07 | November | 2012

Good morning world!

Well, I promise this will not be a place where politics is often discussed but I do want to say…Phew! I for one, am glad that President Obama was elected last night. As a woman, I am especially happy with the result, knowing that issues concerning women in the United States (namely reproduction and their own bodies) will be something left to them, and not the Government. Success!

I enjoyed watching the election last night with Chris and it was over much sooner than I had anticipated! While the U.S does tend to over dramatize most things and that can be a bit much for me to take sometimes, the drama around the election actually made it really interesting to watch and was complete with a giant drawing of the USA on ice which was dyed red or blue every time Obama or Romney won a state (OK, maybe that was a bit much!). All in all, it was a fun/scary/interesting time to be in the U.S and I’m happy with the result.

One thing I learned about the election that I wasn’t so thrilled about however was that approximately $6 Billion was spent in campaigning. SIX BILLION DOLLARS!! I just don’t know you justify that. It literally leaves me mind boggled to think of all the things in this world and this country alone that could have benefited from even a fraction of that money. I mean come ooonnnnnn! Not so happy about that little tid bit. Moving on!

……………………………..

Breakfast…

My day started out as most do around here, with a nice breakfast. As you have probably guessed by now, I have seriously been feeling the porridge love the past couple of weeks. Nice hot toasty oats made creamy with some milk and topped with delicious brown sugar…it just doesn’t get any better than that!

I used the usual Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free old-fashioned oats and did them my usual microwave way and then topped with some light brown sugar and another splash of milk. Yummo!

Yes, porridge…again!

And paired with my other breakfast favourite…

Black tea, one sugar…yes please!

Breakfast win.

I also did something very exciting this morning…

I registered for my first ever running race!! Weeeeeeeeekkkk (that was a mixture of excitement and nerves!). On Thursday November 22nd 2012 (Thanksgiving morning), I will be running in the Smiles Change Lives 5K Turkey Trot in Blue Point, New York! Smiles Change Lives is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing necessary orthodontic treatment for children from low-income homes. I’m excited to be running for such a great cause! You can read more about them here, and more about the Turkey Trot here.

Registered!!

I am definitely feeling a mix of excitement and nerves about this one! Here are some things I’m nervous about;

1. We get in to NY at about 11:30pm the night before (sleeeepppyyy)

2. It could be freeeeeezzzziinggg

3. I was buggered (exhausted) after running 2 miles the other day!

Oh well, time to start pounding the pavement (and stock up on warm running clothes!). Chris has promised to come and support me on the day so that already makes me feel better and I’m working on getting my sister-in-law to run it with me…I’ll keep you posted on that one! I also just think it will be a nice way to start off Thanksgiving morning and could even be something that turns into a tradition for us, we’ll have to wait and see.

Well, I am off to explain the importance of using kind words to two unruly little rug rats. Enjoy your day everyone!

Well, today is election day in the US of A! I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many American flags and red white and blue balloons in my life! There is definitely a sense of excitement and anticipation out on the streets in San Francisco. On my way to and from work today, I saw lots of people out and about with ‘I Voted’ stickers, talking to people holding poster boards of their candidates. As someone not from the US originally, it’s exciting to be here for this, but at the same time it’s also kind of nerve-wracking and frustrating. I wish that I could cast my vote for the future of the country that I now call home (for the next little while), but I am just hoping that people make the right choice and am enjoying watching it all unfold.

Here’s one little guy that exercised his right to vote (kinda!).

Lil’ Voter!

Good job little guy!!

Work was pretty uneventful today, but thankfully it was a lot easier than expected. Working over ‘the witching hour’ (5 o’clock) you never really know what you’re gonna get, but I was happy to see that both my little rug rats were being extra sweet today. Days like these make it very easy to go to work!

When I got home from work in the dark (still not used to this!) I was thankful that I’d taken some chicken out to defrost before I went to work, because I’d completely forgotten and was wondering what we do for dinner! I had planned to meet Chris at the polling place just down the street on his way home from work, so before I rushed out I quickly whipped up some breadcrumbs. I had chicken schnitzel on my mind!

I went ahead and broke up some pieces of ~~very~~ slightly old whole wheat bread and popped it in the food processor with a little bit of salt, pepper and ‘italian herbs’ mix. I mixed it up for a minute until it was all ground and bread-crumby. These breadcrumbs were awesome and here’s why…I toasted them! I popped the breadcrumbs on a baking tray and put them in the oven at 350F for about 6 minutes all up (tossing them regularly) until they were just lightly toasted. It’s a little extra step that I think made all the difference in home-made breadcrumb success.

Then I raced out to meet Chris and experience the American democratic process at work first hand.

Voting! Can you spy Annie??

There were no lines so Chris was in and out in no time!

Happy Voter!

And then it was back to the kitchen for me.

I decided to do the chicken schnitty’s (breaded chicken) with some sautéed mushrooms and baby carrots. I did the veggies with just some olive oil on low heat while I got everything else mixed up and ready. At the very end I tossed them with some thyme. Mushrooms and thyme = heaven!

For the chicken, I pounded two breasts nice and flat and then cut them into smaller fillets. I had my stations all set up and ready to go for the dipping, dunking and coating process…

Schnitzel stations…corn starch, egg wash, breadcrumbs.

It goes a little like this… Cornstarch first, egg wash second (two eggs beaten) and breadcrumbs last. Another trick for this that I learned from Chris is to season every station. I tend to under season so I sometimes need to be reminded!

I then just placed the crumbed fillets in a non stick pan with a little oil until they were nicely and lightly browned and cooked through. I served them up with the veggies and it was a dinner success! I think the home-made breadcrumbs really put it over the edge. Yum Yum!