Sittin’ here eating my breakfast and realizing that I haven’t blogged in a few days.

Oops!

Here’s a recap of some of the stuff I’ve been up to:

Worked on a web project with warm fuzzy baby in lap…

Liam likes to perch himself half in and half out of Jeff’s lap. Weirdo.

I practiced a half hour of yoga yesterday morning before going on a 2.6 mile run! My calves are so mad at me.

I really feel like I’m starting over with running a bit. That’s ok though, I’ll get back on track as long as I stick with it.

I’ve also been working on a new recipe that hopefully I can share with you later today. Here’s a little peak…

Hmmmm…wonder what those are! Delicious, that’s what.

Right now I’m headed up to the post office because I got a notice yesterday that our tea shipment has arrived from China! Can’t wait to get my hands on our new baby teapot. I’m gonna stick my whole head in that box of tea an inhale the heady scent of all that dusty and leathery-smelling pu-erh!

Any guesses as to what my mystery recipe will turn out to be?

February 16, 2011 Alayna Discussion 1 comment

Yesterday, I learned how to use the timer function on my rice cooker. Exciting, I know.

What this means is that now I can wake up to either hot creamy steel-cut oatmeal in the mornings, or as in todays’ case, fluffy brown rice.

This dish pictured below has been haunting the mind of my husband since last May when we honeymooned in Japan. Of all the delicious things we ate while there, he was struck most by a bowl of hot rice with a raw egg cracked into it, with various pickled and salted accompaniments.

It was just such a simple thing. It was so obvious that we could make that dish at home and have it whenever we wanted. I think that’s why he loved it so much, because he knew that that was a taste of Japan that he could take home.

8am the rice cooker beeps out it’s electronic rooster wake-up call. Fresh and bouncy brown sushi rice is steaming hot and ready to be fluffed.

In lieu of a completely raw egg, we went with a sunny side up. I don’t quite trust that the eggs we purchase in the supermarkets are fit for eating raw. If I could get my hands on some farm-fresh ones, then maybe.

Jeff got busy making tea while I dressed up our breakfasts with nori-tamago furikake and dots of sriracha.

Mmmm….there’s still enough liquid in the yolk to mix into the rice.

The yolk doesn’t exactly cook on the hot rice but it definitely firms a bit and becomes a creamy binder, making a texture almost like oatmeal.

We were both “mmm-ing” til we finished our bowls. I think I’d like to eat this with a little bit of chopped kim chee to remind me of the pickles that came with the original dish.

This was an easy breakfast that I know I’ll be making again and again. It’d be great for dinner with a bowl of miso soup too.

February 4, 2011 Alayna Discussion 5 comments

Tasty breakfast this morning…

A red pear, blueberries, dollop of greek yogurt, maple syrup, cinnamon, chia seeds, and maple almond spelt granola.

Mixed up…

Really good. I had this with a cup of Capital of Heaven Keemun tea from Teavana.  A smoky, dark, black tea with slight dried fruit flavors.

Speaking of tea, Jeff and I have both decided it’s time to take the next step in expanding our tea collection and knowledge. We have yet to have the opportunity to enjoy real quality tea direct from China, rather than the low-grade stuff available in the states that has had it’s flavor added.

And so, we have decided to purchase this pretty little lady…

She has ear jewelry!

She will be specifically for brewing pu-erh teas, a type of tea that is sometimes aged and even fermented resulting in a kind of damp and earthy flavor that I happen to really enjoy.

This is going to be my little personal project, to learn more in depth about pu-erh teas and try as many as I can to learn what I like. We’ll be ordering from Yunnan Sourcing, check em’ out if you like tea.

This is all part of a larger goal I just made for this year which is to figure out what some of my passions are and to indulge them more. I’ll write a post on exactly what I mean by this soon.

What is something you’re interested in that you would like to spend more time on?

January 22, 2011 Alayna Discussion 2 comments