Quinoa Stir-Fry & The Ekko Park Show

Though I claimed all my dinners henceforth this week would be boring and predictable, last night’s dinner was actually quite interesting!  It was, indeed, stir-fry, but we had some cooked quinoa on hand to use instead of rice Wild and crazy, I know!

Here’s how to make Cheater’s Quinoa Stir-Fry

1. Chop one carrot and some mushrooms, green beans, and broccoli.
2. Saute the carrots for a few minutes first.
3. Microwave the broccoli for a minute to soften it up.
4. Add the rest of the veggies (broccoli, mushroom, and green beans) to the pan.
5. Add a few dashes of soy sauce.
6. Add the cooked quinoa.
7. Pour in a lightly beaten egg.

Try it, you’ll like it!

Our quiz master from trivia at Father Ted’s is in a band, Ekko Park, and they played a free show last night, so of course we were there!  I enjoyed Alex’s leftover Tui before we left:

In the spirit of trivia, here was my Cap-Fact: What is New Zealand’s largest inland city?

………

Hamilton.

The show was AWESOME!  It was late, but short and sweet We had such a good time.

That’s our quiz master in the center.  Not only did we feel so cool to know the lead singer, but he’s also really friendly and nice, which makes the whole situation that much cooler!!!  And their music is good, to boot.  This is a music video of my favorite song by them, which happened to be filmed in the very same bar!

So the show was basically just like that!  But in color.  Lol. Except that sadly, there wasn’t a big crowd becuase 1) it was raining, and 2) it’s the Queen’s birthday weekend.  Lame, I say.  Nevertheless, they put on a fantastic show.  We were there and had an absolutely fabulous time!  We also stood right behind their biggest fans, and it was so fun to watch them dance like mad and sing along to every word.  I’m so glad that we got to see his band live before we left.  We have seen the videos so many times and we’ve known Joe for months, so it was about time!

I woke this morning, ready to run in the sun, but guess what? That’s right: hip pain!  So I settled with just taking a 45-minute walk around the domain and photographing ducks and trees.

(The answer to your question, David, is yes, the leaves have fallen and the trees are bare.  I guess I just haven’t been very observant. )

When I came home, I realized something that may or may not end up being a crisis-type situation:

That’s a dangerously dwindling supply of instant coffee.

Here’s hoping it lasts the week!!!  I do NOT want to have to buy a whole other package before I go home.  I only use a bit at a time, but I don’t knowwwww….

Fingers crossed!

I am really lucky because I got to talk to my good friend Tara this morning for so long!  She’s back in the states from her semester studying in Ireland.  It was sooo good to see her, but such a tease.  I can’t wait to see her in a few weeks, for REAL!

For lunch, I had a large salad of lettuce, carrots, peppers, and mushrooms, all lightly drizzled in light Italian dressing so that it didn’t taste so….raw.

This is the salad I’ll be eating for the next five days straight.  YUM!

Then, for protein and grains, I made a microwaved egg with S&P, and put it on top a piece of toast with sundried tomato hummus spread on top.

The hummus was new-to-me and it gets my hearty stamp of approval!  YUM!  Lunch left me so satisfied! And it kept me full for ages.

Today, all day, I have been working on my final math project.  And it’s officially whooping my a$$.  My rough draft is done, it’s at over 2500 words, and both my examples and references are weak as.  I’m not sure I can bring myself to do much more today.  So yes, tomorrow will be hellish.

You might already know that I love inspirational videos by children, such as Jessica’s Daily Affirmation, and my brother David sent me another one recently that I just can’t get enough of.

Seriously, I’ve already watched it like 5 times!  It’s helping with the project: I can do it because I believe in myself!  This video might make tomorrow slightly less torturous….

At least I have some pure joy to indulge in!

That’s right, M&M brownies (Rose, you created a monster!)

It’s the perfect pick-me-up.  And necessary for finals.  Well, my final week of school, that is

Have you been to a good concert lately?

Namaste.

Weekend Dinners

We had a fabulous dinner on Saturday night.

We baked the Caramelized Onion Cibatta we got from the Farmer’s Market

We enjoyed it by dipping pieces in warm Garden Vegetable Marinara Sauce

and Herb Oil. So easy to make!  I just whisk Italian Herb Paste together with some EVOO

Yes, we ate the whole thing.  It was fantastic!

We thought about making a salad, too.

Nah.

We planned to go out dancing, but couldn’t decide how to do our hair…

“I look like Justin Bieber!”  said I.

That’s a silly hairstyle my friend Kaitlyn used to do during field hockey practice in middle school (or maybe lacrosse? )  You make a bun on the top of your head and let the ends hand on your forehead like bangs.  Do it, you deserve a laugh!

Darn the humidity, it spoils my locks!  (Don’t worry, I just wore my classic half-clipped.)  Also darn our favorite dance club for being EMPTY.  Lame.  We left to go to Father Ted’s, our go-to spot, and we were happy to see our study abroad adviser and his band rocking out!  We were even more pleased to see some friends.  So the night wasn’t a complete flop!

Neither was dinner tonight!

Sauteed silver beet/chard (from the market), tomatoes, and onions with smoked trevally (again, from the market) and quinoa.  It was so filling!  Leftovers for lunch tomorrow

Of course it wasn’t too filling to have one (or two?) of these:

We had to have them.  Both Hannah and I are pretty homesick today.  We blame the weather + hearing from our friends back home.  (Guys! You aren’t supposed to be having fun without us!)  I skyped with my good friend Dani for so long today, and as an added bonus, she had a bunch of our FeelGood friends over and I got to see them, too!  (Have you helped out the Pitt’s FeelGood yet?)  I was so happy to see everyone, but I won’t lie: it made me a bit sad   I figured brownies with “heaps of mini M&M’s” would help me cheer up.

That’s what brownies are for, right?

What did you have for dinner this weekend?

Namaste.