Books for fun and cooking up a storm

Look! I can make chili (actually not that hard) with organic brown basmati rice!

This is my first, last, and only vacation where I can legitimately do whatever I want. The reason behind this is because I am home in CT for only a month and am not re-committing myself to a place I do not permanently live job-wise, and I could not stay in NYC for the time between the end of my semester and studying abroad in Italy.  Therefore, I have been spending my time doing a bit of freelance work, hitting the gym, cooking, writing, reading, and watching tv. I think I have become TV-saturated and have been going to the gym regularly. I need to go to the rink soon to skate... maybe tomorrow. I keep putting it off for multiple reasons. In terms of cooking, I am proud to say that I have made socca bread from the Pure2Raw girls, vegan cupcakes (for fun, even though no one in my family is vegan), vegetarian chili, veggie udon, popcorn (so obsessed), museli (I like mine with almond milk and diced figs- I really love figs), tea, coffee, and several other things I can't think of at the moment.

Steamed parnip became pure mashed parsnip -yum!

I am planning on executing a smoothie in the near future from Pooja's delicious recipes online at PoojasWay.com like her Blueberry, Cardamom & Coconut Protein smoothie:

Photo courtesy of PoojasWay.com

I am definitely not a regular cook so some of these simple recipes took me a while, but they all worked out ok :) I have been using my new Korin knives from Pooja and they are magical. Not yet sure what I am doing for New Years, but I spent Christmas with a childhood friend who attends Barnard. It was nice to catch up. We got Chinese food and saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I highly recommend the movie, but my parents who read both books said the books are better. I find the person Stieg Larsson very fascinating. Anyways, my life in CT is much less exciting than in NYC, where I am also randomly seeing celebrities go home (I creepily know where Mario Batali lives), eating at awesome restaurants, and chilling with my jaded New York friends.


Goal-wise, I have been drinking more water, but not nearly enough. I have successfully been avoiding drinking liquid calories. Mostly just tea.

Thanks @RishiTea!

 I think I still need to cut down on my overall food intake and eat slower. I have been going to the gym, but I know I really need to switch up my workout a bit more. I am getting hooked on jump roping and am half-jokingly considering trying a kick boxing class. I really need to skate. I am full of excuses. 


In terms of books I have been reading (my library is awesome!), I read a fantastic personal finance book "Hot Broke Messes" by Nancy Trejos and am figuring out my finances and all that jazz. I figure that since I am becoming a real-live adult I should know how these things work to the n-th degree (because that is how I roll). Speaking of finances, I had a near mental breakdown today when there was a misunderstanding with my bank that led me to believe that all of my money had been wiped out of my account due to identity theft. It wasn't true and all is taken care of, but that was a scary moment.

I am literate!

I also finished Mindy Kaling from The Office's new book "Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me (and other concerns)" and it was hilarious and cute. Very easy and fun read. However, I wasn't a fan of Bethenny Frankel's book because I felt like it was too basic for me, which means I must know something about food/cooking! I really like the idea of brunch from Post Punk Kitchen and my inconstant aversion to meat makes veganism/vegetarianism all the more appealing.  Starting the new-ish Chelsea Handler book, but since I love her other books ("My Horizontal Life" is the best), I expect to like this one, too. 

 Learning should be fun and not solicited. For example, my nerdy self chose to watch some TED talks online to learn something from some smart people and because I was genuinely curious. 

I really like getting to read something without the pretenses of having to write something about the piece or get graded on reading something I may or may not be interested in. Plus, the library facilitates this healthy habit of my compulsive reading for free. Fantastic. I was looking for an easy-to-read, attention-grabbing book on the art of marketing, but I think I am either going to have to search really hard or to write it myself. Speaking of writing, I am considering writing a book that will be self-published to avoid the legal and time drama. Thoughts?

Bye for now :) I wish you all a healthy and happy new year!