A Wedding In Connecticut

Good evening and happy Sunday!  How was your weekend?  I just got back from Westbrook, Connecticut, where The Upwelling’s former tour manager got married.  The boys were part of the wedding party so they came back from tour and we all went together.

While this is going to be more of a “greatest hits” post, I want to share a new dressing with you: coconut mint.

Coconut Mint Dressing

• 1/2 tsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 small handful fresh mint, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

“Muddle” the mint, coconut and lemon together before adding the rest of the juices.  This releases the flavors and lets them really pop!  I drizzled the dressing over a tempeh/sweet potato/apple/feta salad…

… but it would make a great marinade for fish, shrimp, or tofu as well.   I’m getting so much mileage out of this bunch of mint!

In the car, I had the healthiest and most delicious “candy bar” imaginable: dried fruit stuffed with roasted almonds and bittersweet chocolate chips. These are so good.

Ari bought me a slightly more processed version, but still a favorite nonetheless.  There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.

When we got to the hotel, I took advantage of the time the groomsmen spent rehearsing to go to the gym.  I ran 3.1 miles (5K), walked another .4, and stretched.  As the Gina always says, no one wants to miss out on the fun, so I try to plan timely activities (like workouts and… ahem… the time I spend getting ready to go out) while everyone else is either sleeping or doing something else.

The bride and groom are both Jewish, and because the rehearsal dinner fell on Friday, we had a traditional Shabbat dinner.  The challah abounded!  Somehow I ended up with three pieces of bread on my plate, but Josh and Ari picked at most of it.

The entrée choices were Vegetable Risotto with Arugula Pesto or Cappelini Rustica; I wasn’t sure which (if any) option was vegetarian, but figured the risotto was a safer bet.  They both turned out to be meat free, and I loved the risotto! It was very rich, though, so I only ate about half of it.  And the flower.  Which I’m pretty sure wasn’t of the edible variety.  Whoops!

Strawberry sorbet for dessert…

… and a fun-size Cookies ‘n Cream Hershey’s bar.   This is one of those weird LVP-isms; I really don’t like white chocolate, but a couple times a year I get cravings that can only be quenched by this particular bar.  The bride and groom must have known this when they stuffed it in our goodie bag!

Also in the bag were these personalized M&Ms; they had the wedding date, photo, names and words printed on them.  Very creative!

We may or may not have gone to a casino late that night (this girl’s first time) to further my blackjack education and lose $5 on the slots.  It was a strange, strange place, I tell ya!  It was HUGE, and the lights are pretty dim and there aren’t any windows so there’s really no way to tell if it’s 4PM or 4AM.  Drinks are free, and you can walk everywhere with them!  People also smoked inside; it’s strange that a few years ago that was the norm everywhere.  The stores were opened past midnight, so Ari and I split a Godiva pumpkin truffle.

We got to the hotel really late, and with the exception of Stew, all slept in past noon.  We woke up famished, so we set out in search of brunch.  Where did our journey take us, you ask?  To the Grand Slam at Denny’s. Yes, you read that correctly.

The Grand Slam is a magical deal that lets you pick four breakfast items for only $5.99.  For an extra $.49 per item, you can choose from three “premium selections” like yogurt, granola or fruit.   We were all very excited.

We placed our orders, then  set to work.  When was the last time you colored at an eatery?

Ari ordered a festive pot of peppermint tea (which came with an unsolicited squirt of peppermint syrup):

I drank my coffee black.

The food arrived: I ordered (dry) whole wheat pancakes, egg whites, oatmeal and a cup of fruit.

I ate all the fruit and eggs (which were buttery but delicious), half of the pancakes and left all of the oatmeal.  Even had I not been an oatmeal snob, I don’t think anything else would have fit in my stomach.

Brunch understandably held me right up through the wedding, and left me with more than enough time to shower, dress (Hollywood Tape did not come through for me as I’d hoped)…

… and watch three hours worth of Married With Children episodes.

The ceremony was beautiful, and while it was traditional in some respects, there were some nice personal touches: the groomsmen walked down the aisle to Semi-Charmed Life, the bridesmaids to Bittersweet Symphony, the bride to Do You Realize?, all performed by a string quartet. There may have been some tears in my corner.

At the dinner reception, the guest seated to my right taught me a helpful trick to remembering where your bread and drinks go in relation to your place setting.

Make the “OK” signal with both of your hands.  Your left forms a lower-case “B” (for bread), and the right forms a “D” (for drink).  How handy!

Speaking of bread, this roll was particularly tasty…

… and where drinks are concerned, I stuck to vodka- sodas.

While we were eating our smoked mozzarella and pesto ravioli appetizer, Josh and Ari played an acoustic version of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” for the bride and groom’s first dance. This was really good, but I let it get cold and only had a few bites.

I didn’t leave a scrap of arugula salad with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, and mandarin oranges, however.  The couple next to me thought it was too big, but I would have gladly alleviated them of their portion!  This was my favorite part of the meal.

The entree was grilled salmon with mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots. It was good, but I was pretty full by the time this came around and only ate about half of the fish (but all of the veggies!) and gave my taters to Ari.

We danced around on the floor for a bit, but really just enjoyed being with friends and each other.  The band is booked through February with a short break in December, so it was nice to be able to spend the weekend together.

The cake was sliced and brought around: chocolate with strawberry and vanilla buttercream.  I ate about half, then went back out to tear up the rug.

Our eyelids started drooping around midnight, and we were asleep by 1.  We had to hustle in the morning to get back to the city, but we had enough time to have a nice brunch with the wedding party.  I had half of a sesame bagel with cream cheese, eggs, fruit (plus some unpictured grapes), and half a slice of French toast. Coffee abounded, as usual.

It was such a nice weekend.  I really cannot express how grateful I am to have been able to spend a weekend- more like a mini-vacation, actually- with people I love.  The next few days will be pretty busy… The Upwelling goes back on tour tomorrow, and I have a couple interviews for potential jobs.   My healthy habits have been slacking a bit, but one month from this morning (Sunday, December 13) is my 15K race.  I’ve updated my training plan, and will stick to it… I went on a 4.5 mile run late this afternoon.

Regular posting will resume tomorrow.  I hope you had a fabulous weekend, and congratulations to the newlyweds!

Wynken, Blynken & Nod return

Honesty is the best policy, and I’ve got to admit that there’s about a 70% chance that my eyes will close and this post will go up tomorrow morning instead.  Daylight Savings + changing time zones must be catching up with me!

Today was an absolutely lovely day.  I woke up earlyish and met my grandparents downstairs in the breakfast nook.

I had an English muffin with peanut butter, cinnamon and 1/2 banana and a bowl of plain yogurt with fresh raspberries and blueberries. 

As I was assembling my breakfast, my grandfather remarked that there were no redeeming qualities to peanut butter.  Of course, I loved having the opportunity to launch into my spiel about protein, healthy fats, folic, and plain ole great taste!

After breakfast, I gave myself a little time to digest before hopping on the treadmill and pounding out 2 miles.  Luckily, Saved By The Bell was on and I didn’t get bored…

Source

Nothing like a little Zach Morris to keep your heart rate up!  (Although, he’s clearly underage in this photo, and that makes me feel a little weird.  A little.)

On our way out the door to run some errands, my Granny fed me a carrot and told me about her new method for fast-cooking veggies: steam them in the microwave! Make a pouch out of waxed paper, moisten with a few drops of water, fill with veggies, and nuke for 3 minutes or until cooked.

Is this the end of rebel carrots?  Maybe, as long as the wax doesn’t break down and seep into the vegetables.

Everyone seemed to still be full from last night’s dinner,  so lunch was kind of informal.  I grabbed a Pink Lady apple on the way out the door…

… and got a Grande Skim Mocha at Starbucks.  Mocha?! Who am I and what have I done with LVP?

I must have been really thrown off my my choice, because I immediately spilled it all over my purse.  I’m a bit of a klutz!

An hour or so later, I had my first Nature’s Path product.  I’ve seen these Optimum bars all over the blogs, so I grabbed this when I spotted it on sale.

It was good… the taste and texture reminded me a little of a Luna Cookie.

This is my second lunch in a row that’s been supplemented by energy bars.  I’m not proud of this, but it happens when you travel.

Granny and I took a special trip to the grocery store to look for Celestial Seasonings’ Sugar Cookie Sleighride tea that y’all seem to love… we searched in vein, but I did find this Sweet Coconut Thai Chai tea that will hopefully taste like the coconut chai tea I love.

I also convinced my grandmother that she needs some POM in her life.

We had an early dinner at Spoonriver, one of my favorite restaurants in Minneapolis.  I was really happy when our waitress asked for my ID when I ordered a Moroccan Mojito (mint, lime, rum, cardamom and rose water).  I haven’t been carded in a few months, but this must mean my wrinkle is getting smaller!  It’s funny… two years ago I would not have enjoyed being IDed at all.

I had a slice of whole wheat potato bread…

… and my grandmother and I both ordered the Broiled Salmon Okisuki in a savory Japanese Ginger Broth with Fresh Udon Noodles. I think Grandpa was jealous… I am definitely going to recreate this at home.

For dessert, we all split a slice of butternut squash-carrot cake with pumpkin-cream cheese frosting.  Oh, mama!

After dinner, we went next door to the Guthrie theater to see an evening showing of Faith Healer.  It was a really, really powerful play told entirely in monologues.  I loved it.

When we got home, I took a deep breath of fresh air for Averie on the way up to bed.

If it weren’t so late, I’d ask Granny to tuck me into bed.  I used to visit them every summer when I was younger, and until I was 11 or 12 or so, my grandmother would put me to bed with this nursery rhyme.  I have such nice memories of sleeping in this room (when I first started visiting on my own, the floor was covered in a thick pink shag carpet) and being here.  Although I went to college in Minnesota as well and visited a lot, my memories from that time are sort of separated from the time I spent here as a kid.  Do you have any memories of nighttime rituals? If you‘re a parent, how do you put your kids to bed?

Around the blogs: Starting Monday, I am going to do my best to follow Angharad and Holly‘s lead and practice yoga thrice a week.  I am also going to take meal-prepping more seriously, so I don’t stand in front of the fridge with the door open for minutes on end, willing the empty produce drawer to magically refill itself.

Wish Jungwha a happy blogiversary and win big!

Have a great night!

Un dimanche en ville*

Bonjournée et bon lundi, mes amis! How is your day going so far? I still can’t believe that it’s a) not summer, b) fall, c) October, and d) a month and a half away from THANKSGIVING?! WHAT? Ari and I made the happy mistake of watching Reality Bites on Saturday night (which, embarrassingly, I used to watch about 5 times a month during my Junior year of high school); I also read a letter my mom wrote to a friend on her 22nd birthday.  Well?  Everyone seems to feel a little “lost”, a little broke, a little… malformed… after graduation and before they find a career.  My experience is not unique or exceptional and, well, it kind of helps to know that.   Moving right along….

I got up bright and early on Sunday morning to go on a long run.  I ate half a Chocolate Chip Clif bar, drank some water, and bagged up my gummies.

I ran at a snail’s pace.  Shouldn’t I be getting faster, and not slower, as I keep doing this?  I think it was my worst time ever.  I’d planned on running 6.5 miles, but ended up stopping after 4.5 and didn’t end up needing my gummies.  However, this didn’t bother me at all! It was not even 9 in the morning on a Sunday, and I’d already knocked out a decent run before breakfast.  Not bad.

Total distance: 4.5 miles

Total time: 48:59

Maximum heart rate: 201 (102%)

Average heart rate: 164 (83%)

I had brunch plans with Kalle, Lisa, and Lizzie, so I grabbed an apple on the way out to keep the hunger beasts at bay.

We ate at City Bakery, and by the time we got there I was so thirsty and so hungry that I wanted to eat everything and it ended up taking me so long to actually pick out my food.  Don’t you hate that?

I ended up loading my plate with smoked salmon, roasted cauliflower and butternut squash with Asian pears and hazelnuts (must make this):

I also got a bowl of fruit.

Black coffee and water was a must…

I also grabbed a bite of Lizzie’s cornbread/jalepeño/white cheddar sandwich.  Great in theory, but strangely sweet in execution.

It was very nice to catch up with my ladyfriends… I do not do this nearly enough.  On the way home, I stumbled upon a street fair and picked up cups of lemonade for me and my mom.

I was still parched… I’m usually very good about rehydrating after a run, but I was in such a rush to get out the door that I didn’t think about it.  This will be a lot easier soon (hint, hint)! I was also, somehow, still hungry, so I made an open-faced sandwich with peanut butter, banana, honey & cinnamon when I got home.

A little later, George and Judy came over.  My mom set out tomatoes with sea-salt and Maker’s Mark… that’s how we do it chez LVP.

I wasn’t feeling the whiskey, so I went for a nice glass of Riesling.

Ari came over, and we got the party started.  My dad made us a feast! We had spicy ginger potatoes… who doesn’t like fancy home fries?

We also had spicy corn chowder (see a theme?), which I’ve been begging for for years.

Fresh-baked bread to sop it all up…

Sweet and spicy scallops…

It was a delicious meal, rounded out with wasabi-spiced cucumber salad.

My aunt, uncle and cousins sent a very special Edible Arrangements presentation:

My dad also made one of my favorite cakes…

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, from this cookbook.  It’s made without butter or egg yolks, but is so rich and flavorful.

I enjoyed my slice with quite a bit of fruit.

It was a fabulous birthday weekend, and I’m pretty sure I sailed through it on a constant sugar high.  But wait! The treats will continue indefinitely; there are still a couple cupcakes left, and George and Judy gave me some fancy dark chocolate as well.

I also enjoyed some snail mail from my long-lost lovelies, Carlye and Luke, great new running gear, fashion items… very spoiled, I am.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!  I’m off to do more reading and job searching.  Have a fabbity fab day!

*Sunday in the city

22

Good morning, good morning!  How are you this morning? Is it raining where you are?  It’s a little damp here, but who cares!  Ari and I are going to go pumpkin picking anyway.   Last year on my birthday,  Ari visited me at school in Minnesota and we went to not one, not two, but THREE movies!  We also went to the Mall of America, where I got him to go on a storybook-themed rollercoaster.  I’m going to make this snappy so that we can get a move on!

Yesterday for breakfast I made a piping hot bowl of oats with pumpkin pie mix, frozen cherries, and peanut butter. I don’t think Ari was so impressed with it… I dream of the day when he lets me pimp his oatmeal!

I was so slow getting out of the house yesterday.  I piddled, I paddled, and before I knew it it was 2 o’clock!  I grabbed some chunks of energy…

Packed my lunch…

This was a sprout salad with beets, tomatoes, carrots, black bean burger, and hummus.

Kay’s Naturals White Cheddar Cheese crisps to snack on…

These were good! They still left me really garlicky, though…

I didn’t end up eating lunch until 4:30, after my gym session (30 minutes on the bike, arms, legs & lazy abs), and I was worried that I wouldn’t be too hungry for dinner.  However, Ilana organized a really nice dinner with lots of family and love, at Uncle George’s Greek restaurant, and by the time we sat down, I was starved!  We ordered carafes (or “buckets”, as Abe called them) of red and white wine…

Appetizer platters of assorted dips for the table… eggplant and tzatziki seemed to be the favorites, and we scooped them up with grilled pita (unpictured).

My dad and I shared grilled octopus…

… and I ordered the baked fish special for my entrée.  We were all very excited about the lemon potatoes!

It was massive… I probably only ate about 1/3!

After dinner, a familiar song began… I’m not a huge fan of having my picture taken, if you hadn’t already noticed!

The cake was chocolate mousse, layered with strawberries.  I ate every last bite!

We were also celebrating an upcoming wedding… it was a great time.

When we got home, I unwrapped a present…

My very own food processor!!! Thank you SO MUCH, guys 😀

I can’t wait to get started with this, but I don’t know what to make first! Nut butter, bread, soup, sauce, faux Larabars… what are your favorite food processor recipes?

Well, I’m off to wake the boy and get our corn maze on.  I may be a little slow with reading and commenting, but I love you all! To make up for it, check out Junghwa’s 18 Rabbits granola bar giveaway.

Have a great day!!!

Ready For Life To Start

Good afternoon, all! I hope your mornings have gone splendidly.  Mine was excellent, and I’ve already got a lot accomplished.  Like some other bloggers, I have some big news to share… not nearly as exciting as theirs, but it’s what’s best for me.  Read on!

Breakfast yesterday was excellent.  I love to taste as many things as possible, so I had my meal was both savory and sweet. I heated up an Ezekiel English muffin and topped one half with a mustard, a poached egg, and asiago cheese.  The other half had almond butter and TJ’s pumpkin butter… I think I’m going to have to stock up on this stuff!  Mmm.

While I got ready for work, I popped a loaf of butternut squash banana bread into the oven that I’d prepped the night before.  I was completely taken with Liz‘s version of this, but I was too impatient to wait for the recipe! (Rumor is that she will post it tomorrow.) Instead, I used Veganomicon‘s recipe for Lower Fat Banana Bread and mixed in half a can of Organic Butternut Squash Purée (available at Trader Joe’s).  I brought half a loaf to m boss at work, saved some for the house, and took a slice with me that I picked at throughout the day.  This baby is dense! For some reason, the squash seems to bring out the bread’s spices more than regular banana bread. My boss later sent me an email describing it as “BANANA FUDGE!” It was so good.

The day before, I’d made another Veganomicon recipe (move over, Isa!) to get me through the week: Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple.

While I didn’t make my own chili powder (I subbed in 1 tsp chili flakes) or blend half of the lentils (I prefer my soups chunky), this was divine.

I grilled up some canned pineapple slices on the George Foreman…

To make them transportable, I put two slices and a wedge of lime into a baggie.

There wasn’t too much for me to do at the office yesterday, so I left a little bit after 12.  On my way out, I noshed on two vegan carob/nut/agave “chunks of energy” that I picked up last week at the health food store.  I didn’t know if I would like them so I only got a few, but they were so good! I bought 7/$1.33, so the price is more than right.

Although I’d lugged my heavy gym bag through two boroughs, two trains and a long walk, I decided to just head uptown to my parents’ house.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve done this before!  But I’d missed my yoga class, and I was too sore from a run and cardio class to work out any other way.

When I got home, I assembled my soup.  Jim‘s got a little competition! Meet Paula.

The grilled pineapple was such a fresh twist on an old classic like lentil soup.

I loved it! I’m going to try to experiment more with sweet + savory from now on.

A little later, I snacked on a cup of Fage 0% (thanks for stocking this, Mom & Dad!) with an apple and cinnamon. Truly one of the greatest munchies around.

I decided to stay and have dinner with my parents… as my mom reminded me, I can’t remember the last time we all ate together.

Don’t you love Fall centerpieces?

Dinner was a joint effort: my dad made a fabulous Asian-inspired swordfish with basmati rice, and my mom made her famous brown sugar Brussels sprouts (just sauté cooked Brussels in butter and brown sugar).

For dessert, we split three Whole Foods petit fours three ways…

We also had squares of Côte d’Or’s dark chocolate with pistachios and sesame that my dad brought back from France.

This chocolate can be found in pretty much any supermarket and bodega in France, but don’t let that fool you! It’s AMAZING.  The chocolate is rich and smooth, and filled with the most interesting ingredients.  It’s my uncle’s favorite chocolate ever (and he’s a serious chocoholic), and my friends and I ate it all.the.time when we were in Paris.  Look how thick it is!

When I got back to my apartment, I crashed into bed, stretched my aching bones, relaxed and watched The Secret Lives of Dentists.  Has anyone seen this? What did you think? I love Hope Davis, and Campbell Scott always makes me think of Singles!

So, onto my news. I’ve tried to leave my work life at work, but, as you probably know, I work in a restaurant as a waitress.  I’ve worked at this particular place for the past three summers, starting in May after my sophmore year of college.  That first summer was probably the best: I felt exhilarated after finishing half of college, I met some really great people (through the restaurant), and Ari and I started dating.  Last year was fun as well; I’d just come back from a great semester in Paris and I was beginning to feel more like an adult.  This year, however, after having graduated, has been more of a reality check.  I wasn’t in school anymore, and this wasn’t just a “summer job.”  Because of the recession, business has been incredibly slow and I had nights where I came home with literally $1.   Customers treated me with unbelievable rudeness; there were two instances when I had to call the police.  I was working crazy hours and not getting any rest, crying myself to sleep more than I’d like to remember. (Ari has been so, so great throughout all of this; without him, I never would have been able to hold out this long.) I was expending all of my energy on a job that made me utterly miserable.  I haven’t been able to do what I love because I haven’t even had time to think about what that might be.  And, as silly as it sounds, I don’t want to turn still be working there when I turn 22.

So, last week, I informed the restaurant that I would be leaving the following week…. today is my last day. On the one hand, I feel bad about leaving the people that I’ve come to really enjoy spending time with.  On the other, I’d rather spend time with them in a stress-free setting.  This is what’s best for me.  It’s scary, because while I’m searching for a “real” job, I won’t be earning any income.  Lucky for me, my parents are amazing and are going to help out a little bit.  I will definitely be budgeting like a madwoman and putting my all into finding a job.  I don’t expect to find my dream job right away, but I know I have to get out of the service industry.  I have so much respect for the millions of people who work in service, retail, and manual labor.  I just can’t do it anymore.

On another happy note, I finally tracked down the Fuze Heroes For Hope photo Ilana and I took at the 5K Race For the Cure.

Off to go make my last day my best.  Have a great Thursday 🙂

Voodoo Children

Good evening! I hope your long weekends were restful and rejuvenating and just what you needed to get ready for Fall.  As I mentioned, Ari and I took a 24-hour trip to Woodstock, NY, to get out of the city and enjoy a little mini-vay.

Before we left, I went on a 4.5 run, which I fueled up for with 1/2 banana w/almond butter and coffee (the image has been lost!)

When I got back, I made a portable breakfast using my new Ambrosial granola, which I found on sale at Whole Foods.

I layered Greek yogurt, warmed frozen berries, and the granola in my cup for a great on-the-go meal.

We hustled over to the rental car agency, where we learned that somehow the rate we were getting was $50 more than what had been advertised online.  Well… we were still ready to have fun!

We split a bottle of POMx Pomegranate Hibiscus Light Green Tea to keep us hydrated on our journey.

I’d packed a yummy sandwich for the road: TJ’s Marsala Veggie Burger, hummus, mustard, and arugula on Ezekiel.

I also snacked on an apple. Ari thinks I’m a little crazy for packing so much food, but a girl’s gotta be prepared!

We stopped at Roy Rogers for Ari to get lunch (it’s the boy’s favorite… he’d been talking excitedly about it for days), and I picked us up some disguises.

Finally, we got to the house.

I found a slug on my shoe…

We finally got our acts together and went into town to have dinner at Cucina.  I ordered a glass of Verdicchio, which I’d never tried.  Whenever there’s something new on the menu, I try to make a point of ordering it.

Bruschetta is one of Ari’s favorites, so we ordered the trio: basil-tomato-garlic, white beans-rosemary-sage, and (what was supposed to be free of) proscuitto and mozzarella.  I let Ari have that one.

I was in the mood for pasta, so I ordered the special: orecchiette with seared scallops, and mixed vegetables.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t very good.  I picked up all of the scallops, ate all the vegetables, and had about half the pasta.

We split warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

This was a crowd- pleaser 🙂

I’ve only heard good things about Cucina, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were just having an off night.  However, we still had a wonderful time: we sat outside on a beautiful old porch, and it was very cozy and romantic.

We left the restaurant, popped Big Eden into the DVD player, and curled up with a bottle of 2008 1883 Pinot Grigio.

Here’s what Howard says about the wine: A Wente Pinot Grigio from Monterey, CA; near maturity but can be down for 2-3 years; medium weight, moderately dry; have at 45 degrees F; as an apératif or with lobster or fish.

We didn’t exactly follow the instructions, but I had had fish earlier in the night… my uneducated palate also thought the wine had a bit of a smoky flavor.

In the morning, we got up, showered, and went to Bread Alone for breakfast.  I ordered a bowl of their multigrain oatmeal, made with flax and dried fruit.

I’m always hesitant to buy oatmeal at breakfast spots, because I know they make it in bulk and it usually isn’t as good as the way I make it at home.  Let’s face it, we food bloggers know our oatmeal! I was right: this was mushy, and I had to dump almost all of the brown sugar in it just to give it some flavor.  The woman who took my order gave me a strange look when I asked if there was any other fruit I could put in it, so…. I think I’ll stick to eating it at home from now on. Oh well!

Right around the corner from the bakery, the Woodstock Flea Market was in full swing.

We didn’t buy any fruit…

… but we did get some good car music.

We had time for a little lounging…

We stopped at a sandwich stop to pick up some road food on the way back to the city.

We both chose the Green Club…

unfortunately, both sides of our sandwiches were slathered with mayo.  I managed to scrape the majority off of mine, but just the thought of “the white and creamy” ruined the whole thing for him. Poor guy.

We also snacked on Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Dr. Krackers.

I also ate the Papa Bear portion of a Whole Foods Granola bar, that Elise successfully convinced me was heaven on earth.  Oh, sweet heaven.  I need to break that bad boy into pieces in the future… that thing is half a pound!

Seriously, look at the size of these things! I need to figure out how to make these.  The coconut was perfectly integrated, and the sesame seeds gave the bar the perfect level of crunch.

When we finally got home, I made an important to-do list:

The hours just got away from me.

I was still really full from my granola bar, so I just heated up a cup of TJ’s Low Sodium Minestrone, mixed it with sriracha, and ate it with an Ezekiel English Muffin.

Dessert was Oikos Plain Greek 0% with frozen berries and bee pollen.

For those of you who’ve asked what bee pollen tastes like: the texture is a bit chalky, but the flavor is pleasant and reminds me a lot of herbal tea.

I’m so sorry to be so behind on the blogs… it’s going to take me a bit of time catching up.  Can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Good morning, girls and boys! I hope you’ve all had lovely weekends and Father’s Days, and are starting your Mondays feeling refreshed and ready to begin the week.  Yesterday (Sunday) was, frankly, a really bad day.  Work was just awful. I don’t want to dwell on it, and I hate “bringing my work home with me,” so suffice it to say that I cannot wait for the day when I don’t have to wait tables to support myself. What a dream.  Saturday, however, was perfect, so let’s start there instead.

Saturday’s breakfast was strange: sweet, sour & nutty oats.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup waters
• 1 banana
• 1 plum
• 1 scoop PB
• cinnamon

Somehow, the sweetness of the banana and the tart, fleshiness of the plum worked really well.  I didn’t even remember that I hadn’t put any brown sugar or honey in to sweeten it!

After I ate breakfast and Ari had lunch (I’ve been getting up a lot earlier than he has and had breakfast so I can keep myself on a remotely normal schedule), we headed into the city to see The Hangover.  It was a lot funnier than I expected it to be,  but very foul, so if you get offended by college potty humor, I’d think twice before seeing it.

At the theater, we split a bag of Haribo gummies that I brought back from the Duty Free Shop at the airport in Berlin for precisely this reason.  Yeah, that’s a lot of gummies.  I also had a sip of Ari’s Coke Zero, but mostly stuck to slamming gummies 🙂

We had a late lunch at a make-your-own salad place nearby. Unfortunately, despite the many promising ingredients, it was one of the worst salads I’ve ever had.

In the bowl, went:

• mixed greens
• grilled shrimp (about 20)
• blue cheese (“a little” ended up looking more like 1/2 cup)
• walnuts (another 1/2 cup)
• roasted red peppers
• corn
• fat free honey mustard dressing

I ended up picking out a lot of the nuts and cheese, and a couple shrimp.  I was so upset I didn’t ask for the dressing on the side, because there was an inch-deep pool of it at the bottom and everything was dripping. Yuck!

But, Tasty D Lite (sorry, The Lite Choice) made it all better.

I got a small cup of hazelnut fudge topped with chocolate chips.  (I knocked a lot of the chips into the trash… there were so many that I couldn’t taste the ice cream!)

After satisfying our sweet teeth, we went home to make a nice dinner for my mom. While shopping for groceries, we saw some copy cats:

I was really excited about this dinner.  Ever since I saw Jenna‘s take on grouper, I knew I had to try it!  The seafood department at my grocery store didn’t have grouper, so I got some halibut (“This is a fancy fish,” my mom said) instead.

I followed Jenna‘s instructions and marinated four filets in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh rosemary and oregano.

Instead of traditional basil pesto, I went with Cibo Naturals‘ Cilantro Lime Pesto.  I’ve used this brand before… they have a lot of interesting pestos and spreads. I smeared a dollop of this onto each filet:

Then I topped each piece with chopped sundried tomatoes, mixed olives, and a smidgen of feta.  (For Ari, who doesn’t like things that are “white and creamy,” I used mozzarella, as per his request.  His filet is the white monster second from the top.)

I baked the fish at 375 for about 15 minutes, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the center. What a pretty fish!

I also sautéed some mushrooms up for Ari (cooking spray, salt & pepper) and made a simple romaine/tomato salad with a dressing of white garlic basil vinegar, lemon-infused olive oil, grey poupon mustard, Newman’s Own limeade, and a pinch of ginger powder.

A nice dinner is not complete without nice bread; I had a hunk of toasted baguette and dipped it in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

To drink, we had some Kauri Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that my friend Howard gave me.  It was very light and fresh, but a little spicy at the same time. It complemented the meal perfectly!

My mom picked up a delicious chocolate cake from Citarella’s for dessert.

We almost didn’t cut it in time…

It was made with three kinds of chocolate. Nomnomnom.

After dinner, I fell asleep while we all watched O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The concert that emerged from this movie was one of the first ones I ever saw!  We stayed the night with my mommy, too, which was very nice.

And then Sunday started. I woke up 45 minutes late, fifteen minutes before I was supposed to leave to work the brunch shift at work.  I still managed to make myself look halfway- decent, and whip up a good breakfast before racing out the door.

I’d made some rhubarb the night before, which I’d planned to use as a side dish but decided at the last minute to use it for breakfast instead.  I used a 12-oz bag of frozen ‘barb and cooked it in 2/3 cup water, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 garlic clove, and 1 tsp of sugar.   The garlic was quite a kick at 8:30 in the morning!

Into the breakfast bowl went:

• 1 container Fage 0%
• blueberries
• rhubarb
• pecans
• honey

At work, I had one of my snack baggies I prepared, thanks to your suggestions. Each has a handful of Puffins, diced dried apricots, prunes and figs, raisins and almonds.

I also had a small slice of of French toast made with baguette (not pictured), and an egg white omelet with veggies.  I had a couple potatoes, but ended up having to stay an hour later than normal so the rest of them got cold.

As I said, work was not so great… it happens.  I’m just lucky the restaurant is only a couple blocks away from my gym, because I really, really needed to burn off steam, and if it had been any further away I would have just gone home and stewed instead.

My workout was great, and was just what the doctor ordered.  I warmed up with 20 minutes on the stairs, then did some arm work, 35 minutes on the bike, and one ab machine afterwards.

Total time: 1 hour 13 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 185

Average heart rate: 149

Calories burned: 647

My body was still really sore from “HPF” on Friday, and this pushed me over the edge. But, I get to be very demanding in terms of getting back massages!

When I went home, I made the most comforting meal I know: Gliding Calm tofu, a sweet potato with honey and cinnamon, and brown rice.  For some reason, the tofu was a little dryer than usual, so I dipped it in Annie’s Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette. Perfect! (And if you’re wondering what’s on that little cracker, you’ll have to read on…)

I also snacked on a red bell pepper while getting dinner ready…

…and making some of Gena‘s favorite guacamole!

Lunch is going to be pretty damn fine!

Last night ended up making up for a not-so-great day.  Ari and I had some wine and watched The Wrestler, which we both liked a lot.

I’m a big believer that starting the morning right will help shape your day into a great one.  Last night, I stuck this guy into the fridge in hopes of besting yesterday’s ickiness.

Jim was made up of:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 banana
• 2 T skim milk
• 1.5 t peanut butter
• cinnamon
• apricot eyes, pecan nose, blueberry smile

The forecast looks good: today is going to be a good day.  I have to do some reading for my internship, but I like doing that.

Have a great day!

The Daytrippers

Hello there! It’s hard to believe that our trip is ending, but my parents and I enjoyed a wonderful last day together here in Berlin.  My dad is actually staying on for another week or so, but of course my mom and I would like to believe that it just won’t be the same without us 😉

To live our last day to the fullest, we hopped a couple trains for a day trip to Potsdam to visit the Sanssouci Palace (which translates to the Palace of No Worries, or the Worry-Free Castle).

We finally found some freshly made salted pretzels… these literally came out of the oven right before our eyes.  I had one. Or two. Or three?

The palace grounds were beautiful.

There were rows and rows of glass doors, behind which were fig trees! I wrapped my fingers around one pick, but unfortunately they were far from ripe and really hard.

I enjoyed public nap #435 in front of a fountain like this one…

There was a delicious café near the museum.  We ordered a salmon appetizer with cucumbers, salad and brown bread toasts to share:

For my entrée, I ordered tofu noodle soup.  Again, I have to reiterate how pleasantly surprised I have been at how many vegetarian options there have been here.

We split two desserts three ways. “Champagne” truffle chocolate mousse cake:

And apple streudel with a crème anglaise sauce.  Can’t leave Germany without having streudel! Although somehow I got away without sampling any sausages…

On the way back to Berlin, we stopped in the small town of Potsdam proper at a café.  I was in the mood for something sweet, but didn’t want to have an actual pastry.  I satisfied my sweet tooth with a cup of crème caramel rooibos tea.

My dad enjoyed his usual, Earl Grey.

Well, it’s time to pack.  It’s been a great trip, and such a fun way to celebrate my college graduation.  It will, of course, be nice to get back into my normal routine of healthy eating and exercise… although I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to going back to work!

I’ll leave you with a picture of cloudberries, in case you’ve ever wondered what they look like.

Auf wiedersehen! See you back in the States 🙂

Hidden Gems and German Shopping

Good evening and happy humpday! It’s not much of a hump if you’re on vacation, however… yesterday was another fabulous day of art, exploration, and, most importantly, food! We found two surprisingly delicious (and deliciously surprising) restaurants that, sadly, will remain in Berlin even after we leave.

For breakfast, I started with a fresh bowl of fruit: half a peach, half a banana, and strawberries.

A slice of seedy, grainy bread with three different cheeses: raw goat, gruyère, and something else I’ve forgotten.

A cup of mixed-fruit yogurt:

Some wake-me-up java:

Doesn’t my mama just have the cutest little feet?

We headed out to get our shop on at KaDeWe, and passed a couple of these strawberry stands.  They’re all over the place: in the metro, on the street… and all they sell is strawberries! Sounds good to me 🙂

Although we got caught in the rain, we didn’t melt, and found our destination with [relatively… neither my mom nor I speaks German] no problem.

The 6th floor of the KaDeWe department store is nothing short of amazing.  Don’t get me wrong- I love Whole Foods almost more than life itself, but they don’t have an entire wing devoted to different kinds of olive oil (they even had an avocado oil!). Or mustard. Or pastas, organized by region.

This was only a fraction of the cheese department (I sampled several varieties, all of which missed the camera… oops):

Tea:

Specialty cakes:

Individually portioned sweet treats:

Chocolate:

Spice heaven:

Nestled in with all of the gourmet goodies are all sorts of specialty food bars: pasta, antipasti, dessert, champagne… my mom and I picked the first one we saw.  It had what we’ve come to identify as New German cuisine, and it was perfect.

We were feeling festive, so we ordered drinks with lunch.  I had a glass of Sancerre to go with my bread:

We watched as the chefs prepared the meals. Each batch of asparagus was steamed to order, each shrimp peeled, devained and cooked.  With the exception of, possibly, Basta Pasta, I’m pretty sure this doesn’t happen in New York.

I ordered a 1/2 portion (although, judging by the entrée size of the gentleman seated next to me, I’m pretty sure I was given the same amount of shrimp) of salad with shrimp, white asparagus, and tomatoes.  It was dressed with aged balsamic and a light pesto.

My mom got a white asparagus quiche which was fresh, fluffy, and unlike any quiche I’ve ever tasted.  (When we asked about the dressing her salad came with, the chef said he’d only give us the recipe if one of us married him.  When my mom offered me up, the other chef came over and said that, since he was the younger chef’s father, he would have to marry my mother and keep everything even.)

Squares of dark chocolate came with our meal…

…. But, after seeing so many tempting treats, we needed a pastry.  We found the Lenôtre counter, a Parisian luxury cake-shop.  (I’d had Lenôtre once before, in Paris, when I bought a friend a cake for his birthday party.) Without any hesitation, we ordered the Concerto, a 12-layer chocolate hazelnut praline cake, to split. I could go on, in detail, about each layer, but that would be cruel.

After we’d fueled-up properly, we went back downstairs.  In the clothing department, I ended up finding some great things… they ended up all being from Sandro, a Parisian brand (I’d hoped to find some German designers, but oh well), but I fell in love with them all and they were on sale.

A short brown eyelet skirt with a paper bag waist (I wore this today):

A finely knit black shirt with pretty silver detail:

And a white linen dress with great pockets (I LOVE dresses with pockets… they’re hard to see in this photo).

We finally tour ourselves away and went to meet my dad at the Pergamon museum. Inside the museum is an impressive number of re-constructed ancient ruins, the most famous of which is the Pergamon Altar.

Built in the 2nd century BC, the originally open-air altar is over 100-feet wide.  (It was also very comfortable for our travel-weary hero to sit on.)

The Ishtar Gate is also, miraculously, in perfect condition.

This was built in 575 BC in the city of Babylon.

Unfortunately, this was all I saw because I got hit in the face with fatigue.  I sat down on a bench and may or may not have fell asleep and head-flopped onto an elderly Spanish man, who asked if I was having a nice dream. Whoops.  I thought food might help, so I had a bite of this dried peach and apricot bar.

I felt much better afterwards, so we took a long walk to get to dinner.  We passed Humboldt University (very grand, huh?):

Across from the courtyard, amidst the cobblestones, was a piece of square glass through.  Unfortunately there was too much glare to show you properly what’s inside: a room filled with bookshelves, representing the 20,000 books that were burned by the Nazis before and during World War II.

On our walk, we also happened upon Guggenheim Berlin, which was having a small but colorful exhibit by Imi Knoebel.

I used to flap my arms around a lot as a child…

My parents and I had planned on going to a vegetarian restaurant that was written up in our guidebook, but when we got to the address they’d given, something else was there instead that only had one vegetarian option.  Luckily, we’d seen another restaurant on the way that looked promising, so we checked it out.  I’m happy to report that Café Jolesh was far better than we could have hoped.  The menu was creative and reasonably priced, the staff was knowledgeable and attentive, and, most importantly, we enjoyed a lovely evening together.

We started out with a basket of bread that came with a cheesy, herby dip.

I ordered a glass of White Burgandy to drink.  I was just thinking the other day that I’d never tried it before, so I was glad it was on the menu! (I ended up ordering two glasses, but by the time the end of dinner rolled around I was so full that I finished less than half of the second glass.)

The pre-fixe menu was a steal, so we couldn’t turn it dow 😀  I started with salmon four ways: two tartares, a piece of a filet (which was perfectly cooked), and a spring roll that had a smokey, almost pork-like taste.  It was all garnished with fresh sour cream (which I’m not usually a fan of, but it perfectly complemented the tartare) and caviar.

My dad and I split two entrées: saffron-roasted sea bass with a fennel-papaya salad and sesame noodles (these were just, as far as I could tell, angel hair noodles tossed with sesame oil instead of olive… a delicious change, and one I will try at home)

We also shared the vegetarian special: roasted vegetables, two kinds of chard, mixed greens, elderberry soufflé (it looks a bit like polenta) and a pine nut/wheatberry/raisin garnish.  This was very good,  but pretty rich.  We both would have preferred a bit less sauce.

The dessert specials all sounded so interesting, so we ordered all three and split them.

Battered, cooked fig with  honey poached white asparagus, chocolate-drizzled cooked strawberry, and a cold, sorbet-like soufflé that we couldn’t quite figure out.

No, it’s not funnel-cake: battered elderberry flowers with minty rhubarb and fresh raspberry granite.

Crème brulée made with a stinky cheese, served with golden rhubarb and a light salad.

All of the desserts were so interesting and unexpected that it was impossible to pick a favorite, although I did dip my spoon into the crème brulée a disproportionate amount of times to my parents.  The salty/sweet combination was just too good!

When I got home, I was pretty sure that my food baby (who goes by Claude, by the way) had multiplied into twins.  We are, however, walking an insane amount, so I’m not worried about it anymore and am just enjoying all of the different tastes.  Because of all the walking, though, the ball of my left foot has started giving me some trouble, and I don’t want to end up like this again…

It’s a different bone and a different leg, but I’m going to be very, very careful.

In GIVEAWAY news, check out Rosey Rebecca’s Chobani Giveaway for some free Greek yogurt! An Apple A Day Is also giving away coupons for some very cool products.

Anyway, this monster of a post took two hours to write, and I’m still a day behind, so I’m going to get horizontal and finish my book.  Have a great night!

Travelocity

Greetings from Berlin! The last 24 hours have been completely bizarre… almost no one speaks English (which is very refreshing, if a little disorienting), our body clocks are all out of whack, and we’ve spent most of the time lugging around heavy stuff.  We haven’t done too much exploring or sightseeing yet; instead, we’ve gotten settled, done a little grocery shopping, and unpacked. I don’t have too many pictures of the actual city, but never fear!  There will be plenty over the next week.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera charger yet again, but we all have cameras so I’m sure it’ll be just fine. Anyway, here’s a backtrack from yesterday:

Ari and I started the day by going to the diner.  I haven’t been there for breakfast in a few months, and it was a nice way to say goodbye to Amerika (and this boy).  Coffee abounded.

I ordered an egg white omelet with feta, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach.  I’m not a huge homefries fan, but they’re pretty good here.

I ate about 3/4 of the omelet (loaded with ketchup, of course), a few potatoes, and all of this toast (buttah and all).

We stopped at a salad bar for lunch.  Salad bars kind of gross me out… I don’t like the idea of all the food being so out in the open (except at Whole Foods!), but hopefully I won’t get sick just this once.  I filled my container with lettuce, canteloupe, honeydew, pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, kidney beans and chickpeas.

I also had some Fage 0% with honey… I had to eat it with a fork because I couldn’t find a spoon.

I had a Maple Nut Clif Bar at the airport and did some important reading.  Yes, I will still be reading teenie magazines when I’m collecting social security.

We forgot to order a proper vegetarian meal for me, but they did have a pasta option.

I took a couple bites of the “canneloni,” but it was pretty gross. Luckily, my dad had stopped at Chili’s Express and bought me a huge garden salad:

And a cheese/apple plate.  I cut up the apples and a few cubes of cheese and added it to the salad.

I woke up a few hours later to blinding light and breakfast: egg/cheese on a biscuit, a banana, and OJ.  I put thoughts of cholesterol and fat aside and gobbled it all up… I was exhausted, and wanted to get my internal clock adjusted as quickly as possible.

We landed an hour early, so our apartment wasn’t quite ready when we got into the city.  Luckily, there’s a nice café right across the street, so we plopped down, sipped cappuccinos, and zoned out for a couple hours.  (Note: full-fat coffee drinks taste so much better! If only…)

We were pleasantly surprised when we finally got into the apartment.  It’s sleek, modern, and very simple.  I know you’re dying to know, so here’s where I’ll be sleeping:

Big wooden dining table (which I’ve unfortunately commandeered for my personal use):

Full-kitchen for maximum cooking potential:

The courtyard view from my bedroom:

I had a giant fig (and some other dried fruit) before taking a 4-hour nap.

When we woke up, we were all tired and starving.  We found a nice Middle Eastern restaurant around the corner from the apartment.  As soon as we sat down, I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio, which just about put me to sleep.

We ordered a huge appetizer sampler to share, which came with hummus, tabouli, cheeses, grape leaves, fruit (pineapple, apples, honeydew), phylo pastry with spinach, and harissa.  (There was also some meat, but my parents promptly removed that.)

I ate it all with a slice of soft, doughy bread. (Get ready to see a lot of that!)

For my entrée, I ordered a filet of cod in a lemon/wine sauce with salad and potatoes.  I wasn’t expecting it to be fried or covered in a creamy sauce; I scraped most of the sauce off and just ate it anyway.  It was pretty good; I gave 1/4 of the fish to away, ate the rest, ate a few potatoes and all of the salad.

For dessert, we split a platter of bakhlava and honey cake.  The honey cake was divine… it was freshly made, not too sweet, and filled with hunks of nuts.

Since I’m a person with a pretty sleepy disposition to begin with,  I didn’t want to mess around with jet lag so I popped a sleep aide and went to sleep at 10.  I still woke up at 4AM, wide awake and starving.  I had a Quaker Chocolate Chip Chewy granola bar and read a little:

I fell back asleep until 10, got my game face on, and we all went out for breakfast.  We found a little bakery just around the corner, and got bowls of coffee:

And a platter with a hard-boiled egg, fruit, veggies, sunflower bread, butter, honey, and strawberry jam.

The US Dollar : Euro is still about 1.50 : 1, but, with the coffee, this was only about 4.50 Euros/per person. Not bad!

Since we have an apartment here, we went to the grocery store to stock up on some essentials like yogurt, fruit, cheese, bread, and chocolate.

I found another bar of “pour messieurs” chocolate… what’s up on the women-hating, chocolatiers?!

They’re having a sort of festival celebrating asparagus season.  They have cute little displays like this all over!

We stopped at a cheese counter, stocked up, and ate some samples.

The strawberries are to die for here. They’re sweet, tender and have a completely different texture than the variety we get back home.

Well, I’m off to go make something for lunch and plan out the day.  Hope you’re having a fantastic day!

German phrase of the day: Jet lag = Zeitunterschied.