Ode to the blender

Goodbye old blender, you have served me so well.  Through good times and bad, you were always so dependable.  Yes, in the last few days following your 25th birthday, you couldn’t chop ice like you used to.  But you still gave it your best shot, blowing steam when necessary, coughing at times–very loudly, I might add–and sometimes you would decide just to take a rest for a little while.  But you will always be remembered for all the good times that you gave me, and all the chillers that you provided to my satisfaction. 😀

Hello new blender, so shiny and nice.  Complete with the addition of a food processor—oh the endless possiblities that you’ve now provided me with. 😀

Thank you for all the well wishes and the “I understand” comments from my last post.  These past couple of weeks have guarenteed to me that this semester is going to be a busy one.  Medical Nutrition Therapy homework alone is consuming at least 2 hrs. a day.  But the nice thing is that I find it super interesting!  I enjoy studying the material—most of the time! 😉 —and I’m excited over all the new things that I’ll be learning. 

But then today I felt as if I were missing you all and needed to recap on all your blogs to see what’s up in the bloggy world. 😀 

And, aside from homework and business, I’ve still had time to cook, bake and try new foods…one of which was spaghetti squash.

I was so excited to find one at an organic farm stand that I stop at regularly on my way home from school.  I baked it up immediately (350 oven for 45 minutes after cutting in half and removing the pulp/seeds,) shred it into a bowl, and then found myself wondering what to do with it.  Eat it straight up? (because it is super tasty, by the way)  Mix it with pasta and eat it with sauce?  Eat it as a side vegetable?  Ideas? 😀

And, of course, following my philosophy of “waste not, want not,” I roasted the squash seeds too.  I just popped them in the 350 oven, sprayed with pam, and tossed on some salt and garlic powder.  My parents didn’t care for them, but I couldn’t stop eating them.  They were crunchy but chewy (think fibrous 😉 ) but I loved the flavor and mouth feel of them.

But spaghetti squash and seeds aside, my favorite meal thus far from the week has to go to these black bean burgers, which I stole the idea from Alison.  They came out perfect!!  I used a combination of ketchup, mustard, and bbq sauce (amy’s organic brand,) added in some red onions, used a mix of oats and whole wheat flour, and threw in some corn too.  For seasonings, I used garlic powder (lots of it! 😀 ) and cayenne for a bit of a kick.  I think next time I’ll try some cilantro and salsa in there too.  Mmm…

With a side of baked sweet potatoe fries…yep, definitely the highlight meal of my week.  What was yours?