Jamie
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Jamie’s Thoughts
Ways to use your not favorite coffee
Sunday, August 8th, 2010Just wanted to share
Friday, August 6th, 2010This is the yoga sequence I just did. (Click on yoga sequence to see the video.)
Just when I think I’m doing pretty good at my yoga practice, I try one that’s a complete butt kicker. If you want a good yoga sequence that will strengthen muscles and get the heart rate up, try this one. My legs and arms feel a bit like jello, and I’m just now getting my breath back.
Slowly scratching off goals
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010A few weeks back, I posted a blog about some goals I had set for myself. Although I haven’t crossed nearly as many off as I’d like, I am making progress on a few. Although no plants have been planted yet, I did take some time to weed the future flower garden that I’d like to have. I continue to work on yoga and push myself. I DID clean out my pantry and reorganize, and I have been making an effort at couponing (which can give you a real rush if you do it right!). I have even been able to make some splendid dishes that I never thought I’d make. Last night I boasted on Facebook about my dinner entree of pork chops in a white wine mushroom sauce, with made from scratch cream of mushroom soup. Inspired by my tofu entry, I thought I’d snap some more pictures and show off my culinary art once again.
I pulled pork chops out of the freezer yesterday morning, and figured I’d do something with them for dinner. I googled some recipes, and decided on the recipe with the white wine mushroom sauce. The recipe called for a can of cream of mushroom soup, which I did not have. I knew that Drew could stop at the store for some, but I figured there had to be some alternative that I could use. I googled cream of mushroom soup substitute and found a recipe. I even had all the ingredients, so I decided to give it a shot.
I started by melting butter in a saucepan and then slowy adding flour and mixing until smooth.
Or chunky???
I had to add more butter, as the 1 tbsp. they recommended just didn’t quite do it. I removed it from the heat.
After that, I added 1/2 cup broth (I used beef broth, like they suggest in the recipe) and 1/2 cup milk…
…and sautéed mushrooms.
I slowly added the broth and milk, stirring until smooth.
I added in the mushrooms, then put it back on the heat, bringing it to a boil and stirred again until smooth.
Whaddya know? It looks like cream of mushroom soup!
I started on the pork chops, cooking them on both sides until they were about 3/4 done (I think I only cooked them halfway though…)
Then I took them off the heat, and sautéed more mushrooms and added in the soup mixture and then the white wine, once again stirring until smooth.
I sprinkled basil and marjoram.
Then I added the pork chops back to the pan and let them cook until done.
Add some steamed rice and steamed squash, and we had a really yummy meal!
I’m always amazed when I make something from scratch that I’ve just taken for granted for so long. I mean, cream of mushroom soup just comes in the can, right? I think I must have thought it just grew like that. It’s fun to see how it’s made.
Would I do this all the time? Probably not. It was pretty time consuming (Drew kept coming in the kitchen, commenting how the sauce took longer than the main course), and there are going to be some evenings where it’s going to be much easier to simply open the can and plop the stuff in the pan. But I’ll probably do it again! This Becky Home-echy (as Drew affectionately calls me) is quite proud of herself.
Morning
Sunday, August 1st, 2010I’ve discovered one of my favorite times of day is probably the morning. I enjoy the quiet and the lack of busyness before the day really starts. With my cup of coffee in hand and nobody but me and God, it’s a grand time. (I know my mom will be tempted to say something like, “See!!!??? This is why I get up early!” No need, Mom. I know. 🙂 And I love you.)
However, I’ve found most mornings I struggle getting out of bed. I know the gloriousness that waits for me, but it’s often not enough to move my butt from the comfy memory foam it is engulfed in. Many mornings I lie there for a half hour or more before I finally become vertical. I long for the morning when my alarm goes off and I spring out of bed, fully rested. It has yet to happen. My alarm gets turned off as I roll over for a few extra Zzzzzs.
I want badly to make a habit of getting up a bit earlier. Inevitably, every morning that I lounge in bed a few minutes longer, I find myself grumbling about the walk I didn’t get to take or the extra ten minutes I could have spent journaling and perhaps meditating. Why is this such a struggle? Why is getting out of bed an extra 20 minutes earlier such an issue? Why, when I try, am I SOOOO groggy?
Drew and I have talked about this is in the past. He commented that it could be my body’s natural sleep rhythm. After getting up at 5:00 a.m. for so long while opening the Coffee Pub, my body went through a protest where it refused to awaken before 8:00 a.m. I gave myself that time to let my body catch up on sleep and tried to get into a more structured sleeping pattern. I think I’m there, but would love to shift that natural pattern back 20 or 30 minutes. I’ve found if I force myself awake before I’m ready, my lovely morning time is not so lovely, as I sit there struggling to keep my head up.
Now, I am a firm believer in sleeping in occasionally. Yesterday (Saturday), Drew and I didn’t get out of bed until almost 11. We napped on and off all morning, and enjoyed a blissful morning of not having to be anywhere. I also enjoy a few mornings during the week when my alarm goes off and I contemplate getting up, and Drew rolls over and snuggles up next to me. Times like that, spending the extra 20 minutes in bed seems like time well spent.
But why is it on this lazy Sunday morning, when I don’t need to be up until a bit later, that my body was wide awake at 7:20? I tried to sleep longer and simply could not. So I got up and tried not to wake Drew up. I did a bit of yoga, made my coffee, and sat down to enjoy my blissful morning of quiet. I found myself thinking, “Maybe the natural sleeping rhythm I’m hoping for is starting to settle in. Maybe I’ll start waking up this time every morning…” But I have a sinking feeling that when tomorrow rolls around and that obnoxious alarm goes off, my butt will be sinking in deeper to the memory foam and it will be once again hard to become vertical.
Here’s hoping that’s not the case.