Two Boos Who Eat

NEW BLOG!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:14:00 +0000

Just in case you are still subscribed here...

our new blog is up at Two Boos Who Eat! Update your readers if you wanna keep up with us. :)

Amanda & Andy

:(

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:57:00 +0000

Our new blog is down for awhile. So sorry guys! Switching to a new server. We'll let you know when it's back up!

We've moved to Wordpress!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:26:00 +0000

Hi guys!

We moved to wordpress today, you can now find us on Two Boos Who Eat dot com! Please change your blog rolls, google reader subscriptions and whatever if you want to keep following us!

The new site is a work in progress but I have some awesome people helping me out! Check it out and give us some advice on how to make it better. :)

Seasons 52!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:24:00 +0000

Last night Andy and I met up with his parent, his sister Cheri and his brother-in-law Dave at Seasons 52 in Costa Mesa. I was pretty excited to try Seasons 52 out since I'm always reading about it on my favorite blogs. We have one in California! That's it!

Started with an eggplant parmesan flatbread.

And an avocado, tomato and arugula salad. I'm finding that I LOVE arugula.

Andy ordered a delicious greek salad which I stole tons of bites from. I love feta, what can I say?

For my entree, I ordered filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and asparagus. So delicious and perfectly portioned so I didn't feel sick afterwards. Love that!

Andy had quail breast with mission figs, smashed sweet potatoes and veggies. His sweet potatoes were divine.

Mini-indulgences were had in the form of raspberry cheesecake for him.

And Key Lime Pie for her.

This restaurant was awesome. None of the plates are over 475 calories so I didn't feel stuffed, sick or bloated afterwards. (Like I usually do when going out, honestly.) The food was bursting with flavor. My garlic mashed potatoes were so delicious. I need to recreate them!

Plus, the atmosphere was excellent. A little too dark for food photography but cozy and inviting enough to talk with your friends or family without feeling rushed.

Next time I go, I'm ordering shrimp. Andy's mom ordered crab stuffed shrimp that looked amazing! I really love shrimp.

Have you been to a Seasons 52? What's your favorite thing about it?

Sweet Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:01:00 +0000

Seriously this weekend has been fantastic and is only getting better.

We started the weekend off with a trip to The Grilled Cheese Truck. We went with some friends and ate deliciousness. So good. Of course we had to eat on the ground in the dark so pictures did not happen. I really need a camera that can handle low-light.

This morning I woke up with my legs looking super puffy and swollen. Especially my knees. Andy went on a run at a local park and I decided to walk on the treadmill. But not without taping my knees first!

My PT suggested tape only. He explained to me that knee braces or sleeves can't move the kneecap in the way I need to. I highly suggest talking to a physical therapist before taping your knees! (Everyone is different and there are tons of different ways to tape.)

I start with the cover roll. The leukotape will rip your skin off. You don't want that. The cover roll serves as a barrier.

You want to get a tight fit so your legs look really awkward.

You want knee puckering. You seriously do. That's how you know the leukotape is tight enough. (Again, this was a suggestion from my physical therapist.)

Weird knee puckering.

Then I foam rolled my calves, IT bands and hamstrings. Tight muscles can actually make knee pain worse. Foam rolling helps stretch them out.

I bought my foam roller on Amazon for super cheap. It's short but does the trick. Afterwards I walked 2 miles on the treadmill at an incline with wrist weights. Biz gave me the idea. I ran .6 of a mile and lifted weights for 30 minutes.

After my walk/run we went to pick up our CSA and go shopping. I was so excited to find PUMPKIN ice cream!

And I made a pizza with figs and arugula from our CSA. I also used pancetta, mozzarella, roasted garlic and parmesan.

It was amazing! I sauteed the arugula with the pancetta which was a great idea. The arugula had a wonderful flavor to it.

The figs caramelized nicely and added a welcome sweetness.

The crust was wheaty and buttery due to the garlic butter I brushed it with. YUM!

I weighed in today and my weight is the exact same. I haven't been eating as clean as possible and need to work on that. I went out for dinner for my sister's 21st birthday, for my friend's birthday and I ate delicious grilled cheese. I also cut back on weight lifting. Bad idea. I know next week will be better!

Can't wait to post about where we're going for dinner tonight!

How's your weekend going?

Decorating for Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 23:33:00 +0000

I love Halloween!

We actually started this blog on Halloween in 2008. Crazy! Yesterday I finally decorated our apartment for the season. (And I'm not done yet!) I put out my witch first. I've had her since I was one year old.

Then my candy bowl. (Which is filled with a variety of treats! Show you later.)

And lots of Halloween themed stuffed animals. I have a problem. I'll just admit it.

Seriously now?

I have even more decorations! It's amazing. I have six boxes worth of Christmas decorations so prepare yourselves.

Also peep this adorable owl towel. I'm slowly converting my "sea life" themed kitchen to an owl theme. In honor of my Grandma who I love very much. She definitely passed her love of owls to me!

Today my sister Sarah ran with me and helped me clean the apartment. So I took her out for thai food. We shared Pad thai.

And spicy panang chicken. So delicious.

The run? Meh not my favorite. My knees were taped and I'm happy to report...

NO KNEE PAIN. taping really does work! We went 2.3 miles before I whined and had to finish. I need to remember to hydrate more when running on hot afternoons.

It's Friday and I'm happy. In true Flashback Friday Fashion...

Do you decorate your place for Halloween? Post pics! I wanna see!

When knees are no good.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:08:00 +0000

Yesterday, I decided to run as far as I could in 30 minutes. I'm still working on regaining some of my speed. I ran 2.4 miles in 30 minutes which I was pretty happy about. Ideally, I'd love to be able to run 3 miles in 10 minutes but I'm grateful just to run.

I decided not to tape my knees. BAD, terrible, HORRIBLE idea. My knees are in major pain right now. I am doing what my physical therapist suggests for when this happens. Resting, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I can't take anti-inflammatory drugs (counteracts with my birth control) so I took some Tylenol. (Boo!)

See what I mean about being grateful? Running is privilege. I need to work on treating my knees better so I'm able to run. I won't forget to tape again.

Sad face after running. Knees=no bueno. Yes, that is a bottle of tequila on top of my fridge.

Instead of birthday cake, Sarah and I had pumpkin whoopie pies from Corner Bakery. These are so heavenly. I gave Andy a bite because I'm an awesome wife.

I am also an awesome wife because I make delicious dinners. I made us a spaghetti squash stew. First, I sauteed 2 cups spinach, 1 diced red onion and one diced zucchini.

Hacked a huge spaghetti squash in half.

Scooped out the seeds and rubbed with olive oil.

Then I mixed the spaghetti squash innards with the sauteed veggies and a jar of sauce. I added diced tomatoes in the sauce. It was too soupy to be pasta so Andy decided to call it a stew. It was really good!

I am also a good/bad wife for buying these. They are delicious but dangerous. Just a warning.

I am icing my knee for 45 minutes a day (Three intervals of 15 minutes each) and praying that I can run tomorrow. We'll see.

Have you purchased any dangerous snacks recently? What did you get?

*I say dangerous because these cookies are tempting. I have no problem with chocolate, peanut butter or cookies. I limit myself to a serving size per day. I am trying to lose weight without restricting my food intake or putting certain foods off-limits. I believe in a healthy balance. I eat dessert EVERY night (within 150-300 calories) because I'd go crazy otherwise.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:56:00 +0000

It's my sister Sarah's birthday today!

She is 21 years old today!

Some facts about Sarah:

*We are 6 years and 4 days apart.
*I love having a birthday twin.
*We are both brunette, my sisters Emily and Kerry are redheads.
*We both read food blogs.
*We are both English majors.
*We both read a ton.
*Sarah goes to the same college that I graduated from.
*Sarah is ridiculously pretty. (All of my siblings are!)
*Sarah is spelled with an "H."

Sarah is the middle child with 2 older siblings and 2 younger. Poor thing.

Sarah likes to get her way.

Sarah has an amazing boyfriend, who I love.

When I was 20 years old, I flipped up Sarah's skirt at Pearl Harbor in front of a college football team. She was a little pissed off.

Happy birthday little sister! I hope you have a fun 21st!

Someone has been reading too much Harry Potter

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:25:00 +0000

Clearly my 9 year old brother has been reading too much.

Daniel wrote, "Can I go to Hogwarts please, I won't kill anyone please."

I am cracking up.

I'll be back later with a special birthday post. My little sister Sarah is 21 today! (Our birthdays are 4 days apart. I love it!)

Napa Rose Birthday dinner.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Let's be honest. I have celebrated at least 6 birthdays at Disneyland that I can remember. Including my 21st!

Friday night, Andy and I drove to the Paradise Pier hotel for the night. They greeted me with balloons and a Disney birthday button to wear. Yay!

After putting our stuff away, we walked to the Hearthstone Lounge inside of the Grand Californian hotel for some drinks.

I had a sangria and Andy had a whiskey sour. The sangria here is really excellent. I get it everytime!

BFFs Tiffany and Gary came over and got drinks too. Tiffany got a ginger lemonade thing. And I ate too many mixed nuts.

That face says it all, I ate way too many mixed nuts.

Dinner was at Napa Rose. Napa Rose is inside of the Grand Californian hotel.

Andy started with the Smiling Tiger salad. It had tempura lobster, teriyaki beef and all sorts of wonderful flavors. I stole a bite.

Tiffany and I split some truffled mac and cheese. I love how it's served in a copper measuring cup.

The chef sent out some amuse bouche. Mushroom cappucinos! (It's like a creamy mushroom soup.)

Then came entrees, this is Brett's short rib with root veggies.

Maggie, Gary and I ordered the veal. It came with agnolotti, okra and cauliflower. I didn't love it. I wish I had but I was too full.

Tiffany ordered the Smiling Tiger salad as an entree.

and some roasted golden beets.

I ordered a side of brussels sprouts, butternut squash and parsnips but was WAY too full.

For some reason the chef sent out a salad. I took a bite despite being full. It was delicious. And full of leafy greens!

Andy ordered quail and pheasent sausage. I did not try any but he raved about his dish.

Despite being full, I managed to enjoy my birthday creme brulee. It's served in a sugar cookie cup with fresh raspberries on the bottom.

I could have just ordered this and been happy.

Brett ordered a chocolate lava cake with a dark chocolate ice cream scoop. It looked like heaven.

Andy ordered just a scoop of ice cream.

We stumbled into the hotel at midnight, only to find these. I took them home to enjoy later.

Moral of this story: Turning 27 means I have a smaller appetite. At least I know for next time.

Alternate moral: There is always room for creme brulee.

Beer Monday: San Diego Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:33:00 +0000

To celebrate my beloved San Diego Padres choking away the playoffs, beer Monday is all about San Diego. I guess a lot of my posts thus far have been, but San Diego has some amazing breweries that need to be heard.

I am recently realized I am an ale man. Any and every type of ale I love. Seems like San Diego is an ale town. A match made in heaven.

We start with my all time favorite brewery ever times 10: Stone. We go there whenever we go to San Diego. It is amazing (PS, we went 2 weekends ago and have yet to post about it. Stay tuned!). The brew for today is the Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA.

I sort of botched the pour, but this is a pretty amazing beer! I guess the best way to describe an Imperial IPA is an extra hoppy and extra alcoholic IPA. This beer has a pretty robust 8.9% Alcohol Content by Volume, which is pretty awesome. It is made in limited batched. You actually can't find it anymore. I bought a bottle right after it was released, about a month ago. Stone makes amazing IPAs. I am drinking this one as a write. I hope it makes sense. Should you be interested in more, check out Stone's site.

Additional, Amanda and I and a bunch of friends and family went to Disneyland over the weekend to celebrate Amanda's Birthday. More on that later. But at California Adventure they have a beer garden of sorts that sells Karl Strauss, another San Diego favorite. I went with the Red Trolley Ale.

As you can see, it was good.

Happy, beer drinking, birthday celebrating folks.

Until next time. More on Stone and Disneyland soon.

Weight loss Saturday-a day late!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 20:23:00 +0000

Hey! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes yesterday! I'm officially 27 years old now!

I have a ton of photos and fun to share with you but I felt the need to weigh in via the blog.

I weigh the EXACT same as last Saturday. Even after indulging on my birthday (can you say creme brulee and wine?) I'm honestly shocked that I didn't gain!

Andy and I tried to run today but my body wasn't in the mood. We ended up walking 3 miles. We ran a little bit but not much (less than a mile.) I really need to sign up for a race so I can motivate myself.

We didn't make it to this round of Project Foodbuzz. I am bummed but also relieved! I got to enjoy my birthday and not stress over what to cook!

Hopefully I'll see a loss next week!

Goodbye 26!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:06:00 +0000

Turning 26 was tough for me. Last year's post if you wanna read it.

I fretted and frowned and whined. WHY? My 26th year was awesome. I learned a ton about myself, fell even more in love with Andy, travelled and fell into a good blogging routine.

Student teaching has been great, marriage has been great...weight loss--meh more on that Sunday.

I can handle 27! Tonight we have some fantastic plans...including eating at one of my favorite restaurants, sleeping in a Disney hotel and a trip to Disneyland tomorrow. Can't complain.

Do you dread getting older? Or do you embrace it? I really need to learn to embrace it.

I celebrated the last day of 26 (my birthday is tomorrow) by having my cousin flat-iron my hair, splurging on a tall nonfat 1.5 pump mocha (yeah I'm THAT girl) and wearing high heels.

San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:08:00 +0000

Andy and I go to San Diego fairly often. At least once a month to visit with family. Last weekend we went to San Diego to see family and friends.

We stopped for lunch at Boudin Bakery. I know it's just a turkey avocado sandwich but seriously it's the best sandwich I've EVER had. The multi-grain bread is out of this world. I need to find bread like that.

The chips paled in comparison.

Andy got chili in a bread bowl and a caesar salad. Boudin is known for their sourdough bread so you know it's super delicious! I stole a bunch. I love carbs. Never gonna give you up...

Then we were off to Qualcomm Stadium to see a San Diego State Football game. The San Diego Chargers play here too.

The stadium is pretty.

I ate these snickerdoodle animal cookies while we waited for the game to start.

And a few hours later, I was hungry again.

Turkey, avocado and honey mustard sub from Submarina. Yum. Not as good as Boudin though.

Andy had some italian meat sub thing. Clever name huh?

There was a firework show after the game. People tossed around balloons while they waited for the show to start. (Why do people go nuts for balloons? I'll never understand.)

The show was pretty awesome!

Fireworks make me happy.

The next day we went to the Stone Brewing Company but that's another story for another time! :)

I have to go pick up my orthotics now. It's been 5-6 weeks! Ouch.

Running and violins

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:21:00 +0000

Hey guys!

My run was fairly decent yesterday. I couldn't quite do 3 miles like I planned though. I did 2.67.

It was hot yesterday so I waited unil 6pm to go to our apartment gym. I immediately reegretted it as a man in a plastic suit running on the treadmill next to me kept sprinking sweat on me. His sweat was seriously flying all over the room. GROSS. So gross.

The treadmills at our gym max out at 30 minutes so my goal is to run as much as I can in 30 minutes. I ran 2 miles in 26 minutes (my average pace was 13:00 min/mile. I had my ipod on random and the best songs came on. I swear the slower paced the song, the easier it was for me to run. Faster music just made me push myself a little too much.

I ran 3 minutes at an 11 minute pace/3 mins at a 14 min pace and alternated. After the 30 minutes on the treadmill were up, I walked around my apartment complex at a decent pace.

I have noticed that taping my knees helps a ton. They are bugging me today but it's not as bad as usual. Icing really helps too.

The number one thing that motivated my run? A necklace from my friend Mari that says "Run like a girl." I can't get a good picture. She sent it to me for my birthday (which is on Saturday!) and I absolutely love it!

Here's a link to the ETSY site if you wanna check it out!

I can't wait for the day when I can run 2 miles in 20 minutes. Seriously. But I'm proud of the progress I'm making.

Coconut Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:38:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I received two coupons from Coconut Bliss ice cream. Ice cream can sometimes bother my stomach so I was really excited to try it out.

Two coupons were sent to me for free from Coconut Bliss. My opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

We picked Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge.

And Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Stats: I was impressed with the 5 grams of protein and the decent sugar content.

The flavor was amazing! Andy said he could detect a trace of coconut but I couldn't. (I'm not a coconut fan so that's a good thing for me!)

Cool, creamy and rich! (Note the fat content.) But according to the Coconut Bliss Nutrition Page "While its natural richness creates the creamy texture that people love, the fat in coconut milk is very different from other fats. High in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) identical to those in human breast milk, coconut milk has similar germ fighting and heart-protective properties."

Interesting! I admit I was a little nervous about eating full-fat ice cream but it was so worth it. I preferred the Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge. It reminded me of Rocky Road. I will definitely buy some again as I had no tummy issues. YAY! And surprisingly, Andy and I did not over-indulge in these ice creams. We had a serving each and then put it away. Believe me that's impressive!

Favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mine is Vanilla bean. I know my friend Janetha would approve! yum!

Here's a list of other Coconut Bliss flavors.

Thanks Coconut Bliss!

Amanda & Andy

P.S. Wish me (Amanda) luck! I am going to attempt to run in the heat. It's hot!

Nature's Pride: Honeycrisp apple and sausage stuffing

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Confession: I am obsessed with Thanksgiving foods. OBSESSED! My absolute favorite dish at Thanksgiving time however, is my dad's sausage stuffing. My sisters and I gobble it up. (LOL gobble)

So when Nature's Pride hosted a contest on Foodbuzz, I knew what I had to do. Recreate Dad's stuffing with a healthy twist and with fresh bread instead of breadcrumbs.

Through Foodbuzz's tastemaker program, I received a free coupon for a loaf of Nature's Pride bread.

I chose 12 grain because it's hearty, whole-wheat and full of flavor. Perfect for my stuffing!

I used 4 cups of bread cubes which equals 5 slices of bread.

Leaving the bread cubes out overnight so they harden up would work best but I didn't have a lot of time. I laid the cubes out on a cookie sheet, sprayed them with EVOO and toasted them in the oven. (400 degrees for 5-6 minutes but keep an eye on it.)

For the sausage, I used some sage pork sausage which I cooked with celery and red onion. I'm normally not a celery person but it gives this stuffing some delicious crunch.

Then I slowly add in the bread cubes, butter, broth and 1 diced honeycrisp apple. Put it in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.

The onions and the apple caramelize while cooking, leaving a fantastic sweetness throughout the stuffing.

And yes, I know stuffing isn't photogenic but MAN is it good! I ate this for dinner last night and for lunch today. YUM! Totally gets me in the mood for fall.

Want the recipe?

Ingredients

1 pound Sage Sausage (feel free to use pork, turkey, non-meat whatever!)
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large Honeycrisp apple, diced
5 slices Nature's Pride bread, cubed and toasted
1 cup veggie broth (chicken is fine)
1/2 cup melted butter (I highly suggest Kerrygold butter, unsalted)
Salt to taste* (I didn't salt mine)

Cook sausage, onion and celery together in a large skillet. Make sure to crumble sausage while it cooks.

As soon as the sausage is cooked through, add in bread cubes, broth and butter. Stir to combine.

Add in honeycrisp apple pieces last, then transfer to a 9X13 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

This post & recipe are part of a contest entry to win a trip to the Foodbuzz Festival in November.

A slightly sick Beer Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:21:00 +0000

So I am feeling a bit under the weather and it was a hectic weekend, but I have a wonderful beer to share. It is a San Diego beer that is pretty amazing.

This is the Pizza Port Good Grief Brown Ale. I drank a bit before I took the picture, clearly a rookie mistake. I don't like a lot of darker beers, but this is pretty fantastic. A little bit sweet and a little bit nutty, but really good. And any reference to Charlie Brown is amazing. I did a bit of research and this beer recently was awarded a Silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival a few weeks back. Pizza Port is one of a long line of amazing San Diego breweries so if you can find it, drink it! Or any of Pizza Port's brews. They also have, from what I understand, an amazing Brewpub in San Diego that Amanda and I will hit up ASAP...maybe sooner.

I should probably also say thanks to everyone who has voted(and hopefully continue to vote!) for us on Project Food Blog. We love you all. The meal Amanda made last night was amazingly good and something we had never made before. Have I ever mentioned how good of a cook Amanda is? She is currently busy making another amazing dinner. I'm lucky.

PFB: We love you

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:11:00 +0000

Hi guys!

We have a Beer Monday post in the works, but first and foremost we want to take you for supporting us with the Project Food Blog Challenge! Our 2nd post is up Two Boos take on Mediterranean if you want to check it out.

You can vote by visiting the Foodbuzz site. Project Food Blog Challenge 2 If you aren't a member of Foodbuzz, you'll have to sign up to vote. (No obligation once you sign up!) Then click on the heart next to our blog name. Be sure to click on a few hearts for the other amazing competitors. I can't believe how delicious everything looks!

Thank you so much!

Project Food Blog: Challenge 2

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Hi guys!

Man, what a crazy week/weekend we had! We spent the weekend in San Diego and got home barely in time to create our take on a classic dish from another culture. Finally we are home and the meal is DELICIOUS! The smell alone is making me excited. I love when our apartment is filled with delicious smells.

Originally, I was thinking about making saag paneer. Saag paneer is one of my favorite meals and we had a ton of spinach in the fridge. I loved cooked spinach. Seriously LOVE. It's almost a problem. But when Andy suggested greek food...the wheels in my brain started to turn.

Greek food is delicious, but it's something I've never tried making on my own before. We got to researching and discovered, meze.

Meze is a selection of small dishes. Think small appetizers, dips, fresh veggies and finger foods. It's big in the Mediterranean and Middle East. You may have also seen the word, "mezethes." (pronounced meh-ZEH-thes) The word actually came from Turkey. My sister's boyfriend is Turkish so I texted my sister for some ideas.

I loved the idea of a little appetizer meal. We both talked about how much we loved dining in Europe. People go out together in big groups to break bread, wine, dine and talk. It's not rushed, it's not hurried. People are simply enjoying each other's company. And they share their food. No concerns about germs or double-dipping.

That's what we wanted with this meal. We are tired, we need to relax and we need to watch DEXTER. Meze and Dexter sounded fabulous.

For our first dish, I went with Melitzanosalata. Melitzanosalata is similar to baba ghanoush.

First I got out an eggplant. Eggplant is a wonderful vegetable. I love the color, the texture and the taste once it's roasted.

I cut the eggplant into four equal parts and roasted them until the skins were almost black. The more charred, the more flavor. (Well maybe not too much char. Ha)

After charring the eggplant we peeled off the skin and cut it in to chunks. The chunks were transported into the food processor with 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, lots of black pepper, cumin, corinder, and lemon pepper.

I tasted the dip afterwards and figured it needed a little something-something. I added in some roasted red peppers.

This dip WAS amazing! Amazing! It has this distinct smoky flavor and the bam from the spices. WOW! We could not stop eating it.

Next I made tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki is yogurt mixed with cucumber and herbs. I made it with plain greek yogurt which made it thicker and more delicious.

I used 2% Fage because I knew the dip would taste even better with a little fat and creaminess.

I de-seeded and peeled the cucumbers before adding them to the food processor.

After the flavored melded together in the fridge, we dug in. The cool cucumbers mixed with the creamy, thick yogurt and the fresh dill tasted better than any tzatziki I've ever had. I can't believe we never tried to make this before.

The next dish we made was spanokopita.

I used a pound of spinach in this.

It was the first time I used phyllo dough also. I was a little nervous about making handheld spanokopita so instead I made a spinach pie.

The spinach was cooked with scallions, parsley, black pepper, ricotta cheese, feta cheese and a little dill.

It fluffed up nicely. The flaky phyllo dough was brushed with butter to make it extra delicious.

We also ate some marinated olives with feta to round out the meze.

MMM beautiful. I love olives but they are so salty. I rarely have them but when I do...mmmmmmmm. Andy doesn't like olives at all.

We had plenty of pita bread to use for the dips. This was a delicious meal after a busy weekend. We loved the variety of flavors. The eggplant dip was completely new to us and it's something we'll be making again and again. Whether we go to the next round or not, we had a blast making, eating and sharing this meal with you. I wish you could have tasted it.

Thanks for considering us.

Amanda & Andy

Weigh-in Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:07:00 +0000

I wasn't able to weigh-in at my weight watchers meeting today because we are about to leave for San Diego to celebrate Andy's grandpa's birthday! Both of my grandfathers passed away when I was young so Andy's grandpa is definitely my honorary grandpa.

I weighed myself on my home scale and was down 5 lbs. Honestly I know that my scale and the WW scale differ (about a 3 lb difference) so lets just say I'm down another 2 making for a total weight loss of 7.8 lbs. Next Saturday is my birthday so I probably won't make it to Weight Watchers then either. But soon enough I'll weigh in on their scale and see exactly what it is.

I'm happy that the number on the scale isn't defining me. I only weigh in once a week and try not to obsess over it.

I ran a few times this week and can feel myself getting stronger and faster. My goal is to run a 13 min/mile at my next 5k race. Eventually I want to build back up and run a 10 min/mile pace but that will take time. Hopefully losing some weight will speed me up.

I've been drinking detox-green smoothies lately and I swear it gives me tons of energy. And for once I'm getting an appropriate amount of leafy greens in.

I'll update about San Diego soon! And BEER MONDAY.

How are you guys doing on your goals (weight loss related or not!)?

We all float on anyway

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:02:00 +0000

I am so excited guys! I just saw that we advanced to the next level of Project Food Blog! We couldn't have done it without your votes, thank you so much. I never thought we'd advance. I can't wait to see what the next challenge has in store for us. Love you all.

Why isn't school like Glee? It's just not.

I had my first Back to School night last night and it was great. I was so nervous about meeting parents last night but once I met a few of them I felt confident and okay. Granted, I'm student-teaching and not alone in the classroom but still.

I am doing something amazing. I am still in that "I'm a teacher and I can change the world one student at time phase." Bear with me.

The other day, I went to lunch with my sister and got Thai food. I frequent a local place called Thai Cottage. It's delicious, decently-priced and I am the mayor on foursquare. (LOL)

I always order panang chicken with extra veggies. I wish brown rice was an option but I don't think it is. I'll forgive them though because the panang is always spicy. Plus, seeing rice in the shape of a heart kind of nerdily makes me happy.

Curry is an obsession of mine.

Another obsession is fairly new. Cranberry orange nut bread Clif bars. SO GOOD.

Not with the PB although I'm sure that'd be good. These bars almost trump the pumpkin pie Clif bars. Almost.

The Justin's almond butter is so good. I had it on a piece of wheat toast on the way to work. I need to try it on a honeycrisp apple next.

Please send honeycrisp apples and pumpkin pie Clif bar thoughts directly to me. I need them both in my life.

Flashback Friday!!!

I keep forgetting to do flashback friday posts.

Oh how I love Oahu. Oahu was the first Hawaiian island that Andy and I visited together. I went to Oahu in 10th grade with band (yep, I was a band geek) with my parents in 2004 and with Andy, Tiffany and Gary in 2007.

We shopped at the International Marketplace.

Hiked Diamondhead.

Went to a Luau.

Rode horses on the North Shore.

Oahu definitely isn't my favorite island but that doesn't mean it's not beautiful and full of awesome things to do. The Turtle Bay resort on the North Shore is unlike any place I've ever seen. It's so pretty. We rode horses there for an hour or so and fell in love. I want to go back to Oahu and stay on the North shore instead of Waikiki.

Did you flashback friday today?

Have you been to Hawaii? Which island (s)?

Knee taping and recovery smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:19:00 +0000

Most likely, I'll be graduating physical therapy tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about this as physical therapy is incredibly time-consuming and painful. I do feel like my knee is slowly healing and my lower body is getting tons stronger.

Yesterday I ran with my knees taped for the first time.

I plan on posting a how-to video on this soon but please see a professional before you start knee-taping. It looks weird but the tightness of the tape nudges my kneecap into the correct place. My quads are nudging my patella out of place when I run. (Gross!)

Here's the tape that I bought. Not a ton but I don't plan on running with my knees taped forever. Eventually my body will be stronger and I will be able to prevent injury better. I might look into knee sleeves at some point, not sure yet.

I ran 2 miles in 27 minutes which I know it's breaking any records but it's the fastest I've got since my injury. I was STOKED! I would be happier than a fangirl at a Justin Bieber concert if I could finish the 5k in October running a 13 minute/mile pace. No shame in my slower-paced game.

The fastest mile I've ever ran is a 10 min/mile but that was before I injured my knee and developed plantar fasciitis. (The PF has disappeared! Knock on wood.)

Jay Robb's protein powder is amazing. I tried a scoop of pina colada in a green recovery smoothie today and it was magnificant.

And it was GREEN!

(ignore my dirty dishes, gah.) I mixed in one frozen banana, 2 frozen strawberries, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 huge handful spinach, 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup P.O.G. juice. (Passion, Orange, Guava)

So good!

Have you tried knee taping before? How did you like it?

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat)) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:33:00 +0000

Student teaching and night classes leave me totally drained and exhausted. That being said, using my crockpot has been a huge help. I know you just dumped your crockpot, Mo but I LOVE mine. I might even have a bit of a crush.

I found This recipe for black bean and pumpkin chili and put my own spin on it.

Sauteed 5 jalapenos, 1 red onion, 1 yellow pepper and some roasted garlic.

Threw in a can of pumpkin.

Threw in some carrots.

Yeah my crockpot is kind of dirty...

But this chili was soooo good. I used organic ground beef instead of turkey but you might as well sub more black beans instead of meat.

It doesn't have a pumpkin-y taste but it's filling and delicious. It was so appreciated after a rough day! I will make this again and again.

Favorite chili recipe? Link me!

I write, I travel, I eat...I AM ANTHONY BOURDAIN!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:44:00 +0000

So, rewind to July 5th, 2010. That is our anniversary. We are in Kauai, about to do some snorkeling. But first, it is a gift exchange. I gave Amanda a gift card to a local spa. She was pleased. Amanda gave me Anthony Bourdain's newest book, "Medium Raw" AND tickets to see him live September 18th in San Diego. Saturday was the 18th, so we saw Anthony Bourdain!!!

Amanda's edit: I have to thank Mama Pea for this one. I saw her blog about seeing him live and bought the tickets immediately after reading her post.

I love Bourdain. I love No Reservations, and I love his thoughts on how to travel and eat local. I try so hard when traveling to eat like the locals, but he makes it look way easy than it is. I find him hilarious on top of it. I love him on Top Chef. I love Kitchen Confidential. I love that if he read our blog he would think we were morons. I love his hate for vegans, equating them to terrorists organizations (I, of course, don't believe this true... just funny). I love his hate for Rachel Ray, Paula Dean, and Sandra Lee. I want to be Bourdain, minus the drug use. Ok, I have a man crush. Whatever.

So we were in the back, and the pictures didn't come out great, but that's ok.

Highlights:

1. The woman in front of us. So, we are sitting down and she sits down in front of us. Then she basically looks at us and others around us and sounds way too loud "I am surprised so many young people are here. I wouldn't think they could relate!" Amanda and I got the biggest laugh of the evening before the show started. Has this woman seen the show? He talked about The Ramones and the New York Dolls, which the woman was confused about. He talked about many sex acts that you don't bring up in polite company. He talked about eating the "poopchute" of a wild boar. The woman feel asleep about 20 minutes in. I'm not sure if she knew what she was getting into. I think she wanted Paula Dean's deep fried mac and cheese. She sucked, we laughed.

2. He talked about a few chapters of the book. McDonald's being evil and Ronald killing children. How fast food establishments might serve meat treated with ammonia. Sandra Lee molesting him. Funny, even if I knew the story.

3. His thoughts on all sorts of food personalities and shows. He likes Giada, even if she has a giant head. He likes Adam Richman, even if he is probably one more buffalo wing away from a massive coronary. He like Andrew Zimmern, who has had similar substance abuse issues as Tony. He likes Alton Brown, despite his hacky Iron Chef America show. He doesn't like Bobby Flay so much.

4. He took audience questions. I asked him a questions. I asked "So, I love Top Chef, but it appears to me that Padma hates the contestants, hates everything she eats, hates Tom and certainly hates you. Does she?" He replied that he doesn't really know her well enough, but that Gail is lovely. Read: "I can't say, because I like that gig and they pay me well. But yeah, she is a Bitch. Gail, however, is super attractive and if I wasn't married we would have a nice relationship."

5. Bad audience questions. I hope mine wasn't stupid. But compared to the 3 people asking him for jobs, the guy that asked why there was a viewer discretion advised warning before each episode, and the woman asking him if he ever smokes pot, I have a feeling I didn't suck so hard.

6. I love his thoughts on travel. So he shared how to get into other cultures and eat what they eat and live how they live. Makes me instantly want to travel more. So we will.

This is the back of my head, Tony listening intently.

After, we went to a local brewery which we have raved about in the past, Stone, and enjoyed a beer.

I look way too happy. I love you Anthony Bourdain. Thanks for a great evening. If I was a shameless self promoter I would have mentioned by blog to you. I didn't. I don't suck.