All ‘choked up
It’s been wayyyyy too long since we’ve had ‘chokes in the house:
(Each little leaf dipped into Goddess dressing.. amazing)
Last night, I grabbed some groceries (finally!), we had a couple of drinks:
and the Pilot cooked up an amazing feast.
The artichokes above
Alexia sweet potato chipotle fries
and perfect turkey burgers.
I have no idea how he does it or what he adds to them, but I do know they include jalapenos…
Last night, I was talking to the madre about the fact that I want to start doing meal plans again and one big grocery shop each week. She suggested buying more frozen produce, so that if I don’t get the chance to actually cook, the food won’t go bad. Usually I buy frozen fruits and a couple of frozen veggies, but there are a couple of frozen foods that always taste weird to me:
-bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, onions
My fave frozen staples:
-minced garlic (from Trader Joe’s), organic fruit (berries, bananas, tropical fruits), green veggies, bread (I usually keep bread in the freezer and chisel off a piece when I want some), coconut milk ice cream 😉
What foods do you choose to buy frozen over fresh? Sometimes organic frozen options are less expensive, too.
Today we’re going to spend the morning sleeeeeeeeeeping and then it’s time for MY FIRST ZUMBA CLASS BACK! <— had to yell it. and dance it. i’m so excited.
xoxo,
Gina
Something to read:
This has been going around Facebook and thought I’d share it with ya:
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
60 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Wow – that story about Joshua Bell is very thought provoking. I know I’m certainly guilty of not stopping to appreciate the beauty in something – especially when I’m really busy.
HOORAY for your first Zumba class back!!! Have fun shakin’ it girl! 😀
Asparagus spears, Brussels sprouts and green beans are all frozen veggies I keep on hand. I think they taste almost as good as fresh!
if you have a costco membership, you should check out their frozen stir-fry veggie mix. im usually pretty picky about my frozen veggies too, but these are really high quality and theres a ton of different veggies in there too!
I buy frozen broccoli and brussel sprouts as well as mixed vegetables for when I’m in a hurry 🙂 They’re just as delicious and simple in my opinion!
I’ve never had a roasted artichoke like that! I do love artichokes on my pizza, though. Those Alexia spicy chipotle fries are to die for! They are a frozen staple in this house… err apartment 🙂
That story had me all “‘choked’ up! Life has really been telling me lately to “just slow down.”
I buy nearly all of my fruit frozen to put in blended smoothies. It allows me to get in a lot more fruit than what I could eat in its whole form.
Other than fruit, I also buy broccoli frozen.
Have fun at Zumba! I’m sure it will feel great to be back! 🙂
I buy mostly the same frozen stuff that you do: garlic, green veggies and stir fry mixes, etc. Super convenient, since I’m usually cooking for one!
Since I live in Canada, finding edible fresh berries at this time of year is totally impossible/totally out of my budget. Frozen blueberries are a must – I throw them in my oatmeal almost everyday. Also, thawed blueberries tossed in the blender with a tiny bit of lemon juice make the absolute BEST topping for protein pancakes!
I love that story and believe I will be sharing it with my ninth-grade students next week. Thank you. 🙂
Also, I’m doing my first Zumba class ever tomorrow – and am so nervous!!!
Thanks so much for posting that story! So touching, and definitely a life lesson. As a violin player I really really wish I had been in the metro in DC that day!
I like the frozen veggie stir fry mix at Trader Joe’s. I work from home, but don’t have a ton of time to prepare meals, so it’s perfect for quick breakfast scrambles, or to story fry with tofu and add to a salad for lunch.
I can’t believe you don’t like frozen peppers and onions! They are a staple in my house, for everything from stir fry to scrambled eggs/frittatas to taco meat! Have you tried the ones from Trader Joe’s? Sorry…I’m just shocked! It’s my favorite way to add veggies to any meal. But, to each their own! 🙂 Have fun at Zumba!
no, i need to! the only time i tried them was from sunflower market and i think they may have been a little freezer-burned
I use Trader Joe’s frozen Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions a lot when I cook. Granted, the peppers aren’t as crisp and crunchy as fresh would be, but it’s convenient and adds flavor.
I love that story about Joshua Bell – I saw another commenter say that she was going to share it with her students and I think I may do the same 🙂
I’m not a big fan of frozen veg either. I especially think carrots taste weird, and I hate those little baby corns that come in some of the asian mixes. Eww.
I really need to try making artichokes…they just look so intimidating!
I buy lots of frozen fruits for smoothies, packs of cauliflower and broccoli and frozen baby carrots/corn 🙂
zumba! exciting!
i have never had artichokes before except in dip form. you always rave about them so i’m thinking i need to try them ASAP.
since becoming a mom, i definitely buy more frozen foods because you just never know when you will get a chance to cook or when you might need something quick. especially with newborns. and it also saves us $$ so i can stay home with my little guy. i have good intentions to cook almost every night but for some reason my son feels like he just NEEDS to be held when i’m in the kitchen. and ONLY when i’m in the kitchen. maybe he doesn’t like my cooking?! ha!
I always buy frozen broccoli, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, shelled edamame, corn & peas. Frozen spinach always tastes really weird to me too – instead I buy a huge container of organic baby spinach, I would never be able to eat my through it before it goes bad, so I freeze everything I can’t eat in freezer bags and it always tastes the same. I think it has something to do with the spinach I buy is baby spinach and the frozen spinach is some other kind. I freeze mushrooms too and they always reheat well, but I’ve never bought them already frozen!
that violin story is crazy, gave me chills! thanks so much for sharing.
Mmmm turkey burgers with jalapenos is a great idea!
What a great looking dinner! Those turkey burgers look so juicy and delish. Good luck with zumba, you must be pumped 🙂
Enjoy your first Zumba class!
And those Alexa sweet potato fries are so good..It’s cheaper to make them yourself but I admit, I love those things! They’re perfect.
I buy frozen spinach, corn, and artichokes (<— from TJs, the best) but other than that, buy fresh, generally speaking. Buy whatever works best for you and can't wait to see how you make the most of it all.
TJ has the best frozen green beans and of course my all time favorite corn. I too have decided to try using frozen veggies. I tried some of the Steamers from Ralphs. All I can say is tons of sugar. Good experiment but I pass. Food Saver has steamer bags so my next experiment is to design my own frozen veggie packets. TJ also has turkey cutlets I freeze. You can take them right from the freezer and cook them in minutes.
I find organic frozen veggies taste way better then non organic ones, so I try to buy organic plus my bj’s just started carry some frozen organic veggies which cuts down on the cost! As for bread put a piece of wax paper in between each slice before freezing makes it so much easier to pull a slice out, plus you can reuse the wax paper. I find I don’t like frozen string beans they always taste rubbery even the organic!
I don’t think that proves much. I am a classically trained violinist and I live in DC. I did not witness Joshua Bell playing, but if I had I probably would have recognized him and smiled big and thought how amazing that was that he was playing by the metro stop, and then I would have continued on my way to work, because I needed to get to work. I would have been sad that I had to keep on walking, but in that moment, my responsibility to my employer would have been more important than my desire to stop and enjoy some lovely music. If I thought I could chance being late for work in order to stop and listen, I might, but that might not have been feasible, based on my schedule for the day. Believe me, I know that many people in our society do not recognize true talent and truly magnificent music, but getting to work on time is important!! I don’t think this is the proper setting to observe whether or not people can appreciate musical genius. In order to stop and listen to the music during morning rush hour, many people would have to shirk their professional responsibilities, such as reporting to work on time or making that 9:00am meeting, and I don’t think it is accurate to say no one noticed him because they did not stop.
Also, you don’t know how many talentless “musicians” set up shop outside the DC metro stations. I usually turn up the volume on my iPod to block out a terrible trumpet blasting or a whiny out of tune violin or an electric keyboard recording with wrong notes added manually. I am accustomed to shuddering at the site of a DC metro “musician”!!
PS I think it would have been a better experiment for Josh Bell to play in the metro stop during the PM rush hour, when people are more likely to be able to make the personal choice to stop, free from an obligation to fulfill professional responsibilities. At say 5-7PM, people would be more likely to be choosing whether or not to give up a few minutes of their own time to stop and listen to the music. I think you need to eliminate the factor of people being professionally responsible to be somewhere at a certain time in order to conduct such a social experiment.
that’s a great point- you can’t exactly say “sorry i was late today- i was listening to beautiful violin music”
still, an interesting story though 🙂
Hey Gina, would you ever consider doing a link-up on your blog one day for people to post great recipes so we can all add new ones and great ones to our collection? I’ve seen one blogger do this and it’s such a great tool and idea. Maybe you can have people add recipes in with frozen veggies. I need some new recipes. stat.
sure! i’ll do that this week 🙂
I always have a bag of frozen corn–out of season corn is pretty horrendous! I also like having frozen butternut squash! It makes dishes like b-nut squash risotto so easy!!
The only frozen produce I buy is corn because you can’t really get it fresh in the winter here. But everything else I buy fresh. I just make sure not to buy too much at once so that I’ll be able to eat it all before it goes bad!
I’m with you on the frozen peppers. They get all rubbery and mushy, fresh is so much better.
I always do the frozen “California mix” – broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. They seem to hold up better to being frozen and I like having variety in my veggie dish. So much more convenient then buying each ingredient and preparing together.
i like that mix, too! so good with eggs and brown rice 🙂
I liked the story you included, it’s a great reminder to stop and smell the roses. Have you looked into cookbooks that focus on families with babies? I came across “Parents Need to Eat Too” recently; I didn’t buy it because I don’t have kids, but the meals are meant to be made/eaten with one hand or during nap time, and provides tips for making adult dishes more child friendly. I know most of my go-to meals take longer than people with infants have, so maybe finding realistic recipes would help you accomplish your goal!
amazing, thank you!
Frozen spinach is great for throwing into soups, stews, chilli or dips.
I buy a LOT of frozen produce and fresh produce. Most of the time my frozen purchases are those veggies that are not in season at the time that I want them. My list of frozen produce includes (not all at once): all fruits, okra, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans, EDAMAME (easiest snack ever!), pearl onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. Did I miss anything that’s not a veggie besides corn?
It’s only a matter of time before you get back into the swing of things and life becomes ‘normal’. 🙂
Wow. That story about Joshua Bell is amazing. I can totally see it though. I think about when I take the T here in Boston, and it’s the same, everyone in a rush to get where they are going. Sometimes I may listen to whomever is playing at a stop only if I’m waiting for a train.
I agree with Amy- I actually get kind of annoyed whenever I see this story come up, because I’m another DC metro-er who takes the metro to get to work, not to stop and listen to an impromptu concert. It would have been a more meaningful point to me if this had been done on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of Dupont Circle, where there are places to sit and linger. Definitely not attacking the study or you for bringing it up, just trying to express why it annoys me, haha- I guess because to those of us who deal with the realities of metro commuting on a cold day when there are thousands of people trying to get trains and get to work, it would be preposterous to imagine stopping amidst the unpleasantry to listen to a violinist, even if his music was beautiful.
Have you looked into online shopping? When life gets crazy, that’s what I do. It also saves me money (fewer impulse buys).
That Joshua Bell story is amazing, and one of the few internet stories that is actually true. I always stop and listen to buskers, if they are really good. In London they can pay for a place in the tube stations and it’s a real job – those guys are usually amazing. Here in NZ, I used to listen to a teenager that had an amazing voice and would sing in shopping malls. Her name was Hayley Westenra and now she is extremely famous.
I have such a problem with that Joshua Bell story because I remember seeing the video and reading the story of what ACTUALLY happened:
He was in the subway in DC during rush hour on a weekday. People DID stop and listen, many, and quite a few people spoke to him between songs (a few even recognizing him). The problem is, it’s rush hour at the subway. Most people who take mass transit, especially in DC, can’t afford to show up late to work because of an amazing musician; they’ll lose their jobs or get reprimanded. There are also some amazing subway musicians in DC as well as New York, many of whom (thankfully) are making money off their talents but using the subway to make a little extra money and get their name out there. I’ve bought a cd from a few, as has one of my siblings who lives in NYC.
The story that’s going around Facebook just makes it sound like NOBODY stopped or cared about the music he was playing, when that’s totally not the case. It’s completely right that sometimes we’re too rushed with our own lives to notice the amazing things happening around us and we need to change that, but we can’t judge it from this story to the extent that they do.
Ok, rant over. I think you’re doing fantastic with the little bean, and even though I’m not anywhere near having children yet I still really appreciate you discussing delicate matters regarding pregnancy, birth, and what it’s like to have a baby. It’s really informative and definitely helps me know what to prepare for. So thank you!!!
Where do you get the goddess dressing that you refer to? Trader joes?
Yep!
Here’s the full Joshua Bell story – I realize you may not have a lot of time to read it Gina with the baby, but everyone else should – it won a Pulitzer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
The author (Gene Weingarten – one of my faves) did a chat afterwards that addressed some of the issues that some people here had.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/06/DI2007040601228.html
I was buying a giant bag of onions at Costco once and the lady in front of me in line suggested I dice them up and freeze them. I had one, long day full of tears, but I had diced onions forever that tasted great!! Straight from the freezer into the pan- easy!
We buy a lot of frozen veggies, mainly for soups and stews. Canned spinach works great in lasagnas and other casserole type dishes, and TJ’s has really good frozen artichoke hearts. Great for stir-fry or pizza toppings, etc., and their not super salty like canned artichoke hearts.
I think it is very wise for you to have frozen fruits and veg on hand, it will make getting back into the kitchen a million times easier for you! I always have frozen bananas on hand for banana ice cream! Same with frozen melons, I LOVE cantaloupe and banana ice cream
Having frozen veggies on hand is so helpful 😀 No one wants their produce to go bad! I ALWAYS buy frozen lima beans 🙂 I love tossing them in salads 😀
That is a cool story, I haven’t read it before.
I can totally see how this situation would be true…it’s sad really.
What is Goddess dressing?
I love frozen fruits! But really for veggies, I only get broccoli and peas frozen. I REALLY love my fresh veg!
I’ve seen that story on Facebook a few times. As one person I saw on Facebook pointed out, it seems kind of far-fetched that nobody at all stopped. There are always at least a few people standing around listening to or watching performers on subway platforms. On Friday, there were droves of people standing around and taking photos of a guy dressed in a cow suit and dancing maniacally. Also, it’s a subway station. People aren’t there to watch a performance. It takes me an hour to get from my home in Brooklyn to a lot of places in Manhattan. If I’m trying to get somewhere, I usually don’t have time to stop, or I might miss my train, which might mean taking a train 15 minutes later, or longer. There are SO many performers every day, many of whom are very talented, but it’s not a novelty around here.
Sorry. The story just bothers me, mostly as a New Yorker, and I have a lot of Facebook friends who’ve been posting it lately and lamenting how terrible we all are.
Oh, sorry, I meant to explain also that the story I saw posted on Facebook included a photo of him, but it was clearly in New York. So, I could never figure out if they’d posted the wrong photo or mentioned the wrong location.
I love frozen peas and broccoli! Those go great with quinoa or lentils, easy meal made quickly.
I agree on frozen onion, spinach, and mushrooms, they all seem to stay soggy – gross! Although, frozen spinach (with water squeezed out) is perfect for making homemade lasagna. Mix with ricotta or tofu (non-dairy ricotta mixture) for lasagna filling.