Recap of the past 2 months: Part 1

Annnnd I'm back....after 2 months of not blogging (yes, shame on me!). We have been so busy that I  haven't had the time to sit down and post. So now it's time for the big one...I'm going to try to recap the last 2 months!

First off, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom in mid-March and WOW were they gorgeous! This year marks the 100 year anniversary since Japan gave the United States 3,000 cherry trees.

The view from our balcony and "our very own" cherry blossom!

I have made a couple of new recipes recently:

Falafel Pie - MMM...took this to work for a lunch party and came home with nothing! They all devoured it! I adapted the recipe to my taste, so my version includes a falafel crust topped with roasted red pepper hummus, then dill tzatziki sauce, and tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, and pickled turnips.

Mexican Sweet Potato Skins - Holy moly...these babies are GOOD, so good that I made them 2 days in a row! I didn't have chipotle peppers so I subbed red peppers, as well as Greek yogurt for sour cream, and added a little salsa for some kick.

Mediterranean 7-layer dip and homemade pita chips- I never buy pita chips at the store because they are always expensive and I think they are too salty...so I made my own using some pita bread from our local Mediterranean Bakery. I brushed each pita with olive oil, then topped with a variety of spices: cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. They were a hit at our Easter celebration with friends!

I had the honor of helping my friend Cynthia celebrate her birthday. Gracie and I met her for lunch at Rabbit Grill in Arlington and had a great time! She even got a free birthday cupcake from the guy behind the counter :)

I love Rabbit Grill...they have one of the best veggie sandwiches I have ever tasted! It is made up of roasted onions and red peppers, grilled zucchini, pickled red onion, cucumber, romesco, and topped with a grilled pineapple.

 

Something else that brightened my week was a sweet picture from a sweet little girl named Hope. She is the daughter of one of my co-workers, and Tim and I absolutely adore the whole family. These pictures definitely brought a smile to my face!

 

Several weekends ago, Tim and I got up on a rainy Saturday and decided to visit the Eastern Market in Capitol Hill. This place is packed full of yummy-looking produce and goods. You can also buy lunch from vendors...I can't wait to go back!

The weekend of April 1, Tim and I decided to take a much-needed weekend getaway trip....which conveniently included his half marathon race in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  :) Tim has a goal to run a race in every state, and luckily we are close to several states here on the east coast. Here are some highlights from our trip:

Our snack packs for the road trip:

All ready to go: cranberry/almond/cashew mix, apples, oranges, bananas, peanut butter, white bagel & peanut butter (Tim's pre-race meal), and kale smoothies!

Atlantic City Half Marathon on the Boardwalk:

Woohoo! Tim finished 60/751 males, and 77/1989 overall with a time of 1.36.37...a personal record!

 

We were fortunate enough to have a little bit of time to do some sightseeing while we were there.

We took the ferry from Delaware to New Jersey...it was cold and windy, but fun!

 A really old light house with lots of steps that we didn't go up :)

 These little towns had amazing old houses!

 The boardwalk in Lewes, Delaware

A gigantic, old mansion!

To be continued...

Catching up on the last few weeks, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sometimes I feel like such a slacker when it comes to blogging...time just gets away from me and before I know it, it's a few weeks since I have posted! So here's to playing catch up:

A few weekends ago, Tim and I babysat for my friend, Jill. It was her birthday and we wanted to give her and her husband a little night away...so we stayed with her 4 kids. They were so well-behaved! It was fun!

Two weekends ago, Sunday, we again visited Loving Hut after church. This time, Tim was in town so he was able to join us! He ordered the Hawaiian "burger", and I ordered the mushroom noodle soup with the Bahn Mi....Tim actually loved it. :)

 

The other day, I realized I had an abundance of fruit/fruit juices sitting around, so I decided to get creative with the blender and came up with this delicious smoothie made with: spinach, mango, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, acai berry juice, orange, beet juice, purple carrot juice, greek yogurt, and soymilk. SO good!

 

Last weekend, we enjoyed a progressive dinner with some of our small group friends...I have been wanting to do this for awhile and hope to do it again soon...it was a blast! First stop: Ethiopian food at Harar Mesob!

We shared a delicious platter which included red lentils, yellow lentils, chickpeas, collards, tomatoes, potatoes, some meats...all with the traditional Ethiopian flat bread called injera. It was incredibly tasty!

Second stop: Los Tios for some drinks/additional food for the boys :) Sure do love these people!

L>R: Ngoc, me, Gracie

L>R: Scott, Tim, Jason

Final stop: Buzz Bakery for some dessert! Tim got the Blood orange nutella cheesecake. Mmmm!

Tim and I love to be outside. Last Saturday, Tim decided to run on the Mt. Vernon trail, which is close to our house and goes all the way to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's estate. While he ran, I rode the bike alongside him. It was a beautiful day!

 

This past weekend marked one of my favorite holidays...St. Patrick's Day! Earlier this week, I received an envelope and goodies from none other than my dear friend Marta, who lives in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. It absolutely made my day!

 

We got up at 5am on Saturday morning to get ready for Tim's race near the Quantico Marine Corps base about 30 minutes south of us. He ran the Irish Sprint 10k and finished 5th in his age division and 31st overall out of 1693 runners. I was so proud of him!

 

The race was sponsored by the Marine Corps Marathon, here you see the mascots, Miles and Molly, and a green gecko. There were also several interestingly dressed people, including a green Elvis and a Scottish bagpiper in a kilt.

After the race, we visited a coffee shop to reflect on the morning and spend some quality time together before gearing up for the evening. We had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day potluck with several couples from our small group. The menu consisted of: Moroccan stew, colcannon (potatoes, kale, and LOTS of butter), roasted brussel sprouts, and Irish soda bread.

 

For dessert, we had green whoopie pies made with Bailey's Irish cream, green tea cookies, green plant drink, sparkling apple cider, and of course...green beer/hard cider!

 

Cheers to an amazing evening!

 

These girls are so much fun and such a blessing! Love you all!

 L>R: Starr, Kelsey, me, Cynthia, Gracie, Ngoc

Annnd...our husbands are all pretty fantastic as well!

L>R: Jason, Steven, Steve, Chris, Scott, Tim

Until next time!

Hello March...

Ah, March, here you are. And you bring with you many weird weather patterns...I cannot believe how many tornadoes have left significant damage all across the country. My heart goes out to Branson, my old stomping grounds for 8 months last year, where I attended the Kanakuk Institute. I'm so thankful no one was hurt in that storm!

We have been keeping busy lately...last weekend, Tim was gone to Kansas for a conference at his alma mater, Newman University. I definitely missed him, but was glad he got to spend some quality time with his family in Wichita. I spent Saturday catching up on housecleaning and laundry...seems to take so long (and it's just the 2 of us!?) Sunday was church, Gospel Class (our church's membership class)...and then...out to lunch. But not just any old lunch. Let me tell you about Loving Hut.

I originally came across the website as I was searching for a place that served vegetarian pho. None to be found, except for this little establishment in Falls Church. Even more amazing, the entire menu is 100% vegan (a vegan does not eat any foods that contain meat, eggs, dairy products, and all other animal-derived ingredients). I was in absolute heaven. No longer did I have just a few choices off of a menu, but I was overwhelmed with an entire spread of delicious options. It was almost paralyzing...in a good way! Luckily, I had some great friends (Starr, Steven, Scott, and Gracie-via texting) to share this experience with. Following are some photos of our selections!

Soba Noodle (Mì Nhật Soba) - Buckwheat soba noodles, broccoli, carrots, avocado, sesame seeds

Non‐beef and Broccoli (Bò Chay Xào Bông Cải Xanh)

Vietnamese Vegan Steak Sandwich (Bánh Mì Thịt Nướng) - This didn't taste like steak, more like a smoky/teriyaki flavor...yum!

  

DELICIOUS peanut butter bomb cake...not too rich, just right!

I am excited to share this new find with people who come visit us (I'm thinking of you, Cayt and Ryan!).

After lunch, I hung out at Starr and Steven's, where Steven (a tea connoisseur) served me some DELICIOUS tea from Teavana. Listen, you have not experienced the fullness of life until you have had tea from Teavana. I wish the computer screen had scratch 'n' sniff...I promise you'd be hooked!

Tim and I had a nice surprise visitor this past week....the one and only Erik Torrez. His job as a pilot allows him to fly all over the country, so he has been to the DC area several times since we've been here. There's nothing like coming home from work and getting a text from a friend that says, "hey guys, I'm in DC for tonight, wanna hang out?" We had a fun evening eating Indian food and catching up with Erik!

As far as the domestic side of me goes...here was my favorite meal from this week. It's called Tempeh Spaghetti. I used my simple marinara recipe (simmer crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, brown sugar, salt, pepper) for the spaghetti sauce.  

It was my first time cooking with tempeh (a vegan protein source made from soybeans, rice, barley, & millet), and I will definitely cook with it again in the near future!

We had (store-bought) foccocia bread, with some easy homemade balsamic/EVOO/rosemary/garlic bread dip. This combo was just delicious.

All in all, this meal was (in my opinion) a success. Of course, the red wine helped top it all off...mmm!

 I'm off to make some more cranberry almond granola...since it's Tim's new favorite breakfast food. Until next time...