leslie's random shiznizzle

Make My Own Veggie Burgers - Check!

Last night I made these awesome BLTA burgers (with homemade vegan bacon bits!).  If you love sandwiches, go to that site and make these.  I don't care if you're a carnivore that ONLY eats meat, I don't see how you won't love these.  They were so so good.  Not really bacon-y, but they reminded me of Boca chicken patties, which I love but now refuse to buy since I don't buy pre-made stuff anymore (or at least try not to, and I definitely say I don't even if I actually do - you know how it is).  If you need help finding the ingredients, try Whole Foods (if you're rich and don't care about getting majorly ripped off) or your local hippie-ish market.
 
To go along with the burgers, I made fried artichoke hearts that were worth dying for.  Well, I dredged them and got them all ready, and Adam fried them.  He is the master of frying things, as I have mentioned before.  They were totally awesome, I highly highly doubt any restaurant could make them as tasty as I did.  All I did was:  Take artichoke hearts packed in water, not oil, and quarter them.  Dip them in milk or buttermilk or milk with vinegar in it to make fake buttermilk.  Then, dip them in plain white flour.  Then, dip them in milk again.  Then, dip them in Panko breadcrumbs.  Then, let them sit in the fridge for like four hours (I don't know if this is necessary, but that's what I did).  Then, fry them in a cast iron skillet in canola oil until they're brown on all sides - this happens quite quickly.  Then, dip them in Ranch, ketchup, or any other sauce of your liking.  Delectable.
 
No pic, I was too busy scarfing.

The Best Part Of Working Out

Strawberry_soccer

You know what the best part of working out hardcore is?  That's right, you get to eat whatever you want, guilt-free!  Tonight is my first night back with my indoor soccer team...it is going to be pure death.  To celebrate (and because we have four pounds of fresh strawberries right now) I have a homemade lemon pound cake in the oven as I type.  If I survive soccer, I will be rewarded with a delicious slice of pound cake, topped with whipped cream and strawberries.  There is no better motivation to work out, my friends.  However, there will still be a whole cake, minus one slice and whatever my old man gets, left....so, I'll have to figure out some other way to earn another slice tomorrow.  Looks like I'll be ripping my body, and running six miles*.

Note:  Even if I wasn't playing soccer tonight, I probably still would've made this cake.  But then I would've had to Dobby myself from the guilt.  Ah, to be an American woman!

*"Rip my body and run six miles" does not literally mean running six miles.  Rip my body = hardcore lifting of weights.  Run six miles = hardcore aerobic activity, which can be running six miles (in my old man's case), or be doing something less than that (in my case - I don't run unless playing sports or while being chased).  My old man and I have an agreement where we can only eat at Soup Plantation (conveniently located by the gym) after we rip our bodies and run six miles...it is the sweetest Soup Plantation there is, you should try it.

My Fave Citrus Fruit

Caracara

 

I bought a bag of these cara cara navel oranges, a.k.a. pink oranges, at the store last week.  They are similar to blood oranges in size, but instead having blood-colored insides, the inside is deep pink.  I know it looks orange in the pic, but trust. The flavor is also different from blood oranges - pink oranges are really sweet, and hardly acidic at all.  Plus, there are no (or few) seeds!  Mmm...I'm going to stock up on more tonight before I hit the road.