Back to School

Well, this is it. I have to go back to work tomorrow. Classes don't start for a week, but it's these first days that are hard. I don't know if all teachers are like this, but I work my butt off during the school year, and I keep telling myself that I'll rest or I'll play or what have you over the summer. Well, now I'll have to invest all those thoughts in May, and that's a long time from now. However, I think teaching the fast track earlier this month really got me geared up for the semester. It's not going to be as tough for me as it has been previous falls. I just hope we don't have a rough a winter this school year. Last winter was really taxing, and I don't want to have to go through that again.

Today, I tried to get all sorts of things done. I mowed the worst of the lawn, scrubbed the living room carpet, took Joey for her allergy shots. Right now, I'm cooking. I'm making a double batch of chicken and rice, I made chicken salad, and when I'm done here, I'll make tuna salad. Yep, I'm back to packing daily lunches.

A Light Cool Breeze

The weather here lately has been miserable. It's been very hot and VERY humid, but today, it's just lovely. There's a light cool breeze and the temperature and humidity are very comfortable. I feel like a new person with this kind of weather.

Although I like the summer because it allows me a lot of freedom, I'm not a fan of the weather. I actually can handle the winter cold better than the summer heat and humidity. This is why I'm so fond of the fall and spring.

I wrapped up my fast track class yesterday. That is a very neat way to do a class. It's very intense and the days can become taxing, but it's also fun, and it's so easily accomplished. I'm definitely going to do more of these.

So, during this short interregnum, between my fast track class and the regular semester, which will start for me on Wednesday, I'm trying to get psyched up and I'm trying to take it easy. I think these might be two contradictory goals, but then, I'm a rather paradoxical individual.

I know I've been bad about this blog this summer, but I know I will be much more regular once school starts. I'll be able to diet better, and it'll be easier for me to focus.

Lately, I've really fallen in love with hummus. It's really good with chips and crackers, but it's healthier with veggies, so I'm trying to be satisfied with crudite. Hummus is great for you because it's full of garlic, which of course, is supposed to be good for the circulatory system. It's also got heart-healthy olive oil in it. For lunch, I try to have maybe some veggies with hummus, a tuna-salad or chicken-salad wrap. (The Tuna is probably better for me. It's got all those nice Omega-3 oils.) And a Kombucha. Kombucha is a fermented tea drink. I love the stuff. It's probiotic, but it's hard to find. I have to order mine off the net. After a lunch like this, I feel healthier, although, my breath could kill an innocent by-stander.

I've found a much better hummus recipe than the one I gave you earlier. This one I got from mideastfood.about.com.

Ingredients
1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liqud reserved from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice or to taste
1.5 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor. Add 1/4 cup liquid from chickpeas. Blend thoroughly till smooth.

Left-overs should be refridgerated, but when next serving it, give it a little time at room temperature to warm up a bit. The olive oil needs to liquify a bit for the flavors to really pop.

Early Morning Walking

This Fast Track Comp.1 class I'm teaching starts at 8:00 in the morning, and it's in a town an hour from here; therefore, I have to get up at about 4:30 a.m. So, I'm back to my old early morning tricks.

It hurts to get up this early, but I enjoy my walk with Joey more than our evening walk. It's cool and comfortable even though it's dark. It makes me think of fall. The air is crisp and clear, even if I can't tell whether that lumpy shadow over there is some sort of plant or a cat.

It's funny while Joey is sniffing everywhere, she rarely sees that cat or bunny up a half a block. She has a much better nose than I do, but I actually seem to have sharper eyes. But then again, I don't have as much hair in my eyes as she has right now. I need to get her in to be groomed.

Well, I better get in gear. I need to make my lunch, shower and dress and be out of here by 6:30.

On the Fast Track

Ken and I got home from a weekend in Minnesota this evening. We had gone to visit his relatives whom we haven't seen in awhile due to Ken's broken hip and other family illnesses. It was so nice to see them all.

Tomorrow, I start teaching my first fast track class. A fast track is a class in which you teach a semester worth of material in 8 days. I'll be teaching Composition I. I'm looking forward to this, but I'm also anxious. Unfortunately, the hardest thing I'll have to deal with at this point is getting up at 4:30 in the morning in order to get to the class on time. I should have been in bed an hour and a half ago. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Summer's Days are Numbered

It became very real to me today that my summer break is nearly over. A week from today, I start my summer fast track class. So, I'm starting to try to get things ready. I'm also trying to squeeze in a few appointments, and as much rest and relaxation as possible. I wish I were more like Joey, who seems to be able to take a nap anytime and anywhere, as the picture above indicates. Sometimes I think she's half cat.

Last night, Ken and I put a chicken on the grill. We tried one of those stands in which you put a can of beer, pop, whatever in the chicken. We chose root beer. Neither of us had a can of beer readily available (I prefer bottled beer). It worked really well, but can you imagine the indignity for the poor chicken. It's one thing to end up as someone's meal, but quite another to end up as a meal with a can of root beer up your butt.

The chicken turned out really good, with only the slightest hint of a sweet taste. We seemed to have over cooked the chicken though. One minute it seemed like it wasn't quite done and the next, it was VERY done. The dark meat, which I prefer, was great, but when we sampled the breast, it was moist, but chewy. I was going to save the breast meat and make a chicken pot pie for Ken. He had recently requested I try one. However, since the meat was chewy, I decided to grind the meat and make a chicken salad with it. I'll use some poached chicken breast meat for the pot pie. I have to say, that grilled chicken meat in the chicken salad is wonderful. I love the slight taste of smoke in it, and of course, ground, it lost it's chewy texture.

I think I should get some more tuna salad made as well, and get some carrots and grapes etc. So that I can easily pull together lunches for the next couple of weeks. My fast track will keep me so busy, I won't have an opportunity to do much experimentation, at least not for my lunches. Doing something interesting for my suppers will be a nice creative outlet.

Hummus

Yesterday, I finished off a store bought container of hummus. When I looked at the list of ingredients, I nearly went into shock. It listed nearly 20 ingredients many of which I couldn't pronounce let alone know what they were. I had made my own hummus years ago, and I dug up the recipe, and made it tonight after Ken left.

Hummus, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is a Middle Eastern dish which is combination of garbanzo (chick peas), tahini (ground sesame seeds), oil, and garlic. Although some of these ingredients may sound exotic, they are not that difficult to find. If I can get them in a small town in Iowa, you should be able to find them just about anywhere. However, it was funny trying to locate tahini in the local HyVee tonight. Ken was with me, and we were both wandering around looking for it. He kept asking, "Now what's it called again?" And I kept spelling "t-a-h-i-n-i," and adding, "It's ground sesame seeds." I finally happened upon a store employee, and although he had no idea what I was asking for, he made a call to somewhere, I suspect somewhere celestial. And sure enough, he was able to locate it.

It doesn't look good. Even the stock picture above isn't pretty, but it's very tasty. I had Ken try it tonight. He doesn't like it, but he doesn't like spicy things the way I do.

It would be a very easy dish to whip up if I had a food processor. I think the first time I made it, I used a potato masher to mash the garbanzos. I remember, that didn't work out well. This time I tried to run it through my meat grinder attachment to my Kitchenaide. The grinder did not work either The beans are too hard for a potato masher and too mushy for a meat grinder. Given how much I like to cook, I've decided that I need to get myself a food processor. This is ridiculous and I can't tell you how many times I could have used one.

Anyway, hummus makes a great spread, dip, and I even like it as a meat substitute in sandwiches and wraps.

I have no idea where I got this recipe. I wish I could give credit where credit is due.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon cumin
Lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

Process these ingredients together until smooth.

This recipe makes 10, 20 tablespoon servings. Each serving contains 54.4 Calories.

12 Wasted Hours

Yesterday, there was an America's Next Top Model marathon. Not feeling very well, I was taking it easy. I sat down to knit, and I watched the first show not realizing it was a marathon. I don't know why I like this program. I suspect that if there was something else on, at least at first, I would have stopped watching. But unfortunately I was hooked.

I could care less about the personal drama between the contestants. That when I go and do a chore around the house, go to the bathroom or even take Joey walking. I teach at a community college. I can watch that sort of thing between roommates any time I like...and I don't like. I think what I find interesting is that it isn't always the prettiest girl that wins. It's usually the individual with personality that comes out through her pictures.

I was really cheering for the plus-size girl. Not only was she beautiful, but she had a strong bubbly personality. I'm afraid those people who were stuck in the skinny paradigm wore her down. Aside from her, I think the right girl won.

But I couldn't help myself, I watched all 12 hours. I feel as though I need to redeem myself. I think today I had better do some reading.