Slavin' Away

Yesterday was a pretty hectic day for me and the pouring rain did not help. My daily work commute should only take 20 minutes, but the rain turned it into a 45 min commute. I was not a happy camper especially since I was already in a rush to get home for a quick dinner before heading off to class. After class, I headed home where I slaved away in the kitchen for 2 hours to prepare the family's meals for the rest of the work week. I had 2 heads of Taiwanese cabbage that was on life support since we bought it like a week ago. We usually just steam the cabbage and call it a day but I wanted to sex it up a bit this time. One head of cabbage was steamed per usual but the other head of cabbage received special treatment in the oven. After a nice bath to get rid of dirt and bugs, I chopped it in half and then quartered it. Then, I brushed a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and season oil onto each section. Originally, I had planned on letting them roast in the oven at 425 degrees for about 24 min. BUT, my smoke detector kept crying because it's not used to our house being so fragrant. So, I gave up, turned off the oven after 8 min and prayed that the remaining heat in the oven would be enough. It was =)
Meanwhile, I chopped up some asparagus and carrots, coated it with EVOO, seasoned it with salt and pepper and pan roasted them for about 5 min per side. I also sliced up a box of medium firm tofu and coated each side with curry powder, salt, and pepper. I pan roasted that as well for about 7 min per side. Lunch & dinner accomplished!

No prep work was needed for this morning's breakfast because my sister and I decided to spend some quality sister-bonding time at Corner Bakery Cafe. We haven't really hungout in awhile because we have both been super busy (her more so than me). We each ordered a cup of cafe au lait and we shared their new avocado & spinach power panini thin dish as well as their chilled swiss oatmeal.

Cafe au lait is my go-to coffee drink and I really like Corner Bakery's version.

It was particularly tasty with cacao bits that I smuggled in with me.

The panini was good but we both agreed that we wouldn't order it again. The sandwich itself is miniscule and the panini is so thin that it's not constructively sound.

The chilled swiss oatmeal was pretty good.

Especially with some cacao bits on top =)



Overall, both dishes were yummy but I didn't find them to be as filling as my normal homemade oatmeal dishes.  Good thing I have a banana, kumquats, and some more cacao bits to tide me over until lunch. =)

Tonight, I'm taking my first ever cooking class at Whole Foods tonight. I'm pretty excited because the theme is protein, samples and recipes will be provided, and most importantly, it's FREEE!!!!!! I hope to have a lot of good pics to post tomorrow. =)