oh where, oh where, has your little d gone?

Oh where, oh where, can she be? With her ____ cut short and her ____ cut long, oh where, oh where, can she be?

Do not fret, I have returned! Haha, I know everyone was worried sick ;) totally kidding, of course. I am sorry for the empty promise though, you know, that one that said I'd be back and well-rested on Sunday. Well I ended up sleeping well that night but I spent my last weekend day running errands and when I got back all I wanted to do was relax and move the post to Monday. That would have worked out just fine if I would've gone to bed at 11 like intended. Instead ended up with a rare and intense case of "insomnia." Seriously though, I fell asleep to the birds chirping outside my window at like 6 am on Monday morning... and then had to get up about 40 minutes later to get ready for class. That would explain my absence yesterday, I was a zombie. Oh excuses.

Sunday morning featured an exciting breakfast sandwich, made the same boring way, a ripened banana between two slices of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, flax, and marmalade. The regulars, green tea, and the vitamin were there too. Oh my gosh, it's amazing, I love PBBJs.

One of the outings was a trip to Jumbo and then the vegetable market. My "mom" and I found 5 gorgeous artichokes... worthy of a blog picture :). I'll get back to you on the taste factor, I'm optimistic!

We also re-filled one of the three fruit bowls. This one is the most diverse- 2 kinds of pears, clementines, avocado, apples, bananas, and tomatoes. I snacked on one of the D'Anjou pears (it was screaming to be eaten and did not dissapoint) and an apple throughout the day.

Here's the lunch and dinner portions of Pastel de Papas. I know it doesn't look very photogenic but wow, it was absolutely delicious. The bottom layer, similar to meat loaf, is made with soy meat, onions, spices, olives, and raisins. This of course was topped with pureed potatoes, that's where the name comes from, and baked in the oven. I cannot rave enough, the combo of sweet and spicy was just incredible!

Yesterday morning I had a standard bowl of Apple & Banana Oatmeal which I didn't bother to photograph since I figured you've seen enough of it, lol. It filled me up and kept my hunger at bay for a whole 6 hours and was probably the only thing that kept me functioning in Spanish class. Lunch was the last (un-photographed) bowl of Carbonada soup with a side salad of carrots and tomatoes. And finally, dinner, drum roll please, Sopa Minestrone! You should have seen how excited I was that my mom had made this again. I had been out at my second class all afternoon and came home to this heavenly bowl of goodness. Here's the recipe if you missed it before. Without a doubt, I'd say this is my favorite Chilean dish so far!

Then this morning I had another breakfast sandwich. I wasn't going to take a picture, I really wasn't, but then the peanut butter started to ooze out of a hole in the top of the bread and I had no choice. Mmm, PB, I'm in love. Today I've got Body Balance, yesterday's running, drawing class, and maybe another 2 servings of the ultimate soup in store for me. And yay for the return of regular posting. Happy Tuesday!

so very sorry

Thank you Veggiegirl, Lighter Portions, Sarah and Allison for your concern the other day. Unfortunately things have since gotten worse, but it's not even me, things have gotten worse for my best friend from home. She's going through am incredibly tough time right now and I hate that I'm incapable of making it better, especially not from here. 

After not sleeping Friday night I surprisingly didn't have an appetite for breakfast. I suppose that happens sometimes though, my nerves can really get to me. Instead I nursed green tea all morning and played with my host siblings. For lunch, sorry for the blurry pic in advance, I had a slice of  Pascualina, a divine mix of egg and lots of Spinach baked in a thin pie crust, with large servings of the "Ensaladas del dia." Although good, I know I would've enjoyed it a lot more if it had been any other weekend.

Hm, my host-mom knew I needed to get out of the house so after cleaning up lunch she took me to the mall. Shopping therapy doesn't change reality but it's a wonder what it can do for your mood. September marks the beginning of spring here so every store was having some type of sale, I walked out with a new pair of boots, a purse, and 4 shirts. Then we stopped by the peluqueria where I got a much-needed hair cut. After my "mini-makeover" I was feeling a lot better and along came my appetite, good thing it was dinner-time when we got home! We whipped together some pasta and homemade sauce and had celery salad and lettuce salad on the side. It was such a comforting meal.

This morning, after another restless night, I wasn't too hungry again! It's so disappointing, breakfast is my ultimate favorite meal of the day. I jump-started my appetite a bit with a banana and managed to eat a slice of toast with PB and an apple, with my habitual green tea.

The "family" and I had a lazy Sunday morning. All we really did was make a run to the grocery store and ended up picking up our main dish on the way back, Empanadas de Pino y Empanadas de Queso. I had a quarter of each but the one pictured is the Pino, which I must admit includes beef in it's long list of filling ingredients. I'm not apologetic that I tried it though, there wasn't that much meat, it was delicious, and it is totally a Chilean specialty. How could I not have?! Clock-wise around the plate I also enjoyed "Ensalada de Carmen Gloria" or my host-mom's signature salad of corn, tomatoes, and onions, another Celery salad, (seconds of both) and aji, definitely the star in my eyes.

Aw, Julieta! This is my adorable baby "sister" at the park this afternoon. After lunch the kids and I walked around and ended up visiting a ton of different parks in our neighborhood. I also found a great running route that I'm excited to try out tomorrow. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty laid back yet entertaining day, and I think this little one would agree.

Dinner tonight began with a tomatofied Egg Drop soup. What do you think of my word improvising skills? Haha, that's really what it was though and it was nothing short of amazing.

 

Afterwards we had a plate of a hard-boiled egg, avocado, Carrot & Cucumber salad, Cabbage salad, and Queso fresco. I didn't eat the cheese because, well, I just don't enjoy cheese with salad. I didn't have bread either because I was sufficiently satisfied by the time I finished everything else. This was a nice light meal for a Sunday night. Oh yeah, it's Sunday, so tomorrow is Monday, and my first week of classes begins. I'm so nervous! Hope everyone had a great weekend, I'll be checking back in with yummy updates as soon as I can!

lost

Bad things shouldn't happen to good people. I wish I were home, physically there for her during this tough time, but I'm not, ugh, and it feels like there's nothing I can do. Sorry about the blah post, I'm just helpless and don't even know what to say... here are today's eats.