Yogurt and Berries

Pie Day Winner

2012-01-23T22:44:00.001-05:00

Hey did you know today was National Pie Day?? When I first heard about this the geek side of me thought…no it’s not! That’s on March 14th! (you know…3/14…3.14..pi). At least I wasn’t the only one at work who thought that anyways. But no, it’s just regular pie day.

My office actually celebrates this delicious day! Employees make pies and we invite clients, colleagues, and other people in our building to come have pie.

I don’t have photos, but I spent part of my weekend like this…

Oh yeah…caramel. You know what that means… Milky Way Tart!!

(photo from first time I made it)

Everyone also got to vote for their favorite and…I WON!! Honestly I was NOT expecting this, and I’ll tell you why. First, as delicious as this is, the one way I’ll ever make it again is if I make mini tartlette’s. The filling NEVER firms up! It chilled overnight, and again for 6 hours at work! But as soon as you cut into it, the filling starts to basically melt out. Still tastes awesome, but not a pretty sight. People kept commenting about it… “oooh that looks like a messy one” or the numerous people who asked if it was ice cream… Frustrating, but apparently they still liked it!!

Happy Monday to me! I won a gift certificate to a popular lunch spot down the street from the office.

Another Happy Monday moment came when I walked in the door after Crossfit…

Dinner!

We had some steak to cook up and I asked Brian to grill it while I was at Crossfit. I was pleasantly surprised to see he went above and beyond!

His famous homefries

steamed carrots

and even some wine!

I added some arugula with olive oil and red wine vinegar to get some greens on my plate

Simple yet delicious!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! I had a blast up in Portsmouth, NH with my good friends as we celebrated one of their 30th birthdays! Fun to be back at the old stomping grounds (we were roomies at UNH)

This Coffee Milk Stout from Portsmouth Brewery was delish

So was my shrimp fajita dish from dinner at Agave…

So fresh and colorful!!

There was also late night pizza and an AWESOME breakfast at Colby’s.

Fun was had by all.

Alright, Monday’s already down…only 4 to go for this week! It’s a busy one so I hope it flies by! I’m even doing another flashmob this week!! This was kind of a last minute one, and also at a private event but it should be a blast as usual.

Do you bring in baked goods to work? Ever won a food contest?? This was my first!

Shepherd's Pie & Exercise while Sick

2012-01-18T21:57:00.001-05:00

You know how I was just saying that the good thing about paying a lot for Crossfit is that it makes me not want to miss a workout?? Well that plan gets slightly derailed when you get sick!!

I hate colds! They’re never bad enough to really stay home from work (well this time it came on Friday afternoon, so lucky me had my whole weekend to get through the “worst”), but you also feel just fatigued enough to not want to do anything else.

I’m also not going to push myself and risk getting sicker just for the sake of burning calories, but still…it’s just aggravating.

I made it to Crossfit last night, and luckily the workout was on the “milder” side, but I’m still extra tired today…AND missed out on a fun dinner with some of my favorite local bloggers at the new Hawthorne in Boston…double bummer!

So, how sick is too sick to workout?? I can usually just tell by my body but you hear all sorts of things…

Things I’ve heard:

if it’s only above the neck it should be okay to workout. As in, if your only congested in your nose, not your chest.
Lots of strength training is bad because when you work your muscles you make small tears in them, then your immune system kicks in to repair. If your sick, then this takes your immune system away from your illness and onto your muscles.
“sweat it out”

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the main ones that come to mind. How do you decide??

Even though I’m sure I missed a fabulous dinner out tonight, I still had a delicious meal at home!

I made this version of Shepherds pie almost exactly 3 years ago!! I still remember how much I liked it and have been meaning to make it since then. I can’t believe it’s taken me THREE YEARS to re-make this dish!

It’s made with ground turkey and the topping is mashed sweet potatoes!

Sweet Potato & Turkey Shepherds Pie
adapted from eatingoutloud.com

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 3 med size)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
1 bulb fennel, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 cup beef stock
3/4 cup frozen peas (not necessary to thaw)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup water (or beef stock)
salt/pepper to taste

Cook sweet potatoes however you want. I peeled, chopped, and boiled them. You could also steam, or roast them whole then remove the flesh from the skin. Mash the cooked sweet potatoes with 1T butter, and a little salt and pepper if desired.

Pre-heat oven to 350

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add turkey. Break apart the turkey and cook until the meat is cooked through. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and fennel. Sauté for 1 minute. Then add the 1 1/2 cups beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes to cook the vegetables. Add peas and thyme.

Combine the flour, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl. Mix until there are no more lumps from the flour. Bring the heat back up to med, and slowly pour in the flour mixture while stirring the pan. Bring back to a boil and cook for another 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens. It does not need to be very thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into a medium size casserole dish. Preferable one that is deep. My pan was about 10”x7.5” and 2” deep. I wouldn’t of had enough sweet potatoes for anything bigger.

Spread the sweet potatoes over the filling. Bake for 20 minutes.

I enjoyed mine served over a bed of baby spinach for some extra greens!

I love the sort of sweet/salty combo going on here. Delicious healthy comfort food.

Also had an Emergen-C spritzer with dinner ;)

Sweet and Savory Pancakes {paleo}

2012-01-15T20:48:00.001-05:00

I experimented with a couple pancake recipes this weekend, both of which would fall under the “paleo” category. Of course then I went a head and had maple syrup on the sweet ones, and cheese on the savory ones…but really, who wouldn’t?

First on Saturday, I made some Almond-Coconut pancakes!

Almond Coconut Pancakes
serves 2

1 cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut, I actually had some organic unsweetened defatted coconut that I used)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted if needed)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine almond flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork then add almond milk, coconut oil, and honey. Mix to combine, then add wet ingredients to dry. Stir until mixture is combined.

Heat a griddle or skillet over med heat. Spray with canola oil or use coconut oil to grease the pan. Once the pan is hot, add batter in desired size, cook until edges look done then flip. Adjust heat while cooking incase the pan gets too hot. Cook 2-3 more minutes or until pancakes look done.

Serve as desired!

Like I said we had real maple syrup, banana sliced, and Brian had butter on his (I’ve never been a fan of butter on pancakes).

These were light, and had a nice subtle coconut flavor to them! Really delicious. I’m think next time I might add 1/4 tsp almond extract to really make the almond flavor come out as well.

Brian loved them too, and he could care less about them being Paleo/low carb.

My savory pancake recipe was a true experiment, as I’ve never made anything like them before.

I was flying solo this morning, Brian had gone up to NH for a friend’s b-day Sat night-Sunday, I stayed home with my new cold that came about Friday :/

I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for. Then I spotted a leftover, fully cooked sweet potato from the other night! I also wanted an egg, and maybe something with cheese and hot sauce.

It’s been a long time since I’ve made potato pancakes but I do remember egg was the binder. I guess this would be more like a mashed (sweet) potato pancake!

Savory Sweet Potato Pancake
serves 1

1 small cooked sweet potato
1 egg, beaten
hot sauce (to you’re liking)
1/4 tsp dried garlic (or garlic powder)
1-2 tsp butter
optional: cheddar or gouda (or your favorite) cheese, about 1 slice or a few small slices if it’s cut from a large chunk.

Cut your cooked sweet potato in half then scrap out all the flesh into a small mixing bowl. Mash with a fork to get rid of any big lumps. Add the beaten egg, hot sauce (I did about 4-5 shakes, wish I did more!), and garlic (I used Garlic Gold). At this point you could really add any other seasonings you might want!

Heat a small skillet over med-high heat, melt some butter in the pan, just enough to have a nice coating on the bottom. Once the pan is good and hot, make 2 equal size pancakes with your batter. Cook 3-5 min per side until cooked through and golden browned.

Add cheese on one half and place other pancake on top.

Serve with sour cream if you like! I actually added some more hot sauce on top too.

I really loved these! I think next time I’d grate the cheese and add it right into the batter.

If I had to eat them without the cheese or sour cream, I’d like some sliced tomato with them to add a cool refreshing contrast to the pancake.

For a breakfast “dessert” I had some blueberries and banana

In other news, I have an important decision to make. I ordered some new sneakers for Crossfit and of course it’s down to the colors ;)

My initial favorite was the pink/green, but I’m actually leading towards the purple/orange ones! Thoughts? I’m picking one by the time I go to Crossfit tomorrow night!

And for fun, and Outfit post!

One of these days I’ll take a nice "fashion” shot, outdoors with the wind blowing in my hair and the sun casting a nice glow on my skin.

But for now, it’s iphone in the office bathroom… yeah.

This outfit was revolved around that blue skirt…love that skirt.

blue pencil skirt – Ann Taylor
grey cardigan – Old Navy
magenta shirt (which you can’t see) – Banana Republic
mustard scarf – Target
grey/yellow/gold t-strap heals – Seychelles from Nordstrom

If you have tomorrow off…lucky you! I’ll be heading back to work like normal. At least traffic will be a lot better.

Time for some frozen yogurt and then getting to bed early! I hope :)

What’s your favorite thing to put in or on pancakes??? Maple syrup…all the way, the real stuff of course. I look for any excuse to put maple syrup on anything!! (except savory pancakes that is)

Quick and Protein

2012-01-12T20:55:00.001-05:00

That seems to be my theme around here lately.

Now that I’m on a steady schedule of Crossfit, there are a number of nights during the week where I will come home, change, head to 7pm Crossfit, and then home around 8. Luckily it’s only a 5min drive for me.

So now it’s 8:10pm, lets say, and I need dinner and faster the better. I’m also trying to up my protein intake, and when I can, lower some of my carbs. If your familiar with Crossfit at all you probably know they promote a Paleo style of eating.

Basically, Paleo = eating the way our early ancestors (cavemen) ate. Meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds…etc. You can read the wiki page here! Paleo also means no grains, dairy, legumes, refined sugars, and processed oils.

(source)

I was pretty uninterested in this when I first started Crossfit, and I’m still not interested in following this style of eating to a T…I mean, I am just NOT going to give up certain foods I love. I’m not talking about the processed foods here…I have no problem getting those out of my diet and already try to do that as much as possible. But the legumes, beans, grains, and dairy??? Not so much. Nothing makes me happier than a good cheese plate and a flaky croissant ;)

I just can’t believe that things like beans, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt are causing that much harm to my body. I’ve read the arguments against them, I see both sides, and I know that a huge portion of the population has some sensitivity to dairy and gluten….however I really haven’t found myself to be one of them. Or if I am, it’s not bad enough for me to notice.

I could keep going on about this but basically what I am doing, for now anyways, is just cutting back on some of my carb intake, slightly on the dairy, and upping my protein.

I’m paying a lot of money for my Crossfit membership. Which in some ways is good…it makes it a LOT harder to just “skip” a workout, and I am a lot more motivated to clean up my eating so that I can experience my best possible results.

I also stumbled across this article about the Thyroid-Gluten connection when I was searching about Paleo. Interesting, as thyroid issues are present in my family.

http://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection

Again, not planning to go gluten free at all, but I just thought it was interesting and something I’ll keep in the back of my head.

So now that I’ve explained my current “status” if you will, I can get to the eats!

A classic Quinoa Salad. This is not “Paleo” at all, but it is gluten free and high in protein for a “grain” salad (even though quinoa isn’t actually a grain).

I cooked up 1 cup dry, rinsed quinoa in some chicken broth the same night I made the shrimp stir fry.

The next night I added:

1 can garbanzo beans
3 oz crumbled feta cheese
chopped fresh dill (big handful)
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 1 lemon
2T olive oil
salt and pepper

Great, served with some sliced tomato. I didn’t add tomato to the salad because I don’t like the texture of tomatoes after they are refrigerated.

Dollop of TJ’s tahini on top :)

This was packed for lunch a couple times this week.

Turkey Burgers
(p.s. ground turkey was on sale at Whole Foods this past Sunday…the one on River Street in Cambridge anyways)

These were also made around 8:30pm one night. In fast by that point I think I had a protein shake plus some quinoa salad but wanted to cook these up for lunch.

For something literally thrown together, these were AWESOME!

1lb ground turkey breast
dried Italian seasonings: basil, parsley, oregano, garlic
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I had the ones in the bag, not in oil).
grated Pecorino Romano cheese, about 1/4 cup

We made 3 patties, and cooked on the stove with about 1T olive oil. Sear each side over med/high heat, then turn heat down to med/low. Cook until they are cooked through. I find covering helps cook while keeping them from drying out.

I had one the next day with some quinoa salad. Those sun dried tomatoes added SO much flavor.

Side note: people balk that buying meat can be expensive, but this ground turkey cost a LOT less than turkey deli meat! So there’s a thought, cook up some little burgers…a lot less processed and cheaper than deli meat per pound. Granted, 1lb of deli turkey usually makes more than 3 or 4 sandwiches, but maybe that means we don’t eat enough meat on sandwiches? Who knows. Just wanted to share that thought.

Chicken Sausage + Kale with a Sweet Potato

In 1T of olive oil, I sautéed:

2 Italian chicken sausages, chopped/crumbled
1 shallot, diced

After cooking for about 5 minutes, I added a few big handfuls of chopped kale (about 1/2 of a bunch of kale). Stirred it around, added a splash of low-sodium chicken broth and covered. Cook until chicken sausage is done and kale has wilted. I stirred in some Dijon mustard at the end, about 1 tsp.

Sweet tater was cooked in the microwave.

Topped with grape tomatoes and some grated Romano cheese. (Man it was “so paleo” until the cheese ;)

The sausage/kale mixture would of been even better on top of, say, spaghetti squash or in a tomato sauce base. Must do that sometime.

So there you have it. I have no intention of giving up bread, cheese, milk, coffee…pastries! But if I can cut back in some of my meals here and there, then why not?! Either way, it’s still healthy food and I’m not feeling deprived…and if I do feel deprived, I’ll fix that ;)

A Monday Mélange

2012-01-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday Friends!

What better way to start off the week than a nice post chock full of randomness! But really, these are my favorite types of posts :)

So the weekend:

I had two Birthday’s to celebrate this past weekend…and exactly 29 years apart!

My friend’s daughter turned 1!!

There’s nothing better than watching a 1 year old go at it with her very own birthday cake!

She was particularly fond of the frosting…my kind of girl!

Later that night it was back into Boston to celebrate a friend’s 30th!

I swear 30th birthday’s are the new “wedding” of 2012 for me…I have 30th birthday parties the next 2 weekends as well!

Saturday the party started with dinner at Marliave in downtown Boston. I’ve never been before but it had some great reviews and it turned out to be a great spot!

It’s in a very old building downtown and they like to play up the old 1920’s speakeasy vibe.

I ordered the Tres Curieux and it was one of the best drinks I think I’ve EVER had!! Perfect “Bridget” cocktail…tart, citrusy, not too sweet, refreshing, and best of all can’t taste the alcohol ;)

I had 2.

I’d go back just for this drink! After dinner we headed over to Ned Devine’s for some drinks, music, and dancing! I haven’t been there in a while…and still not my favorite place. I felt slightly old too haha…but man the people watching was top notch! And why are so many girls wearing like super tight super short black skirts!? Like SOOO short, I was wondering if they were shorts or skirts?! Ok, now I just sound old.

Side note:

I hung my super cute new kitchen-theme calendar my bff got me for Christmas

It’s from Anthropologie, and each month has an adorable water color image!

Speaking of Anthro…I was LOVING my outfit today, unfortunately I had no luck with a photo. I was too busy this morning, and Brian wasn’t home when I got home, then I had to run off to Crossfit.

So it was this Anthro dress I got 50% off after Christmas

Gold belt, red cardigan (Banana Republic)

(my sad attempt at the photo)

Fun off-white knit tights and navy wedges (Nine West)

New hair do! Got my 12-week cut and color this weekend too!

Love that “new hair” smell and feel!

Some Food?

How about super fast, super convenient stir fry!!

I know I’ve mentioned it before but keeping a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer is a great staple to have in the house.

Then to make your life even easier, once in a while it’s ok to cheat it and have the lovely folks at Whole Foods chop your veggies. I admit this is the first time I’ve ever bought their pre-cut “stir fry” veggies, but it was nice for a change.

Add in 60 second Brown Rice…and dinner is served in NO time!

We did a quick stir fry with the following:

chop 2-3 cloves garlic and sauté over med/high heat
Add your veggies
start to season: I used soy sauce, ground ginger, juice from 1/2 of a large orange, plus some zest, siracha sauce.
Cook for 4-5 minutes, then add in shrimp.
Add any more seasonings and sauces that you want.
Cook until shrimp are done, if I don’t have a lot of liquid in my pan I’ll throw on the cover for a few minutes too.
serve over brown rice

Boom! Dinner.

As I said in my last post, usually on Sundays I cook a longer, more thought out meal, but that just doesn’t always happen. Then nights like tonight where I go to Crossfit from 7-8pm, these fast dinners are REALLY helpful.

Well I think that about does it for 1 post. Have a great night!!

What’s your favorite seasonings/sauces to use in stir-fry's?? I always go right to the soy sauce, but it would be nice to switch it up!

White Turkey Chili & Favorite Roast Chicken

2012-01-04T22:41:00.001-05:00

If I can make 2 or 3 home cooked dinners in a week, I’m happy. I’ve actually felt pretty good about this lately. Usually one of these meals takes a while, so I save those for Sundays or another night during the week where I know I’ll be home at a good time and have nothing else planned.

About a month ago I picked up a whole chicken at Whole Foods when they were on sale. At the time I was in no mood for roast chicken with all the turkey we’d been eating during the holiday season but I knew it would be good to have in the freezer.

Well I was finally in the mood for roast chicken!

I’ve tried a few different recipes, but I have to say the most simple and MOST delicious is Thomas Keller’s method! I’ve always put butter or olive oil on my chicken’s skin but Keller just adds salt and pepper to a dried off chicken and that’s it!

But seriously the skin gets SO crisp and the meat is so moist and flavorful! I highly recommend you try this out sometime! So easy! Plus it roasts at a higher temp which takes less time…win win!

Note: I tie up the bird to truss the legs, but I don’t remove the wish bone beforehand…if you know how, go for it.

For our chicken dinner, I also threw 2 sweet potatoes right in the oven with the chicken to bake.

Meanwhile I sautéed some Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper, and stirred in a little Dijon mustard at the end.

Nice rounded meal and tasted delicious too.

Ok enough about the chicken (I just wanted to tell you guys about that recipe!), what I really wanted to share was the chili recipe!!

My best friend, Jocy, came up with a white turkey chili one day and it became a favorite of her family and friends :) Since, you know, I got married and moved in with Brian, it’s been a while since I’ve had the chili!

She emailed me the basic recipe, and I tweaked it ever so slightly :)

J’s White Turkey & Bean Chili
4-6 servings

1 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños, diced
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
2 cans cannellini beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
10-12 shakes tobasco sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2T half & half
1/4 cup shredded cheddar or other Mexican cheese, plus more for toppings
sour cream
cilantro
tortilla chips
avocado

In a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over med heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until onions start to soften. Add turkey and continue cooking until mostly cooked through. Add broth, beans, and spices. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 min partially covered.

Now take a potato masher and mash the chili until the beans are partially mashed. Don’t worry you’re not making everything mushy, but breaking down the beans a little bit will add creaminess without adding cream!

But I still added a couple Tablespoons of half & half for some extra creaminess, along with the cheese. Add the cream and cheese and stir until the cheese is all melted.

Time to dig in!!

Top with sour cream, chopped cilantro, more cheese, and tortilla chips for dipping!

Add more tobasco sauce if you’d like as well.

This was warm, creamy, and filling! It was also still chunky enough to scoop up with some blue corn tortilla chips! At this point I remembered the avocado..delicious on top as well.

This chili also came together pretty fast! Brian helped chop the onion, garlic, and jalapeños while I was at Crossfit then I cooked it up when I got home! Only took about 25 min to get dinner on the table :)

So glad this week is half over!! What’s been your favorite meal this week??

2012: A little Champagne with my Cupcakes

2012-01-02T21:27:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012!!

I’m enjoying the last few hours of my glorious 4-day weekend, and feel fully relaxed and ready (sort of) for work tomorrow. At least as ready as I’ll ever be.

Some highlights from my weekend?

A fun Friday night dinner date with Elizabeth and the husbands. We decided to cash in on gift cards we received at that Blogger Bash earlier this fall at MJ O’Conners.

Luckily it wasn’t a late night because I was RIGHT about the “300” workout at Crossfit, only it was slightly different than the version I found online. Our workout went like this:

25 pull-ups (green band)
50 deadlifts (65lb)
50 push-ups
50 Ab-mat sit-ups
50 box jumps
50 ground to overheads (25 each arm, I used 15lb)
25 pull-ups (green band)

I can never remember my time…but I think it was 16:50, definitely in the 16’s.

Sometimes the green band for pull-ups feels easy, but the blue band (next one down), is usually too hard. What’s a girl to do. I think I’ll still with green until they feel easier. Those 2 sets of 25 were by no means easy.

Looking back I also could have done a higher weight for the ground to over-heads but I’m fine with it.

I like box jumps! They never seem hard, but all of a sudden I’m so out of breath!!

Great workout in our new location!! It was really fun with so many people too! I think there were around 35 which is the most I’ve experienced. Before the WOD, we did a team drill with flipping those HUGE tires down and back. 4 teams, my team beat our first opponent but ended up in 2nd :) Those tires are massive and I found myself using my leg a little to flip it!

(taken from my Crossfit’s website…you can kind of see me in the line on the left in the pink)

I also really wanted to get in a run this weekend, but well that just didn’t happen.

What I did do was make the most beautiful cupcakes to come out of my kitchen to date!

Pretty right?? I think so :)

For New Years Eve, we got together with a group of friends and the plan was to go out to dinner then eventually head back to one of their condo’s in South Boston and maybe hit a bar or two on the way back.

I decided to make some Champagne cupcakes to have as dessert for when we got back to the condo.

I even bought new fun liners and was excited to finally use the decorating pearls I had!

After scouring the internets for the best recipe, I found a bunch of different blogs that all referenced the same recipe…must be good right??

I used the version here, but I think it originated from this recipe at All Recipes. The All Recipes version was for a 10” round cake, and others I saw converted it to 36 mini cupcakes, but I wanted regular cupcakes! The version I used made 20 regular sized cupcakes and the frosting recipe was a perfect amount.

The recipes I saw all suggested using a sweet Rose champagne instead of the usually dry version most people drink. I went with a cheap $8.99 bottle…

I know everyone says to use what you like to drink when cooking with wine…but I knew I’d hate any sweet champagne plus the amount used in relation to the cupcake recipe was not enough that I was worried.

It was great for sweet cupcakes…not so much to drink.

My alterations to this recipe:

I added flavorings:

1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond (basically just a few drops)

The egg whites make the cake nice and fluffy.

They smelt so good that I had to try some plain warm cake!!

YUM!!! These are good as is!!

But not so pretty….so I went on with the champagne butter cream!

I was also excited because I finally picked up a coupler for my large icing tips!!

I had plans to decorate with the sugar pearls and sliced strawberries…but in the end I thought they were pretty enough without the berries.

I tried a strawberry in one…

Not needed :)

I also baked them in the silver linings, and added the black/white ones after.

I was very pleased with the taste and appearance :)

It was a really fun night out with our friends!!

However, after dinner one of our stops was at a Mexican restaurant where everyone got margaritas…bad idea!! Sugary mixed drinks and me do NOT mix especially since I’d had my fair share of champagne at this point. I’ve learned this lesson in the past too…apparently not memorable enough ;) Needless to say, we headed home around 12:30…not the end of the world though…still had fun and wasn’t out ridiculously late.

Sunday was an awesomely lazy recovery day, if you will.

Woke up, immediately craved pancakes, made said pancakes…

With iced coffee, banana, strawberries, syrup….yum!

Then took a lovely nap on the couch, woke up, at lunch, took Bromley to the dog park, picked up some BBQ at Blue Ribbon, ate, fell asleep on the couch again, cleaned, lounged, and bed time. Haven’t had a day like that in a LONG time!!! LOVED IT!!

I haven’t really thought much about resolutions yet for this year, but I’ll be sure to update when I do!

Completely unrelated, but I’m in the market for a new blender and looking for recommendations!?! Ideally under $100…I know I’d love a Vita-Mix but that just isn’t happening.

End of the Week and Year!

2011-12-30T15:03:00.001-05:00

Hey friends! I’m in a great mood today :) It’s Friday AND I made the executive decision to not work today. It was kind of a slow week, lots of people on vacation, and I thought it would just be wonderful to have a day to get stuff done around here.

Now in true Bridget fashion, I’ll never finish my to-do list but that’s ok! I slept until 7:30am, which felt awesome (side note: it’s kind of sad that 7:30am is considered sleeping in…on a weekday anyways).

Took the pup out and made a nice bowl of oatmeal. I’m a very weather-influenced eater and I’ve only made stove-top oats a handful of times since the weather has gotten colder around here.

Also used my new “b” mug from Anthropologie for my cappuccino!

Oats: oatmeal, water, milk, strawberries, brown sugar, coconut, PB, a few pecans, and a little berry preserves. I forgot how good oatmeal with lots of toppings is!

Workouts

I went to Crossfit Tuesday night. The Workout of the Day (WOD) was:

10 to 1: Deadlifts, Burpees, and Abmat sit-ups. So, 10 of each, 9 of each, 8 of each…etc. I did 75lb for deadlifts and my time was 8:28 (I think…around there).

Before the WOD we worked up to our heaviest set of 2 deadlifts. I PR’d at 120lb.

I still feel very new to Crossfit, and I’m so so nervous about pushing myself too hard. I probably could have gone further than 120lb but right now it’s just not that important to me…I know I’m getting stronger and don’t care how long it takes :) I just know I love these workouts!!

I had planned to go last night, but ended up working a little later after I decided to take today off. I’ve been doing Crossfit for almost a full month now, averaging 2-3 times a week. I started with a 10-class pack which will be used up after tomorrow, so I think I’ll sign up for 3 months unlimited and see how that goes :)

I’m also nervous about tomorrow’s workout! My Crossfit gym (or box I should say) just moved to a bigger location today and tomorrow is the first workout in the new location! They never post the workouts ahead of time so people can’t pick and choose, but the new address number is 300 and there was a hint that the workout would be related to that!!

I googled “Crossfit 300” and this is what I found:

Pull-ups – 25 reps
Deadlifts with 135 lbs – 50 reps
Pushups – 50 reps
24-inch Box jumps – 50 reps
Floor wipers – 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36-lbs Kettlebell – 50 reps
Pull-ups – 25 reps

My weight for the deadlifts and kettlebells will be lighters but STILL! I think I like NOT knowing what the workout is ahead of time!! Happy NYE to me…I’ll let you know how it goes.

The other reason I was OK with missing Crossfit last night was dinner! Seriously, every time I DO use the Crockpot I wonder why I don’t use it more often!!

I prepped this
Cooking Light recipe for Slow Cooker Char Sui Pork Roast

on Wednesday night, let it marinated in the bowl of the crock pot overnight, then turned it on Low before leaving for work yesterday.

My favorite slow cooker recipes are the ones where you just add in all the ingredients…no pre-cooking anything!

Shred the pork with 2 forks.

Cook down the sauce

Serve with rice, broccoli and spinach!

I added extra hoisin sauce to my bowl

LOVED the flavors here!! I’ve actually never cooked with Chinese 5 Spice powder before, but it’s delicious!

The only change I’d make next time is to leave out the chicken broth. It diluted the sauce a bit too much and didn’t really thicken up. That’s why I had to transfer it to a sauce pan and cook down for a while.

I think this would also be delicious with chicken, beef, or use a leaner cut of pork like a tenderloin. We trimmed as much fat off as possible but it was hard to get enough of it.

Well it’s time to take the pooch for a walk, get some more done around here and then get ready for a fun night out!! Well not too much fun…Crossfit tomorrow morning AND then it’s New Years Eve!!

What are you doing for NYE?? I wish I was going OUT out…like dancing out, but just wasn’t happening this year I guess. Still really excited for a dinner out with a group of friends and then back to party at a friend’s condo!

Christmas 2011: The Recap

2011-12-26T21:22:00.001-05:00

I’m basking in my last few hours of “Christmas Vacation”, although really I only had half a day off Friday and then today as my vacation. I’m sure some of you have this whole week off…please don’t tell me ;)

I’ve figured out why I’m one of those people who likes listening to Christmas music on Nov 1. Because usually by Dec 20 (give or take), I become a big ball of stress and can’t enjoy it and just want all my shopping and all my wrapping to be DONE! On Nov 1, it’s the exciting anticipation of the impending holiday cheer…I’m much more “happy” about Christmas then ;)

Don’t worry, by the 24th I’m back to my excited and happy self! And this year was no exception…stress leading to a FANTASTIC Christmas weekend with all my family!!

(my mom’s side of the family on Christmas Eve, we had to take a picture since everyone was there! I’m down in front/right in case you’re looking)

Let’s back track. Friday (the 23), I had a half day at work, and as soon as I got home we headed up to NH to have Christmas with Brian’s family.

I made some Oreo truffles (actually used TJ’s Joe Joe’s)

And some peppermint bark for good measure.

Up in NH we had the big family Yankee Swap, and exchanged presents with Brian’s family. His mom was finally finished with our wedding scrap book and it came out AMAZING!

She put in so much work, and it’s so incredible to have this book! (esp since we were slackers and are just now working on our album from the photographer hehe)

On Christmas Eve, I dragged my butt out of my warm bed and headed to an 8AM Crossfit workout!

The 12 Days of Crossfit…oh.my…pretty sure this is the closest I’ve come to puking from working out haha. I say that in a good way ;)

Let’s see if I can remember this…

1 Ground to Overhead
2 Sumo deadlift high-pulls
3 Burpees
4 Pull- ups (I used a green band)
5 Abmat sit-ups
6 push-ups
7 air squats
8 jumping lunges
9 Box jumps
10 Wall Balls
11 kettlebell swings
12 thrusters

So basically it went like the song: 1 ground to overhead; 2 sumo dead lift high-pulls and 1 ground to over head,; 3 burpees, 2 sumo dead lift high-pulls and 1 ground to over head…until the end where we did 12 Thrusters…all the way down to the 1 ground to overhead. This was intense…my time was 23:07 I think.

I’m still fairly new to Crossfit, but so far LOVING it!!

After Crossfit, and finishing wrapping my presents, we packed up and headed out for Christmas Eve at my aunts! My family is hilarious and I love our big get-togethers.

Brian and I stayed at my mom’s house on Christmas Eve and woke up to a delicious smelling breakfast.

Home fries

and Eggs Benedict!

My cousin even texted me pictures of his the eggs Benedict my aunt made because she wanted to know if it was “blog worthy” :)

What can I say? My family looooves their Eggs Benny!

Blogworthy?? I’d say so!! Look at that nice table setting!! Good Job Aunty Joan! Looks delicious!

Oh almost forgot we also had sticky buns!

This was one filling, yet delectable, Christmas breakfast! Thanks mom :)

Present time!

(Brian’s stellar wrapping job…he cut those green stars out of wrapping paper for decoration)

But you know what was under that wrapping….

Boo-ya! Bridget’s new iPad!!! He TOTALLY surprised me with this!!! I mean I’ve been talking about wanting one for a while but never thought I’d get it for Christmas!!!!

I made out quite well this year :) Other notable items: new Lululemon top, a new All-Clad sauce pan from mom, a coat, a bag…yeah I am one lucky girl!

Bromley loved his new cow squeaky toy.

The feasting continued at my other aunts house on Christmas day…

Yum…

Everything was amazing.

After dinner was dessert, then some intense rounds of Just Dance on my cousin’s Xbox Kinect! FINALLY a video game I’m good at!! Seriously…so fun, and you break a sweat.

I didn’t stick around for the after party though, had to get home…mom and I were at the mall with one of my aunts and cousin at 7am :) I know you think we’re crazy but we also got some crazy good deals!

Well that about sums it up! I hope your weekend was as good as mine!!

I’m about to head to bed and forget that I have to work tomorrow.

What was the favorite part of your weekend??

Freezing 5K & Glazed Gingerbread

2011-12-18T21:43:00.001-05:00

‘Tis the season for a busy schedule and when I had my first chance to rest all week yesterday afternoon the last thing I wanted to do was blog…no really, 4 hours at the mall yesterday afternoon = exhausted.

Anyways, at least the 4 hours were productive! I’m 93% done shopping, but still need a few things. I also realized I wish I had more kids to buy for!! Kids stuff is WAY more fun. Like this thing I saw at the Learning Express…almost just bought it for myself ;)

How cool is that!? Ok that’s my geeky side coming out, but I’m an engineer I can’t help it.

I’m grateful I had yesterday afternoon to basically just rest because we had to get up for a CHILLY 5k this morning!!

All December people around here have been amazed at the mild weather, and I get the urge to punch someone when they “complain” that it “doesn't feel like December”…seriously? Enjoy it! Because it will come back to bite you, like today! Easily the coldest day we’ve had this season, and me and hundreds of my closest friends had to fun a 5k!

(like my elf tights?? I LOVE them!)

Actually there were two 5K’s this morning. The jingle bell run in Davis Square, and the Yulefest 5K in Harvard Sq!

I ran the Yulefest! They were the ones who hosted that really fun Oktoberfest 5k earlier this fall!

Once again this one was 21+ with a block party following the race with beer sponsors: Pretty Things, Notch Session, and Peak Organic, and also Clover Food Lab.

It was just hovering over 20 degrees at 10AM when the race began, and this very well might have been my coldest run ever! Brrr. You know it’s bad when the water at the water station was frozen!

Regardless, we ran slow had fun and saw some great costumes…like the guy dressed at Santa riding an ostrich!! Hahaa.

(took that from the Cambridge5k facebook page)

How do you run in that?!

Anyways, after have a beer, thawing our tight and frozen muscles in the car, grocery shopping (yes I wore the tights…got lots of weird looks…and think little kids thought I was really an elf), we made it home to relax all afternoon…heaven!

Even had time to make a nice dinner AND bake!!

For some reason I was in the mood for gingerbread, but also a healthy version I could enjoy for breakfast this week.

Whole Wheat Gingerbread with Yogurt Glaze

2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unrefined sugar of choice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp allspice
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 cup applesauce
1/4 non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 350, and spray a loaf pan with canola oil spray

In a medium/large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients (flours through to all spice). Whisk to combine.

Beat egg and egg white in a small mixing bowl. Add in applesauce, yogurt, molasses, canola oil, and skim milk. (TIP: spray your measuring cup with canola oil spray before measuring out molasses. It will easily slide into the bowl instead of sticking to the measuring cup).

Add wet ingredients to dry, and gently mix with a spatula or wooden spoon just until combined.

Fill pan about 2/3 to the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let cool for 10min, then remove from pan and continue to cool for another 30min or so. Then glaze the bread! The glaze is definitely optional…it’s great without it too.

Yogurt Glaze:

1/3 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp skim milk
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Keep refrigerated until bread has cooled slightly (it can still be a little warm). Drizzle over loaf!

Lemon option: replace milk and vanilla with 2-3T fresh lemon juice.

It’s also REALLY good with the Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter (aka their version of Biscoff spread).

(source)

I love love love having a delicious yet healthy baked good with my morning coffee. Much less sweet and heavy than anything you pick up at a bakery.

Last week before Christmas!! What do you need to get done this week?? I’m going to see the Nutcracker one night, getting to Crossfit at least 2x this week, and finishing my shopping somewhere in between all that and work.

Cookie Swap time: Butterscotch Brownies

2011-12-12T22:28:00.001-05:00

Oh yes it’s that time of year again! I’m almost overwhelmed by the shear quantity of cookies I have in my house right now. And it’s not like their just so-so and I want to give them away…no…they are all painfully delicious.

This past weekend my mom hosted the family cookie swap for her, her sisters, sisters-in-law, and my grandmother. I only get to attend because I help my mom prepare, but I don’t actually participate in the swap (even though I end up with my fair share of cookies…I think I have a sweet deal going here).

(I spy an engagement photo)

By the time I arrived, she had already set the table and prepared most of the food.

My grandmother used to host the swap and each of the women could pick a tea cup (my grandmother has quite the collection). So now she just brings a sampling of the cups over to my moms for everyone to choose.

I chose before everyone arrived :)

I LOVE all her tea cups, and hope to have a nice collection for myself someday!

Somehow I missed photo’s of the food but there were little tenderloin sandwiches, chicken salad, crab salad on endive leaves, egg salad, and a big garden salad. Delicious. Dessert is obvious: cookies! Although we also had a little carrot cake my aunt made as it was my mom’s birthday on Saturday too!!

Now I have this pile on my counter:

Mmmm cookies.

The day wasn’t over. As soon as I got home it was time to get gussied up to go out for the annual holiday cocktail party my friends from college always have each year!

No good outfit pic, but I grabbed this one in the bathroom ;)

Light mauve/pink sequin dress I got last year at Kohls! It’s from the Lauren Conrad line…she makes cute clothes!!

Needless to say I was exhausted and a little “dehydrated” the next morning. I woke up with a craving and immediately set out to fulfill it:

Oh Bagel World…I love you. Whole wheat bagel with light scallion cc, cucumber, tomato, and sprouts!

Delish with a cappuccino I made back at the house.

Then the cookie-craziness continued: Blogger Cookie Swap! Shannon has hosted this swap for the past 2 years, and this time we finally were able to have it before Christmas :)

I wanted something easy and delicious…after some thought I called my mom and asked for the recipe for her Butterscotch Brownies (basically blondies). I should of guessed…Betty Crocker. We don’t have the same version, but luckily my old book had it!

Seriously OLD

Fairly certain you can’t buy this book anymore, so I’m not sure how that works with giving out recipes. But I figure a picture of the recipe can’t hurt.

If you can’t read it or want the recipe email me!

It’s basically lots of brown sugar and butter

I made a double batch, and added half walnuts

and half chocolate chips

All done in one pan! Easy.

Time to swap.

Ranjani’s cranberry caramel bars

Kerstin’s Spiced Caramel Pecan Bars

Melissa’s Chocolate Mint Cookies

Lauren’s “Better than Crack” Brownies

Cara’s Cinnamon Coffee Pecan Cookies and Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Elizabeth’s Nutella Oatmeal Cream Pies!

Lizzy’s Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies and Hot Cocoa Cookies

(Cara’s photo, my shot of these didn’t come out well)

Joanne’s Rainbow Cookies (mmmm almond paste!!)

(photo from Cara)
Shannon’s Pumpkin Blondies and she also made these other little pumpkin oatmeal cookies that I love…somehow missed the name!

Shannon also made us some delectable snacks

Her version of bruscetta above was phenomenal! Cranberry bread toasted, topped with ricotta, roasted butternut squash and apples, crispy sage, and balsamic reduction. AMAZING. I need to make this.

As you can see it was a jam packed weekend and now I am the proud owner of an abundance of cookies! No complaints here, but thank goodness for Crossfit!

The Chicken (tortilla soup) Dance

2011-12-08T22:41:00.001-05:00

I really don’t know why I try these “creative” titles…

First off, I want to thank everyone for their great tips about packing lunch for work!!

My thoughts:

Most of you mentioned packing things up the night before. For some reason that has ALWAYS been a struggle for me. Between commuting, working out, any other after-work activities, eating dinner, blogging…sometimes the last thing I want to do it thing about my food for the next day. However I agree it’s the ideal solution…so I’m working on it ;)
- If it’s dinner leftovers I always pack it up for the next day, but otherwise I leave it til the morning. Goal #1!
Brining in extra food to keep at the office! I may start doing this more now. I used to at my old job, but when I started the new one the fridge was PACKED and GROSS!! I seriously wonder how adults can let a fridge go for so long without cleaning it! However, a few weeks ago our network was down one morning so 4 of us decided to tackle it…nasty, but SO much better now.
- I especially liked the suggestion about bringing in some Trader Joes food. I love their frozen foods for quick dinners, why not quick lunches!?
Another goal is to limit lunch out once a week, for me this will most likely be Fridays :)
A lot of people mention cooking lots of food for the week on Sundays. I agree, and love doing this WHEN I HAVE TIME, but so many weekend it’s just go-go-go until Sunday night and I’m exhausted. Some days I really do wish it was 50 years ago when NOTHING was open on Sunday’s…then I’d have to stay home ;)
- Still I need to work on whipping up some quick bulky meals to have for lunches.
Um, Yelena works 5 min from the Ferry Building in SF…talk about will power!! Fun fact: we got married on the same day!

What’s the key to having leftovers for lunch the next day…actually making dinner!

I’ve been wanting to make Chicken Tortilla Soup for a long time now. It was one of those soups that I’d heard of but never actually had until earlier this spring at a cafe near my old office…I was hooked.

I found a couple s(o)uper easy recipes online, and was excited to use the Crockpot for it. That is until it got to be Tuesday night and we still hadn’t made the soup.

Luckily this soup is so easy it can be made in the Crockpot or just regular stovetop.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (slow cooker or not!)
adapted from here and here

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
1 4oz can green chili peppers
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup white hominy (drained and rinsed)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, (cooked or raw if using slow cooker)
Garnishes:
- chopped fresh cilantro
- avocado
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- crushed tortilla chips

If you need to cook the chicken, cut the breasts into 4 pieces and season with salt, pepper, and any other spices of your choice (I used garlic powder, cumin, and paprika). Sauté in some olive oil spray for about 4 min per side until cooked through. Set aside and chop or shred for the soup.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and bell peppers and sauté for 5-6 minutes.

Add spices, broth, and tomatoes. Stir and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add enchilada sauce and green chilies. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Add hominy, corn, beans and chicken. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker Method: My original plan was to just combine all ingredients (including raw chicken) in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with forks before serving.

Serve with toppings of your choice!

This was my first time cooking with hominy, and actually first time knowingly eating it!

This soup was SO flavorful! Loved it, and made for a great lunch the next day!

Wondering why I had “Dance” in the title??

Someone FINALLY uploaded some pieces from the show I was in back in September!!

Now I’m by no means a professional dancer, but this was an awesome chance for me to dance in a real “company” show! My friend was the artistic director and she just has one of the most creative minds I’ve ever encountered. I’d call it modern/contemporary…and it was really my first time dancing this style. I’ve always been used to jazz and dance team styles.

The show was called White Earth and the general theme started with “Resource Depletion” (the first piece) with the plastic eating away at the earth.

I was a “Plastic” (one of the ones in red)…it’s a long piece but it’s fast paced and keeps your attention. Of course I notice mistakes but I still want to share!

The next one I have is called “Scraps”. The theme here was that we were picking up the “scraps” of the former earth. I really loved this one and it was so fun dancing with the “scraps” (shredded paper)

In the beginning I’m second from the right (as you see it) in the orange top.

The last one here was the final number called “Stripped to Love”. The “couple” in this piece is my friend (the director) and her professional dancer friend from California…he is amazing. So they represent love and the rest of us don’t like it :)

Unfortunately the lighting in the beginning is dark on the video but it’s only for the first minute…unfortunate too since the beginning is pretty cool. Not that you can find me easily but I’m one of the ones wearing a black shiny one shoulder dress.

Well hope you enjoyed them :) I promised to shared them!

It’s most definitely bed time and I’m thrilled that tomorrow is Friday!! Also have a fun blog event after work :)

Sweet Dreams!

Working in the City & My Eats

2011-12-05T22:09:00.003-05:00

More specifically, how working in the city has effected my eating habits.
It’s been a little over 4 months since I started my new job in downtown Boston. I am still really enjoying my new location and being right in the thick of things downtown. I love being around all those people at 7:30am while we are all heading into work. Especially now with all the Christmas decor!

Even though my commute is longer, it doesn’t feel that long because I’m not the one driving. Although I must say the commuter rail is WAY more comfortable than the bus, but I still switch it up to keep things interesting and so I don’t have to pay $4 to park at the commuter rail every day.
With all that said, one of the biggest changes to my “lifestyle” that I’ve noticed is that I find myself buying coffee, breakfast, and lunch MUCH more than I used to.

At first it was the novelty of it all. I have so many different options for coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, and quick lunch spots! Almost anything I am craving can be fulfilled…that my friends is dangerous.

(iced coffee from Olga’s Kafe…they have TONS of brewed flavors!)
Not to mention expensive!!

The novelty has pretty much worn off, but there are other factors weighing in here:

Public transportation: My mornings now have time limits. I may just need an extra 5 or 10 min to pack my lunch but if I’m trying to catch a train, my time is up!
The more I pack, the more I have to carry. Not a huge deal, but it is nice when I don’t have a second bag with me.
Juggling a coffee mug along with my purse + work bag. I have a good travel mug with a good seal, but it’s nice to have 2 hands to work with especially when I’m running from the train to the T and have to get my pass out.
Cravings. Ever go to eat your packed lunch and it just NOT what you want. It’s way too easy to just take a 5min walk and get a salad/sandwich/pizza/soup…etc.

(Gyro from Zo…this place is one of my favorites, good thing it’s still a 0.5 mile walk!)

It tastes better when someone else makes it. SUCH a cop out, but for some reason lately I’ve been BUYING oatmeal! OATMEAL! Simple oatmeal, and enjoying every bite. Really no excuse for this one.

So, those of you out there that take public transportation to work…any tips??
I’m getting better at the coffee thing, plus I actually like the office coffee (we got Snicker-doodle flavor in so that makes me happy!), but those damn cappuccinos at the Thinking Cup are just SO good. I tend to make that my once-a-week treat.

I’m thinking the coffee trend is becoming my lunch trend too. Now that I’ve tried many of the lunch places near by, I’ve found the few I like most (and actually there aren’t that many…a lot of places are just “ok”). So I’m hoping I’ll get to a once-a-week schedule for buying lunch.

(chickpea fritter from Clover Food Lab, amazing, $5, and filling!)
I never thought I’d be one of those people who buys lunch so often, but I get it…CONVENIENCE!!

Bon Me!
It wouldn’t be so bad if, say, we weren’t spending as much on groceries, but I don’t see that happening either. I need to find that balance because, on the plus side there are some VERY affordable lunch options in the city…I’m talking $5-$6 for a lunch that fills me up! I’m almost glad Whole Foods isn’t close by…now THAT would be a money hole for me!! (I tend go crazy on the salad/hot bar).

(bbq pork & brown rice bowl from Bon Me)
I hope this whole post isn’t coming off as one big complaint ;) I’m just more amazed at how much of an effect something like a new job in a new location can have on ones “usual” habits!

I’m also looking for help! Tips! Ideas!! Meal planning would really help this out as well, and frankly I’ve never been good at meal planning!
Favorite lunches to pack?? Favorite dinners during a busy week? Preferably ones with leftovers??
I haven’t even started on the effects the new job has had on my workout schedule! That’s a post in it’s own, but I’ll let you know I did just start Crossfit! I went to my first intro workout Saturday morning and had my first regular workout tonight! So far so good…and SO sore. ;) I’ll give a recap as soon as I go a few more times.

Now it’s time for bed…I don’t want my sleep schedule to go s**t too ;)
Goodnight friends!

My Birthday in Wine Country

2011-12-01T06:49:00.001-05:00

While my birthday was not the reason for the trip, I was thrilled to be able to celebrate my special day in such a beautiful part of the country!

Nov 7, 2011

Woke up to the smell of bacon and French toast at our B&B in Healdsburg.

Why can’t there be platters of fresh fruit waiting for me every morning?? (Brian I’m talking to you…;)

Coffee, of course, and I really want these mugs! Best part is that I saw them at Sur La Table a few days later!!

One thing I really wanted to do on our vacation was go for a hike and see some Redwoods! So that is just what we did after breakfast.

We swung by the market to grab sandwiches to pack for lunch and drove out to the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.

That old stump makes Brian look like a miniature size person!!!

Seeing those trees in person is indescribable…they are just so marvelous, and HUGE!

After hiking and a picnic lunch we stopped by a couple wineries on our way back to the B&B.

The properties were all so gorgeous.

Once we returned, changed, rested, and enjoyed cocktail hour at the B&B…we headed to dinner.

Cyrus restaurant. I debated for a while on where I wanted to have my birthday dinner….there are just SO many amazing restaurants out there!! Ultimately I chose Cyrus because I’ve never been to a Michelin star restaurant (Cyrus has 2 Michelin stars), and have never had this type of multi-course dinner “experience” before.

And an experience it was!

The photo above was taken at the end of the night…we had 7:30 reservations (ideally you would go earlier), and didn’t leave until around 11! The place was packed when we arrived though.

I’ll apologize now for the low-lit craptastic iphone photos, but I HAD to document this meal and it was NOT the time or place to be whipping out my big DSLR…so discrete iphone photos it was!

After sitting down and starting to look over the menus, a cart (the first of many that evening) comes rolling over with a selection of champagne and caviar. The cart also contained an old fashion scale to weigh out your selections.

We decided to pass on the caviar this time ;)

Next up was a tower of canapés to stimulate all the different taste buds and flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and Umami

Starting from the bottom:

Umami - a mushroom broth (can’t remember the type of mushroom).

Sweet - Next level on one of the spoons was a grape “bubble”: not quite sure how it’s done but it was a bubble that popped in your mouth containing a sweet grape liquid. So interesting!

Bitter – Another spoon held a grapefruit gel with candied grapefruit peel

Salty – A small gruyere cheese puff (delicious!)

Sour - carrot pixi stix!! (shown below), inside those straws was a sour carrot powder that you ate like a pixi stick!! So creative! Granted mine went down wrong and I was coughing for a while after, but I loved the concept.

I enjoyed a refreshing cocktail:

The “Pomiranian”
Hangar One Orange Blossom Vodka, Pomegranate Juice, Lime Juice, Black Pepper-Allspice Syrup,
Pomegranate Seeds, Fresh Mint

The Amuse Bouche was a parfait of 4 squashes. I don’t have this one written down but it was four different squashes in different forms/textures all layered. We were told to dig down to the bottom to get all 4 layers in a bite.

One of MY favorite parts was a warm bread basket that kept coming around with 5 or 6 different types of bread, rolls, and biscuits all waiting to be tasted.

I started with a pretzel croissant and a brioche bun…

2 types of butter: cows milk and goats milk
and 2 types of salt: sea salt and pink Hawaiian salt

For our meals I opted for the 8-course tasting menu and Brian went with the 5 course but with wine pairings. There is no way I’d be able to drink all that wine!!

They are also very accommodating in that you could switch items from the vegetarian tasting menu if something catches your eye.

I did just that with my first course: Chestnut and Sherry soup with chestnut confit, fennel cream.

Brian’s was the Shima Aji Sashimi with Oxtail-Umeshu Consommé, Quail Egg and Myoga

Next up for both of us was the Roasted Lobster with Cauliflower Cream, Uni Emulsion.

One of my favorites of the night (lobster…no brainer there), but that cauliflower cream was delightful and paired SO well with the lobster.

Third course for both of us: Halibut with Braised Romaine, Yuzu Kosho Butter.

Such a tender piece of fish. I’ve never had halibut this rare but it melted in your mouth.

Next was my 4th course while Brian “sat out” this round.

Steamed Matsutake with Pine Nuts, Junsai and Mitsuba. For someone who doesn’t exactly “love” mushrooms (texture issue), I was proud of myself this night.

This was served with the paper thin slices of Matsutake in the bowl and the hot broth was poured over table side, collapsing the mushroom slices like tissue paper.

Course 4 For Brian – Prime Striploin with Potato, Short Rib, and Crimini, Sauce Bordelaise.

I loved everything about this!! Those little light colored cylinders were the potato, the little cubes were the short rib, and the little circles were crimini sauce. The flavors were incredible.

Course 5 for me: Crispy Chicken thigh with truffled risotto and celery, parmesan foam.

This course for both of us was a huge hit! The chicken was so tender with a contrast of the crispy skin, and the risotto was divine and creamy.

My 6th course might have been the best…it involved another cart rolling over to the table but this time it was full of CHEESE!!!

You can kind of see the cheese cart in this pictures behind the table. The tower in front is all of the accompaniments.

The menu stated a selection of 3 cheeses, but our waitress was awesome and let us taste more. I chose 4 but she was ready to slice off even more for us.

Again, I do not have the names of these. but I know there was a triple cream in there, a bit of Epoisses which is a very stinky cheese! (I looove stinky cheese), a goats milk cheese with ash rind, and the hard cheese was a sheep's milk.

Brian’s 5-course didn’t have a cheese course, but this was plenty for the two of us!

Next up was my most anticipated item of the evening as I had read about it in reviews!

The Birthday surprise!!

That contraption right there has a balloon attached to a valve connecting to this lit up dome covered plate. Inside the dome are two perfectly warm chocolate chip cookies and cocoa powder scattered throughout.

The birthday person gets to flip the lever on the valve, and all the air inside the balloon is released into the dome causing all the cocoa powder to fly around like a snowball shaker!!

It’s just a fun way to acknowledge the birthday!

Plus those cookies might have been my favorite part of dessert…fresh, warm, gooey…

Along with the cookies, we received mini chocolate egg creams

Next were the real desserts. I had a 7th and 8th course dessert. The first one was

Yuzu Cremeux, Bergamot Meringue and cream
cheese ice cream…

Those “pieces” in there are the meringue but also the ice cream! The cream cheese ice cream was flash frozen (liquid nitrogen can do that) and broken into pieces…it was like grown up Dippin’ Dots!

For our final dessert choices, I went with:

Warm Bananas with Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate…

Brian had the:
Vanilla Bean Fontainebleau with Apple Ice, Farina Fritters

The fun didn’t stop there though…

The final cart they roll over to your table is the Sweets Cart!! At the end of your meal you can choose any of the candies on this cart and as many as you’d like!

There were homemade lollipops, jellies, marshmallows, caramels, chocolates, truffles…anything!

They also give you a little gift box containing a little pastry to take home and luckily there was room in the box for our candies because I was WAY too full to eat them then.

But if that wasn’t the icing on the birthday cake…with the check came two mini hot bourbon glazed donuts..

Yeah. Don’t worry those were eaten right then and there…I mean they were hot!

If you add it all up it’s more like 12 or 13 courses…also the most expensive dinner we’ve ever had, but it was definitely worth it! You’re paying not only for the food but for the amazing experience and top notch service.

They also provide you with a nice print out of the menu you selected all night with the date, your name, and what you were celebrating!

I’ll always remember this birthday!! Good thing too since I plan on having many more 29th birthdays in the future ;)

Homemade Pork Pot Stickers

2011-11-28T21:50:00.001-05:00

Well the long holiday weekend is over, and it was back to work for me and I’m sure most of you! I was lucky enough to be able to do some field work this morning (i.e. I was outside and it was GORGEOUS out today!), so my first day back was alright ;)

I recently received a few coupons to try out some Nasoya products! I cashed in this weekend, and was most excited to try out the wonton wrappers!

Wonton wrappers are one of those products I’ve seen on countless blogs and it seems the possibilities for them are endless. However, I wanted to start simple and decided to try my hand at some homemade pot stickers!

I remembered seeing Elina’s video a while back and it seemed pretty simple.

I browsed a few recipes and ultimately combined them to make my own version using ground pork (I tend to steer clear of poultry the days following Thanksgiving weekend…turkey overload).

Pork Pot Stickers
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 lb lean ground pork
1 cup finely chopped Napa cabbage
1 cup finely chopped Bok Choy
1 T low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp fresh peeled, minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced shitake mushrooms
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped scallions
24 wonton wrappers (such as Nasoya)
2 tsp canola oil, divided
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
Dipping Sauce of choice! (such as Trader Joe’s Gyozo sauce)

Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-med/high heat, spray with canola oil cooking spray, add pork and cook for 3-4 min until meat is mostly cooked. Then add garlic, ginger, and mushrooms, and continue cooking 2-3 min more.
Add soy sauce, sesame oil, cabbage, and bok choy. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cabbage and bok choy begins to wilt.
Add lemon zest and scallions, cook for another 2 min. Turn off heat, and set aside.
Now you’ll want to prepare a “wrapping station”: get your wonton wrappers ready, have a small bowl of water for dipping your fingers, and have your filling nearby. Wash your hands!
Take 1 wonton, spoon a small amount of filling (just under a Tbsp), and place it in the center of your wonton wrapper. Wet your fingers in the water, and rub water around all 4 edges of your wrapper.
Bring corners of wonton wrapper together and press the edges to seal in the filling. You create a triangle shaped pot sticker. Transfer to a platter and continue until all the filling is used up.
At this point you can re-use your pan and just wipe it down with a paper towel.
Heat the pan at med heat and add 1 tsp canola oil. Add 12 of your pot stickers to the pan seam side up, and cook for 1-2 min until the bottoms start to brown. Then add 1 cup broth, cover, and cook for 4-5 min or until wonton skins look softened and cooked.
Repeat step 8 with remaining pot stickers, pouring out excess broth after the first batch.
Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce!

These were AWESOME!! Loved the filling even on it’s own! The hint of lemon was so delicious.

Notes:

I shredded my cabbage and bok choy in the food processor.
I also chopped up extras of all my veggie ingredients to make a lo Mein to go with the meal! I used Lizzy’s recipe as a a guide, minus the shrimp, and just using the veggies I had chopped up plus some broccoli and broccoli slaw. I used the Nasoya Chinese noodles for the lo mien.

Veggie Lo Mein actions

The pot stickers were really the star of the meal!

Next time I’m making a huge batch a head of time, having a wonton-filling assembly line with help from Brian and just keep these babies in the freezer. If you want to freeze them, fill them, seal them, then freeze them on a cookie sheet first then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container.

Now on a random note I HAVE to share a new purchase with you.

So I realize this isn’t exactly a “share worthy” outfit, but the item I wanted to show you was my fun new leggings!!

They are from Nordstrom (hosiery dept), Navy blue with a fun Nordic print on the lower leg! They also come in grey. I love them.

A Thanksgiving Salad

2011-11-24T21:52:00.001-05:00

Hope you all had (or are still having) a fabulous Thanksgiving! For us, we just knocked off our 2nd out of 3 Turkey Dinners of the week…oh boy.

#1 – Friendsgiving at our house
#2 – Thanksgiving Day - Dinner at my aunts
#3 – A Thanksgiving dinner at Brian’s Family in NH on Saturday

So much turkey!

The only downfall to having an early Friendsgiving, is that I’m usually kind of sick of turkey by today. Not completely, and I really enjoyed today’s dinner, especially the sides that were different than what I made (my aunt did garlic mashed potatoes and they were divine).

To counteract the Turkey dinner overload, I decided to bring a fresh colorful green salad!

I wanted something with a Fall-theme to it, but with lots of fresh veggies and fruits!

I came across this salad on the Whole Foods website:
“Thanksgiving Green Salad”….sounded perfect to me!

This salad combined mixed greens, fresh chopped fennel, orange segments, dried cranberries, and candied pecans all tossed with a raspberry balsamic dressing!

I also had the bright idea to add some crumbled goat cheese! It’s pictured, but the cheese went excellent with the other ingredients.

I opted to peel and segment my oranges with a knife (I used 4 large navel oranges), instead of just peeling them and using the break-apart segments…I just think it looks nicer :)

I also have a few family members who can’t eat nuts or seeds, so I left the candied pecans in a bowl on the side so people could add them on their own. I also had to strain the pureed raspberries to get rid of the seeds.

I packed the dressing in a mason jar and tossed the salad at my aunts house right before dinner! From what I heard, it seemed everyone liked it!! I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to re-create it at home. I forget how much I love fresh fennel.

This girl needs to get to sleep now though…Black Friday tomorrow!! I know most people won’t go anywhere near stores tomorrow, but my mom and I love it! We don’t go all 1am @ Best Buy crazy, but we get to the mall around 7am…early, but not “crazy” early…yet early enough to not have to deal with traffic or finding a parking spot. We browse around, try and get some Christmas shopping started, have an early-ish lunch, shop some more and head home :) It’s just something we love doing together…although day after Christmas is my favorite (this is my 2nd fav…ok maybe 3rd after Birthday shopping ;)

Again, I hope everyone got to spend some time with family and/or friends today…those who you’re most thankful for :)

Christmas will be here before you know it…

Turkey Talk: Friendsgiving 2011

2011-11-21T22:22:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I realized my friends and I have been getting together for our own pre-Thanksgiving dinner for 10 YEARS!! This was our 10th annual Friendsgiving…or as we like to call it “House Thanksgiving”…previously known as “Apartment Thanksgiving”, but then I bought a house :)

I’m thrilled that we’ve kept this tradition going since junior year of college!! (also makes me feel kinda old)
Most of my classic recipes are on the blog already, so I’ll just give you the run-down and let you know what I changed up for 2011 and what I’m already thinking for 2012!

The standards:
Turkey…but of course. I don’t really know why but I always feel the need to get a 20+ lb turkey, regardless of my guest list. I mean I love leftovers, but it’s just getting a little ridiculous.

I was planning for 14 people (only 12 made it), and I bought a 21.6lb free range bird :) Next year I am going to save some $$ and some cooking time and keep it more on the 16lb range I’m thinking.

Stuffing: Don’t expect me to ever try out a new recipe. I love my grandmother’s recipe more than anything and my friends seem to feel the same….why mess with perfection right? Plus I always make a HUGE batch and we barely have any leftovers.

Mashed Potatoes: Nothing too ground breaking here…potatoes, milk, butter, salt, pepper, and a little fresh chopped rosemary.

Green Beans: I still prefer the pancetta/sage recipe to the standard green bean casserole. I do like the casserole but just don’t feel the need for another heavy creamy dish.

Carrots: What can I say? I need the cooking water from these to add to the gravy :)
Squash: I think I’m going to take a break from the soufflé next year. I don’t know why, but mine just never turn out as good as I’d hope. I even took it up a notch this year and took and idea from my aunt to cook the soufflé in baked sugar pumpkins!! Fabulous idea, lovely presentation, but my soufflé was just NOT setting up…almost 2 hours in the oven and still not ready?! Who knows.

(cut the tops of 3 sugar pumpkins and scraped out the inside real good)

(rubbed inside and outside with olive oil and sprinkled inside with salt, pepper, and brown sugar)

(baked at 350 for 30min…prepped and baked these the day before)
I think next year I’m going to switch it up. I love squash, and wouldn’t mind a less-heavy recipe next year.
Gravy: Classic. Drippings from the turkey, some chicken bullion, and the carrot cooking water. Bring to boil, add flour/water mixture and simmer until thickened.
Cranberry sauce: I always have homemade and the jelly-kind in the can. People always have their favorite…I grew up only liking the canned kind, but now I love both!

Dessert! This is where I have my fun each year.
I made 3 desserts:

The Milky Way Tart
Ina’s French Apple Tart
Butterscotch pudding cups

I mentioned I was thinking about making the Milky Way Tart because it was a hit at the last party I brought it too, and it still was a crowd favorite!
Apparently I was on a tart kick! No pies were made this year (by me anyways), but I think I like this apple tart even better than apple pie! It’s simple, delicious, and has an impressive presentation.
Also could be made ahead of time :)

This tart dough was very different than the dough for the Milky Way Tart, but equally delectable…actually I might like this dough better.

Rolled and trimmed to a 10”x14” rectangle

Arrange the apples, sprinkle with sugar (and a little cinnamon), then dot with butter.

Once finished, you brush with an apricot jam glaze.

So pretty!

The crust is still crisp and flaky today too.
The Butterscotch Pudding cups comes from my favorite butterscotch pie that my grandmother makes! Just instead of a pie, I put the filling into little mason jars.
Then right before dessert, I whipped up the meringue and torched it with my kitchen torch (always looking for a reason to use my torch)

These were super cute, I want to make more things in mini-mason jars!
(just realized I don’t have the exact recipe on the blog so I’ll fix that)
Other desserts (by others)

Pumpkin pie!

Mini pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Both were amazing.
Other notable deliciousness…CHEESE!
Don’t you love when you ask someone to bring something and you just KNOW it’s going to be good…even a cheese platter!? I do!! I take my cheese seriously ;)
Even I didn’t expect these masterpieces…

Seriously?? 2 HUGE platters of amazing cheese, meats, grapes, dried figs, pate, flowers(!), rosemary Marcona almonds…EVERYTHING!

Oh lets not forget the baked brie, chocolate covered strawberries, and little fall shaped pieces of marzipan.

I’m also very thankful we have the leftovers of the cheese in the fridge :)
The final thing I LOVE about House-Thanksgiving is my tablescape! Ok so it wasn’t my best work this year but I got distracted when I had some early arriving guests…
Will just call it simple.

Little pears are an easy, colorful, and edible decoration! Also a roll of $9 burlap from Lowes makes a nice rustic table runner.

And mason jars + coffee beans+candles

(broke out the "fancy" apron)

Phew! That was quite the post!
Have you hosted a Thanksgiving dinner?? Any particular recipe that you can’t live without on Thanksgiving??
Also looking for good appetizer ideas to bring to my aunts on Thursday??

Hawaiian Chicken

2011-11-15T21:27:00.001-05:00

Ok, this is the last “mom” recipe I’ll share for now…mostly because it’s the last one I’ve made. However, I’m sure I’ll think of a few others that I haven’t had in ages.

First there was the Chicken Stroganoff, then the Spanish Steak, and now it’s time for Hawaiian Chicken!!

This is another super easy and delicious dish. The prep is fast but it does need to bake for 1.5 hours, but it’s SO worth it because the sauce gets all caramelized :)

The other funny thing I’ve notice while making this old dishes from my youth, is that I crave them served the same way as well!

For instance, the Chicken Stroganoff needs egg noodles, the Spanish Steak goes with a baked potato, and as I was thinking of the Hawaiian chicken I remember that we always had it with good old rice pilaf! You know, the classic Near East brand…man I LOVED that stuff, I could easily down half a box, probably more if it was there!

Lucky for me I had a box of Near East whole grain pilaf in the pantry, and made sure to also have a nice green veggie on the side this time.

This was one of those recipes from an old cookbook that had like 500 ways to cook chicken in it…you know what I’m talking about. Then mom told me her tweaks and I went from there! I also added the specific types of ingredients I used as the recipe was pretty vague with some items like “mustard” and “vinegar”…don’t they know I own like 4 or 5 types of vinegar ;)

Hawaiian Chicken
adapted from mom’s cookbook & mom

serves 4

4 good size chicken breasts
(or 2 chickens cut into 8ths, or 8 small breasts)
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp mustard (I used Dijon)
1/4 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 can (1lb 4oz) crushed pineapple with juice (make sure not to get the pineapple packed in syrup)

Pre-heat oven to 350

Add all ingredients, except the pineapple, to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then add pineapple. Remove from heat, sauce done!

Place chicken in a baking dish, and bake chicken dry, covered with foil for 30 min.

Remove foil, add sauce, and bake for another 45-55 min.

Sweet, tangy, juicy chicken! I love this dish with the rice and letting the sauce coat everything on my plate!

This was fabulous for dinner and lunch the next day!

Hope you like this one!!

In other news… is it really Thanksgiving next week?? Which means it’s really House Thanksgiving this weekend!?? I’m brainstorming dessert ideas, and at the top of my list seems to be that delectable Milky Way Tart again…but there’s never just one dessert now is there.

Wine Country Potato Leek Soup

2011-11-13T21:31:00.001-05:00

I’m baaaaack!

(the squirrels made a snack of our old rotted pumpkin while we were away)

Actually I got back Friday morning after a red eye from San Francisco, but we’ve had a lot of do once we got home, and I even had a blogger trip to Portsmouth yesterday!

The past couple months Emily, Megan, Daisy and I have been talking about planning a day trip up to Portsmouth since we all love it there so much! We finally picked a date, and gathered a group of 10 Boston-area bloggers for a fun and food filled day!

Elina, Elizabeth, Megan, Meghan, Daisy, Michelle, Bianca, Emily, Jen, and I met up at Redhook Brewery for some lunch and beer!

I’ve been here many times, especially during college and right after college, as I went to UNH which is close by. Even had my 21st b-day dinner here!

I was a little tourist-ed out after my trip, and since it wasn’t a new city to me I wasn’t taking as many pictures but I’m sure the other ladies will have some great recaps! I was just excited to see all the girls :)

I know I have so much to share from my trip!! So I think I’ll start with a recipe.

One of the highlights of the trip was the Sunday we left San Francisco and drove north to northern Sonoma county for The Wine Road’s Food and Wine affair! I would never have known about this event if it wasn’t for some great advice from Meghan!

This event went on Saturday and Sunday (Nov 5 & 6), and basically a ton of the wineries in the area would be serving a food pairing with one or some of their wines, and with your wristband you could visit as many as you’d like during the weekend. We only did Sunday, but we managed to hit quite a few and tasted some AWESOME food. The wine was good to ;)

Don’t worry we had our fair share of amazing wine this past week, but I think both Brian and I were more focused on the food this particular day.

The best part is that with your ticket you receive a gorgeous cookbook with all the recipes that were served at all the wineries!

(source)

There are SO many recipes that I can’t wait to make and share with you guys!!

I wasted no time either, as I just made one for dinner tonight!

We had this soup at our very first stop of the day that Sunday, at Sheldon. It was amazing. I ate my sample and finished Brian’s :)

I picked up my ingredients Friday when we got home, and re-created this delicious soup tonight.

Luckily I also picked up some of this while in San Francisco…

Now you don’t need the truffle oil per se, but it adds so much and just takes this simple soup to the next level!

I’m so glad I am able to share recipes from this cookbook on the blog. I did however make a couple very minor adjustments so I will give the recipe I made.

Potato Leek Soup with truffle oil
adapted from chef Dylan Sheldon in the “Tasting Along the Wine Road” cookbook

Serves 4-6

3 medium leeks, washed and minced (only the white and first inch of the light green parts)
1 med onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2T unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
4 med/large Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and diced
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
1.5 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground fennel (optional, I couldn’t find this ingredient so I smashed up some fennel seeds)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
white truffle oil

In a large heavy bottom stock pot over med-low heat, melt the butter with the onions, garlic, leeks, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf. Leave the sprigs of herbs whole as you will remove them later. Sauté on med-low/low for about 5 min until the vegetables are soft.
Add potatoes, broth, and wine. Turn up heat to med-high and bring to a simmer. Cover, and simmer over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 min.
Remove bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary. Then puree the soup with an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender then puree until smooth and creamy. Personally I HATE transferring soups, so I always use my handheld immersion blender…get one, they are not expensive!!
Serve in bowls and garnish with a few drops (or more!!) of white truffle oil, and a cheesy toast…

Cheesy toast: melt some freshly grated gruyere (or your favorite aged sharp cheese) on a thin slice of baguette and toast in the oven or toaster oven.

Creamy, comforting and makes for a great meal. We were filled up with 1 bowl of soup and two cheesy toasts!

A San Francisco Treat

2011-11-07T11:48:00.001-05:00

Good Morning! Well it’s morning for us over on the west coast :) Can’t talk long though, we have a beautiful day a head of us in wine country…and I’m still conserving laptop battery.

The Foodbuzz Festival was this past weekend, and while that was my motivation for this trip originally, I actually did very little in terms of participating in the festival. Mostly because this is a trip with the hubs and I only went to the one event he could tag along to…the tasting pavilion.

So enough words for now…here’s Part 1 in pictures.

Finally got to try the elusive Blue Bottle coffee, and YES it is that good!

Anchor Steam tour :)

First thing we did when we picked up our rental car…

Best drinking chocolate (at the tasting pavilion)

Also BEST ricotta! I need to find this place!

Never knew Endive grew this way…

Oh and it’s my birthday :) Can’t wait for dinner tonight!

Happy Monday!

Yoga + Yogurt

2011-11-04T10:09:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday!!

A couple weeks ago I was invited to an event hosted by the wonderful folks at Stonyfield called “Fueled by Organic”. It was a quick mid-work day event at Equinox gym in the Back Bay, and luckily I was able to just leave work for a couple hours and come back. Equinox was a very quick T-ride away! The event consisted of a 45min yoga class followed by an organic nutrition discussion and a sample of Stonyfield yogurt :) Sounded like the perfect afternoon escape to me.

As much as I love Stonyfield, I was just as excited to step foot in Equinox! I don’t know if you’ve heard of Equinox gyms before but they are the NICEST (and also $$$) gyms around! At least in Boston, but I know they are elsewhere around the country. I was also told each attendee would receive a free 1-week pass!! I didn’t want to miss out on that! I’ll be sure to keep you updated when I use my free pass.

(sorry for the blurry pic, it was a dark room and I had my iphone)

I arrived, changed, and headed into the dimly lit yoga studio where most everyone was already there on their mats.

It was a really great 45-min class! The room was slightly warm, not like “hot yoga'” but I’m thinking they just keep the yoga room on the warm side. I would definitely call it more of a power yoga, we did some challenging strength poses, and some I had never done before! I was sweating after 45 min :)

After yoga, we headed to another on of their fitness studios for yogurt and the nutrition talk.

This was another nice large fitness room. Can’t wait to take some classes here!

Especially whatever class involves these:
;)

I headed over to the table with the bucket-o-yogurt to choose from

And headed to a mat with my vanilla Oikos (one of my fav’s!)

Mary Kennedy,a Stonyfield Nutritionist, gave us a quick talk/presentation about the importance of properly fueling before and after workouts. I thought I knew a good amount on this subject but there was definitely a lot to be learned from here and I’m really glad I took notes so that I could share…

I’ll give my notes in bullet form, and please note that most all of this information is relative to people who are generally active (workout regularly) or athletes.

For an active person a general rule for the # of calories you should consume is your weight X 20!

This seemed a lot to me, but at the same time I do not consider myself very active. I have my weeks, and do try to workout regularly but it just doesn’t always happen. This would be good to remember though if, for say, you were in the thick of training for a long distance race or other endurance event!

Of these calories, 60-70% should come from carbs, 25-35% from fat, and 10-18% from protein.

Mary said that most people thing protein is the big important thing you should be getting a lot of, but for an active person it’s CARBS that are on top!

Protein is the LEAST efficient fuel for your body.
Carbs refuel! Protein helps muscle repair.
HYDRATE!! Not drinking enough water and keeping properly hydrated can really drag down your energy and make you feel sluggish. Even a deficiency of 2% of your body weight can make you feel a difference.
Aim for your body weight / 2 for the # of ounces per day you should be drinking of water.
And not to be gross, but I think most of us know how to tell when we’re not getting enough hydration – color of your urine. You want it to be clear.
Plan ahead to fuel up. This means getting fueled before a workout! You need to eat something before a workout, but also should leave time to digest!

For me, when I have a run or other strenuous workout planned for the morning, I need to wake up with enough time to eat, and then digest.

This is another place where carbs win!

on an empty stomach, carbs take 1-2 hrs to digest, where as higher fat items can take 6-7 hrs to digest!!

Of course this depends on exercise intensity. You should fuel accordingly.
If you keep a food journal, it would be a great idea to add your workouts! This way you can see if you are fueling properly before and after.
The best POST workout re-fuel is something high-carb with a little protein. (like yogurt!)
If nothing else, Mary said you should have something small with carbs within 30 minutes after your workout. Even just a glass of juice.

I actually never knew the 30 min rule! But now I will try to make a more conscious effort.

You want an energy balance: Calories in = total energy expenditure.
In instances with high exercise, like marathon training, women are the ones who tend to gain weight (and men tend to lose…so nor fair)

This is because a lot of people tend to over-compensate when they all of a sudden start working out more than normal and at a higher intensity.

Think QUALITY food = fuel!
No energy in a bottle!! We’re talking protein shakes, energy drinks…etc.
You can get the best fuel for your body from the food that the earth makes! REAL food!!
This is where organic becomes important.

organic = less junk!

The last thing our bodies needs are pesticides and GMOs (genetically modified organisms….eww)
Lastly she touched on the confusion some people can have with labels. Organic does NOT equal natural! So many packaged foods these days claim to be “all natural” but according to the FDA guidelines this doesn’t really mean much and can still have pesticides and GMO’s.

read the ingredients folks!

A lot of this I knew, and I’m sure you do too, but sometimes it’s just good to get a refresher and maybe even learn something you didn’t know!

I had a lovely break from work that afternoon: yoga class, yogurt, nutrition talk, and getting to see these ladies!

Elizabeth, Me, Tina, Elina, and Sarah!

But want to know the BEST part of that day?? In addition to a fun swag bag we all received with our 1-week passes, they pulled a name to receive a special gift: a fun cooler bag with some great stuff inside AND a 1-MONTH pass to Equinox….and I WON!!!! I was SO pumped! I seriously can’t wait to cash in on that month and week!

Thank you Stonyfield and Equinox! Stonyfield always puts on really great informative events, and I always feel lucky to attend. This was no different.

Milky Way Tart & other Treats

2011-10-30T22:14:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween!

While I didn’t dress up or get scared by any costumes this year…I think most of us around here got quite the surprise by the freak snow storm we got last night!

We were luckier than some, but unfortunately Brian and I did return to a power-less house last night! I’m just SO thankful it came back on early this morning, because I know a lot of people are still in the dark!

On the upside, we had a fabulous evening at Megan and her fiancé Jeff’s condo last night!

Megan, working with the Tri Lamb group, hosted a Fall themed pot luck with a lamb dish being the focus of the meal! Brian and I both love lamb, so we were excited about it!

The recipe she was sent to make was for a lamb pizza with goat cheese and arugula! I was a BIG fan of this pizza!!

There was also a plethora of other treats: cheese, crackers, meats, hummus, Elina’s spinach artichoke dip, Justin’s white chili, Emily’s pretzel bites, butternut squash soup, and more I can’t even remember.

p.s. I want this cheese board (actually I think I registered for it, but never got it…bummer)

There were even “lamb jokes” spread around the room

(the sLAMBer…get it?)

It was a really relaxing night, and I realized no one else was taking too many pictures, so I just put my camera away too :)

I do, however, have plenty of shots from the making of my dessert :) Megan made some gorgeous mini chocolate orange cupcakes, and the cutest pumpkin/chocolate tartlets!

I was trying to think of a “fall” dessert, but instead went more for a “Halloween” theme…candy!

As soon as I flipped to it’s page in the Flour Bakery cookbook, I knew it would be a winner!

Milky Way Tart!

I’m a big fan of the candy bar, especially the mini version, but this tart just takes it to a whole new level of awesome!

It’s a fairly simple ingredient list, and procedure, however the different components have different cooling times needed so be sure to read the WHOLE recipe before you dive in! In that same regard, this would also be a great dessert that you could prepare all the components a head of time!

Lucky for you I found this whole recipe reprinted online, so I will link over to it and just give you my notes :)

Find recipe here (although I HIGHLY recommend just buying the book, it’s a good one!!)

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

As I said, very simple ingredients…

I made the chocolate cream for the mousse first thing in the morning, as it needs to chill for AT LEAST 8 hours!
I used instant espresso powder instead of instant coffee and only used 1 tsp. I was worried it was still too coffee tasting, but the final product was amazing and you couldn’t detect the coffee. My mom loved it and she hates coffee, so don’t worry about that and DON’T skip the coffee!
I love making caramel
The caramel needs to cool for at least 4 hours, so I made it around noon

I always use my copper pot for caramel :)

Have your caramel ingredients measured out and ready before starting to cook the sugar

In no time you’ll have gorgeous caramel

A little later I got to work on the dough for the crust

I used a rectangular tart pan, as opposed to the circular one in the recipe, and in my case my crust cooked faster!
I checked the dough at 25 min and it was even slightly more browned than I would have liked, but luckily not burned and still delicious.
Once the crust was cooled, I whipped the mousse.
The recipe says soft peaks, and I did just that, but I think I could have whipped it a tad longer and will next time.
I also let the caramel come more to room temp before spreading it into the crust just to make it easier.
When it says the milk chocolate should be slightly warm for ideal “curling” conditions, we’re talking on the verge of melting warm! Mine wasn’t really warm enough, nor did I have a long enough piece so my curls didn’t really curl.

In the end, it came out lovely :) At this point it was supposed to chill for 30 min to set, however we were late and I decided I could let it chill at Megan’s place. Not the best idea as it shifted a little en route, and was a little “melty”, but luckily no one cared because it tasted great.

I can’t wait to make this again!! Everyone seemed to really like it which is always a relief :)

This is an impressive looking dessert, and even though it takes some time, it’s very straightforward and everyone will love it :)

Megan told me they would make this as mini tarts in the Bakery…LOVE that idea :)

Hope you have lots of treats (and no tricks) this Halloween.

Hmmm guess we should actually get some candy for the trick-or-treaters…

So, what's your favorite candy?? I love Twix, sour patch kids, peanut M&M’s, and the Midnight milky ways (ooo that would be a yummy Tart too!)

Ladies Night @ Aragosta

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Where was I? Oh right, it was Thursday and I was spending the afternoon back at work hoping my appetite would return after eating that delicious delicious burger…

Luckily I had a busy day at work, a walk to the North End, a 15-min chair massage, and a polish change to help me work my appetite back up.

You see, that same Thursday I was heading over to Aragosta for their Bella Notte Thursdays, Ladies Night, with a group of some of my favorite blogging gals. Aragosta is in the beautiful Fairmont Battery Wharf, right on the water in the North End, and even though it’s technically in the North End it’s in a much quieter location away from all the hustle and bustle.

The lovely Lindsey from Beantown Eats organized a small group of bloggers to get together for a fun girls night.

I was the first to arrive as I was told from 5:30 – 6:30pm, on Ladies Night (which is every Thursday, by the way), they will offer free polish changes and chair massages!

The newest Exhale Spa opened up right next to the Fairmont earlier this year, and a nail technician and a masseuse had themselves a little set up right in the hotel lobby/lounge area. I immediately put my name in for a polish change as they only have 4 spots each time they come. I wasn’t planning on the massage, but as I was waiting I was told they had an opening so I decided why not!

(note massage chair in the background)

It was slightly awkward getting into the massage chair while wearing a skirt, in front of everyone in the lounge, but I soon forgot all about that. I quick arm, back, and neck massage was JUST what I needed. So good in fact, that I am thinking about going back to Exhale for a full massage!

At this point I heard the other girls arriving, but I had a polish change after the massage.

Done and done! I went with an Essie color, not sure the name, but it was a light grey shade.

Oh right, back to the food!

The premise of Ladies Night, is that for $20 you order one cocktail and one appetizer! It’s obviously best if you are with a friend or 2 (or 6) and you can each order something different to try. The appetizers are a good size as well, perfect for sharing.

I started with their light margarita, it reminded me of a Skinnygirl :) I don’t think this cocktail was on the Ladies Night menu, but I ordered it earlier in the lounge.

All the drinks looked and sounded great

Eventually we decided to go sit, and were led over to the chef’s table/bar! This was a 7-seat bar area set up right in front of the kitchen where you can watch all the action! I love watching chefs make the food!!

We were lucky this night. We didn’t just have to choose 1 appetizer. The chef was going to just bring out a few dishes of various items so we had a good sampling of what the menu has to offer :)

To start was some addicting bread…

super crisp and crusty but oh so soft on the inside! With olive oil/olives.

The first item to come out (and my favorite of the night) was the Truffle Rigatoni, Warm Goat Cheese Fondue

This was the only item where we were served half portions. The chef didn’t want us to get full off the first bite, as it’s so rich.

Honestly I didn’t notice the truffle, but this was the most incredibly cheesey bite of pasta EVER. I had one single piece of rigatoni, but it was stuffed with cheese and surrounded by warm melty goat cheese. I want a whole plate please. :)

Next, and another favorite, was the Margherita Flatbread, Torn Burrata, Fresh Basil

Simple, yes, but everything just tasted so fresh! Those tomatoes were just sitting in a bowl on the counter when we first arrived, and then they ended up on our plate. The burrata was soft and creamy, and the crust was super thin and crisp.

Next was Lobster and Truffle Crostini, White Bean Puree. I love all the components separately, however I just wasn’t a fan of this one. The flavor of the lobster and the truffle seemed to just be fighting each other and it wasn’t pleasant for me. Oh well, can’t love them all :)

I did love watching the action in the kitchen…

Baked Veal and Pancetta Meatballs, Soft Polenta, Fresh Mozzarella

Love the presentation. Delicious meatballs once I got over the fact of eating veal (I know I know, it’s just a psychological thing).

Lindsey’s beautiful cocktail:

Gorgeous platter of a Hand Crafted Selection of Salumi, Caponata, and Hot Cherry Peppers

I enjoyed some of the meats with the soft bread from the beginning of the meal.

Finally we ended with Warm Black Mission Figs wrapped in Proscuitto, Gorgonzola Dolce.

Sweet and salty with a pungent taste from the gorgonzola. Very flavorful! We also noticed how popular these were!! We saw many orders of these figs go out of the kitchen while we were there!

It was a fabulous night with some fabulous ladies: Lindsey, Megan, Elina, Meghan, Daisy and myself! Lots of chatting and enjoying delicious food and drinks! Everyone at Aragosta and the Fairmont were very welcoming and I’d love to return with some friends! They even have outdoor events in the winter!! Heat lamps, blanks, and fondue?? Sign me up!

All in all last Thursday was the highlight of my week!

The Radius Burger. Finally.

2011-10-26T22:20:00.001-04:00

Last Thursday was a really fun day! Even with work mixed in ;)

I was headed to a “ladies night” with some lovely bloggers later that evening at Aragosta, but first I had a date with mom…

My mom came into the city to meet me for lunch! Ever since I started working in the city, I’ve wanted to be able to enjoy the lunch menu at some of the top restaurants in the city that I have only ever dined at for dinner before. You get the beautiful atmosphere and superb service with, generally, a smaller bill at the end of your meal. However most of those restaurants only offer lunch on weekdays.

Finally it was time! I actually had a tough time deciding where to go, but I am really happy I went with one of my first thoughts…Radius!

(source)

I haven’t been to Radius in years…Brian took me there on one of my birthdays, definitely before we were married…or even engaged. I’ve been wanting to go back, specifically for a reason though: The Radius Burger!

I’ve read and heard so many amazing things about that damn burger, and was just waiting for the right time to try it! Ideally, my “right” time would be with someone who would split it with me as I’ve also heard it’s pretty substantial.

I called ahead a few minutes before we arrived, just in case we’d need a reservation. Though we got a table with no problem, it was pretty packed for a random Thursday lunch! Business suits everywhere I looked…Radius is definitely a “power lunch” spot, or in our case a “special” lunch.

It took a bit of time before our waitress even brought the menu’s over (my only complaint of the day was the service…not bad, per se, but not what I’d expect from a place like that).

Anyways, we both started with a fresh roll and some iced tea. Not only did they bring over the usual options for sweeteners, but also a small pitcher of sugar water! How clever!! I’m sure you know, but sugar doesn’t dissolve very fast in cold drinks so sugar water /simple syrups are better. I love when restaurants pay attention to little details like this.

I talked up the burger to my mom on the way, and it took little convincing to determine our order…The Radius Burger and their High Street Salad. We shared both.

It can never hurt to mention you’re sharing. In our case they, pre-portioned the burger for us, serving us each out own plate with half a burger and our own fries and ketchup. Seeing other burgers go by, i realized we each received full servings of fries!

LOVE those mini copper pots the fries came in!

So this burger… the menu describes it with Vermont cheddar, crispy onions, and horseradish sauce.

What it really is, is a perfectly cooked, juice 9 oz burger, topped with melted aged cheddar cheese, a mild and creamy horseradish sauce, and thin crisp onions!

I was debating on medium vs. med-rare. Mom wanted medium, so we went with that and I”m glad we did. They air on the rarer side it seems. It was perfect for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by the horseradish sauce! I’m not a huge horseradish fan, but it’s oh so subtle that I almost forgot about it. For a moment I thought it was another creamy cheese on the burger…with a hint of horseradish. I loved it.

1/2 of that beauty was perfect. I think I would have been overly stuffed if I ate a whole one…that is one big burger!! The fries were also delicious, crisp, and not greasy.

Also if you’re a ketchup lover, I’d urge you to try a few bites of the burger before immediately adding ketchup…the flavors are so amazing on their own. I tried it with ketchup, but it totally overpowered everything.

Oh right! We ordered a salad too! Not that it wasn't good, but it was nothing compared to the burger. This was a beautiful chopped salad with lots of different veggies, cheese, and pieces of meats as well, all in a light vinaigrette!

I wasn’t wild about it, but it was good and would make a good meal on it’s own. Next time I’d try just their seasonal greens salad to accompany the burger.

With a full satisfied belly, I headed back to work with the anticipation of another fun time to be had later that evening.

I had intended to focus this post on my dinner/ladies night…but apparently I had a LOT to say about that burger! Well, it’s that good.

I forgot to get a photo of mom and I unfortunately, but I did get an outfit shot later at home :)

It’s all about the tights!

cream cardigan: Banana Republic
light pink top: F21
purple skirt: Banana
grayish/purplish lace tights! : Nordstrom
Navy wedges: Nine West (from Nordstrom)
Gold belt: grandmother
gold shell necklace: other grandmother :)

So, have you tried the Radius burger?? Or where is your favorite burger from??

Tailgate Pretzel Bites

2011-10-23T21:46:00.001-04:00

So we meet again on a Sunday night! Hope your weekend was great and you’re getting ready to face another week. I know I am. It’s going to be a busy one, and I already can’t wait until Friday…

I had one of those weekends that’s jam packed with fun activities, but doesn’t leave anytime for relaxing…it was GO-GO-GO!

Saturday was the big UNH vs. UMASS football game at Gillette Stadium! A big group of my friends from college got together for some tailgating and football!

I don’t tailgate much, and was having the hardest time thinking of something fun and different to make that didn’t involve needing to be heated up.

In the end I went with something I’ve had one my mind for a while now: homemade soft pretzels!

I saw this recipe online and decided to make the regular salted ones, AND the cinnamon sugar ones :)

Friday night I whipped up the dough. The recipe called for it to rise for 1 hour, but at this point I just really needed to get to bed. So I covered the dough with plastic wrap in the oiled bowl, and put it in the refrigerator. Refrigerating it allowed the dough to rise much slower for a longer period of time.

The next morning the dough had risen, and I just let it sit out to bring it back to room temp for about an hour. I prepped some other ingredients while I waited.

Then I got to rolling out the dough into ropes!

I used a pizza cutter to cut each rope into 1” pieces.

This was one of those recipes where it was crucial to have everything measured out and ready to go!

This was my first time making pretzels, and therefore working with a pot of boiling water + baking soda! Just so you know, the boiling water will bubble up some when you add the baking soda!

In went the first batch

On to the pans

This is when I had Brian help by given them an egg wash while I continued boiling the dough bites

Then once they were all boiled, and egg washed, we salted one pan and cinnamon-sugared the other!

Baked each for 14-15 minutes, and voila!

Per the suggestions given in the recipe, I made the cheese sauce for the salted ones and a cream cheese frosting type sauce for the cinnamon-sugar bites.

The cheese sauce was the same one in the recipe, except I doubled it and added a pinch of garlic powder.

For the sweet ones, I used roughly:

3oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar (start with 1/2 cup, then add more as needed)
2-3 T skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I ended up needing to use a hand mixer as I was having difficulty getting the cream cheese to incorporate thoroughly just using my hand. I made mine a much thinner consistency than a regular cream cheese frosting…more like a glaze which is better for dipping.

I love how they came out!! Soft, doughy, and perfect size to pop in your mouth.

My only issue was that the cheese sauce sort of solidifies as it sits out at room temp. We ended up heating it up over the mini charcoal grill.

It was a gorgeous day for some tailgating

Beer

(possibly some jello shots…hello college!)

And fun (and shenanigans…of course…)

UNH won!! Obviously ;)

Fun times! I wish I saw some of my friends more often!! I hate how time just slips and months go by to fast these days :(

Anyways… on the other end of the spectrum, Brian and I had another fun and very important day today :) We are now the godparents to this little cutie…

Another fabulous food filled day! Although I carbo-loaded enough to run a race tomorrow haha…maybe I’m trying to tell myself something ;)

So many other things to share, so little time.

For future reference, what are some great tailgating recipes???