Living Clean: Week 2

It's Thursday of Week 2, Jan. 27th, 2011.

You remember those old Fed Ex commercials with the guy that talked really, really fast?

Well, I'm that guy right now.  The book says that by Week 2, you should experience energy you don't know what to do with.  Can I just say that I couldn't type that fast enough?!?  I'm FILING right now, for God's sake!  FILING.  I'm ripping through envelopes that have been sitting on my frackin' desk for WEEKS and FILING THEIR CONTENTS AWAY - all at breakneck speed!

And I had some weird dreams last night that are but distant memories now, as did Craig. The book said that by Week 2, we could start having weird dreams.  So it would seem we're right on schedule.

 Adzuki Beans and Brown Rice, topped w/Avocado

This was really, really good!  And Craig loved it, too, so that says a lot.  The beans are reminiscent of black eye peas, only the flavor is much milder.  I even took pictures of the cooking process, because some of these ingredients are kinda whacky.

The food processor came in very handy for this recipe.  Before we started this program, we ran out to Bed, Bath & Beyond to use my gift certificate for a new blender.  We walked out with a Ninja! 

Can't say enough good things about this blender/food processor.  We use it every single day and it's super easy to use right out of the box and easy to keep clean.  If you get one, be really careful with the blades, as they're as sharp as knives.  Craig's finger can attest to that. He was taking everything out of the box and saw that one of the pitchers had a piece of paper in it, so he reached in past the blades to get to it and cut himself.  The piece of paper?

It was a warning to be careful, because the blades are a sharp as knives.

Oh, the irony.

I threw the squash and whatever else I was supposed to chop up in the food processor and gave it a whirl.

And here are the beans that I ended up finding.  I was told by a Foodie at Central Market that it's common for foods from Japan to end up being renamed all kinds of kooky things.  In this case, the Adzuki beans listed in the recipe are called Aduki beans <snicker snicker> on the can's label.  Same thing, though.  This brand is good cuz they're organic, no added anything that's bad for you.

Beans, beans, beans!

Instead of having to buy a whole butternut squash and then deal with peeling it and dicing it myself, I stumbled upon a pre-diced bag of squash in my produce section where all of the other pre-diced/chopped items are stocked.  Score for me!

This recipe calls for Kombu, which is a type of seaweed known for its nutritional and digestion aiding properties.

Here's what it looks like out of the package.  When you open the bag, it smells like ocean!

 

So I threw everything into the pot, added the water and the kombu, and let it simmer like the recipe said to.  I also added three of these to the pot:

MSG/Gluten Free Bouillon Cubes

These recipes just don't really call for much seasoning and who wants to eat bland food?  Not me, man.

The kombu, over time, didn't really break apart; it just got a little mushy.  At the end of cooking, I just took it out and threw it away.  The Central Market Foodie person also told me that kombu is a really great thing to add to almost anything you're cooking, so any type of stew or soup, pasta sauce, even chili, as it doesn't impart any sort of flavor or color to the dish you're making.  So you can reap the benefits of its nutritional awesomeness and no one would be the wiser.

 Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Mixed Greens

This was another great dish that even Craig liked!  The quinoa salad recipe is very similar to the tabbouleh recipe in the Tri-Salad dish, so that made me very happy, cuz I love that stuff.

I grilled the chicken with some salt n pepper and Mrs. Dash (again, me likey seasoning).  I sliced a chicken breast and used romaine and fresh spinach as the bed of greens.  The greens aren't dressed at all, so when eating, it's nice to put eat the quinoa salad with the chicken and greens on one bite, so you're not eating dry lettuce leaves.

Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

Tarragon bad!

Um. This recipe called for a lot of fresh tarragon, and pardon my herbal ignorance, but I'd never worked with tarragon before.  Well, lemme tell ya - it's not HORRIBLE - not like the broccoli rabe - but it's got this anise, fennel-y thing going on that I just don't wanna eat large quantities of.  And therein lies my quandary.  Craig took one little taste and went, "Oh.  NO!"  I ate a bowl of it cuz I was starving, but now I have an entire soup pot sitting in my fridge.  And in that soup pot is pureed butternut squash and tarragon made with crushed dreams and hunger.  God help me, cuz I have to eat it.  I paid for it and I slaved over a hot stove to create it.  Anyone wanna come over for soup tonight?

Updated to add:  I ate one more bowl of soup the next night and then threw the rest away. I needed the pot to make lentil soup. Something that I would actually eat.