Veggies, Cake & Cocktails

New Blog!

2010-11-08T21:58:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone!

Check out my new blog home over at Veggies, Cake & Cocktails!

I would love to know what you think of the new site...

Thanks to everyone who checks it out!

Wisdom Teeth, Smishdom Teeth!

2010-11-03T23:27:00.001-05:00

Not only have I been sick for the last couple weeks but last week I was woken up in the middle of the night with the worst sort of mouth pain. It wasn't just a tooth that hurt it was my entire jaw and throat on the left side of my face! I wasn't excited about going to the dentist but I knew I had to make an appointment when the pain was so severe I couldn't eat!

Yesterday was the day I would take on the dentist chair. See, I still have my wisdom teeth and I was pretty sure those pesky little things were to blame for my jaw pain. My appointment wasn't until after lunch and I forgot to bring my toothbrush to work so I used one of these:

This is one great invention. I always carry some in my purse, you never know when you will need a fresh mouth;)

I also popped a few DayQuil in hopes of stopping my cough for the 10 minutes my dentist would be checking out my mouth.

It also helped that the views from my dentist chair are pretty amazing:

Verdict:

As suspected my wisdom teeth were to blame. I can get my wisdom teeth taken out or use a homemade mouth wash everyday. I'm going with option #2 for now but who knows what will happen in the future.

I also must mention the fact that my dentist is awesome! I've hated every dentist I've ever come in contact with EXCEPT for my current dentist. If you are in the Chicago area and need a good dentist contact me and I will get you his information.

Dinner

After a long day at work Patrick and I walked to our voting location to do our civic duty. When we were finally able to get home I was exhausted and did not feel like cooking anything. Luckily my husband is good in the kitchen and he stepped up to the batters plate.

Spicy Broccoli Stir-fry Over Rice

Frozen broccoli
White rice
Red pepper flakes
Schezwan sauce
Olive oil

Put a bit of olive oil in a pan.

Add broccoli, red pepper flakes and schezwan sauce and cook until broccoli is to your desired texture.

Put broccoli mixture over rice and enjoy!

After dinner I wanted something sweet so I decided to put some frozen cookie dough in the microwave. Turns out it wasn't such a good idea:

Not only did I burn the heck out of the cookie but I turned our condo into a chimney. Smoke was everywhere and now all my clothes smell like burnt cookie!

Told you I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight;)

Question:

Did you vote on Tuesday?

Have you ever burnt anything in the microwave?

Starbucks Holiday Cup !!!!!!

2010-11-03T07:17:00.000-05:00

Woohoo!!! I received my first Starbucks holiday cup of the 2010 season.

This cup says, " My sister and I would just stare up at the sky. Trying to see where the snowflakes were born".

Looks like they have multiple versions of the holiday cup this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what they all look like!

Under-the-Weather Comfort Food

2010-11-02T22:57:00.011-05:00

The last week has been a rough one for me. I've been working like crazy and sick as a dog. I have this cough that just won't stop no matter how many Halls I suck!

I was very happy to see that a childhood favorite dinner was on the schedule for Monday night. Not just a favorite dish but the dish that my mom would make when I was feeling under the weather.

Mrs. Grass Soup with Homemade Dumplings

Dumpling Ingredients

1 cup flour
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by beating the eggs and seasoning:

Add flour to egg mixture:

Drop teaspoon amounts of mixture into boiling water. Remove when dumplings float in the water for a minute or so:

Done! Simple, right?

Finished product isn't pretty but they sure do taste great in all kinds of soups and stews!

Dinner

Mixed greens with a garlic vinaigrette dressing:

And a bowl of Mrs. Grass chicken noodle soup:

With homemade dumplings, of course:

A very filling meal with loads of good memories attached:)

Question:

What dish do you like to eat when you are feeling under-the-weather?

A Dog Halloween

2010-11-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! I did!

I started off the day getting my outfit together so I could participate in the Halloween fun and hand out candy. I dressed up as a disco girl. I've actually worn this the last 5 years because I secretly wish I could rock the Blonde fro wig everyday of the week!

After I was all situated it was time to dress the dogs. Solera was Frankenstein and Cappy was a Bat dog.

The association organized trick-or-treating in our building. Those condos that wanted to participate put a note on their door so the kids would know which doors to knock on. We had about 20 kiddies show up at our door and they were all very cute!

However, I think our candy bowl scared more than a few of them. We thought it was innocent enough...

until we realized when you stick your hand in the bowl the skeletons head moved and it eyes glowed red. I hope we didn't cause any nightmares:(

Dinner

After all the Halloween night fun, I started on dinner.

I had an acorn squash sitting on my counter from my last CSA order and it was screaming to be prepared like Iowa Girl Eats stuffed acorn squash.

I prepared my squash exactly like Iowa Girl Eats but added cayenne pepper and chili powder:

However, I stuffed my squash a bit differently. I prepared some ground turkey using taco seasoning. I also prepared some Stove Top following the directions on the package minus the butter.

Next I put a scoop of cooked ground turkey in the cooked squash and topped it with some prepared stuffing. Then I placed the stuffed squash back in the oven to broil for a couple minutes...and voila...

Great meal! The husband even liked the squash!

This dish will be making a repeat performance in my kitchen:)

And it's a Wrap

After dinner all I felt like doing was slamming my head into a pillow and calling it a night. Looks like I wasn't the only one feeling exhausted...

It was a long day for the pups too!

Question:

Do you dress your pets up for Halloween?

Meatyballs !?!

2010-10-20T00:37:00.000-05:00

I can't wait until the day that work doesn't consume my thoughts and my time both day and night. Not only will I have a better work life balance and be a happier person all around but my blog will be much more interesting!

Breakfast

Starbucks grande skinny vanilla latte:

Lunch

I've been a fan of Chef Foss' food and humor for some time now. When I heard that he was moving on from his gig at Lockwood and starting a food truck featuring meatballs, I was excited.

My husband and I have been ~~stalking~~ following his twitter account to see where the food truck would be parked. We were not very successful, either the truck was too far away or he was sold out of sandwiches by the time we go to the truck.

This all changed on Monday. We finally tracked the Meatyballs Mobile down:

Ordered 2 sandwiches to split.

The first sandwich was the Meatyballs. I always like to try the food named after the restaurant (or in this case, food truck)!

However, this was not the sandwich we were expecting. We were expecting meatballs with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese - YUM!!! Instead we got the meatballs with mushrooms, shallots and 4 cheese sauce.

I don't like mushrooms so this sandwich didn't taste all that great to me. I found it kind of bland but it would have been good with tomato sauce or BBQ sauce.

The second sandwich was the Thai'd Turkey Balls - Coconut Milk, Chili Sauce, Lemongrass. This sandwich was very tasty and the chili sauce gave it a really nice flavor.

Looking forward to going back and taking a bite out of the BBQ Pork Balls!

After our ball themed lunch my husband decided to get a shoe shine.

The shoe shiner actually lit Patrick's shoes on fire, totally crazy! Can you see it?

Dinner

We have no food in our house so we went to Flo & Santos. I just love all the exposed brick in this place:

Crispin cider to drink:

Sauerkraut and Canadian bacon pizza:

Flo & Santo's has become one of my favorite places for thin crust pizza. So flavorful and I really like all the different types of toppings.

Question:

Have you ever eaten out of a food truck? If not, would you?

Pumpkins in the Park 5K

2010-10-17T17:01:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago I signed up for my second 5K, Pumpkins in the Park. This was definitely a race the entire family could take part in. It was so cute seeing the kids running around in their Halloween costumes and running in the CLIF Kid Spooky Sprints. There was also a tent where kids (and adults) could decorate a pumpkin to take home with them. Good times had by all!

The Run

This was a hard one for me for multiple reasons. We were running on a trail which I'm not used to and it was packed. The trail was not only packed by runner and walkers but strollers, double strollers and dogs.

I always wondered why a lot of the races didn't allow dogs to run and now I know why. About 8 minutes into the race an owner lost control of her dog and I tripped over him. Normally I wouldn't be upset but this owner didn't say sorry and gave me a look to suggest I did something wrong. I have 2 dogs and if I chose to take them on a 5K race I would make sure to stay to the side and not weave in and out of all the people like this owner was doing. Okay my bitch fest is over;)

I put the "tripping" episode behind me and ran on. I wasn't able to train prior to this race so my only goal was to beat my PR. Due to some of the race conditions I didn't think it would happen but I'm happy to say that I did beat my PR!!!

Sorry about the lack of pictures but I will make up for it in a couple weeks when I do my 3rd 5K race, Hot Chocolate!

Question:

Is anyone else going to be running or walking Hot Chocolate in Chicago? Did you do any running this weekend?

No Machine Pesto

2010-10-14T15:11:00.000-05:00

My husband talks a lot.

He amazes me with all the information he has in his brain and it's great that he wants to share his knowledge with others. However, sometimes my brain can't take it and I have to tune him out (sorry, Patrick, I love you!).

With that said, he has more than a couple stories that are impossible to tune out. One of those stories has to do with his love for Pesto. He has fond memories of visiting his grandma's house, in Tennessee, when he was little. As a little boy he remembers watching his grandma's "male friend" make fresh pesto and how wonderful it tasted. P has mentioned, multiple times, that that was the best pesto ever and nothing has compared to it ... until now.

Start with cleaned and dried fresh basil:

3 cloves fresh garlic:

Small handful of pine nuts:

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese:

Start chopping the basil and garlic:

add pine nuts and continue chopping (at this point you will thanking your good knife or cursing at your not-so-good knife):

add grated cheese and, yep, chop away (no blender or food processor allowed):

All ingredients should be chopped to oblivion and formed into a pesto brick:

Mix in a small amount of good olive oil:

Add to pasta and you will be enjoying a fantastic dish of pesto pasta!

Yep, I've been able to recreate a dish from my husbands past. He says it tastes just as good as his memories.

However, part of his admission may have to do with the fact that he watched me working away and he has to live me with:) Either way, I'll take the compliment!

Question:

Have you ever prepared pesto from scrach?

Ding, Ding, Ding ... We have a winner!

2010-10-12T23:35:00.001-05:00

Monday was Columbus day so I had the day off work. Love 3 day weekends but hate having to cram 5 days of work in a 4 day work week. Oh well, I'll take a 3 day weekend anytime!

I had some time so I made Patrick and I Last Minute Lasagna that I found on the Real Simple website. I love Real Simple recipes because they are, well, real simple to make;)

Not only is this dish easy to make but it tastes good AND is a cinch to clean up. Ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

I pretty much followed the recipe except I added broccoli in place of the spinach and added less cheese to cut down the fat content.

My plate:

On the side we had a piece of Texas Toast which was crunchy, cheesy and garlicky!

The lasagna was so good.

This dish is definitely a crowd please and will be making more appearances in my kitchen.

Next time I'm going to try and health it up a bit by using whole wheat pasta, reduced fat cheese and loading it up with more veggies. I will for sure let everyone know how the healthier version turns out.

Question:

Have you ever made a dish featured on the Real Simple website or in the magazine?

What a Great Day...

2010-10-11T19:49:00.000-05:00

yesterday was. Can you guess why?

First off it was a great date, 10-10-10, very cool.

Second, it was the Chicago Marathon.

Ariel view of the finish line (from a bit of a distance):

Chicago's finest, helping to make sure everything went smoothly:

Loved the huge screens set-up so everyone could see what was going on:

A whole lot of people cheering for all the amazing runners. Makes me happy to see the people of Chicago (my city!) being so supportive:

The biggest reason Sunday was such a great day is because it marked the 1 year anniversary of Patrick and I getting married.

We decided to have a low key anniversary. We started off by cheering on the marathoners and then went to one of my favorite breakfast spots in Chicago, Bongo Room.

Started off with the best iced vanilla latte:

My breakfast appetizer (I'm allowed an appetizer, it was a celebration) was 1 Pumpkin Spice Pancake topped with browned butter & dark brown sugar cream mouse topped with sweetened glazed toasted pecans. It was delicious!

My main dish was an omelet with broccoli, Canadian bacon and smoked aged white cheddar. Very good, I was shocked at how good the broccoli tasted in the omelet. The sides were multi-grain toast and potatoes. However, I did not eat the potatoes because they tasted strange to me.

Even though I didn't like the potatoes, I left the Bongo Room feeling very happy!

Dinner

Most people engrave their wedding bands with something romantic like never to part, love always, together forever but, not us. See, we bonded over many late nights eating Tombstone pizza and tater tots. So when it came time to engrave our bands we couldn't think of anything better than: Tombstone & Tater Tots.

We had to celebrate our first anniversary with nothing other than...

Tombstone:

& Tater Tots:

accompanied by ketchup and BBQ sauce for dipping:

Champagne for sipping:

1st anniversary meal recap: Tombstone, tater tots and champagne - cause that's how we roll;)

Oh yeah, and a salad so we could get some sort of veggie in:)

Our first year of marriage has been full of adventure. Can't wait to see what the years ahead of us have to bring.

I'm so lucky to have found my best friend and husband all in one!

Question:

What did you do Sunday 10.10.10?

Chili Soup for Fall

2010-10-07T00:03:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was such a hectic day and all I wanted to do was shut down my computer and go home. When I have days like this I like to focus on my work and get as much done as possible. Not only does it give me a sense of accomplishment but keeping busy makes the day flyby!

Breakfast

I woke up really dehydrated and all I wanted to eat for breakfast was fruit. I scoped out all my options and the watermelon was practically screaming my name. It was just what my body needed.

Lunch

Patrick and I ventured out to a new (to us) restaurant named Avanti Caffe. The website states that the restaurant is, " Authentic Italian Cuisine in a European Atmosphere" and I would have to agree. I love the authentic Italian feel of all the food offered.

Avanti Caffe serves a variety of different items including: coffee, latte, smoothies, salads, homemade pasta, soup, calzone, pizza, hot sandwiches, subs, panini, dessert and multiple breakfast items. This is a place you will be seeing on VCC again:)

I had the Chicken & Mozzarella grilled panini which was baked boneless chicken breast w/melted mozzarella cheese. Every single ingredient was so fresh and the sandwich was HUGE! It was close to being a foot long so I hate half for lunch and saved the rest for later.

On the side P and I split the pasta salad:

Dinner

Patrick had to work late so I hurried home to get my run in ( a short 2 miles) before dark. Once I finished my run I started to make a fast, simple and tasty dinner.

I decided on chili garlic bread and what I will call, Chili Soup:

Chili Soup

In the mix:

Canned beans
Tomato juice
Corn
Celery
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Salt

Chop celery.
Put beans, tomato juice, corn, celery and spices in pot.
Let cook for 30 minutes. (you can cook for less than 30 min. I just like to let all the flavors combine)

Great meal to make after a long day at work because it's SO easy!

Dessert

Key Lime pie from a local restaurant.

The pie was good but I didn't care for the whipped cream topping. It left a strange coating in my mouth. No worries, I just scrapped off the cream and ate the crust and filling:)

Tuesday was a day of really tasty eats! If only everyday could taste this good.

Question:

What food do you tend to grab when you are feeling dehydrated?

Rewind: Saturday - Football, Family, Food

2010-10-05T11:27:00.000-05:00

I know it's Tuesday but I realize I forgot to post about my Saturday. I had such a good day that I wanted to share it with all of you!

Breakfast

I wanted to try something different than my usual low fat vanilla latte so I chose the Northern Light Turtle latte from Caribou. It was good but tasted too much like dessert for my morning pick me up:

Panera power sandwich: Bread, egg, ham and cheese. This is my favorite "fast food" breakfast sandwich. I can taste all the ingredients individually and when all the flavors mix together it makes an amazing breakfast sandwich.

Lunch

Saturday's in my house are dedicated to college football. This Saturday was fun because we had family over to enjoy the Michigan vs. Indiana game.

Before our guests arrived I put together a veggie tray full off carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and peppers.

To dip the veggies I made some low fat ranch dip:

I think everyone liked the veggies. I know I did!

My plate x 4:

What is a football game without a beer? I drank 2 Magners Irish Cider beers. If you like cider beer and haven't had Magners, you must try it!

Cappy & Solera

The dogs go CRAZY when we have guest over. They get SO excited to have new people to play with! They jump on and bark at our guests to welcome them. Not the most welcoming situation for a lot of people but it's better than being peed on when you walk in the door. I won't mention which dog, ~~Solera~~, but one of them used to get way to excited and not be able to control his bladder. Thank goodness that phase is over with!

To give our guest a break we gave the dogs their favorite treat, Bully Sticks:

Give the dogs one of these and nothing else in the world exists. It's all about the Bully Stick:

Dinner

After Michigan won the game we ordered some Chinese food from Tamarind.

This place has good food but the Customer Service sucks. After I placed the order for delivery I received a call telling us we ordered to much food so they had to charge us more for delivery. We ordered 3 meals and egg rolls, I don't think that is an excessive amount of food. It wasn't the fact that they charged us more money for delivery (although that didn't make me happy) it was the way they handled the situation that makes me think they need to take a customer service class.

We most likely will not be getting Tamarind food anymore which really stinks because the food is really good!

My plate: I ended up eating half the egg roll, a little bit of noodles and some broccoli dish over rice.

Patrick made me a Jeff Lewis martini to enjoy with my meal. I think one of the reasons I married P was because he can make a great martini:)

I drank half.

Dessert

Leftover s'mores pizza!

Solera sitting by our feet in hopes of catching any bit of food that might fall off our plate:

and Cappy getting depressed as our guests started to leave. He was hoping they would stay all night so he could curl up in their laps and sleep!

Good people, good conversation, good food and happy dogs - Couldn't have asked for a better Saturday!

Question:

How do you like to spend your Saturdays?

Clean Bill of Health and Flo & Santos

2010-10-03T00:47:00.001-05:00

I had a very busy Friday morning.

Over the last few months Patrick and I have been finding lumps on Cappy. Not just any lumps but golf ball size lumps that seem to appear overnight and disappear just as fast. On Thursday night I noticed one on his stomach so I took him to the vet first thing Friday morning. Thankfully the vet said they appear to be fatty cysts and nothing to worry about. My furry child has a clean bill of health, well, except for his teeth. He's scheduled for a teeth cleaning in December:)

Breakfast

Due to the Vet visit and work I didn't have time to eat anything. But I made up for it later in the day!

Lunch

Quick and easy whole wheat pasta with Ragu traditional sauce.

After eating my pasta I needed to satisfy my sweet tooth so I snacked on a handful of butterscotch chips.

Dinner

After work P and I walked to a rather new restaurant, Flo & Santos:

This pub and eatery is located in the South Loop neighborhood in Chicago. It's a very cozy and welcoming atmosphere where families are welcome as are those who just want to grab a drink at the bar. I loved the exposed brick and large red booths. Oh, and the 90-inch HD screen would be great to watch a little college football on.

The food is a mix of Polish and Italian classics. My two favorite cuisines, I couldn't wait to dig in!

I sipped on one of the specialty cocktails while P and I looked over the menu.

Bison Grass Vodka with Hard Cider served in a graham cracker rimmed glass:

The cocktail was okay but I most likely will not order it again. It didn't really have that much flavor but I did enjoy the rim on the glass:)

My first dish was the house made chicken & egg noodle soup. Oh my word, I loved this soup. I was so happy to discover it because chicken soup is one of those things that makes me feel comforted.

The broth wasn't too salty, the noodles were the perfect texture and the shredded chicken was perfection. The memory of this soup is making me want to jog over to Flo & Santos right now!

P and I shared the waffle fries for an appetizer. They were good but nothing all that different than other waffle fries I've had. I told Patrick next time I'm going to sneak some Lawry's seasoned salt in to sprinkle it all over the fries. That would be good and P agreed!

The angels sang to me when I read the description for Flo's pizza - polsak Kielbasa, sauerkraut and apple wood smoked bacon. I know many of you are thinking sauerkraut on pizza doesn't sound appetizing at all. But I'm here to set the record straight...It is amazing!!!

I only had a couple slices of Flo's pizza because I needed to save room for dessert.

Dessert

Just two words: S'more Pizza!

Topped with vanilla gelato:

Amazing!

So, so, so amazing!!!

Flo & Santos has the best thin crust pizza I've had in a long time. The interesting toppings they offer give this pizza joint an edge above all the other places in the neighborhood. The food is good and the service is good which means this blogger will be going to this place again!

Question:

What is the craziest topping you've put on your pizza?

Thursday's are Good Days

2010-10-01T23:35:00.001-05:00

It's 1 day closer to Friday and it's farmers market day! I love going to the farmers market and ~~looking at~~ buying all the wonderful fresh food. However my wallet usually takes a beating:(

Breakfast

Cup of steel cut oats from Potbelly's topped with peanut butter. These oats always do a great job of keeping me full well into the afternoon.

Lunch

I decided to remove my ass from the chair I sit in more than 8 hours a day and take a walk to the farmers market. It was wonderful. The weather was nice and I was able to talk to a bunch of the vendors about how they grow their products. Learned a lot and picked up some great food!

As I was walking back to work I discovered an interesting tent in the farmers market, Rock n Roll Noodle Company. This place wasn't selling veggies, fruit or cheese they were selling lunch! Different kinds of noodle dishes and a sandwich. Everything looked great but I opted for the veggie pad thai.

Not just any pad thai. The best pad thai I've had in a really long time. The flavor was wonderful and made my taste buds very happy.

Topped with some Sriracha for a bit of spice.

Happy Hour

Patrick made me a Jeff Lewis martini. What, you don't know who Jeff Lewis is? He's the OCD designer star of Flipping out. And he knows his way around a dirty martini!

2 parts vodka, 1 part water, 1 part olive juice and 3 olives. Yummers!

We shared a slice of cheese purchased from the farmers market.

Perfect happy hour in my book!

Dinner

I wanted something simple for dinner so we ordered from my favorite mexican joint, Flaco's Tacos!

I got a couple Picadillo tacos; ground beef & potatoes, cheese and Cholula Hot Sauce wrapped in a corn tortilla.

Dessert

Vanilla Bean Cupcake:

Take a close look at the frosting. Can you see the vanilla bean specks?

This cupcake was simple and full of vanilla flavor. I need to learn to bake using real vanilla bean.

Question:

Have you ever used real vanilla bean? What did you use it in and how did you do it?

French Bread Pizza Pocket

2010-09-30T11:07:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was a tough day for my husband. I hate it when he is feeling down and there isn't anything I can do to help with the situation.

I decided I would treat him to something that rarely gets done during the week in our house. After work I stopped at the store to pick up some supplies to prepare my man a home made meal. Yep, I was a domestic goddess;) Well, as domestic as I get.

Dinner

I decided to make a meal from my childhood.

French Bread Pizza Pocket

In the mix:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
6 slices cheddar cheese
3 individual french bread rolls (or hoagies)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook ground beef in pan.
Add taco seasoning and follow directions on packet. Set meat to the side.
Cut off top of roll and pull out the inside breading.
Spoon meat into the hollowed out roll.
Top with cheese slices.
Place stuffed rolls on baking sheet. Put in oven and bake until cheese is melted.

Easy and delicious!

Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals. I remember watching my mom prepare the rolls and getting so excited while watching the cheese melt over the meaty goodness.

This dish is so easy to make and you can add so many different ingredients to jazz it up. Patrick had fun spicing up his roll with fresh jalapenos. They were the hottest jalapenos we've had all year!

We did like the french and had our salad after our meal.

In the mix: arugula, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, fresh grated parmesan and half an apple pear.

Topped with home made dressing: fresh lemon juice, olive oil, white balsamic, dijon mustard, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper and a touch of agave nectar.

I really enjoyed being able to prepare a meal during the work week. I need to make this a goal of mine.

The Pups

Whenever P & I have a tough day it's always nice to come home to our 2 furry children! They do the funniest things and who doesn't like a good laugh at the end of a stressful day.

The Capster has turned into a bit of a grump. You can always find him sleeping in his favorite position, nose crammed into a corner. He will sit this way for hours! I have no idea how he manages to breath.

Solera is still a young dog with a ton of energy. When he does decide to relax for a minute he gets in the most unusual poses. This position doesn't even look remotely comfortable!

And let's not forget about his favorite position. Head under the couch. I'm pretty sure he is looking at a toy he managed to get stuck under said couch.

Clearly Cappy doesn't understand what is wrong with his brother;)

I don't know what I would do without my boys; Patrick, Cappy and Solera!

Mention

On a sad note: Comedian Greg Giraldo passed away yesterday. He was one of the few comedians that I really liked. He had a wickedly smart humor. He died to young and he will be missed by many.

Question:

When someone in your life is feeling down how do you go about trying to lift their spirits?

Quick and Dirty

2010-09-29T10:31:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a quick and dirty post. Work is crazy right now and all I want to do when I get home is veg on the couch. No time for blogging for this girl:(

Let's take a look at yesterdays eats!

Breakfast

I had one bite of these scrambled eggs. They were runny which is not a quality I enjoy in my eggs.

However, the spicy potato things were really good! Crunchy and topped with hot sauce, yum!

I needed something more that a couple potato things so I picked up a biscuit with egg and hot sauce. This was a nice comforting breakfast which filled me up nicely for the long day ahead of me.

Lunch

I was craving veggies so lunch yesterday was a medium sized salad.

Romaine, mixed greens, broccoli, carrots, egg, cucumber, celery, red onion and topped with balsamic:

Exactly what I needed!

Due to work I've been downing caffeine like nobodies business. I've been neglecting my water intake and my body is letting me know it needs water PRONTO!

I decided to add a packet of Crystal Light Lemonade to a liter of water. The Crystal Light added a really good flavor which made downing the water a bit more enjoyable:)

Dinner

My kitchen is seriously lacking in the food department so last nights dinner was ... interesting:/ The theme of this meal is nothing special but it does the trick.

I started off with a romaine lettuce, parm cheese and Newman's Own dressing salad:

My second course was a can of baked beans with some hot BBQ sauce mixed in:

Dessert

I thought dessert would be a home run. I mean a peanut butter chocolate cookie bar, how could I go wrong?

I'm sad to report that it was not nearly as good as it could have been. I didn't like the taste of the cookie and the peanut butter wasn't very flavorful.

I took a couple bites and in the trash it went.

I hope Wednesday's eats will be a bit more interesting. My tastebuds are begging for something yum worthy!

Question:

How do you like your eggs?

My favorite way to have eggs is over-easy with toast on the side for dipping. And no matter what egg I'm eating it's always better with hot sauce:)

Thanks for reading and I'll be bloggin' at y'all later!

California (food) Dreaming - Part 3

2010-09-27T11:05:00.001-05:00

Here it is, the final installment of my California trip. Check out part 1 and part 2 if you need a refresher of the first part of my trip!

The very last morning I spent in California was sad but my sister knows 1 of the ways to cheer me up is with good food.

Breakfast

We started off at Posh Bagel simply because I liked the name.

It was a small shop with a ton of bagel options.

I chose the Pesto bagel (crazy good) toasted with egg, cheddar cheese and ham.

Perfect way to start out the morning.

The only way to make the bagel eating experience better is to pair it with some kick-ass coffee.

I like to experience local coffee shops when I travel so Starbucks was not going to work for me this morning. We chose the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company (LGCRC) .

LGCRC had a lot of different coffee options. I had a half hazelnut, half vanilla latte.

I took the time to look around the shop while I waited for my coffee. The feel of the place was so laid back and chill and the smell of the coffee was fantastic. People chatting, reading the paper or grabbing a coffee after a hike in the hills. I'm sure this coffee shop will be making another appearance on VCC.

The piece de resistance was the huge coffee roaster in the middle of the shop. No wonder the place smelled so wonderful!

I can honestly say I've never seen a coffee roaster in any coffee shop I've ever stepped foot in. It was so cool. No wonder this place is so popular and the coffee tastes great!

Snack

We sipped on our coffees while we window shopped and made our way to a cake shop I had been wanting to visit the entire time I was in California. It's all in the name: Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Such a cute little store:

with lot of cake options, in the bundt variety of course:

I opted for the mini Red Velvet:

My intention was to eat it on the plane but I couldn't resist it on the hour drive to the airport. So I dug in a bit early!

The cake was moist and oh so good.

I visited the store for the name and will be returning for the cake!

Miscellaneous

A couple more photos of the stunning flowers:

and palm trees:

I had a great time with my sister and can't wait to visit again!

Question:

Do you prefer chain coffee shops (ex: Starbucks) or the smaller shops?

I prefer the smaller shops. Don't get we wrong, I love my Starbucks latte in the morning but the smaller places have a charm that the big companies can't pull off.

Flaming Orange Peel

2010-09-23T10:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was much better than Tuesday. I still had a ton of stuff to do but I took a more relaxed approach to it and all was good.

This is a pretty long post so if you are only going to read one section I highly recommend the "Happy Hour" section. I'm just so impressed by the bartender!

Breakfast

I was determine to have a good morning so I stopped at Starbucks before I stepped foot in the office.

Can anyone translate the "chicken scratch" on my cup?

(answer: I ordered a grande half pump, skim milk, pumpkin spice latte)

I wasn't sure if the latte itself would start my day on a happy note so I paired it with a Pumpkin Scone. I really enjoy the combination of these two so it's no surprise that it totally hit the spot.

Lunch

Ceres was calling my name. The Wednesday's specials are drool worthy.

Chicken Tortilla Soup: no cilantro, cheddar cheese, crisply tortilla

Loaded Veggie Salad: broccoli, carrots, pea pod, cucumber, celery, cauliflower, red pepper, mixed greens with a raspberry vinaigrette

Happy Hour

I needed to do some shopping at Whole Foods after work. I could spend hours looking at all the goodness Whole Foods has to offer. However, my husband does not have the same enthusiasm when it comes to grocery shopping so I dropped him off at the Bar next door. I look forward to Whole Foods and P looks forward to reading his kindle while having a cocktail. It works for us;)

After I was done with my shopping I met him at the bar, Binny's. We ordered a cheese, almond and bread platter. I can't remember the name of the cheese but it was dreamy. I commented to the husband that it's been along time since we had some really good cheese!

I wasn't sure what to order for my cocktail so I asked the bartender to make me a cocktail of his choice. I knew I didn't have to worry what he would bring me because he is by far the most knowledgeable bartender I've ever met! He not only knows a lot about all kinds of alcohol but he takes pride in the drinks he makes.

He chose a vodka old fashioned using Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka. Once the drink was completed he brought it over to me and then lite an orange peel on fired and threw it in the drink.

It was so cool and I thought it was just for show until I took my first drink. The fired up orange peel gave the drink a bit of caramelized flavor. Another thing it did was give the cocktail an amazing aroma. This was the first cocktail in my life (and I've had a few;)) that stimulated multiple senses; taste and smell. I'm telling you this bartender is something special when it comes to making cocktails!

On the way home we spotted a TV show, titled Ride Along, being filmed in Manny's Deli.

Dinner

Quick, simple, cheap and tasty just how I like my dinners at home!

Steamed some baby carrots, asparagus and corn. Mixed the veggies in with rice and topped it with soy sauce and Cholula hot sauce.

Dessert

Yet again simple and tasty! Barney butter and Trappist Pomegranate Jelly on a hot dog bun.

I've been dehydrated lately so throughout the night I sipped on my big jar of water. Whenever I drink water out of this glass it reminds me of my dad. When I was little the only glass he would ever drink water out of was a big ball jar:)

Project Food Blog

Just a reminder that voting ends today. Even if you don't want to vote please check out my submission here. I think it sums up me and my blog perfectly!

Question:

Have you ever been really impressed with a bartender? Where were you and how did they impress you?

Calgon - Take Me Away...

2010-09-22T11:40:00.000-05:00

Does anyone remember that commercial?

When I was little my mom and I would spend an hour during the day watching General Hospital while eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches. During the commercial breaks the Calgon - Take Me Away commercial would come on and I always thought it was so funny. Something about a lady screaming Calgon - Take Me Away while images of her day floated around her head was very humorous to the 5 year old Tracey;)

Now I'm all grown up and not finding those commercials funny at all. Tuesday was my very own Calgon day. Everything was going wrong and I just wanted my mom to walk into my office and give me a time out!

Life is so stressful and it's so difficult to deal with it when you are in the stressful moment. I need to reread my post on stress and put some of those practices back into my life!

Breakfast

I usually eat Greek yogurt but decided to try the regular kind today. I still prefer the thick texture of the Greek but this Stonyfield Pomegranate yogurt with granola and almonds was mighty tasty:

Lunch

My meals for the remainder of the day were brought on by pure stress. Whenever I'm stressed out or "emotionally off" I self medicate with food that is not so good for me. Definitely something that needs to be worked on.

I needed a caffeine boost so a Rockstar beverage was needed:

Along with 1.5 Pizza Hut bread sticks:

and about half of this baked pasta:

Dinner

P and I were walking home and came across a new pizza place that opened up in the loop, Bacci Pizzeria.

P ordered a "slice" of sausage and I had peperoni. Here is my weird husband trying to eat his "slice" with a plastic fork and knife:

I put the word "slice" in quotes because this is not your normal slice of pizza. The thing was bigger than my head:

That is in noway an illusion. The "slice" was really that big! Bacci Pizzeria doesn't mess around when they say they are the home of the Jumbo Slice!

Project Food Blog

Just a reminder that voting ends Thursday, September 23. Check out my submission here. I think it sums up my blog perfectly!

Question:

Do you ever have those "Calgon" type of days? What do you do when you need a time-out?

Brat's, Wine, Steak, Bloggers and Football!

2010-09-21T06:05:00.001-05:00

Most people believe the weekend starts on Friday but last weekend mine started on Thursday.

After work Patrick met me at the Berghoff Oktoberfest to grab some tasty food and listen to the band, Sixteen Candles. As you can tell by the name they are an 80's cover band. It was great to hear the 80's tunes again:

The menu:

I opted for the Bratwurst with Kraut and old style mustard:

I'm not a big fan of bratwurst but this was good. Probably because it had a ton of kraut, love the kraut!

Oktoberfest is usually a big beer drinking event. I sorta took part. I had a rootbeer:

Friday night I went to the South Loop Wine Cellar:

They have wine tastings every Friday and the cost is only $5 (unless otherwise specified):

The decor inside the shop is so cool. Exposed brick walls, wine barrel details and lots of happy people sipping away at some delicious wine!

This tasting was all about Italian wines. I loved that the owner hung up pictures of Italy for the event:

I tasted 5 different wines which all cost under $20 a bottle:

Amy Garman, the owner, is very knowledgeable about all things wine. She was very helpful when it came time to buying a bottle (or three;))

Tasted some white wine:

and some red wine:

Yum!

After all the wine we needed to get some food in our stomachs so we stopped at The Chicago Firehouse:

I started with a bowl of Sweet Potato Soup. My first ever sweet potato to pass my lips.

P and I split the Garlic Whipped Potatoes:

and the Macaroni and Cheese:

My entree was the Filet Mignon with a blackened crust:

Verdict: The food was good. Nothing spectacular but my taste buds were happy. The service was fantastic! Our waiter was very personable and he made sure we had everything we needed.

Saturday at 11:00 am I met up with 6 other ladies for the Chicago Blogger Brunch at Yolk. Yolk is a very popular place to brunch it up in Chicago. They are known for their creative twists on traditional breakfast dishes.

Once the food was delivered to our table the blogger photo shoot began. I have many reason why I enjoy dining with food bloggers and one of them is the fact that I will never be the only one taking photos of my meal;)

Everything on the menu looked fantastic but I was able to narrow it down to the perfect dish. Bacon Waffle & Eggs - Crisp bacon mixed throughout the batter and topped with 2 eggs:

Great food with a great group of bloggers!

Back Row L-R: Me, Kelly (blog reader!), Megan and Amy

Front Row L-R: Katie, Katie and Heba

(thanks Amy for the photo)

After leaving Yolk I headed home to watch some Nebraska football. Unfortunately the game was not on TV in Chicago (boo!!!) so I got creative and watched the game on my laptop:)

The boys aren't so interested in football. They would much rather cuddle and sleep.

And give me dirty looks when I jump up to celebrate a touchdown! Go Huskers!!!

I woke up on Sunday to find an entire box of ear plugs gone. The little tan guy (above) decided to make a midnight snack out of them.

Let's just say, walking the dog later in the day wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Project Food Blog

Thanks to everyone who voted for me, it really does mean a lot to me!

Voting ends Thursday, September 23. For those of you who would like to check out my post submission click here!

Question:

Have you ever been to a blogger meet-up?

Foodbuzz Voting is Open!

2010-09-20T13:35:00.000-05:00

Did you see yesterday's post?!?

Check it out it's a good one that really defines me as a food blogger!

I joined a lot of the blog world and submitted my post for the Foodbuzz Next Food Blog Star and Voting Kicks Off Today!

Here is how you can vote for me (I promise it is easy)!

First, click here and you will be directed to the page below:

Second, click the heart on the page and you are done! Easy, right:)

Your votes would mean the world to me!

Thanks for reading!

Project Food Blog: Challenge #1

2010-09-19T16:05:00.006-05:00

Question: What defines you as a food blogger and why should you be the next food blog star?

For me, blogging isn't about stardom. It's about relaxing with a glass of wine as I type up a post in the evening. It's about negotiating with my husband about how many times I can pull out my camera during dinner. It's about connecting with the amazing people and businesses who share my enthusiasm for really great food.

So let me skip the whole stardom thing and instead try to define myself as a blogger. It all started with the kitchen.

People that read my blog know that I wasn't born a cook. In fact, cooking is something in which I had absolutely zero interest. Wait...that's a lie. I was always interested when *other* people cooked, but I never wanted to do it myself.

The reason? It all seemed too complicated! I didn't want to take the time to learn with words being thrown around the kitchen like: blanch, braise, emulsify, flambe, roux, score, sear, sieve, and many more. It was much easier dialing the phone and having my meal delivered to me.

My no-cooking mentality changed when I got married October of 2009. I wanted to be able to cook for my husband and future family. Three weeks after my wedding, I started my blog to record my progress.

As it turned out, it was a great place to record my adventures both inside and outside the kitchen -- even those times I gave up and dialed the phone.

Veggies, Cake & Cocktails has turned out to be a place where I can share...

restaurants where I dine...

cocktails I consume...

and the way I bring these together in the food that I cook!

My goal is to show all those people who think they can't cook how fun and easy it really can be.

So forget emulsifying your blanched braising! If I can go from a diet of nothing but Chef Boyardee and McDonald's (not kidding) to making scallops and risotto, anyone can.

I hope that people who follow me through my mistakes and my successes will see that sometimes an imperfect cook can make the perfect meal.

Cooking shouldn't be scary, it should be fun!

California (food) Dreaming - Part 2

2010-09-16T23:55:00.002-05:00

Alright I left you hanging after my California (food) Dreaming - Part 1 post, let's continue on and see what other tasty treats I had on the left coast.

After spending the prior 3 days moving and setting up my sisters new place she surprised me by taking me out for a birthday dinner.

While we were getting ready to go out we cracked open a bottle of Samuel Smith organic raspberry flavored beer. It was good and had more of a beer taste to it than my beloved Lindemans - Framboise.

After we were all dolled up we headed to the California Cafe for a late lunch.

California Cafe

MISSION:
California Cafe exists to provide an escape from the outside world. We feed the senses through our chef-driven creations, engaging service and relaxing ambiance. Our multicultural offerings feature seasonal ingredients with broad appeal.
We are passionate about the guest experience, providing service that is friendly and knowledgeable. Our relaxing environment serves as a California-style oasis.

[Source]

In the heart of Los Gatos’ Old Town shopping district, California Cafe has a beautiful oak-shaded outdoor patio and an expansive interior overlooking the lush Santa Cruz Mountains and the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
Sit back, relax and savor!

[Source]

We were seated at the perfect table under a tree.

The reason my sister chose this restaurant was for the Sangria. She knows the way to my heart:)

We chose the White Peach Sangria: merlot, peach schnapps and brandy infused with citrus, vanilla bean and white peaches.

The sangria was very good! My sister and I had no problem polishing off the pitcher:) However, be warned those infused peaches taste strongly of brandy when consumed.

I split the taco salad with my sisters friend. I was really looking forward to it because it sounded amazing. However, when it came to the table I could see that cilantro was mixed throughout it:( I really dislike the taste of cilantro so I ate a couple pieces of the steak and called it good.

Taco Salad: blackened skirt steak, pablanos, crispy tortillas, queso fresco, tomatillo vinaigrette

See the plate below? I'm in love with everything on it!

I was most surprised at how much I liked the potato salad. This was the first time I had every had it with a vinaigrette dressing instead of the heavy mayo dressing.

California Chicken Sandwich: Arugula, swiss cheese, citrus aioli with a side of potato salad.

1 simple element made this sandwich delicious. That element would be the arugula. The pepper flavor in the lettuce with the lightness of the citrus aioli was genius!

After we ate our meals and ordered dessert we decided to order a cocktail.

I embarrassed my sister (she should be used to it by now) by asking the bartender to make me a drink of her choice. My sister just wanted me to order off the menu but I find a lot of interesting new cocktails by ordering this way. However, I did tell the waiter I don't like cilantro so please don't put it in my drink;)

This was a delicious cocktail, light and refreshing.

Bartender Cocktail: Vodka base, sparkling wine, some type of strawberry puree and probably some other ingredients I couldn't pick up on.

I'm going to admit something, I don't like bread pudding. Let the bashing begin, I can take it;) However, I learned if you add a ton of butterscotch to bread pudding it is possibly the best dessert on the planet. Love this and plan to have it again when I go back in November (Did you read that sister? Make our reservations now!)

Butterscotch Bread Pudding with house made caramel ice cream.

The presentation of all the food was amazing but the candle on the cake (literally), was my birthday cake.

Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake with espresso gelato and raspberry sauce.

California Cafe was nothing short of impressive. I appreciate that they use seasonal ingredients. I could really taste the freshness in all of my dishes.

One thing I did notice was that the service was extremely laid back. I don't think it was bad service I just think it's the difference with dining in laid back California compared to Chicago where they are practically pushing you out the door;)

This is me: tired, worn out, happy, stress-free and did I mention happy:)

After our late lunch we headed over to the "dive bar"(which in my book = fun bar) in downtown Los Gatos, Black Watch.

My sister said we had to stop here because they are famous for Kamikaze's.

I chose the Pineapple Orange Kamikaze which is served in a pint glass with a strainer and 2 small shot glasses.

What a great food and drink day!!! Thanks Sister!

California Scenery

As we were walking around I couldn't help but stop and take pictures of all the beautiful flowers. I was amazed at all the variety growing in just a couple blocks worth of space.

Simply beautiful!

Question:

Have you ever asked a bartender to surprise you with a drink of their choice? Was it a good or bad experience?

Chicago Food Tour

2010-09-13T23:45:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago the folks over at Chicago Food Planet Food Tours asked if I would like to participate in one of their food tours. I jumped at the chance! I've been wanting to go on one of these tours for along time and I was super excited!

The concept is really cool. Basically you get a 3-hour guided walking tour through one of Chicago's neighborhoods. During the tour you will learn about the history of the neighborhood and get to try the delicious foods (which I think is the best part).

I chose the Bucktown/Wicker Park Food Tour.

First stop, George's Hot dogs.

Traditional Chicago hot dog which includes the dog, poppy seed bun, mustard, onions, relish, dill pickle, tomato, sport peppers and celery salt.

I'm not a fan of tomato so I pulled that off my dog and dug in. I would rank this up there with the top Chicago dog I've ever had!

Second stop, Hot Chocolate.

I was so excited to try this place because of all the rave reviews it's been getting. And it did not disappoint.

House made marshmallows:

With Medium Hot Chocolate - chocolate with a touch of dark chocolate and a hint of caramel. I can't believe how good this hot chocolate was and I can't wait to go back and try all the other flavors.

Third stop, Goddess & Grocer.

The interior of the grocer/deli was decorated perfectly.

The display case was filled with lots of goodies:

Lots of unique items to purchase and bring home.

I wanted to shove this cake in my mouth. Thankfully it was behind a case so I was saved from embarrassment;)

I sampled one of the pasta salads.

Fourth stop, Piece Brewery & Pizza.

Patrick and I really liked the rustic interior:

You could tell the brewer had fun naming some of the beers:

I sampled the Golden Arm. I'm not a beer drinker but I thought this was pretty decent. With that said I must admit I fell in love with the little glass but resisted the urge to shove it in my bag;)

Slice of pizza with cheese, basil and tomato:

Fifth stop, Sultan's Market.

Great decorations:

I wanted to dive into this fruit bar! A lot of variety and everything looked so fresh.

We were able to sample the Falafel Sandwich: A warm pita lined with hummus, stuffed with falafel, Tomatoes, Topped with Jerusalem Salad:

I had never had falafel but judging from this sandwich I will be having it again.

Sixth stop, iCream.

By far the coolest ice cream place ever! If you are in Chicago and love frozen treats you have to check this place out.

The process:

1. Select your base

2. Choose your flavor

3. Add a burst of color

These pipes are how the liquid nitrogen is put into the mixers:

Yeah, you read that right. Liquid nitrogen is used to turn your selections into ice cream, yogurt or sorbet. Check out the smoke:

I devoured my sample:

As mentioned previously we walked around the neighborhood and looked at some beautiful homes.

Does anyone recognize this building from a John Cusack movie?

Who doesn't have a canon in their yard?;)

A couple reasons why I liked this tour:

Knowlegeable and personable guides
Reserved spaces in popular restaurants
A ton of food
Learning the history of the neighborhood

This tour would be perfect for people who are visiting Chicago as well as those who live in the city. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon!

Cocktail Kinda Night

2010-09-12T22:30:00.000-05:00

Work, work, work. I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home on Friday. I'm one of those people who gets easily distracted by whats going on around me. When I work from home I have no distractions so I'm able to get way more done. Love that!

All my hard work was rewarded by an awesome night out!

Breakfast

Pretty random. I started off with a traditional breakfast of cereal. Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice with Mixed Berries cereal that was included in the Healthy Living Summit swag bag.

This was a good bowl of cereal. Reminded me a bit of rice krispies but better for you! I wasn't sure about the dried berries but they added a lot of flavor.

I was still hungry so I steamed some Cauliflower and Broccoli. Topped it with ICBINB spray and a mixture of Chili, Garlic and Cayenne pepper.

Lunch

Amy's Organic Black Bean Vegetable soup.

Topped with fresh shredded Parmesan and Cholula hot sauce:

Soup was so good! It will definitely have a place in my cupboard anytime.

I also had a Dr. Zevia soda. The jury is still out on what I think of this beverage.

Happy Hour

I met my friends at the Wit for an after work cocktail. The Wit's Rooftop bar has spectacular views:

I sipped on a Belvedere Dirty Martini while I chatted it up with my friends!

Dinner

After the Wit I jumped in a cab with my husband and headed up to Firkin & Pheasant for a blogger meet up with MacKenzie from Fighting the Pudge and her husband, Ryan. Patrick and I had such a good time with them!

Appetizers were split amongst the table. Scotch Eggs which are hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and breaded panko crumbs then flash fried, served with sweet mango chutney:

Spicy popcorn shrimp with cocktail sauce:

For my main dish I went with a Pub Favourite. Cottage pie which is simmered ground beef, peas and carrots topped with whipped potatoes and served with seasonal veggies:

My husband ordered the Halibut with a sweet chili glaze. I did sample the fish and it was SO good. Love the flavor combination of the grill and sweet chili.

Dessert was a raspberry and lemonade cocktail.

I wasn't ready for the night to end so we walked down the street to another bar. On the way I ran into this sculpture of, what I think is, a couple bottle openers dancing:)

After talking and drinking the night away we decided to stop at The Wieners Circle. I think the hot dogs here are very different than those you will find elsewhere in the city. They char-grill the dogs so it has that char taste which I really enjoy.

If you are a sensitive soul you probably won't want to visit this hot dog joint since they are most known for the verbal abuse between the employees and customers(fyi...plenty of You Tube videos if you do want to experience it). I find if funny but I can also see how other might find it off-setting. It's all in good fun!

My char hot dog with mustard and pickles:

With a side of fries:

Wiener's Circle Verdict: Great hot dogs after a night of drinking!

Question:

Do you get more work done in an office setting or at home?

I get way more work done at home.

Happy Salad - Poor Risotto - Great Ice Cream

2010-09-10T11:10:00.004-05:00

Patrick and I stopped at Starbucks before work. I can't think of a better way to start your day than with a latte and of course a water to hydrate.

The milk in the latte always fills me up so I don't have to have anything to eat for breakfast. Today's latte filled me up so much that I didn't get hungry until 1:45!

Lunch

Today's lunch was another packed creation (if you can call it that). It included a banana, sandwich thin and Justin's Chocolate Peanut Butter:

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Dog!

Dinner

As I mentioned in yesterdays post work has been really crazy. Not just for me but for Patrick as well. We are both feeling the stress and constantly thinking about what needs to be done. I felt we needed to take a well deserved break, just the two of us, to reconnect.

We decided to try dinner at Gioco. Gioco is an Italian eatery with a very cool atmosphere. I love how the interior has exposed brick walls, almost as if they moved right into the building (built in 1890) and kept the rustic feel but touched it up with some hip accents.

I started off with an Insalata di Pera e Arugula. Included in the salad: Baby Arugula, Apple Pears, Pancetta, Endive, Black Currants, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Peconrino Toscano.

They had me at arugula! This dish was A-mazing! The pepperyness of the arugula mixed with the sweetness of the pears and currants were a perfect combination. I really couldn't have asked for anything better for a starting dish:

A glass of pinot grigio to accompany my main dish:

My main dish was a risotto with homemade sausage and rapini. None of the pictures turned out but you aren't missing anything. That's right, this dish was a dud.

I really enjoy risotto and was excited to hear that it was one of the nightly specials. However, this dish was lacking flavor and the texture didn't work for me.

Gioco Verdict: I should have just stopped after the salad. The amazing delicious salad that I will try and create at home:) This is the second time we've eaten a meal at Gioco and our main courses both times have been lacking. Patrick and I decided the next time we visit we will take a seat at the bar, grab a cocktail, an appetizer and soak up the cool atmosphere.

Dessert

After the tasteless risotto I need a dessert with some serious flavor. Marble Slab entered my brain immediately:

I stood around for 10 minutes tasting and trying to decide what flavor Ice Cream I wanted:

My concoction included:

Birthday cake ice cream
Cinnamon vanilla ice cream
Cookie dough
Waffle cone pieces
Hot Fudge
Caramel

Yummers!

This weekend is jam packed with tons of fun things to do. Can't wait to get the weekend started!

Question:

What is your favorite base for a salad?

I have been loving arugula.

Dog Tired

2010-09-08T23:26:00.007-05:00

Work has been crazy busy these last couple months. This lead me to make poor food choices and sit on my butt all day long (aka, no exercise). I really need to learn how to avoid stress eating!

I'm determined to turn things around so I've started packing my lunches the night before my work day.

Lunch

Today's lunch bag consisted of banana, sandwich thin and Barney Butter.

What else would you do with these ingredients but make a banana peanut butter dog:)

Dinner

Patrick and I stopped at Ceres for a cocktail before heading home. I had a raspberry vodka with a sugar free red bull:

About mid-way through my cocktail my stomach started to grumble and I was instantly in a bad mood. I'm one of those girls that gets really pissy when I don't have food in my stomach.

First up, cup of the best tasting chicken tortilla soup:

The soup was so good that after my husband had a bite he ordered a bowl for himself. YUM!

A salad was featured on the daily specials menu and it had my name written all over it.

Ingredients:

Broccoli
Carrots
Pea pod
Cucumber
Celery
Cauliflower
Red pepper
Mixed greens
Blue cheese
Raspberry vinaigrette

I loved that all the veggies were cut up into bite size pieces. It's just like I make my salads at home but better because I didn't have to do any chopping:)

All mixed up:

Delicious and just what I needed!

Exercise

When I got home I put on my running shoes and went for a training run. I'm training for a 5K taking place in October. The run went really well which I attribute to the salad and cool fall weather.

Now, I'm off to use my foam roller to work out some soreness and take a cue from my pup and hit the hay!

Question:

What type of weather do you prefer to exercise in?

Fall is the perfect weather for me!

Labor Day Weekend (in pictures)

2010-09-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

Work has been crazy busy and I haven't had the time to put together a proper post.

Here are a couple pictures that pretty much sum up what my labor day weekend was like. Feel free to write your own story (in the comments) to go along with the photos:)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I sure did:)

California (food) Dreaming - Part 1

2010-09-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

For the last 5 days I‘ve been in California helping my sister move. It was a lot of work but I was rewarded by lots of good food and getting to hang out with my sister.

Let’s take a look at the wonderful Cali foods I was able to sample over the last couple days!

Five Guys

I’ve had five guys in Chicago but my sister and her friend had never had it. A new one in California had just opened so we decided to check it out.

The restaurant was packed. The line to order was long but moved fast. I was very impressed with how well the staff worked.

I ordered the burger and fries. Good as always!

C.B. Hannegan’s

On moving day we stopped for lunch at an Irish pub called C.B. Hannegan's.

I knew my husband would love this place from the moment I stepped foot in the door. They had scotch hanging from the walls.

The move was a bit stressful (or at least that is my excuse) so I ordered a sugar free redbull and vodka.

A meal of burger and fries. Burger was good but the fries were way to thick for my liking.

Los Gatos Café

The best orange juice I've ever had.

I feel in love when I saw one of my options for bread was a warm raspberry coffee cake. Of course I'm going to chose cake over toast! The crumbles on top were delicious.

Souffle omelet with potato's. The eggs in the omelet were so light and fluffy.

Topped with cheddar cheese and filled with asparagus, broccoli, ground beef and ham. Easily the best omelet to ever pass these lips.

My sister kept telling me how this place was known for the cinnamon rolls. So there was noway we were leaving without trying one.

I thought they would be good but I was shocked when this was delivered to our table:

This thing was huge! It was warm, buttery and topped with yummy frosting!

The portions were huge and I left with plenty of leftovers.

All the hype I heard about Los Gatos cafe was well deserved. I will definitely be heading back here the next time I visit!

Whole Foods

After all the burgers and butter filled breakfasts I was craving a salad. A simple salad that tastes good. Where else would I go but Whole Foods?!? Everyone knows they have the best salad bar ever.

I’m so happy for my sister. She is in the location she always wanted to be in, her dream has come true and I couldn't be happier for her. She’s worked hard for this and deserves it!

Kellie: I’m happy, excited and so proud of you. Enjoy your new home and hood!

A Meal of New Foods

2010-08-31T13:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, sorry for the delay in sharing this post. Long story short - I was without internet. But I'm back!

Where did I leave off...oh yeah, 4 cool ladies taking a taxi to Splice Kitchen. Splice Kitchen is a really great concept. It is a place where food service entrepreneurs can start their businesses by cooking in the kitchen that is rented by the hour.

We headed to the kitchen and laid out all of the wonderful and fresh items purchased at the farmer's market.

Farmers Market Finds:

Radishes
Tomatoes
Arugula
Goat Cheese
Corn
Brioche
Blackberries
Mint
Basil
Eggplant
Red Onion
Bread
Peaches

Doesn't chef Rhonda look excited to start cooking? She was so much fun to watch work. I could tell she has a huge passion for food and cooking.

Chef Rhonda started prepping the food.

Showing off her knife skills:

After the prep work was complete it was time to fire up the grill!

All the ladies were shocked to find out I'd never tried eggplant.

Before the eggplant was placed on the grill it was sprinkled with salt and left to sit for a bit. I'm told the salt is used to reduce the bitterness of the eggplant.

Red onions were also placed on the grill and would be used as one of the toppers for the sandwich.

Bread was sliced, grilled, rubbed with garlic and finished off with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (ICBINB).

I'm from Nebraska so of course I was excited when I saw corn was on the menu!

The corn was soaked in water prior to putting it on the grill. (I'm not much of a griller but I assume this was to avoid setting the husks on fire).

After the grilling was done the cobs were cut in half and put into a pan with ICBINB, chili powder and cayenne pepper.

The corn was tossed around in the pan and at the very end a squeeze of lime was added.

I have eaten a ton of corn in my life and I can honestly say this was the BEST EVER!!! I don't know why I never thought of seasoning corn with spices, it's magic. I wasn't sure about the addition of the lime but it really adds an excellent flavor to the spiced up corn. So good!!!

Dessert consisted of 2 things this girl has never tried; mini brioche and blackberries.

The brioche was placed on the hot grill for a very short time. This allowed it to get warm and develop some nice grill marks:)

Yum!!! Blackberries are my new favorite fruit. I really can't believe I used to pick these out of all fruit salads because I thought they looked strange. What the heck was I thinking!?!

We topped the mini brioche with a blackberry, honey and mint mixture.

(This dessert has already been recreated in my kitchen and will most likely be created again and again and again.)

Peaches and onion were sauteed with ICBINB, curry, cinnamon, salt and white pepper.

The peach and onion mixture was tossed with the peppery arugula.

Herb goat cheese was added to both the salad and sandwiches.

I always said I didn't like goat cheese, that is until I tried Capriole Herb goat cheese. Yum!

Once the food was all prepared we brought it out to the front of Splice Kitchen where the 4 of us could sit down and enjoy the meal.

A look at my plate:

Toasted bread with ICBINB spray, garlic, eggplant, basil, grilled onions and goat cheese (everyone else had tomato but I'm not a fan so I skipped it). This sandwich was awesome! I wasn't sure what to think of it at first because I had never had eggplant and thought I was not a fan of goat cheese.

Times have changed because I can't wait to try and recreate this sandwich for my husband to try!

The salad was as good as I thought it was going to be. Arugula, goat cheese and sauteed onion and peaches. I can't believe how much better the arugula at the farmers market is than the stuff I buy in the store. The peppery flavor of the arugula was the perfect compliment to the sweet peaches.

Best corn on the cob of my life - period, point, blank!!!

I created this the very next day and my husband is just as big a fan as I am!

Excellent meal with a great group of people!

L-R: Chef Rhonda, Mara, Me, Jaclyn

I've been a fan of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for a long time. I love the fact that I can use the spray and put it exactly where I want it to be! I can't tell you how many times, while growing up, I made popcorn and ruined it by putting way to much butter on it. This scenario doesn't happen anymore because I can use the spray and put it exactly where I want it to be! A little goes a long way:)

New Foods for Tracey:

Eggplant
Brioche
Blackberries
Radishes

I would like to thank I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for putting together this event. It was such a fun and educational experience!

Saturday at the Farmers Market

2010-08-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

It all started when Mara twittered about a Farmers Market tour she was attending for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (ICBINB). I responded and asked what it was about and boy am I glad I did. The next day Lauren, a rep of ICBINB, contacted me to see if I would like to participate in the tour, too. No need to think twice about this one, I was all in!

Saturday rolled around and I was excited. I taxied my way to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park. This is the only year-round farmers' market featuring local farmers. Love that all this great food comes from close by.

Once at the market I met up with Jaclyn, the ICBINB rep for Saturday's outing, chef Rhonda Cady and Mara. It was such a blast strolling the market with these 3 ladies. I had a great time and learned a lot!

This was my first time shopping here this year. I forgot about all the diverse items available in this one spot. Let's go on a photo tour, shall we?

Ginormous cucumbers:

Goat Cheese, to be used in the salad and sandwich:

Flowers:

It was so humid outside. When Mara suggested smoothies I was all in!

I opted for the Raspberry and Peach smoothie. This smoothie was the best. Refreshing and light, just what I needed!

Beautiful radishes.

Millions of peaches...peaches for me. Okay, who can name the band that sang that song?

A big smile came across my face when Chef Rhonda shared her idea of sauteing onion and peaches in ICBINB and then adding it to arugula. I couldn't wait to see how this creation would turn out!

Love that we were able to taste the fruits before we purchased. All of them were awesome but Mick Klug Farm from St. Joseph, MI was my favorite.

Herbs/Greens. We grabbed some basil for the sandwich, mint for the dessert and arugula for the salad.

The bread at the market looked and smelled amazing. I can't remember what type of bread we ended up getting but I do know it was very good!

After we picked out all of our Farmers Market finds we headed to Splice Kitchen to get cooking!

And we had a wonderful spread of farmers market finds and ICBINB to work with!

Check back tomorrow to see what Chef Rhonda created with all this good stuff! Everything was delicious and I've already recreated a couple dishes:)

fyi ... If you want to see some amazing photography from the Green City Market, check out Mara's post.

Birthday at Benny's Steakhouse

2010-08-18T10:52:00.012-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday and my husband went all out to make sure it was a good one.

I got all dressed up since it was a celebration:

He made reservations at a new steakhouse named Benny's. The owner Benny Siddu is also the owner of my favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, Volare. If this man makes my favorite pasta I couldn't wait to see what he could do with steak!

[Source]

I've tried many steakhouses and I'm going on record: Benny's is the best all-around steakhouse in Chicago! Nothing but the best at this place. From the food to the service everything was perfect. At the end of the night my husband and I both agreed this was the best service we have ever had at a restaurant.

The dinning room:

[Source]

Our booth:

[Source]

Once we got to Benny's I was surprised to see my husband planned to have roses on the table and a bottle of great champagne chilling in a bucket.

First dish was a fabulous Potato Gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce and basil. This was the BEST gnocchi I've ever put in my mouth. The taste, texture and aroma were all perfection!

Second dish was Grilled Romaine salad with garlic-lemon vinaigrette. I've never had grilled romaine and I've been missing out. The flavor of the grilled lettuce with the garlic-lemon vinaigrette and the shaved cheese was the perfect combination.

I could eat this salad every day of my life!

Third dish was an All Natural USDA Prime Filet Mignon. This is the first time I've had grass fed steak as well as the first time I've had steak at Benny's. I'm not sure which of these two firsts contributed to my decision that this was the best steak of my life and I don't care. I know one thing, this steak was AMAZING. It just melted in my mouth and the flavor was like no steak I've ever had before.

Our side dish was the Broccoli with Wisconsin cheddar gratin. This was good but didn't live up to the perfection of the other dishes. It was a bit to buttery for me.

And what is a birthday without cake. Yet, again this was the best piece of Chocolate Layer Cake to ever touch my lips. The cake was moist and the fudge buttercream frosting had the perfect amount of sweetness to it.

The mix of the rich chocolate cake and the refreshing raspberry sauce was nothing short of excellence. Presentation is gorgeous.

If you love steak and love great service you will love Benny's.

Now, if only I could afford to eat here everyday!!!

On Top of the World - Chicago Air & Water Show

2010-08-15T19:31:00.020-05:00

I woke up this morning craving eggs so eggs are what I had, the scrambled variety.

In the mix:

Eggs
Almond milk
Cayenne pepper
White pepper
Hot sauce

Not the best eggs I've ever made but they were pretty good.

Iced coffee with Almond Milk.

This was my first time adding Almond Milk to coffee and it didn't really mix well:

So freakin' gross! Is that normal?

Around 11:00 am Patrick and I headed to the John Hancock building.

The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the building has great views.

This is the room we were in for the Private Air Show event. We had open bar, unlimited buffet, air conditioned seating and spectacular views of the air show.

Patrick and I shared our plates of food.

First plate of food spinach frittata, eggs benedict, sausage and peppers and salmon.

Only had 1 bite of the eggs benedict. Would have been better with the hollandaise sauce.

Second plate of food with pasta, sausage and peppers, bread, grilled veggies and potato salad.

Grilled carrots - so good.

Our third plate consisted of watermelon, pineapple, strawberries and a yogurt granola fruit cup.

What is a party without cocktails?

The party certainly did not disappoint. A list was provided with a handful of speciality drinks for the Air and Water Show.

My first cocktail was the Chicago 'O' Martini. Baccardi "O" rum, raspberry liqueur and pineapple juice. Twas good!

Second drink - Belvedere dirty martini. Drank half of this one, it was too strong for such warm weather.

The olive pick was so cute - a mini Hancock building.

Third and final martini - Pear martini - Grey Goose LaPoire, Triple Sec, raspberry liqueur, orange juice.

2.5 cocktails over 5 hours. Not all that bad :)

The views in this place were A-mazing.

Really enjoyed watching the planes that "wrote" in the sky. They flew so close together and had amazing skills.

Can you see the heart in the below picture? It was very impressive watching these pilots work the magic!

One of the many planes that flew over Lake Michigan. Little planes, big planes, helicopters (doing things we've never seen before!), sky divers and many more!

Ever heard of the Blue Angels? They were here.

4 Blue Angels flying in formation. The fifth pilot came down with the flu so he wasn't part of the show. I really don't think you want a pilot who is feeling "under the weather" flying fast and close to other planes;)

When we left the party we were each handed a swag bag which Patrick says stands for "Shit We All Get". Haha!

Included in the bag was a signature lounge glass, little Bombay gin bottle, mints and a koozie. Very unexpected but much appreciated!

The event was great and it was SO much better watching the show from and air-conditioned room than in the humid Chicago weather outside!

After the show we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to grab some dinner before we headed home.

Shared some yummy buffalo bites with Patrick.

I was not happy that the Signature buffet didn't have a great selection of veggies. I was craving salad like nobodies business so I ordered a Cesar salad.

Totally hit the veggie spot!

Now I'm back home, doing laundry. One minute I'm on top of the city and the next I'm doing chores. Life is good!!! :)

Molly's Cupcakes

2010-08-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

There are few things I like more than a really good cupcake. Cupcakes make me happy, crazy happy! I would be happy spending a Saturday watching Real Housewives, eating cupcakes, drinking milk, Dr. Pepper (for the caffeine) and veg'in out. Of course, I would feel miserable the next day but that is not the point. The point is I LOVE cupcakes!

Earlier this year I was walking around my old hood, Lincoln Park, and came across a place called Molly's. The place was adorable complete with a coffee bar which used wooden swings hanging from the ceiling as seats and board games to enjoy while scarfing down one of their delicious treats.

Molly's is known for cupcakes but they also serve other treats:

Homemade Ice Cream Bars
Cookies
Pies
Cheesecake
Eclairs
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

For me the cupcakes are the star of this little shop. They use only the freshest ingredients and the cupcakes are made from scratch everyday and throughout the day so your cupcake is guaranteed to be perfection!

They offer the classic cupcake flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Carrot and Red Velvet. But the Center-Filled cupcakes are what make my stomach happy.

Check out these flavors:

Chocolate Mousse
Tiramisu
Chocolate Raspberry
Boston Cream
Mixed berry
Cookie Monster
Cookies-n-Cream
Peanut Butter Nutella
Minty mash-up
Pear Almond

They also offer special winter and summer themed cupcakes plus Vegan cupcakes. Check out Molly's website to see all they have to offer.

On my first visit (yep, I've had multiple visits) I decided to mix things up and order a Peanut Butter cookie.

The cookie was big and moist with chunks of peanuts:

I also ordered 1 Mint cupcake to take home. Looks like a regular cupcake, right?

Oh no, it is topped with an Andes Mint Chocolate:

And filled with yummy mint chip frosting. Genius, after all the frosting is the best part!

Paired with milk in a martini glass and this was one fantastic dessert!

On my second visit I picked up the Center-Filled Cookies-n-Cream cupcake:

Topped with an Oreo:

And filled with nothing but creamy deliciousness!

On my third visit I ordered what is now my favorite Molly's cupcake. It was so good I forgot the name but I do know the theme was Chocolate Chips!

And it was filled with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this cupcake. The cake was moist and perfect (as with all their cupcakes) but the cookie dough in the center was A-mazing!!! If you love cupcakes and cookie dough you MUST try this cupcake:

The last cupcake I had was Chocolate Peanut butter:

This was a good cupcake but not my favorite. I'm not a huge chocolate cake or chocolate frosting fan but I'm a huge peanut butter fan and this filling did not disappoint!

Love everything about Molly's!

P.S. They have a Sprinkle Station so you can decorate your cupcake just the way you like it! Fun for kids and adults too!

Jay Robb = Tasty Protein Powder

2010-08-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

The wonderful people at Jay Robb sent me a bag full of goodies:)

Check it out:

2 shaker bottles, bunch of protein powder and bars:

I have tried a lot of protein powders and haven't found one that I actually look forward to drinking. That is, until I met the Jay Robb powders.

These powders don't have that powdery (is that a word) feeling when I drink it. The flavors I've tried have tasted good and I drink one in the morning and am full until lunch time. Love that!

Breakfast

Monday morning I tried the Strawberry powder with some unsweetened Almond Milk:

Good and filling!

The shake was great but I needed some caffeine so I picked up a sugar free red bull. Not the healthiest option but it did the job I needed it to do.

Lunch

Around 12:30 my stomach started growling so it was time to head out to lunch. I picked up a mixture of potato salad and BBQ coleslaw. I wasn't sure what to expect with the coleslaw but it was SO good and I plan to try and recreate it in the near future. Yum!

I also had a bowl of cabbage and white bean soup:

Dinner

Around 6:00 pm we walked the dogs over to Subway and picked up dinner. I got the spicy italian:

Mustard, mayo, pickles, lettuce, olives, vinegar, salt and pepper:

I was SO happy to get the feedback regarding my dairy free august. The recommendations and support I received were much appreciated!

Thanks to everyone!

Question

Have you tried any of the Jay Robb products? If so, what and how did you like it?

Saturday + Sunday = Fun-day!

2010-08-09T23:59:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to go to Manny's Deli for along time now. Saturday was the day when this mission would be complete!

This deli opened more than 35 years ago and has been a place where many a famous person has eaten, including Mr. Obama. The restaurant is very different than any type of restaurant I've been to. I was thrown back to high school due to the cafeteria style serving.

I loved that they were able to serve me both matzo ball and noodles in chicken broth in the same bowl:

The star of my lunch was this knish with gravy:

The flavoring of the meat was delicious and the gravy was salty which I love!

After our lunch at Manny's we stopped at Binny's to grab a drink. I decided to let the bartender pick my sparkling wine of the day. He chose Argyle which is a sparkling from Oregon:

Very good and take a look at those bubbles:

Sunday

Woke up late on Sunday and decided to make the husband and I some spicy noodle soup. I used the noodles I got from Rise'n Roll which is an Amish bakery. Love that the ingredients are so simple: egg yolks, flour and water!

I may have added to much cayenne pepper because my husband could barely eat the soup due to the spiciness!

Patrick decided that 6 o'clock was cocktail hour. He made me a fantastic drink with Ketel One vodka, Lime seltzer and POM wonderful.

I want to thank the people at POM for sending me the samples of this divine juice. POM was definitely the star ingredient of this cocktail:

Perfect summer cocktail. Light, refreshing and tasty!

Saturday night dinner was homemade BBQ pulled pork pita sandwiches made in the slow cooker - delicious:

Weekend Purchases

I've been looking for a Waterbox water bottle for awhile and it appears that these bottles are not sold in Chicago. Since I wasn't able to find the Waterbox bottles I decided to pick up a Klean Kanteen bottle while shopping at Whole Foods.

I really like a lot of things about this bottle. The best part is the spout on top that will make it so much easier to drink water while on the treadmill.

The best purchase of the weekend was this rinky dink dog house for Solera:

One good blow of the wind could knock this house down but it is perfect for indoors. Every once in awhile Solera likes to chill out by himself so we thought this would be perfect for him! The picture above is him checking out his new digs:)

He is so dang cute!

Dairy Free August

2010-08-08T19:10:00.000-05:00

I like dairy. I really like ice cream. I LOVE cheese!!! Cheese is good on everything and makes everything tastes so much better. So when my sister sent me this email:

"I started doing a dairy free diet for the month of August … a Vegan friend of mine was telling me how bad dairy is for human adults … and said that if I kept everything else the same but gave up dairy for one month that I would lose 10 pounds!! Want to join me??? It could be fun …and you could blog about it!!!"

My response to her was Hell No, I need my cheese, ice cream and lattes!!! Her response:

"So it will be hard …. But come on ……you can do it for one month!!!! And you might end up feeling a lot better …. You never know!!!
COME ON …. DO IT … DO IT… DO IT!!!"

Who am I to argue with my older and (sometimes) wiser sister. After all we both think we might be a little lactose intolerant so this is a good experiment to see if our stomachs feel better after a month without dairy. If you follow me on twitter you already know I've decided to go dairy free for August.

I've started looking at the ingredients of everything in my pantry and I really can't believe how many food have dairy product in them. I will definitely need to hit up the grocery store to purchase some dairy free products.

Examples of my Dairy Free Eats

Breakfast Options

I normally start my day off with a vanilla latte from Starbucks. Since I can't have that anymore and this girl needs her caffeine, my options will be:

Sugar Free Red Bull:

Soy Milk Vanilla Latte:

Coffee with Coffee Mate:

Fruit:

Lunch/Dinner Options

Pesto pasta with veggies:

Subway (no mayo or cheese):

Chinese food:

Spiced turkey pita sandwich:

Soup:

Snack Options:

Smoked almonds:

And of course cocktails!

I will be adding many more meals to this list.

Wish me luck!

Question:

What dairy free foods should I try?

Playing Tourist in Chicago

2010-08-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Patrick and I decided to play tourist on Sunday. We woke up and lounged around the condo and around 1:00 we headed to the river to go on the Chicago Architecture Boat tour.

I recommend that any person visiting Chicago take this boat cruise. Not only do you get the chance to learn about the city and wonderful architecture but you also get a chance to rest your feet and spend some time on the water after exploring the city on foot!

The boat that would take us on our 75 minute voyage:

Trump tower:

Corn cob building:

This is the building currently housing the Hard Rock hotel. I love that the gold on top of the building is meant to mimic champagne bursting out of a bottle:

Love how this building curves along with the river and reflects the surrounding buildings:

And of course the Sears Tower (I know that is no longer the name of the building but it will always be the Sears Tower to me!):

After the boat ride we stopped by ENO to enjoy some wine and light food. We took our seats on the patio and I ordered the Bubbly flight. I'm a sucker for champagne/sparkling wine and these did not disappoint:

Patrick and I opted to get the Cheddar cheese flight. Not only did the flight come with wonderful cheese but we got bread, fancy nuts and olives as well as some fantastic raspberry preserves:

I couldn't believe how good the mix of cheese, bread and preserves were. I would have never guessed combining all those flavors would be so tasty!

Such a good day spent in the city I love, with the man I love!

Easy Frittata - Veggies and Turkey Peperoni

2010-07-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I made a Frittata for breakfast. I've never made one before but was up for the challenge on this particular morning. Lucky for me my husband is a good sport and willing to try my kitchen creations. Lucky for my husband this creation actually turned out to be extremely tasty!

In the mix:

Turkey Peperoni
3 eggs
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Orange pepper
Asparagus
Broccoli
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Grated Parmesan
Cooking spray

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray small pan with cooking spray (make sure pan has ovenproof handle).
Chop and clean veggies, saute over medium heat.
Whisk egg with salt and pepper in a bowl.
Poor the egg mixture and pepperoni into pan (over veggies), move it around with spatula until slightly solidified.
Put pan in oven.
Bake until the frittata is almost firm to the touch (15 to 20 minutes). Put grated cheese on top and continue baking until firm.
Remove from oven and enjoy!

My piece was enjoyed with some hot sauce on top.

Super easy and super tasty!!!

Time flies when the weather is warm!

2010-07-26T11:40:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy organizing and enjoying life. Just living in the moment. No pictures of everything I'm doing just taking time to live my life!

I do miss (as does my husband) my chronicles on this blog so I'm ready to blog away!

Brunch

Patrick and I decided to treat ourselves to a delicious breakfast at the Bongo room. We waited about 30 minutes for a table and during that time I had a vanilla latte at the coffee bar. Whoever thought of the idea to have a coffee bar in the waiting area of this popular restaurant is a genius. It made our wait time fly by!

The star of my breakfast was the Banana Bacon Pancakes!

Yep, pieces of crispy bacon were the star of this dish:

The flavors of the banana, the sweet praline sauce and the salty bacon mixed better than you could ever imagine!

These were 1000% better than my attempt at making bacon pancakes. But I'm up to the challenge!

Dinner

I made a very fresh salad packed full of veggies!

In the mix:

Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Orange pepper
Cucumber
Red onion
Lettuce
Parmesan cheese
Newman's Own Dressing (My favorite!!!)

Patrick grilled us some spicy turkey burgers. They were good and even better topped with some spicy A1 Sauce!

In the mix:

Ground turkey
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt
Garlic Powder
Cubed garlic cheddar cheese

July Tid-Bits

Over the last month I've been exploring this wonderful city I live in. The parks are great to walk around and take in all the scenery as well as people watch (one of my favorite past times!).

We've had a few big storms come through the city and the sky is always so beautiful once the storm rolls through.

Great sunsets:

My first rainbow in the city:

Glowing sky's:

On the food front 1 dish was definitely repeated. A salad with tons of good stuff in it. My husband not only liked this salad but he even put in a request that I make it, unheard of!!!
In the mix:

Mixed greens
Romain lettuce
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Orange pepper
Cucumber
Black olives
Red onion
Grilled corn
Fresh black pepper
White pepper
Garlic powder
Oregano
Salt
Newman's Own dressing

The mixture was perfect and the grilled corn was the perfect touch!

I hope this post finds everyone doing fantastic and having a GREAT summer! Now I'm off to catch up on all my blog friends!

Blog atcha latter!

Firkin & Pheasant

2010-06-29T12:17:00.002-05:00

One night a couple weeks ago Patrick (aka ... the husband) and I ventured to our old stomping grounds, Lincoln Park. We both used to live in this area about 5 years ago so it was fun walking around seeing how our old "hood" has changed.

One change we both loved was the addition of Firkin & Pheasant.

We walked inside and immediately knew this was our kind of place. The food looked excellent, great service, friendly staff and the feeling of the place was extremely comfortable. Plus they have 12 HDTVs throughout the Pub which makes for great sports viewing!

Drinks
I started off with a raspberry Stoli and lemonade. We lucked out because on the day we were here Stoli drinks were on special for 4 bucks!

x 3:

Appetizer

We both decided to get an appetizer to munch on while we sipped our cocktails.

I knew exactly what I wanted, deviled eggs. I was so happy to see them on the menu because I had been craving them for awhile. Deviled eggs were always a staple at our family holiday parties when I was a kid.

These babies did not disappoint:

Patrick was SO excited to see Scotch Eggs on the menu. He kept saying how good they were so I had to take a bite. They were good but a little to "heavy" for me.

Hard boiled eggs wrapped in savory sausage and breaded panko crumbs then flash fried - served with sweet mango chutney.

Dinner

We were enjoying ourselves so much so we decided to eat dinner.

I had a salad with vinaigrette dressing. Twas very good!

Patrick ordered a side of chili. He said it was pretty good but was much better after a hit of Tabasco:

We opted to split the burger and fries:

The waffle fries were good and even better dipped in BBQ sauce.

Everything about the burger was delicious. It was so juicy and the cheese was a perfect addition:

I will be going back to this place, for sure!

Cookiehead Cookies !

2010-06-24T11:20:00.001-05:00

I have to start off this post with an apology. See I've been enjoying some really great tasting cookies and haven't shared them with all of you. Not only are the cookies kind to my taste buds but they are filled with some healthy ingredients!

Remember when I ran my first 5K back in May. As mentioned in that post one of the highlights of the race was being able to try these cookies:

To be honest, I wasn't all that excited to try the cookies when I first saw them. The reason being I've tried many healthy cookies and they've never really been all that great. But, when I saw how many people were crowded around the cookie display I knew I had to try them.

I'm SO glad I did! YUM!!!

I was able to take a box of the Belgian Chocolate Chunk cookies home:

Cookiehead Cookies!

I was extremely impressed that I could read ALL of the ingredients!

The cookies are smaller in size:

but packed with pieces of Dark Chocolate:

See, look at the size of the chocolate chunks!!! I think this is a cookie kids would really enjoy and parents would enjoy giving them to their kids:)

The inside of the cookie is filled with a bunch of healthy, great tasting ingredients:

I really liked these cookies but what impressed me the most was that my husband really liked the cookies! This was both good and bad. I'm happy he liked them because it is far better for him than Oreos or Chips Ahoy cookies. I'm not all that thrilled he likes them because it means I will have to share them:(

Now I need to head out and buy another box. I was told I could purchase them at Whole Foods in the Chicago area. If I can find them I will most likely try out some of the other flavors they offer!

If you are a cookie lover and looking for something a bit healthier you MUST check out their website: Cookiehead Cookies !

Question:

Have you tried these cookies before? If yes, what did you think?

Stress : How to Deal?

2010-06-21T11:01:00.005-05:00

Wow, this last week was one big stress fest! So many things going on and so little time to get them all done. But I'm a firm believer in better to be busy than have nothing to do at all.

I've been a person prone to stress. Even when I was younger people would tell me I was stressed and I would deny it until I was blue in the face. To me, stress meant you couldn't handle what was going on in your life and if I couldn't handle what was going on in my life I was a failure. So in my young mind someone telling me I was stressed meant they were calling me a failure. Which would stress me out even more, sometimes I wonder how I made it through my early years:)

I've come to realize over the many years of my life that having stress does not mean I'm a failure in anyway. It simply means I need to take a step back, breath and look at what is really important in my life. I can guarantee you that 9 times out of 10 the stress I'm feeling has nothing to do with what I think is really important in my life.

Listed below are a couple of ways to help conquer the "stress-monster":

Tame your stress - easier said than done. Get away from whatever is causing you stress, Is it work, than go for a walk on your lunch break. Try doing Yoga to calm yourself down.

Get support - Support is so important when dealing with stress. It's nice to have someone around who can help out when times get rough. Reach out to family or friends, if you don't have any near by than pick up a phone or use the internet to connect with people.

Get enough sleep - This is just an all around good rule to live by. Sleep is so important to so many aspects of our lives and stress is definitely one of them. You are never going to release the stress-monster if you are sleep deprived and cranky. Trust me on this one, getting enough sleep is something I really need to work on.

Pet time - Out of this entire list the 1 thing that always helps bring my stress levels down is my dog, Cappy. His sweet domineer and his willingness to cuddle with me for hours probably has something to do with it. Dogs are filled with unconditional love and are always SO happy to see you. (just typing this last part lifted a bit of stress off my shoulders:))

Stress = Eating

Yep, whenever stress is introduced into my life an eating binge is soon to follow. I find the entire process of eating relaxing and soothing so of course I'm going to want to chow down when I'm stressed. I do know this isn't the healthiest way to deal, but when you are knee deep in stress you will do anything (well almost) to relieve that feeling.

Listed below are a couple ways to help conquer stress eating:

Have a hunger reality check - Before shoving food in your mouth ask yourself if you are truly hungry or if this is the stress-monster rearing it's ugly head. If it is truly hunger pick something healthy to eat. If it is the stress-monster than put the food down and drink some water or something else that will keep you busy until the food urge calms down.

Take away temptation - It is easy to remove food temptations from your kitchen but it's not so easy avoiding all the delivery options and restaurants on every corner. One way to help out with this is to carry snacks in your bag so you won't be so tempted to stop in the fast food joint. Throw out those delivery menus and pack your fridge and cabinets with easy to prepare/grab items. You will be more tempted to call out for delivery if you are staring down a 30 min meal prep/cook time.

Don't deprive yourself - So important!!! If you really, really, really want a burger and fries than eat a burger and fries. Just do it in moderation.

Snack healthy - Always have healthy snacks available to eat. Whether it is carrying Lara bars in your purse or having veggies cut up and ready to consume. Always have healthy options ready to grab when the stress-munchies come on full force.

The above list are all things I need to think about when stress consumes my life. I would love to hear what everyone out in the blog world does to help them reduce stress. So....

Question:

What tips do you have to help reduce stress?

BLACKHAWKS WIN!!!

2010-06-09T23:43:00.010-05:00

I spent the evening watching this:

Chicago Blackhawks Hockey!!! This series has been difficult for me to watch. I'm a competitive person and I really wanted Chicago to win this win. I can't even begin to explain how much anxiety I've had watching all these play off games! But in the end, all the anxiety is worth it cause the boys have won it all!!!

As I sit here typing this post I'm surrounding by sights and sounds of the hockey win. I look outside my window and see buildings lite up with red lights and "Hawks" outlined in high rise windows. I can hear people screaming with joy and car horns blaring in the city.

The scene at Wrigley was crazy. Tons of people flooded the streets when the Hawks won:

All those red dots in the middle of the picture are of people in the street:) I'm getting so old. I would rather sit on my couch and celebrate by blogging and taking pictures of my TV than heading out in the crowds. Oh well, I did enough crowded parties in my younger years:)

I'm so proud of the boys and can't wait until they are back in their city!

Breakfast

My favorite oatmeal from Caribou. Maple crunch:

Iced Northern Lights Vanilla Latte:

Lunch

My lunch time consisted of going to Target and spending more money than I should have. This is an issue that I always seem to have whenever I step foot into that store. I just love it!

Walking back to the office I stopped at Subway and picked up a spicy italian sandwich:

Veggies, yum:

Happy Hour

Patrick and I stopped in Ceres to have a cocktail. I had my usual raspberry vodka and lemonade:

Dinner

We had dinner delivered to us tonight because I wasn't about to miss one second of the game due to cooking or anything else for that matter.

I wanted something Chicagoy (yes I know that is not a word). Deep dish pizza from Giordano's was in order:

My plate with a slice of pizza and a bit of pasta:

I had 2 pieces of this deep dish pepperoni pizza. These slices are so big that I really only needed to eat 1 but I was starving!

Baked mostaccioli as a side dish...holy carbs!

The humans in the house were getting a treat tonight so it was only fair that the furry creatures in the house got one as well. We've found (the hard way, don't ask) that pizza doesn't sit well in their stomachs so we got them bully sticks:

Both humans and furry creatures are sitting happy in this home in Chicago:)

Question:

Do you ever find yourself getting anxiety over sporting events you aren't participating in?

Road Trip!

2010-06-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

A normal Saturday for me is waking up early to take the dogs out to "do their business". Come inside watch a little TV and than take a nap. Wake up again and with the help of my husband decide what we are going to do for the rest of the day.

Today was a little different. I was woken up around 8:30 am, by my husband, saying he wanted to be on the road in an hour. I of course didn't understand what he was saying but than it hit me ... we were going on a road trip! Not just any road trip but a road trip to see our Detroit parents!!! However, I still needed to pack all my stuff for the weekend and this is not an easy task for un-caffeinated Tracey:)

Thank goodness my husband made me an iced coffee with milk and vanilla flavoring:

After packing we ventured out in the rain to pick up our rental car. We got our badass Nissan (just kidding, totally not badass) car home, packed the car and headed to Detroit. The one thing I really need while driving is good music and we had a good and random selection. Shakira, The Crow, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Buddy Guy and a bunch of other types of music.

Breakfast

A couple hours into the trip I needed some more caffeine so we stopped at Starbucks!

My typical Skinny Vanilla Latte:

I ate half of this sausage sandwich:

Oh yeah, this was a fancy Starbucks, it had a drive thru:

5 hours after leaving Chicago we reached our destination and with that we treated ourselves to some Coke and PM (scroll to the bottom to read Patricks memories of this cocktail):

The dogs were also treated to some goodies, bully sticks:

After our treats we let the dogs loose in the back yard. Solera couldn't control himself with all the space, he was "rolling on his back" happy:

Once he saw us I think he was wondering why we weren't on the grass joining him!

All done, lets go chase some rabbits!

While Solera was running and rolling throughout the yard, Cappy took his time smelling every square inch. Cappy likes to get to know his surroundings before he starts letting loose and rolling around in them:

It makes me SO happy to see the dogs enjoying a yard. They are both city dogs so this is a real treat for them!

Dinner

Friday night my friend ML introduced me to a new beer:

Framboise Lambic. It was so good I bought some to have over the weekend.

I'm not a beer drinker at all. Give me a martini, wine, champagne or a mixed cocktail and I'll have it down in no time flat. But, beer, not my thing.

However, this beer is very good. Might have something to do with the fact that my husband served it to me in a wine glass, I kid. The raspberry flavor really comes out in this beverage.

Foamy and delicious:

Whenever we come to Detroit it is mandatory that we get a Jet's Pizza. This is my husbands favorite pizza of all time!

Spicy pepperoni with a cajun crust:

So cheesy and so good!

Let's chat a bit about the crust. I'm not a crust girl. I go directly for the meat and cheese and leave the crust on the plate. I mean, why fill up on bread when I can fill my belly with spicy meat and gooey cheese. Well, this crust has taught me that I should not treat all crust the same. One word for this crust, Delicious! Perfect texture and the cajun seasoning added a nice to kick. Yum!

I snacked on 2 of the extra hot boneless chicken wings:

The best part of the entire meal was saved for last. Salad with green peppers, onion and black olives.

OMG ... Love! So simple yet so good:

My Saturday was fantastic! Hope everyone out in blog land had a good one as well:)

Patrick Memories of the PM and Coke Cocktail:

"When I was little, Thursday night marked the beginning of the weekend. This was my Dad's influence, a man who enjoys extending every occasion, whatever its size (he now celebrates his birthday for a full month). My brothers and I would all watch as he unpacked his briefcase -- waiting to see if he brought out a small brown paper bag. If he did, it meant that the chicken my Mom had cooking would go back in the fridge, pizza would be ordered, and my brothers and I could each get an ice-cold Coke from the mini-fridge in our kitchen (all very exciting for us boys). For in this bag was a pint of PM (formally "Pleasant Moments") -- a low-end whiskey which my parents would mix with Coke and sip over conversation as we waited for the pizza to arrive. Tracey and I recreated this occasion when we reached my parents' place, this weekend. Although this time, we joined them in their cocktail and conversation as we waited for pizza, our "boys" got bully sticks instead of Coke (much more to their taste), and PM was no longer available by the pint at the local liquor store. Instead, I had to buy a fifth. Which cost $7.50. Which should give you an idea of both the financial state in which I grew up and what I mean by "low-end whiskey." It was fun, but I don't think Tracey's going to be requesting another..."

Caffeine and Pizza!!!

2010-06-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

This morning started off unlike any morning I can remember in recent history. My husband and I were up early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee at home before going to the office! Who knew this was even possible, I sure didn't.

Any who, I had a nice hot cup of coffee with some milk:

and a small squirt of Vanilla Agave Nectar. This stuff is really good and gives my coffee the perfect amount of sweetness.

I still needed some more caffeine so Patrick and I stopped at Starbucks and I got an iced skinny vanilla latte:

Lunch

Around 1:45 pm I was starving. So hungry I could have chewed my arm off! Instead of doing that I went for a more sensible option.

A tiny bit of mixed bean salad:

The main dish was turkey, spicy mustard, lettuce and cheese wrapped in a spinach wrap:

I devoured it, totally hit the spot.

Snack

After work I had a couple of these delicious Cookiehead whole grain cookies. I'm in love with these and can't wait to share more info about them with everyone. The info will be coming soon!

Dinner

I had dinner all planned out. I was going to make an egg scramble with veggies and wrap it in a tortilla. However, the eggs in my fridge were way past their expiration date:(

I'm not good at switching up dinner plans so I went with the easiest option, pizza. I called up my husbands favorite pizza place, Sarpino's:

Pizza was delivered in less than an hour:

Oh so good!

I dipped my slices in Frank's Red Hot sauce:

The addition of the hot sauce was a good one. But really, what isn't good without hot sauce?

This little guy was standing under our table just waiting for the tiniest piece of pizza to fall on the ground.

Lucky for him Patrick is a sucker for puppy dog eyes so he was able to snag a couple pieces of crust.

Question:

Do you ever give your pet's table scraps?

I don't but my husband doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Needless to say, the dogs are always by his feet when he's chowing down.

Wedding Albums and Restaurants

2010-06-02T22:46:00.010-05:00

Last night I was woken up by the sound of very loud thunder. It scared the bejesus out of me and my little dog. By the time morning came around I only had one thing on my mind ... coffee!

Breakfast

I'm a classy girl so I chose to drink my iced coffee out of a ball jar:

The coffee was really good, just regular iced coffee with milk and some vanilla syrup:

To eat I had my favorite Lara Bar, Peanut Butter & Jelly:

I do admit it doesn't look very appetizing but it really does taste like a PB&J sandwich!

Lunch

My normal Wednesday lunch was consumed. Pasta with broccoli, carrots and peas with alfredo and pesto sauce:

After lunch I was craving chocolate like nobodies business. A Kit Kat was the only thing that would hit the spot:

Dinner

After work we had to venture out to the burbs to pick up our wedding album. One thing everyone needs to know about my husband and I is that we are big jackasses! This is proven by the photo we chose for the cover of our album:

We were totally being jackasses when we were getting these pictures taken. But we also had a lot of fun!

We picked up our album and stopped into Cabana Charley's to look it over as well as have a little dinner.

The place was filled with lots of island themed decorations:

This cocktail was very tasty:

and for a good cause. It was called the TA TA TINI!

Patrick and I shared these nachos. Homemade chips with seasoned meat, cheese, green onions and jalapenos:

The nachos were amazing! Wish I could say the same about my burger. I ordered a Cajun burger and was expecting a blackened spicy burger but what I got was a plain burger sprinkled with some spices:

I would not go back to this place. The service was slow, the place was way to loud with people talking on microphones and the food wasn't that great. Oh well, at least our photo album turned out great!!!

Memorial Day

I just realized that I didn't share anything about my memorial day weekend. Patrick and my friends invited us over to their beautiful house to celebrate the holiday weekend.

My cocktail of choice was raspberry vodka and lemonade with a strawberry, can you see the strawberry under all the ice?

There was tons of food but my favorite was the fruit platter. Pineapple, Strawberry, Watermelon and Cantaloupe!

The strawberries were huge and tasted amazing!

My contribution was Pepperoni Pizza Dip. This dish was pretty simple to make and got tons of compliments. I got the recipe from A Better Bag of Groceries blog.

The ingredients were sour cream, cream cheese, garlic powder, oregano, green peppers, red peppers, onion, pizza sauce and cheese!

Once the food was consumed we sat around the fire and made smores!

Patrick and I had a GREAT time with everyone at the party. We are incredibly lucky to have such great friends!

Question:

When and where was the last time you had a bad restaurant experience?

3 Month Shape-Up to the Healthy Living Summit

2010-06-01T10:14:00.008-05:00

I was so excited to get tickets to the 2010 Healthy Living Summit. Not only does it sound like a great time with interesting topics being covered but it's being held not to far away from me! After the tickets were bought and I looked over the agenda, I took some time to reflect on how I have been treating my body this last month.

I've been eating bad food, not getting enough water and exercise as well as boozing it up way to often. I enjoy my life and feel like I should celebrate everyday but I need to realize that celebrating doesn't have to be crappy food and booze! Everything in moderation, right!?!

Well, I'm determined to start living a better life and the healthy living summit was the kick in the ass I needed to start.

I have compiled a list below of what I intend to do to live my healthy lifestyle. I'm going to try my hardest to stick to this plan at least until the 2010 HLS.

3 Month Shape-Up

Cut back on soda intake
Drink 64 ounces of water a day
Take out 1 time a week
Meal out 1 time a week
Cardio 3 times a week
Yoga or pilates at least 1 time a week
Spend more time outdoors
Work on communicating with friends and family
Wake up by 8:00am on workdays

I have lots of habits I would like to kick to the curb and some I would love to welcome into my life. I've read multiple theories on how long it takes for something to become a habit. It seems the range is anywhere from 21 days to 8 weeks. So I'm giving myself approximately 10 weeks to (cross my fingers) make some of the above healthy items a habit in my life:)

Added bonus: My husband is going to do this with me so hopefully we can both make some positive changes in our lives!!! It is so much easier to make changes when an important person in your life is willing to make them with you:)

Wish us LUCK!!!