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Tapas Anniversary

September 26, 2009 by

Morning Girls!

Did you miss me last night? If feels weird not posting in the evening – like I’m forgetting something. If you were all wondering why I didn’t post last night it was because I was out to dinner with my husband celebrating our anniversary! 

My husband and I love tapas restaurants. A few years ago we traveled to Barcelona and had authentic tapas which were just amazing! So last night, we decided to try a new tapas restaurants called Emilio’s Tapas. The whole restaurant was Spanish-themed, including these little windows on the outside…

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Seriously, if you’ve ever been to Spain, this is just how the windows look! 

For dinner, we started with a complimentary appetizer…

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I don’t remember the exact name of the dish but it consisted of two pieces of crusty bread topped with a ham and veggie pate.  

While we were eating our very tasty appetizer, we also had some lovely Spanish cocktails. I ordered white wine sangria – LOVE this stuff!

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In keeping with tapas tradition, we ordered our tapas in “courses”, or two by two. We started with tapas frias (cold tapas) first…9.25 dinner3

We had a small plate of pollo al caserio (chicken from a small village?), which was cold chicken stuffed stuffed with mozzarella cheese serve with roasted bell peppers. This dish was so good I could have ordered it again!

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Then came another Spanish specialty – dates wrapped in bacon! I can’t recall ever having a date before tonight but if I was ever going to have one again it would be wrapped in bacon – 🙂 The combination of the savory bacon mixed with the sweet, plump dates was perfect – as well as the red pepper aioli sauce for dipping!

After that, ’twas a Mediterranean salad for me. This was not the best Mediterranean salad I’ve had, but I haven’t had a salad in like 10 days so it was very nice to eat lettuce again. I really don’t know why I haven’t eaten much salad – could be that it’s so much trouble to make! The salad last night had shredded lettuce (not a big fan), hearts of palm (Love!), onions, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese. It probably sounds good to most people and it did taste fine, I’ve just tasted better. The presentation was also a little blah.

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Anyway, my husband proceeded to order and eat by  himself, two more dishes – the gambos a la plancha (shrimp cooked in a skillet) and the lamb with Spanish potatoes. Because I don’t eat seafood or lamb, I just kept enjoying my drink while he ate.

We opted to not get dessert there but came home and had ice cream, mostly to save money but also so that we could watch our favorite show – Psych!

I woke up this morning at 7:50 AM – this is sooo late for me even on the weekend! There was no way I was getting to the 8 AM yoga class and besides, I was feeling a little queasy. I’m not sure if it was something I ate or the fact that I had very little food last night to soak up the alcohol that I drank 🙁

Now, we’re off and running again – this time to do a little shopping.

See you all later!

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Breakfast and Life On the Go…

September 24, 2009 by

Hello All! Sorry I’ve been MIA all day. It’s been one crazy day! I started with a 4-mile run. It was so foggy out this morning that by the time I got home my hair and face were drenched as if it was raining!

I was really behind schedule after my run, so I had a breakfast on-the-go, which I hardly ever do. Luckily, some smart person out there was thinking of me and all the other over-booked women out there and invented a portable and healthy breakfast in a bar!

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I had another one of my LUNA bars – this time chocolate raspberry. This bar had a great flavor but it was probably a little too much powerbar for me for breakfast. I really prefer it as a pre-run snack. 

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I was really dragging on my way to work, so I stopped off at Starbucks. No, my old Starbucks did not reopen. I stopped at one of those mini Starbucks inside a grocery store. I was really debating on getting a skinny vanilla latte and a mocha frap….guess what I went with –

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Hmmm..sooo goood! I drank some of it right when I arrived at work, but then I had to run to a meeting at 9 AM. I usually don’t take anything but water into meetings, but I ended up being in back-t0-back meetings from 9 AM – 12:30 PM!! Oh my gosh – how do they expect me to get any work done? On a break, I ran back over to my desk and grabbed my mostly melted frap and took it back into the meeting. I’m really glad I did because it kept me alert through all of the meetings.

After the meetings, I ate some leftover stir-fry because I didn’t have time to get out for lunch…

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The stir fry was good but I could have eaten a LOT more than what I brought.

Oddly enough, by the time I got home from work, I wasn’t really that hungry. Scott was at class again tonight so I just threw together a very quick and simple dinner…

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A 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with a side of Cape Cod chips and a nectarine – healthy and satisfying…

  • Protein – √
  • Whole Grains – √
  • MUFA – √
  • Fruit – √
  • Fats – √

I probably could have whipped together something a little more exciting if I had more energy. But at least I’ve graduated from cereal!

Ok, time to say goodnight Gracie!

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Williams Sonoma French Weeknight Dinner

September 23, 2009 by

Evening girls! I just returned from my first Williams Sonoma cooking class! It was more of a scaled down cooking show really…

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where the Chef stood behind the counter/stove and prepared a variety of dishes while giving us step by step instructions. There were about 10 people in the class, sitting in chairs in front of the stove, 3 men and the rest women. I was one of the youngest people there!

Tonight’s themed menu was French Weeknight Dinners and included:

  • Citrus marinated olives
  • Lentil, bacon, and frisee salad
  • Pan-seared chicken with mustard sauce
  • Apple tart

I asked the chef what made the dishes “French” and she said that olives, lentils, mustard, and anything with puffed pastry (like the tart) are all considered French. 

First up, were the marinated olives, which were quite tasty, although I would do the recipe with all green olives. I can’t divulge the recipe for copyright reasons but you can find the recipe in Williams Sonoma – The Weeknight Cook.

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Next, was the lentil, bacon, an frisee salad…

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This salad was fantastic! It was made with brown lentils, carrots, and celery (among other things) and placed over mixed greens (the chef chose not to put it over frisee like the recipe called for because she said it was too bitter).

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The chicken was cooked at the same time as the salad. It was thinly pounded (or bought thinly slice) and then pan-seared in butter. The mustard sauce was then made from all of the drippings and spooned over the chicken. Again, I can’t give you the recipe but this chicken dish was amazing – especially if you like mustard flavor!! Everyone in the class was raving about the chicken.

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I think both the salad and the chicken recipes are keepers! If you want to try them, the lentil salad can be found in Williams Sonoma’s Food Made Fast, Salad and the chicken dish in The Weeknight Cook.

While we were watching the demonstration, we were encouraged to sample WS’s many varieties of sea salts. I didn’t know there were so many varieties! I tasted the Pink Sea Salt – loved the color and the taste!

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I liked it so much I even sprinkled a little over my chicken and salad.

Finally, the apple tart – I am kind of appled out these days between all of the apple cake, apple pie, and apple slices I’ve had the last few weeks. So, apple tart was not high on my list to sample tonight. It was made with puff pastry, apples, and sugar – no more, no less. This recipe was very simple, easy to prepare, and tasted light and fluffy. I thought it was tasty, but I still prefer something chocolate for dessert.

After eating a modified three-course meal, I was pretty full at the end of class. There was even food left over if people wanted more, but no one seemed to want to indulge too much at 8 PM and with everyone else watching.

I have to admit, it was pretty cool and quite relaxing watching someone else cook. And, just taking a cooking class is very different than my usual forms of entertainment and self-indulgence. I would definitely recommend the WS’s classes if you’re interested in trying something new and fun. 

Ok, all, I have a very early morning run planned for tomorrow so I must get to bed.

Night all!

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Peachy Keen and Nectarines

September 22, 2009 by

Hello All!

I mentioned in Flavors of the Fall that I am a Big Ten Football fan. Monique asked who I cheer for…well, I grew up near Ann Arbor so Michigan is near and dear to my heart. But, my husband and his brother (and all their friends) went to Illinois and are pure Illini fans. It’s really hard to choose so I like both – which most Big Ten fans will deny to the grave – but I am actually quite proud of this choice!

Now, onto my day…

I had a super productive day – how about you? I basically wrote ALL day long but I really cranked out some good pieces. And, I’m sure you’re all wanting to know about the pastries in the staff lounge – I did not have ANY of those pastries from this morning. I only ventured into the lounge twice – once for my lunch and another time to get more water. So, crisis and pastries averted!

For lunch, I had some leftover minestrone soup…

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Ahh, a great light lunch for the first day of Autumn! But, it also may have been a little too light. Around 4 PM, it started to wear off and I was so wanting a snack. I didn’t bring one and was trying to avoid the lounge and pastries at all costs. Luckily, my boss brought in some cool organic treats from Trader Joe’s (sorry, no photo). I had a couple chocolate-covered raspberry sticks and was set until dinner.

Speaking of dinner, hubby was teaching again so I made a simple dinner tonight…

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It consisted of a 1/2 salami and white cheddar cheese sandwich on 12-grain Brownberry bread, with some Cape Cod crispies on the side. I also threw is a really ripe and juicy nectarine…

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I used to be a peach kind of a girl, but now I fancy the sister fruit – the nectarine! I really can’t tell the difference in taste too much. But, we buy nectarines now because my husband has an aversion to the peach fuzzies!

A couple hours later, I wanted a little something sweet, so I whipped up a little somethin’ somethin’….

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I had a 1/2 cup of Breyer’s all natural vanilla bean ice cream, topped with chocolate chips and a dab of MaraNatha all-natural creamy PB! Hmm – Hmmm good! Scott and I used to make Cold Stone runs way too often. Then I realized that all I really wanted was vanilla ice cream with some chocolate chips. We save so much money now by just eating ice cream (and other treats) at home. But, you do have to have self control with goodies in the house and my husband needs a little help with that – he he!

Before I sign off for the night, I have to ask – Are you a peach kind of a girl or do you prefer nectarines? 

Have a peachy keen night everyone!

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Stir It Up…

September 21, 2009 by

Howdy there everyone and Happy Last Day of Summer!

I just rocked at work today! Because it’s crunch time, I have put myself on a strict schedule at work so that I can get all of my projects done on time, or even ahead of time.

But, of course, even with my long to-do list, there’s always time for a little lunch…

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Today, lunch was left over vegetable risotto from Friday night. It was still just as yummy as the day I made it!

Later in the afternoon, I snacked on a new Cascadian Farm high fiber organic granola bar -this time it was blueberry and pomegranate.

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The bar was not as chewy as I thought it would be but it was still very good. I really like the blueberry/pom combination.

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I arrived home relatively early compared to the last few weeks. It was nice not to fight traffic and to be able to enjoy some of the nice weather before heading in for dinner. 

Speaking of dinner, Scott had dinner almost ready when I came home. Tonight, it was chicken-vegetable stir-fry…

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I have to admit, I have been avoiding this dish for the last two weeks. Stir-fry just hasn’t been sounding good to me. But tonight, it tasted fantastic and I think I had at least 2 servings of veggies on one plate alone!

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We paired the chicken and mixed veggies with a side of brown rice. I nearly always choose brown rice over white rice because brown rice has more nutrients.

After clean up, I talked to my parents for a few minutes on the phone. They live out of state so I try to talk to them at least once a week. But I realized tonight that I haven’t talked to them in 8-9 days, so I was not surprised to hear the phone ring at 8 PM and have it be my mom on the other end. 

With our stomachs settled, Scott and I broke out the Breyer’s ice cream for a little dessert. I’ve been into mixing things lately – cereal, noodles, and now ice cream. I had one small scoop of vanilla bean and one small scoop of caramel praline crunch, topped with about 1 tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

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I originally bought the chips to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but the chips are going fast! They might not last long enough for me to put them in the cookie!

Well ladies, I’m off to bed. See you all in the AM for the Autumnal Equinox!

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Flavors of the Fall

September 20, 2009 by

Evening everyone! With the official start of fall just a day and a half away, I thought I’d do a little fall decorating this afternoon.

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This made me wonder – Fall is my favorite time of year, but what was my favorite thing about the Fall? Well, there are so many things that I love about the Fall that it’s hard to choose just one thing – so, I made a list!

Jen’s 10 Fall Faves:

  1. Watching the leaves changing colors
  2. Changing my signature Spring/Summer drink – a Starbucks Frap – to a Starbucks skinny vanilla latte
  3. Wearing my Fall sweaters and Gap jeans
  4. Listening to my Fall transition music – James Taylor’s Greatest Hits
  5. Cheering for Big Ten Football
  6. Running in much cooler weather
  7. Picking pumpkins and gourds
  8. Eating fresh cider donuts from the cider mill
  9. Watching Fall classics like It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
  10. Finally being able to put up Fall decorations!

So, my question to you is – what is your favorite thing about the Fall?

Scott’s parents came over this afternoon and stayed for dinner. And, an amazing dinner it was!

We started out with some multigrain crackers and white cheddar cheese… 

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And with it, we had some vino…

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I don’t drink very often, but when I do, it’s usually wine. Tonight, my father-in-law brought a new wine over from Trader Joe’s…

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This was a very different type of wine than I’d ever had. It was a mixture of several different kinds of wine…

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As you can see, it was such an unusual wine that I had to try a glass. It was pretty smooth and had a good flavor, especially for being on the less expensive side of wines.

For dinner, we had my husband’s famous minestrone soup! He makes a huge batch of the soup about once a season and it’s usually when we have people over for dinner. I have not received the ok from my husband on whether or not I can reveal his secret recipe, but I can tell you that it requires a ton of vegetables!

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Along with our very warm and tasty soup, we had fresh 12-grain bread for dipping…

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We dipped the bread in our soup and in olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar with added spices and parmesan cheese..

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The balsamic vinegar was actually from Gourmè Mist. A few weeks ago, the company had sent me several samples of their olive oil and vinegar misters to try. I am happy to report that the balsamic vinegar mister was fantastic!

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It had a great flavor, was easy to use, and the mister was a very clever way of adding just a hint of balsamic taste to the dipping oil. Can’t wait to try this on a salad!

For dessert, my father-in-law made homemade “apple slices”, which is a cross between an apple pie and apple strudel…

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This was my first time having this dish and it was so yummy! We paired it with Breyer’s Vanilla Bean ice cream – ok, can this get any better?

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After that fabulous dessert, I am happy to report that dinner (and the food) had finally ended. I seriously don’t think I could eat anymore and I only had one bowl of soup!

I have an early day tomorrow, so I’m ready to turn in for the night.

Have a great night everyone!

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Bonfires and Goodbyes

September 19, 2009 by

Tonight, we went to a goodbye party for my sister-in-law’s younger sister who is moving out of the country. Our friend had visited Brazil on two occasions and loved it. She loved it so much that, a few months ago, she decided it was her time to move on in her life – her time to move to Brazil. She set the wheels in motion, putting her condo up for rent, learning Portuguese, and doing other preparations. On October 1, she will officially be living in a different country, within a different culture, and among strangers. If that’s not courage and determination, I don’t know what is.

There were many friends, family members, and neighbors on-hand to celebrate our friend’s final days in the States and to wish her well before she left. Although she will be greatly missed by all of these people, email and other technology have made our world so small that even when a person is half way around the world, they seem just as close and accessible as the person next door.

During the party, we enjoyed plenty of great food. I loaded up on appetizers because they looked so amazing – and I was really hungry!

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I had some very spicy mango salsa (quick, get me a drink!), a little chili dip with black corn tortilla chips, and veggie-cream cheese “pizza”.

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We’ve eaten these appetizers before at parties hosted by the same family and they are all so delicious. If you don’t get to the them quickly, they can be gone before you even get a taste!

Dinner was catered by a local Chicago favorite – Portillo’s! Oh how I love my Portillo’s! If I ever moved away from Chicago, I think Portillo’s would be the restaurant I would miss the most. Anyway, by the time I actually got around to eating my dinner it was very dark outside which made for terrible lighting to take pictures of my food, even with the flash. So, sorry, no photos to post of my incredible dinner. But, I had a small piece of Italian sausage, potato salad, and a small scoop of cheese tortellini. All of this fit on 1/2 of my very elegant paper plate and the other half was full of a very yummy salad.

After dinner, a bonfire was made to create more light and to give off some heat.

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I love bonfires and always have. I especially loved them in college when the sororities and fraternities would do joint bonfires. Ahh, to be in collage again! I haven’t been to a bonfire in nearly a year. Ironically, the last one I experienced was started by the family who did the bonfire tonight, just at a different location.

In addition to light and warmth, the bonfire also provided a great opportunity for the kids at the party, and even some adults, to make s’mores. I am not a big marshmallow fan so I passed on that. But, on the way home, we stopped at Barnes and Noble so I could pick up one of their huge chocolate chunk cookies…

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These cookies are fantastic! I highly recommend them. But, notice I only ate 1/2 the cookie. I’m pretty sure these cookies have 600 or so calories in them, so I decided to split my calorie intake between two days/nights.

Now I simply must go to bed. My in-laws are coming over for dinner so I must get up early to get these ready for their visit – not to mention do my long run!

Good night everyone and see you in the AM!

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Late Summer Risotto…

September 18, 2009 by

Hello All! I just finished watching Psych on USA. I love that show! It’s one of the very few shows that I watch regularly. It’s also one of the very few shows that can make me totally laugh out loud – along with The Office of course!

The afternoon was spent doing a little lounging outdoors and then running more errands, including making yet another trip to the grocery store.

Dinner was grilled lemon pepper chicken, courtesy of my 1/2 chef, 1/2 computer guru husband. We also had wonderful, late summer veggie risotto…

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The risotto was made by taking traditional arborio rice and cooking it as directed. But, we also added several sauteed veggies to the rice, including:

  • Chopped bell peppers
  • Onions
  • Broccoli 
  • Grape tomatoes
  • Spinach
  • Parmesan cheese

Risotto is simply amazing and versatile. You can add pumpkin or squash to make it more of a fall/winter dish, or add a ton of veggies for spring and summer.

Ok, girls, it’s Friday night and I am spent for the day. See you all tomorrow.

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Dinner Cereal with a Side of Chic-Lit

September 17, 2009 by

Hello everyone! I’m feeling so much better than I was earlier today. I’ve decided I’m not going to let a few sour apples spoil my work endeavors!

Even though I only had one piece of not-so-good pizza and a little salad for lunch, I just wasn’t hungry for dinner. I came home around 6:30 PM, cleaned up a bit and then debated on dinner. I knew I needed to eat something. Then, I remembered my special delivery from a few days ago…

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My new Kashi Heart to Heart cereal finally arrived! This was a single serving size box – even though it looks full size. It was just perfect for a light dinner, but still full of nutrients. The cereal has 130 calories per serving and 4 g of fiber. Plus, it has little clusters of blueberries!

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I added raspberries to mine to give my cereal a little more kick, but you can clearly see the blueberry cluster right up front. Holy yum this cereal was fantastic! The blueberries even made my milk turn blue! I would definitely buy this cereal – even when it was not on sale – he he! I just wish it had more fiber like their other cereals.

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If you want to try a box of Kashi’s new cereals, just go to the Kashi Web site to sign up for your free sample. How fun is that? Kashi has SO many awesome cereal products that it’s hard to choose just one. But I know I’m preaching to the choir on that one!

Question – How do all of you feel about cereal for dinner? I don’t eat cereal for dinner very often, only when I’m not hungry or there’s absolutely nothing else in the house.

After my very long and tiring day I am really ready to curl up with a good book. Aside from Harry Potter re-reads, I haven’t read a book for fun in sooo long! I used to be really into the Shopaholic books, but stopped after the first chapter of the Sister book. Now, I’m psyched to read….

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It’s another book set in England, but this time with an American heroine. I just love books set in Britain, especially when there’s a young British heroine. I mean, who didn’t love Bridget Jone’s Diary?  I also plan to have a little snack while reading my new Brit Chic-Lit…

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I decided that a new fun book needed a fun book snack – enter…100-calorie microwave popcorn!

Ok, enough chatter. Must get reading before I end up falling asleep! 

Night everyone.

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A Bit of A Power Bar Snob

September 16, 2009 by

So much for leaving at 4:30 PM like I had planned. I didn’t leave work until 5:45 PM and didn’t get home until nearly 6:30 PM. But, on the bright side, I did get a LOT done. It is really crunch time for me now (and for the next 5 weeks) so every hour of every day counts.

When I finally arrived home from work, I was just aching for something tasty. Well, I got my wish! My husband and made one of my favorite meals – linguini with homemade meat sauce!

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I was so hungry that I actually had two servings (although they were small!).

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Italian dinners like these always seem so comforting and just make your day seem so much better. 

Aside from my fabulously yummy dinner, I had another surprise waiting for me at home – a full box of goodies from Cascadian Farm, makers of over 75 organic food products. This company has actually been around longer than I’ve been alive! I only just recently noticed their cereal products in the store, but never bought them because I hadn’t heard anything about them.

Well, the very nice folks at CF sent me several of their products to try, including their version raisin bran cereal, two kinds of granola, and two types of high fiber granola bars. That was great news to me because I have really been into fiber these days after reading the Full Plate Diet.

So after dinner, I tried one of the granola bars – the fiber right dark chocolate almond bar to be exact.

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Doesn’t that description and flavor combination sound yummy? Well, when I tore open the bar I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bar was drizzled with dark chocolate which, by the way, had a very good taste – not too “organic”. The granola part of the bar was good, but nothing extraordinary. But, I’m very hard to please when it comes to granola/power bars. I’m a bit of a power bar snob I guess, and I haven’t had much luck with them lately.

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As a whole, I thought this bar was definitely better than all three Odwalla bars I tried last week, but not as tasty as the LUNA bar. I would absolutely have this bar again, if not for the yummy chocolate drizzle, then for the 5 g of fiber (and only 130 calories) that this bar has!

Can’t wait to try the Dark Chocolate Almond Granola for breakfast! 

I’m off to bed. I have the first of three staff training sessions tomorrow and I’m leading all of them! So, wish me luck!

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