I’ve taken a couple anti-technology days this week. It is nice out, I’ve had this eye strain related head ache for a few days, and some boy issues. I added all that up and it equalled outdoor trash reading. I finished I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci in three days, which helped. It was silly and all about how retarded boys are, with recipes, which helped. But now I’m back and I’ve got a plethora of food pictures.

So we are going to do this quick and dirty:

Homemade Personal Pizza

Earlier in the week PT and I made homemade pizzas. We haven’t done that in a really long time and I have no idea why. We should be eating pizza every day, these pizzas are so good.

Seriously? Seriously.

Mine was pineapple, caramelized onion, and roasted red pepper with fresh parmesan. PT’s was the same, plus olives, of course.

Pumpkin Cookies

I’ve been craving cookies but didn’t feel like making any, so I made cake cookies and mini cupcakes using a pumpkin cake mix. I spiced them up a little and baked them up, but I  need some big chocolate chip cookies something fierce. I’ll have to take care of that, and soon.

Grapefruit, Shrimp, and Avocado Salad

We have been looking for ways to eat everything in our produce box, so PT found a recipe that used the greens and grapefruit in this amazing salad. It had a light citrus/mustard vinaigrette on top! Very good. And the grapefruit was outstanding.

The Diakon

And speaking of the produce box, I tackled the diakon Friday. It looks a lot like a huge white carrot and tastes really peppery, slightly milder than a regular red radish, but, obviously, much larger.

Potato Stir Fry

I thought I would potato stir fry it up, with potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Outdoor Stir Fry

I finished it with broccoli, snap peas (from the produce box), and corn. Throw a little ketchup on that and eat it outside? The perfect summer meal.

Drool

And then there was the banana. I knew exactly what to do with this beauty. But not before I peeled it slowly, smelling it, caressing it. Loving it like my own child I was about to eat.

Oats and Toast, Banana Style

The exaggeration thing I do is going to get in the way again from expressing how I actually feel, but this was the best breakfast I’ve had in a really, really long time. I chopped up half that banana and put it in my oats with a nectarine from the produce box. Also in the mix? Honey nut Scooters (Malt-O-Meal Cheerios), raisins, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The rest of that banana went with peanut butter on my toast.

If for some reason I wanted my final meal to be nutritional (I always answer that question with a very particular brownie sundae I’ll most likely describe to you in full someday), it would be this meal. Banana? Let me count the ways.

French Toast with Raspberries

This morning I cooked up some french toast, and sprinkled some raspberries on top. Simple and delicious and the perfect Sunday morning breakfast.

So, technology, thanks for the break. I appreciated it. Now to get to my inbox.

Related Sweatshop Love:

• March 24, 2009 -- Irrationally Loving Oats
• September 22, 2009 -- A LOT of Food
• July 13, 2009 -- Hate. This. Pattern.
• June 23, 2009 -- The Biggest Cooking Failure of All Time

I like food.

I haven’t always had the greatest relationship with the stuff, though. When I was younger I was not a healthy eater by any means. I grew up in a pretty typical meat and potatoes environment until I was in 5th grade and decided to be a vegetarian to piss my dad off. I’ve been pretty good about not eating red meat ever since. I’ve had the occasional What-Does-It-All-Mean? moments; namely when I moved to Chicago and thought summer sausage would be a good idea. It wasn’t. It really, really wasn’t.

But I wasn’t a healthy vegetarian. My first year of college I spent in Adrian, Michigan eating cookies and coffee for dinner, and Frosted Flakes for lunch. I was 50 pounds heavier than I am now and wouldn’t have been able to run around the block.

Two years ago I figured it out, though. I started working out, cooking for myself, and eating real food. I try to fuel instead of consume. I try to eat mindfully. I love my body and try to take care of it as much as I can.

Produce Box

Enter Newleaf Natural Grocery! This is the first produce box PT and I ordered from them and I couldn’t be more excited. Look at that bounty of organic produce! Delivered right to my door!

What is fun about this is some of that stuff I don’t even know what to do with, so it has forced us to look at recipes we would never have tried, like what PT whipped up last night.

Kale Spaghetti! Who Knew?

Kale spaghetti with onions, tomatoes, and garlic, sprinkled with parmesan. It was great! And I’ve certainly never had kale in spaghetti before. It was hearty and kinda beet-y. It was fun, and I would have never bought it myself.

The part of the box I’m really excited about? Those bananas! I haven’t had a banana in almost a year when I stopped eating them because of the banana coups and wasted fuel for shipping (blah blah). My last banana was on August 5th! And PT hates bananas so they are both mine. I’m going to eat them with peanut butter! I’m going to eat them in my oat bowl!

I just wish they would rippen up so I can stop carrying them around with me in a baby bjorn.

Related Sweatshop Love:

• July 23, 2009 -- Re-Flee
• March 29, 2010 -- Empty Space
• December 18, 2009 -- Holiday Knitting is Officially OVER!
• December 8, 2009 -- Baked Shells in ‘Meat’ Sauce Recipe