What Kate is Cooking

I started this blog as a way to share new recipes, talk about running, and connect to a community that I had been a reader of for so long. I actually can’t believe I’ve been blogging for so long (since 2010!) because when I start something, I rarely follow through with it.

I love blogging, but I think I need a break. Between working, going to school, and generally trying to be a productive member of society, writing this blog started to feel like a chore. I always wanted it to feel fun and be something that I wanted to do, and not feel obligated to do.

So, I’m taking a break until I feel like blogging again. Hell, even if I DO feel like blogging soon, I should really be catching up on homework (or… let’s be honest… my DVR), so I may be back over the summer.

Thanks to everyone that read my blog for so long- see you in a few months

Y’all know I’m a sucker for a good survey, and Katie and Erika tagged me in their 11 Random Facts post, so here are the rules!

Rules (for bloggers)

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 random things about me? I’ve already done something kind of like this, so if you want random facts, here you go.

I’m taking a few of Katie’s questions and a few of Erika’s questions to answer!

1. What is your favorite movie?

I love West Side Story, Pretty in Pink, and Breathless. I’m a sucker for musicals (Jesus Christ Superstar is another good one!

2. What is your biggest pet peeve?

I could write a whole book about my pet peeves, but people that lack self-awareness just kill me (that includes people that drive slowly and walk slowly!)

3. What is your favorite indulgent food that you would eat everyday if nutritional facts didn’t matter?

A pan of rich, gooey brownies topped with a gallon of coffee ice cream and toffee bits. Can you tell I’ve thought about this before?

4. What aisle of the supermarket do you spend the most time in?

Dairy (for the yogurt) or freezer (for the ice cream.) There are so many choices!

5. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what would it be?

17 for sure. I miss being 17 more than anything- I had pretty much zero responsibility and I was finally starting to mature.

6. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

I would sneak on a plane and fly somewhere that I could never afford to fly otherwise and upon landing, steal a bunch of money for my return ticket. Joking about the stealing part. Kind of.

7. If your house went up in flames and you had time to take with you only 1 possession before evacuating, what would that possession be?

I feel like I’m jinxing myself by answering this! Assuming my family and bird do not count as my possessions, I would my parents’ computer because it has a lot of our old pictures and home videos on it. If I were to be pragmatic, I would take my mini filing cabinet full of all my important documents!

(I just wanted an excuse to put a picture of my bird in here.)

8. If you were to participate in a food eating contest, which food would it be?

I would be lying if I said I haven’t fantasized about this before… now that I’ve eaten an 18 inch pancake and killed my love for anything that even looks like a pancake, I’m positive I would be awesome at either a pie-eating contest or an ice-cream eating contest. If anyone knows of these contests going on… hit a sister up. I have zest, enthusiasm, and the stomach capacity of a professional eater.

9. What do you spend most of your money on?

School, gas, car, groceries. I also used to have a slight obsession with buying aprons on eBay…

10. What is your favorite smell?

Butter and sugar melting together, brownies baking, or fresh laundry.

11. If you could witness any event, past, present, or future, what would it be?

Just one?! So tough! Either Lincoln delivering the Emancipation Proclamation, MLK delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech, or the Constitutional Convention… but probably Neil Armstrong walking on the moon because that would mean I would actually get to be on the moon!
Eleven People I Tag

• Amy (my cousin!)
• Kat at Tenaciously Yours
• Jessica at Almost Over Now
• Errign at Errign’s Adventures
• Eleanor at Eating Like a Horse
• Melie at G(r)eek Melie
• Rachel at Tea and Chocolate 
• Hannah at Wayfaring Chocolate
• Christin at Purple Bird Blog
• Molly at Hungry Hungry Runner
• Rachel at Eat, Learn, Discover

Eleven Questions for the People I Tagged

1. What is your favorite book?
2. If you could meet one historical figure, who would it be?
3. What is (or was) your favorite subject in school?
4. Have you ever thought about what you want your future kids’ names to be if you have children?
5. If you could live in one city for the rest of your life, what city would you pick?
6. If you had the ability and time to learn one language, what would it be?
7. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
8. What’s your favorite genre of music and why?
9. Would you rather be able to fly or freeze time? (I ask because I have literally gotten stressed out when I internally debate this)
10. What’s something weird about you that no one would ever know just by looking at you?
11. What’s your favorite season?

Your turn- answer any one (or all!) of the questions! I LOVE reading other people’s answers!

Is a salad really a salad if it doesn’t have any greens in it?

I’m not sure what to call this, but it’s good. It’s a fast, easy recipe that requires you to toss things in a bowl and call it done- my favorite kind of recipe. It’s also portable and you can get away with packing it for lunch and not putting it in a fridge all day.

When I was cleaning my cupboards, I came upon some bulgur wheat that I’ve had for over a year. I’m not a huge fan of bulgur by itself- I think it tastes kind of gluey and gross- but with the right spices and flavors, it’s much better.

Same with butternut squash. I’m a huge squash fan, but butternut can be really watery. I think I’m spoiled by kabocha squash! I think the key to good butternut squash is roasting it. I’m usually really lazy and just stick it in the microwave, but for better flavor, roasting is the way to go.

My bird likes  it raw (he doesn’t really eat it- he just flicks his beak on it )

Butternut and Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked bulgur wheat
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash
• 3/4 cup black beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Sprinkle sea salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. You’re done.

The only thing that takes time in this recipe is waiting for the butternut squash to roast and the bulgur to cook. Bulgur wheat cooks way faster than brown rice, so this whole thing should take no longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

I’m packing this as dinner tonight- I’m planning on going to cycling right after work tonight and that’s not going to happen if I’m hungry!

What’s your favorite grain?

Rabbit, rabbit! Happy first day of February and What I Ate Wednesday!

I had an applesauce breakfast cookie and peanut butter for breakfast. I’ve been spoiled by all my homemade, sweetened nut butters- plain just isn’t the same!

I had the afternoon off, so after a doctor’s appointment I picked up my sister and we went to go see a movie. It was so weird to see a movie during a weekday afternoon! In high school, we used to go to afternoon movies all the time. (Speaking of doctors- it sounds like a lot of you have miserable periods too! Being a girl sucks sometimes, right?)

Usual lunch, eaten in a movie theater- hummus wrap, yogurt, and an apple. We saw Shame- Michael Fassbender is, uh… hugely talented.

I had a plate of broccoli and hummus when we got home and before a quick run.

I ran 4 miles while the sun was setting. I really like running at this time of day!

Dinner was a butternut squash and black bean bowl of goodness- I’ll post the recipe tomorrow.

Dessert has yet to be decided!

What’s the last movie you saw in theaters?

Ugh. Periods. Am I right? The weirdest thing happened to me yesterday and I suspect my uterus is to blame, although this hasn’t been confirmed. If me talking about my period grosses you out, feel free to skip this post

I was called in to work yesterday but I called back too late (I’m a substitute at my second job and am on call every day) so I had the whole afternoon off. I walked to the library to sit outside, read for a while, and return my library books.

I started getting cramps despite having taking medication a few hours before, so I stayed outside and decided to wait them out before I went inside to return my books and walk home. I get wicked cramps and I’ve learned to take medication before they hit too hard, so I was surprised I was feeling them so strongly.

They started getting really bad and I started feeling really dizzy- worse than I normally do. My cramps usually last for a long time and I didn’t feel like walking home, so I debated whether to call my dad and ask him for a ride home since I knew he was on his way to the gym.

I tried to wait it out, but they kept getting worse and worse and I was starting to feel really nauseous, so I called my dad and asked him to give me a ride. As soon as I hung up the phone, my vision started getting black and my head was spinning. I was pretty positive I was going to pass out (I’ve never passed out before, but I imagine that’s what it felt like) so I was gripping on to the table as hard as I could so I wouldn’t fall backwards. I suddenly broke out in a sweat- I was literally pouring sweat for a full minute. My heart was beating really fast and I could hardly see anything. My face and my hands started tingling, and then went numb. I tried to slide off the bench but I could hardly move, so I laid my head on the table and tried to call my dad again to tell him what was happening. This went on for a few minutes. When my vision stopped swimming, I pulled myself up and walked over to the parking lot and laid down in the grass.

My dad came and picked me up and took me to the walk-in clinic. I had stopped sweating but I was now freezing cold and my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. He gave me ibuprofen and water, and my cramps were gone by the time we got to the doctor. My hands and face were still tingling though- it was such a weird feeling.

I had to wait a really long time to see a doctor, but everything appeared normal. I would normally chalk up whatever happened to my period- I do think it had something to do with it- but I’ve been seeing black spots in my right eye for the past few days and I had a night sweat last night, so I wanted to rule out something more serious.

Anyhow, the doctor assured me that I wasn’t going to die and that he wanted me to see an opthamologist. He thinks I was having a migraine (although I didn’t have a headache at the time, but I did for a few hours after) based on the fact that I was blacking out, getting dizzy, and have been seeing spots. I still think it has something to do with my period, and since I already have to go to the doctor, I’m going to ask about my cramps as well. Couldn’t hurt, right?

I think not being able to go to work was a blessing in disguise- I think my little episode would have been really weird for the students to witness! It sounds way more dramatic than it was (although, at the time, it did seem quite dramatic!)

The real kicker? I didn’t even get to return my library books! They’re now overdue. There goes one of my New Year’s resolutions

Have you ever had a health scare?