dinner results, working out and school work
as i mentioned earlier this week, we're trying out new recipes. we really enjoyed our pasta with garlic-almond sauce and the lemon-oregano chicken and asparagus with horseradish butter were no different. each was delicious. i love the taste and flavor of the chicken. it's like eating a lemon-herb roasted chicken, but it didn't take hours of cooking time. a quick pan-sear on the chicken pieces (i used whole legs, the recipe called for only thighs), on the bone and with skin, provided a nice crisp and locked in all the juices. the chicken was drizzled with a chicken broth, lemon and oregano reduction before going into a very hot oven for only 20 minutes. as a result, the chicken is super juicy, while being thoroughly cooked, and very tasty. i would've expected a little more of an oregano taste, i found it to actually be rather faint. the flavor combination reminds me of grilled chicken, on the BBQ, rather than in the oven. it would work perfectly over the grill, although i'd leave out the broth reduction and simply marinate the chicken pieces in lemon juice, garlic and oregano. i think you would get similar taste results. also, could work for chicken skewers, perhaps with a little veggie like peppers or artichoke hearts. i love asparagus, even though it makes my pee smell. unfortunately, i used my only four-sided sheet pan for the chicken and was left to "roast" the asparagus in a baking dish. it didn't come out as oven-roasted as i would've wanted, but it was perfectly cooked otherwise. before going into the oven, the asparagus are tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. the horseradish-butter mixture is just that: drained horseradish and butter mashed together. i think, even for the specified amount, less butter can be used. it seemed really buttery and the horseradish was rather tame. considering that you put horseradish typically on beef roasts, this would be the perfect side-dish.
overall, i'm super happy with my new recipes this week. i think both of them can easily fit into our usual rotation. i wonder if i could find fresh peas for the pasta, rather than frozen. hmm... anyway, there are still a few recipes left in this issue i want to try. i'll post about those as they're made.
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i'm at the week-and-a-half mark since starting my new workout routine. my legs are killing me. i haven't done lunges in ages and it really shows. i also think i hyper-extended my elbow while doing bicep curls. it's either that or i've been leaning on that side too much at work (total boredom will do that...). today was my first resting day of the week (my weeks start on monday). i got to sleep in a little and relax all day. my legs really needed the rest. it's back in the saddle tomorrow morning, for my 15 minute bike training sprint. i'm thinking of finding something to tack on the wall for me to look at when i'm on the trainer. of course, i could move it indoors and use the training DVD which came with the trainer. i don't think i'm at that point, though. i think once my body has gotten used to what i'm doing, i might look into integrating the DVD. it seems pretty hardcore...
i've been thinking of what i could do next year to come up with another goal. this year i have the triathlon in august and looking good in my wedding dress for next february. beyond the wedding, i need to keep it up. i need to research what kind of bike tours are available for beginner cyclists. i would ask my sister's brother-in-law, but he mountain bikes, so it's a little different. he and his wife did the AIDS ride from SF to LA, though. i think that would be more of a long-term goal. perhaps i can find something between the 50- and 100-mile range? i think that might be fun. :)
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school work, although seeming frantic from last week, doesn't look so bad right now. turns out 2 of the 3 remaining assignments for my library management class are due together on monday. luckily, they're both group projects. one is a paper and another a powerpoint presentation. since my portion of the paper is rather short (listing key initiatives and budget), i offered to put together the powerpoint presentation. it doesn't have to be very long or drawn out. everything is due monday by midnight, so there's plenty of time to get things done. after that, we have our own individual assignment, based on this group assignment. we take on a goal and write an entire paper about how to achieve that goal, what milestones to use and how to fund it. it doesn't seem that bad. i think it's only a 10-15pg paper, which is totally doable.
for my children's programming class, i've got things planned right now so that i'm reading to my niece and nephew the giving tree on sunday evening. my mom's having a family dinner, so it seemed rather easy to get all of us together. i'm hoping it might be possible to stop by my sister's tomorrow to pick up the book, so i can practice before sunday. doing a story-time reading of a book is harder than it sounds, although i have had experience reading to my niece and nephew before. this time, though, it'll be recorded. i'm putting some hope into my digital camera to capture this video. it can't be more than 8 minutes long and i've got a 4gb memory card. i'm sure that'll be enough. anyway, i'm glad this is due next week, as that will give me more time at the end of the semester to get my other 2 projects attention. one is a 12-month programming schedule, breaking down what activities and programs our library would have for children each month. i'm looking at a theme for each month and coming up with book promotions and activities which correspond to the theme. so, i was thinking like "celebrating mother earth" for april (earth day) and maybe japanese heritage month for march, showcasing the national cherry blossom festival. plus, we've got san jose taiko! we could have origami activities for the little ones and a celebration of manga and anime for the older kids. may we could have a viva mexico theme, in accordance with cinco de mayo. we could have mariachis come and play - it would be cool. anyway, just a few thoughts. :D
in the end, though, it doesn't seem like april is going to be as hellish as i originally thought. just gotta take it one step at a time. :)
overall, i'm super happy with my new recipes this week. i think both of them can easily fit into our usual rotation. i wonder if i could find fresh peas for the pasta, rather than frozen. hmm... anyway, there are still a few recipes left in this issue i want to try. i'll post about those as they're made.
+_+_+
i'm at the week-and-a-half mark since starting my new workout routine. my legs are killing me. i haven't done lunges in ages and it really shows. i also think i hyper-extended my elbow while doing bicep curls. it's either that or i've been leaning on that side too much at work (total boredom will do that...). today was my first resting day of the week (my weeks start on monday). i got to sleep in a little and relax all day. my legs really needed the rest. it's back in the saddle tomorrow morning, for my 15 minute bike training sprint. i'm thinking of finding something to tack on the wall for me to look at when i'm on the trainer. of course, i could move it indoors and use the training DVD which came with the trainer. i don't think i'm at that point, though. i think once my body has gotten used to what i'm doing, i might look into integrating the DVD. it seems pretty hardcore...
i've been thinking of what i could do next year to come up with another goal. this year i have the triathlon in august and looking good in my wedding dress for next february. beyond the wedding, i need to keep it up. i need to research what kind of bike tours are available for beginner cyclists. i would ask my sister's brother-in-law, but he mountain bikes, so it's a little different. he and his wife did the AIDS ride from SF to LA, though. i think that would be more of a long-term goal. perhaps i can find something between the 50- and 100-mile range? i think that might be fun. :)
+_+_+
school work, although seeming frantic from last week, doesn't look so bad right now. turns out 2 of the 3 remaining assignments for my library management class are due together on monday. luckily, they're both group projects. one is a paper and another a powerpoint presentation. since my portion of the paper is rather short (listing key initiatives and budget), i offered to put together the powerpoint presentation. it doesn't have to be very long or drawn out. everything is due monday by midnight, so there's plenty of time to get things done. after that, we have our own individual assignment, based on this group assignment. we take on a goal and write an entire paper about how to achieve that goal, what milestones to use and how to fund it. it doesn't seem that bad. i think it's only a 10-15pg paper, which is totally doable.
for my children's programming class, i've got things planned right now so that i'm reading to my niece and nephew the giving tree on sunday evening. my mom's having a family dinner, so it seemed rather easy to get all of us together. i'm hoping it might be possible to stop by my sister's tomorrow to pick up the book, so i can practice before sunday. doing a story-time reading of a book is harder than it sounds, although i have had experience reading to my niece and nephew before. this time, though, it'll be recorded. i'm putting some hope into my digital camera to capture this video. it can't be more than 8 minutes long and i've got a 4gb memory card. i'm sure that'll be enough. anyway, i'm glad this is due next week, as that will give me more time at the end of the semester to get my other 2 projects attention. one is a 12-month programming schedule, breaking down what activities and programs our library would have for children each month. i'm looking at a theme for each month and coming up with book promotions and activities which correspond to the theme. so, i was thinking like "celebrating mother earth" for april (earth day) and maybe japanese heritage month for march, showcasing the national cherry blossom festival. plus, we've got san jose taiko! we could have origami activities for the little ones and a celebration of manga and anime for the older kids. may we could have a viva mexico theme, in accordance with cinco de mayo. we could have mariachis come and play - it would be cool. anyway, just a few thoughts. :D
in the end, though, it doesn't seem like april is going to be as hellish as i originally thought. just gotta take it one step at a time. :)