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Pizza, wine and bags of pastries

September 3, 2010 by Erin

Oh yes, it was a successful Thursday night. ;)

I had every intention of coming home and updating you all on the September Challenge, night 2, but I headed up getting home past my bedtime and falling straight into bed/a food coma.

You can blame this:

We’ll get to those beauties in a minute… but let’s rewind.

Erin invited a few of us over for a dinner party. Next one’s at my place, girls! :D I made guacamole (avocado, onion, cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, a little garlic, a squirt of lime juice, a jalapeno and a dash of chili powder).

Erin got a pizza dough from Trader Joe’s so we could make pizzas. Such a good idea for a group dinner!

Zoe brought the bacon

and then there were the veggies.

So colorful!

It was definitely a night for a couple of glasses of wine while catching up with the girls. We go back to freshmen year of college!

Now, let’s get back to those pastries. Allie recently started working at Patisserie Poupon and gets to bring home bags of food at the end of the day. It’s all made fresh and locally in the AM but they won’t sell old food. So the employees get it!

She put together a tasting platter: croissants, almond croissants, apple turnovers, oatmeal cookies, chocolate-macadamia cookies, something with cream cheese, another apple-stuffed delight… what am I forgetting?

Oh, yes, we can’t forget about this cake.

You can have your cake and eat it, too!

There’s fruit so it’s healthy, right? ;)

Yum. I would say day 2 of the September Challenge (jazz up nightly dinners) was a success. I stuffed myself with pizza, sampled a bite (or three!) of the desserts and have bags of croissants, cookies and even an entire brioche in my freezer. Expect to see them pop up from time to time as I eat my way down.

Having friends that work at bakeries should be mandatory.

Time to head to work before the three-day weekend. I think we’re road-tripping tomorrow — destination TBA. :mrgreen:

What’s your all-time favorite dessert? I have to vote for mint chocolate chip ice cream, no competition!

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Yogurt yearning

September 2, 2010 by Erin

My breakfast just isn’t living up to its promise. I made the seemingly innocent switch from yogurt (Trader Joe’s organic vanilla) to rice milk in an effort to reduce the amount of dairy in my diet.

Somehow that small switch completely changed how breakfast fills me up. Rather than being happily full from breakfast at 7 to lunch at 12:30, my stomach starts rumbling around 11.

Who knew that such a small change could make such a big difference?

I think it’s time to go back to yogurt on my non-oats days so the question is: what’s the best kind?

Oikos, which is organic and made by Stonyfield? So many bloggers seem to love it!

couponing101.com

Fage, which my family eats? Plus it comes in those huge tubs at Costco! ;)

foodmayhem.com

Back to my favorite Trader Joe’s vanilla? High sugar, sadly, but oh-so good! And… organic!

Okay, that was my old breakfast bowl and wow, it was good. :mrgreen:

So… you tell me. What is your favorite kind of yogurt? Greek, organic, flavored, fruity — I’m open to the possibilities but want something that will help fill me up and keep me satisfied all morning long! (That’s what she said?)

My September challenge has some guest stars tonight — dinner party with friends!

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September Challenge

September 1, 2010 by Erin

I’ve been stuck in a food rut since starting work nearly three (!) months ago.

Breakfast is usually a big cereal bowl or oats, no matter how messy.

I pack lunch almost every day, with some variation on salad and a wrap with pretzels or tortilla chips. It’s easiest to pack the same thing every day and not have to think about it.

And then for dinner, I tend to make a big pot of chili or a curry and eat leftovers every night. So boring, right?

Well, I need to change that! Or, at least, be more creative with those leftovers.

My September challenge is to break out of the dinner rut and have a different dinner every night for the month. It might just be jazzed-up leftovers (my challenge, I make the rules! ;) ) but it’s at least not going to be the same grain-veggie-protein bowl every. single. night.

Tonight’s dinner was easy to throw together and delicious to eat.

Tofu, green bell peppers and spinach over brown rice. The star was this awesome Trader Joe’s green curry simmer sauce.

lunch.com

I want to experiment more with making Thai curry from scratch, since I’m pretty happy with my Indian curries already, but right now I rely on the jar.

My biggest ‘rule’ for dinner is that it needs to be fast to assemble. I don’t want to spend an hour or more after work putting dinner together.

So it could be revamped leftovers (chili works on its own, over rice, over salad and so on), a lazy sandwich or, once in awhile, a restaurant, but it’s going to be different.

Just call it breaking out of the September slump. ;)

Are you setting any goals for the new month?

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My jar overfloweth

September 1, 2010 by Erin

Sometimes, you just need to start the day with a mess.

Because when it’s down to the last scoop of almond butter, you don’t want a single bite to go to waste.

So you bring out the big guns.

Oats making mornings better. If I did advertising for Quaker Oats, that would be my slogan.

There’s an important lesson to be learned here about making oats in a jar, though.

It’s messy.

And oats are very hot.

You’d better believe I ate it anyway, goopy mess and all. I’m not one to let good food go to waste. Despite being so flustered by the explosion of sticky oats, I forgot to add banana.

Homemade (not by me!) apple butter works just as well. Oats AB&AB, anyone?

Erin’s food rule: If it tastes good, eat it. (I may or may not have stolen that from Andrew Zimmern.) Taste > appearance.

I’m starting a fun September challenge tonight to break up my normal routine and — probably — cause some more messes in the kitchen. Stay tuned! :mrgreen:

Have you had a kitchen mishap recently?

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Unplugged

August 31, 2010 by Erin

I don’t have cable TV and I don’t miss it.

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Okay, sometimes I do miss laying on the couch and watching hours of Food Network and Travel Channel on a particularly lazy Saturday. ;)

At first, Brittany and I decided to go cable-free to save a little money. Last year, the average American paid more than $700 a year for cable. That’s a lot of burrito bols, Le Creuset and farmer’s market goodies!

Honestly, it wasn’t a hard switch. We still get the basic TV stations (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC and the all-important PBS) just from plugging the TV into the wall. We also, randomly, get two home shopping networks. Go figure! ;)

Remember, I lived in Korea with no TV for a year. If I wanted to watch The Office or Mad Men (and I did!) it was all online.

Plenty of people are cutting Comcast and going cable-free. Because… Comcast sucks. Seriously. In this day and age of free TV online, both from legal and less-than-legal sources, it seems like a scam (to me) to shell out money every month.

When I go to my mom’s house, it’s fun to channel surf and stop at every crappy Lifetime movie, Housewives reunion and VH1 reunion special that comes along.

And sure, I can’t watch Mad Men the moment it airs but if I really want to see it on Sunday, it will be online an hour or so after airing on AMC. Isn’t that why people have DVR? So they aren’t ‘chained’ to the TV? Same concept!

Overall, I’m definitely watching less TV. And that is a good thing!

I can’t imagine going back to paying for cable. Get a hookup from the computer to your TV screen and you’re good to go — and you can kiss Comcast goodbye.

Unless Comcast is your only local Internet provider, in which case, you still have to deal with them. Sad face for us. :(

Do you have cable TV? Would you ever consider getting rid of it?

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Because I don’t have enough blogs

August 30, 2010 by Erin

During the year I lived in Korea, Lauren and I wanted a way to keep in touch beyond email and Skype. The solution: 3 p.m. on Sunday, a weekly photo blog that documented exactly where we were at–yep, you guessed it–3 p.m. on Sunday.

It was fun seeing the similarities and differences between our photos. Some weeks, they were worlds apart.

At other times, the unplanned similarities were too obvious to ignore.

I’ll leave you to guess which is Seoul and which is Silver Spring. ;)

Now, Lauren has moved to New York City and I’m permanently back in the DC-area. What better time to start up a new photo blog?

Beginning today, we’ll be blogging weekly at Around the Corner. Each week, we choose a different theme and take a picture that’s a variation on that theme.

We’re both creative people so this is a fun way to stay in-touch, challenge ourselves and hopefully keep those much-needed creative juices flowing. Be sure to check it out!

How do you stay in touch with friends across long distances?

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Sunday night

August 29, 2010 by Erin

After losing track of time this morning and nearly being late to church–I arrived just in time and covered in sweat thanks to my power walk from the Metro ;) — it was nice to embrace the laziness of Sunday and just… BE.

Simone, Zoe and I originally planned to meet for coffee at U Street Cafe but apparently everyone else in DC had the same idea because it was packed. So… when it doubt, turn to Starbucks. :mrgreen:

Simone is back in school to get her Masters so we all embraced the student lifestyle with iced coffee and books. Ideal way to unwind.

I’ve been craving Mexican for a while now and made some easy black bean & corn salsa just now — it will be perfect on a tortilla with some avocado for dinner in a bit.

Really simple but full of flavor: 1 can of black beans, 1 cup of frozen corn (you could use fresh, too, but frozen is cheap and easy), 1 tomato, 1/2 a yellow onion and a heap of fresh cilantro. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp of cumin and chili powder to taste.

Stir and serve. Although if you’re using frozen corn, let the salsa chill in the fridge for a bit before eating so the corn has time to defrost, natch.

Now I’m happily lounging on the couch, watching a live stream of the Emmys red carpet online (for work, I swear! I have to find out who George Clooney’s date will be for a story :mrgreen: ).

How are you spending your Sunday evening?

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Losing track of time

August 29, 2010 by Erin

I completely lost track of time yesterday.

I was up and out by 9:00 for a walk along the C&O Canal. It was the perfect day to be out there, with trees providing shade and a steady stream of fellow walkers, runners and bikers.

About halfway through the walk, my stomach started talking. ‘Erin, feed me!’ it said. ‘Shhh, stomach, you had breakfast.’

I got back to my car thinking it was around 11:30, perfect timing to pick up some lunch. Instead, I turned on my phone to see… 1:20. Where did the morning go?!

I ended up heading out to Kingsbury’s Orchard for the last peaches of the season (sad), first apples of the season (happy) and a jar of homemade apple butter (happy happy). It’s definitely possible to lose track of time looking at all the fun farm finds like interesting jams, unique apple varieties and happy cows grazing in the sun.

Just looked at the clock and realized I lost track of time this morning, too. I spent the past two hours with this:

and now I need to run to catch the Metro for church! Where does the morning go?!

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Asia overload

August 28, 2010 by Erin

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping (seriously!), only one fire engine is blaring in the distance… it’s a beautiful morning in Bethesda and I’m headed out to a walk along the C&O Canal to enjoy the sunshine and lovely temps.

Every morning this week, I got up for work and was insanely jealous of anyone who had the day free to enjoy this weather. It’s been cool enough to drive in with the windows down, sans A/C, and the perfect temperature to take a short walk during lunch and not get back to my desk covered in sweat.

It’s a nice change from the past few weekends, which have been either ridiculously humid or sadly rainy (and humid!).

Of course, there’s nothing like rain and humidity to send me scurrying into a museum. But August = tourist season here in DC, so what’s a museum-loving local to do?

You’ve got to get off the beaten path. Now, not the Castle. That’s always crammed with people trying to figure out what it is, exactly. But to the left and right, on the non-Mall side, are smaller museums that most tourists seem to miss.

And that, in my book, is a good thing. ;)

To be honest, the Freer and Sackler galleries aren’t exactly my favorite. I experienced a bit of Asia overload while living in Korea. But when you want to beat the crowds, they are a pretty sure bet. A current exhibit of bronzes from Cambodia is worth visiting and… there’s always the gift shop. ;)

I picked up a pretty spring-y tablecloth from Laos. If you’re looking for a unique, interesting gift, you really can’t beat checking out some of the Smithsonian gift shops. I’m not talking about Smithsonian tee-shirts and Washington, DC mugs, but a great assortment of jewelry, textiles, books and artwork from around the world.

Personally, the gardens of the Freer and Sackler is my favorite part.

Even after a rainstorm, it’s still beautiful.

And peaceful.

And that’s the most important thing.

What are your plans for this GORGEOUS Saturday? Back later with an ode to my favorite store in the world… Trader Joe’s! :mrgreen:

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Old friends and stuffed peppers

August 27, 2010 by Erin

Does anyone else remember that Girl Scouts song, ‘Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold?’

Well, Brittany, Kristen, Tim and I have been friends for a long time. Middle school, elementary school, preschool, respectively.

Fun with self-timer! ;)

Tim lives in Michigan now but when he came to visit, Brittany and I hosted a small dinner party. There were two main themes: food and Scrabble.

Oh yes, Scrabble. Tim and I play a nearly-daily game online. Thanks, Wordscraper. :mrgreen:

For dinner, I made easy stuffed bell peppers with quinoa. Cook the quinoa separately. In a pan, toss together an onion and olive oil until the often is soft. Add spices of choice (I went with cinnamon and a little cumin). Throw in other veggies you want (carrots, tomato) until they are fairly soft.

Combine with quinoa, add raisins and stuff the peppers ’til they’re about to burst.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Easy peasy and oh-so good!

I like the sweet flavor cinnamon gives a savory dish. Served along with some homemade garlic bread, it was a veggie-rific dinner that even the meat eaters enjoyed. :)

And then, it was game on!

They need to work on their game faces. ;)

For dessert… red velvet cake!

This thing was huge and you’d better believe I had a whopping piece… or two. ;) Yum!

I love having people over for dinner and sharing new and old recipes — there’s always the fun of discovering new recipes and ingredients, too!

What did you cook last time people came over?

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