Category Archives: Food

Food, Teaching

Not a snow day!

Somehow today schools were not canceled.  Though a few students told me they fell on the ice on their way to school.  I was a bit disappointed I actually had to work today, but seriously, there was just a touch of ice. 

I know, I just dove right in there, didn’t I?  Hello, and welcome to tonight’s blog entry.  I taught tons of students today.  I taught two violin classes, one orchestra class, and 7 private students.  I’m very brain dead right now. 

I decided today was a good day to really work with my orchestra on following the conductor.  Up until this point in the year, I’ve been doing quite a bit of piano playing with them rather than conducting.  I do think it’s important to use ears AND eyes in orchestra, so we did scales trying to follow me.  They did pretty well!

I’ve been a bit concerned recently over my right wrist.  I’ve been having pain in it, particularly in the morning, but really whenever I’m bending it.  I think I should probably sleep with my brace on for a few nights, and probably cut out all non-essential wrist activities.  I am actually not blaming the violin at this point, though my wrist is prone to injury due to the violin.  I’ll blame push-ups and other gym activities. 

So, I failed at bread-making last night.

I put the ingredients in and then just let the machine do its thing.  Oops.  I failed to notice I hadn’t properly put the pan in, thusly the little paddle that is supposed to mix the dough didn’t QUITE mix it properly.  So it baked like this.

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Not QUITE what I wanted.  However, I did try a few bites and it seemed like a promising recipe.  I just need to make sure it mixes properly before letting it rise/bake.  Does this still count as a  new recipe for the month?

Food, Teaching

Snowy Sunday

Today we are getting a bit more snow.  After my spinning class I decided to skip the “Yoga for Runners” workshops I had signed up for…it would have meant driving out to Chesterfield and I had already driven past too many cars off the highway (in the ditch!).  Spinning class was all hills today and was seriously tough.  I’m hoping by next week I can figure out how to adjust the darned bike myself instead of needing help each time…it’s harder than it seems, for someone (such as myself) with very little spatial awareness.

Since I was home today instead of yoga-ing, I thought I’d see what baking I could do.  I settled on using my bread machine to make “True 100% Whole Wheat Bread” (page 20 of the manual).  The only ingredients are water, salt, honey, whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten (whatever that is?), and yeast.  The bread machine is working hard right now, and I’m eager to taste the bread later (three hours or so from now).

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A few pictures of my bread machine.  I am pretty happy with it, though I don’t use it nearly often enough (as evidenced by the fact that I had to clean dust and cat hair off of it before using it today.)

I also am basically all caught up on my phone calls and busy work from my trip.  I would say I spent about 2 1/2 hours since getting home on paperwork, which isn’t bad.  I told myself I just had to sit down and DO it.  I am such a procrastinator with some things, and build them up bigger in my mind (or more time-consuming) than they actually are.  Don’t get me wrong, the business aspect of all of this does take time, but I mustn’t let it overwhelm me.

I am entertaining my summer institute plans…(if any) and am considering returning to Ottawa, KS for a Suzuki Teacher workshop.  Susan Kempter (my excellent teacher from last summer) is teaching Book Five—which I’ve already had BUT would gain new perspective.  Or there’s a Kreisler class with Alice Joy Lewis, who is supposed to be a brilliant teacher as well.  Not that I currently have any students doing Kreisler, but hopefully someday.  My other thought has been to attend the Mimi Zweig Indiana University Retreat, for a different perspective.  I know any choices I make will be good ones, as I believe all the options are great.

Okay, time to make dinner, watch a tv show and check out more of the Parents as Partners videos online.  Watching a few videos yesterday is what made me think of the summer institutes.  One big thing to remember:  Listen to the recordings!  Listen to the recordings!  Listen to the recordings!

Tomorrow I’m back to work for real—a busy week ahead! 

Food, Performing

Quick update: HBBC and TV!

This is the last day of the “Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge.”  Now, yes, I find the name totally embarrassing, but it was a great challenge to keep track of all my workouts and to eat more fruits and vegetables.  My total is 239.8.  I think that’s pretty good!  Thanks to Amanda for putting on a great challenge!  AND I didn’t really gain weight over the holidays…maybe some temporary weight but as of two days ago, totally back to pre-Thanksgiving weight. 

Reminder:  Tomorrow morning I will be on television with Chamber Project St. Louis.  We are on the Fox2 morning show at 7 am (Central time).  I’ll be the one playing the violin.  I am also performing with them on a Sunday afternoon concert at the Siteman Cancer Center. 

Today’s lunch:  Sweet Art on 39th Street.  I met my friend Melissa and we both had lentil soup and sandwiches with artichokes and sundried tomatoes.  The wait was long, but worth it!  The cupcakes were very good, though I hear 2011 is the year for pie.  Nobody told the Sweet Art people that. 

Food

Talk or text? and Peanut Butter Banana Bread!

Part 1:

Here’s a prompt I’ve chosen to use for this blog entry:  Do you prefer to talk or text?

I love communication in all forms—in person, over the phone, email, IM, text, writing letters, blogging, etc.  What sort of communication I use is contingent on necessity.  For instance, is it late at night and I need to correspond with somebody regarding playing at their wedding?  I will email.  An emergency cancellation of a student’s lesson one hour beforehand (maybe I’ve gotten a flat tire, maybe I’m throwing up) would require the phone…or a text, but only if I know the parent or student uses texts.  I rarely send the first text.  I let somebody else break the texting ice.  Even in this modern age, some people do not have texting plans, and I really hate to presume.  However, for short snippets of conversation texting is GREAT.  Texting is also good if you know somebody is busy and won’t be able to answer the phone (perhaps they are in rehearsal or teaching or at some other kind of work) but they would pick up their phone to check it every 20 to 30 minutes.

I guess in a nutshell then, I prefer to text.  But I’m happy to talk as well!

 

Part 2:  Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I am currently making a new recipe that I’ve had hanging around for awhile.  I got the recipe from Cooking Light, and have been waiting to use it.  I need to try three new recipes this month (per my goals) so this will be number one.  I am going to presume it is delicious (the batter is very good) and I will let you know if that is NOT the case.  Otherwise, I may not follow up.  *am planning to skip the glaze as it doesn’t seem necessary*

edited to say:  I had two pieces, it’s very good but subtle.  Chris loved it.

Ingredients

  • Bread:
  • 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana
  • 1/3  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
  • 1/3  cup  creamy peanut butter
  • 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
  • 2  large eggs
  • 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
  • 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar
  • 6.75  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/4  cup  ground flaxseed
  • 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
  • 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
  • 2  tablespoons  chopped dry-roasted peanuts
  • Cooking spray
  • Glaze:
  • 1/3  cup  powdered sugar
  • 1  tablespoon  1% low-fat milk
  • 1  tablespoon  creamy peanut butter

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

4. To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread.

Christmas, Food

First Christmas Dinner

Chris and I had a lovely dinner tonight—Ham, Corn Pudding, Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli, Smoky Cheddar Loaf, and for dessert, Egg Nog Tres Leches Cake..  I wanted to make a fancy dinner before we exchanged our gifts (we are heading out of town soon and didn’t want to bring them with). 

I got some neat stuff, but I think it’s too early to share Christmas presents Winking smile  I’ll share later!  Just wanted to say the menu was a great success, and I received some excellent gifts.

I also had a tough workout with Mike—I had to use the gym’s new Stairclimber machine tonight.  That was super tough!  Probably doing a workout today after my 8.5 or so mile run yesterday (soon to be much more precise in measurement—hint of a Christmas gift I may have received) wasn’t the best idea, but with traveling up ahead, you do what you can.

Chris and I did a tad bit of Christmas shopping today.  Ordinarily I hate crowds, and today was definitely crowded.  I decided to tell myself it was fine—it WOULD be crowded, and I would simply accept that as a fact.  That seemed to help me keep from getting annoyed. 

I’m enjoying my Christmas vacation now—I have two whole weeks to relax and not teach violin.  I’m sure when I return I shall be well rested and ready to face the students again.

HBBC:  7 f/v: 1 point, 1 mile walk: 1 point, Workout with Mike:  5 points (way tougher than somedays and more high impact), total: 7 points