Caroline Dines

This morning I felt inspired to take pictures. The sun was shining, I had a delicious looking bagel in front of me, and I remembered how fun it had been to photograph my food. I didn’t realize this until I had already eaten a bite or two out of this “scooped” out Cinnamon Raisin bagel from Finagle a Bagel. Finagle just happens to be a local company based in nearby Newton, MA. They also just happened to donate a large amount of bagels to the house this past weekend….how convenient since I had NO food in the house this morning!

I spread about 2 tablespoons of Almond Butter in the hollowed out middle. The extra crispy texture that the scooping provides, along with the cinnamon raisin and the nut butter goodness was almost more than I could handle this morning. Hence, me needing to blog about it. It may not look like that big of a deal but trust me, try and you’ll know what I am talking about!

While crunching on my breakfast, I continued with my studying of Human Biology. I have a test tomorrow morning on 3 chapters which include: The cardiovascular system, blood, and the digestive system. The digestive system has been by far, the most interesting chapter to date, which I am taking as a good sign that Nutrition IS the field for me. As if anyone had any doubts though, right?

After my study sesh and a massive clean of the apartment, I set out in the 50ish degree weather with my “granny cart” in tow.

On my way to the holy land (Trader Joe’s), I spotted the first sign of spring, a patch of gorgeous purple crocuses!

We really were OUT of food so I had to stock up. I mostly focused on the basics but threw in a few fun purchases as well. I picked up a pineapple which I already sliced up and it is absolute HEAVEN. I know it’s not local but sometimes you just need that tropical fix. At least it was “in-season”. The tab was a little higher than expected but I justified it easily because I bought SO much food!

After I arrived home, I quickly unpacked the loot and made myself a delicious vegetarian lunch! One Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burger,  Spicy Black Bean Dip, Carrots, and Bread and Butter Pickles. A little on the weird side but oh so satisfying.

For dinner tonight, I indulged myself with a little portion of the free Thai Food that is donated monthly to the house. Sadly, my taste buds couldn’t handle the spice factor in these dishes which were: Ginger Tofu, Spicy Beef and Peppers, and Commonwealth Noodles. I think the Noodles would have been fine, had I not mixed everything together. I hated to do it but I had to throw away about half of this dish. My mouth was totally on fire!

I wasn’t all THAT hungy anyway so it worked out fine to skip the rest of dinner and instead have a little bit of the J.P. Licks Ice Cream that was donated to the house tonight. Geez, as I write this I am realizing just how much free food I get here, why did I need to go to Trader Joe’s again? Oh right, I can’t live on Thai Food, Ice Cream and Bagels (it might be fun to try though).

Last Sunday, as you may remember, was Valentine’s Day. I know that most of you have moved on by now but I wanted to share some of my highlights from the day. Better late than never right? Valentine’s Day has never been a big deal for me, even though Darin and I have been together for the past 11 of them (YIKES!) I started the day with an awesome yoga session and arrived home to find the beautiful roses above and a box of chocolates! I think this is actually the first time Darin has ever gotten me roses and chocolate for Valentine’s day so it actually was pretty special despite being predictable. Normally we get each other gifts of some sort but they’re always more random than flowers and candy.

The chocolates were outstanding-ly delicious. Dark Chocolate Truffle hearts from where else? Trader Joe’s! I am proud to say the box lasted the entire week and we shared them.

For dinner, we decided we wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary which meant making a reservation and branching out from our usual spots. We decided on Amelia’s Trattoria in Kendall Square and were not at all disappointed. After being seated, we were served some warm bread sticks and this hummus-y type of dip which had a lovely hint of rosemary as well as a little heat. The place is quite small and cozy without being claustrophobic and lots of windows meant for somewhat natural lighting since we were dining on the early side.

Since we were “celebrating” we both opted for the Prix Fixe Valentine’s Dinner option which meant that we could choose an appetizer, an entree and dessert. Darin decided on the P.E.I. Mussels which he loved. They were stewed in basil, slow roasted tomatoes, white wine, garlic, and butter which sounds amazing but I thought they were a little undercooked? Maybe I am just used to the way my family makes them on the Island.

I had a difficult time deciding but finally went for the Spinach Arancini balls since the cuisine at the restaurant was Italian and I had already decided against getting pasta for my main dish. The Arancini did not disappoint, and I was glad Darin was there to share a few bites because I could have eaten all three by myself and then not had any room for the main course! They were served piping hot (a big plus for me since I hate when food is luke warm) and were topped with tomato ragu and shaved parmesan cheese.

For my main course I ordered the Pesce di Notti or the Fish of the Night, which is always a good idea since you know it’s going to be fresh. On this particular evening the catch was Salmon and it came crusted with black sesame seeds, whipped potatoes, and wilted greens. I ate a good 3/4’s of this plate before I realized I was full of fish and couldn’t eat another bite. The salmon was cooked perfectly for my tastes and it was such a treat to have creamy mashed potatoes!

I did manage to save some room for the dessert that came with our Prix Fixe meal though. The offering was a luscious Chocolate Creme Brulee and OH my was this indulgent but at the same time very light tasting (although I am sure the ingredients were anything but). We thoroughly enjoyed our individual servings down to the last scrape of the spoon. It was a perfect portion but I’ll admit, I was sad when it was all gone.  After dinner we walked over to the Kendall Square Movie theater to see “Up In the Air” which we were both entertained by. I especially liked the fact that the actress opposite George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, is from my home state of Maine. Thinking back on it now, the day and evening were memorable and I have to say it’s nice to have an excuse to go out and be romantic once in awhile, even if it is a somewhat “hallmark” holiday.

Since I last checked in many meals have been eaten including some that I am not so proud of (think Dominoes Pizza and French Fries, hey I was snowboarding in VT!), but many that were “blog-worthy” or at least I think so. I think every thing pictured here came from Trader Joe’s with the exception of a few ingredients here and there. This post is pretty much an ode to all things TJ’s has to offer.

First I bring you a new product: Dark Chocolate Covered Powerberries!

Here’s the bag so you know what to look for!

I am not sure what I liked better: these sweet, chewy and chocolatey little nibbles or the gorgeous bowl that Karin from Give Me Banana’s sent me as a thank you for doing a guest-post back in December! Thanks Karin! I LOVE the bowl and have used it almost daily .

Last week at “the house” we had three families return home to Iceland. This was cause for celebration of course and what better way to celebrate than with an assortment of Trader Joe’s appetizers! I basically went crazy and bought all of the things I never have a reason to buy. Thank goodness the hospital reimbursed me for my purchases!

These little “pigs in a blanket” things were amazing! They had parmesan cheese on the outside. Dipped in a little organic ketchup=heaven!

Another winner was the flatbread pesto pizza. People raved about this to the point where I wanted to say I had made it myself instead of just heated it up in the oven!

Now, I have had these lemongrass chicken sticks before but never with the Gyoza dipping sauce. The combo was amazing and it also helped to have my cute little bowl as the center piece!

While the appetizers were delicious, nothing can beat the homemade Icelandic Cheesecake. We had this once before, you might remember, and this time it was even better because we went all out with the fruit. I mean you really can’t even tell that there is a luscious layer of crushed whole wheat biscuits, chocolate and sour cream, and whipped cream underneath can you? Oh but trust me, there is!

Since I had been indulging my sweet tooth a little too much (I just might have had two servings of the cheesecake in one night!), it was time to get back to basics with my lunches and focus on some good protein, healthy fats, veggies and whole grains.  I found these whole wheat flat breads at TJ’s this week and have been loving them ever since. My first open faced sandwich contained the following: organic light whipped cream cheese, smoked salmon, and baby spinach. I always forget how awesome smoked salmon is.

And for my next lunch creation, I mixed avocado, sliced grape tomato, a little bit of salt and pepper together, and piled it high on top of a flat bread spread with black bean dip. YUM.

I am still plugging away with my studies, yoga and trying to fight off the winter blues. I think I am kind of ready to spend more than 1 hour (walk to and from yoga) a day outside. What happened to my day trips to Rockport, or picnics by the river? Surely these days are on their way, right?

Alright, so I admit it might not have been THE best week of my life but it certainly was a good one! I think the shot below speaks for itself but in case you wondering it contained sweet potatoes and peanut butter and was by far my favorite meal of the week (which I actually got to eat three times!). I am saving it’s recap for last so you’ll just have to keep reading.

This week I started taking Human Biology and Basic Anatomy and Physiology as Pre-Requisites for the Masters in Applied Nutrition program that I will be starting as soon as these are done with. So far, I am actually enjoying the material and feel as though I am learning more than I ever did in these subjects in high school. Maybe it’s because I actually care now and I can apply it to something as exciting as nutrition and health. Starting school has been energizing and has given me focus to my days which I was lacking for the better part of January.

I also recommitted myself to Baptiste Power Yoga this week and have practiced 6 TIMES since last Saturday. My body is thanking me for the almost daily strength work/massage it has been getting and my mind is clear to study.  It also helps having a sweet new yoga bag that I got for Christmas!

Does having the right/good gear help motivate you to be active?

On the food front things have been looking up as well. I have been mixing it up my normal routine and even did some baking. I decided to share with you the best of my week instead of all the meals I documented. They were all good, but these are the best of the best!

Best Breakfast:

Two baby slices of Challah bread (scored from a guest at the house) toasted with butter and jam, half a banana smeared with peanut butter, and 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese. Maybe it was the beautiful sun shining outside or the fresh new combo for my taste buds; either way this breakfast was memorable.

Best (looking) Lunch:

Darin and I went to b.Good last weekend and while this meal looks like a “10″ I have to admit that looks can be deceiving. I still wanted to include it though because it was one of my favorite photo-ops of the week.  What you see here is a Turkey Burger (no bun) with tomato, chipotle salsa, and guacamole. In the background you may notice a pile of sweet potato fries (baked) which I ended up eating half of and bringing the rest home to use in another dish. The burger itself was dry and lacking flavor. I wished it had more of the salsa on top and had been a little more juicy. However, in b.Good’s defense, turkey burgers usually come out drier than beef. At least it was healthy!

Best Baked Treat:

After failing miserably with a batch of Almond Flour Molasses cookies that will go unpictured because I actually threw them away after eating a few, I redeemed myself in a big way with these Double Chocolate Almond Flour Brownies.  I basically used my cookie recipe, inspired by Elana, and tweaked it by adding cocoa and baking them in a brownie pan. The result? HEAVEN. I just finished the last one today, the batch of 16 lasted Darin and me the entire week. This just proves my theory that baked goods made with almond flour actually fill you up so you don’t over eat!

Best Dinner:

This past Friday night, my cousin Meg and I got together at her pad for a little cooking/movie night and I took full advantage of having a private kitchen in which to photograph the process. In the photo above you will see the key ingredients for our Nutty Sweet Potato Stew. Meg found the recipe on-line which was supposed to be cooked in a slow cooker. Since I showed up at 5:00 with the ingredients slow cooking wasn’t going to work for us. Instead we transferred everything into a big pot on the stove and cooked it for about an hour or until the sweet potatoes were soft. Here is our “rough” recipe:

• 2lbs. sweet potato, chopped into 3/4 inch cubes
• 3 yellow onions, diced
• 5 full sprigs of parsley (removed after cooking, before mixing in peanut butter)
• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatos, do not drain
• 3 cups of water
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of “The Heat is On” Peanut Butter (if you didn’t have this particular variety you could add spices to heat it up to your liking)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley per serving

Cook all ingredients except the peanut butter on medium high until potatoes are soft. Take off the heat and add the peanut butter. Top each serving with parsley and enjoy!

Serving size 1.5 cups, makes approx. 6 servings.

While we cooked we enjoyed some Riseling and tunes ala Grooveshark from Meg’s computer.

And as an appetizer (because we wanted something “green” and we were starving), Meg roasted up some brussels with a little Olive Oil and S+P. I suggested dipping them in honey mustard which made them even more delicious.

Seriously, if you have any love for sweet potatoes and nut butter which I think a lot of you do, try this recipe. The combination tastes so indulgent but at the same time is so healthful and fresh. I think next time I will try it in the Crockpot. Imagine coming home and dishing up a hot bowl of this?

And because no good dinner is complete without a little something sweet, Meg shared with me some of her Cocoa Almonds from Trader Joe’s (DELICIOUS) and a square of Trader Joe’s Truffle Bar.

I hope the past week was as good for all of you as it was here in my world!

Hello! I hope you are all doing well after the long holiday weekend and a short work week. I know I am happy to be starting my weekend again and while I have some fun activities planned, I will be spending a lot of time with my new Anatomy and Physiology books (we’re going to become very good friends over the next few months). Now I am going to take you back a week and share my favorites.

As I mentioned in my last post, we left Friday evening for Maine to get gather up some gear we needed for a weekend of snowboarding in Vermont. This meant that I got to sleep in my old bed and eat breakfast with the family. My Mom makes a mean pumpkin muffin, which would have been fine by itself but I decided to smear a little nut butter on top to make it stick with me longer. I also had two slices of Canadian Bacon (a great alternative to normal bacon or “fake” bacon).

My Mom also made up a fresh batch of applesauce with JUST apples.

Since my Mom’s birthday had just passed on the 11th, I gave her my present a little late. If you have a Teavana anywhere nearby you (the Boston one is in the Prudential) might want to give it a shot. The tea is expensive (makes a nice present for a tea drinker) but kind of worth it in my opinion. I have never tasted tea like this before, ever. They have all varieties including white, green, herbal and black. Needless to say my Mom loved her present!

Shortly after breakfast, we hit the trails on our X-C skis. Since I was only home for a few hours that morning, I wanted to be sure I got a good ski in. I was so lucky, the conditions were PERFECT. It felt awesome to get a good burn in before 9:30 a.m. too!

Birthday cake was consumed just before we loaded up the car. This is a shot of my Grandmother’s famous lemon frosted cake that she makes for everyone’s birthday. I seriously love this cake and just to prove it took a Tupperware container of it for the road!

This shot was taken at a rest stop just outside of our destination in VT. Darin was inside so I snagged a bite or two just for fun!

We arrived safe and sound in Vermont and had a low key night out in Burlington the first night. Darin’s highlight of the entire weekend/season was purchasing a new snowboard at the Burton Factory Store. The joke was that he didn’t want it to leave his site all weekend so we actually had to make special arrangements so that the board would be safe and sound wherever we went! Since he hadn’t had a new board since high school and loves riding, it was definitely a worthwhile purchase.

Having never been to Stowe before, I was blown away by the sites at the top. We had fairly good conditions all day and I am happy to say that the first time back on the board was a success!

This stretch after the lift was honestly the hardest part because of how flat it is. Snowboards and flat sections just do not mix at all!

We were total nerds and decided to take a group picture at the top. You might be able to tell from this picture but we’re all just about to fall over since we didn’t want to take our boards off and it’s a little difficult to stand straight up on a snowboard without moving!

A shot of his new girlfriend. Isn’t she pretty

After a FULL day of riding we were starved and made our way into Burlington again for some eats. With such a big group we suffered some major indecision when it came to where to eat. Burlington is loaded with awesome choices too which made it that much harder! We finally decided on Three Tomatoes Trattoria. I was so happy to find this little blurb on the back of their menu. I am such a sucker for local food!

I had a serious craving for vegetables so I went with the Portobello & Local Goat Cheese salad. Vermont Hydroponic tomatoes? Yes, please!

The restaurant featured a brick oven which they kept fueled with the logs stacked throughout. I love restaurants where you can see the kitchen.

Since four of us wanted wine, we ordered a bottle to split. Couldn’t really tell you what this wine was all about but I remember seeing something on the menu about “notes of fresh berries” which was enough to get me!

And because I couldn’t leave an Italian restaurant with just a salad, Darin and I split an order of their homemade local meatballs. HOLY YUM.

I ended up eating my meatballs on top of my salad which may sound weird to some but was the perfect combo of fresh veggies with a hot comfort food. The huge scoop of super soft goat cheese didn’t hurt things either.

After dinner we went to American Flat Bread for some brews. They had a very extensive selection but after perusing the list, I landed on my old Maine favorite, Allagash White. I had to represent Maine since we were in Vermont and all.

The rest of the week has been fairly low-key. This bowl of oats was a for sure highlight since it contained an organic Gala apple, cranberry apple butter, peanut butter, and cinnamon.

I also managed to whip up this dinner with thing I had on hand. I love it when I find little treasures like a jar of sundried tomatoes or a half eaten box of quinoa that I had completely forgotten about! I made the quinoa in the microwave and then quickly stir-fried it with sundried tomatoes (with a little of the oil from the jar) and spinach. I then topped it all with crumbled goat cheese.

With steamed broccoli and baked Salmon with a Soy, Agave, Ginger, and Rice Wine Vinegar glaze, this meal was probably the best of the week!

On Wednesday I went to the Haley House for my last shift in the bakery. Sadly the bakery hasn’t been bringing in enough revenue to make it a viable component to the organization so they are shutting down at the end of January and hoping to rent the space.

Here’s what I think about that! The good news is that the Haley House itself is doing just fine. This means that the soup kitchen, the live-in community and the larger more successful restaurant/bakery/cafe in Dudley Square will continue to run. I was offered a volunteer position at the other location which I may just take once I get my act together with classes and feel like I can make a real commitment.

I had a special lunch out with Meg C. yesterday which was quite the treat! Since she is in a transition period between her old job ending and her new job starting she actually had free time during the day so we met up in Harvard Square at Veggie Planet!

We have been meaning to get together here for awhile now and I was so happy that we finally made it work. The owner of Veggie Planet, Didi Emmons, is actually the head chef at Haley House now and has started a program there training under-privileged individuals how to cook. Her commitment to health-conscious, good-tasting and locally sourced food is something that I love supporting. And when the menu looks something like this, it’s really not that hard to do!

I ended up getting the special which wasn’t on the menu and I didn’t photograph it because we were too engrossed in conversation. I did get a shot of my dessert though: a single Dove Dark Chocolate Promise.

Whew….that was a long one and if your still reading, thanks! I wanted to include breakfast because it had two noteworthy components. First, my aunt brought this banana saver to my parents over the holiday. After my parents realized that they always eat the entire banana because they split it, my Mom offered it to me since Darin doesn’t eat the other half of mine and I would rather eat a half than a whole most mornings. Anyway, this little thing clips on to the half eaten banana and is supposed to keep it fresh.

And finally after talking to Meg C. about Peanut Butter Puffins yesterday, I broke down and bought a box at TJ’s. I haven’t had these guys in forever and loved every bite. Adding banana bulked it up a bit and kept my mouth guessing.

I am planning on a run/walk, a visit to the hospital to see one of my kiddos, and some serious A+P reading. My cousin Meg is also coming by tonight with beer and sushi and I told her that I would have some kind of Almond Flour dessert so I better get busy on that as well! Enjoy your Friday and your weekend!

Another week has passed, and boy what a week it has been! As you may remember I was due to start classes on Monday. Long story short, I am now enrolled in two different classes (pre-requisites for the program) and will begin in two weeks. I am going to be taking General Nutrition and Basic Anatomy and Physiology (trying to get into Human Biology at the moment). At first this totally stressed me out because I was all prepared to jump right into my program. However after meeting with my advisor I realized that all the classes will come easier if I take these first. After all, anything worth doing is worth doing right! So needless to say a lot of my meals went unnoticed this week with all the frantic phone calls, meetings, and last minute registering. I did manage to get a few though

Here’s a shot of my eats to get me through a night at work. This is a pretty good representation of the kind of thing I have been eating since the New Year. Pictured here are an orange, a whole wheat English Muffin, a Laughing Cow wedge, Bermuda Fish Chowder, tea, and a dark chocolate Dove Promise.

I have had this jar of chowder on my pantry cart for almost an entire year. My parents brought it back for me after their trip to Bermuda last April, and since I am sometimes known as a “hoarder” of food, I hadn’t eaten it. I ended up eating the entire jar myself (as fish chowders go this is probably one of the healthiest kinds since it contains no cream!) and as I was eating it I immediately wished that I had another jar! Good thing the ‘rents are going back!

I LOVE dipping things in soup and this English Muffin/Cheese combo was the perfect addition to this chowder. The chowder was somewhat sweet, somewhat spicy and had a little zip at the end. Apparently your supposed to top it with a little bit of Dark Rum but since I was at work, I skipped that part.

Later on in the week, I was inspired to make this gorgeous salad. For once I had ALL the ingredients I wanted. I used baby spinach, 1/2 an orange, almonds, goat cheese and my own dressing. For the dressing I mixed balsamic and dijon mustard. So easy, I don’t know why I don’t do that more often. It cut the balsamic tang down just a bit and actually ended up mixing with the orange juice to create a sweet glaze.

YUM. Every bite was heaven and I can’t wait to make it again. Using yet another new dish from Christmas (thanks Dad!) helped make it extra special.

After staring this package of “All Butter Shortbread” down each day, I finally decided to eat one of them (te package had two and I split them over two days).

What better reading material than this?! Sadly, I am no longer enrolled in this class (too bad I did all the assignments for the week by Tuesday and then had to drop it!). I am o.k. with it though since I loved the class and reading and will now be able to look forward to it next Spring as I am finishing up the program.

Pizza night this week turned into will-power night. I was going back and forth all day on whether or not I was going to eat the free pizza donated or if I was going to make a healthy shrimp stirfy. Darin called and said that he wasn’t going to be home for dinner which would normally trigger me to “just do whatever is easiest”. He’s sometimes the one that wants the really healthy meal if you can believe it! So I was just about to say, “Fine, I’ll have two slices of pizza (knowing in my head I would probably eat more than that and end the week feeling uncomfortably full), when I realized, I am worth making a healthy meal for too! I threw together a bag of frozen shrimp and veggies and mixed up a little sweet and sour sauce using soy sauce, agave, rice wine vinegar and ginger juice. Boy was I happy with my choice. I even threw a few cashews on for added protein and a satisfying crunch.

Even though the stirfry was delicious, I still needed a little distraction after dinner since there were 6 boxes of pizza sitting in front of me!

The perfect distraction? An extra large mug of Good Earth Tea. I think I refilled this one bag 3 times! It worked though.

I did decide that it was worth it to try one of the luscious lemon squares that were made on site tonight. I was right, they were heaven.   

So it’s finally Friday again and what’s better a Friday leading into a 3-day weekend! Do you have plans this weekend? Darin and I are going to Maine (quick visit with the fam and picking up Darin’s snowboard gear) and Vermont (snowboarding with friends at Stowe!) This will be my first time riding this year and I am so excited since I finally bit the bullet and bought a board (used) and a proper helmet, jacket, pants, gloves, etc. What’s better is the weather is predicted to be quite seasonable and sunny! And because this Dove Promise message made me smile the other day, I wanted to share it with you all. Have a great weekend!

First of, thank you all so much for the encouraging words about starting a new chapter in my life! My classes begin tomorrow, and I am so nervous,  I mean, excited! Since I last wrote, I have been doing a lot of organization projects (trying to get my apartment in order even though my brain has been spinning), tried a run (failed due to another rolled ankle!), saw two movies (Youth in Revolt and It’s Complicated) and dined out at two new restaurants!

BREAKFAST:

I am so happy to share that I have been completely won over by OATMEAL! Here are two of the “all-star” bowls that I have been enjoying. The first was at the recommendation of my cousin Meg. She shared with me a few weeks ago that adding an original flavor laughing cow wedge to a bowl of oats created something akin to “cheesy grits”.

She wasn’t lying! This was as close as I have come to savory oats (I mixed a little Cranberry Apple Butter, dried cranberries and walnuts to sweeten things up!) so far.

The other favorite of the week/weekend had to be the classic “Peanut Butter and Jelly” theme. While I love almond butter, sometimes a good scoop of peanut butter just does the trick. This bowl was a definite “mess” and I savored every last bite! Again I used the TJ’s cranberry apple butter and some dried cranberries/raisins.

LUNCH:

My first lunch highlight actually came out of a box. While I normally stay away from T.V. dinner types of meals, this one caught my eye at TJ’s awhile back. At 190 calories, 2 grams of fat, and all “good” ingredients it had the potential to be a “go-to” dinner (when your totally fried and ready to pounce on the next thing you see! I was not at all disappointed and actually quite impressed!

The rich butter beans were the perfect, un-traditional, carb accompaniement to a succulently, flaky fish. The only thing I would do next time is add some of my own steamed spinach to bulk it up. It was however a good portion for lunch.

The other lunch worth looking at was thrown together in a frenzy. Darin and I had been out doing errands and both realized we were really hungry. In an attempt to save money (we’re trying at least!) Darin suggested we go home instead of eating out again. I was a little disappointed since I am always interested in eating out, but aggreed. Half the problem for me is that on the weekend I like to keep to myself instead of mingling in the “house” kitchen. This means I have to find something that doesn’t require a kitchen. Since I recently set up our toaster on my little kitchen cart, I was more than happy to prepare some toasted English muffin bologna and cheese sandwiches. Darin’s had real cheese and when I looked at the package to find it had 9 grams of fat per slice I decided to nix the traditional cheese and spread my English muffin with a wedge of laughing cow. I didn’t want to miss out on the mayo and mustard combo that really makes bologna sandwich for me so I used a little of each (Smart Balance Mayo). On the side I ate the last of my Dad’s dilly beans. I fear that I wont be having more of these until next summer!

DINNER:

Per usual, my weekend dinners were eaten out. The first was at Cambridge 1. Located right across the street from the Regal Fenway Theatre (our home movie house), it has been my list for a couple months now. I was reluctant to go since I had eaten pizza Thursday night but Darin convinced me that their pizza was different than Upper Crust and they also had some awesome salads.  I started with one of my favorite beers, Allagash White which just happens to be from Portland ME (go Maine!).

I wanted to try both the salad and pizza so Darin offered to share whatever I ordered (he wasn’t that hungry after snacking at the place). I decided on the Cucumber and Mozzarella salad which turned out to be all the ingredients that would normally be ON a salad just in a bowl with balsamic dressing. I am not complaining because it was absolutely DELICIOUS, I love nothing more than big chunks of fresh mozz. However, I would have liked a few leaves of romaine on there too! By the way, in this picture you get to see what Darin does to pass the time while I am trying to get a decent shot under restaurant lighting!

I ordered a half pizza too which turned out to be plenty! The prices were quite reasonable (about 7 dollars) and I can see how this place would be really fun with a big group of people (i.e. getting to try lots of different pizza!). The pizza itself was very thin crust and was a little bit char grilled which I loved. Thin slices of grilled chicken, delicately sliced green onions and big chunks of tomato were the ingredients that stood out on the top. I was really pleased that it didn’t remind me of a typical pizza in the sense that it wasn’t greasy, really cheesey or thick crusted. It was more like an open faced, grilled wrap if that makes sense!

Saturday night, I met up with the two Meg’s in my life. First, Meg C and I dined together at Piattini Wine Cafe on Newbury street. I love going to dinner with a foodie whose up for trying new things. Since the focus of this restaurant is Tapas, we honored that and ordered 4 small dishes to share. She picked two:

Bruschetta Gamberetti

Sautéed shrimp, chopped tomatoes, toasted Tuscan bread

Salsicca e Polenta

Sausage, caramelized onions, red roasted peppers, polenta

And I picked two:

Tortellini

Artichoke and goat cheese stuffed pasta, creamy tomato-basil sauce

Ravioli di Zucca Gialla

Butternut squash ravioli, apple cider, brown sugar, sage

While sipping a glass of Chardonnay, that was said to have a “toasty vanilla finish”, Meg and I caught up on life (congrats on the new gig!) and drooled over ALL of these dishes. My favorite was the Butternut squash ravioli though. The sauce that it came in was not your typical creamy pasta sauce, instead it tasted like thinned out apple butter. Seriously all of them were exquisetly done (maybe it was just the fact that I haven’t had a creamy pasta in AGES?) and I will definitely be returning to Piattini in the future. They even have a patio for summertime dining (which all the best restaurants on Newbury seem to have). 

So you may be wondering why in my post title I mention a rabbit? Well, Friday night after returning home around 12:30 post movie, Darin and I spotted a rabbit.

For some of you this is a normal occurence if you happen to live in the country or even the suburbs. However, we live in a completely non-residential, medical, concrete jungle and have never seen any wildlife (other than those annoying turkeys!) out and about. Both being slightly concerned for it’s well being (how was it going to cross the busy road!?), we went to say “hi”.

He hung out with us for a bit but didn’t really want to play.

Me thinks we could both use a pet in our lives. If only our current living situation allowed one!

When I began this blog back in August, I wanted to blog every day and talk about everything I ate. I was successful for a few months but quickly realized that this format was starting to bore me and therefore it was likely boring my readers. Recently I have realized that blogging was becoming more of a chore than a joy and I have taken a step back to think about what I want from this blog and what I am willing to put into it. While I took a break, telling myself that I didn’t have to take pictures or make interesting looking meals, I found myself wanting to take pictures of certain meals and blogging in my head.  I still find it fun to photograph food and want to share my “note-worthy” eats with the Food Blogging community. I started to think about my posts and how I could keep blogging fun.

My decision to change my posting schedule was also influenced by a recent acceptance into Graduate School! I am very excited to say that I am going to be starting a Masters in Applied Nutrition program at Northeastern University this coming Monday. I hadn’t mentioned anything on here before for fear that I wouldn’t get in, but while I was home on vacation I received a very important letter stating that I had been accepted! I will be taking 2 classes to begin with, Eating Disorders in Children and Adults and Medical Nutrition Therapy, while continuing to work at my current job. This program will prepare me to work in the field of nutrition at the community level (it does not prepare me to become an R.D.) which is exactly what I picture myself doing. I will be specializing in Eating Disorders and Obesity which excites me beyond belief. It has been a dream of mine to enter this program and finally it is happening!

I am anticipating a lot less free time and until I get the hang of being a student again, blogging could take a back seat completely. My goal is to keep the blog going with “highlight posts” instead of daily updates. So without further ado I bring you my favorite dishes and creations from the past couple of days.

A simple spinach salad with pan grilled chicken, peppers, hardboiled eggs, carrots, tomato, cashews, dried cranberries and pickles. I topped it all off with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar; tart and tangy!

Spicy black bean soup (TJ’s) and Ak-Mak crackers with Organic Hummus. I sometimes forget how much I love canned soup. This can has been sitting on my pantry cart forever and was time to be used!

Dipping these cracker planks with creamy hummus into the spicy soup was the best part.

Speaking of spicy, I happened upon a jar of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter at Christmas Tree Shops the other day and just had to have it. First of all I remembered seeing it on Broccoli Hut’s blog multiple times and secondly it was only $2.99! I paired it up with some BBQ sauce that has been lurking in the fridge for ages and was pleasantly surprised at how the sweet and spicy flavors came together.

I used my brand new Cuisinart Food Prep (mini size) to create my version of Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I had tried this before but was eager to use the correct flavor of peanut butter. I used the following ingredients:

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

• generous scoop of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter
• 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons of organic ketchup
• 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of Ginger People ginger juice

All of these measurements are approximate. You basically can’t go wrong just make the sauce as sweet, spicy, thick or thin as you like!

I marinated the sliced and pressed tofu for a few hours before baking it at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Alongside the tofu in a separate dish I roasted a medley of vegetables which included baby sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I used the remaining sauce over the vegetables and tofu. FABULOUS!!!

One of my New Years resolutions was to stop eating after dinner which is particularly hard when you work until 10:00 p.m. and are surrounded by unhealthy yet tempting food. I am proud to say that since Sunday when I came back to work I have not eaten ANYTHING unhealthy out of the house kitchen and have been sticking to my rule of not eating after dinner. I think the key to this has been the addition of a nightly cup (or three) of Decaffeinated Good Earth Tea.  The flavor of this tea is rich with cinnamon and keeps my mouth and brain happy while I am busy at work.

I will admit that I also have been having a square of dark chocolate each night with my cup of tea instead of eating all the baked treats from the house kitchen. It’s funny how a simple change like this can make you feel so in control and back on track without giving up sugary treats completely. I still reserve the right to eat the occasional piece of cake or brownie if it is totally appealing but the mindless munching has to stop!

Breakfast has been a variation of the same thing each morning. I have been loving my TJ’s Complete oatmeal packets which I have been making with water (no milk in the house still!). This mix was absolutely delicious and contained the following: Blue Diamond Almond Butter, a mix of dried cranberries and raisins, coconut, and small drizzle of cranberry apple butter. Mmmmm……I wake up craving this now.

I was back at the Haley House yesterday which felt great. They had some “day old” wraps that were not for sale any longer but still perfectly good. I snagged a half of the roast chicken whole wheat wrap. It was simply chicken, lettuce, tomato and a little bit of mayo but boy was it heavenly.

While at the Haley House today I was speaking with a member of the live-in community there who was drinking an interesting looking tea. He told me that it was “Kombucha” which I had heard of before but had never tried and knew little about. He actually makes it himself and told me the entire process which sounds a little unappetizing since it involves fungus and letting the fungus “ferment” the tea for a week. He said that you can make it with green or black tea and add any kind of fruit juice to make it differently flavored. He offered me a taste, and since I never want to turn any new food down before trying it, I gave it a sip. The result: I loved it! It tasted a lot like hard apple cider to me, a little fizzy with a strong yeasty smell. He gave me a small bottle to bring home and I had another glass before heading into work. Apparently Kombucha is pro-biotic and has a positive effect on the digestive system. Have any of you made your own or tried a bottled brand of this tea?

Good morning! It’s a bright, sunny, cold day here in Boston and although I have a to-do list a mile long I felt like blogging this morning. This urge may have had something to do with the fact that I when I arrived home in Boston on Saturday I found a package from Blue Diamond (I won a giveaway on Travel Eat Love a month ago) and was totally inspired to try their crunchy almond butter. I was super impressed with their ingredient list which was simply: almonds and sea salt. I think I may even like this brand better than Barney Butter because it doesn’t contain any sweetener. The taste was nutty and rich, the way almond butter should taste in my opinion. While it’s nice to have something sweet every now and then I don’t really want to start my day off with a sweetened nut butter.

Speaking of sweet, I cut up an orange and ate half of it as part of my “balanced breakfast”. I kind of forgot how good a ripe orange can be; wow, this guy was juicy and flavorful!

I also was tempted by the new hazelnut coffee I got for Darin and brewed myself a mug in our Keurig single cup coffee maker. As it was brewing, I realized I didn’t have any almond milk which brought on a little bit of a panic. I told myself that I would “try” it black and if it was horrible I would make some tea. I never put sugar in my coffee (which I drink very sporadically), just milk and at that usually almond milk. Darin always drinks his coffee black and I am usually freaked out by this but for some reason I was feeling gutsy today. I think the hazelnut flavor helped but I am happy to report that I may be a convert! The black coffee wasn’t all that strong and went down pretty smooth.  I really needed the extra caffeine this morning since I have a complete overhaul of the apartment scheduled!

And if I am being completely honest here, the lovely new dishes that I received from Darin’s parents and the placemats I received from my Aunt for Christmas totally made me want to take pictures of my breakfast! I love having pretty new things to eat out of or on!

Welcome 2010! I hope you are all enjoying the day off and are busy writing up your New Years Resolutions. I am still at home in the western mountains of Maine enjoying family and lots and lots of snow. We are currently slated to get up to 2 feet in the next few days which may impede my ability to get back to Boston.

While the weather has been exciting, the food being consumed definitely deserves a mention. There has been a lot of soup and bread

Homemade Biscotti,

Tea,

Yogurt and Granola,

and sweet potato!

I haven’t really been photographing as much as I usually do since I have been focused on outdoor activities such as cross country skiing,

(on the coldest day of the year, -20 degrees with the windchill!)

and some late night sledding!

In other new,s Karin from “Give Me Bananas”, a truly awesome blog that I LOVE, is on vacation in Japan and asked me to do a guest post for her. I was totally excited by the chance and of course said yes! If you visit today you will see the Curried Butternut Squash soup I have been eating for lunch pretty much every day of vacation. I recommend making up a batch, it’s super healthy, hearty and lasts forever!