Even though I’ve been at night school now for over a month, it still seems wrong to have class on Friday night…..especially since every Friday night we have practicals. I think that’s just my Chef’s way of making sure we all come to class because the urge is always there to just skip it and start the weekend! I’m feeling more anxious than usual for tonight’s practical because of course the almond filled cake (pathiver) that I totally bombed the other night is on it! I have to make a perfect one of those as well as six vol au vents, 6 turnovers and 12 palmiers (cinnamon/sugar puff pastry cookies). That seems like an awful lot to make and I really don’t feel 100% comfortable with any of it! Hopefully luck will be on my side tonight and my almond cake will not explode in the oven like last time….
Today for a snack I made a delicious smoothie using a tiny frozen banana (about the size of half a huge banana), a couple strawberries, 1 tbsp of ground flax (thanks VeggieGirl!!!!!) and about a half cup of soy milk. It was so creamy and delicious—I ate it with a spoon! It was pretty filling though and left me not that hungry for my usual early dinner. Oh well, good thing I’m the type of person that can always eat. I must have some sort of hollow leg.
Last night when I got home from school I set some chickpeas out to soak then I cooked them off this morning when I woke up so I could enjoy them for dinner! I made a tasty pasta dish using 2.5 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti, some broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, 1/2 cup of chickpeas and organic tomato sauce…I sprinkled a little nutritional yeast on top and Voila! Delicious! It was such a huge pasta mountain though and even though I felt full midway through…I kept eating til there was none left! That’s not a good thing to do because you really shouldn’t stuff yourself but I need fuel for my practical tonight and, hey, stuffing yourself with good-for-you food is different than stuffing yourself with Mcdonalds. 😉 The protein and fiber in this meal will DEF. keep me going all night long!
Of course I’m bringing two of my chocolate peanut butter cookies with me to school to have for dessert later. It would be some sort of sin not to!
Ashley H
March 14, 2008 at 9:34 pmwhat is nutritional yeast?
That dinner looks great by the way. Pasta and chickpeas maybe one of the greatest combos ever!!
Romina
March 14, 2008 at 10:13 pmBeautiful pasta mountain! That’s my kind of pasta… loaded with everything. =)
Your smoothie sounds delicious! I just made something similar and I’m sipping on it now, except I put some hemp protein powder. Strawberries and bananas were made to be together.
VeggieGirl
March 14, 2008 at 10:14 pmIt IS wrong to have class on a Friday night – too bad your class isn’t offered at a more reasonable hour! :0( Try not to be nervous – I’m sure you’ll do tremendously well on your next practical. Best of luck tonight!!
Your smoothie looks fabulous (your very welcome, Jenna! haha) – I use those same POM glasses for smoothies too!! :0D
Mmm, delicious-looking pasta dish – that’ll DEFINITELY keep your fueled/energized for your class; as will that chocolate-p.b. cookie ;0)
erica
March 14, 2008 at 11:10 pmyum, that’s definitely my kind of dinner! and those chocolate-pb cookies look irresistable; i’ll have to make them myself this weekend. 😉
i’m always curious, how much oil do you add to the pan to saute your veggies?
Laura
March 15, 2008 at 12:06 amCan someone post the cookie recipe (post below)?? Im dying to try it and I dont have money to buy the book!
lizzie
March 15, 2008 at 12:40 amdoes anyone know a ballpark estimate of how how many calories are in a whole foods vegan cookie? thanks!
Aimee H.
March 15, 2008 at 12:41 amThere’s nothing like carb-and-veggilicious goodness =)
Kel Lee Leee
March 15, 2008 at 12:47 amHey Jenna, I don’t know if you already posted this before, but how did you reheat your chickpea patties? Did you defrost them overnight, or did you just heat them up straight from the freezer? I’m just trying to figure out the best way to do this!
LolaFunk
March 15, 2008 at 1:56 amOh Jenna, I love pasta!!!
Just a notice: I finally have my blog up and running yayyyyyy!
:):):)
Betsy
March 15, 2008 at 2:01 amI agree-class on Friday night is definitely not right! Your teacher is mean 😉 I hope you enjoy it though! You’ll do wonderful on your practical…as far as I could see, over the internet, everything you made looked ab fab!! Happy weekend!
Krista
March 15, 2008 at 3:20 amGood Luck on your practical tonight Jenna~ you’ll do great your baked breads always look amazing! Are you going into cakes classes next because I am in Cakes right now and am going into bread classes next…(I am also in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking)!
Also about the wonton wrappers for catering..they are awesome! I actually used them last time I catered and put Ahi tuna on them raw(sushi grade of course!) and cucumber and toasted sesame seeds and a rice vinegar infused little dipping sauce and they were a huge hit! I cant wait to hear how it goes for you!!
Caroline
March 15, 2008 at 4:30 amHi Jenna! Your pasta mountain looks amazing–especially for a volume eater like me! Anyway, I have a quick question for you. I am currently a college sophomore and my only access to a kitchen is a microwave and a mini-fridge. I know that you were in college not too long ago, so I was wondering if you have any tips for dorm cooking/healthy eating? I am finding that I am getting burnt out on campus foods, so I wanted to see if I could try some new ways to prepare healthful foods myself.
Kristin
March 15, 2008 at 12:38 pmHey Caroline, I know your post was directed towards Jenna- but I asked this question a while ago and here was the reponse she gave me:
“I feel your pain! I hated living in a dorm room! Go buy some gardenburger veggie burgers, some amy’s frozen meals, some yogurts, cottage cheese, fruit and veggies and you have the premise for a bunch of meals. You could put tomato sauce on a veggie burger and melt some cheese on top of that and its almost like a “chicken parmesan” but not. I like it and still make it even now when I have “real” kitchen! You can always make a fruit plate too with tons of fruit, cottage cheese, crackers and almonds maybe. That could stand in for a light lunch. Dinners are harder because you dont have a stove….and I hate the microwave! But when you dont have a choice you have to get creative….You can cook pasta in the microwave and also eggs in a pinch. Pasta dressed up with some marinara sauce and steamed veggies is always a good option. To tell you the truth: when I was in a dorm I ate a ton of peanut butter sandwiches! There are cookbooks you can buy though that have specific dorm recipes in them..I have seen them. I suggest going on amazon and searching some out because cooking is always a much better, tastier, cheaper and healthier option than most dining halls!!!” (Jenna)
I’m also in college, a dietetics major, and working on eating healthy and balanced with just a mini fridge and micro- I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but if you click on my name you’ll find my blog, maybe some of my ideas interest you?
http://kristinsnibbles.blogspot.com
Hope that helps, good luck!
Kristin
Caroline
March 15, 2008 at 6:00 pmThanks, Kristin! Your blog looks great…I am excited to have a new food blog to follow!