Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I am a bit in shock that it is already December. Luckily for me today in Seattle the weather is gorgeous, unluckily for me it is a Tuesday and so I am stuck inside at my desk until the sun goes down.

Last night I was talking to Tiffany on the phone, she was helping me with the ol’ blog as I haven’t been able to track my stats. She told me about google analytics, and hopefully this puppy will be up and running soon. Right now my blog stats tell me no one has EVER been to Pumpkin & Pomegranate, and since I have met so many wonderful people through this place I know that it is lying to me. I am crossing my fingers!
So, as we were chatting I apologized a few times for crunching in her ear. I ate the rest of my leftover Thanksgiving dinner, but the few Brussels sprouts were not enough green and so I quickly roasted up a bunch of broccolini and a whole bulb of garlic. It was crunchy, and rude, and delicious…oh and also very pretty ;-)

I love garlic candy!

Oh, and I prefer broccolini to broccoli because it is easier to clean and takes less time to cook. I am often on the lazy side at the end of the day. Especially in the months when the sun goes down by 5pm and I just want to snuggle with felines in bed.

Today for lunch I will be having roasted garlic hummus. I found a new brand at the PCC and Matt insisted that I have to try it. Not only is it roasted garlic, but I can see crushed garlic on top. I am fairly certain I reek of garlic on a daily basis now, which is amusing because 2 years ago I couldn’t stand the stuff and was VERY self conscious about smelling like garlic. I got over it and now embrace it. I figure that the garlic lovers will love me, and the ones who hate it can just keep their distance. Check it out. That slice of cake is actually garlic covered hummus.

Gahhhhlic

All in all it was good. Oddly sweet because of the roasted garlic. I enjoyed it, but it would have been better on pita or eggplant chips than carrots. the carrots made the whole thing too sweet for my taste.

I have to spread the word about something fabulous. Not sure who has and hasn’t heard of it, but I am in love with Groupon. Every weekday you get an e-mail with the “deal of the day” and you can choose to buy it or you can just ignore it. It costs nothing to sign up so there isn’t a risk there. A couple of weeks ago I bought one that was $60 for $140 worth of hair cuts or coloring at a local salon (it’s all by the city so it is different in every city). Two days ago I bought $20 worth of tea or pastries from the tea shop where I get my French teas for $10. And today the deal is for 4 weeks of Intro to Yoga or Pilates at a yoga studio in town for $30, which is half off the original price. I had to jump on that one as well because I really need to take an intro class before jumping in. I did some yoga a couple of months ago and ended up doing too much. I was hoping to ask family members for yoga classes for Christmas, but now I have 4 classes for $30. I am SO excited about it!! Some of the groupons you can buy multiples for yourself, but usually it is 1 per person, but you CAN buy multiples for gifts. Word of warning though, make sure you purchase each gift separately or else they will all be assigned to one person. I think they will eventually work out that glitch though. I’m not cheap, I’m thrifty!

Oh, and if you are local to Seattle, or will be visiting before January 31st, 2010 and want $10 a hair cut please let me know. I have 3 $10 off coupons for PinUp Salon. Jen is REALLY good. I absolutely love my new ‘do!

Last night I took a trip to Costco to load up on Almond butter, kitty litter, and grapefruit…you know, the necessities. I had never bought almond butter there as I have tried sticking with raw, but then I thought…screw it. It isn’t like I am a raw foodist, and also I bake with almond flour. Don’t get me wrong I like raw almond butter, but truth be told the flavor of roasted is SO much better. I know the raw is better for me, but hey, a gal gets a treat.  Today my treat was a huge spoonful of almond butter in my breakfast quinoa.

The grapefruits are another thing. I go through phases of food, and apparently i have hit the grapefruit phase. I do have to make sure I limit my intake to 1 a day though, as that much fiber can make you much more regular than necessary. Boy I am a sexy lady ;-)

Things I have been pondering:

I think I need contacts. My glasses fog up every time I take something out of the oven.

Michael Buble is a lot dorkier than I thought (and therefore more appealing than before)

From now on I will be giving out my google voice # to anyone I don’t want to talk to on a daily or weekly basis. Certain groups I actually agree with are calling WAY too often for me, and it isn’t helping the cause. In fact, next time I just won’t give out my number at all. Live and learn.