Mexico City: Part 2

September 28, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hey there!

Back with part 2 of my recap of my trip to Mexico City. I had originally planned for there to only be two parts but I started writing and I realized just how much there was to say. I keep these posts somewhat on the shorter side, I decided that I would come back in a few days to talk about the last couple of days. Hope you guys are enjoying the read. Definitely go back and read Part One if you missed it.

Day 3 was a big day for Sy and I. We knew that were heading to the Museo Nacional de la Anthropologia, but we thought it would be fun to grab some breakfast first. We went to Fonda Margarita, a restaurant that someone recommended to Sy before the trip. Just to give you a little context on this place – it’s only open from 5:30am to 11:30am OR until they run out of food. We were lucky because we got there around 10:30 and they were still serving. They had a limited menu, however. Because Sy isn’t super fluent in Spanish and I pretty much speak none, ordering at this place was a mess. Haha The environment was super fast-paced, with mariachi being performed and waitresses yelling orders the kitchen so when our waitress was trying to tell us what our options were, there was a lot of confusion. Luckily, we were seated at a table with these lovely women, one of whom spoke English very well, and they jumped in to help us out. I was so grateful for Sy in that moment (and many others) as I realized more and more just how little Spanish I actually know (hence my decision to take Spanish as a 4^th year PhD student). Anyway, it was totally worth it. The only main dish they had left was the chicharron en verde so we split that along with a side of eggs and refried beans, which gave me life. The food was bomb. The atmosphere was lively. Glad we were able to include it in our trip.

We went straight from the resto to the musem. The Museo Nacional de la Anthropologia is touted as one of the “must-go” sites in Mexico. Upon arriving, it was apartment why it has gained this reputation. Our Uber dropped us off at the entrance that’s below street level where we were greeted with this beautiful fountain.

After our photoshoot, we headed upstairs and entered the lobby to grab our tickets and enter the exhibits. The door on the other side of the lobby lets out into a humungous court yard, featuring yet another fabulous fountain and exhibit spaces on either side. The galleries were organized by different themes, most of which were various historical indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. In addition to the exhibits inside, the rooms on the left-hand side of the courtyard also let out into these amazing recreations of ancient ruins. They were quite impressive. Being the badass museum trotters that we are, Sy and I managed to get through all of rooms in around two and a half hours. Our favorite exhibit was the room with the caveman dioramas.

After finishing up at the museum, we took a stroll through the park to Castillo de Chapultapec. Though there are some exhibits here, the most incredible aspect of this site is the actual space. The castle itself is beautifully designed with gorgeous balconies and gardens. It also gives you sick view of the city.

After going back home to rest up for a bit, we came back into the city to go to Fonda Fina for some deliciousness. We went back to the bar where Newton’s friend works and met with some people that Sy had met during his first week of travel. Newton, who had class that evening, met us there and a group of us spent the rest of night in search of adventure. I wouldn’t say that we necessarily found it but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed wandering.

Day 4

The next day started with a breakfast/brunch situation at Casa de Tono. This is a Mexican chain known for its pozole. This dish was super comforting given the somewhat cool/rainy weather. Looking forward to trying to make some of this at home once LA decides to let summer go.

The rest of the day was spent walking through the Polanco neighborhood with Newton and Sy. This was Newton’s only day without class or work so it was nice to get to hang with him. We got fro-yo, window-shopped, and ended up at the Museo Jumex. We topped the afternoon off with some baked goods from Esperanza. I had this delicious mini-apple pie that I did not take a photo of because I ate it too fast. We went back to Newton’s for a bit of rest time (which for me meant work time), and then we went to get seafood at Fisher’s.

Okay. I’ll back back shortly to talk about the last two days of my trip!

GWHG

My Take on PaleOMG’s Pizza Spaghetti Pie

September 24, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hey guys,

Decided to create a post about this since I got a LOT of requests for the recipe when I posted a photo on Instagram. I believe that I first tried the original recipe from PaleOMG because a friend recommended it to me and I was amazed at how delicious it was given that it only has five ingredients. Furthermore, it delivered on the “pizza” flavor without the drama of making a crust.

The best thing about this recipe is that its simplicity makes it so customizable. Since I first tried the recipe, I’ve made it countless times, usually adding my own twist. This is the version that I put together this past weekend, largely influenced by a desire to make use of some of the things that I already had in the fridge. For those vegetarians out there, you could easily make an amazing meat-free version packed with all kinds of veggies and maybe even some delicious cheese if you can handle the dairy.

My Take on PaleOMG's Pizza Spaghetti Pie

2016-09-21 13:33:46

Pizza flavored veggie casserole

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash
ground chicken*
Italian seasoning blend of your choice**
1 can (28-oz) organic tomatoes
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 cups broccoli florets (pre-steamed/cooked)
1 cup pitted green olives
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
2 eggs, whisked
Coconut oil and/or ghee (or other cooking fat of choice)

Instructions

Preheat the over to 400 degrees F.
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and guts.
Rub down the inside of the squash with coconut oil or ghee (or other cooking fat of choice).
Place the squash halfs, skin up, on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes.
Once squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and place aside to cool.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Add the tomatoes, nutritional yeast, olives, broccoli, herbs and seasonings to a large casserole dish.
Once the spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrap out the insides into the casserole dish with the other ingredients.
Combine all the ingredients, adding more Italian seasoning and/or salt and pepper to your liking.
Add the whisked eggs and combine again.
Bake for 1 hour until dish is mostly solidified (you should not be able to easily put your finger through the center).
For a crispier finish, turn the oven to broil for 2-5 minutes (checking in every minute to be sure it doesn't burn the top).

Notes

*The original recipe calls for Italian sausage. If you use this, you don't have to worry about seasoning the meat yourself.
**Instead of a using a store-bought blend, I simply seasoned the chicken with fennel seeds, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. You can easily find an "Italian sausage" blend online to use.

By Sabrina H

Adapted from PaleOMG

Girl With the Hipster Glasses http://girlwiththehipsterglasses.com/

Mexico City: Part One

September 21, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Greetings from the Mexico City airport! I’m currently waiting to board my flight back to Los Angeles after spending five lovely days in the fifth largest city in the world. I’m really happy with all that I got to do and see in this five days but there is definitely so much more to do in both the city and Mexico more broadly. Here’s a quick rundown of the first couple of days of my trip.

Dia Uno:

I arrived in Mexico City around 1pm on Tuesday and went to meet my friend Newton at his job near the city center. After touching base with him for a bit, I went off to explore the city on foot for a couple of hours while he went to a meeting. I ended up walking (and getting lost) for about 2 hours and 40 minutes. There was so much to take in.

One of the first things that I noticed about Mexico City was the noise. As I walked through the city, there were all kinds of sounds – different kinds of music blended with the sounds of chaos that characterize most large cities. As I walked from one block to another, I was gifted with a new soundtrack through which to take in the space. About an hour and a half into my walk (right around the time that I started to realized how far away I was from Newton’s job) it started pouring raining. It drizzled for a minute or two and then it quickly sped up and before I knew it, sheets of water were coming from the sky. Even though I was wearing my rain jacket and had an umbrella, I was still pretty soaked. It was incredible to see the city this way, though. The people scattering, trying to find some form of shelter, the sidewalk shop owners quickly closing up shop until the rain lightened up, the already insane traffic becoming even more intense. Perhaps it’s because I love cities or because I had only been in this new place for a few hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed this moment. There was something fun about hopping through puddles with strangers in a new city. After my rain adventures, I finally found my way back to Newton’s job and we went for dinner at this cute little spot in the Roma neighborhood.

Dia Dos:

I slept in my first morning in hopes of getting the most out of the day. Once I got going, I had a nice breakfast/brunch at Newton’s place and then grabbed an Uber to the Frida Khalo museum.

I absolutely loved this site. I learned a lot about Khalo’s life/art through the exhibits but also through the space itself. The museum is what used to be Frida and Diego Rivera’s home. On an aesthetic level, it’s gorgeous but the built features of the space also revealed important information about Khalo herself – her personality and her struggles with her body.

After spending about an hour or so here, I stocked up on souvenirs and took a stroll about the surrounding area. I wound up at this incredible park, called Vivero Coyocan. If I had to mark the moment when I fell in love in Mexico City, this would be it. There is something about well-designed urban green space that gets me every time. I grabbed a seat on a tree trunk and just sat and people-watched for thirty minutes or so before getting my arse in gear again.

I dropped by this lovely nursery that I had seen from the window of my uber on my way to the museum and then made my way to the nearest subway station.

So I take it back. If I had to choose the moment where I fell in love with Mexico City, it would be the moment that I got on the subway. Public transit is one of my favorite things to experience in a new city. It’s a quotidian experience that I hold near and dear (hence the dissertation). I got on the 9 subway line a bit after 3pm and it was PACKED. I was able to get on the first train that came but I was tightly wedged into the standing room space between the doors on either side of the car. For 8 stops I watched people getting on and off – elbowing their way through the closing doors, maneuvering their bodies between the countless others that was squished into the car, strategically negotiating space with their bodies so that they could achieve some base level of comfort. There is a certain cut-throat public transit culture in Mexico City that I absolutely loved. There seemed to be unique social code operating within this space – one that was not concerned with feelings and certainly not with physical/spatial barriers. Despite being void of emotion, this space was extremely intimate as people pressed themselves against each other to avoid having to wait for the next train. Sometimes my skin would briefly make contact with that of someone near me, both of us sticky from a lack of A/C, and while we would both make an effort to unstick ourselves, we ultimately grew content with the reality that we were stuck together until the train stopped and the crowd shifting into a new configuration.

Despite my romanticization of the grimy subway scene, coming up out of the station was a beautiful reprieve. This is especially true because I was right near the Alameda Central Park. Again, I must give la Cuidad de Mexico kudos for its green space. I sat down on a bench and got in touch with my friend Sayantan who was coming back into Mexico City after traveling to other parts of the country. One of my yoga buddies (S/O to Sergio) recommended El Califa to me for tacos and it turned out that Sy was on his way there so I reentered the subway to go meet him.

I pretty much inhaled these tacos. They were so delicious and much needed after a day or trekking around the city.

After tacos, we took a stroll around the Condesa neighborhood, which is really cute. We decided to stop at the restaurant that Newton and I had been to the night before for drinks and dessert.

Following this pit stop, we walked over to Ladina, a bar where one of Newton’s friends bartends and hung out with him for a while. This bar served as somewhat of a homebase for Sy and I throughout our trip. Great drinks. Great atmosphere. And lovely people.

Around 9:30 or so, we headed back to Newton’s place, which was a 30-45 minutes drive from the city center, depending on traffic. We had to rest up for the next few days or our adventure.

So much to write about! Be back with the rest in a few days.

20-Minute AMRAP with Row Machine

September 8, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

9 Squats

12 Deadlifts

15 push-ups

18 overhead lunges (I used weighted bar overhead)

500m row

Simple Savory Chicken Wings

August 31, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hey guys,

I’m excited to be sharing one of my absolute favorite recipes with you guys. It’s so simple and so perfect for when you’re craving something fast-foody but are trying to go the healthy route.

This wing recipe is my go-to on days when I want something tasty and comforting but I don’t want to put in too much energy. What I love about wings is that, unlike other cuts of chicken, they are super flavorful without marination. I highly recommend keeping some in the freezer. On the day when you wake up with wings on the brain, throw them in the fridge to thaw. Come home from a hard day of work (or play), season them, and bake. No complicated marinade necessary.

The most “difficult” part of this recipe is the porcini mushroom blend. I am grateful that I live close to a local spice shop (The Spice Station Silverlake) that carries an amazing blend. Before I discovered their blend, however, I used to make my own using the Magic Mushroom Powder recipe from Nom Nom Paleo. I highly recommend trying this spice blend whether you’re using it for wings or for something else.

I love eating these wings as is but this seasoning blend also works great as a base blend for sauced wings. Just season them and cook them as directed and then cover them in your sauce of choice. Barbeque wings and this new recipe that I tried last week with shishitos (soon to be published on the blog) are some of the ways that I choose to sauce up my wings.

Simple Savory Wings

2016-08-30 14:26:22

Serves 2

Quick and easy recipe for yummy flavorful chicken wings

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Save Recipe

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt*
black pepper to taste
1 T porcini mushroom blend**

Instructions

Remove wings from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking.
Preheat oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once wings are about room temperature, toss them in a large bowl with olive oil and spices.
Place wings on wired rack and place rack on top of a foil lined cooking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip wings on the rack.
Cook for about another 20 minutes.

By Sabrina Howard

Girl With the Hipster Glasses http://girlwiththehipsterglasses.com/

Crush The Gym: Common Templates to Design Your Gym Workouts

August 23, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

I recently received a message from a college friend asking for advice about getting into the gym. She said that she was completely new to working out and was unsure of where to start. While it’s really easy for me to create my own gym workouts at this point, it’s also easy for me to remember moments of confusion in my early workout days. After responding to my friend’s question, I realized that there might be other gym newbies (or aspiring gym newbies) out there who might benefit from this information. This post might also be useful for some of you who are pros at the gym and looking to change things up. Here are different workout “templates” or formats that you can use to challenge yourself at the gym. Just choose some of your favorite (or least favorite) exercise moves, plug them into one of these templates and you’re all set.

Many of these styles are commonly used in Crossfit but even if Crossfit isn’t your thing (I’ve never actually been to a Crossfit gym) these formats are really useful for structuring your workouts.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): I’m a HUGE fan of interval training. Not only is it proven to be super effective for getting in shape, it’s also extremely time efficient. I usually aim for anywhere between 24-30 minutes of work in any gym session and I never leave feeling like I should have done more. To design a HIIT workout, simply choose your exercises and choose how you’d like to time your intervals – how many seconds of work will you perform per seconds of rest. I usually do 30/10 for strength workouts. I alternate between two moves and do each move twice for a total of 8 rounds.

Tabata: Tabata is a specific style of HIIT training that’s structured around 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest over 8 rounds.

As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP): When I’m on a time crunch and I want to get the most out of my workout, I usually do an AMRAP. All you have to do is choose your exercises – I usually pick 4-5 different moves – and then how long you’d like work. If I’m doing one big round, I usually do somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes, adjusting according to the number of exercises you’re performing.

Mini AMRAPS: Rather than doing one long time frame, you could also do multiple smaller AMRAP sets with less moves. I often do 3 or 4 8-minute AMRAPs with only 2-3 exercises per set.

Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM): This is the style that I probably do the least but I’m planning to start incorporating it more. You simply choose your move(s) and reps and do them as fast as you can at the start of every minute for some allotted period of time. For examples, you might do 5 thrusters and 2 burpees when the clock starts and then rest until the clock gets to minute 2 and continue this for 10 minutes/rounds.

Ladder: Unlike the other workout styles mentioned here, ladder workouts are not structured around time, but rather by reps. To design a ladder workout, you choose your moves and the highest number of reps you’d like to perform in any given set. This number represents the top of the ladder. Perform each move for the maximum number of reps and then decrease the number of reps and perform each move again. Keep doing this until you reach the bottom of your “ladder.” Some variations of the ladder include reversing the order – starting at the bottom and working your way up. You could also be intense and work your way up your ladder and then come back down. Also note that your ladder doesn’t necessarily have to go up/down one step at a time. You can increase/decrease by 2,3,4 etc. too. To challenge yourself, note how long it takes you to complete your ladder and then try to beat your time the next time you do the workout.

My last bit of advice for designing your own workouts is to buy or download an interval timer. If you’d prefer to have a separate timer, here is one that I like. If you’d like to keep it simple, download a gym timer app and program it with all your preferred intervals. I doesn’t need to be fancy at all. I’ve used the free version of the Interval Timer app and it works great for me.

Introducing … Five Things Friday

August 19, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hellooooo everyone!

The summer is coming to an end for me. As of next week, I will officially start year 4 of my PhD and the leisure that I’ve known it for the past three months will be but a memory. Although I’ll continue GWHG with recipes, workouts, and yoga-related posts, I thought it would also be fun to my version of a “favorite things” post where I briefly update you guys on some of the little things that are occupying my brain, filling my tummy, and making me smile. Here’s the first edition of Five Thing Friday.

So here are five things that:

I’m reading: “

“4 Ways I’ve Grown Stronger from Surviving Childhood Trauma”

I have amazingly beautiful, thoughtful, and talented friends. One of them wrote and published this beautiful piece in Everyday Feminism in which she opens up about her childhood experiences, but also reflects upon the social discomfort that exists surrounding imperfect childhoods. Such an important conversation that I believe with open up many others.

I’m eating:

Scrambled Eggs with Salsa and Tortilla Chips

This dish/combo is by no means new or innovative but it’s been bringing me a lot of joy recently. The key to this, as with many other simple dishes, is to use high quality ingredients.Though high quality eggs can be a bit pricier, more commercial grocers are moving towards supplying cage-free and free-range eggs as they make a huge difference in terms of taste and nutrition. Delicious fresh eggs + 365 salsa verde + Jackson’s Organic tortilla chips = happiness.

I’m wearing:

Rocksbox

I have been holding off on actually posting anything about this under I figured out how I felt about it. I’ve been getting Rocksbox for the past three months and it’s safe to say that I love it. It’s like Stitchfix, but for jewelry. You get three (beautifully wrapped) pieces at a time. You can keep them and wear them for as long as you like, with the option of purchasing the piece(s) that you like, and then send them back for a new set. I may or may not have bought at least one thing from each of my sets so far.

The cool thing about Rocksbox is that you can leave feedback for your stylist on each of your sets so that the ones following better reflect your style.

Use my referral code to get your first month’s subscription free. Try it out! Let me know if you like it!

Referral Code: SABRINAHBFF1

I’m listening to:

Hari Kondabolu – Mainstream American Comic

I was introduced to Hari through the Another Round podcast last week (which I would highly recommend you listen to). I loved his personality and the snippets of his comedy that were included on the show were hilarious so I ran to iTunes to purchase his album. Hari’s work is hilarious, thoughtful, political and so timely right now given all that’s happening in the world.

I’m dreaming about:

Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru – Visiting One of the New Seven World Wonders

You guysssssss. That was me whining as my wanderlust eat at me because I feel like I didn’t travel enough this summer. I’ve spent most of the summer being drooling over my friends’ travel photos on social media and wallowing in self-pity while eating the aforementioned frozen figs. I’ve been stuck on going to Peru for the past year and a half or so and I think I finally found a travel buddy so hopefully I’ll be making my way to some of this beauty within the next year.

My Weekend in Denver

August 17, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hi guys!!

I just got back from a lovely weekend in Denver and I wanted to write a little about my experience while it’s still fresh. A few weeks ago, I decided that it was in my best interest to get out of LA for a bit before the start of my semester. This summer has been much crazier than I anticipated and I was started to feel a bit stifled so I decided to take a trip to explore a new city. A friend from college kindly offered to host me at her apartment in The Highlands so I was also looking forward to catching up with her and having her show me around the city where she grew up.

I left LA on Friday morning and arrived in Denver mid-afternoon. Though my hour and 45-minute flight was delayed an hour and a half for no reason that was disclosed to me (thanks Spirit Airlines!) I still had a nice amount of day left by the time I made it to the city. I took the light rail from the airport to Union Station and then took a Lyft to Erin’s place, which was only about a 15-minute drive. I arrived to Erin quick-pickling veggies from a local community garden – my kinda girl. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and then headed to the Cherry Creek neighborhood for dinner at Departure.

So Departure. As the foodie fangirl that I am, I’ve followed Departure Portland and Gregory Gourdet, the creator and ex-Top Chef contestant, for about a year now. My plans of going to Portland in the near future are largely driven by a desire to visit Departure. Check out their insta to see what I’m talking about. Anyway, I found out that the Denver location of Departure was opening the week of my trip and I was way too excited. I think I literally did a mini-turn-up dance in my kitchen when I saw it on Instagram. I immediately went a made a reservation and then spent the week anticipating the amazement.

It did not disappoint in the slightest. The Asian-inspired dishes featured flavors and textures that were adventurous and interesting while employing simple and recognizable whole food ingredients. Everything I could want. Erin and I shared the roasted beet salad, steamed short rib buns (featured below and on my insta), lamb shoulder skewers, and the Vietnamese Duck Curry. We had the mango sticky rice for desert (featured below). Apologies for the lack of photos, the lighting wasn’t good (for basic b’s like me who want to take photos of their food).

We also got cocktails. Erin’s contained a large blackberry.

We capped off the night with a drink in a swanky little bar and then headed back to Erin’s place for some much needed rest after a day of traveling and good food.

Saturday, I got off to a late start. Who knew I could actually sleep past 7am? Around 1pm I finally got my life together and headed out for some exploration. At Erin’s recommendation, I decided to start my afternoon at the Clyfford Still Museum and I was so glad I did. Still was a huge advocate of single-artist galleries so the entire museum is dedicated solely to his work. The pieces are curated chronologically so you can map the growth over his 50 year career and really get a feel for his development as an abstract expressionist.

After the museum, I grabbed a snack, strolled around the Capitol Hill area, and then headed to a community yoga class at Kindness Yoga. The class was taught by a gentleman who had recently completed his 200-hour training and as someone who is about halfway to completing that training, I found the experience of being in his class really valuable as a student and aspiring teacher.

After class, Erin picked me up and we, along with her friend Tasha who was also visiting, went back to her place to start prepping for a lovely evening of backyard grilling and dining. Erin had a ton of veggies from her community garden so we tossed a bunch on the grill along with some chicken breasts and ate under the beautiful Denver sky. It was nothing short of perfection.

Unlike Saturday, my Sunday got off to a roaring start. My friend’s mom, who lives just south of the city, was kind enough take me hiking. She picked me up at 7am and we drove about an hour to the trailhead at Butler Gulch. The hike was absolutely gorgeous. The vegetation was so lush and the clouds so blue. There was also an amazing waterfall about halfway in that I could have watched for hours. That’s not something I’m used to seeing coming from drought country.

The rest of Sunday consisted of lounging/napping in the grass in Erin’s backyard, watching the Olympics, and an evening yoga class at Corepower, which has a location right down the street from Erin’s place. After yoga, there was dinner and more olympics and finally bed.

On my last morning/afternoon in Denver, I got up early to get the 7:30 class at Corepower. Around 9:30, I made my way downtown to do some strolling before grabbing an early, but hefty, lunch at Euclid Hall. This place was recommended to me by a friend who visited Denver last year. As soon as she said that they made their own in-house sausage, I knew it had to happen. It was my last meal of my trip so I figured I’d go big before I went home. Got the mortadella sausage with pistachios and black pepper (there were actually whole shelled pistachios through the center of the sausage). Carnitas poutine with tomatillo salsa, cheddar and goat cheese, and fresh cilantro. Simple green salad cause greens.

All and all, I had a great weekend. Denver strikes a lovely balance between the city and the small town. Everyone is super friendly, the pace is relaxed, and it has great cultural attributes. I’m back in LA, feeling refueled and refreshed for the semester to come. Definitely looking forward to going back in the future.

GWHG

Yoga Diaries: Check In and Adjust

August 10, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Recently I’ve noticed my reluctance to adjust. As someone with a fair amount of tightness in the body, it is not uncommon that I find myself uncomfortable in a pose while on my mat. I’m not referring to the kind of discomfort that is productive – the kind that signals that I am challenging my muscles through strengthening and/or stretching. It’s the kind of minor discomfort that distracts me from actively focusing my energy where it should be. It’s the tightness that I feel in my shoulders when I pull my arms too close together in savasana. It’s the tension that I get in my neck when when looking up towards my fingertips in triangle pose. It’s the little things that I could easily fix if I took the time to adjust.

Clearly I notice these discomforts. I’ve noticed them for a while. But it’s only recently that I’ve noticed how often I ignore them. “We won’t be in this pose too long,” I think. “I’ll just push through.” I’ve begun to think about my reluctance to adjusting and if/how this tendency shows up for me off of the mat.

How often do I find myself in an uncomfortable situation – a situation where I am clearly unhappy in some way – and rather than respond to it, I simply wait it out? What are the consequences of this and perhaps more importantly, why am I so inclined to ignore my own unhappiness?

When I think about this in a larger life context, I realize how important it is to not only check-in, but to actually respond accordingly. While I have spent years training myself to check in with myself through my yoga and meditation practices, I now have to push myself to actually do something based on the knowledge that this introspection yields.

Given where I am in life – 3 years into a 5-7 year degree, unsure of both what I’m seeking professionally and what opportunities exist – I realize how crucial is it for me to adjust. At this stage of my life, I am making decisions about where I want to go in this world and what I want my life to be like. I am setting the foundation upon which I will begin to build my dreams. It is more important than ever that I better learn what makes me happy and what causes me suffering in order to effectively design my path to contentment.

I cannot continue to acknowledge my suffering – no matter how seemingly insignificant- and be passive. While I may not always be able to immediately alleviate my discomfort in its entirety, attempting is of the utmost importance for it is through these attempts that we grow into ourselves and bring our dreams to fruition.

How to Blister Shishito Peppers + Recipe Ideas

August 4, 2016 By: skallabrinacomment

Hey guys,

If you weren’t aware, shishito peppers are in season! I got some in my CSA box last week and I was SO excited. If you haven’t tried shishitos before, get ’em while you can. They’ll be out of season soon and it would be a shame to have to wait until next summer to experience their deliciousness.

The great thing about shishitos is that they’re super easy to prepare and make an amazing appetizer or snack. I’ve also been known to eat a batch of these with some homemade mayo and call it dinner.

To blister shishitos, begin by simply heating cooking fat in a skillet over medium high heat. I would highly recommend using a cast iron skillet if you have one. I would also suggest coconut oil, ghee, or some kind of animal fat for the oil since you want something with a high smoke point. Once the oil is hot, add the peppers to the pan, making sure not to overcrowd them, and simply let them cook unbothered. I usually leave mine for about 4-5 minutes. You can check to see if they the side against the skillet is blistered to your liking. After the first side is done, use metal tongs to flip them and let cook on the other side. Once done, transfer to a plate and generously sprinkle with sea salt. A squeeze of lime would also serve you well.

Although shishitos definitely hold their own as far as flavor, it can be fun to play around with them a bit. Last night I decided to add them as a topping on my pizza along with goat cheese, fresh garlic, basil, and cherry tomatoes and finished it off with some high quality olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.