Kelly's Stellar Kitchen

Crumbs’ Lemon Cupcake, in my very transitional kitchen….I can’t believe I managed to take a picture before I chowed down.

Cupcakes

Eaten monthly

When the going gets tough

The tough get delicious cupcakes

Consumed.

This post may be one that warrants all of y’all calling me a hypocrite: I know that I have gotten on my (virtual) soapbox a few times about eating whole, unprocessed foods. 

I digress from time to time, and my latest digression has become something of an obsession.

At one of my (many) places of employ, I came across some nuts. (Go ahead and insert jokes <here>. I’ll wait).

Anyhow, one of my coworkers brought in a big sack of nuts. Heh. 

Blue Diamond Almonds, to be precise. 

Specifically, Blue Diamond Almonds BOLD Wasabi & Soy Sauce variety.

And they.are.to.die.for. So much so that I had to buy my own bag for home, and measure it into individual serving sizes so I didn’t eat the whole thing.

If you like wasabi on your sushi, or even those awesome little wasabi peas (omg, NOMS?) these REALLY hit the spot in a pinch. I love a snack with a little bit of protein.

Except now, I want sushi all.of.the.time.

True story. Try them out. Unless you’re allergic to nuts. I don’t condone reckless behavior. 

I’m sitting here, drinking what is probably my third fifth cup of coffee at the tail end of a long day. I’m not drinking it out of my favorite mug, as I had hoped to, but you know, we just CAN’T win ‘em all!

However, I do feel a lot like a winner today. I graduated with my Master’s degree, and I’m piling heaps of hope upon even more hope that I will be get a permanent job with a competitive salary in my field. The job market doesn’t look good, but I’m doing my best to stay positive.

You haven’t seen me for all of April and most of May because, while I was working on my 60-page Master’s Thesis and Action Research, I was also working 4 jobs for a total of about 70 hours a week. I even injured my ankle, which has truly sidelined my cooking/running/training. 

I guess it was all for the better, because with every spare moment, I worked laboriously on my Thesis. I took my trusty MacBook and jump drives everywhere, even squeezing in some lunch-break-work at my various jobs. Aside from disappearing off of the blogosphere, my social life also took a serious dive.

Today was my commencement ceremony. I feel good. I feel accomplished. I feel ready to dive back into life outside of academia. I feel ready to have time for leisure reading and leisure writing.

Anyhow, what does this have to do with blogging?

Well, my dear friends, it means I have time to cook again, in my barely renovated kitchen. But I want these recipes to be flavorful, beautiful, and carefully sought-and-thought out.

My plan is to hold off on posting recipes for a bit. Starting July 1, you will see the recipes (hopefully some quality food porn) coming at you again on the regular. At that time, I hope to have a new layout and blog design. Call it a relaunch, if you will. A “Kitchen” renovation, of sorts.

In the meantime, I will be diving back in to “What I Ate Wednesdays” and telling you about some of my favorite food/kitchen products. There are more new favorites than I thought I could even have! I’ll pick my best for you. 

I’m glad to be back, kids, and I hope you will welcome me with open arms.

After all, I am a MASTER of something. Imagine that! (I have the bill to prove it). 

So, y’all:

My kitchen is being majorly renovated right now. I’m beyond excited, but it’s limiting my cooking. Truthfully, so is my work schedule.

I spent most of the day in NYC yesterday, seeing a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. My love for Jimmy Fallon goes way back to the SNL Days and THE Debbie Downer Sketch. I  saw myself on TV today! Clearly, I am a big star now.

Not above taking (many a) screen shot, I should mention I'm in the last row with a shiny silver clip in my hair. Later, I would go on stage, onto the band bench. I can totally see me clapping, and on TV, I can make out my own face. MADE OF WIN.

In my head, I had planned for yesterday to be a manageable day, food wise, but I really digressed. We all have those days. I am far from perfect. Yesterday was truly a day of indulgence.

I ate 3 of these bad boys for breakfast with a cup of coffee and an apple. Good, solid start to the day.

Then, I boarded a train to NYC, met up with a friend, and we took the subway down to Rockerfeller Plaza, where we ate here:

I had a turkey burger with mushroom and swiss, and a side of sweet potato fries. I only ate half of the burger, because I wasn't thrilled with it. But the sweet potato fries? Ate all of them like a BOSS.

What’s a girl to eat in Manhattan after seeing Jimmy Fallon and expending a lot of energy clapping? Obviously one of my favorite confectionary items from Crumbs.

White Hot Chocolate Cupcake? Yes, please. Have I mentioned lately that I am completely OBSESSED with Crumbs? Because, I am.

And lastly, when I arrived home at night, I ate some leftover slices of Papa John’s thin-crust pepperoni pizza, and 3 cheese sticks.

A day of excess, for sure. Today, I move on, and fuel my body much more adequately.

(But I’m still thinking about that cupcake. And Jimmy Fallon.)