Friday, January 27, 2012

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…

5 comments:

  1. Your blog entry made me hungry and I just ate:)! And, very excited to hear about the outcome of the interviews--praying with you for wisdom and clarity. LYM

    ReplyDelete
  2. So I pretty much adore you guys and can't wait to have more foodie nights with you. :) Your brownies were FANTASTIC. I'm using this recipe and making some this week!

    Also, I want you to know that I pretty much heart you big time. Can't wait to hang out again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your blog!

    Also, our friends Jonathan and Ericah were at that Kansas society thing too! Maybe you saw them... either way you'll meet Ericah this Saturday - she is a foodie like y'all ;D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, ALSO I tried some of the brownie you gave Steven and it is good! Different but good!

    ReplyDelete
  5. woot woot! starr loves foodie foods! ;)

    ReplyDelete