Banana-froyo

I tried making frozen bananas into frozen yogurt! Equal parts banana, nonfat yogurt, and 2 tbs of Hershey's cocoa powder--and...It hit the spot! Perfectly filled my ice cream craving. Next time I'll try adding a little peanut butter or some pieces of pretzel I think to spice up the sweet n' salty combo.

Public Gardens

On an afternoon run, I decided to go for something new and headed for the Boston Public Garden which.was.gorgeous. I hardly got a run in because I was taking so many pictures!

Bibimbap Revised

So my previous version of bi bim bap was a little too monotone for my liking...so I whipped up a revised version tonight. Using corn, carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and carrots stir fried in some teryaki sauce over brown rice with a fried egg this take was DEFINITELY a winner!

Bi Bim Bap

In an effort to get some ethnic flavors out of my limited pantry, I worked up a variation of the traditional Korean dish, Bi Bim Bap--which usually looks something like this: 

It's served in a hot clay pot, and usually includes rice, ground beef, pickled seaweed or cucumber, sprouts, a fried egg, and then kimchi-style add ons (that is, pickled veggies ranging from mild to super spicy!). It's really delicious and really healthy to boot! I was having a craving, so I did what I could. Threw together some brown rice, cooked lean grount turkey, summer squash, and a fried egg with some teryaki sauce. It was to Korean what Tex-Mex is to Mexican food, but it was tasty, delicious, and satisfying, so I'm going to go ahead and call it a job well done.

Lazy Friday

I officially played hookie on Thursday and Friday after the Fourth of July...oops! Here's to turning lazy days into rowdy nights, and the life of an upaid internship (aka--makin' my own hours!)

Blue Man

Blue Man Group has a permanent show in Boston, so I finally got around to checking it out. After asking a thousand people to describe it to me, here are the choice things that were in my mind going in: 

"It's like really clever mime"

"It's like a music and light show...with blue men"

"I think they're aliens"

"It's funny...?"

My takeaway--It's a show about aliens trying to make you laugh, make you cringe, and make you dance around in your seat a little! There were a bunch of short scenes that made fun of modern techno-culture, obesity, and the general oddities of human civilization. Mixed in, there was some fun paint-covered drum interludes and even some science, but the grand finale was having giant bouncey balls fall from the ceiling and being draped in streamers from head to toe along with the rest of the audience. I really recommend it as a staple of the Boston interactive-theater scene!

Stadiums

Looking for a good workout? Forget the stairclimber. The serious Bostonian will tackle a "stadium," running up and down all 38 sections of the Harvard University football stadium. People have been doing it for centuries, so I'm officially putting it on my bucket list of things I must do before I tell people I'm in the best shape of my life. 

Apple Chicken & Rice with Sweet Potatoes

My mom used to make us a classic chicken and rice dish, but her's used a creamy mushroom sauce as a base. While delicious, I'm not always prepared for something so heavy. But, in search of "hearth and home" flavors, I went for a sweet and savory take on the classic.


I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They're loaded with fiber and carotene, both power-packing vitamins that put them a head above their plain potato counterparts. Combined with the apples here, their sweet flavor really stands out in complement to the chicken! I paired it with a simple salad for a complete meal.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown rice (dry)
1/2 cup sweet potato, cut in small cubes
1 medium apple (red varieties are best)
1/2 cup diced cooked chicken breast (lean)
1 cube chicken bullion
cinnamon and salt to taste


Cut up your sweet potato and toss it in boiling water until it's soft, but not mushy--it has a little more cooking to do in a bit, so it's ok to be slightly firm. Toss your sweet potato, chicken, and diced apple into a skillet, sprinkle with cinnamon and a little (little!) bit of butter and a pinch of salt. Let that sit stovetop on medium and stir it around every once in a while. While that's happening, cook up your rice, adding the chicken bullion to the water to give it some extra flavor. When the rice is almost done cooking, so there's still some water in the pot, add your skillet mixture. Cover, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
aaand voila! delishiousness!

The Fourth

There's nothing better than fireworks in America's home town. I went to the rooftop of a frat house at MIT to watch the big ka-boom this year after going along the river last year. I think the opportune thunderstorm that began right with the light show really only added to the drama of it, not to mention gave a nice background to the chorus of "God Bless America" that erupted from ours and nearby rooftop choirs. I love Boston.

Day Drinking

"That’s the joy of it: they know they’re getting one over, if just for today. Day drinking is subversive, and springtime — helpmate to idleness and leisure — has a way of making us want to play hooky." - Rosie Schapp, The New York Times

Day drinking comes in all shapes and sizes. The champagne brunch, the morning mimosa, the afternoon delight, the 5 o'clock somewhere, the TGIF pub crawl with co-workers, the poolside daiquiri...but these are all adult breeds of the activity. 


In college, well, that's a different story. Day drinking occurs at greatest force on public holidays and events where collegiates have figured out that the adult world is not going to penalize them--and will actually join in--on some mid-day boozing with them. That might sound judgmental, but I assure you it's merely observation because I LOVE day drinking. There's less hassle about picking out an outfit, zero obligation to wear heels, and usually there's some kind of beach time or grill time involved--all pluses. College day drinking is an event that people gear up for, making full day plans and buckling in. So here I've gathered a few choice varieties of this much-loved activity. 


#1. The Tailgate: the boy scouts of alcoholism. The portability and adaptability factor is key to any tailgate. It's the "i can set up anywhere and my party will still survive" attitude that makes the tailgate so great and such an enduring feature of the college lifestyle. 


#2. The National Holiday: proud to be. The holiday isn't so much the cause so much as enabling factor for this kind of event. Whether it's engendering sudden national pride, ethnic enthusiasm, or even a religious affiliation, it's the freedom from the usual obligations that let's people let go far before the sun goes down. 


#3. The All-Campus event: for bread and circuses. Whenever there is a college sponsored entertainment event--like a spring fling concert, school dance, just anything that might have the potential "lameness" of being a sanctioned form of fun, many collegiates will preemptively turn to a day drink (or keg stand) in both a rebellious and revelrous sign of class participation. 

Improv Asylum

This past weekend, my boyfriend took me to a random basement under a CVS for an "improv comedy show." Things that came into my mind--Who's Line is it Anyway, cheesy jokes, but also potentially awesome jokes, and a cute effort by the boy to do something different. "Activities" aren't really his thing, but he made a whole night of this by taking me to Antico Forno in the North End before and gelato afterwards--both were amazing. The Improv itself? I was amazed. I don't consider myself a particularly funny person, so these guys were super impressive with what they could make up on the fly! And the other members of the audience were the other half of the fun--a bachelorette party, a group from the coast guard, and just some generally rowdy groups that might have been family reunions. They have shows all the time, and I highly recommend it for anything from a first date to a new activity for you and the best buds!