Actually they don’t. I dare say no one has ever linked “mellow” and “S” in the history of the world, and especially not now with my deadline still looming: T-11 days and I’ve been writing this post for THREE DAYS…! Which means it’s now T-8 days!!! Eeeek! Let’s not think about deadlines—until then, let’s talk about food!

Be It Resolved That: children who grow up in the East, where fall is comprised of blazing reds and oranges, have trouble coming to terms with the Western Fall.

Exhibit A (image source):

and Exhibit B (image source):

It’s not bad! It’s just that it’s not reds and oranges. In the land of the poplar, fall is yellow… and green, because there’re a lot of coniferous trees around here.

Whenever I drive to work and I’m facing a ridge of yellow and green, I always think of a bit on Dave Letterman once where he parodied his rise to fame. He claimed to have had a radio show while at Ball State University called “All Things Yellow”, during which he listed yellow things. It went something like “Banana. Lemon. [pause...] Lemonade.” I mutter it to myself as I drive, aware of the fact that I look crazy to fellow drivers… but it makes me smile!

So my own list of “All Things Yellow” at this moment includes: “Western Fall”. “Scrap paper”. “Giant zucchini” (which I purchased at the Farmers’ Market this weekend, and proceeded to use maybe a THIRD of to make a Mama Pea lasagna (oh baby!)).  And “Frittata Piquante”. It’s not FULLY yellow, but it still lends some of its hue…

I’m into eggs lately. They’ve become comfort food for me. And since I have a deadline, something healthy, warm, comforting, and filled with veggie and protein love is important right now… I made a big pan and have re-heatables for instant yellow bliss… mmm! To continue with my “wordology” trend of Saturday last, this frittata is absolutely Santa Claus*!

Frittata Piquante

This recipe is a great “kitchen sink” recipe: I will often just fill the pan right up to the top with veggies, and add the egg mixture just to hold it all together. Below I’m giving a “bare essentials” frittata, which I assembled when my kitchen was close to “bare”!

You need:

* 1 Tbsp EVOO
* 4 Cipollino onions, peeled and minced
* 3 cloves garlic, sliced
* 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thick ribbons
* 1 YELLOW bell pepper, seeded and cut into ribbons
* 1 Ring of Fire pepper, seeds removed and sliced—OPTIONAL! SO optional!
* 2 cups baby spinach leaves (I used Kale this time), roughly chopped
* 12 egg whites + 4 whole eggs, lightly beaten (egg whites from a box! That means 1.5 cups)
* 1 cup skim milk (or almond milk)
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 1 tsp cumin
* 1 tsp cayenne
* 1/2 Tbsp basil
* 1/2 Tbsp oregano
* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup cooked red quinoa
* 2 Tbsp grated Asiago cheese
* fresh salsa for serving garnish (optional)

You do:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the egg whites, the lightly-beaten eggs, milk, and spices. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-safe pan (I use a giant, 14-inch Ameriware pan) over medium heat, and add the garlic and onions, cooking until transluscent (about 4-5 minutes).

Add the bell peppers, and cook an additional 4 minutes (at this point, if using Kale I toss it in to get it wilty).

When the veg is sufficiently sautéed, pour in the egg mixture, and let it cook until the edges begins to set; top with the cheese and quinoa transfer to the oven.

Bake for about 10-minutes, or until the centre is fully set and the edges are beginning to pull away from the pan.

Serve hot, with salsa—and a side of yellow tomatoes, if you wish…! (Makes about 5 servings).

*Santa Claus: adj: (-ier, -iest). Informal. (Of food): implies something comforting and familiar, but still special and exciting. (Of legendary personages): see, Kris Kringle.

(Please read the following to the tune of “nanny-nanny boo-boo!”)

I’m chasing a deadline! I’m chasing a deadline!

BUT: I still made it to the MORNING group run today, and killed 10K before the time I usually leave the house…

After which, as I hunkered down to work, I needed a li’l pick-me-up:

1. two lovely farmers’ market Gala apples, cored and halved… dressed with 1/4 cup of oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 Tbsp packed brown sugar, split evenly between the four halves and dotted with shaved butter…

2. baked at 375°F for 15 minuts (I like ‘em a bit crisp still)

3. served cut up, with a dollop of honey-vanilla yogurt cheese (more vanilla than honey!)…

Sweeeeet.

Brace for an intense week ahead!

Were we all productive this weekend?

So, I always love how the most amazingly bizarre code names were used in, say, the Second World War. Like the invasion of Africa: Operation GYMNAST.

GYMNAST.

Of course.

And as I faced the dilemma of what to do with too much Vega vegan protein powder (ick!), I knew I needed a plan… and so Operation DON DRAPER was born. Why DON DRAPER? Well, yesterday, HEAB decided to be more creative with her adjectives. I’m helping!

Step 1: Inspiration and Plan Genesis

This is p. 80 of the September 2010 issue of Oxygen magazine. It’s a recipe for “fat burning cookies”. I think I prefer “fat-containing cookies”, in which the objective is “DELICIOUS!” instead of “BLAST FAT!”… BUT: one thing caught my eye—it wanted 2 cups of whey protein powder. I NEVER would have considered such a thing in the past with my beloved Greens Plus, but for my despised Vega (ick!)? No problem!

Step 2: Assemble the Operatives

Here’s a little “their recipe vs my modifications”:

1.5 c whole wheat flour equal parts buckwheat, spelt and tapioca flours
2 c whey protein powder chocolate-flavoured Vega vegan protein powder (ick!)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/5 c low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 c honey (1/4 c + 1/2 tsp stevia)
1/4 c canola oil olive oil (just ’cause I didn’t have canola)
1 egg (oops—ate the last egg for lunch) 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips chopped 90% dark Lindt chocolate bar
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
My additions:
2 tsp psyllium husks
2 Tbsp organic cocoa powder

Their theory was, these are “fat burning” because of:

cinnamon, to keep your blood-sugar in check (and maybe to do a little “burning” of its own—check out Mama Pea eating a spoonful of cinnamon in under a minute… ON VIDEO! As I tolerate, but do not love, cinnamon, it might be the scariest thing I’ve seen all week!);

cottage cheese’s slow-digesting protein;

protein powder’s faster-digesting protein;

oats, because of their anti-inflammatory polyphenols and beta-glucan, which also makes you feel full;

the walnuts will make you feel full, too… as will, I’m sure, my heart-friendly dark, dark chocolate.

Step 3: ENGAGE!

I blitzed the wet with my hand blender and whisked the dry (minus the nuts, chocolate and oats) with my… hand whisker…, and brought the the two together in sweet, sweet harmony. Well, I reduced the honey and didn’t use semi-sweet chocolate, so maybe it was just “sweet” harmony.

I quickly wondered whether or not I had been meant to firmly pack the protein powder (ick!), as the dough became dry quite quickly. I worked at it (see the veins on my hand, denoting me, working hard? I’ve been told I have “man hands” in the past—and they only get veinier and manier the fitter I get. Thanks for stigmatising this, Seinfeld.)

And then: uh oh.

The chocolate and walnuts were on board, and I was about to drop them onto the silpat-lined pan for a 10-minute bake at 350°F when I saw that the oats had escaped, and were in hiding behind the dirty dishes and GF flours. Damn. MORE dry ingredients?? Really? FINE.

Step 4: Hot War

Step 5: Send for Reinforcements

Oh, right. Chocolate chips have stabilisers so they maintain their shape in the oven. A Lindt chocolate bar does not. Ergo, all exposed chocolate must go on the top, dummy.

Step 6: De-brief

I wish I hadn’t added the stevia. It lingers as the aftertaste. Shoulda just used the whole 1/2 cup of honey. And a better tasting protein powder, since that, too, lingered (ick!). And BOY were these crying out for dried cherries… cherries + dark chocolate = love!

So how were they? Well, I didn’t want to kill the batch, and I liked how the dark chocolates and low sugar were sort of deeply rich without inducing the sugar-crazed desire to eat all of them at once. I guess I’d have to say that these were pretty Don Draper*!

*Don Draper: adj. (-ier, -iest). Informal. (Of food): dark and mysterious, with some good taste, though said mysteriousness is also, in some undefinable way, unsatisfying. (Of men): see: HBO’s Mad Men.

Oh! I have to tell someonnnnne! It’s going to be youuuuuuuu!

Today, I got the awesomest, most fab-tastical mail… I’ve anticipated it for awhile, but now that it’s official I can get excited—and live up to my blog’s name. I know that healthy bloggers tend to leave their careers and retrain in the direction of healthy living, and it’s usually what I’m going toward that they leave… but for me, if you knew me, you’d know a few things:

1) my current job is ALL WRONG FOR ME. Even if I got 3 degrees to do it: this is not how I want to go through life!

2) my current job is heavy on the burn-out and demands, it exiled me to the Hinterlands, and pay is sub-great—which only matters when you take into account the unhappy from 1).

3) I should have done this YEARS ago—during my cross-Canada, unofficial high school reunion tour this summer, when I would tell friends I hadn’t seen in 16 years “this is what I’m aiming for”, they all said “of course!” It fits me, and I think I’ll enjoy things that other don’t enjoy about it.

4) I’ve actually had some green-eyed monster whenever anyone around me has mentioned that they were going this way, which tells me that this is something I HAVE to do—or spend the rest of my life wondering “what if?”

Truth is, I’m interested in a LOT of things, and I like “new” and “different” and even “hard” often… I don’t know that I’ll stay at the end of this road forever, but I believe that when opportunities arise, you take them… and see what new opportunities arise out of that.

After all, life is an adventure: you risk, you see where things go. Sometimes, you’ll like it: it probably won’t last, so love it while it does! Sometimes, you won’t like it: it probably won’t last, so endure it while it does—or change it!

I’m making the change! I’m going back to school! I’m doing a degree in Law!

(Yes, it’s a distance degree. No, I’m not “buying it online”; it’s an old system through the University of London, in the UK. It’s self-study and therefore not for everyone—but if there’s one thing a PhD says about you, it’s that you know how to learn. And I’m hitting it hard… hello, school! I’ve MISSED you!!!)

Have I said YAY yet?

YAY!