fooooooooooooooooooood!

seriously.  we can eat.  and Baltimore has no shortage of restaurants for us to try.  in the last two months we have yet to eat at the same place twice...and we could probably keep it up for the rest of the year if we wanted! 

but one of my favorite restaurants in Baltimore is La Tavola, and not just because the owners are friends of mine, but because their food is to die for. 

again, I was too busy eating to take more than a photo of our appetizer...but a few hours later we were really full, of delicious, freshly made Italian foods...and the sidewalk seating was perfect because of the breeze coming down the street towards the Inner Harbor.

a great place for a date night!!

the best pancake in the world.

not kidding.  the BEST pancake I've ever had- aside from my Dad's Sunday morning pancakes of course :)

we had brunch at Golden West Cafe in my new neighborhood of Hamden...I've eaten there a bunch of times, and somehow this menu item never jumped out at me...but oh. my. food.  zucchini scallion pancakes with honey butter sauce...

it was almost an afterthought, we had ordered our dishes and just threw the pancake in for good measure...

so glad we did.

of course, I didn't even think to take a photo before we ate it all...there was no time!

all aboard the onion train!

no matter how many times I go to a hibachi restaurant...I always get a kick out of the onion choo-choo the chef makes...after the big whosh of fire that I swear singes off my eye brows...every time! 

I could eat there at least once a week...I'd go broke of course, but it would be deliciously worth it!

so glad that J is a good eater...and loves food as much as I do!  so we are continuing on our food tour of Baltimore...with dinner at Kobe :D

authentic Japanese beer...from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

magical, never ending food

okay, you have to admit, I totally reeled you in with that title, huh?  sounds a little like something out of Willy Wonka...the never ending gobstopper right?!  :)

well I have been using many many many scallions (green onions) in my cooking lately, and not that they are really that expensive, but I read somewhere (and...I honestly don't remember where...) that if you put the ends of a scallion in water, that they will regenerate, over and over again!

so of course, I had to try...and wouldn't you know...

Day 1

Day 6 (and I added two more!)

so it definitely works!  if you find yourself using lots of scallions...this trick is worth a try!

6 foods I'd take to a desert island

1. pickles- but not just any...Heinz Hamburger Dill Sliced pickles...very important detail

2. pizza - again, very specifically, from Alfonsos in Hillsborough, NJ :)  runner up is Harbor East Pizza in Fells Point...a pretty good substitute

3. lasagna...I make a pretty good one, that is our annual family Christmas Eve dinner #funfact

4. Dr Pepper- favorite soda...and I can't have pizza without it...so naturally it makes the list

5. black cherry ice cream - Wegmans has an awesome low-fat ice cream...with little chocolate chips it's the perfect dessert..and on a desert island I'd need something cool


...I really do like healthy foods too...but these are my favorite favorite things to eat...not all in one day, thank goodness

oh and soup...#6 would be Lipton noodle soup!  one of my favorite stories from when I was little, as told by my Mom :), was that I used to go to friends houses to play, and when I'd come home, I'd ask for lunch, even if we'd already had lunch...and my reply was always, "but we didn't have soup."  so another food I clearly could not live without.

recipe box favorites: PF Changs Dan Dan Noodles!

In the spirit of eating healthier, and spending less money on restaurants and take out (minus pizza...pizza will always be in the diet and budget) I thought it would be fun to try and make some of our favorite recipes at home...test 1, PF Changs Dan Dan Noodles...B's favorite, and I always end up trying to steal a bite or two of his...

I found a recipe after searching on line for a while, and I am pretty impressed with it and myself!  here was the finished product...and it even got a thumbs up from the "food critic"

you can find the recipe here

but in case your lazy...it's also here :)


Just like "PF Changs" Dan-Dan Noodles

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets, cooked and minced (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for cooking chicken
1 6-ounce package chow mein noodles
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped green onions
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chile-garlic sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup julienned English cucumber
1/2 cup bean sprouts


Saute chicken fillets in oil for 10-12 minutes in a skillet. Mince cooked
chicken into very small pieces.

Prepare the noodles following the directions on the package.

Make sauce by heating oil over medium heat in a saucepan or wok. Add garlic
and green onion and saute for just a few seconds, being careful not to burn
the garlic. Add soy sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar and chile-garlic
sauce.

Combine the cornstarch with 1/2 cup water and stir it into the sauce. Simmer
sauce for about 2 minutes or until it thickens.

Add the chicken to the thicken sauce and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Place cooked noodles onto a serving plate. Spoon chicken and sauce over the top of the noodles, then garnish with julienned cucumber on one side, bean sprouts on the other.

wouldn't mind sealing these envelopes!

envelopes...flavored like bacon.  genius!!!  there is nothing worse then the taste of the glue on an envelope flap...am I right??  thank you for these bacon flavored envelopes - you can find them at Uncommon Goods!

Friday Finds - good enough to eat!

I came across this first set of candles, and they were so cute- like little cupcakes...and then I discovered that they indeed, had a sweet, sugary smell, topped off with sprinkles!  the little multi-colored dot sprinkles, that are my very favorite!

adorable Cupcake candles by Mireio

 

since we had dessert first, how about some sushi for dinner?  a taste I'm still acquiring, but these candles are really cute!  you can get a sushi candle sample pack from Double Brush.

and to finish up, a nice warm mug of chai...candle by Honeysuckles Candles.

recipe box favorites: pumpkin cupcakes

I know pumpkin is usually a flavor reserved for fall...but I could eat pumpkin pie, cookies, cakes of any variety all year long...

now this is a recipe I haven't tried yet...but might consider whipping up for a snack for our girls weekend coming up...

Ingredients

• 1 18.5-ounce box yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 24 pieces candy corn

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions.
2. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool.
3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Spread on the cupcakes and top each with a piece of candy corn.

Makes 24 cupcakes



how cute are they with the little candy corn on them!? 

recipe from Real Simple

Dr Pepper...steak??

So we all know how much I love Dr Pepper :) and my dad is a big fan too...so when I saw this recipe, I thought I'd share, and eventually try it for myself

so I bring you...Dr Pepper Tenderloin...enjoy!
(photo from www.rachaelraymag.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef fillet (preferably cut from the large end of a whole tenderloin), tied with butcher twine every inch
• 1 liter Dr Pepper
• ½ cup soy sauce
• Juice of 3 lemons (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 Servings PrepTime 10 min + marinating Cook 45 min

Directions:

1. Place the beef in a deep container for marinating. Add 2 cups Dr Pepper and the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add more Dr Pepper to cover. Seal and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium. Place the tenderloin on the grill, reserving the marinade, and cover the grill (or heat a grill pan over medium heat, add the tenderloin and cover loosely with foil). Cook, turning occasionally, until the meat registers 130° on a meat thermometer for medium-rare, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a board to rest for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat and simmer until slightly reduced, 5 minutes. Slice the beef and drizzle with the Dr Pepper sauce.

mmmmm....fondue

I love fondue, and the Melting Pot...but since it's so expensive we usually reserve it for special occasions, and times when we have 3 hours to eat...yup, took us three hours to get through 4 courses...but it was so delicious I didn't care :)

That's a lotta fruit...

so today is day 1 of the 'fruit cleanse diet'...so far I've eaten a large bowl of fruit salad I made yesterday...pineapple, orange, apple, strawberry, blueberry, and grapes...I'm interested to see what the results are after 2 weeks...but as of meal 1 on day 1...so far so good :P

yesterday I went on a fruit shopping spree at Costco and Safeway...here's what I got:
















I'm wondering how long this will last me :p

eureeka!

I've found them!

Now this will probably seem really silly to, oh just about everyone in the universe except for me...but I love pickles...if you know me, then you know it's true. I can't really explain it, but I can pretty much find a way to make pickles fit with any meal- my mom can too...and almost every day, for the entire 27 years and 18 days of my life...well I guess a little less then that...how old are babies when they can eat solid foods??...I have eaten a specific brand...Heinz Hamburger Dill Slices...and all was well until one day, they didn't have them in Shop Rite (side note: they don't seem to have them in Baltimore, so my mom would stock up and send them with me when I visited)...another week went by, and no pickles...I'd say as much as a month or two before the news was broken to me...my beloved pickles were not on the shelves of any grocery store in the area... WHAT??? so I thought, well we have a large enough stash in the basement to last a while...but as the jars started to disappear off the shelf, I got worried... that was, until today... when I found...

Buy the Case.net

a whole case of pickles...my pickles...that could be delivered right to my door... Disaster averted...you can go back to your normal routine...I will be fine :) :)




**thanks for listening to my ridiculous story :) my mom will appreciate it, so this was really for her ;)