Anna Maria Locke

The. Best. Invention. EVER!

AnnaComment
I am kind of obsessed with random but fun kitchen gadgets
(mini crockpot anyone?? 2 kinds of omelette makers? do I really have to wait years until my bridal registry to get a food processor???)
and when I heard about this thing called the SPIRALIZER I for some reason couldn't resist ordering one off Amazon ASAP! It is this thing that you can use to basically cut vegetables into noodle shapes or very thin chips.
People who eat a raw diet (only raw produce, nuts, etc. with the idea that cooking food destroys its nutrient value) use it to make "pasta" and veggie noodle salads.
I use it...because it's AWESOME and I LOVE VEGETABLES!
I busted it out for the first time last night and introduced it to some zucchinis.
It looks like a veggie guillotine or torture device of some sort.
(which is basically what it is...)


Why yes, little zucchini, you are traveling down the Spiral Path.
...of DEATH!

You just stick your vegetable or fruit on the spikes between the twirly handle and the blade and spin the handle! The blades are sharp (safety hazard!) so they cut very easily.

And watch the NOODLES appear!

OH MY GOODNESS SO MUCH FUN!
It's like those old play-doh machines, only for FOOD!

And there you have it, a bowl full of zucchini noodles. 
I only used one zucchini because it produced a ton.
Curly like my hair!
You can then use your noodles to make something delicious,
like zucchini pasta in a bowl

This was so delicious.
If you want to re-create, I mixed together in my biggest pot
-sliced garlic chicken sausage
-chopped garlic
-onion
-1/2 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
-frozen broccoli and carrots
-sploosh of pasta sauce
-can of pinto beans
-various spices including but not limited to:
red pepper flakes
salt/pepper
oregano
garlic salt

DELICIOUS!
The noodles taste like very al dente spaghetti.
And you can feel very virtuous for eating vegetables instead of refined carbs!!

There are 3 different blade attachments for the spiralizer; I used the thin noodle one. There's a thick noodle one (curly fries?) and a slicer one (dried apple chips?)

If you have been sold by my little blogomercial and raving, let me know and I'll tell you how to buy your Very Own Spiralizer.


Color Explosion

AnnaComment
I feel like this blog has a pretty strong Autumn theme going on...
I just can't help it!
I have fallen in love with this season, for some reason.
I usually cling on to summer and think of fall as the harbinger of doom (aka the dreaded winter)
But this year is different.

I have completely wiped our little winter weekend from my memory.
Today was positively BALMY!
We're talking, high 50's/low 60's, pure sunshine.
I had a hard time getting out of the house this morning, not wanting to face the day of WORK and PAPER WRITING, and I stretched my walk across campus as looooong as possible.

Taking in all of THIS


and some roses survived the snow!

beautiful


During lunch, my labfriend Nancy and I escaped our windowless cave to walk through downtown so she could hit up Jimmy John's and I could stop by the (small but still awesome) Tuesday Farmer's Market.
To get my latest addiction: sweet bell peppers!
because
Organic red bell at grocery store=$4 (!!!!!)
Organic red bell @ farmer's market = $0.75
score!

It was ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS OUTSIDE

Now I have to try to focus to slap together a paper for Forest Geography due tomorrow
A write-up of one of our mini-research project field trips
It should be no big deal, since it is an undergrad class, this is our first paper, he basically TOLD us exactly what to write, I have written scientific articles gazillions of times before, and not to mention I will be expected to write a freakin thesis in a few months
but...I still get writer's anxiety.
Not writer's block, but an inability to mentally FACE THE WRITING PROCESS!!!
and an easily distracted mind.
grrrr.


Return of Fall

AnnaComment
Fall is back YAY!
Just like that, all the snow melted in one day.
Thank goodness.




Ben came up to visit me again :)
I wanted to go on a huge hiking trip to take in all the gorgeous fall colors in the mountains
BUUUT then the winter storm extravaganza crushed my visions.
(They even had to ban tailgating for the homecoming football game...lame!)

It was kind of fun to pretend Christmas was coming
(ONLY because I knew it would warm up again this week)
I baked amazing cookies
We hung out with new friends
Did a lot of cozy nothing
Ate pumpkin pancakes
and made
BENANNA CREAM PIE!


 [aka ghetto-fab homemade graham cracker crust with sliced bananas and REAL whipped cream squirted on top, silly-string-style]

I don't know if I'm ready to face another week! Back to "reality"...sigh.