Big News & (Frozen) Blues

Hey, Sarah….that looks suspiciously like an ID badge….
Yes, y’all….I got myself a job! I’ve known for awhile now, but didn’t sign my contract until today. I didn’t want to say anything until I had the decree from Texas that it was A-OK for me to teach here, as well as official documentation of my employment…just in case something fell through. Perhaps a wee bit fatalistic? [My brother was possibly the only person not distracted by Zac Efron and noticed my comment about getting fingerprinted to teach the other day.]

I will be working for a school district here in/around/perhaps not even close to Austin, at an elementary school that shall not be named (so Harry Potter), as an Interventionist, meaning….well, I’m still figuring that out. I will not be a classroom teacher like before, but instead I will work one-on-one and in small groups with students who are struggling academically.There will be a steep learning curve for me, as I’ll be entering the unknown (and now for something completely different…) Seeing as how the reason I hesitated to go back to teaching in the first place was a combination of both the potential to pursue some sort of food career and also (mostly) feeling disheartened at teachers and administrators who had given up on kids, I think working with those kids who need someone to believe in them will be right up my alley. At least I hope so!

I am SO SO lucky and blessed to have received a job offer so quickly, especially one in a school system, with benefits, etc. I really owe it all to my friend Shannon’s sisters, who helped me get my foot in the door, and to my lovely teacher references who worked their magical ways with words I’m sure.

Anyways, I hope you look forward to heading back to school with me…the return of the BUG full of overnight oats-to-go, packed lunches, and recollections of all of the wonderfully wacky things kids do.

In other exciting news….someone has a little bun in the oven!
No, it’s not me [you can breathe now, Dad]…that little marathon-runner and world-peace-enviro-activist in the making is the future small child of my dear friends in Charlottesville, Elizabeth and J.W. At first, I thought they were joking…but despite the fact that E’s status as a med student could potentially allow her to create doctored Ultrasounds…I’m pretty sure this is legit. Congrats!

Even more exciting? As I mentioned earlier, it’s Molly’s birthday! You can read all about her here.

To celebrate, I have a little recipe/concoction that I know she will appreciate, because she is the only person I know who shares my frozen yogurt obsession to quite the same degree.

Y’all know how I feel about frozen blueberries…and yet, I always end up with a bag of them in my freezer.
Luckily, I stumbled upon Eating Well‘s recipe for Instant Peach Frozen Yogurt, which I definitely wanted to try, as every time I’ve encountered a homemade ice cream-of-any-type recipe I shied away from it, being sans ice cream maker and not willing to put in the effort of doing a 5th grade rock salt science experiment in my kitchen.

But, although I didn’t have frozen peaches, I did have those blueberries…as well as some ‘waiting-at-death’s-door’ mint. I thought, “I love minted fruit. Will I also love minted fruit frozen yogurt?”
Into the food processor went 2 cups of berries and about 1/4 cup of mint leaves. [Here, Eating Well suggests adding sugar. Um..what's the point of more sugar? The fact that we are using frozen berries means we know they were probably picked at peak freshness...so they are as sweet as possible. I mean, without going out and getting my own from the bush in the backyard.*]

*Of my dreams.
I also whisked/stirred together 1/4 cup plain yogurt and the juice of one lime. (Eating Well said use a lemon. I said use a lime. We agreed to disagree.)
First, I got the processor going, chopping up those berries and mint.
This is where Eating Well said to use the tunnel thingy on the food processor (I think the official term is “chute,” but I like ‘tunnel thingy.’) to pour in the yogurt. I did it that way, but I’m not really sure that it matters.
Since frozen blueberries always turn everything purple, we should not be surprised at the color of this concoction.
It is definitely not as creamy as a soft-serve fro-yo, and it has the slight iciness of a sherbet or sorbet. (I gather adding more yogurt would make it creamier.) But it was DELICIOUS. I loved it. I can’t wait to try it with the bag of frozen mango and papaya I have in the freezer…perhaps sans mint. Unless I randomly have some more.

Instant Frozen Yogurt

2 cups frozen fruit
1/4 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 large lemon or one small lime (choose based on the fruit pairing)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt and citrus juice.
2. Put frozen fruit in the food processor. Blend until finely chopped.
3. With motor still running, pour yogurt through chute.
4. Once the mixture has reached a creamy consistency, scoop out into bowls and enjoy! [Or eat straight from the processor. I won't tell.]

I was apparently feeling blues-y all day.

I started off the morning with this Cascade Fresh* yogurt (the ones I found to be non-fat flavored, sweetened with real fruit, rather than fake sugar.)

*I just wanted to share that I actually wrote Cascade Farms despite the fact that I was staring at the picture while writing it.
It was called Marionberry, which looked like raspberry to me (but more fuschia than the raspberries on the raspberry flavor carton), but sounded exotic, so clearly I had to pick it. [I did almost go for Boysenberry, because it is so fun to say. It's the little things in life, really.] So, not exactly blue, but a member the blackberry family, according to Wikipedia. Hmm..so pink really IS the new black?
Can you see the seeds? How cool! I love seeing seeds! If i had a choice to choose seedless raspberry preserves over regular, I would choose seeded every time. Is that weird? I also like pulp OJ. Seeds in grapes? Not so much.

I had a bunch of blueberries that were crying out from their wrinkly nursing home state to eat them, please, and save them from wastefulness.
A yummy, bluesy mess of cereal [Kashi Honey Sunshine, puffed wheat, All-Bran Bran Buds...the usual] to be sure. But delicious? Of course!

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I guess I was just psyching myself up all day for celebrating some more blues…this time the musical variety. Last night I went to Blues on the Green, yet another fabulous (free!) public offering in this great city of Austin.
Thanks to the google-mappings of Michael, which included markers designated as “park here,” “cross the water here,” and “find us here,” I did connect with everyone (in the nick of time really, as my phone died just as I saw Michael waving his copy of The Tipping Point frantically from across the park.

“What map? I did what?”

Foodie-ness included my packed PVP (Personal veggie plate…totally gonna make that acronym ‘happen.’ Totally.)
Carrots, red bell peppers, baby ‘bellas, and raw zucchini and summer squash…basically whatever I could find in the fridge. Along with some of my Roasted Eggplant & Garlic Hummus, topped with my Roasted Vegetable Tapenade. [I know, I need to get those recipes to you...] I discovered that although good apart, they are even better when they’re together! [Cue Jack Johnson.]
I also packed a EarthGrains thin bun….you’ll notice that I ate 3/4 of one side in the car because my stomach was eating itself.
I actually only ate the rest of that one half because Cara had brought two of the best cracker-y snacker-y foods around: Kashi TLC Crackers and Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips.

The evil death stare as I reached over and opened the Sweet Potato Chips….[OK, not really, she just didn't want her picture taken. But I like my version better.]

And Teddy took a page out of Mama Smart’s Guide to Life by bringing honeydew to the outdoor concert…
…when she wasn’t busy preparing to audition for next summer’s Zilker Park production of Romeo & Juliet, of course.
PS. This picture was totally unplanned. She had no clue I was taking it. How cool is that? I’m pretty sure she thought the sky was falling or something….it DID look pretty cool:

You know who else was cool? Cara‘s little brother, who, without being asked, folded up my bright blue beach chair (purchased on sale for only $7!!!) and carried it for me when we moved locations. And then set it up again. He earned points for life.

Aren’t he and his friendgirl cute?

Also looking cute despite the heat (if I can be narcissistic for a minute)? Shannon (AKA the reason I am now in Austin because if I hadn’t visited her in March I wouldn’t be here now and I’m very sad that we are kind of switching lives because she’s moving back to Charlottesville in a week or so) and myself!
You’ll note I was wearing a blue and green (OK, you can’t really tell) striped shirt. I like to coordinate my clothing with the events I attend. Blues on the Green? Get it?