Monday, January 12, 2015

Monday Monday

Two hour delayed arrival due to some icy rain this morning- unnecessary, but I enjoyed sleeping in and lingering over my coffee. Last year, we had something like six snow days but we haven't had any this year. No snow on the ten day forecast either- the highs are in the 50's towards the end of the month!

My volunteer tutoring program starts again tomorrow, after a holiday break. I did this program (with Rita for a year) for four years before grad school, and then started back up again this year, and...I am not enjoying it. I think I am crankier and less energetic than I used to be, but the group of kids I have this year just don't like each other or me, and we don't work well together. The organization itself is also very disorganized. This may be my last year...although I feel bad not doing any sort of volunteer work in the community. I should have spent the weeks off thinking of ways to improve our sessions and make the kids more motivated and eager to learn. Did I do this? Of course not. I will just keep bribing them with candy.

What my filing cabinets actually contain.
Cooking:
I made a chicken, apple, and white bean chili. This recipe sounded a little weird, but someone recommended it and I want to try new things. It was good! I used half of the butter and added a half a jalapeƱo because I like my chili spicy. Although the Harris Teeter chicken broth I used has a bit of a weird flavor. Further proof that it is a terrible grocery store!
Lots of leftovers- I hope it freezes well!

I don't usually crave desserts, but I have an intense desire to make this recipe. I think I would make it with a graham cracker crust. I also want to up the coconut flavor. Would it be better to replace the heavy cream or the milk with coconut milk? (I ask my many readers and commenters out there...ha!)

Exercise:
Well, I walked home, but it is still a little icy and raining for running... I attempted Level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in my living room, but I just feel so terrible doing this to my downstairs neighbors! You can hear and feel EVERYTHING that goes on in this apartment building!

Excited:
The last season of Parks and Rec starts tomorrow! I love Parks and Rec and I think Leslie Knope is a feminist hero. I can often be a cynical person, but I like my TV to be about good people trying to do good things. I mean, shows like Breaking Bad can be great, but they will never be in my heart like Buffy, Friday Night Lights, or even the Office. And Parks and Rec makes that list.

2 comments:

  1. I do not know if you can replace the heavy cream or milk with coconut milk. I will throw this into the mix: there is something called coconut cream. However, your sorry grocery scene does not sound promising for finding something like this. I do not know if it can serve as a substitute but it has the same words as other ingredients. Actually, that's a guess. I didn't look at the recipe.

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  2. I googled it and it seems like I could use coconut milk for the regular milk and coconut cream for the heavy cream- that would be really coconutty!

    • Coconut milk: Coconut milk has the liquid consistency of cow's milk and is made from simmering one part shredded coconut in one part water. Coconut milk is the basis of most Thai curries.

    • Coconut cream: Coconut cream is much thicker and richer. It is made from simmering four parts shredded coconut in one part water. The cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk is also considered coconut cream.

    • Cream of coconut: Cream of coconut is a sweetened version of coconut cream, and is often used for desserts and mixed drinks. Because of the added sugar, it is usually not interchangeable with coconut cream.

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