As the Quarter Marches On...

My post-a-day thing is becoming more of a hit and miss operation! So I will combine a few of them here!

Media Wednesday -- I am scheduled to receive Ben Folds & WASO: Live in Perth in the next few days from Netflix (yes, I decided to sign up for it!). I am so excited. I think I've seen most of the concert in low quality on Youtube... but between it and Harold and Maude I think I am set for a fantastic Singles' Awareness Day!

Tasty Wednesday -- The Co-op had these amazing little Italian roasted tomatoes in their olive bar. I gave one a try and almost died from sheer delight. They are the most delicious thing I have eat in a while. I cannot wait for summer and cheap tomatoes... oh, you had best be believing I'll be roasting tomatoes! Anyway, for dinner tonight, I sauteed fresh onions, asparagus, red and green bell peppers and, at the end of the party, added in the tomatoes. I had that with some brown rice. Incredible. They may just become a staple here.

Written Wednesday -- This day is so hard... I am going to sneak my way out of it. Haha. I'm getting up at a 8 am for a research group meeting. Yeah, I need to start getting serious about thesis topics, by the way. Yikes.

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Tasty Tuesday - it's NutRageous!

Davis, CA

10:30 PM

On a Sunday

After having spent 4 hours straight on one article and one annotated bibliography, Natalie suffers minor meltdown but decides to not freak out... and instead, walk over to the Fast and Sleezy to buy chocolate and Diet Coke.

Armed with a $10 bill, keys, and a cellphone, she walks directly into the mini mart, to the refrigerator... Diet Coke *check*. Next, to the candy bars... Rolos, no. Hersheys... she wants something nutty. Snickers are boring and she eats too many Butterfingers. Love/hate relationship with the way crunchy peanut buttery substance in Butterfinger sticks to back molars.

NutRagous... that sounds good. Haven't had one of those since high school.

Full-blown meltdown avoided and able to work straight until 3:30 AM.

That is a good, under-appreciated candy bar right there. Yum.

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Tasty Tuesday - Smorgasbord

Dear Blogosphere,

After a marathon of thinking (4-hour seminars are mentally exhausting!), I can't really think of a theme for today. So, I'm just going to post an assortment of thoughts, a smorgasbord, if you will.

1. Those, above, are insanely delicious enchiladas. I love them. They almost make having Celiac Disease worth it. The surprising thing is that they come in a frozen box. (Amy's Cheese Enchiladas.)
2. I watched Giada make Herbed Quinoa a few days ago and I think she answered my foodie prayer! I have some quinoa but didn't have any ideas. This recipe looks really good... mmm... lemon.
3. Hanging out in the Co-op's bulk foods section last night, I decided to get some dried papaya and pineapple. So sweet.

So, those are just some random food thoughts. I hope you all had a wonderful Martin Luther King, Jr Day weekend! I'll end this post with one of my favorite quotes from the Letter from Birmingham Jail.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

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Tasty Tuesday - Double Post!

Ooh, a double post... but I must tell you what's happening in my kitchen:

*Two cans of enchilada sauce

*Twenty-four corn tortillas

*Four cups of cheddar and jack cheese

Enchiladas, my friends! The aroma is incredible.

-Nat

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Tasty Tuesday - Ready Rice + Rain

Dear Blogosphere,

It is raining outside! Pouring! Oh, it makes me so happy. My windows have been opened so that I can hear the drops of water collect in puddles above the bookstore's roof. Rain is so romantic. Even if you are chronically alone. :-)

This rainstorm came after I had a little sobfest. TMI? I don't know, but the sobfest ended with me coming up with a very funny joke... one, though, not for the blogosphere's ears. I decided to listen to some music and even though the blasting-volume headphones, I hear the rain.

So, to celebrate the happiness that comes after a sobfest (the harder you fall, the higher you bounce) and the rainstorm, I decided to "cook" a comfort food. Rice. That you microwave in a pouch for 90 seconds. Mmm...

Sometimes that's all you need to make for a Tasty Tuesday.

-N

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Tasty Tuesday - Double-Yolk Eggs and Such

Dear Blogosphere,

Happy Tasty Tuesday... a little late! Ha ha. I have eaten a couple of marvelous things since I've been back... let me share.

At the Farmer's Market, I decide to give in and buy some eggs. They were from free range chickens, which is cool by me, brown... organic, etc. But when I asked for a half-dozen large eggs, the woman asked me a marvelous question: "single or double yolk?" I didn't know... what to say. You see, I'm a city girl, unaware of things like double-yolk eggs. So she recommended half and half. When I cracked one of the double-yolk eggs I was pretty thrilled to see two small-ish yolks. I'm easily excited. I made myself a plain omelette with one double-yolk egg and one single-yolk egg and it was of course very, very delicious.

The other tasty thing I made was fried polenta with pesto and garlic. It was the store bought kind, basil and garlic flavored. I fried 1/2" slices of the polenta for quite a while until both sides were crispy and brown then threw fresh minced garlic in the pan and spread pesto on top of each round. Cooked it until the garlic was absolutely amazingly fragrant, and subsequently sprinkled parmesan on top. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm.

As I have made it through my first week of my second quarter of grad school, I'm treating myself to In-n-Out for dinner then a little browsing at my local Borders.

...Then I shall return for some Endnote-figuring-out-stuffness...

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Tasty Tuesday - Gluten-Free Options

This is sort of for self-reference, but other people may find it handy.

Salt Lake City:

• Cafe Rio
• Pei Wei
• Chipotle
• Thaifoon
• Z'Tejas
• The Old Spaghetti Factory
• Sage's Cafe
• Red Iguana
• Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta (limited to salads)
• Vertical Diner (limited to salads)
• Pier 47 Pizza (downtown only)
• Wendy's

Davis:

• Farmer's Kitchen Cafe - 100% gluten-free
• Steve's Pizza
• In-n-Out
• Wendy's
• Chipotle
• Sophia's

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Tasty Tuesday - Cheese!

Dear Blogosphere,

Today was our official Christmas at my mum's place. Early in the day we went grocery shopping for Christmas dinner. My mom also let my younger sister and I both pick a "fancy" cheese. I spotted an herb & spices havarti and Ali chose a fontina.

I love cheese and am so glad that I can eat it. If I had to ditch both gluten and dairy, I think I would die. Cheese is what keeps me going!

The herb & spices havarti was very tasty. Creamy, as usual, and I do prefer the flavored havartis over the plain. The fontina was also delicious. Soft and with a nice bite to it.

There are a few things I do miss with the gluten-free diet, though. One is the gyro at Yannis. I would get it vegetarian, which just meant pita stuffed with feta, tzatziki, tomato, and lettuce. So good. And I also miss spreading brie on a good and fluffy baguette.

But I can still indulge in feta and brie, I just have to come up with more interesting and novel ways to do it!

Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas week!

-Natalie

P.S. Speaking of gyros, if you ever, ever see gluten-free pita let me know. :-)

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Tasty Tuesday - Omelets and Good News!

Dear Blogosphere,

Sleep is a wonderful thing and I am pretty sure most people don't get enough of it. I usually do. In fact, sometimes I get too much sleep. During snooze-time, your brain works through problems and figures or sorts out all the new information you gather each day. (This is why it is better to get a good night's rest before a final as opposed to pulling an all night cram session.) Sometimes these show up in dreams. Other times, you just dream of making omelets.

Omelet cooking is my latest recurring dream. It is amazing. I see myself putting a good sized serving of butter into a non-stick pan. It melts and once it gives off that browning aroma, I pour two fresh, beaten eggs into the pan. It smells like heaven. Once it is mostly set, I flip the beautiful golden, soft disc. In some dreams I add various cheese, vegetables, and even meats, but usually I just have a plain, all eggs and butter dream.

Isn't that delicious?

Anyway, the good news is...

Olive Garden now has gluten-free pasta!

Although I'm not a huge fan of Olive Garden, it is wonderful to have a new option for eating out! And it is just one more chain that has picked up on gluten-free. :-)

Until tomorrow,

Natalie

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