Scenes From a Supermarket

Sometimes I forget why I never let the boy grocery shop with me. He is a bargain shopper. As in the kind of shopper that will actually pay attention to the cost by volume and what brands are on sale. Usually it's not so much of a problem, but the other day it kind of was.

There we are at the deli ordering turkey and cheese. I tell the deli guy that I want a half pound of swiss. So the guy goes about slicing my cheese when the boy notices that there is a different swiss on sale. He stops the guy and asks for the sale cheese, as I tactfully try to say no, we want the (normal) cheese he is already slicing. But the boy is not to be deterred.

"But it's not on sale!"

"No, but you know that usually deli items are on sale for a REASON, right?"

"Not always."

Then the deli guy hands us the sale cheese. This my friends, is supposed to be swiss cheese.

Are you confused? Because I was. Isn't swiss supposed to have holes? Is it supposed to have that brown edge? I don't think so.

I made the boy a sandwich yesterday morning with what I have dubbed the "mystery sale cheese" and hoped that he would learn his lesson. No such luck, friends. The cheese is "not that bad" he said. Which essentially means that the next time I bring him shopping with me and his eye catches a questionnable sale item, I will have no sway to be able to say there is no way we are getting that.

Immediately upon leaving the deli counter, I went down an aisle to grab some almond milk. Just as I am coming out of the aisle, I catch the boy with a summer sausage in his hand.

"No. Put that down."

"But it's yummy."

Sigh. Luckily we made it out of the supermarket without the summer sausage or any other bad-for-you items, but there were a lot of close calls and lectures about the sugar/salt/fat content of food. I am writing this post as a reminder to myself that it's just easier to leave the boy at home when I go grocery shopping.

Dinner last night was a simple egg and cheese on wheat bread after heading to the gym for my first post-illness workout.

At the gym I tried to take it easy as I still cannot 100% breathe through my nose, but it felt really good to get my heart pumping and get my sweat on. I did a 10 minute warmup walk on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the rowing machine, and finished off with a mile run and another 10 minutes walking to cool down. Simple but effective. After all, only three more months until Costa Rica!

Do you grocery shop for your household? Are you a bargain shopper?

Carmelina's

Hi friends! It's confession time! I confess that I haven't been working out. Like at all besides a few runs here and there. I'm not going to make excuses or give false promises. I just wanted to put it out there for full disclosure. I'm definitely in an off period right now. A lot of hectic things have been going on and I just haven't been making it a priority. I know I should, but I just haven't. I don't necessarily know when I will get back into the swing of things, but I will be sure to let you guys know ;)

That may be a future ten things post inspiration right there! Anyhoo, breakfast yestereday was an unpictured muffin. Lemon poppyseed to be exact. An impulse buy of course. That's the problem with being in such close proximity to a cafeteria. Yummy baked goodies. Lunch was my new usual (in Springfield anyway) of a chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce and tomato. Once again they were out of pickles so I had to settle for carrots. Carrots are great and all, but when you have the option of carrots or pickles, obviously pickles are the favorite (which is probably why they keep running out of them, but honestly, just buy more pickles). On the side I had a bag of pita chips and a disgusting Kozy Shack vanilla pudding cup. Disgusting. I literally ate three bites of this thing and threw it out. The only reason I even got it was because I went to lunch a little late and all the desserts had been picked over. It was the pudding cup or some sad looking pumpkin pie.

For dinner we went to a little Italian place in Hadley called Carmelina's.

At first glace, the decor was a little cheesy and it was surprisingly bright for an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was not large by any means but was roomy and comfortable. The waitress brought out warm scali bread to start with butter and a side of tepanade that I didn't have the courage to try. In looking over the menu, I was surprised to see that they had gluten free options on the menu, something I would have thought would be particularly rare for an italian restaurant. Bonus points for Carmelina's there.

I wasn't all that hungry and didn't think I would be able to eat a full sized entree, so instead I opted for a salad and an appetizer for my meal. I ordered the Warm Spinach Salad, which is baby spinach tossed with spiced candied walnuts, fresh blue cheese, caramelized pear, grapes, and Gorgonzola peppercorn dressing.

I was not blown away by this salad. The concept is good, but the spinach was way too salty. Some of the spinach was raw and some of it was cooked, giving the salad an inconsistent texture. The grapes and pears were probably the best thing about the salad. I most likely would not get it again. For my "entree" I ordered the appetizer of BuonaBocca, which is mozzarella pillows stuffed with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, fried and served with a lemon caper sauce and a side of cranberry relish.

The dish was good, but not great. You would never know there were sun-dried tomatoes in there as I couldn't see them or taste them. The lemon caper sauce felt wrong for the mozzarella (nor were they "pillows," more like square bars) but the cranberry relish was divine. I ate a little with the mozzarella and some just on it's own. Of course I got food envy, as my coworker ordered the chicken marsala which I thought looked fantastic, so I took a photo of that too.

Luckily my coworker cut off some for me to try and I immediately wished I had gotten it. It had a sweet smoky flavor and was delicious. The potatoes were slightly undercooked, but not so much that they weren't still really good. Even the vegetables looked delicious. For dessert, we each ordered a cannoli. Now I am normally not a fan of cannolis, but my coworkers were talking them up from this restaurant, so I figured why not?

Well they were right. As far as cannolis go, this was probably one of the best I've had. The chocolate chips were actually inside the filling and the shell was crunchy and delicious. If I ever went here again, I would definitely get the cannoli again. My other options were the other typical desserts (creme brulee, cheesecake, and tiramisu). All in all, not a bad experience, but not a great one.

What is your favorite Italian dessert?

The Holidays Are Here!

Yes, that's right. The holidays are here. Christmas music is playing on the radio, everyone has turkey on the brain, and Christmas trees are popping up everywhere.

Historically, I have always liked the holidays. It has been different for me since I lost my grandmother though. I can still appreciate the holidays, but celebrating them without her delicious fried breads and the huge family meals feels empty. What I am looking forward to though, is attempting to recreate her fried breads on my own this season. Once I am successful (I have tried in the past and failed miserably), I will post the recipe and process for you guys. I promise you, if you make nothing else that I have featured on my blog, you must make these. For me, they taste like home. For you, they will taste like a slice of heaven. More on that to come ;)

Breakfast was the same, an apple and a larabar. Lunch was the same again as well, a chicken salad sandwich. For dinner tonight, we headed over to a local Italian restaurant. I am not doing an official review of it, but am planning on going back to do a more detailed review. I ordered the Ratatta, which is basically marinated chicken with eggplant, roma tomatoes, penne, and buffalo mozzarella. It was absolutely delicious. Everything about the dish was just perfect, down to the eggplant.

I didn't take a picture of dessert because quite frankly it wasn't worth taking a picture of it. I ordered the chocolate mousse. What I got was chocolate cake, that had obviously been in the refrigerator too long, with a sickeningly sweet frosting on top with a cherry as hard as a rock. The waitress came over and asked how I liked it, so I was honest and told her that I didn't like it. She explained that it was supposed to only have a thin layer of cake and she brought me a new one, which was better than the first, but still not good. A dessert has to be really bad for me not to like it you guys. You know this about me. Perhaps when I go back the second time, my dessert will be as good as my entree was.

On a side note, have any of you heard of porn in a cup? I wish someone would bring this to Boston!

Are you excited for the holidays?

Lattitude

Howdy from classy Springfield (this is sarcasm, anyone actually from Mass knows how scummy Springfield is). Case in point, there are approximately three stripclubs within two blocks of my hotel. I guess the girls in Springfield gotta get that money. Oh and everything closes before dark. A bunch of us from my company actually had dinner the other night and one of the guys who was not from here mentioned that he went for a run by the river and saw shopping carts floating in it. Yeah that's normal.

Just as I had mentioned in my previous post, I have a restaurant review for you guys finally since I can safely take photos of my food in front of the people I work with. After work, my coworkers and I did a little research about decent restaurants in the area (there really aren't many) and came across Lattitude. It got pretty good reviews on Yelp, and after looking over the menu, we decided it was a must eat. Check out the menu and prepare to drool. I apologize in advance for the crummy pictures, I of course forgot to bring my camera charger this week and my camera was out of juice, so these are all phone pictures.

They had a random dog statue outside, which totally didn't fit with the decor inside, but my coworker wanted to pose with it anyway :)

The restaurant inside seems small at first, but there is actually two rooms. The tables are comfortable, not too close together like a lot of restaurants and the decor is modern. I would have taken a picture of the funky ceiling and lighting, but with it being so dark, I would have drawn a lot of attention to myself...which normally I don't mind, but I don't want to embarass or freak out my coworkers before they are used to my antics. I did get a picture of the funky placemats, which I would love to find for my house.

I started out with a Shipyard pumpkin beer (unpictured). Then to start our gluttony, we ordered two appetizers. First up was the Steak and Cheese Flatbread. This was pretty good, although the steak was a tad dry and the pizza itself a little soggy in the middle, but delicious nonetheless. The other appetizer we got was the Fried Brussel Sprouts with sweet chili aioli. Yes you read that right. What better way to eat a vegetable than to fry it? Hands down, best appetizer I have ever eaten. You know an appetizer is good when the waiters are pushing it like they are crack dealers on a street corner. Hey kids you want to get high?? Eat some fried brussel sprouts! These things should seriously be illegal. The brussel sprouts get you hooked, and then you have to keep coming back to get your fix.

For my entree, I went with the Chili and Cumin Dusted Grilled New York Strip. The steak came with house made applewood smoked bacon mac n cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe. On the menu, the steak also comes with a sunny side up egg, but if I'm ordering steak, I don't really need the protein and I hate runny eggs anyway so I just gave it away.

Something I don't believe I've ever addressed on the blog is that I like my beef medium rare. I always ask for it medium in restaurants though because if I ask for it medium rare, it always comes out rare and I am very against sending food back (I've seen the movie Waiting and I used to be a waitress so I NEVER send food back). Even asking for beef medium, I very rarely get it cooked perfectly. This time I did. Oh. My. Yum.

For dessert, I ordered the Chocolate Tempura Battered Fried Twinkie. Oh yes I did. And you know you're jealous. It is served with moose tracks ice cream. There are no words people. The only complaint I have about this dish, is that you can't taste the cream filling at all. I think that Lattitude should eliminate the ice cream and replace it with a dollop of the cream instead. That would make this the best dessert ever.

Obviously the pictures do not do this restaurant justice. If you are ever in the Springfield area, eat here. I am in Springfield until the week before Christmas and I can guarantee you that I will be back several times. They are going to get to know me personally here. I left fat and happy :)

Baan Thai

Sometimes the perfect Saturday night involves some takeout, a carpet picnic, and a great movie...which is exactly what the boy and I did this Saturday night. We have been on the hunt for a good Thai takeout place in Waltham, and this time we decided to give Baan Thai on Main Street a try. We ordered Won Ton soup to start:

This soup was awesome, but then again it's really hard to mess up Wonton soup. For an appetizer we ordered the dumplings:

These were absolutely fantastic. Best part of the meal hands down. They were flavorful and not greasy or heavy at all. I ate them sans sauce, but the boy said the sauce was really good. For our entree we decided to split the Kra-Prao fried rice, which is fried rice in chili paste with minced chicken, chopped string beans, peppers, and sweet basil.

Neither one of us liked this dish. The chili powder didn't translate at all, the dish was completely overpowered by the sweet basil and it was more sweet than spicy. There was a lack of peppers as well. We both agreed we would not get this dish again, but the soup and dumplings were so good that I would definitely go back and just try a different entree next time.

Our movie of choice was Avatar (which I had seen but he had not). I loved Avatar when I saw it at the imax, and I loved it again watching it at home. Surprisingly, the boy didn't like it. Well, I never said he had good taste in movies (one of his favs is the Adventures of Ford Farlaine). All in all, it was a perfect Saturday night just camping out on the floor with our takeout watching a movie.

What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday night?

Super Easy Lemon Chicken

Hi there! I thought I would bring you one of my absolute favorite (and easiest) recipes that I made last night. Super easy lemon chicken. This recipe is great because you can double it and just keep the extra in the fridge to reheat, use in a sandwich, or top a salad. Also, the boy wanted me to tell you all that he gives it two thumbs up. 


Ingredients:
1lb of thin sliced chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
2 tbsp of minced garlic
Thyme

Start out by browning the chicken pieces with the salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, and thyme. When all of the pieces are browned, return all the chicken to the pan and add a few splashes of red wine vinegar. Bubble until reduced. While that is bubbling, chop up 2 lemons:

And chop up some potatoes for roasting or make some rice, whatever you would like your sidedish to be. I chopped up some red potatoes for the boy and a sweet potato for me:

Toss your potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil and roast at 415 for 20 minutes, flipping half way through. Now add 3 tbsps of honey and 2 tbsps of soy sauce along with dried parsley to the chicken:

Add 1/2 cup of hot water and the lemon slices. Let the mixture bubble down until it's syrupy. This takes about 10 minutes. Add the roasted potatoes and a vegetable to your plate and enjoy!

From beginning to end this meal takes about a half hour. The chicken serves four. Until tomorrow bloggies!


What's your favorite easy go-to recipe?

Chicken Enchiladas

Hi again. As I mentioned yesterday, last night's dinner was chicken enchiladas. For this yummy dinner you will need:

1lb of chicken (I use organic skinless)
1/2 jar of green salsa
1 jar of enchilada sauce
At least 2 cups of shredded mexican cheese
1/2 small onion (use more if you like onion, I don't so I use less)
1 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic (or 2 cloves of fresh)
2 tbsp of olive oil
6 whole wheat tortillas

First, chop up the onion and saute in a pan with the garlic and olive oil until caramelized. Set aside.

Poach the chicken. Also known as boiling the chicken in water for about 12 minutes. Another option for poaching the chicken is to cook in the crockpot for 6 hours with regular salsa, which I meant to do but forgot so this is my shortcut version ;) Shred it with two forks (or your hands if you like playing with chicken).

Once the chicken is shredded, add 1 cup of the enchilada sauce, green salsa, 1 cup of cheese, the onion and garlic, and cayenne or chili powder if you want to kick things up a notch. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with some enchilada sauce. Add 1/6 of the chicken mixture to each tortilla and roll up, placing seam side down in the casserole dish. To finish, drizzle the enchiladas with a little sauce and sprinkle as much cheese as you think you can handle (for me it's a lot).

Turn the oven on to 350, cover the enchiladas and cook for 10 minutes. Take the foil off and cook for another ten.

Serve with whatever garnishes you like. My favs are sour cream and guacamole. I could eat mexican food everyday easily. Yum!

Healthy Baked Pasta & Tofu Pudding

As I mentioned earlier, tonight's dinner was a penne casserole, otherwise known as healthy baked pasta (similar to baked ziti only with penne and the addition of meat). I love whole wheat pasta now, but I didn't always. When it first became all the rage years back, I thought it was gummy and just didn't taste quite right. Now, I have learned to like it and would never go back to white pasta (except at restaurants if whole wheat is not an option) solely for the health benefits. I will say, however, that the selection of wheat pastas still leave much to be desired. For example, they have yet to produce a wheat ziti, which would have been perfect for this recipe. Instead, I had to use penne.

First, boil water with a pinch of salt to yield about 3 cups of cooked pasta (about 3/4 of a box). While the pasta is cooking, brown 1 pound of ground turkey with half of a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic (or 1 tablespoon of minced if you're lazy like me).

Once both the pasta and turkey are done, mix in a can of petite diced tomatoes and either a box of drained frozen spinach or 1 1/2 cups of wilted fresh spinach (you can also substitute broccoli in this recipe but if you do make sure you cook it and drain it WELL before you put it in there as broccoli is very watery and can really make the dish runny). For spices, add salt, pepper, and basil as much as desired. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and layer the bottom of the dish with the mixture. Sprinkle on about 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese. Pour the rest of the mixture on top and top with another 1/2 - 3/4 cup of mozzarella.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges are a little brown.

For dessert I made tofu pudding with homemade whipped cream. This is super easy to make. Puree a package of silken tofu in a blender.

Move to stove top and add about 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips. Cook on medium low heat. Once the chocolate has melted, add two tbsp of sugar (you can also use agave or honey in this recipe) and a dash of vanilla. Refrigerate until ready to consume.

The whipped cream is easy to make as well. Throw 1 cup of whipping cream (or heavy cream) and 1/4 cup of sugar with 1 tsp of vanilla into a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Enjoy!

As I also mentioned, the boy and I went on a quick 2 mile run before dinner. Since I sold my Garmin a year ago when I got disillusioned with running, I had to sort of guesstimate (yes, that's a made up word) how far 2 miles was. The boy did really good and since we were running a shorter distance, I was able to run at his faster pace. I had mentioned yesterday that he and I were going to run a race together in the spring. The race we settled on was one I have done twice before, Boston's Run to Remember. They have a 5 mile component and a half marathon component. I think the boy is going to do the 5 mile and I'm going to do the half. That is the plan as of right now anyway. That could change at anytime. It's a nice goal to work toward I think. I hope we will both be race ready by then!

What is your perfect distance? Has anyone else ever wanted to run a marathon? Or done one already?

Orange Glazed Tofu

So as promised, here is my go to tofu recipe that I love. I actually adapted this recipe from somewhere online a long time ago (probably at allrecipes.com or somewhere like that) but sorry I can't credit it properly. Suffice it to say it's not 100% mine.

For the orange tofu, you have to use firm tofu. I like the nasoya brand personally, but use whatever you like, just as long as it's firm. You could also substitute chicken in this recipe as well. The first step is to press your tofu between paper towels or a clean dishtowel to get out the excess water. I used a bowl of fruit as my "squisher."

Cut the tofu into cubes and saute in 2 tbsps of olive oil and either 2 garlic cloves, or if you're lazy like me, a tbsp or 2 of minced garlic from the fridge (I use two because I love me some garlic).

While that is sauteing, combine the following ingredients:

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
 
Once the tofu turns a nice golden brown, add the mixture to the pan, being sure to coat the tofu evenly. After a few minutes, add 1 1/2 tbsps of cornstarch dissolved in water to the pan. Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.

Serve with a grain and some veggies. I served mine with quinoa cooked in vegetable broth and a side of steamed broccoli. YUM!

So as a side conversation, has anyone else been watching and enjoying this season of Biggest Loser?

 

I have to say that I am really liking the changes they have made to the weigh-in/vote off process. I think that only making half of the people safe at this point makes for a more dramatic weigh in. I also love making the other half compete for safety. The one change that I am not loving, but can at least agree that it adds drama, is allowing the person with the highest percentage of weight loss to choose one of the unlucky half to "save." The reason why I don't like this is because you are giving a spot away to someone who doesn't necessarily deserve it. Theoretically, you could lose very little or no weight, but still get saved every week and make it to the end. I don't really think that's fair. At least the people who fall below the yellow line have to earn their safety in a challenge. I also don't see how this new yellow line system is going to work as they get down to fewer numbers. At some point they are going to have to go back to the regular way of 2 people being below the yellow line because you won't have enough people to really compete in a challenge. This will stop being effective at 10 people remaining (5 below the yellow line, one gets saved, so 4 people competing in the challenge with only 2 people winning their safety). I am interested to see what new directions they will go in this season.

Have you been watching Biggest Loser? Do you have any other go to recipes for tofu?

B. Good

It's not an illusion, I am actually blogging on a Friday night. Earlier I had said I was going to see The Social Network tonight, but of course the show we were going to got sold out before we got there. Being tired and disappointed that we weren't going to see the movie, I decided to just call it a night after dinner and come home and cuddle with this girl...

She doesn't looked to be pleased to be having her photo taken does she?

For the movie we met up at Legacy Place in Dedham (if you haven't been there it's amazing but such a bitch to park at) so decided to hit up B. Good for dinner before the movie. I had actually never eaten there, so I was excited to try it.

The restaurant is actually a chain and it's real...food...fast. I was very excited to see that you could get sweet potato fries (unheard of at a fast food restaurant). I was originally going to roll with the turkey burger but decided to just go with the regular burger when I got there. Of course I was already half way into the burger before I remembered to take a picture...how typical of me...

The burger was incredible. It was so juicy and flavorful. I got my usual burger toppings of cheddar cheese, mustard, ketchup, and lots of pickles. I gobbled that sucker down in about 2 seconds. I cannot say the same good things about the fries, however. They are actually the worst sweet potato fries I have ever had. They were way too thick so they were not even all the way cooked through, were extremely soggy and you could tell they had been sitting there (the burgers are made fresh to order but the fries are not). I was told the regular fries are better so I will try those when I go back again. All in all I'm not going to let the sweet potato fries keep me from going back, but if the regular fries are as disgusting as the sweet potato fries, I probably will not go back even though the burgers are delicious.

Tonight I am staying in, catching up on my DVR and stacks of magazines that have gone unread for the last couple of months. It's nice to be relaxing at home for a change.

As promised, banana bread recipe coming tomorrow...have a good night bloggies!

Grill in a Box

Ew crappy weather. What a good night to go see a movie! The Social Network to be exact. I am actually really excited to see this one. I've been hearing good things left and right, even some Oscar buzz! I will also have a restaurant review for you that I will post tomorrow as well as a recipe for banana bread that is TO DIE FOR.

I did promise pictures of my dinner last night, however, it was a huge fail :( I don't have a grill at my house, so my date brought a "grill in a box"

Oh friends, I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I forgot to take a picture of the actual one he brought, but it looked exactly like this I assure you. We fired the grill in a box up and it flamed right up. The instructions said to let the flames die and start cooking when the coals were just red but not flaming (elapsed time said 15 minutes). It was very exciting to watch the flames and wait for it to die down. I was extremely impressed that this little contraption was going to cook my dinner. And only for the bargain price of $2.99 the boy told me.

Assuming we had about 20 minutes of cooking time, I chopped up one regular potato (for him) and one sweet potato (for me), threw them in the oven to roast, and boiled up some green beans. Well, the potatoes and green beans finished and he brought in the steak tips. Which were cold. So he went out and threw them back on the "grill in a box" for another nearly 20 minutes. After a total of 40 minutes, the steak tips were finally hot but not really cooked. Now, I like rare meat so it was no problem for me. But the boy, however, well let's just say if there is even a little pink, he gets skeeved out. So all he ended up having for dinner was a potato and some green beans. Lesson learned. If you think it's too good to be true, it probably is.

I didn't take any pictures of the steak tips since the boy was so upset about our foiled dinner, so sorry for not living up to my promises there.

I did not work out today as I was just too tired. Breakfast was a bagel since it's bagel friday and I went with my usual everything with plain cream cheese and a side of orange juice. Lunch today was a turkey sandwich, some veggie chips, and this little gem:

I love these. I only buy a few at a time because I would eat them after every meal, but they are an extra special treat that I splurge on every once in a while. I am not a huge ice cream lover for dessert...I much prefer cookies, candy, or pie...but for only 150 calories, this little bowl satisfies my sugar craving. They have a few other varieties as well, but this one and the mixed berry are my favorites.

What do you keep on hand to satisfy your sweet cravings? Anyone else ever tried cooking on a grill in a box?

Snickers and the Glass Castle

Hi there! New music Tuesday! Not that there was anything worth buying on iTunes this morning, but I still love new music Tuesday anyway.

Before I headed off to my book club meeting last night, I whipped myself up some delicious stir fry (as a side note, I wonder how many times I've used the word delicious on this blog??). In the mix is 2 bags of frozen mixed veggies, 1 pound of organic chicken, some teriyaki sauce, and a little salt and pepper. So simple, so filling.

After my yummy dinner, I headed out to my book club meeting. I joined a book club because I read a ton of books and it would be nice to have people to discuss them with on a regular basis (I have a couple of friends who read the same books as well, but I thought a book club would be fun) and sure enough, I had a great time!

We read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I really enjoyed the book, although much of it was very disturbing. Unfortunately, the parents in the book reminded me so much of my own parents (only not nearly as bad) and it brought back some ugly memories. Of course I didn't share this information at my book club meeting since it was my first time meeting these girls and didn't want to get too personal on the first meeting. But I can tell you guys these things ;)

I had actually read Jeannette Walls' other book first, Half Broke Horses, without knowing that she had written The Glass Castle first and I wished I had read this one first as it was the far better of the two.

Our next book is Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Even though I have a ginormous pile of "to be read" books, it looks like I will have to go on the hunt for this one to read. Next on my list outside of the book club is the True Blood books. Yes, I'm a tad obsessed with True Blood. But I have to have something to fill the void of the show until it comes back next summer. And I know once I start reading these books it will just be like the Twilight series all over again...I will finish all ten of them in a week. I read fast.

Breakfast was the usual cereal and lunch was a piece of pizza. I know it's not ideal, but I limited myself to only one because I had to grab lunch quick. I brought a lara bar to hold me over until dinner but I'm considering heading over to the convenience store for a soda and a candy bar. It's been a really long time since I've had a candy bar. Probably my good old friend Snickers will be the bar of choice.

What is your favorite kind of candy bar?

Solea and New Friends

Hello blog friends! 


So I just had the most fabulous time at Solea on Moody Street in Waltham. Jimmy was having a case of the blahs today so to cheer him up I decided to forgo our run and go out to dinner instead. I suggested Solea, a tapas bar that I hadn't been to before but had heard great things. Plus Jimmy wasn't feeling that hungry, so I thought a few tapas plates would be good.


When we sat down to dinner, we were seated in close proximity to two other two person tables. I usually hate this type of set up in a restaurant. You are constantly hearing other people's conversations and constantly thinking about them listening to yours. The diningroom itself was extremely loud and actually made conversation difficult. I was surprised that it was so busy for a Tuesday evening, but every table in the diningroom was occupied.


After a while of trying to engage a sullen Jimmy into conversation, we noticed that the table next to us had gotten their first plate, even though we had ordered before them. The other table noticed this as well and made a joke about it, offering us some of theirs. We soon were chatting away with them and naturally they noticed me taking pictures of our food, so I had the opportunity to tell them about my blog (hello Kelly and AJ!) and come to find out that they had met there exactly 8 years earlier to the day and were coming back to celebrate the occasion since they had moved to California and were just visiting for a wedding. Further along in conversation Kelly and AJ told us about their move from Boston to California to begin a wine business. AJ sells over 100 boutique wines and in 2007 began his own label. If you are ever in the area, visit AJ Pearce Wines. AJ and Kelly were fantastic and I'm so glad we met them. It certainly cheered Jimmy up considerably and I love meeting new interesting people. Now on to the food!


We ordered five plates as well as dessert:

Queso de Cabra Montaٌnes, Baked Goat Cheese with Tomato & Basil. I got a little overzealous with this one and dug in before I remembered to take a picture, but I assure you, it was much more delicious than it looks. I used the bread basket for dipping. It was so rich that I didn't end up finishing it, but I really really wanted to!

Chorizo a la Plancha, Grilled Spanish Sausage. Fried to perfection. 

Buٌnuelos de Alcachofas y Espinacas, Artichoke & Spinach Fritters. These were easily my favorite. They were crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside. The cheese sauce underneath added just enough to make them unbelievable. 

Pato Braseado, Roasted Duckling with Berry Sauce. I don't love duck, but as far as duck goes, this was quite good. The berry sauce was exquisite.

Solomillo con Chimichurri, Beef Tenderloin with Spicy Herb Sauce. This dish was my second favorite. The beef came on crunchy french bread and though the spicy herb sauce was a little spicier than I had expected, I was pleasantly surprised at just how delicious this relatively simple dish was. It's hard to go wrong with beef tenderloin.

Tarta de Chocolates, Chocolate Almond Cake Fresh Berries & Whipped Cream. I was actually quite disappointed with this dessert. The cake was extremely dry and there was no almond flavor whatsoever. Our new friends actually ordered my original choice (that Jimmy vetoed) of the bananas with butterscotch and pistachios. Kelly was kind enough to save me a bite and every last morsel was heavenly. Dessert regret. I get it often.




In short, the food at Solea gets a 4 out of 5, but the atmosphere gets only a 2 out of 5. I may go there again, but never on a weekend and I may try sitting in the bar area next time just to see if the noise level is any different.


So I am about a week away from finally being able to divulge my really great news and I am just DYING to tell you all (I'm teasing now I know). The only bad part about my news is that it will leave me unable to complete my goal of getting fitness certified, which makes me a little sad :( Instead I just have to focus on being the fittest I can be. Speaking of fit, my ass still really hurts today, so I didn't make it to BodyPump this morning. I will definitely be attending on Thursday morning though, it's such a great workout. For those of you who are lucky enough to have it at your gym, try it out! Then your ass can be sore too!