 calories