Flaming Orange Peel

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?

California (food) Dreaming - Part 1

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!

Cookiehead Cookies !

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?

Casarecce Organic Pasta

Remember my Whole Foods Blogger post. Well I finally got around to trying out the Casarecce pasta that was included in the swag bag. I honestly thought this would be just like any other pasta but I was wrong. The flavor and texture is fantastic. It is like the sauce clings onto the noodles instead of sliding off.

Check out the shape and color of these noodles:

Dinner:

Pasta and marinara sauce with garlic powder sprinkled on top:

I highly recommend that all you pasta lovers out there try this pasta. You can get it at Whole Food's and it is SO good!

Question:

What is you favorite pasta shape?

I like angel hair pasta the best. Not sure if it is do to the shape or that it cooks really fast;)

Cook, Eat, Blog - Whole Foods Event

What a great event. This was not only my first blog event but my very first Whole Foods event. I can't believe I haven't taken advantage of the events they hold! Sometime very soon I plan to drag my husband to the Whole Foods kitchen to learn about cooking.

When I walked into the room the first thing I noticed was the great space and how many people were in attendance.

Room Layout

People were free to walk around and grab some food before the panel started talking.



The bloggers sat at a table in the front of the crowd. If you look close against the far wall you can see them :)



Food

The food offered at this event was picked by the blogger panelist. Each blogger picked our their favorite Whole Foods product and then everyone got to sample them. Here are a few pictures of what was offered.

Pasta salad






Veggie platter with dip.






Here is a look at my plate:






I was very excited to see Synergy Kombucha offered. I've always wanted to try this but the floating stuff in the bottle creeps me out. I decided this was the time I should take the plunge and try a taste of the Trilogy flavor.




I even managed to pour myself a glass without the weird looking floaty stuff. The color of the drink was really pretty.





Verdict: I loved it. It was really good but I still don't know if I would be able to drink an entire bottle due to the floaty stuff. Maybe I could strain it before I drink it ;)






I will tell you that I only had about 1 cup of this drink and I was awake until 3:00 the next morning. I don't know if this drink is supposed to give you energy but I was on turbo speed!


Here is a look at the people who made this night possible.


Brittany, Whole Foods Rep - MC of the night (I'm sure she has a more official title, this is just the title I have given her)





Brittany was a very nice girl and well prepared for the event. Thanks for putting together such a great event, I really enjoyed myself!


The Bloggers:



Kristin of, The Kitchen Sink Recipes






Nick and Blake of, The Paupered Chef





Val from, Marathon Val






Natalie from, Bake and Destroy






I really suggest that everyone check out the blog links above. Each and every one of them were very informative and great about answering any questions we had.


I hope Whole Foods does more events like this. And those of you who have Whole Foods stores in your area should suggest that they do something like this event at a store near you!

Swag bag


I knew I would be leaving whole foods with some products because seriously who can step foot in that store and not buy something. I know I can't. However, I was not expecting to get a bag full of new products to try out and for free! I was and still am excited to try some of the products and you better believe I will be reviewing them on this blog.



All of the items were neatly packed into this great reusable bag. I've already used it multiple times.






A look inside the bag.




The products included:

• Justin's Almond Butter Squeeze Pack


• Raw Revolution Organic Live Food Bar


• Jokerz Vegan Candy Bar


• Pop Chips - Salt & Pepper


• Casarecce Pasta


• Near East Whole Grain


• Frontera Grill Gala Red Apple Salsa


• Oogave Watermelon Cream Soda


• Solixir blackberry chamomile

This was extremely nice of the Whole Foods in South Loop to provide these items to the participants of the Cook, Eat, Blog event.




Thank you so much, Whole Foods, for a wonderful night!