Thursday, May 29, 2014

Three Things Thursday

1. Let's go Hawks!!!
Adam and I went to the Blackhawks-Kings game last night, which ended up going into double-overtime.

Pregame warm-ups

The players put on a gutsy and heart-poundingly high-octane game, filled with show-stopping skill, talent, and perseverance. Both teams threw everything they had at each other. The fans gasped and roared with every shot, every hit, every movement up and down the ice.

I have been to a lot of Hawks games at the United Center, but I've never experienced an atmosphere as explosive as last night. The crowd was so fired up that one could surmise that everyone was living on a diet consisting entirely of espresso beans and Red Bull.

Waiting for the first overtime to begin. See how relaxed we look on the outside?

Another diehard Hawks fan sitting to my left during the game spent the entire night spewing his anguish over Michal Handzus's play. Given his targeted distress, I joked that it would be funny if Handzus ended up scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. Ask and you shall receive. ;-) As Adam described it, the guy hugged me like a long-lost sister afterwards! Hee hee hee.

As you might imagine, it took me a long time to unwind after getting home from the victory.

I need to use one of these today:


2. Quotable
Speaking of my sports fandom, remember when I posted about visiting the Chicago Sports Museum? A reporter named Mike from the Sun-Times Media Group contacted me about it. He was writing a story about Luci Creative, the company that designed many of the exhibits at the museum, and wanted to talk to someone who had visited. You got it, buddy.

The article went live today! Check it out here.


3. Black is the new brown
This is totally random, I know, but my latest food obsession is black rice. I was at a Thai restaurant a few months ago where they had a yummy dessert on the menu made of black rice, coconut milk, and mango. I've had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to try recreating it at home.

This is not the actual dessert from the restaurant, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like:


At home I generally only cook brown rice, but I'm always on the hunt for new foods to incorporate into my cooking regimen. I recently used the magic of Amazon to order a bag of black rice. It's been fun experimenting with it!

I am a believer in the rule that the more colorful your food is, the healthier it is. And I love how visually stunning the black rice can be - especially when mixed with other ingredients.

This is a photo of a recipe that I plan on trying soon!

18 comments:

  1. That is so fun that you guys got to go to the game!

    I was just going to ask if you cook with bulgur or cous cous... but those would NOT be adding color to your diet. LOL!

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I bought a bag of bulgar awhile back which is still sitting in my pantry unopened. I need to find a good recipe to use for it. I wanted to start cooking with barley more often, too. And YES on couscous - I LOVE couscous and make it all the time! I also am such a huge fan of quinoa. I can't get enough of it! What about you!?!?!?

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  2. I'm so jealous you were "discovered" - congrats on being interviewed!! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Natalie! It was good that Mike wanted to talk about a fun topic like sports fandom. Thank goodness I wasn't being asked to talk about anything controversial, right? ;-)

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    2. You could always have been asked by him to discuss the blackhawks game last night... AH BURN!!!!

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    3. Having my team win the Stanley Cup twice in four years allows me the luxury of being much more relaxed. =)

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  3. What an awesome article- congrats!!!

    Also, I have had black rice sushi before! That dessert sounds awesome. I make "Brown Rice Breakfast" a lot and I bet you could make something sweet for breakfast with it!

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    1. Thanks, Katie! OOOOH, black rice sushi sounds AMAZING. I can imagine it must plate up so beautifully! What a great idea!!!

      I'll have to look up your "Brown Rice Breakfast" recipe, too! You always have the most fabulous recipes. =)

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  4. I was in Dick's Sporting Goods last night and the Hawks game audio was broadcast over the P.A. It was 3 to 1 Hawks when I left the store, so I figured they had the "W" sewed up, so I didn't think to listen to the rest of the game. When I woke up this morning I couldn't believe it had gone into double OT. Whew, thank goodness they pulled it out. Go Hawks!

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    1. I think all of us Hawks fans were hoping that the 3-1 score would hold up for the "W"! But we've seen just how much the Kings are a team that really never quits on anything. There was so much nervous energy in the building during the overtimes. Thank goodness the Hawks pulled it out, indeed!

      Dick's Sporting Goods, eh? Were you buying new running gear!?!?!?

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    2. Just browsing running stuff while my gyros was being made next door. I resisted the temptation to buy anything, but came close! :)

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    3. Gyros, yum!!! My family and I went to Pegasus in Greektown over Memorial Day weekend, and Adam ordered gyros. I think they are one of the most popular Greek foods for good reason!!!

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  5. Hey beautiful girl...I am back...Looks like you are doing well my friend. That black rice sounds like something I need to check out! I just started writing on my blog again today...hope to see you around sweetie.

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    1. Shannon!!! SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU! I am thrilled to hear that you are back to blogging. Can't wait to hear all of your updates!

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  6. For some reason, my black rice was not tasty. It was too sticky so no good for me. I am in love with quinoa. I could eat it every single day for lunch. :-)

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    1. I actually read that black rice can't be made effectively in a rice cooker - and that you have to make it on a stove top for maximum taste. I also heard that you need to rinse it beforehand. Maybe that would help? Sorry that you didn't have a good experience with it!

      I LOVE quinoa, too. My favorite quinoa recipe is to eat it with cucumber, feta, dill, and lemon juice. REALLY addicting!

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  7. OMG that game was such a nail biter I can't imagine being there! I love Thai food and I think I saw black rice at Trader Joe's. Going to check out your article now!

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    1. It was super intense! But well worth the price of admission. =) Yay for Thai food! I think I saw some at TJ's, too (they have such a great selection of unique foods)! Thanks for checking out the article!!!

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