Kat: Easy Like Sunday Morning

I think it's a fact at this point; we are all ridiculously busy on a daily
basis. I could go into how I just want to drop everything right now
and move to Coasta Rica a al Toby Flenderson, but I'll save you from that.


Many people get caught up in their crazy schedules and don't take the time to think about food;
especially breakfast first thing in the morning. I constantly hear my friends and co-workers
talk about how they don't have time for breakfast, or even ::gasp:: that eating it will make them fat.

I call their bluff.

Number one, it is proven that eating a good
breakfast (not just coffee and a handful of cereal) jump-starts your
metabolism, thus you actually burn more calories throughout the
day. Just think about it; you haven't eaten for about 8 hours at the
time you wake up. Your body is in famine mode and tries to
conserve energy by storing fat. If you don't eat in the mornings, you are
encouraging your body to store the fat you ate the day before!

Now, I think the key to a successful breakfast (eating and eating healthfully) is planning ahead. Here are my three favorite easy breakfasts.


1) Oatmeal. It's fast, easy, delicious, nutritious, and the topping
possibilities are endless!

My standard cooking formula:
1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. soy/rice milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 banana, thinly sliced

Bring water, milk, & banana to a simmer. Stir in oats. Simmer until grain is cooked to taste.

More about oats


2) Eggs are always a favorite, but in lieu of grabbing a greasy egg
mcmuffin (HFCS much??), I like to make a crust-less quiche on my day off and stash it in the fridge so that I can have a delicious & quick egg sandwich on the weekdays...and a serving
or two of vegetables without even thinking about it!

Eggs (2 x's the number of days you plan to eat the dish, I usually do 8 eggs = 4 breakfasts)
2 cups of greens (kale or spinach)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 to 3 cups of veggies, chopped (I have used tomatoes, zucchini, squash, eggplant, bell peppers; basically whatever I have in the fridge!)

1. Saute garlic and onions in an oiled pan until onions are tender
2. Add all veggies except tomatoes, if you are using them. Saute until tender.
3. Add greens and saute until wilted
4. Add the tomatoes and saute for only 1 minute.
5. Pour mixture into an oiled baking dish.


6. Break eggs into a small bowl and wisk like you would for making scrambled eggs. Pour eggs slowly over the vegetables.

7. At this point, I would crumble some cooked bacon or cheese on top if I choose to use any.
8. Bake at 375* until eggs are browned on the top.
9. Let cook for 15 minutes, then cut into single servings and store in tupperware (in the fridge) for the week.


It's surprising how well the eggs keep! All you have to do is heat a serving in the oven for a couple of minutes while you're getting ready. Slap it on toast or an english muffin, and you're ready to go!

3) homemade granola:

I also make this ahead of time on my day off. During the week, I scoop half a cup of on some yogurt and eat!

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canola oil
1 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 325*
2. Combine oats, walnuts, seeds, coconut, flax, and pumpkin pie spice
3. In a small saucepan, combine honey and oil. heat on low and stir until thoroughly mixed
4. Pour oil mixture over oat mixture and stir until evenly combined
5. Spread onto two baking sheets and place in oven for 20/30 minutes....until browned
6. Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container

Jenna: Easy Like Sunday Morning

I've been doing a lot of thinking on a difficult subject, lately. Since coming back from my trip abroad, I've been questioning a lot of decisions in my life, looking at relationships, job responsibilities, my world in general and searching for the passion and excitement I used to have for the world around me. The truth is, the change of perspective, that traveling warranted me...the necessity of standing on my own two feet and experiencing a completely new environment, awakened a sense of adventure inside of me that had been snoozing for quite some time.

So how does this relate to this post, 'Easy Like Sunday Morning'? I've been taking a long look at some of the situations in my life and have come to realize that I have fallen into the trap of doing what's 'easy' for me, and not necessarily what is making me happy. As this applies to relationships...I've been in one. One that's constantly sending me back to the drawing board and questioning whether or not it's the right thing. I care about this guy, we have a history, and there's no doubt that we've shared a lot in the years that we've known each other and dated off and on. There's something incredibly comfortable and easy about being with someone you know and who knows you very, very well. Someone with whom you don't have to make conversation all the time...that you can just make dinner and watch a movie with and sleep next to at night.

I started asking myself why I was with him. What I got out of the relationship. Did we enjoy the same things? Were we genuinely interested in one another's lives? Did we deal with difficulties and challenges like adults that are committed to making a relationship work? Did we love each other, really, after all this time? I couldn't answer any of these questions the way I knew, deep down, I should be able to. Unfortunately, difficult questions just don't have easy answers.

No doubt, I've gotten lost in the ease of it all. And even though I haven't been happy exactly for awhile...I've been too scared of the great unknown, the inevitable pain that comes from ending a relationship, and the fear of missing him to do anything about it. But a few months of looking at the bigger picture has led me to a different place. I have way too much living to do to take the easy road right now. I will choose happiness over just getting by. And even though it's scary not to know what lies ahead, I know I'll sleep better at night knowing I got myself out of an lukewarm situation.

Don't get me wrong...endings are sad, no matter what the circumstances are. But I'm done doing what's easy. I'm ready to pay attention to what will bring me passion and joy. I figure I'll start with my love life...and then take it from there.

Random Recipe of the Week: Two Bean Tempeh Stir-Fry

Like every other stir-fry, this dish comes together very fast in the end, but the prep takes a few minutes. Prepare the tempe, sauce and chop all of your vegetables before you even heat up your large frying pan. The trick to a good stir-fry is to not over cook your vegetables!

1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut to about 2" pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup cooked beans (I used pintos, but you could try anything)
1 package tempeh
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup arrowroot starch (you can also use cornstarch)
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tbsp olive oil

Prepare tempeh:
If you haven't used tempeh before, don't worry, it's easy to prepare (you could actually just eat it right out of the packaging) and it never fails to surprise me how delicious it is!

1. Bring a small pot of water to boil
2. Cut tempeh into 1/2" strips
3. Place tempeh into boiling water. Turn down temperature slightly and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Drain, then place in a heated & oiled frying pan.
5. Drizzle tempeh with a small amount of soy sauce
6. Saute for a few minutes on two sides. When browned, remove from heat.

Prepare sauce:
1. In a small bowl mix together water, tomato paste, soy sauce, starch, red pepper, and ginger. Set aside.

Start stir fry:
1. Heat large frying pan with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. When pan is hot, add onion and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the green beans. Saute for about 5 minutes (make sure they are still crunchy!)
4. Add tempeh, beans, and tomatoes. Stir to combine.
5. Pour in the sauce and stir to cover all the vegetables.
6. Let the sauce boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat. Let the dish sit for couple of minutes; the sauce will thicken.


You can serve this on top of noodles, rice, or any grain. I ended up serving it over some leftover spagetti squash, which I highly recommend! It added a little bit of sweetness to dish. Delightful!

Kat: Sabotage

I've said it before and I'll say it again.....I get really anxious whenever I try a new recipe or culinary technique. I have taught myself to make yogurt, sushi, and I finally got into the swing of cooking meat after having been a vegetarian for eleven years. Even though most of my attempts turned out successfully, there are occasional few that do not; which totally ruin my confidence. Taking risks makes for an interesting life, and not letting your nerves sabotage your decisions is the key to confidence.

I've been avoiding cooking a whole chicken for about a year now, just because I am scared of failing and disappointing whoever will be joining me for dinner. My curiosity has gotten the better of me, however, and I finally took the leap. I now present to you my first ever attempt...

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (I used a free-range, vegetarian fed, antibiotic free 3.5 lb-er)
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp salt & pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp poultry seasoning (this mix included thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, pepper & nutmeg)

1. If your chicken is frozen, let it thaw in the fridge for two days
2. Preheat oven to 450*
3. Rinse chicken in cool water then pat down with a paper towel (this is supposed to remove most bacteria) & remove the bag of "stuff" from inside the chicken
4. Mix spices in a small bowl then get your hands dirty by massaging the outside of the chicken with butter and then again with the spice mixture


5. Place a small amount of butter inside the chicken along with the whole cloves of garlic
6. Put chicken on a lightly oiled baking or roasting pan
7. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven temperature to 350* and continue to cook for 20 minutes per pound of your bird

And the results after all of worried buildup...


...INCREDIBLE!

This was probably the best chicken that I've ever eaten in my life. The trick of cooking the bird on high and then lowering the temp worked like a charm; the skin was crisped to perfection. My boyfriend was completely overjoyed and could not stop 'mmmm'-ing through the entire meal.

To round out the feast, I sauteed some fresh kale leaves and tomatoes together with garlic and leeks.

Small culinary victories like this do wonders for my spirit. It encourages me to try new things and keeps me excited about teaching myself new tricks. Maybe someday I'll be able to pick up the spatula with the confidence and not worry about failure.

Question for the readers: What culinary technique intimidates you the most??

Jenna: Sabotage

I have a definite tendency towards sabotaging myself...it's undeniable. I cut things off at the pass before they have a chance to truly get going. I undertake a personality my future roommate and I have coined as "crazy girl" and ask too many questions, make too many assumptions, and live out the beginning, middle, and sordid end of dating scenarios in my head before they have any chance to play themselves out in real life. I usually just make the decision that things are probably not going to work out anyway and it takes all of the pressure off my subsequent behavior. Which is defeatist and ridiculous in nature because I'm usually more scared of things actually working out than anything else. This nature is synonymous with neurotic Jew from Brooklyn with a fear of commitment. But I digress.

I was working on another internet date. Rather, an actual real life date with someone I'd been conversing with via the internet. I was still not paying for dating on the internet, but I hadn't given up on it completely, and being a part of the scene at the Onion personals isn't all that much to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, this present prospect seemed kind of promising. He got in touch with me, we'd exchanged a few emails, the banter was good, and he seemed intelligent and confident. He earned brownie points for asking lots of questions and seeming interested in what I do as an artist. I'm kind of psyched to meet this dude, he seems pretty cool.

Enter dramatic irony. Or grand coincidence. Or the world being way too small sometimes. My online friend, in our correspondence, had been offering pertinent details about his life, as well. Including a general description of his job and the fact that he worked in Brooklyn. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say, from his description, I figured out that he worked for the same establishment as my mother. Not just at the same place, but in the same department/area/field...meaning that my mother MOST LIKELY had some kind of daily (or at least bi-weekly) interaction with this dude. Clearly, this is a fact that I must keep to myself. At least for now. Better to go out with the guy and see what's up before I get into the, guess what you totally know my mother nonsense. Not to mention the threat of guilt by association. But as the week and a half crawled by, I found my impatience getting the best of me. I wanted to know if my mother did, in fact, know the guy and, if so, what she had to say about him. Despite the fact that I knew I'd be opening a can of worms and unleashing my mother with this knowledge in the work place. Something I would probably regret. I knew it was a bad decision. I knew I should keep my mouth shut. But patience has never been among my virtues and the absolute worst thing about going on a 'blind' date is not having ANY idea what to expect. The uncertainty drives me INSANE. So, I break down and call my mom, explaining the coincidence and inquiring about the gentleman in question. She's uncertain of his identity (though she has a feeling who he might be and has only nice things to say), but confirmed that she'd do a bit of incognito reconnaissance. My mother is not the most subtle person. I beg and plead with her not to say or do anything that might imply that we've had the conversation we just had. I implore her on behalf of potential happiness. I know I've done a bad thing, one that I will probably live to regret. But I get bored without a challenge, and heaven forbid my mother should blow up my spot, the kind of guy I'm looking for would be able to laugh at the whole situation, right?

Maybe not. Maybe I'd just look crazy. Or my mom would look crazy. Or all of the above. Suffice it to say, the story never came to meaningful fruition and I actually never wound up going out with this guy. The point is that sometimes it's best just to let things lie. And not try to muck them up before they ever have a chance to play themselves out on their own. I really ought to stop betting against myself as far as these things are concerned...maybe then I'll have more control over the odds.

We're Bringing Sexy Back...

Ladies and gentlemen...back by popular demand...is Table for One!

My sincerest apologies to all who have been anxiously awaiting our return. Much has changed, life does that thing where it moves too fast and you look back a year later and wonder what on earth has happened for the past several months.

We went on crazy vacations, Kat went back to school, I traveled the world (well, Greece and Israel, at least), and we're both having a grand old time. Growing up is weird, huh?

But we're back again this fall, with more crazy adventures and food for you to read all about. Some topic you'd like to see us cover? Zany suggestions? Things we can do to make this blog more fun for you to read? Email us at jenna.tableforone@gmail.com or kat.tableforone@gmail.com and let us know.

Get ready for a whole lotta table for one. Coming back atcha.

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Turkey Fritters

So, I know that it's been a million years since Jenna and I have posted, but we promise to get back to it ASAP (if anyone is still reading!!).

To make up for it, here is a quick recipe that I was saving to post during the holiday season, but Eggland's Best beat me to it. Check it out on their website.

Spicy Egg Salad

Hello ladies and gents! It's been awhile! Jenna and I are in the weeds of life; we're balancing a new apartment, new kitten, 1 full-time job, 2 part-time jobs, 1 Microbiology class, and countless rehearsals/performances between us. Can you guess who is doing what?! We hope to be back in the swing of things soon, so stay tuned!!

In the meantime, I am still cooking and enjoying delicious food. One of my favorite creations recently was made possible by Eggland's Best. EB and Foodbuzz sent me a sample of, what else, EGGS! EB attached a note that listed the benefits of their eggs verses "regular" ones. Their hens are fed a vegetarcian and all natural diet (which is good, because I refuse to by eggs that are not veggie fed). Since their diet is well-maintained, EB's eggs contain a higher nutritional value, including more Vitamin D (bones & muscles), B-12 (nervous system), A (eyes & tissues), riboflavin (energy), and healthy saturated fat (heart health). Sounds good to me, now let's see how they taste!


....delicious! I honestly couldn't tell a difference between EB and my regular choice of Trader Joe eggs, but then again, I didn't do a side-by-side taste test. These EB eggs definitely boiled very well and tasted delightful in this recipe:

Spicy Egg Salad

4 boiled Eggland's Best eggs, roughly chopped
1/3 cup low-fat mayo
2 tbsp mustard (i used TJ's garlic mustard)
1 tsp horseradish
1 carrot, shredded
1 stalk of celery, diced
2 green onions, chopped
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT the eggs in a medium bowl.
2. Gently fold in eggs
3. Refrigerate until serving, but at least for 30 minutes.


I toasted some whole wheat bread and made sandwiches for lunch. They were delightful. The boyfriend and I couldn't get enough!

Kat: Pasta Salsa Soup

The nice people at foodbuzz and pace sent me a couple of jars of salsa to try out...and I used them both so quickly that this is the only picture that I got of either jar! I used the first during my holiday potluck party in a recipe that I picked up from our college roommate, Rachel. Simple and the hit of the party....

1 jar of salsa
1/4 cup lite cream cheese
1 cup cooked black beans
-mix, heat through on the stove, serve and enjoy. Best. Dip. Ever.

THANKS RACH!!

I used the next jar in an experimental soup that turned out pretty damn delicious.


1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cup vegetable stock
3 cups water
basil, hot pepper flakes, oregano, salt & pepper to taste
1 jar pace salsa
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 cups cooked pasta

1. Saute onions and garlic in a splash of oil until translucent. Add carrots and celery, saute until tender.
2. Add water, stock, and spices. Simmer for 10/15 minutes.
3. Add salsa, tomato, and beans, heat through.
4. Add pasta then check seasoning.

This makes a LOT of servings....perfect for packing lunches!


I found the Pace salsa pretty yummy. It has a good texture, not too thick/not too thin, and it was very fresh tasting. I also loved that the medium actually had a kick to it....I usually find that I have to add hot sauce to most other brands. I like it hot!!