The journey continues...

This has been a week of departures. Too many goodbyes were said. Talia, my friend and former roommate left Chicago to start an amazing new job in Seattle. Two relatives, one of my close family friends and one on my dad's side of the family passed away this week. Although I knew/know these people on varying levels, I know that they were/are all passionate people who care(d) about others and would('ve) love(d) to find more about you while breaking bread together. In fact, my most vivid memories with these people involve food. Saying 'adieu' or just 'see you later' can be very difficult. I believe that three main* things can assuage these sorrows: food, people and music.

With cooking, all of this can be accomplished. I enjoy listening to something upbeat while I'm cooking, and then of course share the fruits of my labor with friends and family (perhaps even a stranger or two, if they're nice). Before I go into what I made this week, I want to mention that Talia was a central cook and the food shopper in my house, so I thought, what better way to honor her than by showing an example of her yummilicious food? Here are some crazy good pizzas she made last week for the entire house. How I will miss her creations!

Talia the pizza maker on the left, Abi the pizza eater on the right

Ok, now for this week's dish: pasta casserole! Usually I associate casseroles with housewives cooking for their families in the '50s. But alas, here I was, a single working woman cooking one for my family-ish housemates and anyone else who would dare to try my food.

My original idea was mac 'n cheese, but I didn't have most of the key ingredients. I peeked around a little on the 101 cookbooks website and opted with this baked pasta casserole recipe instead. I used my powers of substitution to replace penne for shells, rosemary for lemon zest, and minced garlic instead of fresh garlic. Also, I added cheddar cheese, because come on, more cheese is almost always a good choice. And a sweet potato for good measure. Runner's World tells me that was a healthy thing to do. See the results after these photos...

Talia's Costco legacy lives on!

Before

After!  It paired well with Chris' leftover kale salad.

There was no large gathering to taste-test my latest experiment this time, but Abi bravely tried some despite having dinner already. We both noted that it could use a little something extra. My coworker, Uncle Bear, commented that it could use some black pepper at lunch the next day. I added some red pepper and it gave it a little kick, which was better.

Ultimately, I don't think this was one of my best creations, but I will continue to make more new dishes and see what I can learn throughout these experiences. Maybe for my next adventure, I'll try out these oatmeal cookies. Or perhaps I will make some soup, after going to Soup and Bread at the Hideout tonight. You'll find out next week on One Inspired Girl!

~Eleanor




*not the only things

Peanut butter noodle time

Back already?? You know it.

Yesterday was filled with New Years energy. Two delicious meals sandwiched my first run of 2013 with a dear friend, Hannah, and a rousing game of SET (is that website from the 90s?). This was one of those days when I realized it IS worth it to cook food at home. (Find out why in the "lessons learned" section at the end.) Let's take a look at what those meals included...

Brunch

My roommate Leila, her boyfriend Chris, and I decided to make some noms at home instead of waiting in the atrociously long lines for New Years brunch. Leila whipped up some mean jumbo chocolate-chip pancakes, while Chris and I created a tasty egg scramble with veggies. See the setup below:

Look closely and you can see goat cheese!

Dinner

This was the path to dinner in my post-run stupor:


Eleanor: Maybe I'll make cookies. What kind of cookies should I make?

Hannah: Peanut butter!

Eleanor: **searches "peanut butter" on Mother Would Know** Oooh, I'll make peanut noodles!


Makes a lot of sense. I promptly informed my roommates that dinner was on its way. I started on my exciting peanut noodle adventure. Of course, I used this recipe as the jump-off point. To add some nutrition, I steamed brussel sprouts, kale, snap peas and tofu. Leila showed off her sweet flair in a blueberry and nectarine pie. YUM. It was truly a winning combination.

Not pictured: Sriracha and Soyaki sauces

Note Leila's lattice

Lessons from today's adventures:

1. Steaming vegetables is lots of fun.
2. Cooking for others is lots of fun. And rewarding! And costs no extra money besides the food I already bought!
3. Cooking a meal usually takes less or the same energy/time as complaining about how hungry I am.

What a productive day. Now about that messy room...

~Eleanor

One Inspired Journey

Hello again, blogging world!

I'm a little bit rusty (and nervous) about this endeavor, so please bear with me as I impart on a new journey. What is this journey, you ask? One based on inspirations. Quite vague, I know. But here's the deal.

My mom, Laura Kumin writes a blog called Mother Would Know. Her birthday was yesterday, and I thought, what kind of present can I give her? Sure, I could give her jewelry or a gift certificate or something. (Don't worry, Mom, a material present is on its way!) But I also thought I would love to write a blog in honor of her. Not so much as a present, but as a way to show her that she inspires me every day. I find inspiration in many places, people, and things every day. I would say that the most consistent inspirations come from my family, but especially my mom. She has played numerous roles throughout my life: cook, teacher, tutor, cheerleader, listener, advice-giver, mentor, etc. Not to mention she was the only female lawyer in the first firm in which she worked. So add kick-ass revolutionary role model to that list.

My mom and I, on her birthday 4 years ago

Ok, I could talk about how great my mom is for a while. Here are just a few more things to round out the first entry:

What's up with the name?

I work at a place called Inspiration Corporation, which holds an annual fundraiser called One Inspired Evening. When trying to think of name for this blog, that just popped out at me. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery...it's true!

Alright, Eleanor, what exactly are you writing about? How often will you update?

Inspirations! Mostly I plan on writing about delicious meals/food that I'm inspired to make. It may be expanded to other things, but for now I'll stick to cooking, since this is a skill I'm trying to improve. If you didn't know already, my mom is an amazing cook and learned how to cook around my age. I hope to be as talented as her in the future. Practice makes perfect! Also, food is yummy and nourishes the mind/body/soul.

I'm going to update every week for the next six weeks and see how that goes. I know I'm one of those people who starts something at the beginning of the year so hey, I'm just trying to be realistic. (My dad suggested that part. Thanks, Dad!)

Until next time...

~Eleanor