Caroline Dines

Happy Friday All! As you can see in the pic below, I made it out of the house for the first time in two days! Despite the cloudy skies and windy conditions it felt AMAZING (and my ankle felt great too!) I had my trusty ankle sleeve on and tied my shoes nice and tight. I took it really really slow too. I would have worn my air cast but you simply can’t put a shoe over that!

Before my walk I had a bowl of what else, Barbara’s Shredded spoonfuls. I couldn’t bear to take another picture of it so I didn’t. My appetite has been weird again today (probably just getting over the cold and not exercising) so I didn’t eat again til around 2:00 p.m. when I got home from my walk. I did a little window shopping and some actual shopping in Coolidge Corner. It was fun to look around and get some ideas for Christmas but I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to buy a bunch of stuff that I didn’t need. I actually stuck to it and found three awesome deals: a shirt from gap for $2.97, a plate from Pier 1 for $2.00 and a place mat from Pier 1 for .98 cents! This was 6 dollars well spent in my opinion. I didn’t waste any time using my new purchases.

I have never owned a square plate before and was so excited to use it! The food I put on it wasn’t half bad either It was only the sweetest carrot, the creamiest hummus, and some extra crispy reduced fat wheat thins (TJ’s). This snack totally hit the spot when everything else I thought of kind of made my stomach turn.

My cousin Meg decided to stop by tonight since her plans changed for the weekend (feel better J!). I was psyched to hear she was free since Darin had plans of his own and I was looking for company. We got busy prepping our desserts when she arrived. I mixed up 1 box of Trader Joe’s vanilla pudding with 2 cups of cold skim milk. I have had this pudding on hand for awhile now, just waiting for the perfect excuse to make it up. Do you remember the cranberry sauce from yesterday? Well with only 1 tablespoon (roughly) of agave added to the whole bag, let’s just say it came out rather tart! I wanted to find a way to sweeten it up with out adding a bunch of sugar…and then it hit me!

Cranberry Vanilla Parfaits! I made up 4 ramekins for the week and then artfully prepared these two goblets for Meg and myself to enjoy later on.

Dinner HAD to focus on the amazing “roast up” and there was no better way to serve them then on a bed of fresh baby spinach. I added a drizzle of balsamic to awaken the flavors. I heated the veggies before adding them to the spinach which actually served as a nice way to wilt the spinach ever so slightly. Who needs to go out to dinner anyway

Meg had some left over curry from Thai Night and I scored a bit of her sauce to add to my salad.

After dinner (I know we were a little backwards tonight), we made ourselves a POM cocktail. We kind of didn’t have as much alcohol as we expected (probably a good thing) but they were tasty none-the-less.

Annnnd the pre-made dessert did not disappoint.  Mmmmm….the perfectly balanced spoonful

This morning I awoke bright and early to get my things together before I head out to meet my parents who will then drive me all the way to Rhode Island. As I was getting my bag together, and getting ready, I realized that I was getting that nauseous hungry feeling and I needed to eat something quickly. When this happens I usually have been up too long without eating and need to get something really simple in my system. Since we are out of groceries I went out to the house kitchen to see what I could find. I grabbed a box of Rice Crispies (perfect for just this occassion) and poured myself a normal bowl. I came back to my apt and started eating to find that even though it said Rice Crispies on the box, these were an imposter! Then I remembered that it had said “Now 3x the size!” and “Sweetened with honey!” on the box. Why change such a perfectly simple cereal? Is nothing sacred anymore? Bigger and sweeter seem to always win out. Needless to say I did not finish the bowl.

Instead I will be eating this…

and this…on the road.

The few bites of sub-par cereal did do the job of warding of the sick feeling. It’s strange that I woke up so hungry because I definitely ate a GOOD dinner last night. Darin and I ended up at Redbones in Davis Square (when we lived over here we would go ALL the time, but now it’s only occasionally). A friend of ours was in town from California and he always asks all his friends to meet up here since it is his favorite place in the city too. Redbones serves meat and lots of it. It’s a Southern style BBQ joint with everything from pulled pork, to ribs, to succotash, to corn fritters and even fried okra! I always get the same thing here even down to the drink! They have amazing beer and this place is one of the only ones I know of to serve Original Sin cider. I ordered a glass before dinner. This cider is so light in color it almost looks like your drinking water. The flavor is crisp and clean. The lightest tasting cider I have ever had.

And true to form I ordered the Pulled Chicken Sandwich Plate. It comes with Beans and Potato salad (which is really more like mashed potato in my opinion). The best part is that the sandwich itself is served with pickles, onions and your choice of sauce. I always get the vinegar.

I had to use the flash to take these pictures because it wasn’t working otherwise. Sorry the quality isn’t that great! Darin got the same but instead of the beans and potato salad he ordered beans and mac and cheese. I snagged about three bites of the mac and cheese which is out of this world good.

Dinner was fantastic. We got to meet some new people, catch up with old friends and enjoy a fabulously cooked meal together. After Redbones we all went to the Joshua Tree for a beer. I was struck by the “Autumn Cider” on the board and ordered that. I thought it would be more cider (real cider) but it was a mixed drink. I sipped it for about 1.5 hours because it was a little stronger than I wanted. I let the ice melt and was glad it was served in a little glass 

I just got the call from my ‘rents that they are about 45 minutes out so I have to get myself out the door now! Have a great weekend all!

Last night Darin and I attended a fabulously done Halloween Bash. We got somewhat creative with our costumes this year and decided to go as Dexter and Dexter’s Victim. As you may have noticed I have been cruising through Season 1 and Season 2 and loving every minute of it.  Since it is such a creepy show we thought it would be perfect for Halloween. For those of you who don’t know the show, Dexter is a serial killer that kills serial killers and to complicate matters he works for the police department as a blood spatter analyst. Darin dressed up in the white boiler suit that Dexter wears when he enters a crime scene, with a respirator, and even a badge (or laminant as Dexter refers to it as). My costume was a bit tricky since Dexter’s victims are usually stripped and held down with plastic wrap and duct tape. I was happy with the way it turned so that’s all that matters. I am not smiling because I am supposed to be dead!

I was kind of constricted and a little bit hot with the cling wrap around my arms but for the most part it was a comfortable costume. You can’t really tell but I do have some fake blood on my face (his signature cut) and around my neck (where the knife would have got me!). Here’s Darin’s:

He had fake blood on his face as well and lucky for him our party hosts made jello shots in syringes (she’s a pharamcist) so after he was done he kept the syringe as a prop (perfect if you know the show). Speaking of drinks, there was plenty to have at this party including a delicious strawberry-banana smoothie punch that I had one glass of. I was in charge of getting us home so I only had a couple drinks and then went to water. We were at the party for almost 7 hours so I had plenty of time to metabolize! I also snacked on some of the delicious food that had been prepared with great attention to detail. These cookies were so soft, just the way I like sugar cookies.

I wanted one of these but it never happened for me. I think it just seemed like too much of a commitment at the time.

Same with these little cupcakes. I didn’t want to be the only one snacking so I just admired them.

I did however have a half of a donut. I love donuts. I don’t know why but I do. Darin brought these as another prop for the costume (Dexter always shows up to work with donuts for everyone so we thought it was appropriate).

They also had little bites of calzone hot from the oven so I grabbed one of those to keep me full since I never really had dinner. Darin was munching on a milano cookie at the time so we took a side-by-side shot of our bites.

The night got a wee bit crazy but it was Halloween after all. Darin was doing this to everyone, all night long. I don’t think “Shaggy” knew what had hit him.

Such a great night, it was so worth being really tired today. Also just to clarify it was water in this cup, sneaky I know.

I hope all of you had a lovely Halloween! I’ll be back tomorrow to post a recap of the Boston Blogger Brunch that I took part in today!

Tonight Darin and I went to Burton’s Grill which has kind of become one of our “go-to” places around here. It’s within walking distance (just down the street from Fenway Park) and they seem to have a diverse enough menu to keep us both happy. I wasn’t really feeling it tonight but I am glad that he talked me into it because they had updated their menu to reflect the fall flavors and my dinner turned out delicious! I started by downing this glass of ice water. I usually drink a ton of water at restaurants but tonight I was even thirstier than normal due to the run.

I normally don’t order drinks out. They’re expensive and I am not a huge fan of hard alcohol. However, when I began perusing the drink menu just for fun I was struck by all the amazing “autumn” offerings they had. Everything from Sangria to Mojitos were jazzed up with cider and apple flavorings. After discussing the options with our server I decided on her recommendation. the Autumn Appletini.

I forgot to look at exactly what this drink contained but I can honestly say that it tasted just as promised: like a good hard cider. It even had an apple slice floating in it and the cinnamon sugar on the rim of the glass added that extra something special

I had half a roll as a starter and then moved right on to the main course. I went for the fall special again: the Pork Tenderloin with braised cabbage and jasmine rice. The pork was “grain fed” (according to the waitress) and cooked in a deliciously sweet BBQ sauce. This was actually my first time ordering pork at a restaurant and probably only my 3rd time eating pork in my life. I used to be against it because I am such a huge fan of pigs but I’ve kind of gotten over that and it was totally calling my name tonight. I ate this entire plate! I was starving!

And because all of you said that you would have tried the Coldstone Cupcakes, I decided I had to do you a favor and give them a shot.

Ummm…good call. This little ice cream cupcake was heaven on my spoon. It was made up of a dark chocolate (at least it tasted dark) shell, yellow cake, caramel sauce, pumpkin ice cream, whipped cream and nuts. I’ve never been a huge ice cream cake fan but this was deelish. I think my favorite part was the chocolate shell. The good part is that they aren’t BIG cupcakes by anymeans. There is probably a quarter cup of ice cream in the whole thing if that.

So I am feeling like a real part of the Food Blogging community now. Stephanie from Cookin’ Fanatic was kind enough to call my blog:

It may sound dorky but as I was reading her post and saw my name I got really excited! The best part is that I get to pass it along to other Food Bloggers that I feel are “Over the Top!”

I chose Anna from Blue Plate Special. I met Anna and her sister Meg (who guest posts from time to time and who I ran the Tufts 10k with!) at the Healthy Living Summit this past August and have been really enjoying her exotic posts while she is studying abroad in Africa.

And because I think I am allowed to choose more than one, I want to give a special shout out to one of my best friends from college, Kristy from A Smart Cookie Company! Kristy started this company while studying to get her Masters in Art Therapy and has recently added a blog component to chronicle her new love: baking. She is actually going to be attending Pastry School soon and is on a mission to raise her tuition money through her baking.

So I expect to see this list completed by both Anna (I realize you have limited internet in Kenya so if it takes you awhile I understand ) and Kristy!

Apparently these questions need to be answered in one word only, much harder than it sounds.

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your hair? Soft
3. Your mother? Fun
4. Your father? Dependable
5. Your favorite food? Cheese
6. Your dream last night? Blank
7. Your favorite drink? Tea
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. What room are you in? Living
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Failing
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Settled
13. Where were you last night? Work
14. Something you aren’t? Tall
15. Muffins? Homemade
16. Wish list item? Computer
17. Where did you grow up? Maine
18. Last thing you did? Eat
19. What are you wearing? Lululemon
20. Your TV? Free
21. Your pets? Soon
22. Your friends? California
23. Your life? Lucky
24. Your mood? Content
25. Missing someone? Friends
26. Vehicle? Feet
27. Something you’re not wearing? Socks
28. Your favorite store? TJ’s
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier
31. Last time you cried? Monday
32. Your best friend? Darin
33. One place that I go over and over? Beach
34. One person who emails me regularly? Wordpress
35. Favorite place to eat? Christopher’s

Well that was fun. And since I am on here I’ll share what I am munching on/drinking right now.

A pomegranate vodka tonic (light on the vodka, pom juice and mixed with diet tonic water)

As I sip, I am keeping my teeth entertained with some crunchy carrots straight from the farm and dipped into TJ’s newest offering the “smooth and creamy” hummus.

Dinner is going to be late tonight, we might go out and we might stay in. I am not super hungry because I had a late lunch (exactly the same as yesterday). I am catching up on some Thursday night T.V. that I wasn’t able to watch live. 

After an absolutely stellar weekend in VT, I am exhausted. Therefore I am going to rest up for the big race tomorrow but provide you with more or less a photographic recap of the weekend’s festivities and blog worthy eats. Friday night traffic proved to be difficult and delayed our arrival significantly. It took us about 6 1/2 hours to get up there (should have only taken maybe 3 1/2). We kept ourselves entertained with PURE bars, vending machine treats found at the New Hampshire State Liquor store (Pirate’s Booty and Stacey’s Cinnamon Raisin Pita chips), and unfortunately we got so desperate that we stopped at McDonald’s. I had a small vanilla shake (craving) and a grilled honey mustard chicken snack wrap. I didn’t picture any of our road food because it was just too dark and frankly it wasn’t that exciting! Here’s a shot leaving Boston in the rain. Lucky for us the rain didn’t continue much past Friday night.

We arrived to camp close to midnight (dead tired) but managed to stay up with everyone for a few drinks and a round of Catch Phrase. We were so glad to finally be there.

The next morning we awoke to a rain free day. After the clouds cleared the sun came out in full force and lit up the trees surrounding us.

I managed to catch a pic of Darin with the beautiful fall background. He looks sweet and nice in this pic but secretly beneath that smirk he’s saying “enough with the camera!”

The camp is perfectly situated on top of a hill/mountain and has stunning views all around.

Since the water wasn’t hooked up we opted to eat breakfast/lunch out so as not to be stuck washing dishes with boiled water. We drove the 5 or so miles into the town of Island Pond and found a small restaurant. We were a bit late motivating and getting moving so we missed breakfast and had to settle for lunch. I was really craving a diner style breakfast but when my order came (Open Faced Turkey Sandwich) I completely forgot about wanting breakfast and focused on the delicious dish in front of me!

The fries were hand cut and super crispy, the bread was homemade and the turkey was definitely not deli. The only thing I would have changed would have been to have a pickle on the side and some of the coleslaw that came with Darin’s meal.

No worries though, Darin isn’t much for coleslaw anyway so I ended up eating most of his. He got chicken fingers which looked amazing but since he was kind enough to share his coleslaw, I didn’t bug him for a bite of the chicken. I ate my whole plate of food (I was starving and knew that it might be awhile before our next meal!).

We came back to camp and kept ourselves entertained with a movie (Deliverance),  rides on our friend’s ATV (I actually did drive it),

(These things are so much fun. I can’t believe growing up in Maine this was my first time riding on one but it’s true! It was so much fun to roam freely on the property.)

Shooting clay pigeons (I didn’t partake since I don’t really trust myself to be safe), a walk through the woods scouting for wild life (didn’t find any), and a few beverages. My drink of choice for the whole weekend was a Pomegranate Vodka Spritzer. I used the following ingredients:

A small shot of vodka, about a shot of pom and then the rest seltzer. I highly recommend this drink. I figured it was one of the lowest calorie, most natural and maybe even healthiest (antioxidants?) drinks I could choose so I went with it. I wish I had slice of lime to dress it up but that might have been a BIT too fancy for camp.

Dinner was up for debate. Some of us wanted to cook and some of us wanted to go out (so as not to be stuck with dishes again). We decided to compromise and pick up pizza from the local pizzeria. I was in favor of going out but I am actually glad with the way things worked out because the pizza was cheap, easy and meant that we could stay in our sweats (critical for the full enjoyment of camp). I had 3 pieces over the course of the night. They were all the “Everything” variety which I can’t even remember everything that was on there. There was meat and veggies that’s all I know and hot pizza never tasted so good.

Smart Food was definitely enjoyed alongside the slices.

The pizza scene was a bit barbaric. With 8 pizzas and 11 hungry mouths we managed to finish them all but it took multiple rounds of eating. We were determined.

After dinner a log cabin style bonfire was lit and the party moved from inside to out.

Some perspective on just how big this fire was.

Dessert was a perfectly toasted s’more that two of our friends had the foresight to realize would be the perfect addition to our bonfire evening. Our fire was so hot that toasting the marshmallow had to be done carefully and quickly. I managed just fine

I crashed earlier than some but later than most and was happy that I stayed up to enjoy as much of the night as possible. Usually I am the first to crash so this was extremely rare. I slept like a log except for waking up to the delicious smell of burgers cooking in the kitchen around 3 a.m. I can’t believe someone was hungry after all the pizza! I woke up hungry as usual and waited to eat my breakfast in the car.

These donuts were good but probably would have been better if I had eaten them yesterday when I purchased them. They were just a little stale tasting but I made up for that by mixing it into my yogurt cup.

The ride home went A LOT smoother than the ride up and we made it home in 3 1/2 hours flat with a couple pit stops. I didn’t mind the car ride at all because the scenery was seriously breathtaking. I didn’t get any good shots from the car but riding through Franconia Notch was the best part.

I think we’re going to have some scrambled eggs and toast for dinner (keep it simple and since I am still craving the breakfast I never had on Saturday morning). I can’t believe I am running the Tufts 10k in the morning (well it actually starts at 12:00 p.m.) I am glad I took it easy this weekend and actually don’t feel that wiped considering. I just hope my hip holds up. I already have a physical therapy appointment scheduled for the day after, let’s hope I am not hobbling my way there.