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Full to the Brim

My life is so full.  Unfortunately, I won’t be moving today which is at once sad and a relief.  It will all work out eventually and hopefully I’ll be cooking in that gorgeous kitchen in mid-November.

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I’ve also accepted a new position as an after school program director.  Seeing as a full time job and a full time course load wasn’t quite enough, I figured I needed another challenge in my life.  I am actually incredibly excited about this and will surely be a fun experience.  The children in the program are fabulous, their parents really care (which is why they aren’t in the regular school-sponsored program), and they already like me.  My biggest concerns are securing a location for rainy/snowy days and having to approach my boss now as a both his employee during the school day, and as a colleague when we meet about the students we are responsible for.  That should be interesting.

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It’s also been one of the most encouraging weeks for me as a person.  All of the parents coming out in support of me running the program, and their votes of confidence in my ability is something of a surprise but is pretty wonderful.  At times, I think that people don’t see me or see how hard I work for their children, but apparently they do.  It’s so wonderful to feel appreciated, right?

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Life is ever changing, evolving, growing.  I used to be afraid to try things and always went for the safe, easy choice.  In adulthood, I’ve realized that sometimes the road that seems the hardest, the one you aren’t sure you can traverse, the one that may leave you with some bumps and bruises, is the one thatyou must enjoy and the one that makes you a better version of you.

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The best news of all? Eastern Market, the last remaining Victorian-era market in the district is on my way home.  These killer cupcakes are made fresh daily and may be the most exciting part of my day.  Thursday night it my late(r?) night so I treat myself with a cupcake.  I couldn’t pick one so I grabbed a German chocolate, carrot and pumpkin spice.  This pumpkin spice one is the best cupcake EVER.  The cake itself moist from the pureed pumpkin although not dense like most pumpkin desserts I’ve had.  The cream cheese frosting is creamy as expected but is impossibly light.  It’s not overly sweet and while I have yet to try the other two, I think chocolate cake has been replaced!

Have you ever taken a leap of faith even when you knew it might be difficult? What’s your favorite kind of cupcake?

Posted in Eats, Inside/Out, Work.


¡Me Voy!

No updates for a week!?!?!?!?

My bad friends… but you see this week I had:

  • FOUR Midterms
  • a cold + allergies kicking my butt

Oh and I’m MOVING on SATURDAY

I like to live my life following the course that it leads me on.  The opportunity arose, the new apartment is significantly bigger and only 100 dollars more a month, which in all honesty may make things harder but it will be so worth it to live in a place where I have a bedroom (rather than a studio) and a place to sit outside and enjoy nature (as opposed to the high rise downtown that I do like but I missed the outdoors this summer).

Plus- who wouldn’t want to work out in this gym…

Or cook in this kitchen :D

So happy!

Posted in Home Sweet Home.


Avocado Overload

Well, summer is over and avocados will soon be hard to come by, at least at a decent price.  Or maybe you’re just like me and your eyes grow wide at the sight of them and just get too many to eat before they go bad.

What to do? What to do?

Don’t worry dear, I’m here to help!

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First, gather up your extra avocados.

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Cut them in half. Be sure to work quickly, you don’t want to the avocado to get discolored. Chop them up, scoop them out, whatever works :)

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Pop all chunks into the blender or food processor.  It doesn’t need to be pretty you’re about to pulverize it anyway…

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I hit liquefy and 20 seconds later I’m left with this slightly chunky mess. Your results might be creamier or chunkier than mine, this is totally dependent on the ripeness of the avocados you use. Personally, I think you should use very ripe ones to really end up with a great result, but use what is available to you.

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One of my avocados wasn’t as ripe as it probably should have been, so I added some water to it.  I filled up the measuring cup with one cup of water and slowly poured some in as it was working.  Don’t add too much or it will start to separate.  It could be anything from one tablespoon to loosen it up to 1/3 of a cup.

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It should look something like this.  Pureered, bright green goodness.

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Then grab an empty ice tray and a tablespoon measure and go to town filling up each section with a tablespoon of the avocado puree.

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After you’ve used all your pureer, cover with plastic wrap (don’t skip this unless you want ice crystals, plus it’ll make your life easier).

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Pop this in the freezer and let them harden fully.  I usually just leave them in there overnight but I think ~2 hours should be enough to get them hard enough, if not sooner.

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Run hot water over the ice tray so the cubes will pop out.  Here comes in the plastic wrap that will catch any that try to escape down your drain.

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You’ll end up with a lovely pile of avocado goodness.   Pop them in a freezer bag and you’ll have them ready for when the craving strikes.

When you’re ready to use them, just let them thaw in the fridge with some lemon or lime juice sprinkled over the top to prevent discoloration.  If you have a microwave, you can do so on a defrost setting for 20 seconds.

This works great as a sandwich spread, salad topping, to make guacomole, or in your favorite way.  If you’re a mommy this can be a great homemade baby food full of great nutrients and healthy fats to go along with your pureed fruits and veggies.

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Not too shabby? Portion-controlled avocado works for me :)

Posted in Techniques, Tips.