Lazy Pants Pizza

Tonight had potential for serious derailment.  I think most Thursdays do.  You spend all week working, dieting, deadlining, exercising, erranding - by Thursday you're pooped!

I was so close to ordering take-out, but somewhere during the crazy amounts of rationalizing going on in my head, I thought of a quick compromise.  Hooray for pizza!

Lazy Pants Pizza:
- Sprouted Wheat Toast
- Baby Spinach
- Tomato Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Garlic Powder

While sprouted wheat bread is toasting, heat tomato sauce in the microwave for a minute.  Stir spinach leaves in the tomato sauce and microwave for an additional minute.  Spread tomato sauce on sprouted wheat toast, sprinkle with garlic powder, and cover with cheese.  Toast until golden.

Mid-Day Escape

I am fortunate to be able to come home daily for lunch.  Most of the time, I re-heat my leftovers from the previous night.  But with spring creeping in, I was in the mood for something fresh.

I've had this sandwich in the back on my mind since hitting up the airport Starbucks a couple weeks back.  Don't get me wrong, theirs was good, but I knew I could bedazzle it and make it mine.  I subbed sprouted wheat toast, nitrate-free turkey, baby spinach, honey mustard vinaigrette, and goat cheese.  So...  I modified pretty much everything but the cuke.  It's a safe bet that I'll be eating this exact sandwich for lunch this week until I'm forced to make the vegetarian version because I've run out of turkey.

To satisfy my dessert tummy, which on a rare occasion is full, I ate the leftover "Avocado Chocolate Mousse" from last night's feast.

Is that Gak?

Your face will cringe before your first sip.  You'll mentally prepare yourself for the grossest green gulp of your life.  You're nervous, it's weird, you feel like a contestant on Fear Factor.  After you muster up the courage to drink?  Apples.  All you taste is apple.  And I describe this to everyone I "con" into drinking this concoction, but they don't believe me until after their first sip.  It's a guaranteed "I told you so".   

Green Smoothie:

1 Apple

2 Kale Stalks

1 Handful of Grapes

1/2 Cucumber

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Ice

I deviated from my usual formula and added avocado to the first batch.  Mistake!  You couldn't taste the avocado, but it turned the texture into something that resembled Gak.

Productivity, Interrupted.

Returning from vacation with a cold and list of mandatory work functions created a chore-filled Saturday.  I tossed on some sweats, made oatmeal and hot tea, and opened every window in the house.  It was chilly, but I was heated with motivation -  I was on it.

I was cruising through my list like a girl on a mission, multi-tasking the fun amongst the unfun.  Laundry, dishes, and a side of sweet tunes.  And then... a curve ball to my productive day - a text.

It's impossible to turn down an outdoor drink when spring weather is impatiently peeking at you in February.  So we marched to Wine Exchange, decided to make it a bottle kind of day, and ordered the ahi tuna.  I prefer my tuna with wasabi and soy, but surprisingly, the carmelized onions stole my vote for best supporting side.

Gluten-Free Goodness

Today as I headed north on Florida Ave, feelings of excitement replaced the usual feelings of annoyance that accompany the drive.  Seminole Heights is always the center of "up and coming" talk, but it's difficult to witness the follow through as it's not on a route often traveled.  But as I looked for 6605, I noticed more than increasing numbers on abandoned buildings, I noticed new storefronts.

The ideals of New Urbanism are ingrained in my being (another big thanks to Tammy).  And a good storefront, as nerdy as it may seem, makes me giddy.  Don't worry, I can type and push up my theoretical nerd glasses simultaneously.  But back to the point, North Florida is on the path to being...  hip?  As I opened the door and entered Viitals Bakery & Cafe, that thought was no longer a question.  North Florida is, in fact, on the path to being hip.

I was immediately drawn to the heart-shaped cookies, but refrained.  Well, for a moment.  My lunch date was running late and my belly was raging with hunger, so I ordered one and took a seat.  "You know, I like to heat those up in the toaster oven for 30 seconds, it makes them really -- ".  Sold!  I bet she's never seen a girl in a high waisted skirt and ballet flats run so fast with cookie in hand.  And 90 seconds later, the cookie was heated, delicious as promised, and gone.

We ordered the Sophisticated Panini and the Caprese Sandwich - both beyond satisfying.  I couldn't wait to get back to the office and tell my Heights friends about the new hot spot in their hood.

P.S.  Viitals now makes gluten-free pizza crust for Gourmet Pizza Company and that pretty much makes me do kartwheels on the inside!

Great Expectations

Regarding food, my passion has always been in the known.  If I like a certain restaurant plate, I’ll order it every time.  If I've already found enjoyment in a recipe, I’ll serve it to a guest.  I’ve even gone as far as knowing every restaurant I’ll attend while on vacation, and knowing what I’ll order when I get there.  Twenty ten will be different.

Mid-February may be a bit late for a new year’s resolution, but it’s not too late.  After all, what would be the point in setting a pointless goal?  So this year I plan on being adventurous in my kitchen and your table alike.

Being vocally un-fond of tomatoes and having a newly acquired love of mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and portobellos have rarely, if ever, found a spot in my kitchen.  But tonight I was determined to venture recipe free in unchartered vegetable territory.  And I did.  But my spinach, sundried tomato, and goat cheese stuffed portobello creation was like earning a “B” on your report card – it was good, probably acceptable to others, but you know you can do better.

      

I know this dish has potential and will let you know when I’ve come up with “A” material!

Capital Cuisine

The snowpocalypse put DC in quite the tizzy which turned my thirty minute airport commute into two and a half hours of shared van fun.  It seemed like a guaranteed disaster, but my van mates were delightfully entertaining and entertained by my hot off the press business cards - cards which would spark an atypical conversation amongst strangers.

Who knew that the Arlington couple would have a relative recently diagnosed with Celiac's and the Miami gent would be a microbiologist with a pescatarian girlfriend?  Who knew!  But cards fell into place, because my van mates made the trip pass quickly and lead me to the perfect vacation send off meal.

I stole my fellow Floridian's dinner destination, Hook, for my last meal in capital country.  I ordered grilled rockfish with polenta, trumpet mushrooms, and brussel sprout petals.  Yum!  A perfect dish with perfect company is the ultimate equation for a perfect last meal.

See you tomorrow Tampa!

Olive Juice (I Love You)

 

If it were possible for one week to be longer than another, I would say this week is the longest in history.  It could be that this week is sandwiched between Superbowl Sunday and my much awaited trip to DC.  Or maybe time is following the lead of winter storms and defying scientific reason and history all the same.

With that said, my Wednesday night was a progression of running Bayshore and dinner, to running Bayshore and dinner and red wine, to running Bayshore and dinner and dirty martinis.  And although this site is typically focused on the healthy approach, a mid-slowest week ever-martini IS fashion meeting function.

A "good" dirty martini has always seemed like an impossible homemade task.  And finding a good dirty martini at a place that serves blue cheese stuffed olives is luck just short of winning the lottery.

It turns out that my dirty martini can kick a restaurant martini's butt.  It also turns out, a good homemade dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives is comparable to winning the lottery as you save approximately 10 bucks per drink!

Martini - Dirty and Good:

Fresh Blue Cheese

Spanish Olives sans Pimentos, the bigger the better

Ketel One Vodka

Spanish Olive Brine 

Eggstraordinary

A few years ago, he brought over a slab of raw tuna, sliced off a chunk, and said "taste this".  Oh my goodness, no.  For some reason, eating raw meat that bypassed a restaurant was unfathomable.  After careful convincing that it was indeed more fresh than anything I've experienced, I ate it.  Chewing was barely a necessity, it melted, I loved it.  Trust was earned.

So when he offered to bring me eggs produced by his urban yard birds, I accepted without hesitation.  I'm able to pinpoint obvious differences between these eggs and retail eggs: smaller, harder shell, the green one.  Wow, I totally missed my CSI calling.  But other than these subtle differences, are these eggs the same?  Absolutely not.

I go through phases in which I eat eggs for breakfast daily.  The breakfast means nothing to me, it's breakfast.  But this morning as I ate my eggs, sunny side up on sprouted wheat toast, I smiled.  I know how my eggs came to be.  I know the yard.  I know the farmer.  I was a part of the exchange between the farmer and the consumer and there's something innately cool about being a part of a process in which you're able skip the man.

My Mid-Century Life

I've been told a time or ten that I'm deceivingly domestic.  Perhaps my front door is really a time machine - where everything is different upon entering, including me.  My home is defined by mid-century finds, daily home cooked meals, a sewing machine, and rose scented candles.  In other words, I think your grandma's cool.

I've recently purchased a percolator and it's my newest favorite.  And before I continue, I have to admit that my taste in coffee is comparable to that of red wine - when asked if I enjoy a cup or glass, my answer is merely "yes", no details.

So yes, I enjoy my percolator.  It makes two to four cups of caffeinated goodness and is pretty enough to serve while suited up in your finest Anthro apron.  With no need for a coffee filter, it's also a sustainable choice.  Compete with that Mr. Coffee!

I take mine black, but have agave nectar and almond milk on hand for guests.