Two Birds with One Stone

Tonight I have high hopes that I will return to the gym and continue to move forward towards my ideal weight.  The usual routine consists of:  suffer through 30 minutes of cardio while listening to my iPod, then put the iPod away and do some resistance training for 30 minutes.  My goal tonight is to switch it up a bit, and bring my current reading project with me while I work on my cardio.  There are two things that prompted this idea.  The first is that I saw a lady working out on a machine next to me while reading a novel.  It caught my attention because normally the reading choices of my fellow step-climbers tend to be on the lighter side and in the form of a magazine.  The second is that I had an incident yesterday with my iPod headphones that made me rethink things.  Rather than my usual posture of gripping the hand rails for dear life, I attempted focus on my core balance on the step machine.  I may not have been ready for that new stage of cardio because while my headphones' cord was swinging to my step, so were my arms.  Somehow, I managed to yank on the cord and send my iPod flying out of the machine's holder and across the floor.  It was semi-embarrassing (not nearly as embarrassing an experience as the poor guy who almost fell off a treadmill) and prompted me to think of other ways to preoccupy myself while working out.  Naturally, it led me to think of my new project "Read more books".


My only fear is that I'll suffer from some motion sickness.  At least, that is what my husband fears.  I think I can handle cardio + reading.  He is worried that the same motion sickness that affects me while attempting to read in a car, train or plane will strike me down at the gym.  I seriously hope this does not happen tonight.


I really hope that my book of choice, "The Chocolate Lovers' Club", does not prove to be counterproductive!


Now, I'd like to take the opportunity to point you in the direction of my sister's blog.  The focus is mobile technology and she does a hell of a job with it.  The blog is much more professional and the writing is infinitely better.  Check it out if you have the time!  Palm of Your Hand blog

Comfort Food and Vegetable Experiment #1

After a horrendous lunch catered by Dominos at work today, I was craving some good old comfort food.  Surprisingly, salmon had become a staple in my family's house a few years ago.  When I moved out and down to Virginia, I took my love of salmon with me and impressed it upon my husband.  No worries though, since he has expressed many times that he loves this recipe.  I also saw this as a great opportunity to pair it with my new buzz-worthy vegetable - asparagus!

This was on the menu for tonight's supper.  It was everything I hoped it would be!  Also, I do apologize for not posting pictures of the scrumptious meal.  Please chock it up to my inexperience of blogging!

Cajun Spiced Salmon with Orange Glaze

Prep Time:  10 min

Cook Time:  10 min

Servings:  Makes 4 filets

Ingredients:

4 filets of salmon, each approximately 1 in. thick

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons cajun spice

1/4 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup sweet orange marmalade

1. Combine the cajun spice, dark brown sugar and kosher salt in a small bowl.  Rub the blended ingredients on both top and bottom of the salmon filets.
   
2. Fry the salmon in a non-stick frying pan for approximately 4 minutes for top and 4 minutes for bottom.  The fish should be almost a solid pink when finished.
   
3. Pour the orange marmalade over the fish and into the pan, covering everything.  Allow to cook for a few more minutes.  Then, transfer directly to a plate and serve while hot.
   

And, this was our side for tonight's dinner:

Asparagus with Melted Parmesan Cheese

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10-12 min

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound thin asparagus spears

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ounce freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper to taste

balsamic vinegar to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
   
2. Place asparagus on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer. Spread parmesan cheese over asparagus, top with the toasted chopped garlic and season with black pepper
   
3. Bake 10 – 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and asparagus is tender, but crisp. Serve immediately on warm plates, sprinkling the balsamic vinegar to taste.

Unfortunately, I forgot to drizzle the balsamic vinegar on the asparagus!  Nevertheless, this passed the taste test and I will definitely enter this into my recipe box!

I would also like to note that today was my second day in a row of exercising and working towards my ultimate "skinny" weight.  I will try to update my weight chronicles on a weekly basis, so this footnote is simply to declare that I am on track.  I am excited to see where this blog takes me!

Introductions Are In Order

I am a recently married, displaced New Jerseyan in Virginia, who has dreams of moving back to NJ and becoming a mother someday. I am married to a loving, dedicated husband and law student who also happens to be an uprooted New Jerseyan. Together we scrape by on my modest salary. A healthy portion of the moola goes towards the care of two...let's just call them mischevious and leave it at that...cats.

While I am an extremely happy newlywed, my semi-charmed life does leave some things to be desired. I have already mentioned two of my desires. Another is my recently discovered propensity to work on projects. Sadly, I find that not all of my projects make it to the finish line. I certainly do not consider myself to be an expert in any one area. I tend to have a rather large array of interests; this is something, which truth be told, I have always prided myself on. Unfortunately, my wide variety of interests is often what impedes the progress of my projects. Often times I find myself yearning to try something new that caught my eye, before even finishing any current experiments.

I will regard this blog as a new project. Though, I believe the pressure of accountability will help me focus on keeping this blog alive and well. So, without further ado, here are my current "projects"!

- Read more books - I'm starting with "The Chocolate Lover's Club"

- Lose 25 lbs - This has been and will be ongoing for...well...a long time.

- Experiment with more vegetables - My vegetable of choice, and current love affair, is Asparagus.