Bon apres-midi!

Good news to report: I am down 1.2 pounds.  Would have liked to be down more, but considering I took on a second after-school job this week and had no time to exercise, I am feeling pretty darn good about myself.  This week I am only working 2 days, and then the next week, 3, then two (it's an alternating schedule) so I plan to go on the days I don't work, plus the weekend.  Oh what I will do for an extra buck!  It's tough being a teacher.  But no worry: kitchen is stocked and just gotta get thru one more week before Labor Day Weekend! Looking forward to it, looking ever more forward to getting back to the gym.  Speaking of, I am headed there right now!  Thank goodness... missed it so much!

A plus!

Dear friends of yours truly, "la bloggeuse",

Well, as you can probably tell, it's been awfully hard for me to do a post every day or so with work in the way, eating up the majority of my time.  (Ha! "Eating up..." pun unintended but still pretty good!)

Unfortunately, some sad news to report today.  I had a rough week at work.  Translation: I stopped caring about what goes into my mouth, even though I was still exercising.  Week turned out to have a happy ending on Friday, so to celebrate I just, well, ate more this weekend.  Save today.  But still... oops?

Yeah, oops, indeed.  I packed on three pounds this week.  Hoping I can shave it off quickly, because I am approaching the end of my grocery budget and am trying hard to not eat out at all this month (which I have succeeded at doing except for an occasional ice cream).  So, after looking over what I still have at home, and the limited money I have to buy stuff, here's what I've come up with for this week and next to finish off the month:

- Endive, pear and Roquefort salad
- Avocado and grapefruit salad with olive oil and lemon juice
- Ratatouille (vegetable stew) *NEW*
- Leek, potato and zucchini vichyssoise soup (finishing up what I froze)
- Le Puy lentils *NEW*

Also in store: basic staples for dinner egg-white omelettes, French-style sourdough baguette, brie cheese and orange-infused dark chocolate squares for dessert.

LET'S DO THIS!  Nothing a bump in the road can do to set me back!

Bonsoir!

Well, I am headed to bed, but before I go, I just had to share... I finally made some yummy, scrumptious, homemade chocolate truffles!

Boy was that an adventure.  My kitchen was a mess by the time I was done, namely because the recipe called for boiling heavy cream (which I have never boiled before) and it heated up so quickly the saucepan went on overload and it all boiled over, making a mess on my stove (and giving me a long-awaited excuse to take my stove apart and just, erm, clean it...thank God for SOS pads!).

Heavy cream boiling-over disaster aside, the rest was really easy - so easy, in fact, that I was super surprised.  No double boiler, no special instructions on blending the chocolate with the cream, no tricks to master... what more could I ask for?  I made the truffles with my bare hands, too, so needless to say that I thoroughly enjoyed constantly licking them between trays.  (Followed by a thorough anti-bacterial soap-washing, of course!)

I ended up with about 60 truffles, and they are all going to my students (am I just the best teacher ever, or what?!).  Ain't no way I can keep those around here ... they'll just disappear, much to the detriment of my waistline.  They taste great, but next time I'd like to better perfect the synergy between semi-sweet and dark chocolate... the balance isn't quite right, but oh well, it's still a friggin' chocolate truffle, I say!

Ok I really am heading to bed now.  Pic below of the fruits of my labor. :)

Bonjour a tous et a toutes!

Well, it has been a week of back to school madness!  Sorry for being so MIA.  Good news: I am doing something right, because as of yesterday morning I am finally down: two whole pounds!  And, I am feeling a huge difference in my clothes and when I see myself in the mirror.  Super-duper happy, this girl!

Still have a ton left over from cooking last Sunday... have some leftover butternut squash and some leeks I need to make use of somehow... gonna be searching for recipes on that front.  The one thing I am looking forward to doing, though, probably either tonight or tomorrow, is making chocolate truffles!  We have a birthday in class next week on Monday, and I was going to make them for myself, but not like I really need those around ;) I'd rather just share them and keep the calories out!

Got a lot to do today, so I'm gonna sign off for now... and 8.8 pounds later, I'm feeling pretty awesome!

Bonsoir! 

Tonight after 4 hours in the kitchen --- Moroccan Chicken and Vegetable Couscous and Zucchini Vichyssoise soup!  Thanks, Barefoot Contessa! Boy, did I learn a lot... I managed to keep my kitchen clean for the most part but it got really messy, which drove me crazy... doesn't help that I have a super-small kitchen and very little room.

Seriously though - I am not gonna need to go get food for the rest of the
month! I made so much more than I thought I would.  And the best part?  Both are delicious.  I don't have time to put up recipes right now, unfortunately; it's gonna get harder and harder for me to do that unless I copy and paste from the internet because school starts again tomorrow and the infamous 60 hour week is back... I will try to log in and write something as often as I can!  Je vous tiendrai au courant...

PS- all my pants fit again!  I was ten pounds lighter when I bought them last year, but I must have just gained a ton of muscle and lost more fat!
Wahoo!

Bonjour mes chers amis!

Well, it has been a week... if you've been reading my posts, you already know that it has been one of cooking, "cookies", and back-to-school fun.  Unfortunately for me, some of these changes (namely the latter two) have still kept me 1.4 pounds above my lowest point from a few weeks ago.  All is not lost, and granted, it could be worse; but this is certainly still a reminder of what I will be up against for the rest of the year now that summer's over.  This weekend, I have the following agenda to help me get back to where I need to be: exercise, a Whole Foods trip to Memphis, and cooking most everything in bulk Sunday (tomorrow) which I also plan on making a regular habit.  That way, I lose less time during the week to get work done for school.

So, you may ask, what's on the menu for this week?  We have a little bit of the classics, as well as a little bit of the exotic (I have a secret love for North African, especially Moroccan, cuisine):

Menu "la Rentree" ("Back-to-School" Menu):

Dejeuner:
- Moroccan Couscous Chicken Salad
Diner:
- Endive, Pear, and Roquefort Salad with Walnuts
- Zucchini Vichyssoise (chilled vegetable soup)
Dessert:
- Truffes au chocolat faites maison (homemade chocolate truffles - if I have time)

All recipes this week courtesy of Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris cookbook - another treasure I found at the Williams-Sonoma Outlet Store!

Off I go - stay tuned for pictures tomorrow!  A bientot...

Bonsoir!

Tonight I made, as promised, the eggplant and tomato tian.  YUM!  Added some tuna for a little protein.  This stuff is AWESOME.  And packed full of flavor.  Good stuff for vegetarians, too.  (Um, Auntie Kar? ;)  This is enough to serve 4-6!  Bon appetit, recipe to be added this weekend, along with the Mediterranean chicken, too!