More adventures, less food. OK, that's a lie...

I'm still alive people. I hope you all haven't abandoned me due to my shameless lack of attendance in my new blog world. I've had some weird mental block going on and my brain seriously turned to mush last week. I swear. I had to write a bio about myself for my new job, and stared at a blank page for about 3 days. I've just been in a funk lately. My apologies.

N. and I are also having a yard sale this weekend, so I've been drowning in boxes of junk wonderful treasures for the past week and a half. It's the first yard sale for both of us, so I'm not expecting anything to go smoothly. We have quite a bit of cool stuff (not to mention her mom and sister are both setting up tables in our yard as well) so hopefully we'll get a decent crowd and lots of money!

My other excuse for being MIA all week is that N. and I also stayed true to our promise and went walking around JP Pond almost everyday last week. We are both so out of shape that when we get home, all we do is eat dinner, watch an episode or two of True Blood (our new series.. RIP Lost) and pass out. I know none of these are valid excuses, but at least give me brownie points for trying.

MMmmm...brownies.

Speaking of brownies... why is it that eating healthy is so ridiculously expensive. I mean seriously! We completely overhauled our refrigerator and pantry, throwing out all the yummy sugary fatty goodness bad artery clogging diabetes causing stuff. We went to Market Basket armed with a grocery list chock full of veggies and fruits, lean protein and low sugar options. Granted we might have gone a little overboard..

 Disregard the ice cream in the lower left corner.
We came to our senses and put that back.

...but we had no idea the astronomical number that would be displayed on the checkout screen:

If we would have had a cart full of processed, fatty,sugary CRAP (like we usually do) our total would have been HALF that. Then people have the nerve to judge struggling families for eating junk food and allowing their children to eat things like McDonald's (of course, lack of exercise is also a contributing factor... but still!). I mean why wouldn't a struggling mom buy each of her kids an entire meal at Taco Bell for $4, if those same $4 can barely buy TWO avocados in the grocery store?! 

I am so growing avocados in my garden next season because $4 for two avocados is just insanity.

Well, now that we have an entire farm and grocery store in our kitchen, we have no excuse not to be cooking delicious meals every night. Of course, when I say "we" I totally mean "I," since N.'s contribution entails just eating. I've been satisfying our take-out cravings by attempting to recreate them at home. Last night we had Chicken Tikka Masala over curry rice and griddle bread...

And the night before that I made Thai Red Curry Salmon with Pineapple Mango Fried Rice. Amazing, I tell you. N. said it was better than our usual takeout place! Two more brownie points for me. MMmmm brownies. Sorry. I didn't follow a recipe with the salmon, but the recipe for the fried rice is below. It's by By Darlene Schmidt, on About.com.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Ingredients:

• SERVES 2-4
• 1 small can pineapple chunks, drained, OR 1 whole pineapple (see instructions below) <---I also added mango because I had a yummy Thai yellow mango sitting in my fridge :-)
• 3 cups cooked rice, preferably several days old (Tip: if fresh, leave for an hour or more in the refrigerator uncovered)
• 3-4 Tbsp. vegetable or faux chicken stock for stir-frying (or regular chicken stock if non-vegetarian)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 1 red or green chili, thinly sliced (reduce or leave out if you prefer very mild fried rice)
• 1 egg (vegans can omit)*
• ½ cup frozen peas
• optional: 1 small carrot, grated (about 1/4 cup)
• ¼ cup raisins or currants
• ½ cup raw unsalted whole cashews     <--I left these out because I didn't want to die
• 3 spring onions finely sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 2 Tbsp vegetarian fish sauce, OR 3 Tbsp. soy sauce (use regular fish sauce if non-vegetarian)
• 2 tsp. curry powder

Preparation:

For a non-vegetarian version of this recipe, see: How to Make Thai Heavenly Pineapple Fried Rice, step by step.

1. Mix 1 Tbsp. oil with the rice, using your fingers to separate any chunks into grains. Set aside.
2. In a cup, stir the soy sauce/fish sauce together with the curry powder.
3. Drizzle 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a wok/large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying until fragrant (1 minute). Whenever the wok/pan becomes dry, add a little stock (1/2 to 1 Tbsp. at a time to keep the pan sizzling).
4. Crack egg (if using) into wok and stir quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs).
5. Add the carrot (if using), peas, cashews. Stir-fry 1 minute in the same way, adding more stock if needed.
6. Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, and currents. Drizzle the fish/soy sauce mixed with curry powder over and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat until the rice "dances" (begins to make popping sounds) - about 3 minutes.Tip: Avoid adding any more stock from here on, or your rice will turn out soggy. The wok/pan should be hot and dry.
8. To serve, scoop rice onto a serving platter (or in a carved-out pineapple, if serving at a party - see link at beginning of recipe). Top with spring onions and coriander, and ENJOY!

*Note: Vegans may omit the egg without losing the flavor or nutrients of this great dish (cashews provide the main protein source). 

Let me just tell you, this is absolutely delicious and you need to try making it, if you're into that sort of thing that is. So far, the eating habit change is going well. We're working on making our portions smaller and not be such... hefers. The weekend came along though, and with it, brought Boston's First Annual Food Truck Festival. If you know anything about how N. and I feel about food trucks (and my dismay at the Boston laws practically forbidding them!) then you know we were in there like swim wear!

We weren't that bad though. I swear! We shared a Chicago Dog and munched on a few handfuls of caramel popcorn. Oh and a free sample of some yummy Jamaican chicken. It was actually kind of disappointing. The festival, not the chicken. Food trucks are a New York City staple and one of my favorite things about the city. Boston needs to get with the program! 

The festival was at the SOWA Open market, so we spent most of the time in there perusing the aisles. I found some great Nina Simone records in the vintage market.

We also bought some awesome art pieces and got some cheap-o, but super cute frames at Boomerang's  (check them out! Their proceeds  support the programs and services of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts!) on centre Street in JP. 

I guess our disappointment at the food trucks got the better of us, because somehow we ended up at JP Licks and sinned. We sinned big time. JP Licks now has Belgian Waffles before 2pm, and of course it was 1PM and we were just in time!

Ha! Caught in the act!

**EDIT**  These faces have been changed to cows based on N.'s hissy fit about posting unflattering photos. That is all. You may resume reading.

Oh well. We were good for most of the week. Look, life is short. What if my number was up that day? I would have totally regretted not eating that waffle. And the brownie batter ice cream I topped it with was just as important. 

Namaste bitches!

-D.

Gluttony at its finest...

Well Happy Tuesday people. I have lots to post so I'll get on with it. I'll start with the weekend food reviews and make them as short and sweet as possible... you know I'm so lying.

Thursday night we went to Dedham (don't remember for what specifically at the moment) and passed by an IHOP and got a craving for Brinner. Now, I normally wouldn't consider IHOP to be blog-worthy, but they have these new pancakes flavors and well, one of them is New York Style Cheesecake. Yes, pancakes. served with strawberries and whipped cream. Yum. They melted in my mouth and had little chunks of graham cracker in them. Now in NYC, the only time I really go to IHOP is at 4 or 5 am after a night of clubbing and lots of drinking. But I would totally go at a reasonable hour, sober, for these pancakes. N. had some bacon-ator chees-a-fied omelet. It was..meh. We had leftovers, so we got a doggie bag. Literally. Since, Maya was happily waiting in the car.

She's a beast. She didn't even breathe, or chew for that matter.

K, on to Friday. Picked up my mom from the bus station and went to have dinner at Masa. We've gone here for brunch a few times, but never for dinner. We shared a few appetizers and a main course (still on a budget here.. Obama is still my baby daddy but he hadn't actually paid his child support bill yet). We got the ceviche which was awesome flavor-wise but a pain in the butt to eat, since you basically had to chop it up yourself. They served a whole piece of fish, and huge slices of avocado and jalapeño. I mean jeez, isn't this the reason I'm paying for food at a restaurant. If I wanted to make ceviche myself, I would have done that crap in my own kitchen. We also had the Mofongo, which wasn't traditional by any means. It was made with yucca instead of platanos and had coconut milk and braised beef short ribs in it. Orgasmic. Even my mom liked it, surprisingly since she was already judging it from the menu description. She turned up her nose and said "Tha iiis no MOFONGO!" She took one bite and then didn't say another word. Just kept shoveling forkfuls into her mouth. We also had chili dusted frites with cotija cheese. Also pretty good. 

We shared the Carne Asada for the entree. This didn't go over very well with my mom. My mom has to have her steak well done and this was barely medium. The flavors were good but she couldn't bring herself to eat it, even if she turned over and looked away. I'll admit, it was even too rare for N. and I. Oh well, you can't win them all. Dessert was less than stellar also. We had some lime-peach brulee thing. It was as small as a thimble and too tart. The drinks were pretty good at least. N. and I had hibiscus caipirinhas. It's the only thing I got a picture of since they practically make you eat in the dark.

On Saturday morning, we took my mom to Sorella's for brunch. This is the most amazing place to have brunch in Boston in my opinion. It's nothing fancy. The place is in a converted house with basic decor (most of the menu is handwritten on pieces of paper and taped to the walls).

 They don't have a website, and they only accept cash, but the food is to die for. They have everything you could imagine eating for breakfast. The menu might actually make you dizzy with all the choices. Everything tastes fresh and like it was cooked with love, just for you. Trust me, you have to eat here if you're even in Boston. I would even suggest a pilgrimage to Boston just for the experience. They have a ridiculous variety of omelets, french toast (made from any bread you can imagine), pancakes, etc. I had... wait I have to take a second and pause in loving memory of these pancakes....              ..OK. I had pumpkin pancakes. With cream cheese on top. And strawberries. Words cannot even describe. I made the mistake of taking one bite before I pulled out my camera. It was over after that. So, yea... no pictures. My mom had plain french toast with eggs and home fries. I kid you not when I tell you that these were hands down the BEST French toast I've ever had. And I've eaten a LOT of French Toast. N. had some Acapulco Polenta thing, dripping with cheese and avocados. Then as if we weren't in heaven already as it is, they served us giant CUPS of mimosas..for $3.95.

We needed stretchers to take us back to the car. We had a whole day of "things to do" planned, but after that smorgasbord, we were done. DONE. Spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies.

Sometime later in the evening, when we finally were able to think about eating again... we turned on the grill and made some teriyaki pork chops with acorn squash, and drank some tequila. Then, we all fell into a food and tequila induced coma.

Because we are, apparently, gluttons for punishment, I got up early Sunday and made breakfast on the grill. By the time my mom and N. got up, breakfast was served! Mesquite steak (yes, I grilled steak at 9am..so?), grilled polenta and greens with tomatoes and plums in a balsamic vinaigrette (with fresh thyme and basil from our garden). I also made a pitcher of plum Bellini. o_O

hmm, I seemed to have left out the egg in that description.. and the garlic toast too.

My mom... enjoying her brunch in our yard.

Listen, N. and I decided at the start of the weekend that enough is enough. We need to get serious about watching what we eat and exercising. We do NOT want to be that couple, rolling each other down the sidewalk. We've each put on around 10-15 pounds in the past few months and this is where we draw the line.

So, I guess we went a little overboard this weekend with our final meals of gluttony and what not. But, so far so good. Yesterday we had homemade fruit and yogurt smoothies for breakfast and lean cuisines for lunch. For dinner, we had leftover teriyaki pork-chops with pesto garlic mashed FAKEtatoes (mashed cauliflower) and broccoli. For dessert, I took one scoop of Skinny Cow Dulce de Leche ice cream, rolled it around some crushed Special K and topped it with a tablespoon of sugar free maple syrup. Totaling less than 100 calories per serving! See? We can be healthy food addicts!

I'm trying to get N. to get up earlier and do yoga with me. She's not fond of that idea. She's agreed to go walking around JP pond with me after work though...and possibly increase to light jogging (hey, this is great progress for her so I'm taking what I can get). I had to threaten her yesterday when she tried to buy a chocolate bar at lunch (she got a nutrigrain bar instead), and today I put an apple in her lunch bag (I'm sure it will still be there when she gets home tonight).

Gosh, this post was all about food, huh? Not talking about food might prove to be difficult, especially since I will now be depriving myself of it. But, I shall try.

So, in other news (which is not really exciting, but it is when you are unemployed and have nothing better to do), we decided to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks. I've been sorting through all our crap in the basement and deciding what we will sell and what we will keep. We have acquired quite a bit of junk for two people that only moved in less than 6 months ago. After the basement is all cleaned up, I'll finally get to set up my art space! See, now that is exciting.

OK, OK...no bacon.

Namaste bitches!

-D.

Brinner and mutual footrubs...

So, remember yesterday when I was writing about how we're "expanding" and needed to get in shape and all that crap? Well, I'm sure many of you have no idea just how serious our food obsession is. This is why we cannot seem to stop eating.. our dinner yesterday:

N. and I had a little spat over IM yesterday and I decided that my peace offering would be to make Brinner (that's breakfast for dinner for those of you that obviously aren't cool enough to know that :-P). Little did I know that N. had a little peace offering of her own... a 6 pack of Honey Moon (a summer ale by Blue Moon which is the only beer I drink..except for Corona's when I have no other choice). Did I mention, that I made a vow to myself to limit my alcohol intake to weekends only?

Well, i did.

That sure as heck is out the window now that I have a 6 pack of my favorite beer in front of me. Sigh.

OK, back to Brinner. I told you before how I feel about pancakes... more importantly how I feel about BANANAS and CHOCOLATE CHIPS in pancakes. So I whipped out my Barefoot Contessa cookbook (absolutely adore Ina Garten, Martha Stewart wishes she could be that cool), and found a recipe for Banana Sour Cream Pancakes. I halved the recipe and added mini chocolate chips (with the diced bananas at the end). These pancakes are orgasmic. She uses a little lemon zest in the batter and they puff up to an almost sponge cake-like consistency.

My mouth is watering as I type this.

After I made the pancakes, I felt guilty because this is supposed to be my peace offering to N. So why am I making my favorite breakfast food for dinner? So now I had to make eggs Benedict, of course. I had no English muffins or crusty bread.. whole wheat sliced bread just wasn't going to cut it and the hamburger buns left over from last weeks BBQ was just too mushy. Then I remembered N.'s Texas Toast addiction. She'll slather anything on those babies. So, I grabbed two of those and threw them in the oven. I looked at the time and realized I wasn't going to have enough time to make hollandaise sauce from scratch and attempt to poach eggs (last time I tried that, I went through an entire carton of eggs and just ended up with boiled egg white soup). I took the easy way out. I fried the eggs (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter though so cut me some slack!), and I had a packet of instant hollandaise sauce in the pantry (just add water and boil!). I added some fresh herbs from our garden to it (thyme, basil and rosemary) and..

Tada! Banana Sour Cream Chocolate Chip pancakes & Eggs Benedict over Texas Toast with Herb Hollandaise sauce. 

For dinner. 

And beer.

I swear we're going to have to start rolling each other around if we don't cut this crap out. To add insult to injury, after inhaling our heart attack on a plate, all we did for the rest of the night was sit on the couch and watch episodes of Lost (yea, we missed the whole Lost craze and decided to watch it on Netflix instant streaming. We are now Lost addicts. Currently on Season 4) and rub each other's feet. Yes, we lie on opposite ends of the couch and rub each other's feet while we watch TV every night. Don't laugh. We both love to be massaged and we were always trying to find ways to get the other one to owe us massages. 

I made you dessert! You owe me a foot massage! I did your laundry! You owe me a back massage!

Then it became about keeping score. 

Oh well I massaged your feet twice last week. It's my turn!

So this became our solution. Mutual foot rubs. Everyone is even. No one owes anyone. And the best part is that it lasts forever, because if you stop massaging then your pleasure ends too. Hey, don't knock it till you try it. 

I'm making fish and veggies for dinner tonight. And two glasses of water.

-D.