Roasted Kabocha and garlic

Hey guys!

Sorry I’ve gone AWOL lately, I’ve had a ton of things on my plate and can now happily say that I’ve successfully moved in to my new apartment with three of my best friends! We actually have a pretty sweet deal going on and have 16 (!) people in our immediate friend group, both boys and girls, who are living in the same apartment complex as us and are stationed right above the pool and grill.

From moving in to catching up with everyone, I’ve hardly touched my computer in the last week or so, but I’m glad to be back!

Anyways, I’ve been trying to maintain my healthy habits while in school and have to admit that it gets much harder when the college norms are to consume copious amounts of pizza and alcohol and make late night slurpie runs. I have had some success in whipping up some old favorites like my Lemon Garlic Shrimp Orzo and roasted kabocha! Man, I can’t get enough of that stuff and am SO glad that my local grocery store carries them and I don’t have to hunt them down at Whole Foods or an asian supermarket.

If you haven’t tried kabocha yet, you’re in for a treat. The asian pumpkin is unbelievably tasty and has the most delicious creamy texture. I kid you not that I’ve eaten almost an entire one for dinner and was 100% satisfied. They’re that good. And I don’t mean good as in “healthy good”, I mean just plain freakin’ yummy!

Whenever I roast up one, I find myself constantly sneaking back into the kitchen to grab just one more bite, but end up hovering and eating at least a couple of slices. Never fear, though, because kabocha is not only mouthwatering, but also good for you!

Here are some awesome facts about kabocha to convince you that it’s actually your soul mate disguised as a member of the winter squash family

“Kabocha is like butternut squash’s sadly under appreciated sister. A single cup of kabocha has forty calories compared to butternut squash’s 60, and has less than half of the carbs of butternut squash (7 grams vs. 16 grams). But, it tastes better… the perfect substitute.”
It’s a great source of beta-carotene (which your body converts to vitamin A). A single serving has 70% of your daily recommended amount. This means your eyes, skin, hair, and white blood cells will thank you!
Fiber. Lots of it!
You don’t have to peel em’. When they cook, the peel softens and is so, so, so delicious with the creamy fleshy part on top.

Anyone else share my obsession?

Marvelous is learning more about photography!

I bought the eBook Tasty Food Photography from Pinch of Yum and it has been a godsend in terms of explaining how to improve my photography and how to properly use lighting and props. I just started putting some of the thing I’ve learned into action (see my photos below!) and I can already tell that it’ll improve my pictures drastically! I had no idea how much of an affect using the manual setting on your camera can have and am excited to put my Nikon to good use.

Marvelous is the fabulous inspiration and ideas that come from Pinterest! I may or may not have already coerced Kyle into agreeing to bake me one. Seriously. He agreed to do it. All of us definitely deserve a cake and pampering when Aunt Flow is tearin’ up our house haha.

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Marvelous is new workout clothes!

I’m still in love with my pair of Nike Frees and the addition of my two new Lululemons make me a happy camper. Anyone else as obsessed with cute athletic wear?

Marvelous is roasting up a kabocha! I’m half Japanese and kabocha has been a part of my life for a while now. I never get over how delicious it is, though! A drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and diced garlic is all it takes to make these perfect little bites of heaven. They make the perfect side or snack and a quick recipe with roasting time will be up soon!

Marvelous is having a successful first week of self-hosting!

I’m grateful that the change has gone relatively smoothly and I haven’t had any problems since the first couple of days! I’m so happy with the layout of Apple of My Eye and feel like it expresses my personality pretty darn well :). Also, a couple of you have expressed interest in moving from wordpress.com to wordpress.org (a.k.a self hosting) and the graphic design behind my blog. I’m in no way an expert about either, but if you need some help, I can try my best to walk you through it! Feel free to email me at christineskari@gmail.com for any reason :).

Marvelous is hiking and spending some time with furry friends!

And lastly, marvelous is getting to spend quality time with my handsome man and his adorable laugh lines!

Side note: Kyle will be writing up a guest post soon about a guy’s thoughts on how women negatively pick apart their body and what he considers, along with many other men, to be the most important and beautiful aspects of a girl. Stay tuned!

Hope you have a marvelous Monday as well!

xoxo Christine