zucchini lasagna

inspired by kiki's tj stir fry, i set off to tj's to get everything i needed for zucchini lasagna. turns out, the recipe is basically meant for a tj's shopping trip. or possibly that's how it's always packaged, but i'm liking my reasoning better.

you may remember the mtv reality show the hills. it was on for a few seasons and followed a girl from laguna beach to la. somewhere along the way she met a lot of ridiculous people and ended up bailing on the show before it's run ended. while the rest of the cast is hanging on to the spotlight for dear life (those of us on the left coast are fully aware it's too cold to really be on the beach in a bikini in march) lauren "lc" conrad stepped out of it and built a fashion house (at khol's and boutiques), written some young adult books (nyt best sellers) and maintains 2 websites (beauty and lifestyle). why should you care? you probably shouldn't, but, it's where i found the recipe. i feel like i just got to my point much like billy from the family circus comic gets from the backyard to the house.

goop's chicken salad

i cannot grill chicken. seriously, i suck at it. i'm probably using all the wrong pans or oils or something, but i seriously can't get it right. i've used a cuisinart griddler a few times, did alright, but i have no room for that in my apt. i've poached it but only when shredding it to add to chicken casserole b/c the look of it disturbs me. a few people suggested i cook it in the oven instead and for this culinary attempt, i did just that.

ready for the oven

"go super stores!" or "hurray for the not-so-little guy"

a few weeks back i planned an epic battle royale of the grocery options in my life. it turned into, f-it, i'll just walk to trader joe's. just about every sunday at 4pm, i grab my reusable bag, call my mom and walk 7 blocks over and 2 blocks up to my trader joe's. we chat along the way, sometimes in the store, quietly, but never while i'm checking out. if she's not available i'll put in a pod cast and laugh a little too loudly "to myself." i'm totally focused, the ultimate multi-tasker. if the other shoppers would focus more on their shopping and less on looking at me with the "she's one of those ipod people," they wouldn't run into me or the other shoppers. i'm watching where i'm going!

ok, that took a dark turn, back to my original point: to shop at a super store or a smaller grocery store. for a few months i'd been taking one evening every other week and driving out to target. my reasoning was that they had the stuff i don't usually buy at the grocery store: toilet paper, paper towels, the occasional superhero t-shirt. this week, as i made my list of what to get at target, i couldn't really justify the trip. everything i'd put in the "target" column of my excel grocery file (i'll show you in a moment) i realized could be purchased closer to my apt at tj's or albertson's, i was basically just going there b/c i needed toilet paper and it is usually a better deal. totally not worth the drive. i went to tj's instead and i gotta say, i think it's about the same price. not as plush as my cottonelle (the puppy is so cute!) but, it'll do. i'll save the target trips for when i need a prescription refilled or for when they have a really good deal, like this shiny new shelving unit i put in the kitchen.

please ignore the bags of recycling, the day got away from me

roasted chickpeas

you may notice the above title is a little, um, boring. i've been doing a lot of food fixin' lately and there just aren't enough rocky n bullwinkle themed titles to go around. so from now on, unless there's a soap box to stand on, i'm sticking to boring old "name of what i made."

moving along. i've been enjoying my little afternoon snacks. they keep me from going all hulk smash! at the end of the day. the energy bars are awesome but after 2 weeks, i needed a little change up. enter the roasted chickpeas.

"earning it" or "deserving it" celebrity edition

new book due out in april

recently there's been a lot of talk in my office about haters. especially women hating on women. i'm guilty of this during every broadcast sporting event. as a woman who loves sports i am all for women being integrated into the male dominated field of sports broadcasting. what i'm not for, are the networks putting a woman on the game coverage when she clearly is only there for her pleasing looks. that being said, i love pam ward, she knows her sports.

i'll move away from sports and on to food, cause i love food. i feel like women, more often than men, are the target of cook book hate. from rachel ray to pippa middleton to gwenyth paltrow, if it isn't a complicated chem lab a-la martha stewart, it just isn't good enough.  i wonder, if george clooney did a cook book would he be judged so harshly?

while stumbling around the interwebs one day i discovered goop.com, gwenyth paltrow's personal blog. she's been a health nut for a few years and while i'm not into cupping (ew), macrobiotic or cleansing, i can get on board with healthier versions of the foods i already love.