New Site
As my new self hosted site is all up and running, I will no longer be posting here.
Please follow me at www.acrumbfalls.com
Mediterranean Feast
A few weeks ago Brandi made pitas. They looked so good and so easy; I knew I had to try them. I used a combination of recipes. I used all the ingredients from, what has become my breadmaker bible, The Breadmachine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German and the process from The Fresh Loaf.
I guess I wanted to feel closer to my Middle Eastern sisters because it is hot today. Cranking my oven up to 500 degrees won’t be at the top of my list of things to do again for awhile. But temperature is really what makes these babies pop. The hotter I got the oven the rounder they got.
The pitas turned out awesome. I know a lot of people love making bread by hand and I think one day I might too, but in my one countertop kitchen, I find it more frustrating that enjoyable. For now, the breadmaker is for me. We’re still getting fresh bread where I control the ingredients, so I’m happy.
In addition to these awesome pitas, I made homemade hummus, falafel and Giada’s Herbed Quinoa.
Mint, Basil, Cilantro, and Chives from the garden. I added feta and tomatoes to Giada’s recipe and used the herbs I had on hand.
The herbed quinoa was really good. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers. I baked the falafel, from a mix. It was just ok and not done at the beginning of the meal.
This meal was so filling. The only thing I finished all of were my carrots.
In keeping with No More Grocery Store, everything but the tomatoes was on hand or in the garden. I didn’t know I had the quinoa until today.
It’s time for me to kick back and watch The Secret Life of an American Teenager (oneof my faves). I’ll probably sit on a pillow though, my first spin class in months has left my rump sore.
No More Grocery Store
This week I’ve decided we need to seriously eat through whatever is in the fridge and pantry before we go grocery shopping again. I bought a few vegetables because we seriously eat green pepper and red onion with almost every single meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Overall, we do a pretty good job of buying what we need and sticking to a menu. There are little things that pile up though. For example, right now there is an appalling amount of butter in the fridge. I was supposed to bake a cake for a party but then I was told not to bake the cake. Baking cakes and making frosting from scratch calls for a lot of butter. Then when my friend moved, she gave me all of her butter. I need to bake something for someone else. Luckily, butter keeps for awhile.
Of course I will not be using all of that up. Meal plan for the weak.
| Monday | Falafel, Homemade Hummus, Homemade Pita |
| Tuesday | Chicken Caesar Salad Pitas |
| Wednesday | Tortilla Pizzas at Jeremy’s Request |
| Thursday | Black Bean Burgers |
| Friday | Deep Dish Polenta Pizza |
Sometimes I feel guilty that with very little trouble I can put together not one but five meals without even going grocery shopping. I am very blessed to have a job that supports my family and to live in a country where this is the case for most people.
I’ve never made pitas before, so you can look forward to what will either be an epic win or an epic fail.
Don’t forget to update your readers to www.acrumbfalls.com
Happy Independence Day!
Jeremy and I have just been hanging out today. We watched the Yankees game; love those uniforms boys. Yankees took the win.
We grilled some hot dogs, and soon we’ll light some sparklers. No crowded fireworks for us this year.
It is WARM in New Hampshire, but I’m glad it’s summer. Enjoy the night.
Reading, Chipotle, & Eclipse
Ahh. . . These are the days for which summer was designed. Jeremy started his day golfing at 7:30, which meant I got the whole bed to myself. This never happens because I almost always get up before he does. I took full advantage and stayed in bed snoozing and reading. It was a great way to begin the day. Once I got up at 10ish, I ate a big bowl of cereal. Cereal is not something I have time for in the morning during the school year because I usually eat breakfast on the road. It was so good. I think I prefer Sunrich soy milk now to Lactaid. Organic soy milk, at least for cereal, tastes so much better than conventional.
Jeremy and I watched some soccer (GO SPAIN!), before heading out to eat a late lunch at Chipotle. I love Chipotle’s freshness and “food with integrity commitment.” What I don’t love is the number of calories in the food. Even though I usually get a vegetarian burrito, I went with a burrito bowl this time. I saved 400 calories by skipping on the actual tortilla and sour cream. I didn’t miss the sour cream at all, but I do love their flour tortillas.
After Chipotle, we went to see Twilight:Eclipse. Having read all of the books and seeing all of the movies, this was definitely the best adaptation. This movie highlighted Bella’s internal struggle of choosing between a life that would be easy and a life that would be more difficult but make her happier. Of course there was also a lot of good looking boys (I just love Robert Pattinson’s hair), sappy romance, and vampire/werewolf fighting. During the movie I enjoyed my favorite candy bar, a Carmelo, and the rest of my grapefruit Izze that I smuggled into the theater. Izze is a great little company, and I love their simple drinks.
After we got home, Jeremy and I went for a walk. This walk, like many others, lately was ended by yet another skunk sighting. They are everywhere.
*** My new site is up and ready to go. www.acrumbfalls.com I’ll dual post for awhile. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s moving in the right direction. Look for a giveaway coming soon.
Goodbyes Suck
Today I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends in New England; it was a sad day. When we met four years ago, we were both friendless, jobless, and new to New Hampshire. Those first weeks in New Hampshire we really difficult. I was incessantly looking for job, and no one would even interview me. Jeremy and I had just left college, where we had been surrounded by people and places we’d known for years. New Hampshire was so different from Arkansas (where we were living). I may have been a tad bit depressed. Then Elizabeth and I met through our husbands, who were both getting Math PhD’s at UNH. Eventually, we both got jobs and settled into living free the New Hampshire way.
We have had so much fun over the last four years: beach days, shopping, coffee dates and lots of shared meals . One of of our favorite places has always been The Green Bean. While everything I’ve tried at The Green Bean has been good, my favorite thing to get is the bean burrito. This is yet another excellent Exeter, NH eatery.
Today we met to say our last goodbye (or see you later) because Elizabeth moved away today to North Carolina.
Best of luck friend.
In other news, I’ve been diligently working on a self hosted site. It’s been a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, but I’ll be moving soon. 
Back on Track
Wow June was a whirlwind month for me. I got a new job and quit my old one. I helped good friends pack up and move away. Somehow I managed to go to lots of celebrations and parties but not a lot of work outs. This month I need to get back on track. Not only is the way I’ve been living lately ridiculous and unhealthy, but I’ve also packed on a few unwanted and unneeded pounds. At 5’3 even a little extra weight looks like a lot of extra weight.
At the end of this month, Jeremy and I are flying to MO to see his siblings and to celebrate his grandpa’s 90th birthday. It’s going to be such a great time, but I need to shape up before we get there.
Goals for the month:
- Get back into running some. Since the last 5K I haven’t run at all. I’d like to get back to running 2 – 3 miles a few times a week.
- SPIN! I plan to take advantage of the classes I couldn’t really get to during the school year.
- Hanging out with Jeremy more, which leads to things like walking, hiking, tennis playing.
- Eat better. This one will be the easier one now that there are less parties going on and salads/fresh fruit are cheap and in abundance.
I need to go from Point A to Point B.
Happy July!
If You Give a Mouse a Cracker. . .
Around 7:30 last night, I decided I needed to get started on my summer reading list. It was a nice night and Jeremy and I drove out to Barnes and Noble. 
I love B&N or really any place that sells books. My co-workers gave me a gift card to B&N, so I picked up two of the books on my list American Psycho and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. My list this summer is as usual sizable; we’ll see how far I get. Here is my reading list:
| Breakfast at Tiffany’s | Capote |
| The Mocking Jay (release date Aug. 24; will be read in one day) | Collins |
| American Psycho | Ellis |
| Eat, Pray, Love | Gilbert |
| The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Kundera |
| Lonesome Dove (huge book) | McMurtry |
| 1984 (surprisingly I’ve never read it) | Orwell |
| The Prince of Mist | Zafron |
He did not have much luck convincing me however. There are seemingly a lot of books for children written about mice;I think I could come up with 1o on my own.
Since I wasn’t going in the kitchen Jeremy had to go in to make us a late night snack. Neva-Betta crackers and Cabot Garlic and Chive cheddar.
Back to reading for me.
Lesson Learned
Everyday you learn something new.
Today I learned that you should always dry the knives and put them away. You should not leave them in a cluttered dish drain and then try to pull something else out. If you do, you might drop this
point down on you foot .
If you did do something silly like drop the heavy knife on your foot, it might get you out of making breakfast. I think my foot will be fine; sure it’s burning and throbbing, but other than that it’s good.
Lots to do today. We’re helping friends load their moving truck, and I’m supposed to bring dessert.
Detox Needed Here
The last few days have been nothing but party after party, restaurant after restaurant, glass after glass of things other than water; between ending my job and friends moving away needing to visit their favorite spots before they leave it has been crazy. But today is a day of mostly clean eating – there is a very important soccer match at 2:30 where focaccia will be consumed.
I started my day with Jeremy made French press coffee and some toast. Then we headed to the Farmer’s Market. It’s a beautiful day in NH, but the sun caused me to have some major sweatage while we were walking back and forth. I picked up more garlic scapes, kale, and eggs. I had a big haul last week, so I didn’t need too many things this week.
Lunch is all green and pink: Kale chips from KathEats, sugar snap peas, and watermelon. I think I cooked the kale too long because it was really bitter.
The peas are a bit more fibrous than I had hoped for. I guess that’s what I get for impatiently buying them at the store instead of the farmer’s market. Too bad I’ll have to eat a whole bowl of watermelon.
GO USA!
