I don't know about yall but most of the time when I look at a recipe if it has more than 5 ingredients my brain automatically shuts down. The recipe is either more in depth than I want or most likely I wont have the ingredients off hand that I need. Well... enter a nicely stocked pantry. I have been slowly building our pantry ingredients over the past couple months, besides you know: salt, pepper, EVOO, garlic salt. The marinade recipe that I found this weekend didn't have any exotic ingredients or anything but it does have things like parsley flakes {makes me appreciate asking for a stocked spice rack for Christmas} which we never use.
We had some small pork chops that needed to be cooked so I started looking up recipes on my All Recipes App. I found an easy recipe for a marinade and *gasp* I had all 10 ingredients!
Whatcha need:
3/4 cup of vegetable oil {I used EVOO}
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar {I used Apple Cider Vinegar}
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 garlic clove, minced {I used 2}
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag or a glass bowl; add pork and turn to coat. Seal bag or cover the container. Refrigerate overnight. {I refrigerated for 4 hours. The porkchops came out delicious but Im sure they would have been even tastier the longer they marinated.} Drain and discard marinade. Cook pork how you would like. {We grilled them on our George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor Grill.}
I was 10 in 1996. And you better believe my eyes were glued to the womens gymnastic competition at the Summer Olympics! I was not a gymnast. My short lived gymnastics career was over when I was 5. Im pretty sure I was already taller than all these ladies by the time I was ten. I was a softball player, but I swear I was a gymnast at heart. I could cartwheel with the best of them. And I loved seeing how long I could stay up in a handstand. How amazing were those ladies that night! It makes me smile just thinking about it! And just for the record I think Kerri Strug was faking it. Was she? Probably not. But you cant convince me otherwise! And you're telling me she couldnt put on her pants to recieve her medal and look like the rest of the team?! Psh! Shannon Miller/Dominque Dawes Fo Life!! :)
Soo you better believe I will be watching tonight. And I will be avoiding the internets like the plague to not have any spoilers. Go USA!
There's something ya'll should know about me. There are only 3 things I listen to when Im driving or riding in my car. First? Nothing. Seriously. I spend alot of my driving time not listening to anything. I know this is blasphemy for most of you but I am completely content with not listening to anything on both quick trips and long treks. Second? NPR. This is the only station I have tuned on my rado. Third? Whichever CD I am hooked on. And lately (like 2 months) it has been Justin Townes Earle's album from a few years ago The Good Life. I just LOVE it. {Obviously since its been in my player for so long.} Matty and I went to see him in May at Fitz in Houston. It was great. And hilarious drunk #1 fan was an added bonus. Please, please check out his music. Its like hip-Americana-folky awesomeness (Is that a genre? Cuz it should be.). I think its fan-freaking-tastic and recommend it highly. Have a great week!!
There is some lifestyle changing, weight loss thangs going on over here at Pretty Riot. This week I put on my frilly pink apron and made my very first salad dressing following this recipe for Denise's Vinaigrette. My guy and I are trying to incorporate more raw food into our everyday diet. That includes smoothies in the morning, raw veggies for snacks, and big green salads for lunch or dinner. Enter my {almost} raw dressing.
Whatcha need:
3/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar (or lemon juice or both) {I just used ACV}
1/4 - 1/2 c. olive oil or flax oil (either or both) {cold pressed OO to keep it raw}
3-6 cloves garlic (to taste)
2-3 Tbl tahini and or 1-2 Tbl mustard powder {I just used to tahini}
1/4 c. Nama Shoyu {could not find locally so I used Tamari}
1/4 c. Honey {raw honey to keep it raw, I used Agave}
Put all of the above in a blender and blend.
A Few Things**
Next time I might split between the vinegar and lemon juice to cut back a little on the assertiveness.
I feel tahini is an acquired taste so until you know the flavor I would just use 2 tablespoons. I will next time.
This dressing is strong on flavors, but that is exactly what I wanted to go along with all the veggies. Try it out and ENJOY!
I have been walking around all day singing the chorus to this song! I'm not a huge 80's music fan and my relationship is going strong so I'm not sure why I've been butchering this song all day. I've been rapping it, putting an opera spin on it, even serenading my guy (he loves it, don't let him tell you different). Its catchy and fun. Hell I might even get home from work, throw on a pair of tights and a neon headband, grab my hairbrush microphone, and put on a show! Here's to the week... Take it away Pat!
How was everyone's 4th? I work in the hospitality industry so you know there is no such thing as holidays. Luckily I only had to work til 7 so I was off just in time for Galveston's first Independence Day parade. Where I may or may not have embarassed my neice by continuously shouting " 'Merica Baby!" in my best hillbilly voice. My mom, neice, boyfriend and I took our chairs to the seawall to enjoy the parade and then watch the fireworks over the gulf. Speaking of... did you hear about San Diego's firework fiasco?! How crazy!!
Today is the start of our Summer Series: Exploring Galveston over onPretty Riot. We went to a great Boutique in town where I found a cute pair of everyday turquoise earrings. Follow the link and check out our new series that posts every Tuesday (a store) and Thursday (a restaurant) for the next 8 weeks.
I started my yoga practice 3 years ago. Vinyasa style mainly. I found two teachers that I really enjoyed and classes that I really liked and felt comfortable with. For a year I was going 2-4 times a week. I got good at some poses, struggled with most. I was by no means balancing on my pinkies while chanting my ohms. But it felt good. I felt good. I moved to a teeny tiny town in New Mexico in the fall of 2010 and did not have classes to go to anymore. So I fell off. I moved back to the island in the summer of 2011 and proceeded to gain a crazy amount of pounds in the past year. So I fell off real hard.
This Saturday I said eff it Im just going to jump back in this yoga shit and start getting back into a healthier lifestyle. I got up early, ate my two pieces of Healthy Nut wheat toast with a little strawberry jelly and sipped on some OJ and drank water. Before I knew it I was walking back into the studio into a vinyasa class that a friend of mine was teaching. I knew it was going to suck, that I wasn't going to be able to do what I used to, you know baby steps and all that ish. It started out ok. Stiff, stomach all in the way, sweaty and then we went into our first 'easy' twist and Bam! I thought I was going to hurl on the bamboo floor. I toughed it out for a couple more minutes before I had to step out of class and try not to get sick. Child pose was not an option. I took about a 5 minute break, got back on the mat and continued with the class. I usually live for savasana, you know the part where you just lay there and try not to fall asleep, but I was even ready for that to be over.
I got home and told my boyfriend about my experience. Told him, though he already knows, how shitty I've been eating and how out of shape I am. Thats when I realized, Yoga don't care. Yoga don't give a shit.
Its two days later and my arms and legs are still so sore. I'll be back in a yoga class this week and before I know it Ill be back and better than ever.
If you are ever around the Galveston area join me at a yoga class with Jim of Texas Yoga Flow, my first yoga teacher and who also does beach yoga, or at the amazing and beautiful Yoga Haven.
Both Jess and I are starting a weight loss, lifestyle change journey. The good ol' fashion way. By hardwork and smart choices. And from time to time we will be posting about it. Recipes, fun exercises, and words of encouragement are always appreciated.
Hola! Did you miss me? Cause I totes missed blogging. Whew! It has been a very crazy two weeks but let me tell you, things are better than ever and this blog is about to get REAL HYPE. I'm so not even joking. We have some really good things in the works and I am so happy and proud. And seriously, I mentioned on the other site already once tonight about how lucky I am but I'm going to say it again. I have some really great friends. Ok, really bad ass friends and LUCKEE for you, you're going to meet some of them. One of the major contributors for this personal site is now Miss Elizabeth Overton. She will be my partner in crime with everything PrettyRiot Personal and this makes total sense. We want to show you that we are "Real Girls Doing Real Things"....(Liz thought of that, she's so crafty) because let's face it, we are not as perfect as some of those instagram people like to portray and maybe our Do It Yourself projects fail more often than not but we're going to show you the good the bad and the ugly. We are going to be totally honest while we take a stab at being better at all these things and we are SO EXCITED to do so and bring you along for the ride!!!!!!
Here's a little bit about Liz Overton:
Liz grew up on a ranch....by the bay....really. (She wants me to mention that the actual name of the place was 'Rainbow Zen Ranch', she swears she's not lying.) Liz loves her family (especially her nieces) and is currently pursuing a degree in Education. Liz is a reader, frequent Do It Yourselfer, and has made an attempt at maintaining her very own garden this spring. She spends lots of time trying to convince her boyfriend why they NEED a pet and has compromised for fostering kittens, or any other animal she must snuggle for a week at a time. Liz loves music and has a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, she's neurotic and crazy, and she is one of my very best friends.
SO LET'S DO THIS! Go ahead add us on Google Friend Connect, put us in your blog roll, add us to your feed! Check back and tell your friends. PrettyRiot Personal might soon be one of your favorite blogs on the web ;)
