Nourish the palate...

My heart has been stolen. Last Friday, my friend Grace suggested we get lunch at Restaurant Eve, a 4-star restaurant that just happened to be the site of President Obama and Michelle’s 19th anniversary dinner. Just hearing that, I knew it had to be good. Their “tasting room” is open for lunch and they have a deal where you can pick two items off of their set menu. I chose the mushroom soup (except the official name was about 8 descriptive words long) and the featured salad. The waiters also come around with warm, crusty bread and Irish butter. Oh, it was heaven.

Saturday we went over to Scott and Grace’s house, where we spend the entire day cooking, eating, talking, and relaxing, or “slothing” as they like to call it. Scott and Grace are hipster foodies…we had a blast with them!

We made pizza:

Scott was our barista for some delish latte’s:

And we made Crème Brulee, which takes some skill. Tim was a natural:

This might be the appropriate time to mention that Tim and I...have…been... running. Correction: Tim has been a runner for quite some time (he ran his first marathon the week before our wedding, and had run several races before that). I however, have not been a “runner” or even really “one who runs” since high school track…but give me some turbo kick, zumba, or step-dance aerobics and I’m all in. I hesitated to write that I have been running simply because, if I stop, you’ll all know about it. Accountability - gotta love it. Time - yep. Commitment - for sure. 

Some days Tim and I will go to the gym at night, though we prefer to go in the mornings before he goes to work. It really isn’t so bad, the hardest part is going from supine --> sit on EOB. Oops, little PT moment there (can you tell I'm ready to go back to work?). Once you actually get up and physically relocate to the gym, it’s kinda like your mind is still sleeping, but your body is moving. Weird, yes, but true...or so I tell myself. 

It’s much better when you have a partner to do it with... someone to walk with you to the gym in the frigid cold air, and someone to high-five as you walk back to the house dripping with sweat. To each have your own portion of a delicious protein smoothie as you sit across the table and discuss the plans for the day...it’s a pretty awesome feeling, and I’m so thankful I have my best friend to share it with.

Monday evening, I drove into DC to meet Tim so we could attend the Kansas Day Reception, hosted by the Kansas Society of D.C. It was quite a turn out of people originally from Kansas, who are currently living in D.C. I even ran into 2 fellow Ichabods who attended Washburn at the same time I did. The Kansas Society is very active, so Tim and I are looking forward to attending future events in the spring and summer.

Last week and this week have been very busy with interviews, mainly here in Alexandria, but also a few in Arlington. I have heard back from one company, but I want to wait to make a final decision after I’ve heard back from all of them. Lord, give me wisdom! I’m just praying for doors to open and close and for clarity in seeing which direction God is leading me. 

Random pretty photo: We walk by these beautiful flowers almost every day, but seldom do I stop to really look at them. It’s almost February and they are still gorgeous. 

Mmmm…recipe time: Sunday evening we had black bean burgers, baked beans, and kale chips. Kale is a superfood, a “nutritional powerhouse”, which packs some serious Vitamins A, C, and K among many other vitamins and minerals. 

We have been eating quite a bit of it, in a variety of ways…

Kale chips (surprisingly delicious and addicting)

Sauteed Garlic kale (I didn’t take a photo of this because it didn’t look very appetizing, but it was good!)

Kale pizza (see photo and recipe below)

Kale-banana-peanut butter-Greek yogurt-flax seed-protein powder-oatmeal-soymilk smoothie. My favorite.

My new preferred use for beer: Garlic Herb Beer Bread. It's even made with whole wheat flour. Goodness...I almost ate the entire loaf. 

Last night was pizza night. I decided to try a new recipe: Sweet Potato-Kale-Rosemary-Red Onion-Balsamic Pizza. Now you go try it.

I also attempted a dessert I have been wanting to try for years. Black bean brownies. A vegetable in a dessert?! Oh yes, sign me up. I made some changes (added more coffee, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and pecans), but will probably still tweak the ingredients a bit more next time. I thought the brownies turned out better than I expected, Tim, however…not so fond of them. And…the recipe made quite a few. It’s ok though, I ended up just freezing them and plan to pull them out whenever my chocolate cravings hit. Like today...

Until next time…

Lotsa goin' on...

It's been an eventful week here in the Belsan household (sometimes I still can't believe I have a new last name?!) Last week we were fortunate enough to spend time with many friends. Thursday night, we went to Bethesda, Maryland, where Matthew and Elle live. We met them through a mutual friend of mine from the Kanakuk Institute. Matthew coaches a local rec basketball team of sophomore boys and had asked Tim to help him out by playing on the opposite team during a scrimmage...essentially "coaching" half of the boys for the evening. Elle and I went along to watch and keep track of the time and score. It was fun, we really enjoyed watching our husbands step into a different role than we are used to seeing!

However, I am still laughing to myself about something that happened that evening...the boys didn't have colored jerseys to distinguish between the teams, so one of the teams decided to take their shirts off and be the "skins". It happened to be Tim's team. So when I saw that my husband was taking his shirt off, I let out a semi-quiet, yet audible "oww-owww!". The only problem was, one of the sophomore boys' dad's was standing about 3 feet from me, and he turned and looked at me just as I realized he was standing there...most likely thinking I was cat-calling to his son, who was standing pretty close to us and had also just taken his shirt off. I sort of froze, as I didn't even know how to redeem myself from the situation....so I didn't. Great. The guy probably thought I was a cougar after his 16 year old son. I made sure to flash my wedding ring a few times when I saw him looking my direction.

After the game, we went out for ice cream...we had to pacify the boys because, for some reason, Matthew and Tim were convinced we didn't calculate the score correctly...they thought we were talking the whole time and not paying attention! Us?? Never. We are pros at this kind of thing.

On Friday, I met up with my friend Grace in Old Town at a espresso/gelato shop called Boccato Gelato, based out of Arlington. I had just had a smoothie earlier that morning, plus it was realllllly cold outside, so I wasn't exactly feeling the gelato, though it looked so amazing!

I chose a cortado instead, to warm up my insides. Isn't it pretty!?

That evening, I attempted homemade naan bread all by myself. I had made it before with friends, but never solo. It turned out really delicious, but I lost my favorite pizza stone in the process. I do have another one, but it's not seasoned...guess I'll have to start all over with the new one!

Saturday evening, we had a Game Night with several members from our community group. Jason and Ngoc were the lovely hosts who set up a burrito bar and some drinks at their apartment. It was a blast, as we have a very dynamic group of people from all different backgrounds, so the conversations are always entertaining. We are so so thankful to have been blessed with such a wonderful group of friends here!

On Sunday, we went to church, then visited Gravelly Point Park, where you can watch planes take off and land at the nearby Reagan National Airport. Normally, they are freakishly close to you and you can feel them as they pass. Since it was Sunday, it was a little bit slow and the wind was fiercely cold, so we didn't stay long enough to get extremely great shots. We'll have to go again sometime when it's a little nicer out.

Sunday dinner took me back to my visit to Israel...mmm...! I made falafel, hummus, and tzatziki sauce to put inside whole wheat pitas.

On Monday, my dear friend Leesa Marie came to visit me for the entire day. She was in DC for the long weekend, as she had an interview for PA school on Saturday at George Washington University. We literally spent all day lying on the couch just talking and catching up. It was so wonderful! I was sad when I had to take her to the airport later that afternoon, but so thankful for the visit.

Tuesday brought some good news, I have some job interviews scheduled at several different companies in the Arlington/Alexandria area. I'm very excited, but also a little nervous/anxious about starting a new job (completely normal, right?!) This whole process has been kind of a roller coaster since early December, but I've just been praying for wisdom and clarity in what direction is best for me right  now...so we'll just have to wait and see!

I'll leave you with a new recipe I tried last night, Sweet Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash. Really yummy, healthy, and even vegan!

Crazy Weather...

This past week, I opened up the freezer and could not help but notice the 3 very unsightly frozen bananas taking up way too much space in the freezer door. Because of their shape, they don’t exactly fit nicely anywhere. I tried to stack them on top of something, but the stupid things kept slipping off when I would open the door and they would always, inevitably land on my toes. So I decided to do something about them. P.S…I laid them out to thaw for a bit, and when I went to use them, they were quite a slimy sight to see (and feel)…but they sure made some DELICIOUS Banana Oatmeal Raisin muffins!

We really like muffins because we can eat on them for a few days, then freeze the rest and pop them in the microwave whenever we need one. I wanted to try a new muffin recipe since I had been using the same one the last few times. I wanted a recipe that was healthy, hearty, and delicious. Lo and behold, I found one. I took them out of the oven and wanted to eat all 18 of them. I was home alone so no one would have ever known… 

Warning: DO NOT make these muffins if you expect a cupcake-like sweet dessert.

DO make these muffins if you desire a hearty breakfast item, a mid-afternoon brain/body boost or a pre/ post workout snack.

DO make these muffins if you feel good about eating something packed with whole grains, potassium, fiber, protein, manganese, iron, thiamin, magnesium, calcium, iron, antioxidants, vitamin B6, and omega 3’s. I hope I have convinced you.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, of course, so my changes are below:

-I used 3 ripe bananas, mashed

-I used light vanilla soymilk instead of dairy milk

-I reduced sugar to ~1/3 cup

-I used slivered, unsalted almonds instead of walnuts

-I added a couple dumps of flaxseed and a little extra cinnamon

This weekend’s weather was so delightful. It felt like spring outside. Tim and I decided to go into the District and check out some museums. Because of the warm weather (I didn’t even wear a jacket…and I’m always cold), we figured everything would be packed…but to our delight, DC was almost completely empty! 

There was maybe 4 other people in the entire building when we visited the National Archives (unbelieveable!) where we saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and several other important documents. After the Archives, we wandered over to the National Museum of Natural History, which houses the famous Hope Diamond and many other really neat exhibits. We ended that Saturday meeting up with some new friends for Lebanese food in Old Town. 

Sunday, we were in a Cajun mood and I made some simple red beans and rice with marinated, broiled tofu. The recipe started out as Saag Paneer, but after I drained the tofu…I just wasn’t feeling it. So I opted for a soy sauce/chili pepper/onion/garlic marinated tofu, broiling it until it was the perfect texture…then just put it over basmati rice and beans with some Lousiana Hot Sauce. Easy enough, and quite delicious.

On Monday, January 9, we got the first snow of 2012! The flurries were GIANT, but unfortunately didn’t stick because the ground was too warm. But it was so pretty while it lasted!

Because of the snow, I felt like it was chili weather. Last month, I had frozen some vegetable bean chili, so I threw that on the stove and decided to test out a honey cornbread recipe to go along with it. The only changes I made were to use half whole wheat flour, a little less sugar, skim milk, and 1 T. light cream cheese.

Oh, and it was right back up to 52 degrees on Tuesday. What is this, Kansas weather?!

Let me preface something right now... though my husband is always, always very complimentary of my cooking, he doesn't get nearly as excited about food as I do. I'm a self-proclaimed "foodie," and he is not. I have decided this is a good thing, because if he were also a foodie, we would spends all of our days and nights talking about food, eating food, and browsing foodgawker, and that would most likely take all the magic out of it. You know, like when you do something constantly, it is no longer as fun as when you used to do it only occasionally. Anyway, all that to say...when Tim came home from work, the house smelled incredible. And then, as we began the meal, something amazing happened...and I quote, “This is the best cornbread I’ve ever had!”…YES! I made something that landed in the “Best” category! Boom. Done. On to bigger and better goals. 


We have been attending a church in Arlington called Portico Arlington, I believe I've made mention of it in previous posts. Aside from regular Sunday morning services, they have small groups (they call them Community Groups) that meet weekly in several different locations around Northern Virginia (otherwise known as NOVA). Last night, we decided to attend a community group lead by a couple we met on Sunday, Chris and Cynthia. There were about 18 people in attendance...we started off mingling and chatting, then all met together to talk about the sermon from Sunday (we are going through the book of Luke). After the big group discussion, we broke off into girls and guys groups for some prayer time. Tim and I came away from the evening very excited and rejuvenated...we met lots of new friends and felt like we could really relate with the people in the group. It was so good to feel connected again with fellow believers, as finding a church/small group can sometimes (I've heard) be a challenge when moving to a new city. God is good, He is teaching and growing us in so many ways...and it's only been 2 1/2 months!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite recipes that actually just came out of my oven - Butternut Squash Pesto Pizza...super easy, versatile, and very flavorful. The best part is, you can use any pizza dough and whatever cheeses you have on hand in the fridge. Mmmm!

Until next time...

Happy 2012!

Today was my weekly date with TJ. I found some exciting 99-cent items there, so I bought something for Tim and something for me. Want to guess whose is whose?

Tim was brave and tasted my Wasabi Roasted Seaweed. His response? “It tastes like sushi, but without all the fun.” I tried his eggnog cookies…which were actually really delicious, and I don’t even like eggnog (#1 – mostly because of the raw egg in it, and #2 - partially due to the weird texture…which reminds me of egg whites… which is an ingredient…which puts me back to reason #1)

My last post began with, “Where has the week gone? And 10 days til Christmas?” Now, I cannot believe it’s over already! The Christmas season for us came and went very quickly. We left on Friday, December 23 and flew to Chicago where we spent a very Polish Christmas eve with Tim’s family! For lunch, Tim’s dad took us to a Polish restaurant, where I went out on a limb and ordered “Borscht” (beet soup), with mushroom ravioli. It was actually pretty tasty! 

We spent the afternoon with Tim’s family preparing the evening meal. We had a variety of dishes, including: kolacz (Polish bread); sauerkraut, vegetable, and cheese pierogis (stuffed dumplings); and kolaczki (buttery cookies with fruit filling). Right before dinner, we “break oplatki” where we go around to each person with a little wafer and break off pieces as we wish them well for the holiday season and the upcoming year. The night “wrapped” up with some “unwrapping” of gifts. :)

After all the gifts were opened and dessert eaten, Tim and I left Chicago and drove to Bloomington, where we crashed that night and woke up early Christmas morning to meet up with my family at my aunt’s house. We had a wonderful Mexican meal complete with our Chicago Bulls groom’s cake that my mom brought from Kansas. It also happened to be the first Bulls game, much to the delight of my die-hard-Bulls-fan husband.  They won on a last-second shot. Must have been the cake.

Monday morning, we drove to Peoria to see my mom’s brother and his family, then Tim drove back to Chicago to fly back to DC (he had to work on Tuesday), and I drove back to Kansas with my parents. I was so thankful for the opportunity to spend a few extra days with my family! Most of the week was spent helping my mom get ready for the back-to-back Christmases that were hosted at their house. Here is a glance at the little concert held in the family room during my mom's-side-of-the-family Christmas.  :)

Though I love living in Virginia, being back in Kansas was a nice change of pace from the hustle-bustle of the city…and I forget how much SPACE there is in the Midwest! This is a sunset out of the bay window one evening.

My flight left at 6:30am on Saturday morning, and my parents were gracious enough to wake up early (we left at 3:30am, which my dad loves to do, just in case of traffic/flat tire/hitting a deer/construction/etc./etc./etc.…) and take me to Kansas City. And that’s another thing about being back in Kansas…I’m not 10 minutes from the airport like I am here in Virginia! It all worked out though, and I arrived safely (and sleepy!) back home.

Wasn’t 2011 a great year? Mine looked something like this:

Began 2^nd semester of the Kanakuk Institute -> Graduated Kanakuk Institiute -> Got engaged -> Attended several summer weddings -> Did lots of my own wedding planning -> Visited Virginia and found a town house -> GOT MARRIED! -> Became a wife! -> Honeymooned in Barbados -> Moved to Virginia -> Visited family for Christmas -> Welcomed in 2012 with excitement about what God will do and where He will take us this year!

Tim and I spent NYE at First Night Alexandria, where we welcomed in the new year watching a laser light show. Tim thought it would be a good idea to start the year off right with a 1 mile run at 12:30am. I’m sure we got some strange looks as all the cars drive past us, but it sure was fun! The rest of the long weekend was spent relaxing, reorganizing, and cleaning our house.

My post cannot be completed without a few recipes. For our 2 Christmases in Kansas, I made the Pueblo Corn Pie and Mexican Stuffed Lentil Shells. I made a few changes to the shells by adding black beans and corn for a little more flavor and texture.

Tonight, I was protesting the 32* weather and slight snow flurries, so I opted for a summer-ish dinner, which consisted of my mom's tangy cole slaw recipe (it came from some magazine, I think), and Sloppy Josephines.

Happy New Year! Here’s to a fabulous 2012!

Until next time...