Next was Big Ben

We couldn’t resist taking a picture of Ye Olde Cock Tavern.

We made a stop at the Tower of London to take a tour.  The Tower is actually a castle, and was built in 1066.  It was used as a prison until World War II, the last prisoner being a Nazi who was captured in Scotland.  It is where many tragedies happened, like Henry VIII deciding it was his wives fault he didn’t have sons and having their heads.  Anywho…it was a really interesting tour and must see in London.

A Medieval Toilet!

And the main prison cell, recreated to look how it did then.  The prisoner used his own money to spruce it up, and even had servants.

Plus I can’t forget the best eats of the day!  Our dinner at Cirrik, a Turkish restaurant in the Dalston neighborhood of London.  It was a small but crowded restaurant.  It took them forever to take our order (but that’s how it is over there).  But it was worth the wait.  Instead of me trying to use different adjectives for delicious on every morsel we ate, I will say it all now…It was DELICIOUS!  Every. single. item.  First up – Turkish Beer!

Of course we had falafel.

…and something I had never had before, Zucchini Cheese Fritters…OH MY!

Jay got the mixed kebab plate.  The man LOVES his meat!

What I ordered was probably once of the best entrees I have ever had in my life.  It was packed with flavor and kept me wanting more even though I was full.  It was Lamb minced with garlic & parsley and then wrapped in a homemade lavosh-type bread.  It was sitting on top of tzatzki-like yogurt sauce under a spicy tomato sauce.

After being FULL and very very tired, we opted to go home for the night.  The next day was the wedding reception, and then we headed home.  It was a short & sweet trip!  But next time I definitely want to stay longer and really enjoy everything.

Where is the next place you want to go on vacation?

pieces from the Parthenon

relics from Egypt

actual tombs from Egypt

a Statue from Easter Island

the Rosetta Stone! It was used to figure out what hieroglyphics meant.  It is written in 3 languages, Egyptian Hieroglypics, Greek, and Demotic.

After spending about 2 1/2 hours in the museum, we were starving!  We walked around a little and found a cute pub with a decent amount of people in it, The White Hart.  We started with some Guinness.

Since it was our first day in London, I really wanted those Fish & Chips!  It was cooked perfectly, with a crunchy batter.  The “chips” were very tasty as well.

Jay ordered a Steak & Ale Pie.  It was basically a bowl crusted with puff pastry, filled with a delicious beef stew.  Of course I had a couple ten-ish bites.

Then it rained…and rained…and rained.  But it let up for a few minutes, just in time to sneak a peak of Buckingham Palace.  The guards were standing by.  I can’t believe they can do that for hours upon end.

It was a great day in London, and the next day would be just as good!  I will tell you all about it tomorrow

Jay and I started a new ritual, homemade pizza Sunday!  We’ve tried all kind of concoctions, and even bought our own basil plant…which I am very surprised I haven’t killed yet.  I’ve tried a few dough recipes, this one from Epicurious is my fave so far, but I’m still tweaking.  It makes one – not too thin or thick – 14” ish pizza.  Our first pizza ever was a store bought pizza dough from Sunflower.  We topped it with pre-sliced fresh mozzarella, shredded salami, and Arrabiata sauce.

The next week we made our own dough with a mix of white bread four & wheat flour.  I feel like I over kneaded it?  It was a little crackery.  But the toppings were perfect! I used Fresh Mozz, more arrabiata sauce and basil.

The third one I made was the same dough as the white/wheat batch, but I didn’t over knead.  It was a much better crust.  I made half with Pancetta and half with grape tomatoes and basil.  Both were super tasty!

The pizza I just made this week was with an all bread flour recipe.  It was topped with shredded Mozz, tomato basil sauce, pancetta, and fresh basil.  The crust came out perfectly!  But the shredded cheese was not as good as fresh Mozzarella.

How often do you eat pizza?

Bella loves being lazy!

• 7:30 – Wake up
• 7:45 – Walk Bella
• 8:00 – Have Coffee & Breakfast
• 9:00 – Go to the Gym, or do an at home workout
• 10:30 – Snack Time
• 11:00 – Shower
• Noon – Run errands (or chores)
• 1:30 – Lunch
• 2:30 – Chore time (or cooking/ baking)
• 4:00 – Blog time
• 5:00 – Make another snackie
• 6:00 – Jay gets home! Take Bella for another walk
• 7:00 – Start dinner
• 8:00 – time to eat! and watch any good shows
• 10:30 ish – Bed time

So my day is actually decently full!  I wouldn’t mind doing this for a while .  One of my favorite parts of running errands is going to Trader Joe’s (I know…I’m obsessed).  I go about twice a week to by 2 buck chuck and stock up on anything else I need.  Here are a few of my favorites so far.

I’ve been working out Monday through Friday.  I take Saturdays and Sundays off to do whatever…but at least one of those days usually involves a lot of walking.  I wasn’t going to join a gym, but I find I’m more motivated when I’m at one vs. at home.  Luckily, I got a Groupon to Gold’s Gym…3 months for $49!  I also bought a dry erase board to keep track of all my workouts.

The best part of living here is how close we are to soooo many cool things! San Fran, Napa, Yosemite (picture below), Carmel… are only a couple hours away.  I can’t wait to keep exploring!

What’s the best part about living in your city?

LONDON!

I’ll be back to tell you all about my trip on Monday.  In the meantime, you’ll see a couple posts that I’ve been meaning to write up for a while.

Have a great week and wonderful weekend!

This first wrap is stuffed with chicken sausage, gouda, spinach, and my homemade mango mustard (which is 1 tbsp mango jam and 1 tbsp organic yellow mustard).  I love the sweet savory combo.

This one below was my favorite so far!  The weird looking patty is a home made quinoa hummus burger!  I saw this recipe from Healthy Diariesand tweaked it for what I had on hand.  Here is my final recipe…

Hummus Quinoa Burgers!

Ingredients:

3/4 cups cooked quinoa (cooled)
1/4 cup your fave hummus (I used traditional)
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed w/ 1 1/2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil
few dashes ground cumin
few dashes garlic powder
few dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
2 Tbsp wheat flour (or chickpea flour)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Form the mixture into 2 patties. Spray the pan with olive oil and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, until browned and firm.  That’s your burger!

Final Wrap was ready!  I added my mango mustard, spinach, and feta.

I also tried out some turkey, American cheese, hummus, and spinach.

And finally today’s wrap which I dubbed “Fridge Raid Wrap”.  Since we are going on a trip tomorrow (somewhere far away! I’ll let you know tomorrow, hehe). I needed to use my stuff!  In there is my last chicken sausage and last of my spinach. I made a spread with 1/2 of my last avocado, the last of my tabbouleh, the last couple tablespoons feta, and some tahini to bring it all together.  It was SO tasty!

What do you like in your wraps?

Crispy Salt & Vinegar Chickpeas

(adapted from Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 2/3 cups malt vinegar
• 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Place chickpeas and vinegar in a medium sized pot. Add a dash of sea salt.
2. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let sit in pot for 30 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 425F.
4. Carefully drain chickpeas.
5. Place on lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.
6. Massage with fingers until fully coated.
7. Roast for 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Keep a careful eye on them after 35 minutes of cooking to ensure they don’t burn.

Serve as a high protein snack, or serve on top of salad for a tangy, salty crunch!

What is your favorite salty snack?

Jay had an everything with bacon, egg, and cheese.  Through the mouthful mumbling I think I heard  “thers is rilly goooood”!

Mine was the everything with scallion cream cheese.  This is probably my go-to order at a traditional bagel place.  Unless I’m in the sweet mood and get a cinnamon raisin with walnut raisin cream cheese.  It was warm, dense, and a little chewy.  The cream cheese was loaded with crunchy little scallions.

After breakfast, we did a little wandering.  Jay, my in laws, and I headed to Chelsea Market.  It’s another foodie heaven!  They have brownies, cupcakes, cheeses, olive oils, nuts, seafood.  It would be fun to go everywhere and taste all they have to offer.  But the problem was I was a little full.  We slowly walked by Bar Suzette, a crepe bar in the market.  The fullness went away when my mother in law suggested we get a Nutella crepe! YAY!  We decided to split one with Nutella, bananas, and strawberries.

The crepe was delicious!  The Nutella was melty and warm (sorry for the blurry pic).  The contrast of the bananas and strawberries was perfect with it.  I’ll split another crepe with her any day

Are you a sweet or savory crepe person?

We were amazed by the menu, which was huge and had pictures of almost every single item. We ordered some sake (large house sake only $7) and started on the food parade.

The first dish was one of my favorites of the night.  It was bits of crispy fried chicken in a refreshingly cool sauce made with (I think) ginger, radish, and green onions.  I was putting this sauce on everything the whole night.

Next was the best Gyoza I have ever had in my life!  It was super crispy on the outside, and melt in your mouth porky goodness on the inside.

Third up was the Yakitori sampler plate.  It had pork belly, chicken, chicken meatballs, peppers, and one thing which I think was pork?  Anyway… they were ALL good.  I was a little scared of the pepper, but it just had a hint of spice.  I think my fave of the group was the chicken meatball.

Unfortunately my good fortune with picking out our items made a turn for the worse.  I love eel sushi, so when I saw the tempura eel I immediately wanted it.  The tempura part was good, but the eel was really fishy.  Booo!!  I only took a couple bites.

Now we are up to our biggest dish of the night… Pork Belly on sticky rice with pickled vegetables.  They overdid it on the pickled veg IMO, but otherwise the pork belly and rice were fantastic.

Last but not least, I give you Octopus Balls!  To me it seemed like it was a ball of mashed potatoes stuffed with bite size chunks of octopus.  The more I ate it, the more I loved it.  It was super crispy, and ultra creamy.  The octopus was cooked well and had a fresh taste.  The only thing I didn’t get was the lump of radish (?) on the side.  It was so bland.

It was such a great dining experience!  Plus, it is pretty inexpensive for New York standards.  They have lots of options to choose from, and if I ever get the pleasure of going there again I will be making room in my tummy for all the tastiness.

Have you ever eaten eel or octopus?